Distant Languages Research Articles

Evolution of reading and face circuits during the first three years of reading acquisition

Although words and faces activate neighboring regions in the fusiform gyrus, we lack an understanding of how such category selectivity emerges during development. To investigate the organization of reading and face circuits at the earliest stage of reading acquisition, we measured the fMRI responses to words, faces, houses, and checkerboards in three groups of 60 French children: 6-year-old pre-readers, 6-year-old beginning readers and 9-year-old advanced readers. The results showed that specific responses to written words were absent prior to reading, but emerged in beginning readers, irrespective of age. Likewise, specific responses to faces were barely visible in pre-readers and continued to evolve in the 9-year-olds, yet primarily driven by age rather than by schooling. Crucially, the sectors of ventral visual cortex that become specialized for words and faces harbored their own functional connectivity prior to reading acquisition: the VWFA with left-hemispheric spoken language areas, and the FFA with the contralateral region and the amygdalae. The results support the view that reading acquisition occurs through the recycling of a pre-existing but plastic circuit which, in pre-readers, already connects the VWFA site to other distant language areas. We argue that reading acquisition does not compete with the face system directly, through a pruning of preexisting face responses, but indirectly, by hindering the slow growth of face responses in the left hemisphere, thus increasing a pre-existing right hemispheric bias.

Kafka’nın Ein Landarzt Adlı Öyküsünün Ara Dilden Çeviri Bağlamında Karşılaştırmalı Analizi

Ara dilden çeviri daha önce çevirisi yapılmış bir metnin yeniden başka bir hedef dile çeviri için kaynak metin görevi görmesidir; kısaca çevirinin çevirisidir. Ara dilden çeviri hem birbirine uzak diller ve kültürler arasında yazınsal iletişimi sağlamada hem de dünya klasiklerinin kabul görmesinde önemli bir yere sahiptir. Ayrıca kaynak metne ulaşılamaması ya da kaynak metnin zarar görmesi durumunda bu çeviri türünden faydalanılmaktadır. Ne var ki çeviride oluşabilecek kayıplar açısından ara dilden çeviri doğrudan çeviriye kıyasla iki kat risk taşıdığı için olumsuz bir çağrışımı da söz konusudur. Bu çalışmada Kafka’nın Ein Landarzt adlı öyküsü ara dilden çeviri bağlamında uygulamalı örnek düzleminde karşılaştırmalı olarak incelenmiştir. İlgili öykünün Mehmet Harmancı tarafından aracı bir dil kullanılarak gerçekleştirildiği belirlenen Türkçe çevirisi, Willa ve Edwin Muir çifti tarafından yapılan İngilizce çevirisi ve Kamuran Şipal tarafından yapılan doğrudan çeviri betimsel çeviri araştırmaları ışığında analiz edilmiştir. İncelemede çeviri hatalarını bulmaktan ziyade ara dilden çevirinin etkisine odaklanılmıştır. Bu noktada çevirilerdeki farklı yorumlamaların ve söyleyişlerin ele alınan kaynak metinden mi yoksa çevirmen kararlarından mı kaynaklandığı sorgulanmıştır. Eser analizlerinde özellikle Gideon Toury tarafından geliştirilen “Betimleyici Çeviri Araştırmaları” yönteminden ve çeviri normlarından faydalanılmıştır. Bununla birlikte çoğulcu bir yaklaşım izlenmeye çalışılarak Eugene Albert Nida’nın “eşdeğer etki” kavramına dair görüşleri de göz önünde bulundurulmuştur.

A Cross-Modal and Cross-lingual Study of Iconicity in Language: Insights From Deep Learning.

The present paper addresses the study of non‐arbitrariness in language within a deep learning framework. We present a set of experiments aimed at assessing the pervasiveness of different forms of non‐arbitrary phonological patterns across a set of typologically distant languages. Different sequence‐processing neural networks are trained in a set of languages to associate the phonetic vectorization of a set of words to their sensory (Experiment 1), semantic (Experiment 2), and word‐class representations (Experiment 3). The models are then tested, without further training, in a set of novel instances in a language belonging to a different language family, and their performance is compared with a randomized baseline. We show that the three cross‐domain mappings can be successfully transferred across languages and language families, suggesting that the phonological structure of the lexicon is pervaded with language‐invariant cues about the words' meaning and their syntactic classes.

CROSSLINGUISTIC INFLUENCE OF AN L3 ON AN L2 IN THE PRODUCTIVE LANGUAGE SKILLS

Multilingual speakers usually pass through a process of mixing the languages they are learning. For this reason, the purpose of this research was to detect the role of an L3 in the output of an L2. In order to find an answer, students who have English as L2 and were studying a third language (German and Korean) were submitted to three different speaking and writing exercises to identify crosslinguistic syntactic and phonological influences of their L3s due to typological closeness. The results were obtained by making use of an observation sheet and checklists; the data is presented on graphs and descriptive paragraphs. At the end of the research, it was shown that close languages (typologically speaking) create more conflicts in pronunciation for multilingual speakers than distant languages. The impact of this research lay in detecting how multilingual students perform a switching process in different languages and making them conscious of this phenomenon

The Impact of Linguistic Distance from English on Economic Growth: A Cross-Country Analysis

Increasing levels of globalization have contributed to English becoming a preferred language of international communication, education and trade. With countries rapidly embedding English into a large variety of curricula, the demand for English as a medium of instruction is ever growing. Using information from the US Foreign Service Institute's Professional Working Proficiency values, we identify seven distinct linguistic distance from English (LDE) categories, and examine the effects of linguistic distance on income and economic growth across 97 countries over the 1980-2018 period. In addition to the direct effects of linguistic distance on incomes and growth, we further explore its impact through the channels of education and trade. Our results demonstrate that linguistic distance from English affects income levels and growth non-linearly across countries- increased distance from English does not necessarily translate into declining levels of income or growth rates. Conversely, we find that, via the trade channel, more distant languages tend to experience positive rates of growth. Controlling for regional effects or the existence of multiple languages of instruction do not alter our findings. Sub-dividing our dataset by national income levels, we show that the largest negative effects on growth are among Upper-Middle-Income countries.

LES PARTICULARITÉS DE LA LANGUE ET DU STYLE D’ANNA GAVALDA DANS LE ROMAN LA CONSOLANTE ET LEUR REPRODUCTION DANS LES TRADUCTIONS ESPAGNOLE ET UKRAINIENNE

The article investigates lexical, semantic and grammatical peculiarities of the language and style of Anna Gavalda’s novel “La Consolante” and their reproduction in the Spanish and Ukrainian translations. The objective of the research focuses on the translation of the French novel into Spanish and Ukrainian, taking into account that French and Spanish are closely related languages from the group of Romance languages, and French and Ukrainian are distant languages that belong to a different language group, having different grammatical structures. The paper identifies the fragments, which present difficulties for the translation, and provides options for correct and adequate translation. In this article, the results of an exploratory study (contextual, contrastive, qualitative, and descriptive) carried out on the novel “La Consolante” by Anna Gavalda and two translations into Ukrainian and Spanish. Famous translator, winner of Hryhoriy Skovoroda and Maksym Rylskiy Prices, Petro Tarashchuk, translated it into Ukrainian. “La Consolante” was edited by the Kharkiv publishing house “Folio” in 2015. This novel, in Spanish translation, was translated by Isabel González-Gallarza and published in 2008 by the publishing house “Seix Barral” in Barcelona. We studied the procedures and transformations of translation from related and distant languages, to demonstrate how to overcome the difficulties of translation and to achieve the equal pragmatic effect of translated text as that of the original. The analysis clearly indicates that the translations of Anna Gavalda’s novel “La Consolante” by Petro Taraschuk and Isabel González-Gallarza are perceived as holistic works that convey French culture and the realities of French life and reproduce them adequately in the Spanish and Ukrainian translations.

Proximal language predicts crowdfunding success: Behavioral and experimental evidence

Online crowdfunding has become an important venue for innovating entrepreneurs, enabling them to bypass traditional funding sources and directly pitch to the masses. And yet, most crowdfunding campaigns fail to reach their funding goals. In this paper, I examined the role of language in crowdfunding success by investigating a widely used, but understudied, linguistic feature: proximal language. I conducted two studies that combined behavioral and experimental evidence to investigate how and why proximal language is persuasive. Using behavior data from a sample of 459 online crowdfunding campaigns on a technological innovation, Study 1 found that campaigns using more proximal language, such as collective-referencing we-pronouns, audience-orienting you-pronouns, and concrete words, were more likely to succeed. By contrast, campaigns using more distant terms, such as self-referencing I-pronouns, were less likely to succeed. Building upon these results, Study 2 reported a multi-message, mixed-design experiment (N = 177) to examine the causal mechanism underlying the suasory effects of proximal language. The results showed that proximal (vs. distant) language reduced psychological distance, which enhanced perceived message quality and eventually led to stronger financing intentions. Implications for persuasion and entrepreneurial practice are discussed.

Hemispheric involvement in the comprehension of conventional metaphors in Arabic–Hebrew speakers

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: Previous studies in pairs of typologically distant languages showed that hemispheric processing of metaphoric expressions differs in a native versus second language. The current research explored this finding in a pair of typologically close languages, Arabic and Hebrew. Design/methodology/approach: Forty-six Arabic native speakers who were proficient in Hebrew (second language; 30 women, aged 19–28) participated in a divided visual field (DVF) experiment. They were presented with conventional metaphors, literal expressions, and unrelated word pairs and asked to indicate whether the word pairs formed a meaningful expression. Participants were tested in spoken Arabic, literary Arabic, and Hebrew in separate blocks. Data and analysis: Mean reaction times and accuracy were analyzed using repeated-measures three-way analysis of variance, with language, visual field, and expression type as independent variables. Findings/conclusions: In contrast to previously reported findings, a left-hemisphere advantage or a bilateral pattern of processing was observed for conventional metaphors in both varieties of Arabic and in Hebrew, suggesting similar hemispheric processing in native and second language. Originality: Metaphor processing is examined in a pair of typologically close languages. Significance/implications: Our findings (in a pair of typologically close languages) differ from those previously reported in pairs of less similar languages, suggesting a modulatory role of language similarity in hemispheric processing of second-language metaphors.

Linguistic distance and economic development: A cross‐country analysis

AbstractThis study investigates the relationship between access to domestic and international communication and economic development. It does so by constructing two indices of linguistic distance, domestic and international, capturing language acquisition costs, which are higher when acquiring linguistically more distant languages. The domestic linguistic distance index captures the constraints of communication among speakers of different mother tongues within a country, while the international linguistic distance index captures the constraints of global communication via English. This study’s results reveal a negative association between domestic linguistic distance and GDP per capita, whereas international linguistic distance has no significant association. Moreover, by investigating the mechanisms of the negative association of the domestic linguistic distance, we find that communication difficulty among different language groups hinders economic development through a channel of less employment requiring communication‐based operations. Furthermore, we determine that the negative association of the domestic linguistic distance may be mainly driven by relatively poor countries such as many in Africa.

Лингводидактический потенциал инфографических текстов в преподавании русского языка как иностранного в условиях дистанционного обучения

The paper reveals linguo-didactic potential of infographic texts when teaching Russian as a foreign language to distant learners. The article examines the advantages of using infographics when teaching Russian to foreign students. Scientific originality of the study involves a comprehensive approach to the use of infographics as a means of educational material visualization in a mixed level class under the conditions of distant Russian language learning. The research findings are as follows: the author justifies the efficiency of using different types of infographic texts at different stages of teaching Russian as a foreign language, special attention is paid to the specificity of distance learning.

Language distance modulates cognitive control in bilinguals

Linguistic processes in the bilingual brain are partially shared across languages, and the degree of neural overlap between the languages is influenced by several factors, including the age of acquisition, relative language proficiency, and immersion. There is limited evidence on the role of linguistic distance on the performance of the language control as well as domain-general cognitive control systems. The present study aims at exploring whether being bilingual in close and distant language pairs (CLP and DLP) influences language control and domain-general cognitive processes. We recruited two groups of DLP (Persian–English) and CLP (French–English) bilinguals. Subjects performed language nonswitching and switching picture-naming tasks and a nonlinguistic switching task while EEG data were recorded. Behaviorally, CLP bilinguals showed a lower cognitive cost than DLP bilinguals, reflected in faster reaction times both in language switching (compared to nonswitching) and nonlinguistic switching. ERPs showed differential involvement of cognitive control regions between the CLP and DLP groups during linguistic switching vs. nonswitching at 450 to 515 ms poststimulus presentation. Moreover, there was a difference between CLP and DLP groups from 40 to 150 ms in the nonlinguistic task. Our electrophysiological results confirm a stronger involvement of language control and domain-general cognitive control regions in CLP bilinguals.

Learning mathematics with shackles: How lower reading comprehension in the language of mathematics instruction accounts for lower mathematics achievement in speakers of different home languages

Achievement in mathematics has been shown to partially depend on verbal skills. In multilingual educational settings, varying language proficiencies might therefore contribute to differences in mathematics achievement. We explored the relationship between mathematics achievement and language competency in terms of home language and instruction language proficiency in the highly multilingual society of Luxembourg. We focussed on third graders' linguistic and mathematical achievement and used data from the national school monitoring program from two consecutive years to assess the influence of children's language profiles on reading comprehension in German (the instruction language) and mathematics performance. Results were similar for both cohorts. Regression analysis indicated that German reading comprehension was a significant predictor of mathematics achievement when accounting for both home language group and socioeconomic status. Moreover, mediation analysis showed that lower mathematics achievement of students with a home language that is very different from the instruction language relative to the Luxembourgish reference group were significantly mediated by achievement in German reading comprehension. These findings show that differences in mathematics achievement between speakers of a home language that is similar to the instruction language and speakers of distant home languages can be explained by their underachievement in reading comprehension in the instruction language. Possible explanations for varying performance patterns between language groups and solutions are being discussed.

Composition within and between Languages in the Bilingual Mind: MEG Evidence from Korean/English Bilinguals.

The ability of the human brain to build complex expressions from simpler parts is fascinating, but the ability of the bilingual brain to do so is perhaps even more remarkable. When highly proficient bilinguals converse, they can fluidly switch from one language to another even inside sentences. Thus, they build expressions using words from more than one language. How are bilinguals able to compose words across different languages in real time? While robust evidence has implicated the left anterior temporal lobe (LATL) for the composition of words within one language, we do not know how the LATL, or other regions implicated for composition, operates when the language switches. We also do not know whether prefrontal regions associated with language control are recruited for language switching during composition. We addressed these questions with magnetoencephalography measurements in bilinguals who are fluent in two typologically distant languages, English and Korean. We observed early composition effects in the LATL at ∼200 ms that were unaffected by either language or orthography switching, which was also varied (Hangul vs Roman alphabet). Thus, the combinatory mechanism at 200 ms housed in the anterior temporal cortex appears blind to the language in which its input concepts are expressed. However, in later time windows, language and orthography switching interacted both in regions implicated for composition [LATL, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG)] as well as in regions associated with language control (ACC, LIFG). This establishes a starting point for understanding how bilingual brains code switch: words are initially combined without consideration of which language they come from, but language switching affects later processing.

Анализ эффективности использования ИКТ в онлайн-обучении русскому языку как иностранному

The paper justifies efficiency of computer technologies when teaching Russian as a foreign language. Scientific originality of the study involves describing experience of using information and communication technologies in distant foreign language teaching. The research findings are as follows: the authors propose recommendations on the use of information and communication technologies in teaching Russian as a foreign language, conclude on their efficiency. The article addresses linguistic education professionals studying problems of using information and communication technologies in teaching Russian as a foreign language.

Interaction of Non-derivative Vocabulary of Smolensk Dialect 
 and the Belarusian Language: Full Lexical Correspondences

Specific non-derivative nouns that are functioning in Smolensk dialect reveal a significant number of lexical parallels in the independent languageе structure of the contemporary Belarusian language. The analysis of these words is carried out in order to establish their status in two synchronous lexical and gram-
 matical systems for further clarification relating to the number of lexical parallels of different origins in Smolensk dialect. 
 The subject of the study is the volume of lexical meaning of specific nonderivative nouns recorded in independent, but at the same time contact-located language formations, in one of which they have a regional status (Smolensk dialect), and in the other one they are included in the codified form of the standard 
 language (the Belarusian language). The relevance of the study is explained by the complex history of the Russian-Belarusian borderland, which is reflected both in Smolensk dialect and in 
 the Belarusian language, which has been developed on the dialect basis. The common material and spiritual culture typical for the dialects of the Russian-Belarus-ian borderland is a marker revealing the specifics of the region described. Due to the common culture, these conditionally distant language units regularly coincide in the volume of lexical meaning and demonstrate a stable distribution within lexical and semantic groups in each language formation at the present stage of its functioning.

Novel computational algorithms to index lexical markers of psychological distancing and their relationship to emotion regulation efficacy over time.

The degree to which one employs an objective or spatially/temporally distant perspective via language, i.e., linguistic distancing, has previously been shown to be positively associated with well-being. We sought to further elucidate relationships among language and emotion over time as a function of the implementation of sub-tactics of psychological distancing. In Study 1, we developed novel deep machine learning algorithms to identify the degree to which linguistic patterns reflect two types of psychological distancing, namely objective (OBJ) and spatial/temporal (FAR) distancing. In Study 2, in an expressive writing-based longitudinal emotion regulation training task, participants transcribed their thoughts while viewing negative or neutral stimuli over 5 sessions in one of three ways: by implementing objective language (Objective group), by implementing spatially/temporally distant language (Far group), or by responding naturally. We found that the OBJ and FAR algorithms significantly predicted changes in task-based self-reported negative affect in the Objective group and found no significant associations in the Far group. The relationship between the algorithm scores and self-reported negative affect was stronger in the Objective group compared to the Far group. These findings describe sensitive linguistic distancing algorithms that are capable of tracking changes in self-reported negative affect. These results may be useful in developing novel, unobtrusive emotion regulation assessments and interventions that utilize natural language processing.

Leveraging Vector Space Similarity for Learning Cross-Lingual Word Embeddings: A Systematic Review

This article presents a systematic literature review on quantifying the proximity between independently trained monolingual word embedding spaces. A search was carried out in the broader context of inducing bilingual lexicons from cross-lingual word embeddings, especially for low-resource languages. The returned articles were then classified. Cross-lingual word embeddings have drawn the attention of researchers in the field of natural language processing (NLP). Although existing methods have yielded satisfactory results for resource-rich languages and languages related to them, some researchers have pointed out that the same is not true for low-resource and distant languages. In this paper, we report the research on methods proposed to provide better representation for low-resource and distant languages in the cross-lingual word embedding space.

Do not (Just) Think, But (Also) Feel!: Empirical Corroboration of Emotion-Involved Processing Hypothesis on Foreign Language Lexical Retention

Emotion plays important roles in learning, memory, and other cognitive processes; it does so not only in the form of macro-level emotion (e.g., salient affective states and self-reportable motivational currents) but also in the form of micro-level emotion (e.g., subtle feelings and linguistic attributes that are usually processed subconsciously without special attention). According to the Emotion-Involved Processing Hypothesis (EIPH), processing that draws attention to emotional aspects (EmInvProc+) is postulated as a deeper version of semantic processing which has cognitive advantage to facilitate linguistic processing and retention more than non-emotional semantic processing (EmInvProc−). This study empirically investigated whether the EIPH can be experimentally corroborated for learners of a distant foreign language (viz., Japanese learners of English). In the experiment, participants processed visually presented English words that were either positively or negatively valenced under different conditions, followed by the test session in which they engaged in memory tests. Two processing modes were compared (EmInvProc+ vs. EmInvProc−). The dependent variables were correct recall frequency, correct recognition frequency, and correct recognition reaction time. It was revealed that EmInvProc+ was more cognitively facilitatory in making stronger foreign language lexical memory traces than EmInvProc− for all the measures employed in the experiment, regarding both accuracy (correct response frequency) and fluency (correct response reaction time). Therefore, it is implied that EmInvProc+ can be regarded as a sui generis deeper level of processing that is qualitatively distinguishable from mere semantic processing, supporting the Emotion-Involved Processing Hypothesis.

Rhetoric of expressive exemplifi cation in typologically distant languages: On the example of selected Polish and Japanese statements/utterances

A confrontative analysis of distant natural languages proves fully useful in terms of cognition when, as a result, formal differences in statement/utterance structures arising from typological dissimilarities, yet disclosing universal communication strategies, can be noticed. This refers also to the colloquial rhetoric, which is illustrated by this attempt at comparing the strategy of expressive exemplifi cation combined with the mechanism of negation in Polish and Japanese. Usages of the Polish negative pronoun żaden (no, none) are compared here based on an extensive corpus of colloquial sentences to the corresponding Japanese exemplifi cation structure based on the use of the form nanka, which, in turn, permits the observation of characteristic shifts in the hierarchy of the exponents of the former and the latter semantic function mentioned here. The synthetic nature of the Polish structure places the negation higher in the hierarchy, thus prevailing over the meaning of the exemplifi cation, while in the Japanese language the analytical separation of both meanings places the exemplifi cation and the negation at an equal level as part of the separately shaped thematic-rhematic segmentation of statements/utterances.

Representation of the concept “money” in phraseological units of the Finnish and Erzia languages

Introduction. The article examines the ways of representing the concept of “money” on the material of phraseological units of the Finnish and Erzia languages in a comparative aspect. It employs the model of conceptual analysis, which is based on the comparison of phraseological units of two distant languages. The purpose of the article is to identify the linguistic means of expression of the concept “money” on the material of phraseological units of each of the required language, and find out how the concept of “money” is represented in the linguistic, cognitive and cultural space of the nations. The study of phraseological fund of languages from the point of view of the representation of a concept is of great importance in linguistics. Materials and Methods. To achieve this goal, the article uses descriptive and comparative methods, a method of conceptual analysis developed independently in the course of the study, as well as techniques of component and etymological analysis. The actual material is obtained as a result of using the method of continuous sampling from phraseological dictionaries of the Finnish and Erzia languages. Results and Discussion. This study has allowed to identify the phraseological units that most accurately reflects the concept “money” in the Finnish and Erzia languages; select the frequency of duplicate tokens and spend a lexical analysis of their dictionary definitions; to make their own model of concept analysis to explore the identified language material taking into account semantic basis, and to submit to the lexical-semantic classification of phraseological units based on the material of the Finnish and Erzia languages. Conclusion. During the study, 62 Finnish and 35 Erzya phraseological units were identified and analyzed, 17 most frequently occurring nuclear lexemes were identified, which allowed us to conclude that the concept of “money” is similar in the minds of the Finnish and Erzia peoples. As a result of the analysis, a classification was made based on the lexical and semantic feature, including 7 groups of phraseological units.