Phonological Processing Research Articles

Language and Identity in Ketepik Bulian Padi Played in Gambus Belitung: A Sociolinguistic Study

Gambus and song lyrics complement each other, creating harmony while representing the history and cultural identity of their communities. This study aims to explore identity through diction choices, phonological processes, and musical notes in Gambus. These elements are assumed to reflect social relations and cultural identity. The sociolinguistic theory of isolect and identity theory are applied to analyze the lyrics and musical notes. This qualitative descriptive study employs library research using the song lyrics of Ketepik Belian Padi and the Gambus melody played by Sukino (a Gambus maestro) and his daughter, accessible at https://youtu.be/wEJMsTUhY9c. The research addresses two questions: (1) How is Ketepik Belian Padi in Gambus Belitung portrayed as a social identity? and (2) How is Ketepik Belian Padi in Gambus Belitung used as an element of social identity? The findings show that the identity of the people of East Belitung is deeply influenced by historical events and is preserved through these song lyrics.

Dissecting the causal role of early inferior frontal activation in reading.

Cognitive models of reading assume that speech production occurs after visual and phonological processing of written words. This traditional view is at odds with more recent magnetoencephalography studies showing that the left posterior inferior frontal cortex (pIFC) classically associated with spoken production responds to print at 100-150 ms after word-onset, almost simultaneously with posterior brain regions for visual and phonological processing. Yet the theoretical significance of this fast neural response remains open to date. We used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate how the left pIFC contributes to the early stage of reading. In Experiment 1, 23 adult participants (14 females) performed three different tasks about written words (oral reading, semantic judgment and perceptual judgment) while single-pulse TMS was delivered to the left pIFC, fusiform gyrus or supramarginal gyrus at different time points (50 to 200 ms after word-onset). A robust double dissociation was found between tasks and stimulation sites - oral reading, but not other control tasks, was disrupted only when TMS was delivered to pIFC at 100 ms. This task-specific impact of pIFC stimulation was further corroborated in Experiment 2, which revealed another double dissociation between oral reading and picture naming. These results demonstrate that the left pIFC specifically and causally mediates rapid computation of speech motor codes at the earliest stage of reading and suggest that this fast sublexical neural pathway for pronunciation, although seemingly dormant, is fully functioning in literate adults. Our results further suggest that these left-hemisphere systems for reading overall act faster than known previously.Significance Statement Recent neuroimaging data suggest that left posterior inferior frontal cortex, classically associated with spoken production, responds to print simultaneously with left fusiform and supramarginal gyri, each responsible for visual and phonological processing, contrary to traditional serial cascade models of reading. While the region is now known to mediate different aspects of cognitive processing, the functional significance of this fast neural response remains unclear. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation, we show that early inferior frontal activation plays a specific and causal role in speeded oral reading at 100 ms after word-onset. This fast sublexical neural pathway for pronunciation, although seemingly dormant, is fully functioning in literate adults. We also propose that the left-hemisphere reading systems act differently and faster than known previously.

Heschl's gyrus and the temporal pole: The cortical lateralization of language.

The left lateralization of language has been attributed to hemispheric specialization for processing rapidly changing information. While interhemispheric differences in auditory cortex organization support this view, the macrostructure of the entire cerebral cortex has not been thoroughly examined from this perspective. This study investigated hemispheric asymmetries in cortical surface area and thickness and their relationship to pronunciation scores from oral reading using the Human Connectome Project Young Adult dataset (N=1113). Heschl's gyrus had the most left-lateralized surface area, while the temporal pole showed the strongest right-lateralization in thickness. These areas correspond to the core components of speech: sound and meaning. Notably, their structural features were the only ones also yielding a significant correlation with pronunciation scores. Additionally, Broca's area's posterior region (pars opercularis), involved in articulatory phonological processing, showed leftward lateralization, contrasting with the right-lateralized anterior portions. Left-hemisphere language areas were largely thinner and more extended than their right-sided homologs with a larger white-to-gray matter ratio. Cortical thickness was inversely related to surface area. The lateralization of auditory-related language areas and their structure's correlation with pronunciation in oral reading supports a genetically based auditory foundation for language. A thinner, more efficient cortex with larger surface areas and increased myelination likely underlies the left-hemispheric dominance of language. Thinner, more extended brain areas have been linked to more myelination and wider cortical columns and intercolumnar space. This provides the potential for a fast network of interconnected, discrete information units able to support language's demands of rapid categorical processing.

Neural representations of phonological information in bilingual language production.

Previous research has explored the neural mechanisms of bilinguals' language production, but most studies focused on neural mechanisms of cognitive control during language production. Therefore, it is unclear which brain regions represent lexical information (especially phonological information) during production and how they are affected by language context. To address those questions, we used representational similarity analysis to explore neural representations of phonological information in native (L1) and second languages (L2) in the single- and mixed-language contexts, respectively. Results showed that Chinese-English bilinguals behaviorally performed worse and exhibited more activations in brain regions associated with language processing and cognitive control in the mixed-language context relative to the single-language context. Further representational similarity analysis revealed that phonological representations of L1 were detected in the left pars opercularis, middle frontal gyrus, and anterior supramarginal gyrus, while phonological representations of L2 were detected in the bilateral occipitotemporal cortex regardless of the target language. More interestingly, robust phonological representations of L1 were observed in brain areas related to phonological processing during L2 production regardless of language context. These results provide direct neuroimaging evidence for the nonselective processing hypothesis and highlight the superiority of phonological representations in the dominant language during bilingual language production.

Using an app-based screening tool to predict deficits in written word spelling at school entry

IntroductionThe first year of schooling is crucial for the further development of spelling abilities in children, which makes early assessment and intervention essential. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an efficient and cost-free screening tool for identifying spelling problems in community school settings around the time of school entry.MethodsA broad range of precursors of spelling (vocabulary, grammar, letter knowledge, phonological awareness, phonological working memory, rapid automatized naming) were assessed in 522 Austrian first graders (6–7 years of age) in the first weeks of schooling. At the end of first grade, spelling abilities were assessed by newly developed spelling tasks based on the trochaic foot. By applying logistic regression with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), we aimed to select a set of important predictors of spelling problems at the end of grade 1 (i.e., scoring below the 16th percentile in the spelling test).ResultsOur analysis identified letter knowledge (i.e., an aspect of phonological information processing) and sentence repetition (i.e., a measure of grammatical knowledge) as important predictors of spelling problems. The screening tool has acceptable diagnostic accuracy [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.0.725 and DeLong 95% CI (0.666, 0.784)]. Further analyses indicated that the AUC differs neither between boys and girls nor between children with and without German as their first language.DiscussionThese results suggest that administering the screening tool during the first weeks of schooling is a valid approach to identifying spelling deficits, which in turn enables early targeted pedagogical interventions. Practical implications for spelling instructions are discussed.

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.

The role of phonological overlap and cognates in dual logographic bilinguals’ phonological processing

Most previous studies on Chinese-Japanese bilingual lexical access have shown that cognates can facilitate L2 Japanese word recognition, and phonological overlap cannot. However, the findings from this research challenge those findings. In this study, both high- and low- proficient JFL (Japanese as a Foreign Language) learners performed phoneme monitoring tasks in their second language. Orthographically similar words with high or low phonological and semantic similarity were fully crossed. Our results suggest that phonological overlap across Chinese and Japanese interferes with phoneme processing speed and accuracy, especially those of the low-proficient JFL learners. Yet as their L2 proficiency improves, this inhibition effect can become smaller. In addition, cognate semantic overlap marginally interacts with L2 proficiency to affect phoneme recognition, though cognates do not directly play a role in phoneme processing. The theoretical implications of our research suggest that phonology functions as a non-selective element in the phonological access phase for bilinguals literate in two logographic languages. Moreover, cross-logographic processing does not conform to the cascading model; instead, it can be more accurately described by the modular or interactive models of bilingual processing.

Linguistic, Metalinguistic and Psychiatric Characteristics of Children with Speech Sound Disorder

Abstract: Comparing the linguistic and metalinguistic profiles in common developmental speech and language disorders is important in advancing our understanding of their clinical symptoms, as well as potentially informing the conceptual basis of novel interventions. The purpose of the present review article is summarizing linguistic, metalinguistic and psychiatric characteristics of children with speech sound disorder (SSD). Clinically and theoretically, it is important that we can understand different error pattern uses among children with SSD only and children with co-occurring SSD and language impairment (LI). Identifying differences in error pattern use will help to discovering the underlying causes of the different types of patterns. In comparison with children with SSD, children with co-occurring SSD and LI use certain patterns more frequently that suggest more global linguistic deficits. The early identification of children who are at risk for development of co-occurring SSD and LI as well as later literacy problems needs to distinguish these patterns. Identification of speech error patterns and their underlying cognitive-linguistic processing deficits will contribute to diagnosis of children at risk of co-occurring SSD and LI and reading problems. Mounting studies have reported that children with SSD, with and without language impairment have differences in phonological processing, literacy skills, and speech production patterns. Children with both speech sound and language disorders are likely to have more severe literacy problems than those with isolated speech sound disorders. In addition, this paper focuses on the comorbidity between psychiatric disorders specially attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and SSD.

ON THE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS OF PREDICTABILITY IN SERBIAN PALATALIZATION

The paper presents the Serbian velar palatalization: /k/ → [tʃ], /ɡ/ → [ʒ], /x/ → [ʃ]. A detailed, comprehensive description of the phenomenon will not be provided, as it is not the main task and theme of the paper. The paper demonstrates that predictability does not strictly hold „in equal measure” in phonology, contrary to what traditional grammars suggest (e.g., Klajn 2005). Even theory-specifi approaches do not address it (e.g., Starčević 2005). This is one of the foundational assumptions of the theory of Government Phonology à la Kaye et al. (1985; 1990): phonological processes are organized according to universal principles and are not arbitrary (Non-Arbitrariness Principle). Universal rules can be overridden by parametric settings, which characterize the phonology of a specific language – in this, Government Phonology shares principles parallel to those of the Minimalist Program. The task of the paper is to show when predictability is not met, through the lens of Serbian phonology, based on the aspect that shows I-U asymmetry. The paper’s implicit goal is to highlight that the strict conditions imposed on phonological theories may not necessarily account for the variations shown on the surface, and things are much more complicated than what we might assume about Universal Grammar. The paper follows the theory of Government Phonology along with Element Theory (Backley 2011), which will be essential for explaining the phenomenon.

Neural processing of Mandarin and Cantonese lexical tone alternations: implications for the nature of phonological representations

This study provides neurocognitive evidence to shed further insight into the architecture of phonological representations. We tap into these representations by focusing on the neural processing of phonological alternations. Traditional generative accounts postulate abstract representations which are transformed by phonological processes into different alternants. Recent psycholinguistically-based frameworks posit that different alternants are listed in parallel in the abstract representation. Exemplar-based theories posit that alternation is a manifestation of frequency effects among concrete phonetic forms stored in memory. However, it is unclear the extent to which phonological representations of different levels of abstractedness are neurocognitive realities, beyond formal entities for linguistic analysis. This study tests the hypothesis that phonological representations are neurocognitive primitives that modulate speech processing and lexical access. We examined the processing of two surface-similar, but distributionally distinct lexical tone alternation patterns in Mandarin and Cantonese. With a cross-modal priming paradigm, differential neurophysiological components (LPC vs. N400) associated with the processing of alternation violations were identified cross-linguistically. Results support our hypothesis, suggesting that cross-linguistically distinct abstract phonological representations differentially modulate phonotactic detection, lexical access, and phonological restructuring processes. Results also lend theoretical insight into the multiform nature of the phonological representation, which encompasses both abstract and concrete levels of representations.

Orthographic knowledge as a predictor of reading and spelling in isiXhosa third graders

Background: Research acknowledges the importance of phonological processing and orthographic processing for reading and spelling in both consistently and inconsistently written languages. While the focus has tended to be on the role of phonological processing in languages with consistent orthographies, the role of orthographic processing, specifically orthographic knowledge has yet to be as extensively explored.Aim: To address this gap, this article explores the unique contributions of phonological awareness (PA) and orthographic knowledge for reading and spelling in the consistently written language of isiXhosa. In addition, we investigate the multi-dimensional character of orthographic knowledge by establishing whether letter-sound knowledge is a sub-component of orthographic knowledge, alongside word-specific and general orthographic knowledge.Setting: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted with 182 isiXhosa third graders.Methods: Participants completed word-specific and general orthographic knowledge tasks, which were specifically designed for the study, along with tasks of oral reading fluency, spelling accuracy, PA, rapid automatised naming and letter-sound knowledge.Results: Using confirmatory factor analyses along with regression analyses, the findings provide support for the multi-dimensional character of orthographic knowledge inclusive of word-specific orthographic knowledge, general orthographic knowledge and letter-sound knowledge. Further, it was revealed that for this sample of isiXhosa third graders, orthographic knowledge was more influential to reading and spelling performance over and above PA, providing evidence for the importance of orthographic skill for both reading and spelling in isiXhosa.Conclusion: The present study adds to a growing understanding of the multi-dimensional nature of orthographic knowledge and provides evidence for the importance of orthographic knowledge for reading and spelling in isiXhosa.Contribution: The findings support the need for phonics instruction that incorporates activities which build learners’ orthographic knowledge and other writing-related skills. Further, continuous exposure to books and reading will also strengthen learners’ orthographic knowledge.

Phonological Process of Word-Final Consonant Sounds in Indonesian Learners by Japanese Speakers (Case Study of Japanesia Online Course Students)

This study aims to analyze the phonological processes and contributing factors affecting the pronunciation of final consonant sounds by native Japanese speakers learning Indonesian. The research employs the theory of generative transformational phonology, using distinctive features to address the research questions. A qualitative descriptive approach was adopted, utilizing data from the Japanesia course's online class videos on YouTube, collected through observation and note-taking techniques. The analysis identifies three main phonological processes in Japanese learners' pronunciation of Indonesian final consonants: sound substitution (e.g., [n] to [ŋ] and [l] to [r]), elision of [h], and addition of sounds such as [u] following [r] and [s], as well as aspirated [h] after [t] and [k]. These phonological adjustments reflect the absence of certain Indonesian sounds in Japanese, prompting learners to adapt pronunciations to their native phonological system. Furthermore, the Japanese language’s predominant open syllable structure (CVCV) generally excludes word-final consonants aside from nasals, contributing to these adaptations.

Linguistic Study of Some Properties and Phonological Processes of Jooshani Dialect of Persian

Abstract Jooshani dialect belongs to the Jooshan village, one of the villages of Golbaf town in Kerman city, Iran. The study tries to linguistically investigate and analyze the phonological processes of Jooshani. It also tries to present some grammatical and lexical features of this dialect. Here, Jooshani features are compared with those of Standard Persian (SP) and Kermani. The data have been gathered during nine years by one of the authors living in Jooshan and through close relations with the informants, most of whom were old, illiterate, and untraveled. The data are presented in three main parts: phonological system and phonological processes (metathesis, insertion, elision, lenition, spirantization, alternation, assimilation and devoicing), noun word-formation, and lexicon. The results obtained in each part showed that there are considerable differences between this language variety and the Standard Persian in all of the three above-mentioned parts.

The brain’s structural connectivity and pre-reading abilities in young children with prenatal alcohol exposure

Children with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) may develop a range of neurological and behavioral deficits, including reading and language disorders. Studying the brain’s structural connectivity and its relationship to pre-reading/reading skills in young children with PAE can help understand the roots of reading deficits associated with PAE. 363 diffusion MRI scans from 135 children (114 scans from 53 children with PAE) were collected between ages 3–7 years. Children completed NEPSY-II Phonological Processing and Speeded Naming to assess pre-reading skills at each scan. Structural brain network properties were assessed in 16 regions from both hemispheres using graph theory. Linear mixed models were used to account for repeated measures within participants. Children with PAE had significantly lower pre-reading scores than unexposed children, and significantly lower graph theory metrics across bilateral reading networks. Moreover, PAE significantly moderated the associations between Phonological Processing and global efficiency and nodal degree in the bilateral and left hemisphere reading networks, such that children with PAE had stronger associations than unexposed controls. No significant associations were found for Speeded Naming. Our results suggest that brain alterations may underlie early pre-reading difficulties in children with PAE.

A learning-based account of local phonological processes

Abstract Phonological processes tend to involve local dependencies, an observation that has been expressed explicitly or implicitly in many phonological theories, such as the use of minimal symbols in SPE and the inclusion of primarily strictly local constraints in Optimality Theory. I propose a learning-based account of local phonological processes, providing an explicit computational model. The model is grounded in experimental results that suggest children are initially insensitive to long-distance dependencies and that as their ability to track non-adjacent dependencies grows, learners still prefer local generalisations to non-local ones. The model encodes these results by constructing phonological processes starting around an alternating segment and expanding outward to incorporate more phonological context only when surface forms cannot be predicted with sufficient accuracy. The model successfully constructs local phonological generalisations and exhibits the same preference for local patterns that humans do, suggesting that locality can emerge as a computational consequence of a simple learning procedure.

Verbal and Spatial Working Memory Capacity in Blind Adults and the Possible Influence of Age at Blindness Onset: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

The loss of a sense, such as vision, forces individuals to adapt to their environment and its demands in a variety of ways. In the case of blindness, significant neurofunctional and cognitive changes have been documented. However, there is no clear consensus on the differences in performance between adult blind participants and sighted controls in cognitive processes such as working memory (WM). Two variables are important, including the cognitive task used to measure working memory and the age at which vision loss occurs. This review is aimed at exploring potential disparities in verbal and spatial WM performance between blind and sighted adults, as well as understanding how these differences may be influenced by the age of vision loss. A systematic search across PsycArticles, PsycInfo, Medline, and Web of Science databases identified 21 pertinent studies. The studies were categorized, and effect sizes were calculated through meta-analysis, distinguishing between verbal (auditory simple forward and backward span, complex span, and n-back) and visuospatial WM tasks (adapted Corsi-block and simple storage tasks, imagery tasks, and complex storage tasks). Visual sensory loss induces adaptations affecting WM function in blind participants. In the verbal domain, improved phonological processing and/or serial item position encoding might facilitate WM retrieval. In contrast, in spatial WM, an over-reliance on serial processing may hinder strategic grouping in blind individuals. This review highlights the need to further explore the role of age at the time of vision loss. Although evidence suggests that adaptations to serial processing may be more pronounced in early development, particularly in comparison to those who become blind in adulthood, the available data are limited. The study calls for further research to deepen our understanding of cognitive adaptations and their temporal dynamics in response to vision loss.

The Effects of Home Language Use on Spanish Speech Measures in Bilingual Children With Hearing Loss Who Use Cochlear Implants and Their Peers With Normal Hearing.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the amount of home language use between the primary caregiver and bilingual Spanish- and English-speaking children with hearing loss who use cochlear implants (CIs) versus their bilingual age-matched peers with normal hearing (NH) can impact speech outcomes in the home language. Thirty-four bilingual Spanish- and English-speaking children (17 CI users and 17 with NH) between the ages of 5;3 and 7;9 (years;months) participated in this study. Independent variables were the amount of home language use with the primary caregiver and hearing status, and dependent variables were vowels and consonants correctly produced and occurrence of selected phonological processes. The amount of home language use was ascertained from surveys, and the dependent measures were based on a single-word picture elicitation task. Bilingual children with CIs who are exposed to Spanish for more than 80% of the time via their primary caregiver performed better on Spanish segmental accuracy measures than those who are exposed to Spanish from only 20% to 50% of the time, specifically on vowels (partial η2 = .31) and consonants (partial η2 = .025). Children with NH outperformed children with CIs on all accuracy measures in Spanish. Preliminary results suggest the importance of language exposure through interactions with the primary caregiver for speech development in bilingual children. Future studies should investigate strategies to facilitate home language development in bilingual children with CIs, enabling them to reach their full potential.

The FinSwed study: Using verbal NEPSY-II subtests with a cultural minority group

While it has been established that cultural differences in test performance are common, few studies have compared groups from different countries that speak the same language. The aim of this study was to investigate the generalizability of selected linguistic and verbal memory subtests from the Swedish NEPSY-II to the Finland-Swedish minority group. The participants were 275 Swedish-speaking children from Finland aged 5–16-years. The performance was compared to the U.S. norms used in the test. The Finland-Swedish children scored around scaled score 12 and significantly higher than the normative mean on the subtests Comprehension of Instructions, Phonological Processing, Word Generation Semantic, List Memory, and Sentence Repetition, whereas no significant differences to the norms emerged for the subtests Word Generation Initial Letter, Narrative Memory, and Word List Interference. There was a significant age effect for two subtests, with scaled scores increasing with age. Lower parental education and male sex were associated with lower test scores on some subtests, whereas bilingualism was not. The findings were viewed in relation to previous comparison studies involving the NEPSY-II/NEPSY. The differences were suggested to relate to cultural, educational, and test-related differences between Finland, Sweden, and the U.S. The results add to the clinical utility of the NEPSY-II.

Contrastive Analysis of the French-Gbari Segmental Phonologies

The structure of a learner’s first language affects his acquisition of a second one, especially a foreign one like French. This paper presents a segmental contact between French and Gbari languages, with a view to empirically ascertain their points of convergence and divergence, using the Lado’s Contrastive Analysis model. It bridges the gap created by lack/inadequacy of academic validation in the French-Gbari segmental contact, hinging on secondary sources of data as well as on quantitative and qualitative analyses of data. Given the 68%-24% segmental difference ratio (SDR) French has over Gbari, such as /y/, /œ/, /ø/, /ʁ/, /ɲ/, /ɔ͂/, /œ͂/, /ɑ͂/, /ǝ/, /ɥ/, /ɛ/, /ɛ͂/, etc., coupled with the predictable phonological processes such as (de)nasalisation, palatalization, assimilation, delabialisation etc., the Gbari French-Learner (GFL) may have to relentlessly study and enthusiastically double his efforts so as to overcome the seemingly insurmountable challenges. The paper ends by recommending that second language teachers should engage in instant one-on-one approach in correcting phonetic flaws with students/learners.

Orthographic and phonological processing in the left ventral occipitotemporal cortex during Chinese word reading.

The left ventral occipitotemporal cortex (lvOT) has been consistently identified as a crucial structure in word reading, and its function varies across subregions. Nevertheless, the specific function of the lvOT and its subregions remains controversial because the obvious grapheme-to-phoneme correspondence rules of alphabetic languages make it difficult to disentangle the contributions of orthography and phonology to neural activations. To explore information processing in lvOT subregions, the present study manipulated the orthography and phonology in a factorial design and used the fMRI rapid adaptation paradigm. The results revealed a posterior-to-anterior functional gradient in lvOT in Chinese word reading and specified that the functional transition from sublexical to lexical processing occurred in the middle subregion close to the classic VWFA. More importantly, we found that the middle and posterior subregions of lvOT are responsible for processing both orthographic and phonological information during Chinese word reading. These results elaborated the function of the lvOT in Chinese word reading.