scholarly journals Corpus-based analysis of the collocational profiles of the terms denoting the mentally challenged

2017 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liana Markelova
Keyword(s):  
Public Perception ◽  
American English ◽  
Public Attitude ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Web Pages ◽  
Gradual Change ◽  
Web Based ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Semantic Prosody

The present study aims to trace the evolution of public attitude towards the mentally challenged by means of the corpus-based analysis. The raw data comes from the two of the BYU corpora: Global Web-Based English (GloWbE) and Corpus of Historical American English (COHA). The former is comprised of 1.8 million web pages from 20 English-speaking countries (Davies/Fuchs 2015: 1) and provides an opportunity to research at a cross-cultural level, whereas the latter, containing 400 million words from more than 100,000 texts ranging from the 1810s to the 2000s (Davies 2012: 121), allows to carry on a diachronic research on the issue. To identify the difference in attitudes the collocational profiles of the terms denoting the mentally challenged were created. Having analysed them in terms of their semantic prosody one might conclude that there are certain semantic shifts that occurred due to the modern usage preferences and gradual change in public perception of everything strange, unusual and unique.

scholarly journals A cross-cultural study of the smile in the Russian- and English-speaking world

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-72
Author(s):  
Maria A. Arapova
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Christianity ◽  
Communication Failure ◽  
Cross Cultural Study ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Difference ◽  
English Speaking World

Abstract Although the smile is a universal facial expression, the use of smiles in communication varies across cultures. This may lead to misunderstandings and miscommunication. Both Americans and Europeans experience the same frustration and communication failure when they do not find smiling faces in Russia. At the same time, it is common for Russian people to perceive the smiles of Westerners as artificial and insincere. What is the reason for such a difference in perception? Why don’t Russians smile in some situations? The study of the use of the smile as a non-verbal sign in a few chosen communicative contexts across Russian, European and American cultures showed the difference in its meaning and distribution according to the cultural tradition. The reason could stem from the difference of Russia’s history when compared to that of Western Europe, as well as in the specific restrictions in Russian Orthodox Christianity and the traditions of laughter in Russia. All the meanings and specific cases of distribution are clearly retained and expressed in the languages. If we compare the Russian улыбка and улыбаться with the English smile, we can see both common and distinctive semantic elements and different connotations.

Expanding horizons in the study of World Englishes with the 1.9 billion word Global Web-based English Corpus (GloWbE)

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Davies ◽  
Robert Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Low Frequency ◽  
World Englishes ◽  
Web Pages ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Text Types ◽  
English Speaking

In this paper, we provide an overview of the new GloWbE Corpus — the Corpus of Global Web-based English. GloWbE is based on 1.9 billion words in 1.8 million web pages from 20 different English-speaking countries. Approximately 60 percent of the corpus comes from informal blogs, and the rest from a wide range of other genres and text types. Because of its large size, its architecture and interface, the corpus can be used to examine many types of variation among dialects, which might not be possible with other corpora — including variation in lexis, morphology, (medium- and low-frequency) syntactic constructions, variation in meaning, as well as discourse and its relationship to culture.

scholarly journals Current Practices in Cross-Cultural Neuropsychology: A Survey of Providers' Use of Appropriate Normative Data and Views on a Web-based Approach to the Collection and Dissemination of Normative Data for Spanish-speaking Populations

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1236-1236
Author(s):  
J Arias ◽  
R Mendoza ◽  
A Levine ◽  
S Mojena ◽  
A Wilsey
Keyword(s):  
Normative Data ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Diverse Populations ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Black African ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Data Assessment ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Spanish Speaking Population ◽  
Current Practices

Abstract Objective As the U.S. Spanish-speaking population grows, neuropsychologists provide assessment services to an increasingly diverse group of individuals. In response to the need for a centralized resource, NeuroShare, a no-cost website that collects and organizes cross-cultural neuropsychological normative data was created. The purpose of this study was to gather information on the current practices of cross-cultural neuropsychology, the utility of NeuroShare, and potential improvements that could be made to the platform. Participants and Method An anonymous survey was distributed to neuropsychologists and trainees through national and regional professional listservs. Participants’ demographics, clinical experience, and current practices (e.g. use of language specific normative data, assessment of acculturation/bilingualism) when providing neuropsychological services to Spanish-speaking populations were collected. The survey examined feedback on the NeuroShare database. Results 60 participants completed the survey, and they were primarily White/ Caucasian (62%), along with Hispanic/ Latino (36%), Black/African American (1%), and biracial/multiracial (1%). About 66% reported that they often search for Spanish language normative data depending on the patient’s demographics. 70% of respondents reported administering tests developed primarily for English-speaking populations, that are then adapted, when testing Spanish-speaking individuals. Some recommendations for improving Neuroshare included the incorporation of pediatric normative data and a normative data calculator tool. Conclusions This study highlights the needs and benefits of a comprehensive, easy to use system in collecting and organizing normative information for diverse populations. NeuroShare serves as a tool to facilitate the practice of cross-cultural neuropsychology, as well as a catalyst to improve neuropsychological services through the provision of improved access to appropriate normative measures for use with diverse populations.

scholarly journals Toward Experimental International Business

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 530-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjen van Witteloostuijn
Keyword(s):  
International Business ◽  
External Validity ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Internal Validity ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Experimental Laboratory ◽  
Experimental Management ◽  
Missed Opportunity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that the time is ripe to establish a powerful tradition in Experimental International Business (IB). Probably due to what the Arjen van Witteloostuijn refers to as the external validity myth, experimental laboratory designs are underutilized in IB, which implies that the internal validity miracle of randomized experimentation goes largely unnoticed in this domain of the broader management discipline. Design/methodology/approach – In the following pages, the author explains why the author believes this implies a missed opportunity, providing arguments and examples along the way. Findings – Although an Experimental Management tradition has never really gained momentum, to the author, the lab experimental design has a very bright future in IB (and management at large). To facilitate the development of an Experimental IB tradition, initiating web-based tools would be highly instrumental. This will not only boost further progress in IB research, but will also increase the effectiveness and playfulness of IB teaching. Originality/value – Given the high potential of an Experimental IB, the Cross-Cultural and Strategic Management journal will offer a platform for such exciting and intriguing laboratory work, cumulatively contributing to the establishment of an Experimental IB tradition.

scholarly journals Unattended Emotional Prosody Affects Visual Processing of Facial Expressions in Mandarin-Speaking Chinese: A Comparison With English-Speaking Canadians

2021 ◽  
pp. 002202212199089
Author(s):  
Pan Liu ◽  
Simon Rigoulot ◽  
Xiaoming Jiang ◽  
Shuyi Zhang ◽  
Marc D. Pell
Keyword(s):  
Visual Processing ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Early Time ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Late Time ◽  
Cultural Comparison ◽  
Emotional Prosody ◽  
Eastern Culture ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison ◽  
English Speaking

Emotional cues from different modalities have to be integrated during communication, a process that can be shaped by an individual’s cultural background. We explored this issue in 25 Chinese participants by examining how listening to emotional prosody in Mandarin influenced participants’ gazes at emotional faces in a modified visual search task. We also conducted a cross-cultural comparison between data of this study and that of our previous work in English-speaking Canadians using analogous methodology. In both studies, eye movements were recorded as participants scanned an array of four faces portraying fear, anger, happy, and neutral expressions, while passively listening to a pseudo-utterance expressing one of the four emotions (Mandarin utterance in this study; English utterance in our previous study). The frequency and duration of fixations to each face were analyzed during 5 seconds after the onset of faces, both during the presence of the speech (early time window) and after the utterance ended (late time window). During the late window, Chinese participants looked more frequently and longer at faces conveying congruent emotions as the speech, consistent with findings from English-speaking Canadians. Cross-cultural comparison further showed that Chinese, but not Canadians, looked more frequently and longer at angry faces, which may signal potential conflicts and social threats. We hypothesize that the socio-cultural norms related to harmony maintenance in the Eastern culture promoted Chinese participants’ heightened sensitivity to, and deeper processing of, angry cues, highlighting culture-specific patterns in how individuals scan their social environment during emotion processing.

Developing Intercultural Awareness and Language Speaking Proficiency for Foreign Language Learners through Cross–Cultural Voicemail Exchange

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber Yayin Wang ◽  
Wan-Jeng Chang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Speaking Proficiency ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Efl Students ◽  
English Speaking

To expand global and intercultural communication, the effectiveness of asynchronous online communication devices, especially email, have been discussed in the area of foreign language teaching. A lack of specific research exists that addresses the application of online voicemail. This paper reports on a five month period of voicemail exchanges between 53 EFL learners in Taiwan and 56 CFL learners in the United States. The authors examine the responses of EFL students to this cross–cultural voicemail project and assess their progress in intercultural awareness and English speaking proficiency before and after the project. This study concludes that the use of voicemail creates an impact on the English speaking performance and intercultural awareness of EFL students and increases the motivation of EFL students in using English to express ideas. Further implications for teaching are discussed.

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