Doctoral Dissertation Research:From babbling to linguistically-relevant articulatory gestures: Continuity and variability of speech motor organization in infants and young children

University Of Connecticut, Storrs CT

Investigators

Abstract

Under the direction of Dr. Ludo Max, Ms. Margaret Earnest will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. Her research includes three studies investigating the control and coordination of lip and jaw movements in infants and children from 6 to 37 months of age. This work builds on increasing evidence that the transition from babbling to meaningful speech is a crucial stage during which motor constraints may determine important aspects of speech sound acquisition. One major question related to this transition is whether it reflects a maturation that is gradual and continuous or whether early speech requires an extensive reorganization of the previously acquired motor skills. Therefore, two of Ms. Earnest's studies will investigate developmental trends in (a) the respective contribution of individual articulators (lips and jaw) to bilabial closing and opening gestures, and (b) the typically asymmetric nature of these articulatory movements during speech production. Her third study will examine the potential neuromotor basis for infants' selection of the jaw as the primary articulator in babbling and early speech production. Each of these three questions will be addressed by recording movements of the lips and jaw with a camera-based movement tracking system and comparing a variety of kinematic parameters across different age groups. This research on the early development of orofacial control for babbling and speech is significant for several reasons. First, it will lead to new insights into the neuromotor processes underlying speech development in children. Second, an enhanced understanding of the different stages of speech motor development may be critical for explaining commonly observed trends in the sequence of speech sound acquisition during babbling and early speech. Third, given this potential influence on the order of speech sound acquisition, the constraints imposed by developing speech motor abilities may affect other aspects of language development.