This book examines the use of language in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) genres in Kenya. It focuses on Short Messaging Service (SMS), Email, Instant Messages (IM) and Social Network Sites ... Show moreThis book examines the use of language in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) genres in Kenya. It focuses on Short Messaging Service (SMS), Email, Instant Messages (IM) and Social Network Sites (SNS) genres. It presents an overview of the use and characteristics of Kenyan languages in CMC texts based on data from university students in Kenya and young urban professionals. The findings reveal that factors like the need to use least effort, rapidity, technical limitations and informality play a key role in influencing the structure of messages. The book further establishes that characteristics of the CMC texts in Kenya involve variables such as pronunciation, spelling, abbreviation, acronyms, exclusive use of consonants, contractions, capitalization, punctuations marks, graphics, spelling errors, and codeswitching. Show less
This study explores the way in which different verbal and nominal structures 'fit together' within a coherent system in Plateau Shimakonde, a sub-dialect of the Makonde language spoken in... Show moreThis study explores the way in which different verbal and nominal structures 'fit together' within a coherent system in Plateau Shimakonde, a sub-dialect of the Makonde language spoken in northern Mozambique. A central proposition of our study is that word formation in the verbal and nominal systems is hierarchical. In the verbal system, we propose that there are just four basic structures in a core tense-aspect matrix which distinguishes between perfective and imperfective aspect and between projected and non-projected time. These verbal structures then provide the basis from which negative, conjoint and relative verbs are derived, or 'built'. In the nominal system, we propose that simple nouns consist of a neutral noun prefix added to a simple stem. Different kinds of complex nouns are then built from these basic forms. These include locative nouns, agentive nouns, identifying nouns of various sorts, quality nouns, associative nouns, personified animal names and feature nouns. We also identify a range of other compound or 'marked' structures which employ 'non-neutral' affixes. These include Infinitives, deverbal abstracts, manner nouns and relational terms. The study also describes the phonological units and processes which determine the way in which underlying tones surface in Plateau Shimakonde. This description includes a survey of vowel and consonantal processes, an examination of the phonological opposition between High and Low tones, an analysis of the tone-bearing quality of nasals in different contexts and a description of various phenomena found at the boundaries of phonological phrases. Show less
This dissertation presents a comprehensive description of Xinka based on the missionary grammar "Arte de la lengua szinca" that was written by the priest Manuel Maldonado de Matos around 1773.... Show moreThis dissertation presents a comprehensive description of Xinka based on the missionary grammar "Arte de la lengua szinca" that was written by the priest Manuel Maldonado de Matos around 1773. Xinka is an isolate family of today mostly extinct, closely related languages in southeastern Guatemala. The "Arte de la lengua szinca" is the earliest source on Xinka grammar that is otherwise not well documented or described. The analysis of the late colonial grammar draws on comparative data, including (a) primary data that were documented by the author with the last Xinka-speakers in Guazacapán, Santa Rosa, Guatemala between 2000-03, and (b) further secondary linguistic data of Xinkan languages from the towns of Guazacapán, Chiquimulilla, Yupiltepeque, Jumaytepeque, Sinacantán and Jutiapa. The text addresses the methodological implications of describing colonial Xinka grammar based on such a heterogeneous corpus of diachronic and regionally diverse data. Besides the linguistic description, the dissertation contains information about the cultural context of the language as well as about the colonial document and the corpus of linguistic data. The appendix includes a concordance of the linguistic data from the colonial grammar and a dictionary of the lexical entries. Show less
This thesis investigates the grammar of Sheko, an Omotic language spoken in southwest Ethiopia. The study presents an analysis of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language, amply... Show moreThis thesis investigates the grammar of Sheko, an Omotic language spoken in southwest Ethiopia. The study presents an analysis of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language, amply illustrated by examples. The supplements contain a sample of texts and an extensive word list. Among other things, the author discusses the interrelation between gender, definiteness and number in nominal morphology. Some nominal morphology also occurs on verbal forms. In the verb system, stem formation, aspectual and modal distinctions as well as stance marking are treated. The language has a rich array of complex verb constructions, such as medial clauses and serial verb constructions, next to different types of subordinate clauses. In relative clauses, a resumptive pronoun may occur before the antecedent. One of the divergent ways in which interrogatives are formed is by ‘subtractive morphology’, i.e. dropping off a grammatical element which is obligatorily present in declaratives. Furthermore, subject clitics attach to a variety of hosts in correlation to information structure and focus. These and a number of other issues make the work valuable for specialists of Omotic and Afroasiatic studies as well as for general linguists and anyone interested in the typology of language. Show less
The cochlear implant (CI) gives severely hearing impaired to profoundly deaf children access to auditory speech input and consequently stimulates their oral language development. However, speech... Show moreThe cochlear implant (CI) gives severely hearing impaired to profoundly deaf children access to auditory speech input and consequently stimulates their oral language development. However, speech perception with a CI is still not optimal. Therefore, these children develop oral language based on reduced auditory speech input. This dissertation aims at enhancing our knowledge of whether a CI provides sufficient access to auditory speech input to acquire verbal morphology. It takes a new perspective regarding the research on morphology acquisition in CI children. The outcomes of the children under investigation are not only compared to those of their normal hearing peers, but also to those of their specific language impaired (SLI) peers. The latter group is known to be particularly delayed in their acquisition of verbal morphology. One of the major findings of this dissertation is that CI children outperform their SLI peers in the production of verbal morphology. Remarkably, they are even able to catch up with their normal hearing peers. Nevertheless, their spontaneous speech samples contain more verb inflection errors as compared to similar samples from normal hearing peers. In this respect CI children compare to their SLI peers. The results of the CI children are further analyzed as a function of their age at implantation and hearing age. Additional emphasis is given to the role of perceptual salience in the acquisition of morphology. Show less
This dissertation investigates Extended Lexical Units (ELUs), elements that are bigger than just one word and which are stored in the lexicon. ELUs are an interesting problem on at least two... Show moreThis dissertation investigates Extended Lexical Units (ELUs), elements that are bigger than just one word and which are stored in the lexicon. ELUs are an interesting problem on at least two different levels: from a grammatical (or grammar-theoretical) as well as from a computational perspective. How do ELUs fit into a grammar model, and how can they be implemented in a computational system? The answers to these questions are illustrated with three case studies of rather well-investigated Dutch constructions, namely the NPN (as in dog after dog) and a related Dutch phenomenon, the NCoN construction (as in kind noch kraai, `child nor crow’), the Dutch way-construction, and the dative alternation (as in Jan geeft Piet een bal (`Jan gives Piet a ball’) vs. Jan geeft een bal aan Piet (`Jan gives a ball to Piet’)). For all three constructions, a formal Construction Grammar analysis, based on Sign-Based Construction Grammar, is presented, and additionally, it is shown how these ELUs are tackled in the semantic parser/generator Delilah. Show less
Hypertexts are special. Every text segment has to be written in such a way that it can be read independently. This is necessary because the text segments are not presented in a single standardised... Show moreHypertexts are special. Every text segment has to be written in such a way that it can be read independently. This is necessary because the text segments are not presented in a single standardised sequence. Instead, they are mutually connected through hyperlinks. The actual order of the segments only arises in the process of reading. In this setting, the hyperlinks do not only connect text parts, but also play a role with respect to the content. The word that is marked as a hyperlink predicts the content of the linked text segment. Looking at hypertexts from a text linguistic point of view shows that you can build a new hypertext with text segments from different existing hypertexts. The reader would not even notice that these segments actually belong to different texts. Apparently, the text itself cannot mark its own borders. In a network-like environment, this is the task of the paratext, e.g. layout, title or menu. This dissertation focuses on the question how text and paratext contribute to the way that text in a network-like environment is clearly bordered and at the same time can easily be linked to other texts. Looking at hypertexts from a text linguistic point of view shows that you can build a new hypertext with various text segments from different existing hypertexts. The reader would not even notice that these segments actually belong to different texts. Apparently, the text itself cannot mark its own borders. In a network-like environment, this is the task of the paratext, e.g. layout, title or menu. If you click on a hyperlink, the layout for example tells you immediately if you are still reading the same hypertext. This dissertation focuses on the question how text and paratext contribute to the way that text in a network-like environment is clearly bordered and at the same time can easily be linked to other texts. Show less
