Polysyllabic shortening in Spanish-English bilingual children

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-454
Author(s):  
Todd A Gibson ◽  
Carolina Bernales
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
English Only ◽  
Primary Stress ◽  
Language History ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Comparison Groups

Aims and objectives: Polysyllabic shortening is thought to contribute to the perception of stress-timed rhythm in some languages. Little is known about its use in the speech of children exposed to a language that incorporates it more frequently (e.g. English) and one that incorporates it less frequently (e.g. Spanish). The purpose of the current investigation was to explore polysyllabic shortening in bilingual children’s two languages compared to monolingual Spanish and English comparison groups. Method/Design: We performed a group-level, cross-sectional study comparing the magnitude of polysyllabic shortening for monolingual English- and Spanish-speaking children and Spanish-English bilingual children. Data/Analysis: Sixteen monolingual English speakers, 23 monolingual Spanish speakers, and 16 Spanish-English bilingual speakers produced two- and four-syllable words in English only, Spanish only, or both English and Spanish, respectively. Ages ranged from 4;5 to 7;7 ( M = 5;10, SD = 7 months). English and Spanish words had the same syllable shapes and primary stress locations. Articulation rate was measured by syllables per second. A language history questionnaire and standardized vocabulary test were also administered. Comparisons were made both between and within groups. Results: Both monolingual English and Spanish speakers utilized polysyllabic shortening to similar degrees. Bilingual children produced polysyllabic shortening in English and Spanish to the same degree as their monolingual peers, but they produced it to a greater degree in their own Spanish than in their own English. Conclusion: Polysyllabic shortening might be a universal feature of speech that results from universal phonetic constraints. For the bilingual children, greater use of polysyllabic shortening in Spanish than English may be related to better Spanish than English articulatory control.

Evaluation of macrolinguistic aspects of the oral discourse in patients with Alzheimer’s disease

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 1343-1353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Onofre de Lira ◽  
Thaís Soares Cianciarullo Minett ◽  
Paulo Henrique Ferreira Bertolucci ◽  
Karin Zazo Ortiz
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Oral Discourse ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Cohesive Devices ◽  
Global Coherence ◽  
Comparison Groups ◽  
Study Setting

ABSTRACTIntroduction:Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a degenerative syndrome that impairs cognitive functioning, including speech and language. Discourse can be used to analyze language processing, which is organized into microlinguistic and macrolinguistic dimensions.Objectives:To identify the occurrence of changes in the macrolinguistic dimension of oral discourse in AD patients. Design: This was developed as a cross-sectional study. Setting: Outpatient clinic of the Behavioural Neurology Division of São Paulo Federal University.Participants:121 elderly patients, with ≥ 4 years of education, divided into AD and comparison groups.Measurements:The subjects were asked to create a narrative based on seven figures that made up a story. The macrolinguistic aspects of the narratives were analyzed.Results:The performance of the AD group was inferior to that of the comparison group on content-related, no-content-related complete and incomplete propositions as well as macropropositions, main information units, appropriated local and global coherence, cohesive devices and all subtypes, cohesive errors and some of their subtypes. Global coherence, macropropositions and ellipsis subtype of cohesive devices were the variables that best differentiated the groups.Conclusions:Changes were observed in most aspects of the macrolinguistic dimension of oral discourse in patients with AD.

scholarly journals Spanish-English Bilingual Children’s Relative Use of English Tense and Agreement Morphemes

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Potapova ◽  
Sonja L. Pruitt-Lord
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Third Person

Best practice for bilingual speakers involves considering performance in each language the client uses. To support this practice for young clients, a comprehensive understanding of how bilingual children develop skills in each language is needed. To that end, the present work investigates relative use of English tense and agreement (T/A) morphemes—a skill frequently considered as part of a complete language assessment—in Spanish-English developing bilingual preschoolers with varying levels of language ability. Results indicate that developing bilingual children with both typical and weak language skills demonstrate greater use of copula and auxiliary BE relative to third person singular, past tense and auxiliary DO. Findings thus reveal a relative ranking of T/A morphemes in developing bilingual children that differs from that of English monolingual children, who demonstrate relatively later emergence and productivity of auxiliary BE. In turn, findings demonstrate the importance of utilizing appropriate comparisons in clinical practice.

scholarly journals Understanding public perception of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) social distancing on Twitter

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Sameh N. Saleh ◽  
Christoph U. Lehmann ◽  
Samuel A. McDonald ◽  
Mujeeb A. Basit ◽  
Richard J. Medford
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
English Only ◽  
Twitter Users

Abstract Objective: Social distancing policies are key in curtailing severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spread, but their effectiveness is heavily contingent on public understanding and collective adherence. We studied public perception of social distancing through organic, large-scale discussion on Twitter. Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Methods: Between March 27 and April 10, 2020, we retrieved English-only tweets matching two trending social distancing hashtags, #socialdistancing and #stayathome. We analyzed the tweets using natural language processing and machine-learning models, and we conducted a sentiment analysis to identify emotions and polarity. We evaluated the subjectivity of tweets and estimated the frequency of discussion of social distancing rules. We then identified clusters of discussion using topic modeling and associated sentiments. Results: We studied a sample of 574,903 tweets. For both hashtags, polarity was positive (mean, 0.148; SD, 0.290); only 15% of tweets had negative polarity. Tweets were more likely to be objective (median, 0.40; IQR, 0–0.6) with ~30% of tweets labeled as completely objective (labeled as 0 in range from 0 to 1). Approximately half of tweets (50.4%) primarily expressed joy and one-fifth expressed fear and surprise. Each correlated well with topic clusters identified by frequency including leisure and community support (ie, joy), concerns about food insecurity and quarantine effects (ie, fear), and unpredictability of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its implications (ie, surprise). Conclusions: Considering the positive sentiment, preponderance of objective tweets, and topics supporting coping mechanisms, we concluded that Twitter users generally supported social distancing in the early stages of their implementation.

scholarly journals Development of Spanish rhotics in Spanish–English bilingual children in the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 788-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandy R. MENKE
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Age Appropriate ◽  
Target Production

AbstractRhotics, particularly the trill, are late acquired sounds in Spanish. Reports of Spanish–English bilingual preschoolers document age-appropriate articulations, but studies do not explore productions once exposure to English increases. This paper reports on the rhotic productions of a cross-sectional sample of 31 Spanish–English bilingual children, ages 6;8 to 13;5. Children produced taps with high rates of accuracy across age groups; the trill did not reach 80% target production until age 11;3, later than reported for monolingual speakers. Increased English exposure is explored as a contributing factor, arguing a need for continued study of bilingual phonological development beyond the preschool years.

Beliefs and knowledge of cardiovascular-related disease among uninsured primary care patients: A cross-sectional study

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-50
Author(s):  
Akiko Kamimura ◽  
Maziar M. Nourian ◽  
Alla Chernenko ◽  
Naveen Rathi ◽  
Michael-Ann Oslund ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Medically Uninsured ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Perceived Severity ◽  
Primary Care Patients

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine cardiovascular disease-related health beliefs and how they are influenced by knowledge and a sense of community among uninsured primary care patients. Method This study was a cross-sectional study using a self-administered paper survey (January to April 2016). The study population included medically uninsured US-born English speakers, non-US-born English speakers, and Spanish speakers. Results Medically uninsured adults utilizing a free clinic (N = 374) participated in the survey. Increasing knowledge about major risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease helped enhance levels of perceived severity of cardiovascular disease and benefits of healthy diet and physical activity. Spanish speakers reported higher levels of perceived severity of cardiovascular disease but lower levels of knowledge compared to US-born or non-US-born English speakers. Conclusion Spanish speakers may need different approaches to promote cardiovascular disease prevention due to their higher levels of perceived severity of cardiovascular disease but lower levels of cardiovascular disease-related knowledge compared to English speakers. Developing a healthy “community” in a clinic setting may be effective to promote cardiovascular disease-related health for underserved populations.

scholarly journals Previous experience with depression in others and self: a cross-sectional study of the impact on stigma and help-seeking attitudes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virgínia da Conceição ◽  
Inês Rothes ◽  
Milton Severo ◽  
Kathy Griffiths ◽  
Ulrich Hegerl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Help Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Previous Experience ◽  
Portuguese Population ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Help Seeking Attitudes ◽  
Personal Stigma ◽  
Demographic Questionnaire ◽  
Comparison Groups ◽  
The Impact

AbstractBackgroundStigma has been considered a significant barrier both in treatment, rehabilitation and help-seeking behaviours of people diagnosed with depression. This study aimed to validate the Depression Stigma Scale (DSS) to the Portuguese population, to assess the influence of the type of previous experience with depression on the levels of depression stigma, identifying depression stigma predictors in each type of previous experience with depression and to analyse the effects of stigma on help-seeking attitudes.MethodsA total of 1693 participants with a mean age of 47.2 (SD=18.17) completed the DSS, the Attitude Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help, and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Participants were categorised into four comparison groups: no previous experience with depression (n=479), indirect experience with depression (n=661), direct experience with depression (n=137), and both direct and indirect experience with depression (n=416). We performed data analysis using SPSS 24.0.ResultsThe DSS demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. Levels of personal stigma were lower in people who had family and friends experiencing depression in comparison with individuals with no history of depression experience. Better attitudes towards help-seeking were evident in those with lower personal stigma and worse help-seeking attitudes were associated with higher perceived stigma in the indirect previous experience group.LimitationsThere were some differences in the socio-demographic characteristics across groups and no data were collected on the duration of participant exposure to depression.ConclusionsOur study demonstrates the validity of DSS in the Portuguese population. The individual’s experience with depression influences the development of personal stigmatising beliefs and attitudes towards depression and plays a role in help-seeking behaviours. Addressing people’s experience of depression might be a practical way of reducing depression stigma and improve help-seeking behaviours.FundingFunding for this study was provided by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 223138. The funding partner had no role in the design of the study; in the data collection; in the analyses and interpretation of the data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

The production of referring expressions in oral narratives of Chinese–English bilingual speakers and monolingual peers

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Chen ◽  
Jianghua Lei
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Referring Expressions ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Discourse Functions ◽  
Chinese And English

This study evaluates the extent to which the production of referring expressions such as noun phrases and pronouns to fulfill various discourse functions in narratives of Chinese–English bilingual children matches that of their monolingual peers in each of the two languages. Spoken narratives in English and Chinese were elicited from 30 9-year-old participants from each of the three groups: Chinese–English bilinguals and their monolingual peers in each of the two languages using the wordless picture book Frog, Where Are You? (Mayer, 1969). Narrative analysis focused on the referring expressions that are used to introduce, re-introduce, and maintain reference to story characters in the narratives. Results show that (1) monolingual Chinese and English speakers differed significantly in the preferred referring expressions for the discourse functions; (2) the Chinese–English bilinguals differed from their monolingual peers in the distribution of referring expressions for referent introduction in English and re-introduction in Chinese; and (3) bilinguals resembled their monolingual peers in their differentiated use of referring expressions for referent maintenance in each of the two languages. These results suggest that the patterns of production of referring expressions in discourse by bilingual speakers may be unique, and fall in between those by their monolingual peers in each of the languages.

Constructing two phonological systems: A phonetic analysis of /p/, /t/, /k/ among early Spanish–English bilingual speakers

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-68
Author(s):  
Earl K. Brown ◽  
Mary T. Copple
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Voice Onset Time ◽  
First Language ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Center Of Gravity ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
The Usa

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: Many early Spanish-English bilingual speakers in the USA learn Spanish as their first language at home and English in school. This paper seeks to elucidate whether these speakers develop a separate phonological system for English and, if so, the role of primary and secondary cues in the development of the second language (L2) system. Design/methodology/approach: The phonetic realization of the voiceless stops /p/, /t/, /k/ is analyzed among three groups: early Spanish-English bilinguals; L1 English speakers who are late learners of Spanish; and L1 Spanish speakers who are late learners of English. The participants ( N = 15) engaged in a reading task and a conversation task in each language during a single recording session. Data and analysis: 1578 tokens of /p/, /t/, /k/ were extracted and analyzed using acoustic software. Voice onset time in milliseconds and center of gravity in Hertz were analyzed, and monofactorial and multifactorial analyses were performed to determine the role of linguistic background. Findings/conclusions: Evidence is found of two phonological systems among early bilingual speakers, with varying degrees of assimilation to the phonological systems of the native speakers of each language. Originality: We argue that early bilinguals construct their L2 system of /p/, /t/, /k/ in English based on the primary cue of voice onset time rather than the secondary cue of center of gravity, as they are accustomed to noticing differences in voice onset time in Spanish and because the center of gravity of /p/, /t/, /k/ in English is more variable than voice onset time, and therefore represents a more variable and less predictable cue for early bilinguals as they construct their L2 system. Significance/implications: This paper contributes to the literature on the construction of phonological systems and to research detailing the speech of early Spanish-English bilinguals.

The role of morphophonological regularity in young Spanish-speaking children's production of gendered noun phrases

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 753-776
Author(s):  
BRITTANY A. LINDSEY ◽  
LOUANN GERKEN
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Congruity Effect ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
High Predictability

ABSTRACTAdult Spanish speakers generally know which form a determiner preceding a noun should have even if the noun is not in their lexicon, because Spanish demonstrates high predictability between determiner form and noun form (la noun-a and el noun-o). We asked whether young children learning Spanish are similarly sensitive to the correlation of determiner and noun forms, or whether they initially learn determiner–noun pairings one-by-one. Spanish–English bilingual children and adults repeated Spanish words and non-words preceded by gender congruous and incongruous determiners. If children learn determiner–noun pairings one-by-one, they should show a gender congruity effect only for words. In contrast with this prediction, both children and adults demonstrated congruity effects for words and non-words, indicating sensitivity to correlated morphophonological forms. Furthermore, both age groups showed more facility in producing phrases with nouns ending in -a, which are more frequent and predictable from the preceding determiner.

Nasometric Comparison Between Spanish–English Bilingual and English Monolingual Children

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie L. Perry ◽  
Katelyn Kotlarek ◽  
Lucia Mendez ◽  
Yolanda Holt ◽  
Stephen Fafulas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Significance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Speech Stimuli ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Bilingual Group

Objective: It is well established in the literature that English diagnostic tests should not be directly applied to speakers whose primary language is Spanish. Normative nasalance data across word and sentence-level stimuli among Spanish–English bilingual children living in the United States have not been provided. The present study aims to (1) compare differences in nasalance between typically developing Spanish–English bilingual children and English-speaking monolingual children and (2) determine whether within-speaker nasalance differences exist in Spanish–English bilingual children when presented with English and Spanish speech stimuli. Design: Thirty-four typically developing children including 17 monolingual English speakers and 17 Spanish–English bilingual speakers with normal velopharyngeal anatomy between 5 and 7 years of age participated in the study. Speakers were recorded using a nasometer producing sets of stimulus items at the word and sentence level in English (English monolinguals) and in both Spanish and English for bilingual children. Results: Results indicated no statistically significant difference between nasalance values across the different stimuli between monolingual and bilingual participants. However, within-subject effects showed statistical significance between English and Spanish word stimuli among the bilingual group. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the importance of using language-specific diagnostic materials for nasalance testing, which would be of importance in the treatment of individuals with cleft palate.

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