Arabic Intonation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dina El Zarka
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Prosodic Phrasing ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
The West ◽  
Arabic Dialects ◽  
Pitch Accents ◽  
Tertium Comparationis ◽  
The Way

This overview of intonation in Arabic compares the intonational systems of selected Arabic dialects from Morocco in the West to Kuwait in the East. The formal comparison will mainly be carried out within the framework of autosegmental-metrical (AM) theory, taking the phonetic micro-prosody of the identified pitch accents as a tertium comparationis. Furthermore, the intonation systems will be compared with respect to prosodic phrasing. The second part of the overview is devoted to the functions of intonation in Arabic. In this section, the comparison will be based on a wider range of descriptions, including work carried out within other theoretical frameworks. The section will identify the role of metrical and tonal structures and the way they interact with syntax, information structure, and sentence mode in different varieties of Arabic. The concluding section will provide a preliminary typological picture of Arabic prosody with respect to the macro-rhythmic properties of Arabic.

Postfocal Downstep in German

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Kügler ◽  
Caroline Féry
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
German Journal ◽  
Pitch Accent ◽  
Prosodic Phrasing ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Pitch Accents ◽  
Role Of Information

This article is a follow-up study of Féry and Kügler (2008. Pitch accent scaling on given, new and focused constituents in German. Journal of Phonetics, 36, 680–703). It reports on an experiment of the F0 height of potential pitch accents in the postfocal region of German sentences and addresses in this way an aspect of the influence of information structure on the intonation of sentences that was left open in the previous article. The results of the experiment showed that, when several constituents are located in this position, they are often in a downstep relation, but are rarely upstepped. In 37% of the cases, the pitch accents are only realized dynamically and there is no down- or upstepping. We interpret these results as evidence that postfocal constituents are phrased independently. The data examined speak against a model of postfocal intonation in which postfocal phrasing is eliminated and all accents are reduced to zero. Instead, the pitch accents are often present, although reduced. Moreover, the facts support the existence of prosodic phrasing of the postfocal constituents; the postfocal position implies an extremely compressed register, but no dephrasing or systematic complete deaccentuation of all pitch accents. We propose adopting a model of German intonation in which prosodic phrasing is determined by syntactic structure and cannot be changed by information structure. The role of information structure in prosody is limited to changes in the register relationship of the different parts of the sentence. Prefocally, there is no or only little register compression because of givenness. Postfocally, register compression is the rule. A model of intonation must take this asymmetry into account.

scholarly journals The Role of Prosodic Breaks and Pitch Accents in Grouping Words during On-line Sentence Processing

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 2447-2467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Bögels ◽  
Herbert Schriefers ◽  
Wietske Vonk ◽  
Dorothee J. Chwilla
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Pitch Accent ◽  
Semantic Interpretation ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
On Line ◽  
Group Words ◽  
Pitch Accents

The present study addresses the question whether accentuation and prosodic phrasing can have a similar function, namely, to group words in a sentence together. Participants listened to locally ambiguous sentences containing object- and subject-control verbs while ERPs were measured. In Experiment 1, these sentences contained a prosodic break, which can create a certain syntactic grouping of words, or no prosodic break. At the disambiguation, an N400 effect occurred when the disambiguation was in conflict with the syntactic grouping created by the break. We found a similar N400 effect without the break, indicating that the break did not strengthen an already existing preference. This pattern held for both object- and subject-control items. In Experiment 2, the same sentences contained a break and a pitch accent on the noun following the break. We argue that the pitch accent indicates a broad focus covering two words [see Gussenhoven, C. On the limits of focus projection in English. In P. Bosch & R. van der Sandt (Eds.), Focus: Linguistic, cognitive, and computational perspectives. Cambridge: University Press, 1999], thus grouping these words together. For object-control items, this was semantically possible, which led to a “good-enough” interpretation of the sentence. Therefore, both sentences were interpreted equally well and the N400 effect found in Experiment 1 was absent. In contrast, for subject-control items, a corresponding grouping of the words was impossible, both semantically and syntactically, leading to processing difficulty in the form of an N400 effect and a late positivity. In conclusion, accentuation can group words together on the level of information structure, leading to either a semantically “good-enough” interpretation or a processing problem when such a semantic interpretation is not possible.

Showing the Flag: Hugh Palliser in Western Newfoundland, 1763-1766

2013 ◽  
pp. 155-172
Author(s):  
Olaf U. Janzen
Keyword(s):  
Royal Navy ◽  
The West ◽  
The Way

This chapter explores the continuous struggle between the French and British empires over each others’ presence in Newfoundland. It examines the question of sovereignty and the way each nation interpreted the Treaty of Utrecht in their own favour. It is particularly concerned with settlements in the western Newfoundland and the significance of Hugh Palliser’s actions whilst Governor of Newfoundland, the increases to British warship presence in the west, and the role of the Royal Navy as an agent of both defence and diplomacy.

scholarly journals Some Remarks on the Islamic and the Secular Paradigms of Knowledge

1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-544
Author(s):  
Taha J. Al Alwani
Keyword(s):  
Driving Force ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Similar Degree ◽  
The West ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The World ◽  
The Universe ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

By the time secularist thought had succeeded, at an intellectuallevel, in challenging the authority of the Church, its roots had alreadytaken firm hold in western soil. Later, when western political and economicsystems began to prevail throughout the world, it was only naturalthat secularism, as the driving force behind these systems, shouldgain ascendency worldwide. In time, and with varying degrees of success,the paradigm of positivism gradually displaced traditional andreligious modes of thinking, with the result that generations of thirdworld thinkers grew up convinced that the only way to “progress” andreform their societies was the way of the secular West. Moreover, sincethe experience of the West was that it began to progress politically,economically, and intellectually only after the influence of the Churchhad been marginalized, people in the colonies believed that they wouldhave to marginalize the influence of their particular religions in orderto achieve a similar degree of progress. Under the terms of the newparadigm, turning to religion for solutions to contemporary issues is anabsurdity, for religion is viewed as something from humanity’s formativeyears, from a “dark” age of superstition and myth whose time hasnow passed. As such, religion has no relevance to the present, and allattempts to revive it are doomed to failure and are a waste of time.Many have supposed that it is possible to accept the westernmodel of a secular paradigm while maintaining religious practices andbeliefs. They reason that such an acceptance has no negative impactupon their daily lives so long as it does not destroy their places ofworship or curtail their right to religious freedom. Thus, there remainshardly a contemporary community that has not fallen under the swayof this paradigm. Moreover, it is this paradigm that has had the greatestinfluence on the way different peoples perceive life, the universe,and the role of humanity as well as providing them with an alternativeset of beliefs (if needed) and suggesting answers to the ultimate questions ...

scholarly journals Critica Literară Românească Din Perspectiva Metodelor De Analiză Autocolonială (1840-1939)

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
David Morariu
Keyword(s):  
Early Stage ◽  
The Self ◽  
Economic Report ◽  
The West ◽  
Central Concept ◽  
Critical Discourses ◽  
The Way

AbstractThis study aims to analyze the Romanian critical discourses of the second half of the 19th century and especially of the first half of the 20th century, starting from the central concept of “self-colonization”, coined by Alexander Kiossev. The article opens with the conceptual delimiting of the phenomenon imposed by the Bulgarian theoretician and with the hypothesis that Romanian culture can be attributed to self-colonizing cultures. The demonstration of this hypothesis consists of three arguments. The critical discourses belonging to G. Ibrăileanu, E. Lovinescu and C. Dobrogeanu-Gherea highlight, firstly, some of the characteristics of this self-subordination relation. The way the first two emphasize the role of imitation, the necessity of adopting the foreign models and the way Gherea treats the dependence upon the West under an economic report, represent, briefly, the center of the first part of the demonstration. The second one brings to the fore Mihail Kogălniceanu and Titu Maiorescu’s profiles, their discourses being characterized by clumsiness and flaws so typical for a culture found in an early stage of its development. The last argument broadens the scope of the demonstration in the sense that the analysis focuses on social and economic delimiting. The purpose of this delimiting is to establish which are the areas that are more responsive to the manifestation of the self-colonizing phenomenon.

scholarly journals The Yorkshire Miners and the 1893 Lockout: The Featherstone “Massacre”

1976 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G. Neville
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
The West ◽  
Industrial Dispute ◽  
Mining Districts ◽  
The Way

During the last week in July 1893, the largest industrial dispute Britain had hitherto experienced was initiated when over 300,000 miners in the Federated District stopped work. The Yorkshire miners played an important part in the lockout which was the first major trial of strength which the Miners' Federation of Great Britain had to face. The significant role of Yorkshire's pitmen in the dispute was not surprising since the colliers of the West Riding had taken a leading part in the formation of the MFGB only four years earlier, and the Yorkshire Miners' Association formed the cornerstone of the new organization. The stoppage occasioned extremely little violence, except in the West Riding, where a series of turbulent incidents plunged many of the mining districts into a state of anarchy and mob rule. The climactic event occurred at Featherstone when two miners were shot dead by the army. It is the aim of this article to examine the civil disorders which resulted from the lockout in Yorkshire, and to present an analysis of the Featherstone “Massacre” together with an assessment of the way in which the authorities handled the disturbances.

scholarly journals Orientalism, Balkanism and the Western Viewpoint in the Context of Former Yugoslavia

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 311
Author(s):  
MA. Atdhe Hetemi
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
The South ◽  
The West ◽  
The People ◽  
The Way

This research paper examines the role of the Orientalist and Balkanist discourse in the Former Yugoslavia with a particular focus on Albanians. Here, Western Orientalist and Balkanist stereotypes of the Former Yugoslavia are examined arguing that the Orientalism and Balkanism of people living in the Former Yugoslavia is and was viewed differently from the standard by the West and by the people living in the Former Yugoslavia in the way how they perceive each other. The first part of this research paper treats the Orientalism and Balkanism in the context of people living in the Former Yugoslavia, in general.The second part of this research paper analyzes the case study of the application of the Orientalist and Balkanist theoretical lenses on one of the nations living in the Former Yugoslavia, namely Albanians. Here, some explorations and thoughts are provided on how Albanians define themselves and how they were perceived by the South Slavic majority living in the Former Yugoslavia.There are three authors and, subsequently, three seminal works that shall serve as pillars of this theoretical analysis: concepts of Edward Said’s “Orientalism,” Bakic-Hayden’s theories on Orientalist variations and nesting Orientalism, and Maria Todorova’s ground-breaking analysis of the external practices of Balkans representation. These provide a useful theoretical framework through which to explore the distribution of the Orientalist and Balkanist discourses in Former Yugoslavia.

scholarly journals Проблемы изучения севернорусского слова дак: достижения и недостаткищ(Advantages and Shortcomings of Different Perspectives in Describing Northern Russian dak)

2002 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Margje Post
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Speech Research ◽  
The Way

The word dak is one of several highly frequent particles, used in most Northern Russian and some Siberian dialects. It can occur sentence ini- tially, sentence internally and sentence finally to connect two parts of the discourse, such as words, sentences, and presuppositions.This article describes the advantages and shortcomings of six dif- ferent perspectives which have been used to describe this unspecified, multifunctional word: descriptions in traditional grammatical terms, in syntactic terminology used for spontaneus speech, research on its role in information structure, its use in discourse, the role of prosody, and finally comparisons with parallel words in neighbouring and other languages. I conclude that a combination of approaches is required for a better understanding of the way dak functions. Studies in prosody combined with research on dak's role in information structure appear to be most fruitful, and modern theories of discourse structure, which are almost completely ignored at present, could be helpful. Much research remains to be done, especially to clarify the restrictions on the use of the word dak and the way it functions in less obvious contexts.

scholarly journals ABOUT THE TITLE OF SASANYAN PRINCES RULED IN ARMENIA IN THE 3RD CENTURY

2018 ◽  
pp. 47-68
Author(s):  
ARTHUR MELIQYAN
Keyword(s):  
Central Place ◽  
Peace Treaty ◽  
Administrative System ◽  
The West ◽  
Achaemenid Empire ◽  
Sasanian Empire ◽  
Crown Prince ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Way

Our exploration shows that the ruling of Sasanyan crown princes in Armenia was one part of Sasanyan 1st ruler’s policy for solving the problem of the succession of the throne. Choosing the crown in the way of monopoly the Sasanyan king of kings did their best to srenghten their smart sets positions as much as they could. For the transferation of the throne they chose the types of iconography preaching used in earlier Achaemenid Empire with the military-administrative mechanisms used in Parthian empire. The title of "Great King of Armenian'' given to the Sasanyan crown princes served the same aim. In it “The Great King" had the honor's meaning which refered predominantly to the crown and, it also refered to Armenia in a way that with its boardering position it was the garden of the heir of crown prince and the central place for the army. The role of Armenia in the Sasanyan administrative system was not static; it was conditioned with the west direction of the external policy of early Sasanian Empire. It was not by chance that in the militaryadministrative system of Sasanyan empire Armenia retained its role untill the sighning of the peace treaty between emperor Probus and Varahran the First in 276. After the mentioned treaty in 276-293 Nerseh, who ruled in Armenia, already bore not the title of “The Great King of Armenia’’ but the title of “The king of Armenian”.

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