This study investigates the acquisition of grammatical gender and number agreement in Italian as a second language (L2). The theoretical framework is based on a functional approach that stresses the importance of form function mappings, cues, frequency effects and the statistical properties of the language input. The Competition Model is of particular importance and the Italian oral corpus LIP is used to make calculations that measure the validity, availability and reliability of the Italian noun endings. The data consists of 71 transcribed teacher-student dialogues with Swedish learners of Italian at Stockholm University. The results show that learners have problems with feminine gender in the plural and with ambiguous noun endings, i.e. cases where one form is connected to more than one function. These findings can be explained by cue competition and frequency effects and to some extent by a markedness effect.  A second study with time (longitudinal development) and reliability of the noun endings (high or low) as independent variables and degree of accuracy as dependent variable showed a positive increase in accuracy rates over time, both for low and high reliability noun endings. There was also a significant interaction effect between the two independent variables according to which cases of agreement with low validity noun endings showed a higher increase in accuracy rates than high validity noun endings. This could be explained by the power law of practice, i.e. cases of agreement with high reliability noun endings soon reach a very high level of accuracy from which it is difficult to make further progress.

Abstract The most important paradigms in quantum mechanics are probably a twolevel system, a harmonic oscillator and an ideal (infinite) periodic potential. The first two provide a starting point for understanding the phenomena in systems where the spectrum of energy levels is discrete, whereas the last one results in continuous energy bands. Here an attempt is made to study the dynamics of the electrons in a narrow miniband of a semiconductor superlattice under electric and magnetic fields. Semiconductor superlattices are artificial periodic structures, where certain properties like the period and the energy band structure, defined in standard crystals by the nature, can be controlled. Electron dynamics in a single superlattice miniband is interesting both from the viewpoint of fundamental and applied physics. From the fundamental perspective superlattices serve as a model system for a wealth of phenomena resulting from the wavenature of charge carriers. On the other hand, superlattices can potentially be utilized in oscillators and amplifiers operating at THz frequencies. They can, in principle, provide a reasonable THz Bloch gain under dc bias and parametric amplification in the presence of ac pump field. Because of numerous scientific and technological applications in different areas of science and technology, including astrophysics and atmospheric science, biological and medical sciences, and detection of concealed weapons and biosecurity, a construction of compact tunable THz amplifiers and generators that can operate at room temperature is an important – but so far unrealized – task. This thesis focuses on the influence of electric and magnetic fields on small-signal absorption and gain in semiconductor superlattices in the presence of dissipation (scattering). We present several new ideas how the effects arising due to the wave nature of the electrons can be utilized in an operation of THz oscillators and amplifiers. In Papers I–V, we discuss the properties of superlattice sub-THz and THz parametric amplifiers, whereas the Papers VI–IX are devoted to the problem of domain instability in the realization of cw THz Bloch oscillator. In Paper IX we also establish a feasibility of new type of superlattice THz amplifier based on nonlinear cyclotron-like oscillations of the miniband electrons. The ideas presented in the Papers I–IX are supplemented here with a detailed discussion of the physical origin of the effects and more rigorous mathematical derivations of the main equations.

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No description available.

Lateral perturbations in anelasticity (Q) and wave speed together provide important constraints on thermal and chemical structures in the mantle. In present-day tomography studies of global wave speed and anelasticity, the significance of 3-D wave speed and 3-D Q structures on surface wave travel times and amplitudes has not been well understood. In this dissertation, the effects of lateral perturbations in anelasticity (Q) and wave speed on surface wave observables are quantified based upon wave propagation simulations in 3-D earth models using a Spectral Element Method. Comparison between phase delays caused by 3-D wave speed structures and those caused by 3-D Q variations show that anelastic dispersion due to lateral perturbation in Q is important in long-period surface wave and can account for 15-20% observed phase delays. For amplitude perturbations, elastic focusing/defocusing effects associated with 3-D wave speed structures are dominant while energy dissipation is important in short-period (~ 50 s) surface waves but decreases quickly with increasing wave period. Anelastic focusing/defocusing associated with 3-D anelastic dispersion becomes more important than wave attenuation in longer period surface waves. In tomography studies, ray theory breaks down and finite frequency effects become important when the length scale of heterogenities are smaller than seismic wavelength. Finite frequency effects in 3-D earth models are investigated by comparing theoretical predictions of travel times and amplitudes with "ground truth" measurements made on synthetic seismograms generated in SEM simulations. The comparisons show that finite frequency effects are stronger in amplitudes than in phases, especially at long periods. / Ph. D.

This paper explores the added value of studying intra- and interspeaker variation in grammaticalisation based on idiolect corpora. It analyses the usage patterns of the English let alone construction in a self-compiled William Faulkner corpus against the backdrop of aggregated community data. Vast individual differences (early Faulkner vs. late Faulkner vs. peers) in frequencies of use are observed, and these frequency differences correlate with different degrees of grammaticalisation as measured in terms of host-class and syntactic context expansion. The corpus findings inform general issues in current cognitive-functional research, such as the from-corpus-to-cognition issue and the cause/consequence issue of frequency. They lend support to the usagebased view of grammaticalisation as a lifelong, frequency-sensitive process of cognitive automation. To substantiate this view, this paper proposes a selffeeding cycle of constructional generalisation that is driven by the interplay of frequency, entrenchment, partial sanction and habituation.

<p>This study investigates the use of formulaic language in spoken French produced by native and non-native speakers. It aims at describing the development of formulaic sequences in learners ranging from beginners to very advanced users. It draws on data from the InterFra corpus, which includes both formal and semi-formal learners. Four measures are used to characterize this development: extent of formulaic language used, category distribution, type / token ratio and frequency of types. </p><p>It has been shown that a user’s knowledge of formulaic sequences impacts heavily on language proficiency and idiomaticity. Because these sequences follow neither grammatical nor lexical rules, they constitute the last threshold for advanced L2 learners. In second language acquisition, the term formulaic sequence not only applies to strict idiomatic constructions, but it is also used to refer to sequences that appear to be acquired in a holistic manner during the first phases of acquisition. A categorization is therefore proposed that can account for native and non-native usage of formulaic sequences (prefabs). Five categories of prefabs are included: Lexical, Grammatical, Discourse, Situational and Idiosyncratic. </p><p>The extent of a learner’s use of formulaic language increases as the learner progresses, the largest amount found in the production of native speakers and very advanced learners. The learner’s distribution of categories moves towards native speaker distribution, albeit slowly. Situational and Idiosyncratic prefabs are found to characterize the early phases of acquisition, while Lexical prefabs are mastered later and are a major difficulty for L2 learners. Only very advanced learners who have spent considerable time in France produce the same proportion of Lexical prefabs as native speakers. Discourse prefabs constitute the most important category for all groups, including natives and non-natives. It can therefore be postulated that the main function of formulaic sequences in spoken French is that of discourse structuring and speech management. The development and use of formulaic language is explained within a framework of Frequency Effects. Coupled with other factors, frequency can account for why Lexical prefabs are hard to acquire and why formulaic sequences take a long time to master.</p> / The thesis is published and can be purchased by Peter Lang http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?vID=11369&vLang=E&vHR=1&vUR=1&vUUR=38

This study investigates the use of formulaic language in spoken French produced by native and non-native speakers. It aims at describing the development of formulaic sequences in learners ranging from beginners to very advanced users. It draws on data from the InterFra corpus, which includes both formal and semi-formal learners. Four measures are used to characterize this development: extent of formulaic language used, category distribution, type / token ratio and frequency of types. It has been shown that a user’s knowledge of formulaic sequences impacts heavily on language proficiency and idiomaticity. Because these sequences follow neither grammatical nor lexical rules, they constitute the last threshold for advanced L2 learners. In second language acquisition, the term formulaic sequence not only applies to strict idiomatic constructions, but it is also used to refer to sequences that appear to be acquired in a holistic manner during the first phases of acquisition. A categorization is therefore proposed that can account for native and non-native usage of formulaic sequences (prefabs). Five categories of prefabs are included: Lexical, Grammatical, Discourse, Situational and Idiosyncratic. The extent of a learner’s use of formulaic language increases as the learner progresses, the largest amount found in the production of native speakers and very advanced learners. The learner’s distribution of categories moves towards native speaker distribution, albeit slowly. Situational and Idiosyncratic prefabs are found to characterize the early phases of acquisition, while Lexical prefabs are mastered later and are a major difficulty for L2 learners. Only very advanced learners who have spent considerable time in France produce the same proportion of Lexical prefabs as native speakers. Discourse prefabs constitute the most important category for all groups, including natives and non-natives. It can therefore be postulated that the main function of formulaic sequences in spoken French is that of discourse structuring and speech management. The development and use of formulaic language is explained within a framework of Frequency Effects. Coupled with other factors, frequency can account for why Lexical prefabs are hard to acquire and why formulaic sequences take a long time to master. / The thesis is published and can be purchased by Peter Lang http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?vID=11369&vLang=E&vHR=1&vUR=1&vUUR=38

This research investigated the effect of frequency of language use on the production of consonant gradation by non-dominant speakers of Finnish in the immigrant community of Sointula, BC. Three types of frequency – word-frequency, suffix-frequency, and stem-frequency – were tested. It also investigated whether quantitative or qualitative gradation is more successful in producing gradation than the other and, finally, whether immigrant generation can explain the variation between participants. A translation task was administered to the six participants across three generations. Based on the framework of exemplar-driven cognitive grammar (Bybee 2001; Pierrehumbert 2001), the frequency-effects were assumed to be contingent upon the mode of lexical access; frequent complex words, presumably accessed as wholes thanks to frequent usage, would not exhibit as many gradation errors as infrequent words, which would be accessed via their composite parts due to infrequency. The anticipated frequency-effects were not found. Both frequent and infrequent words manifested some gradation loss as an analogical change. This suggests that all words are infrequent. While Bybee’s model assumes high-volume language use over time in dominant language contexts, lack of volume appears to suppress the differential behavior between frequent and infrequent words in Sointula. However, correct gradation was predictable based on suffix-use, which in turn was determined partly by semantics of suffixes; those Finnish suffixes that are semantically mappable to equivalent morphemes in English were better preserved than GEN object-markers, which do not have corresponding morpheme in English. With the atrophy of the GEN object-marker also gradation becomes redundant. This may arise from the tendency to mark syntactic constituency with word-order alone in English-influenced Finnish. Thus, semantics of suffixes proves to be a better predictor of gradation than frequency. Gradation loss increased with each generation born abroad; by G3, it has all but disappeared. Consonant gradation is not preserved through the generations. Qualitative gradation disappears before quantitative gradation. The above findings are sensible in a context of reduced language-functionality. Against expectation, little evidence for storing sub-word morphemes and decomposed access was found. Instead, the data suggests that most stored lexical items are whole words and that gradation is associated with whole complex forms.

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