scholarly journals Predictability in French gender attribution: A corpus analysis

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROY LYSTER
Keyword(s):  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Vowel Sound ◽  
Orthographic Representations ◽  
Gender Attribution ◽  
French Gender

This article presents a corpus analysis designed to determine the extent to which noun endings in French are reliable predictors of grammatical gender. A corpus of 9,961 nouns appearing in Le Robert Junior Illustré was analysed according to noun endings, which were operationalised as orthographic representations of rhymes, which consist of either a vowel sound (i.e., a nucleus) in the case of vocalic endings or a vowel-plus-consonant blend (i.e., a nucleus and a coda) in the case of consonantal endings. The analysis classified noun endings as reliably masculine, reliably feminine, or ambiguous, by considering as reliable predictors of grammatical gender any noun ending that predicts the gender of least 90 per cent of all nouns in the corpus with that ending. Results reveal that 81 per cent of all feminine nouns and 80 per cent of all masculine nouns in the corpus are rule governed, having endings that systematically predict their gender. These findings, at odds with traditional grammars, are discussed in terms of their pedagogical implications.

scholarly journals English Speakers’ Implicit Gender Concepts Influence Their Processing of French Grammatical Gender: Evidence for Semantically Mediated Cross-Linguistic Influence

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Nicoladis ◽  
Chris Westbury ◽  
Cassandra Foursha-Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Response Time ◽  
Response Times ◽  
First Language ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
Word Embedding ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
French Words ◽  
L1 English ◽  
French Gender

Second language (L2) learners often show influence from their first language (L1) in all domains of language. This cross-linguistic influence could, in some cases, be mediated by semantics. The purpose of the present study was to test whether implicit English gender connotations affect L1 English speakers’ judgments of the L2 French gender of objects. We hypothesized that gender estimates derived from word embedding models that measure similarity of word contexts in English would affect accuracy and response time on grammatical gender (GG) decision in L2 French. L2 French learners were asked to identify the GG of French words estimated to be either congruent or incongruent with the implicit gender in English. The results showed that they were more accurate with words that were congruent with English gender connotations than words that were incongruent, suggesting that English gender connotations can influence grammatical judgments in French. Response times showed the same pattern. The results are consistent with semantics-mediated cross-linguistic influence.

Assignment of grammatical gender by native speakers and foreign learners of French

1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. M. HOLMES ◽  
B. DEJEAN DE LA BÂTIE
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
Real Word ◽  
Gender Assignment ◽  
Written Production ◽  
On Line ◽  
Gender Attribution

This study compared the skill in gender attribution of foreign learners and native speakers of French. Accuracy and fluency of gender attribution by the foreign learners were assessed in spontaneous written production. Both groups performed on-line gender assignment to real nouns whose gender was regular or exceptional, given their ending, and to invented nouns with nonword stems and real-word endings. The pattern of results indicated that the native speakers' gender attributions were primarily based on rapidly evoked lexical associations, with gender-ending correspondences playing a significant but subsidiary role. The foreign learners were less able to summon lexical associations, relying heavily on ending-based rules. Overall, none of the foreign learners attained the same level of performance as any of the native speakers. We conclude that instruction in which students learn nouns in the context of distinctive lexical associates could profitably be supplemented by explicit instruction in gender-ending regularities.

The acquisition of French by German pre-school children

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 171-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Möhring
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Gender Agreement ◽  
Gender Attribution ◽  
German Children ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Gender System ◽  
First Time ◽  
French Gender ◽  
Simultaneous Input

The present study is an analysis of the acquisition of French by German children who were exposed to the language for the first time at the age of approximately three years. I investigated the usage of the French gender system, namely gender attribution and gender agreement, in order to determine whether these children were acquiring French as a ‘second’ first language, as bilinguals do with simultaneous input of two languages from birth onwards, or whether they were acquiring it as a ‘first’ second language. The analysis of several measures demonstrated that the usage of gender-marking elements of most subjects was more similar to that of bilingual children than of child L2 learners who have first been exposed to French after the age of 6. This suggests that bilingual first language acquisition is also possible with first exposure to a foreign language at the age of approximately three years.

The effects of proactive form-focused instruction and individual differences on second language acquisition

2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110510
Author(s):  
Andrew H. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Binary Choice ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Picture Description ◽  
Gender Attribution

This study investigated the extent to which second language (L2) learners benefited from proactive form-focused instruction (FFI) targeting French grammatical gender attribution and the degree to which L2 learners’ attention control and working memory predicted their learning gains. A total of 102 L2 learners received either proactive FFI targeting French grammatical gender attribution or their regular instruction (i.e. control condition) for six 80-minute instructional sessions. A pretest, an immediate posttest, and a delayed posttest were administered, each entailing binary-choice, text-completion, picture-description, and listening tasks. The L2 learners also completed the Simon Test and the Corsi Block-Tapping Test, which measured their attention control and working memory. Results showed that L2 learners receiving the proactive FFI condition significantly outperformed those receiving the control condition in all tasks after the instructional sessions. More importantly, L2 learners’ attention control and working memory were significant predictors of their learning gains in the binary-choice and listening tasks, but not in the text-completion and picture-description tasks. The current study highlighted the roles of L2 learners’ attention control and working memory in proactive FFI.

The hidden dangers of computer modelling: remarks on Sokolik and Smith's connectionist learning model of French gender

1995 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne E. Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Computer Modelling ◽  
Learning Model ◽  
Position Information ◽  
Gender Attribution ◽  
Connectionist Learning ◽  
French Gender

Sokolik and Smith (1992) conducted three computer modelling experiments involving the learning of French gender attribution using a connectionist architecture. Their device learns to classify nouns quickly, given only letter-plus-position information about word spellings and feedback about the match between the target and the device's output. In particular, the device is not programmed with rules nor does it acquire any. Sokolik and Smith conclude that their model of gender attribution and the acquisition thereof has relevance for SLA. In these remarks, I show why this conclusion is wrong.

Connectionism and French gender attribution: Sokolik and Smith re-visited

1999 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 412-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive A. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Network Model ◽  
Connectionist Model ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Gender Attribution ◽  
French Gender

Sokolik and Smith (1992) report on a connectionist model of the acquisition of French gender attribution which has been widely reported to have shown that such models are ‘capable of learning the gender of a large set of French nouns’. These claims are examined by reference to various results gained through a number of extensions to their network model. These results suggest a degree of caution in accepting Sokolik and Smith's conclusions. Further discussion suggests that the search for a computational account of gender attribution is, perhaps, misguided.

Vowel Recognition Threshold as a Function of Temporal Segmentations

1970 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 715-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Powell ◽  
Oscar Tosi
Keyword(s):  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Recognition Threshold ◽  
Vowel Sound ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Vowel Recognition ◽  
Temporal Segment

Vowels were segmented into 15 different temporal segments taken from the middle of the vowel and ranging from 4 to 60 msecs, then presented to 6 subjects with normal hearing. The mean temporal-segment recognition threshold of 15 msecs with a range from 9.3 msecs for the /u/ to 27.2 milliseconds for the /a/. Misidenti-fication of vowels was most often confused with the vowel sound adjacent to it on the vowel-hump diagram. There was no significant difference between the cardinal and noncardinal vowels.

On the Semantic Content of Grammatical Gender and Its Impact on the Representation of Human Referents

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 367-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Irmen ◽  
Julia Kurovskaja
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Content ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Gender Information ◽  
Masculine Role ◽  
Feminine Role ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Gender Categories ◽  
Open Question

Grammatical gender has been shown to provide natural gender information about human referents. However, due to formal and conceptual differences between masculine and feminine forms, it remains an open question whether these gender categories influence the processing of person information to the same degree. Experiment 1 compared the semantic content of masculine and feminine grammatical gender by combining masculine and feminine role names with either gender congruent or incongruent referents (e.g., Dieser Lehrer [masc.]/Diese Lehrerin [fem.] ist mein Mann/meine Frau; This teacher is my husband/my wife). Participants rated sentences in terms of correctness and customariness. In Experiment 2, in addition to ratings reading times were recorded to assess processing more directly. Both experiments were run in German. Sentences with grammatically feminine role names and gender incongruent referents were rated as less correct and less customary than those with masculine forms and incongruent referents. Combining a masculine role name with an incongruent referent slowed down reading to a greater extent than combining a feminine role name with an incongruent referent. Results thus specify the differential effects of masculine and feminine grammatical gender in denoting human referents.

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