pattern across languages (Locke, 1983). For example, word-initial clusters
consisting of stop + approximant or fricative + approximant involve omis-
sion of the approximant, for example, cream as [kim]; fricative + stop clusters
are reduced to stops, for example, spoon as [pun]; and nasal + approximant
sequences are reduced to nasals, for example, music as [muzɪk].
The Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP) provides an explanation for
these patterns (Gierut, 1999; Ohala, 1999). Accordingly, cluster reductions
will occur in such a manner as to produce a maximal rise in sonority from
the syllable onset to its nucleus. Sonority, in turn, refers to a sound’s ‘loud-
ness relative to that of other sounds with the same length, stress and pitch’
(Ladefoged, 1975: 221). By this definition, vowels are the most sonorous
sounds, followed by approximants, liquids and nasals, with fricatives and
stops the least sonorous. Thus, the reduction of a stop + approximant cluster
to a stop, for instance, involves a greater rise in sonority than if the same
cluster had been reduced to an approximant.
Over time, the occurrence of cluster reduction diminishes, whereas clus-
ter simplifications increase. Cluster simplifications occur when all elements
of a cluster are produced but at least one of them differs from the adult norm.
These deviations, in turn, follow similar patterns as those in singleton con-
sonants, for example, gliding, stopping, fronting (Grunwell, 1987). For exam-
ple, glass and grass may involve liquid gliding and be pronounced [ɡwɑs].
Consonant cluster acquisition in bilingual children
A few accounts of bilingual phonological development include informa-
tion on clusters. Holm and Dodd (1999), for instance, report language-
specific reductions on shared clusters. Thus, one of the Cantonese-English
bilinguals in their study reduced Cantonese /kw/ to [t], but English /kw/ to
[w]. Similarly, Grech and Dodd (2008) report different patterns of cluster
reduction in three-year-old children exposed to Maltese and English at home
versus those only exposed to Maltese: although both sets of children reduced
fricative + stop, fricative + nasal and stop + stop clusters, only children with
Maltese as their exclusive home language also reduced stop + approximant
clusters. Finally, Yavaş and his associates investigated cluster acquisition in
bilingual children exposed to Spanish and English (Yavaş & Barlow, 2006;
Yavaş & Someillan, 2005) and Haitian Creole and English (Yavaş & Beauburn,
2006). However, these studies were confined to initial /s/-clusters. The pur-
pose of the present study is to complement existing studies by providing the
first extensive account of onset cluster acquisition in bilingual children.
Methods
Participants
Forty-one Welsh-English bilingual children attending Welsh-medium
nurseries and primary schools in Ceredigion, West Wales participated in the
study. Ceredigion is one of the counties with the largest concentration of
Speech Learning in Bilinguals 7