Language lateralisation increases with age in very preterm born 7-12 year-olds but not in term born control children

Background: Neural structural abnormalities as well as cognitive difficulties in language processing have been described in children born very preterm (<32 weeks of gestational age and/or <1500 g birth weight). These findings raise the question how premature birth is related to neural language organisation and lateralisation. The aim of the study was to test the following hypotheses: a) VPT/VLBW and control children show different language organisation b) language organisation in VPT/VLBW children is more bilateral compared to language organisation in control children c) positive correlations between language performance measures and language lateralisation exist in VPT/VLBW children and controls. Method: Brain activity was measured during a phonologic detection task in 56 very preterm born children and 38 term born control children aged 7 to 12 years using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. General IQ, verbal IQ, verbal fluency and reading comprehension were assessed outside the scanner. Results: Language organisation and lateralisation did not differ in very preterm and control children in overall comparisons. However, in very preterm children lateralisation increased between the age of 7 to 12 years. This correlation was not found in control children. Language organisation in very preterm children was bilateral in young children and left-sided in old children, whereas language organisation in control children was left-sided in the young and old age group. Frontal lateralisation correlated with General IQ in controls, but no other correlations between lateralisation and verbal performance were found. Discussion: The results of this study suggest different developmental patterns of language processing in very preterm born and term born control children. While very preterm born children showed atypical language organisation and lateralisation in younger years, typical left-sided patterns were found at the age of 12 years.

Gender-fair language use in online job advertisements - relations to job status and gender equality

Purpose Gender fair language use in job advertisements has been shown to impact the outcome of personnel selections. It is thus important to assess, to what extent gender fair language is used in job advertisements and with which factors it is associated, e.g., language, culture, status, and gender typicality of profession. Design/Methodology In the present research we investigated gender fair language use in job advertisements published online in four European countries with different socio-economic rankings of gender equality (World Economic Forum, 2011), namely Austria (rank 34), Czech Republic (75), Poland (42), and Switzerland (10). From four lines of business with different percentages of female employees – steels/metals, science, restaurants/food services, and health care –we randomly selected 100 job advertisements, summing up to 1600 job advertisements in total. Results A first analysis of the Swiss data indicates that the phrasing of job advertisements is closely related to a profession’s gender typicality (e.g., merely masculine forms are used in steels and metals, gender-fair forms in healthcare). Feminine forms however are almost never used. Cross-cultural comparisons will be presented. Limitations We analyzed job advertisements of four specific lines of business in four European countries. To what extend results can be generalized remains an open question. Research/Practical Implications The present data provide a sound basis for future studies on gender fair language use in job advertisements. Furthermore it sheds a light on how companies comply with national guidelines of gender equality. Originality/Value This is the first time that gender fair language use in job advertisements is investigated (a) across different countries and languages and (b) considering status and gender typicality of professions.

Clitics, affixes, and wordhood in Garifuna (Arawak): A multidimensional continuum of morphosyntactic boundness

Recent research on wordhood and morphosyntactic boundness suggests that the domains word and clitic do not lend themselves to cross-linguistic categorization but must be defined language specifically. In most languages, it is necessary to define word on two separate levels, the phonological word (p-word) and the grammatical word (g-word), and to describe mismatches between the two. This paper defines those domains for Garifuna, an Arawak language spoken in Honduras, Central America. Garifuna has auxiliary and classifier constructions which make up two p-words, and only one g-word. P-words made up of more than one g-word involve second position enclitics, word scope clitics, and proclitic connectives and prepositions. Garifuna clitics are typically unstressed, able to attach to hosts of any word class and able to string together into clusters. Enclitics are used to express tense-aspect, modality, and adverbial meanings, among others. In other languages, clitic clusters tend to display a fixed order; Garifuna clitic order seems quite free, although certain orders are preferred. Also, contrary to cross-linguistic tendencies, proclitic connectives can act as hosts for enclitic clusters, contradicting the commonly used definition of clitics as phonologically weak elements that need to attach to a host to form a p-word; such clitic-only p-words are problematic for traditional definitions of clitics.

Beyond sexist beliefs: How do people decide to use gender-inclusive language?

When people use generic masculine language instead of more gender-inclusive forms, they communicate gender stereotypes and sometimes exclusion of women from certain social roles. Past research related gender-inclusive language use to sexist beliefs and attitudes. Given that this aspect of language use may be transparent to users, it is unclear whether people explicitly act on these beliefs when using gender-exclusive language forms or whether these are more implicit, habitual patterns. In two studies with German-speaking participants, we showed that spontaneous use of gender-inclusive personal nouns is guided by explicitly favorable intentions as well as habitual processes involving past use of such language. Further indicating the joint influence of deliberate and habitual processes, Study 2 revealed that language-use intentions are embedded in explicit sexist ideologies. As anticipated in our decision-making model, the effects of sexist beliefs on language emerged through deliberate mechanisms involving attitudes and intentions.

Taboo Language and Illness Online: The Use of Specific Emoticons and Graphic Signs to Talk about HIV/AIDS in South Africa

South Africa is one of the countries most affected by HIV/AIDS: According to 2014 UNAIDS data 6.8 million South Africans live with HIV/AIDS, which means a 18.9% prevalence rate among adults (15-49 years old). Despite this strong presence of HIV/AIDS in South African society it remains relatively stigmatized and is not openly talked about. The silence about HIV/AIDS maintained in everyday conversations and the superstitions associated with this illness have led to the creation of a taboo language. This study aims at shedding light on how South African users resort to specific emoticons and graphic signs to talk about HIV/AIDS online. For this purpose 368 Facebook status updates and comments concerning HIV/AIDS and its side effects were analysed. All participants, aged 14-48, lived at the moment of data collection in Cape Town, in the Cape Flats area. The online conversations investigated are mainly in English mixed with Afrikaans and/or Xhosa. The emoticons and graphic signs in most cases display a graphic depiction of the physical (and mental) effects of the illness. These linguistic and semiotic practices employed on Facebook provide insight into how Capetonian users, on the one hand, express solidarity and sympathy with people suffering from HIV/AIDS. On the other hand, the emoticons and graphic signs are used to label and position people affected by HIV/AIDS. Thus, in the South African context social network sites have become an important space and means for communicating HIV/AIDS issues.