Nyelvtudományi Közlemények 83. kötet (1981)

Tanulmányok - Kassai Ilona: Távhasonulás a gyermeknyelvben [On One Type of Assimilation in Child Languaga] 160

TÁVHASONULÁS A aYEBMEKNYELVBEN 167 onset of the recalled word than to the rest, phonie realization of the latter will dépend on the onset. On the contrary, if child remembers more clearly the end or the middle of the utterance the dominant rôle will be played by thèse parts. Therefore we put forward the hypothesis, that successivness of speech production which is normal in adult speech is présent in child utterances mainly as q u a 1 i t y. Coexistent alternatives of the same word suggest another conclusion, a more gênerai one, namely that during the period of language development phonèmes do not exist in the psychological reality of children as abstract entities but rather as definite éléments of definite words. Homogeneity resulting from assimilations satisfies the requirements of least effort and at the same time makes the acquisition of new éléments and forms easier by providing the speech apparátus with the necessary energy. How might one appreciate the phenomenon of distant assimilation in the process of gênerai development of children's Sound System? I think it has to be considered as necessary because of the graduai acquisition of articulatory skills, but it represents a régression (as to the acquired sound System) because it returns the child to a simpler, less differenciated fonotactic Organization. In adult language this type of assimilation is found in dialects but without any normative aspect so it can also be taken for régression. In normative speech such forms resuit only from slips of the tongue.