Phonological Analysis of Child
Speech
Relational Analysis
Model of Speech Disorders
A speech disorder can be phonetic
(articulatory), phonemic (phonologic), or
both
The broader term “speech disorder”
encompasses all of these
Nature of Assessment
Phonological analysis includes the
identification, description, and classification of
sound differences in a child’s speech that
signal meaning differences
3 key concepts in phonological analysis
(Grunwell, 1997):



System
Structure
Stability
System
Includes a set (or inventory) of different
sounds produced by the child
Adequate sound systems are
symmetrical
Sounds are contrastive in place, voice, and
manner and function to signal differences
in meaning
 Sounds function contrastively in all word
positions (I, M, F)

Structure
Refers to the rules and organization of
the sound system
Specifies the distribution and
combination of sounds in a language

Example: [] cannot occur # ___
[pl, bl, kl, gl] are permissable
clusters, but not *[tl, dl]
Stability
Refers to the predictability of the speaker’s
systemic and structural patterns (or
organization) of their sound system
The inventory of sounds (SYSTEM) and the
rules that govern the distribution and
combination of sounds (STRUCTURE)
provide the organization and therefore
predictability of a “phonology”
Relational Analysis
Child’s speech compared to adult
speech in a one-to-one comparison
Differences between the two
productions can be described in terms
of SODA, phonological processes, PVM
error patterns
Only describes error sounds, therefore,
often called an ERROR ANALYSIS
Independent Analysis
Child’s speech is described as a unique,
independent, self-contained sound
system
NO comparisons made between
child:adult systems
Describes what the child DOES rather
than what the child does NOT do (as in
error/relational analysis)
Issues in Completing a Phonological
Analysis of Child Speech
Type and length of sample



Sound inventory ~ pattern test
Elicited single word ~ conversational
50 words ~ > 300 words
Phonetic transcription

Must complete whole-word transcription
Severity of disorder


Mild-moderate: relational analysis of sound
inventory or pattern test may be sufficient
Severe-profound: independent + relational
analyses with larger samples (150-200 words)
Two Frameworks for
Phonological Analysis
Relational Analysis




SODA
Distinctive feature analysis
Phonological process analysis
PVM analysis
Independent + Relational Analyses


PPK
Systemic phonological analysis of child
speech (SPACS)
Phonological Process Analysis
Number of commercial tests available

Dunn (1982): APP identified most patterns
Non-standardized phonological process
analyses

Dunn (1982): non-standardized analysis
was better than APP
List of Common Phonological Processes
Common to many commercial tests, but
not tied to any one published test
Listed according to syllable structure
(deletion) processes and sound
simplification (substitution and
assimilation) processes
Considerations in completing nonstandardized phonological process
analysis
Choose the process that BEST describes
error pattern

Ex: [o] for [so] could be either BACKING or
PALATALIZATION; PAL provides more precise
description of what child is doing than broader
label of BA
In general, each process only changes one
aspect of PLACE, VOICE, or MANNER

Process ordering (Edwards, 1992)
Process Ordering
Sequential application of processes when
one sound error involves more than one
phonological process (PDI)
“unraveling” of child’s error productions
relative to adult target

Example: /f/
s
t
d
[d]
adult target
apicalization
stopping
prevocalic voicing
child’s pronunciation
Steps in completing a non-standardized
phonological process analysis
Complete whole-word transcription of
speech
Transcribe target word according to AT
Apply appropriate phonological
processes in sequential manner until all
aspects of sound change are accounted
Summarize results (Summary Sheet)
Select appropriate tx goals
Summary Sheet
Organize/summarize results
Frequency of occurrence of each process
 Process limitation/application
 Developmental information on processes

Select tx targets
3 perspectives

Intelligibility perspective


Developmental perspective


most frequently occurring process(es)
Select earliest process(es) that should have
been suppressed
Combination
Advantages/Disadvantages of
Phonological Process Analysis
Advantage
Describes error patterns
 Terms are “user friendly”

Disadvantage
Time needed to complete analysis
 Selection of tx targets from summary sheet

Place-Voice-Manner Analysis
Describes error patterns in terms of 3
broad categories of consonant
production (P-V-M)
Similar to phonological process analysis
Analysis is completed on PVM Analysis
Form
Steps in completing a PVM analysis
Complete whole-word transcriptions
Use black/red markers to color code
Mark each consonant with appropriate
color in appropriate box on PVM form
List phonetic inventory
Summarize error patterns according to
PVM
Select tx targets
Advantages/Disadvantages of
PVM Analysis
Advantages


Relatively simple and quick to complete
Visual representation of error patterns



Selection of treatment targets is easier
Form useful to communicate with parents and
others
Form useful to compare pre/post test results
Disadvantage

does not identify assimilation errors