Phonetic and phonemic acquisition: normative data in English and Dutch speech sound development

Objective

Comparison of normative data in English and Dutch speech sound development in young children. Research questions were: Which normative data are present concerning speech sound development in children between two and six years of age? In which way are the speech sounds examined? What are the differences and similarities between the development of speech sounds in different languages?

Methods

A literature study on the subject was performed to be able to answer the research questions.

Results

The presented normative English data showed that all vowels are present at three years of age, and most consonants (singletons) already at four years of age, except for/?, ?, θ, ð/. Consonant clusters develop between 4.5 and 5.5 years of age. The phonological error patterns gliding can be present until six years of age.According to information regarding the Dutch speech sound system, the same ages are found for vowels and single consonants. The age of acquisition of most consonant clusters is present at about six years of age, but the development goes on until ten years of age.

Conclusion

The data from the development of the English and Dutch speech sound system show many similar tendencies. Vowels are mastered by the age of three, most consonants by the age of four and most consonant clusters between 5 and 6-8 years of age. Perhaps, there is a universal trend in speech sound development like there is in language development.     

Neuroimaging studies of speech: An overview of techniques and methodological approaches

Over the past two decades, there has been an explosion in the use of imaging technology to study the structure and function of the human brain. The purpose of this article is to explore how functional neuroimaging has been applied to the study of speech production. This article begins with a brief review of neuroimaging methods and limitations. Then, two approaches that can be used to study the brain areas that support speech production are illustrated. The first approach is based upon comparisons across different types of language production tasks; the second approach is based upon comparing the effects of different types of stimuli within a single task. Results obtained using these approaches will be used to dissociate the contributions of different brain regions involved in speech production. For example, evidence will be presented that Broca's area contributes to phonological encoding, whereas motor cortex, the supplementary motor area (SMA), and the cerebellum support phonetic encoding and articulation. Learning outcomes: As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to describe basic methods for conducting a positron emission tomography study and a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. The participant will also be introduced to two approaches for fractionating the brain regions involved in speech production: (1) comparisons between tasks, and (2) manipulations of stimulus materials. Finally, the participant will be able to summarize a cognitive model of the components of speech production will be introduced, and potential mappings between these components and particular brain regions will be discussed.     

Relationship between speech motor control and speech intelligibility in children with speech sound disorders

The current study was undertaken to investigate the impact of speech motor issues on the speech intelligibility of children with moderate to severe speech sound disorders (SSD) within the context of the PROMPT intervention approach. The word-level Children's Speech Intelligibility Measure (CSIM), the sentence-level Beginner's Intelligibility Test (BIT) and tests of speech motor control and articulation proficiency were administered to 12 children (3:11 to 6:7 years) before and after PROMPT therapy. PROMPT treatment was provided for 45 min twice a week for 8 weeks. Twenty-four naïve adult listeners aged 22–46 years judged the intelligibility of the words and sentences. For CSIM, each time a recorded word was played to the listeners they were asked to look at a list of 12 words (multiple-choice format) and circle the word while for BIT sentences, the listeners were asked to write down everything they heard. Words correctly circled (CSIM) or transcribed (BIT) were averaged across three naïve judges to calculate percentage speech intelligibility. Speech intelligibility at both the word and sentence level was significantly correlated with speech motor control, but not articulatory proficiency. Further, the severity of speech motor planning and sequencing issues may potentially be a limiting factor in connected speech intelligibility and highlights the need to target these issues early and directly in treatment.     

Measuring speech sound development: An item response model approach

Research aim

The primary aim of our study is to investigate if there is an ordering in the speech sound development of children aged 3–6, similar to the ordering in general language development.

Method

The speech sound development of 1035 children was tested with a revised version of Logo-Articulation Assessment. The data were analyzed with the Mokken Scale Program (MSP) in order to construct scales with satisfactory scalability (H-coefficient) and sufficient reliability (rho).

Results

The majority of children over 4.3 years of age turned out to have mastered most speech sounds. An ordering was only found in the youngest age group (3.8–4.3 years of age), for the sounds of /r/ in initial and final position and /s/ in initial position. This resulted in a set of scales. The scales developed for /r/ (in initial and final position) and /s/ were moderately scalable (H > 0.43) and reliable (rho > 0.83), and independent of gender. Moreover, we found variation in the judgment of speech sound development, which may perhaps have been due to where exactly the examiner was positioned during the assessment procedure: in front of the child, or sitting beside the child.

Conclusions

We could not detect an ordering for all speech sounds. We only found an ordering for /r/ in initial and final position and /s/ in initial position. In the Mokken analysis we conducted, these scales turned out to be moderately strong and reliable. Our research also underlines that speech sound development is judged not only in an auditory sense, but judgment also depends on the visual interpretation of the listener.     

构音干预对人工耳蜗植入儿童言语清晰度的影响

目的考查构音干预对人工耳蜗植入儿童言语清晰度的影响。方法选取17名人工耳蜗植入儿童进行研究,实验组11名聋儿接受构音干预。对照组6名聋儿不接受干预,对两组儿童实验前后言语清晰度的变化情况进行比较。结果实验组聋儿言语清晰度提高速度快,平均增幅约为30％;对照组聋儿言语清晰度提高速度相对较慢。结论针对性构音干预对提高人工耳蜗儿童声母、韵母、声调的清晰度有着积极的影响。     

Evaluation of speech intelligibility in short-reverberant sound fields

Objective

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in speech intelligibility in short-reverberant sound fields using deteriorated monosyllables. Generated using digital signal processing, deteriorated monosyllables can lack the redundancy of words, and thus may emphasize differences in sound fields in terms of speech clarity.

Methods

Ten participants without any hearing disorders identified 100 monosyllables convolved with eight impulse responses measured in different short-reverberant sound fields (speech transmission index >0.6 and reverberation time <1 s), and we compared speech recognition scores between normal and deteriorated monosyllables. Deterioration was produced using low-pass filtering (cut off frequency = 1600 Hz).

Results

Speech recognition scores associated with the deteriorated monosyllables were lower than those for the normal monosyllables. In addition, scores were more varied among the different sound fields, although this result was not significant according to an analysis of variance. In contrast, the variation among sound fields was significant for the normal monosyllables. When comparing the intelligibility scores to the acoustic parameters calculated from eight impulse responses, the speech recognition scores were the highest when the reverberant/direct sound energy ratio (R/D) was balanced.

Conclusions

Although our deterioration procedure obscured differences in intelligibility score among the different sound fields, we have established that the R/D is a useful parameter for evaluating speech intelligibility in short-reverberant sound fields.     

Assessing speech perception in young children and relationships with language skills

Few materials are available to assess speech perceptual skills in young children without hearing impairments. However, children with a range of developmental conditions are at risk of speech discrimination deficits. Tasks that reliably assess speech perception skills are thus necessary for research and clinical practice. The development and application of two speech perception tests are described. Data were collected from 105 children, aged 4–5 years, attending mainstream schools, on two tasks, mispronunciation detection and non-word XAB, in quiet and in a background of multi-talker babble. Children's receptive language skills were also measured. Performance on mispronunciation detection was significantly better than on the XAB non-word task, and significantly better in quiet than in babble. Performance significantly improved with age, and speech discrimination was significantly related to receptive language abilities. Scores obtained in quiet and in babble were highly correlated and findings suggest there may be no advantage to testing in noise, except to avoid ceiling effects on performance. These tasks prove useful in the assessment of young children who may have speech discrimination deficits.     

Feature characteristics of spontaneous speech production in young deaf children

Sixty-five 6-yr-old deaf children from state supported schools were given an adaptation of the Goldman Fristoe test of articulation to assess their spontaneous speech production. Responses were measured in terms of features of manner, place, voice visibility, position, and error type and compared to imitative samples. A rank order of difficulty for each phoneme, error type, and word position is presented. Results show that of the phonemes, low back vowels, diphthongs, laterals, and voiced consonants were more easily produced. A relationship could be found between fundamental frequency, formant frequency, intensity, and phoneme production, suggesting that these variables and features may be providing the governance underlying the phonological rules in the development of speech in the deaf. Suggestions for training are given.     

健听儿童与听障儿童舌根塞音构音异常声学特征的比较研究

本研究探讨了120名健听儿童／g／.／k／时长和频区的特征，并将52名听障儿童主客观评估结果与健听儿童的结果进行对比。研究结果显示健听儿童习得／g／／k／后，随着年龄的增长，时长和频区均无显著变化；女孩时长大于男孩，男女频区无显著差异；／k／与／g／相比时长长，频区高；舌根塞音与／ao／和n／u／分别相拼时相比，时长短、频区高。临床上若／kao／和／ku／的时长小于健听儿童参考范围或／gao／、／gu／和／ku／的频区大于健听儿童参考范围时，可以推测可能存在发音部位前移问题。研究得到了健听儿童／g／、／k／时长和频区的参考范围，为临床治疗提供了参考依据。     

计算机导航-听觉言语评估系统中儿童汉语言语识别词表

目的通过对计算机导航-听觉评估系统中儿童汉语听觉言语识别词表的测试,证实儿童汉语言语识别词表在“计算机导航-听觉言语评估系统”中运用的可行性,通过对不同年龄段健康听力儿童言语识别率的标准化研究,使测试结果能够真实地表达不同年龄段儿童的听觉言语识别能力。方法在正常幼儿园随机选取90例儿童,其中大班儿童（平均年龄5岁11个月）、中班儿童（平均年龄4岁9个月）、小班儿童（平均年龄3岁8个月）各30例。应用计算机导航-听觉言语评估系统,在安静环境中,分别对不同年龄组的儿童进行听觉言语识别测试,包括语音识别、声调识别、单音节词识别、双音节词识别、三音节词识别和短旬识别。结果大班、中班、小班不同年龄组儿童的听觉言语识别词表正确识别率测试结果显示,每一测试词的通过率均大于93％,各听觉言语识别词表的总体通过率均在99％以上,达到了预期的标准化测试目标。结论本研究验证了计算机导航-聋儿听觉评估系统中的听觉言语识别词表及图片对儿童进行听觉言语能力评估具有科学性和可行性,能够真实地表达各年龄段儿童听觉言语识别水平。     

人工耳蜗植入和助听器配戴儿童声调识别的对比实验研究

目的探讨人工耳蜗植入儿童和助昕器配戴儿童在声调识别方面是否存在差异；考查人工耳蜗开机时间、入园康复时间，儿童的年龄、性别等因素对声调识别是否有影响。方法采用《言语听觉反应评估》（evaluation of auditory responses to speech，EARS）中的“封闭式声调测试”作为测试材料．对61名3～6岁聋儿（其中人工耳蜗植入儿童31名，助昕器配戴儿童30名）进行声调识别的测试，利用SPSS软件对结果进行统计分析。结果助昕器配戴儿童在声调识别的精确性上优于人工耳蜗植入聋儿；人工耳蜗开机时间对声调测试成绩没有明显的影响；康复时间、聋儿的年龄和声调测试成绩呈正比；聋儿的性别和声调测试成绩无关。结论助昕设备类型、康复时间、年龄等对声调识别的成绩有一定影响，这些因素之间可能存在相互作用，有待进一步探讨。     

Gender disparity in subcortical encoding of binaurally presented speech stimuli: An auditory evoked potentials study

Objectives

To investigate the influence of gender on subcortical representation of speech acoustic parameters where simultaneously presented to both ears.

Methods

Two-channel speech-evoked auditory brainstem responses were obtained in 25 female and 23 male normal hearing young adults by using binaural presentation of the 40 ms synthetic consonant-vowel /da/, and the encoding of the fast and slow elements of speech stimuli at subcortical level were compared in the temporal and spectral domains between the sexes using independent sample, two tailed t-test.

Results

Highly detectable responses were established in both groups. Analysis in the time domain revealed earlier and larger Fast-onset-responses in females but there was no gender related difference in sustained segment and offset of the response. Interpeak intervals between Frequency Following Response peaks were also invariant to sex. Based on shorter onset responses in females, composite onset measures were also sex dependent. Analysis in the spectral domain showed more robust and better representation of fundamental frequency as well as the first formant and high frequency components of first formant in females than in males.

Conclusions

Anatomical, biological and biochemical distinctions between females and males could alter the neural encoding of the acoustic cues of speech stimuli at subcortical level. Females have an advantage in binaural processing of the slow and fast elements of speech. This could be a physiological evidence for better identification of speaker and emotional tone of voice, as well as better perceiving the phonetic information of speech in women.     

语谱图在聋人语训中的作用

聋人的发音训练一直是特殊教育的重点课程。能够清晰流利地应用语音表达，对聋人学习能力和生活质量的提高都有很大的帮助。发音学习过程是一个自动化程序认知过程，本文结合实际案例从认知心理学的各个过程分析语谱图在聋人语训中的作用与效果。研究结果显示，应用语谱图不但能提高学习效率，而且能保证发音有较高的清晰度和自然度。     

An investigation into the effect of limiting the frequency bandwidth of speech on speech recognition in adult cochlear implant users

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the limited-frequency bandwidth employed by telephones (300-3400 Hz) on speech recognition in adult cochlear implant users. The Four Alternative Auditory Feature (FAAF) test was used in four conditions: unfiltered and in three filtered conditions of 300-4500 Hz, 300-3400 Hz and 300-2500 Hz. Ten subjects implanted with the Nucleus CI24M device and 10 normal-hearing listeners were assessed to examine differences between word discrimination scores in each condition. Scores obtained from the 300-3400-Hz and 300-2500-Hz filtered conditions were significantly worse than those with unfiltered speech for the cochlear implant subjects, decreasing by 17.7% and 21.4%, respectively, from scores with unfiltered speech. By contrast, the normal-hearing listeners did not experience difficulties in discriminating between words in any of the conditions. Analysis of the word errors demonstrated that the reduction in implant subject scores with bandwidth arose from errors in place of articulation. Filtering speech in this way has a significant effect on speech recognition for cochlear implant subjects but not normal-hearing listeners. Hence, the limitations of the normal telephone bandwidth can be expected to have a negative effect on speech recognition for cochlear implant users using the telephone.     

Speech and language development in a population of Swedish hearing-impaired pre-school children, a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: There is little information on speech and language development in pre-school children with mild, moderate or severe hearing impairment. The primary aim of the study is to establish a reference material for clinical use covering various aspects of speech and language functions and to relate test values to pure tone audiograms and parents' judgement of their children's hearing and language abilities. METHODS: Nine speech and language tests were applied or modified, both classical tests and newly developed tests. Ninety-seven children with normal hearing and 156 with hearing impairment were tested. Hearing was 80 dB HL PTA or better in the best ear. Swedish was their strongest language. None had any additional diagnosed major handicaps. The children were 4-6 years of age. The material was divided into 10 categories of hearing impairment, 5 conductive and 5 sensorineural: unilateral; bilateral 0-20; 21-40; 41-60; 61-80 dB HL PTA. The tests, selected on the basis of a three component language model, are phoneme discrimination; rhyme matching; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III, word perception); Test for Reception of Grammar (TROG, grammar perception); prosodic phrase focus; rhyme construction; Word Finding Vocabulary Test (word production); Action Picture Test (grammar production); oral motor test. RESULTS: Only categories with sensorineural loss showed significant differences from normal. Word production showed the most marked delay for 21-40 dB HL: 5 and 6 years p<0.01; for 41-60 dB: 4 years p<0.01 and 6 years p<0.01 and 61-80 dB: 5 years p<0.05. Phoneme discrimination 21-40 dB HL: 6 years p<0.05; 41-60 dB: 4 years p<0.01; 61-80 dB: 4 years p<0.001, 5 years p<0.001. Rhyme matching: no significant difference as compared to normal data. Word perception: sensorineural 41-60 dB HL: 6 years p<0.05; 61-80 dB: 4 years p<0.05; 5 years p<0.01. Grammar perception: sensorineural 41-60 dB HL: 6 years p<0.05; 61-80 dB: 5 years p<0.05. Prosodic phrase focus: 41-60 dB HL: 5 years p<0.01. Rhyme construction: 41-60 dB HL: 4 years p<0.05. Grammar production: 61-80 dB HL: 5 years p<0.01. Oral motor function: no differences. The Word production test showed a 1.5-2 years delay for sensorineural impairment 41-80 dB HL through 4-6 years of age. There were no differences between hearing-impaired boys and girls. Extended data for the screening test [E. Borg, A. Risberg, B. McAllister, B.M. Undemar, G. Edquist, A.C. Reinholdsson, et al., Language development in hearing-impaired children. Establishment of a reference material for a "Language test for hearing-impaired children", Int. J. Pediatr. Otorhinolaryngol. 65 (2002) 15-26] are presented. CONCLUSIONS: Reference values for expected speech and language development are presented that cover nearly 60% of the studied population. The effect of the peripheral hearing impairment is compensated for in many children with hearing impairment up to 60 dB HL. Above that degree of impairment, language delay is more pronounced, probably due to a loss of acuity. The importance of central cognitive functions, speech reading and signing for compensation of peripheral limitations is pointed out.     

An Italian matrix sentence test for the evaluation of speech intelligibility in noise

Objective: Development of an Italian matrix sentence test for the assessment of speech intelligibility in noise. Design: The development of the test included the selection, recording, optimization with level adjustment, and evaluation of speech material. The training effect was assessed adaptively during the evaluation measurements with six lists of 20 sentences, using open- and closed-set response formats. Reference data were established for normal-hearing listeners with adaptive measurements. Equivalence of the test lists was investigated using the open-set response format at three signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Study sample: A total of 55 normal-hearing Italian mother-tongue listeners. Results: The evaluation measurements at fixed SNRs resulted in a mean speech reception threshold (SRT) of ? 7.3 ± 0.2 dB SNR and slope of 13.3 ± 1.2 %/dB. The major training effect of 1.5 dB was observed for the first two consecutive measurements. Mean SRTs of ? 6.7 ± 0.7 dB SNR and ? 7.4 ± 0.7 dB SNR were found from the third to the sixth adaptive measurement for open- and closed-set test response formats, respectively. Conclusions: A good agreement has been found between the SRTs and slope and those of other matrix tests. Since sentences are difficult to memorize, the Italian matrix test is suitable for repeated measurements.     

Anticipatory coarticulation in the speech of adults and young children: acoustic, perceptual, and video data.

Three experiments investigated anticipatory lingual and labial coarticulation in the [sV] productions of children and adults. Acoustic, perceptual, and video data were used to trace the development of intrasyllabic coarticulation in the speech of adults and children (ages 3, 5, and 8 years). Although children show greater variability in their articulatory patterns than adults, the data do not support claims that young children produce a greater degree of intrasyllabic coarticulation than older children or adults. Rather, the acoustic and video data suggest that young children and adults produce similar patterns of anticipatory coarticulation, and the perceptual data indicate that coarticulatory cues in the speech of 3-year-old children are less perceptible than those of the other age groups.     

An initial study of voice characteristics of children using two different sound coding strategies in comparison to normal hearing children

Objective: To compare some perceptual and acoustic characteristics of the voices of children who use the advanced combination encoder (ACE) or fine structure processing (FSP) speech coding strategies, and to investigate whether these characteristics differ from children with normal hearing. Design: Acoustic analysis of the sustained vowel /a/ was performed using the multi-dimensional voice program (MDVP). Analyses of sequential and spontaneous speech were performed using the real time pitch. Perceptual analyses of these samples were performed using visual-analogic scales of pre-selected parameters. Study sample: Seventy-six children from three years to five years and 11 months of age participated. Twenty-eight were users of ACE, 23 were users of FSP, and 25 were children with normal hearing. Results: Although both groups with CI presented with some deviated vocal features, the users of ACE presented with voice quality more like children with normal hearing than the users of FSP. Conclusions: Sound processing of ACE appeared to provide better conditions for auditory monitoring of the voice, and consequently, for better control of the voice production. However, these findings need to be further investigated due to the lack of comparative studies published to understand exactly which attributes of sound processing are responsible for differences in performance.