Directing Attention During Perceptual Training: A Preliminary Study of Phonetic Learning in Southern Min by Mandarin Speakers

Author(s):  
Ying Chen ◽  
Eric Pederson
Author(s):  
Johny Lee

Abstract: This study investigated the perception performance of the voiced stops of Indonesian language by Taiwanese learners. Previous studies suggest that the perception of foreign languages’ phonemic category absent in the L1 inventory is troublesome, and this is also the case for the Taiwanese learners’ of Indonesian. Seven of eight of our subjects were unable yet to perfectly distinguish between the voiced stops [b, d, g] and their voiceless counterpart [p, t, k] despite being able to speak Taiwanese (Southern Min) which has the voicing distinction for bilabial stops [b]-[p] and velar stops [g]-[k]. The result yielded from a small sized experimental study of forced option test and literature study provides us a preliminary understanding on why some Taiwanese learners sometimes made production errors, oral and written. This study serves as a preliminary study which we hope to lead to a bigger-scale and well-controlled psychoacoustics study in the future in order to have a more definitive result on the perceptional issue by Taiwanese learners of Indonesian. Abstrak: Studi ini meneliti kemampuan persepsi pemelajar Taiwan terhadap bunyi konsonan hentian bersuara bahasa Indonesia. Penelitian sebelumnya menunjukkan bahwa pemelajar bahasa asing memiliki kesulitan mempersepsi terhadap bunyi-bunyi bahasa asing yang tidak dimiliki oleh kategori fonem bahasa pertama dan kondisi yang sama juga dijumpai pada pemelajar bahasa Indonesia sebagai bahasa asing asal Taiwan. Tujuh dari delapan subjek penelitian masih belum mampu untuk secara sempurna membedakan konsonan hentian bersuara [b, d, g] dan pasangan takbersuaranya [p, t, k] meski semua subjek mampu berbahasa Taiwan (Min Selatan) yang memiliki pembedaan ciri suara pada konsonan hentian bilabial [b]-[p] dan bunyi konsonan hentian velar [g]-[k]. Hasil yang dihasilkan dari penelitian eksperimen dengan teknik force option test dan rujukan kepustakaan berskala kecil ini memberikan gambaran awal tentang kemungkinan penyebab pemelajar bahasa Indonesia asal Taiwan terkadang membuat kekeliruan produksi bahasa, baik secara lisan maupun tulisan. Penelitian ini berfungsi sebagai studi awal yang diharapkan bisa diteruskan untuk penelitian berskala besar dan menggunakan metode psikoakustik untuk mendapatkan hasil yang lebih definitif terhadap isu persepsi pemelajar bahasa Indonesia asal Taiwan. 


Author(s):  
John H.L. Watson ◽  
John L. Swedo ◽  
R.W. Talley

A preliminary study of human mammary carcinoma on the ultrastructural level is reported for a metastatic, subcutaneous nodule, obtained as a surgical biopsy. The patient's tumor had responded favorably to a series of hormonal therapies, including androgens, estrogens, progestins, and corticoids for recurring nodules over eight years. The pertinent nodule was removed from the region of the gluteal maximus, two weeks following stilbestrol therapy. It was about 1.5 cms in diameter, and was located within the dermis. Pieces from it were fixed immediately in cold fixatives: phosphate buffered osmium tetroxide, glutaraldehyde, and paraformaldehyde. Embedment in each case was in Vestopal W. Contrasting was done with combinations of uranyl acetate and lead hydroxide.


Author(s):  
H.D. Geissinger ◽  
C.K. McDonald-Taylor

A new strain of mice, which had arisen by mutation from a dystrophic mouse colony was designated ‘mdx’, because the genetic defect, which manifests itself in brief periods of muscle destruction followed by episodes of muscle regeneration appears to be X-linked. Further studies of histopathological changes in muscle from ‘mdx’ mice at the light microscopic or electron microscopic levels have been published, but only one preliminary study has been on the tibialis anterior (TA) of ‘mdx’ mice less than four weeks old. Lesions in the ‘mdx’ mice vary between different muscles, and centronucleation of fibers in all muscles studied so far appears to be especially prominent in older mice. Lesions in young ‘mdx’ mice have not been studied extensively, and the results appear to be at variance with one another. The degenerative and regenerative aspects of the lesions in the TA of 23 to 26-day-old ‘mdx’ mice appear to vary quantitatively.


Author(s):  
J P Cassella ◽  
V Salih ◽  
T R Graham

Left ventricular assist systems are being developed for eventual long term or permanent implantation as an alternative to heart transplantation in patients unsuitable for or denied the transplant option. Evaluation of the effects of these devices upon normal physiology is required. A preliminary study was conducted to evaluate the morphology of aortic tissue from calves implanted with a pneumatic Left Ventricular Assist device-LVAD. Two 3 month old heifer calves (calf 1 and calf 2) were electively explanted after 128 days and 47 days respectively. Descending thoracic aortic tissue from both animals was removed immediately post mortem and placed into karnovsky’s fixative. The tissue was subsequently processed for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Some aortic tissue was fixed in neutral buffered formalin and processed for routine light microscopy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hicham Zaroual ◽  
El Mestafa El Hadrami ◽  
Romdhane Karoui

This study examines the feasibility of using front face fluorescence spectroscopy (FFFS) to authenticate 41 virgin olive oil (VOO) samples collected from 5 regions in Morocco during 2 consecutive crop seasons.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2S) ◽  
pp. 915-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristie A. Spencer ◽  
Mallory Dawson

Purpose This preliminary study examined whether speech profiles exist for adults with hereditary ataxia based on 2 competing frameworks: a pattern of instability/inflexibility or a pattern of differential subsystem involvement. Method Four dysarthria experts rated the speech samples of 8 adults with dysarthria from hereditary ataxia using visual analog scales and presence/severity rating scales of speech characteristics. Speaking tasks included diadochokinetics, sustained phonation, and a monologue. Results Speech profiles aligned with the instability/inflexibility framework, with the pattern of instability being the most common. Speech profiles did not emerge for the majority of speakers using the differential subsystem framework. Conclusions The findings extend previous research on pure ataxic dysarthria and suggest a possible framework for understanding the speech heterogeneity associated with the ataxias. The predominance of the instability profile is consistent with the notion of impaired feedforward control in speakers with cerebellar disruption.


2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-498
Author(s):  
Puisan Wong ◽  
Man Wai Cheng

Purpose Theoretical models and substantial research have proposed that general auditory sensitivity is a developmental foundation for speech perception and language acquisition. Nonetheless, controversies exist about the effectiveness of general auditory training in improving speech and language skills. This research investigated the relationships among general auditory sensitivity, phonemic speech perception, and word-level speech perception via the examination of pitch and lexical tone perception in children. Method Forty-eight typically developing 4- to 6-year-old Cantonese-speaking children were tested on the discrimination of the pitch patterns of lexical tones in synthetic stimuli, discrimination of naturally produced lexical tones, and identification of lexical tone in familiar words. Results The findings revealed that accurate lexical tone discrimination and identification did not necessarily entail the accurate discrimination of nonlinguistic stimuli that followed the pitch levels and pitch shapes of lexical tones. Although pitch discrimination and tone discrimination abilities were strongly correlated, accuracy in pitch discrimination was lower than that in tone discrimination, and nonspeech pitch discrimination ability did not precede linguistic tone discrimination in the developmental trajectory. Conclusions Contradicting the theoretical models, the findings of this study suggest that general auditory sensitivity and speech perception may not be causally or hierarchically related. The finding that accuracy in pitch discrimination is lower than that in tone discrimination suggests that comparable nonlinguistic auditory perceptual ability may not be necessary for accurate speech perception and language learning. The results cast doubt on the use of nonlinguistic auditory perceptual training to improve children's speech, language, and literacy abilities.


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