Speech in the DHH Classroom A new perspective

Speech in the DHH Bilingual Classroom Important to look beyond the traditional view of speech Think of the broader definition Speech is more than articulation Consider how to link speech as a part of both English & ASL

Speech as you experienced it  Take a moment to list five positive things you remember about speech as part of your educational experience.  Now think of five negative things you remember from that experience and how they could have been made positive.

The primary focus of speech in a DHH classroom Speech sessions usually begin with: An articulation assessment – These data are then used to select the phonemes that are not being produced correctly. Then one is selected for work, and so it begins.

The components of speech  Speech can be divided into two parts: –Segmentals  And –Suprasegmental

Segmentals  These are the small parts of speech  The sounds of speech  The phonemes  Segmentals do not have a very great impact on intelligibility –If a student is able to produce a good /s/ in his/her running speech that does not mean overall intelligibility will be improved.

More about segmentals  They do seem to be the focus of most speech work  Not always chosen for work based on sound data: –Should be the one thing, that if corrected, will have the greatest overall impact on intelligibility –Frequency of occurrence in spoken English –Ease of production –Family of phonemes related to the target –Is the work developmentally appropriate –Any anatomical issues that may impact correct production

Suprasegmentals  Suprasegmentals are the aspects of speech that provide color and meaning to our speech.  They ”ride over” the sounds & words.  They are the rhythm and tone that add shade and texture.  Effective use of suprasegmentals defines an intelligible speaker.

What are the suprasegmentals ?  Three categories: –Voice –Articulation & Pronunciation –Rhythm Each of these three aspects of speech production are needed for speech to be intelligible and within the bounds of acceptability.

Voice  Voice areas –Duration –Loudness –Pitch –Quality

Duration  Rate of speaking –Duration of successive sounds & pauses determine rate –Each of us has a distinctive rate –Duration helps to determine meaning  Example: NO

Loudness  Difficult for Deaf speakers as usually learned through the ear.  Loudness combined with the other voice areas needed to convey meaning

Pitch  Pitch –Each individual has their own pitch dependent on the mass, length & tension of their vocal folds. –Hardest change for a Deaf speaker to learn as there is little auditory information available

Quality  Each person has a voice quality unlike any other  For a Deaf speaker undue tension can be the greatest enemy of good voice quality

Pronunciation  This is the area we all know & love –  This is the degree of correctness with which words/sounds are produced.

Pronunciation  Areas of Pronunciation –Articulation of Consonants –Enunciation of Vowels –Accent –Syllabification

Articulation of Consonants  Every consonant has a particular place and manner of production  Production varies dependent on whether they are produced singly, in words/phrases and the other phonemes that are adjacent to them  Best learned imitatively in whole words or phrases  No need to work on a particular phoneme until completely learned.

Enunciation of Vowels  All vowels are dependent on the specific size, shape and opening of the resonating cavities of the mouth, pharynx and nose  Main organ of production is the tongue and its various positions  Those positions result in the vowel formants which determine the distinctive sound of each vowel.  Must hear to at least 2000hz to discriminate vowels auditorally

Accent Prominence given to a word or syllable  Word Accent –In multisyllabic words one syllable is accented –Word accent is subordinate to sentence accent –Can change word meaning  Sentence Accent –Depending on the word accented meaning can be completely changed –Phrasing and sentence accent are related –Example:  I can drive.

Syllabification  One or more speech units form a single uninterrupted unit of utterance  Can occur in words as well as sentences  Sentence syllabification may be different that word syllabification –Example: –What time is it  (wha ti mi zit)

Rhythm  Strong/weak forms of vowels  Assimilation  Intonation  Phrasing

Strong/Weak Forms of Vowels  Related to accent  Achieved by the use of loudness, duration, pitch & quality  This is why the beginning essentials need to be mastered when students are young and have not developed connected language  Examples:

Assimilation  Influence of one sound on another. Ease of production when we speak.  Ease of production while maintaining intelligibility and acceptable speech.  Examples: –Miss you –I want to

Intonation  Melody or song of speech  Very subtle  Can be for a single word, phrase or sentence  Falling intonation = finality  Rising intonation = doubt, questioning

Phrasing  Speaking in breath groups  Dependent on meaning as well as ability to breath for speech  Allows time for speaker to formulate thoughts & the listener time to grasp the speakers thoughts

Summary  All of these essentials must be incorporated into speech for the speaker to have “acceptable” speech.  Can be started very early in speech work, as early as preschool, encouraging children to experiment with their voices and how they can be manipulated

Summary (con’t)  Call attention to spontaneous use of voice and encourage it to be reproduced.  As students are older can incorporate into the study of English and even ASL –When should emphasis be used. –What do periods, commas and other marks mean as related to “spoken” language. Connect that to speech –No need for students to produce, but rather learn how speech connects to language

Lesson to be learned  Speech does not have to be about articulation.  Connect it to the learning of language.  No penalties for intelligible or unintelligible speech  Just about learning how speech connects to and effects successful communication