Tongue Anatomy
This is the very front part of your tongue.
What is the tongue tip?
“Put your tongue right behind your front teeth — what do you feel?”
What is the alveolar ridge?
You can hold /l/ to...
slide the tongue along the roof of the mouth for /r/
All good /r/ shapes have this many bumps.
What is two?
This part sits right behind the tip.
What is the tongue blade?
“Press the sides of your tongue up into your back teeth.”
What is lateral bracing?
You can hold /a/ to help
pull the tongue root back before lifting the front of the tongue for /r/
This bump is made when the tip or blade lifts up.
What is the front bump?
This large middle section is also called the “dorsum.”
What is the tongue body?
Lift the front of your tongue up off the floor of your mouth
These are the two tongue shapes we use to make /r/.
What are bunched and retroflex?
This bump is made when the tongue root pulls back.
What is the back bump?
This part sits way in the back, near your throat.
What is the tongue root?
Name for putting the sides of your tongue up by your back teeth
lateral bracing
You can hold /i/ to
slowly pull your tongue back for /r/
Both tongue shapes have this feature in the middle.
What is a dip?
These parts of the tongue must lift up for a strong /r/ sound.
What are the back sides of the tongue?
A way to describe pulling the back of your tongue backward
Pretend you’re holding a tiny marble in your throat.
This tool takes pictures of your body and lets us see tongue shapes.
What is an MRI?
These are the two tongue shapes we label when practicing bumps and dips.
What are bunched and retroflex?