One of the problems that appears very frequently in the Early Childhood Education stage is, without a doubt, the incorrect pronunciation of words in the act of speaking , that is, the inadequate articulation of a phoneme or group of phonemes. This joint defect is called dyslalia . In this article by the EOEP DE BENAVENTE we will give you guidelines so that they can be corrected directly :
- Pronunciation of the phoneme / d /:
The articulation of this phoneme, in terms of the position of the articulatory organs, is similar to that of the phoneme / t /, with the difference that here there is vibration of the vocal cords. The lips remain parted, the teeth slightly further apart than for the / t /. The tip of the tongue resting on the inside of the upper incisors, slightly protruding from them and its lateral edges resting on the dental arches of the upper jaw. As the lingual tension is not intense, the exit of the air, when removing the obstacle of the tongue, is smooth.
- Pronunciation of the phoneme / f /:
The lower lip is located under the upper teeth and the tip of the tongue behind the lower incisors. The index finger will press the lower lip until it touches the edge of the upper incisors. This way you will notice the vibration and air release.
As a game, which consists of keeping the lower lip slightly supported by the upper teeth, so that if it becomes dislodged, the game is lost, it will be asked to blow making sound and in this way, indirectly, the / f /, continuing the game with the emission followed by the vowels.
- Pronunciation of the phoneme / K /:
Generally, this sound is replaced by / t /, when placing the tip of the tongue behind the upper incisors, without raising the posterior part towards the veil.
To obtain this articulation we use the auxiliary sound / t / making the child pronounce “tata” with energy. At this moment, we press with the depressor (finger, pen) on the tip or forefoot of the tongue, pushing it towards the bottom of the oral cavity, so that its base comes into contact with the palate. In this way the phoneme / k / is easily obtained and the child feels the explosion of the sound.
If the child articulates the / g /, we can make him articulate “gaga” in a low voice and repeatedly and thus, by losing the loudness with the whispered voice, ka can be obtained.
- Pronunciation of the phoneme / g /:
It is articulated like / k /, but with vibration of the vocal cords. The apex of the tongue rests on the lower alveoli, touching the back of the palate with the back. As in the previous phoneme, the point of contact is advanced if it is followed by the / e / or the / i /. Applying the hand to the anterior part of the neck, laryngeal vibrations are clearly perceived.
One way to get your articulation correct, if you master the / k / is from it, adding laryngeal vibrations, which you will perceive by touching the re-educator’s throat and then on yours.
Also using the auxiliary sound / k /, to which we prepend an / n /, we obtain the required loudness. We make the child repeat “enke” or “enki”, covering his noses at the same time and thus we get the sound / g /.
- Pronunciation of the phoneme / z /:
For its articulation, the tip of the tongue is narrowed and placed between the upper and lower incisors, without completely closing the air outlet, touching the molars with its edges, to avoid
the side air outlet.
Its correction is simple in cases of dyslalias and is easily overcome. Placing the tongue in the correct position, the child is made to blow on his hand or on a piece of paper so that he can perceive the exit of the air. Then vowels are added to correctly articulate the phoneme.
- Pronunciation of the phoneme / s /:
It articulates with the lips parted and the corners slightly set back to the sides. The teeth slightly separated and the tip of the tongue resting on the alveoli of the lower incisors, leaving a small rounded opening. The edges of the tongue touch the upper molars and the gums, preventing the lateral exit of air and forming a narrow central channel through which the air current passes, striking the upper teeth and brushing the edge of the incisors.
As a preliminary stimulation, all the breath exercises are very useful, as well as those to accelerate the tongue, whose defective position is in many cases the cause of sigmatism.
- Pronunciation of the phoneme / l /:
For their articulation, the lips remain ajar and the teeth somewhat separated, allowing to see the posterior face of the tongue, whose apex rests on the alveoli of the upper incisors and its edges on the gums, leaving a lateral opening on both sides where it comes out the speaking air, which when colliding with the inner face of the cheeks, will make them vibrate. This vibration can be felt by touch if the hand is applied gently to the cheek. The vocal cords vibrate with the emission of the phoneme.
It is convenient to make the child notice the lateral exit of the air, when feeling the vibrations of the cheeks to the touch.
- Pronunciation of the phoneme / Ch /:
To be articulated, the lips move forward and part a little from each other, revealing the teeth, which are also slightly apart. The predors of the tongue rests in the prepalatal region, initially forming a momentary occlusion, which prevents air from escaping, while the edges of the tongue touch the molars. In a second stage, the predors of the tongue is separated from the palate, causing friction with the exit of the air through a narrow channel formed by the back of the tongue and the palate. The tip of the tongue does not play any special role in this phoneme.
To correct this, after indicating to the child the position to be taken by the tongue, the / ch / and the / s / are articulated in front of the back of his hand, so that he can perceive the different way the air comes out in one and the other. . In the / ch / the expired stream of air is more violent and hotter, while in the / s / the air comes out more gently, hissing and is cooler.
This articulation can also be achieved from the / ñ / sound, if it is mastered, since they both have the same lingupalatal articulation point. The child is asked to place his tongue in the position of the latter phoneme, placing the depressor between his teeth to avoid the hiss of the / s /, asking him to articulate the / ch /, from that position, explosively.
Also from the / s / you can achieve the / ch / by making it emit the / s / explosively. Another way to achieve this will be by imitating the sneeze on the hand or trying to imitate the sound of the locomotive.
- Pronunciation of the phoneme / r /:
It articulates with the lips parted, allowing to see the lower face of the tongue raised towards the palate. Its lateral edges rest on the gums and upper molars, thus preventing the lateral exit of air and the tip touches the alveoli of the upper incisors. Air accumulates in the cavity formed by the tongue and palate. When pronouncing the phoneme, the apex of the tongue is momentarily separated and when the brief occlusion disappears, the air comes out in the form of a small explosion, which can be perceived by placing the back of the hand in front of the mouth, then a passive vibration of the tongue, produced by the pressure of the exhaled air current, which acts on it.
As the tongue, its muscle tone, and its agility play a very important role in the articulation of this phoneme, it is necessary to begin treatment with all the language exercises already described above.
Another form of indirect treatment will be all the lip vibration exercises, as well as placing the tip of the tongue in contact with the upper alveoli and making the child blow in this position.
One way to obtain the phoneme / r / is starting from the pronunciation of / t / and / d / for which the language has to be placed in a position similar to / r /. In front of the mirror, we make the child pronounce the sounds t, d, t, d, … without any tension on the tongue and as low as possible after a deep inspiration and while the expiration lasts, always making the force of the accent fall on the / t /. This needs to be done smoothly, with the smallest possible tongue movements, making him pick up the pace little by little, until it is done quickly. When the child performs this exercise, it is not necessary to focus on what he should pronounce the / r /, because in this case he will make an effort to emit the phoneme in the defective way in which he used to do it, but, through these auxiliary sounds, we must get the phoneme, new to him, of / r / correct.
Another form of exercise will be to make the child pronounce a prolonged / d /, so that the air enters in a whirlwind between the tip of the tongue and the anterior part of the hard palate, producing a buzzing sound, during which the vibration is felt from the tip of the tongue.
There may be cases in which the combination “tra” is pronounced well and then it will be convenient to start from it to achieve the / r /. You will be made to repeat this group, trying to lengthen the / r /: tra, trra, trra … to go little by little, separating the initial consonant: t.ra, t.ra, t.ra ,. This exercise will also be repeated with the remaining vowels.
- Phoneme / rr / pronunciation:
The articulation organs are positioned as in / r /, but here the tip of the tongue vibrates repeatedly, forming several occlusions against the alveoli. The tip of the tongue presses on the alveolar bulge, but the air pressure overcomes its resistance, allowing the air stream to escape. The lingual resistance makes the tongue return to its original position, repeating the same movement again very quickly, giving rise to the exit of the air in small explosions. The correct pronunciation of this phoneme requires great agility on the tip of the tongue.
When the child has mastered this single vibrating, it can be used as an auxiliary sound to more easily achieve the multiple vibrating. You will be made to pronounce a long / r /, as far back as possible, very low and with the least force. Then, we make him advance the lower jaw a little forward and, helping the re-educator with his fingers on the child’s cheeks, bring his lips forward as well, continuing with the pronunciation of the soft / r /, which will be closer, of this way, increasingly to the multiple vibrant.
Another way to obtain the / r / is from the combinations tra, pra … or the inverse syllables ar … making it lengthen the r, as indicated for the previous phoneme.
Excellent and clear information given in this article