Speech is probably one of the most complex actions a human being can perform, requiring as it does the most precise mental and physical adjustments. Yet, we learn this remarkable skill at a very tender age. To produce the sounds that are part of the word he wants to say, a child must master the most intricate movements. Since speech is a voluntary act, we must be motivated to talk, we must have something specific to say. Although involuntary sounds sometimes accompany strenuous physical actions ("ugh" and "oof," for example), speech sounds are deliberately produced. Some knowledge of how speech is "manufactured," and the way sounds are made should prove helpful in enabling you to set realistic goals for your child and allowing you to respond constructively to any errors in his speech.

The physical aspect of speech begins with air that's expelled from the lungs by pressure exerted from the ribs, diaphragm, and abdomen. This air moves up through the trachea (windpipe) to the larynx (voicebox), where the vocal cords vibrate to produce the voice. The voice is modified as it moves through the resonators -- the throat, mouth, and nose. At this point both the volume and quality of the voice are enhanced. Articulators -- the lips, tongue, teeth, hard and soft palates -- act on the voice to form familiar sounds and words.

Not every part of the speech mechanism is engaged to form each speech sound. Certain consonant sounds are produced without any voice. Vocal cords are relaxed as the air moves up from the lungs and articulators shape a stream of air that reproduces the "voiceless" sounds. Place your hand on your throat and say the sound s. Since this is one of the "voiceless" sounds, you won't be able to discern any vibrations. But if you make the sound z with your hand still on your throat, you'll be able to feel the vibrations of your vocal cords.

Each speech sound is produced by a particular placement of the articulators. Once again, not every articulator is used to make each sound. The p sound relies on the lips, and the t uses the tongue and part of the hard palate just behind the upper front teeth -- the alveolar ridge. There are three sounds in English -- m, n, and ng -- in which the nose is used as the primary resonating chamber. When such sounds are articulated, the soft palate (the back portion of the roof of the mouth) drops obligingly to allow the voice to pass through the nose. To a lesser degree, some nasla resonance occurs in other speech sounds. Place your fingers on both sides of your nose and say the sound m. Compare the vibration within your nose with what you feel when you say the sound g.

Vowel sounds are made by altering the size and shape of the mouth, and by changing the position of the tongue. Vowels and diphthongs (combinations of vowels) are produced by modifying either the air stream or the voice with the aid of our articulators. Though the spelling of a sound may vary from word to word, the sound doesn't change. The eccentricities of our language dicate, for example, that the sound f may be spelled "gh" as in "cough," or "ph" as in "telephone;" the letter "c" metamorphoses into the sound k when we're talking about "count" or "arctic." It is the sound, not the arbitrary English spelling, that determines how our vocal elements respond.

(adapted from Better Speech for Your Child, by Michelle Lattman & Antoinette Seandel, published by Wideview Books, 1977)

Design and graphics © 2002 Designs by Dusty