Ancient Languages Research Articles

THE RELATIONSHIP OF TURKISH LEXEMAS USED IN THE OLD UZBEK LITERARY LANGUAGE TO THE ANCIENT TURKISH LANGUAGE PERIOD

One of the main tasks today is to convey the spiritual and material heritage that has been handed down from our ancestors for centuries to the present generation, and to research them on a scientific basis. The only scientific way to historically study anylanguage phenomenon is to identify similarities, differences and innovations between the two based on primary sources and comparing the language of written monuments. Alisher Navoi's works such as "Tarihi anbiyo va hukamo" and "Tarihi muluki Ajam" are among such unique works. This article provides detailed information about the relation of Turkic lexemes used in the above-mentioned works to the period of the ancient Turkic language.

I think learning ancient Greek via video game is…’: An online survey to understand perceptions of Digital Game-Based Learning for ancient Greek

Abstract Playing is connected at a deep level to how we learn, participate in and create culture, as it is dynamic, complex and even unpredictable just as learning is (Reinhardt, 2019). Even Plato in his Theaetetus recognises the importance of such a component in experiencing culture and knowledge. Could playing (or gaming) therefore be a useful didactical approach in promoting the study of ancient Greek around the world? From 10th May 2023 at 1 pm. until 1st June 2023 at 1 pm., an internet survey was conducted online by the researcher Irene Di Gioia through the use of Google Forms questionnaires. This questionnaire was distributed via different social networks and communication tools. The survey aimed to understand if people around the world are interested in the idea of learning ancient Greek via a video game and if so, which video gaming activities learners prefer. The goal of the survey was therefore to understand if a ludic pedagogical approach using Digital Game-Based Learning could theoretically represent an interest experience for learners or potential learners, and furthermore to investigate their feelings, prejudices, and motivations regarding the study of ancient Greek. From the analysed data the researcher will therefore develop a video game to teach ancient Greek language and culture, which comprises the focus of her ongoing PhD dissertation at Georg-August University of Göttingen (Germany) and Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna (Italy).

A Polishing Model for Machine-Generated Ancient Chinese Poetry

Machine poetry generation has been studied for decades, among which ancient Chinese poetry is still challenging in the field of poetry generation due to its unique regularity and rhythm. The quality improvement of ancient Chinese poetries is one of the most promising research areas of ancient Chinese Natural Language Processing. This paper proposes an ancient Chinese poetry polishing model, which is used for polishing to obtain high-quality ancient Chinese poetry. The model consists of a detection network and a correction network. The detection network based on BiLSTM and CRF is used to detect different types of low-quality words in poems. The correction network based on the BERT model is used to modify the detected low-quality words in the global context. The polishing process is iteratively performed until the model judges that there are no low-quality words in the poem. The results show that the polished poems are improved in multiple evaluations. Compared with existing polishing models, the model proposed in this paper performs better in both automatic evaluation and human evaluation when the number of parameters is reduced.

Ethnolinguistic analysis of religious names in the ancient Turkic language: оn the example of the text of Sekiz Yukmek Yaruk

Ethnolinguistic analysis of religious names in the ancient Turkic language: оn the example of the text of Sekiz Yukmek Yaruk

The Auxiliary Verb in Contemporary Jordanian Arabic: A Historical Descriptive Study

Objectives: The present study proceeds from the idea that many of the contemporary Arabic phenomena that modern linguists experience are linguistic phenomena that existed in classical Arabic or ancient Semitic languages. This study, therefore, has argued that the hypothesis stating Arabic is different from Indo-European languages in not considering the auxiliary verb in its structure is inaccurate. Furthermore, the idea that syntactic structure contains auxiliary verbs as a native construction transmitted to Arabic through translation is hasty. Methods: The study set itself an approach to prove this theory by describing the auxiliary verb in contemporary Arabic, focused on the Jordanian dialect and more specifically on the two auxiliary verbs ﻛﺎﻥ 'was' and ﻗﻌﺪ 'sit.' It also provided evidence from classical Arabic as Quran, poetry, and Semitic languages. Conclusions: The study concluded that the two auxiliary verbs ﻛﺎﻥ 'was' and ﻗﻌﺪ 'sit' have their roots in classical Arabic and Semitic languages.

Classical Studies Trends: teaching Classics in secondary schools in the UK

Abstract The Classical Association, working with the charity Classics for All, is conscious of the vulnerability of Classics in the secondary education system and wants to understand the reasons behind this. Concern about the decline of classical subjects at GCSE and A Level has been mounting, indicated largely by exam entry data suggesting that entries for classical subjects are low and in the case of the ancient languages in decline.1 The Council of University Classics Departments Bulletin annually publishes statistics for student entries for national examinations at GCSE and A level in classical subjects. But this does not capture the full picture, nor does it represent the other constituent parts of the UK, which have their own examination systems. Therefore, in late 2021 the Classical Association and Classics for All designed a new Classical Studies Survey (the ‘Survey’), to fill in more detailed information about what is going on in schools' classics departments more widely through the UK, across Key Stages 3–5, and to provide practising teachers with an opportunity to make recommendations for future developments in courses for classical subjects. The Survey asked teachers to comment on the current situation for Latin, Ancient Greek, Classical Civilisation and Ancient History, the factors affecting these trends, and what support they considered they would need for Classics to survive in their institutions. This Survey collated data rigorously and enables the Classical Association on behalf of the classics teaching community to make compelling arguments in relation to education policies and examination reform.

CT system act and the derivation formula Between classical and colloquial southern Iraq

من المؤكد أنَّ هناك أنظمة تحتية تتحكم في أبنية المشتقات ، فالاشتقاق مرحلة لاحقة للمواد الأولية التي شكلته ، هذا ما تكشف عنه العادات المقطعية ، فهي فاعلة جداً قي صيغة الاشتقاق، وإذا ما انطلق التحليل اللغويّ منها استطاع أن يغير في كثير من أعراف التحليل الصرفيّ، هذا لا يعني أنّ التحليل اللغوي ذا الأسس المقطعية نهائي وتام بقدر ما يكشف عن اقتراب من عتبة العلمية، فمهما كان التحليل منطقيّ فإنّه يبقى قراءة جديدة للغة قديمة، لا نعرف عن لحظات ولادتها ما نستطيع ان نجيب بها عن سؤال: لماذا كانت العادة المقطعية؟
 ولمحاولة الإجابة عن فاعليّة النظام المقطعيّ في صياغة المشتقات بوصفه بنية أساسية يقوم عليها الاشتقاق ، والتعرف بموقع النظام المقطعيّ من الاشتقاق، ومدى إسهامه في صياغته؛ اعتمد البحث على منهج وصفيّ أفاد من اتخاذ العاميّة آلية تقيس مسافة التحول عبر مقاربتها من الفصحى، بالاستناد إلى النظام المقطعيّ.

Linguistic annotation of cuneiform texts using treebanks and deep learning

Abstract We describe an efficient pipeline for morpho-syntactically annotating an ancient language corpus which takes advantage of bootstrapping techniques. This pipeline is designed for ancient language scholars looking to jump-start their own treebank projects, which can in turn serve further pedagogical research projects in the target language. We situate our work in the field of similar ancient language treebank projects, arguing that our approach shows that individual humanities scholars can leverage current machine-learning tools to produce their own richly annotated corpora. We illustrate this pipeline by producing a new Akkadian-language treebank based on two volumes from the online editions of the State Archives of Assyria project hosted on Oracc, as well as a spaCy language model named AkkParser trained on that treebank. Both of these are made publicly available for annotating other Akkadian corpora. In addition, we discuss linguistic issues particular to the Neo-Assyrian letter corpus and data-encoding complications of cuneiform texts in Oracc. The strategies, language models, and processing scripts we developed to handle both linguistic and data-encoding issues in this project will be of special interest to scholars seeking to develop their own cuneiform treebanks.

A dataset of oracle characters for benchmarking machine learning algorithms

Oracle bone script is an ancient Chinese writing system engraved on turtle shells and animal bones, serving as a valuable resource for interpreting ancient culture, history, and language. We introduce the Oracle-MNIST dataset, comprising of 28 × 28 grayscale images of 30,222 ancient characters from 10 categories, designed for benchmarking pattern classification, with particular challenges related to image noise and distortion. The training set totally consists of 27,222 images, and the test set contains 300 images per class. Oracle-MNIST follows the same data format with the original MNIST dataset, enabling direct compatibility with all existing classifiers and systems, but it constitutes a more challenging classification task than MNIST. The images of ancient characters suffer from (1) extremely serious and unique noises caused by three-thousand years of burial and aging and (2) dramatically variant writing styles by ancient Chinese, which all make them realistic for machine learning research.

A Mathematical Structure Underlying Sentences and Its Connection with Short–Term Memory

The purpose of the present paper is to further investigate the mathematical structure of sentences—proposed in a recent paper—and its connections with human short–term memory. This structure is defined by two independent variables which apparently engage two short–term memory buffers in a series. The first buffer is modelled according to the number of words between two consecutive interpunctions—variable referred to as the word interval, IP—which follows Miller’s 7±2 law; the second buffer is modelled by the number of word intervals contained in a sentence, MF, ranging approximately for one to seven. These values result from studying a large number of literary texts belonging to ancient and modern alphabetical languages. After studying the numerical patterns (combinations of IP and MF) that determine the number of sentences that theoretically can be recorded in the two memory buffers—which increases with the use of IP and MF—we compare the theoretical results with those that are actually found in novels from Italian and English literature. We have found that most writers, in both languages, write for readers with small memory buffers and, consequently, are forced to reuse sentence patterns to convey multiple meanings.

The grammaticalization of manner expressions into complementizers: insights from Semitic languages

Abstract Complementation strategies in both ancient and modern Semitic languages include the use of a series of cognate complementizers typically sharing a k-element: e.g., Tigrinya käm, Modern Hebrew ki, Akkadian kī(ma) or Ge’ez kama. The sources and the developments that led to the complementizer use of these multifunctional k-subordinators are not sufficiently clear, and diverse interpretations have been proposed. The present article analyses the oldest written record of k-complement markers in Semitic, focusing on Old Akkadian, Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian. The analysis of the type and distribution of complement constructions suggest a different explanation for their development based on the grammaticalization of similative manner expressions, a process attested in Afro-Asiatic and other languages. The article also highlights the presence and potential role of nominal complementation among the earliest recorded forms of complementation in Akkadian. The data presented here provide insights into the origin of k-complementizers in Semitic languages with less ancient written evidence, from Ancient Hebrew to Ethiosemitic.

Metalinguistic Strategies in Early Modern Language Controversies

All over early modern Europe, philologists and grammarians expressed patriotic pride in their native vernaculars and traced impressive derivations from prestigious ancient languages. While Hebrew generally held pride of place, claims of the greatest antiquity and prestige were also made for the Celtic and Germanic languages, and elaborate theories constructed to justify them. In all of this, rhetorical strategies were employed: heavily loaded language was used when writing about languages themselves, to weaponise them as instruments of national prestige and sneer at inferior rivals. After discussing the sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century theorists, this article focuses on the claims made for the unique, unchangeable superiority of French, before concluding with an extended consideration of the work of Gilles Ménage, the most distinguished linguistic scholar of the age, who is unique in eschewing such emotive terms.

“Ab Hoc Dispersione Nomen Rossicum”: G. S. Bayer’s Etymological Quest in the Context of the Scholarly Tradition

This article examines the ideas on the origin of the name Rus (Russian: русь) formulated by Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer (1694–1738), a professor at the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Bayer expressed his observations in an unfinished Latin text published after his death in the journal of the Academy. Using this publication, which has never been translated into Russian, the authors of the article examine Bayer’s critical comments and objections to various versions of the origin of the name Rus. Bayer’s text is a kind of catalogue of hypotheses that existed in the academic world in the first half of the eighteenth century. From the point of view of modern scholarship, all of them can be regarded as naive folk etymologies or legends (for example, the creation of the name Rus from the ancient name of a river, its comparison with the biblical people of Rosch, or the appeal to the legend of the brothers Lech, Czech and Rus, etc.). These versions are subjected to a fair and ironic criticism by Bayer. Based on new research on ideas of ethnic nomination, the authors place the versions in the context of discussions in historical writings of the sixteenth–eighteenth centuries. The results of the analysis of Bayer’s arguments show that he often makes very good use of his knowledge of ancient and modern languages and of the historical context to criticise other people’s versions. The article also examines in detail the etymology to which Bayer himself adheres. According to Bayer, the name of the Russian people comes from the Slavic word рассеяние (“dispersion”). This etymology was proposed in the sixteenth century by the Austrian diplomat Siegmund von Herberstein and supported by some Polish and German scholars. The authors show that Bayer finds additional historical and linguistic arguments for this hypothesis, which, of course, do not withstand the criticism of contemporary scholarship. The article notes the influence of Bayer’s hypothesis on the ideas of G. F. Mьller. The authors suppose that a certain forgetfulness of Bayer’s hypothesis is due to the fact that it contradicts his reputation as a “Normanist”.

Լեզվի և նորմի փոփոխության կանխադրույթներն ըստ Ա. Այտընյանի «քննական քերականության» / Hypotheses for Language and Norm Change in A. Aitynyan’s “Critical Grammar"

Arsen Aytynyan was a prominent figure in Armenian philological science during the 19th century. As a linguist and philosopher, he greatly influenced Armenian scientific thought of his time. Human thinking and communication shape the "form" and "type" of language. The Armenian language, in turn, reflects the intellectual, material, and moral state of the Armenian nation. In his work, Aytynyan examines the state of the Armenian language during his era, contrasting the dead ancient Armenian language with the modern Armenian language, which he saw as lifeless. He emphasizes key aspects of linguistic research, such as the standardization of language, changes in language norms, language development, and the language policy.

In written dictionaries of the ancient Turkish language about words of opposite meaning (antonym)

In written dictionaries of the ancient Turkish language about words of opposite meaning (antonym)

The The Semitic Origins of the Term "Sūqa".

The term “sūqa”, which appeared continuously in ancient Egyptian texts from the Late Egyptian to demotic and continued to be used in Coptic, is similar to the Arabic word "souqa" meaning the lower class of society. A comparable word has attested in the Akkadian texts from the Old Babylonian and Assyrian periods. Thus, the aim of the study is to find an etymological link between the Akkadian word and its Egyptian and Arabic counterpart. The problem of the research and its hypothesis lie in linking the Akkadian origins of this term to the Egyptian ones and then the Arabic ones. The most important problem facing this study is that the word does not appear in the currently published studies of borrowed words or expressions borrowed from the Semitic languages to the Ancient Egyptian language, and therefore the bridge language that transports the word needs research and study. The aim of the study is to form a general perception about the development of the word and its transfer from one language to another. The hypothesis of the study is based on the fact that the Arabic word “sūqa” cannot be of Arabic origins; rather, it is a semitic word that has been transferred to the Arabic language through the Egyptian language. To prove this hypothesis, the methodology of the study will rely on analyzing texts of the three languages and the examination and analysis of this word “sūqa” and its synonyms in each language, according to their context to deduce their significance and to verfy the scientific hypothesis of the study. In conclusion, one main finding of the study is that it has demonstrated that the word “sūqa” appeared in Akkadian texts to mean "street", and then it was transferred to the Late Egyptian with a change of meaning to be associated with “foolishness” and “inferiority”, which is the same change of meaning with which it was transferred to Arabic. It also shows the congruence between the word in Arabic poetry and that in ancient Egyptian texts, but with a clear meaning associated with low social class and another associated with arrogance and class superiority.

Синтетическое посессивное отождествление «Я» и «Не-Я» в древнетюркских аффиксах принадлежности

This article examines the linguistic and historical-philosophical justification of the possessive thinking of the ancient Turks and the category of possessiveness in Turkic languages, formed by a synthetic morphological method, i.e., using possessive affixes. These affixes are genetically identical with the common Turkic means of derivation, distinguishing them from other languages, first of all, by the fact that they have "inalienable" properties of belonging, inherent only to the Turkic worldview of the most ancient times. Such an understanding of this category represents the relevance of the undertaken research. Therefore, the purpose of our article is to reveal the features of the possessive thinking of the ancient Turks, reflected in the possessive affixes and how both the person and the number of the subject of "inalienable" possession are expressed. This feature of the possessive affixes is a special feature of this category; it expresses not only the meaning of possessiveness, but also possessiveness in the broad sense of the word, formed as a result of the possessive identification of “I” and “Not-I” in the thinking of a Turkic person. The article analyzes a specific feature of the worldview of the nomads of the Great Steppe, associated with the means of expressing possessiveness, which appeared due to grammatical reflection, and preserved in all modern Turkic languages. It is determined that synthetism turned out to be the most appropriate means of expressing the meaning of possessiveness. We reveal the nature of the origin of the possessive affixes in the ancient Turkic language on the empirical material of the runic writing of the monuments of the Mountain and Southern Altai, as well as in the Orkhon-Yenisei monuments and in other single texts of the ancient Turks.

Walter Belardi lessicografo, ladino e non solo

Although Walter Belardi did not publish real dictionaries except for a Basic ­dictionary of applied informatics (2000), his work in the fields of lexicography and lexicology is extremely extensive. It stretches from the ancient Indo-European languages to the Romance languages, with specific attention paid to Sella Ladin, notably Gardenese. While tracing the path of Belardi’s lexicographical research, anyone will find reason to be fascinated. This article tries to follow Belardi’s itinerary up to its last stage – the books on Armenian –, looking for a focal point of a research while driven by untamed curiosity.

ПЕРЕКЛАД ТВОРУ ПЕРЕПОДОБНОГО МАКСИМА СПОВІДНИКА «ТЛУМАЧЕННЯ НА МОЛИТВУ ГОСПОДНЮ»

The purpose of the publication is to introduce to the scientific circle of Ukraine a translation from the ancient Greek language of one of the best in terms of clarity of composition, rigor of style and depth of thought of the works of the venerable Maxim the Confessor – "Interpretation of the Lord's Prayer". The extremely complicated syntax of the work is due to the powerful architecture of the author's thinking, which has repeatedly become the subject of research by theologians, philosophers, literary critics, linguists and other specialists - researchers of the Byzantine literary heritage.

Ancient cognate language relations and lexical-semantic features of borrowed words of western origin used in its vocabulary

Ancient cognate language relations and lexical-semantic features of borrowed words of western origin used in its vocabulary