Abstract This paper explains that Portuguese is an Indo-European language, which originated from the Vulgar Latin about two thousand years ago. The author points out that, as Christians conquered the peninsula, a lot of the grammar and words used in Spain and France greatly influenced the modern Portuguese language although the morphology and syntax were only slightly changed. The paper reports that Portuguese is a pluricentric language, which varies from its geographic locations but remains one language. The author describes its phonology, vowels, morphology, syntax, lexicon and pragmatics.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
History
Phonology Vowels in Portuguese
Morphology and Syntax
Lexicon
Pragmatics
Conclusion
From the Paper "Notice that there are actually three ways that one may say, "You make" in Portuguese. Vos fazeis is actually very archaic and is only used in Holy Scriptures or when praying to God. If you dare mention this, people would look at you very weird. It is similar to the use of ye in English which no one uses anymore (I hope not!). Now depending whether one is in Portugal or Brazil, the use of tu and voce varies. In the Portuguese spoken in Portugal, this dialect is considered as an honorable title. The pronoun voce is used when speaking to older people or when showing respect."
Abstract This paper discusses phonological awareness. It looks at what phonological awareness is, how it is formed, and what to do if deficits are shown. The problems that occur when there are deficits in phonological awareness are also discussed and ideas for intervention are provided.
From the Paper "Since phonological awareness develops over time, children must be given adequate support to enhance the skill that they are learning at a given time. This is not to say that children can only gain knowledge of one aspect of phonological awareness at a time, but only that skills should be fostered as they develop instead of just pushing the child immediately on to the next skill. Phonological awareness should not be expected to adhere to a strict stage theory of development; "children refine phonological awareness skills they have acquired while they are learning new phonological skills" (Anthony & Francis, 2005, p. 256)."
Abstract This paper discusses the effects on children's developmental progress when they are given systematic explicit instruction in phonemic awareness. It discusses the ways in which phonological awareness and phonemic awareness, including how to teach and assess them, has made an extremely valuable contribution to understanding how to teach reading to all children, including children with learning disabilities or delays in early reading.
From the Paper "Other findings reveal that opportunities to play with language result in the development of phonemic awareness (Wasik 2001). In one 1987 study, young children who were knowledgeable about nursery rhymes and who had opportunities to manipulate sound in language also had well-developed phonemic awareness (Wasik 2001). Nursery rhymes are a natural way to expose children to words that sound the same, and research suggests that by learning rhymes, poems, and jingles, children develop awareness of sounds in words (Wasik 2001). Therefore, natural play with language can encourage children to attend to the sounds that words make (Wasik 2001). Research demonstrates that teaching phonemic awareness to 1st and 2nd graders who have had difficulty reading resulted in significant improvements in their ability to read and spell words, thus it is important for adult to create opportunities for children to learn phonemic awareness (Wasik 2001)."
Abstract This paper discusses the evolution of Greek statues over the centuries. It presents an overview of Greek statuary, focusing on the Archaic period and the High Hellenic period. The paper specifically focuses on and compares the kouros of the Archaic period and the depiction of Demosthenes from the High Hellenic period in order to understand how the changes came about.
Table of Contents:
Overview
The Archaic Period: the Kouros
The High Hellenistic Period: Demosthenes
Comparing Statues
Conclusion
From the Paper "The kouros was never intended to represent a single individual. Instead, such statues were intended to represent a group of people, being that of idealized male youths at the height of their sexually attractive state. However, the statue of Demosthenes is clearly a representation of a single individual. It does not merely represent a group of people, being an idealized representation of the group "philosopher." Rather, the statue of Demosthenes is what Pedley calls a "psychological portrait" (352) of a living being, unlike the ambiguous kouros who exists suspended outside of time."
Abstract Discusses disorders of expressive phonology (the speech-sound system), identifies key aspects of assessment of clinical intervention targeting children with phonological deficits, and the identification of children with speech problems.
From the Paper "Disorders of expressive phonology (i.e., disorders of the speech-sound system) have been identified by Lewis, Freebairn, and Taylor (2000) as the most prevalent communication difficulty observed in young children. "
Abstract This paper explains that, in today's world of information, it is very common for borrowed words, such as Japanese "sushi" or American-English "supermarket", to be adopted as a part of the lexicon of several languages. Every language, the author explains, borrows words because of either the lack of lexical items in the recipient language or the desire for prestige of the dominant donor language. The paper describes and analyzes the Thai language for linguistic features such as not only lexical borrowed items but also certain sound patterns, morphemes, syntactic structures, semantic meanings and orthography.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Lexical Borrowing in Thai
Table: Some Characteristics of Thai Lexicon
Phonological Borrowing
Figure: Two-Way Models of Phonological Borrowing
Morphological Borrowing
Syntactic Borrowing
Semantic Borrowing
Orthographic Borrowing
Figure: Thai Consonant Symbols
Figure: Thai Vowel Symbols
Figure: Thai Tone Marks
Figure: Thai Special Diacritics
Conclusion
From the Paper "As I have introduced earlier, when words are borrowed, the pronunciation also changes. It is remodeled to the conventions of the borrowing language; this process is called by Campbell "adaptation", a foreign sound in borrowed words which does not exist in the receiving language will be replaced by the nearest phonetic equivalent to it in the borrowing language. In the case of Thai language, we can obviously see that a lot of foreign loanwords in Thai have gone through the adaptation process. And there are several results come out of the process."
Abstract This paper is a summary and evaluation of research done by Donald S. Hayes, "Young children's phonological sensitivity after exposure to a rhyming or non-rhyming story", that was published in September, 2001 in the "Journal of Genetic Psychology." The author examines how rhyming effects children's comprehension levels, understanding and concentration in story telling.
From the Paper "When Hayes reviewed the literature, he found assumptions about rhyming stories for young children. It had been assumed in the past that rhyming increased childrens' interest in a story. Previous research had suggested that rhyming interfered with comprehension, and another assumption had been made, that this was caused because the child was paying more attention to the phonological aspects of the story than the content and meaning of the story. Hayes' research found that children who heard the rhymed version of his selected story scored higher on tasks involving phonological similarities (rhyming and clang words), demonstrating that exposure to rhyme increases phonological awareness immediately after the rhymed text is heard."
Abstract The paper starts with a general discussion of reading comprehension and its importance for academic success. Factors involved in reading comprehension, such as phonological memory and word recognition, are examined, as well as other influential forces, such as time limitation and silent reading are outlined. Then the topic of comprehension of fiction versus non-fiction material is explored through a review of the relevant literature.
From the Paper "Literacy and reading comprehension are subjects that have been explored for decades. Through these explorations we have discovered that comprehension is an essential component in the ability of a person to succeed in academia and in life. Comprehension is defined as "the act or action of grasping with the intellect"the capacity for understanding fully.?(The Dictionary) Comprehension is important because it allows us to gain knowledge of new concepts; without comprehension it would be impossible to learn anything.
"This discourse will present a literary review of the aforementioned topic so that we can understand comprehension and the effect of comprehension on academic success. The literature presented will seek to display this information in a manner that will inform and enlighten.
Reading comprehension covers a broad range of topics. For the purposes of this literary review we will seek to explain what comprehension is and the effect that fiction and nonfiction works have on comprehension. This review will use a wide range of sources including journals, digests and academic studies."
Abstract This paper explains how we acquire reading skills, examines and explains lexical and phonological dyslexia and discusses some of the research being done in the area. The paper concludes with a recommendation for programs that could be used to help children with reading disabilities.
From the Paper "Reading is the process of acquiring linguistic meaning from printed or written symbols. These symbols can take a variety of forms. English uses 26 characters that can be combined in a nearly infinite number of possible combinations. Another way to symbolize words is found in the Braille system, which uses patterns or raised dots to represent letters instead of ink on paper. Other languages, such as traditional Japanese and Chinese, use individual symbols that are derivations of visual representations of spoken words, sometimes called pictographs. In fact our society uses some pictographs. Company logos are one example; traffic signs are another."
Tags: linguistic, printed, written, symbols, phonologically, dyslexic, vocabulary, language
Abstract This paper covers the availability of long-term phonological representations that gives rise to the higher memory span for words than non-words according to the Baddeley Working Memory Model.
Abstract Discusses general trends, individual variability in children's phonological development, PA as a precursor to literacy, both reading and writing, and the Reading Recovery Program.
From the Paper "Phonological Awareness: A Precursor to Literacy
Phonological awareness (PA) is defined by Cupples and Iacono (2000) as the ability to focus consciously on the sound structure of language. It is assessed in tasks that involve the manipulation of the ..."
Abstract This study attempts to discern whether a qualitative or quantitative approach to research methodology is appropriate for examining PALS. PALS measures young children's knowledge of important literacy fundamentals, including phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, knowledge of letter sounds, spelling concept of word, word recognition in isolation, and oral passage reading.
Outline
Literature Review: Introduction to Research Methodology
History of Qualitative-Quantitative Research
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research
Education and Literacy
Quantitative Methods
Research in Education
Analysis
Conclusions
From the Paper "In fact, there are many that might argue that a quantitative approach is preferable to a qualitative approach in all situations regardless of the phenomena being studied (Myburgh, Poggenpoel & Van Der Linde, 2001) because it lends itself to less 'subjective analysis.' However further exploration into the matter suggests that qualitative analysis is not subjective in nature and may in fact be the preferred method for research analysis into complex behavioral issues, particularly when the researcher is attempting to determine patterns in behavior and conduct (Myburgh, et. al, 2001).
That there is a great deal of 'opinion' surrounding the issue of both qualitative and quantitative research methodology cannot be argued. Thus research will be examined from both perspectives, qualitative and quantitative, in order to ascertain which methodology is best suited to provide detailed analysis of the PALS program, and in order to determine which methodology should be adopted by the researcher to provide adequate insight into the given phenomena that the researcher is attempting to explore. No conclusions will be made with regard to the legitimacy of either research approach until the final portion of this analysis, where a determination will be made as to whether a qualitative or quantitative approach is more appropriate in this particularly setting."
Abstract This paper explains why anthropological archeologists are interested in cultural evolution, discusses the Spencerian and Darwinian models of cultural evolution, identifies the key characteristics of tribes, chiefdoms, and archaic states, and analyzes what kinds of material remains might archaeologists find most useful in their search for a better understanding of how prehistoric cultural evolution worked.
Abstract This paper describes the use of the word "like" in its two least popular meaning among English lovers and most common form among English speakers: the quotative, as in "and I was like, 'what?'", and the hedge word, as in "I like bombed on that exam". The author points out that, although she feels embarrassed about how her use of the word affects people's perception of her intelligence, she feels very strongly, as others do, that the current uses of the word "like" have very real, even innovative, purposes. The paper relates that the ability of "like" to indirectly quote or relay speech, behavior and thought with one word sets it apart from other words with similar functions. The author states that she sometimes uses the word to be purposely and purposefully imprecise. The paper concludes that informal usages of the English language help communicate sincerity and friendliness and demonstrate a natural process for the standard to eventually become archaic.
From the Paper "But, despite what Lily Thorns may like to believe, the quotative and hedge-word "like" were not born of wealthy teenaged girls from Southern California in the 1980s. In the 1962 novel "A Clockwork Orange" by English author Anthony Burgess, the hedge-work "like" is also frequently used by the narrator, Alex - a young man of high intelligence, in fact. The usage is not exclusively American. I also notice it was used by my aunt and uncle, both of whom are in their 50s and were born and raised in Manchester (as was Anthony Burgess, for that matter), as a hedge word--although usually at the end of their sentences, much like the hedge-phrase "as it were". "
Abstract This paper explores how the Persian Wars changed the society of the Greeks, with a special focus on Athens. It attempts to compare the Archaic and Classical periods socially and culturally by using the Persian War as the fulcrum between Archaic and Classical. It also addresses the Persian War as the instigator of resistance that prompted changes within the classical period. It examines the changes in politics, art, literature, economics and intra-poleis relations.
Outline
Democratic Expansion
'Poliscentrism' vs. Imperialism ? The Athenian Empire
Economics ? Money, Money Makes a Man
The Progression of the Arts: The "Explosive" Archaic and the "Golden Age"
"There is No Growth Without Resistance" ? A Conclusion
From the Paper "The reforms of Solon did little to advance democratic rights for the Athenians, whilst he certainly took the first step in ending debt-bondage, it can hardly be considered a leaping bound for democracy. In 508 BC, Cleisthenes reorganised political groupings into a great number of tribes so as to break the strength of the clans. Cleisthenes then set about embedding main constitutional power in the Assembly; in spite of this the check of power was still held by elected archons and those of the Areopagus who were almost always of the aristocratic elite. The limitation on how far democracy was allowed to go was always in place. The Archaic Period in regards to the fulfilment or expansion of democracy, and certainly in comparison to the changes to be made in the Classical Period was more the planting of a seed - that would be later cultivated by Pericles."
