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A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 3, May 2021
Pages:
62-73
Received:
23 March 2021
Accepted:
15 April 2021
Published:
8 May 2021
Abstract: English middle construction (MC) is one of the most heatedly discussed language phenomenon, however, disagreements and inconsistencies still exist among scholars as for the research scope of the Chinese MC. Based on the prototype elements of English MC, this paper compares the features of those constructions in different scholars’ paper and pin down which one is the prototype of Chinese MC and offer an order of their closeness to the prototype. Findings and explanations are demonstrated as follows: firstly, under the framework of prototype theory, it is argued that MC has its own prototype. The author assumes” the bread slices smoothly” as the English prototype for the high frequency of being cited at discussing the related topics of MC in literature. The prototypical properties of prototype elements are presented below: (1) implicit agent; (2) active in form; (3) simple present tense; (4) patient subject; (5) primary responsibility of subject; (6) adverb and experiencer sub-role of agent; (7) the aspect of the middle verb is either activity or accomplishment verb; (8) general modality reading; (9) causative and affected subject. Secondly, a closer look at Chinese MC is conducted, which reveals that different scholars have different ideas on what kind of construction is Chinese MC. Taking the prototype elements of prototypical English middle construction as criterion, the author compares the constructions in those scholars’ paper with them and finds out that they share different number of features. Construction in Yu &Si’s paper and parts of construction in Cao’s paper are regarded as typical Chinese MC because they share all the prototype elements of prototypical English MC. Their closeness to the prototype depends on the number of similarities they have in common. The author ranks these constructions from the most typical member to the worst member in the following order: Yu &Si, He, Chen, Ding, Cao, and GU. They structure around the prototype and exhibit graded centrality to the prototype. Thirdly, this paper also explains why the same construction can be classified into different grammatical categories, to be more specific, why the construction in Ding’s paper is regarded as notional-passives and construction in Chen’s paper is classified into the grammatical category of tough construction. According to prototype theory, category has fuzzy boundaries and a category may merge with neighboring category, therefore, MC merges with notional-passives and tough construction for they have overlapping areas.
Abstract: English middle construction (MC) is one of the most heatedly discussed language phenomenon, however, disagreements and inconsistencies still exist among scholars as for the research scope of the Chinese MC. Based on the prototype elements of English MC, this paper compares the features of those constructions in different scholars’ paper and pin dow...
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Lexical Variation in the Economic Sociolect of the Italian and Spanish Newspapers
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 3, May 2021
Pages:
74-79
Received:
13 April 2021
Accepted:
27 April 2021
Published:
14 May 2021
Abstract: Frequent contacts between the English language and Italian and Spanish languages speeds up the anglicisms lexical transfer process in these neo-Latin languages. Contact situations open up a series of communication channels between different social groups which are reflected in the use of English terms adopted by the Italian and Spanish. The Italian and Spanish newspapers economic context is conditioned by the presence of a large number of lexical anglicisms, as an attestation of linguistic primacy and meaning of cultural prestige. The scale of this phenomenon is quantified by observing real facts, in accordance with the quantitative model of variationist sociolinguistics. Over the last half-century, it has seen a growth in the study of the phenomenon of bilingualism, especially between the Romance languages and English language. The phonological variation studies have been added the lexical and semantic. However, the approaches to these phenomena are not always analysed from a sociolinguistic point of view. The vast literature tends to describe intuitively situations of changes and lexical substitutions from English on the economic Italian and Spanish press, rather than a quantitative evaluation of the phenomenon. This article shows thus the real impact of anglicisms (code-switching and calque) on the economic and financial Italian and Spanish newspapers. In addition, the collected data analysis made it possible to compare the two social contexts, from which the different circumstances of lexical importations and substitutions are determined.
Abstract: Frequent contacts between the English language and Italian and Spanish languages speeds up the anglicisms lexical transfer process in these neo-Latin languages. Contact situations open up a series of communication channels between different social groups which are reflected in the use of English terms adopted by the Italian and Spanish. The Italian...
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Development of the Algerian Sociolinguistic Landscape: Preliminary Observations
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 3, May 2021
Pages:
80-91
Received:
20 April 2021
Accepted:
11 May 2021
Published:
21 May 2021
Abstract: The prime goal of the present paper is to focus upon actual sociolinguistic profile in Algeria as both a diglossic and multilingual speech community. Thus, this social context has shown an extremely complex matrix of languages and dialects and their unstable functional roles in connection to situational language use. To cope with this scope we relied upon our observation in formal educational settings and other informal ones. Thus, our findings reveal a progress of the Algrian sociolinguistic profile owing to the multidimensional configuration of, first; language use which constitute of standard language systems that are Arabic, Tamazight, and French. In addition to, dialects or non- standard language varieties: Algerian Arabic and Algerian Berber. Second, by the unstable role of H/ L varieties and the widespread of monolingualism and the disappearance of loanwords in youth’s language use as an indicator of language change in progress. Eventually, we can discern these preliminary findings to raise our awareness not only about the authentic status of languages, but about the future of languages and dialects in Algeria.
Abstract: The prime goal of the present paper is to focus upon actual sociolinguistic profile in Algeria as both a diglossic and multilingual speech community. Thus, this social context has shown an extremely complex matrix of languages and dialects and their unstable functional roles in connection to situational language use. To cope with this scope we reli...
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Revitalizing the Concept of Vocabulary Teaching in Professional Education
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 3, May 2021
Pages:
92-99
Received:
16 February 2021
Accepted:
19 March 2021
Published:
26 May 2021
Abstract: The vocabulary of the English language is compartmentalized in professional degree courses like Engineering, Medical, Law, Pharmaceutical, Arts etc. Due to this the professionals are unable to express themselves convincingly. In due course of the time they become handicapped to use the universal vocabulary related to the field of others and building the gap between industry and academia. The industry is in need of the professionals who can speak to the globe. Because of this limited vocabulary, as the authors are working in the professional colleges observed, that there is a miserable failure when a general topic is given to express. Though the professionals are good at academics fail to express their thought process in an open forum due to lack of vocabulary. It is also observed that the so-called examination system will examine their retention power instead of testing their general ability. The academia on the other hand will not concentrate on universal vocabulary since it is pestered with curriculum and syllabus design. The aspiring students who want to go abroad are struggling to get through the Basic English tests. Since the Common European Framework Reference (CEFR) put some standards in the English language proficiency levels to be recognized globally, the professionals understood the importance of expression. Here exactly the professionals face the building blocks. Though the professionals selected through campus recruitments, feel difficulty to communicate effectively. To reason, the reasons are many to speak on. Hence, the paper is going to address the challenges involved in.
Abstract: The vocabulary of the English language is compartmentalized in professional degree courses like Engineering, Medical, Law, Pharmaceutical, Arts etc. Due to this the professionals are unable to express themselves convincingly. In due course of the time they become handicapped to use the universal vocabulary related to the field of others and buildin...
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A Study on the Comparative Analysis of Hausa and Jar Pronouns of Northern, Nigeria
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 3, May 2021
Pages:
100-105
Received:
30 April 2021
Accepted:
15 May 2021
Published:
27 May 2021
Abstract: This paper title “A Comparative Analysis of the Hausa and Jar Pronouns”, started with brief introduction of importance of language in human endeavor, meaning of pronoun. The historical background of both languages was reviewed, and also the work examines the behavior of the Hausa and Igbo Pronouns. As such, the work analytically compares the nature and positions of pronouns within the sentences or noun phrase of the two languages (Hausa and Igbo). However, this paper identifies the similarities and differences of both singulars and plural Pronouns, such as the Hausa language, has gender in second person and third person, Singular Pronouns Kai, Shi, and Ita. While Jar languages has no gender in second and third person pronouns. Also where English and Jar languages have shared the same rules in second person and object pronouns (you) while the rule differs with Hausa. Another difference is the positions of some subject pronouns singular in Jar languages almost always come after an action word or verb in a sentence, while in Hausa almost always the singular personal subject pronouns appear before an action word (Verb), and methodology of research has been discussed in the paper.
Abstract: This paper title “A Comparative Analysis of the Hausa and Jar Pronouns”, started with brief introduction of importance of language in human endeavor, meaning of pronoun. The historical background of both languages was reviewed, and also the work examines the behavior of the Hausa and Igbo Pronouns. As such, the work analytically compares the nature...
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The Selectional Constraint of the Chinese Progressive Operator zai
Zhang Mengjie,
Zhu Haiting,
Lin Yunqing
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 3, May 2021
Pages:
106-110
Received:
15 April 2021
Accepted:
4 May 2021
Published:
1 June 2021
Abstract: Previous studies on the Chinese progressive mainly focus on the distinctions between Chinese progressive zai and the continuous -zhe, but few has noticed that the progressive zai is sensitive to the plurality of the event encoded by the predicate in its scope. Inspired by the observations of the selectional constraints of the English progressive, this paper aims to find out the selectional constraints of Chinese progressive zai. It is argued that Chinese progressive zai requires its modified predicates to denote singular durative events as its English counterpart do. Given that no studies have illustrated the semantic criterion for identifying predicates denoting singular events in Mandarin, this study proposes that singular telic (incremental) predicates compatible with zai are those with singular atoms or singular groups as the incremental themes and singular atelic predicates co-occurring with zai are those being incremental homogeneous. An incremental accomplishment with a singular atom as the theme is expressed by the combination of an incremental verb and a quantized incremental object with the cardinal numeral quantifier yi ‘one’ as the measure phrase, while that with a singular group as the theme is expressed by the combination of an incremental verb and a definite object modified by the definite determiner like na ‘that/those’. In contrast, incremental homogeneous predicates are expressed by activities or plural achievements.
Abstract: Previous studies on the Chinese progressive mainly focus on the distinctions between Chinese progressive zai and the continuous -zhe, but few has noticed that the progressive zai is sensitive to the plurality of the event encoded by the predicate in its scope. Inspired by the observations of the selectional constraints of the English progressive, t...
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A Corpus-Driven Study of the Multimodal Representational Characteristics of Chinese Children’s Denial
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 3, May 2021
Pages:
111-119
Received:
17 May 2021
Accepted:
28 May 2021
Published:
2 June 2021
Abstract: As multimodal communication develops by leaps and bounds, children’s multimodal act has increasingly attracted attention, which makes understanding systematically multimodal act of children become essential. This quantitative study analyzes the multimodal characteristics of Chinese children’s acts of denial through observing 110 cases of multimodal denial acts of a Mandarin-speaking boy as a case study from the perspective of Multimodal Discourse Analysis. As is shown, compared with verbal denial and non-verbal denial, multimodal denial employed by the target boy occupies the largest proportion of 74.5%, and the most common inter-semiotic relationship is equivalence, accounting for 66%, rather than complementary or supplementary interaction. What’s more, the frequencies of the target boy’s denial toward the three groups of interlocutors, that is, the elders, the peers and the non-relatives, are different, and denial against the elders as the most common includes 61 cases making up 55.4%, among which the frequency of denial toward the mother takes the first position. By figuring out the characteristics of multimodal denial of the target boy and drawing corresponding implications, this paper endeavors to provide some instructive suggestions to parenting. In daily communication with children, parents need to pay enough attention to children’s multimodal acts and react accordingly and properly with both verbal and non-verbal sources so as to create an efficient communication, which are conducive to some positive parent-child education and interaction.
Abstract: As multimodal communication develops by leaps and bounds, children’s multimodal act has increasingly attracted attention, which makes understanding systematically multimodal act of children become essential. This quantitative study analyzes the multimodal characteristics of Chinese children’s acts of denial through observing 110 cases of multimodal...
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Among Tare and Luffing with the Sonoran Fishermen
Raul Aristides Perez Aguilar
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 3, May 2021
Pages:
120-132
Received:
21 December 2020
Accepted:
5 January 2021
Published:
7 June 2021
Abstract: Studies on the fishing lexicon in Mexico are non-existent. There are only some works done in very delimited areas with a fishing tradition that have served as input to develop this research. For that reason I have undertaken this task of compiling those terms that were used and are still used by fishermen in the Mexican state of Sonora. This article describes the lexical particularities of the marine speeches of the state of Sonora collected in situ by applying a questionnaire of more than 380 questions to 22 fishermen from 11 populations located in just over 950 kilometers of the 1207 coastline with that the entity has. Of the various names given in this specialized language, only a portion of the ten centers of interest into which the questionnaire was divided is presented, together with the rigorous considerations that have arisen in light of the lexical variation offered by some voices. The analysis of the collected terms shows vernacular lexical plots and also the influence of English and French, as well as the formation of metaphors, voices of Amerindian origin, a rare phonetic phenomenon and new terms by composition and derivation. Finally, a table is added in which various Sonoran terms are compared with others collected in other latitude.
Abstract: Studies on the fishing lexicon in Mexico are non-existent. There are only some works done in very delimited areas with a fishing tradition that have served as input to develop this research. For that reason I have undertaken this task of compiling those terms that were used and are still used by fishermen in the Mexican state of Sonora. This articl...
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An Overview of Etulo: An Idomoid Language
Chikelu Ihunanya Ezenwafor-Afuecheta,
Inyani Adams
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 3, May 2021
Pages:
133-139
Received:
12 January 2021
Accepted:
19 May 2021
Published:
7 June 2021
Abstract: Etulo is an Idomoid language spoken in two Nigerian states: Taraba and Benue. This work gives an overview of the core linguistic features of Etulo as spoken in Benue state. At the phonological level, we highlight the Etulo sound system, its tonal features, syllable structure and the most common phonological processes attested. At the morphological level, we focus on its derivational morphology which involves morphological processes such as affixation, reduplication and compounding. We give a list of the identified word classes with emphasis on the noun and verbal system. Also discussed, are grammatical features which are considered areal such as its rich class of ideophones and verb serialization. Our findings show that Etulo shares some core structural features with other Idomoid languages such as Idoma. The data used for this study are obtained from Etulo language consultants who are native speakers. We adopt a descriptive approach in the analysis of the Etulo language data.
Abstract: Etulo is an Idomoid language spoken in two Nigerian states: Taraba and Benue. This work gives an overview of the core linguistic features of Etulo as spoken in Benue state. At the phonological level, we highlight the Etulo sound system, its tonal features, syllable structure and the most common phonological processes attested. At the morphological ...
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