Speech Disorders at Different Stages of Development and in Diverse Social Contexts (A Case Study)

Abstract The present case study includes an examination of the speech output of a girl with a phonetic speech impairment consisting of both familiar functional as well as idiosyncratic processes related to larger fine motor problems. The speech samples were collected at two different developmental periods (2;6 and 4;6–5) and in a variety of elicitation tasks. The author and the girl live on the same kibbutz (agricultural village) which allowed for a close examination of the girl in different social interactions with a wide range of interlocutors (e.g., her peers, caregivers, and friends). The data are analyzed according to the task performed as well as the social context in which the task took place. The results are described and explained according to: (1) the definition of language as a symbolic tool whose structure is shaped both by its communicative function and the characteristics of its users and (2) the principle that language represents a compromise in the struggle to achieve maximum communication with minimal effort associated with the theory of Phonology as Human Behavior (Diver, 1979; Tobin, 1997).