Speech Sound Errors:
Dialect or Disorder?
Prepared by Kristen L. Dietrich, MS, CCC-SLP
As speech-language pathologists, we take great pride in being able
to effectively and efficiently answer a variety of challenging and
complex questions related to the production and processing of speech and language. It is
essential that we are able to explain multifaceted topics in a succinct and meaningful
manner. We need to be proficient at summarizing the acquired evidenced-based
knowledge and skills gained from years of graduate school and professional experience into
a few concise sentences.
Unfortunately, I recently stumbled over my response to a question from a parent regarding
how I was able to determine that their child’s articulation error of the /r/ phoneme was
considered a disorder and not a part of their native dialect. I have composed the following
explanation in the hopes of providing a more eloquent and substantial response to the
intriguing question: Is it a dialect or a disorder?
First Things First: What is a speech sound disorder?
To adequately answer this broad question, it is important to first understand the definition of a
speech sound disorder. Many children make mistakes as they learn to say new sounds and
words. In young children learning to speak any language, speech sound errors are quite
common. For example, many young children substitute a “w” sound for an “r” sound as in
“wabbit” instead of “rabbit;” or, a child may omit sounds in words as in “nana” for “banana.”
A speech sound disorder may be present when such mistakes occur past a certain age.
Every sound in a language has a different range of ages when the child should be able to
produce that sound correctly. (Please see “Attachment 1” for a speech sound development
chart by age and gender.) Generally, children should be able to correctly produce all
speech sounds in the English language by the age of 8.
Furthermore, speech sound disorders may include problems with articulation (making sounds)
and/or phonological processes (sound patterns), but that is an entirely different topic for
another day.
Differences vs. Disorders
Not all sound substitutions (“wr” as in “wabbit”) or omissions (“ba” as in “nana”) are
speech errors. Instead, they may be related to a feature of a dialect or accent. For instance,
speakers of African American Vernacular English (AVVE) dialect may use a “d” sound for a
“th” sound as in “dis” for “this.” This is not a speech sound disorder, but rather a phonological
feature of AAVE dialect that is different from many other dialects. Likewise, speakers of
Southern American English (SAE) dialect may use “y’all” as a contraction of “you all” or
substitute “-n” for the “-ing” sound as in, “Where are y’all goin’?” This use of the SAE dialect is
different from that of many other dialects, but it is not a speech sound disorder.
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Page 1 of 4
Like dialects, an accent is a unique way that speech is pronounced by a group of people
speaking the same language. Accents are an inherent part of all spoken languages of the
world and it is important to realize that no accent is better than another. Accents relate
specifically to how words in a language are pronounced.
It is the official position of the predominant national governing body on communication
sciences and disorders, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), that
dialects and accents are NOT a speech or language disorder.
Determining if an Individual’s Speech Production is Part of a Recognized Dialect OR is a
Speech Sound Disorder
A speaker of any language or dialect may have a disorder that is unrelated to his/her use of
the native dialect. An essential step in determining if a person’s speech sound production is
due to a DIALECT or a DISORDER is to be able to distinguish between the following:
1. regular linguistic patterns that are commonly shared among many people of that
speaker’s dialect and are considered to be a normal dialectal difference
AND
2. irregular linguistic patterns that are rarely/never found among the general population
of that speaker’s dialect and represent a true speech or language disorder.
In the case of a person rightly questioning whether a certain distorted speech sound is part of
the overall dialect or not, it may be helpful to ask, “Do I hear this particular speech sound
produced in this exact manner by most other speakers of this dialect?” If the majority of
speakers of a certain dialect do not pronounce the speech sound the same way as the
sound in question than it is likely NOT a feature of the dialect.
Who is Qualified to Diagnose a Speech Sound Disorder? What Makes Them Qualified?
A speech-language pathologist (SLP) is the professional who evaluates and treats children or
adults with speech and language difficulties, including speech sound disorders. SLPs
generally obtain a minimum of six years of higher education and are required to earn at least
a master’s degree in the field of communication sciences and disorders (a.k.a. speechlanguage pathology). Being a “certified” SLP means holding a Certificate of Clinical
Competence (CCC), a nationally recognized professional credential that represents a level
of excellence in the field of Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP). An SLP with the “CCC”
has voluntarily met rigorous academic and professional standards, typically going beyond
the minimum requirements for state licensure. They have the knowledge, skills, and expertise
to provide high quality clinical services, and they actively engage in ongoing professional
development to keep their certification current. (Explanation of SLP and the “CCC” is directly
from ASHA’s website – click to go to specific ASHA webpage).
How Does an SLP Diagnose a Speech Sound Disorder?
An SLP listens to the person and may use a formal articulation test to record sound errors. An
oral mechanism examination is also conducted to determine whether the muscles of the
mouth are working properly. In graduate school, an SLP has been trained to discern between
sounds that are typical and atypical to dialects. The SLP may recommend speech treatment
Phone: 843-810-9198 – Fax: 855-279-3149 – E-mail: [email protected]
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if the sound is not appropriate for the child’s age and/or if it is not a feature of a dialect or
accent.
Often, there are only slight differences between speech sounds and they are very difficult to
detect by the untrained ear or by a person who has grown accustomed to the individual’s
speech over a long period of time (e.g, parent/child; husband/wife). Comprehensive SLP
graduate courses revolve around the listening and transcribing of speech sounds using the
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), an alphabetic system of phonetic notation as a
standardized representation of the sounds of all spoken languages. For instance, the IPA
notation for the sound “or” in any language (English ex: as in “tore, bore, more, four”) is / ɔr / ;
the “th” sound is notated by 2 symbols depending on whether it is a voiced or voiceless
phoneme – / ð/ as in “this, breathe, father” or / θ/ as in “thing, teeth.”
Additional Competencies Required for Speech-Language Pathologists to Distinguish between
Dialects and Disorders*
The speech-language pathologist must have certain competencies to distinguish between
dialectal differences and communicative disorders. These competencies include
1. recognizing all American English dialects as rule-governed linguistic systems,
2. understanding the rules and linguistic features of American English dialect(s)
represented by their clientele,
3. being familiar with nondiscriminatory testing and dynamic assessment procedures,
such as the following:
• identifying potential sources of test bias,
• administering and scoring standardized tests in alternative manners,
• using observation and nontraditional interview and language sampling
techniques, and
• analyzing test results in light of existing information regarding dialect use.
*These compentencies are directly from a report located on ASHA’s website at this link
Phone: 843-810-9198 – Fax: 855-279-3149 – E-mail: [email protected]
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ATTACHMENT 1
Girls
Boys
Speech & Articulation Development Chart – What sounds should my child be saying?
birth
1 year
2 years
3 years
4 years
5 years
6 years
7 years
8 years
p,m,h,w,b
p,m,h,w,b
n
n
k
k
g
g
d
d
t
t
ing
ing
f
f
y
y
r
r
l
l
blends (st, pl, gr, etc.)
blends (st, pl, gr, etc.)
s
s
sh, ch
sh, ch
z
z
j
j
v
v
th (thumb)
th (thumb)
th (that)
th (that)
zh (measure)
zh (measure)
* Adapted from Sander JSHD 1972; Smit, et al JSHD 1990 and the Nebraska-Iowa Articulation Norms Project ©2003 Talking Child,
LLC http://www.talkingchild.com
Phone: 843-810-9198 – Fax: 855-279-3149 – E-mail: [email protected]
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