Adulteration of the Igbo Language Through Multilingualism in South-Eastern Nigeria

The study seeks to find out the linguistic adulteration of the Igbo language through a sociolinguistic process known as multilingualism. Many scholars are lamenting that the Igbo language is going into extinction just because it is losing its original linguistic structures via multilingualism. Such alteration brings to the limelight of the study in order to address these issues on Nigerian indigenous languages in general and the Igbo language in particular. A descriptive approach is used to harvest some of these language contact issues among the Igbo populace and language. A random sampling is used to ascertain the population of the five Igbo states: Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States on how communication and written aspects of the language have been dealt with negatively. Participant observation and students’ essay writing in the Igbo language are used to collate these sub-standard Igbo grammar structures. The study expounds at a length the intricacy of the proper Igbo written forms and as well as pulling the Igbo language away from the effects of multilingualism. The findings of the study prove that the different types of multilingualism abound among the Igbo language native users. They also exemplify some linguistic related issues on the bold face of multilingualism among the Igbo interlocutors and how they vary among the Igbo speech communities in Nigeria. The study also finds out the effects of multilingualism on the standard Igbo teaching. The study goes further in suggesting some quintessential solutions to recuperate the status quo of the Igbo language.

Face covering adherence is positively associated with better mental health and wellbeing: a longitudinal analysis of the CovidLife surveys

Background: Face masks or coverings are effective at reducing airborne infection rates, yet pandemic mitigation measures, including wearing face coverings, have been suggested to contribute to reductions in quality of life and poorer mental health. Complaints of inconvenience, discomfort, and other issues have been repeatedly and loudly voiced by critics, and adherence in many nations is not strong enough to suppress viral spread. We wished to see whether wearing face coverings is associated with mental health and wellbeing. Methods: We analysed survey 1 and 2 of the CovidLife study, a sample of more than 18,000 individuals living in the UK. The study asked a variety of questions about participants’ psychological, economic, and social lives while living under the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. We measured individuals’ adherence to following guidance on wearing face coverings, as well as several mental health outcomes: depression, anxiety, wellbeing, life satisfaction, and loneliness. Results: We found no association between lower adherence to face covering guidelines and poorer mental health. The opposite appears to be true. Even after controlling for behavioural, social, and psychological confounds, including measures of pre-pandemic mental health, individuals who wore face coverings “most of the time” or “always” had better mental health and wellbeing than those who did not. Individuals who wore masks only “some of the time” or “never” tended to be male, lower income, and already had COVID-19 or COVID-19-like symptoms. Conclusions: These results suggest that wearing face coverings more often does not negatively impact mental health. Wearing a face covering more often is actually linked to better mental health and wellbeing. Implications are discussed and we highlight the potential pathways for addressing a lack of face covering that this study reveals.

That’s Not Hockey! by A. Poulin

Poulin, Andrée. That’s Not Hockey! Annick Press, 2018 This picture book tells the story of the famous hockey player, Jacques Plante, who loved hockey as a child, but had to improvise because he did not have a lot of hockey gear. The title phrase “That’s Not Hockey” appears when Jacques uses a ball because he didn’t have a puck, uses a tree root for a goalie stick and has goalie pads made out of potato sacks and wooden slats. Andrée Poulin uses the bold-face phrase, “Hey, that’s not hockey” throughout the book, as though it had been shouted at the young Plante to indicate that people were not happy with his changes to the game. This foreshadows the reaction to one of Plante’s greatest and most memorable contributions to the game—the introduction of the goalie mask. While Plante initially faced booing, teasing, and taunting from “reporters, players, goaltenders and crowds”, helmets and facemasks became standard equipment in hockey and players now have far fewer head and face injuries as a result. Félix Girard’s cartoon illustrations capture pond hockey in rural Quebec well. Girard also accurately portrays a bare-headed 1959 era hockey team hoisting the Stanley Cup. This is a good story about a Canadian hockey legend that also carries a lesson about continuing to work at making things better, even when most people seem to be against you. Highly Recommended: 4 stars out of 4 Reviewer: Sandy Campbell Sandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

Jewish Argument Style among Russian Revolutionaries

Jewish speech was heard in Russian revolutionary contexts as characterized by emphatic tones, rhetorical questions, an argumentative stance, and sarcasm, all performative elements of Jewish English (je) as well. I examine depictions of Jewish Russian (jr) in the world of the non-Jewish Socialist Revolutionary (sr) leader Victor Chernov. This article first introduces Chernov, then analyzes his depictions of jr, and finally looks at transcripts of speeches by sr leaders for evidence of Jewish speech style. I use speech length, bold-face, exclamation points, and question marks as proxies for the heightened emotion and argumentative stance associated with jr. My analysis indicates no significant difference between the speech of Jewish and non-Jewish sr leaders as a whole, but shows that Chernov’s own speech contains a significantly higher than average use of these elements. This result complicates the notion of ethnolect and suggests that individuals’ evaluations of other people’s language should be examined in light of their biographies.

Maximal chains in the Turing degrees

We study the problem of existence of maximal chains in the Turing degrees. We show that:1. ZF + DC + “There exists no maximal chain in the Turing degrees” is equiconsistent with ZFC + “There exists an inaccessible cardinal”2. For all a ∈ 2ω, (ω1)L[a] = ω1 if and only if there exists a [a] maximal chain in the Turing degrees. As a corollary, ZFC + “There exists an inaccessible cardinal” is equiconsistent with ZFC + “There is no (bold face) maximal chain of Turing degrees”.

JEL Classification System

The categories listed below are used to classify books, book reviews, journal articles, and dissertations indexed in JEL and EconLit. The list details the full three-digit classifications used to index journal articles in JEL on CD, EconLit, and e-JEL on www.e-JEL.org . The Annotated Listing of New Books printed in this issue uses the bold face one- and two-digit classifications; the Book Reviews in each issue and the Doctoral Dissertations List printed in December appear under the one-digit classification headings. Please note that books, book reviews, and dissertations are indexed in EconLit using the full three-digit classifications. Those who classify papers or dissertations should choose the most appropriate three-digit classification. New changes to the classification system appear as soon as possible on www.AEAweb.org .

JEL Classification System

The categories listed below are used to classify books, book reviews, journal articles, and dissertations indexed in JEL and EconLit. The list details the full three-digit classifications used to index journal articles in JEL on CD, EconLit, and e-JEL on www.e-JEL.org . The Annotated Listing of New Books printed in this issue uses the bold face one- and two-digit classifications; the Book Reviews in each issue and the Doctoral Dissertations List printed in December appear under the one-digit classification headings. Please note that books, book reviews, and dissertations are indexed in EconLit using the full three-digit classifications. Those who classify papers or dissertations should choose the most appropriate three-digit classification. New changes to the classification system appear as soon as possible on www.AEAweb.org .