Praxis Education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students (5272) Practice Exam

The tongue serves as the principal articulator in speech because of its versatility and crucial role in shaping sounds. It can move to various positions in the oral cavity, allowing it to create different speech sounds by adjusting its contact with other articulators such as the lips, hard palate, and soft palate. This adaptability enables the tongue to produce a wide range of phonetic sounds necessary for clear speech, participating in the articulation of vowels and most consonants.

While the lips, soft palate, and teeth also contribute to speech production, they do so in conjunction with the tongue rather than independently. For example, the lips can modify sounds but rely on the tongue to achieve precise articulation. Similarly, the soft palate is involved in resonance and sound quality but also depends on the tongue's positioning. The teeth can support the articulation of certain sounds, such as fricatives, but they are not as central to the process as the tongue. In summary, the tongue's primary role in articulating a vast array of speech sounds establishes it as the principal articulator.