This study investigated the relationship of out-of-class English use and proficiency gains. It also explored the relationship of gender, proficiency level and native language and the possible effect of these demographics on out-of-class English use and language gains in English. Though some studies have shown that those who spend more out-of-class time using the target language have higher language gain (Seliger, 1977), other studies have not found this to be true (Day, 1985; Freed 1990; Spada, 1986). Some reasons for the discrepancy in findings may be differences in the length of the time data is collected, samples of study participants and types of tests used to measure proficiency. Sixty-one students at an intensive English language program came from 12 different language backgrounds and 4 proficiency levels. They participated in a 31-week-long study. Participants took a proficiency pre- and posttest (Elicited Imitation Test) and responded to a questionnaire designed to elicit information about out-of-class language use (Language Contact Profile). In addition to the questionnaire, six students participated in semi-structured interviews that offered additional support for the data gathered by the questionnaire. Data obtained from the questionnaire and interviews was compared to gains in proficiency between the pre- and posttest. The results suggest that using English out-of-class helps improve oral proficiency. In addition, the study shows that gender, proficiency level and native language are not significant predictors of out-of-class English use and proficiency gains. These findings are discussed in light of what teachers and school administrators can do to help their students use the target language in and out of class for best results.

No description available.

The Spanish construction lo que pasa es que ‘what happens is that’, ‘the thing is’ is used in a wide variety of contexts and with a range of different meanings. Linguistic research that has been carried out on this relatively common construction often fails to include empirically collected data and, as a result, the diasystematic markers thereof have only been described to a very limited extent. The main focus of this article is to investigate the use of the construction lo que pasa es que and its phonetically reduced forms lo que pasa que and lo que in two Spanishlanguage oral speech corpora collected in Getxo (Basque Country) and Barcelona (Catalonia). These data are used to carry out a quantitative and qualitative study of the presence or absence of this construction in both regions of language contact, something which has yet to be considered or systematically analysed in the relevant research. The study identifies a statistically relevant diatopic markedness of the forms lo que pasa es que, lo que pasa and pasa que while also providing empirical proof for the pragmatic use of these constructions within the varieties investigated. Furthermore, it confirms the use of additional reduced forms of said constructions and describes their development.

The Spanish construction lo que pasa es que ‘what happens is that’, ‘the thing is’ is used in a wide variety of contexts and with a range of different meanings. Linguistic research that has been carried out on this relatively common construction often fails to include empirically collected data and, as a result, the diasystematic markers thereof have only been described to a very limited extent. The main focus of this article is to investigate the use of the construction lo que pasa es que and its phonetically reduced forms lo que pasa que and lo que in two Spanishlanguage oral speech corpora collected in Getxo (Basque Country) and Barcelona (Catalonia). These data are used to carry out a quantitative and qualitative study of the presence or absence of this construction in both regions of language contact, something which has yet to be considered or systematically analysed in the relevant research. The study identifies a statistically relevant diatopic markedness of the forms lo que pasa es que, lo que pasa and pasa que while also providing empirical proof for the pragmatic use of these constructions within the varieties investigated. Furthermore, it confirms the use of additional reduced forms of said constructions and describes their development.

Cette thèse a pour objectif de définir l’apport de la phonétique expérimentale dans l’identification d’une variété lectale, en prenant pour exemple les langues parlées en Guadeloupe. En Guadeloupe, deux langues cohabitent : le français et le créole. Mais, dans les faits, il y a une diversité de variétés de français d’une part, et de créole d’autre part. Chacune de ces variétés va de l’acrolecte au basilecte en passant par le mésolecte : il y a donc un continuum français et un continuum créole. La situation sociolinguistique de la Guadeloupe peut être ainsi représentée par un double continuum.Ces différentes variétés de français peuvent-elles se distinguer par des caractéristiques (1) acoustiques, (2) phonétiques, (3) phonologiques et (4) perceptives de la consonne /R/? La durée du contact avec le créole, a t-elle une influence sur la variété de français parlée par un locuteur ?Nos résultats montrent que plus la variété de français est basilectale, (1) plus la diffusion de l’énergie spectrale du /R/ est faible avec un taux de bruit réduit et une hauteur moyenne des fréquences basse ; (2) plus la variante fricatisée du /R/ est rare et plus la variante approximante est fréquente ; (3) plus le taux d’élision du /R/ en coda de syllabe augmente ainsi que le taux de réalisation de /R/ en tant que [w] en contexte labial; (4) plus la variété est perçue comme ayant un faible degré d’accent français. Généralement, plus la durée du contact entre le français et le créole est longue, plus cette variété est basilectale.Si les caractéristiques de la consonne /R/ permettent de discriminer la variété acrolectale de la variété basilectale (variétés extrêmes), il apparait plus difficile d’établir une liste d’indices (ou « lectomètres ») qui permettraient d’identifier les variétés se trouvant dans la zone intermédiaire : le mésolecte est doté d’une certaine imprévisibilité. / The goal of this thesis is to determine the contribution of experimental phonetics in the identification of a lectal variety, in taking for example languages spoken in Guadeloupe. In Guadeloupe, two languages coexist : French and Creole. But in fact, there is a diversity of varieties of French on the one hand, and of Creole on the other hand. Each of these varieties goes from acrolect to basilect through mesolect : so there are a French continuum and a Creole continuum. Thus, the sociolinguistic situation of Guadeloupe can be represented by a double continuum.These different varieties of French can they be distinguished by (1) acoustic, (2) phonetic, (3) phonological (4) and perceptual characteristics of /R/ consonant? Does the contact duration with Creole have an influence on the variety of French spoken by a speaker?Our results show that the more basilectal the variety of French is, (1) the lower spectral diffusion of /R/ energy is, with a reduced rate noise and a low frequency mean; (2) the more infrequent /R/ constrictive variants are and the more common /R/ approximant variants are ; (3) the greater rates of /R/ elision in coda of syllable and /R/ realization as [w] in labial context increase ;(4) and the more the variety is perceived as having a low degree of French accent. Usually, the longer duration of the contact between French and Creole is, the more basilectal the variety of French is.If characteristics of /R/ consonant can distinguish acrolect and basilect (extreme varieties), it’s not so easy to establish a list of indications (or « lectomètres ») in order to identify varieties in the intermediate zone: mesolect has a certain unpredictability.

This study describes the diachronic development of modality in South African English (henceforth SAfE) from the early 19th century up to its contemporary state (1820s to 1990s) in the registers of letters, news, fiction/narrative and non-fiction, on the basis of the theoretical framework of socio historical linguistics and the empirical approach of corpus linguistics. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are conducted for modal and quasi-modal verbs, by means of the newly compiled historical corpus of SAfE and ICE-SA (with the addition of Afrikaans corpora for comparison). The study explores general frequency changes, register-internal changes and macro- and micro semantic changes, with the focus of the main semantic analysis more strongly on the obligation and necessity cluster1. A set of parameters is compiled for analysing the strength of obligation in the modals must and should, and the quasi-modal HAVE to, and is applied in the micro semantic analyses. The findings are compared with the trends for modality in other native English’s, such as American, British and Australian English (cf. e.g. Mair & Leech, 2006; Collins, 2009a; Leech, 2011), in an attempt to present a complete and comprehensive description of SAfE modality, as opposed to the traditional approach of focusing on peculiar features. It is reported that the trends of modality in SAfE correspond to those of other native varieties in some cases, but do not correspond in others. The modals of SAfE for example have declined more and the quasi-modals have increased less over the 20th century than in other native varieties of English. One particular case, in which SAfE is reported to be unique among other varieties, is the quantitative and qualitative trends for must, which has some implications for the manifestation of the democratisation process. Must in SAfE has not declined significantly over the 20th century (as it has in other native varieties) and has become less face threatening, since uses with a median (weaker) degree of force are just as frequent as those with a higher degree of force by the 1990s (unlike in other native varieties, where must has become restricted to high-degree obligative contexts). Based on socio historical, as well as linguistic evidence (on both quantitative and qualitative levels), language contact with Afrikaans is posited as the main influence for the increased use of must in contexts that are not face threatening. Extrapolating from the semantic findings, some new insights are offered regarding the phase in which SAfE finds itself within Schneider’s (2003) model of the evolution of New English’s, and some support is offered for Bekker’s (2012:143) argument that “SAfE is ...the youngest of the colonial varieties of English”, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. Ultimately, this thesis offers a piece in the larger puzzle that is SAfE, both in terms of linguistic (textual) and socio historical (contextual) aspects. / PhD (English), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

This study describes the diachronic development of modality in South African English (henceforth SAfE) from the early 19th century up to its contemporary state (1820s to 1990s) in the registers of letters, news, fiction/narrative and non-fiction, on the basis of the theoretical framework of socio historical linguistics and the empirical approach of corpus linguistics. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are conducted for modal and quasi-modal verbs, by means of the newly compiled historical corpus of SAfE and ICE-SA (with the addition of Afrikaans corpora for comparison). The study explores general frequency changes, register-internal changes and macro- and micro semantic changes, with the focus of the main semantic analysis more strongly on the obligation and necessity cluster1. A set of parameters is compiled for analysing the strength of obligation in the modals must and should, and the quasi-modal HAVE to, and is applied in the micro semantic analyses. The findings are compared with the trends for modality in other native English’s, such as American, British and Australian English (cf. e.g. Mair & Leech, 2006; Collins, 2009a; Leech, 2011), in an attempt to present a complete and comprehensive description of SAfE modality, as opposed to the traditional approach of focusing on peculiar features. It is reported that the trends of modality in SAfE correspond to those of other native varieties in some cases, but do not correspond in others. The modals of SAfE for example have declined more and the quasi-modals have increased less over the 20th century than in other native varieties of English. One particular case, in which SAfE is reported to be unique among other varieties, is the quantitative and qualitative trends for must, which has some implications for the manifestation of the democratisation process. Must in SAfE has not declined significantly over the 20th century (as it has in other native varieties) and has become less face threatening, since uses with a median (weaker) degree of force are just as frequent as those with a higher degree of force by the 1990s (unlike in other native varieties, where must has become restricted to high-degree obligative contexts). Based on socio historical, as well as linguistic evidence (on both quantitative and qualitative levels), language contact with Afrikaans is posited as the main influence for the increased use of must in contexts that are not face threatening. Extrapolating from the semantic findings, some new insights are offered regarding the phase in which SAfE finds itself within Schneider’s (2003) model of the evolution of New English’s, and some support is offered for Bekker’s (2012:143) argument that “SAfE is ...the youngest of the colonial varieties of English”, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. Ultimately, this thesis offers a piece in the larger puzzle that is SAfE, both in terms of linguistic (textual) and socio historical (contextual) aspects. / PhD (English), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

This thesis examines the results of a large-scale sociolinguistic study on the use of English in two universities in China. The aim of the thesis is to determine the sociolinguistic realities of the use of English in higher education in China. The universities were selected on the basis of their unique status in China’s higher education hierarchy. One university was a private institute reliant on student fees for its income, and the other a state-funded university under the supervision of the Chinese Ministry of Education. A sociolinguistic survey was conducted involving some 490 respondents at these universities between early 2012 and mid-2013. It was specifically aimed at describing the use of the English language in the formal education of students. The study reports on the status and functions of English at the universities, as well as the attitudes of various stakeholders towards English (and other languages). It also examines their beliefs about English. English is considered in a number of contexts: first, the context of language contact, of English alongside other languages and language varieties on the two university campuses; second, of English as part of the linguistic worlds of Chinese students who switch between languages in their daily lives, both in their education as well as their private lives; and third, of the spread and use of English in terms of the physical and virtual movement of people across spaces. The findings of the study indicate that the increasing use of English in the formal education at these universities is having an impact on the ways in which Chinese students are learning their course materials, and even more notably in the myriad ways these students are using multiple languages to negotiate their everyday lives. As university students in China become increasingly bilingual, their ability to move across spaces is shown to increase, both in the ‘real’ world, as well as in their Internet and entertainment lives. / Linguistics / D. Lit. et Phil. (Linguistics)

Cette thèse a pour objectif de définir l’apport de la phonétique expérimentale dans l’identification d’une variété lectale, en prenant pour exemple les langues parlées en Guadeloupe. En Guadeloupe, deux langues cohabitent : le français et le créole. Mais, dans les faits, il y a une diversité de variétés de français d’une part, et de créole d’autre part. Chacune de ces variétés va de l’acrolecte au basilecte en passant par le mésolecte : il y a donc un continuum français et un continuum créole. La situation sociolinguistique de la Guadeloupe peut être ainsi représentée par un double continuum.Ces différentes variétés de français peuvent-elles se distinguer par des caractéristiques (1) acoustiques, (2) phonétiques, (3) phonologiques et (4) perceptives de la consonne /R/? La durée du contact avec le créole, a t-elle une influence sur la variété de français parlée par un locuteur ?Nos résultats montrent que plus la variété de français est basilectale, (1) plus la diffusion de l’énergie spectrale du /R/ est faible avec un taux de bruit réduit et une hauteur moyenne des fréquences basse ; (2) plus la variante fricatisée du /R/ est rare et plus la variante approximante est fréquente ; (3) plus le taux d’élision du /R/ en coda de syllabe augmente ainsi que le taux de réalisation de /R/ en tant que [w] en contexte labial; (4) plus la variété est perçue comme ayant un faible degré d’accent français. Généralement, plus la durée du contact entre le français et le créole est longue, plus cette variété est basilectale.Si les caractéristiques de la consonne /R/ permettent de discriminer la variété acrolectale de la variété basilectale (variétés extrêmes), il apparait plus difficile d’établir une liste d’indices (ou « lectomètres ») qui permettraient d’identifier les variétés se trouvant dans la zone intermédiaire : le mésolecte est doté d’une certaine imprévisibilité. / The goal of this thesis is to determine the contribution of experimental phonetics in the identification of a lectal variety, in taking for example languages spoken in Guadeloupe. In Guadeloupe, two languages coexist : French and Creole. But in fact, there is a diversity of varieties of French on the one hand, and of Creole on the other hand. Each of these varieties goes from acrolect to basilect through mesolect : so there are a French continuum and a Creole continuum. Thus, the sociolinguistic situation of Guadeloupe can be represented by a double continuum.These different varieties of French can they be distinguished by (1) acoustic, (2) phonetic, (3) phonological (4) and perceptual characteristics of /R/ consonant? Does the contact duration with Creole have an influence on the variety of French spoken by a speaker?Our results show that the more basilectal the variety of French is, (1) the lower spectral diffusion of /R/ energy is, with a reduced rate noise and a low frequency mean; (2) the more infrequent /R/ constrictive variants are and the more common /R/ approximant variants are ; (3) the greater rates of /R/ elision in coda of syllable and /R/ realization as [w] in labial context increase ;(4) and the more the variety is perceived as having a low degree of French accent. Usually, the longer duration of the contact between French and Creole is, the more basilectal the variety of French is.If characteristics of /R/ consonant can distinguish acrolect and basilect (extreme varieties), it’s not so easy to establish a list of indications (or « lectomètres ») in order to identify varieties in the intermediate zone: mesolect has a certain unpredictability.

Die Studie bietet Einblicke in die Geschichte des kenianischen Hochlands aus linguistischer bzw. dialektologischer Perspektive. Als Grundlage dient eine Fülle an empirischen Sprachdaten für alle Varietäten, die unter dem Label Central Kenya Bantu (E50) zusammengefasst werden, darunter Gikuyu, Kamba und Meru. Die Dissertation gliedert sich in drei Teile: Mithilfe von Dialektometrie und multidimensionaler Skalierung werden die Sprachdaten in einem ersten Schritt einer umfassenden quantitativen Analyse unterzogen (dialektologische Vermessung). Dadurch lässt sich die phonologische und lexikalische Ähnlichkeit zwischen den Sprachen und Dialekten ermitteln. Dies ergibt eine Klassifikation des Zentralkenia-Bantu, die eine synchrone Dreitteilung in „Western“, „Eastern“ und „Kamba“ zeigt. Die qualitative Analyse untersucht in einem zweiten Schritt, inwiefern Vererbung und Sprachkontakt zum synchronen Profil der zentralkenianischen Bantusprachen beigetragen haben. Ein letzter Schritt gleicht die linguistischen Ergebnisse mit historischen Erkenntnissen aus den oralen Traditionen der Region ab. So können einige der sozio-historischen Prozesse spezifiziert werden, die in den vergangenen 500 Jahren prägend für die Region rund um den Mount Kenya waren. / This study provides insights into the history of the Kenyan Highlands from a linguistic (dialectological) perspective. It relies on a vast amount of empirical language data that covers all varieties subsumed under the label Central Kenya Bantu (E50), among them Gikuyu, Kamba, and Meru. The thesis is divided into three parts: The first part offers a thorough quantitative analysis (dialectological survey) by means of dialectometry and multidimensional scaling. Here, it is assessed to which degree the different varieties share their phonological and lexical inventory. This allows us to establish a synchronic classification of Central Kenya Bantu showing a split into the groups Eastern, Western, and Kamba. Second, the qualitative dialectological analysis investigates the ways in which inheritance and language contact contributed to the synchronic profile of Central Kenya Bantu. Finally, the linguistic findings are correlated with historical accounts gathered through a study of local oral traditions. This enables us to specify some of the socio-historical processes that shaped the various communities in the vicinity of Mount Kenya over the past 500 years.