Word: vocalization
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...deaf to hear, he cannot imitate speech and therefore cannot learn to talk. At least one baby in every thousand is born with no apparent capacity for hearing; he is "deaf and dumb." But so-called congenital deaf-mutism is actually a misnomer because inborn defects of the vocal cords that make speech impossible are almost unknown. The real trouble is in the hearing mechanism. The vocal difficulty is almost inevitable because children judged to be beyond the help of any hearing aid are often sent to special schools where the emphasis may be on lip reading and sign language...
...encouraged practice he learns to hear a widening range of frequencies. Tones that came through to him so weakly that once they stirred no response at all now turn into recognizable sounds. Soon the child is fitted with a microphone, and when he makes a noise with his own vocal cords, he sees a light flash on and the teacher signals receipt of this message with her hand...
Inevitably, many a child begins by pitching his own vocal efforts too high or too low, too loud or too soft. Dr. Perdoncini and his twelve teachers are implacable about correcting a pupil's pitch until it is acceptable. The child who is born deaf may need only a year to learn how to pronounce the names of foods, toys or friends. Words for abstract ideas take longer...
...singer-a critic wrote: "Last night the stage contained 600 Ibs. of pure talent." The talent moves as well as sings. One of Ella Fitzgerald's secrets is that she really wishes she were a dancer. When she feels good onstage, she becomes as physical as she is vocal, cutting steps left and right to underscore her song...
...about the only thing left will be surgery to bypass the blocked artery with a piece of his own vein or a Dacron tube. But by week's end Dr. Cooley was a relieved optimist: "Now I know how the surgeon felt who operated on Caruso's vocal cords...