Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Communication Disorders
First Reader
Dr. Nancy Hardman
Second Reader
Professor Carol Morgan
Third Reader
Professor Corliss Smith
Abstract
The profession or speech-language pathology deals with one of the most basic functions or humanity--communication. Speech-language pathologists are trained to provide remedial services to children and adults with communication disorders in a wide variety of work settings.
Communication disorders can be broadly divided into five categories: voice disorders, fluency disorders, dysphagia, language disorders, and articulation disorders.
Before a speech-language pathologist begins speech therapy. it is necessary to perform an evaluation. Evaluation refers to the processes used to determine a diagnosis. There arc two main reasons [or performing evaluation tasks. First. we need to evaluate to arrive at a good understanding of a client's problem. The other reason to perform evaluation tests is to be able to monitor the client's progress in treatment and describe changes in the communication disturbances. Speech-language pathologists use standardized tests to determine the presence or absence of communication disorders. Most test currently used in speech-language pathology arc based on Standard English.
The area that I have addressed is Articulation. Articulation disorders occur when a person produces sounds, syllables, or words in a way that listeners do not always understand what is being said or may be distracted by the manner in which it is said. Such disorders arc most often seen in pre-school or school-age children who do not develop certain sounds at the usual age. Speech-language pathologists work with clients having articulation disorders and help them to learn proper production of speech sounds.
Indian schools teach 58 different languages. Hindi is the official language spoken by the majority of the people in India and only about 5 to 10% of the lndian population speaks English. When I return home. I will be working with predominantly Hindi speaking clients. The field of speech pathology in India is very new. I will have to use the knowledge I have received in English, and adapt it to the Hindi language. There are no tests that I can use while performing an evaluation in Hindi. Translating tests that are used to evaluate language, voice or fluency disorders, does not pose too much of a problem apart from adapting them to the cultural situation, since the basic concepts are the same. But, it is impossible to take an English articulation test and translate it into Hindi, expecting it to function in the same way, which is to detect articulation errors.
Recommended Citation
Rajah, Vinita J., "Articulation Testing in Hindi Speech" (2003). Honors Theses. 148.
https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/honors_theses/148
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons