scholarly journals Negative and Positive Assimilation, Skill Transferability, and Linguistic Distance

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry R. Chiswick ◽  
Paul W. Miller
2021 ◽  
pp. 073428292110105
Author(s):  
Semirhan Gökçe ◽  
Giray Berberoğlu ◽  
Craig S. Wells ◽  
Stephen G. Sireci

The 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) involved 57 countries and 43 different languages to assess students’ achievement in mathematics and science. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether items and test scores are affected as the differences between language families and cultures increase. Using differential item functioning (DIF) procedures, we compared the consistency of students’ performance across three combinations of languages and countries: (a) same language but different countries, (b) same countries but different languages, and (c) different languages and different countries. The analyses consisted of the detection of the number of DIF items for all paired comparisons within each condition, the direction of DIF, the magnitude of DIF, and the differences between test characteristic curves. As the countries were more distant with respect to cultures and language families, the presence of DIF increased. The magnitude of DIF was greatest when both language and country differed, and smallest when the languages were same, but the countries were different. Results suggest that when TIMSS results are compared across countries, the language- and country-specific differences which could reflect cultural, curriculum, or other differences should be considered.


Author(s):  
Marco Civico

AbstractThe objective of this paper is to develop an simulation model able to test different language education orientations and their consequences for the EU population in terms of linguistic disenfranchisement, that is, the inability of citizens to understand EU documents and parliamentary discussions should their native language(s) no longer be official. I will focus on the impact of linguistic distance and language learning. Ideally, this model would be a tool to help EU policy makers make informed decisions about language practices and education policies, taking into account their consequences in terms of diversity and linguistic disenfranchisement. The model can be used to force agents to make certain choices in terms of language skills acquisition. The user can then go on to compare different scenarios in which language skills are acquired according to different rationales. The idea is that, by forcing agents to adopt certain language learning strategies, the model user can simulate policies promoting the acquisition of language skills and get an idea of their impact. In this way, the model allows not only to sketch various scenarios of the evolution of language skills among EU citizens, but also to estimate the level of disenfranchisement in each of these scenarios.


Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Elma Blom ◽  
Evelyn Bosma ◽  
Wilbert Heeringa

Bilingual children often experience difficulties with inflectional morphology. The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate how regularity of inflection in combination with verbal short-term and working memory (VSTM, VWM) influences bilingual children’s performance. Data from 231 typically developing five- to eight-year-old children were analyzed: Dutch monolingual children (N = 45), Frisian-Dutch bilingual children (N = 106), Turkish-Dutch bilingual children (N = 31), Tarifit-Dutch bilingual children (N = 38) and Arabic-Dutch bilingual children (N = 11). Inflection was measured with an expressive morphology task. VSTM and VWM were measured with a Forward and Backward Digit Span task, respectively. The results showed that, overall, children performed more accurately at regular than irregular forms, with the smallest gap between regulars and irregulars for monolinguals. Furthermore, this gap was smaller for older children and children who scored better on a non-verbal intelligence measure. In bilingual children, higher accuracy at using (irregular) inflection was predicted by a smaller cross-linguistic distance, a larger amount of Dutch at home, and a higher level of parental education. Finally, children with better VSTM, but not VWM, were more accurate at using regular and irregular inflection.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidong Xian ◽  
Zhaoyu Yan ◽  
Wenhua Wan

Abstract With the continuous acceleration of urban construction and development, ecological governance has become an important part of our green life. Therefore, how to select the appropriate governance company in the complex decision-making environment is very important. A double hierarchy hesitant fuzzy linguistic multi-attributive border approximation area method (DHHFL-MABAC) is proposed in this paper, which is based on distance measure and comprehensive weight. DHHFL-MABAC method not only considers the potential loss, but also has simple calculation and stable results. The double hierarchy hesitant fuzzy linguistic distance measure based on least common multiple (DHHFLDM-LCME) is proposed, which reduces the loss of original information and makes the result more accurate. Binary contrast method is proposed and combined with entropy weight to obtain comprehensive weight, which makes the determined weight more reasonable. Finally, this method is applied to the case selected by the sewage treatment company and proved its effectiveness.


2020 ◽  
pp. 115-140
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Bove ◽  
Chiara Ruffa ◽  
Andrea Ruggeri

This chapter explores the relationship between Force Commanders and their peacekeeping troops. The qualitative material suggests that strategic divergences or cross-cultural misunderstandings between peacekeepers and their Force Commander may jeopardize a mission’s effectiveness. Yet, a mission composed of troops with high distance from the Force Commander can be interpreted as a signal of the commitment of the wider United Nations, representing global interest in a local context. Moreover, when the potential negative effects of greater or lesser dissimilarity between Force Commanders and troops are tempered by contact and learning, peacekeeping effectiveness should improve. The net effect, assessed through quantitative analysis, suggests that dissimilarity between Force Commanders and peacekeepers matters mostly for protecting civilians, whereas it does not seem to be relevant for resolving the conflict between belligerents. Conversely, a greater linguistic distance between the Force Commander and Blue Helmets might hamper civilian protection.


Multilingua ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-311
Author(s):  
Anastasia Nuworsu ◽  
Grace Diabah ◽  
Evershed Kwasi Amuzu

AbstractThis paper investigates the use of codeswitching at traditional inter-ethnic marriage ceremonies in the southern part of Ghana. The study site is Accra, the multilingual capital of Ghana which is located in the south of the country, and was selected due to the high frequency of inter-ethnic marriage ceremonies which take place there. The data analysed were audio-visual recordings of interactions at such ceremonies, collected, by (Nuworsu, Anastasia 2015: Language use in inter-ethnic marriage ceremonies in Greater Accra. MPhil. thesis, Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana, Legon.). They were complemented with observations made at the event grounds, as well as follow up interviews with key actors during and after the events. The theoretical framework employed is based on a combination of Giles’ Communication Accommodation Theory, Hymes’s Ethnography of Communication and Myers-Scotton‘s Markedness Model. It is found that bilinguals who speak on behalf of families participating in the ceremonies often use codeswitching in innovative ways to convey various social messages. Significant uses were: (i) speakers use codeswitching to converge toward the speech of their in-laws in a bid to decrease the social and linguistic distance between the two families and (ii) they use it as a divergence strategy to, for instance, increase the social and linguistic distance between them when they wish to accentuate an ideological, or any other, difference between them. Overall, the study contributes towards insights about inter-group language practices in multilingual African settings, especially in urban areas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 101863
Author(s):  
Julia Bredtmann ◽  
Klaus Nowotny ◽  
Sebastian Otten

Symmetry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengdong Cao ◽  
Shouzhen Zeng ◽  
Dandan Luo

The aim of this paper is to present a multiple-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) framework based on a new single-valued neutrosophic linguistic (SVNL) distance measure. By unifying the idea of the weighted average and ordered weighted averaging into a single-valued neutrosophic linguistic distance, we first developed a new SVNL weighted distance measure, namely a SVNL combined and weighted distance (SVNLCWD) measure. The focal characteristics of the devised SVNLCWD are its ability to combine both the decision-makers’ attitudes toward the importance, as well as the weights, of the arguments. Various desirable properties and families of the developed SVNLCWD were contemplated. Moreover, a MAGDM approach based on the SVNLCWD was formulated. Lastly, a real numerical example concerning a low-carbon supplier selection problem was used to describe the superiority and feasibility of the developed approach.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document