February is the month of love and President's Day. Hope you're celebrating both. I do hope that you spend this month thinking about the ones who are special to you and that you'll spend some time with them.
I spent the first weekend in February in Chicago and then in Indianapolis. I spoke to bilingual clinicians in the Chicago Public schools and then to clinicians at the Winter Conference of the Indiana Speech-Language-Hearing Association. I spoke about the assessment process from the perspective of the bilingual and then the monolingual clinician. It is different. But even when I think that I've got the idea of what clinicians might need to know I'm always surprised at the questions that I get. It makes me realize that I didn't take everything into consideration and also that clinicians are trying to meet needs where they think they might serve best.
My talk focused on the language assessment, process, and observations that need to be made of bilingual children, but a few clinicians wanted to know more about articulation and phonology of Spanish speaking children as they learn English. The clinicians in Indiana can't assess in Spanish because of the lack of bilingual professionals. So they wanted to know how to determine if phonological development is typical in English. I'll add that to my next presentation.
I'm glad that we have phonology experts like Brian Goldstein. For bilingual clinicians who consult with monolingual clinicians and teachers, I would like to recommend that you put this month's article in your library and make a copy to pass out to other professionals.
Transcription of Spanish and Spanish-Influenced English by Brian Goldstein appeared in Communication Disorders Quarterly, Fall 2001.
Abstract
"In the United States alone, almost 9% of the population–22 million individuals–speaks Spanish (Grimes, 1996). The population of Hispanics/Latinos is predicted to increase to 51 million individuals by the year 2025 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1995). Many of these individuals will be native Spanish speakers who will be acquiring English. More than likely, their production of the English phonological system will be influenced by their pronunciation of Spanish (and vice versa in some cases). This article provides information on the transcription of Spanish, common dialects of Spanish, Spanish-influenced English, and English-influenced Spanish."
The article begins with a description of Spanish phonology and a comparison with English phonemes. We don't see enough of this and it is a wonderful way to explain how English and Spanish are different and similar. English and Spanish both have sounds that do not exist in the other language. The tables in this article are great resources for clinicians. Goldstein does an excellent job of describing the characteristics of Spanish influenced English. Consonants, vowels and nonsegmental features are discussed. An added perspective that I hadn't read before are the characteristics of English-influenced Spanish. Children may aspirate Spanish sounds that typically may not be aspirated.
I hope that you will read this paper. It is a good paper to pass along to colleagues, whether they are bilingual or monolingual clinicians.
Have a great day!
