Common descriptions of articulatory requirements for production of the alveolar trill /r/ mainly focus on describing the configuration of the anterior portions of the tongue, while in contrast, the more posterior parts receive limited attention. Understanding how the posterior portions of the tongue move is vital for understanding speech motor control, especially with regard to speech development. This study used ultrasound imaging of /r/ productions by adult native speakers of Spanish to characterize the contribution of the posterior portion of the tongue to effective production of the sound. The results show that beyond raising the anterior portion of the tongue for trilling, Spanish speakers also retract the back part of their tongue (i.e., the tongue root). This movement resembles that seen for the production of the rhotic English approximant (ɹ). Clinical implications are discussed.
Children's questions to their caregivers - and caregivers' questions to their children - play an important role in child development. For children on the autism spectrum, who often experience cognitive, linguistic and social difficulties, prior research on questions has resulted in inconsistent and incomplete findings. The present study characterized the frequency, form, and function of queries posed by children on the autism spectrum (n = 12), non-spectrum peers (n =20), and parents using the Nadig ASD English Corpus in the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES). Results suggested that children on the autism spectrum and their caregivers produced fewer questions than non-spectrum dyads; however, whereas wh- questions were under-represented in the repertoire of children on the spectrum, they were over-represented in the repertoire of their parents. Finally, question function was similarly diverse for parents and children across groups. These findings offer important clinical implications for question-asking interventions targeting this population.

