Tongue Exercises: Do they really help you speak better?

[True2marie]

Tongue exercises (movements to make your tongue more flexible) are said to help people communicate better.  If effective, the doer can speak his native tongue with more ease as well as a foreign one.  I have never prescribed to tongue exercises, I feel they aren't necessary. 

Am I wrong?

[DaBlink182]

Never heard of this before but it sounds very reasonable. A friend of mine can't pronounce the rolling "R", it doesn't matter how I explain it to him, he doesn't seem to get it. But I'm sure there's a way for him to learn this. If he were to do tongue exercises, I think he'd be able to pronounce it with ease after some practice.

Oh and another thing to add to this, for most people in my country, it's pretty difficult to pronounce "th".

This often results in pronouncing "Cathedral" as "Catedral". We're just not used to making that sound with our tongue, so the only thing you can do is either practicing a lot or doing tongue exercises to get used to it more quickly.

[Peninha]

I am not familar with tongue exercises, but it makes perfect sense to me, hence is the tongue that controls the speaking.

Here in Portugal we speak languages fairly OK and with no major accents because we are trained to since kids, all the TV shows and in English and so on. In Spain this doesn't happen (everything is dubbed) and they have big time difficulties with accents. 

[brookie]

I've never heard of tongue exercises before. But, I'm guessing that it would be the same logic as vocal exercises for singers. Would it be different exercises for different languages or one exercise for all?

[Trellum]

I never heard tongue exercises were good for that, I had heard they were good for a totally different thing, but not this, lol.  I really fail to see how a flexible tongue could help you to pronounce a language better, I guess is possible in theory, but in practice?  I've to see that in process, hehehe! 

I guess it can help so you don't get tired after repeating the same phrases over and over   Specially if you are using a Pimsleur course!

[sidney]

I was told that when I was young, I couldn't pronounce words with the letter "R" right. I was told that I have a "wide tongue" by my relatives, whatever that means. But as I grew older, I have actually learned how to pronounce the words with letter "R" right, so maybe that tongue exercise method can really help people, not that I actually tried it myself, but in theory I think that it can help.

[pandandesign]

I never use or learn to use tongue exercises, which doesn't help me much because I tend to speak naturally without using my tongue. There are only a few words that I would use the tongue to announce them clearer so people would understand what I'm trying to say. Otherwise, the tongue exercise isn't something I have learned or known to exist.

[Baburra]

Yes, I do think it works, but I think it only works best when used for public speaking or other types of performances like stage acting wherein you'd have to project and enunciate a lot more. For daily conversations, I think you'd have to constantly be aware for it to work, which isn't always practical.

[Antiquarian]

Yes it does. Many of our consonants and indeed complex words rely on the tongue heavily. Without the tongue, people won't be able to pronounce various words that have an intricate or complex sound to them. Especially words with heavy "r" and "d" pronunciations.

The tongue is a primal communications tool and without it, we would have a complicated time pronouncing various words. The tongue is also important in languages with powerful consonants and words that have an assertive tone.

Also, without the tongue, people won't be able to sing or chant well either. The tongue is important to language, music and religious ceremonies.

Regards,

The Antiquarian.

[Rosa]

I do agree that tongue exercises does help you speak better.I have a friend that had a speech impediment and it was speech therapy that helped him to correct it so I think the same goes for sounding common words.

[Humbleman]

Tongue exercises (movements to make your tongue more flexible) are said to help people communicate better.  If effective, the doer can speak his native tongue with more ease as well as a foreign one.  I have never prescribed to tongue exercises, I feel they aren't necessary. 

Am I wrong?

If this is indeed something that is legit and real...how can one get enrolled. I've never heard of this before, and so it kind of sounds outlandish...but I know it could very well be possible. If I can indeed do exercises to improve my speech, then why not?  :amazed:

Where did you come upon this story?

[devilishomar]

It is scientifically proven to help you speak better, so yes I would say it does indeed work. You might not feel it when practicing yourself, but it definitely works. As you build up on the exercises you get more used to the way you're operating your tongue so you don't feel any difference because the progress isn't lightning fast.

It takes some time and practice to perfect, but it does definitely help!

[lizbeth19hph]

They do help one is his speaking skill since he can exercise his tongue especially if he keeps on stuttering whenever he gets to speak or read a text aloud. Such tongue twisters or exercise are really done once in a while in a reading/language class.

[Daimashin]

I think it does especially in languages that require different tones. Having a more flexible tongue will let you speak out words more clearly and precise. There are times when we find it hard to speak fluently, smoothly is because we are tongue tied and words don't come out right.

[htr693]

Yes yes and yes. Tongue exercises make a world of difference in speech. I am a professional dialect and vocal coach, and the first thing I do with every student is a good mouth warm up. Speaking is about isolating muscles to get the most clarity. It's like going to the gym. You have to warm up, and you have to build strength if you want to see results. The same goes with the muscles of the mouth. You can speak with very little effort naturally. This is like walking. If you want to run a marathon, you have to work your way up to it. So if you want to learn a new language or accent, you have to train your muscles to move differently.

There are many tongue and mouth exercises that can help with this. Be sure that whatever you're doing, you're truly isolating the muscles. For example, if you are working on your tongue, be sure that your jaw isn't moving, and your chin is not moving up and down.

This can make a huge difference to speech. Give it a go!

[marmunmrhundun]

I think tongue exercises help you fluency when speaking. I know your tongue is a big part of speaking in all languages. It helps you pronounce certain things and it helps you with vowels and words as well.

[seddik]

As a linguist, I concur. They do help. The word linguist comes from lingua, Latin for tongue. If you have no tongue, then you are unsung. See! People who talk more often are more fluent. Flexing your linguistic muscles. However, without thinking it could lead to falling into the habit of verbosity, prolixity and talkativeness.