A Typology of Spreading, Insertion and Deletion or What You Weren’t Told About Raddoppiamento Sintattico in Italian

This paper focuses on the description and analysis of the external sandhi phenomenon of raddoppiamento sintattico (hereafter RS) in Italian, sometimes referred to as word-initial gemination, for example: (1) No RS due cani [duùe kaùni] ‘two dogs

Raddoppiamento sintattico and glottalization phenomena in Italian

This paper is a preliminary phonetic exploration of aspects of the well-known Italian sandhi phenomenon of Raddoppiamento sintattico (henceforth RS), which involves the gemination of word-initial consonants under certain conditions, eg dei [k]ani ‘some dogs’ but tre [kk]ani ‘three dogs’. It is often assumed that RS C-gemination is regular, but there is increasing evidence that it competes with other phenomena such as vowel lengthening. This paper first discusses results of our auditory study of RS contexts, which show that RS is far less frequent in spontaneous speech than is theoretically predicted. This paper then looks specifically at glottal stop insertion and creak in RS contexts, based on the results of an initial small-scale acoustic investigation. The first has controversially been reported as occurring in RS environments where it serves to block RS (Absalom & Hajek, 1997). In addition, glottal stops have also been claimed to provide a coda to short word-final stressed vowels outside of RS environments (Vayra, 1994). We discuss our unexpected finding that glottalization characterizes phrase boundaries in our spontaneous speech data, and the implications that this evidence may have for the phonetic and phonological description of Italian and for our understanding of RS

L'email per imparare l'italiano: aspetti linguistici e contenutistici della comunicazione telematica in italiano L2

The integration of electronic communication into the teaching and learning of languages has opened up new horizons. This paper discusses a project involving the use of email exchanges in the Italian program at the Australian National University. Approximately eighty students participated in the project which consisted of two iterations of a one-to-one email conversation. This article examines the language and content of the messages constructed by students in terms of the following features: -the implications of the physical, psychological and temporal distance inherent in email communication -the differences between email communication of native speakers and learners -the dialogic nature of email communication and its relationship to both written and spoken communication -the importance of “empty” messages -the creativity of expression and the relationship between form and content

Caratteristiche della comunicazione email: riflessioni su un corso universitario australiano di italiano L2

This paper discusses a project involving the use of email exchanges in the Italian program at the Australian National University. Approximately eighty students participated in the project which consisted of two iterations of a one-to-one email conversation. We describe the language and content of the messages constructed by students in terms of the following features: • the effects of the spatial, temporal and psychological distance inherent in email communication • the hybrid nature of electronic communication which is situated between written and spoken discourse • the relationship of the formal and content aspects of electronic communication • the creative expression of the language produced

Acceptability and feasibility of peer assisted supervision and support for intervention practitioners: a Q-methodology evaluation

Evidence-based interventions often include quality improvement methods to support fidelity and improve client outcomes. Clinical supervision is promoted as an effective way of developing practitioner confidence and competence in delivery; however, supervision is often inconsistent and embedded in hierarchical line management structures that may limit the opportunity for reflective learning. The Peer Assisted Supervision and Support (PASS) supervision model uses peer relationships to promote the self-regulatory capacity of practitioners to improve intervention delivery. The aim of the present study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of PASS amongst parenting intervention practitioners. A Q-methodology approach was used to generate data and 30 practitioners volunteered to participate in the study. Data were analyzed and interpreted using standard Q-methodology procedures and by-person factor analysis yielded three factors. There was consensus that PASS was acceptable. Participants shared the view that PASS facilitated an environment of support where negative aspects of interpersonal relationships that might develop in supervision were not evident. Two factors represented the viewpoint that PASS was also a feasible model of supervision. However, the third factor was comprised of practitioners who reported that PASS could be time consuming and difficult to fit into existing work demands. There were differences across the three factors in the extent to which practitioners considered PASS impacted on their intervention delivery. The findings highlight the importance of organizational mechanisms that support practitioner engagement in supervision

Prosodic phonology and raddoppiamento sintattico: a re-evaluation

The phenomenon known as raddoppiamento sintattico (RS) in Italian has been used to justify the notion of the phonological phrase in prosodic phonology. However, careful consideration of the application of the theory itself as well as a number of empirical problems raised by other scholars do not support the notion that the phonological phrase is useful in describing RS.September 28-30, 200

Comparing the outcomes of online listening versus online text-based tasks in University-level Italian L2 study

The definitive version is published in ReCall published by CUP. ©Cambridge University Press, Absalom, M., & Rizzi, A. (2007) Comparing the outcomes of online listening versus online text-based tasks in University-level Italian L2 study. ReCALL, 20(1), 55-66. http://journals.cambridge.org/In this paper, we describe an initial exploratory study designed to compare the outcomes of online listening and online text-based tasks in the context of the study of Italian at The University of Melbourne. Our findings allow us to characterise online listening and online reading as a qualitative difference between deep and surface approaches to learning. Online listening seems to promote an integrative orientation and heighten students’ desire to deconstruct and understand texts. There also appears to be higher vocabulary acquisition and knowledge retention with online listening tasks