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- Member of: ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Description
Nonlinguists’ attitudes towards language are a major factor in the process of language change. Therefore, linguists are interested in examining how language varieties are perceived. Several studies around the world have demonstrated that ideologies play a major role in shaping how people perceive certain dialects, how social meanings are associated with these varieties, and how linguistic communities are shaped in part by these beliefs. However, little attention has been given to language attitude in the Arab region, and in the Saudi context particularly. Moreover, none of the attitudinal studies in the region have tried to investigate Najdis’ attitudes towards their own dialects. Using a conceptually presented attitudinal approach, this study bridges the literature gap by examining 1041 Najdis’ language attitudes towards two of the main dialects there: The Najdi Urban and Najdi Bedouin varieties. The study answers the following questions: How do Najdis perceive the Najdi Urban and Bedouin dialects, and what are the frequently associated characteristics with these varieties? The results of the quantitative analysis show that Najdis’ language attitudes can be discussed with and reduced to two themes: modernity and traditionality. The Urban Najdi dialect was perceived as modern. Contrarily, the Bedouin Najdi dialect was considered traditional. Each social group tended to rate their dialect higher than the other group did in both factors, indicating in-group loyalty. Also, both groups showed high levels of linguistic security.
ContributorsAlothman, Ayoub (Author) / Adams, Karen (Thesis advisor) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Committee member) / Prior, Matthew (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
The dissertation investigates the applicability of Cinque’s (1999) functional hierarchy hypothesis to adverb(ial)s in Iraqi Arabic. Cinque’s functional hierarchy is a hypothesis developed to predict adverb ordering statement in Italian and with its multiple versions, Cinque advocates the universality of his hypothesis. The investigation specifically explores two questions, is an adverb a separate part of speech Arabic? And do adverb(ial)s in Iraqi Arabic follow a rigid ordering statement similar to that suggested by Cinque’s? I argue in my investigation that the term adverb is still vague to Arab linguists, hence I adopt the term adveb(ial)s throughout my dissertation. While the two terms in English are quite distinct, I think, Arabic grammarians are far from settling the debate over considering it a separate part of speech. Certainly, the case is the same for Iraqi Arabic which is the vernacular I am investigating. As I turn to English, I discuss the two most recent hypotheses of adverb ordering. I review Cinque’s functional hierarchy as a syntactic-based hypothesis and Ernst’s scope theory which is a semantic-based hypothesis. While the two hypotheses are valid to predict adverb placement and ordering, I only test Cinque’s hierarchy in my investigation of the ordering in Iraqi Arabic.
In my research, I rely on Zyman’s (2012) research on adverbs in English as I utilize many of his examples and translate them to Iraqi Arabic. I suggest that Adverb(ial)s in Iraqi Arabic are in the Spec of a functional head in accordance with the Cinquian hierarchy. Generally, this claim has its roots in Baker’s (1985) Mirror principle which configures the relationship between morphology and syntax. My test of Iraqi Arabic proves that Cinque’s modal is not fully applicable to Iraqi Arabic as adverbs tied to non-spinal constituents do not comply with Cinque’s rigid ordering.
The data and the finding in this dissertation will contribute to the Arabic language research on the interplay between syntax, semantics and morphology. Additionally, the findings will shed light on other vernaculars in Arabic as more research is needed on the different varieties of Arabic.
ContributorsSulayman, Umar (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis advisor) / Ali, Souad T (Committee member) / Aljumaily, Abdulatif (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Language learning strategy (LLS) has been long considered as one of the most important variables impacting language performance. Learning context, as a major effect on LLS choices, has not been paid much attention compared to other individual variables in LLS research. For the purpose of highlighting contextual influence in LLS research, the present study investigated LLSs used by higher level students in a target language environment and an EFL/foreign language environment. To achieve the goals, a total of 44 enrolled doctoral students (19 in the United States and 25 in China) were recruited as participants. A background survey, a questionnaire (i.e., Language Strategy Use Inventory [LSUI]), and semi-structured interviews were deployed to gather data. The findings first showed that higher level students used a wide repertoire of LLSs to facilitate their language learning in each learning environment. Second, the findings identified eight specific contextual factors influencing the LLS use of higher level students in both learning environments, which included access to target language, participation in an academic environment, access to target language learning sources, experience as a teaching associate/research assistant, exposure to diverse accents and dialects of the target language, lack of feedback on errors, experience in target language classes, and beliefs about social reaction to learning target language. Third, the findings also showed that students reported some specific LLSs to be most useful in each learning environment. For example, “talking with (native) English speakers” was considered as a useful speaking strategy in target language environment, and “using language learning applications (APPs)” was considered as a useful listening and speaking strategy in EFL/foreign language environment. In addition, implications for future research and pedagogy were offered. Keywords: Language learning strategy (LLS), learning context (environment), higher level students, target language environment (TLE), EFL/foreign language environment (E/FLE), mixed methods
ContributorsPei, Xiaoyu (Author) / James, Mark A (Thesis advisor) / Matsuda, Aya (Committee member) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Moral status questions, (who and what counts morally) are of central concern to moral philosophers. There is also a rich history of psychological work exploring the topic. The received view in psychology of moral status accounts for it as a function of other mind perception. On this view, entities are morally considerable because they are perceived to have the right sort of minds. This dissertation analyzes and tests this theory, pointing out both empirical and conceptual issues with the received view. The results presented show that important moral intuitions (for example about unjustifiable interpersonal killing) cannot be explained by appealing to other mind perception. Some alternative views of the psychology of moral status are presented, as well as avenues for further research.
ContributorsLaTourelle, Jonathan Jacob (Author) / Creath, Richard (Thesis advisor) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis advisor) / Robert, Jason (Committee member) / Ellison, Karin (Committee member) / Becker, D. Vaughn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This dissertation presents a minimalist account of null arguments in Maybrat. Different generative theories have been put forward for conditions that trigger the appearance of null subjects in a number of languages. There have been two general lines of position since Perlmutter's initial identification of null subjects in some European languages. The first posits that null subjects (pro) appear in languages with a rich agreement paradigm, known as the rich agreement hypothesis. The second argues that rich agreement is not attested in other languages. It suggests that discourse context triggers the appearance of null pronouns. This study was based on the descriptive analysis of 18 stories gathered from the fieldwork and corpus of Maybrat spoken texts. It claims that the two approaches may not fully explain the appearance of null arguments in Maybrat for three respects. First, the null subjects appear in the clauses that both have agreement and no agreement. Second, not all verbs with agreement markers are fully specified in person, number, or gender features (φ-features). Third, objects are also dropped freely in many contexts despite the lack of agreement. Building on the minimalist framework of Agree, the dissertation proposes the derivation of pro in two ways. First, the Tense (T) head is strong in φ-features and pro is a Determiner Phrase (DP). They participate in a local Agree relation. Second, pro is weak in definite feature (D-feature) and the functional head T is deficient for lacking φ-features. The Agree relation can operate if T inherits the features from the Complementizer (C) head. Thus, a long-distance Agree between C and pro is assumed. This dissertation concludes that the appearance of null arguments in Maybrat is licensed either by the agreement head, the discourse context, or a combination of the two conditions. However, among the three conditions, discourse context plays a significant role in promoting the null arguments since pro appears regardless of the verbal agreement inflections. For this reason, this dissertation also proposes that Maybrat may be classified as a radical pro-drop language.
ContributorsKocu, Servo Patrick (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis advisor) / Pruitt, Kathryn (Committee member) / Peterson, Tyler (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The purpose of this dissertation is three-fold: to further the understanding of grammar learning strategies (GLS) that students at an American university use when they engage in language study sessions on their own, in technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) outside of the classroom; to examine how previous language learning experience (PLLE) influences the application of GLS in individual study sessions in TELL; and to investigate the roles that technology plays in students’ use of strategies to study grammar individually, in TELL. By adopting a modified version of Oxford’s Strategic Self-regulation (S2R) Model of language learning and Pawlak’s Grammar Learning Strategy Inventory (GLSI), this mixed-method study took a contextualized approach to GLS investigation in order to fill gaps in identifying GLS application and draw a detailed inventory of GLS preferred by college students. Findings drew on data from a systematic full-semester investigation of the strategic behaviors deployed by US university undergraduate students while they completed French and Spanish grammar activities assigned as regular coursework in a TELL environment. Moreover, the goals of this dissertation were achieved by tapping into strategy use and the factors influencing it, more generally, through a questionnaire, interviews, and language learning histories. The overall findings indicated that metacognitive strategies were preferred by participants, followed by cognitive strategies, with sociocultural-interactive strategies being least frequently used. Additionally, some of the main PLLE factors found to influence the GLS use were: past language instructors’ teaching methodologies, previous knowledge of other languages, and foreign language strategy transfer. Finally, technology was found to play several roles in GLS application, such as: promoting strategic use of language learning, making language learning more flexible and convenient, and making language learning more engaging/fun/entertaining. The findings of this study contribute valuable insights into the field of GLS, in a research context still largely underexplored, grammar study in TELL outside the classroom. The study also contributes novel findings on the types of contextual factors related to students’ PLLE that influence their choices and use of GLS as well as the roles that technology plays in GLS application.
ContributorsDuculescu, Cristina (Author) / James, Mark A (Thesis advisor) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Committee member) / Bahtchevanova, Mariana (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to provide an in-depth examination of the syntactic rules and pragmatic structures that govern the construction of Thai nominal phrases. There is a current debate among linguistic researchers of the Thai language (and others within the Tai-Kadai family) contemplating whether the inherent syntactic structure of nominal phrases projects a Determiner Phrase [DP] or a Noun Phrase [NP] (Birmingham, 2020; Jenks, 2011; Piriyawiboon, 2010; and Singhapreecha, 2001). An examination of the grammatical and pragmatic features that dictate the formation of Thai nominals, as well as an investigation of the prevailing linguistic theories focused on nominal phrase construction supporting each structure, has been conducted and is presented within this thesis. This extensive research, performed to address the dilemma “Does the Thai language project a DP or an NP?”, has resulted in the conclusion that the Thai language, with its free word-order and its fascinating pragmatic structures, projects an underlying NP phrase structure that allows for an optional determiner, used to indicate specificity.
ContributorsBirmingham, Sabrina A (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis advisor) / Pruitt, Kathryn (Committee member) / Peterson, Tyler (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Grammaticalization is viewed as a progressive process by which words are altered over time from a lexical status to a grammatical status. Verbs with posture, motion, and volition meanings are crosslinguistically prone to grammaticalize into tense, mood, and aspect markers (TMA), making for a particularly interesting topic of study. In Arabic dialects, the active participle of posture verbs (APPVs) jaalis/qaaʕaɪd ‘sitting’ and gaayem ‘standing’, the motion verbs raħ ‘he went’, and the b-imperfective are commonly referred to as instances of grammaticalization. Yet, there is very limited research that supports this argument. APPVs are sometimes regarded as grammaticalized auxiliaries or Aktionsart markers, while raħ and the b-imperfective are both viewed as future tense markers. There is, however, evidence from Saudi Najdi Arabic (SNA) that challenges these findings. This dissertation describes the grammaticalization process of the APPVs, the motion verbs raħ, and the b-imperfective in SNA. It also proposes a new precise syntactic analysis for the three elements and their sources of grammaticalization, using two approaches. First, to account for the evaluation of the three elements’ grammaticalization in SNA, I focus on four universal grammaticalization principles and mechanisms: namely, desemanticization, extension, decategorialization, and erosion. I follow Hopper and Traugott’s (2003) Cline theory to provide a description of the reanalysis stages. To account for the syntactic analysis for these elements and their sources of grammaticalization, I use the Cartography Program.
The data examined reveal that SNA is most grammatically related to other Arabic dialects and not Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), allowing me to trace the grammaticalization process of the APPVs, the b-imperfective, and the motion verb rah from their original function as lexical verbs to TMA markers of progressivity or futurity. I show that the APPVs have undergone semantic extension, semantic bleaching, and decategorialization, but not phonological reduction (erosion). Syntactically, the findings indicate that the future irrealis b-imperfective occupies the head of MP, the prospective future raħ occupies the head of ProspP, and the APPVs in pseudocoordination constructions have two syntactic structures: (i) progressive aspect markers in the head of ProgP and (ii) light verbs base-generated in the head of vP.
ContributorsAltamimi, Mansour Ibrahim (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis advisor) / Seely, T. Daniel (Committee member) / Adams, Karen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
This dissertation provides an account of evidentiality of a number of selected verbs of perception in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). The verbs are divided into three categories: activity, experiential, and source-based, following Viberg (1983). The data shows that the activity P.Vs in MSA are rarely used evidentially whereas the experiential and the source-based ones are commonly used to indicate evidential meaning. It also shows that while the source-based verb is mostly used with an inferred evidential meaning, the evidentiality encoded by the experiential perception verbs is determined by the complementation pattern and the person of the subject (first or third person subject). With the non-finite complement, these verbs indicate a direct evidentiality when having a first person subject, and a reported evidentiality when having a third person subject. With the finite CP complement, they indicate an indirect evidentiality. This corpus-based study also examines the grammaticalization of these verbs when used evidentially. I argue that only the verb ra’aa of the selected experiential verbs is fully grammaticalized, but only when it is in the past tense and followed by a verbal non-finite complement. In this usage, it becomes a light verb. The source-based verb badaa/yabduu when indicating an evidentiality, it is grammaticalized into copulative verb when followed by an adjectival predicate, and modal verb when followed by a finite complement.
ContributorsHarthi, Jaber (Author) / Gelderen, Elly van (Thesis advisor) / Adams, Karen (Committee member) / Gebhardt, Lewis (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Temporal features and frequency of pauses have been studied extensively in the literature, but the interest in the syntactic location of pauses is a more recent development. While previous research has studied the pause patterns of L1 and L2 speakers as well as the effects of pause location on perceptions of fluency, these studies have all utilized a binary approach the categorization of pauses as occurring either between or within clauses or major constituent boundaries. This research attempts to take a look at pause placement with a finer distinction of pause location, including junctures that occur between and within phrases. To accomplish this, two experiments were conducted. The first experiment gathered read-aloud speech samples from native, non-native, and heritage speakers of Mandarin Chinese, which were then manipulated in Praat to contain only a single pause that occurred either between or within phrases. The samples were presented to native Chinese speakers to assess for perceptions of fluency as affected by the pause location condition. Findings of this preliminary pilot study did not find a significant correlation between pause location and perceptions of fluency at the phrasal level. The second experiment gathered spontaneous speech samples from the same speaker population as Experiment 1. The pauses that occurred in the samples were coded according to a system developed by the author to account for eight different syntactic junctions, and the percentage of pause at each location was calculated. Analysis showed a significant correlation with pause location and percentage of pauses (p < 0.01), as well as a statistically significant interaction between the effects of speaker status and pause location on percentage of pause (p = 0.011). The findings of this study are limited due to the small population size, but research in this fine-grained analysis of pause location within a clause has implications in the fields of L2 acquisition, psycholinguistics, and natural language processing.
ContributorsKennedy, Mary Kathryn (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis advisor) / Pruitt, Kathryn (Committee member) / Prior, Matthew T (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021