Lire l'oral : pour une typologie linguistique des représentations écrites de l'oralité (le cas du français)

Cette thèse propose de passer en revue les modalités de la représentation écrite de l'oralité en français. La pratique littéraire constitue le matériau et l'horizon de la théorisation. La problématique - comment l'écrit représente-t-il l'oral ? - est d'abord située et reformulée dans le cadre de la linguistique de la parole (I). Les rapports entre oralité et scripturalité sont ensuite étudiés sous trois angles. L'angle biotechnologique compare la matérialité et l'affordance des signaux graphiques et des signaux acoustiques (II 1). L'examen sémiotique reconnaît dans le français écrit un système dit phonographique dont la fonction est de représenter l'expression des signes du français oral. Sont analysées alors les relations entre les systèmes de signes impliqués, la diversité des actualisations possibles du système phonographique (effets d'écoute), ainsi que diverses sémiotiques analogiques (II 2). On étudie ensuite le rôle de la prosodie dans la lecture. La position adoptée est la suivante : bien qu'elle soit facultative dans l'activité de lecture, la prosodie est spécialement sollicitée par des écrits qu'on peut caractériser linguistiquement. L'interprétation prosodique apporte à ces écrits un surcroît de signification en même temps qu'il produit un mode spécifique de représentation de l'oral appelé effet prosodique (II 3). L'angle sémantique est esquissé finalement : il conduit à dégager deux modalités de représentation supplémentaire. Pour la première, l'oral se situe sur le plan sémantico-référentiel de l'expression écrite (écrire à propos d'oral) ; pour la seconde, l'oral est un extérieur discursif modalisant le dire écrit : l'écrit est reconnu comme énoncé à la manière de l'oral (effet de style oral). - This PhD thesis attempts to review the modalities of orality in written representation. Literary writings act as the material for theorization. First of all, the thesis statement - how does writing represent oral - is situated and then, reformulated within the frame of linguistique de la parole (the linguistic field of speech) (I). The connections between orality and writing are then studied under three angles. The biotechnological angle compares the materiality and the affordance of graphic signs and acoustic signals (II 1). A semiotic examination acknowledges, in French, a phonographical system whose function is to represent the expression of French oral signs. Thus, the relationships between the systems of implicated signs, the diversity of possible actualisations of the phonographic system (voice effects), as well as various analogical semiotics are analysed (II 2). Furthermore, the role of prosody is studied within reading. The stand taken is the following : even though it is optional during a reading activity, prosody is especially sought-after by linguistically characterised writings. The prosodie interpretation brings to these writings a surge of signification while producing a specific mode of oral representation called the prosodie effects (II 3). The semantic angle is finally drawn : it leads to two additional modalities of representation. For the first part, speech is located on the semantic and referential plan of the written expression (writing about speech); as for the second part, spoken language is a discursive exteriority : writing is recognised as an oral-like utterance {oral-like effect).

Psychometrics of the Dyadic Coping Inventory in three language groups

This article introduces the Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI; Bodenmann, 2008) and aims (1) to investigate the reliability and aspects of the validity of the Italian and French versions of the DCI, and (2) to replicate its factor structure and reliabilities using a new Swiss German sample. Based on 216 German-, 378 Italian-, and 198 French-speaking participants, the factor structure of the original German inventory was able to be replicated by using principal components analysis in all three groups after excluding two items in the Italian and French versions. The latter were shown to be as reliable as the German version with the exception of the low reliabilities of negative dyadic coping in the French group. Confirmatory factor analyses provided additional support for delegated dyadic coping and evaluation of dyadic coping. Intercorrelations among scales were similar across all three languages groups with a few exceptions. Previous findings could be replicated in all three groups, showing that aspects of dyadic coping were more strongly related to marital quality than to dyadic communication. The use of the dyadic coping scales in the actor-partner interdependence model, the common fate model, and the mutual influence model is discussed.

Well, you have hepatic metastases: Use of technical language by medical students in simulated patient interviews.

OBJECTIVE: This research explored medical students' use and perception of technical language in a practical training setting to enhance skills in breaking bad news in oncology. METHODS: Terms potentially confusing to laypeople were selected from 108 videotaped interviews conducted in an undergraduate Communication Skills Training. A subset of these terms was included in a questionnaire completed by students (N=111) with the aim of gaining insight into their perceptions of different speech registers and of patient understanding. Excerpts of interviews were analyzed qualitatively to investigate students' communication strategies with respect to these technical terms. RESULTS: Fewer than half of the terms were clarified. Students checked for simulated patients' understanding of the terms palliative and metastasis/to metastasize in 22-23% of the interviews. The term ambulatory was spontaneously explained in 75% of the interviews, hepatic and metastasis/to metastasize in 22-24%. Most provided explanations were in plain language; metastasis/to metastasize and ganglion/ganglionic were among terms most frequently explained in technical language. CONCLUSION: A significant number of terms potentially unfamiliar and confusing to patients remained unclarified in training interviews conducted by senior medical students, even when they perceived the terms as technical. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This exploration may offer important insights for improving future physicians' skills.

Mynodbcsv: Lightweight Zero-Config Database Solution for Handling Very Large CSV Files.

Volumes of data used in science and industry are growing rapidly. When researchers face the challenge of analyzing them, their format is often the first obstacle. Lack of standardized ways of exploring different data layouts requires an effort each time to solve the problem from scratch. Possibility to access data in a rich, uniform manner, e.g. using Structured Query Language (SQL) would offer expressiveness and user-friendliness. Comma-separated values (CSV) are one of the most common data storage formats. Despite its simplicity, with growing file size handling it becomes non-trivial. Importing CSVs into existing databases is time-consuming and troublesome, or even impossible if its horizontal dimension reaches thousands of columns. Most databases are optimized for handling large number of rows rather than columns, therefore, performance for datasets with non-typical layouts is often unacceptable. Other challenges include schema creation, updates and repeated data imports. To address the above-mentioned problems, I present a system for accessing very large CSV-based datasets by means of SQL. It's characterized by: "no copy" approach - data stay mostly in the CSV files; "zero configuration" - no need to specify database schema; written in C++, with boost [1], SQLite [2] and Qt [3], doesn't require installation and has very small size; query rewriting, dynamic creation of indices for appropriate columns and static data retrieval directly from CSV files ensure efficient plan execution; effortless support for millions of columns; due to per-value typing, using mixed text/numbers data is easy; very simple network protocol provides efficient interface for MATLAB and reduces implementation time for other languages. The software is available as freeware along with educational videos on its website [4]. It doesn't need any prerequisites to run, as all of the libraries are included in the distribution package. I test it against existing database solutions using a battery of benchmarks and discuss the results.

Sign language in Landau-Kleffner syndrome.

This article reviews the history of sign language (SL) and the rationale for its use in children with profound auditory agnosia due to Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS), illustrated by studies of children and adults followed for many years and rare cases from the literature. The reasons that SL was successful and brought some children out of isolation while it could not be implemented in others are discussed. The nowadays earlier recognition and treatment of LKS and better awareness of the crucial need to maintain communication have certainly improved the outcome of affected children. Alternatives to oral language, even for less severe cases, are increasingly accepted. SL can be learned at different ages with a clear benefit, but the ambivalence of the patients and their families with the world and culture of the deaf may sometimes explain its refusal or limited acceptance. There are no data to support the fear that SL learning may delay or prevent oral language recovery in children with LKS. On the contrary, SL may even facilitate this recovery by stimulating functionally connected core language networks and by helping speech therapy and auditory training.

Interactive readings of children's literature in day care: Microgenetic analysis of the semiopictorial construction.

In line with educational issues involved in emergent literacy practices in preschool, in particular those concerning comprehension processes, this paper focuses on picture-based narrative comprehension during an interactive reading session of a wordless picture book, involving a group of children aged three and their teacher. Children are asked to make inferences about the meaning and outcome of the story, a procedure which gradually elicits their responses on how events link together, thus enhancing their capacity to use prior and implicit knowledge to build the story meaning. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of interaction for developing comprehension. Data collected was analysed following didactic microgenesis, an analytical approach showing that knowledge built during interaction depends on the joint construction of a zone of common meaning by which teacher and children try to adjust to each other. In order to help the process of merging different meanings of the story built online, a text written by researchers, following the narrative structure of the story, was read by the teacher after the picture-based reading. This led us to examine through interactional analysis which semiotic cues were used during recall on the following day, as an additional measure of knowledge construction.

Impact of relative size and language on the attitudes between nations and linguistic groups : The case of Switzerland

This study explores the impact of relative size on the intra- and intergroup attitudes of groups who either share a language or have a different language. For that purpose, we examined international attitudes, comparing a small nation, Switzerland, and two larger nations, Germany and France. We found support for the assumption that large neighbouring nations pose a threat to the smaller nation's identity, especially when they are linguistically similar. Consequently, in line with Tajfel's Social Identity Theory (1978), the smaller nation's inhabitants evaluate those of the larger nation less positively, liking them less and perceiving them to be more arrogant than vice versa. By investigating the special case of the French-speaking and the German-speaking Swiss as linguistic groups within their own nation we were able to demonstrate that these groups seek support with the larger-linguistically-similar nation to defend themselves against the more direct in-country threat to their identity. They acknowledge the similarity with the larger nation, yet keep defending their social identity by expressing a dislike for this perceived similarity.

The role of epilepsy in early language development in a child with a congenital lesion in the right hemisphere

Early epilepsy is known to worsen the developmental prognosis of young children with a congenital focal brain lesion, but its direct role is often very difficult to delineate from the other variables. This requires prolonged periods of follow-up with simultaneous serial electrophysiological and developmental assessments which are rarely obtained. We studied a male infant with a right prenatal infarct in the territory of the right middle cerebral artery resulting in a left spastic hemiparesis, and an epileptic disorder (infantile spasms with transient right hemihypsarrhythmia and focal seizures) from the age of 7 months until the age of 4 years. Pregnancy and delivery were normal. A dissociated delay of early language acquisition affecting mainly comprehension without any autistic features was documented. This delay was much more severe than usually expected in children with early focal lesions, and its evolution, with catch-up to normal, was correlated with the active phase of the epilepsy. We postulate that the epilepsy specifically amplified a pattern of delayed language emergence, mainly affecting lexical comprehension, reported in children with early right hemisphere damage.