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Papers by Alex Tamulis

Spoken language heavily relies on “formulaic” strings of words and sentences: idioms, fixed expre... more Spoken language heavily relies on “formulaic” strings of words and sentences: idioms, fixed expressions, lexical items and pre-fabricated chunks are some of the terms used to describe formulaic language in general. This doesn’t mean that those sequences are not ubiquitous in written language, though. However, the fact that spoken language has to be improvised in real-time most of the time adds a potential burden to cognitive processing time. In order to avoid this, the brain retrieves patterns of word strings or even whole sentence strings from memory, like an actor does when speaking his lines in a play.
Several linguistic theories and methodologies are cited throughout this study, in order to better understand the interaction between syntax, lexis and pragmatics.
Speakers are compared to “epic singers” of Homeric poems; they have to memorize their lines and follow certain rules, but there’s room for originality and even collective composition. Pre-fabricated sentences are seen as verses of ancient epic poems, institutionalized by cultural tradition. “The bards sing the lines”, which can be translated to “speakers use sentences that are socially conventionalized”. They work like “songs”, “hymns”, and “poems”.
These speakers are to become the new “bards” of language. Just like Homeric singers, they picture language as structures leaning on certain frames: a pragmatic frame, supported by a syntactic apparatus that serves as a foundation structure to formulaic and institutionalized lexis, leaving certain slots for creativity or alternative lexical fillings.
The study of the promotion of the self and how it affects the collective underpinnings of a speech community is also explored throughout this essay, with citations from previous works also highlighted when necessary. The quest for formulaic sequences becomes a quest for social and cultural linguistic relevance.

The purpose of this study is to explore the author-text-reader trichotomy, by analyzing previous ... more The purpose of this study is to explore the author-text-reader trichotomy, by analyzing previous theories on the subject, and to introduce the concept of continuum of authorship/readership. The continuum contemplates points of convergence among various accounts of the same text and encompasses similar and dissimilar interpretations. The reader has a central role in the “contract” that is established in the trichotomy cited above, and any interpretation that arises out of this interaction will be seen as a refracted account. The idea of the perception of the self is discussed in this paper, in terms of understanding how this view of self interacts with the implied subjects that are pictured by every reader upon reading any text, and how it refracts meaning. Several literary theories and methodologies are cited throughout this study, in order to better understand the interaction between author, text and reader, thus covering all tiers of the trichotomy.
The study of meaning and how it affects the understanding of a text is also explored throughout this paper, with citations from previous works also highlighted when necessary. The quest for meaning becomes a quest for literary convergence.
Mathematical concepts were used sparingly as a means of abstracting patterns to a more general view of the topic.

Conference Presentations by Alex Tamulis

This article contains the script, or the conference speech of my 45-minute talk that was presente... more This article contains the script, or the conference speech of my 45-minute talk that was presented on September 19th, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event (titled ELT Day II) took place at Disal Botafogo and provided a setting for discussing recent developments in ELT. I hope this article equips you with better solutions for global challenges on fostering an atmosphere that is conducive to fluency and language development. Motivating students and caring about the learning environment is what keeps me going. Devising solutions usually brings challenges to any setting, and that is part of an inclusive environment, which embraces critical thinking and positive dissent.

Talks by Alex Tamulis

In linguistics, a filler is a sound or word that is spoken in conversation by one interlocutor to... more In linguistics, a filler is a sound or word that is spoken in conversation by one interlocutor to signal to others a pause, a hesitation, a transition, or even a placeholder.
They fill a beat in the flow of sound. Fillers fall into the category of formulaic language, and different languages have different characteristic filler sounds. In English, the most common filler sounds are “uh” /ʌ/ and “um” /ʌm/. Among speakers, the fillers "like”, “you know", "I mean", "okay", "so", "actually", "basically", and "right" are among the more prevalent.

Essays by Alex Tamulis

The fact that an idea has to be expressed within the confinement of language proves that the ment... more The fact that an idea has to be expressed within the confinement of language proves that the mental construct that once was the original idea will be empirically unverifiable, making us come to terms with the fact that what we’re left with as proof of existence of any given idea is the “dented” reality, the linguistically-altered idea. If I use quotation marks to describe the concept behind my idea, as the “idea”, the one that comes before the linguistic sequence or letters or sounds, I’m left with no devices to talk about it. Yet, the idea is still out there. It comes before its own utterance. It is born before leaving the placenta. The mind uses language, even in thought. We can’t separate semantic representation from linguistic knowledge of the world around us. This essay reflects on these issues, showing that a concept is always relative to its observer.