scholarly journals Tag questions across Irish English and British English: A corpus analysis of form and function

Multilingua ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Barron ◽  
Irina Pandarova ◽  
Karoline Muderack

AbstractThe present study, situated in the area of variational pragmatics, contrasts tag question (TQ) use in Ireland and Great Britain using spoken data from the Irish and British components of the International Corpus of English (ICE). Analysis is on the formal and functional level and also investigates form-functional relationships. Findings reveal many similarities in the use of TQs across the varieties. They also point, however, to a lower use of TQs in Irish English and in a range of variety-preferential features on both the formal and functional levels. The paper shows how an in-depth analysis of form-function relations together with a fine-tuned investigation of sub-functions gives an insight into formal preferences.

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (107) ◽  
pp. 20150184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Jack Tseng ◽  
John J. Flynn

Morphology serves as a ubiquitous proxy in macroevolutionary studies to identify potential adaptive processes and patterns. Inferences of functional significance of phenotypes or their evolution are overwhelmingly based on data from living taxa. Yet, correspondence between form and function has been tested in only a few model species, and those linkages are highly complex. The lack of explicit methodologies to integrate form and function analyses within a deep-time and phylogenetic context weakens inferences of adaptive morphological evolution, by invoking but not testing form–function linkages. Here, we provide a novel approach to test mechanical properties at reconstructed ancestral nodes/taxa and the strength and direction of evolutionary pathways in feeding biomechanics, in a case study of carnivorous mammals. Using biomechanical profile comparisons that provide functional signals for the separation of feeding morphologies, we demonstrate, using experimental optimization criteria on estimation of strength and direction of functional changes on a phylogeny, that convergence in mechanical properties and degree of evolutionary optimization can be decoupled. This integrative approach is broadly applicable to other clades, by using quantitative data and model-based tests to evaluate interpretations of function from morphology and functional explanations for observed macroevolutionary pathways.


Author(s):  
Gopala Krishna Ganta ◽  
Rama Krishna Alla ◽  
Kamala Cheruvu ◽  
Bharathi Ram Guduri

Bone grafts are often used to retrieve the lost bone in the most acceptable, technical and skilful manner that enables to restore the form and function of the bone. Numerous bone graft materials have been developed to fill and/or remodel the bony defects. Though, autografts were considered to be the gold standard among the grafts available; they have got some inherent disadvantages. The current research is more focused on allografts, which addressed the problems associated with autografts. This article provides an insight into the remodeling process, and various types of bone grafts currently available. Also, the emphasis was given on the recent advances of the bone grafts.


Author(s):  
Caroline R. Wiltshire

This study uses data from Indian English as a second language, spoken by speakers of five first languages, to illustrate and evaluate the role of the emergence of the unmarked (TETU) in phonological theory. The analysis focusses on word-final consonant devoicing and cluster reduction, for which the five Indian first languages have various constraints, while Indian English is relatively unrestricted. Variation in L2 Indian Englishes results from both transfer of L1 phonotactics and the emergence of the unmarked, accounted for within Optimality Theory. The use of a learning algorithm also allows us to test the relative importance of markedness and frequency and to evaluate the relative markedness of various clusters. Thus, data from Indian Englishes provides insight into the form and function of markedness constraints, as well as the mechanisms of Second Language Acquisition (SLA).


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 414-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Vogel ◽  
Kristin Buhrow ◽  
Caroline Cornish

In the Andean region, spindle whorls have been the subject of archaeological analysis less often than other artifact classes, such as pottery. Nevertheless, spindle whorls may have much more to contribute to archaeological interpretations of production, status, and exchange patterns than previously acknowledged. The case study presented here examines the spindle whorl collection from the site of El Purgatorio, Peru, the capital city of the Casma polity (ca. A.D. 700–1400). Spindle whorls were not only expertly crafted utilitarian tools for spinning yarn, but also items of personal adornment, symbols of wealth or status, and possible indicators of intra-polity exchange patterns. The analysis of spindle whorls in regard to form and function provides insight into Casma social and economic organization. The spindle whorls discovered at El Purgatorio also reflect varying degrees of standardization and technical knowledge, suggesting that at least some may have been manufactured by specialists in metallurgical and ceramic workshops.


2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Fischer

Although cleft sentences are possible constructions in both English and German, they are far more frequent in English texts. Durrell (2002: 479) observes in his Hammer's German Grammar and Usage that “with the exception of the type Er war es, der mich davon abhielt […], cleft sentence constructions sound unnatural in German and should be avoided.” The article discusses the form and function of cleft sentences in the context of other focusing devices. It shows that, although German and English cleft sentences have the same information structure, their stylistic value is very different. Using a short translation, Durrell's observation is confirmed: in translating cleft sentences into German, semantic equivalence is often sacrificed for stylistic appropriateness. Although structural features of both languages are the ultimate cause of the contrast, they cannot explain choices in each individual case. The article argues that structural typology should be complemented with a typology of parole: the respective frequencies of cleft sentences in both languages reflect neatly into the more verbal style, more hierarchical sentence construction and, in certain respects, greater semantic transparency of English texts (by comparison with their German counterparts).*


2018 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-84
Author(s):  
Marie Mikulová ◽  
Eduard Bejček ◽  
Eva Hajičová ◽  
Jarmila Panevová

Abstract The aim of the contribution is to introduce a database of linguistic forms and their functions built with the use of the multi-layer annotated corpora of Czech, the Prague Dependency Treebanks. The purpose of the Prague Database of Forms and Functions (ForFun) is to help the linguists to study the form-function relation, which we assume to be one of the principal tasks of both theoretical linguistics and natural language processing. We demonstrate possibilities of the exploitation of the ForFun database. This article is largely based on a paper presented at the 16th International Workshop on Treebanks and Linguistic Theories in Prague (Bejček et al., 2017).


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Kaidonis ◽  
Sarbin Ranjitkar ◽  
Dimitra Lekkas ◽  
Grant C. Townsend

For many years, research on tooth wear by dental academics has been diametrically opposite to that of anthropological research, with each discipline having a different understanding as to the nature of the wear processes. Dental focus revolved around preventive and restorative considerations while the anthropological focus was a biological understanding related to human evolution, diet, environment, form, and function and included all the craniofacial structures. Introducing the anthropological perspective into modern dentistry gives an insight into the “bigger picture” of the nature and extent of tooth wear. By combining anthropological evidence with clinical knowledge and experience, it is most likely to provide the best-informed and biologically based approach to the management of tooth wear in modern societies.


1989 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia M. Clancy

ABSTRACTIn this paper the order in which wh-questions are acquired in the production and comprehension of two Korean children, aged 1;8–2;8 and 1;10–2; 10, is analysed and compared with the available crosslinguistic data. Consistencies in acquisition order are hypothesized to be based on universals of cognitive development, which constrain the comprehension and production of wh-forms and influence the order in which mothers introduce them, and on functionally based similarities in the input of form/function pairs across children and languages. Discrepancies in acquisition order are attributed to differences in interactive style across caregivers and children, leading to different input frequencies of particular forms and individual children's selection of different forms for use.


2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
LYLE LUSTIGMAN ◽  
RUTH A. BERMAN

ABSTRACTThe study characterizes developmental trends in early Hebrew clause-combining (CC) by analyzing the interplay between linguistic form and communicative function in different interactional settings. Analysis applied to all utterances produced by three children aged 2;0–3;0 who combined two or more clauses, either self-initiated or on the basis of adult input. Ten types of CC were analyzed for marking by connectives (e.g. the Hebrew equivalents of ‘and’, ‘that’, ‘so’). Four shared consecutive developmental phases emerged: non-marking; partial marking by ‘and’ and ‘that’; use of ‘but’ and ‘because’, favored significantly in interlocutor-supported contexts; marking of adverbial relations and more varied use ofše-‘that’. These CC processes are interpreted as reflecting general properties of language development, in the form of gradually increasing specification of form–function relations under the impact of interlocutor–child interactive support combined with Hebrew-particular typological factors.


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