Basic Definitions
Define this fundamental process as the sharing of information between individuals, which does not necessarily require language or vocalization
What is Communication?
Communication is the process of sharing information, including facts, thoughts, ideas, and feelings. It includes interacting with others, understanding spoken language, and exchanging information using gestures or symbols; importantly, it does not have to involve language or be vocalized
This smallest linguistic unit, exemplified by the difference between /t/ and /s/ in "tick" versus "sick," distinguishes meaning between words and is symbolized by virgules
What is a Phoneme?
A phoneme is an abstraction and the smallest linguistic unit that can distinguish meaning when combined with other such units. Phoneme values are symbolized by slanted lines, such as /s/.
Consonants are produced with significant constriction, usually occurring along this specific division of the vocal tract
What is the Sagittal Midline (of the vocal tract)?
Consonants are constricted sounds where the airstream encounters an articulatory obstacle. For most consonants, this constriction occurs along the sagittal midline, the median plane dividing the vocal tract into right and left halves.
When a voiceless plosive like /p/ is produced with the characteristic strong burst of breath, the diacritic notation used is a small superscript h, indicating this feature
What is Aspiration?
Aspiration is the strong burst of breath accompanying the release of the articulatory closure in plosives. Voiceless plosives are typically aspirated at the beginning of words.
This traditional linear phonology theory distinguishes phonemes based on the presence (+) or absence (–) of certain articulatory or acoustic properties in a binary system
What are Distinctive Feature Theories?
Distinctive feature theories attempt to determine the specific properties of a sound that signal meaning differences in a language. These features are smaller than sound segments and are universally applicable, though various feature systems exist.
Unlike speech, this is defined as a complex and dynamic system of conventional symbols that is rule-governed and described by five linguistic parameters.
What is Language?
Language is a complex, dynamic, and rule-based system of conventional symbols used in diverse modalities for thought and communication. The five linguistic parameters describing language are phonological, morphological, syntactical, semantic, and pragmatic.
These actual, physical sound realities are the end products of articulatory motor processes and are typically placed within brackets in phonetic transcription
What are Speech Sounds or Phones?
Speech sounds, also called phones, represent real, physical sound entities used in speech. They are concrete, produced, transmitted, and perceived (the opposite of the abstract phoneme concept) and are placed within brackets, such as [f].
This part of the larynx, which provides the source of sound for speech, must overcome subglottal pressure to be "blown apart" and begin cyclic vibration
What are the Vocal Folds?
The vocal folds, located within the larynx, are adducted (closed) at the onset of phonation, allowing subglottal pressure to build up until they are forced apart. The primary function of the larynx is preventing foreign substances from entering the respiratory system.
This diacritic, a straight line placed directly under a consonant symbol (e.g., [l̩] in "bottle"), indicates that a nasal or liquid consonant has become the peak of a syllable.
What is a Syllabic Consonant?
A syllabic consonant functions as the peak of a syllable when the vowel nucleus in an unstressed syllable practically disappears. This commonly occurs in unstressed final syllables followed by a nasal or a lateral consonant.
The substitution process where velars like /k/ and /ɡ/ are replaced by anterior sounds like [t] and [d] is specifically classified as this type of fronting
What is Velar Fronting?
Fronting is a substitution process where the place of articulation is moved anteriorly. Velar fronting replaces velar sounds (like /k/) with alveolar sounds (like [t]). In normally developing children, fronting rarely occurred after age 3 years 6 months.
Articulation, fluency, and voice are the three key subdivisions of this essential communication modality.
What is Speech?
Speech is the expression of thoughts in spoken words; it is oral, verbal communication. It is divided into articulation (the motor production of sounds), fluency (rate and rhythm), and voice (vocal quality, pitch, loudness, and resonance)
Speech sound disorders that affect the function of speech sounds (phonemes) are traditionally referred to as this type of disorder
What is a Phonological Disorder?
A phonological disorder involves the impaired comprehension and/or use of the sound system of a language and the rules governing sound combinations. These disorders relate to difficulties in the generation and use of phonemes, phoneme rules, and patterns within spoken language.
[f], [v], [θ], [ð], and [h] all belong to this manner of articulation, which results when articulators approximate closely enough for the escaping airstream to cause audible friction noise
What are Fricatives?
Fricatives are produced when articulators create a narrow constriction, causing friction noise. This group contrasts with plosives, which involve complete blockage.
The voiceless [ɬ] and voiced [ɮ] symbols are used to transcribe this articulation error, commonly known as a lateral lisp
What is Lateralization (or Lateral Fricatives)?
Lateralization occurs when air is released laterally during a consonant production other than [l] (which is already a lateral sound). Because lateralization is considered a primary articulation, it results in a different phoneme, changing the sound quality to a distinct noise component.
In Generative Phonology, the differences between the abstract underlying phonological representation and the concrete surface phonetic realization are explained by these formal mechanisms.
What are Phonological Rules?
Generative phonology assumes two levels of representation: an abstract underlying form (competence) and its modified surface form (performance). Phonological rules, stated in a formalized notation system, govern the transformation between these levels.
The study of the sound system of a language, including the arrangement, systematic organization, and rule system of vowels and consonants, is known by this term
What is Phonology?
Phonology is one of the five linguistic parameters of language. It is the study of how phonemes are organized and function in a language, focusing on the inventory and arrangement of sound units to convey meaning
This is the specific term for variations in phoneme realizations, or phones, that occur in differing contexts but do not change the meaning of a word.
What are Allophones?
Allophones are phonetic variations of a phoneme. They refer to the changes that occur in a phoneme when produced in differing contexts. An example is the aspirated [pʰ] in "pie" versus the unaspirated [p] in "spy," both of which are considered the phoneme /p/ in American English.
The three parameters used to describe General American English vowels are tongue height, tongue portion, and this specific aspect of lip shaping
What is the Degree of Roundedness of the Lips (or Lip Rounding)?
Vowels are described based on the tongue's position relative to the palate (high vs. low), the portion of the tongue involved (front vs. back), and whether the lips are rounded, unrounded, or spread. These features are schematically represented on the vowel quadrilateral.
This mark is added to a vowel symbol (e.g., [æ̃]) to indicate excessive nasality, often observed in clients with dysarthria or cleft palates
What is the Tilde (~)?
The tilde is placed over the respective sound to indicate hypernasality. When nasality is perceived as being excessive, or hypernasal, it needs to be marked; however, natural assimilation of nasality (like in [tæ̃n] for "tan") is usually unmarked.
This concept in phonology states that the presence of a marked property (e.g., fricatives) in a language implies the existence of its unmarked counterpart (e.g., stops)
What are Implicational Universals?
Implicational universals describe sound properties where the presence of one property is theoretically predictive of another. For example, fricatives imply stops, and voiced obstruents imply voiceless obstruents in a phonological system.
This concept distinguishes speech sound disorders by whether the impairment affects the motor production (form) of phones or the rule-governed linguistic use (function) of phonemes.
What is the Form and Function Dichotomy?
The form and function dichotomy provides a framework useful for practitioners. Disorders that affect the form of speech sounds (phones) are customarily referred to as articulation disorders. Conversely, speech sound disorders that affect the function of speech sounds (phonemes) within a language system are traditionally referred to as phonological disorders, relating to difficulties in generating and using phonemes, rules, and patterns.
To linguists, this unit is considered an abstraction representing the mental image or meaning-distinguishing function, symbolized by virgules, distinguishing it from the actual physical production.
What is a Phoneme?
A phoneme is an abstraction, defined as the smallest linguistic unit that, when combined with others, can distinguish meaning between words. Historically, the phoneme concept emerged toward the end of the nineteenth century and was defined as a primarily psychological sound unit or mental image intended by the speaker and understood by the listener. Its notation uses slanted lines, or virgules, to distinguish it from the real physical sound entities, or phones.
Anatomical structures like the larynx and vocal tract undergo significant modifications, including the downward displacement of the hyoid bone, the loss of the sucking pad, and the elongation of this area, which are necessary prerequisites for secondary functions like speech sound production.
What is Stabilization of the Pharyngeal Airway (or the Resonatory System/Vocal Tract)?
During infancy, the anatomical structures like the larynx, mouth, and pharyngeal areas evolve from serving only respiratory and feeding purposes to a vocal tract ready for speech sounds. The necessary changes include the downward displacement of the hyoid bone and larynx away from the base of the skull and the loss of the prenatally acquired sucking pad. These modifications, which increase the size and mobility of the laryngeal and pharyngeal cavities, are essential for the resonatory system to modify sound energy for specific speech sounds.
The descriptive and non-judgmental purpose of phonetic transcription that, when combined with diacritics, allows the clinician to accurately document aberrant articulatory production features for goal-directed intervention rather than simply noting correctness.
What is Narrow Transcription (or Phonetic Transcription)?
Phonetic transcription is a purely descriptive enterprise, not prescriptive, recording how speech was executed rather than just what was said. Narrow transcription uses brackets and supplemental signs (diacritics) to capture production details and allophonic variations. This precise, detailed notation, such as identifying a dentalized articulation [s̪], is indispensable for determining exactly which articulatory features need to be changed therapeutically, ensuring therapy is goal-directed and increasing clinical efficacy.
This pair of universal, often conflicting, constraints in Optimality Theory determines the optimal output by balancing the pressure to keep the production simplified against the need to preserve the segment features of the input.
What are Markedness and Faithfulness Constraints?
Optimality Theory, a constraint-based approach, utilizes these two types of constraints in an antagonistic relationship. Markedness constraints require the output to be unmarked or simplified in structure (i.e., easier to produce), reflecting developmental simplifications like consonant cluster reduction (*COMPLEX). Faithfulness constraints require that the input (underlying form) and the output (surface form) be identical, prohibiting deletion, insertion, or feature changes (IDENT-[feature]). The conflict between these constraints leads to violations, and the optimal output is chosen based on the language-specific ranking of these constraints.