Stages rather than ages in the acquisition of movement structures: Data from sentence repetition and 27696 spontaneous clauses

This study explored the order of acquisition of various types of syntactic-movement and embedding structures in Hebrew, using a sentence-repetition task, in which 60 children aged 2;2-3;10 repeated 80 sentences (with a total of 4800 sentences), and an analysis of the spontaneous speech of 61 children aged 1;6-6;1 (27,696 clauses). The sentence repetition task revealed a set order of acquisition of the various types of syntactic movement: A-movement is acquired first, then A-bar-movement, and finally movement of the verb to C. The analysis of spontaneous speech revealed the same order: A-movement of the object of unaccusative verbs to subject position appears first, together with simple SV sentences; then, wh-questions appear, then relative clauses and topicalization, which appear together with embedding of finite clauses, and lastly, V-to-C movement. Previous studies have shown that Hebrew speakers under age six have difficulty comprehending and producing sentences with A-bar-movement in which a lexically-restricted object crosses over a lexically-restricted subject. And indeed, whereas children produced A-bar structures very early (wh-questions from age 1;6, relative-clauses and topicalization from age 2;6), until age 5;8 these structures never included a lexical DP crossing over another lexical DP. Both tasks indicated that the order of structure acquisition is fixed, creating Guttman scales between structures, but different children acquire the same structure at very different ages. It seems that whereas the syntactic path and the stages of structure acquisition along it are constant between children, each child walks this path in their own pace.

Phrase Structure and Movement in Japanese

Japanese exhibits some unique features with respect to phrase structure and movement. It is well-known that its phrase structure is strictly head-final. It also provides ample evidence that a sentence may have more complex structure than its surface form suggests. Causative sentences are the best-known example of this. They appear to be simple sentences with verbs accompanying the causative suffix, -sase. But the causative suffix is an independent verb and takes a small clause vP complement in the syntactic representation. Japanese sentences can have a rich structure in the right periphery. For example, embedded clauses may contain up to three overt complementizers, corresponding to Finite (no), Interrogative (ka), and Report/Force (to). Matrix clauses may end in a sequence of discourse particles, such as wa, yo, and ne. Each of the complementizers and discourse particles has a selectional requirement of its own. More research is required to settle on the functional heads in the nominal structure. Among the controversial issues are whether D is present and whether Case markers should be analyzed as independent heads. Various kinds of movement operations are observed in the language. NP-movement to the subject position takes place in passive and unaccusative sentences, and clausal comparatives and clefts are derived by operator-movement. Scrambling is a unique movement operation that should be distinguished from both NP-movement and operator-movement. It does not establish operator-variable relations but is not subject to the locality requirements imposed on NP-movement. It cannot be PF-movement as it creates new binding possibilities. It is still debated whether head movement, for example, the movement of verb to tense, takes place in the language.

“I can read, I just can't see”: a disability rights-based perspective on reading by listening

PurposeThe aim of the paper is to create a greater understanding of how people who are blind or vision impaired describe their use of audio-based reading technologies, with a particular focus on how they reason about whether the use of these technologies can be understood in terms of reading.Design/methodology/approachThe study is part of the emerging research area Critical Studies of Reading and draws theoretical inspiration from Document Theory, New Literacy Studies and Critical Disability Studies. The article presents a discourse analysis of how 16 university students in Australia who are blind or vision impaired and use audio-based reading technologies describe this use in semi-structured interviews.FindingsThe participants relate to a division between ‘real' reading and reading by listening, where the latter is constructed as an exception and is connected to the subject position of being blind or vision impaired. However, resistance is also noticeable, where reading by listening is constructed as something that is normal, and as a right.Originality/valueThe article is a theoretical and empirical contribution to the ongoing discussion on the use of audio-based reading technologies. It presents perspectives from the users of these technologies and argues why a specific understanding of this use is important.

SELF-DEVELOPMENT, ABILITY FOR SELF-DEVELOPMENT AND HIGHER ABILITY FOR SELF-DEVELOPMENT

С психологической точки зрения анализируется понятие «саморазвитие», а также связанные с ним способности личности. Цель исследования – рассмотреть понятие «саморазвитие», а также «способность к саморазвитию», «высшую способность к саморазвитию» и выявить различие между этими способностями. В ходе проводимого анализа раскрывается понятие саморазвития, описываются его различные характеристики и параметры. Представлены определения способности к саморазвитию, охватывающие ее разные ракурсы. Показано, что единого представления о саморазвитии не существует. Многообразие факторов, способствующих саморазвитию, выделение множества его аспектов и компонентов, различных форм проявления представляется правомерным, так как отражает сложность и многомерность данного психологического феномена. Особое место занимает описание субъектности, которая трактуется автором в качестве одного из основных факторов, ведущих к саморазвитию. Подчеркивается важная роль позиции субъекта и субъектности в саморазвитии и ее значение для проявления высшей способности к саморазвитию. Отмечена специфика высшей способности к саморазвитию, связанная с ее принадлежностью к ментальному компоненту духовных способностей. Показано отличие обычной способности к саморазвитию от высшей способности к саморазвитию, которое связано с тем, что высшая способность к саморазвитию ориентирована на абсолютные ценности и высокие духовно-нравственные идеалы. The article analyzes the concept of “self-development” and the personality abilities associated with it from a psychological point of view. The purpose of the research is to consider the concept of “self-development”, as well as “the ability for self-development”, “the highest ability for self-development” and identify the difference between these abilities. In the course of the analysis the concept of self-development is described, its various characteristics and parameters are revealed. The article presents definitions of the ability for self-development, covering its different aspects, such as systemic, integrative, subjective, activity-oriented, life-oriented, transformative, motivational-value, evaluative-orientational, self-regulatory, reflexive-regulatory, cognitive. It is shown that there is no single concept of self-development. Some concepts emphasize the role of cognitive factors, while others give priority to self-regulatory skills; subject position; transformation of the inner world; specific activity for self-change, aimed at solving life problems. It is concluded that the variety of factors contributing to self-development, the identification of many its aspects and components, various forms of manifestation seems to be logical, since it reflects the complexity and multidimensionality of this psychological phenomenon. A special place in the article is occupied by the description of subjectiveness, which is interpreted by the author as one of the key factors determining self-development. The important role of the position of the subject and subjectiveness in self-development and its importance for the manifestation of the highest ability for self-development, when a person acts as a subject of activity, as a subject of development, and as a subject of life, is emphasized. The specificity of the highest ability for self-development is noted, associated with its belonging to the mental component of spiritual abilities. The difference between the ordinary ability for self-development and the higher ability for self-development is shown, which is due to the fact that the highest ability for self-development is focused on absolute values and high spiritual and moral ideals.

The influence of gravity on respiratory kinematics during phonation measured by dynamic magnetic resonance imaging

Respiratory kinematics are important for the regulation of voice production. Dynamic MRI is an excellent tool to study respiratory motion providing high-resolution cross-sectional images. Unfortunately, in clinical MRI systems images can only be acquired in a horizontal subject position, which does not take into account gravitational effects on the respiratory apparatus. To study the effect of body posture on respiratory kinematics during phonation, 8 singers were examined both in an open-configuration MRI with a rotatable gantry and a conventional horizontal MRI system. During dynamic MRI the subjects sang sustained tones at different pitches in both supine and upright body positions. Sagittal images of the respiratory system were obtained at 1–3 images per second, from which 6 anatomically defined distances were extracted to characterize its movements in the anterior, medium and posterior section of the diaphragm as well as the rip cage (diameter at the height of the 3rd and 5th rip) and the anterior–posterior position of the diaphragm cupola. Regardless of body position, singers maintained their general principles of respiratory kinematics with combined diaphragm and thorax muscle activation for breath support. This was achieved by expanding their chest an additional 20% during inspiration when singing in the supine position but not for sole breathing. The diaphragm was cranially displaced in supine position for both singing and breathing and its motion range increased. These results facilitate a more realistic extrapolation of research data obtained in a supine position.

Syrian Displacement, Gender and Boundary-Making in the Turkish Borderlands

This article presents a reflexive ethnographic analysis of ‘refugee lives’ and borders and boundary-making in the Turkish borderlands. Since 2011, the humanitarian crisis as a result of the Syrian civil war, and the arrival at the European border zones of refugees crossing the Mediterranean, have occupied the news outlets of the world. Today the European Union and Turkey look for permanent ‘solutions’ and emphasize ‘integration’ as a durable response to forced migration. This essay explores reflexive dimensions of long-term-fieldwork with Syrian refugees at the Turkey-Syria border through an analysis of ethnographic encounters and the politics of belonging and place-making. Borders are often contested spaces that complicate the researcher’s positionality, which oscillates between a politically engaged subject position and the ‘stranger’ who encounters the ‘other’ and must negotiate her space. By examining the Turkish-Syrian border and Syrian refugees’ experiences in the border city of Antakya, this article offers a critical lens to view the identity and politics of the researcher and embodied geopolitics.

(Re)Thinking Young Men's Violence: a Discursive Critique of Dominant Constructions

<p>Legitimated and thereby dominant knowledges of youth violence that aim to explain its causes and develop ways of responding are primarily informed by a positivist scientifically-based mainstream psychology. The purpose of this thesis is to offer ways of (re)thinking youth violence outside of an objectivist paradigm. By examining the significant contextual issues and numerous complexities involved for young men who have been violent, this research critically analyses normative notions of youth violence. The theoretical and methodological foundation for this research employed a critical psychology framework along with a discourse analysis approach informed by poststructural concepts derived, primarily, from Michel Foucault. This research foundation has enabled the dominant constructions of youth violence that are reflected and (re)produced by mainstream psychology to be disrupted and hence the modernist assumptions in the positivist scientific basis of mainstream psychology are questioned. The participants in this study were seven young New Zealand men, aged between 14 and 17, who were incarcerated for violent offences. A poststructural discourse analysis of interviews with these young men critically examined the ways they spoke about their violence, their explanations for it as well as their ideas about intervention. My analysis shows that dominant constructions of youth violence that are (re)produced in mainstream psychology theories as taken-for-granted truths, can position violent young men as 'abnormal', 'deviant' and 'dangerous'. However, participants resisted these pathologising and demonising positions. Instead, they embraced the rational position of 'man'. Dominant discourses around traditional masculinity were identified as being of paramount importance to these young men and showed that successfully performing the subject position of 'man' took precedence for them. Being violent acted as a means for participants to achieve 'being a man'. Against this, therapeutic intervention designed to prevent future violence was viewed as irrelevant to these young men. In addition, the 'therapeutic subject' position made available within discourses of intervention did not enable young men to perform 'man' correctly. Contradictions are highlighted in this thesis, showing the multiple subjectivities of the participants, along with various effects of the differing discourses. This was most pronounced in the differences revealed in participants' talk of their general violence compared to their sexual violence. Since general violence was constructed as a way of 'getting it right as a man', participants spoke in considerable detail about their activities. However, participants were reluctant to talk about their sexual violence and silences predominated. As an alternative, they took up an 'unknowing' position about why they were sexually violent. Sexual violence was constructed as irrational and therefore unknowable. In contrast to not wanting intervention for their general violence, participants talked of a willingness to engage with therapeutic intervention. They positioned intervention experts as being able to make rational sense of their sexual violence and spoke of expectations that this would stop them from being sexually violent again. The limitations of traditional approaches to youth violence have been highlighted in this research. Such approaches are unable to attend to the contextual issues presented here or the complexities of multiple subjectivities. The construction of violence as a way to perform 'man' contests discourses of 'abnormality' that positions young men who have been violent as 'disordered' and 'deviant'. Future theorising about youth violence and subsequent intervention approaches require attending to the significance that normative notions of 'manhood' have in the (re)production of violence.</p>

(Re)Thinking Young Men's Violence: a Discursive Critique of Dominant Constructions

<p>Legitimated and thereby dominant knowledges of youth violence that aim to explain its causes and develop ways of responding are primarily informed by a positivist scientifically-based mainstream psychology. The purpose of this thesis is to offer ways of (re)thinking youth violence outside of an objectivist paradigm. By examining the significant contextual issues and numerous complexities involved for young men who have been violent, this research critically analyses normative notions of youth violence. The theoretical and methodological foundation for this research employed a critical psychology framework along with a discourse analysis approach informed by poststructural concepts derived, primarily, from Michel Foucault. This research foundation has enabled the dominant constructions of youth violence that are reflected and (re)produced by mainstream psychology to be disrupted and hence the modernist assumptions in the positivist scientific basis of mainstream psychology are questioned. The participants in this study were seven young New Zealand men, aged between 14 and 17, who were incarcerated for violent offences. A poststructural discourse analysis of interviews with these young men critically examined the ways they spoke about their violence, their explanations for it as well as their ideas about intervention. My analysis shows that dominant constructions of youth violence that are (re)produced in mainstream psychology theories as taken-for-granted truths, can position violent young men as 'abnormal', 'deviant' and 'dangerous'. However, participants resisted these pathologising and demonising positions. Instead, they embraced the rational position of 'man'. Dominant discourses around traditional masculinity were identified as being of paramount importance to these young men and showed that successfully performing the subject position of 'man' took precedence for them. Being violent acted as a means for participants to achieve 'being a man'. Against this, therapeutic intervention designed to prevent future violence was viewed as irrelevant to these young men. In addition, the 'therapeutic subject' position made available within discourses of intervention did not enable young men to perform 'man' correctly. Contradictions are highlighted in this thesis, showing the multiple subjectivities of the participants, along with various effects of the differing discourses. This was most pronounced in the differences revealed in participants' talk of their general violence compared to their sexual violence. Since general violence was constructed as a way of 'getting it right as a man', participants spoke in considerable detail about their activities. However, participants were reluctant to talk about their sexual violence and silences predominated. As an alternative, they took up an 'unknowing' position about why they were sexually violent. Sexual violence was constructed as irrational and therefore unknowable. In contrast to not wanting intervention for their general violence, participants talked of a willingness to engage with therapeutic intervention. They positioned intervention experts as being able to make rational sense of their sexual violence and spoke of expectations that this would stop them from being sexually violent again. The limitations of traditional approaches to youth violence have been highlighted in this research. Such approaches are unable to attend to the contextual issues presented here or the complexities of multiple subjectivities. The construction of violence as a way to perform 'man' contests discourses of 'abnormality' that positions young men who have been violent as 'disordered' and 'deviant'. Future theorising about youth violence and subsequent intervention approaches require attending to the significance that normative notions of 'manhood' have in the (re)production of violence.</p>

The emergence of light verb constructions

This paper takes a data-driven perspective on the grammaticalization of German light verb constructions (LVCs) with kommen ‘come’. LVCs are complex predicates consisting of a semantically light verb and an eventive noun realized within a phrasal complement, e.g. German zur Vollendung kommen, lit. ‘come into completion’. We assume that (at least) two different processes interact in the emergence of LVCs: the desemanticization of the verb on the one hand and the realization of eventive nouns in the complement-PP of the verb on the other. In order to check whether these processes take place in parallel or if one precedes the other, we conduct a corpus study based on samples from the Reference Corpus of Middle High German (REM) and the Bonn Early New High German Corpus (FnhdC), focusing on the animacy and concreteness of the subject NPs and the PP-internal nouns. Our results indicate that we can first observe an increase in the use of abstract nouns in subject position and that only later – from Middle High German to Early New High German – eventive nouns in PP-internal position become more frequent.