Key points:
1. Phonology is the study of speech and word sounds in a child’s language development.
2. It’s a cognitive skill crucial for academic success and starts early, but meaningful words emerge around age one.
3. Children refine phonology as they coordinate muscles for proper articulation.
4. Exposing your child to varied language helps them achieve consonant pronunciation milestones between 18-36 months.
From day one, your little one has been taking in everything around them. Even before they were born, they were absorbing everything they were listening to and, as they start expressing their first words, you’ll see how much they have to say.
They might start with sounds that do not mimic exact words, but step by step they will begin to perfect them. This is called phonology, which refers to how speech and word sounds are used and organized in your child’s language, as they learn to talk.
Phonology is a cognitive skill and it is a strong predictor of future academic success. Even though it begins quite early, children don’t really begin to speak in anything that approximates meaningful words until they are about one year old.
Your child goes through this developmental process because they need to learn to coordinate their tongue, lips, teeth, and other muscles to articulate properly. As your child continues to develop, they will stop using what seems like random speech sounds and begin articulating and enunciating increasingly complex sentences.
How can you help them out?
Some sounds are more difficult than others due to the place in which the articulation takes place. To pronounce them, your little one needs to coordinate the necessary movements; for sounds to come out they need to control the constriction of the vocal tract.
The pronunciation of a consonant will depend on where in the vocal tract the constriction is made and how narrow it is. It also depends on a few other things, such as whether the vocal cords are vibrating and whether air is flowing through the nose.
Between 18 and 36 months, your little one will reach several milestones when it comes to consonant pronunciation. They might begin pronouncing words that begin with “m” and then extending to other consonants. The best way to help them out is exposing them to varied language.
Later on, we’ll explain more in detail which consonants they will pronounce first, and how are they classified by articulation points. This way, you’ll know more about such an important milestone!
