Purpose: The current study examined if bilingual children (English-Spanish) with language impairment(LI) and children in the low typical(LT) range display a cognate advantage as their typically developing(TD) peers do. Given the literature we posed two hypotheses; on one hand, learning cognates may be easier for bilingual children with language impairment over typically developing children, as their shared representations lend to overlap in input. Conversely, it is possible the children with SLI would exhibit a cognate disadvantage given that in early language development children reject lexical units with high competition. Method: We examined whether 117 Spanish-English bilingual children (5;0 to 9;11) displayed a cognate advantage in oral production relative to their typically developing peers. The cognate and noncognate items were derived from the English and Spanish versions of the Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test. Children’s average proportion of cognate and noncognate responses were compared across ability groups. Results: TD bilingual children exhibited a cognate advantage, while the bilingual children with LI exhibited a cognate disadvantage. TD bilingual children produced a significantly higher proportion of cognates across their two languages, while LI children produced most of their cognates in Spanish only. The LT children performed similarly to the LI group in terms of overall proportion correct of cognate pairs over noncognate pairs, but performed similar to the TD group in terms of the language of response (only English, only Spanish, or both languages) of the cognate pairs. Conclusion: Consistent with our second hypothesis, children with LI show a cognate disadvantage, while TD bilingual children show an advantage for cognate production. As expected, LT children’s performance fell between the LI and TD groups. We discuss the theoretical and clinical implications of these findings. / text

The majority of previous studies on cognate words have found a robust cognate facilitation effect in picture naming using alphabetic languages. Research has also identified that if the cognates do not share phonology or meaning (i.e., false cognate inhibition effect), this effect may become inhibitory. These mixed findings seem to suggest that semantics, phonology and orthography may contribute differently to cognate word processing. In this thesis, two effects, the phonological overlap effect and the orthographical overlap effect were examined independently for the first time by testing picture naming in two non-alphabetic languages: Cantonese and Mandarin. Two types of cognate words were included: cognate and semi-cognate words. The orthography of both cognate and semi-cognate words is shared between L1 and L2, but only cognate words share phonology. The thesis study included three experiments. In the preparatory experiment, an on-line rating study was conducted, whereby cognate and semi-cognate words with mono-syllabic or bi-syllabic names in Mandarin and Cantonese were rated on word AOA, frequency, picture complexity, familiarity and image agreement. From the preparatory experiments a pictorial-word corpus was selected to use in Experiments 1 and 2. In Experiment 1, Cantonese-Mandarin bilinguals named pictures in the corpus in L1 (Cantonese). By contrasting cognate and semi-cognate word naming latency, the results showed a slowed naming latency for cognate words that was marginally significant. It is argued that this finding reflects a possible inhibitory effect from the difference in stages at which competition occurs and the difference in the cognitive load of that competition for cognate and semi-cognate words. In Experiment 2, Cantonese-Mandarin bilinguals named the same pictures in L2 (Mandarin), showing a similar trend of cognate inhibition effect as that found in Experiment 1, albeit with a smaller magnitude of cognate inhibition. Taken together, the cognate inhibition effect can be explained by the different stages of cross-language competition that occur for cognate and semi-cognate words in picture naming. The cognitive load of overcoming that competition is larger for cognate than for semi-cognate words. / published_or_final_version / Speech and Hearing Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

If an individual speaks more than one language, there are always at least two ways of verbalising any thought to be expressed. The bilingual speaker must then have a means of ensuring that their utterances are produced in the desired language. However, prominent models of speech production are based almost exclusively on monolingual considerations and require substantial modification to account for bilingual production. A particularly important feature to be explained is the way bilinguals control the language of speech production: for instance, preventing interference from the unintended language, and switching from one language to another. One recent model draws a parallel between bilinguals??? control of their linguistic system and the control of cognitive tasks more generally. The first two experiments reported in this thesis explore the validity of this model by comparing bilingual language switching with a monolingual switching task, as well as to the broader task-switching literature. Switch costs did not conform to the predictions of the task-set inhibition hypothesis in either experiment, as the ???paradoxical??? asymmetry of switch costs was not replicated and some conditions showed benefits, rather than costs, for switching between languages or tasks. Further experiments combined picture naming with negative priming and semantic competitor priming paradigms to examine the role of inhibitory and competitive processes in bilingual lexical selection. Each experiment was also conducted in a parallel monolingual version. Very little negative priming was evident when speaking the second language, but the effects of interlingual cognate status were pronounced. There were some indications of cross-language competition at the level of lexical selection: participants appeared unable to suppress the irrelevant language, even when doing so would make the task easier. Across all the experiments, there was no evidence for global inhibition of the language-not-in-use during speech production. Overall results were characterised by a remarkable flexibility in the mechanisms of bilingual control. A striking dissociation emerged between the patterns of results for cognate and non-cognate items, which was reflected throughout the series of experiments and implicates qualitative differences in the way these lexical items are represented and interconnected.

Cognate mechanisms have been often used in design of linkages. Improper positions of fixed link or transmission angle could be improved effectively. Cognate mechanisms of planar linkages have been developed well, but the research on the spherical cognate is still wild open. There are just only spherical supplement mechanisms that have been presented by Soni(1967) until today. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the existence of spherical four-bar linkages cognate mechanisms. The geometry and properties of planar cognate mechanisms are discussed and a simulation program is written for the planar cognate mechanism. Then, the characteristics of spherical mechanisms are considered and the spherical cognate simulation program is built by using the result of planar cognate as a reference. Three examples are given to demonstrate the existence of pseudo-cognates for spherical mechanisms.

A three-link, single-degree-of-freedom mechanism, named the Spirograph linkage, is investigated in this thesis. What is special about this open-chain mechanism is that, by the use of a chain and two sprockets and therefore maintaining a constant angular velocity ratio between the two rotating links, the path traced by this mechanism can be shown to be either an epitrochoid or a hypotrochoid. Through the understanding of the formulations of the trochoids, the relations between the design parameters of the Spirograph linkage and the corresponding path patterns are derived. With certain design parameter combinations, the Spirograph linkage is able to feature paths with cusps, which means dwells and are useful in applications. A design chart for such cusp-generating Spirograph linkages is then included in the thesis for the sake of convenience. In addition, by matching the link-length ratio with the angular velocity ratio, ways for finding closed single-loop paths of the Spirograph linkage are also studied. As for the path generation problems concerning only a fraction of the entire path, we compare results given by the classical precision point scheme with assorted combinations of initial conditions. In the latter part of the thesis, non-circular sprockets are also introduced to provide the Spirograph linkage additional freedom to cope with the demand of more flexible, i.e., non-symmetrical shapes of the path. However, many constraints are to be imposed on the design process of such linkages, and these design limitations are elaborated in the thesis. At last, the use of Newton¡¦s method, the selection of the proper type of trochoids, the application of the envelop method for obtaining the profile of the non-circular sprocket, the analyses of angular velocity ratios, etc. are all exemplified in the several numerical examples of the thesis.

If an individual speaks more than one language, there are always at least two ways of verbalising any thought to be expressed. The bilingual speaker must then have a means of ensuring that their utterances are produced in the desired language. However, prominent models of speech production are based almost exclusively on monolingual considerations and require substantial modification to account for bilingual production. A particularly important feature to be explained is the way bilinguals control the language of speech production: for instance, preventing interference from the unintended language, and switching from one language to another. One recent model draws a parallel between bilinguals??? control of their linguistic system and the control of cognitive tasks more generally. The first two experiments reported in this thesis explore the validity of this model by comparing bilingual language switching with a monolingual switching task, as well as to the broader task-switching literature. Switch costs did not conform to the predictions of the task-set inhibition hypothesis in either experiment, as the ???paradoxical??? asymmetry of switch costs was not replicated and some conditions showed benefits, rather than costs, for switching between languages or tasks. Further experiments combined picture naming with negative priming and semantic competitor priming paradigms to examine the role of inhibitory and competitive processes in bilingual lexical selection. Each experiment was also conducted in a parallel monolingual version. Very little negative priming was evident when speaking the second language, but the effects of interlingual cognate status were pronounced. There were some indications of cross-language competition at the level of lexical selection: participants appeared unable to suppress the irrelevant language, even when doing so would make the task easier. Across all the experiments, there was no evidence for global inhibition of the language-not-in-use during speech production. Overall results were characterised by a remarkable flexibility in the mechanisms of bilingual control. A striking dissociation emerged between the patterns of results for cognate and non-cognate items, which was reflected throughout the series of experiments and implicates qualitative differences in the way these lexical items are represented and interconnected.

Macrophage generation of reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI) represents a major effector mechanism in anti‐microbial immunity and non‐septic inflammatory reactions. The induction of macrophage RNI production has been demonstrated to require at least two signals which in microbial infections can be provided by interferon (IFN)‐γ and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The current study demonstrates that, in the absence of LPS, T lymphocytes can provide cognate signal(s) which synergize with IFN‐γ in stimulating macrophage RNI production, as evidenced by the ability of plasma membranes from T cell clones to activate IFN‐γ‐primed macrophages. Although viable resting T cells can activate IFN‐γ‐primed macrophages by an interaction that is antigen specific, plasma membranes from resting T cells do not activate macrophages. Plasma membranes from T cells activated by immobilized anti‐CD3 were able to effectively induce RNI production in IFN‐γ‐primed macrophages. However, in contrast to the antigen‐specific interaction of macrophages with viable resting T cells, the activation of IFN‐γ‐primed macrophages by membranes from activated T cells does not display antigen specificity. Plasma membranes from activated T helper TH2 and from activated TH1 cells were equally effective in activating IFN‐γ‐primed macrophages, suggesting that the dominance of TH1 over TH2 cells in cell‐mediated responses involving macrophage effectors is not a reflection of differences in their ability to interact with macrophages but rather is a reflection of their different pattern of cytokine production. These results suggest that the T cell‐macrophage interaction involves reciprocal activation of both cells ‐ an antigen‐specific activation of the T cells which results in the acquisition of T cell membrane components involved in antigen‐nonspecific stimulation of the macrophages.

Neste trabalho, analiso o fenômeno conhecido como \"uso adverbial do adjetivo\" (ou \"adjetivos adverbiais\"). Tal fenômeno, comum no Português do Brasil (PB), ocorre em sentenças como A Maria falou claro (cf. A Maria falou claramente) e levanta a questão sobre o estatuto categorial do modificador, na medida em que este apresenta forma de adjetivo, mas comportamento de advérbio. Alguns autores afirmam que se trata, de fato, de advérbios: os adjetivos sofrem um processo morfológico chamado de derivação imprópria ou conversão, que consiste na \"transposição de uma palavra de uma classe gramatical para outra\" (Basílio, 2000: 60). Outros autores, como Carnie (2000) e Negrão, Scher e Viotti (2003), sugerem que adjetivos e advérbios constituem uma única categoria gramatical. Um dos argumentos usados pelos autores é o fato de adjetivos e advérbios desempenharem o mesmo papel na sentença: atribuem propriedades aos itens que eles modificam. Essas e outras propostas existentes na literatura têm bons argumentos a seu favor. Contudo, ao olharmos para os dados, todas essas propostas se tornam insatisfatórias, na medida em que nenhuma delas dá conta de explicar os seguintes fatos da língua: em alguns contextos, as formas adverbial e adjetival são possíveis (A Maria falou claro/claramente); em outros contextos, apenas a forma adjetival é possível (A Maria namora firme/*firmemente), e ainda em outros, apenas a forma adverbial (Os soldados resistiram heroicamente/*heróico). A partir de um modelo gerativista do estudo da linguagem, é pertinente investigar não apenas o estatuto categorial dos itens lexicais em questão, mas também o que há na estrutura subjacente dessas sentenças que determina o contexto em que esses itens podem ou não ser utilizados. Seguindo a proposta de Lobato (2005), proponho que os chamados adjetivos adverbiais são, de fato, adjetivos, na medida em que eles modificam um nome implícito na sentença nomeadamente, o objeto cognato relacionado ao verbo, ou um indivíduo denotado pela raiz do verbo, nos termos de Levinson (2006). De fato, os contextos de produtividade das construções com objetos cognatos eventivos (Leung, 2006) são os mesmos contextos de produtividade dos adjetivos adverbiais. Além disso, apesar das aparências, o comportamento dos itens lexicais em questão não é tão adverbial quanto parece: ao contrário dos advérbios, eles não flutuam na sentença, mas têm que ser, obrigatoriamente, adjacentes ao verbo. Outro fator é que, via de regra, eles não podem co-ocorrer com um objeto temático, o que deveria ser possível se esses itens fossem, de fato, adverbiais. / In this work, I analyze the phenomenon known as \"the adverbial use of adjective\" (or \"adverbial adjectives\"). Such phenomenon, common in Brazilian Portuguese (PB), occurs in sentences such as A Maria falou claro (cf. A Maria falou claramente) and raises a question about the categorial status of the modifier, since it presents adjective form, but behaves like an adverb. Some authors say that, in fact, they are adverbs: the adjectives undergo a morphological process called improper derivation or conversion, which consists of the \"shift of a word from a grammatical class to another\" (Basílio, 2006:60). Some other authors, such as Carnie (2000) and Negrão, Scher e Viotti (2003), suggest that adjectives and adverbs belong to an unique grammar category. One of the arguments used by the authors is the fact that adjectives and adverbs carry out the same role in sentence: they attribute properties to the items modified by them. These and other existing suggestions in literature have good arguments on their side. However, when we look at some language data, all these suggestions become unsatisfactory, since none of them can explain the following facts: in some contexts, both the adverbial and adjectival forms is possible (A Maria falou claro/claramente); in other contexts, only the adjectival form is possible (A Maria namora firme/*firmemente), and still in others contexts, only the adverbial form can appear in the sentence (Os soldados resistiram heroicamente/*heróico). Based on a generative model for grammar studies, it is necessary to investigate not only the categorial status of the lexical items in question, but also what there is in the subjacent structure of these sentences, that determines the context in which they can or cannot be used. In this work, I suggest that the adverbial adjectives are, in fact, adjectives, since they can modify either an implicit noun in the sentence, namely, the cognate object related to the verb, or, in Levinson (2006)\'s terms, an individual denoted by the same root as the verb\'s. In fact, the productivity contexts of these constructions with eventive cognate objects (Leung, 2006) are the same productivity contexts where one can find the adverbial adjectives. Besides, the behavior of the lexical items in question is not so adverbial as it looks: differenty from adverbs, they don\'t float in the sentence, but they are, obligatorily, adjacent to the verb. Another important factor is that, generally, they can\'t occur with a thematic object, what should be possible if these items were, in fact, adverbs.

Neste trabalho, analiso o fenômeno conhecido como \"uso adverbial do adjetivo\" (ou \"adjetivos adverbiais\"). Tal fenômeno, comum no Português do Brasil (PB), ocorre em sentenças como A Maria falou claro (cf. A Maria falou claramente) e levanta a questão sobre o estatuto categorial do modificador, na medida em que este apresenta forma de adjetivo, mas comportamento de advérbio. Alguns autores afirmam que se trata, de fato, de advérbios: os adjetivos sofrem um processo morfológico chamado de derivação imprópria ou conversão, que consiste na \"transposição de uma palavra de uma classe gramatical para outra\" (Basílio, 2000: 60). Outros autores, como Carnie (2000) e Negrão, Scher e Viotti (2003), sugerem que adjetivos e advérbios constituem uma única categoria gramatical. Um dos argumentos usados pelos autores é o fato de adjetivos e advérbios desempenharem o mesmo papel na sentença: atribuem propriedades aos itens que eles modificam. Essas e outras propostas existentes na literatura têm bons argumentos a seu favor. Contudo, ao olharmos para os dados, todas essas propostas se tornam insatisfatórias, na medida em que nenhuma delas dá conta de explicar os seguintes fatos da língua: em alguns contextos, as formas adverbial e adjetival são possíveis (A Maria falou claro/claramente); em outros contextos, apenas a forma adjetival é possível (A Maria namora firme/*firmemente), e ainda em outros, apenas a forma adverbial (Os soldados resistiram heroicamente/*heróico). A partir de um modelo gerativista do estudo da linguagem, é pertinente investigar não apenas o estatuto categorial dos itens lexicais em questão, mas também o que há na estrutura subjacente dessas sentenças que determina o contexto em que esses itens podem ou não ser utilizados. Seguindo a proposta de Lobato (2005), proponho que os chamados adjetivos adverbiais são, de fato, adjetivos, na medida em que eles modificam um nome implícito na sentença nomeadamente, o objeto cognato relacionado ao verbo, ou um indivíduo denotado pela raiz do verbo, nos termos de Levinson (2006). De fato, os contextos de produtividade das construções com objetos cognatos eventivos (Leung, 2006) são os mesmos contextos de produtividade dos adjetivos adverbiais. Além disso, apesar das aparências, o comportamento dos itens lexicais em questão não é tão adverbial quanto parece: ao contrário dos advérbios, eles não flutuam na sentença, mas têm que ser, obrigatoriamente, adjacentes ao verbo. Outro fator é que, via de regra, eles não podem co-ocorrer com um objeto temático, o que deveria ser possível se esses itens fossem, de fato, adverbiais. / In this work, I analyze the phenomenon known as \"the adverbial use of adjective\" (or \"adverbial adjectives\"). Such phenomenon, common in Brazilian Portuguese (PB), occurs in sentences such as A Maria falou claro (cf. A Maria falou claramente) and raises a question about the categorial status of the modifier, since it presents adjective form, but behaves like an adverb. Some authors say that, in fact, they are adverbs: the adjectives undergo a morphological process called improper derivation or conversion, which consists of the \"shift of a word from a grammatical class to another\" (Basílio, 2006:60). Some other authors, such as Carnie (2000) and Negrão, Scher e Viotti (2003), suggest that adjectives and adverbs belong to an unique grammar category. One of the arguments used by the authors is the fact that adjectives and adverbs carry out the same role in sentence: they attribute properties to the items modified by them. These and other existing suggestions in literature have good arguments on their side. However, when we look at some language data, all these suggestions become unsatisfactory, since none of them can explain the following facts: in some contexts, both the adverbial and adjectival forms is possible (A Maria falou claro/claramente); in other contexts, only the adjectival form is possible (A Maria namora firme/*firmemente), and still in others contexts, only the adverbial form can appear in the sentence (Os soldados resistiram heroicamente/*heróico). Based on a generative model for grammar studies, it is necessary to investigate not only the categorial status of the lexical items in question, but also what there is in the subjacent structure of these sentences, that determines the context in which they can or cannot be used. In this work, I suggest that the adverbial adjectives are, in fact, adjectives, since they can modify either an implicit noun in the sentence, namely, the cognate object related to the verb, or, in Levinson (2006)\'s terms, an individual denoted by the same root as the verb\'s. In fact, the productivity contexts of these constructions with eventive cognate objects (Leung, 2006) are the same productivity contexts where one can find the adverbial adjectives. Besides, the behavior of the lexical items in question is not so adverbial as it looks: differenty from adverbs, they don\'t float in the sentence, but they are, obligatorily, adjacent to the verb. Another important factor is that, generally, they can\'t occur with a thematic object, what should be possible if these items were, in fact, adverbs.