Articulatory settings and L2 English coronal consonants

Phonetica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Colantoni ◽  
Alexei Kochetov ◽  
Jeffrey Steele

Abstract Background/aims: We explore the potential contribution of Articulatory Settings (AS) theory to L2 speech production research, testing the hypothesis that L2 segmental speech learning should involve a gradual, overall shift in both place and constriction degree, simultaneously affecting all consonants of a series as opposed to a set of parallel but unrelated changes in learners’ production of individual sounds. Methods: We conducted an electropalatography study of four francophone learners’ production of French and English word-initial and -medial /t d s z n l/ via carrier-sentence reading tasks. Results: L1–L2 differences in tongue shape are more common than those in constriction location, first and foremost for sonorants, and, thus, our results are not completely consistent with AS theory’s claims. Conclusions: AS theory provides a potentially rich framework for exploring the L2 speech learning of consonantal phenomena including low-level L1–L2 differences in place of articulation. We propose that the observed lack of systematic between-language articulatory differences could be attributed to a number of factors to be explored in future research, such as the targeting of voicing and manner differences before the adjustment of small place differences as well as individual patterns of entrenchment of L1 articulatory routines.

Phonetica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-94
Author(s):  
Katsura Aoyama ◽  
Barbara L. Davis

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate relationships between characteristics of children’s target words and their actual productions during the single-word period in American English. Word productions in spontaneous and functional speech from 18 children acquiring American English were analyzed. Consonant sequences in 3,328 consonant-vowel-consonant (C1VC2) target words were analyzed in terms of global place of articulation (labials, coronals, and dorsals). Children’s actual productions of place sequences were compared between target words containing repeated place sequences (e.g., mom, map, dad, not) and target words containing variegated place sequences (e.g., mat, dog, cat, nap). Overall, when the target word contained two consonants at the same global place of articulation (e.g., labial-labial, map; coronal-coronal, not), approximately 50% of children’s actual productions matched consonant place characteristics. Conversely, when the target word consisted of variegated place sequences (e.g., mat, dog, cat, nap), only about 20% of the productions matched the target consonant sequences. These results suggest that children’s actual productions are influenced by their own production abilities as well as by the phonetic forms of target words.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6730
Author(s):  
Pwint Kay Khine ◽  
Jianing Mi ◽  
Raza Shahid

This study investigates current research trends in co-production studies and discusses conceptual approaches. The conceptual paper contains studies on co-production in the field of public administration. This study identifies significant gaps in the field of study by systematically examining 32 co-production research works. The study’s contributions include (1) defining two common characteristics of co-production, (2) classifying three forms of co-production by end-users, and (3) discovering that the aims and performance of co-production are more effective for service providers when the strategy is citizen-centric. Future research should (1) concentrate on the reasons for co-production failures or successes, (2) identify additional barriers to co-production in service production, (3) investigate influences on service providers as well as structural impacts on the co-production process, and (4) provide practical assessments of co-production research.


1984 ◽  
Vol 246 (6) ◽  
pp. R928-R935 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Kelso ◽  
B. Tuller

We suggest that a principled analysis of language and action should begin with an understanding of the rate-dependent, dynamical processes that underlie their implementation. Here we present a summary of our ongoing speech production research, which reveals some striking similarities with other work on limb movements. Four design themes emerge for articulatory systems: 1) they are functionally rather than anatomically specific in the way they work; 2) they exhibit equifinality and in doing so fall under the generic category of a dynamical system called point attractor; 3) across transformations they preserve a relationally invariant topology; and 4) this, combined with their stable cyclic nature, suggests that they can function as nonlinear, limit cycle oscillators (periodic attractors). This brief inventory of regularities, though not mean to be inclusive, hints strongly that speech and other movements share a common, dynamical mode of operation.


Author(s):  
David Mendonça ◽  
William A. Wallace ◽  
Barbara Cutler ◽  
James Brooks

AbstractLarge-scale disasters can produce profound disruptions in the fabric of interdependent critical infrastructure systems such as water, telecommunications and electric power. The work of post-disaster infrastructure restoration typically requires information sharing and close collaboration across these sectors; yet – due to a number of factors – the means to investigate decision making phenomena associated with these activities are limited. This paper motivates and describes the design and implementation of a computer-based synthetic environment for investigating collaborative information seeking in the performance of a (simulated) infrastructure restoration task. The main contributions of this work are twofold. First, it develops a set of theoretically grounded measures of collaborative information seeking processes and embeds them within a computer-based system. Second, it suggests how these data may be organized and modeled to yield insights into information seeking processes in the performance of a complex, collaborative task. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications of this work for practice and for future research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110418
Author(s):  
Xiaogen Liao ◽  
Chuanbin Ni

Although it has been well established that emotional content influences language comprehension, the effects of emotionality on L2 (second language: English) word processing require further clarification. Notably, most previous studies unsystematically mixed words of different lexical categories, although they often showed processing differences. Here, using the same set of tightly matched negative, positive, and neutral words across three lexical categories (i.e., nouns, verbs, adjectives), we examined the effects of emotionality and lexical category on L2 word processing by conducting three experiments. In these experiments, three groups of late Chinese–English bilinguals performed three tasks: the emotional Stroop task (Experiment 1), the lexical decision task (Experiment 2), and the emotional categorisation task (Experiment 3), respectively. Overall, our data suggested that emotionality and lexical category exerted no influence on L2 word processing in the emotional Stroop task, but acted interactively to influence it in the other two tasks. The results evidenced that the processing of L2 emotional words was sensitive to task type. Therefore, we conclude that future research on L2 word processing should fully consider the emotionality, lexical category, and task type.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 88-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deryk S. Beal

We are amassing information about the role of the brain in speech production and the potential neural limitations that coincide with developmental stuttering at a fast rate. As such, it is difficult for many clinician-scientists who are interested in the neural correlates of stuttering to stay informed of the current state of the field. In this paper, I aim to inspire clinician-scientists to tackle hypothesis-driven research that is grounded in neurobiological theory. To this end, I will review the neuroanatomical structures, and their functions, which are implicated in speech production and then describe the relevant differences identified in these structures in people who stutter relative to their fluently speaking peers. I will conclude the paper with suggestions on directions of future research to facilitate the evolution of the field of neuroimaging of stuttering.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Z. Selden ◽  
Timothy K. Perttula ◽  
Michael J. O’Brien

AbstractThree-dimensional (3D) digital scanning of archaeological materials is typically used as a tool for artifact documentation. With the permission of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, 3D documentation of Caddo funerary vessels from the Vanderpool site (41SM77) was conducted with the initial goal of ensuring that these data would be publicly available for future research long after the vessels were repatriated. A digital infrastructure was created to archive and disseminate the resultant 3D datasets, ensuring that they would be accessible by both researchers and the general public (CRHR 2014a). However, 3D imagery can be used for much more than documentation. To illustrate this, these data were utilized in a 3D morphometric analysis of the intact and reconstructed vessels to explore the range of variation that occurs in ceramic vessel shape and its potential contribution to the local ceramic taxonomy. Results of the 3D morphometric analysis demonstrate the potential for substantive analytical gains in discussions of temporal resolution and ceramic technological organization in the ancestral Caddo region.


1988 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel G. Fletcher

Changes in the dimensions and patterns of articulation used by three speakers to compensate for different amounts of tongue tissue excised during partial glossectomy were investigated. Place of articulation was shifted to parts of the vocal tract congruent with the speakers' surgically altered lingual morphology. Certain metrical properties of the articulatory gestures, such as width of the sibilant groove, were maintained. Intelligibility data indicated that perceptually acceptable substitute sounds could be produced by such transposed gestures.


2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. R. Ellsworth-Bowers ◽  
E. J. Corwin

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a relatively common and often severe mood disorder that develops in women after childbirth. The aetiology of PPD is unclear, although there is emerging evidence to suggest a psychoneuroimmune connection. Additionally, deficiencies in n-3 PUFA, B vitamins, vitamin D and trace minerals have been implicated. This paper reviews evidence for a link between micronutrient status and PPD, analysing the potential contribution of each micronutrient to psychoneuroimmunological mechanisms of PPD. Articles related to PPD and women's levels of n-3 PUFA, B vitamins, vitamin D and the trace minerals Zn and Se were reviewed. Findings suggest that while n-3 PUFA levels have been shown to vary inversely with PPD and link with psychoneuroimmunology, there is mixed evidence regarding the ability of n-3 PUFA to prevent or treat PPD. B vitamin status is not clearly linked to PPD, even though it seems to vary inversely with depression in non-perinatal populations and may have an impact on immunity. Vitamin D and the trace minerals Zn and Se are linked to PPD and psychoneuroimmunology by intriguing, but small, studies. Overall, evidence suggests that certain micronutrient deficiencies contribute to the development of PPD, possibly through psychoneuroimmunological mechanisms. Developing a better understanding of these mechanisms is important for guiding future research, clinical practice and health education regarding PPD.


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