Matching Items (43)
Description
Arabic is widely known for the lack of copulas in nominal sentences in the present tense. Arabic employs a copula ‘kana’ in the past and future tenses. However, in some constructions the presence of a third person pronoun is necessary for the purpose of emphasis or ambiguity reduction. The data investigated in this thesis was from Classical Arabic, Standard Arabic, and the Western Saudi ‘Hijazi’ dialect. The thesis briefly discussed the grammaticalization of a transitive verb to a non-present tense copula in Classical Arabic. In addition, the thesis discussed the process of copularization that was a result of grammaticalization of the demonstrative third person pronoun ‘huwa’ to a present tense copula in Standard Arabic. It was shown that the pronoun went through a process of reanalysis from the specifier to the head position of PredP driven by Feature Economy and the Head Preference Principle. The result was the loss of the person feature. The new copula developed and attached to the negative particle ‘ma’ in the Hijazi dialect losing all its phi-features. These phenomena are known as the copula and negative cycles, respectively. The analysis was based on the Generative Grammar framework and the Minimalist program. This study attempted to shed light on Arabic copulas and contribute to more understanding of the use of these copulas in question and negative constructions. It may also help in typological studies, which may lead to a better understanding of the linguistic theory and the language faculty.
ContributorsAlsaeedi, Mekhlid Owaidh M (Author) / Gelderen, Elly van (Thesis advisor) / Pruitt, Kathryn (Committee member) / Adams, Karen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
ABSTRACT
The absence of the consonant sound /p/ in Libyan Arabic leads Libyan speakers of English to pronounce /p/ as /b/. This study examines how Libyan Arabic speakers distinguish the English /p/ and /b/ in their production of L2 English. The study also examines the effect of the production contexts and the learning environment on two groups of Libyan Arabic speakers' attainment of the English /p/ in the USA and Libya. The study collected voice recordings of word-initial /p/ and /b/ in isolated-words, minimal pairs, and sentences in English from both Libyan Arabic speakers and American English speakers. The study also collected Libyan Arabic stop consonants /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, and /g/ from the Libyan participants. The voice recording data were collected using the WhatsApp mobile application from all participants and the Libyan Arabic participants were also asked to fill an online survey. Using voice onset time (VOT) as a measurement tool, this study measured the English and Libyan Arabic data through Praat software. The findings show that most Libyan Arabic participants distinguish between /p/ and /b/, but they did not have as high VOT averages as the American participants' /p/. It also reveals that the production context, especially in minimal pairs and sentence contexts, has an effect on their participants' production. However, the learning environment does not have an effect on the Libyan participants' pronunciation of /p/ in this study.
The absence of the consonant sound /p/ in Libyan Arabic leads Libyan speakers of English to pronounce /p/ as /b/. This study examines how Libyan Arabic speakers distinguish the English /p/ and /b/ in their production of L2 English. The study also examines the effect of the production contexts and the learning environment on two groups of Libyan Arabic speakers' attainment of the English /p/ in the USA and Libya. The study collected voice recordings of word-initial /p/ and /b/ in isolated-words, minimal pairs, and sentences in English from both Libyan Arabic speakers and American English speakers. The study also collected Libyan Arabic stop consonants /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, and /g/ from the Libyan participants. The voice recording data were collected using the WhatsApp mobile application from all participants and the Libyan Arabic participants were also asked to fill an online survey. Using voice onset time (VOT) as a measurement tool, this study measured the English and Libyan Arabic data through Praat software. The findings show that most Libyan Arabic participants distinguish between /p/ and /b/, but they did not have as high VOT averages as the American participants' /p/. It also reveals that the production context, especially in minimal pairs and sentence contexts, has an effect on their participants' production. However, the learning environment does not have an effect on the Libyan participants' pronunciation of /p/ in this study.
ContributorsGarib, Ali A. A (Author) / Pruitt, Kathryn (Thesis advisor) / Renaud, Claire (Committee member) / González López, Verónica (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This dissertation investigates the precise degree to which prosody and syntax are related. One possibility is that the syntax-prosody mapping is one-to-one (“isomorphic”) at an underlying level (Chomsky & Halle 1968, Selkirk 1996, 2011, Ito & Mester 2009). This predicts that prosodic units should preferably match up with syntactic units. It is also possible that the mapping between these systems is entirely non-isomorphic, with prosody being influenced by factors from language perception and production (Wheeldon & Lahiri 1997, Lahiri & Plank 2010). In this work, I argue that both perspectives are needed in order to address the full range of phonological phenomena that have been identified in English and related languages, including word-initial lenition/flapping, word-initial segment-deletion, and vowel reduction in function words, as well as patterns of pitch accent assignment, final-pronoun constructions, and the distribution of null complementizer allomorphs. In the process, I develop models for both isomorphic and non-isomorphic phrasing. The former is cast within a Minimalist syntactic framework of Merge/Label and Bare Phrase Structure (Chomsky 2013, 2015), while the latter is characterized by a stress-based algorithm for the formation of phonological domains, following Lahiri & Plank (2010).
ContributorsKruger, William Wriley (Author) / Gelderen, Elly van (Thesis advisor) / Carnie, Andrew (Committee member) / Pruitt, Kathryn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
ABSTRACT
This dissertation investigates the copular/locative and existential predications in Arabic. The main focus is on the typology and syntax of the existential predications. The negation of such predications reveals interesting results. The Negative Existential Cycle (Croft, 1991) is a model that describes the process by which verbal negators arise from existential negators. I discuss data of existentials and negative existentials from Standard Arabic, Saudi Arabic dialect, and Gulf Pidgin Arabic.
I argue for canonical vs. non-canonical word orders in copular/locative and existential sentences, respectively. I examine the grammaticalization path of the existentials from their locative content in each language form. Then, I investigate the syntactic word order of the copular/locative and existential constructions in each variety.
I investigate the negation of the existential construction in each variety. First, Standard Arabic is shown to be at stage A in the Negative Existential Cycle. The Hijazi and Najdi Arabic spoken by elders show further developments. Hijazi Arabic appears to be at stage B, while Najdi Arabic appears to be at stage B and an intermediate stage B ~ C. Second, I show that in Saudi Arabic the negative existential has been extended to the verbal domain. Saudi Arabic is at stages A, B, and B ~ C, while Qassimi Arabic is at stages A and B. Third, I show that the existential construction in Gulf Pidgin Arabic is only negated by the negative existential predicate, while the verbal sentences are negated by the negative existential and the verbal negator. Therefore, Gulf Pidgin Arabic is at stages B and C in the Negative Existential Cycle.
Finally, I discuss the syntax of copular/locative and existential predications in each variety. I propose a unified syntactic structure. Existential and possessive predications are analyzed as inverse copular sentences (Moro, 1997) as opposed to the canonical copular/locative sentences. The unified structure accounts for the agreement facts, such as partial vs. full agreement in existential and copular/locative predications, respectively.
The data investigated here will contribute to Arabic comparative and historical linguistics. More Arabic dialects’ data is needed to determine their stages in the Negative Existential Cycle.
This dissertation investigates the copular/locative and existential predications in Arabic. The main focus is on the typology and syntax of the existential predications. The negation of such predications reveals interesting results. The Negative Existential Cycle (Croft, 1991) is a model that describes the process by which verbal negators arise from existential negators. I discuss data of existentials and negative existentials from Standard Arabic, Saudi Arabic dialect, and Gulf Pidgin Arabic.
I argue for canonical vs. non-canonical word orders in copular/locative and existential sentences, respectively. I examine the grammaticalization path of the existentials from their locative content in each language form. Then, I investigate the syntactic word order of the copular/locative and existential constructions in each variety.
I investigate the negation of the existential construction in each variety. First, Standard Arabic is shown to be at stage A in the Negative Existential Cycle. The Hijazi and Najdi Arabic spoken by elders show further developments. Hijazi Arabic appears to be at stage B, while Najdi Arabic appears to be at stage B and an intermediate stage B ~ C. Second, I show that in Saudi Arabic the negative existential has been extended to the verbal domain. Saudi Arabic is at stages A, B, and B ~ C, while Qassimi Arabic is at stages A and B. Third, I show that the existential construction in Gulf Pidgin Arabic is only negated by the negative existential predicate, while the verbal sentences are negated by the negative existential and the verbal negator. Therefore, Gulf Pidgin Arabic is at stages B and C in the Negative Existential Cycle.
Finally, I discuss the syntax of copular/locative and existential predications in each variety. I propose a unified syntactic structure. Existential and possessive predications are analyzed as inverse copular sentences (Moro, 1997) as opposed to the canonical copular/locative sentences. The unified structure accounts for the agreement facts, such as partial vs. full agreement in existential and copular/locative predications, respectively.
The data investigated here will contribute to Arabic comparative and historical linguistics. More Arabic dialects’ data is needed to determine their stages in the Negative Existential Cycle.
ContributorsAlsaeedi, Mekhlid (Author) / Gelderen, Elly van (Thesis advisor) / Adams, Karen (Committee member) / Pruitt, Kathryn (Committee member) / Veselinova, Ljuba (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This is a constructed language made for fictional creatures that will be featured in a novel. The creatures are feral goblins, and they are based on Irish mythology. The novel that the goblins and the language will be featured in is titled MaddConn, and it was written by Jon Bendera. It is an urban fantasy novel. The goblins have a language in the novel because there are a number of goblin characters throughout the story. One of the main characters, Maddi, has to survive amongst the feral goblins for a portion of the novel while another main character, Connor, works his way to her. She has multiple close encounters with them, and also has to find her way around their territory, so she comes into contact with the language many times. Although the language in the story was created to have developed prior to humanity, this constructed language was made to look somewhat similar to human language. As it will be involved in fiction that will be read by humans, it needs to be easily understood by humans. The language reveals features of the goblin culture and anatomy. For instance, it can be seen in the language that their shallow, wide mouths and thin lips influence their phonology. Their physiology influences much of their language. Likewise, they have three fingers on each hand, which influences their number system. As the goblins and their language developed before humans and because they are not human creatures, the typology and word order do not follow all of the correlations found in human languages. All in all, the lexicon includes many words that have to do with three of their favorite things: violence, food, and work.
ContributorsMartinez, Randi Nicole (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis director) / Maring, Heather (Committee member) / Schreyer, Christine (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Do good readers embody more or less? The current investigation examined embodiment effects as a function of individual reading skill in the context of two cognitive theories of reading comprehension. The Construction-Integration model predicts that sensorimotor activity during reading will correlate negatively with reading skill, because good readers focus on relations among abstract ideas derived from the text. Supposedly those abstract ideas have little or no sensorimotor content, hence any sensorimotor activity while reading is wasted effort. In contrast, the simulation theory predicts that sensorimotor activity will correlate positively with reading skill, because good readers create a simulation of what is happening within the text to comprehend it. The simulation is based in neural and bodily systems of action, perception, and emotion. These opposing predictions were tested using the reading-by-rotation paradigm to measure embodiment effects. Those effects were then correlated with reading skill measured using the Gates-McGinite standardized reading test. Analyses revealed an unexpected interaction between condition and congruency, and a negative relationship between embodiment and reading skill. Several caveats to the results are discussed.
ContributorsRakestraw, Hannah Marie (Author) / Glenberg, Arthur (Thesis director) / McNamara, Danielle (Committee member) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
This thesis compares significant linguistic features of English and Bahasa Indonesia (BI) and examines possible effects of language transfer for Indonesians who speak English as a second language (L2). The thesis first presents a description of BI: 1) phonology (vowels, consonants, stress and intonation), 2) word order (SVO and other alternatives, relativization, nominalization, topicalization, questions), 3) the noun phrase (derivation of nouns, modifiers in noun phrases, demonstratives, plurals, personal pronouns), and 4) the verbal system (derivation of verbs, agreement, copulas, passive voice, negation, tense, adverbs, modals/auxiliaries). For the IRB-approved research study, the researcher interviewed ten Indonesians from diverse linguistic, cultural, and educational backgrounds about their experiences learning English and asked them to tell a story in order to elicit use of the past tense. The research sought to determine which errors Indonesian L2 speakers of English often make and which of these errors can be attributed to language transfer. Also, the study examined whether participants seem to be aware of their errors and what pedagogical implications may arise from these findings. Interviews were transcribed, then errors were coded and analyzed to see if the errors that Indonesians often make while speaking English correspond with the main differences between English and BI. The most common error was verb tense. After that, the next most common errors were articles; plurals; prepositions; other verbs; omission of "be" verbs; adjectives; omission of subjects; subject/verb agreement; and languages
ationalities. The thesis also discusses participants' perceptions of differences between BI and English and perceptions of difficulties when learning English, and how these perceptions correspond with their performance in English. While it seems that many of the errors that Indonesian L2 speakers of English are due to language transfer, others are not. Virtually no research has been carried out on language transfer from BI to English, so there is much future research that can be conducted on Indonesians learning English. Language transfer is just one of the relevant topics in the field.
ationalities. The thesis also discusses participants' perceptions of differences between BI and English and perceptions of difficulties when learning English, and how these perceptions correspond with their performance in English. While it seems that many of the errors that Indonesian L2 speakers of English are due to language transfer, others are not. Virtually no research has been carried out on language transfer from BI to English, so there is much future research that can be conducted on Indonesians learning English. Language transfer is just one of the relevant topics in the field.
ContributorsTappendorf, Rebecca Christine (Author) / Renaud, Claire (Thesis director) / Suwarno, Peter (Committee member) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Committee member) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
What is it like to create your own language? This creative project is an amalgamation of several paper, visual, and online media and is divided into two sections. The first section is the creation of an original fantasy constructed language ("conlang") called Dieva, including setting and background, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, language rules, an alphabet and writing system, and vocabulary. The second section is an exercise in applied linguistics, wherein the conlang was shared with the public via media including an online Wikia.com webpage; figures including charts and a map; the development of classroom materials for a hypothetical Dieva language class such as introduction worksheets, practice worksheets, and quizzes on the alphabet and numbers; and a "linguistic challenge" logic puzzle. All materials were then shared with volunteers who gave feedback from a myriad of teaching and non-teaching as well as linguist and non-linguist points of view. Volunteers also attempted to take the quizzes and to solve the "linguistic challenge," and their feedback was integrated into the final versions of the language, worksheets, online webpages, and other work.
ContributorsLambert, Allison Mary (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis director) / Shinabarger, Amy (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
It is no great secret that languages come into contact with each other. From people interacting on the street, to children in school, to nations working on international policies, days do not pass where languages do not collide. And, while this is a well-documented and studied phenomenon with many books devoted to it, it is one that is incomplete. Throughout the course of time, natural and social disasters have impacted language in an unrelentless and undocumented way. The question, therefore, becomes: what happens to the languages of the people who are affected by some sort of disaster? It is well known that there are many factors that affect a language's life and development. However, what about the events like a massive volcanic eruption or the destruction of a population due to genocide? It makes sense to theorize that natural and social disasters could have lasting effects on the languages of the world. As language is one of the most important aspects of human societies, it is crucial to be able to explore and possibly understand any potential patterns of change that are stimulated from different types of devastating events. The disasters that a society undergoes directly alter the language of that people. By studying the patterns of these changes and using integral examples, the key factors of change can be identified and an evaluative system can be developed. By first giving an in-depth overview of the relevant field, Contact Linguistics, understanding the current methods for analyzing language change, and then assessing these for their usefulness in disaster cases, this paper aims to arrive at a new, integrated method for evaluation of these unique situations.
ContributorsGallo, Antonette Lynn (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis director) / Kruger, William (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
This thesis investigates similarities in the diachronic sound changes found in Eastern Old Japanese dialects and in Ryukyuan languages and tests a hypothesis of language contact. I examine three sound changes attested in the Eastern Old Japanese corpus of Kupchik (2011). These three are denasalization of prenasalized obstruents, the fortition of the labial glide [w] and prenasalized / simple voiced fricative [(n)z], and the irregular raising of Eastern Old Japanese mid vowels. Extralinguistic and linguistic evidence is presented in support of a hypothesis for language contact between 8th century Ryukyuan speakers and Eastern Old Japanese speakers. At present, many assumptions bog down any potential evidence of contact. However, cases where reconstructed Ryukyuan could have donated a form into EOJ do exist. With future research into early Ryukyuan development and the lexicons, phonologies, and syntactic patterns of Ryukyuan languages, more can be said about this hypothesis. Alongside testing a hypothesis of language contact, this thesis can also be viewed as an analysis of Eastern Old Japanese spelling variation of the three changes mentioned above.
ContributorsMakiyama, Alexander Koji (Author) / Pruitt, Kathryn (Thesis advisor) / Adams, Karen (Committee member) / Gelderen, Elly van (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015