Community structure, which refers to the presence of densely connected groups within a larger network, is a common feature of several real-world networks from a variety of domains such as the human brain, social networks of hunter-gatherers and business organizations, and the World Wide Web (Porter et al., 2009). Using a community detection technique known as the Louvain optimization method, 17...

The paper aims at investigating the idea of a symbolic nature of sounds and its implications for in the acquisition of foreign language phonology. Firstly, it will present an overview of universal trends in phonetic symbolism, i.e. non-arbitrary representations of a phoneme by specific semantic criteria. Secondly, the results of a preliminary study on different manifestations of sound symbolism...

This paper will look to aphasic speech production for insight on phonological properties of spoken language in general. Aphasia is a type of language deficit resulting from stroke, lesions, or other kinds of injury to speech processing areas of the brain. Its effects can devastate a person’s ability to interact with others through verbal communication. Although aphasic speech can seem nearly in...

Sensitivity to regularities plays a crucial role in the acquisition of various linguistic features from spoken language input. Artificial grammar learning paradigms explore pattern recognition abilities in a set of structured sequences (i.e., of syllables or letters). In the present study, we investigated the functional underpinnings of learning phonological regularities in auditorily presented...

In this mini-review, we investigate the role sign language (SL) might play in development of deaf learners' reading skills. Since Stokoe's recognition, 1960s, American Sign Language (ASL) as a its own right, ASL has been progressively included research on deaf, but with different statuses. Two contrasting paradigms can thus be identified literature. The first considers that plays an indirect li...