Pictorial Task Research Articles

The influence of pragmatic function on children's comprehension of complex because- and if-sentences

IntroductionIn complex adverbial sentences, the connectives because and if can perform different pragmatic functions (e.g. Content, Speech-Act), although this is often overlooked in studies investigating children's acquisition of these connectives. In this study, we investigated whether pragmatic variation is responsible for some of the difficulty young children have in understanding because- and if-sentences and tested the extent to which patterns of acquisition are related to the cognitive complexity or input frequency of the different pragmatic types.MethodsNinety-two children (aged 3–5; F = 39) and 20 adults (F = 12) took part in a forced-choice picture task where they had to identify correct pictures after hearing Content and Speech-Act because- and if-sentences.ResultsResults showed that children were most accurate on the sentence type where cognitive simplicity and input frequency converge (If Content), but this pattern was largely driven by the girls in the study. For response times, children were fastest with the least cognitively complex sentence types. However, for because Speech-Act sentences, there was an inverse relationship between response time and input frequency.DiscussionTaken together, these findings suggest that neither account (cognitive complexity or input frequency) can fully explain the findings. Instead, we suggest that the relative contributions of both factors are best understood in terms of the relevance of these utterances to children and the precise contexts in which children hear these utterances produced.

The Effects of ‘Dialogic Reading’ on the Development of Mental State Vocabulary in Children with ASD

Objectives: Children with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulties in understanding thoughts, intentions, and beliefs of others, which are related to the development of theory of mind. The purpose of this study was to facilitate the production of mental state vocabulary related to theory of mind in these children through ‘Dialogic book-reading’ intervention and to verify the intervention and generalization effects.Methods: A “PEER” strategy was conducted with children with ASD. The pattern of mental state vocabulary production was analyzed through a picture task, and generalization effects were examined using a parent-report checklist.Methods: A “PEER” strategy was conducted with children with ASD. The pattern of mental state vocabulary production was analyzed through a picture task, and generalization effects were examined using a parent-report checklist.Conclusion: This study provides evidence for the intervention and generalization effects of the interactive book reading strategy on the production of mental state vocabulary in children with ASD, highlighting the significance of using this strategy in clinical settings for training theory of mind in children with ASD.

Task Type Effects on EFL Oral Production, Perception, and Proficiency

This study investigates the oral production and perceptions of 38 EFL learners using two task types: personal information and narrative picture tasks. It also examines whether proficiency level moderates the impact of task type on EFL speech. Results from two-way ANOVAs and thematic analysis revealed that the personal information task was less demanding for EFL learners than the narrative picture task. The data also indicated that EFL learners achieved higher levels of accuracy and syntactic complexity during the personal information task, diverging from theoretical underpinnings and existing research findings in this area. Furthermore, the data showed that while proficiency affected the accuracy and fluency of speech production, it did not moderate task performance, suggesting that EFL learners' performance on the two tasks remained consistent across different proficiency levels. These findings have significant implications for research, pedagogy, and assessment in EFL contexts.

Attractive Caregiving: Women’s Preference for Men that Care for Children and the Role of Nurturance Motivation and Menstrual Cycle Phase

Another person’s caring abilities, in addition to physical features, may affect the observed attractiveness of that person. Using two newly developed instruments, we tested whether women (N = 360) judge men as more attractive when they are depicted in interactions with children (picture task) or accompanied by information on caring behavior (vignette task). Furthermore, we tested if such an effect is moderated by the following personal factors: women’s nurturance motivation, having (a desire to have) a child, women’s menstrual cycle phase, and use of oral contraceptives. In the picture task, women rate men as more attractive when they are depicted in interaction with a child, and this effect was enhanced by women who have high nurturance motivation and women who have (a desire to have) a child. Although the vignette task did not show a main effect of caring behavior, there was an effect of the menstrual cycle phase, demonstrating increased overall attractiveness ratings around the time of ovulation. This study confirms that perceived caring abilities in men can influence attractiveness evaluations, but that this effect varies depending on women’s own caring tendencies and desire for children, and that also the menstrual cycle phase can affect evaluations of the opposite sex. These findings add to the increasing literature that attempts to provide a more nuanced understanding of the forces that shape decisions that can form some of the most important relations in human lives.

Graph methods to infer spatial disturbances: Application to Huntington's Disease's speech

ObjectiveHuntington's Disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by the mutation of the Htt gene, impacting all aspects of living and functioning. Among cognitive disabilities, spatial capacities are impaired, but their monitoring remains scarce as limited by lengthy experts' assessments. Language offers an alternative medium to evaluate patients' performance in HD. Yet, its capacities to assess HD's spatial abilities are unknown. Here, we aimed to bring proof-of-concept that HD's spatial deficits can be assessed through speech. MethodsWe developed the Spatial Description Model to graphically represent spatial relations described during the Cookie Theft Picture (CTP) task. We increased the sensitivity of our model by using only sentences with spatial terms, unlike previous studies in Alzheimer's disease. 78 carriers of the mutant Htt, including 56 manifest and 22 premanifest individuals, as well as 25 healthy controls were included from the BIOHD & (NCT01412125) & Repair-HD (NCT03119246) cohorts. The convergence and divergence of the model were validated using the SelfCog battery. ResultsOur Spatial Description Model was the only one among the four assessed approaches, revealing that individuals with manifest HD expressed fewer spatial relations and engaged in less spatial exploration compared to healthy controls. Their graphs correlated with both visuospatial and language SelfCog performances, but not with motor, executive nor memory functions. ConclusionsWe provide the proof-of-concept using our Spatial Description Model that language can grasp HD patient's spatial disturbances. By adding spatial capabilities to the panel of functions tested by the language, it paves the way for eventual remote clinical application.

Pictorial Task Assistance System using Electroencephalography Signals

Neuromuscular disorders are a significant health problem globally. Patients may experience paralysis, muscle weakness, and communication problems because of these disorders. We propose a Pictorial Task Assistance System to help patients with communication issues using Electroencephalography (EEG). We developed an interface for patients containing an image of food and water. We collected EEG data from 25 healthy students using the Muse headset and Muse monitor app for our study, while they selected one of the images. The EEG data was used to train three supervised machine-learning algorithms for classification. The labels were acquired manually from participants. Using 10-fold cross-validation the results demonstrated that the Random Forest (RF) classifier achieved 88% accuracy, K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) 80%, and 76% accuracy in Logistic Regression (LR) in the classification of food and water images. These results suggest that the proposed system has the potential to be a useful tool for patients suffering from neuromuscular disorders to perform communication for their necessary tasks.

The maintenance of complex visual scenes in working memory may require activation of working memory manipulation circuits in the dlPFC: a preliminary report.

Past research has shown that the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (dlPFC) are implicated in both emotional processing as well as cognitive processing,1,2,3 in addition to working memory4, 5. Exactly how these disparate processes interact with one another within the dlPFC is less understood. To explore this, we designed a task that looked at working memory performance during fMRI under both emotional and non-emotional conditions, and tested it in this preliminary report. Participants were asked to complete three tasks (letters, neutral images, emotional images) of the Sternberg Sorting Task under one of two trial conditions (sort or maintain). Regions of interest consisted of the left and right dlPFC as defined by brain masks based on NeuroSynth6. Results showed a significant main effect of the 'sort' condition on reaction speed for all three trial types, as well as a main effect of task type (letters) on accuracy. In addition, a significant interaction was found between trial type (sort) and task type (letters), but not for either of the picture tasks. Although preliminary, these results reveal a discrepancy between BOLD signal and behavioral data, with no significant difference in BOLD activity during image trials being displayed, despite longer response times for every condition. While these initial results show that the dlPFC is implicated in non-emotional cognitive processing, more research is needed to explain the lack of BOLD activation seen here for similar emotionally valanced tasks, possibly indicating involvement of other brain networks.

Evidence of an active role of dreaming in emotional memory processing shows that we dream to forget

Dreaming is a universal human behavior that has inspired searches for meaning across many disciplines including art, psychology, religion, and politics, yet its function remains poorly understood. Given the suggested role of sleep in emotional memory processing, we investigated whether reported overnight dreaming and dream content are associated with sleep-dependent changes in emotional memory and reactivity, and whether dreaming plays an active or passive role. Participants completed an emotional picture task before and after a full night of sleep and they recorded the presence and content of their dreams upon waking in the morning. The results replicated the emotional memory trade-off (negative images maintained at the cost of neutral memories), but only in those who reported dreaming (Dream-Recallers), and not in Non-Dream-Recallers. Results also replicated sleep-dependent reductions in emotional reactivity, but only in Dream-Recallers, not in Non-Dream-Recallers. Additionally, the more positive the dream report, the more positive the next-day emotional reactivity is compared to the night before. These findings implicate an active role for dreaming in overnight emotional memory processing and suggest a mechanistic framework whereby dreaming may enhance salient emotional experiences via the forgetting of less relevant information.

The ecological validity of picture SFON tasks

Research has identified that children differ in the extent to which they spontaneously focus on numerical aspects of the environment (Spontaneous Focusing on Numerosity, SFON) and that this correlates with their mathematics achievement. It is assumed that the mechanism underpinning this relationship is that children who spontaneously focus on numerical features of their environment will experience more self-initiated practice with number concepts. We explored this mechanism by investigating whether 4- to 5-year-old children’s verbal SFON scores on a picture description task related to their spontaneous focusing on number while engaged in play activities with their parent. We found that the scores derived from a picture description task were strongly correlated with the scores derived from the play sessions, rₛ = .638, 95% CI [.433, .781], providing evidence for this mechanism. We further investigated the role that verbal abilities may play in children’s performance on the picture description task, finding that general verbal abilities were not associated with verbal SFON scores. These results contribute to our understanding of the role played by verbal SFON tendencies in explaining differences in numerical development, and demonstrate the ecological validity of SFON picture tasks.

Verbal expressive language minimally affected in non-demented people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Objective: Language dysfunction is one of the most common cognitive impairments in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although discourse capacities are essential for daily functioning, verbal expressive language has not been widely investigated in ALS. The existing research available suggests that discourse impairments are prevalent. This study investigates verbal expressive language in people living with ALS (plwALS) in contrast to healthy controls (HC). Methods: 64 plwALS and 49 age, gender and education-matched healthy controls were ask to describe the Cookie Theft Picture Task. The recordings were analyzed for discourse productivity, discourse content, syntactic complexity, speech fluency and verb processing. We applied the Bayesian hypothesis-testing framework, incorporating the effects of dysarthria, cognitive impairment status (CIS), and premorbid crystalline verbal IQ. Results: Compared to HC, plwALS only showed a single impairment: speech dysfluency. Discourse productivity, discourse content, syntactic complexity and verb processing were not impaired. Cognition and dysarthria exceeded the influence of verbal IQ for total words spoken and content density. Cognition alone seemed to explain dysfluency. Body-agent verbs were produced at even higher rates than other verb types. For the remaining outcomes, verbal IQ was the most decisive factor. Conclusions: In contrast to existing research, our data demonstrates no discernible impairment in verbal expressive language in ALS. What our findings show to be decisive is accounting for the influence of dysarthria, cognitive impairment status, and verbal IQ as variables on spontaneous verbal expressive language. Minor impairments in verbal expressive language appear to be influenced to a greater degree by executive dysfunctioning and dysarthria than by language impairment.

Predicting functional adequacy from complexity, accuracy, and fluency of second-language picture-prompted speaking

Functional adequacy (FA) is a construct of task achievement in communicative settings and focuses on the extent to which task requirements are satisfied by effectively conveying intended messages. Recent studies in second-language speaking and writing have emphasized the importance of FA in addition to complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF); FA and CAF are combined into the acronym CAFFA. This study aims to investigate (a) the extent to which CAF measures can explain FA holistic ratings in oral picture narration among Japanese learners of English; (b) how these results are moderated by different picture tasks; and (c) the comparability of means, variances, and correlations of the same FA ratings and CAF measures across tasks. Results of multiple regression analyses indicate that only a speed fluency measure (syllables per minute) significantly predicts FA, while a substantial proportion of FA remains unexplained by CAF, highlighting the separate and related nature of the two constructs. Moreover, the prediction of FA by CAF is consistent across picture tasks, with means and variances of FA and CAF measures being generally comparable, and with correlations of the same measures across tasks not being consistently strong, except for syllables per minute. The paper discusses implications and offers suggestions for future research.

Theoretical Legacy of Oleksandr Bogomazov: The Artist’s Notes in The Portrait Problem

The publication of Oleksandr Bohomazov’s theoretical text “On Portrait” (1915– 1916) is part of the large manuscript Thoughts About Art which was written by the artist as a continuation of the theoretical work Painting and Elements (1914). Theoretical studies were an important part of his artistic work. In his paintings and graphics, Bohomazov develops a number of his own techniques that make it possible not only to convey the dynamic states of the depicted objects, but also to create the impression of intense dynamic tension and reproduce the feeling of movement. The main emphasis in the works is on the viewer’s psychological perception of the feeling of this movement. Thus, his later theoretical explorations moved towards the visualization of the natural energy of objects, which was embodied in the new text, Thoughts About Art (1915– 1916). Using the analytical approach to painting, Oleksandr Bohomazov formulates his artistic theory as an evolution of painting elements. Since the portrait genre played a vital role in the artist’s creative practice, it is important to study the part of his theoretical texts aimed at understanding the goals and pictorial tasks that the artist is faced with during the creation of a portrait.

Comprehension of irony in autistic children: The role of theory of mind and executive function.

Although previous studies have examined irony comprehension in autistic children and potential impact factors, the relationship between theory of mind (ToM), executive function (EF), symptoms of autism, and comprehension of irony in this population remains largely unknown. This study explored irony comprehension in autistic children and examined the roles of ToM and EF in linking autism symptoms to deficits in irony comprehension. Twenty autistic children were compared with 25 typically developing (TD) children in an irony story picture task, ToM task, and EF task. The results showed that autistic children had impaired comprehension of irony compared with TD children, and performance on ironic stories showed a significant moderate discriminatory effect in predicting autistic children. A ToM deficit has also been proposed for autistic children. Comprehension of irony was significantly correlated with second-order ToM (2nd ToM) but was not significantly correlated with any components of EF. Moreover, 2nd ToM can predict the level of irony comprehension and mediate the relationship between symptoms of autism and irony comprehension. Taken together, these findings suggest that irony comprehension may offer a potential cognitive marker for quantifying syndrome manifestations in autistic children, and 2nd ToM may provide insight into the theoretical mechanism underlying the deficit in irony comprehension in this population.

A New Experimental Design to Examine Cognitive Biases for Gastrointestinal Related Stimuli in Children and Adolescents.

Cognitive biases toward disorder-specific stimuli are suggested as crucial to the development and maintenance of symptoms in adults with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID). Functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPD), a subtype of FGID, are common in children and adolescents, but the influence of cognitive biases is sparsely examined. This study aimed to (1) develop a new experimental design for assessing cognitive biases toward gastrointestinal stimuli in children and adolescents (aged 8 to 17 years) and (2) derive comparative data on bias toward gastrointestinal stimuli using a healthy "normative" sample. The online experimental design-BY-GIS (Bias in Youth toward GastroIntestinal-related Stimuli)-includes a word task and a picture task. Stimuli in both tasks are related to general and gastrointestinal symptoms, and the design includes three phases: (1) encoding, (2) free recall, and (3) recognition. Data were collected between April 2022 and April 2023 from 96 healthy participants (Mage = 12.32, 47.92% female). Adolescents were significantly better at recalling words than children (p = 0.03), whereas there were no significant gender or age differences with regard to recalling pictures (p > 0.05). Across age and gender, participants performed above chance level in the recognition phases of both tasks. The results support that the design is suitable within the age span.

Shared and distinct routes in speech and gesture imitation: Evidence from stroke

Dual-route models of high-level (praxis) actions distinguish between an “indirect” semantic route mediating meaningful gesture imitation, and a “direct” sensory-motor route mediates meaningless gesture imitation. Similarly, dual-route language models distinguish between an indirect route mediating production and repetition of words, and a direct route mediating non-word repetition. Although aphasia and limb apraxia frequently co-occur following left-hemisphere cerebrovascular accident (LCVA), it is unclear which aspects of these functional-neuroanatomic dual-route architectures are shared across praxis and language domains. This study focused on gesture imitation to test the hypothesis that semantic information (and portions of the indirect route) are shared across domains, whereas two distinct dorsal routes mediate sensory-motor mapping. Forty chronic LCVA and 17 neurotypical controls completed semantic memory and language tasks and imitated 3 types of gesture stimuli: (1) labeled/“named” meaningful, (2) unnamed meaningful, and (3) meaningless gestures. The comparison of accuracy between meaningless versus unnamed meaningful gestures examined the benefits of semantic information, while the comparison of unnamed meaningful versus named meaningful imitation examined additional benefits of linguistic cueing. Mixed-effects models examined group by task interaction effects on gesture ability. We found that for patients with LCVA, unnamed meaningful gestures were imitated more accurately than meaningless gestures, suggesting that semantic information was beneficial, but there was no benefit of labeling. Reduced benefit of semantic information on gesture accuracy was associated with lesions to inferior frontal and posterior temporal regions as well as semantic memory performance on a pictorial (non-gesture) task. In contrast, there was no relationship between meaningless gesture imitation and nonword repetition, indicating that measures of direct route performance are not associated across language and action. These results provide preliminary evidence that portions of the indirect semantic route are shared across the language and action domains, while two direct sensory-motor mapping routes mediate word repetition and gesture imitation.

Exploring the carry-over of top-down attentional settings in dynamic conditions.

A top-down attentional set can persist from a relevant task to an irrelevant task, influencing allocation of attentional resources, visual search, and performance. While this "carry-over" effect has been found across numerous experiments, past studies have utilised paradigms that present similar tasks to the same spatial location. The present research explored whether attentional settings persist in more dynamic situations. In Experiment 1, participants played a computer game that encouraged a horizontal, vertical, or random spread of search. After 10 or 30 s, they moved 90° to their right and monitored a driving video for hazards. Eye movements to the videos were not affected by the characteristics of the preceding game, revealing no carry-over of attentional settings. One possible explanation for this was the visuospatial shift between the tasks. To explore this further, Experiment 2 adopted a similar paradigm to previous research; participants searched horizontal, vertical, or random letter strings before completing an image search. In one block the tasks were presented to the same screen, and in one block the tasks were presented to different screens (incorporating a 90° visuospatial shift mid-trial). Carry-over was found in the one-screen block, with a significantly wider horizontal search and a narrower vertical search in the pictures after a horizontal letter search. However, there was no carry-over from the letter to the picture task in the two-screen block. This indicates the flexibility of attentional control in dynamic situations, and it is suggested that persistence of attentional settings will be most costly under stable conditions.

Neuropsychological endpoints for clinical trials in methylmalonic acidemia and propionic acidemia: A pilot study

IntroductionThis pilot study assessed instruments measuring relatively discrete neuropsychological domains to inform the selection of clinical outcome assessments that may be considered for interventional trials in methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) and propionic acidemia (PA). MethodsTests and questionnaires were selected for their possible relevance to MMA and PA and potential sensitivity to modest changes in functioning and behavior. ResultsTwenty-one patients (<18 years, n = 10;>18 years, n = 11) and/or their caregivers responded to video interviews and paper tests. Language deficits and significant motor deficits in some participants impacted scoring, especially in the verbal and processing speed sections of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). However, all participants ≥12 years of age were able to complete the Cookie Theft Picture Task. Thus, verbal discourse remains a potentially useful endpoint for participants in this age group. The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS-3) Adaptive Behavior Composite and Communication Scores confirmed delayed or immature functioning in day-to-day activities in these participants. Significant motor deficits prevented completion of some tests. Computerized processing speed tasks, which require pressing a button or tapping a computer screen, may be easier than writing or checking off boxes on paper in this cohort. Sleep characteristics among MMA participants were within normative ranges of the Child and Adolescent Sleep Checklist (CASC), indicating that this measurement would not provide valuable data in a clinical trial. Despite their challenges, responses to the Metabolic Quality of Life Questionnaire indicated these patients and their caregivers perceive an overall high quality of life. ConclusionOverall, test and questionnaire results were notably different between participants with MMA and participants with PA. The study demonstrates that pilot studies can detect instruments that may not be appropriate for individuals with language or motor deficits and that may not provide a broad range of scores reflecting disease severity. It also provides a rationale for focusing on discrete neuropsychological domains since some aspects of functioning were less affected than others and some were more closely related to disease severity. When global measures are used, overall scores may mask specific deficits. A pilot study like this one cannot ensure that scores will change over time in response to a specific treatment in a clinical trial. However, it can avert the selection of instruments that do not show associations with severity or biomedical parameters likely to be the target of a clinical trial. A pilot study can also identify when differences in diagnoses and baseline functioning need to be addressed prior to developing the analytical plan for the trial.

SINGLE-VALUED NEUTROSOPHIC SET WITH QUATERNION INFORMATION: A PROMISING APPROACH TO ASSESS IMAGE QUALITY

Diminished estimate techniques for image quality assessment examine the overall quality using only partially retrieved features from the reference image. The main goal of these methods is to make objective evaluation flexible enough to accommodate the influence of any new visual distortion. The research provides a rapid approach for quality assessment of color photographs based on this concept by altering the structural similarity index measure (SSIM) index in a neutrosophic environment. The SSIM family is a set of parameters that have demonstrated a promising approach in the analysis of reference picture tasks. The current study deals with the exploitation of the concept to use Single-Valued Neutrosophic Sets (SVNSs) for evaluating image quality. Neutrosophic divergence was being constructed for an image and its comparison with other SSIM is presented. Resultantly, a correlation was observed between the proposed divergence and SSIM, which gave accurate informatics. Additionally, the results were presented on a real line which reflects clear information on image convergence and divergence. The uncertainty in the allocation of membership is called the hesitation degree, fuzzy sets have gained a lot of traction in numerous domains of signal and image processing. Based on generalized exponential fuzzy entropy, a trustworthy Image Quality Assessment is proposed.

Resting-state connectivity and neural response to emotional images in patients with severe health anxiety: An fMRI study

BackgroundSevere health anxiety is a disorder characterized by a persistent preoccupation with one's health. In behavioral studies, biases in the processing of health-related stimuli (e.g., pictures, words) are consistently associated with health anxiety symptoms. The neural correlates of the observed behavioral abnormalities remain however poorly understood. MethodsIn this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, 22 treatment-seeking patients with severe health anxiety and 22 control participants performed a resting-state and a picture matching task. Immediately after the resting-state, participants completed a questionnaire quantifying their thoughts and feelings during rest along several dimensions. The picture task included images of health-related and neutral scenes and of disgusted and neutral faces. ResultsCompared to controls, patients with health anxiety showed increased functional connectivity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex within the left fronto-parietal resting-state network, which correlated positively with the self-reported thought dimensions of Self, Health Concern, and Thought Suppression. In the picture matching task, no significant group differences were found in the hypothesised regions (amygdala and insula) or at a whole-brain level in response to either health-related versus neural scenes or disgust versus neutral faces contrasts. LimitationsA relatively small sample size and that no information about patients declining to participate was obtained. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that behavioral biases in health anxiety may be related to aberrant left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex functional connectivity at rest. In contrast, the health anxiety patients did not show significant hyperactivations of amygdala and insula during processing of emotional stimuli, contrasting findings in other anxiety disorders.

Conditions for the Borrowing of Irregular Plurals in an Intense Language Contact Situation

This article is devoted to borrowing in Frisian of Dutch irregular plurals formed by suffixation and stem vowel lengthening; e.g. dak [dak] ‘roof’ - daken [da:k?/da:kn?] ‘roofs’ instead of Frisian dak [dak] - dakken [dakn?]. Irregular plural formation is unproductive in Dutch and uncommon in Frisian (except in a couple of historical borrowings). Although the appearance of irregular Dutch plurals in Frisian had not previously been described or investigated, we hypothesize their existence in spoken Frisian, based on analogical cases. However, they would not be borrowed without any limitations as various factors would affect their borrowability; e.g. words frequency, phonotactic constraints or paradigm alternation. This study is based on approximately 175 interview recordings. The participants were asked to name different objects shown to them during the interview picture task. The results confirm both the (quite frequent) use of Dutch irregular plurals in Frisian and the involvement of different (morphological) factors in the borrowing processes. Accordingly, borrowing of such plurals is not only a lexical matter, but also a grammatical one. Phonotactic factors do not appear to play any significant role, but paradigm alternation seems to be decisive in whether a plural can successfully be borrowed or not.