Communication across
the life span
February 15, 2013
Communication
 Communication is a characteristic of humans in all
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cultures and in all stages of development
Typically we use language to communicate
Communication can occur without some type of
verbal exchange
However, communication can occur using
interactions via gestures, facial expressions and body
language
Language development has a biological basis and is
specifically preprogrammed in human beings
It is also inter related to other domains such as
cognition, psychosocial and motor development
Speech
 Speech is the verbal mode used for communication
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Composed of individual sounds called phonemes
Allophones are variations of the same phoneme
Phonological rules are used to combine
phonemes in the correct order in order to produce
words
Word /cat/ is a combination of three sounds /k/, /q/,
/t/
Three sounds are combined using phonological
rules (consonant is usually followed by a vowel
sound, vowel is the nucleus of a syllable, etc.)
Helps us to generate thousands of words with
different meanings
Voice and articulation
 Vocal folds vibrate to create a complex tone that is composed of
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many frequencies
Movements of the lips, tongue and teeth together with breath
support produce various sounds
Try out two sounds – one voiced and the other voiceless
Articulation is the manner in which the oral and nasal cavities
come together to modify the air stream that comes from the
larynx
Speech can be analyzed in three ways:
 Perceptual: Use of our auditory skills to receive and analyze
messages
 Physiology helps to us to understand production features of
various allophones
 Acoustical study utilized to quantify parameters of sound
frequency, intensity and time
The respiratory mechanism
 Pulmonary system and the chest wall system
 Pulmonary system
 Lungs and airways
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Upper respiratory system (oral and nasal cavities)
Lower respiratory system (larynx, bronchial
system and the lungs)
 Chest wall system
 Rib cage, abdomen and diaphragm
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiT621Prr
O0&feature=player_embedded#!
Larynx
 Cartilaginous tube
 Connects to the respiratory system (trachea and lungs)
inferiorly
 Superiorly to the vocal tract and oral cavity
 Position important because of its relationship and
integration between three subsystems
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Pulmonary power house
Laryngeal valve
Supraglottic vocal tract resonator
Lungs are the power supply for aerodynamic (subglottic
tracheal) pressure that blows vocal cords apart – sets them
into vibration
Vocal cords oscillate in a series of compressions and
rarefactions
Modulate the subglottic pressure or transglottal pressure of
short pulses of sound energy to produce human voice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_ZGqn1tZn8
Laryngeal system
 Vocal cords can be moved in several ways
 Spread apart (abducted)
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Pulled together (adducted)
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Gap between the vocal cords called the glottis
Air moves in and out freely when gap is wide open
Sounds harsh and noisy when somewhat constricted
Airway is blocked
Air pressure builds up under the vocal cords causing them to
bulge up
Eventually blown apart to release a puff of air
Vocal folds fall back due to elastic recoil or aerodynamic effect
Air pressure decreases when speed of airflow increases
(Bernoulli effect)
Tensed or stretched
Laryngeal system
 Vibrating vocal cords produce puffs of air
 Rate of vocal cord vibration (fundamental
frequency)
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125 per second in males
250 per second in adult females
500 per second in young children (infants)
Measured in Hertz (one complete cycle of
vibration per second)
Fundamental frequency changes constantly to
produce intonation
Faster they vibrate the higher the pitch or
Laryngeal system
 Greater the tension in the vocal cords
 Thinner the vocal cords
 Higher the frequency
 Decrease in tension in the vocal cords
 Thicker the vocal cords
 Lower the frequency
 The amount of air released will also change the
loudness
 Greater the amount air released softer the tone
 Lesser the amount of air released the louder the tone
 Forceful adduction increase the loudness
Supralaryngeal system
 Sound from the larynx has to be shaped or
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modulated by the supralaryngeal system
Complex sound is composed of a series of simple
periodic sounds (pure tones) called harmonics
Each harmonic has a unique frequency and
amplitude
Frequency is measured in cycles per second or Hertz
(Hz)
Lowest harmonic is the fundamental frequency (Fo) –
represents the rate of vocal cord vibration
Each subsequent harmonic is 120 Hz higher – 240
Hz, 360 Hz, etc.
Supralaryngeal system
 Amplitude represented in decibels (dB) of
sound pressure level or intensity level
 Amplitude harmonics vary in a predictable
manner
 Fo has the highest amplitude
 Harmonics drop off at 12dB per octave
 12 dB drop between the fundamental
frequency and first harmonic
 Graph (amplitude spectrum) shows amplitude
and frequency of each harmonic
Supralaryngeal system
 Sound traveling through the upper airways
(supralaryngeal or vocal tract) is modulated
by shape and size of the tract
 Some harmonics are amplified and some
reduced (damped)
 Humming sound of phonation acquires
overtones called resonant or formant
frequencies
 As the cavity changes to form different
sounds resonance or formants also change
Supralaryngeal system
Supralaryngeal system
 Articulation
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Process of forming sounds by movement of
the articulators
Vocal or supralaryngeal tract made up of
tubes from the larynx to the opening of the
mouth and nose
Oral cavity – lips to the back of the throat –
changed by the articulators
Nasal cavity – from the nares to the
velopharynx – fixed
Pharyngeal cavity between the vocal folds to
the nasal cavity
Supralaryngeal system
Supralaryngeal system
 Pharyngeal oral-nasal system
 Pharynx
 Divided into 3 cavities
 Laryngopharynx, oralpharynx and nasopharynx
 Direction of sound determined by the position of the velum
(soft palate)
 Velopharynx – velum (extension of the hard palate) and
pharyngeal walls
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Open position – nasal radiation for nasal sounds
Closure of the velopharyngeal port for oral sounds
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Upward movement of the velum
Inward movement of the pharynx
Different types of movements
Cleft palate or short palate causes hypernasality
Supralaryngeal system
 Articulation
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Coordination of fixed (teeth, alveolar ridge,
hard palate) and mobile (tongue, jaw, and soft
palate) articulators
Upper jaw or maxilla and the mandible have
teeth which help to produce sounds such as /’/
/;/ /f/ /v/
Alveolar ridge –bony shelf of the maxilla help
to produce sounds such as /t/, /d/, /z/ and /s/
Hard palate which extends from the alveolar
ridge helps to produce /c/ /y/, /j/,/./
Suprapharyngeal system
 Oral cavity
 Lower jaw or mandible – moves the lower lip
and tongue
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Tempromandibular joint – hinge like movement
Up and down as well as slightly forward and
backward and side to side
Produces vowel sounds such as /e/, /i/, /o/
Movements produced by muscles
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Temporalis
Masseter
Geniohyoid
Mylohyoid
Suprapharyngeal system
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Tongue
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Most important articulator
Shortened, lengthened, widened, narrowed, flattened
and thickened
No skeleton – skeletal support from the hyoid bone
and the jaw
Attached to the palate, pharynx and the epiglottis
Capable of complicated movements due to its own
musculature
Body – main bulk – vowel production
Tip – apex – 50% of consonants
Blade – behind the tip – small number of sounds (/c/)
Dorsum – back – velar sounds
Root – front wall of the pharynx
Supralaryngeal system
 Oral cavity
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Lips
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Upper and lower lips contribute by opening and
closing the oral cavity
Lower lip moved by the jaw – greater movement
than the upper lip
Allows production of sounds such as /p/, /b/, and
/m/
Phonetics
 Four or five descriptors typically used to classify
consonants
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Voicing
Nasality
Manner of articulation
Place of articulation
Secondary articulation
/n/ is a voiced, alveolar, nasal, stop
/f/ is a unvoiced, labiodental, fricative
 Vowels are classified according to 3 characteristics
 Height – high, mid, low
 Frontness/backness – front, central or back
 Lip shape – spread, rounded, normal
 All vowels are voiced,
Phonetics
 Suprasegmentals
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Classified according to:
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Loudness
Pitch
Duration
Subject (noun) vs. subject (verb)
Emphasis called stress
Intonation used to differentiate between a
statement and a question (it’s a good time vs.
it’s a good time?)
Language
 Complex and dynamic system of conventional symbols that is used in
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various modes for thought and communication
Langauge evolves within specific historical, social, and cultural contexts
Language is rule governed
 Phonology
 Morphology
 Syntax
 Semantic
 Pragmatic
Language learning is determined by biological, cognitive, psychosocial
and environmental factors
Effective use of language requires understanding of human interaction
(sociocultural roles, nonverbal cues and motivation)
Multifaceted behavior that is under constant change
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New advances in technology
Dialects
Language structure
 Phonology is the rules that govern combination of
phonemes or sounds
 Morphology is the study word structure
 Free morphemes (e.g., dog)
 Bound morphemes (e.g., s)
 Syntax of the word order of language
 Subject followed by a verb which is followed by an
object
 Semantics
 Referential meaning – meaning assigned to
individual words (the word car induces a mental
picture of a car), adult vocabulary of 80,000 words
 Relational meaning – combination of referents
 Figurative meaning
Language structure
 Pragmatics – rules for talking or the rules for what we
say and how we say it
 Speech act conforms to the context
 Initiation
 Turn taking
 Commenting
 Requesting
 Termination
 Repair
Prelinguistic development
 Characterized by child’s exploration of his environment
 Cognitive, motor, and social domains develop in parallel to this
development
 At the end of this period the child learns to use words as
referents (abstract symbols of actual referents)
 First three months
 Human voice calming effect when the infant is upset
 Caregivers constantly provide stimulation in the form of
auditory and visual input
 Develops into an early schema
 Crying is used to signal hunger or discomfort which will
result is satisfaction of the need (caregiver will produce a
bottle)
 Vowels emerge during periods of satisfaction
Prelinguistic development
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Vowels are combined with back of throat sounds
(/k/ and /g/) in the second month (called vocal play
or cooing)
Prolongation of vowel sounds appears next
Turning head towards a voice and responding
vocally to the speech of caregivers is also
observed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2YdkQ1G5QI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btg9PiT0sZg&f
eature=related
Prelinguistic development
 Fourth to the twelfth month
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPKumYIWnw&feature=related
 Consonant vowel combinations are strung
together and practiced during times of
comfort and content (babbling)
 Sounds produced are not specific to the
native language
 Emergence of suprasegmental features
(rhythm and flow)
 Five to nine months the child expands on
prelinguistic behavior
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Prelinguistic development
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Variegated babbling replaces the repetitive
babbling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaZSnwD_Zik&f
eature=related
Echolalia emerges towards the end of this period
Child attempts to imitate the caregiver’s
utterances
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS3GVCcIIKg&
NR=1
Meaning is not associated with these imitations
Infant understands angry intonations, his name
and some words
They start to pay attention to conversation
Language development
 12 months to 48 months
 Single word utterances
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First words emerge at approximately 12 months of age
Child uses single words (holophrases) just as competent
speakers do to convey meaning relations
Relations are context based and the meaning is about the
here and now
Object names and actions (e.g., eat for hungry)
Consonant vowel or vowel consonant combinations
Continues until 18 months of age
Understands more words than he produces
First 50 words are holophrases
Not aware of the single sounds that form the words
After 50 words they become more aware of the phonology
and start to combine sounds in a variety of ways to form
different words
Language development
 Two word utterances
18 months to 24 months
 Best studied within the context the utterances are produced
(mommy shoe may mean different things in different
contexts)
 Morphological stage
 Marked by expansion in utterance length
 27 to 30 months
 Begin to produce phrases (my doggie) and clauses (my
doggie eat)
 Preparation for adult sentence structure (agent-actionobject)
 Inflections also appear to change the type and the meaning
of the sentence
 Caregivers are constantly stimulating the infant
 Caregivers speak with less complex language with children
 They provide expansions
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Language Development
 Development of syntax
31 to 34 months
 Continue to add detail
 Development of questions and imperatives (with
appropriate word order)
 Engage in conversations
 Take turns, repair may or may not be successful
 Sentence embedding
 Phrases and clauses are embedded within each
other to create more complex utterances (put it
under the table or I like the boy who helped)
 Pragmatics continues to improve (more turns
during conversation and the meaning of pausing to pause for the communication partner to respond
and that it is signal for the end of the utterance)
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Language development
 Co-joining sentences
Complete utterances
 Begin to consider the perspective of the listener
 Continue to embed and start cojoining sentence (I
like cookies and I ate them all)
 Refining language skills
 School experience places the child in a different
environment with different interactions
 Cognition continues to play a role
 Formalizes the language channels by learning to
read, write, and spell
 Uses language now to learn other concepts
 Development of metalinguistics (assess
phonological, syntax and semantic rules)
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Communication disorders
 Developmental delays or acquired problems
 17% have communication disorders
 11% have some type of hearing loss
 6% a speech disorder
 Speech disorder includes disorders of voice,
articulation and fluency
 Language disorder refers to comprehension
and production of language
Classification of communication disorders
Language disorders
 Language disorders in children
Difficulty in acquiring language
 Cognitive impairment/developmental delay
 Language impairment of varying
degrees
 As they grow the gap between their
chronological age and language age
continues to expand
 Expressive language is shorter in length
and less complex
 Semantics and pragmatics are also a
problem
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Language disorders
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Autism
 Social interaction
 Caregivers report that the child started to learn language but
then stopped
 Exhibit echolalia
 Usual or peculiar differences
 Person stores and produces the utterances but does not
process the utterances internally
Hearing impairment
 Severity of language impairment depends on the type and
severity of the hearing loss
 Evaluated by an audiologist
 Appropriate hearing may be prescribed
 Hearing aids apply hearing but they do not restore hearing
 Cochlear implants give direct stimulation to the cochlear
 Supplement their language with speech reading and manual
signs
Language disorders
 Language disorders in children
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Specific language impairment
 No cognitive, social, sensory, or motor
problems
 Demonstrate delays in language development
 Lack of achieving linguistic milestones
 Comprehend more than they produce
 Difficulties extracting irregularities of language
 Morphological disorders are evident
 Vocabulary growth might also be a problem
 Pragmatics may also be affected
Language disorders
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Neglect and abuse
 Lack of maternal interaction has a negative effect on
language development
 Pragmatics is a severe problem
 They do not initiate and restrict their utterances in
conversation
Traumatic brain injury
 Effect on language varies with the site of lesion, degree
and age of insult
 Cognitive deficits such as attention, memory, perception,
organization and problem solving are also affected
 I million children and adolescents incur TBI
 Language deficits include deficits in comprehension and
difficulty with figurative language such as idioms,
metaphors and proverbs
 Problems with story grammar and sequencing parts of a
narrative may also be affected
Language disorders
 Language disorders in adults - Aphasias
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Disruption of blood supply to the brain
Damage to neural tissue
Degenerative disease
Other problems co-exist with language
impairments (poor judgment, sensory or motor
impairments, memory problems)
Associated swallowing or motor speech
disorder
Language disorders
 Fluent or Wernicke's aphasia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVhYN7NTIK
U)
 Non-fluent or Broca’s aphasia
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aplTvEQ6ew
)
Language disorders
 Augmentative and alternative communication
 If the person is not capable of developing functional
speech, they may need to use an AAC system
 Total communication approach
 No tech (manual sign language)
 Low tech (manual communication boards)
 Mid tech (static display devices)
 High tech (dynamic display devices)
 Caregivers feel that use of AAC prevents further
development of language but it only enhances
language development
 Strategies need to be taught on how to use the AAC
systems