English Speaking and Using the Face Muscles

by Judy Young

Something that most people don't realize is that each language, when it is spoken, uses different muscles on the face and in the mouth to make the sounds. If you are talking with someone who does not speak your native tongue, it is good to "tune in" to the differences in how the sounds are made. In doing so, it can then be easier to interpret what a person is saying.

For instance, Spanish-speaking people have a lot of tongue placement in the very front of the mouth and make many of the sounds of their language in the front teeth area, moving the tip of the tongue quickly. People from East India will often place the tip of the tongue in the roof of the mouth to make their sounds. People from Israel will often have placement in the bottom back part of the mouth and upper throat.

Placement of vibration of the voice, or resonance, differs for different languages as well. Resonance is typically either in the front of the face, nasal area, inside of the head or in the throat areas, and also the chest area. Several examples are Asian languages, which have a lot of resonance in the front of the face and nasal area and German, which concentrates in the throat and chest areas.

When learning how to speak English better it is important to see and hear exactly where a person puts the tongue placement and resonance for their language, and also for English. This helps a person to more easily learn proper placement of the tongue and vibration of the voice. It also aids in being able to better understand that person, no matter what their native tongue is.