bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Base transparency in suprasegmental changes: Ongoing changes in Japanese and English
Authors: Hattori Noriko 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTThis article deals with suprasegmental changes in progress in Japanese and English and demonstrates that the same kind of mechanism is in operation. Data on realtime changes in pitch accent, collected by comparing earlier editions of Japanese pronouncing dictionaries with recent editions, are examined. Analysis of data from present-day speech provides supplementary data on innovative accent. Two types of principle for accent change are proposed: the demand for paradigm coherence and the demand for canonical accent pattern. In the case of nouns derived from adjectives, the two appear to be in conflict. It is suggested that in Japanese the demand for paradigm coherence is the stronger principle. Similar kinds of conflict between two possible types of change are observed in ongoing stress changes in English. It is shown that base (or stem) transparency is a major factor in determining the directionality of accent change.
Regularity of sound change through lexical diffusion: A study of s > h > in Gondi dialects
Authors: Krishnamurti Bh. 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTGondi is a Dravidian language spoken by 2.2 million speakers (Census of India 1981) in the mountains and forests of four adjacent states in central India. Gondi is a chain of several dialects, some of which, at distant points, are perhaps not mutually intelligible. A major dialect division is provided by a two-step sound change: s- > h- in the west, north, and northwest and h- > - in the south and southeast. The present article studies this two-step sound change, which is still in progress, and establishes two facts. First, contrary to the normal expectation that this sound change would be phonetically gradual and lexically abrupt (Neogram-marian type), there is evidence that it has been lexically gradual and perhaps also phonetically gradual (lexical diffusion). Second, phonetic gradualness and regularity in implementation of sound change are properties not incompatible with the mechanism of lexical diffusion. Labov's observation that s > h > has not been reported as a lexically diffused change in many quantitative studies of Portuguese and Spanish (1981) finds a clear exception in Gondi. Under the lexical diffusion model, the regularity of a sound change is defined as the final outcome in a three-stage change of the relevant lexicon: unchanged (u), variant (u ˜ c), and changed (c). If the entire eligible lexicon passed from u to c through u ˜ c, the change would become regular. If all u ˜ c became c and for some reason no item under u became u ˜ c, the sound change would die prematurely, since the variant stage which provided the rule for the innovation would be absent. Since a regular sound change can result from either the Neogrammarian model or the lexical diffusion model, Labov's (1994:542–543) theoretical proposal of complementarity between the kinds of changes resulting from the two mechanisms calls for more studies of sound change in progress to decide the issue.
A quantitative study of gender differences in the ellipsis of the Japanese postpositional particles-waand-ga: Gender composition as a constraint on variability
Authors: Takano Shoji 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTIt has been claimed that the ellipsis of postpositional particles is one of the properties of Japanese women's language. The validity of this claim, however, is compromised by several methodological problems in prior research in this area: (1) the subjective comparison of bare percentages without any statistical verification of male–female differences; (2) the neglect of the intersecting relationships among a variety of potential constraints which simultaneously influence the speaker's choice of the variable; and (3) the exclusive focus on single-sex interactions. Conducting multivariate analyses of conversational data from both single-sex and cross-sex peer interactions, this preliminary study demonstrates the overgeneralization of gender-linked differentiation in past work due to the neglect of the relative strength of potential intersecting factors. The results also reveal statistically significant degrees of stylistic intragender variability across different types of gender composition, which counters the static approach to a social variable of gender in the traditional sociolinguistic paradigm.
Dissecting analogical leveling quantitatively: The case of the innovative potential suffix in Tôkyô Japanese
Authors: Matsuda Kenjirô 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTAnalogical leveling in progress of a potential suffix in Tôkyô Japanese is analyzed within a quantitative paradigm. The phenomenon, whereby an innovative potential and a conservative potential alternate, is shown through a multivariate analysis to be controlled by five factors: sociological variable complex, length of the verb stem, conjugation pattern of the verb, the following inflectional form, and embeddedness of the clause containing the suffix. Most of the linguistic constraints are observed crosslinguistically in language change or variation, giving further credibility to the analysis. Although traditional frequency-based theory of analogical leveling would predict stem frequency to be a possible factor, I demonstrate that it is not in this case. As a principled explanation for this apparent lack of contribution from frequency, the Revised Frequency Hypothesis is proposed.
Subject omission and functional compensation: Evidence from written Brazilian Portuguese
Authors: Silva Vera Lúcia Paredes 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTIn Portuguese, subject pronouns may be omitted or expressed explicitly. This variable usage is often attributed to the richness of the system of verbal desinences. However, evidence drawn from a sample of informal written language—personal correspondence of people from Rio de Janeiro—shows that the most important constraints on pronoun usage in subject position are discouse-based. The pronoun tends to be used whenever it is needed to clarify or highlight the correct referent from among a set of possible candidates. Furthermore, the pronoun is less likely to occur when its clasue is tightly connected to the preceding discourse. The quantitative analysis presented here supports the hypothesis that pronoun usage is “functional” in the sense that semantically relevant information tends to be preserved in surface structure.
Linguistic assimilation in two variables
Authors: Amastae Jon , Satcher David 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTThis article examines the type of relatively rapid speech modification sometimes called “accommodation” (Trudgill, 1986). In this case, we track change on the part of speakers of Honduran Spanish newly resident among speakers of Northern Mexican Spanish. The two variables investigated are final /n/ velarization and spirantization, both of which differ in the two dialects. (Honduran Spanish velarizes final /n/, while Northern Mexican Spanish does not; Honduran Spanish conserves stops l, r, s and glides, whereas Northern Mexican Spanish produces fricatives.) It is found that, although there is change in the direction of local norms in both variables, velarization shows greater change. In addition, the degree of contact with local speakers also leads to greater change for velarization only. Reasons for the different behavior are considered.
The messy phonology of Hungarians in South Bend: A contribution to the study of near-mergers
Authors: Kontra Miklós 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTStandard Hungarian has a short front unrounded low vowel phoneme /ε/, but certain dialects have a mid /e/ as well. The standard /ε/ evolved from a merger of the two phonemes. A formal reading of word groups and a same/different listening test revealed that Hungarian–Americans in South Bend, Indiana, exhibit a continuum between the /ε/ dialect and the /ε/versus /e/ dialect, showing important differences between the informants' perception and production. The Hungarian–American data and metropolitan Hungarian data were compared to Labov, Karen, and Miller's (1991) findings on near-mergers. The importance of investigating perceptual and productive systems separtely is emphasized.
On resolving disagreement: Linguistic theory and variation – There's bridges
Authors: Meechan Marjory , Foley Michele 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTStudies of concord variation in English have found subject-verb concord to be particularly low in existential sentences such as There's bridges. Noting that these sentences are unusual because the subject NP is postverbal and is generally indefinite, we hypothesized that the unusual concord variation pattern was a result of structural differences associated with the restriction on the type of determiners preceding the postverbal NP. Using variationist methodology, we analyzed natural speech data from 31 speakers of standard Canadian English and found an overwhelming preference for singular agreement in existentials. Contrary to our predictions, this was not linked to a determiner-based structural distinction, but rather to the form of the copula (i.e., full or clitic) and the speaker's level of education. Our findings have implications for those theoretical studies of existentials that assume concord, because the effect of education suggests that this assumption reflects the bias of the higher educational level of the researchers.
A linguistic innovation of women in Cairo
Authors: Haeri Niloofar 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTThis article investigates the sociolinguistic variable of apical palatalization in Cairene Arabic. First, I discuss its linguistic features and then its sociolinguistic distribution. The significance of palatalization as a sociolinguistic variable is its status as a stylistic resource of Cairene Arabic. Depending on the complex interaction of a number of factors, some Egyptians use features of Classical Arabic while speaking in Egyptian Arabic for stylistic purposes. Palatalization, on the other hand, is an example of a stylistic resource that belongs to Cairene Arabic proper. The roles of gender and social class in the distribution of palatalization are explored in some detail. As in a number of other speech communities, women in Cairo seem to have been the innovators of this sound change.
Contemporary Japanese attitudes toward honorifics (keigo)
Authors: Wetzel Patricia J. 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTThis article describes results from a subjective reaction test of Japanese speakers' attitudes towardkeigo‘polite language’. Hypotheses regarding attitudes toward “correct” language were for the most part verified, whereas attitudes toward “incorrect” forms were decidedly mixed. These results provide a first step in ascertaining attitudes toward a set of forms that are said to be in a state of flux in contemporary Japan. Also impinging on interpretation of the data are questions of descriptive terminology and culture. Such issues provide additional insight into the controversy within sociolinguistics over quantitative description and normative explanation.
Changes in verb position in French negative infinitival clauses
Authors: Hirschbühler Paul , Labelle Marie 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTSince the 15th century, negative infinitives in French have undergone a change fromneVpastone pasV. This change takes place at different times, depending on the nature of the verb. Lexical verbs undergo the change between 1550 and 1750, modals (pouvoir, vouloir, devoir) essentially change between 1650 and 1900, and auxiliaries have been changing at a slow pace since 1650. We explore the idea that, for main verbs, the change in word order reflects a change in the position ofpas, while the change in the position of modals and auxiliaries results from the fact that these verbs start assuming a position lower in the structure. Our analysis of the historically different evolution of each type of verb is based on their lexical properties and their distinct affinities with abstract Tense.
The gradual loss of mood distinctions in Los Angeles Spanish
Authors: Silva-Corvalán Carmen 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on a change affecting Spanish in contact with English in the United States: namely, simplification and loss of Subjunctive (Sub) mood morphology. Conversational data from 17 Mexican-American bilinguals living in the eastern section of Los Angeles are analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The speakers represent three different immigrant groups, according to length of family stay in the United States. The variation between Indicative (Ind) and Sub usage attested in the Spanish-speaking world results from the continuing modifications which have affected the distribution of Ind and Sub forms through the diachronic development of Spanish: previously obligatory contexts for the use of Sub are now categorically Ind or allow both Sub and Ind to different degrees across social and geographic parameters. In the Spanish of Los Angeles, the internal tendencies toward a reduction of the obligatory use of the Sub are strengthened, as may be expected in a situation of language contact in which obligatory contexts for the use of a form are more resistant to change than those that allow a selection between two or more forms with closely related meanings.
Convergent explanation and alternative regularization patterns:Were/weren'tleveling in a vernacular English variety
Authors: Schilling-Estes Natalie , Wolfram Walt 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTAlthough the process of analogical leveling seems relatively straightforward and its directionality readily predictable, the existence of cross-dialectal leveling alternatives suggests that the processes that actuate and embed analogical leveling can actually be quite complex. Using the case of a vernacular variety spoken on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, we demonstrate how linguistic-systemic principles such as remorphologization, psycholinguistic principles of perceptual saliency, and sociolinguistic processes of symbolic identity converge to account for the development and maintenance of leveling toweren't(I/you/(s)he/we/ you/they weren't here) in this post-insular island community.
Consonant cluster reduction in Tejano English
Authors: Bayley Robert 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTThis study examines the well-known process of consonant cluster reduction in the English of residents of a San Antonio, Texas,barrio. The study compares Tejano patterns of /-t, d/ deletion with the pan-English pattern summarized by Labov (1989). Results of VARBRUL analysis show that /-t, d/ deletion in Tejano English is constrained by many of the same factors as in other English dialects, including Los Angeles Chicano English. Results also suggest, however, a complex pattern of convergence and divergence. Younger Tejanos are converging toward other dialects of English with respect to the effect of the morphological class on cluster simplification. Yet there is some evidence that they are diverging from other dialects with respect to the effect of syllable stress. On this latter dimension, younger Tejanos replicate the pattern found by Santa Ana (1991) among Los Angeles Chicanos. Finally, the study compares /-t, d/ deletion in Tejano/Chicano English in San Antonio and Los Angeles and shows that, despite many similarities, Mexican American varieties exhibit regional as well as generational differences.
Variability in negation in African American Vernacular English
Authors: Weldon Tracey 
Published: November 2008

ABSTRACTFor quantitative sociolinguists, one of the goals of investigating variability in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is to understand better the nature of the grammar. Specifically, researchers have been interested in whether the variation observed in AAVE is inherent to a single system or the result of interaction between two separate systems of AAVE and Standard English (SE). Variability in negation is an area of the AAVE grammar that has received minimal attention, but one that may offer some interesting insights into the nature of the system or systems at work. This article provides a framework to describe the variability between negative auxiliaries in predicative constructions based on a quantitative analysis of data collected in Columbus, Ohio. Five variables are investigated in this study. One involves interaction between third-person singular inflection and non-inflection in present do-support constructions (NEG pres). A second involves variation between ain't and don't with the predicates got or gotta (NEG GOT(ta)). And the other three involve interaction between ain't and negative auxiliaries in present copular (NEG COP), present perfect (NEG perf), and past do-support (NEG past) constructions. The results of this study show that, with the possible exception of the (NEG pres) variation, these alternations all appear to belong to one underlying system.
Role of PPARγ in renoprotection in Type 2 diabetes: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potential
Authors: Yang Jichun , Zhang Dongjuan , Li Jing , Zhang Xiaoyan , Fan Fenling , Guan Youfei 
Published: November 2008

DN (diabetic nephropathy) is a chronic disease characterized by proteinuria, glomerular hypertrophy, decreased glomerular filtration and renal fibrosis with loss of renal function. DN is the leading cause of ESRD (end-stage renal disease), accounting for millions of deaths worldwide. TZDs (thiazolidinediones) are synthetic ligands of PPARγ (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor γ), which is involved in many important physiological processes, including adipose differentiation, lipid and glucose metabolism, energy homoeostasis, cell proliferation, inflammation, reproduction and renoprotection. A large body of research over the past decade has revealed that, in addition to their insulin-sensitizing effects, TZDs play an important role in delaying and preventing the progression of chronic kidney disease in Type 2 diabetes. Although PPARγ activation by TZDs is in general considered beneficial for the amelioration of diabetic renal complications in Type 2 diabetes, the underlying mechanism(s) remains only partially characterized. In this review, we summarize and discuss recent findings regarding the renoprotective effects of PPARγ in Type 2 diabetes and the potential underlying mechanisms.
Atorvastatin enhances interleukin-10 levels and improves cardiac function in rats after acute myocardial infarction
Authors: Stumpf Christian , Petzi Sebastian , Seybold Katrin , Wasmeier Gerald , Arnold Martin , Raaz Dorette , Yilmaz Atilla , Daniel Werner G. , Garlichs Christoph D. 
Published: November 2008

LV (left ventricular) remodelling is the basic mechanism of HF (heart failure) following MI (myocardial infarction). Although there is evidence that pro-inflammatory cytokines [including TNF-α (tumour necrosis factor-α) and IL-6 (interleukin-6)] are involved in the remodelling process, only little is known about the role of anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-10. As accumulating evidence has revealed that statins possess anti-inflammatory properties, the aim of the present study was to elucidate the effect of atorvastatin on the modulation of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and its effect on LV function in rats with HF subsequent to MI. Rats with MI, induced by permanent LAD (left anterior descending) branch coronary artery ligation, were treated for 4 weeks with atorvastatin (10 mg·kg−1 of body weight·day−1 via oral gavage) starting on the first day after induction of MI. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography and cardiac catheterization 4 weeks after MI induction. Membrane-bound and soluble fractions of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 protein, the TNF-α/IL-10 ratio, serum levels of MCP-1 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1) as well as myocardial macrophage infiltration were analysed. Treatment with atorvastatin significantly improved post-MI LV function (fractional shortening, +120%; dP/dtmax, +147%; and LV end-diastolic pressure, −27%). Furthermore atorvastatin treatment markedly decreased the levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1, reduced myocardial infiltration of macrophages and significantly increased myocardial and serum levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Thus the balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines was shifted in the anti-inflammatory direction, as shown by a significantly decreased TNF-α/IL-10 ratio. Atorvastatin ameliorated early LV remodelling and improved LV function in rats with HF subsequent to MI. Our study suggests that the modulation of the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines towards the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 is one salutary mechanism underlying how atorvastatin influences post-MI remodelling and thus improves LV function.
Chronic administration of ursodeoxycholic acid decreases portal pressure in rats with biliary cirrhosis
Authors: Yang Ying-Ying , Huang Yi-Tsau , Lee Kuei-Chuan , Lee Fa-Yauh , Lee Tzung-Yan , Hou Ming-Chih , Lin Han-Chieh , Lee Shou-Dong 
Published: November 2008

Liver cirrhosis is characterized by increased IHR (intrahepatic resistance) and lipid peroxidation, and decreased antioxidative defence. The present study investigates the effects of administration for 1 month of the antioxidant UDCA (ursodeoxycholic acid) in BDL (bile-duct-ligated) cirrhotic rats. Splanchnic haemodynamics, IHR, hepatic levels of TBARS (thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances), GSH (glutathione), SOD (superoxide dismutase) activity, nitrite, PIIINP (N-terminal propeptide of type III procollagen) and collagen deposition, histological examination of liver, mRNA expression of PIIIP-α1 (type III procollagen) and TGF-β1 (transforming growth factor-β1), protein expression of TXS (thromboxane synthase) and iNOS (inducible NO synthase), and TXA2 (thromboxane A2) production in liver perfusates were measured. The results showed that portal pressure and IHR, hepatic levels of PIIINP, hepatic collagen deposition, mRNA expression of PIIIP-α1 and TGF-β1, protein expression of iNOS and TXS, and production of TXA2 in liver perfusates were significantly decreased in UDCA-treated BDL rats. The increased levels of hepatic GSH and SOD activity and decreased levels of TBARS and nitrite were also observed in UDCA-treated BDL rats. In UDCA-treated BDL rats, the reduction in portal pressure resulted from a decrease in IHR, which mostly acted through the suppression of hepatic TXA2 production and lipid peroxidation, and an increase in antioxidative defence, leading to the prevention of hepatic fibrosis.