Lecture 9- Physiology of Articulation and Resonation

What do the articulators do?

The movement of articulators shapes the resonant cavities of the vocal tract, and altered resonances give the acoustic output, speech

Individual movable articulators?

Lips

Mandible

Tongue

Velum

Lips: Lower lip is much ____and ___than the upper lip. Why?

Lower lip is much faster and stronger than the upper lip and responds to reflexively to increases in pressure

Lower lip is attached to a movable articulator (mandible) and is capable of rapidly altering its rate of closure to accommodate a variety of jaw positions

Lips: Because the lower lip is faster and quicker then the upper lip, its able to make it more effective at ___

overcoming things in the way (Perturbation aka unexpected force to an articularotr)

Mandible: Why is it an important articulator?

in its supportive role of carrying the lips, tongue and teeth to their targets in the maxilla (i.e. lips, teeth, alveolar ridge, and hard palate)

Tongue: Intrinsic muscles

Are responsible for fine adjustment

Superior longitudinal: elevate tip

Inferior longitudinal: depress tip

Transverse: narrowing

Vertical: flattening

Tongue: Extrinsic muscles

Set the basic posture of the tongue

Genioglossus : protrude, retract, depress

Hyoglossus: pulls sides of tongue down

Chondroglossus: depress

Styloglossus: pulls tongue back and up

Palatoglossus: pulls tongue back and up

Velum: Consonants that involve greater pressure (like stops or fricatives) require ___

a tighter seal, so greater effort

Articulatory Development: What is the reflexive period?

Birth to approximately six months.

During this stage, an infant's sound production is entirely automatic, involuntary, and driven by biological survival needs or physical states rather than an intentional desire to communicate

Articulatory Development: What controls the motor system during early development?

Reflexes

Articulatory Development: What are reflexes?

Stereotypical, involuntary responses to stimuli.

Articulatory Development: What is the motor system governed by in early development?

By reflexes

It means that from birth to about 6 months, babies' movements are mostly automatic rather than controlled on purpose.

Example: Touch a baby's mouth → the baby automatically starts sucking (sucking reflex).

Articulatory Development: Over time the involtunary patterns/behaviors/reflexes turn into _____

voluntary control pattern to help control the truck, neck and the limbs.

Articulatory Development: Motor development is the process of ____

In what order does this happen?

refining gross movements

Infants develop head control before trunk control

Associated Chain Theory: What is Associated Chain Theory?

Learning by chaining a series of actions together in memory.

Riding a Bike: Pedaling links to moving forward, and steering links to turning; over time, the physical steps chain together into an automatic routine

Associated Chain Theory: How do we learn movements for speech sounds according to Associated Chain Theory?

We learn a series of movements for each sound.

Associated Chain Theory: How is each movement connected?

Each motion is associated with the one before and the one after.

Associated Chain Theory: What are the two major problems with Associated Chain Theory?

• We can still speak intelligibly when articulators are perturbed.

• Coarticulation.

Associated Chain Theory: What is perturbation?

A sudden, unexpected force applied to an articulator.

Associated Chain Theory: What is coarticulation?

The overlapping effect of one articulated sound upon another.

Associated Chain Theory: How does coarticulation affect speech movements?

Motor movements for one sound are affected by other sounds.

Say "boot" and "bite." Your mouth movements change depending on the sounds surrounding each vowel.

Q: What is Central Control Theory?

Q: What does Central Control Theory explain, and what does it not address?.

A: A master control mechanism dictates muscle movements based on the linguistic goal. The central controller issues commands for a sound, and sensory feedback helps adjust and modify articulation.

It explains perturbation but does not address coarticulation

Task Dynamic (Action) Theory: What is the main idea of Task Dynamic (Action) Theory?

Are there multiple ways to reach an articulatory goal?

: There is an articulatory goal or target sound, and the articulators can adapt their movements to reach it.

Instead of your brain being a strict boss writing down a step-by-step instruction manual for every movement, your body self-organizes based on the task you want to do and the room you are doing it in.

For example:

If your tongue is in a different position, you can adjust its movement.

If something interferes with your tongue, such as biting a pencil, you can adapt your movements and still try to produce the sound.

Yes, there are many ways to reach the goal.

Task Dynamic (Action) Theory:How does the system adapt to articulatory movements?

It adapts to the current state of the articulators.

Task Dynamic (Action) Theory: How does Task Dynamic Theory respond to environmental changes?

It allows the system to adapt dynamically and quickly.

Task Dynamic (Action) Theory: What determines the execution of articulatory movements?

The physical properties of the articulatory system and central control.

Task Dynamic (Action) Theory: What two problems does Task Dynamic Theory help explain?

• Coarticulation

• Perturbation