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Showing 7 results for Bahrami-Khorshid
Volume 0, Issue 0 (Articles accepted at the time of publication 2024)
Abstract
Autism is a neurocognitive disorder. Many children with autism do not have a change in language and usually tend to have literal interpretations of phrases, which makes it difficult to understand metaphorical language, which can be seen in both visual and visual metaphors. The aim of this study was to compare auditory and visual metaphorical perception in children with mild autism and normal children. The present study is a cross-sectional and causal-comparative study. The statistical sample of this study includes 30 boys aged 7 to 10 years with mild autism studying in educational centers for exceptional children in Mashhad and 30 normal children matched in terms of age who were selected by convenience sampling method. After initial language assessment, they were assessed by metaphorical perception test and U Mann-Whitney test and SPSS 23 software were used to analyze the data. The results of data analysis showed that in metaphorical perception in general there is a significant difference between autistic and normal children (P <0.001), also, in understanding visual and auditory metaphors, the two groups showed a significant difference (P <0/001). The obtained results indicate that compared to normal children, children with autism have a lower performance in terms of understanding visual and auditory metaphors, and considering this issue can be used in planning and designing educational content and rehabilitation interventions in order to improve educational performance and social benefit of these children.
Volume 2, Issue 4 (, (Articles in Persian) 2011)
Abstract
Semantic Space of šod-{n ‘to become’ in Persian: A Cognitive Account This paper attempts to explore the semantic space of šod-{n ‘to become’ in Persian in order to address some basic features of linguistic cognition (e.g. analyzability and compositionality). One of the highly-frequent verbs in Persian is šod-{n, which with regard to its different functions at the level of sentence, can be considered as the most active verb in this language. According to a diachronic viewpoint, the same verbal form, šod{n, with four distinctive functions (as a main verb, as a copula, as a modal verb, and as the verbal constituent of complex predicates) plays an important role in Persian verbal system. The passive construction in Persian is considered as a Complex Predicate in which šod-{n combines with different linguistic categories such as noun, adjective, prepositional phrase and past participle (X in general). Its semantic space indicates that various types of constructions including šod-{n form a network of meanings, in which the verbal element šod-{n is meaningful, in contrast to the previous studies it's passive construction which considered it as a purely syntactic element carrying no meaning. Therefore, the passive construction in Persian is viewed as analyzable in which šod-{n is not a random occurrence but rather an extension of its other uses. The relatedness of the uses of šod-{n provides further evidence for the claim in Cognitive Grammar that the passive construction is part of a larger network of related syntactic constructions and not derives from the active construction.
Volume 6, Issue 6 (No.6 (Tome 27), Special Issue, (Articles in Persian) 2015)
Abstract
This paper attempts to investigate the Persian morphological system in the framework of Lexical Morphology Model (Kiparsky, 1982). The main goal of this research is to study the efficacy of the model in analyzing the Persian data. Having introduced the Lexical Morphology, some data which are counterexamples to the model at first sight, will be discussed. It will be shown that on the basis of different syntactic, semantic and cognitive criteria there is some kind of conformity between the data and the Lexical Morphology Model; although it is asserted that the efficacy of the model to analyze the English data (the language on which the model is designed) is more than its efficacy in Persian. In addition, the author suggests that in order to cope with some inadequacy that Kiparsky’s model encounters to analyze idioms (listed syntactic objects) the model should be revised by a loop connecting the syntax level to lexicon. Therefore, idioms are firstly formed in syntax, after lexicalization they will return to syntax. It seems that this loop makes the model much more efficient.
Volume 10, Issue 4 (Vol.10, No.4, (Articles in Persian) 2019)
Abstract
Conceptual blending is one of the semantic approaches that concentrates on appearance and explanation of emergent concept or structure. Four mental spaces (at least two input spaces, a generic space and a blending space) have been proposed in this theory and to represent the emergent concepts or structures, we need to explain the relations between these spaces, inner-space and outer-space mapping, selective projection, composition, completion and elaboration. Conceptual metaphor and mental spaces are the inspiring theories for conceptual blending theories. Then, how to understand and infer the blending process to conclude in emergent structure and also theoretical needs to conceptual blending, based on its background, are the motives for the present study. To accomplish this, adequacy of conceptual blending in representing concepts that is activated while conceptualizing is reevaluated through some examples from Persian data (linguistic or even non-linguistic). The examples are taken from a variety of sources namely television advertisements, everyday expressions people use in their interactions, corpus data (Dadegan) and so on to explain the theory as well as possible. These data were analyzed based on four types of conceptual blending networks including simplex network, mirror network, single-scope network and double-scope network. For what is new in this research, we can say that not so many studies have been done in Persian using this theory and so rarely they have analyzed the data by illustrating them through the networks. As a matter of fact, if some studies have been taken place, they usually just sufficed to explain them. In addition, the outcome of the research on Persian provides the Persian data to be used in natural language processing specially in semantic scope. The results evince that using dynamic conceptualization in mental spaces, rejecting one-way and single mapping, applying selective projections, no being necessary to exist a counterpart for every element in mental spaces and not considering mental functions separate are all features that strengthen the adequacy of explanations of conceptual blending.
Volume 15, Issue 2 (May & June 2024)
Abstract
Bilingualism affects many cognitive and emotional processes, and studies have shown emotional arousal statements influence language, specifically language selection. The present quasi-experimental research was accomplished with the aim of surveying the language selection of Turkish-Persian bilinguals at the time of processing happiness. For this purpose, using targeted sampling, we selected 20 Turkish-Persian sequential bilinguals (with an average age of 26) among university students of Tehran. Participants were first asked to fill language history, General Health, Handedness, and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule questionnaires; then they responded to a computerized task designed to induce happiness and determined the meaningfulness of Turkish and Persian words and non-words. By examining the performance of the participants in the test through repeated measures analysis of variance, it was revealed that individuals significantly spent more time on determining the meaningfulness of words in happiness inducing condition comparing to the normal one. Also, regarding the comparison of two languages in both conditions separately, paired comparison results demonstrated that participants’ reaction time to Turkish words in happiness inducing condition was significantly longer (Ps<0/05). As a result, it can be proposed that Turkish-Persian bilinguals are more involved with their first language in emotional states, especially happy state, and that Turkish has more and deeper emotional associations for them, and their emotional involvement is stronger for their native language than for their second language.
1. Introduction
Language is part of human behavior and possibly one of the most complex cognitive skills. Using language is crucial for our social and cultural lives. Emotion is also a major aspect of the way we interact with the world around us. Many researchers have remarked a close bi-directional link between language and emotions, language evokes emotions and affects emotional perception, and emotions affect language processing and use. Bilingual studies also have demonstrated that thinking in different languages fundamentally affects cognitive, emotional, and psychological aspects of our lives, and it is assumed that bilingual speakers experience different levels of emotionality in their two languages. Generally speaking, at intense emotional states, either positive or negative, one of the bilinguals’ languages becomes dominant. A wide range of literature points to the fact that emotion concepts and the linguistic means by which emotions are expressed might, to a great amount, differ across languages and cultures. Thereby, building on past research which has suggested that there is stronger emotionality in first compared to second language, the main goal of the present study was to investigate Turkish-Persian bilinguals’ language selection at the time of happiness as a positive emotion.
Research Question(s)
The primary question addressed in this study can be stated as follows:
Which language is more involved at the time of processing happiness in Turlish-Persian bilinguals, first language (L1) or second language (L2)?
2. Literature Review
Emotions are different from culture to culture and from one speech community to another which may be a result of the flexible nature of emotional experiences and concepts in various linguistic contexts. Following learning a language, emotional concepts are acquired. These concepts are largely associated with emotional words and expressions that may not exist in other languages (Alqarni & Dewaele, 2020). Specifically, in the process of learning L1, emotions are essential elements of the communicative situation and play a fundamental role in establishing semantic representations through first language processing (Sianipar et al., 2015). In bilingual studies, sequential bilinguals who acquired their L2 after their L1, have commonly reported stronger emotionality in their first compared to their second language, though they are proficient in both languages and understand the emotional meaning of the L2 words thoroughly (Ferré et al., 2013; Grosjean, 2008; Harris, 2004; Aneta Pavlenko, 2006; Aneta Pavlenko, 2012; Yuan, 2009). The present study follows the notion of different emotionality experiences in bilinguals’ first and second language.
3. Methodology
Participants of this study were 20 (10 females and 10 males) Turkish-Persian sequential bilinguals. They were students of Tehran universities between the ages of 22 and 32 years, selected using targeted sampling. To examine the effects of bilingualism on processing happiness and response latencies in L1 vs. L2, a lexical decision task was designed. The stimuli consisted of 20 pictures for inducing happiness and 20 neutral pictures. To collect the targets of the task, 206 Persian neutral words were obtained from the NRC Word-Emotion Association Lexicon database, translated into Turkish by native Turkish speakers, and rated by 50 individuals from the target population based on the emotion they induced (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and no emotion at all), and the extent to which that emotion was induced (very little to very much). Finally, words with the lowest ratings of emotion inducement (such as tray, spoon, cotton, etc.) were selected. The experiment was divided into two blocks with a break between them. In each block, 20 pictures were presented three times on a random basis followed by a Turkish or Persian word or a non-word. The first block contained happiness-inducing pictures as primes and in the second block, the neutral pictures were demonstrated. Each trial started with a fixation cross of 1-second duration, followed by a picture for 500 milliseconds. Then, a Turkish or Persian word or a non-word was presented in randomized order and they judged if it was a meaningful word (either Turkish or Persian) or a non-word as quickly and accurately as possible using the right and left shift keys respectively while their reaction time was recorded. Each word was presented for a maximum duration of 3 seconds or disappeared immediately after the response. The experiment was run using DMDX version 5.1.3.4, and the entire experimental session lasted approximately 20 minutes.
4. Results
According to the analysis of GHQ-28, none of the participants had scores above 22 which approved their general health. Also, according to the results of PANAS, none of them had high ratings of any mood and their general mood did not intervene in inducing happiness in the task.
To evaluate the study hypotheses, the data was analyzed using SPSS repeated-measures ANOVA. The results demonstrated that the block effect was significant; the reaction time to the meaningfulness of words in both languages in block 1 (presenting happiness inducing pictures) was significantly more compared to block 2 (presenting neutral pictures), and it was more for those followed by Turkish words compared to the ones followed by Persian words. On the basis of these reaction times, we can deduce which language was selected, in other words, was more involved encountering the positive stimuli. In both Turkish and Persian languages, the mean reaction time to words following neutral stimuli was less than mean reaction time to words following happiness-inducing stimuli. The reason is that neutral stimuli did not cause any particular emotional state for subjects and were processed as usual everyday conditions, thus, processing them and following words was faster. However, happiness-inducing stimuli, due to the emotional content they had, captured subjects’ attention and had an influence on their reaction which resulted in more processing time and slower response.
Also, to make a comparison between two languages, the differences of reaction times to happiness-inducing and neutral stimuli in each language were obtained, and it was revealed that the degree of difference of reaction times in Turkish was more than Persian showing that participants responded faster to words in L2 than in L1. The pattern of results showed that Turkish-Persian bilinguals think deeper in Turkish which is quite obvious as they have acquired Turkish at home and in the context of family, but Persian has been learned at school as their second language. Consequently, the context of learning, home vs. school, has a crucial impact on their language and emotional processing. These findings are in similar line with many studies in this domain proposing that bilinguals’ second language is somehow emotionally distant comparing to their mother tongue.
1. Introduction
Language is part of human behavior and possibly one of the most complex cognitive skills. Using language is crucial for our social and cultural lives. Emotion is also a major aspect of the way we interact with the world around us. Many researchers have remarked a close bi-directional link between language and emotions, language evokes emotions and affects emotional perception, and emotions affect language processing and use. Bilingual studies also have demonstrated that thinking in different languages fundamentally affects cognitive, emotional, and psychological aspects of our lives, and it is assumed that bilingual speakers experience different levels of emotionality in their two languages. Generally speaking, at intense emotional states, either positive or negative, one of the bilinguals’ languages becomes dominant. A wide range of literature points to the fact that emotion concepts and the linguistic means by which emotions are expressed might, to a great amount, differ across languages and cultures. Thereby, building on past research which has suggested that there is stronger emotionality in first compared to second language, the main goal of the present study was to investigate Turkish-Persian bilinguals’ language selection at the time of happiness as a positive emotion.
Research Question(s)
The primary question addressed in this study can be stated as follows:
Which language is more involved at the time of processing happiness in Turlish-Persian bilinguals, first language (L1) or second language (L2)?
2. Literature Review
Emotions are different from culture to culture and from one speech community to another which may be a result of the flexible nature of emotional experiences and concepts in various linguistic contexts. Following learning a language, emotional concepts are acquired. These concepts are largely associated with emotional words and expressions that may not exist in other languages (Alqarni & Dewaele, 2020). Specifically, in the process of learning L1, emotions are essential elements of the communicative situation and play a fundamental role in establishing semantic representations through first language processing (Sianipar et al., 2015). In bilingual studies, sequential bilinguals who acquired their L2 after their L1, have commonly reported stronger emotionality in their first compared to their second language, though they are proficient in both languages and understand the emotional meaning of the L2 words thoroughly (Ferré et al., 2013; Grosjean, 2008; Harris, 2004; Aneta Pavlenko, 2006; Aneta Pavlenko, 2012; Yuan, 2009). The present study follows the notion of different emotionality experiences in bilinguals’ first and second language.
3. Methodology
Participants of this study were 20 (10 females and 10 males) Turkish-Persian sequential bilinguals. They were students of Tehran universities between the ages of 22 and 32 years, selected using targeted sampling. To examine the effects of bilingualism on processing happiness and response latencies in L1 vs. L2, a lexical decision task was designed. The stimuli consisted of 20 pictures for inducing happiness and 20 neutral pictures. To collect the targets of the task, 206 Persian neutral words were obtained from the NRC Word-Emotion Association Lexicon database, translated into Turkish by native Turkish speakers, and rated by 50 individuals from the target population based on the emotion they induced (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and no emotion at all), and the extent to which that emotion was induced (very little to very much). Finally, words with the lowest ratings of emotion inducement (such as tray, spoon, cotton, etc.) were selected. The experiment was divided into two blocks with a break between them. In each block, 20 pictures were presented three times on a random basis followed by a Turkish or Persian word or a non-word. The first block contained happiness-inducing pictures as primes and in the second block, the neutral pictures were demonstrated. Each trial started with a fixation cross of 1-second duration, followed by a picture for 500 milliseconds. Then, a Turkish or Persian word or a non-word was presented in randomized order and they judged if it was a meaningful word (either Turkish or Persian) or a non-word as quickly and accurately as possible using the right and left shift keys respectively while their reaction time was recorded. Each word was presented for a maximum duration of 3 seconds or disappeared immediately after the response. The experiment was run using DMDX version 5.1.3.4, and the entire experimental session lasted approximately 20 minutes.
4. Results
According to the analysis of GHQ-28, none of the participants had scores above 22 which approved their general health. Also, according to the results of PANAS, none of them had high ratings of any mood and their general mood did not intervene in inducing happiness in the task.
To evaluate the study hypotheses, the data was analyzed using SPSS repeated-measures ANOVA. The results demonstrated that the block effect was significant; the reaction time to the meaningfulness of words in both languages in block 1 (presenting happiness inducing pictures) was significantly more compared to block 2 (presenting neutral pictures), and it was more for those followed by Turkish words compared to the ones followed by Persian words. On the basis of these reaction times, we can deduce which language was selected, in other words, was more involved encountering the positive stimuli. In both Turkish and Persian languages, the mean reaction time to words following neutral stimuli was less than mean reaction time to words following happiness-inducing stimuli. The reason is that neutral stimuli did not cause any particular emotional state for subjects and were processed as usual everyday conditions, thus, processing them and following words was faster. However, happiness-inducing stimuli, due to the emotional content they had, captured subjects’ attention and had an influence on their reaction which resulted in more processing time and slower response.
Also, to make a comparison between two languages, the differences of reaction times to happiness-inducing and neutral stimuli in each language were obtained, and it was revealed that the degree of difference of reaction times in Turkish was more than Persian showing that participants responded faster to words in L2 than in L1. The pattern of results showed that Turkish-Persian bilinguals think deeper in Turkish which is quite obvious as they have acquired Turkish at home and in the context of family, but Persian has been learned at school as their second language. Consequently, the context of learning, home vs. school, has a crucial impact on their language and emotional processing. These findings are in similar line with many studies in this domain proposing that bilinguals’ second language is somehow emotionally distant comparing to their mother tongue.
Volume 15, Issue 6 (January & February 2024)
Abstract
All languages in the world use different mechanisms to create new words. compounding is a morphological process whose main function is the formation of new word-forms. In Persian, compounding is the most productive morphological process. One of the compound words is numeral ones; a numeral in the broadest sense is a word or phrase that describes a numerical quantity. The main purpose of this research is to study the compound numeral construction [Num X] in Persian within the framework of Construction Morphology (CM) to investigate its semantic variations, the most general schema and subschemas. The data analyzed in this study has been gathered from six sources: Reverse Dictionary (Zansu) (Keshani, 1993), Persian Linguistic Database (PLDB), FarsNet, Farhang-e Bozorg-e Sokhan (Anvari, 2002), Google and Persian Wikipedia. The findings of the research show that [Num X] has different meanings (functions) and thus we can consider it as a polysemous construct. Its polysemy is not explainable at the level of words, but at the level of abstract schemas; hence, it is called ‘constructional/ logical polysemy’. The results of this study indicate that ‘distinctive property of an entity related to SEM Number and X” is the prototypical meaning of [Num X] which is the most abstract correlation among meaning and form in Persian language.
1. Introduction
Traditionally, word formation consists of two processes: derivation and compounding (Booij, 2007, p.24). Greenberg (1963, p.92) says: "it is probable that no language exists without compounding, derivation, or both. A significant number of languages exist without inflection, but without compounding or derivation, probably not." Given this level of productivity, this process holds a special place in the morphology of every language and has garnered considerable attention from grammarians and linguists.
Numerous studies have addressed compounding in the Persian language, but numeral compounds have not received much attention. In this study, by examining these compounds and providing schemas and sub-schemas for Persian numeral compounds, and analyzing them within the framework of Construction Morphology, we will map the hierarchical relationship of schemas and sub-schemas of numeral compound constructions [Num X]. This will help us to derive a potential model for classifying these constructions within the mental lexicon of Persian speakers.
Research Question(s)
The main question of the present study is how, based on the theory of Construction Morphology (Booij, 2010), can we consider the numeral compounds as constructions and analyze the semantic variations in the constructions?
2. Literature Review
The theoretical framework of this study follows Construction Morphology (CM) (Booij 2010).
The aim of the theory is a better understanding of the grammar of words, as well as the relation between syntax, morphology, and the lexicon. In the framework the notion ‘construction’, a pairing of form and meaning, as developed in the theory of Construction Grammar, is essential for an insightful account of the properties of complex words. Morphological patterns can be represented as constructional schemas that express generalizations about sets of existing complex words and word forms, and provide the recipes for coining new (forms of) words.
One of the issues discussed in this theory is compounding. According to Booij's definition (2007, p.75) compound word is as a combination of two or more words. He divided compounds in to five kinds and argued that some compounds what have been called exocentric compounds or bahuvrihi compounds are a specific semantic category of endocentric compounds based on metonymic language use. One category of compounds is numerical compounds, which are combinations of a number and a noun. These compounds are also metonymical endocentric compounds and refer to someone or something characterized by a specific and prominent feature. The present study follows the numeral compound construction; that is [Num X], in the framework of Construction Morphology to investigate its semantic variations, the most general schema and subschemas.
3. Methodology
In this study, we analyzed the nonverbal adjectival compound constructions, following the construction [Num X] in Persian and illustrated the schemas and sub-schemas of the constructions. In all the data of this research, numbers function as adjectives and are used for an entity description. The data for this research were extracted from the following sources: Reverse Dictionary (Zansu) (Keshani, 1993), Persian Linguistic Database (PLDB), FarsNet, Farhang-e Bozorg-e Sokhan (Anvari, 2002), Google and Persian Wikipedia. Since numbers are infinite, constructions formed with numbers are also potentially infinite. For example, the word "seven hundred" in the compound ‘seven hundred-legged’, although it may not exist in the real world, can be constructed based on the infinite nature of numbers and a schematic perspective.
4. Result
The present study aimed to examine the semantic variations of the nonverbal adjectival compound constructions to determine the general constructional schema and sub-schemas governing the [[Num] [X]] construction within the framework of construction morphology. The issue observed after the semantic classification of the compounds was the semantic variations, particularly in numerals constructed with the numbers "one" and "two." Analyses showed that the numbers "one" and "two" in some numeral compounds do not appear with their literal meaning (mathematical number), but rather acquire a metonymical meaning. These two numbers, appearing with a metonymic meaning in combinations with the meaning of the constituent X (which in some cases is conceptualized metaphorically) and the construction, resulting in a new meaning formed by the [[Num] [X]] construction.
It was also noted that this semantic variation and metaphorical and metonymic mechanisms are not present in numbers larger than "two." However, all compounds constructed with numbers share two concepts: "attribute" and "possession." Given that all countable nouns can be enumerated with the number one and other counted numbers and distinguished from each other, the [[number] [X]] construction is productive and potentially infinite.
Furthermore, it was determined that semantic variations and the formation of numeral compounds constructed with the numbers "one" and "two" can be attributed to a polysemic approach at the level of abstract schemas. Additionally, it was revealed that there is a general constructional schema and five sub-schemas for adjectival compounds with the number "one" and a general constructional schema and two sub-schemas for the number "two," corresponding to the construction [[one] [X]] and [[two] [X]]. Moreover, the primary concept of " distinctive property of an entity related to SEM Number and X” is the prototypical meaning derivable from the [[Num [X]] constructions. Finally, the findings of this study indicated that the main function of this construction is to distinguish one entity from another related to the meaning of the number and X.
Volume 26, Issue 4 (12-2019)
Abstract
According to the extended projection principle (EPP), it is claimed that all sentences require subjects. In line with such assumption, it is believed that some languages, including Persian, are categorized as pro-drop languages and their subject is encoded by the verbal inflection. In fact, the subject position is an empty category designated by pro (small pro). Therefore, AGR (verbal inflection) has a purely syntactic function. However, in cognitive grammar, AGR is treated as a symbolic assembly profiling a process whose only independent contribution to the meaning of the verb with which it combines, is the person and number specification of the processual AGR. Considering AGR as a meaningful category, its trajector can correspond with the trajector of the processual component (verb) which is left unexpressed. In contrast to the assumption that AGR is redundant, it shown that the subject (the trajector of the processual component) is not dropped; it does exist but is highly schematic. It is elaborated (becomes specific) by trajector of AGR through correspondence. In other words, Persian speakers conceptualize the subject by only one source of information; that is the trajector of AGR.
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