Linguistics Commons^™

Planteamientos Colaborativos En La Didáctica De La Composición Desde Modelos Procesuales, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

El presente artículo parte de una revisión del modelo tradicional de la enseñanza de la escritura en la clase de LE entendida como producto. Desde este punto de partida, se evidencian las ventajas de adoptar una escritura colaborativa basada en la consideración del texto como un proceso en construcción que pasa por diferentes fases creativas y en un modelo pedagógico que centra su atención en el alumno dentro de la práctica escrita.

SUMMARY: In the initial part of this article, we begin with a review of the traditional model of teaching composition in a foreign language class in which writing …

Realkeepen: Anglicisms In The German Hip-Hop Community, Matt Garley

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Round Vowel And Dorsal Consonant Epenthesis In Seri, Stephen A. Marlett

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

Recent work on markedness has claimed that round vowels and dorsal consonants are never epenthesized. However, Seri seems to present exactly these types of epenthesis. Relevant data are presented and discussed, and it is claimed that these rules are valid counterexamples that need to be taken into consideration more seriously.

A Declarative Approach To Language Change: Regularization As Realignment, Andrew R. Hippisley

Linguistics Faculty Publications

In this paper I consider how best to model lexical regularization as a type of language change, and more specifically how to capture regularization when it is a question of realigning the syntactic function with the expected morphological expression. While it seems natural to approach language change in procedural terms, I will argue that a declarative/static approach is more natural for at least certain types of lexical change, specifically change that involves a reorganization of the paradigm. This account is modeled in the defaults-based framework of Network Morphology (Corbett & Fraser 1993; Brown & Hippisley forthcoming).

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 …

Up To D[Eb]Ate On Raising And Control, Part 2: The Empirical Range Of The Constructions And Research On Their Acquistion, Susannah Kirby, William D. Davies, Stanley William Dubinsky

Faculty Publications

This is the second part of a two-part article that reviews a number of the current debates regarding raising and control constructions. The issues addressed in this part include the spectrum of related raising (e.g. possessor raising, further raising) and control (partial, split, generic, super-equi) phenomena; cross-linguistic typology, including backward and copy constructions; and their acquisition in child language.

The Role Of Motivation In The Learning Of English As A Second Language, Nadzrah Ahmad Bustami

Student Works (2010-2019)

Motivation is important in language learning. This present study aims to investigate learners’ motivation in the learning of English as a second language at university level and the factors that affect their motivation. The study particularly focuses on six motivation components: integrative motivation, instrumental motivation, effort, valence, expectancy and ability. The present study also aims to explore the differences in motivation level between female and male participants. 189 students participated in this quantitative study. The survey method used was the administration of the Motivation Scale (Wen, 1996 and modified by Shaaban and Ghaith, 2000). The results of this study revealed …

A Probabilistic Morphological Analyzer For Syriac, Deryle W. Lonsdale, Peter J. Mcclanahan, George Busby, Robbie A. Haertel, Kristian Heal, Kevin Seppi, Eric Ringger

Faculty Publications

We define a probabilistic morphological analyzer using a data-driven approach for Syriac in order to facilitate the creation of an annotated corpus. Syriac is an under-resourced Semitic language for which there are no available language tools such as morphological analyzers. We introduce novel probabilistic models for segmentation, dictionary linkage, and morphological tagging and connect them in a pipeline to create a probabilistic morphological analyzer requiring only labeled data. We explore the performance of models with varying amounts of training data and find that with about 34,500 labeled tokens, we can outperform a reasonable baseline trained on over 99,000 tokens and …

A Text In Speech's Clothing: Discovering Specific Functions Of Formulaic Expressions In Beowulf And Blogs, Matt Garley, Benjamin Slade, Marina Terkourafi

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Applicative Constructions In Shipibo-Konibo (Panoan), Pilar Valenzuela

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Articles and Research

This article provides a detailed, typologically informed treatment of applicative constructions in Shipibo-Konibo, a Panoan language from Peruvian Amazonia. Shipibo-Konibo has three applicative suffixes: affective (i.e., benefactive or malefactive), dedicated malefactive, and associative. These applicative types are rather common cross-linguistically and hence the language cannot be said to be particularly rich either in terms of number or kinds of applicative constructions. Nevertheless, the Shipibo-Konibo system exhibits certain points of special interest such as the interplay between transitivity and the different applicative construction types, which include a restriction on the dedicated malefactive to combine with transitive verbs only, and the almost …

The Derivation Of Compound Ordinal Numerals: Implications For Morphological Theory, Gregory Stump

Linguistics Faculty Publications

In the domains of both inflection and derivation, there is evidence for both rules of exponence (which realize specific morphosyntactic properties or derivational categories through the introduction of specific morphological markings) and rules of composition (which determine how such rules of exponence apply in the definition of a compound’s inflected forms or derivatives). A single, general rule of composition accounts for the definition of a wide range of derivatives from compound bases; nevertheless, ordinal derivation demonstrates the considerable extent to which rules of composition may vary across languages. Evidence from a diverse range of languages is used to motivate a …

Paradigmatic Realignment And Morphological Change: Diachronic Deponency In Network Morphology, Andrew R. Hippisley

Linguistics Faculty Publications

A natural way of formally modeling language change is to adopt a procedural, dynamic approach that gets at the notion of emergence and decay. We argue that in the realm of morphological change, and notably the reorganization of a lexeme’s paradigm, a model that at a given synchronic stage holds together both the actual facts about the paradigm as well as the range of potential or virtual facts that are licensed by the morphological machinery more elegantly captures the nature of the changing paradigm. We consider the special case of morphological mismatch where syntactic function is misaligned with morphological expression, …

The Intelligibility And Comprehensibility Of Learner Speech In Russian: A Study In The Salience Of Pronunciation, Lexicon, Grammar And Syntax, Jill A. Neuendorf

Bryn Mawr College Dissertations and Theses

This study of L-2 Russian interlanguage production examined the salience of phonetic, lexical and syntactical features for L-1 listener intelligibility, based on L-2recitation of written scripts (Part I) and also unrehearsed speech (Part II). Part III of the study investigated strategies used by native-speaking teachers of Russian as a Second Language and experienced Russian host families to facilitate comprehensibility of L-2Russian speech.

The respondent group consisted of 51 native-Russian speakers plus a 20-member ethnic Russian control group, whose speech samples were also rated by the informant group. The 51 respondents comprised four sub-groups based on residency (Russia/US), profession (teacher/non-teacher of …

Strategies Used In Summary Writing By Malaysian Students., Vasanthi Ramadass

Student Works (2010-2019)

Strategy use is a highly researched area, more so in the L1 context than the L2 context. On the other hand, summary writing has been rarely studied in the L2 context despite its importance to reading comprehension. This study has tried to investigate and evaluate the strategies used by Malaysian sixth formers in summary writing. The study adopted a mixed research design that used both quantitative (SILL Questionnaire) and qualitative (Modified Think-Aloud Protocol and document analysis of written summaries) research approaches. Strategies are normally used to overcome problems. Therefore, firstly the study explored the problems faced by both high and …

The Syntactic Structure Of K̕'Ichee̕' Mayan, Lachlan Duncan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Linguistic research on the Mayan languages up to the mid 1980s was almost exclusively descriptive in nature. At best, analyses were speculative and pre-theoretical. Since then, research based on contemporary theories of syntax have begun to emerge. In adopting the formal architecture of OT-LFG, I argue that my dissertation can be included amongst this body of analytical research. My overall goal is to provide a syntactic structure for K'ichee' Mayan, the most widely spoken Mayan language in Guatemala.

Toward A Theory-Based Natural Language Capability In Robots And Other Embodied Agents : Evaluating Hausser's Slim Theory And Database Semantics, Robin Kowalchuk Burk

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Computational natural language understanding and generation have been a goal of artificial intelligence since McCarthy, Minsky, Rochester and Shannon first proposed to spend the summer of 1956 studying this and related problems. Although statistical approaches dominate current natural language applications, two current research trends bring renewed focus on this goal. The nascent field of artificial general intelligence (AGI) seeks to evolve intelligent agents whose multi-subagent architectures are motivated by neuroscience insights into the modular functional structure of the brain and by cognitive science insights into human learning processes. Rapid advances in cognitive robotics also entail multi-agent software architectures that attempt …

Discursive Construction Of Identities Of Young Homosexual Males., Zainon Shamsudin

Student Works (2010-2019)

This dissertation reports a study addressing the issue of identity construction of four young Malay homosexual men in Malaysia.  Through their narrative discourse of their life experiences and aspirations, this study explores these participants‟ linguistic repertoire and discursive strategies in the formation, negotiation, and establishment of their identities. The narrative data were gathered through a semi-structured interview-cum-conversation which allowed the participants to express sentiments about their lives in a heterosexual dominated society.  Using an adapted framework of discourse-historical approach of Critical Discourse Analysis proposed by Reisigl and Wodak (2009), this study analyzed the participants‟ emergent language use and discursive strategies …

Instructors' Attitudes Toward The Use Of Technology At The University Of Mississippi, Julia Emilia Bussade

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The major purpose of this study was to investigate the Spanish and Portuguese Instructors' attitudes toward technology at the University of Mississippi. In this mixed method study, with a very limited number of participants ( N = 20), attitudes were analyzed by combining the results of all three instruments that composed this research project: a survey, class observations and personal interviews. The results from the triangulation of these three instruments showed that the instructors have a positive attitude toward technology.

This particular investigation adapted and employed two dimensions to assess teachers' attitudes toward technology: (1) anxiety, fear and/or aversion; and …

The Effect Of De-Contextualized Multimedia Software On Taiwanese College Level Students' English Vocabulary Development, Yaw-Liang Yan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Computer technology has been applied widely as an educational tool in second language learning for a long time. There have been many studies discussing the application of computer technology to different aspects in second language learning. However, the learning effect of both de-contextualized multimedia software and sound gloss on second language students had been rarely explored. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of computer-assisted language learning (call) on de-contextualized multimedia software vocabulary learning and retention for college level students in Taiwan. One-hundred-fifty-five participants completed this experiment. The control group class was taught in a regular classroom. …

/Ae/ And /E/ In El Paso English, Lance Levi Williams

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The production and perception of front vowels /ae/ and /e/ by El Paso residents was examined in a pilot study to begin to establish linguistic variables in an understudied yet dynamic speech community and explore the question of the unity of the speech community and possible influence of L2 English speakers on L1 English speakers. 25 subjects, males age 19 to 34, were given both tests of perception and production, and these results were analyzed with respect to their social and linguistic backgrounds. In general, subjects in the Anglo group appeared to be more united in their production and perception …

Up To D[Eb]Ate On Raising And Control, Part 1: Properties And Analyses Of The Constructions, Susannah Kirby, William D. Davies, Stanley William Dubinsky

Faculty Publications

This is the first part of a two-part article that reviews a number of the current debates regarding raising and control constructions. The issues addressed in this part include the syntactic attributes governing their distribution; the characterization of the relevant silent elements; the empirical properties which may distinguish/unify two classes of constructions (on either syntactic or semantic grounds).

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

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

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 …

Argument Constructions And Language Processing: Evidence From A Priming Experiment And Pedagogical Implications, David Eddington, Francisco Ruiz De Mendoza

Faculty Publications

The notion of argument construction is widely accepted in Cognitive Linguistics circles as a highly explanatory theoretical construct. It has recently been incorporated into the Lexical-Constructional Model (LCM; Ruiz de Mendoza and Mairal 2007, 2008), a theoretical approach to meaning construction that integrates argument constructions into a broader model that incorporates meaning dimensions traditionally dealt with in the domain of pragmatics and discourse analysis. The LCM has an argument level of description, in the form of constructional templates, which are in general equivalent to the argument constructions postulated in Goldberg’s (1995, 2006) Construction Grammar, although there are crucial differences in …

Anthropomorphism In Sign Languages: A Look At Poetry And Storytelling With A Focus On British Sign Language, R. Sutton-Spence, Donna Jo Napoli

Linguistics Faculty Works

The work presented here considers some linguistic methods used in sign anthropomorphism. We find a cline of signed anthropomorphism that depends on a number of factors, including the skills and intention of the signer, the animacy of the entities represented, the form of their bodies, and the form of vocabulary signs referring to those entities. We consider four main factors that allow signers to anthropomorphize the whole range of entities (from animate to inanimate): the linguistic base that allows such play, the ability of the nonmanuals to anthropomorphize even when the manual articulators are signing in an ordinary way, the …

Communication Strategies Used By Chinese Students From China In Spoken English., Liu Qing Hua

Student Works (2010-2019)

This study evaluates the use of Communication Strategies which are employed by Second Language Acquisition (SLA) learners. A comprehensive review of the relevant literature from the last decade is done with focus on the particular consideration given to the different ways in which Communication Strategies have been defined under the corresponding influences in regard to the organization of strategy taxonomies. This study also seeks to examine how learners of second language perform in communicative tasks especially where they are confronted with linguistic problems and communication barriers. It also aims at identifying the communication strategies used by the students from China …

Extraversion And Oral Proficiency In Esl, Joshua Boyd Howard

LSU Master's Theses

Extraversion has been proposed as an influence on the success of a second language learner, although studies in this area have produced mixed results (Dewaele & Furnham, 1999; Marin-Marin, 2005; Wakamoto, 2007). Through a narrative retell task, the current study investigated the effects of extraversion on the spoken English performance of 25 native speakers of Spanish. Extraversion was measured with a Spanish version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire or EPQ (1975). Narratives were elicited using the wordless picture story Frog, Where Are You? (Mayer, 1969). Drawing on the work of Dewaele (1998), Dewaele and Pavlenko (2002), and Oya, Manalo, and …

El Análisis De Errores Ortográficos De Estudiantes Filipinos En El Aprendizaje De Español Como Le Y Su Aplicación Didáctica, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

La presente investigación fue presentada en 2006 en la Universidad de Salamanca, como memoria final del Máster en Enseñanza de Español como Lengua Extranjera. Este estudio se realizó en la Universidad de Filipinas y en el Instituto Cervantes de Manila, para el que se encuestó a un total de 258 informantes. La tesis principal de la investigación partía de la hipótesis de que los errores ortográficos cometidos por los estudiantes filipinos de español eran fruto de unas dificultades específicas que no coincidían con las causas de los errores ortográficos que generan este tipo de error en los estudiantes nativos, especialmente …

A Study Of The Aspectual Complements Of 'Begin' And 'Start', Xinzheng Zhao

LSU Master's Theses

Abstract The main purpose of this thesis is to study the aspectual complements of the aspectualizers begin and start. Aspectualizers are verbs that give aspectual readings to the sentence. I started with a summary of Freed’s (1978) analysis. In this summary, semantic differences among seven aspectualizers that take to V and V-ing complements were explained. The semantic distinction between to V and V-ing was also discussed. Following the summary, a brief research on aspectual complements was conducted. Based on Freed’s analysis, I first examined the difference in meaning and in frequency of occurrence between the to V and the V-ing …