Cued speech
Encyclopedia
Cued Speech is a system of communication used with and among deaf or hard of hearing people. It is a phonemic-based system which makes traditionally spoken languages accessible by using a small number of handshape
s (representing consonant
s) in different locations near the mouth (representing vowel
s), as a supplement to lipreading. It is now used with people with a variety of language, speech, communication and learning needs.
, Washington D.C. After discovering that children with prelingual and profound hearing impairment
s typically have poor reading comprehension
, he developed the system with the aim of improving the reading abilities of such children through better comprehension of the phoneme
s of English. As many sounds look identical on the lips (such as /p/ and /b/), the hand signals introduce a visual contrast in place of the formerly acoustic contrast. Cued Speech may also help people hearing incomplete or distorted sound — according to the National Cued Speech Association at cuedspeech.org, "cochlear implant
s and Cued Speech are powerful partners".
Since Cued Speech is based on making sounds visible to the hearing impaired, Cued Speech is not limited to use in English speaking nations. Because of the demand for use in other languages/countries, by 1994 Dr. Cornett had adapted cueing to 25 other languages and dialects. Originally designed to represent American English
, the system was adapted to French
in 1977. , Cued Speech has been adapted to approximately 60 languages and dialects, including six dialects of English. For tonal languages
such as Thai
, the tone is indicated by inclination and movement of the hand. For English, Cued speech uses eight different hand shapes and four different positions around the mouth.
; nor is it a Manually Coded Sign System
for a spoken language. Rather Cued Speech is a manual modality of communication for representing English at the phonological level (phonetics
).
Within the United States, proponents of Cued Speech often discuss the system as an alternative to American Sign Language
(ASL) and similar sign languages, although others note that it can be learned in addition to such languages. For the ASL using community, Cued Speech is a unique potential component for learning English as a second language. Within Bilingual-Bicultural models, Cued Speech does not borrow or invent signs from ASL, nor does CS attempt to change ASL syntax or grammar. Rather, CS provides an unambiguous model for language learning that leaves ASL intact.
Cued Speech was developed with the intent of improving literacy rates among children. Even today, one argument made by advocates of Cued Speech for English users is that literacy
rates for reading English are significantly lower in those who learn American Sign Language than those who learn Cued Speech. This difference typically is attributed to ASL being a distinct language from English, with its own syntax
and lexical
patterns,
whereas Cued Speech is not a language but simply a method of making spoken sounds visible.
In her paper "The Relationship Between Phonological Coding And Reading Achievement In Deaf Children: Is Cued Speech A Special Case?" (1998), Ostrander notes, "Research has consistently shown a link between lack of phonological awareness and reading disorders (Jenkins & Bowen, 1994)" and discusses the research basis for teaching Cued Speech as an aid to phonological awareness and literacy. Ostrander concludes that further research into these areas is needed and well justified.
The editor of the Cued Speech Journal reports that "Research indicating that Cued Speech does greatly improve the reception of spoken language by profoundly deaf children was reported in 1979 by Gaye Nicholls, and in 1982 by Nicholls and Ling."
Handshape
Handshape refers to specific shapes formed with that hand that are used in signed languages and manual communication methods such as American Sign Language, other international signed languages such as Signed Exact English, Australian Sign Language and cued speech among others.-Handshapes in...
s (representing consonant
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
s) in different locations near the mouth (representing vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s), as a supplement to lipreading. It is now used with people with a variety of language, speech, communication and learning needs.
History
Cued Speech was invented in 1966 by Dr. R. Orin Cornett at Gallaudet CollegeGallaudet University
Gallaudet University is a federally-chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing, located in the District of Columbia, U.S...
, Washington D.C. After discovering that children with prelingual and profound hearing impairment
Hearing impairment
-Definition:Deafness is the inability for the ear to interpret certain or all frequencies of sound.-Environmental Situations:Deafness can be caused by environmental situations such as noise, trauma, or other ear defections...
s typically have poor reading comprehension
Reading comprehension
Reading comprehension is defined as the level of understanding of a text. This understanding comes from the interaction between the words that are written and how they trigger knowledge outside the text. ....
, he developed the system with the aim of improving the reading abilities of such children through better comprehension of the phoneme
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
s of English. As many sounds look identical on the lips (such as /p/ and /b/), the hand signals introduce a visual contrast in place of the formerly acoustic contrast. Cued Speech may also help people hearing incomplete or distorted sound — according to the National Cued Speech Association at cuedspeech.org, "cochlear implant
Cochlear implant
A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing...
s and Cued Speech are powerful partners".
Since Cued Speech is based on making sounds visible to the hearing impaired, Cued Speech is not limited to use in English speaking nations. Because of the demand for use in other languages/countries, by 1994 Dr. Cornett had adapted cueing to 25 other languages and dialects. Originally designed to represent American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
, the system was adapted to French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
in 1977. , Cued Speech has been adapted to approximately 60 languages and dialects, including six dialects of English. For tonal languages
Tone (linguistics)
Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is, to distinguish or inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called...
such as Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
, the tone is indicated by inclination and movement of the hand. For English, Cued speech uses eight different hand shapes and four different positions around the mouth.
Nature and use
Though to a hearing person, Cued Speech may look similar to signing, Cued Speech is not a sign languageSign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
; nor is it a Manually Coded Sign System
Manually Coded Language
Manually coded languages are representations of spoken languages in a gestural-visual form; that is, "sign language" versions of spoken languages...
for a spoken language. Rather Cued Speech is a manual modality of communication for representing English at the phonological level (phonetics
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
).
Within the United States, proponents of Cued Speech often discuss the system as an alternative to American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
(ASL) and similar sign languages, although others note that it can be learned in addition to such languages. For the ASL using community, Cued Speech is a unique potential component for learning English as a second language. Within Bilingual-Bicultural models, Cued Speech does not borrow or invent signs from ASL, nor does CS attempt to change ASL syntax or grammar. Rather, CS provides an unambiguous model for language learning that leaves ASL intact.
Cued Speech and literacy
Cued Speech is based on the hypothesis that if all the sounds in the spoken language looked clearly different from each other on the lips of the speaker, the hearing impaired would learn the language in much the same way as does the hearing person, but through vision rather than audition.Cued Speech was developed with the intent of improving literacy rates among children. Even today, one argument made by advocates of Cued Speech for English users is that literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
rates for reading English are significantly lower in those who learn American Sign Language than those who learn Cued Speech. This difference typically is attributed to ASL being a distinct language from English, with its own syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
and lexical
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
patterns,
whereas Cued Speech is not a language but simply a method of making spoken sounds visible.
In her paper "The Relationship Between Phonological Coding And Reading Achievement In Deaf Children: Is Cued Speech A Special Case?" (1998), Ostrander notes, "Research has consistently shown a link between lack of phonological awareness and reading disorders (Jenkins & Bowen, 1994)" and discusses the research basis for teaching Cued Speech as an aid to phonological awareness and literacy. Ostrander concludes that further research into these areas is needed and well justified.
The editor of the Cued Speech Journal reports that "Research indicating that Cued Speech does greatly improve the reception of spoken language by profoundly deaf children was reported in 1979 by Gaye Nicholls, and in 1982 by Nicholls and Ling."
Cued Speech organizations
- National Cued Speech Association of the USA (NCSA)
- Language Matters (LMI)
- Cued Speech Association UK
- Testing, Evaluation, and Certification Unit (TECUnit) The cued language national testing body of the United States
Tutorials and general information
- Cued Speech Discovery/CuedSpeech.com - The NCSA bookstore. Some overview information and how to incorporate Cued Speech effectively.
- Cued Speech INFO - Overview of Cued Speech, FAQs, Common Misconceptions.
- DailyCues.com - News and learning resources, some free online.
- learntocue.co.uk - Multimedia resources for learning Cued Speech (British English)
- NCSA Mini-Documentary - A 10 minute video explaining Cued Speech. Audio, ASL, sub-titles and some cueing.
- The Art of Cueing - extensive free course for cueing American dialects of English, containing Quicktime video samples.