Phonological processes are patterns of sound errors that typically developing children use to simplify speech as they are learning to talk. These processes are a normal part of language development and occur because children do not have the ability to coordinate the lips, tongue, teeth, palate, and jaw for clear speech. Childrens productions become more consistent around the age of 18 months, and when their words differ from adult forms, these differences are more systematic than before. These systematic transformations are referred to as “phonological processes”. Some common phonological processes include:
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Whole word processes (until age 3 or 4):
- Weak syllable deletion: omission of an unstressed syllable in the target word, e.g., [nænæ] for ‘banana’
- Final consonant deletion: omission of the final consonant in the target word, e.g., [pikʌ] for ‘because’
- Reduplication: production of two identical syllables based on one of the target word syllables, e.g., [baba] for ‘bottle’
- Consonant harmony: a target word consonant takes on features of another target word consonant, e.g., [ɡʌk] for ‘duck’
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Syllable structure processes:
- Cluster reduction: occurs when a child simplifies a cluster of consonant sounds into a single sound or a more manageable combination of sounds, e.g., “poon” for “spoon”, “tuck” for “truck”
- Weak syllable deletion: omission of an unstressed or weak syllable in the target word, e.g., “nana” for “banana”
- Final consonant deletion: deletion of the final consonant of a word, e.g., “bu” for “bus”
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Substitution processes:
- Stopping: fricative and/or affricate is replaced with a stop sound, e.g., “pun” for “fun”
- Gliding: liquid (/r/, /l/) is replaced with a glide (/w/, /j/), e.g., “wabbit” for “rabbit”
- Deaffrication: affricate is replaced with a fricative, e.g., “ship” for “chip”
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Assimilation processes:
- Velar assimilation: non-velar sound is replaced with a sound made in the back of the mouth (velar), e.g., “tar” for “car”
- Nasal assimilation: a non-nasal sound is replaced with a nasal sound, e.g., “mame” for “name”
Understanding phonological processes can help parents better understand their child’s speech development and know what to expect as their child grows and becomes a more confident and clear communicator.