Word-initial consonant-vowel coordination in a lexical pitch-accent language.

Previous research has acknowledged the effect of prosody on inter-gestural coordination, but specifically the effect of tones is still understudied. This paper has a two-fold purpose. First, it aims to explore effects of the Swedish word accents on word-initial consonant-vowel (CV) coarticulation. Second, it aims to revisit the existing evidence for tonal integration. Based on Articulatory Phonology, it has been suggested that tones - in tone languages - are integrated in the gestural organization of a syllable-initial CV sequence in the same manner as would an additional consonant (CCV), indicated by a time lag between the gestural onsets of the C and the V gesture (CV onset time lag). However, we argue that the existing evidence is inconclusive, because previous cross-linguistic research has used small-scale data sets (one to seven speakers), and we still lack a well-grounded consensus on how gestural onsets are to be measured. This study uses Electromagnetic Articulography (EMA) to investigate word-initial CV coordination in a lexical pitch-accent language (Swedish) with a binary tonal word accent distinction: a tonal fall and a tonal rise, respectively. A selection of 13 spatial, temporal or coordinative measures of bilabial and tongue body data from 19 speakers, and acoustic fo data, were examined to study the CV sequence /ma/. Mixed effects regression models revealed a longer tongue body movement in the rising tone context and small but significant differences in tongue body height, in the closing and the opening of the lips, as well as in the CV onset time lag between the two tonal contexts. We argue that these effects are biomechanical in nature, due to the physiological connections between the tongue, the jaw, and the larynx. In addition, our results suggest either synchronized CV onsets or a CV onset time lag (as in tone languages), depending on the timing landmarks used. In order to evaluate such results as evidence for or against the integration of tone in CV coarticulation, we argue that future research needs to compare data from a variety of languages using a considerable number of speakers. The present study provides new reference values for such comparisons.

"Human Beings Is What Women Want to Become, and to Partake of the Garland of Work and Victory." Visions of Emancipation, Community Spirit, and Social Reform in the First German Women's Movement.

My reflections draw attention to the General German Women's Association (German: Allgemeiner Deutscher Frauenverein-ADF), which was founded on 18th October 1865 under the chairwomanship of writer, journalist and publicist Louise Otto-Peters (1819-1865). This event marks the beginning of the organized women's movement in Germany. I will pay special attention to Louise Otto-Peters, who not only initiated the ADF and chaired it for many years, she was also its most important theoretical thinker, and crucially, developed specific policies for women. This happened at a time when women were largely excluded by law from political participation. They did not have the right to vote until 1918 and were therefore unable to play any role in city and state parliaments, or in the Reichstag, either. Until 1908, they were not even allowed to be members of political parties or associations with a political orientation. The first part of this article sets out to depict Louise Otto-Peter's views and visions based mainly on her writings "Das Recht der Frauen auf Erwerb. Blicke auf das Frauenleben der Gegenwart" (The Right of Women to Gainful Employment. Views on Contemporary Women's Lives) from 1866, and "Frauenleben im Deutschen Reich. Erinnerungen aus der Vergangenheit mit Hinweis auf Gegenwart und Zukunft" (Women's Lives in the German Reich. Memories from the Past with Reference to the Present and Future) from 1876. The second part attempts an appraisal of her ideas against the backdrop of the existing gender order and the dominant gender thinking. Part three is interested in the legitimization of her visions and, to this end, examines important-but by no means all-discernible lines of argumentation and interpretations.

Does the speaker's voice quality influence children's performance on a language comprehension test?

PURPOSE: A small number of studies have explored children's perception of speakers' voice quality and its possible influence on language comprehension. The aim of this explorative study was to investigate the relationship between the examiner's voice quality, the child's performance on a digital version of a language comprehension test, the Test for Reception of Grammar (TROG-2), and two measures of cognitive functioning. METHOD: The participants were (n = 86) mainstreamed 8-year old children with typical language development. Two groups of children (n = 41/45) were presented with the TROG-2 through recordings of one female speaker: one group was presented with a typical voice and the other with a simulated dysphonic voice. RESULT: Significant associations were found between executive functioning and language comprehension. The results also showed that children listening to the dysphonic voice achieved significantly lower scores for more difficult sentences ("the man but not the horse jumps") and used more self-corrections on simpler sentences ("the girl is sitting"). CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that a dysphonic speaker's voice may force the child to allocate capacity to the processing of the voice signal at the expense of comprehension. The findings have implications for clinical and research settings where standardized language tests are used.

The slower the better? Does the speaker's speech rate influence children's performance on a language comprehension test?

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of speech rate on children's performance on a widely used language comprehension test, the Test for Reception of Grammar, version 2 (TROG'2), and to explore how test performance interacts with task difficulty and with the child's working memory capacity. Participants were 102 typically-developing Swedish-speaking children randomly assigned to one of the three conditions; the TROG'2 sentences spoken by a speech-language pathologist with slow, normal or fast speech rate. Results showed that the fast speech rate had a negative effect on the TROG'2 scores and that slow rate was more beneficial in general. However, for more difficult tasks the beneficial effect of slow speech was only pronounced for children with better scores on a working memory task. The interpretation is that slow speech is particularly helpful when children do not yet fully master a task but are just about to grasp it. These results emphasize the necessity of careful considerations of the role dynamic aspects of examiner's speech might play in test administration and favour digitalized procedures in standardized language comprehension assessment.

Development of speech motor control: lip movement variability.

This study examined variability of lip movements across repetitions of the same utterance as a function of age in Swedish speakers. The specific purpose was to extend earlier findings by examining variability in both phase and amplitude. Subjects were 50 typically developed native Swedish children and adults (28 females, 22 males, aged 5 to 31 yr). Lip movements were recorded during 15 to 20 repetitions of a short Swedish phrase using three-dimensional articulography. After correction for head movements, the kinematic records were expressed in a maxilla-based coordinate system. Movement onset and offset of the utterance were identified using kinematic landmarks. The Euclidean distance between receivers on the upper and lower lips was calculated and subjected to functional data analysis to assess both phase and amplitude variability. Results show a decrease in both indices as a function of age, with a greater reduction of amplitude variability. There was no difference between males and females for either index. The two indices were moderately correlated with each other, suggesting that they capture different aspects of speech production. Utterance duration also decreased with age, but variability was unrelated to duration. The standard deviation of utterance duration also decreased with age. The present results thus suggest that age related changes in speech motor control continue up until 30 years of age.

Prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome and hyperandrogenemia in female-to-male transsexuals.

INTRODUCTION: It has been postulated that the prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in female-to-male transsexuals (FMTs) is higher than normal. AIM: The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of PCOS and hyperandrogenemia in FMTs, compared with controls. METHODS: Sixty-one FMTs were evaluated using the Rotterdam 2003 criteria and National Institutes of Health 1990 criteria for the diagnosis of PCOS, compared with 94 controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Oligoovulation, anovulation, clinical and biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovaries, and prevalence of PCOS were measured. RESULTS: The prevalence of PCOS was 11.5% in FMTs and 9.6% in controls (not significant) with National Institutes of Health 1990 criteria and 14.8% in FMTs and 12.8% in controls (not significant) with the Rotterdam 2003 criteria. Without adjustments and using multivariate analysis in a logistic regression model with adjustments for age, body mass index, and calculated free testosterone, the odds ratio for the prevalence of PCOS was not found to be significantly increased. However, there was a significantly higher prevalence of biochemical hyperandrogenism in FMTs. Hyperandrogenemia was associated with a moderate increase in the odds ratio for the prevalence of PCOS, at 1.08 and 1.07 (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001), for the two definitions used in this study, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PCOS was not significantly increased in FMTs in comparison with controls. However, FMTs more frequently had biochemical hyperandrogenism.