Linguistic constraints on statistical word segmentation: The role of consonants in Arabic and English

Statistical learning is often taken to lie at the heart of many cognitive tasks, including the acquisition of language. One particular task in which probabilistic models have achieved considerable success is the segmentation of speech into words. However, these models have mostly been tested against English data, and as a result little is known about how a statistical learning mechanism copes with input regularities that arise from the structural properties of different languages. This study focuses on statistical word segmentation in Arabic, a Semitic language in which words are built around consonantal roots. We hypothesize that segmentation in such languages is facilitated by tracking consonant distributions independently from intervening vowels. Previous studies have shown that human learners can track consonant probabilities across intervening vowels in artificial languages, but it is unknown to what extent this ability would be beneficial in the segmentation of natural language. We assessed the performance of a Bayesian segmentation model on English and Arabic, comparing consonant-only representations with full representations. In addition, we examined to what extent structurally different proto-lexicons reflect adult language. The results suggest that for a child learning a Semitic language, separating consonants from vowels is beneficial for segmentation. These findings indicate that probabilistic models require appropriate linguistic representations in order to effectively meet the challenges of language acquisition

Co-activation in the bilingual lexicon: Evidence from Chinese-English bilinguals

Investigation of the bilingual mental lexicon suggests that one of its defining characteristics is integration. Words across both languages are subject to parallel co-activation during language processing. An auditory stimulus typing task was used to assess connectivity on the basis of both morphology and phonology. English loanwords in Chinese and transparent English noun-noun compounds with Chinese translation equivalents with corresponding compound structure (corresponding compounds) were used as the critical stimuli. Accent was also manipulated to determine whether or not phonological cues may influence the degree of cross-linguistic co-activation. Results suggest cross-linguistic co-activation on the basis of phonological overlap in different script bilinguals but only weakly supported morphological integration in Chinese-English bilinguals. Accent led to greater co-activation of phonologically similar loanword pairs. Results are discussed in terms of inhibitory control, language acquisition, and the structure of the bilingual lexicon

FROM LANGUAGE TO LITERACY: STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF ACQUIRED LANGUAGES FACILITATING ENGLISH MORPHOLOGICAL AWARENESS

Morphological awareness is a crucial metalinguistic skill, specifically for English Language Learners (ELLs). Since languages differ widely in degree of orthographic opacity, degree of morphological fusion, and degree of morphological synthesis, this thesis sought to evaluate the impact of the structural features of other languages upon ELLs’ levels of English morphological awareness. Additionally, the study investigated the relationship between morphological awareness and perceived levels of literacy and oracy proficiency. Multilingual individuals responded to an online survey containing a morphological awareness task and a language history questionnaire. Each language represented in the sample was coded according to its structural features. Subsequently, the relationship between the features and morphological awareness was analyzed. Morphological awareness was impacted by a confluence of all three structural features. Knowledge of languages with higher degrees of morphological synthesis or higher degrees of orthographic opacity was found to predict higher levels of morphological awareness. Additionally, perceived English literacy proficiency explained a larger degree of the variance in English morphological awareness than perceived English oracy proficiency, though both were statistically significant. The findings indicate the acquisition of English may be impacted by familiarity with other languages and by perceptions of English proficienc

Automatic Scaling of Text for Training Second Language Reading Comprehension

For children learning their first language, reading is one of the most effective ways to acquire new vocabulary. Studies link students who read more with larger and more complex vocabularies. For second language learners, there is a substantial barrier to reading. Even the books written for early first language readers assume a base vocabulary of nearly 7000 word families and a nuanced understanding of grammar. This project will look at ways that technology can help second language learners overcome this high barrier to entry, and the effectiveness of learning through reading for adults acquiring a foreign language. Through the implementation of Dokusha, an automatic graded reader generator for Japanese, this project will explore how advancements in natural language processing can be used to automatically simplify text for extensive reading in Japanese as a foreign language

ANALYZING ISTRUCTION AND LEARNING OF DERIVATIONAL MORHOLOGY IN THE SPANISH FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

Morphological awareness can help learners of a second language (L2) infer and learn the meaning of unknown words. It is, however, unclear how morphological awareness evolves in adult English-speaking learners of instructed L2 Spanish and how this development relates to vocabulary knowledge. Moreover, the manner in which derivational morphology is instructed is unknown. This dissertation examines these aspects within four studies. Study 1 explores the development of morphological awareness for English-speaking learners of instructed Spanish L2 (n=209) and whether development depends on vocabulary size or other factors, such as proficiency. The results suggest that proficiency is the main predictor of morphological awareness. When morphological awareness was receptively measured, i.e., learners analyzed and identified derivational suffixes, higher levels of awareness were reached even at the lowest proficiency level. When it was productively measured, i.e., learners analyzed, identified, and manipulated derivational suffixes, mastery was only achieved by the most advanced learners. Thus, a partial awareness of morphology precedes a more complete awareness. Moreover, the number of derivational suffixes that these L2 learners manipulated was limited. Study 2 also surveys morphological awareness by making the participants of Study 1 infer the meaning and structure of unknown words. The findings suggest that though all learners rely on derivational morphology but advanced learners deploy morphological awareness the most. Study 3 examines the implicit knowledge of derivational morphology, specifically distributional and semantic knowledge, from the participants of Study 1 and 2. In a timed Lexical Decision Task, learners accurately distinguished violations from non-violations, i.e., learners were aware of distributional and semantic constraints. Learners’ reactions were also dependent on the suffix of the word, which suggests that every suffix can be independently learned and stored. These learners, however, did not show RTs that decreased with proficiency, which suggests they have yet to automatize derivational knowledge. Study 4 uses Borg’s framework (2003) to investigate classroom practices and teachers’ beliefs about derivational morphology for five Spanish instructors at a large university. The classroom observations reveal that derivational teaching is mostly unplanned, incidental, scarce, and, on occasion, ambiguous. Neither textbooks nor teaching training emphasize the teaching of derivational morphology

PHRASAL LOAN TRANSLATION TERMS IN THE MASTER’S THESES ON TEACHING TURKISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Languages are living creatures. They need to feed on lexical units to survive. To satisfy this biological need, they either utilize their own properties to produce novel lexical units like plants photosynthesize or import foreign words to meet calorie deficit like animals feed. Loan translation is the combination of these two tendencies. During this process, a language benefits from its own words to find an equivalence to a novel concept; however, imitating a foreign source word in lexical, phrasal, or sentential level. This method is also used for special languages of terminological domains. For these realities, phrasal loan translation terminologization method was decided on as the data type. Turkish master’s theses on teaching Turkish as a foreign language were selected as the sample. 25 theses were scanned, and 203 potential phrasal loan translation terms were detected. Related terms were classified under six domains: education, linguistics, sociology, methodology, statistics, and others. Potential source languages and terms were represented for each term. If possible, they were provided with evidential source texts. Problematic terms were handled separately, and the potential reasons for these problems were explained just under the related term in the table. In the conclusion part, potential solution suggestions were presented

Lexical innovation: cromulently embiggening a language

In this article I look at the main ways of making new English words, and at the different types of neologisms this produces; consider various categories of people who coin them, including famous authors and television scriptwriters as well as anonymous nonnative speakers of English as a lingua franca, and highlight the similarities and differences in the ways they tend to coin words; consider to what extent the formation of new words by way of established processes or rules or schemas should be thought of as morphological productivity rather than individual creativity; and finally look at the processes by which neologisms can, potentially, be diffused