Role of tactile receptor structures of the tongue in speech sound production of infants of the first year of life

The development of mechanosensory papillae of the tongue in the early postnatal ontogeny is studied by morphological and physiological methods: the tactile receptor structures first appear on the body and root of the tongue and then on its anterior surface. This heterochrony in the formation of tactile papillae of the tongue determines the involvement of its different zones in articulation. The appearance of velar, dorsal, and point consonants in the vocal repertoire of hearing and deaf infants is revealed. The same consequence of consonant appearance is demonstrated in infants of different nationalities.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]