According to Stampe, phonological processes are:

• A. random and do not follow any patterns
• B. present in the adult's underlying representation
• C. universal and innate
• D. only evidenced in children with impaired articulation

Answer: (C)

Phonological processes, in Stampe’s natural phonology view, are universal and innate. Stampe argued that children bring natural, cross-language tendencies to bear when shaping speech, using processes that simplify sounds in systematic ways. These patterns aren’t random; they reflect general constraints of the speech-perception system and show up across languages and individuals. As children develop, they refine their representations toward the adult target by suppressing or reinterpreting these processes, rather than inventing them anew. So the best answer captures that these processes are universal and innate, not something only seen in disordered speech or tied to the adult’s underlying representation.