Which feature is least typical of AOS?

• A. Consistent, context-insensitive phoneme substitutions with normal groping
• B. Inconsistent articulatory errors with groping
• C. Sound distortions
• D. Slow rate with prosodic variation

Answer: (A)

Motor speech AOS is characterized by highly variable speech errors and evident groping as the speaker searches for the right articulatory plan. Because the errors tend to vary across attempts and word contexts, you don’t see a single fixed substitution pattern. Groping reflects the effortful planning process underlying AOS, and sound distortions are common as the movements are assembled and adjusted. A slower speaking rate with prosodic variation also fits, since planning and sequencing take extra time and disrupt the smooth prosody.

Consistent, context-insensitive substitutions would not fit this pattern. If the same phoneme was always substituted in every context, the speech problem would point more toward a fixed phonological issue rather than the inconsistent, trial-and-error motor planning difficulty seen in AOS.