Coarticulation and tongue differentiation in children between three and thirteen years old

当孩子学习说话时，到三岁时，他们通常会正确地发出大部分元音和辅音。然而，许多细节，特别是那些与单词和句子（或协同发音）中言语声音产生的复杂变化有关的细节，在童年时期会继续发展。协同发音的一个例子是辅音/s/的两个实现之间的差异，在单词“sea”和“saw”中，这是由于后面的元音的影响而产生的。理解协同发音过程及其限制（例如，区分舌头各部分的能力，在这个项目中得到了解决）是我们了解言语运动控制一般过程的基础。这些知识有许多应用，特别是儿童发展理论，以及语言障碍的评估和治疗。关于儿童时期舌头控制发展的确切过程，仍有许多未知之处。本项目将通过收集和分析3至13岁六个年龄组的舌位置和形状的超声成像数据，研究语言运动技能的成熟度。该研究将提供语言共发音模式的数据，其变化范围可接受为儿童和青少年的语言运动技能无障碍。超声舌成像是一种安全和非侵入性的技术，它产生的信息的大部分正中矢状舌轮廓，包括舌根的形状。该项目将建立在之前由主要申请人进行的ESRC资助的研究的基础上，其中比较了儿童，青春期前和成人的生产，但年龄组并不像拟议的研究那样严格定义。在新的项目中，我们将专注于我们以前的研究表明可能在儿童时期发现的微妙的发展变化。在以前的研究中，记录和分析协议已经得到了改进，并开发了一种比较舌头曲线的方法，该方法不需要头部到传感器的稳定，因此使我们能够分析3岁和5岁儿童的数据。在本研究的过程中，我们将对该方法进行验证，并为以后的研究提供参考。基于研究结果，我们将对舌制约在协同发音发展中的作用提出理论观点。该项目收集的数据库将成为解决协同发音发展和其他语言语音问题的进一步方面的资源。研究结果将在国际和联合王国的会议和研讨会上传播，包括在项目期间在爱丁堡举办的为期两天的关于协同表达发展的国际研讨会。同步超声和声学数据的数据库将提供给研究人员，大学生和非学术专业人士。文章将提交国际同行评审期刊发表，继续成功和有影响力的研究线索。为了吸引潜在的参与者，将在项目开始时举行研究信息日，向儿童及其父母和照顾者介绍实验技术。在项目结束时，将为项目参与者（大学生和专业人士）举办另一个研究信息日，讨论项目的结果。使用超声波扫描仪成像和解释舌头的运动将被证明，和潜在的应用治疗和语言教学将被讨论。在整个项目期间，将为言语和语言治疗师举办两个学习日，并在国际研讨会期间举办一个面向临床的讲习班。结果将通过专门的网站、电子通讯以及通过在专业期刊和公众阅读的流行杂志上发表来传播。

When children learn to speak, by the age of three years old they typically produce most vowels and consonants correctly. However many details, particularly those concerned with complex variations of speech sound production in words and sentences (or coarticulation), continue to develop during childhood. An example of coarticulation is the difference between two realisations of the consonant /s/, in the words "sea" and "saw", which arises from the influence of the following vowel. Understanding of coarticulatory processes and the constraints on them (for example the ability to differentiate between parts of the tongue, addressed in this project) is fundamental to our knowledge of the general processes of speech motor control. There are a number of applications of this knowledge, particularly for theories of child development, and also for assessment and treatment of speech disorders. Much remains unknown on the precise course of the development of tongue control during childhood. This project will investigate speech motor skills maturation, by collecting and analysing ultrasound imaging data on tongue position and shape in speech, in six age groups between 3 and 13 years old.The study will provide data on lingual coarticulatory patterns with limits of variation acceptable for children and adolescents with non-disordered speech motor skills. Ultrasound tongue imaging is a safe and non-invasive technique, and it produces information about the shape of most of the midsagittal tongue contour, including the root of the tongue. The project will build on previous ESRC-funded studies carried out by the lead applicant, where productions of children, preadolescents and adults were compared, but age groups were not as tightly defined as in the proposed study. In the new project, we will focus on the subtle developmental changes which our previous research has suggested are likely to be found during childhood. The recording and analysis protocol has been refined in previous studies, and a method of comparing tongue curves was developed, which does not require head-to-transducer stabilisation, and thus enables us to analyse data from 3- and 5-year-olds. In the course of the project, this method will be validated, and will be available for future studies.Based on the results of the study, we will propose a theoretical view on the role of tongue constraints in the development of coarticulation. The database collected in the project will be a resource for addressing further aspects of coarticulation development and other linguistic phonetic questions. The results will be disseminated at international and UK conferences and seminars, including a two-day international symposium on coarticulation development, which will be organised in Edinburgh during the project. The database of synchronised ultrasound and acoustic data will be made available to researchers, university students and non-academic professionals. Articles will be submitted for publication in international peer-reviewed journals, continuing a successful and influential thread of research. For engaging with potential participants, a research information day will be held at the onset of the project, to introduce children and their parents and carers to the experimental technique. At the end of the project, another research information day will be organised for the project participants, university students and professionals, to discuss the results of the project. The use of ultrasound scanners for imaging and interpreting tongue movements will be demonstrated, and potential applications to therapy and language teaching will be discussed. Two study days for speech and language therapists will be held throughout the project, as well as a clinically oriented workshop within the international symposium. The results will be disseminated via a dedicated website, electronic newsletters, and through publishing in professional journals and popular magazines read by the general public.