Is there a Prehistory of Linguistics?

1995 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-275
Author(s):  
Colin Renfrew ◽  
Theodora Bynon ◽  
Merritt Ruhlen ◽  
Aron Dolgopolsky ◽  
Peter Bellwood
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Related Language ◽  
The World ◽  
Early Humans ◽  
Easy Answer ◽  
Archaeological Cultures ◽  
Different Parts

There are few aspects of human behaviour more fundamental than our ability to use language. Language plays a key role in the study of any living human society, and of all historical communities which have left us written records. In theory it could also throw enormous light on the development and relationships of prehistoric human communities. But here there is a huge and obvious problem: what evidence can there be for human languages in the pre-literate, prehistoric age? In other words, what hope is therefor a prehistory of linguistics? There is no easy answer, yet it is hard to accept that any account of human prehistory can be considered adequate without some knowledge of prehistoric languages and linguistic relationships, if only at the broadest scale.The list of questions we might wish to pose stretches back to the period of the very earliest hominids. When did our human ancestors first begin to talk to each other? Was language acquisition sudden or gradual? Did human language arise in one place, and then spread and diversify from- that point? Or did it emerge independently, among separate groups of early humans in different parts of the world?Leading on from this is the study of ethnicity and ethnogenesis. Since the end of the nineteenth century one of the biggest problems facing prehistoric archaeologists has been the identification and interpretation of archaeological cultures and cultural groups. Do these have any social or ethnic reality? Is it right to speak of a Beaker ‘folk’? Was the Bandkeramik colonization the work of one people or of many? These questions would be so much easier to resolve if only we could trace the prehistory of languages, and could establish, for instance, whether all Bandkeramik and Beaker users spoke the same or a related language.Such possibilities may seem exciting and hopeful to some, irredeemably optimistic to others. Whatever view we take, they clearly merit serious discussion. In the present Viewpoint, our third in the series, we have asked five writers — two archaeologists (Renfrew & Bellwood), three linguists (Bynon, Ruhlen & Dolgopolsky) — to give their own, personal response to the key question ‘Is there a prehistory of linguistics?’ Can we, from the evidence of archaeology, linguistics (and now DNA studies), say anything positive about langtiage in prehistory?

Global Modernity and Sexual Science

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Ben
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Sexual Drive ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Modernity ◽  
Sexual Science ◽  
History Of ◽  
Different Parts

This chapter examines how the social history of urbanization influenced the emergence of sexual science by focusing on the case of male homosexuality and female prostitution during the period 1850–1950. It first considers the notions of sexual chaos and order that emerged within nineteenth-century anthropology and how they were related to urbanization, with an emphasis on the case of Buenos Aires. It then discusses some aspects of the global history of transportation and urbanization and how it affected prostitution and homosexuality in different parts of the world. It also explores the simultaneous emergence and similarity of the so-called cities of sin and how they became incubators of a sexual science in which the evolution or devolution of human society was debated in sexual terms and described as a fact of daily life. The chapter suggests that “civilization encourages prostitution” as the sexual drive is increasingly put under control.

Fostering Language Acquisition and Intercultural Competence Through Authentic Literary Texts

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-51
Author(s):  
Blasina Cantizano
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
The World ◽  
Practical Proposal ◽  
Theoretical Foundations ◽  
Different Parts

Based on current theoretical foundations, this chapter discusses the advantages of using authentic literature in the EL classroom by providing a first approach to contemporary short stories written in English from different parts of the world. A practical proposal is also provided for language trainers: two multicultural short stories are shown as a means to develop both language acquisition and intercultural communicative competence at B1/B2 levels. The study shows that using authentic literary texts in the EL classroom will enable students not just to improve their reading skills and language input, but also to acquire cultural knowledge and develop critical thinking at the same time.

The Phonetics and Phonology of Geminate Consonants

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Loanword Phonology ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approaches ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Phonological Contrasts ◽  
Different Parts

Geminate consonants, also known as long consonants, appear in many languages in the world, and how they contrast with their short counterparts, or singletons (e.g. /tt/ vs. /t/), is an important topic that features in most linguistics and phonology textbooks. However, neither their phonetic manifestation nor their phonological nature is fully understood, much less their cross-linguistic similarities and differences. As the first volume specifically devoted to the phonetics and phonology of geminate consonants, this book aims to bring together novel, original data and analyses concerning many individual languages in different parts of the world, to present a wide range of perspectives for the study of phonological contrasts in general by introducing various experimental (acoustic, perceptual, physiological, and electrophysiological) and non-experimental methodologies, and to discuss phonological contrasts in a wider context than is generally considered by looking also at the behaviour of geminate consonants in loanword phonology and language acquisition. Studying geminate consonants requires interdisciplinary approaches including experimental phonetics (acoustics and speech perception), theoretical phonology, speech processing, neurolinguistics, and language acquisition. Providing phonetic and phonological details about geminate consonants across languages will greatly contribute to research in these fields.

Academy and Company Needs

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Tiago Martins da Cunha
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Theoretical Knowledge ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Process Data ◽  
Great Volume ◽  
The World ◽  
The University

This chapter presents a view of how the use of NLP knowledge might change the relation between universities and companies. Products from NLP analysis are expected in both ends of this at times not so reciprocal exchange. But history has shown the products developed by universities and companies are complementary for the development of NLP. The great volume of data the world is producing is requiring newer perspectives to provide understanding. These newer aspects found on big data may provide the comprehension of human language categorization and therefore possibly human language acquisition. But to process data more data need to be produced and not all companies have the time to dedicate for this task. This chapter aims to present through sharing literature review and experience in the field that partnerships are the most reliable resource for the cycle of knowledge production in NLP. Companies need to be receptive of the theoretical knowledge the university may provide, and universities must turn their theoretical knowledge for a more applied envionment.

BIOASSAY CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUAL URINARY GONADOTROPHIN EXTRACTS

1963 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-224
Author(s):  
Raymond C. Mellinger ◽  
Jalileh A. Mansour ◽  
Richmond W. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Reference Material ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Reference Standard ◽  
General Acceptance ◽  
Modifying Factors ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
The World ◽  
Quantitative Bioassay ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
Age And Sex

ABSTRACT A reference standard is widely sought for use in the quantitative bioassay of pituitary gonadotrophin recovered from urine. The biologic similarity of pooled urinary extracts obtained from large numbers of subjects, utilizing groups of different age and sex, preparing and assaying the materials by varying techniques in different parts of the world, has lead to a general acceptance of such preparations as international gonadotrophin reference standards. In the present study, however, the extract of pooled urine from a small number of young women is shown to produce a significantly different bioassay response from that of the reference materials. Gonadotrophins of individual subjects likewise varied from the multiple subject standards in many instances. The cause of these differences is thought to be due to the modifying influence of non-hormonal substances extracted from urine with the gonadotrophin and not necessarily to variations in the gonadotrophins themselves. Such modifying factors might have similar effects in a comparative assay of pooled extracts contributed by many subjects, but produce significant variations when material from individual subjects is compared. It is concluded that the expression of potency of a gonadotrophic extract in terms of pooled reference material to which it is not essentially similar may diminish rather than enhance the validity of the assay.

Christianity in the Twentieth Century

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Racial Identity ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Regional Survey ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Different Parts

This book charts the transformation of one of the world's great religions during an age marked by world wars, genocide, nationalism, decolonization, and powerful ideological currents, many of them hostile to Christianity. The book traces how Christianity evolved from a religion defined by the culture and politics of Europe to the expanding polycentric and multicultural faith it is today—one whose growing popular support is strongest in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, China, and other parts of Asia. The book sheds critical light on themes of central importance for understanding the global contours of modern Christianity, illustrating each one with contrasting case studies, usually taken from different parts of the world. Unlike other books on world Christianity, this one is not a regional survey or chronological narrative, nor does it focus on theology or ecclesiastical institutions. The book provides a history of Christianity as a popular faith experienced and lived by its adherents, telling a compelling and multifaceted story of Christendom's fortunes in Europe, North America, and across the rest of the globe. It demonstrates how Christianity has had less to fear from the onslaughts of secularism than from the readiness of Christians themselves to accommodate their faith to ideologies that privilege racial identity or radical individualism.

THE 2019 NOVEL PANDEMIC OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19): A STUDY OF EXISTING EVIDENCE IN THE INDIAN POPULATION

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-204
Author(s):  
Shrikant Verma ◽  
Mohammad Abbas ◽  
Sushma Verma ◽  
Syed Tasleem Raza ◽  
Farzana Mahdi
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Indian Population ◽  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
The World ◽  
And Control ◽  
General Wellbeing ◽  
Different Parts

A novel spillover coronavirus (nCoV), with its epicenter in Wuhan, China's People's Republic, has emerged as an international public health emergency. This began as an outbreak in December 2019, and till November eighth, 2020, there have been 8.5 million affirmed instances of novel Covid disease2019 (COVID-19) in India, with 1,26,611 deaths, resulting in an overall case fatality rate of 1.48 percent. Coronavirus clinical signs are fundamentally the same as those of other respiratory infections. In different parts of the world, the quantity of research center affirmed cases and related passings are rising consistently. The COVID- 19 is an arising pandemic-responsible viral infection. Coronavirus has influenced huge parts of the total populace, which has prompted a global general wellbeing crisis, setting all health associations on high attentive. This review sums up the overall landmass, virology, pathogenesis, the study of disease transmission, clinical introduction, determination, treatment, and control of COVID-19 with the reference to India.

Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Shadle
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Pope Francis ◽  
The World ◽  
Entire Cosmos ◽  
Natural Ecology ◽  
Theological Vision ◽  
New Framework

The conclusion looks at the teaching of Pope Francis, considering the possibility that it represents the emergence of a new framework for Catholic social teaching. Pope Francis has emphasized that the encounter with Jesus Christ brings about an experience of newness and openness. He has also proposed a cosmic theological vision. His concept of “integral ecology,” introduced in his encyclical Laudato Si’, illustrates how human society is interconnected with the natural ecology of the planet earth and the entire cosmos. He proposes that the economy, society, culture, and daily life are all interconnected “ecologies.” In a speech to the World Meeting of Popular Movements in 2015, Pope Francis also explains how social movements devoted to local issues can nevertheless have a profound effect on the structures of the global economy. In his teachings, Pope Francis presents an organicist and communitarian vision of economic life.

Jiangnan Style

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Wickham
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
The World ◽  
Transnational Connections ◽  
New Research ◽  
Different Parts

Building on impressive new research into the concept of a ‘global middle ages’, this chapter offers insights into how economic formations developed around the world. Drawing on new research on both Chinese and Mediterranean economies in the ‘medieval’ period, it compares structures of economy and exchange in very different parts of the world. The point of such comparisons is not simply to find instances of global economic flows but to understand the logic of medieval economic activity and its intersections with power and culture; and, in so doing, to remind historians that economic structures, transnational connections, and the imbrications of economy and politics do not arrive only with modernity, nor is the shape of the ‘modern’ global economy the only pattern known to humankind.

The Struggle for Public Recognition: Understanding Early Marriage through the Lens of Honour and Shame in Six Countries in South Asia and West Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-346
Author(s):  
Esther Miedema ◽  
Winny Koster ◽  
Nicky Pouw ◽  
Philippe Meyer ◽  
Albena Sotirova
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Female Sexuality ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Early Marriage ◽  
Social Standing ◽  
Public Recognition ◽  
The World ◽  
Economic Future ◽  
Different Parts

There is a burgeoning body of research on the role of ‘shame’ and ‘honour’ in decisions regarding early marriage in different parts of the world. Conceptualizing shame and honour as idioms through which gendered socio-economic inequalities are created and maintained, we examine early marriage decisions in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Senegal. While we acknowledge the existence of important differences between countries in terms of the nature and manifestations of shame and honour, we argue that regardless of setting, neither shame and honour, nor female sexuality and chastity can be separated from the socio-economic hierarchies and inequalities. Thus, in this article we seek to identify the cross-cutting dynamic of marriage as a means to overcome the shame associated with young single women’s sexuality, protecting family honour and social standing, and/or securing young women’s social-economic future. Building on our data and available scholarship, we question the potential of emphasizing ‘choice’ as a means of reducing early marriage and advancing women’s emancipation in international development efforts. Instead, we argue in favour of initiatives that engage with young people and caregivers on the ways in which, at grassroot levels, communities may revise narratives of respectability, marriageability and social standing.

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