A comparative analysis of the phonological acquisition of consonants in the speech of pre-school age isiXhosa and English-speaking children in selected schools in the East London area

Abstract

The problems of reading and incomprehension found in South African schools are often linked to children‟s differences of phonological acquisition rates and the articulation of consonants. This is according to the report of the Impact Study of the System Method for Reading Success study (SMRS) of 2009. This problem has always been associated with the racial inequalities that have previously ruled the South African education system. An understanding of the existence of the differences in children‟s articulation of consonants between the English-speaking and the isiXhosa-speaking children may lead to further understanding of the causes of such differences and the application of strategies that are aimed at remedying that situation.