Pooling data of speakers of different languages in the same trial and comparing speech outcome across trials seems possible if the assessment of speech concerns consonants and is confined to speech units that are phonetically similar across languages. Agreed conventions and rules are important. A composite variable for perceptual assessment of velopharyngeal function during speech seems usable; whereas, the method for hypernasality evaluation requires further testing.

When speakers of different language background are included in cleft palate studies of speech outcome following treatment, speech outcome data should be based on speech units that are phonetically identical across languages. This affects the make-up of the speech material used in the study. In practice, the requirement of phonetically identical speech units may not be totally met, and detailed information regarding the interaction between the cleft condition and speech sound production is still required to fully understand how the validity of data is affected if this requirement is not met.

Vocal fold adjustments in Danish aspirated and unaspirated stops were investigated by electromyography, photo-electric glottography, and fiberoptic stills. The results show that these two stop types are produced primarily by different types of glottal gesture, rather than by a different timing of the glottal and supraglottal articulations. Other, more general aspects of glottal behaviour in relation to aspiration and devoicing in stops are also discussed.

The present study focuses on contoid vocalization by Danish 1-year-old unrepaired toddlers born with cleft lip and palate, and how they differ from their non-cleft peers. Furthermore, we focus on how the same children master Danish consonants at 3 years of age compared with their non-cleft peers in terms of their ability to produce consonants in accordance with adult target. Also, with the 3 year olds, we look at cleft speech characteristics as well as developmental speech characteristics found in both groups of children. Based on phonetic transcription, it was found that Danish unoperated cleft palate children at 1 year of age produced few types of contoids and preferably contoids that did not require closure of the velopharyngeal port in their prespeech. In addition, the data suggest that consonants produced by cleft children who are treated with one-stage surgery after speech onset, at 3 years of age differ from speech produced by non-cleft children, not only as regards cleft speech characteristics, but also as regards developmental speech characteristics.

Attention is drawn to the fact that low vowels may show a gradual start after aspirated consonants, so that it is possible to consider the vowel to start at different points: (a) at voicing start, (b) at the start of Formant 1, (c) at the start of higher formants. The choice of delimitation is shown to have serious consequences for the statement of various temporal relations. It is argued that the choice of point (c) is the most rational choice, both from the point of view of production and perception. It also gives the most regular temporal relations.