Teaching Your Child Speech Sounds

Speech sounds is the articulation and clarity of how we use words in a language. Saying sounds clearly can help unfamiliar listeners understand us. In this blog, we'll discuss what speech sounds are, speech sound examples, and how many speech sounds there are in the English language.

What is a Speech Sound?

We hear speech sounds differently from the way we say the alphabet. For example, when we say the "b sound", we express it as "buh" instead of "bee" which we use in the alphabet. Children can learn speech sounds by listening to those talking around them and through repetitive practice. Sounds are familiar to your child from before they were born and continue their development through environmental sounds and speech sounds.

When your baby starts babbling, this is when they start playing around with their voices and first initial sounds. Speech sounds will start developing gradually from 1 year old, where speech sounds will start gaining clarity from 3 years old. This implies that your child won't be able to say all their speech sounds right away. Every child works at their own pace.

How Many Types of Speech Sounds Are There in the English Language?

As previously mentioned, speech sounds are different from our English alphabetic language. In the alphabet, we only have 26 letters. In speech sounds, we have a total of 44 different sounds:

• 20 vowel sounds
• 24 consonant sounds

Encouraging children to understand and use different speech sounds can be really beneficial to their speech development.

What Are Basic Speech Sounds?

Speech sounds are commonly known as phonemes. Letters are used to represent sounds. When we count syllables/letters in words, we represent these sounds with slashes. For example, if you want to sound the final sound in "dot", we'll say /t/.

What Are Speech Sound Examples?

Let's explore initial, medial, and final sounds. Sounds can be a consonant, vowel, or cluster.

• Initial: start of words
• Medial: middle of words
• Final: end of words

Speech Sounds by Age 3

By 3 years old, your child can be expected to produce the following speech sounds:

• h as in "he"
• zh as in "measure"
• y as in "yes"
• w as in "we"
• ng as in "sing"
• m as in "me"
• n as in "no"
• p as in "up"
• k as in "car"
• t as in "to"
• b as in "ba"
• g as in "go"
• d as in "do"

Tips for Teaching Speech Sounds at Home

• Model clearly: When speaking to your child, pronounce words clearly and at a natural pace.

• Repetition is key: Practice the same sounds regularly through games, songs, and everyday conversation.

• Make it fun: Use toys, pictures, and activities that incorporate target sounds.

• Listen and respond: When your child attempts a sound, acknowledge their effort and gently model the correct pronunciation.

• Be patient: Remember that every child develops at their own pace, and speech sound development is a gradual process.

If you have concerns about your child's speech sound development, consulting with a {{therapist}} can provide personalized guidance and support.