Browsing by Subject "variation"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Frequency and Variation in L2 Spanish Present Tense Indicative Verbal Inflectional Morphology(2023) Zilmer, CalebThis mixed methods study draws upon theoretical perspectives from usage-based linguistics (UBL) and variationist sociolinguistics to explore four learners’ use of second language (L2) Spanish present tense indicative verbal inflectional morphology (i.e., simple present conjugations). The study compares the frequency and distribution of students’ use of these forms to the frequency and distribution of the same forms in the input they received, both from the teacher and from each other, as well as whether students use the forms variably based on context of subject expression.Data collection took place in a 2nd year high school Spanish foreign language classroom that employed communicative teaching methods. Audio-visual recordings of the interactions of the four focal students and the teacher were transcribed using multimodal conversation analysis conventions. Data were coded for participant, the lexical verb, the particular verb inflection used, the type of accompanying subject expression, and whether the inflection agreed with the subject expression. Analysis consisted of token and type frequency counts, Pearson correlation and chi-square statistics, and person-number agreement between the inflection and the accompanying subject expression. Findings show that all four focal students and the teacher used the third person singular ([3rd-Sing]) inflectional morpheme far more than any other morpheme. In addition, while the teacher’s type and token frequencies appear to be fairly even across inflectional categories, there appears to be greater variation in students’ type and token frequencies, particularly for inflections other than [3rd-Sing]. Type and token frequencies also show that, while focal students used most verbs with only one inflection, they used a few verbs with multiple inflections. Verbs that students used with multiple inflections also appear to be the verbs they used most frequently, and also many of the same verbs that the teacher used most frequently and with multiple inflections. Results of a Pearson correlation statistical analysis show that some focal students’ use correlates with the teacher’s use, and results of a chi-square analysis show that students use inflections variably based on linguistic context of subject expression. The students’ use of some inflection-subject expression pairings appear to have higher person-number agreement than some other inflection-subject expression pairings. These findings suggest that adolescent L2 learners acquire present tense verb forms based largely on frequency in the input. The four focal students appear to have been at different stages in the acquisition of verbal inflections: one student’s use appears to have been largely formulaic in nature; two other students appear to have had some grammatically productive use of inflectional morphology with a handful of verbs; and another student appears to have had grammatically productive use of inflectional morphology more or less as a system across verbs. All four focal students appear to have used present tense inflectional forms variably based on semantic redundancy with subject expression. In more semantically redundant contexts, they appear to have used structural subject expressions—particularly overt subject pronouns (OSPs)—more frequently, and with comparatively low rates of agreement with the verb inflection. In less redundant, null subject contexts, they appear to have used present tense verbal inflectional morphemes with comparatively higher rates of agreement with the apparent subject. Theoretical implications of the study are that cognitive and contextual factors in SLA appear to be deeply intertwined during the acquisition process. Pedagogical implications are that teachers should consider the relative frequency and redundancy of certain forms in the input to inform instructional design.Item Human Versus Computer Algorithmic Measurements of Caloric Response: Implications for Test Analysis(2018-12) Adams, MeredithObjectives: To quantify variation introduced to bithermal caloric test (BCT) analysis by data cleaning and determine how variation differs between examiners. Methods: Analysis of 435 consecutive BCTs performed by 6 examiners using identical protocols on adults with dizziness. Outcomes of total eye speed (TES) and unilateral weakness (UW%) were compared between examiner-modified tracings and automated algorithms. Results: Algorithms erroneously selected artifact in 9.7% of tests. Examiner cleaning resulted in a mean change in TES of (-)4deg/sec (95%CI 3-4, p<0.001) but no change in UW%. Limits of agreement (Bland-Altman analyses) for TES were (-)20 to (+)8deg/sec and for UW (-)10 to 10% and varied between examiners. Algorithms had 15% false negative and 2% false positive rates. Conclusions: Data cleaning may reduce the rate of false negative results. Differences in cleaning methods may produce test-retest and inter-individual variation and alter lab-derived normative values. Consensus is needed regarding optimal data cleaning methods.Item Interdental /s/ in Salvadoran Spanish: Finding Linguistic Patterns and Social Meaning(2017-01) Iraheta, AnaThis dissertation provides a description of the internal and external factors that affect the pronunciation of /s/ as interdental [Ɵ] in Salvadoran Spanish as well as its social meaning. Using a variationist and an ethnographic approach, data was collected from 32 participants in a community located in the eastern region of El Salvador. The data was collected and analyzed in order to answer the following research questions: (1) What are the internal linguistic factors that condition the pronunciation of /s/ as interdental? (2) What are the external factors, both social and stylistic, that condition the pronunciation of /s/ as interdental? (3) What social meanings, if any, do speakers associate with the interdental variant of /s/? The first and second questions were answered performing mixed effects models and pairwise comparisons. Results indicate that word/syllable position, following segment, word function and morphological status are linguistic factors that affect the pronunciation of /s/ as [Ɵ]. Specifically, there are more probabilities of observing the interdental in syllable onset position both word medially and word initially. The use of the interdental is also more common when followed by non-high vowels. The interdental rarely occurs in coda position and when it does, the following segment is typically a pause. It is also more likely to occur in content words than in function words almost exclusively with non-morphemic value. The social factors affecting the interdental are occupation and age group. Specifically, [Ɵ] is more likely to be observed in preteenagers and in adults over the age of 55 and less likely to be observed in the speech of professionals and civil servants. It was also found that the interdental is more commonly observed in casual style than in more formal styles. Overall, the interdental appears to be a stable sociolinguistic variable in this community. A qualitative analysis was performed to answer the third research question. It was determined that the interdental is perceived as a stigmatized variant, yet at the same time speakers embrace it as a marker of local identity.