Question tags in Cameroon English

English Today ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Antoine Willy Ndzotom Mbakop
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Main Statement ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Substantial Progress ◽  
Official Languages ◽  
Canonical Type ◽  
Constant Polarity ◽  
Fact Question ◽  
Unconscious Desire

Although English is one of the two official languages in Cameroon, it is seldom used out of official circles where indigenous languages, French, and Pidgin English reign supreme (Jikong & Koenig, 1983). This has made the language a matter of concern for teachers, learners, and researchers. An aspect of the language which has so far been little investigated, but which is significant to English proficiency, is question tags. In fact, question tags contribute tremendously to the flow of language. They are ‘a very conspicuous phenomenon of spoken language’ (Tottie & Hoffman, 2006: 284). These short questions (tags), tagged onto a main statement (the anchor) play an important role in spoken English. While the question tag is taught from Sixième to Terminale (Grade 8 to Grade 13, i.e. the first to last years of secondary education in the Francophone subsystem of education), and from primary to secondary school in the Anglophone subsystem of education in Cameroon, researchers are still to question its teaching against the backdrop of its actual use in a country where the nativisation process of English is generally agreed upon (Schneider, 2009). Also, given that the canonical ‘type of tag question with reversed or constant polarity, (. . .) is typical of English’ (Tottie & Hoffman, 2006: 283), its teaching (textbooks focus solely on question tags with reversed or constant polarity) in a non-native setting like Cameroon is likely to foretell a conscious or unconscious desire to keep a certain standard of English. If one concurs with Schneider (2009) that Cameroon is on Phase Three of the Dynamic model (at least in the Anglophone part of the country) – that is, Nativisation where ‘structural nativization has made substantial progress’ (p. 298) – then keeping a native-like standard on school programmes (Ministry of Secondary Education, 2014), textbooks (see for illustration the English textbook Forbin et al., 2019), and official examinations would be likely to indicate some contradictions as per the apparent desire to cut the umbilical cord with the former colonial power.

‘Two rules are at play when it comes to none’: A corpus-based analysis of singular versus plural none

English Today ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 50-56
Author(s):  
Sugene Kim
Keyword(s):  
Academic English ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Plural Noun ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Grammar Rules ◽  
Singular Noun ◽  
Prescriptive Grammar ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Indefinite Pronoun ◽  
Level Student

This paper identifies discrepancies between prescriptive grammar rules concerning the number of the indefinite pronoun none and the actual use of this pronoun in modern academic English as shown in the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE) and Michigan Corpus of Upper-level Student Papers (MICUSP). Whereas prescriptive rules state that the number of none is determined by its referent or by the user's desired effect, the analyses of the MICASE and MICUSP search results suggest that, regardless of the modality of discourse, (1) the number of none with an anaphoric referent is determined by the number of its referent and (2) the principle of proximity applies without exception when none is used as part of a ‘none of + singular noun/pronoun’ phrase and applies frequently but not always when followed by an ‘of + plural noun/pronoun’ phrase.

Spreektoetsen Moderne Vreemde Talen

1996 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 145-152
Author(s):  
Peter Paffen
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Original Model ◽  
Proficiency Tests ◽  
Grammar School ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
School Based ◽  
Speech Test ◽  
New Research

In 1988 CITO started research into the feasibility of valid and reliable oral proficiency tests based on communicative principles. This was to meet the demand for a communicative speech test to be used in school based examinations in secondary education. Using the Test of Spoken English as a guideline, tests for French, German and English were developed. Simultaneous research into the reliability and validity of the tests led to various adaptations of the original model. From 1992 onwards oral proficiency tests for each of the three languages in question have been published at levels VBO/MAVO, HAVO and VWO (approxi-mately: vocational, secondary modern and grammar school). The results of a user inquiry held in 1994 led to a number of further changes to improve the user-friend-liness of the tests. Early in 1996 a new research project concerning the reliability and validity of the tests was started. The results will be published in the autumn of 1996.

ECONOMIC AND EDUCATIONAL IMPACTS REGARDING THEREMOVAL OF ENGLISHLANGUAGE AS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGEINPAKISTAN:

Al-Burz ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-83
Author(s):  
Dr. Noor Ahmed ◽  
Bijar khan ◽  
Dr. Mirwais Kasi ◽  
Abdul Qadir
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
English Language ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Linguistic Development ◽  
The World ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Official Languages ◽  
Local Languages

This paper examines the definite impacts of English language’s removal as an official language in Pakistan as well as analyzes critically whether the timing of the decision is a sane motive?  English surely is the lingua franca and educational language in the world possessing the prime status regarding international communiqué. Scholastic development as accepted by globalization has to shifted the character of the English language. Whereas English has turned out to be an essential means increasing attractiveness in international arena, as the top developing countries are emphasizing more and more on English language to be universalized in all fields. Although the local languages do have their importance and may not be discarded to be used as official languages. The findings of this study reveal the possible economic impacts and common realism of different linguistic development as well as strategy creativities in the country as well as to recommend the better policies and planning for the actual use of local as well as English language.

scholarly journals Abstracts: Pragmatics

2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 366-371
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Semantic Interpretation ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Second Language Learner ◽  
Relational Work ◽  
Business Meetings ◽  
Constant Polarity

07–645Félix-Brasdefer, J. César (Indiana U, Bloomington, USA; [email protected]), Linguistic politeness in Mexico: Refusal strategies among male speakers of Mexican Spanish. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 38.12 (2006), 2158–2187.07–646Fukushima, Kazuhiko (Kansai Gaidai U, Osaka, Japan; [email protected]), Conspiracy of form and context for proper semantic interpretation: The implications of lonesome numeral classifiers in Japanese. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.5 (2007), 960–989.07–647Graham, Sage Lambert (U Memphis, USA; [email protected]), Disagreeing to agree: Conflict, (im)politeness and identity in a computer-mediated community. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.4 (2007), 742–759.07–648Hatipoğlu, Çiler (Middle East Technical U, Ankara, Turkey; [email protected]), (Im)politeness, national and professional identities and context: Some evidence from e-mailed ‘Call for Papers’. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.4 (2007), 760–773.07–649Haugh, Michael (Griffith U, Nathan, Queensland, Australia; [email protected]), The co-constitution of politeness implicature in conversation. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.1 (2007), 84–110.07–650Haugh, Michael (Griffith U, Nathan, Queensland, Australia; [email protected]), Emic conceptualisations of (im)politeness and face in Japanese: Implications for the discursive negotiation of second language learner identities. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.4 (2007), 657–680.07–651Hsieh, Shelley Ching-yu (National Cheng Kung U, Taiwan; [email protected]), A corpus-based study on animal expressions in Mandarin Chinese and German. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 38.12 (2006), 2206–2222.07–652Huth, Thorsten (Utah State U, Logan, USA; [email protected]), Negotiating structure and culture: L2 learners' realization of L2 compliment-response sequences in talk-in-interaction. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 38.12 (2006), 2025–2050.07–653Ji, Shaojun (Chinese Culture U, Taipei, Taiwan; [email protected]), A textual perspective on Givón's quantity principle. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.2 (2007), 292–304.07–654Kimps, Ditte (U Leuven, Belgium; [email protected]), Declarative constant polarity tag questions: A data-driven analysis of their form, meaning and attitudinal uses. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.2 (2007), 270–291.07–655Lee, Duck-Young (The Australian National U, Canberra, Australia; [email protected]), Involvement and the Japanese interactive particlesneandyo. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.2 (2007), 363–388.07–656Loock, Rudy (Université de Lille III, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France; [email protected]), Appositive relative clauses and their functions in discourse. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.2 (2007), 336–362.07–657Manetta, Emily (U Vermont, Burlington, USA; [email protected]), Unexpected left dislocation: An English corpus study. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.5 (2007), 1029–1035.07–658Mzushima, Lisa & Paul Stapleton (Hokkaido U, Sapporo, Japan; [email protected]), Analyzing the function of meta-oriented critical comments in Japanese comic conversations. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 38.12 (2006), 2105–2123.07–659Netz, Hadar & Ron Kuzar (U Haifa, Israel; [email protected]), Three marked theme constructions in spoken English. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.2 (2007), 305–335.07–660Rogerson-Revell, Pamela (U Leicester, UK; [email protected]), Humour in business: A double-edged sword. A study of humour and style shifting in intercultural business meetings. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.1 (2007), 4–28.07–661Ruhi, Şükriye (Middle East Technical U, Ankara, Turkey; [email protected]) & Hale Işık-Güler, Conceptualizing face and relational work in (im)politeness: Revelations from politeness lexemes and idioms in Turkish. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.4 (2007), 681–711.07–662Selting, Margret (Universität Potsdam, Germany; [email protected]), Lists as embedded structures and the prosody of list construction as an interactional ressource. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 39.3 (2007), 483–526.07–663Soares da Silva, Augusto (Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Braga, Portugal; [email protected]), The polysemy of discourse markers: The case ofprontoin Portuguese. Journal of Pragmatics (Elsevier) 38.12 (2006), 2188–2205.07–664Takimoto, Masahiro (Tezukayama U, Japan; [email protected]), The effects of explicit feedback and form–meaning processing on the development of pragmatic proficiency in consciousness-raising tasks. System (Elsevier) 34.4 (2006), 601–614.

Is Engels en Duits voldoende?

1979 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 184-185
Author(s):  
J.M. Ulijn
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Great Distance ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
University Staff ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Scant Attention ◽  
Language Needs ◽  
The One

The final studies on foreign language needs in the Netherlands, carried out by the Institute of Applied Sociology (ITS), were published in May 1978, and reported the results of a survey among pupils, former pupils and management in secondary education as well as university staff-members and foreign language users in business and government. Concerning the actual use of foreign languages the order is (1) English, (2) German, (3) French (at some distance), and (at great distance) (4) Spanish and (5) Russian. Concerning the deficiencies in the use of foreign languages the order is reversed, though Russian (a) and Spanish (2) were not paid as much attention in these studies as French (3), German (4) and Fnglish (5). Moreover, in the latter case the distance between French on the one hand and German and English on the other is much greater. This is understandable: English and German are easier for Dutchman than French, Spanish and Russian. If one takes into consideration rather important data such as (a) position and distribution of the relevant languages in the world, (b) the export figures, which are of vital impor-tance for our economy, (c) the specialist literature published in each language, and (d) tourism and recreation, the order mentioned above is to some extent different. With (a) French takes precedence over German. With (c) Russian is in second position after English for the sciences, while there is little difference between French and German. With (b) and (d) the order is German, French, English, whereas Spanish is more important than English in the field of tourism. This last kind of data indicates a more potential need; these data are in addition less susceptible to language use and language deficiencies in the case of phenomena such as unknown , unloved and the line of least resistance? which cause Dutchman to use English and German rather than French, Spanish or Russian. There is a great dicrepancy between FL teaching at secondary schools and the needs of society as outlined above. This holds especially for vocational education, but also for other kinds of secondary education where the three formerly obligatory languages French, German and English have been reduced to two languages or even one, at least in the higher forms. Especially French has suffered by this reduction, while Spanish and Russian receive only scant attention. It is suggested to bring vocational FL teaching in line with society's needs, both in the number of languages and in the number of periods per language. Secondary education will benefit by a return to the teaching of three languages for the A stream, and two for the ? stream, in the latter case only one language being a Germanic one in order to counteract the Pline of least resistance". Spanish and Russian should be options, too, but only in the higher forms. Therefore an increase in the number of periods per week and the number of exam-subjects is necessary to half the number required before the introduction of the "Mammoet" law. These suggestions for a FL educational policy to bridge the gap between society1s needs and what is at present being offered in FL teaching are submitted for discussion. The complete text of this paper will appear in a series of articles in the 1979 issues of Levende Talen under the title "Van behoeftenonderzoek naar onderwijsbeleid - enige kanttekeningen bij de recente ITS-studies."

scholarly journals On Blind Men, Elephants, and Immersion Programs

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 89-100
Author(s):  
Jérémie Séror
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Secondary Education ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Post Secondary Education ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Immersion Programs ◽  
The World ◽  
Official Languages ◽  
The University

On the 11th and 12th of May 2017, the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute at the University of Ottawa hosted the symposium: “Immersion in higher education: Where do we stand today?” This symposium was a wonderful opportunity to review the richness, complexity and plural dimensions associated to the concept of immersion. Indeed, the goal of the symposium was to not only mark the 10-year anniversary of the launch of the Régime d’immersion en français (RIF) at the University of Ottawa but also to bring together key stakeholders and specialists from various regions of Canada and the world to faire le point and review what has been accomplished in recent years when we refer to the application of content-based language teaching to the context of post-secondary education.

scholarly journals UN ESTUDIO DE LAS ACTITUDES LINGÜÍSTICAS EN LOS ESCOLARES DE CATALUÑA

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 353
Author(s):  
Judit Janés ◽  
Adelina Lanos ◽  
Carmen Poalelungi ◽  
Xosé-Antón González-Riaño
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Clear Preference ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Official Languages

Abstract.A STUDY ON THE LANGUAGE ATTITUDES OF THE STUDENTS IN CATALONIAThis study arises from the need to encourage positive attitudes toward the languages spoken in Catalonia among immigrant students, in order to promote their integration and language acquisition. Consequently, we analyzed the language attitudes toward Catalan, Castilian and English of 673 autochthonous and 500 immigrant students enrolled in 10 centers of Compulsory Secondary Education (CSE) in Catalonia. The results show that both groups manifested significantly different attitudinal patterns. These differences probably reflect the various meanings and representations granted to the official languages ??of the territory by the autochthonous and immigrant students. Catalan was highly valued by the autochthonous group, which showed more favorable attitudes toward this language than toward all others, and also attitudes more favorable than those of the immigrant students. Moreover, immigrant students showed a clear preference for Castilian. Furthermore, attitudes towards English were also positive, possibly reflecting its role as an international lingua franca. Consequently, these results suggest that the particularities of the immigrant students should be taken into consideration when planning and implementing linguistic and educational measures.Keywords: language attitudes, immigration, origin, CataloniaResumen.El presente estudio surge de la necesidad de fomentar actitudes positivas hacia las lenguas habladas en Cataluña por parte de los estudiantes inmigrantes, con la finalidad de promover su integración y la adquisición del lenguaje. En este sentido, hemos analizado las actitudes hacia el catalán, castellano e inglés de 673 estudiantes autóctonos y 500 de origen inmigrante matriculados en 10 Institutos de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO) en Cataluña. Los resultados muestran que los dos grupos manifiestan patrones actitudinales significativamente distintos. Dichas diferencias, probablemente, reflejan los diversos significados y representaciones concedidos a las lenguas oficiales del territorio por parte del alumnado autóctono e inmigrante. El catalán fue altamente valorado por el colectivo autóctono, cuyas actitudes hacia dicha lengua fueron más favorables que hacia las demás, así como más positivas que las de los alumnos inmigrantes. Por otra parte, los alumnos inmigrantes mostraron una preferencia clara hacia el castellano. Asimismo, las actitudes hacia el inglés también fueron positivas, posiblemente reflejando su papel como lengua franca internacional. Consecuentemente, dichos resultados sugieren que las particularidades del alumnado inmigrante deberían ser consideradas en la planificación e implementación de medidas lingüísticas y educativas.Palabras Clave: actitudes lingüísticas, inmigración, origen, Cataluña

Age Norms for Auditory-Perceptual Neurophonetic Parameters: A Prerequisite for the Assessment of Childhood Dysarthria

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1071-1082
Author(s):  
Theresa Schölderle ◽  
Elisabet Haas ◽  
Wolfram Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Age Norms ◽  
Elementary School Age ◽  
Speech Characteristics ◽  
Substantial Progress ◽  
Computer Based

Purpose The aim of this study was to collect auditory-perceptual data on established symptom categories of dysarthria from typically developing children between 3 and 9 years of age, for the purpose of creating age norms for dysarthria assessment. Method One hundred forty-four typically developing children (3;0–9;11 [years;months], 72 girls and 72 boys) participated. We used a computer-based game specifically designed for this study to elicit sentence repetitions and spontaneous speech samples. Speech recordings were analyzed using the auditory-perceptual criteria of the Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales, a standardized German assessment tool for dysarthria in adults. The Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales (scales and features) cover clinically relevant dimensions of speech and allow for an evaluation of well-established symptom categories of dysarthria. Results The typically developing children exhibited a number of speech characteristics overlapping with established symptom categories of dysarthria (e.g., breathy voice, frequent inspirations, reduced articulatory precision, decreased articulation rate). Substantial progress was observed between 3 and 9 years of age, but with different developmental trajectories across different dimensions. In several areas (e.g., respiration, voice quality), 9-year-olds still presented with salient developmental speech characteristics, while in other dimensions (e.g., prosodic modulation), features typically associated with dysarthria occurred only exceptionally, even in the 3-year-olds. Conclusions The acquisition of speech motor functions is a prolonged process not yet completed with 9 years. Various developmental influences (e.g., anatomic–physiological changes) shape children's speech specifically. Our findings are a first step toward establishing auditory-perceptual norms for dysarthria in children of kindergarten and elementary school age. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12133380

Temporal Characteristics of Speech in Simultaneous Communication

1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 1014-1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Whitehead ◽  
Nicholas Schiavetti ◽  
Brenda H. Whitehead ◽  
Dale Evan Metz
Keyword(s):  
Pause Duration ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Vowel Perception ◽  
Temporal Characteristics ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Temporal Features ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Word Duration ◽  
Rate Of Speech ◽  
Speech Condition

The purpose of this investigation was twofold: (a) to determine if there are changes in specific temporal characteristics of speech that occur during simultaneous communication, and (b) to determine if known temporal rules of spoken English are disrupted during simultaneous communication. Ten speakers uttered sentences consisting of a carrier phrase and experimental CVC words under conditions of: (a) speech, (b) speech combined with signed English, and (c) speech combined with signed English for every word except the CVC word that was fingerspelled. The temporal features investigated included: (a) sentence duration, (b) experimental CVC word duration, (c) vowel duration in experimental CVC words, (d) pause duration before and after experimental CVC words, and (e) consonantal effects on vowel duration. Results indicated that for all durational measures, the speech/sign/fingerspelling condition was longest, followed by the speech/sign condition, with the speech condition being shortest. It was also found that for all three speaking conditions, vowels were longer in duration when preceding voiced consonants than vowels preceding their voiceless cognates, and that a low vowel was longer in duration than a high vowel. These findings indicate that speakers consistently reduced their rate of speech when using simultaneous communication, but did not violate these specific temporal rules of English important for consonant and vowel perception.

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