scholarly journals Preliminary study about the rejection in the Brazilian and the Spanish cultures: external modifiers employed in email and private messages in Facebook

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-218
Author(s):  
Sara González Berrio ◽  
Susana Martín Leralta ◽  
Nildicéia Aparecida Rocha
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Relational Power ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Brazilian Students ◽  
Peninsular Spanish

This study is part of a larger research project, aimed at analyzing and comparing rejections within a corpus of emails and private Facebook messages among three groups of informants: natives speakers of Peninsular Spanish, native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese and Brazilian students of Spanish as a foreign language. The partial results presented here correspond to the piloting data of the study, carried out with the informants of the first two groups. Specifically, we provide a taxonomy of external modifiers present in rejections with different degrees of imposition, relational power, and social distance. Likewise, we analyze the use of these modifiers by Brazilian and Spanish native informants.

scholarly journals Probing rhythmic patterns in English-L2: a preliminary study on vowel reduction by Brazilian learners at different ages

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronaldo Mangueira Lima Jr ◽  
Guilherme Duarte Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Vowel Reduction ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Initial Exposure ◽  
Formal Instruction ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Categorical Classification ◽  
Preliminary Study

Languages are traditionally classified as mora-timed, syllable-timed or stress-timed in relation to their rhythmic patterns. The distinction between syllable-timed and stress-timed languages, however, lacks solid evidence in the literature. Syllable-timed languages typically have similar duration across unstressed and stressed syllables, whereas stress-timed languages tend to have similar inter-stress intervals, and unstressed syllables are shorter than stressed syllables. According to this categorical classification, English is a stress-timed language, thus having more reduction in unstressed vowels. Brazilian Portuguese, on the other hand, is typically classified as syllable-timed, and thus has little reduction of unstressed vowels. If these categorical rhythmic differences are correct, then acquiring the rhythmic patterns of English should be a challenging task to Brazilian learners, who are not expected to produce unstressed vowels with asmuch reduction as English native speakers. However, recent studies have found that the typology of rhythm is best understood as not categorical, but rather gradient, and that Brazilian Portuguese has a mixed classification, with more stress timing than would be expected from a traditional and categorical perspective. We therefore hypothesize that Brazilian learners of English should not have major difficulties reducing unstressed vowels, even when exposed to the second language later in life. To test this hypothesis, we analyze production data of native speakers of English (control group) and two groups of Brazilian advanced learners of English who differ in their age of initial exposure to formal instruction. The results show that neither group of learners is credibly different from the control group, which is consistent with the hypothesis that the mixed rhythm present in Brazilian Portuguese in fact facilitates the acquisition of the rhythmic patterns of English, a stress-timed language, at least in terms of unstressed vowel reduction.

scholarly journals LINGUISTIC ERRORS OF BRAZILIAN STUDENTS WHEN LEARNING RUSSIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (BASIC LEVEL)

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 505
Author(s):  
Joao Paulo Sabadin Santos T. Medina ◽  
Suellen Martins Medina ◽  
Ekaterina A. Budnik
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Optimal Order ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Theoretical Comparison ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Brazilian Students ◽  
Basic Level

The article examines the errors in the basic level regarding the interference of the Portuguese language when Brazilian students learn Russian as a foreign language and offers the methodic to predict and avoid them. For this, authors compare the phonetic systems of Russian and Brazilian Portuguese as well as the main grammar units and structures that form the linguistic minimum on the basic level. Then, using the comparative analysis the errors in the students’ speech are predicted and interpreted. The results of theoretical comparison are compared to the actual and real errors. In the phonetic plan authors figure out significant difference in the signs of hardness, softness, place of articulation, mode of articulation and nasalization, and not big difference in acoustic signs and duration of sounds. In the grammatical field the results point out to a new and optimal order in teaching the cases. Also the necessity to adapt different grammar understanding of Russian verbal structure to the Brazilian one is described regarding the preposition and type of complement and the verb aspects. Authors developed exercises to help students overcome such errors more efficiently and in less time. 

Effects of task complexity on L2 suggestions

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-265
Author(s):  
Daniel Márquez ◽  
Júlia Barón
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
American English ◽  
L2 Pragmatics ◽  
And Task

Abstract This exploratory study aims at determining whether increased task complexity affects performance of second language (L2) pragmatics. 34 Spanish learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) undertook simple and complex interactive tasks targeting the speech act of suggesting. Although previous analyses of learner-learner interaction have demonstrated that increasing the cognitive load of a task may affect the number of speech acts in conversation, not enough evidence to support this premise was found. In addition, the assessment of suggestions as provided by native speakers of American English shows that increased task complexity along number of elements, social distance, and degree of imposition is likely to promote accuracy and complexity of pragmatic moves without making L2 learners trade off either accuracy or complexity. Pedagogical implications in the fields of L2 pragmatics and task-based language teaching (TBLT) are further discussed.

scholarly journals Analysis of the production of total interrogative sentences in Brazilian learners of Spanish as a foreign language

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-63
Author(s):  
E. C. O Dias ◽  
M. A Alves
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Control Group ◽  
High Tone ◽  
Nuclear Region ◽  
Job Interview ◽  
Colombian Spanish

The pitch curves in a language may represent not only distinct intonational patterns but also serve to differentiate one type of sentence from another (e.g., interrogative x affirmative). Different melodic curves may also contain linguistic information which can affect comprehension. One comparison between Spanish and Portuguese can exemplify how differences in the melodic curves of interrogative sentences might cause miscomprehension. According to Sosa (1999) melodic curves of yes/no questions in Spanish tend to end with a high melodic pattern (H) or with a high and low movement, depending on the dialect. On the other hand, Brazilian Portuguese yes/no questions are said to end with a circumflex pattern, generally represented by a (HL) tone, especially when the last word of the sentence presents the stress in the penultimate syllable (Moraes and Collamarco, 2007). Taking these facts into consideration, this work aims at analyzing the pitch curves of interrogative sentences (yes/no questions) of Colombian Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, which were ended by words with stress relying on the last, the penultimate or the antepenultimate syllables. In order to conduct the research, data was collected with two Brazilian learners of Spanish, one native speaker of Colombian Spanish and one native speaker of Brazilian Portuguese. The native speakers served as control group. The learners of Spanish were asked to read 15 sentences in Spanish, and the control group was asked to read the same set of questions in their respective native language. These questions were contextualized as to be inserted in a situational context of a job interview (role play). All sentences were presented to the participants in a computer screen, in a randomized order. In total, the database was composed by 35 sentences in Spanish and 14 sentences in Brazilian Portuguese. The collected data was then analyzed in the software Praat through the algorithm Momel. This algorithm is able to draw the melodic contours of each sentence at a time. The algorithm Intsint was also used through Praat in order to extract the melodic tones corresponding to each curve. The intonational patterns (in nuclear and prenuclear regions) and the highest point of F0 in each sentence were analyzed. Results related to the sentences ended in words with stress in the last syllable showed that all subjects produced, predominantly, high ending patterns (H) in this type of sentences. Differences among subjects rely on the highest F0 point, which appeared with higher frequency in the nuclear region for the native speaker of Colombian Spanish and for the learners. For the prenuclear region, the results showed that the high and low movements were more prominent in the sentences produced by the learners than in the sentences produced by native speaker of Colombian Spanish. Regarding the sentences ended by words with stress in the penultimate and the antepenultimate syllables, results presented differences between the intonational patterns of Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish. The native speaker of Colombian Spanish presented a high ending tone (H) for all the sentences. The native speaker of Brazilian Portuguese and the Brazilian learners of Spanish varied their production either using a high tone (H) or a circumflex tone (HL). The highest point of F0 appeared with higher frequency in the nuclear region for the productions of the native speaker of Colombian Spanish when compared to production of the Brazilian learners of Spanish and the native speaker of Brazilian Portuguese. These results may be due either to the influence of the intonational pattern of the learner’s L1 or to the influence of other varieties of Spanish which the learners have had contact with.

scholarly journals Requests Made by Australian Learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Li ◽  
Wenying Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Social Variables ◽  
Pragmatic Development ◽  
Request Strategies ◽  
Strategy Types ◽  
Selection Of

This study examines how Australian learners of Chinese make requests as compared to those made by native speakers of Mandarin Chinese. Data were collected through a written production questionnaire comprising six situations. Results showed that learners and native speakers shared a preference for conventional indirectness. However, they favoured different strategy types in the realizations of requests. Moreover, native speakers tended to adjust their selection of request strategies according to social variables such as relative power, social distance, and rank of imposition, whereas learners displayed little sensitivity to social variables in the selection of request strategies. This study also provides some evidence of pragmatic development. Learners’ use of directness decreased but their use of conventional indirectness increased with increased proficiency. Moreover, learners’ acquisition of pragmalinguistic competence seemed to outperform their sociopragmatic competence. This study adds to the small body of research on requests by learners of Chinese as a foreign language. It highlights the importance of the inclusion of pragmatics in foreign language teaching.

The role of cross-linguistic stress pattern frequency and word similarity on the acquisition of English stress pattern by native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Post Silveira
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
American English ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Stress Pattern ◽  
Target Language ◽  
English As Second Language ◽  
Word Similarity ◽  
L1 Transfer

This is a preliminary study in which we investigate the acquisition of English as second language (L2[1]) word stress by native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese (BP, L1[2]). In this paper, we show results of a multiple choice forced choice perception test in which native speakers of American English and native speakers of Dutch judged the production of English words bearing pre-final stress that were both cognates and non-cognates with BP words. The tokens were produced by native speakers of American English and by Brazilians that speak English as a second language. The results have shown that American and Dutch listeners were consistent in their judgments on native and non-native stress productions and both speakers' groups produced variation in stress in relation to the canonical pattern. However, the variability found in American English points to the prosodic patterns of English and the variability found in Brazilian English points to the stress patterns of Portuguese. It occurs especially in words whose forms activate neighboring similar words in the L1. Transfer from the L1 appears both at segmental and prosodic levels in BP English. [1] L2 stands for second language, foreign language, target language. [2] L1 stands for first language, mother tongue, source language.

Assessment : Basic Concepts, Thoughtful Decisions

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-21
Author(s):  
Milton Raul Licona Luna ◽  
Elizabeth Alvarado Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Assessment For Learning ◽  
Continuous Assessment ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Basic Concepts ◽  
Education In Mexico

Institutions from basic to higher education in Mexico that offer courses of English as a Foreign Language rely heavily on the administering of assessment, usually a formal type of assessment. However, the literature shows how important it is the involvement of other types of assessment in the classroom for effective language learning to take place. For instance, assessment for learning, which consist of a continuous assessment where learners receive feedback so greater learning occurs, what is more, it enables teachers to modify their teaching ways as they reflect on the learners’ progress. To show how assessment is carried out in our context, this research project focuses on a case study within the CAADI from FOD in the UANL.

Underlying representation of [w]-final words in Brazilian Portuguese: Evidence from morphological derivation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Carlos Schwindt
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Underlying Representation

AbstractThis paper deals with the underlying representation of [w]-final words in Brazilian Portuguese, usually spelled with <l> and pronounced as [w] and occasionally as [ɫ] (e.g., papel / [paˈpɛw] ~ [paˈpɛɫ] ‘paper’). It focuses on non-verbs derived by a vowel-initial suffix preceded by [l] (e.g., papel+eiro ‘paper+suffix’ / [papeˈlejɾʊ] ‘papermaker’; cliente+ismo ‘client+suffix’ / [kliẽnteˈlizmʊ] ‘patronage’). The results from a pseudoword task answered by 219 participants contrasted to lexicon data from Corpus Brasileiro show that native speakers associate such derived forms with bases already containing [l] in the last syllable, either in the onset or the coda position. This observation is interpreted in a constraint-based approach, with the assumption that a demand for alignment between vowel-initial suffixes and roots closed by /l/, along with the requirement for phonological correspondence between base and derivative, is highly ranked in a grammar that accounts for learning morphophonological representations in the language.

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