English modal enclitic constructions: a diachronic, usage-based study of ’d and ’ll

English modal enclitics (’d and ’ll) are typically conceived of as colloquial pronunciation variants that are semantically identical to their respective full forms (would and will). Although this conception has already been challenged by Nesselhauf, Nadja. 2014. From contraction to construction? The recent life of ’ll. In Marianne Hundt (ed.), Late modern English syntax, 77–89. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press and Daugs, Robert. 2021. Contractions, constructions and constructional change: Investigating the constructionhood of English modal contractions from a diachronic perspective. In Martin Hilpert, Bert Cappelle & Ilse Depraetere (eds.), Modality and diachronic construction grammar, 12–52. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, who argue for the constructional status of both enclitics, the present study proposes a refinement according to which the differences between enclitics and full forms can be pinpointed to specific co-occurrence patterns. Rather than rashly postulating a general ’d-construction or an ’ll-construction, the data indicate that lower-level instances, like I’d V, we’ll V, or it would V, are very much capable of capturing the meaning differences between enclitics and full forms without recourse to higher, more abstract level. This is achieved by assessing the changes in the associative links these patterns entertain in a data-driven, bottom-up fashion. By utilizing the COHA and a variety of quantitative methods, it can be shown that, although enclitic patterns become more frequent and more varied, they remain overall still more restricted than the full forms, which promotes the emergence of ‘new’ symbolic associations. The results are integrated into current research in Diachronic Construction Grammar (Hilpert, Martin. 2013. Constructional change in English: Developments in allomorphy, word formation, and syntax. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Hilpert, Martin. 2021. Ten lectures in diachronic construction grammar. Leiden: Brill) and dynamic, network-oriented models of language (Schmid, Hans-Jörg. 2020. The dynamics of the linguistic system: Usage, conventionalization, and entrenchment. Oxford: Oxford University Press).

Corpus stylistics and colour symbolism in The Great Gatsby and its Thai translations

The present study adopts a corpus stylistic approach to: (1) examine a relationship between textual patterns of colour words in The Great Gatsby and their symbolic interpretations and (2) investigate the ways those patterns are handled in Thai translations. Distribution and co-occurrence patterns were analysed for colour words that are key in the novel: white, grey, yellow and lavender. The density and frequent patterns of each word are argued to foreground an association between the colour word and particular concepts, pointing to symbolic meaning potentials related to the novel’s themes of socioeconomic inequality and destructive wealth. The textual patterns are compared with what occurs in three Thai translations of the novel. While most of the colour images are directly translated, non-equivalents tend to be applied to figurative uses of the colour terms. This results in some changes in textual patterns of the colour words in the translated texts, which can in turn affect readers’ interpretations of colour symbolism in the novel.

Positive Interactions Drive Bat Distribution in a Remote Oceanic Archipelago (Azores, Portugal)

One of the fundamental interests in ecology is understanding which factors drive species’ distribution. We aimed to understand the drivers of bat distribution and co-occurrence patterns in a remote, insular system. The two bat species known to occur in the Azores archipelago were used as a model. Echolocation calls were recorded at 414 point-locations haphazardly distributed across the archipelago. Calls were analysed and assigned to each species. Binominal generalised linear models were adjusted using different descriptors at two scales: archipelago and island. The presence of the co-occurring species was included at both scales. The results show that island isolation, habitat and climate play an essential role on the archipelago and island scales, respectively. However, the positive interaction between bat species was the most critical driver of species’ distribution at the island scale. This high co-occurrence pattern at the island scale may result from both species’ maximising foraging profit in a region where prey abundance may be highly variable. However, further research is necessary to clarify the mechanisms behind this positive interaction. Both species are threatened and lack specific management and protection measures. Maintaining this positive interaction between the two species may prove to be fundamental for their conservation.

Spatial associations between plants and vegetation community characteristics provide insights into the processes influencing plant rarity

Determining the drivers of plant rarity is a major challenge in ecology. Analysing spatial associations between different plant species can provide an exploratory avenue for understanding the ecological drivers of plant rarity. Here, we examined the different types of spatial associations between rare and common plants to determine if they influence the occurrence patterns of rare species. We completed vegetation surveys at 86 sites in woodland, forest, and heath communities in south-east Australia. We also examined two different rarity measures to quantify how categorisation criteria affected our results. Rare species were more likely to have positive associations with both rare and common species across all three vegetation communities. However, common species had positive or negative associations with rare and other common species, depending on the vegetation community in which they occurred. Rare species were positively associated with species diversity in forest communities. In woodland communities, rare species were associated negatively with species diversity but positively associated with species evenness. Rare species with high habitat specificity were more clustered spatially than expected by chance. Efforts to understand the drivers of plant rarity should use rarity definitions that consider habitat specificity. Our findings suggest that examining spatial associations between plants can help understand the drivers of plant rarity.