Recognition and production of emotions in children with cochlear implants

The aim of this study was to examine auditory recognition and vocal production of emotions in three prelingually bilaterally profoundly deaf children aged 6–7 who received cochlear implants before age 2, and compare them with age-matched normally hearing children. No consistent advantage was found for the normally hearing participants. In both groups, sadness was recognized best and disgust was the most difficult. Confusion matrices among other emotions (anger, happiness, and fear) showed that children with and without hearing impairment may rely on different cues. Both groups of children showed that perception is superior to production. Normally hearing children were more successful in the production of sadness, happiness, and fear, but not anger or disgust. The data set is too small to draw any definite conclusions, but it seems that a combination of early implantation and regular auditory–oral-based therapy enables children with cochlear implants to process and produce emotional content comparable with children with normal hearing

PERCEPCIJA FILTRIRANOG STRANOG I MATERINSKOG GOVORA

U radu su prikazani rezultati istraživanja percepcije engleskih riječi i rečenica u ispitanika kojima je engleski materinski jezik i onih koji su ga učili kao strani, u različitim uvjetima filtriranja. Ustanovljeno je da su potonji osjetljiviji na distorziju govorne poruke, da kod njih razumljivost pada brže kako uvjeti slušanja postaju teži, te da rečenični kontekst povoljnije utječe na razumljivost u ispitanika kojima je engleski materinski jezik. Navedene su najčešće zamjene konsonanata i vokala i predložena objašnjenja pojedinih grešaka u percepciji i razlika između dviju grupa ispitanika

SAMOGLASNIČKI PROSTORI ZAGREBAČKOGA I DUBROVAČKOGA GOVORA

Opisani su i prikazani samoglasnički prostori dubrovačkoga i zagrebačkoga govora kao odnos prvog (stupanj otvora) i drugog (mjesto artikulacije na vodoravnoj osi) formanta. Podaci su prikupljeni za muške govornike, za pet hrvatskih samoglasnika pod četiri standardna akcenta. Stupanj otvora ne ovisi o vrsti akcenta ni u jednom od ispitivanih govora, s iznimkom samoglasnika /e/ u dubrovačkome. U oba se govora samoglasnici pod dugim akcentima realiziraju ekstremnije od onih pod kratkima, koji su pomaknuti više prema sredini. Samoglasnik /a/ u zagrebačkome govoru nije pod utjecajem akcenta, a u dubrovačkome se ponaša kao stražnji samoglasnici. Oba uzorka zatvaraju manju površinu od standardnoga govora. Razlike između dubrovačkoga i zagrebačkoga govora nađene su u svim samoglasnicima, a posebno su izražene za /e/ i /a/

Aspects of Coarticulation

The paper provides a summary of various types and aspects of coarticulation. After setting a framework that includes general considerations such as biomechanical and language-specific issues, the distinction between anticipatory and carry-over coarticulation, the discussion of articulatory pressure/resistance and its scope, it analyzes different levels at which coarticulation occurs: lips, tongue, velum and larynx. The review of the most influential models and theories from the 1960s until the present reveals that a comprehensive explanation of coarticulation is yet to be offered. In terms of neuromotor control, it shows that very little research has been done specifically on coarticulation, so most conclusions in available literature are indirectly derived from studies of speech produc- tion in general. The paper also tries to shed some light on coarticulation in populations that have been studied less extensively, such as children and clinical cases. The goal of this review is to give a brief overview of the current ‘state of affairs’ in coarticulation studies and argue for the need to extend them to more languages, less than typical populations and to higher levels of processing