Geminal Research Articles

Non-linear processing of a linear speech stream: The influence of morphological structure on the recognition of spoken Arabic words

Although the significance of morphological structure is established in visual word processing, its role in auditory processing remains unclear. Using magnetoencephalography we probe the significance of the root morpheme for spoken Arabic words with two experimental manipulations. First we compare a model of auditory processing that calculates probable lexical outcomes based on whole-word competitors, versus a model that only considers the root as relevant to lexical identification. Second, we assess violations to the root-specific Obligatory Contour Principle (OCP), which disallows root-initial consonant gemination. Our results show root prediction to significantly correlate with neural activity in superior temporal regions, independent of predictions based on whole-word competitors. Furthermore, words that violated the OCP constraint were significantly easier to dismiss as valid words than probability-matched counterparts. The findings suggest that lexical auditory processing is dependent upon morphological structure, and that the root forms a principal unit through which spoken words are recognised.

Processing of Phonemic Consonant Length: Semantic and Fragment Priming Evidence from Bengali.

Six cross-modal lexical decision tasks with priming probed listeners' processing of the geminate-singleton contrast in Bengali, where duration alone leads to phonemic contrast ([pata] 'leaf' vs. [pat:a] 'whereabouts'), in order to investigate the phonological representation of consonantal duration in the lexicon. Four form-priming experiments (auditory fragment primes and visual targets) were designed to investigate listeners' sensitivity to segments of conflicting duration. Each prime derived from a real word ([k(h)[symbol: see text]m]/[g(h)en:]) was matched with a mispronunciation of the opposite duration (*[k(h)[symbol: see text]m:]/*[g(h)en]) and both were used to prime the full words [k(h)[symbol: see text]ma] ('forgiveness') and [g(h)en:a] ('disgust') respectively. Although all fragments led to priming, the results showed an asymmetric pattern. The fragments of words with singletons mispronounced as geminates led to equal priming, while those with geminates mispronounced as singletons showed a difference. The priming effect of the real-word geminate fragment was significantly greater than that of its corresponding nonword singleton fragment. In two subsequent semantic priming tasks with full-word primes a stronger asymmetry was found: nonword geminates (*[k(h)[symbol: see text]m:a]) primed semantically related words ([marjona] 'forgiveness') but singleton nonword primes (*[ghena]) did not show priming. This overall asymmetry in the tolerance of geminate nonwords in place of singleton words is attributed to a representational mismatch and points towards a moraic representation of duration. While geminates require a mora which cannot be derived from singleton input, the additional information in geminate nonwords does not create a similar mismatch.

Insertion of the Geminate Consonants in the Intervocalic Position by Korean Learners

This study aimed to investigate the phenomenon of insertion of the geminate consonants in the intervocalic position by Korean learners of Japanese through an analysis of the “Database of Japanese language learners conversation.” The results showed that the Korean learners’ production of the Japanese voiceless consonants as geminates occurred between the voiced or voiceless consonants, although differences in the type of vowels were not observed. However, when the preceding vowels were a narrow vowel /i/, insertion of geminate consonants were observed to be frequent in the environment of vowel devoicing. Insertion of geminate consonants has been observed extensively regardless of the Japanese language proficiency of Korean learners. It should be noted that insertion of the geminate consonants are generated to concentrate at the production of the particular vocabulary and the te-form, ta-form, tara-form and tari-form of the verb. Therefore, these need to taught at the time of introduction of vocabulary and inflected forms of the verb as insertion of geminate consonants does not occur.

Coherent and Incoherent Contributions to Charge Separation in Multichromophore Systems

In organic materials, exciton dissociation into free charges requires overcoming an electron–hole Coulomb interaction that exceeds the thermal energy and may still be large after charge transfer at a donor/acceptor interface. We analyze the factors affecting efficiency of charge separation and subsequent removal of electrons and holes from such a donor–acceptor interface and suggest strategies for optimizing these processes. Energy transfer, charge separation, and charge transfer in the vicinity of the donor–acceptor interface are studied within a common theoretical framework based on a quantum master equation, for a model system with realistic excitation energies and electronic couplings. We find that enhancing the efficiency of both charge transfer from the donor to the acceptor and of charge removal from the donor–acceptor interface requires an intricate balance between the extent of electronic delocalization throughout the material and rates of energy dissipation. For very large exciton binding energies, cascade charge separation in systems with more than one donor and one acceptor species, such as molecular polyads, is found to greatly facilitate the dissociation of geminate pairs. Our calculations predict charge separation on subpicosecond timescales for several parameter combinations, leading to design principles for enhancing charge separation in multichromophore systems.

The Impact of Geminates on the Duration of the Preceding and Following Vowels in Ta'zi Dialect

This paper is a spectrographic analysis of the duration of geminate consonants and their impacts on the preceding and the following vowels in Ta'zi Dialect (TD), a prominent dialect of the Yemeni Arabic. More than fifty words comprising minimal words are collected from the TD to find out the difference in length between the geminated and the non-geminated consonants in words and the consequences of this process. It has been reached to the conclusion that the duration of the geminate consonant in TD is generally twice as much as that of the non-geminates. When geminated, the trill has been found to be the longest among all other consonants; pharyngeals and semivowels have been found to be the shortest. The voiceless consonants prove to be longer than their voiced counterparts. It is also observed that the geminated consonants affected the preceding and the following vowels. The adjacent vowels to the geminates are generally shortened. It seems that there is no proof that the secondary articulation affects the length of the geminated words in case of gutturals.

Gemination on Unerupted Third Molar

Gemination on Unerupted Third Molar

A comparative study of geminates in Russian and Italian

A comparative study of geminates in Russian and Italian

Anomalous maximum and minimum for the dissociation of a geminate pair in energetically disordered media

We study the geminated pair dissociation probability φ as function of applied electric field and temperature in energetically disordered nD media. Regardless nD, for certain parameters regions φ versus the disorder degree (σ) displays anomalous minimum (maximum) at low (moderate) fields. This behavior is compatible with a transport energy which reaches a maximum and then decreases to negative values as σ increases. Our results explain the temperature dependence of the persistent photoconductivity in C60 single crystals going through order–disorder transitions. They also indicate how an energetic disorder spatial variation may contribute to higher exciton dissociation in multicomponent donor/acceptor systems.

Language specific listening of Japanese geminate consonants: a cross-linguistic study.

Various aspects of linguistic experience influence the way we segment, represent, and process speech signals. The Japanese phonetic and orthographic systems represent geminate consonants (double consonants, e.g., /ss/, /kk/) in a unique way compared to other languages: one abstract representation is used to characterize the first part of geminate consonants despite the acoustic difference between two distinct realizations of geminate consonants (silence in the case of e.g., stop consonants and elongation in the case of fricative consonants). The current study tests whether this discrepancy between abstract representations and acoustic realizations influences how native speakers of Japanese perceive geminate consonants. The experiments used pseudo words containing either the geminate consonant /ss/ or a manipulated version in which the first part was replaced by silence /_s/. The sound /_s/ is acoustically similar to /ss/, yet does not occur in everyday speech. Japanese listeners demonstrated a bias to group these two types into the same category while Italian and Dutch listeners distinguished them. The results thus confirmed that distinguishing fricative geminate consonants with silence from those with sustained frication is not crucial for Japanese native listening. Based on this observation, we propose that native speakers of Japanese tend to segment geminated consonants into two parts and that the first portion of fricative geminates is perceptually similar to a silent duration. This representation is compatible with both Japanese orthography and phonology. Unlike previous studies that were inconclusive in how native speakers segment geminate consonants, our study demonstrated a relatively strong effect of Japanese specific listening. Thus the current experimental methods may open up new lines of investigation into the relationship between development of phonological representation, orthography and speech perception.

Perception of non-native consonant length contrast: The role of attention in phonetic processing

The present investigation examines English speakers’ ability to identify and discriminate non-native consonant length contrast. Three groups (L1 English No-Instruction, L1 English Instruction, and L1 Finnish control) performed a speeded forced-choice identification task and a speeded AX discrimination task on Finnish non-words (e.g. /hupo/–/huppo/) which were manipulated for intervocalic consonant duration. The results indicate that basic information, focusing the participants’ attention on a particular contrast, assists novice listeners in processing a non-native contrast. We find support for a phonetic level of processing which is intermediate to non-linguistic acoustic processing and phonemic processing at which the phonetic cue of duration becomes significant. We interpret the results in relation to the Speech Learning Model (Flege 1995, 2003).

Azametallametallocene Formation via Double sp3 C–H Activation of 6-Substituted ortho-Toluidines by a Half-sandwich Acetatoiridium Complex

Abstract A half-sandwich acetatoiridium(III) complex can activate two geminal C(sp3)–H bonds of 2-methylaniline derivatives to produce a new dinuclear azametallacycle, (η5-1,2,3,4,5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)[η5-2-(η5-1,2,3,4,5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)iridaindolyl]iridium. The C–N chelate iridium displaying an amido-carbene structure favors formation of the saturated 34 electron complex via π-coordination to the other [Cp*Ir] fragment.

A setup for recording optically detected electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of radical ion pairs generated by vacuum ultraviolet

A setup for recording optically detected electron paramagnetic resonance (OD EPR) spectra of radical ions involved in geminate pair recombination is described. Unlike the previously developed setups of this kind, vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation is used to generate radical ion pairs. The setup allows registration of EPR spectra of short-lived radical ions in liquid and solid samples by recombination fluorescence modulated by a resonance microwave field. The spectra are recorded in the mode of direct detection of the fluorescence intensity or using the phase-sensitive detection. The advantages of the photochemical generation of radical ion pairs compared to the use of X rays and fast-electron radiation are as follows: the lack of track effects on the recombination process, the possibility of studying recombination processes in thin films of nanometer thickness, the small size, low cost, and radiation safety of VUV sources.

Gemination Strategies in L1 and English Pronunciation of Polish Learners

Polish is a language where true geminates appear and the occurrence of a double consonant letter in spelling corresponds with double or at least prolonged consonant articulation regardless of the morphological structure of the word. The above principle also concerns most borrowings, such as the English word ‘hobby’, for instance. In English, true geminates do not occur and a morpheme-internal double consonant letter is only a fairly reliable indication of the way the preceding vowel should be pronounced. This discrepancy may lead to negative transfer in Polish learners of English. Our recent research of native Polish speech (Rojczyk and Porzuczek, in press) generally confirmed the results reported by Ladefoged and Maddieson (1996), among others, who found geminates to be 1.5-3 times longer than singletons. In our study we investigate the influence of double consonant letters on L1 and English pronunciation of Polish learners. They read trochaic family names containing intervocalic <nn>. Each name is preceded by a first name suggesting the nationality (Polish, English, German or Italian) of the person mentioned. By placing each tested item in a Polish and an English semantically and rhythmically equivalent sentences (This is .../To jest...), we measure the level of consonant length variation with respect to the language in which the potential geminates appear, the language context and the learning experience of the students. In this way we collect evidence and formulate observations concerning the learners’ awareness of the status of geminates in various languages and the probability of transfer in EFL learning.

The role of abstraction in non-native speech perception

The end-result of perceptual reorganization in infancy is currently viewed as a reconfigured perceptual space, “warped” around native-language phonetic categories, which then acts as a direct perceptual filter on any non-native sounds: naïve-listener discrimination of non-native-sounds is determined by their mapping onto native-language phonetic categories that are acoustically/articulatorily most similar. We report results that suggest another factor in non-native speech perception: some perceptual sensitivities cannot be attributed to listeners' warped perceptual space alone, but rather to enhanced general sensitivity along phonetic dimensions that the listeners' native language employs to distinguish between categories. Specifically, we show that the knowledge of a language with short and long vowel categories leads to enhanced discrimination of non-native consonant length contrasts. We argue that these results support a view of perceptual reorganization as the consequence of learners' hierarchical inductive inferences about the structure of the language's sound system: infants not only acquire the specific phonetic category inventory, but also draw higher-order generalizations over the set of those categories, such as the overall informativity of phonetic dimensions for sound categorization. Non-native sound perception is then also determined by sensitivities that emerge from these generalizations, rather than only by mappings of non-native sounds onto native-language phonetic categories.

Phonotactic information in the temporal organization of Standard Austrian German and the Viennese dialect

The current contribution analyses quantifying prosodic aspects in two Middle Bavarian varieties, Standard Austrian German and the Viennese dialect. State of the art phonological accounts of the Middle Bavarian dialects assume a mutual interaction between vowel and consonant length: long vowels are followed by lenis consonants, short vowels are followed by fortis consonants, further vowel + consonant sequences are proscribed in the Middle Bavarian dialects. In this analysis, this assumption was tested by incorporating the allegedly disallowed sequences long vowel + fortis consonant. Results show that this sequence is not integrated into the presumed Middle Bavarian temporal patterns, but have to be dealt with separately. These results shed a new light on the Middle Bavarian quantity relationships which are discussed within two possible theoretical frameworks, one assuming a two-way opposition in consonants, the other a three-way opposition. Generally, the necessary integration of a third category brings about a revision of the Middle Bavarian quantity relations which is more easily reconcilable with the complex phonotactic structures observable in the Middle Bavarian varieties than the previously assumed pattern of a mutual interaction between vowel and consonant length.

Segmental Effects on (De)gemination in Western Gurage

Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society: Special Session on Afroasiatic Languages (2001)

Cross-Language Perception of Japanese Vowel Length Contrasts: Comparison of Listeners From Different First Language Backgrounds

The purpose of this research was to compare the perception of Japanese vowel length contrasts by 4 groups of listeners who differed in their familiarity with length contrasts in their first language (L1; i.e., American English, Italian, Japanese, and Thai). Of the 3 nonnative groups, native Thai listeners were expected to outperform American English and Italian listeners, because vowel length is contrastive in their L1. Native Italian listeners were expected to demonstrate a higher level of accuracy for length contrasts than American English listeners, because the former are familiar with consonant (but not vowel) length contrasts (i.e., singleton vs. geminate) in their L1. A 2-alternative forced-choice AXB discrimination test that included 125 trials was administered to all the participants, and the listeners' discrimination accuracy (d') was reported. As expected, Japanese listeners were more accurate than all 3 nonnative groups in their discrimination of Japanese vowel length contrasts. The 3 nonnative groups did not differ from one another in their discrimination accuracy despite varying experience with length contrasts in their L1. Only Thai listeners were more accurate in their length discrimination when the target vowel was long than when it was short. Being familiar with vowel length contrasts in L1 may affect the listeners' cross-language perception, but it does not guarantee that their L1 experience automatically results in efficient processing of length contrasts in unfamiliar languages. The extent of success may be related to how length contrasts are phonetically implemented in listeners' L1.

Geminal Silicon/Zinc Reagents as CF2 Bis-carbanion Synthons

Geminal Silicon/Zinc Reagents as CF2 Bis-carbanion Synthons

Correlated Donor/Acceptor Crystal Orientation Controls Photocurrent Generation in All‐Polymer Solar Cells

New polymers with high electron mobilities have spurred research in organic solar cells using polymeric rather than fullerene acceptors due to their potential of increased diversity, stability, and scalability. However, all‐polymer solar cells have struggled to keep up with the steadily increasing power conversion efficiency of polymer:fullerene cells. The lack of knowledge about the dominant recombination process as well as the missing concluding picture on the role of the semi‐crystalline microstructure of conjugated polymers in the free charge carrier generation process impede a systematic optimization of all‐polymer solar cells. These issues are examined by combining structural and photo‐physical characterization on a series of poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (donor) and P(NDI2OD‐T2) (acceptor) blend devices. These experiments reveal that geminate recombination is the major loss channel for photo‐excited charge carriers. Advanced X‐ray and electron‐based studies reveal the effect of chloronaphthalene co‐solvent in reducing domain size, altering domain purity, and reorienting the acceptor polymer crystals to be coincident with those of the donor. This reorientation correlates well with the increased photocurrent from these devices. Thus, efficient split‐up of geminate pairs at polymer/polymer interfaces may necessitate correlated donor/acceptor crystal orientation, which represents an additional requirement compared to the isotropic fullerene acceptors.

Secondary gestures for consonants: An electromagnetic articulometer study of troughs

Troughs, defined as a discontinuity in anticipatory coarticulation (Perkell 1968), have been shown to occur in the tongue body (TB) in /ipi/ and lips in /usu/. In V1CV1 contexts articulators retract from their vowel target during C when not active during C. We investigate the trough phenomenon by testing three hypotheses: (1) high intraoral air pressure during the consonant pushes TB down; (2) absence of vowel articulator activation during C in VCV causes TB to move to the neutral position; (3) the trough is a gesture in itself. Electromagnetic articulometer (EMA) data of the tongue, lips, and jaw were tracked for a trained phonetician producing non-words and real words, varying vowel context and the place, manner, and consonant length. For H1, /iCi/ productions with C={/p,f,m/} and three C durations were studied. For H2, /h/ and /ʔ/ in /iCi/ were examined. Troughs were found in all the labials but not in /h, ʔ/, disproving hypothesis 2; trough magnitude decreased in the order: /f/ > /p/ > /m/, disproving hypothesis 1. Trough magnitude increased with C duration, consistent with H3. Results from asymmetric vowel contexts also support H3, and will be discussed within the context of Articulatory Phonology. [Work supported by NIH.]