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Phonological processes: identifying, describing and judging them by age
A phonological process is a regular pattern that simplifies the word — in syllable structure, by substituting a sound or by assimilation — and every question needs two steps: give the process its exact name according to the feature that changed, and decide whether it is expected for the child's age.
Why it matters in the exam
Most questions in this area give a transcription of words a child said and ask which process is shown: "tos" for "kos" (cup) and "dan" for "gan" (kindergarten) are fronting; "baba" for "saba" (grandfather) is full assimilation; voiced sounds turning voiceless, as in "filon" for "vilon" (curtain), is devoicing; "kaba" for "saba" is stopping together with backing; and /ʁ/ becoming /d/ is stopping together with fronting. When asked which feature to work on in extensive stopping, the answer is manner of articulation.
The second part is judging by age: syllable reduplication disappears by about 2;6; a 3-year-old who omits medial codas, simplifies word-initial clusters and misarticulates /v, ts, r/ is age-appropriate, and you reassess later; by contrast, a girl aged 4;6 with deletion of unstressed syllables, coda omission and inconsistency shows a delay in phonological development. Backing (for example /k/ for /t/) and replacement by a glottal stop are not ordinary developmental processes. Consonant classes are asked too: /p/, /t/, /g/ are non-continuant obstruents, and devoicing affects the whole set /b, d, g, v, z/.
Key points
- A process = a regular pattern that simplifies structure, substitutes a sound or makes one sound like another.
- Fronting, backing, stopping, devoicing, assimilation.
- Structure: unstressed syllable deletion, coda omission, cluster reduction.
- Backing and glottal replacement — not developmental.
- Decide by age: some processes are expected at 3.
Summary table
| Process | What happens | Hebrew example | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unstressed syllable deletion | The weak syllable is dropped | "nonit" for "mexonit" (car) | Mainly at the start of the word |
| Coda omission and cluster reduction | A closing consonant is dropped; a cluster becomes one consonant | "xusa" for "xultsa" (shirt); "vina" for "gvina" (cheese) | Medial codas and initial clusters are late |
| Fronting | A back consonant becomes a front one | "tos" for "kos" (cup), "dan" for "gan" (kindergarten) | Common in toddlers |
| Backing | A front consonant becomes a back one | "kaba" for "saba" (together with stopping) | Not developmental — treat |
| Stopping | A fricative or sibilant becomes a stop | "tut" for "sus" (horse), "tira" for "shira" (song) | Work on manner of articulation |
| Devoicing | A voiced consonant becomes voiceless | "filon" for "vilon" (curtain); "kadur" said with a final /x/ | Affects all voiced consonants |
| Assimilation and reduplication | A sound becomes like another sound in the word; a syllable is repeated | "baba" for "saba"; "bobo" | Reduplication disappears by about 2;6 |
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Sources
- Bauman-Waengler, Articulation and Phonology in Speech Sound Disorders, 6th edition (2020) — Phonological process analysis
- Ben-David & Berman, in Handbook of Communication Disorders, 2007 — Hebrew phonological development
- ASHA Practice Portal, 2024 — Speech Sound Disorders: Articulation and Phonology
Sources are given for further reading; the text is written afresh and not copied from them.
Reviewed by the Examqo AI Professor · 2026-11-02. The text may contain errors; when in doubt, check the source.