Phonological templates in development

2019 ◽  
pp. 122-162
Author(s):  
Marilyn May Vihman
Keyword(s):  
Relative Frequency ◽  
Linguistic Data ◽  
Consonant Harmony ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Ambient Language ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Prosodic Structures

This chapter presents cross-linguistic data from two children each from the language groups represented in Chapter 4. The child’s consonantal resources are evaluated, with examples of the child’s word forms. This is followed by an account of the child’s prosodic structures and their relative frequency of use. Active template use is evaluated, based in part on the extent to which the child adapts words to fit those structures. A correlation is found between the children’s production of consonant matches and the extent of variegation in their word forms. Finally, an overview is provided of template use in the 18 children whose patterns have been considered in detail. Consonant harmony is found to be the pattern most frequently deployed, but a VCV pattern is used by five of the children (French, Finnish, Italian, Welsh). The pattern is traced to accentual aspects of the ambient language.

First words and prosodic structures

2019 ◽  
pp. 93-121
Author(s):  
Marilyn May Vihman
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
American English ◽  
Good Evidence ◽  
British English ◽  
Ambient Language ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Prosodic Structures ◽  
Language Influence ◽  
First Words

This chapter presents data from four to eight children each learning one of six languages, British English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Italian, and Welsh. As a basis for cross-linguistic comparison the chapter first considers similarities and differences in the target forms of the first words of these children. It then presents the children’s later prosodic structures, including American English in the comparison. The chapter considers the development changes apparent from comparing the first words with the later structures and quantifies the extent of variegation in first word targets and later child word forms. In concluding, it is found that common resources are strongly in evidence in the first words but by the later point there is good evidence of ambient language influence as well as of individual differences within the groups.

Genetic and environmental effects in L1 phonological acquisitionThe case of consonant harmony in Greek child speech

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Tzakosta
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Input Frequency ◽  
Stressed Syllable ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Consonant Harmony ◽  
Multiple Factors ◽  
Greek Child ◽  
Ambient Language ◽  
Child Speech ◽  
Manner Of Articulation

AbstractConsonant harmony (CH) is a phenomenon commonly found in child language. Cross-linguistically, Place of Articulation (PoA), specifically the Coronal Node, undergoes CH, while regressive harmony seems to be the preferred directionality that CH takes (cf. Goad 2001a, b; Levelt 1994; Rose 2000, 2001). In the present study, drawing on naturalistic data from nine children acquiring Greek L1, we place emphasis on the fact that multiple factors need to be considered in parallel, in order to account for CH patterns: Not only PoA, but also Manner of Articulation (MoA) contributes to CH; consequently, (de)voicing or continuity harmony emerges. Although regressive harmony is generally favoured, markedness scales and word stress highly affect directionality. Coronal, stop and voiceless segments trigger and undergo CH depending on their degree of prominence and their position in the word. Harmony can be partial or full, i.e. either place or manner or both place and manner of articulation are targeted. Progressive harmony emerges when the triggers belong to the stressed syllable or when they are stops. Cases of double, bidirectional and recursive harmony are also reported. In general, Greek CH patterns are the product of combined factors determined by phonological principles and input frequency in the ambient language. In other words, the degree to which Greek CH patterns are different from cross-linguistic findings depends on the combination of UG principles and language specific/environmental effects, as well as the prominence of certain of these factors over others.

Latviešu valodas apguvēju korpusa (LaVA) izmantošana pētniecībā un mācību uzdevumu izstrādē

2021 ◽  
pp. 142-161
Author(s):  
Ilze Auziņa ◽  
◽  
Kristīne Levāne-Petrova ◽  
Roberts Darģis ◽  
Kristīne Pokratniece ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Parts Of Speech ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Repeated Analysis ◽  
Reflexive Verbs

The Latvian Language Learners Corpus (LaVA) developed at the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Latvia, includes more than 1000 texts created by foreign Latvian language learners studying at Latvian higher education institutions for the first or second semester reaching A1 (possibly A2) Latvian language proficiency level. The size of the corpus is more than 180 000 words. The morphologically annotated texts have been checked manually; the language learners' errors have been manually annotated. In addition, each text is accompanied by information about the author of the text (metadata): gender, age, native language, knowledge of other languages. When analysing the data, this information can be used to determine how the learner's mother tongue and language skills, in general, affect the acquisition of the Latvian language. Users of the corpus can analyse the data both on the LaVA website (see http://lava.korpuss.lv/search) and in the SketchEngine tool, where the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data can be performed. The quantitative approach makes it possible to find out the tendencies of the use of a word, word form, or construction and allows to determine the frequency of mistakes made by language learners. In addition, the objectivity of the research is ensured by looking at the data of language learners from different aspects and performing repeated analysis. For example, by statistically analysing the nouns used in learners' texts, it can be concluded that declension 4 nouns are most often used. The next in terms of frequency of use are declension 1, 5 and 2 nouns, while declension 3 and 6 nouns and indeclinable nouns are used very rarely. Qualitative analysis reveals certain features of morphology and word formation, including aspects of syntax, based on empirical data. It is possible to qualitatively analyse the erroneous use of nouns, verbs, or other parts of speech, trying to understand what rules determine this. For example, consider using non-reflexive verbs instead of reflexive verbs, using infinitives instead of finite forms (person forms), using a suffix that does not fit the noun paradigm, etc. According to LaVA data analysis, including learners error analysis, exercises and tests are generated. The exercises are intended to help the language learner to strengthen the linguistic competence of the Latvian language, for example, the use of verb forms in the indicative mood, both in indefinite and perfect tense forms. Exercise creation consists of three stages: (1) analysis of LaVA errors and identification of typical errors, (2) Collecting of sample sentences from various corpora of the Latvian language, for example, LVK2018, Saeima, with word forms and constructions in which language learners most often make mistakes in LaVA texts, (3) generation of different exercises using the selected sample sentences.

Semantic roles and residual grammatical categories in mother and child speech: who tunes into whom?

1981 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine S. Retherford ◽  
Bonnie C. Schwartz ◽  
Robin S. Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Relative Frequency ◽  
Free Play ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Semantic Roles ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Mothers And Children ◽  
Mother And Child ◽  
Child Speech ◽  
Discourse Topic

ABSTRACTMother and child speech in two half-hour free play conversations of six pairs were analysed for 15 semantic roles such as AGENT and ACTION, and five additional syntactic categories such as negation. Children were taped at the beginning of word combinations (1; 7–2; 0) and again 3 to 6 months later. Mothers and children were similar to one another in the relative frequency with which they used the different semantic and syntactic categories. However, the mothers' use was stable, including a larger number of categories than the children and showing few shifts in relative frequency. Insofar as changes took place over time, it was the children who changed to become more like their mothers, both in the semantic roles present and in their relative frequency of use. These findings are interpreted as evidence against a Fine-Tuning Hypothesis to explain the content of mothers' speech to children. The role of discourse topic restrictions in limiting the distribution of semantic roles is discussed.

scholarly journals Prosodic structures and templates in bilingual phonological development

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARILYN VIHMAN
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Speech Errors ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Unconscious Processing ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Prosodic Structures

Bilingual children have long been held to have ‘separate linguistic systems’ from the start (e.g., Meisel, 2001). This paper challenges that assumption with data from five bilingual children's first 100 words. Whereas the prosodic structures represented by a child's words may or may not be differentiated by language, emergent phonological templates are not, the same patterns being deployed as more complex adult word forms are targeted in each language. Reliance on common (idiosyncratic) phonological templates for the two languages is ascribed to children's experience with their own voice (in production) as well as with others’ speech. Both experimental studies and spontaneous cross-linguistic speech errors in adults and older children are cited to support the view that, for a bilingual, unconscious processing draws on both languages throughout the lifespan, which suggests that the emphasis on ‘separate systems’ (from the start or thereafter) may be misconceived.

Correlates of Reticulation in Linguistic Phylogenies

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric W. Holman ◽  
Robert Walker ◽  
Taraka Rama ◽  
Søren Wichmann
Keyword(s):  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Similarity Judgment ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Adequate Measure ◽  
Linguistic Data ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Phylogenetic Data ◽  
Size Number ◽  
The Status ◽  
Two Measures

AbstractThis paper discusses phylogenetic reticulation using linguistic data from the Automated Similarity Judgment Program or ASJP (Holman et al., 2008; Wichmann et al., 2010a). It contributes methodologically to the examination of two measures of reticulation in distance-based phylogenetic data, specifically the δ score of Holland et al. (2002) and the more recent Q-residuals of Gray et al. (2010). It is shown that the δ score is a more adequate measure of reticulation. Our empirical analyses examine possible correlations between δ and (a) the size (number of languages), (b) age, and (c) heterogeneity of language groups, (d) linguistic isolation of individual languages within their respective phylogenies, and (e) the status of speech forms as dialects or recently emerged languages. Among these, only (d) is significantly correlated with δ. Our interpretation is that δ is a realistic measure of reticulation and sensitive to effects of socio-historical events such as language extinction. Finally, we correlate average δ scores for different language families with the goodness of fit between ASJP and expert classifications, showing that the δ scores explain much of the variance.

Non-adjacent consonant sequence patterns in English target words during the first-word period

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 1065-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
KATSURA AOYAMA ◽  
BARBARA L. DAVIS
Keyword(s):  
American English ◽  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Frequent Type ◽  
Sequence Patterns ◽  
Ambient Language ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Language Characteristics ◽  
Production Capacities ◽  
Target Words

ABSTRACTThe goal of this study was to investigate non-adjacent consonant sequence patterns in target words during the first-word period in infants learning American English. In the spontaneous speech of eighteen participants, target words with a Consonant–Vowel–Consonant (C1VC2) shape were analyzed. Target words were grouped into nine types, categorized by place of articulation (labial, coronal, dorsal) of initial and final consonants (e.g.mom, labial–labial;mat, labial–coronal;dog, coronal–dorsal). The results indicated that some consonant sequences occurred much more frequently than others in early target words. The two most frequent types were coronal–coronal (e.g.dad) and labial–coronal (e.g.mat). The least frequent type was dorsal–dorsal (e.g.cake). These patterns are consistent with phonotactic characteristics of English and infants' production capacities reported in previous studies. This study demonstrates that infants' expressive vocabularies reflect both ambient language characteristics and their own production capacities, at least for consonant sequences in C1VC2word forms.

scholarly journals Symmetry and Balance as Factors of Aesthetic Appreciation: Ethel Puffer’s (1903) “Studies in Symmetry” Revised

Symmetry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1468
Author(s):  
Ronald Hübner ◽  
Katja Thömmes
Keyword(s):  
Relative Frequency ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Bilateral Symmetry ◽  
Production Method ◽  
Aesthetic Appreciation ◽  
Art Theory ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Modern Methods ◽  
Basic Concepts ◽  
Study Participants

Symmetry and balance are basic concepts in art theory for the composition of pictures. It is assumed that well-balanced pictures are preferred to unbalanced ones. One of the first experimental studies to test this assumption was conducted more than a century ago by Ethel Puffer. By applying a production method, she found little evidence for the hypothesis that balance is favorable for the aesthetical appreciation of pictures. Instead, she observed that other construction principles competing with balance, such as bilateral symmetry and closeness, were applied. The aim of the present study was to repeat some of Puffer’s experiments with modern methods and to examine whether her results are replicable. In two experiments, we also found little to no evidence for balance. Moreover, as in Puffer’s study, participants used closeness and bilateral symmetry as principles. However, compared to that study, the relative frequency of use of these principles was quite different.

scholarly journals Linguistic Distances Based on Counting of Equal Sounds in Numerals from 1 to 10 in Different Language Groups

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Anton Perdih
Keyword(s):  
Y Chromosome ◽  
Relative Frequency ◽  
Additional Indication ◽  
Time Line ◽  
Slavic Languages ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Germanic Languages ◽  
Mtdna Haplogroup

The relative frequency of equal sounds in pairs of adjacent numerals from 1 to 10 in languages of eleven language groups is a basis for calculation of linguistic distances. By this criterion, the Slavic languages form a cluster separated from all other tested languages. Of other languages, Avestan and Sanskrit are the closest to them. The Germanic languages form another cluster but this cluster is within the space of other tested languages, which are widely dispersed. This is an additional indication that the aboriginal Proto-Indo-European was Proto-Slavic and their speakers were the aboriginal Europeans: mainly the Y Chromosome haplogroup I, mtDNA haplogroup U people. In contact with newcomers of other language groups either the newcomers turned to Proto-Slavic, or the previously Proto-Slavic speakers lost their Proto-Slavic at all, or they turned the non-Indo-European newcomers into Indo-European. A novel time line for Nostratic studies is proposed.

scholarly journals Wpływ pandemii na polską, bułgarską i czeską leksykologię w roku 2020 i na początku 2021

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-37
Author(s):  
Joanna Satoła-Staśkowiak ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Conspiracy Theory ◽  
Online Resources ◽  
Parallel Corpus ◽  
New Words ◽  
Linguistic Data ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Polish Language ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
National Corpus

The influence of the pandemic on Polish, Czech and Bulgarian lexicography in 2020 and early 2021 I discuss the linguistic consequences of the current pandemic, such as the emergence of new words and/or an increase in the frequency of use of some pre-existing words, and issues linked to communication. The paper refers to the Polish, Bulgarian and Czech languages. A frequentative approach is applied. Although the outlined linguistic processes are global in nature, several key aspects differentiate the three chosen languages in terms of frequency (including the occurrence of words and functions of speech). The linguistic data was gathered using online resources, including: The National Corpus of Polish, the Czech National Corpus, the Bulgarian National Corpus, the Polish-Bulgarian-Russian parallel Corpus (co-authored by the author of this paper), popular word browsers (frazeo.pl, slowanaczasie) and digital dictionaries (miejski.pl), journalism and information programs, and some of the most recent academic literature. Keywords: pandemic, lexicology, word of the year, neologism, conspiracy theory, frequency of use, the year 2020, Polish language, Bulgarian language, Czech language

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