Argues that there is phonological gemination in English based on distribution of vowel qualities in medial and final syllables. The analysis, cast in terms of optimality theory, has implications in several domains: (1) ambisyllabicity is not the right way to capture aspiration and flapping; (2) languages in which stress depends on vowel quality…

Discusses conventional theory of speech and attempts to prove that it is implausible and likely to mislead the reading researcher or teacher who follows it. Offers and supports an alternative theory that is more plausible and less conventional which argues that phonologic structures developed early in life provide a basis for reading…

Proposes that the typologically uncommon combination of labial and palatal constriction in Twi has arisen from a convergence created by general patterns of coarticulation of consonants and vowels. This convergence has been systematized in a consonantal acoustic dimension partially independent from the original vocalic dimensions of contrast for…

There has been a consensus among linguists that laryngeal and superlaryngeal nodes are located under the root node and place node is under the superlaryngeal node. However, there is very little consensus on where manner of articulation features belong. A phonological analysis of the spreading and delinking process occurring in the educated Spanish…

Issues and trends in the preparation of teachers of hearing-impaired children are considered. The following competencies are identified as essential: knowledge and skills in the areas of language acquisition and development, speech development and improvement, and the development of auditory skills. (SEW)

Presents a unitary rule to account for the phonological content of Irish lenition, one of the Celtic initial mutations. It is proposed that Irish lenition involves linking the autosegmental to the target segment. (39 references) (JL)

This article uses a case study to suggest that some children view speech-language therapy as a separate situation for learning practicing new sounds and language forms whereas the purpose of talking outside of therapy is meaningful communication. Clinical implications of this potential incompatibility between practicing speech and communicating…

Outlines some problems common to actors and teachers in generating appropriately expressive speaking voices. Basic skills discussed include loudness without tension, clarity of articulation, use of intonation, and manipulation of rate. (JMF)

Examples are presented of schwa elisions from the sequence /r/-plus-consonant that are typical of contemporary general British pronunciation of English. This occurs often in lexical pronunciations and very often in syllables in proclitic or enclitic prosodic situations. (SW)

A person or a group's accent includes not only vowel and consonant articulations, but also a predictable pattern of rhythmic stress placement and tonal or pitch contours, and a combination of configurational features that constitute voice quality setting. English as a second language (ESL) teachers should make their students aware of the habitual…

The ability to describe existence through speech and to change that existence through tools are among the most fundamental characteristics of humans. From the first efforts of humans to communicate--using hieroglyphic and pictographic systems of writing--through the development of the phonetic alphabet, to the emergence of computer technology,…

The key element to the survival of speech communication and its status in academe is the basic course, which tells the academic community what speech communication is and what it can produce in terms of observable student behavior. This basic course, upon which many communication departments depend, must produce students who are obviously trained…

Reconsiders the general question of the role of articulatory phonetics in the second language (L2) classroom and reviews the phonetic presentation in 10 recent first-year Spanish texts. Proposes a phonetics program based on the notion of a learners' dialect, then measures the phonetics of the textbooks against a learners' dialect. Argues against…

The inability to focus on the rhythmic pattern as a whole is one of the main deficiencies in the teaching of English rhythm, and it is partly responsible for syllabic rhythm in the speech of learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). A technique is proposed that isolates the segmental phones and sequences so that EFL learners recognize them.…

Discusses the recent change in direction in neuropsychological and neurolinguistic research from a focus on pathological factors to one that combines pathological and normal factors, the major focus being the motor and sensory processes. An attempt is made to outline the future course of this field. (CFM)