An examination of tag-questions and ellipsis in English and Spanish

In this paper, I will examine how tag-questions function in English and test if they function in the same way in Spanish. Then, I will compare the differences between the two languages and propose a structure and method for forming tag-questions in each language. Also, I will examine how ellipsis functions in each language and how it supports the analysis of the tag-questions. Finally, I will show that a few of the apparent differences between the two languages are incorrect and I will give my proposed solution

Variável ligada, antecedente cindido e interpretações de elipse em Português como L2: implicações para as teorias de aquisição de L2

Recentemente, no quadro do Programa Minimalista, alguns relatos de acesso parcial à Gramática Universal (GU) na área de aquisição de segunda língua distinguiram entre a habilidade de adquirir novos traços funcionais depois do período crítico, baseando-se na interpretabilidade dos traços de LF (HAWKINS, 2005; HAWKINS; HATTORI, 2006; TSIMPLI; MASTROPAVLOU, 2007; TSIMPLI; DIMITRAKOPOULOU, 2007). Eles afirmam que somente os traços que não sejam interpretáveis não podem ser adquiridos após o período crítico (Interpretability Hypothesis). Ao contrário, propostas de Acesso Completo (Full Access Hypothesis) propõem que pessoas que adquirem uma segunda língua têm acesso completo ao inventário inteiro de traços da GU e que as diferenças entre a L1 e a L2 se obtêm fora da sintaxe. Os fenômenos observados neste trabalho, a aquisição adulta do Overt Pronoun Constraint OPC (MONTALBETTI, 1984) e infinitivos flexionados em português L2, desafiam a Interpretability Hypothesis, já que esta faz predições incorretas sobre os fatos observados. Os resultados desta pesquisa demonstram que estudantes avançados de português como L2 adquirem a OPC e a sintaxe e semântica dos infinitivos flexionados, atingindo um desempenho semelhante ao dos falantes nativos. Posto que os infinitivos flexionados requerem a aquisição de novos traços-? não interpretáveis, os dados fornecem evidência contra a Interpretability Hypothesis de Tsimpli e seus colegas.PALAVRAS-CHAVES: Overt Pronoun Constraint. Infinitivos flexionados. Aquisição de segunda língua. Acesso adulto à Gramática Universal.Recently, in light of minimalist assumptions, some partial UG-accessibility accounts to adult second language acquisition have made a distinction between the post-critical period ability to acquire new features based on their LF-interpretability (i.e. interpretable vs. uninterpretable features) (HAWKINS, 2005; HAWKINS; HATTORI, 2006; TSIMPLI; MASTROPAVLOU, 2007; TSIMPLI; DIMITRAKOPOULOU, 2007). The Interpretability Hypothesis (TSIMPLI; MASTROPAVLOU, 2007; TSIMPLI; DIMITRAKOPOULOU, 2007) claims that only uninterpretable features suffer a post-critical period failure and, therefore, cannot be acquired. Conversely, Full Access approaches claim that L2 learners have full access to UG’s entire inventory of features, and that L1/L2 differences obtain outside the narrow syntax. The phenomenon studied herein, adult acquisition of the Overt Pronoun Constraint (OPC) (MONTALBETTI, 1984) and inflected infinitives in non-native Portuguese, challenges the Interpretability Hypothesis insofar as it makes the wrong predictions for what is observed. The present data demonstrate that advanced learners of L2 Portuguese acquire the OPC and the syntax and semantics of inflected infinitives with native-like accuracy. Since inflected infinitives require the acquisition of new uninterpretable ?-features, the present data provide evidence in contra Tsimpli and colleagues’ Interpretability Hypothesis.KEYWORDS: Overt Pronoun Constraint. Inflected Infinitives. L2 acquisition. Adult UG-accessibility RESUMO Recentemente, no quadro do Programa Minimalista, alguns relatos de acesso parcial à Gramática Universal (GU) na área de aquisição de segunda língua distinguiram entre a habilidade de adquirir novos traços funcionais depois do período crítico, baseando-se na interpretabilidade dos traços de LF (HAWKINS, 2005; HAWKINS; HATTORI, 2006; TSIMPLI; MASTROPAVLOU, 2007; TSIMPLI; DIMITRAKOPOULOU, 2007). Eles afirmam que somente os traços que não sejam interpretáveis não podem ser adquiridos após o período crítico (Interpretability Hypothesis). Ao contrário, propostas de Acesso Completo (Full Access Hypothesis) propõem que pessoas que adquirem uma segunda língua têm acesso completo ao inventário inteiro de traços da GU e que as diferenças entre a L1 e a L2 se obtêm fora da sintaxe. Os fenômenos observados neste trabalho, a aquisição adulta do Overt Pronoun Constraint OPC (MONTALBETTI, 1984) e infinitivos flexionados em português L2, desafiam a Interpretability Hypothesis, já que esta faz predições incorretas sobre os fatos observados. Os resultados desta pesquisa demonstram que estudantes avançados de português como L2 adquirem a OPC e a sintaxe e semântica dos infinitivos flexionados, atingindo um desempenho semelhante ao dos falantes nativos. Posto que os infinitivos flexionados requerem a aquisição de novos traços-? não interpretáveis, os dados fornecem evidência contra a Interpretability Hypothesis de Tsimpli e seus colegas.PALAVRAS-CHAVES: Overt Pronoun Constraint. Infinitivos flexionados. Aquisição de segunda língua. Acesso adulto à Gramática Universal

Fungus Disease in Relation to Managing Prairie Plants With Fire

Specific fungal foliar diseases were assessed on selected prairie plant species in relation to fire as a management practice on Hayden Prairie Preserve, Iowa. Selected plant species in burned and unburned areas were visually inspected and rated for presence and severity of specific fungal diseases at three sampling times in July and September 1987 and in June 1988. Less disease and lower disease severity ratings were recorded on plants in burned areas except for powdery mildew on Canada tickclover [Desmodium canadense (L.) DC.]. Increasing amounts of disease developed on plants in the areas unburned for one and two years

Older age of onset in child L2 acquisition can be facilitative: evidence from the acquisition of English passives by Spanish natives

We report a longitudinal comprehension study of (long) passive constructions in two native-Spanish child groups differing by age of initial exposure to L2 English (young group: 3;0-4;0 years; older group: 6;0-7;0 years); where amount of input, L2 exposure environment, and socio-economic status are controlled. Data from a forced-choice task show that both groups comprehend active sentences, not passives, initially (after 3.6 years of exposure). One year later, both groups improve, but only the older group reaches ceiling on both actives and passives. Two years from initial testing, the younger group catches up. Input alone cannot explain why the younger group takes 5 years to accomplish what the older group does in 4. We claim that some properties take longer to acquire at certain ages because language development is partially constrained by general cognitive and linguistic development (e.g. de Villiers, 2007; Long & Rothman, 2014; Paradis, 2008, 2010, 2011; Tsimpli, 2014)

When bilingualism is the common factor: switch reference at the junction of competence and performance in both second language and heritage language performance

In this paper we take a closer look at the oft-touted divide between heritage language speakers and adult second language (L2) learners. Here, we explore whether some properties of language may display general effects across different populations of bilinguals, explaining, at least partially, why these two groups show some common differences when compared with monolinguals. To test this hypothesis, we adduce data from two unique populations of bilinguals: a moribund variety of heritage German spoken in southwestern Kansas (Moundridge Schweitzer German) and L2 adult learners of Spanish. Empirically, we investigate whether the confound of switch reference adds an additional cognitive burden to these bilinguals in licensing object control predicates in the former and referential subject pronouns in the latter. Our preliminary findings support the view that overarching concepts such as incomplete acquisition cannot capture the variability observed in these populations, thus further supporting approaches that interpret findings such as these to be the result of specific variables

Plant Parasitic Fungi of Four Tallgrass Prairies of Northern Iowa: Distribution and Prevalence

Throughout the 1980\u27s, most intensively during the past five years, collections of fungal parasites of prairie plants have been made at various times of the growing season from four prairie preserves, Cayler, Freda Haffner Kettlehole, Hayden, and Stinson prairies, in northern Iowa. A total of 216 species of parasitic fungi were collected on 129 prairie plant hosts. Ninety-nine of the fungi were not previously documented from Iowa. Also, fungus species previously reported were found on 72 host species not included in earlier records

Interprofessional Diabetes Care: A Unique Model

Pacific University\u27s new Interprofessional Diabetes Clinic (Clinica Multiprofesional Para la Diabetes) is a safety-net clinic open to anyone with diabetes, with a primary focus on providing affordable care to Latinos and other underserved populations with diabetes. This case presentation focused on interprofessional assessment and treatment planning for a 46-year old Latino female referred to the clinic for her annual diabetic eye exam. Faculty from Dental Health Science, Physical Therapy, Professional Psychology, Physician Assistant Studies, Pharmacy, Optometry, and Occupational Therapy participated in this case, along with an interprofessional student group

The Effect of Atorvastatin on Breast Cancer Biomarkers in High-Risk Women

Statins have the potential to reduce breast cancer incidence and recurrence as shown in both epidemiologic and laboratory studies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a lipophilic statin, atorvastatin, on breast cancer biomarkers of risk [mammographic density (MD) and insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1)] in high-risk premenopausal women

In vivo Bioluminescence Imaging of Burkholderia mallei Respiratory Infection and Treatment in the Mouse Model

Bioluminescent imaging (BLI) technology is a powerful tool for monitoring infectious disease progression and treatment approaches. BLI is particularly useful for tracking fastidious intracellular pathogens that might be difficult to recover from certain organs. Burkholderia mallei, the causative agent of glanders, is a facultative intracellular pathogen and has been classified by the CDC as a Category B select agent due to its highly infectious nature and potential use as a biological weapon. Very little is known regarding pathogenesis or treatment of glanders. We investigated the use of bioluminescent reporter constructs to monitor the dynamics of infection as well as the efficacy of therapeutics for B. mallei in real-time. A stable luminescent reporter B. mallei strain was created using the pUTmini-Tn5::luxKm2 plasmid and used to monitor glanders in the BALB/c murine model. Mice were infected via the intranasal route with 5 × 103 bacteria and monitored by BLI at 24, 48, and 72 h. We verified that our reporter construct maintained similar virulence and growth kinetics compared to wild-type B. mallei and confirmed that it maintains luminescent stability in the presence or absence of antibiotic selection. The luminescent signal was initially seen in the lungs, and progressed to the liver and spleen over the course of infection. We demonstrated that antibiotic treatment 24 h post-infection resulted in reduction of bioluminescence that can be attributed to decreased bacterial burden in target organs. These findings suggest that BLI can be used to monitor disease progression and efficacy of therapeutics during glanders infections. Finally, we report an alternative method to mini-Tn5::luxKm2 transposon using mini-Tn7-lux elements that insert site-specifically at known genomic attachment sites and that can also be used to tag bacteria