Phonological Processes

Phonological processes are speech sound error patterns that children use to simplify speech. Unlike articulation errors, which occur when a child has difficulty producing one or two specific speech sounds, phonological processes are error patterns that can occur across groups of sounds. For example, in the pattern called ‘fronting’, all “back sounds” (sounds made in the back of the mouth like k and g) may become “front sounds” (sounds made in the front of the mouth like t and d). Similarly, with the process called ‘stopping’, many “long sounds” (such as fricatives like s, z, and f) may become “short sounds” (such as stops like p, t, and d. 
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It is normal and expected for very young children to simplify speech sounds until a certain point. In fact, many of these patterns are considered typical until around age 3. However, as communication develops, these errors are expected to fade away, and the majority of phonological patterns should disappear altogether by age 5 years. A child may have a phonological disorder if:

• he/she continues to use phonological processes past the typical age of elimination
• he/she exhibits many patterns at the same time resulting in significantly reduced speech intelligibility (meaning it is VERY difficult to understand him/her)

Signs of a Phonological Disorder:

• Consistent speech errors that seem to follow a pattern 
• Difficulty with early skills related to reading (such as rhyming, blending sounds, etc.)
• Difficulty noticing the difference between similar sounds 

The table below provides information regarding some of the most commonly occurring phonological patterns. The age of elimination indicates the typical age by which the process should fade away.

PATTERN	DEFINITION	EXAMPLE	AGE OF ELIMINATION
Backing	Sounds produced in the front of the mouth (like t, d, or s) are substituted with sounds produced in the back of the mouth (like k, g, or h)	ouk for out gog for dog hick for sick key for tea ​	Not considered typical - may indicate a severe phonological disorder​
Fronting	Sounds produced in the back of the mouth are substituted with sounds produced in the front of the mouth	​doh for go tat for cat toin for coin doddy for doggy	3.5 years
Gliding	Liquids r and l become glides w and y	​wing for ring yight for light twuck for truck bwoo for blue	6 years
Stopping	Fricatives and affricates like f, s, v, z, th, ch, or j become stops like p, d, t, or k	pull for full  tip for chip  dat for that  sebin for seven	f and s: 3 years v and z: 3.5 years sh, ch, and j: 4.5 years th: 5 years
Vowelization	Liquids like l and r are replaced with a vowel at the end of a word	tabo for table teachuh for teacher puzzo for puzzle Cawuh for car	5-7 years, although l and r should be in other parts of words (beginning & middle) by 5
Affrication	Non-affricates are replaced with affricates ch and j	​jig for dig  chee for tea  catch for cats	3 years
Deaffrication	​Affricates ch and j are replaced with fricative or stop sounds like sh, s, t, d, or g	sheez for cheese dump for jump bridze for bridge	4 years
Labialization	Non-labial sounds are replaced by labial sounds like p, b, and m	​pake for take  bog for dog	6 years ​
Assimilation	A sound is replaced with another sound in the word or  a sound that is similar to another sound in the word	goggy for doggy mummy for money bop for top	​3 years
​Final Consonant Devoicing	Voiced consonants at the end of words become voiceless	​bick for big  haff for have  mutt for mud	3 years
​Prevocalic Voicing	​Voiceless consonants at the beginning of words are voiced	​gan for can big for pig	3 years
​Reduplication	​A complete or incomplete syllable is repeated	​wawa for water baba for bottle	​3 years
​Cluster Reduction	​Consonant clusters are reduced to fewer consonants	​Pay for play  lied for slide  staw for straw	​l and r clusters: 4 years s clusters: 5 years
​Final Consonant Deletion	​Final consonant are left off of words	​pih for pig  fih for fish  daw for dog	​3 years
Initial Consonant Deletion	​Beginning consonants of words are left off	​ow for cow  eet for feet  ocks for rocks	Not considered typical - may indicate a severe phonological disorder
Weak Syllable Deletion	​Unstressed (“weak”) syllables of words are omitted	​jamas for pajamas tefone for telephone  ehfint for elephant	4 years

If you have more questions about phonological processes or would like to get help for your child’s speech, book a free consultation now!

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Sources: McLeod, S. & Crowe, K. (2018). Children’s consonant acquisition in 27 languages: A cross-linguistic review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. doi:10.1044/2018_AJSLP-17-0100. Available from: https://ajslp.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2701897

From Mommy Speech Therapy handout citing: Bleile, Ken M. (1995). Manual of Articulation and Phonological Disorders. San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group, Inc. Bowen, Caroline, (2011). Elimination of Phonological Processes in Typical Development. Linguisystems, (2008). Phonological Pattern Suppression by Age. http://www.linguisystems.com Hedge, M.N. (2001). Pocket Guide to Assessment in Speech-Language Pathology (2nd Edition). San Diego, CA: Pena-Brooks, Adriana, & Hedge, M.N. (2007). Assessment and treatment of articulation and phonological disorders in children (2nd Edition). Austin, TX: PRO-ED