Lexical Arguments and Information Types in Malay Oral Narratives

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-97
Author(s):  
Siaw-Fong Chung

The analysis in this paper was based on five Malay narratives of the “frog story”. In these narratives, the types of lexical arguments and their relations with information flow and topic continuity were analyzed. It was found that most narrators used one lexical argument in telling the frog story (e.g., sarang itu jatuh “the nest fell”). About 60% of the verbs in the narratives contained one lexical argument only. Some transitive verbs that usually require the presence of both lexical arguments were used with one lexical argument only when produced in speech (e.g., dia mencari ø di merata tempat “he searched (for) ø everywhere”). Objects were sometimes omitted, as their meanings could be predicted from previous context. Despite the omission of objects, transitive constructions still prevailed in the stories. The most frequently occurring lexical arguments were objects (O) (37%), followed by intransitive subjects (S) (29%) and transitive subjects (A) (27%). In addition, our results showed that new information in Malay was usually allocated to the core argument of the object and to locative expressions, indicating that most of the new information appeared at the end of a clause. On the other hand, topic continuity was held between the subjects in two continuous intonation units. This clear-cut division of discourse functions in the heads and tails of constructions was consistently found in the five pieces of narration. This observation not only showed how ideas could be continued in Malay oral narratives, but also contributes to the study of discourse structure in Malay.

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Hickmann ◽  
Henriëtte Hendriks ◽  
Françoise Roland ◽  
James Liang

ABSTRACTThis study examines children's uses of nominal determiners (‘local markings’) and utterance structure (‘global markings’) to introduce new referents. Two narratives were elicited from preschoolers, seven-year-olds, ten-year-olds, and adults in English (N = 80), French (N = 40), German (N = 40), and Chinese (N = 40). Given typological differences (e.g. richness of morphology), these languages rely differentially on local vs. global devices to mark newness: postverbal position is obligatory in Chinese (determiners optional), indefinite determiners in the other languages (position optional). Three findings recur across languages: obligatory newness markings emerge late (seven-year-olds); local markings emerge first, including Chinese optional ones; local and global markings are strongly related. Crosslinguistic differences also occur: English-speaking preschoolers use local markings least frequently; until adult age global markings are rare in English, not contrastive in German and not as frequent in Chinese as in French, despite obligatoriness. It is concluded that three factors determine acquisition: (1) universal discourse factors governing information flow; (2) cognitive factors resulting from the greater functional complexity of global markings; (3) language-specific factors related to how different systems map both grammatical and discourse functions onto forms.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Berrocal

Abstract As the core of political discourse is the struggle for power and scarce resources, conflict seems to be an essential component of political action and interaction. In addition, conflicts in parliament are manifested in many different ways. They range from disputes during the plenary sessions to more personal attacks in the question time. This paper, however, examines an atypical display of parliamentary discourse, namely a speech by a social democratic MP David Rath, which regarded a vote on his extradition and was delivered on 5 June 2012. This speech obviously did not fulfil the primary function of the parliamentary sessions, i.e. legislating and decision-making. Here the MP was given the opportunity to present his own version of events and ask fellow MPs to maintain his parliamentary immunity. The analysis revealed two intertwining discourse strategies. On the one hand, the MP who is charged with several criminal acts presents himself as a victim of a conspiracy. In that, he aims to divert attention from the criminal case while calling for sympathy and providing self-justification. On the other hand, he uses his time to verbally complain about his arrest, the conditions in which he is held in custody, and the people he holds responsible for his current situation; he uses verbal attacks to undermine and disqualify a number of overt and covert enemies. The key aim of the analysis is to explore how victimhood is constructed in discourse, what discourse strategies are observable at the macro-level and how they are reflected in the discourse structure and in the linguistic style.


Author(s):  
Michael E. Kelley

Willams, Greenwald, and Seniuk provide a systematic description of a case study involving one individual who exhibited symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of autism. One of the most interesting features of this case description is that Jorge exhibited many of the types of behavioral excesses and deficits found in individuals diagnosed with autism. In a sense, Jorge is a prototypical individual diagnosed with autism because he provides clear-cut examples of the excesses and deficits that are often described by parents, teachers, and caregivers. On the other hand, one of the confusing aspects of autism is that several individuals diagnosed with autism may present with very different symptoms. Specifically, some individuals may engage in vocal speech, while others may not. Some individuals may establish specific routines or repetitive behaviors that are difficult to compete with, and others may not. Some individuals may seek out some social interaction; others may tolerate social interaction, at best, while others will purposely avoid social interaction. Some individuals may develop significant food selectivity. There are several other possible symptom clusters that might covary among individuals diagnosed with autism. Simply considering the above potential symptom presentations, it becomes exceedingly clear that diagnosing autism and subsequent assessment and treatment of the core and associated behavioral deficits and excesses of autism are an exceedingly difficult set of tasks....


2003 ◽  
pp. 15-26
Author(s):  
P. Wynarczyk
Keyword(s):  
The Core ◽  

Two aspects of Schumpeter' legacy are analyzed in the article. On the one hand, he can be viewed as the custodian of the neoclassical harvest supplementing to its stock of inherited knowledge. On the other hand, the innovative character of his works is emphasized that allows to consider him a proponent of hetherodoxy. It is stressed that Schumpeter's revolutionary challenge can lead to radical changes in modern economics.


Derrida Today ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-36
Author(s):  
Grant Farred

‘The Final “Thank You”’ uses the work of Jacques Derrida and Friedrich Nietzsche to think the occasion of the 1995 rugby World Cup, hosted by the newly democratic South Africa. This paper deploys Nietzsche's Zarathustra to critique how a figure such as Nelson Mandela is understood as a ‘Superman’ or an ‘Overhuman’ in the moment of political transition. The philosophical focus of the paper, however, turns on the ‘thank yous’ exchanged by the white South African rugby captain, François Pienaar, and the black president at the event of the Springbok victory. It is the value, and the proximity and negation, of the ‘thank yous’ – the relation of one to the other – that constitutes the core of the article. 1


1970 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Vikram Patel

hetan Bhagat is one of the most influential fiction writers of contemporary Indian English literature. Postmodern subjects like youth aspirations, love, sex, marriage, urban middle class sensibilities, and issues related to corruption, politics, education and their impact on the contemporary Indian society are recurrently reflected thematic concerns in his fictions. In all his fictions, he has mostly depicted the contemporary urban social milieu of Indian society. Though the fictions of Chetan Bhagat are romantic in nature, contemporary Indian society and its major issues are the chief of the concerns of all his fictions. He has focused on the contemporary issues of middle class family in his fictional works. All of the chief protagonists of his works are sensitive youth and they do not compromise with the prevalent situations of society. Most of the characters are like caricatures that represent one or the other vice or virtue of the contemporary Indian society. The author has a mastery to convince the reader about the prevalent condition of society so that one can easily reproduce in mind, a clear cut image of contemporary Indian society. The present article is a sincere endeavor to present the detailed literary analysis of the select fictions of Chetan Bhagat keeping in mind how the contemporary Indian society has been replicated in the fictions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jupriaman Jupriaman ◽  
Sri Minda Murni

The objectives of this study were to describe the classroom discourse structure, to describe how the classroom discourse is realized by teacher and students and the reasons for the realizations of the ways they are. The source of the data was English teacher and the students while the data are verbal and non verbal utterances of students and teachers. The instruments for collecting data were video tape recorder and researcher’s field note. The data were collected by observing and recording the utterances uttered by the teacher and students. The findings showed that the classroom discourse structures were dominantly realized by Initiation and Response (IR) structure. It was reflected in teacher direct, elicit and information exchanges was found that the classroom discourse structures. The other exchanges occur are boundary (framing and focusing move), directive, informing, check, accept, react, reply, nomination, marker, bid and conclusion acts. The reasons why the realization as the ways they are (1) teacher as a centre of interaction, (2) teacher gives some questions without any caring to the evaluation, appreciation and feedback without any feedback to make dialogue, (3) students have been disciplined not to speak in classes without a teacher’s direction, and most of them are unwilling to speak English.   Keywords: Classroom Discourse Structures, Initiation and Response, Sinclair and Coulthard Theory


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 138
Author(s):  
Saif Nasrat Tawfiq Al - Haramazi

The theoretical curriculum in all disciplines is a basic requirement that nourishes the minds of the intellectual and cognitive recipients in the various scientific and cognitive stages. This is the framework that distinguishes the academic understanding of the anarchic, which is one of the most important and important keys in thinking and success in that jurisdiction or field, , Because it is unreasonable and logical to get into the core of any subject without searching and searching for its intellectual and historical bases to find out the reasons and reasons that surrounded this idea which was later recognized as an important contribution to the field of human sciences. Applied Sciences and other from the other side.


Imbizo ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-54
Author(s):  
Oyeh O. Otu

This article examines how female conditioning and sexual repression affect the woman’s sense of self, womanhood, identity and her place in society. It argues that the woman’s body is at the core of the many sites of gender struggles/ politics. Accordingly, the woman’s body must be decolonised for her to attain true emancipation. On the one hand, this study identifies the grave consequences of sexual repression, how it robs women of their freedom to choose whom to love or marry, the freedom to seek legal redress against sexual abuse and terror, and how it hinders their quest for self-determination. On the other hand, it underscores the need to give women sexual freedom that must be respected and enforced by law for the overall good of society.


Author(s):  
Rakshith . ◽  
Shivakumar . ◽  
Sreeharsha . ◽  
Divyasree .

The core principles in Ayurveda give prime importance to Agni, Prakriti, Ahara (food) and Vihara (lifestyle) in maintaining health. Present era people are scheduled to one or the other works due to which they are following unrightful food and habits which lead the manifestation of one of the common disorder which troubles person a lot - Amlapitta. By excess “Hurry, Worry and Curry” GIT disorders are the most common, not only affecting physical health but also psychological and social health. Amlapitta is one of that and it is a burning problem of the whole World. Amalpitta is composed of word Amla and Pitta. Amlapitta is a very common disease caused by Vidagdha Pitta with features like Amlodgara, Tiktodgara, Hrit, Kantha Daha etc. Pathya recommended in Amlapitta are Yava, Godhuma, Purana Shali, Mudga Yusha, Lajasaktu etc. Apathya recommended in Amlapitta are Navanna, Avidugdha, Masha, Kulattha, Dadhi and etc. So this present review article throws light on Pathya (conducive) and Apathya (non conducive) in Amlapitta.


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