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Stopping Phonological Process: What is it? [Free Worksheets]

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What is stopping in speech?

Do you have students who struggle to pronounce certain sounds by making substitutions? The stopping phonological process is when a child produces a stop consonant /p, b, t, d, k, or g/ in place of a fricative /f, v, th, s, z, sh, ch/ or an affricate sound /j/.

Stopping is considered a normal phonological process that is typically eliminated between of ages of 3-5 years old.

stopping-phonological-process
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Substitution: Stopping Phonological Process

Stopping is when one fricative or affricate sound is substituted for a stop sound. See the chart below:

Source: Bowen, C. (2011). Communication disorders glossary. Retrieved from http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=123 on [Nov., 18, 2019].
StoppingWord
punsun
toesew
topshop
pokejoke
datthat

Manner of Articulation

There are five types of manners of articulation. Manner identifies the contact that is made between two articulators. The five types are:

  1. plosive
  2. nasal
  3. fricative
  4. affricate
  5. approximant

The nasals, fricatives, affricates, and approximates are all sounds that can be sustained for breath. Plosives, however, cannot be sustained. They instead are when there is a complete stopping of the airflow, which is also known as stops. See the chart below:

Source: https://www.sltinfo.com/phon101-stopping/

Age of Elimination

Stopping is considered a normal phonological process that children use to learn the English language. Normally stops are the first speech sounds to develop. Children should eliminate stopping of /f, s/ by the age of 3;00, /v, z/ by the age of 3;06, /ʃ, ʧ, ʤ/ by the age of 4;06, and /θ, ð/ by the age of 5;00. See table below.

stoppingage of elimination
/f/, /s/3;00
/v/, /z/3;06
/ʃ/, /ʧ/, /ʤ/4;06
/θ/, /ð/5;00

Even though stopping of consonants is typical, it is rare to have stopping of approximants /w, l, r/. Furthermore, stopping of nasals can be categorized as denasalization instead of stopping. Most of the time stopping is described as stopping of fricatives or affricates.

Practice Stopping Phonological Process with Minimal Pairs Free Flashcards

Give your students practice of reducing the stopping phonological process through auditory bombardment and minimal pairs flashcards.

This freebie includes all of the following:

  • Initial /f/ vs /p/ 24 sets
  • Initial /s/ vs /t/ 24 sets
  • Initial /sh/ vs /t/ 24 sets
  • Initial /ch/ vs /t/ 24 sets
  • Initial /th/ vs /t/ 24 sets
  • Initial /th/ vs /p/ 18 sets
  • 10 auditory bombardment words per page
  • real-life photos of minimal pair words

Initial /f/ vs /p/ Minimal Pairs

/f//p/
1fanpan
2fastpast
3footput
4fadepaid
5forkpork
6facepace
7feelpeel
8feetpeat
9feepea
10figpig
11finepine
12fleasplease
13foolpool
14foundpound
15fromprom
16fullpull
17funpun
18failpail
19fairpair
20fatpat
21feltpelt
22filepile
23fillpill
24firmperm

Initial /s/ vs /t/ Minimal Pairs

/s//t/
1sewtoe
2seetea
3Suetwo
4sunton
5selltell
6soretore
7subtub
8siptip
9sourtower
10sacktack
11seatea
12surfturf
13sicktick
14socktock
15sucktuck
16saptap
17sidetide
18soytoy
19seamteam
20sightie
21sighttight
22suittoot
23seatteat
24celltell

Initial /sh/ vs /t/ Minimal Pairs

/sh//t/
1shytie
2shoetwo
3showtoe
4shapetape
5shoptop
6shawltall
7shacktack
8shaketake
9shetea
10shelltell
11shiptip
12shocktalk
13showtow
14shoottoot
15shedTed
16shintin
17sharetear
18shinytiny
19shagtag
20shametame
21sheetteat
22shoretore
23shocktalk
24sharptarp

Initial /ch/ vs /t/ Minimal Pairs

/ch//t/
1cheesetease
2chesttest
3chewtwo
4childtiled
5chiptip
6chosetoes
7chairtear
8chilltill
9chimetime
10chintin
11choptop
12choretour
13churnturn
14chaptap
15charttart
16chattat
17cheatteat
18cheekteak
19cheertear
20chicktick
21chartar
22chubbytubby
23chugtug
24chuffedtuft

Initial /th/ vs /t/ Minimal Pairs

/th//t/
1thanktank
2thoughttaught
3thintin
4throughtrue
5thightie
6threetree
7thicktick
8thawtaw
9thorntorn
10thesetease
11thosetoes
12theretear
13thantan
14thenten
15thoughtoe
16thumbtum
17thicktick
18themeteam
19thinkertinker
20throwtow
21threadtread
22thongstongs
23throwtoe
24thugtug

Initial /th/ vs /p/ Minimal Pairs

/th//p/
1thighpie
2thugpug
3thinpen
4thickpick
5thinkpink
6thawpaw
7thatchpatch
8thesepeas
9thosepose
10theypay
11thatpat
12thanpan
13throwPoe
14chugpug
15theepea
16thumppump
17thenpen
18thinpin

Stopping Phonological Process of Initial and Final Consonants

Stopping can occur in both initial or final consonant positions. For example, an initial consonant stop of the word “far” would be “tar”. In the example above the initial consonant fricative /f/ is replaced with an initial consonant stop /t/. Additional examples of initial stopping include the following.

fan/fæn//tæn/
van/væn//pæn/
fun/fʌn//tʌn/
sin/sɪn//pɪn/

The following are examples of final consonant stopping, which is when a final affricate or fricative becomes at stop at the end of a word.

comb/kəʊm//kəʊb/
patch/pæʧ//pæt/
moth/mɒθ//mɒt/

What are all the Types of Phonological Processes?

Phonological processes are the typical errors that children make in order to help them learn to speak. These typical errors can be further divided down into three main categories: substitution, assimilation, and syllable structure. Want to know more about these three categories? Be sure to learn about all of the typical and atypical phonological processes and don’t forget to download the handy chart.

In Conclusion

Stopping occurs when a child is using the typical phonological process of learning speech. Stopping is when the child replaces a stop /p, b, t, d, k, or g/ in place of a fricative /f, v, th, s, z, sh, ch/ or an affricate sound /j/ in the initial or final consonant positions. For example, “fan” becomes “tan” or “path” becomes “pat”.

Stopping Minimal Pairs Freebie!

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    Shannon

    Monday 13th of July 2020

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    Saturday 18th of July 2020

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    Thursday 26th of March 2020

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    Melissa Berg

    Sunday 5th of April 2020

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    Wednesday 19th of February 2020

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    Friday 14th of February 2020

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    Tuesday 3rd of December 2019

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