articulation

A good and clean one articulation is essential for successful communication. Those who are able to articulate what has been said are better understood by the interlocutor. Articulation is primarily dependent on good interaction between the speaking tools and the language center.

What is communication

We understand articulation to be the ability of humans to control the pronunciation of words and sentences in a conscious and focused manner. Above all, phonological, grammatical and morphological aspects play a role. For proper articulation, we need intact speaking tools such as the mouth, tongue, teeth, roof of the mouth, uvula, larynx and breathing.

There must also be healthy neurophysiological foundations. One of these foundations is an intact language center, which in right-handed people is almost always located simultaneously on the temporal and frontal lobes of the left hemisphere. Only 10% of all people have the language center on the right. The main focus is on the articulation from the Brocca center on the frontal lobe. The Wernicke center on the temporal lobe also has an influence, but this only becomes clear in the event of illness. The language center articulates the words and sentences that we speak, as the muscles involved set the speaking tools in motion.

Function & task

The articulation lets the speaker not only create vowels and consonants. It generates air currents, accented and unstressed as well as voiced and unvoiced sounds, which are differentiated according to the place and type of articulation. That is why we articulate so-called dental sounds, nasals, labials, plosives, plosives and much more, depending on the language and dialect. There are also parameters such as intonation, rhythm and emotions in the voice.

The more precisely the articulation in an act of conversation, the more successful it will be, provided that successful communication is sought. We articulate clearly so that we are better understood. While healthy people have almost the same articulation apparatus, pronunciation can vary depending on their 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. Because precise and complex articulation is an essential human achievement. Appropriate articulation opens up better opportunities for development and opportunities in society for the individual. It helps to avoid misunderstandings and enables a better coexistence.

Good articulation has to be learned. Babies and toddlers learn from their parents. Children and young people improve it especially in school. But even adults have to pay constant attention to their pronunciation and concentrate if they want to be well understood. Anyone who has a concept for what is to be said is able to consistently formulate the words and sentences and thus articulate them. Articulation is therefore closely dependent on thinking, but also on action.

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Illnesses & ailments

The articulation of language can, however, be subject to a number of problems. Slips of the tongue, word mix-ups and pronunciation errors are completely normal. They suggest unconscious processes and awaken the linguistic instincts in the sender and recipient of the linguistic message.

The ailments that can affect our articulation include not only exhaustion, indifference and fatigue. Parents or, in extreme cases, a speech therapist or speech therapist should help with articulation problems in childhood and adolescence.

The situation is different with articulation problems, which are disproportionately frequent in an individual. In these cases one can speak of a communication disorder. Communication disorders that manifest in poor articulation include babbling, stuttering, and slurred speech. Serious speech loss symptoms such as aphasia, but also Alzheimer's and other memory disorders are included.

On the other hand, articulation can be influenced and impaired by factors such as alcohol, drugs, medication, shocks or trauma. If the personality of alcohol or drug addicts is changed in the long run, this can also have long-lasting or irreversible consequences for the articulation accuracy of the individual.

These negative cases include Korsakoff's syndrome, which specifically affects the Wernicke center. This syndrome can be triggered by excessive alcohol consumption. There are speech loss phenomena that are irreversible. This means that the losses in articulation are also irreversible. This is particularly evident on the phonological level. Certain combinations of sounds can sometimes only be formed with great effort. This also applies to many patients with the aforementioned disease pattern of Korsakoff syndrome.

Finally, there are also age-related articulation problems that are quite normal after a certain age.