Acquisition of /v/ in “Words” as a Function of the Consistency of /v/ Errors

This study sought evidence of a relationship between inconsistency of misarticulation and speech sound learning. The /v/ sound was selected as the test response. Twenty-seven subjects were assigned to three groups of nine each on the basis of their consistency of /v/ sound errors. The groups were designated as those with (a) no or minimal number of /v/ errors, (b) moderate number of /v/ errors, and (c) close to maximal number of /v/ errors. All subjects were instructed to learn two consecutive matching-to-sample learning tasks. The test stimuli were /viy∫/ and /vowm/ and all correct imitations were reinforced. For both test stimuli the minimal-error group performed superiorly to the moderate and maximal-error groups, and the latter groups did not differ. However, a reliable trial effect was evident only for the /viy∫/ syllable. Inconsistency did not seem to be highly correlated with speech sound learning.