Linguistics Talks @ Western

2024-2025

March 27, 2025, 3:30pm (University College Room: 2115)

2025-03-27 Rob_YoungRob Stainton and Yong Yu (Western University): "Is Register Semantic?" 

Abstract: This entry covers the meaning of sociolinguistic register. It begins with a series of examples – such as, for instance, the contrast in content among ‘poop’, ‘shit’ and ‘excrement’ – and then provides a mostly theory-neutral explication of the technical term ‘register’. Next, the entry addresses a central issue about this variety of meaning, namely whether it counts as “semantic” or not. In addressing this question, we suggest, on the one hand and tentatively, that the sort of meaning-difference found among near synonyms like ‘bow wow’, ‘dog’ and ‘canine’ does indeed attach to the expression type, as part of its standing conventional meaning. On the other hand, we conjecture that register-style meanings are nonetheless not truth-conditional. 

Key Terms: 

Register, sociolinguistics, dialectology, semantics, emotive meaning, use-theoretic meaning 

March 13, 2025, 3:30pm (University College Room: 2115)

2025-03-13_michael_LTWMichael Iannozzi (Western University and Brock University): “We never used to say that!” : Linguistic Atlases & Heritage Languages

Abstract: Heritage Languages are an important part of Canada’s linguistic history. These varieties can differ in various ways from those spoken in the homeland. Being able to compare homeland and heritage varieties is essential to understanding effects that may be caused by language contact, dialect levelling, and natural diachronic change.
 
In my doctoral research, I used the Atlante Italo-Svizzero (or AIS) : a linguistic atlas of Italian dialects published 1928-1940. This atlas provides data on how people spoke the dialects in Italy prior to the mass migration of the 1950s. 
In this talk, I will show how to compare heritage languages to a pre-emigration variety using data from linguistic atlases. This presentation covers how I used the AIS, how I transcribed the map’s images, how I transliterated the idiosyncratic phonetic alphabet to a standard IPA, and how I compared the prompt-and-response data to my semi-directed interviews for analysis. 

Iannozzi, Michael, 2024. The imbalanced interaction of verbal ambiguity and pro-drop: The functional hypothesis in homeland and heritage varieties of Calabrian Italian and Ciociaro. Doctoral dissertation, The University of Western Ontario. 

Jaberg, Karl andJakob Jud. 1928-1940. Sprach-und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz. (Atlante Italo-Svizzero). Zofingen, Ringier. 

Linguistic atlases are an imperfect resource for understanding how a language once existed. In some cases, however, they are the only historical resource available for under-described varieties. They should be an essential part of heritage language research.