Pub Date : 2024-07-25DOI: 10.3389/flang.2024.1403080
Claire T. Honda, Neha Bhutani, Meghan Clayards, Shari Baum
Learning to understand and speak a new language can be challenging and discouraging for adults. One potential tool for improving learning is transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), which modulates perception, memory, and attention systems. It has recently been reported that taVNS can improve English speakers' ability to perceive unfamiliar Mandarin tones. The current project explored the potential benefits of taVNS for language learning beyond tone perception.We studied adults' ability to perceive and produce unfamiliar speech sounds as well as any potential change in language learning motivation from pre- to post-training. Forty-five native English speakers were divided into three groups and were trained to perceive German sounds: one group received stimulation during easier-to-learn sounds (vowels), one group received stimulation during harder-to-learn sounds (fricatives), and a control group received no stimulation.We did not find evidence that taVNS improved perception or production of the German sounds, but there was evidence that it did improve some aspects of motivation. Specifically, the group that received taVNS during easier sounds showed a significant decrease in feelings of tension/pressure about language learning, while the other groups did not. Overall, the present study does not find that taVNS holds benefits for the acquisition of new speech sounds; however, the field is nascent, and so the potential applications of taVNS for language learning remain to be clarified.
{"title":"No clear benefit of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for non-native speech sound learning","authors":"Claire T. Honda, Neha Bhutani, Meghan Clayards, Shari Baum","doi":"10.3389/flang.2024.1403080","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2024.1403080","url":null,"abstract":"Learning to understand and speak a new language can be challenging and discouraging for adults. One potential tool for improving learning is transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), which modulates perception, memory, and attention systems. It has recently been reported that taVNS can improve English speakers' ability to perceive unfamiliar Mandarin tones. The current project explored the potential benefits of taVNS for language learning beyond tone perception.We studied adults' ability to perceive and produce unfamiliar speech sounds as well as any potential change in language learning motivation from pre- to post-training. Forty-five native English speakers were divided into three groups and were trained to perceive German sounds: one group received stimulation during easier-to-learn sounds (vowels), one group received stimulation during harder-to-learn sounds (fricatives), and a control group received no stimulation.We did not find evidence that taVNS improved perception or production of the German sounds, but there was evidence that it did improve some aspects of motivation. Specifically, the group that received taVNS during easier sounds showed a significant decrease in feelings of tension/pressure about language learning, while the other groups did not. Overall, the present study does not find that taVNS holds benefits for the acquisition of new speech sounds; however, the field is nascent, and so the potential applications of taVNS for language learning remain to be clarified.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"55 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141804550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-07-23DOI: 10.3389/flang.2024.1398616
Timothy J. Herron, K. Schendel, Brian C. Curran, Sandy J. Lwi, Maria G. Spinelli, C. Ludy, N. Dronkers, Juliana V. Baldo
The specific role that Broca's area plays in speech and language has been hotly debated in the literature. Some research has pointed to a specific role in particular aspects of speech production, while other findings have suggested additional roles in aspects of language comprehension. In the current study, we had the opportunity to take a broad approach by analyzing lesion and behavioral data from a large cohort of left hemisphere stroke patients. In this brief report, our objective was to identify which speech-language measures show a significant association with Broca's area, specifically pars opercularis and pars triangularis.Lesion site and neuropsychological data from 173 chronic left hemisphere stroke patients were analyzed in the current study. Univariate lesion-symptom mapping (LSM) with rigorous correction was used to identify brain regions associated with individual test performance on a large battery of speech and language tasks. Multivariate LSM analyses were conducted in subsequent runs to confirm findings.The LSM results identified many predictable left hemisphere gray and white matter regions significantly associated with the speech-language data, but Broca's area was not implicated in performance on any speech or language measure. Regions adjacent to Broca's area, however, in left central opercular, precentral, and insular cortices were associated with speech production and motor speech performance.The current study failed to identify a single speech or language measure in our comprehensive test battery that was dependent on Broca's area. This finding could not be attributed to a lack of power, as Broca's area had among the highest power values and substantial lesion coverage. Interrogation of data at the individual patient level revealed the likely source of this null finding: Patients with lesions involving Broca's area varied widely in their speech-language performance, with profiles ranging from non-aphasic to Broca's to global aphasia. Given previous studies in acute stroke patients and healthy participants implicating Broca's area in speech-language, the current findings suggest that Broca's area plays a more supplementary than critical role and can be compensated by surrounding brain regions in chronic stroke.
{"title":"Is Broca's area critical for speech and language? Evidence from lesion-symptom mapping in chronic aphasia","authors":"Timothy J. Herron, K. Schendel, Brian C. Curran, Sandy J. Lwi, Maria G. Spinelli, C. Ludy, N. Dronkers, Juliana V. Baldo","doi":"10.3389/flang.2024.1398616","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2024.1398616","url":null,"abstract":"The specific role that Broca's area plays in speech and language has been hotly debated in the literature. Some research has pointed to a specific role in particular aspects of speech production, while other findings have suggested additional roles in aspects of language comprehension. In the current study, we had the opportunity to take a broad approach by analyzing lesion and behavioral data from a large cohort of left hemisphere stroke patients. In this brief report, our objective was to identify which speech-language measures show a significant association with Broca's area, specifically pars opercularis and pars triangularis.Lesion site and neuropsychological data from 173 chronic left hemisphere stroke patients were analyzed in the current study. Univariate lesion-symptom mapping (LSM) with rigorous correction was used to identify brain regions associated with individual test performance on a large battery of speech and language tasks. Multivariate LSM analyses were conducted in subsequent runs to confirm findings.The LSM results identified many predictable left hemisphere gray and white matter regions significantly associated with the speech-language data, but Broca's area was not implicated in performance on any speech or language measure. Regions adjacent to Broca's area, however, in left central opercular, precentral, and insular cortices were associated with speech production and motor speech performance.The current study failed to identify a single speech or language measure in our comprehensive test battery that was dependent on Broca's area. This finding could not be attributed to a lack of power, as Broca's area had among the highest power values and substantial lesion coverage. Interrogation of data at the individual patient level revealed the likely source of this null finding: Patients with lesions involving Broca's area varied widely in their speech-language performance, with profiles ranging from non-aphasic to Broca's to global aphasia. Given previous studies in acute stroke patients and healthy participants implicating Broca's area in speech-language, the current findings suggest that Broca's area plays a more supplementary than critical role and can be compensated by surrounding brain regions in chronic stroke.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"47 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141813377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-22DOI: 10.3389/flang.2024.1325597
Darin Flynn
This article applies the notion of redeployment in second language acquisition to contact-induced diachronic changes. Of special interest are cases where a marked phonological contrast has spread across neighboring languages. Such cases suggest that listeners can re-weight and re-map phonetic cues onto novel phonological structures. On the redeployment view, cues can indeed be re-weighted, but phonological structures which underlie a new contrast are not expected to be fully novel; rather, they must be assembled from preexisting phonological structures. Emphatics are an instructive case. These are (mostly) coronal consonants articulated with tongue-root retraction. Phonological emphasis is rare among the world's languages but it is famously endogenous in Arabic and in Interior Salish and it has spread from these to not a few neighboring languages. The present study describes and analyzes the genesis of phonological emphasis and its exogenous spread to a dozen mostly unrelated languages—from Arabic to Iranian and Caucasian languages, among others, and from Interior Salish to Athabaskan and Wakashan languages. This research shows that most languages acquire emphatics by redeploying the phonological feature [RTR] (retracted tongue root) from preexisting uvulars. On the other hand, some languages acquire imitations of emphatics by redeploying the consonantal use of [low] from preexisting pharyngeals. Phonological emphasis is apparently not borrowed by neighboring languages where consonants lack a phonological feature fit for redeployment. The overall impression is that a language in contact with emphatics may newly adopt these sounds as [RTR] or [low] only if the relevant feature is already in use in its consonant system. This pattern of adoption in language contact supports the redeployment construct in second language acquisition theory.
{"title":"Redeployment in language contact: the case of phonological emphasis","authors":"Darin Flynn","doi":"10.3389/flang.2024.1325597","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2024.1325597","url":null,"abstract":"This article applies the notion of redeployment in second language acquisition to contact-induced diachronic changes. Of special interest are cases where a marked phonological contrast has spread across neighboring languages. Such cases suggest that listeners can re-weight and re-map phonetic cues onto novel phonological structures. On the redeployment view, cues can indeed be re-weighted, but phonological structures which underlie a new contrast are not expected to be fully novel; rather, they must be assembled from preexisting phonological structures. Emphatics are an instructive case. These are (mostly) coronal consonants articulated with tongue-root retraction. Phonological emphasis is rare among the world's languages but it is famously endogenous in Arabic and in Interior Salish and it has spread from these to not a few neighboring languages. The present study describes and analyzes the genesis of phonological emphasis and its exogenous spread to a dozen mostly unrelated languages—from Arabic to Iranian and Caucasian languages, among others, and from Interior Salish to Athabaskan and Wakashan languages. This research shows that most languages acquire emphatics by redeploying the phonological feature [RTR] (retracted tongue root) from preexisting uvulars. On the other hand, some languages acquire imitations of emphatics by redeploying the consonantal use of [low] from preexisting pharyngeals. Phonological emphasis is apparently not borrowed by neighboring languages where consonants lack a phonological feature fit for redeployment. The overall impression is that a language in contact with emphatics may newly adopt these sounds as [RTR] or [low] only if the relevant feature is already in use in its consonant system. This pattern of adoption in language contact supports the redeployment construct in second language acquisition theory.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"62 22","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141110750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-23DOI: 10.3389/flang.2024.1327600
Sijia Zhang, A. Tessier
This paper presents a constraint-based grammar of Mandarin low vowel + nasal coda (loVN) sequences first as acquired by L1 learners, and then as transferred to L2 English.We simulate phonological learning in Harmonic Grammar using a gradual, error-driven GLA learner, drawing on evidence from L1 Mandarin speakers' perceptual data to support our initial state assumptions. We then compare our simulation results with L2 English production (both anecdotal and ultrasound data), as well as evidence from Mandarin loanword phonology.Our results align with multiple patterns in the previous empirical literature, including an asymmetry among surface repairs for VN sequences, and we show how these emerge from our assumptions about both the L1 Mandarin grammar and the grammar's evaluation method (i.e., weighted constraints).We discuss the extent to which these results derive from our somewhat novel analysis of place contrasts in L1 Mandarin, and the variability in loVN outputs that we encode directly into the L1 grammar, which are then transferred to the L2 context. Ultimately we discuss how this type of modeling can make falsifiable predictions about phonological development, in both L1 and L2 contexts.
{"title":"Modeling the consequences of an L1 grammar for L2 production: simulations, variation, and predictions","authors":"Sijia Zhang, A. Tessier","doi":"10.3389/flang.2024.1327600","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2024.1327600","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a constraint-based grammar of Mandarin low vowel + nasal coda (loVN) sequences first as acquired by L1 learners, and then as transferred to L2 English.We simulate phonological learning in Harmonic Grammar using a gradual, error-driven GLA learner, drawing on evidence from L1 Mandarin speakers' perceptual data to support our initial state assumptions. We then compare our simulation results with L2 English production (both anecdotal and ultrasound data), as well as evidence from Mandarin loanword phonology.Our results align with multiple patterns in the previous empirical literature, including an asymmetry among surface repairs for VN sequences, and we show how these emerge from our assumptions about both the L1 Mandarin grammar and the grammar's evaluation method (i.e., weighted constraints).We discuss the extent to which these results derive from our somewhat novel analysis of place contrasts in L1 Mandarin, and the variability in loVN outputs that we encode directly into the L1 grammar, which are then transferred to the L2 context. Ultimately we discuss how this type of modeling can make falsifiable predictions about phonological development, in both L1 and L2 contexts.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"27 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140667517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-12DOI: 10.3389/flang.2024.1357682
Adriana Hanulíková
Spoken language conveys rich sociolinguistic information about a speaker's language background. Previous research indicates that both monolingual and bilingual children use this information when making social decisions. They prefer local speakers whose accent or variety matches their own over speakers of foreign languages or second-language speakers. What remains unclear is how exposure to diverse linguistic communities affects children's preferences for non-local accents. This study examines social preferences for a regional and a second-language accent as a function of prior exposure to diverse accents and languages, measured on a continuous scale. German-speaking primary-school children (aged 7–10) were asked to choose stickers in a forced-choice task using animated cartoon characters. We replicated the observed social preferences for one's local accent. Interestingly, when the local accent was absent, children socially preferred a second-language accent (American) over a first-language regional accent (Bavarian), even though both accents were equally intelligible and relatively unfamiliar to the children, as determined through a sentence repetition task and a geographical classification task. Children's choices were not explained by continuous measures of accent or bilingual exposure. The results suggest a complex interaction of various factors not limited to the speakers' first- or second-language status.
{"title":"Navigating accent bias in German: children's social preferences for a second-language accent over a first-language regional accent","authors":"Adriana Hanulíková","doi":"10.3389/flang.2024.1357682","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2024.1357682","url":null,"abstract":"Spoken language conveys rich sociolinguistic information about a speaker's language background. Previous research indicates that both monolingual and bilingual children use this information when making social decisions. They prefer local speakers whose accent or variety matches their own over speakers of foreign languages or second-language speakers. What remains unclear is how exposure to diverse linguistic communities affects children's preferences for non-local accents. This study examines social preferences for a regional and a second-language accent as a function of prior exposure to diverse accents and languages, measured on a continuous scale. German-speaking primary-school children (aged 7–10) were asked to choose stickers in a forced-choice task using animated cartoon characters. We replicated the observed social preferences for one's local accent. Interestingly, when the local accent was absent, children socially preferred a second-language accent (American) over a first-language regional accent (Bavarian), even though both accents were equally intelligible and relatively unfamiliar to the children, as determined through a sentence repetition task and a geographical classification task. Children's choices were not explained by continuous measures of accent or bilingual exposure. The results suggest a complex interaction of various factors not limited to the speakers' first- or second-language status.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140710626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-03DOI: 10.3389/flang.2024.1357828
Luca Bazzi, Susanne Brouwer, Zoha Nisar Khan, Rinus G. Verdonschot, Alice Foucart
The processing of a foreign accent is known to increase cognitive load for the native listener, establish psychological distance with the foreign-accented speaker, and even influence decision-making. Similarly, research in the field of emotional processing indicates that a foreign accent may impact the native listener's emotionality. Taking these aspects into consideration, the current study aimed to confirm the hypothesis that a foreign accent, compared to a native accent, significantly affects the processing of affective-laden words.In order to test this hypothesis, native Spanish speakers participated in an online experiment in which they rated on a Likert scale the valence and arousal of positive, neutral and negative words presented in native and foreign accents.Results confirm a foreign accent effect on emotional processing whereby positively valenced words are perceived as less positive and negatively valenced words as less negative when processed in a foreign accent compared to a native accent. Moreover, the arousal provoked by emotion words is lesser when words are processed in a foreign than a native accent.We propose possible, not mutually exclusive, explanations for the effect based on linguistic fluency, language attitudes and the linguistic context of language acquisition. Although further research is needed to confirm them, these explanations may be relevant for models of language comprehension and language learning. The observation of a reduction in emotionality resulting from a foreign accent is important for society as important decisions are made by representatives with diverse language and accent backgrounds. Our findings demonstrate that the choice of the language, which entails speaking in a native or a foreign accent, can be crucial when discussing topics such as the consequences of wars, pandemics, or natural disasters on human beings.
{"title":"War feels less horrid in a foreign accent: exploring the impact of the foreign accent on emotionality","authors":"Luca Bazzi, Susanne Brouwer, Zoha Nisar Khan, Rinus G. Verdonschot, Alice Foucart","doi":"10.3389/flang.2024.1357828","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2024.1357828","url":null,"abstract":"The processing of a foreign accent is known to increase cognitive load for the native listener, establish psychological distance with the foreign-accented speaker, and even influence decision-making. Similarly, research in the field of emotional processing indicates that a foreign accent may impact the native listener's emotionality. Taking these aspects into consideration, the current study aimed to confirm the hypothesis that a foreign accent, compared to a native accent, significantly affects the processing of affective-laden words.In order to test this hypothesis, native Spanish speakers participated in an online experiment in which they rated on a Likert scale the valence and arousal of positive, neutral and negative words presented in native and foreign accents.Results confirm a foreign accent effect on emotional processing whereby positively valenced words are perceived as less positive and negatively valenced words as less negative when processed in a foreign accent compared to a native accent. Moreover, the arousal provoked by emotion words is lesser when words are processed in a foreign than a native accent.We propose possible, not mutually exclusive, explanations for the effect based on linguistic fluency, language attitudes and the linguistic context of language acquisition. Although further research is needed to confirm them, these explanations may be relevant for models of language comprehension and language learning. The observation of a reduction in emotionality resulting from a foreign accent is important for society as important decisions are made by representatives with diverse language and accent backgrounds. Our findings demonstrate that the choice of the language, which entails speaking in a native or a foreign accent, can be crucial when discussing topics such as the consequences of wars, pandemics, or natural disasters on human beings.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"148 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140746502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-20DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1286084
Paul John, Simon Rigoulot
The current study investigates whether some of the variation in h-production observed among Quebec francophone (QF) learners of English could follow from their at times assimilating /h/ to /ʁ/. In earlier research, we attributed variation exclusively to QFs developing an approximate (“fuzzy” or “murky”) representation of /h/ that is not fully reliable as a base for h-perception and production. Nonetheless, two previous studies observed via event-related potentials differences in QF perceptual ability, which may follow from the quality of the vowel used in the stimuli: /ɑ/ vs. /ʌ/ (detection vs. no detection of /h/). Before the vowel /ɑ/, /h/ exhibits phonetic properties that may allow it to be assimilated to and thus underlyingly represented as /ʁ/. If /h/ is at times subject to approximate representation (e.g., before /ʌ/) and at others captured as /ʁ/ (before /ɑ/), we would expect production of /h/ to reflect this representational distinction, with greater accuracy rates in items containing /ɑ/. Two-way ANOVAs and paired Bayesian t-tests on the reading-aloud data of 27 QFs, however, reveal no difference in h-production according to vowel type. We address the consequences of our findings, discussing notably why QFs have such enduring difficulty acquiring /h/ despite the feature [spread glottis] being available in their representational repertoire. We propose the presence of a Laryngeal Input Constraint that renders representations containing only a laryngeal feature highly marked. We also consider the possibility that, rather than having overcome this constraint, some highly advanced learners are “phonological zombies”: these learners become so adept at employing approximate representations in perception and production that they are indistinguishable from speakers with bona fide phonemic representations.
{"title":"On the representation of /h/ by Quebec francophone learners of English","authors":"Paul John, Simon Rigoulot","doi":"10.3389/flang.2023.1286084","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2023.1286084","url":null,"abstract":"The current study investigates whether some of the variation in h-production observed among Quebec francophone (QF) learners of English could follow from their at times assimilating /h/ to /ʁ/. In earlier research, we attributed variation exclusively to QFs developing an approximate (“fuzzy” or “murky”) representation of /h/ that is not fully reliable as a base for h-perception and production. Nonetheless, two previous studies observed via event-related potentials differences in QF perceptual ability, which may follow from the quality of the vowel used in the stimuli: /ɑ/ vs. /ʌ/ (detection vs. no detection of /h/). Before the vowel /ɑ/, /h/ exhibits phonetic properties that may allow it to be assimilated to and thus underlyingly represented as /ʁ/. If /h/ is at times subject to approximate representation (e.g., before /ʌ/) and at others captured as /ʁ/ (before /ɑ/), we would expect production of /h/ to reflect this representational distinction, with greater accuracy rates in items containing /ɑ/. Two-way ANOVAs and paired Bayesian t-tests on the reading-aloud data of 27 QFs, however, reveal no difference in h-production according to vowel type. We address the consequences of our findings, discussing notably why QFs have such enduring difficulty acquiring /h/ despite the feature [spread glottis] being available in their representational repertoire. We propose the presence of a Laryngeal Input Constraint that renders representations containing only a laryngeal feature highly marked. We also consider the possibility that, rather than having overcome this constraint, some highly advanced learners are “phonological zombies”: these learners become so adept at employing approximate representations in perception and production that they are indistinguishable from speakers with bona fide phonemic representations.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"60 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139169363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-08DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1165388
Hui-Ching Chen, W. Yow
The impact of bilingualism on executive function has been extensively discussed, but inconsistent evidence has been reported. These discrepancies may stem from the complexities of being bilingual and the various ways of measuring bilingual experiences. This study aims to clarify the debate by providing a systematic critique and analysis on how different measurements of bilingualism can lead to different results within the same group of bilinguals.We tested 48 cognitively healthy (CH) and 43 cognitively impaired (CI) older adults (Mage = 73.25 and 79.72 years, respectively) using the color-shape switching task. We assessed bilingualism using six different methods based on dominant language usage: five categorical computations and one continuous measurement.The results varied depending on the method of measuring bilingualism and the participant group. For CH older adults, a significant effect of bilingualism on cognition performance was observed only when using the categorical variable based on a cutoff of 70% dominant language usage, but not with other categorical computations or the continuous approach. For CI older adults, no effect of bilingualism was found, regardless of the type of measurement used. In summary, our results demonstrated that different measurements of language use can yield different results within the same group of bilinguals using a single task. Our study yielded important implications for bilingual research: the findings challenge the current methodologies used to describe bilingual experiences and call for care and consideration of context and the complexity when examining the effects of bilingual experience on executive functions.
{"title":"Variability in the effects of bilingualism on task switching of cognitively healthy and cognitively impaired older bilinguals","authors":"Hui-Ching Chen, W. Yow","doi":"10.3389/flang.2023.1165388","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2023.1165388","url":null,"abstract":"The impact of bilingualism on executive function has been extensively discussed, but inconsistent evidence has been reported. These discrepancies may stem from the complexities of being bilingual and the various ways of measuring bilingual experiences. This study aims to clarify the debate by providing a systematic critique and analysis on how different measurements of bilingualism can lead to different results within the same group of bilinguals.We tested 48 cognitively healthy (CH) and 43 cognitively impaired (CI) older adults (Mage = 73.25 and 79.72 years, respectively) using the color-shape switching task. We assessed bilingualism using six different methods based on dominant language usage: five categorical computations and one continuous measurement.The results varied depending on the method of measuring bilingualism and the participant group. For CH older adults, a significant effect of bilingualism on cognition performance was observed only when using the categorical variable based on a cutoff of 70% dominant language usage, but not with other categorical computations or the continuous approach. For CI older adults, no effect of bilingualism was found, regardless of the type of measurement used. In summary, our results demonstrated that different measurements of language use can yield different results within the same group of bilinguals using a single task. Our study yielded important implications for bilingual research: the findings challenge the current methodologies used to describe bilingual experiences and call for care and consideration of context and the complexity when examining the effects of bilingual experience on executive functions.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"47 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138587468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-20DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1172925
Kieran Green
This article fulfills the need for quantifiable, physical, common characteristics across different languages, which is needed to support the theory that humans use domain-general neurocognitive machinery to acquire, process, and produce language. It is shown that four different languages—English, German, Slovak and Japanese—contain linguistic chunks characterized by at least one redundancy, degeneracy, pluripotentiality, or modularity (R, D, P, or M, respectively) trait, following precedent from other fields of signal investigation. It is first established that language can be regarded as a set of signals between individuals within a complex adaptive system framework and that all signals in all signaling systems exhibit R, D, P, and/or M traits. It is then shown that linguistic chunks can be regarded as individual signals and that the chunks examined from the aforementioned languages express at least one R, D, P, and/or M trait. The present contribution thereby indicates the potential provision of a new source of data for quantifying some of the pressures involved in language production and processing, and the work concludes by assessing the value of the present work for further investigation in related fields.
这篇文章满足了对不同语言之间可量化的物理共性特征的需求，而这正是支持人类使用领域通用神经认知机制来获取、处理和生成语言这一理论所需要的。研究表明，四种不同的语言--英语、德语、斯洛伐克语和日语--都包含至少一种具有冗余性、退化性、多能性或模块性（分别为 R、D、P 或 M）特征的语言块，这也是其他信号研究领域的先例。首先确定的是，语言可被视为复杂适应系统框架内个体间的一组信号，所有信号系统中的所有信号都表现出 R、D、P 和/或 M 特性。随后的研究表明，语言块可被视为个体信号，上述语言中的语言块至少表现出一种 R、D、P 和/或 M 特性。因此，本研究成果为量化语言生产和处理过程中涉及的某些压力提供了新的数据来源，最后对本研究成果在相关领域的进一步研究价值进行了评估。
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Pub Date : 2023-11-14DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1256471
Sarah Dolscheid, Martina Penke
Introduction There is evidence of close links between the allocation of attention and the production of language. For instance, while speakers commonly produce active sentences when they describe an event with an agent acting on a patient, this preference can shift once the patient is in the spotlight of attention (e.g., by means of a brief attentional cue preceding the patient). In this case, speakers are more prone to produce non-canonical sentences such as passives. Critically, however, whereas attentional cueing is particularly effective for speakers of English, it has proven less effective for speakers of languages like German that differ from English in terms of case-marking and word order flexibility. This observation begs the question of how German speakers respond to alternative cue types that differ in the conceptual and lexical information they provide. In the current study, we address this question by directly comparing the effect of different cue types on sentence production. Methods German-speaking participants were asked to describe transitive event scenes while their eye gaze was monitored via eye tracking. Prior to scene onset, participants saw one of three different cue types: a short attentional cue preceding the patient character, a long attentional cue, or a centrally presented pre-view of the patient (referential cue). Results and discussion Our results demonstrate that different cue types led to differences in speakers' propensity to produce passives. Critically, referential cueing was more effective than attentional cueing in increasing German speakers' rate of passive production, contra to what has previously been reported for English speakers. At the same time, the cues resulted in different viewing behavior, demonstrating that an increase in visual attention does not necessarily go hand in hand with an increase in passivization. Consequently, our findings show that a direct link between the allocation of attention and speakers' structural choices may not always be licensed.
{"title":"Attention vs. accessibility: the role of different cue types for non-canonical sentence production in German","authors":"Sarah Dolscheid, Martina Penke","doi":"10.3389/flang.2023.1256471","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2023.1256471","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction There is evidence of close links between the allocation of attention and the production of language. For instance, while speakers commonly produce active sentences when they describe an event with an agent acting on a patient, this preference can shift once the patient is in the spotlight of attention (e.g., by means of a brief attentional cue preceding the patient). In this case, speakers are more prone to produce non-canonical sentences such as passives. Critically, however, whereas attentional cueing is particularly effective for speakers of English, it has proven less effective for speakers of languages like German that differ from English in terms of case-marking and word order flexibility. This observation begs the question of how German speakers respond to alternative cue types that differ in the conceptual and lexical information they provide. In the current study, we address this question by directly comparing the effect of different cue types on sentence production. Methods German-speaking participants were asked to describe transitive event scenes while their eye gaze was monitored via eye tracking. Prior to scene onset, participants saw one of three different cue types: a short attentional cue preceding the patient character, a long attentional cue, or a centrally presented pre-view of the patient (referential cue). Results and discussion Our results demonstrate that different cue types led to differences in speakers' propensity to produce passives. Critically, referential cueing was more effective than attentional cueing in increasing German speakers' rate of passive production, contra to what has previously been reported for English speakers. At the same time, the cues resulted in different viewing behavior, demonstrating that an increase in visual attention does not necessarily go hand in hand with an increase in passivization. Consequently, our findings show that a direct link between the allocation of attention and speakers' structural choices may not always be licensed.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"49 4","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134902517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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