bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Innovation in language contact
Authors: McCafferty Kevin
Published: September 2007

The be after V-ing gram has been used in representations of Irish English since the seventeenth century. In early texts it often has future meanings that have been regarded as inauthentic because the Irish Gaelic construction that is the source of the gram is a perfect. This article accounts for the coexistence of future and perfect uses as an outcome of the interaction of two types of language transfer: the gram was ‘borrowed’ (‘pull transfer’) into English by English-speakers as well as being ‘imposed’ (‘push transfer’) on English by Gaelic-speakers. In borrowing the gram, English-speakers attributed to after prospective senses that grammaticalise as futures, especially desire and goalward movement. In imposition, Gaelic-speakers and language-shifters used be after V-ing as a perfect, in line with retrospective meanings of after and the semantics of the Gaelic construction. Both transfer types occurred simultaneously, though future uses dominated the record until the mid-eighteenth century. This gave way to a century of change until mid-nineteenth century, and perfect senses have dominated since the 1850s. The timing coincides with the spread of bilingualism and language shift: as more Irish shifted to English, imposition became the dominant transfer type. Thus, future uses are an outcome of ‘negotiation’ in the contact between Gaelic and English: Gaelic contributed the structure and perfect semantics, English the future semantics. Comparison with a crosslinguistic model of future grammaticalisation shows future uses of be after V-ing to conform to the development typical of future grams.
The origin of the Welsh conjugated infinitive
Authors: Miller D. Gary
Published: September 2007

Several issues of theoretical, typological, and historical interest are investigated. Conjugated infinitives (those with subject person agreement) are relatively rare but sufficiently well documented as to prompt some linguists to question the efficacy of the wordnonfinite. Moreover, the conjugated infinitives that have received attention in the literature share significant properties crosslinguistically, which cannot be accidental. Historically, however, they require salient triggering data in contrast to prototypical infinitives (those without person agreement), which spontaneously evolve from nominalizations with a goal role. The Welsh case is particularly interesting because the infinitive remains characterized byi“to” + verbal noun, and it is less than obvious that Welsh has a conjugated infinitive (CI). Reanalysis of inflected prepositions (e.g., Middle Welshi-daw“to him”) to infinitives with agreement (moderni-ddo“to-3SGM” ) yielded CIs. This reanalysis was forced by a semantic change of some control to causative verbs. The spread of the new CI to other predicates was enabled by a different kind of reanalysis, this one purely syntactic, raising yet another issue of general interest.
Syntactic variation in the history of Norwegian and the decline of XV word order
Authors: Sundquist John D.
Published: September 2007

This essay examines syntactic variation between Complement–Verb (XV) and Verb–Complement (VX) order in a corpus of Middle Norwegian texts written between 1250 and 1525. In comparison to traditional studies which relate word order variation and the subsequent loss of XV word order to overt case morphology, this analysis proposes that information structure and variation in the underlying structure of the VP play a significant role. Empirical data point to the interaction of endogenous and exogenous factors, including language contact between Norwegian and Danish, which ultimately brings about the decline of XV word order in 15th-century Norwegian.
L'Histoire de l'Association Internationale des Interprètes de Conférence (AIIC)
Authors: Keiser Walter
Published: September 2007

This article attempts to cover the history of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) from its beginnings in the early fifties to present day challenges and recent developments. As AIIC evolved and its membership increased to about 2500 members around the world, so did its complexity. Its evolution mirrors the coming of age of a profession with the concomitant challenges that every profession and professional organization must face today: safeguarding standards of quality, maintaining and improving working conditions, the forces of deregulation and changes brought about by new technologies. AIIC can look back on solid accomplishments covering most every facet of the profession, its achievements serving professional interpreters around the world, whether they are members of AIIC or not.
A concept over-burdened
Authors: Drennan Gerard , Swartz Leslie
Published: September 2007

The political and social transformations taking place in South Africa have given rise to a mood of optimism regarding the speed and extent of the changes that are possible in a short space of time. In the context of limited language resources for the delivery of health care, the role of the interpreter has particular currency. However, interpreters' multiple roles in health care contexts have been extensively and, at times, controversially described. These are briefly reviewed before we turn to a detailed consideration of the debate on the question of interpreter latitude. The issues raised regarding roles for interpreters are explored through the evaluation of an interpreter project at a Western Cape psychiatric hospital. We describe four themes in the talk of the service providers and the interpreters themselves that are nuanced in particular ways by high expectations and the social context. The themes of the interpreter as 'language specialist'; as 'culture specialist'; as 'patient advocate'; and as 'institutional therapist' are all explored in turn. We identify three potential areas of difficulty arising out of an uncritical acceptance of advocacy roles for South African interpreters. The question of organisational support for the advocacy role; the dynamics and micro-politics of multi-disciplinary team work, in psychiatry in particular; and the need for sub-specialisation in aspects of clinical psychology are all considered. These factors can be seen to operate at three levels in institutional contexts.
Simultaneous interpreting
Authors: Moser-Mercer Barbara
Published: September 2007

Over the past five years our research has focused on cognitive issues in simultaneous interpreting: the role of working memory, robustness of cognitive processes, simultaneity of language processes, and the emerging role of long-term working memory (LT-WM) in the development of expertise in interpreting. With new technologies playing an increasingly important role in the interpreter’s work environment and with speaking speeds far exceeding the recommended 120 words per minute we need to ask ourselves just how adaptable an interpreter’s cognitive functions are to what is widely perceived as “cognitive overload”.

This contribution will discuss several studies on various aspects of cognitive functioning in simultaneous interpreters and try to shed some light on the “plasticity” of the interpreter’s “brain” and on how a professional interpreter who has achieved a high level of expertise can actually circumvent a number of common cognitive constraints. This contribution argues, however, that even at the highest level of skill constraints do operate and interfere with high-quality performance.
Simultaneous Interpreting across Modalities
Authors: Padden Carol A.
Published: September 2007

In this paper I examine simultaneous sign language interpreting with a focus on two dimensions: interpreting between languages of different modalities, and interpreting between two different languages. As I discuss, there is interplay between the two: At times, the task at hand is modality-driven, and at other times, structure-driven. When sign language interpreters are at work, the two dimensions come together in interesting ways, and as I will argue, offer ways to understand the task of simultaneous interpreting between spoken languages. I discuss sign language phonology and how it interacts with the constraints of simultaneous interpreting; I also discuss the possibilities of visual and spatial representation in sign languages, and how these present interesting dilemmas for interpreters working under time constraints.
Remote interpreting
Authors: Mouzourakis Panayotis
Published: September 2007

This article reviews recent remote interpreting (RI) experiments carried out at the United Nations and European Union institutions, with emphasis on their salient technical features, which are also summarized in the Appendix. Motivations for remote interpreting with minimum technical requirements for sound and image transmission in compressed form as well as the methods used in recent experiments for image capture in the meeting room and display in the remote room are discussed. The impact of technical conditions upon interpreters’ perception of remote interpreting is also examined using questionnaire data, which seem to suggest that the interpreters’ visual perception of the meeting room, as mediated by image displays, is the determining factor for the “alienation” or absence of a feeling of presence in the meeting room universally experienced by interpreters under RI conditions. The paper also points out the advantages of a more coherent research methodology based upon the notion of presence in a virtual environment as well as possible innovative approaches to providing the interpreter with meeting room views.
Strategies of simultaneous interpreting and directionality
Authors: Bartłomiejczyk Magdalena
Published: September 2007

This article describes an experimental study on strategies of simultaneous interpreting used by 36 advanced students working in two directions: from English (B) into Polish (A) and the reverse. The material analysed comprises retrospective remarks provided by the subjects, prompted by listening to the source texts and their interpretations directly after the interpreting task. Twenty-one interpreting strategies were identified; a detailed classification and examples of relevant protocol fragments are presented. The results suggest that strategic processing differs considerably when interpreting into Polish (A) and into English (B), which can be attributed mainly to directionality but, in some cases, also to language-pair specificity. Some of the differences run counter to the initial hypotheses, and possible explanations for this are discussed.
On the left periphery: Modal particles and complementisers
Authors:   Roussou
Published: September 2007

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to provide a unified account of the particles þa, na and as in Greek, and second, to refine the articulated CP structure of Rizzi (1997). To this end, it is argued that þa, na, and as occupy the lower C head, which is specified for modality. The particles na and as further raise to a higher C head (partly similar to Rizzi’s Force), thus differing from þa. The distribution of topic and focus in relation to the particles and the typical complementisers oti and an is used as evidence for the postulation of an additional C head characterised as a subordinator/connector, typically occupied by the complementiser pu and optionally by oti and an. The resulting structure differs from Rizzi’s (1997) in that it provides a tripartite C structure and places FocusP/TopicP between the two higher C heads. In the light of this analysis we also consider the position of negation, as well as the position of the verb in imperatives and gerunds.
Review article:Crosslinguistic semantics and the study of Greek
Authors:   Giannakidou
Published: September 2007

This paper describes and assesses the flow of ‘Greek semantics’, i.e. the study of semantic phenomena in the grammar of Greek, and of its syntax-semantics interface. Semantic studies of Greek started appearing in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, and have been quite plentiful since then, with a well-defined formal semantic orientation in the 1990’s. The major topics in Greek semantics are discussed, including mood choice, sentential complementation, negation and polarity, tense-aspect modality, and ellipsis. Emphasis is given to how the semantic study of Greek connects to the larger crosslinguistic picture; more often than not, the results based on Greek call for modification of existing theories, and are shown to have significant theoretical implications for the overall design of grammar and, especially, the relation between morphology/syntax and semantics.
Review article:Aspects of Pontic grammar
Authors: Janse Mark
Published: September 2007

This paper is a review article of Drettas (1997), the first non-Greek grammar of Pontic. It discusses the theoretical framework of the grammar and the main features of Pontic. Special attention is given to those features which set Pontic apart from the rest of the Greek dialects. Finally, the question is raised as to whether Pontic is indeed a Greek dialect or rather a separate language.
The Active Imperfect of the verbs of the ‘2nd Conjugation’ in the Peloponnesian Varieties of Modern Greek
Authors: Pantelidis Nikolaos
Published: September 2007

The present paper treats the different types of formation and the inflectional patterns of the active imperfect of the verbs that in traditional grammar are known as verbs of the ‘2nd conjugation’ in the Peloponnesian varieties of Modern Greek (except Tsakonian and Maniot), mainly from a diachronic point of view. A reconstruction of the processes that led to the current situation is attempted and directions for further possible changes are suggested. The diachrony of the morphology of the imperfect of the ‘2nd conjugation’ in the Peloponnesian varieties involves developments such as morphologization of a phonological process and the evolution of number-oriented allomorphy at the level of aspectual markers, while at the same time offering interesting insights into the mechanisms and scope of morphological changes and the morphological structure of the Modern Greek verb. These developments can also offer important evidence for the process of dialectal differentiation of Medieval/‘Early Modern’ Greek.
Animacy, definiteness, and case in Cappadocian and other Asia Minor Greek dialects
Authors: Janse Mark
Published: September 2007

This article discusses the relation between animacy, definiteness, and case in Cappadocian and several other Asia Minor Greek dialects. Animacy plays a decisive role in the assignment of Greek and Turkish nouns to the various Cappadocian noun classes. The de­vel­opment of morphological definiteness is due to Turkish interference. Both features are important for the phenomenon of differential object marking which may be considered one of the most dis­tinctive features of Cappadocian among the Greek dialects.
Clitics and clause structure: The Late Medieval Greek system
Authors: Condoravdi Cleo , Kiparsky Paul
Published: September 2007

We rebut Pappas’s critique (this issue) of our treatment of Late Medieval Greek clausal syntax and clitic placement (Condoravdi & Kiparsky 2001), point out some weaknesses of his counterproposal, and suggest directions for further research.
L’opposition statique – dynamique dans la grammaticalisation de la préposition française de
Authors: Papahagi Cristiana
Published: September 2007

Summary

Dynamism is a marked feature for prepositions in French: among its lexicalizations by means of prepositional expressions, inchoative de stands out as the most marked one. Yet, this is the result of a modern normative intervention.

Within the more comprehensive framework of the change of perception of space from Latin to the Romance languages, the case of de- is striking. In Latin compounds, de- has a dynamic meaning; gradually, it loses its dynamic sense and becomes completely bleached in Middle French. Owing to this loss of semantic quantity, adverbial compounds drop to the prepositional level or move up to the nominal one, where dynamism is no longer possible. The opposite movement, relexicalisation, happened in the 17th century, and tends to reinforce the preposition de by preventing it from getting bleached in compounds, and from losing its sense. The current state of de in French illustrates these two successive movements: it has become a full preposition, expressing by itself the beginning of a movement, and at the same time the ‘emptiest’ preposition, a mere function marker.
Pour une phytothérapie de la polysémie prépositionnelle
Authors: Selosse Philippe
Published: September 2007

Summary

The aim of this paper is to refute prepositional polysemy, from an epistemological point of view. The analysis is based on the study of the Latin preposition ex (with ablative case), whose examples are taken from Latin botanical works of the Renaissance, for this corpus provides evidence for two statements of the polysemic approach. The first presents ex as a preposition of movement, with spatial and notional, dynamic and static uses. The second states that, at the time of the Renaissance, ex develops new meanings, since it is used in a new way, either with an anthroponym, or with a colour name. My analysis is based on linguistic and epistemic analyses, that is, considering the épistémè or ‘configuration of scientific knowledge peculiar to a specific time’ (M. Foucault). It appears that the distinctions postulated by the polysemic approach between spatial and notional, dynamic and static, provenance and extraction, are not relevant to the analysis of the meaning of ex, for they just belong to the context (verb, nominal complement). Thus, we can conclude that the ‘new’ uses distinguished by the polysemic tradition are just an application, to specific contexts, of the single semantic structure of the preposition ex and that there is no need to postulate various meanings.
Les notions linguistiques de figement et de contrainte
Authors: Lamiroy Béatrice
Published: September 2007

Summary

The paper addresses the question of how the notion of fixed expression or idiom has to be defined. Usually idioms are defined as expressions which are characterized by semantic opacity, lack of lexical (paradigmatic) variation and morphosyntactic constraints. However, so-called ‘free’ (i.e. non idiomatic) expressions can be shown to bear similar lexical and morphosyntactic constraints, so that the limit between ‘fixed’ and ‘free’ expressions is much less clear-cut than one would expect. The only real difference which opposes idioms from ‘non-idioms’ is semantic opacity. This theoretical problem is illustrated in the paper by a case study of regional French expressions belonging either to Quebec French, Belgian French, Swiss French or French from France. The latter research is part of a large project (BFQS-project) which aims at the recollection and syntactic description of all French idiomatic expressions used in Europe and/or North-America.
La proposition introduite par comme quoi
Authors: Lefeuvre Florence
Published: September 2007

Summary
The aim of this paper is to explain how the group comme quoi works. The subordinate clause with comme quoi differs from a relative clause, a completive clause or an integrative clause. Considering its use in indirect speech (verb + comme quoi/nominal group + comme quoi), it seems that this group introduces an indirect interrogative (percontative), with quoi as interrogative (percontative) pronoun and comme as an integrative adverb concerning enunciation. Nevertheless, we show the differences between the clause with comme quoi and the percontative clause. Actually, being first an interrogative group about the manner (in the seventeenth century), it became a word introducing an indirect speech with an enunciative meaning.
Aspect itératif
Authors: Lim Jung-Hae
Published: September 2007

En français, l’aspect itératif est souvent mentionné pour rendre compte d’une des valeurs du présent et de l’imparfait, comme on peut le constater à travers leurs appellations présent d’habitude et imparfait d’habitude. Mais le type de répétition que dénote ces deux temps n’en est qu’une parmi d’autres; ils ne présentent qu’un type particulier de la répétition. Dans cet article, nous présenterons les éléments lexicaux qui permettent d’exprimer cette idée dans les deux langues, français et coréen. Nous prendrons en particulier des cas où on trouve des glissements catégoriels entre ces deux langues et chemin faisant, nous défendrons l’idée que cette notion, aussi bien en français qu’en coréen, relève d’une valeur aspectuelle extrinsèque au prédicat.En français, l’aspect itératif est souvent mentionné pour rendre compte d’une des valeurs du présent et de l’imparfait, comme on peut le constater à travers leurs appellations présent d’habitude et imparfait d’habitude. Mais le type de répétition que dénote ces deux temps n’en est qu’une parmi d’autres; ils ne présentent qu’un type particulier de la répétition.1 Dans cet article, nous présenterons les éléments lexicaux qui permettent d’exprimer cette idée dans les deux langues, français et coréen. Nous prendrons en particulier des cas où on trouve des glissements catégoriels entre ces deux langues et chemin faisant, nous défendrons l’idée que cette notion, aussi bien en français qu’en coréen, relève d’une valeur aspectuelle extrinsèque au prédicat.
Le groupe nominal épithète
Authors: Larrivée Pierre
Published: September 2007

Summary

This paper explores the syntactic structure of those French constructions where an NP directly follows another. Examples are provided by Monsieur le Professeur, Mes amis les linguistes, Les linguistes mes amis, the later being equivalent to the English cases My Brother the fool and The fool my brother. Following an analysis of their distributional property, the syntactic structure of the groups is shown to involve the modification of the first noun by the following DP. While therefore structurally comparable to an adjectival modifier, these DPs impose a condition of coreference between the two nouns. A further interpretative constraint is shown to hold concerning the referentially anchored status of either of the DPs. Thus, the form of the complement can determine the behaviour of the head, as demonstrated by this atypical nominal group.
Emploi spatial de y et rôle des prépositions locatives
Authors: Rolbert Monique
Published: September 2007

The aim of this article is to study the French pronoun y in its spatial uses. y can refer to different types of phrases and, in particular, to spatial prepositional phrases. This induces that those phrases have contextual effects, as other nominal phrases have. We study the role played by certain spatial prepositions in this process and conclude that they act as functions, working on entities of the universe of interpretation to produce new entities.
Evolution de l’ordre des mots en moyen-français et cohésion du groupe verbal
Authors: Muller Claude
Published: September 2007

We examine the evolution of the syntax of the verb phrase in Middle French, in a topological framework. The V2 hypothesis can be maintained for this stage if we admit that V becomes a VP in Middle French, thus explaining that the non topicalised subject will be placed further after the verb, particularly after the past participle, understood as a verbal constituant ; in the same time, a final position of focus appears, leading to place a heavy subject in the last position of the clause. The other major position of the subject, just before the verb, is the most frequent in subordinate clauses. A major fact of the subsequent evolution is the restriction to the adverbials in the possibilities of insertions between verb and participles or infinitives, and also between a relative subject or a complementizer and the verb in subordinate clauses.
Domains, text types, aspect marking and English-Chinese translation
Authors: McEnery Tony , Xiao Richard
Published: September 2007

This paper uses an English-Chinese parallel corpus, an L1 Chinese comparable corpus, and an L1 Chinese reference corpus to examine how aspectual meanings in English are translated into Chinese and explore the effects of domains, text types and translation on aspect marking. We will show that while English and Chinese both mark aspect grammatically, the aspect system in the two languages differs considerably. Even though Chinese, as an aspect language, is rich in aspect markers, covert marking (LVM) is a frequent and important strategy in Chinese discourse. The distribution of aspect markers varies significantly across domain and text type. The study also sheds new light on the translation effect by contrasting aspect marking in translated Chinese texts and L1 Chinese texts.
Text structure and politeness in French and English corporate brochures
Authors: McLaren Yvonne
Published: September 2007

This paper reports on the findings of a contrastive study of argumentative text structure in a corpus of French and English corporate brochures. The texts in these brochures tend to be instances of 'through-argumentation', where a claim is made — this is the 'thesis cited' — and is then argued through, or 'substantiated'. In the corporate brochure this claim serves to evaluate the company in a highly positive manner. Although these features are common to all of the French and English brochures, there are identifiable differences in the text formats adopted: whereas the English writers tend always to cite the thesis in text-initial position, a significant proportion of the French writers prefer to delay thesis citation. This may be explained, at least partly, in terms of the writer-reader relationship and factors of linguistic politeness. It will be shown that the principles of Politeness Theory, hitherto applied almost exclusively in the study of spoken language, can be used to help analyse and explain certain features of written genres — including those at the level of text structure.
A contrastive look at the present perfect/preterite opposition in English and Norwegian
Authors: Elsness Johan
Published: September 2007

This article deals with the opposition between the present perfect and the preterite in English and Norwegian from a contrastive point of view. The use of these verb forms is very similar in the two languages, and markedly different from that in closely related languages such as German and French, where the present perfect is used much more widely. In English and Norwegian the preterite is the norm if the reference is identified as being to past time which is clearly separate from the deictic zero-point, for instance through adverbial specification, while the present perfect is used of situations extending from the past all the way up to the deictic zero-point, and of situations located within such a time span. In many intermediate cases, where the reference is to a loosely defined past time, either verb form may be used in both languages, although several writers have claimed that the present perfect is more common in Norwegian than in English in such cases. The difference between the two languages is more distinct if the reference is to what can be seen as unique past time, in which case the present perfect is usually blocked in English but very common in Norwegian. Also, the so-called inferential perfect in Norwegian is not matched by any similar perfect use in English. These claims are amply confirmed by an investigation of the English–Norwegian Parallel Corpus (ENPC), where the present perfect is more frequent in the Norwegian as compared with the English sections, at the expense of the preterite. Moreover, there is found to be a marked difference between the original and the translated texts of the ENPC: the ratio between the present perfect and the preterite is generally higher in Norwegian than in English but not quite so high in Norwegian texts translated from English as in Norwegian original texts, and somewhat higher in English texts translated from Norwegian than in English original texts. This difference is ascribed to interference from the source language in the translated texts.
A comparative study of the semantics of serial verb constructions in Dagaare and Cantonese
Authors: Luke K.K. , Bodomo Adams
Published: September 2007

The serial verb construction (SVC) is a productive syntactic phenomenon in many Asian and African languages and has been the subject of various studies. Many of these studies are, however, mainly based on data from the individual Asian and African languages or language groups (e.g. Jayaseelan 1996 for Malayalam; Schiller 1991 for Khmer; Chang 1990 for Mandarin; Bodomo 1997, 1998 for Dagaare and Akan; and Awoyale 1988 for Yoruba). There is a near lack of comparative studies involving Asian and African languages with regards to SVCs. Given the wide variety of syntactic and semantic manifestations that are characteristic of SVCs, cross-linguistic studies are crucial in developing a clear universal typology of SVCs as a first step towards a universal account of their syntax and semantics. Based on Dagaare (a Gur language of West Africa) and Cantonese (a Yue dialect of Chinese), this paper proposes a semantic typology of SVCs including benefactive, causative (resultative), inceptive, instrumental, and deictic serialization.
The expectation marker of course in a cross-linguistic perspective
Authors: Simon-Vandenbergen Anne-Marie , Aijmer Karin
Published: September 2007

The study of of course presented in this article has an applied, a descriptive and a theoretical aim. Since of course proves to be very frequent in English, learners will need to know what meanings the item has and in what pragmatic contexts it is used. It has indeed been shown that some learners tend to use of course in contexts where it is felt by native speakers to be inappropriate. In order to explain such inappropriate uses we need detailed descriptions of the semantics and pragmatics of of course. From a theoretical point of view such multifunctional items raise the question of whether semantic polysemy or pragmatic polysemy is the best explanatory account. It is argued in this paper that empirical cross-linguistic work can contribute to providing answers to all three research questions. First, the study of correspondences and differences between languages with regard to the meanings and uses of pragmatic markers is a necessary step in the explanation of learner problems. Second, the bidirectional approach to equivalents, which involves going back and forth from sources to translations, enables us to show to what extent the equivalents have partially overlapping pragmatic functions. An in-depth comparison of the semantic fields in which the translation equivalents operate is the ultimate goal. Third, the translation method helps to see to what extent a core meaning account is justified. In this paper three languages are brought into the picture, viz. English, Swedish and Dutch. The cross-linguistic data have been gathered from three translation corpora, i.e. the English-Swedish Parallel Corpus, the Oslo Multilingual Corpus and the Namur Triptic Corpus.
The attributive system in English and Spanish
Authors: Rodriguez Beatriz
Published: September 2007

This paper examines the English and Spanish attributive systems of becoming. Due to the striking syntactico-semantic differences observed in these languages, we deem it necessary, in the first place, to distinguish two distinct classes of change of state attributive structures: ‘canonical attributive clauses’, such as In spring the land turns emerald and Las aguas se habían vuelto amargas, and ‘resultative attributive clauses’ of the type illustrated in My throat was swelling shut and Se tiñe el pelo de rubio. We then proceed to compare the grammatical behaviour each set of constructions exhibits in English and Spanish, in order to demonstrate that, as regards the syntactic encoding of the semantic notion of becoming, the linguistic phenomenon known as ‘attribution’ is, in short, syntactically, semantically and pragmatically far more constrained in the latter language than in the former: on the one hand, its attributive verbal system is subject to greater and stricter semantico-pragmatic restrictions than its English counterpart; and on the other, the productivity of its resultative pattern is quite marginal in comparison with the English one.
Verbs of sensory perception
Authors: Rojo Ana , Valenzuela Javier
Published: September 2007

Slobin (1996, 1997) has pointed out the differences between Spanish and English verbs of motion with regard to the expression of elements such as “Path of motion” or “Manner of motion”. Generally speaking, English verbs incorporate manner to their core meaning while Spanish verbs tend to incorporate Path, expressing Manner by means of an additional complement. Comparing English motion events and their translation into Spanish in several novels, Slobin found out that only 51% of English manner verbs were translated into Spanish manner verbs (Slobin 1996), the rest being neutralized or omitted. In this work, we apply Slobin’s analysis to sensory verbs of perception in English and Spanish. Our paper analyzes the conflation patterns of sensory verbs of perception in English and Spanish in order to investigate possible changes in the informational load during the translation process. For this purpose, we have extracted 200 sensory verbs of perception from two English and two Spanish novels and their respective translations. The paper examines instances of gain or loss of information during the translation process, as well as whether the translation shifts provide evidence for a difference in the way the perception event is structured in both languages
Mapping meaning onto form
Authors: Ramón García Noelia
Published: September 2007

This paper is a corpus-based contrastive study of one particular semantic area — the modification of nouns — and the grammatical structures available in English and Spanish to actualize this particular meaning within the scope of the NP. Two large monolingual reference corpora, one in each language, have been used to extract the empirical data on which to base the analysis. A functional approach has been followed, starting from perceived similarities in meaning and trying to reveal the subtle links between particular semantic functions and the structures most commonly employed by native speakers of the two languages to convey those semantic functions. The working procedure will be described in detail, from the data selection process, to the description, juxtaposition and final contrast. This paper presents part of the contrastive results found in a larger study (Ramón 2003), and shows the appropriateness of the methodology employed in order to obtain contrastive data useful in applied areas such as foreign language teaching, and, especially, in the field of translation.
French and Dutch preverbs in contrast
Authors: Van Goethem Kristel
Published: September 2007

French sur and Dutch op (“on, upon”) can be a considered matching pair when they are used as prepositions: e.g. le livre sur la table/het boek op de tafel (“the book on the table”). However, used as prefixes, or in particular as preverbs, the similarities between sur- and op- seem to be much weaker. Instead, sur- corresponds more often to over-: e.g. surestimer quelque chose/iets overschatten (“to overestimate something”). From the analysis of a bilingual dictionary, we will investigate this phenomenon. At a morpho-syntactic level, on the one hand, we will show that French and Dutch preverbs appear in different types of constructions. At the semantic level, on the other hand, we will demonstrate that prepositions in preverbal use can develop new, often aspectual, meanings, but that this re-semanticization process does not necessarily follow the same paths in French and Dutch.
Linguistic recycling and the open community
Authors: Dasgupta Probal
Published: September 2007

When an international community uses a WDL (widely distributed language) such as English or French, words in this WDL globally perform a recycling function that bridges the gaps between the spatially restricted versions of such a WDL. At one level of access, we can study this recycling particularly clearly in a language such as Esperanto, whose speech community has a strong global norm and much weaker local norms, unlike English or French. The present note empirically examines the issue in the strategically convenient context of domestic Esperanto use, working from a recent compilation by Lindstedt et al. But a deeper version of the problem of recycling merits analysis in general linguistics, a point developed in the conceptual parts of this note. The author argues that word-meaning recycling reflects the same fundamental principles as sentential recursion, and that a linguistics theoretically sensitive to these principles strengthens practical efforts towards the social goal of an open speech community.
Interlinguistics and Esperanto studies
Authors: Blanke Detlev
Published: September 2007

A significant number of publications on interlinguistics and Esperanto studies would be improved if their authors had a more thorough knowledge of the significant scholarly literature. However, it is often difficult even for the specialist to find his or her way among current and older scholarly studies dealing with various aspects of planned languages ([“artificial”] world [auxiliary] languages). The current study is intended to facilitate access to the scholarly literature by drawing the reader’s attention to the myriad sources of material worthy of use by the researcher. Particularly included, in addition to monographs, are such sources as anthologies, Festschriften, conference proceedings, university dissertations, and planned-language periodicals both current and older. Especially valuable for up-to-date information are general and specialized interlinguistics bibliographies, bibliographically oriented bulletins, and periodically published international bibliographies with sections on interlinguistics. Yielding most information is the bibliography on modern languages and literatures published by the Modern Language Association (MLA) in New York, which registers the newest materials annually. Specialized libraries, more and more easily consulted on-line, provide large quantities of materials worthy of research. The Internet is playing a growing role in making literature in the field available.
Language rights and language justice in the constitutions of the world
Authors: Faingold Eduardo D.
Published: September 2007

ResumenDerechos lingüísticos en las constituciones del mundoLa presente es una clasificación y un análisis de las constituciones del mundo que tiene como objetivo proporcionar ayuda legal a aquellos paises interesados en promulgar derechos lingüísticos en sus constituciones. El autor estudia 187 constituciones de todo el mundo en búsqueda de términos legales que definan las obligaciones lingüísticas del estado y los derechos lingüísticos de sus ciudadanos. Las naciones “unidas” (“undivided”), e.g. Uruguay y EEUU, adoptan una política constitucional de “manos abiertas” (“hands-off”) con respecto a sus obligaciones y derechos lingüísticos ya que estas naciones tienen (o declaran tener) un gran sentido de identidad nacional y, además, en su territorio no habitan grupos de ciudadanos que buscan la autonomía o la secesión. Por otro lado, las naciones “desunidas” (“divided”), e.g. Bélgica, Canadá y Sudáfrica, adoptan una política constitucional de “manos a la masa” (“hands-on”) ya que en estas naciones habitan grupos lingüísticos difíciles de asimilar o grupos que tienen o buscan la autonomía o la secesión.

ResumoLingvaj rajtoj kaj lingva justeco en la konstitucioj de la mondoTiu ĉi klasifo kaj analizo de konstitucioj tra la mondo celas helpi naciojn, kiuj malnetigas lingvajn leĝaĵojn en la propraj konstitucioj. La aŭtoro analizas 187 konstituciojn el ĉirkaŭ la mondo por trovi jurajn difinojn de la lingvaj sindevigoj de la koncerna nacio kaj la lingvaj rajtoj de ĝiaj civitanoj. “Nedividitaj” nacioj, ekzemple Urugvajo kaj Usono, sekvas konstitucian politikon “manojn-for” rilate al lingvaj sindevigoj kaj rajtoj ĉar tiaj nacioj posedas (aŭ pretendas posedi) fortan senton de nacia identeco kaj neniuj grupoj de civitanoj, kiuj havas aŭ celas aŭtonomion aŭ malaliĝon. Aliflanke, “dividitaj” nacioj, kiel ekzemple Belgio, Kanado kaj Sudafriko, sekvas konstitucian politikon de engaĝiĝo ĉar ili posedas neasimilitajn lingvajn grupojn aŭ grupojn, kiuj ja havas aŭ celas aŭtonomion aŭ malaliĝon.
Problemas de comunicación derivados de la lengua en el ámbito marítimo
Authors: Portela Rosa de la Campa
Published: September 2007

A lo largo de la historia la actividad comercial marítima ha puesto en comunicación a personas de diversas nacionalidades, diversas culturas y diversas lenguas. Este contacto multicultural y multilingüe diario ha creado la necesidad de uso de una lengua común entre aquellos implicados en el ámbito marítimo, con el fin de aumentar la eficacia en las comunicaciones y asegurar un correcto funcionamiento de este sistema comercial. Pero el comercio por vía marítima no supone sólo una actividad económica de intercambio, sino que implica también una forma de vida particular, principalmente para aquellos encargados de la navegación y maniobra de los buques, donde la terminología utilizada para las comunicaciones diarias es específica y única de este ámbito, y donde en la eficacia de estas comunicaciones puede estar en juego la seguridad de las personas y la integridad del medio ambiente marino. Es con esta idea de mejorar la seguridad en las actividades marítimas que la Organización Marítima Internacional (OMI) ha desarrollado una serie de normativas internacionales que regulan el uso de la lengua inglesa como lengua común para este ámbito en las comunicaciones buque–buque y buque–tierra. Sin embargo, considerando que esto no es suficiente, sino que es necesario conocer la problemática de las comunicaciones a bordo, nos hemos propuesto realizar el siguiente análisis de las necesidades comunicativas en las tripulaciones multilingües, que nos ayudará a entender mejor cómo y porqué surgen problemas comunicativos entre los tripulantes, y como estos problemas pueden afectar en la operatividad normal del buque y poner en peligro la seguridad del mismo y, por lo tanto, de su tripulación.
Many calls, little action
Authors: Scott Robert A.
Published: September 2007

What is the role of United States universities role in preparing graduates for an increasingly interdependent world in which the knowledge of other languages and cultures is once again a critical need? The article reviews the many calls for global understanding and language competence, the barriers to sustained follow-up and action, and the consequences for national security, economic competitiveness, and a globally aware citizenry. It concludes with several recommendations for universities to undertake in partnership with schools, states, businesses, non-governmental organizations, and the federal government.
Esperanto and Chinese anarchism 1907–1920
Authors: Müller-Saini Gotelind , Benton Gregor
Published: September 2007

The history of Esperanto in China was for long periods closely linked with anarchism. This article surveys the connection in the years up to 1920, and sets out to show which groups used which arguments to agitate for Esperanto, in order to throw light on the complexity of the relationship between language and politics in China, especially in the first half of the twentieth century.
Esperanto and Chinese anarchism in the 1920s and 1930s
Authors: Müller-Saini Gotelind , Benton Gregor
Published: September 2007

Esperanto in China and among the Chinese diaspora was for long periods closely linked with anarchism. This article looks at the history of the Chinese Esperanto movement after the repatriation of anarchism to China in the 1910s. It examines Esperanto’s political connections in the Chinese setting and the arguments used by its supporters to promote the language. In exploring the role played by Esperanto in interwar Chinese culture and politics, it helps to throw light on the complex relationship between language and politics in China in the first half of the twentieth century.
Language policy in an enacted world
Authors: Loos Eugène
Published: September 2007

Increasingly, foreign contacts are a daily fact of life for many companies. It is therefore remarkable that little to no empirical research has been conducted into the language policy applied by such organizations. Companies with transnational contacts are generally assumed to use English throughout the world as a “lingua franca,” yet whether this is actually the case is questionable. In a multicultural Europe that is striving to unite, there may well be other languages that could qualify as the international language of choice. Research is needed to investigate which language or languages are chosen, by whom the choice is made and why, in certain situations, speakers switch to different languages. This article focuses on the report of an empirical study addressing these aspects. A case study of a Dutch parent company that runs a holiday centre in Germany is presented in order to analyse micro-level interactions which can only be understood by considering the language choice as a result of the way in which the environment is “enacted.” For this analysis, use was made of an interview conducted with the Dutch head of the human resources department, along with transcripts of audio-recorded conversations, and also documents such as the mission statement.
The role of narrative in personality psychology today
Authors: McAdams Dan P.
Published: September 2007

Over the past 25 years, narrative theories and methods have helped to revitalize the discipline of personality psychology by providing new tools and concepts for discerning the inner patterning and meaning of human lives and by helping to recontextualize personality studies in terms of culture, gender, class, ethnicity, and the social ecology of everyday life. This article (a) briefly traces recent historical developments in personality psychology as they relate to the increasing influence of narrative approaches; (b) describes a three-tiered conceptual framework for understanding personality in terms of dispositional traits, characteristic adaptations, and life stories; and (c) illustrates one important research program on life stories in personality — studies of the redemptive self.
Narrative pre-construction
Authors: Labov William
Published: September 2007

Before a narrative can be constructed, it must be pre-constructed by a cognitive process that begins with a decision that a given event is reportable. Pre-construction begins with this most reportable event and proceeds backwards in time to locate events that are linked causally each to the following one, a recursive process that ends with the location of the unreportable event — one that is not reportable in itself and needs no explanation. Comparison of such event chains with the sequence of narrative clauses actually produced will help to understand how the narrator re-organizes and transforms the events of real time in the finished narrative.
Life “on holiday”?
Authors: Freeman Mark
Published: September 2007

There has been an increasing emphasis in narrative inquiry on “small” stories (i.e., those derived from everyday social exchanges) rather than “big” stories (i.e., those derived from interviews, clinical encounters, autobiographical writing, and other such interrogative venues). The latter, it may be argued, inevitably entail a problematic distance from everyday reality and may thus be said to embody life “on holiday.” On one level, this is surely true: big stories, insofar as they entail a significant measure of reflection on either an episode, a portion of a life, or the whole of it, are a step removed from those everyday goings-on that are the focus of small stories. Far from necessarily being a liability, however, the distance that is intrinsic to big story narrative reflection creates opportunities for understanding that are largely unavailable in the immediacy of the moment. Big stories and small stories thus complement one another; taken together, they represent a promising integrative direction for narrative inquiry.