Which classes of sounds do children typically produce at the early linguistic stage?

At the early linguistic stage, children typically produce nasals, stops, and glides. This stage marks the initial development of speech and language, where children begin to use sounds that are easier to articulate and are more prevalent in their environment.

Nasal sounds like /m/ and /n/ are easier for young children to produce because they involve the airflow through the nasal cavity, which is a natural and simple mechanism for speech. Stops, such as /p/, /t/, and /k/, are also commonly produced because they involve a quick burst of airflow following a complete blockage of the vocal tract, which is a straightforward phonetic gesture for young speakers to master. Glides, like /w/ and /j/, are produced with less constriction than other consonants, making them easier to articulate as well.

In contrast, other classes of sounds not commonly produced at this stage, such as fricatives, affricates, and liquids, involve more complex articulatory gestures and typically emerge later as children develop their speech skills. Vowels and diphthongs, while crucial to speech, are not categorized in the same way as consonants, and consonant clusters involve combining sounds that children often find challenging at the early linguistic stage