Blind Speakers Show Language‐Specific Patterns in Co‐Speech Gesture but Not Silent Gesture

Sighted speakers of different languages vary systematically in how they package and order components of a motion event in speech. These differences influence how semantic elements are organized in gesture, but only when those gestures are produced with speech (co‐speech gesture), not without speech (silent gesture). We ask whether the cross‐linguistic similarity in silent gesture is driven by the visuospatial structure of the event. We compared 40 congenitally blind adult native speakers of English or Turkish (20/language) to 80 sighted adult speakers (40/language; half with, half without blindfolds) as they described three‐dimensional motion scenes. We found an effect of language on co‐speech gesture, not on silent gesture—blind speakers of both languages organized their silent gestures as sighted speakers do. Humans may have a natural semantic organization that they impose on events when conveying them in gesture without language—an organization that relies on neither visuospatial cues nor language structure.     

An evaluation of a multi-component intervention for loud speech among children with autism spectrum disorder

Idiosyncratic patterns of speech are common among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and can greatly affect their ability to participate successfully in various social and educational settings. We evaluated a treatment package with three children with ASD and a history of loud speech. A multiple baseline across participants design and a decibel meter application were used to evaluate whether the multi-component intervention (i.e., a rule, differential reinforcement, and in vivo feedback) would effectively reduce participants' rates of loud speech. The results showed that the intervention decreased rates of loud speech for all participants. Results are discussed in terms of (a) their extension of the literature regarding speech prosody in ASD by demonstrating an effective intervention for loud speech, (b) clinical implications, and (c) potential future research regarding this nuanced, yet crucial aspect of social communication, including appropriate methods for addressing loud speech in individuals with ASD.     

What you say and how you say it: the contribution of speech content and voice quality to judgments of others

In three studies, judgments based on separated channels (speech content, voice quality, face alone and body alone) were correlated with judgments based on combined channels (speech, face + speech, and face + body + speech). The judges observed spontaneous behavior in two different types of interview situations and rated various aspects of the behavior. Correlations between separated and combined channels varied significantly depending on the kind of behavior judged, the attribute rated, and whether other channels of information were available.     

Cross-channel amplitude sweeps are crucial to speech intelligibility

Classical views of speech perception argue that the static and dynamic characteristics of spectral energy peaks (formants) are the acoustic features that underpin phoneme recognition. Here we use representations where the amplitude modulations of sub-band filtered speech are described, precisely, in terms of co-sinusoidal pulses. These pulses are parameterised in terms of their amplitude, duration and position in time across a large number of spectral channels. Coherent sweeps of energy across this parameter space are identified and the local transitions of pulse features across spectral channels are extracted. Synthesised speech based on manipulations of these local amplitude modulation features was used to explore the basis of intelligibility. The results show that removing changes in amplitude across channels has a much greater impact on intelligibility than differences in sweep transition or duration across channels. This finding has severe implications for future experimental design in the fields of psychophysics, electrophysiology and neuroimaging.     

A laboratory-based procedure for measuring emotional expression from natural speech

Despite dramatic advances in the sophistication of tools for measuring prosodic and content channels of expression from natural speech, methodological issues have limited the simultaneous measurement of those channels for laboratory research. This is particularly unfortunate, considering the importance of emotional expression in daily living and how it can be disrupted in many psychological disorders (e.g., schizophrenia). The present study examined the Computerized assessment of Affect from Natural Speech (CANS), a laboratory-based procedure that was designed to measure both lexical and prosodic expression from natural speech across a range of evocative conditions. The verbal responses of 38 male and 31 female subjects were digitally recorded as they reacted to separate pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral stimuli. Lexical and prosodic expression variables significantly changed across these conditions, providing support for using the CANS in further laboratory research. The implications for understanding the interface between lexical and prosodic expressions are also discussed.     

Functional Topography of the Cerebellum in Verbal Working Memory

Speech—both overt and covert—facilitates working memory by creating and refreshing motor memory traces, allowing new information to be received and processed. Neuroimaging studies suggest a functional topography within the sub-regions of the cerebellum that subserve verbal working memory. Medial regions of the anterior cerebellum support overt speech, consistent with other forms of motor execution such as finger tapping, whereas lateral portions of the superior cerebellum support speech planning and preparation (e.g., covert speech). The inferior cerebellum is active when information is maintained across a delay, but activation appears to be independent of speech, lateralized by modality of stimulus presentation, and possibly related to phonological storage processes. Motor (dorsal) and cognitive (ventral) channels of cerebellar output nuclei can be distinguished in working memory. Clinical investigations suggest that hyper-activity of cerebellum and disrupted control of inner speech may contribute to certain psychiatric symptoms.     

The differential contribution of facial expressions,prosody, and speech content to empathy

Background: Facial expressions, prosody, and speech content constitute channels by which information is exchanged. Little is known about the simultaneous and differential contribution of these channels to empathy when they provide emotionality or neutrality. Especially neutralised speech content has gained little attention with regards to influencing the perception of other emotional cues. Methods: Participants were presented with video clips of actors telling short-stories. One condition conveyed emotionality in all channels while the other conditions either provided neutral speech content, facial expression, or prosody, respectively. Participants judged the emotion and intensity presented, as well as their own emotional state and intensity. Skin conductance served as a physiological measure of emotional reactivity. Results: Neutralising channels significantly reduced empathic responses. Electrodermal recordings confirmed these findings. The differential effect of the communication channels on empathy prerequisites was that target emotion recognition of the other decreased mostly when the face was neutral, whereas decreased emotional responses attributed to the target emotion were especially present in neutral speech. Conclusion: Multichannel integration supports conscious and autonomous measures of empathy and emotional reactivity. Emotional facial expressions influence emotion recognition, whereas speech content is important for responding with an adequate own emotional state, possibly reflecting contextual emotion-appraisal.     

Facial and vocal cues of deception and honesty

Facial expressions and vocal cues (filtered speech) of honest and deceptive messages were examined in posed and spontaneous situations. The question of interest was the degree to which nonverbal cues transmit information about deception. Results indicated that (a) for both the facial and vocal channels, posing (as compared to spontaneous behavior) produced a higher level of communication accuracy; (b) facial expressions of deceptive (as compared to honest) messages were rated as less pleasant, while vocal expressions of deception were rated as less honest, less assertive, and less dominant, particularly in the posed condition; (c) the sender's ability to convey honesty was negatively correlated with his/her ability to convey deception, suggesting the existence of a demeanor bias—individual senders tend to appear and sound consistently honest (or dishonest) regardless of whether they deliver an honest or a deceptive message; (d) in the posing condition, the sender's abilities to convey honesty/deception via facial and vocal cues were positively and significantly correlated, whereas in the spontaneous condition they were not; and (e) senders whose full (unfiltered) speech indicated more involvement with their responses were judged as more honest from both their vocal (filtered speech) and facial cues, in both the honest and deceptive conditions.     

Contribution of the speech musculature to apparent human EEG asymmetries prior to vocalization

Vocalizations are preceded by slow EEG waves over inferior frontal scalp regions, but some controversy exists as to whether these slow potentials are left-lateralized as a function of speech. In this study both speech and non-speech vocalizations were studied, under conditions of repetitive and variable production. Averaged responses over the speech musculature, including the temporalis, masseter, orbicularis oris, and mylohyoid muscles, as well as the eyes and tongue, were calculated simultaneously with scalp EEG averages. The responses of the temporalis and masseter muscles, as well as that of the tongue, were correlated with EEG sites at specific latencies prior to speech, suggesting that no part of the inferior frontal EEG record was free from myogenic confounds. In addition, all significant EEG differences between speech and non-speech conditions were subsequently eliminated by covariance analysis, using selected muscle channels as covariates. Previous reports of asymmetrical “speech potentials” in the EEG probably reflected a combination of several myogenic confounds.     

An interpretation of research on feedback interruption in speech

The controversial question of the scope of sensory control in the voluntary motor patterns involved in speech is examined by reviewing studies in which the auditory, tactile, and proprioceptive feedback channels have been distorted or interrupted. The author makes a case for open loop control of well-learned speech patterns under normal circumstances. The concept of internal feedback is introduced as a possible control system of skilled speech, whereas response feedback and external feedback are viewed as necessary for children developing speech or adults learning new speech patterns.     

An interpretation of research of feedback interruption in speech.

The controversial question of the scope of sensory control in the voluntary motor patterns involved in speech is examined by reviewing studies in which the auditory, tactile, and proprioceptive feedback channels have been distorted or interrupted. The author makes a case for open loop control of well-learned speech patterns under normal circumstances. The concept of internal feedback is introduced as a possible control system of skilled speech, whereas response feedback and external feedback are viewed as necessary for children developing speech or adults learning new speech patterns.     

语音告警信号语速研究

用普通会话句表和飞机告警句表两种测试材料 ,以言语可懂度测试法和主观评价法研究言语告警信号的适宜语速。实验中的语速定为 0 .1 1、0 .1 5、0 .2 0、0 .2 5、0 .3 5和 0 .45秒 /字六级。实验模拟飞机座舱环境 ,采用计算机生成的数字化言语信号 ,在 90 d B(A)的飞机噪声环境下 ,通过耳机传递给被试。研究得到以下结论 :言语告警信号的适宜语速为 0 .2 5秒 /字 (或 4字 /秒 ) ,它的下限为 >0 .2 0秒 /字 (或 <5字 /秒 ) ,它的上限为 0 .3 0秒 /字 (或 3 .3 3字 /秒 )。     

Perception of audiovisual infant directed speech

Infant perception often deals with audiovisual speech input and a first step in processing this input is to perceive both visual and auditory information. The speech directed to infants has special characteristics and may enhance visual aspects of speech. The current study was designed to explore the impact of visual enhancement in infant-directed speech (IDS) on audiovisual mismatch detection in a naturalistic setting. Twenty infants participated in an experiment with a visual fixation task conducted in participants’ homes. Stimuli consisted of IDS and adult-directed speech (ADS) syllables with a plosive and the vowel /a:/, /i:/ or /u:/. These were either audiovisually congruent or incongruent. Infants looked longer at incongruent than congruent syllables and longer at IDS than ADS syllables, indicating that IDS and incongruent stimuli contain cues that can make audiovisual perception challenging and thereby attract infants’ gaze.     

Cerebral specialization for speech production in persons with Down syndrome.

The study of cerebral specialization in persons with Down syndrome (DS) has revealed an anomalous pattern of organization. Specifically, dichotic listening studies (e.g., Elliott & Weeks, 1993) have suggested a left ear/right hemisphere dominance for speech perception for persons with DS. In the current investigation, the cerebral dominance for speech production was examined using the mouth asymmetry technique. In right-handed, nonhandicapped subjects, mouth asymmetry methodology has shown that during speech, the right side of the mouth opens sooner and to a larger degree then the left side (Graves, Goodglass, & Landis, 1982). The phenomenon of right mouth asymmetry (RMA) is believed to reflect the direct access that the musculature on the right side of the face has to the left hemisphere's speech production systems. This direct access may facilitate the transfer of innervatory patterns to the muscles on the right side of the face. In the present study, the lateralization for speech production was investigated in 10 right-handed participants with DS and 10 nonhandicapped subjects. A RMA at the initiation and end of speech production occurred for subjects in both groups. Surprisingly, the degree of asymmetry between groups did not differ, suggesting that the lateralization of speech production is similar for persons with and persons without DS. These results support the biological dissociation model (Elliott, Weeks, & Elliott, 1987), which holds that persons with DS display a unique dissociation between speech perception (right hemisphere) and speech production (left hemisphere).     

Sudden onset of excessive repetitions in the speech of a patient with multiple sclerosis: A case report

This report provides a detailed analysis of excessive part- and whole-word repetitions in the speech of a 36-year-old male patient hospitalized for treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) who also exhibited concurrent language and prosodic disturbances. Shortly following his hospitalization, a magnetic resonance imaging examination revealed plaques in the white matter of the medulla, cerebellum, basal ganglion, and periventricular white matter. His speech strongly resembled apractic speech patterns, chiefly syllable segregation. The source of data collected for this study was seven tape-recorded speech samples containing 2536 words spoken in 32.75 min, diagnostic reports, and clinical notes of 27 biweekly speech therapy sessions across a 5-month period. This report focused on an analysis of variables associated with the patient's part- and whole-word repetitions, and it was concluded that they were used as a compensatory device to procure additional time to articulate complex syllables. A brief critique of the therapeutic procedures used for treating his speech problem is also presented.

Educational objectives: The reader will learn about and be able to describe (1) the effects of MS on speech and language; (2) the kinds of data that were gathered to account for this patient's sudden onset of speech and language disorders; and (3) the findings that led them to conclude that his excessive repetitions were compensatory behaviors.     

Motor activation from visible speech: evidence from stimulus response compatibility

In speech perception, phonetic information can be acquired optically as well as acoustically. The motor theory of speech perception holds that motor control structures are involved in the processing of visible speech, whereas perceptual accounts do not make this assumption. Motor involvement in speech perception was examined by showing participants response-irrelevant movies of a mouth articulating /ba/ or /da/ and asking them to verbally respond with either the same or a different syllable. The letters "Ba" and "Da" appeared on the speaker's mouth to indicate which response was to be performed. A reliable interference effect was observed. In subsequent experiments, perceptual interference was ruled out by using response-unrelated imperative stimuli and by preexposing the relevant stimulus information. Further, it was demonstrated that simple directional features (opening and closing) do not account for the effect. Rather, the present study provides evidence for the view that visible speech is processed up to a late, response-related processing stage, as predicted by the motor theory of speech perception.     

Children’s Responses to Computer‐Synthesized Speech in Educational Media: Gender Consistency and Gender Similarity Effects

This study examines children’s social responses to gender cues in synthesized speech in a computer‐based instruction setting. Eighty 5th‐grade elementary school children were randomly assigned to one of the conditions in a full‐factorial 2 (participant gender) × 2 (voice gender) × 2 (content gender) experiment. Results show that children apply gender‐based social rules to synthesized speech. More specifically, children evaluate synthesized speech more positively, trust the speech more, and learn more effectively when voice gender matches either content gender (consistency attraction) and/or their own gender (similarity attraction). Children’s computer self‐efficacy was a significant covariate for their social responses to synthesized speech. Theoretical and practical implications of the current study for the design of educational media are discussed.     

The effects of differential vowel prolongations on perceptions of speech naturalness

Prolongation of speech sounds is currently used to modify stuttering and enhance fluency. Prolonged speech (PS) (e.g., prolonged vowels, prolongation throughout utterances) is, however, often perceived as unnatural by listeners. This study examined at which durations and in which contexts 52 college students (primary language was American English) perceived PS to be unnatural. Stimuli were limited to controlled variation in prolongation of the vowel in the middle single-syllable word of a carrier phrase (i.e., say word again). The prolongation was effected by digital waveform manipulation within the Kay Elemetrics Computerized Speech Laboratory (CSL). The listeners judged if they strongly agreed, agreed, or disagreed that the phrases sounded natural. Results indicated that the extent of vowel duration (and possibly context) does influence listener's perception of speech naturalness, findings which can be applied to facilitate fluency therapy.

Educational objectives: (1) The reader will learn about and be able to summarize the digital waveform manipulation procedure in the study. (2) The reader will learn about and be able to describe the effects of differential vowel prolongation on listener's perception of speech naturalness. (3) The reader will learn about and evaluate how differential vowel prolongation can be used to enhance fluency.     

Detection of errors during speech production: a review of speech monitoring models

In this paper three theories of speech monitoring are evaluated. The perception-based approach proposes that the same mechanism employed in understanding other-produced language, the speech comprehension system, is also used to monitor one's own speech production. A conceptual, an inner, and an auditory loop convey information to a central, conscious monitor which scrutinizes the adequacy of the ongoing speech flow. In this model, only the end-products in the speech production sequences, the preverbal (propositional) message, the phonetic plan, and the auditory results, are verified. The production-based account assumes multiple local, autonomous monitoring devices, which can look inside formulation components. Moreover, these devices might be tuned to various signals from the actual speech motor execution, e.g. efferent, tactile, and proprioceptive feedback. Finally, node structure theory views error detection as a natural outflow of the activation patterns in the node system for speech production. Errors result in prolonged activation of uncommitted nodes, which in turn may incite error awareness. The approaches differ on the points of consciousness, volition and control, the number of monitoring channels, and their speed, flexibility, and capacity, and whether they can account for concurrent language comprehension disorders. From the empirical evidence presently available, it is argued for a central perception-based monitor, potentially augmented with a few automatic, production-based error detection devices.     

Infant Directed Speech in Natural Interaction—Norwegian Vowel Quantity and Quality

An interactive face-to-face setting is used to study natural infant directed speech (IDS) compared to adult directed speech (ADS). With distinctive vowel quantity and vowel quality, Norwegian IDS was used in a natural quasi-experimental design. Six Norwegian mothers were recorded over a period of 6 months alone with their infants and in an adult conversation. Vowel duration and spectral attributes of the vowels /a:/, /i:/ and /u:/, and their short counterparts /a/ /i/ and /u/ were analysed. Repeated measures analyses show that effects of vowel quantity did not differ between ADS and IDS, and for back vowel qualities, the vowel space was shifted upwards in IDS compared to ADS suggesting that fronted articulations in natural IDS may visually enhance speech to infants.