Complex Syllable Structure Research Articles

Lhowa Phonology: A Typological Perspective

Lhowa exhibits a large inventory of forty-one consonant phonemes. In terms of points of articulation, it contains seven types of consonants, viz., labial, dental, alveolar, retroflex, palatal, velar and glottal. In terms of manner of articulation, it presents seven types of consonants, viz., stops, nasals, affricates, fricatives, trills, laterals and approximants. In terms of voicing, there are two types of consonant phonemes, viz., voiceless and voiced. Lhowa has voiceless unaspirated, voiceless aspirated, voiced murmured and voiceless murmured sounds. It exhibits a distinct consonant distribution. Lhowa has eight basic and two fronted vowels. There are four diphthongs. Lhowa displays a moderately complex syllable structure. It presents a canonical structure of the syllable in which V is obligatory and other constituents, (Ci, initial consonant), (X, voiced palatal approximant), and (Cf, final consonant) are optional. Lhowa permits only five types of syllable patterns. Each syllable is intrinsically high or low. It exhibits simple tone system. The high vs. low tone is distinguished only on the first syllable of a word. In Lhowa, like in Lhasa Tibetan, compound words demonstrate four types of tone melodies, viz., HH, LH, LL and HL.

Model of Logopedic Work on the Formation of the Syllable Structure of Words of Preschool Children With Severe Speech Disorders

The article presents a model of speech therapy work on the formation of the syllable structure of words in preschool children with severe speech disorders. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the problem of the syllable structure of words in preschool children with severe speech disorders (mo- tor alalia and general speech underdevelopment), this is very important, as for correctional work it is important not only to determine those syllabic classes that are formed in the child, but also to identify those that need to be formed. It also emphasizes the importance for a speech therapist to correctly de- termine the type of violation of the syllabic structure of a word. As a rule, the range of these violations varies widely: from minor difficulties in pronunciation of words of complex syllable structure to gross violations. On the basis of large statistical material and the authors’ own practical experience, speech therapy work, it is shown that the correction of the syllable structure of a word is one of the priority and most difficult tasks in working with preschoolers with systemic speech disorders. The authors describe the correctional work carried out by the authors on the basis of the regional psychological, medical and pedagogical consultation and the educational and methodological center under the Association of Social Workers and Volunteers (The East Kazakhstan region). A step-by-step structure of work on the formation of the syllable structure of words in children of this category is given. The authors’ attention is focused mainly on the practical work of a speech therapist on this issue. The authors consistently prove that the correction and development of children with severe speech impairments depend on a well-built model of correctional and developmental work. Key words: special educational needs, severe speech disorders, preschool age, syllable structure of words, speech therapy model, examination, formation, result.

Easterday, Shelece: Highly complex syllable structure: A typological and diachronic study (Studies in Laboratory Phonology 9)

Article Easterday, Shelece: Highly complex syllable structure: A typological and diachronic study (Studies in Laboratory Phonology 9) was published on July 1, 2021 in the journal Linguistic Typology (volume 25, issue 2).

Sesquisyllabicity, Chữ Nôm, and the Early Modern embrace of vernacular writing in Vietnam

In East Asia, the relationship between script and language is determined to a great extent by the typological character of the languages involved. This is particularly so because sinographic writing generally relies on the syllable as the smallest unit of sound expressible. However, many languages that have adapted Sinitic writing throughout history display complex syllable structure not easily expressible by the monosyllabically inclined sinograph. Moreover, some languages have even displayed changing syllable structure throughout documented history. This article examines the so-called “monosyllabicization” of the Vietnamese language, and its impact on the history of the sinographic vernacular script known as Chữ Nôm. I argue that by the 17th century, the emergent monosyllabic character of Vietnamese was remarked upon by elites as a new justification for embracing vernacular writing, previously considered uncouth.

Sesquisyllabicity, Chữ Nôm, and the Early Modern embrace of vernacular writing in Vietnam

In East Asia, the relationship between script and language is determined to a great extent by the typological character of the languages involved. This is particularly so because sinographic writing generally relies on the syllable as the smallest unit of sound expressible. However, many languages that have adapted Sinitic writing throughout history display complex syllable structure not easily expressible by the monosyllabically inclined sinograph. Moreover, some languages have even displayed changing syllable structure throughout documented history. This article examines the so-called “monosyllabicization” of the Vietnamese language, and its impact on the history of the sinographic vernacular script known as Chữ Nôm. I argue that by the 17th century, the emergent monosyllabic character of Vietnamese was remarked upon by elites as a new justification for embracing vernacular writing, previously considered uncouth.

A new, morphologically cryptic bush-cricket discovered on the basis of its song in the Carpathian Mountains (Insecta, Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae).

A new, morphologically cryptic species of phaneropterine bush-crickets is described from the grasslands of the Romanian Eastern Carpathians. Despite the morphological and acoustic similarities with the recently described Isophya nagyi Szövényi, Puskás & Orci, I. bucovinensis sp. n. is characterized by a peculiar male calling song, with faster syllable repetition rate (160–220 syllables per minute, at 22–27°C) and less complex syllable structure (composed of only two elements instead of three observable in I. nagyi). The morphological description of the new species is supplemented with an oscillographic and spectrographic analysis of the male calling song and male–female pair-forming acoustic duet. An acoustic signal-based identification key is provided for all the presently known species of the Isophya camptoxypha species group, including the new species.

Profiles of vocal development in Korean children with and without cleft palate

ABSTRACTThis study longitudinally investigated vocal development in Korean children from 9 to 18 months of age with and without cleft palate (CP). Utterance samples were collected from 24 children with and without CP at 9, 12, 15 and 18 months of age. Each utterance was categorised into levels of vocalisation using the Korean-translated version of the Stark Assessment of Early Vocal Development-Revised (SAEVD-R). The results showed children with CP produced a significantly higher rate of precanonical vocalisations (the combination of Levels 1, 2, and 3) and a lower rate of Level 4 and 5 vocalisations than children without CP. Both groups showed decreases in Levels 1 and 2 and increases in Level 5 from 9 to 18 months of age. A significant increase in the proportion of Level 4 vocalisations across age was observed only in children without CP. Young Korean children with CP showed lower proportions of advanced vocalisation levels characterised by canonical and complex syllable structures across 9 and 18 months of age compared to children without CP.

Word length is (in part) predicted by phoneme inventory size and syllable structure

Based on anecdotal data from a few languages, it has been proposed that typical word length in a language is correlated with the size of the phoneme inventory: more phonemes predicts shorter words. This hypothesis has now been examined in some detail using a substantial sample of languages. A standardized text widely employed for phonetic illustrations is used, namely, the fable of “The North Wind and the Sun.” Illustrations published by the IPA and others have been collected for over 100 languages. These illustrations are arguably well-matched in style and vocabulary and reflect natural inflected forms embedded in text. Average word-length in these texts is calculated and correlated with the size of the language’s consonant and vowel inventories, as well as an index reflecting the permitted complexity of syllable structure. Vowel inventory is treated in two ways; basic vowels (just the distinctions on the basic height, backness and rounding parameters), and total vowels (including other distinctions such as nasalization, length, and voice quality). Mean word length is indeed negatively correlated with size of consonant and vowel inventories, most strongly with the number of basic vowels. More complex syllable structures also correlate with a shorter mean word length.

Use of acoustic cues in the perception of complex syllable structure

This study examines second/foreign language learners’ (L2ers’) use of acoustic cues in the perception of syllable structure (onset clusters) that does not exist in the native language (L1, here, Korean). It investigates whether the target-like perception of syllable structure is facilitated by VOT ([stɪn] vs [sətɪn]) and partial devoicing of the liquid ([plim] vs [pəlim]) as compared to when either cue is absent ([blint] vs [bəlint]). This study also examined whether production errors can be predicted by perception errors. Twelve Korean-speaking English L2ers and 12 native English speakers completed AXB and production tasks in which they listened to and produced nonce words in the above three conditions. The AXB results showed significant effects of L1 and condition, but no interaction between the two. Participants were most accurate on the condition with VOT (English: 98%, Korean: 85%), followed by partial devoicing of the liquid (English: 96%, Korean: 79%) and without either cue (English: 94%, Korean: 74%). L2ers’ perception and production patterned alike, but no correlation was found between the two. These findings suggest that acoustic cues like VOT and partial devoicing of the liquid facilitate L2ers’ perception of new syllable structure, but do not play a direct role in its production.

Use of acoustic cues in the perception of complex syllable structure

This study examines second/foreign language learners’ (L2ers’) use of acoustic cues in the perception of syllable structure (onset clusters) that does not exist in the native language (L1, here, Korean). It investigates whether the target-like perception of syllable structure is facilitated by VOT ([stɪn] vs [sətɪn]) and partial devoicing of the liquid ([plim] vs [pəlim]) as compared to when either cue is absent ([blint] vs [bəlint]). This study also examined whether production errors can be predicted by perception errors. Twelve Korean-speaking English L2ers and 12 native English speakers completed AXB and production tasks in which they listened to and produced nonce words in the above three conditions. The AXB results showed significant effects of L1 and condition, but no interaction between the two. Participants were most accurate on the condition with VOT (English: 98%, Korean: 85%), followed by partial devoicing of the liquid (English: 96%, Korean: 79%) and without either cue (English: 94%, Korean: 74%). L2ers’ perception and production patterned alike, but no correlation was found between the two. These findings suggest that acoustic cues like VOT and partial devoicing of the liquid facilitate L2ers’ perception of new syllable structure, but do not play a direct role in its production.

Comparing chiShona loanwords of monolingual and bilingual speakers: An Optimality Theory analysis

ChiShona is a southern Bantu language spoken mainly in Zimbabwe. In Guthrie (1948) chiShona is classified as an S.10 language, an area which includes other Bantu languages such as chiKalanga and chiNambya. ChiShona like any other language has expanded its lexical stock by borrowing, mainly from the English language. The two languages have different phonologies; English has a much more complex syllable structure than chiShona. There are three major differences: first, chiShona allows open syllables only while English allows closed syllables. Second, chiShona does not allow complex onsets while English can have as many as three consonants in the onset position. Third, chiShona does not permit complex syllable nuclei while English allows long vowels and diphthongs in its syllable structure. This article compares the realisation of loanwords in the speech of chiShona monolinguals and chiShona- English bilinguals. Our findings show that monolingual loanwords are completely assimilated to suit the chiShona phonological structures while in the speech of bilinguals some marked features of the English language such as complex onsets, the lateral approximant and postnasal voiceless obstruents are retained. Both monolinguals and bilinguals do not allow closed syllables and diphthongs which they repair through vowel epenthesis and spreading respectively. The article demonstrates that monolinguals and bilinguals have different constraint hierarchies. The former rank markedness constraints higher than faithfulness constraints while the reverse is true for the latter.

Acquisition of Malay word recognition skills: lessons from low-progress early readers

Malay is a consistent alphabetic orthography with complex syllable structures. The focus of this research was to investigate word recognition performance in order to inform reading interventions for low-progress early readers. Forty-six Grade 1 students were sampled and 11 were identified as low-progress readers. The results indicated that both syllable awareness and phoneme blending were significant predictors of word recognition, suggesting that both syllable and phonemic grain-sizes are important in Malay word recognition. Item analysis revealed a hierarchical pattern of difficulty based on the syllable and the phonic structure of the words. Error analysis identified the sources of errors to be errors due to inefficient syllable segmentation, oversimplification of syllables, insufficient grapheme-phoneme knowledge and inefficient phonemic code assembly. Evidence also suggests that direct instruction in syllable segmentation, phonemic awareness and grapheme-phoneme correspondence is necessary for low-progress readers to acquire word recognition skills. Finally, a logical sequence to teach grapheme-phoneme decoding in Malay is suggested.

Reading Acquisition, AAC and the Transferability of English Research to Languages with More Consistent or Transparent Orthographies

Research on reading in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is primarily provided for the English language, which has nontransparent orthographic depth and a complex syllable structure. While there is a great deal to learn about English reading in AAC, there is substantially more information regarding reading in AAC in English than in other languages. In this article we compare reading acquisition in English and German, drawing from the existing research regarding reading for children with complex communication needs and describing how that might apply to German and other European languages with orthography that is more consistent than English (e.g., Swedish, Spanish, Finnish; Aro & Wimmer, ). The goal is to support the development of cross-linguistic understandings in reading and AAC.

Language-specific realizations of syllable structure and vowel-to-vowel coarticulation

This paper investigates the effects of syllable structure on vowel-to-vowel (V-to-V) coarticulation using Thai and English data. Languages differ in syllable complexity and their realizations of syllable structure. It was hypothesized that languages with complex syllable structure (English) would allow more V-to-V coarticulation than languages with simple syllable structure (Thai). Onset and coda consonants are different acoustically, articulatorily, typologically and perceptually. Onsets are generally 'stronger' and more stable than codas because they are longer, louder, and involve tighter articulatory constrictions. It was hypothesized that closed syllables (that end in a consonant C, i.e., VC#V) would allow more V-to-V coarticulation than open syllables (V#CV). /C(1)V(1)#C(2)V(2)/ and /C(1)V(1)C(2)#V(2)t/ sequences were recorded from six native speakers in Thai and six in English. First and second formant frequencies were measured. Results show that English allows more V-to-V coarticulation than Thai regardless of the intervocalic duration and vowel quality difference, but open and closed syllables only affect V-to-V coarticulation minimally. In addition to syllable structure, other possible factors contributing to the language difference in V-to-V coarticulation are discussed.

An Exploratory Study of the Development of Early Syllable Structure in Reading-Impaired Children

Babbling between the ages of 8 and 19 months was examined in 19 children, 13 of whom were at high risk for reading disorder (RD) and 6 normally reading children at low familial risk for RD. Development of syllable complexity was examined at five periods across this 11-month window. Results indicated that children who later evidenced RD produced a lower proportion of canonical utterances and less complex syllable structures than children without RD. As syllable complexity is an early indicator of phonological sophistication, differences at this level may offer a window into how the phonological system of children with RD is structured. Future directions for this line of research are discussed.

Perception of complex word‐initial onsets in English by native speakers of Japanese.

Past studies have shown that English L2 learners whose native languages have relatively simple syllable structure have different degrees of difficulty in producing complex syllable and word onsets in English. For instance, more marked clusters (e.g., /bj/) were harder to produce than the less marked ones (e.g., /pj/) for Japanese learners of English [E. Broselow and D. Finer, Second Language Research 7, 35–59 (1991)]. However, what is unknown is whether such difficulties reflect problems in perceiving complex syllable structures. The current study tested Japanese L2 learners and American English controls in a categorial ABX discrimination test of eight contrasts between nonsense words with consonant cluster onsets CC(C)VCV versus CəC(C)VCV sequences (e.g., /spani/versus/səpani/) and included /sp, sk, pl, bl, kl, gl, spl, skl/ clusters. Words were imbedded in short sentences to increase task difficulty. Results showed that overall accuracy by the Japanese group was significantly poorer than for the Americans (72% and 98% correct respectively). Certain clusters were harder for Japanese listeners (e.g., 76% correct for /pl/ but 64% for /bl/). Productions of the words were also obtained and are related to perceptual performance.

Syllabification rules versus data-driven methods in a language with low syllabic complexity: The case of Italian

Linguistic rules have been assumed to be the best technique for determining the syllabification of unknown words. This has recently been challenged for the English language where data-driven algorithms have been shown to outperform rule-based methods. It may be possible, however, that data-driven methods are only better for languages with complex syllable structures. In this study, three rule-based automatic syllabification systems and two data-driven automatic syllabification systems (Syllabification by Analogy and the Look-Up Procedure) are compared on a language with lower syllabic complexity – Italian. Comparing the performance using a lexicon containing 44,720 words, the best data-driven algorithm (Syllabification by Analogy) achieved 97.70% word accuracy while the best rule set correctly syllabified 89.77% words. These results show that data-driven methods can also outperform rule-based methods on Italian syllabification, a language of low syllabic complexity.

On the reliability of rhythm metrics.

In the past decade or so, various metrics of vocalic and consonantal variability have been used to quantify linguistic rhythm, often yielding disparate results. The reliability of several such metrics (percentage of vocalic intervals and consonantal standard deviation, pairwise variability indices, and variation coefficient) was tested using materials from stress-timed English and German, syllable-timed Spanish and Italian, Korean, an unclassified language, and Greek, which has resisted classification. The materials for each language were divided into three subsets: an uncontrolled subset of sentences excerpted from a representative author of each language, a subset exhibiting as much as possible “stress-timing” properties (complex syllable structure and extensive vocalic variability), and a subset exhibiting as much as possible “syllable-timing” properties (simple syllable structure and limited vocalic variability). The results suggest that rhythmic scores can be severely affected by the choice of materials, especially in languages such as Italian, in which it is easy to avoid or accentuate variability (e.g., by excluding or including geminates). Variation coefficient scores were the most resistant to the manipulation of materials but failed to show statistical differences across most of the languages examined. The overall results cast doubt on the reliability of metric scores as indicators of timing and linguistic rhythm.

Articulatory Variability in Cluttering

In order to investigate the articulatory processes of the hasty and mumbled speech in cluttering, the kinematic variability was analysed by means of electromagnetic midsagittal articulography. In contrast to persons with stuttering, those with cluttering improve their intelligibility by concentrating on their speech task. Variability has always been an important criterion in comparable studies of stuttering and is discussed in terms of the stability of the speech motor system. The aim of the current study was to analyse the spatial and temporal variability in the speech of three persons with cluttering (PWC) and three control speakers. All participants were native speakers of German. The speech material consisted of repetitive CV syllables and loan words such as ‘emotionalisieren’, because PWC have the severest problems with long words with a complex syllable structure. The results showed a significantly higher coefficient of variation for PWC in loan word production, both in the temporal and in the spatial domain, whereas the means of displacements and durations did not differ between groups. These findings were discussed in terms of the effects of the linguistic complexity, since for the syllable repetition task, no significant differences between PWC and controls were found.

Word-minimality, Epenthesis and Coda Licensing in the Early Acquisition of English

Many languages exhibit constraints on prosodic words, where lexical items must be composed of at least two moras of structure, or a binary foot. Demuth and Fee (1995) proposed that children demonstrate early sensitivity to word-minimality effects, exhibiting a period of vowel lengthening or vowel epenthesis if coda consonants cannot be produced. This paper evaluates this proposal by examining the development of word-final coda consonants in the spontaneous speech of four English-speaking children between the ages of one and two. Although there was no evidence of vowel lengthening, coda consonants were more accurately produced in monosyllabic target words with monomoriac vowels, suggesting earlier use of coda consonants in contexts where they can be prosodified as part of a bimoraic foot. One child also showed extensive use of vowel epenthesis and coda consonant aspiration concurrent with the production of codas. However, we show that this was due to the articulatory challenges of producing complex syllable structures rather than an attempt to produce well-formed minimal words. These results suggest that learners of English may exhibit an early awareness of moraic structure at the level of the syllable, but that language-specific constraints regarding word-minimality may be acquired later than originally thought.