Search

This paper investigates a pervasive phenomenon in video-mediated interaction (VMI), namely, simultaneous start-ups, which happen when two speakers produce a turn beginning in overlap. Based on the theoretical and methodological tenets of conversation analysis and interactional linguistics, the present study offers a multimodal and sequential account of how simultaneous start-ups are oriented to and solved in the context of English as an additional language (L2) tutoring. The micro- and sequential analysis of ten hours of screen-recorded video-mediated data from tutoring sessions between an experienced tutor and an advanced-level tutee reveals that the typical overlap resolution trajectory results in the tutor withdrawing from the interactional floor. The same analysis uncovered a range of resources, such as lip pressing and the verbal utterance 'go ahead', employed in what we call enhanced explicitness, through which the withdrawal is done. The orchestration of these resources allows the tutor to exploit the specific features of the medium to resolve simultaneous start-ups while also supporting the continuation of student talk. We maintain that this practice is used in the service of securing the learner's interactional space, and consequently in fostering the use of the language being learned. The results of the study help advance current understandings of L2 instructors' specialized work of managing participation and creating learning opportunities. Being one of the first studies to detail the practices involved in overlap resolution in the micro-context of simultaneous talk on Zoom-based L2 instruction, this study also makes a significant contribution to research on video-mediated instruction and video-mediated interaction more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to further our understanding of the nature of functional features in Creoles while focusing on how the functional exponent is morphologically realized, assuming a late-insertion-based exoskeletal model in the language mixing scholarly literature. In language mixing, it is observed that words are mixed within a certain syntactic domain (e.g., DP-NP, VoiceP/vP-TP, etc.). For example, in the nominal domain, a determiner D may be from one language, and N (or a stem, e.g., root + categorizer) may originate from another language. Grimstad and Riksem propose that the functional projection FP intervenes between D and N, and both D and F are from one language and N from another language. The phonological exponent of the functional features (e.g., D and F) are assumed to be language-specific (i.e., from one language), subject to the subset principle. Closer to the case that concerns us, Åfarli and Subbarao show that through long-term language contact, functional features can be reconstituted, and the functional exponent can be genuinely innovative. In our study, we propose that functional features can be themselves recombined and that Creole languages can provide evidence for feature recombination either by virtue of their hybrid grammar or through the congruent functional categories they display, using a late-insertion-based exoskeletal model. That is, functional features are not individually inherited from one language or another but can be recombined to form new functional features, allowing a novel functional exponent. To show this, we use synchronic empirical data focusing on the anterior marker -ba from Cabo Verdean Creole (CVC), Manjako (one of CVC Mande substrates), and Portuguese (CVC lexifier) to show how the recombination may operate, as CVC -ba recombines the features it inherited from its source languages while innovating. In sum, the purpose of this study is to show that feature recombination targeting the functional categories of Creole source languages can lead to innovation and that a late-insertion exoskeletal model can best account for the novel functional exponents that result from feature recombination in Creole formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an empirical study on the cross-linguistic influence of contact languages (Turkish, Georgian and Russian) in the domain of grammatical gender in Pontic Greek spoken by the Pontic-speaking community of Georgia. The study is based on corpus data collected during several periods of fieldwork within the Pontic-speaking community of Georgia. The questions addressed in the paper are: What innovations can be observed in the understudied variety in the gender domain, and, if any innovation is observed, are they due to the impact of contact languages? I argue that contact-induced changes in the gender domain manifest themselves in the assignment of gender to loan nouns, and contribute to the establishment of the default gender value. The main findings reveal that, in comparison with other Pontic varieties, this variety is on the one hand more sensitive to the animacy hierarchy, and, on the other, shows increased use of the feminine gender as a result of the incorporation of feminine loans from a gendered language, i.e., Russian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the vast scholarly attention paid to multilingualism on traditional media over the years, it seems timely to focus on streaming platforms. This paper sets out to identify potential norms for the rendering of multilingual occurrences in the localised content of Netflix series. It also seeks to explore whether streaming translation practices related to multilingualism differ from the consolidated norms and practices for TV and cinema content. The chosen data sample consists of the Italian dub streams of five TV Netflix-produced shows featuring multilingualism as a main characteristic. The strategies and techniques adopted in each series are singled out, quantified, and labelled according to a combination of taxonomies. These include dubbing, revoicing, subtitling, part-subtitling, diegetic interpreting, unchanged speech transfer, and no translation. A wider analysis is also carried out across all the data sample to draw patterns on a macro level. The findings reveal a strong tendency to mark and preserve multilingualism, in line with Netflix's own policies and dubbing specifications. Transfer unchanged combined with subtitles emerges as the most recurrent strategy, while the dub-over strategy accounts for 13% of the multilingual occurrences in the data sample. Extensive neutralisation is therefore not encountered. That said, a certain degree of overlap between multilingual translation norms on Netflix and conventional Italian dubbing practices (which tend to neutralise) can still be observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adopts a morphological approach to the reduplication of the past-tense augment in Cypriot Greek and explores the morphotactic constraints that apply. Phonological reduplication phenomena have been addressed in morphology by developing a framework that can account for both doubling and metathesis. This phenomenon has been a focus of discussion, but less is known about the application of this mechanism to tense prefixes, known as augments. Doubling of the augment appears in verbal complexes depending on the position of its components, what I will argue are cases that support the post-syntactic morphological doubling and metathesis analysis in Distributed Morphology. The data from this non-standard variety provide a novel analysis of augments and contribute to a better understanding of their distribution by redefining this phenomenon as morphological and supporting a unified framework for the formalism designed to account for similar post-syntactic morphological phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acquisition of negation in Child Italian has not yet been comprehensively addressed in the literature. This paper aims to provide a fine-grained picture of the acquisition process in this Romance language by considering production data and exploring three specific aspects of negation development: (a) the emergence and subsequent development of negators and negative constructions, (b) the acquisition of negative functions and their varying proportion of use and (c) the emergence of negative concord constructions. Using the CHILDES database, the longitudinal data of four monolingual Italian children for an observation period from 1;07 to 3;04 years of age were extracted, and the negative utterances attested in their speech production were analyzed for both the single- and the multiword utterance period. Results show a consistent and progressive form–function development of negation, mainly in line with previous cross-linguistic literature but with some language-related features. Minor differences across children are also attested, which are arguably related to their language development, as measured by their mean length of utterance (MLU) in the age intervals considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Filled pauses (i.e., gaps in speech production filled with non-lexical vocalizations) have been studied for more than sixty years in different languages. These studies utilize many different approaches to explore the origins, specific patterns, forms, incidents, positions, and functions of filled pauses. The present research examines the presence of filled pauses by considering the adjacent words and silent pauses that define their immediate positions as well as the influence of the immediate position on filled pause duration. The durations of 2450 filled pauses produced in 30 narratives were analyzed in terms of their incidence, immediate positions, neighboring silent pauses, and surrounding word types. The data obtained showed that filled pauses that were attached to a word on one side were the most frequent. Filled pauses occurring within a word and between two silent pauses were the longest of all. Hence, the durations of filled pauses were significantly influenced by the silent pauses occurring in their vicinity. The durations and occurrence of filled pauses did not differ when content or function words preceded the filled pause or followed it. These findings suggest that the incidence and duration of filled pauses as influenced by the neighboring words and silent pauses may be indicative of their information content, which is related to the processes of transforming ideas into grammatical structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study explores the exclamative use of the feminine definite article la in structures such as '¡La de chicos que besé en la fiesta!' (How many guys I kissed at the party!). First, a morphosyntactic description of the pattern is offered so as to show that the data under analysis are pseudopartitive constructions which display all the characteristics of primary and partial exclamatives. Building on research on nominal exclamatives, we conclude that these examples are not CPs but indefinite DPs with an exclamative flavor which contain a semi-relative clause introduced by que. Within the framework of Distributed Morphology, we schematize a set of syntactic structures which capture the 'chimeric' and hybrid nature of the data, these being halfway between DPs and exclamative clauses. In order to do so, it will be necessary to split the DP into smaller projections (FocP, FinP), since la must move to Spec-FocP to be interpreted as an exclamative operator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Washback of diagnostic tools targeted to young migrant learners has been an under-researched area in the language assessment field. This paper explores teachers' perceptions on the Greek Diagnostic Language Assessment (GDLA) tool recently introduced into the SL preparatory classes of the Cyprus primary education. The tool's implementation coincides with the launch of a new SL curriculum. The objective is fourfold: (1) to examine GDLA's washback effects on teaching/assessment, (2) to investigate washback's variability with respect to several contextual variables, (3) to collect feedback on the perceived credibility of the tool, and (4) to reflect on the use of the GDLA tool as a lever of instructional reform in support of curricular innovation. The study employs a mixed-methods approach and draws on (a) quantitative data (questionnaire, 234 informants) and (b) qualitative data (interviews, 6 participants). The results indicate a positive and quite strong washback on teaching and assessment. However, they bring to the surface several misconceptions on the purpose and the implementation of diagnostic assessment, pointing to gaps in the teachers' assessment literacy. They also bring into play school administration constraints. Finally, they imply that a diagnostic assessment aligned to a context-sensitive curriculum may bind the test to positive washback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epistemic stance markers, such as je pense in French, take on a variety of discursive functions, ranging from asserting an opinion, indicating the source of information, and mitigating a claim, to pragmatic functions, such as gaining time for discourse planning. Previous research suggests that the epistemic marker je pense is mostly used in French conversation to express opinions and can be used as an indicator of the development of a learner's assertiveness and pragmatic competence during a study abroad period. Using a functional approach, this paper seeks to find out the extent to which study abroad fosters the development of assertiveness and pragmalinguistic competence among L2 learners, through an analysis of stance marking in interview data from 26 Anglophone learners of French, who spent nine months abroad in a French-speaking country, and 10 French native speakers. The results show that learners are globally less assertive in their use of je pense than native speakers, particularly prior to departure, and that they develop pragmatic uses of je pense, thereby showing a development in their interactional strategies. Finally, the high inter-variability in the way learners used je pense suggests the importance of personal style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study takes an interactional linguistics and conversation analysis-based approach to analyze the modal verb huì 'will' in the recurrent formular of commissive actions, [wǒ huì X (de)] 'I will X.' Data analyses show that this format has two variations differentiated by the prosodic stress on huì. The format with the unstressed huì is often observed in turn-initiating position where the speaker offers to perform a future action or informs the recipient of their arrangement of an established activity. The format with the stressed huì appears in both initiating and responding positions although it is less frequently observed. Stressed huì is often used to reassure the recipient of an existing commitment to performing a future action. This study highlights the significance of prosody in the study of modal verbs and the benefits of studying individual words in a linguistic formula situated in specific interactional contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers in Norway have been increasingly faced with the challenge of adapting their instruction methods to address the needs of minority-language students. The current body of research on the issue seems to indicate that multilingual practices are being introduced in Norwegian classrooms. However, they often rely on majority languages, such as English and Norwegian. Some teachers have been found to employ minority languages to support learners' English writing in drafts. As a result, minority languages in Norwegian schools tend to be regarded as less valuable than Norwegian and English. However, more recent projects are being implemented in Norwegian schools to help teachers alter their ideologies of minority languages. This article adds to this body of research by presenting two teachers' work with multilingual pedagogies, involving the active use of minority languages alongside Norwegian and English in student texts. The data were collected from: teacher reports, student materials, and mentorship meetings. The findings indicate that the teachers successfully implemented multilingual pedagogies by using language portraits, parallel translanguaging in multilingual posters and multimodal dictionaries, and complementary translanguaging in multilingual poetry. These multilingual practices enabled the students to showcase their linguistic identities and multilingual literacy practices. The implementation of multilingual pedagogies benefited from the long-term availability of scholarly input and guidance for teachers and the opportunity to share experiences in a professional network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the boom in Indo-European (IE) studies among linguists from the early 20th century, toponymic studies on European place names have been largely based on the Proto-Indo-European (PIE). However, historical and archaeological records of non-IE groups, such as the Nuragic civilization of Sardinia, have presented the possibility of pre-IE/non-IE (Paleo-Sardinian) linguistic stratum influences on certain toponyms in Sardinia, Italy. This article aims to present a meta-study on existing toponymic reconstructions theorized by scholars, while offering a fresh perspective by employing methods of historical phonetic chains and sequences analysis to identify toponyms of interest. Analysis showed that certain Sardinian toponyms contain striking phonetic sequences that are uncharacteristic of PIE, such as *s(a)rd-, *kar-, *-ini, *-ài/*-éi, *#[θ]-. Overall conclusions appear to display the merits of (1) PIE and (2) pre-IE/ non-IE theories. Both provide plausible toponymic reconstructions. (1) The accuracy of IE theories is brought into question, as they appear to rely heavily on phonetic links to existing PIE roots, sometimes with a lack of consideration for other contextual or hydro-geo-morphological factors. (2) Conversely, pre-IE/non-IE theories are found to be highly speculative due to the lack of historical data, and knowledge, about the Paleo-Sardinian language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores processes of place-making through the study of the linguistic landscape of a small-size town in Northern Sweden. The analysis of signs is used as a tool for examining the role and visibility of actors in the landscape. For this purpose, we examine who the authors are, what forms of multilingualism can be observed, and who has agency in the place-making of the public space. Our documentation consists of photos and fieldnotes from observations, encounters, and conversations with people during ethnographic fieldwork in 2019. Using a mixed-methods approach, all signs were first analysed quantitatively according to the categories of authors and function. Regression analysis was used to explore correlations between the categories. Secondly, multilingual signs were analysed qualitatively regarding their function and purpose in relation to their contexts. Our results illustrate a city centre with a strong presence of the Swedish language. Multilingual signs target specific groups and are intended for information, advertisement, rules and regulations; moreover, our findings indicate that the opportunities for private actors to influence the linguistic landscape are limited. The form of multilingualism in this context—visible multilingualism present mainly through English—is different from the one we can see in the socio-demographic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optionality is an issue within the minimalist theory of language, in which the principle of the "last resort" does not admit competing options to express the same meaning. What is needed is a solid empirical base showing that apparently competing forms do specialize for some syntactic/semantic traits. Hence, the aim of this pilot study is to investigate optionality in the choice of competing indefinite determiners in Piacentine, an Italo-Romance variety spoken in north-western Italy. Sixteen native Piacentine speakers were presented with a questionnaire to collect linguistic data. Statistical analyses of the data were performed to seek correlations between the choice of the indefinite determiners and some syntactic/semantic traits that were controlled for. The results indicate that Piacentine displays four main determiners, labeled ART, di+art, bare di, and ZERO. ART and di+art are the most widespread determiners allowing both narrow and wide scope and occurring in all the investigated contexts. Bare di is instead the unmarked form for expressing non-existential indefiniteness in negative contexts and only has narrow scope. ZERO co-varies with bare di, and its use was strengthened by contact with Italian, preventing its loss, differently from French, which lost ZERO instead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents an exploratory data analysis of the syntactic distribution of pre- and postverbal negation (N1 and N2) in a corpus of data gathered from two linguistic atlases, the Linguistic Atlas of France (ALF) and the Italo-Swiss Atlas (AIS). Metadata concerning the distribution of N1 and N2 across dialects and syntactic contexts are analyzed with the r package Rbrul. Multiple logistic regression allows us to assess how independent variables affect the presence/absence of N1/N2. Geographical and grammatical factors are examined; the latter concern mainly clause typing and negative concord, i.e., the co-occurrence of clausal negation and a negative word. The data from the two atlases are first analyzed separately and eventually merged in order to strengthen the statistical significance. Both geographical and grammatical factors prove to be significant. In particular, the preliminary findings show that N1 is more likely retained in sentences containing another negative word, the incidence of N1 varies according to the type of co-occurring negative word, and veridicality has a mild effect on N2 but not N1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender agreement between determiners and nouns, and gender agreement between third-person clitics and their referents, are notoriously difficult to acquire by bilingual speakers who lack them in their first language, or in one of their first languages. We present a study that explores the differences between gender agreement between a determiner and a noun and gender agreement between clitics and antecedents or doubled DPs among Shipibo-Spanish speakers. The oral production data that were elicited from 17 adult Shipibo-Spanish bilinguals by using a picture-based narration task show a notable difference in the agreement patterns between nouns and determiners, and between clitics and their antecedents/doubled DPs. Similar patterns are found among five Spanish-Shipibo bilinguals who were living in the same contact situation. While the participants consistently marked strong gender agreement within the DPs, a lack of gender specification was found in the agreement between clitics and antecedents or doubled DPs in the clitic-doubling and dislocated structures. These results are not unexpected as they mirror the results from previous work, where the clitic gender does not systematically match the antecedent gender, especially with feminine antecedents or doubled DPs. Furthermore, this study confirms previous evidence that the gender-specific clitics, lo/la, have been replaced by the invariable clitic, le, in contexts where agreement with a doubled DP or an antecedent is expected. In contrast, there is evidence of agreement between determiners and nouns in this group of bilinguals. These facts allow us to conclude that, although gender is present in Shipibo-Spanish bilingual speakers' grammar, it is largely absent and is not operative in Shipibo-Spanish speakers' clitic agreement in oral production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study longitudinally explores regressive phonological cross-linguistic influence (CLI) in seven adolescents (aged 12–13) and seven adults (aged 21–39) by examining voice-onset time (VOT) of /p,t,k/ in their first, second, and third language (L1, L2, and L3, respectively). All participants had the same language combination (L1 German, L2 English, L3 Polish) and were recorded completing a range of production tasks in all three languages four times over the course of the first year of L3 learning. The scope of previous research on phonological CLI is thus broadened in two ways: (1) by tracing the development of all languages upon the arrival of a new language in a multilingual's system longitudinally, and (2) by investigating CLI patterns in two age groups when input and learning environment are comparable. Previous L2 age studies have mostly only made retrospective assumptions about (target) language development, so that longitudinal data, including the entire language repertoire of multilingual speakers, are needed to substantiate claims made in that regard. For the adolescent group, significant changes to both their L1 and L2 over time were found, while the adults' background languages remained relatively stable on the group level. However, for both groups, much individual variation was uncovered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on language education policy for language learners in Sweden by building on a synthesis of findings from a research project on the school subject Swedish as a second language (SSL). The project was located in three upper secondary schools and one primary school with a large proportion of migrant students, of whom a majority studied SSL. We present previously published core findings, as well as revisit data for new analyses. The overarching aim is to contribute new knowledge on the complexities of arranging for sustainable, equitable and high-quality language educational provisions that include the teaching and learning of the language of schooling, through the lens of SSL. First, we outline and discuss the relatively unique design of SSL and discourses surrounding the subject, and also make some international comparisons with English as an Additional Language. Secondly, we discuss the role of pedagogical scaffolding of advanced literacy and literary content, and of multilingual aspects in SSL, as well as examine policy frictions in the data. We conclude by reflecting on the role of teacher competences and research methodology. Researching a second language subject is to stand in the crossroad of macro policy, the theory and practice of language education, and equity. All these aspects need to be considered to reach sustainable educational goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment of foreign/second language (L2) oral proficiency is known to be complex and influenced by the local context. In Sweden, extensive assessment guidelines for the National English Speaking Test (NEST) are offered to teachers, who act as raters of their own students' performances on this high-stakes L2 English oral proficiency (OP) test. Despite guidelines, teachers commonly construct their own NEST scoring rubric. The present study aims to unveil teachers-as-raters' conceptualizations, as these emerge from the self-made scoring rubrics, and possible transformations of policy. Data consist of 20 teacher-generated scoring rubrics used for assessing NEST (years 6 and 9). Rubrics were collected via personal networks and online teacher membership groups. Employing content analysis, data were analysed qualitatively to examine (i) what OP sub-skills were in focus for assessment, (ii) how sub-skills were conceptualized, and (iii) scoring rubric design. Results showed that the content and design of rubrics were heavily influenced by the official assessment guidelines, which led to broad consensus about what to assess—but not about how to assess. Lack of consensus was particularly salient for interactive skills. Analysis of policy transformations revealed that teachers' self-made templates, in fact, lead to an analytic rather than a holistic assessment practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]