As Línguas de Cabo Verde: uma Radiografia Sociolinguística

Esta dissertação constitui um estudo de caso, exploratório e de carácter descritivo. Tem como objectivo fazer uma radiografia sociolinguística de Cabo Verde, particularmente centrada no actual uso das duas línguas faladas no arquipélago, o português (PCV) e o crioulo cabo-verdiano (LCV). A linha de pesquisa adoptada inspira-se fortemente nos estudos de macrosociolinguística, tomando a situação de contacto de línguas, caracterizadora da sociedade cabo-verdiana, como ponto de partida para o enquadramento de um conjunto de questões seleccionadas para investigação mais aprofundada. São, assim, explorados os processos implicados nesta situação de contacto concreta e os resultados linguísticos decorrentes da mesma, como o bilinguismo ou a diglossia (cf. Cap. 3). Recorrendo a contributos teóricos de áreas associadas e complementares (cf. Cap. 1), foca-se a importância da análise dos domínios em que cada uma das línguas é usada, das redes sociais dos falantes ou das suas atitudes linguísticas. A investigação partiu de uma recolha de dados realizada para o efeito, nas nove ilhas habitadas. As unidades de análise retidas correspondem a uma amostragem de dois grupos sociais distintos: falantes jovens, alunos do ensino secundário (inquiridos por questionário), e falantes adultos cuja profissão implica uma intensa actividade linguística (professores e ‘líderes’, inquiridos por entrevistas semi-dirigidas). Foi usada uma metodologia de recolha o mais rigorosa possível e adoptado o tratamento estatístico de dados (cf. Cap. 2). O confronto dos comportamentos linguísticos e das atitudes das duas gerações inquiridas, com diferentes características (cf. Introdução), forneceu importantes informações sobre a dinâmica linguística da sociedade cabo-verdiana, conclusões essas que serão importantes para a definição de orientações no âmbito da política linguística (cf. Cap. 5). É apresentada, como complemento, uma análise exploratória de alguns aspectos sintácticos atestados nas produções dos indivíduos inquiridos com instrução superior (cf. Cap. 4), um contributo, embora modesto, para a definição da variedade padrão do PCV

Benvenuto Terracini y Demetrio Gazdaru : Dos lecturas desplazadas del archivo glotológico de Graziadio Isaia Ascoli

En este trabajo proponemos centrarnos en dos intervenciones de lectura sobre la obra del lingüista italiano Graziadio Isaia Ascoli, producidas por lingüistas europeos instalados en la Argentina: el italiano Benvenuto Terracini, que ejerció como profesor de Lingüística en la Universidad de Tucumán entre 1941 y 1946, y el rumano Demetrio Gazdaru, que fue docente de materias lingüísticas en diferentes universidades del país desde 1949 hasta 1973. Entendemos esas relecturas como un momento sustancial en los respectivos diseños de la historia de los estudios sobre el lenguaje que ambos especialistas llevan adelante en ámbito argentino. Asimismo, interrogamos esas relecturas como dos intervenciones por la definición de un saber lingüístico legítimo desde lugares periféricos, en la medida en que apuntalan una tradición romanista alternativa a las diferentes inscripciones hispanistas hegemónicas en los discursos académicos sobre el lenguaje en la Argentina

Benvenuto Terracini y Demetrio Gazdaru : Dos lecturas desplazadas del archivo glotológico de Graziadio Isaia Ascoli

En este trabajo proponemos centrarnos en dos intervenciones de lectura sobre la obra del lingüista italiano Graziadio Isaia Ascoli, producidas por lingüistas europeos instalados en la Argentina: el italiano Benvenuto Terracini, que ejerció como profesor de Lingüística en la Universidad de Tucumán entre 1941 y 1946, y el rumano Demetrio Gazdaru, que fue docente de materias lingüísticas en diferentes universidades del país desde 1949 hasta 1973. Entendemos esas relecturas como un momento sustancial en los respectivos diseños de la historia de los estudios sobre el lenguaje que ambos especialistas llevan adelante en ámbito argentino. Asimismo, interrogamos esas relecturas como dos intervenciones por la definición de un saber lingüístico legítimo desde lugares periféricos, en la medida en que apuntalan una tradición romanista alternativa a las diferentes inscripciones hispanistas hegemónicas en los discursos académicos sobre el lenguaje en la Argentina

Benvenuto Terracini y Demetrio Gazdaru : Dos lecturas desplazadas del archivo glotológico de Graziadio Isaia Ascoli

En este trabajo proponemos centrarnos en dos intervenciones de lectura sobre la obra del lingüista italiano Graziadio Isaia Ascoli, producidas por lingüistas europeos instalados en la Argentina: el italiano Benvenuto Terracini, que ejerció como profesor de Lingüística en la Universidad de Tucumán entre 1941 y 1946, y el rumano Demetrio Gazdaru, que fue docente de materias lingüísticas en diferentes universidades del país desde 1949 hasta 1973. Entendemos esas relecturas como un momento sustancial en los respectivos diseños de la historia de los estudios sobre el lenguaje que ambos especialistas llevan adelante en ámbito argentino. Asimismo, interrogamos esas relecturas como dos intervenciones por la definición de un saber lingüístico legítimo desde lugares periféricos, en la medida en que apuntalan una tradición romanista alternativa a las diferentes inscripciones hispanistas hegemónicas en los discursos académicos sobre el lenguaje en la Argentina

Atenuação pragmática e problemas de intercompreensão: um estudo intercultural entre paulistanos e cordobeses

Discutimos nesta pesquisa o uso dos elementos de Cortesia, em especifico, a atenuação, entendida como categoria pragmática que afeta as relações interpessoais enquanto atividade linguística (redução do dito e do dizer) e social (aproximação ou não distanciamento do outro). Enfatizando estes aspectos, o trabalho tem como objetivo comparar o emprego de procedimentos linguísticos de atenuação na produção de atos diretivos e respostas não preferidas (atos de fala não corteses), por estudantes universitários das cidades de São Paulo (Brasil) e Córdoba (Argentina). Ainda, explicar as diferenças tendo como base os conceitos de sociedades de aproximação e distanciamento (HAVERKATE, 2004 e BRIZ, 2007) e analisar as diferenças nas interpretações que realizaram os estudantes da cidade argentina dos enunciados formulados pelos paulistanos. Nesta investigação, formulou-se e aplicou-se questionário de coleta de dados denominado testes sociais no qual apareceram situações de interação no ambiente de trabalho e da faculdade. No processo analítico deste fenômeno, usamos o método comparativo salientando as relações quantitativas e qualitativas dos enunciados estabelecidos pelos paulistanos e cordobeses, analisando dois tópicos, a comparação dos procedimentos de atenuação empregados; e a interpretação dos enunciados (dos estudantes paulistanos) feita pelos alunos de Córdoba. Como resultado, verificamos o uso acentuado de procedimentos de atenuação por parte dos paulistanos, causando interpretações díspares por parte dos cordobeses.

La actividad lingüística y traductora de fray Bernardo de Lugo

La labor lingüística y traductora de fray Bernardo de Lugo está enmarcada en la misión evangelizadora de la época colonial. Este fraile dominico pasó a la historia de la filología amerindia por haber compuesto la primera gramática de la lengua muisca. La obra, con sus aciertos y defectos, constituye aún hoy una de las principales fuentes de conocimiento del muisca y ha inspirado los trabajos lingüísticos que posteriormente se han realizado sobre esta lengua, extinta desde el siglo XVIII. La presente contribución introduce y contextualiza de forma somera la actividad intelectual de este fraile, recopilando las claves que permiten trazar su perfil como misionero lingüista y poner en valor su aportación a los estudios indigenistas.

La politique linguistique et l'avenir du Francais au Mexique:etude du cas de l'universite de Veracruz

In a linguistic context where it seems the entire world is only interested in learning English, it is worth considering the idea of whether French still has a place in Mexico. In spite of the predominance of English, there is nevertheless a feeling that French remains alive in Mexico, and indeed in certain areas has retained its strength and appeal. This hypothesis was to put to the test by exploring the current linguistic environment prevalent in the state of Veracruz. An investigation in the form of questionnaires and interviews of all those connected to the teaching of French (including students, teachers and employees and directors of language schools) shows that the desire of the Mexican government of promoting English for everyone is not necessarily consistent with the desire and expectations of the general populace. This in turn suggest the need of adopting a policy that enables us not only to take into consideration what people seem to be telling us regarding the learning of foreign learning but also of what they are not telling us. If the teaching and learning of French as a foreign language remains strong in Veracruz, it is explained much more by the long and friendly relationship that people in the state have had with French people (and their culture) than it is by any instrumental needs of learning their language. This is seen in the fact that students here consistently describe their motivation for learning French from an emotional or affective standpoint rather than from professional one. It seems that the ties between the Mexican and French people remain solid. Another interesting characteristic of students of French in Veracruz is the positive attitude they seem to have regarding languages in general, which in turn enables them to take further advantage of the benefits made available from globalization. In reality, there exists no rivalry between French and English and therefore it is unnecessary to adopt measures that would address such struggle. It is however a matter of great urgency that authorities in the arenas of politics and academia take a closer look at the policies they design regarding the study of foreign languages in general, and that they consider, specifically, a wholly alternative to the one language model of teaching and learning of foreign language – in this case English-, a model that for all intents and purposes has failed. In the midst of a globalized world, and during this current period of increased linguistic activity, the aforementioned assertions serve not only to support my initial hypothesis, but also to help shake off the dust of some out-dated belief systems and lay down the framework for a new, better informed and well thought-out policy of foreign languages planning.

Children's metalinguistic activity in the construction of linguistic existence

In this paper we examine the construction of first entities in narratives produced by children of 5, 7, 10 years and adults1 . The study demonstrates that when children reformulate they try to construct entities detached from the situation of enunciation, which means that they construct a detached or a translated plane and they construct linguistic existence of entities. Entities must first be introduced into the enunciative space and then comments will be made in subsequent utterances. Constructing existence supposes extraction. This consists of “singling out an occurrence, that is, isolating and drawing its spatiotemporal boundaries” (Culioli, 1990, p. 182) . Once the occurrence of the notion is constructed (which means it has become a separate occurrence with situational properties), children can predicate about it. However, there are children who do not construct the linguistic existence of entities. I hypothesize that the mode of task presentation influences the success of constructing linguistic existence. Sharing the investigator’s knowledge about the stimulus images, children do not ascribe an existential status to the occurrence of the notional domain.

Turning a Bourdieuian lens on English teaching in primary schools: linguistic field, linguistic habitus and linguistic capital

The research project used to frame discussion in this chapter was a doctoral study of the experiences of English primary school teachers teaching pupils whose home language was not English in their previously monolingual classrooms. They taught in a region in the south of England which experienced a significant rise in the population of non-native English speakers following Eastern European member states’ accession to the EU in 2004 and 2007. The study focussed principally on the teachers’ responses to their newly arrived Polish children because Polish families were arriving in far greater numbers than those from other countries. The research aims focussed on exploring and analysing the pedagogical experiences of teachers managing the acquisition of English language for their Polish children. Critical engagement with their experiences and the ways in which they did or did not adapt their pedagogy for teaching English was channelled through Bourdieuian constructs of linguistic field, capital and habitus. The following sections explore my reasons for adopting Bourdieu’s work as a theoretical lens, the practicalities and challenges of incorporating Bourdieu’s tools for thinking in data analysis, and the subsequent impact on my research activity.

Peer and group relationships in preschoolers: the role of social and linguistic skills

Being able to positively interact and build relationships with playmates in preschool years is crucial to achieve positive adjustment. An update review and two studies on such topics were provided. Study 1 is observational; it investigates the type of social experience in groups (N = 443) of children (N = 120) at preschool age in child-led vs. teacher-led contexts. The results revealed that in child-led contexts children were more likely to be alone, in dyads, and in small peer groups; groups were mostly characterized by same-gender playmates who engaged in joint interactions, with few social interactions with teachers. In teacher-led contexts, on the other hand, children were more likely to be involved in small, medium and large groups; groups were mostly characterized by other-gender playmates, involved in parallel interactions, with teachers playing a more active role. The purpose of Study 2 was to describe the development of socio-emotional competence, temperamental traits and linguistic skill. It examined the role of children’s reciprocated nominations (=RNs) with peers, assessed via sociometric interview, in relation to socio-emotional competence, temperamental traits and linguistic skill. Finally, the similarity-homophily tendency was investigated. Socio-emotional competence and temperamental traits were assessed via teacher ratings, linguistic skill via test administration. Eighty-four preschool children (M age = 62.53) were recruited within 4 preschool settings. Those children were quite representative of preschool population. The results revealed that children with higher RNs showed higher social competence (tendency), social orientation, positive emotionality, motor activity and linguistic skill. They exhibited lower anxiety-withdrawal. The results also showed that children prefer playmates with similar features: social competence, anger-aggression (tendency), social orientation, positive emotionality, inhibition to innovation, attention, motor activity (tendency) and linguistic skill. Implications for future research were suggested.

Russian language maintenance through bedtime story reading?: Linguistic strategies and language negotiation in Russian-French speaking families in Switzerland

This article proposes an interactional approach to the question of Russian language maintenance through the activity of bedtime story-reading in Russian-French bilingual families in French speaking Switzerland. Reading stories appears to be a language maintenance strategy commonly employed by the Russian speaking parent. The ritual and recreational moment of story-reading therefore becomes an opportunity for language learning. Drawing upon a language socialization perspective, this paper proposes an interactional analysis of the language use in the activity of story-reading. It shows how the language choice of the participants may be requested, negotiated and challenged during the interaction. The analysis further informs us about the language choice pattern and the bilingual competences in these families. We will gain insight into (Russian) language maintenance as a daily social and linguistic practice.

The impact of structural conditions in communes on physical activity and sports behaviour of adolescents and young adults in Switzerland

Introduction The physical activity of the Swiss population differs considerably depending on the linguistic region. German speakers are more often physically active than people living in the French- or Italian-speaking part of Switzerland (Stamm & Lamprecht, 2008). This study analyses how differing structural conditions in communes (e.g. sport facilities, significance of the municipal promotion of sport) across different linguistic regions of Switzerland correlate with physical activity and sports participation for adolescents and young adults. Methodological approach Based on the theory of social action (Coleman, 1990), it is assumed that individual behaviour is not only determined by individual but also by structural and socio-cultural factors in which a person is socially embedded. In two case studies, multilevel data was gathered analysing possible influences of structural factors on sports behaviour. Using an online survey, 15 to 25 year old inhabitants (N = 205) living in a German- and French-speaking commune were questioned about their sports participation in and outside of their commune, as well as their perception of sport-related structural characteristics in their commune. To collect information about communes’ sport facilities, the sport providers (N = 23) were interviewed. Sport-related characteristics of the communes were also collected through two interviews with representatives of the municipal administration. Results and discussion Physical activity is significantly higher (Chi2 (1, N = 183) = 4.78, p < .05) and sport participation is significantly lower in the French speaking commune (Chi2 (1, N = 205) = 3.84, p < .05). Adolescents and young adults in the French speaking commune (M = 3.15, SD = 1.23) are less satisfied with the opportunities to be physically active in the environment than their counterparts living in the German speaking commune (p < .001, Mann-Whitney U – test). These first findings show the impact of structural conditions in communes on physical activity and sport participation of adolescents and young people. However, it must be noted that this study is explorative and further communes would need to be examined in order to generalize the results. References Coleman J S (1990). Foundations of social theory. Belknap, Cambridge, MA. Stamm H, Lamprecht M (2008). EJSS, 8(1+2), 15-29.

Borrowing from models of motor control to translate cognitive processes: Evidence for hypokinetic-hyperkinetic linguistic homologues?

In relation to motor control, the basal ganglia have been implicated in both the scaling and focusing of movement. Hypokinetic and hyperkinetic movement disorders manifest as a consequence of overshooting and undershooting GPi (globus pallidus internus) activity thresholds, respectively. Recently, models of motor control have been borrowed to translate cognitive processes relating to the overshooting and undershooting of GPi activity, including attention and executive function. Linguistic correlates, however, are yet to be extrapolated in sufficient detail. The aims of the present investigation were to: (1) characterise cognitive-linguistic processes within hypokinetic and hyperkinetic neural systems, as defined by motor disturbances; (2) investigate the impact of surgically-induced GPi lesions upon language abilities. Two Parkinsonian cases with opposing motor symptoms (akinetic versus dystonic/dyskinetic) served as experimental subjects in this research. Assessments were conducted both prior to as well as 3 and 12 months following bilateral posteroventral pallidotomy (PVP). Reliable changes in performance (i.e. both improvements and decrements) were typically restricted to tasks demanding complex linguistic operations across subjects. Hyperkinetic motor symptoms were associated with an initial overall improvement in complex language function as a consequence of bilateral PVP, which diminished over time, suggesting a decrescendo effect relative to surgical beneficence. In contrast, hypokinetic symptoms were associated with a more stable longitudinal linguistic profile, albeit defined by higher proportions of reliable decline versus improvement in postoperative assessment scores. The above findings endorsed the integration of the GPi within cognitive mechanisms involved in the arbitration of complex language functions. In relation to models of motor control, 'focusing' was postulated to represent the neural processes underpinning lexical-semantic manipulation, and 'scaling' the potential allocation of cognitive resources during the mediation of high-level linguistic tasks. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assuming identities online:experimental linguistics applied to the policing of online paedophile activity

This article uses a research project into the online conversations of sex offenders and the children they abuse to further the arguments for the acceptability of experimental work as a research tool for linguists. The research reported here contributes to the growing body of work within linguistics that has found experimental methods to be useful in answering questions about representation and constraints on linguistic expression (Hemforth 2013). The wider project examines online identity assumption in online paedophile activity and the policing of such activity, and involves dealing with the linguistic analysis of highly sensitive sexual grooming transcripts. Within the linguistics portion of the project, we examine theories of idiolect and identity through analysis of the ‘talk’ of perpetrators of online sexual abuse, and of the undercover officers that must assume alternative identities in order to investigate such crimes. The essential linguistic question in this article is methodological and concerns the applicability of experimental work to exploration of online identity and identity disguise. Although we touch on empirical questions, such as the sufficiency of linguistic description that will enable convincing identity disguise, we do not explore the experimental results in detail. In spite of the preference within a range of discourse analytical paradigms for ‘naturally occurring’ data, we argue that not only does the term prove conceptually problematic, but in certain contexts, and particularly in the applied forensic context described, a rejection of experimentally elicited data would limit the possible types and extent of analyses. Thus, it would restrict the contribution that academic linguistics can make in addressing a serious social problem.

The “handwriting brain”: a motor/linguistic network with specialized “writing-specific” areas?

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