Dissertations / Theses: 'English Linguistics'

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STEPHENS, DEBORAH ANNE. "LINGUISTIC ASPECTS OF CODESWITCHING AMONG SPANISH/ENGLISH BILINGUAL CHILDREN (SOCIOLINGUISTICS, PSYCHOLINGUISTICS, APPLIED LINGUISTICS)." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/188166.

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Codeswitching between languages is a uniquely bilingual mode of communication. The purpose of this dissertation is to enhance the current body of knowledge dealing with the phenomenon by analysing samples of speech produced by twenty-six Spanish/English bilingual children ranging in age from eight to twelve. Methods of analysis include theoretical linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and educational linguistics. A discussion of relevant codeswitching research covering the past thirty years is presented. The data were collected during a reading study focusing on miscue analysis. The children read stories in English and retold them in both Spanish and English. The analysis considers the data from the four previously mentioned points of view. The linguistic analysis looks at the locations of switched constituents within the sentence and the frequency with which those constituents are switched. The data of this study are compared with that of other researchers, and a consideration of a formal grammar of codeswitching is presented. The sociolinguistic analysis addresses the effect of social and stylistic variables on codeswitching. The psycholinguistic analysis of codeswitching covers lexical storage, editing phenomena, and developmental aspects. Finally, some aspects of the education of bilinguals are considered by analysing the effect of the printed word on language switching and dialect shifting . The application of the results of the analysis to both theoretical issues and practical concerns is explored along with suggested areas for future research. The analyses show that young children's codeswitching initially favors less complex structures and is influenced by few social variables. As they grow older, they become more comfortable with switching grammatically complex structures, and they become aware of a greater variety of social factors. A separate grammar is not necessary for a complete description of codeswitching; a modified interdependance model of the two grammars can account for the codeswitching mode. Lastly, the written language becomes part of the speech situation in the classroom and affects the choice of language or dialect spoken.

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Rosenberger, Lukas. "The Swiss English hypothesis the linguistics of English in Switzerland /." Tübingen Francke, 2006. http://d-nb.info/994607776/04.

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McGarry, Theresa, and J. Mwinyelle. "Adverbial Clauses and Gender in English and Spanish." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2014. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/6155.

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McLeod, Lilian M. "Semantic Categorization in Portuguese-English Bilinguals." FIU Digital Commons, 2015. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1825.

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The main purpose of this study was to investigate the cross-linguistic interactions in the semantic categorization of late Portuguese-English bilinguals. The lexical items used in this study have a wider range of applications in one language and narrower in the other. Three types of categories were examined: classical, homophones, and radials. Late Portuguese-English bilinguals, as well as Portuguese and English monolinguals, were tested. After hearing a word, participants were asked to choose from a set of images, one that could be labelled as such. Analyses showed that when tested in English, participants performed better when it was the wider language. Participants’ performance was lower on classical categories than on homophone and radial categories.

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Omar, Shalina. "Being Japanese in English: The Social and Functional Role of English Loanwords in Japanese." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2015. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/620.

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This thesis investigates native speaker attitudes towards English loanwords in Japanese and the ways in which these loanwords are used. The imperialism and hegemony of English can often cause anger or worry for the preservation of the cultural identity of the borrowing language. However, the results from a 9-page sociolinguistic questionnaire suggest that English loanwords are overwhelmingly seen as useful and necessary and are generally associated with positive attitudes. Additionally, many native Japanese speakers feel that loanwords provide more options for expression, both functionally and as a possible pragmatic tool for performing Japaneseness. On the other hand, overuse of loanwords—especially less common ones—can also exemplify the power imbalance between Japanese and the powerful and hegemonic English. The study also revealed how powerful the Japanese linguistic systems are at assimilating English into the Japanese language. With established and institutionally supported phonological and orthographic conventions in place, foreign-derived vocabulary can easily become nativized, assimilated, and considered to be Japanese in the minds of speakers.

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Tong, Mei Yee. "An analysis of Chinese and English editorials." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2005. http://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_ra/642.

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Joansson, Torour. "English loanwords in Faroese." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.244993.

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The thesis is an attempt at examining some hundred Faroese words which may be English loanwords considering form, pronunciation, and meaning. In the research efforts have been made to establish approximately when a loanword might have entered Faroese, based upon sound-changes which have taken place in the two languages over the past centuries. Thus the loanwords have been organised into five groups: Early loans, i.e. before 1600, Old loans, 1600-1800, Modern loans, 1800-1940, Recent loans, 1940-1995, and Other loans. All the loanwords have been discussed, also the indirect ones. Some attention has been paid to the historical and social background of Faroe, considered as the external circumstances for the adoption of English loanwords in the language; and it is pointed out that close connections and interaction between English and Faroese speakers must have been of greater importance than formerly assumed. The present research into English loanwords in Faroese seems to support such an assumption. In some cases old English vowels have been retained in Faroese, as for instance [o:] or [u:], or the sounds have changed according to the normal sound-changes taking place in the development from Old Norse to Modern Faroese, i.e. into the diphthongs [

u] or [uu] respectively. Such linguistic considerations have been of the utmost importance in establishing when a likely or possible English loanword may have entered Faroese. Practically all English loanwords in Faroese have been naturalised e.g. equipped with an appropriate grammatical form, and they have also been accommodated neatly into the Faroese phonological system. Only the most recent loanwords are unmistakably British or American English. In conclusion the most important sound-changes in the process of borrowing are summarised, and an historical conclusion questions whether Faroe has ever been as isolated as most scholars have taken for granted.

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McCully, Christopher B. "The phonology of English rhythm and metre, with special reference to Old English." Thesis, University of Manchester, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.257298.

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Cheung, Mei Ling Lisa. "Merging corpus linguistics and collaborative knowledge construction." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2009. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/464/.

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This study relates corpus-driven discourse analysis to the concept of collaborative knowledge construction. It demonstrates that the traditional synchronic perspective of meaning in corpus linguistics needs to be complemented by a diachronic dimension. The fundamental assumption underlying this work is that knowledge is understood not within the traditional epistemological framework but from a radical social epistemological perspective, and that incremental knowledge about an object of the discourse corresponds to continual change of meaning of the lexical item that stands for it. This stance is based on the assumption of the discourse as a self-referential system that uses paraphrase as a key device to construct new knowledge. Knowledge is thus seen as the result of collaboration between the members of a discourse community. The thesis presents, in great detail, case studies of asynchronous computer-mediated communication that allow a comprehensive categorisation of a wide range of paraphrase types. It also investigates overt and covert signs of intertextuality linking a new paraphrase to previous contributions. The study then discusses ways in which these new insights concerning the process of collaborative knowledge construction can have an impact on teaching methodologies.

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Baskaran, Lohanayahi. "Aspects of Malaysian English syntax." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1987. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1317756/.

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The thesis is a description of some of the basic elements in the syntax of meso-lectal Malaysian English (M.E.), that are different from that of Standard British English (S.B.E. or B.E.). What used to be considered as errors or learner's strategies are not necessarily so and a detailed examination of such elements shows that there is a systematic and rigid patterning in the syntax as such. After a description of the general sociolinguistic setting and the emergence of the concept of institutionalized varieties of English, vis-a-vis the non-native varieties, the first chapter briefly sumarises sane phonological as well as lexical features of M.E. The second chapter then discusses sane of the Noun Phrase elements such as the pluralisation of mass nouns (Individuation), article ellipsis and pronominal concord. The third chapter goes into the Verb Phrase features such as temporal distance (Remoteness Distinctions in Tense), the simplified modal system and the use of stative verbs in the progressive (Stativity and Progressivity). Clause structure elements are discussed in Chapter four, where it will be seen that the interrogative clauses (the wh-interrogative, yes-no interrogative and the alternative interrogative) have their differences in terms of word-order (no subject-operator inversion) and different tag elements. Similar to interrogative clausal features is one type of declarative clausal element where for the initially negated and the adverbially fronted declaratives, there is no subject-operator inversion in ME. The last element described in this chapter is copula ellipsis, followed by a summary of someof the other syntactic features in M.E. that need to be further researched on (such as adverbial positioning, ellipsis of the expletives it/there, substitution of such expletives with got and grammatical particles such as lah, man, what and one). The concluding fifth chapter summarises the main points of the core chapters (2,3,4) and also addresses sane of the relevant applied linguistic and socio-linguistic concerns.

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Erard, Michael-Jean. "Inscribing language : writing and scientific representation in American linguistics /." Full text (PDF) from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/fullcit?p3004259.

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El, Hassan El Tayeb El Mansour. "Graphological orientation in English and Arabic and its implications for transition to English medium education." Thesis, Aston University, 1986. http://publications.aston.ac.uk/14814/.

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Fear, William J. "The bilingual's lexicon : an investigation into the lexical level processing in Welsh-English/English-Welsh bilinguals." Thesis, Cardiff University, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.342566.

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Khan, Farhat. "Linguistic variation in Indian English : a sociolinguistic study." Thesis, University of Reading, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.328649.

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The present study responds to the longstanding need within the field of applied sociolinguistics for a better understanding of L2 variability. The study is concerned with the nature of phonological variation in the use of English by Indians. It is an attempt to use sociolinguistic methodology In examInIng a second language situation and to investigate: 1. Whether L2 variability is conditioned by linguistic constraints, and 2. Whether there is any social significance associated with L2 variability. The study is based on the data collected from 44 educated speakers of English in Aligarh (North India). The data was analysed by means of a variety of statistical and computer based programmes. Forty five minutes long interview was conducted by means of a questionnaire. The tasks, ranging from the informal to the most formal, were: (i) casual speech, (ii) short responses or interview style, (iii) reading passage and sentences, and (iv) reading minimal paIrs. There was, of course, no way to eliminate completely the influence of the interview situation, which generally causes speech to be more formal than casual. However, a number of techniques were used to enable the informants to relax and speak more casually. The first chapter deals with the socio-cultural and historical aspect of English in India. The second chapter looks at various theoretical approaches to the study of linguistic variability. The third chapter discusses the research methodology adopted for the present study. The fourth chapter examines the linguistic variants in different phonolog'ical environments and confirms our hypothesis that linguistic variation in second language IS systematic at the level of both the individual and the group. In the fifth chapter phonological variables have been analysed in relation to social demographic variables, such as schooling, education, age, sex and social class. The analysis in the sixth chapter deals with stylistic variation and shows a wide variation in different styles of speech. The seventh chapter very briefly examines intelligibility of Indian English and suggests that a change is probably taking place in Indian English due to social and political pressures within the country, particularly affecting younger generation. The last chapter begins with a brief discussion of the major findings and their social and linguistic implications and suggests ways in which the insights gained from the study can be utilised in the teaching of English as a second language.

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Wilson, P. "Ellipsis in English : Linguistic form and stylistic effect." Thesis, University of Essex, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.375732.

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Onraet, Lauren Alexandra. "English as a Lingua Franca and English in South Africa : distinctions and overlap." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6545.

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Thesis (MA (General Linguistics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.
Bibliography
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the prevalent, typical linguistic and discursive features of English as it is used as a shared medium of communication by speakers who do not share a first language in the Western Cape (i.e. as a lingua franca). These features were compared to those found in certain second-language varieties in South Africa, namely Black South African English, Cape Flats English and Afrikaans English. Fourteen female students from the University of Stellenbosch between the ages of 18 and 27 from various first language backgrounds were recruited for the data collection. A closed corpus was created in which recordings were made of semi-structured conversations between the participants, paired in seven groups of two speakers each. These recordings were then transcribed. In order to identify and analyse the English as a lingua franca (ELF) phenomena that arose, reference was made to the various linguistic features and methods of analysis of ELF suggested in House (2002), Seidlhofer (2004) and Meierkord (2000), amongst others. These features were then analysed and compared with the features reported in the literature on second-language varieties of English in South Africa. The study reveals that the South African ELF spoken by the participants displays similar features to the ELF(s) spoken in Europe, although certain European ELF features that occur in South African ELF are used to fulfil different functions. The study disclosed three ELF phenomena which have not been reported as such in the European ELF literature and therefore seem to be unique to the South African ELF context. Specifically, these are auxiliary dropping (AUX-drop), explicit self-doubt of a speaker‟s own ELF proficiency, and thinking aloud. Finally, certain South African ELF features are also reported to be features of South African second-language varieties (e.g. AUX-drop).
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek heersende, tipiese eienskappe van Engels wat beskryf word as linguisties en diskursief, spesifiek soos die eienskappe voorkom in Engels as ‟n gemeenskaplike vorm van kommunikasie tussen sprekers in die Wes-Kaap wat nie ‟n eerste taal gemeen het nie (m.a.w. waar Engels as ‟n lingua franca gebruik word). Dié eienskappe is vergelyk met ander wat gevind is in sekere tweedetaal-variëteite in SuidAfrika, naamlik Black South African English, Cape Flats English en sg. Afrikaans English. Veertien vroulike studente van die Universiteit van Stellenbosch tussen die ouderdomme van 18 en 27 en met ‟n verskeidenheid eerstetaal-agtergronde is gebruik vir die datainsameling. ‟n Geslote korpus is gevorm bestaande uit opnames van semi-gestruktureerde gesprekke tussen die deelnemers. Laasgenoemde is verdeel in sewe groepe van twee sprekers elk. Hierdie opnames is later getranskribeer. Ten einde die relevante Engels-aslingua-franca (ELF)-verskynsels te identifiseer en te analiseer, is daar eerstens gekyk na verskeie linguistiese eienskappe en metodes van analise van ELF soos voorgestel deur, onder andere, House (2002, 2009), Seidlhofer (2004) en Meierkord (2000). Hierna is die waargenome eienskappe geanaliseer en vergelyk met die eienskappe wat gerapporteer is in die literatuur oor tweedetaal-variëteite van Engels in Suid-Afrika. Die studie toon dat die Suid-Afrikaanse ELF wat deur die deelnemers gebruik word, soortgelyke eienskappe vertoon as ELF in die Europese konteks, met die uitsondering dat sekere Europese ELF-eienskappe wat in Suid-Afrikaanse ELF voorkom, plaaslik ander funksies vervul. Drie ELF-verskynsels wat nie as sodanig in die literatuur oor Europese ELF gerapporteer is nie, is gevind en is dus waarskynlik eiesoortig aan die Suid-Afrikaanse ELF-konteks. Dít sluit in hulpwerkwoord-weglating (sg. AUX-drop), eksplisiete uitspreek van onsekerheid oor ‟n spreker se eie ELF-bevoegdheid, en hardop dink. Ten slotte is daar ook gevind dat sekere Suid-Afrikaanse ELF-eienskappe tegelykertyd eienskappe van Suid Afrikaanse tweedetaal-variëteite is, soos bv. weglating van die hulpwerkwoord.

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Finzel, Anna Magdalena. "English in the linguistic landscape of Hong Kong : a case study of shop signs and linguistic competence." Master's thesis, Universität Potsdam, 2012. http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2013/6412/.

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Especially for the last twenty years, the studies of Linguistic Landscapes (LLs) have been gaining the status as an autonomous linguistic discipline. The LL of a (mostly) geographically limited area – which consists of e.g. billboards, posters, shop signs, material for election campaigns, etc. – gives deep insights into the presence or absence of languages in that particular area. Thus, LL not only allows to conclude from the presence of a language to its dominance, but also from its absence to the oppression of minorities, above all in areas where minority languages should – demographically seen – be visible. The LLs of big cities are fruitful research areas due to the mass of linguistic data. The first part of this paper deals with the theoretical and practical research that has been conducted in LL studies so far. A summary of the theory, methodologies and different approaches is given. In the second part I apply the theoretical basis to my own case study. For this, the LLs of two shopping streets in different areas of Hong Kong were examined in 2010. It seems likely that the linguistic competence of English must be rather high in Hong Kong, due to the long-lasting influence of British culture and mentality and the official status of the language. The case study's results are based on empirical data showing the objectively visible presence of English in both examined areas, as well as on two surveys. Those were conducted both openly and anonymously. The surveys are a reinsurance measuring the level of linguistic competence of English in Hong Kong. That level was defined before by an analysis of the LL. Hence, this case study is a new approach to LL analysis which does not end with the description of its material composition (as have done most studies before), but which rather includes its creators by asking in what way people's actual linguistic competence is reflected in Hong Kong's LL.
Das Forschungsfeld der Linguistic Landscape (LL) hat sich vor allem in den letzten zwanzig Jahren als autonome Disziplin im Bereich der Sprachwissenschaft emanzipiert. Die LL eines meist geografisch eingegrenzten Gebietes – die beispielsweise aus Reklametafeln, Plakaten, Ladenschildern, Wahlkampfpropaganda, etc. besteht – erlaubt tiefe Einblicke in die An- oder Abwesenheit von Sprachen auf dem jeweiligen Gebiet. Die LL lässt dadurch nicht nur Rückschlüsse auf die Dominanz einer Sprache aufgrund ihrer Anwesenheit zu, sondern auch auf die Unterdrückung einer Minderheit durch die Abwesenheit ihrer Sprache an Orten, an denen die Minderheitensprache demografisch gesehen eigentlich sichtbar sein müsste. Wegen des Überflusses an linguistischen Daten in den LLs großer Städte sind diese ergiebige Tätigkeitsfelder für die Disziplin. Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich im ersten Teil mit der theoretischen und praktischen Forschung, die es bislang zu diesem Thema gab. Sie prüft den Stand der Theoriebildung, fasst Methodiken zusammen und gibt einen Überblick über verschiedene Ansätze. Im zweiten Teil wird die theoretische Basis auf eine eigene Fallstudie angewendet. Für diese wurden 2010 die LLs zweier Einkaufsstraßen in unterschiedlichen Gegenden Hong Kongs untersucht. Durch den dort lange währenden Einfluss der englischen Kultur und Mentalität und den offiziellen Status der Sprache liegt der Schluss nahe, dass die Sprachkompetenz des Englischen in Hong Kong eher hoch sein muss. Die Ergebnisse der Fallstudie basieren sowohl auf der Erhebung von statistischen Daten, die die objektive Anwesenheit des Englischen in der LL beider untersuchten Gegenden zeigt, als auch auf zwei daraus resultierenden Befragungen. Diese wurden zum einen offen, zum anderen anonym durchgeführt. Die Befragungen stellen eine Rückversicherung dar, die den Grad der Sprachkompetenz des Englischen in Hong Kong misst, welcher zuvor anhand der LL festgestellt wurde. Damit bietet die Fallstudie einen neuen Ansatz der Untersuchung einer LL, der im Gegensatz zu vorangegangenen Studien nicht bei der Beschreibung ihrer materiellen Beschaffenheit endet, sondern auch ihre Schöpfenden miteinbezieht und sich fragt, inwiefern die LL von Hong Kong die tatsächliche Sprachkompetenz der Menschen widerspiegelt.

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Manga, Louise. "The syntax of adverbs in English." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/7948.

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In this thesis I use the Principles and Parameters model of generative grammar to explain the surface distribution of adverbs in English. Using the current parameters and principals assumed for UG plus the rule of move $\alpha,$ I explain the distribution of both sentential and VP-adverbs. I propose that adverbs are predicates subcategorizing for their arguments at D-S. Like other predicates in English, adverbs are generated on the right of their subjects. Certain adverbs subcategorize for two arguments while other adverbs subcategorize for one argument. The selectional restrictions of the adverb are satisfied at S-S. Like other predicates, it is the maximal projection (AdvP) that governs its subject(s). Government is an m-command relationship. The AdvP can move to the left, either through substitution to an empty X$\sp\prime$ adjunction site or through adjunction to an XP. The maximal projection of the subject forms a barrier out of which the AdvP can not move. Maximal projections, except AgrP, are barriers. In English, the AdvP can not move if the adverb is subcategorized for by the verb. This thesis also compares the explanatory powers of my approach to recent syntactic approaches by Iatridou, Travis and Zagona. I also relate my findings to the semantic approaches by Jackendoff, Bellert and Rochette.

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Howe, Darin M. "Negation in early African American English." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1995. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/mq24075.pdf.

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Styles, Tania. "Old English semantics : problems of evidence." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.285515.

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Rosta, Andrew. "English syntax and word grammar theory." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.288690.

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Walton, Alan Leslie. "The pragmatics of English modal verbs." Thesis, Boston Spa, U.K. : British Library Document Supply Centre, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?did=1&uin=uk.bl.ethos.283842.

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McKay, David Andrew. "Metrical theory and English verse." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/10777.

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Leung, Wong Yuen-ching Susan. "Mother tongue job-related oral competency technical presentation training effectiveness through applied linguistics." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1999. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B20971539.

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Lintz, Jana. "A Positive Look at the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis; How this Effect Affects English." University of Toledo Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=uthonors1355495583.

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Woods, Nicola J. "Sociolinguistic patterns in English pitch and intonation." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.334882.

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Lataiwish, Muftah S. "An analysis of literary translation Arabic/English." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.288057.

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McMahon, April M. S. "Constraining lexical phonology : evidence from English vowels." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.236336.

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Creaney, Norman. "An incremental approach to scoping in English." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.241387.

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Abdelmoumene, N. "Sentential complementation in French, English and Arabic." Thesis, University of Essex, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.384488.

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Rupp, Laura Marie. "Aspects of the syntax of English imperatives." Thesis, University of Essex, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.284607.

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Suphi, Menekșe Sezin. "Non-linear analyses in English historical phonology." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/18646.

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McPherson, Stuart. "Studies in early English element order, with special reference to the early Middle English Lambeth Homillies." Thesis, Boston Spa, U.K. : British Library Document Supply Centre, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?did=1&uin=uk.bl.ethos.388541.

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Flagg, Elissa Jill 1974. "Interface issues in the English imperative." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8156.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy, 2002.
"September 2002."
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-159).
Two puzzles in the syntax of the English imperative are treated here as consequences of interface conditions. The first concerns the inability of certain predicates to take an overt subject in the imperative. The second concerns the ungrammaticality of certain negative and emphatic imperatives with an overt subject. The investigation yields a deeper understanding of the role of LF and PF ineffability in the grammar. A widely encountered generalization holds that the overt subject is optional in the English imperative. Evidence is presented that this generalization is problematic on two counts. First, the presence vs. absence of an overt subject actually correlates with a subtle aspectual distinction. Related to this phenomenon, some imperatives actually disallow an overt subject. This work argues that overt subject licensing in the imperative occurs in a phrase projected from an aspectual feature that is incompatible with the semantic representation of stative predicates. Therefore, the restriction against overt subjects in imperatives with such predicates reflects not a failure in the syntactic component, but ineffability at the LF-interface, where the meaning representation of the predicate is incompatible with it the syntactic context it is embedded in. A second major puzzle in the imperative is that the overt subject is disallowed in negative/emphatic imperatives with do (not), yet allowed in negative imperatives with don't. This restriction on the occurrence of the overt subject is argued to stem from a disruption that the subject argument causes for the satisfaction of a morphological adjacency requirement of the sentential negation head [NEG], or its affirmative counterpart, [AFF].
In this case, the unavailability of overt subjects in imperatives with do (not) stems not from a restriction in the syntax or semantics, but from ineffability at the PF-interface, where the overt subject exerts an intervention effect for a morphological adjacency requirement that holds between the polarity heads [NEG] and [AFF] and the verb. Chapter 1 provides background material and introduces previous attempts to explain the two major puzzles identified above. Chapter 2 deals with the semantic restriction on overt subject imperatives. In Chapter 3, the morphological adjacency disruption approach to the *do (not) subject puzzle is proposed. Consequences of this approach for the nature of head movement are explored, and a structural account of do-support under a PF head movement analysis is developed. Chapter 4 examines some consequences of the proposal in Chapter 3 for the phenomena of Auxiliary Reduction and Neg-raising in English.
by Elissa Jill Flagg.
Ph.D.

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Kearns, Katherine Susan. "The semantics of the English progressive." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/13730.

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Garnier, Mélodie. "English phrasal verbs : usage, knowledge, acquisition." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2016. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38662/.

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Formulaic language constitutes an essential part of English vocabulary and is necessary for performing a wide range of communicative functions, but knowledge and acquisition of formulaic sequences is typically found to be lacking and problematic for L2 learners. Whilst much research has been carried out on formulaic sequences such as idioms and collocations, comparatively little has been done on phrasal verbs which are nonetheless commonly perceived as one of the most challenging aspects of English vocabulary. This thesis attempts to contribute to filling this gap by exploring the usage, knowledge and acquisition of phrasal verbs by native and non-native speakers of English. Study 1 explores the semantic frequencies of the 150 most frequently used phrasal verbs using the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). Results show that, whilst the vast majority of these phrasal verbs are polysemous, only two meaning senses on average are enough to cover three-quarters of the occurrences of each of them. The most frequent meaning senses of all 150 phrasal verbs are listed in the PHrasal VErb pedagogical List (PHaVE List), in frequency ranking order along with frequency percentages. The list thus offers teachers and learners the possibility of prioritising these most frequent, and thus most important, meaning senses, thereby allowing for a more systematic approach to tackling phrasal verbs. Study 2 explores L2 learners’ knowledge of a sample of phrasal verbs and meaning senses on the PHaVE List at a form-recall level of mastery, and the effect of a number of factors on this knowledge. Results show that only about 40 % of meaning senses were known, with a 20 % chance that all the various meaning senses attached to a given phrasal verb would be known. A mixed-effect modelling analysis reveals a significant effect of two factors on scores: item frequency and learner engagement in leisure activities in the L2 such as reading and social networking. This is consistent with previous research showing the robust effect of frequency for L2 knowledge of individual words and formulaic sequences, and the benefits of reading for L2 language acquisition. Study 3 investigates L2 learners’ acquisition of novel phrasal verbs through three intentional, word-focused learning activities: rote memorisation, textbook exercises, and guessing from context. Knowledge of the items was measured both immediately and one week after the teaching treatment at meaning-recall and meaning-recognition levels of mastery. Results show encouraging learning gains, similar to those found by previous research for individual words and idioms, with higher L2 proficiency and general vocabulary knowledge leading to significantly higher scores. A Friedman test reveals no significant difference in learning gains between the three activities. Taken together, these studies provide empirical evidence for the gap in L2 learners’ knowledge of phrasal verbs, but suggest that a restricted number of phrasal verbs and meaning senses can go a long way and be effectively learned using the same explicit activities commonly used for learning single words. Overall, they offer useful insights for learning and teaching English phrasal verbs in a more systematic and efficient manner.

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McGarry, Theresa, and J. Mwinyelle. "Adverbial Clause Usage and Gender in English, Spanish, and French." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2016. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/6154.

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This study examines adverbial clause usage by women and men in three contexts: (1) single-gender and mixed-gender meetings of a US social club, (2) single-gender and mixed gender dyads speaking Ecuadorean Spanish, and (3) French speakers in informal interviews. The English results generally support past findings that women tend to use adverbial clauses to weaken their expressed commitments to the propositions they express, while men tend to use more of the clauses that strengthen the expressed commitments. However, the situation affects the specific clause types used, and the English results are not replicated in the Spanish or French data.

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Giaber, Jamal Mohamed. "Translating derivational suffixes in linguistics terminology from English into Arabic." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/22243.

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Affixes have been treated globally without adequate regard to their use in the discipline, and without proper consideration of translation problems. What is actually needed is a thorough treatment of affixes from the point view of terminological translation, and in the light of Arabic word-formation devices. This study is a contribution in this respect. It considers the translation of ten suffixes in linguistics terminology from English into Arabic. These suffixes are: -able, -ization, -lect, -eme, -nym, -graph, -graphy, -gram, -logy and -ics. In discussing the issues related to translating these suffixes, the following six-procedure approach was adopted: (1) identification of the origin and general use(s) in English of each suffix, (2) identification of the technical sense(s) of each suffix in linguistics, (3) identification of the ways through which Arabic expresses the concepts denoted in English by the discussed suffix, (4) critical discussion of the translation equivalents offered by Arab terminographers for the linguistic terms formed each of the above suffixes, (5) identification or suggestion of suitable translation technique(s) that achieve(s) precision, concision, and consistency, and maintain(s) formal and conceptual relationships between morphologically and semantically related terms, and (6) verification of the adopted translation techniques and linguistic devices by suggesting suitable translation equivalents for all included terms. The study is divided into six chapters the first of which is an introduction . The second chapter is devoted to some linguistic and terminological preliminaries, including (a) special nature of technical terms in general, (b) nature of linguistics terminology in English and its impact on translation, (c) significance of word-formation and its implications for terminological translation, (d) word-structure and word-formation in Arabic, and (e) nature of English suffixes and its implications for terminological translation into Arabic. Issues related to translating the selected suffixes proper are discussed in the core chapters as follows: the suffixes -able and -ization in chapter three, the suffixes -lect, -eme and -nym in chapter four, the suffixes -graph, -graphy and -gram in chapter five, and the suffixes -logy and -ics in chapter six.

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Mansfield, Lia Vittoria DeMarco. "A CVG Approach to Verp-Particle Constructions in English." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1284997567.

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Huang, Xiaocong. "Stylistic approaches to literary translation : with particular reference to English-Chinese and Chinese-English translation." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2011. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/2949/.

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This thesis reports a study applying stylistics in the analysis and assessment of literary translation, with specific reference to translations between English and Chinese. It focuses on how to maintain the original style in the translation – in terms of techniques or linguistic features in the literary texts and their correspondent functions – and on how to assess the style of the individual translation and translator as measured by quantitative data derived from corpus linguistic analyses. The thesis starts with an overview of the specific challenges of literary translation and the value of stylistics as an approach assisting in a better understanding of the literary texts, which shows the need for using stylistics in literary translation. It then illustrates how to apply stylistics in literary translation, taking the examples of central stylistic phenomena such as metaphor, free indirect speech, heteroglossia, repetition, and transitivity in the English translations of the celebrated Chinese novella《阿Q正传》(The True Story of Ah Q) (Lu Xun, 1921) and in the Chinese translations of the English short stories “Two Gallants” and “The Dead” (Joyce, 1914). I investigate the distinguishable “fingerprints” of the Chinese translators of the 《阿Q正传》 through scrutinizing the data uncovered by corpus tools, taking into consideration each translator’s individual style alongside any detectable motivations pertaining to their personal experiences, the publishing context, and so on. This study argues that literary texts – as distinct from non-literary texts – have a real but hard-to-define “added value”, carried by the particular way in which they exploit lexis, grammar, and pragmatics; this added value is everything to do with the text’s style. A good literary translation must reproduce something of the source text’s style; otherwise the distinguishing literariness in the original will not be conveyed in the target text. Stylistic and corpus methods can help identify important stylistic features in the original, and can help us to evaluate whether equivalent features are or are not present in one or several translations of that original.

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Godby, Carol Jean. "A Computational Study of Lexicalized Noun Phrases in English." The Ohio State University, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1017343683.

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Melnick, Robin. "Plurality cues and non-agreement in English existentials." Thesis, San Jose State University, 2013. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1541541.

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This paper furthers the discussion of variable agreement in English existential constructions. Previous studies across dialects have shown that there +be with a plural notional post-copular subject is frequently realized with contracted singular agreement, for example, "There's many articles on this topic." Prior work in building probabilistic models for predicting the presence of agreement or non-agreement in any given such _there+be sentential context has investigated a variety of factors with potential influence on this variation, but the present study provides evidence for the inclusion of two novel and significantly predictive elements: a plurality "cue distance" and a new taxonomy for determiner type. The latter references each form's strength in terms of number semantics, rather than along the lines of definiteness employed in traditional determiner classifications. These new factors are, in turn, motivated by a general formulation, the Weak Number Hypothesis, which offers further insight into factor significances found by prior works. Multiple corpus studies and logistic regression model analysis provide empirical support for the central hypothesis and its attendant predictions.

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Ludani, Malele Ma. "Contrastive analysis of English, French and Kikongo interrogatives." Thesis, Bangor University, 1990. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.257643.

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Ahn, Mikyung. "The phonological interlanguage of Korean learners of English." Thesis, Cardiff University, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.286170.

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Barbu, CaÌŒtaÌŒlina. "Bilingual pronoun resolution : experiments in English and French." Thesis, University of Wolverhampton, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.275818.

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Runsewe, O. I. "Communication in general Nigerian English : An intonational study." Thesis, University of Essex, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.375724.

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Black, Gladys Elizabeth. "Educational drama, regional dialect & spoken standard English." Thesis, University of Ulster, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.390152.

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TrenkicÌ, Danijela. "The acquisition of English articles by Serbian speakers." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.275438.

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Crouch, Richard Stamford. "The temporal properties of English conditionals and modals." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.307016.

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Rampton, Michael Benjamin Helyer. "Uses of English in a multilingual British peergroup." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1987. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10019219/.

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This research is innovative in its intensive focus on a multilingual peergroup in Britain. It studies a group of twenty-three boys of Indian, Pakistani, Afro-caribbean and Anglo parentage by means of interviews, questionnaires, participant-observation and radio-microphone recording. It addresses two main issues. The first issue situates the study within quantitative sociolinguistics. Following Le Page, the research asks: how is it possible to examine the social distribution of speech variants given the flexibility and mutability of group affiliation? Two empirical approaches are recommended: network analysis gives leverage on interactional association, and Identtty Structure Analysis assesses psycho-social identifications. The conceptual compatibility of these approaches is carefully stated, and a critique made of closely related sociolinguistics (Milroy and Giles). A demonstration analysis is conducted on two phonological variables, incorporating a critical evaluation of this methodology and suggestions for future use. The second theme concerns a form of secondary Foreigner Talk: what is happening when members of the multilingual peer-group deliberately speak Indian-accented English? Interactional sociolinguistics forms the initial reference-point, and a clarified elaboration of Gumperz's distinction between metaphorical and situational code-switching is developed, capable of addressing issues of social power, growth and marginalisation. Data on this rhetorical Indian English are examined in the light of this model, and then analysis shifts towards more macro perspectives, aligning itself more with the ethnography of speaking. It investigates perceptions of genuine Asian English speakers locally, and proposes that for bilinguals these vary systematically according to domain (local domains having been previously identified) • An outline is given of the impact of migration on the status of English, together with the colonial legacy of racist attitudes towards non-Anglo English in the dominant society. Finally an attempt is made to explicate the peer-group's use of secondary Foreigner Talk within this local and national matrix.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'English Linguistics'

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