Articulation and phonology

Articulation refers to the ability to correctly produce speech sounds. Phonology refers to the ability to consistently produce speech sounds correctly in different contexts, eg. being able to produce the /c/ sound correctly in isolation, but then saying “tat” for “cat”. Due to the wide variety of languages and dialects in South Africa, articulation “norms” are difficult to pin point, but the table below may give you an estimate of the ages at which certain speech sounds usually emerge in typically developing children in order for you to make an informed decision of whether to consider consulting a speech therapist:

When considering whether a child requires articulation therapy, it is important to consider the amount of articulation errors and phonological processes and the impact it has on their speech intelligibility. See below image for a guide on determining whether your child’s speech intelligibility is age appropriate: