Linguistics Commons^™

An Experimental Investigation Of Variation In Modern Hebrew, Michal Temkin Martinez

Mary Ellen Ryder Linguistics Lab

This paper reports the results of an experimental rating task testing the acceptability of variation in Modern Hebrew spirantization. Modern Hebrew spirantization is manifested by the alternation of the stops [p], [b], and [k] with their

fricative counterparts [f], [v], and [x], in which fricatives occur post-vocalically and root-finally, and stops occur elsewhere, as in (1).

(1) /p/ to [f] /pgS/ [lifgoS] [pagaS] ‘to meet’

/b/ to [v] /bgd/ [livgod] [bagad] ‘to betray’

/k/ tp [x] /ktb/ [lixtov] [katav] ‘to write’

Due to historical sound mergers and more recent borrowings, there are acoustically identical stops and fricatives that do not …

Prenasalization And Trilled Release Of Two Consonants In Nias, Brendon Yoder

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

This paper presents an acoustic study of the phonetic realization of two consonants in Nias (Indonesia), orthographically represented as mb and ndr. These consonants have been analyzed by Catford (1988) and Brown (2001, 2005) as a bilabial trill and an apical trill, respectively. My own cross-dialectal observations indicate that these consonants have multiple realizations in each dialect. This paper presents evidence for four broad phonetic realizations of both mb and ndr: most commonly a plain stop, but also a prenasalized stop, a stop with trilled release, and stop with fricated release. It seems that the variable character of the two …

Isthmus Zapotec Vowel Formants, Julie Martin

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

This paper addresses several questions regarding the acoustic properties of Isthmus Zapotec vowels. Based on earlier recordings of a female, mother-tongue speaker of the language, average formant frequencies for each of the five phonemic vowels are determined for this speaker. I then look at differences in formant frequencies between stressed and unstressed modal vowels. Finally, I compare modal, laryngealized and checked productions of the vowels, to see if there are systematic differences between these three phonation types.

Questions To Be Asked & Answered On Nlp’S Role In Improving Semantic Annotation For Ir, Elizabeth D. Liddy

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

What was early information retrieval like? (before it was called search!)

How was NLP first applied to the task?

Which levels of language analysis were utilized?

Which were successful? Which were not?

Why were other levels not incorporated ?

Do we now see that the higher levels can and need to be included?

If they are, how might they change how we do IR, as well as what tasks we use it for?

Table Of Contents

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

Table of contents, Volume 29, Number 2

New Mexican Spanish: A Brief History Of Time, Space, And Family Values, Garland D. Bills

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

2010 Plenary Address

The Influence Of Social And Linguistic Factors On Spanish Dialect Contact In The U.S.: A Look At Mexican And Cuban Spanish In Lansing, Michigan, Gabriel G. Alfaraz

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

An increase in the number of Spanish-speaking Latinos in the U.S. provides opportunities for contact of diverse varieties of Spanish. This paper examines the role of factors including age. education. linguistic network composition, and length of residence in shaping the outcome of contact between groups of Spanish speakers in Lansing. Michigan. A sample of 52 Mexicans and Cubans was used to examine two linguistic variables in spoken data collected in sociolinguistic interviews that included picture-elicitation tasks and grammatical acceptability tasks, following the idea that variation is a reflection of grammaticality (Fasold and Preston 2007), to probe sensitivity to out- and …

Unexpected Case Assignment And Preposition Doubling In Pronoun Coordination In Spanish, Carlos Gonzalex-Vergara, Hernan Labbe G.

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

The following paper is based on the observation of two related phenomena in Spanish. First, when two personal pronouns acting as prepositional objects are coordinated, they are usually constructed by repeating the preposition before each member of the coordination. Secondly, when this does not happen, the second member of the coordination does not appear in oblique case (which would be expected to happen through government), but it appears in nominative case. This can be clearly appreciated in the coordination of pronouns that display morphological case. The purpose of this paper is to explain these phenomena within the Minimalist Program. The …

Las Interrogativas Hendidas En Español: ¿Cómo Es Que Se Usan?, Javier Rivas, Esther Brown

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

Resumen: Este trabajo ofrece una aproximación basada en el uso a las construcciones interrogativas hendidas del español, las cuales han recibido muy poca atención en la bibliografía. Utilizando una metodología variacionista. extrajimos 500 construcciones interrogativas parciales directas de un corpus del español conversacional puertorriqueño. Determinamos las características morfosintácticas de dichas construcciones y. basándonos en un análisis de regresión múltiple, mostramos qué factores lingüísticos contribuyen a la aparición de las construcciones interrogativas hendidas en el discurso espontáneo (función pragmática y temporalidad verbal). El análisis del corpus nos permite establecer que las interrogativas hendidas son estructuras marcadas en términos estructurales y textuales. …

The Discourse Of Blogs And Wikis. By Greg Myers, Regina Morin

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

Review of The Discourse of Blogs and Wikis. by Greg Myers. London and New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010. Pp. 180.

Introducción A La Lingüística Hispánica. By Hualde, José Ignacio, Michelle F. Ramos-Pellicia

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

Review of Introducción a la lingüística hispánica. By Hualde, José Ignacio, Antxon Olarrea, Anna María Escobar and Catherine E. Travis. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010, 2nd ed. 554. Hardback $80.00.

Research Methods In Linguistics. By Lia Litosseliti, Valerie J. Trujillo

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

Review of Research Methods in Linguistics. by Lia Litosseliti. London: Continuum, 2010. Pp. 240. Hardback $120.00.

Syntactic Underspecification In Riau Indonesian, Brendon Yoder

Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session

Indonesian is known for having a relatively simple morphological and syntactic structure. This is especially true of local varieties of the language, where contrast between categories found in Standard Indonesian is neutralized. In the Indonesian variety spoken in Riau Province, there is almost no morphological marking of grammatical categories and there is relatively free word order. Gil (1994, 2003, 2005b) develops a theory of Riau Indonesian grammar that has only one open grammatical category, which he calls S (Sentence). This means that there are no distinctions between categories like noun, verb, and adjective and no basic word order. In this …

Developing Learners’ Lexicon Through Vocabulary Cards, Andrew Noonan

MA TESOL Collection

This paper explores the author’s process in using flashcards to teach formulaic sequences. First, there is a discussion of the terminology, which ties the term “formulaic sequences” to earlier discussions about the Lexical Approach and collocations. The importance of teaching formulaic sequences is then explored, as a way to build vocabulary and to aid in general skill development. Rote learning through the use of flash cards is then argued for, with a variety of card types presented and compared. The author then discusses the methods by which flash cards have been used to teach formulaic sequences in his own classroom, …

Teaching Pronunciation As A Core Skill Using The Silent Way Approach, Jordan Cael

MA TESOL Collection

These materials were developed as part of an exploration of how to interweave the study of pronunciation together with the study of the meaning and structure of the language in a way that makes pronunciation practice a central, present, and prominent part of every lesson. Within the framework of teaching pronunciation with the materials, techniques, and principles of the Silent Way Approach, the focus was placed on creating activities that would (1) help students to notice and practice the essential pronunciation elements of the language, known in the Silent Way as the ‘melody’ (i.e., intonation, stress, phrasing, rhythm, etc.), (2) …

Acting For Transformation: An Esl Teacher And Her Adult Immigrant Students Dramatize The Students’ Life Stories, Dana Horstein

MA TESOL Collection

This paper documents the implementation of a year-long drama project that was conducted with adult immigrant English as a Second Language (ESL) students at Asian Human Services, a community-based organization in Chicago. Throughout the year, during the fall, winter, and spring terms, three classes of students dramatized their life stories. This paper provides background for the project by explaining the history and role of drama in language education. It also considers the teacher’s motivations for the project and its design; its ultimate challenges and successes; as well as the insights that it provides about what it means to be a …

Teaching English To Children With Adhd, Natalia Turketi

MA TESOL Collection

The focus of this paper is primarily put on enhancing the ESL teaching process and making foreign language learning successful and manageable for every student. The paper explores the process of teaching English to children who experience difficulties in learning languages due to their attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder problems. The author considers the process of second language acquisition for children with ADHD in terms of input and output speech issues, motivation problems and learning preferences. The ESL methodologies that can be applied effectively in addressing such learners’ needs and the rationale of their choice are then argued for. Examples …

Grounding Theory In Practice: A Reflection On Designing And Delivering A Workshop On Intercultural Sensitivity For Korean Public School English Teachers, Kevin Giddens

MA TESOL Collection

In this paper I will use a process of rigorous reflection to explore the design and implementation of a cross-cultural simulation workshop as a means of developing intercultural sensitivity among Korean public school English teachers in Daegu, South Korea. After introducing the workshop design I will describe in detail my experience of delivering the workshop. I will overlay Milton J. Bennett’s model for developing intercultural sensitivity (1993) with participant reflections as a means of grounding theory to practice and exploring whether or not participants were able to demonstrate observable movement within Bennett’s model. I will then highlight some possible modifications …

Dance Your Way Into Culture: A Teacher’S Experience Using Dance In The Foreign Language Classroom, Jannely Almonte Ortiz

MA TESOL Collection

Although dance is an expression of culture, it has seldom been used in the foreign language classroom as a teaching tool. Using Patrick Moran’s Cultural Knowings Framework as an organizational foundation throughout the paper, the author shares why this topic became of great interest to her. She also addresses research and perceptions on movement and dance in an educational environment, and attempts to describe benefits and ways of including movement and dance in any foreign language classroom. Though this paper focuses on the author’s experience using merengue music and dance in the teaching of Spanish, it is intended for any …

A Competency-Based Proficiency Framework For Ritsumeikan Secondary Schools, Ann Flanagan

MA TESOL Collection

This paper describes the research and development of a competency-based Proficiency Framework for Ritsumeikan Secondary Schools in Kyoto, Japan as part of curriculum renewal with the campus relocation. The author developed a six-year competency-based curriculum for the EFL classes. It is based on the Common European Framework of Reference. In addition to creating guiding principles and proficiency frameworks, the author has included suggested vocabulary and content, sample themes and topics, entry and exit profiles, and teacher competencies. Two programs, extensive reading and pen pals, have been integrated into the curriculum in order to offer more support for students’ second language …