IF 1.1 3区文学

Lingua Pub Date : 2025-01-31 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103888

Haotong Zhao, Zhaohong Wu

{"title":"Dashing is faster than lumbering by sound: Speed sound symbolism in English motion verbs","authors":"Haotong Zhao, Zhaohong Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103888","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103888","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Psychological experiments have established sound symbolic associations between fast/slow speed and various phonemes or phonetic features in our perception. These associations were also occasionally attested cross-linguistically in words for “fast” and “slow”. This study aims to determine whether speed sound symbolism resides extensively in English motion verbs (e.g., <em>dash</em>, <em>lumber</em>), words presumed to be more likely to exhibit speed sound symbolism. A rating questionnaire was used to obtain each verb’s implied speed. An extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) model revealed that phoneme frequency alone can account for 14.36% of semantic variation along the speed dimension, which is a modest but genuine effect. Phonemes /m/, /ʃ/, /t͡ʃ/ and /ɑ/ emerged as important predictors of speed ratings, with /m/ and /ɑ/ associated with slowness while /ʃ/ and /t͡ʃ/ with fastness. Our findings provided further evidence for the existence of sound symbolism in natural languages. Moreover, the sound-and-meaning matching patterns in English generally agree with patterns identified by previous behavioral tasks, suggesting that the way our language is constructed is affected by, or at least coincides with, speakers’ perception of speech sounds. The possible mechanisms underlying speed sound symbolism and its implications on language evolution and the concept of phonestheme are also discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47955,"journal":{"name":"Lingua","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 103888"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143097280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

How labial and alveolar consonants evoke the images of softness and cuteness?: Experiments with Korean speakers 唇音和肺泡辅音是如何唤起柔软和可爱的形象的？：与讲韩语的人进行实验

IF 1.1 3区文学

Lingua Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103868

Hayeun Jang

{"title":"How labial and alveolar consonants evoke the images of softness and cuteness?: Experiments with Korean speakers","authors":"Hayeun Jang","doi":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103868","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103868","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The purpose of this study is to report on an experiment that examined how labial and alveolar consonants evoke images of softness and cuteness depending on their laryngeal features in Korean, and to discuss cross-linguistic similarities and differences in sound-symbolic associations. The main findings of the study were: 1) compared to alveolar consonants, labial consonants were more associated with images of softness and cuteness in Korean, as well as in Japanese and Chinese; 2) among both labial and alveolar consonants, lenis consonants were the most strongly associated with images of softness; 3) aspirated and tensed bilabial consonants evoked images of cuteness; and 4) among alveolar consonants, tensed alveolars are the most likely to evoke images of cuteness, while aspirated alveolars are the least likely to do so. The results suggest that 1) sound-symbolic associations of soft images are not always linked to those of cute images; and 2) the strength of sound-symbolic associations of consonants with the same place of articulation can differ depending on their laryngeal features. This study highlights the role of laryngeal features in sound symbolism and emphasizes the importance of cross-linguistic research in understanding both universal and language-specific aspects of sound symbolism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47955,"journal":{"name":"Lingua","volume":"314 ","pages":"Article 103868"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143180582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

The conceptual building blocks of kinship terminologies 亲属关系术语的概念基础

IF 1.1 3区文学

Lingua Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103841

Cliff Goddard

{"title":"The conceptual building blocks of kinship terminologies","authors":"Cliff Goddard","doi":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103841","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103841","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Kinship terminology was once a major focus of structural linguistics, yet the arcane symbols and notations of structural linguistics cannot plausibly represent the cognitive realities of speakers, and therefore hold little appeal for today’s cognitive linguists. This study seeks to put kinship semantics back on the cognitive linguistics agenda. It demonstrates that the emic-conceptual meanings of kinship terms can be successfully modelled using ordinary language words which make sense to the people concerned; and, furthermore, that this approach supports systematic cross-linguistic comparison. The study represents a re-boot of Wierzbicka’s “ordinary-language model” of kinship terminologies, retaining birth and conception as prototypes while shifting the model into the realm of the social. Revised explications of ‘mother’ and ‘father’ take account of adoption and similar practices. Original explications are proposed for ‘wife’ and ‘husband’. While acknowledging cultural elaborations, it is argued that these four concepts (‘mother’, ‘father’, ‘husband’, ‘wife’) may be substantially shared among the world’s linguacultures. With these basic conceptual building blocks in hand, it is demonstrated, using examples from English, Chinese, and Pitjantjatjara, that diverse language-specific kinship concepts can be built up in a systematic fashion. The study overviews a distinctive cognitive linguistic approach to the conceptual semantics of kin terms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47955,"journal":{"name":"Lingua","volume":"313 ","pages":"Article 103841"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143092929","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Nonverbal predication and SELF-assertive truth-conditionality in American Sign Language 美国手语的非语言预测与自我肯定的真条件

IF 1.1 3区文学

Lingua Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103852

Tory Sampson , Rachel I. Mayberry

{"title":"Nonverbal predication and SELF-assertive truth-conditionality in American Sign Language","authors":"Tory Sampson , Rachel I. Mayberry","doi":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103852","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103852","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Our understanding of nonverbal predication wherein canonically non-verbal phrases such as nouns and adjectives are predicated in American Sign Language (ASL) is fragmentary. ASL has been reported to make extensive use of the null copula in nominal predication, but this claim was countered by recent evidence of an overt copula in the form of the sign SELF. There is also scant description and evidence regarding the structure of adjectival predication in ASL. Thus, we undertake two Likert-scale experiments investigating the relationship between several signs serving as potential copulas (SELF, IX, and null) and a variety of non-verbal predicates including nouns and adjectives in ASL. We find that SELF appears to be the primary means of expressing nominal predication as a copula in contrast to IX and null. As for adjectival predication, there is a preference to use the copular SELF with adjectives exhibiting more permanent properties such as DEAF and TALL. Paired with the finding that all adjectives in ASL appear to be predicative, we propose that the copular SELF carries an additional semantic contribution of grammatical modality. Signers appear to use it to assert truth and certainty, which is a novel finding in sign languages. We conclude that this grammaticalization process in sign languages parallels the account that lexical information historically expressed using non-manual markers eventually takes on a manual form.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47955,"journal":{"name":"Lingua","volume":"314 ","pages":"Article 103852"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143180585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Prescriptivism, editing, and morphosyntactic variation in written South African Englishes: A case study of relative who, that and which 南非英语书面语中的规定性、编辑和形态句法变化：有关who、that和which的个案研究

IF 1.1 3区文学

Lingua Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103855

Haidee Kotze , Melanie Ann Law Favo

{"title":"Prescriptivism, editing, and morphosyntactic variation in written South African Englishes: A case study of relative who, that and which","authors":"Haidee Kotze , Melanie Ann Law Favo","doi":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103855","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103855","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In variationist research there is little reflection on the multiple agents involved in written textual production, whose distinct linguistic and normative representations influence the linguistic composition of a text. In this study, we ask where the uniformity and prescription-oriented nature of published written language originate – directly from writers, or from those responsible for editorial intervention. Focusing on the alternation between <em>who</em>, <em>that</em> and <em>which</em> in subject restrictive relative clauses with animate antecedents, we analyse patterns of variation in unedited written texts and their edited counterparts, across three subvarieties of South African English. We find that, generally, in the unedited writing of the subvarieties the distribution of relativisers patterns similarly to other varieties of English, reflecting the stability of the English relativisation system. However, in line with previous findings on New Englishes, there are lower-level divergences in the subvarieties investigated – and, in general, higher proportional frequencies of <em>that</em> and <em>which</em> with animate antecedents in restrictive relative clauses in subject position than is generally the case in previous studies that have focused on written language. Where a variety tends towards less prototypical usage, editorial interventions at times mask this by amending usage towards more prototypical usage. However, the patterns of intervention are not always consistent. The linguistic background of the editor in relation to that of the author (i.e. whether they are users of the same subvariety of South African English or not) appears to be one of the factors conditioning editorial intervention.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47955,"journal":{"name":"Lingua","volume":"314 ","pages":"Article 103855"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143180586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Socio-cognitive influences on translating forward causal connectives: A multivariate analysis of English translations of Tao Te Ching 社会认知对前向因果连接词翻译的影响：《道德经》英译的多元分析

IF 1.1 3区文学

Lingua Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103872

Hui Kang , Yaxin Zhang

{"title":"Socio-cognitive influences on translating forward causal connectives: A multivariate analysis of English translations of Tao Te Ching","authors":"Hui Kang , Yaxin Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103872","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103872","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Building on previous research that has primarily focused on explicitation and implicitation in the translation of causal connectives, this study investigated the socio-cognitive imprints that influence the translation of these seemingly neutral function words. We examined the translated expressions of forward causal connectives, which signify both objective (motivator-result) and subjective (support-proposition) inter-clausal relationships, in nine English translations of the ancient Chinese classic <em>Tao Te Ching</em>. Using multivariate analyses, including cluster analysis, factor analysis, and correspondence analysis, we found that translators’ decisions might be influenced by their reasoning traditions (inductive vs. deductive) and the inherent properties of their native languages. Moreover, personal experiences affect these translations within a broader sociocultural context. Viewed through the lens of function word translation, our findings support and extend the principles of Social Cognitive Theory, highlighting the pervasive impact of sociocultural dynamics on translation practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47955,"journal":{"name":"Lingua","volume":"314 ","pages":"Article 103872"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143180581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Explicitness of referring expressions in heritage speakers’ majority English 传统英语中指称表达的明确性

IF 1.1 3区文学

Lingua Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103854

Tatiana Pashkova, Shanley E.M. Allen

{"title":"Explicitness of referring expressions in heritage speakers’ majority English","authors":"Tatiana Pashkova, Shanley E.M. Allen","doi":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103854","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103854","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Several studies on heritage speakers’ (HSs) majority language (ML) have indicated that HSs might be more explicit than monolingually-raised speakers (MSs) of this language. A reason for this might be HSs’ frequent communication with L2 speakers of the ML (e.g., HSs’ parents), which is an under-explored source of influence on the ML. However, explicitness in the ML has not been systematically addressed yet, and studies pointing to HSs’ higher explicitness are scarce.</div><div>Filling this gap, we conducted two studies analyzing referring expressions produced by German, Greek, Russian, and Turkish HSs in majority English as well as English MSs in formal and informal narratives. Results indicated that Russian and Turkish HSs were more explicit in informal narratives: they used more noun-headed NPs than English MSs (Study 1). This aligns with the reasoning that HSs’ explicitness stems from frequent communication with L2 speakers since HSs and L2 speakers usually interact in informal settings. However, we found no evidence of HSs’ higher explicitness in the use of pronouns and null anaphora (Study 1) or modified referring expressions (Study 2). Overall, our findings confirm HSs’ higher explicitness in some ML areas compared to MSs, although the effect appears limited to certain phenomena and speaker groups.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47955,"journal":{"name":"Lingua","volume":"314 ","pages":"Article 103854"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143180584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

First acquiring articles in a second language: A new approach to the study of language and social cognition 首先习得第二语言冠词：语言与社会认知研究的新途径

IF 1.1 3区文学

Lingua Pub Date : 2024-12-02 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103851

Paula Rubio-Fernandez

引用次数: 0

Interpreter mediation as other-initiated self-repair in court: Effects on the defence in Chinese bilingual criminal trials 翻译调解作为法庭上他人发起的自我修复：对中国双语刑事审判辩护的影响

IF 1.1 3区文学

Lingua Pub Date : 2024-12-02 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103850

Xiao Zhao , Jiahui Huang

{"title":"Interpreter mediation as other-initiated self-repair in court: Effects on the defence in Chinese bilingual criminal trials","authors":"Xiao Zhao , Jiahui Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103850","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103850","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the linguistic phenomenon of other-initiated self-repairs (OISRs) in the specific context of Chinese inquisitorial criminal courts. These OISRs are prompted by interpreters and implemented by non-native English-speaking African defendants, adversely affecting the defendants’ defence strategies. Transcriptions of five interpreter-mediated trials are analysed to understand the dynamics at play in court settings. Quantitative analysis of turn distribution data and subsequent qualitative conversation analysis reveal that linguistically vulnerable defendants are relegated to a constrained discursive space with limited support from their lawyers in Chinese bilingual courts. In these settings, frequent interpreter-initiated repairs hinder defendants disproportionately, undermining their ability to establish credibility, present new evidence, argue for exoneration or use sympathy cues for leniency. Placing these findings in the context of Chinese court power dynamics, we argue that the pervasive interpreter-initiated OISRs in Chinese courtrooms should be considered a shared responsibility rooted in the court’s language ideology and its legal beliefs and culture, which, at present, systemically marginalise defendants’ right to a fair trial.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47955,"journal":{"name":"Lingua","volume":"313 ","pages":"Article 103850"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142759292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Sentence processing in Turkish: A review and future directions 土耳其语的句子加工：回顾与未来发展方向

IF 1.1 3区文学

Lingua Pub Date : 2024-12-02 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103835

Nazik Dinçtopal Deniz

{"title":"Sentence processing in Turkish: A review and future directions","authors":"Nazik Dinçtopal Deniz","doi":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103835","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103835","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper reviews sentence processing research conducted on Turkish and offers insights into future projects that can examine some further questions that take advantage of the typological properties of Turkish. Sentence processing research has focused mainly on processing ambiguous constructions and linguistic dependencies, and sentence processing research in Turkish has followed a similar path. The findings of the reviewed work on Turkish support the primacy of syntax views in sentence processing, since non-syntactic factors were found to be either delayed or observed in sentence-final decisions. The results of the review have also indicated that, despite Turkish being a head-final language, most sentence processing research on Turkish (on both ambiguity and dependency resolutions) showed patterns like those in head-initial languages, except for two studies that showed language-specific behavior dependent on morphology. Although the majority of work on Turkish is supportive of a universal rather than an experience-based parsing mechanism, there appears to be some language-specific tuning that cannot be attributed to head-finality. Future research can further tap into this question and examine the factors that determine experience-based processing. The questions currently addressed in the field are evolving in a different direction. The review concludes with how the typological properties of Turkish –its head finality, flexible word order, and rich morphology- provide generous test grounds for these questions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47955,"journal":{"name":"Lingua","volume":"313 ","pages":"Article 103835"},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2024-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142759290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

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