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Tongue Article by Joy

"Your tongue is like the rudder of your ship. It will determine which way you go and how you will you get there" - Joy Sikorski

Your Tongue, Friend or Enemy?

Your tongue is either your best friend or your worst enemy.

Why?

Look at the picture below and notice how large this muscle is, where it's located and how far it extends into the back of the throat.

Now look at the notes and arrows (representing sound) and notice how the sound moves up into the naso-pharynx area and is aimed at both the hard palate (not the soft palate) and the cartilage in the nose.

Tongue and Epiglottis

The next picture shows a view of the tongue from the back. Notice the muscles that surround it and the epiglottis. This is the flap of tissue that closes when you swallow so that food or water won't get into your trachea or lungs when it goes down the esophagus. If you have a tight tongue that pulls back in the mouth, it will push against the epiglottis, forcing it down, which muffles the sound.

Neck Muscles and Your Tongue

Remember that your neck muscles need to stay relaxed because any tension in your neck will affect the way you use your tongue.

Tense up your shoulders and neck muscles and notice how the tension affects your tongue muscle. Relax and let go of the tension. Now let your tongue rest over your bottom teeth, allowing them to lightly touch the inside of your lower lip. Take deep breaths without raising your shoulders and keep your tongue relaxed and in the position mentioned above. Repeat this in front of a mirror as often as you can, watching to make sure you don't raise your shoulders or tense your tongue.

Muscle Exercises

Lips - your lip muscles control how you shape the 'tunnel' through which your sound will come and they also control how you form consonants for clarity in diction and articulation

Cheeks - keeping your cheeks high will allow you to get a larger shape for your vowels and will let you relax your tongue more

Throat - if your throat is tight, your sound will be tight, so learn how to loosen up your throat and get a full round sound out of it

Neck - your neck links with the other muscles surrounding your larynx so if your neck is tight, guess what happens to the sound?

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