A study on the effects of nativeness and gender on phonetic convergence in a tape-mediated map task

Màster de Lingüística Aplicada i Adquisició de Llengües en Contextos Multilingües, Departament de Filologia Anglesa i Alemanya, Universitat de Barcelona, Any: 2012, Supervisor: Dr. Joan Carles MoraPrevious studies examining phonetic convergence in terms of VOT adaptation in shadowing tasks and in interactions have found that such adaptation is highly influenced by social factors as nativeness and gender. Speakers adapted more and produced longer VOTs when the interlocutors’ VOTs were longer (Nielsen, 2011); however, Kim (2011) found that speakers adapted to both non-native and to native interlocutors. Studies focusing on same gender dyads found that female speakers have been found to converge more (Pardo, 2006) whereas Namy et.al (2002) found that male speakers adapted more often. This study assesses the convergence of 26 speakers’ productions of nonwords and words in terms of VOTs in a map task (Pardo, 2006) before (Time 1) and after (Time 2) a tape-mediated interaction (Lumley and O’Sullivan, 2005 ); in particular the effects of interlocutors’ nativeness and gender on speakers’ degree of convergence. Participants’ productions presented large variability which is in line with previous findings (Theodore et al, 2009; Allen, 2003; Pardo, 2006). Results show that the treatment had no effects; as little convergence was found for some but not all of the VOT measurements. Nativeness and gender did not have significant effects on VOT adaptation when the group of participants was considered as a whole, but some phonetic convergence was observed for some of the participants’ production

El filósofo como heredero de los profetas: el racionalismo islámico de Averroes

This essay argues that, underlying the legal framework of Averroes’s Faṣl al-maqāl, there appears to be a genuine desire to reconcile the claims of reason with the demands of faith; then, that Averroes based this reconciliation on the acceptance of a hermeneutical theory that sees the divine Word as addressing all human beings according to their intellectual capacities and that, consequently, he did not exclude the learned from the religious duty of assenting to revealed truth. Finally, and contrary to overstated secularist interpretations of his rationalism, it is suggested that there are grounds to defend the view that Averroes conceived of philosophy in quasi-religious terms, as the noblest work to be carried out in the presence of God, making its practitioners the rightful ‘heirs of the prophets’.El presente artículo argumenta que por debajo del marco jurídico del Faṣl al-maqāl subyace el deseo de conciliar los requerimientos de la razón con las exigencias de la fe. Averroes basa tal conciliación en la aceptación de una teoría hermenéutica según la cual, la Palabra Divina se dirige a cada ser humano según su capacidad intelectual. Por consiguiente, Averroes no excluye a los sabios del deber religioso de asentir a la verdad revelada. Contrariamente a interpretaciones exageradamente secularizadoras de su racionalismo, el artículo sugiere que Averroes concibió la filosofía en términos cuasi religiosos, como la obra más noble que se puede llevar a cabo en presencia de Dios, cuyo ejercicio convierte a sus practicantes en los legítimos «herederos de los profetas»

An unyielding clash of orthodoxies: Ibn Taymiyya and the Mediaeval religious controversy on the interpretation of the Koran

Presentación y traducción anotada de un capítulo de al-Ǧawāb al-a īli-manbaddala dīn al-Masī del célebre jurista y teólogo ḥanbalí Aḥmad b. Taymiyya (m. 1328). En este capítulo, Ibn Taymiyya discute dos importantes pasajes de la cristología coránica: Corán 3,59, donde se compara la creación extraordinaria de Jesús con la creación de Adán, y Corán 4,171, que sugiere una relación especial entre Jesús y Dios al describirlo como «Su palabra» y «un espíritu que procede de él».Presentation and annotated translation of a chapter from the al-Ǧawāb al-aīli-man baddala dīn al-Masī by the famous Ḥanbali jurist and theologian Aḥmad b. Taymiyya (d. 1328). In this chapter, Ibn Taymiyya discusses two important passages dealing with Koranic Christology: Koran 3,59, in which the extraordinary creation of Jesus is compared to that of Adam; and Koran 4,171, in which a special relationship between Jesus and God is suggested when the former is described as «His word» and «a spirit emanating from Him»

Churches in Muslim lands: Ibn Taymiyya’s Mas’alat al-kanā’is

Presentation and annotated translation of the Mas’alat al-kanā’is from Taqī al-dīn Aḥmad b. Taymiyya. In this fatwā, written between 1301 and 1306, the famous Ḥanbali jurist approaches the question of the churches in Cairo and other places that were closed in 1301 by order of the Mamluk sultan al-Nāṣir Muḥammad b. Qalāwūn. Accompanying the fatwā is a passage from the Egyptian historian al-Maqrīzī in which he narrates the incident that caused the closing of the churches and the restoration of cUmar’s stipulations concerning the dimmis.Presentación y traducción anotada de la Mas’alat al-kanā’is de Taqī al-dīn Aḥmad b. Taymiyya. En esta fetua, escrita entre 1301 y 1306, el célebre jurista ḥanbalí aborda la cuestión de las iglesias de El Cairo y de otros lugares que fueron cerradas en 1301 por orden del sultán mameluco al-Nāṣir Muḥammad b. Qalāwūn. Se acompaña la fetua de un pasaje del historiador egipcio al-Maqrīzī donde narra el incidente que provocó el cierre de las iglesias y el restablecimiento de las estipulaciones de cUmar en relación a los ḏimmíes

El Quijote: ese gran aburrido. Un método de incitación a la lectura

El interés pedagógico que tenemos los profesores de Lengua y Literatura Españolas por lograr que nuestros alumnos lean nos ha llevado a tomar la decisión de aplicar un método de incitación a la lectura teniendo como lema: El Quijote: ese gran aburrido. En este artículo exponemos la parte realizada durante el primer trimestre de curso, en donde destacamos la gran aceptación por parte de los alumnos y la valoración que han hecho sobre esta gran obra de la Literatura Española.The pedagogical interest that have the professors of Spanish Language and Literature by achieving that students read, has carried us to decide of applying a method of incitement to the reading having as motto: read The Quixote. In this I articulate we expose the part carried out during the first quarter of course, where we emphasize the great acceptance on the pat of the students and the appraisal that have done on this great work of Spanish Literature

The relationship of capitalization period length with market portfolio composition and betas

Beta coefficients are not stable if we modify the observation periods of the returns. The market portfolio composition also varies, whereas changes in the betas are the same, whether they are calculated as regression coefficients or as a ratio of the risk premiums. The instantaneous beta, obtained when the capitalization frequency approaches infinity, may be a useful tool in portfolio selection.Los coeficientes beta no son estables si se modifica la duración de los periodos en los que se mide la rentabilidad de los activos. La composición de la cartera de mercado también varía. Los cambios en las betas son los mismos si éstas han sido calculadas como coeficientes de regresión o como cocientes de primas de riesgo. La beta instantánea obtenida cuando la frecuencia de capitalización tiende a infinito puede ser utilizada como herramienta en la selección de carteras