Linguistics Commons^™

Complementation In Guadeloupean Creole: An Experimental And Computational Account, William Joseph Kezerian

Theses - ALL

This thesis presents an experimental and computational investigation of complementizer variation in Guadeloupean Creole (GC). Despite its morphosyntactic innovations distinct from its lexifier, French, the subordinate structure of GC remains understudied. The project presented here involves a psycholinguistic experiment targeting complementizer usage, using binary choice tasks to gather grammaticality judgments. This was administered during field research in Guadeloupe to 9 youth speakers and 11 adult speakers of GC and French. Ethnographic interview recordings in GC were also collected from adult speakers, which were then transcribed for the purpose of text extraction of key words. I use NLP text-mining methods such …

Intercultural Communicative Competence (Icc) Among Efl Learners And Teachers And The Potential For Ai As A Guide, Zeynep Saka

Theses - ALL

This study investigates the Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students and instructors in Turkey by examining both perceived and observed aspects of ICC, as well as the potential role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in supporting intercultural communicative competence education. Guided by Byram’s (1997) model and informed by Speech Act Theory (Searle, 1969) and Politeness Theory (Brown & Levinson, 1987), the study adopted a mixed-methods design including 89 students and 46 instructors from nine state universities. Data were collected through a 25-item ICC questionnaire and a series of Discourse Completion Tasks (DCTs) completed under self-guided …

Terminating Pregnancies In Boccaccio, Anne C. Leone

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

Analyzing examples from the Decameron (1349-51), De mulieribus claris (1361), and the Corbaccio (1365), I argue that Boccaccio (1313-75) demonstrates an awareness of theological, legal and medical opinions on abortion and contraception at the time. However, he is more attuned to the practical concerns of pregnancy than are many of his contemporaries. Acknowledging the variety of situations facing pregnant people and some parts of their lived experience that were ignored by many religious and legal authorities, Boccaccio highlights a disconnection between theory and practice, and thereby raises questions about the limits of abstract knowledge in the face of practical concerns.

Investigating The Impact Of Contextual Semantic Information On L2 Garden Path Sentence Comprehension, Jiaxing Lin

Theses - ALL

This study investigates whether contextual information aids syntactic reanalysis in garden-path sentences and whether native (L1) English speakers and L1 Chinese learners of English (L2) differ in using such cues. Using a self-paced reading paradigm, 29 participants (5 L1, 24 L2) read sentences varying in syntactic ambiguity and contextual plausibility. Reading times in key disambiguation regions (e.g., auxiliary verb, participles) and comprehension accuracy were analyzed. L1 participants showed longer reading times when context mismatched syntax, indicating context-sensitive online processing consistent with constraint-based models. In contrast, L2 participants showed no significant context effects, suggesting difficulty using context in real-time parsing. No …

Full Issue - Englishusa, V. 11, Englishusa

EnglishUSA Journal

No abstract provided.

Investigating Language Usage In The Language Classroom: A Comparative Analysis Of Operationalization Methods And Implications For Educational Research, Manal Bani Humayyim

Theses - ALL

Multilingual approaches in second language (SL) classrooms, where learners use first language (L1) or any other known language beside the target language (TL), is an issue of ongoing research. While various research methods like word analysis, time analysis, and classroom observation exist, a standardized approach to measuring language use is lacking. Examining the same data set, this study analyzed the frequency of L1 English and TL Arabic use in two language classes through three methods: word count, time analysis, and impressionistic judgments from live observations and made comparisons of results generated by three methods as well as the feasibility. Focusing …

Information Structure By Phase: An Analysis Of Rural Palestinian Arabic, Mahmoud Alawneh

Theses - ALL

This thesis analyzes how the information-structural constituents topic and contrastive focus are syntactically encoded in Rural Palestinian Arabic. In doing so, two original proposals are argued for. First, the syntactic encodement of information-structure is recursive and domain-bound. That is, the same information-structural movements are repeatedly available within multiple domains that differ incrementally from one another in terms of locality: they are available at DP, PP, vP, AspectP, FinP, and ForceP. Second, I argue that, at least in Rural Palestinian Arabic, the information structure literature and the phase theory literature essentially describe the same phenomena, with the central argument being that …

Variation Of English Intensifiers With Formality On The Internet, Joshua Baumgarten

Theses - ALL

Intensifiers are a class of adverbs that are noted to change relatively rapidly when compared to other parts of English. Frequently, their role as intensifiers results from the process of grammaticalization in which they take on this emphatic function. Over time, certain intensifiers have adopted indexicality, often carrying connotations of informality and femininity. Very, on the other hand, stands out from the other most frequent intensifiers (really, pretty, and so) due to its classification as a formal intensifier, evidenced by its favored usage in formal speech and written text. In the present study, the perceived formality or informality of these …

Focus In Kenyan Maay, Chiara Di Maio

Theses - ALL

In this thesis, I describe and also analyze focus in Kenyan Maay, an under-described Cushitic language. Since focus in Somali, a closely related language, has been described and analyzed in detail, its characteristics are compared to focus in Kenyan Maay to develop its description and morphosyntactic analysis. Significant variation was observed between the two speakers I worked with, so my goal is to account for both varieties (Kenyan Maay Bu’aale and Kenyan Maay Baidoa).

Variation Of English Intensifiers With Formality On The Internet, Joshua Baumgarten

Theses - ALL

Intensifiers are a class of adverbs that are noted to change relatively rapidly when compared to other parts of English. Frequently, their role as intensifiers results from the process of grammaticalization in which they take on this emphatic function. Over time, certain intensifiers have adopted indexicality, often carrying connotations of informality and femininity. Very, on the other hand, stands out from the other most frequent intensifiers (really, pretty, and so) due to its classification as a formal intensifier, evidenced by its favored usage in formal speech and written text. In the present study, the perceived formality or informality of these …

Focus In Kenyan Maay, Chiara Di Maio

Theses - ALL

In this thesis, I describe and also analyze focus in Kenyan Maay, an under-described Cushitic language. Since focus in Somali, a closely related language, has been described and analyzed in detail, its characteristics are compared to focus in Kenyan Maay to develop its description and morphosyntactic analysis. Significant variation was observed between the two speakers I worked with, so my goal is to account for both varieties (Kenyan Maay Bu’aale and Kenyan Maay Baidoa).

Enrico Pea And The Awareness Of Never-Ending Detachment (Alexandria, Egypt 1896–1914), Stefano Giannini

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

This chapter analyzes the postcolonial discourse in Italy, through the voice of the novelist and playwright Enrico Pea (1881–1958). Living outside of Italy, Pea gained a unique awareness of the notion of multi-ethnic societies, of the concepts of nationality, borders, and boundaries. Alexandria, Egypt, is Pea’s referential space. It is a center, and at the same time, a marginal place. Alexandrea ad Egyptum, that is, the door to Egypt, as it was known in antiquity, this city brought together Arab and European artistic experiences that converged on, and were triggered by, its multicultural profile. The history of political exile …

Stolperstein/Stumbling Stone For Holocaust Survivor Otto Heimann/Bob Hymann, Bochum/German, Toronto/Kanada Und New York, Ny, Usa, Courtney Conte, Mona Eikel-Pohen

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

The documentation tries to capture the life of Holocaust survivor Otto Heimann/Bob Hyman who spent his youth in Bochum-Langendreer, Germany, and was forced by the National Socialists to leave parents, home, and country. The documentation does not claim to give a full picture, just an insight into Otto Heimann's/Bob Hyman's life.

It will be read out on June 6, 2023 in Bochum, Germany when a Stolperstein, a stumbling stone, will be place near Alte Bahnhstraße 6 in Bochum-Langendreer, Germany, to commemorate Otto Heimann/Bob Hyman, so that we and future generations may learn from history.

Diese Dokumentation versucht, das Leben Bob …

The Maay Maay Nominal System And Its Tonology, Katrina Smith

Theses - ALL

The aim of this thesis is to explore the tonology of the nominal system in Kenyan Maay Maay (KMM). In particular, this thesis describes the structure of nouns and noun phrases and outlines an analysis of tonal alternations based on a combination of word shape and grammatical gender that have not previously been discussed. The goal is to understand the nature of the language's prosodic system and how it may have developed. This thesis complements research on other Maay dialects that report rather different prosodic properties, ranging from not having a tonal system (Comfort & Paster 2009; Paster 2006; Paster …

Liquid Consonants In Standard Turkish: Features And Phenomena, Utku Zobarlar

Theses - ALL

The aim of this thesis is to explore aspects of the phonology of liquid sounds - /l/ and /ɾ/ - in Standard (Istanbul) Turkish. The thesis focuses on two questions: i) what feature(s) is responsible for non-high vowel alternations triggered by liquid consonants in syllable codas, and ii) do liquid features play a role in affecting irregular suffixal allomorphy in verbs inflected for the aorist. While Turkish phonology, in general, and Turkish vocalic phonology, in particular, have been well studied (Lees 1961; Clements & Sezer 1982; Kirchner 1993; Kabak 2011, among others), the bearing that liquid consonants and their features …

Fluchtpunkt Magdeburg: Documentation Of An Integration-Oriented Theater Project From The Perspective Of Theater Pedagogy And Language Didactics, Mona Eikel-Pohen, Sarah Dolbier

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

Based on Dwight Conquergood's key concepts of play, power, process, and poetics/language, this paper documents the theater-pedagogical model project Fluchtpunkt Magdeburg 2015 to2019, in which young people with and without refugee experiences living in Magdeburg, Germany, developed three plays and a film under dance- and theater-pedagogical direction with the pronounced goal of promoting social and linguistic integration. The aim of this documentation is to systematically describe the project and to identify successful elements that make future projects sustainable and feasible for planning and implementation in the long term.

How Humans Produce And Interpret Sentences Using Syntax, Jun Tamura

International Programs

Humans are able to use languages freely and understand the meaning of languages. This universal linguistic ability of humans can be accounted for by “syntax” in our brains, for which I will provide three pieces of supportive evidence.

Is There Language Attrition In Bp Due To The Development Of English-L2?, Anderson Romário Souza Silva

International Programs

This poster discusses the influence of English as a language on syllabic patterns in Brazilian Portuguese.

The Construction And Formation Of Chinese Character, Lejia Zhang

Theses - ALL

Chinese characters are very unique. As one of the most widely used scripts in the world, its complex forms and large volume of characters make it always daunting for beginners, which is related to the long history of Chinese characters. This paper is divided into five parts, based on a definition of the nature of ancient Chinese characters. In the first part, it is argued that Chinese characters are made up of smaller elements. A single Chinese character, as a morpheme, is the smallest ideographic unit of the Chinese language, but a single character may also be formed by combining …

Zoomprov. Improvisation Exercises For Language Learning In Online Classes With Zoom Or Similar Tech For Beginning And Intermediate Learners And Beyond, Mona Eikel-Pohen

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

The improv language exercises in this compilation are chosen from the experience I gathered 20 years ago, but also from the amazing work of Lauren Esposito and Scranton Improv & Comedy that have been more real than anything else to me this past summer, and from Jim Ansaldo, who taught me how to structure improv exercises online. They are organized by level, referring to the Common European Framework of References for Languages. That means, A1 exercises can be conducted at the beginners level but also at all other higher levels, but B2 exercises should not be imposed upon beginners or …

Assessing Topical Homogeneity With Word Embedding And Distance Matrices, Jeffrey M. Stanton, Yisi Sang

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

Researchers from many fields have used statistical tools to make sense of large bodies of text. Many tools support quantitative analysis of documents within a corpus, but relatively few studies have examined statistical characteristics of whole corpora. Statistical summaries of whole corpora and comparisons between corpora have potential application in the analysis of topically organized applications such social media platforms. In this study, we created matrix representations of several corpora and examined several statistical tests to make comparisons between pairs of corpora with respect to the topical homogeneity of documents within each corpus. Results of three experiments suggested that a …

Theories Of Language Acquisition, Laura Gomez

International Programs

Language acquisition has been discussed for many years; several theories were proposed. In this occasion we will discuss Social Interactionist view by Lev Vygotsky and Nativism view by Noam Chomsky.

Violent Language On Indonesian Comedy Shows And Its Effects On Children Language Development, Iqbal Nurul Azhar

International Programs

No abstract provided.

Memory And The Realization Of The Nothingness. On A Letter Of Vittorio Sereni To Giuseppe Ungaretti, Stefano Giannini

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

The problematic relationship of Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888-1970) with Alexandria of Egypt – his city of birth – sheds light on the interplay between memory and oblivion in his poetry and prose. The shuttling back and forth between these poles marks the nature of his unfulfilled desire to recreate a lost Alexandrian atmosphere. In Ungaretti’s works, language opacity is coupled with his attempts to represent a city—as he writes—that is suffocated by the sun and whose hidden ancient port is submerged in the depth of the sea. Blinding light and the darkness of the deep waters make the understanding of Ungaretti’s …

Pirandello And Satire. The Imaginary Journey Of Four Authors In Search Of A Character According To Charles Kenneth Scott Moncrieff (1889-1930), Stefano Giannini

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

Drawing on a little-known work by Scott-Moncrieff, this article investigates Luigi Pirandello’s intellectual and literary reach across genres and space, from theater to pamphlets, from Italy to the English-speaking world. A talented writer and translator, Charles K. Scott-Moncrieff published “The Strange & Striking Adventures of Four Authors in Search of a Character” by P. G. Lear & L. O in 1926. The title of the pamphlet, and the acronym of the fictional author are references to Pirandello and to his Six Characters in Search of an Author. Scott-Moncrieff had all the documents in order to write about, or in …

An Examination Of High School And College Students' Chatspeak Use In Twitter And Tumblr, Megan Jeanette Charters

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The advent of the Internet has led to the creation of new technology, and with it, a whole new language. There has also been resistance both to the technology and to the language. The best example of this would be social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, and texting. Many articles have been written on this subject and how its use is ruining the English language, saying that teenagers are more likely to use chatspeak, such as u for you and r for are, in their writing. I take the opposite position, that the English language is evolving and chatspeak …

Persuasion In Political Discourse: Tunisian President Ben Ali's Last Speech As A Case Stud, Soufien Jarraya

Theses - ALL

Within a discourse analysis framework, this research investigates persuasion in political discourse in the last speech of the former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, delivered one day before he left the country in the middle of the Tunisian Revolution that sparked the so-called Arab Spring.

Sentences are analyzed to check their illocutionary force in light of Searle's typology of Speech Act Theory. Then, an analysis of agency is carried out to investigate the persuasive dimension of the use of deictic pronouns to construct the self-image as well as the image of the Other. The speech is also examined …

The Paradox Of Amnesia: Tondelli's Un Weekend Postmoderno, Stefano Giannini

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

Tondelli opens his Un weekend postmoderno. Cronache dagli anni Ottanta declaring an intention opposite to the display of amnesia. In the long table of contents of his book, he writes down everything, in an excruciating streaming of details, so that the table of content becomes an exhaustive index of names and ideas. Yet, hidden within the hundreds of analytical snapshots, one of its many characters mentions the importance of dissimulation. Dissimulation, according to Tondelli, hides what is known, to protect the dissimulator and to mask the truth. Also, amnesia is a voluntary practice that can be enacted in order to …

Collecting Legacy Corpora From Social Science Research For Text Mining Evaluation, Bei Yu, Min-Chun Ku

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

In this poster we describe a pilot study of searching social science literature for legacy corpora to evaluate text mining algorithms. The new emerging field of computational social science demands large amount of social science data to train and evaluate computational models. We argue that the legacy corpora that were annotated by social science researchers through traditional Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) are ideal data sets to evaluate text mining methods, such as text categorization and clustering. As a pilot study, we searched articles that involve content analysis and discourse analysis in leading communication journals, and then contacted the authors regarding …

A Longitudinal Study Of Language And Ideology In Congress, Bei Yu, Daniel Diermeier

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

This paper presents an analysis of the legislative speech records from the 101st-108th U.S. Congresses using machine learning and natural language processing methods. We use word vectors to represent the speeches in both the Senate and the House, and then use text categorization methods to classify the speakers by their ideological positions. The classification accuracy indicates the level of distinction between the liberal and the conservative ideologies. Our experiment results demonstrate an increasing partisanship in the Congress between 1989 and 2006. Ideology classifiers trained on the House speeches can predict the Senators' ideological positions well (House-to-Senate prediction), however the Senate-to-House …