Linguistics Commons^™

Crossing Bridges Of Understanding: An Interactive Tutorial For Humanities 201, Rebecca Petersen, Dr. Michael Call

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My goal in creating this tutorial was to “bring to life” some of the sites and treasures studied in the Humanities 201-202 sequence, stimulating student’s interest in the topics and providing support to the faculty teaching the courses. I feel that the module I completed successfully achieves that goal. I created a module, currently accessible in the Humanities PC Computing Lab, entitled, “Vezelay: A Romanesque Masterpiece.”

Applying And Evaluating The Astm Standard Guide To Quality Assurance In Translation And Localization, Carina Leticia Klemetz Aceves

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The ASTM Standard Guide to Quality Assurance in Translation (the name has been shortened as of late) defines the process of translation, and explains among other things the concept of “translation specifications.” Those are parameters that have to be considered in order to ensure that the product resulting from a translation is such that satisfies all parties. The Guide defines a “quality translation” as one that meets the specifications previously defined and discussed by all parties, as opposed to the traditional concept of “one best translation.” There would, therefore, not be one best translation to any given text but there …

He Says She Says, Eric Roundy, Dr. Deryle Lonsdale

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The first step in meeting the goals outlined in my proposal was to download the source code for the Festival speech synthesis engine. Festival is an open source modular synthesis engine built on a Scheme backbone. I ported the make files to run with my current version of the GNU compiler collection (GCC) compiler and built and installed the engine.

Emily Dickinson’S Place Names, Malina Nielson, Dr. Cynthia L. Hallen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

During her prolific writing career, nineteenth-century poet Emily Dickinson produced 1,789 poems. Dr. Cynthia Hallen of the English Language and Linguistics Department has been researching and defining all of Emily Dickinson’s words according to the way Dickinson used them for the forthcoming Emily Dickinson Lexicon.

September 22, 2013: Sss Fall Party Welcomes Department Grads, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

English Advertising In Vienna, Tiffany Oaks

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Present day English is enormously influential in the international business world. This is evident in continental Europe, not only in the marketing of products originating from countries whose first language is English, but sometimes also in the marketing of products originating in countries whose first language is not English. In Austria, for example, many Austrian companies give their products English names. The reason behind this deserves some exploration. It might be assumed to be the result of prestige accompanying American English, perhaps conveying associations of ingenuity, dependability and wealth.

Isaiah In The Book Of Mormon And Old Testament: A Comparison In Language Usage, John Larsen, Dr. Allen Manning

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The similarities between the Bible and the Book of Mormon have often been pointed out by Scholars and critics alike. My research was to compare language similarities in the two texts linguistically. For twelve chapters in the Book of Mormon the text runs almost exactly parallel to that in the book of Isaiah. I intended to isolate directly the differences in the two texts and attempt to classify them linguistically. Through this classification I hoped to discover possible explanation and any symmetry or system to the changes. The changes would also be analyzed in terms of period language usage to …

Literacy Development Of Deaf Students: The Influence Of Environmental Factors, K. Brooke Harding, Dr. Mark W. Tanner

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Learning to read and write plays a significant role in children’s linguistic and cognitive development. The development of reading skills is a natural process in a home where literacy is emphasized and children are surrounded by print.1 However, the acquisition of literacy is not an easy task for all children because it requires complex coordination of various capabilities.2 Deaf people in particular face immense linguistic, social, and emotional obstacles in learning to read and write. (The term deaf is used in this report to denote both deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals). According to standardized reading assessments, most deaf high school graduates …

Scripture Literacy: An Observation Of Behaviors Related To Scriptural Literacy In Children Ages 5-12, Melissa Lovelady Helselt, Dr. Dennis A. Wright

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The focus of my study was to answer two questions: “Is scriptural literacy different from conventional literacy?” and “What factors, if any, foster competent scripture comprehension and retention?” The study involved a series of tasks with children between the ages of 5 and 12 living in Wymount Terrace. To simplify my experiment, I used only Latter Day Saint children whose native language was English, and used only the Book of Mormon.

The Effects Of Gender On Language Perception In The Classroom, Rachel Hansen, Dr. Wendy Baker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The creation of adaptive learning environments is crucial for students’ success. Teachers often use written feedback to encourage improvement in their students’ work. The manner and content of feedback greatly affects how it is perceived (Brinko, 1993). Also, studies have shown for almost two decades that gender affects how student learn (Kolb, 1976). For example, female students perceive their learning environment more positively (den Brok, Fisher, Rickards & Bull, 2006) and are more likely to hold mastery over performance goals and to refrain from disruptive classroom behavior than are males. (Kenney-Benson, Pomerantz, Ryan & Patrick, 2006). Roberts (1991) argued that …

September 10, 2013: Interdisciplinary Work Group In Digital Humanities, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

Isma`Kuwayyis: Software To Improve Listening Comprehension In Arabic Students, Jason White, Dr. Dilworth Parkinson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In Arabic pedagogy (as in many languages), listening comprehension continues to be an area of frustration for students as well as teachers involved in second language acquisition. The greatest challenge is to allow a student access to authentic material with interaction. Obviously, the resources (natives) for such idealistic activities are very limited. The goal of this software development was to make authentic material available to students and allow for interaction (though somewhat limited), and to make the setup of such activities and materials easier for the professor. Computer-aided instruction cannot replace conversation or live interaction; however, it can and does …

Comparative Morphology Of The Hominin And African Ape Hyoid Bone, A Possible Marker Of The Evolution Of Speech, James Steele, Margaret Clegg, Sandra Martelli

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

This study examines the morphology of the hyoid in three closely related species, Homo sapiens, Pan troglodytes and Gorilla gorilla. Differences and similarities between the hyoids of these species are characterised, and used to interpret the morphology and affinities of the Dikika A. afarensis, Kebara 2 Neanderthal, and other fossil hominin hyoid bones.

Humans and African apes are found to have distinct hyoid morphologies. In humans the maximum width across the distal tips of the articulated greater horns is usually slightly greater than the maximum length (distal greater horn tip to most anterior point of the hyoid body …

September 9, 2013: Gwst/Women's Caucus Fall Reception, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

Learning To Recognize Vervet Monkey Calls, Jeremiah Mcghee, Dr. Deryle Lonsdale

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The use of computers to perform speech recognition on human speech is becoming commonplace in today’s world. Less well known are attempts to use speech recognition on other animal species. Current projects are researching the possibilities of using speech recognition technologies to give insight to the animal communication of dolphins1, elephants2, birds3 and even crickets4. All of these projects are showing very promising results with recognition results approaching 90%. The goal of this project is to apply speech recognition technology to identify the distinct calls of vervet monkeys.

An Investigation Into The Processing Mechanisms Guiding Phonemic Restoration, Steven J. Pearson, Dr. Wendy Baker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Phonemic restoration (PhR) effects have been well documented since Warren’s 1970 research1 and much work has been done to examine the manners in which properties of a phoneme may be altered without preventing the occurrence of phonemic restoration. However, little work has been done on a broad level to identify the demographic characteristics of participants that may influence PhR, though Warren long ago raised the specific question of the role(s) played by participant’s age.

English-Mainly Language Policy: Improving Language Proficiency Through Self-Regulated Learning, Kendra Williamson, Norman Evans

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The purpose of the English-mainly project is to explore how an English-mainly (EM) language policy, as opposed to an English-only (EO) policy encourages self-regulated learning and fosters improved language proficiency among English as a Second Language students at BYU’s English Language Center (ELC).

Lexterm Lexicography & Terminology Management, Logan Kearsley, Dr. Alan Melby

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Lexicography (the compilation of dictionaries and study of relations between lexical items) and terminology (the study of technical terms used in specific fields or contexts) are conceptually very similar, both being based in the study and categorization of lexical items in human language. Both dictionaries and termbases are essential tools for second-language learners and professional translators and contain much of the same kinds of information on definitions, grammatical characteristics, and usages of words. Till now, however, tools for creating and curating dictionaries and termbases have existed largely in isolation from each other, with no simple way of sharing data between …

Gender And The Poetics Of Conversation, Cassie Keller, Dr. William Eggington

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This research extended the findings of Neal Norrick and Deborah Tannen in examining the poetical elements of conversation and gender differences in discourse. Related research suggests that the “poeticity” of conversational language among and between sexes has not been analyzed (Norrick). This project was conducted by recording and transcribing face to face discussions between three groups: females to females, males to males, females to males. Using poetic elements, these conversations were analyzed to show the different ways the genders utilize these devices and how they combine them when speaking together.

On Vernacular Scottishness And Its Limits: Devolution And The Spectacle Of "Voice", Scott Hames

Studies in Scottish Literature

This essay asks why vernacular cultural expression has been so central to discussion of Scottish national autonomy, traces the literary and political contours of vernacular discourse in the period of Scottish devolution, and concludes with a provisional sketch of three "vernacularities" (democratic, romantic and identitarian) and with reflections on how literary criticism might move beyond the "representative” paradigms of vernacular voice to engage with voice as a principle of agency and action.