Investigating the grammatical features of a child(TM)s language and influences in a three year longitudinal study
Introduction Investigating the grammatical features of a child's language and influences in a three year longitudinal study The topic under investigation is child language acquisition. I plan to use home videos of myself at the ages of three through to five, studying the linguistic features of my spoken language. I am interested in seeing how my language developed throughout this time; beginning at playschool and ending in having started school. Carrying out a longitudinal study will be beneficial when researching language development, as it will give the opportunity to demonstrate how a child's language improves and develops over time; any mistakes that become inevitably rectified, and how the language develops from simple sentences, to complex structures. I am also interested in looking at child directed speech; that is, how others direct their speech at a child. According to Frank Myszor in his book 'Language Acquisition,' there are three purposes of child directed speech and thirteen methods that can be used to demonstrate these purposes. Part of my study will involve looking at how a caregiver (i.e. parent) and sibling affect and/or influence the way a young child uses language themselves. Will I copy my brother/mother/father? Will I react to what they say to me? Will my language become dependent on their languages choices? The source of the idea for this piece of work
Language and Identity
UNIVERSITY OF EXETER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING Rachid Belaredj 570036539 Module EED D028 Discourse, Pedagogy and Identity Language identity issues: Exploring Samuel Huntington's views on language identity. Dr. Malcolm McDonald Submitted on 31st October, 2008, as part of the requirements for the Ed. D in TESOL 2007-8 Introduction Part A Huntington theoretical approach on the concept of civilization The clash of Civilizations Part B Huntington theoretical approach on the clash theory The Hispanic" nightmare" Huntington's conceptual approach to American identity Part C Beyond Huntington paradigm Huntington's view on language identity Huntington's potential influence on US politics Conclusion Appendices Appendix I - The clash of Civilization and the remaking of the world order. Samuel P, Huntington. Appendix II - The Hispanic challenge, Samuel P, Huntington Appendix III - Who we are? , Samuel P, Huntington. Bibliography Abstract The main purpose of this writing is to present a subset of literature on identity, cultural identity, and discuss language identity: How does ethnic identity manifest itself among Americans? Are there any correlations between language and identity? Does symbolic ethnicity prevail for ethnic minorities who are living in the USA as it has for Americans of European descents? This essay is a close reading
How do we learn language?
How do we learn language? Theoretical Research Paper about the different theories of language acquisition Introduction Language- it is one of the most important factors for our lives. Linguistics studies analyze every possible part that language itself offers or particular features that derives from it. "How is it that we can all open our mouths and speak, [...], without consciously thinking about the construction of the sentences we are using? And how is it that four-year-old children can apparently do the same thing?" (Cattell 2000: book cover) Most of the people nowadays do not invest time thinking about the origin of language. They do not wonder about how we acquire language. It is just there. We all use it. We start learning it automatically when we are born and as we grow older, we extend our vocabulary more and more. "Infants enter the world of language and of culture with a readiness to find or invent systematic ways of dealing with social requirements and linguistic forms." (Bruner 1983:28) Does first language acquisition really take place so easily? Are there any other factors that influence the first language acquisition of a child positively or negatively? Those questions will be dealt with after I have talked about language in general and where we use it. Moreover, I will have a close look at the three main theories about language acquisition: Noam
A sociolinguistic study on Singaporean teenagers use of language on Facebook a research on gender as a sociolinguistic variable in teenagers use of English through the social networking platform of Facebook
A sociolinguistic study on Singaporean teenagers' use of language on Facebook a research on gender as a sociolinguistic variable in teenagers' use of English through the social networking platform of Facebook By Team Members: Chow Keng Ji (Leader) Bryan Ang Wei-En Pethuel Ho For Expert mentor: A/P Vincent B Y Ooi, Department of English Language and Literature NUS For Teacher Mentor: Mr. Desmond Lim Raffles Institution Research Education 2011 ii. Acknowledgements Our group would like to thank our teacher mentor Mr Desmond Lim for his continuous guidance throughout the project. We would especially like to thank our expert mentor from NUS, Department of English Language and Literature, A/P Vincent B Y Ooi, for taking time off his schedule to help us and provide valuable insights on our research topic. iii. Abstract iv. Contents Title Page Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of Contents iv Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................... 4 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 BACKGROUND READINGS..................................................... METHODOLOGY................................................................... 7 0 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 SURVEY RESULTS................................................................. OBSERVATION PASSAGE RESULTS ........................................ 3 21 Chapter
Bilingual Lexical and Conceptual Memory Representation
Bilingual Lexical and Conceptual Memory Representation: A Critical Review Abstract The major purpose of this review is to critically evaluate the asymmetry model (Kroll & Stewart, 1994) concerning whether word translation is based on a lexical level or is achieved through conceptual mediation. This model assumes that forward translation (from the first language to the second language) is mainly conceptually mediated, whereas backward translation (from the second language to the first language) is comprehended through direct lexical path. Variables that condition conceptual/semantic processing will therefore have a larger effect on forward than backward translation. This paper first describes the main features derived from the asymmetry model with an overview of various evidence-based sources. It then considers the generalizability of the model with a critical appraisal of controversial evidences due to different experimental paradigms and semantic variations. Further, it illustrates semantic variations in word translation process by comparing and contrasting performances of bilinguals in different orthographic systems, namely Chinese and English. Finally, the paper proposes other experimental paradigms for testing Chinese-English bilingual lexical and conceptual representations. Key words: word translation, lexical activation, conceptual mediation, bilingual memory
Dependency on Technology - Negative Impact on Human Communication
Dependency on Technology: Negative Impacts on Human Communication Quazi Mohammad Faisal North South University Tuesday, December 22, 2009 Abstract Technology has indeed made tremendous impact to society as well as on the quantity and manner by which we communicate with each other. The ease of communication may have been improved, but our lives have become more impersonal as a result. The research was focused on the area of technology's application on our lives and how it is affecting our interpersonal communication. The research was initiated in the belief that the abundant use of technology might be influencing the real human communication. The primary research was performed by questioning certain individuals regarding their usage of various technologies and how this made impressions on their lives. The findings showed that the increasing dependency on technology is actually hindering the interpersonal communication. Furthermore, the secondary research on the topic also provided various data and information that also suggests that this technology dependency is also creating impediments for the real human communication. The findings of both form of researches eventually confirms the hypothesis. Table of Contents Introduction 5 Background 8 Research Questions 12 Hypothesis 13 Research Methodology 14 Data Presentation and Analysis 15 Summary of Research Findings
Rule-based vs. SMT: Idiomatic expressions and collocations
Rule-based vs. SMT: Idiomatic expressions and collocations 7 juin 2011 Abstract Languages complexity is reinforced by the use of elements such as collocations and idiomatic expressions. Since the creation of Machine Translation systems (MT), those collocations and idioms generate complications in translating data, due to their syntax as well as their omnipresence. In this paper, we describe how two different commercial MT Systems are managing them and the results arising from their methods. The procedures examined will be the rule-based approach (Systran) and the statistical one (Google) for the language pair French-English. The obtained results show evidence concerning the influence of adjacency and insertion of alien elements in segments, in the achievement of a quality output as much as the impact of colorful and metaphorical elements. INTRODUCTION E. Wehrli and D. Anastasiou pointed out that current Machine Translation systems are facing difficulties both rule-based systems and statistical ones, in tackling the issue of idioms and collocations. The key element for a proper translation is the identification of those elements, their extraction in the source-text in order to propose a correct output. As they fail to do so, the target text is often too literal, compositional-like (the term’s meaning are summed up to form a sentence) and sound unnatural. As a
Open University E303 TMA03 : Comparative register analysis
TMA 03 E303 Oksana Markova Comparative register analysis Transcriptions of both texts are enclosed as Appendices and for ease of reference the line numbers given in brackets. The line numbers and bibliographic references are not included in the word count. Text 1 Text 2 Register analysis Linguistic evidence Register analysis Linguistic evidence FIELD (Experiental meta-function). Semantic domain Topic: Census Professionals and organisations Inconvenience Questions Costs Vocabulary Lexical choice examples: Remarkable resource, bygone legacy, the 2001 UK Census, national censuses. many academic and applied practitioners the invasion of their privacy question on income, an income question, information on their income, a question on etnicity, the question. National censuses are expensive, cost £259 million Formal Focus is on questioning whether census is worthy considering the cost and time and all the difficulties in calculations and inconvenience involved. Semantic domain Topic: Census Professionals and organisations Inconvenience Questions Costs Vocabulary Lexical choice examples: This, this questionnaire thingy, the census, the fella, this thing, it Big Brother, they, the government a step too far those ethnic questions, and this one, questions about work and stuff, how much you get paid Waste of money, cost a fortune to send
We face an important and difficult challenge: getting America to recognize the importance of developing a drug policy that does not rely on force but is consistent with public health, limited government, individual rights, and personal responsibility.
We face an important and difficult challenge: getting America to recognize the importance of developing a drug policy that does not rely on force but is consistent with public health, limited government, individual rights, and personal responsibility. In fact, even the people who wrote the Harrison Act and the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937 agreed that a general prohibition on what people could put into their own bodies was plainly an unconstitutional infringement on personal liberties. For comparison, see the history of the constitutional amendment which was required to prohibit alcohol. There is no logical reasoning for a constitutional amendment that prohibits one chemical and not another. according to conservative U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski, frequent police perjury and prosecutorial misconduct used to secure convictions is "an open secret long shared by prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges." Judge Kozinski's remarks were reported by the Los Angeles Times in a recent series of articles about the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) scandal in its Rampart Division. A former Rampart police officer, Rafael A. Perez, sparked the scandal when he told authorities about a host of alleged crimes committed by his fellow officers in the gang-suppression unit. In an attempt to bargain for a light sentence before retrial on charges of stealing three
How to Speak Like a New Englander
Jennifer Chung (2005654208) ENGL2104 - Rowe 6 May 2008 Research Paper How to Speak Like a New Englander Many people assume that the New England accent is basically the Boston accent as the city is considered to be the life of the region, but this is a false assumption. There are in fact several accents and varieties which can be found and the Boston accent is only one of them. Granted, the famous accent in Massachusetts is the most prominent and influential accent but it does not completely represent the neighbouring five states which includes Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut and Rhode Island. This essay will delve into the history of New England and how it affected the phonological and lexical development of New England speech. . History and Geography of New England The New England expansion all started with Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. The English Puritans fled Lincolnshire due to religions persecution and sailed to the United States on the Mayflower. They were later joined by the English Separatists who situated themselves in the Massachusetts Bay Colony about a decade later. The population then was only around a few hundred. By the second half of the nineteenth century, masses of immigrants flooded New England. The Irish fled to Boston because of the potato famine and they were soon joined by Italians, Russian, Polish, Lithuanians, Greeks, Armenians