Sounds Of Language Research Articles

First-language interference without bilingualism? Evidence from second language vowel production in international adoptees

Abstract The ability to acquire the speech sounds of a second language has consistently been found to be constrained with increasing age of acquisition. Such constraints have been explained either through cross-linguistic influence in bilingual speakers or as the result of maturational declines in neural plasticity with age. Here, we disentangle these two explanations by investigating speech production in adults who were adopted from China to Sweden as toddlers, lost their first language, and became monolingual speakers of the second language. Although we find support for predictions based on models of bilingual language acquisition, these results cannot be explained by the bilingual status of the learners, indicating instead a long-term influence of early specialization for speech that is independent of bilingual language use. These findings are discussed in light of first-language interference and the theory of maturational constraints for language acquisition.

Informasi di Balik Pemerolehan Bahasa Anak: Sebuah Tinjauan Mendalam

This research aims to explain that language acquisition refers to the process in which individuals acquire the ability to use and understand language. This process generally begins at an early age and continues throughout life. Children experience rapid language acquisition through interaction with the surrounding environment, while at older ages, language acquisition involves formal learning and exposure to language variations. Language acquisition involves several stages, including understanding phonology (sounds of language), morphology (word structure), syntax (sentence structure), semantics (meaning of words and sentences), and pragmatics (use of language in social contexts). Genetic and environmental factors play an important role in language acquisition, and each individual experiences unique language development. It is important to note that language acquisition is not only about understanding linguistic structures, but also about using language in communicative situations. This process involves complex interactions between the cognitive, social, and emotional aspects of the individual. Language acquisition is a fundamental ability that supports human communication and plays a role in overall cognitive development.

Акустический мутагенез в современном кабардинском языке

The article touches upon controversial issues of Adyghe etymology and semantics, as well as his-torical phonetics, concerning the nature and structure of root morphemes, which have not been comprehensively resolved to date. The existing approaches to the study of root morphemes, which have received their coverage in the works of scientists such as M.A. Kumakhov, A.K. Shagirov, N.R. Ivanokov, N.F. Yakovlev, do not seem to be definite and require clarification. This paper of-fers a different view of the problem raised and its original solution from the existing approaches. The root morphemes considered in the work, grammaticalized in diachrony, in the course of the presented etymological and semantic analysis, reveal traces of acoustic and semantic mutagenesis, which generally affects the further development of the lexical system of the language. For the first time, the term acoustic mutagenesis was introduced into scientific circulation, by which we mean the mutation of sounds in modern Adyghe and Kabardian languages while maintaining the same meaning or close to the original meaning. In the course of semantic evolution, the loss of one se-mantic meaning in the root element does not entail its consolidation in the structure of lexical in-novations, its clear state in a situation of preposition or postposition. Root morphemes, distin-guished in modern language as affixes, were at the same hierarchical level in the proto-language, and their position in the preposition only indicates their attachment to the rest of the root ele-ments, the position in the postposition indicates the opposite.

Refining Indonesian Language Sound Pronunciation Skills Using InPhA (Indonesian Phonetic Alphabet)

Interference from regional language pronunciation results in imperfections in pronouncing Indonesian language (IL) sounds. This phenomenon is experienced by students taking the Indonesian Language Phonology course (ILPC), where using IL pronunciation media is needed to enhance personal correction skills. The average scores for consonant, vowel, and diphthong pronunciation phonemes are low. Hence, this research aims to achieve three main objectives: (1) Enhancing students' vowel sound pronunciation skills using InPhA in the ILPC; (2) Enhancing students' consonant sound pronunciation skills using InPhA in the ILPC; and (3) Enhancing students' diphthong sound pronunciation skills using InPhA in the ILPC. This research employs a qualitative research design by implementing Classroom Action Research procedures. The data sources include 67 students from the Indonesian Literature Department, A Public University in Malang, Batch of 2022. The data includes scores for the Assessment of Indonesian Vowel, Consonant, and Diphthong Pronunciation in the pre-cycle, cycle one, and cycle two phases. The research findings indicate that the Average Improvement of Indonesian vowel allophone sound pronunciation consisting of [i], [I], [u], [U], [e], [ɛ], [Ә], [o], [ɔ], and [a] is 35.54%; the Average Improvement of Indonesian consonant sound pronunciation involving 23 consonants namely /p/, /b/, /m/, /f/, /w/, /t/, /n/, /l/, /r/, /ḍ/, /∫/, /s/, /z/, /c/, /j/, /n̴/, /y/, /k/, /g/, /ŋ/, /x/, /h/, and /ʔ/ is 11.5%; and the Average Improvement of Indonesian diphthong sound pronunciation comprising four allophones namely [aI], [ai], [aU], and [oi] is 11.5%. All three aspects demonstrate that using InPhA media can enhance Indonesian vowel, consonant, and diphthong sound pronunciation skills in the ILPC.

Indonesian Sound Errors in Television Advertisements

Language sound errors at the phonological level. Phonemes or language sounds in Indonesian consist of vowels, consonants, diphthongs 'double vowels', and clusters 'consonant groups'. Differences in phonemes will change standard language varieties into non-standard ones. Phonological problems occur because vowel, consonant or diphthong phonemes change into other phonemes, thereby changing standard language into non-standard ones. This research aims to analyze language sound errors, namely deletions, additions and changes in vowel phonemes, consonant phonemes, combined vowel phonemes and combined consonant phonemes. This study used descriptive qualitative method. The data collection technique for this research is by listening and using the language watched in Indonesian television advertisements. This data analysis technique consists of (1) data collection (2) data reduction, (3) data presentation (4) interesting conclusions. The results of data analysis of Indonesian language sound errors in Television Advertisements are language sound errors in Indonesian consisting of vowels, consonants, diphthongs 'double vowels', and 'consonant clusters' clusters due to errors in language use that do not match Indonesian Spelling (EBI) . Errors in Indonesian sounds or pronunciation that occur in television advertisements like this occur due to ignorance or on purpose so that the advertisement displayed will attract the attention of consumers or people who see, watch and listen to it.

Revisiting perceptual sensitivity to non-native speech in a diverse sample of bilinguals

Werker and Tees (1984) prompted decades of research attempting to detail the paths infants take towards specialisation for the sounds of their native language(s). Most of this research has examined the trajectories of monolingual children. However, it has also been proposed that bilinguals, who are exposed to greater phonetic variability than monolinguals and must learn the rules of two languages, may remain perceptually open to non-native language sounds later into life than monolinguals. Using a visual habituation paradigm, the current study tests this question by comparing 15- to 18-month-old monolingual and bilingual children’s developmental trajectories for non-native phonetic consonant contrast discrimination. A novel approach to the integration of stimulus presentation software with eye-tracking software was validated for objective measurement of infant looking time. The results did not support the hypothesis of a protracted period of sensitivity to non-native phonetic contrasts in bilingual compared to monolingual infants. Implications for diversification of perceptual narrowing research and implementation of increasingly sensitive measures are discussed.

Improving Second Language Vowel Production With Hand Gestures Encoding Visible Articulation: Evidence From Picture‐Naming and Paragraph‐Reading Tasks

AbstractThis study investigates whether audiovisual phonetic training with hand gestures encoding visible or nonvisible articulation features has a differential impact on learning second language sounds. Ninety‐nine Catalan–Spanish bilingual students were trained to differentiate English /æ/ and /ʌ/, which differ in the visible lip aperture and nonvisible tongue position, with training involving no gestures, gestures representing the lip aperture, or gestures representing the tongue position. Before, immediately after, and 1 week after the training, participants’ perception of the targets was assessed through a word‐identification task, and their production was tested through paragraph‐reading, picture‐naming, and word‐imitation tasks. Although all participants improved in perception and production, the lip hand gesture was more effective in adjusting lip aperture than the other two conditions in the paragraph‐reading and picture‐naming tasks. These results suggest that hand gestures encoding visible rather than nonvisible articulation features are more effective for improving second language pronunciation.

Vocal and Consonant Patterns in Indonesian Children's Songs

As a medium in educational music, the song provides space for explanations related to the sound of the language. Prosody or language sounds have similarities to musical sounds studied in phonology. Thus, the management of language sounds in expressing children's songs can be used to identify prosodic factors in educational music. This study aims to provide an explanation of the prosody of children's songs in the context of educational music and to find out the factors that influence prosody in children's songs, the sound changes that occur, accompaniment sounds that accompany the main sound, and the factors that influence it in the context of music education. The results of this study show the characteristics of vowel and consonant sounds in children's song lyrics and the sounds produced for certain vowels and consonants. The factors that influence prosody in children's songs are the word order in the form of vowels and consonants in each of the lyrics. This is to clearly understand the sounds produced by children and their use in educational music.

Speech Sound Disorders of Children With Mental Delays

This study aimed to investigate the speech sounds processes of children diagnosed with mental delays. Additionally, we explored all the sounds of the Albanian language, in level of articulation. We recruited 50 children, including 25 boys and 25 girls, with a mean age of 7.68 years. The results support the hypothesis that children diagnosed with mental delays are prone to speech sounds difficulties. Therefore, emphasizing the importance of possible risks in communication level is needed in order to address the needs of children with mental delays. Finally, this study is one of the first that investigated the phenomena of speech sounds difficulties in children with mental delays in Kosovar context.

Identification of Mora in Sokuon, Tan’on, and Chouon by Japanese language learners in Indonesia

Japanese is regarded as mora-timed, while Indonesian is syllable-timed because it provides equal weight and time for all syllables. Indonesian learners are struggling in differentiating one mora and two moras, and single consonant and double consonants. This study investigated Indonesian respondents’ ability to identify double consonants (sokuon), short vowels (tan’on) dan long vowels (chouon). 62 Indonesian respondents were involved as they were asked to listen carefully to a set of sounds containing the three distinctive sounds once and to write the sentence they heard. The result showed that 18% of 62 respondents fail to identify the short vowel (tan’on) because they omit certain sounds, change the word form inaccurately and put words in the inaccurate position when they write the sentence. In identifying double consonants (sokuon), 11% of 62 respondents failed because they inaccurately changed the word form when writing the sentence. In identifying long vowels (chouon), only 6% of 62 respondents failed because they added unnecessary sounds and changed the word form inaccurately. In conclusion, although Japanese and Indonesian languages are different in their rhythm classes, Indonesian learners’ ability to identify the distinctive sounds of the Japanese language is relatively high although listening to the material more than once.

What's in the Sound? Common and Language‐Specific Patterns in Brain Activation and Functional Connectivity for Phonological Awareness in Spanish–English Bilinguals

AbstractPhonological awareness is the stepping‐stone to learning to read as it helps children map language sounds onto letters. Theories of bilingualism posit that phonological awareness is a language‐common literacy skill. However, bilingual learners are also thought to build language‐specific representations. To illuminate common and specific dual‐language processes, we asked bilingual Spanish–English heritage language speakers (N = 60, Mage = 8.2) to complete a phonological sound‐matching task in Spanish and English during functional Near Infrared Neuroimaging (fNIRS). The left perisylvian activation was common across bilinguals' two languages, including similar active regions and functional connections. The findings further revealed language‐specific modulation of the system with more robust engagement of the temporal networks for Spanish and frontal networks for English. We interpret the results in the context of analytically demanding reading experiences in English and more informal home‐based Spanish language experiences typical of heritage language speakers.

The role of phonology in non-native word learning: Evidence from cross-situational statistical learning

Abstract Adults often encounter difficulty perceiving and processing sounds of a second language (L2). In order to acquire word-meaning mappings, learners need to determine what the language-relevant phonological contrasts are in the language. In this study, we examined the influence of phonology on non-native word learning, determining whether the language-relevant phonological contrasts could be acquired by abstracting over multiple experiences, and whether awareness of these contrasts could be related to learning. We trained English- and Mandarin-native speakers with pseudowords via a cross-situational statistical learning task (CSL). Learners were able to acquire the phonological contrasts across multiple situations, but similar-sounding words (i.e., minimal pairs) were harder to acquire, and words that contrast in a non-native suprasegmental feature (i.e., Mandarin lexical tone) were even harder for English-speakers, even with extended exposure. Furthermore, awareness of the non-native phonology was not found to relate to learning.

ANALISIS KESALAHAN FONOLOGI PADA FILM BAHASA SANTRI “INTHIQ RASMIYYATAN” DAN RELEVANSINYA TERHADAP PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA ARAB

<p style="text-align: justify;"><em>This research aims to find out the various forms of phonological errors that occur in the Arabic language film entitled Inthiq Rasmiyyatan and the causes of these phonological errors. The research method used in this research is descriptive qualitative with data obtained from the conversations of the cast of the santri language film Inthiq Rasmiyyatan. This research uses data collection techniques in the form of listening and recording techniques. Then, the data that has been obtained is analyzed using the error analysis technique or correct analysis. The results of this study reveal that 3 types of phonological errors occur in the conversations of the cast of the film, including phoneme replacement, phoneme reduction, and phoneme addition. The phonological errors occur due to the presence of Arabic phonemes that are almost similar or the influence of first language acquisition. The results of this study can be used as a reference for teachers in conducting learning activities and for Arabic learners in learning and using the language. This is done so that teachers and learners of Arabic can pay more attention to the pattern of the release of language sounds in words, phrases, and clauses. Thus, teachers and learners can pronounce each phoneme correctly in speaking Arabic daily.</em></p>

Pembelajaran Bunyi Bahasa Indonesia Menggunakan Metode Field Trip pada Siswa Muslim Suksa School, Thailand

Field trip is a teaching and learning method through visiting a place and using Indonesian as a comparison of the meaning of Tagalog itself. The method used in this research is a qualitative descriptive method. According to Mukhtar (2013: 10), the qualitative descriptive research method is a method used by researchers to find knowledge or theory regarding research at a certain time. From the percentage of words prepared by the students spoken, the total number of words spoken was 14 words with the number of students tested being 5 people. Based on figure 1, it can be concluded that: [1] The student named Anurak got a percentage of 9% in the number of correct language sounds, [2] the student named Narong got a percentage of 28% in the correct number of language sounds, [3] the student named Songkarn managed to get a percentage of 27% in the correct number of language sounds, [4] the student named Malivalaya managed to get a percentage of 18%.

Classification of English vowels in terms of Cypriot Greek categories: The role of acoustic similarity between L1 and L2 sounds

Abstract Previous evidence has suggested that acoustic similarity between first language (L1) and second language (L2) sounds is an accurate indicator of the speakers’ L2 classification patterns. This study investigates this assumption by examining how speakers of an under-researched language, namely Cypriot Greek, classify L2 English vowels in terms of their L1 categories. The experimental protocol relied on a perception and a production study. For the purpose of the production study, two linear discriminant analysis (LDA) models, one with both formants and duration (FD) and one with only formants (F) as input, were used to predict this classification; the models included data from both English and Cypriot Greek speakers. The perception study consisted of a classification task performed by adult Cypriot Greek advanced speakers of English who permanently resided in Cyprus. The results demonstrated that acoustic similarity was a relatively good predictor of speakers’ classification patterns as the majority of L2 vowels classified with the highest proportion were predicted with success by the LDA models. In addition, the F model was better than the FD model in predicting the full range of responses. This shows that duration features were less important than formant features for the prediction of L2 vowel classification.

An Acoustic Analysis of Description and Classification of Balti Segmental (Velar Sounds) Consonants

The goal of this study is to categorize solely the consonants (velars) of the Balti language, which is spoken in Pakistan's Baltistan area of Gilgit Baltistan. The Balti language was chosen for the study because it is one of the less well-known languages in Pakistan and because there has never been any substantial research done on the language's sounds or sound system.120 distinct words from various Balti novels were chosen in order to categorize Balti sounds. Using the program PRAAT, the acoustic analysis of Balti consonants has been examined to demonstrate their physical characteristics. In order to capture samples of various Balti consonant sounds, the investigators identified 20 indigenous Balti speakers, aged 16 to 35, enrolled in State College for Boys in Model Town and University of Technology and Management, Lahore, Pakistan. Spectrophotograms representing each sound were used to display the physical characteristics of the native Balti speakers' sound samples. The Balti language has ten fricative sounds, according to acoustic examinations of consonant sounds.

Discrimination of Degrees of Foreign Accent across Different Speakers

Second-language learners often encounter communication challenges due to a foreign accent (FA) in their speech, influenced by their native language (L1). This FA can affect rhythm, intonation, stress, and the segmental domain, which consists of individual language sounds. This study looks into the segmental FA aspect, exploring listeners’ perceptions when Spanish interacts with English. Utilizing the SIAEW corpus, which replaces segments of English words with anticipated Spanish-accented realizations, we assess the ability of non-native listeners to discriminate degrees of accent across male and female voices. This research aims to determine the impact of voice consistency on detecting accentedness variations, studying participants from Japanese and Spanish. Results show that, while listeners are generally able to discriminate degrees of foreign accent across speakers, some segmental transformations convey a more clear distinction depending on the phonological representations of the native and accented realisations on the listener’s system. Another finding is that listeners tend to better discriminate degrees of accent when words are more native-like sounding.

ПРИНЦИПИ ПОРУШЕННЯ ЕСТЕТИКИ ТЕЛЕВІЗІЙНОГО МОВЛЕННЯ НА ПРИКЛАДІ ВЕДУЧИХ «24 КАНАЛУ» – КАТЕРИНИ СОЛЯР ТА АРТЕМА ОВДІЄНКА

<p><em>The article defines that <strong>the purpose of the research</strong> is to analyze the principles of violation of the aesthetics of television broadcasting on the example of the presenters of «Channel 24» – Kateryna Solyar and Artem Ovdienko.</em></p><p><strong><em>The methodological basis of the research </em></strong><em>is the systematic, comparative, and induction method. Thus, the systematic method was used in order to reveal the integrity of the scientific views of Ukrainian and foreign researchers regarding the specifics of communication and speech behavior of the presenter on television. The comparative method made it possible to analyze the principles of the violation of television broadcasting on Channel 24 hosted by Kateryna Solyar and Artem Ovdienko. The method of induction was used to study the informational material by means of the analysis of general conclusions.<strong></strong></em></p><p><strong><em>The results. </em></strong><em>According to the conducted research, the TV broadcast of presenters Kateryna Solyar and Artem Ovdienko on Channel 24 contains a significant number of linguistic and stylistic mistakes. In addition, presenters are characterized by incorrect pronunciation, they often use Russianisms and some colloquial, colloquial and slang words.</em></p><p><em>Therefore, when analyzing the principles of violation of television broadcasting on Channel 24 by presenters Kateryna Solyar and Artem Ovdienko, it is important to note that they are dominated by Russianisms and unnatural pronunciation of sounds in the Ukrainian language, their use of fragments from the Russian language.</em></p><p><strong><em>Scientific novelty. </em></strong><em>For the first time, the principles of violation of the aesthetics of television broadcasting were analyzed using the example of the presenters of Channel 24 – Kateryna Solyar and Artem Ovdienko.</em></p><p><strong><em>Practical significance. </em></strong><em>The main results and conclusions can be used for the formation of aesthetic broadcasting on television for linguistic education of all social strata of our citizens, raising the level of speech culture, fostering a respectful attitude towards the Ukrainian language.</em></p><p><strong><em>Key words: </em></strong><em>aesthetics, television broadcasting, means of mass communication, lexical and morphological archaisms, information space.</em></p>

Can You Understand Why I Am Crying? A Decision-making System for Classifying Infants’ Cry Languages Based on DeepSVM Model

Scientific and therapeutic advances in perinatology and neonatology have improved the survival prospects of preterm and extremely-low-birth-weight infants. Infants’ cries are a valuable noninvasive tool for monitoring their neurologic health, especially if they are premature. Automatic acoustic analysis and data mining are employed in this study to determine the discriminative features of preterm and full-term infant cries. The use of machine learning for recognizing sounds in a newborn's cry language has received less attention than previous methods for analyzing the sounds. Moreover, to extract appropriate features from infant cries, adequate knowledge and appropriate signal descriptors are required. Accordingly, to analyze infant cry language, we propose an approach that uses fractal descriptors to extract discriminant features from spectrograms of windowed signals, followed by iterative neighborhood component analysis (iNCA) to select appropriate features. Additionally, the improved deep support vector machine (DeepSVM) is used to classify the infants’ crying types and their meanings. The proposed method is verified using a newborn sound dataset. According to the classification of five types of crying perception based on various characteristics, 98.34% of all crying perceptions have been recognized. Although there are many classes examined, the feature extraction method based on the fractal method and our optimal classification have a much higher diagnostic accuracy compared with similar methods for analyzing baby crying language. The proposed method can overcome many problems associated with analyzing babies’ crying sounds and understanding their language, such as uncertainty and unusual errors in classification.

Pengetahuan Remaja Terhadap Proses Terbentuknya Bunyi Bahasa

Language is a communication tool used by humans to communicate with each other and exchange information, in the form of a sound symbol system produced by human speech. Currently, there are still many teenagers who underestimate the Indonesian language. The purpose of this study was to find out how large the percentage of teenagers who understand one of the materials related to linguistics is about the process of forming language sounds. The method used is a quantitative method using several teenagers as a sample through Google Forms. The result of this study is that Indonesian teenagers currently have little knowledge and understanding related to learning Indonesian. However, in the process of producing the sounds of this language, there were some that were answered correctly by all respondents. This is because the respondents tried to practice the results of the sound of the language when answering questions.