Download PDF (603.9

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Download PDF (603.9 Chapter 4: How young people construct language identities Language vs. identity Classical definitions of ethnicity regard the links between language and ethnic identity as fundamental, since language seems to be the most objective marker of group membership, visible (or, rather, audible) to individuals within and outside the community (cf. Bucholtz & Hall, 2004; Edwards, 2009). However, observations of language minorities in Europe reveal that this seemingly obvious relationship has been changing. This is the result of weakened or interrupted language trans- mission in families, changes in how minority languages function, and the growing significance of revitalization processes, which have significantly expanded the concept of a speech community (Jaffe, 2011). It has been noted that as language change becomes more drawn out, more people see themselves as representatives of the given minority group without knowing the language (Fishman, 1991: 16). This means that ethnic identity does not necessarily go hand in hand with using the minority language. Carol Eastman (1984; Eastman & Reese, 1981) believes that “associated languages” are always at the core of ethnic identity, even when the minority language is not the main language in everyday use. Language plays a range of different functions, and as a result of globalization and associated “glocalization” processes these functions can become more symbolic than utili- tarian, becoming an individual rather than objective marker of identity (Edwards, 1994a: 289). John Edwards concludes that the links between language reproduction and ethnic identity are gradually becoming weaker. This does not mean, however, that they are disappearing altogether. The best example of their power is the use of minority languages during cultural practices specific to their community and a symbolic manifestation of ethnicity long after the group members have stopped using the language in their everyday lives (Edwards, 1994a). Marking clear boundaries around speech communities and giving them an unequivocal definition is impossible in today’s world. Scholars of contemporary language minorities should remember that they are no longer dealing with close- knit groups, distinctly isolated from their surroundings and showing clear ethnic and/or language boundaries. Today, members of language minorities can be indi- viduals who use the given language in their everyday lives, individuals who are passive speakers or are learning the language at school, and individuals who do not speak the language but identify with the group or use elements of the language to mark their membership of the group. This is why Suresh Canagarajah stresses that we cannot regard such categories as “language” or “community” as obvious (Canagarajah, 2011: 95); rather, the attitudes and aspirations of groups linked with a given language should be viewed in a broad context. Representatives of minori- ties may experience, manifest or feel their links with the culture in different ways. Nicole Doowy-Rybiska - 9783631827758 Downloaded from PubFactory at 09/23/2021 03:34:35PM via free access 134 How young people construct language identities These are increasingly less closely tied to language: today it is possible to live as part of a minority culture while not speaking its language.40 However, for my interlocutors from four different language minorities, these ties between the language, identity and group membership are an important issue. Analysis of statements made by young people reveals a wide range of relationships, dependencies and ways in which these ties are established. Putting their statements in the context of language practice at home and in the community helps us notice similarities and differences in how these ties are perceived. It should be stressed that the analysis presented below concerns thoughts and declarations by young people who have a very specific, engaged attitude towards minority languages and cultures. Their statements largely depend on how they and their community perceive the minority and the discourse dominating it: how group membership is discussed, how its boundaries are defined, how its history is understood, what its relationship is with the dominant culture, etc. An important part in this analysis involved observing how common imagination is reflected in everyday practice and in the perception of relationships with other members of the minority. During the part of my research in Poland, I asked my interlocutors whether their families are “Kashubian.” Many young people answered the question with “yes, but…” (“but my parents don’t speak Kashubian”; “but my parents wouldn’t describe themselves as Kashubs”; “but we don’t engage in any typically Kashubian activities”). Only one young man answered spontaneously that his family is not Kashubian. Knowing him and several members of his family, and being aware that they are almost all strongly involved with the Kashubian community, its activities and meetings, I asked what kind of family he would describe as Kashubian. He said: N22M(K): Most of all, one which has the language. I don’t know, I wonder, maybe that isn’t right, but it’s what I think. After all, language is the main carrier of cul- ture and everything. So Kashubian, maybe not all the time, but at these unofficial family moments, so that parents speak Kashubian to each other and to their chil- dren. Some typical Kashubian customs, cultivating them. Maybe subconsciously. And also singing in Kashubian […] or just cultivating Kashubian accents. But mainly the language. The young man learned Kashubian at school, although he did not attain sufficient competence to use it conversationally. He also stated that in his view, a Kashubian family is one in which language transmission and participation in culture is “nat- ural” or continuous. At the same time he admitted that he feels Kashubian, that some members of his family also identify as Kashubian, but that his family is not Kashubian. An “acquired” Kashubian identity seems to him to be less significant in 40 A good example is Sheilah Nicholas’s analysis of the young generation of the Hopi tribe of Native Americans tribe, whose attitude to their language is expressed by the statement: “I live Hopi I just don’t speak it” (Nicholas, 2009). Nicole Doowy-Rybiska - 9783631827758 Downloaded from PubFactory at 09/23/2021 03:34:35PM via free access Language vs. identity 135 identifying with the minority than “innate,” even though his family has Kashubian roots and lives in the region. A young woman from a Kashubian-speaking family expresses a similar sentiment: I22F(K): For me, a real Kashub is someone who speaks and understands Kashubian. And someone who doesn’t speak or understand, then I have some suspicions whether they are a real Kashub [laughs]. Because I think that if someone thinks of themselves as a true Kashub, they have some catching up to do. After all, the language for me is the foundation. Here the question of language is treated more directly: someone who thinks of themselves as a Kashub but has not had the opportunity to learn the language at home should make the effort to learn it elsewhere. Individuals making the effort to learn the language are Kashubs and should be seen as such. At the same time, the young woman – who started learning Kashubian at university – does not think that Kashubs should be limited to only those individuals who speak the language. She realizes that such a definition would mean she could not perceive herself as Kashubian, and she feels very close ties with the minority. However, she lists Kashubian as the fundamental marker of cultural membership of the group. F23F(K): I don’t think they aren’t Kashubs, because they don’t speak Kashubian. […] But it simply seems to me that it’s as though two people meet in a foreign land. One speaks a language, the other speaks the same language, and they immediately recognize each other. I think that with Kashubian it’s important. You know for sure straight away that someone is also a Kashub. In Kashubia, the language criterion is not seen as absolute, although many people see it as important or even fundamental. Young people who don’t speak the language and learners of Kashubian who do not engage frequently identify with Kashubian culture and are recognized as Kashubs by speakers of Kashubian. In Brittany, very few people speak Breton, especially among the young genera- tion, therefore links between speaking the language and being Breton are treated very cautiously. This is all the more so because young people who have learned the language are aware of the experiences of the older generations and the sense of injustice they suffered. A secondary school student whose parents learned Breton after deciding to send their children to an immersive school says: AA16M(B): If we say that we are Bretons, it is important to make an effort and learn the language. Because it is a big, even the most important part of the Breton cul- ture, isn’t it? But it’s difficult, because there are people aged 60 or 70 who are fully immersed in the Breton community and who never learned the language, and it’s hardly a surprise, because the situation was hostile. At the same time they can hardly be told they aren’t Bretons since they don’t speak the language. I think, though, that language is an important part of the culture, and it is important if you’re going to feel Breton. […] If nothing else, because I can speak Breton to Nicole Doowy-Rybiska - 9783631827758 Downloaded from PubFactory at 09/23/2021 03:34:35PM via free access 136 How young people construct language identities other people, and in Brittany it’s something… symbolic, isn’t it? […] I think that speaking Breton is something which really shows we are in Brittany. Drawing a simple link between knowing a language and cultural membership can be problematic.
Recommended publications
  • Sorbian Languages
    Hornjoserbsce Sorbian languages Dolnoserbski Lusatia Sorbian: Location: Germany - Lusatia Users: 20 – 30 thousand Lower Sorbian: Upper Sorbian: Location:Niederlausitz - Location: Upper Saxony Lower Lusatia (Dolna state, Bautzen (Budysin), Luzica), Cottbus (Chósebuz) and Kamenz main town Population: around 18 Population: around 7 thousand thousand Gramma ● Dual for nouns, pronouns, Case Upper Sorb. Lower Sorb. ajdectives and verbs. Nom. žona žeńska Hand - Ruka (one) - Ruce Gen. žony žeńske (two) - Ruki (more than two) Dat. žonje žeńskej ● Upper Sorbian - seven Acc. žonu žeńsku cases Instr. ze žonu ze žeńskeju ● Lower Sorbian - six cases (no Vocativus) Loc. wo žonje wó žeńskej Voc. žono Sounds in comparison to Polish Polish sounds ć and dź in To be - Być - Biś Lower Sorbian change to ś Children - Dzieci - Źisi and ź. Group of polish sounds tr and Right - Prawy – Pšawy, pr change into tš, pś and pš. Scary - Straszny – Tšašny Pronunciation Sorbian Polish 1. č 1. cz 2. dź 2. soft version of dz 3. ě 3. beetwen polish e and i 4. h 4. mute before I and in the end of a word (bahnity) 5. kh 5. ch 6. mute in the end of the word (niósł) 6. ł 7. beetwen polish o and u 7. ó 8. rz (křidło) 8. ř 9. sz 9. š 10. before a consonant is mute (wzdać co - wyrzec 10. w się), otherwise we read it as u ( Serbow) 11. ž 11. z Status Sorbian languages are recognize by the German goverment. They have a minority language status. In the home areas of the Sorbs, both languages are officially equal to German.
    [Show full text]
  • Text and Audio Corpus of Native Lower Sorbian Tekstowy a Zukowy Korpus Maminorěcneje Dolnoserbšćiny
    Lower Sorbian Text and audio corpus of native Lower Sorbian Tekstowy a zukowy korpus maminorěcneje dolnoserbšćiny Name of language: Lower Sorbian Generic affiliation: Indo‐European, Slavic, West Slavic, Sorbian Country and region: Germany, Brandenburg, Lower Lusatia Number of speakers of native Lower Sorbi‐ an: a few hundred History Sorbian tribes were first mentioned in 631 AD and the ancestors of today’s Sorbs have settled in the region to become known as ‘Lusatia’ as early as the 6th century AD. The first written document in (Eastern) Lower Sorbian is the New Testament (in the version of Martin Luther) translated by Mikławš Jaku‐ bica in 1548. Sorbian (used as a generic term 10 years Witaj Kindergarten Sielow/Žylow, 2008; by courtesy of W. Meschkank for both Sorbian languages, Lower Sorbian and Upper Sorbian) comprises a large number of dialects. Since the 16th century, in the wake Permanent project team Challenges and importance of the of the Reformation, both languages began to Sorbian Institute (Germany) project develop a literary variety. Because of natural and forced assimilation, the language area of Dr. Hauke Bartels The biggest challenge for the Lower Sorbian Sorbian has shrunk considerably over the project head DoBeS project is the small and very fast de‐ course of the centuries. creasing number of native speakers. The con‐ Kamil Thorquindt‐Stumpf tinuity of spoken Lower Sorbian dialects is Although many dialects are already extinct or project coordinator most likely to end soon, when the few still almost extinct, today’s native dialect‐based existing native speakers have passed away. Lower Sorbian shows significant differences to Jan Meschkank With all native speakers being of the oldest the literary language taught in a few schools generation, gaining access to them or even in Lower Lusatia.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Morphosyntactic Feature Economy in the Evolution of Slavic Number
    The Role of Morphosyntactic Feature Economy in the Evolution of Slavic Number Tatyana Slobodchikoff Troy University 1. Introduction The Slavic dual pronouns exhibit two different patterns of diachronic change. The first pattern of diachronic change is exemplified in three languages - Slovenian, Upper, and Lower Sorbian. In these languages, dual pronouns continue to be used by the speakers in a bi-morphemic morphological structure consisting of a plural pronominal stem and the numeral dva ('two') or the dual suffix -j (1a). The second pattern of diachronic change is more pervasive and occurred in all of the Slavic languages including Russian and Kashubian. In Russian and Kashubian, dual pronouns were reanalyzed by the speakers as plural (1b). (1) Two Patterns of Diachronic Change in the Slavic Dual a. dual → plural + dva/-j Slovenian & Upper, Lower Sorbian b. dual → plural Russian & Kashubian The diachronic changes in the Slavic dual, although well documented, remain a puzzling problem for morphological theory. Some scholars attribute diachronic changes in the Slavic dual to morphological markedness of dual number. Derganc (2003) shows that the nominal dual, as a more morphologically marked category, was replaced by the plural in Ljubljana Slovenian and some of its other dialects. In a detailed study of the Old Russian dual, Žolobov (2001) proposes that dual pronouns were reanalyzed as plural due to markedness of the dual as a more restricted category of number as opposed to the plural. Nevins (2011) argues that morphological markedness of the abstract features of the dual in Slovenian and Sorbian can trigger either postsyntactic deletion of the marked dual features themselves or deletion of other phi-features, such as gender.
    [Show full text]
  • Mutual Intelligibility and Slavic Constructed Interlanguages : a Comparative Study of Ruski Jezik and ​ ​ Interslavic
    Mutual intelligibility and Slavic constructed interlanguages : a comparative study of Ruski Jezik and ​ ​ Interslavic ** Jade JOANNOT M.A Thesis in Linguistics Leiden university 2020-2021 Supervisor : Tijmen Pronk TABLE OF CONTENTS Jade Joannot M.A Thesis Linguistics 24131 words 1.1. Abstract 1.2. Definitions 1.2.1. Constructed languages 1.2.2. Interlanguage 1.2.3. Mutual intelligibility 1.3. Object of study 1.3.1. History of Slavic constructed languages Pan-Slavic languages (19th century) Esperanto-inspired projects Contemporary projects 1.3.2. Ruski Jezik & Interslavic Ruski Jezik (17th century) Interslavic (21th century) 1.3.3. Shared aspects of Ruski Jezik and Interslavic 1.4. Relevance of the study 1.4.1. Constructed languages and mutual intelligibility 1.4.2. Comparative study of Ruski Jezik and Interslavic 1.4.3. Historical linguistics 1.5. Structure of the thesis 1.5.1. Research question 1.8. Description of the method 1.8.1. Part 1 : Approaches to Slavic mutual intelligibility and their conclusions 1.8.2. Part 2 : Study of Ruski Jezik and Interslavic I.1. Factors of mutual intelligibility I.1.1. Extra-linguistic factors I.1.2. Linguistic predictors of mutual intelligibility I.1.2.1. Lexical distance I.1.2.2. Phonological distance I.1.2.3. Morphosyntactic distance I.1.2.3.1. Methods of measurements I.1.2.3.2. The importance of morphosyntax I.1.3. Conclusions I.2. Mutual intelligibility in the Slavic area I.2.1. Degree of mutual intelligibility of Slavic languages I.2.2. The case of Bulgarian 2 Jade Joannot M.A Thesis Linguistics 24131 words I.2.3.
    [Show full text]
  • Stereotyp Tożsamości 27 Magdalena Pytlak Swoje, Obce, Skolonizowane
    Tożsamość Słowian zachodnich i południowych w świetle XX ‑wiecznych dyskusji i polemik Tożsamość Słowian zachodnich i południowych w świetle XX ‑wiecznych dyskusji i polemik T. 1 Konteksty filologiczne i kulturoznawcze pod redakcją Katarzyny Majdzik i Józefa Zarka Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego • Katowice 2017 Redaktor serii: Historia Literatur Słowiańskich Piotr Fast Recenzent Patrycjusz Pająk Spis treści Wstęp (Katarzyna Majdzik, Józef Zarek) 7 Barbara Czapik ‑Lityńska Tożsamość jako wartość 13 Bożena Tokarz Stereotyp tożsamości 27 Magdalena Pytlak Swoje, obce, skolonizowane. Uwagi na temat wewnętrznych sporów o model kultury bułgarskiej w ostatniej dekadzie XX wieku 43 Dorota Gołek ‑Sepetliewa Kwestie tożsamości narodowej i kulturowej w twórczości poetyckiej Ani Iłkowa 53 Vesna Grahovac ‑Pražić, Sanja Vrcić ‑Mataija Zavičajni identitet u nastavi 65 Cvijeta Pavlović Granice europskoga/slavenskoga istoka i zapada: poljska književnost u kanonu svjetske književnosti iz hrvatske perspektive 83 Antonina Kurtok Chorwacka mniejszość narodowa na Węgrzech – w poszukiwaniu defi‑ nicji przynależności 103 Agata Jawoszek Problemy tożsamościowe bośniackiej diaspory w Turcji. Zarys proble‑ matyki 123 Joanna Czaplińska Jak pozostać sobą w obcym języku? Strategie konwersji językowej pisa‑ rzy pochodzenia słowiańskiego 139 6 Spis treści Anita Gostomska Od Kultury kłamstwa do Kultury karaoke. Obraz przemian utrwalony w eseistyce Dubravki Ugrešić 155 Divna Mrdeža Antonina O protonacionalnom identitetu Jurja Barakovića u povijesti književnosti 173 Zvjezdana Rados Problematika hrvatskoga nacionalnog identiteta u Krležinu romanu Zastave 193 Natalia Wyszogrodzka ‑Liberadzka W obronie chorwackości. Kwestie tożsamościowe na łamach czasopisma „Krugovi” (1952–1958) 211 Ana Dalmatin Dijalektička perspektiva južnoslavenskih književno ‑jezičnih odnosa 221 Silvija Borovnik Problem tożsamości Słoweńców w esejach Draga Jančara 233 Marta Buczek Tożsamość jednostki w słowackiej prozie naturyzmu 247 Tomasz Derlatka Opisy podróży po krajach słowiańskich z lat 50.
    [Show full text]
  • Slovenski Jezik Slovene Linguistic Studies
    Slovenski jezik Slovene Linguistic Studies 6 2007 POSEBNI ODTIS – OFFPRINT Ljubljana – Lawrence D.Slovenski F. Reindl, jezik Slovene – Slovene Ultra-Formal Linguistic Studies Address: 6 (2007): Borrowing, 151–168 Innovation, and Analysis 151 Donald F. Reindl Filozofska fakulteta, Ljubljana Slovene Ultra-Formal Address: Borrowing, Innovation, and Analysis Slovenščina ima ogovorni sistem, ki se od osnovnega dvojnega ogovornega sistema mnogih ev- ropskih jezikov loči v tem, da oblikovno razlikuje do štirih ravni formalnosti (neformalno/tikanje, polformalno/napol vikanje, formalno/vikanje in ultraformalno/onikanje). Do nedavnega je bilo onikanje v redni uporabi tako v neposrednem kot v posrednem ogovoru (oz. govorjenjem o odsot- ni osebi). Čeprav bi lahko slovnične značilnosti onikanja izvirale iz stika z nemščino, se zdi, da predstavlja slovenska uporaba onikanja v posrednem ogovoru samostojen izum. Avtor analizira Linhartovo veseloigro Županova Micka z namenom, da razišče in prikaže vzajemno delovanje teh ogovornih oblik. Podobne raziskave onikanja v drugih jezikih (češčina, slovaščina) bi lahko bolje osvetlile pojav, ki je prisoten v več slovanskih jezikih. Slovene has a system of address that differs from the basic binary address system of many Europe- an languages by grammatically distinguishing up to four levels of formality (informal, semiformal, formal, and ultra-formal). Until recently, ultra-formal address was regularly used in direct as well as indirect address (i.e., reference to absent persons). Although the grammatical characteristics of Slovene ultra-formal address (3rd plural) appear to have been the result of contact with German, the Slovene application of this form to indirect address appears to have been an independent innova- tion. Anton Tomaž Linhart’s play Županova Micka is analyzed in order to explore and illustrate the interaction of these various address forms.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Font Technical Documentation
    Euclid Mono 1 font Technical Documentation Swiss Typefaces Euclid Mono Typeface Technical Documentation www.swisstypefaces.com/lab/ 1/9 Euclid Mono Typeface Overview 1 font, Latin Euclid Mono When a typeface is expanded to include a monos- paced style, this usually means: Letterforms get squeezed into a straitjacket, with added bars on ‘i’ and Euclid ‘l’ – and that’s it. To Swiss Typefaces, “usually” is a fo- reign word, though. Euclid Mono Vanguard brings a distinct style to the table, expanding the palette of typographic expres- sion. It redefines what a geometric mono can be, while Mono staying true to the Euclid spirit. The accelerating forms for ‘S’/‘s’ and ‘Z’/‘z’ thwart any rigidity that may be caused by the fixed widths. ‘M’ and ‘W’/‘w’ have diago- nals, but not like you’d think. Together with the capital ligatures, they represent a contemporary nod to the special features of Avant Garde Gothic, a milestone of Vanguard geometric type design that keeps providing inspiration half a century after its release. There are alts for those dancing glyphs, but don’t ex- pect to find a safe fallback. Circle + right angle: ‘Q’ sums up the Euclidian mindset. Swiss Typefaces Euclid Mono Typeface Technical Documentation www.swisstypefaces.com/lab/ 2/9 Euclid Mono Typeface Overview Euclid Mono cs MAX ri ez WVY we Swiss Typefaces Euclid Mono Typeface Technical Documentation www.swisstypefaces.com/lab/ 3/9 Euclid Mono Glyph Overview Uppercase (Latin) Figures OT Stylistic Set 1: Mirrored ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP 1234567890 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP QRSTUVWXYZ QRSTUVWXYZ ÀÁÂÃÄÅĀĂĄÆÇĆČĈĊĎ Standard Ligatures (Latin) abcdefghijklmnop ĐÈÉËĔÊĚĒĘĖĞĜĠĢĦĤ fi fl qrstuvwxyz ÌÍÎÏĬİĪĮĨỊĴĶĹĽĻĿ Punctuation ŁÑŊŃŇŅÒÓÔÕÖØŎŐŌỌ OT Stylistic Set 2: Capital Ligatures ŒÙÚÛÜŬŮŰŪŲŨỤŔŘŖŚ !?¡¿*#%&@/),-–— GOMOOCOGOMOOOWWO ŠŞŜȘŦŤŢẂŴẄẀẄÝŶŸȲ _.:;…·[\]|«»‹›‘ ŹŽŻÞẞƏ ’“”‚„°•'" Euclid Mono offers two Stylistic Sets.
    [Show full text]
  • From Lesser Taught Languages to Lesser Taught Cultures
    The pagination of this PDF does not match the published version. Slovak Studies Program, University of Pittsburgh votruba “at” pitt “dot” edu http://www.pitt.edu/~votruba Herder and Modernity: From Lesser Taught Languages to Lesser Taught Cultures Martin Votruba East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies, 4: 1. ISSN 2292-7956 Abstract: The typical North American curriculum of a lesser taught Slavic language implicitly relies on the legacy of Johann Gottfried von Herder’s assertion that language contains national (ethnic) culture. At the same time, enrollments are dwindling even in courses in the most commonly taught Slavic languages. Post-Millennials’ (Generation Z’s) understandable focus on the practicality of the courses they take make it unlikely for the lesser taught languages to resist the slump. Foreign culture courses appear to hold their ground more successfully. Slavic departments may reconsider Herder’s dictum as they try to maintain or establish programs in lesser taught languages and cultures. The frequency with which a Slavic language is taught at North American universities does not go directly hand-in-hand with the number of its speakers in the country of its main use or its speakers in the world. While a small number of speakers is, understandably, a strong factor to shift the status of a language to “lesser taught,” historical reasons have contributed to the cur- rent situation as well. Ukrainian is the most striking instance. In sheer number of its speakers,1 it should be taught about as often as Polish2 and be well ahead of Czech. Yet, its teaching has been affected by circumstances similar to those that have also impacted the teaching of Slovak and Slovenian, languages with but a small fraction of the speakers of Ukrainian.
    [Show full text]
  • Is Yugoslav Really a President Tito Yugoslav?
    UNCLASSIFIED (b) (3)-P.L. 86-36 Is Yugoslav President Tito Really a Yugoslav? The Yugoslav President, Josip Tito, appears to language which does not have this phenomenon at­ speak Serbo-Croatian, allegedly his native language, tempts to speak English, he will frequently fail to with a foreign accent. This article will analyze certain aspirate his word initial voiceless stops. This will be phonological 1 and morphological 2 features in his speech 3 one of the numerous features which will characterize which point to that conclusion and which cannot be that speaker as having a "foreign accent." A similar explained by his advanced age and the consequent situation exists in the case of dental vs. alveolar stops5 possible loss of faculties. (orthographically represented as t and d). Native First of all, it may be useful to define what exactly speakers of English articulate them at the alveolar 6 is meant by a "foreign accent." While most everyone ridge • Native speakers of Russian articulate them at can recognize this phenomenon upon encountering it, the back of the upper incisors. While the difference is most of us are usually hard pressed to define it beyond minute, it is nonetheless perceptible and constitutes a general impressionistic statement, such as "he talks yet another feature of the foreign accent. 7 In view of funny." What that means, of course, is that the the above, a foreign accent may be defined as an person has failed to fully master the phonology of the attempt to substitute the phonology of one's native target language. language for that of the target language or, to put it In general, linguists maintain that each language another way, as the presence of features which nor­ has its unique phonology, a finite number of phonemes4 mally do not appear in the pronunciation of native selected from the theoretically infinite number of speakers.
    [Show full text]
  • Definiteness in a Language Without Articles – a Study on Polish
    Definiteness in a Language without Articles – A Study on Polish Adrian Czardybon Hana Filip, Peter Indefrey, Laura Kallmeyer, Sebastian Löbner, Gerhard Schurz & Robert D. Van Valin, Jr. (eds.) Dissertations in Language and Cognition 3 Adrian Czardybon 2017 Definiteness in a Language without Articles – A Study on Polish BibliograVsche Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen NationalbibliograVe; detaillierte bibliograVsche Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. D 61 © düsseldorf university press, Düsseldorf 2017 http://www.dupress.de Einbandgestaltung: Doris Gerland, Christian Horn, Albert Ortmann Satz: Adrian Czardybon, Thomas Gamerschlag Herstellung: docupoint GmbH, Barleben Gesetzt aus der Linux Libertine ISBN 978-3-95758-047-4 Für meine Familie Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Theoretical basis 9 2.1 The distribution of the definite article in English and German . 9 2.2 Approaches to definiteness . 13 2.2.1 Familiarity . 13 2.2.2 Uniqueness . 16 2.3 Löbner’s approach to definiteness . 18 2.3.1 Inherent uniqueness and inherent relationality . 18 2.3.2 Concept types . 19 2.3.3 Shifts and determination . 20 2.3.4 Semantic vs. pragmatic uniqueness . 22 2.3.5 Scale of uniqueness . 25 2.4 Mass/count distinction . 30 2.5 Definiteness strategies discussed in the Slavistic literature . 35 3 Demonstratives 43 3.1 Criteria for the grammaticalization of definite articles . 44 3.2 Polish determiners and the paradigm of ten . 46 3.3 Previous studies on demonstratives in Polish . 49 3.4 My analysis of ten . 55 3.4.1 The occurrence of ten with pragmatic uniqueness .
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Languages in Intercultural Communication Rolo De Lingvoj En Interkultura Komunikado Rola Języków W Komunikacji Międzykulturowej
    Cross-linguistic and Cross-cultural Studies 1 The Role of Languages in Intercultural Communication Rolo de lingvoj en interkultura komunikado Rola języków w komunikacji międzykulturowej Editors – Redaktoroj – Redakcja Ilona Koutny & Ida Stria & Michael Farris Poznań 2020 The Role of Languages in Intercultural Communication Rolo de lingvoj en interkultura komunikado Rola języków w komunikacji międzykulturowej 1 2 Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza – Adam Mickiewicz University Instytut Etnolingwistyki – Institute of Ethnolinguistics The Role of Languages in Intercultural Communication Rolo de lingvoj en interkultura komunikado Rola języków w komunikacji międzykulturowej Editors – Redaktoroj – Redakcja Ilona Koutny & Ida Stria & Michael Farris Poznań 2020 3 Cross-linguistic and Cross-cultural Studies 1 Redaktor serii – Series editor: Ilona Koutny Recenzenci: Věra Barandovská-Frank Probal Dasgupta Nicolau Dols Salas Michael Farris Sabine Fiedler Federico Gobbo Wim Jansen Kimura Goro Ilona Koutny Timothy Reagan Ida Stria Bengt-Arne Wickström Projekt okładki: Ilona Koutny Copyright by: Aŭtoroj – Authors – Autorzy Copyright by: Wydawnictwo Rys Wydanie I, Poznań 2020 ISBN 978-83-66666-28-3 DOI 10.48226/978-83-66666-28-3 Wydanie: Wydawnictwo Rys ul. Kolejowa 41 62-070 Dąbrówka tel. 600 44 55 80 e-mail: [email protected] www.wydawnictworys.com 4 Contents – Enhavtabelo – Spis treści Foreword / Antaŭparolo / Przedmowa ................................................................................... 7 1. Intercultural communication:
    [Show full text]
  • Electronic Corpora of Slavic Micro-Languages at Their Threshold – the State of the Art and Its Further Prospects
    Mira Načeva-Marvanová (J. E. Purkyně University) Electronic Corpora of Slavic Micro-languages at Their Threshold – the State of the Art and its Further Prospects After the fall of the iron curtain, since the middle of the 1990s, new written and spoken language digital corpora have been developed for almost all of the standard Slavic literary languages. One should add that this quite appropriate, useful, and above all, extremely beneficial approach is the best method of language documentation of micro-languages as well. It has also been applied to a certain extent to some other sociolinguistic varieties of language. This presentation is focused on the already available current Slavic micro-language corpora, such as: (1) the two monolingual "large size" written text corpora of Upper Sorbian – HOTKO (of 32 million words) and of Lower Sorbian – DOTKO (of 12 million words) - both these corpora are hosted by the Czech National Corpus using its corpus managers and interface; (2) the series of five oral digital multimedia corpora of: Burgenland Croatian, colloquial Upper Sorbian, Molise Slavic (Na-našu) in Southern Italy, Nashta (Liti, Northern Greece) and the language of Edesa (Northern Greece, called by its researcher Bulgaro-Macedonian) – all these corpora are a part of the French-German research Euroslav 2010 and LaCiTo (France); (3) the WORTSCHATZ corpora of Kashubian, Lower Sorbian, Upper Sorbian, Silesian and Transcarpathian Rusyn (a project of the University of Leipzig); (4) the digital archive of Lower Sorbian language data at the DoBeS (Documentation Bedrohter Sprachen = Documentation of Endangered Languages); (5) the Transdanubian electronic corpus of Bulgarian dialects (from 38 locations) in Southern Romania (of the University of Calgary and University of Sofia).
    [Show full text]