Phonological Word Research Articles

Dynamic Recovery of Language Comprehension from Acute Wernicke�s Aphasia

Dynamic Recovery of Language Comprehension from Acute Wernicke�s Aphasia

Attention to Orthographic and Phonological Word Forms in Vocabulary Instruction for Kindergarten English Learners

This study examined benefits of connecting meaning, speech, and print in vocabulary learning for kindergarten English learners. Students screened eligible with limited English proficiency were randomly assigned to two instruction conditions. Both groups received direct instruction in high frequency root words. One condition featured added attention to orthographic and phonological word features. Increased attention to the spoken and printed word forms was associated with significantly greater gains in general vocabulary and word reading, and in taught-word spelling. Results suggest features of effective vocabulary instruction for young and English learner students.

A Domain-based analysis of word-level affixes in English phonology.

Word-level affixes of English consisting of Germanic affixes and dual Latinate affixes not only undergo the alternations that are sensitive to the edge of a phonological word, but they also fail to take part in word-internal alternations. In addition, they are not involved with stress assignment, consistently achieving stress preservation, unlike stem-level affixes. This study presents a domain-based analysis and claims that while stem-level affixes are included in a phonological word, word-level affixes are subcategorized for and thus aligned to a phonological word, making themselves subject to the alternations applying at the word edge and at the same time outside the domain of word internal phonology of English.

Structure-dependent tone sandhi in real and nonce disyllables in Shanghai Wu

Disyllabic sequences in Shanghai Wu undergo different types of tone sandhi depending on their structure: phonological words (e.g., modifier–nouns) spread the initial tone across the disyllable, while phrases (e.g., non-lexicalized verb–nouns) maintain the final tone and level the contour of the nonfinal tone. We investigated the productivity of the two tone sandhi types through 48 speakers’ productions of real and nonce disyllables. Our results show that (a) the word-level tone sandhi in Shanghai indeed involves tone spreading, while the phrase-level sandhi is better interpreted as phonetic contour reduction, (b) the spreading sandhi generally applies productively to nonce words, but there are some differences in tone production between real and nonce words that are attributable to both categorical non-application and gradient application of the sandhi in nonce words, and (c) the structure dependency of Shanghai tone sandhi is also productive, as the speakers produced qualitatively different f0 patterns in modifier–noun nonce words and verb–noun nonce phrases. These results indicate that in order to arrive at a full picture of tone sandhi patterning, experimental data that shed light on the generalizations that speakers make from the speech input are necessary.

E-Book and Printed Book Reading in Different Contexts as Emergent Literacy Facilitator

Research Findings: We present 3 studies that focused on preschoolers’ electronic book (e-book) reading in different contexts aimed at supporting children’s early literacy. In Study 1 we researched the impact of children’s age and number of independent readings on phonological awareness and word reading. We found that all age groups benefited from e-book reading, and 5 readings benefited most skills better than 3. In Study 2 we investigated (a) parents’ behavior during joint e-book reading with their children compared to joint printed book reading and (b) parental mediation in joint reading of a considerate e-book compared to joint reading of an inconsiderate e-book. The joint printed book reading yielded more expanding talk than the joint e-book reading, and reading the considerate e-book yielded higher expanding talk than reading the inconsiderate e-book. In Study 3 we compared adult support in joint e-book reading to joint printed book reading and compared both readings to children’s independent e-book reading. Reading the e-book with adult support assisted children in progressing in phonological awareness and word reading compared to other group reading. Practice or Policy: Well-designed e-books may serve as good tools to support children’s early literacy, and when parents or educators read them with children, children’s progress is enhanced. We recommend that these findings be taken into account by e-book designers, policymakers, teachers, and parents.

Grammatical Class Effects Across Impaired Child and Adult Populations.

The aims of this study are to compare quantitative and qualitative differences for noun/verb retrieval across language-impaired groups, examine naming errors with reference to psycholinguistic models of word processing, and shed light on the nature of the naming deficit as well as determine relevant group commonalities and differences. This includes an attempt to establish whether error types differentiate language-impaired children from adults, to determine effects of psycholinguistic variables on naming accuracies, and to link the results to genetic mechanisms and/or neural circuitry in the brain. A total of 89 (language-)impaired participants took part in this report: 24 adults with acquired aphasia, 20 adults with schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, 31 adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, and 14 children with specific language impairment. The results of simultaneous multiple regression analyses for the errors in verb naming compared to the psycholinguistic variables for all language-impaired groups are reported and discussed in relation to models of lexical processing.This discussion will lead to considerations of genetic and/or neurobiological underpinnings: Presence of the noun–verb dissociation in focal and non-focal brain impairment make localization theories redundant, but support for wider neural network involvement.The patterns reported cannot be reduced to any one level of language processing, suggesting multiple interactions at different levels (e.g., receptive vs. expressive language abilities).Semantic-conceptual properties constrain syntactic properties with implications for phonological word form retrieval.Competition needs to be resolved at both conceptual and phonological levels of representation.Moreover, this study may provide a cross-pathological baseline that can be probed further with respect to recent suggestions concerning a reconsideration of open- vs. closed-class items, according to which verbs may actually fall into the latter rather than the standardly received former class.

The role of the morpho-phonological word-pattern unit in single-word production in Hebrew

Abstract Complex words in Hebrew are composed of two non-concatenated interwoven units: (1) a consonantal root morpheme usually comprising three consonants, embedded within (2) a word-pattern morpho-phonological unit made up of vowels or vowels + consonants. The word-pattern unit provides segmental, vocalic and metrical structure information about the word. Using the picture–word interference paradigm with auditorily presented distractors, we investigated the role of the word-patterns within the nominal system, i.e. the nominal -patterns, during word production, using 4 different SOAs (ranging from −200 ms to 300 ms). Compared to an unrelated distractor, the results revealed a facilitatory nominal-pattern effect in the time window of SOAs from −200 ms to 300 ms. This effect (1) had a different time-course than a pure phonological effect, and (2) was not conditioned by semantic similarity. The effect of the nominal-pattern is ascribed to the form, lexical, word-form level, where the patterns, together with the roots, mediate the mapping of the lemma into phonological words. It is suggested that Hebrew speakers attain a word’s phonological form by identifying these patterns, which combine rich phonological information from the segmental and the supra-segmental structure.

The Prosodization of Weak Function Words in Kurdish Language (Leilakhi Dialect)

<p>This paper investigates the prosodic structure of simple prepositions and dependent personal pronouns as weak function words in Leilakhi Dialect with the theoretical framework of Prosodic Phonology or Phonology of Domains. Weak function words (fnc) of this dialect are proclitics or enclitics that form Clitic Group (CG) with their host. One such feature of these elements is their combinatorial restriction with their host, <em>i.e. </em>simple prepositions as prosodic proclitics must precede a noun phrase or independent personal pronoun and absolute prepositions as phonological words join the dependent personal pronouns in the role of enclitics which give form to the clitic group. The phonetic process and phonological process used in this research are aspiration and stress assignment pattern respectively. </p>

Antihiatski pojavi v knjižni slovenščini

Hiat kot strukturna posledica samoglasniškega niza je v jezikih sveta največkrat podvržen procesom, ki ga odpravljajo: diftongizacija, oblikovanje drsnika, vstavljanje soglasnika, sovpad v en(oten) samoglasnik ali izpad (Casali 1998). Analiza samoglasniških nizov v slovenščini (Jurgec 2004b) je pokazala, da se vsi našteti antihiatski pojavi pojavljajo tudi v slovenščini znotraj fonoloških besed: vstavljanje [j] in diftongizacija Vu na splošni sistemski fonološki ravni, oblikovanje drsnika in izpad sta omejena na posamezne primere, fonetično pa se pojavljajo reduktivni procesi (diftongizacija, izpad in sovpad) in razpad (vstavljanje [u], [!], [?] in [#]).

Efficacy of a Classroom Integrated Intervention of Phonological Awareness and Word Recognition in “Double-Deficit Children” Learning a Regular Orthography

This study analysed the effects of a classroom intervention focusing on phonological awareness and/or automatized word recognition in children with a deficit in the domains of phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming (“double deficit”). According to the double-deficit hypothesis (Wolf & Bowers, 1999), these children belong to the group who show the most pronounced difficulties when learning how to read and write. Our results suggest that children with a double deficit are at great risk of developing dyslexia unless they receive specific support. Moreover, the results of the intervention study are the first to show how German speaking children with a double deficit can be adequately supported within the framework of standard beginners’ reading and writing lessons in inclusive classrooms so that impending difficulties in the acquisition of written language can be successfully prevented. The support measures focus on a training of phonological awareness and automatized processing of sublexical orthographic units. However, potential modifications of the training are currently being discussed since not all children in the training groups were able to benefit satisfactorily.

Clitics, affixes, and wordhood in Garifuna (Arawak): A multidimensional continuum of morphosyntactic boundness

Recent research on wordhood and morphosyntactic boundness suggests that the domains word and clitic do not lend themselves to cross-linguistic categorization but must be defined language specifically. In most languages, it is necessary to define word on two separate levels, the phonological word (p-word) and the grammatical word (g-word), and to describe mismatches between the two. This paper defines those domains for Garifuna, an Arawak language spoken in Honduras, Central America. Garifuna has auxiliary and classifier constructions which make up two p-words, and only one g-word. P-words made up of more than one g-word involve second position enclitics, word scope clitics, and proclitic connectives and prepositions. Garifuna clitics are typically unstressed, able to attach to hosts of any word class and able to string together into clusters. Enclitics are used to express tense-aspect, modality, and adverbial meanings, among others. In other languages, clitic clusters tend to display a fixed order; Garifuna clitic order seems quite free, although certain orders are preferred. Also, contrary to cross-linguistic tendencies, proclitic connectives can act as hosts for enclitic clusters, contradicting the commonly used definition of clitics as phonologically weak elements that need to attach to a host to form a p-word; such clitic-only p-words are problematic for traditional definitions of clitics.

Distinct effects of memory retrieval and articulatory preparation when learning and accessing new word forms.

Temporal and frontal activations have been implicated in learning of novel word forms, but their specific roles remain poorly understood. The present magnetoencephalography (MEG) study examines the roles of these areas in processing newly-established word form representations. The cortical effects related to acquiring new phonological word forms during incidental learning were localized. Participants listened to and repeated back new word form stimuli that adhered to native phonology (Finnish pseudowords) or were foreign (Korean words), with a subset of the stimuli recurring four times. Subsequently, a modified 1-back task and a recognition task addressed whether the activations modulated by learning were related to planning for overt articulation, while parametrically added noise probed reliance on developing memory representations during effortful perception. Learning resulted in decreased left superior temporal and increased bilateral frontal premotor activation for familiar compared to new items. The left temporal learning effect persisted in all tasks and was strongest when stimuli were embedded in intermediate noise. In the noisy conditions, native phonotactics evoked overall enhanced left temporal activation. In contrast, the frontal learning effects were present only in conditions requiring overt repetition and were more pronounced for the foreign language. The results indicate a functional dissociation between temporal and frontal activations in learning new phonological word forms: the left superior temporal responses reflect activation of newly-established word-form representations, also during degraded sensory input, whereas the frontal premotor effects are related to planning for articulation and are not preserved in noise.

Compositionality without word boundaries: (the) more and (the) most

This paper seeks to illustrate the advantages of not treating phonological words as distinguished building blocks in compositional semantics. Following Bobaljik 2012, we derive the relative readings of amount superlatives in two steps, [[[d-many] comparative] superlative]. The existence of two comparative constructions is revealed, involving more vs. the more. Each builds a different superlative construction, explaining the conflicting intuitions about superlatives in the literature, as well as puzzles relating to the definite article in superlatives.

The Effects of Reading Activities Using Physical Games on the Phonological Awareness and Word Recognition of Young Children

The Effects of Reading Activities Using Physical Games on the Phonological Awareness and Word Recognition of Young Children

Syllabification, Tone Marking, and Minimality in Eleme

This paper discussed syllabification in Eleme. It accounted for the distribution of glides and phonotactic constraints on intrasyllabic segmental sequences via sonority hierarchy. Two types of extraprosodicity in Eleme – word-final /i/s and word-initial were also discussed. The paper also presented the analysis of foot construction and tone marking, adopting the framework of Halle and Vergnaud (1987). It argued for a minimal word constraint in Eleme, which states that the smallest allowable phonological word in Eleme is a maximal (i.e. binary) foot. This constraint is crucial to understanding why vowel-initial words with only a single well-formed syllable violate the tone rule and why sequences of equally sonorant vowels are allowed only in bivocalic words. Finally, the paper summarized the results of this study and their significance for linguistic theory and Ogonoid studies. The twofold objective of this paper is therefore to describe tone and syllabification in Eleme and their interaction with prosodic minimality, underscoring the implications of these phenomena for multilinear theories of phonology.

Edge-tone effects and prosodic domain effects on final lengthening

This study reports two experiments that investigate the edge-tones and domain-specific effects on final lengthening. The study shows that in Cypriot Greek the following occur: (a) lengthening applies primarily on the syllable nucleus not the syllable onset, which suggests variety specific effects of lengthening; (b) lengthening depends on the edge-tones, namely, polar questions trigger more lengthening than statements and wh-questions; (c) lengthening provides support for at least two distinct prosodic domains over the phonological word, the intonational phrase and the intermediate phrase; greater lengthening associates with the first and shorter lengthening with the latter; (d) finally, syllable duration depends on the syllable distance from the boundary, i.e. lengthening locally applies on penultimates and ultimates whereas antepenultimates are affected the least. Additionally, by pointing to the distinct lengthening effects of edge-tones and domain-boundaries, the aforementioned findings highlight the application of different lengthening devices. Keywords: Prosodic structure; preboundary lengthening; edge-tone lengthening; Cypriot Greek

Style-dependent rules for reduction: Mixed-model multiple linear regression analysis of reduction phenomena in Danish news readings

It has been suggested that Danish is a language particularly prone to spoken language reductions in spontaneous speech. Previous studies have shown that reduction phenomena, in Danish and other languages, are rule-governed by e.g. phonological context, word frequency and stress patterns. This paper analyses two reduction phenomena, those occurring in the endings -edeand -tein a genre of spoken Danish which is particularly resistant to reductions, viz. radio news readings. Its first aim is to establish the reduction rules of formal spoken Danish and compare these with the rules of more informal spoken Danish, e.g. sociolinguistic interviews. Reduction of -teis found to follow the same general rules as in spontaneous speech, although reductions are far less frequent in news readings. Reduction of -edeis found to follow rules different from those of spontaneous speech. The second aim is to investigate whether the reduction rules have changed over the 70 years which the data span. It is found that the rules, and thus the style, have indeed changed. The modern rules appear to be simpler and include less complex interaction effects.

Evaluation of a Two-Phase Implementation of a Tier-2 (Small Group) Reading Intervention for Young Low-Progress Readers

In a response to intervention (RtI) model, reading is taught in increasingly intensive tiers of instruction. The aim of the study was to examine the efficacy of a Tier-2 (small group) literacy intervention for young struggling readers. This article focuses on the second phase of a randomised control trial involving 14 students in kindergarten as participants. In Phase 1 of the randomised control trial, the experimental group (E1) received the intervention for 1 hour, 4 days per week, for 3 school terms. The control group received regular classroom instruction. Large and statistically significant mean differences between groups were evident after 3 terms on 2 of 4 measures — the Martin and Pratt Nonword Reading Test and the Burt Reading Test, which measure phonological recoding and single word reading, respectively. Very large effect sizes were found. In Phase 2, the original control group received the intervention in the same way (E2). Testing at the end of Phase 2 confirmed the intervention's large effect on phonological recoding, but the results for the 3 other tests showed no acceleration in the Phase 2 experimental group (E2). This study evaluates the efficacy of the trialled intervention, adds to the research literature on Tier-2 interventions for young struggling readers, and yields practical implications for schools that offer literacy interventions without a strong RtI framework.

On the Prosody of German Lyric Song

Proceeding from the premise that a nineteenth-century German lyric song is a reading of its text, the author develops new resources for describing acts of reading poetry and establishes the analytical relevance of the approach using examples drawn mainly from songs by Brahms. Part I provides an account of the rules that generate phonological words and phrases in German, the principles that determine the normal placement of stress in words and phrases, and motivations for the abnormal placement of stress. Part II looks at higher-level, facultative structures in prosodic phonology: intonation units, various rhythmic aspects of intonation (pulses, pauses, and lengthening), intonation sequences, and intonation contours. The study develops new methods of textual analysis specifically for use in forming and comparing interpretations of nineteenth-century German lyric song, but the approach also has clear implications for the study of other repertories.

Compounds in modern Greek

The difference between compounds and phrases has been studied extensively in English (e.g., Farnetani, Torsello, & Cosi, 1988; Plag, 2006; Štekauer, Zimmermann, & Gregová, 2007). However, little is known about the analogous difference in Modern Greek (Tzakosta, 2009). Greek compounds (Ralli, 2003) form a single phonological word, and thus, they only contain one primary stress. That means that the individual words lose their primary stress. The present study is the first acoustic investigation of the stress properties of Greek compounds and phrases. Native speakers of Greek produce ten novel adjective + noun compounds and their corresponding phrases (e.g., phrase: [kócino δódi] “a red tooth” vs. compound: [kocinoδódis] “someone with red teeth”) in the sentence corresponding to “The XXX is at the top/bottom of the screen.” Preliminary results confirm the earlier descriptive claims that compounds only have a single stress, while phrases have one on each word. Specifically, the first word (i.e., adjective) in compounds is reduced in F0 (101 Hz), duration (55 ms), and intensity (64 dB) compared to phrases (F0 = 117Hz, duration = 85 ms, and intensity = 67 dB). Also, both words are very similar for all of the measures in phrases. The second word (i.e., noun) is longer than the first word, possibly indicating phrase-final lengthening.