How to Tell if the Tongue Is on the Soft Palate


The first thing you should do with mewing is properly put your tongue on your mouth’s roof, otherwise called the palate. Many people struggle with getting the back third of their tongue to stick to the palate. It can be difficult to tell, especially when you are still starting. 

You can tell if your tongue is on the soft palate by making the -ack or the -ng sound (i.e., “crack” or “sing”). It brings your tongue up to your palate. You can feel around for your wisdom teeth with your tongue, and if the tongue is touching your palate behind that level, you’re on the soft palate.

If you are relatively new to mewing, this can be a difficult task to achieve. It’s not easy to know intuitively what it’s like to have the back third of the tongue in the proper position. Don’t worry if you don’t always get it right the first few times. It takes practice and time to do it properly.

Where Is the Soft Palate?

In mewing instructions, we mostly only hear about the palate or the roof of the mouth. But, the palate consists of two major parts: the hard palate and the soft palate. 

So, the hard palate is the bony structure near the front of the teeth. And, you guessed it, it is tough and hard. You can feel it by gliding your tongue over the ridges on the roof of your mouth. Your hard palate ends in a slight bump just before the soft palate.

The soft palate, on the other hand, is the softer area of your palate. Its location is in the back area of your mouth. It is where you would place the back third of your tongue when mewing. You can feel it with the tip of your tongue if you try to reach to the back. The soft palate ends in the uvula, the dangly part at the end of your mouth.

Knowing where the soft palate is is very important in mewing. If you don’t know where it is and how to tell if your tongue is on there, you will be missing a very critical part of mewing. You won’t be able to mew properly without it.

How to mew

proper mewing placement
Proper Tongue Placement

The -ng Sound 

Making the -ng sound is a straightforward trick to practice placing your tongue on the soft palate. Go ahead, try saying any of these words to check:

  • -sing
  • -ring
  • -bang
  • -cling
  • -flung

You can try these words out or create a list of your own. Try words that you would often use in your day to day life. These words will trigger a reaction and remind you that you should be exercising proper posture.

When you get to the -ng or the end of those words, you can feel your tongue touching near your palate’s end. You know you’re doing it correctly when it feels a little bit like your tongue’s back third is engaged. This action will not obstruct your breathing if you do it properly.

The -ack Sound

Similar to the -ng sound, this will also help you identify where the soft palate is. Try out these words:

  • -pack
  • -lack
  • -track
  • -back

Unlike the -ng sound, this will not work with all vowels and works best with the ‘a’ sound. This sound will position your tongue specifically to reach the back. Try saying these words at random intervals throughout the day to ensure you’re exercising proper oral posture.

Conclusion

The key to mewing is consistency. But knowing if you’re doing the right thing is just as important as doing it consistently. Practice mewing correctly all the time and stay determined. 

Recent Posts