Non-linguistic Representations Research Articles

Spatial location does not consistently constrain perceptual learning in speech

Recent research showed selectivity of perceptual learning in speech to linguistic variables and non-linguistic variables. With regard to the latter Keetels et al. (2016) reported that perceptual learning for one spatial location does not fully generalize to another. This spatial selectivity has been suggested to indicate that learning may target non-linguistic representations. We test whether spatial selectivity is a general property of perceptual learning or whether it is related to specific design choices, such as using a single nonword throughout the study. Therefore, we aimed to replicate spatial selectivity with a paradigm that makes use of a larger set of word and nonword stimuli. However, in three experiments, one in-person and two web-based, no effect of spatial selectivity was observed. A Bayesian analysis suggests that the null hypothesis is better supported by the data than the alternative hypothesis based on the previously reported effect size. Repercussions for the debate about pre-lexical representations in speech processing are discussed.

Truth without truths: Grim's Cantorian paradox and the ontology of the objects of omniscience

Abstract I argue that Grim's diagonalization argument against the possibility of omniscience is not sound by arguing that the properties of being a proposition or a truth are not legitimate sortal properties. Thus, the fact that there can be no set corresponding to the extension of these properties does not imply that there is no completed totality of the things possessing it. First, I demonstrate that a correspondence theory of truth implies that propositions are non-linguistic representations of a type that resist determinate and uniform individuation into units and allow for arbitrary division into parts that are also propositions. The property is, therefore, an abstract mass property with no determinate cardinality of individuals that possess it. I then sketch a new theory of omniscience with this as its basis.

Nonlinguistic Representations and Digital Resources in Vocabulary Teaching

When teaching effective vocabulary, there are some steps to be taken in consideration. Talking about ways of acquiring knowledge, information can be stored in two ways: linguistic and nonlinguistic. Nonlinguistic representations are known as having very high impact on student achievement. They can be identified as graphic organizers, pictures, physical models, mental images, and kinesthetic activity. Besides analyzing nonlinguistic representations and observing the advantages they offer, along with the drawbacks, the paper offers some ideas on how to make use of certain digital tools to increase the above metioned aspect.

How Does English Encode ‘Tight’ Vs. ‘Loose-fit’ Motion Events? It’s Complicated

ABSTRACT Linguistic encoding of spatial events has long provided a forum for examining how languages encode space, how children learn their native encodings, and whether cross-linguistic differences affect non-linguistic representations of space. One prominent case concerns motion events in which objects are moved into tight or loose-fit relationships of containment or support. Seminal findings from Bowerman showed that young children learning Korean regularly use specific verbs to encode tight/loose fit across containment and support relationships, whereas children learning English use prepositions to encode containment or support (e.g. in/on) across the tight/loose fit distinction. Others have asked how these early-acquired differences affect non-linguistic encoding of similar events. Many of these studies have focused on the lexical differences between the two languages – verbs (in Korean) and/or prepositions (in English). Here, we ask whether this focus might underestimate how English encodes these events by closely examining the range of options used by English speakers to encode loose and tight-fit motion events. In Experiment 1, 3-year-old and adult English speakers described joining and separating events which culminated in loose or tight-fit end-states. Participants’ use of lexical verbs together with their syntactic frames differentiated among the event types, especially between “loose-fit” events with asymmetric motion between objects (e.g. a block being put into a bowl) vs. “tight-fit” events with symmetric motion (e.g. two Legos being brought together at the same time). In Experiment 2, we replicated the basic findings using events portrayed with more complex of objects. Our findings show that English affords both children and adults rich resources to encode motion events culminating in tight and loose fit end-states; these devices include both lexical items and syntactic frames. The findings raise important questions about how to examine effects of language on non-linguistic spatial cognition in children and adults.

NONLINGUISTIC REPRESENTATION IN TEACHING SOCIAL SCIENCE: ITS OUTCOME TO TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS

This thesis, entitled Nonlinguistic Representation in Teaching Social Science: Its Outcome to Teaching and Learning Process, is intended to find answers to the following questions: 1.) What is the level of using nonlinguistic representation in terms of graphic organizers, physical models, mental images, illustrations/pictures, and kinesthetic activities? 2.) What is the level of student performance in pre-test and post-test in terms of comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation? 3.) Is there a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test? and 4.) Does the use of nonlinguistic representation have a significant effect on student performance in teaching Social Science? A descriptive method was used in the study to determine the effect of using nonlinguistic representations on the performance of students in teaching Social Science. The primary respondents to this study were the Senior High School students at San Pedro Relocation Center National High School. One hundred fifty (150) out of the total number of students in grade 12 were used as respondents for this study. The finding shows that the pre-test and post-test were observed to have a significant difference in the performance of the students in social science. This means that the use of nonlinguistic representation in social science teaching has been effective, and students have gained knowledge and skills. On the other hand, the finding shows that the graphic organizer, physical models, mental images, picture/illustrations and kinesthetic activities of the nonlinguistic representation were observed to have a significant effect on the students performance on their post-test. This shows that the use of nonlinguistic representations in the teaching and learning process improved student learning results, based on the findings. Students get a deeper and more profound knowledge of the material, which may result in enhanced academic performance. The study concludes that the pre-test and post-test were observed to have a significant difference in the performance of the students in social science. It can be inferred that at the 0.05 level of significance, the null hypothesis there is no significant difference in the pre-test and post-test of the students performance was rejected. The nonlinguistic representation was observed to have a significant effect on the students performance, as measured by their post-test. It can be inferred that at the 0.05 level of significance, the null hypothesis There is no significant effect of using nonlinguistic representations on the performance of the students in teaching social science was rejected. This recommends that teachers continue to incorporate these tools into their classroom instruction. It is important to recognize that students have diverse learning styles, and nonlinguistic representations can help to accommodate these differences by providing students with a range of ways to engage with and comprehend the subject matter.

TETFN: A text enhanced transformer fusion network for multimodal sentiment analysis

Multimodal sentiment analysis (MSA), which aims to recognize sentiment expressed by speakers in videos utilizing textual, visual and acoustic cues, has attracted extensive research attention in recent years. However, textual, visual and acoustic modalities often contribute differently to sentiment analysis. In general, text contains more intuitive sentiment-related information and outperforms nonlinguistic modalities in MSA. Seeking a strategy to take advantage of this property to obtain a fusion representation containing more sentiment-related information and simultaneously preserving inter- and intra-modality relationships becomes a significant challenge. To this end, we propose a novel method named Text Enhanced Transformer Fusion Network (TETFN), which learns text-oriented pairwise cross-modal mappings for obtaining effective unified multimodal representations. In particular, it incorporates textual information in learning sentiment-related nonlinguistic representations through text-based multi-head attention. In addition to preserving consistency information by cross-modal mappings, it also retains the differentiated information among modalities through unimodal label prediction. Furthermore, the vision pre-trained model Vision-Transformer is utilized to extract visual features from the original videos to preserve both global and local information of a human face. Extensive experiments on benchmark datasets CMU-MOSI and CMU-MOSEI demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed TETFN over state-of-the-art methods.

Sequential Time construal is primary in temporal uses of Mandarin Chinese qian ‘front’ and hou ‘back’

This article addresses two previously unresolved puzzles regarding the relationship between temporal and spatial conceptualizations in Mandarin Chinese. First, apparently conflicting data have led to disagreement over whether temporal usages of the terms qian and hou, whose spatial meanings of ‘front’ and ‘back’ are often considered to be primary, are based on a canonical facing of Ego towards past or towards future. We argue that this issue can be resolved by positing invariant Sequential (S-)Time meanings of, respectively, earlier and later for these terms, with variable uses to refer to past and future events and perspectives in Deictic (D-)Time being secondary and contextually governed. Second, the question of which of the sagittal, vertical and lateral orientational axes are more fundamental in spatio-temporal language and cognition for Mandarin Chinese speakers has been much debated. We review these issues, propose solutions based on linguistic analysis and report five experiments to test the analysis. Our findings are consistent with our analysis of the primacy in Mandarin Chinese of the invariant S-time construal of the terms qian ‘front’ (=earlier) and hou ‘back’ (=later) over their contextually governed D-time interpretations as referring to pastness and futurity. We find also that the preferred lexicalization of temporal relations between events by Mandarin speakers involves the sagittal axis terms qian and hou, but this does not mean that this linguistic conceptualization is also imposed by speakers as a preference for the sagittal axis for non-linguistic representations of event sequences. Finally, our data indicate that the temporal meanings of qian and hou (earlier and later) are more salient for speakers than their spatial meanings (front and back) in motion event conceptualizations.

Semiotic Analysis of Three QSR Instagram Posts During COVID-19 Outbreak

The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted various aspects of human life, and this includes the economy. Therefore, businesses must address their survival promptly by implementing more aggressive and creative marketing methods that use social media platforms. Although touted as Malaysia’s top three quick service restaurants (QSR), the pandemic also affected KFC, McDonald’s, and Pizza Hut. Therefore, this research was conducted to investigate the advertisement language of these three brands’ Instagram posts. The paper intends first to study how text producers use linguistic and non-linguistic representations to position their businesses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, it aims to explain how specific language use, image, and style can bring about meaning to customers of the position of the brands during these trying times. The theory that underpins this paper is M. A. K. Halliday’s Social Semiotic Theory of Language (1978). Semiotic analysis was employed as an analytic tool due to its ability to foreground aspects that may not be noticeable in plain reading. The data for this study was collected from the Instagram pages of the three brands during the period of the first Movement Control Order (MCO) exercised in Malaysia from March 18 to May 3, 2020.

Linguistic and Artistic Representations of Trauma: The Contribution of Pedagogies of Discomfort in Language Education

AbstractThis article aims to contribute to recent discussions on pedagogy of pain in world language education. Drawing on the limitations of language to represent and express trauma and pain, we foreground the value of pedagogies at the intersection of language, art, and trauma. It is our contention that a linguistic perspective in and of itself is insufficient and needs to be supported by artistic and multimodal forms of expression as those reinforced by the arts. We describe a study that addressed trauma in a language education context and show how linguistic and nonlinguistic representations of trauma and pain can be productively engaged in formal educational settings using the notion of pedagogy of discomfort. We conclude by highlighting that engaging with the limits of the (un)sayable linked to traumatic and painful events and experiences complementing linguistic with nonlinguistic means can benefit applied linguistics and world language education by bringing attention to the embodied and affective complexities emerging from engagement with trauma.

Encoding transfer of possession events

The present study focuses on the linguistic and non-linguistic encoding of giving and taking events. For both English and Mandarin Chinese speakers, we find that the linguistic encoding of these transfer events respects the Thematic Hierarchy and the Source-Goal asymmetry (Exp.1 and 2): Agents are mentioned more often than Patient; Goals are encoded more often than Sources. However, in non-linguistic representation, the bias against Sources is not observed (Exp.3 and 4): Giver, Givee, Taker and Takee are equally prominent in memory. Taken together, our results support linguistic theories extending Source/Goal paths to Transfer of Possession events and call for a finer-grained account of homology between linguistic and non-linguistic encoding of events.

Naming spatial relations across the adult lifespan: At the crossroads of language and perception.

Language abilities in adulthood remain relatively intact with increasing age, while spatial abilities decline. However, much less is known about ageing effects on spatial language (the ability to verbally describe where objects are located in relation to other objects). The primary goal of this study was to examine age-related changes in naming static and dynamic spatial relations across the adult lifespan. Moreover, we examined whether spatial naming is more closely associated with (non-spatial) verbal or (non-linguistic) visuospatial abilities. Healthy adults aged between 18 and 85 years completed a newly developed Spatial Naming Test (SNT), as well as standard object and action naming tests and various visuospatial tasks. The psychometric properties of the novel SNT (inter-rater and test-retest reliability and convergent, divergent, and construct validity) were also examined. The psychometric evaluation confirmed the reliability and validity of the SNT. Striking effects of ageing on naming of both static and dynamic spatial relations were found, as well as on visuospatial abilities, while object and action naming remained age invariant. Moreover, both (non-spatial) verbal and (non-linguistic) visuospatial abilities predicted static spatial naming, but only visuospatial abilities accounted for significant variance in dynamic spatial naming beyond age. These findings provide the first evidence that naming spatial relations declines in ageing as a function of changes in non-linguistic visuospatial abilities, indicating strong connections between linguistic and non-linguistic representations of space. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

AN ANALYSIS OF TURKISH AND RUSSIAN TEACHERS’ OF ENGLISH APPROACHES TO EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

The purpose of this study was to determine teachers’ approaches to Marzano’s effective instructional strategies (MEISs), as defined by Marzano, Pickering and Pollack (2001) in the secondary schools in Turkey and Russia and tell whether they differ or not. In this study survey research – one of the quantitative approaches – was carried out. The participants for the study were 54 teachers of English in Turkey and 40 teachers of English in Russia. “The Effective Instructional Strategies Questionnaire” and an open-ended questionnaire were used to gather data. Data was generated utilizing content analysis and non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. The results related to the first and second research questions revealed that there were partial differences between Turkish and Russian teachers’ approaches to Marzano’s nine effective instructional strategies and to usage of these strategies. Turkish teachers place less importance than Russian teachers on such strategies as summarizing and note taking, homework and practice, generating and testing hypothesis. As to Russian teachers, they do not espouse strategies in the category of non-linguistic representations as much as Turkish teachers do. The results of the study showed that Turkish and Russian teachers’ approaches and the usage of the strategies differ.

Prospective science teachers’ views about models and modelling

Educators agree about importance of models and modelling in teaching and learning science and other disciplines. Models provide representations of scientific concepts that can make the ideas more understandable to learners. They serve to describe, explain, or predict objects, interactions, systems, and processes. Models as a methods and products of science provide non-linguistic representation of its target. Modelling is the essence of thinking and working scientifically. Models and modelling can bridge the gap and support a natural link between STEM disciplines. Some textbooks use different representations of the same model without explanation of the form and purpose of the model. The aim of this study is to determine prospective science teachers’ views about models and modelling. Prospective science teachers’ perception of models are complex, sometimes inconsistent and dissimilar depending of subject of study. Science teacher educators must devote more time on this topic. They also need strong literature basis for supporting complex issue about models and modelling.

Траектории современного изучения публичного дискурса (на примере англоязычных и русскоязычных текстов ковидной тематической направленности)

The study is devoted to topical issues of public discourse with a thematic focus of covid orientation. Of great importance is the choice of the methodological trajectory of the problem coverage for the objectification of the results obtained. Within the framework of the research article the essence of the strategy and tactics for the application of the methodological component is indicated based on the example of public discourse texts. The research methodology reflects the methods of content analysis (of content and structural character), intent analysis, and discourse analysis, the combination of which is an objective basis for a comprehensive study and understanding of public discourse of covid thematic orientation. This makes it possible to carry out a pragmatic description of the public discourse texts of covid thematic orientation on the basis of linguistic and non-linguistic representation.

"Few" or "Many"? An Adaptation Level Theory Account for Flexibility in Quantifier Processing.

Quantifiers (e.g., “many,” “some,” “at least seven,” “more than half”) are words characterizing amounts or numerosities by reference to an internal threshold, or degree. For some quantifiers, this degree is not uniquely defined: It varies for external contexts (“many lions”/“many flies”) but may also be shifted within an individual (“many fries” for a hungry/full person). Previous studies showed that manipulation of the degree for one quantifier can impact that of other quantifiers. In this study, we tested whether such changes can occur by mere habituation, as formalized in the Adaptation Level Theory by Helson (1948) for sensory stimuli such as brightness or weight. To this end, participants read a quantifier statement and then judged whether a visual display with varying amounts (20–80%) of blue and yellow circles matched that statement. In Block 1, we identified which proportion of circles of a given color was judged by participants as “many” or “few.” In Block 2, we modified the presentation of stimuli such that (1) only the quantifier “many” was used and (2) only low proportions of circles of a given color were presented, thus changing the base rate at which proportions were encountered together with “many.” The hypothesis was that the internal degree of what is interpreted as “many” would be shifted downward and that this shift would also affect judgments of “few.” Block 3 was identical to Block 1, serving as a test for the expected effect on the degree/threshold for/across all proportions. The findings were as expected: The probability of accepting 40% as “many” was increased during Block 2, indicating adaptation. Likewise, the probability function for “few” was shifted in a parallel fashion around the proportion 40%. These findings complemented earlier studies demonstrating intra-individual flexibility in quantifier processing. They show that this flexibility can even be observed in the absence of explicitly stated verbal contexts or reinforcements, in line with the Adaptation Level Theory formulated originally for magnitudes, i.e., non-linguistic representations of quantities.

Brain network reconfiguration for language and domain-general cognitive control in bilinguals

For bilinguals, language control is needed for selecting the target language during language production. Numerous studies have examined the neural correlates of language control and shown a close relationship between language control and domain-general cognitive control. However, it remains unknown how these brain regions coordinate with each other when bilinguals exert cognitive control over linguistic and nonlinguistic representations. We addressed this gap using an extended unified structural equation modeling (euSEM) approach. Sixty-five Chinese-English bilinguals performed language switching and nonverbal switching tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning. The results showed that language control was served by a cooperative brain network, including the frontal lobe, the parietal cortex, subcortical areas, and the cerebellum. More importantly, we found that language control recruited more subcortical areas and connections from frontal to subcortical areas compared with domain-general cognitive control, demonstrating a reconfigurable brain network. In addition, the reconfiguration efficiency of the brain network was mainly determined by general cognitive ability but was also mediated by second language (L2) proficiency. These findings provide the first data-driven connectivity model that specifies the brain network for language control in bilinguals and also shed light on the relationship between language control and domain-general cognitive control.

How do Korean–English bilinguals speak and think about motion events? Evidence from verbal and non-verbal tasks

AbstractThe present study compared both linguistic and non-linguistic representations of motion events in Korean–English sequential bilinguals sampled at varying proficiency levels (N = 80) against each other and against those of Korean and English monolinguals (N = 15 each). The bilinguals' L2 descriptions of motion events showed that their encoding patterns were influenced by both the first language (L1) and second language (L2) and also displayed unique behaviors that were not found in either monolingual norm. The non-verbal results on a triads-matching task demonstrated that bilinguals' categorization patterns followed L1-based patterns rather than L2-based patterns. The extent to which these bilinguals employed L2 encoding patterns in their motion event descriptions was largely modulated by L2 proficiency, whereas length of immersion experience in an L2-speaking country emerged as the only predictor of their non-verbal categorization patterns. These findings suggest that the bilinguals' verbal behavior seems more susceptible to change than their non-verbal behavior.

Words, thoughts, and brains

ABSTRACT Knowledge of the world is fundamental to human thought and ability to navigate the world, and a large literature has accumulated on the neuroscience of semantic memory. Because language serves as one of the most important interfaces between the private world of thought and other people, researchers often tap into semantic memory through word-based tasks. But this approach fails to acknowledge crucial distinctions between word meaning and general-purpose, non-linguistic knowledge. This article will discuss the relation between words and non-linguistic representations, drawing in part on evidence about cross-linguistic lexical diversity. It will argue that a more nuanced consideration of the language-thought interface is needed in the neuroscience of concepts.

The bilingualism wars: Is the bilingual advantage out of (executive) control?

Abstract Whether bilingualism has an effect on the executive function of non-verbal representations is probably one of the most controversial issues in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. As bilinguals have to alternate between two languages that compete for selection in their daily lives, they make use of selection, inhibition, and monitoring (i.e., components of executive function) more often than monolinguals. Thus, it would not be surprising that these highly trained abilities at selecting and monitoring the linguistic processes would also help the processing of non-linguistic representations. Although the “bilingual advantage” in executive control (Bialystok, 1999) has been repeatedly demonstrated, a number of recent studies—in particular since the publication of the Paap and Greenberg (2013) study—have questioned this effect. Both positive and null findings are currently being published from each of the two sides, thus making it difficult to reach consensus in the scientific community. Here, we propose a plausible solution to this debate: a group of independent researches should carry out a carefully planned large-scale study.

The Influence of Active Teaching-Learning Methods on Students’ Academic Performance in Mandarin Course: Undergraduates in Focus

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the effectiveness of using active teaching methods on students' academic performance. A sample of 35 undergraduate students who took Mandarin as third language has been chosen for this purpose. The students were exposed to nine teaching methods namely (1) compare and contrast, (2) word wall, (3) take note and summarizing, (4) recitation, (5) cues, question and activating prior knowledge, (6) role play, (7) non-linguistic representation, (8) homework and practice, and (9) analysis of students’ work and discussion. From the t-test analysis conducted, it was found that students scored higher t-value of 24.8 in post-test as oppose to pre-test value of 13.6 with the significant value of .00. Hence, it can be concluded that through the implementation of the nine active teaching methods, students have improved their academic performance significantly.
 
 Keywords: active teaching method, Mandarin, undergraduate, academic performance.