Language Culture and Communication

Two studies were conducted to investigate the correlates of hyperlexia in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children with the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Study 1 involved 3 groups of school age children individually matched for word reading ability: 6 ASD hyperlexic children, 6 ASD non-hyperlexic children, and 6 typically developing children. Study 2 involved 2 ASD preschool hyperlexic boys, and a group of 21 typical children of similar word reading ability. In both studies, participants were administered several reading measures as well as measures of cognitive and linguistic abilities that have been associated with variations in typical and dyslexic reading, namely, vocabulary, phonological processes, and rapid naming. Results suggest that ASD hyperlexic reading differs from both typical and ASD non-hyperlexic reading. In particular, they suggest that hyperlexics learn to compute letter-sound relations implicitly, on the basis of statistical learning. Although the hyp...

When confronted with hypothetical systems in Arabic, one inevitably meets, at one time or another, a fāʾ between the protasis (p) and the apodosis (q). We do not fail to note, however, that its presence does not seem to indicate identical relationships between p and q. According to Larcher, for whom fāʾ has a unique role, that of a segmentator, this particle is the mark of a double break, formal and semantic: as soon as fa- is present there is no logical relation of implication between p and q, the logical relation possibly being of another nature. Within the framework of the global vision that he offers, Larcher then recognizes this particle with several semantic values (deductive, enunciative, justificative, oppositive). This article attempts to answer the question of whether the Arabic grammar recognizes also several semantic values attached to the segmentator fāʾ. Through the prism of this study of the history of Arabic grammar, it will be shown that at least two values are reco...

Scholars have long pointed to Josephus, Ant. 10.180–182 as evidence that Nebuchadnezzar campaigned in the Levant in his twenty-third year (582 B.C.E.), but have not determined the viability of this passage as a historical source. Extant Greek sources do not provide the details visible in Josephus’ text and it is thus unlikely that they were his source. The details of the campaign are, however, available from Jeremiah or by inference from it. As such, the study argues that Ant. 10.180–182 is not an independent historical source of information for a campaign of Nebuchadnezzar in 582 B.C.E.

In the first half of the twentieth century, English grammar disappeared from the curriculum of most schools in England, but since the 1960s it has gradually been reconceptualised, under the influence of linguistics, and now once again has a central place in the official curriculum. Our aim is ...

This article on the vanishing hitchhiker theme explores how an international narrative has generated a locally constructed set of orally transmitted narratives. The narratives derive from the framework of traditional belief systems among the Khasi community in northeastern India and incorporate within them Western conceptions of hauntings and beliefs about the restless dead. The article also attempts to examine how this narrative critiques paradigm shifts in the socioeconomic structures that are dependent on government policies and infrastructural development. Alongside this analysis, the article further explores how the urban legend is supported by the living Khasic system of belief and social reality.

Police perceptions as to the influence of CSI and similar forensic and/or police procedural television programs on public expectations of the investigative process in the field is the focus of the present study. Through qualitative interviews with 31 members of Canadian police forces, I explore the question of whether police investigative personnel view media representations of their work as negatively influencing public expectations, thereby creating a source of occupational role strain for police officers. What is revealed is that the majority of investigative personnel interviewed have experienced citizen queries and demands attributed to consumption of unrealistic images of police work in television programs. Where a minority of investigators report feelings of frustration due to the role strain associated with having their expert knowledge and work methods questioned, the majority of those interviewed saw such queries as opportunities for educating the public about the realitie...

Among phoneticians, the Vocal Profile Analysis (VPA) is one of the most widely used methods for the componential assessment of voice quality. Whether the ultimate goal of the VPA evaluation is the comparative description of languages or the characterization of an individual speaker, the VPA protocol shows great potential for different research areas of speech communication. However, its use is not without practical difficulties. Despite these, methodological studies aimed at explaining where, when and why issues arise during the perceptual assessment process are rare. In this paper we describe the methodological stages through which three analysts evaluated the voices of 99 Standard Southern British English male speakers, rated their voices using the VPA scheme, discussed inter-rater disagreements, and eventually produced an agreed version of VPA scores. These scores were then used to assess correlations between settings. We show that it is possible to reach a good degree of inter-r...

... The specific focus on stakeholder communication, CSR, corporate identity, image and reputation reflects why ... themes not explicitly addressed by the book, such as how to handle conflicting interests among different stakeholders, corporate greenwashing, (inter-)cultural ...

ABSTRACT Over the past 20 years, project implementation descriptions have accounted for the majority of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) publications, some 345 in total. Those interested in MALL applications thus need to read widely to acquire an adequate perspective of MALL implementations. The intent of this bibliography is to facilitate this task by providing a comprehensive historical background of MALL applications from the first published work in 1994 to the end of 2012. To enhance the information contained in these references, over 90% of the entries are complemented by a brief (~80 word) summary. To the extent that the publication provides such information, each annotation identifies the country of origin of the study, native language (L1) and/or the second or foreign language (L2) involved, the mobile technology used, the learning area(s) targeted, the type of learners, their numbers, the duration of the study, and a summary of the results (i.e., learning outcomes and survey opinions). Since nearly 60% of MALL implementation studies appear outside of professional journals, in conference proceedings, project reports, academic dissertations, and so forth, locating copies of these publications poses a major challenge in itself. For this reason, where possible, links are included to copies of the works cited.

Italian anti-fascists started to emigrate from the moment that Mussolini seized power. These émigrés, or fuorusciti, tried to organise themselves to put an end to Mussolini’s regime, but found themselves confronting a number of unexpected difficulties in their host countries. Among them, Giustiza e Libertà (GL) was one of the most active organisations. One of the problems they had to face was the issue of how best to deal with their hosts without compromising their integrity as Italians, and as patriots. The case of Paolo Vittorelli (Raffaele Battino), who is the subject of this article, presents a clear case study of this issue and shows how close collaboration between Italian anti-fascists and western democracies (in this case, the United Kingdom) was hindered by ideological problems. The study of such episodes helps us to shed light not only on the mentality of the GL émigrés, but also on the way the Italian Resistance would later approach the issue of working together with the A...

Suetonius’ Lives of the Caesars usually begin with a family tree. These family trees are often rhetorical, foreshadowing in the ancestors character traits that will be themes of the rest of the Life. This particular rhetorical strategy relies upon an older phenomenon of ‘family identity’—namely, the literary application of similar characteristics to people in the same family—such as the one that tells us that the Claudii are proud and the Domitii Ahenobarbi are ferocious. Gary Farney studied ‘family identity’ as a phenomenon of the Republic. There, it was the association of a family with a certain characteristic, a kind of ‘branding’. It would be perfectly obvious for Suetonius to use the family identities already in use for well-known families, but, as I show here, Suetonius’ selection of ancestors creates different family identities rather than simply using the traditional ones he would have found in other sources. In this study I concentrate on Nero and Tiberius. I focus on these...

A number of studies have shown that approximately one-quarter of children in potentially bilingual environments do not become bilingual. This article explores several key factors that influence the likelihood that a child who has access to interactions in two languages will learn them both. The five factors discussed are input, language status, access to literacy, family language use, and community support, including schooling. It is argued that the quantity of input has the greatest effect on whether a minority language will be learned, but language status and attitudes about language also play a role. When families are proactive and provide daily activities for children in the minority language, the children respond by learning it. In addition, dual-immersion, “two-way” schooling is shown to benefit children's level of language proficiency in the minority language without diminishing their progress in the community language.

A review of research on deaf students in higher education reveals a significant body of knowledge about the barriers these students face in gaining access to information in the classroom. Much less is known about the potential solutions to these problems. In addition, there is a dearth of research on the effectiveness of such support services as interpreting, note taking, real-time captioning, and tutoring, particularly with regard to their impact on academic achievement. This article summarizes relevant research and suggests directions for educational researchers interested in enhancing academic success and the retention of deaf students in higher education programs.

Classrooms are characterized by interactions in a range of genres. The concise language required by expository interactions can be challenging for children who have atypical language, including children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). This study compared the way three groups of upper primary school students (aged 8-13 years) taught a peer to play a new unfamiliar board game: (a) DHH "experts" teaching a "novice" hearing peer; (b) hearing experts teaching a DHH novice; and (c) a hearing expert teaching a hearing novice. All DHH students were enrolled in mainstream schools and used spoken language as the main mode of communication. All three groups were able to convey game rules and purpose, and navigate clarifications. Differences emerged in the accuracy of the use of referents when instructing their peers how to play the game. The specific content vocabulary and the need to emphasize new concise information also challenged the DHH children. This study hig...

In this paper, evidence is provided that suggests the Oksapmin language, previously classed as constituting an isolate within the larger Trans-New Guinea family, is related to the Mountain Ok branch of the Ok language family and, by extension, the entire Ok family. A list of cognates and sound correspondences is given, as well as evidence from bound morphology and pronoun

This essay examines images of the liberation of Dachau concentration camp taken by American war correspondent and photographer Lee Miller. Miller’s work is mobilized as an optic through which to grasp the shock of confronting the Nazi camps. Her images are read as a form of visual testimony. That is, although they fail to provide a transparent view of what occurred in the Nazi lagers, they are nevertheless inscribed with all that the photographer did not know of the events to which she bore witness. The nature of this strange unintelligibility is what the author pursues: the visual inscription of the unspeakable as a disquieting resource for thinking through the paradoxes of witnessing and the transmission of human experience.