Scenic: A Language for Scenario Specification and Scene Generation

We propose a new probabilistic programming language for the design and analysis of perception systems, especially those based on machine learning. Specifically, we consider the problems of training a perception system to handle rare events, testing its performance under different conditions, and debugging failures. We show how a probabilistic programming language can help address these problems by specifying distributions encoding interesting types of inputs and sampling these to generate specialized training and test sets. More generally, such languages can be used for cyber-physical systems and robotics to write environment models, an essential prerequisite to any formal analysis. In this paper, we focus on systems like autonomous cars and robots, whose environment is a "scene", a configuration of physical objects and agents. We design a domain-specific language, Scenic, for describing "scenarios" that are distributions over scenes. As a probabilistic programming language, Scenic allows assigning distributions to features of the scene, as well as declaratively imposing hard and soft constraints over the scene. We develop specialized techniques for sampling from the resulting distribution, taking advantage of the structure provided by Scenic's domain-specific syntax. Finally, we apply Scenic in a case study on a convolutional neural network designed to detect cars in road images, improving its performance beyond that achieved by state-of-the-art synthetic data generation methods.Comment: 41 pages, 36 figures. Full version of a PLDI 2019 paper (extending UC Berkeley EECS Department Tech Report No. UCB/EECS-2018-8

A discriminative approach to grounded spoken language understanding in interactive robotics

Spoken Language Understanding in Interactive Robotics provides computational models of human-machine communication based on the vocal input. However, robots operate in specific environments and the correct interpretation of the spoken sentences depends on the physical, cognitive and linguistic aspects triggered by the operational environment. Grounded language processing should exploit both the physical constraints of the context as well as knowledge assumptions of the robot. These include the subjective perception of the environment that explicitly affects linguistic reasoning. In this work, a standard linguistic pipeline for semantic parsing is extended toward a form of perceptually informed natural language processing that combines discriminative learning and distributional semantics. Empirical results achieve up to a 40% of relative error reduction

Correlates of linguistic rhythm in the speech signal

Spoken languages have been classified by linguists according to their rhythmic properties, and psycholinguists have relied on this classification to account for infants’ capacity to discriminate languages. Although researchers have measured many speech signal properties, they have failed to identify reliable acoustic characteristics for language classes. This paper presents instrumental measurements based on a consonant/vowel segmentation for eight languages. The measurements suggest that intuitive rhythm types reflect specific phonological properties, which in turn are signaled by the acoustic/phonetic properties of speech. The data support the notion of rhythm classes and also allow the simulation of infant language discrimination, consistent with the hypothesis that newborns rely on a coarse segmentation of speech. A hypothesis is proposed regarding the role of rhythm perception in language acquisition

The Language Exchange Programme: plugging the gap in formal learning

In the context of distance language learning, speaking is frequently perceived as the most challenging skill; this paper reports on a 12-week summer language exchange programme providing students with new ways of practising their oral abilities. Students who completed an undergraduate beginners’ language module took part in regular online, synchronous language exchange sessions with a partner.This paper analyses the impact of taking part in a language exchange task on the students’ motivation. The mixed methods research included an activity perception questionnaire (based on Deci, Eghrari, Patrick and Leone, 1994) to investigate the motivation of participants whilst undertaking a specific language exchange session, as well as qualitative data from both the questionnaire and the project discussion forum.The language exchange programme provides the opportunity for learners to take ownership of their learning and personalize it, and functions as a bridge between formal and informal learning. However, despite the enjoyment and interest provided by this type of experience, it is not without stress, and requires self-determination and autonomy to result in a positive and sustainable learning experience

Children with SLI can exhibit reduced attention to a talker's mouth

It has been demonstrated that children with specific language impairment (SLI) show difficulties not only with auditory but also with audiovisual speech perception. The goal of this study was to assess whether children with SLI might show reduced attention to the talker's mouth compared to their typically developing (TD) peers. An additional aim was to determine whether the pattern of attention to a talking face would be related to a specific subtype of SLI. We used an eye-tracker methodology and presented a video of a talker speaking the children's native language. Results revealed that children with SLI paid significantly less attention to the mouth than the TD children. More specifically, it was also observed that children with a phonological-syntactic deficit looked less to the mouth as compared to the children with a lexical-syntactic deficit

Speech perception deficits and the underlying nature of developmental dysphasia

Developmental dysphasia is a specific and primary disorder of oral language development which occurs in children with normal hearing and normal intelligence, having neither objective neurological diseases nor emotional or communicative disorders, and is characterised by more serious deficiencies in perception than in production processes. The relevant literature has mainly been focusing on expressive linguistic skills so far; whereas with respect to the mechanism of speech perception, only certain component processes have been investigated. The present paper presents pioneering work in exploring specific perception disorders in dysphasic children and discusses interrelationships of the operation of component processes within the total system of speech perception. On the basis of the foregoing, delayed speech and the dissociation of production and perception are discussed in the framework of current theories of language acquisition and hypotheses concerning the operation of defective processes

The phonetics of second language learning and bilingualism

This chapter provides an overview of major theories and findings in the field of second language (L2) phonetics and phonology. Four main conceptual frameworks are discussed and compared: the Perceptual Assimilation Model-L2, the Native Language Magnet Theory, the Automatic Selection Perception Model, and the Speech Learning Model. These frameworks differ in terms of their empirical focus, including the type of learner (e.g., beginner vs. advanced) and target modality (e.g., perception vs. production), and in terms of their theoretical assumptions, such as the basic unit or window of analysis that is relevant (e.g., articulatory gestures, position-specific allophones). Despite the divergences among these theories, three recurring themes emerge from the literature reviewed. First, the learning of a target L2 structure (segment, prosodic pattern, etc.) is influenced by phonetic and/or phonological similarity to structures in the native language (L1). In particular, L1-L2 similarity exists at multiple levels and does not necessarily benefit L2 outcomes. Second, the role played by certain factors, such as acoustic phonetic similarity between close L1 and L2 sounds, changes over the course of learning, such that advanced learners may differ from novice learners with respect to the effect of a specific variable on observed L2 behavior. Third, the connection between L2 perception and production (insofar as the two are hypothesized to be linked) differs significantly from the perception-production links observed in L1 acquisition. In service of elucidating the predictive differences among these theories, this contribution discusses studies that have investigated L2 perception and/or production primarily at a segmental level. In addition to summarizing the areas in which there is broad consensus, the chapter points out a number of questions which remain a source of debate in the field today.https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uHX9K99Bl31vMZNRWL-YmU7O2p1tG2wHhttps://drive.google.com/open?id=1uHX9K99Bl31vMZNRWL-YmU7O2p1tG2wHhttps://drive.google.com/open?id=1uHX9K99Bl31vMZNRWL-YmU7O2p1tG2wHAccepted manuscriptAccepted manuscrip

Hörer- und Sprechertypen in Bremen und Hamburg. Eine Untersuchung zu Sprachwissen, Sprachwahrnehmung und Sprachgebrauch

Regarding the perception of regional speech and the salience of language variants it is to as-sume, that they are being influenced by individual features of the specific speaker/listener. However, most recent studies dealing with the salience of language phenomena neglect factors like, for example, language awareness or the profession of speakers. This article focuses on the correlation between speech perception, speech production and individual characteristics of speakers like the metalinguistic knowledge they have. It presents selected results of a study dealing with the perception and production of regional speech in Bremen and Hamburg and discusses different types of speaker/listener profiles

Melodic and Rhythmic-Melodic Perception in Children with Specific Language Impairment

Language and music share many properties, with a particularly strong overlap for prosody. Prosodic cues are generally regarded as crucial for language acquisition. Previous research has indicated that children with SLI fail to make use of these cues. As processing of prosodic information involves similar skills to those required in music perception, we compared music perception skills (melodic and rhythmic-melodic perception and melody recognition) in a group of children with SLI (, five-year-olds) to two groups of controls, either of comparable age (, five-year-olds) or of age closer to the children with SLI in their language skills and about one year younger (, four-year- olds). Children with SLI performed in most tasks below their age level, closer matching the performance level of younger controls with similar language skills. These data strengthen the view of a strong relation between language acquisition and music processing. This might open a perspective for the possible use of musical material in early diagnosis of SLI and of music in SLI therapy

The Role of Language in the Media in Influencing Public Perceptions of Refugees

The refugee crisis has become a worldwide epidemic in recent years. As refugee entrance into host countries is debated, media outlets are covering the issue regularly. These media outlets use various types of language when portraying refugees. Many publications have been found to convey hostile and divisive themes as well as use specific linguistic tools, which contribute to negative portrayals of refugees. Media outlets have the potential to influence public perceptions of refugees because the general public in a host country receives its information primarily from the media. Overt and subtle language used to describe refugees has been previously found to influence public opinions. This study of 101 students at a conservative Christian university in the mid-Atlantic United States was designed to examine whether manipulated language in news articles impacted perceptions of refugees. Participants were randomly assigned to the positive or negative language condition and then asked to complete a survey assessing four facets of perception. None of the results were significant, indicating the language in the article did not impact perceptions of refugees. This study was limited by lack of diversity in the sample, the use of self-report data, potential personal confounds, and a small sample size. The results implied a need for balance when calling for media ethics and a need for many more empirical studies in this area