Linguistics Commons^™

A Grammatical Paradigm, Alexia Polacheck

Spring 2013, Kuhn's Philosophy of Science

Avram Noam Chomsky is known for his work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for his political pursuits, and most importantly, for his theories in the discipline of linguistics. Chomsky linguistic pursuits aimed to answer the following linguistic studies: how a person learns and develops a language, how a person structures and understands a sentence, and what the purpose of linguistics is as a whole. His theories dramatically changed the linguistic paradigm. Due to this change, this paper also attempts to illustrate the correlation between scientific philosopher Thomas Kuhn’s belief in ‘paradigm shifts’ and the subsequent change in linguistic thought spurred …

Language Shift And Development: A Case Study Of Zhongdian Southern Khams Language Vitality, Simon Peters

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The fields of language endangerment and maintenance address language shift overwhelmingly in the context of a local language being replaced by that of a surrounding oppositional dominant cultural group. There are, though, situations in which a local language is competing with the dominant variety of the wider cultural group to which it belongs. How a situation like this is dealt with by linguists and language planners depends largely on the recognition of participant tongues as their own languages or one as a dialect of another. Reversing language shift for a “dialect” is difficult to garnish institutional and financial support for …

[Sabbatical Report], Elizabeth Winkler

Sabbatical Reports

I am working to develop a English-Kpelle dictionary database for use in the electronic world as well as various paper dictionaries to be published and used primarily in Liberia. I input over 2200 entries into a database. Entries include information about pronunciation, meaning, grammar, spelling, etymology and related words. This database will be uploaded to the website as well as formatted for paper publication of the dictionaries.

The Development Of Differential Object Marking In Spanish-English Bilingual Children, Mariluz Ortiz Vergara

Open Access Theses

In monolingual development, the acquisition of differential object marking (DOM) is completed by three years of age (Rodríguez- Mondoñedo, 2008). However, among bilingual speakers, the development and use of the marker at a young age is less predictable. Spanish marks animate and specific direct objects with the preposition-a; English in contrast does not. Based on previous studies documenting transfer in areas where Spanish and English differ, it was predicted that bilingual children would experience difficulties with the use of the preposition both in matrix and left dislocated sentences (CLLD) (Montrul, 2004, Montrul & Bowles, 2009). This study tested 14 simultaneous …

Phonological Adaptations Of English Loanwords In Turkish, Rachel Beel, Jennifer Felder

Other Undergraduate Scholarship

When trying to understand the phonological system of a language (the sounds used in speech), what are some of the ways to figure out the patterns of an unfamiliar language? The way that borrowed or loanwords (words taken from one language and used in another) are pronounced in a language reveals much about the language’s phonology. The phonological system of Turkish has accommodated for starkly different syllable structures when incorporating modern English words into this contrasting language.

A personal survey of Turkish syllable structure has revealed how native speakers of Turkish cope with the phonological features of borrowed English words …

Migration For Education: Haitian University Students In The Dominican Republic, Jenny Miner

Pomona Senior Theses

Haitian university students represent a part of the increasing diversity of Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic. Using an ethnographic approach, I explore university students’ motivations for studying in the Dominican Republic, their experiences at Dominican universities and in Dominican society, Haitian student organizations, and their future plans. Additionally, I focus on Haitian students’ experiences with discrimination and how they relate to other Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic. I find that most students come to the Dominican Republic due to the difficulty of gaining entrance to affordable Haitian universities and logistical convenience. The university is a unique setting where …

March 28, 2013: Poet Jean Valentine Reads Tuesday: Gwen Frostic Reading Series, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

Moore’S Paradox, Direct Doxastic Voluntarism, And Atheist Distrust, Kyle Thompson

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

The concept of belief is analyzed and then discussed within the context of the current climate of atheist distrust in America. To begin, Moore’s Paradox, and its relationship to an important claim made by Wittgenstein regarding false beliefs, is explored. Next, the definition of belief that results from affirming Wittgenstein’s claim is outlined and subsequently defended from an attempted refutation constructed by John N. Williams. The defended definition of belief, which regards direct doxastic voluntarism as false, is then used to argue that atheists do not directly choose to not believe in any gods so as to evade moral responsibility.

March 24, 2013: Premiere Of New Bentley Film Features Wmu Alum, Faculty, Students, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

March 17, 2013: Prose Writer Davy Rothbart Reads This Friday: Spring 2013 Gwen Frostic Reading Series, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

March 15, 2013: Limón Lecture Concludes Scholarly Speakers Series, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

March 13, 2013: 2013 Frostic Creative Writing Awards, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

March 10, 2013: Wood In Savannah, Vickery In Denver, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

March 7, 2013: T. Geronimo Johnson Finalist For Pen/Faulker Award, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

March 5, 2013: De Oliveira Wins A&S Award, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

The Dirty Third: Contributions Of Southern Hip Hop To The Study Of Regional Variation Within African American English, Jennifer Bloomquist, Isaac Hancock

Africana Studies Faculty Publications

While there is well documented evidence of certain supra-regional features in African American English (AAE) phonology and morphosyntax (for example, see Labov 1972; Rickford 1999; Baugh 2000; Green 2002), recent trends in the study of linguistic variation suggest that the homogeneity of the variety has been largely overstated (Mallinson & Wolfram 2002; Friedland 2003; Wolfram 2003). For the most part, contemporary AAE influences on mainstream language have originated from varieties spoken in the northeast and on the west coast which have evolved independently of one another over the past forty years, and which vary in significant ways from southern AAE; …

March 1, 2013: Grace Tiffany Writes About Emilia Lanier, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

Tindak Direktif Bahasa Indonesia Dalam Wacana Kelas Sekolah Dasar, Alif Mudiono

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study focuses on (1) directive speech acts in Indonesian elementary school classroom discourse and (2) the impact of their use in classroom interaction. The research employed an ethnographic method combined with a pragmatic approach. The results of the data analysis indicate that directive speech acts in elementary school classrooms include ordering, requesting, encouraging, questioning, and directing. Furthermore, the impacts of these directive acts are reflected in students’ responses, such as silence, performing tasks according to the given instructions, and displaying attitudes of willingness and responsiveness toward the learning process.

Interferensi Bahasa Indonesia Ke Dalam Bahasa Inggris Pada Abstrak Jurnal Ilmiah, Any Budiarti

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This research aims not only to discuss the interference of the Indonesian language into English as reflected in scientific journal abstracts but also to describe the types of such interference. Thirteen scientific journals were examined in this study. The method applied was descriptive, employing distributional and similarity analyses. The data were collected from scientific journal abstracts published between 2003 and 2008. The results indicate three types of interference: morphological, syntactic, and semantic. Morphological interference occurs in verb forms for the third person singular, plural forms, and possessives. Syntactic interference includes ill-formed phrases, passive voice constructions, parallelism errors, and the omission …

Leksikon Dan Nilai Kultur Suwawa Gorontalo Dalam Ritual Momeqati, Kartin Lihawa

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This research aims to examine the use of the Suwawa lexicon, particularly related to traditional objects in the momeqati ritual and its associated socio-cultural values. The research employs a descriptive qualitative method using observation, interviews, and note-taking techniques to collect the data. The results show that the lexicon related to traditional elements of the momeqati ceremony is dominated by aesthetic values, including beauty, fragrance, harmony, health, perfection, softness, coolness, happiness, welfare, cleanliness, purity, glory, and enjoyment. Based on the Suwawa–Gorontalo community’s conceptual framework, the momeqati ritual ceremony is associated with girls’ jobs, which are intended to educate young women on …

February 25, 2013: Wmu's Jaimy Gordon Invited As A Guest Reader At Aquinas College, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

February 17, 2013: Crosby Lecture Next For Scholarly Speakers Series, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

February 17, 2013: Comparative Drama Essay Wins Award, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

February 14, 2013: After Dancing: Dancers Turn To Writing, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

February 12, 2013: Third Coast Writing Project Announces 2013 Summer Programs, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

February 7, 2013: Eve Salisbury To Present At The Mid-America Medieval Association Conference (Mama), Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

February 6, 2013: 2012 Poetry Phd Graduate Natalie Giarratano Wins 2013 Liam Rector First Book Prize For Poetry, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

February 4, 2013: Playwright Edward Allan Baker Presents His Work: Spring 2013 Gwen Frostic Reading Series, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

January 31, 2013: Jay Baron Nicorvo's Frostic Reading Rescheduled, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

January 28, 2013: Poet Jay Baron Nicorvo Reads His Work: Spring 2013 Gwen Frostic Reading Series, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.