Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Linguistics Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

University of Texas at Arlington

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 61 - 90 of 181

Full-Text Articles in Linguistics

We Shall Be Watching You, You're Going To Die, And Other Threats: A Corpus-Based Speech Act Approach, Natalie Raun Carter Nov 2010

We Shall Be Watching You, You're Going To Die, And Other Threats: A Corpus-Based Speech Act Approach, Natalie Raun Carter

UTA Working Papers in Linguistics - Archive

Using a speech act approach, this paper examines the similarities and differences between English-language threats made by terrorists and those made by non-terrorists, with a focus on pronoun use and sentence-type. Both groups employ a variety of sentence-types in their threats, but use declarative statements most often. 1st person nominative pronouns occur as subjects of clauses much more frequently than 2nd person pronouns in both the terrorist and non-terrorist threat data. Non-terrorist threats, however, make significantly more use of the 1st person singular nominative pronoun, while terrorist threats use the 1st person plural nominative pronoun more frequently.


Interactional Entanglements: A Frame Analysis Of Negotiated Identities In Ethnographic Research On The Language Classroom, Mark A. Ouellette Nov 2010

Interactional Entanglements: A Frame Analysis Of Negotiated Identities In Ethnographic Research On The Language Classroom, Mark A. Ouellette

UTA Working Papers in Linguistics - Archive

This study examines interactional entanglements that occurred during ethnographer-participant interactions in a language classroom. It draws upon Goffman's notion of framing to analyze how research participants use deixis to position the ethnographer vis-à-vis themselves within classroom speech events. The analysis shows that the teacher and students negotiated identities by appealing to the researcher's allegiances within an underlying judicial trial frame. As a marginal native, the ethnographer is particularly susceptible to others' social positioning, which raises questions concerning the very personal involvement of the ethnographer conducting research in an educational setting. This article underscores the argument that impression management is not …


Nous And On In Semi-Formal French: Pragmatic Uses Of Institutionality And Distancing, Deborah King Nov 2010

Nous And On In Semi-Formal French: Pragmatic Uses Of Institutionality And Distancing, Deborah King

UTA Working Papers in Linguistics - Archive

French linguists have long noted the substitution of the indefinite pronoun on for the 1st person plural pronoun nous, in both formal and informal situations. Studies of informal conversation have found this replacement to be nearly categorical (Laberge and Sankoff 1980; Coveney 2000). By contrast, this study found a much higher percentage of nous compared to on in interviews and speeches with political or business-related themes (roughly 60% nous to 40% on). The data suggest that many speakers use nous and on in pragmatically distinct ways: nous for institutionality, on for distancing. However, nous can underscore institutionality even in potentially …


Talking To Strangers--A Sociolinguistic Experiment: Variation In Initial Dyadic Interactions Between Spanish-Speakers In Early 21st Century Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mary Ann Dziugis Jan 2010

Talking To Strangers--A Sociolinguistic Experiment: Variation In Initial Dyadic Interactions Between Spanish-Speakers In Early 21st Century Buenos Aires, Argentina, Mary Ann Dziugis

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

What are the chances of a dyad of Spanish-speaking strangers using informal address in casual, initial interactions in Buenos Aires, Argentina, today? To discover the pattern(s) of contemporary address, the Principal Investigator (PI) conducted a sociolinguistic experiment focusing on strangers' initial interactions to minimize the influence of Brown and Gilman's (1960) dimensions of power and solidarity on address variation. To gather natural and reported speech, the PI used mixed methodologies: participant observation, TV news, survey questionnaires, and interviews. She enhanced the authenticity of reported speech via the use of her new tool--a photo interlocutor prompter sheet. The research consisted of …


Articulations Of Identity Within High School Cliques: Language Choices In Boyat And Emo Filipino Youth Groups, Dalal Saleh Almubayei Jan 2010

Articulations Of Identity Within High School Cliques: Language Choices In Boyat And Emo Filipino Youth Groups, Dalal Saleh Almubayei

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation adds to work exploring where language stands in the shaping of adolescent speakers' social identities, since identities emerge through discursive and social practices, and social selves are produced through interaction (Bucholtz 1999), but much of the literature studying the role of language in defining the adolescent's identity is insufficient (Fortman 2003). This study is based on data from five months of fieldwork in 2008-2009 with two distinct and stigmatized high school cliques in Kuwait. The first clique is well known for its Arabish name boyat 'lesbian tomboys'. The second clique is a combination of Emo subculture and Filipino …


Voice And Valence-Altering Operations In Falam Chin: A Role And Reference Grammar Approach, Deborah King Jan 2010

Voice And Valence-Altering Operations In Falam Chin: A Role And Reference Grammar Approach, Deborah King

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation describes and analyzes voice and valence-altering operations in Falam Chin, a Tibeto-Burman language of Burma. The data is explained within the framework of Role and Reference Grammar (RRG), which supplies several key concepts particularly useful for generalizing the behavior of the Falam Chin operations. The first is RRG's system of semantic decomposition, based on Dowty (1979), which is used to formulate each predicate's underlying logical structure (LS). Second is the concept of macroroles, generalized semantic roles actor and undergoer, which are assigned to the arguments of a predicate according to a hierarchy of LS positions. M-transitivity refers to …


A Discourse Analysis Of The Periphrastic Imperfect In The Greek New Testament Writings Of Luke, Carl E. Johnson Jan 2010

A Discourse Analysis Of The Periphrastic Imperfect In The Greek New Testament Writings Of Luke, Carl E. Johnson

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

Motivated by Bloomfield's belief that linguistic variation is not without motivation, this paper seeks to determine the distinction between the morphological imperfect and periphrastic imperfect of Koine Greek within the New Testament writings of Luke.This study suggests that: 1. The periphrastic imperfect occurs only within narrative sections of the New Testament and is most prominent in the writings of Luke.2. The number of periphrastic imperfects has been recently over reported.3. The periphrastic imperfect is a more marked form of Koine Greek which developed in accordance with general rules of grammaticalization.4. The discourse function of periphrastic imperfects has not been previously …


A Revised Phonology Of Kabiye Segments And Tone, Cecile Mamalinani Padayodi Jan 2010

A Revised Phonology Of Kabiye Segments And Tone, Cecile Mamalinani Padayodi

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

This study suggests revisions to the segmental and tonal phonology of Kabiye following a reanalysis of consonants, vowels, and tones in the speech of 7 male native speakers. Acoustic investigations are also included to illustrate some phonetic aspects of segments and tone. Data were elicited through three speech styles - wordlists, short phrases, and storytelling - later transcribed and analyzed. Revisions are made to the phonetic and phonemic inventories of consonants and vowels, as well as to the inventories of the underlying tonal melodies on noun roots, verb roots, and noun suffixes, as indicated by the results of the current …


The Translator's Assistant: A Multilingual Natural Language Generator Based On Linguistic Universals, Typologies, And Primitives, Tod Jay Allman Jan 2010

The Translator's Assistant: A Multilingual Natural Language Generator Based On Linguistic Universals, Typologies, And Primitives, Tod Jay Allman

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

The Translator's Assistant (TTA) is a multilingual natural language generator (NLG) designed to produce initial drafts of translations of texts in a wide variety of target languages. The four primary components of every NLG system of this type are 1) the ontology, 2) the semantic representations, 3) the transfer grammar, and 4) the synthesizing grammar. This system's ontology was developed using the foundational principles of Natural Semantic Metalanguage theory. TTA's semantic representations are comprised of a controlled, English influenced metalanguage augmented by a feature system which was designed to accommodate a very wide variety of target languages. TTA's transfer grammar …


Are We Speaking The Same Language? The Use Of The Mother Tongue By Native English Speaking Teachers In English As A Foreign Language Classrooms, Presley Doyal Mcfadden Jan 2009

Are We Speaking The Same Language? The Use Of The Mother Tongue By Native English Speaking Teachers In English As A Foreign Language Classrooms, Presley Doyal Mcfadden

Linguistics & TESOL Theses - Archive

The question of whether or not to use students' first language in second language acquisition is not a new one (Harbord, 1992; Duff and Polio, 1990). However, the way this question is addressed by the students themselves is rarely found in linguistic publications. This study discusses three dependant variables: The attitude (positive or negative) of EFL students towards their native English speaking teachers' attempts at using students' mother tongue in the classroom; the preferences concerning which pedagogical areas (vocabulary translation, error correction, grammar instruction, etc.) the students find the use of the first language more necessary for, and finally, the …


Phonological Processes In Contemporary Spoken Bulgarian, Zdravka Radkova Jan 2009

Phonological Processes In Contemporary Spoken Bulgarian, Zdravka Radkova

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

This study investigates a number of phonological processes observed in the speech of 24 educated Bulgarian speakers. The speech of all subjects was recorded during 30 minute interviews conducted in 2004. Three speech styles were elicited - reading passage, interview and phone conversation - and later transcribed for analysis. Statistical Variable rule analysis was used to investigate the observed patterns of variation in speech. Different internal and external linguistic variables were found to impact the processes of vowel and consonant deletion in speech. Overall, what this study has established is that although certain socio-linguistic factors such as speaker's sex, regional …


The Acquisition Of Chinese Nominal Classifier Systems By L2 Adult Learners, Szu-Yen Liang Jan 2009

The Acquisition Of Chinese Nominal Classifier Systems By L2 Adult Learners, Szu-Yen Liang

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

The present study explores how L2 adult learners of Chinese acquire Chinese classifiers and provides pedagogical suggestions for more effective teaching of Chinese. 29 native speakers of Korean, 29 native speakers of English and 10 Taiwanese native speakers of Chinese were recruited to take part in three empirical tests to identify L2 learners' acquisition of various classifiers denoting shape, animacy, function, and event. The three tests are 1) Classifier Comprehension Test; 2) Classifier Production test; 3) Classifier Prototype Test. In the first test, subjects were asked to match an object that can be denoted by a Chinese classifier listed among …


Narrative Storyline Marking In Safaliba: Determining The Meaning And Discourse Function Of A Typologically-Suspect Pronoun Set, Paul Alan Schaefer Jan 2009

Narrative Storyline Marking In Safaliba: Determining The Meaning And Discourse Function Of A Typologically-Suspect Pronoun Set, Paul Alan Schaefer

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

This study examines the meaning and discourse functions of a typologically unusual set of pronouns (the "N-pronoun" set) in Safaliba, a little-studied Gur language of western Ghana. The phonological structure of the N-pronouns suggests derivation from the regular pronoun form joined to a subject focus marker, rendering suspect the hypothesis that the N-pronoun exists as an independent form. In isolated sentences, substitution of N-pronouns for those of the regular set produces no immediately obvious difference in meaning, suggesting a discourse or pragmatic function.Three main areas of investigation are pursued: the grammatical contexts where the N-pronouns can and cannot occur; the …


The Emergence Of Pragmatic Softeners In Spanish By Instructed Learners Of Spanish In The Study Abroad And Immersion Contexts, Catharine Welch Jan 2009

The Emergence Of Pragmatic Softeners In Spanish By Instructed Learners Of Spanish In The Study Abroad And Immersion Contexts, Catharine Welch

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation explores and expands the term pragmatic softening as produced and perceived by L2 learners of Spanish. The learners included 36 intermediate-level learners studying in a U.S.-based immersion academy and those studying in a study-abroad context in Merida, Mexico. Preliminary evidence from these learners indicates that pragmatic softeners are rightly included in Anderson and Shirai's (1996) theory as a marginal member of the PAST category that is acquired after the more central member--the deictic past--has been acquired. Additionally, it is argued that the term pragmatic softening itself needs to be fleshed out so that it, too, is divided into …


Azerbaijani-Russian Code-Switching And Code-Mixing: Form, Function, And Identity, Kenneth Zuercher Jan 2009

Azerbaijani-Russian Code-Switching And Code-Mixing: Form, Function, And Identity, Kenneth Zuercher

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

From incorporation into the Russian Empire in 1828, through the collapse of the U.S.S.R. in 1991 governmental language policies and other socio/political forces influenced the Turkic population of the Republic of Azerbaijan to speak Russian. Even with changes since independence Russian use - including various kinds of code-switching and code-mixing - continues. This dissertation studies the language situation in Azerbaijan through a detailed analysis of naturally occurring conversational data. Approaches include corpus analysis of the transcribed data to show relative amounts of Azerbaijani and Russian, linguistic description of the types of code-switching and code-mixing, quantitative analysis of variation between subjects, …


A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Vocalic Nucleus In Modern Russian, Brett Alan Benham Jan 2009

A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Vocalic Nucleus In Modern Russian, Brett Alan Benham

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

This instrumental acoustic study investigates coarticulation as the source of palatalization in Modern Standard Russian. This study posits that the nucleus is bifurcated, with nodes for a pre-kernel and a kernel. At the initial edge of a stressed vowel, coarticulation between the pre-kernel and the kernel creates the distinctive onset, attributed to preceding palatalized environments. At the terminal edge of a stressed vowel, coarticulation between the kernel and the next vocalic segment (the offglide, or the pre-kernel of the following syllable) creates the distinctive offset, attributed to following palatalized environments. In unstressed syllables, the kernel vowel is deleted, and the …


An Examination Of The Tone System Of Fur And Its Function In Grammar, Georgianna Noel Aug 2008

An Examination Of The Tone System Of Fur And Its Function In Grammar, Georgianna Noel

Linguistics & TESOL Theses - Archive

This research into the tonal system of Fur and its grammatical functions began with several basic assumptions. These assumptions were based on the excellent prior research by Jakobi (1989), and Kutsch Lojenga and Waag(2000). These assumptions were: 1. Fur is a register tone language with two tones L and H. Contours on LH and HL are possible. 2. Tone makes lexical distinctions in Fur as exemplified by examples such as: 'desert' úrì 'sheep' úri 3. Tone also functions in the grammar of Fur. Tone is used to differentiate the nominative and locative forms of nouns and the attributive and predicate …


The Acoustic Correlates Of Atr Harmony In Seven- And Nine-Vowel African Languages: A Phonetic Inquiry Into Phonological Structure, Coleen Grace Anderson Starwalt Jul 2008

The Acoustic Correlates Of Atr Harmony In Seven- And Nine-Vowel African Languages: A Phonetic Inquiry Into Phonological Structure, Coleen Grace Anderson Starwalt

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

This study compares eleven Niger-Congo languages with [ATR] harmony and seeks to determine especially whether the acoustic properties of the "voice quality" differences associated with [ATR] in nine-vowel languages, such as Akan, are present or absent in all, some or none of the seven-vowel languages. Of particular interest is the nature of the height 2 and 3 vowels of the nine- and degree 2 vowels of seven-vowel systems. First, this study corroborates previous work on nine-vowel systems by demonstrating that height 2 vowels [-ATR] [? ?] frequently overlap with height 3 vowels [+ATR] [e o]. Next, it considers the question …


Questions In American Sign Language: A Quantitative Analysis Of Raised And Lowered Eyebrows, Traci Patricia Weast May 2008

Questions In American Sign Language: A Quantitative Analysis Of Raised And Lowered Eyebrows, Traci Patricia Weast

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

Although much of linguistic information in American Sign Language (ASL) is conveyed through nonmanual signals, the majority of more than 40 years of research focuses on manual signs. As a result, we are just beginning to understand the role of the face, head, and upper body in signed languages, including eyebrow movement. While researchers generally agree that eyebrows play a role in questions of examined sign languages, they disagree whether upper face nonmanuals are syntactic or prosodic and intonational. Wilbur 2000, 2003 widens the debate to suggest a layered combination in the upper face, where eyebrows represent syntax, and other …


Kangri In Context: An Areal Perspective, Robert D. Eaton May 2008

Kangri In Context: An Areal Perspective, Robert D. Eaton

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

This study is a grammatical description and analysis of the dialect of Pahari known as Kangri, spoken in and around Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India. It presents data for Phonology, Tone, Stress, Morphology, and Syntax and includes feature comparisons with several of the related regional and high domain languages (Hindi, Punjabi, and Dogri), particularly at points where they differ. Special focus is given to issues involving stress assignment and tone. These are shown to be sensitive to different morphological categories, for which the framework of Lexical Phonology is useful in accounting. Various tense/aspect grammatical categories are also discussed, among which there …


Sounds Of Chinese Korean: A Variationist Approach, Wenhua Jin Apr 2008

Sounds Of Chinese Korean: A Variationist Approach, Wenhua Jin

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

This study approaches the understudied Chinese Korean from a variationist perspective, with an aim to capture the variation patterns and potential changes in the sounds of Chinese Korean. More specifically, three variables were examined: the voice onset time (VOT) of stop consonants and front rounded vowels /y/ and /ø/. To discern any variation and change in these variables, 35 native speakers of Chinese Korean were interviewed in three different styles and digitally recorded in the Korean community of Shenyang, China. Results of the analysis reveal the existence of a diachronic VOT shift and the "incrementation" of VOT change in the …


The Language Of The University: A Systemic Functional Analysis, Erin Gonzales Apr 2008

The Language Of The University: A Systemic Functional Analysis, Erin Gonzales

Linguistics & TESOL Theses - Archive

This study examines the negotiation of interpersonal meaning in the language of university administrators in their communications with students. The three texts in this study were written by the president of a large university to the student body and concern a controversy which arose on campus. The study uses Systemic Functional Grammar to examine how the language of the texts constructs interpersonal relationships between administration and students, as well as the extent to which such language changes when significant contextual issues become a factor. Specifically, in this study data analysis reveals that the language used changes in different contexts in …


The Effects Of Anaphor Form And Antecedent Type On Anaphoric Processing, S. M. Callahan, J. Nicol, T. Love, J.D. Witzel, D. Swinney Jan 2008

The Effects Of Anaphor Form And Antecedent Type On Anaphoric Processing, S. M. Callahan, J. Nicol, T. Love, J.D. Witzel, D. Swinney

Linguistics & TESOL Faculty Publications & Presentations - Archive

Language and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (LCNL)


The Verbs Of Esther: A Discourse Analysis Of A Post-Exilic Text, Jill Lynn Riepe Jan 2008

The Verbs Of Esther: A Discourse Analysis Of A Post-Exilic Text, Jill Lynn Riepe

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

The Verbs of Esther: A Discourse Analysis of a Post-Exilic Text seeks to describe the narrative main clause verbs, the quotation formula verbs, and the verbs in quotations found in the text of Esther. These verbs provide key information about the discourse structure of the text. While there are several examples of discourse studies in pre-exilic Biblical Hebrew, there are only a few in post-exilic Biblical Hebrew and none using the text of Esther. The analysis depends on the theoretical backing of Longacre and Miller. While many of their findings and analysis remain true for this post-exilic text, there are …


(Im)Politeness In Casual Conversations Among Female Mandarin Speakers: A Practice-Based Perspective, Hui-Yen Wang Jan 2008

(Im)Politeness In Casual Conversations Among Female Mandarin Speakers: A Practice-Based Perspective, Hui-Yen Wang

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

The fact that people have the choice to use different words and attitudes to convey messages of various significance has been attributed to politeness concerns. However, what constitutes politeness varies from culture to culture and person to person. Therefore, a universal definition for what politeness is does not seem plausible. Furthermore, using the term `politeness' to indicate the study of all kinds of linguistic behavior is problematic because `politeness' seems to exclude behavior that is inappropriate, aggressive or rude. To provide a more comprehensive account of politeness, this research draws upon the notion of "(im)politeness" (Watts, 2003) to account for …


Practical Understandings: Teachers' Beliefs And Practices In Pronunciation Teaching, Hsing-Hui Winnie Chiu Jan 2008

Practical Understandings: Teachers' Beliefs And Practices In Pronunciation Teaching, Hsing-Hui Winnie Chiu

Linguistics & TESOL Theses - Archive

Recent discussion regarding pronunciation teaching and the global expansion of English use have encouraged formal English education in the EFL/expanding circle countries.The present study involved three native English speaking teachers (NEST) and three non-native English speaking teachers (NNEST) in an elementary school of a EFL/Expanding Circle country. The study explores teachers' practices and beliefs of pronunciation teaching in terms of the teaching context (i.e. ESL, EFL or EIL), the teaching component: segmentals or suprasegmentals, their teaching approaches, and the differences between NESTs and NNESTs. The results revealed the teachers' EFL norm-bound beliefs and practices with little EIL inclination. Moreover, the …


Lexical Conflation And Edible Iconicity: Two Sources Of Ambiguity In American Vernacular Health Terminology, Laurel Smith Stvan Dec 2007

Lexical Conflation And Edible Iconicity: Two Sources Of Ambiguity In American Vernacular Health Terminology, Laurel Smith Stvan

Linguistics & TESOL Faculty Publications & Presentations - Archive

Examination of lexical items in naturally occurring vernacular prose shows patterns of ambiguities in how Americans discuss health issues. Samples from the Freiburg–Brown corpus of American English and varied registers of popular health writing found online reveal two principles of naming beliefs that crosscut the uses of many ambiguous terms: the semantic principle of ‘lexical conflation’ and the semiotic principle of ‘edible iconicity’. Both are shown to reflect sources of nutritional conceptualizations. Lexical conflation is illustrated by uses of fat, cholesterol, sugar, oil, and germ, with modifiers shown to help disambiguate terms. Edible iconicity, where meaning is attached to the …


"Does Your Throat Hurt More In The Morning Or Throughout The Day?" "Yes.": Intercultural Medical Discourse, Sarah Elizabeth May Dec 2007

"Does Your Throat Hurt More In The Morning Or Throughout The Day?" "Yes.": Intercultural Medical Discourse, Sarah Elizabeth May

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

An increasing number of immigrants to the United States do not use English as their first, or even second, language. Members of the medical community who treats such patients often do not speak the range of home languages of their patients. As a result of the absence of a common language, many patients are forced to communicate the best they can with their physicians in English. This study focuses the interactions of non-native English speaking patients with their doctors when interpreters were unavailable. Interactions between health care providers and non-native English speaking patients at a university health clinic were videotaped …


The Textual Construction Of Femininity In Women's Fitness Magazines, Tracy Lynn Rundstrom Williams Nov 2007

The Textual Construction Of Femininity In Women's Fitness Magazines, Tracy Lynn Rundstrom Williams

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

Women in the first decade of the 21st century encounter competing ideologies of traditional femininity and empowered femininity. Language, in particular Discourse Analysis, provides a means for investigating what these ideologies, or discourses, are and how they are perpetuated. One source of language which encodes and perpetuates ideologies of femininity is women's magazines. As pervasive, monthly texts directed specifically at women, women's magazines provide a rich source of contemporary ideologies of femininity. Given the rise of health and fitness magazines over the past 20 years, it appears that one primary focus of contemporary femininity is the body. Previous research has …


Students' Noticing And Incorporation Of Written Feedback: A Snapshot Of Esol Writing Instructors' Commentary On Adult Esol Students' Essays, Heather Leilani Clark Aug 2007

Students' Noticing And Incorporation Of Written Feedback: A Snapshot Of Esol Writing Instructors' Commentary On Adult Esol Students' Essays, Heather Leilani Clark

Linguistics & TESOL Theses - Archive

Combining descriptive text analysis with qualitative interviews, the current study addresses the student-teacher written feedback interaction. Reflecting upon the existing debate within second language acquisition research, which focuses on the interface, or non-interface, of conscious and unconscious learning, the first part of the study investigates the role of noticing. Using teacher written commentary on student essays, learners are asked to identify the existence, boundaries, and nature of errors in their interviews. Student interviews are also used to articulate student perspectives on the purposes of feedback. This data illuminates differing opinions between students and teachers. Student essays are further used to …