scholarly journals Features of orality in the language of fiction: A corpus-based investigation

2021 ◽  
pp. 096394702110477
Author(s):  
Andreas H. Jucker

This paper explores the pervasiveness of features of orality in the language of performed fiction. Features of orality are typical of spontaneous spoken conversations where they are the result of the ongoing planning process and the interaction between the interlocutors, but they also occur in the context of performed fiction (movies and plays) and in narrative fiction (e.g. novels). In these contexts, they are not the result of the spontaneous planning process but are generally produced to imitate such processes. In this paper, I explore a small range of such features (contractions, interjections, discourse markers, response forms and hesitators) in four corpora of performed fiction that have recently become available ( Corpus of American Soap Operas, TV Corpus, Movies Corpus and Sydney Corpus of Television Dialogue) and compare their frequency patterns with spontaneous face-to-face conversations in the Santa Barbara Corpus of Spoken American English and with narrative fiction and academic writing in the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). The results confirm that the selected features of orality are used regularly in performed fiction but less frequently than in spontaneous face-to-face interactions while they are rare in narrative fiction and almost entirely absent in academic writing. The results also show that the status of the transcriptions contained in these corpora needs to be assessed very carefully if they are to be used for a study of pragmatic features.

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 457-494
Author(s):  
Sonja Zeman

AbstractIs there a ‚narrative syntax‘, i. e. a special grammar restricted to narrative fiction? Starting from this question which has been investigated since early structuralism, the paper focusses on grammatical characteristics of narrative discourse mode and their implications for a linguistic theory of narration. Its goal is two-fold: In a first step, the traditional accounts by Benveniste, Hamburger, Kuroda and recent typological studies are brought together in order to support the claim that the distinction between narrative and non-narrative discourse mode is a fundamental one that has consequences for the use of grammar. In a second step, I discuss three central questions within the intersection between narrative micro- and macro-structures, namely (i) the definition of narrativity, (ii) the status of the narrator, and (iii) the relation between narration and fictionality. In sum, the article argues that investigations on the ‘grammar of narration’ do not just offer insights into a specific text configuration next to others, but are deeply linked to fundamental theoretical questions concerning the architecture of language – and that the comparison between linguistic and narratological categories offers a potential for addressing them.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Serpil Ucar ◽  
Ceyhun Yukselir

This research was conducted to investigate how frequently Turkish advanced learners of English use the logical connector ‘thus’ in their academic prose and to investigate whether it was overused, underused or misused semantically in comparison to English native speakers. The data were collected from three corpora; Corpus of Contemporary American English and 20 scientific articles of native speakers as control corpora, and 20 scientific articles of Turkish advanced EFL learners. The raw frequencies, frequencies per million words, frequencies per text and log-likelihood ratio were measured so as to compare varieties across the three corpora. The findings revealed that Turkish learners of English showed underuse in the use of the connector ‘thus’ in their academic prose compared to native speakers. Additionally, they did not demonstrate misuse in the use of the connector ‘thus’. Nevertheless, non-native learners of English tended to use this connector in a resultative role (cause-effect relation) more frequently whereas native speakers used it in appositional and summative roles more as well as its resultative role. Furthermore, the most frequent occurrences of ‘thus’ have been in academic genre.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Cuneyt Demir ◽  
Mehmet Takkac

<p>Awareness of language or language competency has greatly changed from the focus of language itself as form and structure to language use as pragmatics. Accordingly, it is widely accepted that different cultures structure discourse in different ways. Moreover, studies have shown that this holds for discourse genres traditionally considered as highly standardized in their rituals and formulas. Taking inspiration from such studies, this paper employs a corpus-based approach to examine variations of the apology and thanking strategies used in English and Italian. First the apology itself as a form of social action is closely analyzed and then thanking. This study also pays special attention on analyzing and contrasting apology and thanking strategies in American English and in Italian in terms of Marion Owen’s remedial strategies (Owen, 1983), and Olshtain &amp; Cohen’s semantic formulas in the apology speech act set (Olshtain &amp; Cohen, 1983). The purpose of the study is not only to compare apology and thanking speech acts but to also learn their contextual use. The findings suggest that the status and role of the situation affect the speakers’ choice of apology and thanking strategies, and semantic formulas are of great importance.</p>


Author(s):  
Neill Wylie

Maastricht University (UM) has a distinct global perspective and a strong focus on innovation. UM offers an array of PhD courses to distance and campus based students who have access to elective, credit bearing modules and the language needs of these students are catered for by the Language Centre. Many PhD candidates choose to take an academic writing course in their first or second year of their degree. In recent years, demand for a more student focused, flexible academic writing course has grown. In line with UM’s policy of supporting innovative teaching practices, the Language Centre’s face-to-face PhD academic writing course, PhD Writing 1, has been transformed into a fully online course containing eight interactive webinar sessions named Online PhD Writing, which runs in addition to the face-to-face rendition. On the back of the success of this course, coupled with increased demand for a follow up course, this author was tasked with creating an advanced online PhD academic writing course to cater for global students with diverse time zones and schedules. This paper evaluates the challenges posed and the advances made in constructing both online courses and explores the technologies used in implementing them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-140
Author(s):  
Fabio Scetti

Here I present the results of BridgePORT, an ethnographic study I carried out in 2018 within the Portuguese community of Bridgeport, CT (USA). I describe language use and representation among Portuguese speakers within the community, and I investigate the integration of these speakers into the dominant American English speech community. Through my fieldwork, I observe mixing practices in day-to-day interaction, while I also consider the evolution of the Portuguese language in light of language contact and speakers’ discourse as this relates to ideologies about the status of Portuguese within the community. My findings rely on questionnaires, participant observation of verbal interaction, and semi-structured interviews. My aim is to show how verbal practice shapes the process of identity construction and how ideas of linguistic “purity” mediate the maintenance of a link to Portugal and Portuguese identity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1, 2 e 3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caner Çalişkan ◽  
Çiğdem Sabbağ ◽  
Bekir Bora Dedeoğlu

During holidays, what, why, and how do women consume? Women’s attitudes and thoughts about food consumption should be researched in terms of their social roles. However, the important role of women in holiday planning process makes women's food consumption preferences and also behaviours an important data source especially for tourism managers. This study focused on the impact of holidays on women’s food consumption. For this purpose, face-to-face interviews were carried out with 15 women participants, who spent two holiday periods during the previous year – summer and winter – in Adıyaman, Turkey. According to the results of the survey, women’s food consumption preferences and behaviours change during the summer and winter holiday periods.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annisa Dwi Kurniawati

Abstract: The development of technology flows is increasing. The internet, which was initially used by several groups as a medium for the transformation of scientific and academic data, has now been used in almost all aspects of people's lives, including e-commerce transactions. E-commerce transactions are transactions carried out without meetings between parties. By using e-commerce, many reservations are obtained from the seller or buyer. The convenience offered doesn't mean it doesn’t rise the problems. For Muslims, understanding the status of e-commerce transactions is important. E-commerce accepts payments with bai’s-salam, which is about non-related transactions and the suspension of goods for payments that have been hastened. It's just that if on Bai 's-Salam a face-to-face meeting is held for the implementation of sighat, it is different with e-commerce that communicate only through chat. E-commerce is permitted in Islam with a note that there is no riba ',gharar, maisir, etc. Therefore, if it is approved by the payment system on e-commerce, it is asked not to use a credit card to avoid riba’.الملخص: يشهد تطوير تدفقات التكنولوجيا زيادة هائلة. يستخدم الإنترنت في جميع جوانب حياة الناس تقريبًا ، بما في ذلك معاملات التجارة الإلكترونية، معاملات التجارة الإلكترونية هي معاملات تتم بدون اجتماع بين الطرفين .باستخدام التجارة الإلكترونية، الكثير من السهولة حصلت من البائع أو المشتري. يتم تقديم التسهيلات المقدمة. التسهيلات المقدمة لايمكن تسبب مشاك. معلومات المسلمين عن حالة المعاملة التجارة الإلكترونية شيء مهمة. التجارة الإلكترونية مثل بيع السلام هي عن العناصر فى المعاملات وتأخير القبض دفعت مقدما. إذا كان بيع السلام يتم عقد اجتماع وجها لوجه في تنفيذ سيغات تختلف عن التجارة الإلكترونية استخدام التواصل مع الدردشة. التجارة الإلكترونية مباحات في الإسلام مع ملاحظة عدم وجود عناصر الربا والغرار والميسر وغيرها لذلك ، إذا كانت مرتبطة بنظام دفع في التجارة الإلكترونية المستحسن عدم استخدام بطاقة الائتمان لتجنب الربا.. Abstrak: Perkembangan arus teknologi mengalami peningkatan yang masif. Internet yang pada awalnya digunakan oleh beberapa kalangan sebagai media transformasi data ilmiah dan akademik, kini telah digunakan di hampir seluruh aspek kehidupan masyarakat, termasuk transaksi jual beli (e-commerce). Transaksi e-commerce merupakan transaksi yang dilakukan tanpa adanya pertemuan antar para pihak. Dengan menggunakan e-commerce, banyak kemudahan yang diperoleh baik dari pihak penjual maupun pembeli. Kemudahan yang ditawarkan bukan berarti tidak menimbulkan masalah. Bagi kaum muslim, mengetahui status dari transaksi e-commerce merupakan hal yang penting. E-commerce  memiliki kesamaan dengan bai’ as-salam yaitu mengenai unsur-unsur terjadinya transaksi serta adanya penangguhan barang untuk pembayaran yang telah disegerakan. Hanya saja, jika pada bai’ as-salam dilakukan pertemuan face to face untuk pelaksanaan sighat, berbeda halnya dengan e-commerce yang melakukan komunikasi via chatting. E-commerce diperbolehkan dalam Islam dengan catatan tidak adanya unsur riba’, gharar, maisir, dsb. Oleh karena itu, jika dihubungkan dengan sistem pembayaran pada e-commerce, maka dianjurkan tidak menggunakan kartu kredit guna menghindari terjadinya riba’.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 204-210
Author(s):  
Radhika Regmi ◽  
Sarita Karki ◽  
Saphalta Shrestha

The main objective of this paper is to assess the status of adherence to Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) among patient living with HIV AIDS (PLHA) patients receiving ART therapy. A crosssectional descriptive design was used to collect data from 326 PLHA patients. Data were collected through face to face interview among the attended in ART clinic western regional hospital, Pokhara. Participants aged 18 years and above and patient receiving ART at least for 12 months or more were included in this study. The collected data entered in Epi-data and analysis was done using SPSS. The age group of the respondents was from 18 to 70 years with the mean age of 40.29±11.84 (SD). Out of 326 respondents 55.2% were male and 59.8% were married. Forty percent of the respondents had no formal education and most of the respondents (60.4%) were unemployed. Majority (86.5%) of respondents were taking ART since more than 2 years of duration. Majority of the respondents (92.9%) had >95% adherence with ART while 7.1% respondents had non- adherence. The majority of the PLHA patients have more than ninety five percent adherences to anti-retroviral therapy. Some of them have still nonadherence to ART and the reason they claimed were forgetfulness during travelling and too long duration of treatment. It is recommended to promote awareness program related to ART therapy and importance of its adherence to their family member and community people


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Rilliard ◽  
Donna Erickson ◽  
Takaaki Shochi ◽  
João Antônio de Moraes

Author(s):  
Fatemeh Nami

In line with calls for a more comprehensive understanding of the potentials of virtual environments for language learning/teaching, the chapter reports a study on the application of a synchronous learning management system (SLMS). The development of academic writing knowledge of a group of MA students attending an online academic writing course in a state university in Tehran was compared with that of a similar group in a face-to-face course in the same university. The analysis of participants' classroom discussions and their writing assignments indicated that although the writing knowledge of both groups improved by the end of the course, the nature of changes differed from the online group to the face-to-face one. It is suggested that while SLMSs have opened up new horizons for the instruction/practice of language skills, their uses are largely context- and user-specific. The finding of this study feeds into research on SLMS-based foreign language instruction.


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