Optimising elliptical utterances in dialogue

Elliptical utterances in dialogue are here investigated using Optimality Theory (OT). The focus is on generation, and the analysis as well as the examples used are based on a study of elliptical utterances in corpora of recorded dialogues. The OT analysis makes use of the information structural notions of focus and ground. Two important optimisations of elliptical utterances are investigated. One concerns the optimisation of the part of the context that the elliptical utterance is connected to, and the other concerns the determination of whether an elliptical or a non-elliptical utterance is to be produced.     

Influence of adenotonsillar hypertrophy on /s/-articulation in children--effects of surgery

Tonsillar hypertrophy is common in young children and affects several aspects of the speech such as distortions of the dento-alveolar consonants. The study objective was to assess /s/-articulation, perceptually and acoustically, in children with tonsillar hypertrophy and compare effects of two types of surgery, total tonsillectomy and tonsillotomy. Sixty-seven children, aged 50-65 months, on the waiting list for surgery, were randomized to tonsillectomy or tonsillotomy. The speech material was collected preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively. Two groups of age-matched children were controls. /S/-articulation was affected acoustically with lower spectral peak locations and perceptually with less distinct /s/-production before surgery, in comparison to controls. After surgery /s/-articulation was normalized perceptually, but acoustic differences remained. No significant differences between surgical methods were found.