The Impact of Alcohol on L1 versus L2

Alcohol intoxication is known to affect many aspects of human behavior and cognition; one of such affected systems is articulation during speech production. Although much research has revealed that alcohol negatively impacts pronunciation in a first language (L1), there is only initial evidence suggesting a potential beneficial effect of inebriation on articulation in a non-native language (L2). The aim of this study was thus to compare the effect of alcohol consumption on pronunciation in an L1 and an L2. Participants who had ingested different amounts of alcohol provided speech samples in their L1 (Dutch) and L2 (English), and native speakers of each language subsequently rated the pronunciation of these samples on their intelligibility (for the L1) and accent nativelikeness (for the L2). These data were analyzed with generalized additive mixed modeling. Participants’ blood alcohol concentration indeed negatively affected pronunciation in L1, but it produced no significant effect on the L2 accent ratings. The expected negative impact of alcohol on L1 articulation can be explained by reduction in fine motor control. We present two hypotheses to account for the absence of any effects of intoxication on L2 pronunciation: (1) there may be a reduction in L1 interference on L2 speech due to decreased motor control or (2) alcohol may produce a differential effect on each of the two linguistic subsystems

Premessa [al volume recante gli Atti del convegno "L'aria col da capo", a cura di Lorenzo Bianconi e Michel Noiray]

Presentazione del tema e delle prospettive critiche del seminario sull'aria col da capo svolto nella Fondazione Ugo e Olga levi (Venezia), 4-6 maggio 2006

L'aria col da capo

seminario di studio internazionale (partecipanti: cinque musicologi francesi, uno inglese, sei italiani, due tedeschi, uno spagnolo) svolto nella Fondazione Ugo e Olga Levi di Venezia, 4-6 maggio 2006; coordinamento scientifico di Lorenzo Bianconi (UniBo) e Michel Noiray (CNRS Parigi). Gli Atti compariranno nella rivista della Fondazione, "Musica e Storia" (Bologna, Il Mulino)

Dielectric measurements of adsorbed krypton on lamellar halides

We present simultaneous measurements of adsorption isotherms and dielectric isotherms for krypton on lamellar halides. The comparison between the two isotherms shows that dielectric method is well adapted to characterize the multilayer formation. The evolution of dielectric properties from a two-dimensional system towards the bulk is also obtained.Les isothermes d'adsorption et les isothermes diélectriques pour le krypton adsorbé sur des halogénures lamellaires ont été mesurées simultanément. La comparaison entre les deux isothermes montre que la méthode diélectrique est bien adaptée pour caractériser la formation des multicouches. L'evolution des propriétés diélectriques d'un système bi-dimensionnel vers le système tri-dimensionnel est également obtenue

The development of motor synergies in children: Ultrasound and acoustic measurements

The present study focuses on differences in lingual coarticulation between French children and adults. The specific question pursued is whether 4–5 year old children have already acquired a synergy observed in adults in which the tongue back helps the tip in the formation of alveolar consonants. Locus equations, estimated from acoustic and ultrasound imaging data were used to compare coarticulation degree between adults and children and further investigate differences in motor synergy between the front and back parts of the tongue. Results show similar slope and intercept patterns for adults and children in both the acoustic and articulatory domains, with an effect of place of articulation in both groups between alveolar and non-alveolar consonants. These results suggest that 4–5 year old children (1) have learned the motor synergy investigated and (2) have developed a pattern of coarticulatory resistance depending on a consonant place of articulation. Also, results show that acoustic locus equations can be used to gauge the presence of motor synergies in children