bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Application of the Articulation Index and the Speech Transmission Index to the Recognition of Speech by Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Listeners
Authors: Humes Larry E. , Dirks Donald D. , Bell Theodore S. , Ahlstbom Christopher , Kincaid Gail E.
Published: July 2014

The present article is divided into four major sections dealing with the application of acoustical indices to the prediction of speech recognition performance. In the first section, two acoustical indices, the Articulation Index (AI) and the Speech Transmission Index (STI), are described. In the next section, the effectiveness of the AI and the STI in describing the performance of normal-hearing and hearing-impaired subjects listening to spectrally distorted (filtered) and temporally distorted (reverberant) speech is examined retrospectively. In the third section, the results of a prospective investigation that examined the recognition of nonsense syllables under conditions of babble competition, filtering and reverberation are described. Finally, in the fourth section, the ability of the acoustical indices to describe the performance of 10 hearing-impaired listeners, 5 listening in quiet and 5 in babble, is examined. It is concluded that both the AI and the STI have significant shortcomings. A hybrid index, designated mSTI, which takes the best features from each procedure, is described and demonstrated to be the best alternative presently available.
Teaching Subjecthood to Language-Disordered Children
Authors: Connell Phil J.
Published: July 2014

Four language-disordered children who had not learned subject properties such as agreement morphemes, nominative case,and question inversion were taught the function of subjects in sentences. After learning subject function, the children learned the subject properties without assistance. The findings suggest that subject properties can be taught as a unit and their acquisition follows the two-step pattern that is predicted by the functional theory of language. The findings suggest that the functional theory has diagnostic and treatment implications for clinical work with language-disordered children.
Scale Composition and Item Analysis of the Communication Profile for the Hearing Impaired
Authors: Demorest Marilyn E. , Erdman Sue Ann
Published: July 2014

The Communication Profile for the Hearing Impaired (CPHI) is a self-assessment inventory that provides 25 scores describing the Communication Performance, Communication Environment, Communication Strategies, and Personal Adjustment of hearing-impaired adults (Demorest & Erdman, 1986). Description of the content and measurement objective for each scale is given and an analysis of the psychometric properties of the 145 items in the CPHI is presented. Results are based on a sample of 433 active-duty military personnel tested at Walter Reed Army Medical Center during the final phase of CPHI development. Included are frequency distributions, descriptive statistics, item-total correlations, and factor structure of the items within each scale and across scales within each of the areas assessed by the CPHI. Applications of these data in clinical interpretation, construct validation, and further development of the CPHI scales are discussed.
India Ink Pinprick Assessment of Age-Related Changes in the Cricoarytenoid Joint (CAJ) Articular Surfaces
Authors: Kahn Alice R. , Kahane Joel C.
Published: July 2014

Age-related changes in the articular surfaces of the cricoarytenoid joints (CAJ) of 12 human Caucasian male larynges (6 age 19 to 30 years; 6 age 50 to 80 years) were investigated. Differences in color, roughness, ossification, and surface fiber organization were studied. These were correlated with changes in collagen fiber arrangement on the articular surfaces determined by an India ink pinprick technique. Consistent patterns of orientation of collagen fibers in CAJ surfaces were identified in young and old groups. Older articular surfaces exhibited extensive fibrillation and ossification, suggesting that articular cartilage undergoes alteration in ground substance and/or fiber structure as a function of age. CAJ cartilage changes in older males may limit range of motion of arytenoid cartilages and reduce degree and extent of vocal fold closure. These structural changes may produce negative functional consequences during voice production such as diminished vocal quality and reduced vocal intensity due to air leakage through incompletely or loosely approximated vocal folds.
India Ink Pinprick Experiments on Surface Organization of Cricoarytenoid Joints
Authors: Kahane Joel C. , Kahn Alice R.
Published: July 2014

Collagen fiber organization in the articular surfaces of the cricoarytenoid joint (CAJ) was studied using a pinpricking technique used in biomechanical research in orthopedics. Four male human formalin preserved specimens (3 months to 20 years) and 6 male freshly autopsied specimens (19 to 30 yrs) were studied. Specimens were dissected using the stereomicroscope. Distinctive patterns of articular cartilage slits reflect the orientation of collagen fibers in the cricoid and arytenoid articular surfaces. The orientation of the collagen fibers reinforces the articular surfaces along the principle path of CAJ motion. No age related differences were found. This suggests that the orientation of collagen fibers in the CAJ articular surfaces is prenatally determined rather than significantly influenced by postnatal mechanical factors.
A Method for Relating Loudness-Matching and Intensity-Discrimination Data
Authors: Schlauch Robert S. , Wier Craig C.
Published: July 2014

A method that allows direct comparisons between pure-tone loudness-matching and intensity-discrimination data in normal and hearing-impaired listeners is described. This method makes a minimal number of assumptions about the relations between loudness perception and intensity-discrimination performance. Loudness is considered to be related to overall, perceived stimulus magnitude and intensity-discrimination performance is considered to reflect the accuracy with which a loudness judgment can be made. Because pure-tone intensity-discrimination performance varies as a function of stimulus level in normal ears, the standard level required to produce a particular difference limen in an impaired ear can be inferred from normal-ear intensity-discrimination data. Thus, plotting standard levels yielding normal difference limens as a function of standard levels yielding the equivalent sized difference limens from a threshold-shifted ear produces a function directly comparable to loudness recruitment functions. If loudness-growth and intensity-difference limens were tightly coupled in threshold-shifted ears, then stimuli that yield equal size difference limens would be equally loud. This relation was tested by obtaining loudness-matching and intensity-discrimination data from normal-hearing listeners with thresholds shifted by a wideband noise and hearing-impaired listeners with cochlear-type hearing losses. The results from these listeners show similarities between the traditional loudness-recruitment functions and "intensity-recruitment" functions derived from the assumed relation between the two measures. The primary difference between the functions is at low and moderate sensation levels where loudness grows at a more rapid rate than the difference limen.
Tympanometric Measures of Eustachian Tube Function
Authors: Riedel Catherine L. , Wiley Terry L. , Block Michael G.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to develop instructions and procedures and to establish a normal data base for four tympanometric tests of Eustachian tube function: Valsalva, Toynbee, Inflation, and Deflation. Data were obtained for 24 young adults (48 ears) with normal hearing and normal middle-ear function. The tympanograms were analyzed for differences between baseline and experimental (postmaneuver) and baseline and posttest tracings for seven measures: tympanogram peak pressure, peak acoustic admittance, static acoustic admittance, negative gradient, positive gradient, and negative and positive acoustic-admittance values at ±400 daPa. The results indicated a statistically significant difference only in peak pressure for baseline and experimental tympanograms. Peak-pressure shifts were most pronounced for the Valsalva and Toynbee procedures. The small pressure shifts characteristic of the Inflation and Deflation procedures coupled with the potential for instrumental error severely limit the use of these procedures as means of obtaining reliable indices of tubal function.
A Functional Analysis of Phonological Knowledge and Generalization Learning in Misarticulating Children
Authors: Gierut Judith A. , Elbert Mary , Dinnsen Daniel A.
Published: July 2014

It has been suggested that a child's productive phonological knowledge may be one factor that potentially accounts for individual differences in generalization learning observed among phonologically disordered children (Dinnsen & Elbert, 1984; Elbert, Dinnsen, & Powell, 1984). This paper evaluates the hypothesis that productive phonological knowledge influences generalization. Three related studies involving 6 functionally misarticulating children were conducted. In the first study, a description of each child's phonological system was developed using procedures of standard generative analysis. Based upon these descriptions, each child's productive phonological knowledge of his or her own sound system was determined and then ranked on a continuum ranging from "most" to "least" knowledge relative to the adult target. The second study implemented an experimental treatment program based upon each child's productive phonological knowledge, with treatment sounds selected directly from each child's continuum of knowledge. The third study reassessed each child's productive phonological knowledge following treatment. The results of these three studies indicated that a child's productive phonological knowledge of the sound system influenced the overall amount of generalization learning. However, the extent of generalization learning was associated with the point on the knowledge continuum at which treatment was initiated. These findings are discussed with reference to individual differences in generalization learning.
Least Mean Square Measures of Voice Perturbation
Authors: Milenkovic Paul
Published: July 2014

A signal processing technique is described for measuring the jitter, shimmer, and signal-to-noise ratio of sustained vowels. The measures are derived from the least mean square fit of a waveform model to the digitized speech waveform. The speech waveform is digitized at an 8.3 kHz sampling rate, and an interpolation technique is used to improve the temporal resolution of the model fit. The ability of these procedures to measure low levels of perturbation is evaluated both on synthetic speech waveforms and on the speech recorded from subjects with normal voice characteristics.
Story Grammar Ability in Children with and without Language Disorder
Authors: Merritt Donna Disegna , Liles Betty Z.
Published: July 2014

Twenty language-impaired and unimpaired children ages 9:0 to 11:4 participated in three story tasks. The children generated three original stories, retold two adventure stories, and then answered two sets of comprehension questions after each retelling. Stein and Glenn's (1979) story grammar rules were adapted and used to analyze the narratives. The generated and retold stories produced by the language-disordered children contained fewer complete story episodes, a lower mean number of main and subordinate clauses per complete episode, and a lower frequency of use of story grammar components than those of the control group. The story hierarchies produced by both groups were highly similar, though, in both story generation and story retelling. The groups also did not differ in their understanding of the factual details of the retold stories, but did differ significantly in their comprehension of the relationships linking the critical parts of the stories together. The results are discussed relative to cognitive organizational deficits of language-impaired children.
Onset Sequencing of Selected Lip Muscles in Stutterers and Nonstutterers
Authors: Guitar Barry , Guitar Carroll , Neilson Peter , O'Dwyer Nicholas , Andrews Gavin
Published: July 2014

The present study examined lip muscle activity during the speech production of stutterers and fluent speakers to provide information about the nature of stuttering blocks. Depressor Anguli Oris (DAO) and Depressor Labii Inferioris (DLI) were recorded, using hooked-wire electromyography (EMG), in 3 stutterers and 3 nonstutterers during productions of the words "peek", "puck", and "pack. " E M G records indicated that nonstutters activated DAO prior to DLI for production of the initial/p/. Stutterers frequently reversed this sequence of onset, particularly when they stuttered. Results are discussed in terms of mistiming versus anticipatory hypertension hypotheses about stuttering.
Speech Compensation for Prosthodontically Created Palatal Asymmetries
Authors: Hamlet Sandra L.
Published: July 2014

Symmetry of alveolar and palatal contour was altered prosthodontically for five subjects. There was palatographic evidence, for both/s/and/l/, that the prosthodontic changes were not always compensated for in one week of adaptation. Compensation was more pervasive for/s/and took the form of preservation of the general orientation of the air channel in spite of the palatal asymmetries present.
Relationship between the Discrimination of /w-r/ and /t-d/ Continua and the Identification of Distorted /r/
Authors: Sharf Donald J. , Ohde Ralph N. , Lehman Mark E.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which listeners can perceive intraphonemic differences. In Experiment 1, subjects identified synthesized acoustic tokens of child-like speech that varied in second and third formant (F
2
and F
3
) onset frequencies as /w/, /r/, or distorted /r/ in two conditions: (a) with and without feedback of the group response choices, and (b) before and after training to identify the best examples of /w/, /r/, and distorted /r/ based on their identification in the first condition. The results were: (a) some subjects consistently identified distorted /r/ above criterion, and (b) feedback was more effective in increasing distorted /r/ identification than was training. In Experiment 2, the same subjects participated in discrimination tasks using stimuli from a synthesized child /w-r/ continuum that varied in F
2
and F
3
onsets and from a synthesized adult /t-d/ continuum that varied in preconsonantal vowel duration. The results were: (a perception was not categorical for both continua, (b) little relation was found between distorted-/r/ identification and measures of /w-r/ discrimination, and (c) a high and significant correlation was found between identification of distorted /r/ and within-/d/ discrimination. In Experiment 3, different subjects identified the child manifold stimuli and discriminated stimuli in a synthesized child /w-r/ continuum and in a synthesized adult /t-d/ continuum. The results were: (a) neither /w-r/ or /t-d/ perception was categorical although the former came closer than the latter in terms of individual subject performance, (b) there was a high and significant correlation between distorted-/r/ identification and within-/r/ discrimination of /w-r/ stimuli, and (c) there were high and significant correlations between distorted-/r/identification and mean, cross-category boundary, and within-/t/discrimination of /t-d/ stimuli.
Laryngeal Kinematics in Voiceless Obstruents Produced by Hearing-Impaired Speakers
Authors: McGarr Nancy S. , Löfqvist Anders
Published: July 2014

During normal production of voiceless consonants several events occur simultaneously in the vocal tract. These events must be temporally cOordinated. Earlier work has indicated that a breakdown in interarticulator timing can contribute to the characteristic voiced-voiceless errors produced by hearing-impaired speakers. The present study examines kinematic details of the laryngeal articulatory gesture in 2 deaf speakers and a control subject using transillumination of the larynx. Results indicate that hearing-impaired speakers often do not produce differences between stops and fricatives in the kinematic details of the gesture. That is to say, although hearing speakers commonly use a larger laryngeal gesture for fricatives than for stops and also show durational differences of the abduction and the adduction phases between phonetic categories, the hearing-impaired subjects did not make them. Also, the deaf speakers participating in this study were more variable in the kinematic measures.
Interactions in the Labial Musculature during Speech
Authors: Folkins John W. , Linville Raymond N. , Garrett J. David , Brown Carl Kice
Published: July 2014

Interactions in electromyographic activity of the upper and lower lips during speech were studied by manipulating the magnitude of bursts of activity related to bilabial closure. Four pairs of electrodes were placed in the labial musculature in each of four normal-speaking young adults. Manipulation of muscle activity usually resulted in positively correlated changes in activity recorded from the other three electrode pairs. Similar effects were found when lower lip muscle activity was manipulated and when upper lip muscle activity was manipulated, suggesting there is no asymmetry in the interactions between lips. Measurements of lower lip closing movement often correlated with the modulated muscle activity, suggesting that the size of lip opening was varied to accommodate different closing forces. The flexibility of a system producing positive correlations in the activity of different labial regions is discussed and contrasted with the suggestions that there are complementary variations, producing negative correlations, in the activity of different labial muscles during speech.
Difference of Susceptibility to Delayed Auditory Feedback between Stutterers and Nonstutterers
Authors: Fukawa Teruyo , Yoshioka Hirohide , Ozawa Emi , Yoshida Shigeru
Published: July 2014

Forty stutterers and 40 nonstutterers were tested for susceptibility to delayed auditory feedback (DAF) while reading passages under amplified delay conditions. Susceptibility to DAF of stutterers was significantly higher than that of nonstutterers. In the nonstuttering group, men were more susceptible to DAF than women, but in the stuttering group, there was no significant difference between sexes. There was also no significant difference in DAF susceptibility between stuttering men and nonstuttering men. Nonstuttering women were least susceptible to DAF. A Susceptibility Index (SI) was found to discriminate speaker sensitivity to DAF and was interpreted to suggest that stutterers rely on auditory feedback for speech control more than nonstutterers.
Accuracy of Pressure-Flow Estimates of Velopharyngeal Orifice Size in an Analog Model and Human Subjects
Authors: Guyette Thomas W. , Carpenter Mary A.
Published: July 2014

This study examined the accuracy of pressure-flow estimates of velopharyngeal (V-P) orifice size as applied to an analog model and two human subjects. Accuracy was assessed under differing conditions of degree of nasal resistance and type of instrumental interface. Known V-P orifice openings were introduced in the model through use of cover plates and in the humans through use of modified nasopharyngeal obturators. Nasal resistances were altered with perforated nasal plugs. Instrumental interfaces differed principally in the method used to detect nasal cavity pressure. Measures were applied to the hydrokinetic equation to estimate V-P area values. Data from the analog model and the human subjects were comparable in many respects. In low nasal resistance, area estimates were reasonably accurate regardless of the interface utilized. In high nasal resistance error typically increased, although not equally across interface types. Potential sources of error are identified and discussed.
Judgments and Measurements of the Loudness of Tinnitus before and after Masking
Authors: Penner M. J.
Published: July 2014

This study explored the relation between changes reported in the perception of the loudness of tinnitus after noise exposure and changes measured in matches to the loudness of tinnitus after noise exposure. Preexposure assessment of the loudness of tinnitus was followed by monaural exposure to wide-band Gaussian noise (for a 5-min period), after which a pulsed, 200-ms tone was presented either ipsilateral or contralateral to the exposed ear. Following each noise exposure, the subject (a) judged the change in the pre- and postexposure tinnitus strength and (b) compared the loudness of the postexposure tinnitus to that of the pure tone. By combining data across noise exposures, a measure of the postexposure tinnitus magnitude was computed. For three of six subjects, the pre- and postexposure magnitude did not differ significantly even though the judgments indicated that the pre- and postexposure loudness of the tinnitus had changed. These data raise the possibility that some loudness judgments reflect variability in the tinnitus rather than the effect of the noise on the tinnitus.
Automatic Phonetogram Recording Supplemented with Acoustical Voice-Quality Parameters
Authors: Pabon J. P. H. , Plomp R.
Published: July 2014

A new method for automatic voice-quality registration is presented. The method is based on a technique called phonetography, which is the registration of the dynamic range of a voice as a function of fundamental frequency. In the new phonetogram-recording method fundamental frequency (F
0
) and sound-pressure level (SPL) are automatically measured and represented in an XY-diagram. Three additional acoustical voice-quality parameters are measured simultaneously with F
0
and SPL: (a) jitter in the F
0
as a measure for roughness, (b) the SPL difference between the 0–1.5 kHz and the 1.5–5 kHz bands as a measure for sharpness, and (c) the vocal-noise level above 5 kHz as a measure for breathiness. With this method, the voice-quality parameter values, which may change substantially as a function of F
0
and SPL, are pinned to a reference position in the patient's total vocal range. Seen as a reference tool, the phonetogram opens the possibility for a more meaningful comparison of voice-quality data. Some examples, demonstrating the dependence of the chosen quality parameters on F
0
and SPL are given.
Frequency Discrimination Ability and Stop-Consonant Identification in Normally Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Subjects
Authors: Ochs Marleen T. , Humes Larry E. , Ohde Ralph N. , Grantham D. Wesley
Published: July 2014

Identification of place of articulation in the synthesized syllables/bi/,/di/, and /gi/ was examined in three groups of listeners: (a) normal hearers, (b) subjects with high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss, and (c) normally hearing subjects listening in noise. Stimuli with an appropriate second formant (F2) transition (moving-F2 stimuli) were compared with stimuli in which F2 was constant (straight-F2 stimuli) to examine the importance of the F2 transition in stop-consonant perception. For straight-F2 stimuli, burst spectrum and F2 frequency were appropriate for the syllable involved. Syllable duration also was a variable, with formant durations of 10, 19, 28, and 44 ms employed. All subjects' identification performance improved as stimulus duration increased. The groups were equivalent in terms of their identification of /di/ and /gi/ syllables, whereas the hearing-impaired and noise-masked normal listeners showed impaired performance for/bi/, particularly for the straight-F2 version. No difference in performance among groups was seen for /di/ and /gi/ stimuli for moving-F2 and straight-F2 versions. Second-formant frequency discrimination measures suggested that subjects' discrimination abilities were not acute enough to take advantage of the formant transition in the /di/and /gi/stimuli.
Using Simultaneous Photodetection and Nasometry to Monitor Velopharyngeal Behavior during Speech
Authors: Dalston Rodger M.
Published: July 2014

The purposes of this investigation were (a) to study the temporal relationships among velopharyngeal closing and opening maneuvers monitored by phototransduction and the onset and offset of Nasometer output signals and (b) to determine the extent to which photodetector output maxima are correlated with output peaks from the Nasometer when both are used simultaneously to monitor nasal productions among normal speakers.

Simultaneous Nasometer and photodetector data were collected from 6 normal adult subjects as they produced 6 repetitions of 10 sentences. A major finding of this study was that over 96% of the 540 nasal utterances studied produced Nasometer andphotodetector signal maxima that were within 30 ms of one another.

The results of this study also suggest that simultaneous nasometry and photodetection may provide useful information concerning the temporal relationships among various velopharyngeal movements and the onset and offset of speech as indicated by output signals from the Nasometer. The potential use of this procedure with clinical patients is discussed.
The Oral Syntactic Proficiency of Learning Disabled Students
Authors: Roth Froma P. , Spekman Nancy J.
Published: July 2014

A comprehensive analysis of syntactic complexity was performed on spontaneously generated oral stories obtained from 93 learning disabled (LD) and normally achieving (NA) students, 14 to 16 each at 8:0–9:11 (years:months), 10:0–11:11, and 12:0–13:11 age levels. Syntactic complexity was measured using a structural constituent analysis and a T-unit analysis. In direct contrast to the extant LD literature, the results revealed almost identical rates of correct usage and extremely similar patterns of usage between the LD and NA subjects on all measures. Post-hoc analyses indicated that three syntactic structures were used by a significantly greater percentage of NA subjects than LD students. The significance of these findings is discussed with respect to: (a) previous and current characterizations of syntactic abilities of LD students; and (b) the importance of differentiating between statistical and clinical significance for the meaningful interpretation of research data.
Comparison of Two Single-Channel Vibrotactile Aids for the Hearing-Impaired
Authors: Weisenberger Janet M. , Russell Ann F.
Published: July 2014

Two commercially available single-channel vibrotactile aids, designed to transmit information about acoustic stimuli to persons who cannot perceive such stimuli through conventional amplification, were compared in a number of tasks with the same subjects. Both devices employed a vibratory transducer worn on the wrist. One device represented characteristics of the envelope of the waveform by using it to modulate the amplitude of a 250-Hz carrier vibration (an amplitude-modulated, or AM, signal). The other device presented and amplitude-modulated a broad-band signal whose spectral characteristics preserved information about the signal. Subjects performed several tasks. On some tasks (sound detection, environmental sound identification, syllable rhythm and stress categorization) information about the envelope of the stimulus was expected to be sufficient for good performance. On others (speech sound recognition) additional information about the spectral fine structure of the signal spectrum was anticipated to be required for good performance. Results indicated that the subjects performed comparably with both devices on all tasks, suggesting that they did not make use of the spectral information available in the more complex signal.
Conflicting and Cooperating Cues
Authors: Eilers Rebecca , Oller D. K. , Urbano Richard , Moroff Debra
Published: July 2014

Three experiments were conducted to ascertain the relative salience of two cues for final consonant voicing in infants and adults. Experiment 1 was designed to investigate infant perception of periodicity of burst, vowel duration, and the two cues combined in a cooperating pattern. Experiment 2 was designed to examine infant perception of these same cues but in a conflicting pattern, that is, with extended duration associated with the voiceless final plosive. Experiment 3 examined perception of the stimuli from Experiments 1 and 2 with adult subjects. Results indicate that in both adults and infants combined cues facilitate discrimination of the phonemic contrast regardless of whether the cues cooperate or conflict. The three experiments taken together do not support a phonetic interpretation of conflicting/cooperating cues for the perception of final stop consonant voicing. Potential psychoacoustic explanations are discussed.
Development of the Speech Intelligibility Rating (Sir) Test for Hearing Aid Comparisons
Authors: Cox Robyn M. , McDaniel D. Michael
Published: July 2014

The Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR) Test has been developed for use in clinical comparisons of hearing aid conditions. After listening to a short passage of connected speech, subjects generate a rating proportional to its intelligibility using an equal-appearing interval scale from 0 to 10. Before test passages are presented, the signal-to-babble ratio (SBR) is adjusted to a level that elicits intelligibility ratings of 7-8 for a "setup" passage. Then, with SBR held constant, three or more test passages are rated and the results averaged for each aided condition. This paper describes the generation of recorded test materials and their investigation using normally hearing listeners. Based on these data, a critical difference of about 2 scale intervals is recommended. A future paper will deal with results for hearing-impaired subjects.
Comparison of Period-by-Period Fundamental Frequency of Stutterers and Nonstutterers over Repeated Utterances
Authors: Sacco Pat Richard , Metz Dale Evan
Published: July 2014

The fundamental frequency (f
Ø
) of the first five periods in the acoustic wave form of vowels following stop consonant productions and the f
Ø
of a period approximately 100 ms into the vowel were analyzed in the repeated fluent utterances of 10 nonstutterers and 10 stutterers both pre- and posttherapy. Group data indicate that the nonstutterers and stutterers showed similar f
Ø
diminution patterns in vowels immediately following stop consonants. Additionally, the stutterers were not significantly different from the nonstutterers in their ability to achieve a stable f
Ø
over repeated utterances. These results are discussed with respect to a previous analysis of the present data (Sacco & Metz, 1986) in which it was found that stutterers were significantly more variable than nonstutterers in their ability to achieve a stable f
Ø
over repeated utterances. It is suggested that stutterings in the immediate vicinity of otherwise fluently produced words may influence certain production characteristics of those words.
Natural Alteration of Speaking Rate
Authors: Schmitt John F. , Moore Joy R.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of the study was to assess the comprehension performance of "old-old" listeners for naturally rate-altered passages. Fourteen men and 14 women between 75 and 84 years of age responded to comprehension questions after hearing matched passages at four different rates. The listeners' performances were significantly worse under 60% time compression than at normal rate and two rates of time expansion. Comprehension differences between the sexes were not significant. The results are compared with prior findings for old-old listeners responding to electronically altered speech stimuli (Schmitt, 1983a) and for "young-old" listeners (65-74 years of age) who also responded to naturally rate-altered passages (Schmitt & Carroll, 1985).
Acoustic and Physiological Reaction Times of Stutterers and Nonstutterers
Authors: Peters Herman F.M. , Hulstijn Wouter , Starkweather C. Woodruff
Published: July 2014

This study investigates reaction times in the fluent speech utterances of stutterers and nonstutterers under several experimental conditions. Twenty adult stutterers and twenty matched controls produced utterances of three lengths—one syllable words, polysyllabic words, and sentences—in two conditions of time pressure (high and low) and two conditions of preparation (delayed and immediate responding) in a reaction-time paradigm. Recordings were made of EMG signals from the orbicularis oris inferior and from the extrinsic laryngeal area, as well as electroglottographic and acoustic signals. Measures were made of the duration of intervals between the stimulus, the acoustical onset of voicing, the onset of laryngeal EMG activity, and the onset of lip EMG activity. The durations of subintervals between the stimulus, the three physiological signals, and the acoustic signal were also measured. The results suggest that the reaction times of stutterers and nonstutterers are both increased by longer utterances, and that the effect is proportionally greater for the stutterers. The requirement to respond with minimal preparation produced longer reaction times in both groups, particularly for longer utterances, but this finding was stronger for stutterers than for nonstutterers, particularly in the prelaryngeal subintervals. The high time-pressure condition produced an unusual pattern of responding in many subjects. The analysis of subintervals indicated that the additional time taken by stutterers in responding was located in the earlier parts of the response, particularly when the utterances were longer. The results are interpreted as suggesting that stutterers may have difficulty in the motor programming of speech behavior.
Visual Evoked Potentials
Authors: Rönnberg Jerker , Arlinger Stig , Lyxell Björn , Kinnefors Catharina
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the putative relationship between visual evoked potentials (VEPs) and specific aspects of speechreading. The nature and constraints of the relationship between VEPs and cognitive functioning was also examined. The original finding of Shepherd, DeLavergne, Frueh, and Clobridge (1977) that visual-neural speed (VN 130) predicts speechreading skill was not replicated. However, the picture is rather complex in that we find significant correlations for some context-free word discrimination and sign-alphabet testing conditions. These correlations occur only for the VN 130/P 200 peak-to-peak amplitude measure, not for neural speed. Nevertheless, visual-neural speed (VN 130 and P 200) was relevant to certain aspects of long-term memory access (i.e., letter matching, Posner & Mitchell, 1967) and to complex short-term memory function (i.e., reading span, Baddeley, Logie, Nimmo-Smith, & Brereton, 1985).
Temporal-Gap Detection by Cochlear Prosthesis Users
Authors: Preece John P. , Tyler Richard S.
Published: July 2014

Minimum-detectable gaps for sinusoidal stimuli were measured for three users of a multi electrode cochlear prosthesis as functions of stimulus level, frequency, and electrode place within the cochlea. Stimulus level was scaled by sensation level and by growth-of-loudness functions generated for each condition by direct magnitude estimation. Minimum-detectable gaps decreased with increase in either sensation level or loudness, up to a plateau. When compared at equal sensation levels, the minimum-detectable gaps decreased with frequency increases. The frequency effect on minimum-detectable gaps is reduced if the data are considered at equal loudness. Comparison across place of stimulation within the cochlea showed minimum-detectable gaps to be shorter for more basal electrode placement at low stimulus levels. No differences in minimum-detectable gap as a function of place were found at higher stimulus levels.
Imitation of Intonation by Infants
Authors: Siegel Gerald M. , Cooper Martha , Morgan James L. , Brenneise-Sarshad Robin
Published: July 2014

Children between 9 and 12 months of age were studied to determine if they would spontaneously imitate either the average fundamental frequency or the fundamental frequency contour of their speaking partners. In the first experiment, children were recorded at home as they interacted with their fathers and mothers. Acoustic analyses failed to reveal any tendency on the part of the infants to adjust vocal pitch, amplitude, or duration to those of their speaking partners. In a second experiment, children were recorded while interacting with their parents in a laboratory setting. Again, there were no indications that the children imitated the vocal patterns of their speaking partners.
Hearing Loss, Aging, and Speech Perception in Reverberation and Noise
Authors: Helfer Karen S. , Wilber Laura A.
Published: July 2014

The present investigation examined the effect of reverberation and noise on the perception of nonsense syllables by four groups of subjects: younger (≤35 years of age) and older (>60 years of age) listeners with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss; younger, normal-hearing individuals; and older adults with minimal peripheral hearing loss. Copies of the Nonsense Syllable Test (Resnick, Dubno, Huffnung, & Levitt, 1975) were re-recorded under four levels of reverberation (0.0, 0.6, 0.9, 1.3 s) in quiet and in cafeteria noise at + 10 dB S:N. Results suggest that both age and amount of pure-tone hearing loss contribute to senescent changes in the ability to understand noisy, reverberant speech: pure-tone threshold and age were correlated negatively with performance in reverberation plus noise, although age and pure-tone hearing loss were not correlated with each other. Further, many older adults with minimal amounts of peripheral hearing loss demonstrated difficulty understanding distorted consonants.
Language Learning in a Prospective Study of Otitis Media with Effusion in the First Two Years of Life
Authors: Friel-Patti Sandy , Finitzo Terese
Published: July 2014

We report cross-sectional findings on children’s early experience with otitis media with effusion (OME) related to hearing over time and emerging receptive and expressive language skills on theSequenced Inventory of Communication Development Scale(SICD). Tympanometry and otoscopy on the same day are combined to diagnose OME. Hearing from 6 to 12 months is significantly related to scores on the SICD beginning with receptive language at 12 months. At 18 and 24 months, both receptive and expressive language are significantly related to average hearing from 6 to 18 months. Better language is associated with better average hearing levels. These findings suggest that the relationship between OME and language is mediated by hearing. It remains to be seen whether these relationships persist as the children continue to develop language.
A Note on Intelligence Assessment Within Studies of Specific Language Impairment
Authors: Camarata Stephen , Swisher Linda
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this paper is to review the procedures, reported in three journals, that researchers have adopted to evaluate the intelligence of children with specific language impairment. The results indicated that researchers used one of the following procedures: no mention of intelligence, statements of negative history for mental retardation (without further documentation), reporting cut-off scores on one or more standardized assessment instruments, reporting means on one or more standardized assessment instruments, or reporting individual test scores from such instruments. A majority of researchers adopted the procedures in the first three categories. Implications of such reporting procedures are discussed.
Development of Children with Early Language Delay
Authors: Scarborough Hollis S. , Dobrich Wanda
Published: July 2014

Four children with early language delays (ELD) were compared to a control group of 12 children with respect to their preschool language abilities from age 2 1/2 to 5 years and their verbal skills at the end of Grade 2. The language-delayed children each initially showed severe and broad impairments in syntactic, phonological, and lexical production. Over time, their deficits became milder and more selective, such that normal or nearly normal speech and language proficiency was exhibited by age 60 months. Nevertheless, when followed up 3 years later, three of the four cases were severely reading disabled. These findings are discussed with respect to prior findings and hypotheses about the sequelae of early language delay and the relationship of language development to reading achievement.
Oral Structure Nonspeech Motor Control in Normal, Dysarthric, Aphasic and Apraxic Speakers
Authors: McNeil Malcolm R. , Weismer Gary , Adams Scott , Mulligan Moira
Published: July 2014

This study investigated the isometric force and static position control of the upper lip, lower lip, tongue, jaw, and finger in four subject groups (normal control, apraxia of speech, conduction aphasia, and ataxic dysarthria) at two force and displacement levels. Results from both the force and position tasks suggested that the apraxic and dysarthric groups tended to produce significantly greater instability than the normal group, although the pattern of instability across articulators was not systematic within or across the force and position experiments for subjects within or between groups. The conduction aphasic group produced force and position stability that typically was not significantly different from any of the remaining three groups, suggesting that their force and position stability as indexed in the present study fell somewhere between that of the normal group and the apraxic and dysarthric groups. It is suggested that other analyses of force and position control, such as descriptive accounts of the trial-by-trial time histories, might shed additional light on the speech and orofacial sensorimotor control deficits in persons with apraxia, dysarthria, and conduction aphasia.
Variations in Self-Paced Behaviors in Stutterers and Nonstutterers
Authors: Brown C. J. , Zimmermann G. N. , Linville R. N. , Hegmann J. P.
Published: July 2014

Ten stuttering and 10 nonstuttering subjects performed self-paced rhythmic tasks with the finger and jaw and were asked to repeat “ah.” The tasks were performed at three rates: “comfortable” rate; and “slightly higher” and “slightly lower” than comfortable, but still in the comfortable range.

The stutterers performed each of the three tasks more slowly than the nonstutterers and were less variable than nonstutterers. The reduced rates and more constrained variability of the stutterers were interpreted as manifestations of less flexible systems, which may be more susceptible to breakdown.
Do Parental Questions and Topic Continuations Elicit Replies from Developmentally Delayed Children?
Authors: Yoder Paul J. , Davies Betty
Published: July 2014

This sequential analysis tested the relative extent to which several adult utterance types elicited conversational replies from developmentally delayed children. Eight developmentally delayed children in Brown’s stages I and II and their primary parents were the subjects. Parent-child pairs were video and audio taped during their interactions with experimenter-provided toys in a lab setting. Transcripts of the interactions were coded for adult topic relatedness and obligation level and for child topic relatedness, length, and intelligibility. The results indicated that child replies of any length were elicited by adult topic continuations more than by any other adult utterance type. If a new topic was initiated, explicit prompts for child talk elicited child replies more than other adult utterance types. Multiword child replies were most likely to be elicited by explicit prompts that continued the child’s topic. Child effects on the presence and effectiveness of adult conversational recruiting strategies were also tested.
Kinematic Analysis of Lip Closure in Stutterers’ Fluent Speech
Authors: McClean Michael D. , Kroll Robert M. , Loftus Nirit S.
Published: July 2014

An analysis of lip and jaw motion was carried out in order to evaluate previous observations on the fluent speech of stutterers and to describe possible effects of speech therapy. A strain gauge system was used to transduce lip and jaw movements during fluent repetitions of “sapapple” in adult stutterers and nonstutterers. Fifteen movement parameters were measured on lip closure for the initial /p/ sound in a group of 10 normal speakers, 10 stutterers who had no recent speech therapy, and 8 stutterers who had been through an intensive speech therapy program involving modification of speech timing. The no-therapy group and nonstutterers did not differ significantly in terms of any movement parameter. Stutterers who had been through speech therapy showed significant increases in jaw movement duration and time to peak velocity of the upper lip, lower lip, and jaw. The expected timing pattern for lip and jaw velocity peaks on lip closure (UL-LL-J) was the most frequently occurring pattern, but deviations from this pattern were observed in both stutterers and nonstutterers. The occurrence of reversals was most prevalent in the therapy group, and it was associated with increases in jaw movement duration across subjects. It is suggested that for the type of movement studied here, anomalies in stutterers’ fluent speech are likely to be the result of acquired adjustments rather than properties of the speech neuromotor system that underly dysfluency.
Subvocalization and Reading Rate Differences between Stuttering and Nonstuttering Children and Adults
Authors: Bosshardt Hans-Georg
Published: July 2014

The hypothesis tested was that stutterers subvocalize more slowly than nonstutterers and that they need more time for the overt production of the fluent parts of their speech. We also investigated whether rate differences could only be observed for those words on which the stutterers expect to stutter. Fifty-nine school children (27 stutterers and 32 nonstutterers) and 19 adults (18 stutterers and 21 nonstutterers) performed a reading task in which a noun was presented together with its definite article. The presentation times of the reading material were controlled by the subjects. Half of the material had to be read silently, the other half orally. In oral reading, only the data from those trials without any indication of disfluencies were used. Dependent variables were presentation times, speech latency, and speech duration. The stutterers’ silent presentation times were significantly longer than those of nonstutterers and this difference was significantly greater for children than for adults. In oral reading all stutterers, regardless of age, had longer presentation times, speech latencies, and article durations than the nonstutterers. Some nouns, however, were uttered significantly more rapidly by stutterers than by nonstutterers. These time differences were found to be independent of the stutterers’ expectation to stutter. Our results indicate that a strictly motoric explanation of stuttering is inadequate. The data show that the stutterers and nonstutterers differ with respect to the temporal parameters not only during speech execution, but during speech planning as well.
Intelligibility of Telephone Speech for the Hearing Impaired When Various Microphones Are Used for Acoustic Coupling
Authors: Janota Claus P. , Janota Jeanette Olach
Published: July 2014

This study set out to systematically measure the effect of using various candidate microphones for acoustic coupling of hearing aids to a telephone receiver. Intelligibility of words was determined for three microphones and three levels of interfering noise for a total of nine conditions. The subjects all had moderate hearing loss. It was found that microphones that exhibit pressure gradient sensitivity can, when properly positioned relative to the telephone receiver, increase intelligibility scores significantly. Results show that comparable listening performance is achieved with a pressure gradient microphone at a 10 dB higher level of interfering noise than with a microphone that is only sensitive to pressure. The results quantify the effect of microphones in acoustic coupling of hearing aids to telephones and point to a possible means for improving some types of hearing aids to facilitate telephone use for the hearing-impaired.