Automaticity, spelling, and second language learning

This study investigated the relationship between a chronometric estimate of automaticity for the spelling of French words (Automaticity) and performance on four tests of French language attainment among a sample of Year 11 students of French as a foreign language. Fifty participants each completed a computerized test of French spelling and attainment tests in four aspects of French language learning: reading comprehension, writing fluency, oral fluency, and aural comprehension. Correlations were significant between Automaticity and performance on all four tests of French language attainment as well as on overall attainment.

Syntactic Structures in Irish-Language Proverbs

In recent years, linguistic studies into the concept of ‘proverbiality’ have provided paremiologists with a more comprehensive understanding of the form and function of proverbial markers in a wide range of languages. Unfortunately, the Irish language has, until now, not featured in any of these linguistic analyses. This paper seeks to re-address this imbalance and to bring the unique structure and style of Irish-language proverbs to the attention of the international community of paremiologistsfor the first time. This research study applies the general methodology adopted by such scholars as Mahgoub (1948), Silverman-Weinreich (1978) and Arora (1984), toa corpus sample of Irish proverbs and provides both a qualitative and quantitative account of the most salient syntactic structures contained in Irish-language proverbs. Proverbial patterns as well as the collocation of proverbial markers are also discussed.