Initial Phoneme Research Articles

Graphophonological-semantic flexibility and its contribution to reading comprehension in children with dyslexia: A pilot study

Graphophonological-semantic flexibility is the cognitive flexibility in reading that enables individuals to manage multiple phonological and semantic aspects of text simultaneously. This study investigated graphophonological-semantic flexibility and its contribution to reading comprehension in children with dyslexia, comparing them to age-matched, typically developing peers. Thirty children aged 8-11 were assessed using a reading-specific sorting task, where they categorized word cards by initial phoneme and meaning within a 2x2 matrix. After sorting, participants explained their arrangements, and their sorting speed, accuracy, and composite scores were evaluated. Additionally, reading comprehension was assessed through passages followed by questions. Results revealed significant differences between children with dyslexia and their peers in sorting accuracy and composite scores. Children with dyslexia exhibited poorer accuracy and longer sorting times, leading to lower composite scores indicative of reduced graphophonological-semantic flexibility. Age showed a positive correlation with sorting accuracy and composite scores. Moreover, sorting accuracy and composite scores were strong predictors of reading comprehension. These findings suggest that children with dyslexia face challenges in managing both phonological and semantic aspects of text concurrently, highlighting the importance of graphophonological-semantic flexibility in reading development.

Response Latencies During Confrontation Picture Naming in Aphasia: Are Proxy Measurements Sufficient?

Anomia, or word-finding difficulty, is a prevalent and persistent feature of aphasia, a neurogenic language disorder affecting millions of people in the United States. Anomia assessments are essential for measuring performance and monitoring outcomes in clinical settings. This study aims to evaluate the reliability of response time (RT) annotation based on spectrograms and assess the predictive utility of proxy RTs collected during computerized naming tests. Archival data from 10 people with aphasia were used. Trained research assistants phonemically transcribed participants' responses, and RTs were generated from the onset of picture stimulus to the initial phoneme of the first complete attempt. RTs were measured in two ways: hand-generated RTs (from spectrograms) and proxy RTs (automatically extracted online). Interrater agreement was evaluated based on interclass correlation coefficients and generalizability theory tools including variance partitioning and the φ-coefficient. The predictive utility of proxy RTs was evaluated within a linear mixed-effects framework. RT annotation reliability showed near-perfect agreement across research assistants (φ-coefficient = .93), and the variance accounted for by raters was negligible. Furthermore, proxy RTs significantly and strongly predicted hand-annotated RTs (R2 = ~0.82), suggesting their utility as an alternative measure. The study confirms the reliability of RT annotation and demonstrates the predictive utility of proxy RTs in estimating RTs during computerized naming tests. Incorporating proxy RTs can enhance clinical assessments, providing additional information for cognitive measurement. Further research with larger samples and exploring the impact of using proxy RTs in different psychometric models could optimize clinical protocols and improve communication interventions for individuals with aphasia.

Effects of irrelevant speech on semantic and phonological judgments of Chinese characters

ABSTRACT This study investigated whether background speech impairs lexical processing and how speech characteristics modulate such influence based on task type. Chinese character pairs were displayed to native Chinese readers under four auditory conditions: normal Chinese speech, phonotactically legal but meaningless speech, spectrally-rotated speech (i.e. meaningless sound with no accessible phonological form), or silence. Participants were tasked with determining whether the presented character pair shared the same meaning (semantic judgment), or the same initial phoneme (phonological judgment). Participants performed better and faster in the semantic than in the phonological judgment task. Phonological properties of meaningless speech prolonged participants’ reaction times in the phonological but not the semantic judgment task, whilst the semantic properties of speech only delayed reaction times in the semantic judgment task. The results indicate that background speech disrupts lexical processing, with the nature of the primary task affecting the extent of phonological and semantic disruption.

Technology-Based Assessment of Phonological Awareness in Kindergarten

AbstractPrevious research has shown that phonological awareness is one of the most important prerequisites for early reading. Monitoring its development requires reliable, easy-to-use instruments especially in the last years of kindergarten. The present study aims to explore the potential for assessing phonological awareness and some of its subskills through online testing. Participants of the study were 317 kindergarteners (Mage = 6.61, SD = .54 years). The instruments developed for this study within an online assessment platform in two assessment dimensions (syllable and phoneme awareness) contain nine subtests (syllable synthesis, segmentation, deletion; phoneme identification in different sound environments, identification of phoneme position, identification of initial phonemes, phoneme synthesis and segmentation). The results of the study show that: (1) the test is a reliable assessment tool for kindergarteners’ phonological awareness skills; (2) according to the underlying measurement model of phonological awareness, the tasks are separated based on particular operational components independently of the size of the language element involved; (3) segmentation tasks proved to be the most difficult parts of the test; and (4) the media effect is insignificant. The online test aims to emphasize the importance of online testing and the inseparable relationship between measuring and developing phonological awareness, prompting teachers to rethink their teaching methods. It also introduces a new tool for educators to use, tailored to children's needs but potentially challenging for teachers with lower ICT literacy, requiring methodological support, ultimately providing a new opportunity for kindergartens.

Proses Morfofonemik pada Bahasa Jawa Kabupaten Bengkalis

This research discusses morphophonemic phenomena in the Javanese language in Bengkalis with a focus on sound changes that occur at the morpheme level. Morphophonemics, as a linguistic study that explores the relationship between morphemes (minimal meaning units) and phonemes (minimal sound units), is a theoretical basis for describing morphemic sound changes in Javanese. This study used a descriptive qualitative method. Research data was obtained from the results of Javanese speech by speakers. Research data was obtained from the results of data collection techniques using the listen, speak, note method. The data analysis technique is carried out through the following stages: 1) observing research data; 2) Transcription of research data; 3) Translating research data; 4) Classifying research data; 5) Analyzing changes in nasal meaning according to theory; 6) Draw conclusions from the research results. The research results show that the Javanese language on the island of Bengkalis experiences several morphophonemic phenomena, including changes in phonemes, addition of phonemes, and deletion of sounds at the morpheme level. If the prefix (N-) meets the phoneme /p/ it will change to /m/. Likewise with the prefixes (Sa-) and (Pa-), if they meet the initial phoneme of a vowel, the phoneme /a/ will disappear. Concrete examples are given to illustrate sound changes that occur in various morphemic contexts.

Redundant Acronym Syndrome in Indonesian News Articles: A Corpus Analysis Approach

The aims of the study are to explore the occurrence of Redundant Acronym Syndrome (RAS) in Indonesian news articles and examine its implications by employing corpus analysis approach. The main source of the data from the Indonesian news corpus, which consists of 150,466 articles from Indonesian news websites over a six-month period spanned from July 2015 to December 2015. The data analysis was conducted by using Antconc software version 4.02. The analysis reveals a systematic and recognisable structure in acronym formation, highlighting cultural or organisational conventions such as initial phoneme retention, retention of syllables + letters, and retention of syllables and syllables, and retention of initial phonemes and letters. The findings of this study revealed a total of 40 Redundant Acronym with 5730 occurrences identified in the Indonesian news corpus, covering various fields such as the name of football clubs, banks, political parties, educational institutions, government-related terms, and commonly used phrases. This research also discussed that that RAS in news articles can have both negative and positive impacts. It negatively impact readability by making repetitions and potentially confusing the reader. In contrast, RAS can also improve clarity by emphasising certain aspects or reinforcing associations in acronyms, so that readers can instantly recognise and understand them. The findings provided valuable insights for news writers and editors, emphasising the importance of a balance between readability and clarity in news articles.

Linguistic features of stuttering during spontaneous speech

PurposePrevious work shows that linguistic features (e.g., word length, word frequency) impact the predictability of stuttering events. Most of this work has been conducted using reading tasks. Our study examined how linguistic features impact the predictability of stuttering events during spontaneous speech. MethodsThe data were sourced from the FluencyBank database and consisted of interviews with 35 adult stutterers (27,009 words). Three logistic regression mixed models were fit as the primary analyses: one model with four features (i.e., initial phoneme, grammatical function, word length, and word position within a sentence), a second model with six features (i.e., the features from the previous model plus word frequency and neighborhood density), and a third model with nine features (i.e., the features from the previous model plus bigram frequency, word concreteness, and typical age of word acquisition). We compared our models using the Area Under the Curve statistic. ResultsThe four-feature model revealed that initial phoneme, grammatical function, and word length were predictive of stuttering events. The six-feature model revealed that initial phoneme, word length, word frequency, and neighborhood density were predictive of stuttering events. The nine-feature model was not more predictive than the six-feature model. ConclusionLinguistic features that were previously found to be predictive of stuttering during reading were predictive of stuttering during spontaneous speech. The results indicate the influence of linguistic processes on the predictability of stuttering events such that words associated with increased planning demands (e.g., longer words, low frequency words) were more likely to be stuttered.

PHONOSEMANTIC FEATURES OF FEMINIST TEXTS MODERN GERMAN PROSE

The article investigates the phonosemantic features of D. Krien's feminist novel "Die Liebe im Ernstfall" in order to establish the symbolic meanings of the initial consonant phonemes encountered in this text. We analysed the theoretical and methodological basis of contemporary German prose and highlighted the typical labelled features of the feminist literature genre (female authors, female protagonists, subtle authorial humour, hard women's fates, struggle for equal rights, fluidity, etc.) and compared them with the text under study. Based on the opinions of expert critics, the plot, idea, purpose of the novel, and our own reading experience, we argue that D. Krien's novel Die Liebe im Ernstfall meets all the features of a women's novel and contains five separate chapters dedicated to each individual heroine and her difficult life path. D. Krien presents the readers with a veiled problem of women's relationships in society and their relations with men, and also points out the inequality of rights in the modern world. Therefore, the paper investigates the functioning of phonemes in the feminist text Die Liebe im Ernstfall by means of a continuous sample and uses the descriptive method and component-statistical methods, namely the chi-square method and the coefficient of mutual conjugation, to establish the symbolic meanings of the initial phoneme combinations. We processed 5056 units of phonemic vocabulary and published the results of the most frequently used words. We have practically established that the most frequently used vocabulary in the novel belongs to the phoneme systems ∫t-, ∫p-,kl-, kr-, gr-, pr-, tr-, ∫r-, and we have also highlighted adjectives of negative perception, colour adjectives, abstract nouns and nouns of negative meaning. In the course of the study of the novel, we found that the modern feminist text by D. Krien "Die Liebe im Ernstfall" is characterised by the minor tone of the phonemic vocabulary used, which contains the leading phoneme [∫] and [r] in the second or third position and a "negative" emotional impact on the reader, the reliability of the results obtained was confirmed by the statistically significant chi-square criterion and the coefficient of mutual conjugation.

The internal structure of the syllable in Russian and in Hebrew: Evidence from monolingual kindergarteners

AbstractNotwithstanding remarkable phonological differences, the CV syllable is the most frequent syllable type in both Russian and Hebrew. This led to the prediction that the internal structure of the CVC syllable in the two languages, as reflected in phonological awareness tasks, might be similar. The study tested phonological awareness in two groups of monolingual kindergarteners: Hebrew-speaking (N = 35) and Russian-speaking (N = 20) in order to shed light on the underlying structure of the CVC syllable in the two languages. Phonological awareness tasks targeted awareness of the sub-syllabic structure (structured and unstructured) and phoneme awareness (initial and final). A linear mixed model analysis revealed that children in both groups showed greater facility with body-coda CV-C than with onset-rime C-VC syllable splitting and higher scores on final than on initial phoneme isolation tasks. The unstructured tasks also reflected the cohesion of the CV body in both languages. The findings demonstrate a similar internal representation of the CVC syllable in Russian and in Hebrew speakers as reflected in phonological awareness among preschoolers.

의서의 음소 상관도 연구 -『언해납약증치방』과 구급방류를 중심으로 -

This paper explores to find out the characteristics of the Korean language history data based on the arithmetic information in the computerized Korean language history data. In this regard, based on the specific values of the phonemes (initial, middle, and final phonemes) of the three types of pre-established Gugeupbang types: Gugeupbang, Gugeupganibang, Eonhae Gugeupbang, it was intended to reveal the degree of correlation by arithmetic comparison with the comparative literature 『Eonhae Nayakjeungchibang』. By comparing with the average notation tendency of the same type of literature ‘Gugeupbang types’, it is an attempt to quantify how far individual literature deviate from the average tendency. The target literature, 『Eonhae Nayakjeungchibang』, is a book that lists medicines to be used in emergency situations, and records dosage and contraindications according to symptoms. Due to the high similarity in terms of purpose, content, and format, it is an appropriate data to understand the correlation with Gugeupbang types. After identifying the average tendency of notation between the related literatures of 『Eonhae Nayakjeungchibang』and ‘Gugeupbang types’, it was expressed as a numerical value through the Pearson correlation of the arithmetic mean and the weighted mean on each of the initial phonemes, middle phonemes, and final phonemes to determine how well individual literature is related to the mean. And this was intended to reveal the degree of correlation. In the initial phonemes, the correlation coefficient is a value of ‘0.981∼0.994’, which is very close to +1 in the literatures of Gugeupbang types (Arithmetic Mean: 『Eonhae Gugeupbang (0.991)』 > 『Gugeupganibang(0.988)』,『Gugeupbang(0.985)』,Mean: 『Gugeupganibang(0.994)』,『E onhaeGugeupbang(0.985)』, 『Gugeupbang(0.981)』) showed ‘0.854’ in the arithmetic mean and ‘0.842’ in the weighted average, so there was at least a difference of ‘0.133’ in 『Eonhae Nayakjeungchibang』in the initial phonemes compared to the literatures of Gugeupbang types. In the case of the middle phonemes, the three literatures for Gugeupbang types showed a correlation coefficient of ‘0.981∼0.991’, whereas in 『Eonhae Nayakjeungchibang』, an arithmetic mean of ‘0.962’, and a weighted average of ‘0.957’ showed a correlation coefficient. Even in the final phonemes, the three literatures for Gugeupbang types showed more than ‘0.982∼0.995’, but in 『Eonhae Nayakjeungchibang』, the arithmetic average is ‘0.947’ and the weighted average is ‘0.934’. Among the literatures of Gugeupbang types, the highest correlation was found with 『Eonhae Gugeupbang』, showing correlation coefficients of ‘0.879’ in the initial phonemes, ‘0.977’ in the middle phonemes, and ‘0.955’ in the final phonemes. Among the literatures of Gugeupbang types, the highest correlation was found with 『Eonhae Gugeupbang』, showing correlation coefficients of ‘0.879’ in the initial phonemes, ‘0.977’ in the middle phonemes, and ‘0.955’ in the final phonemes.

MAKNA DERIVASIONAL DAN INFLEKSIONAL VERBA NASAL BAHASA JAWA DIALEK AREK

This study aims to observe the change in the meaning of the nasal verbs in the Arek dialect of Javanese. The scope of the research is limited to the speeches of the community verbs in the Arek zone in Malang Regency. The research data was done from 7-17 April 2022 in 3 districts: Sumberpucung, Kalipare, and Kromengan. The data of this study were analyzed according to Bauer's theory of derivational and inflectional meanings. The results showed that the Javanese nasal verbs have more derivation processes than inflections. The derivation process marks the derivational meaning and the inflection process marks the inflectional process. The results of the study revealed that almost all nasal allomorphs which act as nasal affixes make a verb derivation. The researcher divided the nasal allomorph into 2 parts, /m/, /ñ/, and/ŋ/ which have 2 roles of affixes which is derivational and inflectional. Second, the nasal allomorphs /ŋǝ/, /n/, and /ṇ/ have 1 affix role. Both classifications apply the terms and conditions of the initial phoneme of a verb.Key words : Derivasional, Inflectional, Verb, Nasal, Javanese.

The Variation of Numeral Form Mean ‘one’ in Numeral Classifiers of the Batak Angkola Language

This paper aims to explain the variation of the numeral form, which means ‘one’ in the numeral classifier of the Batak Angkola language of Pintu Padang isolect and to describe the pattern of use of each of these forms. Data was collected by using observation and interview methods. Observation is done by listening to speakers communicate with each other. Interviews were conducted by directly asking three informants who met specific requirements and with several other sources. Data analysis was carried out using segmenting immediate constituents technique by dividing the lingual unit into numerals and classifiers. Based on the study results, it can be concluded that in the Batak Angkola language of Pintu Padang isolect found, ten variations of the numeral form, which means ‘one’ followed by a numeral classifier. The variation of the numeral form, which means ‘one’, is determined by the initial phoneme of the numeral classifier it follows in this case, the addition of a phoneme similar to or the same as the following phoneme. However, it is still limited to specific numeral classifiers. The numeral form still dominantly used is the form that has not experienced the addition of a phoneme.

Nasal verbalization of the Kanayatn Dayak Language

This research aims to study the feature of nasals in the Kanayatn Dayak language, spoken in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, and whether they are replacive or additive to particular initial phonemes of the root. The data were collected by recording and interviewing five informants of 45-55 years old native speakers of Kanayatn Dayak. Through the descriptive linguistics approach to describe the linguistic features of the nasals, this study revealed that the feature could be both replacive and additive, depending on the initial phoneme of the root word the nasals enter. These replacive and additive nasal verbalization processes function as class-maintaining and class-changing based on the root class to the nasals attached. As a replacive, the nasal verbalization process replaces the first phoneme of the root with nasals /m-/, /n-/, /ŋ-/, and nasal /ɲ-/. As additive verbalization, it is added to first phoneme of the root by employing allomorph /ma-/ and alternant /m-/, allomorph /am-/, allomorph /an-/ and alternant /n-/, and nasal /ŋ-/ and allomorph /ŋa-/. The replacive nasal verbalization makes the first phoneme of root covert. It is replaced with the replacive nasals. Then, the additive verbalization process maintains the first phoneme of the root staying overt. As a result, these additive nasals also create double homorganic-nasal oral consonants at the first phoneme of the verbs. The verbalization process involving additive allomorph only maintains the first phoneme of the root staying overt. In complex word formation, nasal verbalization creates active transitive and intransitive verbs.

The Role of Proficiency in Kashmiri Language in Phonological Processing Skills: A Cognitive-linguistic Approach

Language reflects the general aspects of human cognition and it works in terms of generalities, i.e. in terms of categories (Cruse, 2000). So, any of the linguistic expressions, whether it’s a phone, word, syllable or a sentence ends up in the representation of a category referring to a something that is usually aimed at sufficing the need for communication. These categories are conceptual or can be referred to as the abstract mental constructs. However, language is not an autonomous cognitive faculty which implies that language is not exactly an innate cognitive module and is not separated from non-linguistic cognitive abilities (Craft & Cruse, 2004). This study reports on the role of proficiency of Kashmiri language in phonological processing of illiterate native Kashmiri speakers. A total number 40 participants (20 Literate; 20 Illiterate), divided into two groups; were tested for Lexical Decision, Random Automatized Naming, Initial Phoneme Deletion, and Final Phoneme Deletion. The results suggested that the performance of both the groups was affected by Literacy and Proficiency in their native language i.e. Kashmiri. The effect of literacy on phonological processing was in consistence with the available literature however, the performance by illiterates was not worked out. This study attempted to find out the reasons for the performance of illiterates, and it was found that the illiterates can perform almost similar to those of literates on phonological awareness tasks because the proficiency in their native language enhances their phonemic and phonological awareness skills. Hence, the proficiency in Kashmir language has a role in phonological processing of illiterates.

Phonemic Awareness as a Determinant of Reading Abilities of Children with Reading Disabilities in the Buea Municipality, South West Region of Cameroon

Purpose: This study was aimed at examining phonemic awareness as a determinant of reading abilities of children with reading disabilities in the Buea Municipality, South West Region of Cameroon
 Methodology: This Study Was Based on the Premise That Phonemic Awareness Has Been Identified As The best early indicator of a learner’s reading potentials because it sets the stage for phonics, and literacy. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study with 14 participants, 7 in the experimental group and 7 in the control group. A pre-test and post-test were administered to the children before and after the intervention. The instrument used for data collection was a phonemic awareness test that constituted elements of reading, sound identification, deletion of the first phoneme, deletion of the second phoneme, initial phoneme identification and final phoneme identification. Data was analyzed using EpiData Version 3.1 Cohen’s d test and Cramer’s V test.
 Findings: Results indicated that the phonemic awareness has a significant effect on the reading abilities of children with reading disabilities, this was based on the mean difference of the pre-test (11.37) and post-test (15.17) giving a mean difference of 3.8 with a paired sample t-test of 2.844 giving a significant value of P= 0.05. The study concluded that effective instructions through the development of a child’s ability to understand how individual phonemes can be manipulated and arranged to create words can stop and repair the learning gap and can impart the skills an older reader missed in the earlier grades.
 Recommendation: Based on the findings, it was recommended that teachers should be more inclusive in their handling of students’ .Also, parents should be encourage to help children back at home to develop reading skills.

COMPARATIVE FORMS OF ADJECTIVES BY AFFIX COMBINATIONS UM-AN IN TOBA BATAK

The objectives of this paper are to investigate the formation of complex words that have more than one affix i.e comparative forms of adjectives by affix combinations [um-an] in Toba Batak. The results show that inflectional comparative forms of adjectives by affix combinations [um-an] in Toba Batak result in various morphological and phonological processes as follows: (1) if affix combinations [um-an] is attached to adjectives preceded by vowels [a], [e], [i], [o], and [u], affix combinations [um-an] is is pronounced as [umm-an]sound with double [m]. (2) if the initial phoneme of a base adjective is a bilabial plosive voiced consonant [b], affix combinations [um-an] is pronounced as [ub-an] sound as its allomorph. (3) if the initial phoneme of a base adjectives is a velar plosive voiced consonant [g], affix combinations [um-an] is pronounced as [uŋ-an] sound. (4) if the initial phoneme of a base adjective is a palato alveolar affricate voiced consonant [j] affix combinations [um-an] is spelt as [un-an] sound but pronounced as [uj-an] sound. (5) if the initial phoneme of a base adjective is a bilabial nasal voiced consonant [m] affix combinations [um-an] does not change. (6) if the initial phoneme of a base adjective is an alveolar nasal voiced consonant [n], affix combinations [um-an] is spelt and pronounced as [un-an] sound. (7) if the initial phoneme of a base adjective is a bilabial plosive voiceless consonant [p], affix combinations [um-an] is spelt as [um-an] sound but pronounced as [up-an] sound. (8) if the initial phoneme of a base adjective is an alveolar rolled voiced consonant [r], affix combinations [um-an] is spelt and pronounced as [ur-an] sound. (9) if the initial phoneme of a base adjective is an alveolar fricative voiceless consonant [s], affix combinations [um-an] is spelt as [un-an] sound but pronounced as [us-an] sound. (10) if the initial phoneme of a base adjective is an alveolar plosive voiceless consonant [t], affix combinations [um-an] is spelt as [un-an] sound but pronounced as [ut-an] sound. The stress of the adjectives attached with affix combinations [um-an] is put in the final syllable, i.e. in [-an] of the modified words.

NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH OF FACTORS AGGRAVATING THE READING LEARNING DIFFICULTIES AMONG MOROCCAN ARABIC-SPEAKING STUDENTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DYSLEXIA PROFILE

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability in school and the most devastating in terms of academic performance. In interaction with the socio-cultural environment, several and various factors can aggravate the difficulties of reader acquisition in dyslexic children. Identifying these factors and interpreting them according to the neuropsychological approach, in the Moroccan context, was the objective of this study Socio-economic data was collected from 626 children, aged 9 to 15 years with an average age of 11,95 years, enrolled in public educational establishments in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region, located in central Mo- rocco. Among all the participants, 41 had a profile of dyslexia, 13 of whom had reading attitudes evoking "severe dyslexia". Subjects underwent a cognitive assessment. the others were normal-readers and classified as good readers (n=481) and weak readers (n=104). To follow our purpose, we have determined socio-cultural and cognitive variables that may discriminate between students in the "severely dyslexic" group and their "dyslexic" peers. The performance gap was significant in favor of "dyslexic" students in the reading test of pseudowords, rapid naming of images, and the deletion of the initial phoneme. These data reinforce the hypothesis that the phonological deficit is at the root of developmental dyslexia. On the socio-cultural domain, the results showed that preschool attendance and early exposure to written language activity discriminate the participants with a "severe dyslexia" profile from their peers in the "dyslexic" group. We believe that these two factors were responsible for the moderate intensity of the disorder observed in the "dyslexic" group. Our study also showed that bilingualism raises the degree of learning reading difficulties among students with this disorder. These results are consistent with those described in the literature, it suggests that dyslexics can implement compensation strategies both at the behavioral and neuronal level. They call on those in charge of the Moroccan education system to recognize the existence of learning disabilities of neurobiological origin in order to address the necessary care for children who suffer from them.

SUPERLATIVE FORMS OF ADJECTIVES BY ARTICLE NA + PREFIX UM- IN TOBA BATAK

The objectives of this study are to investigate the formation of superlative forms of adjectives by article na +prefix [um-] in Toba Batak. The results show that superlative forms of adjectives by article na + prefix [um-] inToba Batak result in various morphological and phonological processes as follows: (1) if article na +prefix [um-]is attached to adjectives preceded by vowels [a], [e], [i], [o], and [u] the last phoneme of prefix [um-] is doubledi.e [um-] is pronounced as [umm-] sound. (2) if the initial phoneme is a bilabial plosive voiced consonant [b],prefix [um-] is pronounced as [ub-]sound as its allomorph. (3) if the initial phoneme is a velar plosive voicedconsonant [g], prefix [um-] is pronounced as [uŋ-] sound. (4) if the initial phoneme is a palato alveolar affricatevoiced consonant [j] prefix [um-] is spelt as [un-] sound but pronounced as [uj-] sound. (5) if the initial phonemeis a bilabial nasal voiced consonant [m] prefix [um-] does not change. (6) if the initial phoneme is an alveolarnasal voiced consonant [n], prefix [um-] is spelt and pronounced as [un-] sound. (7) if the initial phoneme is abilabial plosive voiceless consonant [p], prefix [um-] is spelt as [um-] sound but pronounced as [up-] sound. (8)if the initial phoneme is an alveolar rolled voiced consonant [r], prefix [um-] is spelt and pronounced as [ur-]sound. (9) if the initial phoneme is an alveolar fricative voiceless consonant [s], prefix [um-] is spelt as [un-]sound but pronounced as [us-] sound. (10) if the initial phoneme is an alveolar plosive voiceless consonant [t],prefix [um-] is spelt as [un-] sound but pronounced as [ut-] sound.

Диахроническая и ахроническая характеристики глухого свистящего ս (s) древнеармянского языка

The vast majority of the Armenian words of Indo-European origin with ս (s) have the nasalized *ḱ as their prototype. By combining back-lingual prototypes (comp. *ḱ, *k, *g՛, *gh) from one side and all the sibilant prototypes (comp. *s, *(s)s, *z, *z / s, *(p)s, *s(p), *s(t), *s(kh)) from the other side, a 2 : 1 quantitative proportion can be established in favor of the posterior ones. The number of the words restored with nasalized voiceless back-lingual *ḱ is about 1.7 times higher than those restored with fricative voiceless sibilant *s. However, quantitative prevalence is not yet sufficient to consider Indo-European *ḱ the original prototype of the Armenian ս (s), thus the initial phoneme from which the Old Armenian sibilant ս (s) could have derived after the separation of Armenian from the common Indo-European language. There are two reasons preventing such a conclusion: 1) the prototype with *s is restored for numerous Armenian words in comparative Armenian studies; 2) the first and second nasalization of the Indo-European back-lingual, which also resulted in sibilant phonemes in Indo-European languages, all dating back to a later period. The twofold quantitative prevalence of the cases of transition of Indo-European *ḱ to Armenian ս (s) compared to the transition of *s > ս (s), is likely to have originated similarly to the transition from the nasalized back-lingual occlusives to fricatives and occlusive-fricatives. It was a common phenomenon not only in Armenian but also in almost all of the eastern (satəm) group languages.

Facilitating Word Retrieval in Aphasia: Which Type of Cues for Which Aphasic Speakers?

Background: Even if both phonological and semantic cues can facilitate word retrieval in aphasia, it remains unclear if their respective effectiveness varies according to the underlying anomic profile.Aim: The aim of the present facilitation study is to compare the effect of phonological and semantic cues on picture naming accuracy and speed in different types of anomia.Methods: In the present within-subject design study, 15 aphasic persons following brain damage underwent picture naming paradigms with semantic cues (categorically- or associatively related) and phonological cues (initial phoneme presented auditorily, visually or both).Results: At the group level, semantic cueing was as effective as phonological cueing to significantly speed up picture naming. However, while phonological cues were effective regardless of the anomic profile, semantic cueing effects varied depending on the type of anomia. Participants with mixed anomia showed facilitation after both semantic categorical and associative cues, but individuals with lexical-phonological anomia only after categorical cues. Crucially, semantic cues were ineffective for participants with lexical-semantic anomia. These disparities were confirmed by categorical semantic facilitation decreasing when semantic/omission errors prevailed in the anomic profile, but increasing alongside phonological errors.Conclusion: The effectiveness of phonological vs semantic cues seems related to the underlying anomic profile: phonological cues benefit any type of anomia, but semantic cues only lexical-phonological or mixed anomia.