Electropalatography
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Electropalatography (EPG) is a technique used to monitor contacts between the tongue and hard palate, particularly during articulation and speech.
A custom-made artificial palate is moulded to fit against a speaker's hard palate. The artificial palate contains electrodes exposed to the lingual surface. When contact occurs between the tongue surface and any of the electrodes, particularly between the lateral margins of the tongue and the borders of the hard palate, electronic signals are sent to an external processing unit. EPG provides dynamic real-time visual feedback of the location and timing of tongue contacts with the hard palate.
This procedure can record details of tongue activity during speech. It can provide direct articulatory information that children can use in therapy to monitor and improve their articulation patterns. Visual feedback is very important in the success of treating deaf children.
Electropalatography has been studied in a variety of populations, including children with cleft palate, children with Down's Syndrome, children who are deaf, children with cochlear implants, children with cerebral palsy and adults with Parkinson's disease. Therapy has proved to be successful in tested populations.[citation needed] Longitudinal studies with large sample sizes are needed to determine the long-term success of therapy.
Palatography
Palatography is a technique used to identify which parts of the mouth are used when making different sounds. This technique is often used by linguists doing field work on little-known natural languages. It involves painting a coloring agent, such as a dye or a mixture of charcoal and olive oil on the tongue or the roof of a person's mouth and having that person pronounce a specific letter or sound. A photograph is then made of the mouth roof and tongue in order to determine how the sound was articulated. The technique can also be performed electronically using a tool called a pseudo-palate, which consists of a retainer-like plate lined with electrods that is placed on the roof of the mouth while the speaker pronounces a sound. A record made through palatography is called a palatogram.
