Languages

22 pages, 1500 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploratory Research for the Improvement of the Teaching of Spanish as a Second Language in a Spanish Public Center

by Margarita Isabel Asensio Pastor and Juan Pablo Carmona García

Languages 2019, 4(4), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040095 - 25 Nov 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4060

This paper is part of the R&D project DIPURE (El Discurso Público sobre los Refugiados en España in English Public Discourse on Refugees in Spain) and it is one of the research lines of the research group “Andalusian Circle of Applied Linguistics, HUM-194” [...] Read more.

This paper is part of the R&D project DIPURE (El Discurso Público sobre los Refugiados en España in English Public Discourse on Refugees in Spain) and it is one of the research lines of the research group “Andalusian Circle of Applied Linguistics, HUM-194” on the study of teaching Spanish as a second language (SSL) for immigrants and refugees. Its objective is to establish a profile of Spanish second language (SL) students at the Official School of Languages (OSL). To meet this objective, we carried out an exploratory study based on mixed quantitative–qualitative methods, including, among other methods, participant observation and a Likert-type questionnaire used with students of the OSL in Granada, from level A1 to B2. The data obtained has allowed us to reflect on the migration process in Spain and on the work in the classrooms of a public center with students who study Spanish as a second language—their learning beliefs, needs, and attitudes, as well as didactic preferences. The information obtained is envisaged to improve the teaching practice of Spanish as a host language in a public educational context. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Immigrant and Refugee Languages)

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3 pages, 784 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Formal and Methodological Approaches to Applied Linguistics (Languages Special Issue)

by Sonja Mujcinovic and Eduardo Gómez Garzarán

Languages 2019, 4(4), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040094 - 21 Nov 2019

Viewed by 2433

Abstract

This Special Issue, entitled Formal and Methodological Approaches to Applied Linguistics, brings together recently published papers on various aspects of applied linguistics presented at the AESLA37 (Spanish Society of Applied Linguistics) conference in Valladolid held on 27–29 March 2019 [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Formal and Methodological Approaches to Applied Linguistics)

22 pages, 5955 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Arabic-Spanish Language Contact in Puerto Rico: A Case of Glottal Stop Epenthesis

by Sherez Mohamed, Carolina González and Antje Muntendam

Languages 2019, 4(4), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040093 - 18 Nov 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6462

Abstract

The current study examines the realization of adjacent vowels across word boundaries in Arabic-Spanish bilinguals and Spanish monolinguals in Puerto Rico, focusing specifically on the rate of glottal stop epenthesis in this context (e.g., hombre africano to [ˈom.bre.ʔa.fri.ˈka.no]). It was hypothesized that Arabic-Spanish [...] Read more.

The current study examines the realization of adjacent vowels across word boundaries in Arabic-Spanish bilinguals and Spanish monolinguals in Puerto Rico, focusing specifically on the rate of glottal stop epenthesis in this context (e.g., hombre africano to [ˈom.bre.ʔa.fri.ˈka.no]). It was hypothesized that Arabic-Spanish bilinguals would show a higher rate of glottal stop epenthesis than Spanish monolinguals because of transfer from Arabic. In addition, we investigated the possible effects of stress, vowel height, language dominance and bilingual type on the rate of glottal stop epenthesis. Results from a reading task with 8 participants showed no significant difference in glottalization between bilinguals and monolinguals. For monolinguals, glottalization was significantly more likely when the first vowel was low or stressed; significant interactions between vowel height and stress were found for the bilingual group. Language dominance was a significant factor, with Arabic-dominant bilinguals glottalizing more than the Spanish-dominant bilinguals. In addition, early sequential bilinguals favored glottalization slightly more than simultaneous bilinguals, without reaching significance. Our data suggests some effects of syllable structure transfer from Arabic, particularly in Arabic-dominant participants. To our knowledge, our study is the first exploration of Arabic and Spanish in contact in Puerto Rico, and the first to acoustically examine the speech of Arabic-Spanish bilinguals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bilingualism in the Hispanic and Lusophone world (BHL): Current Issues in Spanish and Portuguese Bilingual Settings)

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26 pages, 1059 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Organisational Skills in Academic Writing: A Study on Coherence and Cohesion in Pakistani Research Abstracts

by Muhammad Ahmad, Muhammad Asim Mahmood and Ali Raza Siddique

Languages 2019, 4(4), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040092 - 17 Nov 2019

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 6789

Abstract

Writing requires a suitable and strategic use of language with communicative potential and structural correctness. The use of coherence and cohesion helps create communicative potential and structural correctness in texts. This study aims to investigate the use of cohesive items in the abstracts [...] Read more.

Writing requires a suitable and strategic use of language with communicative potential and structural correctness. The use of coherence and cohesion helps create communicative potential and structural correctness in texts. This study aims to investigate the use of cohesive items in the abstracts of Pakistani research articles and thereby determine what type of cohesive items are frequently used by writers. In addition, the study aims to know what functions the said writers achieve through the most frequently used cohesive items. For this purpose, 50 abstracts were retrieved from two famous Pakistani research journals (25 articles per journal), which were developed into a corpus for the study and analysed through AntConc. 3.4.4.0. The results revealed that Pakistani research writers used reference items the most frequently to achieve “directive” as well as “referential” functions. On the basis of these findings, the study concluded that Pakistani research article writers organised information in abstracts using reference items the most frequently and they were mainly concerned with directive as well as referential functions of meaning. The results also showed that the said writers organised texts on a syntactic level only, which implied that they should organise texts on a semantic level also. This would be possible with the use of repetition devices. Full article

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16 pages, 1258 KiB

Open AccessArticle

English Focus Perception by Mandarin Listeners

by Ratree Wayland, Chelsea Guerra, Si Chen and Yiqing Zhu

Languages 2019, 4(4), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040091 - 13 Nov 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3429

Abstract

This study compared how well native Mandarin and native English speakers can perceive prosodically marked focus in English echo questions. Twenty-five yes–no echo questions were produced with a sentence focus, a verb focus, and an object focus. After hearing each sentence, they were [...] Read more.

This study compared how well native Mandarin and native English speakers can perceive prosodically marked focus in English echo questions. Twenty-five yes–no echo questions were produced with a sentence focus, a verb focus, and an object focus. After hearing each sentence, they were asked to choose a correct response. Native English listeners were more accurate than native Mandarin on verb and object focus, but not on sentence focus. More importantly, both groups confused object focus with sentence focus and vice versa. However, confusion between object and verb focus, and between object and sentence focus was infrequent. These results suggest that, in some cases, (1) acoustic prominence on the head of a phrase or its internal argument can project to the entire phrase and make the entire phrase focused, and (2) parallel transmission of the two functions of intonation, and cross-linguistic variation in focus marking (prosodically versus syntactically) may contribute to their perceptual ambiguity. Full article

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19 pages, 3884 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Constructed Action in American Sign Language: A Look at Second Language Learners in a Second Modality

by Kim B. Kurz, Kellie Mullaney and Corrine Occhino

Languages 2019, 4(4), 90; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040090 - 12 Nov 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5904

Abstract

Constructed action is a cover term used in signed language linguistics to describe multi-functional constructions which encode perspective-taking and viewpoint. Within constructed action, viewpoint constructions serve to create discourse coherence by allowing signers to share perspectives and psychological states. Character, observer, and blended [...] Read more.

Constructed action is a cover term used in signed language linguistics to describe multi-functional constructions which encode perspective-taking and viewpoint. Within constructed action, viewpoint constructions serve to create discourse coherence by allowing signers to share perspectives and psychological states. Character, observer, and blended viewpoint constructions have been well documented in signed language literature in Deaf signers. However, little is known about hearing second language learners’ use of constructed action or about the acquisition and use of viewpoint constructions. We investigate the acquisition of viewpoint constructions in 11 college students acquiring American Sign Language (ASL) as a second language in a second modality (M2L2). Participants viewed video clips from the cartoon Canary Row and were asked to “retell the story as if you were telling it to a deaf friend”. We analyzed the signed narratives for time spent in character, observer, and blended viewpoints. Our results show that despite predictions of an overall increase in use of all types of viewpoint constructions, students varied in their time spent in observer and character viewpoints, while blended viewpoint was rarely observed. We frame our preliminary findings within the context of M2L2 learning, briefly discussing how gestural strategies used in multimodal speech-gesture constructions may influence learning trajectories. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue HDLS 13: Challenges to Common Beliefs in Linguistic Research)

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15 pages, 3266 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study of Tenselessness in Rengma (Western)

by Monali Longmailai

Languages 2019, 4(4), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040089 - 10 Nov 2019

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 6521

Abstract

Rengma is a Tibeto–Burman language from the Naga group (Angami–Pochuri) spoken in Northeast India. The paper is one of the first attempts in documenting the Western Rengma language, a variety of Rengma found in Karbi Anglong district, Assam. It makes attempts to study [...] Read more.

Rengma is a Tibeto–Burman language from the Naga group (Angami–Pochuri) spoken in Northeast India. The paper is one of the first attempts in documenting the Western Rengma language, a variety of Rengma found in Karbi Anglong district, Assam. It makes attempts to study the tense, aspect and mood features present in Western Rengma in comparison to related neighbouring Tibeto-Burman (TB) languages such as Angami and Sema and thereby, seek to identify the aspect of tenselessness in this language. The study further examines the serial verb construction (SVC) as pivotal in determining time in relation to tense–aspect–mood (TAM). Throughout the paper, we observe the semantic-pragmatic features to probe the verbal features and later validate if time in Rengma is a genetic or an areal feature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Endangered and Lesser Known Languages)

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39 pages, 2706 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Development of Subject Position in Dutch-Dominant Heritage Speakers of Spanish: From Age 9 to Adulthood

by Brechje van Osch, Elisabet García González, Aafke Hulk, Petra Sleeman and Suzanne Aalberse

Languages 2019, 4(4), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040088 - 07 Nov 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4959

Abstract

This exploratory study investigates the knowledge of word order in intransitive sentences by heritage speakers of Spanish of different age groups: 9-year-olds, 13-year-olds and adults. In doing so, we aim to fill a gap in the heritage language literature, which, to date, has [...] Read more.

This exploratory study investigates the knowledge of word order in intransitive sentences by heritage speakers of Spanish of different age groups: 9-year-olds, 13-year-olds and adults. In doing so, we aim to fill a gap in the heritage language literature, which, to date, has mainly focused on adult heritage speakers and preschool bilingual children. The results from a judgment task reveal that child- and adolescent heritage speakers do not entirely resemble monolingual age-matched children in the acquisition of subjects in Spanish, nor do they assimilate adult heritage speakers. The data suggest that several different processes can occur simultaneously in the acquisition of word order in heritage speakers: monolingual-like acquisition, delayed acquisition, and attrition. An analysis of the influence of extraneous variables suggests that most of these effects are likely to be the consequence of quantitatively reduced input in the heritage language and increased input in the majority language. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bilingualism in the Hispanic and Lusophone world (BHL): Current Issues in Spanish and Portuguese Bilingual Settings)

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7 pages, 1249 KiB

Open AccessEssay

Ethics-Based Computer Science in Bilingual and Multicultural Schools

by Adena Dershowitz

Languages 2019, 4(4), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040087 - 05 Nov 2019

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3303

Abstract

For decades, schools have adapted to a technologically-dependent world—developing courses, faculty positions and curricula to begin explicitly teaching with and about technology. Recognizing the need for deepening education in this area, the Lycée Français de New York, a bilingual and multicultural school, developed [...] Read more.

For decades, schools have adapted to a technologically-dependent world—developing courses, faculty positions and curricula to begin explicitly teaching with and about technology. Recognizing the need for deepening education in this area, the Lycée Français de New York, a bilingual and multicultural school, developed the digital learning department to lead the school’s thinking and practice around technology and computer science education. Over time, the department shifted its focus from first only the use of computer applications, to an emphasis on computer programming, to a more recent era which includes technology ethics as an equally important area of study. In serving a bilingual school, the Lycée’s digital learning team adapted teaching methods for a bilingual student body. The multiculturalism of the school presents the opportunity for fertile ethics discussions, since cultural values often impact values regarding technology use. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue MOBILLE 2019)

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24 pages, 381 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Emerging Constructions in the L2 Italian Spoken by Low Literate Migrants

by Egle Mocciaro

Languages 2019, 4(4), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040086 - 04 Nov 2019

Viewed by 2680

Abstract

The emergence of autonomous interlanguage constructions is widely recognised in the literature on L2 Italian. These constructions involve the overgeneralisation of functional forms learners are in the process of acquiring, e.g., siamo in siamo mangiare ‘be:1PL eat:INF’ (target Italian: mangiamo ‘eat:1PL’); facciamo in [...] Read more.

The emergence of autonomous interlanguage constructions is widely recognised in the literature on L2 Italian. These constructions involve the overgeneralisation of functional forms learners are in the process of acquiring, e.g., siamo in siamo mangiare ‘be:1PL eat:INF’ (target Italian: mangiamo ‘eat:1PL’); facciamo in facciamo cucinare ‘do:1PL cook:INF’ (target Italian: cuciniamo ‘cook:1PL’); per in piaciare per uscire fuori ‘like:INF for go:INF out’ (target Italian: mi piace uscire fuori ‘to.me like:3SG go:INF out’. ‘Be’/‘do’ forms are assigned a morphosyntactic function to convey temporal/aspectual/person information instead of inflecting the verb, while per ‘for’ is a generic subordinating marker. Based on new corpus data, I claim that such constructions may correlate with a learners’ degree of first language (L1) literacy. In detail, and consistent with, both literate and non-literate learners overgeneralise functional forms while working on the newly acquired morphosyntax; this shows that the non-literates are perfectly able to subconsciously identify functional forms in the input. Non-literates, however, show a stronger tendency than literates to select lexical-syntactic sub-patterns. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Immigrant and Refugee Languages)

11 pages, 1714 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Examination of Manner of Motion Sound Symbolism for English Nonce Verbs

by David Ellingson Eddington and Janis Nuckolls

Languages 2019, 4(4), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040085 - 01 Nov 2019

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2818

Abstract

This paper offers cross-experimental verification of a previous study that found that English speakers considered velars, palatals, glides, and high vowels to be sound-symbolic of light and jerky movements. Heavy and smooth movements, by contrast, were associated with affricates, glottals, laterals, and non-high [...] Read more.

This paper offers cross-experimental verification of a previous study that found that English speakers considered velars, palatals, glides, and high vowels to be sound-symbolic of light and jerky movements. Heavy and smooth movements, by contrast, were associated with affricates, glottals, laterals, and non-high vowels. The present study sought to evaluate these findings through a novel experiment with English speaking subjects, who were asked to choose appropriate sound-symbolically constructed nonce verbs for sentences describing light, heavy, smooth, or jerky manners of motion. Our results support many of Saji et al.’s findings and also offer original insights. We find complex interactions between a sound’s potential for sound-symbolic effects, and its position in initial or second syllables of disyllabic nonce words. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue HDLS 13: Challenges to Common Beliefs in Linguistic Research)

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20 pages, 2642 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Lack of Syllable Duration as a Post-Lexical Acoustic Cue in Spanish in Contact with Maya

by Nuria Martínez García and Melanie Uth

Languages 2019, 4(4), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040084 - 31 Oct 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2911

Abstract

This paper focuses on the duration of stressed syllables in broad versus contrastive focus in Yucatecan Spanish and examines its connection with Spanish–Maya bilingualism. We examine the claim that phonemic vowel length in one language prevents the use of syllable duration as a [...] Read more.

This paper focuses on the duration of stressed syllables in broad versus contrastive focus in Yucatecan Spanish and examines its connection with Spanish–Maya bilingualism. We examine the claim that phonemic vowel length in one language prevents the use of syllable duration as a post-lexical acoustic cue in another. We study the duration of stressed syllables of nouns in subject and object position in subject-verb-object (SVO) sentences (broad and contrastive focus) of a semi-spontaneous production task. One thousand one hundred and twenty-six target syllables of 34 mono- and bilingual speakers were measured and submitted to linear mixed-effects models. Although the target syllables were slightly longer in contrastive focus, duration was not significant, nor was the effect of bilingualism. The results point to duration not constituting a cue to focus marking in Yucatecan Spanish. Finally, it is discussed how this result relates to the strong influence of Yucatec Maya on Yucatecan Spanish prosody observed by both scholars and native speakers of Yucatecan Spanish and other Mexican varieties of Spanish. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bilingualism in the Hispanic and Lusophone world (BHL): Current Issues in Spanish and Portuguese Bilingual Settings)

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21 pages, 1375 KiB

Open AccessArticle

“Esa no soy Yo”: Self-Image and Name Change from the Perspective of Female Immigrants

by María Cecilia Ainciburu and Irene Buttazzi

Languages 2019, 4(4), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040083 - 31 Oct 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4535

Abstract

The given name by which we call ourselves in our native language contains a series of phonetic, social, and cultural elements that determine its value in any given context. When people migrate, these elements change and, consequently, so does the individual’s self-perception. This [...] Read more.

The given name by which we call ourselves in our native language contains a series of phonetic, social, and cultural elements that determine its value in any given context. When people migrate, these elements change and, consequently, so does the individual’s self-perception. This research consists of an analysis of focused interviews with Peruvian and Chinese migrants carried out in Spanish and Italian. The most common phenomenon identified in the interviews was the use of names that do not correspond to birth names, either because they are not pronounced correctly or because—as in the case of most of the Chinese informants—the name was changed to adapt to Western standards. We attempt to categorize the nonconformity of the version of the name used by the host population and the emotional reactions that this provokes. The results demonstrate that there is a correlation between the desire to integrate into the host country and positive reactions to the image given to them by the foreign name. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to the Sociolinguistic Integration of Migration)

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24 pages, 2582 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bilingual Alignments

by Liliana Sanchez

Languages 2019, 4(4), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040082 - 31 Oct 2019

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4380

Abstract

The issue of how to distinguish bilingual syntactic representations from processing preferences or strategies is addressed by postulating the concept of permeable bilingual alignments as memory storage devices that include information from different language components. Supporting evidence from phenomena such as the emergence [...] Read more.

The issue of how to distinguish bilingual syntactic representations from processing preferences or strategies is addressed by postulating the concept of permeable bilingual alignments as memory storage devices that include information from different language components. Supporting evidence from phenomena such as the emergence of innovative mappings across different components (phonology, morphology, syntax, the lexicon, and information structure), bidirectional transfer, and frequency effects is presented, and some possible consequences of adopting this proposal are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bilingualism in the Hispanic and Lusophone world (BHL): Current Issues in Spanish and Portuguese Bilingual Settings)

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27 pages, 681 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Differential Access: Asymmetries in Accessing Features and Building Representations in Heritage Language Grammars

by Silvia Perez-Cortes, Michael T. Putnam and Liliana Sánchez

Languages 2019, 4(4), 81; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040081 - 22 Oct 2019

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 5235

Abstract

In this article, we propose that elements of heritage language grammars—both in the form of axiomatic features and larger combined representational units—are not easily lost over the course of the lifespan. This view contrasts with alternative explanations for the steady-state representation of these [...] Read more.

In this article, we propose that elements of heritage language grammars—both in the form of axiomatic features and larger combined representational units—are not easily lost over the course of the lifespan. This view contrasts with alternative explanations for the steady-state representation of these grammars that suggest truncated acquisition or erosion are the primary culprits of perceived language loss. In production and comprehension processes for heritage bilinguals, particular elements are more difficult to access than others, leading to differential ways to access representations and feature values. To illustrate and support this hypothesis, we build on previous work by examining the interpretation and use of obligatory mood selection in Spanish desiderative constructions in three groups of heritage speakers with different levels of language proficiency. Full article

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8 pages, 1165 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Exploratory Study of ASL Demonstratives

by Jill P. Morford, Barbara Shaffer, Naomi Shin, Paul Twitchell and Bettie T. Petersen

Languages 2019, 4(4), 80; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040080 - 22 Oct 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3632

Abstract

American Sign Language (ASL) makes extensive use of pointing signs, but there has been only limited documentation of how pointing signs are used for demonstrative functions. We elicited demonstratives from four adult Deaf signers of ASL in a puzzle completion task. Our preliminary [...] Read more.

American Sign Language (ASL) makes extensive use of pointing signs, but there has been only limited documentation of how pointing signs are used for demonstrative functions. We elicited demonstratives from four adult Deaf signers of ASL in a puzzle completion task. Our preliminary analysis of the demonstratives produced by these signers supports three important conclusions in need of further investigation. First, despite descriptions of four demonstrative signs in the literature, participants expressed demonstrative function 95% of the time through pointing signs. Second, proximal and distal demonstrative referents were not distinguished categorically on the basis of different demonstrative signs, nor on the basis of pointing handshape or trajectory. Third, non-manual features including eye gaze and facial markers were essential to assigning meaning to demonstratives. Our results identify new avenues for investigation of demonstratives in ASL. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue HDLS 13: Challenges to Common Beliefs in Linguistic Research)

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24 pages, 1896 KiB

Open AccessReview

Emphasis Harmony in Arabic: A Critical Assessment of Feature-Geometric and Optimality-Theoretic Approaches

by Hussein Al-Bataineh

Languages 2019, 4(4), 79; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040079 - 21 Oct 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5219

Abstract

This overview article examines vowel-consonant harmony, specifically emphatic harmony (also referred to as pharyngealization, velarization, or uvularization), which is found in Semitic languages. It provides a comprehensive overview of emphasis harmony in Arabic dialects from feature-geometric and optimality-theoretic perspectives. From the feature geometric [...] Read more.

This overview article examines vowel-consonant harmony, specifically emphatic harmony (also referred to as pharyngealization, velarization, or uvularization), which is found in Semitic languages. It provides a comprehensive overview of emphasis harmony in Arabic dialects from feature-geometric and optimality-theoretic perspectives. From the feature geometric account, emphatic consonants are considered as a natural class within the guttural group that has the [pharyngeal] or [RTR] ‘retracted tongue root’ feature. This view has been questioned and challenged recently by some researchers who argue for the exclusion of emphatics from the guttural group. The different arguments discussed in this paper show that researchers cannot reach a consensus regarding which consonants belong to the guttural group and which features are shared between these consonants. This paper shows that studies adopting an optimality-theoretic perspective provide a more comprehensive view of emphasis harmony and its fundamental aspects, namely, directional spreading and blocking, spread from secondary emphatic /r/ and labialization. However, this paper reaches two main conclusions. Firstly, unlike feature geometry, optimality theory can provide a clearer picture of emphasis harmony in an accurate and detailed way, which does not only clarify the process in one Arabic dialect but also describe the differences between dialects due to the merit of (re)ranking of constraints. Secondly, emphasis harmony is different from one Arabic dialect to another regarding its direction, involvement of emphatic /r/, and labialization. These differences between dialects indicate that emphasis harmony is not an absolute phenomenon. Full article

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12 pages, 950 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spanish Grammatical Gender Interference in Papiamentu

by Jorge R. Valdés Kroff, Frederieke Rooijakkers and M. Carmen Parafita Couto

Languages 2019, 4(4), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040078 - 16 Oct 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4776

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine whether Spanish-like gender agreement causes interference in speakers of Papiamentu (a Western Romance-lexified creole language) who also speak Spanish. Papiamentu and Spanish are highly cognate languages in terms of their lexicons. However, Papiamentu lacks grammatical [...] Read more.

The aim of this study is to determine whether Spanish-like gender agreement causes interference in speakers of Papiamentu (a Western Romance-lexified creole language) who also speak Spanish. Papiamentu and Spanish are highly cognate languages in terms of their lexicons. However, Papiamentu lacks grammatical gender assignment and agreement, leading to cognate words with major morpho-syntactic differences. A total of 41 participants with different linguistic profiles (Papiamentu-dominant, Dutch-dominant, Spanish-dominant, and Spanish heritage speaker-Papiamentu bilinguals) listened to 82 Papiamentu sentences, of which 40 contained a Spanish-like gender-agreeing element on the Determiner, Adjective, or Determiner + Adjective and with half of the experimental items marked with overtly masculine (i.e., -o) or feminine (i.e., -a) gender morphology. Participants performed a forced-choice acceptability task and were asked to repeat each sentence. Results showed that Spanish-dominant speakers experienced the greatest interference of Spanish gender features in Papiamentu. This suggests that in cases where speakers must suppress gender in their second language (L2), this is not easy to do. This is especially the case in highly cognate languages that differ in whether they realize gender features. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Formal and Methodological Approaches to Applied Linguistics)

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14 pages, 1952 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The ‘Carbon Capture’ Metaphor: An English-Arabic Terminological Case Study

by Amal Haddad Haddad and Silvia Montero-Martínez

Languages 2019, 4(4), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4040077 - 26 Sep 2019

Viewed by 3583

Abstract

The study of metaphorization processes in scientific texts is essential in terminological studies and the conceptual representation of specialized knowledge. It is considered to be a prolific tool in the creation of neologisms. Many cognitive models tried to study metaphorisation processes by drawing [...] Read more.

The study of metaphorization processes in scientific texts is essential in terminological studies and the conceptual representation of specialized knowledge. It is considered to be a prolific tool in the creation of neologisms. Many cognitive models tried to study metaphorisation processes by drawing on metaphor and metonymy based on linguistic evidence. However, recent studies have highlighted the necessity of carrying out empirical tests in order to provide refined results that go beyond the traditional theories of conceptual metaphor and metonymy. This paper analyzes the underlying metaphor in the ‘carbon capture and sequestration’ event in both English and Arabic. It also discusses the influence of English, the lingua franca, in the transfer of the neologism ‘carbon capture and sequestration’, via translation processes, and its role in the so-called domain loss in the target language. Results were obtained through a corpus-based contrastive terminological analysis, extracted from specialized texts in English and Arabic in the subdomain of climate change. Data analysis was approached from the perspective of Frame-Based Terminology and Conceptual Complexes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Formal and Methodological Approaches to Applied Linguistics)

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