Affective Prosody in Children with Williams Syndrome

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Affective Prosody in Children with Williams Syndrome
Language: English
Authors: Setter, Jane, Stojanovik, Vesna, Van Ewijk, Lizet
Source: Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics. Sep 2007 21(9):659-672.
Availability: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/default.html
Peer Reviewed: Y
Physical Description: PDF
Page Count: 14
Publication Date: 2007
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Genetics, Vowels, Speech Impairments, Children, Language Usage, Comparative Analysis, Receptive Language, Language Impairments, Language Acquisition, Suprasegmentals, Emotional Response, Disabilities, Affective Behavior
DOI: 10.1080/02699200701539056
ISSN: 0269-9206
Abstract: The aim of the current study was to investigate expressive affect in children with Williams syndrome (WS) in comparison to typically developing children in an experimental task and in spontaneous speech. Fourteen children with WS, 14 typically developing children matched to the WS group for receptive language (LA) and 15 typically developing children matched to the WS groups for chronological age (CA) were recruited. Affect was investigated using an experimental Output Affect task from the Profiling Elements of Prosodic Systems-Child version (PEPS-C) battery, and by measuring pitch range and vowel durations from a spontaneous speech task. The children were also rated for level of emotional involvement by phonetically naive listeners. The WS group performed similarly to the LA and CA groups on the Output Affect task. With regard to vowel durations, the WS group was no different from the LA group; however both the WS and the LA groups were found to use significantly longer vowels than the CA group. The WS group differed significantly from both control groups on their range of pitch range and was perceived as being significantly more emotionally involved than the two control groups. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)
Abstractor: Author
Number of References: 42
Entry Date: 2007
Accession Number: EJ772969
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:The aim of the current study was to investigate expressive affect in children with Williams syndrome (WS) in comparison to typically developing children in an experimental task and in spontaneous speech. Fourteen children with WS, 14 typically developing children matched to the WS group for receptive language (LA) and 15 typically developing children matched to the WS groups for chronological age (CA) were recruited. Affect was investigated using an experimental Output Affect task from the Profiling Elements of Prosodic Systems-Child version (PEPS-C) battery, and by measuring pitch range and vowel durations from a spontaneous speech task. The children were also rated for level of emotional involvement by phonetically naive listeners. The WS group performed similarly to the LA and CA groups on the Output Affect task. With regard to vowel durations, the WS group was no different from the LA group; however both the WS and the LA groups were found to use significantly longer vowels than the CA group. The WS group differed significantly from both control groups on their range of pitch range and was perceived as being significantly more emotionally involved than the two control groups. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)
ISSN:0269-9206
DOI:10.1080/02699200701539056