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Articulation/Phonology

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Production of Speech

"Articulation" is the production of speech sounds. Intelligibility is a measure of how well speech can be understood. Someone with an "articulation disorder" can be hard to understand because they say sounds incorrectly. They might substitute one sound for another, e.g., "I hurt my weg"' for "I hurt my leg". They might distort the sound so it sounds funny but is still recognizable as the same sound. Think of how Sylvester the cat from the cartoon says his "s" sounds: "sufferin' succotash". The "s" sounds slushy but is still an "s". The other way to produce a sound incorrectly is to omit it entirely.

"Phonology" is the science of speech sounds and sound patterns. Every language has rules about how sounds can be combined. If a child does not use the conventional rules for his/her language but develops their own, they may have a "phonological disorder". In this case, classes of sounds, rather than single sounds are affected. For example, the child may have their own rule for sounds produced at the back of the mouth - they make them all at the front of the mouth. So instead of saying "cup", they "tup", instead of "go" they say "doe".

Sounds can be classified in three ways: where in the mouth they are produced (place), how they are produced (manner), and whether the voice box is on or off (voice). A "phonological process" is an unusual rule that is being used and changes the place, manner, or voice of a group of sounds. Some phonological processes are: fronting, backing, gliding, cluster reduction, devoicing, stopping.

Adults and children can have articulation problems. Children who do not receive speech therapy and do not "outgrow" their speech difficulties will continue to make speech errors as adults.

As countries become more multi-cultural, the assessment and treatment of articulation/phonological disorders becomes more interesting. Not all languages have the same rules for combining sounds, nor do all languages have the same sounds. A child who is learning English as a second language must also learn a new sound system. They may have perfect articulation in their native language and are making errors in English only because they haven't yet learned all the new rules. The rules may be contrary to the rules in their native language.

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"Articulation" is the production of speech sounds.

Here are some examples:

• "th" is a sound that occurs in the languages of English and Greek. Listen to people with mother tongues other than English or Greek and you will hear them use "t" or "d" instead. Thus, you hear "tank you", "coffee wit cream", and "de boy's brudder is over dere". This really does not affect intelligibility - you still understand what is said.
• In German and Polish, the letter "w" is pronounced as "v" is in English. If a native German speaker learns to speak and read English simultaneously, they may substitute all English "w"s with "v": "Vat is that?", "vere are you going?".
• In many Asian languages, the final consonant sounds are unreleased. When a native Cantonese or Vietnamese speaker speaks English, it may sound like they are leaving off the last sound. The rule in their language is different from the rule in English.
• In Spanish the "sh" sound does not exist; many native Spanish speakers will confuse "sh" with "ch" and say "chip" for "ship". In Portuguese, the "ch" and "j" sounds do not exist and the reverse occurs: "chip" is pronounced "ship". In Spanish, the "v" sound does not exist. The letter "v" is pronounced like the English "b" when it is at the beginning of words.
• In Punjabi, the "f" and "v" sounds are not produced like English "f" and "v" but sound more like "p" and "b" respectively. A native Punjabi speaker may sound like he/she is saying "berry" when they mean "very".

Where Can I Get Additional Information?

Tustin Speech & Language Center
661 West First Street, Suite E
Tustin, CA 92780
Phone: (714)-838-2853
Info@TustinSpeech.com

 

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Last Update
9/23/03

Tustin Speech & Language Center  •  661 West First Street, Suite E  •  Tustin, CA 92780  •  Phone:(714)-838-2853  •  Fax:(714)-838-4533
Info@TustinSpeech.com