Sound categories or phonemes?

Abstract

Vihman emphasizes the importance of early word production to the emergence of phonological knowledge. This emphasis, consistent with the generative function of phonology, provides insight into the concurrent representation of phonemes and words. At the same time, Vihman's focus on phonology leads her to possibly overstate the influence of early word acquisition on the emergence of sound categories that are probably purely phonetic in nature at the outset of learning.

Keywords: phonemes; phonological development; speech acquisition.