Language Constructs Research Articles

Developing Linguistic Constructs of Text Readability Using Natural Language Processing

ABSTRACT Purpose Understanding what makes a text difficult to read is an important element of literacy instruction, materials development, and research into text readability. Readability formulas are often used to quantify text readability. However, readability formulas often focus on a relatively limited number of text features that inform the reading process and/or use single features to measure complex language constructs under the presumption that related features do not interact with one another. As a result, the formulas can be difficult to interpret by practitioners. Method A principal component analysis was used to combine text features from advanced natural language processing tools into theoretically-inspired language constructs related to text comprehension. Result Results indicate that text features aggregated into seven components related to informational text, syntactic constructions, noun phrase complexity, lexical ease, function word ease, narrativity, and lexical variety. These components predicted 44% of the variance in readability scores reported in a large readability corpus. Conclusion The results provide evidence that individual linguistic features related to text readability can be combined into reading components that are strong predictors of text comprehension. Practically, these components should be more easily interpretable allowing for more actionable feedback and use by practitioners.

Phonology from the Inside Out: Constructed Language as a Pedagogical Tool

Abstract This paper reflects on a project-based curriculum employing constructed languages to teach linguistics, with a focus on phonology. In a special topics linguistics course, nine students were led through the construction of a language. While students in introductory linguistics courses sometimes struggle with phonology, active engagement with a semester-long language construction project endowed these students with the practical motivation to understand (1) what phonology is, (2) how phonological rules work, and (3) why rules surface in the first place. They readily captured generalizations based on natural classes of sounds, recognizing the systematicity of their constructed phonology. Student performance and engagement in this course support the use of constructed languages as a pedagogical tool in linguistics. Because an ongoing project builds in problem-solving opportunities and processual thinking, highlighting relationships among key concepts, students achieve a more comprehensive understanding of core areas in the broader linguistic picture.

Semi-static conditions in low-latency C++ for high frequency trading: Better than branch prediction hints

Conditional branches pose a challenge for code optimisation, particularly in low latency settings. We present a novel language construct, referred to as a semi-static condition, which enables programmers to dynamically modify the direction of a branch at run-time by modifying the assembly code within the underlying executable. Subsequently, we explore scenarios where the use of semi-static conditions outperforms traditional conditional branching, highlighting their potential applications in real-time machine learning and high-frequency trading (HFT). Throughout the development process, key considerations of performance, portability, syntax, and security were taken into account.

Peculiarities of the Use of Professionally Oriented Vocabulary by Future Agrarians while Learning English

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of bilingualism of students of non-linguistic specialties when learning English. The terminological vocabulary allows accurate and accessible presentation of a content of this subject area and ensures correct understanding of the text. To represent the relations of information units (represented in terms), commonly used words are needed, which requires the use of ordinary language and leads to an appearance of ambiguity during their use. Purpose. The objective of study is consideration of linguistic particularities of agrarian professionally oriented vocabulary, which is used while studying a foreign language at the university. The methodology covers a comprehensive set of theoretical and empirical research methods, including the analysis of scientific sources, regulatory documents, pedagogical observation, description, classification and systematization. The study was related to students of the second year of full-time study of the agronomy specialty in Vinnytsia National Agrarian University, Ukraine. Results. The fact that the terms carry the main semantic load that in the literature of the agrarian direction, occupying the main place among other general literary and official words, is illustrated with examples. A detailed (conceptual) description of the agrarian industry has been carried out. It is noted that English-language agronomic texts differ in syntactic structure and complexity and are characterized by adverbial, infinitive and gerund inflections, as well as other purely language constructions, which in turn complicate text understanding and pose additional challenges to a translator. It is proved that the dictionary of agricultural terms is replenished by borrowing lexical units from everyday speech and by reinterpreting or narrowing their meanings. It is indicated that the colloquial language is enriched due to the expansion of the meanings of special terminological units. This dynamic two-way process testifies to a language development and translation complication activity due to the need to select the appropriate translation variant of multi-meaning lexical units. The investigation concluded that the clustering of many terminological constructions requires a correct division into immediate components and a serious familiarization with reference materials, a deeper immersion in the subject area. It is shown that agrarian terminology needs careful lexical and grammatical analysis in order to determine the optimal ways of its use. However, terminology alone is not sufficient to transfer or disseminate knowledge, as knowledge is culturally defined in human society.

Teaching linguistics through language construction: A case study

For many students, introductory courses in linguistics prove somewhat disappointing. They often enroll in such courses because of a love of language – what some have called the “magic of language” – and instead are faced with the (perceived) dull and dry scientific study of language. There is, as a result, a need to explore more effective ways of “teaching linguistics to non-linguists.” In this article, a case study of one pedagogical approach to accomplish this will be presented: the use of language construction as a means of introducing students to basic linguistic knowledge and understanding. We begin with an overview of the nature and history of interlinguistics (the study of planned languages), and then turn to recent examples of the creation of constructed languages (conlangs) in popular culture before discussing the use of language construction activities to introduce students to the study of linguistics.

A Compromise Doomed to Failure: The Soviet Practice of Greek ‘Language Construction’ in the 1920s–1930s

ABSTRACT The ‘Greek language problem’ in the USSR represented a special ‘case of complex ethno-linguistic identification,’ because in the Soviet Union, in addition to Katharevousa and Dimotiki, several dialects (languages) were used as a spoken language. In May 1926, at the first All-Union Meeting on Cultural Building among the Greeks of the USSR it was decided to abandon the use of Katharevousa. However, the reform of 1926 created the ground for a very broad interpretation. In 1932–1934, several more meetings on the ‘Greek issue’ were organized in the USSR, as well as a linguistic expedition to the places of residence of the Greeks. But the final decision on the ‘language problem’ has never been made.

Model of Comparative Analysis of the Structure and Semantics of Causal Constructions in Multi-Structural Languages

This article explores the application of constructive grammar, a linguistic approach that integrates cognitive, syntactic, and semantic frameworks to analyse causative constructions in English and Russian languages. Constructive grammar interprets not only the form and content of linguistic components but also the structure itself, which influences and imposes constraints on these components. The study considers the methodological evolution from traditional syntactic theories to cognitive models, particularly the influence of Ch. Fillmore’s work. By focusing on causative constructions, specifically analytical causatives like "The police made him confess," the research draws upon the theories of V.P. Nedyalkov, G.G. Silnitsky, and A.A. Kholodovich, among others, to provide a comparative analysis of causative structures in different languages. Cognitive and generative grammar perspectives, including R. King's spatial metaphor and L. Talmy’s force dynamics, are integrated to establish a comprehensive framework for understanding the universal and language-specific properties of causative expressions. The findings highlight the importance of the cognitive interpretation of syntactic structures, the role of energy transfer between agents and patients, and the diverse semantic types of causative situations. The study concludes by suggesting future research directions in the syntactic classification and formal expression of causative components.

A Case for First-Class Environments

Formalizations of programming languages typically adopt the substitution model from the lambda calculus. However, substitution creates notorious complications for reasoning and implementation. Furthermore, it is disconnected from practical implementations, which normally adopt environments and closures. In this paper we advocate for formalizing programming languages using a novel style of small-step environment-based semantics , which avoids substitution and is closer to implementations. We present a call-by-value statically typed calculus, called λ E , using our small-step environment semantics. With our alternative environment semantics programming language constructs for first-class environments arise naturally, without creating significant additional complexity. Therefore, λ E also adopts first-class environments, adding expressive power that is not available in conventional lambda calculi. λ E is a conservative extension of the call-by-value Simply Typed Lambda Calculus (STLC), and employs de Bruijn indices for its formalization, which fit naturally with the environment-based semantics. Reasoning about λ E is simple, and in many cases simpler than reasoning about the traditional STLC. We show an abstract machine that implements the semantics of λ E , and has an easy correctness proof. We also extend λ E with references. We show that λ E can model a simple form of first-class modules, and suggest using first-class environments as an alternative to objects for modelling capabilities. All technical results are formalized in the Coq proof assistant. In summary, our work shows that the small-step environment semantics that we adopt has three main and orthogonal benefits: 1) it simplifies the notorious binding problem in formalizations and proof assistants; 2) it is closer to implementations; and 3) additional expressive power is obtained from first-class environments almost for free.

Analysis of Grammatical Transformations (Using the Example of Translation from Vietnamese into Russian)

The article considers the issue of using grammatical transformations in the process of translating Vietnamese texts into Russian. The author notes that the need for this type of transformation is determined by the discrepancies in grammatical forms and structures in Russian and Vietnamese languages, which belong to different language systems. The article distinguishes absolute and partial discrepancies, analyzes the frequency of using such grammatical transformation techniques as substitutions, rearrangements, division, and unification. Theoretical provisions are illustrated by examples taken from modern Vietnamese media. It is concluded that the use of grammatical transformations, which involve replacing grammatical forms and constructions of the Vietnamese language with formally non-equivalent forms and constructions of the Russian language, contributes to achieving the equivalence of the original and translation texts.

QSIM: A Quantum-inspired hierarchical semantic interaction model for text classification

Semantic interaction modeling is a fundamental technology in natural language understanding that guides models to extract deep semantic information from text. Currently, the attention mechanism is one of the most effective techniques in semantic interaction modeling, which learns word-level attention representation by measuring the relevance between different words. However, the attention mechanism is limited to word-level semantic interaction, it cannot meet the needs of fine-grained interactive information for some text classification tasks. In recent years, quantum-inspired language modeling methods have successfully constructed quantized representations of language systems in Hilbert spaces, which use density matrices to achieve fine-grained semantic interaction modeling.This paper presents a Quantum-inspired hierarchical Semantic Interaction Model (QSIM), which follows the sememe-word-sentence language construction principle and utilizes quantum entanglement theory to capture hierarchical semantic interaction information in Hilbert space. Our work builds on the idea of the attention mechanism and extends it. Specifically, we explore the original semantic space from a quantum theory perspective and derive the core semantic space using the Schmidt decomposition technique, where: (1) Sememe is represented as the unit vector in the two-dimensional minimum semantic space; (2) Word is represented as reduced density matrices in the core semantic space, where Schmidt coefficients quantify sememe-level semantic interaction. Compared to density matrices, reduced density matrices capture fine-grained semantic interaction information with lower computational cost; (3) Sentence is represented as quantum superposition states of words, and the degree of word-level semantic interaction is measured using entanglement entropy.To evaluate the model’s performance, we conducted experiments on 15 text classification datasets. The experimental results demonstrate that our model is superior to classical neural network models and traditional quantum-inspired language models. Furthermore, the experiment also confirms two distinct advantages of QISM: (1) flexibility, as it can be integrated into various mainstream neural network text classification architectures; and (2) practicability, as it alleviates the problem of parameter growth inherent in density matrix calculation in quantum language model.

Grammatical Alliance in Malay Language: A Study of Linguistic Typology

This article is entitled Aliansi Gramatikal Na Lingua Melayu: Study of Linguistic Typology. This study of the Malay language's grammatical alliance aims to understand (1) the basic construction of clauses, (2) the construction of complex sentences, (3) the pivotal system, and (4) ultimately the definition of the grammar alliance system. This study uses the theory of language typology as the main theory proposed by Comrie. (1988). These research data are clauses and sentences. Qualitative descriptive. This approach aims to understand the existence of the overlap of different external and internal symptoms of the subject being the subject of the study. Data from the coordinative construction and subordinative construction of the Malay language typologically leads to the finding that in syntax, the Malay languages treat S equally with A, and give different treatment to P (S`=`A`≠ P). The Malay language is a group of languages that works with the S/A pivot system. A system of grammatical alliances such as this suggests that Malay is syntaxically a language of nominative-akusative type. Observing the behavior of S on the intransitive clause with the behaviour of A and P on the transitive clauses of Malay language which indicates that S is equal to A and equally equal with P, then morphologically Malay language has a tendency as a nominative-akusative language.

A qualitative inquiry into subject ellipsis in Acehnese coordinative constructions

The ellipsis of the subject is used to make sentences more concise and effective. Subject ellipsis can occur in written and spoken languages. This research examines the ellipsis of subjects in the coordinative constructions of the Acehnese language. A qualitative approach was employed for this research, with data collected from three different locations in Pidie Regency, Aceh, Indonesia: Padang Tiji Sub-district (located in the westernmost area), Mutiara Timur Sub-district (located in the central area) and Tangse Sub-district (located in the easternmost area). The research data consists of both oral and written data obtained from informants. Data collection was conducted using the listening-engagement technique and free-engaged listening techniques. Data analysis was conducted using the distribution method with basic and advanced techniques. The research results revealed that the subject ellipsis occurred in the second clause. The ellipsis occurred if there was the same syntactic function as the ellipsis condition. If the subject was not identical, the ellipsis could not be made even if the syntactic function was similar. The ellipsis of the subject in the coordinative construction of the Acehnese language occurs in the coordinative construction of the Acehnese language expressing: 1) addition relationship, which is marked by the conjunction ‘ngön/dan’ (and), ‘lom’ (and/again/then), and ‘sireuta’ (also), 2) contradictory relationship is expressed with the conjunctions ‘maléngkan’ (but), 3) oppositional relations is expressed with the conjunctions ‘tapi’ (nonetheless), 4) optional relationship is marked by the conjunction of the ‘atawa’ (or), and 5) supplementary relationships is marked by the conjunction of the ‘teuma’ (then).

Model Construction of Chinese Language Teaching from the Perspective of Artificial Intelligence

With the evolution of the information age, artificial intelligence has become an important variable affecting future social development, and its educational value has been widely recognized. In 2018, the Ministry of Education's "Education Informatization 2.0 Action Plan" put forward higher requirements for teaching informatization. The integration of artificial intelligence and education is the only way to improve teaching quality and cultivate talents that adapt to the development of the times. The core of educational informatization is the intelligence of teaching, which makes teaching methods intelligent, educational communication intelligent, and teaching methods technological. In view of this, firstly, the basic characteristics of the teaching information model were analyzed; Secondly, the application of the Chinese language information model was analyzed; Once again, the implementation of the Chinese language information model was analyzed to explore the opportunities and challenges faced by improving the application of artificial intelligence; Finally, from the perspectives of schools and teachers, strategies and suggestions are proposed to improve Chinese language education and teaching from the perspective of artificial intelligence.

Literature Review on Language and Identity Construction

Literature Review on Language and Identity Construction

Poetic scenes of prenatal screening

ABSTRACT Every day a patient’s pocket becomes 425 dollars lighter for clinicians to guide and provide non-invasive prenatal testing. This research inquires: what are clinicians’ experiences of explaining prenatal screening and delivering genetic syndrome diagnoses? This paper Departs Radically in Academic Writing (DRAW) and presents key findings from qualitative interviews with 12 clinicians in “poetic scenes”, inspired by cultural theorist Lauren Berlant and anthropologist Kathleen Stewart. I describe DRAW, the birth story of a research rationale, and my metaphorical meeting with Berlant and Stewart. Then the poetic scenes begin: we enter doctors’ offices and bump into assumptions; we become a time-poor clinician, labouring in language construction with varying degrees of consciousness; we dissect “risk” – an ambiguous specimen; and we board the wrong train, going to prenatal screening destinations that we don’t like to name. We imagine a world where prenatal screening is built with poetry. We dream of attention to words.

Research on the product language construction of China’s twisted porcelain cultural heritage

This paper studies the product language construction of the twisted porcelain cultural heritage. Through field research, we collected and sorted out samples of twisted porcelain products, explored the product language characteristics of twisted porcelain from multiple aspects such as production process, product shape, and product color, interpreted cultural value, captured potential connotations, extracted representative words from user comments, quantified the relationship between users and twisted porcelain culture, realized the construction and transmission of traditional cultural language information, conveyed the traditional cultural information of the product to users, and promoted the sustainable dissemination and development of this cultural heritage. The research results show that after mining and extraction at the level of twisted porcelain characteristics, the core language constructs the cultural expression of twisted porcelain products, which is more in line with the needs of the market and users, and has the potential to be developed and disseminated using the language generation of cultural heritage products.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Women’s Representation in Maysaloon Hadi’s Novel The Black Eyes

This study applies a discourse analysis framework to explore the portrayal of women in Maysloon Hadi’s novel (The Black Eyes) (2011), using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Norman Fairclough’s tri-dimensional model (1989) as the analytical foundation. It investigates the roles and challenges women face in the novel. While there is growing interest in the portrayal of women in literature, Iraqi literature—especially from the perspective of Iraqi women writers remains underexplored. Hadi’s *The Black Eyes* provides a unique case to examine this intersection. Despite the novel’s rich narrative, which offers insight into Iraqi women’s lives, there is a lack of comprehensive CDA to understand how its language constructs and communicates the multifaceted roles, challenges, and images of women. The research fills this gap by analyzing specific passages from the novel using Fairclough’s model. The findings reveal a nuanced portrayal of women and underscore the value of CDA in analyzing such works. Further research is recommended to apply CDA to other Iraqi literary texts for broader insights.

Language-Related Expressions of Personality

The present research aims to bridge the gap between prospective multi/ plurilingual education and overarching personality psychology by examining how language constructs and basic personality traits are interrelated in pre-service teachers who are fundamental to language education. The first part of the study identifies items within the International Personality Item Pool that are indicative of language constructs, revealing intricate language-related expressions of personality involving listening, learning, speaking, reading and writing. The second part investigates the links between these language constructs and the Big Five personality traits based on a sample of 124 female pre-service primary school teachers aged 19 to 27. The results show significant multivariate relationships, indicating that individuals high in conscientiousness, openness and extraversion, and low in neuroticism, tend to exhibit preferences for listening, learning, speaking and reading. The findings suggest that there are personality-embedded nuanced language-related expressions of trait structures reflecting psychological needs for language competence, relatedness and autonomy in (co-)creation. The research underscores the importance of considering both language constructs and internationally validated personality traits in teachers and their students. It suggests that some teachers and students may naturally align with language-trait structures conducive to quality language teaching and, prospectively, to multi/plurilingual proficiency. Additionally, educational interventions can potentially influence the development of these identified conducive structures over time, offering insights into the stable psychological foundations for language development and consequent pluricultural competence.

The Aesthetic Expression of Abstract Calligraphy: Emotion and Form between Brush and Ink

Calligraphy is one of the most important visual art forms inherited from China for thousands of years. The visual formal resources contributed by the dots and structures of Chinese calligraphy are one of the wonders in the world art history. Among them, abstract calligraphy, as a unique art form, contains rich emotional expression and formal aesthetic exploration between brush and ink. This study adopts a qualitative research paradigm, through in-depth interviews with senior abstract calligraphers, art critics and scholars, combined with on-site observation of the creative process of calligraphy, literature analysis and interpretation of works, in order to comprehensively analyze the emotional connotation and formal vocabulary of abstract calligraphy, and to clarify the intrinsic connection and tension between the two. The results of the study show that in abstract calligraphy, the subject's emotional experience is the root power of modeling. Through the refinement and sublimation of life experience, the calligrapher injects the vibration of individual consciousness and philosophical thoughts into the brush and ink with the help of visual elements such as brush strokes, lines, and compositions. The brush and ink become the direct speech of the mind, and the viewer can feel the rhythm and bitterness of life, the struggle and emptiness of desire, the pursuit of tranquility and other rich emotional experiences in the works. At the same time, the careful construction of formal language is also the core of abstract calligraphy exploration. Through the mastery of brush and ink materials and writing momentum, the use of wet and dry contrast, white space, texture and other techniques, to create a shocking visual tension, giving people a strong experience of formal aesthetics. The study emphasizes that abstract calligraphy realizes a high degree of unity between emotion and form. On the one hand, the form itself carries the spiritual experience and inner emotion of the calligrapher; on the other hand, the emotion gives life and inner tension to the form. The two integrate and echo each other, forming an organic whole. It is this perfect combination of mind and form that makes abstract calligraphy become the visualization of human emotion and spiritual world, and triggers endless thoughts and resonance in the viewers. The researcher comprehensively analyzes the emotional core and formal qualities of abstract calligraphy from both theoretical and empirical levels, providing a new perspective for a deeper understanding of the unique aesthetic value of this art form.

Assessing student teachers’ knowledge of English to inform curriculum design in initial teacher education

Background: In Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes, there are concerns about student teachers’ English language proficiency.Aim: To discuss the first iteration of the PrimTEd English language and literacy test and analyse the results for information about the test instrument and about student teacher attainment.Setting: South African student teachers in BEd programmes preparing for teaching in primary schools, across six public universities, participated in the test from 2020 to 2022.Methods: The student results for the PrimTEd English assessment were analysed using basic statistics, focussing on the largest samples of first-year and fourth-year students who took both the subtests. The items in each subtest were coded according to their underlying language constructs, and each subtest was subjected to Rasch analysis before the test was considered as a whole.Results: The initial test showed the attainment of fourth-year students (mean = 55%, standard deviation [SD] = 21%, n = 731) was only 3 percentage points higher than that of first-year students (mean = 52%, SD = 20%, n = 1177).Conclusion: The similarities between the first- and fourth-year students’ test results is concerning. There remains much work to be done in building student teachers’ English language proficiency in BEd programmes.Contribution: The findings and recommendations should be useful to ITE lecturers in designing programmes that enable progressive development of English language and literacy competence from first year to graduation.