This book is about three West African sign languages with different time-depths, community sizes and patterns of social interactions. Adamorobe Sign Language (AdaSL), Ghana, is an old village sign... Show moreThis book is about three West African sign languages with different time-depths, community sizes and patterns of social interactions. Adamorobe Sign Language (AdaSL), Ghana, is an old village sign language used by 33 deaf people. Langue des Signes de Bouakako (LaSiBo), Côte d'Ivoire, is a new village sign language, used by six deaf people. Língua Gestual Guineense, Guinea-Bissau, is an emerging school-based sign language used by around 500 deaf people.In the three sign languages, 45 narratives of personal experiences were analysed to better understand how the time depth, the community size and the socialisation frequency influenced the three sign languages. Four different descriptive analyses of the narratives were carried out. Study 1 analysed the structure of the narratives, following Labov & Waletzky's model (1967) and Freytag's dramatic pyramid (1894). Studies 2, 3 and 4 focus on specific narrative devices that work to make narratives more convincing, as part of Labov's (1972) "evaluation" component. These devices refer to the moments when storytellers give dramatic prominence to narratives through the incorporation of characters, such as the use of different signing perspectives (Study 2), the use of role shifting between characters and constructed dialogues (Study 3) and the use of different types of descriptions of the animal (Study 4).These studies show that AdaSL and male LGG signers use devices that reflect a greater ability to capture the audience's attention, while LaSiBo and female LGG signers tend to show similar patterns in using simpler or reduced devices.This study shows that the frequency of social interaction between deaf peers is the most crucial factor in language change over time. Show less
James Summers (1828-1891) is the first British professor who conducted systematic research on Chinese grammar. As a former missionary, he had been directly exposed to vernacular Chinese, which... Show moreJames Summers (1828-1891) is the first British professor who conducted systematic research on Chinese grammar. As a former missionary, he had been directly exposed to vernacular Chinese, which enabled him to teach and research it at King’s College London in his later career. This dissertation provides a complete picture of his research on Chinese grammar throughout his publications. It further brings Summers to prominence in the historiography of linguistics. By tracing which and whose ideas inspired him and who he, in turn, influenced, this study identifies his position relative to other linguists. The dissertation claims that Summers was able to integrate the research of his predecessors and arrange their findings and conclusions in his own clearly pedagogically oriented research, abandoning the purely theoretical conclusions to help his students learn Chinese efficiently. Show less
This thesis discusses the earliest Iranian loanwords in Tocharian, a branch of two Indo-European languages spoken in Western China during the first millennium of our era, as well as an early... Show moreThis thesis discusses the earliest Iranian loanwords in Tocharian, a branch of two Indo-European languages spoken in Western China during the first millennium of our era, as well as an early stratum of so-called "BMAC" loanwords in Tocharian. Show less
Speaking more than one language has a profound impact on both the mind and the brain. But how does the multilingual brain manage a native language as well as a non-native language, specifically... Show moreSpeaking more than one language has a profound impact on both the mind and the brain. But how does the multilingual brain manage a native language as well as a non-native language, specifically when the non-native language was acquired later in development? In this thesis, we aimed to characterise the multilingual experience of late language learners in three ways. First, we examined how the cross-linguistic influence (CLI) between the native language and the non-native language influenced non-native comprehension and production. Second, we compared different multilingual populations to quantify the impact of language similarity on CLI and non-native comprehension and production. Third, we examined whether language similarity played a modulating role beyond language processing in terms of domain-general inhibitory control. These are critical issues because they speak directly to the notion of how the native language and the non-native language co-exist in the brain. Further, they help us characterise the functional organisation of these languages in the multilingual brain. Across several studies, we systematically explored these three issues by using several experimental paradigms and a combination of behavioural and electroencephalographic measures. Subsequently, we pushed the theoretical boundaries of the issues in question and contributed novel evidence to this area of research. Show less
There are around 7,000 different languages. The unique orthographic characteristics of different languages can help us to gain insight into the seemingly simple process of transforming written... Show moreThere are around 7,000 different languages. The unique orthographic characteristics of different languages can help us to gain insight into the seemingly simple process of transforming written script to spoken words (i.e., reading aloud). In this thesis, using behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) measures the time course of reading (aloud) was investigated in first, second, and cross-language situations. Overall, target words (e.g., CARPET) were read aloud faster when preceded by phonologically (e.g., kettle) but not orthographically onset-related primes (e.g., circus). However, this pattern was absent during silent reading and reading in Persian where words are printed without vowels. EEG data revealed both orthographic and phonological activation about 150 milliseconds after target presentation for all situations and languages. These results suggest that reading starts with same processes __ whether silent or aloud or in different scripts. Additionally, even if we have an accent in a second language, the phonological code is activated similarly as for a native speaker. To conclude, this thesis favors computational models assuming early conversion of orthography-to-phonology. However, with approximately half of the world__s population being bilingual and the results presented in this thesis, it is important that computational models of reading processes extend their horizon. Show less
My dissertation consists of three parts. Part I is an introduction to the Old Javanese-Sanskrit Śaiva text forming the main focus of the book, namely the Dharma Patañjala, which has been preserved... Show moreMy dissertation consists of three parts. Part I is an introduction to the Old Javanese-Sanskrit Śaiva text forming the main focus of the book, namely the Dharma Patañjala, which has been preserved on a palm-leaf codex unicus of West Javanese origin dating back to the 15th century AD. Part II presents a diplomatic edition with facsimile reproductions of the manuscript, as well as a critical edition with facing annotated translation. Part III is a systematic study focusing on the interpretation of doctrines taught in the Dharma Pātañjala in comparison with related Sanskrit scriptures from the Indian Subcontinent and Old Javanese texts from the Indonesian Archipelago.The Dharma Pātañjala documents an early tradition of speculative texts (Tattva), which was previously known to us only through two Old Javanese scriptures, namely the Vṛhaspatitattva and the Tattvajñāna. Its author, having adopted a Pātañjala form of yoga instead of the Śaiva variety that is common in other Old Javanese texts, elaborated a syncretic system and followed an hitherto unknown commentarial tradition to the Sanskrit Yogasūtrathat is related to that of the Bhāṣya. The text fills a gap in our knowledge of Śaiva theology in pre-Islamic Indonesia, but also casts light on the origin and development of Śaivism in the Indian Subcontinent. Show less
