Attention marker =ɕo in Denjongke (Sikkimese Bhutia)

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha Yliniemi
Keyword(s):  
Contextual Factors ◽  
The Other ◽  
Parts Of Speech ◽  
Contrastive Focus ◽  
Other Hand

This paper describes the attention marker =ɕo in Denjongke, a Tibetic language spoken in Sikkim, India. The presence of the attention marker, which may be either speaker or addressee-oriented, indicates that something is brought to the forefront of the speaker’s or the addressee’s attention. The attention marker =ɕo occurs in declarative uses postposed to a verb, and in interrogative uses postposed to other parts of speech (verbless uses). The attention in verbal uses, which resemble the notion “mirativity”, is either speaker or addressee-oriented, whereas verbless uses, which resemble the notion “contrastive focus”, are always addressee-oriented. When occurring with copulas, the function of =ɕo as either speaker or addressee-oriented is partly dependent on the evidentiality of the copulas. With other verbs, the orientation of =ɕo is dependent on other contextual factors. After describing the verbal and verbless uses of =ɕo, the article concludes by showing why the categories focus and mirativity are problematic for describing =ɕo. Existing definitions of mirativity by DeLancey (1997), Peterson (2013), Dickinson (2000), Hyslop (2011b), Hengeveld & Olbertz (2012) and Aikhenvald (2012) are shown to fail to accommodate the range of uses of =ɕo. The concept of attention, on the other hand, not only describes the Denjongke data more comprehensively but also helps understand the interface between mirative-like and focus-like phenomena. The last section illustrates the similarity of =ɕo to exclusively addressee-oriented morphemes in Nepali, Japanese (Davis 2011) and Ingush (Nichols 2011), suggesting that the concept of attention may prove useful for describing exclusively addressee-oriented phenomena, which have rarely been associated with “mirativity”.

Discourse-structuring functions of initial adverbials in English and Norwegian news and fiction

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilde Hasselgård
Keyword(s):  
Information Management ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
The Other ◽  
Lower Degree ◽  
Corpus Study ◽  
Contrastive Focus ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
New Information ◽  
Initial Placement ◽  
Discourse Functions

This paper explores the discourse-structuring functions of initial adverbial adjuncts in English and Norwegian news and fiction. Such discourse functions have to do with discourse linking and information management. The corpus study reveals frequency differences in the use of initial adjuncts across the languages, which are to some extent connected with an overall greater frequency of adjuncts in Norwegian. While initial adjuncts in fiction often signal cohesive relations, those in news are more typically due to backgrounding of less important information or to framing/scene-setting for the clause message. Norwegian initial adjuncts are even less likely than English ones to convey new information; on the other hand, initial position is to a lesser extent associated with contrastive focus in Norwegian. This, together with the higher frequency of initial adjuncts in Norwegian, suggests that initial placement of adjuncts carries a lower degree of markedness in Norwegian than in English.

scholarly journals Why is L1 not easy to hear?

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Shinobu Mizuguchi ◽  
Koichi Tateishi
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
The Other ◽  
Contrastive Focus ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Pitch Contours ◽  
Fmri Experiment ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Brain

We naively believe that L1 is easier to hear than L2. Generally, this belief is correct, but not always. Japanese contrastive focus is more challenging to identify than English focus even for L1 speakers.  To account for why Japanese is hard to perceive, we first conducted production and perception experiments, to understand linguistic mechanisms.  We found that Japanese lacks a part of focus effects and is an acoustically weak language contra previous studies. English, on the other hand, is an acoustically strong language and uses the F0 feature as a focus cue. We then conducted an fMRI experiment to see whether or not linguistic mechanisms for them are implemented in the brain. We found that we employ different neural networks to process English and Japanese; the right dorsolateral frontal cortex is activated to process Japanese CF, but not English CF. Japanese is a pitch language and requires processing both lexical accents and pitch contours. English, on the other hand, needs to process lexical accent only, and it activates left superior temporal gyrus, insular, and supramargical regions, but not right dorsolateral frontal cortex. We conclude that processing burdens lead to perception difficulty, even for L1 Japanese speakers.

scholarly journals Associative relations of Serbian adjectives in the free association verbal test

2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-200
Author(s):  
Milena Jakic-Simsic
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Free Association ◽  
The Other ◽  
Association Tests ◽  
Parts Of Speech ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Associative Relation ◽  
Different Ages ◽  
Verbal Test ◽  
Quantitative Results

Previous research on the associative relations of adjectives is not unanimous in terms of whether participants more often respond by using nouns or adjectives in free association tests. On the other hand, when it comes to paradigmatic associative relationships, researchers agree that native speakers respond to adjective stimuli mostly by associations of opposite meaning, but generally do not state the percentage, since conclusions are often made on the basis of the dominant associate, and not upon the entire associative field. Therefore, 45 associative fields of adjectives of the Serbian language are analyzed based on the material obtained from two associative dictionaries, prepared on the basis of the responses of 800 participants (ranging from 18 to 25 years of age) and 1,200 participants of different ages (groups of 5, 9, 13 and 17 years of age, each of which comprised 300 participants). The aim of this study is to examine the ratio of syntagmatic and paradigmatic associations of adjectives, as well as the paradigmatic type of relation between the adjective-type stimuli and their associates (the closeness and the oppositeness of meaning and other types of associative relations). The material was annotated according to parts of speech, as well as according to the types of associative relations. The quantitative results showed that the associations of examined adjectives are slightly more frequently syntagmatic (52%) than paradigmatic (44%), while the oppositeness of meaning proved to be the most common as well as the strongest associative relation of commonly used adjectives of the Serbian language.

scholarly journals Statystyka pojęć z kręgu znaczeniowego wojny w edukacyjnych materiałach pomocniczych dla maturzystów

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 81-90
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Rudziński
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
The Other ◽  
School Students ◽  
Parts Of Speech ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Supporting Materials ◽  
Hapax Legomena

Supporting materials on Polish history for graduates have been examined from the statistic side. Counting was not the individual parts of speech, but the word-forming bases of autosemantic words. In the material studied, relatively high frequency of concepts connected with the phenomenon of war was observed. Common concepts are war, fighting, army. On the other hand, related to the notion of war, rare words form long lists in the layer of hapax legomena. It allows to interpret some historical narrations intended for high school students as focused on the phenomenon of war.

scholarly journals MORPHOSYNTACTIC INTERFERENCE IN THE UDMURT-RUSSIAN BILINGUALISM

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 380-389
Author(s):  
Zsuzsanna Salanki ◽  
Natalia Vladimirovna Kondratieva
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Influence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Parts Of Speech ◽  
Communicative Functions ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
Distributive Properties ◽  
Different Levels

The article deals with the morphosyntactic interference in the Udmurt-Russian bilingualism, which is the result of interaction between structures and structural elements of these languages throughout centuries long contacts. On the one hand, interference increases the number of the communicative functions of Udmurt; on the other hand, it narrows the distributive properties of certain linguistic phenomena with different degrees of interference in different levels as a result of interaction and mutual influence. Like in other languages, in the Udmurt-Russian bilingualism there is more interference in lexis whereas interference in grammar (morphology and syntax) is less. The article focuses on the adaptation of the bases of notional parts of speech (verbs, nouns, adjectives, numerals) to the grammar of Udmurt and zero transmorphologization in the speech of Udmurt. In terms of syntactic interference, the following transformations are singled out: 1) minus-segmentation, i. e. the number of elements in the recipient language reduces due to the influence of corresponding models in the donor language; 2) plus-segmentation, i.e. the number of elements in the recipient language increases due to the influence of the distributive rules of the donor language; 3) replacing, i.e. the elements of the recipient language are rearranged under the influence of the rules of the donor language.

scholarly journals Interpretation of Wills - Does Endumeni Case Apply?

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Fareed Moosa
Keyword(s):  
Pension Fund ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
The Other ◽  
Modern Trend ◽  
Written Text ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Law ◽  
Interpretive Process ◽  
Last Will And Testament

This article argues that the general approach to documentary interpretation articulated in Natal Joint Municipal Pension Fund v Endumeni Municipality 2012 4 SA 593 (SCA) (Endumeni) applies also to the interpretation of wills, subject to adaptation for context. It is argued that interpretation of wills and the application of an interpretation to a particular factual setting are coequal tasks. Each case must be decided on its own facts. The cardinal rule is the ascertainment of a testator's intention and giving effect thereto, provided that this will not bring about a violation of the law. It is argued that a court must put itself in the armchair of the testator and, after determining where the probabilities lie, it must infer or presume what the testator had in mind at the time that the will was created. Although intention is subjective, the interpretive process to determine a testator's intention is objective in form. It is argued that a court must, in every instance, understand the purpose for which it seeks to determine a testator's intention. This is so that it can undertake the correct enquiry. If the aim is to determine the meaning of a testamentary provision, then a testator's intention must be ascertained as memorialised in the written text of the will read as a whole, taking into account also the purpose of the text and its context. If, on the other hand, the aim is to determine whether a document is a testator's intended last will and testament, as is the case when section 2(3) of the Wills Act 7 of 1953 is invoked, then a testator's intention must be ascertained with reference to the document's purpose, taking also into account all legally relevant and admissible internal and external contextual factors. It is argued that all this is, as confirmed in Endumeni, consistent with the modern trend favouring an objective, purposive, contextual cum teleological mode of documentary interpretation.

Similarity of mirative and contrastive focus: three parameters for describing attention markers

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha Yliniemi
Keyword(s):  
Joint Attention ◽  
Knowledge Structure ◽  
The Other ◽  
Functional Domain ◽  
Contrastive Focus ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Two Parameters

Abstract This article addresses the heretofore unacknowledged similarity of mirative-like and contrastive-focus-like functions by describing data from Denjongke (Tibetic, sip), Bih (Chamic, Vietnam, ibh) and Nepali (Indo-Aryan, nep). The similarity between mirative-like and contrastive-focus-like functions in the aforementioned languages is captured by the notion of something being brought to the forefront of attention. Mirative-like semantics are shown to be epiphenomenal to attention-oriented phenomena, and the functional domain in which the morphemes operate is shown to be attention rather than knowledge structure. The morphemes in the study are described in terms of three parameters, which are put forward as potentially useful tools for describing similar morphemes in other languages: speaker versus addressee orientation, clausal versus phrasal scope, and anaphoric versus cataphoric use. The first two parameters form a fourfold table in which the heuristically named “mirative-like function” has clausal scope and is speaker-oriented (i.e. speaker signals that something has come to the forefront of their attention). “Contrastive-focus-like function”, on the other hand, has phrasal scope and is addressee-oriented (i.e. speaker intends to bring something to the forefront of the addressee’s attention). Cognitively, contrastive-focus-like function is shown to establish joint attention.

scholarly journals CONTEXTO FAMILIAR E IMPLICACIÓN EN EL ÁMBITO FÍSICO-DEPORTIVO DURANTE LA ADOLESCENCIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorena Revuelta ◽  
Guillermo Infante ◽  
Inge Axpe
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Family Support ◽  
Parental Support ◽  
Parental Influence ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Personal Adjustment ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Sport Activities

Abstract.FAMILY CONTEXT AND INVOLVEMENT IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DURING ADOLESCENCEAmong the contextual factors that mediate in youth’s well-being and personal adjustment, parental influence is one of the most studied. In this research we focus on the effects that parental support has in youth’s engagement in physical and sport activities, which improves adolescents’ well-being and personal adjustment. Participants were 169 adolescents between 11 – 19 years old (M = 14.22; SD = 1.52) and their families. Results show that parental support (both from parents and mothers) has a stronger effect in daughters. On the other hand, mothers’ support reveals a stronger effect both in sons and daughters engagement.Key words: family support, physical and sport activities, parental support, adolescents’ engagementResumen.Entre las variables contextuales que median sobre el ajuste y bienestar juvenil, la influencia parental es una de las más estudiadas. Este trabajo investiga el apoyo parental sobre la implicación en actividades físico-deportivas (AFD) de los hijos/as, clave para potenciar su bienestar y ajuste personal. Participan 169 familias con hijos de entre 11 – 19 años (M = 14.22; DT = 1.52). Los resultados muestran que el apoyo tanto de padres como de madres incide en mayor manera sobre las hijas. Se observa también que la influencia materna tiene un mayor efecto que la paterna tanto sobre la implicación de los hijos como de las hijas.Palabras clave: apoyo familiar, actividad físico-deportiva, influencia parental, implicación adolescente

scholarly journals The Diminutive in English and Arabic: A Comparative study

2017 ◽  
Vol 223 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Dr. Ghanim J. Idan Al- Sieedy
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Parts Of Speech ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Common ◽  
Conclusion Section ◽  
Rules And Exceptions ◽  
The Way

       Carrying out comparative studies may pave the way for knowing some universal facts about human language and the common characteristics the compared languages have. The present study tackled one phenomenon of language, the diminutive, which was seen common both to English and Arabic. In English, the diminutive usually shows that something is small and it is either used literally or metaphorically. In Arabic, on the other hand, such meanings are also to be noticed together with the idea that the diminutive mainly means shortening. The paper was divided into three sections and a conclusion. Section one dealt with the diminutive in English giving a definition, talking about the formation of the diminutive, showing the relation between the diminutive and phonology, the diminutive and productivity, the diminutive and borrowing, the diminutive and other languages and afterwards the relation between the diminutive and pragmatics. Section two, on the other hand, was concerned with the diminutive in Arabic where a definition was also given, the functions the diminutive achieve, the conditions for forming the diminutive, the prosodic measures the diminutive follows and the rules and exceptions it follows. Section three was a comparison between the diminutive in English and Arabic. The study ended with mentioning some conclusions the study came out with. It was seen that the two languages differed on the phonological level, some differences were noticed as regards the parts of speech and functions the diminutive perform in each of the two languages.

scholarly journals Adverbs in Contrast – Criteria for Distinguishing from Other Parts of Speech

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (22) ◽  
pp. 13-29
Author(s):  
Bozinka Petronijevic
Keyword(s):  
Word Formation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Parts Of Speech ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Prepositional Phrases ◽  
Part Of Speech ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Universal Category ◽  
Opposite Situation ◽  
Formation Systems

This paper attempts at examining and determining, using the vast corpus of Serbian and German languages, whether the part of speech in question exists as such in each of these languages, as well as whether it (adverb) is a universal or specific language category. The research shows that most languages recognise the adverb as a distinctive part of speech, which implies that it is a universal category that can be defined according to the following criteria: a) morphological (adverbs have no flexions, but they undergo comparison with regard to the relative subclass) and syntactic (conditioned by verbs as nucleus, assuming in most cases the function of adverbials as verb complements; b) rare attributive function before nouns and adverbs themselves; c) differences between specific languages, German and Serbian included, are a result of their respective word formation systems. In this particular case, each of the two languages recognises relatively few simple words (simplizia); on the other hand, the explicit (suffixational) derivation is largely productive in Serbian, whereas there is a completely opposite situation in German concerning this issue (although the process is recorded in the latter as well); and, finally, adverb derivatives in Serbian correspond, as a rule, to adjectives and prepositional phrases functioning as adverbials in German.

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