Assessment of articulation by use of palatography

Abstract

Electropalatography (EPG) is a method to obtain data on the dynamics of lingual articulation. It is useful both in the assessment and treatment of various types of articulation disorders, especially distorted sounds with cleft-palate and glossectomized patients. Many improvements in EPG technique have recently been carried out. The location of electrodes on the artificial palate has been extended to the maxillary tooth and soft palate. In addition, Two new techniques, a three-dimensional EPG and a pressure-sensitive EPG, have been developed. Here, EPG patterns were examined in fourteen normal Japanese speakers, six male and eight female, aged between 21 and 29 (average 25.1). All subjects have normal dentitions and occlusions. The speech material consisted of three syllables, [ta] [sa] [fa], proceeding the vowel [a]. The findings clarified that variation in EPG patterns can be observed in normal speakers, especially during utterance of [afa]. We believe that this phenomenon of variations in EPG patterns in normal speakers is related to factors such as palatal shapes and lingual movement.