bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Operant Conditioning for Investigating Speech Sound Discrimination in Aphasic Children
Authors: McReynolds Leija V.
Published: July 2014

The present study utilized operant conditioning to investigate aphasic children’s speech sound discrimination. Eight aphasic children ranging in age from four to eight years were compared with eight normal children. Six sound discrimination tasks, arranged in a hierarchy of levels of difficulty, were administered to the children. Aphasic children discriminated between isolated sounds as frequently as normal children, but performed significantly more poorly in discriminating sounds within a phonetic environment. The aphasic children also required more trials to reach criterion, and demonstrated fewer instances of improved performance.
The Relationship Between Word Association and Grammatical Classes in Aphasia
Authors: Sefer Joyce W. , Henrikson Ernest H.
Published: July 2014

A word association test consisting of five each of nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, and prepositions was administered orally to fifty aphasic and fifty nonaphasic patients. Associations were scored homogeneous (same part of speech as the stimulus) or heterogeneous (not the same part of speech as the stimulus). Aphasics gave the same proportion of homogeneous responses to each part of speech as nonaphasics, although aphasics gave a significantly smaller total number of homogeneous responses. Syntagmatic (completion) responses and paradigmatic (same part of speech) responses were negatively correlated in both groups. It was concluded that (1) aphasics show a significantly lower number of homogeneous responses than nonaphasics; (2) aphasic word association behavior follows the same general pattern of variance by part-of-speech as that of nonaphasics; (3) syntagmatic and paradigmatic responses are negatively correlated in both aphasics and nonaphasics.
The Effects of Parameter Variations in Bekesy Audiometry in a Patient with Acoustic Neurinoma
Authors: Dallos Peter J. , Tillman Tom W.
Published: July 2014

Fixed frequency Bekesy thresholds were compared between a normal hearing subject and a patient with acoustic neurinoma. Thresholds were obtained with two major stimulus groups: (a) interrupted stimuli with a variety of on and off durations and (b) frequency modulated stimuli with various modulating frequencies and frequency deviations. Systematic threshold changes with parameter variation were demonstrated for both types of subject and with both types of stimuli. These changes were relatively minor for the normal hearing subject and for the good ear of the pathological subject, but for the bad ear of the latter, certain parameter combinations yielded the classic decaying type III trace, while with other combinations stable traces could be obtained. The intensity level at which the threshold tracing stabilized was a direct function of the stimulus parameters.
Pitch and Duration Characteristics of the Oral Reading of Males on a Masculinity-Femininity Dimension
Authors: Terango Larry
Published: July 2014

Certain vocal characteristics of 14 males were compared and rated on the basis of voice on a masculinity-femininity continuum. The voices consisted of the extremes of a larger population selected by faculty from the college student body. The relatively effeminate voices had a median pitch of 127 Hz; the relatively masculine voices, 100 Hz. If the median pitch of unselected American males is 130 Hz, it appears that effeminacy may be associated with voices considerably lower than the typical female pitch. The relatively effeminate voices also displayed a mean rate of pitch change during inflections greater than that of the relatively masculine voices with a greater difference for upward inflections. None of the other measured vocal characteristics discriminated between the two groups.
Behavioral Rigidity in Stutterers
Authors: Wingate M. E.
Published: July 2014

Twelve young adult male stutterers were compared with a matched control group in a test developed to assess several dimensions of “behavioral rigidity.” The test yields rigidity scores in three areas: Motor-Cognitive, Personality-Perceptual, and Psychomotor Speed—as well as a Composite Rigidity score expressing the over-all test performance.

Stutterers were found to evidence more rigidity than the controls in only the Motor-Cognitive dimension. The findings are consistent with the results of earlier studies suggesting that perseveration does not exist as a general factor in stutterers, but that stutterers do evidence less flexibility in mental tests requiring a rapid and contiguous change of set. On the other hand, the findings contradict the hypothesis that “moral rigidity” is a trait typical of stutterers.
Speech Sound Discrimination and Articulation Skill
Authors: Sherman Dorothy , Geith Annette
Published: July 2014

A 50-item speech sound discrimination test was administered to 529 kindergarten children. Selected from this group were 18 children with high speech sound discrimination scores and 18 children with low speech sound discrimination scores. These two groups were given a 176-item picture articulation test. The children with high speech sound discrimination scores were superior to the other group in articulation skill. The difference was highly significant.
The Relationship Between Anticipation and Consistency of Stuttered Words
Authors: Martin Richard R. , Haroldson Samuel K.
Published: July 2014

A group of 30 stutterers read a passage aloud five times. Prior to the oral reading task each subject rated, on a five-point scale, his expectation of stuttering for each word. Analysis of the data revealed a higher percentage of stuttering on words assigned high expectancy values than words assigned low expectancy values. When words were grouped according to consistency of stuttering, words stuttered less consistently had lower expectancy values than words stuttered more consistently. With respect to fluent words, however, there was no apparent relationship between assigned expectancy value and the consistency of fluency.
Type V Bekesy Pattern: Interpretation and Clinical Utility
Authors: Rintelmann William F. , Harford Earl R.
Published: July 2014

Recent studies indicate there is some disagreement concerning the interpretation and clinical utility of the Type V Bekesy pattern. Bekesy tracings obtained over the past six years from a sample of clinical cases were analyzed and a definition was established for the Type V pattern. This definition was applied to Bekesy tracings obtained from normal listeners, hypoacusics, and pseudohypoacusics. The Type V pattern was found frequently among pseudohypoacusics and only rarely among other individuals.
Some “Cloze” Technique Studies of Language Capability in the Deaf
Authors: Odom Penelope B. , Blanton Richard L. , Nunnally Jum C.
Published: July 2014

The performances of 40 deaf adolescents (18 year olds) and 40 sixth-grade hearing students were compared on a multiple-choice sentence completion test. The deaf subjects' scores were significantly lower than the hearing subjects' scores, particularly for adjectives, prepositions, and conjunctions.

A variation of the “cloze” procedure was administered to 63 deaf subjects from the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, 93 deaf subjects from the Tennessee School for the Deaf, 95 fifth-grade hearing subjects, and 76 twelfth-grade hearing subjects. Three conditions were used: a printed story with either every third word, every fourth word, or every fifth word deleted. The results indicated that the two deaf groups performed similarly but much lower than either of the hearing groups. There was no general effect of span between deleted words; only the deaf increased in ability to predict the correct form class of function words with increasing span between deleted words. It was suggested that the deaf use quite different types of rules in constructing a sentence than hearing subjects, particularly with regard to function words.
Parameters of Voice Production: I Some Mechanisms for the Regulation of Pitch
Authors: Perkins William H. , Yanagihara Naoaki
Published: July 2014

Measurements of fundamental frequency, SPL, electrical activity of the cricothyroid muscle, mean subglottic pressure, mean airflow rate, acoustic power, glottal resistance, glottal efficiency, and subglottic power were made with voice pitch manipulated systematically under three conditions. Subjects were two semitrained adult males. Fundamental frequency typically varied directly with subglottic pressure, glottal resistance, and electrical activity of the cricothyroid muscle, and inversely with mean flow rate at middle and upper pitches. Over a lower range of pitch mean subglottic pressure was constant, mean flow rate varied directly with the fundamental but glottal resistance varied inversely. Electrical activity and glottal resistance were positively correlated at middle and upper pitches. Peaks of glottal efficiency occurred over a range of frequencies that could be considered as an optimum pitch range.
Judge Reliability in Infant Testing
Authors: Moncur John P.
Published: July 2014

Three groups of judges, pediatric audiologists, audiologists, and laymen viewed 96 videotape sequences (test-retest) of eight-month old babies exposed to auditory stimuli. Two levels of intensity and three types of stimuli were used. Control pictures using no stimulus were included in the series. All judges reversed themselves (“yes” to “no”, “no” to “yes”) on approximately 18% of the items. One-half of the reversals occurred on no-stimulus pictures. The results of all audiologists are slightly more consistent than that of laymen. Of concern was the number of “yes” responses by all judges on the no-stimulus pictures—39%. Unwanted random movements often intrude in the testing of babies and serve as contaminants of the judging process.
Lingual Function and Relative Length of the Lingual Frenulum
Authors: Fletcher Samuel G. , Meldrum James R.
Published: July 2014

A procedure for measurement of the lingual frenulum in relation to the dimensions of the anterior, inferior segment of the tongue is described and its reliability established.

The procedure was validated through physiological studies including speech articulation and oral motor coordination in diadochokinetic movements. Forty subjects were selected from a pool of 210 11–12 year old children and separated into two groups of twenty subjects on the basis of relative length of the lingual frenulum. Significant differences were found between these two groups both in speech articulation errors and in diadochokinetic rates of movement. Findings are discussed with respect to reliability and validity of the procedure. The findings are particularly pertinent to the clinical entity called congenital inferior ankyloglossia or “tongue-tie.”
Perceptual Differentiation of Vocal Fry and Harshness
Authors: Michel John F. , Hollien Harry
Published: July 2014

Ten adult males with voices diagnosed clinically as harsh, and ten adult males with normal voice quality, but speaking in vocal fry, recorded a standard passage and sustained vocalizations of the vowel /α/. The recordings were judged by three groups of ten listeners each: (1) individuals trained in making auditory psychophysical judgments, (2) speech pathologists, and (3) untrained listeners. The results uniformly indicate that clinical harshness and vocal fry are distinct perceptual entities.
Responses to Multiple-Choice Intelligibility Tests
Authors: Black John W.
Published: July 2014

Multiple-choice intelligibility tests consisting of four-word response sets were administered to listeners at four signal-to-noise ratios and at four signal levels. Three types of analysis were made. (1) The response sets themselves were studied for phonetic-phonemic disparity; (2) the correct responses to the sets were tallied (intelligibility scores) and studied; and (3) the distribution of responses within each set was measured (uncertainty) and studied. The analyses of the tests indicated: (1) a limited relation between phonetic-phonemic disparity within a set and the correct responses; (2) the tendency of “easy” and “hard” response sets to maintain their relative ranks from one listening condition to another; (3) the correct responses and the uncertainty of the response sets were negatively correlated; and (4) in an analysis of the errors the relative frequency of occurrence of the error responses was not a constant from one listening condition to another. Based on the obtained data, a procedure is suggested for determining these frequencies if the correct score is known.
The Relation of Vibrator Surface Area and Static Application Force to the Vibrator-to-Head Coupling
Authors: Nilo E. R.
Published: July 2014

Twelve young adult men with normal hearing and no history of ear disease took part in our study of the relation of vibrator surface area and static application force to the vibrator-to-head coupling. For vibrator surface areas of 1.125, 2.25, and 4.5 cm
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coupled to the forehead under static forces of 150, 300, and 600 gm, monaural thresholds of bone-conduction hearing were determined at frequencies 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz. With surface area constant, threshold improvement was frequency dependent. It decreased with increasing frequency until at 2000 Hz it was minimal. In contrast to this, with force constant, the influence of surface area was observed to begin at 2000 Hz. Preliminary study suggests this influence would extend to 4000 Hz. In view of the respective influence of application force and surface area to bone-conduction hearing, equating vibrator-to-head coupling on the basis of pressure (force per unit area), when there are two or more vibrators, may not represent an adequate control.
Speed of Visual Perception in Deaf Children
Authors: Doehring Donald G. , Rosenstein Joseph
Published: July 2014

A test of visual perceptual speed was administered to 50 deaf and 50 hearing children equated in age, sex, and Performance IQ. The test included 13 subtests varying in stimulus complexity and verbal content. In each subtest the subject was required to identify and underline the correct stimulus, which was interspersed among similar stimuli, as rapidly as possible. The hearing children scored significantly higher on 9 of the 13 subtests; older children scored significantly higher on all subtests; and there was a significant interaction between age and hearing status on only one subtest. Correlations between subtest scores, reading vocabulary, and Performance IQ were also calculated. The results were discussed in terms of the specific task requirements of the visual perceptual speed test. It was concluded that deficits of visual perception in deaf children should be interpreted in relation to age, education, language development, and reading achievement of the populations studied.
Observer Agreement: Cumulative Effects of Repeated Ratings of the Same Samples and of Knowledge of Group Results
Authors: Young Martin A.
Published: July 2014

The validity of measurements derived from the rating by observers of nonmetric multidimensional stimuli—in this study ratings of stuttering severity—is determined by the amount of observer agreement. The effects on observer agreement of two experimental conditions thought to increase agreement were examined: repeated rating of the same samples, and feedback to the observer of the group mean rating after each sample had been rated. Repeated rating of the same samples did not affect observer agreement. Feedback of the group mean rating did produce a shift in overall level of rating in those observers whose ratings were, on the average, far from the group mean. Another effect was a significant decrease in the range of ratings on individual samples. A replication with another group of observers yielded identical findings. Although within- and between-group scale value reliability was uniformly high, it is believed that observer agreement could be increased even more.
Velopharyngeal Orifice Area: A Replication of Analog Experimentation
Authors: Lubker James F.
Published: July 2014

Warren and DuBois (1964) have proposed a modification of the Theoretical Hydraulic Principle and the Hydrokinetic Equation for use in predicting velopharyngeal orifice area. In the study reported here, the equation was subjected to further controlled model experimentation. The results of this experiment indicate that, given the pressure differential across the orifice and the rate of airflow through the orifice, the area of the orifice can be predicted with considerable accuracy, thus strongly supporting the use of the Hydrokinetic Equation for predicting velopharyngeal orifice area.
Interaction of Audition and Vision in the Recognition of Oral Speech Stimuli
Authors: Erber Norman P.
Published: July 2014

Audio-visual observation of spoken spondaic words was found to be superior to recognition via audition-only under a wide range of S/N conditions. Data from five subjects supported the notion that observers rely increasingly more on visual cues for speech information as S/N ratio is degraded. Audition-only performance was found to be less variable among subjects than was audio-visual recognition. Increased variability in audio-visual scores at poorer S/N ratios was attributed to differences in lip-reading skill among untrained subjects. Speech levels so low that recognition by audition-only approximated chance behavior were found, nevertheless, to systematically improve observers' audio-visual scores as a function of increasing S/N ratio.
Identification of Voiceless Fricatives by High Frequency Hearing Impaired Listeners
Authors: Lawrence Donald L. , Byers Vincent W.
Published: July 2014

Identification of voiceless fricatives was investigated in five subjects having steep hearing losses above 1000 Hz. Sixteen consonant-vowel test syllables were formed by combining each of the voiceless fricatives /s, ∫, f, θ/ with the vowels /i, e, o, u/. The fricatives were identified correctly as follows: /∫/ 87%; /s/ 83%; /f/ 77%; and /θ/ 72%. Subjects showed idiosyncratic fricative confusion patterns. Confusions of the fricatives generally divided into two groups: /s/ and /∫/ were confused one for the other, and /f/ and /θ/ one for the other. There were no vowel confusions; however, the fricatives were more often confused in association with the front vowels, /i/ and /e/, than with the back vowels, /u/ and /o/. Examination of the fricative syllables suggests that low frequency energy, intensity, and duration of the fricative sounds, as well as formant transitions of vowels are available to these subjects to serve as possible cues for voiceless fricative identification.
Changes in Oropharyngeal Cavity Size of Dysarthric Children
Authors: Netsell Ronald
Published: July 2014

Subjects were six cerebral palsied children with significant velopharyngeal dysfunction. The following hypothesis was tested: no decrease in the oropharyngeal cavity size will occur during vowel production following the insertion of a velopharyngeal prosthesis. Cinefluorographic measurements revealed a general decrease in oropharyngeal cavity size during low vowel production once a prosthesis was inserted. Significant changes were not observed in the high vowel comparisons.
Stimuli and Intensity Factors in Testing Infants
Authors: Hoversten Gloria H. , Moncur John P.
Published: July 2014

To acquire auditory normative data for infants, five types of sound stimuli were administered randomly at each of four hearing levels. Subjects were 21 three-month-old and 22 eight-month-old infants; all were screened to eliminate “high risk” babies and were considered to be developmentally normal. The five test stimuli (white noise, pulsed; 500 Hz, pulsed; 4000 Hz, pulsed; voice; and music) were presented in a sound-field through equidistant loudspeakers via tape. Behavioral changes were recorded by two observers. As predicted, percentage of response increased with increased hearing level. In order to reach the 50% point of response, hearing levels varying from 23 dB (voice stimulus) to 72 dB (4000 Hz stimulus) above normal adult threshold were necessary. Voice generally resulted in the largest percentage of responses for both age groups at each hearing level. The three-month-old infants generally gave fewer responses than the eight-month-old infants at comparable hearing levels.
The Influence of Prosody on Stuttering Adaptation
Authors: Besozzi Thomas E. , Adams Martin R.
Published: July 2014

Recently, Wingate proposed a two-factor theory to explain stuttering adaptation. His first factor consists of the stutterer’s psychophysiological adaptation to a situation. He designated prosodic (practice) variable as the second factor. For Wingate, prosodic adaptation involves the stutterer’s becoming more practiced at making transitional articulatory movements and coordinating articulation and phonation. If such is true, then it logically follows that the more oral reading practice allowed the stutterer, the more he should adapt. We tested this hypothesis.

Our investigation included two conditions. The Control Condition consisted of five consecutive oral readings of a prose passage. In the Experimental Condition a matched passage was read orally on Trials 1 and 5 and silently on Trials 2, 3, and 4. The silent readings were introduced to limit oral reading practice and hence prosodic adaptation. Statistically significant adaptation occurred under both conditions. However, significantly more adaptation was evident in the condition involving the greatest number of oral reading trials.
Stress and Word Position as Determinants of Imitation in First-Language Learners
Authors: Blasdell Richard , Jensen Paul
Published: July 2014

This study investigated stress (prominence) and word position as decoding cues for first-language learners. Three levels of stress (defined perceptually and acoustically) were assigned systematically across a set of four-syllable nonsense strings. Word position was defined as the serial occurrence of the syllables in each string. Children, ages 28 to 39 months, imitated each string as it was presented from a loudspeaker. The responses were tape-recorded and transcribed by three phonetically trained judges. The subjects imitated significantly more often those syllables with primary stress and those occurring in the final position. This suggested that, when imitating adult utterances, first-language learners decode those utterances by attending to the most stressed and the final items of the utterances.
Stuttering and Its Disappearance
Authors: Sheehan Joseph G. , Martyn Margaret M.
Published: July 2014

Spontaneous recovery was found in four-fifths of all stuttering cases. Data were obtained from 5138 students at the University of California, Berkeley and Los Angeles, of whom 147 had at some time been definitely categorized as stutterers. Severity was the most important factor related to probability of recovery. For those who had never been worse than mild, seven-eights recovered, while for those who had ever been severe, only one-half recovered. When severity was held constant, enrollment in public school therapy had no effect, positive or negative, upon the probability of eventual recovery. The fact that fewer of those who received public school therapy had recovered was primarily attributable to the finding that the severe were more likely to be enrolled.

Parent, teacher, or speech clinician diagnosis of stuttering was significantly related to assignment to public school therapy, while self-diagnosis was inversely related. Those who began with blocking and became severe were more likely to have continued as stutterers, while those who began with syllable repetition were more likely to have recovered. Although familial incidence was higher in stutterers than in normal controls, it did not distinguish those who continued to stutter from those in whom the problem had disappeared.
Nasal Airflow Characteristics During Speech in Prosthetically Managed Cleft Palate Speakers
Authors: Lubker James F. , Schweiger James W. , Morris Hughlett L.
Published: July 2014

This study was designed to provide descriptive aerodynamic articulatory data regarding prosthetically managed cleft palate speakers. The results suggest that (1) prosthetic management of cleft palate may limit the range of velopharyngeal opening for some individuals to the point where the same speaker may demonstrate both nasal and denasal speech characteristics; (2) small amounts of nasal airflow may be present during speech without listeners labeling that speech as being defective; (3) nasal airflow increases as oral constriction increases, other things being equal; (4) voiceless consonants are produced by prosthetically managed cleft palate speakers with greater nasal airflow than are voiced cognates; (5) prosthetically managed cleft palate speakers demonstrated more nasal airflow for voiceless fricatives than for voiceless plosives, and more for voiced plosives than for voiced fricatives; (6) the duration over which a consonant must be sustained may be more closely related to relative speech defectiveness than is the required peak pressure for that consonant; and (7) prosthetically managed cleft palate speakers with borderline closure appear to be less consistent in nasal airflow rate than the speakers with either very good or very poor closure.
Lateral Pharyngeal Wall Movement During Speech Production
Authors: Minifie Fred D. , Hixon Thomas J. , Kelsey Charles A. , Woodhouse Robert J.
Published: July 2014

Movement of one lateral pharyngeal wall during the production of VCVCV trisyllables was monitored via pulsed ultrasound using a time-motion method of display. Three normal speakers produced the six English stop consonants* combined with five vowels. The extent of lateral pharyngeal wall movement was found to be greatest on low vowels and least on high vowels. Pharyngeal wall movement during consonant production appeared to be dependent on the adjacent vowels.
Speech Therapy and Language Recovery in Severe Aphasia
Authors: Sarno Martha Taylor , Silverman Marla , Sands Elaine
Published: July 2014

This study was designed to investigate whether speech therapy enhances language recovery in severe aphasia and whether or not the method of speech therapy used affects recovery if it occurs.

Thirty-one post CVA, severe expressive-receptive aphasics were assigned to one of three groups: programmed instruction, nonprogrammed instruction, and no treatment. All groups were comparable with respect to age, duration of symptoms, sex distribution, and education.

Patients were initially tested to establish their level of functional language skills and ability to perform the terminal behaviors to be taught. Patients in the treatment groups received up to 40 hours of therapy. Posttests were administered individually after each terminal behavior was taught. All posttests were readministered at the termination of treatment and again one month after termination to determine the degree to which a behavior had been retained. There were no significant differences in outcome under the three treatment conditions

Results strongly suggest that current speech therapy does not modify verbal behavior in this population. A more realistic approach to the overall rehabilitation management of the severe aphasic, and more careful selection of patients who will receive speech therapy is suggested.
Electroacoustic Impedance Bridge Studies on Normal Ears of Children
Authors: Brooks D. N.
Published: July 2014

There are two types of instrument now available for measurement of the acoustic impedance of the human middle ear. One employs a purely acoustical method and the other an electroacoustical method. While the latter may be less direct, it can give more information on middle-ear conditions. It is also particularly suitable for use with infants and children.
The Operant Manipulation of Vocal Pitch in Normal Speakers
Authors: Moore James C. , Holbrook Anthony
Published: July 2014

A device consisting of variable electronic filters and voice-actuated relays was used to raise or lower the vocal pitch of four normal-speaking subjects by the differential reinforcement of selected frequencies emitted by them during oral reading. Continuous, fixed interval, fixed ratio, and variable interval reinforcement schedules were applied to each subject. The results of the study indicated that fundamental vocal frequency is a manipulable operant response. All reinforcement schedules examined produced high rates of response at the selected frequency for all subjects. The variable interval schedules produced the most consistent, high durations of response for all subjects. The method of manipulation of fundamental frequency investigated in the study appears to have promise as a therapeutic technique, especially for deaf speakers and clients with functional pitch disorders.
Male and Female Voice Quality and Its Relationship to Vowel Formant Frequencies
Authors: Coleman Ralph O.
Published: July 2014

Speech samples obtained from a group of adult males and females while they articulated the tone produced by a single-frequency electrolarynx were played to a panel of listeners who were asked to determine the sex of each speaker. Formant frequencies for the vowels /i/ and /u/ produced in isolation by the same speakers were obtained by spectrographic analysis. The judges were able to correctly identify the sex of the speakers 88% of the time, and vowel formant frequency averages were closely associated with the degree of male or female quality in these voices. These findings indicate that in the absence of between-subject variations in laryngeal fundamental frequency, a distinct cue to speaker sex may be contained in the individual vocal tract resonances.
Monaural/Binaural Minimum Audible Angles for a Moving Sound Source
Authors: Harris J. Donald , Sergeant Russell L.
Published: July 2014

Papers on monaural localization relating to the action of the vestibular apparatus, influence of the auricle, and movements of the head were reviewed. To test one conclusion of the review, that a moving sound source should yield a continuous set of changing loudness/phase/timing cues available to the ear, an experiment was conducted which provides more complete quantification of monaural/binaural comparison. Minimum audible angles (maa) were computed from the responses of three men, highly experienced in listening, to white noise and tones produced by a moving sound source. The men listened (1) with both ears open, and (2) with one ear plugged, muffed, and noise-masked. The monaural maa at 0° and 60° az were as good as the binaural maa for white noise, and for the lowest tone at 0° az, but distinctly inferior elsewhere. Both azimuth and monaural/binaural mode effects reached high significance statistically. The data show much usable directionality for the monaural mode.
The Comprehension of Certain Syntactic Structures by Adults
Authors: Sanders Lois Joan
Published: July 2014

Forty adult native speakers of English with normal speech were tested for comprehension of four different syntactic constructions in sentences which were semantically quite simple to understand and similar in nature. Although the syntactic constructions selected have been commonly assumed to be part of ordinary adult language usage, 21 of the 40 subjects responded with at least one error. Thirty-four percent of the responses to one of the subcategories of test items were incorrect, indicating that comprehension of this structure was not characteristic of the verbal behavior of the subjects tested. Use of terms such as “adult English,” “adult language,” or “adult grammar” to refer to language forms used by adults as opposed to immature forms used by children may be misleading since the terms suggest that the syntactic constructions known to adults have been delineated.
An Item-Difficulty Based Speech Discrimination Test
Authors: Margolis Robert H. , Millin Joseph P.
Published: July 2014

In an attempt to improve the differentiating ability of monosyllabic speech discrimination tests, two equivalent, 25-word test recordings with rectilinear distributions of item difficulty were constructed from W-22 Hirsh recordings. These lists and selected half lists of the standard W-22 recordings were then presented to 40 ears of listeners with losses ranging in severity from -10 dB to 60 dB (SRT) at sensation levels of 20, 30, 40, and 50 dB. Scores obtained with the new lists describe a less skewed frequency distribution than those obtained with the W-22 half lists. The new recordings were also more successful in differentiating between subjects with varying levels of sensorineural hearing losses, particularly between normal-hearing listeners and listeners with mild loss, who are usually poorly differentiated by W-22 tests. This was accomplished without resorting to deliberate distortion of stimulus words. These new recordings appear to have clinical usefulness in their ability to more accurately reflect differences in discrimination ability among listeners and particularly in their ability to reveal reduced discrimination in mild sensorineural hearing loss.
The Effect of Hyperbaric Oxygen on Communication Function in Adults with Aphasia Secondary to Stroke
Authors: Sarno Martha Taylor , Sarno John E. , Diller Leonard
Published: July 2014

The ability to improve the communication function of poststroke aphasic patients through the administration of oxygen under high pressure was studied. There appeared to be a complete absence of effect from this method of treatment.
Reliability of the Modified Rhyme Test for Hearing
Authors: Bell Donald W. , Kreul E. James , Nixon James C.
Published: July 2014

The reliability and intercorrelations of selected lists from the clinical version of the Modified Rhyme Test (MRT) were examined using normal-hearing young listeners and older listeners believed to have incurred noise-induced hearing loss. Stability of means and variances was generally acceptable for the lists of the MRT, but the reliability coefficients and intercorrelations were generally low. In its present state, the clinical MRT appears to lack the precision to discriminate among normal young listeners, if normal young listeners really do differ in speech discrimination ability with a closed response set. We do not yet have adequate knowledge of the range of expected normal performance for the MRT. The MRT appears far more reliable when used with a much more heterogeneous hearing loss population.
Consonant Phonemic Errors Associated with Pure-Tone Configurations and Certain Kinds of Hearing Impairment
Authors: Owens Elmer , Benedict Martha , Schubert Earl D.
Published: July 2014

In the course of developing multiple-choice items for speech discrimination testing, phonemic errors were observed as they relate to pure-tone configurations and to certain types of hearing impairment. For the phonemes involved, the following observations were made: (1) The /s, ∫, t∫, d
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/ and the initial /t/ and /θ/ were easily identified by patients with flat pure-tone configurations, but were difficult for patients with sharply falling slopes, 500 to 4000 Hz. (2) Identification of the /s/ and the initial /t/ and /θ/ was highly dependent upon energy in the frequency range above 2000 Hz, whereas identification of the /∫, t∫, d
3
/ was highly dependent upon the range between 1000 and 2000 Hz. (3) Over all the items testing a given stimulus phoneme, the total number of phonemes employed as alternate responses ranged from three to eight, averaging five. The actual erroneous responses for any given stimulus phoneme, however, were usually limited to two or three phonemes, and these were generally the same regardless of pure-tone configuration. (4) Although the error-response phonemes were usually the same as the stimulus phoneme in manner of production, some error phonemes were produced in a different manner, but in the same place, as the stimulus phoneme. Probability of error for individual phonemes seemed to be more closely related to pure-tone configurations than to kinds of hearing impairment.
Language Comprehension and Auditory Discrimination in Articulation Deficient Kindergarten Children
Authors: Marquardt Thomas P. , Saxman John H.
Published: July 2014

This study examined the relationship between language comprehension and auditory discrimination in 30 kindergarten children with numerous Disarticulations and 30 similarly aged children with proficient articulation. The Carrow Auditory Test for Language Comprehension and the Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test were the test instruments. Results showed deficit performances by the articulation error group on both tests. Error scores on each task were significantly correlated with the number of misarticulations in the articulation error group. In addition, language comprehension and auditory discrimination were significantly correlated within the articulation error group but not within the articulation proficient group. These findings support the argument that children with numerous misarticulations show syntax performance deficits for their age because of underdeveloped syntax knowledge. The interdependence of language levels during acquisition is stressed.
The Confusion of English Consonant Clusters in Lipreading
Authors: Franks J. Richard , Kimble Joan
Published: July 2014

Confusions in the lipreading of initial consonant clusters were investigated. Responses were obtained from 275 subjects asked to identify by lipreading 32 cluster-vowel nonsense syllables spoken by three different speakers. The results indicated that the consonant clusters were highly confused in lipreading, since they were incorrectly perceived 89% of the time. The clusters were seen most frequently as single consonants followed in frequency by identification as other consonant combinations. The confusions for each stimulus cluster were tested statistically to determine whether their frequency of occurrence might be attributable to chance. The confusions found not to be attributable to chance fell into seven visually contrastive groups. Confusions among sounds produced in similar articulatory positions were prominent.
The Anticipatory Struggle Hypothesis: Implications of Research on the Variability of Stuttering
Authors: Bloodstein Oliver
Published: July 2014

Answers consistent with the anticipatory struggle hypothesis are suggested for several questions which have received a large share of experimenters' attention in recent years. The metronome effect may be due in part to the simplification of motor planning which results from reduction of speech to small units, and in part to distraction. The adaptation effect appears to be due largely to repeated rehearsal of the motor plan. An important factor in the white noise and DAF effects seems to be simply the rule that almost any novel form of auditory feedback may serve to reduce stuttering. Finally, the inconsistent effects of punishment on stuttering appear reasonable on the basis of the anticipatory struggle hypothesis when this concept is precisely formulated in behavioral terms.
The Effects of Auditory Masking on the Anxiety Level, Frequency of Dysfluency, and Selected Vocal Characteristic of Stutterers
Authors: Adams Martin R. , Moore Walter H.
Published: July 2014

This study tested and compared two different explanations of the effects of auditory masking on stuttering: masking minimizes the individual’s auditory feedback of his stuttering so that he is less anxious about the dysfluency and consequently stutters less; or masking causes the stutterer to increase his vocal intensity and reduce his speech rate, and these changes create the reduction in stuttering. Twelve stutterers with normal hearing read aloud in masking and no-masking (control) conditions. Measures of palmar sweat anxiety, the frequency of stuttering, reading time, and vocal intensity were obtained for each subject in both of these situations. Significantly less stuttering and more vocal intensity were noted concomitantly in the masking as compared to the control condition. The between-condition differences in reading time and measured anxiety were small and rather unreliable. These results were interpreted as supporting the “modified vocalization” explanation of the masking effect, but as detracting from the “reduced anxiety over stuttering” hypothesis.
Short-Term Habituation of the Averaged Electroencephalic Response in Infants
Authors: Weber Bruce A.
Published: July 2014

Short-term habituation of the averaged electroencephalic response (AER) was studied in 12 14- to 18-week-old infants. No evidence of habituation was observed for either pure-tone or broad-band stimuli. This finding is in sharp contrast with the rapid AER habituation observed in adults. The results suggest that the competence reflected by short-term habituation is not fully established at birth, but rather develops with further experience or neurologic maturation.
Sentence Comprehension in Two Age Groups of Children as Related to Pause Position or the Absence of Pauses
Authors: LaBelle Joseph L.
Published: July 2014

Sentences recorded with pauses at major phrase boundaries, pauses within major phrase boundaries, and with no pauses were presented to 18 children with a mean age of three years, eight months, and to 18 children with a mean age of five years, three months, on a sentence comprehension task. The younger children made significantly fewer errors when pauses were placed at major phrase boundaries than when they were placed within major phrase boundaries or were not present. The presence or absence of pauses did not significantly affect the sentence comprehension performance of the older children. The results suggest that the ability to segment sentences perceptually is a developmental phenomena, in that the younger children could not as readily comprehend sentences with structurally irrelevant cues or no cues at all. The results also suggest that the phrase may be a unit, although not necessarily the only unit, involved in sentence comprehension.
A Strain Gage Transduction System for Lip and Jaw Motion in Two Dimensions: Design Criteria and Calibration Data
Authors: Abbs James H. , Gilbert Bruce N.
Published: July 2014

A strain gage system was designed and constructed for transducing the movements of the lips and jaw in two dimensions during speech. Measurement of the structural loading factor, frequency response, linearity, and phase response of this system suggests that it provides a favorable alternative to some earlier lip and jaw monitoring devices. Some examples of the movement records obtained with this transducer system are provided.
Patterns of Tongue Contact in Normal and Lisping Speakers
Authors: McGlone Robert E. , Proffit William R.
Published: July 2014

The accuracy of traditional articulatory descriptions of /s/ productions by normal and lisping speakers was tested. Three groups of children (normal speakers, frontal lispers, and lateral lispers) provided recordings of tongue pressures against the alveolar ridge while saying syllables containing /s/ and /z/. Two patterns of tongue contact were found for frontal lispers: one like that of normal speakers and another like that of lateral lispers. Lateral lispers uniformly provided deviant midline measure. The age of the subjects and position of the consonant in the syllable had little effect upon tongue contact and pressure. Males, however, did exhibit greater pressure. Tongue pressures during swallowing by the lisping groups were deviant from those of normal speakers.
Communication Skills in Five-Year-Old Children with High-Risk Neonatal Histories
Authors: Ehrlich Carol H. , Shapiro Esther , Kimball Bud D. , Huttner Muriel
Published: July 2014

Speech, language, auditory, and intellectual development were tested in 81 fiveyear-old children with one or more of the following high-risk histories: birth weight less than 2500 grams; gestational age less than 38 weeks; SGA; Rh or ABO blood incompatibility; respiratory distress; and hyperbilirubinemia greater than 15 mg%. Tests included the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Templin-Darley Articulation Screening, the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, the Leiter International Performance Scale, audiologic evaluation, and physical examination. Despite normal intelligence, 54% of the children needed special help. Respiratory distress or abnormal birth weight and gestational age led to the greatest incidence of disability. Significant problems were most often noted in auditory and visual figure-ground discrimination and memory, physical examination, expressive vocabulary, and block design. Also noted were difficulties in word finding, articulation, sentence memory, similarities, mazes, sound blending, geometric design, and attention span.
Acceptability Ratings of Normal, Esophageal, and Artificial Larynx Speech
Authors: Bennett Suzanne , Weinberg Bernd
Published: July 2014

To provide information about the ultimate acceptability of various types of alaryngeal speech, 37 listeners rated nine speakers with normal phonation in relation to two groups of superior alaryngeal speakers: five who used esophageal speech and four who used artificial larynges. Normal speech was rated significantly more acceptable than any form of alaryngeal speech studied. Speech produced with a Tokyo artificial larynx was rated significantly more acceptable than all other types of alaryngeal speech. Superior esophageal speech was significantly preferred over Western Electric reed and Bell electrolarynx speech. Listeners also categorized each of the 18 speakers as a normal speaker or not a normal speaker. The nine alaryngeal speakers were all classified as nonnormal, while eight of the nine normal subjects were classified as normal.
Personality, Improvement, and Regression in Stuttering Therapy
Authors: Prins David , Miller Michele
Published: July 2014

Measures of speech improvement and posttherapy regression were correlated with personal and social adjustment scores for 16 stutterers who participated in a residential therapy program. Only a single coefficient reached significance at or beyond the 0.05 level. Correlation trends showed a tendency, however, for low social adjustment to correlate with high improvement and for high social adjustment to correlate with high posttherapy regression. This rather startling direction of trends in correlation is evaluated in relation to the protective and supportive nature of the residential setting and its temporary isolation of the individual from the actual environmental stimuli which were associated with his stuttering problem.
Prevalence of Speech Problems in Junior and Senior High Schools
Authors: Gillespie Susan Kaye , Cooper Eugene B.
Published: July 2014

The prevalence of speech problems in a junior and senior high-school population was studied. Speech problems were observed in 5.5% of 5054 junior and senior highschool students in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, City Schools. Stuttering and articulatory disorders were the most frequently observed speech disorders, each having an incidence of 2.1%.
Developmental Comparison of Vowels and Consonants in Dichotic Listening
Authors: Goodglass Harold
Published: July 2014

Ear laterality for dichotically presented vowels and consonants was studied developmentally in 109 normal children between the ages of six and 12 years, using CVC words in edited natural speech. Vowels and consonants were equally right-ear dominant, and no developmental changes in laterality could be detected across the age range studied. Vowels were more easily identified than consonants, irrespective of age or ear, and accuracy in identification of vowels increased with age more rapidly than that of consonants. Results are contrasted with prior findings for steady-state vowels, which are unlateralized, and for vowels in nonsense CVCs, which showed only a weak right-ear dominance.