Phonological Processes - Age-By-Age Guide

Oct 12, 2026

Phonological processes are developmentally appropriate patterns of articulation in children learning to speak, organized by the typical age each process is acquired. The guide outlines multiple consonant- and syllable-related processes, including initial consonant deletion, cluster deletion, final consonant deletion, assimilation, velar fronting, backing, deaffrication, and various reductions and substitutions. It also includes higher-level changes such as metathesis/transposition, gliding, and epenthesis, noting that most processes are suppressed by around age 5 with exceptions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time1 min

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Phonological Processes

Initial Consonant Deletion

Final Consonant Deletion

Assimilation and Related Substitutions

Deaffrication and Cluster Reductions

Metathesis/Transposition, Gliding, and Epenthesis

Data Sources

| Phonological Processes | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Phonological processes are patterns of articulation that are developmentally appropriate in children learning to speak up until the ages listed below. | | | | | | | PHONOLOGICAL PROCESS | DESCRIPTION | AGE ACQUIRED | | | | Initial Consonant Deletion | Omitting first consonant (hat → at)
Omitting both consonants of a consonant cluster (stop → op)
Repeating syllables (water → wawa) | 2 yrs. | | | | Consonant Cluster Deletion | | | | | | Reduplication | | | | | | Final Consonant Deletion | Omitting a singleton consonant at the end of a word (nose → no)
Omitting a weak syllable (banana → nana)
Substituting an affricate for a nonaffricate (sheep → cheep)
Substituting a stop for /f/ (fish → tish) | 3 yrs. | | | | Unstressed Syllable Deletion | | | | | | Affrication | | | | | | Stopping /f/ | | | | | | Assimilation | Changing a phoneme so it takes on a characteristic of another sound (bed → beb, yellow → lellow) Substituting a front sound for a back sound (cat → tat, gum → dum) | 3-4 yrs. | | | | Velar Fronting | | | | | | Backing | Substituting a back sound for a front sound (tap → cap) | 4-5 yrs. | | | | Deaffrication | Substituting an affricate with a continuant or stop (chip → sip)
Omitting one or more consonants in a sequence of consonants (grape → gape) | 4 yrs. | | | | Consonant Cluster Reduction (without /s/) | | | | | | Depalatalization of Final Singles | Substituting a nonpalatal for a palatal sound at the end of a word (dish → dit) | 4-6 yrs. | | | | Stopping of /s/ | Substituting a stop sound for /s/ (sap → tap) | 3 ½ -5 yrs. | | | | Depalatalization of Initial Singles | Substituting a nonpalatal for a palatal sound at the beginning of a word (shy → ty) Omitting one or more consonants in a sequence of consonants (step → tep) Substituting an alveolar for a nonalveolar sound (chew → too)
Substituting a voiceless final consonant for a voiced consonant (bag → back) Substituting a stop for voiceless ‘th’ (thing → ting)
Substituting a stop for voiced ‘th’ (them → dem) | 5 yrs. | | | | Consonant Cluster Reduction (with /s/) | | | | | | Alveolarization | | | | | | Final Consonant Devoicing | | | | | | Stopping voiceless ‘th’ | | | | | | Stopping voiced ‘th’ | | | | | | Metathesis/Transposition | Transposing sounds within a word (because → causebe)
Substituting /w/ or /j/ for another consonant, such as /l/ or /r/ (run → wun, lamp → wamp) | 7 yrs. | | | | Gliding | | | | | | Epenthesis | Adding a sound between two consonants (black → balack) | 8 yrs. | | | Data from: Stoel-Gammon & Dunn (1985), Pena-Brooks & Hedge (2007), Bowen, C. (1998) Developmental phonological disorders. A practical guide for families and teachers. Melbourne: ACER Press | | | | | | [Learn more at speechpathologygroup.com](Learn more at speechpathologygroup.com) | | | | | | Spanish Phonological Processes | | | --- | --- | | Phonological processes are patterns of articulation that are developmentally appropriate in children learning to speak up until the ages listed below.
PHONOLOGICAL PROCESS DESCRIPTION AGE ACQUIRED Initial Consonant Deletion (rare) Omitting first consonant (casa → _asa)
Omitting one or more consonants in a sequence of consonants (esto → e_to) Omitting a weak syllable (escuela → _cuela)
Substituting a stop for a fricative (casa → cata)
Substituting a front sound for a back sound (cama → tama)
(cara → ca_a)
Omitting strident sounds or substituting them with other sounds (sopa → _opa) 2-3 yrs. Consonant Cluster Reduction Unstressed Syllable Deletion Stopping Fronting Tap‘r’ – Trill ‘r’ Deficiency Strident Omission/ Substitution Final Consonant Deletion Omitting a singleton consonant at the end of a word (azul → azu)
Changing a phoneme so it takes on a characteristic of another sound in the word (rojo → roro) Substituting ‘r’ with alternate p

FAQs

What are phonological processes in child speech?

They are patterns of articulation that are developmentally appropriate for children as they learn to speak.

Which process involves omitting consonants at the start of a word?

Initial Consonant Deletion, such as hat → at and stop → op.

What is a key sign that most phonological processes resolve with age?

The material notes that most processes are suppressed by around age 5, though a few exceptions remain.

Oct 12, 2026

Uploaded by Sophia Brooks