The grammar, meaning, and referential functions of else

2000 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Foong Ha Yap ◽  
Marianne Celce-Murcia
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
American English ◽  
Semantic Role ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Different Types ◽  
English Native Speaker

Although else is recognized as a cohesive device (e.g. Halliday & Hasan, 1976: 76), it has received relatively little attention in the literature. To help remedy the situation, this article investigates how native speakers use else in both written and spoken discourse. We first review the literature for a description of the meaning(s) of else, then identify its most common meaning as reflected in its frequency of use in American English native-speaker discourse. More specifically, we undertake a quantitative analysis of the frequency and distribution of different types of else constructions, as well as a qualitative analysis of how else functions as a referential and cohesive marker. The unique referential role of else is then highlighted by contrasting it with its closest synonym, namely other. It is shown that these two referential and cohesive markers complement each other, with else playing a less specified semantic role than other.

Language Experience and Subjective Word Familiarity on the Multimodal Perception of Non-Native Speakers’ Vowels

2021 ◽  
pp. 002383092199872
Author(s):  
Solène Inceoglu
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
American English ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Monosyllabic Words ◽  
Word Familiarity ◽  
Multimodal Perception

The present study investigated native (L1) and non-native (L2) speakers’ perception of the French vowels /ɔ̃, ɑ̃, ɛ̃, o/. Thirty-four American-English learners of French and 33 native speakers of Parisian French were asked to identify 60 monosyllabic words produced by a native speaker in three modalities of presentation: auditory-only (A-only); audiovisual (AV); and visual-only (V-only). The L2 participants also completed a vocabulary knowledge test of the words presented in the perception experiment that aimed to explore whether subjective word familiarity affected speech perception. Results showed that overall performance was better in the AV and A-only conditions for the two groups with the pattern of confusion differing across modalities. The lack of audiovisual benefit was not due to the vowel contrasts being not visually salient enough, as shown by the native group’s performance in the V-only modality, but to the L2 group’s weaker sensitivity to visual information. Additionally, a significant relationship was found between subjective word familiarity and AV and A-only (but not V-only) perception of non-native contrasts.

scholarly journals Tests of a dual-system model of speech category learning

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 709-728 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. TODD MADDOX ◽  
BHARATH CHANDRASEKARAN
Keyword(s):  
Category Learning ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
American English ◽  
Dual System ◽  
Learning Systems ◽  
Practice Transfer ◽  
Mandarin Tones ◽  
Visual Domain ◽  
Speech Learning

In the visual domain, more than two decades of work has argued for the existence of dual category learning systems. Thereflectivesystem uses working memory in an explicit fashion to develop and test rules for classifying. Thereflexivesystem operates by implicitly associating perception with actions that lead to reinforcement. Dual-system models posit that in learning natural categories, learners initially use the reflective system and with practice, transfer control to the reflexive system. The role of reflective and reflexive systems in second language (L2) speech learning has not been systematically examined. In the study reported in this paper, monolingual native speakers of American English were trained to categorize Mandarin tones produced by multiple speakers. Our computational modeling approach demonstrates that learners use reflective and reflexive strategies during tone category learning. Successful learners use speaker-dependent, reflective analysis early in training and reflexive strategies by the end of training. Our results demonstrate that dual-learning systems are operative in L2 speech learning. Critically, learner strategies directly relate to individual differences in successful category learning.

scholarly journals Expert-Like Use of Hedges and Boosters in Research Articles Written by Polish and English Native-Speaker Writers

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Hryniuk
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Writing For Publication ◽  
Communicative Strategies ◽  
Text Features ◽  
English Native Speaker

The present study compares the use of main interpersonal metadiscourse markers - hedges and boosters - in a corpus of 40 research articles from the area of applied linguistics, written in English by native speakers and Polish writers. Used as communicative strategies, these words and expressions increase (boosters) or reduce (hedges) the force of arguments. In order to gain an in-depth insight and to achieve greater precision, in the analysis the author utilizes a concordance tool WordSmith 6.0 (Scott 2012). The results point to important discrepancies in the usage of these text features by authors representing different native languages and cultures. The study has important implications for developing competence in writing for publication in English as a Foreign Language.

Some aspects of repair in native and non-native speaker conversations in English

1999 ◽  
Vol 125-126 ◽  
pp. 253-275
Author(s):  
Martha Eleftheriadou ◽  
Richard Badger
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
General Preferences

Abstract The ability to carry out repairs is a key skill in spoken discourse for non-native speakers of English and has been widely studied. However, VAN HEST et al. (1997) have suggested that investigations into repair in L2 need to be more theoretically driven and less concerned with individual differences. Drawing on information from a pilot study of twenty-three conversations, lasting 185 minutes between six native and six non-native speakers, this paper argues that there is no conflict between a concern with individual differences and theory building. What is needed is a contextualised theory which is grounded in particular situations and individual differences. The paper identifies three possible areas of difficulty that may arise if a theory is not contextualised. Firstly, the paper argues that theory driven research encourages methods of data collection that we characterise as experimental and suggest that these need to be supplemented by more naturalistic forms of data collection. Secondly, the paper criticises the view that there are general preferences as to who initiates and who completes repairs and argues that a contextualised theory of repair would capture initiation/completion patterns more adequately. Finally, the paper argues that the distinction between native and non-native speakers needs to be re-examined. This is supported by the finding in the pilot study that there was little variation between native and non-native speakers in terms of these analyses.

EFFECTS OF LISTENERS' EXPECTATIONS OF SPEAKERS' NATIVENESS: IDENTIFICATION OF PHONEMIC VOWEL LENGTH

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1106-1115
Author(s):  
Wael Zuraiq ◽  
Moh'd Al-Omari ◽  
Sabri Al Shboul ◽  
Anas Al Huneety ◽  
Bassil Mashaqba
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Test Group ◽  
Speaking Rate ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Arabic Speakers ◽  
Minimal Pairs ◽  
Native Arabic Speakers

Purpose of the study: This study is to describe an experiment in which native Arabic listeners identified phonemic vowels in Arabic words. Native Arabic speakers from a variety of dialects and non-native Arabic speakers spoke the words. The main objective of the present study is to understand the neglected role of the native listeners in making communication successful or impeded when native listeners lack adequate information about the non-native speaker and when the top-down processing is absent. Methodology: The present study examined real Arabic minimal pairs (short versus long vowels) uttered at a regular speaking rate by both native speakers of Arabic (NSA) as a control group and non-native speakers of Arabic (NNSA) as a test group. First, we told the listeners that they would hear speakers from various countries, and we did not tell them that the stimuli had non-native words. In the subsequent part of the experiment, we told native listeners that they would hear both native speakers and non-native intermediate speakers. Main Findings: The major outcome of the present study is that listeners made slower and less correct identifications when they knew that some of the speakers were non-native. The finding of the experiment confirms the hypothesis that the processing of non-native productions is influenced by native listeners' negative expectations about non-native speakers with the absence of adequate facilitating details. Applications of this study: The study contributes to the psycholinguistic understanding of the role of the native listeners' expectations and attitudes towards non-native speakers and contributes to the understanding of the interaction between native listeners and non-native speakers. The study can help linguists in understanding the role of listeners in communication impediments within the top-down approach. Novelty/Originality of this study: This work adopts a new approach where we tested the same listeners twice, first with no information about non-native speakers and second with information that they will hear non-native speakers in the stimuli. Such an approach intends to improve our perception towards language communication within listeners' attitudes as associated with foreign speakers when information about the context of stimuli is inadequate.

scholarly journals Elementarna ontologia językowa rośliny – szkic semantyczny

Adeptus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Maria Małek
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Semantic Role ◽  
Semantic Roles ◽  
Language Analysis ◽  
Polish Language ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Linguistic Ontology

Basic linguistic ontology and plants: A semantic sketchThis article is devoted to verbs collocating with the Polish lexeme roślina ‘plant’. The aim of the study is to determine the linguistic status of the plant and to investigate whether it is ‘someone’ or ‘something’ in view of the semantics of the verbs in question. The author analyses cases in which the plant appears in the semantic role of the agent. She makes conclusions about how the lexeme roślina functions in Polish and defines its unique features (semantic connectivity) and semantic roles. The study is based on language surveys conducted among native speakers of Polish. Language analysis reveals the place of the plant in the hierarchy of living organisms. Elementarna ontologia językowa rośliny – szkic semantycznyPrzedmiotem artykułu są polskie czasowniki, które zgodnie z łączliwością semantycznoskładniową występują z leksemem roślina. Celem tekstu jest ustalenie językowego statusu rośliny oraz, dzięki badaniu semantyki czasowników, znalezienie odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy roślina jest kimś, czy czymś. Autorka analizuje czasowniki, w których roślina występuje w semantycznej roli agensa; następnie na podstawie badań językowych formułuje wnioski dotyczące sposobu funkcjonowania leksemu roślina w języku polskim, określając jego cechy unikatowe (łączliwość semantyczną) oraz role semantyczne. Metody wykorzystane w pracy to testy językowe na materiale pozytywnym i negatywnym oparte na kompetencji językowej użytkowników polszczyzny. Analiza językowa odkrywa miejsce wyznaczone dla rośliny w hierarchii organizmów żywych.

scholarly journals The concept of “love” as a component of native speakers’ linguistic picture of the world: The results of associative experiments

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 272-276
Author(s):  
Svetlana V. Andreeva ◽  
◽  
Lubov S. Useynova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Semantic Category ◽  
Semantic Categories ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Ages

The article analyzes the role of “love” concept in the linguistic picture of the world of modern native speakers of different ages. Based on a number of associative experiments and quantitative analysis the research defines the most frequent semantic categories of the reactions of the respondents belonging to ten age groups. The authors focus on the dynamics of associations within the semantic category “negative emotions and states”.

scholarly journals Phonologic representation and speech perception: The role of pause

Diacrítica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-18
Author(s):  
Luciani Tenani ◽  
Geovana Soncin ◽  
Larissa Berti
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Perceptual Illusion ◽  
Identification Test ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Acoustic Pattern ◽  
Representational Level

We investigate the perception of pauses at intonational phrase (IP) boundaries in Brazilian Portuguese (BP) and addresses the discussion about the relation between speech production and perception. Twenty adult subjects, native speakers of BP, with no language disorders and no hearing complaints, took part in an experimental pause identification test. We used auditory stimuli in which the IP-boundary was marked by a combination of pause and pitch variation or pitch variation only. The results are the following: (i) when stimuli consisted of a combination of pause with pitch variation in the IP-boundary, pauses were identified significantly (ii) when the stimuli did not have pitch variation on IP-boundaries, pauses were not identified significantly, (iii) when only pitch variation occurred, without pause production, pauses were identified in the tested boundary. These results support the argument that speech perception does not depend entirely on recovering an acoustic pattern and provide evidence for the importance of phonologic representation for the perception and organization of the perceived auditory stimulus. Based on the results, we argue that pause perception would result from the perceptual illusion marked by the combination of different types of linguistic information, at a phonetic-acoustic and representational level.

A micro process-product study of a CLIL lesson l

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. Long ◽  
Assma Al Thowaini ◽  
Buthainah Al Thowaini ◽  
Jiyong Lee ◽  
Payman Vafaee
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Learning ◽  
Product Laboratory ◽  
Artificial Nature ◽  
English Native Speaker ◽  
Process Product ◽  
Product Study

We begin by comparing two models for the simultaneous teaching of language and content: immersion, and content and language integrated learning (CLIL). Following a brief summary and critique of research on CLIL, we describe a micro process-product laboratory experiment with young adult native speakers of Arabic for whom English was the L2. The same fifteen-minute lesson about an amateur anthropologist’s alleged discovery of a hitherto unknown indigenous tribe in the Amazonian jungle was delivered by nine surrogate teachers to nine groups of four surrogate students in three baseline English native speaker groups, three baseline Arabic native speaker groups and three CLIL groups. Findings on language use in the nine lessons are related to content learning and vocabulary knowledge. The short-term, artificial nature of the study precludes generalisations to real CLIL programs, which was not our intention. Rather, we wish to suggest that process-product laboratory studies of larger scale and longer duration, paired with classroom studies employing a similar design and research methodology, offer a useful approach to identifying strengths and weaknesses of CLIL programs largely ignored to date.

scholarly journals Expressing Gratitude in an EFL Context: The Case of Jordanian Learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 190
Author(s):  
Husam Al-Momani ◽  
Abdullah Jaradat ◽  
Nisreen Al-Khawaldeh ◽  
Baker Bani-Khair
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
American English ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Contextual Variables ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Order Preference

This study contributes to the existing literature on interlanguage pragmatics by investigating intermediate Jordanian English Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ gratitude speech act realization compared to that of native American English speakers. The study considered both aspects of pragmatic competence including pragmalinguistic knowledge (i.e., the use of gratitude strategies) and sociopragmatic knowledge (i.e., the influence of contextual variables). A discourse completion task (DCT) was employed to elicit data from 60 participants divided into two groups: 30 native speakers of American English, and 30 Jordanian EFL learners. Findings revealed that while Jordanian EFL  learners and American English native speakers have access to the same gratitude strategies, both groups differed in  the order preference of the used strategies and their frequency of use. Furthermore, the two groups showed different patterns in responding to contextual variables (i.e., social power and size of imposition), an indication that different cultural values govern the speech norms of each group. The study concludes with some pedagogical implications that could be implemented in the EFL classroom. 

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