Overview
This lecture introduces phonology, the study of speech sounds, focusing on typical development in children, key terminology, speech sound disorders, and the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
Speech and Language Development
- Speech is the oral expression of language; both develop together in children.
- Echolalia is repetition of speech without understanding, typical in toddlers but atypical in older children (e.g., autism).
- Phonology studies speech sounds and the rules for their combination in language.
Phonological Competence and Phonotactics
- Phonological competence is the ability to understand and use the sound system of a language.
- Children are exposed to their language's phonemes in utero and post-birth.
- Phonotactics are rules about permissible sound sequences within a language.
- Children’s babbling often reflects the rhythm and rule system of their native language.
Speech Sound Development
- Phonemes are distinct speech sounds; English has 44 phonemes.
- Speech-language pathologists use "C" (consonant) and "V" (vowel) to describe word structures (e.g., CVC).
- Babies can learn any language's phoneme set at birth, but focus on their native language by the end of their first year.
- Oral structures (lips, teeth, alveolar ridge, hard and soft palate, glottis) are articulators necessary for speech production.
- As children’s physical oral structures mature, their ability to produce adult-like speech improves.
Phonological Processes
- Phonological processes are typical simplification rules children use as they learn adult speech (e.g., weak syllable deletion, cluster reduction, fronting).
- These processes should disappear by age 4; persistence indicates a potential disorder.
- Examples include syllable deletion (banana → nana), cluster reduction (stop → top), metathesis (animal → aminal), and final consonant deletion (cat → ca).
Articulation and Phoneme Acquisition
- Articulation errors are the inability to physically produce certain sounds (e.g., "r" in "car").
- Early developing sounds include stops (p, t, k, b, d, g) and nasals (m, n).
- Schriberg’s classification: Early 8, Middle 8, Late 8 phonemes—late 8 are hardest and treated in speech therapy.
- Customary production: 50% of children use the sound in some positions; mastery: 90% use in all positions.
Intelligibility and Milestones
- By age 3: 75% intelligibility to non-family members; age 5: 90% intelligibility.
- Failure to meet intelligibility milestones suggests speech delay or disorder.
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
- IPA provides symbols for all speech sounds to accurately transcribe speech.
- English has 44 phonemes but only 26 letters, so IPA helps show exact pronunciations.
- SLPA students will learn IPA in detail in a later course.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Phonology — Study of speech sounds and their patterns in language.
- Echolalia — Repetition of speech without comprehension.
- Phoneme — Smallest unit of sound in a language.
- Phonotactics — Rules for allowable sound sequences.
- Phonological Competence — Understanding and use of the sound system of a language.
- Phonological Processes — Simplification rules used by children learning to speak.
- Articulators — Parts of the mouth used to produce speech sounds (lips, teeth, etc.).
- Intelligibility — Degree to which speech can be understood.
- International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) — System for transcribing speech sounds.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review and learn the names and functions of the oral articulators.
- Pay special attention to the highlighted vocabulary in the readings.
- Prepare for further study of the International Phonetic Alphabet in a future course.