Productions of Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation–Third Edition Stimulus Words Among Teenage Speakers of Anguillian Eastern Caribbean English

Abstract

This study documents consonant and vowel variation in typically developing teenage speakers of Anguillian English, demonstrates how consonant variation impacts performance on the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation–Third Edition (GFTA-3), and provides culturally responsive clinical recommendations for GFTA-3 scoring involving native speakers of Anguillian English. Twenty Anguillian teenagers (14;3–17;9 [years;months]) completed the GFTA-3 Sounds in Words subtest. The audio-recorded productions were phonetically transcribed and analyzed to determine consonant and vowel variations that differed from Mainstream U.S. English. To demonstrate the importance of culturally responsive assessment, deficit scores were compared with language-appropriate scores. Anguillian consonant variation heavily impacted GFTA-3 stimuli that were meant to elicit /ɚ/, postvocalic /ɹ/, interdental fricatives, and present participle /ŋ/. Vowel variations included production of /ʌɪ/ in knife, /ɑɪ/ in boy, and /oʊ/ in house. Some speakers demonstrated more consistent use of Anguillian speech variation than others. When language-appropriate scoring was not used, 19 of the 20 participants scored below the first percentile in the Sounds in Words subtest. Culturally and linguistically responsive practices and tools are needed throughout the Eastern Caribbean region. This study's description of Anguillian English speech variation in GFTA-3 stimuli is a resource that will improve culturally responsive speech sound assessment in Anguillian children. We encourage clinicians and researchers to replicate this study with speakers of other Eastern Caribbean English languages.