[Sabbatical Report],
2013
Western Kentucky University
[Sabbatical Report], Elizabeth Winkler
Sabbatical Reports
I am working to develop a English-Kpelle dictionary database for use in the electronic world as well as various paper dictionaries to be published and used primarily in Liberia. I input over 2200 entries into a database. Entries include information about pronunciation, meaning, grammar, spelling, etymology and related words. This database will be uploaded to the website as well as formatted for paper publication of the dictionaries.
The Copala Triqui Auxiliary Construction For Emotional And Psychological Predicates,
2013
University at Albany, State University of New York
The Copala Triqui Auxiliary Construction For Emotional And Psychological Predicates, George Aaron Broadwell
Anthropology Faculty Scholarship
Copala Triqui has a construction in which predicates of emotion and psychological state appear with one of two special auxiliary verbs, derived historically from verbs meaning 'see' and 'look'. This paper details the constraints on the syntax of the emotion auxiliary construction and contrasts it with the ordinary verbal syntax of the language. (Ethnologue code TRC)
Shiwilu (Jebero),
2013
Chapman University
Shiwilu (Jebero), Pilar Valenzuela, Carlos Gussenhoven
World Languages and Cultures Faculty Articles and Research
Shiwilu (a.k.a. Jebero) is a critically endangered language from Peruvian Amazonia and one of the two members of the Kawapanan linguistic family. Most of its nearly 30 remaining fluent speakers live in and around the village of Jeberos (District of Jeberos, Province of Alto Amazonas, Loreto Region), at approximately 5° S, 75° W. The documentation of Shiwilu is scarce and no survey grammar is available. Until very recently, the only trained linguist who had worked on Shiwilu was John Bendor- Samuel, who carried out fieldwork in 1955–1956 and completed a doctoral thesis in 1958 (see Bendor-Samuel 1981 [1958]). An abridged …
Lexicalization And De-Lexicalization Processes In Sign Languages: Comparing Depicting Constructions And Viewpoint Gestures,
2012
University College London
Lexicalization And De-Lexicalization Processes In Sign Languages: Comparing Depicting Constructions And Viewpoint Gestures, Kearsy Cormier, David Quinto-Pozos, Zed Sehyr, Adam Schembri
Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research
In this paper, we compare so-called “classifier” constructions in signed languages (which we refer to as “depicting constructions”) with comparable iconic gestures produced by non-signers. We show clear correspondences between entity constructions and observer viewpoint gestures on the one hand, and handling constructions and character viewpoint gestures on the other. Such correspondences help account for both lexicalisation and de-lexicalisation processes in signed languages and how these processes are influenced by viewpoint. Understanding these processes is crucial when coding and annotating natural sign language data.
The Semiotic Ecology And Linguistic Complexity Of An Online Game World,
2012
Portland State University
The Semiotic Ecology And Linguistic Complexity Of An Online Game World, Steven L. Thorne, Ingrid Fischer, Xiaofei Lu
World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations
Multiplayer online games form complex semiotic ecologies that include game-generated texts, player-to-player communication and collaboration, and associated websites that support in-game play. This article describes an exploratory study of the massively multiplayer online game (MMO) World of Warcraft (WoW), with specific attention to its qualities as a setting for second language (L2) use and development. This empirical study seeks to answer the following question: What is the nature of the linguistic ecology that WoW players are exposed to? Many studies have described the developmental opportunities presented by commercially available gaming environments (e.g., Gee, 2003, 2007), their value as sites of …
Mothers Do Not Drive The Development Of Adult Homesign Systems: Evidence From Comprehension,
2012
University of Connecticut - Storrs
Mothers Do Not Drive The Development Of Adult Homesign Systems: Evidence From Comprehension, Emily Carrigan
Master's Theses
Studying the communication systems that arise in spontaneously occurring cases of degraded linguistic input can help clarify human predispositions for language. Some deaf individuals born into hearing families, who do not receive conventional linguistic input, develop gestures, called “homesign,” to communicate. We examined homesign systems used by four deaf Nicaraguan adults (ages 15-27), and evaluated whether homesigners’ hearing mothers are potential sources for these systems. Study One measured mothers’ comprehension of descriptions of events (e.g., “A man taps a woman”) produced in homesign and spoken Spanish. Mothers comprehended spoken Spanish descriptions (produced by one of their hearing children) better than …
Clausal Negation As Raising In San Dionisio Ocotepec Zapotec,
2012
University at Albany, State University of New York
Clausal Negation As Raising In San Dionisio Ocotepec Zapotec, George Aaron Broadwell
Anthropology Faculty Scholarship
This paper argues that clausal negation in San Dionisio Ocotepec Zapotec is best analysed as a kind of raising phenomenon. This analysis correctly predicts a number of facts about the interaction of word order and aspect in the language.
The Lived Experiences Of Participants In The Euchee/Yuchi Language Project: A Phenomenological Study Of Language Preservation,
2011
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
The Lived Experiences Of Participants In The Euchee/Yuchi Language Project: A Phenomenological Study Of Language Preservation, Jessica Park
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Native languages are disappearing quickly in this country, but there are many programs that are underway trying to save Native languages before they are gone. One such program is the Euchee/Yuchi Language Project which uses a modified version of the Master-Apprentice Language Learning Program (MALLP). Elder language speakers, masters, and younger members of the tribe, apprentices, meet daily in a two-hour language session. The goal of the session is to immerse the apprentices in the language by using conversational Euchee/Yuchi in the form of lessons, props, and presentations, so they can learn the language quickly. The purpose of this study …
Argument Encoding And Pragmatic Marking Of The Transitive Subject In Shiwilu (Kawapanan),
2011
Chapman University
Argument Encoding And Pragmatic Marking Of The Transitive Subject In Shiwilu (Kawapanan), Pilar Valenzuela
World Languages and Cultures Faculty Articles and Research
Shiwilu (a.k.a. Jebero) is a nearly extinct Kawapanan language from Peruvian Amazonia. The goal of this article is twofold. First, it investigates the obligatory cross-referencing of arguments in the complex Shiwilu verb. This system is predominantly nominative accusative, with the caveat that main clause object markers coincide with those conveying subject in one type of clause involving nominal predicates, as well as subject and object of dependent clauses. Second, this article provides a first analysis of the enclitic =ler, which may attach to transitive subjects and thus exhibits an ergative-like distribution. Unlike the situation in languages with syntacticized ergative systems, …
Redefining Nairobi's Streets: Study Of Slang, Marginalization, And Identity,
2010
Washington University in St. Louis
Redefining Nairobi's Streets: Study Of Slang, Marginalization, And Identity, Mungai Mutonya
Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective
This study attempts an analysis of a restructured Swahili variety spoken by Nairobi's street community: Kinoki. Adapting tools of sociolinguistic inquiry and focusing on Kinoki's divergence from the dominant urban slang, Sheng, the study discusses attitudes toward divergent terms referencing the street community, street activities, and law enforcement officials. Results indicate that street children, unlike their school-going peers living in the city's low-income neighborhoods, redefine pejoratives that devalue and stigmatize street people and their lifestyle. Instead, Kinoki empowers the marginalized community to construct a positive identity, to ameliorate representations of street lifestyle, and to redefine neologisms that reference in-group ( …
Avatime Noun Classes,
2010
Macalester College
Avatime Noun Classes, Ronny C. Watkins
Linguistics Honors Projects
Like many African languages, particularly Bantu languages, the Ghanaian language of Avatime organizes its nouns into a class system. Noun classes use affixes to indicate semantic category. For example, many languages with noun classes have a class for ‘people’ nouns, such as ‘child’ and ‘stranger.’ Previous research on Avatime has postulated between seven and nine classes. The current study is based on original field work done in the village of Vane in Ghana. The new data show that Avatime has seven noun classes, distinguished by singular and plural prefixes, definite article suffixes, and semantic similarities.
Language Choice Of Bidayuh Graduates In Kuching-Samarahan Division.,
2010
Universiti Malaya
Language Choice Of Bidayuh Graduates In Kuching-Samarahan Division., Norazuna Norahim
Student Works (2010-2019)
This dissertation describes the language choice patterns of Bidayuh graduates in an urban setting. It demonstrates the interaction between macro-sociological modifications with changes in language choice patterns of the Bidayuh community, an ethnic minority located in East Malaysia. The motivation for the study is driven by the need to ascertain the direction of the changing language choice patterns of its community members, and the extent to which it is threatening the position of the mother tongue. Despite having a population of approximately 170,000 speakers, the Bidayuh language displays characteristics of a “threatened” language. The proximity of the Bidayuh speech community …
Perbandingan Pengujaran Kata-Kata Dua Subdialek Terengganu.,
2010
Universiti Malaya
Perbandingan Pengujaran Kata-Kata Dua Subdialek Terengganu., Rusidah Abdul Wahab
Student Works (2010-2019)
This is a study on the variation at utterances of residents in Kampung Surau Panjang and Kampung Atas Tol in Mukim Pengadang Buluh, located in Daerah Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, and effects of social interaction on the sound change of their utterances using comparative approach. It is found that final vowel phoneme /a/ in Terengganu dialect (or /au/ in Standard Malay) corresponds with /ɔ/ in Kampung Surau Panjang and /a/ in Kampung Atas Tol. The difference can be attributed to social interaction from the aspects of age, education and economic status of respondents. Sound shift was observed to be predominant in …
Applicative Constructions In Shipibo-Konibo (Panoan),
2010
Chapman University
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 …
