Phonological acquisition of Brazilian Portuguese in children from Rio de Janeiro.

PURPOSE To describe the typical course of phonological acquisition in Brazilian Portuguese, in view of clinical usage. METHODS A picture naming test was used to collect speech samples from 480 children (240 female and 240 male) enrolled in public and private schools in the city of Rio de Janeiro, who were divided into five age groups between 3 and 8 years. Three types of analyses were conducted, and results were compared for age, gender, and socio-economic level: (1) phonological inventory analysis looking at how many and which consonants were acquired, (2) assessment of the percentage of consonants correct, and (3) phonological processes analysis. RESULTS Results clearly indicate a faster acquisition in children of higher socio-economic level than in children of lower socio-economic level. Data also indicated that age is the most important factor in phonological acquisition. The completeness of the consonant inventory, the percentage of consonants correct, and the use of phonological processes improved with increasing age, and variability among children decreased. Gender differences, however, were not observed. CONCLUSION The information collected may ultimately help speech-language pathologists in the assessment and treatment of children with speech sound disorders.