Phonological Aspects Research Articles

L1 Interference in English Major Students’ Pronunciation at Technical University of Cotopaxi

This study aims to investigate the impact of mother tongue interference (Spanish) on the pronunciation of the phoneme /d/ in different positions among seventh-semester students majoring in English at the Technical University of Cotopaxi. The study employs a mixed approach with a correlational design. The correlation between the variables allows for the analysis of the quantifiable relationship between Spanish as a mother tongue interference and the quality of the pronunciation of the phoneme /d/ in English. The degree and direction of this correlation will help determine whether and to extent the interference has a significant impact on pronunciation. The findings of the study shed light on the challenges faced by students when pronouncing words with the phoneme /d/ in different positions. In the initial position, the interference is characterized by the transference of Spanish tongue positions and aspiration tendencies, leading to the production of [d] instead of the standard English sound, information detailed in the results and discussion section. In the middle position, students exhibit a tendency to apply Spanish flapping and elision patterns, resulting in the articulation of a tap or alveolar flap [ɾ] instead of the expected English sound. In the final position, the influence of Spanish leads some students to voice the English final /d/ even when English requires voicelessness, indicating the persistence of L1 interference. The results emphasize the importance of addressing specific phonetic and phonological aspects that arise due to mother tongue interference in pronunciation training. Understanding the intricate interplay between L1 influence and the articulation of the phoneme /d/ can lead to targeted interventions that enhance students' pronunciation skills and contribute to their overall communicative competence in English

Special Educators’ Knowledge of Foundational Reading Skills: A Review of the Literature

Teachers’ knowledge of foundational reading skills (e.g., phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension) and the impact of this knowledge on the ability to provide effective reading instruction has been a topic of interest in teacher preparation for decades. Given the number of students with disabilities with significant instructional needs in reading, understanding the knowledge and skills of special educators and effective approaches for improving teachers’ knowledge is especially critical. Therefore, a systematic narrative review of the literature was conducted to identify studies that employed survey methods to examine special educators’ knowledge of foundational reading skills. The results of 18 studies published between 2001 and 2020 revealed that most investigations focused on assessing knowledge of the phonological aspects of reading. Furthermore, inconsistent performance and knowledge gaps were identified both within and across studies. Detailed summaries of studies are provided and recommendations for future research and practice explored.

NEUROLINGUISTIC SPEECH DISORDERS: APHASIA, APRAXIA, AND AGNOSIA

Background: Neurolinguistic speech disorders, including aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia, significantly impact communication by disrupting different aspects of language and cognitive processing. Specific Background: Aphasia results from brain damage affecting language processing, apraxia impairs the motor planning required for speech production, and agnosia involves the inability to recognize familiar objects or sounds despite preserved sensory functions. Knowledge Gap: Despite substantial research into these disorders, there remains a need for comprehensive analysis and integration of their phonetic and phonological dimensions, as well as the development of targeted rehabilitation strategies to address these aspects effectively. Aims: This study aims to analyze the phonetic and phonological aspects of aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia and to propose rehabilitation strategies that focus on phonological and phonetic retraining to improve communication abilities in affected individuals. Results: The analysis reveals distinct phonetic and phonological challenges associated with each disorder. Aphasia is characterized by deficits in language processing, apraxia by disruptions in speech motor planning, and agnosia by impaired recognition of sounds and objects. Rehabilitation strategies that emphasize phonological and phonetic retraining have shown promise in enhancing recovery and improving communication abilities. Novelty: This research integrates findings from leading experts to provide a comprehensive overview of how these disorders affect phonetic and phonological processes and highlights novel rehabilitation approaches tailored to address these specific challenges. Implications: The study underscores the importance of targeted rehabilitation strategies in improving communication outcomes for individuals with neurolinguistic speech disorders and suggests further investigation into the effectiveness of these interventions in clinical settings.

Speech sound development of young Dutch children with a developmental language disorder: A complex matter.

Approximately 50% of all young children with a developmental language disorder (DLD) also have problems with speech production. Research on speech sound development and clinical diagnostics of speech production difficulties focuses mostly on accuracy; it relates children's phonological realizations to adult models. Contrarily to these relational analyses, independent analyses indicate the sounds and structures children produce irrespective of accuracy. Such analyses are likely to provide more insight into a child's phonological strengths and limitations, and may thus provide better leads for treatment. Ram (1) To contribute to a more comprehensive overview of the speech sound development of young Dutch children with DLD by including independent and relational analyses, (2) to develop an independent measure to assess these children's speech production capacities; and (3) to examine the relation between independent and relational speech production measures for children with DLD. We describe the syllable structures and sounds of words elicited in two picture-naming tasks of 82 children with DLD and speech production difficulties between ages 2;7 and 6;8. The children were divided into four age groups to examine developmental patterns in a cross-sectional manner. Overviews of the children's productions on both independent and relational measures are provided. We conducted a Spearman correlation analysis to examine the relation between accuracy and independent measures. The overviews show these children are able to produce a greater variety of syllable structures and consonants irrespective of target positions than they can produce correctly in targets. This is especially true for children below the age of 4;5. The data indicate that children with DLD have difficulty with the production of clusters, fricatives, liquids and the velar nasal (/ŋ/). Based on existing literature and our results, we designed a Dutch version of an independent measure of word complexity, originally designed for English (word complexity measure-WCM) in which word productions receive points for specific word, syllable and sound characteristics, irrespective of accuracy. We found a strong positive correlation between accuracy scores and scores on this independent measure. The results indicate that the use of independent measures, including the proposed WCM, complement traditional relational measures by indicating which sounds and syllable structures a child can produce (irrespective of correctness). Therefore, the proposed measure can be used to monitor the speech sound development of children with DLD and to better identify treatment goals, in combination with existing relational measures. What is already known on the subject Speech production skills can be assessed in different ways: (1) using analyses indicating the structures and sounds a child produces irrespective of accuracy, that is, performance analyses; and (2) using analyses indicating how the productions of a child relate to the adult targets, that is, accuracy analyses. In scientific research as well as in clinical practice the focus is most often on accuracy analyses. As a consequence, we do not know if children who do not improve in accuracy scores, improve in other phonological aspects that are not captured in these analyses, but can be captured by performance analyses. What this study adds to the existing knowledge The overviews show these children are able to produce a greater variety of syllable structures and consonants irrespective of target positions than they can produce correctly in targets. Consequently, adding performance analyses to existing accuracy analyses provides a more complete picture of a child's speech sound development. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? We propose a Dutch version of a WCM, originally designed for English, in which word productions receive points for word structures, syllable structures and sounds, irrespective of accuracy. This measure may be used by Dutch clinicians to monitor the speech sound development of children with DLD and to formulate better treatment goals, in addition to accuracy measures that are already used.

Esperanto, Klingon and Toki Pona: evaluating non-speaker perceptions of the orthographic and phonological characteristics of three popular constructed languages

ABSTRACT This article is based on preliminary research on the ways in which three well-known constructed languages – Esperanto, Klingon and Toki Pona – are perceived by non-speakers. The main aim of this research was to estimate the degree to which the perceptions of non-speakers and the intentions of the creators of these languages match. To this end, two tests were conducted on a sample of students at the University of Malaya (Universiti Malaya) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Both tests were based on association of ideas, but one test focused on reactions to the sounds of the three languages, whereas the other test focused on reactions to the scripts (Latin characters with diacritics for Esperanto, sitelen pona for Toki Pona, and pIqaD for Klingon). The written responses provided by the participants after listening to short passages and viewing carefully selected script samples suggest that the orthographic and phonological aspects of the languages evoke the intended reactions in those exposed to them.

Keterlambatan Berbahasa dalam Aspek Fonologi pada Anak Usia 5 Tahun

The purpose of this study was to find out the causes of language delays in phonological aspects of five-year-old subjects. The problem that underlies this research is related to language disorders. Language disorder in children's speech development is one type of communication disorder which is indicated for children who experience disturbances in the process of using any symbols in language. In this study, it discusses speech sound pronunciation disorders experienced by 5 year old children, especially in the phonological aspect. The method used is qualitative with note-taking techniques and collecting data sources through interviews, subjects are given light questions so they are easy to understand.

Pemerolehan bahasa aspek fonologi pada anak usia 2 Tahun

This study aims to describe language acquisition in children aged 2 years and 2 months in terms of phonological aspects. This research was conducted using a qualitative descriptive method. The subject in this study was a child aged 2 years 2 months, male and with the initials MFA. The data in the research are speech produced by children aged 2 years and 2 months. The data collection techniques applied in this research are observation and documentation. The results showed that MFA subjects were able to pronounce vowels in front-high /i/, front-middle /e/, high-back /u/, middle-middle /ǝ/, middle-low /a/ and back-middle /o /, but has difficulty pronouncing vowels such as /u/ and /e/ in word-final position. Regarding consonant phonemes, there are several phonemes that the subject cannot pronounce correctly, such as the consonants /b/, /c/, /h/, /k/, /l/, /p/, /r/, /s/ and /t/ especially in word initial position. The strategy applied by the subject to overcome these difficulties is phoneme deletion and substitution. Keywords: Language Acquisition, Phonological Aspects, and 2 Years Old Child

Word-in-noise perception test in children

Background The word-in-noise discrimination test evaluates the phonological aspect of speech based on the detection of the vowels. While word-in-noise perception (WINP) test is one of the speech perception exams and evaluates the ability to understand the meaning of words by discovering the consonants.Until now, all word-in-noise tests have assessed speech discrimination performance, and for the first time, the normal values of the WINP test for adults have been determined. Since the normal values of WINP scores in children have not been reported, our research aimed to determine the normal values of the WINP test in children aged 5 to 13 years.In this cross-sectional study, 120 Persian speaking Iranain children with normal hearing thresholds were evaluated from the beginning to the end of spring 2023. We divided them into 4 age groups (A = 5–7 < years, B = 7–9 < years, C = 9–11 < years, D = 11–13 < years). The evaluations included general audiology tests and WINP tests using homtonic-monosyllabic words (HMWs) at a signal-to-noise ratio of 5 dB.ResultsSignificant difference was observed between the mean scores of the WINP test in age group A (54%) compared to age group B (66%), (Pv = 0.04). Also, the differences between the mean scores of age group A compared to age groups C (70%) and D (69%) were significant (Pv = 0.01, Pv = 0.03).ConclusionsThis article presented the norm values of WINP test scores for Persian speaking Iranian children aged 5 to 13 years. The norm values of WINP test scores in the age group of 5–7 years were lower than in the age groups of 7–13 years. The biggest change in the performance of speech perception in noise was observed in the age range of 7–9 years.

Common Pronunciation Errors among Vietnamese Learners of English from Phonological Perspectives

This study investigates the phonological challenges encountered by Vietnamese learners of English and explores the strategies employed to address these challenges. A mixed-methods approach was employed, comprising a quantitative survey administered to 152 participants and semi-structured interviews conducted with a subset of 7 participants. Quantitative analysis of survey data revealed perceived difficulty levels for various phonological aspects of English pronunciation, with reconciling spelling and pronunciation emerging as the most challenging aspect. Qualitative interviews provided deeper insights into learners' experiences, highlighting additional phonological challenges such as distinguishing between vowel sounds and mastering intonation patterns. Participants reported employing a range of strategies, including regular practice, utilization of resources, and participation in interactive learning experiences, to address pronunciation difficulties. The implications of this research are twofold. Firstly, it contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the complexities surrounding English pronunciation learning among Vietnamese learners. Secondly, the identified strategies offer valuable insights for language teaching and support. Educators can tailor their teaching approaches to address the specific phonological challenges highlighted in this study, fostering more effective English pronunciation acquisition among Vietnamese learners. Additionally, the findings underscore the importance of providing diverse learning resources and opportunities for interactive practice to enhance pronunciation skills. These implications not only enrich our understanding of language acquisition processes but also have practical implications for educators, curriculum developers, and language learners alike.

The phonology morphology and syntax of Sundanese

Sundanese is an indigenous language that is spoken in West Java, Indonesia. This study considers the phonology, morphology, and syntax of Sundanese based on a corpus of more than two hundred words. It specifically aims to contribute to the literature of the language by providing some linguistic characteristics of Sundanese and comparing results to what has been previously introduced in the literature. Some previous studies of Sundanese have extensively covered the syntactic and some morphological structures of the language, but only a few studies have covered the phonological aspects. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the morphological, syntactic, and phonological aspects of Sundanese based on the production of a native speaker of the language. The participant translated all words into Sundanese and provided the singular and the plural forms for each word in the list. The participant also produced sentences using the same words in the corpus. Data were then observed, and patterns were grouped and categorized for analysis. Results showed some similarities and differences to the findings of previous work in the field. Conclusions were drawn and comparisons were made where appropriate.

Estrategias psicopedagógicas para potenciar el desarrollo lingüístico de estudiantes afectados por violencia intrafamiliar

Psychopedagogical strategies are crucial for enhancing linguistic progress in students, promoting communicative skills, and overcoming difficulties. The article aims to develop a psychopedagogical strategy to improve language development in students at the Portoviejo Educational Unit who have been affected by domestic violence. The methodology employed is a mixed-method, descriptive, non-experimental approach. The theoretical methods used were analytical, inductive-deductive, while the techniques included surveys of teachers, language development assessment tests using the Instrument for School Age (IDTEL), as well as interviews with experts. The intentional population and sample consisted of 7 students aged 6 to 9 affected by domestic violence, 12 teachers from these educational levels, and 3 experts knowledgeable about the topic. The results highlight the difficulties experienced by students affected by domestic violence in their language development and usage. 61% exhibit low levels in morphosyntactic aspects, 69% in pragmatic aspects, 51% in phonological aspects, and 52% in semantic aspects. The article concludes with the design of a psychopedagogical strategy aimed at improving language development in students affected by domestic violence through activities that promote confidence, self-esteem, listening comprehension, expression, and literacy skills. This strategy was validated by experts in the field, endorsing its viability and the importance of addressing the linguistic difficulties of these students.

Discussing some Phonological Aaspects of Kurdish Through the Words befr and berf ”snow”

”befr” and ”berf” are variants of the same word. They are used in different Kurmanji-speaking areas. Although the sequencing of [f] and [r] is the main difference between them, this variation leads us to investigate some aspects of Kurdish phonology. It also works as a sample for testing some phonological theories. In this study, the sounds of befr and berf are described in phonetics terms and in the frame of distinctive features. Since one of the key questions of this study is why these two forms exist in Kurmanji, the phonotactics of their sounds within the frame of the Sonority Hiearchy and the Sonority Sequencing Principle is presented. When befr is pronounced in isolation, an epenthetic [i] is inserted between [f] and [r]. This epenthesis changes the monosyllabic [befr] to a disyllabic [be.fir]. Therefore, syllabe types and stress placement in Kurmanji are also discussed here by presenting the theory of Metrical phonology and the moraic theory.The study ends with answering the key question. The last section demonstrates why both forms of Kurdish ”snow” are acceptable by adopting Optimaltiy Theory.

Phonological Aspects of American and British Englishes Embedded in Korean English: A Perspective of Linguistic Realities

Phonological Aspects of American and British Englishes Embedded in Korean English: A Perspective of Linguistic Realities

The Phonological Features of Arabic Spoken by Non-Arabs in the UAE

Since the discovery of oil in the UAE and the economic boom that has followed, the population structure has changed dramatically. It has witnessed unprecedented jumps that are unparalleled anywhere in the world. Immigrants from different countries have started to find jobs in this country. Asians particularly those who come from India, Pakistan, and Iran have almost dominated the services sector in the country. It has been estimated that the UAE nationals have become a minority that does not exceed 10% of the total population of the country. This research has aimed to find out to what extent this new variety of language that has emerged could be referred to as Pidginized Arabic. It is based mainly on fieldwork, as there have been interviews with 100 people who represent the sample of the study. Thus, the study is descriptive and analytic by nature. The data of the interviews has been studied. It has been expected for this variety of Arabic to be affected by the UAE dialect, but it has been found out that there has been no significant influence on it. This research is restricted to the phonological aspect of Arabic. It has revealed that many Arabic sounds have been pronounced in a distorted way; some of them have been mispronounced; others are converted into many other alternatives. This has created the possibility of a state of misunderstanding to emerge.

Phonological Structure of the Babasan Language of Serang Banten, Indonesia

This research aims to describe the Bebasan language of Serang Banten, which is related to the phonological aspect in terms of its structure, namely the vowel aspect and the consonant aspect. Regarding data acquisition, researchers collected data using the interview method to obtain data. The interview method recognizes three ways, namely: (1) asking questions, (2) direct recording, (3) recording. Researchers conducted direct interviews with informants or respondents who met the criteria and took direct notes to obtain data. In the data analysis method, the distributional or collection method is used where the researcher analyzes the data using determining tools such as the language in question. This method is usually used to analyze language speech. Meanwhile, in presenting data, formal and informal methods are used. From the results of this research, it can be concluded that in the free language of Serang, there are phonemes in each word or sentence, which can be grouped into vowels and consonants.

The pronunciation constraints of syllable stress-coloration in Pakistani English

Pakistani English speakers struggle with pronunciation issues due to unfamiliarity with the morphological and phonological aspects of the English language. The challenging aspect of teaching English pronunciation in an ESL environment in Pakistan is pronunciation. The study looks at Pakistani ESL students' pronunciation problems and aims to pinpoint Pakistani English speakers’ pronunciation issues in an ESL setting. This is a descriptive study, and information from ten ESL students is acquired through recording. The study uses the PRAAT as a framework for data analysis and points to the syllable break and stress marking in PE. Based on L1, the speakers were chosen, and only Kashmiri speakers of Pakistani English were included. The study concludes that studying English helps ESL students speak effectively with people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, promoting intercultural understanding and fostering international collaboration. The lack of excitement, self-doubt, willingness, shyness, and language proficiency are the main causes of pronunciation problems. L1 also affects English pronunciation. According to the study, students’ L1 influences lead them to struggle with stress marking, syllabification, and transcription of English words. Additionally, epenthesis, the insertion of a short vowel at the beginning, and improper stress marking were prevalent issues.

الاحتجاج بالقرآن الكريم في علوم اللغة العربية

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. With His help, we seek assistance, and in Him, we put our trust. He is the Most Merciful of all. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, sent as a mercy to all worlds, and upon his family, companions, and spouse, with abundant salutations until the Day of Judgment. Every matter has a guiding principle, and similarly, every language has sources it relies upon and draws from. Undoubtedly, the most important sources of the Arabic language are the Quran, the Prophetic Hadiths, and the poetry and sayings of the Arabs. The use of the Quran as evidence holds significant importance, serving as a source from which all branches of Arabic studies have drawn, whether it be linguistic dictionaries, books of interpretation (Tafsir), grammar, rhetoric, literature, or other areas within the various sciences of Arabic. This is because the Quran is considered the primary source in all these fields. Linguists have used the Quran from two perspectives: As a source to validate the accuracy of a linguistic term, grammatical structure, or a specific dialect of the Arabic language. It is a crucial reference for determining the correctness of meanings related to the sciences of Arabic. Its benefit is vast, whether at the level of individual Quranic words or syntactic structures, even down to phonological aspects, where Quranic words act as guiding lights for the interpretation and clarification of many language terms. It helps in determining the meanings of numerous Arabic terms, as the Quran is rich in linguistic expressions. In the interpretation of the Quran itself, the primary approach to understanding the meaning of Quranic terms is through the interpretation of the Quran by the Quran.This study includes several key topics, such as the meaning and significance of using evidence, its sources, the importance of citing the Quran, Quranic readings, and how linguists have benefited from citing the Quran and its readings. It also discusses the difference between Quranic readings and the Quran as a whole, especially in terms of their use as evidence in the sciences of Arabic. With this, we ask for Allah's guidance. Our Lord, accept this from us Indeed, you are the Hearing, the Knowing. (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:127).

Acquisition of Mandarin tones by Canadian first graders: Effect of prior exposure to tonal and non-tonal languages.

This study examines the tone productions of school-aged children with and without a tonal language background who are learning Mandarin as a second language (L2) or heritage language in Mandarin-English bilingual schools in Western Canada. Tones are frequently identified as one of the most challenging aspects of phonology for Mandarin L2 learners to acquire. In this study, tone productions of bilingual children from three home language backgrounds, English, Cantonese, and Mandarin Chinese, were compared for transcribed accuracy using mixed effects logistic regression. In addition, the fundamental frequency contours of correct tone productions were fitted with generalized additive mixed models to analyse the acoustic differences between groups. Error patterns were also analysed for possible Cantonese substitutions. Our results suggest that children with a Cantonese background are more accurate in tone productions than children with an English language background, but they also made more errors than their peers with a Mandarin language background. These findings suggest that a tonal language background could result in positive transfer among school-age children who are in the early stages of learning Mandarin as an L2.

Phonological Construction of Indonesian Blends

Blends are formed by joining two clipped words into one. For example, in English, ‘breakfast’ and ‘lunch’ are joined to become ‘brunch’. While studies of blends usually focus on the morphological aspect, this study aims at describing the phonological aspects of blend formation, particularly the syllable formation of Indonesian blends. Moreover, the phonological constraints for blend formation are also investigated. The data were obtained from observing blending words used in daily conversations, as well as in media such as television and online news. To gather the data, the researcher asked each of her 20 students to find five samples of Indonesian blends. As a result, as many as 100 Indonesian blends were found. The data were then categorized based on their syllable structures and the phonological constraints for blend formation were analyzed using optimality theory. The results showed that blending words can be categorized into six types, which are (CVC+CVC), (CV+CVC), (CV+CVC), (V+CVC), (CV+CV), and (VC+CVC). For example, the second type (CV + CVC) ‘mager’ is formed from the first part of the first source word and the first part of the second source word as in ‘malas’ and ‘gerak’. Moreover, there are some possible constraints that make a new blend acceptable or unacceptable in Indonesian, such as the recognizability of blend from its source words and the semantic similarity of the blend with the already existing word. For example, the word ‘mantul’ is acceptable blend of mantap + betul, since ‘mantul’ already exists but it has different meaning. The results of this study imply that forming new words by blending the already existed words is still possible, but their acceptance or usage depend on the users’ familiarity with phonological knowledge.

Articulatory and phonological performance in people with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: A scoping review

Background: Markers of phonological and articulatory processing, though at times difficult to identify, may be useful for the assessment of changes in the speech of people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Objective: To review the evidence on phonological and articulatory speech processing in older adults with MCI and AD and identify the most sensitive speech assessment tasks for detecting impairments in these abilities. Methods: This scoping review of the PubMed, Scopus, Lilacs, Web of Science, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and Embase databases was updated in April 2024. Studies of older adults with MCI and AD that evaluated articulatory or phonological aspects of speech were included in the review. Two independent reviewers used EndNote and Rayyan software to evaluate search results in a two-phase process, consisting of (1) title and abstract screening, and (2) full-text review. Results: Of the 163 studies retrieved, 41 were selected in Phase 1. At the end of Phase 2, 29 studies were included in the review. All studies included individuals with AD and only one also included participants with MCI. Normal phonological and articulatory performance was observed in MCI. In AD, phonological or articulatory alterations were associated with the speech assessment method, sample size, and diagnosis of atypical dementia. Conclusions: Phonological and articulatory changes may occur in AD but may be difficult to identify. Single repetition or naming tasks may be more sensitive for detecting these impairments.