Be going to and will: talking about the future using embodied experience

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 412-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREA TYLER ◽  
HANA JAN
Keyword(s):  
Feature Analysis ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Embodied Experience ◽  
Binary Feature ◽  
Verb Forms ◽  
Modal Verb ◽  
Multiple Meanings ◽  
Binary Features ◽  
Lexical Polysemy ◽  
Lexical Concepts

abstractEnglish speakers expressing futurity have the choice of two primary verb forms, will or be going to (BGT). Previous studies establish that BGT has multiple meanings not associated with will. Langacker (1987) rejected a metaphoric analysis of BGT (time is motion) as inadequate and offered a binary feature analysis. Brisard (2001) expanded on this analysis and argued that manipulating the configurations of binary features explains the semantic differences between will and BGT. However, Brisard’s analysis overlooks the semantic overlap among will, BGT, and the simple present. Moreover, it does not provide a framework that treats will and BGT as part of the larger English modal verb system. Finally, it lacks a persuasive explanation of how the meanings associated with will versus BGT arose. We address these gaps by proposing a polysemy-based explanation that emphasizes invited inferences (e.g., Bybee, Perkins, & Pagliuca, 1994) and embodied experience; a particularly novel aspect of the analysis is that all the meanings of BGT are related straightforwardly to components of the human walk cycle. Further, we argue that the shared future meaning of will and BGT represent inter-lexical polysemy (Evans, 2015b), thus providing additional evidence for the Theory of Lexical Concepts and Cognitive Models (LCCM).

The role of NZ English in a binary feature analysis of English short vowels

1976 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Hawkins
Keyword(s):  
Feature Analysis ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Short Vowels ◽  
Binary Feature ◽  
Acoustic Space ◽  
High Vowels

The Jakobsonian system of binary distinctive features is based on the premise that, as far as vowels are concerned, their articulation, and the resulting acoustic effects, are not distributed randomly over the available articulatory or acoustic space, but are organized into systems of binary contrasts, so that for example (in articulatory terms) a set of front vowels will be matched by a corresponding set of back vowels, a set of high vowels by a set of mid or low vowels, and so on. There will thus be a certain symmetry in the distribution of such vowels, either in their positions on a vowel quadrilateral, or in a similar schematic shape such as the five-vowel triangle.

Language standards and language variation in Brunei Darussalam

2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-141
Author(s):  
Agneta M-L Svalberg
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Language Variation ◽  
Linguistic Context ◽  
British English ◽  
Brunei Darussalam ◽  
Verb Forms ◽  
Modal Verb ◽  
Different Levels

An assumption of this paper is that non-standard use of language will be accompanied by non-standard features of understanding. An attempt is made to access the meaning perceptions of learners at different levels of proficiency. The paper reports on what English learners in Brunei think English modal verb forms mean. It focuses specifically on would and discusses its use in Standard British English and in Brunei English. Bruneian perceptions of the meaning of this modal are compared with its use. It is claimed that the non-standard use of would for non-assertiveness in Brunei English can partly be explained by users overfocusing on its non-factivity meaning. The issues of what the target variety may be and the appropriacy of non-standard features in this sociocultural and linguistic context are briefly discussed.

Ambiguous words are harder to learn

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
TAMAR DEGANI ◽  
NATASHA TOKOWICZ
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Word ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Multiple Meanings ◽  
Word Change ◽  
Multiple Translations

Relatively little is known about the role of ambiguity in adult second-language learning. In this study, native English speakers learned Dutch–English translation pairs that either mapped in a one-to-one fashion (unambiguous items) in that a Dutch word uniquely corresponded to one English word, or mapped in a one-to-many fashion (ambiguous items), with two Dutch translations corresponding to a single English word. These two Dutch translations could function as exact synonyms, corresponding to a single meaning, or could correspond to different meanings of an ambiguous English word (e.g., wisselgeld denotes the monetary meaning of the word change, and verandering denotes alteration). Several immediate and delayed tests revealed that such translation ambiguity creates a challenge for learners. Furthermore, words with multiple translations corresponding to the same meaning are more difficult to learn than words with multiple translations corresponding to multiple meanings, suggesting that a one-to-many mapping underlies this ambiguity disadvantage.

Distanz-Strukturen – Eine psycholinguistische Annäherung an Klammerkonstruktionen im Deutschen

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-220
Author(s):  
Miyoung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Preliminary Model ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Modal Verb ◽  
Lexical Concepts ◽  
Structural Aspects

Abstract In this paper, I provide an alternative psycholinguistic interpretation of so-called brace constructions in German. Brace constructions (e. g. “Thomas muss morgen eine Klausur schreiben.” or “… wenn Thomas morgen eine Klausur schreibt.”) can be regarded as the typical structural features of German. The analysis proposed in this article is based on linguistic phenomena which can be observed in language production of both L2 learners and native speakers. The aim of my analysis is to develop a preliminary model that reflects aspects of human language processing. The model is based on the concept of tension that arises during the language production process in case of the analytical realization of certain lexical concepts (in the case of so-called separable verbs) or grammatical concepts (including tense, passive, modality, subject). The elements involved in an analytical realization are conceptually (lexically or grammatically) combined but they have to be separated from one another in serialization and placed in a distance structure. From this interpretation, the typical structural features of German are, above all, distance structures, which consist of the finite auxiliary or modal verb and the full verb in main clauses, and in subordinate clauses of the subject and the finite verb due to subject-verb agreement. The proposed Model provides explanations also for other interlanguage phenomena associated with structural aspects in other languages. On the basis of this concept of tension, other learning difficulties can also be predicted, which can arise in the learning of certain corresponding structures in certain languages.

A Comparison of Home and Clinic Gathered Language Samples

1978 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 482-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl M. Scott ◽  
Alicia E. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Past Tense ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Home Setting ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Clinic Setting ◽  
Child Interaction ◽  
Verb Forms ◽  
Modal Verb ◽  
Frequency Counts

Language samples were gathered for 12 normal children representing a range of linguistic levels in a clinic setting with unstructured clinician-child interaction, and the home setting with unstructured mother-child interaction. Comparison of the samples revealed that children with an average utterance length four to five morphemes produced significantly longer utterances in the home setting. A comparison of frequency counts for various forms and construction types indicated the presence of syntactic preferences in each setting that could be traced to the nature of the underlying interaction. Clinic sampling was conducive to the description of ongoing or imminent activity, while home sampling stimulated substantially higher frequencies of past tense and modal verb forms, complex utterances, and questions. While there were frequency of occurrence differences between settings, the variety of forms and construction types was found to be similar. The results should be useful to clinicians as they interpret the significance of the presence, absence, or frequency of various syntactic structures in clinic language samples.

“Rats Fell from the Ceiling and Pestered Me:” Phrase Books as Sources for Colonial Mozambican History

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 341-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Sheldon
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Verbal Interactions ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Verb Forms ◽  
Ordinary Conversation

Conversation manuals and phrase books offer a window into the worldview of those who compile them, and might provide clues about society at large as well. Because they focus on ordinary conversation and verbal interactions, the inclusion of particular topics and sentences indicates what issues were important to the person who compiled the phrase book and might furnish information about everyday life at the time of publication. Information may be gleaned not only from the actual phrases, but from the organization of the book, verb forms, and other less obvious indicators.Contemporary examples include phrase books in the United States that present basic terms related to housekeeping or construction for English-speakers who hire Spanish-speaking workers. Another example is from Joseph Lelyveld, who found the apt title for his book Move Your Shadow: South Africa, Black and White, in a Fanagalo phrase book. The excerpt “Move your shadow” was part of a set of orders for white golfers to use with African caddies, and was emblematic of white attitudes toward blacks during the apartheid era.In this paper I look at the kind of social and historical information that can be extracted from phrase books compiled during the colonial era in Mozambique. Phrase books differ from dictionaries and grammars because they provide an idiosyncratic list of topics and sentences deemed important to daily life by the compiler.

Lexical Comprehension in Young Children With Developmental Delays

1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa A. Kouri
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Developmental Delays ◽  
Normal Development ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Group Status ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Comprehension Skills ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
Lexical Concepts

Lexical comprehension skills were examined in 20 young children (aged 28–45 months) with developmental delays (DD) and 20 children (aged 19–34 months) with normal development (ND). Each was assigned to either a story-like script condition or a simple ostensive labeling condition in which the names of three novel object and action items were presented over two experimental sessions. During the experimental sessions, receptive knowledge of the lexical items was assessed through a series of target and generalization probes. Results indicated that all children, irrespective of group status, acquired more lexical concepts in the ostensive labeling condition than in the story narrative condition. Overall, both groups acquired more object than action words, although subjects with ND comprehended more action words than subjects with DD. More target than generalization items were also comprehended by both groups. It is concluded that young children’s comprehension of new lexical concepts is facilitated more by a context in which simple ostensive labels accompany the presentation of specific objects and actions than one in which objects and actions are surrounded by thematic and event-related information. Various clinical applications focusing on the lexical training of young children with DD are discussed.

Phonomotor Versus Semantic Feature Analysis Treatment for Anomia in 58 Persons With Aphasia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 4464-4482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane L. Kendall ◽  
Megan Oelke Moldestad ◽  
Wesley Allen ◽  
Janaki Torrence ◽  
Stephen E. Nadeau
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Response Latency ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Semantic Feature ◽  
Feature Analysis ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Confrontation Naming ◽  
Semantic Feature Analysis

Purpose The ultimate goal of anomia treatment should be to achieve gains in exemplars trained in the therapy session, as well as generalization to untrained exemplars and contexts. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of phonomotor treatment, a treatment focusing on enhancement of phonological sequence knowledge, against semantic feature analysis (SFA), a lexical-semantic therapy that focuses on enhancement of semantic knowledge and is well known and commonly used to treat anomia in aphasia. Method In a between-groups randomized controlled trial, 58 persons with aphasia characterized by anomia and phonological dysfunction were randomized to receive 56–60 hr of intensively delivered treatment over 6 weeks with testing pretreatment, posttreatment, and 3 months posttreatment termination. Results There was no significant between-groups difference on the primary outcome measure (untrained nouns phonologically and semantically unrelated to each treatment) at 3 months posttreatment. Significant within-group immediately posttreatment acquisition effects for confrontation naming and response latency were observed for both groups. Treatment-specific generalization effects for confrontation naming were observed for both groups immediately and 3 months posttreatment; a significant decrease in response latency was observed at both time points for the SFA group only. Finally, significant within-group differences on the Comprehensive Aphasia Test–Disability Questionnaire ( Swinburn, Porter, & Howard, 2004 ) were observed both immediately and 3 months posttreatment for the SFA group, and significant within-group differences on the Functional Outcome Questionnaire ( Glueckauf et al., 2003 ) were found for both treatment groups 3 months posttreatment. Discussion Our results are consistent with those of prior studies that have shown that SFA treatment and phonomotor treatment generalize to untrained words that share features (semantic or phonological sequence, respectively) with the training set. However, they show that there is no significant generalization to untrained words that do not share semantic features or phonological sequence features.

An Introductory Examination of Speech Disfluencies in Spanish–English Bilingual Children Who Do and Do Not Stutter During Narratives

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-141
Author(s):  
Cristina Rincon ◽  
Kia Noelle Johnson ◽  
Courtney Byrd
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Criteria ◽  
Preliminary Data ◽  
Diagnostic Information ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Developmental Stuttering ◽  
Mean Length Of Utterance

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the frequency and type of speech disfluencies (stuttering-like and nonstuttering-like) in bilingual Spanish–English (SE) children who stutter (CWS) to SE children who do not stutter (CWNS) during narrative samples elicited in Spanish and English to provide further diagnostic information for this population and preliminary data toward an expansion of this study. Method Participants included six bilingual SE children (three CWS, three CWNS) ranging in age from 5 years to 7;5 (years;months) and recruited from the surrounding Houston, Texas area. Participants provided a narrative sample in English and Spanish. The frequency of speech disfluencies was tabulated, and mean length of utterance was measured for each sample. Results Results indicate that both talker groups exceed the diagnostic criteria typically used for developmental stuttering. Regardless of the language being spoken, CWS participants had a frequency of stuttering-like speech disfluencies that met or exceeded the diagnostic criteria for developmental stuttering that is based on monolingual English speakers. The CWNS participants varied in meeting the criteria depending on the language being spoken, with one of the three CWNS exceeding the criteria in both languages and one exceeding the criteria for percentage of stuttering-like speech disfluencies in one language. Conclusion Findings from this study contribute to the development of more appropriate diagnostic criteria for bilingual SE-speaking children to aid in the reduction of misdiagnoses of stuttering in this population.

Dynamic Assessment With Bilinguals: A Focus on Increasing Clinicians' Confidence

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda K. Gorman
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Dynamic Assessment ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Speech Language Pathologists ◽  
Idea 2004 ◽  
Disabilities Education Act ◽  
Effective Dynamic ◽  
Education Act

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are obligated to judiciously select and administer appropriate assessments without inherent cultural or linguistic bias (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA], 2004). Nevertheless, clinicians continue to struggle with appropriate assessment practices for bilingual children, and diagnostic decisions are too often based on standardized tests that were normed predominately on monolingual English speakers (Caesar & Kohler, 2007). Dynamic assessment is intended to be a valid and unbiased approach for ascertaining what a child knows and can do, yet many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) struggle in knowing what and how to assess within this paradigm. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to present a clinical scenario and summarize extant research on effective dynamic language assessment practices, with a focus on specific language tasks and procedures, in order to foster SLPs' confidence in their use of dynamic assessment with bilingual children.

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