The following productions were elicited from a child to observe accuracy of the /s/ phoneme: "soap" → [s̪op], "lacy" → [leti], "moose" → [mut]. These productions were scored as one distortion and two substitutions, using which method of scoring?

• A. Two-way scoring
• B. Standardized scoring
• C. IPA scoring
• D. SODA scoring

Answer: (D)

The concept being tested is how a four-category error coding system works for phonology, specifically SODA, which stands for Substitution, Omission, Distortion, and Addition. This method analyzes each phoneme in a child’s production and labels what kind of error occurred.

In the given data, one instance shows a fricative /s/ produced with a dentalized articulation [s̪], which is a change in articulation rather than a different phoneme. That fits a Distortion: the sound is still intended to be /s/, but its place or manner of articulation is altered.

The other productions illustrate consonant substitutions: the /s/ is replaced by /t/ in the other words, yielding [leti] and [mut]. These are Substitutions, where a different phoneme is produced instead of the target.

So, overall you have one Distortion and two Substitutions, which is exactly how SODA scoring categorizes errors. This approach differs from two-way scoring (which would just mark correct vs incorrect), standardized scoring (which relies on normative data and different criteria), or IPA scoring (which focuses on transcription accuracy rather than error-type classification).