Speech Sound Systems Research Articles

Segmental Phonemes Conservation in Pattae Language, Indonesia

This study focused on conserving the speech sound system of the Pattae language. It employed speaking and listening methods. The result indicates that the vowel sounds are ten, the consonant sounds are eighteen, and the diphthongs are [aw] and [ay]. The classifications of vowel sound characters are six phonemes, they are /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, //, and /o/, and long vowel phonemes are /a:/, /i:/, /u:/, and /o:/. The long vowel phonemes are insufficient supporting data. These vowels can be distributed in a word's initial, middle, and final positions, except /e/, which is not indicated in the initial position. Besides, the classification of consonant sound characters shows eighteen phonemes, including /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /m/, /ñ/, /n/, //, /k/, /g/, /l/, /r/, /s/, /j/, /c/, /?/, /y/, and /w/. Three consonants are distributed in all positions, including n/, //, and /k/; four are distributed in the final, namely /n/, //, /k/, and /?/; twelve are distributed in the initial and middle, such as /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /m/,/ñ/, /k/, /g/, /l/, /r/, /s/, and /w/; and two are distributed in the middle, involving /y/ and /j/.

The mental representation of sounds in speech sound disorders

The objective of this study is to investigate facets of the human phonological system in an attempt to elucidate the special nature of mental representations and operations underlying some of the errors in speech sound disorders (SSDs). After examining different theories on the mental representations of sounds and their organization in SSDs, we arrive at the conclusion that the existing elucidations on the phonological representations do not suffice to explain some distinctive facets of SSDs. Here, we endorse a hypothesis in favor of representationalism but offer an alternative conceptualization of the phonological representations (PR). We argue that the PR is to be understood in terms of a phonological base that holds information about a segment’s acoustic structure, and which interacts with other levels in the speech sound system in the mind so as to produce a certain sound. We also propose that the PR is connected to an interface module which mediates interactions between the PR and the articulatory system (AS) responsible for the physical manifestation of speech sounds in real time by way of the coordination of activities of speech organs in the vocal tract. We specifically consider different stages of operations within the interface, a specialized system within the cognitive system, which can explain patterns in the SSD data that have so far remained elusive. Positioned between the PR and the AS, the interface module is the heart of the current study. The presence of an interface module is necessitated by the fact that not all errors of SSDs are explainable in terms of structural, motor or even the symbolic misrepresentations at the level of PR. The interface acts as a mediating system mapping sound representations onto articulatory instructions for the actual production of sounds. The interface module can receive, process, and share the phonological inputs with other levels within the speech sound system. We believe an interface module such as ours holds the key to explaining at least certain speech disarticulations in SSDs.

English speech sound improvement system based on deep learning from signal processing to semantic recognition

With the global integration and the increasing level of China's internationalization, the demand of Chinese people for English learning is growing rapidly. At the same time, English has gradually become one of the most frequently used languages in the world economic exchanges and cultural information exchanges. After the material life demands of the members of the domestic society are fully satisfied, the learning and explanation of the corresponding knowledge content of the English language are gradually highly valued by the staff in various production fields. After AI proposed deep learning models, researchers also began to improve these models and use them in speech recognition. Through multi-layer nonlinear structure, the essential features are preserved and more abstract advanced features are extracted, so the recognition rate is improved. Computer-aided language learning will change the existing language teaching mode and learning environment, so that learners can learn independently anytime and anywhere. Deep learning can give learners accurate, objective and timely pronunciation evaluation and feedback guidance. It can also help learners find out the differences between their pronunciation and standard pronunciation through repeated listening and comparison, correct their pronunciation errors, and improve the efficiency of language learning. This paper constructs an English language improvement system based on deep learning. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively analyze the input speech signals and make corresponding feedback.

Consonantal Structures in Phonetics and Phonology

The purpose of this study is to present and compare two different approaches (a phonetic approach and a phonological one) for the speech sound systems of natural languages. To this end, this study investigates natural speech sound systems with the consonantal systems of four Slavic languages, Russian, Polish, Czech and Serbian and Croatian, on the basis of phonetic and phonological approaches. In the phonetic approach, the consonant inventories of the four Slavic languages are analyzed with the theory of maximal and sufficient dispersion and the size principle, together with a frequency-based statistical approach. Segmental universals are discussed regarding sound types such as obstruents and sonorants. From the phonetic approach, it is shown that Slavic consonant systems are very unusual in terms of natural languages. Palatalized sounds in Russian and affricates and fricatives in Russian and Polish support that the Slavic consonantal system is far removed from the general aspect of human languages. On the other hand, with the phonological approach, four of the five feature-based principles proposed by Clements are employed to reveal the universals of the languages. They are Feature Economy, Marked Feature Avoidance, Robustness and Phonological enhancement. What we have seen is that some unsolved problems from the phonetic approach are explained by phonological accounts. The fact that Russian has plenty of segments represented by [+palatal] may not be unusual with respect to a feature-based approach. In addition, while the phonetic approach claims that Slavic languages (in particular, Russian and Polish) have different consonantal systems from the general aspect of natural languages because of the marked segments, the phonological approach accounts for the universals of these languages in the light of Robustness and Feature Economy. In short, what we get from phonetic accounts are language universals, found by frequency-based statistical approach while what we get from phonological accounts, using a feature-based approach, are linguistic universals.

Retrospective video analysis of the early speech sound development of infants and toddlers later diagnosed with lateralisation errors

Purpose: Although lateralisation errors (LEs) are a common speech sound disorder, no studies have examined their early development. The purpose of this exploratory small-scale investigation was to compare the early (birth–24 months) speech sound development between children later diagnosed with LEs and typically developing children.Method: This was a between-group case-controlled design with six monolingual English-speaking participants. Participants were White, non-Hispanic girls with at least one college-educated parent. As children, three had been diagnosed with lateralisation speech sound errors and three demonstrated typical speech sound development. Participants’ parents provided home video-recordings of the participants as infants/toddlers between birth and age 2. These videos were then analysed for the amount, type and diversity of sounds, and canonical babbling onset.Result: There was no statistically significant between-group difference in the volubility (i.e. combined frequency of non-resonant and resonant utterances) or in the age at which [s] or [z] emerged. However, infants/toddlers who were later diagnosed with LEs showed reduced frequency/minute in production of resonant utterances and consonants (including [s, z]), used fewer different consonants/minute, and used fewer syllable shapes/minute compared to typically developing infants/toddlers. At 7–12 months, none of the infants/toddlers later diagnosed with LEs, but all participants in the comparison group had reached the canonical babbling stage.Conclusion: Children who have LEs may have had a less robust speech sound system as infants/toddlers than their typically developing peers. However, these findings must be considered with caution due to the significant limitations of this investigation.

Phonological potentials and the lower vocal tract

This paper outlines a theoretical approach to speech sound systems based on the notion of phonological potentials: physical ‘pressures’ or biases that give rise to discrete structure and the tendencies associated with this structure that arise from the physical nature of speech sound systems. We apply this approach to a poorly understood area of phonology – phenomena of the lower vocal tract (LVT) – through a schematic that encapsulates the complex interactions among the vocal tract structures responsible for producing LVT sounds. With the framework, we provide an account of a range of LVT phenomena from several languages, illustrating how tonal, phonatory, and vowel qualities interact. Finally, we consider how the idea of phonological potentials extends across various physical domains and might exhibit patterns of alignment across these domains, thereby serving to guide the formation of patterns found in speech sound systems.

Phonological Development in a Bilingual Arabic-English-Speaking Child With Bilateral Cochlear Implants: A Longitudinal Case Study.

This longitudinal study examined the phonological development of a bilingual Arabic-English-speaking child with bilateral cochlear implants (CIs). The focus of the study was to observe the interaction between her two languages and to observe the effect of CIs on the acquisition of two speech sound systems. This study followed a 3;6-year-old (2;5 hearing age) bilingual Arabic-English-speaking child with bilateral CIs to age 4;4 (3;2 hearing age). Single-word samples were collected bimonthly in both languages. Phon software (Rose et al., 2006) was used to transcribe and analyze speech samples. Measures derived included Percent Consonants Correct-Revised (Shriberg & Kwiatkowski, 1994), percent vowels correct, phonetic inventory complexity, and common phonological patterns for both English and Arabic. Our findings supported previous research on phonological development exhibited by children with CIs, with the gradual suppression of typical and atypical error patterns and gradual increase in segmental accuracy with maturation. In addition, language interaction and separation between English and Arabic were found, supporting previous cross-linguistic work on bilingual phonological acquisition (e.g., Fabiano-Smith & Goldstein, 2010b). Bilingual children with CIs have the capability to learn both of their languages and perform similarly to, and even surpass in accuracy, monolingual children with CIs; however, it is also possible to exhibit a slower rate of acquisition of segmental accuracy as compared to their typically developing, hearing peers. Clinical implications of bilingual early intervention are discussed.

DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF PHONOLOGICAL ASPECTS AMONG HINDI-SPEAKING CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABLITY

Phonology refers to the speech sound systems of a language. The term ‘phonemic’ refers to speech sound use. Most of the previous research reveals that phonological skills develop with age and thus older children had more accurate speech and fewer error patterns in their speech. The present study aimed to obtain extensive phonological data among in Hindi-speaking typically developing children across age-matched children with intellectual disability. The results revealed that phonology develops significantly with the age. Thus, older children had more accurate production and fewer error patterns in their speech relative to younger group. Also, typically developing children had a better control over their phonological aspects compared to children with intellectual disability. A comparison with related studies has been discussed clearly in the paper which reveals a number of studies supporting the finding. The present study has significant implications for assessment of developmental speech disorders among Hindi-speaking Indian population.

Editorial: Phonological and Phonetic Competence: Between Grammar, Signal Processing, and Neural Activity.

The present collection addresses the place and role of phonology (as an object of study, not as a scientific field) within a wider range of neighboring domains. Generally, the relevance of phonological structure in language may be claimed to derive from the fact that phonology constitutes a domain of its own within language (along with syntax, semantics, morphology), but also interfaces intimately with other domains such as cognition, articulation, and perception in general. From this dual nature, it follows that phonology may be an object of linguistic description and theory (for an overview see Goldsmith, 1995; de Lacy, 2012) as well as an object of cognitive and behavioral studies (for an overview see Cohn et al., 2012). Ideally, however, theoretical and empirical studies keep this dual nature of phonology in mind and pay attention to both sides of the coin. Articles in the present Research Topic attempt to capture different aspects of this overall discussion. The starting point for this Research Topic was a Priority Programme on experimental research in phonology and phonetics funded by the German Science Foundation (DFG; SPP 1234). Based on this programme, the aim of this Research Topic is to draw together empirical work in the field of segmental and prosodic processing and representation and phonological theory. Contributions address the interface of the speech sound systems investigated in phonology, the representations of articulated speech, perception, acquisition and processing established in phonetics, psycholinguistics, and neurolinguistics. Main topics of investigation include: (1) sounds and sound-changing processes—systemic and functional aspects, (2) prosodic units such as syllables and metrical feet—systemic properties, processing, and phonetic consequences, and (3) tones as building blocks of the sentence melody—their relation to the level of linguistic expressions on the one hand, their phonetic realization (e.g., tonal height and contours) and perception on the other hand. In addition, topics (1) and (2) extend to the question how phonological representations are stored in the mental lexicon: specified minimally in terms of categorical phonological information or as variable phonetic imprint of the exemplars in the input. Diagonally to these thematic domains, the present Research Topic shows a strong focus on up-to-date experimental methods. Contributions go far beyond traditional linguistic analysis, and make use of psycho- and neuro-linguistic methods.

The Phonetic Nature of Consonants in Modern Standard Arabic

The aim of this paper is to discuss the phonetic nature of Arabic consonants in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Although Arabic is a Semitic language, the speech sound system of Arabic is very comprehensive. Data used for this study were collocated from the standard speech of nine informants who are native speakers of Arabic. The researcher used himself as informant, He also benefited from three other Jordanians and four educated Yemenis. Considering the alphabets as the written symbols used for transcribing the phones of actual pronunciation, it was found that the pronunciation of many Arabic sounds has gradually changed from the standard. The study also discussed several related issues including: Phonetic Description of Arabic consonants, classification of Arabic consonants, types of Arabic consonants and distribution of Arabic consonants.

Biology, culture, evolution and the cognitive nature of sound systems

This paper reviews the importance of the interaction between cultural evolution, biological evolution and individual cognition in understanding the cognitive nature of speech sound systems. Because of the effect of cultural evolution, typological properties of languages do not reflect individual cognitive mechanisms directly. In addition, the interaction between cultural evolution and biological evolution deeply influences what kind of cognitive adaptations to speech can evolve.Theoretical work and computer simulation have shown that at least two kinds of adaptations to speech and language can evolve. One consists of weak biases to discrete features of language (such as word order) that convey a functional advantage. The other consists of stronger adaptations involving continuous traits in which language and biology can co-evolve (the vocal tract being a possible example of such a co-evolved adaptation). Experimental work is underway to identify how exactly cultural and biological evolution interact in human speech and language, and what cognitive mechanisms (if any) may have undergone selective pressure related to speech and language.The paper reviews a number of studies that take the evolutionary perspective, focusing notably on agent-based computer simulations and on experimental work that simulates evolution in the laboratory or experimental work that investigates the interaction between individual learning behavior and cultural transmission directly. The paper argues that taking the evolutionary perspective (both cultural and biological, as well as their interaction) into account is necessary for a full understanding of the cognitive nature of language and speech.

“He'll Grow out of it Soon—Won't He?”—The Characteristics of Older Children's Speech When They Do—and Don't—Grow out of it

Speech sound disorder is a common reason for referral to speech and language therapy services in the early years. While for some children, their difficulties are transitory and they either respond to intervention or their difficulties resolve, for others, their speech sound difficulties evolve into persistent speech disorder (PSD). The purpose of this article is to provide information on the features of PSD and how to assess children with PSD in order to identify the full range and limits of their speech sound system. Reference is made to ALSPAC, a large longitudinal population study, regarding prevalence, possible subtypes, and risk factors for PSD.

The Phonetic Nature of Vowels in Modern Standard Arabic

The aim of this paper is to explore the phonetic nature of vowels in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Although Arabic is a Semitic language, the speech sound system of Arabic is very comprehensive. Data used for this study were elicited from the standard speech of nine informants who are native speakers of Arabic. The researchers used themselves as informants, they also benefited from three other Jordanians and four educated Yemenis. Considering the alphabets as the written symbols used for transcribing the phones of actual pronunciation, it was found that the pronunciation of many Arabic sounds has gradually diverged from the standard. The study also discussed several related issues including: The phonetic description of Arabic vowels, classification of Arabic vowels, types of Arabic vowels and distribution of Arabic vowels.

Dialect Density in Bilingual Puerto Rican Spanish-English Speaking Children.

It is still largely unknown how the two phonological systems of bilingual children interact. In this exploratory study, we examine children's use of dialect features to determine how their speech sound systems interact. Six monolingual Puerto Rican Spanish-speaking children and 6 bilingual Puerto Rican Spanish-English speaking children, ages 5-7 years, were included in the current study. Children's single word productions were analyzed for (1) dialect density and (2) frequency of occurrence of dialect features (after Oetting & McDonald, 2002). Nonparametric statistical analyses were used to examine differences within and across language groups. Results indicated that monolinguals and bilinguals exhibited similar dialect density, but differed on the types of dialect features used. Findings are discussed within the theoretical framework of the Dual Systems Model (Paradis, 2001) of language acquisition in bilingual children.

Neural correlates of phonological processing in speech sound disorder: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Speech sound disorders (SSD) are the largest group of communication disorders observed in children. One explanation for these disorders is that children with SSD fail to form stable phonological representations when acquiring the speech sound system of their language due to poor phonological memory (PM). The goal of this study was to examine PM in individuals with histories of SSD employing functional MR imaging (fMRI). Participants were six right-handed adolescents with a history of early childhood SSD and seven right-handed matched controls with no history of speech and language disorders. We performed an fMRI study using an overt non-word repetition (NWR). Right lateralized hypoactivation in the inferior frontal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus was observed. The former suggests a deficit in the phonological processing loop supporting PM, while the later may indicate a deficit in speech perception. Both are cognitive processes involved in speech production. Bilateral hyperactivation observed in the pre and supplementary motor cortex, inferior parietal, supramarginal gyrus and cerebellum raised the possibility of compensatory increases in cognitive effort or reliance on the other components of the articulatory rehearsal network and phonologic store. These findings may be interpreted to support the hypothesis that individuals with SSD may have a deficit in PM and to suggest the involvement of compensatory mechanisms to counteract dysfunction of the normal network.

Phonetic and phonemic acquisition: Normative data in English and Dutch speech sound development

ObjectiveComparison of normative data in English and Dutch speech sound development in young children. Research questions were: Which normative data are present concerning speech sound development in children between two and six years of age? In which way are the speech sounds examined? What are the differences and similarities between the development of speech sounds in different languages? MethodsA literature study on the subject was performed to be able to answer the research questions. ResultsThe presented normative English data showed that all vowels are present at three years of age, and most consonants (singletons) already at four years of age, except for/ʃ, ɹ, θ, ð/. Consonant clusters develop between 4.5 and 5.5 years of age. The phonological error patterns gliding can be present until six years of age.According to information regarding the Dutch speech sound system, the same ages are found for vowels and single consonants. The age of acquisition of most consonant clusters is present at about six years of age, but the development goes on until ten years of age. ConclusionThe data from the development of the English and Dutch speech sound system show many similar tendencies. Vowels are mastered by the age of three, most consonants by the age of four and most consonant clusters between 5 and 6–8 years of age. Perhaps, there is a universal trend in speech sound development like there is in language development.

Statistical properties of Chinese phonemic networks

The study of properties of speech sound systems is of great significance in understanding the human cognitive mechanism and the working principles of speech sound systems. Some properties of speech sound systems, such as the listener-oriented feature and the talker-oriented feature, have been unveiled with the statistical study of phonemes in human languages and the research of the interrelations between human articulatory gestures and the corresponding acoustic parameters. With all the phonemes of speech sound systems treated as a coherent whole, our research, which focuses on the dynamic properties of speech sound systems in operation, investigates some statistical parameters of Chinese phoneme networks based on real text and dictionaries. The findings are as follows: phonemic networks have high connectivity degrees and short average distances; the degrees obey normal distribution and the weighted degrees obey power law distribution; vowels enjoy higher priority than consonants in the actual operation of speech sound systems; the phonemic networks have high robustness against targeted attacks and random errors. In addition, for investigating the structural properties of a speech sound system, a statistical study of dictionaries is conducted, which shows the higher frequency of shorter words and syllables and the tendency that the longer a word is, the shorter the syllables composing it are. From these structural properties and dynamic properties one can derive the following conclusion: the static structure of a speech sound system tends to promote communication efficiency and save articulation effort while the dynamic operation of this system gives preference to reliable transmission and easy recognition. In short, a speech sound system is an effective, efficient and reliable communication system optimized in many aspects.

Acoustic and auditory phonetics: the adaptive design of speech sound systems

Speech perception is remarkably robust. This paper examines how acoustic and auditory properties of vowels and consonants help to ensure intelligibility. First, the source-filter theory of speech production is briefly described, and the relationship between vocal-tract properties and formant patterns is demonstrated for some commonly occurring vowels. Next, two accounts of the structure of preferred sound inventories, quantal theory and dispersion theory, are described and some of their limitations are noted. Finally, it is suggested that certain aspects of quantal and dispersion theories can be unified in a principled way so as to achieve reasonable predictive accuracy.

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English, Unish, and an Ideal International Language: From a Perspective of Speech Sound and Writing System

In recent years, as international communication has become more frequent and significant, the obstacle that foreign language pose is more keenly felt and so the linguistic variety of the present world has become a heavy burden on international communication. In order to facilitate an international communication, various artificial languages have been constructed. In this paper, I examine Unish, one of the recently constructed artificial languages, and English, a dominant language of the present world, from the perspective of phonetics, phonology, and writing system. I argue that an ideal international language should not contain speech sounds that are not easy to produce, and its writing system should be phonemic. Unish, I show, contains consonant sounds that are not easy to produce. Writing system of Unish is in part not phonemic. English is found to contain too many vowel sounds, the aspect that makes acquisition of English difficult. Spelling system of English is the most problematic about English as an international language. An ideal international that is proposed contains the most frequent and easy-to-produce seventeen consonant sounds. It has a basic five-vowel system and its writing system is perfectly phonemic.