Speech and Language

Speech and Language: Volume 3, Advances in Basic Research and Practice is a compendium of papers that discusses theories, clinical issues, and pathology of language and speech. Some papers discuss theories of phonological development, the encoding/decoding system of language, and the application of phonological universals in speech pathology. Other papers deal with the role of the speech-language clinician, a psychological framework for speech perception, and the formulation of a model for biomechanical analysis of velopharyngeal structure and function. Several papers analyze speech control mechanisms in skilled and non-skilled speakers, the rationale for the delayed auditory feedback (DAF) treatment program, and biofeedback in relation to speech pathology. One paper cites a study of Williams (1974) that shows strategies used in learning a new phonetic system depend upon whether the speaker is still within the critical period for language learning or already well beyond it. The paper notes that if adults can ignore their previously learned sound system and be childlike again in their freedom to experiment and be sensitivity to their own results, then they can achieve supra-segmental and segmental nuances of a new language. The compendium can prove helpful for linguists, ethnologists, psychologists, speech therapists, researchers in linguistics or communications, and general readers interested in speech or learning issues.