{"title":"Foreword","authors":"Nina Golob","doi":"10.4312/ala.8.2.5-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4312/ala.8.2.5-5","url":null,"abstract":"This last year has been busy for the journal not only in terms of the volume of submissions but also due to the newliest demands as an online journal. Words of appreciaton go to the authors who have contributed to this edition, all the reviewers, finally to the production team, who prepared the papers for publication. Altogether this summer’s edition of the journal brings together six research articles. \u0000The first paper was authored by Karen HUANG, who acoustically analyzed neutral tone syllables in Taiwan Mandarin to show the effects of stress and accent on its tone patterns. \u0000The following paper is a corpus study on phonemic status of Bangla nasal vowels and was written by Jahurul ISLAM. It offers a new insight into the number of such vowels, which is lower than reported up until now. \u0000Nina GOLOB and Mateja PETROVČIČ wrote an article on vowel sequences in Japanese and Chinese, and reviewed their appearance in official Latin scripts of the two languages and pronunciation catches in those scripts. \u0000A paper by Liulin ZHANG dedicates its attention to a character-based historical overview of the notional passive construction in Chinese through corpus analysis. \u0000Yet another paper on Chinese was written by LI Wenchao, who focused on the evolution of the Chinese verb 断 (duàn ‘break’) and discussed the development of its several syntactic functions. \u0000Last but not least, I-hao WOO’s paper on Mandarin Chinese perfective suffix -le proposed a straightforward definition on the core function of the suffix, and provided a simple way for the instruction of it. \u0000Editors and Editorial Board wish the regular and new readers of the ALA journal a pleasant read full of inspiration.","PeriodicalId":37373,"journal":{"name":"Acta Linguistica Asiatica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49567880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Phonological Identity of the Neutral-tone Syllables in Taiwan Mandarin: An Acoustic Study","authors":"Karen Huang","doi":"10.4312/ala.8.2.9-50","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4312/ala.8.2.9-50","url":null,"abstract":"Taiwan Mandarin, one of the more syllable-timed dialects of Mandarin, has fewer unstressed syllables than Standard Mandarin. Acoustic analyses show that the supposedly unstressed syllables—neutral-tone syllables—in Taiwan Mandarin behave differently from those of Standard Mandarin. Unlike Standard Mandarin, these syllables do not raise their pitch after Tone 3. They have a distinct static mid-low pitch target and the target is implemented with a stronger articulatory strength. Moreover, acoustic analyses demonstrate that not all of these “unstressed syllables” are unstressed. The phonetic evidence suggests that these neutral-tone syllables should be analyzed as unaccented rather than unstressed in Taiwan Mandarin. These unaccented syllables are only lexically marked, and their pitch is neutralized into a mid-low tone. This study sheds light on how rhythm can affect stress and accent in a lexical tone language.","PeriodicalId":37373,"journal":{"name":"Acta Linguistica Asiatica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48480491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hokkaido Pumpkins and Huawei Phones: Anti-hiatus Tendencies in Slovene","authors":"Nina Golob, Mateja Petrovčič","doi":"10.4312/ALA.8.2.63-82","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4312/ALA.8.2.63-82","url":null,"abstract":"In Slovene, sound shapes of Japanese and Chinese words undergoing the process of assimilation may be quite different from their origins, which in the end should not come as a surprise as it is so in many other languages. However, the fact that there are many cases with two slightly different Slovene pronunciations of the same Japanese or Chinese word, of which one is closer to the original sound shape than the other, calls for a more comprehensive investigation on the factors that contributed to such a result. This research pays attention to vowel sequences in Japanese and Chinese, and how they appear in Slovene as the so called visiting lexica. Though the two languages carry out vowel sequences in different ways, similarities can be found in the way Slovene detects and resolves their vowel hiatuses. Authors stress the importance of metrical aspects of the original sound shapes, which Latin script includes inconsistently or does not express at all. Phonological approach to vowel sequences solution to vowel hiatus and offers systematic guidelines on pronunciation of the Latin script. Besides, it may further bring some new insights into possible solution on conjugation and declination forms of Japanese and Chinese loanwords in Slovene.","PeriodicalId":37373,"journal":{"name":"Acta Linguistica Asiatica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46315082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Phonemic status of Bangla nasal vowels: A corpus study","authors":"Md. Jahurul Islam","doi":"10.4312/ala.8.2.51-62","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4312/ala.8.2.51-62","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigated the phonemic status of the nasal vowels in Bangla (aka Bengali). It has been claimed for decades that all the seven monophthongal oral vowels in Bangla have phonemically contrastive nasal counterparts; however, an in-depth investigation of the status of nasality for all the vowels is lacking in the current literature. With a phoneme dictionary build from a text corpus of 8 (eight) million word-tokens and about 275 thousand word-types, this study investigated whether all the oral vowels have phonemically contrastive nasal vowels. Findings revealed that only five of the seven monophthongal vowels form phonemically contrastive relationships with their nasal counterparts; nasality in /æ/ and /ɔ/ are not contrastive phonemically.","PeriodicalId":37373,"journal":{"name":"Acta Linguistica Asiatica","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41389302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Grammaticalization and lexicalization: suggestions regarding the development of the Chinese change-of-state verb","authors":"Wenchao Li","doi":"10.4312/ALA.8.2.111-137","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4312/ALA.8.2.111-137","url":null,"abstract":"This paper discusses the evolution of the Chinese verb 断 (duàn ‘break’), exploring how the lexicon has transformed from being a substantive transitive verb in the past to the various functions it fulfils in contemporary Chinese: i.e. a resultative complement, an adjective, an adverb and a noun. Findings reveal that duàn was initially transitive and its intransitive function was derived during the Spring and Autumn period (772–476 BC). The two functions co-existed for the rest of the Pre-Qin period (before 221 BC). Duàn’s transition into a resultative complement began during the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25–220), and its noun function was shaped in the Warring State period (475–221 BC). Finally, Duàn’s adjective and adverb functions are noted to begin in Middle Chinese (AD 420–1279). Although some of these transitions took place more or less simultaneously during overlapping periods, they developed via two separate paths: the process by which duàn developed into a resultative complement, an adverb, and an adjective is that of grammaticalization, while on the other hand, the process by which duàn developed into a noun is that of lexicalization. Essentially, it is the intransitive function that is subject to grammaticalization and it is the transitive function that is subject to lexicalization. In this paper it is therefore proposed that the above diachronic change is taken as a cline, and is put forward as follows: (a) grammaticalization and lexicalization are not distinct processes but rather happen to a lexeme more or less simultaneously; and (b) interrelationship between the two processes is orthogonal.","PeriodicalId":37373,"journal":{"name":"Acta Linguistica Asiatica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44485762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Chinese Notional Passive Construction under the View of Cognitive Construction Grammar","authors":"Liulin Zhang","doi":"10.4312/ALA.8.2.83-110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4312/ALA.8.2.83-110","url":null,"abstract":"The notional passive construction (NPC, henceforth) is claimed to be the most common form of passive and the earliest mode of passive expression in Chinese. However, under the view of cognitive construction grammar, NPC remains a mystery with its form not clearly defined and its function not particularly discussed. Taking a character-based historical approach, this paper studies the form designated by NPC, the ‘theme + verbal’ structure in corpus data. Results show that the ‘theme + verbal’ structure is extremely stable in the history of the Chinese language, denoting change of state. In conjunction with some cross-linguistic findings, a change-of-state construction can thereby be proposed for the form ‘theme + verbal’. Accordingly, the idea of the so-called “notional passive construction” is challenged in the way that it essentially refers to a special situation of the change-of-state construction when the event expressed by the verbal is not likely to occur spontaneously- it is not a construction itself, yet plausibly passive.","PeriodicalId":37373,"journal":{"name":"Acta Linguistica Asiatica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47658864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"On Perfective –le in Mandarin Chinese: Theoretical and Pedagogical Issues","authors":"I. Woo","doi":"10.4312/ALA.8.2.139-158","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4312/ALA.8.2.139-158","url":null,"abstract":"Although Mandarin Chinese perfective -le has been extensively studied in the literature, views on its linguistic properties nevertheless remain controversial. In this study, I first discuss the temporal function of perfective -le and provide an alternative account. In the spirit of Klein’s (1994) approach regarding different temporal intervals, I demonstrate that the core function of this suffix is to indicate that one event occurs after another. I then address the issue of the English translation of perfective -le in a Chinese as a foreign or second language class and argue that English present perfect construction may not represent the translation correctly. The proposal not only gives a more straightforward definition of the perfective -le, but also provides a simpler way for the instruction of the suffix.","PeriodicalId":37373,"journal":{"name":"Acta Linguistica Asiatica","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45718358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Overview of Japanese Language in Upper Secondary Education and School Curriculum in Romania","authors":"M. Lungu","doi":"10.4312/ala.8.1.101-110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4312/ala.8.1.101-110","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, I focus my attention on the problem of teaching Japanese as part of compulsory subjects in an upper secondary education to pupils aged between 15 to 19. This article starts out with a brief overview of the Romanian education system and the current state of Japanese teaching in the upper secondary education. As compared to other educational curricula, the Romanian education system focuses on competency-based curriculum emphasizing the applicability of knowledge and the development of competences in an integrated and inter-disciplinary approach. The Japanese Language is part of that curricular area named as Language and Communication. In the Romanian educational system, the process of teaching the Japanese language starts from lower secondary school and continues to upper secondary and then to university level. In the lower secondary school, pupils study the Japanese Language as an elective subject, while in the upper secondary school, they learn Japanese as a mandatory subject of the core curriculum and as an elective one of school-based curriculum. Next, attention is paid to outline the current situation of teaching Japanese in the upper-secondary education system, providing details of our curricula, types of subjects, and specific features of Japanese classes. Forms of Japanese language education vary greatly, as well as their target students and objectives. However, the focus of all is a balanced education in the four language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. In addition to the Japanese language study, Japanese syllabi provide cultural and general education to learn the properties in Japanese Society and about contemporary culture.","PeriodicalId":37373,"journal":{"name":"Acta Linguistica Asiatica","volume":"8 1","pages":"101-110"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48979385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Current State of Japanese Language Education in Serbia and Proposal for Future Solutions","authors":"Divna Tričković","doi":"10.4312/ALA.8.1.77-89","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4312/ALA.8.1.77-89","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this paper is to address the state of the education system in Serbia in relation to Japanese language studies, with a particular focus on primary and secondary educational institutions. To start off, I will introduce the institutions where the Japanese language is being taught in Serbia, before turning my attention to the teaching programs (i.e. course guidelines as an accredited national guideline). Following that, I will present our Japanese language textbook writing projects. Finally, I will shed light on the problems we have faced and propose a number of potential solutions.","PeriodicalId":37373,"journal":{"name":"Acta Linguistica Asiatica","volume":"8 1","pages":"77-89"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44312082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Japanese Language Teaching at Tertiary Level in Slovenia: Past Experiences, Future Perspectives","authors":"Kristina Hmeljak Sangawa","doi":"10.4312/ALA.8.1.51-64","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4312/ALA.8.1.51-64","url":null,"abstract":"Japanese language teaching does not have a very long tradition in Slovenia, yet the teaching of Japanese has significantly developed both in qualitative and in quantitative terms in the past 20 years. This paper presents an overview of past Japanese language courses and of the development of Japanese language instruction in Slovenia at various levels of instruction and in different institutional settings, pointing out changes in learner motivation, increasing accessibility of language learning resources, and the growth and diversification of (present and potential) Japanese language teachers. The paper concludes with some suggestions for further development and for an increased networking among Japanese language teachers and learners.","PeriodicalId":37373,"journal":{"name":"Acta Linguistica Asiatica","volume":"8 1","pages":"51-64"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46714570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}