Phonological Features Research Articles

Development of Nggwaba Orthography: Syllabic, Phonemic and Tones Patterns

Nggwaba has been described as an Afro-asiatic language. Further classification situates it in the Chadic group precisely Biu-Mandara. The language is spoken in Gombi and Hong Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, North-east, Nigeria. It has been noticed that the language has largely been under-documented and under-investigated. The estimated number of people who speak the language is less than 1000. This paper presents the orthography and a preliminary analysis of a few aspects of the phonology of the language for the early primary education level. It became necessary to study, develop and document the orthography of Nggwaba language in order to prevent it from going into extinction. The study adopted a mixed-method sampling technique, cross-sectional design as well as a descriptive analysis. The paper is divided into three main sections. While the first section deals with background of the study, the second section looks at the literature review. The third section focuses on the methodology through which the study was carried out, and the fourth section discusses the framework, and finally the fifth section focuses on the result of the study. This is the first description of the phonological features of Nggwaba language. The by-product of this study has added knowledge to literature especially the area of areal linguistics.

Linguistic Insights from a Bilingual Letter: The Malati Dialect of Zoroastrian Dari in Yazd

Abstract This article presents a comprehensive analysis of a rare written example of Zoroastrian Dari (Behdini), a traditionally spoken language, featured in a bilingual letter composed in the Perso-Arabic script. The linguistic evidence indicates that the dialect of this letter is the Malati dialect of Zoroastrian Dari, primarily spoken in the Priests’ quarter of Yazd. The article provides a detailed examination of the phonological, morphological, and syntactic features. Furthermore, it explores the challenges of using the Perso-Arabic script to capture the phonetic nuances of Zoroastrian Dari and analyses the adaptations made by the writer to overcome these obstacles. Through a combined historical and linguistic approach, the article offers valuable insights into the language contact and script practices in Zoroastrian communities. This research contributes to the broader understanding of endangered languages and the complexities of multilingualism in written texts.

Second Language Sentence Stress Assignment: Self‐ and Other‐Assessment

AbstractResearch on second language (L2) pronunciation self‐assessment reports a general misalignment between self‐ and other‐assessment. This has been attributed to the object of self‐assessment, the self‐assessment task, the measures to which self‐assessment is compared, and speakers’ characteristics. Here, we examined self‐assessment of a discrete phonological feature—sentence stress—by L2 English speakers as compared to the assessment of first language English listeners through a timed, forced‐choice judgment task with low‐pass filtered stimuli, which contained only suprasegmental cues. Additionally, we explored how individual differences among speakers predict self‐assessment. Speakers generally overestimated their accuracy in sentence stress assignment in a pattern resembling the Dunning‐Kruger effect despite the controlled nature of the task. Speakers with larger vocabulary size judged their sentence stress assignment as correct more often and showed greater overconfidence and miscalibration. Finally, the assessments of speakers with a background in applied linguistics and/or language teaching were more aligned with listeners’ assessments.

PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF LANGUAGE PRODUCTION IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

The paper presents an analysis of the phonological features of preschool children. The article aims to find patterns of typical and atypical errors. A method was created to conduct the study, which includes three levels of research - at the level of words, sentence repetition, and generating one's speech by picture (spontaneous speech). The results show that children's most common phonological errors are as follows: sound substitution, elision of sound, metathesis of sound, elision of syllable, and deletion of consonants clustered in a syllable. The data obtained from the noun generation task was informative enough about the phonological development of the children being studied. The repeated speech task was accessible for the children and of little value in analyzing the phonological processes. The sentence generation task provides sufficient information about sentence structure, prosody, rate, and force of speech. The test serves a diagnostic and therapeutic purpose. The diagnostic analysis is clear and informative enough to create a therapeutic program based on the examination results. Subsequently, it could be applied for re-testing to measure the progress in the child's output. In addition, the average time children take to administer the whole test is less than 18 minutes, which is an additional positive aspect of the test. The ultimate goal is to standardize this test to assist clinicians in establishing norms by examining Bulgarian-speaking children and assessing their phonological development.

Subdivisions of Faifi Arabic: a perceptual dialectology approach

This paper investigates the perspectives held by native speakers of Faifi Arabic concerning the categorization of Faifi Arabic subdialects. Through the utilization of perceptual dialectology research techniques, participants engaged in two distinct tasks. The first task entailed the grouping of phonological features to articulate their perceived classification of dialects. Subsequently, they were tasked with pinpointing on a map the locations where the resulting feature groups were believed to be spoken. The outcomes of the study reveal that respondents identified four distinct subdialects within the mountainous areas, demarcated by clearly defined boundaries. These subdialect divisions appear to be correlated with the tribal divisions present within the region. This research highlights the necessity for further investigation into the perceptions that Arabic speakers uphold in relation to their own dialects, as well as to the dialects of other tribal communities within the Arabic-speaking context.

Elevating Students’ Oral and Written Language: Empowering African American Students Through Language

A consistent pattern emerges where African American students’ scores lag behind their counterparts on both national and state literacy assessments. One possible explanation is rooted in the fact that approximately 80% of African American students speak African American English, which differs from the General American English, the language expected to be used within educational settings. African American English encompasses distinct phonological and grammatical (morphosyntactic) features compared to General American English. This paper aims to delineate the differences between these two languages, review research on African American English, and explore the prevalence of bidialectal or multidialectal abilities among African American students. Additionally, it will address research indicating that many teachers and teacher educators lack awareness of African American English, leading to a deficit-oriented perspective that views African American English as a linguistic deficiency rather than a linguistic difference.

Spatiotemporal mapping of auditory onsets during speech production.

The human auditory cortex is organized according to the timing and spectral characteristics of speech sounds during speech perception. During listening, the posterior superior temporal gyrus is organized according to onset responses, which segment acoustic boundaries in speech, and sustained responses, which further process phonological content. When we speak, the auditory system is actively processing the sound of our own voice to detect and correct speech errors in real time. This manifests in neural recordings as suppression of auditory responses during speech production compared to perception, but whether this differentially affects onset and sustained temporal profiles is not known. Here we investigated this question using intracranial EEG recorded from seventeen pediatric, adolescent, and adult patients with medication-resistant epilepsy while they performed a reading/listening task. We identified onset and sustained responses to speech in bilateral auditory cortex and observed a selective suppression of onset responses during speech production. We conclude that onset responses provide a temporal landmark during speech perception that is redundant with forward prediction during speech production and are therefore suppressed. Phonological feature tuning in these "onset suppression" electrodes remained stable between perception and production. Notably, auditory onset responses and phonological feature tuning were present in the posterior insula during both speech perception and production, suggesting an anatomically and functionally separate auditory processing zone that we believe to be involved in multisensory integration during speech perception and feedback control.Significance Statement Specific neural populations in the auditory cortex preferentially respond to the onset of speech sounds. These "onset responses" aid in perceiving boundaries in continuous speech. We recorded neural responses from patients with intracranial electrodes during a speaking and listening task to investigate the role of onset responses in speech production. Onset responses were present in the auditory cortex during listening, but absent during speaking. On the other hand, onset responses were observed in the insula during both conditions, suggesting a different functional role for the insula in auditory feedback processing. These findings extend our knowledge of how different parts of the brain involved in feedback control operate during speech production by identifying two functionally and anatomically distinct patterns of activity.

Phonological contrast and feature inventories in sign language

Phonological contrast and feature inventories in sign language

Linguistics variation: A case study of Oka - Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria

The analysis reveals distinct phonological features, such as unique vowel harmony patterns and consonant clusters, that differentiate Ọ̀kà dialects from each other. Syntactic analysis uncovers differences in sentence structure, particularly in verb placement and the use of tense and aspect markers. Lexical comparisons highlight numerous unique terms and expressions in Ọ̀kà, reflecting cultural and environmental influences. This research contributes to the documentation and preservation of the Ọ̀kà dialect, providing insights into the dynamic nature of language and its role in cultural identity. The findings underscore the importance of linguistic diversity and support efforts to promote and sustain minority dialects within larger linguistic communities. It is based on an analysis of phonological and morphophonological features as vowel harmonies and consonant clusters found specifically in both Ọ̀kà dialects and standard Yorùba. Lexical comparisons reveal many hapaxes in Ọ̀kà that illustrate cultural and environmental associations. The study also unpacks sociolinguistic dimensions that shape these variations. This research contributes to the documentation and preservation of the Ọ̀kà dialect, providing insights into the dynamic nature of language and its role in cultural identity. The findings underscore the importance of linguistic diversity and support efforts to promote and sustain minority dialects within larger linguistic communities.

From Sound to Meaning: Navigating Wernicke's Area in Language Processing.

Wernicke's area, a critical brain region associated with language comprehension, was first identified by Carl Wernicke in the late 19th century. Situated in the left hemisphere's posterior superior temporal gyrus, this area is essential for processing auditory and visual language inputs. It integrates semantic and syntactic information, playing a key role in meaningful communication. The development of Wernicke's area during infancy and childhood is marked by rapid growth and refinement influenced by early language exposure and environmental stimuli. Neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize and adapt, is crucial for recovery from language impairments such as Wernicke's aphasia. This capacity for reorganization includes synaptic plasticity and axonal sprouting, which facilitate recovery through targeted rehabilitation and enriched environments. Recent research utilizing advanced neuroimaging and neuroanatomical tracing techniques has elucidated the connectivity of Wernicke's area with other language-related regions, such as Broca's area. Functional studies have revealed its specialized roles in processing different aspects of language, including phonological, semantic, and syntactic features. Moreover, investigations into language disorders and potential therapeutic interventions underscore the importance of harnessing neuroplasticity for effective treatment. Emerging technologies, such as non-invasive brain stimulation and multimodal imaging, offer promising avenues for further exploration of Wernicke's area and its role in language functions. These innovations hold the potential to enhance our understanding of language processing and improve therapeutic strategies for language impairments. In conclusion, Wernicke's area is central to language comprehension, and genetic and environmental factors influence its development. Understanding neuroplasticity and leveraging advanced research technologies can significantly advance our ability to address language-related disorders and enhance patient outcomes.

Lenition in L2 Spanish: The Impact of Study Abroad on Phonological Acquisition.

Objective: This study investigated the degrees of lenition, or consonantal weakening, in the production of Spanish stop consonants by native English speakers during a study abroad (SA) program. Lenition is a key phonological process in Spanish, where voiced stops (/b/, /d/, /ɡ/) typically weaken to fricatives or approximants in specific phonetic environments. For L2 learners, mastering this subtle process is essential for achieving native-like pronunciation. Methods: To assess the learners' progress in acquiring lenition, we employed Phonet, a deep learning model. Unlike traditional quantitative acoustic methods that focus on measuring the physical properties of speech sounds, Phonet utilizes recurrent neural networks to predict the posterior probabilities of phonological features, particularly sonorant and continuant characteristics, which are central to the lenition process. Results: The results indicated that while learners showed progress in producing the fricative-like variants of lenition during the SA program and understood how to produce lenition in appropriate contexts, the retention of these phonological gains was not sustained after their return. Additionally, unlike native speakers, the learners never fully achieved the approximant-like realization of lenition. Conclusions: These findings underscore the need for sustained exposure and practice beyond the SA experience to ensure the long-term retention of L2 phonological patterns. While SA programs offer valuable opportunities for enhancing L2 pronunciation, they should be supplemented with ongoing support to consolidate and extend the gains achieved during the immersive experience.

Semantic Shift and Phonological Features of Words Borrowed from Kurdish to Turkish

This study examines the semantic shift and phonological features of words borrowed from Kurdish into Turkish. It highlights the interactions between languages throughout history, which have led to shifts in the meanings of words. The research focuses on how certain Kurdish words that carried neutral or positive meanings have acquired negative or derogatory meanings in Turkish. The socio-cultural interactions and historical events that influenced this shift are analyzed, supported by examples of morphological, phonetic, and semantic changes. For instance, the Kurdish word "avare," which originally means homeless, is used in Turkish to mean jobless. The study aims to provide a systematic analysis of the semantic shifts of these words within the framework of etymology and linguistic interaction, contributing to a deeper understanding of the interactions between the two languages. The findings shed light on the social and cultural dimensions of language, offering insights into the evolution of language. In conclusion, the negative semantic shift of Kurdish words in Turkish reflects the dynamic nature of language and the influence of social perceptions.

Maintenance of Lexical Pitch Accent in Heritage Lithuanian: A Study of Perception and Production

This study investigates how the unique circumstances of heritage language acquisition impact prosody, an understudied aspect of heritage speech. I examine the perception and production of lexical pitch accent by two generations of heritage Lithuanian speakers in Chicago (n = 13), with a qualitative comparison to one normative native speaker also living in Chicago. The speakers participated in the following: (1) a perception task requiring them to identify meaning distinctions between pairs of words that differ only by accent; and (2) a production task in which they produced sentences containing nine nominal declensions, where pitch accent plays a morphological role. In task (1), speakers across the board were not able to identify meaning distinctions in accent-based minimal pairs, irrespective of their frequency, and were more accurate at perceiving pairs that differed on the basis of segmental phonological features. However, HSs with more education perceived more accent-based distinctions, as did HSs who were more engaged in the Chicago community. Older HSs maintained more distinctions than either the NS or the younger HSs, which suggests a change in progress in the language or the Chicago Lithuanian community. In task (2), none of the speakers consistently used pitch to signal word-level prominence. Instead, all speakers relied on changes in duration and vowel quality to signal word-level prominence, suggesting that, for these speakers, there has been a shift to a stress-accent system. The older HSs was also patterned more like the NS in their retention of the expected stress in the nominal declensions. Dialect was also determined to play a role in the retention of standard accent patterns in both perception and production.

Ethnic integration and evolution of the phonological features of Northern Standard Chinese Language

ABSTRACT: Ethnic integration is often accompanied by language contact and language shift. The process of "ethnic integration" is the process of "remolding" northern standard Chinese language into an inter-ethnic language and ultimately into a common national language. Only by reevaluating the phonological rules and structure of the languages (mainly Altaic) of northern non-Han ethnic groups and investigating the interference with and influence on Chinese during the language shift by the non-Han ethnic groups, can we comprehend that the common national language is a language community jointly shaped by the Han people and other ethnic groups during ethnic integration. The speakers of ethnic languages are, therefore, not only the transmitters but also the co-modelers in forming the common national language. 摘要: 民族融合往往伴随着语言接触和语言转换。"民族融合"的过程就是 将北方标准汉语"重塑"为族际共同语进而成为民族共同语的过程。 只有基于以阿尔泰语为主的北方诸民族语音系规则和音韵结构特征重 新思考并深入研究以阿尔泰为主的北方诸民族在转用汉语过程中对汉 语形成的干扰和影响，才能理解民族共同语是在民族融合过程中汉族 与其他民族共同塑造的语言共同体。在民族共同语形成的过程中，民 族语者不仅是民族共同语的传播者，也是民族共同语的共同塑造者。

The Influence of L1 Phonological Features on the Perception of Voicing-conditioned Vowel Length Differences in English by Mongolian Learners of English

The Influence of L1 Phonological Features on the Perception of Voicing-conditioned Vowel Length Differences in English by Mongolian Learners of English

Cross-Linguistic and Multicultural Considerations in Evaluating Bilingual Adults With Aphasia.

The current study delineated a clinical and theoretical framework that clinicians and researchers can use to guide the assessment of bilingual aphasia at morphosyntactic, lexical-semantic, and phonological levels of language processing. This tutorial outlines cross-linguistic and multicultural considerations that should be addressed in evaluating bilingual adults with aphasia (BWAs). At the morphosyntactic level, we presented three features that should be taken into account when evaluating linguistic symptoms in languages considering whether they are typologically similar or dissimilar: word order, pro(noun)-drop, and morphological inflections of verbs. We suggest that clinicians need to conduct additional error analyses that reflect typological differences in syntactic templates, argument-deletion phenomena, and morphological inflections to better understand linguistic characteristics of impairments arising from the interactions of the two languages that may differ in many ways. At the lexical-semantic level, we addressed three cross-linguistic features that may impact naming performance in BWAs: cognates, lexical frequency, and semantic typicality. The presence of cognates between the two languages can lead to differential interpretations of naming performance. In addition, the same lexical items may exhibit varying lexical frequency and typicality across languages due to cultural and linguistic differences. We suggest that clinicians should thoroughly prepare the testing items considering the linguistic distance. Finally, we emphasized differences in segmental and suprasegmental features of phonology that could contribute to cross-linguistic phenomena during assessment of two or more languages. This cross-linguistic assessment framework contributes to a better understanding of linguistic impairments and communication difficulties experienced by BWAs. This framework can be utilized in current clinical practice to facilitate culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment and treatment approaches for BWAs.

Phonological Development in 3-6-Year-Old Mandarin-Speaking Children with Autism, Developmental Delays, and Typical Development.

Research on the phonological development of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has not yet reached consistent conclusions, and systematic studies from different language groups are needed. This study aimed to systematically investigate the characteristics of phonological development in 3-6year-old Mandarin-speaking children with ASD. We analyzed 10min speech samples from 21 children with ASD, 18 development level-matched children with developmental disorders (DD), and 15 chronological age-matched typically developing (TD) children during semi-structured parent-child free play based on Mandarin phonological features. The children with ASD had a significantly smaller inventory than those with TD on the initial and final inventories. The children with ASD had only a significantly smaller initial inventory than those with DD in Phases 2 and 4. Compared with TD children, children with ASD used a higher proportion of V1 and V1V2C and a smaller proportion of V1V2V3, CV1C, and CV1V2C. No significant differences existed between ASD and DD children in the proportion of any syllable structure, but V1V2V3, CV1, and CV1V2C numbers were significantly fewer than in DD children. Children with ASD were significantly greater than children with TD in the diversity of V1V2, CV1, and overall syllables. ASD children had significantly fewer different types of syllables in both V1V2C and CV1 than did DD children and significantly greater diversity in CV1 and overall syllables than did DD children. These preliminary data suggest that the gap between TD and ASD children's language abilities increased with age, and this gap was reflected in initial, final, and syllable complexity and diversity. Children with DD and ASD showed similar language abilities, and children with DD showed detailed differences from those with ASD regarding initial, syllable complexity and diversity.

An ERP investigation of perceptual vs motoric iconicity in sign production

The type of form-meaning mapping for iconic signs can vary. For perceptually-iconic signs there is a correspondence between visual features of a referent (e.g., the beak of a bird) and the form of the sign (e.g., extended thumb and index finger at the mouth for the American Sign Language (ASL) sign BIRD). For motorically-iconic signs there is a correspondence between how an object is held/manipulated and the form of the sign (e.g., the ASL sign FLUTE depicts how a flute is played). Previous studies have found that iconic signs are retrieved faster in picture-naming tasks, but type of iconicity has not been manipulated. We conducted an ERP study in which deaf signers and a control group of English speakers named pictures that targeted perceptually-iconic, motorically-iconic, or non-iconic ASL signs. For signers (unlike the control group), naming latencies varied by iconicity type: perceptually-iconic < motorically-iconic < non-iconic signs. A reduction in the N400 amplitude was only found for the perceptually-iconic signs, compared to both non-iconic and motorically-iconic signs. No modulations of N400 amplitudes were observed for the control group. We suggest that this pattern of results arises because pictures eliciting perceptually-iconic signs can more effectively prime lexical access due to greater alignment between features of the picture and the semantic and phonological features of the sign. We speculate that naming latencies are facilitated for motorically-iconic signs due to later processes (e.g., faster phonological encoding via cascading activation from semantic features). Overall, the results indicate that type of iconicity plays role in sign production when elicited by picture-naming tasks.

Evaluating the consistency of lenition measures: Neural networks' posterior probability, intensity velocity, and duration.

Predictions of gradient degree of lenition of voiceless and voiced stops in a corpus of Argentine Spanish are evaluated using three acoustic measures (minimum and maximum intensity velocity and duration) and two recurrent neural network (Phonet) measures (posterior probabilities of sonorant and continuant phonological features). While mixed and inconsistent predictions were obtained across the acoustic metrics, sonorant and continuant probability values were consistently in the direction predicted by known factors of a stop's lenition with respect to its voicing, place of articulation, and surrounding contexts. The results suggest the effectiveness of Phonet as an additional or alternative method of lenition measurement. Furthermore, this study has enhanced the accessibility of Phonet by releasing the trained Spanish Phonet model used in this study and a pipeline with step-by-step instructions for training and inferencing new models.

Phonetic Transfer of Teochew Dialect to English Pronunciation Acquisition

The transfer of phonological features in the first language to second language pronunciation during the process of second language acquisition has long been attested. A great majority of studies analyze the negative transfer from Chinese to English, yet few focus on Chinese dialects transfer to English. This paper aims to summarize the previous studies on Teochew phonological transfer to English acquisition, including consonant transfer, vowel transfer, and tonal transfer. Under the framework of Language Transfer Theory and Contrastive Analysis Hypotheses, research gaps and possible research directions for future studies will be put forward. This paper shows that phonetic transfer occurs in Teochew-speaking groups learning English, influenced by the dialects consonants, vowels and likely tones. Further research should explore transfer causes across different age groups and test classroom phonetic correction methods for Teochew-speaking English learners.