Bilingual Speakers Of Spanish Research Articles

Assessing the double phonemic representation in bilingual speakers of Spanish and English: An electrophysiological study

Event Related Potentials (ERPs) were recorded from Spanish–English bilinguals (N=10) to test pre-attentive speech discrimination in two language contexts. ERPs were recorded while participants silently read magazines in English or Spanish. Two speech contrast conditions were recorded in each language context. In the phonemic in English condition, the speech sounds represented two different phonemic categories in English, but represented the same phonemic category in Spanish. In the phonemic in Spanish condition, the speech sounds represented two different phonemic categories in Spanish, but represented the same phonemic categories in English. Results showed pre-attentive discrimination when the acoustics/phonetics of the speech sounds match the language context (e.g., phonemic in English condition during the English language context). The results suggest that language contexts can affect pre-attentive auditory change detection. Specifically, bilinguals’ mental processing of stop consonants relies on contextual linguistic information.

Performance of an online translation tool when applied to patient educational material

Language barriers may prevent clinicians from tailoring patient educational material to the needs of individuals with limited English proficiency. Online translation tools could fill this gap, but their accuracy is unknown. We evaluated the accuracy of an online translation tool for patient educational material. We selected 45 sentences from a pamphlet available in both English and Spanish, and translated it into Spanish using GoogleTranslate™ (GT). Three bilingual Spanish speakers then performed a blinded evaluation on these 45 sentences, comparing GT-translated sentences to those translated professionally, along four domains: fluency (grammatical correctness), adequacy (information preservation), meaning (connotation maintenance), and severity (perceived dangerousness of an error if present). In addition, evaluators indicated whether they had a preference for either the GT-translated or professionally translated sentences. The GT-translated sentences had significantly lower fluency scores compared to the professional translation (3.4 vs. 4.7, P < 0.001), but similar adequacy (4.2 vs. 4.5, P = 0.19) and meaning (4.5 vs. 4.8, P = 0.29) scores. The GT-translated sentences were more likely to have any error (39% vs. 22%, P = 0.05), but not statistically more likely to have a severe error (4% vs. 2%, P = 0.61). Evaluators preferred the professional translation for complex sentences, but not for simple ones. When applied to patient educational material, GT performed comparably to professional human translation in terms of preserving information and meaning, though it was slightly worse in preserving grammar. In situations where professional human translations are unavailable or impractical, online translation may someday fill an important niche.

Multilingual Cosmopolitanism and Monolingual Commodification: Language Ideologies in Transnational Salsa Communities

AbstractSalsa, a global urban music and dance phenomenon, is an interesting example for the emergence of transnational cultural spheres. Salsa has its roots in the Americas and in many Salsa communities outside of Latin America, the Spanish language is seen as the authentic means of expression. However, attitudes to multilingualism can differ strongly from Salsa community to Salsa community.In this paper, the Salsa-scene of Sydney is introduced with its various stances towards multilingualism. These are connected to different styles of the dance, where one style is practiced in English only, while dancers of another style are often bilingual speakers of Spanish and English. Monolingualism and multilingualism here mediate the affiliation to different local scenes. Simultaneously, both language ideologies relate to different global discourses of competitive and cosmopolitan culture. It will be asked whether the introduced language ideologies challenge traditional frameworks of society and reified discursive concepts of language. (Multilingualism – Transnationalism – Cosmopolitanism)*

Using language sampling in clinical assessments with bilingual children: challenges and future directions.

Current language tests designed to assess Spanish-English-speaking children have limited clinical accuracy and do not provide sufficient information to plan language intervention. In contrast, spontaneous language samples obtained in the two languages can help identify language impairment with higher accuracy. In this article, we describe several diagnostic indicators that can be used in language assessments based on spontaneous language samples. First, based on previous research with monolingual and bilingual English speakers, we show that a verb morphology composite measure in combination with a measure of mean length of utterance (MLU) can provide valuable diagnostic information for English development in bilingual children. Dialectal considerations are discussed. Second, we discuss the available research with bilingual Spanish speakers and show a series of procedures to be used for the analysis of Spanish samples: (a) limited MLU and proportional use of ungrammatical utterances; (b) limited grammatical accuracy on articles, verbs, and clitic pronouns; and (c) limited MLU, omission of theme arguments, and limited use of ditransitive verbs. Third, we illustrate the analysis of verb argument structure using a rubric as an assessment tool. Estimated scores on morphological and syntactic measures are expected to increase the sensitivity of clinical assessments with young bilingual children. Further research using other measures of language will be needed for older school-age children.

Quantifying Risk: Verbal Probability Expressions in Spanish and English

To investigate how Spanish- and English-speaking adults interpret verbal probability expressions presented in Spanish and English (eg, posiblemente and possibly, respectively). Professional translators and university students from México and the United States read a series of likelihood statements in Spanish or English and then estimated the certainty implied by each statement. Several terms that are regarded as cognates in English and Spanish elicited significantly different likelihood ratings. Several language equivalencies were also identified. These findings provide the first reported evaluation of Spanish likelihood terms for use in risk communications directed towards monolingual and bilingual Spanish speakers.

The performance of neurologically normal bilingual speakers of Spanish and English on the short version of the Bilingual Aphasia Test

Background: The assessment of aphasia in bilingual speakers is complicated by the need to measure language impairment in each language, as well as defining how one language recovers in relation to another. The Bilingual Aphasia Test (BAT) is a criterion‐referenced measure designed to provide the requisite data needed to measure the impairment of bilingual speakers with aphasia while minimising the effects of pre‐morbid differences in language skill. Aims: The purpose of this study was to examine the performance of neurologically normal adult bilingual speakers on the short version of the BAT (English and American Spanish). Methods & Procedures: A total of 22 adults ranging in age from 51 to 77 completed the BAT as well as a series of measures of language history, proficiency, and use. Outcomes & Results: Results indicated that the group scored higher in English than in Spanish on the BAT. BAT performance was consistent with higher proficiency in English than Spanish, as indicated by responses to language background measures. An item analysis identified 54 items with a correct response rate less than 70%; the majority of these items were from the Spanish version and the translation subtest of the BAT. Conclusions: Performance on the Spanish BAT was influenced by academic experience in Spanish, and the influence of English on Spanish. Interpretation of BAT results for bilingual speakers with aphasia requires accounting for pre‐morbid differences in language skill.

Discrimination and Production of English Vowels by Bilingual Speakers of Spanish and English

The goal of this study was to examine whether listeners bilingual in Spanish and English would have difficulty in the discrimination of English vowel contrasts. An additional goal was to estimate the correlation between their discrimination and production of these vowels. Participants (40 bilingual Spanish- and English-speaking and 40 native monolingual English-speaking college students, 23-36 years of age) participated (M age = 25.3 yr., Mdn = 25.0). The discrimination and production of English vowels in real and novel words by adult participants bilingual in Spanish and English were examined and their discrimination was compared with that of 40 native monolingual English-speaking participants. Stimuli were presented within triads in an ABX paradigm. Novel words were chosen to represent new words when learning a new language and to provide a more valid test of discrimination. Bilingual participants' productions of vowels were judged by two independent listeners to estimate the correlation between discrimination and production. Discrimination accuracy was significantly greater for native English-speaking participants than for bilingual participants for vowel contrasts and novel words. Significant errors also appeared in the bilingual participants' productions of certain vowels. Earlier age of acquisition, absence of communication problems, and greater percentage of time devoted to communication contributed to greater accuracy in discrimination and production.

Picture naming and identification in bilingual speakers of Spanish and English with and without aphasia

Background: Equivalent language knowledge is assumed in interpreting assessment results from bilingual speakers with aphasia, regardless of pre‐morbid language experience.Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the affect of pre‐morbid language skill, estimated from the performance of 20 neurologically normal bilinguals, on picture identification and naming in four bilingual speakers of Spanish and English with aphasia.Methods & Procedures: Statistical and qualitative analyses of proficiency, language use patterns, literacy, and concentrated language experience were investigated in relation to between‐language differences in picture identification and naming.Outcomes & Results: Three patterns of impairment were identified: higher scores in English consistent with pre‐morbid skill, higher scores in Spanish inconsistent with pre‐morbid skill, and variable performance inconsistent with pre‐morbid skill.Conclusions: Results suggest that interpretation of language impairment in adult bilingual speakers within a given bilingual community must consider expected variability in the proficiency and use of the languages spoken and the differential effects of proficiency on expressive and receptive language performance.

Validation of the Spanish Life Support Preference Questionnaire (LSPQ)

To translate and validate the Life Support Preference Questionnaire (LSPQ) for use with Spanish-speaking adults, and to further validate the English version of the LSPQ. Two samples were included: community-dwelling Hispanic and non-Hispanic adults who were monolingual or bilingual Spanish speakers, and an English-speaking sample, all living in south-central United States. Validation included calculation of internal consistency, stability, and alternate forms reliability estimates for two language versions of the LSPQ. Factorial validity was studied for both language versions and regression and t test analyses were done to explore ethnic differences in selection of the life support choices in the scale. Both language versions of the LSPQ showed strongly supportive measurement properties. Differences were found between ethnic groups on four of the item choices, indicating that Hispanics in this sample preferred interventions to actively support life more than did the non-Hispanic adults. Both the English and Spanish versions of the LSPQ have been validated for use in research and practice. Additional validation will be necessary in other samples.

On the Background and Motivation of Students in a Beginning Spanish Program

ABSTRACT: A number of recent articles have examined the motivation, purpose of study, and demographics of first‐ and second‐year language learners of French or Spanish (see, e.g., Ossipov, 2000; Rava, 2000; Voght, 2000; Wen, 1997) This study surveyed the make‐up of a sample of first‐and second‐year university‐level Spanish learners at a major postsecondary institution in a city with a substantial, growing population of monolingual and bilingual Spanish speakers. The results of the survey were used to address questions about learner preparation prior to entering a four‐year university course of study, preferred and desired activities in the current curriculum, and motivations for the study of Spanish. Generalizations about the nature of the typical learner in this context and the implications of the appreciation of and desire for grammar‐related and communicative activities — as expressed by the respondents — in the contemporary liberal arts curriculum are discussed.

Understanding bilingualism and its impact on speech audiometry.

This tutorial provides a review of auditory research conducted with monolingual and bilingual speakers of Spanish and English. Based on a functional view of bilingualism and on auditory research findings showing that the bilingual experience may affect the outcome of auditory research, we discuss methods for improving descriptions of linguistically diverse research participants. The review delves into how the bilingual experience can affect auditory research outcomes and discusses ways in which experimental design can be adjusted when bilingual or monolingual participants are used for research needs. The goal of the tutorial is to increase awareness about the complexities of using bilinguals in auditory research, thereby improving the quality of auditory research involving bilingual research participants.

VOT variability in stop‐consonant productions by bilingual speakers of English and Mandarin Chinese

It has been observed [e.g., L. Williams, Percept. Psychophys. 21, 289–297 (1977)] that some bilingual speakers of Spanish and English will use language‐appropriate VOT values in elicited sets of English and Spanish stops. As part of an ongoing cross‐language project in repeated‐measures acoustic phonetics, six native speakers of Mandarin Chinese (three females and three males) were asked to produce repetitions of English and Chinese stops in a nonsense /ha‐'Ca/context. For the Chinese stops, five separate series were collected, with the stressed syllable pronounced on each of five Chinese tones. Productions were digitized via pulse code modulator, stored on video tape, and VOT segments identified and measured using waveform analysis software developed in our laboratory. Measurements of mean VOTs for each talker indicate that English and Mandarin Chinese are similar in range of absolute VOT values, clear VOT distinctions between voiced/voiceless stops, and inconsistent use of VOT to distinguish place of articulation. Further, VOT variability patterns suggest that for some of these talkers, control of VOT timing may be sensitive to tonal context, and this sensitivity may be reflected in productions of English as well as Chinese stops. [Work supported by AFOSR.]