scholarly journals A web-based interface to calculate phonological neighborhood density for words and nonwords in Modern Standard Arabic

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faisal Aljasser ◽  
Michael S. Vitevitch
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
Full Description ◽  
Language Resources ◽  
Modern Standard Arabic ◽  
Phonological Neighborhood Density ◽  
Standard Arabic ◽  
Evidence Based Treatments ◽  
Phonological Neighborhood ◽  
Modern Standard

AbstractThe availability of online databases (e.g., Balota et al., 2007) and calculators (e.g., Storkel & Hoover, 2010) has contributed to an increase in psycholinguistic-related research, to the development of evidence-based treatments in clinical settings, and to scientifically supported training programs in the language classroom. The benefit of online language resources is limited by the fact that the majority of such resources provide information only for the English language (Vitevitch, Chan & Goldstein, 2014). To address the lack of diversity in these resources for languages that differ phonologically and morphologically from English, the present article describes an online database to compute phonological neighborhood density (i.e., the number of words that sound similar to a given word) for words and nonwords in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). A full description of how the calculator can be used is provided. It can be freely accessed at https://calculator.ku.edu/density/about.

scholarly journals Metaphors of the Arab Spring: Figurative Construals of the Uprisings and Revolutions

1970 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludmila Torlakova
Keyword(s):  
Political Discourse ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Language Resources ◽  
Modern Standard Arabic ◽  
Standard Arabic ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Strongly Connected ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
Modern Standard

This paper presents some preliminary results of a project concerned with identifying and analyzing a number of Arabic metaphors used in political discourse to conceptualize the “Arab Spring.” It investigates how Modern Standard Arabic deals with new political and social issues. The study also deals with how particular metaphors were created. This requires examination from two directions: first, what kinds of language resources were used to communicate and evaluate what was happening and, second, what type of knowledge and experience was utilized as a source for the metaphors employed in the texts. Many of the metaphors are strongly connected with specific traditions, the Islamic context, and general cultural experi-ence, and some details concerning these areas are supplied.Key words: Arab Spring, political discourse, metaphor.

Successful Implicit Vocabulary Intervention for Three Cantonese-Speaking Toddlers: A Replicated Single-Case Design

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 4148-4161
Author(s):  
Christine S.-Y. Ng ◽  
Stephanie F. Stokes ◽  
Mary Alt
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
Expressive Vocabulary ◽  
Single Case Design ◽  
Vocabulary Intervention ◽  
Phonological Neighborhood Density ◽  
Phonological Neighborhood ◽  
And Control ◽  
Case Design

Purpose We report on a replicated single-case design study that measured the feasibility of an expressive vocabulary intervention for three Cantonese-speaking toddlers with small expressive lexicons relative to their age. The aim was to assess the cross-cultural and cross-linguistic feasibility of an intervention method developed for English-speaking children. Method A nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design was used with four baseline data points and 16 intervention sessions per participant. The intervention design incorporated implicit learning principles, high treatment dosage, and control of the phonological neighborhood density of the stimuli. The children (24–39 months) attended 7–9 weeks of twice weekly input-based treatment in which no explicit verbal production was required from the child. Each target word was provided as input a minimum of 64 times in at least two intervention sessions. Treatment feasibility was measured by comparison of how many of the target and control words the child produced across the intervention period, and parent-reported expressive vocabulary checklists were completed for comparison of pre- and postintervention child spoken vocabulary size. An omnibus effect size for the treatment effect of the number of target and control words produced across time was calculated using Kendall's Tau. Results There was a significant treatment effect for target words learned in intervention relative to baselines, and all children produced significantly more target than control words across the intervention period. The effect of phonological neighborhood density on expressive word production could not be evaluated because two of the three children learned all target words. Conclusion The results provide cross-cultural evidence of the feasibility of a model of intervention that incorporated a high-dosage, cross-situational statistical learning paradigm to teach spoken word production to children with small expressive lexicons.

The effects of motivation on processing instruction in the acquisition of Modern Standard Arabic gender agreement

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-82
Author(s):  
Ayah Farhat ◽  
Alessandro Benati
Keyword(s):  
Academic Motivation ◽  
Processing Instruction ◽  
Gender Agreement ◽  
Modern Standard Arabic ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Standard Arabic ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Modern Standard

The present study investigates the effects of motivation and processing instruction on the acquisition of Modern Standard Arabic gender agreement. The role of individual differences (e.g. age, gender, aptitude, language background and working memory) on the positive effects generated by processing instruction has been investigated in the last few years. However, no previous research has been conducted to measure the possible effects of motivation on L2 learners exposed to processing instruction. In addition, a reasonable question to be addressed within the processing instruction research framework is whether its positive effects can be generalised to the acquisition of Modern Standard Arabic. The Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) and the Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) motivation questionnaires were used to capture different variables that influence motivation in order to create the two different groups (high and low motivated). In this experimental study, forty-one native English school-age learners (aged 8–11) were assigned to two groups: ‘the high motivated group’ (n = 29): and the ‘low motivated group’ (n = 12). Both groups received processing instruction, which lasted for three hours. Sentence-level interpretation and production tasks were used in a pre-test and post-test design to measure instructional effects. The learners were required to fill in gaps in both written and spoken mode for the activities. The study also included a delayed post-test administered to the two groups four weeks later. The results indicated that both groups improved equally from pre-test to post-test in all assessment measures and they both retained the positive effects of the training in the delayed posttests. Processing instruction was proved to be the main factor for the improvement in performance regardless of the learner’s level of motivation.

scholarly journals The Effect of Phonological Neighborhood Density on Vowel Articulation

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1048-1058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Munson ◽  
Nancy Pearl Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Word Frequency ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Phonological Neighborhood Density ◽  
Formant Frequencies ◽  
Phonological Neighborhood

Recent literature suggests that phonological neighborhood density and word frequency can affect speech production, in addition to the well-documented effects that they have on speech perception. This article describes 2 experiments that examined how phonological neighborhood density influences the durations and formant frequencies of adults’ productions of vowels in real words. In Experiment 1, 10 normal speakers produced words that covaried in phonological neighborhood density and word frequency. Infrequent words with many phonological neighbors were produced with shorter durations and more expanded vowel spaces than frequent words with few phonological neighbors. Results of this experiment confirmed that this effect was not related to the duration of the vowels constituting the high- and low-density words. In Experiment 2, 15 adults produced words that varied in both word frequency and neighborhood density. Neighborhood density affected vowel articulation in both high- and low-frequency words. Moreover, frequent words were produced with more contracted vowel spaces than infrequent words. There was no interaction between these factors, and the vowel duration did not vary as a function of neighborhood density. Taken together, the results suggest that neighborhood density affects vowel production independent of word frequency and vowel duration.

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