HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal My Folders Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bharadwaj, S. V. Articles by Graves, A. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bharadwaj, S. V. Articles by Graves, A. G.

Efficacy of the Discreteness of Voicing Category (DOVC) Measure for Characterizing Voicing Errors in Children With Cochlear Implants: A Report

Contact author: Sneha V. Bharadwaj, Callier Center, University of Texas at Dallas, 811 Synergy Park Boulevard, Richardson, TX 75080. E-mail: snehab{at}utdallas.edu.

Purpose: This investigation explored the utility of an acoustic measure, called the discreteness of voicing category (DOVC), in identifying voicing errors in stop consonants produced by children with cochlear implants. Another objective was to examine the perceptual relevance of the DOVC measure and 2 commonly used voice onset time (VOT)-based measures, namely, mean VOT and VOT (e.g., VOT // – VOT //).

Method: Phonetic transcription and acoustic analyses were carried out on syllable–initial // and // produced by 10 children with cochlear implants. The DOVC was calculated as the difference between the shortest VOT value of a voiceless stop and the longest VOT value of a voiced stop across several productions of each.

Results: Phonetic transcription revealed that 4 of the 10 talkers demonstrated atypical voicing distinctions. Acoustic analyses indicated that the DOVC measure identified these same 4 talkers as producing atypical values, whereas mean VOT and VOT identified a different set of talkers as demonstrating values outside the normal ranges.

Conclusion: Preliminary findings suggest that the DOVC measure corresponded with perceptual data better than the other acoustic measures examined in the present study. Data indicate that the DOVC measure may provide perceptually relevant information concerning the production of voicing distinctions.

KEY WORDS: children, cochlear implants, voice onset time, production, acoustic