Four phonetic categories shape how we analyze speech sounds in therapy

Four Phonetic Categories You’ll Actually Use in DHA Speech Therapy

If you’re hearing speech sounds and wondering how therapists keep it all organized in their heads, you’re not alone. Phonetics can feel like a big pile of terms, but there’s a simple backbone that makes sense in real-life sessions: four broad categories that cover everything from the sounds themselves to the way we shape sentences. For a DHA-focused clinician, embracing these four types isn’t about memorizing trivia—it’s about decoding speech patterns so you can tailor your approach to each client.

Let me outline the four categories and show you how they play out in everyday work with clients. The goal is clarity, not complexity.

1. Segments: the sound-building blocks (consonants and vowels)

Think of segments as the basic “sound units” that happen one after another in speech. In many discussions, these are the consonants and the vowels. Consonants are typically the louder, more constricted sounds you hear at the lips, teeth, or palate—p, t, k, s, m, l, and so on. Vowels are the more open sounds that carry the voice and show up as the core of syllables—think of the vowels in “see,” “saw,” or “you.”

In everyday clinical work, you’ll use segments to identify which sounds a client can produce reliably and which they substitute, omit, or distort. For instance, a child might say “tone” instead of “stone,” substituting a t-sound for a s-like blend. That distinction—what exact sound is being produced—fits squarely under segments. The IPA is a handy tool here, giving you a precise label for each sound so you can track progress with consistent terminology.

A practical note: while you’re thinking “segments,” you should also keep an eye on how the client strings sounds together. That leads us to the other big category that wraps around segments: suprasegments.

2. Suprasegments: the melody and timing of speech

Suprasegmentals are the music behind the words—intonation, stress, rhythm, and timing. If segments are the bricks, suprasegments are the mortar that holds them in place. This layer explains why the same phonemes can sound entirely different depending on how you say them.

In therapy, suprasegments matter a lot. Stress patterns can change meaning—“ RECORD the song” versus “RECORD the song” are examples that flip emphasis and can affect comprehension. Intonation helps reveal a speaker’s emotional state or linguistic intent, which is crucial when you’re working with clients who have language delays, apraxia, or dysarthria. Rhythm and timing come into play, too; for example, a stuttering profile might involve atypical rhythm and pacing that you address before you tackle the individual sounds.

Here’s a quick way to connect it to real-life sessions: listen to the flow of speech, not just the accuracy of each sound. If a child can produce a target sound correctly in isolation but struggles within a word or sentence, suprasegmental factors could be the missing piece. Adjusting prosody, cueing stress, or shaping pacing can unlock a lot of potential without forcing major sound-by-sound drills.

3. Place of articulation: where the sound is made

Place of articulation is a spatial map of speech production. It answers questions like: Is the speech sound made with the lips (bilabial), the tongue against the teeth (dental), or the tongue against the palate (palatal)? Common places include bilabial, labiodental, alveolar, velar, and glottal, among others.

Understanding place helps you pinpoint motor planning or articulatory constraints. If a client consistently drops the final consonant, you might notice a pattern tied to a particular place of articulation being difficult for them. For example, producing velar sounds like k and g can be a challenge for some who have atypical tongue control or limited oral motor strength. By identifying the place, you can design targeted activities that gradually build strength and precision in the right area, rather than throwing a scattershot set of exercises at them.

In practice, you’ll often pair place with manner (the next category) to describe a sound fully. A note on the school of thought here: place tells you where the sound happens; manner tells you how it’s produced there. Both pieces are essential for a complete picture.

4. Manner of articulation: how the sound is produced

If place is where, manner is how. Manner of articulation describes the type of constriction or airflow that creates the sound: is it stopped completely (a stop/plosive, like /p/ or /t/), does the air squeeze through a narrow channel (a fricative, like /s/ or /f/), or is there a nasal passage (like /m/ or /n/)? Other manners include affricates, liquids, and glides.

This category is a workhorse in speech-language work because it directly maps to motor patterns. When a client substitutes a stop for a fricative, or a nasal for a vowel, you’re observing a manner-based pattern. Treating that kind of error often begins with isolating the sound, then moving to word-level tasks, and finally to connected speech, all while keeping an eye on how the client’s articulators move.

Bringing it together in real sessions

Now that you know the four categories, how do you put them to work without getting tangled in jargon? Here are a few practical ideas that blend theory with day-to-day clinical sense:

• Start with a sonic audit. Record a sample of the client’s speech and annotate it along four axes: segments (which sounds are correct, substituted, or omitted), suprasegments (where are prosodic cues off, is stress irregular, does rhythm feel flat), place (which places are tough consistently), and manner (which manners are misproduced). This holistic snapshot helps you set priorities.

• Build a staged plan. Don’t tackle everything at once. If a child demonstrates accurate place and manner in isolation but shows poor prosody in connected speech, you might begin with suprasegmental activities and add segmental targets as their prosody stabilizes.

• Use simple, relatable cues. When you’re teaching place or manner, mention familiar articulators: lips, teeth, tongue blade, tongue back, palate. When you’re working on suprasegments, cue natural speech patterns—intonation rises at questions or emphasis on important words. In other words, keep it tangible.

• Leverage tools you trust. IPA labels are your friend, of course, but you don’t have to live in a vacuum. Spectrograms from software like Praat can illuminate how a client’s sounds differ from target phonemes in real-time. Even quick visual feedback can help clients connect the feeling of a sound with its acoustic signature.

• Tie it to daily communication goals. The four-category lens isn’t a dry taxonomy. It’s a roadmap for meaningful change. If a child’s goal is clearer speech in classroom conversations, you’ll likely swing between segments (to get accurate sounds), suprasegments (to improve intelligibility and naturalness), and the two articulatory categories (to ensure the sounds are produced in the right channel and with the right airflow).

A few practical examples to illustrate

• Example 1: The child produces a “t” where a “k” is expected. You’d label place as alveolar versus velar, and manner as stop. You’d then decide if this is a motor planning issue (apraxia-like) or a phonological simplification. Interventions might involve placing the tongue tip behind the upper front teeth for a clear alveolar stop, while also practicing minimal pairs that highlight the place difference.

• Example 2: A teen uses a flat intonation pattern across statements. The segmental accuracy might be high, but suprasegmentals show reduced prosody. Here, you’d design activities to cue stress and sentence-level intonation, perhaps pairing phrases with pitch contours or connected-speech tasks, then gradually reintroducing targeted sounds as prosody improves.

• Example 3: A child omits final consonants in word-final positions. You’d consider place and manner (often these are velar or alveolar stops) and plan a tiered approach: first exaggerate final-stop production in a word like “cat” with a light, guided touch, then progress toward natural conversational contexts.

A short word on resources and ongoing learning

DHA-related work sits at a crossroads of clinical observation and evidentiary support. To stay sharp, many clinicians turn to practical references that map neatly onto these four categories. The IPA chart is foundational, obviously, but don’t overlook modern speech science texts, updated articulation guides, and accessible software that visualizes sound production. Hands-on listening and labeling practice, even with familiar voices, helps you refine your ear for segmental accuracy and prosodic variation alike.

If you’re curious about the real-world flavor of these concepts, try simple listening exercises: pick a short, natural speech sample (a podcast snippet or a quick interview), and annotate it using the four-category lens. Note where segments align with expectations, where suprasegmental cues shift meaning, and where place and manner contribute to the overall articulation pattern. It’s a surprisingly eye-opening exercise that translates well from theory to treatment.

The takeaway

Phonetics isn’t a wall of jargon; it’s a practical toolkit. By thinking in terms of four broad categories—segments, suprasegments, place of articulation, and manner of articulation—you gain a clear, flexible framework for describing speech, diagnosing patterns, and guiding targeted interventions. This lens helps you move beyond “sound accuracy” to broader intelligibility and communicative effectiveness.

If you’re exploring the field with a DHA focus, keep this four-part map handy. It’ll feel less like memorization and more like a conversation you’re having with your clients about how spoken language really works. And when you can talk about speech in both plain terms and precise clinical language, you’ll connect with families more confidently and help clients reach the everyday goals that matter most.

Would you like a quick, practical checklist you can refer to in sessions? I can tailor one that matches common client profiles you encounter and the kinds of speech challenges you see most often.