5 results on '"Yager, Joanne"'
Search Results
2. Small-scale multilingualism and language contact in egalitarian foragers
- Author
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Yager, Joanne
- Subjects
General Language Studies and Linguistics ,egalitarian bilingualism ,caused motion events ,egalitarian language contact ,bilingual optimization strategies ,crosslinguistic influence ,Austroasiatic ,Aslian ,foragers ,phylogenetic networks ,bilingual semantic interaction ,undiscovered languages ,small-scale multilingualism ,Jedek ,topological relations ,lexical convergence ,reciprocal events ,Jahai - Abstract
Situations of multilingualism and language contact in which language varieties are small in scale and relatively equal in social status are important phenomena affecting processes of language change throughout human history. Despite this, our knowledge about the outcomes of multilingualism and language contact in this kind of setting remains limited. The current thesis provides insight into the linguistic consequences of interaction between closely-related, recently-described, small-scale language varieties in the community and in the minds of bilinguals, and works to overcome some of the methodological challenges associated with the study of language contact and multilingualism in this type of setting. The studies of the thesis investigate lexical and semantic outcomes of multilingualism and language contact in egalitarian foragers speaking the closely-related Northern Aslian (Austroasiatic) language varieties Jedek and Jahai in northern Peninsular Malaysia. Study I provides grammatical description of the newly discovered Northern Aslian language variety Jedek. Study II finds a high degree of lexical convergence in the language production of Jedek and Jahai speakers in contact, and presents a novel methodology for investigation of the linguistic consequences of language contact. Studies III and IV highlight the role of both social and linguistic factors in influencing bilingual outcomes, and provide evidence of symmetric (Study IV) and asymmetric (Study III) semantic interaction in two groups of Jedek-Jahai bilinguals in two different semantic domains. By combining perspectives from the fields of multilingualism, language contact and primary linguistic documentation and description, the thesis points to the potential of research in lesser-known linguistic settings to advance our theories of multilingualism, language contact and language change.
- Published
- 2020
3. Conceptualisations of landscape differ across European languages
- Author
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van Putten, Saskia, O’Meara, Carolyn, Wartmann, Flurina, Yager, Joanne, Villette, Julia, Mazzuca, Claudia, Bieling, Claudia, Burenhult, Niclas, Purves, Ross, Majid, Asifa, University of Zurich, Perlman, Marcus, and van Putten, Saskia
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Male ,European People ,Concept Formation ,Social Sciences ,Swedish People ,Trees ,Medicine and Health Sciences ,Ethnicities ,910 Geography & travel ,Language ,Mammals ,Eukaryota ,General Medicine ,Plants ,Middle Aged ,Semantics ,Europe ,Arms ,10122 Institute of Geography ,Vertebrates ,Medicine ,Female ,Anatomy ,General Agricultural and Biological Sciences ,Research Article ,Adult ,Cross-Cultural Comparison ,Adolescent ,Science ,Genetics and Molecular Biology ,1100 General Agricultural and Biological Sciences ,Environment ,Dogs ,1300 General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,Animals ,Humans ,Aged ,General Language Studies and Linguistics ,1000 Multidisciplinary ,Organisms ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Linguistics ,Language & Communication ,Body Limbs ,People and Places ,Amniotes ,General Biochemistry ,Languages ,Cats ,Population Groupings ,Grammar & Cognition ,Zoology - Abstract
Policies aimed at sustainable landscape management recognise the importance of multiple cultural viewpoints, but the notion of landscape itself is implicitly assumed to be homogeneous across speech communities. We tested this assumption by collecting data about the concept of “landscape” from speakers of seven languages of European origin. Speakers were asked to freely list exemplars to “landscape” (a concrete concept for which the underlying conceptual structure is unclear), “animals” (a concrete and discrete concept) and “body parts” (a concrete concept characterised by segmentation). We found, across languages, participants considered listing landscape terms the hardest task, listed fewest exemplars, had the least number of shared exemplars, and had fewer common co-occurrence pairs (i.e., pairs of exemplars listed adjacently). We also found important differences between languages in the types of exemplars that were cognitively salient and, most importantly, in how the exemplars are connected to each other in semantic networks. Overall, this shows that “landscape” is more weakly structured than other domains, with high variability both within and between languages. This diversity suggests that for sustainable landscape policies to be effective, they need to be better tailored to local conceptualisations.
- Published
- 2020
4. Asymmetric semantic interaction in Jedek-Jahai bilinguals: Spatial language in a small-scale, non-standardized, egalitarian, long-term multilingual setting in Malaysia.
- Author
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Yager, Joanne and Gullberg, Marianne
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GROUP extensions (Mathematics) , *FORECASTING , *DATA analysis , *MATHEMATICAL connectedness , *LANGUAGE & languages , *SEMANTIC memory - Abstract
Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: We investigate semantic interaction in bilinguals' topological relations descriptions in a small-scale, non-standardized, egalitarian, long-term multilingual setting in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach: Two groups of bilingual speakers of Jedek and Jahai (8 Jedek-identifying, 6 Jahai-identifying bilinguals) and two groups of monolingual Jedek and Jahai speakers (15 Jedek, 3 Jahai speakers) described the Topological Relations Picture Series in a director-matcher task, the bilinguals completing the task in both Jedek and Jahai. Data and analysis: We compare the semantic boundaries of Jedek and Jahai topological relation markers (TRMs) as used by the monolingual and bilingual groups in extension maps and congruence analyses. The analyses focus on the TRM klɛŋ, which is identical in form but semantically different in the two varieties. Findings/conclusions: We find evidence for asymmetric interaction in the expression of topological relations in Jedek and Jahai, with bidirectional influences in the Jahai-identifying bilinguals and a unidirectional influence of Jedek on Jahai in the Jedek-identifying bilinguals. This is commensurate with predictions based on Muysken's framework of bilingual optimization strategies. Originality: The analyses shed new light on the nature of semantic interaction in bilingual systems by providing evidence from hitherto understudied bilingual language production in small-scale, non-standardized, egalitarian settings. Significance/implications: The results suggest that Muysken's model is useful for understanding different bilingual outcomes, and highlight the complexity and connectedness of bilingual semantic systems. They also stress the need for more work in a variety of bilingual settings if we are to more fully understand the nature of bilingual systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
5. Jedek: A newly discovered Aslian variety of Malaysia.
- Author
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Yager, Joanne and Burenhult, Niclas
- Subjects
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AUSTROASIATIC languages , *LANGUAGE & languages , *LINGUISTIC minorities , *SOCIOLINGUISTICS - Abstract
Jedek is a previously unrecognized variety of the Northern Aslian subgroup of the Aslian branch of the Austroasiatic language family. It is spoken by about 280 individuals in the resettlement area of Sungai Rual, near Jeli in Kelantan state, Peninsular Malaysia. The community originally consisted of several bands of foragers along the middle reaches of the Pergau river. Jedek's distinct status first became known during a linguistic survey carried out in the DOBES project Tongues of the Semang (2005-2011). This article describes the process leading up to its discovery and provides an overview of its typological characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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