A comparison of the contour alignment of nuclear and initial prenuclear accents was carried out for the Irish dialects of Gaoth Dobhair in Ulster (GD-U) and Cois Fharraige in Connaught (CF-C). This was done across conditions where the number of unstressed syllables following the nuclear and preceding the initial prenuclear accents was varied from…

Speech production studies have shown that the phonological form of a word is made up of phonemic segments in stress-timed languages (e.g., Dutch) and of syllables in syllable timed languages (e.g., Chinese). To clarify the functional unit of mora-timed languages, the authors asked native Japanese speakers to perform an implicit priming task (A. S.…

This paper reports two studies of young English-speaking children's ability to cope with changes to the metrical stress pattern of spoken words and the relationship between this ability, phonological awareness and early reading development. Initially, 39 children aged 4 and 5 years were assessed on their ability to identify mispronounced words,…

Prosodic, or expressive, reading is considered to be one of the essential features of the achievement of reading fluency. The purpose of this study was to determine (a) the degree to which the prosody of syntactically complex sentences varied as a function of reading speed and accuracy and (b) the role that reading prosody might play in mediating…

This study investigated the effects of age, hearing loss, and cochlear implantation on mothers' speech to infants and children. We recorded normal-hearing (NH) mothers speaking to their children as they typically would do at home and speaking to an adult experimenter. Nine infants (10-37 months) were hearing-impaired and had used a cochlear…

This paper summarizes two Russian textbooks' presentations of stress patterns of the Russian noun and offers an alternative that aims to be simpler and pedagogically more attractive. The proposed system presents stress information by means of a base form, written by means of symbols appearing over the appropriate syllable. (CHK)

A pneumotachographic investigation of intervocalic /p/, /t/ and /k/ was undertaken to isolate physiological parameters responsible for coarticulatory air-flow phenomena. Airflow was most sensitive during the /k/ closure phase. The dynamics of the closure phase for each place of articulation and their implications for pneumotachography are…

Native nonverbal voice properties may interfere with the learning of vocalics of a second language; this is especially true for adults. Without proficiency in and understanding of these patterns, practice of the language will be uncomfortable and frustrating. (MSE)

Studies the linguistic conception of the laboratory exercises on intonal expressivity included in the audio-visual method for advanced students: "Express Yourself as a Specialist In..." (Text is in French.) (PMP)

A study investigated the effect of pausing, a component of speech speed, on the listening comprehension of second language learners. Groups of subjects at two ability levels listened to taped versions of two brief lectures recorded with four different combinations of speed and pausing conditions. Comprehension was measured by means of cloze tests…

The article handles nasalization found in Jaffna Tamil. Conclusions are based on the results of a kymographic study of nominal forms occurring in the colloquial speech of the author. Not being a distinctive vocalic element, nasalization is handled on a prosodic level, its occurrence at word and syllabic level is discussed. (CLK)

This article reports on a study to determine the role of intonation in language acquisition. Related studies are mentioned. Research methods for the study are outlined and two case studies are reviewed. Conclusions show that adult-child interaction influences not only the child's use of intonation but also his acquisition of syntax. (Text is in…

Vowel mutation in Welsh is outlined. A proposal that two classes of compounds exist in Welsh is based on the occurrence of vowel mutation in words and in certain compounds. Evidence from stress patterns and from non-phonological aspects of the grammar support this. An alternative proposal is discussed and rejected. Available from the MIT Press, 28…

This paper discusses how an understanding of speech acts contributes to the communicative competence in foreign language learning. Reviewing John Searle's five categories of speech acts (1976), the directive is discussed in terms of its manifestations in various foreign languages. Examples of directives in English, German, French, and Spanish are…

Phonological data of 30 Philippine languages are presented. The languages were selected as representative of 12 minor families within the Philippine group. The data is charted for easy comparison between language families and between individual languages. The research method consists of gathering data from journal articles and unpublished…