THE EFFECTS OF L1–L2 PHONOLOGICAL MAPPINGS ON L2 PHONOLOGICAL SENSITIVITY

This study examines the effects of asymmetrical mappings of L2 sounds to L1 sounds on real-time processing of L2 phonology. L1-Korean participants completed a self-paced listening (SPL) task paired with a picture verification (PV) task, in which an English sentence was presented word by word along with a picture that matched or mismatched the sentence. In the critical region, an L2 vowel was deliberately replaced with the wrong vowel for two types of English vowel pairs: Type 1: English vowel pairs showing a one-to-one mapping to Korean counterparts (e.g., English: /i/ and /æ/ to Korean /i/ and /æ/, respectively); and Type 2: English vowel pairs showing a two-to-one mapping to a Korean counterpart (e.g., English /i/ and /ɪ/ to Korean /i/). We analyzed response times (RTs) and PV accuracy. Longer RTs were observed for Type 1 errors than Type 2 errors, indicating lower sensitivity to L2 vowels with two-to-one mapping to an L1 vowel. Also, PV accuracy was lower for the sentences containing Type 2 errors. These results suggest that asymmetrical L2-L1 sound mapping can affect learners’ processing of L2 phonological knowledge, which in turn can negatively affect their comprehension.

Phonological Sensitivity of Bilingual and Multilingual (Primary) School Students

SummaryThis literature overview presents findings stemming from eleven contemporary studies dealing with various aspects of phonological sensitivity in bilingual and multilingual individuals within the context of formal education. The selected studies were published in English, during the past decade, but they include several languages in various combinations. The main objective of this review is to inquire about the nature of phonological sensitivity in bilingual and multilingual individuals while they are developing their early literacy or expanding their literacy to new languages. To achieve that, findings from the selected studies were categorized according to the targeted aspects of phonological sensitivity, i.e. phonological units. The most common research designs, instruments and self-reported limitations were listed to provide a better understanding of the circumstances in which research was conducted. Phonological sensitivity of young bilinguals and multilinguals who are developing their literacy skills appears to be complex, but no distinctive advantages or disadvantages were reported in comparison to monolinguals. However, multiple varying characteristics of research participants frequently interfere with the research design, mainly because of group heterogeneity and small sample size unsuitable for generalization. For a better understanding of the topic, further research is needed, especially in the area of multilingualism.

KEMAMPUAN PRODUKSI FONOLOGIS BAHASA INDONESIA ANAK PENYANDANG DOWN SYNDROME DI SDLB BANYUWANGI

This study examines the ability of phonological production or the ability to produce language sounds, namely vowels and consonants in Indonesian with Down syndrome, a student of the Banyuwangi An-Moerty Extraordinary Primary School. Phonological sensitivity has an important role in communicating creativity, including for persons with disabilities. The purpose of this study is to describe phonological production capabilities, and to find out the causes of the inability to pronounce language sounds of persons with Down syndrome, Bagus Chandra. This research is a qualitative research. This research data in the form of words spoken by Bagus Candra collected by the method of observation or observation with note-taking techniques and data in the form of information from the people closest to home and school were collected by interview method with note-taking techniques. Language data that have been classified are analyzed by distributional methods or agih methods with basic BUL techniques and advanced techniques: skipping, replacing, inserting, and changing the meanings, while data in the form of information are analyzed by descriptive analytical methods. The results of this study indicate that Bagus Chandra's phonological production ability in producing vowel sounds and consonant sounds is mostly perfect, because all vowel sounds [a], [i], [u], [e], and [o], and consonant sounds which includes sounds [b], [c], [d], [g], [h], [j], [k], [l], [m], [n], [p], [q] , [s], [t], and [y] can be pronounced correctly without obstacles. In this case, only a small part of the consonant sound, namely: sounds [r], [f], [v], [w], [x], and, [z] cannot be pronounced perfectly. Physically, the inability is caused by abnormal growth of the tongue, which is the size of the tongue that is longer and wider, and often extended.

Identification of Thai students’ level of phonetic sensitivity in the imitation of Russian syllables

The article deals with the role of phonological sensitivity in the development of skills in a foreign language. In psycholinguistic terms, verbal communication in non-native language is a language contact. It is important that, in learning environments, the interaction of contacting languages should not be spontaneous, it should be taken into account in the modeling of verbal communication. Since the formation of mechanisms that ensure the speech activity of an individual in the language under study occurs under the influence of interference, it is necessary to study the manifestation of the specifics contacting linguistic systems in the perception of speech in a non-native language. To make the right decision – whether or not an incorrect perception of the phonemic composition of words occurs in the natural conditions of communication in a foreign language – is not possible. This requires a special phonetic experiment. The authors describe the results of an experiment aimed at revealing the phonetic sensitivity of native speakers of Thai. The material of the experiment was 260 syllables having the structure CV (consonant + vowel). Subjects who had not previously studied the Russian language had to listen to audio recordings of syllables pronunciation and reproduce them. Thus, the implementation of Russian vowels and consonants in the composition of syllables was analyzed. The authors succeeded in revealing the similarity and difference in the articulatory characteristics of the interacting languages’ sounds. It was found that when imitating Russian syllables the Thais are not aware of the opposition of consonants on the grounds of “hardness-softness” and “voiceless-voiced”. In this connection special work is required to produce soft sounds and to develop skills for distinguishing sounds from voiceless-voiced. During the study, it was confirmed that the influence of the native language is clearly manifested if it is functionally prevalent.

Considering the (separable) influences of phonological sensitivity and working memory on language learning outcomes

In their keynote article examining links between early experience, phonological working memory, and language outcomes, Pierce, Genessee, Delcenserie, and Morgan (2017) present, what I argue, is a two-pronged hypothesis. In brief, the thesis is that the timing of language exposure and the quality and quantity of language input during an early sensitive period of phonological development shape the quality of phonological representations later used by the phonological working memory system to support short- and long-term language learning. The hypothesis is two-pronged because it hinges on (a) qualitative differences in the development of phonological representations, resulting in (b) variations in the efficiency of working memory as the key constraint on language learning. In this commentary, I examine support for these two prongs in detail.

Speech Recognition in Adults With Cochlear Implants: The Effects of Working Memory, Phonological Sensitivity, and Aging

Purpose Models of speech recognition suggest that “top-down” linguistic and cognitive functions, such as use of phonotactic constraints and working memory, facilitate recognition under conditions of degradation, such as in noise. The question addressed in this study was what happens to these functions when a listener who has experienced years of hearing loss obtains a cochlear implant. Method Thirty adults with cochlear implants and 30 age-matched controls with age-normal hearing underwent testing of verbal working memory using digit span and serial recall of words. Phonological capacities were assessed using a lexical decision task and nonword repetition. Recognition of words in sentences in speech-shaped noise was measured. Results Implant users had only slightly poorer working memory accuracy than did controls and only on serial recall of words; however, phonological sensitivity was highly impaired. Working memory did not facilitate speech recognition in noise for either group. Phonological sensitivity predicted sentence recognition for implant users but not for listeners with normal hearing. Conclusion Clinical speech recognition outcomes for adult implant users relate to the ability of these users to process phonological information. Results suggest that phonological capacities may serve as potential clinical targets through rehabilitative training. Such novel interventions may be particularly helpful for older adult implant users.