Early speech motor development: Cognitive and linguistic considerations (original) (raw)

Development of speech motor control: Lip movement variability

This study examined variability of lip movements across repetitions of the same utterance as a function of age in Swedish speakers. The specific purpose was to extend earlier findings by examining variability in both phase and amplitude. Subjects were 50 typically developed native Swedish children and adults (28 females, 22 males, aged 5 to 31 yr). Lip movements were recorded during 15 to 20 repetitions of a short Swedish phrase using three-dimensional articulography. After correction for head movements, the kinematic records were expressed in a maxilla-based coordinate system. Movement onset and offset of the utterance were identified using kinematic landmarks. The Euclidean distance between receivers on the upper and lower lips was calculated and subjected to functional data analysis to assess both phase and amplitude variability. Results show a decrease in both indices as a function of age, with a greater reduction of amplitude variability. There was no difference between males and females for either index. The two indices were moderately correlated with each other, suggesting that they capture different aspects of speech production. Utterance duration also decreased with age, but variability was unrelated to duration. The standard deviation of utterance duration also decreased with age. The present results thus suggest that age related changes in speech motor control continue up until 30 years of age.

Development of Lingual Displacement Independence at Babbling Stage

2008

In this study, we recorded jaw movements and the acoustic signal of 15 babies of 8 to 12 months of age during babbling in order to assess the hypothesis whereby tongue gestures would be more independent from mandibular ones with age. Results corroborate our expectations. We have shown that increase in the amplitude of tongue gestures in the anterior/posterior dimension,

Lip Movement Exaggerations During Infant-Directed Speech

2010

Purpose: Although a growing body of literature has indentified the positive effects of visual speech on speech and language learning, oral movements of infant-directed speech (IDS) have rarely been studied. This investigation used 3-dimensional motion capture technology to describe how mothers modify their lip movements when talking to their infants. Method: Lip movements were recorded from 25 mothers as they spoke to their infants and other adults. Lip shapes were analyzed for differences across speaking conditions.

The development of oral motor control and language

Down Syndrome Research and Practice, 2006

Motor control has long been associated with language skill, in deficits, both acquired and developmental, and in typical development. Most evidence comes from limb praxis however; the link between oral motor control and speech and language has been neglected, despite the fact that most language users talk with their mouths. Oral motor control is affected in a variety of developmental disorders, including Down syndrome. However, its development is poorly understood. We investigated oral motor control in three groups: adults with acquired aphasia, individuals with developmental dysphasia, and typically developing children. In individuals with speech and language difficulties, oral motor control was impaired. More complex movements and sets of movements were even harder for individuals with language impairments. In typically developing children (21-24 months), oral motor control was found to be related to language skills. In both studies, a closer relationship was found between language and complex oral movements than simple oral movements. This relationship remained when the effect of overall cognitive ability was removed. Children who were poor at oral movements were not good at language, although children who were good at oral movements could fall anywhere on the distribution of language abilities. Oral motor skills may be a necessary precursor for language skills.

Co-occurences of preverbal vocal behavior and motor action in early infancy

Developmental Science, 2001

This study reports on co-occurrence of vocal behaviors and motor actions in infants in the prelinguistic stage. Four Japanese infants were studied longitudinally from the age of 6 months to 11 months. For all the infants, a 40 min sample was coded for each monthly period. The vocalizations produced by the infants co-occurred with their rhythmic actions with high frequency, particularly in the period preceding the onset of canonical babbling. Acoustical analysis was conducted on the vocalizations recorded before and after the period when co-occurrence took place most frequently. Among the vocalizations recorded in the period when co-occurrence appeared most frequently, those that co-occurred with rhythmic action had significantly shorter syllable duration and shorter formant-frequency transition duration compared with those that did not co-occur with rhythmic action. The rapid transitions and short syllables were similar to patterns of duration found in mature speech. The acoustic features remained even after co-occurrence disappeared. These findings suggest that co-occurrence of rhythmic action and vocal behavior may contribute to the infant's acquisition of the ability to perform the rapid glottal and articulatory movements that are indispensable for spoken language acquisition.

Gestural-vocal coordination: Longitudinal changes and predictive value on early lexical development

Gesture, 2012

The aim of this study was to examine longitudinally gestural and vocal coordination in multimodal communicative patterns during the period of transition to first words, and its role in early lexical development. Eleven monolingual Spanish children were observed from 9 to 12 and 15 months of age in a semi-structured play situation. We obtained three main findings: (1) the use of multimodal patterns of communication increases significantly with age during the period studied; (2) the rate of use of those multimodal patterns at 12 months predicts lexical development at 15 months; and (3) the use of the pointing gesture at 12 months, especially when it is accompanied with vocalization and social use of gaze, is the best predictor of lexical outcome at 15 months. Our findings support the idea that gestures, gazes and vocalizations are part of an integrated and developing system that children use flexibly to communicate from early on. The coordinationof these three types of elements, espec...

Babbling, chewing, and sucking: Oromandibular coordination at 9 months

Journal of Speech, …, 2008

Purpose-The ontogeny of mandibular control is important for understanding the general neurophysiologic development for speech and alimentary behaviors. Prior investigations suggest that mandibular control is organized distinctively across speech and nonspeech tasks in 15-month-olds and adults and that, with development, these extant forms of motor control primarily undergo refinement and rescaling. The present investigation was designed to evaluate whether these coordinative infrastructures for alimentary behaviors and speech are evident during the earliest period of their co-occurrence.

The Relationship Between Vocal Development and Motor Development During Language Learning: A Review

2022

This study attempted to search the nature of language development and the relationship between vocal development and motor development in infancy, and it relied on the descriptive and qualitative approach and the method of content analysis to review and compare three researches related to the relationship of language development and physical development during language learning in the infancy. The results of the three studies, despite some difference between them, indicates the relationship between sound, movement, and body signals before, during and after language learning in infancy.