English Items Research Articles

Structural Contrast of Determiner Phrase Items in English and Ọgba Languages

Structural Contrast of Determiner Phrase Items in English and Ọgba Languages

A register approach to negative concord versus negative polarity items in English

Abstract Negative concord (NC) is used in many English varieties but usually considered ungrammatical in ‘standard’ contemporary English, where negative polarity items (NPIs) are used. In this paper, we take a novel experimental approach to the use of NC versus NPI constructions, in relation to register, sets of speech repertoires linked to specific situational and functional parameters. We report on two rating experiments with American and British English participants using interlocutor relations as a formality manipulation. Results show that (i) across both samples, NC constructions were rated as less appropriate than NPI associates, and (ii) there was a register effect in the American English data in that NC was rated less appropriate in formal than informal contexts. Our study is the first to provide experimental evidence for the register-sensitivity of NC constructions in American English.

Modeling Dimensionality of Bilingual Kindergarteners' Language Knowledge in Spanish and English.

This study used structural equation modeling to investigate the dimensionality of language in Spanish-English bilingual kindergartners. Five theoretical models were compared, including (a) a unidimensional model; (b) a two-dimensional model by language (Spanish, English); (c) a three-dimensional model by domain of language (phonology, semantics, morphosyntax); (d) a second-order model organized first by language (Spanish, English), with each language dimension comprising three domain-specific dimensions (phonology, semantics, morphosyntax); and (e) a six-dimensional model with freely covarying language-specific domains. Participants included 238 Spanish-English bilingual kindergartens, as identified by parent report of current language exposure and direct language measures. All participants completed a battery of phonology, semantics, and morphosyntactic test items in English and in Spanish. The six-dimensional covarying model constrained by domain and language provided the best fit for the data, with six separate factors for phonology, morphosyntax, and semantics in English and Spanish. The excellent model fit is supported by findings of a χ2 to df (degrees of freedom) ratio < 2 with no significance, comparative fit index > .95, standardized root-mean-square residual < .08, and root-mean-square error of approximation values ≤ .05. Results support emergent theories of bilingual language development. Application of the results to the evaluation and intervention of oral language abilities in bilingual children entering the formal education setting are considered. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25843846.

Metaphors in Daesh Propaganda: A Spark Lit in Iraq to Burn the Whole Globe

Within massive publications on Daesh propaganda, the function and utility of metaphors is underexplored. The selection of metaphors is an act of meaning creation and they reflect a shared cognitive universe among in-groups. The qualitative study at hand analyzes official media output of Daesh in four 1-week periods, each starting after a landmark event with approximately one year intervals between them (2014-2017). The selected periods can be described as times of “glory”, “victory”, “loss” and “collapse”,respectively, for Daesh. Through analysis of 31 propaganda items in English and Arabic, 778 metaphorshave been coded to provide insight about the cognitive universe shaped and shared by Daesh media. Theresults support our hypothesis that Daesh shows skill in adjusting selection of metaphors, verbal or visual,in support of seasonal communication priorities. Moreover, the metaphors listed in the article have potential to become an important tool for professionals formulating counter-narratives, providing them a catalogue of source domains to draw on to counter Daesh messages together with their cognitive roots.

Comparing apples to manzanas and oranges to naranjas: A new measure of English-Spanish vocabulary for dual language learners.

The valid assessment of vocabulary development in dual-language-learning infants is critical to developmental science. We developed the Dual Language Learners English-Spanish (DLL-ES) Inventories to measure vocabularies of U.S. English-Spanish DLLs. The inventories provide translation equivalents for all Spanish and English items on Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) short forms; extended inventories based on CDI long forms; and Spanish language-variety options. Item-Response Theory analyses applied to Wordbank and Web-CDI data (n=2603, 12-18months; n=6722, 16-36months; half female; 1% Asian, 3% Black, 2% Hispanic, 30% White, 64% unknown) showed near-perfect associations between DLL-ES and CDI long-form scores. Interviews with 10 Hispanic mothers of 18- to 24-month-olds (2 White, 1 Black, 7 multi-racial; 6 female) provide a proof of concept for the value of the DLL-ES for assessing the vocabularies of DLLs.

Loanwords and polysemy: An investigation of specialized domain lexis in Middle English

This study investigates the polysemy of French loanwords in Middle English, analysing the attested senses of loan lexis in three occupational domains. Senses recorded in the Dictionnaire du moyen français and the Anglo-Norman dictionary were compared with corresponding lexical entries in the Middle English dictionary. Out of over 100 Middle English items borrowed from French, it is found that the great majority were polysemous in ways reflecting the source language semantics. This outcome contrasts with the usual finding that foreign borrowing in modern contexts produces monosemous loanwords. The conclusion is therefore drawn that the process of borrowing from French was of a different nature in the English medieval period. It is argued that bilingual users of French were agents of borrowing who replicated source word polysemy in their English. The likelihood that senses matching those of the French etymon arose in Middle English independently of source language polysemy is considered, but rejected.

Amending the Polish Adaptation of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ-PL)

The current article aims at correcting some linguistic inconsistencies between the Polish and English versions of the 30-item Moral Foundations Questionnaire, and to develop a revised Polish translation more appropriate for cross-cultural comparison. Researchers who are not familiar with the Polish language and the English version of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire are likely to miss these inconsistencies between the English and Polish versions. These translation issues are of significant interest as the Moral Foundations Questionnaire has been utilized to compare human values across a wide range of cultures. In cross-cultural research, translational precision is important, as differences of meaning can lead researchers to draw illusory conclusions about differences between cultures. We offer a revised Polish translation of the 30-item Moral Foundations Questionnaire, which we believe more accurately represents the meaning and form of the English items. This new translation should facilitate more consistent comparisons of moral foundations between Polish and Non-Polish populations.

Resilience among young mothers affected by HIV in South Africa: Adaptations and psychometric properties of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure-Revised (CYRM-R) in a large cohort

BackgroundWhile growing evidence has documented risks and resilience to HIV and poor sexual and reproductive health (SRH) among young women, young mothers’ abilities to respond to and overcome challenges have been understudied. Developing appropriate methodologies to measure resilience in the context of HIV, especially among young mothers, is a critical first step to filling this gap. We aimed to improve the relevance, and comprehensibility of an open-access resilience measure for use among young mothers living in HIV-endemic communities in South Africa. This paper summarizes a two-stage study that was carried out in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. MethodsFirst, n = 9 cognitive interviews were conducted to inform the adaptation of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure Revised (CYRM-R) for use among young mothers (n = 7 living with HIV). The adapted measure was applied in remote interviews with 892 adolescent mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic (December 2021–April 2023). We investigated the basic psychometric properties of the adapted measure using STATA16. ResultsCognitive interviews offered unique perspectives on how to modify items in English and isiXhosa, including items that had similar understandings and responses, with new probes and additional key words added to seven items. Participants' understanding of item wording and the translation of items resulted in word changes or substitution to maximise participants’ understanding of eight out of 17 items. The utilization of vignettes proved to be useful in engaging participants to reflect on their experiences. The revised scale had moderate psychometric properties. The EFA confirmed a two-factor structure, and the internal consistency of the CYRM-R was moderate (α = 0.75; ω = 0.75). ConclusionCognitive interviews supported the adaptation of a resilience measure for adolescent mothers affected by HIV in South Africa. Initial psychometric properties highlight possible further adaptations needed, potentially due to the unique population of adolescent mothers.

Measuring Gelotophobia, Gelotophilia, and Katagelasticism in Italy and Canada Using PhoPhiKat-30

Abstract: The PhoPhiKat-30 is a self-report instrument for describing personality related to laughter and ridicule including gelotophobia, gelotophilia, and katagelasticism. The present study assessed the measurement properties of the newly translated Italian PhoPhiKat-30 across participants in Italy and Canada using multidimensional item response theory. Italian ( N = 326) and Canadian ( N = 1,467) participants completed the Italian and English PhoPhiKat-30, respectively. The parallel analysis supported the three-factor model in Italy. Conditional reliability estimates showed strong precision (&gt; 0.80) of gelotophobia and gelotophilia along the latent continuum (−1.15 &lt; θ &lt; 3.08 and −1.69 &lt; θ &lt; 3.09, respectively). Katagelasticism showed a limited range (0.98 &lt; θ &lt; 2.85) for the latent attribute precisely measured, suggesting that new items that address the low to moderate difficulty of katagelasticism should be added in future studies. Item discrimination parameters varied across Reckase’s multidimensional normal-ogive model (MDISC mean = 0.79). Five items had uniform differential item functioning (DIF; McFadden’s pseudo R2 &gt; .035 or β &gt; .10) when comparing the Italian and English PhoPhiKat-30, with English items showing more agreement at the same level of the latent trait. The Italian PhoPhiKat-30 has good item discrimination across the latent continuum and showed cross-cultural equivalence for most items.

Frame semantics in the lexical database SciE-Lex

Abstract This paper presents the introduction of frame semantics in SciE-Lex, a lexical database of biomedical English, in order to establish frame-based semantic networks among the lexical units contained in the database and draw attention to the domain-specific meanings and syntactic patterns that they exhibit. Taking the general English FrameNet database as a reference and the verbs diminish, compete, and perturb as an illustration, this paper shows how modelling the syntacticosemantic properties of biomedical English results in three scenarios: (a) the general English FrameNet analysis is fully adequate for biomedical usage (b) the frame elements in the general English FrameNet do not fully characterize the semantic and syntactic properties of the lexical items in biomedical English, so an existing frame needs to be customized (c) the frame(s) evoked in general English are different, so either the customization of an existing frame or the addition of a new frame is necessary.

Charismaphobia: Diagnosis and Measurement of the Psychodermatological Symptoms

Background: Psychodermatology is a newly emerging field that associates cosmetic dermatology with psychopathology. It analyzes the psychosocial aspects of beauty and physical attraction. Attractive people, in almost all cultures, are taken positively, and the less attractive ones are ostracized. The social pressure of staying physically attractive may lead to several negative outcomes, which can be placed under a single heading of “charismaphobia” (i.e., the “fear of unattractiveness”). Objectives: The current study aimed to assess the diagnostic aspects of charismaphobia by developing and validating a new scale. Methods: This quantitative study was conducted on 2904 participants in 4 phases. The Charismaphobia Scale was developed and validated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA/CFA). The convergent validity of the scale was determined through generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder. Results: The finalized version of the Charismaphobia Scale comprised 19 items in English and reported 4 factors of charismaphobia (i.e., self-exhibition, narcissistic trends, media consumption, and charismaphobic anxiety). Marvelous sampling adequacy (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) = 0.946 and 0.871), highly significant adequacy of correlations between items (P = 0.000), excellent reliability (α = 0.939 and 0.843), strong factor loadings with no cross-loadings, adequate extractions of the items (all between 0.426 and 0.841), highly significant item-scale and item-total correlations (P &lt; 0.001) were observed during the EFA and CFA. The convergent validity of the Charismaphobia Scale was found highly significant with generalized anxiety disorder (r = 0.327; P &lt; 0.001), obsessive-compulsive disorder (r = 0.344; P &lt; 0.001), and narcissistic personality disorder (r = 0.250; P &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: The Charismaphobia Scale was developed and validated for the ease of clinical psychologists and dermatologists to assess the mental conditions underlying common dermatological problems.

“They Protect us as if they were our Mom” Masking Attitudes from Freelist Survey Data and Qualitative Interviews in San Diego School Communities

Background: Despite being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 due to a lack of structural support, marginalized communities have been largely ignored in the politically polarized debate over school masking. In response to this, we sought to explore masking attitudes by centering the voices of parents and children at historically marginalized, predominantly Hispanic schools in southern California. Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods study with parents and children attending 26 low-income predominantly Hispanic-serving elementary schools. A random sample of parents was asked to provide a freelist of words they associate with masking. A subset of parents with children aged 4–6 was recruited from these surveys to participate in parent-child interviews (PCI). We calculated Smith’s salience index for all unique items, stratifying by language (English/Spanish). Item salience guided PCI thematic analysis for additional context and meaning. Results: 648 participants provided 1118 unique freelist items in English and Spanish. 19 parent-child pairs were interviewed, 11 in Spanish and 8 in English. The most salient words were “safety”(0.37), “protection”(0.12), “prevention”(0.05), “health”(0.04), “good”(0.03), “can’t breathe”(0.03), “necessary”(0.02), “care”(0.02), “precaution”(0.02), and “unnecessary”(0.02). Spanish speakers had a more favorable view of masking than English speakers, particularly regarding “protection” (0.20 vs 0.08) and “prevention” (0.10 vs 0.02). Discussion: Masking is an affordable individual-level risk mitigation that protects the communities that have inequitably shouldered the burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic. We recommend that policymakers prioritize the views of those most impacted when deciding on risk mitigation policies like school masking.

Specialized vocabulary across languages: The case of traditional Chinese medicine

This paper reports on the creation of specialized word lists in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is a discipline using vocabulary across languages (i.e., Chinese and English) and involves learners with different L1 backgrounds. First, a TCM Word List of 2,778 specialized words was established from corpora of TCM textbooks and journal articles. Selection criteria included specialized meaning, keyness in a corpus of general written English compared to the TCM Corpora, and frequency. The resulting TCM list covered 36.65% of the TCM Corpora but had low coverage over corpora of general written English and medical English. The TCM Word List was then divided into three sub-lists based on frequency, and graded into three levels. Level 1 contains high-frequency lexical items in English (e.g., organ, coating); Level 2 contains items that are mid-, low-frequency, or beyond any frequency levels (e.g., pericarpium, metabolism); and Level 3 contains Chinese loan words (e.g., qi, yang). Last, there is an overlap of 309 word families between this list and an earlier TCM list by Hsu (2018), which excludes words from the 1st-3rd 1,000 word families in English. Suggestions for teachers and future research are provided.

A Contrastive Linguistic Study of lexical and Cultural Constraints Met in Translating Qur’an-specific cultural Items into English Showing (Riāa رِئَاءَ) in the Sūrat Nisaa

Even though the translation of the meanings of The Holy Qur’an into English has obtained great importance in the last few years, there is a dearth of studies conducted on the topic of lexical and cultural constraints in the translation of Qur’an-specific cultural items. Hence, the current study was carried out to probe lexical and cultural constraints met by the translators of the Holy Quran in translating the Qur’an-specific cultural items into English showing off- Sūrat Nisaa in (رِئَاءَ Riāa. ِAlso, the paper aimed to answer the main question of whether lexical and cultural constraints impede or not the perspicuous rendering of the meaning of the Holy Qur’an in English, in general, and Qur’an-specific cultural items in English, in particular. The results attained from the present study answer this question: The Holy Qur’an is an untranslatable text. It can never be reproduced appropriately and properly into English, and the cultural loss of meaning in its English- rendered versions is unavoidable.

Measuring Sexual Intelligence for Evaluating Sexual Health.

The current paper reports four consecutive studies that were conducted to link sexual health with a new construct of sexual intelligence by developing and validating a new scale to measure sexual intelligence. Sexual intelligence was defined as "the ability to perceive, understand and respond to sexual needs and desires in a personal and social context." Sexual Intelligence Scale (SIS), comprising of 8 items in English and 2 factors (sexual knowledge & sexual behavior), was developed and validated by involving 959 respondents in the process of 4 consecutive studies. The validity of SIS was tested step by step for its face, content, factorial, convergent, discriminant, and predictive validities. The reliability was measured through internal consistency and item-total & item-scale correlations. The study found significantly higher levels of sexual intelligence in men as compared to women. Sexual intelligence, moreover, had significant positive correlations with age, education, emotional intelligence, social intelligence, sexual health, and satisfaction with life. Sexual health was linked with sexual intelligence and the SIS was accepted as a reliable and valid tool to measure sexual intelligence.

Construct validity and fairness of an operational listening test with World Englishes

In this study, I investigate the construct validity and fairness pertaining to the use of a variety of Englishes in listening test input. I obtained data from a post-entry English language placement test administered at a public university in the United States. In addition to expectedly familiar American English, the test features Hawai’i, Filipino, and Indian English, which are expectedly less familiar to our test takers, but justified by the context. I used confirmatory factor analysis to test whether the category of unfamiliar English items formed a latent factor distinct from the other category of more familiar American English items. I used Rasch-based differential item functioning analysis to examine item biases as a function of examinees’ place of origin. The results from the confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the unfamiliar English items tapped into the same underlying construct as the familiar English items. The Rasch-based differential item functioning analysis revealed many instances of item bias among unfamiliar English items with higher proportions of item biases for items targeting narrow comprehension than broad comprehension. However, at the test level, the unfamiliar English items did not substantially influence raw total scores. These findings offer support for using a variety of Englishes in listening tests.

Urdu Translation and Adaptation of Interpersonal Rejection Sensitivity Scale

The aim of the study was to translate, adapt and validate the original 13-item English version of Interpersonal Rejection Sensitivity Scale (IRSS; Rohner et al., 2020) into Urdu language to facilitate administration on Pakistani adults. The study followed three stages: Translation and adaptation, linguistic equivalence with cross validation, and establishing psychometric properties of translated Urdu version of IRSS. The sample for stage II comprised of 100 adults above 18 years of age selected through convenience sampling technique. The results showed significant correlation (r = .84) between both English and Urdu versions of the IRSS. Similarly, inter-item correlation of English items and Urdu items showed significant correlations with an exception of only item 3 and item 12. Moreover, value of Cronbach's alpha (α = .72) illustrated the internal consistency of Urdu version of IRSS. In stage III of the study, Exploratory Factor Analysis run on a separate sample (N = 200) of adults indicated that the Urdu version of the IRSS is a standardized measure like the original English IRSS as all the items were significantly loaded; only items number 3 and 12 that did not load on the scale. Therefore, after excluding item number 3 and 12 with the permission of Rohner Research Publications, it is concluded that the 11-item Urdu translation of IRSS is a valid and reliable scale (α = .83) to measure interpersonal rejection-sensitivity among Pakistani population.

Emotional Intelligence: Emotional Expression and Emotional Regulation for Intrinsic and Extrinsic Emotional Satisfaction.

Theorists have constructed emotional intelligence differently, based on which the literature reveals different diversified scales to measure emotional intelligence. These scales are quite lengthy to respond and have been criticized for producing varying results. The current paper projects the findings of 3 consecutive studies carried out to summarize and simplify the existing models of emotional intelligence and to produce a brief measure in this regard. Based on the review of the earlier models of emotional intelligence, emotional intelligence was comprehended as an "ability to express and regulate emotions for intrinsic and extrinsic emotional satisfaction". "Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS)", comprising 12 items in English, was developed and validated through principal component analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis through a series of 3 consecutive studies which involved 1894 participants from Pakistan. The validity of EIS was tested step by step for its face, content, factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity. The reliability was measured through internal consistency and item-total and item-scale correlations. EIS was revealed to be a valid and reliable scale to measure emotional intelligence through 4 core factors, ie, emotional expression, emotional regulation, intrinsic emotional satisfaction, and extrinsic emotional satisfaction. The additional findings revealed significantly higher levels of emotional intelligence among men as compared to women; significantly positive correlation of emotional intelligence with social intelligence, positive emotional effects, age, and education; and a significantly inverse correlation between emotional intelligence and the negative emotional effects. The current paper reported the development and validation of a new scale on emotional intelligence by comprehending and summarizing the earlier models of emotional intelligence.

Are healthcare providers offering the proper education for people with low back pain? Content analysis of educational materials.

Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent disorder and leading cause of disability worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, patients with LBP are dispensed with educational materials to supposedly facilitate their recuperation. Appraise the suitability of educational materials provided for people with LBP in Saudi Arabia to determine whether they meet the needs of patients, inform self-management, and are consistent with clinical practice guidelines. A qualitative data collection method was used, and content analyses were conducted to analyse data based on manifest content. Educational items in English and Arabic were collected from relevant health providers in Saudi Arabia. Seventeen educational materials were sourced from: Ministry of Health hospitals (n= 10), military hospitals (n= 4), private hospitals (n= 2), and a multidisciplinary healthcare association (n= 1). Six identified sub-themes comprise: epidemiological/anatomical data about LBP (n= 6); causes/risk factors (n= 10); exercise (n= 14) and physical activity-related (n= 3) recommendations; treatment-related recommendations (n= 2); general health and lifestyle-related recommendations (n= 8); and postural and ergonomics-related recommendations (n= 13). A common theme emerged, that 'the content of educational materials hindered reassurance and self-management for people with LBP.' The reviewed educational materials fail to adequately report information that assure patients or inform their self-management among the Saudi population with LBP. Further, reviewed items are heavily influenced by the biomedical model of pain.

English Presence in Our Landscape: A Global Community at Play

English today is everywhere in our landscape. It appears in every commercial item. People seem to have a strong belief that language has an extra magical power to sell; it contains a powerful mantra to persuade consumers to choose their products. With its extensive use, English marks a kind of global community. This study makes an online survey through Street View in Google Maps to collect data on the use of English in the landscapes, particularly in the area of Simpang Lima, Semarang. This employs a perspective of language ecology questioning the ideology behind the rampant English, dominating our place. Based on the data collected, it proves that English appears the most. English is found on the billboards of automotive, mobile phones, cosmetic products, cigarettes, electronics, online shops, internet-based transportation services, housing complexes/real estate, and cellular providers. English items are equal to Indonesian. In Indonesian ads, English many times is featured to be a tagline. Meanwhile, English ads give no space for Indonesian items. Here, English surely does not symbolize the language of the community. We do believe that Semarang is dominantly occupied by Indonesian people. However, it is proved that English has shown its domination in the space, with no real users in the field. It is there for its commercials effects and association, based on the shared assumption of its prestige, modernity, beauty and power.