normal phonological development (artic and phonology)

How does the speech mechanism change from infancy to adulthood overall?

It grows and becomes more coordinated, improving articulation, voice, resonance, breathing, and prosody

• leading to clearer, more complex speech

What is articulation like in infancy?

• Limited

• Tongue fills the mouth, movements are mostly reflexive (sucking, swallowing)

How does articulation develop?

• Oral cavity grows

• Tongue becomes more flexible

• Sucking pads disappear

What is articulation like in adulthood?

Precise, coordinated movements of lips, tongue, and jaw

What is the impact of articulation development?

Speech goes from imprecise → accurate and complex

What is phonation like in infancy?

High larynx, short/thick vocal folds → mostly crying, limited control

How does phonation develop?

Larynx lowers, vocal folds lengthen and become more flexible

What is phonation like in adulthood?

Full control of pitch, loudness, and voice quality

What is the impact of phonation development?

Voice goes from reflexive → controlled and varied

What is resonance like in infancy?

Short vocal tract, high larynx → nasal-like sound

How does resonance develop?

Vocal tract lengthens, oral/pharyngeal cavities expand, velum gains control

What is resonance like in adulthood?

Clear separation of oral vs nasal sounds

What is the impact of resonance development?

Speech goes from nasal/muffled → clear and distinct

What is respiration like in infancy?

Fast (30–80 breaths/min), uncoordinated, low lung capacity

How does respiration develop?

Breathing slows, coordination improves, alveoli increase

What is respiration like in adulthood?

Slow, controlled breathing that supports speech

What is the impact of respiration development?

Short bursts → long, controlled speech

How does prosody develop over time?

• First words: begins expressing meaning

• Preschool: contrastive stress develops

• School age: refined intonation + grammar use

What is categorical perception?

It’s when your brain sorts speech sounds into clear categories (like /b/ vs /p/) instead of hearing small differences between them

How does categorical perception develop from infancy to adulthood?

• Babies can hear lots of sound differences from all languages, but as they grow, they focus on their own language

• By adulthood, we are very good at hearing sounds in their language but not as good with unfamiliar sounds

What is canonical babbling?

When infants (around 5–6 months) make well-formed syllables with consonants and vowels, like “bababa” or “bada.”

• The sounds are structured but don’t have meaning yet

What is jargon?

Comes later and is longer babble with varied syllables, adult-like intonation, and rhythm

• Sounds like real speech, unlike canonical babbling, which focuses only on syllable structure

How does canonical babbling differ from jargon?

• Canonical = syllables

• Jargon = adds prosody, sounds more like real language

How does prosody develop from infancy to adulthood?

• At the first-50-words stage prosody develops into being used to show differences in meaning

• At the preschool age contrastive stress develops. Then as school ages continue the child continues to refine their prosody skills with new uses of intonation and assuming a grammatical function

Prelinguistic Phase

The period of development before a child produces real words, during which they communicate using sounds (like cooing and babbling), gestures, and interactions

Is there evidence of language before real words?

• Cooing and babbling

  • These sounds follow patterns similar to real language (shows they are learning the sound system, a.k.a. phonology)

• Turn-Taking

• Intonation patterns

• Gestures

• Joint Attention

What is a first word?

A sound a child uses that is consistent, stable, and resembles an adult word, with a clear meaning

What are the 3 requirements for a first word?

1. Stable (sounds similar each time)

2. Consistent (used in same context)

3. Related to adult form (resembles real word)

Give an example of a first word

Saying “ba” for ball every time they see a ball

What does NOT count as a first word?

• Random/inconsistent sounds

• No clear meaning

• Doesn’t resemble adult word (Example: “dodo” for ball)

What is prelinguistic vocalization?

Sounds made before real words, like cooing and babbling, with no consistent meaning

Key difference: first word vs prelinguistic vocalization

• First word = meaningful, consistent, word-like

• Prelinguistic = practice sounds, no stable meaning

How do syllable shapes develop over time?

They go from simple → more complex as children grow

What are the first syllable shapes infants produce?

Simple CV (consonant-vowel) syllables
- Example: “ba,” “da”

What comes after simple CV syllables?

More complex syllables, including:

• CVC (e.g., “cat”)

• VC (e.g., “up”)

What are consonant clusters in development?

Two or more consonants together
- Example: “sp,” “bl,” “tr”

How do syllables become more advanced?

Children begin to produce:

• Consonant clusters

• Multisyllabic words (e.g., “baby,” “banana”)

• Varied stress patterns (different emphasis in words)

What is phonological awareness?

The conscious ability to recognize and manipulate the sound structure of language, separate from meaning

What skills are included in phonological awareness?

• Blending sounds

• Segmenting sounds

• Manipulating sounds (adding, deleting, moving)

What does phonological awareness focus on?

Sounds in spoken language, not written words

What modality does phonological awareness use?

Auditory only (hearing sounds)

Give examples of phonological awareness skills

• Identifying rhymes

• Counting syllables

• Breaking words into sounds (e.g., /c/ /a/ /t/)

Is phonological awareness conscious or unconscious?

Conscious (you are aware you’re working with sounds)

Phonological awareness

“thinking about sounds you hear”