Words Research Articles

Language experience shapes predictive coding of rhythmic sound sequences.

Perceptual systems heavily rely on prior knowledge and predictions to make sense of the environment. Predictions can originate from multiple sources of information, including contextual short-term priors, based on isolated temporal situations, and context-independent long-term priors, arising from extended exposure to statistical regularities. While the effects of short-term predictions on auditory perception have been well-documented, how long-term predictions shape early auditory processing is poorly understood. To address this, we recorded magnetoencephalography data from native speakers of two languages with different word orders (Spanish: functor-initial vs Basque: functor-final) listening to simple sequences of binary sounds alternating in duration with occasional omissions. We hypothesized that, together with contextual transition probabilities, the auditory system uses the characteristic prosodic cues (duration) associated with the native language's word order as an internal model to generate long-term predictions about incoming non-linguistic sounds. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found that the amplitude of the mismatch negativity elicited by sound omissions varied orthogonally depending on the speaker's linguistic background and was most pronounced in the left auditory cortex. Importantly, listening to binary sounds alternating in pitch instead of duration did not yield group differences, confirming that the above results were driven by the hypothesized long-term 'duration' prior. These findings show that experience with a given language can shape a fundamental aspect of human perception - the neural processing of rhythmic sounds - and provides direct evidence for a long-term predictive coding system in the auditory cortex that uses auditory schemes learned over a lifetime to process incoming sound sequences.

A quantitative content analysis of topical characteristics of the online COVID-19 infodemic in the United States and Japan

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the growth of a global infodemic. In order to combat the COVID-19 infodemic, it is necessary to understand what kinds of misinformation are spreading. Furthermore, various local factors influence how the infodemic manifests in different countries. Therefore, understanding how and why infodemics differ between countries is a matter of interest for public health. This study aims to elucidate and compare the types of COVID-19 misinformation produced from the infodemic in the US and Japan.MethodsCOVID-19 fact-checking articles were obtained from the two largest publishers of fact-checking articles in each language. 1,743 US articles and 148 Japanese articles in their respective languages were gathered, with articles published between 23 January 2020 and 4 November 2022. Articles were analyzed using the free text mining software KH Coder. Exploration of frequently-occurring words and groups of related words was carried out. Based on agglomeration plots and prior research, eight categories of misinformation were created. Lastly, coding rules were created for these eight categories, and a chi-squared test was performed to compare the two datasets.ResultsOverall, the most frequent words in both languages were related to health-related terms, but the Japan dataset had more words referring to foreign countries. Among the eight categories, differences with chi-squared p ≤ 0.01 were found after Holm-Bonferroni p value adjustment for the proportions of misinformation regarding statistics (US 40.0% vs. JP 25.7%, ϕ 0.0792); origin of the virus and resultant discrimination (US 7.0% vs. JP 20.3%, ϕ 0.1311); and COVID-19 disease severity, treatment, or testing (US 32.6% vs. JP 45.9%, ϕ 0.0756).ConclusionsLocal contextual factors were found that likely influenced the infodemic in both countries; representations of these factors include societal polarization in the US and the HPV vaccine scare in Japan. It is possible that Japan’s relative resistance to misinformation affects the kinds of misinformation consumed, directing attention away from conspiracy theories and towards health-related issues. However, more studies need to be done to verify whether misinformation resistance affects misinformation consumption patterns this way.

On the etymology of the word <i>konoval</i>

The author of the article analyzes the etymology of the lexeme konoval, which originally served to name people who were engaged in grooming and treating horses, as well as other domestic animals. They were homegrown doctors. The attitude towards them was ambiguous. Frequent unsuccessful results of treatment led to the fact that the word konoval began to acquire a negative connotation and, as a result, in the 18th century there appeared another meaning of the word in Russian language: ‘a bad, unqualified doctor’. There is no unity regarding the etymology of the lexeme konoval. There are two mutually exclusive points of view. M. Vasmer believes that this noun is borrowed from the Polish language. The compilers of the “Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language” edited by N. M. Shansky share this view. The authors of the Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages edited by O. N. Trubachev attribute this lexeme to the Proto-Slavic lexical fund. The author examines in detail both versions of the origin of the lexeme. As a result of the analysis and referring to numerous Polish and East Slavic sources, we put forward a hypothesis that the word konoval is actually Russian. This lexeme originally belonged to the Old Russian language, and subsequently got into the Polish language through Ukrainian.

The Change of Thaiyung Language

This research is to study the change of Thaiyung language, particularly the change of words in Yang language that use in the three generation. There are 400 w0rds are used to test the three generation at Namfa village, Viengphouka district, Luangnamtha province. There are 30 samples such as over 70 years old generation, 35-55 years old generation and 15-25 years old generation. The research is used linguistic separation use and linguistic voice translation criteria of words that use by three generations. The result found out that, there are three types of the same words used by three generations. There are four types of the same words used by two generations and there is a type of the different words used by three generations. The language used by three generations still use a lots of Yang words for communication. The first generation use Yang word (A) more than second and third generations. The second and third generations used Yang words with other words in social more than the first generation. And the third generation use other words (B) more than the first and second generations. This is because the third generation of teenagers is open and ready to accept new things all the time and prefer to use the national language (standard Lao language) to communicate with other ethnic groups in society. As a result, the use of the Yang language has diminished in daily life, or may have been used only when living with parents, families, and in a group of people who use the Yang language.

Chaining Strategy and Word Recognition Development among Deaf Pupils in Tanzania

Despite chaining strategy being used in teaching deaf pupils in Tanzania, still deaf graduate with poor reading skills. Thus, there was the need of finding out the reasons for this stressing situation in the country. Basing on the theory of simple view of reading which highlights that reading comprehension is determined by word recognition ability and language comprehension ability, this study explored the contribution of chaining strategy in developing word recognition ability among deaf pupils in selected special primary schools in Tanzania. The study employed mixed research approach with a convergent research design, whereby, in-depth interview, observation, questionnaire and test were employed to collect data from teachers and deaf pupils respectively. A sample of 182 respondents that included 20 teachers and 162 deaf pupils was used. Data obtained were analysed through descriptive, simple linear regression and content analysis. The study revealed that the use of chaining strategy has significant contribution in developing word recognition ability among deaf pupils in Tanzania. This is because the strategy contributed much in building up major word recognition sub-skills among deaf such as, fingerspelling ability, ability to select specific word from the group of written words, abilities to match words with their corresponding signs, and ability to identify misspelled words. In-turn the subskills contributed to word recognition ability among deaf pupils. The study recommends the government to strengthen on in-service training among teachers for deaf as it will keep teachers updated as far as sign language is concern and on how to effectively apply chaining strategy

Lip reading using deep learning in Turkish language

<p>Computer vision is one of the most important areas of artificial intelligence and lip reading is one of the most important areas of computer vision. Lip-reading, which is more important in noisy environments or where there is no sound flow, is one of the working areas that can help the hearing-impaired people. There is no dataset in Turkish for lip reading, which there are different datasets at alphabet, word, and sentence level in different languages. The dataset of this study was created by the author and video data were collected from 72 people for 71 words. Audio streams were removed from the collected videos and a dataset was created using only images. Due to the small size of the dataset, the data was replicated with the Camtasia application. After the model of the research was designed and trained, the model was tested on adjectives, nouns, and verbs dataset and success rates of 71.8%, 71.88%, and 79.69% were obtained, respectively.</p>

Does executives' political identity improve firm financial performance? Evidence from China

Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies between 2010 and 2021, we employ natural language processing techniques and word frequency statistical analysis to investigate the influence of executives' subjective political values on firm financial performance. We draw on social identity theory and find that executives' political identity significantly enhances firm financial performance, with government subsidies and corporate compliance behavior playing intermediary roles. Furthermore, the promotional effect is more pronounced for enterprises that are geographically closer to the government, have lower marketization and are in the central and western regions. Our study contributes to the literature on the subjective political attitudes of Chinese executives and enhances the understanding of the economic consequences of such relationships. Additionally, our research offers valuable insights into corporate performance in countries without partisan conflict.

Toward mastering foreign-language translations: transfer between productive and receptive learning

ABSTRACT Learners can study foreign language-English vocabulary (e.g., denken – to think) both receptively and productively. Receptive learning involves being cued with a foreign language word (e.g., denken) and trying to translate it (i.e., to think). Productive learning involves being cued with an English word (e.g., to think) and trying to produce the translation. When students use retrieval practice to learn foreign-language translations in one direction (e.g., receptively) until they correctly recall the translation, do they demonstrate transfer in the other direction (i.e., productively)? Across three experiments, we answered this question by manipulating the order of learning schedule (reception first followed by production or vice versa). For a given schedule, participants continued to practice retrieving translations (with feedback) using the dropout method until they correctly recalled each translation three times; they then proceeded to practice the pairs in the opposite direction until they correctly recalled each translation three times. Across all experiments, transfer was partial (learning in one direction did not entirely eliminate the need to practice in the other), but transfer did occur regardless of which schedule students used first during practice.

Large language models (LLMs): survey, technical frameworks, and future challenges

Artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly impacted various fields. Large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4, BARD, PaLM, Megatron-Turing NLG, Jurassic-1 Jumbo etc., have contributed to our understanding and application of AI in these domains, along with natural language processing (NLP) techniques. This work provides a comprehensive overview of LLMs in the context of language modeling, word embeddings, and deep learning. It examines the application of LLMs in diverse fields including text generation, vision-language models, personalized learning, biomedicine, and code generation. The paper offers a detailed introduction and background on LLMs, facilitating a clear understanding of their fundamental ideas and concepts. Key language modeling architectures are also discussed, alongside a survey of recent works employing LLM methods for various downstream tasks across different domains. Additionally, it assesses the limitations of current approaches and highlights the need for new methodologies and potential directions for significant advancements in this field.

Effects of processing tasks on children's learning of second language words

This study investigated the impact of different semantic tasks (pleasantness-rating and translation reading-aloud) and structural tasks (letter-counting and word-copying) on Chinese-speaking children's learning of English words. Participants' memory of first language (L1) counterparts for second language (L2) words and learning of L2 word phonology and phonology-meaning mapping were respectively assessed via the L1 free recall, L2 free recall, and picture-cued L2 recall tests. Logistic mixed-effects regression modeling yielded the following findings. First, pleasantness-rating and letter-counting had minimal impact on the acquisition of L2 word knowledge, except that letter-counting significantly facilitated the recall of L2 word phonology. Second, translation reading-aloud and word-copying positively influenced L2 word acquisition, although the former did not significantly affect phonology learning. Third, translation reading-aloud outperformed pleasantness-rating when it came to recalling L1 counterparts and learning L2 word phonology and phonology-meaning mapping, and word-copying was more effective than letter-counting in the learning of L2 word phonology and phonology-meaning mapping. These findings partially support the transfer appropriate processing (TAP) framework and confirm the predictions of the processing-resource allocation (TOPRA) model, although some divergent results—most likely attributable to methodological difference—were observed. Additionally, these results offer valuable instructional implications.

Subword Representations Successfully Decode Brain Responses to Morphologically Complex Written Words

Abstract This study extends the idea of decoding word-evoked brain activations using a corpus-semantic vector space to multimorphemic words in the agglutinative Finnish language. The corpus-semantic models are trained on word segments, and decoding is carried out with word vectors that are composed of these segments. We tested several alternative vector-space models using different segmentations: no segmentation (whole word), linguistic morphemes, statistical morphemes, random segmentation, and character-level 1-, 2- and 3-grams, and paired them with recorded MEG responses to multimorphemic words in a visual word recognition task. For all variants, the decoding accuracy exceeded the standard word-label permutation-based significance thresholds at 350–500 ms after stimulus onset. However, the critical segment-label permutation test revealed that only those segmentations that were morphologically aware reached significance in the brain decoding task. The results suggest that both whole-word forms and morphemes are represented in the brain and show that neural decoding using corpus-semantic word representations derived from compositional subword segments is applicable also for multimorphemic word forms. This is especially relevant for languages with complex morphology, because a large proportion of word forms are rare and it can be difficult to find statistically reliable surface representations for them in any large corpus.

Neural Mechanisms of Learning and Consolidation of Morphologically Derived Words in a Novel Language: Evidence From Hebrew Speakers

Abstract We examined neural mechanisms associated with the learning of novel morphologically derived words in native Hebrew speakers within the Complementary Learning Systems (CLS) framework. Across four sessions, 28 participants were trained on an artificial language, which included two types of morphologically complex words: linear (root + suffix) with a salient structure, and non-linear (root interleaved with template), with a prominent derivational structure in participants’ first language (L1). A third simple monomorphemic condition, which served as baseline, was also included. On the first and fourth sessions, training was followed by testing in an fMRI scanner. Our behavioural results showed decomposition of both types of complex words, with the linear structure more easily learned than the non-linear structure. Our fMRI results showed involvement of frontal areas, associated with decomposition, only for the non-linear condition, after just the first session. We also observed training-related increases in activation in temporal areas specifically for the non-linear condition, which was correlated with participants’ L1 morphological awareness. These results demonstrate that morphological decomposition of derived words occurs in the very early stages of word learning, is influenced by L1 experience, and can facilitate word learning. However, in contrast to the CLS framework, we found no support for a shift from reliance on hippocampus to reliance on cortical areas in any of our conditions. Instead, our findings align more closely with recent theories showing a positive correlation between changes in hippocampus and cortical areas, suggesting that these representations co-exist and continue to interact with one another beyond initial learning.

Emotional valence promotes free recall of foreign language words after video exposure

AbstractThe effect of emotional valence in word retrieval is well‐established in native languages, but findings in a foreign language remain inconsistent. This study investigated the impact of emotional valence on free word recall in English as a foreign language after video exposure. Participants were upper‐intermediate English speakers with Spanish as their mother tongue who watched eight emotionally valenced and four neutral videos, followed by an immediate free recall task and a delayed recall task after 2 weeks. Generalized linear mixed models showed that word valence influenced recall, with neutral words being less easily recalled than negative words, and a decline in recall between sessions. These findings support the Motivated Attention Account, which suggests that motivationally significant stimuli capture more attention than neutral stimuli, regardless of their polarity. Furthermore, the results align with previous evidence in native language research and some studies in foreign language contexts. This study highlights the robust effect of emotional valence on word recall at different time intervals, using authentic input with upper‐intermediate English speakers who have Spanish as their mother tongue and who learned English later in life.

Abbreviations in SMS Messages in the Bosnian Language

The paper presents the abbreviations used in SMS messages in the Bosnian language. Abbreviations recorded in the analyzed corpus are diverse in origin, shortening mechanisms, and morphological and syntactic features. Recognized abbreviations are first classified according to the type of shortened units – into abbreviations formed from words (nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numbers, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, particles) and abbreviations formed from groups of words, sentences, or utterances. Within the classes defined in that way, abbreviations are divided about the mechanism of shortening and described. Abbreviations in SMS messages are in some cases formed by the norms of the standard language but usually deviate from the standard forms. The same words and constructions can be abbreviated in several different ways, and abbreviations most often vary in terms of the use of upper and lower case letters as well as the writing or omission of a period at the end. Abbreviations are most often created by final elision, i.e. by omitting the end of the word and reducing the word to the beginning. They are also created by reducing the word to the first letter and some other meaningful letters inside the word or at the end of the word. In the corpus, not a single word of the Bosnian language was found in which numbers and letters are used as logograms or are incorporated into larger expressions that are read as rebuses. A particularly interesting phenomenon in shortening is the unmotivated multiplication of graphemes at the end of some abbreviations. A significant number of abbreviations created by dropping vowels and some consonants or reducing them to only some consonants are confirmed in the corpus.

REALIZATION OF THE SEMANTIC POTENTIAL OF A COMMON LEXEME IN COMPOUND TERMS (Using the Adjective "Pryamoi" as an Example)

The article is devoted to the problem of the interaction of terminology with natural language and the issue of the semantic development of a commonly used word in languages for special purposes. It is argued that along with the construction of designations based on Greek-Latin term elements and borrowing from other languages, terms are created using natural language tools in a morphological, syntactic, morphological-syntactic or semantic way. At the same time, the terminology uses the semantic potential of words of general use in a peculiar way: it profi les precisely those lexical meanings that allow you to accurately convey the content of concepts in a certain area of spe-cial knowledge. The author focuses on the adjective “direct”, which functions as a component of compound terms in a number of fi elds of knowledge and activity: linguistics, mathematics, physics, biology, law, military aff airs, medicine, etc. Based on etymological dictionaries, the semantic potential of an adjective in a natural language is revealed and variants of its implementation in terminology are determined. It is shown that the dominant mea ning in special fi elds of knowledge and activity when using the word direct is ‘directly related to something’. Behind this meaning is a conceptual sign of the temporal and spatial adjacency of objects and phenomena, the presence of systemic relations between them. Highlighted in general literary explanatory dictionaries as the main adjective of the direct meaning ‘exactly elongated in some l. in the direction without bends’, that is, related to the perception of the appearance, shape of the object, is not paramount in the fi elds of special knowledge and activity, although this meaning is represented as part of terminological units (rectum, straight drill, straight cut, etc.) In linguistic and mathematical terminology, the adjective direct actualizes the meaning of ‘primary’, which is not fi xed by dictionar-ies of the general literary language, but in mathematics and some other fi elds the meaning of ‘equal, correlative’ is realized as a result of the semantic development of the word.

Parameter optimization of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation for second language learning in typically developing young adults

Although the ability to acquire a second language (L2) and attain fluency in that language is beneficial for a growing number of people, it is significantly more difficult to acquire such skills in adulthood. While traditional in-person and computer training programs can aid in this process, learning is often slow and retention is quite poor. A method for driving long-lasting neural plasticity during language learning would be valuable for those who need or want to achieve fluency in a second language later in life. However, little is known about the effect of neuromodulation methods on language learning. In the current study, we investigated the effect of non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on vocabulary word-learning in healthy young adults. Importantly, we approached this research question by investigating two key parameters of taVNS, stimulation frequency (Experiment 1) and current intensity (Experiment 2). Typically developing young adults completed a 1-h training session in which they learned 30 concrete, Palauan nouns while receiving real or sham stimulation to the left posterior tragus (Experiment 1) or stimulation at various intensities (Experiment 2). Participants completed a Palau-to-English translation test immediately after training and seven days later to quantify learning and retention. The results largely revealed that high frequency stimulation above sensory threshold improved retention of learned words. These results suggest that taVNS may improve retention of vocabulary words in a second language and that stimulation frequency may impact efficacy.

Novel Wearable System to Recognize Sign Language in Real Time.

The aim of this study is to develop a practical software solution for real-time recognition of sign language words using two arms. This will facilitate communication between hearing-impaired individuals and those who can hear. We are aware of several sign language recognition systems developed using different technologies, including cameras, armbands, and gloves. However, the system we propose in this study stands out for its practicality, utilizing surface electromyography (muscle activity) and inertial measurement unit (motion dynamics) data from both arms. We address the drawbacks of other methods, such as high costs, low accuracy due to ambient light and obstacles, and complex hardware requirements, which have limited their practical application. Our software can run on different operating systems using digital signal processing and machine learning methods specific to this study. For the test, we created a dataset of 80 words based on their frequency of use in daily life and performed a thorough feature extraction process. We tested the recognition performance using various classifiers and parameters and compared the results. The random forest algorithm emerged as the most successful, achieving a remarkable 99.875% accuracy, while the naïve Bayes algorithm had the lowest success rate with 87.625% accuracy. The new system promises to significantly improve communication for people with hearing disabilities and ensures seamless integration into daily life without compromising user comfort or lifestyle quality.

Features of the Functioning of Hypothetical Modal Words in Russian and Kyrgyz Languages

The articleis devoted to one ofthe topical issues of linguistics, in particular, the peculiarities of the functioning of hypothetical modal words in the Russian and Kyrgyz languages. The main attention in this article is focused on the analysis of hypothetical modal words in the compared languages. Despite the wide interestof researchers in this problem, there are still no generalizing works that consider modal words with the meaning of assumption in modern Russian. There are practically no works devotedto the comparative analysis of the functions, semantics and functioningof hypothetical modal words in the Russian and Kyrgyz languages. During the analysisof the features of the functioning of hypothetical modal words in the compared languages, it was concluded that the choiceof hypothetical modal words in the text depends on the individual author's style of the writer. The main function of modal words as the main lexical means of expressing modal meanings is that they expressthe speaker's subjective relationship to the utterance, correlate the content of the utterance with reality in termsof its reality, unreality or presumption. modal words in a sentence play an important role: without them, the sentence, although it does not lose grammatical harmony, still does not have the meaning, the content, the coloringthat the speaker needed to express. Excessive use of modal words turns them into a parasite word.

Issues of translation for the ISO/TS 12913–2:2018 Attributes: Paradox of Equivalence, Non-Equivalence and suggested approaches to Construct Equivalence in Cross-Cultural soundscape research

ISO/TS 12913–2:2018 includes selected attributes for the characterization of the perceived affective quality of soundscapes. The Soundscape Attributes Translation Project (SATP) is an international collaboration of researchers that aims to provide translations of the ISO/TS 12913–2:2018 attributes in a growing number of languages. However, in the translation process, various issues may arise. ‘Paradox of equivalence’ refers to the issue that if a form of a test or other measure is demanded to yield comparable results in two cultures, then the more equivalent two forms become the less the probability of finding cultural differences. ‘Non-equivalence’, refers to the issue of the target language having no direct equivalent for a source language word, making absolute equivalence unattainable. This study presents and discusses examples of potential issues of equivalence in translations of ISO/TS 12913–2:2018 attributes. Α translation approach is suggested at a theoretical and practical level based on construct equivalence of attributes between source and target language, a prerequisite for valid comparisons in cross-cultural studies. In addition, suggested translation approaches for the issues of ‘paradox of equivalence’ and ‘non-equivalence’ are included. Finally, considering the above, this work discusses and supports the need for standardization of the translation process in soundscape research.

Incidental vocabulary recognition effects of subtitled, captioned and reverse subtitled audiovisual input

This study compares effects of brief exposure to L1 subtitled, L2 captioned, and reverse subtitled audiovisual input on three aspects of vocabulary learning: meaning, form, and pronunciation of target language words. A within-subjects design was used, in which three video clips in the different viewing modes were shown to ten L1 Spanish participants who underwent a pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test of English terms that each occurred in just one of the videos. The tests measured recognition of meaning, form, and pronunciation through translation into the L1, dictation, and reading the target words aloud with native speaker ratings, respectively. The findings show statistically significant gains in producing the accurate written form of vocabulary in reverse subtitled and L2 captioned video clips, and mixed results for the other variables, including statistically significant gains in pronunciation of vocabulary with L1 subtitles.