Appendix 2 A General Guide to Phonological Patterns

NOVA Comprehensive Perspectives on Child Speech Development and Disorders

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Appendix 2 A General Guide to Phonological Patterns

Kristina Findlay and Andrea A.N. MacLeod


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Error Patterns• Also called “phonological patterns” or “phonological processes”• Not simply single sound errors but systematic errors involving

several sounds within a class• Important to keep a global view of the child’s productions

– Several processes can act on the same phoneme: “clown” /klaʊn/ as [daʊn] = cluster reduction, velar fronting, prevocalic voicing

– In some single word productions, the error pattern is ambiguous and requires additional observations: “cat” produced as [tæt] could be assimilation or velar fronting

– Certain error patterns are common in typically developing children whereas others are unusual and may be associated with severe forms of speech sound disorder


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Organizing the Error Patterns

• Terminology can be variable across different sources (“deletion” vs. “omission”; “depalatization” vs. “palatal fronting”) – just pick a term and stick with it

• Three broad categories– Assimilation patterns– Substitution patterns– Syllable structure patterns


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Table A2.1 Summary of different patterns organized by broad category, type of phonological pattern, a definition, and examples from published data


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Broad Category: Syllables

Epenthesis (addition)

A segment that was not present in the matching target syllable was produced; often seen in clusters where a vowel is inserted in a cluster to simplify the syllable structure

“blue” /blu/ is produced as [b luə ]

Cluster reduction The deletion of one or more members of a cluster; most frequently, the stop consonant is retained

“plane” /ple nɪ / is produced as [pe nɪ ] or [le nɪ ]

Deletion (omission)

A target consonant (or vowel) in any position is deleted during production

“bus” /bʌs/ is produced as [bʌ]

Metathesis The reversal of letters in a word

“basket” /bæsk tə / is produced as [bæks tə ]

Migration A target consonant is moved to another position in the word during production

“stick” /st kɪ / is produced as [t ksɪ ]

Cluster reduction Omission of a cluster member (typically, the stop element is retained)

“stop” /stɑp/ is produced as [tɑp]

“hand” /hænd/ is produced as [hæn]

“glass” /glæs/ is produced as [læs]

Phonemic similarity effect

Vowels interact with vowel, consonants with consonants

“clear blue sky” /klɪɹ blu skaɪ/ is produced as [ɡlɪɹ plu skaɪ]

Syllable deletion (reduction)

Also called “weak syllable deletion", it is the deletion of the unstressed syllable

“giraf” /dʒɪ æfɹ / is produced as [ræf]

Documents

Appendix 2 A General Guide to Phonological Patterns