The aim of the study was to analyse speech perception of children with cochlear implants (N = 29) and children fitted with traditional hearing aids (N = 20). One- and two-syllable words were presented auditorily in a forced choice minimal-pair discrimination task. The children repeated the word and pointed to the appropriate picture presented on computer screen. The words were minimal pairs with respect to voicing or place of articulation in stops and fricatives; among affricates the minimal pairs included the most frequently substituted fricatives and stops in addition to voicing and place of articulation. Vowel discrimination was tested in minimal pairs and in nonsense words differing only in the vowel. Unaided, all children were profoundly hearing impaired and were included in auditory-oral therapy (Verbotonal method). The smallest differences between the groups were found for stops and vowels, and the largest for fricatives and affricates. The implanted children were significantly more successful.

The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the acoustic parameters, perceptual estimation, and self-estimation of voice before, 1 month after, and 6 years after surgical removal of a vocal fold polyp. Subjects were five male patients who came to the Phoniatric Clinic because of breathiness. For all patients, a polyp of one vocal fold was diagnosed. The operation was performed using cold instruments based on the principles of contemporary phonosurgery aiming maximally at preserving the phonatory bridge of the vocal fold. The subjects were recorded in a sound-proof booth three times: before surgery, 1 month post-, and 6 years post-operation. The patients read a short tale and they pronounced a sustained vowel /a/. The following variables were measured: clinical (the distance of the polyp from the anterior commissure, the width of the polyp base and the size of the polyp), and acoustic (F0, jitter, shimmer, harmonic-to-noise ratio, voice turbulence index, degree of voice breaks, and long-term average spectrum). Acoustic variables were measured using the program Praat, while the estimation of voice quality was completed using the GRBAS scale and self-estimation questionnaire of the voice quality, which were answered by the patients. The results showed significant improvement in the variables investigated and improved patients satisfaction with their vocal health after the surgery.

Izvorni znanstveni članak Rukopis prihvaćen za tisak: 11.12.2019.

The paper investigates bodily communication. Bodily kinetics as one of the sub-codes of nonverbal communication is analysed in two languages: in Slovene as the first language (L1, mother tongue) and the Croatian as a foreign language (L2). Five categories of nonverbal behaviour are analysed: emotional phrases, illustrators, regulators, emblems and adaptors. Subjects were first-year students of Slavic studies at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, who used Slovene as L1 and Croatian as L2. The conversation was recorded in controlled conditions in a silent room using a VHS camera. Qualitative and quantitative analyses have been performed. The results show that subjects use illustrators and adaptors most frequently, while regulators occur rarely and only with some of the subjects. Emblems, i.e. generally accepted signs used instead of a word or a joint, and emotional phrases are used scarcely, which is quite common in formal speech. It is also shown that speakers of L2 tend to use more adaptors, which express negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, boredom, et cetera. On the other hand, speakers of L1 frequently use illustrators and regulators, thus supplementing and organising their speech.

U radu se istražuje usmena književnost Bistre, opisuju se vrste i oblici koji se pojavljuju, kao i teme i motivi koji prevladavaju u kazivanjima prema dostupnim izvorima. Istraživanje je pokazalo da se usmena književnost bistranskoga kraja ponajviše temelji na usmenoj lirici, folklornom kazalištu i usmenoj predaji što su tijekom terenskoga istraživanja 1970-ih godina zabilježili istraživači Instituta za etnologiju i folkloristiku (tada: Institut za narodnu umjetnost). Komparativna je analiza pokazala da se pojedine teme i motivi u zapisanim pjesmama iz drugih krajeva pojavljuju u bistranskim inačicama usmene lirike. U istraživanjima folklornoga kazališta zabilježene su dramske scene mahom vezane uz vjerske blagdane, pokladne maškare i svadbene običaje, dok su u usmenoj predaji zabilježeni zapisi o Seljačkoj buni, kmetovima i feudalcima i liku Matije Gupca. U današnje se vrijeme očuvanjem i promicanjem bistranske usmene tradicije bave članovi Kulturno-umjetničkoga društva „Bistra“, Udruga „Ekomuzej Bistra“, kao i druge bistranske udruge, mještani i istraživači.