This report is a description of a developing phonological system as manifes
ted in the productions of a prelingually deafened child approximately 2 yea
rs after fitting with a Nucleus 22-Channel Multi-Electrode Cochlear Implant
. A probe list consisting of 23 proper nouns familiar to the child was used
to elicit samples of her speech; stimulus materials consisted of photograp
hs of those persons (friends and family members) whose names were included
in the probe list. Analysis of the child's productions addressed the compos
ition of the phonetic inventory of consonants and vowels and the presence o
f syllable structure and other phonotactic constraints. Results indicated a
rich inventory of speech sound segments (among both consonants and vowels)
and a lack of stringent constraints on syllable structure and consonants p
ermitted in specified word positions. A further comparative analysis of cor
respondences with the ambient language showed a number of patterns that are
also common in the speech of children with normal hearing.