scholarly journals Stereotype in Webkorpora: Strategien zur Suche in sehr großen Datenmengen

2016 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Uwe Quasthoff ◽  
Erla Hallsteinsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Text Corpora ◽  
Strong Focus ◽  
Image Identity ◽  
Linguistic Methods

Research on stereotypes (as well as on similar constructs such as prejudice, image, identity, etc.) goes back around a century. Most research on stereotypes belongs to the field of psychological, social and cultural studies, with a strong focus on cognitive and socio-cultural phenomena. Since Uta Quasthoff’s pioneering analysis in 1973, there have been several linguistic studies of stereotypes, i. e. on linguistic aspects of how stereotypes are realized in language use. Linguistic research on stereotypes uses methods from disciplines such as sociolinguistics, ethnography, discourse and conversation analysis. Discursive psychology and cognitive linguistics and single studies on stereotypes have used corpus-linguistic methods to explore stereotypes in language use. Nevertheless, we state that no large-scale empirical studies have yet investigated the linguistic realization of stereotypes by using empirical data from large text corpora. In this article, we explore the potential of corpus linguistic approaches in the research on the occurrences of stereotypes in written language. By using an analysis of co-occurrences, we aim to describe the relation between associative semantic stereotypes and co-occurrences in a corpus. Our hypothesis is that the linguistic construction of stereotypes as their realization in language use reproduces stereotypic representations of cognitive conceptualizations and meaning patterns, thus, stereotypic meanings should be detectable in statistical patterns in large corpora.

Lexical priming in humorous satirical newspaper headlines

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Skalicky
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
American English ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Lexical Priming ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Linguistic Patterns ◽  
Linguistic Methods ◽  
Pragmatic Knowledge ◽  
Do So

Abstract Satire is a type of discourse commonly employed to mock or criticize a satirical target, typically resulting in humor. Current understandings of satire place strong emphasis on the role that background and pragmatic knowledge play during satire recognition. However, there may also be specific linguistic cues that signal a satirical intent. Researchers using corpus linguistic methods, specifically Lexical Priming, have demonstrated that other types of creative language use, such as irony, puns, and verbal jokes, purposefully deviate from expected language patterns (e.g. collocations). The purpose of this study is to investigate whether humorous satirical headlines also subvert typical linguistic patterns using the theory of Lexical Priming. In order to do so, a corpus of newspaper headlines taken from the satirical American newspaper The Onion are analyzed and compared to a generalized corpus of American English. Results of this analysis suggest satirical headlines exploit linguistic expectations through the use of low-frequency collocations and semantic preferences, but also contain higher discourse and genre level deviations that cannot be captured in the surface level linguistic features of the headlines.

Writing practice in a society with codified variation: a correspondence analysis of writing practice in New Norwegian/Nynorsk

Corpora ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Stig J. Helset
Keyword(s):  
Language Policy ◽  
Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Actual Usage ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Linguistic Methods ◽  
Writing Practice

This paper illustrates the advantages of combining corpus linguistic methods and correspondence analysis when investigating sub-varieties within written languages that have codified variation. Through a study of a large-scale corpus of the written standard New Norwegian/Nynorsk, the paper demonstrates how correspondence analysis is a method that is well-suited to mapping norm clusters consisting of different sub-varieties in actual usage. The study reveals the existence of a norm cluster within the corpus consisting of a moderate sub-variety. Current Norwegian language policy is to base the official norms on developments in observed usage. The paper thus concludes that future standardisation of Nynorsk should be moving towards a narrower, moderate norm in order to be in accordance with the operative norm. The methods presented in this paper may be of value when investigating other written languages with codified variation, such as Irish, or languages without official norms, such as Shona.

scholarly journals Cognitive Corpus Linguistics: five points of debate on current theory and methodology

Corpora ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti Arppe ◽  
Gaëtanelle Gilquin ◽  
Dylan Glynn ◽  
Martin Hilpert ◽  
Arne Zeschel
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Linguistics ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Current Theory ◽  
Linguistic Data ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Grammaticality Judgments ◽  
Corpus Data ◽  
Authentic Language ◽  
Discussion Note

Within cognitive linguistics, there is an increasing awareness that the study of linguistic phenomena needs to be grounded in usage. Ideally, research in cognitive linguistics should be based on authentic language use, its results should be replicable, and its claims falsifiable. Consequently, more and more studies now turn to corpora as a source of data. While corpus-based methodologies have increased in sophistication, the use of corpus data is also associated with a number of unresolved problems. The study of cognition through off-line linguistic data is, arguably, indirect, even if such data fulfils desirable qualities such as being natural, representative and plentiful. Several topics in this context stand out as particularly pressing issues. This discussion note addresses (1) converging evidence from corpora and experimentation, (2) whether corpora mirror psychological reality, (3) the theoretical value of corpus linguistic studies of ‘alternations’, (4) the relation of corpus linguistics and grammaticality judgments, and, lastly, (5) the nature of explanations in cognitive corpus linguistics. We do not claim to resolve these issues nor to cover all possible angles; instead, we strongly encourage reactions and further discussion.

scholarly journals Language use before and after Stonewall: A corpus-based study of gay men’s pre-Stonewall narratives

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heiko Motschenbacher
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
Western World ◽  
Gay Liberation ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Linguistic Methods ◽  
The 19Th Century

This study presents a contrastive corpus linguistic analysis of language use before and after Stonewall. It uses theoretical insights on normativity from the field of language and sexuality to investigate how the shifting normativities associated with the Stonewall Riots (1969) – widely considered the central event of gay liberation in the Western world – have shaped our conceptualization of sexuality as it surfaces in language use. Drawing on two corpora of gay men’s pre-Stonewall narratives dating from two time periods (before and after Stonewall, called PRE and POST), the analysis combines quantitative (keyword analysis, collocation analysis) and qualitative (concordance analysis) corpus linguistic methods to examine discursive shifts as evident from narrators’ language use. The study identifies the terms homosexual and normal as central contrastive labels in PRE, and gay and straight as corresponding terms in POST. Other discursive shifts detected are from sexual desire/practices to identity (and vice versa), from an individualistic to a community-based conceptualization of sexuality, and from unquestioned heteronormativity and gender binarism to a weakening of such dominant discourses. The findings are discussed in relation to the desire-identity shift, which is traditionally assumed to have taken place at the end of the 19th century, and shed new light on Stonewall as a central event for the development of an identity-based conceptualization of sexuality as we know it today.

The Potential of Corpus-Informed L2 Pedagogy

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathon Reinhardt
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Teaching Materials ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Linguistic Methods ◽  
Nature Of Teaching

AbstractCorpus linguistic methods have led to many revelations about the nature of language use and language learning which are otherwise untenable. To date, however, these findings have not had major impact on L2 (second and foreign language) teaching, except in a few areas like L2 for specialized purposes. This may be due to a number of reasons, including issues of theoretical commensurability and the nature of ‘teaching revolutions’. Still, corpus continues to influence SLA researchers, and pedagogical innovators continue to design, implement and evaluate corpus-informed L2 curricula. The future of corpus in L2 pedagogy depends on the extent to which this research and innovation can impact professional L2 instructor education and the design of commercial L2 teaching materials, as well as the continuing development of corpora and corpus-informed resources that are accessible, diverse, and adaptable.

scholarly journals Understanding bilingual brain function and structure changes? U Bet! A Unified Bilingual Experience Trajectory model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Deluca ◽  
Katrien Segaert ◽  
Ali Mazaheri ◽  
Andrea Krott
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Structure Changes ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

A growing body of research shows that the brain adapts functionally and structurally to specific bilingual experiences. These brain adaptations seem related to modulations in cognitive processes (specifically the executive functions). However, the trajectory of these adaptations is varied and seems at least partially dependent on different aspects of language exposure and use. Here we provide a review of the existing theoretical models covering bilingualism-induced neuroplasticity. Moreover, we propose a unifying framework (Unifying the Bilingual Experience Trajectories, UBET) to more comprehensively map the relationship between the various neurocognitive adaptations and different aspects of bilingual experience trajectories, focusing on intensity and diversity of language use, language switching, relative proficiency, and duration of bilingual experience. Crucially, we also outline predictions regarding both relationships between different bilingual experience factors and relationships between the measurable neurocognitive adaptations. Our framework offers a theoretical backdrop and clear testable predictions for future large-scale empirical studies on individual differences in bilingual trajectories and their effects on neurocognitive adaptations.

First grammar books in the Habsburg Monarchy: individual initiative and regulatory interference by the state (1760s–1770s)

2020 ◽  
Vol 2019 (2 (11)) ◽  
pp. 137-157
Author(s):  
Olga V. Khavanova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
State Policy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
German Language ◽  
Habsburg Monarchy ◽  
Private Initiative ◽  
The One

The second half of the eighteenth century in the lands under the sceptre of the House of Austria was a period of development of a language policy addressing the ethno-linguistic diversity of the monarchy’s subjects. On the one hand, the sphere of use of the German language was becoming wider, embracing more and more segments of administration, education, and culture. On the other hand, the authorities were perfectly aware of the fact that communication in the languages and vernaculars of the nationalities living in the Austrian Monarchy was one of the principal instruments of spreading decrees and announcements from the central and local authorities to the less-educated strata of the population. Consequently, a large-scale reform of primary education was launched, aimed at making the whole population literate, regardless of social status, nationality (mother tongue), or confession. In parallel with the centrally coordinated state policy of education and language-use, subjects-both language experts and amateur polyglots-joined the process of writing grammar books, which were intended to ease communication between the different nationalities of the Habsburg lands. This article considers some examples of such editions with primary attention given to the correlation between private initiative and governmental policies, mechanisms of verifying the textbooks to be published, their content, and their potential readers. This paper demonstrates that for grammar-book authors, it was very important to be integrated into the patronage networks at the court and in administrative bodies and stresses that the Vienna court controlled the process of selection and financing of grammar books to be published depending on their quality and ability to satisfy the aims and goals of state policy.

Cognitive dominants of the conceptual sphere in the novel “of human bondage” by W. S. Maugham

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-61
Author(s):  
Olga B. Ponomareva ◽  
Valeriya I. Orlova
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Meaning Of Life ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Thought Processes ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Comprehensive Description ◽  
Semantic Fields ◽  
Linguistic Representations ◽  
Basic Concepts ◽  
Linguistic Methods

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the basic concepts that make up the conceptual sphere of the novel “Of Human Bondage” by W. S. Maugham. These concepts act as cognitive dominants of the linguistic consciousness of the protagonist’s linguistic personality in the work under study. The novelty of this research lies in the fact that it is performed within the framework of a new paradigm of linguistics — the cognitive linguistics, which involves the study of mental and linguistic representations of thought processes that occur during the perception of information. Moreover, the novel “Of Human Bondage” by W. S. Maugham has not attracted the attention of linguists-cognitologists previously, which adds to the novelty of this article. In addition, the present study provides a comprehensive description of the basic concepts making up the conceptual sphere of the novel. The linguistic methods of representing various concepts in the analyzed work are determined by the national, personal, cultural, and psychological aspects of Maugham’s thinking. The authors employ a communicative-cognitive methodological analysis proposed by N. S. Bolotnova involving the modeling of textual and intertextual semantic fields of artistic concepts and the analysis of the conceptual sphere of a literary text. The universal concepts RELIGION, LOVE, PASSION, THE MEANING OF LIFE, which constitute the conceptual sphere of the novel by W. S. Maugham “Of Human Bondage”, are analyzed. The main result of the study is that THE MEANING OF LIFE concept is universal, not individual, and it includes other universal concepts, such as RELIGION, LOVE, PASSION, THE MEANING OF LIFE, conceptual metaphors and metonyms, symbols, and other words-associates, which constitute the broad figurative and evaluative periphery of the conceptual sphere of the novel.

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