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Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/22
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Item Bulgarian vowel reduction in unstressed position: An ultrasound and acoustic investigation(International Phonetic Association, 2019-08-10) Dokovova, Marie; Sabev, Mitko; Scobbie, James M.; Lickley, Robin; Cowen, Steve; Calhoun, Sasha; Escudero, Paola; Tabain, Marija; Warren, PaulVowel reduction in Contemporary Standard Bulgarian (CSB) has been variously claimed to involve raising, no change or lowering of the high vowels /iəu/. There is a general agreement that the low vowels /ɛaɔ/ are raised when unstressed. This paper directly measures tongue height using Ultrasound Tongue Imaging (UTI) and relates this measure to the acoustic correlate F1 at vowel midpoint. The six vowels of CSB were paired with respect to frontness (/ɛ, i/, /a, ə/, /ɔ, u/), and the overlap in height of the unstressed lower vowel in each pair was assessed relative to (a) its stressed counterpart and (b) the stressed and (c) unstressed realisations of the lower vowel. There was no evidence of the higher unstressed vowel in each pair being different from its stressed counterpart. The articulatory and acoustic results are not completely aligned, but both diverge from the traditional model of vowel reduction in CSB.Item Biological and social grounding of phonology : variation as a research tool(2007-08) Scobbie, James M.; Acknowledgements. Financial support from ESRC (RES-000-22-2032).Phonological-phonetic sound systems are abstractions away from substance, so while they are grounded in biological capacity, they also reflect phonetically un-natural relationships arising from a variety of linguistic factors. Sociolinguistic variation is one of these non-biological factors. Pilot articulatory results are presented from derhoticised Scottish English. It can have onset/ coda allophony far more radical than the systems that are normally examined in articulatory research. Ultrasound analysis shows acoustic rhoticity in codas may have a post-alveolar constriction so delayed that acoustic rhoticity is covert. Perceptual recoverability of social identity has to be considered in addition to plain phonetic factors.Item Effect of phonetic onset on acoustic and articulatory speech reaction times studied with tongue ultrasound(International Phonetic Association, 2015-08-15) Palo, Pertti; Schaeffler, Sonja; Scobbie, James M.We study the effect that phonetic onset has on acoustic and articulatory reaction times. An acoustic study by Rastle et al. (2005) shows that the place and manner of the first consonant in a target affects acoustic RT. An articulatory study by Kawamoto et al. (2008) shows that the same effect is not present in articulatory reaction time of the lips. We hypothesise, therefore, that in a replication with articulatory instrumentation for the tongue, we should find the same acoustic effect, but no effect in the articulatory reaction time. As a proof of concept of articulatory measurement from ultrasound images, we report results from a pilot experiment which also extends the dataset to include onset-less syllables. The hypothesis is essentially confirmed with statistical analysis and we explore and discuss the effect of different vowels and onset types (including null onsets) on articulatory and acoustic RT and speech production.Item The use of electropalatography (EPG) in the assessment and treatment of motor speech disorders in children with Down's syndrome: Evidence from two case studies(2009-04) Wood, Sara; Wishart, Jennifer; Hardcastle, William J.; Cleland, Joanne; Timmins, ClaireBackground: Many children experience significant difficulties in developing key aspects of speech. For some, these communication difficulties are compounded by co-occurring intellectual disabilities. Method: This paper presents two case studies from a larger on-going longitudinal study of the effectiveness of using electropalatography (EPG) to address the intelligibility problems experienced by many children and young people with Down's syndrome (DS). EPG, an innovative computer-based tool for assessing and treating speech motor difficulties, enables the speaker to 'see' the placement of his or her tongue during speech and to attempt to correct any lingual palatal errors. Results: This visual supplementation of auditory feedback offers potential therapeutic benefits for children with intellectual disabilities, many of whom show relative strengths in visual vs. auditory and simultaneous vs. sequential processing. EPG also provides therapists with an objective measure of articulatory ability. Conclusions: Findings from these two case studies demonstrate the potential utility of EPG in both the assessment and treatment of speech motor disorders in DS.Item Tongue palate contact patterns of velar stops in normal adult English speakers(2008-02) Liker, Marko; Gibbon, FionaThis paper provides a more detailed description of normal tongue palate contact patterns for the occlusion phase of velar stops than currently exists. The study used electropalatography (EPG) to record seven normally speaking adults' contact patterns of voiceless velar stops in nine VkV contexts. A variety of EPG indices measured: per cent complete closures across the palate; place of articulation; articulatory distance between /k/ and /t/; and amount of contact. Complete EPG closure occurred in the majority (81%) of tokens. Some speakers almost always had complete closures regardless of context, whereas other speakers produced them only with high front vowels. As expected, place of articulation and amount of contact were heavily influenced by vowel context. The most fronted and most contact occurred in /i/ contexts and the most retracted and least contact in /a/ contexts. There was considerable interspeaker variability on all measures, particularly in the precise location of velar placement and articulatory distance between alveolar and velar placement. The implications for diagnosing and treating abnormal velar articulations are discussed.Item The national CLEFTNET project for individuals with speech disorders associated with cleft palate.(Taylor & Francis, 2007-03) Lee, Alice; Gibbon, Fiona; Crampin, Lisa; Yuen, Ivan; McLennen, GrantAlthough previous studies have demonstrated the benefits of using electropalatography (EPG) for treating therapy-resistant articulation errors associated with cleft palate, until recently access to this form of treatment has been limited. For the past 10 years, however, the CLEFTNET Scotland project has provided individuals with cleft palate access to EPG therapy. CLEFTNET Scotland represented a novel form of EPG service delivery-it linked the cleft palate centres throughout Scotland to Queen Margaret University College (QMUC) in Edinburgh through an electronic network. EPG data collected in the centres were sent to QMUC, where experts conducted detailed analysis leading to a precise diagnosis of each individual's specific articulation difficulty and suggested therapy guidelines to the specialist speech-language therapists based on their analysis. This form of service delivery has recently extended to include England, Wales and Northern Ireland to form CLEFTNET UK. This paper describes the CLEFTNET projects, discusses orthodontic issues relevant to EPG therapy for individuals with cleft palate, and presents a case study to illustrate how therapy guidelines for speech-language therapists are derived from data analysis.Item Advances in EPG palate design.(Taylor & Francis, 2007) Wrench, Alan A.Electropalatography (EPG) is a highly effective tool for speech research and for the diagnosis and treatment of a range of speech disorders. The technique requires an EPG palate to be custom made for each user. The manufacture of the palate is both costly and time consuming and inhibits wider uptake of the technique. This paper undertakes a thorough reexamination of all aspects of EPG palate design including criteria for selecting the number and location of contacts, materials properties, costs and safety issues. Palate design over the last 30 years is reviewed and a new design (the Articulate palate) is proposed based on the findings, which minimizes cost while maximizing comfort, safety, convenience, reliability and accuracy.Item Phonetic and phonological errors in children with high functioning autism and Asperger syndrome(2010) Cleland, Joanne; Gibbon, Fiona; Peppe, Sue JE; O'Hare, Anne; Rutherford, MarionThis study involved a qualitative analysis of speech errors in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Participants were 69 children aged 5-13 years; 30 had high functioning autism and 39 had Asperger syndrome. On a standardized test of articulation, the minority (12%) of participants presented with standard scores below the normal range, indicating a speech delay/disorder. Although all the other children had standard scores within the normal range, a sizeable proportion (33% of those with normal standard scores) presented with a small number of errors. Overall 41% of the group produced at least some speech errors. The speech of children with ASD was characterized by mainly developmental phonological processes (gliding, cluster reduction and final consonant deletion most frequently), but non-developmental error types (such as phoneme specific nasal emission and initial consonant deletion) were found both in children identified as performing below the normal range in the standardized speech test and in those who performed within the normal range. Non-developmental distortions occurred relatively frequently in the children with ASD and previous studies of adolescents and adults with ASDs shows similar errors, suggesting that they do not resolve over time. Whether or not speech disorders are related specifically to ASD, their presence adds an additional communication and social barrier and should be diagnosed and treated as early as possible in individual children. 2009 The Speech Pathology Association of Australia Limited.