Phonological Perspective Research Articles

Cerebral laterality for phonemic and prosodic cue decoding in children with autism

This study examined the cerebral functional lateralization, from a phonological perspective, in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing children (TDC). With near infrared spectroscopy, we measured auditory evoked-responses in the temporal areas to phonemic and prosodic contrasts in word contexts. The results of TDC showed stronger left-dominant and right-dominant responses to phonemic and prosodic differences, respectively. Furthermore, although ASD children displayed similar tendencies, the functional asymmetry for phonemic changes was relatively weak, suggesting less-specialized left-brain functions. The typical asymmetry for the prosodic condition was further discussed in terms of acoustic-physical perceptual ability of ASD children. The study revealed differential neural recruitment in decoding phonetic cues between ASD children and TDC and verified the applicability of near infrared spectroscopy as a suitable neuroimaging method for children with developmental disorders.

How the Phoneme Inventory Changes its Shape: A Cognitive Approach to Phonological Evolution and Change

In this paper I propose an interpretation of a series of phonological changes in the history of English (including Old English Breaking and the early Modern English Great Vowel Shift) from a cognitive phonology perspective. My analysis is based on Nathan (1886, 1995, 1996), who applies prototype theory to phonological description. In Nathan's analysis, the louder a sound is, the more prototypical effects it possesses. In processes of phonological change, phonemes change their number of prototypical effects. According to this view, we propose a classification that is based on two different prototypicality effects: degree of height and degree of peripherality. By treating both sound and meaning unit as mental categories, I try to show how the principles of categorization and generalization motivate similar diachronic patterns both in the phonological and in the semantic domain.

Variability in a German-Speaking Child as Viewed from a Constraint-Based Nonlinear Phonology Perspective

This paper provides an overview of constraint-based nonlinear phonological theories (Bernhardt & Stemberger, 1998) in clinical application to German. Tenets of the theories are briefly introduced, and then illustrated with longitudinal data from a 3-year-old German-speaking child with variable and protracted phonological development. The child's consonant system showed both improvement and regression over time. Fricatives and /l/ decreased in accuracy and prevalence over time, whereas dorsal (velar) stops increased in accuracy and prevalence over time, replacing both /l/ and fricatives. The analysis proposes that the child showed an unusual ranking of constraints in which the feature [Dorsal] (velar) became a secondary default place feature whenever the global default [Coronal] place feature was ruled out by other constraints. The relevance of these data is discussed for variants of constraint-based theories.

Predictors of word‐level literacy amongst Grade 3 children in five diverse languages

Groups of Grade 3 children were tested on measures of word-level literacy and undertook tasks that required the ability to associate sounds with letter sequences and that involved visual, auditory and phonological-processing skills. These groups came from different language backgrounds in which the language of instruction was Arabic, Chinese, English, Hungarian or Portuguese. Similar measures were used across the groups, with tests being adapted to be appropriate for the language of the children. Findings indicated that measures of decoding and phonological-processing skills were good predictors of word reading and spelling among Arabic- and English-speaking children, but were less able to predict variability in these same early literacy skills among Chinese- and Hungarian-speaking children, and were better at predicting variability in Portuguese word reading than spelling. Results were discussed with reference to the relative transparency of the script and issues of dyslexia assessment across languages. Overall, the findings argue for the need to take account of features of the orthography used to represent a language when developing assessment procedures for a particular language and that assessment of word-level literacy skills and a phonological perspective of dyslexia may not be universally applicable across all language contexts.

Laboratory Approaches to Spanish Phonology

This volume contains a collection of papers that address issues in Spanish phonology from the perspective of laboratory phonology. It is the first volume on Spanish dedicated exclusively to experimental phonology, and represents the variety of issues in Spanish phonology that can be addressed experimentally as well as the numerous types of experimentation that can be used to further our knowledge of phonological issues. This volume is sure to be an important addition to the library of not only Spanish phonologists, but also of any professional or graduate student interested in the contributions that empirical work can make to the study of phonology.

Het jou mô en jou pô 'n strôndhuis by Hôrtenbos? Feit of fiksie?

In this article, I present the findings of a study of the seemingly expanding phenomenon in Afrikaans of rounding of the 'aa' vowel, phonetically transcribed as [a]. A mix between a qualitative and quantitative methodological approach was followed. The hypotheses are based on personal observation of this process, especially as viewed from a phonological perspective. The role of prominence (both word stress and sentence accent) is in the centre of these hypotheses. Prominent long underlying /a:/ vowels will most probably be rounded; even without such stress or accent the chances will be more than 50%, but the short underlyingly /a/ will not be rounded. The method used for testing these hypotheses is the following: a strong 'rounder' of Afrikaans /a/ was identified, and the readers were requested to record a number of carefully-constructed appropriate sentences. The relevant vowels of this speaker, a female student aged 21, were processed digitally. The most important acoustic features (duration, Formants 1 and 2) were extracted, and statistically analysed. The results clearly support the hypotheses posed.

General and nonlinear phonological intervention perspectives for a child with a resistant phonological impairment

This paper describes an intervention plan for a child with a resistant phonological impairment. The plan first addresses factors and intervention strategies associated with the phonological impairment: a history of otitis media, attention deficit, learning difficulties, language delay, oral-motor dysfunction and environmental factors. A phonological intervention plan is then proposed that is based on a nonlinear phonological analysis and supported by the Computerized Articulation and Phonology Evaluation System program. Nonlinear analysis identifies the child’s strengths and needs at all levels of the phonological hierarchy from the phrase to the individual manner, place and laryngeal features. Immediate target selection balances structural and segmental (feature) needs, and the context of intervention suggested by associated factors.

Pragmatic and historical aspects of Definite Article Reduction in northern English dialects

We inquire into Definite Article Reduction (DAR), a phenomenon known to characterize northern English dialects. For this research we collected data from speakers at the North Yorkshire/Lancashire border. While previous studies have largely addressed DAR from a phonological perspective, we examine whether DAR is conditioned by other linguistic factors. The pattern we identify is that speakers show DAR most frequently when they refer to something (i) that is in their immediate environment (situational reference), (ii) that was just mentioned in the conversation (anaphoric reference), or (iii) that is known to the hearer (shared knowledge). We note that these uses correspond to the pragmatic category of “givenness/familiarity”, and may also be associated with the notions “near/close”. We speculate on the emergence of DAR in the North of England, drawing on evidence from the historical record regarding the development of the definite article from the demonstrative paradigm and the contact situation with Scandinavian.

A Perceptually-Driven Account of Onset-Sensitive Stress

This paper explores onset-sensitive stress from a typological, phonetic and phonological perspective. A phonetic study of three onset-sensitive stress systems suggests a close match between onset weight distinctions and a phonetic measure of perceptual energy, such that phonological weight criteria are the phonetically most effective ones. Perceptual considerations also offer an explanation for other typological observations, including the relative rarity of onset-sensitive stress, the greater weight of low sonority onsets, and the subordination of onset-sensitive weight distinctions to rime-based ones in languages with both types of weight distinctions. Onset-based weight criteria are effectively modelled using a skeletal slot model of the syllable referenced by a family of prominence constraints requiring that heavy syllables be stressed and that light syllables be unstressed.

Editorial: phonetic and phonological perspectives on speech production in cleft lip and palate

Editorial: phonetic and phonological perspectives on speech production in cleft lip and palate

Two perspectives on similarity between words

This presentation examines the similarity between words from both bottom up (phonetic) and top down (phonological/psycholinguistic) perspectives. From the phonological perspective, the influence of structure on similarity is explored using metalinguistic acceptability judgments for multisyllabic nonwords. Results from an experiment suggest that subjects try to align novel words with known words in order to maximize similarities while minimizing dissimilarities. This finding parallels results from psychology on similarity judgments for visual scenes. From the phonetic perspective, the influence of similar gestures on speech error rates is examined using ultrasound measurement of tongue position. In a pilot experiment, subjects, produced tongue twisters containing words where onset and vowel phonemes had similar gestures (e.g., tip, comb) and where the onset and vowel had dissimilar gestures (e.g., tube, keep). Preliminary results suggest that misarticulations are more frequent in the context of dissimilar gestures (e.g., in the tongue twister tip cape keep tape, error rates are higher for /k/ than /t/). These errors appear to be gestural interactions rather than errors at the phonemic or featural level of phonological spellout. Together, these two experiments indicate that similarity relations between words are found at multiple levels, any which are potentially relevant to the structure of phonological systems.

Affricates, Palatals and Iotization in Serbian: Representational Solutions to Longstanding Puzzles

This paper investigates the segment inventory of Serbian from both an articulatory and a phonological perspective, and it proposes a straightforward phonological analysis of both the inventory and the morpho-phonological process of iotization. The analysis is couched in terms of the Parallel Structures Model of feature geometry (Morén 2003a, b, c).

Prosodic Features and Prosodic Structure: The Phonology of Suprasegmentals (review)

Reviewed by: Prosodic features and prosodic structure: The phonology of suprasegmentals by Anthony Fox Linnea Micciulla Prosodic features and prosodic structure: The phonology of suprasegmentals. By Anthony Fox. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Pp. 401. Cloth $99.00. Drawing from an impressive array of sources, this comprehensive book focuses on the understanding of length, accent, tone, and intonation as major prosodic features. Written for linguists with a background in phonology, each chapter includes phonetic and phonological perspectives, examining both paradigmatic and syntagmatic theories and presenting potential distinctive features. Fox adopts a historical approach to prosody throughout, beginning with the early Greeks and including findings from the past decade, although he draws most heavily from the Prague school and the American structuralists. The stated goal is to provide an understanding of prosodic structure by showing the importance of early contributions to current research. The chapter devoted to length includes the viewpoints proposed by the Prague school and the American structuralists and considers the role of the mora from several perspectives. F discusses two nonlinear approaches to length, combining metrical and auto-segmental theories. In his critique of Kenneth Pike’s categorization of stress-timed and syllable-timed languages, F points out that there is no evidence for evenly timed stress nor does he see evidence for syllable-timed languages. This chapter would benefit from additional justification for unexplained assumptions that are made as well as from corrections of typographical and other errors. The following chapter on accent defines past and present meanings of the term ‘accent’ and introduces dynamic stress-accent and melodic pitch-accent as the basic accent types. The primary approaches covered include the Prague school’s functional approach, the American structuralists’ distributional theories, and various pedagogical premises. An exploration of the representations of accent developed by Mark Liberman, Alan Prince, Elisabeth Selkirk, and Bruce Hayes evaluates the use of grids and trees. The chapter on tone includes comparisons of downstep and downdrift, attempts by several theorists to assign binary features to tone, and discussions of the role of register and of the function of tone bearing units. Fox highlights the contributions of Kenneth Pike, John Goldsmith, Larry Hyman, and Moira Yip, among others. The intonation chapter is perhaps the most insightful. Evaluations of several theories focusing on pitch levels vs. pitch contours reveal an advantage to contour approaches, as these may be grouped by shape. The chapter gives an excellent overview of the work of Janet Pierrehumbert and of the author. In Pierrehumbert’s work, English intonation patterns are represented by pitch accents, a phrase tone, and a boundary tone. F cites his own previous work in describing a typology including envelope, prominence, and modality features. The book concludes by combining the discussion of length, accent, tone, and intonation in a detailed critique of proposed hierarchies of prosodic structure. Three types of specifications emerge as the various analyses presented throughout the book are classified as bottom-up, top-down, or left-to-right. In this ambitious work, F displays a profound knowledge of the history of prosodic studies and a remarkable ability to sift through this legacy, highlighting those sometimes forgotten revelations which deserve to be remembered and reconsidered. Linnea Micciulla Boston University Copyright © 2002 Linguistic Society of America

Handbook of Phonological Development from the Perspective of Constraint-Based Nonlinear Phonology

Introduction. Worldviews for Phonology. Phonological Representations and Processes. Constraints. Segmental Development. Prosodic Development. Sequences of Elements. Theory and Application: Not Just for the Clinician. Acquisition of Adult Alternations. Discussion and Conclusions. Appendix A: International Phonetic Association (1989) Symbols Used in This book. Appendix B: The Features Used in This Book. Appendix C: List of the Constraints of Optimality Theory. Appendix D: Practical Guidelines for Using Constraints. References. Index.

Barbara H. Bernhardt and Joseph P. Stemberger (1998). Handbook of phonological development from the perspective of constraint-based nonlinear phonology. San Diego: Academic Press. Pp. xiii+793.

The goals that Bernhardt & Stemberger set for themselves in this bookI would like to thank Todd Bailey, Barbara Bernhardt, Dan Dinnsen, Heather Goad, Sharon Hargus, Linda Lombardi, John McCarthy, Geoffrey Nathan, Elena Nicoladis, Alan Prince, Paul Smolensky, Joseph Stemberger and Wolf Wikeley for their comments on a draft of this review, and the Rutgers Optimality Archive (http://ruccs.rutgers.edu/roa.html) for facilitating its distribution. This work was supported by SSHRC research grant 410-98-1595, for which I am grateful. are extremely ambitious. Assuming only a very basic knowledge of phonological theory on the part of the reader, they aim to provide an introduction to non-linear phonology and to its constraint-based implementation in Optimality Theory, and to show how this framework can describe and illuminate a wide range of data on phonological development, as well as how the child data can inform theory construction. In doing this, they also present what they claim is a comprehensive inventory of the attested phenomena of child phonology, as well as a new proposal about the nature and range of possible constraints in Optimality Theory. The scope of the book is widened even further by the authors' use of data from children with both normal and delayed phonological development, and by their use of theoretical constructs drawn from literature on processing and connectionism. These ambitious and wide-ranging goals match the relatively large and diverse audience that Bernhardt & Stemberger hope to reach with this book: theoretical phonologists, researchers examining phonological development from various linguistic and psychological perspectives, and speech-language pathologists.For its depth and breadth of theoretical and empirical coverage, this book will be of considerable value to anyone involved in phonological theory that has an interest in child phonology (although depending on one's circumstances, this value may or may not match the publisher's asking price of $149·95). As a phonologist working in Optimality Theory and acquisition, I was impressed with the extent to which the ideas, data and references to earlier work were new to me. I now turn to this book regularly to help answer questions about phonological development, both those that come up in my own research and those raised by colleagues and students.

Handbook of phonological development: from the perspective of constraint-based nonlinear phonology

Handbook of phonological development: from the perspective of constraint-based nonlinear phonology

A phonological perspective on locus equations

Locus equations fail to provide adequate abstraction to capture the English phoneme /g/. They also cannot characterize final consonants or their relation to pre-vocalic consonants. However, locus equations are approximately abstract enough to define the upper limit on phonological distinctions for place of articulation. Hence, locus equations seem to mediate phonetic and phonological perceptual abilities.

Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics VII: Papers from the Seventh Annual Symposium on Arabic Linguistics

1. Foreword 2. introduction 3. I. Agreement in Arabic 4. Arabic and parametric VSO agreement (by Bolotin, Naomi) 5. Internal and external agreement in quantified construct states (by LeTourneau, Mark S.) 6. Parasitic gaps in Arabic (by Wahba, Wafaa Batran) 7. Negation and modality in early child Arabic (by Mohamed, Ibrahim) 8. II. perspectives fro experiment-based studies 9. Morphological structure and lexical processing: Evidence from Arabic (by Safi-Stagni, Sabah) 10. Experimental investigations of Arabic Syllable Structure (by Derwing, Bruce L.) 11. The timing structure of CVVC syllables (by Broselow, Ellen) 12. III. Discourse and phonological perspectives 13. Topic continuity in Arabic narrative discourse (by Fakhri, Ahmed) 14. On vowel shortening in Palestinian Arabic (by Younes, Munther A.) 15. Morpheme edges and Arabic infixation (by McOmber, Michael L.) 16. Index of Subjects

Negative intraoral air pressures of deaf children with cochlear implants: physiology, phonology, and treatment.

The primary purpose of this investigation was to examine deaf children's use of negative intraoral air pressures (-Po's) from a physiological and a phonological perspective, with the hope of gathering insight into the strategies these children use to produce speech. A secondary purpose was to compare the effectiveness of two methods of treating these deviant productions. Subjects were four profoundly deaf children, age 6:6-9:2, who used cochlear implants and had demonstrated persistent use of -Po's. Po's were collected during production of CV syllables with initial [p] and [b] and a variety of vowel contexts. Two of the children used -PO's more often before low than high vowels. We suggest that this vowel-based pattern may result when deaf children learn to lower their larynges in response to visible jaw lowering cues. Another child presented with a pattern of more frequent -Po's before front than back vowels, suggesting that she may have expanded her pharynx anteriorly as she attempted to achieve an anterior tongue placement. Two children also clearly used -Po's more frequently for voiced than voiceless stops, possibly resulting from a tendency to use the degree rather than the timing of vocal fold adduction to distinguish voiceless and voiced phonemes. Two of the children were enrolled in a single-subject multiple baseline study to compare the effectiveness of traditional articulation treatment and visual-feedback treatment. The child who was a far less proficient talker demonstrated rapid and sustained change, whereas the better talker demonstrated minimal change with treatment. This study provides evidence that (a) deaf children use speech production strategies quite unlike those of normally hearing children and (b) deviant speech behaviors of deaf children should be treated before they become part of functional phonological systems. This work highlights the need to consider the unique speech behaviors of deaf children, and their reliance on alternate feedback mechanisms, when developing assessment and treatment procedures.

Characteristics of cleft palate speech.

In recent years, interest in the nature of cleft palate speech and the influences on speech quality has increased. This overview of contemporary research reveals new perspectives on cleft palate speech development and the phonological consequences of early articulatory constraints. Cleft palate speech is perceived as the result of the synthesis between physical, physiological, cognitive and linguistic development. Developmental influences on cleft palate speech are considered in the context of early vocalisations of cleft and non-cleft children, followed by an examination of the literature on the development of babble, the emergence of early words and consonant development in children born with cleft palate. Speech development is then discussed from a phonological perspective interpreting reported characteristics as 'cleft-type developmental processes', for example, lack of target stabilisation; compensatory articulations; active/passive strategies; and systematic sound preference. Given these influences on speech development the extent to which cleft palate speech should be regarded as an 'articulatory disorder' has been reconsidered. Descriptions and interpretations of nasal resonance, nasal emission, and nasal turbulence are followed by discussion of articulatory errors in place and manner and patterns of change in cleft palate speech. Finally, some of the available evidence on speech in relation to structural imperfections, such as unrepaired clefts, velopharyngeal insufficiency, oro-nasal fistulae, dental and occlusal deviations, and open-mouth posture is summarised briefly. These new perspectives aim to facilitate more effective clinical management and to provide indications for future research.