Speech Sound Library
Comprehensive speech therapy guides for all 40 sounds of General American English — 24 consonants, 11 vowels and 5 diphthongs — and for the 24 consonant blends children work on next.
Each guide covers how the sound is made, the age it typically develops, the errors children make most often, and real practice words by position.
General American English
40 soundsConsonants · 24
Vowels · 11
Diphthongs · 5
Consonant blends
Consonants
24 soundsR Sound
/ɹ/ · as in "rabbit" · mastered by age 5
The /R/ sound is one of the most commonly targeted sounds in speech therapy. It is a voiced liquid consonant produced by...
View guideS Sound
/s/ · as in "sun" · mastered by age 4
The /S/ sound is a voiceless alveolar fricative and one of the most frequently occurring sounds in English. It is produc...
View guideL Sound
/l/ · as in "leaf" · mastered by age 4-6
The /L/ sound is a voiced alveolar lateral approximant. It is produced by placing the tongue tip on the ridge behind the...
View guideTH Sound
/θ/ · as in "think" · mastered by age 6
English spells two different sounds with the letters TH. This guide covers the voiceless one — the /TH/ in "think," "thr...
View guideVoiced TH Sound
/ð/ · as in "that" · mastered by age 5
English spells two different sounds with the letters TH, and this is the voiced one — the /TH/ in "the," "that," "mother...
View guideSH Sound
/ʃ/ · as in "shoe" · mastered by age 4-6
The /SH/ sound is a voiceless postalveolar fricative. It is produced by rounding the lips slightly and pulling the tongu...
View guideCH Sound
/tʃ/ · as in "chair" · mastered by age 4-6
The /CH/ sound is a voiceless postalveolar affricate. It is a combination of /T/ and /SH/ produced in rapid succession. ...
View guideK Sound
/k/ · as in "cat" · mastered by age 3-4
The /K/ sound is a voiceless velar stop (also called a plosive). It is produced by raising the back of the tongue to tou...
View guideG Sound
/ɡ/ · as in "goat" · mastered by age 3-4
The /G/ sound is a voiced velar stop. It is the voiced partner of /K/ and is produced by raising the back of the tongue ...
View guideF Sound
/f/ · as in "fish" · mastered by age 3-4
The /F/ sound is a voiceless labiodental fricative. It is produced by gently placing the upper front teeth on the lower ...
View guideV Sound
/v/ · as in "van" · mastered by age 4-5
The /V/ sound is a voiced labiodental fricative and the voiced counterpart of /F/. It is produced in exactly the same mo...
View guideZ Sound
/z/ · as in "zoo" · mastered by age 4-5
The /Z/ sound is a voiced alveolar fricative and the voiced counterpart of /S/. It is produced in the same tongue positi...
View guideJ Sound
/dʒ/ · as in "jump" · mastered by age 4-6
The /J/ sound (as in "jump," not the /Y/ sound in "yes") is a voiced postalveolar affricate. It is the voiced counterpar...
View guideP Sound
/p/ · as in "pig" · mastered by age 2-3
The /P/ sound is a voiceless bilabial stop. It is one of the earliest sounds children develop and is produced by pressin...
View guideB Sound
/b/ · as in "ball" · mastered by age 2-3
The /B/ sound is a voiced bilabial stop. It is produced the same way as /P/ (both lips pressed together then released), ...
View guideM Sound
/m/ · as in "moon" · mastered by age 2-3
The /M/ sound is a voiced bilabial nasal. It is produced by pressing both lips together (like /P/ and /B/) while directi...
View guideN Sound
/n/ · as in "nose" · mastered by age 2-3
The /N/ sound is a voiced alveolar nasal. It is produced by placing the tongue tip on the alveolar ridge (the bumpy area...
View guideD Sound
/d/ · as in "dog" · mastered by age 2-3
The /D/ sound is a voiced alveolar stop and the voiced partner of /T/. It is made by tapping the tongue tip against the ...
View guideT Sound
/t/ · as in "toe" · mastered by age 2-4
The /T/ sound is a voiceless alveolar stop and the voiceless partner of /D/. It is produced by stopping the airflow with...
View guideH Sound
/h/ · as in "hat" · mastered by age 2-3
The /H/ sound is a voiceless glottal fricative — the gentle, breathy sound of air passing through an open throat. There ...
View guideNG Sound
/ŋ/ · as in "sing" · mastered by age 2-4
The /NG/ sound is a voiced velar nasal — the humming sound at the end of "sing," "long," and "running." The back of the ...
View guideW Sound
/w/ · as in "water" · mastered by age 2-3
The /W/ sound is a voiced glide made by rounding the lips into a tight circle and then sliding smoothly into the vowel t...
View guideY Sound
/j/ · as in "yes" · mastered by age 3-4
The /Y/ sound is a voiced glide made by raising the middle of the tongue toward the roof of the mouth and sliding into t...
View guideZH Sound
/ʒ/ · as in "measure" · mastered by age 7
The /ZH/ sound is a voiced postalveolar fricative — the buzzing sound in the middle of "measure," "vision," and "televis...
View guideVowels
11 soundsLong E as in bee
/iː/ · mastered by age 3
The "ee" vowel in bee, see, green and happy. The tongue sits high and far forward in the mouth and the lips spread into ...
View guideShort I as in sit
/ɪ/ · mastered by age 3
The short "ih" vowel in sit, big, fish and this. The tongue is high and forward like long E, but relaxed and slightly lo...
View guideShort E as in bed
/ɛ/ · mastered by age 3
The short "eh" vowel in bed, red, ten and head. The tongue is forward and at mid height, and the mouth is a little more ...
View guideShort A as in cat
/æ/ · mastered by age 3
The short "a" vowel in cat, hat, apple and bag. The mouth opens wide and the tongue stays forward and low. Children usua...
View guideBroad A as in father
/ɑ/ · mastered by age 3
The open "ah" vowel in father, hot, stop and car. The mouth is wide open and the tongue sits low and back. In General Am...
View guideLong OO as in moon
/uː/ · mastered by age 3
The long "oo" vowel in moon, blue, food and shoe. The tongue is high and back and the lips round tightly. Along with lon...
View guideShort U as in cup
/ʌ/ · mastered by age 3
The short "uh" vowel in cup, bus, jump and love. The tongue sits in the middle of the mouth, low and relaxed, and the li...
View guideAW as in saw
/ɔ/ · mastered by age 3
The rounded "aw" vowel in saw, ball, dog and taught. The tongue is low and back like broad A, but the lips round. Note f...
View guideShort OO as in book
/ʊ/ · mastered by age 3
The short, relaxed "oo" vowel in book, look, put and could. It is made near the long OO position but with a lower, loose...
View guideSchwa as in about
/ə/ · mastered by age 3
The schwa is the quiet, unstressed "uh" at the start of "about", the end of "sofa" and the middle of "banana". It is the...
View guideR-controlled ER as in bird
/ɝ/ · mastered by age 6
The r-coloured vowel in bird, her, turn and water. It is written /ɝ/ when stressed (bird, her) and /ɚ/ when unstressed (...
View guideDiphthongs
5 soundsLong A as in cake
/eɪ/ · mastered by age 3
The long "ay" in cake, rain, play and day. It is a diphthong — a vowel that glides: the tongue starts in the "eh" positi...
View guideLong O as in boat
/oʊ/ · mastered by age 3
The long "oh" in boat, go, snow and home. The tongue starts mid-back with rounded lips and glides up toward the long OO,...
View guideLong I as in bike
/aɪ/ · mastered by age 3
The long "eye" in bike, my, five and light. The mouth starts wide open in an "ah" and glides up and forward toward "ee" ...
View guideOW as in cow
/aʊ/ · mastered by age 3
The "ow" in cow, house, out and down. The mouth starts wide open in an "ah" and glides back and up toward the long OO, s...
View guideOY as in boy
/ɔɪ/ · mastered by age 4
The "oy" in boy, toy, coin and enjoy. It starts at the rounded "aw" vowel and glides forward and up toward "ee". It is t...
View guideBlends
30 blendsSP Blend
/sp/ · as in "spoon" · mastered by age 5
The /sp/ blend joins the /s/ and /p/ sounds with no vowel in between — the "sp" in spoon, spider, spot and space. The /s...
View guideST Blend
/st/ · as in "star" · mastered by age 5
The /st/ blend joins the /s/ and /t/ sounds — the "st" in star, stop, stand and story. It is also one of the most common...
View guideSK Blend
/sk/ · as in "skate" · mastered by age 5
The /sk/ blend joins the /s/ and /k/ sounds — the "sk" in skate, sky and skin, and the "sc" in school and scooter. It al...
View guideSM Blend
/sm/ · as in "smile" · mastered by age 5
The /sm/ blend joins the /s/ and /m/ sounds — the "sm" in smile, small, smoke and smell. The lips close for the /m/ whil...
View guideSN Blend
/sn/ · as in "snake" · mastered by age 5
The /sn/ blend joins the /s/ and /n/ sounds — the "sn" in snake, snow, snack and sneeze. The tongue tip stays in almost ...
View guideSL Blend
/sl/ · as in "slide" · mastered by age 6
The /sl/ blend joins the /s/ and /l/ sounds — the "sl" in slide, sleep, slow and sled. It arrives later than the other s...
View guideSW Blend
/sw/ · as in "swing" · mastered by age 5
The /sw/ blend joins the /s/ and /w/ sounds — the "sw" in swing, swim, sweet and switch. The lips are spread for the /s/...
View guideBL Blend
/bl/ · as in "blue" · mastered by age 6
The /bl/ blend joins the /b/ and /l/ sounds — the "bl" in blue, black, block and blanket. The lips pop open for the /b/ ...
View guideCL Blend
/kl/ · as in "clock" · mastered by age 6
The /cl/ blend joins the /k/ and /l/ sounds — the "cl" in clock, clean, climb and cloud. The back of the tongue lifts fo...
View guideFL Blend
/fl/ · as in "flag" · mastered by age 6
The /fl/ blend joins the /f/ and /l/ sounds — the "fl" in flag, fly, flower and floor. The top teeth rest on the bottom ...
View guideGL Blend
/ɡl/ · as in "glue" · mastered by age 6
The /gl/ blend joins the /g/ and /l/ sounds — the "gl" in glue, glass, glow and glove. It is the voiced partner of /cl/:...
View guidePL Blend
/pl/ · as in "plane" · mastered by age 6
The /pl/ blend joins the /p/ and /l/ sounds — the "pl" in plane, play, please and plant. The lips press together for the...
View guideBR Blend
/bɹ/ · as in "bread" · mastered by age 7
The /br/ blend joins the /b/ and /r/ sounds — the "br" in bread, brown, bridge and brother. The lips pop for the /b/ and...
View guideCR Blend
/kɹ/ · as in "crown" · mastered by age 7
The /cr/ blend joins the /k/ and /r/ sounds — the "cr" in crown, cry, crab and crayon. Both sounds are made toward the b...
View guideDR Blend
/dɹ/ · as in "dragon" · mastered by age 7
The /dr/ blend joins the /d/ and /r/ sounds — the "dr" in dragon, dress, drive and drum. In ordinary American speech the...
View guideFR Blend
/fɹ/ · as in "frog" · mastered by age 7
The /fr/ blend joins the /f/ and /r/ sounds — the "fr" in frog, friend, fruit and front. The /f/ can be stretched as lon...
View guideGR Blend
/ɡɹ/ · as in "grapes" · mastered by age 7
The /gr/ blend joins the /g/ and /r/ sounds — the "gr" in grapes, green, grass and grandma. It is the voiced partner of ...
View guidePR Blend
/pɹ/ · as in "present" · mastered by age 7
The /pr/ blend joins the /p/ and /r/ sounds — the "pr" in present, pretty, prince and print. The lips pop for the /p/ an...
View guideTR Blend
/tɹ/ · as in "train" · mastered by age 7
The /tr/ blend joins the /t/ and /r/ sounds — the "tr" in train, tree, truck and try. Like /dr/, ordinary American speec...
View guideSPR Blend
/spɹ/ · as in "spring" · mastered by age 8
The /spr/ cluster is three sounds in a row — /s/, /p/ and /r/ — as in spring, spray and spread. Three-element clusters a...
View guideSTR Blend
/stɹ/ · as in "string" · mastered by age 8
The /str/ cluster is three sounds in a row — /s/, /t/ and /r/ — as in string, street, strong and straw. It is the most c...
View guideSPL Blend
/spl/ · as in "splash" · mastered by age 8
The /spl/ cluster is three sounds in a row — /s/, /p/ and /l/ — as in splash, split and splinter. English has only a han...
View guideSCR Blend
/skɹ/ · as in "scream" · mastered by age 8
The /scr/ cluster is three sounds in a row — /s/, /k/ and /r/ — as in scream, scratch, screen and scrub. The tongue star...
View guideSQU Blend
/skw/ · as in "square" · mastered by age 7
The /squ/ cluster, written "squ" and said /skw/, is three sounds in a row — /s/, /k/ and /w/ — as in square, squirrel, s...
View guideTHR Blend
/θɹ/ · as in "three" · mastered by age 8
The /thr/ cluster joins the voiceless "th" and the /r/ — the "thr" in three, throw, through and thread. The tongue tip h...
View guideSHR Blend
/ʃɹ/ · as in "shrimp" · mastered by age 8
The /shr/ cluster joins the /sh/ and the /r/ — the "shr" in shrimp, shrink, shred and shrug. Both sounds are made with t...
View guideTW Blend
/tw/ · as in "twin" · mastered by age 5
The /tw/ blend joins the /t/ and /w/ sounds — the "tw" in twin, twelve, twenty and twist. The tongue tip taps for the /t...
View guideDW Blend
/dw/ · as in "dwarf" · mastered by age 5
The /dw/ blend joins the /d/ and /w/ sounds — the "dw" in dwarf, dwell and dwindle. It is the voiced partner of /tw/: th...
View guideKW Blend
/kw/ · as in "queen" · mastered by age 5
The /kw/ blend joins the /k/ and /w/ sounds and is almost always spelled "qu" — queen, quick, question, quiet. That spel...
View guideGW Blend
/ɡw/ · as in "language" · mastered by age 5
The /gw/ blend joins the /g/ and /w/ sounds — the "gu" in language, penguin, iguana and Gwen. It is the voiced partner o...
View guideSpeech Sound Development Timeline
Not all sounds develop at the same age. Vowels arrive early and almost all of them are in place before a child turns three; consonants spread out over several more years, with /R/, /S/ and the two TH sounds typically last. Here is a general guide to when children master each one.
Consonant blends are not on this chart because they are not a separate stage: a cluster arrives once the sounds inside it have. Most two-sound blends land between 4 and 7, and the three-sound clusters — /str/, /spr/, /spl/, /scr/ — are the last thing to fall into place, at 7 to 9.
Early Developing (mastered by age 3)
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