The importance of the motor system to the patterns of spoken language is especially evident when these are investigated from a developmental perspective. Speech motor skills are slowly consolidated during language acquisition beginning with first words, whose representations are also shaped with speech practice. The evolving sound shape of children’s speech through middle childhood reflects the interaction between speech motor and language development. Along these lines, the central claim of this talk is that spoken language rhythm is shaped by motor speech processes, which are guided by and coordinated with meaning. This claim will be supported with a review of study findings structured to make the following points: (1) adult-like English rhythm develops with articulatory timing skills during the school-aged years; (2) the coarticulatory patterns of child and adult speech suggest meaning-driven planning for execution that forms the basis for prosodic words; and (3) hierarchical ‘performance structure’ pausing patterns emerge with the coordination of breathing and language conceptualization.

Overall, the central claim of the talk entails a motor-involved understanding of spoken language that will be discussed with reference to models of language production.