Diagnosing Speech Sound Disorders in Vietnamese speaking children learning English as a second language

Kimberly JonesSLP6091 Multicultural IssuesNova Southeastern University10/30/11

Typical Vietnamese Speech Development

No Research Available!!! Why???

Are there speech disorders in Vietnam?

Speech disorders in Vietnam

No incidence/prevalence data could be found

According to Hwa-Froelich and Westby (2003):•Speech sound disorders usually were not recognized as a disability as are blindness, deafness, and physical impairments that restrict daily activity

•Cleft Palate, speech and learning problems, and mental retardation were considered to be due to a child’s nature, stubbornness, laziness, or fate

Speech Therapy in Vietnam•Speech therapy in Vietnam according to

Dr. Charlotte Ducote▫Most interest is from rehabilitation specialists ▫More interest each year for increasing special

education in designated schools and/or programs related to orphanages

▫Non-Governmental Organizations in Vietnam and some from outside Vietnam are sponsoring activities to raise awareness of how to help people with speech-language and related disorders.

▫There were no formal training programs in speech therapy or audiology in Vietnam as of early 2002 and no one had left the country to receive formal training from a college or university program in speech therapy (Bowen, 2010)

Speech Therapy in Vietnam: What is Available?• J594 Vietnam Speech-Language Program

(Trinh Foundation Australia)▫Working to establish speech-language

therapy as a profession using a “train the trainer” model

▫Planning and funding the first full time, two year post graduate diploma program in speech-language therapy at the Pham Ngoc Thach Municipal Medical University in Ho Chi Minh City, to begin in September of 2010.

▫Did it happen???

(Bowen, 2010)

YES!!!• As of the most recent

Newsletter from October 2011:

▫ All 18 students successfully completed Year 1 of the Program

▫ Program Coordinator Ms. Marie Atherton will showcase the program and students at the ASHA Conference in November 2011 in San Diego

September 6, 2010 Opening Ceremony for the 1st ever 2-year Speech-Language

Post-graduate Program in Vietnam

(Bowen, 2010)

Vietnamese Population in the U.S.• Increasing: From 3.6% in 2000 to 4.8% of the

US Population in 2010▫4th largest Asian group in the United States

according to the 2000 Census: Chinese: 23.8% of the US Asian Population Filipino: 18.3 % of the US Asian Population Asian Indian: 16.2% of the US Asian Population Vietnamese: 10.9% which equals 1,110,207 people

▫In 2000: Vietnamese had the highest proportion of the Asian US population that reported they spoke English less than “very well”. (62%)

(Reeves & Bennett, 2004; Humes, Jones & Ramirez, 2011)

Research on Speech Sound Acquisition for Vietnamese - English speakers• No published studies could be located specifically

related to typical speech sound development of Vietnamese children who learn English as a second language

• Instead – a detailed description of general Vietnamese phonology (including it’s similarities and differences with English) and data from a qualitative study describing the speech characteristics of highly unintelligible monolingual Vietnamese speakers will be reviewed to provide us with information that may assist in the diagnosis of speech-sound disorders in Vietnamese children who are learning English as a second language.

Vietnamese Phonology•Several languages have influenced

Vietnamese:▫English, Chinese, Malay, and French

•There are Three main Dialects:▫Southern▫Central▫Northern

•Pronunciation and tone varies across dialects but graphemes used in writing are the same

(Hwa-Froelich, Hodson & Edwards, 2006)

Vietnamese Phonology

•Syllabic Language:▫Three components of a Vietnamese syllable:

Initial consonant singleton, the rhyme, and the tone

▫ Four types of Syllables: Open: CV or CvV Partially Open: Cv or Vv (ending in a semi-vowel) Partially Closd: ending in a nasal Closed: ending in a voiceless unreleased plosive

Syllable structures beginning in a vowel have also been considered: e.g. VC, Vv, and syllabic V

▫There are no consonant clusters in Vietnamese

(Tang & Barlow, 2006)

Vietnamese Phonology• Six Vietnamese Tones (Agar, 1998-2011)• The tone used changes the meaning of the word:▫ What does this mean for those with voice impairments?

Listen to a recording of connected speech from two speakers:Omniglot.com(Southern and Northern Dialect)

TranslationAll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. (Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Vietnamese Dialectical DifferencesNote: Southern dialect may produce written ‘v’ as /j/, written final ‘t’ as /k/, and written final ‘n’ as “ng”.

Consider: Would these productions appear to indicate speech sound disorder if the clinician was not aware of the phonology of Vietnamese?

(Tang & Barlow, 2006)

Vietnamese and English Phonology Contrast/ComparisonEnglish Vietnamese

• Tone differences at the phrase and sentence level change meaning from statement to question or indicate emotion

• Initial, medial, and final consonant clusters and blends are common

• Wide range of final consonants used

• Use both aspirated and un-aspirated stops interchangeably

• Tone differences at the word level change the word itself

• No consonant clusters or blends

• Final consonants limited to un-aspirated voiceless stops and nasals

• Most stops are un-aspirated or implosive: there are a few exceptions (e.g. “th” which sounds like there is a long “h” at the end

(Tang & Barlow, 2006)

Error’s that may indicate a Speech-Sound DIFFERENCE

(Hwa-Froelich &Westby, 2002)

(Hwa-Froelich &Westby, 2002)

Vietnamese influenced English:Speech Accent Archive

Diagnosing speech sound disorders in Monolingual Vietnamese Children• Tang & Barlow’s 2006 study described the speech

sound production of 3 monolingual Vietnamese speaking children who were considered highly unintelligible by their families.

• With no recorded data on typical speech development in Vietnamese children the authors merely postulated that the speech of the children in the study must have some atypical sound production patterns due to the reported low intelligibility ratings by their families

• The following characteristics were found in their speech:▫ Substitution of less complex sounds for more complex ones

in place (glottal for alveolar), manner (stops for fricatives), and voicing (de-voicing of voiced sounds)

▫ Substitutions of more complex sounds in place of less complex ones in place (velar backing)

Diagnosing speech sound disorders in Monolingual Vietnamese Children

•When compared to typical speech sound development of children who speak Cantonese (a similar language)▫Some backing is evident in typical Cantonese

speech sound development but it is rare (less than 6% up to age 4:11 and not reported beyond 4:11) (So & Dodd, 1994 as cited in Tang and Barlow, 2006)

▫ It is unclear which speech sound characteristics would be considered typical in speech development of children but consider earlier data indicating backing in the typical characteristics of the southern dialect for the phonemes final /t/ and /k/ (Tang & Barlow, 2006)

)

Diagnosing speech sound disorders• When evaluating speech sound production of

English language learners who’s first language is Vietnamese, the following information/processes may help distinguish differences versus disorder:▫ Obtain an intelligibility rating in the client’s primary

language by a fluent speaker of their dialect. ▫ Observe for error patterns in both languages that are

not consistent with common manner, place, or voicing patterns from the primary language

▫ Look for phoneme substitutions of what are considered to be more complex phonemes for simpler phonemes in both languages as this may indicate atypical patterns

▫ Involve the family and take into consideration reported speech sound development of siblings

▫ Compare English speech-sound acquisition of second language learners to norms from similar languages/cultures when data on the exact population is lacking (e.g. Cantonese)

Cultural do’s and don'ts for working with Vietnamese families

•Conversation and Meetings:▫Always approach the oldest person present for

information. If they do not know they will refer you to someone who does.

▫Politeness is demonstrated by speaking softly and being reserved in public places as opposed to outspoken

▫Vietnamese parents see teachers as people with authority over schooling and may think teachers incompetent for seeking parent involvement.

▫Western man (stranger) should not touch a Southeast Asian woman, including shaking hands.

▫Westerners should not kiss or hug Southeast Asian children in greeting. (sjbreeze, 2010)

Cultural do’s and don'ts for working with Vietnamese families •Non-Verbal:

▫If you use the “ok” symbol with your hands make sure not to grimace with your face – that can confuse

▫Never point to an older person or to someone’s face

▫Do not beckon “come here” with your finger as this gesture is intended for animals

▫Don’t use waving motions to beckon – it is considered impolite

▫Don’t cross your fingers: this is an obscene gesture▫Don’t look directly into someone’s eyes when

talking – this is considered impolite

(sjbreeze, 2010)

ReferencesBowen, C. (2010, March 23). Speech therapy in viet nam. Retrieved from http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/vietnam.htm

Humes, K. R., Jones, N. A., & Ramirez, R. R. (2011). Overview of race and hispanic origin: 2010 (C2010BR-02). Retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau website: http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf

Hwa-Froelich, D., Hodson, B., & Edwards, H. (2002). Characteristics of Vietnamese phonology. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11(3), 264-273. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Reeves, T. J., & Bennett, C. E. (2004). We the people: Asians in the united states (CENSR-17). Retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau website:

http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/censr-17.pdf

sjbreeze. (2010, March 18). Vietnam. Retrieved from http://www.multicsd.org/doku.php?id=vietnam

Tang, G., & Barlow, J. (2006). Characteristics of the sound systems of monolingual Vietnamese-speaking children with phonological impairment. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 20(6), 423-445. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.