Number Of Words Spoken Research Articles

Repertório lexical de crianças de 24 e 30 meses falantes do português brasileiro: resultados preliminares

ABSTRACT Purpose To check the lexical repertoire of Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children at 24 and 30 months of age and the association between the number of words spoken and the following variables: socioeconomic status, parents’ education, presence of siblings in the family, whether or not they attend school, and excessive use of tablets and cell phones. Methods 30 parents of children aged 24 months living in the state of São Paulo participated in the study. Using videoconferencing platforms, they underwent a speech-language pathology anamnesis, an interview with social services, and then they completed the “MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory - First Words and Gestures” as soon as their children were 24 and 30 months old. Quantitative and qualitative inferential inductive statistics were applied. Results the median number of words produced was 283 at 24 months and 401 at 30 months, indicating an increase of around 118 words after six months. The child attending a school environment had a significant relationship with increased vocabulary. Conclusion The study reinforces the fact that vocabulary grows with age and corroborates the fact that children aged 24 months already have a repertoire greater than 50 words. Those who attend school every day produce at least 70 more words than those who do not.

Lexical repertoire of 24 and 30-month-old children speaking Brazilian portuguese: preliminary results.

To check the lexical repertoire of Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children at 24 and 30 months of age and the association between the number of words spoken and the following variables: socioeconomic status, parents' education, presence of siblings in the family, whether or not they attend school, and excessive use of tablets and cell phones. 30 parents of children aged 24 months living in the state of São Paulo participated in the study. Using videoconferencing platforms, they underwent a speech-language pathology anamnesis, an interview with social services, and then they completed the "MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory - First Words and Gestures" as soon as their children were 24 and 30 months old. Quantitative and qualitative inferential inductive statistics were applied. the median number of words produced was 283 at 24 months and 401 at 30 months, indicating an increase of around 118 words after six months. The child attending a school environment had a significant relationship with increased vocabulary. The study reinforces the fact that vocabulary grows with age and corroborates the fact that children aged 24 months already have a repertoire greater than 50 words. Those who attend school every day produce at least 70 more words than those who do not.

A comparative study of gender representation in junior high school EFL textbooks of Hong Kong and Japan

This study aims to investigate the representation of gender and the presence of male dominance in spoken discourse in two selected English Language textbooks for junior high school year one students: Longman English EDGE (2nd Edition) 1A and 1B in Hong Kong, and New Horizon: English Course Book 1 in Japan, respectively. This research employs both qualitative and quantitative analyses to examine the content of dialogues in each unit. Key areas of analysis include the number of domestic and occupational roles assigned to male, female, and gender-neutral characters, the range of activities undertaken by these characters, the character initiating conversations, the occurrence of males, females and gender-neutral characters in dialogues, and the number of spoken words and turns by them. The findings indicated an improvement in gender equality in both textbooks in various aspects, compared with other earlier textbooks which were examined by other researchers (Lee & Collins, 2008, 2010; Lee, 2018). In terms of role allocation and activities, a relatively balanced representation of male and female characters was observed. Female characters demonstrated a higher frequency of initiating conversations and taking turns. The average number of words spoken per turn by male and female characters was similar in the LE1A and LE1B textbooks, but male characters still spoke more per turn in NH1 textbook despite female characters taking more turns. Moreover, LE1A and LE1B employed gender-neutral names to mitigate gender stereotypes but gender-neutral names were not utilized in the Japanese textbook, despite the author’s effort to achieve gender equality. Considering these findings, this study reveals that male characters were underrepresented in the textbooks in Hong Kong and suggests that it is crucial to enhance gender awareness among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, provide explicit gender-sensitive instruction, and establish specific guidelines by educational authorities to assist textbook authors in creating gender-inclusive educational materials.

Curating feedback for parents based on interactions during parent–child book reading activities

Assessing child language and communication skills in naturalistic settings requires a motivating framework for adults and children to interact. Book reading is widely used by parents to interact with children, providing parents opportunities to engage children in conversation and practice communication skills. Recordings of interactions between parents and children can be automatically analyzed to provide feedback to parents to maximize developmental benefits of book reading. Encouraging children to participate actively in book reading yields gains in terms of language acquisition and improved literacy. In this study, we focus on extracting fruitful feedback from parent–child book reading activities for parents. Audio evaluated were collected by consenting families in home settings during parent–child science book reading activities. A range of parameters are analyzed to track reading/learning behaviors that include number of questions asked, number of conversational turns, number of words spoken, repetition, and vocabulary diversity. These parameters can help track engagement of story reading, including changes over time. Discussions with various stakeholders including parents, teachers and researchers will be presented. Speech technology automation of this analysis process can help parents track language development, improve communication skills, and increase school preparedness of their children. [Work sponsored by NSF Grants #1918032 & #1918012.]

Lexical Acquisition and Phonological Development in Minimally Verbal Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders.

This study examines two components of lexical acquisition and phonological development that occur during the first 50-word stage of language development in neurotypical (NT) children. One component is how children learn words based on their existing speech sound inventories (i.e., in-phonology and out-of-phonology word learning). The other component is the relationship between the children's number of words and the number of phonemes in their speech sound inventories. The goal of this study is to determine if the same two components occur in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) who are older than their NT peers but are in the same stage of lexical development. This study involved 20 minimally verbal children with ASDs, ages 28-72 months, who produced five to 50 spoken words. The children's spoken words were obtained from the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories. The speech sound inventories were obtained from the utterances produced during assessment/play sessions with the children. The children's spoken words from the Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) were categorized as either in-phonology or out-of-phonology based on whether the words began with a phoneme in the child's existing speech sound inventory. Additionally, the children's number of spoken words on the CDI was compared to the number of phonemes in their speech sound inventories. The children in this study produced in-phonology words more often than out-of-phonology words (z = -3.922; p < .001). Moreover, there was a moderate positive correlation between the children's number of spoken words and the number of phonemes in their speech sound inventories (r = .534, p = .019). The relationship between lexical acquisition and phonological development appears to exist for the children in this study, who are in the first 50-word stage of development. Clinical implications for increasing the expressive language of children with ASDs were discussed.

The use of stimulus-stimulus pairing procedure in inducing vocal speech with nonverbal child with autism spectrum disorders

Stimulus-stimulus (ss) pairing procedure can be used in a variety of ways in treatment of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), however it is mostly used in inducing vocal speech in nonverbal children. Research shows that using this procedure is more efficient for increasing the number of emitted words when compared to other procedures. Therefore, the aim of this case study is to examine the effectiveness of the use of ss pairing procedure in order to induce vocal speech with a nonverbal child diagnosed with ASD. At the very first session of the procedure implementation, the child spoke clear words, while in the last session, the number of spoken words per session was 192. Having in mind the effectiveness of the implemented procedure, as well as data that parents of children with ASD can be successfully trained to use this procedure in their home environment, it is important to train them to implement it correctly. This is of great importance because the majority of the children with ASD are nonverbal, and lack of communication correlates with problem behavior.

Voting behavior during FDA Medical Device Advisory Committee panel meetings.

ObjectivesDuring premarket review, the US Food and Drug Administration may ask its Medical Device Advisory Committee (MDAC) Panels to assess the safety and effectiveness of medical devices being considered for approval. The objective of this study is to assess the relationship, if any, between individual votes and Panel recommendations and: (1) the composition of Panels, specifically the expertise and demographic features of individual members; or (2) Panel members’ propensity to speak during Panel deliberations.MethodsThis was a retrospective cohort study of routinely collected data from voting members of MDAC panels convened between January 2011 to June 2016 to consider premarket approval. Data sources were verbatim transcripts available publicly from the FDA. Number of words spoken, directionality of votes on device approval, profession, and demographics were collected.Results658,954 words spoken by 536 members during 49 meetings of 11 Panels were analyzed. Based on multivariate analysis, biostatisticians spoke more (+373 words; P = 0.0002), and women (-187 words; P = 0.0184) and other non-physician voting members less (-213 words; P = 0.0306), than physicians. Speaking more was associated with abstaining (P = 0.0179), and with voting against the majority (P = 0.0153). Non-physician, non-biostatistician members (P = 0.0109), and those having attended more meetings as a voting member (P = 0.0249) were more likely to vote against approval. In bivariable analysis, unanimous Panels had a greater proportion of biostatisticians (mean 0.1580; 95% CI 0.1237–0.1923) than non-unanimous Panels (0.1107; 95% CI 0.0912–0.1301; p = 0.0201).ConclusionsPanelists likely to vote against the majority include non-physician, non-biostatisticians; experienced Panelists; and more talkative members. The increased presence of biostatisticians on Panels leads to greater voting consensus. Having a diversity of opinions on Panels, including in sufficient numbers those members likely to dissent from majority views, may help ensure that a diversity of opinions are aired before decision-making.

Reevaluating the Language of Learning Advantage in Bilingual Arithmetic: An ERP Study on Spoken Multiplication Verification.

Many studies of bilingual arithmetic report better performance when verifying arithmetic facts in the language of learning (LA+) over the other language (LA−). This could be due to language-specific memory representations, processes established during learning, or to language and task factors not related to math. The current study builds on a small number of event-related potential (ERP) studies to test this question while controlling language proficiency and eliminating potential task confounds. Adults proficient in two languages verified single-digit multiplications presented as spoken number words in LA+ and LA−, separately. ERPs and correctness judgments were measured from solution onset. Equivalent P300 effects, with larger positive amplitude for correct than incorrect solutions, were observed in both languages (Experiment 1A), even when stimuli presentation rate was shortened to increase difficulty (Experiment 1B). This effect paralleled the arithmetic correctness effect for trials presented as all digits (e.g., 2 4 8 versus 2 4 10), reflecting efficient categorization of the solutions, and was distinct from an N400 generated in a word–picture matching task, reflecting meaning processing (Experiment 2). The findings reveal that the language effects on arithmetic are likely driven by language and task factors rather than differences in memory representation in each language.

Linking quantities and symbols in early numeracy learning

What is the foundational knowledge that children rely on to provide meaning as they construct an exact symbolic number system? People and animals can quickly and accurately distinguish small exact quantities (i.e., 1 to 3). One possibility is that children’s ability to map small quantities to spoken number words supports their developing exact number system. To test this hypothesis, it is important to have valid and reliable measures of the efficiency of quantity-number word mapping. In the present study, we explored the reliability and validity of a measure for assessing the efficiency of mapping between small quantities and number words – speeded naming of quantity. Study 1 (N = 128) with 5- and 6-year-old children and Study 2 (N = 182) with 3- and 4-year-old children show that the speeded naming of quantities is a simple and reliable measure that is correlated with individual differences in children’s developing numeracy knowledge. This measure could provide a useful tool for testing comprehensive theories of how children develop their symbolic number representations.

A Combined Spoken Language Intervention for a Minimally Verbal Child With Autism: A Clinical Case Study

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of a combined intervention program, incorporating both communication and speech production strategies, on the spoken language of a minimally verbal child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Method:This in-depth, clinical case study focused on a 4-year-old boy who was diagnosed with ASD. The study examined the spoken production of preselected words by the participant, using a combined intervention approach, consisting of three communication strategies and three speech production strategies during structured play. The target words were chosen based on aspects of neurotypical word learning during the first 50-word phase of language development. The combined intervention approach consisted of three communication strategies and three speech production strategies delivered during structured play activities.Results:The participant demonstrated improved spontaneous and imitative production of the target words during treatment and maintained production of the target words 1 month after treatment ended. Additionally, the boy demonstrated production of seven out of the eight target words on the posttreatment MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI): Words and Gestures, as well as an increase in the number of spoken words on the CDI that were more than what would be expected for a neurotypical child in a comparable developmental period. The communication strategy used most often was modeling (which required the child to respond), and the speech production strategy used most often was verbal modeling (which did not require the child to respond).Conclusions:There appeared to be a quantitative and qualitative difference in production of the target words before and after treatment. Clinical implications for using communication and speech production strategies in combination for minimally verbal children with ASD are discussed.

Comparison of remote and in‐person digital speech‐based measures of cognition

AbstractBackgroundNeuropsychological testing requires an in‐person visit with a trained administrator using standard/fixed materials. Speech‐based cognitive testing on mobile devices enables more frequent and timely test administration, but head‐to‐head comparisons of in‐person and remote versions of tests are rare. We compare responses to a well‐validated task conducted under supervised (in‐person) and unsupervised (remote) conditions.MethodWe used two data sets containing Cookie Theft picture descriptions (BDAE), one collected in‐person, under supervision (Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention (WRAP); N = 912; age = 62.2 (SD = 6.7), 70% F) and one collected remotely, without supervision (participants online; N = 93, age = 36.5 (SD = 11.5), 65% F). WRAP participants were judged to be cognitively normal, and online participants self‐reported as healthy. Each participant provided one picture description, yielding 93 remote and 912 in‐person transcribed descriptions. Language metrics previously used in dementia research were extracted: word count (number of words spoken), MATTR (ratio of unique words to total number of words), pronoun‐to‐noun ratio, and semantic relevance. Comparing MATTR, pronoun‐to‐noun ratio, and semantic relevance values elicited in‐person and remotely is important because these characteristics have been found to be impacted by declines in cognition. Differences in word counts may reflect different levels of motivation in the two settings.ResultUsing Cohen’s d effect sizes, differences in mean word count between in‐person and remote participant transcripts was negligible (112 words in‐person and 118 words remote; d = .10, p = .21), the difference for semantic relevance was negligible (.19 in‐person and .18 remote, scale = 0 to 1; d = .14, p = .19), the difference for MATTR was small (.75 in‐person and .74 remote, scale = 0 to 1; d = .37, p&lt;.05), and the difference for pronoun‐to‐noun ratio was moderate (.48 in‐person and .35 remote, scale = 0 to 1; d = .56, p &lt;.05).ConclusionResults show that response length and semantic relevance of responses to the Cookie Theft picture description task are comparable under supervised, in‐person and unsupervised, remote conditions. Small to moderate differences in vocabulary (MATTR) and pronoun‐to‐noun ratio may be due to differences in age and merit further investigation.

Language effects in early development of number writing and reading

Reading and writing multidigit numbers requires accurate switching between Arabic numbers and spoken number words. This is particularly challenging in languages with number-word inversion such as German (24 is pronounced as four-and-twenty), as reported by Zuber, Pixner, Moeller, and Nuerk (2009, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2008.04.003). The current study aimed to replicate the qualitative error analysis by Zuber et al. and further extended their study: 1) A cross-linguistic (German, English) analysis enabled us to differentiate between language-dependent and more general transcoding challenges. 2) We investigated whether specific number structures influence accuracy rates. 3) To consider both transcoding directions (from Arabic numbers to number words and vice versa), we assessed performance for number reading in addition to number writing. 4) Our longitudinal design allowed us to investigate transcoding development between Grades 1 and 2. We assessed 170 German- and 264 English-speaking children. Children wrote and read the same set of 44 one-, two- and three-digit numbers, including the same number structures as Zuber et al. For German, we confirmed that a high amount of errors in number writing was inversion-related. For English, the percentage of inversion-related errors was very low. Accuracy rates were strongly related to number syntax. The impact of number structures was independent of transcoding direction or grade level and revealed cross-linguistic challenges of transcoding multidigit numbers. For instance, transcoding of three-digit numbers containing syntactic zeros (e.g., 109) was significantly more accurate than transcoding of items with lexical zeros (e.g., 190). Based on our findings, we suggest adaptations of current transcoding models.

The role of manipulation of concrete representations in early cardinal comprehension

AbstractThis study examines the impact of manipulation on the performance of 3.5‐ and 4‐year‐old children in the Give‐N task with concrete representations (sets of bottle caps and pictures of dots) and spoken number words. In this task, children were asked to give a certain number of items (cookies) using the three representational formats. Children were assigned to one of two conditions: manipulation (children could physically interact with the objects and pictures) or observation (children watched as the experimenter presented the representations). Results show that manipulation had different effects according to the age of the children. For 3.5‐year‐olds, manipulation with objects but not with pictures consisted in task‐irrelevant actions, and hindered performance. For 4‐year‐olds, however, manipulation with both concrete representations were task related and did not disrupt performance. The mere contemplation of the objects and pictures, without physically interacting with them, facilitated performance in both age groups, in comparison with number words. Emerging cardinal comprehension seems to be influenced not only by the kind of representations used by children, but also by the type of physical exploration afforded during the task.

The end of the Great Speed-Up—and after

Abstract The major shift in the feature film cutting rate over the sound film period is statistically investigated, with a demonstration of how this reduction in Average Shot Length has stopped since around the year 2000. The way in which other stylistic features, such as movement within the frame, colour saturation, and number of words spoken per minute, have increasingly been used by film-makers over the last 20 years for stylistic differentiation in their work is also shown.

Analysis of the frequency of verbal and vocal signs in true and false statements

The paper presents research aimed at analysing the frequency of verbal and vocal signs in a situation of false and true statements, by introducing a secondary task. The research involved 100 students (47 men and 53 women) of the master's studies of criminal investigation at the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies, aged 23-44. Students had the task, based on the observation of twenty selected videos (10 true statements and 10 false statements), to mark the frequency of each individual verbal and vocal sign, on a previously generated and prepared list. The results show that there is a statistically significant difference in terms of the frequency of all verbal and vocal signs in a false or true statement: response latency, speech hesitation, speech errors, speech rate, number of spoken words in the utterance, and length of utterance. Response latency, speech hesitation, and speech errors have higher median values in false utterances than in true ones, while speech rate, number of words spoken, and length of utterance show higher median values in true than false utterances.

From Birnamwood to Bollywood: A View of the Cinematographic Adaptation of Macbeth into Maqbool

Purpose: The study aims to explore the similarities and dissimilarities between William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and its film adaptation Maqbool by Vishal Bhardwaj. The study also aims to compare both the film and the play in terms of politics and power from a psychoanalytic perspective.&#x0D; Methodology/ Approach: This study is based on thematic analysis and the main changes when the original play is adapted to film, in order to check the variation from stage to screen. Adaptation theory, Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis theory are used in this analysis. Bollywood movie Maqbool (2003) by director Vishal Bhardwaj and William Shakespeare’s great tragedy Macbeth (1606) are used as primary sources for this analysis. &#x0D; Findings: The result of the analysis indicates that film and drama are entirely different. When an original play is adapted into film, there are many merits and demerits.Shakespeare mounded more on poetic language than on spectacle and other scenic devices to create the necessary emotional effect. The Elizabethan theatre gores were more audiences than spectators. But the modern spectators habituated to the computer-generated technique of cinematography expect something considerably different. The result is that when the text of the play is converted into a screenplay, there will be a remarkable reduction in the number of spoken words because mainstream cinema depends for its effect largely on visual rather than dialogue. However, the director maintained the originality of play despite the additions and reductions.&#x0D; Conclusion: The paper throws light on the main changes from English Renaissance theatre to contemporary modern world or theatre. It depicts the Psychological behavioural differences and the power and political structures of the two different periods. The paper suggests that film adaptation is an effective and attractive tool to maintain the value and to understand the original text.

Two-digit number writing and arithmetic in Year 1 children: Does number word inversion matter?

Early mathematical development relies upon the ability to translate between spoken number words and Arabic digits. Few studies have investigated whether differences in number word structure influence transcoding and its relationship with mathematics. We tested number writing and arithmetic in 177 German-speaking and 309 English-speaking Year 1 children. In English number words the order of tens and units (e.g., twenty-five) follows the written order of the Arabic digits (e.g., 25), whereas German number words are inverted (e.g., ‘fünfundzwanzig’, five-and-twenty). Transcoding at the item level was strongly influenced by number word inversion. German-speaking children made more errors transcoding two-digit numbers. However, English-speaking children made more errors writing teens, which are exceptional in English because of their inverted structure. Nevertheless, number writing was a significant predictor of arithmetic in both languages highlighting a significant relationship between transcoding ability and arithmetic for languages with and without number word inversion.

The Role of Behavioral Inhibition for Conversational Speech and Language Characteristics of Preschool-Age Children Who Stutter.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate whether preschool-age children who stutter (CWS) were more likely to exhibit a temperamental trait of behavioral inhibition (BI), a correlate of shyness, than children who do not stutter (CWNS) and whether this temperamental trait affected preschool-age children's speech fluency and language complexity during a conversation with an unfamiliar adult. Method Sixty-eight preschool-age children (31 CWS, 37 CWNS) participated. The degree of BI was assessed by measuring the latency to their sixth spontaneous comment and the number of all spontaneous comments during a conversation with an unfamiliar examiner (following Kagan et al.'s [1987] methodology). Parent report of shyness from the Children's Behavior Questionnaire served as an indirect measure of BI. Children's language complexity was assessed by measuring their mean length of utterance and the number of words spoken. For CWS, the frequency of stuttering and the negative impact of stuttering were also assessed. Results First, we found no between-group differences in the degree of BI across the behavioral observation measures. However, CWS were rated shyer by parents than CWNS. Second, for CWS only, higher BI was associated with less complex utterances and fewer words spoken. Third, for CWS, higher BI was associated with fewer stuttered disfluencies produced. Conclusions This study provides empirical evidence that BI to the unfamiliar may have salience for childhood stuttering as it affected the quantity and quality of language spoken with an unfamiliar adult. Clinical implications of high BI for the assessment and treatment of preschool-age stuttering are discussed.

The persisting influence of unattended auditory information: Negative priming in intentional auditory attention switching.

We studied negative priming (NP) in auditory attention switching. In a cued variant of dichotic listening, two spoken number words were presented, one to each ear, one spoken by a female, and one spoken by a male voice. A visual cue indicated whether the male or female voice was the target. A numerical magnitude judgement of the target number was required. The selection criterion could either switch or repeat across trials, so there were attention switch and repetition trials. Two experiments examined NP (distractor becomes target) and also included a "competitor priming" (CP) condition (target becomes distractor), relative to a "no priming" condition (target and distractor not related to previous trial). In Experiment 1, we investigated the basic priming effects. In Experiment 2, we additionally varied the response-cue interval (RCI; 100 ms vs. 1,900 ms) to examine time-related changes in priming. We found longer response times (RT) for switch trials compared with repetition trials (attention switch costs)-that is, when the internal processing context changed. In addition, we found longer RT for NP trials as well as reduced switch costs in long RCI, suggesting that previously relevant attentional settings dissipate over longer time. However, NP was not influenced by attention switches, and it was also not affected byRCI. Hence, NP in auditory attention switching does not seem strongly context or time sensitive.

Bilingual children access multiplication facts from semantic memory equivalently across languages: Evidence from the N400

Typically, bilinguals learn multiplication facts in only one instruction language. Consequently, these facts may be represented and/or accessed as language-specific memories, requiring a qualitatively different retrieval process in their other language. Indeed, behavioral studies reveal that bilinguals verify arithmetic facts faster and better in the language of learning. Here, event-related potentials (ERPs) were used as a window into the neurocognitive processes underlying this language bias in children. ERPs were recorded while bilingual children verified the correctness of multiplication solutions. Operands were presented as spoken number words in Spanish and English, separately. Although a language bias was revealed in behavior, both languages elicited the same ERP correctness effect, an N400, reflecting similar cognitive processes in both languages. This suggests that the source of the behavioral difference is not at the level of semantic access. Our findings highlight the flexibility of the bilingual brain, especially when both languages are learned early.