82 Yoga for Speech-Language Development
planning, motor planning, motor programming, and execution
(Van der Merwe 2009). The first linguistic-symbolic planning
stage involves all of the components of language, namely
the semantic, lexical, syntactic, morphological, and phonological
systems. Phonological planning involves the selection and
sequencing of sounds according to the phonotactic rules of
language, for example, that words in English cannot begin with
the consonants “ng,” “mb,” or “ts.”
During the motor planning stage of speech production,
a plan of action reflecting motor goals is formulated (Van der
Merwe 2009). The production of each speech sound involves
temporal-spatial (place and manner of articulation) motor goals
that are articulator rather than muscle specific. For example, the
motor goals for the /m/ sound are lip closure, soft palate (velar)
opening to allow airflow through the nostrils, and vocal fold
closure. During this motor planning stage, the different motor
goals for each speech sound are identified and the movements
required for their production are sequenced. Coarticulation,
which is the influence of one speech sound on another (Bauman-
Waengler 2012), is also a factor during this motor planning stage.
For example, the motor goals for /m/ in “moo” and /m/ in “me”
differ in that the lips are more rounded for the former and more
spread for the latter.
During the next stage of speech production, motor plans are
converted into motor programs (Van der Merwe 2009). Motor
programming for speech production involves selecting and
sequencing movements for the muscles of articulation, including
those of the vocal folds. This process is affected by muscle tone as
well as the rate, direction, and range of movements.
Motor plans and programs are transformed into actual
movements during the execution stage of speech production
(Van der Merwe 2009). Although motor plans and programs are
established before speech movements begin, they can be adjusted