Discourse

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Poesio
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Hierarchy Theory ◽  
Discourse Representation Theory ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Discourse Model ◽  
Relational Coherence ◽  
Basic Facts ◽  
The Right ◽  
Intentional Structure

Discourse is the area of linguistics concerned with the aspects of language use that go beyond the sentence—and in particular, with the study of coherence and salience. In this chapter we present a few key theories of these phenomena. We distinguish between two main types of coherence: entity coherence, primarily established through anaphora; and relational coherence, expressed through connectives and other relational devices. Our discussion of anaphora and entity coherence covers the basic facts about anaphoric reference and introduces the dynamic approach to the semantics of anaphora implemented in theories such as Discourse Representation Theory, based on the notion of discourse model and its updates. With regards to relational coherence, we review some of the main claims about the relational structure of discourse—such as the claim that coherent discourses have a tree structure, or the right frontier hypothesis—and four main theoretical approaches: Rhetorical Structure Theory, Grosz and Sidner’s intentional structure theory, the inference-based approach developed by Hobbs and expanded in Segmented DRT, and the connective-based account. Finally we cover theories of local and global salience and its effects, including Gundel’s Activation Hierarchy theory and Grosz and Sidner’s theory of the local and global focus.

scholarly journals Words That Go Together: Teaching Collocations in the EFL Classroom

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-118
Author(s):  
Tünde Nagy
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Learning Materials ◽  
Everyday Language ◽  
Special Regard ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
The Right ◽  
Constituent Elements

Abstract Using the right collocations in a foreign language is often a challenge for language learners who may not be familiar with their use and characteristics. After presenting the types of collocations and the importance they have in the acquisition of a foreign language, the paper draws attention to the necessity of raising students’ awareness of collocations, and at the same time it reflects on possible ways of teaching them. Focusing especially on verb-noun collocations, the paper examines the learning materials used in the EFL classes at Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, Miercurea Ciuc, with special regard to the exercises on these constructions. In line with construction grammar theories (Goldberg 1995, 1997, 2006), it is assumed that collocations are to be treated as constructions, pairings of form and meaning, including patterns with different degrees of predictability. Collocations, consisting of both predictable (e. g. read a book, blue sky) and non-predictable forms (e. g. run a program, safe and sound) can be more easily remembered if regarded as constructions where all the constituent elements contribute to the meaning of the construction as a whole (but whose meaning is more than the sum of the constituent elements). In order to gain a better understanding of collocations, the use of electronic corpora and electronic databases as well as additional materials on collocations that would complement the language materials used in class is highly encouraged. By making use of these resources, students can see examples of everyday language use and become more aware of the use of collocations as well as the similarities and differences between them in different languages.

‘Smelling’ diasporic: bargaining interactions and the problem of politeness

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Family Member ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Not Given ◽  
Linguistic Practice ◽  
Communicative Skills ◽  
Mobile Populations ◽  
Religious Speech ◽  
The Right ◽  
Tension Analysis

Abstract While post-migrant generation Moroccans from Europe often are able to converse competently enough in Moroccan languages to bargain in shops during visits to Morocco, many report that they are not given the ‘local’, ‘right’ prices because they are ‘smelled’ as outsiders. During fieldwork following these diasporic visitors in Morocco, several participants strategically shopped for goods with a ‘local’ friend or family member who might negotiate on their behalf for the ‘right’ price. This strategy was seen as a way to circumvent or ameliorate the ways the diasporic client might be negatively categorized as an outsider, especially in terms of his or her language use. Yet, examining these events in recorded detail indicates that diasporic clients are often bargaining for themselves as competent speakers, but are sometimes not able to skillfully bargain politely. In these moments, proxy bargainers intervene when debate and tension increases during bargaining and diasporic visitors do not adequately perform politeness – specifically by deploying religious speech – to soften and minimize tension. Analysis of these interactions indicates how diasporic branching of linguistic practice contrasts communicative skills of mobile populations with subtle, place-based competences, and how the mismatch between these can negatively mark diasporic visitors.

Structure Theory and Government IT

2008 ◽  
pp. 361-375
Author(s):  
J. Ramon Gil-Garcia ◽  
Shahidul Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Technological Artifacts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Long Time

The relationship between information technologies (IT) and organizational (structural) change has been a topic of interest for public administration and policy scholars for a long time (Dawes, Gregg, & Agouris, 2004; Fountain, 2001; Garson, 2004; Heeks, 1999; Heintze & Bretschneider, 2000; Kling & Lamb, 2000; Kling & Schacchi, 1982; Kraemer & King, 2003; Kraemer, King, Dunkle, & Lane, 1989; Rocheleau, 2000). Initially, most studies were somewhat deterministic in nature, arguing that either IT had the power to transform organizational structures, or that organizational and institutional factors largely determined the characteristics and effects of IT. Current research in information systems (W. Orlikowski, 2000; W. J. Orlikowski, 1992; W. J. Orlikowski & Robey, 1991), organizational studies (Barley, 1990; De- Sanctis & Poole, 1994), and public administration and policy (Fountain, 2001), however, indicate that the relationships between IT and organizational structures are not so simple. In fact, they are recursive, complex, and somewhat unpredictable. Employing what has been called the ensemble view of technology (W. J. Orlikowski & Iacono, 2001), these studies argue that research on IT in organizations should focus not only on the technological artifacts themselves, but also on the social relationships around their adoption, development, and use. Thus, they use, and encourage others to use, theoretical approaches that call attention to the social and complex nature of IT in organizations. Structuration theory (Giddens, 1984) is one such theoretical approach that has proved to be useful in studying the dynamic relationship between IT and organizational structure.

Beyond an Anxiety Logic: A Critical Examination of Language Rights Cases before the European Court of Human Rights

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-119
Author(s):  
Dana Schmalz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Language Rights ◽  
National Minorities ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Argument Proceeds ◽  
The Right ◽  
Individual Dimension

Abstract Language rights have traditionally been codified and discussed in the context of minority protection. The identification of language rights with questions of national minorities can, however, confound the analysis. This article explores the freedom of using a language and argues that the individual dimension of language rights must not be ignored beside the group dimension. The argument proceeds along a reading of three recent cases from the European Court of Human Rights, which concerned the use of Kurdish in Turkey. The Court’s reasoning illustrates the risk of an ‘anxiety logic’, which sees any language rights in connection with political claims of groups, thereby introducing additional conditions for the right and disregarding the significance a specific language can have for an individual, being more than a medium of conveying and receiving information. Conceptualising language use as an individual freedom is necessary also to account for situations other than national minorities, most importantly for the language rights of immigrants.

Morphology and Language Attrition

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvina Montrul ◽  
James Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Native Language ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Morphological Type ◽  
Inflectional Morphology ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The Individual

Language attrition is the loss of linguistic abilities or the regression of specific grammatical properties and overall fluency in linguistic skills. It impacts language use, lexical access, and grammatical integrity. Non-pathological attrition is natural in situations of language contact and bilingualism and can occur in the first, native, language as well as in a second language. As a gradual and dynamic process of accommodation that occurs when bilinguals use the second language extensively, attrition is a highly individualized phenomenon and hard to predict a priori. If attrition eventually happens, it affects individuals differently, with some exhibiting more widespread loss than others. Two factors that determine the extent of language attrition in bilinguals are the availability of input and the age of the individual at the onset of the reduction in input in their native language. An important question is whether attrition mainly occurs at the level of processing or whether it affects actual linguistic competence. Theoretical approaches to attrition have emphasized its relationship with L1 acquisition, the selectivity of attrition by linguistic modules, the effects of language use on memory, and the interplay between the L1 and the L2 along the life span. We still lack understanding of how attrition affects linguistic representations and processing and the external and individual cognitive factors that modulate, predict, or prevent attrition in bilinguals. Morphological attrition is far more common and extensive in children than in adults and it manifests itself in a variety of ways: morphophonemic leveling, morphological simplification, including omission of required morphology in obligatory contexts, paradigmatic reduction, simplification/reduction of suffixal allomorphy, regularization of irregular forms, and the replacement of synthetic forms for analytic/periphrastic forms. Morphological attrition has often been discussed in the context of language death and language loss at the community level for both child and adult bilinguals. The scant empirical evidence to date seems to indicate that the processes of omission, regularization, and suppletion that are common in attrition occur regardless of the dominant morphological type of a language. Both inflectional and derivational morphology are affected under language attrition and seem to undergo similar processes of reduction and simplification, regardless of the morphological type of the language. Within inflectional morphology, nominal morphology (gender, number, case) is more prone to attrition in the actual number of occurrences than verbal morphology (agreement, tense, aspect, mood), and attrition occurs more rapidly and extensively.

Problem Solving: Help in the Right Direction for LD Students

1982 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 26-41
Author(s):  
Carol A. Thornton ◽  
Nancy S. Bley
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Upper Elementary ◽  
Elementary Grades ◽  
Basic Facts ◽  
The Right

Until recently problem solving was stressed primarily in the middle and upper elementary grades. The focus in the lower grades was on memorizing basic facts and developing specific computational skills. When children reached the middle elementary grades it was often assumed that because they could compute they also would know when to apply the different operations in problem-solving contexts. Unfortunately this is not always the case. Problem solving involves more than incorporating computational skills. It primarily requires a great deal of decision making.

scholarly journals Identifying partially schematic units in the code-mixing of an English and German speaking child

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 477-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antje Endesfelder Quick ◽  
Elena Lieven ◽  
Malinda Carpenter ◽  
Michael Tomasello
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
The Other ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Code Mixing ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Audio Recordings ◽  
German Speaking

Abstract Intra-sentential code-mixing presents a number of puzzles for theories of bilingualism. In this paper, we examine the code-mixed English-German utterances of a young English-German-Spanish trilingual child between 1;10 – 3;1, using both an extensive diary kept by the mother and audio recordings. We address the interplay between lexical and syntactic aspects of language use outlined in the usage-based approach (e.g. Tomasello, 2003). The data suggest that partially schematic constructions play an important role in the code-mixing of this child. In addition, we find, first, that the code-mixing was not mainly the result of lexical gaps. Second, there was more mixing of German function words than content words. Third, code-mixed utterances often consisted of the use of a partially schematic construction with the open slot filled by material from the other language. These results raise a number of important issues for all theoretical approaches to code mixing, which we discuss.

scholarly journals Contribuciones a la vulnerabilidad hacia el cambio climático desde la economía institucional

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 143
Author(s):  
Pedro Díaz Simal ◽  
Saúl Torres Ortega
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Economic Literature ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Real Model ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
The Right ◽  
Made In ◽  
Academic Debate

<div data-canvas-width="377.3732987504456">This paper analyzes the various contributions made in the economic literature that in fluence climate change vulnerability. We try to create conceptual order and transparence in the contributions identifying the assumptions and constraints that each school has introduced into academic debate and practical application. We analyze the conceptual framework that articulates the debate, review the theoretical approaches developed in the literature identifying the object of analysis and the basics of each theory, so that the real model implications are established in each case study. From this scheme we derive a clarifying proposal for organizing theoretical discourse. We specifically focus on the theoretical assumptions underlying each model. We conclude with some criteria for choosing the right models in each case and a general guideline for future research.</div>

scholarly journals Changes in the Capital Structure of Polish Companies During the Last Twenty Years (1997–2017)

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Jerzy Gajdka ◽  
Marek Szymański
Keyword(s):  
Capital Structure ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Modern Theory ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The Capital Structure

<p><strong>Theoretical background</strong>: The capital structure is one of the most important areas in the modern theory of corporate finance. It has inspired the development of a large number of theoretical approaches, but a universally accepted theory of capital structure has not yet been developed. A common belief holds that companies try to achieve a stable capital structure in the long term; thus, companies that, at a given time, are characterised by a relatively low (or high) level of debt, also probably had the same level in previous periods.</p><p><strong>Purpose of the article</strong>: The main purpose of this paper is to provide answers to two basic questions: 1) How did the aggregate capital structure of the non-financial companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) change from 1997 to 2017?; 2) What factors are decisive for the companies’ capital structure and do the current trends in capital structure theory take account of them?</p><p><strong>Research methods</strong>: The research is carried out in two phases. In phase 1, the descriptive statistics method is applied to analyse how the capital structure of WSE-listed companies changed in the years 1997<em>–</em>2017. In phase 2, the capital structure determinants are examined using multiple regression models.</p><p><strong>Main findings</strong>: The capital structure of WSE companies varied significantly in the sample years, and overall, the debt ratios, total, short-, and long-term debt slightly increased. The causes of the changes were the economic environment factors (banking sector assets, government debt, and corporate income tax) and macroeconomic circumstances, along with the companies’ characteristics. Among the latter, the company’s profitability and the share of fixed assets in total assets usually turned out to be statistically significant.</p>

scholarly journals Theoretical Approaches to the Essence of the Concept of ‘Methodology’ in Modern Jurisprudence

2020 ◽  
pp. 117-124
Author(s):  
Nadiia MELNYK
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Method ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
New Information ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
Systemic Nature ◽  
The Right

The article investigates theoretical approaches to the essence of the concept of ‘methodology’ in modern jurisprudence based on the analysis of the views of domestic and foreign scientific researchers. It is proposed under the methodology to understand the set of methods, means, principles and procedures of scientific research, used in the process of scientific knowledge of a particular problem, with the help of which the researcher substantiates the phenomenon under investigation. It is determined that the development of modern legal science requires a well-formed research methodology, since the term ‘methodology’ is often changed with the term ‘methods/ technique’. It is established that there are different and not always unambiguous interpretations of the concept of methodology in the modern world and they are provoked by the rapid globalization development of society, the introduction of new information resources, digitalization, etc. The basic categories on which the methodology is based, which is endowed with a certain apparatus of research, which include: methods and ways of organizing scientific research; principles and forms of organization of scientific research; techniques and procedures of scientific research. It is substantiated that all the components of scientific research constitute the foundation of methodological apparatus and collectively make up a certain tool for the knowledge of the phenomena and processes under study. The significance and difference of the concepts of ‘scientific method’ and ‘method of science’ have been considered and the main requirements for these concepts have been characterized. It is determined that the right choice of research methods will lead the scientist to deep and verified results, provided that these methods will be used together with another elements of scientific research in order to solve certain problems. It was revealed that there are a considerable number of methods, the unity and interrelation of which form the specificity and integrity of the cognitive activity in science, the determining of which are general scientific, theoretical, experimental and specific. The key principles on which the methodology of scientific research should be formed are specified, i.e. the principle of consistency, the principle of development, the principle of unity of theory and practice, the principle of objectivity, the principle of abstraction, the principle of decomposition. The main functions the methodology is based on are characterized. It is defined that modern scientific research is impossible without a clearly formed methodology, which should have a systemic nature in scientific research and be carried out in certain logical sequences.

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