ABSTRACT
To do this, we need to make a third distinction between consonants, their VOICING. Some consonants are VOICED, that is the vocal cords are vibrating while they are being pronounced, producing a ‘buzzing’ sound. Other consonants are VOICELESS, made without vocal cord vibration, producing a ‘whispering’ sound. Consonants which have the same place and manner of articulation can still differ as to whether or not they are voiced. Try saying the following word pairs aloud slowly and carefully:
bat/pat dug/tug van/fan zip/sip
Can you hear the difference in voicing between b/p; d/t; v/f; z/s? Now, if we apply this voiced/voiceless contrast to the child’s speech
in Exercise 10.2, we can see that in each case, although the child has replaced a fricative with a stop consonant, he has chosen a stop consonant with the same place of articulation and the same voicing. This is a common characteristic of the stopping process. Look again at the pairs in Exercise 10.1. You will notice the same principle at work. Ease of production has a lot to do with the stopping process. Fricatives require a much finer control of the tongue and lips than stops do. Initially, children seem to find it easier to block the airflow completely rather than only partially.
