Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to understand the public’s perceptions of President George W. Bush’s speaking errors. One interpretation of Bush’s speech mistakes is that Bush may have dyslexia. Therefore we explore how dyslexia has been used to frame Bush’s speaking errors. We provide an analysis of a representative anecdote of how Bush’s speech errors are represented in the media the form. Our representative anecdote is the desktop calendar “George W. Bushisms: The Accidental Wit and Wisdom of Our 43rd President.” We demonstrate that this text focused on common indicators of dyslexia, i.e., Bush’s language and translation errors, to position Bush as a “bad” and “stupid” leader. Finally, we offer conclusions and implications that this study has for our understanding of politics and disabilities.

Publication Type: Individual Poster
Abstract: Background and Aims: This experiment tested the idea that vocabulary growth facilitates a shift from the use of articulatory-phonetic to phonological information in toddler word recognition. We take a novel approach to this question by investigating how the phonetic patterns of familiar versus unfamiliar dialects of the native language influence toddlers’ recognition of common words. If early word learners focus on articulatory-phonetic information then familiar words may be difficult to recognize in another dialect. If later word learners, by contrast, use abstract phonological information then articulatory-phonetic variation across dialects should not hamper word recognition.
Methods: Two groups of toddlers participated in the experiment. The younger group (13.5-15.5 months, n=20) produced fewer than 25 words whereas the older group (18.5-20.5 months, n=17) produced more than 50 words. A toddler-controlled visual fixation preference procedure was used to test the toddlers’ listening preferences between familiar vs. unfamiliar word lists in their native dialect (Connecticut English) and an unfamiliar, phonetically-differing nonnative dialect (mesolect Jamaican English). Dialect order (Connecticut or Jamaican test first) and trial order within 2-trial blocks (familiar-unfamiliar or unfamiliar-familiar) were counterbalanced across participants. Only children who completed all 4 trial blocks (8 trials in total: 4 familiar, 4 unfamiliar) in each dialect were included.
Key Results: A Dialect (2) x Familiarity (2) x Age (2) x Dialect Order (2) x Trial Order (2) ANOVA, with repeated measures on the first two factors, was used to test for differences in toddlers’ fixation times. Toddlers fixated significantly longer overall when listening to familiar than unfamiliar words (F(1,29)=5.0, p<.05) but, in spite of appearances to the contrary, the hypothesized Dialect x Familiarity x Age interaction was not significant. However, the ordering factors modulated the familiarity preference differently in the two age groups, as evidenced by an interaction for Familiarity x Age x Dialect Order x Trial Order (F(1,29)=4.65, p<.05).
Conclusions: Cross-dialect comparisons provide a unique way of testing how young toddlers recognize words. In this preliminary study we found that toddlers, before and after the vocabulary burst, show a preference for listening to known words in both their native and a nonnative dialect. An apparent trend in the data, suggesting that younger toddlers failed to distinguish familiar from unfamiliar words in Jamaican dialect, was not statistically significant, but this may have been masked by effects of stimulus presentation order. We are currently preparing an additional between-subjects experiment to extend this investigation with Australian toddlers.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The study of political discourse in ancient Athens reveals a deep concern with the possibility of deceptive communication. Scholars have identified the concept of parrhesia, or frank-speech, as a democratic norm called upon to counter the risks of such deception. Thus, the Athenian citizen had a right and duty to frankly offer his entire opinion on a matter, especially when his view was contrary to that held by the majority. Parrhesia was conceived as speech without affectation or rhetorical flourish; the truthfulness of the statement, rather than the skillfulness of the oratory, bear the burden of convincing the audience.
Several scholars have presented Socrates as the Athenian who best fulfills the ethic of parrhesia. He is the brave, dutiful, and frank critic of Athenian democracy, able to question others because of the harmony present within his own life. However, if we bring a discussion of Socratic irony to bear on this discussion, a different view of Socratic parrhesia emerges. Instead of acting as straightforward frank speaker, Socrates complicates this ideal. His rhetorical practices call attention to parrhesia as a trope (or commonplace) and forces interlocutors and readers to more deeply engage the matter at hand. While he remains committed to the ideal of truth in speech, Socrates’ ironies highlight for us the inescapable complexities of democratic speech and citizenship.

Publication Type: Paper Presentation
Abstract: Based on Vygotsky’s scaffolding concept, this study investigated the functions of scaffolding and its contingent participation patterns from the teacher and students in an ESL class. Video-taped class sessions, interviews and artifacts collection were the methods used for this study, which involved one teacher and six international graduate students in a spoken English class in a public university in the U.S. Six transcribed whole-class discussions were the focal units for analysis. The findings suggested that whole-class discussions could be in many ways a potentially fruitful site for the teacher and students to construct the knowledge for a particular purpose as well as to collaboratively build up learners’ changing participation patterns and linguistic development. Contingent with this scaffolded assistance in this classroom context, the participant roles displayed by the teacher and the students were shifted as well, which was closely tied with the participants’ capability to provide scaffolding of various functions. From the data, the teacher employed far more variety of scaffolding functions and displayed more types of participant roles than learners have. However, it’s suggested that longitudinal research is needed to further trace the changing and sometimes fluctuating participation patterns of individuals. Therefore, individual development in providing scaffolding and participating could be further linked for one’s transformation.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The thesis of the presentation is that rather than causing lesser spoken languages to disappear, the Internet actually helps preserve lesser spoken languages, such as Danish or Icelandic. This is achieved by the ability to create websites, such as the Danish and Icelandic Wikipedia sites, in the original language. However, this benefit most likely only accrues in technically advanced countries, where these native speakers have direct access to the Internet. Where the speakers have limited or no general access, the Internet will likely have a negative impact.