Letter Word Research Articles

Derivation from Native and Loan Acronyms in Arabic

An acronym consists of the first letters of words in a compound as NASA and UNESCO. Acronyms are pronounced as a word or letter by letter (USA). Arabic has native acronyms (DAESH, HAMAS) and borrowed acronyms for names of companies, organizations, news agency (ALECSO, SANA, WATA, Radar, SEDAW). A unique linguistic phenomenon exists in Arabic where a variety of forms are derived from acronyms pronounced as a word, whether native or borrowed. This study explores derivability of acronyms, the class and meaning shifts that some native and loan acronyms in Arabic have undergone and the productivity level of those derived forms. Derivable acronyms under study are ISIS, HAMAS, FATAH, LASER, AIDS, NATO, WATA, GMC, CD, and RADAR. The most prominent and prolific acronym that was coined during the Arab Spring is DAESH (ISIS). It has more than 50 derivatives with several derived verbs, nouns and adjectives and others as استدعاش دعشنة داعشية داعشي دعششة. Although its original denotative meaning was the “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria” (الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام), DAESH has gone through a meaning and form shift. For example, دواعش refers to members of ISIS, or those who support ISIS; داعشية is the phenomenon of chopping heads and bloodshed; استدعاش the act of violence and atrocities. Such derived forms have a negative and pejorative connotation. Forms derived from LASER and AIDS have derivatives; NATO has the derived adjective (ناتاوي) as الربيع الليبي الناتاوي "NATO Libyan spring", and singular and the plural nouns that are agents ناتاوي ناتاويين "supporters of NATO interference in Arabic revolutions". Those forms have a negative connotation and are used by journalists and social media users who oppose the NATO interference in Arab revolutions. GMC, CD and RADAR only take a plural suffix. Results of the analysis of the derived forms, the class and meaning shifts that acronyms in Arabic have undergone, why some acronyms are derivable, and others are not, are reported in detail.

A - 58 Verbal Fluency Word Generation Slope among Older Adults with MS.

The decreasing rate of within-person word generation in verbal fluency (VF) tasks, here referred to as slope, is associated with mild cognitive impairment and with lower grey matter volume in select regions. While VF is sensitive to cognitive decline in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), VF slopes have yet to be assessed in older adults with MS. We, therefore, examined VF slopes in letter and category VF among dementia-free older adults with and without MS. 84 community-dwelling adults with MS (Mage = 64.7) and 86 without MS (Mage = 70.8) completed standard 60-sec letter (F, A, S) and category (fruits, vegetables, animals) VF tasks; responses were recorded in 20-sec intervals for each iteration of the task. Linear regressions showed that MS was associated with lower total word generation on category, but not letter, VF after accounting for age, sex, race, education, and health status (95% CI, [-2.27, -0.98], p < 0.001). Linear mixed effects models showed that word generation declined during the course of both tasks (all p's < 0.001) in both groups; MS status did not moderate category or letter VF slopes. Extant literature on total letter and category VF word generation in MS is mixed. The current study indicates that in community-dwelling older adults MS was associated with lower total word scores in category but not letter VF. Negative word generation slopes were documented in category and letter VF irrespective of group status. These results suggest that time effects on word generation in VF tasks were generalizable to normal aging and MS.

Neglect dyslexia: whole-word and within-word errors with parafoveal and foveal viewing

Patients with left-sided neglect dyslexia often omit whole words positioned on the left, termed whole-word errors, or commit errors on the left-sided letters of words, termed unilateral paralexias. In addition, the errors have been shown to be exacerbated by simultaneously presented distractors, which has been interpreted as a failure of selective attention. In two experiments, we examined the dependency of these error types on parafoveal versus foveal viewing. The first experiment used a paradigm with parafoveal targets and distractors; the second a paradigm with foveal targets and parafoveal distractors. This enabled a separate evaluation of the influences of stimulus position within an egocentric frame, a two-word allocentric frame, and a within-word allocentric frame. First, regarding whole-word errors, we found the expected spatial and distractor effects with parafoveal targets and distractors. With foveal targets and parafoveal distractors, however, the spatial effect was effectively eliminated. Surprisingly, intrusions from the distractor word were common in distractor conditions. This is consistent with an egocentric account and not a two-word allocentric account. Second, we found that unilateral paralexias remained largely consistent regardless of spatial position or the presence of a distractor. Thus, there is a contrast in spatial and distractor effects between whole-word errors and unilateral paralexias. These results are consistent with three distinct deficits: an egocentric deficit across space resulting in whole-word errors, a failure of selective attention that results in whole-word intrusion errors, and a within-word allocentric deficit resulting in unilateral paralexias.

Implementing a Web Application Screener for Preschoolers: Executive Functions and School Readiness

Web applications can be constructed to assess the executive functions and literacy skills of preschool aged children using a variety of research protocols. This work describes such a web application and its research protocol with tasks that screen inhibition, auditory and visual working memory, letter sound connection, word identification, and cognitive flexibility. The application was tested on a group of 65 preschoolers with cognitive deficits whose parents were advised to allow their children to reattend kindergarten classes and a control group of 65 typically achieving peers of similar age and gender. The results revealed that children at the age of four and five years old with cognitive deficits presented lower scores of correct answers and larger latencies in all six tasks compared to children that participated in the control group.

Derivation of the Psychometric Properties of "Rapid Automatized Naming and Rapid Alternating Stimulus (RAN/RAS) Tests" in Arabic

This study examined the psychometric proprieties of the Arabic version of the "Rapid Automatized Naming and Rapid Alternating Stimulus (RAN/RAS) Tests" for Jordanian students. A sample of 286 students (five to seventeen years old) was recruited from four public and four private schools in Jordan. Results indicated that the RAN/RAS Tests had high reliability and validity indicators. For example, RAN/RAS Tests had strong correlations with Letter Word Identification Test from the Arabic Woodcock Johnson Battery. In addition, there were significant relationships in all tests and the development of performance with the age or grade of the examinees. Furthermore, positive relationships among all RAN/RAS Tests confirm their consistency, strength, and reliability in measuring the required tasks. In general, results suggest that RAN/RAS Tests may be applicable to evaluating naming speed abilities and for distinguishing between students with and without reading disabilities in Arabic. Keywords: Rapid Automatized Naming, Special Education, Specific Learning Disabilities in Reading, Screening Tests, Arabic Language.

Pengaruh Penggunaan Metode Fonik Berbantuan Flash Card Terhadap Perkembangan Bahasa Anak Dan Kemampuan Membaca Awal Anak TK (The Effect of Using Flash Card Assisted Phonics Methods on Children's Language Development and Early Reading Ability in Kindergar

The purpose of this study was to find out whether using the Flashcard Assisted Phonics Method could improve children's language development and early reading skills. Variable X (Flashcard Assisted Phonics Method) 9 indicators: 1) sound letters, 2) search for sound letters in words, 3) search for sounds in objects, 4) find sounds in cards, 5) feel letters, 6) search for letters in text, 7) looking for letter equivalents, 8) connecting vowel sounds, 9) forming words. Y1 (child language development) 7 indicators: 1) speak fluently, 2) tell stories, 3) name objects, 4) sort the picture series, 5) tell the pictures they made, 6) follow 1-2 commands, 7) make words. Variable Y2 (initial reading ability) 4 indicators: 1) pronunciation and intonation of sentences, 2) letters that are widely used in words, 3) meaningful new words, 4) familiar and new pronunciation, intonation. Research design: causal quantitative, determination of research area: purposive sampling area, determination of respondents: population research area. Data collection: 1). observation, 2). interview, 3). document. Data analysis 1) Instrument test, 2) Classical assumption test, 3) hypothesis test. Results of t-test the effect of Flashcard Assisted Phonics Method on children's language development (11.829&gt; 2.04841), t test of the effect of Flashcard Assisted Phonics Method on early reading ability (6.667&gt; 2.04841), the results of the F test of the effect of the Flashcard Assisted Phonics Method on children's language development and early reading skills together (83.205&gt; 3.34). So it can be concluded that the Flashcard Assisted Phonics Method has an effect on children's language development and early reading ability and H0 is rejected

On the swap move of letters in words and the forbidden moves in virtual diagrams

In the theory of topology of words, the move to swap two adjacent letters in words is a simple operator that makes an [Formula: see text]-homotopy class of a nanoword into the [Formula: see text]-homotopy class of the empty word. In this paper, we study the relation between the swap move of letters and the forbidden moves of virtual diagrams, that is, local moves of virtual diagrams which unknot any virtual knot.

Handwriting Recognition System Leveraging Vibration Signal on Smartphones

The efficiency of human-computer interaction is greatly hindered by the small size of the touch screens on mobile devices, such as smart phones and watches. This has prompted widespread interest in handwriting recognition systems, which can be divided into active and passive systems. Active systems require additional hardware devices to perceive movements of handwriting or the tracking accuracy is not adequate for handwriting recognition. Passive methods use the acoustic signal of pen rubbing and are susceptible to environmental noise (above 60dB). This paper presents a novel handwriting recognition system based on vibration signals detected by the built-in accelerometer of smartphones. The proposed scheme is implemented in three stages: signal segmentation, signal recognition, and word suggestion. VibWriter is highly resistant to interference since the normal environmental noise (below 70dB) will not cause the vibration of the accelerometer. Extensive experiments demonstrated the efficacy of the system in terms of accuracy in letter recognition (75.3%), word recognition (86.4%) and number recognition (79%) in a variety of writing positions under a variety of environmental conditions.

ANALISIS STRATEGI GURU DALAM MEMBELAJARKAN SISWA MEMBACA PERMULAAN DI SDN 18 TUBUNG

This study aims to determine the teacher's strategy in teaching students to read the beginning at SDN 18 Tubung. The research was carried out in the lower grades especially in the first grade. This research is a type of qualitative research where the research results are described in accordance with reality in the field. The subject in this study is a Class I Teacher and the object of this study is the teacher's strategy in teaching students to read the beginning. Data collection techniques are carried out by interviews, and observation and documentation. The research instruments used are interview guideline sheets and observation sheets. Data processing techniques go through three stages, namely data reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions.The results of this study show that: 1) The planning stage, teachers have not been able to make learning designs; 2) The stage of learning implementation, it was found that in teaching students to read the beginning in class I, the teacher used various strategies including letter card strategies, syllable cards, and word cards, singing strategies, alphabetical methods, and syllable methods; 3) Learning evaluation stage, the teacher provides a formative evaluation by asking students to take turns reading the letters listed on the board or taking The letter cards available are as the teacher mentioned.

Prosody affects visual perception in polysyllabic words: Evidence from a letter search task.

Previous research has shown that phonology influences the visual perception of a word's letters. However, the influence of prosody, including word stress, on grapheme perception in polysyllabic words is poorly investigated. The present study addresses this issue with a letter search task. Participants searched for vowel letters (Experiment 1) and consonant letters (Experiment 2) in stressed and unstressed syllables of bisyllabic words. Results reveal facilitated vowel letter detection in stressed syllables compared with unstressed syllables, indicating that prosodic information affects visual letter perception. Moreover, an analysis of the response time distribution revealed that the effect was present even for the fastest decisions but increased for slower response times. However, no systematic stress effect emerged for consonants. We discuss possible sources and dynamics of the observed pattern and the importance to accommodate feedback processes of prosody on letter perception in models of polysyllabic word reading.

Accelerated brain age and associated neurocognitive impairments in adult survivors of childhood cancer.

10028 Background: Structural brain aging assessed from routine clinical MRI exams is associated with neurologic and neurocognitive impairments in older non-cancer populations yet is unexplored in childhood cancer survivors. Methods: Neurocognitive assessments and clinical 3-D T1 MRI whole brain images were obtained on 253 childhood cancer survivors (acute lymphoblastic leukemia = 118; brain tumor = 49; Hodgkin lymphoma = 86) and 43 community controls. Brain age was estimated using open-source Gaussian process regression software (BrainAgeR) on visually inspected, segmented, and normalized MRI scans. Benjamin-Hochberg adjusted T-tests were used to compare age-adjusted neurocognitive z-scores between controls and survivors. Linear regression tested associations between brain age acceleration (brain age-chronological age) and treatment (multivariable), and neurocognitive outcomes (univariable). Results: Survivors (mean(SD) age 31.2[8.9]) had poorer executive function (Trails B survivors -0.72 vs controls 0.32, p &lt; 0.0001), processing speed (Grooved Peg Board -0.77 vs 0.05, p &lt; 0.0001), memory (visual selection -0.73 vs -0.10, p = 0.0010; digit backward span -0.45 vs 0.08, p = 0.0304), vocabulary (WASI vocabulary -0.43 vs 0.14, p = 0.0007), and reading (WJ letter word -0.43 vs -0.05, p = 0.0006) compared to controls. In survivors, mean[95%CI] brain age was 7.5[6.4 to 8.6] years older than chronologic age; 0.65[-1.0 to 2.3] years for controls. Compared to males without cranial radiation, for females age≥10 years at cancer diagnosis treated with ≥40Gy cranial radiation, brain age acceleration was 13.35 years (p &lt; 0.001), which worsened by an additional 9.81 years (p = 0.017) for those diagnosed &lt; 10 years. Greater brain age acceleration was associated with a worse performance in executive function (β = -1.73, p &lt; 0.001), processing speed (β = -2.18, p &lt; 0.001), memory (β = -2.07, p &lt; 0.001; β = -1.78, p &lt; 0.029), vocabulary (β = -2.04, p &lt; 0.001), and reading (β = -3.77,p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: Survivors of childhood cancer experience significant brain age acceleration that is associated with impairments in neurocognitive function. In non-cancer populations, accelerated brain age has been shown to predict late morbidities and mortalities. BrainAge is a promising surrogate biomarker that could predict cognitive decline and improve early detection of dementia risk. Finally, it highlights the risk of cranial radiation in &lt; 10-year-old female cancer survivors.

Intensive training programme improves handwriting in a community cohort of people with Parkinson’s disease

BackgroundPeople with Parkinson’s disease (PwP) often report problems with their handwriting before they receive a formal diagnosis. Many PwP suffer from deteriorating handwriting throughout their illness, which has detrimental effects on many aspects of their quality of life.AimsTo assess a 6-week online training programme aimed at improving handwriting of PwP.MethodsHandwriting samples from a community-based cohort of PwP (n = 48) were analysed using systematic detection of writing problems (SOS-PD) by two independent raters, before and after a 6-week remotely monitored physiotherapy-led training programme. Inter-rater variability on multiple measures of handwriting quality was analysed. The handwriting data was analysed using pre-/post-design in the same individuals. Multiple aspects of the handwriting samples were assessed, including writing fluency, transitions between letters, regularity in letter size, word spacing, and straightness of lines.ResultsAnalysis of inter-rater reliability showed high agreement for total handwriting scores and letter size, as well as speed and legibility scores, whereas there were mixed levels of inter-rater reliability for other handwriting measures. Overall handwriting quality (p = 0.001) and legibility (p = 0.009) significantly improved, while letter size (p = 0.012), fluency (p = 0.001), regularity of letter size (p = 0.009), and straightness of lines (p = 0.036) were also enhanced.ConclusionsThe results of this study show that this 6-week intensive remotely-monitored physiotherapy-led handwriting programme improved handwriting in PwP. This is the first study of its kind to use this tool remotely, and it demonstrated that the SOS-PD is reliable for measuring handwriting in PwP.

Tarama Sözlüğü’nün Ters Dizimi

The term "reverse syntagm" is used to describe the arrangement starting from the last letters of words rather than the first letters, and it holds an important place in language studies. Reverse syntagm allows for the grouping of words that end with the same sounds or suffixes. In addition to providing insights into the affixation culture, it also saves time for researchers. Numerous studies have been conducted on reverse syntagm in our language as well as in different languages. “Tarama Dictionary”, which is constantly used by researchers due to its significant linguistic material, has an index prepared by adhering to the alphabet used in Ottoman Turkish and its ordering. With this study, in which we have conducted the reverse syntagm of the “Tarama Dictionary”, our aim is to provide benefits to researchers in many fields. Keywords: Dictionary, reverse syntagm, word, index

Off-Line and Online Handwritten Character Recognition Using RNN-GRU Algorithm

Abstract: Recognizing handwritten characters is an extremely difficult task in the domains of pattern recognition and computer vision. It involves the use of a process that enables computers to identify and convert handwritten or printed characters, such as letters and numbers, into a digital format that is usable by the computer. Currently, the RNN-CNN hybrid algorithm is employed to predict handwritten text in images with an accuracy rate of 91.5%. However, the existing system can only recognize characters and words character-by-character and word-by-word. The proposed system aims to address this limitation by enabling line-byline recognition and the conversion of handwritten text to OCR. To achieve this, the system utilizes the GRU algorithm to predict the next letter in incomplete words. Furthermore, the IAM dataset, consisting of 135,000 annotated sentences, is utilized to detect and rectify spelling errors in texts.

Wordle as a Teaching Tool

Wordle, a game in which a player has six chances to find a five-letter word, has become quite popular. In this paper, we present four activities that are based on Wordle and are designed to help students advance their knowledge and skill of a particular concept. Some of the activities could be used for beginning students and some activities could be used for more advanced students. The activities are designed to promote mathematical engagement and interest and can be used individually, or collectively, to fit the specific needs of the intended audience. The first two activities enhance students' knowledge of combinatorics and probability when letter words are chosen at random. In another activity, individual and pairs of letter counts from the list of possible Wordle words are presented in graphical format. More advanced students can replicate these graphs using a computer program, while other students can simply use the graphs that are included. In the fourth activity, students have the opportunity to play Wordle and develop strategies to minimize the number of steps required to solve a particular puzzle. Classroom experience is included and student responses to the activities are presented.

Tender Shoots: A Parent‐Mediated Randomized Controlled Trial With Preschool Children Benefits Beginning Reading 1 Year Later

AbstractThis study evaluated a parent‐mediated preventive intervention for children’s literacy skills 1 year after participation. Parents of 3½ to 4½‐year‐old‐children (n = 69) recruited through early childhood centers were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) a target shared reading condition emphasizing phonological awareness (Strengthening Sound Sensitivity; SSS); (b) an alternative shared reading condition emphasizing meaning‐related extra‐textual talk (Rich Reading and Reminiscing; RRR); or (c) a non‐reading activities control condition (Activity‐Based Control; ABC), all implemented for 6 weeks. Together, SSS and RRR comprise Tender Shoots. Tender Shoots' conditions included one parent‐education session, used the same books, provided parents two books per week, and encouraged scaffolding higher‐level skills through repeated readings and verbal interactions outside reading. The non‐reading control provided weekly resources and suggested activities for preschool children. At follow‐up 1 year later, children (n = 62; 5‐ to 6‐years‐old) were in their first year of primary school and reading instruction. Controlling for age and baseline alphabet knowledge, analyses indicated benefits of SSS participation for children’s letter sounds (d = .74), pseudoword (d = .85) and word reading (d = .66), book level (d = .82), and teacher judged reading (d = .60) relative to ABC, with medium to large effects. Age at follow‐up moderated the effect of condition on word reading, such that benefits of SSS were observed for children who were older and had been in school longer (around 6 months or more). Findings suggest SSS is promising for preparing preschool children for reading acquisition.

Exploring Job Application Letters of EFL Learners

The background to this analysis is that many companies require applicants to write their application letters in English. If a student wishes to get a job, a job application letter is required upon leaving school. The purpose of this study is to examine EFL learners’ application letters. This study uses a qualitative methodology and discourse analysis as its research design. The data used in qualitative research comes from a variety of application letters. Participants in this study were high school students at a vocational school. It consists of four students in grade 12—two boys and two girls. The research was conducted through an analytical process in which a student completed her application within one week. They are then collected and analyzed by researchers. The general structure of job application letters is analyzed, and formal and informal words in job application letters are recognized and noted. In general, the results of the above analyses show that two students met the criteria for writing a job application letter, while the other two students did not yet meet the criteria for writing a job application letter. Teachers should pay more attention to teaching writing subjects, especially in making sentences such as when writing a job application letter. If you find an error while writing, explain of the errors to avoid mistakes from happening again and reduce error at the start.

Morphology as an aid in orthographic learning of new words: The influence of inflected and derived forms in spelling acquisition

Prior studies have shown that children are sensitive to the principle of root consistency, whereby root morphemes retain their spelling across related words. The current study used an implicit learning situation to examine, in 56 third grade and 56 fifth grade French-speaking children, whether orthographic learning of new morphologically simple words ending in a silent letter benefited from morphological relatedness with inflected and derived forms. In the morphological condition, the new words (e.g.,clirot with a final silentt) appeared in short stories along with a morphologically related form in which the silent letter of the root was pronounced, justifying the presence of the silent letter in the root word. The morphologically complex form was an inflectional form (e.g.,clirote) for half of the children and was a derived form (e.g.,clirotage) for the other half. In the nonmorphological condition, the new words were not accompanied by morphologically related forms. After children had read the stories, their orthographic learning was assessed by asking the children to choose the correct spelling of each nonword from among three phonologically plausible alternatives (e.g.,clirot,cliros, cliro). Children chose correct spellings more often in the morphological condition than in the nonmorphological condition for both types of morphology in Grade 5 but only for inflectional morphology in Grade 3. Our findings indicate that, in learning new spellings, French children seem to rely on the root consistency principle earlier for inflectional morphology than for derivational morphology. Possible reasons for this developmental delay in mastering derivational morphology are discussed.

Daily Posture Behavior Patterns Derived From Multitime-Scale Topic Models Using Wearable Triaxial Acceleration for Assessment of Concern About Falling.

Concern about falling is prevalent in older population. This condition would cause a series of adverse physical and psychological consequences for older adults' health. Traditional assessment of concern about falling is relied on self-reported questionnaires and thus is too subjective. Therefore, we proposed a novel multi-time-scale topic modelling approach to quantitatively evaluate concern about falling by analyzing triaxial acceleration signals collected from a wearable pendent sensor. Different posture segments were firstly recognized to extract their corresponding feature subsets. Then, each selected feature related to concern about falling was clustered into discrete levels as feature letters of artificial words in different time scales. As a result, all older participants' signal recordings were converted to a collection of artificial documents, which can be processed by natural language processing methodologies. The topic modelling technique was used to discover daily posture behavior patterns from these documents as discriminants between older adults with different levels of concern about falling. The results indicated that there were significant differences in distributions of posture topics between groups of older adults with different levels of concern about falling. Additionally, the transitions of posture topics over daytime and nighttime revealed temporal regularities of posture behavior patterns of older adult's active and inactive status, which were substantially different for older adults with different levels of concern about falling. Finally, the level of concern about falling was accurately determined with accuracy of 71.2% based on the distributions of posture topics combined with the mobility performance metrics of walking behaviors and demographic information.

Word Game Modeling Using Character-Level N-Gram and Statistics

Word games are one of the most essential factors of vocabulary learning and matching letters to form words for children aged 5–12. These games help children to improve letter and word recognition, memory-building, and vocabulary retention skills. Since Uzbek is a low-resource language, there has not been enough research into designing word games for the Uzbek language. In this paper, we develop two models for designing the cubic-letter game, also known as the matching-letter game, in the Uzbek language, consisting of a predefined number of cubes, with a letter on each side of each six-sided cube, and word cards to form words using a combination of the cubes. More precisely, we provide the opportunity to form as many words as possible from the dataset, while minimizing the number of cubes. The proposed methods were created using a combination of a character-level n-gram model and letter position frequency in words at the level of vowels and consonants. To perform the experiments, a novel dataset, consisting of 4.5 k 3–5 letter words, was created by filtering based on child age groups for the Uzbek language, and three more datasets were generated, based on the support of experts for the Russian, English, and Slovenian languages. Experimental evaluations showed that both models achieved good results in terms of average coverage. In particular, the Vowel Priority (VL) approach obtained reasonably high coverage with 95.9% in Uzbek, 96.8% in English, and 94.2% in the Slovenian language in the case of eight cubes, based on the five-fold cross-validation method. Both models covered around 85% of five letter words in Uzbek, English, and Slovenian datasets, while this coverage was even higher (99%) in three letter words in the case of eight cubes.