Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgetown University, 1974. / Appendix in French. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 342-359).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Previous research has indicated that musicians and bilinguals demonstrate potential cognitive benefits due to their long-term experience with music and two or more languages, respectively. For the present study, such a benefit is examined in the context of auditory inhibitory control. An auditory version of the Stroop task involving pitch and language (as used by Bialystok & DePape, 2009) was used and expanded upon. Separate groups of monolinguals, monolingual musicians, bilinguals, and tone-language bilinguals were established to investigate not only musical and bilingual experience in general, but also to determine if there is an effect of type of language on auditory inhibitory control. Additionally, a contour-based auditory Stroop task (with rising and falling tone patterns) was implemented to investigate a different dimension of auditory perception. Differences in reaction time were measured as indicators of inhibitory control. The results suggest an advantage for monolingual musicians, while a possible language effect may be detrimental to performance for bilinguals on language-based tasks. The results indicate possible shared underlying cognitive resources given the apparent transferable auditory processing benefits for musicians. The implications of these results are discussed, and future directions are proposed to address factors such as age, behavioral vs. physiological effects, and whether the performance of bilinguals is due to the nature of being bilingual, or taking the task in a non-native language.

This study is concerned mainly with the nature and social functions of code-switching between Setswana and English. In Botswana, Setswana and English are utilised in conversations between speakers, resulting in the phenomenon of code-switching. Setswana is the primary language of the majority of the people in Botswana and is regarded as the national language, while English is used as the official language. The motive for the selection of English is based on the notion that this language plays an important role in social, economic and political spheres in the country. The fundamental assumption in this study is that code-switching exists as a result of social interaction and language contact amongst speakers with various linguistic repertoires. The study aims to investigate the nature and social functions of code-switching in Setswana in Botswana, especially in the areas surrounding Gaborone City. From a syntactic point of view, the study attempts to determine whether the phenomenon is random and meaningless, while from a functional perspective, it examines the reasons why bilingual speakers engage in code-switching when they interact with other bilinguals, with whom they share the same linguistic repertoire. The study is divided into five chapters. The first chapter comprises the introductory section, which includes the background, motivation, aims and statement of the problem, as well as the organisation of the study. The second chapter provides the theoretical framework of the study and includes the definition of key terms. Chapter Three explains how data was collected and includes transcripts of the speakers' conversations. The analysis, description and discussion of the data are dealt with in Chapter Four. Chapter Five provides a summary of the findings as well as the conclusion and recommendations for future studies. The problem was investigated around Gaborone City in various settings such as a church, a public bar, the National sports Stadium, the media (Radio Botswana), a furniture shop and a taxi rank. The speakers' interactions were recorded and unstructured interviews were conducted at a later stage. The speakers included people from all groups, that is gender, age and various degrees of education. The recorded conversations have been transcribed and analysed. The results have been used to gain a better understanding of the nature and social functions of code-switching. The analysis also looks at the grammatical and syntactic features of switched phrases, clauses and sentences, as well as whether the switching violates any grammatical or syntactic rules of either the host or the guest language. The switches made by the speakers also determine the social functions of code-switching in Botswana. The results show that the phenomenon is common in Gaborone City, as all the recorded speakers tend to indulge in this activity regardless of their level of education. It has been observed that, in general, the less educated people's conversations contain borrowed English words, while the conversations of the better educated sector contain larger stretches of code¬-switching in phrases and sentences. The results reveal that no violation of the grammatical structures of either language occurs during code¬-switching. It has also been found that the phenomenon occurs in all the formal and informal settings mentioned above. In a functional sense, it has been observed that Batswana switch from Setswana to English for various communicative purposes, such as an indication of level of education, a signal of authority and annoyance and to show the powerful and less powerful languages. Other reasons for the switching include the topic/subject of discussion, emphasising a particular point and the signalling of socio-economic status and prestige. The importance of these findings is that it invalidates the fears that some Batswana have with regards to code-switching in Setswana. Additionally, the research sheds new light on the importance of this phenomenon in Botswana. One of the conclusions that can be drawn from the results is that the application of code-switching strengthens and enriches the Setswana language with the new vocabulary. It is a communicative strategy used by bilingual communities in their conversations and instances such as those described above. / Dissertation (MA (Setswana): Sociolinguistics)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / African Languages / unrestricted

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Yes / The way bilinguals switch languages can differ depending on the context. In cued dual-language environments, bilinguals select a language in response to environmental cues (e.g., a monolingual conversation partner). In voluntary dual-language environments, bilinguals communicating with people who speak the same languages can use their languages more freely. The control demands of these types of language-production contexts, and the costs of language switches, have been argued to differ (Adaptive Control Hypothesis). Here, we used a dual-task paradigm to examine how cued and voluntary bilingual production differ in cognitive resources used. Forty Mandarin-English bilinguals completed two language-switching paradigms as the primary task; one in response to cues and one while using two languages freely. At the same time, they also had to respond to the pitch of tones (secondary task). Response times (RTs) on the secondary task, as well as naming times on the primary task, were shorter under the voluntary- than cued-naming condition. Task workload ratings were also higher under the cued- than voluntary-naming condition. This suggests more attentional resources are needed in a cued-naming context to monitor cues and select languages accordingly. However, the costs associated with switching from one language to the other were similar in both voluntary- and cued-naming contexts. Thus, while cued-naming might be more effortful overall, cued and voluntary switching recruited similar levels of cognitive resources.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This case study reports on the revising processes of 6 bilingual 5th grade students who have been identified as skilled English writers. The research was situated in two 5th grade mainstream classrooms an urban elementary school in the Northeastern United States. The following research questions guided the study: 1) How do bilingual fifth-graders evaluate and recognize needs in their writing and do they use their first language to meet these needs? 2) What strategies and languages do these bilingual students employ as they revise text written in English? The researcher observed the participants as they composed text during literacy block, audiotaped think-alouds during revising and peer revising conferences, collected written products from all stages of the writing process, and conducted interviews with the participants. Data were collected as the participants wrote four different assignments over a period of four months. The multiple data sources provided information not only on the products of writing, but also on the processes of writing. Quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to analyze data for evidence of evaluative ability and revising strategies. The levels of discourse at which participants revised (linguistic, textual, and pragmatic) and the operations employed in revision (deletion, addition, substitution, and reordering) were investigated. Data analysis also addressed the use of the participants' first language, Spanish, during composing and revising. Cross-case analyses investigated similarities and differences among participants. The findings suggest that the participants made the most revisions at the linguistic level. All participants engaged in textual changes, but very few pragmatic changes were initiated. Participants employed the following operations (ranked by frequency): substitution, addition, deletion, and reordering. The participants were able to revise their written work on their own and with help from peers and teachers. Revisions were made for a range of purposes throughout all writing process stages. Five of the participants incorporated Spanish words into their writing, and the most recently mainstreamed participant reported using Spanish during the phases of the writing process. Revision is an important cognitive ability developing in these young bilingual writers. / 2999-01-01