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Sensory systems are permanently bombarded with complex stimuli. Cognitive processing of such complex stimuli may be facilitated by accentuation of important elements. In the case of music listening, alteration of some surface features –such as volume and duration– may facilitate the cognitive processing of otherwise high-level information, such as melody and harmony. Hence, musical accents are often aligned with intrinsically salient elements in the stimuli, such as highly unexpected notes. We developed a novel listening paradigm based on an artificial Markov-chain melodic grammar to probe the hypothesis that listeners prefer structurally salient events to be consistent with salient surface properties such as musical accents. We manipulated two types of structural saliency: one driven by Gestalt principles (a note at the peak of a melodic contour) and one driven by statistical learning (a note with high surprisal, or information content [IC], as defined by the artificial melodic grammar). Results suggest that for all listeners, the aesthetic preferences in terms of surface properties are well predicted by Gestalt principles of melodic shape. In contrast, despite demonstrating good knowledge of novel statistical properties of the melodies, participants did not demonstrate a preference for accentuation of high-IC notes. This work is a first step in elucidating the interplay between intrinsic, Gestalt-like and acquired, statistical properties of melodies in the development of expressive musical properties, with a focus on the appreciation of dynamic accents (i.e. a transient increase in volume). Our results shed light on the implementation of domain-general and domain-specific principles of information processing during music listening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This quantitative descriptive study aimed to investigate how Project DICE (DICE IT, CREATE, AND ENUNCIATE) affects pronunciation competence among Grade 7 Rose students at Baltazar Nicor Valenzuela National High School, Kapalong, Davao del Norte. It measured Strategies in Talking, Stress on Compound Words, and Strategies for Stress Intonation. Forty-four students participated by completing a survey questionnaire before and after the intervention. Before the intervention, scores were 1.89 for Strategies in Talking, 1.92 for Stress on Compound Words, and 1.90 for Strategies for Stress Intonation, with an average mean of 1.90, indicating low pronunciation competence. After the intervention, scores increased to 4.39 for Strategies in Talking, 4.40 for Stress on Compound Words, and 4.60 for Strategies for Stress Intonation, with an overall average of 4.46, indicating significant improvement. This demonstrated that Project DICE (DICE IT, CREATE, AND ENUNCIATE) effectively enhanced students' pronunciation competence. Additionally, the study investigated the effectiveness of Project DICE (DICE IT, CREATE, AND ENUNCIATE) and gathered insights from teachers and students. Fourteen participants, including students and teachers from the same school, took part in in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The data revealed three themes regarding the effectiveness of Project DICE (DICE IT, CREATE, AND ENUNCIATE) in developing pronunciation competence: Enhancement of Communication Skills, Increased Student Confidence, and Improved Reading Skills. Furthermore, four themes emerged from the insights shared by teachers and students: Improving Students' Pronunciation Skills, Enhancing Reading Competence, serving as a Teacher's Tool for Effective English Teaching, and Encouraging Dedication and Self-Motivation. These findings confirmed that Project DICE (DICE IT, CREATE, AND ENUNCIATE) significantly improved the pronunciation competence of Grade 7 Rose students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that when domain‐general transitional probability (TP) cues to word segmentation are in conflict with language‐specific stress cues, English‐learning 5‐ and 7‐month‐olds rely on TP, whereas 9‐month‐olds rely on stress. In two artificial languages, we evaluated English‐learning infants' sensitivity to TP cues to word segmentation vis‐a‐vis language‐specific vowel phonotactic (VP) cues—English words do not end in lax vowels. These cues were either consistent or conflicting. When these cues were in conflict, 10‐month‐olds relied on the VP cues, whereas 5‐month‐olds relied on TP. These findings align with statistical bootstrapping accounts, where infants initially use domain‐general distributional information for word segmentation, and subsequently discover language‐specific patterns based on segmented words. Research Highlights: Research indicates that when transitional probability (TP) conflicts with stress cues for word segmentation, English‐learning 9‐month‐olds rely on stress, whereas younger infants rely on TP.In two artificial languages, we evaluated English‐learning infants' sensitivity to TP versus vowel phonotactic (VP) cues for word segmentation.When these cues conflicted, 10‐month‐olds relied on VPs, whereas 5‐month‐olds relied on TP.These findings align with statistical bootstrapping accounts, where infants first utilize domain‐general distributional information for word segmentation, and then identify language‐specific patterns from segmented words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objectives: Hispanic/Latinx youth vary in their immigration heritage (e.g., country of origin, familial migration history, etc.) and the structure of their communities. This study is a qualitative exploration of Hispanic/Latinx youth experiences of cultural stress in Miami and Los Angeles in 2021. Method: A total of 23 Hispanic/Latinx adolescents in Los Angeles (n = 12) and Miami (n = 11) provided in-depth interviews to assess: (a) appraisals of family immigration history and (b) experiences across three cultural stressors: sociopolitical, language brokering, and intragroup marginalization. Interviews were analyzed using a general inductive analytic approach and case comparison methodology to assess differences across sites. Results: For appraisals of family immigration history, gratitude and hope emerged as positive emotions experienced when youth reflected on their immigrant origins. Miami participants reported perceived worsening of sociopolitical stress as a result of changes in political administration whereas participants in Los Angeles felt a sense of relief. Participants in Miami and Los Angeles reported similar strengths and challenges in language brokering with COVID-19 variedly impacting youth's perceived language brokering stress. Last, to youth intragroup marginalization experienced from family members was experienced as more detrimental than from peers, and they reported the use of cognitive reframes to cope. Conclusion: Cultural stressors are dynamic and diverse. This study further informs cultural stress theory by cataloging how families' immigration history and national current events inform experiences of stress among youth. Public Significance Statement: In order to build interventions that address cultural and immigration related stressors among Hispanic/Latinx youth in the United States, it is important to understand the heterogeneity in experiences and saliency of specific cultural stressors. This study contextualizes experiences of cultural stress by analyzing differences across two cultural enclave sites during a national transition of political administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Word stress is a structural property of increasing prominence. An established line of scholarship regarding word stress exists both in terms of theory and description in the Lhasa Tibetan (LT) language. Unlike LT, no such scholarly works are available that focus on Dharamshala Tibetan (DT), a dialectal variety spoken by Tibetan refugees living in the Dharamshala area in Himachal Pradesh, India. The current work aims to provide a systematic and concise theorisation of DT word stress based on the data collected from field in terms of parameters like culminativity, location of the head, direction, and quantity sensitivity. Optimality Theory is used to offer a theoretical judgment behind the analysis. A majority of DT words contain a trochaic, weight-insensitive, left-to-right stress pattern. The degenerate foot is accepted. Very few instances of words with an iambic stress pattern were found during the fieldwork. Similarly, few words containing heavy syllables are available in the word stress pattern inventory of DT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the development of Greek vowel reduction across different prosodic positions (stressed, pre-stressed, post-stressed), examining normative data from 72 participants aged 3 years to adulthood and balanced for gender. Participants performed a delayed repetition task, producing real trisyllabic words with the vowels [i, ε, ɐ, o, u] examined in the second syllable. Measurements included relative vowel duration, normalized acoustic vowel space areas, and Euclidean distances of vowels from the centroid of the acoustic space. Our findings show that changes in speech motor control, system stiffness, and stress marking with age, along with children's prosody sensitivity, contributed to several developmental milestones: the completion of the developmental trajectory of relative vowel duration and temporal vowel reduction at early adolescence; the attainment of adult-like spatial vowel characteristics and their reduction at preschool age; and the early acquisition of the prosodic strength of the stress conditions, leading to vowel reduction from the stressed to pre-stressed to post-stressed conditions. The correlation strength between temporal and spatial vowel reduction across ages revealed age-related differences in spatiotemporal speech organization, with significant gender-related differences observed only in vowel space areas, where females exhibited larger areas possibly related to sociophonetic factors. Intrinsic vowel duration appeared from age 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that elocution, speech training, and speech therapy—three professions concerned with the voice—were intimately bound up with a shifting politics of class in early- and mid-twentieth-century Britain. The last two, in particular, attempted to stake new claims in the changed landscape of the post-1945 welfare state. Proponents of speech training distinguished themselves from elocutionists and saw their role to improve children's speech, but they performatively disavowed class as an organizing category within it. This was paralleled by speech therapy, which emerged as a formal profession in Britain in 1945 through the unification of two separate (and often rival) halves of the profession under a single regulatory college, and which found itself having to justify where its pathologizing of vocal production ended and elocution's focus on the aesthetics of accent began. I argue that these disavowals provide a useful framework through which to read class dynamics and consider the performative dimensions of class identities at this time. Mobilising select writers and speech experts—who straddled the boundaries of elocution, speech training, and speech therapy—this article shows how a variety of different categories, from gender to geography, were employed as proxies to allow for the problematization of dialect but not accent and to efface 'class'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how motivation to continue pursuing a goal (e.g., lose 20 pounds in 10 weeks) is impacted not only by the extent of the goal progress to date but also by the amount of the time remaining for goal completion, an aspect unique to time-bound goals. We show that the effect of goal progress on motivation to keep pursuing the goal is accentuated when the time remaining for completing a time-bound goal is scarce versus abundant. We also find that this accentuation is stronger for all-or-nothing versus flexible goals. Our research contributes to the understanding of goal progress by presenting resource (time) scarcity's motivational influence on pursuing time-bound goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite scholars' advocacy of intelligibility over nativelikeness in the EFL education context, many learners still seem to favour standard British and American accents. However, comparisons across studies have shown some changes in learners' perceptions, suggesting a move away from standard accent orientation. This article reports part of a larger study that examined the relationships between four learner‐related predictor variables (self‐rated proficiency, previous exposure to different accents, attitude towards [spoken] English, and attitude towards accuracy) and two outcome variables (learners' attitudes towards standard accents, and attitudes towards pronunciation in speaking proficiency assessment). A questionnaire was completed by 1,300 EFL secondary‐school students in Hong Kong. The four predictors were generally found to correlate significantly with the two outcomes (Pearson's rs ranging approximately from.10 to.50). Specifically, learners' attitudes towards accuracy and (spoken) English had the strongest positive relationships with the outcomes. In the multiple regression models, these two predictors together explained 32% and 11% of the variance in attitudes towards standard accents and pronunciation assessment respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many second language (L2) speakers, including immigrants, speaking with an L2 accent can be a source of unfair or biased treatment in many workplace contexts. However, apart from research on language learners, there is currently little knowledge as to what the general public, and especially members of professional communities, know about accent and accent bias. Our goal in this study was to examine the intuitive understanding of accent and accent bias by university students in human resource (HR) management as future gatekeepers to gainful employment. We interviewed 14 students across two four-year university HR programs in Canada asking the students about their prior experience with accent bias and exploring their understanding of the broader construct of accent through thematic interview coding. The students reported multiple examples of accent bias, demonstrating a nuanced understanding of accent, where they characterized accent bias as an unconscious phenomenon, highlighted its experiential component, expressed sensitivity to different linguistic sources of accent, emphasized the role of a listener in L2 communication, and generally showed flexibility and tolerance toward accented L2 speech. We discuss these findings in light of prior work on accent awareness and highlight the importance of dedicated accent-focused training for HR professionals. Speaking a second (or additional) language with an accent typically involves speakers producing pronunciation features from their mother tongue(s) in their second language. Prior research shows that individuals who speak a second language with an accent are subject to negative biases in professional settings. Because university students enrolled in human resource (HR) management programs are future HR professionals, it is important to uncover what they know about accent and accent bias (i.e., negative judgments based on a speaker's pronunciation). To that end, we interviewed 14 undergraduate HR students in two Canadian universities, in Calgary and Montreal, to determine how they understand accent and accent bias. Students were asked about their own understanding of accent bias, their previous experiences with it, and the importance of accent bias awareness among the HR community. Overall, the students demonstrated a nuanced understanding of accent and suggested that accent-based discrimination may be an unconscious phenomenon. They also showed flexibility and tolerance toward accents, emphasizing that establishing successful communication is a shared responsibility among speakers and listeners. We discuss how negative attitudes toward second language accents may contribute to detrimental, real-life consequences for those who speak a second language with an accent. Finally, we provide suggestions for how HR students' awareness about accent bias may be honed, including through activities that require them to take the perspective of a second language speaker, through diversity training and awareness-raising about different personal characteristics that may influence professional evaluations, and finally through informal contact activities with second language speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the relations between the rise of authoritarianism and urban development in neoliberal capitalism, based on case studies in Istanbul and São Paulo, employing the approach of comparative urbanism. We present the concept of Neo-Liberal Authoritarian Urbanism (NAU), to discuss the accentuation of coercion and loss of social legitimacy in urban politics in the post-2008 crisis context. In both cities, there is a violent steering of urbanistic projects that involve State-finance-real estate market coalitions, and result in socio-territorial exclusion and private appropriation of land as a financial asset. The accumulation by dispossession characteristic of neoliberal urbanism is even more accentuated, with a multi-scalar dimension, in which the connections between local private interests and the globalized reproduction of capital advance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Actinic keratosis (AK) classification relies on clinical characteristics limited to the skin's surface. Incorporating sub‐surface evaluation may improve the link between clinical classification and the underlying pathology. We aimed to apply dynamic optical coherence tomography (D‐OCT) to characterize microvessels in AK I‐III and photodamaged (PD) skin, thereby exploring its utility in enhancing clinical and dermatoscopic AK evaluation. This explorative study assessed AK I‐III and PD on face or scalp. AK were graded according to the Olsen scheme before assessment with dermatoscopy and D‐OCT. On D‐OCT, vessel shapes, −pattern and ‐direction were qualitatively evaluated at predefined depths, while density and diameter were quantified. D‐OCT's ability to differentiate between AK grades was compared with dermatoscopy. Forty‐seven patients with AK I‐III (n = 207) and PD (n = 87) were included. Qualitative D‐OCT evaluation revealed vascular differences between AK grades and PD, particularly at a depth of 300 μm. The arrangement of vessel shapes around follicles differentiated AK II from PD (OR = 4.75, p < 0.001). Vessel patterns varied among AK grades and PD, showing structured patterns in AK I and PD, non‐specific in AK II (OR = 2.16,p = 0.03) and mottled in AK III (OR = 29.94, p < 0.001). Vessel direction changed in AK II‐III, with central vessel accentuation and radiating vessels appearing most frequently in AK III. Quantified vessel density was higher in AK I‐II than PD (p ≤ 0.025), whereas diameter remained constant. D‐OCT combined with dermatoscopy enabled precise differentiation of AK III versus AK I (AUC = 0.908) and II (AUC = 0.833). The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of vessels on D‐OCT consistently showed increased vascularization and vessel disorganization in AK lesions of higher grades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A notoriously contested subarea of phonological typology is word-prosodic typology, which governs suprasegmental structure (such as tone, syllable structure and stress) at the word level. Within word-prosodic typology, it is widely recognized that some languages have so-called stress systems while others have lexical-tone systems. Other languages appear to have intermediate systems, with properties of both stress and lexically contrastive tone. Certain types of such intermediate systems are at the core of ongoing theoretical debates on the nature of word- prosodic systems, viz. language varieties with contrasts between two word tones that are restricted to the main-stressed syllables of a word, a phenomenon that is often descriptively referred to as tonal accent. In this paper, we aim to show that exploring tone-accent systems in detail has the potential to significantly contribute to word-prosodic typology, specifically concerning the foot as a tool for the analysis of syllable-internal prosodic contrasts. The phonology of tonal accent in Franconian (a variety of West Germanic spoken in parts of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands) will be the main piece of evidence supporting our claims, with a focus on predictable interactions between segmental structure and accentuation. A central implication of our analysis is that tonal contrasts within syllables can sometimes derive from two types of feet being active in the same prosodic system. We support the Franconian evidence with analogous tone-segment interactions in Estonian and discuss the relevance of our claims in the broader context of word-prosodic typology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Brazilian Veneto (a heritage variety of Veneto spoken in several areas of Brazil), a stem alternation targets the plurals of masculine nominals ending in a consonant. While nominals with a word-final rhotic or nasal are pluralized by adding the masculine plural suffix / − i /   ([ b i ' t ∫ ̑ e r ] → [ b i ' t ∫ ̑ e r i ] 'glass'), pluralization in nominals with a final lateral involves deletion of the consonant (e.g., [ n i ' s o l ] → [ n i ' s o i ] 'bedsheet'). I argue that these differences stem from word-final laterals having a distinct representation from rhotics and nasals: while the latter are represented as codas, the former are represented as onsets of empty-headed syllables. Based on a corpus analysis, I show that (a) speakers' productions of these plurals are stable, and (b) other patterns of pluralization (namely, in monosyllables and words with final stress on a CV syllable) are consistent with the proposal. In addition, the behaviour of laterals with respect to resyllabification, metaphony and intervocalic consonant deletion further suggest that laterals are represented as onsets word-finally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fast industrialization and populace development in India have driven to an uncommon surge in vitality request, inciting a basic examination of feasible vitality sources. The display think about digs into the current status and prospects of renewable vitality in India, investigating its significant part in cultivating economical advancement. The consider envelops an examination of the current renewable vitality scene, government activities, challenges confronted, and potential arrangements. India has made critical strides within the sending of renewable vitality innovations, with a eminent increment in sun oriented and wind vitality capacity. Government-led activities, such as the National Sun based Mission and Wind Vitality Mission, have played a urgent part in advancing clean vitality selection. In spite of these headways, challenges like intermittency, network integration issues, and financial obstructions endure. Long-standing time points of view of renewable vitality in India are promising, driven by innovative progressions, diminishing costs of renewable advances, and a developing accentuation on supportability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The connection between English Language Proficiency and Literary Competence level of Senior High School students in a selected province of Bicol, Philippines was investigated through this study. The descriptive-evaluative inferential correlation method unveiled the English proficiency level and literary competence of the respondents across parameters while the correlation method asserted the relationship between the said variables. Respondents were chosen from two (2) public schools and two (2) private schools with 303 respondents. The findings revealed that the respondents' English Language Proficiency and Literary Competence performance was at the Developing (D) and Beginning (B) levels, respectively. Moreover, no significant difference exists between the performance of public and private schools regarding English language proficiency and literary competence. However, a significant relationship was found between language proficiency and literary competence levels. The findings served as a basis for a pedagogical interface through an intervention program that stresses the merging of language and literature in teaching to address the difficulties of Senior High School students and capacitate them in maximizing the use of English language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Professor Mari Matsuda's article Voices of America: Accent, Antidiscrimination Law, and a Jurisprudence for the Last Reconstruction, Professor Matsuda identifies a doctrinal puzzle in the courts' approach to accent discrimination cases: Courts recognize that accent discrimination can be a form of national origin discrimination, yet courts are overly deferential to employers' claims that a plaintiff's accent materially interferes with job performance. This puzzle persists in the doctrine today. This Comment builds on Professor Matsuda's scholarship and argues that her proposed framework may not be fully responsive to all the various ways accent discrimination can be perpetuated. In particular, a phenomenon arises in accent discrimination where employers will accommodate other communication-related issues but will refuse to accommodate accent, a dynamic known as selective nonaccomodation. This Comment first explores the social science research on accent discrimination then explores selective nonaccomodation, as it appears in other forms of employment discrimination, including disability, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and family responsibilities. In response to selective nonaccomodation within the accent discrimination context, this Comment calls for a presumption of disparate treatment in cases where the plaintiff can show an employer failed to accommodated employees with accents but did accommodate employees who are similarly situated in terms of their comprehensibility in speaking English. This Comment concludes by applying the presumption to recent cases of accent discrimination, examining how the presumption would have changed the outcome in favor of plaintiffs and move our society closer to Professor Matsuda's vision of linguistic tolerance and diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Listeners rapidly “tune” to unfamiliar accented speech, and some evidence also suggests that they may improve over multiple days of exposure. The present study aimed to measure accommodation of unfamiliar second language- (L2-) accented speech over a consecutive 5-day period using both a measure of listening performance (speech recognition accuracy) and a measure of cognitive load (a dual-task paradigm). Methods: All subjects completed a dual-task paradigm with L1 and L2 accent on Days 1 and 5, and were given brief exposure to either L1 (control group) or unfamiliar L2 (training groups) accent on Days 2–4. One training group was exposed to the L2 accent via a standard speech transcription task while the other was exposed to the L2 accent via a transcription task that included implicit feedback (i.e., showing the correct answer after each trial). Results: Although overall improvement in listening performance and reduction in cognitive load were observed from Days 1 to 5, our results indicated neither a larger benefit for the L2 accent training groups compared to the control group nor a difference based on the implicit feedback manipulation. Discussion: We conclude that the L2 accent trainings implemented in the present study did not successfully promote long-term learning benefits of a statistically meaningful magnitude, presenting our findings as a methodologically informative starting point for future research on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study challenges the widespread belief that Thai lacks word stress, demonstrating its pivotal role in morphophonology. Through a Maximum Entropy analysis, we investigated how specific segmental properties statistically influence speakers' choices of word order in coordinate compounds. Results indicate a significant effect of phonological weight on the ordering patterns. Specifically, the dispreference for stop codas in final positions and the preference for long or low vowels word-finally converge to differentially distribute phonological weight, ensuring that final syllables are heavier in accordance with the Stress-to-Weight Principle. Additionally, a marginal affinity is observed between the final syllable and the (historical) high-register tone, aligning with the well-documented tone-stress interaction where high tones gravitate towards stressed syllables. These findings provide compelling evidence for the existence of word stress in Thai: compound stress necessarily coincides with word stress, as dictated by the Continuous Column Constraint. Thus, this work suggests that relying solely on phonetic cues is insufficient for identifying stress; instead, a comprehensive analysis incorporating "phonological exponents" is essential to capture the greater phonological contrasts licensed in stressed syllables. This study also contributes to a deeper understanding of metrical and prosodic prominence, revealing that word stress can sometimes be masked by higher-level prominence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We modeled the Greek H*, L+H*, and H*+L pitch accents using functional principal component analysis, followed by statistical modeling and curve reconstruction. The accents were distinguished by F0 height and shape. The data also exhibited cue trading between F0 and duration, as well as systematic context-driven variation and general variability, which led to category overlap comparable to that reported for vowel contrasts. These findings indicate that intonation categories are more similar to segmental categories than previously thought, supporting the view that the study of intonation phonetics and phonology should follow the same principles as the study of segments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, as it relates to the speech and voice recognition industry, has established itself as a multibillion-dollar global market, but at whose expense? In this forum article, we amplify the current critiques of the architectures of large language models being used increasingly in daily life. Our commentary exposes emerging AI accent modification technology and services as agents of racial commodification and linguistic dominance, as it rests on the perceived superiority of standardized US English. We discuss our concern for such services leaching into academia. We argue that this technology follows a standardized language framework, which poses a fundamental problem of being informed by purist monolingual principles. These principles often help to perpetuate and maintain harmful raciolinguistic ideologies that result in language discrimination and the continual framing of the language practices of racially minoritized speakers as deficient. Thus, we write this piece with the intent to expose the fabricated humanity of accent modification technology whose existence perpetuates capitalism's reliance on dehumanization for economic advancement and the legacy and reproduction of white language superiority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the effect of Arabic lexical stress predictability in producing English lexical stress by Yemeni EFL undergraduates and native Hadhrami Arabic (HA) speakers. The study involved the participation of 69 Yemeni EFL undergraduates with two varying levels of English proficiency. Additionally, 10 American native speakers were included to evaluate the correct production of English stress patterns by the Yemeni EFL undergraduates. The authors adopt the Metrical Theory and the Stress Typology Model to underpin the grounds of this study. Data from the study were collected through a production experiment using individual recording sessions for each participant reading 84 English real and nonce words. The differences between stressed and unstressed syllables were measured using phonetic cues ratios, vowel duration, intensity, and fundamental frequency (F0), analysed through PRAAT software. The findings suggest that the production of English lexical stress by Yemeni EFL undergraduates is influenced by HA. However, the predictability of the Arabic stress pattern does not always trigger errors in producing English lexical stress by Yemeni EFL undergraduates. Findings indicate that Yemeni EFL undergraduates are more attentive to vowel weight, especially when the ultimate syllable incorporates a tense vowel. It stands in contrast to the conventional approach of syllable structure, which places a more pronounced emphasis on instructing English vowels among Arab ELF learners as a result of Arabic dialectal variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper argues that accent modification acts as a mechanism that (re)produces workplace accentism, which is a set of ideologies and practices positioning some English accents as inherently superior/inferior to others in the context of work and careers. Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual paper draws on existing literature mainly from critical sociolinguistic and labor studies to support its central argument. Findings: Through acting as a skill, a technology and a commodified service, accent modification naturalizes linguistic hierarchies, which are racist, classist and colonial constructions, and reinforces the structural status quo in different contexts. Practical implications: In order to move away from accent modification as a means to enhance oral communication at work, organizational attempts at fostering mutual intelligibility and undoing the role of accent in workplace communication are necessary. Originality/value: Contrary to research that presents accentism as a purely interpersonal issue, the paper explores how accentism is institutionalized and is connected to linguistic profiling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a first attempt to formally characterize the prosodic properties of Spanish acronyms. Based on the examination of a dataset and the results of a written questionnaire and perception test administered to native speakers, the stress patterns and prosodic size of Spanish acronyms are investigated. We show that stress in acronyms follows the regular stress patterns of the language. We further claim that acronyms are restricted to an upper limit of three syllables, which we explain by resorting to layered feet. Additionally, we show that an interesting minimality requirement applies exclusively to acronyms, one that must be expressed not in terms of syllable weight, but rather in terms of the number of segments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore ChatGPT's (generative pre-trained transformers) potential as a tool for retailers to improve customer experience and boost sales. While it provides benefits like personalized recommendations and 24/7 assistance, there are limitations, like difficulty in understanding unconventional language. The paper stresses careful integration to overcome these limitations and create a better customer experience. Additionally, it discusses the potential for further development and integration of ChatGPT in retail, such as generating product descriptions and virtual try-on experiences. Finally, the paper encourages retailers to embrace ChatGPT to meet their customer needs. Design/methodology/approach: Case-based methodology involves using specific cases or examples to explore a broader issue or phenomenon. Researchers have analysed real-world cases to identify patterns, themes and insights that can be applied to other contexts or situations. This was useful for understanding complex and multifaceted issues as it allowed us to delve deeper into specific examples and explore the nuances of the situation. Findings: While ChatGPT is a powerful tool for retailers, limitations such as difficulty in understanding non-standard accents and unconventional language can arise, causing customer frustration. Retail managers must integrate ChatGPT in a way that enhances customer experience. In the future, ChatGPT has the potential to generate product descriptions, provide virtual try-on experiences and integrate with augmented or virtual reality technology to offer more immersive experiences. Careful consideration and integration can help retailers overcome these limitations and offer personalized recommendations, round-the-clock assistance and an engaging customer experience that improves sales. Originality/value: The case topic is very much in a novel stage of research and writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to answer an ongoing validity question related to the use of nonstandard English accents in international tests of English proficiency and associated issues of test fairness. More specifically, we examined (1) the extent to which different or shared English accents had an impact on listeners' performances on the Duolingo listening tests and (2) the extent to which different English accents affected listeners' performances on two different task types. Speakers from four interlanguage English accent varieties (Chinese, Spanish, Indian English [Hindi], and Korean) produced speech samples for "yes/no" vocabulary and dictation Duolingo listening tasks. Listeners who spoke with these same four English accents were then recruited to take the Duolingo listening test items. Results suggested that there is a shared first language (L1) benefit effect overall, with comparable test scores between shared-L1 and inner-circle L1 accents, and no significant differences in listeners' listening performance scores across highly intelligible accent varieties. No task type effect was found. The findings provide guidance to better understand fairness, equality, and practicality of designing and administering high-stakes English tests targeting a diversity of accents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the prosodic realization of stress and focus in Udmurt (Uralic, Permic). According to the literature, Udmurt has fixed final stress, but also has several sets of morphosyntactic exceptions with initial stress. We report the results of two production studies. The first one targets nominals with final stress, and the second one investigates the stress properties of minimal pairs consisting of (i) indicative verbs (prs.3sg; final stress) and (ii) imperative verbs (imp.2sg/pl; initial stress). To control for the information-structural contexts, the test words are studied in contexts that elicit narrow focus either on the test word ('F' condition) or on another constituent ('non-F' condition). The results show that all four acoustic parameters surveyed in the paper – duration, intensity, fundamental frequency (f0), and first formant (F1) values – participate in stress marking in Udmurt. The results for focus marking vary by study and demonstrate that all cues except for intensity may be involved in focus marking. At the same time, we find wide interspeaker variation with respect to the acoustic cues marking stress and/or focus. Finally, we outline a preliminary Autosegmental-Metrical interpretation of our f0 results; a full account of Udmurt intonation awaits further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the acoustic correlates of stress in European Portuguese. Using a nonce word experiment, this study controls the phonological environment of the stimuli so stressed and unstressed vowels with the same quality can be directly compared. Of the five acoustic measures examined, duration is the most robust correlate of stress, but the effect is limited to certain vowels and speakers. Care is taken to separate the effects of independent phonological processes on acoustic properties that are also influenced by stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the stress patterns followed by the Urdu Speakers learning English in the English Department at University of Kotli (UOK). This study throws light on how students break words into syllables and the approaches they use in navigating this area, and explores the influence of the Urdu language on the stress patterns spoken by the students of the English Department while speaking English. Urdu is the native language of the inhabitants of Kashmir and so it has deep influence on the speech patterns of speakers especially while learning second language. The researcher wants to find the influence of native language of participants, which is Urdu, on the target language, which is English because no work has been done in this regard. The researcher conducted interviews and recorded the answers on a cell phone using sound recorder software and provided the participants with a text to read so that the researcher could get a deeper insight into how they produce stress while pronouncing a particular word. The results of this study reveal the complexities involved in acquisition and production of the English stress patterns of Urdu speakers of English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the debate surrounding the abbreviation for cucurbituril, a type of macrocycle. The different abbreviations, such as Q[n], Qn, CB[n], or CBn, reflect variations in pronunciation and stress patterns of the word. The article argues that both stress patterns are acceptable in English and suggests adhering to the original pronunciation with stress on the first syllable. It emphasizes the importance of clarity and cohesion in academic terminology and abbreviations. The article also examines the use of abbreviations in the natural sciences, specifically focusing on the abbreviation for cucurbituril. The author presents data showing that "CB" is used in 92% of cases, while "Q" is used in 8% of cases, and argues for "CB" to become the sole abbreviation due to its higher usage. However, they also acknowledge the argument for using "Q" as a shorter abbreviation. The article concludes by discussing the potential confusion that can arise from different abbreviations and the use of brackets. [Extracted from the article]

Heterogeneity in speech under stress has been a recurring issue in stress research, potentially due to varied stress induction paradigms. This study investigated speech features in semi-guided speech following two distinct psychosocial stress paradigms (Cyberball and MIST) and their respective control conditions. Only negative affect increased during Cyberball, while self-reported stress, skin conductance response rate, and negative affect increased during MIST. Fundamental frequency (F0), speech rate, and jitter significantly changed during MIST, but not Cyberball; HNR and shimmer showed no expected changes. The results indicate that observed speech features are robust in semi-guided speech and sensitive to stressors eliciting additional physiological stress responses, not solely decreases in negative affect. These differences between stressors may explain literature heterogeneity. Our findings support the potential of speech as a stress level biomarker, especially when stress elicits physiological reactions, similar to other biomarkers. This highlights its promise as a tool for measuring stress in everyday settings, considering its affordability, non-intrusiveness, and ease of collection. Future research should test these results' robustness and specificity in naturalistic settings, such as freely spoken speech and noisy environments while exploring and validating a broader range of informative speech features in the context of stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I argue that Goethe's philosophy of nature can be presented in a vertical order of stages. By reading his natural philosophy as a system of hypostases, Goethe's accentuation of a divine ground can be taken seriously. Related to the Neoplatonic hypostasis models, for Goethe the living organisms rest on a divine and metaphysical entity. It is a guiding argument of this article that the enigmatic and inexhaustible 'Bildungstrieb' (nisus formativus) of all-nature expresses itself in the respective primordial phenomena (Urphänomene). For this purpose, the 'Bildungstrieb' uses the two authoritative laws of polarity (Polarität) and increase (Steigerung). These laws form the second level of the graduaded order. The sphere of the diverse Urphänomene can thus be marked as the third level. They are themselves dependent on the Bildungstrieb and the principles of increase and polarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that phonology influences the visual perception of a word's letters. However, the influence of prosody, including word stress, on grapheme perception in polysyllabic words is poorly investigated. The present study addresses this issue with a letter search task. Participants searched for vowel letters (Experiment 1) and consonant letters (Experiment 2) in stressed and unstressed syllables of bisyllabic words. Results reveal facilitated vowel letter detection in stressed syllables compared with unstressed syllables, indicating that prosodic information affects visual letter perception. Moreover, an analysis of the response time distribution revealed that the effect was present even for the fastest decisions but increased for slower response times. However, no systematic stress effect emerged for consonants. We discuss possible sources and dynamics of the observed pattern and the importance to accommodate feedback processes of prosody on letter perception in models of polysyllabic word reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The migration processes in Ukraine have become especially intense in recent years. On the one hand, they are a serious challenge for the education of young people, but, on the other hand, they represent an opportunity for their development, although they require legal support and regulation. For quite some time now, thousands of Ukrainian children and youth have had to pursue their education abroad while hostilities continue in Ukraine. The duration of the war is decisive not only for the number of Ukrainian youths abroad, but also for their ability to plan their future life. Starting life in a new country and finding one’s way in a new society can be a very difficult process. Young people face new risks and challenges. They are in dire need of educational opportunities. Many people have to learn a language, identify an educational qualification, or undergo educational retraining. Some of them still need psychological help and cannot adapt and find themselves and their place in a new country, but they cannot return home, where active fighting continues. The purpose of this article is to study the main psychological reactions to lifethreatening situations that can affect the psychological well-being of children and youth under martial law in order to develop recommendations for overcoming stress in the process of adaptation to new conditions of existence in a new country and integration into a new educational environment. The methodology is based on the fundamental methodological principles of the systems approach and includes the use of a complex of general scientific (comparison, classification, generalization, systematization) and empirical (observation, search, conversation, description, analysis) methods. The integrative BASIC Ph model for stress management and increasing resilience after severe stress, developed by the Israeli Scientist M. Lahad, was used as the framework through which we sought to identify appropriate stress coping resources. Various procedures were proposed too: searching for meanings, drawing, creating collages, free writing, interaction in a group as in a "safe environment", playing with sand, breathing “4-7-8”. As part of our research, the following results were achieved. The views of scientists regarding problematic issues that arise for Ukrainians as they seek to integrate into the system of a new country are summarized. The basic psychological reactions of a person to life-threatening situations are considered. The study summarizes the refugees’ feelings of concern about their own situation and the fate of those remaining in Ukraine during the war. Recommendations, which include the use of the integrative BASIC Ph model, are proposed as means to address problem situations during training sessions with pupils and students. In so doing, we seek to ensure the effective educational integration of Ukrainian youth. The conclusions suggest that in order to restore and preserve the psychological state of Ukrainian youth who have gone abroad, it is necessary to understand and determine a person’s psychological reactions to lifethreatening situations in the current conditions of martial law in Ukraine for the timely application of appropriate measures and techniques to overcome them, depending on the specific situation that has arisen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Greek the accent can fall on one of the last three syllables of the word if the final syllable contains a short vowel, and on one of the last two syllables if it contains a long vowel or a diphthong. This restriction of the accent is known as the Law of Limitation. According to some authors, a further restriction applies: if the word ends in two consonants, the accent can only fall on one of the last two syllables. For instance, while πολυπῖδαξ 'of many springs' is possible, *πολύπῑδαξ is not. However, this additional restriction is not accepted by all authors. While the πολυπῖδαξ type is typically not addressed at all by these authors, a recent proposal has examined this type and suggests that it owes its penultimate accent to analogical pressure from other words with columnar accentuation. Accepting the morphological explanation of the πολυπῖδαξ type, this study explores the mechanisms leading to columnar accentuation not only in this type, but also in words like χαρίεν 'charming' and ἱκέτις 'supplicant'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relative weighting of f0 and vowel reduction in English spoken word recognition at the sentence level were investigated in one two-alternative forced-choice word identification experiment. In the experiment, an H* pitch-accented or a deaccented word fragment (e.g., AR- in the word archive) was presented at the end of a carrier sentence for identification. The results of the experiment revealed differences in the cue weighting of English lexical stress perception between native and non-native listeners. For native English listeners, vowel quality was a more prominent cue than f0, while native Mandarin Chinese listeners employed both vowel quality and f0 in a comparable fashion. These results suggested that (a) vowel reduction is superior to f0 in signaling initial stress in the words and (b) f0 facilitates the recognition of word initial stress, which is modulated by first language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second-language learners often encounter communication challenges due to a foreign accent (FA) in their speech, influenced by their native language (L1). This FA can affect rhythm, intonation, stress, and the segmental domain, which consists of individual language sounds. This study looks into the segmental FA aspect, exploring listeners' perceptions when Spanish interacts with English. Utilizing the SIAEW corpus, which replaces segments of English words with anticipated Spanish-accented realizations, we assess the ability of non-native listeners to discriminate degrees of accent across male and female voices. This research aims to determine the impact of voice consistency on detecting accentedness variations, studying participants from Japanese and Spanish. Results show that, while listeners are generally able to discriminate degrees of foreign accent across speakers, some segmental transformations convey a more clear distinction depending on the phonological representations of the native and accented realisations on the listener's system. Another finding is that listeners tend to better discriminate degrees of accent when words are more native-like sounding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have previously shown that bilingual Spanish and English-learning infants can segment English iambs, two-syllable words with final stress (e.g., guiTAR), earlier than their monolingual peers. This is consistent with accelerated development in bilinguals and was attributed to bilingual infants' increased exposure to iambs through Spanish; about 10% of English content words start with an unstressed syllable, compared to 40% in Spanish. Here, we evaluated whether increased exposure to a stress pattern alone is sufficient to account for acceleration in bilingual infants. In English, 90% of content words start with a stressed syllable (e.g., KINGdom), compared to 60% in Spanish. However, we found no evidence for accelerated segmentation of Spanish trochees by Spanish-English bilingual infants compared to their monolingual Spanish-learning peers. Based on this finding, we argue that merely increased exposure to a linguistic feature in one language does not result in accelerated development in the other. Instead, only the acquisition of infrequent patterns in one language may be accelerated due to the additive effects of the other language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates Whisper's automatic speech recognition (ASR) system performance across diverse native and non-native English accents. Results reveal superior recognition in American compared to British and Australian English accents with similar performance in Canadian English. Overall, native English accents demonstrate higher accuracy than non-native accents. Exploring connections between speaker traits [sex, native language (L1) typology, and second language (L2) proficiency] and word error rate uncovers notable associations. Furthermore, Whisper exhibits enhanced performance in read speech over conversational speech with modifications based on speaker gender. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Speech production includes segmental and suprasegmental features, which interact and cooperate with each other. Impaired speech production is common in individuals with post-stroke dysarthria. The commonly used phonemic contrast therapy and Accent Method in clinical practice can improve the segmental and suprasegmental aspects, respectively. This study aimed to explore the feasibility and immediate effectiveness of the combination of specific rhythm patterns of the Accent Method and phonemic contrast on speech production. Methods: Fifteen poststroke dysarthria patients (12 males and three females) first received accentuation task of three rhythm patterns (Largo-slow, Andantemedium, Allegro-fast) and later received speech task in appropriate rhythm patterns combined with phonemic contrast materials and non-phonemic contrast materials. Speech parameters were analyzed by considering speech clarity and prosody. Results: The results showed that the number of correct target syllables, sentence clarity, and standard deviation of intensity increased significantly, and the average length of pauses and abnormal pause times decreased significantly in Andante (medium) compared to other rhythms. The number of correct target syllables, sentence clarity, and standard deviation of intensity increased significantly compared with those in the non-phonemic contrast in Andante (medium). Conclusion: The combination of phonemic contrast and Accent Method was verified to have an immediate effect on speech production in Mandarin speakers with post-stroke dysarthria and could be further validated in other diseases with impaired speech production in the clinic in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accentuation has been proposed as a general principle of perceptual organization. Here, we have developed a neurodynamic architecture to explain how accentuation affects boundary segmentation and shape perception. The model consists of bottom-up and top-down pathways. Bottom-up processing involves a set of feature maps that compute bottom-up salience of surfaces, boundaries, boundary completions, and junctions. Then, a feature-based winner-take-all network selects the most salient locations. Top-down processing includes an object-based attention stage that allows enhanced neural activity to propagate from the most salient locations to all connected locations, and a visual segmentation stage that employs inhibitory connections to segregate boundaries into distinct maps. The model was tested on a series of computer simulations showing how the position of the accent affects boundary segregation in the square-diamond and the pointing illusion. The model was also tested on a variety of texture segregation tasks, showing that its performance was comparable to that of human observers. The model suggests that there is an intermediate stage of visual processing between perceptual grouping and object recognition that helps the visual system choose between competing percepts of the ambiguous stimulus. • The principle of accentuation was modeled by an interactive cortical architecture. • The model integrates perceptual grouping with spatial and object-based attention. • The model simulates boundary segregation in shape perception. • The models has also been tested on texture-segregation tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of machine translation (MT) systems and their application in performing translation projects gave a crucial position to the evaluation of these systems’ outputs. Recently, the Google Translate MT system added the central accent of the Kurdish language to its language list. The present study is an attempt to evaluate the acceptability of the translated texts produced by the system. Different text typologies have been considered for the study’s data. To evaluate the MT outputs, the bilingual evaluation understudy evaluation model has been administered. The findings show that the performance of the understudy MT system in the translation of English into the Sorani accent of Kurdish is affected by some linguistic and technical hindrances, which in general affect the acceptability of translated text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Word formation is often considered in many phonological studies to involve concatenation of morphemes. However, a morpheme-based morphological analysis runs into difficulties when dealing with accentuation patterns in Ancient Greek. On the one hand, Ancient Greek adjectives suffixed with - es and - to show different accentuation patterns that cannot be easily accounted for by assigning accentual properties to the morphemes they contain. On the other hand, forms with contracted vowels show that the assignment of lexical accent and default accent occurs at different cycles in phonology. This paper proposes a word-based model that is developed within the framework of Construction Morphology (Booij 2005; 2007; 2010) for phonological analysis: word formation is based on analogical parallelism among morphologically related word forms, which is modeled as the instantiation of schemata. Accentual properties are considered idiosyncrasies of schemata, and the observed accentuation patterns can be accounted for via two cycles within the Optimality Theory (OT) framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barristers present formalised legal arguments before courts and tribunals. As a result, considerable focus is placed on their oral skills. However, people are frequently judged by the accent they use. Those with a more standard accent - 'Received Pronunciation' (RP) in the UK - can be perceived as more intelligent and eloquent. This creates a barrier to social mobility because accent-based bias can discriminate against those with non-standard accents. This article examines how the public perceives barristers in England and Wales with different accents and investigates experiences of barristers to establish whether accent discrimination disadvantages certain speakers. It includes an online survey of the general public which found that RP and South-East English accents are still seen as more prestigious. In addition, interviews with barristers illustrate how accent discrimination is widespread and affects career progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article discusses the phonology of the Kagayanen language which is a Western Austronesian language spoken in the central Philippines. Topics discussed include the consonant phonemes of the Kagayanen language, its four phonemic vowels, and its syllable structure. Also discussed are the major phonological and morphophonemic process of the language including rhoticization, vowel rounding harmony and consonant omission.