To ensure smooth communication and collaboration, here are some troubleshooting tips to address common issues:
Check Internet Connection: Verify that you have a stable and reliable internet connection. Use a wired connection when possible, as it tends to be more stable than Wi-Fi. If using Wi-Fi, make sure you have a strong signal.
Update the Browser or App: Ensure that you are using the latest version of the web browser. Developers frequently release updates to address bugs and improve performance.
Clear Browser Cache: Sometimes, cached data can cause conflicts or issues. Clear the browser cache and cookies before joining the meeting.
Test Audio and Video: Before the meeting, check your microphone and camera to ensure they are working correctly. If you are a speaker, you can click on "Start Practice Session" button test to ensure audio and video devices are functioning.
Close Other Applications: Running multiple applications in the background can consume system resources and lead to performance issues. Close unnecessary apps to free up resources for the Dryfta meeting platform.
Restart Your Device: If you encounter persistent issues, try restarting your computer or mobile device. This can help resolve various software-related problems.
Use Supported Browsers: Ensure you are using a browser supported by the meeting platform. Recommended browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Brave.
Allow Necessary Permissions: Make sure the Dryfta meeting platform has the required permissions to access your microphone, camera, and other necessary features.
Disable VPN or Firewall: Sometimes, VPNs or firewalls can interfere with the connection to the meeting platform. Temporarily disable them and see if the issue persists.
Switch Devices: If possible, try joining the meeting from a different device to see if the problem is specific to one device.
Reduce Bandwidth Usage: In cases of slow or unstable internet connections, ask participants to disable video or share video selectively to reduce bandwidth consumption.
Update Drivers and Software: Ensure your operating system, audio drivers, and video drivers are up to date. Outdated drivers can cause compatibility issues with the Dryfta meeting platform.
Contact Support: If none of the above steps resolve the issue, reach out to the platform's support team. They can provide personalized assistance and troubleshoot specific problems.
By following these troubleshooting tips, you can tackle many common problems encountered on Dryfta meeting platform and have a more productive and seamless meeting experience.
Assessing differences in brain activity of manual-parameter-based American Sign Language and phoneme-based English: an fNIRS study
Oral Presentation[SYMP56] OPEN CALL - Minority languages03:00 PM - 03:30 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/21 13:00:00 UTC - 2024/07/21 13:30:00 UTC
The finding that linguistic brain activity in Deaf users of American Sign Language occurs in the same centralized locations in the brain as spoken language has led to many findings about how brain structure affects language, however more discoveries are yet to be had in observing the differences in brain activity between signing and speaking populations. Dan et al. (2013) found that variances in phonological units in Japanese compared to English–or other "alphabet-based" languages–were associated with varying brain activation in verbal fluency tasks–Dan et al. (2013) located neurological variances in verbal fluency tasks for Japanese speakers, which provides comparable data for future research on other neurological variances and provides data to base future diagnoses of verbal impairments related to psychological and neurological disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, autism, attention deficit and so forth specific to Japanese speakers. A lack of data for non-alphabet-based language users is problematic for people of that language who need diagnoses. Sign language, like Japanese, varies from alphabet-based phonological structure. Sign language is manual-mode and thus the phonological components are manual and motion-based. The respective variances in brain activity are necessary to identify for users of American Sign Language. That is what this study seeks to find. Dan et al. (2013) did not research how these neurological variances may differ for Japanese bilinguals and they did not collect data from populations of "alphabet-based" language speakers. In this study, which will focus on ASL populations, we will use fNIRS caps on each of our participants to collect data on the locations of brain activation as was done in Dan et al. (2013). The same verbal fluency tasks as performed in Dan et al. (2013) will be adapted to sign language phonological parameters and administered to Deaf native-ASL users and hearing bilingual-ASL users. As a control, the test will also be administered in English to hearing English-speakers. The results will not only start a database for comparing results of neurological verbal fluency tests done on Deaf ASL-using populations, but will also provide a base for future research related to the differences processing ASL versus English. Dan, H., Dan, I., Sano, T., Kyutoku, Y., Oguro, K., Yokota, H., Tsuzuki, D., & Watanabe, E. (2013). Language-specific cortical activation patterns for verbal fluency tasks in Japanese as assessed by multichannel functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Brain and Language, 126(2), 208–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2013.05.007 Kovelman, I., Shalinsky, M. H., White, K. S., Schmitt, S. N., Berens, M. S., Paymer, N., & Petitto, L.-A. (2009). Dual language use in sign-speech bimodal bilinguals: fNIRS brain-imaging evidence. Brain and Language, 109(2–3), 112–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2008.09.008
Petitto, L. A., Zatorre, R. J., Gauna, K., Nikelski, E. J., Dostie, D., & Evans, A. C. (2000). Speech-like cerebral activity in profoundly deaf people processing signed languages: Implications for the neural basis of human language. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97(25), 13961–13966. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.97.25.13961
Presenters Brooklyn Lorenc Researcher, Brigham Young University Co-authors Dan Dewey Professor Of Linguistics And Department Chair, Brigham Young University
Acoustic study of the first-order vowels in the Yunnan Kunming dialect
Oral Presentation[SYMP56] OPEN CALL - Minority languages03:30 PM - 04:00 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/21 13:30:00 UTC - 2024/07/21 14:00:00 UTC
Acoustic experiments extracted resonance peak F1 and F2 data to analyze the first-order vowels in the Kunming dialect. The experimental results showed that the seven first-order vowels in the Kunming dialect are prelingual high vowel /i/, postlingual high vowel /u/, postlingual low vowel /ᴀ/, prelingual semi-low vowel /ɛ/, lingual central mid vowel /ə/, prelingual high vowel /ɿ/ and lingual posterior high vowel /ʅ/. The gender grouping experiments showed that males had more variants within the first vowel, with a higher total dispersion rate than females. Females had a more distinct first vowel pattern and a more posterior mid vowel /ə/.
Kunming is located in central Yunnan Province, China, and according to the Atlas of Chinese Languages (1988), the Kunming dialect belongs to the Southwest Official Language. In the past, the study of the Kunming dialect has focused on phonology, and there has never been an experimental study of Kunming dialect vowels. We made an experimental phonetics analysis on the recordings of 14 speakers in the Kunming dialect of Yunnan province. Acoustic experiments extracted resonance peak F1 and F2 data to analyze the first-order vowels in the Kunming dialect. The voice record using Audacity software, mono, 16-bit, 44100Hz; each experimental word on the pronunciation word list was read three times. The speech samples' first resonance peak (F1) and second resonance peak (F2) data were extracted using Praat speech analysis software. The acoustic data of the vowels were processed and collated using Excel software, and the acoustic vowel maps were created using Xiong Ziyu's Pratt script. When plotting the acoustic vowel diagram, the origin of the coordinates is set in the upper right-hand corner, and the data of the first resonance peak (F1) is used as the vertical coordinate and the data of the second resonance peak (F2) as the horizontal coordinate using the logarithmic marking method. The first resonance peak (F1) negatively correlates with the lingual position. The lower the F1 value, the higher the lingual position; the second resonance peak (F2) is negatively correlated with the front and back of the linguistic class. The lower the F2 value, the more forward the lingual position. Unlike Mandarin, the first-order vowels in the Kunming dialect have unique characteristics. The experimental results showed that the seven first-order vowels in the Kunming dialect are prelingual high vowel /i/, postlingual high vowel /u/, postlingual low vowel /ᴀ/, prelingual semi-low vowel /ɛ/, lingual central mid vowel /ə/, prelingual high vowel /ɿ/ and lingual posterior high vowel /ʅ/. Regarding the distribution area, the first-level vowels /ᴀ/, /ɛ/, and /ə/ in the Kunming dialect have more internal variants, are more widely distributed, and have a greater internal dispersion rate. The two vowels /ɛ/ and /ə/ in the first-degree vowels of the Kunming dialect are slightly dynamic in their articulation, resulting in a larger distribution space and showing a more pronounced dynamic range on the pattern diagram. Because mid vowels are less stable than top vowels and often show slippage, they are still unitary. The gender grouping experiments showed that males had more variants within the first vowel, with a higher total dispersion rate than females. Females had a more distinct first vowel pattern and a more posterior mid vowel /ə/.
Presenters Yutong KUANG Lanzhou, China, Lanzhou University
Minoritization in and through language in Post-Soviet Eurasia
[SYMP56] OPEN CALL - Minority languages04:00 PM - 04:30 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/21 14:00:00 UTC - 2024/07/21 14:30:00 UTC
Discussions of multilingualisms in current western-Global North-literature have tended to focus on how increased ethnolinguistic diversification (or superdiversification) is taking place with urbanization due to complex immigration flows. In contrast, throughout post-Soviet Eurasia, countries have become less diverse since the 1990s due to out migration, high birthrates among local populations, as well as different repatriation policies, e.g., the Kazakhstani oralman policy. Yet, despite the overall aggregate loss of diversity in the region, there has been increased diversification as internal migration from rural to urban contexts has escalated. This in-country movement is due to numerous endogenous factors, e.g., the collapse of the soviet rural economy and the removal of state rural subsidies. This reshaping of the population, along with concomitant changes in the newly established countries' language policies and planning efforts which have primarily focused on the revitalization of titular languages, has resulted in the restructuring of majority-minority dynamics. In this article, by focusing on the examples of Kazakhstani Dungans and Koreans, we move away from static categories of 'state', 'language', and 'minority group' and explore how various actors construct, adapt or challenge new language hierarchies by exploring the idea of "minoritization" as a dynamic process.
The broader frame for this article is the fact that despite the unique geopolitical, economic and social challenges that shaped distinctive sociolinguistic contexts in the former Soviet Union (FSU) countries, the appropriation of Soviet-era ethno-national approaches in current nation-state building projects have in fact, worsened the quality of life for non-titular language groups. Moreover, because of globalization and the pervasive spread of neoliberal ideologies related to language and education, such groups increasingly feel pressure to learn the national language(s), as well as "global" languages such as English. However, rather than accept majority and minority as being binary and fixed categories, what we are exploring is the way minorities are in fact, "minoritized", i.e., the process by which minorities are positioned within the broader socio-economic contexts they reside in which then have ramifications regarding issues of access, equity, and inclusion. Blommaert (2010) discussed this when he discussed the "various practices in which a minority is constituted and perpetuated, as well as the various practices by means of which such constituted minorities react and resist these practices" (p. 14). However, what Blommaert does not directly address here is agency and process-how do those minorities get situated and how does that positionality change or shift both at micro and macro-levels? It is this process of being minoritized that we are calling "minoritization". "Minoritization" then could be considered the process in which minorities are, in fact, constructed. This article explores this process by examining how institutions and structures bound and privilege different communities and how different actors co-create their identities (either individual or group) in relation to other groups by specifically focusing on two populations, Dungans and Koreans. Additionally, by focusing on minoritization as a process, we also explore how despite these political, economic, demographic and cultural pressures, minority language communities continue to maintain or reclaim their languages in this transforming social order. Relatedly then, how do groups contest, challenge or negotiate their identities in this dynamic region (broadly) and in Kazakhstan (specifically)? By using minoritization as a lens then, this article attempts to capture a more nuanced understanding of the experienced realities of power dynamics in the region (broadly) and in Kazakhstan (specifically) concluding with a more critical interrogation regarding sociolinguistic fluidity (and stasis) in the region.
Presenters Elise Ahn Director, International Projects Office; Lecturer, Educational Policy Studies, University Of Wisconsin-Madison
Telling stories: Documenting linguistic diversity and minority languages in Hong Kong
Oral Presentation[SYMP56] OPEN CALL - Minority languages04:30 PM - 05:00 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/21 14:30:00 UTC - 2024/07/21 15:00:00 UTC
This presentation details a project to create the first digital archive documenting the linguistic diversity and minority endangered languages of Hong Kong. It focuses on different languages as well as language varieties that are part of Hong Kong's heritage. The aim of the project is to create an easily accessible database of language data that can be used both by researchers as well as by teachers to explore a range of linguistic issues including linguistic diversity, language endangerment, minority languages, language use, language discrimination, and language awareness.
This presentation details a project to create the first digital archive documenting the linguistic diversity and minority endangered languages of Hong Kong. It focuses on different languages as well as language varieties that are part of Hong Kong's heritage. The aim of the project is to create an easily accessible database of language data that can be used both by researchers as well as by teachers to explore a range of linguistic issues including linguistic diversity, language endangerment, minority languages, language use, language discrimination, and language awareness.
The project first aimed to identify and document the linguistic diversity of Hong Kong (e.g., English, Cantonese, Putonghua, Hakka, Waitau, Teochew, Hokkien, Tanka, Tagalog, Urdu, Hindi, Nepali, Tagalog, Thai, French, German, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Dutch etc.). This was done through extensive historical document analysis. A particular focus was placed on Hong Kong's minority indigenous languages that are now on the verge of extinction – this includes the Chinese languages of Hakka, Waitau, and Tanka. In addition, due to migration to Hong Kong from mainland China after the civil war in China, Hong Kong has also been home to a number of minority languages of China that are also becoming endangered, including Shanghainese, Suzhounese, and Wenzhounese. Finally, the project also focused on collecting a significant corpus of data on Hong Kong Sign Language, a unique sign language used in Hong Kong that is also endangered, with fewer than 8000 users today.
Using the data collection task of the storytelling of folktales, traditions, and customs, more than 150 language samples in audio format were collected from speakers of over 70 languages and varieties. Each sample was transcribed into English, traditional, and written Chinese, as well as in Hong Kong Sign Language (video format) for some samples. A brief introduction to the language/variety, including its historical and present day usage in Hong Kong, demographics of usage of the language globally, and an overview of features of the language, were written and are presented along with the audio samples and the translations.
This presentation will focus on the development of the linguistic archive, by detailing the background research involved, selection of languages and speakers, and collection of data. The actual construction of the website will also be discussed. This will be of interest to researchers who are exploring the use of digital technologies to develop corpora of minority and/or endangered languages.
Presenters Jette Hansen Edwards Professor And Department Chair, Department Of English, The Chinese University Of Hong Kong
Anglicisms in a near-extinct Doukhobor Russian language in Canada
Oral Presentation[SYMP56] OPEN CALL - Minority languages05:00 PM - 05:30 PM (Europe/Amsterdam) 2023/07/21 15:00:00 UTC - 2024/07/21 15:30:00 UTC
Anglicisms in a near-extinct Doukhobor Russian language in Canada Veronika Makarova, Department of Linguistics, University of Saskatchewan, Canada Selected symposium: Open call – 3) minority languages Presentation language: English Short abstract in English (15 lines) (if presentation not in English) N/A This presentation introduces distinctive layers of Doukhobor Russian (DR) vocabulary with a focus on loan words from English (anglicisms). Doukhobor vocabulary has remained unexamined so far, except for some studies of the DR ritual style (Schaarschmidt, 2008, 2012). Doukhobors (Doukhobortsy or Spirit Wrestlers) are a religious, linguistic and cultural minority group who immigrated to Canada from Russia in 1899 (Tarasoff, 1984; Makarova, 2019). Doukhobor Russian language needed to develop new vocabulary to reflect the realia of life in a new host country as well as the outcomes of technological and social development in the early 20th century. Due to the contact of DR with the majority English language in Western Canada, dozens of words were borrowed from English into DR and restructured phonologically and morphologically. The reported study is based on 18 hours of audio-records of 20 speakers of Doukhobor Russian collected by the author between 2012 and 2018. The transcripts of the records with a total vocabulary of about 50,000 words were manually analyzed to select foreignisms and loan words from English (anglicisms) and illustrate the patterns of morphological and phonological restructuring of anglicisms. The theoretical approach to the analysis of vocabulary in DR resulting from language contact draws on the concept of lexifier in creolistics (e.g., Michaelis, 2008; Selbach, 2008). The results demonstrate that of a total number of 926 words of foreign origin (foreignisms) in the sample, only 445 (48%) were of English origin, and the rest came from other languages during the time preceding the Doukhobor move to Canada or through their contact with the mainland Standard Russian in the 20th century. The presentation outlines major morpho-syntactic and semantic groups of anglicisms in Doukhobor Russian and concludes with the perspectives for the language maintenance in the community.
References
Makarova, V. 2019. The Russian Language in Canada. In: Mustajoki, A. et al. (Eds.). The Soft Power of the Russian Language, pp. 183-199. London: Routledge. Michaelis, S. M. 2008. Roots of Creole Structures: Weighing the contribution of substrates and superstrates. Benjamins. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1075/cll.33 Schaarschmidt, G. 2012. Russian Language History in Canada: Doukhobor internal and external migrations. In: V. Makarova (Ed.), Russian Studies in North America, pp. 235–260. London: Anthem Press. Schaarschmidt, G. 2008. The Ritual Language of the BC Doukhobors as an Endangered Functional Style, Canadian Slavonic Studies, 50 (1), 101-122. Selbach, R. 2008. The Superstrate is not always the lexifier. Lingua Franca in the Barbary Coast 1539-1830. P 29-58 In: Michaelis, S. M. (Ed.), Roots of Creole Structures: Weighing the contribution of substrates and superstrates. Benjamins. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/cll.33 Tarasoff, K. 1982. Plakun-Trava: The Doukhobors. Grand Forks: Mir.
Brooklyn Lorenc
Dan Dewey
Yutong KUANG
Elise Ahn
Jette Hansen Edwards
