3,235 research outputs found
A bomb and un casino: Intensifiers in English and Italian slanguage
No full textThis paper investigates the way intensifying adverbs combine with verbs which are commonly used in college student slang, alias slanguage ‘teenage talk’ (Stenström 2000 and Stenström et al. 2002) or pubilect ‘dialect of puberty’ (Taylor 1998), in both English and Italian.
My data has been collected from experimental tests checked on English and Italian native speaker students – either male or female (for sex in language see Olivares 1998, Taylor 1998) – aged between eighteen and twenty-three and belonging to identical social background (upper-middle class). The students were shown a list of verbs, mainly of every-day usage (i.e. to cost, to dance, to eat, to study, to smoke, to work, etc.), and asked to intensify them by finding the most appropriate expression(s) in their respective languages. For instance, the English students proposed collocates such as a bomb or an arm and a leg with the verb to cost, whereas the Italian ones suggested using un casino or una sassata with the verb costare (cf. Coveri 1992, Trifone 1993; for empirical support see also Banfi 1992, Forconi 1988).
The results from the selected data chiefly show that the English students had a tendency to replace standard English verbs with idiomatic expressions which are idiosyncratic of their slanguage and typically co-occur with be (e.g. to be a chatterbox ‘to be very talkative’), get (e.g. to get pissed ‘to get extremely drunk’) or have (e.g. to have a hell of a good time ‘to have a very good time’). By contrast, the Italian students tended to maintain the verbs offered, and to merely add some intensifying adverbial expressions to them, as in parlare un fottìo, bere di brutto, and divertirsi da matti.
The linguistic behaviour of both Italian and (most) English adolescents is based on connotative language programming (Taylor 1998), and is socially motivated by 1) the need for autonomy or independence from parental authority, 2) the need to create cohesion among the members of their own peer group, and chiefly 3) the need for expressivity and innovation (cf. Allen 1998, Coveri 1992, Eble 1996, Munro 1997, Partington 1993; for a more recent position see Lorenz 2002, Paradis 2000)
Keeping lexical complexity in slang translation
No full textIn this paper I mainly focus on the translation of linguistic varieties that are culture-specific or belong to a socially restricted speech community. These varieties, including slang, often display forms that rarely have equivalents (i.e. forms that are comparable in meaning and scope) in a different language. However, relevant theories on translation (e.g. Catford 1965, House 1997) state that the translator should assure ‘equivalence’ by preserving the semantic and pragmatic meanings across two different languages, and that a first requirement for equivalence is ‘equivalent function’. Accordingly, the translator should keep low semantic and pragmatic transparency – i.e. polysemy and multifunctionality – in the target language (TL), any time they are motivated by socio-pragmatic purposes (e.g. identification with a group, cryptic reasons, establishing intimacy, etc.) in the source language (SL).
Therefore I believe that the lexical complexity of slang should be preserved in the process of translation. Lexical complexity in slang formations is first of all due to a marked (Merlini Barbaresi 1988), non-diagrammatic (Dressler et al. 1987) relation between the linguistic sign and its signatum. The cognitive area activated by the slang term includes a vast array of extra socio-pragmatic meanings, which typically belong to the restricted community in which the term is used. Recreating the same effects in a different language community by means of an ‘equivalent’ slang formation is nearly impossible. Still what can be recreated is a comparably complex signans/signatum relation. In this paper, I will examine some examples of free conversation which show slang use, ranging from in-group slang to general slang. I will then establish the status of markedness of some slang expressions (e.g. chick, groovy, hit, etc.) on one or more correlated semiotic parameter(s) (esp. transparency and biuniqueness), and finally demonstrate that marked options generally increase complexity and consequent difficulty in perception, and yet they must be kept in translation to preserve the rich layers of associative meanings normally entailed
Direct replacement of antibodies with molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) nanoparticles in ELISA - development of a novel assay for vancomycin
No full textA simple and straightforward technique for coating microplate wells with molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (nanoMIPs) to develop ELISA type assays is presented here for the first time. NanoMIPs were synthesized by a solid phase approach with immobilized vancomycin (template) and characterized using Biacore 3000, dynamic light scattering and electron microscopy. Immobilization, blocking and washing conditions were optimized in microplate format. The detection of vancomycin was achieved in competitive binding experiments with a HRP-vancomycin conjugate. The assay was capable of measuring vancomycin in buffer and in blood plasma within the range 0.001-70 nM with a detection limit of 0.0025 nM (2.5 pM). The sensitivity of the assay was three orders of magnitude better than a previously described ELISA based on antibodies. In these experiments nanoMIPs have shown high affinity and minimal interference from blood plasma components. Immobilized nanoMIPs were stored for 1 month at room temperature without any detrimental effects to their binding properties. The high affinity of nanoMIPs and the lack of a requirement for cold chain logistics make them an attractive alternative to traditional antibodies used in ELIS
Come dipingeva il Caravaggio, Atti della giornata di studio (Firenze, Aula Magna dell’Università degli Studi, 28 gennaio 1992)
No full textExtra-grammatical morphology: English acronyms and initialisms
No full textThis paper explores the phenomena of English acronyms and initialisms – of the type Aids, FAQ, laser, SARS or B.B.C., CD, IMHO, OED – which appear intriguing from different perspectives: (1) as cases of extra-grammatical (or expressive) morphology; (2) as instances of complexity in terms of naturalness parameters; (3) as frequent mechanisms in slang formations and jargon; (4) as cases of difficulty in (cross-linguistic) processing and interpretation; (5) as linguistic strategies of discourse economizing and textual efficiency. In this study only points (1) and (2) will be dealt with.
Our interest in these phenomena arises from the widely-spread use of acronyms and initialisms as English word-formation mechanisms. Although long neglected or marginalized by grammarians, these mechanisms are increasingly spreading in many areas, from business and industry to science and technology. Since the mid-twentieth century, they have been extensively used to form names of associations/organizations (FNMA, NATO), medical terms (DNA, HIV), computer abbreviations (DOS, HTML), and other common words everybody is familiar with (GSM, PIN, sms, etc.). Hence, their applicability is high, and symptomatic of a correlated morphological productivity. Yet there are a number of counterexamples which in some way depart from the ordinary patterns, and which will be the focus of our analysis.
The qualitative analysis conducted here has two aims. Firstly, it intends to provide a primary categorization of acronyms and initialisms, and to distinguish them from similar abbreviations of various type. Secondly, and more importantly, it intends to discuss such processes in the light of some current theories – viz. Extra-grammatical and Natural Morphology – as a way to discriminate between prototypical and marginal types, and to propose a hierarchy based on (a) criteria of extra-grammaticality, and (b) naturalness/markedness parameters
Il laboratorio cinese
No full textIl contributo analizza l'evoluzione storica dei rapporti tra la Sante Sede e la Repubblica popolare cinese durante i pontificati di Giovanni Paolo II, Benedetto XVI e Francesco, mettendo in rilievo sia i tratti di continuità sia le novità introdotte da ciascun pontefice. In particolare vengono indagate, in una prospettiva storica e geo-politica globale, le ragioni della forte discontinuità nelle scelte della Santa Sede, collocabile nel 2009, e la sostanziale continuità nelle posizioni dei tre papi considerati verso i cattolici cinesi
Coaching early career teachers in urban elementary schools: A mixed method study
No full textCoaching for urban early career teachers (ECTs) offers promise and aligns with features of effective professional development to support the implementation of evidence-based practices. However, the functional components and key elements of coaching and coach supervision are not well specified in the literature. The goal of the current study was to examine adherence and feasibility of a coaching intervention designed to provide urban ECTs with concentrated support in classroom management and engaging learners—two instructional domains that are robust predictors of attrition (Ingersoll and Strong in Rev Educ Res 81:201–233, 2011). Coaches (n = 6) worked with ECTs (n = 15) in three urban, high-poverty elementary schools during the 2-year intervention. A mixed-method design was employed, such that qualitative data (i.e., semi-structured interviews) and quantitative data (i.e., adherence measures) were collected concurrently, remained independent during analyses, and were integrated during interpretation (Creswell and Clark in Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Sage, Thousand Oaks, 2007). Findings revealed that ECTs generally received the intended frequency and duration of coaching but with fewer opportunities for post-conferences. Coach supervision, on average, was delivered with intended frequency, with variability across coaches. Thematic analyses highlighted coach provision of emotional and instrumental support, emphasized consistent coaching as critical, and that time was a significant barrier to ECT participation in coaching. Supervision promoted social support among coaches and provided opportunities to adapt the model to ECT needs.Peer reviewe
The lexicon of vision in English slang
No full textSlang is a language variety which can be used in informal registers or specific contexts as an alternative to standard language. In both linguistics and lexicography, it is generally defined as an innovative vocabulary, as it introduces into the lexicon new words (neologisms and neoformations) and novel senses (neo-semanticisms) or, at least, new shades of meaning. It is therefore supposed to represent a complicated phenomenon of the lexicon, contributing to increase the complexity of its items and to complexify their conceptual representation (Merlini Barbaresi 2003; Bertuccelli Papi & Lenci 2007).
The present study is an attempt to show the complexity of English slang and its ensuing complexification of the lexical system, with special emphasis on the lexicon of vision. We can first of all predict complexity because slang expressions usually exhibit an intricate signans-signatum relationship, and hence require the interpreter’s activation of more complicated cognitive processes to identify their meaning. We can also predict complexity because some slang expressions cannot be exactly assigned to one specific major dimension – classified as ‘perception’, ‘cognition’, and ‘affect’ (Bertuccelli Papi 2003: 101) – as these dimensions may sometimes interweave or some may be foregrounded and others backgrounded (e.g. in Cockney rhyming slang). We can finally predict complexity in relation to interpretation and translation, because English slang expressions tend to assemble multiple connotative aspects which are difficult to reproduce cross-linguistically (Mattiello 2007, 2009)
Communautés et écriture en ligne. Histoire, devenir, un dialogue
No full textIn this interview, Elisa Bricco talks to writer Benoît Vincent about
the transformations that have taken place over the last twenty years
as a result of the technological turn in literary production. We look
at the repercussions of technology’s hold over literary production, and
in particular at the development of the notion of author in the context
of collective writing. The example of the General Instin project will
be used to highlight some of the issues raised by digital technology in
relation to the production of literary texts.Dans cet entretien, Elisa Bricco discute avec l’écrivain Benoît Vincent
sur les transformations qui sont survenues dans les vingt dernières
années à cause du tournant technologique de la production littéraire. On
s’interroge sur les répercussions de l’emprise de la technologie sur le
faire littéraire et notamment sur le développement de la notion d’auteur
dans le contexte de l’écriture collective. L’exemple du projet Général
Instin servira pour mettre en lumières quelques enjeux du numérique
par rapport à la production de textes littéraires
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