Nigel Hewlett

Acoustic properties of /k/ and /t/ in normal and phonologically disordered speech

Anticipatory coarticulation was used as an index of motoric fluency in the pronunciation of velar consonant-vowel sequences in a study of the speech of five subjects: two adults, two normal children and one phonologically disordered child. The latter subject was recorded twice. On the first occasion she fronted all velar consonants to an alveolar place of articulation; on the second (one year later) she had just acquired velar articulations. It was hypothesized that the newly acquired velar articulations of the phonologically disordered child would display less of a vowel effect, as measured by spectral characteristics of the burst and VOT, than would the velars of either the normal children or the adults. The hypothesis was refuted: the phonologically disordered child showed more coarticulation of her velar consonants with the following vowel than any of the normal subjects. She also showed a high degree of coarticulation of initial alveolars, of which there was hardly any evidence among the normal subje...

Phonological Versus Phonetic Disorders: Some Suggested Modifications to the Current Use of the Distinction

The Distinction Between Phonetics And Phonology As Traditionally Defined Within Linguistics Is Not Suitable For Direct Application To Speech Pathology. It Is Argued That Its Adaptation For The Purpose Of Distinguishing Phonetic Disorders And Phonological Disorders Has Led To Anomalies, And, In Particular, That Loss Of Phonological Contrasts Does Not Necessarily Imply That A Disorder Is (Partly) Phonological In Nature. What Is Described As A “Speaker Oriented” Description Of The Distinction Is Offered, Together With A Proposal For A Three Way Distinction–Into Phonological, Phonetic And Articulatory Disorders–To Replace The Present Binary One. It Is Further Suggested That The Speech Characteristics Of Some Disorders Might Best Be Explained As Resulting From Avoidance Strategies Undertaken At The Phonological Level In Order To Circumvent Lower Level Constraints.

Gradient change in the acquisition of phonology.

The prevailing view of phonological development is that changes in pronunciation are driven by phonological changes. This view (it is argued here) derives from the particular form of the data that has most often been used in studies of phonological development, namely broad phonetic transcriptions. Transcribing an earlier pronunciation with one phoneme symbol and a later pronunciation with a different symbol encourages the interpretation that the child has made a flip from one category to another. However, broad transcriptions may have misrepresented the facts of speech development. We review some auditory‐based studies which have used a more fine‐grained phonetic transcription and discuss the significance of findings on the development of long‐lag plosives. We argue that gradient change is the typical fashion in which childrens speech output development progresses; that it is therefore not appropriate to use rules of the sort that are employed for morphophonemic alternations in adult phonology to explain revisions over time in childrens pronunciations; and that a childs speech output is not the best guide to their phonology.

DDK RATES IN THE PAEDIATRIC CLINIC : A METHODOLOGICAL MINEFIELD

There are substantial differences in the norms reported for speech diadochokinetic (DDK) rates among several published studies. These may well be due to differences in type of data used, methods of data collection and DDK rate calculation. Such differences doubtless also exist in the calculation of DDK rate in routine clinical assessment. Methodological problems in DDK rate measurement are identified and discussed and a detailed protocol for DDK measurement is described.

Perception and production of voiceless plosives in electronic larynx speech

Voiceless consonants are problematic for the electronic larynx user and the ability, or lack of it, to signal the presence of a voiceless consonant in a word may have a crucial effect on the intelligibility of the word to a normal listener. In order to determine the acoustic and perceptual properties of voiceless consonants in electronic larynx speech, recordings were made of three proficient electronic larynx users pronouncing the words tea, D, toe, doe, Kate, gate, cot, got, embedded in a frame sentence, 13 times each. Perception tests were carried out, using panels of listeners, and the results demonstrated successful identification of voiceless consonant targets at rates well above chance for the productions by all three speakers. Acoustic analysis suggested slightly different strategies on the part of the different subjects. All introduced an interval of friction noise after the closure release, and one subject employed rapid switching on and off of the device in order to create an analogue of voice-...

PERCEPTUAL STRATEGIES IN PHONOLOGICAL DISORDER : ASSESSMENT, REMEDIATION AND EVALUATION

Evidence is presented that immature perceptual strategies are a contributory factor to developmental phonological disorder. The findings endorse the current re-focusing of attention on the role of perception in disordered speech and language acquisition and also highlight the need for more precise assessment and remediation techniques. Technical developments working towards providing these are reviewed and implications for future clinical practice discussed.

A comparative acoustic study of initial /k/ and /t/ spoken by normal adults, normal children and a phonologically disordered child

One possibility is that the children have general problems with the language of precise reference, and there is much evidence to support that. But I argue that their problem is more specific: they are caught between the unifying effect of the equative ’same’ and the divisive effect of it as an identifier which induces a distinction between a unique token and all others of its kind. That is a serious problem, for once one has singled out an object one is committed

Book Review: Perspectives in applied phonology

introduction of number patterns and the decimal system. This is not a ‘how to’ book rather a ‘try this’ method based on the experience and specific interest of the author. A refreshingly honest, understandable text reinforcing the importance of planning for individual needs, making use of the suggestions and progressions as a guide, and always using ones knowledge of the individual to make adaptations as appropriate. Repeated, albeit valid, recommendations for giving extra time and slowing down the learning, reducing the cognitive demands, all recognized by the practitioner, do not bear up to the pressures incurred by the requirements of the National Curriculum. The learner’s understanding is the primary concern. This text provides at least an excellent collection of resource ideas to dip into when specific areas of difficulty are encountered and ultimately a foundation for approaching a maths curriculum accessible to children with language difficulties. It challenges thinking in the teaching of maths to all children within the remit of the National Curriculum requirements but outside of the time, content and framework demands. The principles for learning could be well used to foster discussions and inform teaching practise within both special and mainstream education.

Book reviews : Developmental motor speech disorders Michael A. Crary London: Whurr, 1993. xiv + 283 pp:

injured adult holds for the child, many of the communicative problems present are only explicable from understanding associated cognitive deficits, such as impairments in attention and social cognition. The narrow focus of the book on speech and language will limit its usefulness to other professionals working with the brain-injured child, such as the special needs teacher. It is difficult to know at what audience this book is targeted. The absence of a theoretical framework makes it unsuitable either as an introductory text and, at the same time, a more advanced text. The reader who would benefit most from the book would be one who knows little about ACA, but who is interested in the medical background of the disorder. The case study vignettes are useful in giving a reader an insight to the clinical context of ACA and they clearly make the point that one cannot be sanguine about the prognosis of the

Phonetic and phonological differences between adult and child speech: a proposed model

enquiry. Compatible explanations are sought for: the phonological neutralizations found in developing speech; intra-individual variability in the operation of phonological processes; phonetic differences, of timing and coarticulation, between children’s and adults’ speech; and differences between the pronunciation patterns of normal and ’phonetically disordered’ speech in children. A ’box and arrows’ diagram is used to illustrate some of the salient features of the model, which include: a distinction between linguistic knowledge and the mechanisms of language processing; separate levels of utter-