Spanish is spoken in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) and Latin America (except Brazil), with a considerable dialectal and sociolinguistic variation. Spanish is characterised by five vowels, several diphthongs, 24 consonants, consonant clusters, and a complex syllabic structure with various consonant clusters. In this study, we describe the main research undertaken on Mexican Spanish acquisition, mainly focussing on consonants and consonant clusters, using different methodological approaches (from descriptive studies from cross-sectional or longitudinal corpora, as in CHILDES). Few studies have focused on children with speech sound disorders (SSD) who speak Mexican Spanish. Researchers have focused on children with SSD, cleft lip and palate compensatory articulation, and SSD associated with other language disorders. Common speech analyses include the percent of correct consonants and comparison with the age of acquisition milestones. Interventions focus on traditional articulation therapy, phonetic and/or phonological intervention, and/or the complexity-based approach.

Key words: 
Spanish, Mexican, multilingual, communication, speech, language, children’s development, interdisciplinary, international communities, assessment, intervention

Book chapter:
Chávez-Peón, M. E., & Auza, A. (2025). Spanish (Mexican) speech development. In S. McLeod (Ed.). The Oxford handbook of speech development in languages of the world. Oxford University Press.

Language overview presentation:

• Chávez-Peón, M. E., & Auza, A. (2024). Spanish (Mexican): Multilingual children’s speech development. Charles Sturt University, Australia. https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/languages
• PowerPoint: Spanish (Mexican) [English version] – Children’s Speech Development (pdf)

This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 17: Partnerships to Achieve the Goals