Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
- Keyword
- Publication
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Semantics and Pragmatics
Struggle, Aspiration, And Obsession: The Discourse Of Diet, Emily K. L. Jahn
Struggle, Aspiration, And Obsession: The Discourse Of Diet, Emily K. L. Jahn
Masters Theses
Research has shown that members of society are generally dissatisfied with their current weight. This study examines how individuals socially construct meanings of the word diet and the dieting process. Participants (n=443) were males and females who ranged in age from 7 to 68. Each were given a diet questionnaire to complete. The older groups were given the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scale in addition to the survey. The text for analysis was obtained by the surveys and four focus groups. The resulting data indicated that both males and females perceive the word diet means "to lose weight." …
The Effect Of Usage On Degrees Of Constituency: The Reduction Of Don't In English, Joan Bybee, Joanne Scheibman
The Effect Of Usage On Degrees Of Constituency: The Reduction Of Don't In English, Joan Bybee, Joanne Scheibman
English Faculty Publications
In this paper we take the position that there are many degrees of constituency and that these derive in a direct manner from the frequency with which elements are used together: elements that are frequently found next to each other show a tighter constituent structure than those that collocate less frequently. We use both phonological and functional evidence from conversation to argue that repetition conditions chunking (Haiman 1994), sometimes overriding the syntactic and semantic logic of the organization of utterances. Our study examines the reduction of don't in American English conversation. We find that don't is reduced the most in …