Understanding the development of prosodic words: the role of the lexicon

Children's early speech productions are not entirely adult-like, with syllables and morphemes often missing from early utterances. However, these patterns of development also appear to be influenced by the language being learned. This chapter explores the role of the lexicon as a driving force in understanding both lower Prosodic Word (PW) and higher Phonological Phrase and Intonational Phrase (PP, IP) aspects of children's early speech. Using evidence from crosslinguistic studies, it shows how the prosodic shape and structure of the ambient lexicon influences the course of PW development and the implications this has for the acquisition of grammatical morphemes such as determiners. It concludes by exploring the implications of these findings for a developmental model of speech planning and production.