Search results for "linguistics and language"

The Metaphorical New Synthesis: Toward an Eco-Evolutionary Theory of Metaphors

2016

ABSTRACTMetaphors are a genuinely human construction. They are used to improve communication and they are a very powerful tool that might have an influence in human evolution. In this article I argue that metaphors, transformed in powerful memes, adapt to a new communicative niche and contribute to transform it. In order to prove this hypothesis, I study 319 cartoons published in the wake of the Germanwings air crash, where I inventory 144 metaphors. The study shows the conceptual metaphor evolution for a period of 2 weeks, and how the metaphors changed as a result of the variations in the communicative niche, becoming much more efficient communicatively.

Studying the visual and material dimensions of education and learning

2018

Openness to experience as a predictor of L2 WTC

2018

Abstract This paper aims to provide empirical evidence for the relationship between openness to experience and L2 willingness to communicate (WTC). The study posits that openness as a personality dimension may have a dual effect—both direct and indirect—on one's L2 WTC levels. First, openness directly influences L2 WTC through its stable character, shaping one's cognition, affect and behaviour. Also, it has a possible dual indirect impact by mediating perceived communicative competence and language anxiety. According to the results of step-wise multiple regression, openness can be regarded a significant predictor of L2 WTC, explaining 21% of its variability. It may be concluded that student…

Special issue: Social media as semiotic technology

2018

Social media technology has become ubiquitous in modern life. Take as an example, the role of social media in the mundane routine of waiting for the bus. People may take a picture of a funny bird a...

Ideologies as false communicative practices

2021

Against common understanding of ideology as being a specific form of knowledge or cognition, lately there is a rediscovering of the notion of ideology as practice. In these approaches, ideology is ...

Who loves prescriptivism and why? Some aspects of language correctness in Latvia

2015

ABSTRACTTaking into account the crosscultural differences in prescriptive attitudes in various linguistic communities, a theory of three types of prescriptivism – human-oriented, language-oriented, and error-oriented prescriptivism – has been offered [Strelēvica-Osiņa, Dace. [2011] 2012. Kāpēc mēs gribam, lai valoda ir pareiza? Ieskats preskriptīvisma vēsturē, teorijā un praksē [Why Do We Want Language to Be Correct? An Insight into the History, Theory, and Practice of Prescriptivism]. Rīga: LU Latviesu valodas institūts]. This paper presents a synopsis of this theory, with the main emphasis on the situation of Latvia and the attitudes towards language correctness and correction in the Latv…

Foreign language teaching – Integrationism vs. MGM

2018

Abstract Modern language teaching is no longer grammar based, but based on authentic real life dialogues (dialogic speech acts) which enable learners to communicate or rather to interact verbally and nonverbally competent with native speakers. The conception of language teaching curricula, especially with regard to the development of textbooks, is in need of an applicable model of communication, based on regularities or principles of language-usage. Both, Integrationism and the Mixed Game Model (MGM) opt against segregational static approaches of linguistic analysis and – at first glance – could be considered suitable approaches within the field of language teaching. Yet, I will argue that …

Connecting Polish families in Europe: changing dynamics in language and communication practices

2021

‘If you travel across Europe, the most useful language may be Polish’ ‘You Poles are everywhere!’ (some of the frequently heard comments and jokes addressed to Polish migrants)Polish migration to W...

Integrating self, voice, experience

2018

AbstractThe experience of hearing one’s own voice during the act of speaking is a form of self-awareness and self-reflection that occurs in relation to and in interaction with the flow of experience, including the experience of other selves and their voices. Self-communication is deeply implicated in and necessary for interpersonal communication (Harris 1996). And yet, it is the latter which is generally taken to be the paradigm case of human languaging. The fundamental role of self-communication is neglected in the language sciences. Starting with the important fact that we hear our own voice when we speak (Harris 1996, chap. 11), this paper examines the central role of self-communication …

Figurative language and multicultural education: metaphors of language acquisition and retention

2015

Linguistics has long recognised that figurative language in the form of metaphorical expressions structures and communicates attitudes towards the ideas and concepts being expressed and that multilingual students also employ linguistic figures frequently in their writing. In this study, multilingual students use figurative language to both critique and describe experiences related to language acquisition and retention. Faced with the task of using three or more languages, the L3 English language students studied often turn to metaphor to describe the relationships between their languages and the different contexts in which they use the linguistic resources available to them. The following a…