English Phonology Research Articles

English pronunciation problems of Bengali speaking learners: A case study

Pronunciation is the act or manner in which a specific word or sound is generated, particularly the method that is accepted or generally understood (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary 7th edition, 2005). It is an integrated part of second/foreign language learning since it directly affects learner’s communicative competence. Due to the different phonetic patterns of Bangla and English languages, speakers of Bangla language are supposed to face some difficulties in pronouncing specific phonemes of English. However, while learning the pronunciation of an L2, the learner often confronts different phonetics and phonological problems that obviously hinder his/her learning and ultimately prevent him/her from acquiring expected general proficiency in the teaching of the pronunciation of English as a foreign language (EFL)by the Bengali speaking learners. This article coins some problems concerning the pronunciation of English of Bengali speaking learners.

Machine Learning Approaches to Analyze Speech-Evoked Neurophysiological Responses.

Purpose Speech-evoked neurophysiological responses are often collected to answer clinically and theoretically driven questions concerning speech and language processing. Here, we highlight the practical application of machine learning (ML)-based approaches to analyzing speech-evoked neurophysiological responses. Method Two categories of ML-based approaches are introduced: decoding models, which generate a speech stimulus output using the features from the neurophysiological responses, and encoding models, which use speech stimulus features to predict neurophysiological responses. In this review, we focus on (a) a decoding model classification approach, wherein speech-evoked neurophysiological responses are classified as belonging to 1 of a finite set of possible speech events (e.g., phonological categories), and (b) an encoding model temporal response function approach, which quantifies the transformation of a speech stimulus feature to continuous neural activity. Results We illustrate the utility of the classification approach to analyze early electroencephalographic (EEG) responses to Mandarin lexical tone categories from a traditional experimental design, and to classify EEG responses to English phonemes evoked by natural continuous speech (i.e., an audiobook) into phonological categories (plosive, fricative, nasal, and vowel). We also demonstrate the utility of temporal response function to predict EEG responses to natural continuous speech from acoustic features. Neural metrics from the 3 examples all exhibit statistically significant effects at the individual level. Conclusion We propose that ML-based approaches can complement traditional analysis approaches to analyze neurophysiological responses to speech signals and provide a deeper understanding of natural speech and language processing using ecologically valid paradigms in both typical and clinical populations.

Speaking difficulties of Philippine indigenous learners in English Phonology

The study uncovered speaking difficulties of indigenous learners in English phonology. It determined deficiencies in Alphabet Knowledge; Phonics and Word Recognition; and Phonological Awareness. It was a qualitative research conducted through case studies of five mainstreamed Grade 2 indigenous learners in Isabela, Philippines. Data were obtained through observation and oral assessment via checklist and constructed oral assessment. Information were descriptively analyzed. Findings exposed that Alphabet knowledge inadequacies comprised arranging words alphabetically; distinguishing distinctions between Filipino and English alphabets used in same words; and sounding beginning consonant of illustrated words. Phonics and word recognition problems involved matching CVC words and basic sight words with pictures; phonemic manipulations; and segmenting sounds of CVC words. Phonological Awareness concerns encompassed recognizing rhyming words; identifying ending sound; and remembering sequence of sounds. Results imply an intervention to cultivate fundamental skills in English phonology. This investigation is an option to examine concerns in other language domains.

THE VIOLATION OF ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION PRACTICED BY THE GRADE NINTH STUDENTS OF SLUB SARASWATI DENPASAR

Pronunciation is the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word. If one is said to have correct pronunciation, then it refers to both within a particular mispronunciation. Many students usually make the mistake in pronouncing even the simple words. The researchers choose the students of SLUB Saraswati Denpasar as the research objects because they are in bilingual class that should use English better than others. The title of this research is ‘The violation of English pronunciation practiced by the grade ninth students of SLUB Saraswati Denpasar’. Based on the background of the study, the problem of the research can be formulated as follows: (1) how do the students pronounce selected words in English? (2) how do the students violate the pronunciation of English words? (3) What is the cause of their miss-pronunciation? In this research we use the main theory English phonology by April McMahon and Gerald Kelly. The method of this research is qualitative research which explains the analysis in description. The data of this research had been taken from 10 students of grade ninth SLUB Saraswati Denpasar. The researchers used the classroom action research to collect the data. They are collected by recording the pronunciation of the students. In general, the results are: 75% students miss-pronounced the selected words, meanwhile 25% students pronounced almost correctly. From 13 selected words, 30% words among those words were miss-pronounced by the students and 70% were pronounced correctly. The students do the miss-pronunciation mainly because the lack of knowledge in pronouncing the words. Keywords: violation, pronunciation and students

An Approach to English Phonology

This study aims at clarifying various concepts in the linguistic field of English phonology. The researcher has adopted the descriptive research methodology. The study has emerged upon the observations of the researcher in teaching English pronunciation and phonology classes at the tertiary level. A very big number of students lack the correct information about some fundamental concepts in the domain of English phonology. Thus, this study has been conducted as an attempt to illuminate some vague and obscure concepts that cause a real learning problem to students who study English phonology in particular and those who study English language in general. Students are not aware of basic English phonological concepts such as homophones, homographs, homonyms, etc. In addition, students lack knowledge of the structure of the syllable, syllabification process, counting syllables in words, etc. Moreover, most English language learners are not familiar with stress patterns, stress shift, unstressed syllables, etc. In a nutshell, this study has been carried out due to several noticeable learning weaknesses that students encounter in their learning process, so it attempts to resolve some of these problematic difficulties and ease the way to assimilate some essential English phonology concepts.

SOME ARABIC PHONEMES AS THE PROBLEMATIC ONES FOR ENGLISH - SPEAKING LEARNERS OF ARABIC: THE REASONS AND THE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

The current paper touches up the reasons of difficulties that the English-speaking Learners of Arabic face in the pronunciation of some phonemes. The author explains this phenomenon through the description of the mechanism of formation of similar sounds in Arabic and English and the problematic sounds for English-speaking Learners. She also gives a brief comparative analysis of Arabic and English phonemes that are mistakenly perceived by students as identical. This paper also analyzes the challenges of English-speaking Learners related to the pronunciation of Arabic phonemes that are absent in English. In addition to the theoretical part, the article contains practical recommendations aimed at solving the difficulties associated with the setting up the correct pronunciation of this category of students. In addition to the exercises targeted at setting up the correct pronunciation, the author provides the lesson plan, containing various activities for resolving this issueThis work also briefly highlights issues related to the uneasy situation in the field of teaching pronunciation as one of the aspects of learning Arabic in the United States.

Kernel Estimation of Volterra Using an Adaptive Artificial Bee Colony Optimization and Its Application to Speech Signal Multi-Step Prediction

In order to solve parameters selection problem when applying recursive least square (RLS), least mean square (LMS) or normalized LMS (NLMS) algorithms to estimate kernels of second-order Volterra filter (SOVF), a novel adaptive gbest-guide artificial bee colony (AGABC) optimization algorithm is used to derive kernels of Volterra, that is a type of the AGABC-SOVF prediction model with an explicit configuration for speech signal is proposed. The AGABC algorithm modifies the solution search equation of ABC algorithm and combines the best solution with neighborhood information at present iteration, which not only ensures the exploration of the global optimization algorithm but also improves the exploitation. The AGABC-SOVF model is performed to predict speech signal series of the given English phonemes, sentences, and chaotic time series. Simulation results based on benchmark function show that AGABC algorithm performs faster convergence in achieving higher quality solutions than original ABC and other improved ABC algorithms. Prediction results of applying the AGABC-SOVF model to multi-step predictions for Lorenz time series reveal its stability and convergence properties. For the measured multi-frame speech signals, prediction accuracy and length of multi-step prediction using the AGABC-SOVF model are better than that of the ABC-SOVF model. The AGABC-SOVF model can better predict chaotic time series and the real measured speech signal series.

Fonetika i fonologija engleskog jezika - značenje kao limit

Fonetika i fonologija engleskog jezika - značenje kao limit

The VWFA Is the Home of Orthographic Learning When Houses Are Used as Letters.

Learning to read specializes a portion of the left mid-fusiform cortex for printed word recognition, the putative visual word form area (VWFA). This study examined whether a VWFA specialized for English is sufficiently malleable to support learning a perceptually atypical second writing system. The study utilized an artificial orthography, HouseFont, in which house images represent English phonemes. House images elicit category-biased activation in a spatially distinct brain region, the so-called parahippocampal place area (PPA). Using house images as letters made it possible to test whether the capacity for learning a second writing system involves neural territory that supports reading in the first writing system, or neural territory tuned for the visual features of the new orthography. Twelve human adults completed two weeks of training to establish basic HouseFont reading proficiency and underwent functional neuroimaging pre and post-training. Analysis of three functionally defined regions of interest (ROIs), the VWFA, and left and right PPA, found significant pre-training versus post-training increases in response to HouseFont words only in the VWFA. Analysis of the relationship between the behavioral and neural data found that activation changes from pre-training to post-training within the VWFA predicted HouseFont reading speed. These results demonstrate that learning a new orthography utilizes neural territory previously specialized by the acquisition of a native writing system. Further, they suggest VWFA engagement is driven by orthographic functionality and not the visual characteristics of graphemes, which informs the broader debate about the nature of category-specialized areas in visual association cortex.

The Relationship between English Phonological Awareness of Chinese English Learners and Their English Skills

This study investigated the relationship between English phonological awareness (PA) of Chinese English learners and their three English skills (reading, spelling, and listening). Four-hundred college students participated in the study. The results of correlation and regression analyses demonstrated that: 1) overall PA correlated significantly with the three skills and predicted spelling strongly, listening intermediately, and reading weakly; 2) the three levels of PA had differential effects on English skills: reading was only significantly predicted by syllable awareness, spelling by onset-rhyme and phoneme awareness, and listening by all levels of PA; and 3) the predictive effects of tasks corresponded to the difficulty of the processing skill required by a task. This study has borne out a vital role of English PA in improving adult Chinese English learners’ English skills.

Методичні принципи навчання фонології англійської мови в процесі слухання.

The research of principles of teaching English phonology in listening is a topical scientific problem since learners of English often have difficulties with recognition of familiar words while listening to authentic audio texts. Solution of this problem makes an important contribution to improving methodology of teaching listening in the foreign language.

PREDICTED AND ACTUAL PHONOLOGICAL ERRORS OF JUKUN LEARNERS OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

Predicted and actual errors are a major concern to language scholars particularly contrastive analysts who argue that possible areas of difficulties for the learners of a second language can be predicted and thereof emphasized to ensure proficiency. It is on this premise that this paper seeks to investigate predicted and actual phonological errors of Jukun learners of English and a second language. The paper adopts the arguments of psychological learning theories of transfer and interference as cited by Corder (1986) and Adegbite (2009) on negative transfer from MTto L2. It identifies possible causes of these errors among the learners and the specific English phonemes that they find difficult to articulate. The paper is motivated by the learners' communicative performance both within and outside classroom setting. Data /findings from the study reveal that most of the predicted errors actually manifest in the phonology of some Jukun English language users. And that these errors are due to some extent at least, to mother- tongue influence, nonexistence of certain English phonemes in Jukun among others. The paper concludes that, in spite of the above, we cannot generalize the issue of mother tongue interference because even among the learners we still find a very great range of proficient users of Standard English Phonemes.

A Phonological Analysis of Segmental Phonemes in Standard English

The phonological analysis of phonemes as segments including consonants and their allophones, consonant clusters, and vowels with their allophones that may work in complementary distribution or in free variation with each other are tackled in this paper beside sounds in context to show how sounds produced in rapid connected speech reveal affection to each other producing utterances colored by assimilation, elision, and intrusion. The paper aims to show the different sub-types of these phonological processes such as coalescent assimilation, syncopic elision, and epenthetic intrusion. The paper is a reprint of an edited chapter of an M.A. thesis entitled '' A Phonological Analysis of Segmental Phonemes in Standard English and Hit Iraqi Arabic '' to be presented in confirming with the requirements for an M.A. degree.

Influence of Negative Transfer of Mother Tongue on Chinese English Learners’ Pronunciation

In our modern society, English is becoming increasingly important. As is known to all, pronunciation is a significant part of a language, which is complex and flexible. Chinese learners with a fluent and native English will benefit a lot. But the fact is that Chinese learners who have learned English as a second language for a long time still have lots of different problems on English pronunciation because of the interference of mother tongue. Therefore, based on language transfer theory, this paper intends to show different English pronunciation problems of learners in several areas—Northwest China, Central China, Northeast China and Southern China. By comparing Chinese and English phoneme families, the reasons of the problems in these areas will be analyzed. This paper aims to alleviate English pronunciation problems in these areas. What’s more, it is expected that this paper will be useful in teaching of English pronunciation.

High variability phonetic training in adaptive adverse conditions is rapid, effective, and sustained.

This paper evaluates a novel high variability phonetic training paradigm that involves presenting spoken words in adverse conditions. The effectiveness, generalizability, and longevity of this high variability phonetic training in adverse conditions was evaluated using English phoneme contrasts in three experiments with Malaysian multilinguals. Adverse conditions were created by presenting spoken words against background multi-talker babble. In Experiment 1, the adverse condition level was set at a fixed level throughout the training and in Experiment 2 the adverse condition level was determined for each participant before training using an adaptive staircase procedure. To explore the effectiveness and sustainability of the training, phonemic discrimination ability was assessed before and immediately after training (Experiments 1 and 2) and 6 months after training (Experiment 3). Generalization of training was evaluated within and across phonemic contrasts using trained and untrained stimuli. Results revealed significant perceptual improvements after just three 20-minute training sessions and these improvements were maintained after 6 months. The training benefits also generalized from trained to untrained stimuli. Crucially, perceptual improvements were significantly larger when the adverse conditions were adapted before each training session than when it was set at a fixed level. As the training improvements observed here are markedly larger than those reported in the literature, this indicates that the individualized phonetic training regime in adaptive adverse conditions (HVPT-AAC) is highly effective at improving speech perception.

Phonological vulnerability for school-aged Spanish-English-speaking bilingual children

ABSTRACT This study examined accuracy on syllable-final (coda) consonants in newly-learned English-like nonwords to determine whether school-aged bilingual children may be more vulnerable to making errors on English-only codas than their monolingual, English-speaking peers, even at a stage in development when phonological accuracy in productions of familiar words is high. Bilingual Spanish-English-speaking second-graders (age 7–9) with typical development (n = 40) were matched individually with monolingual peers on age, sex, and speech skills. Participants learned to name sea monsters as part of five computerized word learning tasks. Dependent t-tests revealed bilingual children were less accurate than monolingual children in producing codas unique to English; however, the groups demonstrated equivalent levels of accuracy on codas that occur in both Spanish and English. Results suggest that, even at high levels of English proficiency, bilingual Spanish-English-speaking children may demonstrate lower accuracy than their monolingual English-speaking peers on targets that pattern differently in their two languages. Differences between a bilingual’s two languages can be used to reveal targets that may be more vulnerable to error, which could be a result of cross-linguistic effects or more limited practice with English phonology.

An Assessment of Chinese Adult Learners’ English Phonological Awareness

The present study aims to conduct a valid comprehensive assessment of Chinese adult learners’ phonological awareness (PA) in English. To do so, 408 college students were classified into three groups based on their English proficiency; four tasks (oddity, segmentation, blending, and deletion) with varying complexity employed to test all three levels of PA (syllable awareness, onset-rhyme awareness, and phoneme awareness). The results revealed that 1) overall PA improved with English proficiency; 2) among four tasks, only the performances on oddity were not significantly affected by English proficiency; 3) English proficiency attained significance for all three levels of PA; and 4) in terms of subtest where task and PA interacted, English proficiency’s impact was mediated by the complexity of task and level of PA. This study is meant to guide PA researchers on a valid PA assessment and Chinese English teachers on PA training for their Chinese English learners.

Behavioral predictors of improved speech output in minimally verbal children with autism.

We investigated the relationship between eight theoretically motivated behavioral variables and a spoken-language-related outcome measure, after 25 sessions of treatment for speech production in 38 minimally verbal children with autism. After removing potential predictors that were uncorrelated with the outcome variable, two remained. We used both complete-case and multiple-imputation analyses to address missing predictor data and performed linear regressions to identify significant predictors of change in percent syllables approximately correct after treatment. Baseline phonetic inventory (the number of English phonemes repeated correctly) was the most robust predictor of improvement. In the group of 17 participants with complete data, ADOS score also significantly predicted the outcome. In contrast to some earlier studies, nonverbal IQ, baseline levels of expressive language, and younger age did not significantly predict improvement. The present results are not only consistent with previous studies showing that verbal imitation and autism severity significantly predict spoken language outcomes in preschool-aged minimally verbal children with autism, but also extend these findings to older minimally verbal children with autism. Autism Res 2018, 11: 1356-1365. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: We wished to understand what baseline factors predicted whether minimally verbal children with autism would improve after treatment for spoken language. The outcome measure was change in percentage (%) syllables approximately correct on a set of 30 two-syllable words or phrases. Fifteen were both practiced in treatment and tested; the remainder were not practiced in treatment, but only tested, to assess how well children were able to generalize their new skills to an untrained set of words. Potential predictors tested were sex, age, expressive language, phonetic inventory (the number of English speech sounds repeated correctly), autism severity, and nonverbal IQ. Phonetic inventory and (for some children) autism severity predicted children's posttreatment improvement. Nonverbal IQ and expressive language ability did not predict improvement, nor did younger age, suggesting that some older children with autism may be candidates for speech therapy.

English phoneme recognition of vocoded speech by adult Mandarin-speaking English-learners

The present study examined the joint influence of listeners’ language experience and the degree of spectral degradation of speech signals on English phoneme recognition of L2 listeners. The participants included 27 native English-speaking listeners and 43 native Mandarin-speaking listeners who used English as an L2. The L2 participants varied in chronological age, age of English learning, length of residency in the United States, and the amount of daily-based English usage. The speech stimuli included 12 English vowels embedded in a /hVd/ context produced by four speakers and 20 English consonants embedded in a /Ca/ context produced by two speakers. The speech stimuli were processed using 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, and 12-channel noise vocoders. The processed and original stimuli were presented to the listeners for identification in a random order. The results showed that spectral degradation had more adverse effects on the L2 listeners but the L2 disadvantage became more evident as the number of frequency increased. The L2 listeners showed different confusion patterns from the L1 listeners, which was affected by the L2 listeners’ native language experience. Furthermore, the regression analysis revealed that the L2 listener’s length of residency in the United States was a significant predictor for their phoneme recognition outcomes.

Articulatory Range of Movement in Individuals With Dysarthria Secondary to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

The current study examined overall articulatory range of movement (ROM) in individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Differential involvement of articulators was also tested using articulatory working space in individuals with varying degrees of dysarthria severity and in typically aging individuals. A strong association between overall articulatory ROM and severity measures among individuals with ALS was hypothesized. In addition, it was hypothesized that differential involvement of articulators would be detected using overall articulatory ROM measures. Twenty-two speakers with dysarthria secondary to ALS and 22 typically aging speakers participated. Speech intelligibility and speaking rate were used as indices of severity. Movement range and overall articulatory working space area (convex hull) of the tongue, lower lip, and jaw were each measured by electromagnetic articulography while the speakers produced the Rainbow Passage. Tongue convex hull size was significantly correlated with both indices of severity. A significant interaction between articulators and groups was observed. Individuals with severe dysarthria had reduced tongue convex hull size and exaggerated lower lip convex hull size. ROM in the anterior-posterior dimension showed a more notable differential involvement pattern than ROM in the superior-inferior dimension. Results in the area under a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed group-specific ROM sensitivity. The findings indicate that tongue ROM is reduced in individuals with more severe dysarthria when estimated using a standardized paragraph containing all American English phonemes. The articulatory working space measure could be useful for estimating speech dysfunction in ALS. ROM of the tongue decreases, but ROM of the lower lip and jaw each increase in individuals with severe dysarthria. Differential involvement of the articulators in the anterior-posterior dimension needs to be further investigated.