Latin Alphabet Research Articles

Metadiscourse and metalinguistic talk about script choice in Serbia: chasms and consequences for criticality

In Serbia, script diversity remains the norm whereby Serbian is routinely written in both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. This is not free of political contestation. Metadiscourses construct Cyrillic as the authentic script and central to ethnoidentity or, alternatively, as indexing dangerous nationalism, conservatism and Russian-leaning politics. On the flip side, metadiscourse associates Latin with modernity and progress, but for some with unwelcomed Western influence. But how do individuals themselves understand script preferences? This paper takes a folk linguistic approach to investigate whether the metalinguistic talk of Serbian individuals about script preferences is indeed informed by political metadiscourse. The data concern not only the stated preferences of individuals but also, borrowing from theory of mind, metatalk about how people explain the script preferences of others. The paper shows that the ideological oppositionality presupposed in metadiscourse tends not to be validated in metalinguistic talk, reminding us to be cognisant of chasms between societal-level metadiscourse and the lived experiences of individuals, and to avoid assumptions about the reach and impact of critical metadiscourse.

La referencia lingüística y la decolonización de los nombres propios en las lenguas de señas

The subject of the proper name is the subject of reference. Proper names are paradigmatic examples because they refer to unique entities in the world (uniqueness). In sign languages, there are gestural expressions that identify people in deaf communities and are distinguished from the spelling of their name given in Latin alphabet. Studies on this topic have described the signed proper name according to hand configurations and its other articulatory characteristics, according to some general principles about the significance of having the proper name in the community and how it functions. However, almost no mention is made of the basic concepts involved in the theoretical formulation of names and uniqueness. In this paper, we argue that descriptions of this topic are deliberately simplistic and reductionist, not because there is a desire to marginalize sign languages, but because we have been historically conditioned to act this way. From a decolonial critique and an anti-representationalist perspective of language, we show the controversies that shape the issue of proper names and propose an integrated view that advances in the deconstruction of polarizations and false dichotomies in the linguistic and identity discourse.

CPC-SAX: Data mining of financial chart patterns with symbolic aggregate approXimation and instance-based multilabel classification

In order to be able to classify financial chart patterns through machine learning, we introduced and applied a novel classification algorithm on time series data of different financial assets through SAX (Symbolic Aggregate approXimation), a transformation algorithm. After applying a linear regression model on the features of a dataset to reduce the number of parameters needed, converting real valued data to strings of characters through Piecewise Aggregate Approximation (PAA) and labelling each level increasingly with Latin alphabets characters, the new algorithm called CPC-SAX (Chart Pattern Classification) compares vectors describing the ASCII value changes along the string and classifies them using already labelled SAX-transformed data. The results show satisfying accuracy scores on data of different time windows and types of assets. We also obtain information on the appearance of said patterns. By reaching our goal of properly classifying chart patterns as they appear, we can have a better indication of the future price trend, allowing the investor/trader to make better informed decisions.

Revealing a word superiority effect using a unique variant of the Latin alphabet: the evidence from Turkish

When visual stimuli are presented briefly, words are perceived better than nonwords. It is widely accepted that this word superiority effect reflects the efficiency with which words are perceived. However, most of what is known about the effect comes from languages (like English) using the basic Latin alphabet and little is known about whether languages using an alphabetic variant with very different properties can also produce word superiority. Here we report an experiment in which words and nonwords were presented briefly in Turkish, which uses a unique variant of the Latin alphabet containing 29 separate letters, 12 of which are close visual replications of other letters. Despite the potential for visual confusability and perceptual uncertainty, the findings revealed a clear advantage for words over nonwords, indicating that word superiority observed previously for the Latin alphabet can also be observed with the very different variant of this alphabet used for Turkish. Implications of these findings for processes involved in visual word perception are discussed.

An Ensemble Keyword Extraction Model for News Texts with Statistical and Graphical Features

Keyword extraction is an essential tool for many text mining applications such as automatic indexing, summarizing, classification, clustering and automatic filtering. Automated keyword extraction is essential as the daily text data to be reached and processed have increased tremendously over the Internet, e.g. millions of news articles are published daily online. In this paper, a novel ensemble model for automatic extraction of keywords from news articles is proposed. The proposed model handles keyword extraction as a sequence labeling task. Two sub-modules representing the statistical and graphical features by their calculated scores for each input token were combined in the token classification module. The Ensemble Token Classification module was trained and tested separately with the ensemble algorithms Random Forest, XgBoost, Decision Tree and Voting Classification. For training, we collected two news datasets from Kazakh and Russian news sites published in Cyrillic alphabet. We also collected an Arabic news dataset, ArabianNews. The performance of the model was also compared with the widely used 500N-KPCrowd dataset in the literature, which consists of English news content in Latin alphabet. The proposed model achieved the best performance with an [Formula: see text]-score of 0.71 and 0.86 on the 500N-KPCrowd and Russian datasets, respectively. We attained the best [Formula: see text]-score (0.97) with the KazakhNews and ArabianNews datasets.

Albanian Handwritten Text Recognition using Synthetic Datasets and Pre-Trained Models

Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) has continuously attracted the focus of researchers to enable the integration of technology into our daily lives. Handwritten text recognition (HTR), a technology of considerable importance, takes a leading role in the analysis and digitization of various documents. This technology is important in facilitating the efficient use of handwritten documents, especially within academic, historical, and cultural contexts. The use of artificial intelligence in handwriting recognition offers a very good opportunity to achieve satisfactory results in this field, but to achieve good results a large dataset is needed. Creating a large dataset to train different AI models is a challenge for languages with limited resources such as the Albanian language. This paper aims to present a novel approach to the development of an HTR system for the Albanian language using an attention-based encoder-decoder architecture. The dataset used in the experiments is a synthetic dataset generated using deep learning techniques based on the English language dataset as they are both variants of the Latin alphabet. We enhanced the dataset with two letters specific to Albanian, (“ë” and “ç”). The usage of pre-trained English models for handwriting recognition improved our model’s performance. The results of the experiments are very promising and prove that our approach is efficient in recognizing handwriting in the Albanian language. This shows that the attention-based encoder-decoder architecture can be adopted for different languages with limited resources.

PHONETIC PROBLEMS IN TRANSCRIPTION OF CHINESE EXONYMOUS NAMES IN KAZAKH - LATIN GRAPHICS

The article deals with transcription of Chinese exonym names in Kazakh-Latin graphics, phonetic and phonological problems. Also, a comparative analysis of the sounds of the Chinese phonetic alphabet and the Latin-based Kazakh alphabet is made, a contrastive description of the sound system of the Kazakh and Chinese languages is given, and the difference between equivalent / non-alternative sounds is distinguished. By identifying the equivalent/non-alternative sounds in the sound system of two languages, situations that cause difficulties in transcription into the Latin alphabet are identified. The main goal of the work is to identify phonetic problems in transcription of Chinese exonym names based on the Latin graphics of the Kazakh language and to consider the optimal ways to solve them.It is known that the transition to the Latin script is planned in Kazakhstan in the coming years. Accordingly, work is being done in all areas. It includes onomastic names, foreign names and foreign words and their transcription, transliteration, and translation. Chinese onyms, including exonyms, are one of the new topics that have not been studied in Kazakh linguistics. Their transliteration in Kazakh-Cyrillic script is a problem that has not yet been resolved. Transcription of Chinese exonym names in the Latin-based Kazakh alphabet is a problem that requires new research.The conclusions and analyzes of the research can be used in the comparative teaching and research of the sound systems of the Chinese and Kazakh languages, and in research in the field of onomastics of the Chinese language.

When Yiddish Was Written in Latin Letters

Abstract Although Yiddish was traditionally written in Hebrew letters, texts in this language were also recorded using Latin characters in various circumstances, times, and places. These texts offer valuable information regarding pronunciation traditions and shed light on the processes of cultural history and sociolinguistics that acted as catalysts to their preparation. Various studies have discussed this phenomenon, yet they usually focus on one specific reason for using the Latin alphabet, such as ideological Romanization or linguistic adequacy. The following article offers for the first time a descriptive survey of the entire corpus, from the Early Modern Era to the present day. Paying close attention to the orthography used and the variety recorded, this article discerns within the studied corpus distinct categories reflecting the religious, linguistic, and ideological backgrounds of the texts’ authors and intended readers as well as technical factors pertaining to print. It also highlights the crucial role of the Hebrew alphabet in Yiddish culture.

Errors, error detection and correction efficiency in the container number code

The container number is an 11-digit code that uses a single parity check of modulo 11 to check the authenticity of the container numbers. The world relies on shipment containers to transport goods. Various types of cargos have been erroneously delivered in different places. The modulo 11 container number is divided into four parts. The owner code that consists of three capital letters of the Latin alphabet to indicate the owner or principal operator of the container. Such code needs to be registered at the Bureau International des Conteneurs in Paris to ensure uniqueness worldwide (per ISO 6346). The equipment category identifier consists of one of the following three capital letters of the Latin alphabet U for all freight containers, J for detachable freight container-related equipment, Z for trailers and chassis. The serial number consists of six numeric digits, assigned by the owner or operator, uniquely identifying the container within that owner/operator’s fleet. The check digit consists of one numeric digit providing a means of validating the recording and transmission accuracies of the owner code and serial number. The objective of this study is to determine the efficiency of the current modulo 11 container number in the error detection and correction. While the modulo 11 checksum calculation method is an effective way to detect errors in container numbers, it is not foolproof and errors can still occur. Modulo 11 container number code does not detect some transposition and substitution errors. The container number code and its check digit do not possess inherent error correction capabilities. This study therefore recommends a new modulo 13 container number code with higher error correction and detection capability.

Transliteration of Arabic Words/Phrase into English: An Exploration of Ambiguity Markers

Transliteration is a useful process when communication involves a language pair out of which each follows a different script, such as Arabic and English. One danger posed by this process is the ambiguity between the source and target of the communication. This study analyzes the intricate process of Arabic to English transliteration and the factor that make it ambiguous. The study aims to identify, categorize, and analyze the ambiguity markers that frequently arise during the transliteration of Arabic script into the Latin alphabet. The study interviewed 6 specialist translators in the Saudi context to identify the source of difficulties they encounter and which may bring ambiguities to the readers at various language levels. Results indicated that non-standardization in translation from Arabic to English was a cause of ambiguity in transliteration. Finally, regional dialects could not be adjusted in the transliteration spectrum in Google Translate. This research contributes to the field of transliteration studies by providing a comprehensive framework for understanding and addressing ambiguity in the transliteration process.

Attempt to Eliminate Cyrillic Writing in the USSR in 1920s - 1930s: Politics and Practice

The idea of ‘the desirability of introducing a Latin writing for all nationalities inhabiting the territory of the Republic’ arose in the power circles of the RSFSR back in 1919. The target for ‘Latinizers’ were, among others, the Cyrillic alphabets used in the country. The intentions of the ‘Latinizers’ were based on the general attitudes of the ‘hyperinternationalist’ policy of the first decade of Soviet power. At the same time, the argument for why the Cyrillic alphabet should be changed to the Latin alphabet was weak. The practice of Latinization of the written language of different peoples had similar and special features. Despite the statements of the ‘Latinizers’ about the ‘universal support’ for Latinization, resistance to this initiative was revealed among the public and even government structures. The main and decisive factor of resistance was the harsh negative reaction of the USSR leadership to the activities of Romanization of the Russian alphabet. Despite all the efforts of the ‘Latinizers’, many peoples who used the Cyrillic alphabet did not switch to the Latin alphabet. The refusal to latinize the Russian alphabet became a ‘trigger’ for the abolition of Latinization on an all-Union scale.

AZƏRBAYCAN, ÖZBƏK VƏ DİGƏR TÜRK DİLLƏRİNİN TƏDRİSİNDƏ LATIN QRAFİKALI MÜASİR TÜRK ƏLİFBALARININ ROLU

History of writing culture, which presented by Turkic people to human culture is very ancient.Existence of an alphabet with ancient history in Azerbaijan confirmed by science.But, when the Arabs conquered the Turkic world, ancient and historical national alphabet of Turks - the writing culture was lost.Alphabet with Arabic graphic served to the language and culture of Tukic peoples over the centuries.But, absence of special sighns reflecting the vowels of Turkish languages in Arabic alphabet , writing several sounds with one sighn in using as Turkic languages alphabet, always created difficulties.Therefore, changing the Arabic alphabet had became a necessity.One of the first initiators of changing Arabic alphabet was Azerbaijani thinker M.F.Akhundov. Later, other Turkic peoples, who was used Arabic alphabet, were supporters of changing the alphabet.After restoration of independence, again, ideas about chanching the conversion of alphabet to Latin , widely increased. The main goal was idea of creating the common Turkish alphabet for the Turkic peoples.Because of this, analyzing of the Latin alphabet,which had been adopted individual Turkic peoples was need.

The Role of Latin in Medicine

The purpose of the work was to familiarize ourselves with the stages of development of the Latin alphabet and its interaction with other languages.

Basic study of kanji recognition patterns in non-kanji-background Japanese learners based on eye-movement analysis

Learning kanji is one of the greatest challenges that non-kanji-background Japanese learners face. Kanji have a complicated structure and are fundamentally different from the characters of the Latin alphabet. Recognising them can thus be difficult for learners from places whose writing systems do not include kanji. Studies on the fixation and eye movements observed in kanji recognition by such learners are therefore important to clarify the kanji-recognition and -learning process. The present study attempts to shed light on this subject by using an eye-tracker to study such eye movements.
 The analysis of the data obtained from the fixation and eye-movement experiments shows that students exhibit different kanji recognition patterns depending on how long they have been studying kanji: while students who have been studying kanji for a short time tend to look repeatedly at different parts of the kanji to grasp its shape and structure, those with more experience exhibit a pattern more similar to that of native Japanese speakers.

WHO INVENTED WHAT? EXPLORING THE ROLE OF THE NORTH WESTERN SEMITIC ALPHABET UPON THE FORMATION OF MODERN EUROPEAN LANGUAGES

It is an accepted fact that, with some exceptions, the ancient Greek and Latin languages served as the basis for the formation of most of the Western (modern) languages. However, what remains less known is that the Greeks borrowed the alphabet letters from the North-Western Semitic alphabet of the 2nd millenium BCE. This alphabet was used by Phoenicians, Arameans, Hebrews and the Moabites beginning with the early second millenium and was borrowed by the early Greeks from Phoenician merchants in the later part of the second millenium and the beginning of the first millenium BCE. In this article we will explore the issue of the revolutionary contribution that the North-Western semitic alphabet had upon the cultures of the Ancient Near East (including Egypt, Canaan, Mesopotamia and Siria).2 The transition from a system that used hundreds of pictograms and signs (the cuneiform and hierogliphic alphabets) to an alphabet of only 22 linear letters marked one of the most important, yet neglected, innovations in ancient history. The purpose of our article is to draw on both ancient and contemporary scholarship in order to show how this revolutionary alphabet influenced the Greek and Latin alphabets (and implicitly the languages themselves) and the impact that this event had upon the formation of the modern European languages.

The Issue of Rendering Personal Names in the Context of Transition of Turkic Languages to the Latin Script: A Case Study of Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Kazakh Languages – A Secondary Publication

The paper deals with a comparative and contrastive analysis of the experience Azerbaijani and Turkish languages have gained in the transition to the Latin script. The methods of rendering personal names from European languages which, similarly to Azerbaijani and Turkish, use the Latin alphabet into the specified Turkic languages and vice versa are considered. The author presumes that the way the problem of rendering personal names as a special category of proper names is solved provides the grounds for giving an opinion on how successful the integration of a language that has switched to a Latin-based alphabet into a family of languages and cultures sharing the similar Latin alphabets has been or is going to be. In this respect, the study is topical since it enables one, by considering similar experiences of the languages involved, to forecast the trajectory the Kazakh language, intending to switch to the Latin-based alphabet in the near future, is going to follow. The novelty of the study consists of the linguistic forecasting method applied, which implies solely the study of the real experience of the languages subject to study and therefore provides the forecast with one hundred percent verifiability to be achieved once Kazakhstan has entirely transitioned to the Latin script. The theoretical value of the research consists in a contribution it makes to the methodological basis of the comparative and contrastive studies of related languages, including the creation of alphabets for them, as well as in the possibility of making use of the results achieved herein in further studies aimed at theoretical comprehending the peculiarities of a language functioning in the translation aspect after it transitions to a new alphabet. The study has made it possible to identify the methods of rendering personal names from/to European languages, used nowadays in Turkish (absolute and relatively complete transfer) and Azerbaijani (transcription and transliteration) languages. Through the prism of practical experience of these languages, an objective forecast is made with respect to the Kazakh language in case of its complete transition to the Latin-based alphabet. The paper concludes that the Kazakh language has reasons to follow either the way of Turkish, as the language of the state, which to a certain extent has managed to successfully integrate into Europe in cultural, economic, and political terms, and what Kazakhstan certainly strives for, or the way of Azerbaijani, to which the Kazakh language is connected with ties of a shared cultural and historical past.

Implementation Results of the "Qazaq tili" Web-textbook with Latin Script

Relevance. The research relevance is predefined by the need to identify the most effective methodology for teaching the Kazakh language in the Latin script. Purpose. The research aims to evaluate the results of "Qazaq tili" web-textbook usage, identify the problems of Kazakh language transition from Cyrillic to Latin alphabet and analyse how Latin script can influence Kazakh language development from the cultural and historical point of view. Methodology. Empirical and theoretical research methods were used in this research paper, including a questionnaire survey of respondents, classification, comparative analysis, system analysis, logical analysis, synthesis, and deduction. Results. The study presents the current state of the Kazakh language, revealing results from a non-anonymous survey of students on their knowledge of the Kazakh language and the difficulties they encountered. An anonymous survey assessed the ease of navigating the "Qazaq tili" textbook, support for the transition to the Latin alphabet, and the need for more resources to effectively learn the Kazakh language. The analysis included website metrics such as views, visitors, statistics, abandonment, depth of view, and viewing time, with recommendations for improvement. The surveys and analytics provided insights into the textbook's strengths and weaknesses and areas for future application. Conclusions. The study found that motivational factors and resource availability significantly impact the effectiveness of learning the Kazakh language in Latin script. The "Qazaq tili" web-textbook demonstrated effectiveness in teaching the Kazakh language, though there is a need for greater support and resources to enhance learning outcomes. The research highlights the positive reception of the Latin script among students and underscores the importance of continuous improvement in educational materials to support the Romanization of the Kazakh language. Keywords: Kazakh; higher education; digital learning technologies; public support for transition

The Kazakh Language Requires Reform of its Writing

The article provides information about modern problems of writing the Kazakh language, the importance of its role and development in the context of mass digitization using artificial intelligence technologies and computational linguistics methods. The incorrectness of the current alphabet of the Kazakh language based on the Cyrillic alphabet is proved in connection with the inclusion of Cyrillic letters in it, denoting phonemes that are not included in its sound structure. The necessity of reforming the Kazakh writing by replacing the incorrect alphabet is substantiated. Errors and contradictions are shown in the approved version of the Kazakh alphabet based on the Latin alphabet, as well as the alphabet proposed as a replacement for the approved one, in which some previous errors are repeated. In both cases, no analysis and clarification of the sound system of the Kazakh language, which is the basis of any alphabet, is carried out. In this study, to clarify the sound system of the Kazakh language, experiments were carried out to determine the articulation and acoustic features of Kazakh sounds with the help the computer programs used for many natural languages. In the articulation analysis, special attention was paid to vowels, which give rise to various contradictions in the Kazakh letter. It is proposed to use a new classification of vowels according to four binary features, rather than the traditional classification according to three binary features. Acoustic analysis uses the method of formant analysis, which is aimed at identifying certain formants in the spectrogram. The formant is obtained using a spectrograph. Quantitatively, the formants correspond to the maxima in the speech spectrum and usually appear on spectrograms as horizontal bands. After determining the composition and classification of the sound system of the Kazakh language, two variants of the alphabet based on the Latin alphabet are proposed: the first one is based on the Turkish alphabet using diacritical marks; the second is based on the English alphabet using digraphs. The second option offers ways to solve problems that arise when using digraphs. In conclusion, information is provided on the ongoing and ongoing work in Kazakhstan related to the creation of smart systems in the Kazakh language based on the methods and technologies of artificial intelligence and computational linguistics, the results of which are reflected in the list of sources.

Does probiotic ingestion reduce the risk of preeclampsia? A systematic review.

We aimed to systematically review the literature on the effects of probiotic consumption on the risk of preeclampsia (PE) development. Eight databases, clinical trial registries, and grey literature were searched until February 2022. Studies were included if they (1) were randomized clinical trials (RCTs), (2) included pregnant women aged≥18 years old, (3) used probiotics products, and (4) were written in the Latin alphabet. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed using the risk ratio as the effect measure with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for PE. The search strategy identified 359 records, from which six RCTs were included. The six RCTs evaluated pregnant women with comorbidities and enrolled 593 women that received probiotics and 625 receiving placebo. None of the included RCTs analyzed healthy women. Probiotics increased by 12% the PE risk (RR 1.12, 95% CI, CI=0.83-1.53, p=0.46, χ2=3.31, df=5 (p=0.65), I2=0%). The certainty of the evidence, evaluated through the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach, was rated as very low. In conclusion, probiotics supplementation may slightly increase PE rates in pregnant women with comorbidities. The risk may be higher in obese women and for periods of ingestion longer than eight weeks. However, the evidence certainty is very low. PROSPERO registration No.CRD42021278611.

The discovery of a Romano-Punic tomb in the region of Msallata

Abstract A mixed Romano-Punic tomb discovered on private property to the west of Msallata contains many small stone chests containing cremated human remains. Some of these chests carry the name of the deceased written in the Latin or neo-Punic alphabet. Besides the stone chests, there are pottery jars containing animal remains. Figurative relief and religious symbols suggest the practice of rituals associated with the Tophet (sanctuary-necropolis) of Carthage. In addition to the stone chests and pottery urns there are many other objects that are typical of the grave goods usually buried with the Phoenician dead: oil lamps, tableware, coins, medals.