Eletropalatografia

Eletropalatografia (electropalatography, EPG) is a technique for recording and visualizing contact between the tongue and the hard palate during speech. A thin, custom-fitted artificial palate containing an array of electrodes is placed against the roof of the mouth; when the tongue touches an electrode, a contact pattern is detected and displayed in real time or saved for analysis. The method yields time-aligned binary or grayscale matrices that represent tongue–palate contact configuration across phonetic segments.

EPG is used in clinical, educational and research contexts. Clinically, it assists assessment and therapy for articulation disorders related to structural anomalies (e.g., cleft palate), motor-speech impairments, or habitual misarticulations by providing objective articulatory evidence and immediate visual biofeedback. In phonetics and linguistic research, EPG contributes to studies of consonant articulation, coarticulation, and language-specific tongue–palate patterns. EPG is also employed in second-language pronunciation training.

Advantages of EPG include direct articulatory information, quantifiable measures, and the possibility of real-time feedback. Limitations include the need for a custom palate, potential influence of the device on natural articulation, the technique’s restriction to tongue–palate contact (excluding non-contact articulatory gestures), and equipment cost. EPG data are often combined with other methods such as acoustic analysis, ultrasound imaging, or electromagnetic articulography to provide a more complete picture of speech production.