Responses to rhetorical questions in English and German Internet public news groups

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Kleinke
Keyword(s):  
Message Boards ◽  
Patterns Of Use ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Discussion Threads ◽  
Different Types ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Internet Discussion ◽  
Rhetorical Questions ◽  
Rhetorical Force ◽  
Linguistic Structures

This study investigates an area of interpersonal pragmatic meaning in which the specific framing conditions of public Internet message boards seem to be particularly relevant: patterns of responses to rhetorical questions as one aspect of the negotiation of the rhetorical force of such questions among the participants in a discussion. Rhetorical questions are complex linguistic structures which are described in terms of a set of characteristic pragmatic features, including their answerhood (Ilie 1994, 1999). An analysis of approximately 900 postings to 22 English and 22 German Internet discussion threads on a range of comparable topics showed that rhetorical questions are often subject to negotiation by the participants in an interaction. The responses to such rhetorical questions play a crucial role in this process. This work examines all textual responses to questions that were interpreted as rhetorical and describes their structural patterns and frequency of use as well as different types and functions in the English- and the German-speaking groups. It also discusses the different patterns of use against the background of more general observations on communicative styles and practices across the two language communities.

scholarly journals Rhetorical questions as aggressive, friendly or sarcastic/ironical questions with imposed answers

ExELL ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-82
Author(s):  
Džemal Špago
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
The Other ◽  
Communication Style ◽  
Communication Styles ◽  
Social Standing ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Rhetorical Questions

AbstractRhetorical questions (RQs), as a cross-breed of questions and statements, represent an effective tool in putting forward the Speaker’s ideas, as well as influencing the ideas and opinions of other people. Because of their communicative effectiveness and multifunctionality, they are frequently used in different contexts and for different purposes, and, as such, they represent an interesting topic for further research. The aim of this paper is threefold: (i) to explore the nature of the implied answer to RQs, (ii) to offer a classification of RQs based on the Speaker’s communication style, and (iii) to examine whether (or to what extent) the Speaker-Addressee relationship (peer-to-peer, superior-to-inferior, inferior-to-superior) influences the selection and frequency of use of different types of RQs. Using Stalnaker’s (2002) model of Common Ground and Caponigro and Sprouse’s (2007) concepts of Speaker’s and Addressee’s Beliefs, the author redefines the nature of the answers implied by RQs, claiming that they are imposed on the Addressee rather than mutually recognized as obvious. Based on the model of communication styles as defined by Yuan et al. (2018), RQs are classified into aggressive, friendly and sarcastic/ironical questions with imposed answers. The analysis of the corpus, which consisted of 275 RQs taken from ten American movie scripts, showed that friendly RQs are more common than the other two types, and that, in instances where one of the interlocutors is in a superior position, superior-to-inferior RQs are by far more common than vice versa. The finding that RQs asked by inferiors make up less than a third of RQs occurring between interlocutors with different social standing is in line with the view that answers to RQs are imposed on Addressees.

Types of Stressors on Nonprofessional Against-Suicide and Pro-Suicide Message Boards

Crisis ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 257-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Niederkrotenthaler ◽  
Benedikt Till
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Interpersonal Problems ◽  
Suicide Method ◽  
Presenting Problems ◽  
Message Boards ◽  
Safe Method ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Psychiatric Problems

Abstract. Background: Little is known about presenting problems of primary posters (i.e., posters opening the thread) and their responders in nonprofessional against-suicide and pro-suicide message boards. Aims: We aimed to compare problems described in suicide message boards between different types of users (primary posters and respondents) and between against-suicide, neutral, and pro-suicide message boards. Method: In all, 1,182 archival threads with 20,499 individual postings from seven nonprofessional suicide message boards supporting an against-suicide, neutral, or pro-suicide attitude were randomly selected. Problems mentioned by primary posters and their respondents were coded with content analysis. Differences between pro-suicide, neutral, and against suicide boards, as well as correlations between primary posters and respondents, were calculated. Results: Interpersonal problems were most frequently mentioned by primary posters in against-suicide threads (40.9%) and less frequently in pro-suicide threads (11.8%; p < .001). In pro-suicide boards, the most frequent stressors were suicide method-related (e.g., how to identify a safe method: 26.2% vs. 2.5% in against-suicide boards, p < .001). Primary posters resembled respondents in terms of presenting problems in pro-suicide boards, but not in against-suicide boards. Limitations: Only self-reported problems were assessed. Conclusion: The results confirm a stronger focus on death than on life among users in pro-suicide message boards, and posters with similar problems meet in pro-suicide boards. The posters appear to clearly emphasize social strains over psychiatric problems compared with some professional settings.

Embodied displacements in young German children’s storytelling

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 168-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivien Heller
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
Book Reading ◽  
Lexical Resources ◽  
Narrative Space ◽  
Multimodal Analysis ◽  
Different Types ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Picture Book Reading ◽  
The Given

This paper is concerned with embodied processes of joint imagination in young children’s narrative interactions. Based on Karl Bühler’s notion of ‘deixis in the imagination’, it examines in detail how a 19-month-old German-speaking child, engaged in picture book reading with his mother, brings about different subtypes of deixis in the imagination by either ‘displacing’ what is absent into the given order of perception (e.g. by using the hand as a token for an object) or displacing his origo to an imagined space (e.g. by kinaesthetically aligning his body with an imagined body and animating his movements). Drawing on multimodal analysis and the concept of layering in interaction, the study analyses the ways in which the picture book as well as deictic, depictive, vocal and lexical resources are coordinated to evoke a narrative space, co-enact the storybook character’s experiences and produce reciprocal affect displays. Findings demonstrate that different types of displacement are in play quite early in childhood; displacements in the dimension of space and person are produced through layerings of spaces, voices and bodies.

scholarly journals “Which mouse kissed the frog?” Effects of age of onset, length of exposure, and knowledge of case marking on the comprehension of wh-questions in German-speaking simultaneous and early sequential bilingual children

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 635-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNE DOROTHEE ROESCH ◽  
VASILIKI CHONDROGIANNI
Keyword(s):  
Age Of Onset ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Error Patterns ◽  
Case Marking ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
German Speaking

AbstractStudies examining age of onset (AoO) effects in childhood bilingualism have provided mixed results as to whether early sequential bilingual children (eL2) differ from simultaneous bilingual children (2L1) and L2 children on the acquisition of morphosyntax. Differences between the three groups have been attributed to other factors such as length of exposure (LoE), language abilities, and the phenomenon to be acquired. The present study investigates whether four- to five-year-old German-speaking eL2 children differ from 2L1 children on the acquisition of wh-questions, and whether these differences can be explained by AoO, LoE, and/or knowledge of case marking. The 2L1 children outperformed the eL2 children in terms of accuracy; however, both bilingual groups exhibited similar error patterns. This suggests that 2L1 and eL2 bilingual children are sensitive to the same morphosyntactic cues, when comprehending wh-questions. Finally, children's performance on the different types of wh-questions was explained by a combination of knowledge of case marking, LoE, and AoO.

Staging the Oriental Other: Imaginaries and performances of German-speaking cruise tourists

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela Gutberlet
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
Theme Park ◽  
Arabian Nights ◽  
Cultural Brokers ◽  
Different Types ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Marketing Material ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Gaining Insight

For German-speaking tourists, an Oriental market (in Arabic: souq) is an exotic place representing the ‘Otherness’. Referring to this Oriental context, the article aims to answer the following questions: What are the tourists’ imaginaries and social narratives and what is the role that cultural brokers play? Gaining insight into the imaginaries and on-site performances of German-speaking tourists of a mega-cruise liner will contribute to the discussion of imaginaries and embodied performances in general as well as the mediation and the construction of space. The research reported upon in the article is part of a larger field study (2012–2014) in Souq Muttrah, the oldest and formerly main market in Oman. Participant observation, photography and in-depth interviews with different types of tourists, local customers, cultural brokers and on-board employees were conducted and marketing material was analysed. Results indicate that in the marketing material, the tourists are already beginning to travel backwards in time. During their visit to the souq, the multi-sensory performances and embodied imaginaries are enhanced by stories of the Arabian Nights. Cultural brokers play an essential role in ‘localizing’ the tourist experience. They adjust their own identities and direct the tourists’ performances at different stages, similar to an Oriental theme park, for example, they stop at a frankincense shop.

scholarly journals Der Erwerb der Verbflexion durch thailändische Immigrantinnen in der Schweiz. Eine Bestandaufnahme.

2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Korakoch Attaviriyanupap
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Verb Morphology ◽  
Acquisition Process ◽  
Verb Inflection ◽  
Different Types ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Female Immigrants ◽  
Acquisition Order ◽  
Inflectional Morphemes

This article focuses on the acquisition of German verb inflection by native speakers of Thai, an isolated language which has no concept of inflection at all. The acquisition process of German verb morphology is analyzed based on all the verb inflectional affixes found in the corpus consisting of spontaneous utterances in Standard German produced by16 female immigrants living in German-speaking Switzerland. It aims to find out a systematic acquisition order of verb inflectional morphemes and the explanation to this sequence, especially to answer the following four questions: 1) What is the acquisition order of verb inflectional morphemes found in this group of informants 2) Are there any differences between the acquisition of finite and that of non-finite verbs? 3) Are there any differences in the verb morphology acquisition of different types of verbs? 4) Does the acquisition of verb inflection by these informants share more similiarities with the instructed or with the natural acquisition of German as a second language?

scholarly journals Syntaxic tools for creating the image of Ukraine in media space

2020 ◽  
pp. 71-85
Author(s):  
Olga Pliasun
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
The State ◽  
Negative Image ◽  
Image Construction ◽  
Mass Consciousness ◽  
Media Space ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Modern Mass ◽  
Rhetorical Questions ◽  
Positive State

The article analyzes syntactic potential of constructing the image of Ukraine in modern mass media. The author argues for the need to apply a comprehensive approach to the analysis of language tools of image construction. In particular, the scholar emphasizes the importance of exploring different types of image media texts that are the main carriers of image information about the country. The scientist’s attention is focused on the ambivalence of most image texts, which, depending on the author's intention, subjective interpretation of the information covered can have both a positive and a negative impact on the state image. The paper consistently proves that the features of constructing the image of Ukraine are most clearly revealed at the syntactic level, which is explained by the specific intonation of the phrase, the emotional-evaluative nature of the presentation of the material, etc. The image potential of different types of oppositions, where the first component forms a positive state image and the second component contributes to the formation of a negative image of Ukraine, is analyzed. Moreover, a highly productive syntactic tool for shaping the image of the country is syncrisis based on contextual opposition. Equally effective in the process of constructing the state image is the use of expressive syntax. Thus, in particular, the use of rhetorical exclamations in image media publications with meliorative meaning contributes to the construction of a positive state image. At the same time, rhetorical questions introduced into the image text often have pejorative semantics and thus form a negative image of Ukraine. In addition, effective syntactic means of creating state image in media are anepiphor, parceling and antiphrase statements that emphasize the author's attitude to the events described. The conducted research convinces that the syntactic system of language represents a wide palette of expression of author’s modality, subjective-evaluative interpretation of information and, as a result, the image of the state that is formed in the mass consciousness.

scholarly journals Photochemical treatments (UV/H2O2, UV/O3 and UV/H2O2/O3) and inverse osmosis in wastewater: Systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-240
Author(s):  
Angeles Amaro-Soriano ◽  
Fernando Hernández-Aldana ◽  
Antonio Rivera
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
English Language ◽  
Photochemical Processes ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Research Opportunity ◽  
Bodies Of Water ◽  
Short Times

Every year, the bodies of water receive millions of cubic meters of wastewater from municipal, industrial, agricultural or livestock discharges, treated in an inadequate way or without treatment. The objective of this study was to carry out a systematic review of the frequency of use and effectiveness of the main photochemical processes and the complementation with other treatments such as it is reverse osmosis, used in different types of wastewater effluents. We searched multiple electronic databases (2010-2021), using a stepwise searching approach, supplemented with hand searching. In vitro or in vivo English language publications, original studies, and reviews were included. The database was made up of a total of 100 articles that met the minimum selection criteria, of which 25 articles the maximum scores for analysis. These articles report the improvement in the elimination of pollutants when the treatments are used together and not individually, in relatively short times ranging from 30 minutes of radiation to 8 minutes of exposure to the treatments. Regarding the type of water that was treated, most of the articles report the decontamination of natural wastewater, that is, from the industry without treatment. The percentages calculated to identify research opportunities or gaps in relation to photochemical processes (UV/H2O2/O3). As proposed some authors, if any value of the percentage of pre-selected articles (PAA %) is less than the value of the percentage of failure (MAPAA %), a research opportunity is revealed not addressed by the literature. Based on the percentage results, it is observed that there are no gaps with respect to the photochemical processes or that there are possibly no updates reported in the literature yet.

scholarly journals Open Educational Resources - in Engineering Education, Case Study at UC/AGH, UB and ULBS

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-131
Author(s):  
Dan-Maniu Duşe ◽  
Ildikó Simó
Keyword(s):  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Educational Resources ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Open Education ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Chi Square Test

AbstractTo change the educational scene in the epoch of the digital generation there is the possibility of using Open Education (OE) and Open Educational Resources (OER). The term “open educational resources” refers to resources with free access to use, adaptation and redistribution. The objectives of the research are to determine the degree of knowledge and use of OER in three Engineering Universities in three countries (Poland, Hungary and Romania) and to find out whether there is a relationship between the institutions in terms of knowledge and use of OER. The measurement is made by applying the survey method on a sample of n = 192. As a tool we use the questionnaire with 15 questions structured in three chapters: knowledge of OER; using OER; opinions about OER. In this analysis we summarize: the presentation of the degree of familiarity with some OER-related concepts, the use of special search engines, the use of free software sources, the frequency of use of OER and opinions on different types of OER that could be exploited in the future. For the description of relationship between nominal variable we use contingency tables and diagrams and compare the frequency data with the Pearson Chi-square test.

scholarly journals Role of Premature Stop Codons in Bacterial Evolution

2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (20) ◽  
pp. 6718-6725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tit-Yee Wong ◽  
Sanjit Fernandes ◽  
Naby Sankhon ◽  
Patrick P. Leong ◽  
Jimmy Kuo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deinococcus Radiodurans ◽  
Stop Codon ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Gc Content ◽  
Limited Range ◽  
Bacterial Evolution ◽  
Stop Codons ◽  
Patterns Of Use ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Gc Contents

ABSTRACT When the stop codons TGA, TAA, and TAG are found in the second and third reading frames of a protein-encoding gene, they are considered premature stop codons (PSC). Deinococcus radiodurans disproportionately favored TGA more than the other two triplets as a PSC. The TGA triplet was also found more often in noncoding regions and as a stop codon, though the bias was less pronounced. We investigated this phenomenon in 72 bacterial species with widely differing chromosomal GC contents. Although TGA and TAG were compositionally similar, we found a great variation in use of TGA but a very limited range of use of TAG. The frequency of use of TGA in the gene sequences generally increased with the GC content of the chromosome, while the frequency of use of TAG, like that of TAA, was inversely proportional to the GC content of the chromosome. The patterns of use of TAA, TGA and TAG as real stop codons were less biased and less influenced by the GC content of the chromosome. Bacteria with higher chromosomal GC contents often contained fewer PSC trimers in their genes. Phylogenetically related bacteria often exhibited similar PSC ratios. In addition, metabolically versatile bacteria have significantly fewer PSC trimers in their genes. The bias toward TGA but against TAG as a PSC could not be explained either by the preferential usage of specific codons or by the GC contents of individual chromosomes. We proposed that the quantity and the quality of the PSC in the genome might be important in bacterial evolution.

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