East Tusom

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-196
Author(s):  
David R. Mortensen ◽  
Jordan Picone
Keyword(s):  
Special Interest ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
The Other ◽  
Semantic Field ◽  
Short Text ◽  
Small Set ◽  
Comparative Reconstruction

Abstract East Tusom is a Tibeto-Burman language of Manipur, India, belonging to the Tangkhulic group. While it shares some innovations with the other Tangkhulic languages, it differs markedly from “Standard Tangkhul” (which is based on the speech of Ukhrul town). Past documentation is limited to a small set of hastily transcribed forms in a comparative reconstruction of Tangkhulic rhymes (Mortensen & Miller 2013; Mortensen 2012). This paper presents the first substantial sketch of an aspect of the language: its (descriptive) phonetics and phonology. The data are based on recordings of an extensive wordlist (730 items) and one short text, all from one fluent native speaker in her mid-twenties. We present the phonetic inventory of East Tusom and a phonemicization, with exhaustive examples. We also present an overview of the major phonological patterns and generalizations in the language. Of special interest are a “placeless nasal” that is realized as nasalization on the preceding vowel unless it is followed by a consonant, and numerous plosive-fricative clusters (where the fricative is roughly homorganic with the following vowel) that have developed from historical aspirated plosives. A complete wordlist, organized by gloss and semantic field, is provided as appendices.

Syria-Palestine

2020 ◽  
pp. 52-67
Author(s):  
Adrian Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Special Interest ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
The Other ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Israelite Religion ◽  
Religious Significance ◽  
Ras Shamra

Knowledge of the religion of ancient Syria has increased significantly in recent years thanks to key archaeological discoveries. Particularly important have been those from Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit), which may offer the best window available for an understanding of Canaanite religious beliefs and practices. Excavations have revealed structures of religious significance, such as temples, sanctuaries, and tombs, as well as numerous texts. Of special interest are those mythological texts which tell the exploits of Baal, El, and the other great gods. There are also legends, sacrifice lists, pantheon lists, and prescriptions for various rituals. Some of these, notably the legends of Keret, and of Danel and his son Aqhat, provide evidence for beliefs about the religious status and significance of the king. This material enables a more considered understanding of ideas and practices that may have impacted upon Israelite religion.

Glottalization and linking in the L2 speech of Czech learners of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese

2021 ◽  
pp. 026765832110158
Author(s):  
Radek Skarnitzl ◽  
Petr Čermák ◽  
Pavel Šturm ◽  
Zora Obstová ◽  
Jan Hricsina
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression Model ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
Lexical Stress ◽  
The Other ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Romance Languages ◽  
Short Text ◽  
Sound Pattern ◽  
Frequent Use

The use of linking or glottalization contributes to the characteristic sound pattern of a language, and the use of one in place of the other may affect a speaker’s comprehensibility and fluency in certain contexts. In this study, native speakers of Czech, a language that is associated with a frequent use of glottalization in vowel-initial word onsets, are examined in the second language (L2) context of three Romance languages that predominantly employ linking between words (Spanish, Italian and Portuguese). In total, 29 native speakers and 51 non-native learners were asked to read a short text in the respective language. The learners were divided into two groups based on their experience with the target language. A number of other factors were examined in a mixed-effects logistic regression model (segmental context, lexical stress, prosodic breaks, and the semantic status of the words). The main results show that, regardless of the target language, the more experienced (ME) learners displayed significantly lower rates of glottalization than the less experienced (LE) learners, but significantly higher rates than native speakers. The pedagogical implications of the results are discussed.

scholarly journals Cayley Graphs Without a Bounded Eigenbasis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashwin Sah ◽  
Mehtaab Sawhney ◽  
Yufei Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Cayley Graph ◽  
Orthonormal Basis ◽  
Cayley Graphs ◽  
The Other ◽  
Transitive Graph ◽  
Classic Result ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Small Set ◽  
Vertex Transitive ◽  
Vertex Transitive Graph

Abstract Does every $n$-vertex Cayley graph have an orthonormal eigenbasis all of whose coordinates are $O(1/\sqrt{n})$? While the answer is yes for abelian groups, we show that it is no in general. On the other hand, we show that every $n$-vertex Cayley graph (and more generally, vertex-transitive graph) has an orthonormal basis whose coordinates are all $O(\sqrt{\log n / n})$, and that this bound is nearly best possible. Our investigation is motivated by a question of Assaf Naor, who proved that random abelian Cayley graphs are small-set expanders, extending a classic result of Alon–Roichman. His proof relies on the existence of a bounded eigenbasis for abelian Cayley graphs, which we now know cannot hold for general groups. On the other hand, we navigate around this obstruction and extend Naor’s result to nonabelian groups.

scholarly journals The transferability of handwriting skills: from the Cyrillic to the Latin alphabet

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thibault Asselborn ◽  
Wafa Johal ◽  
Bolat Tleubayev ◽  
Zhanel Zhexenova ◽  
Pierre Dillenbourg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Situation ◽  
Recent Change ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Skills Transfer ◽  
Short Text ◽  
Latin Script ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Cross Lingual

AbstractDo handwriting skills transfer when a child writes in two different scripts, such as the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets? Are our measures of handwriting skills intrinsically bound to one alphabet or will a child who faces handwriting difficulties in one script experience similar difficulties in the other script? To answer these questions, 190 children from grades 1–4 were asked to copy a short text using both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets on a digital tablet. A recent change of policy in Kazakhstan gave us an opportunity to measure transfer, as the Latin-based Kazakh alphabet has not yet been introduced. Therefore, pupils in grade 1 had a 6-months experience in Cyrillic, and pupils in grades 2, 3, and 4 had 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5 years of experience in Cyrillic, respectively. This unique situation created a quasi-experimental situation that allowed us to measure the influence of the number of years spent practicing Cyrillic on the quality of handwriting in the Latin alphabet. The results showed that some of the differences between the two scripts were constant across all grades. These differences thus reflect the intrinsic differences in the handwriting dynamics between the two alphabets. For instance, several features related to the pen pressure on the tablet are quite different. Other features, however, revealed decreasing differences between the two scripts across grades. While we found that the quality of Cyrillic writing increased from grades 1–4, due to increased practice, we also found that the quality of the Latin writing increased as well, despite the fact that all of the pupils had the same absence of experience in writing in Latin. We can therefore interpret this improvement in Latin script as an indicator of the transfer of fine motor control skills from Cyrillic to Latin. This result is especially surprising given that one could instead hypothesize a negative transfer, i.e., that the finger controls automated for one alphabet would interfere with those required by the other alphabet. One interesting side-effect of these findings is that the algorithms that we developed for the diagnosis of handwriting difficulties among French-speaking children could be relevant for other alphabets, paving the way for the creation of a cross-lingual model for the detection of handwriting difficulties.

Euro-English: A Swedish perspective

English Today ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Modiano
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
The Other ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
European Continent

This survey considers the emergence of English as a language shared across the European Union in particular and the European continent at large, and together with its distinctive ‘lingua franca’ dimension among the mainland European nations. It considers in particular the situation of ‘non-native speakers’ who regularly use the language as well as the concept of a ‘Euro-English’ in general and the Swedish, ‘Swenglish’ and English relationship on the other. It concludes by considering the liberation of non-native users from ‘the beginning of native-speaker norms’.

scholarly journals Observations upon the Natural History of Epidemic Diarrhoea

1910 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 602-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. H. Peters
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Special Interest ◽  
Health Department ◽  
The Other ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Town ◽  
Made In

The following observations upon the Natural History of Epidemic Diarrhoea were made in Mansfield during the summer and autumn of 1908. The fact that at the time the writer was engaged in preparing a paper—to which the present paper is to some extent complementary—upon the epidemiological relations of season and disease, lent special interest to the enquiries regularly made from the Health Department of this town into the circumstances attending fatal attacks of diarrhoea. Early in the season a more than usually extensive enquiry was made into one of these fatal attacks in an area where an outbreak of diarrhoea appeared to be spreading outwards from a group of old privy-middens. To test how far the condemnation of the latter was justifiable another area was taken on the other side of the town, where the houses were newly built and provided exclusively with water-closets; and records, collected by house-to-house visitation, were obtained of all cases of epidemic diarrhoea, whether non-fatal or otherwise, occurring in these localities. The enquiries thus begun were afterwards extended so as to embrace two fairly large districts, a chance of doing this being provided by the opportune postponement of the addition to the department of certain work of inspection which had been impending at the beginning of the summer. These districts were several times revisited and scattered observations were also made throughout the other parts of the town. During 1909, while there was no opportunity of making extended observations, there were valuable opportunities during the course of the routine inspections of the summer of testing and re-testing the principal results obtained during 1908.

Significance of analysis of the mechanism of fingermarks formation, sizes and location – casework examples

2018 ◽  
Vol 301 ◽  
pp. 44-52
Author(s):  
Tomasz Kowalski ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Special Interest ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fatal Accident ◽  
Preliminary Stage ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Expert Opinions ◽  
First Case ◽  
Initial Stage

The aim of the article to present the role of analysing the manner of generating fingermarks in the investigative proceedings. These examinations are based on the analysis of the location of the marks on a given background and aim at providing the requesting party additional information about the circumstances of the investigated incident. The Author refers to two unusual cases, in which Voivodeship Police Command Forensic Laboratory issued expert opinions in the area of fingerprint identification. In the first case, at the initial stage of the proceedings the circumstances and recovered evidential fingermarks indicated a fatal accident or manslaughter by means of a firearm. In the other case at the preliminary stage recovered evidence did not allow identification of the perpetrator due to incorrectly selected exhibits. These cases would not be off special interest to us without the significant role of proper recovering of fingermarks and their analysis in a broader context than just identification.

scholarly journals Measurement for accentedness, pause frequency/duration and nuclear stress placement in the EFL classroom

2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-200
Author(s):  
Pedro Luis Luchini
Keyword(s):  
Multivariate Analysis ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
The Other ◽  
Speaking Test ◽  
Phonological Form ◽  
Group B ◽  
English Native Speaker ◽  
Teacher Centered ◽  
Stress Placement

This study reports on an experimental research carried out with 50 Spanish-L1 trainees, divided into 2 groups: A & B. Both groups were presented with a traditional-teacher centered approach based on controlled exercises (repetition, imitation), but group B added a communicative component in which students completed a battery of sequenced tasks with a focus on phonological form. Both groups recorded a speaking test before & after instruction which was used to measure and compare degrees of accentedness, frequency & duration of pauses and nuclear stress placement. Ten English-native-speaker-raters judged the recordings to determine the speakers’ degree of perceived accentedness. Two specialists, using inter-marker reliability, segmented the transcriptions of recordings and identified nuclear stress placement. Another two specialists identified empty pauses. Multivariate analysis was used to measure results. Overall, group B (learners exposed to the communicative component) obtained better results in all 3 parameters than the other group. Finally, some pedagogical implications for the teaching of L2 pronunciation in ELT contexts will be discussed. 

Towards the explication of the universals of the Russian language personality on the model of the associative-verbal network

2021 ◽  
pp. 314-329
Author(s):  
Irina V. Shaposhnikova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Russian Language ◽  
The Other ◽  
Semantic Field ◽  
Narrow Sense ◽  
Regional Variability ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
Gradual Accumulation ◽  
Verbal Processes ◽  
The One ◽  
The Russian Language

The study of the universals of the Russian language personality on the model of the associative-verbal network (AVN) proceeds from ontological and epistemological aspects. Ontologically the AVN “inherits” a number of functional properties from the human cognitome hypernetwork. Along with the dissipation of grammar and stochastic formation of the vectors of associative dominants, they can be attributed to universals in the narrow sense of the word (ultimately due to the evolutionary biological specifics of the species). On the one hand, the dissipated character of grammar in the AVN and stochasticity of the emergence of meaningful vectors impose epistemological restrictions on the methods used to study the AVN phenomena. On the other hand, the gradual accumulation of the new Russian corpora of verbal associations opens a window of research perspectives for studying culturally imposed universals of the Russian language personality in current diachrony with reference to ethno-social and regional variability. The formalization of associative-verbal processes is associated with methods of explicating grammar (dissipated in AVN) and its role in the emergent meaning-formation. The author’s techniques of working with the AVN of the Russian language personality on the latest experimental materials (the database SIBAS and its subcorpora) are aimed at explicating the associative profiles of lexico-grammatical phenomena and their relevance for the analysis of the universals in a broad sense of the term, the associative dominants creating a unified but dynamic with their fluctuations semantic field of the personality’s verbal culture.

scholarly journals The Effectiveness of Multimedia Application on Students Listening Comprehension

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 212
Author(s):  
Tagor Pangaribuan ◽  
Andromeda Sinaga ◽  
Kammer Tuahman Sipayung
Keyword(s):  
Research Design ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
T Test ◽  
Degree Of Freedom ◽  
The Other ◽  
Multimedia Application ◽  
Complex Skill ◽  
Optional Instrument ◽  
Academic Year

Listening comprehension is a complex skill particulaly in mastered by non-native speaker settings. This researchaimed atfinding out the effect of multimedia application on students’ listening. The research design is experimental, with a t-test. The population is the sixth semester of HKBP Nommensen University at the academic year of 2016/2017, six classes of listening comprehension, 3 classes for experiemnts and the other for control, each class of 20 students. The findings states that the Tcount = 14.68 > Ttable = 2.02 in α significance 0.05 and degree of freedom 38. It means that, multimedia aplication is effective than conventinal media. Multimeadi in this study can be used by other lecturer or teacher as the optional instrument in teaching listening comprehension.

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