“Reduplication Revisited: Functions, Constraints, Repairs, and Clinical Implications” by Harriet B. Klein (New York University) observes the production of monosyllabic words as bisyllabic, as well as an insoluble yet issue of the relationship between monosyllabic reduplication and final consonant removal.

The research is aimed at studying the early lexical items and their phonological forms communicated by a child. The research participant is represented by a normally developing boy who replaces the production of all monosyllabic words for that of bisyllabic ones. The boy was observed while being in the age of 19 to 22 months. The study was conducted by the author audiotaping the child during the play while interacting with playthings such as toys and pictures representing objects and actions.

The functions of reduplication were revisited in order to link this specific case of increased complexity with normal tendencies. It was concluded that the phonological process represented by reduplication or final consonant deletion was provoked by two related and interacting constraints: constraints on monosyllabic words and on word-final consonants.

The author states that “these longitudinal case study data provide further evidence for a relationship between final consonant deletion and reduplication”. Findings of the present research are generally beneficial for phonology disorders examination, and with the developed data might help to identify and prevent early cases of speech impairment.