Developmental pattern
Stopping
Long, flowing sounds like /s/ and /f/ get replaced by short, popped sounds like /t/ and /p/.
- Resolves
- f and s by 3;0 · v and z by 3;6 · sh, ch and j by 4;6 · th by 5;0
- Sounds affected
- f, v, s, z, sh, ch, j, th
- Word pairs
- 27
- Picture pairs
- 21
What it sounds like
- "sun" becomes "ton"
- "fan" becomes "pan"
- "van" becomes "ban"
- "shoe" becomes "two"
Also called: Stopping of fricatives and affricates
What is going on
Fricatives are the sounds you can hold out forever - ssss, ffff, shhhh. They take fine motor control, because the tongue or lip has to sit in exactly the right spot and hold there while air squeezes past. Stops are easier: slam the airway shut, let it pop. When a child is not ready for the flowing version, they substitute the popping version, and "soup" becomes "toop."
Stopping hits /s/ and /z/, which carry plurals, possessives and third-person verbs in English. A child who stops these sounds loses grammatical information as well as clarity, so their sentences can sound younger than they are.
Try this at home
When to refer
Minimal pairs
21 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.