Vowel system or vowel systems?

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-292
Author(s):  
Wilkinson Daniel Wong Gonzales ◽  
Rebecca Lurie Starr

Abstract The Manila variety of Philippine Hybrid Hokkien (PHH-M) or Lánnang-uè is a contact language used by the metropolitan Manila Chinese Filipinos; it is primarily comprised of Hokkien, Tagalog/Filipino, and English elements. Approaching PHH-M as a mixed language, we investigate linguistically and socially conditioned variation in the monophthongs of PHH-M, focusing on the extent to which the vowel systems of the three source languages have converged. This analysis draws on data gathered from 34 native speakers; Pillai scores are calculated to assess the degree of merger. Contrary to certain predictions of prior work on mixed languages, PHH-M is found to have a unified, eight-vowel inventory distinct from any of its sources. Older women use more stable vowels across source languages, suggesting that they have led in the development of PHH-M as a mixed code; however, signs of change among younger women suggest either the endangerment of the code or its evolution in response to the community’s shifting identity. We contextualize our conclusions in relation to the sociohistory and language ecology of metropolitan Manila’s Chinese Filipino community.

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-183
Author(s):  
Robert A. Papen

Valdman et al. (2005) claims there exist two mixed languages involving French in North America: Michif – a blend of French and Cree – and Chiac – a blend of French and English. The purpose of this article is to compare the sociolinguistic history as well as the linguistic structures of these two linguistic entities in order to show that even though there are a number of interesting similarities between the two, their histories, and more importantly their structures, show that Michif and Chiac are not to be considered as belonging to the same linguistic class. Michif is a true Bilingual Mixed Language (Thomason, 1997) while Chiac has not yet attained the status of an independent language and should more rightly be considered as a “fossilized mixed code” (Winford, 2003).


2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-44
Author(s):  
Joske Piepers ◽  
Ad Backus ◽  
Jos Swanenberg

Abstract In this paper, we report on a study of gender reference in Limburgian, specifically the use of the neuter subject pronoun het ‘she’ (lit. ‘it’) to refer to a female referent. This pronoun is used in addition to the feminine pronoun ze ‘she’. We investigate the role of the referent’s social and grammatical characteristics in the variation between grammatically feminine and ‘non-feminine’ (nf; i.e., neuter and masculine) pronouns in two experiments. First, we test the effect of a referent’s age in a language production study, in which 41 native speakers participated. The results of this study indicate that speakers use het more often to refer to younger than to older women. Second, we use an acceptability judgment task (N = 72) to assess whether the preference for non-feminine pronouns for younger women might be explained by grammatical agreement with non-feminine antecedent nouns (e.g., grammatically neuter maedje ‘girl’). The results indicate that this is not the case: het is preferred as a pronoun for younger but not older women, regardless of an antecedent noun’s grammatical gender. We conclude that the variation in pronoun gender in Limburgian is a socio-pragmatic phenomenon, and we offer suggestions for future research in this area.


Author(s):  
Kaitlyn Roche ◽  
Catherine Racowsky ◽  
Joyce Harper

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the use of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) and live birth rates (LBR) in the USA from 2014 to 2017 and to understand how PGT is being used at a clinic and state level. Methods This study accessed SART data for 2014 to 2017 to determine LBR and the CDC for years 2016 and 2017 to identify PGT usage. Primary cycles included only the first embryo transfer within 1 year of an oocyte retrieval; subsequent cycles included transfers occurring after the first transfer or beyond 1 year of oocyte retrieval. Results In the SART data, the number of primary PGT cycles showed a significant monotonic annual increase from 18,805 in 2014 to 54,442 in 2017 (P = 0.042) and subsequent PGT cycles in these years increased from 2946 to 14,361 (P = 0.01). There was a significant difference in primary PGT cycle use by age, where younger women had a greater percentage of PGT treatment cycles than older women. In both PGT and non-PGT cycles, the LBR per oocyte retrieval decreased significantly from 2014 to 2017 (P<0001) and younger women had a significantly higher LBR per oocyte retrieval compared to older women (P < 0.001). The CDC data revealed that in 2016, just 53 (11.4%) clinics used PGT for more than 50% of their cycles, which increased to 99 (21.4%) clinics in 2017 (P< 0.001). Conclusions A growing number of US clinics are offering PGT to their patients. These findings support re-evaluation of the application for PGT.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holli A. DeVon ◽  
Karen Vuckovic ◽  
Larisa A. Burke ◽  
Sahereh Mirzaei ◽  
Katherine Breen ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bart Jacobs

This paper takes as a point of departure the hypothesis that Papiamentu descends from Upper Guinea Portuguese Creole (a term covering the sister varieties of the Cape Verde Islands and Guinea-Bissau and Casamance), speakers of which arrived on Curaçao in the second half of the 17th century, subsequently shifted their basic content vocabulary towards Spanish, but maintained the original morphosyntax. This scenario raises the question of whether, in addition to being a creole, Papiamentu can be analyzed as a so-called mixed (or intertwined) language. The present paper positively answers this question by drawing parallels between (the emergence of) Papiamentu and recognized mixed languages.


1983 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 1007-1010
Author(s):  
Aghop Der-Karabetian ◽  
Eric Rico

The study tested the relationship of reported intimacy and dominance gestures by women in a corporate setting. The effect of age and marital status was also examined. The reported frequencies of the two types of gestures were uncorrelated ( r = .28). However, dominance was reported more frequently ( M = 9.85, SD = 1.8) than sexual intimacy ( M = 5.76, SD = 3.1). The 34 younger women reported more dominance and less sexual intimacy than the 48 older women. Single persons reported being targets of more dominance gestures than the married, but the younger women reported less sexual intimacy. Possible explanations for the findings are discussed.


1975 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. V Zodgekar

SummaryAn analysis of Maori fertility shows that a transition from a high to a low level has begun. The crude birth rate has declined by nearly 28% during the period 1961–72; only a small part of this decline can be attributed to changes in the age–sex and marital status composition.A substantial decline in the fertility of older women has been observed and there are indications of the beginning of a major decline in the fertility of younger women. Since women aged 30–49 still account for 30% of total fertility there is enough potential for a further fertility decline in the later child-bearing years.Age patterns of fertility decline suggest that inter-marriage between Pakehas and Maoris is not a prime cause of the recent fertility decline. The factors which are thought to be responsible for this change in Maori fertility are rapid urbanization, a low level of infant mortality and an increase in the overall level of education.A further decline in Maori fertility will depend on the continuation of the tendency in fertility among the younger women.


2021 ◽  
pp. 15-17
Author(s):  
B Ramkumar ◽  
Srigopal Mohanty ◽  
Kiranmayee Narapaneni ◽  
Amit Saklani ◽  
J Kannan

Background: Cervical cancer in young women is rare and disparity exists in its characteristics in the available reports. The study aimed to determine the disease burden and to compare its clinicopathological characteristics with older women. Materials and methods: Retrospective study was performed by retrieving data from the cancer registry for consecutive 843 cervical cancer patients treated in the center between 2017 and 2020. Patients were divided into younger (<40 years) and older (≥ 40 years) age. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 23 for windows. Chi square test was used for analyzing the categorical variables and P < 0.05 was considered signicant. Results: Cervical cancer in young women constituted 9.4%, with majority (96.2%) belonged to 30-39 years age. Higher prevalence of human immunodeciency virus (HIV) was found among younger compared to older women (P = 0.000). Younger women commonly presented late compared to older women (patients presented after 4 months are 49.4% vs. 18.8% respectively, P=0.000). Squamous cell carcinoma was commonest histology in both the groups and no difference in histology pattern between the two groups. Younger women had higher rate of bulky tumor (>4cm) compared to older (62.2% vs. 44.4%, P = 0.023). Conclusion: Delayed and advanced stage of presentation of cervical cancer in younger women in this region of India warrants promotion of health education, knowledge translation, regular cervical cancer screening for its prevention and early detection


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 667-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Sanders ◽  
Rosalind Shorrocks

The 2010–2015 Conservative-led Coalition’s austerity policies hit women financially harder than men. However, contrary to expectations at the time, the Conservatives still gained more support from women than men on average in the 2015 general election. We examine the impact of austerity on vote choice in the 2015 and 2017 general elections through analysis of Labour and Conservative economic policy in conjunction with data from the British Election Study’s face-to-face post-election surveys. The expectation that women should be particularly anti-austerity and thus less supportive of the Conservative Party does hold for younger women, who were especially pessimistic relative to their male peers and older age groups about their living costs, household finances, the economy, and the National Health Service in both elections. However, this does not hold for older women, who were protected by the Coalition’s policies on pensions and were more similar to men in their assessment of their economic situation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document