Denotation and connotation in the human-computer interface: The ‘Save as...’ command

This paper presents a semiotic technique as a means of exploring meaning and understanding in interface design and use. This is examined through a study of the interaction between the ‘file’ metaphor and ‘save as’ command metaphor. The behaviour of these (from a functional or computational basis) do not exactly match, or map onto, the meaning of the metaphor. We examine both the denotation of a term to the user, i.e. its literal meaning to that person, and the term’s connotations, i.e. any other meanings associated with the term. We suggest that the technique applied is useful in predicting future problems with understanding the use of metaphor at the interface and with designing appropriate signification for human-computer interaction. Variation in connotation was expected but a more fundamental difference in denotation was also uncovered. Moreover, the results clearly demonstrate that consistency in the denotation of a term is critical in achieving a good user understanding of the command

Le passé composé en usage futur et la pertinence au présent

Cet article étudie les effets de sens du passé composé (PC) sous la portée d'un adverbe situeur futur en français. Nous partons de l'hypothèse de Sthioul (1998) selon laquelle cet usage du PC impose une représentation conçue comme passée depuis une projection allocentrique du moment de la parole située dans le futur. Cet article considère que le PC en usage futur est un usage métalinguistique du passé composé et donc un usage métareprésentationnel (ou interprétatif, cf. Sperber & Wilson 1995) du langage. Nous explorons les restrictions d'emploi de cet usage par des critères sémantiques (télicité, agentivité) et concluons qu'aucun d'entre eux ne forme une contrainte forte alors qu'il y a une condition pragmatique d'emploi beaucoup plus contraignante pour l'usage futur du passé composé. En particulier, nous suggérons que i) ce qui est représenté au futur n'est pas le procès mais l'état résultant (ce qui le rapproche du PC de l'accompli), ii) que l'état résultant est typiquement désirable et a déclenche une inférence à propos de l'attitude ou du comportement à tenir dans le présent dans la perspective de l'état résultant au futur. Ainsi, le passé composé en usage futur prend sa pertinence au présent et non directement au futu

Jarrod Hayes. Queer Roots for the Diaspora: Ghosts in the Family Tree. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 2016.

Review of Jarrod Hayes. Queer Roots for the Diaspora: Ghosts in the family tree. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2016. 325 pp

A cognitive-pragmatic view of the French epistemic future

In this paper, we review the various types of epistemic usages of the (simple and anterior) future tenses in French with the assumption that what actually licenses their occurrence is not a semantic feature such as aspect but pragmatic effects that give relevance to the utterance at the moment of speech. We review the main hypotheses proposed in the relevant literature and conclude that epistemic futures seem to fulfill the function of communicating - through a metarepresentation of a future verification - not only epistemic modality and evidentiality, but also, and perhaps especially, the inference that a particular course of action has to be undertaken from the perspective of a state of affairs that is true in the presen

Metropolising Marseille: Mission impossible? Challenges and opportunities of metropolisation processes in the métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence

Dieser Beitrag liefert Erkenntnisse auf der Ebene der metropolitanen Governance und analysiert zu diesem Zweck ein konkretes Beispiel: die südfranzösische Metropole Marseille. Marseille wird weithin als Großstadt erachtet, die sich in einer postindustriellen Krise befindet: Sie hat es verpasst, einen funktionalen Wandel zu vollziehen und sich an die veränderten Rahmenbedingungen im Zeitalter der Globalisierung anzupassen. Regionalisierte und integrierte Metropolisierungsprozesse haben in den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten jedoch die Aussichten auf eine urbane Renaissance der Großstadt verbessert. Der Beitrag stellt drei zentrale Projekte vor, die die einzelnen Teile der Metropolisierungsprozesse von Marseille sowohl symbolisch darstellen als auch konkretisieren: Euroméditerranée (seit 1995), die Europäische Kulturhauptstadt "Marseille-Provence" 2013 und die institutionelle Gründung der Métropole d'Aix-Marseille-Provence . Dieser Beitrag schlägt einen Ansatz vor, der die Metropolisierung als multidimensionales Phänomen erachtet. Aufbauend auf den drei genannten Beispielprojekten werden die einzelnen relevanten territorial-räumlichen Ebenen und die verschiedenen räumlichen Dimensionen der beteiligten Governance-Akteure analysiert. Mit dem Ziel, die Herausforderungen und Chancen der mehrdimensionalen Metropolisierung von Aix-Marseille-Provence zu untersuchen, analysiert der Beitrag den Wirkungsbereich der Projekte und diskutiert, inwiefern diese konfliktreiche Pluralität zukünftig zu einer besseren und konsensorientierten metropolitanen Integration beitragen kann. Abschließend soll unter Berücksichtigung der Besonderheiten, Erfolge und Fehlschläge dieser Region gezeigt werden, dass die Studie über die Metropolisierung von Marseille für die Entwicklung von ähnlich großen Metropolen Frankreichs und Europas neue Erkenntnisse liefert und zu einem tiefgreifenderen Verständnis beiträgt.This paper aims to contribute to knowledge on the level of metropolitan governance through the analysis of a specific case: the Marseille metropolis in southern France. Marseille is broadly considered a postindustrial city in crisis, which has failed to achieve a functional transformation and a change of narrative in the age of globalisation. Over the last two decades, however, processes of regionalised and integrated metropolisation have had an impact on the city's urban renaissance prospects. The paper identifies three central projects, which symbolically represent and concretely articulate different axes of Marseille's metropolisation processes: Euroméditerranée (1995-*), The European Capital of Culture Marseille-Provence 2013 and the institutional creation of the Métropole d'Aix-Marseille-Provence . This paper proposes to approach metropolisation as a multi-dimensional phenomenon. Drawing on the three aforementioned cases, we analyse the different territorial-spatial scales affected, as well as the various geographic scales of governance stakeholders involved. Reflecting on their scopes of impact, the aim of the study is to investigate the challenges and opportunities of multi-scalar metropolisation for Aix-Marseille-Provence, and to discuss to what extent this conflictual plurality might be promising (or not) for better consensual metropolitan integration in the future. In conclusion, we show that the study on metropolisation in the Marseille region, including the region's unique features, successes and failures, sheds light on and contributes to a better understanding of the evolution of other metropolises of a similar size in France and Europe

The company that words keep: comparing the statistical structure of child- versus adult-directed language

Does child-directed language differ from adult-directed language in ways that might facilitate word learning? Associative structure (the probability that a word appears with its free associates), contextual diversity, word repetitions and frequency were compared longitudinally across six language corpora, with four corpora of language directed at children aged 1 ; 0 to 5 ; 0, and two adult-directed corpora representing spoken and written language. Statistics were adjusted relative to shuffled corpora. Child-directed language was found to be more associative, repetitive and consistent than adult-directed language. Moreover, these statistical properties of child-directed language better predicted word acquisition than the same statistics in adult-directed language. Word frequency and repetitions were the best predictors within word classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives and function words). For all word classes combined, associative structure, contextual diversity and word repetitions best predicted language acquisition. These results support the hypothesis that child-directed language is structured in ways that facilitate language acquisition