Digital Commons Network^™

The Original Meaning Of “Religion” In The First Amendment: A Test Case Of Originalism’S Utilization Of Corpus Linguistics, Lee J. Strang

BYU Law Review

Originalism is the theory of constitutional interpretation that identifies the constitutional text’s public meaning when it was ratified as its authoritative meaning. Corpus linguistics is the study of word-use regularities and patterns, primarily in written texts. In a prior article, I argued that originalists should utilize corpus linguistics to facilitate originalism’s capacity to accurately uncover this original meaning. However, my arguments there were theoretical; this Essay provides a “test case” of corpus linguistics’ capacity to increase originalism’s methodological accuracy. This Essay accomplishes three modest goals. First, it provides a practical example of the application of corpus linguistics to originalism. This …

The Power Of Words: A Comment On Hamann And Vogel’S Evidence-Based Jurisprudence Meets Legal Linguistics—Unlikely Blends Made In Germany, Mark C. Suchman

BYU Law Review

By offering an international and interdisciplinary point of comparison, Hamann and Vogel demonstrate that current American forays into corpus-based legal scholarship reflect only a small sliver of the full range of possibilities for such research. This Comment considers several key branching points that may lie ahead, as the nascent literature begins to mature. In particular, the Comment examines two vexing ambiguities in the corpus-linguistic agenda: the first centers on the ambiguous meaning of legal “empiricism”; the second, on the ambiguous relationship between words and actions. To achieve its full potential, legal corpus linguistics will need to move beyond mere description, …

Estas Rimas Son Para Ti: Exploring Learners Comprehension Of Spanish Language Music Containing Dialectical Features, Avizia Y. Long, Megan Harsh

Faculty Publications

This paper reports the findings of a study that examined native English‐speaking learners’ comprehension of Spanish language music containing Caribbean dialectal features. Twenty‐one learners enrolled in 300‐ and 400‐level Spanish content courses at a large, Midwestern public university in the US participated in this study. Each participant completed the following five tasks: (1) listening task, (2) listening task difficulty questionnaire, (3) vocabulary familiarity task, (4) Spanish language proficiency test, and (5) background questionnaire. The listening task contained short clips of Spanish language music, several of which contained dialectal features present in Caribbean speech and music. The results revealed that comprehension …

Language Learning And Metacognition: An Intervention To Improve Language Classrooms, Rebecca Elise Knoph

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In the USA, the trend of increase in foreign language enrollments at the college level has suddenly begun to decline since 2009, despite the notion that learning multiple languages is becoming essential for effectively communicating with others from diverse native language backgrounds. This new decline may be due in part to inefficient and outdated foreign language courses. The current study examined the effect of how we assess our current knowledge and learning techniques (metacognition) on educational outcomes in hopes to improve the effectiveness of the university classrooms. College students were exposed to new metacognitive strategies that could benefit their language …

Mechanisms And Implications Of Identity Hybridization In Online Advertorials, Christopher Lee Borntrager

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes the ways corporate-sponsored image advertorials published in online platforms construct identities for their sponsor. By analyzing 6 advertorials from The Guardian Online as well as a user comment thread on the same website using critical linguistic analysis and conversation analysis, respectively, this study suggests that the identities constructed in corporate-sponsored advertorials are a hybridized form, claiming both the goals of a corporation and the social legitimacy of a professional activist. To construct these hybrid identities, the advertorials in this sampling used specific linguistic strategies to demonstrate agency with regard to a specific social issue while seeming to …

Structural Narratology In Romanian Sign Language Personal Experience Narratives, Jessica Sohre

Theses and Dissertations

The primary focus of this paper is to examine how personal experience narratives in Romanian Sign Language (LSR) compare to previous research in structural narratology in spoken languages and in American Sign Language (ASL). One main area of comparison is the differences and similarities in the type of information found in structural narrative categories as described by Labov and Waletsky (1967), Labov (1972), Brewer (1984), Dooley and Levinsohn (2001) and Mulrooney (2009). The second main area of comparison is the grammatical devices that correlate to certain categories, in particular, using Liddell's (2003) concepts of surrogate, depicting verb and token blends. …

Retrieval Processes In Subject-Verb Agreement Computation, Nathaniel James Eversole

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

An important question in psycholinguistics is how subject-verb agreement is computed. One recent proposal is that memory retrieval processes play a key role in subject-verb agreement during sentence comprehension (Wagers et al., 2009). This model holds that when an agreeing verb (e.g., praise-s/-Ø; was/were) is encountered, a search is initiated through the memory representation of the sentence for a noun phrase (NP) with matching agreement features. When a controlling subject with matching features is available, the search ends successfully. However, in instances of a mismatch with this subject, the mechanism may (incorrectly) satisfy the agreement requirements of the verb with …

#Twitterdiscoursemarkers: A Corpora Based Study Of The Pragmatic Functions Of Hashtags, Darcey Nicole Browning

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

In this dissertation, I posit that hashtags can function as discourse markers, where space constraints of 140 characters on Twitter complicate their realization. Through the progression of research questions that shape each chapter, this dissertation analyzes how hashtags assist with felicitous communication to the intended audience of a tweet via four distinct corpora. The first function of discourse markers investigated in this dissertation involves delays; in emotional narratives, we would expect to find discourse markers acting as delays. Starting with a corpus of survivor interviews, I investigate which traditional discourse markers appear frequently when survivors talk about violence and which …

Empirical Examination Of Two Diagnostics Of Korean Unaccusativity, Jungae Lee Allman

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

According to the Unaccusative Hypothesis (UH), intransitive verbs can be divided into two classes: unaccusative verbs (e.g. fall) and unergative verbs (e.g. dance) (Burzio 1986, Perlmutter 1978). Several approaches have been developed to distinguish between these two classes of verbs across languages. Sorace (2000) also developed the Split Intransitive Hierarchy (SIH) which proposes that there is a continuum of intransitive verbs ranging from unaccusative to unergative. Evidence for the Unaccusative Hypothesis has been developed from an empirical perspective. The aim of this dissertation is to complement the linguistic theory of the UH in Korean by examining two Korean unaccusative diagnostics …

Typography And The Evolution Of Hebrew Alphabetic Script: Writing Method Of The Sofer, Shayna Tova Blum

Faculty and Staff Publications

Typography is the study of language letterforms, phonographic alphabetic characters that, when combined with additional characters, form words and/or sentences to express an idea and communicate a message to an audience. The history of typographic design dates back to early civilization and the invention of alphabetic writing systems, formulated and processed through the literary skills of the Hebrew Scribe Ezra whose knowledge and practice offered a significant contribution within a predominantly oral society. By examining the history of Hebrew typography through the discourse of biblical writing systems and alphabetic design, the article addresses the development of Hebrew scripts evolving from …

The Experiences And Perceptions Of Microaggressions Against American Assistant Language Teachers Living In Japan, Stephanie Leann Hupp

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports the results of a mixed method study investigating the microaggressions that Americans working as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) experience in popular English as a Second Language jobs such as the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET Program) and Interac. Utilizing a survey, this study identifies the types of microaggressions American ALTs experience and at what frequency, in both the general and workplace environment, the emotional valence of these utterances, how ALTs respond verbally and emotionally, how they cope, their job satisfaction, intercultural communication competence, and relational intimacy with Japanese Teachers of English. A series of interviews portrays …

Tools For Assessing Relatedness In Understudied Language Varieties: A Survey Of Mixtec Varieties In Western Oaxaca, Mexico, Erin Padgett

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents findings of research conducted on the relatedness of seven Mixtec varieties spoken in indigenous language communities in western Oaxaca, Mexico. Mixtec varieties vary widely from one community to the next, and it is necessary to determine the relatedness of Mixtec varieties in order to best serve the language development needs of communities. Understanding the relatedness of these varieties is also an important step in measuring their intelligibility.

I used three research tools to gather data: a General Wordlist, a Tone Wordlist, and a Sociolinguistic Questionnaire. I present five analyses: percentage of phonologically similar forms, displaying phonological correspondences …

How To Enhance Interdisciplinary Competence—Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning Versus Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning, Mirjam Brassler, Jan Dettmers

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Interdisciplinary competence is important in academia for both employability and sustainable development. However, to date, there are no specific interdisciplinary education models and, naturally, no empirical studies to assess them. Since problem-based learning (PBL) and project-based learning (PjBL) are learning approaches that emphasize students’ collaboration, both pedagogies seem suitable to enhance students’ interdisciplinary competence. Based on the principle of constructive alignment and four instructional principles on interdisciplinary learning, this paper proposes that students profit more from interdisciplinary PBL (iPBL) than interdisciplinary PjBL (iPjBL). A pre-post study was conducted with a sample of 95 students participating in iPBL and 183 students …

Penerjemahan Kata Budaya Dalam Laskar Pelangi Ke Dalam Novel Bahasa Jepang Niji No Shoonentachi, Mike Nurjana

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This research aims to describe the method and technique of the translation of cultural words in “Laskar Pelangi” into a Japanese novel, “Niji no Shoonentachi.” This research uses a descriptive approach with comparative models. Cultural words in this study are determined based on the classification proposed by Newmark’s models. In this research 186 data have been collected according to the two cultural categories, namely, material one and ecological one. The data collection was conducted by comparing Japanese: the target language, and Indonesian: the source language. This comparative analysis of the data uses work tools such as dictionaries, both printed and …

Stewards Of God’S Mercy: Vocation And Priestly Ministry In Africa, Jordan Nyenyembe

Journal of Global Catholicism

A reflection on the tasks of priestly ministry in Africa with specific reference to the example and exhortation of Pope Francis. Among the issues addressed and critiqued are Western “cultic” understandings of the priest and the, the “Igwe Syndrome" which likens the priest to a chief.

Contested Moral Issues In Contemporary African Catholicism: Theological Proposals For A Hermeneutics Of Multiplicity And Inclusion, Stan Chu Ilo

Journal of Global Catholicism

Drawing upon the broad work of Vatican II and Pope Francis’ Evangelicum Gaudium the article proposes how a hermeneutic of multiplicity and inclusion could help hold in balance the tension between tradition and innovation, universal principles and specific contextual application for Catholicism in Africa. Among the issues addressed are cultural relativism, natural law theory, and polygamy.

Communicating The Justice And Peace Of God In Africa Today, Walter Ihejirika

Journal of Global Catholicism

Engaging with the work and theories of Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner, the article charts out a spirituality of communication within Nigerian Catholicism. Discussing the intersection between various forms of media and community, the article argues for the utilization of media in the pursuit of social justice and the dismantling of inequalities.

Inculturation Of Liturgical Music In The Roman Catholic Church Of Igbo Land: A Compositional Study, Benedict Nwabugwu Agbo

Journal of Global Catholicism

A study of inculturation, composition and music among Catholics in Igboland, Nigeria. The article insects with contemporary discussions of inculturation/enculturation after Vatican II and the recommendation of St. John Paul II in his Ecclesia in Africa.

A Longitudinal Cross-Sectional Study On The Acquisition Of Navajo Verbs In Children Aged 4 Years 7 Months Through 11 Years 2 Months, Melvatha R. Chee

Linguistics ETDs

This dissertation presents an analysis of child acquisition and production of the Navajo verb construction. My data shows that Navajo children extract meaningful verb units that do not adhere to the linguistic boundaries normally ascribed to the Navajo verb. Through my data, I have observed that children use morphologically and phonologically reduced units. They produce verb constructions that exhibit fusion with units outside the verb such as postpositions. As the children acquire larger units, or chunks, morphophonological interactions are preserved.

This dissertation is a longitudinal cross-sectional analysis of child language data collected from four Navajo speaking children. The children, all …

Didn't See That Coming: An Analysis Of Unexpressed Subjects In English Discourse, Amy Marie Lindstrom

Linguistics ETDs

Research on variable subject expression in null subject languages is robust; however, the factors that condition subject expression in English are underexplored, primarily because it is generally assumed that overt subjects accompany inflected verbs. This dissertation addresses this gap by investigating cross-linguistic constraints that influence subject (un)expression in English, focusing on third person human and inanimate referents. Data for this study come from two discursive corpora, representing the genres of conversation and narrative. Analysis reveals that discourse/pragmatic factors, such as accessibility, are operative notwithstanding the typological divide commonly known as pro/non-pro-drop. This dissertation presents an original approach to measuring discourse …

‘We Don’T Talk Gypsy Here’: Minority Language Policies In Europe, William S. New, Hristo Kyuchukov, Jill De Villiers

Philosophy: Faculty Publications

The Roma constitute an ideal case of educational injustice meeting linguistic difference, racism, social marginalization, and poverty. This paper asks whether human-rights or capabilities approaches are best suited to address issues related to the language education of Roma students in Europe. These children are disadvantaged by not growing up with the standard dialect of whatever language is preferred by the mainstream population, and by the low status of the Romani language, and non-standard dialect of the standard language they usually speak. We examine language education for Roma students in Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria, describing similarities and differences across …

Intensifiers And The Construction Of Identity In New Mexican English, Frances Jones

Linguistics ETDs

In traditional sociolinguistic analyses, one or more linguistic variables are examined in terms of their correlation with broad social categories, such as gender or ethnicity. If a correlation is found, it can be argued that the variable is indexical of the speaker’s membership within the relevant social category (Labov 1972, 2001; Mesthrie et al 2000; Tagliamonte 2005, 2008). The use of intensifiers in English is one linguistic variable which has been extensively analyzed in terms of its variation in multiple populations, with noted differences in intensifier use between male and female speakers, older and younger speakers, and speakers in different …

Highly Complex Syllable Structure: A Typological Study Of Its Phonological Characteristics And Diachronic Development, Shelece Easterday

Linguistics ETDs

The syllable is a natural unit of organization in spoken language. Strong cross-linguistic tendencies in syllable size and shape are often explained in terms of a universal preference for the CV structure, a type which is also privileged in abstract models of the syllable. Syllable patterns such as those found in Itelmen qsaɬtxt͡ʃ ‘follow!’ and Tashlhiyt tsskʃftstt ‘you dried it (f)’ are both typologically rare and theoretically marginalized. This dissertation is an investigation of the properties of languages with highly complex syllable patterns. The aims are (i) to establish whether these languages share other linguistic features in common such that …

Functions, Forms, And Accessibility Of English As A Second Language Courses In South-Central Kentucky, Mollie Todd

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In the South-Central region of Kentucky there are several facilities that teach English as Second Language (ESL) courses. This thesis examines the forms and styles of these classes, as well as problems refugee students face in the classroom and the functions the classes may serve beyond the teaching of English. To accomplish this, I used anthropological field work methods, including semi-structured interviews with local ESL teachers, volunteers, and professionals in refugee services and participant observation. I will focus on the interviews I have conducted; what content has been collected, structure of the interviews, and what questions were asked. This paper …

Linguistics And Lis: A Research Agenda, Mary K. Bolin

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Talking Conflict: The Loaded Language Of Genocide, Political Violence, Terrorism, And Warfare, Jennifer A. Bartlett

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

The language used to describe conflict situations, whether military, political, or personal, has the potential to help resolve or escalate. Terms such as “collateral damage,” “ethnic cleansing,” and “final solution” often refer to historical events, but can also be used to condemn or endorse particular points of view in political speeches, the media, and local debate. Euphemisms, oxymorons, propaganda, jargon: all come into play. The nuanced and powerful rhetoric of conflict is the topic of Talking Conflict, an interesting and wide-ranging encyclopedia discussing the impact of linguistics, political science, journalism, and other fields on the language of conflict.

The Impact Of Changing Toefl Cut-Scores On University Admissions, Laura Michelle Decker

Theses and Dissertations

As the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is often used as a determiner for university admissions, this study observes the effect on the international student population at a large private university through the examination of the international student admissions data including TOEFL and first-year GPA from 2005-2015. With the anonymous data of 9,837 students, researchers analyzed the result of a cut-score change at the university. Results indicated that the number of international students decreased at the university. As expected, the TOEFL data revealed a normal distribution for the overall (combined) score and subsection scores, while the GPA …

Connecting Genre-Based And Corpus-Driven Approaches In Research Articles: A Comparative Study Of Moves And Lexical Bundles In Saudi And International Journals, Basim M. Alamri

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Research articles (RAs) have become the primary channel for researchers to circulate academic knowledge within certain discourse communities. Writing an acceptable research paper for publication in a scholarly journal is challenging for novice writers, especially for nonnative speakers of English. The present study was pedagogically motivated, and the ultimate goal was to provide the basis for a genre approach and corpus linguistics to academic writing for ESL/EFL postgraduate students in the field of applied linguistics.

The study analyzed the rhetorical structure and lexical bundles of English-language RAs—Introduction-Methods-Results-Discussion-Conclusion (I-M-R-D-C)—sections published in Saudi Arabian and international journals in the field of applied …

Review Of "Introducing Sign Language Literature: Folklore And Creativity" By R. Sutton-Spence And M. Kaneko, Donna Jo Napoli

Linguistics Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Comparing The Awl And Avl In Textbooks From An Intensive English Program, Michelle Morgan Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

Academic vocabulary is an important determiner of academic success for both native and non-native speakers of English (Corson, 1997; Gardner, 2013; Hsueh-chao & Nation, 2000). In an attempt to address this need, Coxhead (2000) developed the Academic Word List (AWL)—a list of words common across a range of academic disciplines; however, Gardner & Davies (2014) identified potential limitations in the AWL and have more recently produced their own list of core academic vocabulary—the Academic Vocabulary List (AVL). This study compares the occurrences of the AWL and AVL word families in an intensive English program (IEP) corpus of 50 texts to …