Linguistic Matters Research Articles

Avances y retos del plurilingüismo en los poderes públicos del estado españolProgress and challenges of multilingualism in the public powers of the Spanish state

Abstract More than four decades after the promulgation of the Spanish Constitution of 1978, its provisions on linguistic matters have been defined, through a dynamic and constructive process, by the state and regional legislators, and by the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, to the point of allowing a significant advance of minority languages that had been neglected for decades. Over time, this dynamic, not exempt from controversy, as corresponds to an open and plural society, has revealed some imbalances due to the asymmetry of the constitutional linguistic model, for example the scarce presence and promotion of linguistic diversity at the state level.

Linguistic Responses of Abd al-Hamid al-Farahi: His Responses to Grammatical Issues as a Case Study

This research focuses on the contributions of a non-Arab scholar who has significantly impacted the study of the language of the Qur'an, the most revered and miraculous of texts. Despite its eternal wonders and the mysteries of its miraculous nature remaining untapped, the language of the Qur'an continues to be a subject of intense study. After reviewing the works of al-Farahi, I was impressed by the boldness of this non-Arab scholar in critiquing many established theories of Arabic lexicographers, morphologists, and grammarians from both earlier and later periods. His responses in linguistic matters, particularly in grammatical issues, will be the main focus of this research. The research will examine his responses in grammatical issues, which we have categorized into two sections: responses related to nouns and responses related to prepositions. The section on nouns is further divided into two main categories: responses concerning inflected nouns and responses concerning constructed nouns. This classification follows the approach of al-Zamakhshari in his book Al-Mufassal, and is organized as follows:

Socio-Spatial Multiplicity in World Politics: Non-Western Regional Imaginations of the Indo-Pacific

Abstract Originally a biogeographic term, “Indo-Pacific” is increasingly replacing “Asia-Pacific” in political discourse. This is not merely a linguistic matter but also has political implications. However, the meaning of “Indo-Pacific” remains unclear, and its implications are contested. While it has attracted the attention of a wide spectrum of political pundits, the regional designation “Indo-Pacific” is used to describe a space of global cooperation and geopolitical competition. This study makes two contributions by reexamining this debate. First, it helps lift the fog around the Indo-Pacific to gain a deeper understanding and encourage reflection on its current rise. Thus, it is situated within a growing body of literature that excavates the complex history of the Indo-Pacific by revisiting its Japanese wartime origins. Second, drawing on the emergent literature on multiplicity, this study shows how the term has historically invoked two different kinds of international relations in Japan. This suggests the importance of examining multiple socio-spatial imaginations internalized by diverse collectivities in the social space of international politics that goes beyond modern European state borders. Introduced by the Japanophile German geopolitician Karl Haushofer, the term was originally used to express the area of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, a region that aimed to create a world order that differed from the Western one. This significantly contradicts contemporary usage by the Japanese government, which claims that universal values exist in the region.

Torso articulation in sign languages

Abstract Torso articulation in sign languages is mentioned variably in the linguistic analysis of sign languages but is often ignored. The prevailing idea seems to be that detailed study of movement of the parts of the torso will yield little insight into linguistic matters – so mentions can be general and brief. The result is that torso articulations are an unmined area – perhaps one that holds treasures, particularly regarding the appreciation of creative sign language. We draw together the findings of other research regarding torso articulation, then give an inventory of possible torso articulations, exemplified with signs from dozens of the world’s named sign languages, and a brief overview of how annotation systems have approached torso movement in signs. We end with suggestions for how the study of torso articulation can open new avenues of sign language research.

Procedural fairness in ethnic-cultural decision-making: Benefits, processes and minority and majority group perspectives

ABSTRACT As nations worldwide diversify, societal institutions are increasingly faced with the challenging task to resolve issues regarding ethnic, cultural, and linguistic matters. In the present contribution, we review evidence for a theoretical model that highlights the relevance of procedural fairness for dealing with such ethnic-cultural issues. Our collective model of procedural fairness (CPF) explains the reactions to fairness enactment of different stakeholders: Minority groups that receive fair treatment, third-party minority groups, and the majority. For minority groups, ethnic-cultural procedural fairness effects emerge through self-categorisation processes, leading to positive leader evaluations and decision acceptance, as well as increased feelings of societal inclusion, well-being, and social trust. For the majority group, CPF holds that responses to ethnic-cultural procedural fairness are driven by higher-order moral standards of rightful conduct towards disadvantaged group members. Taken together, the present contribution accentuates the usefulness of ethnic-cultural procedural fairness as a social engineering tool in diverse societies.

Delving Into Writing Anxiety of Rural College EFL Learners: A Quantitative Study

Anxiety in foreign language writing burdens EFL learners before, during, and after producing scientific written texts. This current research aimed to explore the types, levels, and causes of anxiety toward writing research reports and the final thesis of rural college EFL learners and the emerging causes of their writing apprehension. 103 EFL learners in two rural colleges in Indonesia participated in the quantitative study by employing the Second Language Writing Inventory (SLWAI) and the Causes of Writing Anxiety Inventory (CWAI). The results reveal that cognitive anxiety was the highest type and level of rural college EFL learners' writing apprehension. Independent t-test shows that female EFL learners dominate male learners regarding writing anxiety. Furthermore, junior learners were more anxious than seniors. The learners with writing training had lower anxiety than those without writing experiences. Moreover, the learners taking the Research Method course were anxious about writing a research report. However, no significant difference was found between each variable. The most dominant emerging factors deal with problems with linguistic matters, fear of lecturers or supervisors' negative feedback, self-regulation in writing, writing evaluation, and inadequate training in writing. In conclusion, current classroom practice in rural colleges needs to be aware of and take academic action towards such circumstances.

Literary Translation Style - Linguocultural Phenomenon (According to Ivane Machabeli’s translation of the tragedy “Hamlet” by Shakespeare)

This article deals with the essence of the artistic translation as creation and translation style as Linguoultural Phenomenon. The problem refers to the issue how the artistic translation as phenomenon should be seen wholly, that implies its  researching creatively and  lingvo-culturally. According to the methodological approach  translation style should be studied interdisciplinary. So, it is the most essential to combine successively interdisciplinary methodology to the linguistic approach of the artistic translation (this is the approach that  is implied by linguocultural paradigm).  The methodology of the mentioned research implies the conceptual combination of such disciplines as, on the one hand, Literature Studies and on the other hand Linguistics – (because original text as well as translated text are at the same time the subject matter of Literature-Studies and Linguistics). But, according to the fact that artistic translation is studied as creation in this article, the methodology of our research means the disciplines such as Esthetics and Linguistic Theory of Translation, in particular the conception of translation transformation.

Semantic Noise and Conceptual Stagnation in Natural Language Processing

Semantic noise, the effect ensuing from the denotative and thus functional variability exhibited by different terms in different contexts, is a common concern in natural language processing (NLP). While unarguably problematic in specific applications (e.g., certain translation tasks), the main argument of this paper is that failing to observe this linguistic matter of fact as a generative effect rather than as an obstacle, leads to actual obstacles in instances where language model outputs are presented as neutral. Given that a common and long-standing challenge in NLP is the interpretation of ambiguous – i.e., semantically noisy – cases, this article focuses on an exemplar ambiguity-resolution task in NLP: the problem of anaphora in Winograd schemas. The main question considered is: to what extent is the standard approach to disambiguation in NLP subject to a stagnant “image of language”? And, can a transdisciplinary, dynamic approach combining linguistics and philosophy elucidate new perspectives on these possible conceptual shortcomings? In order to answer these questions we explore the term and concept of noise, particularly in its presentation as semantic noise. Owing to its definitional plurality, and sometimes even desirable unspecificity, the term noise is thus used as proof of concept for semantic generativity being an inherent characteristic in linguistic representation, and its concept is used to interrogate assumptions admitted in the resolution of Winograd schemas. The argument is speculative and theoretical in method, and the result is an analysis which provides an account of the fundamentally dialogical and necessarily open-ended effects of semantic noise in natural language.

Une législation suisse glottophile ? Entre territorialité et liberté, pragmatisme et indifférence : un plurilinguisme à géométrie très variable

Unlike other officially multilingual states, Switzerland is often seen as a glottophile country, where linguistic minorities have few complaints. Its success is often attributed to the principle of territoriality (one official language per territory), but the principle of personality (free choice of by citizens of the language in State-citizen communications) is also important in bi/plurilingual cantons, in what appears to be a differentiated territoriality. The legal framework is based on cooperation between the cantons, which govern their own linguistic matters, and the federal State. The officialization of the three main languages (German, French, and Italian) was recently supplemented by that of Romansh, a vulnerable language from a demographic perspective. At the same time, the Swiss-German dialects have remained very much alive, despite their absence from constitutional texts. However, one should be wary of total acceptance of this idealised image of Switzerland, when the legislator seems indifferent to languages of immigration and, moreover, does not grant recognition to Franco-Provençal. This Romance language that is still spoken in parts of Francophone Switzerland is not protected by any policies aimed at ensuring its survival. This article aims to reflect on the applicability of the notion of glottophilia to Switzerland by focusing on the texts that constitute the architecture of language legislation in the country.

Semantic noise in the Winograd Schema Challenge of pronoun disambiguation

The Winograd Schema Challenge (WSC) of pronoun disambiguation is a Natural Language Processing (NLP) task designed to test to what extent the reading comprehension capabilities of language models (LMs) can be compared to those of human subjects. It is generally assumed across the NLP literature that human subjects are capable of resolving this task because of their acquired commonsense knowledge, thus setting a commonsense benchmark for LMs, one which has even been proposed as an alternative to the Turing test. In the context of complex natural language communications, Shannon and Weaver observed that the act of semantic interpretation is subject to semantic noise (Shannon and Weaver, 1964 (1949)). Semantic noise is a constraint that ensues from terms exhibiting variable interpretations across contexts, presenting a challenge to the resolution of tasks such as the WSC. However, the main argument of this paper is that rather than seeing semantic noise as a challenge to otherwise unambiguous communication, it can also be understood as a functional quality of natural language, given that it results in the conceptual negotiation of terms. Failing to theoretically attend to this linguistic matter of fact leads to unintended problems in instances where NLP applications are offered as unbiased or objectively applicable solutions. To address this, this article offers a renewed and original analysis of a series of Winograd Schemas, in order to demonstrate how they are not as straightforwardly solvable by human subjects as is commonly claimed across the NLP literature. The methodology employed is that of historical contextualisation in information theory, and qualitative cultural analysis drawing on examples from a wide variety of recent NLP literature.

Plurilingual education

Abstract The emergence of bilingual education in the Spanish educational landscape has spawned the implementation of a great deal of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programs. The need to raise the citizens’ proficiency of foreign languages is imperative so as to embrace the new European mandates in linguistic matter. Each region has implemented its own programs based on the linguistic reality and convictions surrounding it. In fact, the great number of research studies carried out thus far bears witness to the ever-increasing attention that this new form of education awakens in the scientific community. However, as far as the region of Valencia is concerned, despite it being a bilingual region with a long-standing tradition in the implementation of bilingual programs, we know little about the effects of such programs. The only thing that can be ascertained to date is that the road to plurilingual education has been a bumpy one due to the continuous changes in law that plurilingual education has undergone. With this in mind, this article carries out an analysis of the Valencian plurilingual system from the viewpoint of in-service teachers with a special focus on English. The results of this study are thus expected to shed some light on how the plurilingual project is playing out and to push forward the plurilingual agenda of the region.

Pedagogical Linguistics in Romance

Linguists tend to underestimate their educational and societal role, but linguistics matters. Therefore, this article is a plea for linguists to act accordingly and to fulfill their important role boldly and creatively. By dealing with pedagogical aspects of Romance linguistics, an area which I call Romance Pedagogical Linguistics (RPL), I highlight the crucial role of linguistics in various pedagogical contexts of Romance languages and how all involved parties benefit from a strong, confident, and open-minded linguistic component. I assume a wide definition of RPL, thus including not only foreign and heritage language learning and teaching, but also teaching of linguistics in higher education. I demonstrate how Romance Pedagogical Linguistics could look in practice with five examples. In order to illustrate how language pedagogy can benefit from linguistics and what the task of linguistics is in this regard, I discuss subjunctives as well as intonation in Spanish and French foreign language acquisition, and I refer to work on Spanish as a heritage language. Subsequently, I will exemplify two concrete implementations of RPL in higher education by using the method of research-led learning in advanced courses of linguistics dealing with intonation as well as by presenting the Hourglass-Portfolio-Method.

Naturing With Big Data: How Writing Creation Myths Can Matter

This article draws on Barad’s posthumanist ethics of mattering as an alternative methodology to qualitative research with big data while foregrounding writing as mattering. Big data is outlined as linguistic matter to be understood in relational materiality and subjectivity. I then discuss writing in light of mattering from multiple angles. To illustrate, I present an example of a course in which students wrote their own creation myths in an affirmative manner by navigating a corpus of 80 existing ones. The final section sketches what an ethics of naturing with big data might be about.

Lafẓ “Al-Auliyā'” baina an-Naṣṣ wa al-Wāqi‘: Dirāsah Dalāliyyah

This article examines the condition of Jakarta's residents in late 2016 and early 2017. Some Muslims in Jakarta were able to mobilize a movement they dubbed "Aksi Bela Islam" after viewing video recordings of the then-leader's words that were distributed via media networks and other means. They may have clashed after viewing the footage, prompting Jakartans, organizations, and associations to convene and ask the Indonesian Ulema Council to address the issue. The respondents requested the opinion of the Indonesian Ulema Council regarding the ruler's statement, “... that you deny verse 51 of Surah Al-Mā'idah ..,” where the controversial word is “auliyā'” The words have multiple meanings due to the fact that they themselves have multiple meanings. These words have multiple meanings, as interpreters may interpret them differently, and there are also contradictions and contradictions between litigants and justices in interpreting these words. From this point on, the researcher will seek linguistic issues associated with this incident and avoid mentioning political issues. The researcher analyzes it by analyzing the elements of semantic meaning with the aid of the opinions of commentators and translators regarding the verse in question, the dictionaries considered, and the words of scholars who support and do not support the interpretation. This article will inform you of the tendency of the Indonesian Ulema Council to issue fatwas on linguistic matters.

The Turing Test, or a Misuse of Language when Ascribing Mental Qualities to Machines

In this paper we discuss the views on the Turing test of four influential thinkers who belong to the tradition of analytic philosophy: Ludwig Wittgenstein, Noam Chomsky, Hilary Putnam and John Searle. Based on various beliefs about philosophical and/or linguistic matters, they arrive at different assessments of both the significance and suitability of the imitation game for the development of cognitive science and AI models. Nevertheless, they share a rejection of the idea that one can treat Turing test as a test for “machine thinking.” This seems to stem from a concern for the proper use of language —one that is a fundamental methodological commitment of analytic philosophy.

Metalinguistic effects

We can communicate linguistic information by asserting sentences that are not explicitly about linguistic matters. Stalnaker offers a pragmatic account of this phenomenon. It is not clear that such an account is correct. In this article I offer an alternative account that does not rely on pragmatic mechanisms and which captures many of the insights in Stalnaker's theory of linguistic communication. The view is inspired by Barker's semantics of vague adjectives.

‘Plain’ legal language by courts: mere clarity, an expression of civic friendship or a masquerade of violence?

ABSTRACT In the Netherlands over the last decade, a range of initiatives have been launched by individual courts, mostly on their own initiative, to make court rulings more comprehensible to average citizens. At the outset, at least from the ‘internal point of view’ of legal practitioners, it might seem striking that these initiatives predominantly address the comprehensibility of legal language as an exclusively linguistic matter, independent of any jurisprudential stance as to what ‘doing law’ should consist of in this context. However, this linguistically-oriented approach is far from eccentric: it dovetails nicely with the dominant approach adopted by the plain legal language movement to make the law more comprehensible to citizens. Against the background of a language as activity view, this article analyses and evaluates the use of comprehensible legal language by courts. To do this, an integrative legal–ethical approach is employed, according to which the content and style of court rulings are inextricably linked. More specifically, the Aristotelian concept of civic friendship is introduced as having potential explanatory force for the practice of plain legal language use by Dutch courts. With reference to actual court rulings, it is argued that this concept allows us to conceive of a ‘plain’ court ruling as a potential expression of a civic-friendly attitude by the judge. In addition, the main dilemmas that civic-friendly judges will be likely to face when writing a comprehensible court ruling are identified. Finally, and on a more critical note, a fundamental concern is raised regarding the practice of plain legal language use by Dutch courts.

The Impact of Blended Learning on Student’s Achievement at Lebanese French University

Language is a phenomenon that has a central point within the field of linguistics. Among many aspects that are usually tackled within linguistics, the comprehension and the production of language are analyzed as well. Therefore, the two mentioned processes have a specific focus within the domain of linguistics. The ability to produce and comprehend language is usually examined by the speech input and output of speakers with brain damage. The current research tries to highlight a linguistic investigation by focusing on the speech comprehension and production of individuals with aphasia. That is why the aim of this research is to analyze the linguistic matters of spoken language input and output that are usually weakened as an outcome of brain damage such as stroke. In addition, the present work tries to reveal possible characteristics of aphasic speakers that show clear difficulties during speech input and output due to brain injury. The method of the study consists of semi-structured interviews with aphasic speakers that are collected by visiting a number of different public and private hospitals and physiotherapy centers in Erbil. The tests are done by using picture presentation techniques and a questionnaire related to background information of the participants. Aphasic individuals are shown a number of different types of pictures and are asked to answer specific questions related to the events within the pictures. Their linguistic state is then examined by analyzing their answer syntactically and semantically.

Understanding the Paralinguistic Features Disclosure Depicted in the Lecturer’s Visual Modes of Writing Class Instruction

Today’s writing instruction performance is greatly aided by oral and nonverbal communication. This study intends to contextualize the lecturer’s visual modes regarding the paralinguistic features in writing class. Data were gathered from the PSETs’ self-rated questionnaire and the lecturer’s visual modes that were durably video recorded. Data were analysed using the IBM SPSS version 20 for descriptive and factor analysis, as well as the ELAN’s software to contextualize the non-verbal linguistic matters. The findings showed that the paralinguistic features, namely gesture, articulation, and loudness were strongly visible, whereas sonority and facial expression and lips setting were visible relating to the lecturer’s visual modes (r = .833, n = 243, p<.05). Meanwhile, Eigenvalue and factorial analysis affirmed two rooted paralinguistic features components of 83.803% (68.128% for component 1 and 15.675% for component 2). Further, ELAN analysis qualitatively contextualized the lecturer’s visual modes performance corresponding with the meta-discourse taxonomy through the portrait of the quoted material, dysfluencies, and discourse organization on introducing, delimiting, adding, and concluding the topic through the normative and pre-planned types of spoken data in the writing class activities. This study synchronizes the verbal and non-verbal viewpoints regarding both the PSETs and the lecturer’s understanding of the paralinguistic features in the writing class. Keywords: ELAN analysis; Meta-discourse taxonomy; paralinguistic features; writing instruction

Affordances of a New Language: Abbas Khider’s Claim to Community inGerman for Everyone

Affordances of a New Language: Abbas Khider’s Claim to Community in<i>German for Everyone</i>