Aptitudes à la discrimination des voyelles chez les enfants québécois francophones d'âge scolaire

Although auditory perception develops in infancy, it continues to mature until mid-adolescence. Many studies have documented early auditory perceptual development, yet very little is known about changes that occur in childhood. This study aimed to investigate the development of vowel discrimination in school-aged French-speaking children. Synthesized vowels contrasting along height and rounding were used as stimuli in a discrimination test given to 49 children aged 6 to 10 years old and twelve adults. Peak vowel discrimination scores and category boundaries shifted between 7 and 9 years of age, which suggests non-linear changes in speech processing.