What does "speech motor control" entail?

"Speech motor control" primarily involves the coordination of muscle movements necessary for producing speech. This includes the precise timing and sequencing of the actions related to articulators such as the tongue, lips, and vocal folds. Effective speech production requires a highly integrated system where the brain sends signals to various muscles to contract and adjust their positions rapidly in response to linguistic demands.

While emotional expression during speech, understanding language structure, and developing vocabulary skills are crucial aspects of communication and language, they fall outside the specific domain of speech motor control. Each of these areas interacts with speech production but does not directly address the biomechanical and neurological processes that enable the physical articulation of speech sounds. Thus, the focus of "speech motor control" is rightly on the physical aspects of speaking.