German Reminiscences in Bukovinian Subdialect (Frătăuții Vechi and Costișa)

Introduction. Revealing the psychologically real, individual meaning of the word as opposed to its dictionary meaning is the important task since such knowledge is crucial for effective communication. This is especially true for the words which denote key ideas and concepts of the culture. The word association experiment has been one of the most used methodologies to examine individual meaning of the word but it has been heavily criticized because of its subjectivity. In some of the recent works, data from language models and methods of vector semantics have been used to solve this problem. However, firstly, the very set of the features by which the meaning of the word is described is not uniform, which does not allow for a comparison of the results, and, secondly, some other types of data related to word production (i.e., behavioral data) are typically not taken into account. The aim of the present study is to reveal and systematically describe individual differences in the psychologically real meaning of the particular key words of the Russian culture using a new methodology which could be applied to any word association task. We propose to analyze data of different types (semantic features and keystroke dynamics markers) obtained during word association production to reveal individual differences in the word meaning. Materials and Methods. The material of the study is a newly developed dataset containing associative reactions to the keywords of Russian culture, anonymized data about the informants, as well as the reaction time while producing associations measured using a program that records keystrokes. The proposed research methodology includes both the existing approaches (automatic extraction of relations from texts based on data from language models and methods of vector semantics, i.e., “cultural cartography using word embeddings”) and a new list of features developed by the authors to describe individual differences in the meaning of a word based on the data from neurobiology about the meaning structure of word. A set of data analysis methods (linear mixed models, principal components analysis, hierarchical clustering on principal components) implemented in R packages is used to reveal individual differences in the word meaning in terms of the proposed list of features and association of the revealed differences with participants’ characteristics. Results. The cluster analysis showed the presence of two to three variants of psychologically real meanings for the 9 studied cue words which are listed among the key words of Russian culture. Systematic differences in the individual meanings of the words according to the proposed set of semantic features reflecting different aspects of semantic representations of word meaning in the human brain are described in detail, and a connection between specific features of the word meaning and the characteristics of the participants and markers of keyboard behavior are established for the first time. Discussion and Conclusion. The specific scientific results related to the individual differences in the psychologically real meanings of the words, as well as fully reproducible methodology proposed in this paper (the dataset and code of this study are available on GitHub) can be used in the practice of effective teaching of Russian as a foreign language, in the study of the changes in semantics of the key words of the culture based on text data, for designing effective political and advertising campaigns, etc. Among strands of the future research are the study into the effect of the different characteristics of the cue words on their semantic features and participants’ keystroke behavior, the broadening of the list of the proposed characteristics, the use of new language models and text corpora for the further development of an important theoretical and applied problem of revealing and describing the psychologically real word meaning.

The article examines French borrowings, nominating the audience hall in theatrical terminology. We investigate the semantic history of linguistic modules related to the temple of art, the ones that affect such issues as interference and assimilation of linguistic units in written and oral speech. The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that the rapidly changing architecture of the spatial environment transforms the perception of personality in their awareness of spiritual values. A linguistic and cultural analysis was carried out in order to actualize the semiotic approach to architecture and reactivate the appeal to cultural heritage by studying the lexeme evolution in the sphere of art. In the study, we use the texts of the bilingual author and creator of the modern Russian literary language Alexander Pushkin, whose works contain the considered lexical units in the dynamics of the language system evolution at the semantic and phonetic levels. Our study also includes elements of comparative and contextual analyses (correlation of the analyzed phenomena in Pushkin’s context). The article presents a number of examples proving the historical relationship between the proto-language and the theatrical structure form, illustrating the phonographic and semantic changes of French units, and draws a parallel between the modern semantic complex and the archaic version of lexemes. Based on the results of the study, the article draws conclusions about the substitution of morphemic and non-morphemic segments in the process of contact between the French and Russian languages, presenting the most frequent variants of phonographic changes in the nomination of the auditorium. The results obtained are important for the revival of cultural values, the study of the lexeme interference in specific terminology and the activation of interest in both the work of A. Pushkin and theater building architecture.

As positive psychology has gained prominence, well-being, as a core indicator of mental health, has increasingly attracted the attention of the academic community. Ethnic minority university students (EMUS) in Yunnan, as a special group, may experience unique influences on their well-being due to their cultural backgrounds and social adaptation processes. This study employed a well-being scale based on the PERMA model to investigate the current status of well-being among EMUS in Yunnan. The findings revealed that the majority of EMUS rated their overall well-being highly. Compared with Han ethnicity university students, EMUS scored significantly higher in the dimensions of relationships and overall well-being, but showed no significant differences in positive emotion, meaning, engagement, and achievement dimensions. In terms of gender differences, EMUS exhibited no significant differences in positive emotion, relationships, meaning, and overall well-being between genders, but males scored significantly higher than females in the dimensions of engagement and achievement. Additionally, no significant differences were observed in the dimensions of well-being across different educational levels and grades.

Semantic change has become an increasingly important focus in historical linguistics and sociolinguistics, reflecting how language evolves in response to social, cultural, and technological transformations. This narrative review aimed to synthesize conceptual, empirical, and contextual perspectives on semantic change and to assess the implications of these shifts for broader societal dynamics. Literature was systematically collected from major databases including Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed, using keywords such as semantic change, sociolinguistics, migration discourse, and linguistic evolution. Inclusion criteria emphasized peer-reviewed studies published in the past five years, complemented by seminal works providing historical context. The results reveal three interrelated themes: conceptual frameworks including semantic gradation and discourse-historical approaches; empirical patterns documented through quantitative analyses of lexical shifts and concreteness in language use; and contextual influences encompassing social policies, cultural traditions, and digital communication. These findings demonstrate that semantic change is not only a linguistic phenomenon but also a reflection of systemic structures, power relations, and cultural identities. The discussion highlights the need for inclusive language policies, culturally responsive education, and interdisciplinary research to mitigate inequalities and preserve linguistic diversity. By linking theory, data, and context, this review contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of semantic change and its relevance for language, society, and identity in a globalized world.

The object of this research are lexical semantic changes in Polish language spoken by descendants of Polish immigrants who live in a rural community in southern Brazil. The aim is to analyze the semantic changes which emerged as a result of language contact with Brazilian Portuguese and to state if there is a semantical motivation between the primary meaning (brought by the immigrants) and the new meaning of the lexemes. The data used for the research was extracted from interviews conducted with nineteen Polish descendants. In the data there were found 64 lexemes which underwent a contact-induced semantic change. In 83% of cases there is a semantic link between the primary and the new meaning, which proves that the contact-induced semantic change can be subject to similar mechanisms that result in semantic change within one language only. The mechanisms observed most frequently in the data are generalization and metaphorization.

This article explores the meaning of work patterns for working populations in two Chinese contexts, namely Hong Kong and Beijing. Five core meaning of work variables are measured and related to the socio-cultural and political-economic environments in the two locations. The analysis suggests some areas of similarity but also significant differences in meaning of work patterns. Both Chinese contexts display a high work centrality orientation and a highly pragmatic, instrumental view of work. There are subtle differences in perceived work goal importance and outcome patterns that are in part attributable to different socio-economic conditions.

The Hipster as an ideal type does not exist as a sociologically identifiable form, but much rather as a discursive, vague and diffuse term. It is a typological term used in social and medial discourse to describe ideal types that differ greatly across various geographic and demographic discourses, and that have subtle but significant differences in meaning. One option is to look at what these definitions have in common, which would be difficult to achieve as there are so many discourses taking place and the term itself is indefinite.

The caste system, according to the currently prevalent view, is based on purity, each caste being located on a hierarchical gradation of purity, a thesis laid out most compellingly by Louis Dumont. It has generally bern assumed that purity is the basis of hierarchy in ancient India. This paper examines the ancient texts on Dharma relating to purity and social hierarchy and finds that the texts establish no link between the two and that they rarely, if ever, refer to purity as an abstract condition or state. The language of purity itself is multifaceted, containing numerous terms with significant differences in meaning, and it makes a clear distinction between persons and things. With respect to persons, the vocabulary clearly indicates that the focus is not on any permanent, or even transitory, condition of purity but rather on the transition from impurity to purity, on the recovery of lost purity; the dynamic meaning dominates the use of the major Sanskrit terms for pure.

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Ontologies evolve over time at both structural and semantic levels. Detecting semantic changes to ontologies is essential to the functioning of data instances and dependent ontologies over the semantic Web. In this article, we propose a SemDiff approach to examining structural changes and deriving both explicit and implicit semantic changes between ontology versions. Our approach exploits the semantic dependency between properties and concepts: we introduce the notion of isosems, and conduct implication analysis to examine whether, when, and how semantic changes to an isosem imply semantic changes to other isosems. A prototype of our approach is implemented.

This chapter gives an overview of methods of assessing language acquisition, both first and second. Since language acquisition, as a mental process, cannot be directly measured, researchers use various methodologies to infer acquisition. This chapter covers assessments used with natural production and elicited language samples although many language samples fall in between these categories. When learners have relatively more freedom (e.g., responding to a prompt), assessments often include measures of accuracy, complexity, and fluency as quantitative scores (e.g., 85% accuracy) or as more qualitative holistic scores (e.g., “high‐intermediate”). Since some linguistic phenomena are rare in natural production data or can be avoided (consciously or unconsciously) by learners, researchers often try to elicit target language samples. When language samples are gained from such structured elicitation methods, assessments can be based on comprehension data, judgment task data, production data, or introspective data. Comprehension measures may be used to test if the learner understands the presented linguistic stimuli, typically by forced choice of an answer. For very young language learners, comprehension measures often take the form of sensitivity or habituation paradigms. The most common judgment‐based measure is when participants (typically second language learners) are asked if a given sentence is grammatical in the target language. Production‐based measures may use a prompt which tries to elicit a specific linguistic target. Researchers can also ask learners about their thinking to include introspective data as evidence of language acquisition. Some of the main challenges of assessing language acquisition, including the arbitrariness of acquisition thresholds, the difficulties of operationalizing constructs, and the theoretical issues of knowledge representation, are also discussed. The chapter ends with suggestions about how language acquisition researchers will continue to address these concerns, such as multiple measures, especially with new methodologies available, such as large corpora, computer modeling, and neuroimaging techniques.

The article deals with the history of the Polish words with primary meanings ‘animal’ and analyzes different views on their origin. The article describes the phenomenon of zoosemic semantic changes in Polish prison slang from the late 19th and early 20th century. Several animal-specific nouns functioning as synonyms for jailer (prison ward) are presented. Sources of individual names are indicated and it is given a description of semantic changes which took place under the influence of foreign languages.

This paper presents a practical application of the lexical prototype theory to lexicographic practice, proposing a draft model of a learner's dictionary entry for a polysemous word based on its lexical prototype. The lexical prototype (LP) is regarded as the semantic core of a polysemous word that functions at the level of the language system and is represented in actual speech by contextual meanings: the primary meaning (PM), metonymic, and metaphorical senses. Drafting a dictionary entry based on the LP requires reconstructing the LP through analysing the contextual meanings in relation to the PM in order to establish the minimal set of semantic features that are shared by all the senses of the word. The proposed method of lexicographic description of polysemous words offers a new perspective on polysemy as a linguistic phenomenon as well as moves away from the list-based method. Keywords: lexicography, learner's dictionary, dictionary entry, polysemy, lexical prototype, primary meaning, metonymy, metaphor, cognitive linguistics

This chapter examines the grammaticalisation of the Arabic lexeme ˀaṯar (‘trace’), its cognates in Semitic languages, and its evolution into various grammatical forms and meanings across Arabic dialects. The study begins with a semantic and grammatical overview of ˀaṯar in literary Arabic and its cognates in related Semitic languages, drawing on comprehensive lexicographical resources and comparative studies. The analysis highlights how ˀaṯar’s primary meaning (‘trace’ or ‘imprint’) expanded into diverse semantic and morphosyntactic usages. Focusing on the Ḥassāniyya dialect of Mauritania, the chapter details the emergence of a pseudo-verb derived from ˀaṯar to express doubt, inference, or modal possibility. This phenomenon is contextualized within a broader cultural and linguistic framework, where interpreting physical traces is vital in a nomadic pastoralist society. Comparative analysis with other Arabic dialects reveals similar grammaticalisation processes, including the development of adverbial forms (e.g., ˀaṯāri ‘it seems’) and evidential markers in Middle Eastern and Gulf varieties, while noting regional differences in meaning and usage. The study identifies evidentiality (noncommitment to information) as an important feature of ˀaṯar-derived expressions across dialects, reflecting its original semantic field of inference and indirect knowledge. This linguistic evolution exemplifies the interaction of cultural practices and grammaticalisation processes in Arabic. By tracing the transformation of ˀaṯar, the chapter contributes to understanding how semantic and functional shifts shape the lexicon and syntax of Arabic dialects.

Build code in a Makefile represents the build rules with the dependencies among the files, and how they must be built together to produce a software system. As software evolves, its build code evolves as well to accommodate necessary changes in the build process. As part of software maintenance, it is crucial to understand how the build code is changed (e.g. changes in build rules or dependencies), and to verify and validate the correctness of the build process with different build configurations. Due to Make's dynamic nature, understanding and managing the changes to Makefiles is not trivial. In this paper, we introduce a set of semantic changes to build code in Makefiles. We also develop MkDiff, a tool to detect the changes to a Makefile at the semantic level. MkDiff uses symbolic dependency graphs (SDG) to find all possible concrete rules from a Makefile, and the dependencies among them. For two SDGs built from a Makefile at two versions, it first detects changed and unchanged nodes via its SDG matching algorithm. Then, from those results, it derives the semantic changes to the Makefile. Our empirical evaluation for MkDiff showed that it can accurately detect semantic changes in Makefiles.