Language Production Processes Research Articles

Modularity of Prosody: Autonomy of Phonological Quantity and Intonation in Aphasia

The Finnish language is used here to enrich our conception of thedysprosodyhypothesis of the output in Broca's agrammatism, i.e., of the claim that agrammatic speech is characterized by aberrant timing and intonation patterns. The native language of the two agrammatic aphasics of the present study places a high functional load on quantity (acoustically: timing/duration) in its phonology, as the short–long quantity opposition concerns both vowels and consonants. Moreover, the quantity opposition in Finnish is not local, i.e., syllable-internal as in many Germanic languages, because the phonetic quantity values are determined by a disyllabic sequence. In contrast to the high functional load of quantity in its lexical phonology, Finnish makes little, if any, grammatical use of intonation. In the present acoustic analyses it was noted that the two Broca's aphasics have preserved the disyllabically determined quantity oppositions, although the speech of the aphasics is characterized by long interword pauses, i.e., by syntactic dysprosody. In contrast to the asyntactic timing patterns, the declination line of intonation is retained in the output of the present aphasics in spite of the low grammatical value of intonation in the language. The present results further dispute the characterization of agrammatic speech output as being dysprosodic, or more specifically atemporal, as lexical quantity and syntactic tonal patterns can be retained in a speech mode that is replete with long interword pauses. More generally, the observations will corroborate the autonomy (modularity) of lexical and syntactic processes in oral language production.

THE ETHNOGRAPHY OF SECOND LANGUAGE PRODUCTION

ESL learners' introspective accounts of perceived underlying second language production processes are explored for the discovery of folk models which may impact on pedagogy. The pervasive image which seems to surface is a translation schema with a subcomponent of conscious grammar rule application. Current communicative teaching approaches may be at odds with the expectations generated by this mental framework.

Language production and thought disorder in schizophrenia.

The authors examined the relationship between language production (LP) processes and thought disorder. Thirty-nine schizophrenic or schizoaffective participants completed tasks measuring discourse planning, monitoring, and grammatical-phonological encoding, as well as an interview used to rate thought disorder. The authors found that different LP processes were differentially related to different thought disorder subtypes. Incompetent references were strongly and selectively related to discourse planning performance. In addition, word approximations-neologisms were strongly and specifically associated with grammatical-phonological encoding performance. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these results for understanding the multifaceted nature and etiology of thought disorder.

Le Traitement Prototypique

This paper presents results from a study of the language production of native speakers and advanced learners. Four groups often speakers (native French, native Italian, Italian learners of French, French learners of Italian) performed a picture description task, and a comparison was made between the information contained in the productions of natives vs. learners, and the linguistic means used to convey this information. It was found that the processing of identical chunks of information ranged along a continuum from the analytic to the synthetic, from learners to natives, respectively. Two examples of this differential processing are discussed in detail: firstly, the division of the discourse into main structure and side structure, and secondly, the locating of entities in the picture. The former distinction emerges much more clearly in learner than in native production, and for the latter function, learners resort more frequently than native speakers to temporal adverbs such as puis/più and particles such as aussi/anche, in addition to purely spatial means. Overall, it is shown that learners have a more neutral way of processing the task (Von Strutterheim's "prototypische Bearbeitung"), and it is argued in conclusion that it is precisely this charactristic of learner production which allows insights into both the structure of (descriptive) discourse and the language production process.

Leren Praten en Door Praten Leren in Een Vreemde Taal

In this article a description is given of the language production process based on Levelťs 'Speaking'-model. Using this type of model will help us to understand better the subprocesses in language production and the kind of knowledge and procedures needed to produce language. A full definition of what knowledge is needed will also help us to model the different stages a language learner goes through. In the second part of this article recent developments with respect to the role of output in SLA are discussed from the perspective of the model presented. It is concluded that in language acquisition both input and output are needed and that in fact output may have as an important function the generation of very specific input that will support the acquisitional process.

The Role of Computer Simulation in Neurolinguistics

As a result of present-day technological standards, the technique of computer simulation is constantly gaining influence in cognitive science. Neurolinguistics is a special branch of this field in which cognitive capacities connected with language are related to the structure and functions of the brain. It is argued that computer simulation is a useful technique for evaluating neurolinguistic models. This is demonstrated with respect to neural network models of the process of language production.

The development of sentence planning

This is an exploratory case study of the relation between speech output disturbances (dysfluencies) and the development of language production processes. The data consist of transcribed weekly speech samples of a Dutch boy between 2;4 and 2;11. The period of observation captures the early phase of the transition from 'pre-grammatical' to grammatical language. The frequency of occurrence of dysfluencies (i.e. repetitions, revisions and incomplete phrases) shows a significant increase and a subsequent decline. Whereas in the first half of the observation period the dysfluencies are distributed relatively randomly over sentences, in the second half they tend to concentrate in function words and sentence-initial words. The decline of dysfluency rate is shown to be related to an abundant use of a few 'syntactic frames'. It is argued that these results reflect the emergence of a component in the speech production apparatus which is specifically dedicated to serial-order planning.

Wordshape errors in language production

Errors in natural speech that crucially involve the shape of the target word, i.e. interact in some way with the number of consonants and vowels in the word and their relative positioning, are examined in detail. It is shown that context highly constrains the rate of such errors. The data implicate a distinction between a segment level that encodes fine phonemic distinctions and a wordshape level with a coarse encoding. Implications for the representation of language and cognitive processing in language production are explored.

Sub-groups of school-age language impaired children

Teachers and therapists are well aware that language-impaired children, particularly as they get older, present with a variety of linguistic difficulties. After a brief review of earlier typological studies, this paper addresses the issue of identifying sub-groups of school-age language- impaired children, using a language production process model. The analysis involves, in addition to measures of syntactic ability, features of the children's performance such as mazes, and the full range of 'errors' exhibited in their output. Results indicate that variation among the children on the measures applied can be utilized to construct profiles which identify distinct sub-groups in terms of their language production performance.

Other-Relatedness in Language Processing: Discussion and Comments

In contrast to the individualistic approach that characterises much current work in psycholinguistics, the work of the LISCO group takes a broad and inherently social approach to the study of language use. We discuss three of the central issues and themes that run through this collection of papers: (1) the types of other-relatedness in language; (2) the need to specify the loci of addressee effects in the language production process; and (3) methodological strategies for the study of other-relatedness. Connections between the work of the LISCO researchers and other investigators are noted. We conclude by discussing some considerations for future research on other-relatedness.

The retrieval of phonological forms in production: Tests of predictions from a connectionist model

This article reviews a model of retrieval processes in language production that accounts for phonological speech-error data ( Dell, 1986, Psychological Review, 93, 283–321). A distinction is drawn between empirical phenomena that are built into the model and phenomena that can be considered predictions from it. Data from experiments creating phonological speech errors are presented as tests of those predictions.

Verbal hallucinations and language production processes in schizophrenia

AbstractHow is it that many schizophrenics identify certain instances of verbal imagery as hallucinatory? Most investigators have assumed that alterations in sensory features of imagery explain this. This approach, however, has not yielded a definitive picture of the nature of verbal hallucinations. An alternative perspective suggests itself if one allows the possibility that the nonself quality of hallucinations is inferred on the basis of the experience of unintendedness that accompanies imagery production. Information-processing models of “intentional” cognitive processes call for abstract planning representations that are linked to goals and beliefs. Unintended actions - and imagery - can reflect planning disruptions whereby cognitive products do not cohere with concurrent goals. A model of schizophrenic speech disorganization is presented that postulates a disturbance of discourse planning. Insofar as verbal imagery can be viewed as inwardly directed speech, a consequence of such planning disturbances could be the production of unintended imagery. This link between the outward disorganization of schizophrenic speech and unintended verbal imagery is statistically supported by comparing the speech behavior of hallucinating and nonhallucinating schizophrenics. Studies of “borderline” hallucinations during normal, “goal-less” relaxation and drowsiness suggest that experiential unintendedness leads to a nonpathological variant of hallucinatory otherness that is correctable upon emerging from such passive cognitive states. This contrasts with the schizophrenic case, where nonconcordance with cognitive goals reinforces the unintendedness of verbal images and sustains the conviction of an external source. This model compares favorably with earlier models of verbal hallucinations and provides further evidence for a language production disorder in many schizophrenics.Short Abstract: How is it that many schizophrenics identify certain instances of verbal imagery as hallucinatory? This paper proposes that the critical feature identifying hallucinations is the experience of unintendedness. This experience is nonpathological during passive conscious states but pathological if occurring during goal-directed cognitive processing. A model of schizophrenic speech disorganization is presented that postulates a disturbance of discourse planning that specifies communicative intentions. These alterations could generate unintended verbal imagery as well. Statistical data are offered to support the model, and relevant empirical studies are reviewed.

Arousal and the disruption of language production processes in schizophrenia

Arousal and the disruption of language production processes in schizophrenia

Selective Deletions with Multiple Cues: A Variation of the Cloze Procedure as a Technique for Teaching and Testing Reading

With the possible exception of the audio-lingual era, the goal of reading comprehension has always enjoyed a rather high priority in the foreign language classroom. It is somewhat unexpected, therefore, that relatively few techniques for teaching and testing reading comprehension have been proposed over the years. Goodman states the problem aptly when he says it is ironic that more attention has been given to the process of language production than to the process by which language is understood, even though most researchers agree that receptive control of aspects of language precedes generative control.' Clearly, an overwhelming number of former methodologies and materials have been production oriented.2 In recent years, however, foreign language educators have come to the realization that reading is anything but a passive skill,3 that it is, in fact, a complex process and that students should be trained in strategies to achieve reading comprehension.4 Furthermore, there is reason to believe that all language skills stand to benefit from the addition of a systematic approach to the development of the reading skill.5 Finally, it should not be overlooked that for many of our students, reading is the skill they are most likely to use once they leave the classroom. It is also the skill which is retained the longest.6 With increased interest in reading, new methods of teaching and testing this skill need to be explored. One technique which appears to hold a great deal of potential for the foreign language classroom is the cloze procedure, developed and used initially to measure the readability of prose. The term is one gestalt psychology applies to the human tendency to complete a familiar but not-quite-finished pattern-to perceive a broken circle as a whole one, for example, by mentally closing the gap.7 This same principle has been applied to language in various formats, the most common of which is open-ended cloze where every n't word is deleted from a passage of running prose and replaced with a blank of standard length. The task of the reader is to restore the incomplete text by supplying the missing words. Research indicates that the cloze procedure is indeed a powerful tool. Oiler describes it as nothing less than a stroke of raw genius.8 Caulfield

Cerebral developmental anomalies and disturbances of language

Normal speech requires presence of neural mechanisms which result from normal developmental processes. If orderly sequence of development is interrupted because of extrinsic or intrinsic factors, the instrument at disposal of individual will be defective, and melody he is asked to play will be out of tune (BENDA 1955). The number of school children in United States who suffer from speech disorders amounts to 5%, an incidence which emphasizes considerable problem which this defect presents (American Speech and Hearing Ass. Committee 1952, BROWN 1963). This paper is a review of major causes of language disturbance, in particular those which result from maldevelopment of central nervous system. The mechanisms involved in normal language production and normal developmental processes which produce them will be discussed, and pathologic origins of anomalies of central nervous system which may affect language will be considered.