Earticle

This paper examines English vowels produced by EFL learners, focusing on the characteristics of their formant frequencies. Two data sets of F1 and F2 frequencies of selected ten vowels are compared, with one set based on recordings by eleven informants learning English as a foreign language at a Japanese university and the other set based on an online English dictionary supplied with sound files as pronunciation models in General American. To this end, the geometrical distance between each token and its point of reference. The results show that the method adopted for this study is effective in identifying the quality of each learner's vowel system and in detecting the problems with perception and production of vowels that the learner faces and needs to solve.

This paper discusses the status of English ergative verbs. Ergativity is an important area of English syntax, but there have been divergent views on the concept from various linguistic traditions. The term "ergative" is often used in terms of "ergative language", "ergative case", and "ergative verb". In the first part of this paper, some earlier definitions of ergativity will be reviewed. In addition, the main reason for the terminological confusion between "ergative case" and "ergative verb" will be explained. The second part of the paper presents four proposed defining syntactic (and also semantic) properties of English ergative verbs, together with a diagnostic for English ergative verbs. The final section of the paper contains a discussion of the nature of English ergative verbs with regard to the motivation for English speakers to use ergative verbs, different ways of encoding ergative verbs between languages, and the productivity of English ergative verbs and its effect on English grammar.

This paper will survey inquires that have been made into the issue of how age might influence ultimate attainment in language acquisition, and some of the theories that have been offered to explain possible maturational constraints on language learning. The approach of the paper will largely be historical, examining how the questions, methods of investigation, and proposed answers have changed over time and thereby casting light on the issue of epistemology in applied linguistics. Although the issue of age and language has been scrutinized in different ways for centuries, few generally accepted findings have been established. This paper takes the position that maturational constraints on language learning have not yet been satisfactorily proven or explained by any of the approaches attempted to date. The search will no doubt continue because of the pedagogical benefits that would derive from an understanding of how people learn languges at different ages, and the level of attainment that could be reasonably expected from students who begin language study at different ages.

This study has compared Old English as a synthetic language with Modern English as an analytic language, and surveyed the main factors that have changed English. As a result, the factors have been found to be phonetic changes and the operation of analogy. The phonetic changes are the shift of final /n/ to /m/, the leveling of unstressed vowels, the loss of final /n/ and the loss of schwa in final syllables.

This study aims to explore the role of input and interaction in second language learning. This study will emphasize the fact that the input alone cannot provide sufficient condition for language learning based on the discussion on how comprehensibility is achieved and why interaction for meaning negotiation is important.

The notion of markedness has played an important role in the explanation of some linguistic expressions. This is true of the syntactic or semantic asymmetrical relation. For example, voiced consonants are more marked than voiceless ones from a typological perspective. However, recent studies show that more is needed to provide an insightful explanation to the same asymmetrical structures. For this purpose, the present paper draws on the form-function interactional model to complement the binary distinction by the notion of markedness. To justify our position, we exemplify various linguistic expressions such as phonological contrast, morpho-syntactic variation and discoursal transfer in the study of second language acquisition. In doing so, it is argued that the revised explanation takes a step toward the understanding of how markedness in linguistics may work in terms of the distinction between form and function, sharpening the description of the marked structures.

Konglish is one of the emerging world Englishes. This paper examines Konglish and the characteristics of Konglish. In addition, discussion of Konglish vocabulary, construction, and possible origins of words. Where possible, connections to other world Englishes are drawn in order to demonstrate that Konglish is not as unique or wrong as some may think. Rather it is part of the larger community of world Englishes. This paper attempts to define Konglish, organize its structures, and provide examples of Konglish terms, their meanings, and the related meanings in English.particularly US English.

The purpose of this paper is to explore Kaplan's claims about the rhetoric employed by "Oriental" students, review responses by other scholars to his arguments, and survey more focused and detailed research that has examined the languages and rhetorical conventions of East Asia in the intervening decades, specifically the literature relating to China and Korea. Some implications and possible approaches to helping students with linguistic and/or educational backgrounds in East Asia cope with the expectations they will face in North American universities will also be addressed.

Until the French Canadian Immersion program was studied at St. Lambert in Montreal, Canada, it had been often assumed that bilingual education was unable to develop both communicative competence and support literacy development in a target language. However, since the experiment involving the French Immersion Program (a French and English bilingual education program), a number of schools and countries have not only identified immersion education as a better and more effective bilingual program in this century, but also commonly accept or modify it for their bilingual education contexts. This innovation reflects a belief that speaking more than one language is possible and more easily achievable in childhood. Therefore, it is assumed that this thesis is able to provide advice to language policy makers working at government level as well as educators for the Korean context, regarding the knowledge of bilingualism and bilingual education development and effective practices for bilingual education programs through both literature review and empirical study.