Editorial,
2017
Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown
Editorial, Brian Nolan
The ITB Journal
I am delighted to introduce the 24th edition of the ITB Journal, the academic journal of the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown.
The Persuasive Tutor: A Bdi Teaching Agent With Role And Reference Grammar Language Interface – Sustainable Design Of A Conversational Agent For Language Learning,
2017
Aalborg University
The Persuasive Tutor: A Bdi Teaching Agent With Role And Reference Grammar Language Interface – Sustainable Design Of A Conversational Agent For Language Learning, Judith Gottschalk
The ITB Journal
This paper investigates how an intelligent teaching agent with Role and Reference Grammar [RRG] (cf. Van Valin 2005) as linguistic engine can support language learning. Based on a user-centred empirical design study the architecture of a highly persuasive tool for language learning as an extension of PLOTLearner (http://europlot.blogspot.dk/2012/07/try-plotlearner-2.html) is developed. Based on grounded theory it is shown that feedback and support is of greatest importance even in self-directed computer assisted language learning. Is also shown how this overall approach to language learning can be situated into traditional conversation based learning theories (cf. Laurillard 2009). It is shown that a computationally …
Headedness In Māori Reflexivity: A Role And Reference Grammar Analysis,
2017
Trinity College Dublin
Headedness In Māori Reflexivity: A Role And Reference Grammar Analysis, Aoife Finn
The ITB Journal
This article will provide an introduction to the Māori language. Particular attention is paid to Māori reflexive construction, which sometimes uses a so-called support form to express reflexivity. It will familiarise the reader with Role and Reference Grammar (RRG), a functionally motivated approach to a grammatical model which accounts for both the form and function of language. RRG provides a robust framework for analysing reflexive constructions. Finally, having considered this framework, the article will account for the occurrence of a reflexive support form in reflexive constructions.
Editorial,
2017
Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown
Editorial, Brian Nolan
The ITB Journal
I am delighted to introduce the 23th edition of the ITB Journal, the academic journal of the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown.
Three-Place Predicates In English: Towards A Unification-Based Computationally Adequate Approach To Role And Reference Grammar,
2017
BBDO Services GmbH
Three-Place Predicates In English: Towards A Unification-Based Computationally Adequate Approach To Role And Reference Grammar, Judith Gottschalk
The ITB Journal
This paper is concerned with a computational linguistics analysis of Role and Reference Grammar [RRG] (cf. Van Valin and LaPolla 1997; Van Valin (2005) and introduces research work in progress aiming to analyze the computability of RRG. The concept of computational adequacy is introduced as an important external principle from a philosophy of science perspective to sharpen the scientific principles of the area of functional computational linguistics. In addition, a pseudo-code-based meta-language is developed in order to semi-formalize the linking algorithm from semantics to syntax. This paper will show that RRG in its current fashion is not executable on an …
Persian Cleft Constructions: A Role And Reference Grammar Analysis,
2017
Trinity College Dublin
Persian Cleft Constructions: A Role And Reference Grammar Analysis, Farhad Moezzipour
The ITB Journal
The present paper embarks on the study of Persian cleft construction within the framework of Role and Reference Grammar (RRG henceforth). RRG intends to investigate the interaction of syntax, semantics and pragmatics via the constituent, logical and focus structure as independent but interrelated domains of the paradigm. To start with, an attempt will be made regarding demonstrating the specification role of the cleft construction, which is a universally semantic property of the construction, in the syntactic, semantic and information structures. In Persian clefts, despite that the clefted constituent is the semantic argument of the predicator of the cleft clause, it …
The Assignment Of Grammatical And Inherent Gender To English Loan Words In Lithuanian Discourse,
2017
Trinity College Dublin
The Assignment Of Grammatical And Inherent Gender To English Loan Words In Lithuanian Discourse, Jone Bruno
The ITB Journal
The aim of this study was to analyse the gender assignment patterns and processes to English loan nouns that were inserted into Lithuanian language during the process of natural speech. Construction Morphology and the Morpheme-based Model were fused for the purpose of the analysis creating the Integrated Construction Morphology Model which allowed the detailed analysis of phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic procedures. The main focus of this research is the change that occurs in the word level while inserting an L2 item into L1 discourse. The findings revealed that masculine gender was assigned as a default gender regardless of stem …
A Role And Reference Account Of Interrogative Sentences In Lakhota,
2017
Universidad Autónoma De Madrid
A Role And Reference Account Of Interrogative Sentences In Lakhota, Avelino Corral Esteban
The ITB Journal
This article has investigated interrogative sentences in Lakhota within the framework of Role and Reference Grammar (hereafter RRG) (Van Valin, 1995; Van Valin and LaPolla, 1997), with the aim of explaining their structure as well as finding out the restrictions on ´wh´-question formation that this language exhibits. By means of this study, we will be able to verify the close relationship that also exists between the interrogative words and the indefinite pronouns in this language, see the constraints on linking in simple ´wh´-questions and give an account of the subjacency effects that block the formation of ´wh´-questions involving complex constructions. …
Slavic Psycholinguistics In The 21st Century,
2017
CUNY College of Staten Island
Slavic Psycholinguistics In The 21st Century, Irina A. Sekerina
Publications and Research
This article provides an update on research in Slavic psycholinguistics since 2000 following my first review (Sekerina 2006), published as a position paper for the workshop The Future of Slavic Linguistics in America (SLING2K). The focus remains on formal experimental psycholinguistics understood in the narrow sense, i.e., experimental studies conducted with monolingual healthy adults. I review five dimensions characteristic of Slavic psycholinguistics—populations, methods, domains, theoretical approaches, and specific languages—and summarize the experimental data from Slavic languages published in general non-Slavic psycholinguistic journals and proceedings from the leading two conferences on Slavic linguistics, FASL and FDSL, since 2000. I argue that …
An Acoustical Analysis Of The American English /L, R/ Contrast As Produced By Adult Japanese Learners Of English Incorporating Word Position And Task Type,
2017
Brigham Young University
An Acoustical Analysis Of The American English /L, R/ Contrast As Produced By Adult Japanese Learners Of English Incorporating Word Position And Task Type, Braden Paul Chase
Theses and Dissertations
Adult Japanese learners of English (JLEs) are often stereotyped as being unable to produce or perceive the English phonemes /l/ and /r/. This study analyzed acoustic samples of /l/ and /r/ obtained from intermediate-level Japanese speakers in two variable contexts: word positions (initial/final) and task type (controlled/free). These tokens were subjected to acoustic analysis which is one way of comparing oral productions of native and non-native English speakers. Previous research has identified a lowered third formant (F3) as the hallmark of an American English /r/ as produced by a native speaker, independent of word position or task type. The results …
Taking The "Foreign" Out Of The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale,
2017
Brigham Young University
Taking The "Foreign" Out Of The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, Jared Benjamin Sell
Theses and Dissertations
Anxiety in the language classroom is an important issue because it affects student performance (Woodrow, 2006). The majority of research conducted has focused on anxiety or apprehension that language learners experience in a foreign language classroom, including students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Only a few studies have been done, however, that address the needs of learners experiencing anxiety in an ESL setting. Data were gathered from 179 students attending a university sponsored intensive English program using a modified version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986) and focus groups. Initial …
Saisiyat Morphology,
2017
CUNY Queens College
Details In Testimony: How Hedge Words Influence People’S Perceptions Of Victim Testimony Credibility,
2017
CUNY John Jay College
Details In Testimony: How Hedge Words Influence People’S Perceptions Of Victim Testimony Credibility, Justine B. Rayborn
Student Theses
The purpose of this study was to examine whether hedge words and the age of a memory can influence the way participants (mock jurors) perceive an alleged sexual assault victim’s credibility. Prior research has demonstrated many issues that can affect the accuracy of memory for childhood events such as childhood amnesia, fragmented and distorted memories, false memories and source monitoring errors and the way in which jurors’ decisions can be swayed based on verbal cues to confidence. Here, we further investigated whether jurors' decisions are sensitive to the age of the memory—an event that happened in the recent or distant …
Languaging At Work: The Language Socialization Of Support Staff In The Healthcare Workforce,
2017
University of Massachusetts Boston
Languaging At Work: The Language Socialization Of Support Staff In The Healthcare Workforce, Kristen E. Schlapp
Graduate Masters Theses
This thesis presents findings from an ethnographic study of adult English Language Learners (ELLs) who are support staff employees in a large metropolitan hospital and are taking integrated English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at their work site. This research is rooted in a theoretical framework that intersects studies on discourse (Fairclough, 1995; Gee, 2008), language socialization (Burdelski & Cook, 2012; Flowerdew, 2013; Vickers, 2007), and agency and identity development (Norton, 1997, 2006, 2010; van Lier, 2008) to discuss the experience of adult ELLs who enter an English-dominant healthcare workplace. The teacher-researcher used ethnographic methods to examine: (a) the …
Towards A Linguistically Motivated Irish Sign Language Conversational Avatar,
2017
Technological University Dublin
Towards A Linguistically Motivated Irish Sign Language Conversational Avatar, Irene Murtagh
The ITB Journal
Avatars are life-like characters that exist in a virtual world on our computer monitors. They are synthetic actors that have, in more recent times, received a significant amount of investigation and development. This is primarily due to leverage gained from advances in computing power and 3D animation technologies. Since the release of the movie “Avatar” last year, there is also a broader awareness and interest in avatars in the public domain. Ishizuka and Prendinger (2004) describe how researchers, while endeavouring to develop a creature that is believable and capable of intelligible communication, use a wide variety of terms to describe …
The Precore Slot In Icelandic: A Topological Analysis Of V2-Clause Structure Within Role And Reference Grammar,
2017
Technological University Dublin
The Precore Slot In Icelandic: A Topological Analysis Of V2-Clause Structure Within Role And Reference Grammar, Judith Gottschalk
The ITB Journal
This paper aims to present an analysis of the precore slot [PrCS] in Icelandic within the theory of Role and Reference Grammar [RRG] (cf. Van Valin 2005). Based on the analysis of the PrCS in German by Diedrichsen (2008), an analysis of simple main declarative active voice sentences in Icelandic will be presented. The topological model of Danish sentence structure developed by Diderichsen (1945, 1964), which was adopted for Icelandic in Thráinsson (2007), will be used to analyze the layered structure of the clause [LSC] in Icelandic. It will be shown that the PrCS in V2-languages, such as Icelandic, has …
Using Learning Styles To Optimise Lecturer And Learner Experience And Results In An Institute Of Education,
2017
Technological University Dublin
Using Learning Styles To Optimise Lecturer And Learner Experience And Results In An Institute Of Education, Dawn Duffin, Geraldine Gray
The ITB Journal
The past decade of social policy making and legislative change in Ireland has led to a ‘broader range of individuals’ accessing higher education (ITB, 2006, HEA 2005, Duffin forthcoming). This means that class groups contain a greater range of diversity of learning behaviours than hitherto. The process of accommodating this range of learning behaviours within curriculum development and assessment poses a challenge for lecturers and students alike. This paper suggests how understanding the relationship of learning styles to cognitive processing can provide sound research support to the use of learning styles profiling to create conditions for optimal achievement in terms …
N + N Compounds In German: An Analysis Within Role And Reference Grammar,
2017
Technological University Dublin
N + N Compounds In German: An Analysis Within Role And Reference Grammar, Judith Gottschalk
The ITB Journal
The aim of this paper is to analyze German N + N compounds consisting of nominal roots [hence N + N compounds] within the theory of Role and Reference Grammar [RRG] (Van Valin and LaPolla 1997, Van Valin 2005). The basis for this analysis of German N + N compounds is the Layered Structure of the Word [LSW] as developed in Nolan (2010). The LSW is analogous to the Layered Structure of the Clause [LSC] and the Layered Structure of the Noun Phrase [LSNP] as they are used in RRG. Besides the description of German N + N compounds, this …
Construction Grammar As Applied To Core English Modality,
2017
Technological University Dublin
Construction Grammar As Applied To Core English Modality, Kelli Slimp
The ITB Journal
The current study seeks to apply Construction Grammar to the phenomenon of modality. To facilitate a thorough application and analysis, examples of both epistemic and root modal verbs of English are considered. Specifically, those verbs of English chosen for the current study are CAN/MAY and MUST/SHOULD. Motivation for these choices is provided as well as a brief look at the other types of modal verbs existent in the language. In applying Construction Grammar to modality, the research poses the following hypotheses: 1) there are varying types of modality in English; 2) these modal variations are realized uniquely and; 3) an …
The Noun Phrase In Bamunka: Towards A Complexity Analysis,
2017
Technological University Dublin
The Noun Phrase In Bamunka: Towards A Complexity Analysis, Ciara Browne
The ITB Journal
A member of the the Grassfields Bantu family, the Bamunka language of Western Cameroon is spoken by approximantely 31, 000 speakers. Having begun the process of transcribing the lanaguge into written form just six years ago the principles and intricacies of its grammatical system are becoming evident. This paper will look in particular at the noun phrase in Bamunka and draw some conclusions as to the distribution of complexity found therein.
