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Topic Review
Proto-Samic
Proto-Sami is the hypothetical, reconstructed common ancestor of the Sami languages. It is a descendant of the Proto-Uralic language.
  • 1.8K
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Lincos (Artificial Language)
Lincos (an abbreviation of the Latin phrase lingua cosmica) is a constructed language first described in 1960 by Dr. Hans Freudenthal in his book Lincos: Design of a Language for Cosmic Intercourse, Part 1. It is a language designed to be understandable by any possible intelligent extraterrestrial life form, for use in interstellar radio transmissions. Freudenthal considered that such a language should be easily understood by beings not acquainted with any Earthling syntax or language. Lincos was designed to be capable of encapsulating "the whole bulk of our knowledge."
  • 1.7K
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Duration Approaches of Prosody
Prosody is a complex aspect of communicative speech act that requires the successful integration of multiple acoustic parameters, such as fundamental frequency (F0), duration and intensity, whose perceptual correlates are pitch, timing and loudness, respectively, all of which contribute to the perception of the suprasegmental structure of sentences. 
  • 1.7K
  • 12 May 2022
Topic Review
Linguistic Intelligence
Linguistic Intelligence is a part of Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory that deals with individuals' ability to understand both spoken and written language, as well as their ability to speak and write themselves. In a practical sense, linguistic intelligence is the extent to which an individual can use language, both written and verbal, to achieve goals. In addition to this, high linguistic intelligence has been linked to improved problem solving, as well as to increased abstract reasoning. In many cases, only the verbal aspects are taken into consideration. This is usually referred to as verbal intelligence or verbal fluency, and is commonly a reflection of an individual's overall linguistic intelligence.
  • 1.7K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Proto-Algonquian
Proto-Algonquian (commonly abbreviated PA) is the proto-language from which the various Algonquian languages are descended. It is generally estimated to have been spoken around 2,500 to 3,000 years ago, but on the question of where it was spoken, there is less agreement. The Algonquian family, which is a branch of the larger Algic language family, is usually divided into three subgroups: Eastern Algonquian, which is a genetic subgroup, and Central Algonquian and Plains Algonquian, both of which are areal groupings. In the historical linguistics of North America, Proto-Algonquian is one of the best studied, most thoroughly reconstructed proto-languages. It is descended from Proto-Algic.
  • 1.7K
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Gāndhārī Language
Gāndhārī is the modern name, coined by scholar Harold Walter Bailey (in 1946), for a Prakrit language found mainly in texts dated between the 3rd century BCE and 4th century CE in the northwestern region of Gandhāra. The language was heavily used by the former Buddhist cultures of Central Asia and has been found as far away as eastern China, in inscriptions at Luoyang and Anyang. Gāndhārī Prakrit appears to be descended from, or heavily influenced by, Vedic Sanskrit or a closely related language, although there is an ongoing debate about the question of whether some Prakrits were originally non-prestige contemporaries and/or antecedents of Sanskrit. It appears on coins, inscriptions and texts, notably the Gandhāran Buddhist texts. It is notable among the Prakrits for having some archaic phonology (some being characteristic of the Dardic languages of the modern region), for its relative isolation and independence, for being partially within the influence of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean and for its use of the Kharoṣṭhī script, a unique sister to the Brahmic scripts used by other Prakrits.
  • 1.7K
  • 11 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Proto-Min Language
Proto-Min is a comparative reconstruction of the common ancestor of the Min group of varieties of Chinese. Min varieties developed in the relative isolation of the Chinese province of Fujian and eastern Guangdong, and have since spread to Taiwan, southeast Asia and other parts of the world. They contain reflexes of distinctions not found in Middle Chinese or most other modern varieties, and thus provide additional data for the reconstruction of Old Chinese. Jerry Norman reconstructed the sound system of proto-Min from popular vocabulary in a range of Min varieties, including new data on varieties from inland Fujian. The system has a six-way manner contrast in stops and affricates, compared with the three-way contrast in Middle Chinese and modern Wu varieties and the two-way contrast in most modern Chinese varieties. A two-way contrast in sonorants is also reconstructed, compared with the single series of Middle Chinese and all modern varieties. Evidence from early loans into other languages suggests that the additional contrasts may reflect consonant clusters or minor syllables.
  • 1.6K
  • 10 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Soyot
The Soyot people live mainly in the Oka region in the Okinsky District in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia . According to the 2010 census, there were 3,608 Soyots in Russia. Their extinct language was of a Turkic type and basically similar to the Tuvans. Their language has been reconstructed and a textbook has been published. The language is currently taught in some schools in Oka. The Oka River, the largest river flowing down from the Western Sayans into the Angara is called the Ok-hem meaning "an arrow-river" by the Soyots of the Oka River basin. They live dispersed among the Buryats and now speak the Buryat language.
  • 1.6K
  • 04 Oct 2022
Topic Review
MOGUL Framework
The MOGUL framework is a research framework aiming to provide a theoretical perspective on the nature of language. MOGUL (Modular On-line Growth and Use of Language) draws on the common ground underlying various related areas of cognitive science including psycholinguistics, theoretical linguistics, first- and second-language acquisition, neurolinguistics and cognitive psychology; it is designed to be applicable to all these fields of research. The MOGUL framework's background assumption is that the mind is composed of expert systems which have evolved over time, one of which is responsible for human linguistic ability. Historically, scientific studies of language have been divided between many sub-disciplines; theoretical linguists focus on the abstract properties of language and researchers in other fields investigate how language is used and processed in real time: either in psychological terms or (in the case of neurolinguistics) through a study of the physical systems of neurons in the brain. Each field of study has developed its own research traditions and technical vocabulary, making it difficult to integrate insights across disciplines. The MOGUL Framework represents an attempt to identify common themes and compatible approaches in different (but related fields), and hence to facilitate integration.
  • 1.6K
  • 30 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Kandoora
Kondur or Kandoora (in Template:Lang-ks; in Urdu: کنڈوراہ‎) is the largest village in the Sukhnag River valley, located on the eastern banks of the Sukhnag River. It lies on the Beerwah-to-Doodhpathri road and is 26 kilometres (16 mi) from Srinagar, the largest city and summer capital of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which is the southern portion of the wider Indian-administered Kashmir region. Kandoora is a rural village where agriculture is the main economic activity. The majority of its population is Muslim, and their first language is Koshur (Kashmiri), with other languages in use for particular purposes.
  • 1.6K
  • 10 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Itza’ Language
Itza' (also known as Itza or Itzaj) is a critically endangered Mayan language spoken by the Itza people near Lake Peten Itza in north-central Guatemala. The language has only 25 fluent speakers and 60 nonfluent speakers. Itza' was the language of administration across much of the Yucatán Peninsula prior to 1697, when the Itza people controlled the last significant Mayan nation in Mesoamerica. During this time, the Itza people resettled their ancestral home in the Petén Basin. The subjugation of the Itza capital by the Spanish forced the Itza people to flee or live amongst the Spaniards, such as in San Jose, Guatemala, where the only modern speakers of the language live. The modern Itza people are the last of the Lowland Maya to be able to directly trace their heritage back to the pre-Columbian era. The Itza' language reflects this history in its nomenclature for the natural world: Itza' words referring to agriculture and agricultural practices remain unchanged since first being recorded. Additionally, Itza' possesses a rich vocabulary for crops and animals that encodes specific information about different varietals and individuals of the species.
  • 1.5K
  • 03 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Kukna Language
Kukna is a minority language spoken by the Saraswat Konkani people of Karnataka and in some parts of Kerala.[note 1]
  • 1.5K
  • 21 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Multilingual Pedagogies in Norwegian Schools
Teachers in Norway have been increasingly faced with the challenge of adapting their instruction methods to address the needs of minority-language students. It seems to indicate that multilingual practices are being introduced in Norwegian classrooms. However, they often rely on majority languages, such as English and Norwegian. Some teachers have been found to employ minority languages to support learners’ English writing in drafts. Minority languages in Norwegian schools tend to be regarded as less valuable than Norwegian and English.
  • 1.4K
  • 29 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Pomeranian Language
The Pomeranian language (Polish: pomorszczyzna or język pomorski, German: Pomoranisch or die pomoranische Sprache) is in the Pomeranian group of Lechitic languages (Polish: grupa pomorska języków lechickich, German: die pomoranische Gruppe der lechischen Sprachen) within the West Slavic languages. In medieval contexts, it refers to the dialects spoken by the Slavic Pomeranians. In modern contexts, the term is sometimes used synonymously with "Kashubian" and may also include extinct Slovincian. The name Pomerania comes from Slavic po more, which means "[land] by the sea".
  • 1.4K
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Ivilyuat
Ivilyuat (ʔívil̃uʔat or Ivil̃uɂat IPA: [ʔivɪʎʊʔat] or Cahuilla /kəˈwiːə/), is an endangered Uto-Aztecan language, spoken by the various tribes of the Cahuilla Nation, living in the Coachella Valley, San Gorgonio Pass and San Jacinto Mountains region of Southern California . Cahuilla call themselves ʔívil̃uwenetem or Iviatam–speakers of Ivilyuat (Ivi'a)–or táxliswet meaning "person." A 1990 census revealed 35 speakers in an ethnic population of 800. With such a decline, Ivilyuat is classified as "critically endangered" by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger as most speakers are middle-aged or older with limited transmission rates to children. Three dialects are known to exist: Desert, Mountain and Pass, as well as some other sub-dialects.
  • 1.4K
  • 10 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Language Learning Investment in Higher Education
Second language learning investment relates to the willingness and effort of learners to develop language competencies which will give them a good return in terms of personal or professional benefits. Investment relates to a learner’s willingness to learn something which they believe could “give them a good return on that investment”. Qualitative research findings indicate that the construct of investment is complex and interweaves different aspects of language learning, such as motivation, necessity or personal needs, engagement and agency.
  • 1.4K
  • 03 Nov 2023
Topic Review Video Peer Reviewed
The Human Passion for Music
Music is a universal feature of human societies, which suggests that an evolutionary perspective should help people understand the appreciation. The reward (pleasure) system of the brain offers a suitable framework. The primary evolutionary advantage is probably related to the importance of language; features of sound, such as purity, harmony, complexity, and rhythmicity, are useful for facilitating oral communication. One would expect evolution to associate rewards with these qualities in order to stimulate the development of brain regions involved in interpreting and producing relevant sounds. There are additional adaptive aspects of music, such as relaxation, social coherence, and sexual selection. Music can be regarded as a superstimulus that accentuates and exploits rewards associated with hearing. As such, music is not necessarily adaptive in a biological sense, but serves the purpose of improving quality of life. 
  • 1.4K
  • 09 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Kalaw Lagaw Ya
Kalau Lagau Ya, Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kala Lagaw Ya (Template:IPA-aus), or the Western Torres Strait language (also several other names, see below), is the language indigenous to the central and western Torres Strait Islands, Queensland, Australia . On some islands, it has now largely been replaced by Torres Strait Creole. Before colonisation in the 1870s–1880s, the language was the major lingua franca of the Torres Strait cultural area of Northern Cape York Australia, Torres Strait and along the coast of the Western Province/Papua New Guinea. It is still fairly widely spoken by neighbouring Papuans and by some Aboriginal Australians. How many non-first language speakers it has is unknown. It also has a 'light' (simplified/foreigner) form, as well as a pidginised form. The simplified form is fairly prevalent on Badu and neighbouring Moa.
  • 1.4K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
A Dual-Motivation System in L2 and L3 Learning
This encyclopedia article explores the phenomena of second (L2) and third language (L3) learning, along with the motivational dynamics that underlie L2 and L3 acquisition, as intricate dynamic systems within the realm of multilingual education. The entry proposes a conceptual framework for a dual-motivation system, which aims to characterize the nature of L2-L3 motivational forces that can be utilized in the learning of additional languages.
  • 1.4K
  • 06 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Stylometry and Numerals Usage: Benford's Law and Beyond
Benford’s Law is a strange manifestation of the law of large numbers (understood as the combined action of a large number of random factors leading to a result that is almost independent of the case).
  • 1.4K
  • 11 Jan 2022
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