Word frequency and neighborhood density effects on L2 listeners: English listeners learning Korean

2007 ◽  
Vol 122 (5) ◽  
pp. 2994
Author(s):  
Sung-A Kim
Keyword(s):  
Word Frequency ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
Density Effects

scholarly journals The Effect of Phonological Neighborhood Density on Vowel Articulation

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1048-1058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Munson ◽  
Nancy Pearl Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Word Frequency ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Phonological Neighborhood Density ◽  
Formant Frequencies ◽  
Phonological Neighborhood

Recent literature suggests that phonological neighborhood density and word frequency can affect speech production, in addition to the well-documented effects that they have on speech perception. This article describes 2 experiments that examined how phonological neighborhood density influences the durations and formant frequencies of adults’ productions of vowels in real words. In Experiment 1, 10 normal speakers produced words that covaried in phonological neighborhood density and word frequency. Infrequent words with many phonological neighbors were produced with shorter durations and more expanded vowel spaces than frequent words with few phonological neighbors. Results of this experiment confirmed that this effect was not related to the duration of the vowels constituting the high- and low-density words. In Experiment 2, 15 adults produced words that varied in both word frequency and neighborhood density. Neighborhood density affected vowel articulation in both high- and low-frequency words. Moreover, frequent words were produced with more contracted vowel spaces than infrequent words. There was no interaction between these factors, and the vowel duration did not vary as a function of neighborhood density. Taken together, the results suggest that neighborhood density affects vowel production independent of word frequency and vowel duration.

Intraword Variability in French-Speaking Monolingual and Bilingual Children

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Margaret M. Kehoe ◽  
Emilie Cretton
Keyword(s):  
Word Frequency ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Speech Sound ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Expressive Vocabulary ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
Phonological Complexity

Purpose This study examines intraword variability in 40 typically developing French-speaking monolingual and bilingual children, aged 2;6–4;8 (years;months). Specifically, it measures rate of intraword variability and investigates which factors best account for it. They include child-specific ones such as age, expressive vocabulary, gender, bilingual status, and speech sound production ability, and word-specific factors, such as phonological complexity (including number of syllables), phonological neighborhood density (PND), and word frequency. Method A variability test was developed, consisting of 25 words, which differed in terms of phonological complexity, PND, and word frequency. Children produced three exemplars of each word during a single session, and productions of words were coded as variable or not variable. In addition, children were administered an expressive vocabulary test and two tests tapping speech motor ability (oral motor assessment and diadochokinetic test). Speech sound ability was also assessed by measuring percent consonants correct on all words produced by the children during the session. Data were entered into a binomial logistic regression. Results Average intraword variability was 29% across all children. Several factors were found to predict intraword variability including age, gender, bilingual status, speech sound production ability, phonological complexity, and PND. Conclusions Intraword variability was found to be lower in French than what has been reported in English, consistent with phonological differences between French and English. Our findings support those of other investigators in indicating that the factors influencing intraword variability are multiple and reflect sources at various levels in the speech processing system.

scholarly journals The influence of part-word phonotactic probability/neighborhood density on word learning by preschool children varying in expressive vocabulary

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 628-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLLY L. STORKEL ◽  
JILL R. HOOVER
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Probability Density ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
Expressive Vocabulary ◽  
Phonotactic Probability ◽  
Density Effects ◽  
Floor Effects

ABSTRACTThe goal of this study was to examine the influence of part-word phonotactic probability/neighborhood density on word learning by preschool children with normal vocabularies that varied in size. Ninety-eight children (age 2 ; 11–6 ; 0) were taught consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) nonwords orthogonally varying in the probability/density of the CV (i.e. body) and VC (i.e. rhyme). Learning was measured via picture naming. Children with the lowest expressive vocabulary scores showed no effect of either CV or VC probability/density, although floor effects could not be ruled out. In contrast, children with low or high expressive vocabulary scores demonstrated sensitivity to part-word probability/density with the nature of the effect varying by group. Children with the highest expressive vocabulary scores displayed yet a third pattern of part-word probability/density effects. Taken together, word learning by preschool children was influenced by part-word probability/density but the nature of this influence appeared to depend on the size of the lexicon.

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