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Biomedical subjects

K N Stevens

Publications and source records attributed to K N Stevens.

36 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

Computer-aided speech training for the deaf.

An effort to develop a computer-based system of speech-training aids for the deaf is reported. The system is described, as are four different types of visual displays that have been programmed to date. The use of the system in a school for the deaf and an attempt to evaluate its effectiveness are described. The importance of close collaboration between researchers and teachers on efforts to develop innovative training aids is emphasized, as is the need to resolve some basic pedagogical issues.

Acoustics↗
PubMed1976

Assessment of nasalization in the speech of deaf children.

Nasality is widely recognized as a problem in the speech of many deaf people. This paper describes one approach to the assessment of nasalization and to the development of visual aids to assist in training of velopharyngeal control. The approach involves detection of the velopharyngeal opening during voiced sounds by means of a small accelerometer attached to the nose, and presentation of the accelerometer output on a computer-controlled visual display. The display may be used as a training aid, or for the purpose of analyzing either recorded or live speech. Objective data are presented on some of the properties of the accelerometer output for the speech of people with normal hearing and of a number of children whose hearing is severely impaired. These data show inadequate velopharyngeal control, particularly improper nasalization of certain vowels, for a significant number of the deaf children. For a group of the hearing-impaired children, subjective judgments of the adequacy of velopharyngeal control and of other speech attributes were obtained. Correlations among these judgments and relations between judgments of adequacy of velopharyngeal control and the objective measures of nasalization are shown. Some comments are made on the development of procedures for the training of velopharyngeal control using the display as an aid.

Acoustics↗
PubMed1975

A miniature accelerometer for detecting glottal waveforms and nasalization.

A lightweight accelerometer has been used to obtain a waveform related to the glottal acoustic output when attached to the neck of a speaker, and to provide an indication of acoustic coupling to the nasal cavities when attached to the external surface of the nose. Examples of signals produced by the accelerometer are shown, and possible clinical applications are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Diverse acoustic cues at consonantal landmarks.

The consonantal segments that underlie an utterance are manifested in the acoustic signal by abrupt discontinuities or dislocations in the spectral pattern. There are potentially two such discontinuities for each consonant, corresponding to the formation and release of a constriction in the oral cavity by the lips, the tongue blade, or the tongue body. Acoustic cues for the various consonant features of place, voicing and nasality reside in the signal in quite different forms on the two sides of each acoustic discontinuity. Examples of these diverse cues and their origin in acoustic theory are reviewed, with special attention to place features and features related to the laryngeal state and to nasalization. A listener appears to have the ability to integrate these diverse, brief acoustic cues for the features of consonants, although the mechanism for this integration process is unclear.

Cues↗