THE IMPACT OF SOUND, STRESS, AND INTONATION ON CHILD LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Abstract
This study investigates the developmental impact of sound (phoneme articulation), stress (syllabic emphasis), and intonation (pitch variation) on early child language acquisition. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from 40 monolingual Uzbek-speaking children aged 3 to 6 years. Quantitative analyses of recorded speech samples revealed clear developmental patterns: older children exhibited wider pitch ranges, longer stress durations, and higher phoneme accuracy. Qualitative observations and caregiver interviews further highlighted the role of prosody in communicative clarity, emotional expression, and pragmatic intent. The findings confirm that prosodic elements function as crucial scaffolds in phonological, syntactic, and socio-pragmatic development. This research reinforces the importance of prosody-focused activities in early education and has implications for diagnosing and supporting children with speech-language impairments. It also contributes to a broader understanding of how prosody facilitates cognitive and social dimensions of early communication.
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