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Browsing by Author "Reed, Paul"

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    Linguistic Contributions to Word-Level Spelling Accuracy in Elementary School Children With and Without Specific Language Impairment
    (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2019) Werfel, Krystal L.; Schuele, C. Melanie; Reed, Paul; University of South Carolina Columbia; Vanderbilt University; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Purpose: Children with specific language impairment (SLI) are more likely than children with typical language (TL) to exhibit difficulties in word-level spelling accuracy. More research is needed to elucidate the contribution of linguistic knowledge to word-level spelling accuracy in this population. The purpose of this study was to explore the contributions of linguistic knowledge to spelling accuracy in a group of 2nd- to 4th-grade children with SLI and a group of 2nd- to 4th-grade children with TL. Method: Participants were 32 children with SU and 32 children with TL in Grades 2 through 4. Five areas of linguistic knowledge were assessed: phonological awareness, morphological knowledge, orthographic pattern knowledge, mental grapheme representation knowledge, and vocabulary knowledge. Mixed-effects logistic regression models were utilized to address the research aim. Results: Mental grapheme representation knowledge was selected as a significant predictor in both models; however, phonological awareness was the only additional significant predictor in the model for children with SLI, whereas morphological knowledge was the only other significant predictor in the model for children with TL. Orthographic pattern knowledge and vocabulary knowledge were not significant for either group. Conclusions: The results suggest that spelling instruction and intervention for children with SLI should take linguistic knowledge into account and explicitly relate linguistic knowledge to spelling. Additionally, future research should consider if instructional targets for children with SU should differ from targets for children with TL and if these findings represent a delay or a disorder in spelling acquisition for children with SLI.
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    Lip EMG response to stuttering
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2020) Henley, Caroline; Buhr, Anthony; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    The purpose of this study was to investigate whether viewing stuttering behaviors would elicit lip muscle activity. Thirty college-aged participants produced a series of 20 sentences and were presented with audio and audio-video versions of each sentence that included either stuttered or non-stuttered target words. Each target word included a syllable-initial stop sound that was either voiced or unvoiced and associated with tongue versus lip constriction location. Raw electromyographic (EMG) signals were acquired via surface electrodes from the upper lip, which were then digitized and high-pass filtered at 1 Hz and then rectified by an RMS filter. Overall area in volts was calculated for 1 second intervals associated with each target word. Results showed that EMG activity was greater for the speaking condition compared to audio and audio-video conditions, and that EMG activity was greater for the lip compared to tongue constriction location and for voiced versus unvoiced sounds in the speaking condition only. However, there was no appreciable EMG activity during the audio or audio-video conditions, contrary to expectations. Thus, although the study paradigm was successful in acquiring EMG signals, the stimuli failed to elicit lip activity.
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    The perception of regional dialect in the state of Alabama
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2020) Sizemore, McKenzie D.; Buhr, Anthony; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    The purpose of this study was to evaluate how accurate people are in perceiving the dialects in the state of Alabama. This study included 50 speakers, each of whom produced a portion of the “Arthur the Rat” passage, which was then rated by 60 listeners according to whether the speaker was from the state of Alabama or not and whether that person was from an urban or rural area. Overall results showed that people from both inside and outside of Alabama were significantly better than chance at determining if a person is from Alabama. However, when compared to participants from outside of Alabama, participants from Alabama are significantly better at determining if a person was from an urban or rural area. Results suggest that people from the state of Alabama are more attuned to the dialectal differences within the state of Alabama compared to those who are not born in the state of Alabama.
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    The Role of Gender in Predicting Early Versus Late Autism Diagnosis
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2022) Weaver, Ansley Caroline; Barber, Angela; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is 1 in 44 children in the United States with a higher ratio of males than females at a 4:1 ratio. Females are also, on average, diagnosed later than their male counterparts, even when displaying the same symptomology. The purpose of this study is to examine how the social profile differences in males and females can predict an early vs. late diagnosis. A sample of 19 parents with children ages 10 and under with an official ASD diagnosis, 16 boys and 3 girls, were asked to fill out quantitative and qualitative measures. Taking into account the independent variables of age of diagnosis, socioeconomic status using mother’s education, age of concern, co-occurring diagnoses, and scores from the Social Responsiveness Scale – 2 (SRS) and Autism Quotient-10 (AQ-10), this study examines variables in their relationship to an early versus late diagnosis. No correlation was found between SRS total scores, SRS sub scores, or AQ-10 scores and age of diagnosis. Mothers who scored a 6 or above on the AQ-10 had a child in the later diagnosis group. Age of parental concern revealed a correlation to age of diagnosis. No significant differences found in males vs. females.
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    The Sociophonetics and Lyrical Codemixing of Hot Latin Songs: a Comparison of the Spontaneous Speech and the Artistic Performance Speech of the Top Two Artists in the Global Market, Bad Bunny and J Balvin
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2022) Hayes, Elizabeth Naranjo; Picone, Michael D.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    This mixed-methods study looks in detail at the artistic performance of identity via the sociophonetics of coda /s/ realizations and the Spanish-English codemixing of the two top Latin music artists in the global market between 2018-2020, Bad Bunny and J Balvin, and the comparative lyrical codemixing practices of other top artists who engage in codemixing of Spanish, English, and/or French. As reflected in the analysis of the performance sociophonetics and the lyrical codemixing of the top two performers, salient candidates for the emblematic representation of the complexity of overlapping, but not co-terminous, pan-Latinx and global identities can be singled out as convergent coda /s/ pronunciation and a certain degree of Spanish-English codemixing. The questions driving this study were: Do Bad Bunny and J Balvin sing the way they speak regarding their pronunciation of coda /s/? Do they sing the way they speak regarding their Spanish-English codemixing practices? How does their lyrical codemixing compare to that of other top Spanish, English, and French-speaking artists? Quantitative analysis of Bad Bunny and J Balvin's coda /s/ pronunciation and their Spanish-English codemixing demonstrated that there were statistically significant differences between their spontaneous speech during interviews and their "artistic performance speech" when singing their top songs. There was also a statistically significant relationship between their lyrical codemixing and that of the majority of the artists in the supplementary Spanish-English-French codemixed corpus. This investigation is the first academic study combining the sociophonetics and lyrical codemixing of the two top Latin music artists in the global market.
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    Sounding Gay and Straight in Seville: a Variationist Perspective on Persona and Syllable-Final /S/ Realization
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2024) Kelley, Caleb Heath; O'Rourke, Erin
    This dissertation examines the sociophonetic variation of syllable-final /s/ among adult male speakers of Sevillian Spanish in read speech, focusing on the intersection of sexual orientation and stylistic performance. Situated within the broader context of sociolinguistic research, it explores how language expresses and negotiates social identities, including gender and sexuality. By investigating the phonetic realization of syllable-final /s/ in relation to self-ascribed sexual orientation and task-based persona performances, this research enhances our understanding of the dynamic interplay between language and social identity.The study employs a variationist approach, analyzing acoustic features such as frication patterns, segment durations, and spectral center of gravity (COG) differentials across different sociolinguistic persona reading tasks (neutral speech, a "gay persona," and a "straight persona") and between LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ speaker groups. The methodology involves acoustic analysis and statistical modeling to examine how these phonetic variables are influenced by extralinguistic factors (sexual orientation, persona task, age group, and education level) and linguistic factors (preceding and following segments, word position, and morphological function).Results indicate significant variation in the realization of syllable-final /s/ correlating with both the performed persona and the speaker's sexual orientation. Frication occurrences and segment durations show marked differences across persona tasks, with distinct patterns emerging between LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ speakers. The LGBTQ+ group exhibits higher mean COG values, particularly during the gay persona task, suggesting a phonetic strategy for indexing sexual orientation through speech. These findings underscore the role of linguistic variation as a resource for constructing and signaling sexual orientation and demonstrate the influence of stylistic performance on phonetic realization. The study highlights the complexity of the relationship between language and social identity, challenging simplistic assumptions about a monolithic "gay speech" style.This research contributes to the broader field of sociolinguistics by emphasizing inclusivity in linguistic inquiries. By examining the phonetic variation of sexual minority men in a specific regional dialect of Spanish, this dissertation enriches our understanding of the diverse ways language constructs and communicates social identities through style-shifting. It reaffirms the significance of sociophonetic variation in understanding the multifaceted nature of human communication and social interaction.