Sound formation

One of the most important means of communication for humans is language. This is just through Sound formation possible. The latter is understood to mean that human articulation that forms sounds and words in order to express oneself. People use their hands, face, posture or mouth for communication. He needs several years to coordinate the rather complex interplay of sound formation.

What is the sound formation?

Breathing is primarily necessary for sound formation, as the air necessary for speaking is transported through the lungs. Sound formation occurs mainly during exhalation, whereby not all sounds that are produced in this way actually serve the spoken language. Then there are the teeth, the roof of the mouth, the lips and the tongue.

The sound formation is learned little by little and then stabilizes in a learned movement pattern, which in turn adapts to the muscles. If this is impaired by various conditions, the sound formation can be deformed and cause articulation disorders, which can cause lisp, hissing or whistling, for example.

In order to bind sounds, people use the speaking apparatus and its speaking tools. These can be divided into three categories. On the one hand, he needs the organs of the speaking apparatus, which are located below the larynx and are responsible for ventilation, on the other hand the larynx and vocal cords, which make up the vocal part, and finally the organs that are above the larynx.

The air flow required for sound production is via the diaphragm, lungs, windpipe and respiratory muscles. This is carried through the pharynx, mouth and nose and is directed by the movement of the tongue, which changes and forms the individual sounds.

Coordinated movements of the speech tools ensure that sounds and words are formed. For this purpose, three processes start in the body: a phonation current is initiated from the lungs, the vocal folds are overcome and the speaking tools are finally brought into the correct and necessary position. The phonation flow, in turn, is the expansion of the lungs through the chest muscles, diaphragm and ribs, creating an air flow that causes negative or positive pressure. It is only in the larynx that it is decided whether a sound is made or not.

Function & task

The formation of sounds begins in the child around the end of the first year of life. The first basic experience is gained, the child develops an understanding that audible sound productions can relate to their own sounds. The sound is used to designate objects or to call the desired person. The reference to something, the first sound is usually a short A or "Da".

Soon the child will increase the area of ​​experience and with it the ability to combine sounds and transform them into the desired object. This is where learning the actual language begins, even if many letters are initially missing in the formation of the sound when children babble. Gradually, this can then be trained and improved.

Research into sound formation is an important part of science. The doctrine of sounds is called phonetics and is the scientific investigation of the human sound-forming potential, independent of the language and the aspect of the sound substance. Sounds are examined as an acoustic-physiological event. The study of phonemes is called phonology. This scientific study deals with the linguistic use of sounds, including the form in which sound formation is exhausted in the various languages, because different languages ​​sometimes use completely different sounds. It often happens that learning a new language is difficult because the unknown sounds are very difficult to form at first.

In order to be able to convey the formation of sounds, basic knowledge of articulatory phonetics is necessary. A teacher can make certain sounds more audible or transparent. Both the type of articulation, e.g. the formation of vowels or consonants, and the place of articulation play a role. The latter includes, for example, the lower and upper lip, the palate, the incisors or the tip of the tongue. Speaking takes place as a continuous sequence of individual sounds that influence each other in articulatory movements.

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Illnesses & ailments

Problems with individual sound formation are articulation disorders that deviate from the standard of pronunciation. They are called dyslalia in medicine. Under these conditions, humans can no longer form certain sounds or deform them, so that lisp occurs. These difficulties often arise in childhood. The causes are varied and can be congenital malformations of the tongue, palate, lips or jaw. It can also be hearing disorders that prevent you from being able to hear your own pronunciation.

In most cases, however, the incorrect sound formation is not based on an organic cause, but the articulation disorder is based on bad habits, wrong speech models or sounds and sound sequences that are pronounced incorrectly out of habit. In many cases, it is just a lack of practice, which is why the sound and language formation fails. Such difficulties can be recognized early and diagnosed, for example by a pediatrician or speech therapist, and eliminated in good time.

As soon as the sound production is more impaired in humans, it comes to more serious speech disorders (dysarthria), which can have various causes. The term encompasses disorders of speaking as well as breathing, articulation and vocalization, while the brain's performance does not have to be impaired to form sentences. Such problems usually arise after a stroke, a cerebral haemorrhage or diseases such as Parkinson's or multiple sclerosis. If the sound formation is no longer possible, it is called anarthria.