scholarly journals The prosody of French ambiguous multiple negative sentences.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viviane Déprez ◽  
Jeremy Daniel Yeaton
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Negative Concord ◽  
Double Negation ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Negative Reading ◽  
Positive Meaning ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Compositional Interpretation

While it has long been assumed that prosody can help resolve syntactic and semantic ambiguities, empirical evidence has shown that the mapping between prosody and meaning is complex (Hirschberg & Avesani, 2000; Jackendoff, 1972). This paper investigates the prosody of ambiguous French sentences with multiple potentially negative terms that allow two semantically very distinct interpretations—a single negation reading involving so-called negative concord (NC), and a double negative reading (DN) with a positive meaning reflecting a strictly compositional interpretation—with the goal to further research on the role of prosody in ambiguities by examining whether intonation can be recruited by speakers to signal distinct interpretations of these sentences to hearers. Twenty native speakers produced transitive sentences with potentially negative terms embedded in contexts designed to elicit single-negation or double-negation readings. Analysis regarding the F0 and the duration of the utterances revealed distinct prosodic profiles for the two readings, confirming previous evidence that speakers can produce characteristic acoustic cues to signal intended distinctive meanings (Kraljic & Brennan, 2005; Syrett, Simon, & Nisula, 2014). Our results reveal that NC readings feature a focused subject and a deaccented object, in contrast to DN readings where both the subject and the object were independently focused. They do not relate DN to contradiction but link negative meaning with focus on French negative concord items (NCI). The paper discusses the implications of these findings for theoretical approaches to NC and outlines further questions for the syntax-prosody interface of these constructions.

scholarly journals English negative concord and double negation: The division of labor between syntax and pragmatics

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Blanchette ◽  
Marianna Nadeu ◽  
Jeremy Yeaton ◽  
Viviane Deprez
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
American English ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Negative Concord ◽  
Double Negation

Recent research demonstrates that prototypical negative concord (NC) languages allow double negation (DN) (Espinal & Prieto 2011; Prieto et al. 2013; Déprez et al. 2015; Espinal et al. 2016). In NC, two or more syntactic negations yield a single semantic one (e.g., the ‘I ate nothing’ reading of “I didn’t eat nothing”), and in DN each negation contributes to the semantics (e.g. ‘It is not the case that I ate nothing’). That NC and DN have been shown to coexist calls into question the hypothesis that grammars are either NC or DN (Zeijlstra 2004), and supports micro-parametric views of these phenomena (Déprez 2011; Blanchette 2017). Our study informs this debate with new experimental data from American English. We explore the role of syntax and speaker intent in shaping the perception and interpretation of English sentences with two negatives. Our results demonstrate that, like in prototypical NC languages (Espinal et al. 2016), English speakers reliably exploit syntactic, pragmatic, and acoustic cues to in selecting an NC or a DN interpretation.

On the Subject of Negative Auxiliary Inversion

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Blanchette ◽  
Chris Collins
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Negative Polarity ◽  
Subject Position ◽  
Left Periphery ◽  
Negative Concord ◽  
Double Negation ◽  
Polarity Items ◽  
West Texas ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Scope Freezing

AbstractThis article presents a novel analysis ofNegative Auxiliary Inversion(NAI) constructions such asdidn't many people eat, in which a negated auxiliary appears in pre-subject position. NAI, found in varieties including Appalachian, African American, and West Texas English, has a word order identical to a yes/no question, but is pronounced and interpreted as a declarative. We propose that NAI subjects are negative DPs, and that the negation raises from the subject DP to adjoin to Fin (a functional head in the left periphery). Three properties of NAI motivate this analysis: (i) scope freezing effects, (ii) the various possible and impossible NAI subject types, and (iii) the incompatibility of NAI constructions with true Double-Negation interpretations. Implications for theories of Negative Concord, Negative Polarity Items, and the representation of negation are discussed.

L1–L2 asymmetry in animacy effects in the processing of Japanese relative clause

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanako Mitsugi ◽  
Yasuhiro Shirai
Keyword(s):  
Constraint Satisfaction ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
First Languages ◽  
The Subject ◽  
English Group ◽  
Processing Difficulty

AbstractUsing self-paced reading, this study investigated the role of head animacy in the processing of Japanese relative clauses (RCs). Second language (L2) learners whose first languages (L1) are English and Korean, and Japanese native speakers participated. The results showed that for native speakers, inanimate heads diminished the processing difficulty associated with object RCs. However, head animacy did not have an effect on L2 processing. The Korean group showed the subject-object asymmetry but no effect of head animacy. The English group did not demonstrate the effect of RC type or head animacy. The overall pattern of these results suggests that L2 learners of Japanese are not guided by syntactic and lexical-semantic information in the same way as Japanese native speakers. These findings are interpreted within the constraint-satisfaction models (MacDonald et al., 1994) and are further discussed in the light of the research concerning the transfer of L1 processing routines.

scholarly journals MODEL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA

2021 ◽  
pp. 4-38
Author(s):  
А. Н. Занковский ◽  
В. В. Латынов
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Impact Processes ◽  
Psychological Influence ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Flow Of Information

Статья посвящена изложению предложенной авторами модели психологического воздействия в социальных сетях. Основанием модели послужили теоретические подходы, направленные на понимание особенностей реагирования отдельного человека, столкнувшегося с потоком информации в социальных сетях, а также концепции, ориентированные на анализ роли социальной идентичности человека и его социального окружения в процессах воздействия. Описаны элементы модели: субъект воздействия, объект воздействия, средства, эффекты и контекст воздействия. Охарактеризованы четыре группы факторов эффективности психологического воздействия в социальных сетях: характеристики субъекта воздействия, особенности средств и контекста воздействия, характеристики объекта воздействия. The article is devoted to the presentation of the model of psychological influence on social media proposed by the authors. The model is based on theoretical approaches aimed at understanding the characteristics of the individual's response to the flow of information in social networks, as well as concepts focused on analyzing the role of a person's social identity and social environment in the impact processes. The elements of the model are described: subject of influence, object of influence, means, effects and context of influence. Four groups of factors of the effectiveness of psychological influence in social media are characterized: characteristics of the subject of influence, features of the means of influence and context of influence, characteristics of the object of influence.

scholarly journals Worrying about Trust

2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
PIOTR SZTOMPKA
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Central Research ◽  
Common People ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Type ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Late Modern

In the last few decades, the subject of trust has become one of the central research topics in sociology and political science. Various theoretical approaches have crystallized, and an immense amount of empirical data has been collected. The focus on trust is for two kinds of reasons. One has to do with immanent developments in the social sciences. We have witnessed a turn from almost exclusive preoccupation with the macro-social level, that is the organizational, systemic or structuralist images of society, toward the micro-foundations of social life; that is, everyday actions and interactions, including their ‘soft’ dimensions, mental and cultural intangibles and imponderables. Another set of reasons has to do with the changing quality of social structures and social processes in the late-modern period. The ascendance of democracy means that the role of human agency is growing, and more depends on what common people think and do, how they feel toward others and toward their rulers and how they choose to participate and cooperate. The process of globalization means that more and more of the factors impinging on everyday life of people are non-transparent, unfamiliar and distant, demanding new type of attitudes. The expansion of risk means that people have to act more often than before in conditions of uncertainty. The traumas of rapid, comprehensive and often unexpected social change produce disorientation and a loss of existential security. If the ambition of sociology to become the reflexive awareness of society is to be realized, then the current interest in trust seems to be wholly warranted.

The role of acoustic cues in the development of (non-)target-like second-language prosodic representations

2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-114
Author(s):  
Annie Tremblay ◽  
Nathan Owens
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Canadian French ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Primary Word ◽  
Heavy Syllable ◽  
Stress Patterns

AbstractThis study investigates the acquisition of English (primary) word stress by native speakers of Canadian French, with focus on the trochaic foot and the alignment of its head with heavy syllables. L2 learners and native English speakers produced disyllabic and trisyllabic nonsense nouns. The participants with consistent stress patterns were grouped according to their prosodic grammar, and their productions were analyzed acoustically. The results indicate that the L2 learners who failed to align the head of the trochaic foot with the heavy syllable realized stress with higher pitch. Conversely, the L2 learners who aligned the head of the trochaic foot with the heavy syllable realized non-initial stress by lengthening the syllable. Surprisingly, the native speakers produced higher pitch on the initial syllable irrespective of stress, and they used length to realize stress oh the heavy syllable. These findings suggest that L2 learners may have reached different prosodic grammars as a result of attending to distinct acoustic cues to English stress.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF ACOUSTIC CUES AND LISTENER PROFICIENCY IN THE PERCEPTION OF ACCENT IN NONNATIVE SOUNDS

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikola Anna Eger ◽  
Eva Reinisch
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Production Quality ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Accented Speech ◽  
Minimal Pairs

AbstractThe speech of second language learners is often influenced by phonetic patterns of their first language. This can make them difficult to understand, but sometimes for listeners of the same first language to a lesser extent than for native listeners. The present study investigates listeners’ awareness of the accent by asking whether accented speech is not only more intelligible but also more acceptable to nonnative than native listeners. English native speakers and German learners rated the goodness of words spoken by other German learners. Production quality was determined by measuring acoustic differences between minimal pairs with “easy” versus “difficult” sounds. Higher proficient learners were more sensitive to differences in production quality and between easy and difficult sounds, patterning with native listeners. Lower proficient learners did not perceive such differences. Perceiving accented productions as good instances of L2 words may hinder development because the need for improvement may not be obvious.

scholarly journals LEXICAL NOMINATION AS A REFLECTION OF CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE IN OLD ENGLISH SEAFARING

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 16-20
Author(s):  
Natalia Atnabayeva ◽  
Vladimir Baltachev ◽  
Yekaterina Troynikova ◽  
Lilia Khasanova
Keyword(s):  
Middle English ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Language Representation ◽  
Mode Of Operation ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Degree Of Participation ◽  
Content Design

The theory that nominative processes extended through centuries to systematic formations of special terminological meanings of professional Old and Middle English marine terminological vocabulary had already been explained in different ways based on an evidential linguistic material. There is no doubt of the historical and philosophical approaches employed to describe the ancient language representation of the native speakers’ world, as well as of the role and degree of their participation in the formation of nominations inclusive of those of ancient seafaring vehicles. Having been referenced repeatedly, both conceptually and through documents, they had confirmed their right to exist.  In several topical articles, terminological units have already been represented by a synonymous series of proper nominations for the seafaring vessels (boats/ships) of various types by respective lexically-organized terms according to their word-formation, structural and content design in the Old and the Middle English. Despite the apparent decline of interest towards the subject of historical nominations in general, and the history of the English Marine language in particular,thereare unsettled challenges in the field. Specifically, more clarity is required regarding the incentives, degree of participation and the role of extralinguistic (human) factor in the history of a vessel-name formation, as well as in the mode of operation of the nominative apparatus for the above marine terms with respect to the of intralinguistic (language) factors involved.

scholarly journals Establishing the system of higher energetics education and science of Russian in domestic historiography

2020 ◽  
pp. 16-27
Author(s):  
Arsen Rustemovich Pavlenko ◽  
Rakhimian Galimianovich Iusupov
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Academic Science ◽  
Contemporary History ◽  
Energy Education ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Theoretical Generalization ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Russian Federation

This article is devoted to the contemporary historiography of higher school for energetics in USSR and the Russian federation. The subject of this research is comprised of formation of modern scientific perceptions on emergence and development of Russian system of training energy personnel. The object of this research is the body of 1990s-2000s publications of historic and multidisciplinary profile on the contemporary history of higher energy education and university energetics in Russia. The goal of this research is to determine the main problematic vectors and theoretical approaches forming in the process of scientific research of this topic, as well as understanding of the results and further prospects of its development. The novelty of this research consists in determining, systematizing and analyzing the content of the body of historiographical sources on history of Russian energetics and education during XX and XXI centuries. The authors conclude that within the framework of this historiographical branch, there is a current scientific base that allows transitioning to a new level of discovery and theoretical generalization of materials. It seems relevant to transition from “milestone stories” of universities and departments to study of the role of higher education and academic science in the process of implementation of state energy policy in Russia, as well as development of international energy dialogue.

scholarly journals The reflection of Russian mentality in proverbs (on the example of proverbs with the semantic component “summer” and “autumn”)

Litera ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 45-55
Author(s):  
Elena Aleksandrovna Grudeva
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Behavioral Norms ◽  
Russian Culture ◽  
Surrounding World ◽  
Semantic Component ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Mental Characteristics

The subject of this research is the interrelation between mentality and language. Mentality is conventionally understood as subconscious, archetypal manifestation of the system of values and attitudes of ethnolinguistic consciousness. National mentality is traced in the process of studying the semantics of idioms and paroemias of the language. The genre of proverbs, due to its semantic peculiarities, is characterized by various means of expression of mental groups, which corresponds to their cognitive-pragmatic status. Idioms and paroemias play the role of representatives of the mental characteristics of the ethos, which contribute to preservation of cultural distinctness and affect the mentality of native speakers, lead to the behavior stereotypical to the Russian culture and allow assessing life situations from the perspective of stereotypes. The main conclusion of the analysis conducted on paremiological units indicates that national mentality traits reflected in proverbs and idioms are associated with certain stereotypes in perception of the surrounding world, assessment of life situations, reconsideration of the essence of the phenomena, response to the ongoing transformations and events. All of the listed above fully corresponds to the main edificatory, didactic function of paroemias and idioms, as well as the key purpose of proverbs – enculturation of a person in the process of familiarizing with behavioral norms and riles, recommendations, dogmas and basic stereotypical models of perception of the surrounding worlds and the phenomena occurring therein.

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