The variation in the size and shape of the human speech pattern with incisor-tooth relation

A mandibular kinesiograph was used to monitor the movement of the lower incisors of young dentate adults reading a standard text. An interface to a microcomputer which recorded and analysed these movements. As the tracings accumulated on the computer monitor, a characteristic pattern was produced. The dimensions of this speech pattern, or envelope of movement, were measured and correlated with the subject's sex and incisor classification. Four distinct patterns were found and these correlated well with incisor classification. Small differences were noted in the dimensions of the speech envelope between men and women, but these were not significant.