Aesthetic perception of the Russian sound speech by Germans (a case study of German internet forums)

The article is devoted to the aesthtic assessment of the sound of Russian speech as reflected in German Internet forums. Segmental and suprasegmental features of Russian pronunciation which evoke in native speakers of German empathy and / or antipathy towards Russian sounding speech, are described. The ordinary Germans' naive assessment of Russian souding speech differs from that by professional linguists. Germans who are not familiar with the theoretical basis of the phonetic structure of the Russian language pay attention, first of all, to those pronunciation features that are not characteristic of the phonetic basis of the German language. Among them on segmental level are the following: trembling sonant [r̥], vowel [ᵻ] and back-lingual slit [ɣ] after vowels [e], [i] and consonants [lʲ], [nʲ], [j], the pronunciation of which in German in this position is pronounced as ich-Laut [ç]. The Germans also seem to dislike clusters of consonants that are absent in the German language, for example, -рск-, -здр- etc. The presence of these sounds in the Russian language allows ordinary Germans to characterize Russian sounding speech as rude, despite the remarks of the Germans that there are many “soft” sounds i.e. palatalized consonants in the Russian language. The main difference at the suprasegmental level, which in the scientific literature is designated as the opposition of the German “staccato” and Russian “legato”, finds its confirmation in the statements of German members of the forum. The rhythmic organization of Russian speech is assessed by common Germans as discordant and indistinct, since, unlike German speech, Russian speech is characterized by relaxed articulation, non-forced vocalization, an extended melodic range and an irregular rhythmic patterns. In addition, the use of different pitch movements in friendly and aggressive communication encourages Germans to qualify the speech of Russian speakers in obvious situations of friendly communication as confrontational.

Communication Styles and Attention Performance in Primary School Children

Communication styles are the three communication patterns that result from merging the verbal elements of communication, the non-verbal elements and the paraverbal elements. The objective of this study was to test what effect different communication styles have on attention performance in primary school children. We administered the assertive behavior scale for children (CABS), the symbol digit modalities test (SDMT) and the d2 attention test to a sample of 77 participants of primary school. A statistically significant and proportional correlation was found between the assertive communication style and the total number of correct answers of the SDMT. We also found positive correlations between the assertive communication style and d2 attention test performance. Children with an assertive communication style have better attention performance than children with passive or aggressive communication styles.

Relational turbulence during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of the reciprocal effects between relationship characteristics and outcomes of relational turbulence

This study offers a longitudinal and dyadic test of relational turbulence theory during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this study highlights the severity of irritations and the aggressiveness and openness of relational communication as outcomes of relational turbulence that both shape and reflect relationship characteristics during this transition. Romantic dyads ( N = 151) completed four weekly surveys during the pandemic’s early stages. We used multilevel modeling to document between- and within-person effects and evaluate reciprocal effects over time. Results indicated that relational uncertainty and partner interference were positively associated with relational turbulence, whereas partner facilitation was negatively associated with turbulence. Relational turbulence was positively associated with the severity of irritations and the aggressiveness of communication, and negatively associated with the openness of communication, above and beyond the effects of the relationship mechanisms. Over-time analyses showed that relational turbulence, severity of irritations, aggressive communication, and open communication predicted subsequent levels of relationship qualities. These findings showcase the theoretical utility of relational turbulence theory for explaining how relationships are affected by the pandemic and highlight relationship processes to target in helping couples manage their relationship during these stressful times.

Call them COVIDiots: Exploring the effects of aggressive communication style and psychological distance in the communication of COVID-19

This study examined the influences of perceived distance to communicator on the effects of aggressive style (i.e. personal attacks and intense languages) in communicating scientific issues such as COVID-19 to the public. With a multi-site experiment ( N = 464), we found that aggression led to a heightened violation of expected social norm regarding communication styles. However, the interpretation of violation varied depending on the individual’s perceived distance to the communicator. Close distance articulated the urgency and severity of COVID-19 risks conveyed with aggression, which further increased compliance with the message. Far distance perception amplified aggression’s negative influence on writer likeability. The findings showed that aggressive communication may generate positive outcomes when dealing with public understanding of scientific issues such as COVID-19, but communicators need to build a closer connection with their audience.