Development and validation of a phonological screening procedure for Chilean Spanish based on the Whole Word Match measure.

Abstract

This study aimed to validate the Prueba de Fonología del Español (PFE) for Chilean Spanish and to identify a reduced subset of words suitable for phonological screening based on the Whole Word Match (WWM) measure. The sample comprised 152 monolingual children aged 3;0-6;11, including 72 typically developing (TD) and 80 with protracted phonological development (PPD). All participants completed the 100-word PFE and the Test para Evaluar Procesos Fonológicos de Simplificación - Revisado (TEPROSIF-R). WWM scores were computed for each production to quantify word-level accuracy. The results confirmed the concurrent validity of the PFE through significant correlations with TEPROSIF-R outcomes and revealed differentiation between TD and PPD groups across all ages. A subset of 26 words demonstrated high discriminant potential (r > .90) and reflected a balanced representation of Chilean Spanish phonological structure, stress, and segmental diversity. These findings establish the PFE as a valid phonological assessment for Chilean Spanish and support the use of a whole-word scoring approach for phonological screening in clinical and cross-linguistic contexts.