• MALSORI
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• no.49
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• pp.95-105
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• 2004

An automatic pronunciation correction system provides learners with correction guidelines for each mispronunciation. For this purpose we develope a speech recognizer which automatically classifies pronunciation errors when Koreans speak a foreign language. In order to develope the methods for automatic assessment of pronunciation quality, we propose a language model based score as a machine score in the speech recognizer. Experimental results show that the language model based score had higher correlation with human scores than that obtained using the conventional log-likelihood based score.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.83-88
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• 2003

This study carried out an experimental English pronunciation assessment to see the differences in the relationship between the different rater categories. The result shows that i) correlation between Korean and Native American raters is high(r=.98) enough to be considered reliable, ii) previous instructions about assessment rubric and the knowledge about English phonetics and phonology exert little influence on the rating scores, iii) correlation between the automatic ILT(Interactive Language Tutor) rating using speech recognition technology and Natives' rating is stronger than that between ILT and Koreans' rating.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.239-244
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to investigate two phonological error patterns on coronal feature of children with functional articulation disorders and to compare them with those of general children. We tested 120 children with functional articulation disorders and 100 general children from 2~4 years of age with 'Assessment of Phonology & Articulation for Chidren(APAC)'. The results were as follows: (1) 37 disordered children substituted [+coronal] consonants for [-coronal] consonants (fronting of velars) and 9 disordered children substituted [-coronal] consonants for [+coronal] consonants (backing to velars). (2) Theses two phonological patterns were affected by the articulatory place of following phoneme. (3) The fronting pattern of children with articulation disorders was similar with that of general children, but their backing pattern was different with that of general children. These results show the clinical usefulness of coronal feature in phonological pattern analysis, the need of articulatory assessment with various phonetic context, and the importance of error contexts in clinical judgment.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.109-112
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• 2003

This paper aims at developing sample paragraphs for voice pitch assessment which is specifically designed for Koreans. Recently the demand for such a battery of sample sentences has been steadily increased among Korean speech therapists. In this paper, different sample paragraphs (two conventionally used paragraphs and three newly developed ones which consist mainly of sonorant sounds and different types of sentences), different softwares (Dr. Speech, Wavesurfer, Praat) and different techniques (automatic measurement and detailed measurement in which the researcher controls many aspects which might influence the measurement of pitch) will be compared for measuring fundamental frequency.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.19-35
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• 2000

Speech evaluation and treatment planning for the patients with articulation disorders have traditionally been based on perceptual judgement by speech pathologists. Recently, various computerized speech analysis systems have been developed and commonly used in clinical settings to obtain the objective and quantitative data and specific treatment strategies. 10 dysarthric children (6 neurogenic and 4 functional dysarthria) participated in this experiment. Speech evaluation of dysarthria was performed in two ways; first, the acoustic analysis by Visi-Pitch and a Computerized Speech Lab and second, the perceptual scoring of phonetic errors rates in 100 word test. The results of the initial evaluation served as primary guidlines for the indivisualized treatment planning of each patient's speech problems. After mean treatment period of 5 months, the follow-up data of both dysarthric groups showed increased maximum phonation time, increased alternative motion rate and decreased occurrence of articulatory deviation. The changes of acoustic data and therapeutic effects were more prominent in children with dysarthria due to neurologic causes than with functional dysarthria. Three cases including their pre- and post treatment data were illustrated in detail.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.158-162
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• 2007

Anomia, word finding difficulty, is one of the most common feature in aphasia. Previous studies support that the process of picture naming consists of three stages, in the order of the object recognition, semantic, and phonological output stages. Anomic patients have many symptoms and it means that anomia can be sub-divided into several symptom groups. Our anomia assessment battery consists of several parts: (1) picture naming set, (2) picture-word matching task, (3) lexical decision task for mental lexicon damage, (4) naming task for phonological lexicon damage, and (5) semantic decision task. Pictures and words were selected on the basis of usage frequency, semantic category, and word length. We administered this anomia evaluation battery to many anomic aphasics and we subdivided patients into several groups. We hope that our anomia evaluation set is useful and helpful for evaluation anomic aphasics

• MALSORI
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• no.43
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• pp.25-44
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• 2002

The intelligibility of a spoken message is influenced by a number of factors. Intelligibility is a joint product of a speaker and a listener. In addition, intelligibility varies with the nature of the language context and the context of communication. Thus a single intelligibility score can not be ascribed to a given individual apart from listener and listening situation. But there is a clinical and research need to develop assessment measures of intelligibility that are quantitative and analytic. Before developing the index of intelligibility, the crucial factors need to be examined. Among them, the most significant in intelligibility is the speech factors of speakers. The following section reviews the literature dealing with the contribution of segmental and suprasegmental factors in speech intelligibility regarding the hearing impaired, alaryngeal, and motor disorders.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.157-160
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• 2002

This study aims to define the isochronism of English feet. To assess the average value of moras of a foot, the study is, first, to set up a way of counting the number of the moras on the extrametricality with some modifications. Secondly, with the measurement of the average duration of feet of Shakespeare's 120 sonnets through Praat (version 4.030, 2002), it clarifies the foot isochronism in English. With the two ways of measuring the isochronism, it clarifies the fact the foot isochronism permits the difference scope of $2.2{\mu}'s$ (moras) to $1.8{\mu}'s$, that is, $22{\mu}'s$ to $18{\mu}'s$ per line, while the acoustic assessment shows the isochronically congnitive gap of 302-447msec. per foot, or 4,461msec. to 3,019msec. per line in case of iambic pentameter in English poetry.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.105-108
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• 2002

In the present study, the intelligibility of the synthesized speech sounds was evaluated by using the psycholinguistic and fMRI techniques, In order to see the difference in recognizing words between the natural and synthesized speech sounds, word regularity and word frequency were varied. The results of Experiment1 and Experiment2 showed that the intelligibility difference of the synthesized speech comes from word regularity. There were smaller activation of the auditory areas in brain and slower recognition time for the regular words.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.111-135
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• 2002

An annotation model of a non-native speech database has been devised, wherein English is the target language and Korean is the native language. The proposed annotation model features overt transcription of predictable linguistic information in native speech by the dictionary entry and several predefined types of error specification found in native language transfer. The proposed model is, in that sense, different from other previously explored annotation models in the literature, most of which are based on native speech. The validity of the newly proposed model is revealed in its consistent annotation of 1) salient linguistic features of English, 2) contrastive linguistic features of English and Korean, 3) actual errors reported in the literature, and 4) the newly collected data in this study. The annotation method in this model adopts the widely accepted conventions, Speech Assessment Methods Phonetic Alphabet (SAMPA) and the TOnes and Break Indices (ToBI). In the proposed annotation model, SAMPA is exclusively employed for segmental transcription and ToBI for prosodic transcription. The annotation of non-native speech is used to assess speaking ability for English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners.