7,761 results on '"LEXICAL access"'
Search Results
2. The importance of sublexical structure in the orthographic representation of monosyllabic words.
- Author
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Taft, Marcus
- Abstract
Participants judged whether a letter-string created a word when a single letter was added to the end indicated by a hyphen. Unique final fragments were easier to reconstruct when corresponding to the body of a word, having no onset (e.g. laugh from –augh) than when the second consonant of a two-letter onset was also included (e.g. blind from –lind). Conversely, unique initial fragments were easier to reconstruct when including the first consonant of a two-letter coda (e.g. drink from drin–) than when corresponding to an "antibody", having no coda (e.g. claim from clai–). Such results cannot be explained by any account of orthographic processing based purely on the identity and position of the component letters while ignoring their function as an onset, coda, or vowel. Instead, the results are compatible with a model such as the proposed Subsyllabic Processing (SSP) account where subsyllabic structures are hierarchically represented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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3. Language Production and Prediction in a Parallel Activation Model.
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Pickering, Martin J. and Strijkers, Kristof
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PARALLEL processing , *GRAMMAR , *FORECASTING , *LANGUAGE & languages , *LEXICAL access , *VOCABULARY - Abstract
Standard models of lexical production assume that speakers access representations of meaning, grammar, and different aspects of sound in a roughly sequential manner (whether or not they admit cascading or interactivity). In contrast, we review evidence for a parallel activation model in which these representations are accessed in parallel. According to this account, word learning involves the binding of the meaning, grammar, and sound of a word into a single representation. This representation is then activated as a whole during production, and so all linguistic components are available simultaneously. We then note that language comprehension involves extensive use of prediction and argue that comprehenders use production mechanisms to determine (roughly) what they would say next if they were speaking. So far, theories of prediction‐by‐production have assumed sequential lexical production. We therefore reinterpret such evidence in terms of parallel lexical production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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4. The Roles of Segments and Tone in Mandarin Lexical Processing: An ERP Study.
- Author
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Dan Du and Minghu Jiang
- Subjects
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ORAL communication , *MANDARIN dialects , *LEXICAL access , *CONSONANTS , *EVOKED potentials (Electrophysiology) , *VOWELS , *TONE (Phonetics) - Abstract
Backgrounds: Segments and tone are important sub-syllabic units that play large roles in lexical processing in tonal languages. However, their roles in lexical processing remain unclear, and the event-related potential (ERP) technique will benefit the exploration of the cognitive mechanism in lexical processing. Methods: The high temporal resolution of ERP enables the technique to interpret rapidly changing spoken language performances. The present ERP study examined the different roles of segments and tone in Mandarin Chinese lexical processing. An auditory priming experiment was designed that included five types of priming stimuli: consonant mismatch, vowel mismatch, tone mismatch, unrelated mismatch, and identity. Participants were asked to judge whether the target of the prime-target pair was a real Mandarin disyllabic word or not. Results: Behavioral results including reaction time and response accuracy and ERP results were collected. Results were different from those of previous studies that showed the dominant role of consonants in lexical access in mainly non-tonal languages like English. Our results showed that consonants and vowels play comparable roles, whereas tone plays a less important role than do consonants and vowels in lexical processing in Mandarin. Conclusions: These results have implications for understanding the brain mechanisms in lexical processing of tonal languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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5. Difficulty in artificial word learning impacts targeted memory reactivation and its underlying neural signatures.
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Klaassen, Arndt-Lukas and Rasch, Björn
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NON-REM sleep , *LANGUAGE acquisition , *NEW words , *PHONOTACTICS , *LEXICAL access , *SLOW wave sleep - Abstract
Sleep associated memory consolidation and reactivation play an important role in language acquisition and learning of new words. However, it is unclear to what extent properties of word learning difficulty impact sleep associated memory reactivation. To address this gap, we investigated in 22 young healthy adults the effectiveness of auditory targeted memory reactivation (TMR) during non-rapid eye movement sleep of artificial words with easy and difficult to learn phonotactical properties. Here, we found that TMR of the easy words improved their overnight memory performance, whereas TMR of the difficult words had no effect. By comparing EEG activities after TMR presentations, we found an increase in slow wave density independent of word difficulty, whereas the spindle-band power nested during the slow wave up-states – as an assumed underlying activity of memory reactivation – was significantly higher in the easy/effective compared to the difficult/ineffective condition. Our findings indicate that word learning difficulty by phonotactics impacts the effectiveness of TMR and further emphasize the critical role of prior encoding depth in sleep associated memory reactivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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6. The influence of language-specific properties on the role of consonants and vowels in a statistical learning task of an artificial language: A cross-linguistic comparison.
- Author
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Lador-Weizman, Yaara and Deutsch, Avital
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STATISTICAL learning , *SPEECH perception , *NATIVE language , *SPEECH , *AUDITORY perception , *LEXICAL access - Abstract
The contribution of consonants and vowels in spoken word processing has been widely investigated, and studies have found a phenomenon of a Consonantal bias (C-bias), indicating that consonants carry more weight than vowels. However, across languages, various patterns have been documented, including that of no preference or a reverse pattern of Vowel bias. A central question is how the manifestation of the C-bias is modulated by language-specific factors. This question can be addressed by cross-linguistic studies. Comparing native Hebrew and native English speakers, this study examines the relative importance of transitional probabilities between non-adjacent consonants as opposed to vowels during auditory statistical learning (SL) of an artificial language. Hebrew is interesting because its complex Semitic morphological structure has been found to play a central role in lexical access, allowing us to examine whether morphological properties can modulate the C-bias in early phases of speech perception, namely, word segmentation. As predicted, we found a significant interaction between language and consonant/vowel manipulation, with a higher performance in the consonantal condition than in the vowel condition for Hebrew speakers, namely, C-bias, and no consonant/vowel asymmetry among English speakers. We suggest that the observed interaction is morphologically anchored, indicating that phonological and morphological processes interact during early phases of auditory word perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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7. Cognitive components of aging-related increase in word-finding difficulty.
- Author
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Wei, Hsi T., Kulzhabayeva, Dana, Erceg, Lella, Robin, Jessica, Hu, You Zhi, Chignell, Mark, and Meltzer, Jed A.
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COGNITIVE processing speed , *COGNITIVE aging , *EXECUTIVE function , *SPEECH , *LEXICAL access - Abstract
Word-finding difficulty (WFD) is a common cognitive complaint in aging, manifesting both in natural speech and in controlled laboratory tests. Various theories of cognitive aging have addressed WFD, and understanding its underlying mechanisms can help to clarify whether it has diagnostic value for neurodegenerative disease. Two influential "information-universal" theories attribute it to rather broad changes in cognition. The processing speed theory posits a general slowdown of all cognitive processes, while the inhibitory deficit hypothesis (IDH) predicts a specific problem in suppressing irrelevant information. One "information specific" theory of language production, the transmission deficit hypothesis (TDH), posits a breakdown in retrieval of phonological word forms from a corresponding lemma. To adjudicate between these accounts, we administered an online gamified covert naming task featuring picture-word interference (PWI), previously validated to elicit similar semantic interference and phonological facilitation effects as overt naming tasks. 125 healthy adults aged 18 to 85 completed the task, along with a battery of executive function tasks and a naturalistic speech sample to quantify WFD in connected speech. PWI effects provided strong support for the TDH but limited support for IDH, in that semantic interference increased and phonological facilitation decreased across the lifespan. However, neither of these effects on single-word retrieval associated with WFD measured in connected speech. Rather, overall reaction time for word retrieval (controlling for psychomotor slowing) was the best predictor of spontaneous WFD and executive function decline, suggesting processing speed as the key factor, and that verbal reaction time may be an important clinical measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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8. Multisensory Integration in Lexical Processing: Predicting Word Recognition Through Cross-Modal Capability.
- Author
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Mengdie Xu
- Subjects
COGNITIVE linguistics ,COGNITIVE processing speed ,WORD recognition ,SENSORIMOTOR integration ,LEXICAL access - Abstract
The integration of multisensory in lexical processing has garnered significant interest in cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics. This study investigates the predictive power of cross-modal capability (CMC) on word recognition, focusing on how sensory integration influences cognitive processing and lexical decisionmaking. By collecting five-sense ratings for synesthetic adjectives, we computed the cross-modal capability for each word. We then conducted regression analyses to examine the relationship between these indices and reaction time in lexical decision tasks. Our findings reveal that words with higher cross-modal capabilities, as measured by CMC, are recognized and processed more quickly. This superior predictive power of CMC underscores the importance of sensory associations in lexical processing and highlights the need for comprehensive indices that account for multiple sensory inputs. These results provide deeper insights into the cognitive mechanisms underlying word recognition and processing speed, suggesting that CMC is a better independent variable for partially predict lexical cognition and recognition. This research contributes to our understanding of multisensory integration in lexical processing and has implications for models of word recognition and cognitive linguistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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9. A Matter of Memory? Age‐Invariant Relative Clause Disambiguation and Memory Interference in Older Adults.
- Author
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van Boxtel, Willem S. and Lawyer, Laurel A.
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COGNITIVE processing speed , *EXPLICIT memory , *SHORT-term memory , *RELATIVE clauses , *MEMORY span , *LEXICAL access - Abstract
Past research suggests that Working Memory plays a role in determining relative clause attachment bias. Disambiguation preferences may further depend on Processing Speed and explicit memory demands in linguistic tasks. Given that Working Memory and Processing Speed decline with age, older adults offer a way of investigating the factors underlying disambiguation preferences. Additionally, older adults might be subject to more severe similarity‐based memory interference given their larger vocabularies and slower lexical access. Nevertheless, memory interference and sentence disambiguation have not been combined in studies on older adults before. We used a self‐paced reading paradigm under memory load interference conditions. Older (
n = 30) and Younger (n = 35) readers took part in the study online; reading times were recorded and measures of comprehension accuracy and load recall were collected. This setup allowed for the implicit measurement of attachment biases and memory interference effects interactively. Results show that similarity‐based interference affected both age groups equally, but was more pronounced in NP2‐biased structures, which took participants generally longer to read. Attachment preferences did not differ by group and were unaffected by Working Memory span. However, accuracy on recall prompts was predicted by Working Memory span in both groups. Findings of greater interference in syntactically dispreferred structures support unified processing models where parsing constraints naturally interact. The lack of age differences on our measures further aligns with research finding age‐invariant implicit language processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2024
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10. Back to Basics in Measuring Lexical Diversity: Too Simple to Be True.
- Author
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Bestgen, Yves
- Subjects
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SECOND language acquisition , *APPLIED linguistics , *LEXICAL access , *EUROPEANS , *AUTHORS - Abstract
Measuring lexical diversity in texts that have different lengths is problematic because length has a significant effect on the number of types a text contains, thus hampering any comparison. Treffers-Daller et al. (2018) recommended a simple solution, namely counting the number of types in a section of a given length that was extracted from the middle of each of the texts to be analysed. By applying this approach to second language essays, the authors observed that using the number of types was slightly more effective for differentiating amongst the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) levels than were the Type-Token Ratio (TTR) and the Guiraud index and that these three indices were more effective than were mathematically more complex ones. However, their conclusions regarding these two points are incorrect, and a less basic approach should be used. The last section addresses two broader issues in applied linguistics that are highlighted by these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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11. Cognitive modelling of concepts in the mental lexicon with multilayer networks: Insights, advancements, and future challenges.
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Stella, Massimo, Citraro, Salvatore, Rossetti, Giulio, Marinazzo, Daniele, Kenett, Yoed N., and Vitevitch, Michael S.
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KNOWLEDGE representation (Information theory) , *MENTAL representation , *MENTAL work , *LEXICON , *DATA science , *LEXICAL access - Abstract
The mental lexicon is a complex cognitive system representing information about the words/concepts that one knows. Over decades psychological experiments have shown that conceptual associations across multiple, interactive cognitive levels can greatly influence word acquisition, storage, and processing. How can semantic, phonological, syntactic, and other types of conceptual associations be mapped within a coherent mathematical framework to study how the mental lexicon works? Here we review cognitive multilayer networks as a promising quantitative and interpretative framework for investigating the mental lexicon. Cognitive multilayer networks can map multiple types of information at once, thus capturing how different layers of associations might co-exist within the mental lexicon and influence cognitive processing. This review starts with a gentle introduction to the structure and formalism of multilayer networks. We then discuss quantitative mechanisms of psychological phenomena that could not be observed in single-layer networks and were only unveiled by combining multiple layers of the lexicon: (i) multiplex viability highlights language kernels and facilitative effects of knowledge processing in healthy and clinical populations; (ii) multilayer community detection enables contextual meaning reconstruction depending on psycholinguistic features; (iii) layer analysis can mediate latent interactions of mediation, suppression, and facilitation for lexical access. By outlining novel quantitative perspectives where multilayer networks can shed light on cognitive knowledge representations, including in next-generation brain/mind models, we discuss key limitations and promising directions for cutting-edge future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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12. Information entropy facilitates (not impedes) lexical processing during language comprehension.
- Author
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Karimi, Hossein, Weber, Pete, and Zinn, Jaden
- Subjects
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ENTROPY (Information theory) , *ENTROPY , *PREDICTION theory , *PROBABILITY theory , *FORECASTING , *LEXICAL access - Abstract
It is well known that contextual predictability facilitates word identification, but it is less clear whether the uncertainty associated with the current context (i.e., its lexical entropy) influences sentence processing. On the one hand, high entropy contexts may lead to interference due to greater number of lexical competitors. On the other hand, predicting multiple lexical competitors may facilitate processing through the preactivation of shared semantic features. In this study, we examined whether entropy measured at the trial level (i.e., for each participant, for each item) corresponds to facilitatory or inhibitory effects. Trial-level entropy captures each individual's knowledge about specific contexts and is therefore a more valid and sensitive measure of entropy (relative to the commonly employed item-level entropy). Participants (N = 112) completed two experimental sessions (with counterbalanced orders) that were separated by a 3- to 14-day interval. In one session, they produced up to 10 completions for sentence fragments (N = 647). In another session, they read the same sentences including a target word (whose entropy value was calculated based on the produced completions) while reading times were measured. We observed a facilitatory (not inhibitory) effect of trial-level entropy on lexical processing over and above item-level measures of lexical predictability (including cloze probability, surprisal, and semantic constraint). Extra analyses revealed that greater semantic overlap between the target and the produced responses facilitated target processing. Thus, the results lend support to theories of lexical prediction maintaining that prediction involves broad activation of semantic features rather than activation of full lexical forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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13. The role of word form in gender processing during lexical access: A theoretical review and novel proposal in language comprehension.
- Author
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Sá-Leite, A. R. and Lago, S.
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GRAMMATICAL gender , *LONG-term memory , *NOUNS , *GENDER , *EMPIRICAL research , *LEXICAL access - Abstract
In contrast to language production, there are few comprehension models of the representation and use of grammatical gender in long-term memory. To bridge this gap, we conducted a systematic review of empirical studies on the role of gender-form regularities in the recognition of nouns in isolation and within sentences. The results of a final sample of 40 studies suggest that there are two routes for the retrieval of gender during real-time comprehension: a form-based route and a lexical-based route. Our review indicates that the use of these routes depends on the degree of gender transparency of the language and the degree of overtness of the experimental paradigm. To accommodate these findings, we incorporate a dual-route mechanism within a general model of lexical access in comprehension, the AUSTRAL (Activation Using Structurally Tiered Representations and Lemmas) model, and identify directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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14. Meshed Context-Aware Beam Search for Image Captioning.
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Zhao, Fengzhi, Yu, Zhezhou, Wang, Tao, and Zhao, He
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LEXICAL access , *VOCABULARY , *ALGORITHMS - Abstract
Beam search is a commonly used algorithm in image captioning to improve the accuracy and robustness of generated captions by finding the optimal word sequence. However, it mainly focuses on the highest-scoring sequence at each step, often overlooking the broader image context, which can lead to suboptimal results. Additionally, beam search tends to select similar words across sequences, causing repetitive and less diverse output. These limitations suggest that, while effective, beam search can be further improved to better capture the richness and variety needed for high-quality captions. To address these issues, this paper presents meshed context-aware beam search (MCBS). In MCBS for image captioning, the generated caption context is dynamically used to influence the image attention mechanism at each decoding step, ensuring that the model focuses on different regions of the image to produce more coherent and contextually appropriate captions. Furthermore, a penalty coefficient is introduced to discourage the generation of repeated words. Through extensive testing and ablation studies across various models, our results show that MCBS significantly enhances overall model performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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15. Oral reading promotes predictive processing in Chinese sentence reading: eye movement evidence.
- Author
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Chang, Min, Pu, Zhenying, and Wang, Jingxin
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SILENT reading ,ORAL reading ,READING comprehension ,LEXICAL access ,CHINESE language ,EYE movements - Abstract
Background: Fluent sentence reading is widely acknowledged to depend on top-down contextual prediction, wherein sentential and contextual cues guide the pre-activation of linguistic representations before encountering stimuli, facilitating subsequent comprehension. The Prediction-by-Production hypothesis posits an explanation for predictive processes in language comprehension, suggesting that prediction during comprehension involves processes associated with language production. However, there is a lack of eye movement evidence supporting this hypothesis within sentence reading contexts. Thus, we manipulated reading mode and word predictability to examine the influence of language production on predictive processing. Methods: Participants engaged in silent or oral reading of sentences containing either high or low-predictable target words. Eye movements were recorded using the Eyelink1000 eye tracker. Results: The findings revealed a higher skipping rate and shorter fixation times for high-predictable words compared to low-predictable ones, and for silent compared to oral reading. Notably, interactive effects were observed in the time measures (FFD, SFD, GD) during first-pass reading, indicating that word predictability effects were more pronounced during oral reading than silent reading. Discussion: The observed pattern of results suggests that the activation of the production system enhances predictive processing during the early lexical access, providing empirical support for the Prediction-by-Production hypothesis in eye movement sentence reading situations, extending the current understanding of the timing and nature of predictions in reading comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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16. TACSan: Enhancing Vulnerability Detection with Graph Neural Network.
- Author
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Zeng, Qingyao, Xiong, Dapeng, Wu, Zhongwang, Qian, Kechang, Wang, Yu, and Su, Yinghao
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GRAPH neural networks ,SOURCE code ,COMPUTER software security ,LEXICAL access ,COMPUTER software - Abstract
With the increasing scale and complexity of software, the advantages of using neural networks for static vulnerability detection are becoming increasingly prominent. Before inputting into a neural network, the source code needs to undergo word embedding, transforming discrete high-dimensional text data into low-dimensional continuous vectors suitable for training in neural networks. However, analysis has revealed that different implementation ideas by code writers for the same functionality can lead to varied code implementation methods. Embedding different code texts into vectors results in distinctions that can reduce the robustness of a model. To address this issue, this paper explores the impact of converting source code into different forms on word embedding and finds that a TAC (Three-Address Code) can significantly eliminate noise caused by different code implementation approaches. Given the excellent capability of a GNN (Graph Neural Network) in handling non-Euclidean space data and complex features, this paper subsequently employs a GNN to learn and classify vulnerabilities by capturing the implicit syntactic structure information in a TAC. Based on this, this paper introduces TACSan, a novel static vulnerability detection system based on a GNN designed to detect vulnerabilities in C/C++ programs. TACSan transforms the preprocessed source code into a TAC representation, adds control and data edges to create a graph structure, and then inputs it into the GNN for training. Comparative testing and evaluation of TACSan against other renowned static analysis tools, such as VulDeePecker and Devign, demonstrate that TACSan's detection capabilities not only exceed those methods but also achieve substantial enhancements in accuracy and F1 score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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17. Hybrid RNNs and USE for enhanced sequential sentence classification in biomedical paper abstracts.
- Author
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Ndama, Oussama, Bensassi, Ismail, and En-Naimi, El Mokhtar
- Subjects
RECURRENT neural networks ,DATA mining ,LEXICAL access ,MEDICAL research ,ALGORITHMS - Abstract
This research evaluates a number of hybrid recurrent neural network (RNN) architectures for classifying sequential sentences in biomedical abstracts. The architectures include long short-term memory (LSTM), bidirectional LSTM (BI-LSTM), gated recurrent unit (GRU), and bidirectional GRU (BIGRU) models, all of which are combined with the universal sentence encoder (USE). The investigation assesses their efficacy in categorizing sentences into predefined classes: background, objective, method, result, and conclusion. Each RNN variant is used with the pre-trained USE as word embeddings to find complex sequential relationships in biomedical text. Results demonstrate the adaptability and effectiveness of these hybrid architectures in discerning diverse sentence functions. This research addresses the need for improved literature comprehension in biomedicine by employing automated sentence classification techniques, highlighting the significance of advanced hybrid algorithms in enhancing text classification methodologies within biomedical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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18. Working Memory Capacity and Contextual Novel Linguistic Input: A Cross-Modal Priming Study on Persian–English Subordinate Bilinguals.
- Author
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Hamidnia, Hamid R., Habibzadeh, Hamed, and Gharaei, Zohreh
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SHORT-term memory ,VERBAL memory ,HOMONYMS ,BILINGUALISM ,INFORMATION processing ,LEXICAL access - Abstract
The present study investigated the effect of verbal working memory capacity (VWMC) on the processing of semantic information during on-line lexical ambiguity resolution of bilinguals. Seventeen Persian–English subordinate bilinguals of similar proficiency level were recruited to perform two experimental tasks: (1) a multi-load-level reading span task designed to measure their VWMC and (2) a cross-modal semantic priming task (CMPT), 24 h subsequent to the last encoding session, to assess their performance on semantic processing of L2 homographs whose subordinate readings were deemed "novel" for them. An overall 2 × 3 repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a statistically significant difference in the processing of the encoded semantic information between high and low WMC participants. The findings of the experiments lend support to the veracity of the assumptions made by Reordered Access Model in that biasing semantic context facilitates the ambiguity resolution of lexical items. Lastly, the pedagogical implications of the findings were expounded on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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19. Lexical coverage in science popularization discourse: The case of popular science news from Scientific American.
- Author
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Yu, Hong and Wen, Ju
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LEXICAL access , *ACADEMIC achievement , *EDUCATIONAL background , *COMPREHENSION ,SCIENCE popularization - Abstract
Science popularization discourse offers valuable reading materials for second language (L2) learners in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) contexts. However, the lexical demands of these materials remain largely unexplored. To address this gap, this study examines the lexical profile of Scientific American (SA), one of the most widely read popular science publications. Based on a corpus of popular science news collected from the SA website, we analyzed its lexical demand in terms of Nation's (2018) BNC/COCA word frequency lists and West's (1953) General Service List of English Words (GSL) plus Coxhead's (2000) Academic Word List (AWL). Our results indicate that to achieve minimal comprehension of popular science news published in SA, learners should be familiar with approximately 5,000 word families, while optimal comprehension requires knowledge of around 10,000 word families, including proper nouns, marginal words, transparent compounds, and acronyms. Notably, the GSL covers 77.55% and the AWL covers 7.08% coverage of the SA corpus, suggesting that our SA corpus has a higher coverage of general English words and a lower coverage of academic English words than university-level academic written texts. These findings highlight the potential value of popular science news in supporting academic reading, particularly for beginning EAP learners who may find these materials less lexically demanding than research articles. Pedagogical implications for incorporating popular science news into EAP courses are also provided. • Learners need 5,000–10,000 word families for minimal to optimal comprehension. • Popular science news is lexically similar to pre-university texts. • Soft sciences texts are lexically less demanding than hard sciences texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2025
- Full Text
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20. Unusual patterns of codeswitching in an unbalanced bilingual person with aphasia: effects of language and executive functions impairment.
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Bihovsky, Alina, Holzapfel, Shai, Bondi, Moshe, Ben-Shachar, Michal, and Meir, Natalia
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EXECUTIVE function , *COGNITIVE testing , *LEXICAL access , *LANGUAGE ability testing , *LINGUISTICS , *BILINGUALISM - Abstract
BackgroundAimsMethods and proceduresOutcomes and resultsConclusionsBilingual individuals with aphasia may exhibit unique patterns of language impairment and recovery. While code-switching (CS) is a common feature of bilingual speech, pathological CS following brain damage can provide insights into the neural mechanisms controlling bilingual language processing.This study aimed to examine language impairment and recovery patterns in IZ, an unbalanced Hebrew-English bilingual with non-fluent aphasia, focusing on the unusual CS behavior observed during his subacute phase of recovery.IZ underwent language and narrative assessments in both languages during the subacute and chronic phases of recovery. Ten cognitive tests were administered to assess various domains of cognitive function. Language performance was evaluated through naming and syntactic processing tasks in L1-Hebrew and L2-English. The frequency and type of CS were analyzed using the matrix language frame model.During the subacute phase, IZ displayed significant language deficits in both L1-Hebrew and L2-English, with more severe impairment in L1-Hebrew naming and L2-English syntactic processing. He exhibited frequent involuntary CS, primarily using L1-Hebrew as the matrix language while embedding L2-English content words. Cognitive testing revealed reduced performance across multiple domains. In the chronic phase, IZ showed parallel improvements in both languages, particularly in L1-Hebrew naming and L2-English syntactic processing, along with a marked reduction in CS frequency.IZ’s case demonstrates a double dissociation between lexical and syntactic processing across L1 and L2. The results suggest that matrix language selection in bilinguals may be governed by distinct neural mechanisms for each language, with specific brain regions responsible for activating lexical representations. Damage to these regions may lead to pathological CS, as observed in this case. This study underscores the importance of understanding bilingual language control mechanisms in aphasia rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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21. The Use of Mnemonics to Minimize the Interfering Effects of Teaching New Words in Semantic Sets to Learners of English as a Foreign Language.
- Author
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Sarıoğlu, Mustafa and Karatepe, Çiğdem
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WORD recognition , *ENGLISH as a foreign language , *LIMITED English-proficient students , *NEW words , *MNEMONICS , *LEXICAL access - Abstract
Most studies in the literature propose that new words should be presented in unrelated sets due to interfering effect of learning vocabulary in semantic sets. Semantically‐related words are suggested to be taught in different sessions to avoid this negative effect. However, that is implausible for most second language (L2) teachers owing to the restrictions from curricula or coursebooks, most of which serve new words in semantic fields. The literature does not shed light on how to tackle that problem. Accordingly, this study involves three sets of classroom research conducted with 58 young EFL learners to investigate the effects of mnemonics on minimizing the interference of semantic clustering of new vocabulary. Within 15‐week course, one intact class was taught target words through mnemonics while the control group received similar instruction with sentence‐context method. The study results demonstrated that mnemonically‐instructed L2 learners outperformed on both immediate and delayed recognition of target words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
22. Phonemic processing is below expectations and linked to word-finding difficulty in multiple sclerosis.
- Author
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Dvorak, Emily, Levy, Sarah, Anderson, Jordyn R, and Sumowski, James F
- Subjects
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AUDITORY perception , *LEXICAL access , *VERBAL ability , *ACHIEVEMENT tests , *MULTIPLE sclerosis - Abstract
Background: Word-finding difficulty is prevalent but poorly understood in persons with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Objective: The objective was to investigate our hypothesis that phonological processing ability is below expectations and related to word-finding difficulty in patients with RRMS. Method: Data were analyzed from patients with RRMS (n = 50) on patient-reported word-finding difficulty (PR-WFD) and objective performance on Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (WIAT-4) Phonemic Proficiency (PP; analysis of phonemes within words), Word Reading (WR; proxy of premorbid literacy and verbal ability), and Sentence Repetition (SR; auditory processing of word-level information). Results: Performance (mean (95% confidence interval)) was reliably lower than normative expectations for PP (−0.41 (−0.69, −0.13)) but not for WR (0.02 (−0.21, 0.25)) or SR (0.08 (−0.15, 0.31). Within-subjects performance was worse on PP than on both WR (t (49) = 4.00, p < 0.001, d = 0.47) and SR (t (49) =3.76, p < 0.001, d = 0.54). Worse PR-WFD was specifically related to lower PP (F 2,47 = 6.24, p = 0.004, η2 = 0.21); worse PP performance at PR-WFD Often (n = 13; −1.16 (−1.49, −0.83)) than Sometimes (n = 17; −0.14 (−0.68, 0.41)) or Rarely (n = 20; −0.16 (−0.58, 0.27). PR-WFD was unrelated to WR or SR (p s > 0.25). Conclusion: Phonological processing was below expectations and specifically linked to word-finding difficulty in RRMS. Findings are consistent with early disease-related cortical changes within the posterior superior temporal/supramarginal region. Results inform our developing model of multiple sclerosis-related word-finding difficulty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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23. Cultural conceptualisations in Nigerian Pidgin English proverbs.
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Callies, Marcus
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ENGLISH language in foreign countries , *LEXICAL access , *PROVERBS , *VARIATION in language - Abstract
This article explores Nigerian Pidgin English proverbs as a source of cultural conceptualisations that reflect traditional wisdom as well as the modern urban setting of West Africa. A total of 173 proverbs sourced from the BBC News Pidgin's Instagram service were analysed for recurrent lexical keywords and themes (e.g. those relating to food, eating and drinking, and animals) that can be interpreted as source domain lexical material that points to the knowledge of nature, common animals, objects and social situations. The findings suggest that Nigerian Pidgin English proverbs contain a rich inventory of variety‐ and culture‐specific lexis that encodes cultural knowledge and practice, for example knowledge of the local flora and fauna, food items, but also objects of material culture such as clothing, as well as references to social culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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24. Speech pauses in speakers with and without aphasia: A usage-based approach.
- Author
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Bello-Lepe, Sebastian, Mahmood, Sabrina, Varley, Rosemary, and Zimmerer, Vitor
- Subjects
APHASIA ,COLLOCATION (Linguistics) ,COGNITIVE ability ,LEXICAL access ,TERMS & phrases - Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
25. Lexical cues and discourse integration: An ERP study of the N400 and P600 components.
- Author
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Klingvall, Eva and Heinat, Fredrik
- Subjects
EVOKED potentials (Electrophysiology) ,PRAGMATICS ,LEXICAL access ,DISCOURSE analysis ,FRAMES (Linguistics) - Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
26. Proficiency and compensatory strategies in bilingual children's Mandarin Chinese narrative.
- Author
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Sun, He, Tan, Justina, and Feng, Lin
- Subjects
MEAN length of utterance ,MANDARIN dialects ,MIDDLE class ,CRITICAL thinking ,LINGUISTIC context ,LEXICAL access - Abstract
Narrative skills play an important role in children's reading, communication, and critical thinking. Most studies on narrative skills are based on monolingual children from middle- to upper middle-class populations and few have examined bilingual children's narratives outside of the western context. These factors may impose different sociocultural influences on children's storytelling abilities. The current study focuses on English–Mandarin bilingual children in Singapore and explores: (1) how English–Mandarin bilinguals apply their Mandarin lexical-grammatical proficiency to a given narrative task and (2) the compensatory strategies they employ in their Mandarin narratives. Data was obtained from 186 K1 pre-schoolers (85 boys and 101 girls) aged four to five. Children's Mandarin narrative skills were assessed with the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN; Gagarina et al. in ZAS Pap Linguist 56:155–155, 2012. https://doi.org/10.21248/zaspil.56.2019.414). Their macrostructural knowledge (e.g., story grammar) was scored with the MAIN coding scheme, and their microstructural knowledge (e.g., mean length of utterance) was calculated with CLAN. Children's Mandarin lexical-grammatical proficiency (i.e., receptive vocabulary, receptive grammar, and semantic fluency) was assessed with standard tests. The results indicate that compared to children's microstructural knowledge, their macrostructural knowledge was more influenced by their Mandarin competence. Children used a variety of strategies to compensate for their limited Mandarin competence, and the most frequently used ones were generalisation (e.g., all classifiers of nouns were "个"), codeswitching (at both the word and sentential levels), and sentential structural transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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27. Voluntary and cued language switching in late bilingual speakers.
- Abstract
Previous research examining the factors that determine language choice and voluntary switching mainly involved early bilinguals. Here, using picture naming, we investigated language choice and switching in late Dutch–English bilinguals. We found that naming was overall slower in cued than in voluntary switching, but switch costs occurred in both types of switching. The magnitude of switch costs differed depending on the task and language, and was moderated by L2 proficiency. Self-rated rather than objectively assessed proficiency predicted voluntary switching and ease of lexical access was associated with language choice. Between-language and within-language switch costs were not correlated. These results highlight self-rated proficiency as a reliable predictor of voluntary switching, with language modulating switch costs. As in early bilinguals, ease of lexical access was related to word-level language choice of late bilinguals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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28. Cognitive activity detection and tracing system.
- Author
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YILDIRIM, Onur, KANDEMIR, Çağla, KARDAŞLAR, Emre, and SÜMER, Emre
- Subjects
- *
MEMORY loss , *SYMPTOMS , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *LEXICAL access , *DEMENTIA - Abstract
Cognitive problems like Dementia and Alzheimer’s are usually challenging to diagnose but can be noticed by some signs of their symptoms. The most common symptoms are confusion, trouble finding the right word, memory loss, and difficulty concentrating. This study aims to design a cognitive activity detection and tracing system that contains games and analyzes users’ performances then displays detailed statistics to the users. The proposed Cognitive Activity Detection and Tracing System (CADTS) is software that contains different kinds of games from different categories inside its body that aims to measure cognitive activity by utilizing formulations in the context of the games and give feedback to users concerning the performance analyses done. The purpose of these analyses is to catch the signs of symptoms. An insight into a possible scoring system is provided, and as our results, several descriptive statistics are shared based on the tests conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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- View/download PDF
29. Un-Stroking the Spanish Translations (and Synonyms) of "Stroke": A Comparative Analysis.
- Author
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Vázquez y del Árbol, Esther
- Subjects
STROKE patients ,COMPARATIVE studies ,ENGLISH language ,LEXICAL access ,COMPUTER-aided design - Abstract
Within the field English-Spanish medical translation we encounter a noteworthy list of difficulties, arising from the fact that medical English oftentimes tends to use either a single term (or a phrase) lexicalizing each concept. Considering the increasing relevance of "stroke" nowadays, we aimed at researching the Spanish renderings (and synonyms) for this issue in order to see whether the English language provides us with more or less terms and phrases. By using institutional and professional sources, in this paper, we first delve into the etymology of "stroke" in English language, as well as the stroke types and subtypes, recording a total of 10 lexical items and phrases. Then, we research into the Spanish counterparts. By referring to computer-aided translation, as well as human translation, later on we carry out the English-Spanish contrast. Overall, the findings unveil how Spanish lexical and phrase items (n=33) triple the English ones available (n=10). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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30. Learning Two Languages: Dual Language Learning Patterns, Predictors, and Outcomes.
- Author
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Choi, Ji-Young, Jeon, Shinyoung, and Arabzadehjafari, Fattaneh
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SECOND language acquisition ,LINGUISTICS ,LANGUAGE & languages ,KINDERGARTEN children ,CLASSROOM environment ,SPANISH language ,LANGUAGE ability ,LEARNING strategies ,LEXICAL access - Abstract
This secondary analysis study examined patterns, predictors, and outcomes of dual language learners' (DLLs') development in Spanish and English. Research Findings: Latent profile analysis identified three groups of DLLs: Balanced Bilinguals (54%), English-Dominant Bilinguals (25%), and Spanish-Dominant Bilinguals (21%). These groups had fairly comparable Spanish skills at Head Start (HS) entry but showed distinct learning patterns in English and Spanish during the 2.5 years in HS and kindergarten (K), which resulted in group differences in dual-language skills at K. When their home and classroom environments were compared, Balanced Bilinguals had more Spanish exposure than English-Dominant Bilinguals and more English exposure than Spanish-Dominant Bilinguals. Spanish-Dominant Bilinguals generally had more Spanish exposure at home and in the classroom, less English exposure at home, and had parents with lower English proficiency. English-Dominant Bilinguals had fewer home literacy materials in Spanish and had fewer opportunities for Spanish exposure in their first HS classrooms. Balanced Bilinguals presented the highest K achievement; the other two groups showed comparable skills. Practice or Policy: This study demonstrated variations in dual-language learning among DLLs in HS and indicated the need for tailored strategies that address the unique needs of diverse DLLs presenting varying proficiency in their two languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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31. The time course of semantic ambiguity in visual word recognition: behavioral and ERP evidence for the lexical-semantic effect.
- Author
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Joonwoo Kim, Sangyub Kim, and Kichun Nam
- Subjects
WORD recognition ,LEXICAL access ,WORD frequency ,KOREAN language ,AMBIGUITY ,HOMONYMS - Abstract
Introduction: Homonyms are words with multiple, unrelated meanings that share a single form and pronunciation. These words provide valuable insights into how semantic representation is retrieved and selected independently of orthography and phonology. This study aims to investigate the temporal dynamics of lexical and semantic processing in the visual recognition of Korean words. Specifically, we examine how homonyms and unambiguous words are processed differently during a lexical decision task (LDT) with EEG recording, considering the effects of word frequency and the number of meanings (NOMs). Methods: Participants performed a lexical decision task where they were required to determine if a visually presented stimulus was a valid Korean word. We compared the behavioral responses and event-related potentials (ERPs) evoked by homonyms and unambiguous words, each possessing either high or low word frequency. Both subjective and objective NOMs were measured and manipulated, while controlling for the subjective balance of individual frequencies of meanings to control for confounding from the relatedness of meaning (ROM). For ERP analysis, a non-parametric cluster-based permutation test was employed in addition to the two time windows of interest (i.e., N400 and P600). Results: Behavioral results indicated a marginally significant interaction between word frequency and semantic ambiguity along with a main effect of word frequency, showing faster and more accurate responses for high-frequency words. An ambiguity advantage was observed only for low-frequency words, with no significant effect found for high-frequency words. ERP results revealed that lexical-semantic interactions were reflected in the modulations of the N400 and P600 components. High-frequency homonyms elicited an enhanced N400 amplitude, while low-frequency homonyms showed a reduced P600 amplitude. Discussion: The findings suggest that the activation of semantic information occurs simultaneously with lexical processing, rather than during post-lexical or decision-making processes. Furthermore, considering balanced homonyms were employed in this study, inhibitory competition may arise from the highfrequency individual meanings of high-frequency words. In contrast, in lowfrequency words, a facilitative effect may arise from gains in global semantic activation or semantic feedback to the orthographic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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32. Evolution of word production errors after typicality-based semantic naming treatment in individuals with aphasia.
- Author
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Li, Ran, Gilmore, Natalie, O’Connell, Mia, and Kiran, Swathi
- Subjects
- *
APHASIA , *LEXICAL access , *TREATMENT effectiveness , *THERAPEUTICS - Abstract
BackgroundAimsMethods & ProceduresOutcomes & ResultsConclusionsThe Complexity Account for Treatment Efficacy (CATE) has been applied to semantic typicality in aphasia naming therapy, i.e. training atypical items of a category would improve naming of typical untrained-related items. However, most aphasia treatment studies have implemented a binary scoring system to measure response accuracy, which may not thoroughly reveal linguistic mechanisms underlying aphasia recovery.The current study investigated the evolution of error patterns following typicality-based Semantic Features Analysis (SFA) treatment in individuals with post-stroke aphasia.Thirty individuals with chronic aphasia participated in a typicality-based SFA treatment, and ten individuals with chronic aphasia served as controls. The treatment participants and controls completed a naming screener before and after either a treatment period or a no-treatment period, respectively. Responses were coded using an error coding scale and analyzed with mixed-effects models.Treatment participants demonstrated significant treatment and generalization effects, as captured by significant improvements on the error coding system for both trained and untrained items. However, the group-level analysis did not reveal significant generalization from training atypical items to untrained typical items. Subgroup analyses based on participants’ performance in treatment showed significant gains in naming untrained typical items from training atypical items in responders, but improved naming of untrained atypical items from training typical items in nonresponders.These findings suggest different linguistic mechanisms underlying aphasia recovery and highlight the importance of investigating treatment and generalization effects using a fine-grained error coding system as a complement to a binary scoring system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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33. Similar Phonological Relatives in Komering Dialects, Indonesia.
- Author
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Hetilaniar, Zulaeha, Ida, Mardikantoro, Hari Bakti, and Yuniawan, Tommi
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LANGUAGE revival ,LANGUAGE research ,PHONEME (Linguistics) ,DIALECTS ,LEXICAL access - Abstract
This study aims to determine the similarity of phonological variation in the aspects of vowel and consonant phonemes of the Komering dialect in South Sumatra, Indonesia. This research uses a qualitative descriptive method with a synchronic dialectological approach. The data were taken from 200 Swadesh syllables which were developed into 1218 root words and cultural root words. The main data source is oral data from informants in several villages in South Ogan Komering Ulu Regency. Data analysis uses the commensurate method. The results showed that there were 18 variations of vowel phonemes in five observation points, with 43 words out of 200 Swadesh words observed. In the consonant aspect, 40 phoneme variations with 77 words were found. These findings indicate the importance of community and stakeholder attention to local language preservation, as well as further research on local languages through linguistic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
34. Detection of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers changes of Alzheimer's disease using a cognitive stress test in persons with subjective cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment.
- Author
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Valles-Salgado, Maria, Gil-Moreno, María José, Curiel Cid, Rosie E., Delgado-Álvarez, Alfonso, Ortega-Madueño, Isabel, Delgado-Alonso, Cristina, Palacios-Sarmiento, Marta, López-Carbonero, Juan I., Cárdenas, María Cruz, Matías-Guiu, Jorge, Díez-Cirarda, María, Loewenstein, David A., and Matias-Guiu, Jordi A.
- Subjects
MILD cognitive impairment ,ALZHEIMER'S disease ,COGNITIVE testing ,AMNESTIC mild cognitive impairment ,CEREBROSPINAL fluid ,LEXICAL access - Abstract
Introduction: Timely and accurate diagnosis of the earliest manifestations of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is critically important. Cognitive challenge tests such as the Loewenstein Acevedo Scales for Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI-L) have shown favorable diagnostic properties in a number of previous investigations using amyloid or FDG PET. However, no studies have examined LASSI-L performance against cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of AD, which can be affected before the distribution of fibrillar amyloid and other changes that can be observed in brain neuroimaging. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between LASSI-L scores and CSF biomarkers and the capacity of the cognitive challenge test to detect the presence of amyloid and tau deposition in patients with subjective cognitive decline and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: One hundred and seventy-nine patients consulting for memory loss without functional impairment were enrolled. Patients were examined using comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, the LASSI-L, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers (Aβ1-42/Aβ1-40 and ptau181). Means comparisons, correlations, effect sizes, and ROC curves were calculated. Results: LASSI-L scores were significantly associated with CSF biomarkers Aβ1-42/Aβ1-40 in patients diagnosed with MCI and subjective cognitive decline, especially those scores evaluating the capacity to recover from proactive semantic interference effects and delayed recall. A logistic regression model for the entire sample including LASSI-L and age showed an accuracy of 0.749 and an area under the curve of 0.785 to detect abnormal amyloid deposition. Conclusion: Our study supports the biological validity of the LASSI-L and its semantic interference paradigm in the context of the early stages of AD. These findings emphasize the utility and the convenience of including sensitive cognitive challenge tests in the assessment of patients with suspicion of early stages of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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35. Forging Links Between Cognitive Psychology, Applied Linguistics, and Educational Psychology.
- Author
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Schwartz, Ana I. and Sunderman, Gretchen
- Abstract
In this article we demonstrate how the groundbreaking feature of the revised hierarchical model, its recognition of links that grow and respond adaptively, are mirrored in how Judith F. Kroll spearheaded efforts to bring together scientists across disparate fields such as cognitive psychology, applied linguistics, and educational psychology. The article showcases a few studies that used basic cognitive psychology paradigms to address and inform applied questions pertaining to language learning and reading. The review includes a biographical backstory on how those interdisciplinary links were first established and how they have developed over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
36. Does a mismatch on the accentual pattern of French words affect the magnitude of the repetition priming effect? An ERP investigation.
- Author
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Dufour, Sophie and Michelas, Amandine
- Subjects
- *
DIALECTS , *PROMPTS (Psychology) , *RESEARCH funding , *PHONOLOGICAL awareness , *EVOKED potentials (Electrophysiology) , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *MEMORY , *PHONETICS , *SEMANTICS - Abstract
Primes that mismatch the targets on a phoneme (/ka'di/-/ka'do/) should produce responses intermediate between repeated (/ka'do/-/ka'do/) and unrelated (/bebe/-/ka'do/) primes. But what about primes and targets that mismatch on accentual cues (/kado/-/ ka'do/)? A repetition priming effect was observed on the N400 component with repeated primes eliciting less negativity than unrelated primes. A partial repetition priming effect was observed when the primes and targets mismatched on a phoneme. Phonemic mismatch primes elicited less negativity than unrelated primes, and more negativity than repeated primes. In contrast, no difference was observed between the repeated and the accentual mismatch primes. Hence, contrary to a mismatch on phonemic cues, a mismatch on accentual cues has no consequence on the magnitude of the repetition priming effect. This finding reinforces the view of an abstract lexicon in which acoustic details irrelevant for identification are stripped away before making contact with lexical representations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
37. When phonological neighbours cooperate during spoken sentence processing.
- Author
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Dufour, Sophie, Mirault, Jonathan, and Grainger, Jonathan
- Subjects
- *
WORD recognition , *NEIGHBORS , *RECOGNITION (Psychology) , *LEXICAL access , *PHONOLOGY - Abstract
This study examined for the first time the impact of the presence of a phonological neighbour on word recognition when the target word and its neighbour co-occur in a spoken sentence. To do so, we developed a new task, the verb detection task, in which participants were instructed to respond as soon as they detected a verb in a sequence of words, thus allowing us to probe spoken word recognition processes in real time. We found that participants were faster at detecting a verb when it was phonologically related to the preceding noun than when it was phonologically unrelated. This effect was found with both correct sentences (Experiment 1) and with ungrammatical sequences of words (Experiment 2). The effect was also found in Experiment 3 where adjacent phonologically related words were included in the non-verb condition (i.e., word sequences not containing a verb), thus ruling out any strategic influences. These results suggest that activation persists across different words during spoken sentence processing such that processing of a word at position n + 1 benefits from the sublexical phonology activated during processing of the word at position n. We discuss how different models of spoken word recognition might be able (or not) to account for these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
38. Phonological syllables allow children with developmental dyslexia to access words.
- Author
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Maïonchi-Pino, Norbert, Runge, Élise, and Chabanal, Damien
- Subjects
- *
CHILDREN with dyslexia , *DYSLEXIA , *LEXICAL access , *FRENCH language , *VOCABULARY - Abstract
Learning to read is a middle-distance race for children worldwide. Most of them succeed in this acquisition with "normal" difficulties that ensue from the progressive (re)structuring of the phonological and orthographic systems. Evidence accumulated on reading difficulties in children with developmental dyslexia (DYS children, henceforth) shows a pervasive phonological deficit. However, the phonological deficit may not be due to degraded phonological representations but rather due to impaired access to them. This study focused on how and to what extent phonological syllables, which are essential reading units in French, were accessible to DYS children to segment and access words. We tested the assumption that DYS children did not strictly have pervasive degraded phonological representations but also have impaired access to phonological and orthographic representations. We administered a visually adapted word-spotting paradigm, engaging both sublexical processing and lexical access, with French native-speaking DYS children (N = 25; Mage in months = 121.6, SD = 3.0) compared with chronological age-matched peers (N = 25; Mage in months = 121.8, SD = 2.7; CA peers henceforth) and reading level-matched peers (N = 25; Mage in months = 94.0, SD = 4.6; RL peers henceforth). Although DYS children were slower and less accurate than CA and RL peers, we found that they used phonological syllables to access and segment words. However, they exhibit neither the classical inhibitory syllable frequency effect nor the lexical frequency effect, which is generally observed in typically developing children. Surprisingly, DYS children did not show strictly degraded phonological representations because they demonstrated phonological syllable-based segmentation abilities, particularly with high-frequency syllables. Their difficulties are rather interpreted in terms of impaired access to orthographic and phonological representations, which could be a direct effect of difficulties in generalizing and consolidating low-frequency syllables. We discuss these results regarding reading acquisition and the specificities of the French linguistic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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39. Spanish lower and upper bounded change of state verbs: focusing on transitive experiencer object verbs.
- Author
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Fritz-Huechante, Paola and Verhoeven, Elisabeth
- Subjects
- *
TRANSITIVITY (Grammar) , *SPANISH language , *VERBS , *BOUNDED rationality , *LEXICAL access - Abstract
Transitive causative change of state (TCoS) verbs elicit scalar readings, distinguishing them between: upper-bounded verbs (e.g., dry), denoting a culminating change of state, and lower-bounded verbs (e.g., wrinkle), denoting a change from a zero to a non-zero value (or from one value to another) regarding the property described by the semantic core of the verb. In their eventive reading, transitive experiencer object (TEO) verbs (e.g., calm down, delight) also denote causative eventualities able to yield scalar inferences. This study investigates whether TEO verbs are also associated with a minimum or maximum standard degree, proposing a similar subdivision of TEO verbs into lower-bounded items (delight) and upper-bounded items (calm down). In a forced-choice selection experiment we tested the impact of the standard degree (bound) of the semantic core of Spanish TEO verbs on the availability of lower-bounded or upper-bounded readings comparing them to TCoS verbs. Results revealed that the factor bound was significant to the extent that both lower-bounded TEO and TCoS predicates yielded the response compatible with a lower-bounded reading significantly more often than predicates that possess a maximum degree, supporting the distinction between lower and upper bounded items. Further, a significant effect of verb type was also observed, differentiating a change of state on the mental (TEO) versus the physical (TCoS) levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
40. Exploring Psycholinguistic Phenomena in the Acquisition of the English Language: An Investigation for Pedagogical Enhancement.
- Author
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Krishna, Kota Sai, Madhavi, P. Asha, and Srilatha, Mada
- Subjects
SECOND language acquisition ,LANGUAGE ability ,LANGUAGE acquisition ,NATIVE language ,LEXICAL access - Abstract
This research article explores the complex domain of psycholinguistics to illuminate various phenomena associated with the acquisition of the English language. Psycholinguistics, as a multidisciplinary field, provides valuable perspectives of the cognitive processes underlying language learning. This article presents a comprehensive investigation into psycholinguistic phenomena affecting the acquisition of the English language, with a primary focus on enhancing pedagogical practices. The study employs a quantitative research methodology, incorporating statistical analyses to examine various dimensions of language acquisition. At the core of this investigation lies the examination of phonological processing, lexical access mechanisms, and syntactic comprehension strategies employed by language learners. Drawing upon a diverse sample of participants, including individuals with varying first language backgrounds and proficiency levels in English, the research aims to discern patterns and correlations that illuminate the interplay between psycholinguistic factors and language acquisition outcomes. By quantifying the influence of variables such as linguistic transfer from the native language, cognitive processing efficiency, and learning strategies, the study seeks to provide empirical evidence to inform pedagogical approaches for English language instruction. Through rigorous analysis of quantitative data, the study offers insights into the efficacy of different instructional methods, adaptive learning technologies, and classroom practices in facilitating the acquisition of English as a second language. Furthermore, this research contributes to the ongoing discourse on language acquisition by offering empirical evidence and practical recommendations for educators and policymakers seeking to enhance the effectiveness of English language instruction in diverse educational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
41. Language processing in bilingual children: Why it matters, what we know and what is still missing.
- Author
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van Dijk, Chantal, Bosch, Jasmijn, and Unsworth, Sharon
- Subjects
SECOND language acquisition ,LEXICAL access ,SPECIFIC language impairment in children ,CHILDREN'S language - Abstract
This article discusses the importance of understanding language processing in bilingual children and highlights the need for online techniques, such as eye-tracking and self-paced listening experiments, to gain more direct insights into the processes involved. The article addresses key questions about bilingual language development, including the comparison of online comprehension to offline comprehension and production, the extent to which bilingual children predict upcoming sentence information, the evidence for language co-activation during processing, and the role of individual differences in bilingual language processing. The article also summarizes existing knowledge on online comprehension versus production, predictive processing, and lexical and syntactic co-activation in bilingual children. However, there are still gaps in our understanding, and more research is needed to explore new linguistic properties, language combinations, and individual differences in bilingual language processing. The article concludes by introducing a special issue that presents empirical findings from different contexts and linguistic phenomena, aiming to contribute to our understanding of real-time language processing in bilingual children. [Extracted from the article]
- Published
- 2024
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42. Cognate facilitation in single- and dual-language contexts in bilingual children's word processing.
- Author
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Koutamanis, Elly, Kootstra, Gerrit Jan, Dijkstra, Ton, and Unsworth, Sharon
- Subjects
LINGUISTIC context ,LEXICAL access ,DOMINANT language ,INSTRUCTIONAL films ,LANGUAGE & languages ,INDIVIDUAL differences - Abstract
We examined the extent to which cognate facilitation effects occurred in simultaneous bilingual children's production and comprehension and how these were modulated by language dominance and language context. Bilingual Dutch-German children, ranging from Dutch-dominant to German-dominant, performed picture naming and auditory lexical decision tasks in single-language and dual-language contexts. Language context was manipulated with respect to the language of communication (with the experimenter and in instructional videos) and by means of proficiency tasks. Cognate facilitation effects emerged in both production and comprehension and interacted with both dominance and context. In a single-language context, stronger cognate facilitation effects were found for picture naming in children's less dominant language, in line with previous studies on individual differences in lexical activation. In the dual-language context, this pattern was reversed, suggesting inhibition of the dominant language at the decision level. Similar effects were observed in lexical decision. These findings provide evidence for an integrated bilingual lexicon in simultaneous bilingual children and shed more light on the complex interplay between lexicon-internal and lexicon-external factors modulating the extent of lexical cross-linguistic influence more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
43. „Am Lëtzebuergesche ginn et esou vill Variatiounen an droleg Ausdréck“. Über die Konzeption eines Testverfahrens zur Analyse von Salienz und Pertinenz variabler sprachlicher Merkmale.
- Author
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Entringer, Nathalie
- Subjects
TASK analysis ,SELF-evaluation ,TEST design ,DIALECTS ,STANDARDIZED tests ,LEXICAL access ,REGIONAL differences ,LANGUAGE ability testing - Abstract
Language experiments have a long tradition in the field of dialectology to investigate phonological, lexical and syntactic variation. Methodologically, the repertoire ranges from written test procedures to standardized language production tests and interviews whereby different types of tasks (e. g. translation, picture-naming, evaluation tasks) are used. In order to investigate the variation and perception of morpho(phono)logical phenomena (e. g. the variation of the superlative dat schéinst/dat schéinsten/dat schéinstent Meedchen ‘the most beautiful girl’) in Luxembourgish, I developed a new test procedure, which is based on test procedures and tasks already used in other dialectological and variationist projects (e. g. Syntax Hessischer Dialekte (SyHD), cf. Fleischer/Lenz/Weiß 2015, Sprachvariation in Norddeutschland (SiN); cf. Elmentaler et al. 2015)). The development of a new method was indispensable, since firstly, it must be adapted to the analysis of morpho(phono)logical phenomena that are not linked to regional variation and secondly this test aims to analyse salience and pertinence, two relevant concepts within the scope of language perception and evaluation (cf. Purschke 2011), separately. This paper thus presents an experiment that aims to investigate the perception of morpho(phono)logical variation and its variants in Luxembourgish. The individual test procedures, a salience test, a specific form of scale-based test, a translation task and a supplementary questionnaire are described, contextualized and discussed in detail. The focus also lies on the special design of the test, which is able to ascertain the salience and pertinence of certain variants and to correlate them directly with the production of the variants and the self-evaluation of the individual participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
44. Top-down feedback normalizes distortion in early visual word recognition: Insights from masked priming
- Author
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Fernández-López, Maria, Solaja, Olga, Crepaldi, Davide, and Perea, Manuel
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
45. Phonological neighbourhood effects in Italian speech production: Evidence from healthy and neurologically impaired populations.
- Author
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Bellin, Irene, Iob, Erica, De Pellegrin, Serena, and Navarrete, Eduardo
- Subjects
- *
SPEECH , *NEIGHBORHOODS , *ITALIAN language , *LEXICAL access - Abstract
In two speech production studies conducted in Italian, we investigated the impact of phonological neighbourhood properties such as the neighbourhood density and the mean frequency of the neighbours on speech processing. Two populations of healthy (Study 1) and neurologically impaired (Study 2) individuals were tested. We employed multi-regression methods to analyse naming latencies in Study 1 and accuracy rates in Study 2 while controlling for various psycholinguistic predictors. In Study 1, pictures with words from high-density neighbourhoods were named faster than those from low-density neighbourhoods. Additionally, words with high-frequency neighbours were named faster in Study 1 and yielded higher accuracy rates in Study 2. The results suggest facilitatory effects of both the phonological neighbourhood density and frequency neighbourhood variables. Furthermore, we observed interactions between these two phonological neighbourhood variables and name agreement and repetition. Specifically, the facilitation effect was more pronounced for pictures with lower name agreement and during the initial presentation of the pictures. These findings are discussed in the context of previous literature and within the framework of interactive models of speech production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
46. Cognitive control in written word production.
- Author
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Neophytou, Kyriaki, Wiley, Robert W., and Rapp, Brenda
- Subjects
LEXICAL access ,TASK performance ,WRITTEN communication ,WORD order (Grammar) ,COGNITIVE ability - Abstract
Introduction: Cognitive control processes have been extensively studied in spoken word production, however, relevant investigations of written word production are scarce. Using data from a group of post-stroke individuals we studied, for the first time, the neural substrates of cognitive control in written word production. We addressed three questions: Are control mechanisms: (1) shared by language and non-language domains; (2) shared by lexical and segmental levels of word production within the word production system; (3) related to both interference and facilitation effect types? Methods: To address these questions, for each participant we calculated cognitive control indices that reflected the interference and facilitation effects observed in written Blocked Cyclic Naming (written language production) and Simon (visuo-spatial processing) tasks. These behavioral cognitive control indices were studied both on their own, as well as in relation to the distribution of structural (gray matter) lesions. Results: For Question 1, we provide strong evidence of domain-specific control mechanisms used in written word production, as, among other findings, distinct regions within Broca’s Area were associated with control in written word production vs. control in visuo-spatial processing. For Question 2, our results provide no strong evidence of shared control mechanisms for lexical and segmental levels of written word production, while they highlight the role of BA45 in instantiating control mechanisms that are specific to the two levels. For Question 3, we found evidence that BA45 supports distinct mechanisms associated with facilitation and interference, while orbital frontal cortex supports control process(es) associated with both. Discussion: These findings significantly advance our understanding of the cognitive control mechanisms involved in written language production, as well as of the role of Broca’s Area in cognitive control and language production more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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47. Learning and unlearning voicing assimilation.
- Author
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Bárkányi, Zsuzsanna and Kiss, Zoltán G.
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ASSIMILATION (Phonetics) ,MULTILINGUALISM ,LEXICAL access ,COGNATE words ,NATIVE language - Abstract
This study investigates how postlexical phonological processes are acquired in multilingual speech, namely, how learners cope with conflicting demands in the production and perception of the voicing patterns in their non-native languages, what impact lexical knowledge has on learner behavior, and to what extent existing speech learningmodels can account for it. To investigate this, 14 Hungarian native speakers, proficient sequential learners of Spanish and English, took part in two types of experiment. The production experiments examined regressive voicing assimilation between obstruents and when the trigger was a sonorant consonant (presonorant voicing) word-internally and across word-boundary. At word level, we compared various lexical groups: non-cognates, double cognates and triple cognates (inhibitory, facilitative, and cognates with conflicting information). The perception experiments aimed to find out whether learners notice the voicing assimilations mentioned. The results showed that participants failed to learn presonorant voicing and failed to block regressive voicing assimilation despite perceiving the latter as linguistically relevant. Data also revealed that there is no direct link between perception and production, and that cognate status had a limited effect, but in triple cognates the primacy of the native language was dominant. Thus, it is concluded that in laryngeal postlexical processes the native language plays the primary role, neither the other non-native language, nor linguistic proximity seems to be decisive. Our data can be best accounted for by the Scalpel Model extended to phonological acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
48. The impact of different glossing conditions on the learning of EFL single words and collocations in reading.
- Author
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Jung, Jookyoung, Wang, Honglan, Li, Weiyi, and Zhang, Wenrui
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- *
ENGLISH as a foreign language , *COLLOCATION (Linguistics) , *READING comprehension , *LEXICAL access , *SECOND language acquisition - Abstract
Thus far, glossing studies have remained at the level of individual words rather than including their lexical environment. To fill this gap, the present study explored if different glossing conditions would have a distinct impact on L2 reading comprehension and incidental lexical and collocational learning. Sixty-three first language (L1) Cantonese speakers read two English stories that contained 12 adjective-pseudonoun collocations. The participants were placed in one of the three conditions, i.e., unglossed, single-word glossed, and collocation glossed. Participants' reading comprehension was measured with twelve true-or-false statements for each story, and their lexical and collocational learning was assessed using unannounced recognition and recall tests. The results revealed that collocational glossing promoted reading comprehension significantly compared to the other two reading conditions. In addition, while both glossing conditions promoted lexical and collocational knowledge in the immediate posttest, collocational glossing demonstrated a more durable facilitative impact in the delayed posttest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
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49. Spanish heritage speakers' processing of lexical stress.
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Ortín, Ramsés
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LEXICAL access , *HERITAGE language speakers , *SPANISH language , *PHONOLOGY , *CONSONANTS - Abstract
This study examines the status of lexical stress in the processing system of heritage speakers of Spanish and whether or not it is influenced by their experience with English. Participants completed an ABX matching task with auditory stimuli differing in the location of stress or in one consonantal sound. Findings reveal that heritage speakers are more accurate in consonant-based trials than in stress-based ones, but only when matching stimuli were non-adjacent, which suggests that their stress-processing strategies pattern more closely with those of native English speakers. Furthermore, dominance and knowledge of Spanish appear to be associated with increased phonological sensibility to stress contrasts. Pedagogical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
- Full Text
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50. The influence of raciolinguistic expectations on phoneme categorization in Spanish–English bilinguals.
- Author
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Dibbern, Jennifer and D'Onofrio, Annette
- Subjects
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SPEECH perception , *PHONEME (Linguistics) , *LEXICAL access , *NATIVE language , *LINGUISTIC context , *LOGISTIC regression analysis , *TASK analysis - Abstract
Aims and objectives: This study examines how social information is utilized in processes of bilingual speech perception. Specifically, we investigate whether racialized expectations of native language background trigger language-specific processing strategies in early or simultaneous Spanish–English bilinguals. Methodology: We coupled a visually-primed phoneme categorization task with a social evaluation questionnaire to test whether Spanish–English bilingual adults living in the United States (n = 30) drew on racialized ideologies about what speakers of certain languages look like during speech perception. We predicted that, if participants drew on these ideologies during the phoneme categorization task, they would cue an expectation of what language was being spoken and, consequently, a shift in the identification boundary. Data and analysis: Mixed logistic regression was used to investigate the effects of photograph (the visual prime) and voice on how participants categorized the continua while paired, two-tailed t -tests were used to compare how participants socially evaluated the two speakers. Findings: Raciolinguistic evaluations appeared to influence bilingual speech perception, significantly affecting how the continua were categorized, but they did not work the same way for every voice. Originality: Prior work has posited that interactional context influences bilingual language control (e.g., Grosjean, 2001); the ideological nature of this context has, however, been understudied. This paper offers insight into how ideologies related to race may shape language perception and use in bilinguals. Implications: The findings provide evidence for the role of social information in bilingual speech perception, suggest that multiple cues (acoustic and social) integrate to determine the interactional context, and indicate that the influence of raciolinguistic ideologies is neither straightforward nor homogeneous but rather contingent on complex aspects of the perceived speaker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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