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Languages, Volume 8, Issue 2 (June 2023) – 63 articles

Cover Story (view full-size image): Codas are typically deleted or assimilated in Eastern Andalusian Spanish, triggering regular gemination of a following consonant. This paper investigates singleton /t/ and four different underlying /C+t/ sequences that typically surface as [tː], by analyzing how durational and formant differences vary depending on the identity of the preceding underlying consonant. Differences in the total duration of /t/ and in the duration of the closure of /t/ are the strongest cues for distinguishing singletons from geminated consonants, with 91.9% and 90.6% accurate classifications, respectively. Given that gemination in Eastern Andalusian Spanish is the result of /C1C2/ to [Cː] assimilation, and that its underlying phonemic status has not been demonstrated, this geolect is unusual amongst languages generally studied with respect to gemination. View this paper
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32 pages, 5127 KiB  
Article
Numeral Incorporation as Grammaticalization? A Corpus Study on German Sign Language (DGS)
by Felicitas Otte, Anke Müller, Sabrina Wähl and Gabriele Langer
Languages 2023, 8(2), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020153 - 19 Jun 2023
Viewed by 2027
Abstract
Numeral incorporation describes the merging of a numeral sign with a lexical sign to create a single sign with a compositional meaning, e.g., “three weeks.” As a phenomenon of simultaneous morphology, numeral incorporation is unique to sign languages. While researchers disagree on the [...] Read more.
Numeral incorporation describes the merging of a numeral sign with a lexical sign to create a single sign with a compositional meaning, e.g., “three weeks.” As a phenomenon of simultaneous morphology, numeral incorporation is unique to sign languages. While researchers disagree on the exact morphological structure of the construction, it has, thus far, mainly been described as a synchronic, phonological phenomenon. Using the DGS corpus, a language resource on German Sign Language, we explore the possibility of numeral incorporation resulting from a language change process, specifically a grammaticalization process. Our dataset comprises tokens belonging to nine different signs that may occur in numeral incorporations. We find a cline of three constructions in the corpus, which shows a progression from free morpheme to cliticized morpheme to bound morpheme (affix). A comparison of the usage frequency of the three constructions in different age groups reveals that signers use more incorporations the younger they are. Following the apparent time approach, these observations are taken as indicators of diachronic language change. We describe to what extent the properties of numeral incorporation fit with the grammaticalization hypothesis and conclude that while the emergence of numeral incorporation is an instance of language change and shows some aspects seen in grammaticalization, the gradual change fails to exhibit some crucial aspects of grammaticalization and, thus, should not be regarded as an example thereof. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Grammaticalization across Languages, Levels and Frameworks)
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19 pages, 979 KiB  
Article
A Critical Discourse Analysis of Translators’ Narratives Affecting Two Translations of the Same Text: A Case Study of Orientalism
by Amal Abu Zaghlan, Zahra Mustafa-Awad and Areej Allawzi
Languages 2023, 8(2), 152; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020152 - 19 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1796
Abstract
The present study set out to examine the translations of Edward Said’s Orientalism in light of narrative theory. The paper uses critical discourse analysis to examine the different narratives produced by two different Arabic translations of Orientalism, written originally in English. The [...] Read more.
The present study set out to examine the translations of Edward Said’s Orientalism in light of narrative theory. The paper uses critical discourse analysis to examine the different narratives produced by two different Arabic translations of Orientalism, written originally in English. The first translation was produced by Kamal Abu Deeb in 1980, and a later one was carried out by Mohammad Enani in 2006. Our findings demonstrate two competing narratives of two cultures standing in opposition to one another, with each translation implying that one of these civilizations is unique and inherently competitive with “the other” culture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translating Otherness: Challenges, Theories, and Practices)
48 pages, 9254 KiB  
Article
Rethinking the Description and Typology of Cantonese Causative–Resultative Constructions: A Dynamic Constructionist Lens
by Ryan Ka Yau Lai and Michelle Man-Long Pang
Languages 2023, 8(2), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020151 - 13 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1392
Abstract
This article proposes a new description of Cantonese causative–resultative constructions (CRCs), constructions with two verbal elements relevant to the cause and the effect of an event respectively. We present a constructional schema for the CRC with three argument types and without using traditional [...] Read more.
This article proposes a new description of Cantonese causative–resultative constructions (CRCs), constructions with two verbal elements relevant to the cause and the effect of an event respectively. We present a constructional schema for the CRC with three argument types and without using traditional categories—such as subject, object and pseudo-passivation, present various syntactic and semantic properties, and subsume constructions such as the comparative construction and numerous particle constructions under this banner. We then argue against traditional approaches to CRCs with two lexical verbs that treat the argument structure of the CRC as composed from argument structures of individual verbs (the decompositional approach); instead, CRC arguments belong to the entire construction and have only semantic orientation-based relationships with individual verbs (the holistic approach). We show how our account can shed light on Sinitic typology and the grammaticalisation mechanism of verbal particles within CRCs, particularly the extension of result verbs into a broader range of contexts to become particles. We also argue that Cantonese CRCs challenge many assumptions of serial verb typology, which typically ignore the existence of multiple layers of constructional abstraction and assume decompositional descriptions, and urge for methodological advancements in this field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Typology of Chinese Languages: One Name, Many Languages)
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19 pages, 441 KiB  
Article
Recursivity and Focus in the Prosody of Xitsonga DPs
by Seunghun J. Lee and Kristina Riedel
Languages 2023, 8(2), 150; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020150 - 09 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 909
Abstract
This paper explores the prosodic patterns of complex DP structures in Xitsonga by looking at penultimate lengthening in DPs with marked and unmarked word orders of different types. We discuss the underlying syntactic structures and prosodic realizations of Xitsonga DPs. We are particularly [...] Read more.
This paper explores the prosodic patterns of complex DP structures in Xitsonga by looking at penultimate lengthening in DPs with marked and unmarked word orders of different types. We discuss the underlying syntactic structures and prosodic realizations of Xitsonga DPs. We are particularly interested in the way in which recursion applies in the Xitsonga DP, where it surfaces in DPs with multiple modifiers of the same or different categories that appear in fronted (i.e., pre-nominal) positions. We propose that in Xitsonga nominal constituents move to a left-periphery-like position within the DP domain and that this position matches to a focus-marked phonological phrase. This type of phonological phrase is forced to remain in the phonology even if the one-word phrase violates the Binarity constraint. We argue that the penultimate lengthening effects found in Xitsonga with the reordering of DP internal elements are best analyzed as showing sensitivity to this focus-marked phonological phrase. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phonology-Syntax Interface and Recursivity)
13 pages, 360 KiB  
Article
The Communication Patterns between Speech–Language Therapists and Parents/Guardians of Children with Developmental Language Disorders in Private Speech–Language Therapy in Cyprus
by Louiza Voniati, Spyros Armostis, Margarita Kilili-Lesta, Dionysios Tafiadis and Konstantinos Giannakou
Languages 2023, 8(2), 149; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020149 - 07 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1862
Abstract
Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) experience communication difficulties and receive speech–language therapy (SLT) services in public schools and/or private clinics in Cyprus. This study aims to analyze the context and content of communication between parents/guardians (P/Gs) and speech-language therapists (SLTs) in private [...] Read more.
Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) experience communication difficulties and receive speech–language therapy (SLT) services in public schools and/or private clinics in Cyprus. This study aims to analyze the context and content of communication between parents/guardians (P/Gs) and speech-language therapists (SLTs) in private practice. The conducted cross-sectional study utilized nonprobability convenience sampling to recruit P/Gs of children with DLD. Participants completed a questionnaire regarding their sociodemographic characteristics, the context of communication, topics discussed, and collaboration level with the SLTs. A total of 189 P/Gs participated, of which 84.1% were married, 79.4% were mothers, and 52.4% held at least a college/university degree. Mothers primarily communicated with SLTs in the setting, discussing their children’s performance, progress, behavior, difficulties, and homework. However, 48.7% felt well-informed, 47.1% fully understood their children’s goals, 55.6% received thorough briefings from SLTs, 51.3% observed at least a portion of the therapy session, and 77.8% received at least an adequate amount of homework. Additionally, 73.6% reported the use of technology during SLT, and 74.5% expressed good/great satisfaction with their children’s progress. Of the 31.1% reporting difficulties, 64.3% mentioned some difficulties related to homework completion and the children’s behavior. The proposed solutions included increased SLT briefings, training, and P/Gs observing therapy sessions. Full article
44 pages, 6505 KiB  
Article
Tonal Behavior as of Areal and Typological Concerns: Centering on the Sinitic and Kam-Tai Languages in Lingnan
by Hanbo Liao
Languages 2023, 8(2), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020148 - 06 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1622
Abstract
From the perspective of areal linguistics, this paper examines the similarities in tonal behavior between Sinitic and Kam-Tai, the two most populous language groups in Lingnan. By relying on some frameworks for investigating tone systems, i.e., tone-box theories, which largely involve the evolution [...] Read more.
From the perspective of areal linguistics, this paper examines the similarities in tonal behavior between Sinitic and Kam-Tai, the two most populous language groups in Lingnan. By relying on some frameworks for investigating tone systems, i.e., tone-box theories, which largely involve the evolution of tones, the following duplicating patterns and paths of diffusion of areal features are identified. (1) The secondary tonal split conditioned by vowel length on checked syllables, as well as the secondary tonal split of the upper-register tones conditioned by the laryngeal features of initial consonants, both originated in Kam-Tai languages and have diffused into some neighboring Sinitic languages. (2) The pattern of the secondary tonal split of the lower-register tones conditioned by laryngeal features of the initial consonants originated in northern authoritative Sinitic languages and spread widely among different subgroups of Sinitic languages; its diffusion into the Kam-Tai languages is limited to the lexical category of loanwords. (3) The upper-register tones associated with sonorant initials found in Lingnan Sinitic languages are suggested to be of a Kam-Tai origin trait. Further, their underlying areal typological rules are also summarized, concentrating on different upper limits for the possible secondary tonal split in the Sinitic and Kam-Tai languages, which were determined by the historically distinct laryngeal features of the initial consonants of the two language groups. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Typology of Chinese Languages: One Name, Many Languages)
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26 pages, 1404 KiB  
Article
Conceptual Number in Bilingual Agreement Computation: Evidence from German Pseudo-Partitives
by Jana Reifegerste, Ayse Garibagaoglu and Claudia Felser
Languages 2023, 8(2), 147; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020147 - 05 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1040
Abstract
During subject–verb agreement (SVA) computation, the conceptual or notional number of the subject can affect whether speakers choose a singular or a plural verb, potentially overriding the grammatical number of the subject’s head. The influence of notional number has hardly been investigated in [...] Read more.
During subject–verb agreement (SVA) computation, the conceptual or notional number of the subject can affect whether speakers choose a singular or a plural verb, potentially overriding the grammatical number of the subject’s head. The influence of notional number has hardly been investigated in bilinguals, however. Most previous research on bilingual agreement computation has focused on agreement errors, and less is known about agreement computation in cases where multiple licit options exist. One such phenomenon is pseudo-partitives (German: eine Tüte Nüsse ‘one bag of nuts’), for which a verb may agree with either the first or the second noun phrase. We present data from 150 L1 speakers of German and Turkish–German early bilinguals who performed a sentence-completion task. While both groups showed awareness of the optionality in agreement, both preferred the first noun phrase as the agreement controller. Interestingly, notional plurality affected bilinguals’ verb choices more than those of L1 speakers, whose responses were influenced by notional plurality only in the most challenging number conflict condition. We suggest that increased cognitive demands during bilingual SVA computation may render bilinguals more susceptible to conceptual effects. Full article
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20 pages, 30525 KiB  
Article
Contact-Induced Layering and Diffusion in Yuè Chinese Varieties—The *-iun/iut and *-un/ut Merger Reconsidered
by Man-Shan Hui and Richard VanNess Simmons
Languages 2023, 8(2), 146; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020146 - 05 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1400
Abstract
This study re-investigates the merger of *-iun/iut and *-un/ut in 46 Yuè Chinese varieties, which lacks explanatory treatment, from the variant derivative patterns of *-iun/iut > [yn]/[yt] and *-un/ut > [yn]/[yt]. The historical-comparative method was employed as the frame to analyze spatial (geographic) [...] Read more.
This study re-investigates the merger of *-iun/iut and *-un/ut in 46 Yuè Chinese varieties, which lacks explanatory treatment, from the variant derivative patterns of *-iun/iut > [yn]/[yt] and *-un/ut > [yn]/[yt]. The historical-comparative method was employed as the frame to analyze spatial (geographic) variation obtained from QGIS. The data showed that the merger of the reflexes of *-iun/iut and *-un/ut does not prevail in the majority of Yuè varieties, while mergers of *-iun/iut with *-in/it and *-iun/iut with *-on/ot or *-ion/iot are dominant. The spatial patterns of *-iun/iut and *-un/ut suggest different diffusion patterns and background factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Typology of Chinese Languages: One Name, Many Languages)
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5 pages, 261 KiB  
Editorial
New Glances at the Morphosyntax of Greek
by Melita Stavrou and Athina Sioupi
Languages 2023, 8(2), 145; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020145 - 30 May 2023
Viewed by 931
Abstract
The Greek language has a documented history of nearly 3500 years [...] Full article
1 pages, 492 KiB  
Correction
Correction: Prilutskaya (2021). Examining Pedagogical Translanguaging: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Languages 6: 180
by Marina Prilutskaya
Languages 2023, 8(2), 144; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020144 - 30 May 2023
Viewed by 695
Abstract
In the original publication (Prilutskaya 2021), there was a mistake in Figure 5 [...] Full article
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16 pages, 1134 KiB  
Article
Multilingualism and Multiculturalism in Family Guy: Challenges in Dubbing and Subtitling L3 Varieties of Spanish
by Mariazell Eugènia Bosch Fábregas
Languages 2023, 8(2), 143; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020143 - 30 May 2023
Viewed by 1355
Abstract
Multilingualism and multiculturalism are verbally and visually recurrent in the sitcom Family Guy (1999-in production) through a combination of a main language of communication (L1) and other languages (L3) in the source language (SL) or source text (ST). The use of L3 is [...] Read more.
Multilingualism and multiculturalism are verbally and visually recurrent in the sitcom Family Guy (1999-in production) through a combination of a main language of communication (L1) and other languages (L3) in the source language (SL) or source text (ST). The use of L3 is tantamount to tokenism and stereotyping characters, especially those whose recurrence is incidental and part of jokes. This paper compares two versions of the episode “Road to Rhode Island” (American and Spanish DVDs) and addresses a scene to analyze the linguistic challenges and lexical choices in dubbing and subtitling L1 and L3 in two geographical varieties of Spanish: Latin American Spanish and Peninsular Spanish. In this regard, this study focuses on the role and function of L3 in translation, the techniques to represent L3 in translation, L1 and L3 translation techniques, and which techniques are used in translation. Overall, this paper explores how the Spanish DVD adds a new L3 in the target text (TT) to maintain its original function in subtitling and dubbing, and the differences in the American DVD: L3TT omission in subtitling and L3TT change of function and meaning in dubbing, which ultimately accentuates linguistic and cultural misrepresentation and stereotypes. Full article
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23 pages, 2308 KiB  
Article
Tense as a Grammatical Category in Sinitic: A Critical Overview
by Giorgio Francesco Arcodia
Languages 2023, 8(2), 142; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020142 - 30 May 2023
Viewed by 1575
Abstract
Sinitic languages are very often described as tenseless, since they are generally seen as lacking ‘true’ grammatical markers of tense: thus, the interpretation of time reference relies on other factors, such as aspect, modal verbs, and the use of time expressions. However, the [...] Read more.
Sinitic languages are very often described as tenseless, since they are generally seen as lacking ‘true’ grammatical markers of tense: thus, the interpretation of time reference relies on other factors, such as aspect, modal verbs, and the use of time expressions. However, the debate concerning the tenseless nature of Chinese has not been settled yet: several types of items in Sinitic have been analyzed as expressing both aspect and tense, tense and modality, or even tense only. In this paper, we offer a critical analysis of the proposals made in the description of Standard Mandarin Chinese and (so-called) Chinese dialects concerning grammatical exponents of tense. We shall show that there appears to be a very broad degree of variation within Sinitic in the type and nature of tense(-like) meanings expressed, with different degrees of overlap between tense and other TAM categories (i.e., aspect and modality), and different degrees of grammaticalisation of alleged tense markers. Furthermore, the most grammaticalised tense markers are located in subregions within northern China: we shall thus discuss the relevance of our data for the areal typology of Sinitic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Typology of Chinese Languages: One Name, Many Languages)
23 pages, 588 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Bilingualism to Dynamic Writing: Using Translanguaging Strategies and Tools
by Onudeah D. Nicolarakis and Thomas Mitchell
Languages 2023, 8(2), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020141 - 30 May 2023
Viewed by 1896
Abstract
This study is a qualitative analysis of a naturally occurring translanguaging phenomenon in the writing practices of fifteen high-scoring deaf bilingual adult writers. This study aims to identify translanguaging factors related to writing achievement and explore themes that emerge within an asset-based/antideficit, deaf [...] Read more.
This study is a qualitative analysis of a naturally occurring translanguaging phenomenon in the writing practices of fifteen high-scoring deaf bilingual adult writers. This study aims to identify translanguaging factors related to writing achievement and explore themes that emerge within an asset-based/antideficit, deaf bilingualism/Deaf Gain theoretical framework. Data were gathered by collecting, reviewing, coding, and identifying overarching themes in the interview transcripts. The findings show that high-scoring deaf participants utilized translanguaging writing strategies and tools such as translingual interdependence, language flexibility, semiotics and multimodalities, American Sign Language (ASL) drafting, and visual tracking skills that led to their writing achievement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translanguaging in Deaf Communities)
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18 pages, 432 KiB  
Article
Multilingualism as a Mirror of Strangeness in the Translation of Contemporary Literary Texts
by Cristina Valdés
Languages 2023, 8(2), 140; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020140 - 30 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1519
Abstract
This paper focuses on the issue of multilingualism in contemporary literary texts, which contain examples of code-switching or words and expressions in different languages, which contribute to placing emphasis on the foreignness and strangeness of the characters or narrators of the stories. This [...] Read more.
This paper focuses on the issue of multilingualism in contemporary literary texts, which contain examples of code-switching or words and expressions in different languages, which contribute to placing emphasis on the foreignness and strangeness of the characters or narrators of the stories. This study stems from the edition of a compilation of short narrative and dramatic texts translated into Spanish by authors who build up stories from a position of in-betweenness, rejection, or displacement. In this context, the presence of different languages contributes to revealing the multilingual and multicultural reality that provides the background for the different stories. They are all concerned about manifesting their vital experiences of (un)belonging to a certain labelled culture or identifiable group, often from a diasporic point of view. Some real examples of translation processes will be provided to show the strategies employed to preserve an effect of strangeness on readers, to reveal feelings of (un)belonging, to manifest a variety of identities, or to make explicit culturally marked terms. Translation is then approached from the perspectives of cosmopolitism, diversity, and postcolonial studies, which rely on multilingualism as a signal of a diversified and multicultural identity. Full article
21 pages, 426 KiB  
Article
Agreement Asymmetries with Adjectives in Heritage Greek
by Artemis Alexiadou, Vasiliki Rizou and Foteini Karkaletsou
Languages 2023, 8(2), 139; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020139 - 30 May 2023
Viewed by 1025
Abstract
Research on different populations of heritage speakers (HSs) has demonstrated that these speakers (i) frequently produce fewer adjectives, and (ii) produce more errors in nominal concord than in subject–verb agreement. The first point, (i), has been attributed in the literature to the optionality [...] Read more.
Research on different populations of heritage speakers (HSs) has demonstrated that these speakers (i) frequently produce fewer adjectives, and (ii) produce more errors in nominal concord than in subject–verb agreement. The first point, (i), has been attributed in the literature to the optionality of adjectives and to the fact that adjectives characterize the literary language and HSs lack familiarity with this register. The second point, (ii), is viewed by other researchers as supporting theories that treat nominal concord as being different from subject–verb agreement. In this paper, we contribute data on production of adjectives and agreement asymmetries with adjectives from heritage Greek. We show that these cannot be viewed as supporting claims with respect to (i) but conclude that nominal concord and subject–verb agreement involve different mechanisms. We furthermore explore ways to account for a slight contrast we observe between prenominal and postnominal agreement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Syntactic Variation and Change of Heritage Languages)
15 pages, 447 KiB  
Article
Elementary School First Graders’ Acquisition of Productive L2 French Grammar in Regular and CLIL Programs
by Patricia Uhl, Anja K. Steinlen and Thorsten Piske
Languages 2023, 8(2), 138; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020138 - 29 May 2023
Viewed by 1400
Abstract
This study presents productive L2 French grammar data obtained at the end of grade 1 from 186 elementary school children learning French in bilingual (CLIL) or in regular school programs in Germany. The children completed a picture description task to assess their productive [...] Read more.
This study presents productive L2 French grammar data obtained at the end of grade 1 from 186 elementary school children learning French in bilingual (CLIL) or in regular school programs in Germany. The children completed a picture description task to assess their productive oral L2 French grammar skills and two standardized cognitive tests on nonverbal intelligence and sustained attention. The results did not indicate any significant effects of the cognitive tests or of child-internal variables (in this case gender, language background and educational background). However, children in the regular French program unexpectedly outperformed their peers in the bilingual French program. Classroom observations and information provided by teachers suggest that this finding may, at least in part, be due to the fact that in grade 1 there were only minor differences between the two programs in terms of L2 exposure time and teaching methodology. Full article
36 pages, 652 KiB  
Article
The Forms and Functions of Switch Reference in A’ingae
by Scott AnderBois, Daniel Altshuler and Wilson D. L. Silva
Languages 2023, 8(2), 137; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020137 - 26 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1412
Abstract
This paper examines switch reference (SR) in A’ingae, an understudied isolate language from Amazonian Ecuador. We present a theoretically informed survey of SR, identifying three distinct uses of switch reference: in clause chaining, adverbial clauses, and so-called ‘bridging’ clause linkage. We describe the [...] Read more.
This paper examines switch reference (SR) in A’ingae, an understudied isolate language from Amazonian Ecuador. We present a theoretically informed survey of SR, identifying three distinct uses of switch reference: in clause chaining, adverbial clauses, and so-called ‘bridging’ clause linkage. We describe the syntactic and semantic properties of each use in detail, the first such description for A’ingae, showing that the three constructions differ in important ways. While leaving a full syntactic analysis to future work, we argue that these disparate properties preclude a syntactic account that unifies these three constructions to the exclusion of other environments without SR. Conversely, while a full semantic account is also left to future work, we suggest that a unified semantic account in terms of discourse coherence principles appears more promising. In particular, we propose that switch reference in A’ingae occurs in all and only the constructions that are semantically restricted to non-structuring coordinating coherence relations in the sense of Segmented Discourse Representation Theory. Full article
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18 pages, 1155 KiB  
Article
Standardization of the Gender Assignment and Agreement Assessment in the Greek Language: Preliminary Evidence from Bilingual Greek—Albanian School Age Children
by Alexandra Prentza, Maria Kaltsa, Dionysios Tafiadis and Ianthi Maria Tsimpli
Languages 2023, 8(2), 136; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020136 - 26 May 2023
Viewed by 1067
Abstract
(1) Background: Given the scarcity of data on the psychometric evaluation of measures used with typically developing Greek-speaking bilinguals, this study aims to present preliminary evidence for the standardization and the psychometric evaluation of a gender assignment and agreement assessment designed for the [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Given the scarcity of data on the psychometric evaluation of measures used with typically developing Greek-speaking bilinguals, this study aims to present preliminary evidence for the standardization and the psychometric evaluation of a gender assignment and agreement assessment designed for the Greek language (henceforth, GAAGL Assessment) employing real and pseudo-words. This is the first study to standardize the GAAGL Assessment and to explore its discriminatory ability with typical populations. (2) Methods: The assessment was designed as part of the BALED project which targeted language skills in bilingual children for whom one language is Greek. For the psychometric evaluation and the exploration of the test’s discriminatory ability we ran a Cronbach’s alpha analysis and a Youden Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis across the domains and sub scores of the test. Our sample consisted of 53 typically developing Greek monolingual children and 57 age-matched Greek–Albanian-speaking bilinguals. (3) Results: The results showed: (a) a high internal consistency for the GAAGL Assessment across its four main tasks and (b) excellent discriminatory ability, since statistically significant positive discrimination was detected between monolingual and bilingual children in the tasks and scores of the GAAGL Assessment. Full article
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9 pages, 317 KiB  
Review
The Nature, Role, and Effects of Structured Input Activities
by Alessandro Benati
Languages 2023, 8(2), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020135 - 26 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1567
Abstract
This paper is the introductory paper of the Special Issue titled: “New Research on the Role and Effects of Structured Input in Assessing the Nature of Language Processing”. It provides a clear analysis of the nature and role of structured input activities in [...] Read more.
This paper is the introductory paper of the Special Issue titled: “New Research on the Role and Effects of Structured Input in Assessing the Nature of Language Processing”. It provides a clear analysis of the nature and role of structured input activities in second language research and language pedagogy. It presents the main findings of genuine empirical research investigating the effectiveness of structured input on different forms and structures across different languages and among different populations. The paper provides suggestions for future research within this framework. Full article
26 pages, 875 KiB  
Article
The Expression of Time in Amahuaca Switch-Reference Clauses
by Emily Clem
Languages 2023, 8(2), 134; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020134 - 26 May 2023
Viewed by 1120
Abstract
Many languages of lowland South America mark remoteness distinctions in their TAM systems. In Amahuaca (Panoan; Peru) multiple remoteness distinctions are made in the past and the future. I argue that the temporal remoteness morphemes (TRMs) of Amahuaca can be understood as indications [...] Read more.
Many languages of lowland South America mark remoteness distinctions in their TAM systems. In Amahuaca (Panoan; Peru) multiple remoteness distinctions are made in the past and the future. I argue that the temporal remoteness morphemes (TRMs) of Amahuaca can be understood as indications of the remoteness of the event time relative to the utterance time in matrix environments. In dependent clauses, however, the picture is more complicated. By exploring adjunct switch-reference clauses, I show that TRMs in dependent clauses display a previously unreported ambiguity reminiscent of ambiguities found with adjunct tense. Specifically, they can relate the time of the adjunct clause event to the time of the matrix event or to the utterance time. I suggest that this ambiguity may arise from the availability of multiple interpretation sites for adjunct TRMs, with the possible interpretations being constrained by the temporal semantics of switch-reference markers themselves. This work thus contributes to the empirical understanding of how TRMs are interpreted in dependent clauses, suggesting interesting potential parallels to the interpretation of adjunct tense. Full article
30 pages, 3143 KiB  
Article
A Phonological Study of Rongpa Choyul
by Jingyao Zheng
Languages 2023, 8(2), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020133 - 26 May 2023
Viewed by 1178
Abstract
This paper presents a detailed description of the phonology of the Rongpa variety of Choyul, an understudied Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Lithang (理塘) County, Dkarmdzes (甘孜) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, China. Based on firsthand fieldwork data, this paper lays out Rongpa [...] Read more.
This paper presents a detailed description of the phonology of the Rongpa variety of Choyul, an understudied Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Lithang (理塘) County, Dkarmdzes (甘孜) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, China. Based on firsthand fieldwork data, this paper lays out Rongpa phonology with details, examining its syllable canon, initial and rhyme systems, and word prosody. Peculiar characteristics of this phonological system are as follows: First, Rongpa has a substantial phonemic inventory, which comprises 43 consonants, 13 vowels, and 2 tones. 84 consonant clusters are observed to serve as the initial of a syllable. Secondly, the phonemic contrast between plain and uvularized vowels is attested. In addition, regressive vowel harmony on uvularization, height, and lip-roundedness can be clearly observed in various constructions including prefixed verb stems. Finally, regarding word prosody, two tones in monosyllabic words, /H/ and /L/, are observed to distinguish lexical meanings, and disyllabic words exhibit four surface pitch patterns. Pitch patterns in verb morphology are also examined. The findings and analyses as presented in this paper could form a foundation for future research on Rongpa Choyul. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Directions for Sino-Tibetan Linguistics in the Mid-21st Century)
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22 pages, 1796 KiB  
Article
A Diachronic Investigation on the Lexical Formation and Evolution of the Chinese Adverb “Yijing (已经)”
by Jiangtao Shen and Yu Liu
Languages 2023, 8(2), 132; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020132 - 23 May 2023
Viewed by 1592
Abstract
This paper describes the lexicalization processes of the expositive adverb yijing in Chinese, taking the view that the lexicalization of yijing has been achieved by both syntactic and semantic–pragmatic contexts. There are two key processes: the grammaticalization of jing is the key factor [...] Read more.
This paper describes the lexicalization processes of the expositive adverb yijing in Chinese, taking the view that the lexicalization of yijing has been achieved by both syntactic and semantic–pragmatic contexts. There are two key processes: the grammaticalization of jing is the key factor for reanalysis of the structure yijing. Originally, jing could only be combined with NP. In the structure “yi + jing + NP experiences”, jing acquired the context in which it was possible to combine with VP. When the VP was an active situation, jing was grammaticalized into a manner adverb, while when VP was a semelfactive situation, jing, the same with yi, became a state adverb for the past tense and perfect aspect. The lexicalization of yijing contains two processes, namely reanalysis and cohesion. In the structure “yi[relative time] + jing +VP”, when there were complex elements, it was reanalyzed as “[yi + jing] + VP”, where yijing functioned as a coordinate structure. If the structure “[yi + jing] + VP” was in a sufficient conditional clause and the VP was an accomplishment situation, “yi + jing” in this context acquired the pragmatic function to confirm that an event has happened, but it was still expressing the tense–aspect meanings of the sentence. In the 7th century, when VP was an achievement situation and had a perfective verb in it, yijing no longer bore the tense–aspect function and was specialized into a confirmative expositive adverb for pragmatic function, and the lexicalization processes finished. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Directions for Sino-Tibetan Linguistics in the Mid-21st Century)
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14 pages, 626 KiB  
Article
The Constraints of Monolingual Language Policy and Heteroglossic Practices as a Vehicle for Linguistic Justice
by Beatha Set
Languages 2023, 8(2), 131; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020131 - 22 May 2023
Viewed by 1734
Abstract
This paper draws on conceptualisations of language as heteroglossic practices to examine how the experienced bilingual science teacher navigates between the monoglossic ideology that is embodied in the official Namibian Language in Education Policy (LiEP) within a linguistically constrained Namibian bilingual context. This [...] Read more.
This paper draws on conceptualisations of language as heteroglossic practices to examine how the experienced bilingual science teacher navigates between the monoglossic ideology that is embodied in the official Namibian Language in Education Policy (LiEP) within a linguistically constrained Namibian bilingual context. This paper aims to support recent research that challenges monolingual and monoglossic language practices, which tend to ignore the linguistic resources that children bring to the classroom. Data were collected from a classroom including video and audio recordings of lessons, field notes and photographs. The data were analysed through socio-cultural discourse and fine-grained multimodal analytical methods. The data findings illustrate the moment where the science teacher was constrained by English monolingual policy to mediate learners’ access to science learning, and harnessed all linguistic resources that the learners bring to the classroom. Subsidiary to that, there were moments where the teacher worked flexibly across languages, discourses and modes to interrupt the monoglossic ideology that is embodied in the official Namibian Language in Education Policy (LiEP). The use of rich heteroglossic practices is a clear testimony to enhanced science meaning-making regardless of learners’ ‘limited proficiency in English. The findings highlight the need to support learners from linguistically diverse backgrounds through a deliberate inclusive language policy that harnesses the heteroglossic nature of communicative practices and prepares teachers for a multilingual reality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Language Policy and Practice in Multilingual Families)
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18 pages, 1344 KiB  
Article
Reduplication in Kua’nsi
by Huade Huang
Languages 2023, 8(2), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020130 - 19 May 2023
Viewed by 1258
Abstract
This paper investigates reduplication in Kua’nsi, a Central Ngwi language of the Sino-Tibetan family, spoken in Yunnan Province, China, by around 5000 speakers. Reduplication is a productive morphological device in Kua’nsi and has complex forms and functions. Although Kua’nsi reduplication shows some similarities [...] Read more.
This paper investigates reduplication in Kua’nsi, a Central Ngwi language of the Sino-Tibetan family, spoken in Yunnan Province, China, by around 5000 speakers. Reduplication is a productive morphological device in Kua’nsi and has complex forms and functions. Although Kua’nsi reduplication shows some similarities with reduplication in other Ngwi languages, it also has reduplicative forms and functions that appear to be cross-linguistically rare. Formally, reduplication in Kua’nsi can be full, partial, or discontinuous. Functionally, it can be used with inflectional and derivational meanings as well as without any semantic or syntactic effect in certain constructions. Some functions of Kua’nsi reduplication appear to be not frequently found across languages. The forms and functions of Kua’nsi reduplication are complex and there is not a one-to-one relationship between the form and function of particular patterns of reduplication. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Directions for Sino-Tibetan Linguistics in the Mid-21st Century)
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14 pages, 414 KiB  
Article
Translating Multilingualism in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding
by Montse Corrius, Eva Espasa and Laura Santamaria
Languages 2023, 8(2), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020129 - 17 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1359
Abstract
Linguistic diversity is present in many audiovisual productions and has given rise to fruitful research on translation of multilingualism and language variation. Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, 2001) is a prototypical film for translation analysis, since multilingualism is a recurrent feature, as the film [...] Read more.
Linguistic diversity is present in many audiovisual productions and has given rise to fruitful research on translation of multilingualism and language variation. Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, 2001) is a prototypical film for translation analysis, since multilingualism is a recurrent feature, as the film dialogue combines English (L1) with Hindi and Punjabi (L3), which creates an effect of code-switching. This article analyses how the multilingualism and the cultural elements present in the source text (ST) have been transferred to the Spanish translated text (TT) La boda del monzón. The results show that in the Spanish dubbed and subtitled versions, few Indian cultural elements are left, and little language variation is preserved. Thus, L3 does not play a central role as it does in the source text. In the translation, only a few loan words from Hindi or Punjabi are kept, mainly from the domains of food and cooking, as well as terms of address and greetings, or words related to the wedding ceremony. The results also show that when L3 is not fully rendered in translation, otherness is still conveyed through image and music, thus (re)creating a different atmosphere for Spanish audiences. Full article
15 pages, 1764 KiB  
Article
An Example of Linguistic Stylization in Spanish Musical Genres: Flamenco and Latin Music in Rosalía’s Discography
by Elena Fernández de Molina Ortés
Languages 2023, 8(2), 128; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020128 - 17 May 2023
Viewed by 1945
Abstract
Studies on stylistic change in music argue that when singers use stylistic devices in their songs, they have one purpose: to represent their image and their artistic and social identity. In this paper we focus on the singer Rosalía, a Catalan artist who [...] Read more.
Studies on stylistic change in music argue that when singers use stylistic devices in their songs, they have one purpose: to represent their image and their artistic and social identity. In this paper we focus on the singer Rosalía, a Catalan artist who sings flamenco and Latin music. These two musical genres are associated with innovative varieties of Spanish, but this singer is not a speaker of this variety (she uses the Spanish spoken in Catalonia, a conservative variety). So, we want to know whether, when she sings, she linguistically adapts to the associated phenomena of flamenco and Latin music. In order to carry out this work, we have collected two oral corpora: the first is Rosalía’s discography and the second is 40 min of interviews in Spain and America. In our analyses we have verified that, indeed, when Rosalía sings, she uses indexicalized phenomena of the genres. However, in the interviews she keeps her vernacular variety, Catalan, although we have observed signs of accommodation to American Spanish, which also reveal a significant change in the singer’s idiolect. Full article
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40 pages, 4162 KiB  
Article
Multimodal Transduction and Translanguaging in Deaf Pedagogy
by Michael E. Skyer
Languages 2023, 8(2), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020127 - 11 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1809
Abstract
Multimodal transduction is an interaction of teaching and learning. It traverses changes in epistemology and ontology through judgements about axiology. Using multimodal transduction (MT), students and teachers transcend languages and employ nonlanguage and quasi-language modes (e.g., drawing, color, line, math, infographics, and even [...] Read more.
Multimodal transduction is an interaction of teaching and learning. It traverses changes in epistemology and ontology through judgements about axiology. Using multimodal transduction (MT), students and teachers transcend languages and employ nonlanguage and quasi-language modes (e.g., drawing, color, line, math, infographics, and even sculptures). This study uses qualitative empirical data via grounded theory and case study designs to make theoretical claims about MT in a deaf higher-educational context. The data for this multi-year project were sourced through interviews, document analysis, observations, and stimulated recall with six university professors who are deaf. My analysis shows that these deaf faculty-members employ MT to convert inaccessible modes to become accessible for deaf learners. By changing modalities through MT, deaf faculty enhance comprehensibility and equity for deaf learners. This theoretical account of MT contends, extends, and clarifies aspects of translanguaging theory. As I argue, both operations transform power relations in the classroom by addressing ethics through deaf-centric aesthetics. In deaf education, MT is equally important for faculty in teaching and students’ learning. MT is widely and creatively used, owing to its flexibility and adaptivity. MT is useful for all deaf agents, regardless of additional disabilities, language competencies, or language deprivation. The MT process is inexplicit and undertheorized in the literature about deaf pedagogy and in translanguaging research. My study provides empirical support for theoretical claims about underlying mechanisms of translanguaging. One focus is to explore how MT and translanguaging (and similar theories) align or diverge. I argue that MT is a core mechanism that supports changes between all modes of discourse that enable information exchange, including but surpassing languages and translanguaging. In sum, MT is an interaction whereby deaf agents change the forms of knowledge; meanwhile, new realities and new power relations are manifested. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Translanguaging in Deaf Communities)
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23 pages, 3100 KiB  
Article
English and Co-Construction of Solidarity between Language Agents and Tourists in Tourism Information Service
by Kamaludin Yusra
Languages 2023, 8(2), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020126 - 08 May 2023
Viewed by 1875
Abstract
A substantial number of studies have been completed with respect to the use of English and social solidarity in broader contexts of cross-cultural communications including tourist–host interactions in tourism settings, but little, if any, is understood about the use of English and solidarity [...] Read more.
A substantial number of studies have been completed with respect to the use of English and social solidarity in broader contexts of cross-cultural communications including tourist–host interactions in tourism settings, but little, if any, is understood about the use of English and solidarity in hectic and tightly scheduled international airport settings. This study fills the gap by explicating how English is used by Tourist Information Center (TIC) staffs and incoming tourists at Lombok International Airport (LIA), Lombok, Indonesia, to contextually symbolize solidarity among them. Data were collected in more than a year of intensive participant and non-participant ethnographic observations of real-time interactions at the TIC in the LIA. Recordings, introspective, retrospective, and prospective interviews with the staff and the tourist respondents, as well as note takings of the contexts and the situations of communicative events, were the main means of data collection, and these data were analyzed using integration of sociological analyses of solidarity and ethnographic analyses of communicative interactions. The study elucidates ideological views on the service and explicates how speech accommodation, style convergence, code switching, and kinship terms have been employed as strategies for creating symbolic solidarity. Full article
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28 pages, 6831 KiB  
Article
How Do Foreign Language Learners Process L2 Emotion Words in Silent Reading? An Eye-Tracking Study
by Dina Abdel Salam El-Dakhs, Suhad Sonbul and Jeanette Altarriba
Languages 2023, 8(2), 125; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020125 - 04 May 2023
Viewed by 1560
Abstract
The current study aimed to examine the processing of emotion words in L2 silent reading. We conducted two experiments in which Arab learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) read short English sentences in which target words were embedded. The participants’ eye [...] Read more.
The current study aimed to examine the processing of emotion words in L2 silent reading. We conducted two experiments in which Arab learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) read short English sentences in which target words were embedded. The participants’ eye movements were recorded and analyzed. The results of Experiment 1, which compared the processing of emotionally positive versus neutral words by 44 participants, did not reveal any significant effect for word type. The results only showed a few instances of significant interactions between word type and word frequency (i.e., positive words were read faster than neutral words only in the case of high-frequency words) and arousal (i.e., positive words were recognized faster than neutral words only when the target words were low in arousal). The results of Experiment 2, which compared the processing of emotionally negative versus neutral words by 43 participants, only established one effect of word type on the skipping rate which was also modulated by length (i.e., negative words were less likely to be skipped, particularly shorter ones). Moreover, arousal interacted with word type (i.e., only the negative words with low arousal were read faster than neutral words in two eye-movement measures). Full article
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6 pages, 303 KiB  
Editorial
Challenging Basic Assumptions in Code-Switching Research: New Linguistic, Sociolinguistic and Psycholinguistic Evidence
by Julia Elisabeth Hofweber, Jan Patrick Zeller and Jeanine Treffers-Daller
Languages 2023, 8(2), 124; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8020124 - 04 May 2023
Viewed by 1420
Abstract
The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together research evidence from studies into code-switching, that is, the alternation and mixing of languages as practiced on a daily basis by bilinguals throughout the world [...] Full article
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