Linguistic Area Research Articles

Sorbian kinship terminology according to the data in Volume 11. "Degrees of Kinship" of the Slavic Linguistic Atlas (preliminary results)

The study expounds up-to-date data on kinship names in the Sorbian dialects based on an analysis of linguistic maps with commentary available in Volume 11. “Степени родства” [Degrees of kinship] of the Slavic Linguistic Atlas which has been prepared for publication by the Bulgarian National Commission. The language material is authentic, collected and verified on site by Sorbian dialectologists. Emphasis is put on kinship names that belong to the all-Slavic vocabulary, as well as on own dialect word formation which lends originality to the Sorbian kinship names. The study outlines the linguistic areas of foreign language loanwords and elements which have replaced completely the native lexis. With nomina affinitatis, a disintegration of the old original naming system and an emergence of differences in the Slavic language territory can be traced. Particular attention is paid to the place of Sorbian dialects both among West Slavic languages, and in the entire Slavic language span. The key methods used in the study are linguo-geographical and comparative.

Development of Nggwaba Orthography: Syllabic, Phonemic and Tones Patterns

Nggwaba has been described as an Afro-asiatic language. Further classification situates it in the Chadic group precisely Biu-Mandara. The language is spoken in Gombi and Hong Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, North-east, Nigeria. It has been noticed that the language has largely been under-documented and under-investigated. The estimated number of people who speak the language is less than 1000. This paper presents the orthography and a preliminary analysis of a few aspects of the phonology of the language for the early primary education level. It became necessary to study, develop and document the orthography of Nggwaba language in order to prevent it from going into extinction. The study adopted a mixed-method sampling technique, cross-sectional design as well as a descriptive analysis. The paper is divided into three main sections. While the first section deals with background of the study, the second section looks at the literature review. The third section focuses on the methodology through which the study was carried out, and the fourth section discusses the framework, and finally the fifth section focuses on the result of the study. This is the first description of the phonological features of Nggwaba language. The by-product of this study has added knowledge to literature especially the area of areal linguistics.

Linguistic paradigms as cognitive entities: A domain-general approach

Abstract The concept of paradigm has been used extensively in many areas of linguistics throughout the past century, such as language education or historical linguistics. It is therefore quite surprising that paradigms have mostly been disregarded when it comes to cognitive language theories. Recently however, more and more researchers have started to advocate for the introduction of paradigms into cognitivist frameworks to be able to account for certain phenomena in language that would be hard to explain otherwise. But whilst there is agreement on which phenomena could best be explained through the notion of paradigm, there is a lot of disagreement regarding the way in which paradigms would be mentally represented, and how they would relate to the rest of the mental lexicon. This paper will discuss a few reasons to believe that paradigms are part of our grammar, present two previously proposed examples for modelling paradigms from a cognitivist perspective, highlight possible issues regarding their psychological plausibility, and explore how further research on modelling paradigms could be aided through an alternative domain-general approach which proposes that paradigms are cognitively equivalent to non-linguistic categories.

Вклад Н.И. Воробьева в районирование этнографических групп чувашей (по данным этнографии)

N.I. Vorobyev made a great contribution to the comparative study of the history of settlement and traditional culture of the ethnographic groups of the Chuvash, their interethnic interaction with the contacted ethnoses. He identified three ethnographic complexes based on the features, both those that had archaic signs and newly formed ones. Regarding the history of the formation of ethnographic groups, the researcher argued that the population of the north-east of the Chuvash Volga region perceived more southern Turkic influences in their everyday life, began to differ in language and way of life from the north-western population, although they retained commonality with it in the main elements of language, culture and lifestyle. His conclusion that the main ethnographic groups of the Chuvash, as he considered the upper Viryal and lower Anatri, were finally formed during the 15th century in the northern regions of Chuvashia as a result of the rapprochement of the indigenous population of these areas with newcomers from the south, cannot be considered justified. The work of ethnographic expeditions in the Chuvash regions in the late 1940s and early 1950s, she showed that the archaic complex was most characteristic of the costume of the middle-aged Chuvash Anat enchi, although N.I. Vorobyev considered them an average or mixed ethnographic group. In general, he represented that group as part of the Anatri, who changed their way of life under the influence of borrowing from the Tatars. The author’s team, under the guidance of the scholar, developed in detail the classification of the Chuvash into groups and subgroups based on folk costume. N.I. Vorobyev for the first time identified three subgroups as part of anatri. The border zone between Anatri and anat yenchi, which was not clearly defined by its predecessors, in particular G.I. Komissarov, N.I. Vorobyev, was also not resolved. The riding costume was formed as a result of interaction with the mountain Mari people, although many features that unite it primarily with the anat Enchi costume were not replaced in it. The authors emphasise that the striking external differences that were recorded in the riding Chuvash northwestern subgroups and grassroots chuvashki hirti. They did not violate the common cultural community of the Chuvash people. It should be noted that the task of a more detailed substantiation of cultural and linguistic areas at the level of subgroups within the ethnographic groups of the Chuvash, divided into four subgroups in the upper zone and three in the middle and lower ones, unresolved by the expeditions of the late 1940s – early 1950s, remains relevant.

Neurodevelopment in Young Children With Sex Chromosome Trisomies Diagnosed Before Birth: A Cluster Analysis Study.

Many studies have investigated the neuropsychological profile of individuals with sex chromosome trisomies (SCTs) and have identified some fragilities in language development within a wide individual variability. However, only a few studies have focused on children in the second year of life (12-24 months), a crucial stage for neurodevelopment. The present study aimed to identify and describe neurodevelopmental patterns in young children with SCTs. Seventy children with SCTs, ranging in age from 14 to 29 months, were administered the Griffiths Mental Development Scales, and their different neurodevelopmental profiles were identified using cluster analysis. Two-step cluster analysis highlighted two profiles of children equally distributed between groups. The two clusters showed a similar pattern but different levels of functioning, with children in Cluster 1 showing a lower performance in all the areas considered than children in Cluster 2. However, in both clusters, all the mean scores were in the normative range, with a significant gap in the linguistic area. Identifying the subgroups of young children with SCTs at higher risk can contribute to developing early monitoring protocols and targeted therapy approaches.

RESEARCH OF COMMUNICATIVE AND PRAGMATIC ASPECTS OF THE VERBALIZERS OF THE CONCEPT "MOUTH" IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK

Linguistic pragmatics is one of the most promising and new areas of modern linguistics, which is an integral part of the theory of language and is studied in the course of general linguistics. Lingvopragmatics refers to the study of how language is used in specific contexts and social settings. It combines the fields of pragmatics, which studies how meaning is constructed through language use, and linguistics, which studies the scientific structure and function of language. This field examines how pragmatic factors such as social context, speaker intentions, implication, presupposition, and the cooperative principle interact with linguistic elements to influence communication.

Типы семантических изменений в агульском языке

<p>The paper describes various mechanisms of semantic changes in one of the Dagestani languages, Agul. The lexical semantics of Agul is currently an understudied but extremely interesting area of Caucasian linguistics. One of the most interesting ways in which polysemousness and synonymy emerge is the euphemisation of words and expressions due to various socio-cultural, ethical and moral reasons.</p>

A Critical Discourse Analysis of Elements of Influence in Abdul Latif Rashid's Statements

Political leaders use language to persuade and attract audiences and followers. Iraq is considered a prominent mediator to resolve most of the Middle East's critical problems. Iraq's presidents have had a real influence on the international community in addressing some of the suspended issues in the Middle East. The present study aims to investigate the elements of influence in Iraq's president's speech during his participation at the 33rd summit of the Arab League in Manama. The data of the present study is taken from Iraqi President Abdul Latif's speech during the 33rd Arab Summit in Manama. The present study adopts a qualitative research approach through which excerpts from the Iraqi president’s speech are analyzed in light of Fairclough and Weddick (1993). The findings of the present study reveal that three out of the five CDAs strategies are employed, including Referential, Mitigative, and Perspective strategies. It is recommended that more investigations be conducted in areas other than the linguistic area.

Commas and coordinating conjunctions: Too many rules or no rules at all?

Although it is unclear why punctuation should be pushed to the sidelines, it generally continues to be a neglected research area in mainstream contemporary linguistics. Common sense and empirical evidence both suggest that punctuation is so much more than a stylistic device, its presence or absence creating new strata and shades of meaning. Punctuation is also a matter of some controversy, all too often employed as a symbol of confrontation between linguistic conservatives and their more permissive colleagues. An already difficult situation is made even more difficult with different sources (e.g. course and reference books, online blogs and articles, etc.) supplying contradictory information with a rigor that does not tolerate disagreement, obsessing over rules for the sake of rules themselves and disregarding the real stories behind them. Shifting focus from a rulegoverned behavior and identifying a relatively limited context of punctuation, the smallscale research addresses the issue of comma usage before the coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, nor, so, yet and for. In addition to a sketchy overview of this complex relationship illustrative of significant differences of opinion, the paper touches upon regional and generic factors influencing comma usage before coordinating conjunctions, utilizing the massive database of the Contemporary Corpus of American English (COCA). The main idea behind the paper is to observe and account for tendencies and discrepancies by providing critical commentary on authentic examples taken from the corpora rather than seek confirmation for rules and take the prescriptive norm for granted.

Exploring Ethnobotany in the Catalan Linguistic Area: Traditional Plant-Based Knowledge for Addressing Gastrointestinal, Metabolic, and Nutritional Disorders.

Ethnobotanical research in the Catalan linguistic area (CLA) is crucial due to the persistence of traditional medicinal plant knowledge. Gastrointestinal, metabolic, and nutritional disorders are major global health issues requiring effective treatments. This study aimed to analyze plants used for these disorders in the CLA, compare the findings with phytotherapy literature, and examine correlations between plant use in humans and animals. Data were sourced from the database of the research group of Catalan ethnobotany at the University of Barcelona and the Botanic Institute of Barcelona, representing a collection of ethnobotanical studies. A total of 630 plant taxa were examined, with 15,252 use reports (UR) provided by 2301 informants. Gastrointestinal disorders were the focus, comprising 94.24% of the UR. The high informant consensus factor (0.96) indicated strong reliability of the results. The most often reported species were Matricaria recutita (5.97%), Thymus vulgaris (5.12%), and Lippia triphylla (4.90%). Lamiaceae (19.86%), Asteraceae (18.78%), and Rosaceae (5.55%) were the top botanical families. The main uses were digestive (17.62%), intestinal anti-inflammatory (15.68%), and antidiarrheal (8.91%). The main part of the plant used was the aerial part (33.22%). Tisane (69.25%) was the most cited pharmaceutical form. Traditional uses were confirmed by pharmacological literature in 57.59% of cases. This work highlights the potential of medicinal plants for treating gastrointestinal, metabolic, and nutritional disorders in the CLA. Further research is possible in other territories, as well as in the phytochemical and medicinal aspects of the plants recorded.

Nutritional Properties of Wild Edible Plants with Traditional Use in the Catalan Linguistic Area: A First Step for Their Relevance in Food Security.

Wild food plants (WFPs) are crucial for the subsistence of many human populations. While there are at least 7000 edible plant species in the world, only approximately 420 are considered food crops. WFPs are often studied from the phytochemical and pharmacological point of view, because they include available food components with nutraceutical value. The present study aims to highlight the nutritional value of WFPs traditionally used in the Catalan linguistic area, providing detailed insights and discussing the significance of these properties. Information about the nutritional properties of 93 taxa, coming from ethnobotanical prospection, has been collected through an extensive bibliographic research. The results reveal that WFPs are rich in nutrients, especially micronutrients. Furthermore, in selected species, those for which nutritional information and a cultivated homologue are available, the nutrient content in wild taxa exceeds than of phylogenetically related crop plants with similar use. Traditional wild plant preparation forms for food and the nutritional value of a menu constituted by wild food plants are presented. This research represents a preliminary step toward selecting certain taxa that could be developed into new small- or large-scale crops or sustainably harvested in the wild, contributing to food security.

Linguistics for Translators

What makes a translator truly exceptional? Is it their grasp of both source and target languages, or perhaps their sensitivity to cultural nuances? Linguistics for Translators by Ali Almanna and Juliane House delves into these questions with the ambition to bridge the gap between linguistic theory and translation practice. This ambitious textbook does not just present linguistic concepts but intricately weaves them into the fabric of translation studies, making it an indispensable resource “for a diverse audience, including students of translation and linguistics, practising translators, and readers from neighbouring disciplines who are interested in the subject” (Alamnaa and House, 2024, p.4). Almanna and House (2024) begin with a captivating premise: understanding the intricate mechanisms of language is fundamental for any translator. They set the stage by discussing why linguistic knowledge is crucial, not just as an academic exercise, but as a practical toolkit for enhancing translation quality. “Our aim with Linguistics for Translators is to emphasize that the linguistic dimension of translation cannot be overlooked,” Almanna and House (p.1) assert, highlighting the book’s relevance from the outset. This approach aligns with the views of Hatim and Munday (2004), who also emphasize the significance of linguistic competence in translation. The book’s twelve chapters cover a broad spectrum of linguistic areas, each crucial for the aspiring translator. Each chapter is meticulously designed to build on the previous one, from the basics of phonetics and phonology to the complexities of cognitive linguistics. The authors provide an engaging overview of linguistics, linking it directly to translation through practical exercises and discussion points. They introduce linguistic universals and translation universals, sparking curiosity about their application in real-world translation. This discussion echoes the foundational work of Catford (1965), who first articulated the need for linguistic theory in translation.

Bridging the Gap: Deep Learning Techniques for American Sign Language Recognition

Abstract: Communication stands upon the pillars of verbal and non-verbal conversations, and hence it holds the basis of human social relationships. Along with words, gestures are another component of nonverbal communication that achieves the purpose of conveying the intended sense and bridging the gab of the languages and cultures. People with speech or hearing problems usually read manual or verbal signs that often don't make sense to a hearing-challenged person. Gestures are the first sign of instruction that overcomes the speech gap. A kaleidoscopic patchwork of facial expressions comprising of facial movements and body language! Such variations occurring in linguistic areas overall are not surprising, as community cultures and tongues around the planet typically shape their language. In the United States and Canada, American Sign Language (ASL) is common and is an independent language from what is heard in the surrounding community but is also used as a way of communication between individuals and in groups that are deaf and hearing alike. There are some restrictions. Common language review and adequate practice are of crucial importance here, that is why it is so hard for deaf people to work outside. The accessibility of the translation tools decreases radically, which means it will be difficult to communicate, and it will further be hard to understand and to be understood. By integrating the AI technologies as neural networks and deep learning into the goals, the system will proceed to bridging various communication channels from manual writing to voice operation. The task goes with webcam installation together with gesture capture and then as an input it goes to the system. The proposed model will be divided into several stages namely, data acquisition, pre-training to the neural network, testing and the post-testing phases. This research project will do that through developing digital technology which in turn will enhance accessibility, encourage integration and let people who are film-blind or deaf to associate with the environment.

JOSÉ ORTEGA Y GASSET´S CREATIVE LEGACY: THINKING ABOUT LANGUAGE

The study focuses on the works of J. Ortega y Gasset, in which the Spanish philosopher offers a new vision of Linguistics analyzed from the point of view of Anthropology, Discourse Theory and Philosophy and first presented by him in 1938. Ortega’s bibliography contains articles in which he develops ideas relevant to Philological science, objecting to Saussure and criticizing Structuralism as the dominant research paradigm at that time. The subject of the research paper is the J. Ortega y Gasset’s ideology about the language and speech nature, formalized in the concepts called New Linguistics and Theory of Utterance, as well as the author’s views on the new approaches to the study of Philology (New Philology) and Grammar (New Grammar). In his works, the Spanish philosopher examines the dynamic nature of language and speech in its projection onto the speaker and substantiates the need to take into account the communicative intention and the communicative context, thereby anticipating the scientific research of the founders of the Speech Act Theory and Discourse Analysis J. Austin, J. Searle and Teun A. Van Dijk. The article makes an attempt to describe and systematize the main ideas introduced by J. Ortega y Gasset, relevant to such areas of modern Linguistics as Pragmatics and Text Linguistics.

The Catalan initiative for the Earth BioGenome Project: contributing local data to global biodiversity genomics.

The Catalan Initiative for the Earth BioGenome Project (CBP) is an EBP-affiliated project network aimed at sequencing the genome of the >40 000 eukaryotic species estimated to live in the Catalan-speaking territories (Catalan Linguistic Area, CLA). These territories represent a biodiversity hotspot. While covering less than 1% of Europe, they are home to about one fourth of all known European eukaryotic species. These include a high proportion of endemisms, many of which are threatened. This trend is likely to get worse as the effects of global change are expected to be particularly severe across the Mediterranean Basin, particularly in freshwater ecosystems and mountain areas. Following the EBP model, the CBP is a networked organization that has been able to engage many scientific and non-scientific partners. In the pilot phase, the genomes of 52 species are being sequenced. As a case study in biodiversity conservation, we highlight the genome of the Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus, sequenced under the CBP umbrella.

Writing Errors of English as Second Language (ESL) Learners in the 21st Philippine Context

To learn a second language (L2), once mastered, entails various prospects for Filipinos. One of the goals of the K-12 curriculum is to strengthen communicative competencies, which include linguistic competence; however, it was reported that the English Proficiency Index (EPI) of the Philippines has continuously declined in 2019, a year after the first batch of Senior High School graduated. As the country’s EPI declines, it may negatively impact the competitiveness of Filipinos in the international arena. Additionally, this result demonstrates the presence of errors in the writing performance of the learners despite the change in the curriculum. This research utilized a descriptive method to analyze the corpus from 100 ESL learners of a private school in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur. The findings illustrate that the majority, or 96.3221% were local errors and among these were mechanical or orthographic errors which ranked first with 1677 or 33.70%. Furthermore, the most committed error was misuse or omission of verb tenses, followed by capitalization and punctuation marks. With these results, it is important to expose learners to the target language (TL) and teachers to create remedial writing programs focusing on the weakest linguistic areas.

Tatar Dialectological School in Kazan University: Origins, formation and development

One of the well-developed scientific areas in Tatar linguistics is dialectology, its main task being the study of the living spoken language of indigenous peoples, that is, local dialects. It studies the phenomena of folk speech that are not included in the literary language, conducts the scientific analysis in this field and determines the territory of their usage.For several centuries, consistent and systematic research workhas been carried out in the area of Tatar people's spiritual culture, the history of various ethnic groups, the characteristics of their language, their way of life and customs. This work, devoted to studying live speech, to recording materials related to individual subdialects and dialects of the Tatar language, to collecting factual material and its scientific interpretation, began in the first half of the 18th century. The scientific study of Tatar dialectology at Kazan University has a history of more than two centuries, so a wealth of experience has been accumulated in this area; the tradition of studying Tatar dialects and subdialects at the university continues to this day, being one of the most relevant and sought-after scientific trends followed by the Department of Tatar Linguistics. For the first time providing its systematic study, this article describes the formation and development of the Kazan University Dialectological School, which is the main object of our research. This constitutes the scientific novelty and relevance of the article. The study of the history of this scientific school in an educational institution goes hand in hand with the study of the scientific research of the outstanding scholars, who made great contributions to Tatar dialectology, leaving rich scientific and methodological heritage.

Verb In Rahovec Dialect Compared to Albanian Dialectological Atlas Maps

The paper will treat some forms of verbs of a linguistic area of north-eastern Gheg, such as Rahovec. The verbal system in this dialect is treated in comparison with the maps of ADGJSH (Dialectological Atlas of the Albanian language), examining the main points of the verbs that present differences, not only between dialects and discourses, but also within the same linguistic region. The paper aims to point out the lack of a special point to present a characteristic dialect of Gheg such as the dialect of the area of Krusha. The verbal system of this area should be studied in comparison with the information of ADGJSH and the dialects about it. The paper treats the verb in the indicative mood, in tense, person, number and form.

THE ROLE OF TRANSLATION STUDIES IN GERMAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE STUDIES

The aim of this research is to examine students’ attitudes and experiences regarding translation classes in German language and literature studies. This quantitative and qualitative research was conducted on the basis of a questionnaire with third-year students who, as part of the compulsory course Modern German Language 5, attended translation classes in the winter semester, with two classes a week. The results of the conducted questionnaire represent an over- view of the current status and role of translation studies in the classes of German as a foreign language in the German language and literature studies department at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Niš. The results of the research indicate to what extent translation studies affects the process of learning German as a foreign language and how translation teaching can be improved in order for students to acquire linguistic and translation competence. In addition to the practical significance of the research for translation classes, the work also has a theoretical significance, since various approaches and theories in the teaching of translation are present- ed that thematize translational categories (also areas of linguistics) such as lexicon, semantics, pragmatics, etc. and the means by which the process and product of translation are described or reflected. Many aspects of translation (understanding, intention, communication, mediation, communication, etc.) are reflected and intertwined in the attitudes of the students.

THE ROLE OF PRAGMATIC FACTORS IN THE SOCIALIZATION OF SPEECH

In the article, thoughts about the role of pragmatic factors and forms of manifestation in the social character of speech are expressed through examples. Pragmatic factors in the social character of speech are first of all manifested in intercultural communication.In the multifaceted process of intercultural communication, linguistic and cultural levels of mutual understanding between representatives of different language communities are distinguished, in other words, linguistic and extralinguistic. intercultural communication is a two-way process of foreign language and foreign cultural understanding, and in this regard, the act of speech implies interlinguistic and intercultural translation, the adequacy of which is at the level of pragmatic meaning of language units. It should be noted that sThe object of study of both sociolinguistics and pragmalinguistics is speech phenomena, which cannot be separated from each other in the analysis of speech processes. Both of these areas of linguistics have their own place in the social character of speech. That is why it is impossible to sharply separate them from each other.