La vaguedad y la precisión: Ejercicios de elasticidad lingüística

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 6770-6792
Author(s):  
Santiago U. Sánchez Jiménez
Keyword(s):  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
Linguistic Expression ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Inherent Property ◽  
Discursive Strategy ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Continuum ◽  
Semantic Processes

La vaguedad es una propiedad inherente de las lenguas naturales y, también, una estrategia discursiva eficaz. En este trabajo se presta atención a los rasgos de la vaguedad lingüística, a los motivos que justifican su existencia, a los tipos de vaguedad y a la relación que se establece con otros procesos semánticos como la polisemia, la homonimia o la modalidad epistémica. La vaguedad intencional (la que persigue un fin comunicativo) ha de enmarcarse dentro del contínuum precisión-imprecisión. En el ámbito de la vaguedad intencional ha de distinguirse una vaguedad pragmática (generada por el contexto) y otra vaguedad lingüística, consistente en el empleo de elementos lingüísticos que estrechan el margen de precisión o amplían el espectro de la vaguedad. La posibilidad de que el emisor pueda intervenir en el grado de precisión o imprecisión de una expresión lingüística pone de manifiesto la elasticidad del idioma. Vagueness is an inherent property of natural languages ​​and also an effective discursive strategy. In this work attention to features of linguistic vagueness, the reasons for their existence, the types of vagueness and the relationship established with other semantic processes such as polysemy, homonyms or epistemic modality is provided. The intentional vagueness (which pursues a communicative purpose) must fit within the continuum of precision-vagueness. In the field of intentional vagueness we have to distinguish a pragmatic vagueness (generated by the context) and other linguistic vagueness, consisting of the use of linguistic elements that narrow the margin of precision or broaden the spectrum of vagueness. The possibility that the speaker may select the degree of accuracy or inaccuracy of a linguistic expression shows the elasticity of language.  

Effects of Compression on Language Evolution

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy K. Teal ◽  
Charles E. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Minimum Description Length ◽  
Evolution Of Language ◽  
Problem Space ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Look Up Table ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract For many adaptive complex systems information about the environment is not simply recorded in a look-up table, but is rather encoded in a theory, schema, or model, which compresses information. The grammar of a language can be viewed as such a schema or theory. In a prior study [Teal et al., 1999] we proposed several conjectures about the learning and evolution of language that should follow from these observations: (C1) compression aids in generalization; (C2) compression occurs more easily in a “smooth”, as opposed to a “rugged”, problem space; and (C3) constraints from compression make it likely that natural languages evolve towards smooth string spaces. This previous work found general, if not complete support for these three conjectures. Here we build on that study to clarify the relationship between Minimum Description Length (MDL) and error in our model and examine evolution of certain languages in more detail. Our results suggest a fourth conjecture: that all else being equal, (C4) more complex languages change more rapidly during evolution.

Children's Ability to Write Stories as a Function of Variation in Task, Age, and Developmental Level

1987 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edna Barenbaum ◽  
Phyllis Newcomer ◽  
Barbara Nodine
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabled ◽  
Low Achievers ◽  
Developmental Level ◽  
Action Sequence ◽  
Writing Ability ◽  
Learning Capacity ◽  
Ability Groups ◽  
Written Compositions ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Continuum

In this study of children's ability to write stories, written compositions were classified by means of a system consisting of the following categories: story, primitive story, action sequence, descriptive, and expressive. Three groups of children served as subjects: learning disabled, low achievers, and normal achievers in grades 3, 5 and 7. Findings permit conclusions pertaining to (a) the performance of the three ability groups; (b) the relationship between age / grade and writing ability; (c) the continuum of composition categories used; (d) composition consistency; and (e) effect of task on performance. Specifically, the percentages of the various composition categories varied according to subjects' age and learning capacity. Also, the structure of the writing tasks and the length of compositions produced by the subjects were found to relate to story category.

Satisfaction with democracy and social capital in Greece

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 614-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Daskalopoulou
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Multivariate Regression Analysis ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Types ◽  
European Values ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Continuum

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different types of social capital contribute to the satisfaction with democracy (SWD) in Greece. Understanding the relationship between different variants of social capital and SWD allows one to situate the Greek democracy in the continuum of democracy types, from primary to modern. Design/methodology/approach The study uses microdata extracted from the European Values Surveys of 2002-2010 and multivariate regression analysis. Findings The results are compatible with a conception of the Greek political organization as a civil virtue democracy. A change in the nature of the relationship is observed after the recent economic crisis in the country. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to the empirical knowledge regarding the relationship between different variants of social capital and SWD. Originality/value Using a typology approach, the micro-relationship between democracy and social capital is analyzed as embedded in a continuum of different democracy types. In addition, this is the first study that uses microdata to analyze the effect of social capital upon SWD in Greece. The results of the study provide valuable understanding of the social and institutional arrangements that might sustain Greece’s efforts to meet its overall developmental challenges.

The Ottoman Origins of Arab Patriotism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Mestyan
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
New Media ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Crimean War ◽  
Local Elites ◽  
New Politics ◽  
Discursive Strategy ◽  
Political Solidarity ◽  
Modern Arabic ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter discusses the Ottoman origins of Arab patriotism. The construction of a new political community as related to a new regime type in Ottoman Egypt can be defined by two problems in the first half of the nineteenth century. The first was the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and its Egyptian province under the rule of Mehmed Ali. The second was the relationship between the governor and the local elites. These problems were interrelated in the legitimacy structure of power, and provided the conditions for the rise of political nation-ness in Arabic. It was the Crimean War, in which Egypt and other Arab provinces participated, that forcefully brought to the surface patriotism in Arabic as a discursive strategy of constituting political solidarity in public. The idea of the homeland became a means to make sense of new politics through old media and new media, such as the modern Arabic theater in Ottoman Beirut.

Defining Man as Animal Religiosum in English Religious Writing ca. 1650–ca. 1700

2019 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 925-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. W. Mills
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
Relationship With God ◽  
Rational Animal ◽  
Cambridge Platonism ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Subsequent Incorporation ◽  
The Continuum

This article surveys the emergence and usage of the redefinition of man not as animal rationale (rational animal) but as animal religiosum (religious animal) by numerous English theologians between 1650 and 1700. Across the continuum of English Protestant thought, human nature was being redescribed as unique due to its religious, not primarily its rational, capabilities. This article charts said appearance as a contribution to debates over man's relationship with God; then its subsequent incorporation into the discussion over the theological consequences of arguments in favor of animal rationality, as well as its uses in anti-atheist apologetics; and then the sudden disappearance of the definition of man as animal religiosum at the beginning of the eighteenth century. In doing so, the article hopes to make a useful contribution to our understanding of changing early modern understandings of human nature by reasserting the significance of theological writing in the dispute over the relationship between humans and beasts. As a consequence, it offers a more wide-ranging account of man as animal religiosum than the current focus on “Cambridge Platonism” and “Latitudinarianism” allows.

scholarly journals Hallucinations and Delusions Signal Alzheimer’s Associated Cognitive Dysfunction More Strongly Compared to Other Neuropsychiatric Symptoms

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 1894-1904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua T Fuller ◽  
Tabina K Choudhury ◽  
Deborah A Lowe ◽  
Steve Balsis ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Item Response ◽  
Cognitive Dysfunction ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Brain Volume ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Cognitively Normal ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Continuum

AbstractObjectivesNeuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common among individuals with dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (DAT). We sought to characterize which NPS more purely relate to cognitive dysfunction in DAT, relative to other NPS.MethodDemographic, neurocognitive, neuroimaging, and NPS data were mined from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database (n = 906). Using factor analysis, we analyzed the degree to which individual NPS were associated with DAT-associated cognitive dysfunction. We also employed item response theory to graphically depict the ability of individual NPS to index DAT-associated cognitive dysfunction across a continuum ranging from cognitively normal to mild DAT.ResultsPsychotic symptoms (hallucinations and delusions) were more strongly related to the continuum of DAT-associated cognitive dysfunction than other NPS, with the strength of the relationship peaking at high levels of disease severity. Psychotic symptoms also negatively correlated with brain volume and did not relate to the presence of vision problems. Aberrant motor behavior and apathy had relatively smaller associations with DAT-associated cognitive dysfunction, while other NPS showed minimal associations.DiscussionPsychotic symptoms most strongly indexed DAT-associated cognitive dysfunction, whereas other NPS, such as depression and anxiety, were not as precisely related to the DAT-associated cognitive dysfunction.

From inquisitive disjunction to nonveridical equilibrium: Modalized questions in Korean

Linguistics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-244
Author(s):  
Arum Kang ◽  
Suwon Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Epistemic Uncertainty ◽  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
Modal Operator ◽  
Current Analysis ◽  
Epistemic Modal ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
Novel Device ◽  
Modal Base ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe goal of the present study is to identify a novel paradigm of epistemic modal operator derived from disjunction. Our main data involves an inquisitive disjunction marker nka in Korean, the presence of which enhances a speaker’s epistemic uncertainty and forms a modalized question. We show how nka contributes the modal effects in question within a theory of nonveridicality. In particular, we propose that the prerequisite of nka are non-homogenous nonveridical states that are partitioned in equipoised epistemic spaces because of the absence in ranking between them. The distinct notions of disjunction, question, and possibility modals can thus be systematically captured under the framework of nonveridical equilibrium. The current analysis offers important insights into the relationship between the classes of nonveridical and modal ingredients involved in inquisitive disjunction: First, Korean facts importantly reveal that modalized questions do not form a uniform class with regular questions, since interrogative semantics alone cannot predict the epistemic uncertainty. Second, languages parameterize as to how they lexicalize the function of manipulating modal base. The implication of our findings is that disjunction needs to be recognized as a novel device for encoding a speaker’s weakest perspective on epistemic modality.

scholarly journals Kinematics around the B335 protostar down to au scales

2019 ◽  
Vol 631 ◽  
pp. A64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Bjerkeli ◽  
Jon P. Ramsey ◽  
Daniel Harsono ◽  
Hannah Calcutt ◽  
Lars E. Kristensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Properties ◽  
Young Stellar Objects ◽  
Continuum Emission ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Short Baseline ◽  
Stellar Objects ◽  
Spatially Resolved ◽  
Long Baseline ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Continuum

Context. The relationship between outflow launching and the formation of accretion disks around young stellar objects is still not entirely understood, which is why spectrally and spatially resolved observations are needed. Recently, the Atacama Large Millimetre/sub-millimetre Array (ALMA) carried out long-baseline observations towards a handful of young sources, revealing connections between outflows and the inner regions of disks. Aims. Here we aim to determine the small-scale kinematical and morphological properties of the outflow from the isolated protostar B335 for which no Keplerian disk has, so far, been observed on scales down to 10 au. Methods. We used ALMA in its longest-baseline configuration to observe emission from CO isotopologues, SiO, SO2, and CH3OH. The proximity of B335 provides a resolution of ~3 au (0.03′′). We also combined our long-baseline data with archival observations to produce a high-fidelity image covering scales up to 700 au (7′′). Results. 12CO has an X-shaped morphology with arms ~50 au in width that we associate with the walls of an outflow cavity, similar to what is observed on larger scales. Long-baseline continuum emission is confined to <7 au from the protostar, while short-baseline continuum emission follows the 12CO outflow and cavity walls. Methanol is detected within ~30 au of the protostar. SiO is also detected in the vicinity of the protostar, but extended along the outflow. Conclusions. The 12CO outflow does not show any clear signs of rotation at distances ≳30 au from the protostar. SiO traces the protostellar jet on small scales, but without obvious rotation. CH3OH and SO2 trace a region <16 au in diameter, centred on the continuum peak, which is clearly rotating. Using episodic, high-velocity, 12CO features, we estimate the launching radius of the outflow to be <0.1 au and dynamical timescales of the order of a few years.

The effect of behavioural arousal on the activity of hypothalamic neurons in unanaesthetized, freely moving rats and rabbits

1982 ◽  
Vol 214 (1195) ◽  
pp. 263-272 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Hypothalamic Neurons ◽  
Extracellular Recordings ◽  
Modal Interval ◽  
Individual Mode ◽  
Consistent Manner ◽  
Freely Moving ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Continuum

Experiments were carried out to investigate the relationship between levels of arousal and the temporal discharge pattern of hypothalamic neurons in unanaesthetized, unrestrained rats and rabbits. Extracellular recordings were taken from 22 hypothalamic neurons in animals that had been implanted previously with platinum microwire electrodes. Separate records of neuronal activity were taken from each neuron when the animal was at two extremes of arousal, sleep and alarm, and compared with an intermediate state of arousal, awake and relaxed. The extremes of arousal were defined by simple behavioural criteria, shown to coincide with specific patterns of electrocorticographic activity. Interval distributions were constructed from these records of neuronal activity. The modal interval, but not the frequency of discharge of these neurons, changed in a consistent manner with the level of arousal for all the neurons recorded. The modal interval was always short (9.59 ±1.2 ms (mean ± s.e.), n = 17) during sleep and longer when the animal was alarmed (57.15 ± 7.59 ms, n = 13). When the animals were awake and relaxed the modal interval was between those of sleep and alarm (27.5 ± 2.79 ms, n = 19). Scatter about an individual mode was greater in sleep than during alarm. It is suggested that the continuum of arousal from sleep to alarm is reflected by a continuously shifting modal interval for each hypothalamic neuron. This is essentially similar to reports on the effect of arousal on cortical neurons.

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