Language use, cognitive processes and linguistic change

2015 ◽  
pp. 521-536
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Linguistic Change

scholarly journals The language of conspiracy: A psychological analysis of speech used by conspiracy theorists and their followers on Twitter

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 606-623
Author(s):  
Amos Fong ◽  
Jon Roozenbeek ◽  
Danielle Goldwert ◽  
Steven Rathje ◽  
Sander van der Linden
Keyword(s):  
Random Sample ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Psychological Characteristics ◽  
Scientific Content ◽  
Psychological Analysis

This paper analyzes key psychological themes in language used by prominent conspiracy theorists and science advocates on Twitter, as well as those of a random sample of their follower base. We conducted a variety of psycholinguistic analyses over a corpus of 16,290 influencer tweets and 160,949 follower tweets in order to evaluate stable intergroup differences in language use among those who subscribe or are exposed to conspiratorial content and those who are focused on scientific content. Our results indicate significant differences in the use of negative emotion (e.g., anger) between the two groups, as well as a focus, especially among conspiracy theorists, on topics such as death, religion, and power. Surprisingly, we found less pronounced differences in cognitive processes (e.g., certainty) and outgroup language. Our results add to a growing literature on the psychological characteristics underlying a “conspiracist worldview.”

scholarly journals 1070 An Examination of the Relationship Between Language Use in Post-Trauma Nightmares and Psychological Sequelae in a Treatment Seeking Population

SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A407-A408
Author(s):  
C Paquet ◽  
J Davis
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Ptsd Symptom ◽  
Emotion Words ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Introduction Studying language use in dreams and nightmares has become an increasingly used tool to understand underlying emotional and cognitive processes. Specifically, in regards to post-trauma nightmares (PTNMs), nightmare transcriptions can offer a lens to understand a survivor’s interpretation of their trauma. The current study will utilize a method of quantitative text analysis to analyze the relationship between specific psychological constructs and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and nightmare qualities. It is hypothesized that there will be a positive correlation between words related to perceptual processes and negative emotions in nightmares and PTSD symptom and nightmare severity. There will be a negative correlation between cognitive processes and positive emotion words, and PTSD symptom and nightmare severity. Methods Fifty-three nightmares were collected from participants that were recruited from the community in a Midwestern city as part of an ongoing investigation of the effectiveness of a brief cognitive-behavioral intervention for PTNM, Exposure, Relaxation, and Rescripting Therapy (ERRT). All participants were over the age of 18, have experienced a criterion A trauma, and have nightmares at least once weekly. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) was utilized to analyze the nightmare transcriptions. The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for the DSM-5 (PCL-5) and the Trauma-related Nightmare Survey (TRNS) were used to measure symptom severity. A Pearson’s correlation analysis was used for this exploratory study. Results Words related to perceptual processes were significantly positively correlated with PTSD symptom and nightmare severity (p<.05) Neither negative nor positive emotion words were significantly related to PTSD and nightmare symptoms (p>.05). Cognitive processing words were significantly negatively correlated with PTSD and nightmare symptoms (p<.05). Conclusion The results of this study support the hypothesis that language use in nightmares reveals important information about underlying cognitive and emotional functioning. The results of this study may have an important impact on treatment considerations for those who have experienced trauma. Analyzing language use in PTNM may help to understand the etiology and maintenance of PTSD symptoms. Support Support for this study comes from the University of Tulsa Institute of Trauma, Adversity, and Injustice.

scholarly journals What is an image schema? Looking for an answer in Latvian and Mandarin Chinese

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 142-158
Author(s):  
Marija Nikolajeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Concept Image ◽  
Image Schemas ◽  
Concept Location ◽  
Semantic Frames ◽  
Image Schema ◽  
Functional Units ◽  
The Relationship

Image schema is one of the key notions in the discussions of the semantics of spatial adpositions. The diversity of related topics and the abundance of literature on these conceptual primitives makes the concept image schema difficult to grasp. The aim of this article is to clarify this notion by explicating on some important aspects of the schematization and representation of spatial scenes using the CONTAINMENT schema as an example. The article also demonstrates that the cross-linguistic comparison of an image schema is an effective method employed to better understand the universal cognitive processes underlying language use. The article contains a comparison of the spatial functional units that express the CONTAINMENT schema in Latvian and Mandarin Chinese, a discussion of the blurriness of the boundary between the concepts containment and support and their relation to the concept location. The relationship between image schemas and semantic frames, the factors that influence schematization and the phenomenon of parallel usage of locative units are discussed too. Image schema transformations are characterized as the mechanism of extending the meanings of spatial phrases.

scholarly journals ‘To imagine a language means to imagine a form of life?’

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Christiane Luck
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Narrative Research ◽  
Linguistic Change ◽  
Reader Responses ◽  
Form Of Life ◽  
Inclusive Language ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
German Reader

Despite several decades of linguistic research and activism, neutral/inclusive language use is far from the norm in English and German. In this article I explore whether the encounter with neutral terminology in June Arnold’s novel The Cook and the Carpenter can prompt readers to question dominant practices and consider alternatives. Based on narrative research, my premise is that fiction can create familiarity with new terms and thereby support linguistic change. I frame my investigation with Wittgenstein’s notion that ‘to imagine a language means to imagine a form of life’, and put it to the test with a discourse analysis of English and German reader responses. The results of my study show that Arnold’s novel stimulates fruitful debate of the issue of gender and language. Based on my findings, I propose the text’s integration into linguistics education in order to further promote neutral/inclusive language use.

Distinctive Linguistic Styles in Children with ADHD

2009 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyungil Kim ◽  
Chang Hwan Lee
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Adhd Group ◽  
Word Count ◽  
Children With Adhd ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Language Analysis ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Linguistic Inquiry

To assess whether the writing styles of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) combined type differ significantly from those of children in a nonclinical control group, writing samples from 17 children with ADHD combined type and 18 children in a nonclinical control group were compared using the language analysis program Korean Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count. These writing samples, produced in response to instructions, served as dependent variables. Analysis showed that children with ADHD used fewer linguistic variables (e.g., sentences, phrases, and morphemes) than the control group. In addition, the ADHD group used fewer words reflecting cognitive processes and fewer pronouns than members of the control group. Also, the ADHD group showed a different pattern in the use of words referring to friends. This study provides preliminary descriptive data on language use among children diagnosed with a main subtype of ADHD.

The ‘thinking’ in thinking-for-speaking

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panos Athanasopoulos ◽  
Emanuel Bylund
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
Comprehensive Picture ◽  
Substantial Progress ◽  
Thinking For Speaking ◽  
State Of Affairs

According to the thinking-for-speaking (TFS) hypothesis, speakers of different languages think differently while in the process of mentally preparing content for speech. The aim of the present paper is to critically discuss the research carried out within the TFS paradigm, against the background of the basic tenets laid out by the proponents of this framework. We will show that despite substantial progress in the investigation of crosslinguistic differences in the organisation of information in discourse, the studies that actually examine the cognitive aspects of speech production are, to date, vanishingly few. This state of affairs creates a gap in our knowledge about the thought processes that co-occur with speech production during language use and acquisition. We will argue that in order to reach a more comprehensive picture of the cognitive processes and outcomes of speech production, methodologies additional to the analysis of information organisation must be used.

A blueprint of the Entrenchment-and- Conventionalization Model

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Jörg Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Speech Communities ◽  
Different Types

AbstractLanguages are subject to change, but they are also stable. The linguistic knowledge of the members of speech communities is similar, but also differs in many ways. Language use affects individual linguistic knowledge and contributes to linguistic conventionality. The present paper outlines a model of how language works that strives to do justice to these commonsensical observations. The model consists of cognitive processes and social processes and shows how these interact under the influence of usage events and a range of different types of forces.

scholarly journals Language change in contact: How social class and gender influence multilingual Kui speakers’ language use and identity construction in north-eastern Thailand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Siebenhütter
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Age Factors ◽  
Role Expectations ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Linguistic Change ◽  
Confidence Levels ◽  
Gender Influence ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
And Gender

Men and women in the Kui society in north-eastern Thailand use Kui, Thai, and other languages differently and at varying confidence levels. This paper investigates relationships between gendered differences in language use and socioeconomic status and age factors of such use. It specifically examines how Kui minority language use and competence are conditioned by gender and discusses potential reasons for this variation by examining gendered language awareness and sociolinguistic attitudes. Moreover, it discusses whether societal role expectations in collectivistic cultures influence the model of linguistic change and if women in the Kui society function as “leaders of linguistic change,” as represented in Labov’s sociolinguistic model. The findings reveal current Kui-speaking preferences and give predictions on prospective language use, which is a stable situation of multilingualism whereby current Kui speakers continue to socialize and teach the language to prospective Kui speakers. The results confirm the applicability of Labov’s model; however, the unique characteristics of Kui’s linguistic situation indicate a need to adapt the model to account for cultural differences in collectivistic non-western societies.

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