Search results for "First language"
showing 10 items of 112 documents
The Linguistic Landscape of the Valencian Community: A Comparative Analysis of Bilingual and Multilingual Signs in Three Different Areas
2019
During the last decades, the promotion of multilingualism has been key when designing linguistic policies in Europe. Previous research studies have focused on how languages are employed in fields such as education, media, and urban sites, among others. Bearing all this in mind, the aim of this paper is to analyse the linguistic landscapes of three municipalities located in a bilingual region in Spain, that of the Valencian Community. Thus, issues such as language contact, language dominance, and the languages used by a number of institutions on private and public signs were examined. As for the method, over 140 pictures of language signs were taken in order to examine language contact, lang…
Computer-Assisted Reading and Spelling Intervention with Graphogame Fluent Portuguese
2018
Learning to master reading and spelling can be assisted by communication technologies, ever more common among children. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a new science-based computer-assisted intervention could improve reading and spelling in 2nd graders at risk to fail literacy acquisition. Participants were 7-year-old monolingual children identified as having reading difficulties in their native language, Portuguese. Following neurocognitive assessment, the children were divided into two matched groups (N = 15 × 2), one to be trained with Graphogame Fluent Portuguese that we developed (target intervention) and the other with an analogous Graphogame in mathematics (control i…
Linguistic Diversity as a Problem and a Resource – Multilingualism in European and Finnish Policy Documents
2012
Societies in Europe and across the world are under constant pressure to cope with increasing multilingualism and multiculturalism. This development has its roots in different global and local societal and economic processes. On the one hand, globalization is putting pressure on the economy in that more varied language resources are needed in society. On the other hand, immigration is constantly on the increase, giving rise to what Vertovec (2006) has termed super-diversity, a ‘condition distinguished by a dynamic interplay of variables among an increased number of new, small and scattered, multiple-origin, transnationally connected, socio-economically differentiated and legally stratified i…
Der Zerfall des Schriftdeutschen im Estado Novo?
2017
Zusammenfassung Der folgende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit Sprechern des Hunsrückischen in Brasilien und deren Gebrauch des Schriftdeutschen im 20. Jahrhundert. Basis der Analyse ist ein Korpus von Privatbriefen, die während der ersten Diktatur geschrieben wurden. Der Fokus der Analyse ist die Frage nach einer uniformen Schriftnorm für diese Sprechergruppe, deren Muttersprache fast ausschließlich mündlich verwendet wurde. Es wird argumentiert, dass der Estado Novo nicht die einzige Ursache für den Dachsprachenwechsel vom Deutschen zum Portugiesischen war, jedoch entscheidend dazu beigetragen hat, dass die Etablierung einer brasilianischen Schriftnorm des Deutschen endgültig verhindert wurde.…
Roy’s Inglish in The God of Small Things: A Language for Subversion, Reconciliation and Reassertion
2011
Abstract:In The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy separates English from Englishspeakers. She reappropriates the language not only to portray complex characters and narrative themes, but also to create a postcolonial discourse that criticizes, questions and subverts the old dominance of the imperial colonizer. Mainly addressed to a western audience, the use of Inglish in this novel is a crucial factor to reveal the development of a hybrid conscience, reassert the Indian identity and make the reader feel displaced from their native tongueKeywords: English language, postcolonial, hybridity, Indian identity, discourseTítulo en español: El Inglish de Roy en The God of Small Things: Una lengua …
Procedural aspects of the organization of the comprehensive European Board of Ophthalmology Diploma examination.
2016
International audience; The comprehensive European Board of Ophthalmology Diploma (EBOD) examination is one of 38 European medical specialty examinations. This review aims at disclosing the specific procedures and content of the EBOD examination. It is a descriptive study summarizing the present organization of the EBOD examination. It is the 3rd largest European postgraduate medical assessment after anaesthesiology and cardiology. The master language is English for the Part 1 written test (knowledge test with 52 modified type X multiple-choice questions) (in the past the written test was also available in French and German). Ophthalmology training of minimum 4 years in a full or associated…
Children with dyslexia reveal abnormal native language representations: Evidence from a study of mismatch negativity
2011
Although a deficit perceiving phonemes, as indexed by the mismatch negativity (MMN), is apparent in developmental dyslexia (DD), studies have not yet addressed whether this deficit might be a result of deficient native language speech representations. The present study examines how a native-vowel prototype and an atypical vowel are discriminated by 9-year-old children with (n 5 14) and without (n 5 12) DD. MMN was elicited in all conditions in both groups. The control group revealed enhanced MMN to the native-vowel prototype in comparison to the atypical vowel. Children with DD did not show enhanced MMN amplitude to the native-vowel prototype, suggesting impaired tuning to native language s…
Immigrants Psychopathology: Emerging Phenomena and Adaptation of Mental Health Care Setting by Native Language.
2018
Mental health of immigrants is an important social and clinical issue. Immigrants may report higher rates of mental disorders and lower levels of use of mental health service with respect to natives. The aim of the present work is to review recent findings of the psychopathology of immigrants and analyze how to adapt the mental care settings through the use of mother tongues. We searched the literature to individuate and review the most recent scientific articles focused on the psychopathology of immigrants realized in Europe. Moreover, we summarized the guidelines about immigrants mental health care and we focused on the barriers caused by language. We individuated 15 papers reporting data…
Minority status and perceived health: a comparative study of Finnish- and Swedish-speaking schoolchildren in Finland
2000
Results of earlier studies suggest that the health of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland is better than that of the sociodemographically similar Finnish-speaking population. The causes of differences are unknown. The main aim of the study referred was to investigate whether differences in perceived health according to linguistic group were present in a nation-wide representative sample (n=5,230) of schoolchildren aged 11, 13 and 15 years. A further aim was to determine whether differences could be attributed to socioeconomic background, social relationships or health behaviour. The study is part of the international Health Behaviour in School-aged children (HBSC) survey. The perceive…
Brain event-related potentials to phoneme contrasts and their correlation to reading skills in school-age children
2017
Development of reading skills has been shown to be tightly linked to phonological processing skills and to some extent to speech perception abilities. Although speech perception is also known to play a role in reading development, it is not clear which processes underlie this connection. Using event-related potentials (ERPs) we investigated the speech processing mechanisms for common and uncommon sound contrasts (/ba/-/da/-/ga/ and /ata/-/at: a/) with respect to the native language of school-age children in Finland and the US. In addition, a comprehensive behavioral test battery of reading and phonological processing was administered. ERPs revealed that the children could discriminate betw…