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January,
2008
Speech Tip of the Month
Mary Williams,
MA CCC-SLP
Phonological Processes
Most children do not begin
talking by saying whole words.
It is normal for
children to use phonological processes (patterns or
strategies used to simplify speech) as they begin to
learn how to talk.
They use phonological
processes to help approximate words until they have
the motor coordination to say the word accurately.
Here are a few
phonological processes with examples:
Reduplication- same syllable repeated (bottle-baba).
Final
Consonant Deletion-
the last syllable is not voiced (door-do).
Initial Consonant Deletion-
the first syllable is not voiced (hot-ot).
Fronting-
the t is substituted for k and the d is substituted
for g (cow-tow, go-do).
Stopping-
affricate or fricative consonants (i.e. s, sh, & f)
are changed to stop consonants (i.e t & p) (soup-toup,
four-pour).
Prothesis-
vowel added to beginning of word (school-eschool).
Epenthesis-
segment added within or at the end of a word (blue-
balue).
Gliding-
liquid consonants r & l are changed to w & y
(red-wed, light-yight).
Cluster Reduction-
adjacent consonants are reduced (pink-pik, frog-fog).
As a child grows and accumulates more language, the
phonological processes naturally resolve themselves.
It is abnormal; however, if the processes
persist as the child gets older.
By age seven, all phonological processes
should be resolved.
If you have questions or concerns regarding
your child’s pronunciation check with a
speech-language pathologist.
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