SHS 465-EXAM TWO QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH FULL SOLUTIONS,
GUARANTEED A+, UPDATED 2026
1. The Rules of Sound
Phonology: The study of how sounds are organized to form words. For a
child, this involves mastering the specific inventory of their native language.
Phonological Contrast: The ability to distinguish between two sounds that
change a word's meaning (e.g., "pay" vs. "bay"). This shows the child
understands that $/p/$ and $/b/$ are different phonemes.
Phonotactics: The specific rules about which sound combinations are
"allowed" in a language.
o Example: In English, we can start a word with "spl" (splash), but we
cannot start a word with "ps" (psash).
2. The Mechanics of Production
Aspiration: A small puff of air that follows certain sounds.
o In "Pay," the $/p/$ is aspirated (you can feel the air on your hand).
o In "Spy," the $/p/$ is unaspirated.
Coarticulation: The brain is highly efficient; it overlaps the production of
sounds. While you are saying one sound, your articulators (tongue, lips) are
already moving into place for the next sound.
3. Speech Disorders: Apraxia
Apraxia of Speech: A motor speech disorder where the brain struggles to
coordinate the complex muscle movements needed for syllables and words.
Key Symptom: Unlike other disorders, people with apraxia may pronounce
every phoneme individually because they have lost the ability to use
coarticulation to smooth the sounds together.
,4. Vocabulary and Acquisition
The size of a person's "mental lexicon" is a better indicator of their linguistic
development than their chronological age.
Vocabulary Benchmarks:
o To Speak a language: ~3,000 words.
o To "Know" (fluency/literacy): ~25,000 words.
o Total English Corpus: Estimated up to 1,000,000 words (including
technical and obsolete terms).
Clinical Insight: Speech acquisition is more effectively measured by vocabulary
size than by age. A 2-year-old with 500 words is in a different developmental stage
than a 2-year-old with 50 words.
Mental representations -ANSWER✔✔We form abstract categories. We look for
distinctive characteristics such as aspiration and determine differences between
phonemes
Child needs to acquire: -ANSWER✔✔Consonants
Vowels
Syllables
Words
Babbling -ANSWER✔✔birth to 1 year
-speech play
First words appear at what age? -ANSWER✔✔1;0
, Child slowly acquires 50 words or so at what age? -ANSWER✔✔1;0 to 1;6
First word combinations appear at what age? -ANSWER✔✔1;6
Characteristics of child's first words -ANSWER✔✔-Simple syllables e.g. CV or
CVC, reduplication ('mama')
-Sounds are limited:
m, n, b, d, w, y, f, s
-Words show variable pronunciations
Study done in Spanish -ANSWER✔✔CVCV is the easiest to learn
-Kids never produce it the same way twice. e.g. Daniel saying "doggie"
-CVCVC and CVCVCV were also easy
Transition between words and babbling -ANSWER✔✔Reduplication babbling vs.
Word babbling
e.g. Daniel would often go from babbling to saying a real word.
Transition Phenomena:
Word shifts -ANSWER✔✔Change from one word to another
Transition Phenomena: Proto-Words -ANSWER✔✔Child created words- "mama"
"woof" (not used in same context it should be)
Variegated Babbling -ANSWER✔✔- Becomes most frequent at 12-13 months
ANSWERS WITH FULL SOLUTIONS,
GUARANTEED A+, UPDATED 2026
1. The Rules of Sound
Phonology: The study of how sounds are organized to form words. For a
child, this involves mastering the specific inventory of their native language.
Phonological Contrast: The ability to distinguish between two sounds that
change a word's meaning (e.g., "pay" vs. "bay"). This shows the child
understands that $/p/$ and $/b/$ are different phonemes.
Phonotactics: The specific rules about which sound combinations are
"allowed" in a language.
o Example: In English, we can start a word with "spl" (splash), but we
cannot start a word with "ps" (psash).
2. The Mechanics of Production
Aspiration: A small puff of air that follows certain sounds.
o In "Pay," the $/p/$ is aspirated (you can feel the air on your hand).
o In "Spy," the $/p/$ is unaspirated.
Coarticulation: The brain is highly efficient; it overlaps the production of
sounds. While you are saying one sound, your articulators (tongue, lips) are
already moving into place for the next sound.
3. Speech Disorders: Apraxia
Apraxia of Speech: A motor speech disorder where the brain struggles to
coordinate the complex muscle movements needed for syllables and words.
Key Symptom: Unlike other disorders, people with apraxia may pronounce
every phoneme individually because they have lost the ability to use
coarticulation to smooth the sounds together.
,4. Vocabulary and Acquisition
The size of a person's "mental lexicon" is a better indicator of their linguistic
development than their chronological age.
Vocabulary Benchmarks:
o To Speak a language: ~3,000 words.
o To "Know" (fluency/literacy): ~25,000 words.
o Total English Corpus: Estimated up to 1,000,000 words (including
technical and obsolete terms).
Clinical Insight: Speech acquisition is more effectively measured by vocabulary
size than by age. A 2-year-old with 500 words is in a different developmental stage
than a 2-year-old with 50 words.
Mental representations -ANSWER✔✔We form abstract categories. We look for
distinctive characteristics such as aspiration and determine differences between
phonemes
Child needs to acquire: -ANSWER✔✔Consonants
Vowels
Syllables
Words
Babbling -ANSWER✔✔birth to 1 year
-speech play
First words appear at what age? -ANSWER✔✔1;0
, Child slowly acquires 50 words or so at what age? -ANSWER✔✔1;0 to 1;6
First word combinations appear at what age? -ANSWER✔✔1;6
Characteristics of child's first words -ANSWER✔✔-Simple syllables e.g. CV or
CVC, reduplication ('mama')
-Sounds are limited:
m, n, b, d, w, y, f, s
-Words show variable pronunciations
Study done in Spanish -ANSWER✔✔CVCV is the easiest to learn
-Kids never produce it the same way twice. e.g. Daniel saying "doggie"
-CVCVC and CVCVCV were also easy
Transition between words and babbling -ANSWER✔✔Reduplication babbling vs.
Word babbling
e.g. Daniel would often go from babbling to saying a real word.
Transition Phenomena:
Word shifts -ANSWER✔✔Change from one word to another
Transition Phenomena: Proto-Words -ANSWER✔✔Child created words- "mama"
"woof" (not used in same context it should be)
Variegated Babbling -ANSWER✔✔- Becomes most frequent at 12-13 months
