Educated Speakers Research Articles

Impact of Primary Ambulatory Thromboprophylaxis (PATP) with Low-Molecular Weight Heparins (LMWHs) on Survival in Patients with Locally Advanced or Metastatic Lung Cancer (LC) Receiving Chemotherapy

Introduction: LC is the leading cause of cancer mortality in USA. PATP was provided in experimental trials to decrease the venous thromboembolism (VTE) rates and to provide anti-tumor effect with ultimate aim to improve survival in patients with solid cancers as VTE is the second leading cause of death in cancer patients. We undertook a systematic review and meta- analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the impact of PATP with LMWHs on overall survival (OS) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic LC. Methods: We performed a comprehensive literature search using MEDLINE and EMBASE databases through July 26, 2019. The references of all potential studies were also reviewed for any additional relevant studies. RCTs utilizing PATP with LMWHs in patients with locally advanced or metastatic lung cancer were incorporated in the analysis. A generic inverse variance method was used to calculate the estimated pooled hazard ratio (HR) for progression or metastasis free survival and OS with 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed with Cochran's Q -statistic. Random effects model was applied. Results: A total of 3,452 patients with lung cancer from six RCTs were included in our meta-analysis. The prophylactic doses of bemiparin, dalteparin, tinzaparin, nadroparin and intermediate dose of enoxaparin were used in the studies. The duration of LMWH ranged from 3 to 6 months. The randomization ratio was 1 to 1 in all studies. The I2statistic for heterogeneity was 64, suggesting moderate heterogeneity among RCTs. The pooled HR for OS was not statistically significant at 1.02 (95% CI: 0.83-1.26; P = 0.83). In a subset of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients, the pooled HR for OS was 1.03 (95% CI: 0.72-1.48; P = 0.85). The HR for OS was noted at 1.70 (95% CI: 0.70-4.15; P = 0.24) in patients with limited stage SCLC. In a subset of non-small cell lung cancer, the pooled HR of OS was 1.00 (95% CI: 0.79-1.26; P = 0.98). The pooled HR for progression or metastasis free survivalwas 1.03 (95% CI: 0.86-1.24; P = 0.74) according to an analysis of 5 RCTs. Conclusions: Our meta- analysis demonstrated that no survival advantage was noted with the addition of PATP with LMWHs to routine standard chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic LC, regardless of histology types as well as stages of SCLC. Disclosures Oo: Medical Education Speakers Network: Honoraria; Janssen and Janssen: Other: Research: site co-investigator .

Diagnostic Performance of Heparin-Platelet Factor 4 Antibodies in the Identification of Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia in Cancer Population

Introduction: Cancer patients appear to have a higher risk of heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) related complications than non-cancer patients; yet data on the performance of conventional diagnostic tools for HIT in cancer is limited. Our aim was to determine among cancer patients with a 4T score ≥ 4, the performance of the conventional cut-off for HIT antibody testing (IgG anti PF4) to discriminate between serotonin release assay (SRA) positive and negative cases. Methods: Retrospective and prospective analysis of cases (2002-2019) was performed of the electronic medical records of adult cancer patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center with suspected HIT. Cases were included in the analysis if the 4T score was ≥ 4 and investigated with IgG anti-PF4 optical density (HIT OD) and SRA. Logistic regression model and the receiver operating characteristic curves were conducted to identify the sensitivity and specificity of different cut-off points for the HIT OD to discriminate HIT cases based on the SRA status. Results: Among 50 cases, 18 were SRA positive. Median HIT OD was 1.03. At a cut-off point of 0.4, the HIT OD performed with a sensitivity of 0.89 and a specificity of 0.50 to discriminate the cases of SRA positive HIT. When the cut-off HIT OD was 1.0, the sensitivity was 0.78 with a specificity of 0.66. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that in cancer patients the performance of IgG anti-PF4 is similar to that of non-cancer patients for the identification of HIT cases. Disclosures Oo: Janssen and Janssen: Other: Research: site co-investigator ; Medical Education Speakers Network: Honoraria.

Updated Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials on Primary Ambulatory Thromboprophylaxis (PATP) in Patients with Locally Advanced or Metastatic Lung Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy

Introduction: Lung cancer (LC) is the second most common cancer in both sexes and is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States. Thrombosis is the second leading cause of death in cancer patients and PATP in solid cancer patients were performed in research trials to decrease venous thromboembolism (VTE) rates with ultimate aim to improve survival. We undertook an updated meta- analysis of RCTs to determine the benefit and risk of PATP with low-molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) and direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic LC receiving chemotherapy. Methods: We performed a comprehensive literature search using MEDLINE and EMBASE databases through June 30, 2019. The references of all potential studies were also reviewed for any additional relevant studies. The RCTs with reduction in VTE as a primary or secondary endpoint and the major bleeding (MB) as a safety outcome were incorporated in the analysis. Mantel-Haenszel (MH) method was used to calculate the estimated pooled risk ratio (RR), and risk difference (RD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed with Cochran's Q- statistic. Fixed effects model was applied. Results: A total of 5,375 patients with LC from five RCTs and a subgroup of another four RCTs were included in our meta-analysis. The prophylactic doses of bemiparin, certoparin, dalteparin, nadroparin, semuloparin and tinzaparin, intermediate dose of enoxaparin and prophylactic dose of rivaroxaban were used in the studies. The duration of LMWH and DOAC ranged from 3 to 6 months. The randomization ratio was 2 to 1 in PROTECHT study and 1 to 1 in all other studies. The I2statistic for heterogeneity was 0, suggesting homogeneity among RCTs. The VTE incidence was 114 (4.16%) in PATP group and 207 (7.85%) in control group with a RR of 0.53 (95% CI: 0.43 to 0.67, P < 0.001). The absolute RD in VTE was -0.04 (95% CI: -0.05 to -0.02, P < 0.001) with an estimate of the number needed to treat (NNT) of 28 to prevent one VTE event. MB events were reported in 26 (1.37%) patients in PATP group compared to 15 (0.84%) in control group according to an analysis of 6 RCTs. The pooled relative risk for MB was statistically non-significant at 1.57 (95% CI: 0.85 to 2.88, P = 0.15). Conclusions: Our analysis showed that the relative risk reduction is 46% with a NNT of 28 to prevent one VTE without increasing MB events in ambulatory patients with locally advanced or metastatic LC. Selection of appropriate patients who are high risk for VTE is crucial and further studies are required to define high risk subsets of LC patients receiving chemotherapy who may benefit from PATP. Disclosures Oo: Janssen and Janssen: Other: Research: site co-investigator ; Medical Education Speakers Network: Honoraria.

A Systematic Review and Meta- Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials on Primary Ambulatory Thromboprophylaxis (PATP) in Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancers Receiving Chemotherapy

Introduction: PATP in solid cancer patients remains uncertain and is not routinely recommended although thrombosis is shown to be the second leading cause of death in cancer patients. Many studies failed to demonstrate in solid cancer outpatients improvement in overall survival despite decreasing venous thromboembolism (VTE) rates by PATP. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs to determine the benefit and risk of PATP with low-molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients with gastrointestinal cancers receiving chemotherapy. Methods: We performed a comprehensive literature search using MEDLINE and EMBASE databases through June 30, 2019. The references of all potential studies were also reviewed for any additional relevant studies. The RCTs with reduction in VTE as a primary or secondary endpoint and the major bleeding (MB) as a safety outcome were incorporated in the analysis. The primary meta- analytic approach was a fixed effects model using the Mantel-Haenszel (MH) method. It was used to calculate the estimated pooled risk ratio (RR), and risk difference (RD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed with Cochran's Q- statistic. Results: A total of 1,932 patients with gastric, gastroesophageal junctional (GEJ) and colorectal cancers from a subgroup of three RCTs were included in our meta-analysis. The prophylactic doses of LMWHs and DOAC (rivaroxaban) were used in the studies. The duration of LMWH and DOAC ranged from 3 to 6 months. The randomization ratio was 2 to 1 in PROTECHT study and 1 to 1 in all other studies. The I2 statistic for heterogeneity was 0, suggesting homogeneity among RCTs. The VTE incidence was 13 (1.26%) in PATP group and 23 (2.55%) in control group with a RR of 0.49 (95% CI: 0.25 to 0.96, P = 0.04). The absolute RD in VTE was -0.01 (95% CI: -0.03 to -0.00, P 0.04) with an estimate of the number needed to treat (NNT) of 78 to prevent one VTE event. In a subset of patients with gastric and GEJ cancers (n=587), the VTE incidence was 4 (1.37%) in PATP group and 10 (3.40%) in control group with a RR of 0.40 (95% CI: 0.13 to 1.24, P = 0.11). Conclusions: In our study, the relative risk reduction is 48% with a NNT of 78 to prevent one VTE in ambulatory patients with gastrointestinal cancers. Nevertheless, there is no statistically significant reduction in VTE events in a subset of gastric and GEJ cancers which are considered high risk in Khorana score. Based on the findings, PATP is not recommended in patients with gastrointestinal cancers on chemotherapy at this time. Further studies are necessary to define high risk subsets of gastrointestinal cancer patients receiving chemotherapy who may benefit from PATP. Disclosures Oo: Medical Education Speakers Network: Honoraria; Janssen and Janssen: Other: site co-investigator.

Analysis of Intonation Patterns of Selected Nigerian Bilingual Educated Speakers of English

The intelligibility of everyday speech is built on the mastery and the use of appropriate intonation patterns. This makes intonation the music of everyday speech of which its appropriate use has been the final hurdle that the majority of the speakers of English as a Second Language have not crossed. This paper investigated the intonation patterns of the randomly selected 45 bilingual educated speakers of English, from diverse educational backgrounds representing the three senatorial zones in Ebonyi State. A paragraph from Roach (2010) was given to the participants to read. It was recorded and converted to WAVE audio with the use of audio converter. The utterances of interest to the research were extracted with the use of Sony Sound Forge and segmented on a text grid window on Praat. Pierrehumbert’s Auto-segmental Metrical approach to intonation served as the theoretical framework and the transcription was done using ToBI. The study revealed a low level of proficiency in the use and assignment of accurate patterns of intonation in the speeches of the participants. Aside the widely known and commonly used intonation patterns of fall, rise, rise-fall and fall-rise, it was observed that there was the presence of the use of low pitch accent, low boundary tone in the speeches of the participants. Significant inclination towards the use of the falling tone was observed. However, bilingual make-up or educational qualification does not determine appropriate use of intonation patterns. In a bid to, therefore, account for effective communication among educated bilingual speakers of English, more time should be given to the development of this skill using meaningful utterances in context rather than the use of words or sentences in isolation.

Use of guest speakers in nursing education: an integrative review of multidisciplinary literature.

Background: The purpose of this paper is to review existing literature regarding the use of guest speakers in multidisciplinary education and discuss the implication of the findings in nursing education.Method: An integrative review including 18 papers from 13 disciplines.Results: The evidence indicates that guest speakers can be invited by a variety of stakeholders with various motivations. Individuals from both discipline-related practical fields and academic institutions are frequently invited. Guest speakers have the ability to promote better teaching outcomes. Having a database of potential speakers decreases the work of selecting future guest speakers. Guest speakers can also be virtual with the use of guest speakers growing. A flow model of using guest speakers, including seven steps, has been articulated. Involving guest speakers promotes reciprocal benefits, where guest speakers, students, and professors have dual roles and contribute to and gain from each other.Conclusion: Findings from multiple disciplines regarding guest speakers in higher education can inform the best possible practices and procedures in how to get the best use of guest speakers in undergraduate nursing education. However, further research and study are warranted within the discipline of nursing to produce findings directly applicable to nursing education.

Spoken Latin in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance

Did educated people in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance use Latin routinely (Medieval Latin and Neo-Latin), rather than a regional vernacular, to conduct real-life conversations about ordinary, everyday matters? Were they taught how to do this in the schools of the day with the help of specimen written dialogues (colloquia)? Did their teachers use a Renaissance equivalent of the ‘direct method’, and did they teach Latin in the way that modern foreign languages are taught today? Or was spoken Latin, with a simulacrum of practical relevance to everyday life, a way of ‘bringing the subject to life’, an enjoyable diversion from the standard pedagogical fare (the ‘grammar grind’)? These are the questions that this article addresses. I argue that Latin was not generally used for everyday conversations, and that students were not taught how to conduct them outside the classroom any more than they are today, though spoken Latin was used as a medium for teaching and learning Latin, as it is to some extent today. Since Latin was not the first language of any native speaker, and since it was learned as a language primarily for reading and writing, comparisons with the teaching of modern foreign languages are specious. I also argue that spoken Latin today, as a pedagogical tool, is best kept out of the classroom and used, if it must be used, as a hobby or a pastime. It has limited usefulness as a means of learning Latin to a meaningful level (a level at which the learner can engage with original Latin texts). And the kind of Latin that is spoken in the classroom, an attempt to render a spoken form of Classical Latin, however ‘correct’ it may be grammatically and phonologically (and the grammar and phonology even of Classical Latin changed over time), is most unlikely to have been spoken routinely in the same kind of informal situations by an educated (one who is adept in Classical Latin) native speaker of Latin. In fact, the more ‘correct’ it is, the less likely it is to resemble authentic everyday spoken Latin, even of the educated elite that learned Classical Latin. This is even more the case after Classical Latin came increasingly to be different from the contemporary Latin that anyone spoke, and had increasingly to be learned from grammar books as if it were a second language. What Quintilian says of written Latin may be said of educated spoken Latin too: aliud est Latine, aliud grammatice scribere.

The use of student-copresented virtual guest speakers in entrepreneurial education

Students wishing to be entrepreneurs have a great need for role models to serve as inspiration and help them envision their future organization. Universities often use guest speakers for this purpose. The author introduces a methodology of using a library of audio tapes as a virtual guest speaker series, larger and more diversified than even the most well-connected university could attract. Students copresent with the executives by pairing the taped messages with student-created presentation visuals.

The status of Andalusian in the Spanish-speaking world: is it currently possible for Andalusia to have its own linguistic standardization process?

ABSTRACTThis paper analyzes the status of the Andalusian variety within Spanish language pluricentricity. It offers an example of the rise of new systems of normative stratification in the traditional ‘linguistic peripheries’ and of how the different linguistic agents deal with the vindication of social and linguistic identities. This fact makes us treat Andalusian as one of the Spanish usage models, with norms that partially differ from those of the central-northern peninsular model - the basis for the configuration of the codified standard - and lack explicit normativization and institutionalization. The reason for this can be found in the actual nature of that hypothetical educated Andalusian around which any grounded proposal for linguistic standardization specific to Andalusia should revolve. Such an option seems highly implausible at present for three main reasons: (1) the building of discourse has hardly any differential morphological or syntactic features in Andalusian; (2) the available and most general lexis used by Andalusians is shared with the other peninsular Spanish areas and the most divergent pronunciation features tend to be softened in educated speakers, especially in formal speech situations; (3) speakers of Andalusian continue to grant the highest prestige to the central-northern peninsular model, the Castilian standard.

Ivosidenib (AG-120) in Mutant IDH1 AML and Advanced Hematologic Malignancies: Results of a Phase 1 Dose Escalation and Expansion Study

Ivosidenib (AG-120) in Mutant IDH1 AML and Advanced Hematologic Malignancies: Results of a Phase 1 Dose Escalation and Expansion Study

Preliminary Results from a Phase 1 Study of Gilteritinib in Combination with Induction and Consolidation Chemotherapy in Subjects with Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

Preliminary Results from a Phase 1 Study of Gilteritinib in Combination with Induction and Consolidation Chemotherapy in Subjects with Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

Mood variation after expressions of uncertainty in Spanish

AbstractAccording to prescriptive grammars of Spanish, subordinate clauses after expressions of uncertainty require the subjunctive when introduced by the complementizerque‘that’ (e. g.,No creo que venga (S). ‘I don’t believe that he’ll come.’) but require the indicative when introduced by the complementizersi‘if/whether’ (e. g.,No sé si viene (I). ‘I don’t know if he’ll come.’). The use of these moods in actual speech, however, is highly variable. Using a database of conversational Spanish from 10 cities in Latin America and Spain, 428 tokens of subjunctive and indicative mood use were examined according to the following linguistic and social factors – subject agreement, intervening material, frequency of the subordinate verb, age, sex, and education level. Of these variables, only intervening material is statistically significant in the conditioning of mood variation. The use of the subjunctive is preferred after the complementizerquewhen there is no intervening material separating it from the subordinate verb. In order to further explore possible interactions between individual factors, a Joint Multiple Correspondence Analysis using R was conducted. Results from this exploratory analysis suggest that the use of the subjunctive correlates with young, male, and highly educated speakers whereas the indicative correlates with older, female, and less educated speakers. The variable use of mood after expressions of uncertainty in Spanish may be socially motivated, as these results suggest. As such, the impact of social variables on mood variation should be explored in future studies.

Continuing Medical Education Speakers with High Evaluation Scores Use more Image-based Slides.

IntroductionAlthough continuing medical education (CME) presentations are common across health professions, it is unknown whether slide design is independently associated with audience evaluations of the speaker. Based on the conceptual framework of Mayer’s theory of multimedia learning, this study aimed to determine whether image use and text density in presentation slides are associated with overall speaker evaluations.MethodsThis retrospective analysis of six sequential CME conferences (two annual emergency medicine conferences over a three-year period) used a mixed linear regression model to assess whether post-conference speaker evaluations were associated with image fraction (percentage of image-based slides per presentation) and text density (number of words per slide).ResultsA total of 105 unique lectures were given by 49 faculty members, and 1,222 evaluations (70.1% response rate) were available for analysis. On average, 47.4% (SD=25.36) of slides had at least one educationally-relevant image (image fraction). Image fraction significantly predicted overall higher evaluation scores [F(1, 100.676)=6.158, p=0.015] in the mixed linear regression model. The mean (SD) text density was 25.61 (8.14) words/slide but was not a significant predictor [F(1, 86.293)=0.55, p=0.815]. Of note, the individual speaker [χ2(1)=2.952, p=0.003] and speaker seniority [F(3, 59.713)=4.083, p=0.011] significantly predicted higher scores.ConclusionThis is the first published study to date assessing the linkage between slide design and CME speaker evaluations by an audience of practicing clinicians. The incorporation of images was associated with higher evaluation scores, in alignment with Mayer’s theory of multimedia learning. Contrary to this theory, however, text density showed no significant association, suggesting that these scores may be multifactorial. Professional development efforts should focus on teaching best practices in both slide design and presentation skills.

The relationship between spoken English proficiency and participation in higher education, employment and income from two Australian censuses

Purpose: Proficiency in the language of the country of residence has implications for an individual’s level of education, employability, income and social integration. This paper explores the relationship between the spoken English proficiency of residents of Australia on census day and their educational level, employment and income to provide insight into multilingual speakers’ ability to participate in Australia as an English-dominant society.Method: Data presented are derived from two Australian censuses i.e. 2006 and 2011 of over 19 million people.Result: The proportion of Australians who reported speaking a language other than English at home was 21.5% in the 2006 census and 23.2% in the 2011 census. Multilingual speakers who also spoke English very well were more likely to have post-graduate qualifications, full-time employment and high income than monolingual English-speaking Australians. However, multilingual speakers who reported speaking English not well were much less likely to have post-graduate qualifications or full-time employment than monolingual English-speaking Australians.Conclusion: These findings provide insight into the socioeconomic and educational profiles of multilingual speakers, which will inform the understanding of people such as speech-language pathologists who provide them with support. The results indicate spoken English proficiency may impact participation in Australian society. These findings challenge the “monolingual mindset” by demonstrating that outcomes for multilingual speakers in education, employment and income are higher than for monolingual speakers.

Ol Chiki Santali Script Dwindling Prestige of the Regional Languages in a Wider Context of Educational Reforms

This paper discusses a brief survey of Santali Language as national language policies shall outline the lingual hierarchy prevalent in post-independence India. Next, Santali will be introduced as a comparatively privileged language amongst the tribal languages of Orissa and Chota Nagpur, the main reasons being its large number of speakers, it’s fairly developed literary status and a considerable resilience against absorption by neighbouring languages.The existence of an independent script for Santali, Ol Chiki, gives it further prestige. Urban pressure groups promote the language in education and communication as they consider the implementation of the Santali mother tongue in these fields as central for the consolidation of the language.The Santal community has a vast institutional network that promotes and organizes Ol Chiki teachers’ training programmes and prepares teaching material, apart from pursuing a host of cultural and political affairs; yet, the feasability and sustainability of these programmes is eventually depending on the cooperation of the State Government. In comparison to the activities of the Santal authorities in the educational field, parallel programmes for the promotion of tribal language speakers in primary education shall be outlined, launched from both government and non-government agencies in Orissa.The problems that have to be tackled with here can however only partly be reduced to specific “tribal” or “language” aspects, as they overlap in many ways with the deplorable state of primary education in remote rural areas nationwide, and therefore have to be addressed in a wider context of educational reforms. In the case of Santali, a highly controversial issue is added by the demand of the Santal elite that the Santali language should be taught through its own script Ol Chiki during the first stages of learning. Having presented certain perspectives of the various planning authorities, the paper turns to the woes of the learners and discusses several aspects that explain the lack of acceptance of mother tongue promotion programmes among the target groups. The question may be asked in how far these programmes establish a further marginalization of the concerned groups by impeding their competitiveness on nationwide levels. General observations on the parents’ and learners’ preference for prestige languages in education round off the findings, pointing to the dwindling prestige of the regional languages and mother tongues in their competition with Hindi and English in the long run. Since the neighbouring state of Jharkhand, which has a similar percentage of tribal population as Orissa, is thought to be a model state for the promotion of tribal affairs, comparative glimpses at the present and envisaged status of tribal languages in the educational system there shall be included.

Variation and Change in the Use of Hesitation Markers in Germanic Languages

In this study, we investigate crosslinguistic patterns in the alternation between UM, a hesitation marker consisting of a neutral vowel followed by a final labial nasal, and UH, a hesitation marker consisting of a neutral vowel in an open syllable. Based on a quantitative analysis of a range of spoken and written corpora, we identify clear and consistent patterns of change in the use of these forms in various Germanic languages (English, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese) and dialects (American English, British English), with the use of UM increasing over time relative to the use of UH. We also find that this pattern of change is generally led by women and more educated speakers. Finally, we propose a series of possible explanations for this surprising change in hesitation marker usage that is currently taking place across Germanic languages.

First Language Attrition: The Effects of Acculturation to the Host Culture

Abstract Language attrition studies have mainly focused on second language (L2) attrition ( Bardovi-Harlig and Stringer, 2011 , Gardner et al., 1987 ). It is only in the last three decades that attention has been paid to L1 attrition and this area of applied linguistics is now aiming at establishing a sound theoretical and developmental framework. Globalization and the massive transnational migrations of the last decade have raised awareness on the fragility of what is taken as our linguistic solid ground: our L1. However, most studies so far have focused either on specific grammatical performative differences between attriters and control groups or on the codeswitching habits among migrant populations ( Dussias, 2004 , Major and Baptista, 2007 ). In contrast, the present study offers a sociolinguistic perspective by which the participantś level of acculturation to the host culture is taken into account when analyzing the performance of 20 English L1 attriters living in Catalonia against a mirror control group in England. Participants, all university-level educated English speakers who have lived in Spain for at least 8 years, were administered a sociolinguistic questionnaire to measure their level of exposure to their L1 as well as their attitude towards their L1 and the L2. Also, they were administered three language tests: the first test consisted of a free speech story-telling test to analyze differences in discourse (lexical richness, syntactic complexity, hesitation patterns and code switching), the second test measured their lexical retrieval rate (implicit knowledge) and finally, the third test looked into lexical retrieval of specific words in specific contexts (explicit knowledge). The results are measured in terms of correlation analysis (using CLAN and SPSS) between the results of the linguistic tests and the participantś sociolinguistic habits. In turn, the latter are compared to the results of the control group in order to identify which acculturation phenomena have greater influence over L1 attrition.

Aspects of Connected Speech Processes in Nigerian English

Nigerian English (NigE), like other new Englishes, possesses its unique features at various domains of phonology. This article examined aspects of connected speech processes (CSPs), the phenomena that account for sound modifications and simplifications in speech, with a view to establishing features that characterize Standard NigE connected speech. Natural phonology (NP), which provides explanations for substitutions, alternations, and variations in the speech of second language speakers, was adopted as theoretical framework. The subjects of the study were 360 educated NigE speakers, accidentally sampled from different language groups in Nigeria. The CSPs found in their semi-spontaneous speeches were transcribed perceptually and analyzed statistically, by allotting marks to instances of occurrence and converting such to percentages. Three categories of CSPs were identified in the data: dominant, minor, and idiosyncratic processes. The study affirms that only the dominant CSPs, typical of NigE speakers, are acceptable as Standard Nigerian spoken English.

An experimental approach to ambisyllabicity in English

Abstract The factors that influence English speakers to classify a consonant as ambisyllabic are explored in 581 bisyllabic words. The /b/ in habit, for example, was considered ambisyllabic when a participant chose hab as the first part of the word and bit as the second. Geminate spelling was found to interact with social variables; older participants and more educated speakers provided more ambisyllabic responses. The influence of word-level phonotactics on syllabification was also evident. A consonant such as the medial /d/ in standard is attested as the second consonant in the coda of many English words (e.g. lard), as well as in the single-consonant onset of many others; for this reason such consonants were often made ambisyllabic. This contrasts with the /n/ in standard, which is never the first consonant in a word-initial cluster (e.g. *ndorf) and, therefore, rarely made ambisyllabic in the experiment. Ambisyllabicity was also found more often when the vowel preceding the single medialconsonant was lax, or stressed, or when the medial-consonant was a sonorant rather than an obstruent. The idea that a stressed lax vowel in the first syllable conditions both the ambisyllabicity of the consonant and its geminate spelling is not supported.

Phonetic variation in Scottish Gaelic laterals

This paper is an acoustic investigation of laterals in contemporary Scottish Gaelic. Scottish Gaelic is described as having three phonemic laterals /l̪ˠ l̪ʲ l/, which have previously been the subject of small-scale acoustic and static palatographic work. I expand on previous acoustic studies, including static and dynamic formant measures, and consider data from the diverse contemporary Gaelic-speaking population including [1] older speakers in a Gaelic-heartland area, [2] middle-aged speakers living in Glasgow, [3] adolescent speakers in immersion education in a heartland area, [4] adolescents in immersion education in Glasgow. Results suggest overall maintenance of the triple lateral system, but with substantial variation in the production of (phonemically) palatalised laterals in particular, which some young Glaswegians do not produce. These results are discussed with reference to language change in language revitalisation contexts, language contact, and modes of acquisition in revitalisation contexts.