Electromagnetic articulography was used to track tongue and jaw motion in 48 children and adults (aged 6–38 years) during productions of /t/ and /k/ embedded in sentences.

Results

The coordinative organization of the tongue and jaw exhibited changes until the age of 8–11 years and continued to undergo refinement into late adolescence. The tongue–tip and tongue–body were observed to develop unique kinematic relations with the jaw. While tongue–tip movement became increasingly synchronized with jaw movement, tongue–body and jaw retained movement independence but developed a more consistent kinematic relation.

Conclusion

The present results support the notion that speech motor development is nonuniform, with a refinement period from mid-childhood to late adolescence.

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