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In folkloric culture, sometimes, people tend to speak together in such a way that is vague and unknown to strangers. In such cases, the common code is not sufficient. Thus, some local micro-cultures devise secret codes or argots used in their peer groups (friends, relatives, thieves, gangs, gypsies, prisoners, etc.). These secret codes are mostly based on the common language and dialectal variety, and follow most of its grammatical rules. The primary device for mystifying the language is the application of certain phonological formulae on the words of the common code. While investigating this phenomenon in the folkloric culture, the present study analyzes the grammatical, morphological and phonological features of a secret language spoken by a rather extended family in the city of Mashhad. The language, which still lacks a certain name, is attributed to the Borumand family, which has used it for four or five generations. It is a living language transferred through generations. Some of the words come from Arabic, some from Persian, and many are fabricated words with no particular origin. The language is peculiar to this community of Mashhad, and is not spoken in any other place in Iran and the world.

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The study of speech acts in religious texts is one of the ways to shed light on the hidden layers of the discourse and the recognition of its intended effect. This study is the first to compare the speech acts in a selection of Meccan and Medinan Surahs of the Holy Quran. In a random selection of 40 pages, including 20 pages of Meccan and 20 pages of Medinan Surahs, the frequency of the speech acts was calculated based on Austin’s Speech Act Theory and Searl’s fivefold classification. The results showed that the distribution of speech act types in Meccan Surahs is significantly different from those of Medinan ones. In Meccan Surahs, the representative act has the highest frequency and expressives, directives, commissives and declaratives rank next. In Medinan Surahs, however, the frequency of the representative acts has reduced considerably resulting in the rise of other acts. The statistics suggest that the expression of Devine news and teachings has gained the highest volume in Meccan Surahs, while in Medinan Surahs, direction, prohibition, giving good tidings and warnings are of higher priority.

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The process of language change is an inseparable feature of the inherent nature of every language. This change is so slow and delicate that it will be tangible for the native speakers only after a long time and in comparison with the past. A diachronic outlook of the language is especially beneficial here. The present research seeks to examine the transition process of (negative or positive) semantic prosody of some presently neutral Persian verb compounds into connotation. To this end, different researches on semantic prosody, connotation and their transformation in different languages and especially in English are reviewed and the same trend is traced in some verb compounds in Persian. Two corpora from two different historical periods (12th century and modern Persian) of language data were compiled and the semantic prosody of seven verb compound was established in the two. The results show that the semantic prosody of some of these compounds have changed from positive to negative over time and this negative semantic prosody in some of the compounds especially mojeb shodan (cause) is changing to negative connotation.

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The application of self-valuation system within the framework of fictional/factual positioning can be remarkably useful in providing a new approach to the analysis of the relation between the novelist and his/her fictional hero. In this paper we are examining the valuation system of the protagonist of the novel Man in the Dark (2008) by Paul Auster. Based on Hubert Hermans’ Valuation Theory, we examine the meaning units and their affective connotations in the narratives of the protagonist/author during his factual storytelling and his fictional confrontation with his hero. Moreover, basic motives of self-enhancement and the contact and the :union: with others and finally their affective profiles are discussed based on the model presented in the paper, i.e. Virtual Fictional/Factual Positioning (VFP). The findings of this research truly indicate that the art of storytelling helps the protagonist to rebuild his own identity and fix the ruins of his past. The dynamics of fictional and factual positioning motivate the I-as-storyteller position, which could effectively overcome the challenges created by I-as-husband and I-as-creator-of-war position and eventually develop new positive perspectives for the future. 

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Compound verbs in Persian are verb constructions formed by more than one simple lexeme. For example, negah kardan (literally “watch do”) is a compound verb made of a nonverbal element negah (watch) and a light verb kard-an (to do). Syntactically, they are heads which can split during sentence derivation. The light verb kard-an, merged with a nonverbal element, comprises a compound verb and it cannot determine argument and transitivity of a verb alone. If such compound verbs are lexical words, then they should not split in the sentence structure by syntactic operations. On the other hand, if they are syntactic constructions then forming a new lexeme after syntax floats some theoretical conditions. The purpose of this paper is to describe the derivational steps of one type of compound verbs and explain how it is separable in syntax. Some of the data are selected from Sokhan Dictionary and some other (used in the sentence structure) from the online version of the Persian Linguistic Database (PLDB). The results indicated that Persian compound verbs are morphological phases the edge of which is visible and accessible to syntactic operations. First, the roots negah and kard enter merging, and after merging of a phase head involving [Tense] feature (usually, a light verb category), the root kard adjoins it to obtain the [Tense] feature. Finally, if root negah remains at the phase domain (under the phase head) it should transfer to the interface levels and become inaccessible to the moved kard at the phase edge. Therefore, negah should move to the phase edge; otherwise; kard and negah should be interpreted in two different phases and could not join to form a compound verb. That is, negah is also absorbed to Spec-phase by the [EPP] feature of the phase head. Now, both of them are regarded as a compound verb and the nonverbal element at the phase edge is accessible to the syntactic operations. Hence, it can split in syntax (for more details, see Heidarizadi, et al, 2017). Finally, following Johnson (2003) a syntactic operation called "renumeration" is introduced which targets the nonverbal element at the morphological phase edge and splits it, hence leads to its separability in syntax as the derivation proceeds.
 
 

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Detecting constituents as independent syntactic units having syntactic and semantic coherence on which the structure of the sentences is based is vital both for the prevention of ambiguity and for a correct reading and analysis of syntactic processes. To this end, some tests have been introduced in syntax which help the linguist in diagnosing the boundaries of constituents. Within a Minimalist framework, this study aimed to analyze the efficiency of eight constituency tests, namely: coordination, ellipsis, question formation, sentence fragment, replacement, clefting, pseudo-clefting and topicalization. These had the highest frequency in important syntactic sources as means for diagnosing seven selected important constituents of the sentences, i.e., VP, DP, PP, AP, AdvP, CP and TP. We applied the tests to these categories in Persian to see which ones are most efficient and can cover a wider range of constituents. The results suggested that pseudo-clefting and topicalization are more effective and have the capability of identifying more constituents in English than in Persian. It was also concluded that, given the large number of exceptions, in general, the tests mentioned above cannot be considered as absolute tools in identifying constituents.

1. Introduction
Distinguishing the borderline between constituents in sentences can be a great help in preventing syntactic ambiguity. But this can’t be achieved without specific discovery instruments for the detection of constituents. This instrument is the very constituency test, which is the focus of the present study. Although these tests have been presented in most sources in the literature, their efficiency for the detection of constituents in Persian has rarely been the topic of a comprehensive study. Since in Minimalism only constituents can participate in syntactic operations, it is necessary to define constituents precisely to be able analyze syntactic structures and operations. Chomsky (1971, p 30) states that all syntactic operations are structure-dependent. Byram (2004, p 647) further explains that the Structure-dependency Principle makes all languages move sentence elements based on their structures and not merely the linear order of words. Minimalism, as Chomsky (2001) defines it, has two basic processes, namely Merge and Move (cited in Cook & Newson, 2007, pp 272-3) and the tree diagram of sentence structures is built through the bottom-up formation of structures by means of merge. It is the constituents which merge or move.
Research Question(s)
The main questions in the present study are the following:
Which of the constituency tests successfully detect syntactic constituents in Persian?
Which lexical and functional categories in Persian can be detected by means of each constituency test?
 
2. Literature Review
The works in the literature dealing with constituency tests in Persian can be roughly divided into two groups. First are those which mention the tests superficially among other topics in syntactic analysis. Kavoosinezhad (1997), Dabirmoghaddam (2005), Rasekh Mahand (2006 & 2011), Toosarvandani (2007), Mahootian (2008) and Karimi & Azmoudeh (2012 & 2015), among others, belong to this group. The second group are those studies which reviewed the tests in more detail although not thoroughly enough.  So far, we know of only two of such studies in Persian. Gholamalizadeh (1995) described five tests in Persian, namely: ellipsis, substitution, wh-question formation, word-chain movement (or topicalization), clefting and psudo-clefting. Also, Golfam (2012) presents a summary of the main constituency tests and names three of them: substitution, movement and coordination.
On the other hand, English language is very rich in constituency test sources. In his successful series (1997, 2006, 2009a&b), Radford meticulously lists, describes and exemplifies most of the tests in English in detail. Adger (2002), Kim & Sells (2007) Carnie (2001 & 2010) and Tallerman (2011) also present different constituency tests in the English syntax.
 
2.1. Constituency Tests in Persian
The following test were used for the detection of different lexical and functional categories in Persian.
2.1.1. Coordination
2.1.2. Ellipsis
2.1.3.  Question formation
2.1.4.  Sentence fragment/Stand alone
2.1.5. replacement/proform/substitution
2.1.6.  Clefting
2.1.7. Psudo-clefting
2.1.1. fronting/topicalization/ preposing
3. Methodology
Each of the above tests were used for the detection of the lexical categories DP, VP, AP, PP, AdvP and the functional categories CP and TP in many Persian example sentences to see which tests are efficient in the detection of which categories. The examples were analyzed in terms of acceptability and well-formedness based on the intuition of the researcher, who is a native speaker of Persian.
 
4. Results
Tables 1 and 2 below represent the efficiency of these tests in the detection of different constituents in English and Persian.
 
Table 1
 Constituency tests and target structures in English
 

Target structure	Test
DP, PP, VP, AP, AdvP, TP, CP	Coordination
AP, AdvP	Ellipsis
DP, PP, VP, AP, AdvP, TP, CP	Question formation
DP, PP, VP, AP, AdvP, TP, CP	Sentence fragment
DP, PP, VP, AP, AdvP, TP, CP	Substitution
DP, PP	Clefting
DP, PP, VP, AP, CP	Psudo-clefting
DP, PP, VP, AP, AdvP, CP	Topicalization

 
Table 2
 Constituency tests and target structures in Persian
 

Target structure	Test
DP, PP, VP, AP, AdvP, TP, CP	Coordination
AP, AdvP	Ellipsis
DP, PP, VP, AP, AdvP, TP, CP	Question formation
DP, PP, VP, AP, AdvP, TP, CP	Sentence fragment
DP, PP, VP, AP, AdvP, CP	Substitution
DP, PP	Clefting
DP, PP	Psudo-clefting
DP, PP, AdvP	Topicalization

As the tables suggest, constituency tests act more successfully in English than in Persian; they can detect more various constituents. The different efficiency of the tests in two languages lies in the particular syntactic features of their structure. The exploration of these features can be a topic for further studies.
The results indicate that some tests like clefting or ellipsis fail in detecting most constituents and are not good options as such. On the other hand, although tests like coordination and sentence fragment are more successful, they face a lot of exceptions, some of which were presented in this paper. Overall, the tests are not always reliable and researchers must use various instruments in their analysis, one of which could be a test. The results of this research can remind the students of syntax of the limitations in the application of constituency tests as an analysis instrument.

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A borderline intelligence student is the one with basic capability for literacy but of a lower rate and depth in learning compared to their peers. Such students have many difficulties in learning the language, reading and writing. The main purpose of this study is to provide a new solution based on linguistic and psycholinguistic theories to increase the development of language recognition in these children. The technique of total image words was used in an innovative method to manipulate all the senses of the child in his learning. The data of this research have been collected in a field and case study. The case is a 13-year-old borderline intelligence girl living in Mashhad. The suggested training program in this research consists of four stages. The first step is to work on reading by using flashcards of total image words and using the child’s visual and auditory senses. The second step is to emphasize the meaning and semantic chain of the words. In the third stage, we try to strengthen the child’s comprehension with short stories, and in the fourth stage, which is the practical stage, the child acquires the ability to make meaningful sentences and short stories. The test of language development (TOLD 3) was used for pre- and post-tests. The results show that the total image word technique has a positive effect on the language cognitive development of the borderline intelligence student and except in sentence imitation, all other subtests show an improvement of 18 to 66 per cent.

1. Introduction
The development is a continuous, multidimensional, and flexible process. One of the most important dimensions in a child’s development is the growth of intelligence and linguistic cognition. Learning is a very complex process that everyone is involved in throughout their lives. But the problem arises when not all children can adapt to traditional learning methods that are less flexible. That is why there is a big gap between their potential and their performance.
A Child of borderline intelligence (slow learner) is a student who has the ability to learn the necessary educational skills, but the amount and depth of their learning is less than the average of their peers. Slow learners have many problems learning language and reading and writing. The purpose of this study is to provide a new solution based on theories of linguistics and psycholinguistics to promote the development of language cognition in such children. For this purpose, we tried to engage all the senses of the child in their learning by using the Total Image Words Technique in an innovative way.
Research Questions:
1) Can teaching by means of the Total Image Words Technique influence the development of language concepts in slow-learning children?
2) Does teaching by means of the Total Image Words Technique affect the comprehension of slow-learning children?
3) Does teaching by means of the Total Image Words Technique have an effect on promoting the reading and writing skills of slow-learning children?

2. Literature Review
One of the important theories used in this research is Gestalt Theory, which is a kind of holistic speculation. According to this theory, in confrontation with various phenomena, the sole nature of the components does not play a role in determining the identity of the collections. In fact, the overall structure and composition of each phenomenon is more than just the sum of its components. This means that each particular part can have its own meaning, but it is the overall configuration that can give it its full meaning.
In the Total Image Words Technique, as its name suggests, this theory is well used to teach slow learners, because the child first sees and learns the whole word in the form of text and image and then goes from whole to parts. Since in the Total Image Words Technique, words are placed in the form of categories and frameworks that are related to each other and are in a semantic chain, this technique has benefitted from Fillmore's Frame Semantics and Semantic Chain.
Some researchers consider slow learners to be a group between normal and exceptional children. A slow-learning child “is one who has the ability to learn necessary academic skills but at a rate and depth below average of the same age peers" (Suranjana et al., 2015, p. 130). The performance of these students in school has been considered by various researchers. According to Ghafourian (2017, p. 57), the slow student “has the ability to progress in education in a regular school, but performs below the average of their school level.” These children score lower on IQ and academic achievement tests than their peers, but their scores are not low enough to cause them to need special education.”
It is at these times that teachers’ creativity and experience can lead to more efficient education. Such teachers can provide more learning opportunities to students with different levels of learning through a variety of teaching methods and multipurpose practices and support the learners to improve their learning capacities.
These students are only slightly different from normal students in terms of mental development, so they can study with their peers. Ready (2006) reports that these students have an IQ between 76 and 89 and make up about 18% of the total student population. The most important features of these children are the following:
1. Low accuracy and focus. The solution to this problem is to use appropriate games and exercises and get help from experts.
2. Inattention in doing homework. To solve this problem, the amount of their homework should be reduced and its quality should be given more importance.
3. Lack of sufficient self-confidence. Self-confidence can be increased by giving proper motivation and encouragement.
4. Having poor public relations.
5. Being slow in doing and solving complex and multifaceted problems.

3. Methodology
  In line with the purpose of the study, the effect of the Total Image Words Technique on a thirteen-year-old girl named Negar in Mashhad, a city in Iran, was investigated. This study was a case study and quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test that was conducted over a period of four months. The Child was initially exposed to Wechsler’s Intelligence Test (EISC) for children and Wineland’s Social Maturity Scale. The results confirmed that the child was slow-learning (having borderline intelligence). The data collection tools used in this research are educational cards that include an image of an object or a phenomenon along with the written form of a word to which an object or phenomenon refers. Language development test (TOLD 3) was also used for pre-test and post-test.

4. Results
A TOLD3 pre-test was administered initially and a post-test of the same type was given after the training period. Table 1 presents the results of the paired-sample T-test of the two sets of scores.
Table 1.
Paired-Sample T-test of standard scores & subtests of TOLD in pre-& Post-tests

two-tailed P value	df	t	Paired differences
			95% confidence interval of this difference		Std. error of Difference	Mean
			upper	lower
0.0074	5	4.3386	-1.09	-4.25	0.615	-2.67	Pretest -Posttest

Considering the obtained P-value in the table, it can be said with 95% confidence that the difference in the learner's performance before and after the application of the Total Image Words has been significantly different.
 In Figure 1, the average language skills in the pre-test and post-test are compared.

Figure1.
Comparison of average language skills in subtests of TOLD in pre-&post-tests



In Figure 2, the standard scores of the sub-tests in the pre-test and post-test are compared with each other and shown as a bar graph.

Figure 2.
Comparison of standard scores in subtests of TOLD in pre-&post-tests



5. Discussion
In the following, we present the results of this research according to the skills and seek to analyze the research questions and hypothesis.
 Spoken Language subtest: This score represents the sum of the standard scores of six subtests that measure semantic and syntactic aspects. For this reason, compared to the other six skills, it gives the best and most comprehensive picture of a person's overall language ability. All language-related features and systems are included in this subtest. In the case of Negar, the test results show an improvement of about 16% in this score, which means that she has been able to improve in all sub-tests during this period. The result of this subtest confirms our research hypothesis about the effect of the Total Image Words Technique on the development of language cognition in slow learners.
Semantic skill: Vocabulary is a special semantic ability that is evaluated with the semantic score. Children who are successful in this endeavour know a great deal about words. In this research, because in the second stage, the trainer worked on the characteristics of the meanings and details of the words, the child paid more attention to the different meanings of the word and her vocabulary increased. We see that Negar’s score has grown by about 15%. This means that she was able to better understand the words and their meaning, and this could be a positive answer to our research questions because the first and second research questions asked whether this technique expands the concepts of language and whether late learners’ comprehension is effective or not. The results obtained from this subtest also confirm the objectives of the research.
Syntactic skill: Negar has had a growth of about 13% in this score. Although she was not able to make more complex and long sentences due to her late learning, overall, these results are a positive answer to our third research question, which asked about the effect of the Total Image Words Technique on increasing reading and writing skills.
Listening skill: The performance of Negar in this score is also good and has reached 123 from a former score of 108, which indicates a growth of about 14%.
Organizational skill: Negar has been able to perform well in this skill and have an 11% growth in the post-test.
Speaking skill: Negar's speaking score in this test has increased from 95 to 113, which also shows a significant growth of 19%.

6. Conclusion
Finally, after comparing the obtained results and analyzing them, we come to the conclusion that if children’s different senses are used in teaching slow learners, their performance will be better. The results show that the Total Image Word Technique is effective on the development of language cognition of the slow learner and, except for sentence imitation in all other language subtests, the child shows growth between 18 and 66 per cent. This method, in particular, has increased her vocabulary and comprehension to the point where the child can make meaningful short stories.
 

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