Informal Variety Research Articles

Forgetting Atrocity in East Africa

East Africa presents striking examples of the different ways in which states may seek to promote forgetting through control or suppression of memories of mass violence. In Rwanda, the 1994 genocide is intensively memorialized, yet violence committed by the ruling party is not part of the official history. In Burundi, a power-sharing deal to end a civil war led to the erasure of memory through deliberate neglect. In Kenya, sites of terrorist violence have been fortified and reopened in the name of resilience—a form of triumphalist amnesia. Yet in each country, citizens practice informal varieties of commemoration.

WHAT ARE SHIBBOLETHNONYMS AND DO THEY EXIST IN THE SERBIAN LANGUAGE?

Over the last decades, especially in the Slavic countries, onomastic disciplines and their terminologies have significantly improved. Therefore, in ethnonymics – a study of the names of peoples and, in a broader sense, the names of the inhabitants of physiographic and/or administrative regions – not only necessary terms, but also terms whose purposefulness is at best debatable, have been introduced. This paper examines whether such terms include the Bulgarian term govoren etnonim and the Anglophone term shibbolethnonym, which denote ethnonyms motivated by some speech characteristic of the community in question. The analysis is performed from the standpoint of Serbian onomastics and etymology using appropriate examples from different varieties of the Serbian language: the standard, rural vernacular, and informal varieties of urban environments (i.e. colloquial style and youth jargon or slang). Examples are classified into shibbolethnonyms ʻproperʼ, with more or less clear motivation reflected in the imitation of phonological, grammatical and/or lexical features in the speech of another ethnic or regional community (Švabenzi infrm. ‘Germans’), and ʻfalseʼ shibbolethnonyms, with blurred motivation or meaning which only describe the speech characteristics of the Other (Nijemci stnd. ‘Germans’). We particularly point to the examples which, in addition to speech characteristics, (re)produce positive stereotypes about the greatest closely related nation (baćuška ‘a Russian man’) and regional communities of the same, Serbian or Croatian people (đetić ‘a man from Montenegro’; prika ‘a man from Slavonia’, rođo ‘a man from Herzegovina’). Finally, based on the number and importance of the presented examples, it is concluded that the introduction of the notion in question is necessary, even if one takes the view that yet another onomastic term, in addition to many already accepted, may appear undesirable.

An Analysis of Code-Mixing Found In Boy William’s “Nebeng Boy”

This research aims to find out the code choices chosen by the participants of YouTube content “Nebeng Boy” and the reasons why the participants choose the different codes. This research was a case study of sociolinguistics which employed a descriptive qualitative method. Nebeng Boy is one of the most popular YouTube content created by Indonesian YouTuber and an ex-Video Jockey from MTV, Boy William. The participants in this YouTube content are divided into two; the Host and the Guests. In collecting the data, the researcher has done a few techniques namely taking notes from observing the conversation, transcribing the dialogues between participants, and classifying the data. The researcher used total sampling technique and took the whole part of dialogue from six videos of “Nebeng Boy”. The results of this research show that the code choices employed by the participants of Nebeng Boy are informal variety from Bahasa Indonesia and English which resembles of high social class or high social status. Each participant has different way in using the codes and also has different reason behind it. The Host of the program uses informal code choices to show solidarity, express emotions, show intimacy, changing topics, and including another person to the conversation. Meanwhile, the factors that the guests use the code choices are the background of the person, the profession, function of the conversation, topics, the situation of conversation, and to include another person.

A linguistic study of English double negation and its realization in Arabic

The studies on multiple negation have been conducted intensively in linguistics, but very few studies have focused on multiple negation in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Although multiple negation appears in informal varieties, researchers find it an important topic for research. First, as linguists, we believe that all kinds of language varieties are worth studying. Second, the complexity of the structure of multiple negation raises queries about the difficulties that Arab students will encounter when they attempt to translate them from English to MSA. Our study focuses on double negation (DN) because, unlike other types of multiple negation, it yields a positive interpretation. This paper begins with a review of studies on multiple negation in English, MSA, and other languages, using a framework of generative grammar and the minimalist program. We then report on our empirical study of 60 randomly selected Arab students of English who were asked to translate 20 sentences containing multiple negation into MSA. To determine whether the intensity of their exposure to English would impact their understanding of these negative English structures, the students studying at levels two and four were selected. The students’ responses were quantitatively analysed. The results showed that MSA exhibits both DN and negative concord constructions. Moreover, the syntactic analyses of DN provided by Watanabe (2004) and Giannakidou (2000) concord with DN in MSA with some considerations. Additionally, all the sampled students had difficulty translating these types of sentences, indicating that intensity of exposure did not cause differences in performance.

Exploration of Spontaneous Speech Corpus Development in Urban Agriculture Instructional Videos

Video transcription can be obtained automatically based on the original language translation of the video maker's speech, but the quality of the transcription depends on the quality of the audio signal and the natural voice of the speaker. In this study, Deep Speech is used to predict letters based on acoustic recognition without understanding language rules. The Common Voice multilingual corpus helps Deep Seech to transcribe Indonesian. However, this corpus does not accommodate the special topic of urban agriculture, so an additional corpus is needed to build acoustic and language models with the urban agriculture domain. A total of 15 popular videos with closed captions and nine E-Books with the theme of Horticulture (fruit, vegetables and medicinal plants) were curated. The video data were extracted into audio and transcription according to specifications as training data, while the agricultural text data were transformed into language models, which were used to predict recognition results. The evaluation results show that the number of epochs has an effect on improving the transcription performance. The language model score used during prediction improved WER performance as it interpreted words with agricultural terms. Another finding was that the model was unable to predict short words with informal varieties and located at the end of the sentence.

Maxillariaanacatalinaportillae (Orchidaceae, Maxillariinae), a new remarkable species from Ecuador.

Neotropical genus Maxillaria Ruiz & Pav. belongs to one of the most diverse and species-rich groups of orchids. Several of its representatives are popular, horticultural plants with large and showy flowers, often nicely fragranced. It is not uncommon that some distinctly colored individuals are introduced to the commercial market under names of similar, more or less related species, as informal varieties or color forms, largely causing confusion. While investigating the diversity of Maxillaria in Ecuador, we have encountered plants that were commercially referred to as M.sanderianaxanthina. In the course of conducted morphological and micromorphological analyses, we concluded that it is a new, separate species and hereby, we describe it as M.anacatalinaportillae.

PILIHAN DAN PENGGUNAAN BAHASA WUJUD TOLERANSI WARGA PENDATANG NONETNIS BALI DI DESA BUDUK BADUNG

The research is based on multi-ethnic situation having different language background. The problem of the research was designed into four points, they were the choice, the use, the language attitude, and the factors of language choice and use among nonBalinese ethnic migrants at Desa Buduk, Badung. The problems were analysed by applying theories of language choice, language use, language attitudes, and factors of language attitude. The research method applied included survey and observation methods. The result of the research showed that 1) the nonBalinese ethnic migrants at Desa Buduk, Badung chose Balinese Language for communications with Balinese ethnic people; 2) in the communications they mostly used Balinese language fluently with informal variety; 3) they had positive language attitudes to Balinese language; and the factors affecting their language choice and language use were bilingualism, language attitude, housing situation, and social interaction. It proved that the nonBalinese ethnic migrants at Desa Buduk, Badung had tolerance to Balinese ethnic people at Desa Buduk, Badung.

Experimental Phenomenology as an Approach to the Study of Contemplative Practices.

During history humans have developed a large variety of contemplative practices, in many different areas of life, and as part of many different traditions and contexts. Although some contemplative practices are very old, the research field of Contemplation Studies is young, and there are no agreed-upon definitions of central concepts such as contemplative practices and contemplative experiences. The present paper focuses on contemplative practices, defined as practices that are engaged in for the sake of the contemplative experiences they afford (e.g., the contemplation of nature, or the contemplation of various aspects of being-in-the world). The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the potential of experimental phenomenology to contribute to the development of the research field of Contemplation Studies. Experimental phenomenology is defined as the investigation of phenomenological practices and their effects on experience. Phenomenological practices involve intentional variations of experiencing by means of changes in the direction of attention and the choice of attitude, typically as guided by verbal instructions or self-instructions. It is suggested that contemplative practices represent a subcategory of phenomenological practices. Two different varieties of experimental phenomenology are described and illustrated in the present paper: (1) an informal variety which involves the development of new phenomenological practices by creative variation of procedures and observation of effects; and (2) a more rigorously scientific variety, which involves the systematic variation of phenomenological practices in accordance with experimental designs to study their experiential effects. It is suggested that the development of contemplative practices during the ages is the result of an informal experimenting of the first kind; this variety of experimental phenomenology can also be used to develop personalized health interventions in a clinical setting. As to the more rigorously scientific experimental phenomenology, it is possible that it may lead not only to an improved understanding of general principles underlying contemplative practices, but also to a more systematic development of new contemplative practices. The experimental-phenomenological approach to contemplative practices is illustrated by various examples involving mindfulness, gratitude, receiving and giving.

Style shift in translation: The case of translating Susan Glaspell’s Trifles into Arabic

This study examines style shifting in an Arabic translation of Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles by Abbas Brashi. It presents an overview of the play, as well as its importance and relevance to Arab culture. It describes the different varieties of Arabic that exist as well as the one chosen for the translation, namely Modern Standard Arabic. The paper explains that the formal style of the target language text was chosen for the sake of wide readability and comprehensibility, as dialectal varieties of Arabic differ across and within Arab states and there is no standardised script. The other reason for the shift is to adhere to the norms of acceptable Arabic writing. The style shift observed in the translation of Trifles into Arabic is demonstrated in the translation of a number of linguistic phenomena, namely contraction, ‎elision, subject-verb agreement, and figurative multi-word ‎expressions.‎ The paper concludes that the formal Arabic version of Trifles may later be shifted to different informal dialectal varieties of Arabic when it is to be performed on stage. Therefore, the formal Arabic version of the play may be customised or adapted to one or more specific dialects of Arabic according to the time and place of each performance.

An assessment of genetic variation in vulnerable Borneo Ironwood Eusideroxylon zwageri Teijsm. & Binn. in Sarawak using SSR markers

Borneo Ironwood Eusideroxylon zwageri Teijsm. & Binn. has high market value for its valuable and durable timber, which has put it at risk due to illegal logging. This study analysed E. zwageri genetic variation using four microsatellite markers in populations at Nirwana Rehabilitation Forest (NRF), and Tatau, Sarawak. We found that 20.1% of total genetic variation corresponded to differences between populations, while 79.9% was attributed to differences among individuals from the same population. The Tatau population had lower genetic diversity compared to NRF, and both populations showed depressed heterozygosity indicative of inbreeding. Allelic data were also used to confirm variety level differences proposed by earlier workers, and three informal varieties: zwageri, grandis, and exilis were recognized in the study area. It is expected that the results from this study could serve as baseline data for conservation of this vulnerable species.

CODE CHOICE USED IN YOUTUBE CONTENT “NEBENG BOY”

<p>Nebeng Boy is one of the most popular YouTube content created by Indonesian YouTuber and an ex-Video Jockey from MTV, Boy William. This research aims to find out the code choices chosen by the participants of YouTube content “Nebeng Boy” and the reasons why the participants choose the different codes.</p><p>This research was a case study of sociolinguistics which employed a descriptive qualitative method. In collecting the data, the researcher has done a few techniques; taking notes from observing the conversation, transcribing the dialogues between participants, and classifying the data. The researcher used total sampling technique and took the whole part of dialogue from six videos of “Nebeng Boy”.</p><p>The results show that the code choices employed by the participants of Nebeng Boy are informal variety from Bahasa Indonesia and English. Each participant has different way in using the codes and also has different reason. The Host of the program uses informal codes to show solidarity, express emotions, show intimacy, changing topics, and including another person to the conversation. Meanwhile, the factors that the guests use the code choices are the background of the person, the profession, function of the conversation, topics, the situation of conversation, and to include another person.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

CODE CHOICE USED IN YOUTUBE CONTENT “NEBENG BOY”

<p>Nebeng Boy is one of the most popular YouTube content created by Indonesian YouTuber and an ex-Video Jockey from MTV, Boy William. The participants in this YouTube content are divided into two; the Host and the Guests. This research aims to find out the code choices chosen by the participants of YouTube content “Nebeng Boy” and the reasons why the participants choose the different codes.</p><p>This research was a case study of sociolinguistics which employed a descriptive qualitative method. In collecting the data, the researcher has done a few techniques namely taking notes from observing the conversation, transcribing the dialogues between participants, and classifying the data. The researcher used total sampling technique and took the whole part of dialogue from six videos of “Nebeng Boy”.</p><p>The results of this research show that the code choices employed by the participants of Nebeng Boy are informal variety from Bahasa Indonesia and English which resembles of high social class or high social status. Each participant has different way in using the codes and also has different reason behind it. The Host of the program uses informal code choices to show solidarity, express emotions, show intimacy, changing topics, and including another person to the conversation. Meanwhile, the factors that the guests use the code choices are the background of the person, the profession, function of the conversation, topics, the situation of conversation, and to include another person.</p>

A Tale of Many Tongues: Towards Conceptualising Nigerian Youth Languages

The Nigerian youth language phenomenon has often been labelled, albeit reductively, as Pidgin or Pidgin-based—to the exclusion of other varieties which co-constitute the ecology of youth argots in the country. Drawing on the notion of indexicality, this article presents a range of Pidgin and non-Pidgin exemplars and illuminates their linguistic as well as discursive strategies. Though ostensibly diverse and sphere-specific, they consist of syntax drawn from the informal varieties of existing languages and the insertion of mainly lexical features, including slang, neologism, borrowing, relexicalisation, and metaphorisation. Rather than labelling them, this article defines them as a cluster of linguistic (and paralinguistic) practices with indexical links to youthfulness, conviviality, in-groupness, camaraderie, etc., and draws attention to the changing demographics of their user communities.

Institutionalism of rational choice: theoretical and methodological foundations and Ukrainian political science

It has been substantiated that the use of a research strategy of rational choice institutionalism was one of the factors that contributed to a return to the institutional theory of policy analysis individual dimension in the paper. Possibilities to achieve utility and distribution of resources in society at the political process micro-level began to be considered as sufficiently important resultants of functioning of the institutional system alongside macro-politics. In addition, it is specified that application of the methodology of the STEM subjects has allowed characterizing the activities of political institutions using the terms of effectiveness, which led to a reorientation of the study of their informal varieties as real regulators of political behaviour. However, the interest in empirical development has created the danger of rationalizing the politics up to its dehumanization, whereof avoiding, according to foreign political scientists, is possible adhering to ethical constraints that arise from the peculiarities of complex human nature.As a result of the analysis held, it has been found that, unlike the studies of foreign experts who distinguish various substantive areas of analysis in the theory of rational choice institutionalism, the applied potential of implementation of elements of its methodology in the works of Ukrainian scientists is rather instrumental. The general conclusion is that the research strategy of this version of new institutionalism in the practical plane is used mainly as one of many methodological approaches to the study of different political phenomena and processes. To some extent, similar to the particular area of research that reveals the analytical resource of rational choice institutionalism is to study the peculiarities of formation and functioning of parliament and the related processes (electoral strategies and coalition arrangements).It is emphasized that the most interesting for us may be the segment of scientific works, which are based on the theory of rational choice institutionalism, and related to the analysis of those factors that may impede democratic transformations in transitional political systems. It can be argued that inefficient political institutions, despite their irrational nature, continue to function in the political system because they are the product of a rational choice of influential political actors. In this case, the understanding of the very concept of rationality is distorted, which from an absolute category is transformed into a relative one, not only because of the limitations associated with the action of moral and ethical factors, but mainly due to maintenance of an inefficient institutional equilibrium, i.e. an institutional trap.

Analisis Kesalahan Ortografi Bahasa Arab Mahasiswa Pendidikan Bahasa Arab Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang

This article is a study of Arabic Language Education students at the University of Muhammad Malang concerning spelling errors in writing Arabic characters. Orthography or Arabic alphabet spelling is a system that is generally used to realize the sound description from spoken language to written language in a language community, in this case Arabic. But in practice not everyone is able to describe the sound of language into writing correctly. Including students in the Arabic Language Study Program, University of Muhammadiyah Malang. This research is a descriptive type, in collecting data using observation techniques, documentation techniques, and interview techniques. The data analysis uses the orthographic equivalent method with basic techniques (orthographic sorting techniques) and advanced techniques (comparative correlation techniques). While the presentation of data uses informal variety. The results showed that the forms of orthographic errors or Arabic characters were first, one type of error consisting of adding vowels, reducing vowels or consonants, reducing consonant punctuation, and changing letters. Second, two or more types of errors. The factors underlying these mistakes are in terms of sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics.

Le système pronominal du français louisianais

This paper discusses the pronominal system of Louisiana French, a variety of French spoken mainly in the south-western part of Louisiana State.
 The analysis of data (Girard Lomheim, 2016) shows that although Louisiana French clitics share certain features with clitics from other informal varieties of French and dialects of French, they cannot be analysed along quite the same lines. They have reached a more advanced stage of grammaticalization. They are moving away from the status of syntactic argument towards the status of agreement marker. The fact that they are subject to strong phonetic erosion and have been gradually replaced by weak pronouns shows that they are coming closer to the ultimate stadium of their grammaticalization cycle (van Gelderen, 2011), the null stadium.
 The progressive reduction of the clitic paradigm is accompanied by the emergence of a new class of weak pronouns, which leads us to claim that the pronominal system of this vernacular is organized in three classes of pronouns: strong pronouns and two classes of deficient pronouns: weak pronouns and clitics in the terms of Cardinaletti et Starke (1994 and 1999). We claim that the difference between strong and weak pronouns should be addressed in terms of syntax and morphology whereas the difference between weak pronouns and clitics should be accounted for in terms of morphosyntax and phonology.

Schooling Superdiversity: Linguistic features as linguistic resources in two Manenberg classrooms in the Western Cape

This study is a working paper which addresses the need for the accom-modation of linguistic diversity and mixed linguistic repertoires in the classroom context, due to the rise and changes in migration patterns, as a result of globalization. More specifically, it focuses on linguistic diversity and mixed linguistic repertoires amongst pupils in post- apartheid South African classrooms and investigates how the borrowing of linguistic features by teachers and learners can be used as linguistic resources in the classroom context. By investigating how an informal variety of speech, the borrowing of features across languages, can be utilized as linguistic resource in the classroom context, this paper proposes a move away from formal classroom discourse, to more informal varieties brought to the classroom by learners. Even though scholars such as Woolard (1994) and Ritzau (2014) have highlighted how the ideologies present in institutional settings, perceive the borrowing of linguistic features as an indication of ‘less than full linguistic capabilities’ (Woolard, 1994:63), various other studies have emphasized the benefits of such language practices in the classroom (see Park, 2013; Blackledge and Creese, 2010b, Canagarajah, 2011). My study will thus also investigate how the language ideologies of the teachers in these two classrooms, affect the occurrence or absence of the borrowing of linguistic features, in this space. The research topic was studied in two grade r classrooms in the area of Manenberg, where classroom observations were used as the main research technique, complimented by interviews and field notes. It can therefore be argued that the study used qualitative research techniques and borrowed research methods from the field of anthropology as some of these methods resemble studies ethnographic in nature. Finally, interactional sociolinguistics was used as the analytical tool.

The Problem of Unquantified Benefits

Many of the objections raised against the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to evaluate government regulation, especially in the environmental context, center around the difficulties involved in quantifying and monetizing regulatory benefits. These difficulties implicate deep theoretical issues that have spawned a massive literature spanning many decades. But the difficulties posed by quantification also raise a straightforward empirical question that has been largely ignored: how often and to what extent does the problem of unquantified benefits actually arise in the practice of CBA, and how often is it attributable to the more prosaic problem of inadequate data? This Article presents methods and results of an empirical study aimed at this question. The study examined forty-five CBA’s prepared by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in connection with major final rules issued between 2002 and 2015. In 80% of the CBAs analyzed, EPA excluded categories of benefits that the agency itself described as either actually or potentially “important,” “significant,” or “substantial” because they were unquantifiable due to data limitations. In order to understand the implications of these findings for the debate about CBA more generally, this Article lays out an analytic framework for understanding the role that quantification plays in CBA, detailing how significant unquantified benefits constrain the kind of CBA that can be performed, precluding more formal varieties. These results suggest that in developing environmental rules, agencies are rarely ever able to legitimately conduct formal CBA of the sort called for in the relevant executive orders and guidance documents, and that even the informal varieties of CBA they can conduct will produce only limited conclusions at best. This suggests that the connection between CBA and its normative foundations in efficiency or welfare is even more tenuous than most of its defenders have assumed, and bolsters the case for alternative tools, like feasibility and health-based

Lingua araba in vecchi e nuovi media

Since the first years of the 21st century, the presence of the dialect varieties of Arabic (the so-called ʿāmmiyya or dāriǧa) outside the purely literary production increased a lot, and these informal varieties are nowadays frequently used in press, mass media, and obviously social networks. This article intends to offer a general overview on the modalities by which, at the beginnings of this (relatively) new phenomenon, the Arabic dialects penetrated in both the old and new media. After a focus on the graphic problems issued during the first attempts of written registration of the Arabic dialects (like in 3arabizi and e-darija), it deals also with the initiatives encouraged by some Moroccan magazines and newspapers (such as Ḫbār blādna, al-Amal, TelQuel and Nichane) that developed a highly controversial debate on the future of the linguistic policies in the country.

Persian in Use: An Elementary Textbook of Language and Culture

Persian in Use: An Elementary Textbook of Language and Culture