Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is a rare disorder characterized by the emergence of a perceived foreign accent following brain damage. The symptomotology, functional bases, and neural substrates of this disorder are still being elucidated. In this case study, acoustic analyses were performed on the speech of a 46-year old monolingual female who…

How do beginning and skilled writers compose a text in the course of time? To gain insight into the temporal aspects of planning and translating activities during writing, this article examined writing in real time and analyzed pause time patterns in writing in relation to linguistic characteristics of the written product. Fourth-grade children…

Rhythm production in 53 children in grade 1 was investigated as a predictor of reading ability in the same children in grades 1-5. This paper reports the results of correlations and hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for shared variance between phonological awareness and naming speed. Rhythm was correlated significantly with both…

Speakers employ acoustic cues (pitch accents) to indicate that a word is important, but may also use visual cues (beat gestures, head nods, eyebrow movements) for this purpose. Even though these acoustic and visual cues are related, the exact nature of this relationship is far from well understood. We investigate whether producing a visual beat…

The authors answer criticisms of two previous articles on the theory of prosody. (MR)

This technical paper analyzes the primary level of rhythm in English verse: that created by the numerical, sequential, and temporal patterns of the sounds of syllables and silences. (AN)

Suggests a teaching strategy that sets poems to song in order to stimulate interest in poetic structure and understanding of rhythm and musicality in performance. (JMF)

To segment continuous speech into its component words, listeners make use of language rhythm; because rhythm differs across languages, so do the segmentation procedures which listeners use. For each of stress-, syllable-and mora-based rhythmic structure, perceptual experiments have led to the discovery of corresponding segmentation procedures. In…

Male and female, black and white political interviewees (M. Albright, B. Clinton, H. Clinton, B. Obama, C. Powell, and C. Rice) of Larry King on CNN TV are used to ascertain whether ethnicity and gender affect the way politicians actually speak. Qualitative comparisons are made of Obama's hesitations and rate with and without a threatening…

Studies of basic (nonspeech) auditory processing in adults thought to have developmental dyslexia have yielded a variety of data. Yet there has been little consensus regarding the explanatory value of auditory processing in accounting for reading difficulties. Recently, however, a number of studies of basic auditory processing in children with…

This book offers practical ways of teaching students about the close connections between the meaning, rhythm, and meter in poetry. The major assumption of the book is that a close reading of a poem--one that explores the nuances of structure--can increase one's appreciation and enjoyment of poetry. In the words of the authors, "What the poem is…

The author reviews a previous article on poetic meter and then relays his own ideas and proposals on the subject. (MR)

A famous author, scholar, and folklorist recounts his experience with stories and storytellers. Encourages educators to cultivate for children the world of imagination, thought, and intuition. (AEA)

Explores a connection that inhered in ancient practices, a connection not as apparently relevant to contemporary pedagogy, but just might be: that between rhetorical training and athletic training. Looks at two considerations that help render more salient the cultural and historical connections. Discusses how the sophists emphasized the…