LEXEMES DENOTING LOUD AND QUIET SOUNDS IN HILL MARI

В статье на материале горномарийского языка, относящегося к уральской семье, рассматриваются прилагательные и наречия со значениями высокой громкости (‘громкий’ / ‘громко’) и низкой громкости (‘тихий / тихо’). Данные собраны в ходе полевой работы в с. Кузнецово и окрестных деревнях методом анкетирования носителей языка и путем анализа собранного в экспедициях корпуса расшифровок устных текстов; также проведено сопоставление с материалами словарей. Учтены сведения из доступных (хотя и немногочисленных) исследований рассматриваемой группы лексики в других языках. Теоретической базой служит фреймовый подход к лексической типологии, опирающийся на анализ сочетаемости лексем. Обсуждаются семантические противопоставления в рассматриваемом поле (низкая громкость vs. отсутствие звука, речевые vs. неречевые контексты, особые лексемы для тихого поведения человека и тихой обстановки). Проанализированы модели полисемии лексем поля (использование в контекстах высокой и низкой громкости интенсификаторов с более широкой сочетаемостью, связь с семантическим полем скорости). Затронут ряд диахронических аспектов, в частности соотношение значений низкой громкости и низкой скорости с исторической точки зрения. Данные обсуждаются в свете теоретических работ, посвященных проблемам полисемии в лексике (Е. В. Рахилина, Т. И. Резникова, В. А. Плунгян и др.), средствам выражения каритивной семантики (С. М. Толстая и др.), противопоставлению между компонентом значения и отменяемой контекстом импликатурой (Е. В. Падучева, К. Кеарнс и др.). The article deals with adjectives and adverbs meaning ‘loud’ / ‘loudly’ and ‘quiet’ / ‘quietly’ in Hill Mari ( Uralic). The data were collected in fieldwork in the village of Kuznetsovo and in some nearby villages. I relied on the method of elicitation, as well as on the analysis of the corpus of transcribed oral narratives. The material from the published dictionaries was also considered. Studies of the domain in question (although quite rare) in other languages were taken into account as well. The theoretical framework of the article is the frame-based approach to lexical typology, which implies comparing the semantics of lexemes through the analysis of their combinability. I discuss semantic oppositions in the domain under consideration (low sound vs. absence of sound, speech vs. non-speech contexts, special lexemes for human behaviour and environment). Polysemy patterns developed by the relevant lexemes are analysed (the use of intensifiers with broad combinability in the contexts of loudness, the relation to the domain of speed). Some diachronic issues are touched upon, in particular the historical link between the meanings of low sound and low speed. The data are discussed in a theoretical perspective, including the issues of lexical polysemy (cf. papers by E. Rakhilina, T. Reznikova, V. Plungian, among others), caritive expressions in the lexicon (S. Tolstaya, among others), the opposition between a meaning component and an implicature which can be cancelled in a context (E. Paducheva, K. Kearns, among others).

Tuturan Komburongo in the Context of Oral Narrative and Belief of the Tobilung Ethnic Group of Sabah

The oral narratives that revolve around Komburongo are known as tuturan Komburongo among the Tobilung ethnic group in Sabah. The purpose of this article is to analyze the elements of belief contained in these stories. All the tuturan Komburungo that are analyzed in this article are obtained from fieldwork interviews with informants from the Tobilung ethnic group in the district of Kota Belud, Sabah. The important issues dealt with in this article are concerned with the Tobilung ethnic group's belief in the supernatural powers of Komburongo, as told in their oral literature. The result of the analysis by way of interpretation in this study finds that the tuturan Komburungo are divided into myth or legend in the context of folklore. On the question of its origin, Komburongo is believed to have been created by Tinamaru, the Creator of the Tobilung. The traditional Tobilung ethnic group are found to be highly dependent on Komburongo as the good spirit that provides guidance and possesses magical powers that help to solve various life crises for generations. This study is considered significant because it highlights many aspects of the belief of the Tobilung ethnic group passed down from generation to generation based on tuturan Komburungo.

The History of the Short Story in New Zealand

<p>The thesis will be an investigation of the history of the short story in New Zealand, attempting to shift the focus away from a (implicitly hierarchical) sequence of writers who specialised in short stories to a consideration of the ascendancy of type in short fiction at certain times (for example the domination of nineteenth century short fiction by oral narratives and romance); the preoccupations of groups of writers who share a collective identity (especially Maori and women); and the recurrence of some kinds of narratives (for example Pakeha writers writing about the Maori). I propose to explore both the construction of 'reality' and 'New Zealand' in the short story, demonstrating how race, gender, and sometimes class/wealth figure in that construction, and generally suggest that the short story's dominance in New zealand's fiction makes it both a significant medium for cultural identity, and a context for a postcolonial discourse characterized by recurring questions about origin and subjectivity.</p>

The History of the Short Story in New Zealand

<p>The thesis will be an investigation of the history of the short story in New Zealand, attempting to shift the focus away from a (implicitly hierarchical) sequence of writers who specialised in short stories to a consideration of the ascendancy of type in short fiction at certain times (for example the domination of nineteenth century short fiction by oral narratives and romance); the preoccupations of groups of writers who share a collective identity (especially Maori and women); and the recurrence of some kinds of narratives (for example Pakeha writers writing about the Maori). I propose to explore both the construction of 'reality' and 'New Zealand' in the short story, demonstrating how race, gender, and sometimes class/wealth figure in that construction, and generally suggest that the short story's dominance in New zealand's fiction makes it both a significant medium for cultural identity, and a context for a postcolonial discourse characterized by recurring questions about origin and subjectivity.</p>

Storytelling in bilingual Turkish-Swedish children

The empirical evidence for whether narrative macrostructure skills are shared between a bilingual child’s two languages is inconclusive, and it is not known how macrostructure (overall story structure) is influenced by general language proficiency and amount of exposure. The present study investigates these issues in 100 Turkish-Swedish bilingual 4-to-7-year-old children growing up in Sweden. Oral narratives were elicited in both Turkish and Swedish with two picture-based tasks from the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN) in the telling mode. We investigated to what extent the language of elicitation influences bilingual children’s macrostructure (story structure, episodic complexity), and explored effects of age, narrative task, narrative length, expressive vocabulary and language exposure, both separately and combined, on macrostructure in the respective language. Story structure and episodic complexity were found to increase similarly with age in both Turkish and Swedish from 4 to 7 years. Scores did not differ between the two MAIN storytelling tasks. Expressive vocabulary and narrative length influenced story structure scores positively and similarly in both languages. Daily language exposure and length of exposure to Swedish did not show any significant effect. The results can be interpreted in support of a carry-over of narrative macrostructural skills between the two languages.

The Theme of Fear in Folklore Narratives by Descendants of Stolypin Migrants to Eastern Siberia

Статья посвящена теме страха (рационального или иррационального) в семейных нарративах, записанных от потомков столыпинских переселенцев в Восточную Сибирь, проживающих в д. Жизневка Заларинского района Иркутской области. Наиболее часто тема страха встречается в местных быличках о лешем, причем и сегодня яркую эмоциональную реакцию вызывает не только любая потенциальная коммуникация со сверхъестественным существом (например, очень опасно наступить на след лесного, так как он обязательно уведет человека с собой), но и сам рассказ о ней. Обычным людям в таких рассказах противопоставляется «знающий человек», который умеет с помощью заговоров вернуть человека из леса. Зафиксированные фольклорные фабулаты и мемораты циклизуются вокруг местного знахаря-колдуна (переселенца из бывшего Быховского уезда Могилевской губернии), который, по словам рассказчиков, привез с собой книгу черной магии и умел общаться с духом леса. Свои «знания» он передал дочери, о которой также продолжают бытовать многочисленные мифологические рассказы. Именно к ней обращались в самых безнадежных случаях люди со всей округи (поиск самойбийц, повесившихся в лесу, заблудившихся и т. д.). Устные нарративы, записанные от потомков знахаря, отличаются интересными, редко встречающимися деталями магических практик, применяемых для того, чтобы обезопасить человека от лешего и преодолеть страх перед хозяином леса. The article is devoted to the topic of fear (rational or irrational) in family narratives recorded from the descendants of Stolypin migrants to Eastern Siberia. These descendants live in the village of Zhiznevka in the Zalarinsky district of the Irkutsk province. The most common topic of fear is found in local bylichki about Master of Forest (leshiie), and even today, a vivid emotional reaction is caused not only by any potential communication with a supernatural character (e.g., it is very dangerous to step on the trail of a forest spirit because a person who did this will be kidnapped by the forest spirit), but also by the story itself. Ordinary people in such stories are contrasted with a “knowledgeable person” who knows how to bring people back from the forest-spirit with the help of magic spells. The recorded folklore fabulates and memorates are cyclized around the local healer-sorcerer (a migrant from the former Bykhovsky district of Mogilev province), who, according to the narrators, had brought with him a book of black magic and was able to communicate with the forest-spirit. He passed on his "knowledge" to his daughter, about whom numerous mythological stories are still existing. People from neighboring areas have visited her in the most hopeless cases (during searches for those who committed suicide in the forest or for those who got lost, etc.). Oral narratives recorded from the descendants of the healer included interesting, rarely encountered details of magical practices used to protect a person from the forest-spirit or overcome fear towards him.

Cognitive and Linguistic Skills Associated With Cross-Linguistic Transfer in the Production of Oral Narratives in English as a Foreign Language by Arabic- and Hebrew-Speaking Children: Finding Common Denominators

Many studies have examined literacy and related skills among learners of English as a foreign language (EFL), but little attention has been given to the role of oral language within a cross-linguistic framework despite the fact that English is the most widely spoken additional language today. Oral narratives rely on lexical, morphosyntactic, and conceptual knowledge. An in-depth examination of this modality can shed light on specific associations between cognitive and linguistic L1 and EFL skills and suggest possible mediating variables that assist multilingual speakers in producing complete oral narratives in EFL. The present study examined L1 and EFL contributors to EFL oral narratives produced by native Arabic (n = 85) and Hebrew (n = 86) speaking sixth graders seeking to identify cross-linguistic influences. We assessed general cognitive skills, phonological memory (PM), lexical, morphosyntactic knowledge, and reading comprehension in L1 (Hebrew speakers), Modern Standard Arabic (MSA, L2), L3 Hebrew (for Arabic speakers) and EFL. The “Cookie Theft” task assessed EFL elicited narratives using modified narrative analysis scales to account for microstructure (lexical and morphosyntactic complexity) and macrostructure (understanding story elements), generating a Total Narrative score. Our results yielded different patterns of underlying psycholinguistic profiles, and cross and within language associations for each group. Strong interactions between L1, L2/L3, and EFL morphological awareness and reading comprehension suggested cross-linguistic transfer. Regression analysis identified the most influential skills supporting EFL narratives for each linguistic group: English reading comprehension (ERC) was essential for Hebrew speakers and English morphological awareness (EMA) for Arabic ones. These results suggested different allocations of cognitive and linguistic resources in EFL narratives. The results also allowed to identify a common mediating skill for both groups. Findings are discussed within the theoretical framework of the Interdependence Hypothesis, the Linguistic Proximity Model, as well as accounts of direct and indirect transfer, which illuminate the impact of typological distance, general language proficiency and components of linguistic knowledge on cross-linguistic transfer in EFL oral language production.

The effect of workshop training on rater variability in children’s oral narrative assessment

Oral narrative assessments are important for diagnosis of language disorders in school-age children so scoring needs to be reliable and consistent. This study explored the impact of training on the variability of story grammar scores in children’s oral narrative assessments scored by multiple raters. Fifty-one speech pathologists and 19 final-year speech pathology students attended training workshops on oral narrative assessment scoring and analysis. Participants scored two oral narratives prompted by two different story stimuli and produced by two children of differing ages. Demographic information, story grammar scores and a confidence survey were collected pre- and post-training. The total story grammar score changed significantly for one of the two oral narratives. A significant effect was observed for rater years of experience and the change in total story grammar scores post training, with undergraduate students showing the greatest change. Two story grammar elements, character and attempt, changed significantly for both stories, with an overall trend of increased element scores post-training. Confidence ratings also increased post-training. Findings indicated that training via an interactive workshop can reduce rater variability when using researcher-developed narrative scoring systems.