Search results for "contrast"

Two ways to reformulate: a contrastive analysis of reformulation markers

2003

The aim of this paper is to present a contrastive analysis of reformulation markers in English, Spanish and Catalan. The study is based on a corpus of expository prose (mainly academic writing). The analysis shows coincidences in the sources of the markers and differences in the variety of forms expressing reformulation as well as in their frequency of use. Assuming that grammaticalization processes such as those leading to the creation of connectives have their roots in discourse, parallel differences are expected to be found in text construction. The present paper argues that the differences identified in the grammar of English vs. those of Spanish and Catalan can be associated with two d…

The agreement of existential haber in three varieties of spoken Spanish

2020

Abstract This paper aims to present one of the most relevant linguistic phenomena of spoken Spanish on both sides of the Atlantic. The singular/plural forms of the verb haber with existential meaning have received considerable attention due to the fact that it is a linguistic variable that changes according to the variety of Spanish that is used. We report the findings from the research carried out within three speech communities: Valencia, Las Palmas and Mexico City, analysing the internal and external factors that may explain this linguistic variation. For this study we have selected these communities because all the data have been obtained according to the guidelines proposed in the PRES…

Contrasting the form and use of reformulation markers

2007

This article deals with the form and use of reformulation markers in research papers written in English, Spanish and Catalan. Considering the form and frequency of the markers, English papers tend to prefer simple fixed markers and include fewer reformulators than Spanish and Catalan. On the contrary, formal Catalan and Spanish papers include more markers, some of which are complex and allow for some structural variability. As for use, reformulation markers establish dynamic relationships between portions of discourse which can be identified in our corpus with expansion, reduction and permutation. The analysis of the corpus shows that English authors usually reformulate to add more informa…

Epistemic Search Sequences in Peer Interaction in a Content-based Language Classroom

2013

Epistemics in interaction refers to how participants display, manage, and orient to their own and others’ states of knowledge. This article applies recent conversation analytical work on epistemics to classrooms where language and content instruction are combined. It focuses on Epistemic Search Sequences (ESSs) through which students in peer interaction collectively resolve emerging knowledge gaps while working on pedagogic tasks. ESSs are initiated when a speaker displays an ‘unknowing’ epistemic stance by making an information request about some aspect of language or the content being worked on. We examine three different types of ESS: those in which a ‘knowing’ response is accepted by th…

Neutralization of Syllable-final Voicing in German

1985

German is well known for its neutralization of the voicing contrast in word-final obstruents. However, acoustic analysis of ten pairs of German words produced by ten native speakers revealed that the distributions of acoustic parameters for underlying voiced and voiceless stops are significantly different, despite considerable overlap between the two categories. Furthermore, in a listening test, German listeners were able to distinguish the voiced and voiceless pairs with about 60% accuracy—significantly better than chance. Several mechanisms for such a “semicontrast” are considered, including the possibility that it is an experimental artifact. It is concluded that this is not an artifact,…

Book review: MARÍA DE LOS ÁNGELES GÓMEZ GONZÁLEZ, J. LACHLAN MACKENZIE and ELSA M. GONZÁLEZ ÁLVAREZ (eds), Languages and Cultures in Contrast and Com…

2009

Interjections and Pragmatic Errors in Dubbing

2006

This paper consists of an analysis of the expressive secondary interjections found in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral and their equivalents in the Spanish and Catalan dubbed versions. The contrastive analysis of the interjections in the original English version compared with the Spanish and the Catalan dubbed versions shows that the strategies followed by the translators are different: literal translation is far more frequent in Spanish than in Catalan. Literal translation often implies an error that is pragmatic in nature since it derives from the misunderstanding of the pragmatic meaning that the interjection conveys.

Directionality in translation and revision teaching: a case study of an A–B teacher working with B–A students

2019

Directionality has seldom been discussed with regard to the profiles of translation teachers. At German universities, the target language is usually the teacher’s A language. By contrast, in countr...

Els pronoms forts en les oracions existencials del català

2018

En aquest article defenso que la distribució restringida dels pronoms forts en les oracions existencials del català és la conseqüència, no pas de l'Efecte de Definitud, com s'ha assumit de manera habitual, sinó de la combinació de les condicions informatives que imposa l'oració existencial, que requereix que el pivot sigui contrastiu, amb la naturalesa pragmàtica del contrast en les formes pronominals, que impedeix la lectura contrastiva justament en aquesta posició. Es proposa, doncs, que els casos de pivot pronominal necessiten obtenir aquesta lectura contrastiva per mitjans alternatius, especialment mitjançant l'aportació de les partícules només i mateix. Aquesta anàlisi es pot estendre …

Casting the light on cinema – how luminance and contrast patterns create meaning

2012

The question of meaning creation has always been at the core of cross-disciplinary scholarly research. Considered from the cinematographic perspective, it inevitably evokes correlations with plot and dialogue. However, the conveyance of significance in films does not rely solely on the verbal channel, but also manifests itself in the visual layer, ranging from facial expressions, setting and locations, to directorial editing choices. Elevating the role of the how of film making, this article focuses on the influence of light and contrast patterns on the reading of cinema. In order to highlight their position in film text vocabulary and recognize their relevance in film translations and adap…