scholarly journals Dialectal intelligibility of Assamese tested functionally

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-22
Author(s):  
Sabbah Qamri
Keyword(s):  
Structural Variation ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Connected Speech ◽  
Regional Dialects ◽  
Testing Approach

This paper includes a detailed discussion on the intelligibility of the speakers of four regional dialects of the Indo-Aryan language of Assamese. Prior research on Assamese dialects mostly being confined to examining structural variation lends this study relevance and urgency. The dialects of Standard Assamese, Central Assamese, Kamrupi, and Goalparia, covering three varieties each, were considered for the study. Using a functional intelligibility testing approach, the rate of overall intelligibility as well as of inter- and intra-dialectal mutual intelligibility of the dialects were determined. 24 speakers (1 male and 1 female from each variety) were asked to record ‘texts’— words, sentences, and connected speech in their native varieties of Assamese. 11 listeners from each variety (132 in total) were then tested on their comprehension of texts from non-native varieties. Thereafter, their rates of comprehension were used to determine the rates of mutual intelligibility between speakers of the different dialects and varieties of Assamese. This paper establishes that the rates of mutual intelligibility are unequal and asymmetric among the dialects— the native speakers of the Standard and Central Assamese dialects were more intelligible to the speakers of Kamrupi and Goalparia than vice-versa. Finally, the paper finds that the rate of intelligibility is the lowest for words in isolation and reinforces the important role of context in intelligibility.

scholarly journals Statistical Speech Segmentation in Tone Languages: The Role of Lexical Tones

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Gómez ◽  
Peggy Mok ◽  
Mikhail Ordin ◽  
Jacques Mehler ◽  
Marina Nespor
Keyword(s):  
Speech Processing ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Speech Segmentation ◽  
Lexical Tones ◽  
Tone Languages ◽  
Transitional Probabilities ◽  
Lexical Processes

Research has demonstrated distinct roles for consonants and vowels in speech processing. For example, consonants have been shown to support lexical processes, such as the segmentation of speech based on transitional probabilities (TPs), more effectively than vowels. Theory and data so far, however, have considered only non-tone languages, that is to say, languages that lack contrastive lexical tones. In the present work, we provide a first investigation of the role of consonants and vowels in statistical speech segmentation by native speakers of Cantonese, as well as assessing how tones modulate the processing of vowels. Results show that Cantonese speakers are unable to use statistical cues carried by consonants for segmentation, but they can use cues carried by vowels. This difference becomes more evident when considering tone-bearing vowels. Additional data from speakers of Russian and Mandarin suggest that the ability of Cantonese speakers to segment streams with statistical cues carried by tone-bearing vowels extends to other tone languages, but is much reduced in speakers of non-tone languages.

scholarly journals The Effect of Dual Language Activation on L2-Induced Changes in L1 Speech within a Code-Switched Paradigm

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Ulrich Reubold ◽  
Sanne Ditewig ◽  
Robert Mayr ◽  
Ineke Mennen
Keyword(s):  
Dual Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Predictor Variable ◽  
Predictor Variables ◽  
Acoustic Measures ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Language Activation ◽  
Dual Activation ◽  
Induced Changes

The present study sought to examine the effect of dual language activation on L1 speech in late English–Austrian German sequential bilinguals, and to identify relevant predictor variables. To this end, we compared the English speech patterns of adult migrants to Austria in a code-switched and monolingual condition alongside those of monolingual native speakers in England in a monolingual condition. In the code-switched materials, German words containing target segments known to trigger cross-linguistic interaction in the two languages (i.e., [v–w], [ʃt(ʁ)-st(ɹ)] and [l-ɫ]) were inserted into an English frame; monolingual materials comprised English words with the same segments. To examine whether the position of the German item affects L1 speech, the segments occurred either before the switch (“He wants a Wienerschnitzel”) or after (“I like Würstel with mustard”). Critical acoustic measures of these segments revealed no differences between the groups in the monolingual condition, but significant L2-induced shifts in the bilinguals’ L1 speech production in the code-switched condition for some sounds. These were found to occur both before and after a code-switch, and exhibited a fair amount of individual variation. Only the amount of L2 use was found to be a significant predictor variable for shift size in code-switched compared with monolingual utterances, and only for [w]. These results have important implications for the role of dual activation in the speech of late sequential bilinguals.

scholarly journals Studying individual differences in the social environment to better understand language learning and processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Lev-Ari
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Performance ◽  
The Social

AbstractPeople learn language from their social environment. Therefore, individual differences in the input that their social environment provides could influence their linguistic performance. Nevertheless, investigation of the role of individual differences in input on performance has been mostly restricted to first and second language acquisition. In this paper I argue that individual differences in input can influence linguistic performance even in adult native speakers. Specifically, differences in input can affect performance by influencing people’s knowledgebase, by modulating their processing manner, and by shaping expectations. Therefore, studying the role that individual differences in input play can improve our understanding of how language is learned, processed and represented.

On the role of the anthropocentric factor in the realization of the derivational potential of names of ungulates as motivating lexical units

2021 ◽  
pp. 191-210
Author(s):  
Nikolay D. Golev ◽  
◽  
Irina P. Falomkina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Search System ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Data Capturing ◽  
Building Behavior ◽  
Building System ◽  
Google Search ◽  
The Russian Language

The paper is dedicated to describing the word-building system of the Russian language in terms of its vocabulary. Lexical factors are discussed influencing the formation of lexical units’ potential as motivating units of word-building processes and relations and the realization of this potential in language activities. Of most interest for the authors are anthropocentric determinants, most of which are coordinating the lexical system and, through its mediation, the word-building system with the worldview of native speakers of the Russian language. The proposed model of derivational development of vocabulary provides such coordination through studying the deep-seated process of conceptualization of the words that are the potential motivators of neologisms. This study identifies the word frequency as an external manifestation of conceptualization. The frequency data were obtained from Google search system statistical data. Capturing not only usual but also occasional and potential words, this source is an effective tool for studying word-building processes and their results. This study has unveiled the interrelation between the language worldview of native speakers of Russian and their “word-building behavior” in language activities. The worldview has been found, first of all, to be determined by the pragmatic factor, which primarily influences the usage of a word in the speech reflected by its frequency. The frequency ranks lexical units due to their derivational potential and thereby provides a researcher with a reliable instrument for its study.

Study abroad and the SLA of variable structures: A look at the present perfect, the copula contrast, and the present progressive in Mexico and Spain

Probus ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Kanwit ◽  
Kimberly L. Geeslin ◽  
Stephen Fafulas
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Present Perfect ◽  
Immersion Programs ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Grammatical Structures

AbstractThe present study connects research on the L2 acquisition of variable structures to the ever-growing body of research on the role of study abroad in the language learning process. The data come from a group of 46 English-speaking learners of Spanish who participated in immersion programs in two distinct locations, Valencia, Spain and San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Simultaneously, we tested a group of native speakers from each region to create an appropriate target model for each learner group. Learners completed a written contextualized questionnaire at the beginning and end of their seven-week stay abroad. Our instrument examines three variable grammatical structures: (1) the copulas

The role of prosody in morphological change: The case of Hebrew bound numerals

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irit Meir
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Grammaticality Judgments ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
The Feminine ◽  
Modern Hebrew ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
The One

AbstractThe morphological system of cardinal numerals in Modern Hebrew is currently undergoing rapid changes, enabling linguists to unravel the forces shaping the change as it takes place. In the free forms, gender marking on numerals is neutralized by collapsing both masculine and feminine forms into one paradigm, the feminine paradigm. In the bound (definite) forms, an opposite direction is attested, in that at least for some numerals, the masculine forms become more prevalent. The study reported here aims to determine whether the factor determining the change is prosodic or functional in nature, by eliciting production and grammaticality judgments of noun phrases containing bound numerals from five different age groups of native speakers. The results suggest that prosody plays a role in shaping the change, as forms with penultimate stress are favored over those with ultimate stress. In addition, processes of production and processes of grammaticality judgments seem to be subject to different kinds of constraints. This state of affairs indicates that the tension between the tendencies toward simplification on the one hand and maximal distinctness on the other occurs at the morphological level as well.

Prediction and integration in native and second-language processing of elliptical structures

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
EDITH KAAN ◽  
JOSEPH KIRKHAM ◽  
FRANK WIJNEN
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Syntactic Analysis ◽  
Second Language Processing ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Frontal Negativity ◽  
Related Potentials

According to recent views of L2-sentence processing, L2-speakers do not predict upcoming information to the same extent as do native speakers. To investigate L2-speakers’ predictive use and integration of syntactic information across clauses, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) from advanced L2-learners and native speakers while they read sentences in which the syntactic context did or did not allow noun-ellipsis (Lau, E., Stroud, C., Plesch, S., & Phillips, C. (2006). The role of structural prediction in rapid syntactic analysis. Brain and Language, 98, 74–88.) Both native and L2-speakers were sensitive to the context when integrating words after the potential ellipsis-site. However, native, but not L2-speakers, anticipated the ellipsis, as suggested by an ERP difference between elliptical and non-elliptical contexts preceding the potential ellipsis-site. In addition, L2-learners displayed a late frontal negativity for ungrammaticalities, suggesting differences in repair strategies or resources compared with native speakers.

scholarly journals The Role of Native Language and the Fundamental Design of the Auditory System in Detecting Rhythm Changes

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 835-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail Ordin ◽  
Leona Polyanskaya ◽  
David Maximiliano Gómez ◽  
Arthur G. Samuel
Keyword(s):  
Auditory System ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Rhythmic Pattern ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Regular Rhythm ◽  
Fundamental Design

Purpose We investigated whether rhythm discrimination is mainly driven by the native language of the listener or by the fundamental design of the human auditory system and universal cognitive mechanisms shared by all people irrespective of rhythmic patterns in their native language. Method In multiple experiments, we asked participants to listen to 2 continuous acoustic sequences and to determine whether their rhythms were the same or different (AX discrimination). Participants were native speakers of 4 languages with different rhythmic properties (Spanish, French, English, and German) to understand whether the predominant rhythmic patterns of a native language affect sensitivity, bias, and reaction time in detecting rhythmic changes in linguistic (Experiment 2) and in nonlinguistic (Experiments 1 and 2) acoustic sequences. We examined sensitivity and bias measures, as well as reaction times. We also computed Bayes factors in order to assess the effect of native language. Results All listeners performed better (i.e., responded faster and manifested higher sensitivity and accuracy) when detecting the presence or absence of a rhythm change when the 1st stimulus in an AX test pair exhibited regular rhythm (i.e., a syllable-timed rhythmic pattern) than when the 1st stimulus exhibited irregular rhythm (i.e., stress-timed rhythmic pattern). This result pattern was observed both on linguistic and nonlinguistic stimuli and was not modulated by the native language of the participant. Conclusion We conclude that rhythm change detection is a fundamental function of a processing system that relies on general auditory mechanisms and is not modulated by linguistic experience.

scholarly journals COGNITIVE INTERPRETATION OF OBJECTS’ STATE OF BEING

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (5(74)) ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
M.V. Kozis
Keyword(s):  
Final Stage ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Spatial Position ◽  
Semantic Description ◽  
Search Results ◽  
Language Representation ◽  
Cognitive Frame ◽  
Google Search ◽  
National Corpus

The paper focuses on language conceptualization of objects’ state of being within the framework of the frame approach studying cognitive frame of spatial position of entities. The author offers a linguistic overview of Russian metaphoric posture verbs stoyat', sidet', lezhat'. The analysis is based on a sample of over 1,500 Russian sentences from the Russian National Corpus, Google search results and utterances offered by native speakers of Russian.Distributive analysis allowed to define the co-occurrence of posture verbs with nouns denoting different objects and to hypothesize the verbs' meanings. Triangulation approach involving corpus experiment, semantics experiment and inquiries in searching systems revealed frequency and acceptability of the verbs stoyat', sidet', lezhat' in utterances representing various denotative situations, which allowed to verify the hypothesis on the verbs' meaning and describe their semantics. The study reveals variability in cognitive interpretation of physical objects’ sate of being and the key role of human prototype in conceptualization of spatial position of entities. The study shows that language representation of the frame “the object’s state of being in space” relies on its salient element –possible one-to-one correspondence between the object’s position and a human posture. The final stage of the research features semantic description of the verbs under study.

scholarly journals La terminologia per il CLIL in lingua straniera e in italiano L2

2021 ◽  
pp. 83-98
Author(s):  
Silvia Gilardoni
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Integrated Learning ◽  
Second Language Teaching ◽  
Italian Context

In this paper we examine the treatment of terminology in CLIL context (Content and language integrated learning), through the analysis of a corpus of subject textbooks in a foreign language and in Italian as a second language. After introducing the CLIL methodology and its application in the field of foreign language and Italian as a second language teaching as regards the Italian context, we consider the role of terminology in CLIL environment. Then we present the results of the analysis of the corpus, which consists of CLIL textbooks in English for the secondary school and of subject textbooks in Italian as a second language for non-native speakers of secondary school and adult migrants who need the qualification of Italian secondary school. The analysis of the treatment of terminology in the corpus allows to outline methodological suggestions to integrate the terminological approach into teaching practice in different CLIL contexts.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document