Conectores sequenciadores em artigos de opinião escritos por vestibulandos: uma questão de marcação linguístia com implicações para o ensino

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior

Political ideologies and attitudes towards income inequality in the US: a critical discourse analysis of CNN and Fox News opinion articles

The topic of the thesis is media discourse about current state if income inequality in the US, and political ideologies as influences behind the discourse. The data consists of four opinion articles, two from CNN and two from Fox News. The purpose of the study was to examine how media represents income inequality as an issue, and if the attitudes conveyed are concerned or indifferent. Previous studies have indicated that the level of income is often seen as a personal responsibility, and such perspective can be linked with Republican ideology. In contrast, the Democrats typically express more concern about the consequences of inequality. CNN has been previously considered to have a Democratic bias, and Fox News has been considered to have Republican bias, which is one reason why these two news channels were chosen as the sources of the data. The study is a critical discourse analysis, and the methods applied were sociocognitive approach, which analyzes the social and cognitive factors affecting the discourse, and appraisal framework, which was applied to scrutinize the expressed attitudes more closely by identifyind specific linguistic features. The appraisal framework includes studying such features as affect, judgment and appreciation, which offer a more detailed analysis on the attitudes present in the articles. The sociocognitive approach, additionally, offers a way of analyzing a more broad context affecting the articles. The findings were then compared, to see if there are differences between the articles, or between the news sites with alleged bias. The findings showed that CNN, with alleged Democratic bias, had a more symphatetic attitude towards income inequality, whereas Fox News, with more Republican views, showed clearly less concern towards the issue. Moreover, the Fox News articles had such dubious claims that the underlying ideology behind the articles could be even supporting of income inequality, as it allows the rich to pursue all the wealth they can without having to give anything away. The results, thus, suggest that the political ideologies may a significant effect on media discourse, which, in turn, may have a significant effect on the attitudes of the public towards great issues that could require prompt measures.

Digging into signs: Developing standard annotation practices for cross-linguistic, quantitative analysis of sign language data. Final Report.

For sign languages used by deaf communities, linguistic corpora have until recently been unavailable, due to the lack of a writing system and a written culture in these communities, and the very recent advent of digital video. Recent improvements in video and computer technology have now made larger sign language datasets possible; however, large sign language datasets that are fully machine-readable are still elusive. This is due to two challenges. 1. Inconsistencies that arise when signs are annotated by means of spoken/written language. 2. The fact that many parts of signed interaction are not necessarily fully composed of lexical signs (equivalent of words), instead consisting of constructions that are less conventionalised. As sign language corpus building progresses, the potential for some standards in annotation is beginning to emerge. But before this project, there were no attempts to standardise these practices across corpora, which is required to be able to compare data crosslinguistically. This project thus had the following aims: 1. To develop annotation standards for glosses (lexical/word level) 2. To test their reliability and validity 3. To improve current software tools that facilitate a reliable workflow Overall the project aimed not only to set a standard for the whole field of sign language studies throughout the world but also to make significant advances toward two of the world’s largest machine-readable datasets for sign languages – specifically the BSL Corpus (British Sign Language, http://bslcorpusproject.org) and the Corpus NGT (Sign Language of the Netherlands, http://www.ru.nl/corpusngt).

Teoria, proposta e aplicação de uma sequência didática em Educação Linguística: trabalhando os conceitos de língua, gramáticas e normas linguísticas no nono ano do Ensino Fundamental

O ensino-aprendizagem da disciplina Língua Portuguesa se apresenta como um desafio para professores e alunos; muito disso se deve à falta de reconhecimento da diversidade linguística (LIMA, 2014). Há uma tendência no ambiente escolar em se valorizar apenas uma norma linguística, ignorando as diferentes normas que fazem parte do convívio em sociedade. Com isso, os discentes entram em conflito, pois aquilo que é apresentado para eles como a Língua Portuguesa está bem distante da sua experiência pessoal com a língua. Em via de eliminar esse conflito, os PCNs e o PNLD estabelecem a inserção do tema variação linguística no conteúdo programático da disciplina Língua Portuguesa. Entretanto, ainda perdura uma lacuna no tratamento desse tema. A preocupação em preencher essa lacuna motivou este trabalho, que teve como objetivo principal propor e aplicar uma sequência didática que abordasse os seguintes temas: língua, gramáticas e normas linguísticas, a fim de contribuir com a realização de uma Educação Linguística eficaz (BAGNO; RANGEL, 2005). Esses três conteúdos principais geraram desdobramentos que proporcionaram a discussão dos seguintes tópicos: variação e preconceito linguísticos. A sequência didática elaborada é composta por oito etapas em que são intercalados momentos de aula expositiva e de atividades lúdicas. A aplicação da proposta de sequência didática ocorreu em uma turma de nono ano do Ensino Fundamental de um CIEP (Centro Integrado de Educação Pública) localizado na Zona Oeste da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. As ferramentas utilizadas para identificar os conteúdos assimilados pelos alunos foram a avaliação da participação da turma e os resultados de quatro atividades específicas. Considerando a complexidade e o ineditismo dos conceitos apresentados na sequência didática, o desempenho da classe foi satisfatório. Os alunos também responderam a dois questionários, um no início da sequência e outro ao final, que tinham o propósito de avaliar se houve mudança com relação ao entendimento da existência de variação linguística e do preconceito linguístico. O primeiro questionário revelou que a maioria dos alunos já havia sofrido e praticado preconceito linguístico; já o segundo mostrou que a maioria dos discentes assimilou a noção de preconceito linguístico e rompeu com a ideia de certo e errado na língua. Como objetivo secundário, este trabalho intentou deixar um legado para professores, pois com esta dissertação a ação não ficará limitada apenas ao nono ano daquele CIEP, mas poderá contribuir com o ensino linguístico de diversas escolas; e para pesquisadores, pois este registro descreve um modelo de trabalho acadêmico em que se pretendeu aplicar o princípio de indissociabilidade entre ensino, pesquisa e extensão. A expectativa é que, somados a trabalhos similares, seja possível abrir um precedente de trabalhos acadêmicos fundamentados teoricamente e desenvolvidos de forma prática, além de realizados com preocupações sociais e educacionais

The role of implicit theories in the formation of expert opinion in portuguese criminal law

Tese de doutoramento, Ciências e Tecnologias da Saúde (Medicina Legal e Ciências Forenses), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina, 2014

Exploration of implicit theories in the formation of expert opinion in portuguese criminal law

This dissertation examines different aspects involved in the formation of psychologists’ expert opinion in the Portuguese criminal justice system, more precisely, as this opinion is reflected in assessment reports. The present dissertation is comprised of three qualitative studies, the first sought to provide a general portrait of a sample of 106 forensic psychological reports as to their overall quality as measured in terms of relevance and coherence. Results show that the formal markers of quality are present in the sample analysed, a certain number of weaknesses have been observed, notably concerning the internal coherence of the reports as well as the relevance of the information reported on. The second study explored the opinions of 17 Portuguese judges and state prosecutors concerning the use they make of this type of forensic report. It appears that they consider these reports to be useful and very credible, specially so when they have been produced under the auspices of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, which is the state forensic institution. Furthermore, it appears that judges and prosecutors were particularly interested in data that allowed for a personalised portrait of the assessee. The third study sought to better comprehend the conceptual bases on which psychologists construct their reports. To this end, an exploratory study was undertaken with a sample of key-actors; the analysis of their interviews shows that they define their judicial mandate as well as the basic concepts that are associated to this mandate in different ways. A theoretical framework provided by an implicit theories model was used to help understand these results.

Linguistic imperialism : a study of language and yoruba rituals in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the king’s horseman

L’objectif de ce mémoire est de démontrer le rôle important de la langue dans la pièce de théâtre Death and the King’s Horseman par l’auteur nigérian Wole Soyinka. Le premier chapitre traite les implications de l'écriture d'un texte postcolonial dans la langue anglaise et revisite les débats linguistiques des années 1950 et 1960. En plus de l'anglais, ce mémoire observe l'utilisation d'autres formes de communication telles que l'anglais, le pidgin nigérian, les dialectes locaux et les métaphores Yoruba. Par conséquent, l'intersection entre la langue et la culture devient évidente à travers la description des rituels. La dernière partie de ce mémoire explore l'objectif principal de Soyinka de créer une «essence thrénodique». Avec l'utilisation de masques rituels, de la danse et de la musique, il développe un type de dialogue qui dépasse les limites de la forme écrite et est accessible seulement à ceux qui sont équipés de sensibilités culturelles Yoruba.

Linguistic relativity in foreign language teaching : a didactic proposal. 'Relatividad linguística en la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras'.

Resumen de la revista

A Linguistic Analysis of Spanglish: Relating Language to Identity.

According to the 2000 census, 35.3 million Hispanics live in the United States. This number comprises 12.5% of the overall population rendering the Latino community the largest minority in the United States. The Mexican community is not only the largest Hispanic group but also the fastest growing: from 1990 to 2000, the Mexican population grew 52.9% increasing from 13.5 million to 20.6 million (U.S. Department of Commerce News, 2001). The influx of Mexican immigrants coupled with the expansion of their community within the United States has created an unparalleled situation of language contact. Language is synonymous with identity (cf. Granger, 2004, and works cited within). To the extent that this is true, Spanish is synonymous with being Mexican and by extension, Chicano. With the advent of amnesty programs such as Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which naturalized millions of Mexican migrants, what was once a temporal migratory population has become increasingly permanent (Durand et al., 1999). In an effort to conserve Mexican traditions and identity, the struggle to preserve the mother tongue while at the same time acculturate to mainstream Americana has resulted in a variant of Spanglish that has received little attention. This paper will examine the variant of Spanglish seen in the greater Los Angeles area and liken it to the bi-national identity under which these Mexican Americans thrive.

Conectores sequenciadores e e aí em contos e narrativas de experiência pessoal escritos por alunos de ensino fundamental: uma abordagem sociofuncionalista

In this dissertation, based on two theoretical frameworks, American functionalism and variationist sociolinguistics, I take as subject the sequence connectors E and AÍ, which has the grammatical function of indicating retroactive-propeller sequenciation of information. I analyze the variable use of these connectors in texts written by students from two public schools in the city of Natal, RN, attending at the time of data collection (the year 2012), two distinct levels of basic education: the sixth and the ninth year. The students who contributed to this research wrote, as part of their activities in the classroom, texts of two narrative genres: narrative of personal experience (non-fictional) and short story (fictional). In addition, these students and their Portuguese teachers answered a test of linguistic attitude in which they gave their opinions regarding the appropriateness of the use of connectors E and AÍ in contexts of speech and writing marked by distinct degrees of formality. The results obtained by means of quantitative analysis showed different tendencies of linguistic, social and stylistic distribution of connectors E and AÍ in the narrative texts written by the students. I related these results to the action of two principles: the principle of persistence, linked to the process of change by grammaticalization, and the principle of stylistic markedness. Besides, I took into account the answers provided by students and teachers to the test of linguistic attitude for refine the interpretation of the results

As construções adverbiais em mente: análise funcionalista e implicações para o ensino de língua materna

This research aims at investigating the constructions with adverbials in ly, based on the view of contemporaneous linguistic functionalism, such as proposed by Givón, Hopper, Thompson, Traugott, Furtado da Cunha, as well as the cognitivist notion of language, through construction grammar support upon the patterns of Goldberg and the prototypes theory. The cognitive functional approach adopted here considers the change as a proper and inherent phenomenon of language and understands the linguistic phenomenon as resulting from effective use of language. Another aspect to be considered to the realization of this study is the fact that the formation adjective + ly is a word construction mechanism really productive, which generates interests on linguistic description. In a particular way, our leading objective is to exam the constructions with adverbials in ly in the context of language in use, in its oral and written forms, looking for to apprehend the meaning multiple manifestations forged in the use. Bearing this in mind, we worked with data from the Corpus Discurso & Gramática (Natal). There are, in the data, adverbs ended in ly that take the signification of mode, as foreseen in traditional models, but there are also other significations, for instance, the modalizador in its different manifestations. The results show that this adverb is a linguistic mark that carries in its constitution the multissêmico and multifunctional character, which interferes extremely in the ordination of this category, assuming a position sometimes pre-verbal, sometimes post-verbal. Other aspect observed refers to the relationship between the adverb and the verb, with emphasis on the compatibility or restriction between them, option which is related to the semantic aspect. The data in analysis legitimate the use in different constructions with adverb ended in ly in various genres, as follows: personal experience narrative, retold narrative, local description, proceeding account, opinion account, both in oral as in written language

O ensino de língua portuguesa no Brasil, segundo João Wanderley Geraldi

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Idéias linguísticas constitutivas do pensamento de João Wanderley Gerardi sobre o ensino de língua portuguesa

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Cross-cultural adaptation and assessment of the reliability and validity of the Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI) for the Brazilian-Portuguese language

The use of patient-orientated questionnaires is of utmost importance in assessing the outcome of spine surgery. Standardisation, using a common set of outcome measures, is essential to aid comparisons across studies/in registries. The Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI) is a short, multidimensional outcome instrument validated for patients with spinal disorders. This study aimed to produce a Brazilian-Portuguese version of the COMI. A cross-cultural adaptation of the COMI into Brazilian-Portuguese was carried out using established guidelines. 104 outpatients with chronic LBP (> 3 months) were recruited from a Public Health Spine Medical Care Centre. They completed a questionnaire booklet containing the newly translated COMI, and other validated symptom-specific questionnaires: Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Roland Morris disability scale (RM), and a pain visual analogue scale. All patients completed a second questionnaire within 7-10 days to assess reproducibility. The COMI summary score displayed minimal floor and ceiling effects. On re-test, the responses for each individual domain of the COMI were within 1 category in 98% patients for the domain 'function', 96% for 'symptom-specific well-being', 97% for 'general quality of life', 99% for 'social disability' and 100% for 'work disability'. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC2,1) for COMI pain and COMI summary scores were 0.91-0.96, which compared favourably with the corresponding values for the RM (ICC, 0.99) and ODI (ICC, 0.98). The standard error of measurement for the COMI was 0.6, giving a "minimum detectable change" (MDC95%) of approximately 1.7 points i.e., the minimum change to be considered "real change" beyond measurement error. The COMI scores correlated as hypothesised (Rho, 0.4-0.8) with the other symptom-specific questionnaires. The reproducibility of the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the COMI was comparable to that of other language versions. The COMI scores correlated in the expected manner with existing but longer symptom-specific questionnaires suggesting good convergent validity for the COMI. The Brazilian-Portuguese COMI represents a valuable tool for Brazilian study-centres in future multicentre clinical studies and surgical registries.