scholarly journals Sociolinguistic Awareness in Galician Bilinguals: Evidence from an Accent Identification Task

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Gisela Tomé Lourido ◽  
Bronwen G. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Social Background ◽  
Identification Accuracy ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Gradient Representation ◽  
Hybrid Variety ◽  
New Speakers ◽  
Accent Identification

The inclusion of European minority languages in public spaces such as education, administration and the media has led to the emergence of a new profile of speakers, “new speakers”, who typically acquire a minority language through education, but vary in terms of their language experience and use. The present study investigated whether a distinctive variety spoken by Galician new speakers (neofalantes) has emerged in the community and whether listeners’ language background influences accent identification abilities and patterns. Galician-Spanish bilingual listeners completed an accent identification task and were asked to comment on factors influencing their decision. Results demonstrated that all listeners could identify Galician-dominant better than Spanish-dominant bilinguals but could not identify neofalantes. Neofalantes were categorised as both Spanish- and Galician-dominant, supporting the idea that neofalantes have a hybrid variety. This finding suggests that listeners have a gradient representation of language background variation, with Galician-like and Spanish-like accents functioning as anchors and the neofalantes’ accent situated somewhere in the middle. Identification accuracy was similar for all listeners but neofalantes showed heightened sensitivity to the Galician-dominant variety, suggesting that evaluation of sociophonetic features depends on the listener’s language and social background. These findings contribute to our understanding of sociolinguistic awareness in bilingual contexts.

Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Naturalness in Speakers of Varying Gender Identities

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 2054-2069
Author(s):  
Brandon Merritt ◽  
Tessa Bent
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Identification Accuracy ◽  
Rating Task ◽  
Gender Identification ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Speech Training ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Speech Naturalness

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate how speech naturalness relates to masculinity–femininity and gender identification (accuracy and reaction time) for cisgender male and female speakers as well as transmasculine and transfeminine speakers. Method Stimuli included spontaneous speech samples from 20 speakers who are transgender (10 transmasculine and 10 transfeminine) and 20 speakers who are cisgender (10 male and 10 female). Fifty-two listeners completed three tasks: a two-alternative forced-choice gender identification task, a speech naturalness rating task, and a masculinity/femininity rating task. Results Transfeminine and transmasculine speakers were rated as significantly less natural sounding than cisgender speakers. Speakers rated as less natural took longer to identify and were identified less accurately in the gender identification task; furthermore, they were rated as less prototypically masculine/feminine. Conclusions Perceptual speech naturalness for both transfeminine and transmasculine speakers is strongly associated with gender cues in spontaneous speech. Training to align a speaker's voice with their gender identity may concurrently improve perceptual speech naturalness. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12543158

scholarly journals Bilingual advantage in early EFL pronunciation accuracy of German 4th-graders

2021 ◽  
pp. 136700692199681
Author(s):  
Teresa Kieseier
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Error Sources ◽  
Common Error ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Background Factors ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Error Types

Aims and Objectives: We compared speech accuracy and pronunciation patterns between early learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) with different language backgrounds. We asked (1) whether linguistic background predicts pronunciation outcomes, and (2) if error sources and substitution patterns differ between monolinguals and heterogeneous bilinguals. Methodology: Monolingual and bilingual 4th-graders ( N = 183) at German public primary schools participated in an English picture-naming task. We further collected linguistic, cognitive and social background measures to control for individual differences. Data and Analysis: Productions were transcribed and rated for accuracy and error types by three independent raters. We compared monolingual and bilingual pronunciation accuracy in a linear mixed-effects regression analysis controlling for background factors at the individual and institutional level. We further categorized all error types and compared their relative frequency as well as substitution patterns between different language groups. Findings: After background factors were controlled for, bilinguals (irrespective of specific L1) significantly outperformed their monolingual peers on overall pronunciation accuracy. Irrespective of language background, the most frequent error sources overlapped, affecting English sounds which are considered marked, are absent from the German phoneme inventory, or differ phonetically from a German equivalent. Originality: This study extends previous work on bilingual advantages in other domains of EFL to less researched phonological skills. It focuses on overall productive skills in young FL learners with limited proficiency and provides an overview over the most common error sources and substitution patterns in connection to language background. Significance/Implications: The study highlights that bilingual learners may deploy additional resources in the acquisition of target language phonology that should be addressed in the foreign language classroom.

The dynamics of Hawaiian speakerhood in the family

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (255) ◽  
pp. 45-72
Author(s):  
Christina Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Native Hawaiian ◽  
Language Revitalization ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Hawaiian Language ◽  
Home Life ◽  
The Family ◽  
New Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Practices

Abstract While the majority of studies on new speakers focuses on language use in educational and community contexts, the family is becoming an increasingly relevant site since new speakers are now incorporating their languages into their home life. This article reports on how people of Native Hawaiian ancestry express their speakerhood with regard to their use of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, or the Hawaiian language, in the context of the family. It explores Hawaiians’ stances towards different ways of speaking Hawaiian with regard to authenticity, an issue which has been found to be central among new speakers of minority languages in other contexts. Drawing on interview data with six Hawaiians, this article investigates Hawaiian speakerhood by focusing on how the participants view linguistic authority and translanguaging in family settings. The article offers insights into the range of linguistic practices and sociolinguistic authenticities in families that may enhance continued language revitalization efforts.

scholarly journals Early childhood language memory in the speech perception of international adoptees

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 1123-1132 ◽  
Author(s):  
JANET S. OH ◽  
TERRY KIT-FONG AU ◽  
SUN-AH JUN
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Korean Language ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Language Background ◽  
First Semester ◽  
International Adoptees ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
The Us ◽  
One Year ◽  
Phoneme Identification

ABSTRACTIt is as yet unclear whether the benefits of early linguistic experiences can be maintained without at least some minimal continued exposure to the language. This study compared 12 adults adopted from Korea to the US as young children (all but one prior to age one year) to 13 participants who had no prior exposure to Korean to examine whether relearning can aid in accessing early childhood language memory. All 25 participants were recruited and tested during the second week of first-semester college Korean language classes. They completed a language background questionnaire and interview, a childhood slang task and a Korean phoneme identification task. Results revealed an advantage for adoptee participants in identifying some Korean phonemes, suggesting that some components of early childhood language memory can remain intact despite many years of disuse, and that relearning a language can help in accessing such a memory.

Implicit acquisition of tone-suffix connections in L2 learners of Swedish

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Schremm ◽  
Pelle Söderström ◽  
Merle Horne ◽  
Mikael Roll
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Explicit Instruction ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
Speech Comprehension ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Present Response ◽  
Verb Tense

Swedish native speakers (NSs) unconsciously use tones realized on word stems to predict upcoming suffixes during speech comprehension. The present response time study investigated whether relatively proficient second language (L2) learners of Swedish have acquired the underlying association between tones and suffixes without explicit instruction, internalizing a feature that is specific to their L2. Learners listened to sentences in which the tone on the verb stem either validly or invalidly cued the following present or past tense inflection. Invalidly cued suffixes led to increased decision latencies in a verb tense identification task, suggesting that learners pre-activated suffixes associated with stem tones in a manner similar to NSs. Thus, L2 learners seemed to have acquired the tone-suffix connections through implicit mechanisms. Correctly cued suffixes were associated with a smaller processing advantage in the L2 group relative to NSs performing the same task; nevertheless, results suggest a tendency for increasingly native-like tone processing with cumulative language experience. The way suffix type affected response times also indicates exposure-related effects.

scholarly journals “New speakers” of Gaelic: perceptions of linguistic authenticity and appropriateness

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilson McLeod ◽  
Bernadette O’Rourke
Keyword(s):  
Language Production ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Medium Education ◽  
New Speakers ◽  
Traditional Communities

AbstractThis article considers the experiences and views of “new speakers” of Gaelic, focusing on how they characterise their language production and its relationship to the language of traditional speakers. In contrast to some other European minority languages, a significant population of new Gaelic speakers in Scotland has emerged only recently, particularly with the development of Gaelic-medium education since 1985, provision that increasingly serves children who do not acquire Gaelic in the home. Given the ongoing decline of Gaelic in traditional “heartland” areas, it is apparent that new speakers of Gaelic emerging from urban Scotland will become increasingly important in coming years. This study of 35 new speakers in the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow builds on emerging research on new speakers of minority languages across other European contexts (see O’Rourke et al. 2015) where traditional communities of speakers are being eroded as a consequence of increased urbanisation and economic modernisation. This article considers issues involving legitimacy, authority and authenticity amongst new speakers of Gaelic and the extent to which new speakers are producing their own set of contexts of language use and their own standards of performance or conversely, if they continue to reproduce ideals of localism, tradition and linguistic purity. Participants expressed contrasting views on these topics, some of them endeavouring to accommodate what they perceived as native speakers’ perceptions and preferences, others expressing a rather more oppositional viewpoint, rejecting practices or assumptions that they view as impeding the modernisation and normalisation of the language.

scholarly journals Including Nonlinguistic Processing Tasks in the Identification of Developmental Language Disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 932-944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Danahy Ebert ◽  
Giang Pham
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Kindergarten Children ◽  
Developmental Language Disorder ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Likelihood Ratios ◽  
Accurate Identification ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Cut Points

Purpose Accurate identification of developmental language disorder (DLD) remains challenging, particularly for children who speak different dialects, languages, or more than 1 language. Children with DLD, on average, have shown subtle deficits on nonlinguistic cognitive processing tasks, and performance on such tasks may be minimally influenced by language experience. This study explores whether nonlinguistic cognitive processing tasks can contribute to the identification of DLD in children from diverse linguistic backgrounds. Method Study 1 combined data from 4 U.S.-based investigations to yield a sample of 395 children, ages 6–10 years, who spoke only English or both Spanish and English. Study 2 consisted of an international sample of 55 kindergarten children living in Vietnam. Each study included children with DLD and children with typical development. Participants completed nonlinguistic cognitive tasks of processing speed, auditory working memory, and attentional control. Data analysis compared typically developing to DLD groups by age and language background. Then, we empirically derived cut-points to report diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratios). Results For all 3 tasks, adequate sensitivity or specificity (but not both in most cases) was achieved in nearly all age groups. Likelihood ratios reached moderately to very informative levels in several instances. Diagnostic results were maintained when monolingual and bilingual samples were combined into a single group. Conclusions Nonlinguistic cognitive processing tasks may contribute to accurate identification of DLD in combination with other measures. Further research is needed to refine tasks, confirm cut-points established here, and extend findings to children from additional language backgrounds.

scholarly journals Collaboration to improve cross-race face recognition: Wisdom of the multi-racial crowd?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline G Cavazos ◽  
Geraldine Jeckeln ◽  
ALICE O'TOOLE
Keyword(s):  
East Asian ◽  
Racial Diversity ◽  
Identification Accuracy ◽  
Face Identification ◽  
Wisdom Of Crowds ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Social Collaboration ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
Individual Scores ◽  
The Impact

Collaborative "wisdom-of-crowds" decision making improves face identification accuracy over individuals working alone. We examined whether collaboration improves both own- and other-race face identification. In Experiment 1, participants completed an online face-identification task on their own and with a same-race partner (East Asian dyads, N = 27; Caucasian dyad, N = 31). Collaborative decisions were completed as part of a social dyad (completing the task together) and a non-social dyad (individual scores fused independently). Social and non-social collaboration improved own- and other-race face identification accuracy equally. In Experiment 2, we examined the impact of racial diversity on collaboration for different-race dyads (N = 25), East Asian same-race dyads (N = 25), and Caucasian same-race dyads (N = 28). Performance improved equivalently for same- and different-race dyads. Collaboration can be a valuable tool for improving own- and other-race face identification in social and non-social settings.

scholarly journals A Novel Heart Rate Robust Method for Short-Term Electrocardiogram Biometric Identification

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Di Wang ◽  
Yujuan Si ◽  
Weiyi Yang ◽  
Gong Zhang ◽  
Tong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Identification Accuracy ◽  
Ecg Signal ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Ecg Signals ◽  
Subject Identification ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Electrocardiogram Ecg

In the past decades, the electrocardiogram (ECG) has been investigated as a promising biometric by exploiting the subtle discrepancy of ECG signals between subjects. However, the heart rate (HR) for one subject may vary because of physical activities or strong emotions, leading to the problem of ECG signal variation. This variation will significantly decrease the performance of the identification task. Particularly for short-term ECG signal without many heartbeats, the hardly measured HR makes the identification task even more challenging. This study aims to propose a novel method suitable for short-term ECG signal identification. In particular, an improved HR-free resampling strategy is proposed to minimize the influence of HR variability during heartbeat processing. For feature extraction, the Principal Component Analysis Network (PCANet) is implemented to determine the potential difference between subjects. The proposed method is evaluated using a public ECG-ID database that contains various HR data for some subjects. Experimental results show that the proposed method is robust to HR change and can achieve high subject identification accuracy (94.4%) on ECG signals with only five heartbeats. Thus, the proposed method has the potential for application to systems that use short-term ECG signals for identification (e.g., wearable devices).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document