Phonological Processing Research Articles

Literature Review on Psycholinguistic Processes in Reading Comprehension Mechanisms in Individuals with Language Disorders

This literature review investigates the psycholinguistic processes in reading comprehensionmechanisms in individuals with language impairment. Reading comprehension is an important aspect oflanguage development, yet individuals with language impairment often experience difficulties in understandingwritten text. Reading comprehension involves various psycholinguistic processes, including phonological,syntactic, semantic and pragmatic processing. Language impairment conditions such as dyslexia, languagedevelopment disorders and reading comprehension disorders often affect these mechanisms. Phonologicalprocessing is key in reading comprehension mechanisms, and individuals with language impairments often havedifficulty in recognising and decoding words. In addition, syntactic aspects play an important role inunderstanding sentence structure and the relationship between sentence elements. Reading comprehensiondisorders are often associated with difficulties in understanding semantic relationships, recognising wordmeanings and applying semantic knowledge in reading contexts. In addition, pragmatic factors are alsoimportant in comprehending text, including understanding context and communicative purpose. Individuals withlanguage impairment may have difficulty in picking up pragmatic nuances and applying them in readingcomprehension. This literature review presents an in-depth understanding of the relationship betweenpsycholinguistic processes and reading comprehension mechanisms in individuals with language impairment.The clinical implications of this study may aid the development of more effective intervention strategies toimprove reading comprehension in this population. With a better understanding of the factors that influencereading comprehension, health and education practitioners can design specific and targeted interventionprogrammes to improve reading ability in individuals with language impairment.

Assessing students with dyslexia and other reading difficulties through multiple diagnostic assessments.

This article aims to assist practitioners in understanding dyslexia and other reading difficulties and assessing students' learning needs. We describe the essential components of language and literacy, universal screening, diagnostic assessments, curriculum-based measurement and eligibility determination. We then introduce four diagnostic assessments as examples, including norm-referenced assessments (i.e. the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing second edition and the Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement) and criterion-referenced assessments (i.e. the Gallistel-Ellis Test of Coding Skills and the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills). Finally, We use a makeup case as a concrete example to illustrate how multiple diagnostic assessments are recorded and how the results can be used to inform intervention and eligibility for special education services.

Effects of Time Interval and Interference Manipulations on Word-Level Repetition and Naming Performance in Persons with Aphasia

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact on the repetition and naming ability of Korean aphasia patients by controlling their working memory load through time intervals and interference effects using the Temple Assessment of Language and verbal Short-term memory in Aphasia (TALSA) protocol. In addition, we examined the phonological and lexical-meaning processing abilities of persons with aphasia through word repetition tasks, nonword repetition tasks, and picture naming tasks to examine phonological and lexical-meaning production abilities. Methods: Thirteen native Korean speakers with aphasia participated in the study, along with twelve control group participants. The word and nonword repetition tasks were conducted under three conditions to examine the time delay and interference effects. Each condition entailed listening to each ten words of two and three syllables. Similarly, the picture naming tasks were carried out under three conditions involving viewing ten pictures of two and three syllables each. Results: This study examined how the repetition and naming ability of persons with aphasia, i.e., the ability to producing phonemes and lexical-meaning of persons with aphasia, varies when adjusting the working memory load under time interval and interference effect conditions. This study found that the difference in performance between groups was significant for both tasks. In particular, the larger the time interval, the greater the interference effect; that is, the greater the load of working memory, the lower the performance of aphasia subjects compared to the control group. Conclusion: Since the aphasia subjects have poor working memory ability, the results of this study indicate that as the cognitive load increases, they are more affected by the ability to process phonological and semantic activations.

Examining the developmental trade-off between phonology and morphology in Hebrew reading acquisition

AbstractThe relative importance of phonological versus morphological processes in reading varies depending on the writing system's orthographic consistency and morphological complexity. This study investigated the interplay between phonology and morphology in Hebrew reading acquisition, a language offering a unique opportunity for such examination with its rich, complex Semitic morphological system and dual writing versions differing in orthographic consistency—transparent-pointed and deep-unpointed versions. Ninety-eight second graders and 81 fourth graders participated in pseudoword-reading tasks designed to distinguish between the different processes: pointed morphologically based pseudowords (pointed MPW), reflecting phonological and morphological processing; unpointed morphologically based pseudowords (unpointed MPW), reflecting only morphological processing; and pointed non-words (pointed NW), with no internal morphological structure, reflecting only phonological processing. Real pointed-word reading accuracy and fluency were also assessed. Results showed the highest accuracy in reading unpointed MPW, with a similar accuracy level observed between unpointed MPW and pointed MPW in second grade, while a significant difference emerged in fourth grade. An age-by-processing type interaction revealed decreasing accuracy in pointed MPW and increasing accuracy in unpointed MPW with age. Additionally, morphological processing significantly enhanced the accuracy and fluency of reading pointed words beyond phonological processing, despite the comprehensive phonological information provided by the transparent, pointed script. These findings suggest that the contribution of morphology exceeds that of phonology as early as second grade, with this trend strengthening through fourth grade, emphasizing children's early prioritization of morphological transparency over orthographic consistency in learning to read Hebrew Semitic orthography.

Lexical Morphology as a Source of Risk and Resilience for Learning to Read With Dyslexia: An fNIRS Investigation.

We examined the neurocognitive bases of lexical morphology in children of varied reading abilities to understand the role of meaning-based skills in learning to read with dyslexia. Children completed auditory morphological and phonological awareness tasks during functional near-infrared spectroscopy neuroimaging. We first examined the relation between lexical morphology and phonological processes in typically developing readers (Study 1, N = 66, Mage = 8.39), followed by a more focal inquiry into lexical morphology processes in dyslexia (Study 2, N = 50, Mage = 8.62). Typical readers exhibited stronger engagement of language neurocircuitry during the morphology task relative to the phonology task, suggesting that morphological analyses involve synthesizing multiple components of sublexical processing. This effect was stronger for more analytically complex derivational affixes (like + ly) than more semantically transparent free base morphemes (snow + man). In contrast, children with dyslexia exhibited stronger activation during the free base condition relative to derivational affix condition. Taken together, the findings suggest that although children with dyslexia may struggle with derivational morphology, they may also use free base morphemes' semantic information to boost word recognition. This study informs literacy theories by identifying an interaction between reading ability, word structure, and how the developing brain learns to recognize words in speech and print. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25944949.

Exploring the Variation of Third Tone Sandhi in Native Chinese Mandarin: An Acoustic Analysis

Tone is one of the most prominent, distinctive, and significant properties of the Chinese language. In the realm of tone sandhi, one of the most interesting phenomena is the Tone 3 sandhi (T3). T3 sandhi is one of the rules in the phonological change, a low T3 syllable inevitably changes to a rising tone (T2) when it is followed by another T3 syllable. This study aims to investigate the underlying mechanism of the third tone (T3) sandhi in Mandarin Chinese, comparing the acoustic features in both real words and pseudowords. The current study employed a qualitative descriptive method and PRAAT6310 acoustic analysis software. The findings of the study demonstrated that T3 sandhi in real words of the Chinese language resembles pseudowords and is likely computed naturally in a phonological cognition process. This research provides an important reference value for research in the fields of tonal variation in Chinese language and language acquisition.

Metalinguistic Effects on English Spelling: A Structural Equation Model for Early Literacy Instruction

English word spelling attempts originate from spellers’ linguistic and metalinguistic processing. Our study examines the concerted impact of English metalinguistic skills- morphological, phonological, and orthographic processing- on English-as-a-foreign language spelling of a group of young English learners. Structural equation modeling confirmed a three-factor confirmatory factor model, validating phonological awareness on spelling with highest factor loading with degrees of morphology and orthography contribution to spelling. The qualitative spelling analyses also validated phonologically-oriented spelling errors as the most pervasive followed by unique contribution of orthography and morphology. Results, converging with existing literature, emphasize the metalinguistic skills impacts on early EFL literacy development.

Impact of ASL Exposure on Spoken Phonemic Discrimination in Adult CI Users: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

Abstract We examined the impact of exposure to a signed language (American Sign Language, or ASL) at different ages on the neural systems that support spoken language phonemic discrimination in deaf individuals with cochlear implants (CIs). Deaf CI users (N = 18, age = 18–24 yrs) who were exposed to a signed language at different ages and hearing individuals (N = 18, age = 18–21 yrs) completed a phonemic discrimination task in a spoken native (English) and non-native (Hindi) language while undergoing functional near-infrared spectroscopy neuroimaging. Behaviorally, deaf CI users who received a CI early versus later in life showed better English phonemic discrimination, albeit phonemic discrimination was poor relative to hearing individuals. Importantly, the age of exposure to ASL was not related to phonemic discrimination. Neurally, early-life language exposure, irrespective of modality, was associated with greater neural activation of left-hemisphere language areas critically involved in phonological processing during the phonemic discrimination task in deaf CI users. In particular, early exposure to ASL was associated with increased activation in the left hemisphere’s classic language regions for native versus non-native language phonemic contrasts for deaf CI users who received a CI later in life. For deaf CI users who received a CI early in life, the age of exposure to ASL was not related to neural activation during phonemic discrimination. Together, the findings suggest that early signed language exposure does not negatively impact spoken language processing in deaf CI users, but may instead potentially offset the negative effects of language deprivation that deaf children without any signed language exposure experience prior to implantation. This empirical evidence aligns with and lends support to recent perspectives regarding the impact of ASL exposure in the context of CI usage.

Use Of Language Variations On Tiktok Social Media In Generation Z

This article reviews how the use of Indonesian language in TikTok social media through several accounts of young people in generation Z. Where this tiktok media is used as a means to display his identity as a slang young person in social media with the use of language variations that are sociolect language variations. This study aims to determine the use of language used by generation Z young people in every upload of TikTok video posts, captions used and comments made by netizens. This research uses a method with a type of literature study research which is then used for data collection. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the analysis of the use of language variations on TikTok social media of generation Z young people found several language variations such as acrolec variations, vulgarity, slang, colloquial, jargon, and ken in several posts, captions and in the comment column. Caused by two factors, namely internal factors and external factors. In internal factors, language variation is formed through phonological and morphological processes. The external factors behind the use of language variations are informal or informal speech situations, the age of TikTok users who are still dominated by teenagers, the goals to be achieved by speakers, and differences in education and work levels.

Improving word reading skills of low‐skilled readers: An intervention combining a syllable‐based approach with digital game‐based features

AbstractBackgroundChildren with low reading skills are less frequently engaged in reading activities and therefore the likelihood of improving their reading skills decreases. Digital game‐based interventions have emerged as a promising tool for promoting reading development in children, particularly those with reading difficulties. As syllable‐based reading interventions are likely to increase word reading skills in low‐skilled readers, we developed a new reading intervention application that emphasizes syllable segmentation and integrates proven elements of digital game‐based learning. The intervention aimed to promote phonological recoding and consolidating orthographic representation of syllables.ObjectivesThe present study investigated the effects of the newly developed syllable‐based reading intervention application on general word recognition skills, phonological recoding processes, orthographic decoding processes and text‐level reading comprehension skills in German second graders.MethodsIn a quasi‐experimental design, children with low word recognition skills were randomly assigned to a treatment group (n = 66) or a wait‐list group (n = 66). General word recognition skills, phonological recoding processes, orthographic decoding processes and text‐level reading comprehension were measured with standardized German reading tests before and after the treatment group received the digital reading intervention for 20 sessions.ResultsResults indicated that the children in the treatment group showed significant improvement in general word recognition and in phonological recoding processes compared to equally low‐skilled untreated children in the wait‐list group. Orthographic decoding processes improved only in children with less severe impairments, whereas no significant improvements were found in text‐level reading comprehension.Take AwaysThe digital reading intervention is a promising approach for supporting word reading in low‐skilled reading second graders and can serve as an effective intervention tool for this target group.

Shared and task-specific brain functional differences across multiple tasks in children with developmental dyslexia

Different tasks have been used in examining the neural functional differences associated with developmental dyslexia (DD), and consequently, different findings have been reported. However, very few studies have systematically compared multiple tasks in understanding what specific task differences each brain region is associated with. In this study, we employed an auditory rhyming task, a visual rhyming task, and a visual spelling task, in order to investigate shared and task-specific neural differences in Chinese children with DD. First, we found that children with DD had reduced activation in the opercular part of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) only in the two rhyming tasks, suggesting impaired phonological analysis. Children with DD showed functional differences in the right lingual gyrus/inferior occipital gyrus only in the two visual tasks, suggesting deficiency in their visuo-orthographic processing. Moreover, children with DD showed reduced activation in the left dorsal inferior frontal gyrus and increased activation in the right precentral gyrus across all of the three tasks, suggesting neural signatures of DD in Chinese. In summary, our study successfully separated brain regions associated with differences in orthographic processing, phonological processing, and general lexical processing in DD. It advances our understanding about the neural mechanisms of DD.

The Role of Prosody and Intonation in English Phonology: Implications for Speech Perception and Production

The role of prosody and intonation in English phonology has significant implications for speech perception and production. These phonological processes influence how words are understood and articulated in English. Recent studies have shown that prosody and intonation play a crucial role in verbal communication. This article aims to investigate the importance of prosody and intonation in understanding and producing speech in English language learning intonation refers to the melodic pattern in speech that can change the meaning of a sentence. It is often used to convey emotions or to emphasize a message. On the other hand, prosody encompasses the patterns of pitch, stress, and duration in speech that impact word articulation and comprehension. Both work together to create accurate articulation and understanding of words in English this linguistic study underscores the importance of prosody and intonation in English language learning and elucidates how these two aspects influence speech perception and production. With a deep understanding of prosody and intonation, learners can enhance their ability to communicate in English more effectively and accurately.

Phonological learning is asymmetrical between prefixes and suffixes

Phonological theories typically treat prefixes and suffixes as if phonological processes apply uniformly to both. However, previous studies have found clear asymmetries between the behavior of both affixes. We argue that this is due to phonological processes being easier to learn in suffix position rather than prefix position. To test this, an artificial language learning task was used to evaluate whether phonological learning is symmetrical between affixes. Results pattern in the direction of the hypothesis, namely, that phonological learning is asymmetrically facilitated in suffix position over prefix position, providing support to general cognitive mechanisms being responsible for strong cross-linguistic tendencies.

Appraising Linguistic and Reading Impairments in Kannada-Speaking Persons With Central Alexia.

Alexia is an acquired condition resulting in impaired abilities to comprehend and/or read aloud written scripts secondary to lesions in the brain involved in reading processes. Just as how linguistic aspects are multi-faceted in persons with aphasia (PWAs), the reading impairments also vary extensively across each PWA depending on the type and nature of the language deficits. Each language has its unique linguistic properties. Whether the impairment is in the spoken form or written form, the dissociations in both aspects across the linguistic distinctions are paramount. Given the diverse orthographic features of Kannada, alongside inquiries into the impairment in oral language skills among individuals with acquired reading difficulties, the study emphasizes distinguishing the concurrent language processes associated with reading impairment. The study aimed to explore the relationship between spoken language and reading abilities in Kannada-speaking post-stroke survivors with acquired alexia. The study recruited 15 Kannada-speaking adults with complaints of reading impairment post-ictus through convenient sampling. The enrolled participants included both males and females with a mean age of 42.2 years (SD=15.58; range=20-68) with 16 years of formal education. The study performed three primary investigations; a) linguistic, b) oral reading, and c) reading comprehension. Linguistic tasks entailed semantics, syntax, and phonological tasks. Oral reading entailed real word and non-word reading tasks. Reading comprehension tasks entailed single-word level, sentence-level, and paragraph-level tasks. Results of overall domain performance across linguistics, oral reading, and reading comprehension revealed superior performance in linguistics (M=71.77, SD=19.18) followed by reading comprehension (M=70.55, SD=24.10) and oral reading (M=41.55, SD=24.66), which was significant (p<0.05). Performance in phonology was weakest (M=58.06, SD=12.44) compared to syntax (M=71.13) and semantics (M=85.33) on comparing PWAs' abilities within the linguistic domain. Reading abilities were compared across oral reading and reading comprehension, which significantly varied (p<0.05), and reading comprehension abilities were superior (M=72.65, SD=24.10). Task-specific variabilities were significant (p<0.05) in both oral reading and reading comprehension, wherein, real word reading (M=58.22) and comprehension at a single level (M=80.22) were better performed. Results of correlation analysis revealed semantics (r=0.494, p<0.05) and phonology (r=0.428, p>0.05) were highly positively correlated to oral reading abilities. Syntax (r=0.412, p>0.05), and semantics (r=0.377, p>0.05) were strongly positively correlated to reading comprehension abilities. The study has convincingly shown that performance on reading-related tasks reflects the functionality of central semantic, phonological, and syntactic processing elements. The literate adults routinely interact with both spoken and written language and a comprehensive assessment framework of language processing must encompass both modalities (linguistic and reading) for individuals with alexia, specific to Indian languages. Owing to the transparent writing system of the Kannada language, a multimodal phonological and lexical-based reading treatment may prove to be beneficial in remediating reading impairments among adult post-stroke survivors.

Language and reading in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder+developmental language disorder.

The current study sought to examine whether psycholinguistic assessments could discriminate children and adolescents with developmental language disorder (DLD) from those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; combined or inattentive subtype) and comorbid DLD+ADHD. The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Screening Test (CELFST; Wiig etal., 2013), the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (nonword repetition subtest; Wagner etal., 2013), and the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (sight word and phonemic decoding subtests; Torgesen etal., 2012) were examined in 441 children and adolescents between 6 and 16years of age. The presence of a language disorder (with or without ADHD) predicted poor performance across tasks. Children and adolescents with ADHD (combined vs. inattentive) only significantly differed in sight word reading, in favor of those with combined type. Measures of reading efficiency could distinguish between the two types of ADHD, but not between other groups. Interestingly, scores on the standard language screener were no worse for children with ADHD+DLD than children with DLD only. The combination of comorbid ADHD+DLD did not appear to be associated with lower language abilities, sight word reading, or phonemic decoding relative to DLD alone. Reading efficiency was effective in discriminating between ADHD subtypes. These findings offer valuable insights into differential diagnosis and the identification of comorbidity.

When bases compete: A voting model of lexical conservatism

Abstract: This article examines lexical conservatism (Steriade 1997), a phenomenon whereby the distribution of stem allomorphs in a morphological paradigm influences the way that paradigm accommodates derived members. Specifically, a phonological alternation applies in a derived member only if an existing form is present elsewhere in the paradigm that offers the needed phonological material. Thus illústrable undergoes stress shift because the existing word illústrative contains the illústr- stem allomorph. In contrast, * irrígable is judged worse than írrigable , since there is no existing form in * irríg- . In four experiments with speakers of English and Mexican Spanish, I demonstrate that this dependency between paradigm structure and application of phonological processes generalizes to entirely novel words in a probabilistic manner. Further, I find that a broad range of stem allomorphs in a paradigm play a role in determining the form of the novel word, rather than only those that could reduce the markedness of the novel form, contra previous studies. I propose a novel grammatical model where bases get to ‘vote’ on the shape of the novel form: all stem allomorphs in a lexical entry stand in a correspondence relation to the novel form and exert their influence via multiple faithfulness constraints, which compete with standard markedness constraints in a probabilistic phonological grammar.

K’abeena phonology

The article provides descriptive analysis of the phonology of K'abeena, a language belonging to the Afro-Asian phylum, spoken in central Ethiopia. In this article, I identify 25 consonant phonemes and 3 loan phonemes. The loan phonemes are included as they are used in the current language's orthography. The language has five vowels. Vowel length and Gemination of consonants are phonemic in the language. With the exception of /h/ and /f/, which never geminate in the language, the rest of the consonant phonemes appear together to geminate. This only happens in the medial position of the words. Consonant clusters are allowed in word medial position with a maximum of two consonants. The phonological process identified in this article involves processes like assimilation, palatalization and deletion. Kabeena does not appear to be a pitch-accent language, but further research is needed to establish confirmed statements.

Do children with developmental dyslexia have syntactic awareness problems once phonological processing and memory are controlled?

IntroductionSyntactic awareness is the ability to monitor and manipulate word order within sentences. It is unclear whether children with dyslexia have syntactic awareness problems, as there are mixed results in the literature. Dyslexia is typically classified with very poor word and nonword reading and phonological processing problems are often observed in this population. It is conceivable that a phonological deficit could strain memory when performing oral syntactic awareness tasks. Here we examine if syntactic awareness problems are observed in children with dyslexia once phonological processing and memory skills are controlled.MethodsReal and nonword reading efficiency tests determined reading level. Children with dyslexia (n = 25) were compared to typically developing children (n = 24) matched for age (M = 8;8) and nonverbal abilities. Syntactic awareness was measured with an oral word order correction task (e.g., Is baking Lisa and her son in his room sleeps). Tests of phonological awareness, phonological memory, and verbal working memory were also administered and served as controls.ResultsThe dyslexic group performed worse than typically developing readers on syntactic awareness and this group difference persisted once phonological memory and verbal working memory were controlled. However, after controlling for phonological awareness skills, there were no group differences on the syntactic awareness test.Discussion:The results suggest that phonological awareness problems in particular might be responsible for syntactic awareness difficulties in dyslexia and future studies should control for this. The results are discussed within theoretical frameworks on the nature of oral language deficits in dyslexia.

Exploring Performance Skills in the Occupation of Learning to Read

ABSTRACT Only one-third of U.S. fourth-grade public school students score at or above reading proficiency on national standardized tests. Current language-based reading instruction methods do not appear to meet many students’ needs. This study explores the role of visual perception in word recognition skills amongst typically developing first graders. It is hypothesized that visual perception is a crucial component of word recognition. This quantitative correlational study explored the relationship between visual perception and word recognition skills in first grade students participating in general education. The findings revealed that several statistically significant relationships exist between visual perceptual functions and skills recruited for word recognition. Phonological processing is strongly associated with spatial relations (r = .35) and sequential memory (r = .38). These correlations are significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Form constancy (r = .28) p < .05 is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). These relationships suggest that visual perceptual skills and phonological processing are concurrently developed in these participants and that these skills are likely recruited simultaneously when engaging in occupations, such as learning to read. This study highlights the role of visual perception in early reading development. Educators may consider consulting with school-based occupational therapists to explore the potential impact of visual perception when supporting students who struggle with reading.

Phonological processing in Chinese word repetition: Dementia effect and age effect

ABSTRACT This paper examined phonological processing as reflected in Mandarin word and non-word repetition. Issues related to dementia effects, age effects, and linguistic variables are discussed. Forty-five speakers of Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan took part in this study. Fourteen seniors with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 14 healthy adults, and 17 healthy seniors individually completed a task of word repetition. Scores of accurate repetition were calculated, and error types as well as error frequency were analysed. Linguistic variables, including lexicality, frequency, non-word, and syllable length, were discussed. Major findings were indicative of a significant dementia effect, in which participants with AD were significantly impaired in repeating words with more syllables, specifically 5-syllable non-words of low frequency. Numerous significant age effects were noted. Theoretical implications and directions for future study are discussed.