Talking with an 18-month-old is hard for those who don’t speak toddler language! Some words toddlers say sound just right. Others don’t seem very close to real words. Children learn the sounds of their language over several years, and some sounds seem harder to learn than others.
References:
Hoff, E. (2001). Language development (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Menn, L., & Stoel-Gammon, C. (1995). Phonological development. In P. Fletcher & B. MacWhinney (Eds.), The handbook of child language (pp. 335-359). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Sander, E. K. (1972). When are speech sounds learned? Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 37(1), 55-63.
Schwartz, R. G. (1983). Diagnosis of speech sound disorders in children. In I. J. Meitus & B. Weinberg (Eds.), Diagnosis in speech-language pathology (pp. 113-149). Baltimore: University Park Press.
