Linguistics Commons^™

The Spread Of Change In French Negation, Angus Grieve-Smith

Linguistics ETDs

Many varieties of French have changed over the years from expressing predicate negation (Geurts 1998) with ne alone, to the embracing construction ne ... pas, and then to postverbal pas alone (Jespersen 1917). When the increase in the frequency of ne ... pas over time is plotted on a graph, it takes the S shape of the logistic function (Kroch 1989). Bybee and Thompson (1997) note that "the type frequency of a pattern determines its degree of productivity," but "high frequency forms with alternations resist analogical leveling.' These two observations provide an explanation for the logistic progression observed by Kroch …

Assessing Online Collaboration Among Language Teachers: A Cross-Institutional Case Study, Nike Arnold, Lara Ducate, Lara Lomicka, Gillian Lord

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper focuses on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) among foreign language (FL) graduate students from three universities, who worked together to create a wiki. In order to investigate the nature of CSCL among participants, this qualitative case study used the Curtis and Lawson framework (2001) to conduct a content analysis of learners’ collaborative behaviors. Transcript and survey analyses indicate that the success of collaborative interaction depends largely on the group members themselves. Differing levels of participation indicate that not everyone was equally involved with the wiki project, which ultimately affected the level of collaboration, the group dynamics, and the final …

Communicative Patterns And Framing Of Worldviews Among Malaysian Chinese., Susan Tan Siew Choo

Student Works (2010-2019)

This study explores the world views of two groups of Malaysian Ethnic Chinese: Chinese language dominant subjects and English language dominant subjects using an analysis of four aspects of the Family Descriptor Scale which was adapted from Pyong Min Gap’s (1995) unity scale. It sets out to answer the following research questions: whether there are differences in the patterns of communication among Chinese language dominant Chinese Malaysians and English language dominant Chinese Malaysians; in what ways the cultural and/or psychological aspects of framing affect respondents’ discourse, and to what extent the frames reflect the world view of the respondents. The …

Massachusetts Adult Basic Education And Esol Distance Learning Programs: How To Assess Student Readiness For Distance Learning?, Berna Kahraman, Amelia Mallona, Donna H. Friedman, Sarah Kuck Jalbert

Center for Social Policy Publications

This report presents the findings from the pilot screening process prepared by the Center for Social Policy (CSP) and implemented during December 2008-March 2009 by the adult basic education (ABE) online learning programs in MA which are funded by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE). The purposes of the pilot process were:

• To determine the effectiveness of screening tools in assessing participant characteristics, such as the skills, demographics, and life circumstances that are associated with success in online learning;
• To identify supports and interventions which students need in order to persist and succeed in online learning.

At the …

Update On Soar 9 And Sentence Processing, Deryle W. Lonsdale, Jeremiah Lane Mcghee, Ross Hendrickson

Faculty Publications

NLSOAR is in active development

NLSOAR can process several key types of sentences

NLSOAR updated to SOAR 9 as a prototype

Applying Computational Models Of Spatial Prepositions To Visually Situated Dialog, John D. Kelleher, Fintan Costello

Articles

This article describes the application of computational models of spatial prepositions to visually situated dialog systems. In these dialogs, spatial prepositions are important because people often use them to refer to entities in the visual context of a dialog. We first describe a generic architecture for a visually situated dialog system and highlight the interactions between the spatial cognition module, which provides the interface to the models of prepositional semantics, and the other components in the architecture. Following this, we present two new computational models of topological and projective spatial prepositions. The main novelty within these models is the fact …

Music And Language: Exploring An Artificial Music Grammar, Erica R. Knowles

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Research regarding the brain mechanisms that underlie music and language processing supports two main interpretations: domain-specificity and domain-generality. Evidence from neuropsychology literature, specifically from amusia research, supports domain-specific mechanisms (Peretz & Coltheart, 2003) but recent neuroimaging and behavioral evidence supports overlapping mechanisms, especially for syntax processing (Patel, 2008). The present study used an artificial music grammar in order to test participants' ability to learn a new music grammar as well as to observe a possible interaction between music and language syntax processing. Although participants were able to learn the artificial music grammar, a language task was not affected by errors …

Assessment Of English Language Learners Seeking A Graduate Degree In Speech Language Pathology, Lisa Anne Prushko

Honors Scholar Theses

A shortage of bilingual/bicultural speech language pathologists may reflect a problem with recruitment and retention of bilingual/bicultural students. The purpose of the present study was to survey graduate training programs in speech language pathology to determine typical policies and practices concerning students who apply and are admitted as ELLs. With a growing number of ELL children needing services from a bilingual SLP, it seems that little is being done to address the issue. The problem may be with the reluctance of programs to not only accept ELL students, but there also seems to be a disinclination for any sort of …

The Impact Of Interactive Multimedia Kits And Websites On Self-Directed Learning In Chinese Pronunciation And Tones, Hui-Kuei Hsieh

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined whether interactive multimedia (IM) and interactive websites (IW) have an impact on Millennials' self-directed learning in Chinese pronunciation and tones. A set of multimedia kits and several interactive websites were adopted for the study. Twenty-six volunteer German high school girls were involved in this study and were divided into two groups for two treatment conditions. Condition 1 was that the first group of learners used IM and IW to self-study Chinese pronunciation and tones for 4 weeks. Condition 2 was that the second group of learners used not only IM and IW for self-directed learning but also …

Review Of "Methods Of Language Teaching", By Blair Bateman And Baldomero Lago, Lara Ducate

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Developing A Teachers' Handbook For Content-Based Instruction At Brigham Young University's English Language Center, Melinda Clement Hardman

Theses and Dissertations

In Winter semester of 2005 the English Language Center (ELC) began plans to implement a content-based program for students at its highest proficiency level in order to provide them with more effective preparation for academic studies in English. Since that time, the program has undergone various changes to provide a more stable, cohesive, and responsive curriculum. There is a need, however, for greater teacher support and training. This paper outlines the process I underwent to create a handbook that would provide needed guidance and training for teachers in this program. This project involved an in-depth needs analysis of teachers and …

Validation Of The Reading Level Achievement Test Of The English Language Center, Marina Vasilyevina Mikhaylova

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the validity of the Reading Level Achievement Test of the English Language Center (ELC) of Brigham Young University. Test validation is a complicated process that involves evaluation of various types of validity. It was beyond the scope of this study to investigate different types of validity of the Reading LAT. The present study was only focused on the exam's construct validity. In an effort to validate the LAT, various models of reading comprehension were examined with the purpose of defining the construct of academic reading comprehension. The TOEFL academic reading framework was chosen to be the construct …

Story 2 (Part 2), George Tucker Childs

Mani, a Disappearing Language of Sierra Leone and Guinea

Text of a performance of a Mani folk tale by a group of children in Moribaya.

Story 1 (Part 2), George Tucker Childs

Mani, a Disappearing Language of Sierra Leone and Guinea

The is the second of two parts of a Mani folk tale.

10 Key Principles For Designing Video Games For Foreign Language Learning, Ravi Purushotma, Steven L. Thorne, Julian Wheatley

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper was produced for the Open Language & Learning Games Project, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Education Arcade.

Dit’S Dynamic Speech Corpus, Dermot Campbell, Ciaran Mcdonnell, Marty Meinardi, Charles Pritchard, Bunny Richardson, Yi Wang

Conference papers

Given the current focus of language learning on learner autonomy, the Technological University Dublin is using its FLUENT project (commencement date 7/1/’08) to produce a Dynamic Speech Corpus, which will be a valuable resource for learners, teachers, authors and researchers. The resultant database will afford access to a unique audio resource based on unscripted dialogues between friends, characterized by industry-standard audio quality (for analysis purposes) and a high degree of naturalness. By means of search string and/or tags such as speaker intention, users will be able to find samples of native-to-native speech (various L1 varieties) on a chosen topic, particularly …

Die Taal Is Gans Die Volk? Building A Common Afrikaans-Language Identity And Community In Post-Apartheid South Africa, Susan Demartino

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The following paper examines some of the ways in which Afrikaans-speakers have begun to renegotiate Afrikaans-speaking identity and community in reaction to a perceived decline in Afrikaans in post-apartheid democratic South Africa. It also examines the values of re-negotiating Afrikaans for a multilingual South Africa.

The data was obtained through interviews with four Afrikaans-speaking South Africans who connect with the language both as a mother-tongue speaker and as players in renegotiating its role through empowerment efforts, blogging, and creating positive language policy and programming.

I have concluded that the renegotiation of Afrikaans involves depoliticizing and consciously separating Afrikaans from ideologies …

Finding Cost-Effective Methods For Language Access Services Administration At New York City Children's Services, Kerry Cook

MPA Capstone Projects 2006 - 2015

New York City Children's Services (CS) serves an increasing populations of persons with limited English language proficiency (LEP). Federal and local laws mandate that these persons are provided with meaningful language access services. This analysis attempts to find the most cost-effective strategy for CS' Division of Child Protection (DCP) to provide interpretation services to LEP persons involved in DCP cases of child abuse and neglect. The study first identifies alternative strategies for providing these services, and then qualifies the cost of the current methods and alternative methods. A framework of transaction cost economic theory guides the cost analysis process. Next, …

Place Names In Israeli Sign Language, Bettina Revilla

Theses and Dissertations

One of the obstacles in translating the Hebrew Scriptures into sign language is the lack of signs for Biblical places in most sign languages of the world. What solutions are there? One possibility is to borrow existing signs for Biblical places from another sign language, particularly from Israeli Sign Language, since Israeli Deaf already have signs for the places where they live.

There is a trend towards borrowing foreign place name signs (toponyms), especially when a language does not have a sign. This research provides a corpus of Israeli Sign Language (ISL) toponyms for ninety-two place names, documenting in photos …

The Electrophysiological Manifestation Of Dutch Verb Second Violations, Dirk B. Den Ouden, Roelien Bastiaanse

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

We investigated the processing of violations of the verb position in Dutch, in a group of healthy subjects, by measuring event-related potentials (ERPs) through electroencephalography (EEG). In Dutch, the base position of the verb is clause final, but in matrix clauses, the finite verb is in second position, a construction known as Verb Second. In embedded clauses, the finite verb remains in its clause-final base position. The results show that ungrammatical placement of finite verbs in second position in embedded clauses yields a P600 response, which suggests that the parser treats this type of violation as a clear syntactic …

Collaborative Writing In Wikis: Insights From Culture Projects In Intermediate German Classes, Nike Arnold, Lara Ducate, Claudia Kost

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation reports the findings of a study designed to investigate the collaborative writing and revision processes of foreign language learners in a wiki environment. Specifically, it is based on a comparison of two wiki projects in intermediate German classes in which small groups of students used wikis to collaborate on a project based on cultural and historical topics related to a novel. The archived versions of the wiki were analyzed for the amount, type, and quality of revisions. In addition, an end-of-semester survey was administered to assess learner attitudes towards the project and perceptions of the writing process.

External Possession Meets Bare Nouns In Malagasy, Ileana Paul

French Studies Publications

This paper examines apparent noun incorporation in Malagasy that is the result of external possession (possessor raising). It is shown that such incorporation is not derived via head movement or via compounding. Instead, it is argued that this is an instance of pseudo noun incorporation (Massam, 2001): the possessum is merged as an NP sister to the predicate. As for the structure of external possession, a non-movement analysis is proposed: the apparent possessor is generated as the specifier of a null possessive head and binds an empty argument position within the possessum. The resulting structure and meaning are shown to …

Sluicing And Multiple Wh-Fronting., Lydia Grebenyova

Linguistics

This paper explores multiple wh-fronting under Sluicing. Contrary to previous proposals that an interrogative +wh complementizer licenses TP-ellipsis, I propose that +focus feature licenses this ellipsis operation. Assuming the deletion analysis of sluicing, following Ross (1969), I argue for focus-licensed sluicing based on data from Slavic languages like Russian and Polish, where it is possible to have focused R-expressions as remnants of sluicing. I demonstrate how semantic restrictions in multiple interrogatives are maintained under sluicing, presenting a new argument for the clausal structure of the sluice. Finally, I explore Superiority effects under sluicing, deriving those from parallelism in variable binding.

The Relationship Between Language Teaching And Mayan Language Conservation In Guatemala., Rusty Barrett

Linguistics Presentations

Although the Kaqchikel program was the model and inspiration for the K’iche’ program, the two programs differ in a number of ways because of differences in the sociolinguistic contexts in which they operate:

• Approaches to pedagogy and dialectal variation
• Integration with local communities
• Relationship to language documentation

Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Homeschoolers: Sociocultural Motivation And Approach, Elizabeth S. Parks

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

Research on the education of deaf and hard of hearing students has largely ignored homeschooling as an option that parents are choosing, yet thousands of parents across America are pulling their children from more traditional school placements to educate their children at home. This is a pilot study of 21 parents, investigating through questionnaires their backgrounds, motivations for homeschooling, methods of constructing their school environment, communication preferences, and the socialization that occurs for their children. Results show that while homeschooler demographics and approaches vary, there are similarities among their motivations and approaches to providing their children with socialization and interaction …

Issues In Sign Language Translation, With Special Reference To Bible Translation, Mark Penner

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

Sign Language (SL) translation is a field of growing interest to major groups involved in translation, but many SL translation projects are encountering difficulties. In examining these, I argue that the Deaf community occupies a unique sociolinguistic context as it relates to translation, and that this makes Deaf ownership of translation projects and training of Deaf people a high priority. I then look at three other salient issues in SL translation: personnel, exegesis, and the question of signing style, offering tentative solutions. In addition, I suggest that projects might benefit from: 1) engaging in discourse studies early in the SL …

Do The Talysh And Tat Languages Have A Future In Azerbaijan?, John M. Clifton

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

Tat and Talysh are two less-widely-used Iranian languages indigenous to Azerbaijan. Sociolinguistic research revealed that both languages are being displaced in some communities but coexist with Azerbaijani in others. Factors contributing to these differences include isolation, ethnic diversity, and economic opportunity. One other factor contributing to displacement is a desire to see children excel in school. This could well be the most important factor breaking transmission from one generation to the next. In light of this, it is important to document the language and culture while they are vital.

The Neglect Of Listening Activities Among Egyptian Preparatory School Efl Teachers, Mohamed Eltawila

MA TESOL Collection

This thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter one describes the reasons for this study, the learning environment in which this study was done--La Seifer Prep School which is the school in which I teach, the general aims for TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) at Egyptian preparatory schools which is a foreign language context, the ten teachers of English who have been working or have worked at La Seifer Prep School who were interviewed for the study, and the textbooks used at the school and how they address listening. The second chapter is devoted to reviewing the literature …

Curriculum And Student Motivation, Jennifer Jones

MA TESOL Collection

This paper details the process and results of an experimental project-based curriculum for a college preparatory ESL course and its effects on student motivation. The course, designed to appeal to students’ desire for variety, community and self-expression, was divided into three modules, each with a different focus. Participants were international adults studying English at a private school in Austin, Texas. Results indicated that the course structure and content can play a large role in students’ motivation levels. Course documents are appended.

The Role Of Pragmatics In Second Language Teaching, Roberto Eduardo Echeverria Castillo

MA TESOL Collection

This research paper explores the application of pragmatics in second language teaching. It presents pragmatics as a discipline that may be taught and learned utilizing the experiential learning cycle. The paper explores challenging pragmatic experiences and how the cycle was used to overcome them. Additionally, it proposes a model to teach pragmatics, illustrated by a lesson based on an episode of a television show. Finally, the paper ends with my personal view of this project, and its applications on my learning of English and to my language teaching.