Q.
What is the difference between segmental, non-segmental
and supra-segmental speech sounds? I have used them rather
interchangeably.
A. Segmental sounds are vowels and consonants
- the pool of meaningful sounds or phonemes from the approximately
40 sounds used in meaningful English speech. Non-segmental
sounds are speech sounds produced at a phonetic level, i.e.,
in utterances that are evoked from the child without reference
to their meaning, as in imitation. Supra-segmental sounds
are a distinct and very important aspect of meaningful spoken
language. They include every aspect of prosody – the
patterns of breathing, vocalization, stress, intonation, and
rhythm, that are used in meaningful utterances. These supra-segmental
patterns of speech help to group words together in sentences,
emphasize words in sentences, highlight meaning and generally
help to make utterances pleasant to listen to and easier to
understand. They provide lots of clues that listeners can
use to gather cues on talker’s intended meaning and
even their emotional state.
Q.
In your recent book, “Speech and the Hearing-Impaired
Child” (2nd Edition, 2002) you suggest that the Phonetic-Phonologic
Evaluation be carried out at least twice a year. Why not more
often? Children who are well taught can learn speech rapidly!
What about in-between speech acquisition?
A. Yes, some can and do learn speech fairly
quickly, but the question really is “Can they talk and
convey their thoughts and feelings through speech?”
There is a big difference between producing speech sounds
without reference to meaning and ensuring that the child employs
these sounds in meaningful spoken language communication.
It is not too difficult to teach children to repeat or alternate
speech patterns so the main emphasis in the test is placed
on flowing speech in meaningful units. It takes much longer
to ensure their correct use in sentences and in multi-sentence
utterances (discourse). The rate and extent to which meaningful
spoken language has been successfully developed requires about
six months or so between evaluations.
What about in-between evaluations? Well, part of the evaluation
procedure is to list the aspects of speech that have to be
targeted between evaluations. If this is done carefully, then
you have essentially listed the goals for your speech development
work over the intervening six months. These goals are for
you to achieve through your daily or weekly teaching plans
and the recording of the results of ongoing assessments in
the course of your work. It should be remembered that as soon
as a speech pattern can be used at one level, its use at a
higher level has to be pursued.
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