Developmental pattern
Final Consonant Deletion
The last consonant of a word gets left off entirely.
- Resolves
- By 3;3
- Sounds affected
- All final consonants
- Word pairs
- 27
- Picture pairs
- 19
What it sounds like
- "boat" becomes "bow"
- "cup" becomes "cuh"
- "dog" becomes "daw"
- "nose" becomes "no"
Also called: FCD, open syllable production
What is going on
Very early words tend to be open syllables - ma, da, ba. Consonants at the ends of words come later, because the child has to plan a closing gesture after the vowel is already running. Until that planning is in place, the ending simply falls off.
This is one of the highest-impact patterns for intelligibility, because English carries an enormous amount of meaning at the ends of words - plurals, past tense, possessives, and the difference between "bee" and "beach." A child with final consonant deletion can be very hard to follow even when every other sound is correct.
Try this at home
When to refer
Minimal pairs
19 picture pairsThese pairs have two distinct picture subjects. Put both pictures on the table and take turns asking for one. If the two words sound alike, slow down and compare the sounds together. The printable word list has additional listening contrasts. Tap any pair to open it full screen and score each turn with Yes! or Not quite.