Effects Of Language Use Research Articles

Bidialectal variety switching: the effects of language use and social contexts

While previous research shows that bilinguals' ability to mix and switch between two separate languages is influenced by both cross-language similarity and language use contexts, little attention has been paid to bidialectal populations. Given the linguistic and sociolinguistic differences between bilingualism and bidialectalism, it is thus unclear to what extent mechanisms underlying bidialectal variety switching resemble those underlying bilinguals. To investigate the effects of cross-variety phonological distance and variety use contexts on variety switching, we tested two groups of Chinese speakers in a bidialectal auditory word recognition task. Both groups speak a regional dialect (Chengdu Mandarin or Cantonese) as their native language and are also highly proficient in Standard Mandarin. Participants' language background and linguistic experience are collected by a language background questionnaire. Mixing and switching between two varieties are costly for bidialectal speakers in comprehension. Mixing costs can be attributed to variety switches instead of the mere presence of a mixed-variety context. While variety switch and mixing costs are not influenced by cross-variety phonological distance, they are modulated by variety dominance and habitual variety use contexts. This study highlights the similarities between bidialectals and bilinguals in language processing, as well as the significance of recognizing between- and within-group differences in conducting psycholinguistics research with multilingual populations.

EFFECTS OF LANGUAGE USE THROUGH AN INTEGRATED SKILLS INTERVENTION ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS' SPEAKING SKILLS: A FOCUS ON VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR

This study examines the effects of language use through a thorough skills intervention on students' general level of speaking skills, focusing on vocabulary and grammar. A quasi-experimental investigation was conducted to fulfill the research objective. The total number of participants was selected by systematic random sampling and divided into control and experimental groups. During the 2022 academic year, 92 Shambu High School of 10th grade students participated in the study. Tests with oral questions were given before and after the intervention and the results were evaluated using SPSS. Independent samples t-test results showed that there was no significant difference between the pretest scores of the two groups on the oral presentation samples, either in general speaking ability or in the use of grammar and vocabulary. However, the general spoken language abilities of the two groups and their consumption of vocabulary and grammatical elements differed significantly in the post-test. According to the paired sample t-test, the experimental group improved their basic speaking skills more than the control group. Therefore, it can be argued that teaching English through an integrated skills intervention had a better impact on students' speaking abilities than a more conventional method of teaching speaking skills. The study found that integrated skill strategies should be used in EFL lecture sessions to help students develop their interpersonal skills

Elementi pučke pragmatike u bosanskim poslovicama

This paper discusses the views on pragmatic subjects explicitly mentioned or implied in Bosnian folk proverbs. For the purposes of the research, three collections of proverbs were analyzed: Narodno blago by M. K. Ljubušak (1887), Na nebu paučina by V. Gunić (1999) and Krajiške izreke i poslovice by A. Sijamhodžić (2017). In these collections many proverbs that deal with pragmatic subjects are recorded. Such proverbs are cited and commented upon in the central part of the paper. They mostly refer to the effects of language use, language as a sign of personality or identity, appropriateness, indirectness, politeness, speech acts (primarily promises, advice and compliments) and co-operation (Grice’s Cooperative Principle, its maxims, and hedges).

Language Used at Home and Educational–Occupational Mismatch of Migrants by Gender

The ability of migrants to use the host country's language is crucial to their integration. Nonetheless, the association between migrant literacy and their labor market outcome is less explored compared to the association between their educational attainment and their economic integration. Moreover, this ability has another vital role in immigrant assimilation, serving as an indicator of cultural capital. The current study, therefore, examines the extent to which language as cultural capital shapes gender differences in migrant economic integration, as measured by educational–occupational mismatch (EOM). Using the PIAAC 2018 dataset, we employ a series of nested fixed-effect linear models in which our dependent variable is years of over-education and study the effect of language use at home, controlling for linguistic competence in the host country language. We find that once controlling for educational level, migrant men who use a different language than the host country's language at home are not more prone to EOM. However, migrant women, who are at higher risk of EOM, suffer even more when using a foreign language at home. We suggest that using a foreign language at home for women might indicate low host-country-specific cultural capital, which could directly affect migrant women’s integration into the labor market.

Effect of Language use in Healthcare Content Marketing on Consumer Behaviour among Facebook Users

Driven by globalisation, content marketing (CM) has become one of the most strategic marketing approaches used to educate customers by providing valuable information through creative, educative, and persuasive language. This, in turn, influences consumer behaviour. However, it has been observed that content marketers in healthcare, particularly on Facebook, do not appropriately utilise language in producing educative content that can help achieve marketing objectives. Despite the institutional approval required from medical practitioners, some individuals may decide what products/services to use and how to use them to resolve health challenges or improve their health by reading content other than seeing a medical practitioner. This paper sought to investigate the language use of healthcare CM on Facebook and its impact on consumer behaviour. The study employed the Language Expectancy Theory (LET) to interpret and make conclusions based on the evidence provided in the written content on linguistic features and persuasive techniques. The descriptive research design was used to explain the persuasive use of language in influencing the audience. Document analysis was done based on excerpts of written content purposively selected from 11 healthcare Facebook pages. Four textual content items were further drawn from each, making 44 content items. Simple random sampling was then conducted to pick 23 content items considered in this paper. Data analysis involved a qualitative categorisation of the various themes of language use and feedback from Facebook users. The study found that language use impacted educating and influencing people to take action. After reading the content, feedback was received in the form of questions about pricing, selling points, and questions asking for further clarification. There were also comments in the form of appreciation, and customers raised complaints. The study concludes that linguistic features and persuasive techniques might have contributed to enhancing the content marketing messages. As a result, there was positive and negative feedback, which is very important in marketing. The study recommends that marketers should use linguistic and persuasive strategies when communicating with their customers and that they should make use of the feedback that they receive from their customers to improve on the use of language.

The role of frequency in the acquisition of structured variation: The case of Basque ergativity

Aims and objectives: This study examines the extent to which new speakers use the Basque ergative case marking ( –k) in the nominal inflection. I specifically ask whether frequency-based factors (language use and lexical frequency) play a role in its use by also considering speakers’ self-claimed Basque identities. Design/methodology/approach: The spontaneous speech of 39 Basque–Spanish bilinguals was collected by means of sociolinguistic interviews. Participants were self-stratified according to categories of Basque speakerhood ( euskaldunberri “new speaker”; euskaldun “Basque speaker”; euskaldunzahar “native speaker”). We also considered their proficiency, language use, and sex. Data and analysis: In total, 2,755 tokens were extracted for the presence/absence of ergative –k and coded for the following four linguistic factors: verb type, animacy person and number, phonological context, and type of NP. Lexical frequency was operationalized in terms of overall token frequency of lexical verb. Data were analyzed using mixed-effects models in R. Findings and conclusions: Results indicate that despite higher incidence of ergative omissions among new speakers, they show (1) consistent mastery of core internal constraints (verb type, phonological context) and (2) gradual structuring based on lexical frequency effects. These omissions occur in pragmatically structured conditions (topic shift, emphasis, and introducing self in narrative) alongside extensions of –k to unaccusative contexts (focus and topicalization). No independent effects of language use were found. Originality: This study is the first to examine of Basque ergativity among adult Basque speakers, taking also into account discourse factors, lexical frequency, and speakers’ social identities and proficiencies. Significance and implications: First, the mediating effects of lexical frequency are indicative that that sociolinguistic variation is acquired in a piece-meal fashion and that such patterns emerge from discourse as they are used in context. Second, it is argued that the new speakers’ kind of social practices hold key in explaining the reallocation of linguistic constraints in their variable production.

The Effects of Language Barriers and Time Constraints on Online Learning Performance: An Eye-Tracking Study.

The goal of this study is to model the effect of language use and time pressure on English as a first language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) students by measuring their eye movements in an on-screen, self-directed learning environment. Online learning is becoming integrated into learners' daily lives due to the flexibility in scheduling and location that it offers. However, in many cases, the online learners often have no interaction with one another or their instructors, making it difficult to determine how the learners are reading the materials and whether they are learning effectively. Furthermore, online learning may pose challenges to those who face language barriers or are under time pressure. The effects of two factors, language use (EFL vs. ESL) and time constraints (high vs. low time pressure), were investigated during the presentation of online materials. The effects were analyzed based on eye movement measures (eye fixation rate-the total number of eye fixations divided by the task duration and gaze entropy) and behavioral measures (correct rate and task completion time). The results show that the ESL students had higher eye fixation rates and longer task completion times than the EFL students. Moreover, high time pressure resulted in high fixation rates, short task completion time, low correct rates, and high gaze entropy. The results suggest the possibility of using unobtrusive eye movement measures to develop ways to better assist those who struggle with learning in the online environment.

Effects of socioeconomic status and language use on academic language proficiency in children with a migration background: An evaluation using quantile regressions

Academic language proficiency (ALP) is supposed to contribute to success across school subjects and to be a hurdle for students, in particular for those from families with a migration background. The present study investigated the effects of language use (i.e., use of the majority and/or a minority language) at home and at free time as well as of families’ socioeconomic status (SES) on ALP. We used quantile regression and OLS regression approaches to examine the joint contributions of these factors for three facets of ALP in German primary school students with a migration background (N = 1,629). Results underline the role of SES across the whole distribution of the three ALP facets, whereas the role of majority language use differed between the three facets. Furthermore, interaction effects between SES and majority language use at home were observed mainly at high quantiles showing that the positive effect of using the majority language at home increases with higher SES particularly in students with higher ALP. The results are discussed in light of theoretical approaches on the role of SES and language use for ALP of students with a migration background.

Understanding and translating Confucian philosophy in the Analects: a sociosemiotic perspective

Abstract As the representative of Chinese classical works, the Analects represents a source of difficulty in both understanding and interpretation of Confucian philosophy. Confucian philosophy as a philosophy of creativity and otherness is closely related with the social and cultural values in society. Therefore, the study of Confucian philosophy in the Analects cannot be separated from the descriptive study of the effects of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, contexts, language use, and the effects of language use on society. This article attempts to explore how the meaning of Confucian philosophy in the Analects is interpreted and accepted by Western readers through complex social semiotic interactions. The article focuses on the interpretation of Confucian philosophy as a reflection of cultural assumptions, values and prohibitions, and the manipulation of the social semiotic resources in the process of understanding, translation, and acceptance of Confucian philosophy in the Analects through a discussion of its original text, different versions and the reasons behind the social semiotic activities. The article concludes with a consideration of significant social semiotic interactions that influence the translator’s interpretation and reader’s acceptance of Confucian philosophy so as to facilitate intercultural understanding.

The contributions of oral language to English reading outcomes among young bilingual students in the United States

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: The current study examined the language-reading relationship for bilingual students in two grade levels (grades 1 and 3) and for two reading outcomes (decoding and comprehension) to understand the contribution of oral language in English reading. The study also explored the potential mediating role of oral language between language use, reading frequency, and reading outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: The study included 60 bilingual students from bilingual households that speak a language other than, or in addition to, English. All participants completed a battery of language and reading assessments and a background survey. Data and analysis: Three separate confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to derive an Oral Language factor (from oral language assessments), a Language Use factor, and a Reading Frequency factor (from survey items). A multivariate regression was conducted to investigate whether the language-reading relationship differed by grade and reading outcome. A multivariate mediation analysis was also conducted to examine whether the Oral Language factor mediates the effect of Language Use and Reading Frequency on reading outcomes. Findings/conclusions: Oral language proficiency significantly predicted both decoding and comprehension for both grades. Oral language also mediated the relationship between reading frequency and reading outcomes. Originality: This study investigates the contributions of oral language in young bilingual students’ English reading outcomes, which is an under-explored topic. Significance/implications: The results demonstrated the importance of oral language proficiency in bilingual students’ reading outcomes. Oral language plays a robust role in not only reading comprehension but also decoding. The study also clarified that the effects of reading frequency on reading outcomes are indirect and mediated via oral language. Improving bilingual students’ oral language proficiency coupled with promoting their reading frequency can help promote their reading outcomes.

Language and stigmatization of individuals with mental health problems or substance addiction in the Netherlands: An experimental vignette study

Persons with mental health problems and/or substance addictions (MHPSA) are stigmatised more than persons with physical conditions. This includes stigmatisation by care professionals. Stigma is considered one of the most important barriers for recovery from these conditions. There is an ongoing debate that use of language can exacerbate or diminish stigmatisation. Therefore, we conducted an experiment examining how four different ways of referring to a person with (a) alcohol addiction, (b) drug addiction, (c) depression and (d) schizophrenia are related to stigmatising attitudes by care professionals in the Netherlands. We partially replicated two studies performed in the United States and used surveys with vignettes containing either ‘disorder‐first’, ‘person‐first’, ‘victim’ and ‘recovery’ language, which were randomly assigned to participants (n = 361). No significant differences between language conditions were found for any of the vignettes. Our findings suggest that subtle differences in language to refer to persons with mental health problems or substance addictions have no effect on stigmatising attitudes by care professionals in the Netherlands. However, more research is needed to determine the effect of language use on other groups, such as individuals with MHPSA.

The effect of language use on the financial performance of microfinance banks: Evidence from cross-border activities in 74 countries

This multi-year study examines the relationship between financial performance and language use, observing 405 partnerships between microfinance banks and their international financial partners in 74 countries. Drawing on language research in international business, we find that microfinance banks based in English-speaking, French-speaking, and Spanish-speaking countries have higher performance. Furthermore, the linguistic distance between the home country of a microfinance bank and the home country of its international partner(s) is negatively related to its financial performance. Our large-scale study confirms the effect of language use on organization-level financial performance and extends research on language in multinationals from intra-firm to inter-firm relationships.

Study on the determinants of decision-making in peer-to-peer lending in South Korea

ABSTRACT In order to investigate the influences of borrower information on the decision-making, we collected data for 35,485 individual loan requests from Moneyauction, the largest P2P lending platform in South Korea, and analyzed the determinants of borrower and lender decision-making, adopting a logistic regression model. Specifically, we included various linguistic variables, generated by Korean Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software, in order to analyze the effect of language use. Our research findings show that while a borrower’s demographic traits and linguistic style do have influential effects on participants’ decision-making, their relative importance is much lower than that of financial and loan request profiles.

The Effects of Language Use on Time Perspectives in Multilingual Morocco

In the current study, we tested the effects of language on time perspective orientation in a Moroccan student sample. Four explanation, mechanisms have been considered: first, the priming of different contents by the use of different languages; second, the influence of the use of different languages on the social identity; third, the altering of memory capacity fostered by the use of a foreign language; and fourth, the enhanced psychological distance when using a foreign language. We used a language manipulation in a sample of Moroccan students ( n = 133) with respect to the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI). The results show that the language manipulation can lead to differences with respect to the scoring on the ZTPI. The suggested mechanisms have different significance on the measurement of the five time perspectives: an altered psychological distance can account for observed differences in the two past-related dimensions—Past Positive and Past Negative—and for Present Hedonism, whereas for Present Fatalism and Future, either language priming effects or altered social identity may explain the observed differences better. The results of the current study also show in general that psychological measurement in Morocco is a more complex procedure than in linguistically homogenous countries.

The Effect of Language Use on Loan Repayment in P2P Lending

금융시장 환경이 점차 오프라인에서 온라인 비대면으로 이동함에 따라 기존의 객관적 정형 정보에 기반한 소비자 행동 예측 방법은 점차 정확성을 잃어가고 있다. 이에 따라 최근 들어 주관적 비정형 정보의 중요성이 빠르게 주목 받고 있다. 본 연구는 P2P 대출시장에서 주관적 비정형 정보의 하나인 차입자의 언어 표현 정보가 실제 대출상환에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다.BR 이를 위해 국내 최초이자 최대 P2P 대출 플랫폼인 머니옥션에 2007년 4월 18일부터 2016년 2월 21일까지 등록된 대출신청 자료 42,335건을 웹크롤링을 이용해 추출하였다. 이 중 대출신청 취소 건, 대출 실패 건, 만기 미도래 건들을 제외하고 상환 시점이 도래한 4,800개의 대출자료를 이용해 순서형 로짓 분석을 실시하였다. 각각의 대출자료에서 대출목적 및 상환계획과 관련해 차입자가 입력한 텍스트를 한국어 언어심리 분석 프로그램인 KLIWC(Korean Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count)를 이용해 분석함으로써 언어 표현 정보와 관련된 다섯 가지의 설명변수(단어수, 재정상태표현, 인과관계표현, 자기활동표현, 감정상태표현)를 추출하였다. 차입자의 인구통계 정보, 재무/신용 정보 및 대출신청 정보와 관련된 13가지 변수는 통제변수로 설정하였다. 그리고 언어 표현 정보의 차입자의 상환결과에 대한 예측력을 분석하기 위해서 10겹 교차검증방법(10-fold cross validation method)을 통해 모형을 검증하였다.BR 본 연구는 차입자의 대출상환 실적이 단어수, 재무상태 표현, 인과관계 표현 등의 차입자의 언어 표현 정보에 의해 중요하게 영향을 받고 있음을 밝혔다. 구체적으로 단어수의 경우 차입자가 대출신청 시 작성한 텍스트에 단어수가 많은 대출신청 건일수록 상환결과가 우수한 것으로 나타났다. 또한 전체 텍스트 정보 중에서 차입자의 재무상태나 인과관계와 관련된 표현의 비중이 높은 대출신청 건일수록 상환결과가 우수한 것으로 나타났다. 이에 더해 차입자의 상환결과에 대한 예측력 분석에 있어서 인구통계 정보, 재무/신용 정보, 대출신청 정보와 함께 차입자의 언어 표현 정보를 추가할 경우 상환결과에 대한 예측력을 더욱 높일 수 있음을 밝혔다.BR 이러한 연구결과는 이제까지 차입자의 신용평가에서 주로 다루어졌던 인구통계, 재무/신용, 대출신청 정보등 객관적 정형 정보에 더해서 언어 표현 정보라는 주관적 비정형 정보를 추가하여 종합적으로 고려할 경우 차입자의 대출상환에 대한 좀 더 정교한 신용평가 모형을 개발할 수 있다는 점을 시사한다. 이는 결과적으로 대부분 비전문가인 일반 개인들로 이루어진 P2P 대출시장 참여자들이 차입자의 신용도 평가에 있어서 좀 더 현명한 결정을 할 수 있도록 도움을 줄 것이다.

Language Use Contributes to Expressive Language Growth: Evidence From Bilingual Children.

The unique relation of language use (i.e., output) to language growth was investigated for forty-seven 30-month-old Spanish-English bilingual children (27 girls, 20 boys) whose choices of which language to speak resulted in their levels of English output differing from their levels of English input. English expressive vocabularies and receptive language skills were assessed at 30, 36, and 42months. Longitudinal multilevel modeling indicated an effect of output on expressive vocabulary growth only. The finding that output specifically benefits the development of expressive language skill has implications for understanding effects of language use on language skill in monolingual and bilingual development, and potentially, for understanding consequences of cultural differences in how much children are expected to talk in conversation with adults.

The effects of language use on lexical processing in bilinguals

ABSTRACTBilingualism has been associated with slower lexical processing in both languages, but it remains unclear to what extent this effect may be modulated by language use. We compared older English monolinguals with two groups of older bilinguals on lexical processing tasks. Both acquired English and Gaelic during childhood, but while active bilinguals continued to use both languages, inactive bilinguals mostly used English. All three groups showed similar accuracy in English. However, in reaction times, active but not inactive bilinguals were slower than monolinguals. We conclude that language use can modulate effects of bilingualism on lexical tasks.

Language Use and Violence: Assessing the Relationship Between Linguistic Context and Macrolevel Violence

Scholars have produced a sizable body of research assessing the macrolevel links between immigration and crime. However, researchers have given far less attention to related questions about the effects of language use on aggregate levels of violence. The current study addresses this gap in research by exploring the ways that patterns of language use—specifically, language heterogeneity and Spanish‐language concentration—are related to year 2010 serious violent crime rates for nearly 2,900 census places across the United States. Results of our analysis reveal that linguistic heterogeneity is associated with increased violence and that this relationship is stronger in disadvantaged contexts. In contrast, Spanish‐language concentration appears to be protective against violence and mitigates the violence‐generating effects of structural disadvantage, net of immigration and other macrostructural characteristics. Implications of these findings for research on immigration, communities and crime, and related theoretical perspectives on immigrant revitalization and macrostructural theories of crime are discussed.

Processing Code-Switching in Algerian Bilinguals: Effects of Language Use and Semantic Expectancy.

Using a cross-modal naming paradigm this study investigated the effect of sentence constraint and language use on the expectancy of a language switch during listening comprehension. Sixty-five Algerian bilinguals who habitually code-switch between Algerian Arabic and French (AA-FR) but not between Standard Arabic and French (SA-FR) listened to sentence fragments and named a visually presented French target NP out loud. Participants’ speech onset times were recorded. The sentence context was either highly semantically constraining toward the French NP or not. The language of the sentence context was either in Algerian Arabic or in Standard Arabic, but the target NP was always in French, thus creating two code-switching contexts: a typical and recurrent code-switching context (AA-FR) and a non-typical code-switching context (SA-FR). Results revealed a semantic constraint effect indicating that the French switches were easier to process in the high compared to the low-constraint context. In addition, the effect size of semantic constraint was significant in the more typical code-switching context (AA-FR) suggesting that language use influences the processing of switching between languages. The effect of semantic constraint was also modulated by code-switching habits and the proficiency of L2 French. Semantic constraint was reduced in bilinguals who frequently code-switch and in bilinguals with high proficiency in French. Results are discussed with regards to the bilingual interactive activation model (Dijkstra and Van Heuven, 2002) and the control process model of code-switching (Green and Wei, 2014).

Psychobiological impact of language use in the context of psychosocial stressors

Objective: In a professional context, speaking with a local dialect is usually interpreted ambiguously. It is well established that people use their language as an impression-management strategy in the workspace. One country in which the psychobiological effects of language use can be investigated in a highly standard way is Switzerland. Swiss Germans speak at least two languages: their local dialect and High German. Our aim was to test whether speaking High German increases psychobiological stress in the context of a psychosocial stressor. Methods: We used the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) as a psychosocial stressor. This paradigm combines a mock interview and mental arithmetic task and reliably induces a psychobiological stress response. Sixty-three healthy native Swiss German speakers were randomly allocated to two different conditions: performing the TSST in High German vs. Swiss German. Stress and anxiety levels, heart rate, salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol were assessed at multiple time points. Results: Participants speaking High German did not differ from those speaking Swiss German in terms of stress (p = .128) and anxiety responses (p = .433). No differences became apparent regarding heart rate (p = .352) and alpha-amylase (p = .974). Participants speaking High German showed significantly higher cortisol responses (p = .039). Discussion: Speaking High German was not associated with a more pronounced psychological stress response. However it specifically increased cortisol responses. The aim not to show one's local dialect may thus implicitly aggravate the aspects of perceived performance pressure and social evaluation that are typical of psychosocial stressors.