Articulation and Phonology Flashcards

Introduction to Articulation and Phonology

  • In the field of speech-language pathology, articulation is defined as the movement and shaping of the tone generated from the larynx into specific speech sounds.

  • Speech sounds are formed by various structures known as articulators.

Anatomy and Physiology of Speech Production

  • The Pharynx: A structure divided into three distinct parts based on their location:

    • Laryngopharynx: The portion situated nearest to the larynx.

    • Oropharynx: The portion located behind the oral cavity.

    • Nasopharynx: The portion located behind the nasal cavity.

  • The Soft Palate (Velum):

    • A muscular structure responsible for closing the nasal cavity during swallowing and during the production of sounds that do not require nasal resonance.

    • The uvula is the tip of the velum.

  • The Hard Palate:

    • Composed of the maxillae and palatine bones.

    • Acts as the roof of the mouth.

    • The alveolar ridge is part of the hard palate and houses the front teeth.

  • The Mandible (Lower Jaw):

    • Houses the lower teeth and is responsible for opening and closing the mouth.

    • It attaches to the skull via the temporomandibular joint.

    • Primary biological function: Mastication (chewing).

    • Secondary function: Aiding in speech production.

  • The Teeth:

    • Primary biological function: Mastication.

    • Occlusion refers to how the upper and lower teeth meet. Malocclusion can potentially impact both chewing efficiency and speech production.

  • The Tongue:

    • Primary biological function: Taste and the manipulation of food for chewing and swallowing.

    • Anatomical divisions: Tip, blade, and dorsum.

    • Crucial for the production of both consonants and vowels.

  • The Lips:

    • Made up primarily of the orbicularis oris muscle.

    • Essential for eating, facial expressions, and speech production.

The English Sound System and Phonetics

  • English Orthography vs. Phonology:

    • The English language consists of 4646 sounds (phonemes) but only 2626 letters, leading to inconsistencies in spelling.

    • Examples of spelling inconsistency:

      • The letter 'c' makes different sounds in "Cat" (/k/) vs. "Cent" (/s/).

      • The sound /i/ can be represented by various letter combinations: "Pete", "Reed", "Seat", "Receive".

  • International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA): Designed so that there is exactly one symbol for each phoneme.

  • Phoneme: The smallest unit of speech. It is represented by a symbol within slash marks (e.g., /k/).

  • Allophones: Small variations in the production of a single phoneme that do not alter the meaning of the word.

    • Example: The difference between "light /l/" and "dark /l/".

  • Phonemic vs. Phonetic:

    • Phonemic refers to the idealized category of allophones perceived as a single sound.

    • Phonetic refers to the actual, concrete production of sounds.

Classification of Speech Sounds

Vowels

  • Vowels are produced by modifying the specific shape of the oral cavity.

  • They are classified based on tongue position and lip configuration:

    • Tongue Position: Front, central, or back; and High, mid, or low.

    • Lip Rounding: Lips are rounded for specific vowels.

  • Diphthongs: Combinations of two vowels, transcribed using two symbols.

Consonants

  • Produced by constricting the oral cavity. They are classified by three parameters: Manner, Place, and Voicing.

  • Manner of Articulation (How the tract is constricted):

    • Stops: Airflow is stopped, intraoral pressure builds, and is released as a plosive (an explosion of air).

      • Examples: /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/.

    • Fricatives: Air is forced through a narrow, constricted passage, creating a "hissing" noise.

      • Examples: /f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /h/.

    • Affricates: Begin as a stop and are released as a fricative.

      • Examples: /dʒ/, /tʃ/.

    • Glides (Semivowels): Movement from a partially constricted to an open position.

      • Examples: /y/, /w/.

    • Liquids (Semivowels): Produced with the least amount of oral constriction.

      • Examples: /r/, /l/.

    • Nasals: The velum is lowered, opening the velopharyngeal port so sound resonates in the nasal cavity.

      • Examples: /m/, /n/, /ŋ/.

  • Place of Articulation (Where the tract is constricted):

    • Bilabial: Both lips (/p/, /b/, /m/, /w/).

    • Labiodental: Lips and teeth (/f/, /v/).

    • Dental or Linguadental: Tongue and teeth (/θ/, /ð/).

    • Alveolar or Lingua-alveolar: Tongue and alveolar ridge (/t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /l/).

    • Palatal or Linguapalatal: Tongue and hard palate (/ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /r/, /j/).

    • Velar or Linguavelar: Tongue and velum (/k/, /g/, /ŋ/).

    • Glottal: Produced at the level of the glottis (/h/, /ʔ/).

  • Voicing:

    • Voiced: Vocal folds are vibrating.

    • Voiceless: Vocal folds are not vibrating.

    • Cognates: Pairs of sounds that share the same place and manner but differ in voicing (e.g., /s/ vs. /z/, /t/ vs. /d/, /f/ vs. /v/).

Distinctive Features

  • Parameter used to define a phoneme based on the presence or absence of specific characteristics.

  • Concept attributed to Chomsky and Hale (1968).

Speech Development and Intelligibility

  • Phonological Development (Oller, 1980):

    • Progresses from reflexive vocalizations (crying, cooing) to babbling to true words.

    • Canonical Babbling (e.g., "bababa", "dadada"): Emerges around 44 to 66 months.

    • True Words: Typically emerge around the first birthday (1212 months).

  • Intelligibility Norms:

    • 18−24 months18-24 \text{ months}: 25−50%25-50\% intelligible.

    • 2−3 years2-3 \text{ years}: 50−75%50-75\% intelligible.

    • 4−5 years4-5 \text{ years}: 75−90%75-90\% intelligible.

    • 5 years plus5 \text{ years plus}: 90−100%90-100\% intelligible.

  • Research Reference: Crowe, K., & McLeod, S. (2020) reviewed children's English consonant acquisition in the US (published in the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology).

Speech Sound Disorders (SSD)

Potential Etiologies

  • Intelligence, Gender, Socioeconomic status (SES), and Birth order.

  • Language development and Motor skills.

  • Hearing/auditory discrimination.

  • Oral structures (e.g., tongue thrust) and Neuropathies.

  • Idiopathic: Functional causes with no known organic basis.

Articulation Disorder vs. Phonological Disorder

  • Articulation Disorder:

    • Errors are limited to a few specific sounds.

    • Errors do not follow an identifiable pattern.

    • Characterized as phonetic errors involving peripheral motor system disturbances.

    • Typically does not impact other language areas like morphology or syntax.

  • Phonological Disorder:

    • Patterned sound errors reflecting underlying rules.

    • Characterized as phonemic errors regarding the language-specific functions of phonemes.

    • Difficulties are more central in nature.

    • Often impacts other language areas such as morphology, syntax, or semantics.

Specific Articulation Error Types

  • Omissions: Leaving a sound out.

  • Substitutions: Replacing one sound with another.

  • Distortions: Producing a sound in an imprecise way.

  • Additions: Adding an extra sound.

  • Word Positions: Errors are tracked by where they occur: Initial, Medial, or Final.

Examples of Speech Errors

  • "Shoe" as /su/: Substitution of /s/ for /ʃ/ in the initial position.

  • "Rabbit" as /ræbɪ/: Deletion of /t/ in the final position.

  • "Mommy" as /babɪ/: Substitution of /b/ for /m/ in initial and medial positions.

  • "Blue" as /bəlu/: Addition of a schwa sound (epenthesis).

  • "Sad" as "slæd": Distortion of /s/ via lateralization.

Phonological Processes (Simplification Patterns)

  • Syllable Structure Processes:

    • Unstressed (weak) syllable deletion

    • Reduplication

    • Epenthesis

    • Final consonant deletion

    • Initial consonant deletion

    • Cluster reduction

  • Substitution Processes:

    • Stopping

    • Deaffrication

    • Fronting

    • Depalatalization

    • Backing

    • Gliding

    • Vocalization

  • Assimilation Processes:

    • Labial assimilation

    • Velar assimilation

    • Nasal assimilation

    • Alveolar assimilation

    • Prevocalic voicing

    • Postvocalic devoicing

Assessment Procedures

  • Screening: A brief assessment to determine the need for a full evaluation. Includes conversational samples, standard reading passages, interviews, or formal screening tools. Performance is compared to developmental norms.

  • Case History: Gathering background via written forms from parents/caregivers, reports from other professionals (requires consent), and direct interviews to clarify information and answer questions.

  • Orofacial Examination: Checking facial symmetry and the strength, range of motion, and structure of the jaw, lips, tongue, and palate. Uses gloves, tongue depressors, pen lights, and dental mirrors.

  • Hearing Screening: Pure tones presented at 500500, 10001000, 20002000, and 4000 Hz4000\,Hz at a level of 20 dB20\,dB. Failure at any frequency leads to audiologist referral.

  • Standardized Assessments:

    • Articulation: GFTA-3 (Goldman-Fristoe), Fisher-Logemann, Arizona Articulation Proficiency Scale.

    • Phonology: Khan-Lewis Phonological Analysis (2nd2^{nd} ed), Hodson Assessment of Phonological Patterns (3rd3^{rd} ed).

    • Combined: CAAP-2 (Clinical Assessment of Articulation and Phonology).

  • Conversational Sample: A natural sample of connected speech gathered via play, interview, or pictures. Requires audio/video recording for later analysis of error patterns.

  • Stimulability Testing: Checking if the child can produce an error sound when given a direct model/imitation. Helps determine therapy starting points.

Cultural Relevance

  • Dialect is not a disorder: Professionals must distinguish between speech differences (e.g., African American English) and disorders. A disorder is only present if the child's patterns differ from peers within their own dialect.

  • Bilingualism: For children speaking a second language (e.g., Spanish), a disorder is only diagnosed if the error pattern is present in both English and the primary language.

Treatment of Speech Sound Disorders

Targeting and Approaches

  • Target Selection: Based on specific phonemes, error patterns, or phonological processes. Considerations include developmental norms, stimulability, effect on intelligibility, and social significance.

  • Traditional Articulation Approach:

    1. Ear training

    2. Sound establishment

    3. Sound stabilization (moving through isolation, syllables, words, phrases, sentences, and conversation)

    4. Transfer and carry-over

    5. Maintenance

  • Minimal Contrast (Phonological) Approach:

    • Perceptual training: Child points to a picture based on the clinician's prompt (e.g., "Point to 'tea'" vs "Point to 'key'").

    • Production training: Child tells the clinician which picture they want, requiring the child to produce the contrast correctly to get the desired picture.

Goal Setting

  • Long Term Goals: Broad improvements, e.g., "Client will produce conversational speech that is 80%80\% intelligible to a familiar listener."

  • Short Term Goals (SMART): Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound.

    • Must state the behavior, criterion, response mode, and response level.

    • Example: "The client will produce /s/ imitatively in isolation with 80%80\% accuracy."

Therapy Activities

  • Games like "Go Fish" or "Concentration" with specialized speech cards.

  • Reinforcers: "Candyland", "Jenga", stickers, Cheerios, or tokens.

  • For older clients, reading passages are used for higher-level practice.