Introduction

National Foreign Language Resource Cente

Grammatical Analysis Situated in Structural Environment : The Case of the Perspective-Shifting Construction in Nootka

「環太平洋の言語」成果報告書A2-043ELPR publication series A2-04

Comments on the Paper by David Bradley

「環太平洋の言語」成果報告書C002ELPR publication series C00

Let the Language Be the Guide : How Can We Capture the Internal Logic of a Language?

「環太平洋の言語」成果報告書C004ELPR publication series C00

2. Hunza Burushaski / Noboru Yoshioka

"LingDy.""Supported by the Collaborative Research Development Program of the Linguistic Dynamics Science Project (LingDy), Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies"--P. v of [1]Four workshops conducted for the publication of this book, cf. p. vii of [1]Includes bibliographical references and inde

Mismatch between theory and practice: Problem of determining base forms for Miyako verbs

In thinking about the relationships between linguistic practice, theory, and application, we typically assume that our theoretical understanding of grammatical structure matches the reality of linguistic practice (and speakers' intuition) and can be directly applicable to teaching and revitalization of the language. Unfortunately, this does not seem necessarily the case. In this presentation we will discuss the difficulty we encountered when we try to determine 'the base form' of a word in our work with Miyako, an endangered Ryukyuan language spoken in Okinawa, Japan. Verbs in Miyako exhibit multiple inflected forms (in the same way English verbs do, e.g. jump, jumped, jumping, etc.). When a word has variant forms, linguists identify the base form on the basis of the inflectional pattern and use it as the representative or reference form, e.g. as a dictionary headword. This notion of a representative form also seems to be very much in speakers' minds as they tend to talk about verbs using a single form rather than using different forms at different times. However, the problem is that the forms that linguists and speakers choose as representative are different in Miyako. Linguists working on Miyako typically represent verbs with the non-past form (e.g., fau 'eat'), but in contrast, native speakers consistently cite the verb in the converb form (e.g., fai ‘eating’), and in fact, word lists compiled by them list verbs in this form. Linguists' choice of the non-past form as the representative is most likely something that has been carried over from the research tradition of the more socially dominant language, Japanese. Native speaker intuition, on the other hand, likely stems from the fact that the converb form is the most frequently used in natural discourse. No matter what the sources are, this discrepancy raises a question about the identity and validity of the 'base form' of Miyako verbs. Although this may seem like a small problem, it nonetheless reveals a serious clash between the grammatical organization linguists would see and the way speakers would understand and use the grammar. We will explore in our presentation factors that contributed to this difference. It is important to be aware of such mismatches when we think about ways to relate theory, practice, and application

Genome-wide association study revealed novel loci which aggravate asymptomatic hyperuricaemia into gout

Objective The first ever genome-wide association study (GWAS) of clinically defined gout cases and asymptomatic hyperuricaemia (AHUA) controls was performed to identify novel gout loci that aggravate AHUA into gout. Methods We carried out a GWAS of 945 clinically defined gout cases and 1003 AHUA controls followed by 2 replication studies. In total, 2860 gout cases and 3149 AHUA controls (all Japanese men) were analysed. We also compared the ORs for each locus in the present GWAS (gout vs AHUA) with those in the previous GWAS (gout vs normouricaemia). Results This new approach enabled us to identify two novel gout loci (rs7927466 of CNTN5 and rs9952962 of MIR302F) and one suggestive locus (rs12980365 of ZNF724) at the genome-wide significance level (p<5.0×10– 8). The present study also identified the loci of ABCG2, ALDH2 and SLC2A9. One of them, rs671 of ALDH2, was identified as a gout locus by GWAS for the first time. Comparing ORs for each locus in the present versus the previous GWAS revealed three ‘gout vs AHUA GWAS’-specific loci (CNTN5, MIR302F and ZNF724) to be clearly associated with mechanisms of gout development which distinctly differ from the known gout risk loci that basically elevate serum uric acid level. Conclusions This meta-analysis is the first to reveal the loci associated with crystal-induced inflammation, the last step in gout development that aggravates AHUA into gout. Our findings should help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of gout development and assist the prevention of gout attacks in high-risk AHUA individuals