Ellipsis is a phenomenon whereby constituents which are normally obligatory in the grammar are omitted in actual discourse. It is found in all types of discourse, from everyday conversation to poetry. The omitted constituents can range from one word to an entire clause, and recovery of the ellipted item depends sometimes on the linguistic and sometimes on the non-linguistic context. From a practical point of view, the contribution of ellipsis in the context is twofold. First, it is one of several important means of achieving cohesion in a text. Secondly, ellipsis contributes to communicative appropriateness determined by the type of linguistic activity (e.g., narrative, casual conversation), the mode of communication (e.g., written / spoken) and the relationship between participants. The aim of this research is to provide a description of the functions of elliptical utterances – textual and interpersonal – in English and Japanese, based on a cross-linguistic analysis of dialogues in the English and Japanese map task corpora. In order to analyse ellipsis in relation to its two key functions, elliptical clauses in the map task dialogues were examined. I discuss how ellipsis is used to realise cohesion in the map task dialogues. The findings challenge the well-known claim that topics are established by full noun phrases, which are subsequently realised by pronouns (English) and null pronouns (Japanese). Rather, the results suggest that full noun phrases are used for topic continuity in both languages. Constituents which are ellipted in an utterance are identified and related to the moves types which the utterance realises within the exchange structure. The ellipted elements will be categorised according to the constituent types (Subject, Finite, Predicator, Complement and Adjunct), using the systemic functional approach. This analysis reveals that whereas in the English dialogues the most common types of ellipsis are that of Subject and Finite elements, in the Japanese dialogues the most common type is that of Subject. Types of ellipsis are also correlated with speech acts in the dialogues. The relation between types of ellipsis and particular speech acts associated with them is strikingly similar in the English and Japanese dialogues, despite the notable difference in grammar and pragmatics between the two languages. This analysis also shows how these types of ellipsis are associated with interpersonal effects in particular speech acts: ellipsis of Subject and Finite can contribute to a sharp contrast in the question and answer sequence, while Subject ellipsis in Japanese can contribute to modifying the command-like force in giving instructions. These effects can be summed up as epistemic and deontic modality respectively. Ultimately, it is argued that some types of ellipsis can serve as modality expressions. Additionally, in comparison to the way of realising the speech act of giving instructions in the English dialogues, it emerges that the Japanese speakers exploit ellipsis, which seems to be associated with lowering the degree of the speaker’s commitment to the proposition. As implications for pedagogical settings, I present pedagogical descriptions of ellipsis for Japanese learners of English and English learners of Japanese. Since the description is for specific learners, the approach which takes the difference in grammar and pragmatics between the two languages is made possible. Although descriptions state some detailed facts of ellipsis in English and Japanese, primarily highlighted is the importance of raising awareness of elliptical forms for particular functions in particular contexts. As ellipsis is a product of forms, functions and contexts, it is a most remarkable feature of spoken language. Spoken language is claimed by some researchers to show similar linguistic features among languages because of the restrictions inherent in the medium on communication. In the form of pedagogical description, I show the similarities and differences in ellipsis which derive from the grammar and pragmatics of each language, which are observed in the preceding linguistic research. Through the presentation of the findings which are modified for learners, learners will know how languages show convergence and divergence cross-linguistically.

While the original focus of pragmatics was spoken conversation, this approach has been increasingly used in the analysis of written and monological texts, e.g. advertisements (Tanaka, 1994), as a means of explaining how the meanings within them are generated and recovered through context. The range of texts subjected to pragmatics has thus far been somewhat limited and there is scope for applying pragmatics in other genres. The research for this essay was designed to explain the generation of implicatures in newspapers by relating a sample of articles to theoretical approaches offered within pragmatics, such as Relevance Theory and deixis. A number of semantic and stylistic devices are used in such articles, such as anaphora, metaphor and metonymy. These depend upon an expectation of reader familiarity with them and they are thus able to contribute to brevity and comprehension. While newspapers have been examined by scholars to some extent, the focus of these studies has been on headlines and not on entire articles. In this current study, three articles from different British tabloid papers were examined. The examination showed that the articles had many features in common and what was the most salient was that they require the reader to rely heavily on encyclopaedic knowledge. It turned out that writers keep their articles brief by withholding details or clarifying information from the reader, as they assume the reader are familiar with the phenomena mentioned. Anaphora is frequently used in tabloid newspaper articles as it also enables the writers to keep their articles brief, but also because it makes the articles more varied and less repetitive. Additionally, reader familiarity with metonymy, metaphor and deixis is necessary if the reader is to make sense of what an article means.

Thesis advisor: Penny Hauser-Cram / Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder marked by a microdeletion of approximately 25 genes on chromosome 7. Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder marked by a chromosomal abnormality in which an additional copy of chromosome 21 is present in some or all cells. A comparative analysis of language acquisition between populations of children with WS and populations of children with DS yielded largely different patterns in language development. Phonology was found to be largely intact in children with WS, while children with DS struggled to produce intelligible and articulate speech. Semantics proved an area of relative strength in comparison to other areas of language development in both populations. Syntax was found to be a relative strength in the WS population, while children with DS struggled with syntactic output. Both groups exhibited difficulties in syntactic processing. In contrast to common conceptions regarding pragmatic strengths in children with WS, results indicated that gesture, narrative and discourse were areas of relative weakness in this population. Gesture, narrative and discourse proved areas of relative strength for children with DS. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Partindo do princípio de que as concepções de tradução dependam do modo como se concebe a linguagem, e de que a dinâmica histórica das teorias sobre tradução corresponda à alternância sucessiva entre propostas universalistas e relativistas, revê-se o momento de ingresso do tema na pesquisa acadêmica, época de domínio do universalismo, tipificado pela abordagem estruturalista. Mostra-se como as limitações próprias a essa abordagem levam ao abandono do universalismo em prol de um pensamento relativista radical que acaba também não dando conta do objeto. Nesse contexto, os estudos da tradução, enquanto tendência específica da pesquisa na área, aparecem como solução conciliatória, e ganham força como a abordagem mais próxima de descrever a experiência prática com o objeto. Faltam-lhe, todavia, aprofundar seus fundamentos teóricos, o que pode ser alcançado mediante o contato com a pragmática de Wittgenstein e a praxiologia de Bourdieu. As noções desenvolvidas por esses dois pensadores abrem espaço e contribuem para o desenvolvimento de uma teoria voltada para a prática, favorecendo a compreensão da tradução como o trabalho do tradutor. / Assuming that translation concepts depend upon the way language is conceived, and also that the history of translation theories alternates between universalists and relativists points of view, this work reviews the moment when translation theory is appropriated by academic research, a time in which the spread and supremacy of Universalism is represented by the dominant structuralist approach. The inner limitations of that approach imply however the abandon of Universalists ideas and the adoption of the opposite perspective, that of an extreme Relativism, which due exactly to its extremism limits itself to criticizing the presuppositions of the former Universalist paradigm. In that context, Translation Studies, considered a specific approach to the theme, arise as a conciliatory solution and seem to be closer to the translation praxis in describing its object. But Translation Studies also lack a deeper theoretical background and that can be achieved, supposedly, through an interdisciplinary contact with Wittgensteins pragmatics and Bourdieus praxeology. The chief notions elaborated by these two scholars may help the development of a theory that defines translation as the translators work.

O trabalho fonoaudiológico com crianças do espectro autístico está profundamente relacionado às perspectivas lingüísticas, em especial às teorias pragmáticas, uma vez que as características observadas no comportamento destas crianças são justamente deficitárias nos aspectos propostos por estas teorias, ou seja, as relações entre o uso da linguagem e os aspectos sociais e cognitivos do desenvolvimento. Deste modo, a observação individualizada, detalhada, buscando diferentes análises sobre processos individuais, é fundamental. O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi verificar a existência de correlações significativas entre os dados da adaptação sócio-comunicativa obtidos por meio de entrevistas com os pais e terapeutas, registrados no protocolo de adaptação sócio-comunicativa (Sousa, 2004), e os dados referentes ao perfil funcional da comunicação (Fernandes, 2004), bem como suas possíveis alterações, após um período de aproximadamente 12 meses de terapia fonoaudiológica com crianças e adolescentes com Distúrbios do Espectro Autístico. O método estabeleceu dois estudos: Estudo I: -48 sujeitos, com os quais foram aplicados os protocolos acima citados, e Estudo II -37 sujeitos, sorteados, aleatoriamente, entre aqueles que tinham feito parte do Estudo I e que tiveram atendimento fonoaudiológico no Laboratório de Investigação Fonoaudiológica nos Distúrbios do Espectro Autístico- FMUSP, por aproximadamente 12 meses, sem interrupções maiores do que 4 semanas, e que tinham freqüentado pelo menos 45 sessões, com os quais foram reaplicados os protocolos da pesquisa. No que se refere aos resultados referentes ao acompanhamento longitudinal, por tratar-se de um transtorno em que as grandes diferenças individuais são uma característica marcante, a abordagem considerou cada sujeito como seu próprio controle, visando o melhor aproveitamento dos dados obtidos, sendo assim, possível observar as relações existentes entre a adaptação sócio-comunicativa e o perfil funcional da comunicação. Os resultados obtidos no Estudo I permitem dizer que se observou um número maior de correlações entre a adaptação sócio-comunicativa e o perfil funcional da comunicação quando as terapeutas foram as informantes e não os pais. Em relação ao Estudo II, os resultados demonstraram que ao final de um período de aproximadamente um ano de atendimento fonoaudiológico houve maior convergência entre os dados obtidos com os pais e aqueles obtidos com as terapeutas, no que diz respeito à adaptação sócio-comunicativa, bem como uma maior convergência entre os resultados do perfil funcional da comunicação e da adaptação sócio-comunicativa. Conclui-se que este trabalho contribuiu no sentido de fornecer uma forma de analisar e acompanhar o desenvolvimento de habilidades sociais necessárias para as crianças se adaptarem e funcionarem como parceiros comunicativos. A utilização dos pais e também das terapeutas na coleta dos dados de adaptação sócio-comunicativa mostrou-se de grande valia, possibilitando uma produtiva troca de informações e a formação de parcerias que agem na detecção de possíveis falhas no processo de reabilitação. E, apesar das crianças do espectro autístico apresentarem um desenvolvimento deficitário das habilidades de linguagem, cognição e socialização, ainda sim elas foram capazes de extrair pistas lingüísticas e não-lingüísticas do meio comunicativo, e utilizá-las de forma contextual em sua vida social, associando-as com os ganhos na linguagem e no desempenho sócio-cognitivo. / The speech and language therapist\'s role with children of the autistic spectrum is deeply linked to the linguistic perspectives. Specially to the pragmatic theories, since the behavioral characteristics observed in autistic children behavior involve the same deficits approached by these theories, that is, the relation between language and the social and cognitive aspects of development. This way, the individualized and detailed observation, seeking different analysis about individual processes is essential. The general purpose of this study was to verify significant correlations between data about social communicative adaptation and the functional communicative profile and their possible variations after a period of 12 months of language therapy. The social communicative adaptation data was obtained in interviews with parents and therapists and registered in specific protocols (Sousa, 2004). The functional communicative profile was determined by the analysis of a filmed sample of 30 minutes of play session (Fernandes, 2004). The method determined two studies the first with 48 subjects and the second with 37 subjects (randomly chosen from the participants of the first study that attended to language therapy for a period of 12 months without interruptions longer than 4 weeks). The follow-up study considered each subject as his/her own control, due to the large individual variations characteristic of the autistic spectrum. It allowed the observation of the relation between social communicative adaptation and the functional communicative profile. Results of Study 1 showed that there were more correlations when the information was provided by the therapists. In the Study 2 results show that after a period of 12 months of language therapy there was more association of the data provided by parents and therapists. It can be concluded that this research determined a way to analyze and follow-up the development of social abilities that are fundamental to the child\'s adaptation and participation on the communicative process. The use of parents and therapists as informants about social communicative adaptation was shown to be useful in providing a productive information exchange and the determination of cooperative teams for the detections and prevention of failures of rehabilitation processes. Despite children of the autistic spectrum present deficits on the development of language, cognitive and social abilities, they were able to derive linguistic and non-linguistic clues from the communicative environment and to use them according to the social context, thus leading to language and social-cognitive progress.

O trabalho fonoaudiológico com crianças do espectro autístico está profundamente relacionado às perspectivas lingüísticas, em especial às teorias pragmáticas, uma vez que as características observadas no comportamento destas crianças são justamente deficitárias nos aspectos propostos por estas teorias, ou seja, as relações entre o uso da linguagem e os aspectos sociais e cognitivos do desenvolvimento. Deste modo, a observação individualizada, detalhada, buscando diferentes análises sobre processos individuais, é fundamental. O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi verificar a existência de correlações significativas entre os dados da adaptação sócio-comunicativa obtidos por meio de entrevistas com os pais e terapeutas, registrados no protocolo de adaptação sócio-comunicativa (Sousa, 2004), e os dados referentes ao perfil funcional da comunicação (Fernandes, 2004), bem como suas possíveis alterações, após um período de aproximadamente 12 meses de terapia fonoaudiológica com crianças e adolescentes com Distúrbios do Espectro Autístico. O método estabeleceu dois estudos: Estudo I: -48 sujeitos, com os quais foram aplicados os protocolos acima citados, e Estudo II -37 sujeitos, sorteados, aleatoriamente, entre aqueles que tinham feito parte do Estudo I e que tiveram atendimento fonoaudiológico no Laboratório de Investigação Fonoaudiológica nos Distúrbios do Espectro Autístico- FMUSP, por aproximadamente 12 meses, sem interrupções maiores do que 4 semanas, e que tinham freqüentado pelo menos 45 sessões, com os quais foram reaplicados os protocolos da pesquisa. No que se refere aos resultados referentes ao acompanhamento longitudinal, por tratar-se de um transtorno em que as grandes diferenças individuais são uma característica marcante, a abordagem considerou cada sujeito como seu próprio controle, visando o melhor aproveitamento dos dados obtidos, sendo assim, possível observar as relações existentes entre a adaptação sócio-comunicativa e o perfil funcional da comunicação. Os resultados obtidos no Estudo I permitem dizer que se observou um número maior de correlações entre a adaptação sócio-comunicativa e o perfil funcional da comunicação quando as terapeutas foram as informantes e não os pais. Em relação ao Estudo II, os resultados demonstraram que ao final de um período de aproximadamente um ano de atendimento fonoaudiológico houve maior convergência entre os dados obtidos com os pais e aqueles obtidos com as terapeutas, no que diz respeito à adaptação sócio-comunicativa, bem como uma maior convergência entre os resultados do perfil funcional da comunicação e da adaptação sócio-comunicativa. Conclui-se que este trabalho contribuiu no sentido de fornecer uma forma de analisar e acompanhar o desenvolvimento de habilidades sociais necessárias para as crianças se adaptarem e funcionarem como parceiros comunicativos. A utilização dos pais e também das terapeutas na coleta dos dados de adaptação sócio-comunicativa mostrou-se de grande valia, possibilitando uma produtiva troca de informações e a formação de parcerias que agem na detecção de possíveis falhas no processo de reabilitação. E, apesar das crianças do espectro autístico apresentarem um desenvolvimento deficitário das habilidades de linguagem, cognição e socialização, ainda sim elas foram capazes de extrair pistas lingüísticas e não-lingüísticas do meio comunicativo, e utilizá-las de forma contextual em sua vida social, associando-as com os ganhos na linguagem e no desempenho sócio-cognitivo. / The speech and language therapist\'s role with children of the autistic spectrum is deeply linked to the linguistic perspectives. Specially to the pragmatic theories, since the behavioral characteristics observed in autistic children behavior involve the same deficits approached by these theories, that is, the relation between language and the social and cognitive aspects of development. This way, the individualized and detailed observation, seeking different analysis about individual processes is essential. The general purpose of this study was to verify significant correlations between data about social communicative adaptation and the functional communicative profile and their possible variations after a period of 12 months of language therapy. The social communicative adaptation data was obtained in interviews with parents and therapists and registered in specific protocols (Sousa, 2004). The functional communicative profile was determined by the analysis of a filmed sample of 30 minutes of play session (Fernandes, 2004). The method determined two studies the first with 48 subjects and the second with 37 subjects (randomly chosen from the participants of the first study that attended to language therapy for a period of 12 months without interruptions longer than 4 weeks). The follow-up study considered each subject as his/her own control, due to the large individual variations characteristic of the autistic spectrum. It allowed the observation of the relation between social communicative adaptation and the functional communicative profile. Results of Study 1 showed that there were more correlations when the information was provided by the therapists. In the Study 2 results show that after a period of 12 months of language therapy there was more association of the data provided by parents and therapists. It can be concluded that this research determined a way to analyze and follow-up the development of social abilities that are fundamental to the child\'s adaptation and participation on the communicative process. The use of parents and therapists as informants about social communicative adaptation was shown to be useful in providing a productive information exchange and the determination of cooperative teams for the detections and prevention of failures of rehabilitation processes. Despite children of the autistic spectrum present deficits on the development of language, cognitive and social abilities, they were able to derive linguistic and non-linguistic clues from the communicative environment and to use them according to the social context, thus leading to language and social-cognitive progress.

The study aims to investigate the effect of airline one-year placement experience on Taiwanese students’ development and acquisition of L2 pragmatic competence focusing on their English speech act behaviours. 50 subjects participated in this study, including 10 airline staff and 40 hospitality university students. Two instruments - the Discourse Completion Test and the Focus Group Interview were used to elicit the request strategies from three research groups for analysis. The results of the study demonstrated that exposure to the target speech community specifically a year-long airport placement is relatively influential for the pragmatic development of Taiwanese hospitality university students. The findings in this study also showed that there is a positive relationship between linguistic proficiency and pragmatic ability. It is observed that the participants with better performance in the linguistic and grammatical knowledge tend to show equivalent pragmatic development more than the participants with lower proficiency. The study is believed to significantly contribute in three directions. Firstly, the findings of this study provide valuable data for the development of pragmatic competence in airline English learning. An overall review of the relevant literature shows that there are no studies until now that have explored the effects of airline placement on the pragmatic development of Taiwanese hospitality university students in terms of their English request realisation. Secondly, the results of the study can serve as important practical evidence and can provide guidelines for airline English instructors to start considering how to integrate effective instruction with intercultural pragmatic learning in their teaching materials and curriculum design in order to assist Taiwanese hospitality university students to acquire the pragmatic and social cultural abilities to meet the airline workplace language requirement in the future. Thirdly, the results of the study also revealed information about the pragmatic performance of Taiwanese ground staff; senior employees and supervisors. Therefore, it is hoped that the results of the study can raise the awareness of both English course planners and administrators in Taiwanese airlines to develop appropriate airline English courses for ground staff in order to improve ground staff’s English communication competence when dealing with passengers and also reach the standard of good service quality.

This study describes a series of case studies on topic management patterns of five children (ages 5 to 10 years) with language impairment. The children participated in semi-structured topic tasks that assessed conversational abilities on topics that were verbally introduced and topics that were introduced both verbally and with an object. Although there was considerable variability among participants, the children generally responded to most introductions by acknowledging and maintaining the topic. With the exception of one child, however, the children in this study demonstrated immature topic manipulation patterns that could be expected to have negative social ramifications.

This project deals with the sociocultural and pragmatic aspects of second language acquisition. Most current research in this field examines the ability of second language learners to produce socioculturally appropriate utterances in simulated speech settings. Researchers are interested in whether students can interact adequately within the confines of both their linguistic competence and the foreign culture's interactional norms. Analyses of learners' speech routines are quite valuable to our understanding of their ability to enact conversational routines. However, they do not indicate to use what the learners understand; that is, they do not tease apart what learners understand to be true about the language from what they can do under the pressure of performance. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine whether learners of Russian perceive the sociocultural weight of the two personal pronouns for 'you,' ty (informal/intimate) and Vy (formal/polite). In this project, the term understand is used in two ways, each of which is tested empirically. First, understanding implies knowledge about the pragmatic impact of the pronouns. Do learners correctly indicate which pronoun is appropriate in context? Second, understanding is listening ability. Do learners utilize their pragmatic knowledge when they listen to native speech? Or do proficiency factors, individual learner characteristics, syntactic saliency (overt pronoun vs. pro-drop), and overall attentional limitations affect their listening ability? Students at Middlebury College and at the University of Iowa participated in two experimental tasks evaluating their pragmatic knowledge and listening ability with the ty / Vy feature: (a) a metapragmatic judgment task and (b) a listening task using video clips from famous Russian films. Results indicate that pragmatic knowledge is not significantly different across proficiency levels, nor is perception of the pronouns in a listening task; that is, beginning learners and advanced learners demonstrate similar ability with the understanding of the feature. Furthermore, female learners outperformed male learners on the listening task, although performance on the pragmatic knowledge task did not vary by gender. These results add to the body of knowledge in second language acquisition and, more specifically, to our knowledge of how pragmatic features of a language are acquired.

The current study examined a method of language sampling (the Dixit Method- Science, Math, Engineering, Arts, and Math) in early adolescents with typically developing language. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the DM-STEAM in eliciting lexically sophisticated spoken language samples in the early adolescent population. To examine lexical sophistication, traditional measures of analysis such as mean length of utterance (MLU) and average type token ratio (AVG TTR) were applied along with a measure of low frequency vocabulary. To compare performance on the DM-STEAM, school standardized assessments were obtained to measure student skill in academic content areas. Twenty-two student participants in the sixth grade (11 years to 12 years 11 months) were recruited from a local elementary school. The data was evaluated using a paired tailed t test and a path analysis test. Although the sample size is small, results from the study indicate the DM-STEAM elicits low frequency academic vocabulary in early adolescent populations.