Language Concepts Research Articles

Preparation of Material for Compiling an English–Slovene Dictionary of Criminal Justice and Security Collocations

Abstract This article presents the preparation of material for compiling an English–Slovene dictionary of criminal justice and security collocations. It presents the process of collecting and preparing material; specifically, software selection, corpus preparation, collocation extraction, and translation into Slovene. These activities were performed by students at the University of Maribor’s Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security as part of the course English Terminology. It defines the concepts of language for specific purposes (LSP) and presents the field and subfields of criminal justice and security, and gives an overview of the definitions of collocations. The article outlines the need to prepare a collocation dictionary by exploring the inclusion of collocations in dictionaries. The characteristics of possible dictionary entries are outlined based on material collected and prepared by the students. This is followed by the presentation of some examples of collocation entries from dictionaries.

A novel gene editing lexicon strategy for the haemophilia community: Research plan for development and preliminary results.

Despite the progress in gene editing platforms like CRISPR/Cas9 with thepotential to transform the standard of care for haemophilia, the language used to explain and discuss gene editing is not aligned across the haemophilia community. Here, we present the objective and rationale for developing a clear, consistent, and globally aligned gene editing lexicon to address these communication gaps. Effectively communicating complex gene editing concepts requires a clear and consistent vocabulary. Through collaboration with a diversity of haemophilia stakeholders, our main goal is to develop an accurate, informative lexicon which avoids overpromising or highly technical terminology. Using an innovative process, representatives from several patient and scientific haemophilia organizations and select biotechnology companies will develop and refine language concepts to be tested with approximately seventy participants across the United States of America, United Kingdom, and Germany. Participants will include lived experience experts (LEEs) and haematologists. The process will be overseen by the Lexicon Steering Committee of global experts from leading scientific and patient organizations in the haemophilia and gene editing fields. Initial feedback provided a robust foundation and rationale for building clear, consistent language around gene editing. This lexicon development framework will allow for increased understanding across the haemophilia community, including thedevelopment of valid informed consent and shared decision-making materials. Results provide important building blocks for stimuli development and highlight the need for a novel gene editing lexicon. In the next phase, language stimuli will be tested with LEEs and haematologists to better understand audience preferences and help shape the final lexicon.

Domain embeddings for generating complex descriptions of concepts in Italian language.

In this work, we propose a Distributional Semantic resource enriched with linguistic and lexical information extracted from electronic dictionaries. This resource is designed to bridge the gap between the continuous semantic values represented by distributional vectors and the discrete descriptions provided by general semantics theory. Recently, many researchers have focused on the connection between embeddings and a comprehensive theory of semantics and meaning. This often involves translating the representation of word meanings in Distributional Models into a set of discrete, manually constructed properties, such as semantic primitives or features, using neural decoding techniques. Our approach introduces an alternative strategy based on linguistic data. We have developed a collection of domain-specific co-occurrence matrices derived from two sources: a list of Italian nouns classified into four semantic traits and 20 concrete noun sub-categories and Italian verbs classified by their semantic classes. In these matrices, the co-occurrence values for each word are calculated exclusively with a defined set of words relevant to a particular lexical domain. The resource includes 21 domain-specific matrices, one comprehensive matrix, and a Graphical User Interface. Our model facilitates the generation of reasoned semantic descriptions of concepts by selecting matrices directly associated with concrete conceptual knowledge, such as a matrix based on location nouns and the concept of animal habitats. We assessed the utility of the resource through two experiments, achieving promising outcomes in both the automatic classification of animal nouns and the extraction of animal features.

Linguistic Country Studies Semantization of Troika and Bogatyr Symbolic Concepts in Russian Language and Literature Lessons

This paper describes the process of teaching the Russian language in classes with the Kyrgyz language of instruction, where the development of effective teaching methods taking into account the latest achievement of linguistic science plays an important role. In this regard, this study sets the goal of identifying mental-linguistic differences and semantization of culturally- marked concepts, taking into account the national and cultural characteristics of the linguistic consciousness of Kyrgyz schoolchildren.

Alternative Teaching Strategies in Learning Filipino Language among Dominant English Speakers

Alternative teaching strategies employed by grade school teachers were important in enhancing motivation in learning the Filipino language among students with dominant English language use at home. This qualitative research study explored these alternative strategies and their effects on the language learning motivation of the target student population. The study aimed to achieve two key objectives: (1) to identify the specific alternative teaching strategies utilized by Filipino teachers to enhance the motivation of English-dominant students in learning the Filipino language, and (2) to determine the effects of these alternative teaching strategies on the language learning motivation of the target student population. The findings of the study highlighted several effective alternative teaching strategies, including: the emphasis on the “Filipino word of the day” to enhance vocabulary acquisition and language proficiency; the incorporation of language games that integrated communication skills with learning, fostering more engaging and practical language experiences; the implementation of role-play activities to allow students to immerse themselves in real-life scenarios, enhancing their understanding and retention of language concepts; and the promotion of continuous exposure to the Filipino language in various contexts to solidify learning and improve practical application. The study also examined the effects of these alternative teaching strategies on the language learning motivation of English-dominant students. The results indicated that strategies such as encouraging language use outside the classroom, promoting engagement in reading activities, and incorporating student self-assessment and feedback had significantly improved students’ motivation, engagement, and overall language proficiency. The findings contributed to the existing body of knowledge on language education and offered recommendations for teachers to effectively motivate English-dominant students through the implementation of alternative teaching strategies.

Demystifying The Object-Oriented Features Of Popular Object-Oriented Programming Languages.

Background: Indeed, Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) has emerged as one of the major fundamental paradigms in today’s world of software development as it contains principles that enhance modularity, reusability, and maintainability of software. This article explores deeper into some of the facets of OOP aspects as exhibited in some of the most frequently used programming languages ranging from Java, Python, C++, and C# with an intent of offering substantive information to aspects like encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and abstraction. The article synthesizes the ones focusing on the relevance and conceptualization of OOP and problems related to it in the context of learners and practitioners. It also describes strengths and weaknesses of using C++, Python, and Java in relation to OOP while stressing peculiarity of these languages. Some of the core principles of OOP are highlighted such as encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and abstraction and how they are complicated and significant in today’s software engineering. Materials and Methods: There was a presentation of a survey on which the research is based to determine the problems that programmers encounter when applying OOP features using a sample of 80 programmers in the computer science fields in some Nigerian Universities. Results: Findings reveal the significance of understanding OOP concepts in popular languages and suggest ways of increasing developers’ efficiency, minimizing errors, and improving the quality of developed software. Conclusion: Suggestions include a necessity for training and education to enhance software developers' understanding of OOP features. The findings can guide the creation of training materials and courses centered on OOP concepts, aiming to improve software development practices and elevate the quality of software products.

Study of Topological Spaces that Don’t Rely on Points as their Basis

Traditionally, the concept of points and neighborhood structures has been quite dominant in defining and further analyzing various properties in the study of topological spaces. In pointless topology-or point-free topology, also referred to as locale theory-the key emphasis is shifted from points to lattices of open sets. In addition to gaining further insight into spatial properties, this approach has important implications in fields like theoretical computer science, logic, and categorical theory. It is the purpose of the present work to be mainly interested in issues of the foundation of point-free topology: locales, frames, mutual relationships between them; the ways of interpreting classical topological concepts in the new language and the strong and weak points of such a point-free view. In the process, we focus on some of the significant applications of point-free topology, both within mathematics and beyond. The present paper is an attempt to give a broad overview of pointfree topology, discussing both its theoretical basis and its practical significance.

BINARY OPPOSITION «RICH-POOR» IN KAZAKH AND ENGLISH LINGUACULTURES

In this study, binary oppositions are referred to be mechanisms for producing cultural notions that are indicated by lexical antonyms and represent both the Kazakh and English population's worldview and the language's conception of the universe. On the basis of an analysis of the materials and important cultural concepts from both countries, a sampling of binary oppositions was created. The findings of the comparative study allowed for the definition of key components of Kazakh and English ethnic cultures,which serve as basic components in the self-identification of both countries and aid in the reconstruction of their worldview. The purpose of this work is to identify the features of the national expression of the concepts of wealth and poverty in the Kazakh and English languages. To achieve the goal, the following tasks were set: 1.study of the concept of "proverbs" in the system of Linguistics, their role in creating a linguistic picture of the world. 2.selection, analysis and comparison of Kazakh and English proverbs and sayings. 3.identification of general and various features of the concepts of wealth and poverty in national characteristics, identification of the main features in the values and ideals of the Kazakh and English peoples in relationto these concepts.Research methods depend on the goals and objectives of the work. The work required the use of methods of sampling, comparison and descriptive analysis. The theoretical significance of the work is to identify the features of the national expression of the concepts of wealth and poverty in the Kazakh and English languages within the framework of the theory of cognitive linguistics. The practical significance of the work is that the results of the study can be used in teaching English in courses such as lexicology, phraseology, comparative typology, cognitive linguistics.

Scaling Imagination: The Language Machine and Poetry

The article focuses on the specificity and functions of metaphors in the poetry of Radosław Jurczak, and more broadly in the work of the youngest poets, for whom life in the world of digital media and the prospect of the development of artificial intelligence is an important part of their formative experience. The paper uses the terms introduced by Mark Fisher for this purpose: the weird and the eerie. The analysis compares poetic devices in Jurczak’s poems with the concept of poetic language of the first avant-garde, pointing out the changes occurring in the poetics and aesthetics of the works, also focusing on figures relating to the technological sphere of modernity. The paper polemizes with the view expressed by Jerzy Jarzębski, who considers the phrase “artificial intelligence” to be a fashionable and harmful oxymoron that defines the pragmatic, reductionist worldview of its users. The article argues that the incorporation of terms that have the status of catachreses and over-lexicalized metaphors in everyday language into the language of poetry allows their creative potential and ambiguity to be recovered. Finally, the paper considers scaling as a characteristic feature of the new poetic imagination, which also requires readers to take a new approach to the language of the new poetry.

“A Content Analysis of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences’ Presidential Address, 1993-2022: A Qualitative Exploration”

Prominent sociologists and criminologists have not accorded the respect that criminology and criminal justice (CCJ) deserves. They have questioned CCJ’s standing as an autonomous discipline; they have criticized CCJ for its lack of a “common conceptual language,” a “core theoretical tradition,” and a “methodological commitment.” Consequently, criminologists and criminal justice scholars have been warned not to stray too far from their sociological roots. This condition leads to the following question: are there new ideas about crime and justice that are contained in the annual addresses of ACJS presidents? This article examines the addresses delivered by the presidents of ACJS. The findings indicate that three key domains of reflections can be discerned in the ACJS presidential addresses: (1) legitimacy through accreditation; (2) policy irrelevance as a prelude to public criminology; and (3) visions of justice. The three findings are compared and contrasted with the core themes found in a prior study of ASC presidential addresses.

From the history of the lexeme ticket in Russian: from a word to a precedent phenomenon (on the material of F. M. Dostoevsky’s works)

This article considers the lexeme ticket as a representative example of those words that outlasted the golden age of semantic and cultural-historical evolution in the Russian language. We analyse possible extralinguistic and intralinguistic reasons for extending the lexical combinability and semantic spectrum of the lexeme ticket in the second half of the 19th century. These causes determined the gradual increase in the mental significance of the word, as well as the origins of its loss of conceptual significance in the period after 1917. The fact that the word ticket could have the status of a concept in the Russian language of the second half of the 19th century can be proved based on F. M. Dostoevsky’s texts. His works not only show the ample lexical combinability of the analysed lexeme, but also provide examples of its metaphorical use. The research employed the historical, descriptive, and comparative methods in conjunction with semantic and componential analysis. The paper concludes that the number of meanings and meaning shades of the word ticket increased considerably in the second half of the 19th century. Thus, its lexical combinability extended, and the lexeme reached the semantic evolution peak. As a result, any piece of paper with any text was actually called a ticket. The general linguistic significance of the word gradually developed into a conceptual one, which was reflected in F. M. Dostoevsky’s writings. His texts contain the best examples of the philosophical and metaphorical use of the lexeme. For instance, the image of a ticket returned to God in the novel "The Brothers Karamazov" became a precedent phenomenon in the works of Russian philosophers and writers.

The process of language acquisition: an experimental approach from a minimalist perspective

We present the approach to the study of language acquisition and processing developed in LAPAL (Laboratório de Psicolinguística e Aquisição da Linguagem – PUC-Rio) in the last decades, which incorporates a minimalist conception of language in a procedural model of grammar identification, and in the online computation of sentences. We refer to experimental results regarding infants’ sensibility to elements of functional categories, the early acquisition of gender and number, the early parsing of recursive structures, the role of recursion in cognitive development, and the processing cost of recursive structures and long-distance dependencies. Methodological issues concerning the assessment of children’s ability to process costly structures are considered, which contribute to the identification of the nature of children’s difficulties in comprehension tasks. Particular attention is paid to the application of this approach to the tracking of DLD (Developmental Language Disorder).

Discourses of Power and Social Structures: A Comparative Study of Bourdieu and Foucault

This essay critically examines the theories of Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault, particularly focusing on their views of language, power, and discourse. It explores Bourdieu’s concept of language as a form of capital and his notion of habitus, providing practical examples from job interviews. The essay also delves into Foucault’s understanding of discourse and its role in shaping societal norms, using the discourse of ‘madness’ as a case study. Through a comparative analysis, the paper highlights the strengths and limitations of both theorists’ approaches, suggesting areas for further elaboration and clarification.

A Space of Choice: Exploring New Patterns of Common Student Spaces

The paper describes a project conducted by a group of architecture students at the Cracow University of Technology. The research problem focused on common spaces in the learning environment, employing the theoretical framework of the sociology of architecture and the participatory design methodology. The project aimed to propose current design model solutions for inclusive and universally-accessible student places, reflecting on the initial studies and the design workshop experiences. The socio-spatial patterns proposed in this study were inspired by the concept of a pattern language developed by the team led by Christopher Alexander in the 1970s. In contrast to the original patterns, the new proposals for patterns of common student spaces are not statements, but questions. The answers to these questions involve different relationships between individuals (users) and the built environment, including those connecting users to the architectural work, the natural environment, other individuals, or user groups.

Re-placing Race in the Public Space

In this article I engage with the un- and re-making of monuments in the context of the globalization and mediatization of Black Lives Matter and anti-racist activism. I analyze in particular two examples that display transcultural negotiations of antiracism against the background of different colonial histories: The induction of Josephine Baker to the French Pantheon in November 2021, which opens the space of a key monument of French heritage to a black woman for the first time. The defacing of the statue of the Italian journalist and prominent intellectual Indro Montanelli in Milan in June 2020. The analysis emphasizes, on the one hand, the fluidity characterizing the transnational circulation of language, media and spatial practices. On the other, it points to multiple asymmetries deriving from the globalization and the transculturalization of communication. In order to take both aspects into account, I use a border perspective, and expand the category of ‘monument’ to include processes of un- and re-making heritages. In particular, I de-border the concept of language and crisscross the borders between discursive spaces and material spaces of representation. The article contributes to diversify postcolonial theory by showing that labels such as ‘European’ (post)coloniality or ‘global’ anti-racism are far too reductive with respect to the diversity of colonial histories and postcolonial realities. Accordingly, it pleads for putting transculturality at the core of decolonial struggles within and outside academia.

Using Cross-Linguistic-Cultural Interferences as a Means for Meaning Negotiation in Classroom Discourse

The process of encoding and decoding discussions about the nature of discussed meaning is affected by items from the previous learned languages, which means that the negotiation of meaning carried implied in cross-linguistic transfers and so for cultural interferences affects how learners interpret the negotiated foreign locutions. A sample of twenty adult students from The Center of Intensive Teaching of Languages (CEIL) at Ibn Khaldoun University of Tiaret (Algeria) was the subjects of observations, interviews, and experiments during our investigation into this phenomenon. Through treatment, discussion, and analysis of the data collected in the district of Tiaret (Algeria), we were able to gain a deeper comprehension of the topic under investigation. Later advances led to the conceptualization of the phenomenon's constituent elements. This made it possible for us to classify its elements by figuring out how the researched structure affected the adult learners' abilities to learn foreign concepts in the target language, as well as how frequently and at what rate it occurred. The degree to which the previously learned languages have an impact on meaning negotiation depends critically on how these concepts are interpreted.

Irony in earnest: rethinking Hegel’s critique of romantic irony

ABSTRACT In the so-called ‘irony debate,’ one of the most infamous polemics of modern intellectual history, G.W.F. Hegel accuses his German romantic contemporaries of being ‘nicht im Ernst’—not in earnest—with respect to irony. Given how this complaint is lodged alongside other, highly charged accusations (e.g. ‘hypocrisy,’ ‘absolute sophistry’ and ‘evil’), the unsurprising consensus among scholars today is that Hegel’s critique does injustice to the philosophically rich account of romantic irony. Acknowledging this vindication of romantic irony, however, I want to revisit and revise this criticism in a way that makes sense of the seemingly paradoxical claim that earnestness, rather than being the opposite of irony, is the very condition of it. Having clarified both the robust normativity of romantic irony as well as the specific shortcomings of Hegel’s critique in the first part of this paper, I then articulate what I call the ‘earnestness condition,’ or EC, according to which irony is in earnest when (a) it has substance, and (b) is grounded in its substance. Developing this account both advances a largely stalled scholarly discussion of the irony debate and develops a conceptual language useful for distinguishing between thick and thin kinds of irony in use today.

The Human Names Concept in English Language and Culture

The article is devoted to the study of the Human Names concept and anthroponyms in English language and culture and their places in linguistics. The information on its semantic features and its function in speech are defined as well. The scientific novelty is determined by a new point of view concerning the problem of the lexical meaning of proper names that consists in the fact that the structure of the lexical meaning depends on the specific type of anthroponyms.

Analysis of Children's Conceptions of Concepts at the End of Pre-Primary Education

The study presents the results of the authors' original research. The subject of the research were authentic utterances of 5-6-year-old children at the exit from compulsory pre-primary education. They represented individual conceptions of the following concepts: interview, question, poem, fairytale, book, magazine, library, letter, reading, writing, writer. The concepts were selected from the state curriculum (2016). The aim of the study was to present selected findings from research on children's conceptions of language and literary concepts. In the study, we provided answers to the research question. Which claims from psycholinguistic theories about narrower and broader conceptions of concepts are most valid in children's authentic utterances? The research strategy was quantitative. Children's authentic utterances were obtained through individual interviews. Each child answered four basic questions: what is it? What is it for? What would it be if it wasn't? How do you know that? The children's statements were content-analyzed and interpreted. The children in the research sample were dominated by narrower conceptions of linguistic and literary concepts (61%). The narrower conceptions of the concepts contained a pre-scientific concept of knowing their meaning. The content of their utterances predominantly distorted the objective meanings of the concepts. Children were less likely to interpret social interactions and least likely to use explanations of another, familiar concept. When they did explain concepts in broader terms (34%), they mainly relied on sensory experiences. Some children did not know or did not answer the questions (5%). The conducted research is a part of the VEGA 1/0505/24 project - Children's preconceptions about the phenomena of reading literacy.

On the Development History of the Human Names Concept in English Language and Culture

Throughout the whole space of language, in every word, in its semantics, sentence structure and the organization of different types of discourse "one can detect the traces of man". Anthroponyms play a special role among the ways of linguistic representation of a person. In the article the authors investigate the history of the development of the concept of human names in English linguoculture.