Good and clean articulation is essential for the success of communication. Those who can articulate what is said flawlessly are better understood by the interlocutor. Articulation depends primarily on good interaction between the speech tools and the speech center.
What is communication?
Good and clean articulation is essential for communication to succeed. By articulation we mean the ability of humans to control the pronunciation of words and sentences in a conscious and concentrated way. Phonological, grammatical and morphological aspects play an important role. For correct articulation we need intact speech tools such as mouth, tongue, teeth, palate, uvula, larynx and respiration. There must be equally healthy neurophysiological foundations. These foundations include an intact speech center, which in right-handed people is almost invariably located simultaneously on the temporal and frontal lobes of the left hemisphere of the brain. Only in 10% of all people is the speech center located on the right. Articulation is mainly controlled by the Brocca center on the frontal lobe. The Wernicke center on the temporal lobe also exerts influence, but this only becomes apparent in the case of disease. The speech center articulates the words and phrases we speak as the muscles involved set the speech tools in motion.
Function and task
Articulation does not just make the speaker produce vowels and consonants. It produces streams of air, stressed and unstressed sounds, and voiced and voiceless sounds, which are distinguished by place of articulation and manner of articulation. Therefore, we articulate so-called dental sounds, nasals, labials, plosives, closure sounds and many more, depending on the language and dialect. In addition, there are parameters such as intonation, rhythm and emotion in the voice. The more precise the articulation in a conversational act, the more successful it will be, provided that successful communication is the goal. We articulate clearly so that we can be better understood. While healthy people have an almost identically designed articulatory apparatus, pronunciation can vary depending on origin and socialization. Therefore, interlocutors have to adjust to each other in order to understand each other. In terms of evolutionary history, articulation distinguishes humans from their historical predecessors and animals. This is because precise and complex articulation is a major achievement of humans. Appropriate articulation opens up better development opportunities and chances in society for the individual. It helps to avoid misunderstandings and enables a better living together. Good articulation has to be learned. Babies and toddlers learn it from their parents. Children and adolescents improve it primarily at school. But adults also have to pay constant attention to their pronunciation and concentrate if they want to be understood well. Those who have a concept of what is to be said are able to formulate words and sentences consistently and thus articulate them. Articulating is thus closely interdependent with thinking, but also with acting.
Diseases and complaints
However, the articulation of speech can also be subject to a whole range of problems. Slips of the tongue, word confusions and pronunciation errors are something quite normal in this context. They suggest unconscious processes and awaken linguistic instincts in the sender and receiver of the linguistic message. The ailments that can affect our articulation do not only include states of exhaustion, indifference and overtiredness. Articulation problems in childhood and adolescence should be helped by parents or, in extreme cases, by a speech therapist or speech therapist. Articulation problems, on the other hand, that are disproportionately common in an individual are different. In these cases, we can speak of a communication disorder. Communication disorders that manifest in inadequate articulation include slurring, stuttering, and slurred speech. They also include severe speech loss such as aphasia, as well as Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders. On the other hand, articulation can be affected and impaired by factors such as alcohol, drugs, medications, shocks, or trauma.If in the long run the personality picture of alcohol or drug addicts is changed, this can also have long-lasting or irreversible consequences for the articulation accuracy of the individual. These negative cases include Korsakow syndrome, in which specifically the Wernicke center is impaired. This syndrome can be triggered by excessive alcohol consumption. There are speech deficits that are irreversible. Thus, the losses in articulation are also irreversible. This is especially evident at the phonological level. Certain combinations of sounds can sometimes only be formed with great effort. This is also true for many patients with the aforementioned clinical picture Korsakow syndrome. Finally, age-related articulation problems should also be mentioned, which are something quite normal after a certain age.
