scholarly journals A Study of Syntactic Complexity in Language Production by Chinese-Speaking Older Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Xinmiao Liu ◽  
Haiyan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Sentence Length ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
The Mean

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: ??; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;" lang="EN-US"><em>The syntactic complexity of language production changes as a result of ageing. In this study, we made a comparison between Chinese-speaking older and younger adults in terms of the syntactic complexity in spoken language production. To assess the level of syntactic complexity of language production, we applied the traditional measures of syntactic complexity such as sentence length, verbal fluency and the distribution of subordinate clauses. Results indicated that older adults showed a decline in the mean number of clauses, the proportion of right-branching clauses and verbal fluency. These findings indicate that there was a decline in syntactic complexity in spoken language production among Chinese-speaking older adults.</em></span>

Spoken Language Production in Young Adults: Examining Syntactic Complexity

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1339-1347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn A. Nippold ◽  
Megan W. Frantz-Kaspar ◽  
Laura M. Vigeland
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Language Development ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Subordinate Clauses

Purpose In this study, we examined syntactic complexity in the spoken language samples of young adults. Its purpose was to contribute to the expanding knowledge base in later language development and to begin building a normative database of language samples that potentially could be used to evaluate young adults with known or suspected language impairment. Method Forty adults (mean age = 22 years, 10 months) with typical language development participated in an interview that consisted of 3 speaking tasks: a general conversation about common, everyday topics; a narrative retelling task that involved fables; and a question-and-answer, critical-thinking task about the fables. Each speaker's interview was audio-recorded, transcribed, broken into communication units, coded for main and subordinate clauses, entered into Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (Miller, Iglesias, & Nockerts, 2004), and analyzed for mean length of communication unit and clausal density. Results Both the narrative and critical-thinking tasks elicited significantly greater syntactic complexity than the conversational task. It was also found that syntactic complexity was significantly greater during the narrative task than the critical-thinking task. Conclusion Syntactic complexity was best revealed by a narrative task that involved fables. The study offers benchmarks for language development during early adulthood.

scholarly journals Stimulus Specific to Age-Related Audio-Visual Integration in Discrimination Tasks

i-Perception ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 204166952097841
Author(s):  
Yanna Ren ◽  
Zhihan Xu ◽  
Sa Lu ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
Weiping Yang
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Race Model ◽  
Compensatory Mechanism ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Visual Integration ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Mean

Age-related audio-visual integration (AVI) has been investigated extensively; however, AVI ability is either enhanced or reduced with ageing, and this matter is still controversial because of the lack of systematic investigations. To remove possible variates, 26 older adults and 26 younger adults were recruited to conduct meaningless and semantic audio-visual discrimination tasks to assess the ageing effect of AVI systematically. The results for the mean response times showed a significantly faster response to the audio-visual (AV) target than that to the auditory (A) or visual (V) target and a significantly faster response to all targets by the younger adults than that by the older adults (A, V, and AV) in all conditions. In addition, a further comparison of the differences between the probability of audio-visual cumulative distributive functions (CDFs) and race model CDFs showed delayed AVI effects and a longer time window for AVI in older adults than that in younger adults in all conditions. The AVI effect was lower in older adults than that in younger adults during simple meaningless image discrimination (63.0 ms vs. 108.8 ms), but the findings were inverse during semantic image discrimination (310.3 ms vs. 127.2 ms). In addition, there was no significant difference between older and younger adults during semantic character discrimination (98.1 ms vs. 117.2 ms). These results suggested that AVI ability was impaired in older adults, but a compensatory mechanism was established for processing sematic audio-visual stimuli.

Syntactic complexity in Finnish-background EFL learners’ writing at CEFR levels A1–B2

2022 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghulam Abbas Khushik ◽  
Ari Huhta
Keyword(s):  
Unit Length ◽  
Sentence Length ◽  
Length Variation ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Verb Phrases ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Automated Tools ◽  
Complex Nominals

Abstract The increasing importance of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) has led to research on the linguistic characteristics of its levels, as this would help the application of the CEFR in the design of teaching materials, courses, and assessments. This study investigated whether CEFR levels can be distinguished with reference to syntactic complexity (SC). 14- and 17-year-old Finnish learners of English (N=397) wrote three writing tasks which were rated against the CEFR levels. The ratings were analysed with multi-facet Rasch analysis and the texts were analysed with automated tools. Findings suggest that the clearest separators at lower CEFR levels (A1–A2) were the mean sentence and T-unit length, variation in sentence length, infinitive density, clauses per sentence or T-unit, and verb phrases per T-unit. For higher levels (B1–B2) they were modifiers per noun phrase, mean clause length, complex nominals per clause, and left embeddedness. The results support previous findings that the length of and variation in the longer production units (sentences, T-units) are the SC indices that most clearly separate the lower CEFR levels, whereas the higher levels are best distinguished in terms of complexity at the clausal and phrasal levels.

Dimensions of Thought as a Function of Age, Gender and Task Difficulty

1989 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlton W. Parks ◽  
Eric Klinger ◽  
Marion Perlmutter
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Attention Control ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Experimental Session ◽  
Stream Of Consciousness ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Thought Sampling ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Current Concerns ◽  
Independent Thought

Forty-two younger adult college students (ages 17–28) and forty-two older adult college alumni and their spouses (ages 60–82) participated in a two-session study. During the questionnaire session, subjects completed background information, self-ratings of health and activity, and questionnaires related to daydreaming activity and current concerns in the natural environment. During the experimental session, subjects participated in four ten-minute thought-sampling periods consisting of two puzzle and two relaxation periods. The mean number of current concerns reported on questionnaires was higher among younger than older adults. Moreover, younger adults reported engaging in more daydreaming as well as having more visual imagery in those daydreams than older adults. The mean proportions of stimulus-dependent evaluative thoughts and attention-control utterances elicited during thought-sampling were higher among older than younger adults. The mean proportions of evaluative thoughts and attention-control utterances were higher during the two puzzle sessions than during the two relaxation sessions. There were no age differences in stimulus-independent thought or number of designs attempted, although younger adults completed more easy and difficult puzzles than older adults. There were few gender differences in problem-solving stream of consciousness. The results support the efficacy of a multidimensional approach to the definition and assessment of imagery.

Three Measures of Language Production for Cantonese-Speaking School-Age Children in a Story-Retelling Task

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1164-1178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita M.-Y. Wong ◽  
Cecilia W.-S. Au ◽  
Stephanie F. Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Production ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Story Retelling ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Grammatical Structures ◽  
Structure Score

Little is known about language development in school-age children in Asian countries. This research reports on 3 measures of language development in 100 Cantonese-speaking children age 5 to 9 years. Word scores, structure scores, and the mean length of communication units (MLCU) were derived from a story-retelling task. The structure score was significantly different for all, except the 8-and 9-year-old groups. The word score and MLCU were significantly different in groups separated by 2 or more years of age. All 3 measures were strongly and significantly correlated with age. The structure score and word score accounted for 64% and 5% of the variance in age, respectively. The order of development of the 6 grammatical structures (e.g., subordinate clauses) included in this study is also reported.

Spoken language production in adults: Examining age-related differences in syntactic complexity

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn A. Nippold ◽  
Paige M. Cramond ◽  
Christine Hayward-Mayhew
Keyword(s):  
Language Production ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Age Related

scholarly journals Receptive vocabulary differences in monolingual and bilingual adults

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELLEN BIALYSTOK ◽  
GIGI LUK
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Clinical Diagnosis ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Linguistic Processing ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
The Mean

English receptive vocabulary scores from 797 monolingual and 808 bilingual participants between the ages of 17 and 89 years old were aggregated from 20 studies to compare standard scores across language groups. The distribution of scores was unimodal for both groups but the mean score was significantly different, with monolinguals obtaining higher standard scores than bilinguals. Consistent with previous research, older adults had higher vocabulary scores than younger adults. The results are discussed in terms of the implications for theoretical conceptions of linguistic processing and clinical diagnosis in bilingual populations.

scholarly journals Age-related differences in the influence of task-irrelevant information on the neural bases of phonological and semantic processes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele T. Diaz ◽  
Micah A. Johnson ◽  
Deborah M. Burke ◽  
Trong-Kha Truong ◽  
David J. Madden
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Irrelevant Information ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Lower Accuracy ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Semantic Processes

ABSTRACTAlthough aging is often associated with cognitive decline, there is considerable variability among individuals and across domains of cognition. Within language, several indicators of semantic processing show stability throughout the lifespan. However, older adults have increased difficulty with phonological aspects of language, especially in language production. While these behavioral patterns are established, the neurobiology associated with these behaviors are less clear. Previously we have shown that, older adults were slower and less accurate in phonological compared to semantic decisions, and that older adults didn’t exhibit brain-behavior relationships. In the present study, we examined phonological and semantic processes in the presence of task-irrelevant information. Older and younger adults made phonological and semantic decisions about pictures in the presence of either phonologically-related or semantically-related words, which were unrelated to the task. Behavioral results indicated that overall older adults had slower reaction times and lower accuracy compared to younger adults, and that all adults were less efficient when making phonological compared to semantic decisions. Patterns of brain activation for the semantic condition showed that all adults engaged typical left-hemisphere language regions, and that this activation was positively correlated with efficiency. In contrast, the phonological condition elicited activation in bilateral precuneus and cingulate, but only younger adults showed a significant relationship between activation and efficiency. Our results suggest that the relationship between behavior and neural activation when processing phonological information declines with age, but that the core semantic system continues to be engaged throughout the lifespan, even in the presence of task-irrelevant information.

scholarly journals Entwicklung der Verbstellung beim fortgeschrittenen Erwerb des Deutschen als Fremdsprache

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-101
Author(s):  
Kamil Długosz
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Correct Usage ◽  
Lower Accuracy ◽  
Verb Placement ◽  
The Moment ◽  
German Syntax

This article investigates the acquisition of verb placement in German as a foreign language at an advanced stage of development. The main objective of the investigation is to analyse written and spoken language production in terms of the use of subject-verb-inversion, verbal bracket, and verb-final placement in subordinate clauses. The results reveal a discrepancy between written and spoken language production with respect to correct usage of the verb placement rules. While correctness in the written production task exceeded 97% for all phenomena, the oral translation task generated less correct sentences, but only for inversion and verb-final placement. The non-target usage of inversion and verb-final pattern in spoken production points to processing problems when translating from Polish into German, which are further confirmed by lower accuracy for these two phenomena. At the moment of testing, the verbal bracket has already been acquired, which is in line with the universal developmental sequence in the acquisition of German syntax.

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