An Udmurt Exceptional Performer, Dzhakapay

This article concentrates on the phenomenon of the individual in the ethnic culture of the Udmurt, bearing in mind that this has never been attempted before. This is a proper framework to analyse Ol’ga Solov’yova’s (1932–2018) personality, who was famous among the people as Dzhaky / Dzhakapay / Dzhaky apay (lit: Aunt Jay). A whole range of reasons justifies scientific interest in her: her huge repertoire of songs and rituals, her ability to improvise freely within her local tradition, her unique musical and auditory skills. The analysis of Dzhakapay’s character allows us to connect the songs of her repertoire and her fate. Many non-ritual songs are in fact autobiographical narratives, dedicated to reflexions on an unhappy fate, on being an orphan. A considerable number of songs in her repertoire belong to the category of so-called personal songs (in Russian: imennyye pesni, ‘name songs’), which represent a kind of personal memoire in musical form. Another unique feature of this performer’s art is her knowledge of songs from neighbouring villages in their original language (Russian, Mari, Tatar) and their translation into Udmurt. Her knowledge of the local traditional rituals made her very important to the local community, in which she was deeply respected. Until the last day of her life, she followed the ontological positions, the rules of behaviour, the canons of ritual and singing performance elaborated by tradition, and attempted to instil them into the people surrounding her. This awakened her genuine interest in the social and scientific milieu. And today, when she is no longer among us, her name is attached to many very different projects.

Auditory Temporal Processing in Dancers

While many studies have examined the auditory abilities of musicians, this study uniquely asks whether dance training, a similar yet understudied type of early-life training, also benefits auditory abilities. We focused this investigation on temporal resolution, given the importance of subtle temporal cues in synchronizing movement. We found that, compared to untrained controls, novice adult dancers who have trained continuously since childhood had enhanced temporal resolution, measured with a gap detection task. In an analysis involving current and former dancers, total years of training was a significant predictor of temporal resolution thresholds. The association between dance experience and improved auditory skills has implications for current theories of experience-dependent auditory plasticity and the design of sound-based educational and rehabilitation activities.

Reliability of parental assessment of auditory skills in young children: a cross-sectional study in Italian language

ObjectiveHearing impairments (HIs) that progress or have later onset may have specific effects on language and cognitive development, but are difficult to suspect during routine primary care visits. Family concern regarding hearing is thought to represent an important risk factor requiring audiological examination. Yet it is not clear how successful parents are in recognising the consequences or specific suspect elements of HI in young children. The aim of this study is to verify whether parents of at-risk children recognise the presence of HI through a parental questionnaire that draws attention to auditory skills development and compares them with language and communication skills.DesignObservational study.SettingFrom 2013 to 2019, parents were administered the Questionnaire on Hearing and Communication Abilities before audiological evaluation of their children at a secondary care institute.Participants309 Italian children (1–36 months old) at risk of HI.Primary and secondary outcome measuresQuestionnaire sensitivity in predicting the presence and type of HI.ResultsParents report a decrease in auditory skills for children with sensorineural HI (Χ2(2)=14.4, p=0.003), with an increased concern expressed in 59% compared with 24% in normally hearing children. Both auditory (r=−0.18, p=0.002) and comprehension (r=−0.13, p=0.057) skills weakly but negatively correlated with a diagnosis of HI. On discriminant analysis, the positive predictive value of the questionnaire was 0.78, but with low sensitivity (0.39).ConclusionsParents of children with a verified risk of HI have some capacity to recognise non-typical auditory behaviour. Thus, it is important to assess parental concerns during primary care health visits, and a targeted questionnaire on auditory abilities can complement existing screening procedures. However, given the low sensitivity of the questionnaire, we conclude that for a reliable detection of HIs that progress or have later onset an objective screening tool is always required.

The Relationship Between Reaction Time of Electrical Stapedius Reflex and Auditory Performance in Cochlear-implanted Children

Objectives: A common concern in some cochlear-implanted children is the lack of desired progress in auditory and listening skills. Such a concern remains despite proper verbal processor programming, additional disabilities, and continuous participation in hearing rehabilitation programs. A more detailed assessment of pathways and centers of the auditory processing at the lower end of the brain stem by measuring the time of the Electrical Stapedius Reflex (ESR), and investigating its relation to auditory perception skills can provide significant information about choosing the appropriate rehabilitation method. Methods: In total, 20 unilateral cochlear-implanted children (3-7-year-olds) participated in this research. All of them were implanted for ≥2 years and participated for ≥1 year in the auditory-verbal rehabilitation program. The ESR reaction time was measured for 3 electrodes in the apex, middle, and basal areas. The Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP-II) test score was used to assess the progress of auditory skills. Then the correlation between CAP-II test score and ESR reaction time was investigated per each electrode. Results: There was a significant inverse correlation between the ESR reaction time and the CAP II test scores in the apex electrodes (r=-0.5, P<0.05). However, no such correlation was observed in the middle (r=0.34, P>0.05) and basal (r=-0.06, P>0.05) electrodes. Discussion: There was a significant correlation between the shorter reaction time of ESR in the apex electrode and the higher scores in the CAP-II test for auditory skills in children. Therefore, examining the ESR reaction time can be useful for prediction of the benefits of cochlear implantation as well as choosing a better rehabilitation approach for cochlear-implanted children.

Gender, space and sound: Listening techniques, mobile and stationary bodies

This article draws on an ethnographic fieldwork in which I investigated, and partook in practices of recycling graveside candles in the north of Slovenia. The aim is to show that the personnel’s listening techniques helped sustain the gendered division of labour. While the listening techniques of my male informants seemed to increase their spatial mobility in that it allowed them to occupy a wider area, the auditory skills of the women who worked on sorting the incoming graveside candles seemed to largely allow them to remain in place. Listening techniques were thus used for different purposes as they directly related to the gendered division of labour. As such, they resulted in different ways of occupying space.

DIFFICULTIES IN BUILDING THE AUDITORY AND PRONUNCIATION SKILLS IN CHINESE STUDENTS WHILE TEACHING RUSSIAN

The introduction. The paper deals with a problem of Russian speech sound acquisition by Chinese students, examines the bilateral nature of this problem (sound perception and sound pronunciation), and identifies typical difficulties of the Chinese audience. Materials and methods. The paper analyzes the results of an empirical study aimed at identifying the most frequent difficulties encountered by Chinese students learning the Russian Language when mastering auditory and pronunciation skills. The study relies on the methods of experimental research, statistical data processing, and comparative analysis. Results. The findings show the correlation between the two types of mistakes (in perception and pronunciation of Russian sounds) made by Chinese students. This correlation made it possible to obtain the data on the extent to which the processes of sound unit perception and generation are interconnected and interdependent. The experimental study has identified the most typical difficulties of Chinese students and considered their causes. Conclusion. The study has shown that the number of sound perception mistakes significantly exceeds that of sound pronunciation ones. Therefore, focused work is required to develop auditory skills. Both types of mistakes result from the differences in sound systems of the Russian and Chinese languages, which should be fully taken into account when building audial and pronunciation skills of Chinese students. Keywords: the audial and pronunciation skills, sound system, differentiation of sounds, methods of teaching Russian as a foreign language.