Tongue movement during speech: a real-time ultrasound evaluation.

Tongue movement during production of the speech sounds /a/, /i/, and /k/ was examined with a real-time sector scanner positioned submentally. With this technique, it is possible to obtain excellent visualization of the tongue surface and to identify much of the intrinsic soft tissue anatomy of the tongue and floor of the mouth. Tongue movement and configuration were found to be consistent for 10 normal speakers, especially for /i/ and /k/. Three patients with neurological disease and dysarthria showed varying but significant differences in articulation compared to normals. It appears that real-time ultrasound imaging of the oral cavity is a potentially valuable technique for the clinical investigation of normal and abnormal speech.