Categorization of second language accents by bilingual and multilingual listeners.

This study examines how listeners categorize second language (L2) accents and how their linguistic background affects this categorization. Ninety-eight adult bilingual and multilingual Greek listeners categorized accents in a familiar (British English)-unfamiliar (Australian English) L2 accent condition. Data were collected through an online survey and analysed using binomial mixed-effects models and signal detection analysis.

Perception of second language phonetic contrasts by monolinguals and bidialectals: A comparison of competencies.

This study aims to examine the perception of English vowels by Greek monolingual and bidialectal speakers of English as a second language (L2) and assess the predictions of the Universal Perceptual Model (UPM). Adult Cypriot Greek (CG) bidialectal speakers and Standard Modern Greek (SMG) monolingual speakers participated in classification and discrimination tests. The two groups were matched for various linguistic, sociolinguistic, and cognitive factors.

Promoting Linguistically Based Health Literacy in Doctors for Better Cancer Healthcare in Cyprus.

This paper explores a novel approach in cancer healthcare, underscoring the significance of fostering health literacy among doctors by enhancing their ability to employ linguistically oriented strategies to extract and interpret the linguistic behavior of patients. The focus is on the Greek-Cypriot context, where research on health literacy is still in its nascent stages.

Discrimination of Second Language Vowel Contrasts and the Role of Phonological Short-Term Memory and Nonverbal Intelligence.

Although extensive research has focused on the perceptual abilities of second language (L2) learners, a significant gap persists in understanding how cognitive functions like phonological short-term memory (PSTM) and nonverbal intelligence (IQ) impact L2 speech perception. This study sets out to investigate the discrimination of L2 English monophthongal vowel contrasts and to assess the effect of PSTM and nonverbal IQ on L2 speech perception. The participants consisted of adult monolingually-raised Greek speakers, who completed an AX discrimination test, a digit span test, and a nonverbal intelligence test.

Perception of Dutch vowels by Cypriot Greek listeners: To what extent can listeners' patterns be predicted by acoustic and perceptual similarity?

There have been numerous studies investigating the perception of non-native sounds by listeners with different first language (L1) backgrounds. However, research needs to expand to under-researched languages and incorporate predictions conducted under the assumptions of new speech models. This study aimed to investigate the perception of Dutch vowels by Cypriot Greek adult listeners and test the predictions of cross-linguistic acoustic and perceptual similarity.

Comparison of the prediction accuracy of machine learning algorithms in crosslinguistic vowel classification.

Machine learning algorithms can be used for the prediction of nonnative sound classification based on crosslinguistic acoustic similarity. To date, very few linguistic studies have compared the classification accuracy of different algorithms. This study aims to assess how well machines align with human speech perception by assessing the ability of three machine learning algorithms, namely, linear discriminant analysis (LDA), decision tree (C5.

The Acquisition of /ɪ/-/iː/ Is Challenging: Perceptual and Production Evidence from Cypriot Greek Speakers of English.

This study aims to investigate the perception and production of the English /ɪ/-/iː/ vowel contrast by Cypriot Greek speakers of English as a second language (L2). The participants completed a classification test in which they classified the L2 vowels in terms of their first language (L1) categories, a discrimination test in which they distinguished the members of the vowel contrast, and a production test in which they produced the target vowels. The results showed that they classified both L2 /ɪ/-/iː/ mostly in terms of L1 /i/, which denotes the formation of a completely overlapping contrast according to the theoretical framework of the Universal Perceptual Model (UPM), and that they could hardly distinguish the vowel pair.

Comprehension of complex syntax by non-English-speaking children with developmental language disorder: A scoping review.

Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) are characterised by impaired language abilities both in comprehension and production. Complex syntax is a specific domain which is often considered challenging for children with DLD. Research regarding complex syntax is mostly concerned with the production patterns of speakers and usually employs English-speaking populations.

Abilities of children with developmental language disorders in perceiving phonological, grammatical, and semantic structures.

This study aims to investigate the perception of phonological, grammatical, and semantic structures by 8 children (age range: 8;2-9;5) with developmental language disorders (DLD). Another 8 age-matched (age range: 8;4-10;0) typically developing (TD) children served as controls. The results demonstrated that children with DLD had lower performance than children with TD in the phonology and grammar tests, corroborating earlier findings, which reported difficulties of children with DLD in discriminating voicing contrasts and perceiving grammatical structures.

Acoustic markers of vowels produced with different types of face masks.

The wide spread of SARS-CoV-2 led to the extensive use of face masks in public places. Although masks offer significant protection from infectious droplets, they also impact verbal communication by altering speech signal. The present study examines how two types of face masks affect the speech properties of vowels.

Words are not just words: how the use of media language in the COVID-19 era affects public health.

Objectives: Language can shape the way we perceive the world. In this paper, we investigated how exposure to media texts containing alarming and militaristic language affects peoples' notions regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the consequences of this effect for public health.

Methods: After reading a passage including either alarming and militaristic or neutral terminology on COVID-19, participants completed a questionnaire in which they answered 4 questions on a 7-point Likert scale.

Toward a new model for speech perception: the Universal Perceptual Model (UPM) of second language.

Several speech models have been formed in the past aiming to predict the abilities of nonnative listeners or learners in perceiving and producing speech sounds. The present paper proposes a new model for speech perception, the Universal Perceptual Model of Second Language (henceforth, UPM). UPM assumes that second language phone acquisition is strongly affected by the speakers' native language but still the window of phone learning is open due to the universality of speech sounds.

Effects of Phonetic Training on the Discrimination of Second Language Sounds by Learners with Naturalistic Access to the Second Language.

The present study investigates the effect of high variability phonetic training (HVPT) on the discrimination of second language (L2) vowel contrasts by adult speakers who live in a country where the L2 is dominant. The same subjects who participated in a previous discrimination task were trained in the discrimination of four L2 vowel contrasts which were relatively difficult for this population of learners. Both the post-test and the generalization test showed significant improvement in the discrimination of most vowel contrasts (both stressed and unstressed).

How the language we speak determines the transmission of COVID-19.

Background: Little body of research has focused on the epidemic transmissibility and language interface.

Aims: In this paper, we aim to investigate whether (i) the feature of aspiration found in the phonological inventory of several languages and (ii) the frequency of occurrence of stop consonants are associated with the transmission of COVID-19 among humans.

Methods: The study's protocol was based on a corpus of countries infected by COVID-19 and of which the linguistic repertoire includes a widely spoken language in individuals' everyday communication.

Identification of Native Vowels in Normal and Whispered Speech by Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The present study aims to investigate the identification of native vowel categories by adult individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and estimate their reaction times in both normal and whisper registers; their responses were compared with those of typically developing individuals. The results demonstrated that there was no deficit for individuals with ASD in normal speech, but their responses in the whispered speech were impaired. Also, individuals with ASD responded quicker than controls in normal speech but slower in the whispered speech; still, their responses were quicker than the responses of the controls in the whispered mode.

Speech perception in visually impaired individuals might be diminished as a consequence of monomodal cue acquisition.

Several studies suggest that both the auditory and the visual modalities are important for speech perception, while absence of the visual modality (e.g., due to visual impairment) causes perceptual deficits.