Getting the measure of derivational morphology in adult speech a corpus analysis using MorphoQuantics

This paper describes the methodology used to compile a corpus called MorphoQuantics that contains a comprehensive set of 17,943 complex word types extracted from the spoken component of the British National Corpus (BNC). The categorisation of these complex words was derived primarily from the classification of Prefixes, Suffixes and Combining Forms proposed by Stein (2007). The MorphoQuantics corpus has been made available on a website of the same name; it lists 554 word-initial and 281 word-final morphemes in English, their etymology and meaning, and records the type and token frequencies of all the associated complex words containing these morphemes from the spoken element of the BNC, together with their Part of Speech. The results show that, although the number of word-initial affixes is nearly double that of word-final affixes, the relative number of each observed in the BNC is very similar; however, word-final affixes are more productive in that, on average, the frequency with which they attach to different bases is three times that of word-initial affixes. Finally, this paper considers how linguists, psycholinguists and psychologists may use MorphoQuantics to support their empirical work in first and second language acquisition, and clinical and educational research

Register variation in spoken British English: the case of verb-forming suffixation

The aim of this paper is to identify the effect of register variation on the occurrence of the four principal verb-forming suffixes in spoken English: -ate, -en, -ify and –ize, by building on the work of Biber et al. (1999), Plag et al. (1999) and Schmid (2011). Register variation effects were compared between the less formal Demographically-Sampled and the more formal Context-Governed components of the 1994 version of the British National Corpus. The pattern of -ize derivatives revealed the most marked register-based differences with respect to frequency counts and the creation of neologisms, whereas -en derivatives varied the least compared with the other three suffixes. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of these suffix profiles in the context of spoken language reveal markers of register formality that have not hitherto been explored; derivative usage patterns provide an additional dimension to previous research on register variation which has mainly focused on grammatical and lexical features of language

A diachronic corpus-based study into the effects of age and gender on the usage patterns of verb-forming suffixation in spoken British English

The aim of this paper is to ascertain the degree to which lexical diversity, density and creativity in everyday spoken British English have changed over a 20-year period, as a function of age and gender. Usage patterns of the four verb-forming suffixes, -ate, -en, -ify and -ize, were compared in contemporary speech from the BNC2014 with its 20-year old counterpart, the Demographically-Sampled (DS) component of the British National Corpus. Frequency comparisons revealed that verb suffixation is denser in the BNC2014 than in its earlier equivalent (DS), with the exception of the -en suffix, the use of which has decreased, particularly among females and younger speakers in general. Males and speakers in the 35-59 age range showed the greatest type diversity; there is evidence that this peak is occurring earlier in the more recent corpus. Contrary to expectations, females rather than males produced the largest number of neologisms and rare forms

Who’s afraid of phrasal verbs? The use of phrasal verbs in expert academic writing in the discipline of linguistics

This study investigates the hitherto understudied area of the use of phrasal verbs (PVs) in expert academic writing in the discipline of Linguistics. It uses a novel methodology combining the notion of grammatical collocation with the Quirkian approach to clause structure analysis and insights from Frame Semantics to identify the extent to which PVs are used in academic writing in comparison with other verb categories. Using a specifically designed corpus of L1 English academic expert writing in Linguistics, we investigate the frequency (types, and tokens) and meanings of PVs in this sample. Contrary to previous findings, our results indicate that PVs form a large proportion of verbs identified in expert writing. An analysis of meanings of the most frequent phrasal verbs in the corpus indicates that in academic writing PVs are used in restricted and sometimes metaphorical senses which are less common in general language use. We conclude our study by suggesting some recommendations for introducing phrasal verbs into the teaching repertoire of English for Academic Purposes

Using the YARC Secondary with adult Arabic L1 learners of English: an exploration of L2 learners’ reading comprehension and their ability to learn new words

The York Assessment of Reading for Comprehension Secondary Test (YARC) was originally designed by Stothard, Snowling, Clarke, Barmby and Hulme (2010) for secondary school students in the UK between the ages of 11 and 16 (both monolinguals and learners of English as an Additional language). Since tests that were developed for a particular group are not necessarily suitable for other groups, the aim of this research was to find out to what extent the YARC Secondary reading comprehension test could be used to measure reading comprehension among Arabic L1 adult L2 learners of English. As vocabulary knowledge has often been found to be a key predictor of reading, we administered two offline vocabulary tests (measuring depth and size of word knowledge) in addition to the YARC Secondary to 30 native English-speaking and 28 Saudi Arabian learners of English attending university courses in their home country. The findings showed that YARC scores correlated significantly with scores on the vocabulary tests, and that scores on the Single Word Reading Test (SWRT) for adult L1 Arabic learners fell within the range for children in the UK aged 11 years and three months. Evidence of the suitability of the YARC texts was also obtained through an analysis of students’ ability to retain meaning and use (in a sentence) of non-words encountered in the YARC texts. We conclude that the YARC Secondary can be used with some groups of adult L2 learners of English, provided adaptations are made to the reading comprehension texts to ensure the vocabulary levels are appropriate for the target group

Profiling complex word usage in the speech of English preschool children: frequency patterns and transparency characteristics

This corpus-based study provides a baseline of complex word usage patterns in the spontaneous speech of English preschool children to ascertain the characteristics of their derivative vocabulary before literacy development affects language skills. Frequencies of suffixed derivatives produced by (N=243) children aged 2-5 and their caregivers were extracted for 58 suffix variants, yielding 558 types from the former and 1,364 from the latter. Between the youngest and oldest groups, 11 suffix categories increased significantly in type frequency, compared with 22 in the caregiver dataset. All derivative types were classified for transparency of meaning and simplicity of form on a 5-point analysability scale. Around 59% of both the child and caregiver derivative vocabulary sets were classified as transparent regardless of age, suggesting that the potential analysability of the preschool child’s input remains surprisingly invariant over time. The study provides baseline data for future studies on the development of morphological awareness in English-speaking schoolchildren

Halobacteriovorax, an underestimated predator on bacteria: potential impact relative to viruses on bacterial mortality

Predation on bacteria and accompanying mortality are important mechanisms in controlling bacterial populations and recycling of nutrients through the microbial loop. The agents most investigated and seen as responsible for bacterial mortality are viruses and protists. However, a body of evidence suggests that predatory bacteria such as the Halobacteriovorax (formerly Bacteriovorax), a Bdellovibrio-like organism, contribute substantially to bacterial death. Until now, conclusive evidence has been lacking. The goal of this study was to better understand the contributors to bacterial mortality by addressing the poorly understood role of Halobacteriovorax and how their role compares with that of viruses. The results revealed that when a concentrated suspension of Vibrio parahaemolyticus was added into microcosms of estuarine waters, the native Halobacteriovorax were the predators that responded first and most rapidly. Their numbers increased by four orders of magnitude, whereas V. parahaemolyticus prey numbers decreased by three orders of magnitude. In contrast, the extant virus population showed little increase and produced little change in the prey density. An independent experiment with stable isotope probing confirmed that Halobacteriovorax were the predators primarily responsible for the mortality of the V. parahaemolyticus. The results show that Halobacteriovorax have the potential to be significant contributors to bacterial mortality, and in such cases, predation by Halobacteriovorax may be an important mechanism of nutrient recycling. These conclusions add another dimension to bacterial mortality and the recycling of nutrients

Efficacy of Chlorhexidine Varnish for the Prevention of Adult Caries: A Randomized Trial

The Prevention of Adult Caries Study, an NIDCR-funded multicenter, double-blind, randomized clinical trial, enrolled 983 adults (aged 18-80 yrs) at high risk for developing caries (20 or more intact teeth and 2 or more lesions at screening) to test the efficacy of a chlorhexidine diacetate 10% weight per volume (w/v) dental coating (CHX). We excluded participants for whom the study treatment was contraindicated or whose health might affect outcomes or ability to complete the study. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either the CHX coating (n = 490) or a placebo control (n = 493). Coatings were applied weekly for 4 weeks and a fifth time 6 months later. The primary outcome (total net D1-2FS increment) was the sum of weighted counts of changes in tooth surface status over 13 months. We observed no significant difference between the two treatment arms in either the intention-to-treat or per-protocol analyses. Analysis of 3 protocol-specified secondary outcomes produced similar findings. This trial failed to find that 10% (w/v) chlorhexidine diacetate coating was superior to placebo coating for the prevention of new caries (Clinicaltrials.gov registration number NCT00357877)

HER2-enriched subtype and novel molecular subgroups drive aromatase inhibitor resistance and an increased risk of relapse in early ER+/HER2+ breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Oestrogen receptor positive/ human epidermal growth factor receptor positive (ER+/HER2+) breast cancers (BCs) are less responsive to endocrine therapy than ER+/HER2- tumours. Mechanisms underpinning the differential behaviour of ER+HER2+ tumours are poorly characterised. Our aim was to identify biomarkers of response to 2 weeks’ presurgical AI treatment in ER+/HER2+ BCs. METHODS: All available ER+/HER2+ BC baseline tumours (n=342) in the POETIC trial were gene expression profiled using BC360™ (NanoString) covering intrinsic subtypes and 46 key biological signatures. Early response to AI was assessed by changes in Ki67 expression and residual Ki67 at 2 weeks (Ki672wk). Time-To-Recurrence (TTR) was estimated using Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox models adjusted for standard clinicopathological variables. New molecular subgroups (MS) were identified using consensus clustering. FINDINGS: HER2-enriched (HER2-E) subtype BCs (44.7% of the total) showed poorer Ki67 response and higher Ki672wk (p<0.0001) than non-HER2-E BCs. High expression of ERBB2 expression, homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) and TP53 mutational score were associated with poor response and immune-related signatures with High Ki672wk. Five new MS that were associated with differential response to AI were identified. HER2-E had significantly poorer TTR compared to Luminal BCs (HR 2.55, 95% CI 1.14–5.69; p=0.0222). The new MS were independent predictors of TTR, adding significant value beyond intrinsic subtypes. INTERPRETATION: Our results show HER2-E as a standardised biomarker associated with poor response to AI and worse outcome in ER+/HER2+. HRD, TP53 mutational score and immune-tumour tolerance are predictive biomarkers for poor response to AI. Lastly, novel MS identify additional non-HER2-E tumours not responding to AI with an increased risk of relapse