This study investigates the phenomenon of semantic restriction in selected passages of the Gospel of Matthew from the King James Version (KJV). The research focuses on the evolution of word meanings over time, specifically identifying words that have become narrower in meaning, leading to potential misinterpretations of the biblical text.…

"Hospital" can refer to a physical place or more figuratively to the people associated with it. Such place-for-institution metonyms are common in everyday language, but there remain several open questions in the literature regarding how they are processed. The goal of the current eyetracking experiments was to investigate how metonyms…

This study aims to identify the cementing devices used in the Holy Qur'an, Al-Qasas Surah, in particular. Specific cementing devices appear to connect the phrases and clauses contextualized in the verses of this Surah. Three exegeses and three different translations of the meaning of the Holy Qur'an were referred to in this study for data…

This paper analyzes some of the ambiguities that arise among statements with the copular verb "is" in the mathematical language of textbooks as compared to day-to-day English language. We identify patterns in the construction and meaning of "is" statements using randomly selected examples from corpora representing the two…

Situations of language contact are often the norm for sign languages. This article investigates a case of unimodal contact between Cena, a young sign language in its third generation that is used in a small rural community in Brazil, and Libras, the national sign language of Brazil. Our analysis concerns one by-product of this contact: reiterative…

The aim of this study is to analyze spoken linguistic features of three-minute startup pitches. Linguistic features analyzed included discourse markers, dysfluency, modality, numeral phrases, pronouns, reduced forms, repetitions, rhetorical questions, vague expressions, and vocatives. The corpus is comprised of 92 startup pitches delivered in real…

Bilingualism is associated with a number of false beliefs, myths and misconceptions, which carry implications for bilingual education and policymaking. While the language used, often in the media, to express such misconceptions may have become more subtle, a negative bias remains and is arguably more difficult to detect and defend against. The…

Natural languages make prolific use of conventional constituent-ordering patterns to indicate "who did what to whom," yet the mechanisms through which these regularities arise are not well understood. A series of recent experiments demonstrates that, when prompted to express meanings through silent gesture, people bypass native language…

An anonymous survey was given to n = 73 students in an asynchronous online statistical literacy course at a mid-sized Hispanic Serving Institution. Informed by teaching experience, literature on lexical ambiguity, and everyday usage of statistics words and phrases, the first author designed the survey to yield insight into how students view…

The current study tests the hypothesis that language comprehension is, in part, influenced by language exposure, and the biases that people develop are related to the frequency of exposure to different linguistic input, like, for instance, pronoun coreference. As comprehenders filter the linguistic input they encounter, we ask, what is the impact…

This dissertation examines whether and how psycholinguistic priming, and social knowledge are integrated in the identification of sociolinguistic variants. Using the English variable (ING), the alternation between -ing and -in' (e.g. thinking vs. thinkin') as a testing ground, this dissertation probes whether and how individuals utilize…

The definitions of internationalisation have been contested and require contextualisation. Despite the long-standing practice of and research on higher education internationalisation in Mainland China, ambiguities regarding the concept persist. This study examines academic discourses on the internationalisation of Chinese higher education. It…

How language is used has political implications as well as communicational consequences. Regional development, using means of systematic support for innovation, is a widespread phenomenon globally that also includes numerous political ambitions and implications. This article argues that ambiguities regarding the use of terms such as 'innovation…

The theme for the 44th yearbook of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers is "Elevating the Role of Creativity, Identity, and Voice in Literacy," an apropos response to the three pandemics facing the U.S. communities and schools over the past several years. It represents a robust and humanizing next step to the increased…

Prior research has identified the divergence across different stakeholder groups in the semantic choice of language when describing autism, as members of the autism and autistic community preferred to use "identity-first" language (autistic person), whereas professionals were more likely to use "person-first" language (person…