International Journal of American Linguistics最新文献

{"title":"The Phonology of Panãra: A Segmental Analysis","authors":"M. Lapierre","doi":"10.1086/723642","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/723642","url":null,"abstract":"This paper provides a detailed description and analysis of the phonology of Panãra (ISO code: kre), a Northern Jê language spoken in central Brazil. Panãra exhibits a particularly large phonemic inventory, which contrasts oral and nasal segments, as well as short and long segments, in both its consonant and vowel inventories. Specifically, the language exhibits seventeen contrastive consonants, twenty-eight contrastive vowels, and a very complex phonological grammar at the segmental level, with a number of significant alternations. The prosodic phonology of Panãra will be presented in a separate article (Lapierre 2023).","PeriodicalId":46577,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of American Linguistics","volume":"89 1","pages":"183 - 218"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43843743","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Effect of Gender Differences on Foreign Language Learning","authors":"Philemon Okio","doi":"10.47604/ijl.1872","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47604/ijl.1872","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigatethe effect of gender differences on foreign languagelearning.Methodology: The study adopted a desktopmethodology. Desk research refers to secondary dataor that which can be collected without fieldwork.Desk research is basically involved in collecting datafrom existing resources hence it is often considered alow cost technique as compared to field research, asthe main cost is involved in executive’s time,telephone charges and directories. Thus, the studyrelied on already published studies, reports andstatistics. This secondary data was easily accessedthrough the online journals and library.Findings: The findings revealed that there exists acontextual and methodological gap relating to theeffect of gender differences on foreign languagelearning. Preliminary empirical review revealed thatmotivation is the overriding factor to consider whileinterpreting study results. The differences inmotivation among males and females of variousability levels and the differential effect of themotivation on individuals belonging to thesegender groups are important to decide the kindsof activities that would most benefit all learners.Ability and gender are students ‘variables that havenot been widely investigated in foreign languagestudying and less taken togetherUnique Contribution to Theory, Practice andPolicy: The Social Constructivist theory,Socialization theory and the Interactionist theory maybe used to anchor future studies relating to the effectof gender differences on foreign language learning.There is need to investigate variables such as abilityand gender into the establishment of policyframeworks that enable both genders in the foreignlanguage learning process. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":46577,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of American Linguistics","volume":"69 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75648922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Postcolonial Psyche in English Novels from India and Africa","authors":"Isaias Haileab","doi":"10.47604/ijl.1861","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47604/ijl.1861","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: Postcolonial Themes in English Novels from India and Africa is a thematic analysis of four novels, two from India and two from Africa. The novels are: Anita Desai’s Cry the Peacock, Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, and Ngugi Wa Thiongo’s Matigari. They represent the vast postcolonial writing which has emanated from these two lands as a result of the disaffection that indigenous writers felt that colonialism had exacted on their people, culture and literature. The novels stand out in their treatment of the postcolonial themes of conflicts between the colonial and the local, the past and the present, the traditional and the modern, the communal and the individual aspects of the European colonial legacy in both India and Africa. A study in Postcolonial English novels from India and Africa is important as it may unfold the comparative experience of the effect of colonial period and the literary reaction by English language novelists from these two lands, which were subject to more or less similar colonial master. \u0000Findings: The study reveals that all the four novels share in common the strong postcolonial theme which is at the crux of everything that follow. The story of the coming and going of the colonial powers in India and Africa had left their mark and it was not naturally compatible to the peoples of the populace in these two environments that were both colonized by the British. \u0000Methodology: This article is based on a textual analysis of primary and secondary materials. The primary materials were obtained from the four selected English novels from India and Africa: Anita Desai’s Cry the Peacock, Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, and Ngugi Wa Thiongo’s Matigari. The secondary materials were obtained from various books and articles published on the novels and on the subject of discussion as well. ","PeriodicalId":46577,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of American Linguistics","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81212973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Role of Motivation in Learning English Foreign Language on the Academic Achievements of Students in China","authors":"Leo Yung","doi":"10.47604/ijl.1855","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47604/ijl.1855","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of motivation in learning English foreign language on the academic achievements of students in China. \u0000Methodology: The study adopted a desktop methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. \u0000Findings: The findings revealed that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to the role of motivation in learning English foreign language on the academic achievements of students in China. Preliminary empirical review reveals that motivation is a component that is both very crucial and effective in the process of picking up a new language. Therefore, it is important for instructors and lecturers of languages to learn about, appreciate, and pay attention to the personalities of the pupils in their classes. In addition, they need to have an understanding of motivation, the significant value it holds, and the different forms it might take. \u0000Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Gardner’s Motivation theory, the Acculturation model and the Self Determination theory may be used to anchor future studies relating to the role of motivation in learning English foreign language. The study will be beneficial to EFL teachers and other relevant stakeholders in establishing policies and strategies to promote motivation in learning English foreign language. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":46577,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of American Linguistics","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73975871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Use of Information and Communication Technology in English Foreign Language Learning","authors":"Polycarp O Otieno","doi":"10.47604/ijl.1858","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47604/ijl.1858","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of ICT in English foreign language learning. \u0000Methodology: The study adopted a desktop methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. \u0000Findings: The findings revealed that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to the use of ICT in English foreign language learning. Preliminary empirical review reveals that ICT presents a powerful learning environment for learners in the classroom. Many countries make investments in ICT integration as ICT is viewed as an effective tool for renewing educational practice in any field. Because teachers are the main characters to employ ICT in educational contexts, they should be trained in how ICT can be integrated into the teaching process. \u0000Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Cognitive Load theory, the Interactionist theory and the Constructivist theory may be used to anchor future studies in the use of ICT in English foreign language learning. This study will provide some insights to instructors, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders in the integration of ICT in the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language to produce better results. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":46577,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of American Linguistics","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81174378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Factors Influencing Students Attitudes towards Learning English as a Foreign Language in Tertiary Institutions in Zanzibar, Tanzania","authors":"M. M","doi":"10.47604/ijl.1840","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47604/ijl.1840","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: This study aimed at investigating the factors influencing students’ attitudes towards learning English as a foreign language in tertiary institutions in Zanzibar. \u0000Methodology: The study adopted a desktop methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. \u0000Findings: The results revealed that there exist conceptual and contextual gaps relating to the study on the factors influencing students’ attitudes towards learning English as a foreign language in tertiary institutions in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Preliminary empirical review reveals that these attitudinal factors are divided into two main domains, that is, internal and external factors. Internal factors included students’ interest, self-confidence, lexicon knowledge, anxiety, risk-taking willingness, curiosity, and awareness of the English role. \u0000Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Affective Filter hypothesis, Cognitive theory and the Social learning theory may be used to anchor future studies in the acquisition of second foreign language in tertiary institutions. The study will be beneficial to Foreign Language teachers in these tertiary institutions, the school administration and policymakers in establishing strategies that will create a conducive environment for learners to be able to adjust and easily comprehend the foreign language being delivered. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":46577,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of American Linguistics","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85248805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating Foreign Language Learning Anxiety: A Case of French Students in Ghana","authors":"James Nkrumah","doi":"10.47604/ijl.1841","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.47604/ijl.1841","url":null,"abstract":"Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate foreign language learning anxiety amongst French students in Ghana. \u0000Methodology: The study adopted a desktop methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. \u0000Findings: The findings revealed that there exists a contextual and a methodological gap relating to investigating foreign language learning anxiety among French students in Ghana. Preliminary empirical review reveals that that French-speaking students at Ghanaian educational institutions suffer from moderate anxiety. Because the French language system is distinct from their own and the English language system, this may be a source of anxiety. Pre-university exposure to the French language, particularly in elementary and secondary school, may assist to reduce anxiety to a moderate degree. \u0000Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope’s Theory. The Cognitive theory and the Krashen’s Affective Filter Theory may be used to anchor future studies relating to foreign language learning anxiety. The study will be beneficial to EFL teachers and other relevant stakeholders in establishing policies and strategies to create a conducive environment to allow foreign language learners have an easy time in acquisition of a foreign language. \u0000 ","PeriodicalId":46577,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of American Linguistics","volume":"67 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78707625","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Pragmatic Functions of (Now) in Informal Arabic in Saudi Arabia","authors":"Monera Almohawes","doi":"10.5296/ijl.v15i1.20673","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v15i1.20673","url":null,"abstract":"The present study aims to investigate the pragmatic meaning and functions of halhen (now) as a discourse marker in informal Arabic. To do so, the researcher implemented Aijmer’s (2002) classification of the discourse functions of now. The results show that halhen has textual and affective functions. Regarding its textual functions, halhen could be a topic changer for telling new information or returning to an earlier point; a frame between discourse units; a turn-taking signal; an item separating sub-topics; a marker of a new step in an argument; a marker of a new action in a cumulative series of actions; or an indicator of background information in the form of elaboration, explanation, clarification, or support. The findings also indicate that halhen, in its affective functions, works as a marker of affective stance for evaluation, an expression introducing the speaker’s opinion in contrast to others, a shift in the perspective, or as a hearer-oriented intensifier.","PeriodicalId":46577,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of American Linguistics","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84700598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Contrastive Study on Image Repair Strategies in Chinese and American Corporate Apologies","authors":"Chenyang Li, Zhanghong Xu","doi":"10.5296/ijl.v15i1.20700","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v15i1.20700","url":null,"abstract":"Nowadays, frequently-happening wrongdoings have seriously damaged the corporate image and threatened the survival of corporations. For companies in crises, an appropriate apology has become a vital strategy to repair corporate image. Remarkable achievements have been made in the contrastive study of corporate apologies, but there is still much to be explored about Chinese and American corporate apologies. Therefore, this paper investigates the differences of the image repair strategies employed in Chinese and American corporate apologies, in order to help corporations handle crises in a cross-cultural context. With AntConc 2019, the paper first analyzes the major linguistic devices in 100 Chinese and American corporate apologies, and then finds out the differences of image repair strategies and the underlying factors through qualitative analysis, based on Benoit’s image repair strategies and Adaptation Theory. The results show that (1) Chinese companies show their solemnity and sincerity in the crisis through person deixis such as company and customer and strengtheners such as again, seriously and first time, while American companies use more demonstrative pronouns like this, these and it, and politeness words like please, hope and thank to mitigate crisis conflicts. Meanwhile, when providing compensation and follow-up services, American ones would use if-conditionals to control the cost of the apology. (2) Reducing offensiveness and Mortification are the two most commonly used strategies, respectively accounting for 37.7% and 36.3%. In mortification, asking for forgiveness is often used in American corporate apologies (11.3%), while accepting the blame is more common in Chinese corporate apologies (11.1%). When reducing offensiveness, Chinese corporations would choose bolstering (20.9%) and transcendence (10.5%), while American ones prefer compensation (17.6%) and valuing the customer (13.9%). (3) Chinese culture emphasizes collectivism and high-power distance, while American culture emphasizes individualism and low-power distance, which accounts for the difference of image repair strategies in Chinese and American corporate apologies. This paper can act as a complement to the contrastive research on American and Chinese corporate apologies and provide references for corporate communication in a cross-cultural context.","PeriodicalId":46577,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of American Linguistics","volume":"111 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80723722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"South Dravidian Languages: Consistent Null Subject or Discourse Pro-Drop?","authors":"Arya Navya A V","doi":"10.5296/ijl.v15i1.20766","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5296/ijl.v15i1.20766","url":null,"abstract":"Indian languages are not mentioned in any of the canonical literature on null subject languages as they do not fall in a specific subcategory neatly. They show a relatively consistent conjugation system, but have more features of Radical pro-drop languages than Consistent Null-Subject languages. (Note 1) I examine South Dravidian languages (henceforth SDLs), which show consistent conjugation system, much like the Romance languages yet drop arguments and adjuncts profusely, especially if they are once established in the discourse. There is a sense of hesitance amongst scholars to concede and group them among Radical pro-drop languages. I follow Sigurdsson (2011) in that generative literature has ‘misjudged the role of agreement for licensing and identifying of null arguments’(Sigurdsson, 2011, p. 276) and argue that the special nature of SDLs as radical pro-drop languages that have agreement prove to be a prime example of this. SDLs prove as prime examples to suggest a unified theory of pro in line with Barbosa (2019).","PeriodicalId":46577,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of American Linguistics","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2023-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78953394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}