Browsing by Author "World Languages and Cultures, School of Liberal Arts"

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    Approaching Composition as Showing–Telling through Translanguaging: Weaving Multilingualism, Multimodality, and Multiliteracies in a Digital Collage Proyecto Final
    (MDPI, 2022) Prada, Josh; World Languages and Cultures, School of Liberal Arts
    Couched in theories of translanguaging, multimodality, and multiliteracies, this article explores digital compositions (i.e., digital collages) as spaces for identity representation through the proyectos finales produced by 22 students in a Spanish composition class for heritage/native speakers in a U.S. university. Each digital collage was accompanied by two written documents: one describing the processes leading to its creation, and another one explaining the meaning of the collage and its components. Qualitative content analysis was used to investigate the submissions, with particular attention paid to instances of identity, experience, and self-representation through complex orchestrations of flexible multilingual and multimodal meaning- and sense-making. The proyecto final is discussed in terms of the curricular innovation for courses designed for racialized language-minoritized multilingual students, describing the nature and affordances of translanguaging in this context, and advancing an approach to digital composing as showing–telling.
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    Apuntes sobre la expresión del neutro en español
    (John Benjamins, 2021-07) Zulaica Hernández, Iker; World Languages and Cultures, School of Liberal Arts
    Por su naturaleza intrínsecamente compleja a nivel semántico y formal dentro del sistema de género gramatical, la enseñanza del neutro generalmente se restringe a la exposición, un tanto marginal, de los usos referenciales más básicos de las formas neutras. La realidad es que los elementos neutros del español son frecuentes en todos los registros, se presentan en estructuras sintácticas diversas y presentan usos menos conocidos, pero igualmente importantes a nivel comunicativo. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo ofrecer una visión exhaustiva sobre la expresión del neutro en español y presentar su riqueza referencial y distribucional. Además de presentar exhaustivamente sus posibilidades referenciales y distribucionales más conocidas, se presentan también otros usos y construcciones menos conocidos, pero igualmente frecuentes en la lengua coloquial. Asimismo se analizan varias extensiones de significado y funcionales que incluyen formas neutras.
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    Book review of Feedback in Second Language Writing: Contexts and Issues Edited by Ken Hyland and Fiona Hyland (2nd edition)
    (Elsevier, 2020-04) Ene, Estela; World Languages and Cultures, School of Liberal Arts
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    Colliding Worlds: The Disintegration of America in the Cinema of the Coen Brothers
    (Cambridge, 2019-05) Carstensen, Thorsten; World Languages and Cultures, School of Liberal Arts
    In the cinema of Joel and Ethan Coen, contemporary America is depicted as an incoherent space in which traditional beliefs constantly collide with the new world order. Shaped by the erosion of commonly accepted values and the ubiquitous presence of the media and advertisements, this hybrid America is a world of commerce, consumption, and economic plight. While its cities are plagued by segregation, outbursts of casual violence undermine the myth of an unspoiled life in the countryside. Illustrating postmodern culture's preference for the periphery versus the center, the movies of the Coen brothers find a glimmer of morality remaining on the margin of society. Unimposing and compassionate characters such as the pregnant small-town detective in Fargo or the naive yet brilliant protagonist of The Hudsucker Proxy personify an idealistic, innocent America that is about to be displaced by selfish greed. Focusing on Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and The Man Who Wasn't There, my essay argues that the Coens’ visual playfulness, and their tendency to mine various cinematic genres, serve to emphasize their scathing critique of the American victory narrative.
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    Complement Anaphora in Spanish: Proportional References and Discourse Relations
    (Springer, 2018-04) Zulaica-Hernández, Iker; World Languages and Cultures, School of Liberal Arts
    Although still disputed by some authors, complement anaphora interpretations are widely accepted today. However, they are marked and subject to strict interpretation conditions. Most commonly, monotone decreasing quantifiers facilitate a salient complement set interpretation that is suitable for subsequent anaphoric reference, whereas monotone increasing quantifiers appear to block such interpretation. In this paper, I investigate the possibilities of anaphoric reference to complement sets in Spanish quantified expressions of type quantifier(A)(B) and argue that Spanish aligns with the general pattern observed cross-linguistically according to which anaphoric reference to the reference set (refset) is default regardless of monotonicity type, and that anaphoric reference to the complement set (compset) is only possible with monotone decreasing quantifiers. My claim is that the observed discrepancy can be explained in terms of the different proportions denoted by the quantifiers, and propose an explanation based on discourse relations. My approach provides additional cross-linguistic evidence in favor of the general observed pattern, and a promising path for future investigation into the refset/compset divide.
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    A denotation-driven reanalysis of the Spanish neuter pronominal system
    (Elsevier, 2018-10) Zulaica-Hernández, Iker; World Languages and Cultures, School of Liberal Arts
    This paper offers an analysis of the Spanish neuter pronominal system that complements the system found in traditional Spanish grammars. A more descriptively and heuristically adequate analysis is proposed that includes pro-forms widely ignored in previous accounts such as phonetically null pronouns and explains a wider range of neuter reference uses, denotations and constructions. I base my analysis on two main basic assumptions. First, I claim that some neuter pronouns can be used either referentially or non-referentially. Following Moltmann's (2013) semantic analysis of presentational pronouns, I argue that the pronoun ‘lo’ that we find in free relative constructions does not have a referential denotation but only a presentational denotation. Second, all neuter pronouns share a common semantic specification as [−individual] expressions in contrast with non-neuter pronouns, which are unspecified for the same feature. This specification allows us to establish a clear division of labor between the so-called neuter and non-neuter reference in Spanish at the pronominal level. I also claim that neuter pronouns have the ability to shift the type of the entity referred to from individuals to properties or sets of properties. This is particularly evident with neuter demonstrative pronouns in uses such as ‘eso es mi coche’ (that is my car) or ‘eso es una mujer’ (that is a woman), which are fairly common in natural discourse. The proposed analysis is framed within a general theory of definiteness (Roberts, 2003) and aligns with the theories of referent accessibility such as the Givenness Hierarchy (Gundel et al., 1993), which allows an explanation for how semantically similar neuter forms encode the cognitive status of their referents differently.
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    EFL Writing in Romania: Reflections on Present and Future
    (Brill, 2020) Ene, Estela; Sparks, Sydney; World Languages and Cultures, School of Liberal Arts
    Many global contexts remain largely unexplored, and thus unable to inform the shaping of an accurate picture or theory of second language (L2) writing around the world. Romania is such a context. This study investigates the attitudes and perceptions of 52 in-service K-12 English teachers from Romania, and represents an expansion of prior research conducted by the researcher. Using a survey, data were collected about the teachers’ attitudes and perceptions about EFL writing in Romania. The findings illustrate the teachers’ persistent positive attitudes towards the English language and English-speaking countries/cultures as well as further need for professional development in the area of pedagogy and EFL writing.
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    Hierarchical neural processing in γ oscillations for syntactic and semantic operations accounts for first- and second-language epistemology
    (Frontiers Media, 2024-09-23) Dekydtspotter, Laurent; Miller, A. Kate; Swanson, Kyle; Cha, Jih-Ho; Xiong, Yanyu; Ahn, Jae-Hyun; Gilbert, Jane A.; Pope, Decker; Iverson, Mike; Meinert, Kent; World Languages and Cultures, School of Liberal Arts
    Introduction: We discuss event-related power differences (ERPDs) in low- and broadband-γ oscillations as the embedded-clause edge is processed in wh-dependencies such as Which decision regarding/about him/her did Paul say that Lydie rejected without hesitation? in first (L1) and second language (L2) French speakers. Methods: The experimental conditions manipulated whether pronouns appeared in modifiers (Mods; regarding him/her) or in noun complements (Comps; about him/her) and whether they matched or mismatched a matrix-clause subject in gender. Results: Across L1 and L2 speakers, we found that anaphora-linked ERPDs for Mods vs. Comps in evoked power first arose in low γ and then in broadband γ. Referential elements first seem to be retrieved from working memory by narrowband processes in low γ and then referential identification seems to be computed in broadband-γ output. Interactions between discourse- and syntax-based referential processes for the Mods vs. Comps in these ERPDs furthermore suggest that multidomain γ-band processing enables a range of elementary operations for discourse and semantic interpretation. Discussion: We argue that a multidomain mechanism enabling operations conditioned by the syntactic and semantic nature of the elements processed interacts with local brain microcircuits representing features and feature sets that have been established in L1 or L2 acquisition, accounting for a single language epistemology across learning contexts.
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    Learning from John Ford. History, geography, and epic storytelling in the works of Peter Handke
    (Verlag Julius Klinkhardt, 2021) Carstensen, Thorsten; World Languages and Cultures, School of Liberal Arts
    Historical images originally meant for one national audience can nevertheless influence audiences worldwide. In this contribution, the transatlantic transfer of historical images at the microlevel is analyzed. The author explores how John Ford’s depiction of the American West profoundly influenced Austrian writer Peter Handke, winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature. Handke’s work is full of direct and indirect references to John Ford’s life and work. Ford was a pioneer of the Western genre and greatly contributed to cementing the West as the American epic myth. Handke’s ideas about America and the West, as well as many aspects of his artistic life, can be directly traced to the cinema of John Ford, which is characterized by everyday people, the epic landscapes of Monument Valley, and the bonds that hold communities together. For Handke, John Ford served as his teacher; watching Ford’s films was an educational experience about both American history and life itself. Ford’s depictions of the American West imbued Handke with a “prosthetic memory” of the American West without having experienced it firsthand. By examining John Ford’s reception at the microlevel, the author illustrates the power historical images can have over diverse audiences. (DIPF/Orig.)
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    Les couleurs invisibles par Jean-Gabriel Causse (review)
    (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023-03) Bertrand, Didier; World Languages and Cultures, School of Liberal Arts
    La synesthésie, vous connaissez? On la pratique en poésie lorsqu'on fait appel, pour définir une perception, à un terme normalement réservé à des sensations d'un registre différent: "Les couleurs, les parfums, et les sons se répondent" disait Baudelaire qui, avec Rimbaud en particulier, est connu pour son utilisation de tels procédés. Vous ne savez peut-être pas qu'il s'agit aussi d'un phénomène neurologique rare qui permet à ceux ou celles qui en sont dotés (2% de la population) de percevoir un sens à travers un autre. Baudelaire, encore, mais aussi Kandinsky, Petrucciani, et Van Halen partagent cette disposition. Antoine Cluzel, le protagoniste des Couleurs invisibles, de même: "Certains voient les chiffres ou les jours de la semaine en couleurs. Moi ce sont les sons" (25–26). Ainsi, la voix de son épouse Alice lui apparaît de couleur abricot. Malgré tout, cette vie haute en couleur semble bien terne à Antoine: il n'est pas sûr d'aimer sa femme, avec qui il essaie en vain de procréer; sa carrière tire sur la grisaille; et son rêve de longue date de faire le tour du monde à la voile promet de demeurer en cale sèche. Mais voici qu'on lui découvre un cancer des poumons en phase terminale. Sur un coup de tête, il prend la mer avec son petit voilier, le 3=1, dans l'espoir de se rendre à Bora-Bora, sinon d'en revenir vivant. Or, Antoine se cogne contre la mâture et se retrouve dans son bateau, quelques heures plus tard, la tête passablement endolorie. Que s'est-il passé? Un traumatisme crânien a-t-il provoqué en lui un délire schizophrénique? Est-il déjà mort? Il n'en sait rien jusqu'à la fin de ce remarquable roman où se rencontrent une sirène (Demi-Alice), ou encore Alice maintenant âgée (Alice Senior). Antoine redécouvre son amour pour son épouse sur un îlot impossible pendant un temps qui semble toucher à l'infini. Ensuite, Antoine se voit mourir et attendre une renaissance peu après laquelle il oublie progressivement sa vie passée. Au cours de cette errance à travers la condition humaine, s'invitent aussi Platon et le mythe de la caverne, Sigmund Freud et ses trois blessures narcissiques, Max Planck et sa mécanique quantique, Schrödinger et son chat, Albert Einstein et sa célèbre formule e=mc2, et finalement… Dieu (le Père, le fils et le Saint-Esprit; 3=1). Si tout cela peut sembler bien sec et académique, ce serait une erreur de fermer le roman trop vite sans en mentionner les dimensions poétique, humoristique et initiatique. L'amour qu'Antoine redécouvre pour Alice, l'éloignement renforçant l'affection, vaut bien aussi qu'on s'y attarde. Dans ce roman inattendu et surprenant s'opère plus qu'une synesthésie des sons et des couleurs. On y trouve aussi un mariage hallucinant de la physique quantique, de la philosophie classique, et de l'humanisme le plus profond, le tout enrobé de sel marin et du vocabulaire technique de la navigation à la voile.