We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.

Download PDF

Splitting ‘intervocalic’: Expanding the typology of lenition environments

Author(s): Katalin Balogné Bérces,Patrick Honeybone / Language(s): English Issue: 1-2/2012

The basic types of lenition environments (‘initial’, ‘intervocalic’, ‘final’) need to be separately evaluated as they differ along parameters like word position (e.g., pre-consonantal vs. final codas) or stress relations. This paper argues that we need to recognise an additional such parameter: the length of the vowel preceding an intervocalic consonant. We show that a number of phenomena from varieties of English and German show lenition patterns which draw a distinction between reflexes found in post-short (vc) and post-long (vvc) environments. The theoretical consequence of our observations is that phonological theory needs to be able to account for the post-short vs. post-long distinction in the form of a parametrically-determined representational difference.

More...

Download PDF

Gradient phonotactic acceptability a case study from Slovak

Author(s): Zsuzsanna Bárkányi / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2011

Phonotactic well-formedness judgments are usually gradient, the theoretical interpretation of which is controversial in the phonological literature. In this study we present experimental evidence from Slovak that speakers do have intuitions about unattested grammatical forms as well as attested marginal ones and these intuitions can be modeled fairly closely by gradient phonotactic learners like, for instance, the Hayes-Wilson Phonotactic Learner. Our results suggest that in gradient phonotactic judgments the knowledge of the relative probability of various combinations of natural classes plays a decisive role. We pay special attention to sonority reversal clusters in Slovak and claim that these sequences, although attested in the language, are on the verge of grammaticality and thus prone to change.

More...

Download PDF

GP 2, and Putonghua too

Author(s): Sašo Živanović,Markus Alexander Pöchtrager / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2010

The article illustrates some of the salient features of Government Phonology (GP) 2.0 by axiomatising (a subclass of) the set of possible Putonghua forms.We show that a phonological theory can profit by assuming that phonological representations are hierarchical, just like syntactic representations. A structural relation of c++command, a relative of the well-known c-command, is used heavily. The similarity with syntax is further underlined by the introduction of a phonological Binding Theory: illicit representations are prohibited by the LUxI Principles, the phonological counterpart of Principles A, B and C.

More...

Download PDF

Auditory representations and the structures of GP 2.0

Author(s): Geoffrey Schwartz / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2010

This paper presents a proposal for the implementation of auditory specification within structures inspired by GP 2.0 (Kaye-Pöchtrager 2009). In the theory, constituent structure itself is a phonetic object built down from Onset structure. This strategy allows for a faithful representation of the acoustic signal and an insightful model of consonant strength and coda formation. Perceptual considerations suggest that a privative approach to auditory representation can account for phonological behavior, as well as enable us to form testable hypotheses for experimental phonetic study.

More...

Download PDF

The Coda Mirror V2

Author(s): Tobias Scheer,Markéta Ziková / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2010

This article further develops Coda Mirror theory (Ségéral-Scheer 2001a): its shortcomings are identified (overgeneration: the super-weak position predicted has no empirical echo, and the four-way parametric situation predicted in domain-final position is confronted with only two attested configurations), and a solution is proposed by dispensing with the equal-rightedness of government and licensing. Government over licensing is the principle proposed: no constituent can simultaneously be the target of both lateral forces, and if both could in principle apply, government is given precedence. A welcome by-product of this move is a new definition of open vs. closed syllables that makes sense: vowels in the former, but not in the latter, are licensed.

More...

Download PDF

[voice] And/versus [spread glottis] in the modified Leiden model

Author(s): Dániel Huber,Katalin Balogné Bérces / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2010

The paper stresses the need to distinguish between two subtypes of binary laryngeal systems, viz. [voice] languages versus [spread glottis] languages (“laryngeal realism”—Honeybone 2005). It criticizes the use of the primes H and L for this distinction in Government Phonology, and proposes an alternative representation, based on Backley-Takahashi (1998) and Nasukawa-Backley (2005). This feature geometric model assumes the same set of melodic components for obstruents and sonorants within a system but with a difference in the status of source elements across the language types. Therefore, accompanied by the mechanism of element activation, it is claimed to capture the cross-linguistic observations more adequately.

More...

Download PDF

The effect of familiarization on temporal aspects of turn-taking: A pilot study

Author(s): Tekla Etelka Gráczi,Sarolta Bata / Language(s): English Issue: 2-3/2010

The organization of conversations with respect to turn-taking and back-channeling is a well-established field of research. Suprasegmental features governing these phenomena have been analyzed regarding both speech production and perception. The present study aims to analyze an interpersonal factor, the process of familiarization and the nature of relationship of the speakers and its effects on the properties of turn-taking and back-channeling. The reasons and temporal organization of turn-taking and back-channeling were analyzed in the initial and final parts of three-member conversations of Hungarian speakers of diverse relationships. The patterns of reasons, the forms of turn-taking and the occurrence of back-channeling turned out to show particular effects of the relationship/familiarity of the speakers.

More...

Download PDF

The markedness of the unmarked

Author(s): Péter Szigetvári / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2006

There are several phonological categories whose markedness—as inferred from typical markedness metrics—fails to match the representational complexity posit- ed for them. More specifically, glottal stops, geminate clusters, and onsetless syllables are representationally the simplest of their category, yet other criteria, like implicational hierarchies, mark them as special. This paper aims at comprehending this paradox.

More...

Download PDF

Czy nazwy żeńskie typu architektka, chirurżka i adiunktka są trudne do wymówienia? Badanie empiryczne

Author(s): Jolanta Szpyra-Kozłowska,Kateryna Laidler / Language(s): Polish Issue: 4/2022

The paper reports on an empirical study which aims at verifying a frequent claim concerning the restriction on the formation of feminine nouns posed by consonant clusters emerging on the attachment of the suffix -ka to masculine stems. We provide evidence that only one of the 20 nouns used in the experiment, i.e. adiunktka has proved to be difficult for the participants to pronounce by while the remaining items such as architektka and chirurżka were rather easy or easy to articulate.

More...

Download PDF

Wybrane problemy realizacji spółgłosek polskich w potoku mowy w perspektywie dydaktycznej

Author(s): Katarzyna Dróżdż-Łuszczyk / Language(s): Polish Issue: 10/2022

The article reports the most important phonetic changes which have taken place in thecontemporary Polish language. The aim of the sketch is to answer the questions that arisewhen learning phonetics and pronunciation, especially in regard to sounds: [ś], [ź], [ć], [ӡ] and ́[s ́], [z ́], [c ́], [ӡ’]. The author focuses on the phenomena associated with the withdrawal ofpalatalisation and presents the solutions adopted in academic textbooks. Finally, she presentsher own suggestions for the articulation of the abovementioned sounds at the meeting pointof morphemes.

More...

Download PDF

Fonemy nosowe I ich realizacja w języku polskim. Wybrane problemy dydaktyczne

Author(s): Natalia Siudzińska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 10/2022

This article discusses the problems related to the sound realisation of the so-called nasal sounds,that is leƩ ers ą and ę, as well as the diff erences in the phonological interpretation of thoserealisations. The issue has been repeatedly raised by linguists (e.g. Zarembina 1963; Retz 1979ab;Dunaj 1991; Sawicka 1995; Nagórkti1998; Szpyra-Kozłowska 2002, and others), which proves itscomplexity and difficulty. The leƩ ers ą and ę can be pronounced in various ways depending ontheir neighbourhood (that is other leƩ ers that follow them), which causes problems in Polishlanguage didactics and in the process of teaching of the correct Polish language pronunciation(especially when it comes to teaching Polish pronunciation to foreigners). The article mentionsthe methods and principles of the realisation of nasal sounds as well as inconsistencies in thephonological characteristics of the phenomenon. The article is an overview, as its aim is tocompare different suggestions for the phonological interpretation.

More...

Download PDF

The Nativeness of Breton Speakers and Their Erasure

Author(s): Melanie Jouitteau / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2019

I discuss the nativeness of heritage speakers of Breton in the twentieth century. I present a syntactic test designed for Breton that sets apart its native speakers from its late learners, for whom Breton is a second language. Nativeness is revealed by a better tolerance to syntactic overload when sufficient linguistic stress is applied. Both heritage speakers of inherited Breton and early bilinguals whose linguistic input comes exclusively from school answer this test alike, which I take as a sign they are cognitively natives. The syntactic nativeness of children deprived of familial Breton input suggests there is many more young Breton natives among contemporary speakers than previously assumed. Taking stock of these results, I discuss the cultural erasure of Breton native speakers. I compare their cultural treatment with the figure of the ghost. I end by a discussion of the term new speaker.

More...

Download PDF

Toponimy koreańskie w polszczyźnie - źródła transpozycji, systemy transkrypcyjne i strategie asymilacji fonicznej

Author(s): Kim Gwangseok,Jarosław A. Pietrow / Language(s): Polish Issue: 01/2023

The intensively developing Polish-Korean contacts and direct access to the knowledge of South Korea as one of the major East Asian countries obtained from Internet and media coverage have resulted in Korean toponyms being assimilated in the Polish language to an increasing extent. However, they are adapted in a number of ways, being mediated through two main systems of Latinising the Korean language, i.e. the McCune-Reischauer transcription and the modified MOE transcription, which is officially propagated by Korean authorities. This leads to a certain competition between the two systems, which are, moreover, o􏰀en used in the situation of not only lack of command of the source language itself, but also ignorance of the conventional rules of the Latin transcription of Korean geographical names, which are different in both transcriptions. Moreover, toponyms must be assimilated based on various compromises between the phonological system of the source language and the system of the receiving language. Such a helpful compromise might be an additionally used Polonised transcription in the resource of le􏰅er symbols, but this requires substantial adjustments and additions as well as unavoidable concessions to make it easier for Polish recipients to decipher texts about Korea. From the perspective of historical standardisation of some characteristic Korean toponyms in Polish publications, various transcription tools, methods of their assimilation and adaptations, as well as the obvious cognitive barriers might become definitely more pronounced and informative for both text authors and recipients.

More...

Download PDF

Speech Rhythm in English and Italian: an Experimental Study on Early Sequential Bilingualism

Author(s): VINCENZO VERBENI / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

The study investigates the dynamics of speech rhythm in early sequential bilingual children who have access to Italian-English immersion programs. The research focused on the Italian and English semi-spontaneous narrative productions of 9 students, aged between 6;7 and 10;11 and distributed across three different classes (Year 1, Year 3, Year 5). Their speech was recorded and subject to an interval-based analysis via computation of %V/ΔC, PVI and Varco metrics. The retrieved metrics underwent within-group and between-group one-way ANOVAs in order to identify valuable cross-linguistic variations among children of the same age and statistically significant differences between different age groups (Y1, Y3, Y5). The results appear to support a stress-centered interpretation of speech rhythm: according to this view, all languages could be arranged on a stress-timed continuum in which “syllable-timing” is marked by sparser occurrences of (regular) prominence due to the relative absence of vocalic elision and consonantal complexity. Indeed, the comparative analysis drawn between the normalized vocalic indexes of Y1, Y3 and Y5 students revealed a statistically relevant increase in vocalic variation phenomena both in Italian and in English. Moreover, Y1 and Y3 consonantal scores were comparatively higher in the Italian sample: it will be discussed how unpredictable stress-timed patterns can arise as a function of proficiency, speech-rate and age-related disfluencies.

More...

Download PDF

Correlations Between Positive or Negative Utterances and Basic Acoustic Features of Voice: a Preliminary Analysis

Author(s): ŁUKASZ STOLARSKI / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

The major aim of this paper is to establish possible correlations between continuous sentiment scores and four basic acoustic characteristics of voice. In order to achieve this objective, the text of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens was tokenized at the sentence level. Next, each of the resulting text units was assessed in terms of sentiment polarity and aligned with the corresponding fragment in an audiobook. The results indicate weak but statistically significant correlations between sentiment scores and three acoustic features: the mean F0, the standard deviation of F0 and the mean intensity. These findings may be useful in selecting optimal acoustic features for model training in multimodal sentiment analysis. Also, they are essential from a linguistic point of view and could be applied in studies on such language phenomena as irony.

More...

Download PDF

Investigating Rater Perceptions in the Assessment of Speaking

Author(s): Przemysław Krakowian / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2022

In the assessment of spoken production, numerous reasons can be identified behind the decisions that raters make in evaluating samples of oral performance. Inter and intra rater factors are relatively well documented in various reliability and validity studies. Some that have been identified in literature involve the effects of examinee pairing or the familiarity with the examinees, others point in the direction of gender and gender role perceptions O’Sullivan (2008), others appear to be connected with body language and non-verbal cues that accompany oral production (cf.: Krahmer and Swerts 2004, Seiter, Weger, Jensen and Kinzer 2010). While some studies that address the assessment of speaking English in exam contexts suggest that raters may not feel as comfortable assessing pronunciation as they do other aspects of a speaker’s performance (Orr 2002, Hubbard, Gilbert and Pidcock 2006, Brown 2006, De Velle 2008), more recent investigations of rater behaviour involving electronic evidence from training, maintenance and online examination programmes tentatively show that pronunciation, in fact, is the first category examiners attend to (Hubbard 2011, Chambers and Ingham 2011, Krakowian 2011, Seed 2012, Tynan 2015, Kang and Ginther 2019). This paper looks at large collection of assessments stored in an electronic system to investigate what raters really seem to pay attention to when allegedly following rating scales.

More...

Download PDF

Acculturation Strategy and its Influence on the use of Rhoticity by Polish Adult Immigrants to Wales

Author(s): Aleksandra Matysiak / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2022

Migration to a foreign country can be a complex process involving the adjustment to a new culture and the acquisition of a second language (L2). Acculturation, the process by which an individual integrates their native values and behaviours with those of the host culture, is an integral part of this process. It has been suggested that the choice of acculturation strategy can either facilitate or hinder L2 acquisition (Schumann, 1986; Berry, 1997). Pronunciation is a vital aspect of L2 proficiency and is often seen as mediating an individual's identity in the host culture (Piske et al., 2001). This study focuses on the pronunciation patterns of ten adult Polish immigrants living in Welshpool, Wales, and attempts to examine the potential relationship between a chosen acculturation strategy (adaptation or preservation) and the use of rhoticity in English. Rhoticity, a salient feature of British English pronunciation that varies in use and quality depending on the region (Wells, 1982), has been previously studied in relation to the use of rhoticity by Polish speakers (Jaworski, 2010; Jaworski & Gillian, 2011; Stolarski, 2013, 2015; Zając, 2016; Rojczyk & Zając, 2017; Matysiak, 2020), with a notable emphasis on the use of taps in intervocalic and post-vocalic positions. The present study found some inconsistencies in the use of rhoticity in English.

More...

Download PDF

In Defence of the Traditional Model of the Accent System of Middle Japanese

Author(s): Georg Orlandi / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

The present article seeks to review the literature on the historical development of the Japanese accentual system. Whilst some merits of the alternative account of Ramsey and de Boer are recognized, the traditional model of Middle Japanese pitch-accent is defended, and a rebuttal of the arguments against it provided. The traditional model is integrated and corroborated by cross-linguistic and phonation-related arguments, with an eye towards philological evidence. It is concluded that, for the present at least, the evidence in favour of the traditional account of Middle Japanese tonogenesis is more robust and more persuasive.

More...

Download PDF

A Multi-Layer Transcription Model – concept outline

Author(s): Daniel Śledziński / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

This paper discusses the assumptions of a Multi-Layer Transcription Model (hereinafter: MLTM). The solution presented is an advanced grapheme-to-phoneme (G2P) conversion method that can be implemented in technical applications, such as automatic speech recognition and synthesis systems. The features of MLTM also facilitate the application of text-to-transcription conversion in linguistic research. The model presented here is the basis for multi-step processing of the orthographic representation of words with those being transcribed gradually. The consecutive stages of the procedure include, among other things, identification of multi-character phonemes, voicing status change, and consonant clusters simplification. The multi-layer model described in this paper makes it possible to assign individual phonetic processes (for example assimilation), as well as other types of transformation, to particular layers. As a result, the set of rules becomes more transparent. Moreover, the rules related to any process can be modified independently of the rules connected with other forms of transformation, provided that the latter have been assigned to a different layer. These properties of the multi-layer transcription model in question provide crucial advantages for the solutions based on it, such as their flexibility and transparency. There are no assumptions in the model about the applicable number of layers, their functions, or the number of rules defined in each layer. A special mechanism used for the implementation of the MLTM concept enables projection of individual characters onto either a phonemic or a phonetic transcript (obtained after processing in the final layer of the MLTM-based system has been completed). The solution presented in this text has been implemented for the Polish language, however, it is not impossible to use the same model for other languages.

More...

Download PDF

Mechanizm nabytej apraksji mowy i sposoby jej diagnozowania

Author(s): Małgorzata Rutkiewicz-Hanczewska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2022

The subject of this article is the specificity of acquired apraxia of speech and the inclusion and exclusion criteria for diagnosing this type of disorder. The article draws attention to the distinction between apraxia of speech and aphasia or dysarthria with which it very often coexists. It describes the process of diagnosing it, which should include the assessment of the consistency of an utterance, its accuracy and fluency, and therefore the degree of adequacy of repeated statements, differentiation of errors (phonetic, phonological) that accompany it, and speech fluency. The article also discusses the tools for studying apraxia of speech currently existing worldwide, including hierarchical word lists and scales for its assessment.

More...