Speech-Language Pathology Topics: The Flap

As I was working on my one syllable word lists I was reminded of two things: one rather obvious and the other pretty obscure.

The obvious: If you are not using blends, medial consonants are not used in one syllable words. So, if I want a list of simple words that use a medial sound I'll need to use very simple two syllable words (CVCV, CVC, CVCVC).

The obscure: I completely forgot about a rather obscure sound. When a /t/ sound appears between two vowels in connected speech it is produced as a flap. When a /b/ sound appears between two vowels in connected speech it is often also produced as a flap. Say the following two sentences quickly and naturally.

1. Look at the bike pedal.
2. Look at the flower petal.

The /d/ in "pedal" and the /p/ in "petal" are produced in almost exactly the same manner - as a flap instead of as a clear /t/or /d/.

My conclusion: If you want to practice the /t/ sound, it is not useful to try to practice it in the medial position of a simple two-syllable word (bottle, button) because when those words are spoken in natural speech a flap is produced rather than a /t/. Once your child has mastered /t/ in the initial and final position of words it would be a better use of your time to practice it in connected speech with short phrases (on top).

You might also be interested in the following articles:

Voicing Pairs

Random Example of the Complexity of Motor Planning

Random Story and Random Contemplation

It was raining as I dropped the children off at preschool yesterday morning. The dropoff at our school is a horseshoe and the entrance to the horseshoe is at the top of the hill so you can see the entire parking lot as you pull in. As I was pulling in, I saw the person in the spot closest to the door pulling out and thought to myself, "I actually got lucky!"

Now you have to understand that although I am very lucky in the big things in life (wondeful husband and children, home over our heads, food to eat, extended family to love us), I am not so lucky in the little things in life. I do not gamble because (as one of many reasons) it just isn't that much fun to spend three minutes putting $20 of quarters into a slot machine and then walk away. I'm never the person that wins the free soda when I take the cap off the promotional bottle. I never get the best prize in the scratch off in the mail. So, I was genuinely surprised and pleased that on a rainy day the closest spot to the front door magically opened up as I was pulling in.

Then I noticed that another car was leaving as well, so I slowed down to allow her lots of room to back up before I continued pulling around the horseshoe. Well, she backed up and instead of leaving, took the closest spot. There! Classic example of my luck. :-)

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Sometimes, as I am waiting at a red light at a busy intersection watching a river of cars pass in front of me I find myself thinking about their passengers. I think about how every one of those cars has a person (or people) in it. Every one of those people has a life just as rich, complicated, and interconnected as mine. Every one of those people is essential to the people who love them. I think about the web of connections that spreads out from this exact geographical point. And I very genuinely wish all of them a safe journey.

Windows

Speech is a window into someone's mind. For Michael that window is wide open. His mind forms a thought, his mouth speaks it, and I comprehend it. The process is effortless and easy. In fact, that boy's mouth has no filter. Every thought just comes out of his mouth in a continuous stream. I will admit that occasionally I wish for a pause button.

And then there is my daughter. It is painfully obvious that she has just as much to say. She'll come running in from the other room just bursting with something she wants to share. She'll tell me a one or two or even three sentence story and then pause excitedly for my reaction. In a typical conversation I would effortlessly understand her and immediately respond. Instead, I pause while my mind tries frantically to figure out what she said. Often I fail. So far, she doesn't seem too upset. She'll often just run off back to whatever she was doing. But I missed it. I missed that window into her mind and that opportunity to know her better and share her thoughts. And I'll never get that particular opportunity back. I just have to wait for the next one and try again.