Consciência e crítica da linguagem: Graciliano Ramos / Language awareness and criticism: Graciliano Ramos

Uma leitura atenta da ficção de Graciliano Ramos pode revelar uma forma aguda de refletir o mundo através de uma reflexão anterior sobre a própria linguagem da literatura e da sociedade. É uma leitura desse teor que se pretende mostrar, apoiada na conhecida teoria das funções da linguagem de Jakobson. Num jogo constante entre as funções fática e metalingüística, Graciliano Ramos demonstra visível consciência dos problemas de linguagem, cujo tratamento moderno aponta uma postura bastante crítica (via linguagem) perante o homem e a vida. An attentive of Graciliano Ramos’ fiction reveals a deep form of reflection on the world thorough a previous reflection on the very language of literature and society. Such a reading is here attempted based on Jakobson’s well known theory of language functions. In a constante play between the fatic and the metalinguistic function, Graciliano Ramos demonstrates a clear awareness of the problems of language, whose modern treatment points at a very critical poise (via language) before man and life.

English collocations extracted from a corpus of university learners and its contribution to a language teaching pedagogy

Taking into consideration the relevance of foreign language teaching and the learning of collocations (ALTENBERG; EEG-OLOFSSON, 1990; FONTENELLE, 1994; MEUNIER; GRANGER, 2008), this paper aims at showing results of an investigation on whether the teaching of collocations should be implicit or explicit to the Brazilian university students. Furthermore, the research has the purpose of presenting some collocational aspects from a corpus of the written language learners made up of intermediate, upper intermediate and advanced university students' argumentative essays at a public university in Brazil. With the help of WordSmith Tools (SCOTT, 2007), it was possible to raise students' most frequent collocational choices and patterns, the most/least used type of collocations, the influence of the mother tongue on their choices, among other aspects. With the purpose of motivating and involving students in classroom research, it was also introduced The Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), created by Mark Davies. By doing so, students could compare their collocational choices with the patterns found in the online corpus, extract more collocational patterns and, consequently, be aware of the potential of corpora for the foreign learning process, specifically for raising language awareness, with focus on prefabricated chunks.

Brasil, Moçambique e Angola: desvendando relações sociolinguísticas pelo prisma das formas de tratamento

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

DCM Boost interleaved converter for operation in AC and DC to trolleybus application

This paper is based on the development and experimental analysis of a DCM Boost interleaved converter suitable for application in traction systems of electrical vehicles pulled by electrical motors (Trolleybus), which are powered by urban DC or AC distribution networks. This front-end structure is capable of providing significant improvements in trolleybuses systems and in the urban distribution network costs, and efficiency. The architecture of proposed converter is composed by five boost power cells in interleaving connection, operating in discontinuous conduction mode. Furthermore, the converter can operate as AC-DC converter, or as DC-DC converter providing the proper DC output voltage range required by DC or AC adjustable speed drivers. Therefore, when supplied by single-phase AC distribution networks, and operating as AC-DC converter, it is capable to provide high power factor, reduced harmonic distortion in the input current, complying with the restrictions imposed by the IEC 61000-3-4 standards. The digital controller has been implemented using a low cost FPGA and developed totally using a hardware description language VHDL and fixed point arithmetic. Thus, two control strategies are evaluated considering the compliance with input current restrictions imposed by IEC 61000-3-4 standards, the regular PWM modulation and a current correction PWM modulation. In order to verify the feasibility and performance of the proposed system, experimental results from a 15 kW low power scale prototype are presented, operating in DC and AC conditions.

Evaluation of partially dentate patients' knowledge about caries and periodontal disease

Objective: This investigation evaluated the knowledge of dental caries and periodontal disease among removable partial denture (RPD) wearers.Method: A total of 127 partially dentate patients participated in this observational study. A structured questionnaire, which included eight questions referring to knowledge about aetiology and prevention of dental caries and periodontal disease, was developed in the local language (Portuguese) and used to collect the data of all the partial denture wearers. A descriptive analysis of data was performed by means of drafting tables.Results: The results demonstrated that 68.5% of patients interviewed had previously received information about oral health care. With regard to bacterial plaque, it was observed that only 34.6% reported having knowledge of this. Whereas, in relation to caries, 76.4% of the interviewees replied that they knew the meaning of this. Nevertheless, 28.3% referred to caries as a whole in the teeth, 16.5% as bad teeth and 9.4% bacteria/creatures on the teeth. Only 17.3% of the partially edentulous patients evaluated were shown to know what disease of the gingiva was.Conclusion: By means of the methodology applied, it could be concluded that the patients who wore RPDs presented deficient knowledge with regard to the prevention, aetiology and development of dental caries and periodontal disease.

WORD-FINDING DIFFICULTIES, VERBAL PARAPHASIAS, AND VERBAL DYSPRAXIA IN 10 INDIVIDUALS WITH FRAGILE-X-SYNDROME

Speech/language disorders are common in the fragile X syndrome. [Howard-Peebles, 1979: Am J Hom Genet 31:214-222; Renier et al., 1983: J Ment Defic Res 27:51-59; Sparks, 1984: Birth Defects and Speech-Language Disorders, pp, 39-43; Hanson et al., 1986: Am J Med Genet 23:195-206]. Verbal paraphasias have been considered a rare feature and word-finding difficulties have seldom been reported. Here we report on ten Brazilian patients who were evaluated for speech/language disturbances and found that word-finding difficulties were present in 50% of the cases, which is a slightly higher frequency than that of clear dyspraxia. We suggest, therefore, that word-finding difficulties and verbal dyspraxia can be a common feature within the spectrum of this syndrome. Additional speech findings are discussed. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Relational learning in children with deafness and cochlear implants

This four-experiment series sought to evaluate the potential of children with neurosensory deafness and cochlear implants to exhibit auditory-visual and visual-visual stimulus equivalence relations within a matching-to-sample format. Twelve children who became deaf prior to acquiring language (prelingual) and four who became deaf afterwards (postlingual) were studied. All children learned auditory-visual conditional discriminations and nearly all showed emergent equivalence relations. Naming tests, conducted with a subset of the: children, showed no consistent relationship to the equivalence-test outcomes.. This study makes several contributions: to the literature on stimulus equivalence. First; it demonstrates that both pre- and postlingually deaf children-can: acquire auditory-visual equivalence-relations after cochlear implantation, thus demonstrating symbolic functioning. Second, it directs attention to a population that may be especially interesting for researchers seeking to analyze the relationship. between speaker and listener repertoires. Third, it demonstrates the feasibility of conducting experimental studies of stimulus control processes within the limitations of a hospital, which these children must visit routinely for the maintenance of their cochlear implants.

Characterization of language disorders in children with lead poisoning

Background: lead poisoning can have a negative impact on the neuropsychological functions, including language, due to the damage it causes to the developthent of the Central Nervous System. Aim: to verify the occurrence of language disorders in children who suffered from led poisoning and to verify the correlation between the lead concentration level in the blood and the language disorders presented by the children. Method: language evaluation of 20 preschoolers, with lead concentration level in the blood above 10μg/dl. Results: 13 children presented language impairment involving only phonology or more than one language subsystem. The statistical analysis indicated that no correlation exists between the severity of the language impairment and the concentration levels of lead. Conclusion: the number of children with language impairment indicates lead poisoning as a risk factor for the present alterations, even though other risk factors for language disorders were found and the absence of correlation between the investigated variables.

Preschool Language Assessment Instrument, second edition, in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Cooperando com a África, Portugal e Brasil o papel das universidades e de outras redes socioculturais, o caso de Angola

Studies about cooperation between Portugal, Brazil and Angola are recent and controversial, mainly when we see them from the perspective of democratic countries, Republicans and capitalists. From the middle of this decade to this current date, that triangular relationship historic brought many important issues to international geopolitics, particularly those involving the Southern Cone of America and Africa. In that play of interests, the strategicdiplomatic and cultural universities’ role, of the civil society organizations, enterprises and institutions with mixed capital is too important because they are who forged the new Angolan group leader as the nation-state need contribution of human resources, scientific, technological and cultural order to consolidate their position as a regional power in southern Africa.

Balancing immunity and tolerance: genetic footprint of natural selection in the transcriptional regulatory region of HLA-G

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

New readers, new reading skills and meaning: challenges for media and information literacy

Recognizing the importance of developing the information and media literacy in contemporary society, this article discusses the scenario of hybrid languages born on cyberspace, hypertext and the new types of readers who interact with information, now disseminated by digital media. As theoretical references authors such as Lucia Santaella, we develop arguments that present the headquarters of language and thought within a semiotic support. Matrices help to understand the phenomenon of hybrid language in hypertext. Therefore, we emphasize that the development of skills associated with the new reading environments propitiated by the virtual environment requires the understanding of language, which is one of the concepts used within the media and information literacy (MIL) proposal of Unesco, which combines the two concepts and skills of information and media literacy. It is hoped that this article motivate scholars and practitioners of education and information to take responsibility to educate for information environments that arise with new media and technologies, emphasizing the issue of reading and language.