Which of the following is a common early phonological process observed in toddlers?

Which of the following is a common early phonological process observed in toddlers?

• A. Stuttering
• B. Final-consonant deletion
• C. Metathesis
• D. Glottalization

Answer: (B)

Early phonological processes are the typical patterns toddlers use to simplify speech as their articulators develop. Final-consonant deletion is one of the most common: a child may omit the last consonant of a word, turning “cat” into “ca” or “dog” into “do.” This happens because producing final sounds is harder for a developing vocal tract, and many children outgrow it as their speech motor control matures. Other options aren’t as characteristic of early development: stuttering is a fluency issue rather than a systematic sound-pattern process; metathesis involves swapping sounds within a word rather than dropping the final one; glottalization can replace a final consonant with a glottal stop, but it’s less universally observed as an early, widespread pattern.

Early phonological processes are the typical patterns toddlers use to simplify speech as their articulators develop. Final-consonant deletion is one of the most common: a child may omit the last consonant of a word, turning “cat” into “ca” or “dog” into “do.” This happens because producing final sounds is harder for a developing vocal tract, and many children outgrow it as their speech motor control matures. Other options aren’t as characteristic of early development: stuttering is a fluency issue rather than a systematic sound-pattern process; metathesis involves swapping sounds within a word rather than dropping the final one; glottalization can replace a final consonant with a glottal stop, but it’s less universally observed as an early, widespread pattern.