Viseme

Mouth image designated in the field of education for the deaf and hard of hearing education the visually perceptible attitude of the lower face area and the lips in the production of words of spoken language.

In the speech production of the human voice in addition to the tools, and the outer mouth and the lips are activated in each word in a certain way. This is more or less similar in individual small differences in most people. The thus distinguishable pattern of mouth posture can in principle to a lip-reading speech.

In English, the visually visible mouth image is referred to in alignment with the term phoneme as " visemes ".

The design and position of the mouth images are mainly in the field of deaf and hard of hearing education to some degree systematically aware of and can be illustrated understandable. The lip-reading is in this area with the practical demonstration and "read" exercise typical mouth positions and mouth image sequences practiced and trained.

Mouth images may not reflect the complete shape of a word completely, but in fact especially the parts of the word, lead only parts of it while speaking to the most significant and typical mouth positions often. Tones, which are mainly produced in the vocal apparatus of the larynx or tongue position, can be less obvious or at the mouth picture not read. For example, see the mouth picture of "Mom" and "Dad " look the same.

In addition, the mouth of a sound image is changed by the subsequent or imagined sound ( coarticulation ). Make teachers in schools for the hearing impaired also aware of her mouth image to make reading difficult words to be, for example, an "L" better be recognizable is not applied to the incisor inside, but visible on the incisor edge of the tongue, so the volume visually symbolize.

Mouth images are used as a medium in the use of sign language. The -ch in " book" is not visible on the lips, which is why the gesture BOOK accompanied by only the mouth image "BU". For inflections phonetic words usually the basic shapes are used as mouth images. For example, object and people words are used in the singular ( / MAN / and not / MEN ), action words are used in their ordinary or nominal form of use (/ ESS / or / FOOD / and not / I EAT / ).

With the mouth image also identical or similar sign can be varied in meaning. In the German and Austrian Sign Language, for example, the sign SISTER and BROTHER have the same manual form and can be distinguished from each other only by the accompanying mouth image / BRU / or / Sisters / or / BLK. The mouth image can determine the meaning of a gesture closer. With the mouth image / BIBLE / BOOK receives the gesture the precise meaning of " Bible ".