Detecting regular sound changes in linguistics as events of concerted evolution

Background: Concerted evolution is normally used to describe parallel changes at different sites in a genome, but it is also observed in languages where a specific phoneme changes to the same other phoneme in many words in the lexicon—a phenomenon known as regular sound change. We develop a general statistical model that can detect concerted changes in aligned sequence data and apply it to study regular sound changes in the Turkic language family. Results: Linguistic evolution, unlike the genetic substitutional process, is dominated by events of concerted evolutionary change. Our model identified more than 70 historical events of regular sound change that occurred throughout the evolution of the Turkic language family, while simultaneously inferring a dated phylogenetic tree. Including regular sound changes yielded an approximately 4-fold improvement in the characterization of linguistic change over a simpler model of sporadic change, improved phylogenetic inference, and returned more reliable and plausible dates for events on the phylogenies. The historical timings of the concerted changes closely follow a Poisson process model, and the sound transition networks derived from our model mirror linguistic expectations. Conclusions: We demonstrate that a model with no prior knowledge of complex concerted or regular changes can nevertheless infer the historical timings and genealogical placements of events of concerted change from the signals left in contemporary data. Our model can be applied wherever discrete elements—such as genes, words, cultural trends, technologies, or morphological traits—can change in parallel within an organism or other evolving group.

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.

Striking a balance: cultural conflicts or cultural adaptation

This paper explores the cultural representations embedded in the EFL textbooks for Primary English language education in China. In particular, it examines how cultural globalisation and localisation are competing with each other as the educational policy in English attempts to strike a balance between the local culture and ‘western’ culture. Using discourse analysis as an analytical framework, this paper argues that culture as a social construct is constantly evolving and traditions are fused with new cultural values and worldviews brought about by globalisation. As such, the analysis of the textbooks illustrates that culture as a social phenomenon has changed over the decades and glocalisation is gaining new perspectives in English language education in China. Importantly, the analysis shows that new cultural elements have been established and cultural globalisation has taken place when local culture adapt ‘foreign’ cultures to suit local needs. Acknowledging that there are cultural conflicts and competing ideologies in the texts, the paper argues that these conflicts and contradictories can be used to develop students’ critical language awareness and foster their critical analytical abilities. Importantly, the analysis can facilitate the students’ English language learning by providing them with opportunities to read beyond texts per se to cultural politics and practices. Juxtaposing different cultural and ideological perspectives can help students understand that cultural values are socially and politically constructed when they are confronted with complex linguistic and cultural environments in reality.

The Concept of ’Selling/Buying’ in the Russian Linguistic Picture of the World : from standard to sub-standard

The thesis belongs to the field of lexical semantics studies, associated with describing the Russian linguistic world-image. The research focuses on the universal situation of purchase and sale as reflected in the Russian lexical standard and sub-standard. The work deals also with subjects related to the sphere of social linguistics: the social stratification of the language, the structure of sub-standard, etc. The thesis is a contribution to the description of the Russian linguistic world-image as well as to the further elaboration of the conceptional analysis method. The results are applicable in teaching Russian as a foreign language, particularly in lexis and Russian culture and mentality studies.

A Linguistic Analysis of the Written Production of Second Language Learners : The Variation of Article Usage by Adult Chinese Learners of English

This study aims to test Robertson’s lexical transfer principle, which posits that Chinese learners use demonstratives (particularly this) and the numeral one as markers of definiteness and indefiniteness. This is tested by analysing Chinese learners’ written production collected from the Spoken and Written English Corpus of Chinese Learners 2.0 (SWECCL 2.0). The purpose is to understand the variation of article usage by adult Chinese learners of English. More specifically, the study examines to what extent articles, possessive and demonstrative pronouns are used in Chinese learners’ English and how definite and indefinite articles are used by the Chinese learners. Findings suggest that Robertson’s lexical transfer principle was corroborated by the present study. In addition, Chinese learners prefer to use demonstrative determiners, the possessive determiner our, and the numeral one to perform the function of marking definiteness and indefiniteness. In particular, the learners try to use the demonstrative determiners that and this in the anaphoric function instead of the definite article, and the demonstrative determiner those is frequently used in the cataphoric function. What is more, the learners use the numeral one as a marker of indefiniteness, and it is also used as a marker of definiteness in the anaphoric function. Further, the possessive determiner our is used as a marker of definiteness in larger situation uses referring to something unique. To this end, the study is able to show that the definite article is used to perform the function of marking indefiniteness, and in some particular contexts the definite article functions as a Chinese specifier in Chinese learners’ English. Also, the indefinite article is frequently used in quantifier phrases but is rarely used in other functions. There are three main reasons that may explain why Chinese learners use determiners variously. Firstly, the choice of determiners by Chinese learners is influenced by linguistic contexts. Secondly, because of learning strategies, Chinese learners try to ignore the anaphoric function and cataphoric function that they are not yet ready to process in article usage. Thirdly, interlanguage grammar influences the optionality in the use of articles. 

Dialectal Speech in Literature and Translation : Bachelor Degree Thesis in English Linguistics

This essay studies how dialectal speech is reflected in written literature and how this phenomenon functions in translation. With this purpose in mind, Styron's Sophie's Choice and Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are analysed using samples of non-standard orthography which have been applied in order to reflect the dialect, or accent, of certain characters. In the same way, Lundgren's Swedish translation of Sophie's Choice and Ferres and Rolfe's Spanish version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are analysed. The method consists of linguistically analysing a few text samples from each novel, establishing how dialect is represented through non-standard orthography, and thereafter, comparing the same samples with their translation into another language in order to establish whether dialectal features are visible also in the translated novels. It is concluded that non-standard orthography is applied in the novels in order to represent each possible linguistic level, including pronunciation, morphosyntax, and vocabulary. Furthermore, it is concluded that while Lundgren's translation intends to orthographically represent dialectal speech on most occasions where the original does so, Ferres and Rolfe's translation pays no attention to dialectology. The discussion following the data analysis establishes some possible reasons for the exclusion of dialectal features in the Spanish translation considered here. Finally, the reason for which this study contributes to the study of dialectology is declared.

Slogans políticos em campanhas eleitorais no Rio Grande do Norte: a mídia na disputa ideológica.

To the observe the periods of electoral campaigns, we can realize sharply the abundance of political propaganda that announces the candidates, their campaign record, their proposed and everything that can carry them to the victory in the urns. The propaganda is today an essential tool in the votes dispute, in consequence of this, there is, in Brazil, the increasing participation of the Politics Parties in seminars of electoral marketing. They are varied strategies of the media used in the divulging of the candidacies, among them the slogan. Instigated by the explicit relation media/political, this work intends to investigate the ideologies (values) announced by the slogans of political propaganda that circulated in electoral periods. Thus, we base on the theory of the Circle of Bakhtin, who considers the statement as unit of the verbal communication, and that conceives the language as phenomenon dialogical, and, too, in the conceptions of alien words, social voices and dialogical relations formulated by the referred theory. We use, for better to comprehend, the slogan as strategy mediatic, of the classical study done by Olivier Reboul concerning the slogan; and, like starting point of a conception about ideology, studied John Thompson to comprehends the ideological phenomenon. Our corpus it constitutes of 14 political slogans announced in the campaigns for mayor of the cities in Natal and Mossoró, both located in Rio Grande do Norte s state, Brazil, in 1996, 2000 and 2004. For the analysis of these slogans, we consider the social-historical context in which were announced, being contemplated the linguistic and discursive aspect, according to the following methodological order: the identification of alien words (interdiscours); the social voices and the kinds dialogical relations established; and, finally, the ideology announced by the statement. This way, we can arrive to the conclusion that in the electoral context occurs a true ideologies war , in other words, in the political game of an electoral campaign, the slogans announces different values, which vary in several factors function, for example, the historicity, the subject that enunciates, the discursive positionings.

Computational linguistic systematization of a lexicon from the ibitinga embroidery industry conceptual domain

This work discusses a proposition for organizing the lexical items from the conceptual domain labeled THE EMBROIDERY INDUSTRY OF IBITINGA in terms of a natural ontology. It also aims to establish the alignment between this ontology and the bases WordNet.Pr and WordNet.Br. © 2009 IEEE.

Construção de políticas públicas de educação ambiental em Belém do Pará de 1997-2004

Esta dissertação aborda a temática Educação Ambiental para Sustentabilidade, procurando analisar na construção do Programa de Educação Ambiental para Belém (PEAMB), do período de 1997 a 2004, relações, processos e conteúdos que caracterizem o desdobramento de políticas públicas educacionais em relação às políticas internacionais, nacionais e estaduais. A investigação sociológica procurou seguir uma postura interdisciplinar e uma perspectiva dialética para apreender o objeto investigado por meio de revisão bibliográfica e pesquisa documental. Nessa perspectiva, foram contextualizadas, definidas e qualificadas categorias de referência para análise, a saber: Estado ampliado, políticas públicas, Educação Ambiental transformadora e emancipatória; sustentabilidade socioambiental. A Pesquisa documental envolveu o levantamento, a seleção, a coleta, o tratamento e a análise de tratados, legislações, planos, programas, projetos e relatórios construídos no âmbito internacional, nacional (do Brasil), estadual (do Pará) e municipal (de Belém-PA). Os dados constantes nos documentos foram investigados por meio da técnica da análise do discurso, considerando aspectos lingüísticos, sociológicos, políticos e psicológicos do dito e do não dito pelos sujeitos, facilitando a compreensão sobre o teor de conteúdos, intenções e ideologias. Os resultados da pesquisa foram organizados em quatro capítulos: 1. Introdução; 2. A Educação Ambiental no contexto das reformas; 3. Configurando a Educação Ambiental em Belém: ação e emoção; 4. Considerações finais: horizontes e perspectivas da Educação Ambiental em Belém. A análise leva a perceber que em Belém o processo de definição do Sistema Municipal de Educação Ambiental e do PEAMB, indica uma preocupação com os problemas atuais de insustentabilidade e procura concretizar acordos internacionais, bem como determinações nacionais, estaduais e locais que orientem ações de forma qualificadas e comprometidas com a sustentabilidade socioambiental, tendo como referência central o Tratado de Educação Ambiental para Sociedades Sustentáveis e Responsabilidade Global, proposto por Sociedades Civis Organizadas de vários países durante a ECO/92 e reafirmado pelo Governo Federal brasileiro, no Programa Nacional de Educação Ambiental, em 2005. Integração, participação popular e controle social foram elementos centrais identificados no complexo processo de construção do PEAMB, que envolveu acúmulos, confrontos e consensos entre a sociedade política e a sociedade civil, tornando peculiar e importante a experiência analisada, durante a gestão de um Governo de esquerda.

De versos e trovas: análise de aspectos fonoestilísticos do português medieval por meio das “Cantigas de Santa Maria”

Pós-graduação em Linguística e Língua Portuguesa - FCLAR

O futuro do presente no século XIX: uma análise

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A interface música e linguística como instrumental metodológico para o estudo da prosódia do português arcaico

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Pausas e constituintes prosódicos na interpretação de atores

Pós-graduação em Fonoaudiologia - FFC

Pausas na interpretação teatral: delimitação de constituintes prosódicos

We intend to observe the function of a linguistic resource – the pause – in theatrical interpretation. Connected to the field of speech therapy, we search for theoretical support in the Linguistics field, mainly in prosodic phonology – specifically, we highlight intonational phrase and phonological utterance, prosodic constituents –, proposing a dialogue between these fields, regarding the work with actors. In speech therapy literature, the work with actors focuses, centrally, in organic issues involved in the vocal process, such as “misuse” or “voice abuse”. To a smaller extent, we find, in this literature, researches that emphasize issues regarding interpretation and expressive resources, besides a few emphasizing the importance of linguistic resources in interpretation. Differently, in linguistics literature, the pause is approached, to a larger extent, from the phonetic perspective, related to several language levels. In this research, we analyzed audio recordings of four actors from a same theatrical group, acting the theatrical text Brutas flores, focused on these aims: (1) detect the place where pauses happen in the interpretation of a single text by four actors; (2) survey physical characteristics of length of these pauses; (3) check to what extent the length of a pause is related to the place where it happens, regarding the prosodic limits of intonational phrases (I) and phonological utterance (U). We could observe that, although the interpretation is characterized by the subjectivity of the actor, the interpretation is constructed based in the possibilities offered by the prosodic organization of the text itself, being more or less flexible.We were also able to confirm, by considering the length of VVs units containing pauses, the prosodic hierarchy proposed by Nespor & Vogel, once the length of these units in U's limits was significantly higher than the length in I's limits. Thus, our results reinforce the premise that a linguistic structure overlaps the subjectivity of the actor, i. e., the premise that the strength of linguistic structure organization acts on the possible individual operation/style.