CASL

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/22

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Speech and language therapy service delivery for bilingual children: a survey of three cities in Great Britain.
(Informa Healthcare, 2006-11) Mennen, Ineke; Stanfield, Jois
Background: Speech and language therapy (SLT) managers are expected to ensure that there are appropriate services available for bilingual and multilingual clients in order to ensure an equitable service to all clients. However, there is a paucity of data available to inform service planning. Aims: To identify the level to which SLT services in three UK cities meet the recommendations of The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) Good Practice Guidelines. Socio-demographic information is provided about the number of children from ethnic minorities in the population and the proportion of (bilingual) children from ethnic minorities on the speech and language therapy caseload. Based on this information, it is estimated whether there is proportionate representation of bilingual children on SLT caseloads, and whether services are in place to meet the needs of those clients. Methods & Procedures: Population statistics were gathered from Census data and data were gleaned from Local Education Authorities. The study used a combination of interview and postal questionnaires to SLTs, with particular emphasis on the issues that may affect service provision. Outcomes & Results: As in previous studies, it was difficult to find reliable data. However, two of the three cities studied appeared to be offering a proportionate service to both monolingual and bilingual children in terms of the relative numbers of children on caseloads. Only one city was confident that their SLT service was fully meeting the RCSLT Good Practice Guidelines on bilingualism, although all three cities were aware of them and appeared to be making an effort at varying levels to address the principles of those guidelines.
Cross-language differences in fundamental frequency range: a comparison of English and German
(Acoustical Society of America, 2012-03) Mennen, Ineke; Schaeffler, Felix; Docherty, Gerard
This paper presents a systematic comparison of various measures of f0 range in female speakers of English and German. F0 range was analysed along two dimensions, level (i.e. overall f0 height) and span (extent of f0 modulation within a given speech sample). These were examined using two types of measures, one based on 'long-term distributional' (LTD) methods, and the other based on specific landmarks in speech that are linguistic in nature ('linguistic' measures). The various methods were used to identify whether and on what basis or bases speakers of these two languages differ in f0 range. Findings yielded significant cross-language differences in both dimensions of f0 range, but effect sizes were found to be larger for span than for level, and for linguistic than for LTD measures. The linguistic measures also uncovered some differences between the two languages in how f0 range varies through an intonation contour. This helps shed light on the relation between intonational structure and f0 range.
InterPHACE - internetworked links for phonetic analysis in clinical education.
(1999-04) Beck, Janet M.; Alistair, Lawson; Mennen, Ineke
This collaborative project addresses two key issues. The first is the need for Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) students to develop skills in analysis of a wide range of speech disorders and to apply these to clinical practice. The second is the lack of opportunities for utilising instrumental speech analysis techniques in many SALT clinics. Computerised links between Queen Margaret College and a variety of Health Care Trust clinics have been established which allow SALT clinic sessions to be monitored and speech data collection controlled remotely from QMC. Speech data is transmitted to the QMC Speech Laboratory for analysis and compilation of results. QMC staff and students are then able to discuss the results by teleconference with the SALT responsible for each client_s management, thus learning about the impact of analysis results on diagnosis and management. A data-base of clinical speech material is also being developed as a teaching/learning resource. A novel form of curricular design and delivery is thus being developed, which allows college staff and students access to speech from disordered clients in SALT clinics, and allows students to be actively involved in the process of clinical speech analysis of a range of current cases. Evaluation of the educational value of this project is ongoing, but it should enhance both undergraduate education in clinical phonetics and continuing professional development.
Audible aspects of speech preparation
(2011-08) Scobbie, James M.; Schaeffler, Sonja; Mennen, Ineke; ESRC (RES-000-22-3032)
Noises made before the acoustic onset of speech are typically ignored, yet may reveal aspects of speech production planning and be relevant to dis-course turn-taking. We quantify the nature and tim-ing of such noises, using an experimental method designed to elicit naturalistic yet controlled speech initiation data. Speakers listened to speech input, then spoke when prompt material became visible onscreen. They generally inhaled audibly before uttering a short sentence, but not before a single word. In both tasks, articulatory movements caused acoustic spikes due to weak click-like articulatory separations or stronger clicks via an ingressive, lingual airstream. The acoustic onset of the sen-tences was delayed relative to the words. This does not appear to be planned, but seems a side-effect of the longer duration of inhalation.
Pitching it differently : a comparison of the pitch ranges of German and English speakers
(2007-08) Mennen, Ineke; Schaeffler, Felix; Docherty, Gerard; This study was funded by the UK Economic & Social Research Council (RES-000-22-1858)
This paper presents preliminary findings of a largescale systematic comparison of various measures of pitch range for female speakers of Southern Standard British English (SSBE) and Northern Standard German (NSG). The purpose of the study as a whole is to develop the methodology to allow comparisons of pitch range across languages and regional accents, and to determine how they correlate with listeners' perceptual sensitivity to cross-language/accent differences. In this paper we report on how four measures of pitch range in read speech (text, sentences) compare across the two groups of female speakers. Preliminary results show that the measures of the difference between the 90th and 10th percentile (in semitones), and +/- 2 standard deviations around the mean in ST differentiate the groups of speakers in the direction predicted by the stereotypical beliefs described in the literature about German and English speakers. Furthermore, these differences are most obvious in the read text and longer sentences and the effect disappears in sentences of a short duration.
Singing a different tune in your native language: first language attrition of prosody
(2012-03-15) de Leeuw, Esther; Mennen, Ineke; Scobbie, James M.; QMU PhD Bursary; ESRC RES-000-22-3032
First language attrition refers to the changes which a first language (L1) undergoes when a second language (L2) is acquired in a context in which L1 use is reduced (Cook, 2003; Kpke, 2004). To date, some studies have focused on complete loss of an L1, for example in the case of children whose contact with their initial language ceased after adoption (Pallier et al., 2003; Ventureyra, Pallier, & Yoo, 2004). Others have investigated more subtle cases in which changes to the L1 occur, although intelligibility remains largely, or completely, unaffected (de Leeuw, Schmid, & Mennen, 2007; Flege, 1987; Flege & Eefting, 1987; Major, 1992; Mennen, 2004). The study at hand belongs to the latter category, comprising a fine phonetic analysis of prosody in 10 late consecutive German-English bilinguals. In general, the results indicate L1 attrition in the intonational alignment of the prenuclear rise. However, interpersonal variation was also evidenced: two bilinguals performed clearly within the English monolingual norm in their German while one bilingual evidenced no L1 attrition. Intrapersonal variation occurred in the form of the start of the prenuclear rise appearing to undergo more L1 attrition than the end. The results are discussed in relation to previous studies suggesting that L1 attrition is less likely to occur in late consecutive bilinguals than in early consecutive bilinguals and, more generally, with regard to transfer and interference.
Bi-directional interference in the intonation of Dutch speakers of Greek.
(Elsevier, 2004-10) Mennen, Ineke
This study examines how speakers who are fluent in (Modern) Greek and Dutch realize cross-linguistic differences in the timing of a phonologically identical rise. Greek and Dutch share the same phonological structure in nonfinal or prenuclear rises. However, the rise is realized in different ways: Firstly, it is timed differently, with an earlier peak in Dutch than in Greek. Secondly, in Dutch the peak timing is influenced by the phonological length of the vowel of accented syllables (i.e., it is earlier when the vowel is long, and later when it is short), whereas no such influence exists in Greek. Two experiments compared the production of peak alignment by Dutch non-native speakers of Greek with that of a native Dutch and a native Greek control group. Evidence was found for bi-directional interference in four out of the five speakers who produced peak alignment which differed from the native control groups in both languages. The fifth speaker managed to produce peak alignment with native-like values in both the L1 and L2. These results mirror findings of bi-directional interference at the segmental level, although the nature of the intonational interference appears different than segmental interference. The results suggest that it is difficult-although not impossible-to realize the full set of tonal phones necessary to maintain contrast both within as well as across languages.
Greek speech acquisition.
(Delmar Thomson, 2007) Mennen, Ineke; Okalidou, Areti
Speech and language therapy services to multilingual children in Scotland and England: A comparison of three cities.
(Informa Healthcare, 2006-03) Mennen, Ineke; Stansfield, Jois
This study investigates current speech and language therapy services for multilingual children in three cities in the UK, and examines whether an equitable service is provided to multilingual children in these cities. Through a combination of questionnaires, Census data, and school population data, information was gathered about number and ratio of monolingual and multilingual children in the population, number and ratio of monolingual and multilingual children on therapy caseloads, languages spoken by the multilingual children and therapists, number and ratio of therapists working in languages other than English, availability of multilingual therapy assistants and interpreters, language(s) in which therapy is offered, training/education provided to therapists, and practising therapists' views on service provision to multilingual children. Results show that currently only one of the three cities is providing a fully equitable service for multilingual children and that there are varying levels of support which partly reflect the perceived need in each area. Conclusions drawn include the need for a change in how data on linguistic diversity in society is collected and disseminated so that informed decisions can influence the future of quality services to minority groups.
Rhythmic disturbance in ataxic dysarthria: A comparison of different measures and speech tasks.
(Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences, Singular Publishing Group, Inc., 2006-12) Henrich, Jessica; Lowit, Anja; Schalling, Ellika; Mennen, Ineke
A number of rhythm measures have been developed for different speaker groups and speech materials. Not all of these different measures have been applied to speech samples from speakers with ataxic dysarthria, a speech disorder in which a disturbance of rhythm is one of the main characteristics. In this study, a variety of speech samples from six speakers with ataxic dysarthria and from six age and gender matched control speakers were analyzed with four different rhythm measures: the Pairwise Variability Index (PVI), the Proportion of Vocalic Intervals (%V), the Scanning Index (SI), and the Interstress Interval measure (ISI). Perceptual ratings of degree of rhythmic disturbance were also performed. Results varied between different measures and speech tasks, but the PVI and ISI measures seem to be the measures most suitable to characterize rhythmic changes in ataxic dysarthria. These two measures yielded significant differences between the speakers with ataxic dysarthria and the control group, and they also correlated better with the perceptual evaluation of rhythm compared to other measures. Results also indicate that both highly structured as well as spontaneous speech samples were suitable tasks to highlight rhythmic disturbances.

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