The intonation of yes–no questions in Luganda

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Scott Myers
Keyword(s):  
Read Aloud ◽  
High Tone ◽  
Question Analysis ◽  
Production Study

The intonation of yes–no questions in Luganda (Bantu, Uganda) has only been sketched in passing. Hyman states that Luganda yes–no questions are marked by a ‘super-high tone’ immediately following the last lexical high tone in the sentence, but there is little agreement in the literature about the intonation of yes–no questions if there is no lexical high tone in the sentence. To clarify the differences between statements and yes–no questions in Luganda, an acoustic production study was conducted. Nineteen speakers read aloud sentences differing in the location of the last lexical high tone relative to the end of the sentence. Each sentence was produced as a statement and as a question. Analysis of f0 measurements supported Hyman’s description of sentences with a lexical high tone, since the questions had an f0 peak that was higher and later than in the corresponding statements. For sentences without a lexical high tone, yes–no questions were found to begin with an interval in which f0 is higher than in corresponding statements, and end with a final f0 value lower than in statements. It is proposed that the yes–no question marker is a phrase accent (H–). Like the high phrase accent posited by Pierrehumbert for English, this intonational tone is associated after the last tone in the phrase, but in Luganda that last tone is lexical, rather than being an intonational focus marker as in English. This H– accent is subject to upstep in the position after a high tone.

Perception of the Lexical Accent Contrast in One Variety of East Norwegian

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-357
Author(s):  
Niamh E. Kelly ◽  
Rajka Smiljanić
Keyword(s):  
Turning Point ◽  
The Other ◽  
High Tone ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Minimum Level ◽  
Production Study ◽  
Pitch Contours ◽  
Minimum Height ◽  
Early Fall ◽  
Pitch Accents

The perception of the lexical pitch accents was examined in the Trøndersk dialect of Norwegian. Based on a production study, a categorization of stimuli with manipulated pitch contours was conducted. The experiment tested which acoustic cues (height and alignment of fundamental frequency (F0) minimum, and alignment of F0 maximum and turning point from maximum to minimum) are necessary for the perception of the tonal contrast. The results are consistent with the production findings in that changes in all of the examined acoustic cues contributed to the shift in accent categorization. The later alignment of the main F0 landmarks (F0 maximum, F0 minimum and turning point from maximum to minimum) induced accent 2 identification. Raising F0 minimum height also led to more accent 2 responses. The analysis of the perception patterns furthermore revealed that the effect of a later alignment of F0 minimum was weak unless combined with a later alignment of the other F0 landmarks, or a higher F0 minimum level, all of which contributed to more accent 2 responses. These results indicate that accent 1 is characterized by an early fall, and accent 2 by a salient initial high tone. Implications of these findings for the phonological analysis of the tonal contrasts in the Trøndersk dialect are also discussed.

scholarly journals Using Gesture to Facilitate L2 Phoneme Acquisition: The Importance of Gesture and Phoneme Complexity

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marieke Hoetjes ◽  
Lieke van Maastricht
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Iconic Gesture ◽  
Production Study ◽  
L2 Phonology ◽  
L2 Word Learning ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Gesture Studies ◽  
Pointing Gesture

Most language learners have difficulties acquiring the phonemes of a second language (L2). Unfortunately, they are often judged on their L2 pronunciation, and segmental inaccuracies contribute to miscommunication. Therefore, we aim to determine how to facilitate phoneme acquisition. Given the close relationship between speech and co-speech gesture, previous work unsurprisingly reports that gestures can benefit language acquisition, e.g., in (L2) word learning. However, gesture studies on L2 phoneme acquisition present contradictory results, implying that both specific properties of gestures and phonemes used in training, and their combination, may be relevant. We investigated the effect of phoneme and gesture complexity on L2 phoneme acquisition. In a production study, Dutch natives received instruction on the pronunciation of two Spanish phonemes, /u/ and /θ/. Both are typically difficult to produce for Dutch natives because their orthographic representation differs between both languages. Moreover, /θ/ is considered more complex than /u/, since the Dutch phoneme inventory contains /u/ but not /θ/. The instruction participants received contained Spanish examples presented either via audio-only, audio-visually without gesture, audio-visually with a simple, pointing gesture, or audio-visually with a more complex, iconic gesture representing the relevant speech articulator(s). Preceding and following training, participants read aloud Spanish sentences containing the target phonemes. In a perception study, Spanish natives rated the target words from the production study on accentedness and comprehensibility. Our results show that combining gesture and speech in L2 phoneme training can lead to significant improvement in L2 phoneme production, but both gesture and phoneme complexity affect successful learning: Significant learning only occurred for the less complex phoneme /u/ after seeing the more complex iconic gesture, whereas for the more complex phoneme /θ/, seeing the more complex gesture actually hindered acquisition. The perception results confirm the production findings and show that items containing /θ/ produced after receiving training with a less complex pointing gesture are considered less foreign-accented and more easily comprehensible as compared to the same items after audio-only training. This shows that gesture can facilitate task performance in L2 phonology acquisition, yet complexity affects whether certain gestures work better for certain phonemes than others.

Writing in Aphasia Rehabilitation: Cursive vs Manuscript

1976 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Boone ◽  
Harold M. Friedman
Keyword(s):  
Correct Response ◽  
The Other ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Manual Responses ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Written Form ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Read Number

Reading and writing performance was observed in 30 adult aphasic patients to determine whether there was a significant difference when stimuli and manual responses were varied in the written form: cursive versus manuscript. Patients were asked to read aloud 10 words written cursively and 10 words written in manuscript form. They were then asked to write on dictation 10 word responses using cursive writing and 10 words using manuscript writing. Number of words correctly read, number of words correctly written, and number of letters correctly written in the proper sequence were tallied for both cursive and manuscript writing tasks for each patient. Results indicated no significant difference in correct response between cursive and manuscript writing style for these aphasic patients as a group; however, it was noted that individual patients varied widely in their success using one writing form over the other. It appeared that since neither writing form showed better facilitation of performance, the writing style used should be determined according to the individual patient’s own preference and best performance.

The Adventures of Peter Rabbit in Romania: Translation Challenges and Strategies

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Cocargeanu
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Publishing Process ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
Cultural Specificity ◽  
Low Visibility ◽  
Selection Of

Romanian children's literature, particularly translations for children, has rather low visibility in international children's literature scholarship, and translations of Beatrix Potter have not been extensively researched, either. This article contributes to filling these gaps by exploring the challenges involved in the recent publication of the first licensed Romanian edition of Beatrix Potter and the strategies employed to solve them. It identifies extra-textual challenges, related to the possibility of publishing Potter, the licensing process, the selection of particular tales and book formats for publication, and marketing strategies; and textual challenges, arising from Potter's writing style, the interdependence between visual and verbal aspects in her tales, their cultural specificity and read-aloud qualities. It also discusses the roles of the British and Romanian publishers in the publishing process and relates the translation strategies visible in the texts to the translator's apparently divided responsibility towards Potter and the Romanian audience, her conceptions of children and children's literature, and the Romanian literary tradition.

Production and technological features improving the structure of ration and consumption feed in the livestock and agricultural production activities of jsc pochapovo in the pinsky district

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. Bazylev M. V. ◽  
◽  
E. A. Levkin E. A. ◽  
V. V. Linkov V. V.
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Investment Project ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Agricultural Activities ◽  
Forage Crops ◽  
Organization And Management ◽  
Production Study

Conducted a production study agricultural activities of JSC "Pochapovo" Pinsk district was allowed to determine the main directions in the organization and management of agriculture: in the direction of improving the system of fertilizer application and, in the introduction of the investment project to irrigate arable enterprise forage crops.

An exploration of target L2 morphemes in the oral production of young EFL learners in Croatia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena O'Reilly ◽  
Eva Jakupčević
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Simple Construction ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
The Past ◽  
Base Form ◽  
Production Study ◽  
Efl Students

Although the second language (L2) acquisition of morphology by late L2 learners has been a popular research area over the past decades, comparatively little is known about the acquisition and development of morphology in children who learn English as a foreign language (EFL). Therefore, the current study presents the findings from a longitudinal oral production study with 9/10-year-old L1 Croatian EFL students who were followed up at the age of 11/12. Our results are largely in line with the limited research so far in this area: young EFL learners have few issues using the be copula and, eventually, the irregular past simple forms, but had considerable problems with accurately supplying the 3rd person singular -s at both data collection points. We also observed a be + base form structure, especially at the earlier stage, which appears to be an emergent past simple construction.

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