bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Teaching Hispanic Linguistics: Strategies to Engage Learners
Authors: Knouse Stephanie M. , Gupton Timothy , Abreu Laurel
Published: June 2015

Even though many post-secondary institutions offer a variety of Hispanic linguistics classes (Hualde 2006; Lipski 2006), research on the pedagogy of Hispanic linguistics is an underdeveloped or non-existent area of the discipline. Courses in Hispanic linguistics can present not only linguistic challenges for non-native speakers of Spanish, but also conceptual obstacles, for many students lack a background in linguistics as an academic subject. While some students might prefer a traditional lecture-style approach to the course “Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics,” the authors advocate for a student-centered, hands-on approach to the course and recommend that instructors of this course seriously consider incorporating collaborative learning techniques, as well as some or all of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ (ACTFL) World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages , particularly those relating to all genres of communication.
Una aproximación biopolítica a la narrativa de la posguerra: La tuberculosis en Pabellón de reposo de Camilo José Cela y El mar de Blai Bonet
Authors: Pérez Oscar A.
Published: June 2015

Durante los primeros años de la posguerra, y ante el incremento de los casos de tuberculosis, el régimen de Franco puso en acción un aparato discursivo que asociaba dicha enfermedad con el bando perdedor de la guerra civil. Más tarde, en una operación de saneamiento lingüístico, esta estrategia fue sustituida por un discurso predominantemente estadístico que sometió a los enfermos a una transformación metonímica al representarlos como camas. Estos discursos del poder sobre la tuberculosis encontraron eco en producciones literarias de la época, desde donde se contestaron, impugnaron y, en otras ocasiones, subvirtieron. En este trabajo se propone una lectura biopolítica de las novelas Pabellón de reposo (1943) de Camilo José Cela y El mar (1958) de Blai Bonet en el contexto de la lucha antituberculosa del franquismo temprano. En ambas obras el sanatorio para tuberculosos ocupa un lugar central como un espacio de disputa que posibilita la transgresión y resistencia ante la red de discursos del poder sobre la vida, algunos de los cuales trascienden este régimen y momento histórico.
La enseñanza del español en la era del antropoceno: Hacia la integración de la sostenibilidad en las clases de español como lengua extranjera
Authors: Prádanos Luis I.
Published: June 2015

El presente ensayo argumenta que los programas de español de las universidades norteamericanas tienen la oportunidad y el potencial para desempeñar un papel mucho más activo y relevante en la educación para la sostenibilidad. La primera parte del ensayo introduce la situación actual del debate sobre la función de la educación superior en la sociedad en general y en la alfabetización ecológica en particular. Se hace hincapié en la poca presencia de los departamentos de español en un debate tan crucial en el contexto actual de crisis ecológica global. La segunda parte demuestra que muchos de los libros de texto de español a nivel universitario perpetúan valores poco ecológicos. Se proponen estrategias para transformar cursos de niveles iniciales, intermedios y avanzados con el fin de incorporar de manera integrada la enseñanza para la sostenibilidad. La conclusión es que el resultado de esta convergencia sería muy positivo para los programas de español, ya que ganarían relevancia para los estudiantes, aportarían y aprenderían de los candentes debates interdisciplinares en torno a temas relacionados con la globalización y environmental humanities , al tiempo que contribuirían a promocionar un necesario cambio de paradigma educativo basado en el fomento de un pensamiento sistémico, crítico y ecológico crucial para enfrentar los complejos retos socio-ecológicos globales.
Mother Earth, Earth Mother: Gabriela Mistral as an Early Ecofeminist
Authors: Finzer Erin
Published: June 2015

Historians have noted that male bureaucrats and natural resource experts tended to dominate early twentieth-century national and hemispheric conservationist movements in Latin America, but a constellation of female activists, notable among them Gabriela Mistral, strengthened conservationism in the cultural sphere. Capitalizing on her leadership in Pan-Americanism, transnational feminist networks, and cutting-edge teaching, Mistral functioned throughout her career as an advocate for conservationism, gendering the natural environment in strategically essentialist ways. Important tropes throughout her poetry, Nature and Mother Earth became specific themes in Mistral’s journalistic prose. Here, Mistral blended conservationism with anti-imperialism, arguing that Mother Earth was threatened both by man’s failure to care for her and by predatory imperialists. Environmental stewardship also played a central role in her Pan-American initiatives and complimented the “official” Pan-American Conservation Movement of the interwar period. Mistral’s de facto ecofeminism is echoed in Latin American women’s writing of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, suggesting that Nature represented an alternate sphere for women beyond the urban manifestations of modernization. The gathering of female voices around the gendered image of Mother Nature also represents a corpus of early environmental prophets in Latin American letters and culture.
Learning Through Service: A testimonio on the Pedagogical and Scholarly Benefits of Service Projects Conducted by Teachers of Spanish
Authors: Christoph Nancy
Published: June 2015

This article argues the pedagogical and scholarly benefits to Spanish language faculty who themselves conduct community-engaged service projects in Spanish-speaking communities. The author explores the term “service” as it is understood in higher education in relationship to teaching and scholarship, positing that service projects conducted by faculty constitute engaged scholarship as defined by Boyer (1996), and that foreign language educators are especially well-prepared for this kind of scholarship and intellectual activism. The article includes a testimonio by the author describing how teaching a community poetry class to Latina immigrants has improved her university teaching and shaped her scholarship. Finally, the author suggests that conducting a literature-based project in the community could reinvigorate foreign language educators’ commitment to the humanities during the current so-called “crisis of the humanities.”
La singular prostitución de La Regenta
Authors: Godón Nuria
Published: June 2015

Los candentes debates y regulaciones que surgen en torno a la prostitución a lo largo de las últimas décadas del siglo XIX en España se vieron proyectados principalmente en las novelas de los llamados naturalistas radicales. Mi trabajo integra en este debate la voz de Leopoldo Alas. Planteo cómo Clarín participa en esta cuestión con La Regenta a raíz del estudio de Pierre Dufour, Historia de la prostitución (1854). Para ello me baso en las tres referencias hechas del libro del historiador en la novela. A la luz de la obra de Dufour, La Regenta se aleja de la denominada prostitución comercial e introduce otros tipos: la sagrada y algunos tintes de la hospitalaria, lo que aporta nuevas claves de interpretación a la escena de la procesión de Semana Santa. Este estudio atiende a una prostitución que escapa del ámbito de lo marginal y se adentra en el burgués. La noción de entrega sexual, esclavitud, escándalo y vergüenza se reconfiguran en la marcha que Ana hace como nazarena, de ahí su sensación de hallarse prostituida de una forma extraña.
An Analysis of the Relationship Between Implementation of School-wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports and High School Dropout Rates,
Authors: Freeman Jennifer , Simonsen Brandi , McCoach D. Betsy , Sugai George , Lombardi Allison , Horner Rob
Published: June 2015

The purpose of this study was to explore the direct and indirect effects of SWPBIS on high school dropout rates. We used structural equation modeling methods to analyze the web of relationships among important high school level outcomes and SWPBIS in a large sample of high schools from 37 states. Results suggest that SWPBIS has statistically significant positive effects on attendance at the high school level and that attendance is a proximal and statistically significant indicator of high school dropout risk. The study did not find significant or consistent direct short-term effects of SWPBIS on dropout rates; however, the results suggest that schools implementing SWPBIS with fidelity for longer periods of time may see greater reductions in dropout rates. Implications for future research, practice, and policy are discussed.
Challenges and Opportunities in the Pursuit of College Finance Literacy
Authors: Greenfield Jeremy S.
Published: June 2015

In the United States there are significant gaps in college-going between high-income and low-income students and between White students and African American and Latino/a students. A number of factors contribute to this persistent gap. Among these factors are the rising cost of college attendance and the complexity of the financial aid process. The present study describes how a group of low-income students of color at a New York City high school learned about the costs associated with college attendance and participated in the financial aid process. Drawing on data collected during a one-year ethnographic study, this article examines what students initially believed about the cost of college and the availability of financial aid, how the students’ high school supported them through the financial aid process, and challenges students faced. Results from the study suggest that the textual complexity of the financial aid process, uneven support from counselors, and the high cost of college posed challenges for many students. However, those students who formed relationships with trusted advisors or “literacy sponsors” were more likely to successfully complete the financial aid process and enroll in college. The article ends with a discussion of implications for theory and practice.
“Not at the Expense of Their Culture”: Graduating Native American Youth from High School
Authors: Wilcox Kristen Campbell
Published: June 2015

What kinds of challenges do educators face in increasing Native American high school graduation rates, and what kinds of adaptations to a traditional high school are understood as necessary to achieve this outcome? This case study explored these questions as part of a larger multiple case study that investigated practices and processes related to high school graduation rates. It focused on educators’ attempts to increase Native American student graduation rates in a high school with typical gaps in graduation rates between Native American students and white students. Data collected included teacher and administrator interviews and documentary evidence. Framed by socioecological theory that focuses on relationships between district, school, and classroom processes and practices, study findings revealed that adaptations to improve Native youth graduation rates included (1) offering personally-relevant, real-world, experiential, and interdisciplinary learning experiences aligned to students’ own learning goals; (2) adapting school schedules to students’ lives outside of school; (3) prioritizing developing students’ sense of worth in contributing to their communities and societies; (4) providing flexibility regarding absences, (5) offering effective supports that emphasize connecting to an adult; and (6) partnering with families and other community members. Implications for future research and practice are discussed in light of the findings.
Hybrid Citizenship: Latina Youth and the Politics of Belonging
Authors: Bondy Jennifer M.
Published: June 2015

Drawing from interview data collected from high school students in Broward County, Florida, this article explores how eight adolescent Latinas understand citizenship and belonging vis-à-vis circulating images and discourses on Latina/o immigration, immigrant, and Latina. The author examines Latina youths’ citizenship identities and belonging using the conceptual frameworks of transnationalism, cultural citizenship, and hyphenated selves. The author demonstrates how first-, second-, and third-generation Latina youths’ citizenship identities and belonging are continuously shaped by dominant discourses and stereotypical images while at the same time are responses that modify, resist, or echo these discourses and images. The insights of the adolescent Latinas point to theoretical and practical implications that could improve citizenship education in the context of globalization and transnational migration.
An Antiphonal Announcement: Jamaica’s Anti-Chinese Legislation in Transnational Context
Authors: Lee-Loy Anne-Marie
Published: June 2015

While popular demonstrations of Jamaican antipathy towards the Chinese in the early 20th century are fairly well-known, the statutory hostility directed towards the Chinese in this period has received little attention. An exploration of Jamaican legislation aimed at restricting Chinese migration into the island and the context in which such legislation emerged plays an important role in recognizing the inherently transnational and antiphonal ‘construction of Chineseness in Jamaica.
Modern, Modular, Model: Mika Tajima and a Racial Good-Enough Environment
Authors: Huang Vivian L.
Published: June 2015

This article reconsiders the persistent Asian American stereotype of model minority by analyzing the contemporary visual art practice of Brooklyn-based Mika Tajima through 1960s discourses of the Herman Miller Research Corporation’s Action Office furniture series, the model minority myth, and British psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott’s theory of transitional phenomena. It examines the overlapping aesthetics of modular office furniture and model minority racialization by asking: what would it mean to consider the model minority trope, alongside modular cubicle structures, as transitional objects through which one can create a “good-enough environment” and experiment with alternative forms of relating? What would it mean to play with model minority discourse as a transitional object for Asian American subject formation?
Beyond Bollywood: Exhibiting South Asian America
Authors: Mani Bakirathi
Published: June 2015

This essay examines Beyond Bollywood , a landmark exhibition about South Asian Americans at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Focusing on the curatorial premise of the exhibition, the aesthetic objects it incorporates, and viewers’ affective relations to these objects, I argue that Beyond Bollywood generates a rich repertoire of feelings that reframe the relationship between visuality and representation in Asian American exhibition cultures. From exuberance and pride at the upwardly mobile immigrant narrative mapped by archival objects, to shame and anxiety generated through photographic artworks, Beyond Bollywood provokes us to consider the limits of visibility as a form of representational politics.
Nailing Race and Labor Relations: Vietnamese Nail Salons in Majority-Minority Neighborhoods
Authors: Hoang Kimberly Kay
Published: June 2015

This article brings theories of immigrant entrepreneurship into conversation with a broader literature on Asian American racialization in the United States. Drawing on four months of ethnographic field research, I shed light on the micro-processes, routines, and everyday interactions in two Vietnamese-owned nail salons located outside of Vietnamese enclaves in majority black and Latino neighborhoods in Northern and Southern California. Introducing the triangular system of labor relationships concept, I highlight a system of racialized and class-based labor relationships among owners-workers-clients that were crucial to sustaining business relationships in majority-minority neighborhoods.
Buddhist Murals Illustrating Unusual Features in Temple 36 at Sale and Their Cultural Implications
Authors: Poolsuwan Samerchai
Published: June 2015

This article describes Buddhist murals illustrating some unusual features and surviving in the small brick temple number 36 at Sale, one of the major satellite towns during the Pagan period. The town is located on the east bank of the Irrawady River, 30 miles downstream from Old Pagan. The temple and its principal Buddha image can be stylistically dated to the 13th century. A dated inscription, a later intrusion on the murals, provides solid proof that the murals predate AD 1582. Likely postdating the temple, the murals show mixed features, some indigenous but others perhaps introduced from Sri Lank and north-central Thailand into the area during the mid-14th century, the proposed date of the murals. These features had never been combined in such a fashion before and the resulting combination perhaps lasted only shortly in the mural tradition of central Burma. This is evidenced when the content of Sale 36 is compared with Pagan-era murals and others surviving from the 15th century. The intrusive status, in the mural tradition of central Burma, of the Sale 36 materials is explained in a context of trans-regional movements of the Mahavihara monastic lineage, originated in Sri Lanka, widely active in lower Burma and parts of Thailand during the 14th and 15th centuries. The Sale 36 murals might reflect the presence of this Sinhalese order in central Burma as well during the mid-14th century. These rare murals, a later addition in an already existing small temple, might correlate with a temporary role played by the Sinhalese order in central Burma during a limited period. It probably ultimately yielded to a more popular and more powerful Aran sect of the area.
Memorial Art as an Anthropological Object (Chin State of Burma)
Authors: Robinne François
Published: June 2015

The Indo-Chinese frontiers, including both the mainland and insular parts of Southeast Asia, were once described by Heine-Geldern and Furer-Haimendorf as “megalithic culture.” This article explores, through an anthropological lens, the tradition of engraved steles in Burma’s Chin State. Given the stones’ relatively recent erection (ranging from the mid-19h century to the mid-20th century) and the interconnected role themes such as ancestrality, mobility, and territory played during their creation, the analysis will focus on the idea of those steles as belonging within the wider concept of a memorial space. The Chin standing stones highlight, due to the plurality of their appearances and their various roles, the exceptional diversity—linguistic, cultural, religious, and political—that characterizes the social landscape of Chin State. Whether or not the patterns of those engraved scenes are accompanied or not by written texts, they make for remarkable archives for historians as they are often the only tangible sources, or in situ archival documents, for society where an oral tradition still prevails. Art historians will try to assess the style and overall composition of the stones before attempting to decipher their artists. Moreover, anthropologists will more likely want to examine the relationship between the stones and the territory—in the context of clan segmentation and internationalizing migration dynamics. The extreme social and linguistic diversity of Chin State, emphasized throughout the literature, has begun to overlap with an increasingly extended mobility. As seen within village and clan segmentations, urban migrations, Christian networks, economic expatriation, even where mobility becomes structural to chin subgroups, memorial art appears to be a major vector of social ties in ways that are both perennial and inconstant. Despite the colonial and dictatorial violence that plunged Burma into civil war, social—and, therefore, memorial—change is expressed less in terms of rupture than of metamorphosis. At the same time as new leaders emerge and clan membership disappears behind denominational affiliations, ancestry has tended to turn more and more into a memory exercise taken over by Christianity.
The Story of Nan Saw Kyi
Authors: Kyaw K. Khine
Published: June 2015

The author, granddaughter of Daw Nan Saw Kyi, subject of this issue’s Scholarly Curiosities, narrates the story of a courageous, independent-minded and resourceful woman who began her social and political activism early on. In 1938, together with some friends, she founded the Red Cross Association in her native town. Daw Nan Saw Kyi’s skills, dedication, perseverance as well as endurance were severely tested during the horrific fighting that raged around Mogaung in 1944 and 1945, when together with others she extended whatever aid was available to masses of streaming refugees and wounded fighters and soldiers, casualties of the slaughter that pitted British, Japanese, and Burmese armies against one another. Daw Nan Saw Kyi’s involvement was only the preliminary stage of a lifetime of activism on behalf of various communal needs, informed by her deeply held Buddhist beliefs.
The Disciplining Discourse of Unity in Burmese Politics
Authors: Walton Matthew J.
Published: June 2015

A concern with unity has been a consistent theme in modern Burmese politics. This article examines a particularly problematic conception of unity that I argue draws strength from its resonance with Buddhist moral notions of the self and overcoming self-centeredness. As a moral concept, this narrative of unity is idealized in devotion to a common purpose and loyalty to a group or community; it requires subsuming one’s own interests for the benefit of the whole, something that encapsulates the Buddhist practice of rejecting atta (ego). Disunity, then, is the result of a group of individuals committed only to their own benefit; it is evidence of moral failure. This discourse of unity has been an effectively anti-democratic disciplining tool (deployed by both governments and opposition groups) for suppressing internal dissent. Despite General Aung San’s oft-quoted slogan of “unity in diversity,” political movements in Myanmar have been more commonly characterized by hegemonic attempts at imposing a top-down unity that labels deviation from or criticism of dominant positions as disloyalty. This article examines the perpetuation of a rigid, unitary understanding of unity and argues that developing a more flexible and accommodating notion of unity will be a necessary step in the process of national reconciliation.
Thakhin Kodaw Hmaing’s Grand Congratulatory Laycho for the Saturday Nagani Journal Inaugural Issue
Authors: Phoehlaing Phoehlaing
Published: June 2015

Thakin Kodaw Hmaing is arguably the most important Myanmar writer of the last century, known to young and old, both for his politics and his contributions to Burmese literature. He was the first of only two Burmese (the second one being U Thant) to be honored, however reluctantly, by U Ne Win’s government, with a grant of land plot for a private burial shrine near the Shwedagon pagoda. This literary figure’s immense national prestige encourages the Journal of Burma Studies to introduce one of his most famous poems to its readers, a novel development in the after life of the hugely influential Thakin who is utterly unknown beyond his country’s borders.
Disorder as Order: The Ethno-Nationalist Struggle of the Karen in Burma/Myanmar—A Discussion of the Dynamics of an Ethicized Civil War and Its Historical Roots
Authors: Gravers Mikael
Published: June 2015

Burma’s 66 years of civil war is the longest armed conflict in the world. This article analyses the complexity of one of the many ethnic armed conflicts between the Karen and the state. The Karen ethno-nationalist struggle is rooted in the ethnic categorization and identity politics of colonial order, which has influenced the political orders after independence. All living generations in Burma have to some extent experienced violence. Violent disorder and memory of suffering and victimhood dominate a majority of the Karen. The author argues that the prolonged violent conflict has widened the ethnic incompatibilities and impacts the current ceasefire negotiations. Internal segmentation of the Karen society as well as internal divisions and conflicts has also had a considerable impact upon the track of this conflict. Cultural, religious, and political diversity among the Karen—and other ethnic groups—further complicates prospects for a political solution to the armed struggle.
The Sixth Buddhist Council: Its Purpose, Presentation, and Product
Authors: Clark Chris
Published: June 2015

During the mid-1950s, the Burmese government organized and funded the “sixth Buddhist council,” a two-year gathering of monks and laypeople in which the Pāli canon was recited. In this article, a number of previously unexplored sources have been drawn from in aid of providing a better understanding of the purpose for which the event was held and the way in which it was presented to the wider public. These sources advertized the council as an effective means to purify Theravāda Buddhist scriptures and thereby protect the sāsana from decline. They consistently portrayed this work of purification as an international collaboration involving monastic groups from all major Theravāda Buddhist countries, despite evidence to the contrary. This article also includes a detailed analysis of a section of the principal textual product associated with the council, the widely used Chaṭṭhasaṅgīti Piṭaka series of the Pāli canon, providing insight into its sources and editing methodology.
The Village System and Burmese Society: Problems Involved in the Enforcement Process of the Upper Burma Village Regulation of 1887
Authors: Iwaki Takahiro
Published: June 2015

Many historians who have written about the administrative changes implemented in Upper Burma at the end of the 19th century have focused on the village system and the Upper Burma Village Regulation of 1887. They emphasize the transformation of the precolonial local administration, particularly the abolition of the position of myothugyi as an outcome of the introduction of the village system. However, their descriptions pay little attention to local society, simply regarding it as a passive subject affected by colonialism. Thus, in order to elucidate the relation between the colonial administrative policy and local society, this article re-examines the village system and illustrates how the system developed at the district level, by focusing on the early arguments. After investigating the arguments of the central government and district officials on the village system, the article highlights the significance of additional regulatory rules introduced in 1890, and the case of the Shwebo District to reinforce the article’s arguments.
The tone pattern in dialect contact
Authors: Bei Xianming
Published: June 2015

The features of tones contact have been investigated between Xiang Dialect and Gan Dialect, by using the method of tone pattern in this paper. It is showed that the “transition” feature of the mixed dialect reflects in similar features of tones between mixed dialect and ancestor dialect or between mixed tones and target dialect, which includes as follows: the balance of the tone number, the mixing of tone category, the similarity of tone value, and the correlation of tone contour.
On the cluster * sr – in Sino-Tibetan
Authors: Jacques Guillaume
Published: June 2015

This paper presents a critical overview of previously proposed etymologies involving the initial cluster * sr – between Chinese and other Sino-Tibetan languages. It puts forth one new etymology, which confirms the simplification of the cluster * sr – to s – in Kiranti and the preservation of this cluster in Rgyalrong languages.
Predicting NP forms in vernacular written Cantonese
Authors: Starr Rebecca L.
Published: June 2015

Cantonese contains a range of NP forms which are ambiguous with respect to referentiality and definiteness (e.g., go yahn ‘a/the man’). Accessibility theory (Ariel 2001) predicts that entities which are salient in the discourse will be introduced using forms with more linguistic material, and referred back to using forms with less linguistic material. Previous studies of Standard Written Chinese have found that more topical entities are introduced using fuller NP forms (Sun 1988; Li 2000). A study of online love-advice narratives reveals that, in the case of new items, fuller NP forms in Vernacular Written Cantonese are more frequently used for more topical, referential, and plural entities. For given items, however, contrary to the predictions of accessibility theory, topical entities and those with a previous reference using a longer NP form are associated with fuller, rather than more abbreviated, NP forms. These findings suggest that the desire to highlight topical entities may override the principle of accessibility in choice of NP form for given items in certain genres.
The discovery of Liangdao man and its implications for the pre-Austronesian homeland
Authors: Li Paul Jenkuei
Published: June 2015

The discovery of Liangdao man ca. 8,000 BP is academically significant. It may provide some clue for the Austronesian origin relating Taiwan and the southeast coast of China. We need interdisciplinary knowledge of archaeology, genetics and linguistics to make any meaningful study of such a case. The most recent genetic study indicates that the Liangdao man seems to be more closely related to modern Formosan natives than to the other peoples in South China and Southeast Asia. Ancient South China was almost exclusively populated by non-Chinese. There is linguistic evidence that the Austroasiatics inhabited the Yangtze delta and parts of the southeast coast during the first half of the first millennium B.C. Some of the Austroasiatic loanwords currently in Chinese in general and in Min are part of the basic vocabulary. This indicates the Chinese and Austroasiatics must have been in close contact for a long period of time before the first millennium B.C. The linguistic evidence for the genetic relationship between Austronesian and Austroasiatics is not very strong, but nevertheless exists. We can postulate that pre-Austronesian split apart from Austroasiatics in the southeast coast of China about 6,000 BP and dispersed to Taiwan to become proto-Austronesians.
Breathy voice and low tone
Authors: Chen Zhongmin
Published: June 2015

This paper critically reviews the previous consonant-based account of tonogensis, and modifies this theory by using some examples of relationship between initials and tones in Wu dialects of Chinese and other Southeast Asian tonal languages. I argue that the origin of the high and low tones is induced from different phonation types rather than different consonants, and specially, the breathy voice is a primary mechanism for lowering pitch. In accordance with the physiological and aerodynamics mechanisms involved in the production of voiced consonants, breathy voice and tone, I propose that there is a tendency for voice stop to cause breathy voice, and show how low tone evolved from breathy voice developed from voiced consonants. There are five parts in this paper. Part One. The brief introduction for consonant-based account of tonogensis; Part Two. The effects of prevocalic voiceless/voiced consonants on the F0 of following vowels; Part Three. The relationship between breathy voice and low tone; Part Four. The relationship between voiced stops and breathy voice; Part Five. Conclusion.
Dialogue on Sound Change between William Labov and William S-Y. Wang ed. by Shengli Feng and Virginia Yip (review)
Authors: Ogura Mieko
Published: June 2015

This is a review of the book on a dialogue on sound change between William Labov and William S-Y. Wang at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in May 2012. First Labov’s and Wang’s Presentations are surveyed. Then the regular sound changes Labov discusses are examined, and Neogrammarian regularity and lexical diffusion in sound change are synthesized. The 2-dimensional lexical diffusion model, depending on the relative ratios of W(ord)-diffusion and S(peaker)-diffusion, synthesizes lexical diffusion and Neogrammarian regularity. It assumes that in Neogrammarian regularity W-diffusion proceeds so fast that it is difficult to observe it within each individual, but the change can be observed while it is in progress across generations. The empirical evidence of the rapid W-diffusion is also given.
The historical relationship between Northern Wu and Min dialects from the perspective of comparative phonology
Authors: Zheng Wei
Published: June 2015

Norman (1979) proposes there are three strata dated from the Qin-Han, Southern dynasties and Late Tang period in the modern Min dialects respectively. Ting (1988, 1995) and Mei (1994, 2001) argue that the three strata also exist in the Wu dialects. Most of the previous studies focus on the comparison between the Southern Wu (SW) and Min and neglect the materials of Northern Wu (NW). Through comparative studies, strata analyses and referring to Chinese historical phonology, we assume that some phonological traits in NW, SW and Min all come from Qieyun or the Jiangdong dialect in the Southern dynasty. This paper also points out that although Wu dialects in southern Zhèjiāng are more similar to Min than Northern Wu, such places in NW as Dānyáng, Chángshú and “Chóngqĭhǎi” near Jinling geographically regarded as the center of the Jiangdong dialect, probably retain some early phonological traits in the Southern dynasties, which is also similar to modern SW and Min.
Why do languages change?: A Report of the International Workshop on Language and Human Complexity
Authors: Wang Feng
Published: June 2015

The International Workshop on Language and Human Complexity took place on October 25-28, 2014 at Peking University, with language change as the theme. This four-day workshop covered eight important topics of language change, i.e. the emergence of syllabic languages, special changes in Tibeto-Burman languages, Literal/Colloquial competition, formation of the Huihui language, bilingual development, phonemic load, dynamic studies of Chinese, and the Sino-Tai hypothesis.
Strengthening of fricatives in language acquisition and lexical borrowing: The case of Sino-Vietnamese
Authors: Jang Youngjun
Published: June 2015

The purpose of this article is to propose and prove that the well-known theory of markedness in language acquisition is also working in lexical borrowing. Principles of first language acquisition have widely been attested to operate in second language and/or foreign language acquisition. However, not much attention has been paid to the comparison between first language acquisition and lexical borrowing, although lexical borrowing also clearly involves similar processes and/or principles of foreign language acquisition in various forms. Specifically, we will show that fricatives of source language are changed to stops in target language, in parallel with the well-known phonological process that fricatives are realized as stops and that they are acquired later than stops in first language acquisition. Supporting evidence is provided from the comparison between general language acquisition data and strengthening of fricatives found in the lexical borrowing from Chinese by Vietnamese. In so doing, we will compare the alveolar fricatives in Chinese and their borrowed forms in Sino-Vietnamese and Sino-Korean.
Report of the 6 th International Conference in Evolutionary Linguistics
Authors: Tianjun Gao , Juan Jiang
Published: June 2015

The 6th International Conference in Evolutionary Linguistics (CIEL 6), jointly organized by Overseas Education College of Xiamen University and the Anthropological Society of China, was held in Xiang’an campus of Xiamen University, on November 22-23, 2014. A total of 45 scholars from China, U.S. and Estonia attended the conference. There were 7 keynote speeches, 22 oral presentations and 8 poster presentations featuring five major themes: language as a complex adaptive system; language and the brain; vertical and horizontal transmission of languages; language and population evolution in China; the ancestry of the Chinese Language.
Ontology-based event relation prediction: A SUMO based study of Mandarin VV compounds
Authors: Hong Jia-Fei , Huang Chu-Ren
Published: June 2015

This paper explores the interaction between eventive information and morpho-syntax based on Chinese VV compounds. Chinese VV Compounds’ identical morpho-syntactic structure represents different event relations between the two component words and the correct interpretation of the meaning of these compounds relies on the prediction on their event relations. Without overt syntactic clues, we propose that ontology-based conceptual classification can be used to predict the event relation between the two component words. Compounding is the most productive way to research multi-word expressions in Mandarin Chinese. A Mandarin VV compound can be classified according to the eventive relation between two simplex verbs, which specifies how the eventive meanings of the two simplex verbs combine to form the meaning of the compound. The way in which two events combine with each other depends upon their event types, and the three types of eventive relations that we deal with in this paper are coordinate, modificational, and resultative. Using an ontology-based prediction approach, we hypothesized that the eventive relations could be predicted by the conceptual classification of the two simplex verbs’ event types. First, we utilized SUMO and Sinica BOW to classify each simplex verb. Next, the correlation between the ontology-based classification of each verb position and each eventive type was scored using a manually tagged lexical database and a training set was established. Finally, we encoded the ontological information of each VV compound in a 3-tuple based on these correlation scores. This 3-tuple was represented as a three-dimensional vector and was used to predict the eventive type of the new VV compounds. The results of our findings show that the classification experiments on event relation of unknown VV compounds can be reliably predicted based on the ontological classification of their component words.
The condition and change of 共 vis-à-vis 合 in Southern Min with a sidelight on intra-dialectal variation
Authors: Lien Chinfa
Published: June 2015

There are three kinds of kang 7 共 attested in the sixteenth century and later Southern Min playscripts as well as the Chinese-character and Romanized Southern Min texts compiled by Spanish missionaries in the seventeenth century: (1) kang 7 共 expressing relationship of co-participation, (2) kang 7 共 exhibiting a unilateral relationship, and (3) kang 7 共 showing a co-ordinate relationship. Ka 7 as a reflex of kang 7 共 is limited to the unilateral relationship construction in modern Taiwanese Southern Min. Thus, there is a lexical replacement by which kang 7 共 claiming both a co-participation relationship and a co-ordinate relationship in earlier times is replaced by kap 4 /kah 4 合 or its dialectal variants such as tsham 1 摻, ham 7 含 and kiau 1 交 in Taiwanese Southern Min. However, the situation concerning the constructional types claimed by kang 7 共 vis-à-vis kap 4 /kah 4 合 is somewhat different if we take other modern Southern Min varieties such as Quanzhou, Zhangzhou and Chaozhou into consideration. Quanzhou seems to be more conservative than Zhangzhou and Chaozhou in that kang 7 共 holds faster to its original domain.
Some problems of The Contemporary Chinese Dictionary (6 th ed.): With a call for a corpus-based Chinese lexicography
Authors: Liu Zequan , Zhang Dandan
Published: June 2015

This paper sets out to examine the problems which exist with the newly published Contemporary Chinese Dictionary (6th edition), with particular reference to the establishment of the definitions, exemplifications and word class labels of its entries, the selection of its neologisms, as well as its reader-friendly considerations. The examination is conducted based on the query results from available Chinese corpora, with an aim to highlight the urgent necessity of the use of large-scale corpora for Chinese lexicography. The study concludes that it is now imperative to build open-ended, large-scale and multimodal corpora of contemporary Chinese in order to lend assistance to Chinese lexicography.
Malaysian Fast Food Brand Equity
Authors: Tan Teck Ming , Ismail Hishamuddin , Devinaga Rasiah
Published: June 2015

Most Malaysian research defines the brand equity dimensions. This paper addresses this gap by developing an empirical research model with better understanding of sequential relationships between the dimensions of brand equity within the Malaysian fast food context. The results indicate perceived quality (PQ) and brand awareness (BA) are the initial stage of brand building. Brand familiarity, brand image, and brand trust serve as important role in enlightening the relationships between PQ, BA, and attitudinal brand loyalty (ABL). ABL plays as a key variable for explicating the relationships between other dimensions and overall brand equity. Future research could explore the possibility of a longitudinal study through repeated observations, and invariance test across different samples to make certain the components of measurement model and structural model are remained equivalent.
It Pays to Be an Executive in Malaysia
Authors: Ghazali Zahiruddin , Taib Fauziah Md.
Published: June 2015

Malaysian corporate sector is characterized by an insider system of corporate governance and induced the alignment problems between majority shareholders and the minority group. This paper investigates if there is an evidence of moral hazard behaviour being practiced in the executive remuneration decision. A match pair methodology is employed to isolate the effect of ESOS adoption from the usual motivations when deciding executive remunerations. Results suggest that while the amount of remuneration is directly linked to size of firms suggesting efficient and rational decision rather than on performance (profitability). The moral hazard behaviour is more evident when firms reward their executives even more in times of lower profitability or more losses over a longer period. The practice is more apparent among family owned firms not adopting ESOS. Though there is evidence of weak monitoring by government, it is not enough to ward off the insider pressures for personal gains.
Family Firms, Expropriation and Firm Value: Evidence from Related Party Transactions in Malaysia
Authors: Chee Yoong Liew , Alfan Ervina , Devi S.Susela
Published: June 2015

We examine the relationship between related party transactions (RPTs) and firm value and how this relationship is moderated by ownership concentration using a sample of 379 listed family and 151 non-family firms for the period 2007 to 2009. Ordinary Least Square Pooled Model as well as Fixed Effects Model panel data regressions are used in the data analysis. For family firms, we find that RPTs reduce firm value (proxied by Tobin’s Q and market-to-book value). Further, controlling shareholders’ ownership has a significant positive moderating effect on this relationship. However, for non-family firms, there is no significant evidence of firm value reduction and positive moderating effect respectively. We conclude that expropriation via RPTs is stronger in family firms compared to non-family firms. Additionally, an increase in controlling shareholders’ ownership helps mitigate this expropriation and this mitigating effect is stronger in family firms compared to non-family firms. The implications for the capital market regulator are discussed in this paper.
The Acquisition of Valuable Resources by Family-Controlled Companies in Malaysia Through Political Connections of Their Independent Directors
Authors: Sharif Saeed Pahlevan , Kyid Yeoh Ken , Wei Khong Kok
Published: June 2015

Many Malaysian publicly listed companies are highly dependent upon the government and ruling political parties’ patronage in order to survive and/or thrive. In fact, political involvement in the Malaysian corporate sector is so pervasive that the boundaries between business, politics and the State are often blurred. On the other hand, family‑controlled companies are highly nepotistic as they prefer hiring insiders from their closely-knit networks. This disposition limits their access to external resources. When considering the aforementioned external environment and company-owner preferences, this study argues that, political connections are more critical in family-controlled companies. Thus, the higher is the family ownership concentration, the more external linkages, networks and resources are required. With a random sample of 200 family-controlled companies listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2008, this study finds that publicly-listed companies with higher family ownership concentration do indeed appoint more independent directors who have strong connections with the government and ruling political parties and this enhances their financial performance.
People or Trust in Building Commitment to Change?
Authors: Mangundjaya Wustari L. H.
Published: June 2015

The success of organizational change lies on people, in this regard on employee’s commitment to change. On the other hand, there are many variables that can influence the success of organizational change, such as the content of the change, the process of the change, individual characteristics, leadership, external environment and organizational context. The objective of this study is to identify the major contributor to people’s commitment to change, namely psychological empowerment (individual characteristics), and organizational trust (organizational context). The study was conducted at state owned organizations with 539 respondents. Data was collected using Commitment to Change Inventory, Psychological Empowerment, and Organizational trust Inventory. The data were analyzed using Multiple Regression and Structural Equation Model (SEM). The results of the study showed that both Psychological Empowerment and Organizational Trust have positive and significant correlation and contribution to Commitment to Change. The study also showed that both Organizational Trust and Psychological Empowerment have higher impact to affective commitment to change compares to other dimensions of commitment to change. The implications of the study can be used for organizational change practitioner, to create trustworthy organizational climate, and to develop Psychological Empowerment, in order to create high commitment to change.
An Empirical Analysis of Engel Curve on Energy for Households in Sabah and Sarawak Based on Location and Income Group
Authors: Chandran Vivin Vincent , Geetha Caroline , Yii Kwang Jing , Ahmed Amran
Published: June 2015

The study was focused in forming an empirical model of Engel curve on energy for households in Sabah and Sarawak. Open-ended questionnaire was used as an instrument of study involving 1,002 respondents in Sabah and Sarawak. The dependent variable was budget share of energy expenditure meanwhile the independent variables were total household expenditure, age, household size, educational level, gender and regional variables. The Ordinary Least Square estimation was carried out on the cross sectional data. The coefficients were used to estimate the Engel curve expenditure elasticities. The findings revealed that total household expenditure (income) and household size were the important determinant in explaining the energy expenditure. Meanwhile the estimation of Engel curve expenditure elasticities showed that energy was a necessity good for all income groups in both urban and rural areas. Low income group was found to be more sensitive on energy expenditure to the changes in household income.