Consistent with social agency theory, we hypothesized that learners who studied a set of worked-out examples involving proportional reasoning narrated by an animated agent with a human voice would perform better on near and far transfer tests and rate the speaker more positively compared to learners who studied the same set of examples narrated by…

Fifteen children diagnosed with specific language impairment (SLI) and 15 typically developing (TD) children were tested for identification performance on 2 synthetic speech continual varying in formant transition durations (FTDs). One continuum varied from /ba/ to /wa/, and the other varied from /da/ to /ja/. Various d'-related measures from…

Various computer applications in linguistics, primarily speech synthesis and machine translation, are reviewed. Although the computer proves useful for statistics, dictionary building and programmed instruction, the promulgation of a world auxiliary language is considered a more human and practical solution to the international communication…

The paper surveys the major projects on the understanding of natural language that fall within what may now be called the artificial intelligence paradigm of natural language systems. Some space is devoted to arguing that the paradigm is now a reality and different in significant respects from the generative paradigm of present-day linguistics.…

This research report examines the pronunciation that children give to synthetic words containing vowel-cluster spellings and analyzes the observed pronunciations in relation to common English words containing the same vowel clusters. The pronunciations associated with vowel-cluster spellings are among the most unpredictable letter-sound…

Factors inhibiting more widespread use of computer-assisted instruction and computer-assisted language learning include: start-up costs of computer hardware; dearth of quality courseware; skepticism regarding its effectiveness; and the educational system and the teacher. However, the promise of cost-efficiency and versatility, plus the potential…

A strategy for using computers in remediating dyslexia is illustrated, drawing on the relationship between phonological skills and word recognition. Dyslexic students (n=83) who underwent computer training with speech feedback gained more in reading and spelling performance than did students in conventional special education settings (n=59).…

This study investigated effects of speech synthesis on proofreading efficiency among 33 postsecondary students with learning disabilities. Using a speech synthesis system enabled subjects to detect a significantly higher percentage of errors, though having text read aloud by another person remained the most effective way to find…

Evaluation of naturally occurring peer-directed communicative interactions of 13 youth with moderate to severe mental retardation and little or no functional speech, who used the System for Augmenting Language as their primary means of communication, found that the system was an integral component of successful and effective conversations and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the status and trends of instruction in both keyboarding and speech recognition among public schools in a Midwestern state. A survey was sent to 490 members of the state business education association who returned 213 (62.5%) usable responses. The subjects represented schools from kindergarten to college.…

Some of the problems inherent in a word-based hypothesis asserting that the word/stem is taken as the minimal sign not only for syntax but also for morphology are examined in an analysis of a polysynthetic language, Koyukon, an Athabaskan language of Alaska. Data from the Central dialect is considered in the analysis. A brief sketch of the verbal…

This report describes a project which commenced in 1980 at the Open University in England, the object of which was to provide blind Open University undergraduate students with home-based computing facilities through the use of low-cost commercially available microcomputers and speech synthesizers. The development of computer programs that…

Paper presented at the Annual National Conference on Linguistics (11th, New York, New York March 1966). First published in the BULLETIN OF PROSTHETICS RESEARCH.

This review examines electronic braille input-output devices which have a braille keyboard for data entry and/or a braille display. Four braille notetakers and two braille computer systems are evaluated, commenting on their keyboards, ease of use, documentation, and analysis of speech and/or the braille display. (JDD)

Evaluates the intelligibility of computer speech (Supertalker, Codec) by having 47 Australian children, ages six-seven, identify speech sounds in isolation, as initial sound in words, and as final sounds in words. Since Codec more closely approximates normal speech, it is recommended for computer-assisted instruction with beginning readers.…