Die Rolle des Arbeitsgedächtnisses für die Sprachentwicklung, insbesondere die Wortschatzentwicklung ist mittlerweile überzeugend nachgewiesen (z.B. Hasselhorn & Werner, 2000). Daran anknüpfend beschäftigt sich die vorliegende Studie mit der Wortschatzentwicklung bei dysgrammatisch bzw. spezifisch sprachgestörten Grundschulkindern und mit dem Einfluss des phonologischen Arbeitsgedächtnisses auf diesen Entwicklungsprozess. Besonders die Arbeitsgruppe um Gathercole und Baddeley konnten in einer Vielzahl von Arbeiten (z.B. Gathercole & Baddeley, 1990 a, b, 1993) stabile Zusammenhänge zwischen Arbeitsgedächtnis und Wortschatz bzw. Sprache bei normalentwickelten Kindern und spezifisch sprachgestörten Kindern nachweisen. Sie differenzieren 2 Komponenten des phonologischen Arbeitsgedächtnisses: den phonetischen Speicher, in dem akustische Informationen 1,5 bis 2 s erhalten bleibt und dann zerfällt, wenn diese Information nicht durch den Rehearsalprozess, eine Art inneres Sprechen wiederholt und damit aufgefrischt und erhalten wird. Das Arbeitsgedächtnis wurde dabei bevorzugt über das Nachsprechen von Kunstwörtern erfasst. Bezüglich dieses Vorgehen gaben z.B. Snowling, Chiat und Hulme (1991) und Bowey (1996, 2001) zu bedenken, dass durch die Komplexität des Kunstwörternachsprechens und die Redundanz zu anderen Aspekten der sprachlichen Verarbeitung der Einfluss des phonologischen Arbeitsgedächtnisses überschätzt werden könnte. Sie schlagen daher vor, eher allgemein von phonologischer Verarbeitung zu sprechen und das phonologische Arbeitsgedächtnis nicht davon zu differenzieren, zumindest müsse die Unabhängigkeit des Einflusses des phonologischen Arbeitsgedächtnisses von der phonologischen Bewusstheit nachgewiesen werden. Die Leistungsfähigkeit des phonologischen Arbeitsgedächtnisses hängt von den Qualitätsmerkmalen seiner beiden Komponenten ab. Nach Hasselhorn, Grube und Mähler (2000) lassen sich für beide Komponenten jeweils zwei Merkmale identifizieren: Die Qualität des phonetischen Speichers hängt von dessen zeitlich dimensionierter Größe und von der Präzision ab, mit der er akustische Information ablegt und wiedergibt. Die Leistungsfähigkeit des subvokalen Rehearsalprozesses wird von seiner (automatischen) Aktivierbarkeit und seiner Geschwindigkeit bestimmt. Längsschnittlich zeigten Gathercole, Willis, Emslie, & Baddeley (1992) Zusammenhänge zwischen früherem Arbeitsgedächtnis und späterem Wortschatz im Alter bis zu sechs Jahren, im Grundschulalter kehrte sich der Zusammenhang um. Diese Beiträge motivierten die vorliegende Arbeit, in der die Fragen gestellt wurden, ob sich das phonologische Gedächtnis von der phonologischen Verarbeitung im allgemeinen differenzieren lässt, welche Qualitätsmerkmale des phonologischen Arbeitsgedächtnisses bei sprachgestörten Kindern defizitär sind und wie sich die Entwicklungsdynamiken zwischen phonologischem Arbeitsgedächtnis und Wortschatz bei sprachgestörten und sprachlich unauffälligen Kindern gestalten. Um dies zu klären, wurde eine Längsschnittstudie realisiert, bei der 64 normalentwickelte und 33 sprachgestörte Kinder im Laufe des ersten und zweiten Grundschuljahres dreimal untersucht wurden; der zweite und dritte Meßzeitpunkt bildeten im wesentlichen die Grundlage der vorliegenden Arbeit. Es fanden sich starke empirische Argumente für die Position, dass Störungen im phonologischen Arbeitsgedächtnis eine Hauptursache für die Sprachauffälligkeiten dysgrammatisch-sprachgestörter Kinder sind. Abweichend von den Ergebnissen bei sprachlich unauffälligen Kindern, zeigten die sprachgestörten Kinder geringere Leistungen in allen Bereichen, weniger und niedrigere Korrelationen, das phonologische Arbeitsgedächtnis ließ sich faktorenanalytisch von der phonologischen Bewusstheit und dem phonologischen Langzeitwissen klar trennen. Bei der Betrachtung der vier Merkmale des phonologischen Arbeitsgedächtnisses (Hasselhorn, Grube & Mähler, 2000) zeigte sich kein Einsatz der Rehearsalstrategie und eine geringere Geschwindigkeit (letzteres vielleicht auch der Ausdruck eingeschränkter Sprechmotorik, siehe Gathercole, Service et al., 1999). Es gab einen Gruppenunterschied bei der Variablen für die Qualität des phonetischen Speichers. Auch die zeitliche Dimension schien reduziert, die sprachgestörten Kinder zeigten bei langen Kunstwörtern einen größeren Leistungsabfall. Bei verrauscht dargebotenen Kunstwörtern ließ sich nach Ausschluss des Einflusses von Alter und Intelligenz kein Gruppenunterschied mehr nachweisen, der bei unverrauscht dargebotenen Kunstwörtern vorhanden war, so dass die Qualität des phonetischen Speichers eine wesentliche Rolle für die Sprachentwicklung zu spielen scheint. Bei den dysgrammatischen Kindern ließ sich weiterhin eine kausale Asymmerie zwischen phonologischem Arbeitsgedächtnis und Wortschatz finden, dergestalt, dass das frühere phonologische Arbeitsgedächtnis einen größeren Einfluss auf den späteren Wortschatz hatte, als umgekehrt. Diese wurde wegen des Entwicklungsrückstands der sprachgestörten Kinder in dieser Form erwartet, bei den sprachlich-unauffälligen Kindern ließ sich kein Zusammenhang zeigen. Die phonologische Bewusstheit zeigte keinen entwicklungsrelevanten Einfluss auf den Wortschatz. Zusammenfassend ist zu sagen, dass die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Studie die Hypothese stützen, dass die Ursache für kindliche Störungen des Spracherwerbs im phonologischen Arbeitsgedächtnis und speziell in der Qualität des phonetischen Speichers zu suchen sind. Literatur Bowey, J. A. (1996). On the association between phonological memory and receptive vocabulary in five-year-olds. Journal of Experimantel Child Psychology, 63(1), 44-78. Bowey, J. A. (2001). Nonword repetition and young children`s receptive vocabulary: a longitudinal study. Applied Psycholinguistics, 22, 441-469. Gathercole, S. E. & Baddeley, A. D. (1990a). Phonological memory deficits in language disordered children: Is there a cusal connection? Journal of Educational Psychology, 29, 336-360. Gathercole, S. E. & Baddeley, A. D. (1990b). The role of phonological memory in vocabulary acquisition: A study of young children learning new names. British Journal of Psychology, 81, 439-454. Gathercole, S. E. & Baddeley, A. D. (1993). Working memory and language. Hove, UK: Erlbaum. Gathercole, S. E., Service, E., Hitch, G.J., Adams, A.-M. & Martin, A. J. (1999). Phonological short-term memory and vocabulary development: Furter evidence on the nature of relationship. Applied cognitive psychology, 13, 65-77. Gathercole, S. E., Willis, C., Emslie, H., & Baddeley, A. D. (1992). Phonological memory and vocabulary development during the early school years: a longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 28, 887-898. Hasselhorn, M., Grube, D. & Mähler, C. (2000). Theoretisches Rahmenmodell für ein Diagnostikum zur differentiellen Funktionsanalyse des phonologischen Arbeitsgedächtnisses. In M. Hasselhorn, W. Schneider & H. Marx, Diagnostik von Lese-Rechtschreib-Schwierigkeiten, Tests und Trends, Bd. 1 (S.167-182). Hogrefe: Göttingen. Hasselhorn, M. & Werner, I. (2000). Zur Bedeutung des phonologischen Arbeitsgedächtnisses für die Sprachentwicklung. In H. Grimm (Hrsg.), Sprachentwicklung (Enzyklopädie der Psychologie, Themenbereich C: Theorie und Forschung, Serie III Sprache, Bd. 3) (S. 363-378). Göttingen: Hogrefe. Snowling, M., Chiat, S., & Hulme. C. (1991). Words, non-words, and phonological processes: Some comments on Gathercole, Willis, Emslie, and Baddeley. Applied Psycholinguistics, 12(3), 369-373.

Purpose: This thesis examines the effect of listener characteristics (i.e., cognition and vocabulary) and language-based factors (i.e., lexical frequency and phonological similarity) on speech recognition accuracy in adverse listening conditions. Method: Fifty listeners (40 females and 10 males) aged 18-33 years and with normal hearing (puretone thresholds ≤ 20 dB HL, 0.25-8 kHz) participated. They completed a speech perception experiment, which required listeners to repeat back non-sensical English phrases presented at a variety of signal-to-noise ratios (-5, -2, +1, and +4 dB SNRs). In addition, all listeners undertook assessments of vocabulary knowledge (PPVT-IV) and cognition (WAIS -IV). The primary dependent variable was individual content word recognition accuracy, and results were analysed using binomial mixed effects modelling. Results: Listeners demonstrated variability in their speech recognition abilities, and their vocabulary and cognitive scores. Statistical analysis revealed that listener-based factors affected word recognition. Listeners with faster processing speed and larger working memories exhibited higher word recognition accuracy. Surprisingly, listeners with higher non-verbal intelligence scores exhibited lower word recognition accuracy. Vocabulary knowledge interacted with SNR, such that as the listening conditions became more favourable, listeners with larger receptive vocabularies identified more words correctly. Similarly, main effects were also present for language-based factors. The more phonologically distinct a word was, the more likely it was to be correctly identified; higher frequency words were more likely to be accurately recognised. In addition, higher frequency words were identified more accurately at higher SNR levels. Finally, listener- and language-based factors interacted. The positive effect of working memory on word recognition was reversed as word frequency increased; on the other hand non-verbal intelligence’s negative influence on word recognition was reversed as word frequency increased. Conclusion: In the current cohort, listener and language-based factors interacted in the process of word recognition in noise. These results provide an insight into the underlying speech recognition mechanisms in adverse conditions. Further understanding of how these listener differences affect an individual’s speech processing may lead to the development of improved signal processing techniques and rehabilitation strategies.

In this study, six teachers have been interviewed about their vision and teaching of reading comprehension, both for pupils who has cleared the reading code and those who have not. The aim is to illustrate if teachers in middle school spend time to exercise reading comprehension, or if this is left to the Swedish teachers. Thus only according to the subject Swedish, the students are entitled to be given the opportunity to develop reading strategies. The interviews are semi-structured based on qualitative research. The informants are three teachers of Swedish and three teachers of other subjects. Two different interview guides were used containing three questions. The main questions were the same but each guide had some question directly connected to the subject. The results show that all teachers believe that exercising reading comprehension is to be conducted in all subjects, not just Swedish. However, the work is done differently. Teachers in the Swedish subject discuss their teaching in a much more purposeful way than the other teachers. Teachers in the Swedish subject have developed their competence concerning reading comprehension and have got more knowledge than those on other subjects. Those teachers who do not teach Swedish as a subject say that lack of time is the reason why reading comprehension cannot be integrated to the extent that they desire / I den här studien har sex verksamma lärare intervjuats angående deras syn på undervisning av läsförståelse, både när det gäller elever som knäckt läskoden respektive de som inte har det. Syftet är att åskådliggöra om samtliga lärare på mellanstadiet lägger tid på läsförståelseträningen, eller om det är lämnat åt svensklärarna, då det enbart står i ämnet svenska att eleverna ska ges möjlighet att utveckla lässtrategier. Intervjuerna är semi-strukturerade och bygger på en kvalitativ studie. Informanterna är tre lärare i svenska och tre lärare i andra ämnen Två olika intervjuguider användes som innehöll tre frågor, huvudfrågorna användes till samtliga lärare medan någon fråga var direkt riktad till de ämnen lärarna undervisar inom. Resultatet visar att samtliga lärare är eniga om att läsförståelseträning ska bedrivas i alla ämnen och inte bara svenska. Däremot skiljer sig båda kategorierna åt då svensklärarna diskuterar sin undervisning på ett mycket mer målmedvetet sätt än de övriga lärarna

Children at risk for reading problems also have difficulty perceiving critical differences in speech sounds (Breier et al., 2004; Edwards, Fox, & Rogers, 2003; de- Gelder & Vroomen, 1998). These children rely more heavily on context than the acoustic qualities of sound to facilitate word reading. Dialect use, such as African American English (AAE) may influence literacy development in similar ways. Dialect use has been shown to affect speech sound processing and can even result in spelling errors (Kohler, et al., in press). The purpose of this study is to determine if children who speak AAE process cues indicative of final consonant voicing differently than children who speak a more mainstream dialect of English. Twenty-six typically developing children in grades K-2 who spoke either AAE or a more mainstream American English dialect participated. The speech stimuli consisted of nonsense productions of vowel + plosive consonant. These stimuli were systematically altered by changing the vowel and stop-gap closure duration simultaneously, which resulted in the final consonant changing from a voiced consonant, like “ib”, to a voiceless consonant, like “ip”. Two tasks were developed: a continuum task where the child had to indicate when the stimuli changed in voicing and a same-different task which involved determining if two stimuli were identical in voicing or not. No significant differences between groups were found for dialect use or grade for the same/different task. In the continuum task, chi-square analyses revealed significant differences in response patterns attributable to dialect and grade. In addition, a significant consonant by speaker interaction was found for mean ratings. Correlations between mean continuum rating and phonological awareness composites were not significant. In conclusion, it was evident that children who speak AAE present with differences in their perception of final consonants in VC nonsense syllables. This finding suggests the dialect speakers may be using different cues to make judgments regarding the speech signal, or that the speakers of AAE have a less mature ability to extract fine phonetic detail due to the influence of their dialect (Baran & Seymour, 1979). More research is warranted to determine the exact role that dialect plays.

Many studies in the literature have shown the importance of phonological skills in the development of literacy, particularly in reading. The literacy difficulties evident in both languages; Standard Malay and English, is a concern in schools which requires systematic and appropriate assessment to identify children with poor phonological skills. In this study, the Phonological Assessment Battery (PhAB) was analysed to determine the extent it can be used with Malay speakers. It was developed, validated and tested for its reliability for the purpose of assessing phonological awareness. The modification of PhAB consisted of seven subtests translated to standard Malay (L2): Alliteration, Naming Speed, Rhyme, Spoonerisms, Fluency, Non-word Reading and Supplementary Alliteration. The three types of validity used in this study found that the modified PhAB is a valid tool to measure phonological awareness. The test-retest reliability showed that the modified PhAB is a useful tool for teachers and psychologists in Brunei and other countries where Malay is spoken. The MPhAB provides a basis for future intervention to improve reading difficulties amongst Bruneian children.

Consonant assimilation between noncontiguous consonants within words is one of the characteristic error patterns for children reported in observations of the earliest periods of speech acquisition. Previous analyses of consonant assimilation in young children have been based on formal phonological theories. However, phonological perspectives do not provide comprehensive explanations for potential mechanisms underlying children’s output forms when they are different from adult forms. The present study tests the hypothesis that functionalist phonetic approaches have the potential to provide a more comprehensive explanation for assimilation patterns in children’s speech output. Consonant assimilation patterns were observed from the onset of word use (approximately 12 months) to 36 months of age in ten English-speaking children. Assimilated forms in consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) and consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel (CVCV) words produced by these children were analyzed. Predictions based on the Frame/Content perspective were evaluated relative to place and manner characteristics, vowel context, word level, and development over time. Results confirmed the prediction that motorically less available forms assimilate to more available forms in children acquiring ambient language speech patterns. Labial and coronal place of articulation more frequently motivated assimilation than dorsal. Stop and nasal manner of articulation more frequently motivated assimilation than fricative. The vowel context effects in assimilated forms were stronger for lingual consonants than labials and greater for CVCV more than CVC word forms. A word shape effect was observed related to place characteristics, direction of assimilation, and vowel context. A word position effect was observed for manner assimilations. Analysis of developmental trends revealed that children maintained a preference for motorically available forms in assimilations. The vowel context effects decreased over time. These findings suggest that patterns of consonant assimilation in these children are strongly motivated by behaviors already available within their production system capacities from the pre-linguistic babbling period, rather than being driven by patterns found in the targets they are attempting. Results also suggest that perceptual influences from language input may influence assimilation patterns to a lesser extent. Functionalist phonetic approaches that emphasize the understating of the production system and perceptual influences played a seminal role in understanding of children’s speech development relative to assimilation patterns. / text

This dissertation presents a reconstruction of the phoneme inventory of Proto-Hlai, based on data from twelve Hlai languages spoken on Hainan, China. A classification of the Hlai languages is given with the innovations upon which it based, followed by a discussion of contact relationships and a discussion of reconstruction methodology. The inventory of Proto-Hlai initials is reconstructed, and original sesquisyllabic forms are shown to be necessary to account for the reflexes between the daughter languages; the initial inventory is also marked by the presence of aspiration on most consonants in word-initial position. This is followed by the reconstruction of the rime inventory, an outstanding features of which is two laryngeal components which are argued to have been the precursors to two of the synchronic tone categories in the daughter languages, and which conditioned segmental variation in most of the daughter languages. A comparison is made between Proto-Hlai, Proto-Be, and Proto-Southwest Tai, and a preliminary reconstruction of Proto-Southern Kra-Dai (the immediate ancestor of Proto-Hlai) is performed. When this reconstruction is compared with that of Proto-Hlai, it is shown that several important sound changes occurred in Pre-Hlai, including intervocalic obstruent lenition, vocalic transfer, aspiration of word-initial consonants, and peripheral vowel raising. The language Jiamao is examined in detail, and it is argued that Jiamao is a non-Hlai language which has been in close contact with Hlai since the Pre-Hlai period. An examination of the correspondences between Jiamao and Hlai reveal at least two layers of Hlai loanwords in Jiamao, and evidence Jiamao was originally very different from Hlai structurally. Finally, the Proto-Hlai lexicon is compared with those of other Southeast Asian language phyla, and it is shown that Hlai retains evidence of shared lexicon (via either a genetic or contact relationship) with Sino-Tibetan, Mon-Khmer, Hmong-Mien, and Austronesian, the last of which is particularly striking. The dissertation concludes with a summary of findings, empirical and theoretical contributions, and suggestions for future research.

This study examined the performance of children with autism on selected measures of reading achievement and cognitive-linguistic ability. How children with autism performed on three reading achievement measures, Letter-Word Identification, PassageComprehension, and Oral Reading Fluency, and two cognitive-linguistic measures, Rapid Letter Naming and Segmenting of Words were analyzed to determine if there were anydifferences between their performance and those of both their normative and special education counterparts. Results revealed that children with autism scored significantly lower on all three measures of reading achievement and both cognitive-linguistic skillsthan their normative counterparts. Children with autism scored significantly lower on only one of the reading measures, Passage Comprehension and both cognitive-linguistic measures than their special education counterparts. Findings from this study provideadditional support for previous research which purports that children with autism demonstrate impairments in cognitive-linguistic tasks that require phonological processing, rapid automatic naming, oral language, and reading comprehension and may help practitioners in the identification of children with autism.

Föreliggande studie syftar till att undersöka fonologisk förmåga samt samla referensdata till kortversionen av det fonologiska bedömningsmaterialet Linköpingsundersökningen (LINUS) för svenska barn i åldersgruppen 4–5 år. Totalt medverkade 70 barn, 43 flickor och 27 pojkar (medelålder 54 månader). Barnen rekryterades på förskolor i områden som låg nära det socioekonomiska medelvärdet för riket. I studien bedömdes vilka fonem och konsonantförbindelser som fanns etablerade hos barnen. Percentage Phonemes Correct (PPC) och Percentage Words Correct (PWC) beräknades och förekomst av strukturavvikelser analyserades. Barnen delades upp i två halvårsgrupper (4;0–4;6 och 4;6–5;0). Vid jämförelse mellan de två grupperna visades att de fonem och konsonantförbindelser som etablerats var mycket lika. Det fanns statistiskt signifikanta skillnader mellan halvårsgrupperna gällande PPC och PWC, där den äldre halvårsgruppen hade en större andel korrekta fonem (p=0,02) samt ord (p=0,02). Den yngre halvårsgruppen hade en större förekomst av interdentalisering (s→θ) (p=0,03) och palatalisering av /s/ (s→ɕ) (p=0,003). Skillnaden mellan halvårsgrupperna var statistiskt signifikant. Materialet kan användas av svenska logopeder för bedömning av barns fonologi. / The study objective was to investigate phonological ability in children aged 4–5 years and to assemble reference data for the short version of the Swedish phonological assessment material, Linköpingsundersökningen (LINUS). In total, 70 children participated in the study, 43 girls and 27 boys (average age 54 months). The children were recruited at preschools in areas that were socioeconomically close to the national average. An assessment was made of the children’s phonology using the short version of the new phonological material. Percentage Phonemes Correct (PPC) and Percentage Words Correct (PWC) were calculated and word structure deviations were analyzed. The children were divided into two half-year groups (4;0–4;6 and 4;6–5;0). When comparing the results of the two age groups similarities regarding acquired phonemes and consonant clusters were found. Significant differences in PPC (p=0,02) and PWC (p=0,02) were found between the two half-year groups where the older group had a higher proportion of correct phonemes (94,2 %) and words (76,1 %). Interdentalization (s→θ) (p =0,03), and palatalization of /s/ (s→ɕ) (p =0,003) were more present in the younger age group and there was a significant difference between the two half-year groups. This material can be used by Speech-Language Pathologists in Sweden for phonological screening.

Föreliggande studie syftade till att undersöka fonologin hos svensktalande barn mellan 3 och 4 år. I studien medverkar 69 barn, varav 33 pojkar och 36 flickor. Bedömningen genomfördes med ett nytt fonologisk bedömningsmaterial, LINUS kortversion. Testerna utfördes i områden belägna i tre kommuner i sydöstra Sverige där socioekonomisk status låg nära riksgenomsnittet. Bedömningarna spelades in, transkriberades och analyserades av två bedömare. Analysen bestod av Percentage of Word Correct (PWC), Percentage of Phonemes Correct (PPC), förekomst av assimilation, metates och epentes, förenkling av konsonantförbindelse, vokal- och konsonantsubstitution, reduplikation samt utelämning av obetonad stavelse och enskild konsonant. Vidare bedömdes vilka fonem som var etablerade hos barnen. Kriteriet för etablering av fonem sattes till > 90 % korrekt producerat fonem hos > 90 % av barnen. Tolv av svenskans 18 konsonantfonem var etablerade hos svensktalande treåringar med typisk språkutveckling. De fonem som vållade mest svårigheter var /ɧ/, /r/, /ʈ/ och /ɕ/. Genomsnittlig PWC var 61,3 % och genomsnittlig PPC var 88,7 %.  Inga statistiskt signifikanta skillnader hittades mellan könen eller halvårsgrupperna gällande PWC och PPC. Förekomst av assimilation, metates och epentes, förenkling av konsonantförbindelse, vokal- och konsonantsubstitution, reduplikation samt utelämning av obetonad stavelse och enskild konsonant hittades. Den mest förekommande avvikelsen var substitution medan den minst förekommande var reduplikation. / The present study aimed to examine the phonology of typically developed Swedish-speaking children between 3 and 4 years of age. Sixty-nine children; 33 boys and 36 girls were assessed with the short version of a new phonological assessment material called LINUS. The tests were conducted in areas located in three municipalities in southeastern Sweden, where socioeconomic status was close to the national average. Audio-recordings of the assessments were transcribed and analyzed by the authors. The analysis consisted of Percentage of Word Correct (PWC), Percentage of Phonemes Correct (PPC), the presence of assimilation, metathesis and epenthesis, cluster reduction, vowel and consonant substitution, reduplication and deletion of unstressed syllables or single consonants. Further identification was made of the phonemes that were established. The criterion for the establishment of phonemes was set to > 90 % correct produced phonemes in > 90 % of the children. Twelve of the 18 Swedish consonant phonemes were established by Swedish-speaking three year olds with typical language development. The phonemes which caused most trouble were /ɧ/, /r/, /ʈ/ and /ɕ/. Average PWC was 61.3 % and average PPC was 88.7 %. No significant differences were found between gender or the two age groups regarding PWC and PPC. Presence of assimilation, metathesis and epenthesis, cluster reduction, vowel and consonant substitution, reduplication and deletion of unstressed syllables or single consonants were found. The most common deviation was found to be substitution and the least occurring deviation was reduplication.