Typological Differences Research Articles

The Late Gravettian Site of Kostënki 21 Layer III, Russia: a Chronocultural Reassessment Based on a New Interpretation of the Significance of Intra-site Spatial Patterning

The site of Kostenki 21 (also known as Gmelin or Gmelinskaia) is located on the very edge of the Don River at Kostenki (Voronezh Oblast, Russia). The main archaeological horizon, layer III, is dated to c. 23,000–21,000 14C BP (c. 27,500–24,500 cal BP) and contained six concentrations of archaeological material, mostly interpreted as the remains of dwelling structures. A substantial Gravettian lithic assemblage was found. The site has traditionally been seen as without parallels within the Gravettian chronocultural framework of Eastern Europe. It has long been noted that clear differences in the lithic typology and faunal assemblages of the six concentrations can be used to separate them into two groups, but this has previously been attributed to differences in the activities carried out in the two areas. In this paper, we argue that the two parts of the site were created at different times and that one part of the site can potentially be grouped with several other sites in Russia and Ukraine on lithic techno-typological grounds. The degree of patination of the flint artefacts found at the site provides support for our interpretation.

Impact of urban block typology on building solar potential and energy use efficiency in tropical high-density city

This paper presents the results of an investigation on the relationship between urban block typology, solar energy harvesting potential and building energy use efficiency in the context of the tropical high-density city Singapore. Thirty generic urban block cases in six typologies that represent a diverse range of urban forms were examined through simulation-based studies under the same planning conditions and simulation assumptions so as to rule out the impact of non-design related factors. Several key planning and geometric parameters which capture the formal characteristics of the urban blocks were examined as independent variables, and the dependent variables include the performance indicators on solar energy harvesting potential and building net energy use intensity that capture the dual benefits of photovoltaic (PV) systems in reducing building cooling loads and offsetting local plug loads with electricity generated on site. The results indicate that, under the same planning conditions and design premises, differences in urban block typology could lead to up to 200% increase in solar energy harvesting potential and electricity generated from rooftop PV, twelve times higher rate of reduction in building cooling loads, tow times higher rate of reduction in net purchased electricity, and 25% lower building net energy use intensity. The courtyard and hybrid urban block typologies consistently outperform the other typologies, especially the commonly implemented tower and slab blocks, and they benefit the most from PV deployment in the tropics. The comparison between an existing residential precinct and a hypothetical alternative hybrid urban block further demonstrated the significant impact of urban design on efficiency of PV electricity generation and building energy use efficiency. In addition to the significant economic benefit in reduction in utility cost and environmental implication in terms of equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions on urban scale, this study highlights the crucial role that urban design plays in terms of maximising on-site renewable energy production such as solar energy. The significant planning and geometric parameters in relation to the performance indicators provide insight as reference for establishing solar energy friendly urban planning and architectural design guidelines. The methodology and technical workflow as developed can support reliable and efficient feasibility studies, especially in the early stage of urban planning and architectural design. Integrated with other performance evaluations, they can facilitate decision-making on implementation of renewable energy integrated green building technologies and passive design strategies.

Analisis Faktor Produksi Kalapa Sawit Rakyat Menurut Tipologi Lahan di Kabupaten Indragiri Hilir Provinsi Riau

Heriyanto et al, 2018. Analysis of the Production Factors of the People's Palm Oil According to the Land Typology in Indragiri Hilir Regency, Riau Province. JLSO 7(1): Palm oil commodities are one of the plantation sub-sector commodities that increase the income of farmers and the community, provide processing industry raw materials that create added value. The land cultivated by independent oil palm farmers consists of land land, tidal peatlands, coastal peatlands and coastal land. The difference in typology of this land will contribute to different production. The research aimed to analyze the oil palm production and the dominant factor affecting oil palm production according to the typology of land in Indragiri Hilir Riau Province. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and built multiple regression models with the dummy variable method of Ordinary Least Square (OLS). The results of the study showed that the production of oil palm cultivation on land is the highest compared to the typology of tidal peatland, coastal peat and coastal land. The dominant factors affecting palm oil production in Indragiri Hilir Regency were the amount of fertilizer use, labor, age of plants, herbicides and dummy typology of land. In order to obtain optimal production, this study recommended doing oil palm farming in accordance with the correct cultivation techniques in accordance with the characteristics of land typology. Besides that the use of balanced fertilizer (elements of N, P, and K) in accordance with the recommended needed to be applied.

Contrastive Analysis of Bulgarian and Russian Syntax Peculiarities

[Rev. of: Gradinarova Alla A., Essays on the Comparative Syntax of Bulgarian and Russian, Sofia: Iztok-Zapad, 2017, 500 pp.] This article presents a review of the book by a major Bulgarian researcher of Russian, professor of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” Alla Gradinarova, whose scholarly interests focus mainly on the contrastive syntax of Bulgarian and Russian. In the new monograph, the author concentrates largely on the points of divergence in these languages stemming from their typological differences: passive voice and syntactic impersonality, word order, communicatively marked phrasal templates, various types of multi-clause structures ranging from verbal adverb phrases to complex and asyndetic sentences, etc. The contrastive analysis of the language data helps to reveal significant characteristics of the studied phenomena. This allows the use of the obtained results and data not only in typology and contrastive linguistics, but also in the study of the Russian language, as the approach of the author in her studies is based on a profound analysis of Russian data. The book constitutes a major contribution to studies in contrastive syntax of Slavic languages.

Preliminary results of the Getahovit-2 Cave excavations in 2018

Except for the newly discovered archaeological sites that can be determined as classical models (keys), additional, deeper, information and examination in the study of the Chalcolithic period of Armenia can be found in the caves, rock shelters and open-air camps. In that list, Getahovit-2 cave has its own niche, in terms of the environmental context and its being very well stratified and dated due to systematic excavations. Moreover, the cave is the perfect example of a place that was used by pastoralist groups as a sheep and goat keeping place during the Chalcolithic period in the region and the first, where the phenomenon has been fixed and studies as well. The cave is located in the valley (N 40°54’38.5’’, E 045°05’59.7’’) formed by the Khachaghbyur River (the tributary of Aghstev River) at an elevation of c. 968 m.a.s.l., between the modern villages of Yenokavan and Getahovit (Tavush region). It consists of two halls: the first, opening to the south, covering an area of 64 m2, and the second accessed through a narrow passageway. The excavations, conducted by the Armenian-French joint project, began there in 2011 and continued until 2017. The results yielded cultural deposits nearly 2 m deep, with Medieval horizons, overlaying the Chalcolithic period. Finally, the Upper Palaeolithic horizon has been fixed by deep test sounding. With its radiocarbon dates, the Chalcolithic period attested from Getahovit-2 cave is placed very well in the middle sequence of the chronological chart based on radiometric dating. Additionally, one result showed very early Chalcolithic period presence (5289-4995 cal BC), which is extremely interesting. This contribution presents the preliminary results of the 2018 excavations undertaken by the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, NAS RA, with the financial support of the Ijevan Wine-Brandy Factory. Although only the preliminary results will be presented, some important particularities will be stressed in terms of the typological and technological differences of the pottery in comparison with the previous collections found in the cave. The discussion will concern the general situation and description of the newly excavated Chalcolithic layers after they were covered by mud streams mixed with small stones flowing into the hall. Some questions of stratigraphy will be presented which could be correlated with previous seasons’ excavations.

STATUS VOCATIVES IN THE ANNUAL ADDRESS TO PARLIAMENT IN RUSSIAN, AMERICAN AND BRITISH POLITICAL DISCOURSE

The paper describes dynamic aspects of the status vocative system in Russian, American and British political communication. It investigates Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly in Russia, Speech from the Throne in Great Britain and State of the Union Address in the USA as a special genre of political discourse. The author analyzes vocatives in 25 Presidential Addresses to the Federal Assembly in Russia (1994-2019), 232 State of the Union Addresses in the USA (1790-2019) and Speeches from the Throne in Great Britain (1727-2017). The paper considers the problem of typological differences and similarities in British, Russian and American political discourse. Terms of address in political communication are means of identifying reference groups. As address formulas are frequently used, their influencing potential may get weaker. So top public officials have to use a great variety of linguistic means to attract the attention of the addressees. The study shows that status terms of address play a significant role in American and Russian political discourse and British monarchs use only status vocatives in Speeches from the Throne. The American presidents use more varied forms of address (special status vocatives and general status terms of address, zero and emotive vocatives, and anthroponyms) in comparison to those used in Presidential Addresses to the Federal Assembly in Russia (special status vocatives, zero and emotive vocatives) and Speeches from the Throne in Great Britain (only special status vocatives). Using terms of address contributes to shortening the social status distance between the leaders of the countries and the addressees.

Text-setting Constraints in English Songs Sung by Native Korean Speakers

This study explores text-setting phenomena in English and Korean children’s songs, asserting that the constraints that regulate the alignment of a specific language to music differ according to the typological and phonological difference of the language. Within the Optimality Theory framework, the two representative constraints that pertain to text-setting are tested with children’s songs in English and Korean. As a result, the metrical constraint critically operates for universal text-setting patterns in English verses, whereas the grouping constraint ranks high for Korean verses. These reversed rankings represent that English follows a stress-to-beat mapping system while Korean versification works at a syllable-to-note mapping system. Based on this difference, this study attempts to observe the text-setting patterns in English children’s songs by native Korean speakers. Through the analysis, it is observed that English versification by native Korean speakers shows different text-setting patterns from the universal patterns by native English speakers. The Korean participants prefer to fulfill the grouping constraint rather than the metrical constraint in English text-setting. In addition, the native phonological grammar also affects English syllabification since vowel epenthesis occurs after an obstruent coda in English lyrics. This nativization process of English verse causes idiosyncratic text-setting form by native Korean speakers. Through the analyses, it is suggested that the relative importance of constraints depends on a specific language, and that the native phonology can affect the versification of a foreign language.

High nature value farmlands: challenges in identification and interpretation using Cyprus as a case study

High Nature Value Farmland systems (HNVf) in Europe are recognised for their importance for biodiversity conservation and their extent is one of the impact indicators in the CAP monitoring and evaluation framework for the 2014–2020 cycle. Due to differences in farming typologies and data availability between nations, a common methodology for identifying HNVf does not exist, nor is considered appropriate. In the current study we use the Mediterranean island of Cyprus as a case study to highlight EU-wide issues for the identification and mapping of HNVf. We brought together under a common spatial framework datasets on farming typology, agro-chemical inputs, water use intensity and biodiversity data collected from public authorities and nature/biodiversity conservation organisations. Using an expert driven approach informed by a range of stakeholders, we identified and mapped potential HNVf areas employing a 1 km2 mapping grid as the reporting spatial framework under two storylines for defining farmland area within every grid cell: a liberal with 10% threshold and a conservative with 25% threshold. Areas containing potentially HNVf may extend from 22.5–34.5% of the island, depending on the storyline employed. HNVf Type I is the more restricted type for both storylines, while Type II is the most extensive. The highest overlap was between Type II and Type III for the liberal storyline and between Type I and II for the conservative storyline. HNVfs cover an area between 30 to 57% of the Natura2000 network on the island depending on the storyline. With the liberal storyline for farmland definition, the spatial extent of HNVfs together with the existing Natura2000 sites cover 90% of the study area, while with the conservative storyline this figure drops to ca.75%. The results confirm the role of HNVfs within and around Natura2000 sites in Cyprus and their potential for providing connection and site buffering opportunities, particularly in the lowlands, while they can provide information about policy-making for agri-environmental payments targeting.

중국어와 한국어 복문의 비교

Based on the results of the research on the subject of the complex sentences, this paper analyzes the characteristics of the complex sentences between Chinese and Korean brought by the typological difference and the different views in how to construct the complex sentences between Chinese and Korean. Complex sentences in Korean are composed by conjunction and embedding, while Chinese only accepts conjunction without embedding. As a result, there are notable differences in detailed definitions, classification methods, characteristics, and main subjects of study between the two languages.

Synthesised bigrams using word embeddings for code-switched ASR of four South African language pairs

Code-switching is the phenomenon whereby multilingual speakers spontaneously alternate between more than one language during discourse and is widespread in multilingual societies. Current state-of-the-art automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems are optimised for monolingual speech, but performance degrades severely when presented with multiple languages. We address ASR of speech containing switches between English and four South African Bantu languages. No comparable study on code-switched speech for these languages has been conducted before and consequently no directly applicable benchmarks exist. A new and unique corpus containing 14.3 hours of spontaneous speech extracted from South African soap operas was used to perform our study. The varied nature of the code-switching in this data presents many challenges to ASR. We focus specifically on how the language model can be improved to better model bilingual language switches for English-isiZulu, English-isiXhosa, English-Setswana and English-Sesotho. Code-switching examples in the corpus transcriptions were extremely sparse, with the majority of code-switched bigrams occurring only once. Furthermore, differences in language typology between English and the Bantu languages and among the Bantu languages themselves contribute further challenges. We propose a new method using word embeddings trained on text data that is both out-of-domain and monolingual for the synthesis of artificial bilingual code-switched bigrams to augment the sparse language modelling training data. This technique has the particular advantage of not requiring any additional training data that includes code-switching. We show that the proposed approach is able to synthesise valid code-switched bigrams not seen in the training set. We also show that, by augmenting the training set with these bigrams, we are able to achieve notable reductions for all language pairs in the overall perplexity and particularly substantial reductions in the perplexity calculated across a language switch boundary (between 5 and 31%). We demonstrate that the proposed approach is able to reduce the unseen code-switched bigram types in the test sets by up to 20.5%. Finally, we show that the augmented language models achieve reductions in the word error rate for three of the four language pairs considered. The gains were larger for language pairs with disjunctive orthography than for those with conjunctive orthography. We conclude that the augmentation of language model training data with code-switched bigrams synthesised using word embeddings trained on out-of-domain monolingual text is a viable means of improving the performance of ASR for code-switched speech.

Some Notes on Korean Resultative Small Clauses: Focused on Ko’s (2015b) Typology

Ko (2015b) classifies Korean resultative small clause (RSCs) into four sub-types, due to combinations of two factors, i.e., the RSC''s functional status (complement vs. adjunct) and the RSC subject''s phonological status (overt vs. covert). She accounts for typological differences, especially movement-related behaviors, RSCs display, in terms of the theory of cyclic spell-out (Fox and Pesetsky 2005, Ko 2005). It will be shown in this paper, however, that her system faces non-trivial problems. First, the RSC subject''s phonological status in fact does not contribute to the RSC typology, as subjects in any type can be suppressed in principle, given an appropriate context. Second, -key RSCs may function as a complement (not unambiguously as an adjunct). Third, no proper theory is provided for the ellipsis restrictions that the RSC displays. The present work proposes a control based RSC typology and tries to provide a unified explanation of restrictions on ellipsis as well as movement in RSCs, basically following Chung’s (2007, 2009, 2011) constituency based account of the syntactic restrictions.

Multi-verb constructions in Old Chinese and Middle Chinese

Abstract Multiple verb constructions have been studied intensively in Chinese. However, given the typological differences between the Indo-European languages and Chinese, it is no surprise that the application of a ‘Western’ notion, namely ‘serial verb construction’ (SVC), has caused much debate. This study provides a working definition of ‘SVC’ in Old Chinese and then turns to diachronic issues, for example, the combinatorial possibilities of multiple verbs in Old Chinese, pre-Middle Chinese, and Middle Chinese, clarifying which kind of complex constructions may be regarded as verb serialising and which as verb compounding. With this in place, the study approaches an understanding of the evolution of multiple verb formations in Chinese. The finding reveals that multiple verbs in Old Chinese are combined via verb serialisation. Six combinatorial possibilities are confirmed: (a) unergative V + unergative V; (b) transitive V + unaccusative V; (c) unaccusative V + unaccusative V (change of state); (d) unergative V + unaccusative V; (e) transitive V + transitive V; (f) unaccusative V + unaccusative V (motion). These can be further classified into two groups: Group I: (a)–(d) are successive SVCs; Group II: (e)–(f) are coordinate SVCs. In pre-Middle Chinese, there are signs of verb compounding. The occurrence of disyllabic word roots in the Early Han Dynasty as well as (de)grammaticalisation may be responsible for this. In Middle Chinese, the grammaticalisation of transitive change-of-state verbs, and the degrammaticalisation of motion verbs, led to three different lexical categories: (a) partial intransitive change-of-state verbs turned into resultative complements (resulting in [transitive V + unaccusative V] SVC transiting into predicate-complement V-V (change-of-state)); (b) partial motion verbs degrammaticalised and turned into directional complements (resulting in [unergative V + unaccusative V] SVC transiting into predicate-complement V-V (motion)); and (c) the first verb in [coordinate SVC] receives preverbalisation (giving rise to modifier-predicate V-V).

Can NEG placement have negative consequences (for efficient processing)? A bilingual test case

ABSTRACTThe present study examines the relative processing efficiency of two typologically diverse configurations of sentential negation: immediately preverbal NEG and unbounded clause-final NEG. In order to effect a head-to-head comparison, the data are drawn from a bilingual speech community in the Afro-Colombian village of San Basilio de Palenque, in which two lexically cognate languages are in contact, differing principally in the placement of the sentential negator: Spanish (preverbal NEG) and the Afro-Hispanic creole language Palenquero (clause-final NEG). The results of a series of experiments suggest that preverbal negation is quite robust, while processing of clause-final negation is degraded under increased cognitive demands. Contextual and pragmatic cues ameliorate the processing of likely negative utterances, while unbounded clause-final negation is more vulnerable in ambiguous utterances. The contrasting behavior of Spanish and Palenquero negation highlights the possible role of processing mechanisms as contributing to typological differences among languages.

Improving Vector Space Word Representations Via Kernel Canonical Correlation Analysis

Cross-lingual word embeddings are representations for vocabularies of two or more languages in one common continuous vector space and are widely used in various natural language processing tasks. A state-of-the-art way to generate cross-lingual word embeddings is to learn a linear mapping, with an assumption that the vector representations of similar words in different languages are related by a linear relationship. However, this assumption does not always hold true, especially for substantially different languages. We therefore propose to use kernel canonical correlation analysis to capture a non-linear relationship between word embeddings of two languages. By extensively evaluating the learned word embeddings on three tasks (word similarity, cross-lingual dictionary induction, and cross-lingual document classification) across five language pairs, we demonstrate that our proposed approach achieves essentially better performances than previous linear methods on all of the three tasks, especially for language pairs with substantial typological difference.

A case for using both direct and indirect benchmarking to compare university performance metrics

ABSTRACTBenchmarking is used in higher education as a means to improve and compare performance. Comparative metric benchmarks may take two forms, based on direct standardization (DS) or indirect standardization (IS). DS can be used to measure variation in performance between institutions, controlling for intrinsic differences at each institution (e.g. controlling for differences in student typologies). IS can be used to measure variation in performance between institutions, compared to average performance overall. Typically, IS has been used to moderate educational output metrics, such as student qualification and satisfaction. We contrast the two approaches with an example dataset for three years of nursing student completion rates from nine institutions. Profiles of benchmarks and actual performance indicated that both approaches provide valuable and different perspectives to comparisons of institutional performance. We discuss the potential merits to stakeholders of each approach and conclude that decision-making can be best informed using both benchmark methods.

The Three I's of Diabetes Integration in Emerging Adulthood—Developing a Framework to Individualize Diabetes Care

Transition of care occurs within the developmental context of emerging adulthood (EA; 18-24 years), in which diabetes self-management is challenged as an individual learns to cope with diabetes and develop their independence. With the goal of helping providers individualize support as patients begin adult care, we conducted a qualitative study with 33 emerging adults with type 1 diabetes (51% female, age 20.6±0.3 years, diabetes duration 12±1 years). Individual semi-structured interviews allowed participants to depict their lived experiences with diabetes. We employed a narrative approach to the analysis of interview transcripts and constant comparison was used to identify similarities and differences in narrative typology and thematic content. We identified that participants’ accounts of living with diabetes could be grouped into three broad categories: Ingrained (n=14), Intrusive (n=12) and Inconspicuous (n=7). We interpreted these accounts as different “lenses” through which individuals perceive their diabetes during EA. Participants conveying an Ingrained lens perceived diabetes to be comfortably settled within their daily lives and described self-confidence for management. Participants conveying an Intrusive lens perceived diabetes as disrupting their daily living and described moral sensitivity towards management (i.e., being seen as a ’good’ or ’bad’ self-manager). Participants conveying an Inconspicuous lens told stories that demonstrated their efforts to minimize their diabetes and described disregard for management. HbA1c levels were lower in participants conveying an Ingrained lens (HbA1c (%), Ingrained 7.4±0.2, Intrusive 9.3±0.5 (p<0.01 vs. Ingrained), Inconspicuous 8.4±0.3). Although movement between these domains may be fluid, mixed or incomplete, this framework provides a heuristic strategy to recognize emerging adults’ varying views of their diabetes and presents opportunities for individualizing care accordingly. Disclosure B. Markowitz: None. C. Pritlove: None. G. Mukerji: None. J.V. Lavery: None. J.A. Parsons: None. A. Advani: Research Support; Self; AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH. Other Relationship; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH.

Typological Differences in Morphological Patterns, Gender Features, and Thematic Structure in the L2 Acquisition of Ashaninka Spanish

It has been widely argued that morphological competence, particularly functional morphology, represents the bottleneck of second language acquisition (Jensen et al. 2017; Lardiere 1998, 2005; Slabakova 2008, 2009, 2013). In this study, we explore three challenging aspects of the morphology of Spanish among advanced L1 Ashaninka—L2 Spanish speakers: (i) the acquisition of proclitics and enclitics with inflected verbs; (ii) the distribution of accusative clitics according to the thematic role of the direct object in anaphoric and doubling structures; and (iii) the distribution of clitic forms and their association with gender features. Our results show evidence of the L2 acquisition of clitic structures in L2 Spanish speakers, and no difference between native and L2 speakers regarding sensitivity to thematic roles. However, there are statistically significant differences between groups in the distribution of the gender specification of the clitic antecedents or doubled determiner phrases (DPs). We take these results as evidence in support of the view that morphological patterns can be acquired (proclitics vs. suffixes) as well as preferences for mapping thematic roles onto clitics, but subtle differences in the continuum of preferences for mapping gender features are more difficult to acquire.

Individual typological differences in a neurally distributed semantic processing system: Revisiting the Science article by Mitchell et al. on computational neurolinguistics

Background: Revisiting the 2008 Science article by Mitchell et al. on computational neurolinguistics, individual typological differences were found as striking characteristics in the patterns of informative voxels crucial for the distributed semantic processing system. Methods: The results of different feature selection methods (ANOVA and Stability) were compared based on the open datasets of each subject for evaluating how these features were decisive in predicting human brain activity associated with language meaning. Results: In general, the two selection results were similar and the voxel-wise ranks were correlated but they became extremely dispersive for a subgroup of subjects exhibiting mediocre precision when examined without regularization. Quite interestingly, looking at the anatomical location of these voxels, it appears that the modality-specific areas were likely to be monitored by the Stability score (indexing “identity”), and that the ANOVA (emphasizing “difference”) tended to detect supramodal semantic areas. Conclusions: This minor finding indicates that in some cases, seemingly poor data may deeply and systematically conceal information that is significant and worthwhile. It may have potential for shedding new light on in the controversy pertaining to cognitive semantics, which is divided into modality-biased (embodied) and amodal symbol theories.

Seismic vulnerability scenarios of Unreinforced Masonry churches in New Zealand

A vulnerability analysis of c.300 unreinforced Masonry churches in New Zealand is presented. The analysis uses a recently developed vulnerability index method (Cattari et al. in Proceedings of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering NZSEE 2015 conference, Rotorua, New Zealand, 2015a; b; SECED 2015 conference: earthquake risk and engineering towards a Resilient World, Cambridge; Goded et al. in Vulnerability analysis of unreinforced masonry churches (EQC 14/660)—final report, 2016; Lagomarsino et al. in Bull Earthq Eng, 2018), specifically designed for New Zealand churches, based on a widely tested approach for European historical buildings. It consists of a macroseismic approach where the seismic hazard is defined by the intensity and correlated to post seismic damage. The many differences in typologies of New Zealand and European churches, with very simple architectural designs and a majority of one nave churches in New Zealand, justified the need to develop a method specifically created for this country. A statistical analysis of the churches damaged during the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence was previously carried out to develop the vulnerability index modifiers for New Zealand churches. This new method has been applied to generate seismic scenarios for each church, based on the most likely seismic event for 500 years return period, using the latest version of New Zealand’s National Seismic Hazard Model. Results show that highly vulnerable churches (e.g. stone churches and/or with a weak structural design) tend to produce higher expected damage even if the intensity level is lower than for less vulnerable churches in areas with slightly higher seismicity. The results of this paper provide a preliminary tool to identify buildings requiring in depth structural analyses. This paper is considered as a first step towards a vulnerability analysis of all the historical buildings in the country, in order to preserve New Zealand’s cultural and historical heritage.

Four- to five-year-olds’ use of word order and prosody in focus marking in Dutch

AbstractThis study investigated Dutch-speaking four- to five-year-olds’ use of word order and prosody in distinguishing focus types (broad focus, narrow focus, and contrastive narrow focus) via an interactive answer-reconstruction game. We have found an overall preference for the unmarked word order SVO and no evidence for the use of OVS to distinguish focus types. But the children used pitch and duration in the subject-nouns to distinguish focus types in SVO sentences. These findings show that Dutch-speaking four- to five-year-olds differ from their German- and Finnish-speaking peers, who show evidence of varying choice of word order to mark specific focus types, and use prosody to distinguish focus types in subject and object nouns in both SVO and OVS sentences. These comparisons suggest that typological differences in the relative importance between word order and prosody can lead to differences in children’s use of word order and prosody in unmarked and marked word orders. A more equal role of word order and prosody in the ambient language can stimulate more extensive use of prosody in the marked word order, whereas a more limited role of word order can restrict the use of prosody in the unmarked word order.