Real Words Research Articles

Children's Response Bias and Identification of Misarticulated Words.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine whether children's identification of misarticulated words as real objects was influenced by an inherent bias toward selecting real objects or whether a change in experimental conditions could impact children's selections.MethodForty preschool children aged 4 years 0 months to 6 years 11 months across 2 experiments heard accurate productions of real words (e.g., “leaf”), misarticulated words (e.g., “weaf” and “yeaf”), and unrelated nonwords (e.g., “geem”). Within the misarticulated words, the commonness of the substitute was controlled to be “common” or “uncommon.” Using the MouseTracker software, children were asked to select between a real object (e.g., a leaf) and a novel object (Experiment 1) or between a real object (e.g., a leaf) and a blank square, which represented a hidden object (Experiment 2).ResultsConsistent with previous findings, children chose real objects significantly more when they heard accurate productions (e.g., “leaf”) than misarticulated productions (e.g., “weaf” or “yeaf”) across both experiments. In misarticulation conditions, real object selections were lower than in the previous study; however, children chose real objects significantly more in the common misarticulation condition than in the uncommon misarticulation condition.ConclusionsThe results of this study are consistent with previous findings. Children's behavioral responses depended upon the task. Despite these differences in the task, children demonstrated ease in integrating variability into their word identification.

Statistical Modeling of Application Completeness of Two Tone Sandhi Rules / 两组变调规则应用程度的统计建模

This study examines the application of two Mandarin tone sandhi rules on real and wug words varying in degrees of phonological and semantic dependency. Using two statistical methods, we examined the surface f0 contours and underlying pitch targets. For the third tone sandhi, a lexical effect was discovered on the relationship between “word-likeness” of stimuli and completeness of rule application. The degree of application for the half-third sandhi tone, however, was less consistent. This study offers new insights in the debate between categorical and gradient views of sandhi rules. We propose three hypothesized situations and argue that the Mandarin tone sandhi rule application involves computation of sandhi forms, though it becomes more incomplete on wug words containing more illegitimate morphemes. Finally, between the two rules, the application of the third tone sandhi rule is less phonetically motivated and more biased in wug words, exhibiting differences between real words and wug words.

Remediation program with automatized naming and reading for students with dyslexia: elaboration and clinical significance.

Elaborate a remediation program with rapid automatized naming and reading, as well as to verify the clinical significance of the elaborated program for students with dyslexia. The study involved five students from 3rd to the 5th grade of elementary school, aged 8 to 12 years, of both genders, with an interdisciplinary diagnosis of dyslexia. All students were submitted to pre- and post-test application of metalinguistic skills and reading test, reading comprehension and rapid automatized naming test. The analysis was performed using the JT method that allowed to verify positive or negative change and clinical significance in the post-testing. The results showed clinical significance in the tests of identification, syllable addition and combination, final and medial phoneme; in addition to nonwords repetition, real words and pseudowords reading, reading comprehension and rapid automatized naming test when comparing the pre- and post-testing. The elaborated program was efficient and applicable as an intervention instrument based on scientific evidence for students with dyslexia since it showed clinical significance for reading performance.

Reconsolidation or interference? Aging effects and the reactivation of novel and familiar episodic memories

ABSTRACT We examined aging effects in reconsolidation and interference in episodic memory by reactivating memories for well-learned items in young and healthy older adults while controlling memory strength and the degree semantic processes contributed to memory. In Experiment 1, young and old adults learned pairs of real words and images to a strict criterion. After 24-hours, half of the images were reactivated and new words were paired with the images and learned to criterion. Following a 1-week delay, recognition and source monitoring were measured for both sets of pairings. Experiment 2 was a replication of Experiment 1, but using previously unknown novel words and unusual images. As predicted, older adults needed more trials to learn both the A-B and A-C pairings. Older adults required more trials to learn the new associations for reactivated than the not reactivated pairs, although there was no main effect of reactivation and no Age x Reactivation interaction for measures of recognition one-week later. These results are inconsistent with previous findings concerning age differences in reactivation effects in episodic memory. Instead, they suggest that once memory strength and input from semantic memory are better controlled, young and old adults perform similarly on tests of long-term recognition memory.

Functional brain networks involved in lexical decision

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)55Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on lexical decision (LD)66Lexical Decision (LD) attempting to isolate the brain network underlying access to lexical representations can be confounded by attentional and response processes. However, manipulating the “wordlikeness” of the LD stimuli can facilitate functional interpretation of each emerging brain network, providing principles for separation of attentional demand from linguistic processing. This is because activation of difficult-to-access lexical representations (for obscure real words), and avoidance of interfering word properties (for wordlike non-words), are both generally attentionally demanding. Therefore, congruent patterns of activation would be predicted for general-attention-responsive networks, but opposing patterns for language-responsive networks. 59 healthy adults performed a LD task, and multidimensional functional connectivity analysis was used to extract three functional brain networks. A linguistic processing network (LPN) was separated from attention/response networks anatomically (LPN included Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas), but also temporally by showing reduced activation for the most attentionally demanding condition (i.e., wordlike non-words). This demonstrated that during LD in fMRI a network involved in linguistic processing can be disentangled from attention- and response-specific networks, using a combination of experimental design and multidimensional analysis methods.

When Slower is Faster: Time Spent Decoding Novel Words Predicts Better Decoding and Faster Growth

ABSTRACT We compare poor-performing and normal-performing decoders’ processing times on real words, pseudo-homophones, and nonwords (Study 1), and evaluate how a processing time difference is associated with rates of decoding development (Study 2). Over 800 sixth and seventh graders took an online reading component battery, which included a decoding test, four times in three consecutive years. Study 1 indicates that poor decoders were generally slower than their peers in processing real words and pseudo-homophones, but they spent shorter time than their peers when decoding nonwords that were novel to them, resulting in a significant interaction. In Study 2, longitudinal modeling reveals that the time students spent decoding novel words positively predicted decoding development. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that poor decoders may be trapped in a vicious cycle: poor decoding skill combined with less time spent attempting to decode novel words interferes with decoding development.

Vowel and Tone Identification for Mandarin Congenital Amusics: Effects of Vowel Type and Semantic Content.

Purpose This study aimed to explore the effects of Mandarin congenital amusia with or without lexical tone deficit (i.e., tone agnosia and pure amusia) on Mandarin vowel and tone identification in different types of vowels (e.g., monophthong, diphthongs, and triphthongs) embedded in consonant-vowel contexts with and without semantic content. Method Thirteen pure amusics (i.e., amusics with normal lexical processing), 5 tone agnosics (i.e., with lexical tone deficit), and 12 controls were screened with Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia and lexical tone tests (Nan et al., 2010; Peretz et al., 2003). Vowel-plus-tone identification tasks with the factors of vowel type and syllables with and without semantic content (e.g., real and nonsense words) were examined among the 3 groups, and identification scores were calculated in 3 formats: vowel-plus-tone identification, vowel identification, and tone identification. Results Tone agnosics showed significantly poorer performances on identifications of vowel, tone, and vowel plus tone across monophthongs, diphthongs, and triphthongs in both real and nonsense words compared to pure amusics and controls. Their deficits were similar across the 3 types of vowels, while the deficit on vowel-plus-tone identification was more severe in nonsense words than in real words. On the other hand, pure amusics performed similarly with controls across all these conditions. Conclusions Tone agnosia might affect both musical pitch and phonological processing, resulting in deficits in lexical tone and vowel perception. On the contrary, pure amusics's effect is primarily on musical pitch perception but not on lexical tone or phonemic deficit. Vowel type did not affect speech deficits for tone agnosics, while they relied more on semantic content as a compensation.

Out of Time: Time-Travel Tropes Write (through) Climate Change

Out of Time: Time-Travel Tropes Write (through) Climate Change

Toward Understanding the Lexical-Morphological Networks of Children With Specific Language Impairment: Analysis of Responses on a Morphological Production Task.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to characterize the lexical-morphological networks of children with specific language impairment (SLI) compared to children with typical language by analyzing responses on a morphological derived form production task. Method School-age children with SLI (n = 32) and peers with typical language (n = 40) completed an oral cloze derived form production task (Carlisle, 2000). On this task, children were expected to complete verbally presented sentences with a derived form of a provided morphological stem. Responses were coded as correct or incorrect following Carlisle's (2000) stated correct responses. Incorrect responses were coded as scorable or unscorable, and then scorable responses were coded as pseudowords or real words. Real words were further coded according to whether they were repetitions of the given stem. Results There was a statistically significant between-group difference for mean correct responses (d = 1.43). The scorable incorrect responses of children with SLI included a lower mean proportion of pseudowords than did the incorrect responses of children with typical language (d = 0.76). Conclusion Because children with SLI produced a lower proportion of pseudowords as scorable incorrect responses than peers with typical language, we conclude that they have less developed lexical-morphological networks and, thus, less derivational morphology knowledge than peers with typical language.

Mechanisms of tone sandhi rule application by tonal and non-tonal non-native speakers

This study is the first comprehensive acoustic study to examine the acquisition of two Mandarin tone sandhi rules: the third tone sandhi and the more phonetically motivated, half-third sandhi rule by both tonal (Cantonese) and non-tonal (American English) speakers using a Wug Test. Participants were asked to form disyllables from two monosyllabic morphemes. To test for the operation of the lexical versus the computation mechanisms in sandhi rule application, both real and various types of wug (nonsense) morphemes were included. Functional data analysis revealed that Cantonese and American speakers apply the two rules similarly on both real words and wug words, suggesting that the sandhi forms are stored as part of the representation of the abstract Tone 3 (T3) category, and computation of allophonic variants is likely to be involved during production. However, in their computation of tone sandhi rules, L2 learners showed less detailed and less accurate production of tonal contours compared to native speakers, due, perhaps, to less detailed phonological representations of allophonic variants. In general, Cantonese speakers performed better than American speakers. Perceptual mapping between Mandarin sandhi T3 to existing Cantonese tone categories may be responsible for the observed pitch contours among Cantonese speakers. Finally, no phonetic bias was found in the application of the two sandhi rules among these groups of L2 learners, which is likely due to more variability in L2’s speech, obscuring any differences that may exist.

Intelligibility of Children With Speech Sound Disorders Evaluated by Listeners With Swedish as a Second Language.

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the intelligibility of children's atypical speech in relation to listeners' language background. Method Forty-eight participants listened to and transcribed isolated words repeated by children with speech sound disorders. Participants were divided into, on the one hand, a multilingual group (n = 29) that was further divided into subgroups based on age of acquisition (early, 0-3 years; intermediate, 4-12 years; and late, > 12 years) and, on the other hand, a monolingual comparison group (n = 19). Results The monolingual listeners obtained higher intelligibility scores than the multilingual listeners; this difference was statistically significant. Participants who acquired Swedish at an older age (> 4 years) were found to have lower scores than other listeners. The later the age of acquisition, the less of the atypical speech was decoded correctly. A further analysis of the transcriptions also revealed a higher level of nonwords among the incorrect transcriptions of the multilinguals than that of the monolinguals who used more real words, whereas both groups were equally prone to using blanks when they did not perceive a word. Conclusions This indicates a higher risk of communicative problems between late acquirers of Swedish and children with speech sound disorders. Clinical implications, such as involving communication partners in the intervention process, are discussed as well as possible linguistic explanations to the findings. This study could be seen as a starting point in the field of research regarding the relations between the language background of the listener and the ability to perceive atypical speech.

Knowledge of word stress patterns in English in Korean Learners: The case of English trisyllabic nouns

This study aims to explore Korean learner knowledge of word stress patterns in English trisyllabic nouns. Building upon the previous findings from Guion (2005), further studies should look at data regarding more syllabically complex words. While the stress placement rules in English require at least three syllables to be applied, the study (Guion, 2005) only observed the individuals’ stress placement patterns in English disyllabic words. The prevalence of longer polysyllabic words in the English language necessitates observation of Korean learner speech patterns in English trisyllabic words. A total of 16 Korean learners of English participated in the experiments that explore the distributional patterns of stress placement based on word type (i.e., nonwords and real words) and syllable stress position on English trisyllabic nouns. Compared to that of native English speakers, Korean learners of English showed significantly higher error rate on stress placement rules in English nouns—particularly higher error rates on production and perception of nonwords, compared to that of English real words. The predictive factors (word type, syllable structure, and syllable weight) had a significant effect on the stress placement on both groups. Based on the results, our goal is to discuss how the learners use their previous language learning experience when they decide on which syllable to apply stress.

The neutralization of Xiapu Min tones in disyllabic tone sandhi forms

Tone sandhi can result in both incomplete and complete tone neutralization. Chien and Jongman (2018) proposed that unproductive (i.e., lexicalized) tone sandhi (as in Taiwan Min) tends to have complete neutralization; productive tone sandhi usually shows incomplete neutralization (as in Mandarin; Zhang and Lai, 2010). The current study tests whether tone sandhi is phonetically neutralized in Xiapu Min, an Eastern Min variety from Fujian, China (Wen, 2015). Xiapu Min has seven tones, five of which are smooth tones (44, 11, 42, 35, 23) and two of which are checked tones (5, 2). Tone sandhi occurs in disyllabic words and results in neutralization (e.g., Tone 42, 35, and 5 are neutralized to Tone 55 when word-initial.) We test the completeness of this neutralization by investigating potential differences in F0, duration, and phonation, which is measured acoustically using H1*–H2* and HNR, and articulatorily using electroglottographic open quotient. We also determine the productivity of Xiapu Min by testing whether tone sandhi emerges in nonce words. The results will illustrate whether the tonal neutralization is complete in Xiapu Min real words and will bring further data to bear on the relation between sandhi productivity and the completeness of neutralization.Tone sandhi can result in both incomplete and complete tone neutralization. Chien and Jongman (2018) proposed that unproductive (i.e., lexicalized) tone sandhi (as in Taiwan Min) tends to have complete neutralization; productive tone sandhi usually shows incomplete neutralization (as in Mandarin; Zhang and Lai, 2010). The current study tests whether tone sandhi is phonetically neutralized in Xiapu Min, an Eastern Min variety from Fujian, China (Wen, 2015). Xiapu Min has seven tones, five of which are smooth tones (44, 11, 42, 35, 23) and two of which are checked tones (5, 2). Tone sandhi occurs in disyllabic words and results in neutralization (e.g., Tone 42, 35, and 5 are neutralized to Tone 55 when word-initial.) We test the completeness of this neutralization by investigating potential differences in F0, duration, and phonation, which is measured acoustically using H1*–H2* and HNR, and articulatorily using electroglottographic open quotient. We also determine the productivity of Xiapu Min by testing wh...

Subunits Inference and Lexicon Development Based on Pairwise Comparison of Utterances and Signs

Communication languages convey information through the use of a set of symbols or units. Typically, this unit is word. When developing language technologies, as words in a language do not have the same prior probability, there may not be sufficient training data for each word to model. Furthermore, the training data may not cover all possible words in the language. Due to these data sparsity and word unit coverage issues, language technologies employ modeling of subword units or subunits, which are based on prior linguistic knowledge. For instance, development of speech technologies such as automatic speech recognition system presume that there exists a phonetic dictionary or at least a writing system for the target language. Such knowledge is not available for all languages in the world. In that direction, this article develops a hidden Markov model-based abstract methodology to extract subword units given only pairwise comparison between utterances (or realizations of words in the mode of communication), i.e., whether two utterances correspond to the same word or not. We validate the proposed methodology through investigations on spoken language and sign language. In the case of spoken language, we demonstrate that the proposed methodology can lead up to discovery of phone set and development of phonetic dictionary. In the case of sign language, we demonstrate how hand movement information can be effectively modeled for sign language processing and synthesized back to gain insight about the derived subunits.

Articulation contact pressures scaled to the physiologic range of the tongue in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A pilot study

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to compare the percentage of the maximum isometric lingual strength range at which lingual-alveolar consonants are produced (%Pmax) by people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (PALS) compared to people without the disease measured at study entry, and then 3 and 6 months later. DesignProspective cohort comparison study over time. MethodsTen people with ALS and nine without produced the consonants /t, d, s, z, l, n/ in real words within sentences as the articulatory contact pressure (ACP) between the tongue tip and palate was sensed by a miniature transducer. Maximum isometric tongue pressing values also were obtained to allow calculation of %Pmax. Data were analyzed to compare PALS with bulbar symptoms, PALS with spinal-only symptoms, and people without ALS. Results%Pmax did not differ between any of the three participant groups at any of the three measurement times. Maximum isometric pressure did decrease significantly in both ALS groups when comparing baseline to 3- and 6-months later. Maximum pressures remained stable for the non-ALS group at the three measurement times. ConclusionThe results suggest that speech motor activity of the tongue in people with ALS may be scaled relative to their overall tongue strength, such that the %Pmax does not change as the tongue gets progressively weaker.

An N-of-1 Randomized Controlled Trial of Interventions for Children With Inconsistent Speech Sound Errors.

Purpose The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that children with inconsistent speech errors would respond differentially to 1 of 3 specific interventions depending on their primary underlying impairment: Children with deficient motor planning were expected to respond best to an auditory-motor integration (AMI) intervention, and children with deficient phonological planning were expected to respond best to a phonological memory and planning (PMP) intervention. Method Twelve participants were diagnosed with a motor planning (n = 7) or phonological planning (n = 5) deficit based on a comprehensive assessment, which included the Syllable Repetition Task as an important source of diagnostic evidence. An N-of-1 randomized controlled trial was used. Each child experienced all 3 interventions: AMI, PMP, and control (CTL); however, these interventions were randomly allocated to sessions within weeks (3 sessions per week × 6 weeks for 18 sessions). The AMI intervention procedures targeted knowledge of the acoustic-phonetic target and integration of auditory and somatosensory feedback during speech practice. The PMP intervention procedures targeted segmenting and recompiling the phonological plan for each word. The CTL intervention was standard drill practice. The child was taught 5 pseudowords in a meaningful context in each intervention condition. Results Same-day (SD) probes assessed transfer from taught pseudowords to untaught real words, and next-day (ND) probes assessed retention of that learning. Nonparametric resampling tests with pooling of p values across children with the same diagnosis were used to assess the results. Pooled p values indicated a significant benefit of AMI over PMP for the group with a motor planning deficit (p = 2.01E-04 for SD probes and 2.97E-03 for ND probes) and a significant benefit of PMP over AMI for the group with a phonological planning deficit (p = 1.22E-02 for SD probes and 1.32E-02 for ND probes). Response to the CTL intervention was variable within groups. Conclusion In this study, the child's underlying psycholinguistic deficit helped to predict response to intervention.

Reconstructed forms in the Roman writers on language

ABSTRACT Ancient writers on the Latin language had the concept of ‘reconstruction’ of words which existed in earlier stages of the language. In some ways this was similar to modern notions of reconstruction, in others different. In this article I show how writers subsequent to Varro continued to use concepts of relationships of sounds between older and classical Latin, and between Latin and other languages, to come up with their reconstructions. I will also show that these reconstructions could be considered to have once existed, to the extent that they could be treated as real words in lexica.

Asymmetry of Kazakh velar and uvular consonants

Little descriptive work has been done on the place and voicing restrictions of the asymmetrical velar and uvular consonant inventory in Kazakh. In Kazakh, velar and uvular consonants are restricted depending on their neighbouring vowel. Velars appear in front vowel environments and uvulars appear in back vowel environments (place restriction). Voiced and voiceless velars and uvulars are restricted depending on their position in the word. At the morpheme boundary, velars and uvulars are voiceless in the word-final position and voiced in the stem-final position, when followed by a vowel-initial suffix (voicing restriction). The results from elicitation-based production experiments with six native Kazakh speakers reveal that the place restriction is not productive from real words to nonce words but the voicing restriction is. The data suggests a derived-environment effect where the resulting voicing process is conditioned morphologically. A theoretical analysis within Optimality Theory captures the voicing pattern using an indexed-markedness constraint and Local Conjunction.

The effects of high versus low talker variability and individual aptitude on phonetic training of Mandarin lexical tones.

High variability (HV) training has been found to be more effective than low variability (LV) training when learning various non-native phonetic contrasts. However, little research has considered whether this applies to the learning of tone contrasts. The only two relevant studies suggested that the effect of HV training depends on the perceptual aptitude of participants (Perrachione et al., 2011; Sadakata & McQueen, 2014). The present study extends these findings by examining the interaction between individual aptitude and input variability using natural, meaningful second language input (both previous studies used pseudowords). A total of 60 English speakers took part in an eight session phonetic training paradigm. They were assigned to high/low/high-blocked variability training groups and learned real Mandarin tones and words. Individual aptitude was measured following previous work. Learning was measured using one discrimination task, one identification task and two production tasks. All tasks assessed generalization. All groups improved in both the production and perception of tones which transferred to untrained voices and items, demonstrating the effectiveness of training despite the increased complexity compared with previous research. Although the LV group exhibited an advantage with the training stimuli, there was no evidence for a benefit of high-variability in any of the tests of generalisation. Moreover, although aptitude significantly predicted performance in discrimination, identification and training tasks, no interaction between individual aptitude and variability was revealed. Additional Bayes Factor analyses indicated substantial evidence for the null for the hypotheses of a benefit of high-variability in generalisation, however the evidence regarding the interaction was ambiguous. We discuss these results in light of previous findings.

The use of spelling for variant classification in primary progressive aphasia: Theoretical and practical implications

Currently, variant subtyping in primary progressive aphasia (PPA) requires an expert neurologist and extensive language and cognitive testing. Spelling impairments appear early in the development of the disorder, and the three PPA variants (non-fluent - nfvPPA; semantic - svPPA; logopenic - lvPPA) reportedly show fairly distinct spelling profiles. Given the theoretical and empirical evidence indicating that spelling may serve as a proxy for spoken language, the current study aimed to determine whether spelling performance alone, when evaluated with advanced statistical analyses, allows for accurate PPA variant classification. A spelling to dictation task (with real words and pseudowords) was administered to 33 PPA individuals: 17 lvPPA, 10 nfvPPA, 6 svPPA. Using machine learning classification algorithms, we obtained pairwise variant classification accuracies that ranged between 67 and 100%. In additional analyses that assumed no prior knowledge of each case's variant, classification accuracies ranged between 59 and 70%. To our knowledge, this is the first time that all the PPA variants, including the most challenging logopenic variant, have been classified with such high accuracy when using information from a single language task. These results underscore the rich structure of the spelling process and support the use of a spelling task in PPA variant classification.