Barbara Davis
Professor and Graduate Advisor
Office: CMA 7.218
Email address: babs@mail.utexas.edu
Phone: (512) 471-1929
My current research and scholarly interests are in the area of speech acquisition and relationships of phonetic patterns in acquisition to phonological patterns observed in mature speakers. The larger theoretical perspective in my work relates to considerations of the variety of child intrinsic capacities embedded in a rich matrix of environmental support that enables emergence of an ambient phonology. This emergent phonology does not require a priori genetically specified form, but is possible through the wealth of intrinsic domain general abilities that enable the child to establish reliable links with the environment; a functional origin for acquisition of phonological structure.
In particular, I am presently interested in exploring the interface of production system characteristics and perceptual influences. Relative to the question of interface of production system characteristics and perceptual influences, my research has centered on vocal development in infants identified in the first six months of life with profound hearing impairment who receive cochlear implants as well as emergence of vocal patterns in children with varying degrees of hearing loss. I have, in addition, explored early vocal patterns in visually impaired infants relative to the impact of visual access on emergence of production system patterns. I have also considered the interface between speech production system variables and onset of perceptual learning from ambient language regularities. In this body of work, I have explored typical speech acquisition in English-learning infants as well as conducting cross- language studies of acquisition in Japanese, Swedish, French, Brazilian-Portuguese, Korean, German, and Equadorean-Quichua to understand the potential universality of patterns found in studies of English. In this area of cross language research, I have also begun to explore the infant directed speech style as a special category of input potentially important in understanding the emergence of ambient phonological properties. To understand the relationship between mature speech production patterns and those observed during acquisition, I have conducted comparative analysis of adult speech patterns to patterns in speech acquisition in English and across languages.
I am also interested in translation of these basic research questions into understanding of clinical populations in which the circumstances of speech acquisition are either different or delayed. In particular I have focused on children whose speech acquisition is considered severely speech delayed. I have explored the clinical issue of prediction in late talking toddlers who do not develop vocal communication within the time frame considered typical in development. In addition, I have focused on clinical markers for differential diagnosis in studies of childhood apraxia of speech. In my studies of children with clinical speech involvement, including hearing impaired children, visually impaired children, and late talking toddlers, I have also considered the interactive roles of gestural and vocal development in understanding the emergence of speech and language patterns.
Learn more about Dr. Davis' research by reading Much More than Babble, a UT feature article.
View one of Dr. Davis' lectures at Take 5.
Visit the Developmental Stuttering Lab site