scholarly journals Explaining sonority projection effects

Phonology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Daland ◽  
Bruce Hayes ◽  
James White ◽  
Marc Garellek ◽  
Andrea Davis ◽  
...  

AbstractThe term sonority projection refers to behavioural distinctions speakers make between unattested phonological sequences on the basis of sonority. For example, among onset clusters, the well-formedness relation [bn]>[lb] is observed in speech perception, speech production and non-word acceptability (Davidson 2006, 2007, Berent et al.2007, Albright, ms). We begin by replicating the sonority projection effects in a non-word acceptability study. Then we evaluate the extent to which sonority projection is predicted by existing computational models of phonotactics (Coleman & Pierrehumbert 1997, Hayes & Wilson 2008, inter alia). We show that a model based only on lexical statistics can explain sonority projection in English without a pre-existing sonority sequencing principle. To do this, a model must possess (i) a featural system supporting sonority-based generalisations, and (ii) a context representation including syllabification or equivalent information.

Phonology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaja Jarosz

Behavioural findings indicate that English, Mandarin and Korean speakers exhibit gradient sonority sequencing preferences among unattested initial clusters. While some have argued these results support an innate principle, recent modelling studies have questioned this conclusion, showing that computational models capable of inducing generalisations using abstract phonological features can detect these preferences from lexical statistics in the three languages. This paper presents a computational analysis of the development of initial clusters in Polish, which arguably presents a stronger test of these models. We show that (i) the statistics of Polish contradict the Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP), favouring sonority plateaus, (ii) models that succeed in the other languages do not predict SSP preferences for Polish and (iii) children nonetheless exhibit sensitivity to the SSP, favouring onset clusters with larger sonority rises.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1252-1270
Author(s):  
Wouter P. J. Broos ◽  
Aster Dijkgraaf ◽  
Eva Van Assche ◽  
Heleen Vander Beken ◽  
Nicolas Dirix ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lílian Rodrigues de Almeida ◽  
Paul A. Pope ◽  
Peter Hansen

In our previous studies we supported the claim that the motor theory is modulated by task load. Motoric participation in phonological processing increases from speech perception to speech production, with the endpoints of the dorsal stream having changing and complementary weightings for processing: the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) being increasingly relevant and the left superior temporal gyrus (LSTG) being decreasingly relevant. Our previous results for neurostimulation of the LIFG support this model. In this study we investigated whether our claim that the motor theory is modulated by task load holds in (frontal) aphasia. Person(s) with aphasia (PWA) after stroke typically have damage on brain areas responsible for phonological processing. They may present variable patterns of recovery and, consequently, variable strategies of phonological processing. Here these strategies were investigated in two PWA with simultaneous fMRI and tDCS of the LIFG during speech perception and speech production tasks. Anodal tDCS excitation and cathodal tDCS inhibition should increase with the relevance of the target for the task. Cathodal tDCS over a target of low relevance could also induce compensation by the remaining nodes. Responses of PWA to tDCS would further depend on their pattern of recovery. Responses would depend on the responsiveness of the perilesional area, and could be weaker than in controls due to an overall hypoactivation of the cortex. Results suggest that the analysis of motor codes for articulation during phonological processing remains in frontal aphasia and that tDCS is a promising diagnostic tool to investigate the individual processing strategies.


2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 811-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie E. Ambrose ◽  
Marc E. Fey ◽  
Laurie S. Eisenberg

PurposeTo determine whether preschool-age children with cochlear implants have age-appropriate phonological awareness and print knowledge and to examine the relationships of these skills with related speech and language abilities.MethodThe sample comprised 24 children with cochlear implants (CIs) and 23 peers with normal hearing (NH), ages 36 to 60 months. Children's print knowledge, phonological awareness, language, speech production, and speech perception abilities were assessed.ResultsFor phonological awareness, the CI group's mean score fell within one standard deviation of the Test of Preschool Early Literacy's (Lonigan, Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte, 2007) normative sample mean but was more than one standard deviation below the NH group mean. The CI group's performance did not differ significantly from that of the NH group for print knowledge. For the CI group, phonological awareness and print knowledge were significantly correlated with language, speech production, and speech perception. Together these predictor variables accounted for 34% of variance in the CI group's phonological awareness but no significant variance in their print knowledge.ConclusionsChildren with CIs have the potential to develop age-appropriate early literacy skills by preschool age but are likely to lag behind their NH peers in phonological awareness. Intervention programs serving these children should target these skills with instruction and by facilitating speech and language development.


2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Hettler

Regarding the perception of regional speech and the salience of language variants it is to as-sume, that they are being influenced by individual features of the specific speaker/listener. However, most recent studies dealing with the salience of language phenomena neglect factors like, for example, language awareness or the profession of speakers. This article focuses on the correlation between speech perception, speech production and individual characteristics of speakers like the metalinguistic knowledge they have. It presents selected results of a study dealing with the perception and production of regional speech in Bremen and Hamburg and discusses different types of speaker/listener profiles.


eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean R O'Bryan ◽  
Darrell A Worthy ◽  
Evan J Livesey ◽  
Tyler Davis

Extensive evidence suggests that people use base rate information inconsistently in decision making. A classic example is the inverse base rate effect (IBRE), whereby participants classify ambiguous stimuli sharing features of both common and rare categories as members of the rare category. Computational models of the IBRE have either posited that it arises from associative similarity-based mechanisms or dissimilarity-based processes that may depend upon higher-level inference. Here we develop a hybrid model, which posits that similarity- and dissimilarity-based evidence both contribute to the IBRE, and test it using functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected from human subjects completing an IBRE task. Consistent with our model, multivoxel pattern analysis reveals that activation patterns on ambiguous test trials contain information consistent with dissimilarity-based processing. Further, trial-by-trial activation in left rostrolateral prefrontal cortex tracks model-based predictions for dissimilarity-based processing, consistent with theories positing a role for higher-level symbolic processing in the IBRE.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Letkiewicz ◽  
Amy L. Cochran ◽  
Josh M. Cisler

Trauma and trauma-related disorders are characterized by altered learning styles. Two learning processes that have been delineated using computational modeling are model-free and model-based reinforcement learning (RL), characterized by trial and error and goal-driven, rule-based learning, respectively. Prior research suggests that model-free RL is disrupted among individuals with a history of assaultive trauma and may contribute to altered fear responding. Currently, it is unclear whether model-based RL, which involves building abstract and nuanced representations of stimulus-outcome relationships to prospectively predict action-related outcomes, is also impaired among individuals who have experienced trauma. The present study sought to test the hypothesis of impaired model-based RL among adolescent females exposed to assaultive trauma. Participants (n=60) completed a three-arm bandit RL task during fMRI acquisition. Two computational models compared the degree to which each participant’s task behavior fit the use of a model-free versus model-based RL strategy. Overall, a greater portion of participants’ behavior was better captured by the model-based than model-free RL model. Although assaultive trauma did not predict learning strategy use, greater sexual abuse severity predicted less use of model-based compared to model-free RL. Additionally, severe sexual abuse predicted less left frontoparietal network encoding of model-based RL updates, which was not accounted for by PTSD. Given the significant impact that sexual trauma has on mental health and other aspects of functioning, it is plausible that altered model-based RL is an important route through which clinical impairment emerges.


Author(s):  
Sehchang Hah

The objective of this experiment was to quantify and localize the effects of wearing the nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) M40 protective mask and hood on speech production and perception. A designated speaker's vocalizations of 192 monosyllables while wearing an M40 mask with hood were digitized and used as speech stimuli. Another set of speech stimuli was produced by recording the same individual's vocalizing the same monosyllables without the mask and hood. Participants listened to one set of stimuli during two sessions, one session while wearing an M40 mask with hood and another session without the mask and hood. The results showed that wearing the mask with hood gave most detrimental effects on the sustention dimension acoustically for both speech perception and production. The results also showed that wearing it was detrimental on vocalizing and listening to fricatives and unvoiced-stops. These results may be due to the muffling effect of the voicemitter in speech production and the filtering effects of the voicemitter and the hood material on high frequency components during both speech production and perception. This information will be useful for designing better masks and hoods. This methodology also can be used to evaluate other speech communication systems.


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