Recommending clearer, more precise articulation movements must be done with considerable caution. Unless suggestions are specific they can be misleading. In clearly articulated speech there is vigorous movement of the lips and tongue tip, but not excessive vertical movement of the jaw. This observation must be a well-kept professional secret, because when lay people are asked to use clearer speech they invariably "yap" with the jaw. More about jaw "yapping" in the next section.
When lip movements provide the best visual information for the hearing impaired these movements are precise but not exaggerated. Lips are spread towards a smile for the vowels in "Beet," "bit," "bait," and "bet"; the lip opening is rather square for the vowels in "bat," "bite," and "Bart"; they become progressively rounded for the vowels in "bought," "boat," "book," and "boot"; slightly pursed for "Burt; and neutral for the vowels in "but" and "above." Lip movements are quite visible for the consonants /p/. /b/, /m/,/w/,,/wh/,/f/, /v/, /sh/, and /zh/.
The teeth play a visual role for consonant phonemes /f/,/v/, /th/(voiced), and /xh/(unvoiced "th" as in "thick"). Teeth are closest to occlusion for /s/ and /z/ and widest apart for /a/, /ah/, and /aw/. Usually the tongue tip is seen when articulating the two "th" phonemes, and the underside of the tongue tip is sometimes visible for /t/,/d/,/n/,/l/,/ch/,/j/,/y/, and possibly /r/. It is difficult to see the underside of the tongue tip for /s/ and /z/ because the teeth are so close together for these sounds. The back-of-tongue vowels and consonants /k/,/g, and /ng/ are invisible unless you hold a powerful flashlight at just the right angle and the mouth is wide open. Forget them!
The writer of this manual prefers the term "speechreading" rather than "lipreading" because people who "speechread" really do watch facial expressions, tongue, and jaw movements in addition to the lips. Speechreaders also make use of situation cues. To be a good speechreader one must also ban an expert at guessing correctly! Nevertheless, those who use Cued Speech must have healthy respect for the information which is available through speechreading. Without such oral visual information Cued Speech couldn't possibly work -- and, of course, it does! So let's leave the ventriloquists skills to those who work with dummies.
A Visual Articulation Test
The informal test which follows is not intended as a general appraisal of the visual clarity of a person's speech without Cued Speech, and should not be used as such. To our knowledge no such test exists. It is a test of visual clarity for those phonemes which Cued Speech assumes should be clearly distinctive without hand cues. Cued Speech as a system relies on certain basic visual contrasts among sets of phonemes, so these contrasts are well-worth checking in your speech. It does little good to check articulation movements with isolated speech sounds: this only elicits temporary exaggeration which has no carry-over into actual speech habits.
If you have access to a video camcorder, photograph yourself saying the test sentences. Then, with the sound turned off, check the play-back carefully for possible visual confusions or ask someone else to watch the tape and monitor you. If you don't have access to a video recorder, watch yourself in a mirror or have someone watch you who can't hear very well. You might run the vacuum cleaner for masking noise.
/ee/-/ur/ 1. "I lost a sheet. I lost a shirt."
/a/-/oo/-/ue/ 2. "Watch your back. Watch your book. Watch your bike."
/aw/-/e/-/ue/ 3. "That's my lawn. That's my Len. That's my loon."
/ah-/oh/-/uh/ 4. "It's your cart. It's your coat. It's your cut."
/aw-i/-/e-i/ 5. "Joy was with us. Jay was with us."
/ah-i/-/ah-oo/ 6. "Won't you come dine with us? Won't you come down with us?"
/m/-/f/-/t/ 7. "You can take it. You can make it.You can fake it."
/h/-/s/-/r/ 8. "Will you hide with us? Will you ride with us? Will you side with us?"
/p/-/d/-/zh/ 9. "There's a pimple on your chin. There's a dimple on your chin."
10. "Ada is interesting. Asia is interesting."
/th/-/z/-/k/ 11. "The clothing sale is Friday. The closing
-/v/ sale is Friday.
12. "You can't hack it. You can't have it."
/b/-/n/-/wh/ 13. "He saw a whale. He saw a bale. He saw a nail."
/l/-/w/-/sh/ 14. "Lee will do it. She will do it. We will do it."
/j/-/g/-/zh/ 15. "Your bag is ready. Your bath is ready. Your badge is ready."
/ch/-/y/-/ng/ 16. "I played yesterday." I played chess today.
17. I'm not a ring salesman. I'm not a rich salesman."
Assuming that one doesn't have an articulation problem of some kind, what can be done to improve the visibility of speech movements?
1. Speak as clearly and precisely as you can with good muscle tonus in your lips and tongue tip. Do not exaggerate vertical jaw movements. One way to become aware of good muscle tonus and clear articulation is to "say" the diagnostic sentences 1-17 with absolutely no voice or breath. DON'T WHISPER! Simple articulate the sentences. You'll discover that you can feel what you're doing. Focus your articulation energy forward on the lips and tongue tip. Under no circumstances should you do this exercise in the presence of a hearing impaired individual. Merely mouthing words while cueing is not recommended unless you are a interpreting for someone who is speaking to the Deaf. Mouthing words while cueing can affect the synchronization of your Cued SPeech if you aren't very careful. Auditory feedback is an important aid to your own synchronization. Mouthing sentences without voice also cheats the hearing-impaired individual out of the benefits of whatever residual hearing he/she has.
2. Emphasize lip rounding of the back vowels such as /aw/ in "caught," /oh/ in "coat," /oo/ in "cook," and /ue/ in "cool." Failure to round the lips for these sounds is a very common sight in people with sloppy articulation.
3. Spread your lips towards a smile for the high front vowels such as /ee/ in "feet," /i/ in "fit/, the diphthong /ay/ in "fate," and the /e/ in "bet." The lip spread becomes less pronounced as you approach the /e/.
4. Pay special attention to the lip/tongue/jaw movements of consonants which are potentially most visible: /p/, /b/, /m/, /w/, /wh/, /f/, /v/, /sh/, /zh/, /t/, /d/, /n/, and /l/.
5. One should consider objectively the consequences of wearing anything around the mouth when the purpose is primarily cosmetic rather than corrective. No arbitrary pronouncement concerning moustaches or beards is appropriate because there are too many variables involved. Some men with expressive, mobile faces who wear carefully trimmed moustaches or beards are easy to speechread. Others who wear no hair around the face at all are difficult to speechread. But one would hope that in any personal conflict between cosmetics and communication, the needs of oral communication would be met first. By the same token, people who restrict lip movements to mask unsightly teeth should be advised to consult a good dentist. Recent advances in cosmetic dentistry might solve that particular dilemma very nicely.
6. Those with complex problems related to visual information from speech movements should consult either a speech/language pathologist, an audiologist trained in aural rehabilitation, or a teacher of speechreading. Obviously the best professional to consult is one who knows Cued Speech, because this person will know which movements are critical and which are not. An actual case will help to explain the point being made. One parent of a deaf child was both a competent cuer and an excellent speaker. No articulaton problems of any kind were apparent when we listened to this parent. It was only when we watched this person cue-and-speak without sound that we detected a discrepancy: /r/ phonemes always looked like /w/ phonemes on the lips. Did this pose a critical oral language reception problem for the deaf child? No, because visually different hand cues for /r/ and /w/ provided the necesary distinction.Clinical intervention was unnecessary. But one wonders what the diagnosis would have been if the "problem" had been discovered by an articulatio or speechreading specialist who was unfamiliar with the dynamics of Cued Speech.
(Note: Since this manual was originally published the author has developed a "Cued Speechreading Test" which has been standardized and is available for those being evaluated for certification.
Conversation Terminology
A. SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION (SYNTAX) :
Random, disjointed, unpredictable, loosely coordinated.
1 Simple Sentence: has only one clauseeg. Is OK.; It couldn't be better; How's things with you?
2Minor Sentence: has no verbeg. Barrington forward.
3 Ellipsis: omission of word or words making a sentence grammatically incorrect and difficult to follow.
4 Proseopesis: omission of subject or beginning of sentenceeg. It's OK... couldn't be better... can't grumble...
5Anacoluthon: starting a sentence with one structure and finishing with anothereg. Once he's in position if he's... he's he's er moves very quickly.
6Tag Sentences: is tagged on to the main sentenceeg. But that's life, isn't it?
7Parataxis: listing of phrases leading to a climaxeg. It's cool, it's fresh, it's invigorating, it's Coke.
8Takeovers: interpretations by one speaker before the other has finished.
9Relative Pronouns Omitted:
(who, which, what)eg. The girl I saw at the beach.
B. VERBAL FEATURES
1Verbal Contradictions: using abbreviated verb formseg. couldn't, won't, can't, I've.
2Phrasal Verbs: (Verb and particle combinations) to take off, to build up, to consult with, to check up on, to walk out on.
C NON FLUENCY FEATURES
1Fillers: eg. eh, gosh.
2 Temporisers: eg. sort of, I mean...
3 Repetition for stalling purposes (any repetition)
D GENERAL FEATURES
1 Deictic Reference: reference to preceding object using determiners.
2 Determiners: eg. the, this, those.
3 Intensifiers: adjectives and adverbs that intensify or modify nouns/verbseg. too, pretty, quite, rather, bit.
4 Initial Markers: eg. Well...; But...
5 Colloquialisms, Slang and Clichés:
6 Hyperbole or Exaggeration: eg. I have a ton of homework.
7 Feedback eg. yeah, mmmm
10 Tips to Improve Your Speaking Voice
One of the most important components of public speaking is the sound of your voice. It influences the impact of your message, and might even make or break the success of your speech. Fortunately, for many people, good voice quality can be learned.
Instructions :
1. Breathe from your diaphragm - Practice long and controlled exhales. When you speak, use breath to punctuate your point. For example, take a breath at the end of each phrase whether you need to or not. Use that opportunity to pause and let the listeners absorb what you say.
2. Use pitch - Lower pitches generally are more soothing to hear. However, modulating your pitch for emphasis will keep your listeners engaged. Develop your pitch by practicing humming.
3. Moderate your volume - Find out if you speak too loudly or too softly. When you begin speaking, ask your audience how your volume is (each situation is different). Try to stay at the appropriate volume throughout your speech.
4. Moderate your pace - This one is also closely related to breath. If you speak too quickly, people can’t keep up. If you speak too slowly, people will lose interest. Record your speech to determine if you need to change your pace. Get feedback from others.
5. Articulate - Try exaggerating your lip movement to reduce mumbling. Practice articulating tongue twisters and extending and exaggerating vowel sounds. Become an expert at articulating tongue twisters as quickly and crisply as possible. Focus on the ones you find difficult.
6. Practice your speech in advance and determine where you want to pause for a breath. For more emphasis, pause for more than one breath. Mark your breathing points in your notes.
7. Loosen up before you begin. Look side to side. Roll your head in half-circles and roll your shoulders back. Shift your rib cage from side to side. Yawn. Stretch. Touch your toes while completely relaxing your upper body, then slowly stand up, one vertebra at a time, raising your head last. Repeat as needed.
8. Posture - Stand up straight and tall to allow full lung capacity and airflow.
9. Record your voice repeatedly using different ways of speaking. Determine which one is most pleasing.
10. Practice breath control - Take a deep breath, and while you exhale, count to 10 (or recite the months or days of the week). Try gradually increasing your volume as you count, using your abdominal muscles—not your throat—for volume. Don’t let your larynx tense up.
Power Speak your way to success
Language is a gold mine which makes a big Change. Dig deep into it, build your vocabulary and dive for unlimited treasure which has remained there untapped for a long time. Rediscover yourself with your own Speech. All words look great in cold print but do not sound the same when spoken aloud. So, the first step towards success is Reading Aloud. This enables to make you hear your own voice what you are reading. Then think of the better modulations of your voice. Focus on your speech and style. Pronunciations play a major role here. Sound is born in your own vocal voice chords. Let it rise through your chest, throat and mouth, bubble with enthusiam and vigour effortlessly and lightly. Speech therapists focus on various methods. Free souls help your voice modulation with a few tips as per experiences.
Be Soft spoken. Speak from the depth of your heart, speak your mind and feel your nerves pulsating the sound of your voice.
Be Energetic. Electrify the listener with your presentation. Don’t let butterflies quiver you and chase away the nervouseness.
Mind your Language. Words has a meaning as well as topics do count a lot. Work on pronunciatins and build vocabulary.
Talk sense. Avoid beating around the bush. Say clear, be brief and do not fumble. Confusion lands you and the listener into more confusion. Do not bluff or fool yourself but blur out sensibly even if words are not meant to be spoken. Use tact, speak truth but know realities too and act sensibly to it. Convince your listener.
Create Leadership air. Build an air of confidence with your speech. Start talking directly with the main topic using easy flow of jokes, comments or anecdotes. Some words are guaranteed to make people listen. Dig for knowledgeable words – it evokes curiosity, love, understanding, excitement, etc.
Presentation with style. Cultivate a positive attitude. Be positive, prepared and well aware. Work on memory improvement levls. Check your blues. Get mirror practise and check your expressions too. A smile with the speech takes you to miles.
Voice Modulation. The most important factor is voice modulation – pitch, tone and volume. Adjust the Bass, volume like the sound system. Start with soft notes. Good beginning is best otherwise its shrieking from the start. Feel humour, feel happy, calm and composed.
Expressions. They are most important as expressions reflects your inner feelings and your speech is based on your thoughts. Let your speech and expression be your asset as well as a good decent Dress code.
