Articulation is the way we shape sounds with our lips, tongue, teeth, jaw and the roof of the mouth. Every word is a sequence of these small movements, made quickly and in the right order.
Sounds, not letters
Speech is made of sounds, which do not always match spelling. The English word “fish” has three sounds: F, I and SH, even though SH is written with two letters. In Urdu, ش is one sound written with one letter. Speech professionals often write sounds with the International Phonetic Alphabet so everyone means the same thing.
Common ways a sound can differ
- A sound is replaced by another, such as “wabbit” for “rabbit”.
- A sound is left out, such as “poon” for “spoon”.
- A sound is made in an unusual way, so it sounds slightly different.
- An extra sound is added.
These differences are a normal part of how children learn to talk. For some people they continue longer, or make speech harder to understand, and practice or professional support can help.
Where Awaaz fits
Awaaz compares the sounds in a recording with the sounds of a target word, which can show whether a particular sound came through as expected. It cannot tell you why a sound differs, and it is not an assessment.