Feeling that the tongue is enlarged and speech is unclear, or speaking with a large tongue, may be due to congenital reasons such as intellectual disability or sequelae of cerebral palsy, or may be caused by acquired articulatory disorders. Here are some ways to correct the problem:

How to Correct Speech with a Large Tongue

1. Press the tongue against the teeth on the back of the mouth, and then slowly extend it outwards towards the lips, the longer the better, and then quickly retract it. After flattening the tongue, quickly extend it outwards from the mouth, and then quickly retract it, the longer the better. Press the tip of the tongue firmly against the left cheek, making the facial muscles bulge as much as possible, and then repeat the same action on the right cheek, alternating between left and right, repeatedly.

Press the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth, lick the back of the palate, and try to make the licking action as long as possible without causing pain to the frenulum. Then use the tongue to slowly lick the palate and enter the posterior teeth.

Roll the sides of the tongue towards the center to form a tubular shape, and then extend it outwards from the mouth, alternating between extending and retracting. Place the tongue flat and gently bite the surface of the tongue with the teeth, biting and extending outwards while slowly retracting. Swing the tongue from left to right and from right to left, simulating the feeling of chewing food.

Press the tongue against the upper jaw and suck it inwards, making a "clicking" sound.

Causes of Speech with a Large Tongue

Congenital physiological developmental abnormalities, including various malformations such as intellectual disability and sequelae of cerebral palsy, as well as other diseases that compress the language nerves, can lead to inaccurate pronunciation due to physiological phenomena.

Acquired articulatory disorders manifest as incomplete consonant movements during speech, resulting in independent vowel sounds and distortion. Other factors such as incorrect airflow expulsion (e.g., exhaling through the nose instead of the mouth), tongue sounds being produced on the sides of the tongue, and poor tongue movement can also contribute to inaccurate pronunciation.

Symptoms of Speech with a Large Tongue

Congenital causes mainly refer to incomplete or defective physical development, especially in the language center and articulatory organs, which may be due to embryonic drug poisoning or extreme nutritional deficiency or excess during fetal development. This can lead to malformations or incompleteness of the developmental organs, such as cleft palate or cleft lip, which directly affect speech and language expression.

Acquired causes mainly refer to individual sounds being pronounced inaccurately while other sounds are unaffected. The body's functions are completely normal, but the muscle strength, tension, or coordination of the articulatory organs may be insufficient, leading to inaccurate pronunciation. Over time, this incorrect information becomes ingrained, resulting in the formation of incorrect pronunciation habits and confusion between correct and incorrect sounds.