bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A usage-based approach to argument structure
Authors: Tao Hongyin
Published: September 2007

The English verbs remember and forget are typically treated by syntacticians as mental process verbs whose argument structure is characterized by a variety of possible complements. Based on extensive corpus data, Tao (2001) investigates the use of remember in spoken English and proposes that complement-taking is actually a marginal feature of remember, and remember can be seen as undergoing changes toward becoming a discourse particle in spoken English. This paper extends the previous study by bringing in forget for comparison against remember. It is shown that while both remember and forget disprefer complements, forget lacks the placement flexibility seen in remember but allows more tense options; at the same time, forget also has its own pragmatically strengthened patterns in such combinations as ‘forget it’ and ‘don't forget to.’ Overall this study shows that not only can usage-based investigations provide a realistic account of argument structure, a usage-based approach is also instrumental in elucidating the varied local patterns that are often confined to individual linguistic entities or sequences in highly specified contexts, a conclusion which supports the emergent view of argument structure.
Automatic extraction of meaningful units from corpora
Authors: Danielsson Pernilla
Published: September 2007

In this article, we will reconsider the notion of a word as the basic unit of analysis in language and propose that in an information and meaning carrying system the unit of analysis should be a unit of meaning (UM). Such a UM may consist of one or more words. A method will be promoted that attempts to automatically retrieve UMs from corpora. To illustrate the results that may be obtained by this method, the node word ‘stroke’ will be used in a small study. The results will be discussed, with implications considered for both monolingual and multilingual use. The monolingual study will benefit from using the British National Corpus, while the multilingual study introduces a parallel corpus consisting of Swedish novels and their translations into English.
Collostructions: Investigating the interaction of words and constructions
Authors: Stefanowitsch Anatol , Gries Stefan Th.
Published: September 2007

This paper introduces an extension of collocational analysis that takes into account grammatical structure and is specifically geared to investigating the interaction of lexemes and the grammatical constructions associated with them. The method is framed in a construction-based approach to language, i.e. it assumes that grammar consists of signs (form-meaning pairs) and is thus not fundamentally different from the lexicon. The method is applied to linguistic expressions at various levels of abstraction (words, semi-fixed phrases, argument structures, tense, aspect and mood). The method has two main applications: first, to increase the adequacy of grammatical description by providing an objective way of identifying the meaning of a grammatical construction and determining the degree to which particular slots in it prefer or are restricted to a particular set of lexemes; second, to provide data for linguistic theory-building.
Measure Noun constructions: An instance of semantically-driven grammaticalization
Authors: Brems Lieselotte
Published: September 2007

In a narrow sense, the term ‘Measure Noun' (MN) refers to such nouns as acre and kilo, which typically measure off a well-established and specific portion of the mass or entity specified in a following of-phrase, e.g. a kilo of apples. When used like this, the MN is generally considered to constitute the lexical head of the bi-nominal noun phrase. However, the notion of ‘MN' can be extended to include such expressions as a bunch of and heaps of, which, strictly speaking, do not designate a ‘measure', but display a more nebulous potential for quantification.

The structural status of MNs in this broader sense then is far from straightforward and most grammatical reference works of English are either hesitant or silent with regard to the issue. Two main analytical options seem to suggest themselves. Either the MN is interpreted as constituting the head of the NP, with the of-phrase as a qualifier to this head, or the MN is analysed as a modifier, more specifically a quantifier, to the head, which in this case is the noun in the of-phrase.

Starting from the structural analyses of MN-constructions offered by such linguists as Halliday and Langacker, my paper goes on to discuss a corpus study aimed at charting and elucidating the structural ambivalence observed in MN-constructions. The framework eventually opted for is that of ‘grammaticalization', since it provides the most comprehensive account for the developments displayed by MN-constructions, in that it brings to the fore the very intricate interplay between the lexical and the grammatical status of the MN. In addition, it also does justice to the diachronic dimension implied in the mechanisms of delexicalization and grammaticalization.
The notion of a “lemma”
Authors: Knowles Gerry , Mohd Don Zuraidah
Published: September 2007

The notion of alemmais so familiar in corpus linguistics that it scarcely needs a formal definition. When a wordlist or a text is lemmatised, the process is apparently transparent, so that any observer can understand how the lemma relates to the original set or string of words. We shall argue in this paper that, on the contrary, the concept of lemma is not well defined, and is in need of a clear formal definition. The lemma is a fundamental concept in the processing of texts in at least some languages, a point we shall illustrate with respect to Arabic and Malay. It so happens that English lemmas are not typical of the general category, so that linguists who base their understanding of the lemma on English obtain a distorted view. It is essential to reverse the direction of argument, and to start with a general understanding of the lemma, and to consider English lemmas in the wider context.
Physical and conceptual constructions in advanced learning environments
Authors: Lund Henrik Hautop , Marti Patrizia
Published: September 2007

I-BLOCKS are an innovative concept of building blocks allowing users to manipulate conceptual structures and compose atomic actions while building physical constructions. They represent an example of enabling technologies for tangible interfaces since they emphasise physicality of interaction through the use of spatial and kinaesthetic knowledge. The technology presented in this paper is integrated in physical building blocks augmented with embedded and invisible microprocessors. Connectivity and behaviour of such structures are defined by the physical connectivity between the blocks. These are general purpose, constructive, tangible user interface devices that can have a variety of applications. Unlike other approaches, I-BLOCKS do not only specify a computation that is performed by the target system but perform at the same time the computation and the associated action/functionality. Manipulating I-BLOCKS do not only mean constructing physical or conceptual structures but also composing atomic actions into complex behaviours. To illustrate this concept, the paper presents different scenarios in which the technology has been applied: storytelling performed through the construction of physical characters exhibiting emotional states, and learning activities for speech therapy in cases of dyslexia and aphasia. The scenarios are presented; discussing both the features of the technology used and the related interaction design issues. The paper concludes by reporting about informal trials that have been conducted with children. It should be noted that, even if both trials represent application scenarios for children, the I-BLOCKS technology is in principle open to different kinds of applications and target users like, for example, games for adults or brainstorming activities.
Neandertal vocal tract
Authors: Boë Louis-Jean , Heim Jean-Louis , Abry Christian , Badin Pierre
Published: September 2007

Potential speech abilities constitute a key component in the description of the Neandertals and their relations with modern Homo Sapiens. Since Lieberman & Crelin postulated in 1971 the theory that “Neanderthal man did not have the anatomical prerequisites for producing the full range of human speech” their speech capability has been a subject of hot debate for over 30 years, and remains a controversial question.

In this study, we first question the methodology adopted by Lieberman and Crelin, and we point out articulatory and acoustic flaws in the data and the modeling. Then we propose a general articulatory-acoustic framework for testing the acoustic consequences of the trade-off between oral and pharyngeal cavities. Specifically, following Honda & Tiede (1998), we characterize this trade-off by a Laryngeal Height Index (LHI) corresponding to the length ratio of the pharyngeal cavity to the oral cavity. Using an anthropomorphic articulatory model controlled by lips, jaw, tongue and larynx parameters, we can generate the Maximal Vowel Space (MVS), which is a triangle in the F1 / F2 plane, the three point vowels /a/, /i/, and /u/ being located at its three extremities. We sample the evolution of the position of the larynx from birth to adulthood with four different LHI values, and we show that the associated MVS are very similar. Therefore, the MVS of a given vocal tract does not depend on the LHI: gestures of the tongue body, lips and jaw allow compensations for differences in the ratio between the dimensions of the oral cavity and pharynx. We then infer that the vowel space of Neandertals (with high or low larynx) was potentially no smaller than that of a modern human and that Neandertals could produce all the vowels of the world’s languages. Neandertals were no more vocally handicapped than children at birth are. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that the lowering of the larynx and a concomitant increase in pharynx size are necessary evolutionary pre-adaptations for speech. However, since our study is strictly limited to the morphological and acoustic aspects of the vocal tract, we cannot offer any definitive answer to the question of whether Neandertals could produce human speech or not.
How to do things with logical expressions
Authors: Hilton Denis , Villejoubert Gaëlle , Bonnefon Jean-François
Published: September 2007

We argue that logical expressions in human language enable speakers to perform particular acts as well as stating propositions which may be true or false. We present a conversational action planning model of co-ordinated reasoning, which we use to predict choice of logical expressions in situations in which two people co-operate in the face of risk and uncertainty. We first show how this model predicts preferences for formulations of conditional directives where a principal instructs an agent on how to behave in a hypothetical situation. Second, we show how this model accounts for choices of quantity and probability expressions that express risk, in situations where a professional advises a client on her options. We conclude that the pragmatic signals encoded in human logical vocabulary can facilitate the co-ordination of social interaction through aiding mutual recognition of intentions on joint projects where collaboration is likely to create value.
The understanding of own and others’ actions during infancy
Authors: Hauf Petra , Prinz Wolfgang
Published: September 2007

Developmental psychologists assume that infants understand other persons’ actions after and because they understand their own (“Like-me” perspective). However, there is another possibility as well, namely that infants come to understand their own actions after and because they understand other persons’ actions (“Like-you” perspective). We reviewed infant research on the influence of perceived actions on self-performed actions as well as the reverse. Furthermore, we investigated the interplay between both aspects of action understanding by means of a sequence variation. The results show the impact of agentive experience for action understanding, but not the reverse. The question whether infants’ perceived and to-be-produced actions share common representations of the perceptual and the motor system is discussed in relation to its implications for the social making of minds.
The social construction of the cultural mind
Authors: Gergely György , Csibra Gergely
Published: September 2007

How does cultural knowledge shape the development of human minds and, conversely, what kind of species-specific social-cognitive mechanisms have evolved to support the intergenerational reproduction of cultural knowledge? We critically examine current theories proposing a human-specific drive to identify with and imitate conspecifics as the evolutionary mechanism underlying cultural learning. We summarize new data demonstrating the selective interpretive nature of imitative learning in 14-month-olds and argue that the predictive scope of existing imitative learning models is either too broad or too narrow to account for these findings. We outline our alternative theory of a human-specific adaptation for ‘pedagogy’, a communicative system of mutual design specialized for the fast and efficient transfer of new and relevant cultural knowledge from knowledgeable to ignorant conspecifics. We show the central role that innately specified ostensive-communicative triggering cues and learner-directed manner of knowledge manifestations play in constraining and guiding selective imitation of relevant cultural knowledge that is both new and cognitively opaque to the naive learner.
Location, location, location
Authors: Grim Patrick , Wardach Stephanie , Beltrani Vincent
Published: September 2007

Most current modeling for evolution of communication still underplays or ignores the role of local action in spatialized environments: the fact that it is immediate neighbors with which one tends to communicate, and from whom one learns strategies or conventions of communication. Only now are the lessons of spatialization being learned in a related field: game-theoretic models for cooperation. In work on altruism, on the other hand, the role of spatial organization has long been recognized under the term ‘viscosity’.

Here we offer some simple simulations that dramatize the importance of spatialization for studies of both cooperation and communication, in each case contrasting (a) a model dynamics in which strategy change proceeds globally, and (b) a spatialized model dynamics in which interaction and strategy change both operate purely locally. Local action in a spatialized model clearly favors the emergence of cooperation. In the case of communication, spatialized models allow communication to arise and flourish where the global dynamics more typical in the literature make it impossible.

Simulations make a dramatic case for spatialized modeling, but analysis proves difficult. In a final section we outline some of the surprises of spatial dynamics but also some of the complexity facing attempts at deeper analysis.
The evolution of semantics and language‑games for meaning
Authors: Pietarinen Ahti-Veikko
Published: September 2007

To understand evolutionary aspects of communication is to understand the evolutionary development of the meaning relations between language and the world. Such meaning relations are established by the application of the interactive systems of semantic games. Subsumed under the evolutionary framework of repeated games, semantics in such games refers to the cases in which stable meanings survive populations of strategically interacting players. The viability of compositionality, common ground and salience in such evolutionary games is assessed. Foundationally, the discussion is rooted in Charles S. Peirce’s pragmatist philosophy.
Does appearance matter in the interaction of children with autism with a humanoid robot?
Authors: Robins Ben , Dautenhahn Kerstin , Dubowski Janek
Published: September 2007

This article studies the impact of a robot’s appearance on interactions involving four children with autism. This work is part of the Aurora project with the overall aim to support interaction skills in children with autism, using robots as ‘interactive toys’ that can encourage and mediate interactions. We follow an approach commonly adopted in assistive robotics and work with a small group of children with autism. This article investigates which robot appearances are suitable to encourage interactions between a robot and children with autism. The children’s levels of interaction with and response to different appearances of two types of robots are compared: a small humanoid doll, and a life-sized ‘Theatrical Robot’ (a mime artist behaving like a robot). The small humanoid robot appeared either as a human-like ‘pretty doll’ or as a ‘robot’ with plain features. The Theatrical Robot was presented either as an ordinary human, or with plain clothing and a featureless, masked face. The results of these trials clearly indicate the children’s preference in their initial response for interaction with a plain, featureless robot over the interaction with a human-like robot. In the case of the life-size Theatrical Robot, the response of children towards the plain/robotic robot was notably more social and pro-active. Implications of these results for our work on using robots as assistive technology for children with autism and their possible use in autism research are discussed.
Bimodal signaling in infancy
Authors: Locke John L.
Published: September 2007

It has long been asserted that the evolutionary path to spoken language was paved by manual–gestural behaviors, a claim that has been revitalized in response to recent research on mirror neurons. Renewed interest in the relationship between manual and vocal behavior draws attention to its development. Here, the pointing and vocalization of 16.5-month-old infants are reported as a function of the context in which they occurred. When infants operated in a referential mode, the frequency of simultaneous vocalization and pointing exceeded the frequency of vocalization-only and pointing-only responses by a wide margin. In a non-communicative context, combinatorial effects persisted, but in weaker form. Manual–vocal signals thus appear to express the operation of an integrated system, arguably adaptive in the young from evolutionary times to the present. It was speculated, based on reported evidence, that manual behavior increases the frequency and complexity of vocal behaviors in modern infants. There may be merit in the claim that manual behavior facilitated the evolution of language because it helped make available, early in development, behaviors that under selection pressures in later ontogenetic stages elaborated into speech.
Story and discourse
Authors: Young R. Michael
Published: September 2007

In this paper, we set out a basic approach to the modeling of narrative in interactive virtual worlds. This approach adopts a bipartite model taken from narrative theory, in which narrative is composed of story and discourse. In our approach, story elements — plot and character — are defined in terms of plans that drive the dynamics of a virtual environment. Discourse elements — the narrative’s communicative actions — are defined in terms of discourse plans whose communicative goals include conveying the story world plan’s structure. To ground the model in computational terms, we provide examples from research under way in the Liquid Narrative Group involving the design of the Mimesis system, an architecture for intelligent interactive narrative incorporating concepts from artificial intelligence, narrative theory, cognitive psychology and computational linguistics.
Experimental comparisons of observational learning mechanisms for movement imitation in mobile robots
Authors: Saunders Joe , Nehaniv Chrystopher L. , Dautenhahn Kerstin
Published: September 2007

Research into robotic social learning, especially that concerned with imitation, often focuses at differing ends of a spectrum from observational learning at one end to following or matched-dependent behaviour at the other. We study the implications and differences that arise when carrying out experiments both at the extremes and within this spectrum. Physical Khepera robots with minimal sensory capabilities are used, and after training, experiments are carried out where an imitating robot perceives the dynamic movement behaviours of another model robot carrying a light source. It learns the movement behaviour of the model by either statically observing the model, dynamically observing the model or by following the model. It ﬁnally re-enacts the learnt behaviour. We compare the results of these re-enactments and illustrate the differences and trade-offs that arise between static observational and reactive following learning methods. We also consider circumstances where, for this robotic embodiment, dynamic observation has both advantages and disadvantages when compared to static observation. We conclude by discussing the implications that arise from using and combining these types of social learning.
The illusion of love
Authors: Chesney Thomas , Lawson Shaun
Published: September 2007

The purpose of this short paper is to examine whether a screen based virtual pet, specifically Nintendogs, gives any form of companionship comparable to a real pet. Nintendogs runs on a Nintendo DS, a mobile games console. The unit has a full colour screen showing an animated puppy which users must feed, water, walk, play with and train. An abundance of literature exists examining the benefits of owning a real pet yet very little has been written about human attachment to virtual pets. Six hundred five Nintendog users were contacted by email with a request to complete a questionnaire about their interaction, 80 (13%) responded. Nine hundred requests were made to a similar group who were asked to respond about their real pet, if they had one. One hundred sixteen responses were received. Results indicate that a Nintendog does give companionship, but companionship which is significantly less than that given by a real dog or cat.
Psychological Warfare During the Korean War
Authors: Kim Jin K.
Published: September 2007

This study examines how the effects of Cold War rhetoric, especially Korean War-era psychological warfare, manifest dramatically in media coverage of crises or conflicts involving the former adversaries of the Cold War in the Far East. After identifying major clusters of the Korean War-era rhetorical polemics from various psywar leaflets, this study demonstrates how the effects of political self-indoctrination have surfaced in the U.S. and Chinese media coverage of the 1991–94 North Korean nuclear weapons development crisis, the North Korean famine crisis of the mid-1990s, the South Korean financial crisis of 1997–98 and the U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999. The study contends that various “enemy images,” cultivated and reinforced through the process of self-indoctrination over an extended period, have provided a journalistic framing device which ultimately contributes to a non-dialogic media-based political discourse among the former adversaries of the Korean War.
An Exploratory Study of Marketers’ Perceptions of the Internet
Authors: Park Jae-Jin , Cropp Fritz
Published: September 2007

The Internet has dramatically changed the way organizations communicate with consumers. This study examines South Korean marketers’ perceptions of reciprocal communication forms (e.g., e-mail, comment, chat with webmaster, bulletin board, and survey) in terms of the extent of use, marketing cost reduction, usefulness, informativeness, credibility, barriers, and prediction of future use. A sample of Korean marketers found that the content of consumer feedback is more important than the Internet form in which it is delivered. Even marketers using at least one of the reciprocal communication forms wonder about the credibility of the information they receive and the lack of response. These phenomena might reflect that those forms have not yet reached the stage where they are seen as useful in replicating traditional communication with consumers. Managerial implications are discussed.
Body Image Processing in Korean Adolescent and College-Aged Females
Authors: Yoon Tae-Il , Thorson Esther , Lee Myoung-chun
Published: September 2007

Research on body image has neglected a number of factors that seem likely to influence individuals’ eating disorders. This study looks at eating disorder relationships with age, cultural background, physical and psychological factors, amount and type of media exposure, and body image processing (i.e., comparing and endorsing thin ideals). Survey results from a sample of 376 Korean adolescent and college-aged females confirmed the mediating effect body image processing had on eating disorder indicators. Although striking age differences were found in the relationship between media use and eating disorders, there were also similarities between the two age groups. Comparing and endorsing thin ideals played a more important role among adolescent girls than among college-aged women. Contrary to previous research reported in the U.S., exposure to television “thin drama” was not a significant predictor of Korean females’ body image disturbance. Instead, exposure to foreign media had direct and indirect impacts on eating disorders among Korean females. Implications of the age and cross-cultural differences were discussed.
Serious play
Authors: Chang Hui-Ching
Published: September 2007

This ethnographic study explores how people in Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, engage words as cultural performance, whether they are spoken, written, or manifest themselves as cultural artifacts. Informed by their depth philosophical contemplation about the boundary between the universe and language, and made possible through their unique linguistic constructions, many Chinese treat various forms of expression as art and signs of wisdom, whether for expressions of solemnity, playfulness, or humor. Through poems, common sayings, matched couplets, chengyu, and so on, words entertain and enrich social life, help relieve human suffering, connect one life to another, and instill modern everyday encounters with a dash of traditional cultural ethos. This artistic endeavor also offers explanations for Chinese indirectness, as shades of meanings are seen as displays of varying degrees of engagement to cultural performances. Interview accounts and data collected through participant observation during several field trips conducted in Taiwan were analyzed to show how words participate in and give meaning to the construction of Taiwanese interpersonal life.
Workplace perceptions and attitudes toward standard English use
Authors: Ngeow Karen Yeok-Hwa , Soo Keng-Soon , Crismore Avon
Published: September 2007

This study investigated the perceptions and attitudes of Malaysian civil sector and private sector workers toward the use and acceptance of Malaysian English, a variety of nonstandard English. A survey using a 20-item Likert Scale questionnaire highlighted some language issues: current perceptions and attitudes about and use of standard English, international intelligibility, public models of language use, and behavioral intentions of civil sector and private sector Malaysians toward standard English. The major findings for the combined sectors were 1) a recognition of the importance of attaining international intelligibility of English in their interactions with foreigners and 2) mixed reactions toward the use of standard English language within their Malaysian society. Differences were found for some items between the civil sector and private sector workers as well as for the factors of age, gender and ethnicity. Studies like this one can be used as a model for replication to find out more about language perceptions and attitudes in other countries and are significant for raising the language awareness needed by educators to better help their students succeed in finding employment, by employers to gain insight into employees’ perceptions and attitudes toward and use of English in order to enhance communication. In addition, the study raises important questions and issues such as about the growth and acceptance of non-native varieties of English in Malaysia and other countries.
From a teacher-centered to a student-centered approach
Authors: Braine George
Published: September 2007

There is a common belief that, owing to the highly teacher-centered form of education, Chinese students are passive learners. As a result, a student-centered approach such as process writing is believed to be difficult to implement in classes that consist mainly of Chinese students. This study tested these beliefs by introducing peer feedback, the backbone of process writing, to Chinese students enrolled in university writing classes and by measuring the effectiveness of the feedback both quantitatively and qualitatively. The study showed that, with proper training, Chinese students could quickly adapt to a student-centered approach, and also provide rich and useful feedback on the writing of their peers. This study has promising implications for educational contexts where students are considered passive learners, teacher-centered learning is the norm, or the process approach to writing faces daunting challenges to its implementation.
A programmatic exploration of issues in the academic interaction of Japanese students overseas
Authors: Marriott Helen
Published: September 2007

Alongside of the concept of academic competence, this paper introduces the notion of “academic interaction” in reference to all aspects of communicative and non-communicative behaviour in academic situations. It is argued that we must undertake more inquiry of the processes and outcomes of academic interaction in naturally occurring situations, not just the written texts that students produce. Focussing upon Japanese university students studying overseas, I introduce some new research that is currently being undertaken following an academic interaction approach, and then raise a number of issues emerging from this research, specifically, problems with the common L1/L2 categorization, the relative importance of difficulties facing students, the neglect of research on activities other than writing, the empowerment of students and facilitators of student transitions, academic paradigms and the superiority of English academic norms, and finally, the notion of major intellectual styles.
A comparison of argument structures in L1 and L2 student writing
Authors: Gilbert Kara
Published: September 2007

The study consisted of an investigation into the argument structures employed in the English academic writing of Japanese native speakers and Australian English native speakers in the Arts (humanities) faculty of an Australian university. In order to investigate naturally occurring written argument structures, an in-depth case-study analysis of a small number of coursework essays was conducted. The complexity of argument structures in terms of the elaboration of individual arguments and the relational links between multiple related arguments of extended persuasive discourse were examined. Consequently, the similarities and differences between the L1 and L2 argumentative structures in the English essays and the nature of argument in English native speaker and Japanese ESL writing were identified. The findings indicate that although there were some differences between the micro- and macro-structures of written arguments in the coursework essays of L1 and L2 students, there were also similarities across both groups of writers. This may suggest that the context of learning plays a role in shaping the argumentative discourse patterns of written texts, which has significant implications not only for L2 writers learning the conventions of English discourse in an academic environment but also for future research investigating forms of written argument.
The cross-cultural academic communication and study management of Japanese exchange students
Authors: Nemoto Hiroyuki
Published: September 2007

This paper deals with the cross-cultural academic communication of Japanese exchange students who are enrolled at an Australian university. In particular, it reports on an investigation of their study management processes, focusing on their responses to assigned tasks, including written assignments, examinations, and oral presentations, and the relationship between such tasks and their prior academic experiences in Japan. On the basis of a conceptual model that integrates the language management framework with the two types of concepts involving situated learning and genres, an exploration is made of the deviations from Australian academic norms found in the conduct of the Japanese exchange students, their awareness and evaluations of these deviations, their planning and implementation of management strategies to rectify or avoid the deviations.
Japanese home-background students at an Australian university
Authors: Yoshimitsu Kuniko
Published: September 2007

This paper deals with Japanese home-background students who enrolled in a full degree undergraduate program at an Australian university during 2000 to 2001. The study aims to identify and characterize the types of Japanese home-background students and establish a suitable classification of these students based on the findings. This study is an essential step in understanding the problems and the needs of these students in university learning. The findings are from a case study of 17 students, which are made up of seven local students and 10 international students.
Face-keeping strategies in reaction to complaints
Authors: Eslami Zohreh R.
Published: September 2007

This paper discusses a number of differences between English and Persian in the area of speech acts and links them with different cultural values and norms. The Persian speakers’ use of face-keeping strategies in reaction to complaints was compared with American English speakers’ performance. The most frequent face- saving strategy used by both groups in reaction to complaints was the apology speech act. Therefore, a cross-cultural comparison in the realization patterns of the apology speech acts between the two languages was performed. A detailed analysis of the use of the illocutionary force indicating device (IFID) strategies and supportive strategies revealed important differences in communicative styles of the two groups which can give us insights into understanding different cultural values, norms, and assumptions concerning interpersonal use of language in a Western and a non-Western language. It is shown that Persian speakers are more sensitive to contextual factors and vary their face-keeping strategies accordingly whereas English speakers mostly use one apology strategy and intensify it based on contextual factors.
Multilingual literacies in Japan
Authors: McMahill Cheiron
Published: September 2007

Economic immigration to Japan has increased the number of language minority students in certain Japanese elementary schools to as many as one in four. Little is known, however, about how these children are influencing language and literacy practices in schools. This article looks at the classroom interaction in the International Community School (ICS), a small school run by a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) in Gunma Prefecture in which the presence of English‑, Portuguese‑, and Japanese-speaking children has given rise to an experiment in trilingual education. A project to create world globes in a first-grade trilingual classroom is examined using a social semiotic framework. The physical characteristics of the globes bear traces of the political and linguistic environment as well as the organization and management of the school. Children and teachers in turn question and transform geographic systems of representation and approaches to literacy in the process of creating and using a multilingual globe to talk about interests, experiences, and knowledge related to the world.
Instruction and reading samples for opinion writing in L1 junior high school textbooks in China and Japan
Authors: Kubota Ryuko , Shi Ling
Published: September 2007

This study examines language arts textbooks commonly used in junior high schools (grades 7, 8, and 9) in Mainland China and Japan in order to identify (1) what kinds of writing instruction are provided; and (2) how reading materials illustrating opinion writing are structured rhetorically. Findings suggest that these textbooks instruct students to follow a direct and linear pattern in opinion writing, represented by such descriptors as “good organization and paragraphing,” “clarity,” “effective supporting details and counter opinions,” and “main point placed at the beginning.” However, unlike prototypical organization of English writing, the statements of main points that appear in the beginning of model texts do not include a preview statement that forecasts the content and organization of the supporting details. This sheds light on culturally situated interpretations of deduction. In addition, a small number of texts exhibit a structure that might be interpreted as quasi-inductive. This interpretation is partly influenced by the difficulty of assigning a single text type to opinion essays. These findings call for further investigation of what purposes these texts serve, how they are written, and whether a gap exists between writing instruction and the actual texts that L1 English student writers are exposed to.
Source articles as scaffolds in reading to write
Authors: Zhu Wei
Published: September 2007

This article discusses a case study examining a Chinese graduate student’s experience with reading-to-write tasks in business, particularly the student’s use of source articles in performing the tasks. Data on six library research papers were collected from several sources in three semesters, including (1) course syllabi, (2) the source articles and the student’s reading notes, (3) the student’s outlines, drafts, and final versions of the six papers, and (4) interviews with the student. Analysis of the data indicated that the source articles scaffolded the student’s representations of the tasks and that the student’s task representation was influenced by several factors such as the student’s goals, the perceived purpose of the assignments, and the student’s beliefs and experience. Implications of the study for second language writing instruction and research are discussed.
Multidimensional enculturation
Authors: Li Yongyan
Published: September 2007

The present paper examines the disciplinary enculturation experience of a Chinese doctoral student. I first refer to Lave and Wenger’s (1991) concept of legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) as the theoretical background of this study. I then present the case of Fei, a doctoral student of physics in a major university in East China, focusing on his interactions with specialist texts, the supervisor, and the research community. In the discussion of the findings, I cast Fei’s experience in the light of LPP. I conclude by emphasizing the value of naturalistic case studies in extending English educators’ scope of vision of academic enculturation.
Cosmopolitan Mandarin
Authors: Zhang Qing
Published: September 2007

China’s participation in the global economy has brought about a new professional group — Chinese professionals working for foreign businesses (waiqi). Focusing on the linguistic practice of a group of waiqi professionals in Beijing, this study compares their speech with that of professionals working for state-owned enterprises. Both groups are natives of Beijing. Based on quantitative analysis of three Beijing Mandarin features and a tone feature revealing an influence from non-Mainland Mandarin varieties, the study shows that the waiqi group overwhelmingly used the non-local features much more frequently than the state professionals. It is argued that the waiqi professionals’ speech cannot be described simply as speaking a more standard variety of Putonghua. They are constructing a cosmopolitan Mandarin style through selectively combining features from both regional and global sources. This non-local style of Mandarin does not strictly conform to the standard of Putonghua. Explanations for the differential practice of the two groups are sought through differences in the linguistic markets in which they participate. This study demonstrates that the traditional territorially-based approach to sociolinguistic variation on a local–standard dimension is inadequate in examining practices that employ linguistic resources from both local and supra-local sources.
Same Context, Different Strategies
Authors: Chan Angela
Published: September 2007

This paper uses audio and video data to examine the discourse of a New Zealand IT company director in business meetings. Three examples of the director dealing with behaviour by his subordinates that he wants to influence are analysed by drawing on a collection of discourse analytic frameworks including conversation analysis, social constructionism, politeness theory, and a community of practice framework. The examples reveal that the director employs a range of discursive strategies to express his disapproval and to rationalise his feedback. At times he adopts indirect and mitigated strategies, while at other times he uses explicit and authoritative strategies. Moreover, the examples also demonstrate the dynamic nature and the complexity of interaction. The analysis shows that the director’s choice of strategies in these examples is a response to the specific discourse context and represents the result of negotiation between interlocutors, and that the giving of negative feedback occurs as a sequence of utterances instead of one single utterance. Finally it is suggested that the strategies used by the director are relevant resources because of the close relationships between the director and his subordinates and the shared repertoire of the focus workplace.
Simultaneities in Vedic ritual
Authors: Staal Frits
Published: September 2007

The use of language primarily displays succession, not simultaneity. It is common for people to talk at the same time or interrupt each other, but this is reduced to cases of succession. Vedic ritual involves not only succession but also simultaneities that are structural.1 In the “Soma swelling” rite, many priests recite two groups of mantras, A and B. First, one priest recites A while touching the bundle of Soma stalks. He then steps aside and recites B without touching Soma. At the same time, the next priest recites A and touches Soma. The result is that A and B are recited simultaneously but Soma is touched once by only one priest at a time. Other structural simultaneities may be attributed to a “horror of gaps.” A separate class are stage directions. A final comment is made on multifunctionality in space, a parallel to the temporal concept of simultaneity.
Poetry, language, and ritual performance
Authors: Haverkort Marco , de Roder Jan H.
Published: September 2007

In line with the proposal of de Roder (1999), we will draw an analogy between the structure of ritual, poetic language and natural language, exploiting Frits Staal’s conception of ritual as a set of recursively applicable formal procedures, and the biological ramifications of the Chomskyan postulate of Universal Grammar. The central hypothesis is that, in terms of evolution, poetry takes a position between age-old rituals and natural languages, as a sort of missing link. We will argue that the building blocks and mechanisms of natural language developed out of ritual acts and the associated rhythmic sound sequences. The formal principles underlying rituals turned out to be useful for communication and thus natural language could evolve, an example of exaptation in the sense of Gould and Vrba (1982). Under this view, the rhythmic layer of poetry — like syntactic structure — is a semantically empty, autonomous pattern, going back to the structural principles underlying ritual. Rhythmic patterns in poetry are thus instances of pure acts in the ritual sense, and as a consequence poetry is a form of language use in which the ritual basis of language is experienced. This puts T.S. Eliot’s famous dictum “Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood” in a new perspective. The paper thus focuses on the ritualistic substrate of language, not on the synchronic role of ritual in language. We will also discuss neurological evidence which independently supports this idea: Broca’s area — an area in the left hemisphere of the brain that has traditionally been associated with language comprehension and production — is activated when syntactically complex sentences are being processed, but it is also activated in tasks involving the perception of rhythmic patterns in music, thus supporting the idea that both (and by implication ritual too) have the same origins evolutionarily.
Rhetorical enargeia and linguistic pragmatics
Authors: Lunde Ingunn
Published: September 2007

Taking a combined theoretical and empirical approach, this essay studies the rhetorical implications of speech-reporting strategies in medieval East Slavic hagiography and homiletics. The author argues for a pragmatic approach to the study of a particular rhetorical concept: enargeia ‘the power of language to create a vivid presence of that which is set forth in words’. The first part of the article outlines the constitutive characteristics of enargeia, based on its treatment in rhetorical handbooks of Classical and Late Antiquity and on the rhetorical practice. Part two moves on to discuss reported speech as one possible field of study for an investigation of the “pragmatics of enargeia” at work in medieval texts, with a view to demonstrating the relevance of central pragmatic categories for the study of what one could call “enargetic rhetoric”. Examples are taken from Nestor of the Caves’ Life of Feodosij (eleventh century) and Kirill of Turov’s sermons (late twelfth century).
Grammaticalization of the scalar focus particle lian 連 in Mandarin Chinese
Authors: Xing Janet Zhiqun
Published: September 2007

This paper investigates pragmatic factors affecting the development of the focus particle lian in Mandarin Chinese. An analysis of lian’s evolution in historical texts demonstrates that lian’s semantic transformation from concrete activity to abstract grammatical meaning involved two major processes: metaphorization and inferencing. More importantly, this study provides evidence to show that due to the isolating characteristic, 1) Chinese does not restrict metaphorization to any particular category of lexical items, as Indo-European languages do (cf. Heine 1993); 2) different kinds of inferencing have affected lian in its process of semantic change and grammaticalization as opposed to the claim that different kinds of inferencing occur with different types of lexical items (cf. Traugott and König 1991); and 3) both divergence and desemantization are the results of lian’s grammaticalization. Unlike similar cases in Indo-European languages, lian has not become increasingly morphologized as it becomes more grammaticalized.
Letters
Authors: Bergs Alexander
Published: September 2007

This paper explores the question how far “letters” as one specific text type can be subdivided into smaller groups of texts (i.e. subtypes such as “requests”, “orders”, or “reports”) on the basis of socio-psychological and pragmatic dimensions and factors, including speech act and accommodation theory. This paper argues that this differentiation into socio-pragmatic subtypes actually can be made and that these subtypes materialize in significant systematic morphosyntactic variability. The idea is explored and illustrated on the basis of pronoun and relativizer variation in the late Middle English Paston Letters. In particular, it is shown how authors use their individual stylistic freedom to pursue specific communicative purposes in different types of letters.