Age Of Children’s Speech Sounds

Question 1

2-3 years (Age of acquisition)

Answer 1

P,b,d,k,t,g,h,m,n,w,y,ng

Question 2

4 years old (age of acquisition)

Answer 2

F,v,s,z,l,j,ch,sh

Question 3

5 years old (age of acquisition)

Answer 3

Voiced th (ð), r, zh (ʒ)

Question 4

6 years old (age of acquisition)

Answer 4

Voiceless th (θ)

Question 5

General order of acquisition - manner

Answer 5

Stops & nasals
• Glides, some fricatives
• Affricates
• Liquids

Question 6

General order of acquisition – place

Answer 6

Labials first, palatals last, everything else in the middle

Question 7

Duplicate syllables (“reduplication”)

Answer 7

•Whole syllables or parts of syllables
•Especially stressed first syllables
•e.g. ‘wawa’ for “water,” ‘baba’ for “blanket”
•Usually gone by 2 y. 6 mo.

Question 8

Delete weak (unstressed) syllables

Answer 8

•e.g. ‘raffe’ for “giraffe,” ‘puter’ for “computer”
•Frequent at 2 y.o., may exist in some form until 4 y.o.

Question 9

Delete final consonants (phonological process)

Answer 9

•e.g. ‘mi’ for “milk”, ‘ba’ for “ball, box, barn”
•Usually gone by 3 y. 6 mo.

Question 10

Consonant reduction

Answer 10

Consonants become clustered

Gone by 4

Question 11

Stopping develops quicker than …

Answer 11

Stops develop quicker than affricates and fricatives.

Question 12

Fronting

Answer 12

Sounds in the front developed quicker than sounds in the back

Causing them to be replaced

Question 13

Deaffrication

Answer 13

Affricates are complex and late to develop

Young children replace affricates with fricatives

Question 14

Vocalization (substitution process)

Answer 14

Young children replace post-vocalic /l, r/ with a vowel

Examples:
•/tƐl/ (‘tell’) → /tƐU/
•/lɝn/ (‘learn’) → /lƆn/

Question 15

Gliding (substitution process)

Answer 15

Young children replace prevocalic /l, r/ with /j, w/

Examples:
•/laIt/→ /waIt/
•/raId/ → /waId/