Automatic Speech Research Articles

Речевые формулы, обслуживающие бытовой дискурс шангодинского говора аварского языка

<p>The article is devoted to the study of the formulas of speech etiquette, the most common in everyday communication of the speakers of the Shangodinsky speech of the Andalal dialect of the Avar language. The relevance of the study is due to the following factors: 1) the real threat of the disappearance of this speech (today, less than a hundred people live in the village of Shangoda; 2) the lack of a special scientific study of the speech in Shangoda, the data on which are scarce and contradictory. The main research objective of the presented article is to describe the communicative functions of etiquette formulas used in the everyday discourse of the Shangodinsky speech of the Andalal dialect, with the identification of their pragmatic and semantic potential. To solve this problem, the following research methods were used: synchronous-descriptive (for a systematic description of various types of etiquette formulas), a functional method (for a communicative-semantic analysis of speech etiquette formulas); method of component analysis (for the analysis of the semantic structure of speech formulas). The method of introspection also turned out to be in demand in the work. The scientific novelty of this study lies in the involvement in scientific circulation of previously unexplored original etiquette vocabulary from the sphere of everyday discourse of one of the unexplored dialects of the Avar language. The results obtained in this connection are new. They have a certain scientific and practical significance for linguistic Dagestan studies. The practical significance of the study conducted in this article lies in the fact that the results obtained in the course of the study can be used in the preparation of special courses on the theory of speech acts, on the principles of discourse construction, as well as in the preparation of lectures on ethno-linguistics, intercultural communication and linguoculturology for the Dagestan audience.</p>

Медиаобраз ветеринарного врача в российских СМИ (по данным Национального корпуса русского языка)

The research aims to reconstruct the media image of a veterinarian aimed at identifying the peculiarities of veterinary discourse recognized and transmitted by Russian mass media. The paper employs the cognitive modeling methodology involving an analysis of the system of conceptual models with signifiers such as ‘ветеринар’ (veterinarian), ‘ветеринарный врач’ (veterinary doctor), ‘ветврач’ (vet) and its interpretation. The work examines the linguistic representation of conceptual dominants at the lexico-semantic level, identifying the basic conceptual features of the object. Three main roles of a veterinarian presented in the media, i.e., a doctor, an expert, and a scientist, are identified and analyzed. The research is novel in that it is the first to provide a linguistic description of the contemporary media image of a veterinary doctor based on journalistic contexts captured in the Russian National Corpus. As a result, the work reveals that the most developed image in the media is that of a veterinary doctor, concentrating the values of veterinary discourse and exhibiting the distinguishing features of appearance and behavior. The role of a veterinarian-expert is the most frequently recorded one in the media, characterized by stereotypical and abstract speech. The role of a veterinarian-scientist is the least common one in media discourse, with its media image not fully developed and represented by standard speech formulas. Conclusions are drawn regarding the perceptions of veterinarians in the media compared to their self-identification and literary portrayals. Overall, the media construct a stereotypical image of a veterinary doctor as an animal lover and savior, which largely fails to reflect essential values of veterinary discourse such as customer orientation, professional solidarity, and academic rigor.

Percentage of using formulaic language in media discourseA comparison between the visual media and the written press

the language we use daily; A product of society, but each of us embodies it in his way. Therefore, the speaker produces the language, but there is another aspect of the language, which is ready-made linguistic pieces, used directly by the individual owned by the linguistic group. Formulaic language is a general term for ready-made phrases in the language that have previously been produced and stored in human memory. This language usually has a fixed grammatical formula and a special meaning according to the situation and context in which it is presented. The use of this language leads to the coordination of sentences in the process of writing and communication, as well as adopting the eloquence of the sender and can influence the recipient more and convince him of his ideas, as well as help in logical intentions, automatic translation, and smart answers. This research, titled "Percentage of using formulaic language in media discourse: A comparison between the visual media and the written press", sheds light on the intensity of the formal language in the visual media and the written press. In the beginning, the formulaic language was explained, and then its use in the Kurdish media was explained. The importance of research in linking the media discourse with formal language, the purpose of which is to know the percentage of using this language on the one hand, and on the other hand, to know the percentage of its use between the two types. To conduct the research, (18) interviews and articles were taken from the visual media and the written press. After that, six components of the grammatical language were extracted, which are (linguistic accompaniment, coins (expressions), metaphor, proverbs, phrasal verbs, and lexical expressions) according to (Wadi), and the use of each one of them was indicated in a table.

A Corpus-based Analysis of Rhetorical Moves and P-frames in an Omani Learner Corpus of Research Project Abstracts

Background: Rhetorical moves have long been studied in several disciplinary texts, including research articles and their part-genres. A solid base of literature has emerged in this respect, informing current writing pedagogy for novice writers. However, one part-genre which has been rarely studied is student project abstracts. This paper represents one of the first studies to explore the extent rhetorical moves are realised through the linguistic unit of phrase frames (p-frames) in final year Capstone project abstracts. Methods: Using two faculty-informed analytical frameworks, the paper explores the use of rhetorical moves and p-frames in corpora of Social and Physical Science student abstracts. The moves and the p-frames (if any) used to realise them were identified in order to understand how students organised this part-genre and to gauge their formulaicity. Results: Amongst the key findings was that Omani students did not perform all the rhetorical moves recommended by the faculty. Moreover, they added spontaneous moves of their own to the abstracts. When performing rhetorical moves, they used very few p-frames, indicating that their approach did not rely on formulaic language of this nature. Conclusions: Pedagogical implications for the Omani context and for broader EAP contexts are discussed.

Navigating Cultural Connotations in Translation: Blending Paradigms to Illuminate Diǎngù and Shúyǔ in Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's Government Reports

This study delves into the translation challenges of Premier Li Keqiang's Report on the Work of the Government (RWG), a notable piece in Chinese political discourse. It focuses on translating the cultural nuances embedded in Diǎngù 典故 (allusions) and Shúyǔ 熟语 (formulaic expressions) into English to enhance global comprehension. Using an interpretive qualitative methodology, the research identifies deficiencies in translating these cultural connotations from the RWG (2013-2022) and explores their root causes, considering translation strategies employed. It integrates Venuti's theories of domestication and foreignization with Aristotle’s concepts of logos and clarity in style. Thematic analysis uncovers key translation issues: loss of original imagery, disrupted logical flow, and verbose redundancy, primarily due to challenges in maintaining logos and stylistic clarity. The study's significance lies in pinpointing these translational gaps and introducing a novel approach that amalgamates diverse theoretical frameworks, offering unique insights and methods to effectively connect language, culture, and political communication in translation studies.

Towns in Kalidāsa’s Kāvyas and the Thesis of Urban Decay

This essay tries to look at the way in which Kālidāsa approaches towns in his three kāvyas: Meghadūta, Kumārasaṁbhava and Raghuvaṁśa. Most of the descriptions are stereotypical, using stock phrases and formulaic expressions, some of them straight from texts like the Arthaśāstra. However, there is one city that is described somewhat realistically—Ayodhya, which was deserted following Rāma’s departure. Both these—the stereotypes of prosperous towns and the realism of a decayed town—fit into the pattern of ‘urban decay’ presented by historians on the basis of archaeological evidence, a landmark in Indian historiography.

CHANGES IN THE USAGE OF LEXICAL BUNDLES IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION DURING THE LAST 20 YEARS

Formulaic language contributes to demonstrating membership in a specific discourse community. However, the norms of a specific language community tend to change over time, which adds to the complexity of academic writing. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to explore the changes in the usage of lexical bundles in scientific papers in the field of education over the last 20 years. The focus is on lexical bundles, multi word sequences that recur frequently and are distributed widely across different texts. As a prominent feature of any text, exploring their usage and change over time brings insight into the changes which occur in the academic writing style. The results showed a decrease in the usage of lexical bundles over time. Statistically significant differences were found in the structural and functional usage of lexical bundle tokens for both groups and subgroups. This indicates that the concrete bundles used over time have not significantly changed but only the frequency of their usage.

A scribal device in oral clothing: functions of formulaic language in early Chinese divinatory texts

This paper aims at broadening the scope of what the term ‘formula’ encompasses by studying a written context of formulaic applications and their complex connections to ritual performance. More specifically, it examines the interplay between the oral and the written in the language of the late Shang 商 (ca. 1230–1046 BC) oracle bone inscriptions (OBI). Drawing on the study on ‘formulaicity’ by Wray and Perkins, I propose a definition of formulae based on the OBI evidence and identify the structure-based formulaic types as found in the divinatory records. I then discuss the functions that formulae perform in the divinatory record. I suggest that formulae should be considered a scribal device, a set of stock phrases and technical words used by the scribes to record divination results. They formed a toolkit which was meant to facilitate the composition of written records on hard media. The writing act occurred after (and separately from) the oral divinatory act. Therefore, the oral and written coexisted but were independent from each other within the context of divinatory performance.

The Structure and the Distribution of Phraseological Units in Intermediate and Upper- Intermediate EFL Textbooks

The knowledge of native phrases and idiomatic expressions is considered to be an essential aspect of one’s fluency in a foreign language and can advance learners toward more excellent proficiency in foreign language acquisition. However, not much research has been dedicated to how they are implemented in the school textbooks. This research work aims to examine the occurrence of phraseological units in the four selected English textbooks for B1 and B2 levels, which are recommended for use at secondary grammar schools and secondary vocational schools in Slovakia by the Ministry of Education. They aim to prepare the secondary school learners for their final school-leaving exams – which are based on and in line with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages requirements for the specific proficiency levels. To fill the gap in present studies, a detailed analysis was implemented, which included not only the exercises explicitly aimed at phraseological units but also the parts of the textbook, which dealt with the formulaic language implicitly. The main question posed dealt with the categories of phraseological units and their distribution in the analyzed textbooks. Phraseological units were identified, classified, analyzed, and counted by quantitative content analysis. The results showed that although there were phraseological units found in all analyzed textbooks, their distribution and classification differed significantly. Once they were included in the very limited number and variety of exercises, they were never used or mentioned again. Moreover, their explanation was absent or insufficient. The listed findings indicate that learners might encounter significant issues when trying to advance toward higher EFL proficiency levels.

Does the Processing Advantage of Formulaic Language Persist in Its Nonadjacent Forms? Evidence from Eye Movements of Chinese Collocations.

It has been well documented that formulaic language (such as collocations; e.g., provide information) enjoys a processing advantage over novel language (e.g., compare information). In natural language use, however, many formulaic sequences are often inserted with words intervening in between the individual constituents (e.g., provided information → provide some of the information). Whether or not the processing advantage persists in nonadjacent forms remains largely unknown. The present study thus sought to address this gap by recording the eye movements of Chinese native speakers when they were reading sentences embedded with formulaic sequences (high frequency collocations) versus novel phrases (low frequency controls), in their adjacent (e.g., 'resolve difficulties' vs. 'experience difficulties'), short-insertion (e.g., 'resolve these difficulties' vs. 'experience these difficulties'), and long-insertion forms (e.g., 'resolved so many difficulties' vs. 'experienced so many difficulties'). Results suggested that the processing advantage for formulaic language over novel language existed not only in their adjacent form, but also in their short-insertion form, albeit the magnitude of the processing advantage diminished with the increase of insertion length. The persistence of FL processing advantage is in line with usage-based approach to language learning, processing, and use.

Advancing Graduate Academic English Teaching: Analyzing Lexical Bundles in Photonics Research Article Abstracts

This study presents a streamlined approach to assembling a list of commonly used English phrases from abstracts in top photonics journals, aimed at enhancing academic English writing courses for graduate students. The process involved compiling a corpus of 400 recently published abstracts from leading journals in the field. Subsequently, a corpus analysis tool was employed to identify and assess lexical bundles, which are a type of formulaic language, for their educational significance and communication functions. The result is a refined list of lexical bundles, each correlated with its primary function in academic discourse. This research offers a straightforward and efficient method for developing a discipline-specific vocabulary for academic English writing instruction at the graduate level.

An Improved Discrete Bat Algorithm for Multi-Objective Partial Parallel Disassembly Line Balancing Problem

Product disassembly is an effective means of waste recycling and reutilization that has received much attention recently. In terms of disassembly efficiency, the number of disassembly skills possessed by workers plays a crucial role in improving disassembly efficiency. Therefore, in order to effectively and reasonably disassemble discarded products, this paper proposes a partial parallel disassembly line balancing problem (PP-DLBP) that takes into account the number of worker skills. In this paper, the disassembly tasks and the disassembly relationships between components are described using AND–OR graphs. In this paper, a multi-objective optimization model is established aiming to maximize the net profit of disassembly and minimize the number of skills for the workers. Based on the bat algorithm (BA), we propose an improved discrete bat algorithm (IDBA), which involves designing adaptive composite optimization operators to replace the original continuous formula expressions and applying them to solve the PP-DLBP. To demonstrate the advantages of IDBA, we compares it with NSGA-II, NSGA-III, SPEA-II, ESPEA, and MOEA/D. Experimental results show that IDBA outperforms the other five algorithms in real disassembly cases and exhibits high efficiency.

The productive processing of formulaic sequences by second language learners in writing.

There has been much debate in psycholinguistic research on whether formulaic sequences (FSs) are processed holistically or in a compositional manner. Whereas most previous studies on this issue focused on the receptive processing of FSs, few have investigated the productive processing of FSs, particularly in the second language (L2) learning context. Besides, most previous studies on L2 FSs examined learner-external FSs, or those identified by external criteria such as corpus frequency with little attention to learner-internal FSs, or psychological units perceived as wholes by learners themselves, although there might be much overlap between learner-external and learner-internal FSs. This study was designed to explore the productive processing of FSs by L2 learners from their own perspective, while taking into account the effects of L2 proficiency and topic familiarity. It made a distinction between internal FSs and purely external FSs as the primary criterion of categorizing learners' processing behaviors. Ten Chinese English learners from two proficiency levels completed two writing tasks differing in topic familiarity. Upon the completion of each task, each participant and the researcher identified the FSs separately and then distinguished internal FSs and purely external FSs (termed as assembled FSs, since they were perceived as being assembled from scratch) collectively. Next, each participant performed video stimulated recall (VSR) for the production process of each FS. The results showed that the learners' conscious processing (i.e., retrieval/assembly and integration into the text) of FSs can be categorized on two levels (lexical and syntactic). There was more holistic processing than compositional processing on the lexical level, but not on the syntactic level, indicating the learners' sizable storages of FSs and the syntactic flexibility of FSs. Furthermore, between-group differences and between-task differences were detected on two processing levels: higher-proficiency students retrieved more internal FSs and made more modifications to them than their lower-proficiency counterparts; in the familiar-topic writing, learners retrieved more internal FSs and made less modifications to them. Based on the findings, a model of L2 FS production is proposed, and pedagogical implications for the teaching of L2 FSs are provided.

Experiential grounding of abstract concepts: Processing of abstract mental state concepts engages brain regions involved in mentalizing, automatic speech, and lip movements

Abstract concepts like mental state concepts lack a physical referent, which can be directly perceived. Classical theories therefore claim that abstract concepts require amodal representations detached from experiential brain systems. However, grounded cognition approaches suggest an involvement of modal experiential brain regions in the processing of abstract concepts. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we investigated the relation of the processing of abstract mental state concepts to modal experiential brain systems in a fine-grained fashion. Participants performed lexical decisions on abstract mental state as well as on verbal association concepts as control category. Experiential brain systems related to the processing of mental states, generating verbal associations, automatic speech as well as hand and lip movements were determined by corresponding localizer tasks. Processing of abstract mental state concepts neuroanatomically overlapped with activity patterns associated with processing of mental states, generating verbal associations, automatic speech and lip movements. Hence, mental state concepts activate the mentalizing brain network, complemented by perceptual-motor brain regions involved in simulation of visual or action features associated with social interactions, linguistic brain regions as well as face-motor brain regions recruited for articulation. The present results provide compelling evidence for the rich grounding of abstract mental state concepts in experiential brain systems related to mentalizing, verbal communication and mouth action.

The Chinese Educational Idioms That the Chinese Shall Live By

With the conviction that formulaic expressions in a language are carriers of stable thought patterns of its culture, the paper conducts a thematic analysis of Chinese educational idioms with the goal of exploring the traditional Chinese educational values reflected in the Chinese language use. Altogether, about 100 Chinese idioms that pertain to teaching, learning and parenting are identified from a Chinese Chengyu (idioms) dictionary. Findings of this study challenge the common practice of borrowing Western pedagogical discourses to justify curriculum change initiatives in China, arguing that the traditional Chinese educational discourses should be retained in order to secure a strong cultural identity for young generations.

Does vocalization enhance L2 formulaic sequence learning?

In foreign or second language (L2) classrooms, learners often vocalize when learning new words. Indeed, previous studies have demonstrated that vocalization is effective for memorization and this is called the production effect (PE). Furthermore, PE has been observed in the learning of L2 word meanings as well. However, whether this can be applied to larger language items is unknown. Thus, the present study tested the effect of vocalization on learning L2 formulaic sequence (FS), a sequence of words such as collocations. To achieve this, the participants in the present study learned 90 verb–noun collocations and were tested on recognition of their forms and meanings both immediately and one week after the learning session. The result showed that vocalization enhances learning of forms and meanings of L2 FSs, and this effect is persistent over a one-week delay. This implies that PE is not affected by the nature of learned items and can be applied to larger units including L2 FSs such as collocations.

Formulaic language in Old English prose

Abstract Although there has been a plethora of research on formulaic language in contemporary English, conducted with various purposes in mind (descriptive, applied and otherwise), studies of formulaic phrasings in Old English texts are rare. In this paper, we employ selected corpus linguistic methods to identify and explore the use and discoursal functions of recurrent multi-word items that contribute the most to the formulaicity of homilies, chronicles and biblical translations, which are the Old English text types under scrutiny. The findings of this primarily descriptive and exploratory research provide new insights into the pragmatic functions of Old English recurrent phraseological units as well as into the structure and communicative functions of the analysed text varieties. Finally, the results of the study cast some new light on the role those formulaic phrasings play in Old English prose.

Vocabulary learning in Finnish early foreign language learning textbooks

Abstract Vocabulary acquisition of young foreign language learners is an understudied topic. This study examines how early foreign language textbooks in Finland present and practise vocabulary. Moreover, studying textbooks is essential as they guide teachers’ actions and pupils’ perceptions of what is central in learning and how one should learn. We examined five different textbooks used in Finland for early foreign language learning. The languages covered were English, French, German, Swedish and Spanish. We analysed how the textbooks presented vocabulary using Thornbury’s (2002) classification as a basis. In particular, we looked at how the books took into account pupils’ existing linguistic resources, how they introduced and attempted to consolidate new vocabulary, what aspects of vocabulary knowledge were emphasised, what the role of formulaic sequences was, and if there were differences between the textbooks of different languages. The results showed that even though the textbooks had versatile exercises, there was a lack of progression and consolidating activities. Moreover, it seems that the textbooks do not largely aim at learner agency or translanguaging for vocabulary learning. Therefore, the examined textbooks for early foreign language learning in Finland are not fully in line with current understanding of vocabulary learning and language learning in general.

What Should Go With This Word Here: Connecting Lexical Collocations and Rhetorical Moves in Narrative Stories

Abstract An emerging body of corpus-based genre analysis studies has examined the connection between different types of formulaic language and rhetorical moves in various genres of academic writing. The current study extends this body of research into the understudied genre of narrative stories and the understudied phraseological unit of lexical collocations. Specifically, we compiled a corpus of narrative stories written by expert writers, extracted a list of frequent collocations from the corpus, developed a rhetorical move framework for narrative stories, examined the distribution of rhetorical stages and moves in the corpus, and explored the connection between collocations and rhetorical moves in the corpus. The findings of our research culminated in an online interface for searching the corpus for collocations and exploring their use in sentences realizing different rhetorical stages and moves in context. We discuss the potential pedagogical value of our findings and the resulting online interface for promoting learner awareness of the connection between linguistic features and rhetorical functions in narrative stories in genre-based pedagogy.

What makes video‐based academic lectures difficult for language learners to comprehend? The role of multimodal complexity

AbstractBy taking a multidisciplinary, evidence‐based approach to modeling video difficulty, this study investigates the impact of multimodal complexity on language learners' self‐ratings of video difficulty, while simultaneously accounting for the effects of learner differences and video production styles. A set of 320 instructional videos from the corpus of second language video complexity were analyzed using sophisticated natural language processing and computer vision algorithms to extract and compute a wide range of multimodal complexity indices. The results of a linear mixed‐effects model demonstrated that pitch variation and academic spoken formulaic sequences helped to facilitate viewing comprehension, whereas infrequent words, image clutter, the number of visual objects, salient objects, visual texts, shots, and moving objects all impeded viewing comprehension. This study concludes by presenting a number of practical implications that can prove useful for English as a Foreign Language teachers and practitioners alongside a comprehensive agenda for future research in this area.