>*"So, if I am saying “My” and I prolong the M into mmmmm* ***I then try to focus on the sound*** *of the y to release my lips from the m and begin the y."* Woaw, you worded it very clearly. Yes, I understand what you mean when you say you focus on the sound of the letter to 'release' (or rather move?) the lips from the M to the Y. In this case, if I would pronounce /MY/ then I start with closed lips and steadily open my lips more and more, and I need to move my tongue/jaw to get the /Y/ vowel sound as well. You stated that you focus on the sound. This is called auditory feedback, in other words, you rely on sensory information in order to execute motor speech movements. Do you agree? Another way to look at it is, you evaluate the sound (as you pointed out) in order to decide whether to stop moving the speech muscles (aka whether to inhibit execution of motor movements). Is my assumption valid?