In the study of language acquisition, a key question involves the representations that infants use while processing speech and learning phonology. Precise representations for specific sounds are crucial when the infant starts putting together a lexicon, since minimal distinctions can cue differences in meaning. In the process of language acquisition, infants must also learn constraints on the p...

A single case study is presented of a patient, LT, with a reproduction conduction aphasic pattern of performance on word reproduction tasks; thus he made substitutions, insertions, deletions, and transpositions in reading, writing, and repetition of words and nonwords, as well as in sentence production, and in spoken and written picture and action naming. Further analyses revealed that there wa...

The structure of phonological processing for typically developing children has been debated over the past two decades. Recent research has indicated that phonological processing is best explained by a single underlying phonological ability (e.g., Anthony and Lonigan, 2004). The current study had two goals. The first goal was to determine the structure of phonological processing for school-age c...

BACKGROUND Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) is a motor speech disorder in which a variety of segmental and suprasegmental errors lead to the perception of a new accent in speech. Whilst changes in intonation have been identified to contribute considerably to the perceived alteration in accent, research has rarely focused on how these changes impact on the pragmatic use of intonation. However, a gr...

Two aspects of dynamic systems approaches that are pertinent to developmental models of reading are the emergence of a system with self-organizing characteristics, and its evolution over time to a stable state that is not easily modified or perturbed. The effects of dynamic stability may be seen in the differences obtained in the processing of print by beginner readers taught by different appro...

Children with speech difficulties often have delayed phonological awareness development and associated literacy problems. Speech-language pathologists (S-LPs) typically use phonological and articulatory approaches in their treatment of such children. However, it is unclear to what extent phonological awareness training, originally designed to promote literacy skills, might also improve children...

RG, a patient with probable Alzheimer's disease, showed a severe impairment in nonword reading. RG's word reading was intact, for example, as demonstrated by her scores in standardised reading tasks, which were comparable to those of normal controls. No phonological impairment was apparent in speech production and comprehension. Moreover, RG performed well in a series of phonological tasks (e.g...

The present experiment investigated the effect of a music program on phonological awareness in preschoolers. In particular, the effects of a music program and a phonological skills program on phonological awareness were compared. If language and music share basic processing mechanisms, the effect of both programs on enhancing phonological awareness should be similar. Forty-one preschoolers (22 ...