Abstract This paper will discuss the history of lingustics in a structural manner. By showing the influence of Saussure and Chomsky, we can assess developments in this field in the Twentieth Century.
Abstract This paper will discuss the phonology of the British influence of language on the native peoples of Jamaica. This will uncover the root pronunciations that exist in a linguistic format in the island peoples. By realizing the influence of this English language on the natives, we can see how a distinct form of English has been created fro both cultures. By studying the Creole language, we can see the British roots that gave it birth.
Abstract This presents a comparison of two languages, the Thai language spoken in Thailand and the language of the Laotians in Laos. The author of this paper takes the reader through a short explanation of the languages and then a comparison of them.
Abstract This paper explores the subject of multi-linguism. Should educators introduce relatively less spoken, or less learned languages? On the other hand, should they stick simply to the education of the few standard languages?
Abstract This paper traces the history of the English language. Beginning with the Germanic, Norman, and Latin origins, this paper covers the Middle Ages, Romantic, and Elizabethan periods as being the primary defining points in the creation of our modern English language.
This essay is a discussion of the main issues of language planning. The discussion is illustrated with two examples of recent language planning attempts.
Abstract This essay provides an outline of what language planning involves - a deliberate attempt to modify and change the linguistic behavior of a society. It looks at the reasons behind it and the organizations and groups involved in it. It then proceeds to illustrate the discussion using cases from Finland and Norway.
From the Paper "The reasons behind language planning are complex and plentiful, ranging from large-scale modifications to more modest issues. It can be used to provide solutions to complex social problems, to develop national and official languages, and to standardise particular dialects. Language planners can make linguistic modifications so that subgroups of a particular population speaking different varieties of that language are united as a nation. As technology advances, language can be modified in order to address these developments. The reformation of spelling systems, lexical modernisation, and stylistic simplification are examples of language planning. More modest decisions such as which languages are to be used on signposts or which are to be used for educational purposes also involve deliberate modification. However, linguists and others involved in language planning are not always faced with the task of changing a language. There are circumstances in which the revival or preservation of a language involves deliberate attempts to prevent changes from occurring."
Abstract This essay analyzes the grammar of a spoken and written version of a similar recipe using Functional Linguistics ideologies. It focuses on the application of the Register and Genre Theory by J. R. Martin and Suzanne Eggins and the differences between the texts.
Introduction
Clause Complexes
Embeddings
Field
Tenor
Mode
Conclusion
From the Paper "In general, as many linguists have discovered, written text differs from spoken text in various number of ways. Spoken text often include interpersonal interjections and unstructured clauses with embeddings that pile on top of one after another while written text is quite the opposite with less or none interpersonal themes and are more formal, structured and dense. Employing these criteria, texts have been categorized into various genres. The two texts we are about to analyze are that of written and spoken versions of a similar recipe though they do not seem to belong to a similar genre or even the general genre of simply spoken and written texts as they display quite a different set of clause structures and therefore warrants them to be classified into differing genres."
Tags: halliday, linguistics, martin, systemic, text
Abstract This paper summarizes, analyzes, and critiques John Corcoran's work, in which he puts the different definitions of the word "implications" into distinct, well-defined, recognizable contexts. The paper reviews Corcoran's work from the perspectives of history, logic, philosophy, and linguistics.
From the Paper "In his paper, Corcoran lists several "implication" phrases in common English usage which presuppose that the premise ?A? is true and that validates the conclusion B. Corcoran also critiques the philosopher/mathematician Frege in that Frege's thesis on logic is constrained by his instincts. Corcoran avers that Frege included pure logic in his thinking and did not make room for deduction as a major contributor to the concept of implication. ?Frege's strategy was to show that no appeal to intuition is required for the derivation of the theorems of number theory. This in turn required that he show that the latter are derivable using only rules of inference, axioms, and definitions that are purely analytic principles of logic(Ref)??which he did not."
Abstract This paper examines the use of anaphors, an element of language that can only be understood contextually, in the English language. More specifically, an anaphor is defined as an element of speech that depends for its reference on the reference of another element. The paper looks at the syntactic constraints on anaphoric reference and how the use of anaphors can completely change the meaning of a sentence. Also discussed is the importance of sequencing in language and how anaphors refer to sequential aspects of language patterning.
From the Paper "One could argue, of course, that either way, this is irrelevant, as the two ideas are interrelated"when boring people visit one's home, life often feels quite boring, just as visiting boring people can itself be quite boring! However, to determine the precise semantic meaning in a sequential fashion, one must understand the context the speaker is speaking from. Is it that dear Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob are boring people, and the speaker finds these unwelcome visiting relatives to be unpleasant intruders in his or her happy home" Or is the speaker dreading suffering through a visit to these two individuals? home for a dreary Thanksgiving of dry talk and dry turkey?"
Abstract This paper is based on the book, "Wild Minds: What Animals Really Think", by Marc D. Hauser. The book is introduced, then followed by a review and discussion of the book as it applies to this writer's personal experiences. A summary of the research is provided in the conclusion.
From the Paper "Hauser says that animals are much like people in their quest for as much information about the world around them as possible: In one of Rudyard Kipling's charming short stories, he tells us about an elephant child with insatiable curiosity, an elephant who asked so many questions that his relatives spanked him. . . . Although animals may not be as curious as Kipling's elephant child, they are active informavores, digesting and storing relevant information in the service of guiding behavior? (3). In a footnote, Hauser adds that the term, ?informavore,? was coined to describe the "voracity with which we seem to acquire and seek out information" (259). Since we all live in a hostile environment which is far from sterile, it just makes sense that animals and people alike will try to learn as much about their environment as possible to maximize the chances for survival. It is important for some people, for example, to know if there is a job opportunity opening up in the business next door or a bear in that cave, just as it is important to know where the pollen and nectar are for bees. No surprises there. But just how -- how do animals perceive the world around them?"
Abstract This paper examines how the unique American Appalachian dialect is often greatly misunderstood. It looks at how many modern Americans characterize the Appalachian dialect as a corruption of the English language, which is spoken by uneducated and unintelligent hillbillies. Instead, it shows how the Appalachian dialect is more aptly characterized as an archaic type of English that resembles the English spoken in the time of the first Queen Elizabeth. It also discusses how geographical, cultural, and social isolation have kept the Appalachian dialect essentially pure over the past 200 years of America's history and how, today, the Appalachian dialect continues to thrive, preserving one of America's great linguistic traditions.
From the Paper "Currently, the Appalachian dialect is used extensively in the region. The Appalachian dialect spoken today closely in many ways resembles the English that was spoken by the first settlers to America. The isolation of life in the mountains of Appalachia has carried on many traditional attitudes and behaviors, as well as maintaining the dialect of Appalachia (Virgin English). Interestingly, Dial notes that the dialect spoken today is a "watered-down" version of the dialect spoken in earlier times. Perhaps the influence of television, radio, movies, as well as a more transient American population have helped to contributed to changes in the Appalachian dialect seen in the past century."
Abstract This paper explores the theory of Alfred Tarski, which he published in 1936 called "Wahrheitsbegriff". It explains how he investigates the schema of colloquial language and formal language to prove whether such language usage is true in its context and logic or not. It discusses how theorists challenged Tarski's controversial equation, which he presents as his T schema for proving statements/ sentences true. It also states that most theorists disagree with this T schema "p" is true if p.
From the Paper "Tarski presumes that the rule for this equation is true if p is proven false. To achieve the desired result, he put forward the condition that in the T schema if a sentence is S then p is a replica or in another word S= p. However p will have to be untrue for S to be true. In formal language he perceives that correctness means that there is no ambiguity of truthfulness or untruthfulness of the existence of a sentence/phrase. Inconsistency according to him exists when the parts of the sentence does not conform to the object of the sentence (Tarski 1944)."
Abstract This paper presents a thorough explanation of the origins and development of the word "pilot".
From the Paper "A word predating aviation potentially by thousands of years, "pilot" currently connotes the operator of an aircraft. For example, the American Heritage Dictionary defines pilot as ?one who operates or is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight.? All modern English dictionaries, from the Oxford English to the Merriam-Webster to the Gage Canadian, cite aircraft in the first and primary definition of the word pilot, at least in its form as a noun. Pilot is most commonly used as a noun, to denote a person who operates a craft; when the word is used as a transitive verb its meaning tends to be more general. Like many words in the English language, pilot can be traced to more than one linguistic origin: its closest relative seems to be the French word ?pilote,? which itself derives from the Italian word ?pilota.? "
Abstract This paper provides a contrast study of these two translation theories and focuses on their fundamental theoretical assumptions in regard to translations. The contrast also includes a critical analysis of the translation theories. This paper shows that both the Russian Formalist Movement and the Translation Studies Scholars concurred that an ideal translation was supposed to be accurate and consistent as to the receptor language.
From the Paper "These formalists attempted to isolate and define what they called literariness. They focused upon the things they saw as literary facts. They simply separated literary artifacts from other disciplines like psychology, sociology and cultural history. They literally treated books as being human and in a sense having a life of its own and from that aimed to distinguish what was different. In a new text for example, they worked to see the things that made the text new, creative or innovative."
Abstract The project addresses not only the cultural assumptions that are involved in texts used in language teaching, but also the kinds of cultural knowledge and skills that are required by language learners for comprehending and interpreting these texts. The paper looks at the way we conceptualize the world and how it seems to acquire some language-and-culture specific features. The project focuses not only on the different conceptualization of knowledge and experience of the world within different cultures, but also on the way it is fixed in language.
Contents:
General Introduction
Theoretical Assumptions
Practical Implications
Method
Data Analysis
Results and Discussion
References
From the Paper "The variety of interpretations of culture and its relationship to language is a theme of continuing and possibly endless debate. Generally speaking, language is not transparent and neutral. It is a site in which beliefs, values and points of view are produced, encoded and contested. Language thus reflects culture, and language and culture are inseparable. Sherzer (1987) views language as cultural and claims that it is language use in discourse that creates, recreates and modifies culture."
