Historical Linguistics

Anthropology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Tavárez
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Historical Linguistics ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
European Languages ◽  
The Impact

Historical linguistics is a discipline with strong interdisciplinary connections to sociocultural anthropology, ethnohistory, and archaeology. While the study of language change and etymology can be traced back to ancient societies in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Asia, a number of important methodological approaches emerged in the late 18th century, when European scholars who were engaged in colonial administration set the foundations for research in Indo-European languages. Contemporary historical linguistics has maintained a focus on several large-scale questions, such as the origins of the language faculty; the classification and typology of the world’s languages; the time depth of major language changes; ancient writing systems; the impact of linguistic and cultural contacts on language change; the emergence of pidgins and creoles; the influence of colonial expansion and evangelization projects on language change; and the interface among literacy practices, language change, and the social order. This article outlines all of these important inquiries, with a particular stress on the sustained interaction among historical linguistics, anthropology, and ethnohistory. This survey has two focii: the first one is languages of the Americas, and the second one is ethnohistorical and philological methodology. This choice in focus conveys existing historical strengths and showcases our current knowledge about language contact and language change in the Americas.

scholarly journals Development of PM<sub>2.5</sub> source impact spatial fields using a hybrid source apportionment air quality model

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 2153-2165 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. Ivey ◽  
H. A. Holmes ◽  
Y. T. Hu ◽  
J. A. Mulholland ◽  
A. G. Russell
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Source Apportionment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Major Ions ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Direct Method ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Adjustment Factors ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. An integral part of air quality management is knowledge of the impact of pollutant sources on ambient concentrations of particulate matter (PM). There is also a growing desire to directly use source impact estimates in health studies; however, source impacts cannot be directly measured. Several limitations are inherent in most source apportionment methods motivating the development of a novel hybrid approach that is used to estimate source impacts by combining the capabilities of receptor models (RMs) and chemical transport models (CTMs). The hybrid CTM–RM method calculates adjustment factors to refine the CTM-estimated impact of sources at monitoring sites using pollutant species observations and the results of CTM sensitivity analyses, though it does not directly generate spatial source impact fields. The CTM used here is the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, and the RM approach is based on the chemical mass balance (CMB) model. This work presents a method that utilizes kriging to spatially interpolate source-specific impact adjustment factors to generate revised CTM source impact fields from the CTM–RM method results, and is applied for January 2004 over the continental United States. The kriging step is evaluated using data withholding and by comparing results to data from alternative networks. Data withholding also provides an estimate of method uncertainty. Directly applied (hybrid, HYB) and spatially interpolated (spatial hybrid, SH) hybrid adjustment factors at withheld observation sites had a correlation coefficient of 0.89, a linear regression slope of 0.83 ± 0.02, and an intercept of 0.14 ± 0.02. Refined source contributions reflect current knowledge of PM emissions (e.g., significant differences in biomass burning impact fields). Concentrations of 19 species and total PM2.5 mass were reconstructed for withheld observation sites using HYB and SH adjustment factors. The mean concentrations of total PM2.5 at withheld observation sites were 11.7 (± 8.3), 16.3 (± 11), 8.59 (± 4.7), and 9.2 (± 5.7) μg m−3 for the observations, CTM, HYB, and SH predictions, respectively. Correlations improved for concentrations of major ions, including nitrate (CMAQ–DDM (decoupled direct method): 0.404, SH: 0.449), ammonium (CMAQ–DDM: 0.454, SH: 0.492), and sulfate (CMAQ–DDM: 0.706, SH: 0.730). Errors in simulated concentrations of metals were reduced considerably: 295 % (CMAQ–DDM) to 139 % (SH) for vanadium; and 1340 % (CMAQ–DDM) to 326 % (SH) for manganese. Errors in simulated concentrations of some metals are expected to remain given the uncertainties in source profiles. Species concentrations were reconstructed using SH results, and the error relative to observed concentrations was greatly reduced as compared to CTM-simulated concentrations. Results demonstrate that the hybrid method along with a spatial extension can be used for large-scale, spatially resolved source apportionment studies where observational data are spatially and temporally limited.

scholarly journals Exposure to airborne gold nanoparticles: a review of current toxicological data on the respiratory tract

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara De Berardis ◽  
Magda Marchetti ◽  
Anna Risuglia ◽  
Federica Ietto ◽  
Carla Fanizza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gold Nanoparticles ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Engineered Nanoparticles ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Field Exposure ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn recent years, the introduction of innovative low-cost and large-scale processes for the synthesis of engineered nanoparticles with at least one dimension less than 100 nm has led to countless useful and extensive applications. In this context, gold nanoparticles stimulated a growing interest, due to their peculiar characteristics such as ease of synthesis, chemical stability and optical properties. This stirred the development of numerous applications especially in the biomedical field. Exposure of manufacturers and consumers to industrial products containing nanoparticles poses a potential risk to human health and the environment. Despite this, the precise mechanisms of nanomaterial toxicity have not yet been fully elucidated. It is well known that the three main routes of exposure to nanomaterials are by inhalation, ingestion and through the skin, with inhalation being the most common route of exposure to NPs in the workplace. To provide a complete picture of the impact of inhaled gold nanoparticles on human health, in this article, we review the current knowledge about the physico-chemical characteristics of this nanomaterial, in the size range of 1–100 nm, and its toxicity for pulmonary structures both in vitro and in vivo. Studies comparing the toxic effect of NPs larger than 100 nm (up to 250 nm) are also discussed.

scholarly journals Climate Perspectives in the Intra–Americas Seas

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 959
Author(s):  
Ana María Durán-Quesada ◽  
Rogert Sorí ◽  
Paulina Ordoñez ◽  
Luis Gimeno
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Weather And Climate ◽  
The Impact

The Intra–Americas Seas region is known for its relevance to air–sea interaction processes, the contrast between large water masses and a relatively small continental area, and the occurrence of extreme events. The differing weather systems and the influence of variability at different spatio–temporal scales is a characteristic feature of the region. The impact of hydro–meteorological extreme events has played a huge importance for regional livelihood, having a mostly negative impact on socioeconomics. The frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events and droughts are often discussed in terms of their impact on economic activities and access to water. Furthermore, future climate projections suggest that warming scenarios are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme events, which poses a major threat to vulnerable communities. In a region where the economy is largely dependent on agriculture and the population is exposed to the impact of extremes, understanding the climate system is key to informed policymaking and management plans. A wealth of knowledge has been published on regional weather and climate, with a majority of studies focusing on specific components of the system. This study aims to provide an integral overview of regional weather and climate suitable for a wider community. Following the presentation of the general features of the region, a large scale is introduced outlining the main structures that affect regional climate. The most relevant climate features are briefly described, focusing on sea surface temperature, low–level circulation, and rainfall patterns. The impact of climate variability at the intra–seasonal, inter–annual, decadal, and multi–decadal scales is discussed. Climate change is considered in the regional context, based on current knowledge for natural and anthropogenic climate change. The present challenges in regional weather and climate studies have also been included in the concluding sections of this review. The overarching aim of this work is to leverage information that may be transferred efficiently to support decision–making processes and provide a solid foundation on regional weather and climate for professionals from different backgrounds.

scholarly journals Phylogenetic Methods in Historical Linguistics: Greek as a Case Study

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne O. Mooers ◽  
Panayiotis A. Pappas
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Historical Linguistics ◽  
General Mechanism ◽  
Current Frequency ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Lexical Change ◽  
History Of

AbstractWe review and assess the different ways in which research in evolutionary-theory-inspired biology has influenced research in historical linguistics, and then focus on an evolutionary-theory inspired claim for language change made by Pagel et al. (2007). They report that the more Swadesh-list lexemes are used, the less likely they are to change across 87 Indo-European languages, and posit that frequency-of-use of a lexical item is a separate and general mechanism of language change. We test a corollary of this conclusion, namely that current frequency-of-use should predict the amount of change within individual languages through time. We devise a scale of lexical change that recognizes sound change, analogical change and lexical replacement and apply it to cognate pairs on the Swadesh list between Homeric and Modern Greek. Current frequency-of-use only weakly predicts the amount of change within the history of Greek, but amount of change does predict the number of forms across Indo-European. Given that current frequency-of-use and past frequency-of-use may be only weakly correlated for many Swadesh-list lexemes, and given previous research that shows that frequency-of-use can both hinder and facilitate lexical change, we conclude that it is premature to claim that a new mechanism of language change has been discovered. However, we call for more in-depth comparative study of general mechanisms of language change, including further tests of the frequency-of-use hypothesis.

scholarly journals Suppletion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ljuba N. Veselinova
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Special Functions ◽  
Complementary Distribution ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Syntactic Status ◽  
Language Areas ◽  
Linguistic Units ◽  
Linguistic Phenomenon

The term suppletion is used to indicate the unpredictable encoding of otherwise regular semantic or grammatical relations. Standard examples in English include the present and past tense of the verb go, cf. go vs. went, or the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives such as good or bad, cf. good vs. better vs. best, or bad vs. worse vs. worst. The complementary distribution of different forms to express a paradigmatic contrast has been noticed already in early grammatical traditions. However, the idea that a special form would supply missing forms in a paradigm was first introduced by the neogrammarian Hermann Osthoff, in his work of 1899. The concept of suppletion was consolidated in modern linguistics by Leonard Bloomfield, in 1926. Since then, the notion has been applied to both affixes and stems. In addition to the application of the concept to linguistic units of varying morpho-syntactic status, such as affixes, or stems of different lexical classes such as, for instance, verbs, adjectives, or nouns, the student should also be prepared to encounter frequent discrepancies between uses of the concept in the theoretical literature and its application in more descriptively oriented work. There are models in which the term suppletion is restricted to exceptions to inflectional patterns only; consequently, exceptions to derivational patterns are not accepted as instantiations of the phenomenon. Thus, the comparative degrees of adjectives will be, at best, less prototypical examples of suppletion. Treatments of the phenomenon vary widely, to the point of being complete opposites. A strong tendency exists to regard suppletion as an anomaly, a historical artifact, and generally of little theoretical interest. A countertendency is to view the phenomenon as challenging, but nonetheless very important for adequate theory formation. Finally, there are scholars who view suppletion as a functionally motivated result of language change. For a long time, the database on suppletion, similarly to many other phenomena, was restricted to Indo-European languages. With the solidifying of wider cross-linguistic research and linguistic typology since the 1990s, the database on suppletion has been substantially extended. Large-scale cross-linguistic studies have shown that the phenomenon is observed in many different languages around the globe. In addition, it appears as a systematic cross-linguistic phenomenon in that it can be correlated with well-defined language areas, language families, specific lexemic groups, and specific slots in paradigms. The latter can be shown to follow general markedness universals. Finally, the lexemes that show suppletion tend to have special functions in both lexicon and grammar.

Metalinguistic comments and multilingual awareness: Estonian-Russian language contacts in blogs

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-415
Author(s):  
Anna Verschik
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Metalinguistic Awareness ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
Estonian Language ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe paper focuses on the manifestation of multilingual awareness (MLA) and the impact of Estonian in Russian-language blogs by ethnic Russians. MLA can be defined as “an ability to focus on linguistic form and to switch focus between form and meaning” (Jessner, Ulrike. 2014. On multilingual awareness or why the multilingual learner is a specific language learner. In Miroslaw Pawlak & Larissa Aronin (eds.), Essential topics in applied linguistics and multilingualism. Studies in Honor of David Singleton, 175–184. Wien: Springer.). The purpose is to show that metalinguistic comments form as a subcategory of metalinguistic awareness, i.e., the latter conditions the former but not vice versa. I consider not only explicit examples of metalinguistic comments, such as discussion on differences between Russian of Russia and Russian in Estonia, proficiency in Estonian, sometimes including discussions on fine points of Estonian grammar, but also implicit and more subtle examples, such as visual separation of Estonian stems and Russian inflections, playful switches from Cyrillic to Latin characters and back within a sentence or even a word. All blogs are in the Live Journal environment, a medium which combines features of stand-alone blogs and social networks. The bloggers are reasonably proficient in Estonian and work or study in a predominantly Estonian-language environment. Data comes from fifteen blogs from the period 2008–2012. The bloggers position themselves as autonomous language users and consider blogs as their private virtual space with an individual language policy. This is in accordance with the views of some contact linguists (e.g., Thomason, Sara Grey. 2007. Language contact and deliberate change. Journal of Language Contact 1. 41–62.), who consider change by deliberate decision as one of the mechanisms of contact-induced language change.

The Impact of Contact Languages on the Degrammaticalization of the Hebrew Definite Article

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 283-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edit Doron ◽  
Irit Meir
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Historical Linguistics ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Definite Article ◽  
Syntactic Category ◽  
Semantic Change ◽  
Modern Hebrew ◽  
Internal Change ◽  
The Impact

The Hebrew articleha- is apparently undergoing a process of degrammaticalization within Modern Hebrew. Its distribution has been changing in a particular direction that is unexpected from the point of view of historical linguistics. Whereas in Classical Hebrew it was found with a limited number of lexical items, it now attaches to a variety of phrases. This change is indicative of a change in its morpho-syntactic category: it is becoming more a clitic than an affix. The morpho-syntactic change is accompanied by a semantic change; its function is to mark the definiteness of the phrase it attaches to, rather than being part of the Classical Hebrew state system. We propose that the change has its roots in a language-internal change that affected the periphrastic genitive construction of Mishnaic Hebrew and was enhanced through several phases of language contact such as the contact of Medieval Hebrew with Arabic and the contact of nineteenth-century Hasidic Hebrew with Yiddish.

Hong Kong written Chinese

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dingxu Shi
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Local Variation ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Government Documents ◽  
Standard Chinese ◽  
Syntactic Behavior ◽  
Bilingualism And Multilingualism ◽  
The Impact

Hong Kong written Chinese is the register used in government documents, serious literature and the formal sections of printed media. It is a local variation of Standard Chinese and has many special features in its lexicon, syntax and discourse. These features come from three distinctive sources: English, Cantonese and innovation. The main concern of this paper is which features come from English and how they are adopted. It is shown that Hong Kong written Chinese has a large number of English loan words, both localized and semi-localized ones, and quite a few calque forms from English. Some of its lexical items have undergone semantic shift under the influence of English or Cantonese. The most interesting characteristic of Hong Kong written Chinese is that a number of its words have changed their syntactic behavior due to English influence and a few syntactic structures are apparently adopted from English. This particular form of written Chinese thus provides an excellent case to study the impact of bilingualism and multilingualism on language use and language change induced by language contact.

scholarly journals The state and dynamics of the Russian mass consciousness and behavioral practices under the covid-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 739-754
Author(s):  
M. K. Gorshkov ◽  
I. O. Tyurina
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Human Potential ◽  
Sociological Study ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

The expansion of the covid-19 has created a new pandemic social reality. In fact, for the first time in modern history, mankind faces a global crisis determined not by geopolitical or economic challenges but by a disease which spreads in most countries and all continents as a pandemic, which affects the current social-economic processes and development forecasts, reveals and intensifies the most acute social problems, and significantly transformed the functioning of the contemporary society. The pandemic was a complete surprise for the world and national communities - a surprise not so much medical or epidemiological as social. Already at the beginning of the pandemic, there was an opposition of two approaches to its probable social consequences. Some experts believed that it would change the society radically and irreversibly, would transform social institutions and change everyday life, and the world will never be the same. Others argued that the new social practices would not affect the deepest foundations of the established social order which would be later restored in its pre-coronavirus form [10]. However, it is obvious that the global and extraordinary social upheavals caused by the pandemic would have large-scale social consequences that need to be described and analyzed, in particular the impact of the coronavirus on the most important spheres and aspects of life as assessed by the people. The article is based on the results of the all-Russian sociological study and presents a comprehensive analysis of the Russian life under the pandemic. The authors provide data on the dynamics of material and social situation of Russians, explain the impact of the pandemic on the social-psychological well-being, public mentality and spiritual atmosphere. The authors pay particular attention to the behavioral practices of different groups of the Russian population according to their adaptation to new social-economic conditions, preservation and development of human potential, and view of the countrys future.

Nanomedicine as a Newly Emerging Approach Against Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB)

2017 ◽  
pp. 50-73
Author(s):  
Muthupandian Saravanan ◽  
Kebret Duche ◽  
Tsehaye Asmelash ◽  
Araya Gebreyesus ◽  
Anima Nanda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Current Treatment ◽  
Diagnostic Assays ◽  
Resistant Tuberculosis ◽  
Mdr Tb ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
The Impact

Emergence of MDR-TB is highly associated with morbidity and mortality and it needs high concerns about the possibility of a future TB epidemic as limited therapeutic options are available. The current treatment against TB needs daily administration for at least 6 months. That in turn leads to the development and spread of drug-resistant TB. Plenty of work has been done in nanomedicine that provides hope to encounter TB effectively. In the developing world the development of nanoparticle-based aerosol vaccines for tuberculosis has potential applications using on a large scale at relatively low cost, and particularly attractive for use. This book review examines the current TB diagnostic assays and treatment by nanotechnologies and highlight recent advances in Anti-TB Drug (ATD) delivery systems and anti-TB drug encapsulation. It also discusses the impact of the nanoparticles as an emerging treatment against MDR-TB and discusses the current knowledge and potential nanomedicine to improve MDR-TB therapy.

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