Linguistics Commons^™

The Synchronic And Diachronic Phonology Of Nauruan: Towards A Definitive Classification Of An Understudied Micronesian Language, Kevin Hughes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Nauruan is a Micronesian language spoken in the Republic of Nauru, a small island nation in the central Pacific. Lack of data and difficulty in analysis has hindered progress in better understanding Nauruan for decades, particularly regarding its phonology and its classification within the Micronesian family. Because of these challenges, earlier researchers have presented their work on Nauruan as highly tentative. This dissertation establishes more confident analyses of Nauruan phonology, sound change and classification, which have been made possible through original fieldwork.

Approximately one hundred hours of digital recordings have been collected as part of this research, including wordlists, phrases, …

Testing The Perceptual Magnet Effect In Monolinguals And Bilinguals, Michael C. Stern

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Previous research has demonstrated an apparent warping of the perceptual space whereby the best exemplars or ‘prototypes’ of speech sound categories minimize the perceptual distance between themselves and neighboring stimuli in the same category. This phenomenon has been termed the ‘perceptual magnet effect’ (PME). The present study extends work on the PME to a speech sound category previously unstudied in this paradigm (American English /æ/), and to bilingual speech sound representation and perception. American English monolinguals and Turkish-English bilinguals completed identification tasks, category goodness rating tasks, and same-different discrimination tasks with synthesized vowel sounds from the American English /æ/ category—not …

Phonologically-Informed Speech Coding For Automatic Speech Recognition-Based Foreign Language Pronunciation Training, Anthony J. Vicario

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) and computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) systems used in foreign-language educational contexts are often not developed with the specific task of second-language acquisition in mind. Systems that are built for this task are often excessively targeted to one native language (L1) or a single phonemic contrast and are therefore burdensome to train. Current algorithms have been shown to provide erroneous feedback to learners and show inconsistencies between human and computer perception. These discrepancies have thus far hindered more extensive application of ASR in educational systems.

This thesis reviews the computational models of the human perception of American …

The Interplay Between Interference Control And L2 Proficiency In L2 Auditory Sentence Comprehension In The Presence Of Verbal And Non-Verbal Masking, Jungna Kim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Speech perception and comprehension in the presence of interfering auditory stimuli is a challenge for bilingual listeners (e.g., Ezzatian, Avivi-Reich, & Schneider, 2010; Krizman, Bradlow, Lam, & Kraus, 2017). How efficiently and skillfully listeners manage auditory interference may also be closely related to their ability to pay attention to a target and suppress irrelevant information. Based on Friedman and Miyake’s (2004) framework of interference control, this dissertation investigated the underlying mechanisms of late Korean-English bilingual individuals’ auditory interference control in the presence of auditory verbal and nonverbal masking and evaluated the potential interaction between L2 proficiency and interference control.

Two …

Insider Perspective: Attitude And Motivational Orientation Among Heritage Learners Of Japanese At Colleges In The Philadelphia-Area, Miki Gilmore

#CritEdPol: Journal of Critical Education Policy Studies at Swarthmore College

This study investigates the attitudes and motivational orientations of heritage learners of Japanese. Twenty-seven students enrolled in Japanese classes in colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area participated in this study. Participants fell into two categories: heritage learners (N=6) and foreign language learners (N=21). Data was collected through an online questionnaire consisting of both quantitative and qualitative sections. Descriptive statistics were used to determine participants’ attitudes toward Japanese language, people, and culture and primary motivational orientations toward learning Japanese. The Fisher’s exact test was used to determine the effect of heritage status on attitude and motivational orientation. Results show both …

Word, Meaning And Context, Elmira Abdulla Huseynova

Scientific reports of Bukhara State University

This article attempts to prove that there is a dynamic relationship between the meaning of a word and the context. The meaning of the word itself creates a context. In DVM the most marked meaning of a word is identified by socio-cultural factors. The most marked value of linguistic units has a psychological reality not only for the listener, but also for the speaker. When expressing intentions the speaker chooses words that are the most marked to express his intention.

Substansial Basis Of Syhtactic Constructions, Mekhriniso Kadirovna Abuzalova

Scientific reports of Bukhara State University

In this article the degree of potential unity of a wordform syntactic model (/WF/) in all types of sentences has been defined; it has been proven that the valency potential of /WҒ/ which has been formed as a result of mutual influence of the semantic valency of SSG(semantic-syntactic groups) belonging to /W/ and /Ғ/ garammatic valency can establish the contents of a semantic structure and its status in the sentence.

About The Language Of The Work «Gulistoni Bit-Turkiy», Yakub Siddikovich Saidov

Scientific reports of Bukhara State University

The article investigates some lexical-semantic and linguistic-poetic peculiarities of one of the important written sources of the XIVth century “Gulistony bit-turkiy” by Sayfie Saroyi. It should be noted that the linguistic features of this written source, which plays an important role in the history of the Uzbek literary language, the contribution of the talented poet and translator Sayfi Sarayi in the development of the Uzbek literary language have hardly been studied in Uzbek linguistics. The study of the poet's work in various aspects is important not only for Uzbek linguistics, but also for Turkology.

Actual Problems Of The Uzbek Linguistics, Gani Nasrullaevich Zikrillaev, Erkin Boltaevich Jumaev

Scientific reports of Bukhara State University

The article deals with one of the most urgent problems in the field of Uzbek linguistics- the linguistics of the text. The achievements of Uzbek linguistics in this field are mentioned briefly. The authors consider that at present time the text grammar is not paid enough attention at; problems related to linguistic-communicative peculiarities of some morphologic and syntactic units, , synonymy of simple and complex sentences, relationship between words and word combinations are recommended to be studied from the sociolinguisticl point of view.

Effects Of Learning A Second Language On English Academic And Low-Frequency Vocabulary Acquisition And Metalinguistic Knowledge, Hayriye Karliova

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study compared the possible effects of learning a language from the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family as a second language (L2), namely Latin and Spanish, on English academic and low-frequency vocabulary acquisition and metalinguistic knowledge of native English speaker (NES) undergraduates in their first language (L1), English.

The study sought to attain two objectives: first, it aimed to discover the effects of learning Latin and Spanish as L2s with respect to the vocabulary acquisition of NES undergraduates; second, it aimed to detect the effects these L2s in terms of metalinguistic awareness. In both cases, the focus was …

Languages And Worldview, Manon Allard-Kropp

Open Educational Resources Collection

Asking and answering questions about what culture entails and examines the fundamental properties and intertwining nature of language and culture. This text explores linguistic relativity, lexical differences among languages and intercultural communication, including high and low contexts.

Changes to a variety of OER works were made by Manon Allard-Kropp in the Department of Language and Cultural Studies to tailor the text to fit the needs of the Languages and World View course at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Materials from the original sources have been combined, reorganized, and added to by the current author, and any conceptual or typographical errors …

21cleo: First Year Recap, 21cleo Research Team

21CLEO Research Project Blog Posts

In this post, we recap our experiences, accomplishments, and challenges. We hope that by reviewing the past year, we can provide a sense of where we've been and set the stage for things to come.

Functional Load, Token Frequency, And Contact-Induced Change In Toronto Heritage Cantonese Vowels, Holman Tse

English Faculty Scholarship

Unlike many previous studies of heritage speakers showing phonological maintenance, this presentation will show evidence for a vowel merger among second-generation Toronto Cantonese speakers. Two pairs of vowels are tested for merger. Both pairs are hypothesized to merge due to the lack of similar contrasts in Toronto English: /y/~/u/ and /a/~/ɔ/. Results show merger for only /y/~/u/. This is argued to be due to the lower functional load of /y/~/u/ (three minimal pairs with /y/~/u/, but 105 minimal pairs for /a/~/ɔ/) and due to lower token frequency of /y/ and /u/ compared to /a/ and /ɔ/ in conversational speech.

Compliments, Compliment Responses, And Gender, Sam Laveson

Undergraduate Research Awards

This paper argues that the ways cisgender men versus women tend to respond to compliments can be related to the ways that cisgender men and women tend to give compliments in same-sex interactions (SSIs), based on the framework of politeness. In order to construct this argument, this paper draws on literature review, specifically works that have been authored and published by other scholars in the field of language and gender. Many of these scholars study the giving of compliments and the receiving of compliments, but those two concepts are often studied separately. As such, this paper adds to the field …

Melacak Akar Kreativitas Di Kota Bandung Masa Kolonial, Achmad Sunjayadi

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

In 2007 Bandung was designated as a pilot project for the creative cities of Asia Pacific, and in 2015 Bandung was included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. It is related to the development of the city of Bandung and the creativity of the population. Its creativity is formed through a process. This article traces the roots of this creativity since the beginning of its formation in the early 19th century to become the city of Bandung in the early 20th century. The method used is the historical method supported by creative cities’ and voluntary organization’s concepts. Primary sources were …

Lexical Items As Facets Of Identity In Discourse, Joseph C. M. Davis

Publications and Research

Lexical items are used in discourse not to provide objective direct reference, nor to reflect a language’s system of categorization, nor in accordance with cognitive categories, but rather to communicate different perspectives. Lexical items function as facets of identity, chosen by an author to convey a subjective message. The point is illustrated through an analysis of lexical co-reference in Antonio Tabucchi’s Donna di Porto Pim e altre storie.

Internet Linguistics Final Project, Miranda Weinberg

Digital Humanities Curricular Development

The final project was the opportunity for students to explore some question in Internet Linguistics that interested them. They were asked to produce two final products: one academic paper, and one public-facing product. The paper followed the norms of a standard academic paper. The audience for this was the instructor, fellow student, and (potentially) a wider academic community. The public-facing product was an opportunity to be more creative with form. Students were asked to decide: What audience do you want to share this with, and how would that best be achieved? Students might record a video for YouTube; edit/create Wikipedia …

Internet Linguistics (Ling 004b) Syllabus, Miranda Weinberg

Digital Humanities Curricular Development

Despite predictions to the contrary, it seems that the internet has not destroyed English. But how has the internet changed language use, and the study of linguistics? This course will be an exploration of the various forms that language takes online and in other digital formats, such as texting. We will explore questions such as: Why do my parents insist on texting in full paragraphs?; Is the internet good or bad for the future of indigenous and minority languages?; Is there a difference in meaning between :), :-), ^_^,?; What are the differences and similarities between face-to-face and online communication? …

The Modern Formulation Of Chinese Art History And The Building Of A Nation In Early Twentieth-Century China, Chennie Huang

Dissertations and Theses

At the dawn of the twentieth century, the Chinese formulation of art history underwent dramatic changes. It moved away from the traditional narratives that did not follow a strict chronology to adopt the Western linear model which emphasizes progress and national identity. Based on the premodern tradition, the modern formulations of Chinese art history began as a political strategy for nation building amid the political upheavals, including military attacks on China that led to the end of Qing imperial rule and the beginning of the Republican era (1912-1949).

In the early 1900s, while exiled in Japan, Liang Qichao 梁啟超 (1873-1929), …

Regularity And Variation In Japanese Recipes: A Comparative Analysis Of Cookbook, Online, And User-Generated Sub-Registers, Michiko Kaneyasu, Minako Kuhara

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications

This paper investigates the similarities and differences between three sub-registers of Japanese recipe texts: cookbook recipes, online commercial recipes written/edited by professionals, and online usergenerated recipes. Past studies on Japanese recipes do not distinguish different sub-registers, and they tend to focus on a single feature. The present study of the sub-registers examines a group of frequently appearing linguistic features and uncovers functional links between observed features and situational characteristics. The comparative perspective contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the Japanese recipe language as well as universal and language-specific aspects of register variation. Shared traits among the three sub-registers are …