Monolingual Spanish Speakers Research Articles

Noun canonicity in heritage speakers and monolingual speakers of Spanish

The present investigation examines the role of Spanish noun gender-correlated endings when accessing gender agreement in two different linguistic populations: Spanish-English bilingual heritage speakers and monolingual speakers of Spanish. This study analyzed data from 34 monolingual speakers of Spanish from the Dominican Republic and 44 heritage speakers of Spanish born in the United States who completed a picture naming task in Experiment 1 (determiner-noun agreement) and a picture description task in Experiment 2 (noun-adjective agreement). Results found that canonicity, particularly overt gender marking cues, seemed to have a facilitatory effect for monolingual speakers as seen by significantly faster naming times with transparent nouns on both experiments RTs analysis. However, within the heritage speaker group, no canonicity effects were found on either experiments RTs analyses indicating a difference between the monolingual and bilingual group. There was, however, an effect of noun canonicity in the accuracy rates of both experiments in the monolingual and bilingual group, specifically, a facilitatory effect of transparency, consonant with other studies with heritage speakers and/or monolingual speakers of Spanish (Hur, Lopez and Sanchez 2020; Montrul, Davidson, De La Fuente and Foote 2014; Montrul, De La Fuente, Davidson and Foote 2013; Alarcón 2011; Montrul, Foote and Perpiñán 2008). The main effects of canonicity and frequency found in Experiment 1 monolingual’s RTs analysis and the interaction between frequency and canonicity found in Experiment 2 strongly suggest that canonicity along with noun frequency (noun lexico-syntactic information) have a facilitatory effect in the gender agreement process. Therefore, these results corroborate the predictions of the Two-Route Hypothesis proposed by Gollan and Frost (2001) and psycholinguistic studies that have found a lexico-syntactic route and word-form route to gender access (Caffarra, Jansen and Barber 2014). Findings in the present study contribute to the understanding of different processing mechanisms in two adult populations and to our knowledge of the overall role of predictive nominal endings in gender agreement processes in both monolingual and heritage speakers of Spanish.

Predicting Scalar Implicature Interpretations From Lexical Knowledge.

We measure typically developing monolingual child Spanish speakers' lexical development with a range of standard expressive and receptive tests. We also measure their comprehension of sentences with the existential quantifier algunos "some" to determine their abilities to generate "some, but not all" scalar implicatures or pragmatically enriched quantifier interpretations. We then determine the degree to which lexical development predicts implicature interpretations. We fit regression models with lexical measures as predictor variables and implicature interpretations as the outcome variable. We then divide the child sample into implicature generators (50/61) and implicature nongenerators (11/61) and test the usefulness of the four lexical measures in a linear discriminant function analysis to separate children into these two categories. Results show significant correlations between each lexical measure and the outcome variable and, in a regression, that three of four lexical measures account for unique variance. Furthermore, the linear discriminant function analysis separates children into implicature nongenerators with 100% accuracy (11/11) and implicature generators with 88% accuracy (44/50). The Quantity Scale, or set of quantity-expressing determiners, proposed by Horn and Grice, develops as a function of the links among its quantifiers. We speculate that children's lexicons refract approximate number system representations in language- and morpheme-specific ways. These quantified noun phrases (NPs) are then merged into sentences interpreted pragmatically with conversationally computed implicatures, using higher order reasoning.

A strong contender for mental health screening in Latinx immigrant youth: Psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

Latinx youth seeking asylum in the U.S. experience mental health disparity due to exposure to trauma and adversity. Health systems and schools in the U.S. are unprepared to screen for psychopathology in this population, much of which is mono-lingual Spanish-speaking, due to the absence of psychometrically-vetted instruments. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) has strong empirical support as a mental health screener in other demographics. However, there has been no psychometric research in Spanish-speaking immigrant youth and, therefore, the utility in this population remains unknown. The aims of the current study were to examine the SDQ's (a) internal structure, (b) factor structure, (c) test-retest reliability, and (d) concurrent validity. Results are based on N = 110 recently immigrated high school students (60% male, Mage = 19) who completed the SDQ in Spanish. Findings provided support for the Total Score, which displayed evidence of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity with the Child Behavior Checklist. However, support for the use of the SDQ's subscale scores was limited. In sum, the SDQ Total Score holds promise as a screening instrument for recently immigrated Latinx youth in clinical, health, and educational settings, and use of the subscales requires future research and refinement.

Lexical Frequency in Heritage Speakers of Spanish

This study examines the impact of lexical frequency on grammatical agreement in heritage speakers of Spanish and a Spanish monolingual control group. Research has provided evidence of frequency effects when accessing nouns and this effect was proven to be more prominent in bilingual speakers. This investigation expands on the antecedent psycholinguistic research on lexical access through agreement operations carried out on monolingual speakers of Spanish by examining this effect in two populations of heritage speakers of Spanish that differ in relation to their dominance in Spanish. Experiment 1 was a Elicit Production Task and Experiment 2 was a Picture Description Task. Retrieval of grammatical gender features is needed in both tasks; therefore, lexical frequency plays a role in accessing this information. Reaction times analysis showed frequency effects in both bilingual populations and, as predicted by the Frequency-Lag Hypothesis, larger frequency effects in the less Spanish-dominant group. Results contribute to the understanding of processing mechanisms in adult bilingualism, particularly in heritage speakers of Spanish in the United States.

A Cancer Health Needs Assessment Reveals Important Differences Between US-Born and Foreign-Born Latinos in California.

BackgroundCancer is the leading cause of death among Latinos, the largest minority population in the United States (US). To address cancer challenges experienced by Latinos, we conducted a catchment area population assessment (CAPA) using validated questions from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) population health assessment supplement at our NCI-designated cancer center in California.MethodsA mixed-methods CAPA was administered by bilingual-bicultural staff, with a focus on understanding the differences between foreign-born and US-born Latinos.Results255 Latinos responded to the survey conducted between August 2019 and May 2020. Most respondents were foreign-born (63.9%), female (78.2%), and monolingual Spanish speakers (63.2%). Results showed that compared to US-born Latinos, foreign-born individuals were older, had lower educational attainment, were most likely to be monolingual Spanish speakers, were low-income, and were more likely to be uninsured. Foreign-born Latinos had lower levels of alcohol consumption and higher consumption of fruits and vegetables. The rate of preventive cancer screenings for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer did not differ by birthplace, although a low fraction (35.3%) of foreign-born Latinas who were up-to-date compared to US-born Latinas (83.3%) with colorectal cancer screening was observed. Time since the last routine check-up for all preventable cancers (cervical p=0.0002, breast p=0.0039, and colorectal p=0.0196) is significantly associated with being up to date with cancer screening. Individuals who had a check-up of two or more years ago are 84% less likely to be up to date with pap smears than those who had a check-up within the year (p=0.0060). Individuals without health insurance are 94% less likely to be up to date with mammograms and colonoscopy/FIT tests (p=0.0016 and p=0.0133, respectively) than those who are insured. There is no significant association between screening and nativity.ConclusionsConsiderable differences in socio-economic and environmental determinants of health and colorectal cancer screening rates were observed between US-born and foreign-born Latinos. The present study represents the foundation for future targeted intervention among immigrant populations at our cancer center’s catchment area.

Algorithms for Operationalizing Mild Cognitive Impairment Using the Spanish-Language NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery.

Neuropsychologists would benefit from flexible methods for operationalizing psychometric cognitive impairment in Spanish-speaking examinees that vary in association with intelligence, education, and sociocultural characteristics. The current study combined low and high score base rates (BRs) for the Spanish-language NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) to identify score combinations that are uncommon within different stratifications of the normative sample and may indicate cognitive impairment. The Spanish-language NIHTB-CB normative sample included 250 healthy Latinx adults with complete data on two crystallized and five fluid cognitive tests (M = 38.8 ± 13.7years old, 72.0% women). Test performances were converted into age-adjusted and demographically adjusted normed scores, adjusting for age, gender, and education. The frequencies at which participants obtained one or more low scores or few to no high scores on fluid cognitive tests were combined into algorithms that occurred at BRs approximately 1 SD (~16%) or 1.5 SDs (~7%) below the mean. Algorithms are provided for age-adjusted and demographically adjusted scores, with BRs stratified by crystallized ability, education, and sociocultural characteristics. Using demographically adjusted norms, the BR of obtaining any one of the following, 5 scores <50th, 4+ scores ≤25th, 3+ scores ≤16th, or 2+ scores ≤9th percentile, approximates 1 SD below the mean in participants born (BR = 16.2%) or educated abroad (BR = 18.6%), who are monolingual Spanish speakers (BR = 16.4%) or who reside in low-income households (BR = 13.6%). These algorithms offer a flexible approach to operationalizing psychometric cognitive impairment, through which different definitions can be applied to different examinees based on varying crystallized ability, education, and sociocultural characteristics.

Parental informed consent comprehension in childhood cancer clinical trials: Associations with social determinants of health.

6512 Background: Adequate informed consent (IC) comprehension is an ethical right prior to participation in clinical trials. Research investigating IC comprehension and associations with social determinants of health (SDoH) is lacking. We assessed whether SDoH and related contextual factors were associated with parental IC comprehension in therapeutic childhood cancer clinical trials. Methods: We prospectively enrolled parents of children with newly-diagnosed cancer. Univariable and multivariable regression were used to assess whether objective IC comprehension and related domains ( Purpose/Procedures/Randomization, Risks/Benefits, Alternatives, and Voluntariness) were associated with SDoH (ethnicity, marital status, language, education attainment, employment, insurance, socio-economic status, health literacy [HL]) and contextual factors (cancer type, voluntariness, satisfaction with IC). Results: Of 223 parents included, 112 (50%) were Hispanic and 38% of Hispanics were monolingual Spanish-speaking. In adjusted multivariable analyses, limited HL was significantly associated with lower overall IC comprehension (β = -7.22; 95% CI, -10.9 to -3.59; P &lt; 0.001) and lower comprehension of Purpose/Procedures/Randomization (β = -7.53; 95% CI, -11.3 to -3.73; P &lt; 0.001), Risks/Benefits (β = -8.14; 95% CI, -15.5 to -0.772; P = 0.031), and Alternatives (β = -17.0; 95% CI, -30.5 to -3.57; P = 0.013). Preferred Spanish language of written/verbal medical information was significantly associated with lower comprehension of Purpose/Procedures/Randomization (β = -8.50; 95% CI, -15.1 to -1.89; P = 0.012) and Voluntariness (β = -20.1; 95% CI, -34.9 to -5.33; P = 0.008). Lower satisfaction with informed consent (β = 0.988; 95% CI, 0.460 to 1.52; P &lt; 0.001) and single marital status (β = -4.42; 95% CI, -7.81 to -1.02; P = 0.011) were significantly associated with lower IC comprehension. Conclusions: Among parents of children with newly diagnosed cancer who provided consent for their child’s participation in a therapeutic clinical trial, limited HL was consistently associated with lower IC comprehension in all domains analyzed, except for Voluntariness. Spanish language preference for medical information was associated with lower comprehension of two domains; and lower satisfaction was associated with lower overall IC comprehension. These findings suggests that parents with limited HL, limited English-proficiency, and lower satisfaction may not fully comprehend the IC and thereby not truly make informed decisions. Our findings highlight the potential role of language-concordant interventions tailored to the participant’s HL level in order to ultimately improve IC comprehension and contribute to a reduction of disparities in clinical trial participation and promote equitable translation of discoveries and treatments to underserved groups.

Theory-guided assessment of barriers and facilitators to adequate informed consent for childhood cancer clinical trials: Using the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework.

6539 Background: To participate in childhood cancer clinical trials, parents/legal guardians must provide informed consent (IC), which is a fundamental ethical right. However, barriers to achieving valid IC include: use of medical jargon, misunderstanding about clinical trials procedures, tremendous emotional distress surrounding the initial cancer diagnosis, and the complexity and length of the IC forms. There are scarce data on using theory to assess perspectives of parents of children with cancer on barriers and facilitators for adequate IC in diverse populations. Methods: Using implementation science theory and methods, we assessed parent-reported barriers and facilitators to adequate IC, in a convenience sample that included a significant number of Hispanics. Twelve qualitative semi-structured interviews and 224 open-ended surveys were conducted with 236 parents of children with newly-diagnosed cancer at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, a large quaternary children’s hospital in California. Fifty-three percent of participants were Hispanic and 38% were monolingual Spanish-speakers. We utilized the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) Framework, specifically domains of outer context, inner context, bridging and innovation factors. Four main codes (IC concepts and delivery; desired clinical trial information; motivations and emotions related to clinical trial enrollment; and potential areas for interventions) were used as a coding guide for analysis. Interviews and surveys were transcribed and coded for thematic analysis by three independent coders to identify key barriers and facilitators. Results: Four main themes were identified as barriers: 1) Complexity of the IC forms and discussion (lengthy, confusing, not available in Spanish, and use of medical jargon); 2) parents feeling emotionally overwhelmed, anxious and pressured around the IC; 3) parents viewing the clinical trial as the only treatment option; and 4) mistrust and fear of clinical trial procedures. Four IC facilitators were identified: 1) simpler explanations of study procedures; 2) provider flexibility for accommodations when delivering the IC, including psychosocial support; 3) active promotion of voluntariness and trust; and 4) supplemental education in lay language, including request for peer-education, decision aids, and navigation to “bridge the provider-patient gap.” Conclusions: Our implementation science approach identified multiple barriers and facilitators to adequate IC in a diverse sample of parents. Findings can inform potential interventions to enhance IC for childhood cancer clinical trials, including the use of decision aids, peer-navigation, and interventions tailored to the language and culture of the individual.

Interrogative Constructions in Cuban Spanish as a Second Language

This work investigates the structure and meaning of main clause wh-questions in Cuban Spanish and argues that individuals learning Cuban Spanish as a Second Language will benefit from practice with grammatical structures that illustrate this behavior. We show that grammaticality judgment data that we obtained from monolingual Cuban Spanish speakers indicate that inverted word order is more likely with non-D-linked and non-Complex wh-expressions, and least likely with D-linked and Complex wh-expressions. More broadly, we argue that this data indicates that Interrogative Inversion in Cuban Spanish is syntactically distinct from Inversion in English wh-questions, and that learners of Spanish as a Second Language thus benefit from exposure to these specific constructions.

Lexical relations in Spanish-Speaking older adults with Alzheimer's disease: An approach to semantic memory

Changes associated with aging intensify when older adults are diagnosed with cognitive impairment. In order to describe such changes in semantic memory, this study compared the lexical relations produced by Mexican older adults diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) with those with typical aging (TA) in a free word association task. Participants were 24 older adults, 12 with AD and 12 with TA; all were right-handed monolingual Spanish speakers, 55 years of age or older, and with an educational level of at least one year. Older adults with AD were diagnosed according to clinical criteria. Both groups had similar demographic characteristics: sex, age, and years of education. The free word association task used 234 high-frequency concrete nouns of early acquisition. Two codings were performed: one based on classification of syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations, and the other on semantic association, wide association, and association by signifiers. Our results showed differences in the type of lexical relations generated by older adults with AD as compared with those with TA; semantic memory in the AD group presented alterations, but various lexical relations were preserved, at least in the moderate stage of the disease. We identified how words are connected and the state of semantic memory in older adults with AD.

The Effect of Language Contact on /tʃ/ Deaffrication in Spanish from the US–Mexico Borderland

This study examines the sociophonetic variation in the L1 speech of Spanish–English bilingual speakers living in the Ciudad Juárez, Mexico–El Paso, TX border metropolis. The purpose of this research is to analyze the sociolinguistic production of /ʧ/ deaffrication in U.S. Spanish, particularly, in simultaneous and sequential bilinguals. Based on the Revised Speech Learning Model (SLM-r), it was hypothesized that L1 production of /ʧ/ deaffrication can be significantly affected by the establishment of a new L2 phonetic category /ʃ/ in bilinguals. Interviews with forty-four adult participants, including fourteen first generation simultaneous bilinguals, twelve sequential bilinguals, and eighteen monolingual Spanish speakers were acoustically and auditorily analyzed. Participants were recorded while they performed two types of tasks: a formal (reading) and two semi-informal speech production tasks. Results showed that simultaneous and sequential bilinguals had a significantly lower realization of [ʃ] than monolinguals, suggesting that L1 sociolinguistic variability is influenced by contact with English. Results also indicate the significance of the preceding segment on the realization of the variable under study in monolingual speech, with preceding /a, n, r, l/ favoring the variation and preceding /s, e, i, o, u/ disfavoring it. Comparisons of the variation in monolingual and bilingual speech show that the sociolinguistic factors (preceding segment, sex, and age) that influence the variation in monolingual controls do not influence the variation in bilingual speech.

Get in Sync: Active Ingredients and Patient Profiles in Scripted-Sentence Learning in Spanish Speakers With Aphasia.

Script training is a well-established treatment for aphasia, but its evidence comes almost exclusively from monolingual English speakers with aphasia. Furthermore, its active ingredients and profiles of people with aphasia (PWA) that respond to this treatment remain understudied. This study aimed to adapt a scripted-sentence learning protocol to Colombian Spanish speakers with aphasia, investigate speech entrainment (i.e., unison production of sentences) as an active ingredient for scripted-sentence learning, and identify patient profiles associated with better scripted-sentence learning. Fourteen monolingual Spanish speakers with aphasia learned a set of 30 sentences. To examine speech entrainment as an active ingredient for scripted-sentence learning, we investigated whether sentences containing externally added rhythmic cues (involving stress-aligned vs. metronomic rhythmic cues) would result in better scripted-sentence learning compared with control sentences. Learning was measured via postsession probes and analyzed using mixed-effects logistic regression models. The relationship between scripted-sentence learning and baseline language and rhythmic processing measures was also examined. Significant scripted-sentence learning over time indicated a successful adaptation of a script-training protocol to Spanish. PWA learned significantly more scripted sentences in the rhythmically enhanced conditions compared with the control condition. There were no differences between rhythmically enhanced conditions (stress-aligned vs. metronomic). In terms of patient profiles, it was found that PWA with more severe aphasia demonstrated larger learning gains, but rhythmic processing showed little association with learning estimates. To our knowledge, this study provides the first adaptation of a scripted-sentence learning protocol for monolingual Spanish speakers with aphasia, demonstrating cross-linguistic benefits of script training interventions. Highlighting rhythmic features during speech entrainment facilitated scripted-sentence learning in Spanish speakers with aphasia, suggesting that speech entrainment may be an active ingredient for scripted-sentence learning. More severe aphasia was associated with better scripted-sentence learning, suggesting that more severely impaired individuals are likely to benefit most from this treatment. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.19241847.

Language Control and Code-Switching in Bilingual Children With Developmental Language Disorder.

The current study examined language control and code-switching in bilingual children with developmental language disorder (DLD) compared to bilingual peers with typical language development (TLD). In addition, proficiency in each language and cognitive control skills were examined as predictors of children's tendency to engage in cross-speaker and intrasentential code-switching. The participants were 62 Spanish/English bilingual children, ages 4;0-6;11 (years;months), including 15 children with DLD and 47 children with TLD. In a scripted confederate dialogue task to measure language control, children took turns describing picture scenes with video partners who were monolingual speakers of English or Spanish. The Dimensional Change Card Sort indexed cognitive control, the Bilingual English Spanish Assessment assisted in identifying DLD, and parent ratings from the Inventory to Assess Language Knowledge indexed proficiency in Spanish and English. Children with DLD were more likely to engage in cross-speaker code-switching from Spanish to English (i.e., responding in English when addressed in Spanish) than children with TLD, even when controlling for proficiency in each language. Intrasentential code-switching (i.e., integrating both languages within an utterance) did not differ between groups. Cognitive control was more associated with cross-speaker than with intrasentential code-switching. These findings highlight the need to consider cross-speaker and intrasentential code-switching separately when seeking distinguishing features of code-switching in bilingual children with DLD. The use of increased cross-speaker code-switching by children with DLD especially with Spanish speakers highlights the need for increased support of home language use.

Pathways of Development in Child Heritage Speakers' Use of Spanish Demonstratives

Scholars have argued that restricted language input slows language acquisition, but the pathway of development may remain the same. The current study investigated the influence of amount of Spanish input on Spanish demonstrative usage among 19 U.S. child heritage speakers, ages 3;4–8;7. Demonstratives are among the first grammatical features to emerge in children’s language, but we know little about their acquisition by heritage speakers. Previous research shows that monolingual Spanish-speaking children rely heavily on este/esta ‘this’ andonly later learn to vary between demonstrative forms, using este/esta primarily for proximal referents and ese/esa ‘that’ for distal referents. As such, we hypothesized that child heritage speakers who experience restricted Spanish input would rely on este/esta for a prolonged period of time. 586 demonstratives were elicited during a puzzle completion task and were coded for referent location (proximal, distal). Contrary to our hypothesis, less Spanish spoken at home negatively correlated with proportion of este/esta-usage. Children exposed to abundant Spanish in the home patterned like adult monolingual Spanish speakers, producing este/esta for proximal referents and ese/esa for distal referents. By contrast, children who experienced restricted input in Spanish produced mostly ese/esa, regardless of spatial location of the referent. The results suggest that restricted input in Spanish yields a developmental trajectory with overgeneralization of ese/esa rather than este/esta. Importantly, we argue thatthe identification of two groups of child heritage speakers who exhibit different developmental pathways lends itself to differentiated instruction in the heritage language classroom.

Conversational Physical Activity Coaches for Spanish and English Speaking Women: A User Design Study.

Introduction: Digital technologies, including text messaging and mobile phone apps, can be leveraged to increase people's physical activity and manage health. Chatbots, powered by artificial intelligence, can automatically interact with individuals through natural conversation. They may be more engaging than one-way messaging interventions. To our knowledge, physical activity chatbots have not been developed with low-income participants, nor in Spanish—the second most dominant language in the U.S. We recommend best practices for physical activity chatbots in English and Spanish for low-income women.Methods: We designed a prototype physical activity text-message based conversational agent based on various psychotherapeutic techniques. We recruited participants through SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education) in California (Alameda County) and Tennessee (Shelby County). We conducted qualitative interviews with participants during testing of our prototype chatbot, held a Wizard of Oz study, and facilitated a co-design workshop in Spanish with a subset of our participants.Results: We included 10 Spanish- and 8 English-speaking women between 27 and 41 years old. The majority was Hispanic/Latina (n = 14), 2 were White and 2 were Black/African American. More than half were monolingual Spanish speakers, and the majority was born outside the US (>50% in Mexico). Most participants were unfamiliar with chatbots and were initially skeptical. After testing our prototype, most users felt positively about health chatbots. They desired a personalized chatbot that addresses their concerns about privacy, and stressed the need for a comprehensive system to also aid with nutrition, health information, stress, and involve family members. Differences between English and monolingual Spanish speakers were found mostly in exercise app use, digital literacy, and the wish for family inclusion.Conclusion: Low-income Spanish- and English-speaking women are interested in using chatbots to improve their physical activity and other health related aspects. Researchers developing health chatbots for this population should focus on issues of digital literacy, app familiarity, linguistic and cultural issues, privacy concerns, and personalization. Designing and testing this intervention for and with this group using co-creation techniques and involving community partners will increase the probability that it will ultimately be effective.

The use of performance validity tests among inpatient forensic monolingual Spanish-speakers

Performance validity tests (PVTs) are an integral part of neuropsychological assessments. Yet no studies have examined how Spanish-speaking forensic inpatients perform on PVTs, making it difficult to interpret these tests in this population. The present study examined archival data collected from monolingual Spanish-speaking forensic inpatients (n = 55; M age = 49.6 years, SD = 12.0; 84.9% male; 93.5% diagnosed with a Psychotic Spectrum Disorder) to determine how this population performs on several PVTs. Most participants’ scores on the Dot Counting Test (DCT; 82.2%; n = 45), Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status-Effort Index (RBANS EI; 84.4%; n = 33), and Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM; 79.1%; n = 43) were indicative of valid performance. Few participants, however, had Rey-15 Item Test (FIT) scores in the valid range (24.5% to 48.0%; Recall n = 50 and Combined n = 49, respectively); although FIT Recall specificity was improved when cutoff scores were lowered. Total years of education, but not other educational factors, were significantly associated with performance on PVTs (r = .33–.40, p = .01–.03). Study results suggest the DCT, TOMM, and RBANS EI may be more appropriate PVTs for Spanish-speaking forensic inpatients compared to the FIT.

A Multivariate Interpretation of the Spanish-Language NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery: The Normal Frequency of Low Scores.

The current study involved the preparation of multivariate base rates for the Spanish-language NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) based on the U.S. normative sample, quantifying the normal frequency of low scores among healthy adults. Participants included 250 healthy Latinx adults (M = 38.8 ± 13.7years old, range: 19-80; 72.0% women; education: M = 11.5 ± 3.9years) who completed the full Spanish-language NIHTB-CB, including two tests of crystallized cognition and five tests of fluid cognition. Multivariate base rates quantified the frequency at which participants obtained 1 or more fluid scores ≤25th, ≤16th, ≤9th, ≤5th, and ≤2nd percentile, per age-adjusted or demographically adjusted (age, gender, education) normed scores. A substantial minority of participants had 1 or more low scores (e.g., 40.4% had 1 or more age-adjusted score ≤16th percentile). The frequencies of low scores increased with fewer years of education and lower crystallized cognitive ability. Higher frequencies of low scores were observed among participants who were born and educated abroad, versus within the USA; monolingual Spanish speakers, versus bilingual Spanish/English speakers; and from households below the national median income, versus households above the national median. Low scores were common and related to crystallized ability, education, and sociocultural variables. Although using demographically adjusted scores reduced group differences related to sociocultural variables, group differences were not eliminated, indicating that age, gender, and education score adjustments do not fully explain the associations between sociocultural variables and test performances. These stratified base rates may be useful when working with Spanish-speaking patients with diverse sociocultural characteristics.

Bilingualism and Voice Production. Differences Between Bilingual Latin-American Spanish- English Female Speakers and Monolingual Spanish Female Speakers During Spanish Productions

BackgroundSpeaking a second language influences jitter and shimmer when comparing monolingual English speakers with bilingual English-Spanish speakers. However, there is little information about differences on voice acoustic parameters when comparing monolingual Spanish speakers with bilingual Spanish-English speakers during their productions in Spanish. AimDetermine differences in five voice acoustic parameters commonly used in voice assessments (fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, Harmonics-to-Noise Ratio and Cepstral Peak Prominence Smoothed) which may be influenced by bilingualism. MethodsExploratory cross-sectional study with two groups of female participants: monolingual Spanish speakers (n = 17), and bilingual Spanish-English speakers (n = 11). Participants filled out a questionnaire and recorded two voice samples (sustained vowel /a/ and reading). For this study, all the participants reported that their native language was Spanish. ResultsBeing a female bilingual speaker had a significant effect on Shimmer (%) with a Beta = -0.7. Similar tendency was found on harmonics-to-noise ratio (B = 0.2) and cepstral peak prominence smoothed (B = 0.2). ConclusionsOur results indicate that being a native Spanish female speaker, speaking English as a second language, has significant small effects on voice acoustic parameters, such as shimmer, harmonics-to-noise ratio and cepstral peak prominence smoothed, during their productions in Spanish. This information is of interest for assessment and intervention plans of bilingual speakers at clinical and work-related settings.

Linguistic occupation segregation along the U.S.–Mexico border: using the index of dissimilarity to measure inequality in employment among monolingual speakers and Spanish–English bilinguals

Abstract The U.S.–Mexico border is a Latina/o concentrated region and Spanish–English bilingual society. While there are some indications of an economic advantage associated with Spanish–English bilingualism in regions with over-representations of Spanish-origin speakers, the degree of occupational linguistic segregation in such ethno-linguistic context is unknown. Based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) for 2018, this study calculates the occupational dissimilarity index (D) among monolingual-Spanish speakers, Spanish–English bilinguals, and monolingual-English speakers for cities located along the Texas–Mexico border and in the Houston metropolis. Findings show that the highest occupational segregation is found between monolingual-Spanish speakers and both monolingual-English and Spanish–English bilinguals. This indicates that the monolingual-Spanish workforce is occupationally segregated from those with fluent command of English. The lowest occupation dissimilarity indices are between Spanish–English bilinguals and monolingual-English speakers, indicating that these groups are approaching similar occupational placements. I conclude by highlighting an occupational advantage to Spanish–English bilingualism, but only in border cities characterised by concentrations of Spanish-origin speakers. In the non-border city of Houston, being Spanish–English bilingual is not enough to experience occupational upward mobility.

Spectral properties of anterior sibilant fricatives in Northern Peninsular Spanish and sibilant-merging and non-merging varieties of Basque

This paper focuses on the spectral properties of anterior sibilant fricatives in Northern Peninsular Spanish, and sibilant-merging and non-merging varieties of Basque. Non-merging varieties of Basque have two voiceless anterior sibilant fricatives, characterized as apico-alveolar and lamino-alveolar. In other Basque varieties, however, these two phonemes have merged with varying results. Twenty-four participants divided into four different groups have been studied. One group is a set of monolingual Spanish speakers from north-central Spain, while the remaining three are Basque–Spanish bilingual groups with different sibilant fricative systems in Basque. The goal is to describe the spectral properties of anterior sibilant fricatives and examine the effect of the L1-Basque sibilant system upon L2-Spanish. The Basque varieties chosen are: (i) Azpeitia Basque, where merging in favor of the lamino-alveolar sibilant fricative has occurred; (ii) Lemoa Basque, where the merging in favor of the apico-alveolar sibilant fricative is widespread; and (iii) Goizueta Basque, where no merging has happened. Participants took part in an elicitation task where they produced sentences containing target words with an intervocalic anterior sibilant fricative in Basque and Spanish. Bayesian probability was used for inferential statistics. Speakers of the non-merging Basque variety show the narrowest acoustic dispersion of /s/ in Spanish, as opposed to broader diffusion in the other three groups. Regarding L1 transfer, while the Azpeitia group does not show transfer into Spanish, the Lemoa and Goizueta groups do. Results show that /s/ is more fronted for monolingual Spanish speakers from north-central Spain than the previous literature has reported.