A Brief Analysis of Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis

This paper makes a brief analysis on the contrastive analysis hypothesis, and it is hoped to be helpful for the English teachers.

A Contrastive Analysis of Demonstrative Reference in English and Chinese

I Introduction The fact that we are human beings who live together in society determines that much that we want to accomplish can be done only through social communication with other people. It is under

A Contrastive Analysis of Conditionals in English and Moroccan Arabic: Potential problems when learning English conditionals by Moroccan EFL learners

Learning to handle hypothetical situations in a new language is always difficult(Catford,et al.,1974).This rule holds true for Moroccan Arabic(henceforth MA)speakers learning English because grammatical devices in the two languages differ in almost all equivalent situations.For instance,while English verb forms are used to indicate tense in conditional sentences,MA uses them to indicate aspect.Adopting the typology of conditional constructions suggested by Dancygier(1999)and Dancygier&Sweetser(2005),this study provides a contrastive analysis of conditionals in English and MA to predict the possible errors EFL/ESL learners are likely to make while learning English.The analysis shows that the main discrepancy between English conditionals and MA conditionals lies in the verb form used by the two systems.Accordingly,if EFL/ESL learners are influenced by verb form in their L1,they are likely to face some challenges while learning English conditionals.That is,they are likely to use the past tense in the protases of English predictive conditionals and generic conditionals since the perfective form of the verb is used in the protases of these two types in MA.Concerning the protases of English non-predictive conditionals,Moroccan EFL/ESL learners are likely to use either the past tense or the present tense since both the perfective and the imperfective forms of the verb are possible in the protases of MA non-predictive conditionals.However,due to the fact that the perfective form is the prototypical form in the protases of conditionals in MA,EFL/ESL learners are likely to use the past tense more often than the present tense.The analysis also shows that EFL/ESL learners tend to use the present tense in the apodoses of English conditionals since the prevalent form in the apodoses of MA conditionals is the imperfective.

A Contrastive Analysis of Same-Topic News Reports in Chinese and American Mainstream Media

Based on ideational,interpersonal,and textual metafunctions in systemic functional linguistics(SFL),a contrastive analysis is carried out on two same-topic news reports of Chinese and American main stream media.Two reports from the People’s Daily and CNN are analyzed in terms of the lexical-grammatical systems(transitivity,mood and modality,and theme)realizing the three corresponding metafunctions to compare Chinese and American media reports on the same event.Results show that the two reports deploy different transitivity processes,but indicate similarity in the uses of mood and thematic choices.There are also respective preferences for reporting the sametopic news:CNN focuses on the whole process of the incident,the report being relatively objective and fair without obvious emotional bias,while the report of People’s Daily is relatively comprehensive,analyzing the incident from various angles,and playing a positive role in guiding public opinion.

A Contrastive Analysis of Laser Heating Between the Human and Guinea Pig Cochlea by Numerical Simulations

The photo-thermal effect has been hypothesised to be one of the most possible biophysical mecha-nisms for laser-cochlea stimulation. The majority focus on animals like the guinea pig, from which a num-ber of valuable results have been gained. However, in light of the increasing need to improve laser safety, it has became necessary to find out whether studies on animals can shed light on safe laser parameters in the human cochlea.

Component Analysis and Calculation for Social Benefits of UHV Assessment

With the rapid development of the UHV power grid, evaluation of the economic and social benefits of the UHV power grid is conducive to guiding the planning and construction of UHV power grid. At present economic benefit evaluation system of the UHV power grid is driving to maturity stage on the whole at home and abroad, but it invariably tends to regard social benefits as part of economic benefits, without evaluating social benefit separately. The social benefit evaluation model of UHV power grid is built in case of sufficient investigation. The differentials between social benefit and social cost are calculated respectively by three kinds of solutions according to the constructed social cost evaluation index system and social benefits evaluation index system, conclusion that UHV power grid transmission has better social benefits can be reached by contrastively analyzing the social three kinds of solutions corresponding to benefits. At last, the evaluation model and method are verified and analyzed through the analysis of engineering projects.

A Three-layered Contrasting Analysis of the Theme in Once more to the lake

Once more to the lake is a representative work of the American Writer, Elwyn Brooks White, and has been acclaimed by people in the world. The paper offers a three-layered contrasting analysis of the essay. By detailed analysis of the contrasts running through the whole essay, the author finds that those contrasts are symbol of White's internal struggle and reflection for life.On the foundation of the three-layered contrasts, the paper presents the theme analysis and clarifies the content of the essay.

The Role of the First Language in Mongolian Learner's Learning of English

In this paper, writer endeavors to make teachers be aware of the importance of comparison and contrast between the first language (Mongolian) and foreign language (English) in the process of teaching Mongolian learners English. It starts with a discussion on the connection between L1and L2 from two conflicting theories-the Restructuring Hypothesis and the Creative construction Hypothesis. Then it explores the similarities and differences between English and Mongolian, which is followed by some examples, for the purpose of helping Mongolian learners improve their English efficiently.

SENSITIVITY FACTORS FOR TYPHOON GENESIS OVER THE WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC DURING JULY-SEPTEMBER

The paper compares the correlations between individual factors of the cyclogenesis and the number of TCs formed in the western North Pacific in July to September(NTWNP). It also compares the characteristics of zonal anomaly distribution of the factors in the primary TC source areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Results show that the vorticity factor has the closest correlation with NTWNP. In TC genesis conditions, this feature is relatively rich but not enough, which determines that it is the sensitivity factor of NTWNP's annual variation. The paper also analyzes the source of annual variation of the vorticity factor in the key area of the western North Pacific as well as its advantage in showing NTWNP. Results show that the annual variation of the vorticity factor mentioned above is related to the annual variation of Southern Oscillation, Antarctica Oscillation and the geopotential height field of East Australia, which reflects the effect of two large-scale systems in the Southern Hemisphere and ENSO(El Ni?o–Southern Oscillation) on NTWNP. Since the area where the vorticity factor is significantly correlated with NTWNP is consistent with the area of dense TC genesis sources, the vorticity factor has an obvious advantage in showing annual variation of TCs. Those features are very significant for research on the influencing mechanism of NTWNP and simulation of climate models.

The Role of L1 in Second Language Acquisition

The role of the native language in second language acquisition has long been a hotly debated issue in the area of SLA.Variousstudies on the subject are reviewed and controversial views are examined in the paper,referring to Behaviorism,Contrastive Analysis Hy-pothesis,Error Analysis Hypothesis,Creative Construction Hypothesis,Common Underlying Proficiency Hypothesis,and MarkednessTheory,etc.,so as to provide a more comprehensive and deeper analysis of the role L1 plays in L2 acquisition.

The Negative Transfer from Xinyang Dialect on English Consonant Pronunciation

In the paper, the author presents the negative transfer influence of Xinyang dialect on learners' English consonant pronunciation by comparing their differences in the segmental level, and proposes some suggestions for English pronunciation teaching based on the theories of Contrastive Analysis, the Input Hypothesis.

A Study on the Negative Phonetic Transfer of English Learners in Henan Province

Due to the influence of dialect,many English learners in China tend to speak English in the way they usually speak during second language acquisition,which results in negative transfer on English pronunciation.In order to reduce this phenomenon and improve the students’English pronunciation level,it is necessary for us to study the topic and put forward solutions.By using the contrastive analysis,this paper compares the pronunciation of English,Chinese and Henan dialect so as to find out the influence of Henan dialect on English learners at segmental level and suprasegmental level.The results show strong correlation between the pronunciation of English and Henan dialect for English learners.Therefore,this paper analyzes the mistakes and reasons that learners of Henan province are prone to make in the process of learning,and puts forward corresponding suggestions for teaching on students’negative transfer,so as to enhance the awareness of negative transfer for teachers and students.

Crosslinguistic Influence of the First Language: Interlingual errors in the writing of ESL Saudi learners

Writing as a productive skill is challenging for the learners as it requires rich linguistic and cognitive abilities to match words with ideas well. A learner of any language as Second Language (SL), for example English, Arabic, Chinese, or German, enters an early, natural, and inevitable stage of making various errors in writing compositions. The errors could be due to dissimilar linguistic systems of the two languages (L1 and L2) or the lack of understanding the SL linguistic rules. This study focuses on investigating the frequent and common inter-lingual errors (the negative influence) committed by Arabic-speaking learners of English as Second Language (ESL). The study is based on Error Analysis (EA) of the essays of a group of English major undergraduate students from the University of Bisha, Al-Namas, Saudi Arabia. Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH)is included to predict most of the errors in the collected samples. The findings of the study show that common errors in the data are interlingual (54.03%). The errors within the Grammatical Category include the misuse of tenses, dropping the subjects, dropping verb to be-copular and word order misplacement. The majority of errors in the study are due to the interference of L1 linguistic system including the different orthographic, phonological,morpho-syntactic components. For instance, the participants’ dropping subjects in English can be attributed to the fact that Arabic as L1 and as Null Subject Language (NSL), unlike English, allows subject drop. The results also find that within the Lexical Category,preposition and article errors are the most frequent errors and that spelling errors are the most dominant errors within the Mechanics Category. The study gives some pedagogical implications and suggestions to avoid and minimize the interlingual errors of such type. For instance, teachers need to focus more on enlightening their students about the contrastive language systems from the early stage of learning ESL.

Difference between English and Chinese Thinking Pattern-Based on Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

English and Chinese thinking patterns distinguish each other by contrastive analysis.Contrastive linguistics maintain that languages with great difference caused the diversity of our thinking pattern.Sapir-W horf hypothesis believes that language could mold our way of thinking.Languages and thinking patterns correspond to each other,yet their differences are the research ob-jectives of the article.The deep-seated causes are that thinking patterns are influenced by our living environment and practicing experiences.People living in a different environment will have different practice experience,and their thinking patterns would be different as well.

DETECTING CEREBRAL ARTERIES AND VEINS:FROM LARGE TO SMALL

In this paper,a model-based reconstruction technique is proposed to simultaneously measure the relative deoxyhemoglobin concentration and the relative blood flow velocity in cerebral cortex.With the help of this model-based reconstruction technique,artifacts due to nonuniform laser illumination and curvature of cortex are efficiently corrected.The results of relative deoxyhemoglobin concentration and relative blood flow velocity are then used to detect and distinguish cerebral arteries and veins.In an experimental study on rat,cerebral blood vessels are segmented from the reconstructed blood flow image by Otsu multiple threshold method.Afterwards,arteries and veins are distinguished by a simple fuzzy criterion based on the information of relative deoxyhemoglobin concentration.

AB052.A standardized quantification of the visual contrast response function

Background:All neurons of the visual system exhibit response to differences in luminance.This neural response to visual contrast,also known as the contrast response function(CRF),follows a characteristic sigmoid shape that can be fitted with the Naka-Rushton equation.Four parameters define the CRF,and they are often used in different visual research disciplines,since they describe selective variations of neural responses.As novel technologies have grown,the capacity to record thousands of neurons simultaneously brings new challenges:processing and robustly analyzing larger amounts of data to maximize the outcomes of our experimental measurements.Nevertheless,current guidelines to fit neural activity based on the Naka-Rushton equation have been poorly discussed in depth.In this study,we explore several methods of boundary-setting and least-square curve-fitting for the CRF in order to avoid the pitfalls of blind curve-fitting.Furthermore,we intend to provide recommendations for experimenters to better prepare a solid quantification of CRF parameters that also minimize the time of the data acquisition.For this purpose,we have created a simplified theoretical model of spike-response dynamics,in which the firing rate of neurons is generated by a Poisson process.The spike trains generated by the theoretical model depending on visual contrast intensities were then fitted with the Naka-Rushton equation.This allowed us to identify combinations of parameters that were more important to adjust before performing experiments,to optimize the precision and efficiency of curve fitting(e.g.,boundaries of CRF parameters,number of trials,number of contrast tested,metric of contrast used and the effect of including multi-unit spikes into a single CRF,among others).Several goodness-of-fit methods were also examined in order to achieve ideal fits.With this approach,it is possible to anticipate the minimal requirements to gather and analyze data in a more efficient way in order to build stronger functional models.Methods:Spike-trains were randomly generated following a Poisson distribution in order to draw both an underlying theoretical curve and an empirical one.Random noise was added to the fit to simulate empirical conditions.The correlation function was recreated on the simulated data and re-fit using the Naka-Rushton equation.The two curves were compared:the idea being to determine the most advantageous boundaries and conditions for the curve-fit to be optimal.Statistical analysis was performed on the data to determine those conditions for experiments.Experiments were then conducted to acquire data from mice and cats to verify the model.Results:Results were obtained successfully and a model was proposed to assess the goodness of the fit of the contrast response function.Various parametres and their influence of the model were tested.Other similar models were proposed and their performance was assessed and compared to the previous ones.The fit was optimized to give semi-strict guidelines for scientists to follow in order to maximize their efficiency while obtaining the contrast tuning of a neuron.Conclusions:The aim of the study was to assess the optimal testing parametres of the neuronal response to visual gratings with various luminance,also called the CRF.As technology gets more powerful and potent,one must make choices when experimenting.With a strong model,robust boundaries,and strong experimental conditioning,the best fit to a function can lead to more efficient analysis and stronger cognitive models.

Formulaic Sequences in L1 and Advanced L2 Chinese Learners' Writing

This corpus-based study cmploys statistical analysis to compare the use of non-compositional formulaic sequences by high proficiency Chinese learners and native students.The top 5 overused and underused patterns by Chinese users are identified.Features of their usage point to a lack of register awareness as well as linguistic resources,while showing individual differences.