Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"I am not a speed reader. I am a speed understander."
- Isaac Asimov
 |
| Sound Analysis | ||
| Improving language teaching by showing the waveform of a spoken word or phrase, and comparing it to standard speech. |
In the novella Gulf, the main characters of the story use a special language called Speedtalk, an artificial language that greatly improved the speed with which people could communicate with each other.
To help Joe learn to speak, Gail makes use of a special kind of analysis.
| Gail started teaching him to hear by speaking to him single words from the odd language, requiring him to repeat them back. "No, Joe. Watch." This time whenshe spoke the word it appeared on the screen in sound analysis, by a means basically like the one used to show the deaf-and-dumb their speech mistakes. "Now you try it."
He did, the two arrays hung side by side. "How's that, teacher?" he said triumphantly. "Terrible ... try again." She shifted the controls; he tried again. This time his analysis array was laid down on top of hers; where the two matched, they canceled. Where they did not match, his errors stood out in contrasting colors. |
| Technovelgy from Gulf,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1949 Additional resources -
|
It's not clear exactly what appears as an "array", but it sounds like the waveform corresponding to the spoken word. Computer-based language teaching systems have appeared in the last 5-10 years that make use of personal computers to do exactly this. The student speaks the word or phrase into the microphone, and has a chance to compare his work with that of the teacher by comparing the two waveforms.
To the best of my knowledge, this method was never used to teach deaf people to speak. As far as I know, most of this teaching is done using anatomical references, and watching your own tongue and palate in a mirror, after watching the teacher.
(Thanks to Kate Gladstone for this one!)
Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Gulf
More Ideas
and Technology by Robert Heinlein
Tech news articles related to Gulf
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein
| Huawei Pura X Folding Phattie Phone |
| Positioned Cybertrucks With Free Starlinks WiFi In LA |
| Will Whales Be Our First Contact? |
| NYC/Dublin Portal Fails To Meet 'Guardian Of Forever' Standards |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'Power could be compressed thus into an inch-square cube of what looked like blue-white ice'
'It's so light that you can set it up in five minutes by yourself...'
'Heavy penalties... were to be applied to any one found driving manually-controlled machines.'
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
'It is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature...'
