Applied Linguistics Commons^™

Defining Antisemitism Or Activism?: An Analysis Of Congressional Debate Over The Antisemitism Awareness Act Of 2023, John Carpenter

University Honors Theses

Introduced amid widespread campus protests against the Israeli militarys actions in the Gaza Strip, the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 (AAA) directs the Department of Education to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism during investigations of potential discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. This study investigates congressional debate on the AAA using the Discourse Historical Approach to Critical Discourse Analysis to assess how members of Congress portray the victims and perpetrators of antisemitism and whether these portrayals align with the stated aim to "improve safety and security for Jewish Communities." Findings reveal that …

Translating Legalese: Deconstructing Lease Language For New Renters, Erin Clarke

University Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the relationship between legal English and the general public, focusing on the challenges laypersons encounter in reading contract language. By examining specific linguistic features of legal writing, along with the systems and practices of US law, this research highlights the problematic disconnect between the complexity of legalese and the fluency level of average citizens in this specialized variety of English. This issue is particularly salient in the realm of rental agreements for housing, given the mounting housing crisis and historically high eviction rates in the state of Oregon. The culmination of this research is a digital guidebook …

Rationality And Discomfort: Stance In "The End Of The Altaic Controversy" And "In Defense Of The Comparative Method, Or The End Of The Vovin Controversy", Logan Mcdowall

University Honors Theses

This study will use corpus linguistics techniques and Hyland's framework for stance in academic discourse to analyze authors' discoursal roles in different framings of a famous controversy in historical linguistics: the classification of the Altaic language family. Two significant pieces of discourse in this debate include "The End of the Altaic Controversy" by A. Vovin and "In Defense of the Comparative Method, or the End of the Vovin Controversy" by A. Dybo and G. Starostin. Despite the importance of these works, no one has analyzed how these authors use stance to position themselves within it. After performing a corpus word …

Lsp Needs Analysis In The Context Of International Minor League Baseball, Julia Moore

University Honors Theses

Examining the language and cultural needs of international minor league baseball players through the lens of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) this study utilizes applied linguistics and sports sociology and aims to inform player development strategies to enhance on- and off-field communication. Survey data was gathered on language use preferences, focusing on players' attitudes and behaviors in professional settings. Ethical considerations included surveys in English and Spanish and voluntary participation, with data collected at the Oakland Athletics Complex in Mesa, Arizona, from 18 out of 20 players.

Findings reveal that players recognize the importance of English proficiency for effective gameplay …

Talking Yourself Up: Multimodal Conversation Analysis Of Status In An Improvised Setting, Aubrey Lewarne

University Honors Theses

A single-case analysis looked at two individuals performing a scripted exercise during an Applied Improvisational workshop. The analysis examined how performers modify their linguistic and embodied actions in order to perform an assigned status role. The analysis was undertaken to better understand how social status can be constructed in everyday talk-in-interaction. I first outlined the three major theoretical frames that are relevant to the analysis: Applied Improvisation as a pedagogical approach, the use of Conversation Analysis (CA) for the analysis of language in educational contexts, and the concept of status from a sociological perspective. I then present a single-case study, …

Science Education Research On Student To Student Discourse: A Literature Review With An Applied Linguistics Lens, Abbee A. Mortensen

University Honors Theses

Science education researchers have increasingly been using discourse analysis to research small group discussion while doing course related activities. This literature review examined studies from that discourse community to see what analysis methods were used and if they connected to applied linguistics theories or methods. Two of the most common discourse analysis frameworks used were Toulmin's Argument Pattern and grounded coding schemes that looked at the design and specific contents of the discourse. Studies covered will also include education scholars using theories of conversation analysis and normative pragmatics to make a more explicit connection to applied linguistics. Orienting and drawing …

English Language Learner Labels: Institutions And Identity, Saylor B. Eames

University Honors Theses

In recent discussions of identity work, an underexplored issue has been how different labels impact the self-identity of multilingual students. Critics have argued for new labels and have shown how the ELL label supports a deficit view. However, they have not considered what labels are used by different institutions because they participate in different discourse communities. In my work, I explore what labels are used in the institutions of government, education, and linguistics in order to synthesize the potential identity impacts on multilingual students. I acknowledge that other researchers have contributed to our understanding of labels and identity. I will …

Yay…, ��, And #Sarcasm: Exploring How Sarcasm Is Marked In Text-Based Cmc, Brontë G. Gordon

University Honors Theses

Sarcasm is a complex phenomenon of indirect speech, when we intend a meaning different from that of the literal words we use. In face-to-face settings (FtF), facial expressions, body language, and prosodic cues can be helpful indicators of sarcasm. It becomes even harder to decipher when these physical cues are removed as in any written setting. This paper explores what text strategies are used to mark sarcasm in text-based English language communication online. Through a systematic literature review, the similarities and differences of irony and sarcasm were explored, as well as the issues these parallels and distinctions create in delineating …

Chinese Word Order: A Look Into Svo And Sov Arguments, Shelley E. Tennison

University Honors Theses

In this paper, the issue of Chinese word order is weighed, and findings in the field are presented. First, looking into the historical background and offering a brief introduction to Greenberg's linguistic universals, I will break apart various arguments concerning the word order in Chinese. I will examine many sources, albeit the focus will rest heavily on Sandra Li and Charles Thomson's SOV argument and Timothy Gívon and Chaofen Sun's SVO argument. The two sides of this argument are considered regarding X-bar theory, constituent test, morphological limitations, and syntax.

Linguistic Discrimination In Higher Education In Vietnam, Y Dang Nhu Tran

University Honors Theses

Prof. John Baugh has remarked that "this greater linguistic unity will help us all as we move toward the future" (Baugh, 2019). This qualitative research paper addresses the causes of linguistic discrimination and the impacts on current college students in Vietnam via three students from different regions (North, Central, and South) at one university. The paper examines linguistic discrimination and how political and linguistic identity have shaped behavior and social interaction on the part of three young Vietnamese intellectuals. The literature examines a brief history of Vietnamese language and culture, research paradigms in linguistic discrimination, and learning culture.

How Indigenous-Language Court Interpreters And Clients Navigate The U.S. Court System Under Strict Court-Interpreting Guidelines, Ashten Lehwalder

University Honors Theses

In Oregon, requests for court interpreters of languages indigenous to Latin America have increased within the last few years. However, the number of available indigenous-language court interpreters in the U.S. remains low. During the 2019 U.S.--Mexico Border Crisis, many refugees seeking asylum were from Mayan communities; indigenous-language court interpreters struggled to meet the demand. Even though court interpreting is a civil right in the U.S., many individuals have been afforded inadequate language services, or have gone without interpreters altogether. This study seeks to understand the experience of indigenous-language court interpreters, who must operate according to a code of ethics, through …

A Corpus Approach Study On The Manzanar Free Press, Danielle Jochums

University Honors Theses

Past studies on the physical environment of the Japanese-American internment camps of World War II have argued that internees were able to express their agency and identity despite the dehumanization of the camps. However, studies on the newspapers circulated in the camps have argued that internees had no agency as they worked on newspapers. In a preliminary reading, it was clear that these newspapers evidenced internee agency in their language. Utilizing de Certeau's theoretical framework of tactics, this study addressed the following questions: What tactics did Japanese-American internees use to take agency when writing and editing camp newspapers? How did …