Normal Language requires the integration of formal, conceptual, and pragmatic knowledge. It appears to involve the analytic processing of the left hemisphere and the holistic processing of the right. To study hemisphere involvement in language processing, patients with unilateral right or left hemisphere lesions and a matched neurologically normal control group were tested on their ability to perceive stress and intonation contrasts in words and phrases of varying length. The results suggest that both hemispheres are involved in normal language processing, each in a qualitatively different way. Whereas the left hemisphere appears to work from the bottom up, analyzing information sequentially and arriving at the overall pattern, the right hemisphere works from the top down, beginning with the overall pattern and working to fill in the details. Moreover, the importance of each hemisphere's participation may change in response to different grammatical and contexual variables.

This study draws on previous research (e.g., Labov, 1969; Carranza & Ryan, 1975; Brennan & Brennan, 1981; Alford & Strother, 1990) which has revealed and confirmed the many language stereotypes and biases in existence in the United States The present study differs from earlier investigations in that it specifically addresses the current-day attitudes of American English speakers toward a selection of accents that include both native (U.S. regional) and nonnative (foreign or ethnic) accents of English. / The purpose of the present study was to determine the evaluative reactions of an American-born audience toward accented English speech. Fifty-three American college students listened to an audio recording of eight accented English speakers, four representing regional U.S. accent groups and four representing ethnic or foreign accent groups. The students' evaluative reactions indicated favoritism toward the American English speakers with a consistent downgrading of the ethnic speakers. Analysis of the personality ratings suggests that participants based their judgments to some extent on their perceptions of the accented speakers in terms of three dimensions: appeal, accommodation and aspiration. The conceptual affinity of these three dimensions and the subsequent revelation of three-dimensional model of "absolute accommodation" are discussed. / This exploratory study clearly implies a need for further research, particularly into educational programs or interventions aimed at countering the negative attitudes and stereotypes associated with language variety.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / Title from PDF file main screen (viewed on July 30, 2009). "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, Department of Computing Science, University of Alberta." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri State University, 2009. / "May 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 15-16). Also available online.

The purpose of this investigation was to study the effects of three modes of stress on error productions of children with developmental apraxia of speech during a sentence repetition task. The study was designed to answer the question: Will there be a significant difference in the number of errors for each mode when: a) training to distinguish among the stress modes is not provided? b) training to distinguish among the stress modes is provided?

No description available.

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Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 11 janvier 2024) / L'objectif de notre étude a été d'examiner l'influence du bilinguisme précoce sur la perception auditive et la production de nouveaux sons dans une langue étrangère (LÉ). Nous avons vérifié si le fait d'avoir acquis une langue seconde (L2) en bas âge facilitait la discrimination et la prononciation des contrastes phonologiques lors de l'apprentissage d'une nouvelle langue, voire une troisième langue (L3). Afin d'atteindre cet objectif, nous avons mené une étude quasi expérimentale auprès de deux groupes d'élèves francophones de 1ʳᵉ et de 2ᵉ année du primaire, lesquels ont débuté l'apprentissage du français dès leur plus jeune âge. Le premier groupe était composé de 18 élèves bilingues français-anglais ayant débuté l'apprentissage de l'anglais (L2) entre 0 et 5 ans. Le second groupe était constitué de 27 élèves monolingues francophones. Les tests utilisés visaient à évaluer leur habileté à discriminer et à prononcer certains sons de l'espagnol et du chinois mandarin. Pour l'évaluation de la prononciation des élèves, en termes de compréhensibilité et d'accent étranger, cette tâche a été accomplie par des auditeurs natifs de l'espagnol et du mandarin (deux évaluateurs par L3). Nous avons complété nos analyses en vérifiant si les bilingues adaptent mieux que les monolingues les caractéristiques phonétiques de certains phonèmes en fonction de la langue utilisée (français, espagnol ou mandarin). Les résultats de notre étude ont montré que les membres du groupe bilingue étaient ni avantagés, ni désavantagés par rapport au groupe monolingue. Nos résultats suggèrent qu'une exposition spécifique aux caractéristiques intrinsèques à la L3 est nécessaire pour arriver à maîtriser les nouveaux sons. / The aim of our study was to examine whether early bilingualism affects the discrimination and pronunciation of new sounds in a foreign language. We sought to verify whether the fact of having acquired a second language (L2) at a young age facilitated discrimination and pronunciation of phonological contrasts when learning a new, i.e., a third language (L3). To achieve this goal, we conducted a quasi-experimental study of two groups of francophone students in 1ˢᵗ or 2ⁿᵈ grade of elementary school all of whom acquired French from an early age. The first group consisted of 18 French-English bilingual students who began English acquisition when they were between 0 and 5 years old. The second group consisted of 27 monolingual French-speaking students. Tests evaluated the ability to discriminate and pronounce some Spanish and Mandarin sounds. Pronunciation was assessed for comprehensibility and foreign accent by native Spanish and Mandarin listeners (two raters per L3). We completed our analyses by verifying whether bilinguals adapted the phonetic characteristics of certain phonemes better than monolinguals according to the language used (French, Spanish, Mandarin). The results of our study showed that the members of the bilingual group were neither advantaged nor disadvantaged compared to the monolingual group. Our findings suggest that specific exposure to the characteristics intrinsic to the L3 is necessary for mastering new sounds in an L3.

published_or_final_version / English Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / abstract / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics