Is phraseology the third articulation of language? Fresh insights into a theoretical conundrum

Is phraseology the third articulation of language? Fresh insights into a theoretical conundrum Jean-Pierre Colson University of Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium) Although the notion of phraseology is now used across a wide range of linguistic disciplines, its definition and the classification of phraseological units remain a subject of intense debate. It is generally agreed that phraseology implies polylexicality, but this term is problematic as well, because it brings us back to one of the most controversial topics in modern linguistics: the definition of a word. On the other hand, another widely accepted principle of language is the double articulation or duality of patterning (Martinet 1960): the first articulation consists of morphemes and the second of phonemes. The very definition of morphemes, however, also poses several problems, and the situation becomes even more confused if we wish to take phraseology into account. In this contribution, I will take the view that a corpus-based and computational approach to phraseology may shed some new light on this theoretical conundrum. A better understanding of the basic units of meaning is necessary for more efficient language learning and translation, especially in the case of machine translation. Previous research (Colson 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), Corpas Pastor (2000, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2015), Corpas Pastor & Leiva Rojo (2011), Leiva Rojo (2013), has shown the paramount importance of phraseology for translation. A tentative step towards a coherent explanation of the role of phraseology in language has been proposed by Mejri (2006): it is postulated that a third articulation of language intervenes at the level of words, including simple morphemes, sequences of free and bound morphemes, but also phraseological units. I will present results from experiments with statistical associations of morphemes across several languages, and point out that (mainly) isolating languages such as Chinese are interesting for a better understanding of the interplay between morphemes and phraseological units. Named entities, in particular, are an extreme example of intertwining cultural, statistical and linguistic elements. Other examples show that the many borrowings and influences that characterize European languages tend to give a somewhat blurred vision of the interplay between morphology and phraseology. From a statistical point of view, the cpr-score (Colson 2016) provides a methodology for adapting the automatic extraction of phraseological units to the morphological structure of each language. The results obtained can therefore be used for testing hypotheses about the interaction between morphology, phraseology and culture. Experiments with the cpr-score on the extraction of Chinese phraseological units show that results depend on how the basic units of meaning are defined: a morpheme-based approach yields good results, which corroborates the claim by Beck and Mel'čuk (2011) that the association of morphemes into words may be similar to the association of words into phraseological units. A cross-linguistic experiment carried out for English, French, Spanish and Chinese also reveals that the results are quite compatible with Mejri’s hypothesis (2006) of a third articulation of language. Such findings, if confirmed, also corroborate the notion of statistical semantics in language. To illustrate this point, I will present the PhraseoRobot (Colson 2016), a computational tool for extracting phraseological associations around key words from the media, such as Brexit. The results confirm a previous study on the term globalization (Colson 2016): a significant part of sociolinguistic associations prevailing in the media is related to phraseology in the broad sense, and can therefore be partly extracted by means of statistical scores. References Beck, D. & I. Mel'čuk (2011). Morphological phrasemes and Totonacan verbal morphology. Linguistics 49/1: 175-228. Colson, J.-P. (2011). La traduction spécialisée basée sur les corpus : une expérience dans le domaine informatique. In : Sfar, I. & S. Mejri, La traduction de textes spécialisés : retour sur des lieux communs. Synergies Tunisie n° 2. Gerflint, Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, p. 115-123. Colson, J.-P. (2012). Traduire le figement en langue de spécialité : une expérience de phraséologie informatique. In : Mogorrón Huerta, P. & S. Mejri (dirs.), Lenguas de especialidad, traducción, fijación / Langues spécialisées, figement et traduction. Encuentros Mediterráneos / Rencontres Méditerranéennes, N°4. Universidad de Alicante, p. 159-171. Colson, J.-P. (2013). Pratique traduisante et idiomaticité : l’importance des structures semi-figées. In : Mogorrón Huerta, P., Gallego Hernández, D., Masseau, P. & Tolosa Igualada, M. (eds.), Fraseología, Opacidad y Traduccíon. Studien zur romanischen Sprachwissenschaft und interkulturellen Kommunikation (Herausgegeben von Gerd Wotjak). Frankfurt am Main, Peter Lang, p. 207-218. Colson, J.-P. (2014). La phraséologie et les corpus dans les recherches traductologiques. Communication lors du colloque international Europhras 2014, Association Européenne de Phraséologie. Université de Paris Sorbonne, 10-12 septembre 2014. Colson, J-P. (2016). Set phrases around globalization : an experiment in corpus-based computational phraseology. In: F. Alonso Almeida, I. Ortega Barrera, E. Quintana Toledo and M. Sánchez Cuervo (eds.), Input a Word, Analyse the World: Selected Approaches to Corpus Linguistics. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 141-152. Corpas Pastor, G. (2000). Acerca de la (in)traducibilidad de la fraseología. In: G. Corpas Pastor (ed.), Las lenguas de Europa: Estudios de fraseología, fraseografía y traducción. Granada: Comares, p. 483-522. Corpas Pastor, G. (2007). Europäismen - von Natur aus phraseologische Äquivalente? Von blauem Blut und sangre azul. In: M. Emsel y J. Cuartero Otal (eds.), Brücken: Übersetzen und interkulturelle Kommunikationen. Festschrift für Gerd Wotjak zum 65. Geburtstag, Fráncfort: Peter Lang, p. 65-77. Corpas Pastor, G. (2008). Investigar con corpus en traducción: los retos de un nuevo paradigma [Studien zur romanische Sprachwissenschaft und interkulturellen Kommunikation, 49], Fráncfort: Peter Lang. Corpas Pastor, G. (2013). Detección, descripción y contraste de las unidades fraseológicas mediante tecnologías lingüísticas. In Olza, I. & R. Elvira Manero (eds.) Fraseopragmática. Berlin: Frank & Timme, p. 335-373. Leiva Rojo, J. (2013). La traducción de unidades fraseológicas (alemán-español/español-alemán) como parámetro para la evaluación y revisión de traducciones. In: Mellado Blanco, C., Buján, P, Iglesias N.M., Losada M.C. & A. Mansilla (eds), La fraseología del alemán y el español: lexicografía y traducción. ELS, Etudes Linguistiques / Linguistische Studien, Band 11. München: Peniope, p. 31-42. Leiva Rojo, J. & G. Corpas Pastor (2011). Placing Italian idioms in a foreign milieu: a case study. In: Pamies Bertrán, A., Luque Nadal, L., Bretana, J. &; M. Pazos (eds), (2011). Multilingual phraseography. Second Language Learning and Translation Applications. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag (Colección: Phraseologie und Parömiologie, 28), p. 289-298. Martinet, A. (1966). Eléments de linguistique générale. Paris: Colin. Mejri, S. (2006). Polylexicalité, monolexicalité et double articulation. Cahiers de Lexicologie 2: 209-221.

The interaction factor as a challenge for foreign language learning in the technology based education: a pedagogical reflection

The author carries out a pedagogical reflection on how the technology driven distance learning repeatedly neglects the scientific achievements of Second Language Acquisition and Language Pedagogy. Seeing communicative competence as a major goal of a language classroom, she presents the main challenges that the communicative approach poses to distance learning. To this end, a general distance learning theory by Moore is adapted to the needs of language education, through a distinction between three aspects of learner interaction – with the teacher, with other learners and with content. In this three-dimensional paradigm the learner is seen as the main actor of the process, the teacher as a facilitator, the text as a main source of communicative data and the learner autonomy as the fundament of the process.

A tradução do eu e do outro : identidades alteradas pela língua-cultura brasileira

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Letras, Departamento de Línguas Estrangeiras e Tradução, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos da Tradução, 2016.

EXPLICIT WRITTEN CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK AND LANGUAGE APTITUDE IN SLA: IMPLICATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF LINGUISTIC ACCURACY

Most second language researchers agree that there is a role for corrective feedback in second language writing classes. However, many unanswered questions remain concerning which linguistic features to target and the type and amount of feedback to offer. This study examined two new pieces of writing by 151 learners of English as a Second Language (ESL), in order to investigate the effect of direct and metalinguistic written feedback on errors with the simple past tense, the present perfect tense, dropped pronouns, and pronominal duplication. This inquiry also considered the extent to which learner differences in language-analytic ability (LAA), as measured by the LLAMA F, mediated the effects of these two types of explicit written corrective feedback. Learners in the feedback groups were provided with corrective feedback on two essays, after which learners in all three groups completed two additional writing tasks to determine whether or not the provision of corrective feedback led to greater gains in accuracy compared to no feedback. Both treatment groups, direct and metalinguistic, performed better than the comparison group on new pieces of writing immediately following the treatment sessions, yet direct feedback was more durable than metalinguistic feedback for one structure, the simple past tense. Participants with greater LAA proved more likely to achieve gains in the direct feedback group than in the metalinguistic group, whereas learners with lower LAA benefited more from metalinguistic feedback. Overall, the findings of the present study confirm the results of prior studies that have found a positive role for written corrective feedback in instructed second language acquisition.

Investigating stratification, language diversity and mathematics classroom interaction

Research on the socio-political dimensions of language diversity in mathematics classrooms is under-theorised and largely focuses on language choice. These dimensions are, however, likely to influence mathematics classroom interaction in many other ways than participants’ choice of language. To investigate these influences, I propose that the notions ofheteroglossia, orders of indexicality and scale-jumping, can provide new theoretical tools with which to understand the links between classroom interaction and broader social patterns of marginalisation. To illustrate the utility of these ideas, I include some analysis of an episode observed in a sheltered elementary school second language mathematics classroom in Canada.

O reordenamento político e cultural do povo kokama : a reconquista da língua e do território além das fronteiras entre o Brasil e o Peru

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Letras, Departamento de Linguística, Português e Línguas Clássicas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística, 2016.

A Comparison of the Effects of Classroom and Multi-User Virtual Environments on the Perceived Speaking Anxiety of Adult Post-Secondary English Language Learners

The population of English Language Learners (ELLs) globally has been increasing substantially every year. In the United States alone, adult ELLs are the fastest growing portion of learners in adult education programs (Yang, 2005). There is a significant need to improve the teaching of English to ELLs in the United States and other English-speaking dominant countries. However, for many ELLs, speaking, especially to Native English Speakers (NESs), causes considerable language anxiety, which in turn plays a vital role in hindering their language development and academic progress (Pichette, 2009; Woodrow, 2006). Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT), such as simulation activities, has long been viewed as an effective approach for second-language development. The current advances in technology and rapid emergence of Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) have provided an opportunity for educators to consider conducting simulations online for ELLs to practice speaking English to NESs. Yet to date, empirical research on the effects of MUVEs on ELLs’ language development and speaking is limited (Garcia-Ruiz, Edwards, & Aquino-Santos, 2007). This study used a true experimental treatment control group repeated measures design to compare the perceived speaking anxiety levels (as measured by an anxiety scale administered per simulation activity) of 11 ELLs (5 in the control group, 6 in the experimental group) when speaking to Native English Speakers (NESs) during 10 simulation activities. Simulations in the control group were done face-to-face, while those in the experimental group were done in the MUVE of Second Life. The results of the repeated measures ANOVA revealed after the Huynh-Feldt epsilon correction, demonstrated for both groups a significant decrease in anxiety levels over time from the first simulation to the tenth and final simulation. When comparing the two groups, the results revealed a statistically significant difference, with the experimental group demonstrating a greater anxiety reduction. These results suggests that language instructors should consider including face-to-face and MUVE simulations with ELLs paired with NESs as part of their language instruction. Future investigations should investigate the use of other multi-user virtual environments and/or measure other dimensions of the ELL/NES interactions.

English, Swedish or both? : An empirical study on teachers’ choice of language in the EFL classroom

There are different ideas when it comes to the use of either Swedish or English during EFL lessons. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate teachers’ choice of language in the upper elementary EFL classroom in Swedish schools and their arguments for the use of one or the other. In order to find out which language different teachers use and why, semi-structured interviews with six different teachers were carried out. All respondents were currently teaching English in grade 4-6. The results of the study show that the teachers’ most commonly used language in the EFL classroom is English. However, several of the teachers mention that they also use Swedish, for example when it comes to explaining difficult instructions or grammar. All teachers participating in this study mention the importance of hearing and using English in order for the pupils to learn English and therefore they try to use mostly English. Nevertheless, this study only has six participants, all living in the same county and working at schools with many similarities, which makes it difficult to draw any generalizable conclusions. To be able to draw better conclusions, a study would have to be conducted with more participants within a larger area.

Italian higher education students’ perspectives on internationalization at home and their identity as English as lingua franca users

This study aims to explore the Italian students’ perspectives on using English in English-medium instruction (EMI) programs in light of the practices of internationalization at home (IaH) at the University of Bologna (UNIBO) in Italy and further investigates whether these attitudes affect their language identity as English as lingua franca (ELF) users. To serve this aim, a mixed-method approach was adopted to collect quantitative and in-depth qualitative data in two phases through an online survey and a semi-structured interview. A total number of 78 Italian students participated in the survey, out of which 14 participants were interviewed. The findings of the online survey indicated that most participants (92%) held a positive perspective toward the use of English in EMI programs and the findings from the interviews were in line with the results of the survey. However, the purpose of the interviews was to explore the participants’ views on their language identity as ELF users. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed that students experience emotional, cognitive, and social transitions in EMI programs in response to their shift from a non-EMI to an EMI academic setting. Overall, all the above-mentioned transitions were positive and could lead to personal development. However, it can be concluded that the EMI context provides few opportunities for the emergence of significant new subject positions mediated by English in this study. The focus on students’ perspectives on the use of English in EMI programs can contribute to the improvement in language policy planning and internationalized curriculum design by policymakers and alleviate tensions over the controversial issue of the Englishization of higher education by considering how EMI students perceive their use of English as ELF users not superior standard English users.

O papel da interação no processo de ensino-aprendizagem de português para alunos surdos em uma escola inclusiva

In this article, it is discussed the role of interaction in the process of teaching and learning Portuguese of deaf students at an inclusive school. In the context where the research took place, the hearing teacher does not understand sign language, and there are, in her classroom, hearing students and four deaf students, being three of them sign language users. As the communication between the hearing teacher and the deaf students occurred in different codes - Portuguese and Brazilian sign language - and having a social-interactional approach of language (MOITA LOPES, 1986; FREIRE, 1999), we observed if the interaction among the subjects enabled the deaf students to understand what was being taught. The results showed that the fact of having four deaf students in the same classroom allowed them to work in a cooperative way. Besides, the sign language became more visible in this institution. On the other hand, the interaction between the teacher and her deaf students revealed to be of little significance to the learning process of this small group.

Subject/Object Asymmetry in the Comprehension of English Relative Clauses by Japanese Learners of English

While a number of studies have shown that object-extracted relative clauses are more difficult to understand than subject-extracted counterparts for second language (L2) English learners (e.g., Izumi, 2003), less is known about why this is the case and how they process these complex sentences. This exploratory study examines the potential applicability of Gibson's (1998, 2000) Syntactic Prediction Locality Theory (SPLT), a theory proposed to predict first language (L1) processing difficulty, to L2 processing and considers whether the theory might also account for the processing difficulties of subject- and object-extracted relative clauses encountered by L2 learners. Results of a self-paced reading time experiment from 15 Japanese learners of English are mainly consistent with the reading time profile predicted by the SPLT and thus suggest that the L1 processing theory might also be able to account for L2 processing difficulty.

The Coefficient of Variance as an index of L2 lexical processing skill

The Coefficient of Variance (mean standard deviation/mean Response time) is a measure of response time variability that corrects for differences in mean Response time (RT) (Segalowitz & Segalowitz, 1993). A positive correlation between decreasing mean RTs and CVs (rCV-RT) has been proposed as an indicator of L2 automaticity and more generally as an index of processing efficiency. The current study evaluates this claim by examining lexical decision performance by individuals from three levels of English proficiency (Intermediate ESL, Advanced ESL and L1 controls) on stimuli from four levels of item familiarity, as defined by frequency of occurrence. A three-phase model of skill development defined by changing rCV-RT.values was tested. Results showed that RTs and CVs systematically decreased as a function of increasing proficiency and frequency levels, with the rCV-RT serving as a stable indicator of individual differences in lexical decision performance. The rCV-RT and automaticity/restructuring account is discussed in light of the findings. The CV is also evaluated as a more general quantitative index of processing efficiency in the L2.

University of Queensland Working Papers in Linguistics

University of Queensland Working Papers in Linguistics is an opportunity to share and showcase ongoing research by staff, students, and associates of UQ’s Linguistics program, housed in the School of English, Media Studies, and Art History. This, the first volume, covers a number of topics ranging from formal syntactic theory to second language acquisition, and is representative of the broad spectrum of research that is carried out at The University of Queensland. While the papers herein represent works in progress, they have all been reviewed by two peer assessors, and revised in accordance with the assessors’ reports.

Perceptions of kanji learning strategies: Do they differ among Chinese character and alphabetic background learners

This study investigates three important issues in kanji learning strategies; namely, strategy use, effectiveness of strategy and orthographic background. A questionnaire on kanji learning strategy use and perceived effectiveness was administered to 116 beginner level, undergraduate students of Japanese from alphabetic and character backgrounds in Australia. Both descriptive and statistical analyses of the questionnaire responses revealed that the strategies used most often are the most helpful. Repeated writing was reported as the most used strategy type although alphabetic background learners reported using repeated writing strategies significantly more often than character background learners. The importance of strategy training and explicit instruction of fundamental differences between character and alphabetic background learners of Japanese is discussed in relation to teaching strategies. [Author abstract]