Loss of grammatical gender and language contact

Diachronica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-221
Author(s):  
Iván Igartua
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Relative Stability ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
Rare Phenomenon ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Specific Influence

Abstract Despite its alleged relative stability, grammatical gender has nevertheless been completely lost in a number of languages. Through the analysis of three case studies (Afrikaans, Ossetic, and Cappadocian Greek) and a brief survey of similar developments in other languages, this article investigates the link between the loss of gender and language contact, which appears to be a key factor in the decline of gender systems. Drawing on recent research within the framework of sociolinguistic typology, I focus on the specific influence that a particular type of language contact (namely, non-native or imperfect learning) usually exerts on the grammar of the languages being acquired. I also discuss the diachronic asymmetry between the loss and the development of gender in language contact settings: while gender loss seems to be contact-related in quite a number of cases, replication or borrowing of gender turns out to be a rather restricted or even rare phenomenon.

scholarly journals Two case studies on structural variation in multilingual settings

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 750
Author(s):  
Ariana Bancu
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Structural Properties ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Structural Variation ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
The Other ◽  
Trajectories Of Change ◽  
Induced Variation ◽  
Shed Light

In this article, I report on two analyses of variation in Transylvanian Saxon (TrSax), an endangered Germanic language in contact with German and Romanian, used in settings predictive of structural influences among languages. My goals are to document the structural properties of the target variables and to evaluate if processes of language contact have an effect on synchronic variation in TrSax. I identified two areas of TrSax that display variation at the morphosyntactic level, and in each case one of the variants has a corresponding structure in German, while the other variant has a corresponding structure in Romanian. To tease apart contact-induced variation from internally motivated variation, I compare data from multilingual speakers with different linguistic profiles and assess the effect of sociolinguistic factors on variation through mixed effects analyses. Variation that patterns similarly across these two groups can provide a clearer account of the structure of TrSax, while differences between the groups can shed light on trajectories of change in TrSax. Furthermore, results of this study have implications for borrowing hierarchies in language contact.

scholarly journals Studying Contact without Detailed Studies of the Languages Involved: A Non-Philological Approach to Language Contact

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Mark Donohue
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Database Analysis ◽  
Linguistic Data ◽  
Language Data ◽  
The Right ◽  
Detailed Work

<p>Studies of contact have revealed that all kinds of language material can, in the right circumstances, be borrowed from one language to another. Detecting, describing, and analyzing such situations typically involve the detailed study of at least two languages. An alternative involves detecting contact situations through database analysis. This cannot supplant the detailed work that requires detailed descriptive work in particular fields, but can allow us to examine large enough samples of languages that we can start to better understand, through calibration against known histories and other non-linguistic data types, likelihoods of different ‘social contact’ scenarios resulting in different kinds of linguistic traces, and also allow for the more targeted investigation of specific areas and language-to-language interactions. I shall describe the method, and illustrate its application in a number of case studies in regions for which we have good samples of language data.</p>

The complexity of grammatical gender and language ecology

2020 ◽  
pp. 193-229
Author(s):  
Francesca Di Garbo
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
The Other ◽  
Linguistic Identity ◽  
Gender Agreement ◽  
Language Ecology ◽  
Morphological Complexity ◽  
Languages In Contact ◽  
Speech Communities ◽  
The Prestige

This chapter investigates the evolution of grammatical gender agreement, taken as an instance of paradigmatic and syntagmatic morphological complexity, in a sample of thirty-six languages, organized per sets of closely related languages with different sociolinguistic profiles. Both loss and emergence of gender agreement occur in areas of intense language contact between diverse speech communities. However, given similar contact scenarios, asymmetries in the structure of the bilingual population and/or in the prestige dynamics between the languages in contact tend to favour one development over the other. Loss of gender agreement occurs when the demographically dominant and/or more prestigious language lacks grammatical gender. Conversely, borrowing of gender agreement is favoured when the demographically dominant and/or more prestigious language has grammatical gender. Finally, the data suggest that patterns of gender marking may have important ties to the way in which speakers construe their linguistic identity in opposition to that of their neighbours.

scholarly journals Risk Assessment for UAS Logistic Delivery under UAS Traffic Management Environment

Aerospace ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 140
Author(s):  
Pei-Chi Shao
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Delivery Services ◽  
Technical Capability ◽  
Aircraft System ◽  
Capability Level

Resulting from a mature accomplishment of the unmanned aircraft system (UAS), it is feasible to be adopted into logistic delivery services. The supporting technologies should be identified and examined, accompanying with the risk assessment. This paper surveys the risk assessment studies for UAVs. The expected level of safety (ELS) analysis is a key factor to safety concerns. By introducing the UTM infrastructure, the UAS implementation can be monitored. From the NASA technical capability level (TCL), UAV in beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights would need certain verifications. Two UAS logistic delivery case studies are tested to assert the UAS services. To examine the ELS to ground risk and air risk, the case studies result in acceptable data to support the UAS logistic delivery with adequate path planning in the remote and suburban areas in Taiwan.

scholarly journals REDUCING ANTIPSYCHOTIC PRESCRIBING IN NURSING HOMES: FACILITATORS AND BARRIERS FOR HIGH-IMPACT STATE INITIATIVES

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S159-S160
Author(s):  
Stephen Crystal ◽  
Richard Hermida ◽  
Olga F Jarrín ◽  
Sheree Neese-Todd ◽  
Beth Angell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Clinical Practices ◽  
State Initiatives ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Antipsychotic Prescribing ◽  
National Partnership

Abstract In conjunction with the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes initiated in 2012, states implemented initiatives to reduce antipsychotic use. All achieved substantial reductions, but improvement varied across states. By 2018, several states had achieved reductions of more than 45%, including several of the largest states. These reductions are noteworthy given the challenging nature of behavioral symptoms of dementia, and difficulties encountered historically and internationally in changing strongly-rooted clinical practices. How were these successful interventions achieved in high-performing state initiatives? What were the barriers encountered and facilitators that helped overcome these barriers? What does this experience suggest for sustainability of change? To address these questions, we draw on a mixed-methods study of antipsychotic prescribing in nursing homes incorporating analyses of prescribing data, state policy case studies, and facility case studies. Successful states integrated large-scale educational initiatives with strong regulatory action, often focusing especially on laggard facilities. Texas’ initiative was particularly noteworthy, achieving a 56.5% reduction across its far-flung network of nearly 100,000 residents and 1,200 facilities. Texas used metrics to identify facilities that achieved notable reductions in antipsychotic prescribing, and encouraged them to share their strategies with “late adopters”. The state deployed a designated Quality Monitoring Program (QMP), distinct from the survey process, to provide on-site technical assistance to laggard facilities, and provided education for all levels of staff and assistance in implementing data-driven improvement strategies. Successful state initiatives achieved considerable buy-in on the need to reduce antipsychotic use, a key factor in achieving successful system change.

scholarly journals Contact Languages of the Ancient Near East – Three more Case Studies (Ugaritic-Hurrian, Hurro-Akkadian and Canaano-Akkadian)

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Andrason ◽  
Juan-Pablo Vita
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Near East ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Theoretical Studies ◽  
Source Codes ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Dynamic Phenomena ◽  
Mixed Languages

This article describes and analyzes three situations of linguistic contact in the Ancient Near East, taking as its staring point three theoretical studies on contact languages which have been developed recently: the framework of mixed languages (Bakker and Matras, 2013; Meakins, 2013), the theory of written language contact (Johanson, 2013) and the approach to contact among genetically related languages (Epps, Huehnergard and Pat-El, 2013a). The authors argue that the contact systems selected for this article (Ugaritic-Hurrian, Hurro-Akkadian and Canaano-Akkadian), although distinct from the grammatical and sociolinguistic perspective, can all be viewed as expressions of the same dynamic phenomena, where each variety of mixing corresponds to a different stage of a universal continuum of languages in the situation of merger. Consequently, they can be located along the universal cline of mixing: Ugaritic-Hurrian matches the initial stage of intermingling, Hurro-Akkadian reflects gradually more intense blending, and Canaano-Akkadian corresponds to the phase of a profound fusion of the two source codes. By examining and comparing the three cases of mixing, the authors introduce new insights to the general discussion on mixed languages, written language contact and relevance of genetic relation in language intermingling, thus corroborating and/or refining certain hypotheses and propositions that have previously been formulated within the latest theoretical studies.

scholarly journals Women political leaders in pandemic times: comparing Jacinda Ardern’ and Donald Trump’s representation of the COVID-19 crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 8-21
Author(s):  
Flaminia Saccà ◽  
Donatella Selva
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Styles ◽  
Women Leaders ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Common Sense ◽  
Crisis Leadership ◽  
Scientific Advice ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Understanding Of Science

In the context of the Covid-19 meta-crisis, leadership styles have emerged as a key factor for determining a country’s ability to contain the contagion and recover. In what follows, we want to explore the features of such leadership styles by taking a gender perspective. This article argues that women leaders have successfully governed the crises originated by the pandemic not only because of their inherent ability to build relationships, enhance community bonds, and “tune” with the anxieties of citizens; the women leaders’ approach to science has proven to be decisive as well. Contrarily to common-sense expectations, when compared with men leaders, women have demonstrated to be more responsive and attentive to scientific advice, and to use their understanding of science as a factor of legitimacy. Our data are based on a wider research project granted by the Italian Ministry of Research and coordinated by prof. Saccà. We have analyzed the discourses of two case studies, Donald Trump and Jacinda Ardern, as they identify ideal-typical features of two opposing leadership styles as far as science is concerned. The analysis of rhetorical formulas and frames highlight the differences in their discourses and approaches and proves how the women leaders’ ability of listening to experts’ advice and the needs of specific sectors of the population has been decisive for the success of the measures of containment of the virus.

scholarly journals Unveiling the Evolution of Innovation Ecosystems: An Analysis of Triple, Quadruple and Quintuple Helix Model Innovation Systems in European Case-studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rallou Taratori ◽  
Paulina RODRIGUEZ Fiscal ◽  
Marie Abigail Pacho ◽  
Sesil Koutra ◽  
Montserrat Pareja-Eastaway ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Modern Cities ◽  
Quintuple Helix ◽  
Key Factor

Despite the rising interest in smart city initiatives worldwide, governmental theories along with the managerial perspectives of city planning are a great lack in the literature. It is definitely understandable that the adoption of configurational pathways towards the &lsquo;smart&rsquo; &lsquo;governance&rsquo; models is required as key factor and smartness&rsquo; facilitator in modern cities. In this manuscript, we display an exhaustive analysis on the importance of the n-Helix models along with a benchmarking critical approach through selected European case-studies. The study, through the literature review, revealed the lack of exhaustive analyses for the methodological investigation, identification and adoption of the most appropriate governance model and collaborative approaches per project and collaborative approaches and create modular frameworks to address efficiently the continuous urban challenges, such as the rapid urbanization or the climate change.

scholarly journals Droni e fotogrammetria moderna per il rilievo dei castelli

X ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Pecci
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Structure From Motion ◽  
South Italy ◽  
Difficult Time ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
San Fernando ◽  
Cartagena De Indias ◽  
Steep Slopes ◽  
Geomorphological Features

Drones and modern photogrammetry for castlesCastles, often built on hills with extremely steep slopes, or on sea cliffs overlooking stretches of water, were difficult to conquer. Construction techniques and geomorphology of the area were a key factor in making castles impregnable to sieges of military troops or bands of pirates or robbers. Today, the same characteristics make them difficult to survey. In fact, there are huge difficulties in surveying fortified structures on the top of hills or on the edge of a precipice. Such geomorphological features sometimes make the survey difficult, time consuming and expensive and unsafe for operators. Today, these problems can be reduced through the use of drones and photogrammetric processing tools which are based on Structure from Motion algorythms and are easy to use. This method allows us to acquire data with geometric resolution in order to map and study masonry characteristics, as well as analyze and monitor decay and crack patterns for restoration purposes. In this paper, we will discuss the potential of drones and modern photogrammetry techniques in architectural surveys and applied to three case studies. These include the castle of Isabella Morra in Valsinni (Basilicata, South Italy), perched on a cliff; the medieval citadel of Uggiano in Ferrandina (Basilicata, South Italy) in an advanced state of degradation and on a plateau with high geological risk; and the San Fernando Fuerte to Bocochita (Cartagena de Indias, Colombia) overlooking the sea.

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