查看文章

Children’s communication development is a remarkable achievement that enables children to realise their right to receive information and express their views freely (United Nations, 1989). Until recently, limited information has been available about communication expectations for children, especially in languages other than English. In this chapter, we draw together and elaborate on three large-scale reviews of children’s consonant and intelligibility development across more than 30 languages encompassing data from thousands of children worldwide. Understanding the developmental trajectory of children’s communication enables us to recognise when children have difficulties, which can lead to children’s voices being misinterpreted or silenced. Our analysis concludes that across the world, almost all 4- to 5-year-old children are intelligible to family members, friends, and strangers, have acquired most …