Articles by Jose A. Jódar-Sánchez
Grammatical gender in New Guinea is an often neglected area in typological research, even though ... more Grammatical gender in New Guinea is an often neglected area in typological research, even though it is extremely diverse. For example, in New Guinea, some languages have grammatical gender systems with two sex-based categories, more than four gender-indexing targets, and no gender marking on nouns, while some languages have grammatical gender systems with much more categories, which are only marginally sex-based. This paper infers the processes of development and change of grammatical gender in Torricelli languages from two perspectives. First, it synthesizes the available data in the existing literature and hypothesizes the evolutionary pathway of gender systems in Torricelli languages. Nineteen Torricelli languages are selected as a representative coverage of the 55 Torricelli languages listed in Glottolog within the limits of the available documentation. These languages are then coded based on 6 presence-absence features relating to gender marking on verbs, adjectives, nouns, numerals, pronouns, and demonstratives. Second, it conducts an analysis with phylogenetic comparative methods to provide a quantitative assessment of the evolutionary possibilities for gender systems in Torricelli languages. The preliminary results show that gender is likely marked at the root of Torricelli languages, with pronouns and verbs being at the core of the system. This is in agreement with trends reflecting the evolution of gender systems in languages across the world.
This article presents an analysis of the metaphors that relate the domains of space and sexuality... more This article presents an analysis of the metaphors that relate the domains of space and sexuality in the tetralogy Antagonía by Luis Goytisolo, based on a discourse dynamics approach. Metaphoremes such as <terreno erótico> and <erotismo geológico> are identified and analysed according to cognitive, linguistic, affective, and socio-cultural factors, with a focus on the first two. I also draw from the processes of source redeployment, development, literalization, and unrealism to explain the details of several discourse metaphors in the text. These are framed in their immediate and extended contexts. The results show the complex web of spatio-sexual metaphors readers encounter in the text and the rich array of resources the author uses to portray sexuality.
This article presents an analysis of the soundscapes in two rural communities in northwestern Pap... more This article presents an analysis of the soundscapes in two rural communities in northwestern Papua New Guinea where the endangered languages Srenge and Walman are spoken. These languages have no written tradition and therefore are not publicly displayed in signage. In the last few years, the discipline of linguistic landscape studies has fostered the study of aspects of the visual semiotics of public signs together with aspects of other semiotic modalities including interactional semiotics and auditory semiotics. By discussing the sounds of instruments, conch shells, place names, recitations, and messenger birds in areas where Srenge, Walman, and other languages are spoken, the aim is twofold. The first goal is to fill a gap in the study of semiotic systems that play a role in linguistic landscapes by focusing on a rural area and on auditory semiotics. The second goal is to document anthropological knowledge in an area that is extremely rich culturally and linguistically but where language attrition and cultural loss have been greatly accelerated in the last few decades.
Body part terms are a subset of the lexicon of languages that has figured prominently in cross-li... more Body part terms are a subset of the lexicon of languages that has figured prominently in cross-linguistic studies. To name just a few, the focus has been on issues like the principles of human anatomical partonomies and their linguistic realization (Brown, 1976), the colexification of body part terms like 'hand' and 'arm' (Brown, 2005), meaning extensions of body part terms through metonymy and metaphor (Lin and Jin, 2020; Yu, 2001), the application of body part terms of animate entities to non-animate entities (Baş, this volume; Mac-Laury, 1989; Snoek, this volume), and the referential delimitation of body part terms across speakers of different languages (
Antagonía is Luis Goytisolo's masterpiece. In this article I present a quantitative and qualitati... more Antagonía is Luis Goytisolo's masterpiece. In this article I present a quantitative and qualitative study of his prose with regards to sexuality. Through an analysis of keywords, concordances, dispersion, and discourses, I show that Antagonía feeds from two historical periods, namely the ending dictatorship and the new democratic transition. Some of its discourses are the product of the Spain of the 1970s and 80s. Among them, we find sexist, male chauvinist, and homophobic discourses latent during those times. Women and queer people are frequently characterized in a negative fashion. However, we also find more subversive discourses that empower women. In sum, I consider Goytisolo's tetralogy a "fluid" or "transitional" novel in that it is imbued with contradictory discourses rooted in different historical periods.
The advent of new technologies in our society has pervaded the field of language teaching. FrameN... more The advent of new technologies in our society has pervaded the field of language teaching. FrameNet is one of the tools whose potential for language teaching is still unexplored. In this chapter, I trace possible pedagogical implications and applications of the Spanish FrameNet in the Spanish as a foreign language (SFL hereafter) classroom. The chapter is divided into four parts. First, I briefly describe the history of the field of Spanish language teaching (SLT hereafter) as well as the development of the framework of online teaching. I expand on notions such as computer-assisted language learning, computer-mediated communication, and datadriven learning. Second, I give an overview of FrameNet, including concepts such as frames, frame elements, lexical units, and their annotation. Third, I discuss the ways in which the Spanish FrameNet can be used in the SFL classroom. This section is divided into subsections dealing with aspects of vocabulary, grammar, and metaphors. Finally, I stress the benefits and drawbacks of new technologies like FrameNet in teaching foreign languages.
Human communication is based on mutual interaction between participants. Much of this communicati... more Human communication is based on mutual interaction between participants. Much of this communication is linguistic in nature. Language is structured by grammar and grammar is inherently metonymic (Langacker 2009). Thus, language and interaction must be metonymic. In this article, I explore the metonymic basis of human interaction in both its linguistic and non-linguistic aspects. First, I make a distinction between linguistic and cultural metonymy. Both have a conceptual basis. The former, extensively studied from the view of cognitive linguistics, has a linguistic source. The latter, found in fields as diverse as art, theater, and film, does not necessarily have a linguistic source. The broader concept of cultural metonymy seems to structure human interaction. Second, I delineate distinguishing factors between the two types of metonymies. Those are the nature of the source and the (mis)match in the intentionality of producer and perceiver. Third, I make an overview and provide real examples of what aspects of human interaction are metonymic. Its elements, including the content of the message, the identity, proxemics, and kinesics of the participants, and the context of the interaction, can be metonymic. Its processes, namely those of language production and reception, are as well inherently metonymic. Overall, I show that metonymy, understood as relatedness or association, pervades human interaction and plays an important role in its success.
Resumen: En esta propuesta didáctica, utilizamos el álbum ilustrado como herramienta para la ense... more Resumen: En esta propuesta didáctica, utilizamos el álbum ilustrado como herramienta para la enseñanza de contenido lingüístico, así como valores sociales y cívicos a un grupo de estudiantes de ELE de nivel A2. Utilizamos el álbum ilustrado El día de la rana roja que narra la historia de dos príncipes que se enamoran y adoptan a una niña huérfana. Estructuramos nuestra propuesta en cuatro fases (introducción, comprensión, consolidación, resignificación), de las cuáles las dos últimas son las dos que más desarrollamos. Planteamos una entrevista a la rana del cuento, un teatro con marionetas, y el dibujo del mapa del reino como actividades de introducción. En la fase de comprensión se sugieren actividades de léxico y gramática sencillas, tratando, por ejemplo, los tiempos de presente y futuro. En la fase de consolidación, el profesor tiene la opción de realizar el taller del adivinador de sueños o la puesta en escena de declaraciones de amor entre animales. Finalmente, para la fase de resignificación, se cuestiona por qué el rey y la reina cambian el vestido por unos pantalones al averiguar que su hijo se casará con un chico.
in this article, i analyse the moral systems of the protagonists of Vallejo's La Virgen de los Si... more in this article, i analyse the moral systems of the protagonists of Vallejo's La Virgen de los Sicarios. the protagonists have different in-group and outgroup moralities, especially when considering violence in colombian society. Fernando, the narrator and main character, shifts his out-group morality from a civilized to a 'sicariato' one due to the influence of his sicario-lovers. this means that he gradually approves of violence against other people. i hypothesize that this changing morality is a feature of the sicaresque genre. i also present prototypical standard features as tools for inclusion of novels within the sicaresque. Future analyses will show if changing moralities is one of the characterizing features of this genre.
Spanish and Finnish have a similar, syllable-timed, rhythm but very different stress and intonati... more Spanish and Finnish have a similar, syllable-timed, rhythm but very different stress and intonation patterns. Based on the "Frequency Code," whereby meanings of confidence and aggressiveness are associated with low pitch, and those of submission and smallness with high pitch, we establish a taxonomy of the functions and meanings of intonation with examples in Spanish and Finnish. These functions can be grammatical, attitudinal, pragmatic, and sociolinguistic. To teach intonation to Finnish L2 Spanish students of an advanced level, we raise their awareness through the comparison of the intonational patterns of the two languages and through inductive reasoning. Our proposal fosters a multimodal approach based on the imitation of native speech, on the visual representation of prosody through software like Praat, and on the use of gestures, all integrated into discourse-oriented activities. Due to its schematic and flexible nature, our proposal can be adapted by teachers to the necessities of their L2 Spanish students. RESUMEN El castellano y el finés poseen un ritmo similar, de tipo silábico, mientras que su acento y entonación son distintos. A partir del "Frequency Code", que establece que los significados de confianza y agresividad se asocian con un tono bajo y los de sumisión e insignificancia con uno alto, postulamos una clasificación de las funciones y significados de la entonación con ejemplos en castellano y finés. Las funciones pueden ser gramaticales, actitudinales, pragmáticas y sociolingüísticas. Para enseñar entonación a estudiantes finlandeses de ELE, se les puede hacer conscientes de lo que aprenden a partir de la comparación de los patrones entonativos de las dos lenguas y a través de un razonamiento inductivo. Nuestra propuesta promueve un acercamiento multimodal basado en la imitación del acento nativo, en la representación visual de la prosodia en software como Praat, y en el uso de gestos, todo ello integrado en actividades dirigidas a emular el discurso real. Por su naturaleza flexible y esquemática, los profesores pueden adaptar nuestra propuesta en función de las necesidades de sus estudiantes de español como L2.
SEDLL. Lenguaje y Textos, 44, 83-93
Resumen: Nuestra propuesta consiste en una actividad de análisis lingüístico, gramatical y metafó... more Resumen: Nuestra propuesta consiste en una actividad de análisis lingüístico, gramatical y metafórico de Bodas de Sangre para alumnos de nivel avanzado («Key Stage 4» en el sistema educativo inglés). Los objetivos de la actividad son hacer que los estudiantes asimilen esta tragedia de García Lorca. Al mismo tiempo se busca consolidar su conocimiento de las clases de palabras y de los tiempos verbales. También se persigue entrenarlos en la detección e interpretación de metáforas en textos literarios. La actividad se desarrolla en 3 sesiones de una hora. Destacamos la fase central de nuestra propuesta en la que trabajamos con materiales auténticos, esto es, la noticia en que García Lorca se inspiró para escribir la novela, el monólogo de la luna en la obra y su adaptación fílmica. Palabras clave: Bodas de Sangre; Federico García Lorca; noticia periodística; tiempos de pasado, futuro e imperativo; metáforas.
Reflexionamos en este artículo sobre el concepto de "turismo didáctico o pedagógico" junto con el... more Reflexionamos en este artículo sobre el concepto de "turismo didáctico o pedagógico" junto con el de "geografía cultural" como herramientas de aprendizaje del español como lengua extranjera a través de la obra maestra de Cervantes. Exploramos concretamente las posibilidades didácticas de los capítulos que ilustran el trasiego del hidalgo desde su natal Castilla-La Mancha (tradicional y castiza), hasta la moderna y cosmopolita ciudad de Barcelona.
In this squib, we present an analysis of the nowadays commonly used adjective cuco/cuqui in Spani... more In this squib, we present an analysis of the nowadays commonly used adjective cuco/cuqui in Spanish. We hypothesize that its two adjectival meanings, as "cute" and as "astute", are metonymically derived from the meanings of cuco as "carrycot" and "bird/card game", respectively. Blending theory accounts for how these emergent meanings are combined with new referents in speech. This analysis can be extended to other frequently used colloquial adjectives in Spanish like panoli and choni.
inequality," and that English is "taking over" Finnish. On the other hand, the other 12 speakers ... more inequality," and that English is "taking over" Finnish. On the other hand, the other 12 speakers think that by being "open and flexible" one can "work its way" through situations where English is not only helpful but also necessary. These opposing stances, however, can be best viewed as points along a continuum of acceptance of English influence on Finnish, whereby even the most reluctant speakers use, sometimes unconsciously, anglicized Finnish speech. Finally, in section 6 we conclude by stating that English seems to hold the status of a second rather than a foreign language in Finland. This is due to the emerging English-Finnish bilingualism between young people and their consideration of English as a "language of identification" . What the attitudes and opinions of our participants also show is that living abroad and studying a foreign language may be factors that create a more welcoming and open attitude towards English influence, and by extension, to that of other languages and cultures.
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Articles by Jose A. Jódar-Sánchez