Fluent Speakers Research Articles

Stuttering as a matter of delay in neural activation: A combined TMS/EEG study

ObjectiveBrain dynamics in developmental stuttering (DS) are not well understood. The supplementary motor area (SMA) plays a crucial role, since it communicates with regions related to planning/execution of movements, and with sub-cortical regions involved in paced/voluntary acts (such as speech). We used TMS combined with EEG to shed light on connections in DS, stimulating the SMA. MethodsTMS/EEG was recorded in adult DS and fluent speakers (FS), stimulating the SMA during rest. TMS-evoked potentials and source distribution were evaluated. ResultsCompared to FS, stutterers showed lower activity of neural sources in early time windows: 66–82 ms in SMA, and 91–102 ms in the left inferior frontal cortex and left inferior parietal lobule. Stutterers, however, showed higher activations in later time windows (i.e. from 260–460 ms), in temporal/premotor regions of the right hemisphere. ConclusionsThese findings represent the functional counterpart to known white matter and cortico-basal-thalamo-cortical abnormalities in DS. They also explain how white matter abnormalities and cortico-basal-thalamo-cortical dysfunctions may be associated in DS. Finally, a mechanism is proposed in which compensatory activity of the non-dominant (right) hemisphere is recruited. SignificanceDS may be a disorder of neural timing that appears to be delayed compared to FS; new mechanisms that support stuttering symptoms are inferred; the SMA may be a promising target for neuro-rehabilitation.

Abnormal processing of prosodic boundary in adults who stutter: An ERP study

Characterized by involuntary disruptions in fluency speech, adults who stutter (AWS) are different from normally fluent speakers (NFS) in speech-language processing indices of phonological, semantic, and syntactic information coding. However, the neural base of the prosodic information (i.e. prosodic boundary) processing in AWS is still elusive at this point. To investigate this question, Chinese temporarily ambiguous phrases (narrative-object/modifier-noun construction) were presented in pairs to AWS and NFS in both lexical judgment and structural judgment task by using structural priming paradigm. Results showed that both AWS and NFS produced prosodic priming in the two tasks, however, AWS were more sensitive to the priming than NFS in the midline. Besides, unlike the greater right hemisphere involvement of priming effect for NFS, AWS exhibited a left hemisphere asymmetry in the lateral areas. In addition, structural judgment task elicited stronger prosodic priming effect than lexical judgment task for both groups. These results indicate that the mode of prosodic priming for AWS is different from NFS, and the priming effect is influenced by the experimental task that participants completed.

口吃者加工汉语歧义短语的神经过程

口吃者加工汉语歧义短语的神经过程

Uncovering the Neuroanatomy of Core Language Systems Using Lesion-Symptom Mapping

Recent studies have integrated noninvasive brain-imaging methods and advanced analysis techniques to study associations between the location of brain damage and cognitive deficits. By applying data-driven analysis methods to large sets of data on language deficits after stroke (aphasia), these studies have identified the cognitive systems that support language processing—phonology, semantics, fluency, and executive functioning—and their neural basis. Phonological processing is supported by dual pathways around the Sylvian fissure, a ventral speech-recognition component and a dorsal speech-production component; fluent sentence-level speech production relies on a more anterior frontal component, and the semantic system relies on a hub in the anterior temporal lobe and frontotemporal white-matter tracts. The executive function system was less consistently localized, possibly because of the kinds of brain damage tested in these studies. This review synthesizes the results of these studies, showing how they converge with contemporary models of primary systems that support perception, action, and conceptual knowledge across domains, and highlights some divergent findings and directions for future research.

Whole-Brain Network Connectivity Underlying the Human Speech Articulation as Emerged Integrating Direct Electric Stimulation, Resting State fMRI and Tractography

Production of fluent speech in humans is based on a precise and coordinated articulation of sounds. A speech articulation network (SAN) has been observed in multiple brain studies typically using either neuroimaging or direct electrical stimulation (DES), thus giving limited knowledge about the whole brain structural and functional organization of this network. In this study, seven right-handed patients underwent awake surgery resection of low-grade gliomas (4) and cavernous angiomas. We combined pre-surgical resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) and diffusion MRI together with speech arrest sites obtained intra-operatively with DES to address the following goals: (i) determine the cortical areas contributing to the intrinsic functional SAN using the speech arrest sites as functional seeds for rs-fMRI; (ii) evaluate the relative contribution of gray matter terminations from the two major language dorsal stream bundles, the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF III) and the arcuate fasciculus (AF); and (iii) evaluate the possible pre-surgical prediction of SAN with rs-fMRI. In all these right-handed patients the intrinsic functional SAN included frontal, inferior parietal, temporal, and insular regions symmetrically and bilaterally distributed across the two hemispheres regardless of the side (four right) of speech arrest evocation. The SLF III provided a much higher density of terminations in the cortical regions of SAN in respect to AF. Pre-surgical rs-fMRI data demonstrated moderate ability to predict the SAN. The set of functional and structural data provided in this multimodal study characterized, at a whole-brain level, a distributed and bi-hemispherical network subserving speech articulation.

Gender and Speech Dısfluency Productıon: a Psycholınguıstıc Analysıs on Turkısh Speakers

The aim of this study is to analyze the influence of gender on fluent Turkish native speakers' speech disfluency production rates. Totally 84 participants from four different age groups (4-8, 18-27, 33-50 and over 50) took part in the study. Gender distribution was equal in each group. In a corpus of face to face interviews, the prepared and impromptu speech samples of at least 300 words from each participant were analyzed. As a result, in the prepared speech situation 18-23-year-old males produced more prolongations than females, and 33-50-year-old males produced more prolongations, false starts and slips of the tongue (SOT) than females in the same age group. In impromptu speech situation, 18-23-year-old males produced more hesitations, prolongations, false starts and slips of the tongue than females, and 33-50-year-old males produced more prolongations and false starts than females in the same age group. Further analyses pointed out various findings related to the position of disfluencies in an utterance and the linguistic units involved in disfluency production.

English Language Curriculum in Kosovo's Education System

Language is a system of communication, consisting of sounds and words used for the expression or exchange of ideas, concepts, knowledge. Language is our primary source of communicating. Taking in consideration that there are around 6.500 languages spoken in the world today, we find English Language as the most widely spoken language. The importance of this language cannot be denied or ignored as it is strengthened everyday by globalization and development of communication technology. As in the whole world, English Language has its own importance in Kosovo, especially in the last two decades which do succeed the end of a social, cultural and political segregation. The fast-growing importance of English Language has also forced changes in the education system of Kosovo, changes that seem to be superficial because the number of fluent English Language speakers after graduating from high school still remains low.

Language Death and Subject Expression: First-person-singular subjects in a declining dialect of Louisiana French

ABSTRACTLouisiana French is undergoing gradual language death. In such situations, it is common to find increased variability and rapid change, as speakers use the language less often and in fewer domains (Wolfram 2004; Palosaari and Campbell 2011). These processes have been observed in the pronominal system of Louisiana French (Rottet 1996; Girard 2013), with both phonological and morphological sources of variation leading to an exceptionally large inventory of first-person-singular forms in the French of the Pointe-Au-Chien Indians of Pointe-Aux-Chênes, Louisiana. Using data from a translation task, we examine the range of forms used by French speakers from this community varying in age and fluency. We note a sharp distinction in forms used by fluent versus non-fluent speakers, with the latter making use of the non-clitic formmon. To answer the question of whymonis so common amongst non-fluent speakers in this task, we apply insights from the field of second language acquisition, considering the systems of these non-fluent speakers as autonomous and systematic. We ultimately propose a potential interaction between the previously documented phonological and morphological patterns observed in this community, influencing in the forms observed.

An ultrasound investigation of the speech motor skills of stuttering Italian children

ABSTRACT This study aims at evaluating speech motor skills in the fluent speech of a cohort of stuttering Italian children. Stuttering is a neurodevelopmental disorder that may arise from an innate limitation of the speech motor control system, which fails to prepare and organize the movements required for fluent speech (Van Lieshout, Hulstijn, & Peters, 2004). Anticipatory coarticulation in CV sequences and stability of speech movements have been used as measures of the maturity of articulatory processes for fluent speech production. This study aims to assess if direct measures of speech dynamics can identify impaired mechanisms in stuttering speech during a phrase-repetition task. The Ultrasound Tongue Imaging data of eight school-aged children, half of whom stutter while the other half don’t, show different articulatory patterns between the two groups, for both motor aspects under investigation. Articulatory data show that the stuttering group presents a higher degree of intra-syllabic coarticulation compared to the control group and decreased stability (i.e. more variability) through multiple repetitions of the same alveolar and velar item. Outcomes of this study suggest that the speech motor control system of children who stutter is less mature in preparing and executing the speech gestures required for fluent speech. This study contributes to shedding light on the impaired articulatory patterns involved in stuttering speech and to identifying the diagnostic markers of the disorder by evaluating the speech of children close to the onset of stuttering.

Strategies and Methods for Anishinaabemowin Revitalization

Anishinaabeg (including Odawa, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Saulteaux, and Chippewa) are striving to maintain and revitalize Anishinaabemowin (their Anishinaabe language) throughout their territories. This research project explored Anishinaabemowin revitalization (AR) efforts through interviews with 22 community activists, scholars, and teachers of Anishinaabemowin as a second language (AnSL). The interviews queried the various methods and mobilization strategies being used and developed. The project provides insights into different AnSL pedagogies and teaching strategies, as well as barriers and challenges facing the AR movement. Interviews were conducted in six Canadian cities as well as four First Nation reserve communities. Research participants discussed innovative AR strategies and techniques while acknowledging concerns that AR has yet to produce enough fluent speakers to reverse the decline of Anishinaabemowin.

Translation and cultural adaptation of the US National Cancer Institute's patient-reported outcome (PRO) version of the CTCAE for Italian pediatric oncology populations.

This study intends to translate and make any necessary cultural adaptations of the Pediatric PRO-CTCAE version for Italian oncological patients aged 7-18 years and their caregivers. The questionnaire has been forward/backward translated into Italian and subjected to detailed verification by fluent Italian speakers, children and their parents, for use in clinical trials in Italian populations. The Italian version includes 130 questions that assess 62 symptoms. To verify the patients' comprehension some interviews were completed with 24 oncological children and adolescents in different age groups and 24 parents (Mage = 41.2). Caregivers were interviewed independently. A final Italian version of the Pediatric PRO-CTCAE was produced. Across the age range, most patients and caregivers were able to understand and answer the questions. The 7-9 years old had greater challenges completing two terms which were retested in a second round of interviews. There were no comprehension differences on the basis of trials enrollment phase. The translation and adaptation of the Pediatric PRO-CTCAE confirms that this instrument is also suitable for assessing symptom toxicities among Italian cancer patients. Its rapid integration into care pathways is necessary to guarantee an early response to patient symptoms and to facilitate drug tolerability assessment.

Individual differences in the production of disfluency: A latent variable analysis of memory ability and verbal intelligence.

Recent work has begun to focus on the role that individual differences in executive function and intelligence have on the production of fluent speech. However, isolating the underlying causes of different types of disfluency has been difficult given the speed and complexity of language production. In this study, we focused on the role of memory abilities and verbal intelligence, and we chose a task that relied heavily on memory for successful performance. Given the task demands, we hypothesised that a substantial proportion of disfluencies would be due to memory retrieval problems. We contrasted memory abilities with individual differences in verbal intelligence as previous work highlighted verbal intelligence as an important factor in disfluency production. A total of 78 participants memorised and repeated 40 syntactically complex sentences, which were recorded and coded for disfluencies. Model comparisons were carried out using hierarchical structural equation modelling. Results showed that repetitions were significantly related to verbal intelligence. Unfilled pauses and repairs, in contrast, were marginally ( p < .09) related to memory abilities. The relationship in all cases was negative. Conclusions explore the link between different types of disfluency and particular problems arising in the course of production, and how individual differences inform theoretical debates in language production.

Evidence for a Resting State Network Abnormality in Adults Who Stutter.

Neural network-based investigations of stuttering have begun to provide a possible integrative account for the large number of brain-based anomalies associated with stuttering. Here we used resting-state EEG to investigate functional brain networks in adults who stutter (AWS). Participants were 19 AWS and 52 age-, and gender-matched normally fluent speakers. EEGs were recorded and connectivity matrices were generated by LORETA in the theta (4–8 Hz), alpha (8–12 Hz), beta1 (12–20 Hz), and beta2 (20–30 Hz) bands. Small-world propensity (SWP), shortest path, and clustering coefficients were computed for weighted graphs. Minimum spanning tree analysis was also performed and measures were compared by non-parametric permutation test. The results show that small-world topology was evident in the functional networks of all participants. Three graph indices (diameter, clustering coefficient, and shortest path) exhibited significant differences between groups in the theta band and one [maximum betweenness centrality (BC)] measure was significantly different between groups in the beta2 band. AWS show higher BC than control in right temporal and inferior frontal areas and lower BC in the right primary motor cortex. Abnormal functional networks during rest state suggest an anomaly of DMN activity in AWS. Furthermore, functional segregation/integration deficits in the theta network are evident in AWS. These deficits reinforce the hypothesis that there is a neural basis for abnormal executive function in AWS. Increased beta2 BC in the right speech–motor related areas confirms previous evidence that right audio–speech areas are over-activated in AWS. Decreased beta2 BC in the right primary motor cortex is discussed in relation to abnormal neural mechanisms associated with time perception in AWS.

The Effects of Fluency Enhancing Conditions on Sensorimotor Control of Speech in Typically Fluent Speakers: An EEG Mu Rhythm Study.

Objective: To determine whether changes in sensorimotor control resulting from speaking conditions that induce fluency in people who stutter (PWS) can be measured using electroencephalographic (EEG) mu rhythms in neurotypical speakers.Methods: Non-stuttering (NS) adults spoke in one control condition (solo speaking) and four experimental conditions (choral speech, delayed auditory feedback (DAF), prolonged speech and pseudostuttering). Independent component analysis (ICA) was used to identify sensorimotor μ components from EEG recordings. Time-frequency analyses measured μ-alpha (8–13 Hz) and μ-beta (15–25 Hz) event-related synchronization (ERS) and desynchronization (ERD) during each speech condition.Results: 19/24 participants contributed μ components. Relative to the control condition, the choral and DAF conditions elicited increases in μ-alpha ERD in the right hemisphere. In the pseudostuttering condition, increases in μ-beta ERD were observed in the left hemisphere. No differences were present between the prolonged speech and control conditions.Conclusions: Differences observed in the experimental conditions are thought to reflect sensorimotor control changes. Increases in right hemisphere μ-alpha ERD likely reflect increased reliance on auditory information, including auditory feedback, during the choral and DAF conditions. In the left hemisphere, increases in μ-beta ERD during pseudostuttering may have resulted from the different movement characteristics of this task compared with the solo speaking task. Relationships to findings in stuttering are discussed.Significance: Changes in sensorimotor control related feedforward and feedback control in fluency-enhancing speech manipulations can be measured using time-frequency decompositions of EEG μ rhythms in neurotypical speakers. This quiet, non-invasive, and temporally sensitive technique may be applied to learn more about normal sensorimotor control and fluency enhancement in PWS.

Types of Indonesian-English code-switching employed in a novel

This study investigated the types of code-switching between Indonesian and English and vice versa in an Indonesian novel. The code-switching employed in the novel entitled Antologi Rasa (literally translated as ‘The Anthology of Taste’) by Ika Natassa was chosen as the data for this study. The method used was qualitative in nature, with the code-switching being identified, noted, and finally analyzed and categorized into the framework developed by Hoffman who proposed four types of code-switching: inter-sentential switching, intra-sentential switching, tag switching, and establishing continuity with the previous speaker. The results showed that the most frequently used code-switching type in the novel was inter-sentential switching (62.3%), followed by intra-sentential switching (20.9%), tag switching (12.4%), and establishing continuity with the previous speaker (4.4%). Inter-sentential was presumed to be used the most because this type of code-switching signals bilingual proficiency and the novel does focus on readers who are adults and live in the metropolitan area. These readers are believed to be fluent speakers of both Indonesian and English. Establishing continuity with the previous speaker was the least frequently used code-switching type in the novel. This type of switching is mostly affected by social distance whereas in the novel, most of the characters had a close relationship with each other, perhaps explaining this low frequency. Finally, further studies on code-switching in written work are suggested, expanding on the current case of a single novel, since the influence of each language is essential to the significance of literary work at large.

MOVEMENT TRANSFORMATIONS IN ENGLISH SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION

Chomsky states that language is a mirror of the mind. From that opinion, he creates a concept which is known as competence and performance. Competence is the fluent native speaker’s knowledge of his language; meanwhile, performance is what people actually say or understand by what someone else says on a given situation. Chomsky adds that there are two structures involved in constructing a sentence namely, Deep Structure and Surface Structure. A sentence always derives from Deep Structure which exists in the mind of speakers. Then, syntactic rules will be applied to the Deep Structure. After applying the rules, Surface Structure will be obtained. The syntactic rules applied in a sentence are Movement Transformation, Deletion Transformation, and Substitution Transformation. However, the main discussion in this article is Movement Transformation. This article will elaborate some types of movement transformation in constructing English sentences.

Toward Fluent Speaking: Spoken Grammar Instruction in EFL Classrooms

Grammar teaching in EFL classrooms is high-stakes, which can raise anxiety when students try to speak. This also results in their lack of natural and authentic English. The presenter introduces an effective way to help students decrease such anxiety to enhance confidence for more fluency in real-life conversations

Toward Fluent Speaking: Spoken Grammar Instruction in EFL Classrooms

Grammar teaching in EFL classrooms is high-stakes, which can raise anxiety when students try to speak. This also results in their lack of natural and authentic English. The presenter introduces an effective way to help students decrease such anxiety to enhance confidence for more fluency in real-life conversations

Ja’a Kumiai

Kumiai (Kumeyaay, formerly known as Diegueño; ISO code: DIH) is an endangered Yuman language of the Delta-California subgroup spoken across the Mexico–US border by approximately 150 people (Golla 2011). There are two major sets of Kumiai varieties: Northern Kumiai (Ipai/’Iipay) and Southern Kumiai (Tipai/Tiipay) (Golla 2011). A third cluster of varieties, located in southeastern San Diego County, is proposed in Langdon (1991) and Miller (2001). The speech illustrated below is representative of Ja’a, a Southern Kumiai dialect spoken in Juntas de Nejí, Baja California, Mexico (see Figure 1 below). There are currently only four fluent speakers of Ja’a Kumiai (Miller 2016b). Recordings were made over a six-month period with a 48-year-old female speaker born and raised in Juntas de Nejí. Quantitative data reported in this paper are taken from a subset of the current corpus, from recordings made with the speaker in a soundproof booth. Only the speech of this single speaker is reported here given the severe endangerment of the language.

An Analysis of Speech Disfluencies of Turkish Speakers Based on Age Variable.

The focus of this research is to verify the influence of the age variable on fluent Turkish native speakers' production of the various types of speech disfluencies. To accomplish this, four groups of native speakers of Turkish between ages 4-8, 18-23, 33-50 years respectively and those over 50-year-olds were constructed. A total of 84 participants took part in this study. Prepared and unprepared speech samples of at least 300 words were collected from each participant via face-to-face interviews that were tape recorded and transcribed; for practical reasons, only the unprepared speech samples were collected from children. As a result, for the prepared speech situation, there was no statistically significant difference in terms of age in the production rates of filled gaps, false starts, slips of the tongue and repetitions; however, participants in the over 50-year-old group produced more hesitations and prolongations than participants in the 18-23 and 33-50-year-old groups. For the unprepared speech situation, age variable was not effective on the production rates of filled gaps. However, 4-8 and over 50-year-old participants produced more hesitations and prolongations than the 18-23 and 33-50-year-old groups. 4-8-year-old children produced more slips of the tongue than the 18-23 and 33-50-year-old groups, and more false starts and repetitions than the participants in the other three age groups (18-23, 33-50, over 50). Further analyses revealed more extensive insights related to the types of disfluencies, the position of disfluencies, and the linguistic units involved in disfluency production in Turkish speech.