Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-03-08Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:09:21Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 serra_mp_me_sjrp.pdf: 745870 bytes, checksum: b5514841b084b9e9d740d730a13fc3c2 (MD5) / Propusemos, neste trabalho, a observação de operações de reelaboração da segmentação em textos infantis. Interessaram-nos, particularmente, as marcas de reelaboração textual (mais especificamente, de reelaboração da segmentação). O propósito foi observar que fatores estariam envolvidos em momentos nos quais crianças, em momentos iniciais do processo de aquisição da escrita, distribuíam o material gráfico que produziam em porções menores e realizavam o que denominamos reelaboração da segmentação textual. O material que usamos foi formado de produções textuais de alunos de uma escola da rede pública de ensino do município de São José do Rio Preto (SP), que foram coletadas quinzenalmente e acompanhadas de modo longitudinal por um período de quatro anos. A partir desse conjunto, elegemos 62 textos, de 20 sujeitos que, durante o ano de 2002, cursavam a segunda série do ensino fundamental I. Cada produção foi selecionada por apresentar pelo menos duas ocorrências, num mesmo texto, em que o escrevente flutuava quanto à segmentação escrita. Fizemos um levantamento quantitativo das ocorrências de reelaboração em relação a constituintes prosódicos mobilizados, a fim de possibilitar a formulação de mais argumentos para o fato de que os constituintes prosódicos mobilizados nessas ocorrências teriam algum tipo de realidade para a criança/aprendiz da escrita. Estivemos atentos também para o que, nestas ocorrências, nos possibilitou conjeturar sobre a relação entre o que pôde ser considerado como fatos episódicos de escrita infantil e para o que pôde ser considerado como genérico. Com base, de um lado, em pressupostos teórico-metodológicos vinculados ao Paradigma Indiciário proposto por Ginzburg (1986) e, de outro, na idéia de um modo heterogêneo de constituição da escrita, tal como formulada por Corrêa (1997 e 2004).... / In this work, we propose the observation of operations involved in the redevelopment of segmentation of infant writing. We concentrate, particulary, on textual redevelopment marks (more specifically on segment redevelopment). Our aim was to observe which factors are involved in the initial process of written acquisition and how, at this crucial time, children distribute and produce graphic material along the texts and realize sucessfully what we refer to as textual section development. Resource material came from written work from public school students in São José do Rio Preto (SP), which were collected on a fortnightly basis during a four year period. From this material, we selected 62 texts written by twenty people who attended the second grade of fundamental education in 2002. Each text was chosen due to the appearance of floating writing in the written segments on at least two occasions. A quantitative analysis between the incidence of redevelopment and the relation of prosodic constituents that are involved was carried out with the aim to enabling the formulation of arguments to the fact that prosodic constituents on these occasions had some contribution to children skill aquision. We also took care to note that these events enable us to deliberate about the possibility of what might be consider sporadic facts in infant writting and that could be considered as generic. Based upon presumed theorectical-methods tied to Paradigma Indiciário on one side, and the idea of a heterogenic method of written formulation, such as that proposed by Côrrea (1997 and 2004), on the other, we arrive at a proposition that, on these occasions, the interlacing of reconstructed aspects of the origin of written skills (in the case of children), and the institucionalized written code stirred up not only tension concerning the delimitation of works...(Complete abstract, click electronic address below).

Notre recherche a pour objectif de tester l’incidence de la pratique linguistique à l’oral sur les compétences en lecture d’apprenants de Français Langue Etrangère (FLE). A partir d’une hypothèse en psycholinguistique sur le rôle de la prosodie implicite dans le décodage de l’écrit en Langue Maternelle (Fodor, 2002), nous postulons qu’un travail poussé de correction phonétique centré sur la sensibilisation à la structure prosodique du français (via la Méthode Verbo Tonale, MVT) va non seulement améliorer la fluence des apprenants en parole spontanée et en parole lue, mais aussi faciliter le décodage de l’écrit. Nous pensons que cet apprentissage sera plus efficace s’il est proposé dès le niveau débutant. Pour tester ces hypothèses, nous avons mené deux études longitudinales avec des apprenants anglophones de FLE. Nous avons mesuré la fluence en lecture oralisée des apprenants avant et après la formation. Les résultats des analyses acoustiques et perceptives de la première étude (étude pilote) nous ont permis de confirmer nos hypothèses et d’appuyer nos choix méthodologiques. Dans la deuxième étude, nous avons souhaité approfondir les résultats obtenus dans l’étude pilote et valider expérimentalement l’efficacité de la MVT. Nous avons comparé l’impact de la MVT et de la méthode Articulatoire dans l’évolution de la fluence des apprenants. Nous avons également testé un des présupposés de la méthodologie SGAV (dont est issue la MVT) selon lequel l’écrit ne devrait pas être introduit avant que les paramètres prosodiques ne soient maitrisés, sans quoi le passage à l’écrit entrainerait une chute de la fluence des apprenants. Les résultats de cette seconde étude vont dans le sens de nos hypothèses : seuls les apprenants qui ont suivi les cours de correction phonétique via la MVT ont amélioré leur fluence en parole lue. De plus, l’introduction de l’écrit fait chuter la fluence des productions chez tous les apprenants. En conclusion, la maitrise de la prosodie constitue un prérequis nécessaire au passage à l’écrit en langue étrangère. / This study investigates the influence of oral training on reading out loud in French as a Foreign Language (FFL). Based on the implicit prosody hypothesis by Fodor (2002), we venture that working on the phonetic correction orally will improve speaking fluency, as well as reading fluency, and facilitate the decoding of the written test. We think that the impact of this training will be stronger with beginner than advanced learners. In order to test these hypotheses, we have conducted two longitudinal studies with English FFL students. We have measured the students’ fluency before and after training. The acoustics and perceptive results of the first study have confirmed our hypothesis and supported our methodology. In the second study, we follow up on these results on a larger-scale longitudinal study, designed to systematically compare the impact of two phonetics teaching methods on reading skills for FFL learners of French: the Articulatory Method (AM) and the Verbo-Tonal Method (VTM). We have also tested one of the presuppositions of the Structuro-Global Audiovisual Methodology (SGAV) – from which comes the VTM – according to which readings and writings activities should be delayed until students’ phonetic and prosodic skills have reached a basic and steady level. Our data support our hypotheses: only the students who have received VTM classes have improved their reading fluency. Furthermore, the introduction of reading activities during the training has caused a decline in all the students' fluency. Thus mastering second language prosody is essential before introducing reading or writing activities.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T18:22:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sergio Augusto Mauad.pdf: 2697048 bytes, checksum: cb9e46abe7ae9b9773d2889a65374ab8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-13 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Due to its interaction with the sound segments, prosody is one of the elements to be considered when investigating foreign accent. In this study, the speech patterns of a dialogue read by two Brazilians and two Americans are contrasted, and two prosodic elements are investigated: rhythm and intonation. Speech rhythm, which refers to a temporal patterning of elements in the flow of speech, plays a relevant role in discourse. Intonation, the melody of speech, organizes the flow of speech and expresses modalities, emotions and attitudes. In the case of L2 speakers, it is very likely that certain prosodic patterns of L1 will be transferred to L2. In this study, the rhythmic and intonational patterns of a read dialogue are contrasted through acoustic-phonetic analysis by means of the PRAAT software. The acoustic data comprises duration measuraments of V-V units, syllables, feet and adjacent full vowels, as well as pitch accent markings. The analysis of the rhythm of American English is mainly based on Bolinger&#8223;s Pitch Accent Theory. ToBI (Tones and break índices) is used for the tonal labelling, and ANOVA and the variability index for the statistical treatment of the data. Results point to significant differences (p<.05) in syllable and V-V unit duration means, and differences in the variability index of the syllabic feet. The rhythmic structure of the utterances produced by the Brazilian subjects was affected by L1 transfer of tonicity, juncture, vowel quality as well as processes of segmental reduction and elision. As regards intonation, it was observed, in the productions of the American subjects, a systematic occurrence of the phenomenon of downstep, and, in the productions of the Brazilian subjects, a productive occurrence of L*+H e L+H* tones, which affected the production of meaning. With this study, I wish to contribute to the research on the teaching of rhythm and intonation to Brazilian speakers of English / A prosódia, pela interação que estabelece com os segmentos fônicos, é um dos elementos a ser considerado na investigação do sotaque estrangeiro. Neste estudo, tenho como objetivo investigar, com apoio na análise fonético-acústica, dois elementos prosódicos: o ritmo e a entoação, contrastando as produções de fala de duas brasileiras e de duas norte-americanas na leitura de um diálogo em inglês. O ritmo, que implica em regularidade e estruturação ao longo do tempo, exerce papel relevante no discurso oral. A entoação, a melodia da fala, organiza o fluxo sonoro e expressa modalidades, emoções e atitudes. No caso de falantes aprendizes de uma língua estrangeira, são grandes as possibilidades de transferência de padrões prosódicos da língua materna. Neste trabalho, os padrões rítmicos e entoacionais das sentenças de um diálogo são contrastados com o apoio da análise fonético-acústica, utilizando-se o software PRAAT. A extração de medidas contempla a duração, em milisegundos, das unidades V-V, sílabas, pés rítmicos e vogais plenas em adjacência, bem como marcações de f0 em alvos específicos do contorno entoacional: os pitch accents. A fundamentação teórica para o ritmo do inglês norte-americano baseia-se na Teoria de Pitch Accent, proposta por Bolinger. Para a notação dos padrões entoacionais, é utilizado o sistema ToBI (Tones and Break Indices) e, para o tratamento estatístico dos dados, o teste ANOVA e o índice de variabilidade. Foram constatadas diferenças significativas (p<,05) entre as produções de fala dos sujeitos norte-americanos e brasileiros em relação à duração média relativa de sílabas e unidades V-V e diferenças em relação ao índice de variabilidade dos pés silábicos. Também foram constatadas nas produções das brasileiras interferências de L1 em relação à tonicidade, junturas, qualidade vocálica e processos de redução e elisão segmental que afetaram a estrutura rítmica dos enunciados. Em relação à entoação, observou-se, nas emissões das norte-americanas, a ocorrência, de forma mais sistemática, do fenômeno de downstep, e, nas produções das brasileiras, a ocorrência produtiva dos tons L*+H e L+H*, o que afeta a produção de sentidos. Com o desenvolvimento deste trabalho, pretendo contribuir para aprofundar os conhecimentos sobre o ritmo e a entoação no contexto de ensino de inglês para brasileiros

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T18:22:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mario Augusto de Souza Fontes.pdf: 4762004 bytes, checksum: c7ff5cc05505a43e5e72d43d7e407eb1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-04-29 / This thesis examines the vocal and visual links involved in emotion expression by developing a perceptual and acoustic experiment whose main objective is investigating the functions of the gestural prosody (vocal and visual) in the appraisal of seven basic emotions (Anger, Distaste, Fear, Happiness, Joy, Sadness and Shame) and valence (positive, neutral and negative). Its specific objectives are twofold: investigating the role of the vocal and visual gestures in identifying the basic emotions and discussing the interaction between the visual, vocal and semantic dimensions in the evaluation of the utterances constituting the research corpus so as to explore the links between gestural prosody and emotive expression. The research hypothesis is that there will be differences in the interpretation if visual or vocal cues are considered in isolation or together and that depending on the nature of the emotion or the semantic load of the utterance the visual or the vocal aspects will have a stronger influence on perceptual judgments. The relations between gestural prosody and emotional expression are investigated with the following analytical procedures and methods: acoustic analysis by means of measures extracted by the ExpressionEvaluator Script developed by Barbosa (2009); perceptual evaluation tests applied to a group of 34 judges using the Gtrace developed by MCKeownetal (2011) to identify valence (positiveness or negativeness) and a set of 7 basic emotions (joy, happiness, anger, shame, fear, sadness and distress); visual gestural description based on a visual profile which takes into account facial movements and their directionality; description of the voice quality settings by means of the application of the VPAS developed by Laver and Mackenzie (2007) as adapted to Portuguese by Camargo and Madureira (2008). The correlation among the variables was made by non-parametric tests applying the FAMD, MCA, PCA,HCPC and MFA methods. The results indicate that the VPAS variables Raised Larynx and High Pitch and the acoustic measures mednf0 and quan995f0 had a stronger influence in the correlations between the vocal gestures and the emotional expression. As evidences of the variables which emerged with wider significance and showed their strength in the formation of utterance clusters, vocal gestuality was interpreted in terms of metaphors of the emotions expressed in speech. The analysis of the role of the vocal and visual gestures in the identification of valence and emotions showed that VPAS variables and the Expression Evaluator measures were quite influential. VPAS had a weight to represent the vector space of the variables under study. Our hypothesis related to the integration between the semantic and vocal and visual dimensions were confirmed. Both visual and vocal prosody interact with the semantic domain, emphasizing or changing the semantic load of the utterances. The differences concerning the interpretation of visual or vocal cues taken in isolation or together were pointed out. It was also found that the identification of emotions and valence varied depending on the emotion category or on the specificity attributed to valence. As a conclusion the contributions of this work to evaluate the communicative relevance of the voice qualities in the expression of emotions in speech and the utterances better representing the analyzed emotions were discussed and the path taken in building up the work was traced / Esta tese aborda relações entre os gestos vocal e visual e a expressão emotiva por meio do desenvolvimento de uma pesquisa de natureza experimental que tem como objetivo geral investigar, com base na interpretação de resultados de testes de avaliação perceptiva e caracterização de propriedades fonético-acústicas e visuais, as funções da prosódia gestual (vocal e visual) na avaliação de sete emoções básicas (Alegria, Desgosto, Felicidade, Medo, Raiva, Tristeza, Vergonha) e da valência (positiva, negativa e neutra). Como objetivos específicos temos: investigar o papel do gestos vocal e visual na identificação das emoções básicas, refletir sobre a interação dos planos visual, vocal e semântico na avaliação das produções dos enunciados que constituem o corpus de pesquisa e as correlações entre a prosódia gestual e a expressão emotiva. Como hipóteses de pesquisa, postulamos que serão encontradas diferenças de interpretação se consideradas pistas visuais ou vocais isoladamente ou em conjunto e que, dependendo da natureza da emoção ou da carga semântica do enunciado, os aspectos visuais ou vocais poderão adquirir maior peso nos julgamentos. As correlações entre prosódia gestual e expressão emotiva são investigadas com base nos seguintes procedimentos e métodos analíticos: análise fonético-acústica por meio da aplicação do ExpressionEvaluator, script desenvolvido por Barbosa (2009); testes de avaliação perceptiva da valência e das sete emoções básicas realizados com o auxílio do ambiente GTrace, desenvolvido por McKeown et al (2012), e realizados por 34 juízes; descrição dos gestos visuais por meio de consideração das variáveis concernidas em termos de movimentação e direcionalidade em roteiro para avaliação de gestos faciais; descrição dos ajustes de qualidades de voz por meio do VPAS, desenvolvido por Laver et al (2007), com adaptação para o português por Camargo e Madureira (2008), o VPAS-PB. A correlação entre as variáveis é realizada por meio de testes não paramétricos com a utilização dos métodos de FAMD, MCA, PCA, HCPC e MFA. Os resultados revelam que as variáveis laringe elevada e pitch elevado avaliadas pelo VPAS e as medidas acústicas, mednf0 e quan995f0 apresentaram maior peso no estabelecimento das correlações entre a gestualidade vocal e a expressão de emoções na fala. Como evidências das variáveis que emergiram com maior significância e exerceram sua força na formação de clusters de enunciados, interpretamos a gestualidade vocal em termos de metáforas das emoções expressas na fala. A análise do papel dos gestos vocal e visual na identificação da valência e das emoções mostrou que as variáveis do VPAS e do ExpressionEvaluator foram muito influentes. O VPAS revelou-se com a maior força de representação do espaço vetorial das variáveis estudadas. Confirmamos nossas hipóteses de pesquisa em relação à interação do plano semântico e da prosódia visual e vocal. Tanto a prosódia visual quanto a vocal interagiram com o plano semântico, intensificando ou alterando a carga semântica dos enunciados. Foram encontradas diferenças de interpretação se consideradas pistas visuais ou vocais isoladamente ou em conjunto. Verificou-se que, para a identificação de emoções e para a aferição da positividade ou negatividade, a maior ou menor influência dos aspectos visuais ou vocais variou, dependendo da natureza da emoção e da especificidade da valência. Como conclusão, consideramos as contribuições deste trabalho para avaliar a relevância comunicativa da qualidade de voz na expressão de emoções na fala, apresentamos os enunciados que melhor representaram as emoções analisadas e avaliamos o percurso trilhado na construção da tese

Cette recherche a deux objectifs, la systématisation de la prosodie fondamentale du japonais langue commune et l’application de ce système prosodique à une méthode didactique. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, nous cernons d'abord un cadre théorique adaptable au japonais en nous fondant sur la théorie de la "Grammaire de l’intonation" de Morel et Danon-Boileau (1998). Ensuite, nous analysons deux types de corpus, les premières phrases d'informations télévisées, dont le style est proche de celui de l’écrit, et des extraits de dialogue spontané. Les résultats de l’analyse du corpus d'écrit oralisé corroborent une hypothèse selon laquelle l’unité discursive, qui est dans l’ordre fondamental des constituants tel que défini par la fonction de détermination correspondant à un marqueur syntaxique/discursif spécifique, doit être réalisée par la prosodie fondamentale conformément à la fonction de détermination. Les indices suprasegmentaux de cette prosodie sont la position et la durée de la pause et la mélodie des séquences du modifiant et du modifié. En application de ce système prosodique, nous proposons une méthode d’enseignement d’accès facile pour l’enseignant et l’apprenant sur les plans théorique et didactique, grâce au critère binaire de la fonction de détermination d'une part, et d’un indice "écrit", le marqueur syntaxique/discursif, d'autre part. L’analyse du corpus d’oral montre que dans l’oral la fonction de détermination n’est pas représentée par le marqueur spécifique ni par la pause, qui sont remplacés par un indice intonatif à la fin du constituant, tandis que la fonction énonciative est réalisée par l’intonation des particules finales. / This research has two objectives: a systematization of the fundamental prosody of Japanese as a common language, and an application of this prosodic system to teaching method. To attain these objectives, we first fix a theoretical framework adaptable to Japanese based on the theory "Grammaire de l’intonation" (Intonation Grammar) of Morel and Danon-Boileau (1998). We then analyze two types of corpus, readings of lead sentences of TV news, whose style are close to the written style, and extracts from spontaneous dialogues. The results of analysis of the corpus in uttered-written style corroborate the hypothesis that the discursive unit, which is in the fundamental constituent order defined by the function of determination corresponding to a specific syntactic/discursive marker, must be realized by the fundamental prosody conforming to the function of determination. The supra-segmental indicia of this prosody are the position and the length of pauses and the pitch pattern of sequences of modifier and modified. With application of this prosodic system, we propose a teaching method easily accessible both to the teacher and the learner in theoretical and didactical aspects through the binary criterion of the function of determination and a "written" indicium, the specific syntactic/discursive marker. The analysis of the corpus in spoken style shows that in this style, the function of determination is represented neither by the marker nor by the pause, which are replaced by the intonated indicium at the end of constituent, whereas the enunciative function is realized by intonation of the final particles.

No description available.

Cette thèse analyse la transition topicale en anglais américain à l’aide d’un corpus audio de conversations spontanées entre proches. L’objet d’étude principal est l’action interactionnelle qui consiste à changer de topique discursif, ainsi que les diverses stratégies linguistiques que les participants ont à leur disposition. Trois modalités de marquage sont prises en compte : les questions, les marqueurs de discours, et le registre de la voix. Chaque modalité est analysée pour sa contribution individuelle, ainsi que pour les associations avec d’autres modalités qu’elle peut occasionner. Se pencher sur différentes modalités de marquage crée une vue d’ensemble composite de l’influence que la trajectoire topicale d’une conversation a sur sa grammaire et sa prosodie. Dans le cadre d’une approche mixte mêlant analyses qualitatives et quantitatives, cette étude se situe à la croisée de plusieurs cadres théoriques, empruntant tant à l’analyse conversationnelle et à la linguistique interactionnelle pour l’analyse qualitative située, qu’à la linguistique de corpus de par ses méthodes quantitatives telles que le codage systématique des données et le recours aux statistiques. Ce projet multi-domaines est complété par une comparaison entre conversations typiques et atypiques. Les personnes schizophrènes peuvent connaître des difficultés dans la gestion des topiques d’une conversation, ce qui peut occasionner des transitions non-canoniques. Comparer ce type de données à celles de participants typiques apporte un éclairage supplémentaire sur certaines des attentes, préférences et standards, par ailleurs moins visibles lorsque la transition topicale est plus aisée. / The research presented in this dissertation analyzes topic transition in American English interaction, focusing on audio recordings of spontaneous conversations between friends and relatives. The main object of inquiry is the interactional action of transitioning to a new discourse topic, as well as the different linguistic strategies that participants have at their disposal. Three main types of cues are investigated: questions, discourse markers, and pitch register. Each type of cue is analyzed for its individual contribution to topic transition design, as well as for the way it can combine with, supplement, or contradict other cues. Analyzing different types of cues – verbal and prosodic – creates a composite picture of the various ways in which the topic trajectory of a conversation shapes its grammar – including its prosody. This study uses a mixed-methods approach which draws on the qualitative-oriented theoretical frameworks of Conversation Analysis and Interactional Linguistics, combining them with quantitative methods used in Corpus Linguistics, such as systematic coding and statistics. This multi-domain account is completed by elaborating a comparison between typical and atypical interactions. Persons suffering from schizophrenia can experience difficulties in managing the topics of a conversation, and they can produce non-canonical transitions. Comparing their data with that of typical participants thus sheds light on some of the expectations, preferences and standard formats which can otherwise remain hidden when topic transition goes smoothly.

One of the key features of the hypokinetic dysarthria associated with Parkinson disease is dysprosody. While there has been ample research into the global characterization of speech in Parkinson disease, little is known about how people with Parkinson disease mark lexical stress. This study aimed to determine how people with Parkinson disease modulate pitch, intensity, duration, and vowel space to differentiate between two common lexical stress patterns in English: trochees (strong-weak pattern) and iambs (weak-strong pattern), in two syllable words. Twelve participants with mild to moderate idiopathic Parkinson disease and twelve age- and sex-matched controls completed a series of speech tasks designed to elicit token words of interest in prosodically-relevant speech tasks (picture identification (in isolation and lists) and giving directions (spontaneous speech). Results revealed that people with Parkinson disease produced a higher overall pitch and a smaller vowel space as compared to controls, though most lexical marking features were not significantly different. Importantly, the elicitation task had a significant effect on most dependent measures. Although lexical stress is not significantly impacted by Parkinson disease, we recommend that future research and clinical practice focus more on the use of spontaneous speech tasks rather than isolated words or lists of words due to the differences in the marking of lexical stress in the latter tasks, making them less useful as ecologically-valid assessments of prosody in everyday communication.

<p>Generally prosody is described as the rhythmic, dynamic and melodic features of language. Prosody is further often described as suprasegmental, since its properties go beyond vowels and consonants, which are segmental characteristics of language. A relationship between prosody and music has been noticed and described for several decades. At present, there are several studies proving relationship between prosodic and musical abilities.</p><p> </p><p>The aim of the present study was to construct a test for prosodic non-linguistic perception and production regarding intonation and rhythm. The test was tried out on 16 children with typical language development aged 4;6-7;6 years.</p><p> </p><p>Before testing of ITAP each participant were asked about musical experience. For formal assurance that the participants had typical language development a pretesting was performed.</p><p> </p><p>The results demonstrate an even range and therefore the complexity of ITAP seems to be on a representative level. Furthermore, ITAP is viable and the design is advantageous. The results of the present study suggest that both phonological working memory and grammatical ability are related to the aspects of intonation tested in ITAP.</p><p> </p><p>The study contributes to the knowledge about possible relations between prosodic and musical abilities, and it provides guidance on what children with typical language development are expected to achieve on ITAP.</p>

<p>Cochleaimplantat (CI) är ett hörselhjälpmedel som kan ge barn med grav hörselnedsättning eller dövhet möjlighet att höra och utveckla talat språk. Svenska grundskolebarn med CI har tidigare visats ha en något nedsatt prosodisk förmåga och fonologiskt arbetsminne även om stora individuella variationer förekommer.</p><p>Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka prosodisk förmåga och fonologiskt arbetsminne hos svenska förskolebarn med CI. Vidare undersöktes samband mellan prosodisk förmåga och fonologiskt arbetsminne. I studien deltog sex förskolebarn med CI och totalt 18 normalhörande kontroller, varav sex var ålders-, köns- och dialektmatchade med barnen med CI.</p><p>Barnen med CI i föreliggande studie uppvisade som grupp signifikant lägre resultat än de normalhörande barnen på test avseende prosodisk produktion på ord-, fras- och diskursnivå samt på test som undersöker fonologiskt arbetsminne. Gällande receptiv prosodisk förmåga förekom inga signifikanta skillnader. Vid jämförelse med svenska grundskolebarn med CI framkom att både yngre och äldre barn med CI har svårigheter med prosodi på samtliga nivåer. Vidare jämförelser indikerar att en utveckling av receptiv prosodisk förmåga sker under förskole- och skolåren. Korrelationsberäkningarna tyder på att det föreligger ett samband mellan prosodisk förmåga och fonologiskt arbetsminne.</p><p>Barnen med CI i föreliggande studie är en heterogen grupp och några barn uppvisade på vissa deltest likvärdiga resultat som sina matchade kontroller, vilket visar att CI ger goda förutsättningar att utveckla prosodiska förmågor och talad kommunikation.</p> / <p>Cochlear Implant (CI) is a hearing device that can enable deaf children or children with severe hearing impairment to hear and to develop spoken language. Research has shown that Swedish school aged children with CI have poor prosodic abilities to some extent, as well as poor phonological working memory. However, there are large individual differences.</p><p>The aim of the present study was to investigate prosodic abilities and phonological working memory in Swedish preschool children with CI. Moreover, the relation between prosodic abilities and phonological working memory was examined. Six preschool children with CI participated in the study. The control group consisted of 18 children with normal hearing, out of which six children were matched for age, sex and regional dialect to the children with CI.</p><p>In the present study the children with CI as a group demonstrated significantly lower results compared to the children with normal hearing on tests concerning prosodic production abilities at word, phrase and discourse level and tests concerning phonological working memory. No significant differences emerged regarding receptive prosodic abilities. In comparison to Swedish school aged children with CI it was shown that both younger and older children with CI have difficulties at all prosodic levels. Furthermore, the comparisons indicate that receptive prosodic skills develop during preschool and school years. Results also indicate a connection between prosodic abilities and phonological working memory.</p><p>The children with CI in the present study is a heterogeneous group and a few children demonstrated equivalent results as their matched controls on some parts of the tests, which show that CI provides a good foundation for developing prosodic abilities and spoken communication.</p>