Consonants In Words Research Articles

谐音与中国民俗

谐音就是利用汉字同音或近音的条件，用同音或近音字来代替本字。谐音是存在于各种语言中的共同现象，但在汉语中尤为突出。它存在于汉民族生活的方方面面，与汉民族的文化传统紧密相连，深深地烙上了悠久而又丰富多彩的文化印记。本文将谐音分为同音同形、同音异形、近音异形谐音三类。通过研究发现，谐音大量存在于民俗的衣食住行、节日、礼仪和婚丧嫁娶等诸多方面，它集中体现了中国人趋吉避讳的民族心理。Harmonics is using Chinese characters which are homophones or approximant consonant conditions, with homophones or approximant consonant words to replace the original words. Harmonics is a common phenomenon that exists in all languages, but more prominent in Chinese. It exists in every aspect of the han nationality lives. It is intimately combined with han nationality cultural tradition, and deeply branded with the long history and colorful cultural imprint. In this paper, harmonics is divided into three categories which are homonym, homophone and heterograph. Through the study, it is found that harmonics exists in the daily life of folk customs and festivals, etiquette and weddings and many other aspects, and it embodies a reflection of psychology of the Chinese “pursuing fortune and avoiding taboo”.

Neural Adaptation and Behavioral Measures of Temporal Processing and Speech Perception in Cochlear Implant Recipients

The objective was to determine if one of the neural temporal features, neural adaptation, can account for the across-subject variability in behavioral measures of temporal processing and speech perception performance in cochlear implant (CI) recipients. Neural adaptation is the phenomenon in which neural responses are the strongest at the beginning of the stimulus and decline following stimulus repetition (e.g., stimulus trains). It is unclear how this temporal property of neural responses relates to psychophysical measures of temporal processing (e.g., gap detection) or speech perception. The adaptation of the electrical compound action potential (ECAP) was obtained using 1000 pulses per second (pps) biphasic pulse trains presented directly to the electrode. The adaptation of the late auditory evoked potential (LAEP) was obtained using a sequence of 1-kHz tone bursts presented acoustically, through the cochlear implant. Behavioral temporal processing was measured using the Random Gap Detection Test at the most comfortable listening level. Consonant nucleus consonant (CNC) word and AzBio sentences were also tested. The results showed that both ECAP and LAEP display adaptive patterns, with a substantial across-subject variability in the amount of adaptation. No correlations between the amount of neural adaptation and gap detection thresholds (GDTs) or speech perception scores were found. The correlations between the degree of neural adaptation and demographic factors showed that CI users having more LAEP adaptation were likely to be those implanted at a younger age than CI users with less LAEP adaptation. The results suggested that neural adaptation, at least this feature alone, cannot account for the across-subject variability in temporal processing ability in the CI users. However, the finding that the LAEP adaptive pattern was less prominent in the CI group compared to the normal hearing group may suggest the important role of normal adaptation pattern at the cortical level in speech perception.

Development of a Serial Order in Speech Constrained by Articulatory Coordination

Universal linguistic constraints seem to govern the organization of sound sequences in words. However, our understanding of the origin and development of these constraints is incomplete. One possibility is that the development of neuromuscular control of articulators acts as a constraint for the emergence of sequences in words. Repetitions of the same consonant observed in early infancy and an increase in variation of consonantal sequences over months of age have been interpreted as a consequence of the development of neuromuscular control. Yet, it is not clear how sequential coordination of articulators such as lips, tongue apex and tongue dorsum constrains sequences of labial, coronal and dorsal consonants in words over the course of development. We examined longitudinal development of consonant-vowel-consonant(-vowel) sequences produced by Japanese children between 7 and 60 months of age. The sequences were classified according to places of articulation for corresponding consonants. The analyses of individual and group data show that infants prefer repetitive and fronting articulations, as shown in previous studies. Furthermore, we reveal that serial order of different places of articulations within the same organ appears earlier and then gradually develops, whereas serial order of different articulatory organs appears later and then rapidly develops. In the same way, we also analyzed the sequences produced by English children and obtained similar developmental trends. These results suggest that the development of intra- and inter-articulator coordination constrains the acquisition of serial orders in speech with the complexity that characterizes adult language.

An analysis of tongue shape during parkinsonian speech

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurological disorder characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. Speech impairments in PD are characterized by slowed muscle activation, muscle rigidity, variable rate, and imprecise consonant articulation. Complex muscular synergies are necessary to coordinate tongue motion for linguistic purposes. People with PD may show an altered rate of change in tongue shape during vowel to consonant transitions and may also ultimately attain less complex consonantal tongue shapes than controls during speech. In order to test this hypothesis, five PD participants, five older controls and five younger controls (all French-speaking) were imaged using ultrasound. They produced consonant–vowel–consonant word stimuli. Transitions analyzed were vowel-to-liquid (/l/) and vowel-to-velar stop. Tongue shapes were analyzed using a method designed to infer complexity by analogy with the bending energy of a thin shell [Young, Walker, and Bowie, Info. Control 25(4), 357–370 (1974)]. This method works by integrating the squared curvature of a piece-wise polynomial function fitted to the extracted discrete tongue contour. Results will be discussed in terms of shape change during the transition and maximal consonantal shape attained between PD and control subjects.

Roles of Voice Onset Time and F0 in Stop Consonant Voicing Perception: Effects of Masking Noise and Low-Pass Filtering

The contributions of voice onset time (VOT) and fundamental frequency (F0) were evaluated for the perception of voicing in syllable-initial stop consonants in words that were low-pass filtered and/or masked by speech-shaped noise. It was expected that listeners would rely less on VOT and more on F0 in these degraded conditions. Twenty young listeners with normal hearing identified modified natural speech tokens that varied by VOT and F0 in several conditions of low-pass filtering and masking noise. Stimuli included /b/-/p/ and /d/-/t/ continua that were presented in separate blocks. Identification results were modeled using mixed-effects logistic regression. When speech was filtered and/or masked by noise, listeners' voicing perceptions were driven less by VOT and more by F0. Speech-shaped masking noise exerted greater effects on the /b/-/p/ contrast, while low-pass filtering exerted greater effects on the /d/-/t/ contrast, consistent with the acoustics of these contrasts. Listeners can adjust their use of acoustic-phonetic cues in a dynamic way that is appropriate for challenging listening conditions; cues that are less influential in ideal conditions can gain priority in challenging conditions.

Measuring listening effort expended by adolescents and young adults with unilateral or bilateral cochlear implants or normal hearing

ObjectivesTo compare the listening effort expended by adolescents and young adults using implants versus their peers with normal hearing when these two groups are achieving similar speech perception scores. The study also aimed to compare listening effort expended by adolescents and young adults with bilateral cochlear implants when using two implants versus one.MethodsEight participants with bilateral cochlear implants and eight with normal hearing aged 10–22 years were included. Using a dual-task paradigm, participants repeated consonant–nucleus–consonant (CNC) words presented in noise and performed a visual matching task. Signal-to-noise ratios were set individually to ensure the word perception task was challenging but manageable for all. Reduced performance on the visual task in the dual-task condition relative to the single-task condition was indicative of the effort expended on the listening task.ResultsThe cochlear implant group, when using bilateral implants, expended similar levels of listening effort to the normal hearing group when the two groups were achieving similar speech perception scores. For three individuals with cochlear implants, and the group, listening effort was significantly reduced with bilateral compared to unilateral implants.DiscussionThe similar amount of listening effort expended by the two groups indicated that a higher signal-to-noise ratio overcame limitations in the auditory information received or processed by the participants with implants. This study is the first to objectively compare listening effort using two versus one cochlear implant. The results provide objective evidence that reduced listening effort is a benefit that some individuals gain from bilateral cochlear implants.

Designs and decisions: The creation of informal measures for assessing speech production in children

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) frequently assess children's speech to diagnose and identify areas of difficulty, then determine appropriate intervention goals. Formal measures are available for assessment; however, many SLPs use informal measures within clinical practice. The purpose of this two-part mixed methods study was to describe informal measures created to assess children's speech. Study 1 involved a systematic review of 39 informal measures identified via journal database and internet searches, scanning of reference lists, and submission by SLPs and researchers. The measures were reviewed in terms of their conceptualization (content and format) and operationalization (evaluation and validation). Common conceptual features included assessment of consonant singletons, single words, computer format, and picture-naming. Few measures provided information addressing operational criteria; in particular, they lacked evaluation of their effectiveness. Study 2 involved an inductive thematic analysis of journal entries from eight creators of informal measures that explored key considerations in the development process. Informal measures were created due to the absence of measures which were sufficiently comprehensive and culturally appropriate, plus a desire to incorporate technology. Considerations in the creation of informal measures included sourcing research and existing measures to inform the measures’ development, maximizing children's engagement, and utility. SLPs must be cautious when using informal measures due to their lack of operationalization. However, these measures often address SLPs’ needs and so operationalization of informal measures would be beneficial for the profession.

Walled Off: Stuttering in the Family

Walled Off: Stuttering in the Family

Speech intelligibility prediction using a Neurogram Similarity Index Measure

Discharge patterns produced by fibres from normal and impaired auditory nerves in response to speech and other complex sounds can be discriminated subjectively through visual inspection. Similarly, responses from auditory nerves where speech is presented at diminishing sound levels progressively deteriorate from those at normal listening levels. This paper presents a Neurogram Similarity Index Measure (NSIM) that automates this inspection process, and translates the response pattern differences into a bounded discrimination metric. Performance intensity functions can be used to provide additional information over measurement of speech reception threshold and maximum phoneme recognition by plotting a test subject’s recognition probability over a range of sound intensities. A computational model of the auditory periphery was used to replace the human subject and develop a methodology that simulates a real listener test. The newly developed NSIM is used to evaluate the model outputs in response to Consonant–Vowel–Consonant (CVC) word lists and produce phoneme discrimination scores. The simulated results are rigorously compared to those from normal hearing subjects in both quiet and noise conditions. The accuracy of the tests and the minimum number of word lists necessary for repeatable results is established and the results are compared to predictions using the speech intelligibility index (SII). The experiments demonstrate that the proposed simulated performance intensity function (SPIF) produces results with confidence intervals within the human error bounds expected with real listener tests. This work represents an important step in validating the use of auditory nerve models to predict speech intelligibility.

Inferior frontal sensitivity to common speech sounds is amplified by increasing word intelligibility

The left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) exhibits increased responsiveness when people listen to words composed of speech sounds that frequently co-occur in the English language (Vaden, Piquado, & Hickok, 2011), termed high phonotactic frequency (Vitevitch & Luce, 1998). The current experiment aimed to further characterize the relation of phonotactic frequency to LIFG activity by manipulating word intelligibility in participants of varying age. Thirty six native English speakers, 19–79 years old (mean=50.5, sd=21.0) indicated with a button press whether they recognized 120 binaurally presented consonant–vowel–consonant words during a sparse sampling fMRI experiment (TR=8s). Word intelligibility was manipulated by low-pass filtering (cutoff frequencies of 400Hz, 1000Hz, 1600Hz, and 3150Hz). Group analyses revealed a significant positive correlation between phonotactic frequency and LIFG activity, which was unaffected by age and hearing thresholds. A region of interest analysis revealed that the relation between phonotactic frequency and LIFG activity was significantly strengthened for the most intelligible words (low-pass cutoff at 3150Hz). These results suggest that the responsiveness of the left inferior frontal cortex to phonotactic frequency reflects the downstream impact of word recognition rather than support of word recognition, at least when there are no speech production demands.

Functional Overlap between Regions Involved in Speech Perception and in Monitoring One's Own Voice during Speech Production

The fluency and the reliability of speech production suggest a mechanism that links motor commands and sensory feedback. Here, we examined the neural organization supporting such links by using fMRI to identify regions in which activity during speech production is modulated according to whether auditory feedback matches the predicted outcome or not and by examining the overlap with the network recruited during passive listening to speech sounds. We used real-time signal processing to compare brain activity when participants whispered a consonant-vowel-consonant word ("Ted") and either heard this clearly or heard voice-gated masking noise. We compared this to when they listened to yoked stimuli (identical recordings of "Ted" or noise) without speaking. Activity along the STS and superior temporal gyrus bilaterally was significantly greater if the auditory stimulus was (a) processed as the auditory concomitant of speaking and (b) did not match the predicted outcome (noise). The network exhibiting this Feedback Type x Production/Perception interaction includes a superior temporal gyrus/middle temporal gyrus region that is activated more when listening to speech than to noise. This is consistent with speech production and speech perception being linked in a control system that predicts the sensory outcome of speech acts and that processes an error signal in speech-sensitive regions when this and the sensory data do not match.

A Short Report: Word-Level Phonological and Lexical Characteristics Interact to Influence Phoneme Awareness

In this study, we examined the influence of word-level phonological and lexical characteristics on early phoneme awareness. Typically developing children, ages 61 to 78 months, completed a phoneme-based, odd-one-out task that included consonant—vowel—consonant word sets (e.g., “chair—chain—ship”) that varied orthogonally by a phonological characteristic, sound contrast similarity (similar vs. dissimilar), and a lexical characteristic, neighborhood density (dense vs. sparse). In a subsample of the participants—those with the highest vocabularies—results were in line with a predicted interactive effect of phonological and lexical characteristics on phoneme awareness performance: word sets contrasting similar sounds were less likely to yield correct responses in words from sparse neighborhoods than words from dense neighborhoods. Word sets contrasting dissimilar sounds were most likely to yield correct responses regardless of the words’ neighborhood density. Based on these findings, theories of early phoneme awareness should consider both word-level and child-level influences on performance. Attention to these influences is predicted to result in more sensitive and specific measures of reading risk.

Evidence for the Expansion of Adult Cochlear Implant Candidacy

The primary objective of this study was to determine whether a revision and/or expansion of current audiologic cochlear implant candidacy criteria is warranted. The study design was a retrospective review of postoperative speech perception performance for 22 adult cochlear implant recipients who demonstrated preoperative Consonant Nucleus Consonant word recognition scores of 30% or higher in the best-aided condition. This criterion was chosen to exceed that specified by the North American clinical trial of the Nucleus Freedom cochlear implant system. The mean preoperative best-aided monosyllabic word score for the 22 patients was 41% correct. The degree of postoperative benefit for the best postoperative condition (electric only or bimodal) ranged from 10 to 68 percentage points with a mean benefit of 27 percentage points for the electric-only condition and 40 percentage points for the bimodal condition. Statistical analyses revealed highly significant differences between preoperative-aided, implant-only, and bimodal performance on Consonant Nucleus Consonant monosyllabic word recognition performance. That is, both postoperative scores--electric only and bimodal--were significantly different from one another and from the preoperative best-aided performance. The current results suggest that a large-scale reassessment of manufacturer and Medicare preoperative audiologic candidacy criteria for adults is warranted to allow more hearing-impaired individuals to take advantage of the benefits offered by cochlear implantation.

The Baha system in patients with single-sided deafness and contralateral hearing loss

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of the Baha system in cases of single-sided deafness (SSD) and mild to moderate hearing loss in the better-hearing ear. Study Design Prospective trial. Setting Tertiary otologic referral center. Subjects and Methods Twenty-one patients with SSD and mild to moderate hearing loss in the contralateral ear implanted with the Baha system between June 2006 and March 2008 were evaluated following Baha implantation and fitting with the Divino and Intenso processors. Pure-tone air and bone conduction thresholds, sound-field testing (aided and unaided in quiet and noise) of consonant nucleus consonant words (Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 words), and Hearing in Noise Test sentences were obtained. Patient satisfaction questionnaires were administered pre- and post-intervention for either device. Results Patients with SSD and mild to moderate hearing loss in the contralateral ear showed a statistically significant improvement in all measures with the use of the Divino or Intenso processors compared with the unaided situation. Change in hearing, as measured in noise testing word recognition scores, revealed a statistically significant difference between the two aided conditions favoring the Intenso ( P < 0.05). The Glasgow Benefit Inventory revealed that 91 percent of the patients reported improvement in their quality of life and would recommend the procedure to others. Conclusion The Baha system is effective in the rehabilitation of patients with SSD and mild to moderate hearing loss in the only hearing ear. Results of the current study suggest that either the Divino or Intenso processor was successful in reestablishing hearing from the deafened side.

The Effect of Instantaneous Input Dynamic Range Setting on the Speech Perception of Children with the Nucleus 24 Implant

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a wider instantaneous input dynamic range (IIDR) setting on speech perception and comfort in quiet and noise for children wearing the Nucleus 24 implant system and the Freedom speech processor. In addition, children's ability to understand soft and conversational level speech in relation to aided sound-field thresholds was examined. Thirty children (age, 7 to 17 years) with the Nucleus 24 cochlear implant system and the Freedom speech processor with two different IIDR settings (30 versus 40 dB) were tested on the Consonant Nucleus Consonant (CNC) word test at 50 and 60 dB SPL, the Bamford-Kowal-Bench Speech in Noise Test, and a loudness rating task for four-talker speech noise. Aided thresholds for frequency-modulated tones, narrowband noise, and recorded Ling sounds were obtained with the two IIDRs and examined in relation to CNC scores at 50 dB SPL. Speech Intelligibility Indices were calculated using the long-term average speech spectrum of the CNC words at 50 dB SPL measured at each test site and aided thresholds. Group mean CNC scores at 50 dB SPL with the 40 IIDR were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than with the 30 IIDR. Group mean CNC scores at 60 dB SPL, loudness ratings, and the signal to noise ratios-50 for Bamford-Kowal-Bench Speech in Noise Test were not significantly different for the two IIDRs. Significantly improved aided thresholds at 250 to 6000 Hz as well as higher Speech Intelligibility Indices afforded improved audibility for speech presented at soft levels (50 dB SPL). These results indicate that an increased IIDR provides improved word recognition for soft levels of speech without compromising comfort of higher levels of speech sounds or sentence recognition in noise.

A non-linear efferent-inspired model of the auditory system; matching human confusions in stationary noise

Current predictors of speech intelligibility are inadequate for understanding and predicting speech confusions caused by acoustic interference. We develop a model of auditory speech processing that includes a phenomenological representation of the action of the Medial Olivocochlear efferent pathway and that is capable of predicting consonant confusions made by normal hearing listeners in speech-shaped Gaussian noise. We then use this model to predict human error patterns of initial consonants in consonant–vowel–consonant words in the context of a Dynamic Rhyme Test. In the process we demonstrate its potential for speech discrimination in noise. Our results produced performance that was robust to varying levels of stationary additive speech-shaped noise and which mimicked human performance in discrimination of synthetic speech as measured by the Chi-squared test.

The Effect of Temporal Gap Identification on Speech Perception by Users of Cochlear Implants

This study examined the ability of listeners using cochlear implants (CIs) and listeners with normal hearing (NH) to identify silent gaps of different duration and the relation of this ability to speech understanding in CI users. Sixteen NH adults and 11 postlingually deafened adults with CIs identified synthetic vowel-like stimuli that were either continuous or contained an intervening silent gap ranging from 15 ms to 90 ms. Cumulative d', an index of discriminability, was calculated for each participant. Consonant and consonant-nucleus-consonant (CNC) word identification tasks were administered to the CI group. Overall, the ability to identify stimuli with gaps of different duration was better for the NH group than for the CI group. Seven CI users had cumulative d' scores that were no higher than those of any NH listener, and their CNC word scores ranged from 0% to 30%. The other 4 CI users had cumulative d' scores within the range of the NH group, and their CNC word scores ranged from 46% to 68%. For the CI group, cumulative d' scores were significantly correlated with their speech testing scores. The ability to identify silent gap duration may help explain individual differences in speech perception by CI users.

Nucleus Freedom North American clinical trial

To evaluate hearing outcomes and effects of stimulation rate on performance with the Nucleus Freedom cochlear implant (Cochlear Americas, Denver, CO). Randomized, controlled, prospective, single-blind clinical study using single-subject repeated measures (A-B-A-B) design at 14 academic centers in the United States and Canada and comparison with outcomes of a prior device by the same manufacturer. Seventy-one severely/profoundly hearing impaired adults. Seventy-one adult recipients were randomly programmed in two different sets of rate: ACE or higher rate ACE RE. Mean scores for Consonant Nucleus Consonant words is 57%, Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) sentences in quiet 78%, and HINT sentences in noise 64%. Sixty-seven percent of subjects preferred slower rates of stimulation, and performance did not improve with higher rates of stimulation using this device. Subjects performed well, and there was no advantage to higher stimulation rates with this device. Higher stimulation rates do not necessarily result in improved performance.

Implication of Central Asymmetry in Speech Processing on Selecting the Ear for Cochlear Implantation

Emerging evidence in auditory neuroscience suggests that central auditory pathways process speech asymmetrically. In concert with left cortical specialization for speech, a "right-ear advantage" in speech perception has been identified. The purpose of this study is to determine if this central asymmetry in speech processing has implications for selecting the ear for cochlear implantation. Retrospective cohort study. Academic university medical center One hundred one adults with bilateral severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss Cochlear implantation with the Nucleus 24 Contour device. Patients were divided into two groups according to the ear implanted. Results were compared between left-ear- and right-ear-implanted patients. Further subgroup analysis was undertaken, limited to right-handed patients. Postoperative improvement on audiograms and scores on speech perception tests (Hearing in Noise test, City University of New York in quiet and in noise test, Consonant-Vowel Nucleus- Consonant words, and phonemes) at 1 year was compared between groups. Analysis of covariance was used to control for any intergroup differences in preoperative characteristics. The groups were matched in age, duration of hearing loss, duration of hearing aid use, percentage implanted in the better hearing ear, and preoperative audiologic testing. Postoperatively, there were no differences between left-ear- and right-ear-implanted patients in improvement on speech recognition tests. Despite central asymmetry in speech processing, our data do not support a right-ear advantage in speech perception outcomes with cochlear implantation. Therefore, among the many factors in choosing the ear for cochlear implantation, central asymmetry in speech processing does not seem to be a contributor to postoperative speech recognition outcomes.

Patterns of Oral-Nasal Balance in Normal Speakers with and without Cleft Palate

Objective: The aero-acoustic aspects of nasalization that distinguish speakers with velopharyngeal adequacy from those with velopharyngeal inadequacy are well known. Differences in aerodynamic aspects of nasalization also have been demonstrated in normal speakers with cleft palate and their noncleft counterparts. The purpose of this study was to compare the amplitude and temporal patterns of oral-nasal balance in speakers with cleft palate and normal speech to those with normal speech without cleft palate. Patients and Methods: Using the Nasal Accelerometric Vibrational Index technique, the time course and amplitude of oral-nasal balance were studied in 10 children with cleft palate and velopharyngeal adequacy and 10 noncleft controls. The speech sample included syllable, word, and sentence contexts, most of which were devoid of nasal consonants. Results: The results indicate few differences between the two groups in contexts devoid of nasal consonants. However, significant differences were evident with regard to temporal aspects of oral-nasal balance in a nasal-oral consonant word context. Conclusions: Subtle structural-motor differences that may exist between normal speakers with and without cleft palate may be more evident when the spatiotemporal requirements for velar movement become more complex and result in a greater possible combination of oral-nasal impedance ratios.