scholarly journals Where the action could be: Speakers look at graspable objects and meaningful scene regions when describing potential actions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwendolyn L Rehrig ◽  
Candace Elise Peacock ◽  
Taylor Hayes ◽  
Fernanda Ferreira ◽  
John M. Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Visual Attention ◽  
Real World ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Processing ◽  
General Meaning ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Better Than

The world is visually complex, yet we can efficiently describe it by extracting the information that is most relevant to convey. How do the properties of real-world scenes help us decide where to look and what to say? Image salience has been the dominant explanation for what drives visual attention and production as we describe displays, but new evidence shows scene meaning predicts attention better than image salience. Here we investigated the relevance of one aspect of meaning, graspability (the grasping interactions objects in the scene afford), given that affordances have been implicated in both visual and linguistic processing. We quantified image salience, meaning, and graspability for real-world scenes. In three eyetracking experiments, native English speakers described possible actions that could be carried out in a scene. We hypothesized that graspability would preferentially guide attention due to its task-relevance. In two experiments using stimuli from a previous study, meaning explained visual attention better than graspability or salience did, and graspability explained attention better than salience. In a third experiment we quantified image salience, meaning, graspability, and reach-weighted graspability for scenes that depicted reachable spaces containing graspable objects. Graspability and meaning explained attention equally well in the third experiment, and both explained attention better than salience. We conclude that speakers use object graspability to allocate attention to plan descriptions when scenes depict graspable objects within reach, and otherwise rely more on general meaning. The results shed light on what aspects of meaning guide attention during scene viewing in language production tasks.

English Nasalance Values of Chinese Learners of English

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Yilan Liu ◽  
Sue Ann S. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Language Production ◽  
First Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Chinese Learners Of English

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Although a number of studies have been conducted to investigate nasalance scores of speakers of different languages, little research has examined the nasalance characteristics of second language learners. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> The goal of the current study was to examine whether English nasalance values of Mandarin Chinese speakers are similar to those of native English speakers, examining the potential effect of the first language on the nasalance scores of the second language production. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Thirty-two adults (16 Mandarin Chinese speakers and 16 native English speakers) with a normal velopharyngeal anatomy participated. Nasalance scores of various speech stimuli were obtained using a nasometer and compared between the 2 groups. <b><i>Results and Conclusions:</i></b> Chinese learners of English produced higher nasalance scores than native English speakers on prolonged vowel /i/ and /a/, the syllable “nin,” and non-nasal sentences and passages. The first language effect on nasalance of the second language found in the current study suggests the importance of linguistic consideration in the clinical evaluation of resonance.

scholarly journals The Effects of L2 Experience and Vowel Context on the Perceptual Assimilation of English Fricatives by L2 Thai Learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patchanok Kitikanan
Keyword(s):  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Perceived Similarity ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Sound System ◽  
Vowel Context ◽  
Thai Students ◽  
English Major ◽  
Back Vowel ◽  
Shed Light

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of vowel context and language experience in the perceived similarity between L2 English fricatives and Thai sounds. The target English sounds being investigated were the sounds /v, f, w, θ, tʰ, s, ð, d, z, ʃ, t͡ʃ/. These sounds were elicited from four native English speakers in words in onset position and followed by three vowel contexts: high, low and back. Subjects were 54 Thai students divided into two groups: English-major and non-English-major. These Thai learners were asked to identify the sounds they heard with the Thai sounds that were closest in their perception. The findings showed that 1) all shared sounds were matched with the same L1 categories, suggesting that the existence of L2 sounds in the L1 sound system supports the perception; 2) most non-shared sounds, except English /θ/ were matched to Thai sounds that were suggested in previous literature; 3) the perceived similarity of English /θ/ and the L1 Thai sounds showed the effect of the vowel context in that this sound was mostly matched with Thai /f/ in the high and low vowel contexts whereas in the back vowel context, it was matched with Thai /s/; 4) the perceived similarities of both shared and non-shared sounds were affected by vowel context and language experience. The findings of this study shed light on the importance exploring perceived similarities and differences in the phonetic level rather than the phonological one.

scholarly journals Reading Preferences of ESL Students: Electronic Texts vs. Printed

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (04) ◽  
pp. 169
Author(s):  
Basim Alamri
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Electronic Devices ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
The United States ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Esl Students ◽  
Electronic Texts ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Better Than

The present study investigated the reading preferences of international students regarding their choices between electronic texts (e-texts) and printed texts (p-texts). The study also explored the influence of reading e-texts and p-texts on comprehending their contents, as well as the purpose of students using these electronic devices (e-devices). The data were collected using a questionnaire completed by non-native English speakers (36 males, 24 females) at a southwestern university in the United States. The findings indicated that the students preferred using p-texts over e-texts. Among these students, there was no gender difference in terms of reading preferences. Moreover, the results indicated a statistically significant difference between males and females regarding understanding the content in the printed format. The females understood the content better than the males when they read p-text. The findings also revealed that students preferred using electronic devices for personal uses rather than academic uses. Such personal uses were web browsing, listening to or watching media, and reading and writing emails. The study suggested several pedagogical implications for students and e-book developers and designers.

Children’s Use of Spatial Prepositions in Two- and Three-Dimensional Tasks

1978 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dora S. Washington ◽  
Rita C. Naremore
Keyword(s):  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Spatial Prepositions ◽  
Three Dimensional Objects ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Semantic Complexity ◽  
Better Than

This study evaluates children’s performance on selected spatial prepositions and determines the age levels these prepositions are acquired in both receptive and expressive language, as revealed in tasks involving both two- and three-dimensional objects. Subjects were 80 children (40 males and 40 females), ranging in age from three years to four years and eleven months. All were native English speakers with no speech, hearing, or neurological disorders, and with normal intelligence. Results indicated a significant difference in test scores according to age (older children perform better than younger), task (comprehension scores higher than production scores), referent (three-dimensional tasks showing higher scores than two-dimensional tasks), and preposition. Children’s use of selected spatial prepositions is dependent on the semantic complexity of the preposition. Prepositions whose meanings can be described in terms of simple topological notions are understood and used with greater facility than those involving dimensional or Euclidean spatial notions. When the prepositional variable interacts with age, dimension, task, age + dimension, age + task, dimension + task, and age + dimension + task, overall differential responses are likely to occur.

scholarly journals Requests for Help in a Multilingual Professional Environment Testimonies and Actantial Models

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eve Lejot
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Complex Situation ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Multilingual Communication ◽  
Professional Environment ◽  
Linguistic Input ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractProfessional multilingual environments using English as a lingua franca are prone to imbalances in communication, linguistic insecurity and rising tension. Non-native English speakers develop avoidance strategies in order to lessen their apprehension. To overcome these imbalances, this research aims to understand the relationships formed around languages focusing on the dynamics of integration and the requests for help. Guided by the actantial models of Greimas (1966), this qualitative study employs semiolinguistics and discourse analysis, including 19 narrative interviews with employees of Airbus and UNESCO in Hamburg, Germany in 2013. This methodology draws on actors connected through relationships of power and/or collaboration. The actantial models applied seek linguistic input through designational paradigms, shifters and modal occurrences. The actantial models illustrate how a good language competence provides a better understanding of one’s direct as well as passive environment. The learning process is shown to be a conduit to integration. The actantial model and discourse analysis shed light on the complex situation of multilingual communication settings by highlighting the influence of individuals’ linguistic skills. As a matter of fact, depending on the role of each individual in a given situation, lending a helping hand sometimes equates to upsetting the balance.

scholarly journals Subcortical Involvement in Formulaic Language: Studies on Bilingual Individuals With Parkinson's Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 4029-4045
Author(s):  
Binna Lee ◽  
Diana Van Lancker Sidtis
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Conversational Speech ◽  
Formulaic Language ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Language Studies

Purpose An impoverished production of routinized expressions, namely, formulaic language, has been reported for monolingual speakers with Parkinson's disease (PD). Little is known regarding how formulaic expressions might be manifested in individuals with neurological damage who speak more than one language. This study investigated the processing of formulaic language across first language (L1) and second language (L2) in bilingual individuals with PD. Method Eleven Korean–English bilingual speakers with PD, who acquired Korean as L1 and English as L2, were recruited for this study. Two matched control groups composed of 11 healthy Korean–English bilingual individuals and 11 healthy native English speakers were included for comparison. Their performance on three structured tasks (comprehension, completion, and judgment–correction) and conversational speech was measured and compared across groups for analyses. Results The bilingual speakers with PD had significantly impaired comprehension of formulaic language in L1 and had lower proportions of formulaic expressions in their L1 conversational speech compared with the bilingual controls. Regarding L2, both bilingual groups with and without PD were comparable in their English performance across all tasks. Both groups performed significantly poorer in L2 structured tasks than the native English speakers. Spontaneous production of formulaic language in English (L2 for bilingual individuals) was similar across all three groups. Conclusions The results of this study contribute to the growing body of literature on impoverishment of formulaic language production following subcortical dysfunction. Additionally, findings here demonstrate a selective impairment of formulaic language performance in L1 but not L2 for bilinguals with PD, further supporting the role of the basal ganglia in native language.

scholarly journals The Low Co-occurrence of Nominalization and Hedging in Scientific Papers Written by Chinese EFL Learners

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Liu
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

This article hypothesizes that one of the reasons for Chinese EFL learners’ rigid use of nominalization and insufficient use of hedging in academic writing can be attributed to the unclear understanding of the relationship between these two expressions. The aim of the research is to first prove and then explain the possible co-occurrence of nominalization and hedging in scientific papers, with the intention of deepening Chinese EFL learners’ understanding of the reasons for their possible co-occurrence. After a corpus-assisted statistical analysis of sixty abstracts selected from leading scientific journals written by native English speakers, it’s been found that there is indeed a tendency for nominalization and hedge to co-occur both at the textual-level and clause-level. Besides, a tentative analysis is conducted to explain the pattern of their co-occurrence. It has been observed that the number of nominalized expressions in clauses is inversely correlated with the probability degree of hedging, and the position of nominalization in the clause (theme or rheme) influences the generalization level of hedging. The research results could shed light on the pedagogic approach in improving Chinese EFL learners’ academic writing by making evident that the elusive Grammatical Metaphor competence could be enhanced by deepening the understanding of the inter-relationship between seemingly different in-congruent expressions like nominalization and hedges.

scholarly journals The Low Co-occurrence of Nominalization and Hedging in Scientific Papers Written by Chinese EFL Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 401-420
Author(s):  
Xiao Liu
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

This article hypothesizes that one of the reasons for Chinese EFL learners’ rigid use of nominalization and insufficient use of hedging in academic writing can be attributed to the unclear understanding of the relationship between these two expressions. The aim of the research is to first prove and then explain the possible co-occurrence of nominalization and hedging in scientific papers, with the intention of deepening Chinese EFL learners’ understanding of the reasons for their possible co-occurrence. After a corpus-assisted statistical analysis of sixty abstracts selected from leading scientific journals written by native English speakers, it’s been found that there is indeed a tendency for nominalization and hedge to co-occur both at the textual-level and clause-level. Besides, a tentative analysis is conducted to explain the pattern of their co-occurrence. It has been observed that the number of nominalized expressions in clauses is inversely correlated with the probability degree of hedging, and the position of nominalization in the clause (theme or rheme) influences the generalization level of hedging. The research results could shed light on the pedagogic approach in improving Chinese EFL learners’ academic writing by making evident that the elusive Grammatical Metaphor competence could be enhanced by deepening the understanding of the inter-relationship between seemingly different in-congruent expressions like nominalization and hedges.

scholarly journals To Predict or to Memorize: Prominence in Inaugural Addresses

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Somers Clapp ◽  
Arto Anttila
Keyword(s):  
Regression Models ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
American English ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Inaugural Addresses ◽  
Part Of Speech ◽  
Recent Account ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Successful Predictor

The assignment of phrasal prominence has been variously attributed to syntactic structure, part of speech, predictability, informativity, and speaker's intent. A recent account asserts that prominence is memorized on a by-word basis as Accent Ratio (AR), the likelihood that a word is accented (Nenkova et al. 2007). We examined whether AR outperforms the traditional predictors, in particular syntax and informativity, and if not, whether the traditional predictors shed light on the variance left unexplained by AR. We used a corpus of spoken American English consisting of the first inaugural addresses of six recent American presidents, hand-annotated for stress by two native English speakers. Regression models fitted to the data revealed that AR, syntax, and informativity all independently matter. Dividing the data into high-prominence and low-prominence tokens further revealed that AR and informativity are significant among low-prominence words, but only syntax is significant among high-prominence words. We conclude that although AR is a highly successful predictor, certain aspects of phrasal prominence require reference to syntax and informativity.

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