BBC News features UC's speech-language pathology research using ultrasound to track tongue movements

In the article, Suzanne Boyce, professor of communication sciences and disorders in UC’s College of Allied Health Sciences and adjunct professor in biomedical engineering, takes speech analysis one step further tracking tongue movements in adults, typically-developing children and children with speech and language disorders.

Her research published in Clinical Linguists & Phonetics and cited in “BBC” news suggests that what linguists call rhotic pronunciation for “r” sounds in all languages involves two different parts of the tongue at the same time — that is, the front part moves up and the very back root moves backwards in the throat.

As part of her NIH-funded research with UC colleagues Michael Riley of psychology, Douglas Mast of biomedical engineering and Renee Seward of DAAP, and seed money from UC’s Office of Research Strategic Collaborative Funding Initiative, Boyce finds a critical value for ultrasound imaging in children's speech therapy. Using this technique, she creates games that offer real-time views of the tongue during the formation of speech, helping children learn to produce correct tongue shapes for difficult sounds.