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In recent years, several studies about intonation have been developed based on the Autosegmental- Metrical framework established by Janet Pierrehumbert. The aim of this work is to describe the main intonational patterns in different sentence-types in the town of Álora (Málaga), a point located in a zone of confluence between the eastern and western Andalusian varieties. To this end, 224 sentences uttered by 7 local speakers were recorded using the Discourse Completion Task method. The contours were annotated using the Sp_ToBI transcription system. In addition to describing the intonation of the different sentence-types, this work compares the variety of Spanish spoken in Álora with the varieties of Central Peninsular Spanish, studied by Estebas-Vilaplana and Prieto, and with the variety spoken in Jerez, analyzed by Henriksen and García-Amaya. The results show that the variety of Álora is intonationally closer to the one of Jerez than to central peninsular Spanish, although it differs from the former in several sentence types (broad focus statements of more than one prosodic word, statements of the obvious, informationseeking wh- questions, insistent orders). En los últimos años se han ido desarrollando numerosos estudios sobre la entonación de las lenguas basados en el modelo métrico-autosegmental establecido por Janet Pierrehumbert. El objetivo de este trabajo es el de describir los principales contornos de F0 en diferentes tipos de enunciados de la localidad de Álora (Málaga), un punto situado en una zona de confluencia entre la variedad oriental y occidental andaluzas. Con ese fin, se han grabado mediante la técnica del Discourse Completion Task 224 oraciones producidas por 7 hablantes de esa localidad. Los contornos entonativos así obtenidos se han anotado mediante el sistema de transcripción Sp_ToBI. Además de describir la entonación de los diferentes tipos de enunciados, en este trabajo se realiza también una comparación con las variedades del espanol central peninsular, estudiado por Estebas-Vilaplana y Prieto, y del jerezano, analizado por Henriksen y García-Amaya. Los resultados indican que el habla de Álora se acerca entonativamente más al jerezano que al español peninsular central, aunque se diferencia del primero en varias modalidades oracionales (declarativas neutras de más de una unidad tonal, declarativas de obviedad, interrogativas parciales neutras, órdenes, vocativos insistentes).

Automatic tools to detect hypernasality have been traditionally designed to analyze sustained vowels exclusively. This is in sharp contrast with clinical recommendations, which consider it necessary to use a variety of utterance types (e.g., repeated syllables, sustained sounds, sentences, etc.) This study explores the feasibility of detecting hypernasality automatically based on speech samples other than sustained vowels. The participants were 39 patients and 39 healthy controls. Six types of utterances were used: counting 1-to-10 and repetition of syllable sequences, sustained consonants, sustained vowel, words and sentences. The recordings were obtained, with the help of a mobile app, from Spain, Chile and Ecuador. Multiple acoustic features were computed from each utterance (e.g., MFCC, formant frequency) After a selection process, the best 20 features served to train different classification algorithms. Accuracy was the highest with syllable sequences and also with some words and sentences. Accuracy increased slightly by training the classifiers with between two and three utterances. However, the best results were obtained by combining the results of multiple classifiers. We conclude that protocols for automatic evaluation of hypernasality should include a variety of utterance types. It seems feasible to detect hypernasality automatically with mobile devices.

This paper presents the results of closed-set recognition task for 80 Spanish consonant-vowel sounds in 8-talker babble. Three groups of subjects participated in the study: a group of children using cochlear implants (CIs; age range: 7–13), an age-matched group of children with normal hearing (NH), and a group of adults with NH. The speech-to-noise ratios at which the participants recognized 33% of the target consonants were +7.8 dB, −3 dB, and −6 dB, respectively. In order to clarify the qualitative differences between the groups, groups were matched for the percentage of recognized syllables. As compared with the two groups with NH, the children with CIs: (1) produced few “I do not know” responses; (2) frequently selected the voiced stops (i.e., /b, d, ɡ/) and the most energetic consonants (i.e., /l, r, ʝ, s, ʧ/); (3) showed no vowel context effects; and (4) had a robust voicing bias. As compared with the adults with NH, both groups of children showed a fronting bias in place of articulation errors. The factors underlying these error patterns are discussed.This paper presents the results of closed-set recognition task for 80 Spanish consonant-vowel sounds in 8-talker babble. Three groups of subjects participated in the study: a group of children using cochlear implants (CIs; age range: 7–13), an age-matched group of children with normal hearing (NH), and a group of adults with NH. The speech-to-noise ratios at which the participants recognized 33% of the target consonants were +7.8 dB, −3 dB, and −6 dB, respectively. In order to clarify the qualitative differences between the groups, groups were matched for the percentage of recognized syllables. As compared with the two groups with NH, the children with CIs: (1) produced few “I do not know” responses; (2) frequently selected the voiced stops (i.e., /b, d, ɡ/) and the most energetic consonants (i.e., /l, r, ʝ, s, ʧ/); (3) showed no vowel context effects; and (4) had a robust voicing bias. As compared with the adults with NH, both groups of children showed a fronting bias in place of articulation errors. The...

This paper presents the results of a closed-set recognition task for 80 Spanish consonant-vowel sounds (16 C × 5 V, spoken by 2 talkers) in 8-talker babble (–6, –2, +2 dB). A ranking of resistance to noise was obtained using the signal detection d′ measure, and confusion patterns were analyzed using a graphical method (confusion graphs). The resulting ranking indicated the existence of three resistance groups: (1) high resistance: /ʧ, s, ʝ/; (2) mid resistance: /r, l, m, n/; and (3) low resistance: /t, θ, x, ɡ, b, d, k, f, p/. Confusions involved mostly place of articulation and voicing errors, and occurred especially among consonants in the same resistance group. Three perceptual confusion groups were identified: the three low-energy fricatives (i.e., /f, θ, x/), the six stops (i.e., /p, t, k, b, d, ɡ/), and three consonants with clear formant structure (i.e., /m, n, l/). The factors underlying consonant resistance and confusion patterns are discussed. The results are compared with data from other languages.

International audience; This study investigates grammatical development in French children with prelingual deafness after two to four years of cochlear implant (CI) use. We analyze to what extent lexical, prosodic and environmental factors play a role in the acquisition of grammar. Transcriptions of spontaneous language in thirty-four CI users (17 boys, 17 girls) were analyzed and compared to those of typically developing children (TD) matched on robust auditory experience in similar standardized situations. The interactions between language components (i.e., lexicon, prosody and grammar) were found to be similar to the interaction observed in typical children. The rate of grammatical development was significantly slow and strongly associated with environmental factors (e.g., socio-cultural level of the family). This suggests that late acquisition has no major consequences on the developmental patterns but that environmental factors play an important role in smoothing the path to adult language. Such results are compatible with a socio-cognitive view of language development, according to which language acquisition is a gradual process reflecting interactions between maturation and social experience.

Background: In the past two decades, single-case studies evaluated the effect of massed repetition training to improve speech production and short-term memory deficits in conduction aphasia (CA). Improvements were reported in treated language and memory domains with modest generalisation of gains to spontaneous speech or auditory comprehension. Although these results are encouraging, sentence repetition training has not been compared with distributed speech-language therapy, and no studies have examined the role of pharmacological interventions to enhance gains promoted by these behavioural interventions in CA.Aims: The effects of massed sentence repetition therapy (MSRT) were compared to those of distributed speech-language therapy (DSLT) in measures of verbal output, short-term memory and repetition in patients with chronic post-stroke CA receiving treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil (DP).Methods and Procedures: Three patients with chronic CA aphasia associated to large left perisylvia...

It has been proposed that cochlear implant users may develop robust categorical perception skills, but that they show limited precision in perception. This article explores if a parallel contrast is observable in production, and if, despite acquiring typical linguistic representations, their early words are inconsistent. The participants were eight Spanish-learning deaf children implanted before their second birthday. Two studies examined the transition from babbling to words, and the one-word period. Study 1 found that the participants used the same sound types in babbling and in words, indicating that production is guided by stored motor patterns. No clear evidence of inconsistent production was observed. Study 2 found that in the one-word period CI users develop typical prosodic representations, but that their productions are highly unstable. Results are discussed in terms of the role of auditory feedback for the development of productive language skills.

Resumen Se presenta la prueba de repeticion de oraciones PRO-24 para ninos tipicos de entre 24 y 48 meses de edad. Dos estudios analizan el interes de la prueba. El primer estudio explora el rendimiento de un grupo de 18 ninos tipicos de entre 26 y 40 meses. Los resultados muestran que hay una correlacion muy alta con la edad y que las dificultades aumentan especialmente en funcion de la carga fonologica y semantica. El analisis cualitativo muestra que aparecen errores gramaticales propios de esa franja de edad como son los protoarticulos en los mas pequenos o las generalizaciones morfologicas. El segundo estudio analiza los resultados de un grupo de 10 ninos sordos profundos que han recibido un implante coclear entre los 12 y los 24 meses. La edad auditiva oscila entre los 30 y los 42 meses. Se obtiene ademas una muestra de lenguaje espontaneo. La puntuacion directa en repeticion es muy baja y 5 ninos no tienen ningun acierto. Sin embargo, se observa que la longitud media de enunciados en repeticion se correlaciona de manera significativa con la misma medida en el lenguaje espontaneo. Otros datos confirman el paralelismo entre ambas pruebas. La repeticion de oraciones y la prueba PRO-24 en particular tienen gran interes como instrumento de evaluacion y de investigacion sobre el desarrollo linguistico en este periodo inicial.

Pronunciation training studies have yielded important information concerning the processing of audiovisual (AV) information. Second language (L2) learners show increased reliance on bottom-up, multimodal input for speech perception (compared to monolingual individuals). However, little is known about the role of viewing one's own speech articulation processes during speech training. The current study investigated whether real-time, visual feedback for tongue movement can improve a speaker's learning of non-native speech sounds. An interactive 3D tongue visualization system based on electromagnetic articulography (EMA) was used in a speech training experiment. Native speakers of American English produced a novel speech sound (/ɖ/; a voiced, coronal, palatal stop) before, during, and after trials in which they viewed their own speech movements using the 3D model. Talkers' productions were evaluated using kinematic (tongue-tip spatial positioning) and acoustic (burst spectra) measures. The results indicated a rapid gain in accuracy associated with visual feedback training. The findings are discussed with respect to neural models for multimodal speech processing.

This study explores the hypothesis that the existence of a short sensitive period for lower-level speech perception/articulation skills, and a long one for higher-level language skills, may partly explain the language outcomes of children with cochlear implants (CIs). The participants were fourteen children fitted with a CI before their second birthday. Data about their language skills and the environmental conditions (e.g. Family Involvement in rehabilitation) were obtained over a period of three years. Age at implantation correlated exclusively with the ratio of errors of place of articulation, a phonological feature for which CIs provide insufficient information. The degree of Family Involvement was significantly correlated with the remaining language measures. We conclude that small plasticity reductions affecting lower-level skills may partly explain the difficulties of some CI users in developing language.

This is the first study to explore lexical and grammatical development in a deaf child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Inattentive sub-type (ADHD/I). The child, whose family language was Spanish, was fitted with a cochlear implant (CI) when she was 18 months old. ADHD/I, for which she was prescribed medication, was diagnosed 3;6 years later. Speech samples were videotaped over the first 4 years of CI use and during a follow-up session 1 year later. Samples were transcribed according to CHAT conventions and several measures of expressive language were obtained. Receptive language was evaluated with standardized tests. Results show that while some aspects of her development seemed relatively positive (e.g., acquisition of verbal morphemes at the same auditory age as typical children), other characteristics were atypical for a CI user: (1) preference for paralexical expressions in early lexicon; (2) lexical errors in colours and other abstract words; and (3) low MLU and varied grammatical errors including disorganized discourse. Medication had a positive effect on all these characteristics, providing evidence of a link with ADHD/I. This study concludes that ADHD/I had a direct impact on the lexical and grammatical development in this child, as well as an indirect influence over her communicative style. More studies are needed to explore language characteristics of children with CI and ADHD.

El desarrollo vocal es un proceso que precede a la produccion de las primeras palabras; durante este proceso el nino comienza a emitir sonidos cada vez mas parecidos a los del adulto, aumentando poco a poco la complejidad de las silabas, las palabras y la variedad de los sonidos. A pesar del interes clinico de este proceso, hasta la fecha pocos estudios han examinado el desarrollo vocal en bebes de familias hispanohablantes. Este articulo representa un esfuerzo por llenar ese vacio. En el el lector encontrara un analisis de los patrones tipicos de desarrollo vocal en ninos de diferentes contextos linguisticos, con especial atencion al caso de los ninos que aprenden espanol. Tambien se presenta un procedimiento para evaluar el desarrollo vocal mediante muestras espontaneas de produccion y se describe una propuesta de intervencion para ninos con retraso en su desarrollo vocal. Los analisis y propuestas recogidos deben ser de interes para logopedas, audiologos, maestros de sordos y terapeutas del lenguaje infantil en general. Los autores confian que este trabajo sirva de estimulo para abordar nuevas investigaciones sobre el desarrollo vocal de ninos que familias hispanohablantes.

This paper studies the linguistic input attended by a deaf child exposed to cued speech (CS) in the final part of her prelinguistic period (18-24 months). Subjects are the child, her mother, and her therapist. Analyses have provided data about the quantity of input directed to the child (oral input, more than 1,000 words per half-an-hour session; cued ratio, more than 60% of oral input; and attended ratio, more than 55% of oral input), its linguistic quality (lexical variety, grammatical complexity, etc.), and other properties of interaction (child attention and use of spontaneous gestures). Results show that both adults provided a rich linguistic input to the child and that the child attended most of the input that the adults cued. These results might explain the positive linguistic development of children exposed early to CS.

Es bien conocida la importancia de la informática para la traducción, pero no lo es tanto la importancia de la traducción para la informática. Actualmente hay muchos objetos informáticos que pueden traducirse. En este artículo nos ocuparemos de dos de ellos: los hipertextos y las interfaces de los programas informáticos.Los hipertextos son textos que se caracterizan porque el orden de lectura lo establece el lector, no son secuenciales como la mayoría de los textos. Aunque la idea de crear textos no secuenciales no es nueva, sí lo son los medios técnicos con los que se crean y, al menos en parte, sus formas de organización. Posiblemente la estructura de hipertexto es la más extendida de cuantas se emplean para producir material escrito en el ámbito informático. Además desde hace algunos años las empresas han empezado a traducir hipertextos. Al acercarnos a los hipertextos el primer problema con que topamos es que el nombre hipertexto se aplica a tipos de textos muy diferentes entre sí. En este artículo apuntamos algunos rasgos de una clasificación general de los hipertextos, mostrando las diferencias y relaciones entre diferentes tipos de hipertextos. Junto al problema de los hipertextos analizamos el uso de las lenguas naturales como parte de las interfaces de programas informáticos. Por la forma en que se ha organizado el mercado mundial de producción de programas informáticos, la traducción de estas interfaces es una parte fundamental de la cadena de producción. A pesar de su importancia comercial, se trata de una situación de traducción apenas estudiada.

Aphasia is a generic term used to describe a range of impairments in language function following acquired brain damage typically involving the left hemisphere [1–3]. Aphasia may affect all modes of expressive and receptive communication including speaking, understanding, writing, reading, and gesturing [1–3]. This definition seems superficial because it merely describes the surface behavioral deficits of aphasia (e.g., word-finding difficulty and reduced fluency) and mentions nothing about the underlying source of functional impairments. Some scientists prefer to describe aphasia as a multimodal impairment of the integral constituents of language, such as phonology, syntax, morphology, and lexical semantics [4]. Aphasia should not be regarded as a domain-specific language disorder because other cognitive skills (e.g., attention, learning, and memory and executive function) essential for normal processing of language are usually impaired as well. A growing body of evidence indicates that the adequate functioning of these nonlanguage cognitive functions is crucial for the recovery of aphasia and communication deficits [5]. This would imply that formal assessment of aphasia should not be restricted to the language domain; rather it needs to be expanded to include other cognitive and behavioral domains (see later). A new conceptualization of aphasia as a “discrete acquired disorder with a variety of aetiologies but specific characteristics” has been proposed as it provides a more informative viewpoint that may be useful to enhance public awareness of this still under-recognized condition [6]. In this chapter, we present an overview of acute and chronic post-stroke aphasia (PSA) covering epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment.

International audience; In the last 50 years, researchers have debated over the lexical or grammatical nature of children's early multiword utterances. Due to methodological limitations, the issue remains controversial. This corpus study explores the effect of grammatical, lexical, and pragmatic categories on mean length of utterances (MLU). A total of 312 speech samples from high-low socioeconomic status (SES) French-speaking children aged 2-4 years were annotated with a part-of-speech-tagger. Multiple regression analyses show that grammatical categories, particularly the most frequent subcategories, were the best predictors of MLU both across age and SES groups. These findings support the view that early language learning is guided by grammatical rather than by lexical words. This corpus research design can be used for future cross-linguistic and cross-pathology studies.

This paper describes early language development in a deaf Spanish child fitted with a cochlear implant (CI) when she was 1;6 years old. The girl had been exposed to Cued Speech (CS) since that age. The main aim of the research was to identify potential areas of slow language development as well as the potential benefit of CI and CS. At the beginning of this research the child was 2;6 years (she had been using the CI for 12 months). Adult-child 30-minute sessions were videotaped every week for 1 year (13-24 months of CI use), and transcribed according to CHAT norms. Measures of phonemic inventory, intelligibility, lexicon, and grammar development were obtained. Part of the data were compared with data from two normally hearing (NH) children with the same mean length of utterance (MLU). In order to confirm trends observed during these 12 months of observation, an extra set of data was obtained in the next 3 months (25-27 months of CI use). Results in the initial 12 month period (13-24 months of CI use) showed irregular language development in the deaf child. The development of her phonemic inventory and lexicon progressed at a rate that was similar to, or faster than, that of NH children. However, the slow acquisition of articles and also the slow development of MLU suggested that the child might have problems with grammar. Data from the next 3 months (25-27 months of CI use) confirmed this trend. Results are discussed in relation to similar studies in other languages. Potential benefits of CS are also discussed.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the time and conceptual basis of aktionsart. It is now commonly assumed that aktionsart is the basis on which linguistic explanation must be built. Under such assumption it is necessary to have a very good understanding of aktionsart. According to Jackendoff, there coexist two semantic traditions in linguistics: the fregean tradition and the conceptual tradition. The interest in situations is different for each perspective. Vendler proposed a classification of situations. His classification has often been used by linguists in syntactic studies. To understand adequately aktionsart, two different problems must be studied separately: the conceptual interpretation of situations, and the logical properties of situations. The chapter presents some basic concepts, and summarizes Vendler's and Dowty's situations classifications. It reviews situations separately from logical and conceptual perspectives, and proves that logical and conceptual classifications of situations have independent applications for the study of different linguistic phenomena.

This study aims at investigating the impact of cochlear implant (CI) use for phonological development. The main participants were a group of 14 deaf children who had received their CIs in the second year of life, and who had been wearing them for 24 months. A group of normally hearing (NH) children aged 24 months old was also evaluated. Data was obtained from a non-word repetition (NWR) task. Various segmental and suprasegmental measures were obtained from the NWR data. The CI children scored significantly below the controls for one feature (i.e. place of articulation) and for segment substitutions. Suprasegmental analyses revealed that the CI children made fewer errors with unfooted syllables and more stress errors than the NH children. Stress errors were correlated with segmental/feature errors in the CI children exclusively. We conclude that CI users struggle to acquire consonants, which may cascade into further prosodic deficits. The results are interpreted in terms of a motor control model of speech production. We suggest that CIs provide sufficient information to learn rudimentary auditory representations for syllables; however, such auditory representations might not be detailed enough to implicitly derive the somatosensory consequences of the individual consonants.