Consonant-vowel-consonant Words Research Articles

Individual Differences in Auditory Training Benefits for Hearing Aid Users.

The present study aimed to examine whether individual differences in baseline speech perception could serve as predictors for the effectiveness and generalization of auditory training (AT) to non-trained tasks. Twelve adults, aged 60-75 years with bilateral hearing loss, completed a two-month, home-based, computerized AT program, involving sessions four times per week. Training tasks included the identification of vowel frontal, height, manner of articulation, point of articulation, voicing, and open-set consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. Non-trained speech perception tests were conducted one month before AT, prior to training, after one and two months of training, and during a two-month follow-up. The results showed that one month of AT improved performance in most trained tasks, with generalization observed in the CVC words test and HeBio sentences with speech-shaped noise (SSN). No evidence of spontaneous learning or added benefit from an extra month of training was found. Most importantly, baseline speech perception predicted improvements in both training and post-training generalization tasks. This emphasizes the significance of adopting an individualized approach when determining the potential effectiveness of AT, applicable in both clinical and research contexts.

Analysis of Second and Third Formant Locus Pattern and C-V Coarticulation in EkeGusii

This study analyses locus equations and regression lines relating to second and third formants as a measure of co-articulatory influence of vowels following stop consonants in EkeGusii. Coarticulation can be represented statistically using a schematic representation of locus equations by tracking consonant-vowel (CV) transition as a useful tool in the discrimination of place of articulation. Acoustic data was collected using Praat version 6.0 from four males and four females, native speakers of EkeGusii. Locus equations for the eight speakers were derived from CV words with intervocalic voiceless bilabial /p/, voiceless alveolar /t/ and voiceless velar /k/ preceding vowel /i/, /a/ and /o/ contexts. Scatter plots of locus equation of F2 and F3 onsets-F2 and F3 midpoints revealed patterns for each of the three voiceless stops in EkeGusii. The strongest degree of coarticulation is reported for velars then bilabials and the least degree of coarticulation with alveolars.

The Thomas More Lists: A Phonemically Balanced Dutch Monosyllabic Speech Audiometry Test.

Speech audiometry tests are a crucial tool in clinical care and research. In Dutch, the common practice is to use lists of monosyllabic words with a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) structure. However, there are relatively few lists, and they are short. Here, the goal is to develop an adult speech audiometry test for Dutch (Flemish) consisting of phonemically balanced lists of 25 CVC words. The ISO 8253-3:2012 norm was followed. From a pool of 689 well-known words, an initial set of 26 lists was recorded by a female speaker. The lists were optimized for perceptual balance by means of two studies with young normal hearing listeners (N1 = 24, N2 = 32). The final corpus contains 16 phonetically and perceptually balanced lists. In a last study (N3 = 25), the reference speech recognition curves in quiet and in speech-shaped noise were determined. Reference speech recognition threshold and slope values for phoneme scoring are respectively 20.3 dBSPL in quiet (slope 5.2%/dB) and −7.7 dBSNR (7.5%/dB) in noise, similar to existing materials. The lists may be a useful addition to the existing audiometric tests.

With a ‘spring’ in your step

The fifth article in this series, exploring traditional nursery rhymes as a resource and inspiration for activities, focuses on literacy. These include: repeating simple rhymes, recognising and reading CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words, using writing frames and enjoying spring rhymes.

Using Errorless Learning and Discrimination Training to Teach Early Literacy Skills in a Pre-School Setting

This case study investigates the effects of using an intervention package of errorless learning and discrimination trial training to teach a 4-year old preschool student to read Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC) words. A single case multiple baseline design across three equal instructional sets was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention package. Each set contained six CVC words incorporating words with each of the five vowels. The results of this study indicate that utilizing both errorless learning and discrimination training to teach a preschool student how to read CVC words was effective. In addition, generalization assessments post-intervention showed an increase in (a) mastering new unknown CVC words, as well as (b) book text reading.

Validation of the Iowa Test of Consonant Perception.

Speech perception (especially in background noise) is a critical problem for hearing-impaired listeners and an important issue for cognitive hearing science. Despite a plethora of standardized measures, few single-word closed-set tests uniformly sample the most frequently used phonemes and use response choices that equally sample phonetic features like place and voicing. The Iowa Test of Consonant Perception (ITCP) attempts to solve this. It is a proportionally balanced phonemic word recognition task designed to assess perception of the initial consonant of monosyllabic consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words. The ITCP consists of 120 sampled CVC words. Words were recorded from four different talkers (two female) and uniformly sampled from all four quadrants of the vowel space to control for coarticulation. Response choices on each trial are balanced to equate difficulty and sample a single phonetic feature. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of ITCP by examining reliability (test-retest) and validity in a sample of online normal-hearing participants. Ninety-eight participants completed two sessions of the ITCP along with standardized tests of words and sentence in noise (CNC words and AzBio sentences). The ITCP showed good test-retest reliability and convergent validity with two popular tests presented in noise. All the materials to use the ITCP or to construct your own version of the ITCP are freely available [Geller, McMurray, Holmes, and Choi (2020). https://osf.io/hycdu/].

Vowel Context Effects on Consonant Repetition in Early Words

Purpose Consonant repetitions within words are a well-attested speech error pattern in children's early speech acquisition. We investigated the role of intervening vowel context in understanding speech forms containing consonant repetitions in early words. Intrasyllabic consonant-vowel (CV) sequences within consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) and consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel (CVCV) forms containing consonant repetitions were analyzed to evaluate whether children's lack of independent movement control for the tongue in word-level sequences might contribute to these observed speech patterns. Method Spontaneous speech data produced by 10 typically developing children learning American English were analyzed longitudinally from the onset of word use to 36 months. Overall patterns and word shape effects for nine CV combinations occurring in their CVC and CVCV word shapes that contained repeated nonadjacent consonants and the intervening vowel were analyzed. Results Three CV combinations-coronal-front vowel, labial-central vowel, and dorsal-back vowel-occurred at above-chance levels. Preference for these CV patterns was strong in CVCV but not in CVC word shapes. These CV combinations occurred frequently at all time periods analyzed for CVCV's while decreasing across time for CVC's. Conclusions Analysis of intrasyllabic patterns within word forms containing consonant repetitions revealed that consonant repetitions in many early words occurred at above-chance levels in the context of articulatorily compatible vowels. Results suggest that children's production system capacities are an important contributing principle accounting for vowel context effects within word forms containing consonant repetitions during earliest speech acquisition.

Identification of vowels in consonant-vowel-consonant words from speech imagery based EEG signals.

Retrieval of unintelligible speech is a basic need for speech impaired and is under research for several decades. But retrieval of random words from thoughts needs a substantial and consistent approach. This work focuses on the preliminary steps of retrieving vowels from Electroencephalography (EEG) signals acquired while speaking and imagining of speaking a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word. The process, referred to as Speech imagery is imagining of speaking to oneself silently in the mind. Speech imagery is a form of mental imagery. Brain connectivity estimators such as EEG coherence, Partial Directed Coherence, Directed Transfer Function and Transfer Entropy have been used to estimate the concurrency and causal dependence (direction and strength) between different brain regions. From brain connectivity results it has been observed that the left frontal and left temporal electrodes were activated for speech and speech imagery processes. These brain connectivity estimators have been used for training Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) and Deep Belief Networks (DBN) for identifying the vowel from the subject's thought. Though the accuracy level was found to be varying for each vowel while speaking and imagining of speaking the CVC word, the overall classification accuracy was found to be 72% while using RNN whereas a classification accuracy of 80% was observed while using DBN. DBN was found to outperform RNN in both the speech and speech imagery processes. Thus, the combination of brain connectivity estimators and deep learning techniques appear to be effective in identifying the vowel from EEG signals of subjects' thought.

Production of Vowels by Electrolaryngeal Speakers Using Clear Speech

Background/Aims: This study examined the effect of clear speech on vowel productions by electrolaryngeal speakers. Method: Ten electrolaryngeal speakers produced eighteen words containing /i/, /ɪ/, /ɛ/, /æ/, /eɪ/, and /oʊ/ using habitual speech and clear speech. Twelve listeners transcribed 360 words, and a total of 4,320 vowel stimuli across speaking conditions, speakers, and listeners were analyzed. Analyses included listeners’ identifications of vowels, vowel duration, and vowel formant relationships. Results: No significant effect of speaking condition was found on vowel identification. Specifically, 85.4% of the vowels were identified in habitual speech, and 82.7% of the vowels were identified in clear speech. However, clear speech was found to have a significant effect on vowel durations. The mean vowel duration in the 17 consonant-vowel-consonant words was 333 ms in habitual speech and 354 ms in clear speech. The mean vowel duration in the single consonant-vowel words was 551 ms in habitual speech and 629 ms in clear speech. Conclusion: Finding suggests that, although clear speech facilitates longer vowel durations, electrolaryngeal speakers may not gain a clear speech benefit relative to listeners’ vowel identifications.

Orthography Facilitates Memory for Proper Names in Emergent Readers

AbstractThe authors examined whether exposing young students to spellings as they learn proper names would facilitate memory for the spoken names when tested without the spellings present (i.e., orthographic facilitation), whether emergent readers with letter knowledge would show this effect, and whether phonemic segmentation (PS) training would enhance the effect. Sixty 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds who knew letter names but read few, if any, words were randomly assigned to three PS training conditions: segmentation of consonant‐vowel (CV) words with letters, segmentation of CV words with nonalphabetic markers, or irrelevant rhyme training. Following PS training, students were given several trials to learn pronunciations of 10 made‐up CV words that named drawings of characters with distinctive features. Half of the drawings were accompanied by spellings representing sounds in the names and the other half by familiar but unrelated two‐digit numbers. Students were exposed to spellings or numbers during study and feedback periods but not during recall tests. Results showed that all three training groups recalled proper names better when they had seen spellings than numbers, but spellings did not enhance recall of distinctive visual features associated with the names. PS training with letters improved students’ invented spellings but did not affect orthographic facilitation. Findings reveal that even prereaders with letter knowledge can spontaneously use the letters as mnemonics to enhance memory for proper names. Results suggest that when preschool and kindergarten teachers define words orally, they should also write them. Findings support a developmental connectionist theory of orthographic facilitation effects and carry implications for the use of appropriate direct instruction in early childhood education.

The Coda Voicing Contrast in Lithuanian Learners’ English

[full article and abstract in English]
 Vowel duration, though not belonging to the three main factors in the decription of vowels, plays an important role in the English language. Alongside qualitative differences, it helps to distinguish between the meaning of such words as ‘ship’ and ‘sheep’. Vowel duration has been recognised to be a complex phenomenon, which depends on a combination of factors: internal and external (Delattre 1962). The present pilot study focuses on one of the factors belonging to the latter group, i.e. the influence of the postvocalic voicing on vowel duration in minimal pairs of one sylable CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, a phenomenon reffered to as ‘pre-fortis clipping’ (Wells 1990), ‘voicing effect’ (Yoneyama and Kitahara 2014), ‘consonantal voicing effect’ (Beller-Marino 2014), ‘vowel-length effect’ (Ko 2007), ‘shortening’ (Cruttenden 2014), ‘post-vocalic consonant voicing effect’ (Taubeber and Evanini 2009), etc. The scope of this research was limited to four checked unrounded English monophthongs: the front-central, close-mid /ɪ/, the front, mid /e/, the front, open /æ/, and the central, open-mid /ʌ/. The durational differences were analysed from a perceptive and productive perspectives. The obtained results indicated that the Lithuanian learners showed an effect of voicing on vowel-duration, manifested in a number of languages: the mean duration of the examined vowels was shorter before a fortis than before a lenis coda. The analysis of individual students’ production data proved the importance of the individual variable.

An Investigation of Compensation and Adaptation to Auditory Perturbations in Individuals With Acquired Apraxia of Speech.

Two auditory perturbation experiments were used to investigate the integrity of neural circuits responsible for speech sensorimotor adaptation in acquired apraxia of speech (AOS). This has implications for understanding the nature of AOS as well as normal speech motor control. Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, compensatory responses to unpredictable fundamental frequency (F0) perturbations during vocalization were investigated in healthy older adults and adults with acquired AOS plus aphasia. F0 perturbation involved upward and downward 100-cent shifts versus no shift, in equal proportion, during 2 s vocalizations of the vowel /a/. In Experiment 2, adaptive responses to sustained first formant (F1) perturbations during speech were investigated in healthy older adults, adults with AOS and adults with aphasia only (APH). The F1 protocol involved production of the vowel /ε/ in four consonant-vowel words of Australian English (pear, bear, care, dare), and one control word with a different vowel (paw). An unperturbed Baseline phase was followed by a gradual Ramp to a 30% upward F1 shift stimulating a compensatory response, a Hold phase where the perturbation was repeatedly presented with alternating blocks of masking trials to probe adaptation, and an End phase with masking trials only to measure persistence of any adaptation. AOS participants showed normal compensation to unexpected F0 perturbations, indicating that auditory feedback control of low-level, non-segmental parameters is intact. Furthermore, individuals with AOS displayed an adaptive response to sustained F1 perturbations, but age-matched controls and APH participants did not. These findings suggest that older healthy adults may have less plastic motor programs that resist modification based on sensory feedback, whereas individuals with AOS have less well-established and more malleable motor programs due to damage from stroke.

Perception of Mandarin Chinese vowels in young hearing-impaired and normal-hearing children

The study investigated the perception of Mandarin Chinese vowels of 45 congenital hearing-impaired and 45 normal-hearing children aged 4 to 6. There were 30 children at each age group, half of which were hearing-impaired children. All of the hearing-impaired children received hearing aids or cochlear implants before the age of 5. In a picture identification task, listeners identified the target consonant-vowel word among 2–4 contrastive words. The target words and the other contrastive words differed only in consonants. Each target word represented a concrete object and was spoken by a young female native-Chinese talker. Sixteen of the target words ended with monophthong, twenty-two with diphthong and nine with triphthong. Age showed a significant effect on vowel perception for both groups. Normal-hearing children showed significantly better identification of all three types of vowels than hearing-impaired children at the age of 6, whereas the two groups had comparable performance at age of 4 and 5. For hearing-impaired children, a rapid development of diphthong perception occurred between 4 and 5 years old, while a rapid development of monophthong perception between 5 and 6. The effect of hearing loss severity and the use of hearing aids or cochlear implants will be discussed.

Developing finer-grained methods for analyzing word recognition performance by individuals with cochlear implants

Cochlear implant (CI) listeners experience overall improvement in speech recognition abilities, but a considerable amount of variability still remains among these individuals. Data from simulated CI listening conditions also show wide variability in monosyllabic word recognition ability. In an adverse simulated condition (2 spectral channels using sinusoidal carriers), the word score can be nearly 0 for some adults with normal hearing. These floor effects pose a challenge for researchers, as they lead to data compression. When analyzing the performance by phonemes, the increase in scores may remove the floor effect. The purpose of this study is to establish the chance performance rate for NU-6 consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word lists analyzed by phonemes. To determine this, we randomly paired words from the NU-6 list with CVC words from an on-line corpus of English, the English Lexicon Project, and scored the matches by phonemes using dictionary pronunciations. Thousands of runs of these random pairings were used to generate expected baseline accuracy ranges. These results were compared with individual, behavioral data from people listening to NU-6 words processed using 2-channel sinusoidal vocoders to determine if participants were performing better than chance when scoring by phonemes.

Object-based attention modulates the discrimination of level increments in stop-consonant noise bursts.

This study tested the hypothesis that object-based attention modulates the discrimination of level increments in stop-consonant noise bursts. With consonant-vowel-consonant (CvC) words consisting of an ≈80-dB vowel (v), a pre-vocalic (Cv) and a post-vocalic (vC) stop-consonant noise burst (≈60-dB SPL), we measured discrimination thresholds (LDTs) for level increments (ΔL) in the noise bursts presented either in CvC context or in isolation. In the 2-interval 2-alternative forced-choice task, each observation interval presented a CvC word (e.g., /pæk/ /pæk/), and normal-hearing participants had to discern ΔL in the Cv or vC burst. Based on the linguistic word labels, the auditory events of each trial were perceived as two auditory objects (Cv-v-vC and Cv-v-vC) that group together the bursts and vowels, hindering selective attention to ΔL. To discern ΔL in Cv or vC, the events must be reorganized into three auditory objects: the to-be-attended pre-vocalic (Cv–Cv) or post-vocalic burst pair (vC–vC), and the to-be-ignored vowel pair (v–v). Our results suggest that instead of being automatic this reorganization requires training, in spite of using familiar CvC words. Relative to bursts in isolation, bursts in context always produced inferior ΔL discrimination accuracy (a context effect), which depended strongly on the acoustic separation between the bursts and the vowel, being much keener for the object apart from (post-vocalic) than for the object adjoining (pre-vocalic) the vowel (a temporal-position effect). Variability in CvC dimensions that did not alter the noise-burst perceptual grouping had minor effects on discrimination accuracy. In addition to being robust and persistent, these effects are relatively general, evincing in forced-choice tasks with one or two observation intervals, with or without variability in the temporal position of ΔL, and with either fixed or roving CvC standards. The results lend support to the hypothesis.

Validation of the French-language version of the OTOSPEECH automated scoring software package for speech audiometry

ObjectivesTo validate a novel speech audiometry method using customized self-voice recorded word lists with automated scoring. Patients and methodsThe self-voice effect was investigated by comparing results with prerecorded or self-recorded CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) word lists. Then customized lists of 3-phoneme words were drawn up using the OTOSPEECH software package, and their scores were compared to those for reference lists. Finally, the customized list scores were compared on automated (Dynamic Time Warping [DTW]) versus manual scoring. ResultsSelf-voice did not change scores for perception of CVC words at 10, 20 and 30dB (ANOVA>0.05). Scores obtained with pre-recorded and self-recorded lists correlated (n=10, R2=0.76, P<0.01). Customized list scores correlated strongly with the reference cochlear lists of Lafon in normal-hearing (n=77, R2=0.83, P<0.001) and hearing-impaired populations (n=13, R2=0.89, P<0.001). Results on the automated and manual scoring methods correlated in both populations (n=77, R2=0.71, P<0.01; and n=13, R2=0.76, P<0.01, respectively), with DTW scores ranging from 24.17 to 53.24. ConclusionsAutomated scoring of customized self-voice recorded lists for speech audiometry displayed results similar to conventional audiometric techniques.

The Effect of Lexical Content on Dichotic Speech Recognition in Older Adults.

Age-related auditory processing deficits have been shown to negatively affect speech recognition for older adult listeners. In contrast, older adults gain benefit from their ability to make use of semantic and lexical content of the speech signal (i.e., top-down processing), particularly in complex listening situations. Assessment of auditory processing abilities among aging adults should take into consideration semantic and lexical content of the speech signal. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of lexical and attentional factors on dichotic speech recognition performance characteristics for older adult listeners. A repeated measures design was used to examine differences in dichotic word recognition as a function of lexical and attentional factors. Thirty-five older adults (61-85 yr) with sensorineural hearing loss participated in this study. Dichotic speech recognition was evaluated using consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word and nonsense CVC syllable stimuli administered in the free recall, directed recall right, and directed recall left response conditions. Dichotic speech recognition performance for nonsense CVC syllables was significantly poorer than performance for CVC words. Dichotic recognition performance varied across response condition for both stimulus types, which is consistent with previous studies on dichotic speech recognition. Inspection of individual results revealed that five listeners demonstrated an auditory-based left ear deficit for one or both stimulus types. Lexical content of stimulus materials affects performance characteristics for dichotic speech recognition tasks in the older adult population. The use of nonsense CVC syllable material may provide a way to assess dichotic speech recognition performance while potentially lessening the effects of lexical content on performance (i.e., measuring bottom-up auditory function both with and without top-down processing).

Outcomes of consonant-vowel monosyllable perception and word recognition after cochlear implantation in elderly Japanese patients

Conclusion: Performance in consonant-vowel (CV) monosyllable speech perception after cochlear implantation (CI) in the elderly (≥ 65 years) is equivalent to that of young adults (18–64 years). Present data in the Japanese language supported the indication for CI in the elderly. Word recognition after CI was significantly lower in the elderly than young adults. Objective: This study compared outcomes of monosyllable perception and word recognition after CI between elderly patients and young adults with post-lingual deafness. Age-related differences in CV monosyllable speech perception in Japanese were examined. Methods: A retrospective chart review of 137 patients with post-lingual deafness who underwent CI at Okayama University Hospital during 1992–2014 [young adults aged 18–64 years (n = 96) and elderly aged ≥ 65 years (n = 41) at implantation] was conducted. CV monosyllable speech perception post-CI was compared among age groups (18–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, 70–79, 80–89). CV monosyllable perception and word recognition scores post-CI were compared between the elderly and young adults. Results: There was no significant difference in CV monosyllable speech perception among age groups. CV monosyllable speech perception in the elderly (61.4 ± 25.5%) did not differ from that of young adults (65.9 ± 24.8%). Word recognition scores were significantly lower in the elderly (64.3 ± 28.1%) than young adults (80.4 ± 25.9%) (p < 0.05).

Reading recovery: a case study using a multicomponent treatment for acquired alexia

Background: Individuals with acquired alexia have reading deficits that typically impede successful completion of daily activities, thus resulting in impaired functional independence. Research-based treatment approaches for acquired alexia often address single aspects underlying reading. To date, no research has explored the simultaneous presentation of several treatments or treatment including functional daily reading activities.Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a multicomponent reading intervention to increase letter recognition, grapheme-to-phoneme conversion, and single-word decoding by an individual with acquired alexia.Methods & Procedures: The study participant, JB, was an 86-year-old female 5 months postonset of a left cerebrovascular accident. JB attended 40 1-hr treatment sessions over a 5-month period. She completed five activities during each session: (a) decoding consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words; (b) performing grapheme-to-phoneme activities requiring letter recognition, naming, and associated phoneme production; (c) engaging in repeated and choral reading tasks; (d) performing modified Anagram and Copy Treatment and Copy and Recall tasks; and (e) engaging in reading of functional materials.Outcomes & Results: Intervention was effective in enhancing JB’s letter identification, grapheme-to-phoneme conversion, and single-word decoding skills. Decoding of CVC words, phonological awareness, and functional reading skills improved steadily over the treatment period.Conclusions: The participant progressed from meeting criteria for global alexia to displaying behaviours more consistent with pure alexia. By the conclusion of treatment, she accurately identified most graphemes and produced corresponding phonemes for letter-by-letter and phonological single-word decoding; in the home setting, she attempted to read and write independently, requested assistance with reading when necessary, and independently attended to pictorial cues presented with reading materials.

Letter-Sound Reading: Teaching Preschool Children Print-to-Sound Processing.

This intervention study investigated the growth of letter sound reading and growth of consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word decoding abilities for a representative sample of 41 US children in preschool settings. Specifically, the study evaluated the effectiveness of a 3-step letter-sound teaching intervention in teaching pre-school children to decode, or read, single letters. The study compared a control group, which received the preschool's standard letter-sound instruction, to an intervention group which received a 3-step letter-sound instruction intervention. The children's growth in letter-sound reading and CVC word decoding abilities were assessed at baseline and 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks. When compared to the control group, the growth of letter-sound reading ability was slightly higher for the intervention group. The rate of increase in letter-sound reading was significantly faster for the intervention group. In both groups, too few children learned to decode any CVC words to allow for analysis. Results of this study support the use of the intervention strategy in preschools for teaching children print-to-sound processing.