Linguistic Mechanisms Research Articles

Expressive writing as a therapeutic intervention for people with advanced disease: a systematic review

BackgroundExpressive writing involves writing about stressful or traumatic experiences. Despite trials in people with advanced disease, no systematic review to date has critiqued the evidence on expressive writing in this population. To synthesise the evidence of the effects of expressive writing on pain, sleep, depression and anxiety in people with advanced disease.MethodsA systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. CINAHL, CENTRAL, PsycINFO and PubMed were searched from January 1986 to March 2018. Other sources included clinical data registers and conference proceedings. Studies were included if they were randomised controlled trials that assessed the impact of an intervention involving expressive writing for adults with advanced disease and/or studies involving linguistic analysis on the expressive writing output. Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation tool was used to assess the level of evidence for the outcomes of interest. The protocol of this systematic review has been registered on PROSPERO (CRD42017058193).ResultsSix eligible studies with a total of 288 participants were identified, including four randomised controlled trials. All of the trials were in cancer and recruited predominantly women. None of the interventions were tailored to the population. Studies had methodological shortcomings and evidence was generally of low quality. Combined analysis of the four trials, involving 214 participants in total, showed no clear difference in the effect of expressive writing on sleep, anxiety or depression compared to an active control. Pain was not evaluated in the trials. In contrast, analysis of the four studies that included linguistic analysis alluded to linguistic mechanisms for potential effects.ConclusionAlthough the trial results suggest there is no benefit in expressive writing for people with advanced disease, the current evidence is limited. There is a need for more rigorous trials. It would be of benefit first to undertake exploratory research in trial design including how best to measure impact and in tailoring of the intervention to address the specific needs of people with advanced disease.Trial registrationThe protocol of this systematic review has been registered on PROSPERO, which can be accessed here (registration number: CRD42017058193).

The Linguistic Representation of Insincerity in Russian and English

The paper discusses insincerity, as well as the types and methods of its manifestation. Details reflect the characteristics of a lying person and his manner of behavior in an insincere atmosphere. The paper is aimed at explaining the linguistic mechanisms underlying the expression of insincerity, and developing a general theoretical understanding of the role of insincerity in verbal communication. Insincerity is understood as a discursive strategy of a linguistic personality, aimed at the intentional expression of false propositions and their corresponding linguistic design. The research discusses a set of types associated with the separate consideration of falsity as properties of propositions, that is, such knowledge of some possible world, which contradicts the objective picture of the world, and insincerity as a characteristic of the speaking subject related to its communicative intentions and features of the communication situation. The linguistic representation of insincerity is revealed.

COGNITIVE DYNAMICS OF STANCETAKING IN RISK DISCOURSE SITUATION

This article studies the cognitive dynamics of stancetaking in the discourse situations associated with risky behaviour and perilous decisions. The objective of this work is to find out what linguistic and cognitive mechanisms are used by speech participants to conceptualise a discourse situation as a situation of risk, and analyse the ways the stances on the discussed problem (here, the risk of addicting to FACEBOOK, as well as other social networks) are taken by discourse partners under different circumstances and varying communicative conditions. The overall theoretical framework for the study synthesises socio-constructionist and socio-cognitive approaches to discourse analysis of risk and stance. In the post-modernist model, speakers use discourse to construct versions of the world which are variable, functional and consequential. Gilles Fauconnier’s mental spaces theory (1994, 1997) served a methodological tool for re-assembling the ways stances on risks are taken in discourse interaction. Risk-taking has always been an integral part of human behaviour. We are constantly forced to make decisions that lead us towards unknown or uncertain consequences that can be potentially hazardous or even life-threatening. The study shows that the field of risk-taking in everyday life is extremely wide, embracing a diverse range of spheres such as household activities, gambling, sports, finance, medicine, technology or politics. Because risk pervades such a substantial part of our lives, it can be claimed as one of the fundamental concepts of the human conceptual system, thus, cognitive mechanisms of risk conceptualisation, as well as the linguistic ways of discursive stancetaking on risk have been determined, analysed and described in the present research.

Créer un flou référentiel : l’analyse de la structure pronom indéfini on + V et de ses équivalents polonais sur l’exemple des textes fantastiques

The starting point for the discussion is the statement that fantasy is born in the language. Among the linguistic measures that create the ‘crack’ in reality indefinite pronouns can be found. They make it possible to form the reference ambiguity/inaccuracy. Our aim is to describe linguistic mechanisms which conceal the perpetrator of action. This is why reflection on the structure indefinite pronoun + V and its Polish equivalents in the corpus of fantasy texts is offered. The purpose of the analysis is not to systematically describe the use of this structure. It is crucial to present the most important contexts in which the structure is present. The choice of corpus is a particularly important matter with regard to the obtained results. We would like to show that the structure indefinite pronoun on + V is one of the invariants of fantasy literature.

Humor creation during efforts to find humorous cognitive reappraisals of threatening situations

This interdisciplinary study examined the structure of humor creation in the specific context of efforts to positively reappraise stressful situations for effective coping. In a sample of n = 101 participants, a performance test was used to assess the quantity (fluency, number of generated ideas that qualified as humor) and quality (rated funniness) of humor creation in cognitive reappraisal. Linguistic mechanisms were identified and quantified using cognitive-linguistic methods of corpus analysis, and their employment was correlated with humor production performance on the level of the individual. Almost all individuals were able to come up with reappraisal ideas that qualified as humorous. Depressive symptoms, a negative mood state, and high perceptions of threat did not compromise the participants’ capability to create humor. Individuals who were more serious-minded as a trait produced ideas that were rated as less funny, but their basic ability to create humor was unaffected. Metonymy (a contiguity-based principle of meaning extension) emerged as by far the most prominent semantic mechanism in the creation of humorous re-interpretations. Furthermore, its use was related to good humor creation performance in terms of quantity and quality, which is in line with its assumed importance in the extension of meaning in general and the creation of humor in particular. Further effective linguistic mechanisms and conceptual phenomena were identified. The empirical data may be valuable for the development of interventions involving the creation of humorous ideas for cognitive reappraisal.

دراسة دلالية تداولية للنكات الإنكليزية

تقدم هذه الدراسة تحليلاً دلالياً وتداولياً للنكات في اللغة الإنكليزية، وهذا يستدعي الوقوف عند بعض العناصر غير اللغوية أيضا. تمثل النكات نمطاً متطوراً وذكياً من أنماط استخدام اللغة يتطلب فهمها مزيداً مما يسمى ب"المعرفة المحلية" و"المعرفة الموسوعية" في علم اللغة الإدراكي. تسلط الدراسة الضوء على الكفاءة اللغوية والكفاءة الإدراكية التي ترتكز عليها النكات، فالنكات تتعدى كونها قطعأ نثرية تثيرالدعابة والضحك إلى صياغة لغوية قائمة على أسس معرفية معقدة.
 تعنى الدراسة باستعراض عناصر صناعة المعنى وإدراكه في النكات الإنكليزية لاسيما المبادىء والتقنيات، ما يمكنه أن يسهم في تقديم تفسير أكاديمي للإبداع والدعابة وخفة الدم وسرعة البداهة ضمن إطار دلالي إدراكي وتداولي.
 تفترض الدراسة الحالية أن النكات تجسد كثيراً من العمليات العقلية التي ينفرد بها الإنسان على مستوى صناعة المعنى وإدراكه. وتفترض الدراسة أيضا أن النكات قائمة إلى حد بعيد على انتهاك بعض القواعد اللغوية والدلالية-التداولية الإدراكية أو التلاعب بتلكم القواعد. فعلى سبيل المثال، الكثيرمن النكات قائمة على انتهاك معايير مبدأ التعاون الذي أشار إليهGrice (1975).
 تصنف الدراسة النكات إلى مجاميع متعددة وفقاً للآليات الدلالية الإدراكية والتداولية التي تستند إليها في صناعة الدعابة، ثم تقدم على مدى صفحاتها وصفاً شكلياً ووظيفياً لكل مجموعة على حدة، ناهيك عن الإشارة إلى عناصر تبادل المعلومة في كل صنف من أصناف النكات. وبعد كل هذا وذاك، استنبطت بعض النتائج التي تمت صياغتها على هيئة بيانات تجريبية تمهيدية، لا بيانات تنبأية عامة كما هو الحال في بعض الدراسات التي قام بها بعض العلماء في سعيهم لتقديم نظرية شاملة للنكات.

Code-Switching or Bahasa Gado-Gado in Discussion of Homosexuality in Indonesian Films

ABSTRACT The article offers insights on how code-switching (CS) as a linguistic device and mechanism has served as an act of empowerment for the bilingual filmmaker to challenge government domination. Bahasa gado-gado, an Indonesian-English CS, is normatively unfavorable language use in Indonesia. The negative sentiment toward CS has been expressed by many Indonesians and the government. This article investigates the English switches in otherwise Indonesian popular cinematic texts: two films released after 1998, a critical political moment in Indonesia. Since the collapse of the New Order era in 1998, the use of bahasa gado-gado has been significantly visible in public spaces. Using a textual interpretive analysis, I show how CS is a tool used by characters to express “non-normative” sexual orientations in a liberating and open manner; by extension, CS in this context serves to expand monolithic definitions of Indonesianness.

Лінгвокогнітивні механізми реалізації наративної стратегії «експресія» у французькому художньому текстотворенні ХХ ст.

Лінгвокогнітивні механізми реалізації наративної стратегії «експресія» у французькому художньому текстотворенні ХХ ст.

World-modelling in advertising discourse: pragmatic aspects

The article is dedicated to world-modelling in commercial advertising. The author draws on European and Russian cognitive-discursive theories, which emphasize the importance of studying discourse in terms of mental representations and sets out the basics of World Modelling Theory. The named theory is used in the paper as a framework for understanding linguistic mechanisms of structuring information about the world by ‘the powerful’ agent of advertising discourse and its representation in slogans for the main objectives of communication. The argument is that text-worlds, generated by slogans, are cognitive-pragmatic representational structures of discourse, mediating the interaction of agent, client, and product, that depend on a wide range of contextual factors, having marketing character. The paper considers linguistic mechanisms of activating representational structures in correlation with pragmatic aspects of advertising communication, which lead to profiling three entities in the text-worlds – ADDRESSER, ADDRESSEE, PRODUCT. Typical world-modelling patterns are analyzed in the perspective REALITY – POTENTIALITY. It is shown that agent of discourse governs the perception of state of affairs presented in the text-world either exploiting the existing mass representations or creating new ones that eventually become socially accepted.Key-words: advertising discourse, text-world, world-modelling

TRANSLATION ASPECT OF BURLESQUE ENGLISH VOCABULARY

The peculiarities of the translation of Burlesque English vocabulary are analyzed in this article. The following translations of Burlesque items from English into Ukrainian shall be considered: translation by type of equivalence of lexical units; translation by means of variables and content phrases and complex agreements, as well as combined translation.
 The phenomenon of Burlesque is substantiated in the structure of the lexical-semantic system of contemporary English. Burlesque is a special way of reflecting the essence of the phenomena of reality, which can be commercial, ironic, satirical, etc., with the help of various linguistic means. For a long time Burlesque was treated as a stylistic method, used in the study of the literary approach; it was only later that attempts were made to explore their own linguistic mechanisms for burlesque transmission. But such aspects of Burlesque as the mechanisms for its creation, the realization of polysemy, as well as the interpretation of the emerging burlesque, all affect the development of further development of a dialogue not attained in the scientific literature of the corresponding higher educational institution.
 The basic ways of transferring Burlesque units and revealing a number of problems that arise during their translation are outlined in the article. The conducted studies have led to the conclusion that analyzing individual words of Burlesque use is inappropriate, that’s why the problem of displaying Burlesque in phraseology was referred to. The main problem of Burlesque phraseologisms is the ability and capacity of their significance. They do not only denote concepts, express their substantive logical significance, but also complement it with an appropriate characteristic of objects, processes, and phenomena that are not always contained in the semantics of a particular word. It should be noted that the accuracy and probability of the translation of Burlesque units of the English and Ukrainian languages, in addition to the foregoing, are depending on the level of awareness of the translators in the area, which is the language in the translated materials.

Metaphor and social construction

In this article I propose the metaphorization process as one of the linguistic mechanisms through which reality is constructed in the daily interactions and communicative actions. I expose an historical development of metaphor's theorization which becomes a socially-situated pragmatic perspective. Finally, I suggest further investigations in order to deepen our knowledge of the rhetoric of everyday life and become aware of the horizontal processes involved in the construction of human experience.

Predicting emotional health indicators from linguistic evidence of psychological distancing.

Psychological distancing, a form of cognitive reappraisal, involves construal of emotionally valenced stimuli in an objective manner, or with perceived spatial and temporal distance. Prior work suggests that in appropriate contexts, reappraisal broadly, and distancing specifically, is related to adaptive mental and physical health outcomes. Additionally, recent research suggests that shifting language to be more distant (i.e., linguistic distancing [LD]) can have adaptive emotion regulatory effects. The present study addressed whether LD is also associated with adaptive health indicators. Participants transcribed their thoughts while viewing negative or neutral stimuli in one of three ways: (a) by implementing objective language, (b) by implementing spatially and/or temporally far away language, or (c) by responding naturally. Across psychological distancing groups, LD was associated with lower negative affectivity (lower perceived stress and depression symptoms), better general well-being (better emotional well-being and energy and vitality), and better emotion regulation (ER; greater reappraisal frequency and fewer difficulties in implementing ER). Participants who used more LD in the objective group had lower negative affectivity, better general well-being, and better ER, and those in the far group had better ER. The results reveal linguistic mechanisms underlying ER and its relationship to health indicators, suggesting future examination of LD interventions.

ВТІЛЕННЯ ЛІНГВІСТИЧНИХ МЕХАНІЗМІВ ЕВФЕМІЇ В ТЕКСТАХ ХУДОЖНІХ ТВОРІВ ЛОРЕНСО СІЛЬВИ

This article is voted to the analysis of linguistic mechanisms of euphemisms and alternative methods of transmission of lexical units which has a negative denotation based on contemporary Spanish literary texts by Lorenzo Silva Donde los escorpiones and Lejos del corazón. The author proves that in those texts dominate thematic groups of euphemisms which designate age and property discrimination, also there are euphemisms related to death phenomenon, in particular are discussed the euphemisms from military sphere, which designate preventive measures, armed defense and military police. Among the alternative methods on the semantic level are used the notion of positive politeness based on conditional clauses, adopted vocabulary from English, Latin, French, Italian languages and metaphorical expressions which are aimed at neutralization of enemies and military conflicts including metonymy substitution which contain the shade of formality in the texts.

“Bestias en forma humana” o de los daños que causa el discurso peligroso.

Recent years have seen an upsurge of inflammatory speech around the world. Understanding the mechanisms that correlate speech with violence is a necessary step to explore the most effective forms of counterspeech. This paper starts with a review of the features of dangerous speech and ideology, as formulated by Jonathan Maynard and Susan Benesch. It then offers a conceptual framework to analyze some of the underlying linguistic mechanisms at play: derogatory language, code words, figleaves, and meaning perversions. It gives a hypothesis for assessing the moral responsibility of interlocutors in dangerous speech situations. The last section applies this framework to the case of demagogic discourse by Catalan nationalists. The framework offered explains how public discourse in Catalonia has harmed social relations and institutions, and is an obstacle to rational resolutions to the political situation.

On Coherence in Quranic Discourse: A Linguistic Analysis

The reader may assume that adjacent sentences in a given running text are coherent, logically ordered, conceptually related, semantically homogeneous, and, most importantly, enjoy continuity of the text pivotal thought. However, this may not be so since the prerequisites of coherence are varied and the criteria are language and culture specific. Cohesion plays a pivotal role in the realisation of coherence, in particular, and the texture of the text, in general. In Quranic Arabic, some of the linguistic mechanisms through which the text producer aims to attain coherence do not occur in other languages. Thus, the contribution to knowledge and originality applies to the current work. The plugging of a research gap in this field of linguistics can be demonstrated in the need to explain the prototypical discourse characteristics of Quranic Arabic. This is represented in the attainment of coherence through (i) morphological relatedness, (ii) the text producer’s selection of a grammatical category such as verb/noun/adjective that is fundamental to the central idea of the statement, (iii) the selection of a specific comparative adjective, (iv) the selection of a specific comparative God’s epithet, and (v) the selection of a specific sentence-final God’s couplet epithets. For the purpose of this paper’s analyses, a sample of Quranic lexical items has been selected from different sūrahs (chapters) and are provided with a discourse-oriented analysis with a view to their attainment of coherence.

Koncepcje podmiotowości w filozofii kartezjańskiej i psychoanalizie lacanowskiej z perspektywy retorycznej

The paper discusses the question of human subjectivity as defined by René Descartes (1596-1650) and Jacques Lacan (1901-1981). It examines the similarities as well as differences between the selfconscious and rational Cartesian subject, and the unconscious Lacanian subject (subject as desire and subject as drive). Further, it applies these categories to the subsequent discussion on the psychotic subject. Taking a rhetorical perspective means that the Cartesian and Lacanian subjects are considered an effect of specific tropological processes, such as the mechanisms of metonymy, synecdoche, metaphor, or catachresis. As it turns out, an analysis of rhetorical tropes allows us to uncover the unconscious linguistic mechanisms governing the formation of the human subject. Despite the obvious differences between the concepts of subjectivity in Cartesian philosophy and Lacanian psychoanalysis, there is a common denominator: it is due to the process of metaphorical substitution that the human subject comes into being.

Языковая игра как средство организации лингвистического анекдота

The article discusses specific features of the anecdote as a speech genre, analyzes communicative-pragmatic principles of creating a comic effect in anecdotes based on the wordplay. It is noted that the concept of «anecdote», despite the fact that it is widely used in modern literary criticism and linguistics, does not have a single interpretation and a precise theoretical definition, which is explained by its genre uniqueness and complexity of a cognitive-pragmatic nature. It is emphasized that the most important part of the work of this genre is its finale, originally known to the narrator. It is the last climax phrase that contains the unexpected and unpredictable final semantic resolution that constitutes the anecdote as such. Among the features inherent in the actual anecdotal texts are: small volume, lack of authorship, reproducibility, indefinite chronotope, stereotypicality of plot schemes, relatively constant set of characters, ambivalence of the meaning of language units, intertextuality, situational functioning, etc. The dominant category of the anecdote text is minimalism, manifested in the choice of details, the number of heroes, laconic form, the volume of compositional components. It is stated that formation of the types of anecdotes took place along two lines: folk and literary. A modern anecdote, in contrast to the literary jokes of previous years, as a rule, is a speech genre, not a literary one, which determines its specificity. It is noted that anecdotes are divided into situational (subject, referential), in which the comic nature of the described situation is not related to the linguistic design, and language (linguistic), which are based on the playing out of certain linguistic phenomena. The comic effect in the latter is based on purely linguistic mechanisms and depends on the choice of the used speech means. An integral part of creating a comic effect in linguistic anecdotes is violation of certain norms, or incongruence, in the implementation of which the leading role is played by the language game. The game potential of phonetic, lexical, word-building, morphological and syntactic means, as well as precedent phenomena involved in speech works of this type are described. Particular attention is paid to punning outplaying of polysemy and various types of homonymy as one of the most popular means of creating a language joke. It is concluded that peculiarity of the game means, used for creating a humorous effect, lies in their function: they have an additional evaluative connotation, express different degrees of negative loading and take part in creating comic ambiguity in the statement.

ЛІНГВІСТИЧНА ПАЛІТРА ІМІДЖЕФОРМУВАЛЬНОГО ПОТЕНЦІАЛУ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ НАУКИ У СВІТОВИХ МЕДІА

The paper introduces the most relevant issues of linguistic imageology. In particular, the author focuses on the problem of forming successful image strategies as a set of verbalised image actions aimed at creating a positive image of a country in media. The prospects of the investigated problem are evidenced by numerous scientific explorations conducted in the last decade in leading European and Asian scientific centers. In this study, the scholar explores the works of Spanish linguists (P. Rodriguez, A. Santana Talavera, A. Rodriguez Darias etc.) devoted to the problem of developing the so-called "strategic codes" of successful state image. It is stated that the appeal to subconscious, emotional, mythical and cultural codes is the most effective, which is explained by powerful suggestive potential of modern media. Therefore, in media discourse the author proposes to analyze symbolic association code that is able to relate in the recipient's consciousness a particular symbolic object/precedent phenomenon to the country to which it belongs, particularly, Ukraine. In this context, the author considers linguistic specificity of representation of Ukraine's symbolic figures in state image strategies, primarily, in the image strategy of appealing to values, which is based on axiological principles. The thesis about powerful image forming potential of mathematical (M. Ostrogradsky, G. Voroniy, M. Viazovska) medical, biological (I. Mechnikov, D. Zabolotny, O. Bogomolets, V. Vernadsky, O. Brovarets, M. Rodnina) and other Ukrainian scientific schools is argued. A wide arsenal of linguistic tools used by media to create effective image texts is analyzed. The main image forming markers in such publications are, as a rule, emotionally-evaluative epithetical, metaphorical and peripheral constructions with distinctly positive semantics. Summing up the results, the author concludes that there is a need for professional linguistic analysis of image texts about Ukraine in modern media. In this context, media linguistic imageology, that is able to explain linguistic mechanisms for constructing effective image texts, seems to be one of the most promising research directions of modern neolinguistics.

Поэтика художественной прозы: в поисках скрытых смыслов

It is well known that literary works of high artistic value tend to leave their readers with a whole range of impressions which cannot be attributes to the plot or figures of speech. Sources of such emotive and intellectual impact are often difficult to account for if one is guided only by the adopted mode of discourse analysis. Proceeding from R. Jacobson’s conception of poetics of emotive prose as the unity of sense and sound the paper sets out to show that frame semantics might prove to be instrumental in the study of linguistic mechanisms producing additional, and, possibly, otherwise obscure, senses in discourse. The investigation presented concentrates on cognitive structures representing knowledge of sound as part of the knowledge of the world. Two types of frames are considered. First, there are frames standing for fragments of reality where sound constitutes the periphery of the frame structure representing information accompanying an event. Such frames underlie the ‘story’ forming the plot of a text of fiction. The significance of sound in this case lies in the fact that the mention of sound alone helps to restore the rest of the frame in the reader’s mind thus evoking an all round picture of what is described. Besides, sound effects contribute to imagery creating mood and atmosphere. Second, the study of hidden sound frames might give an insight into “the way the author’s voice sounds” that is into the author’s manner of telling a tale. The frames of the second type refer to metadiscourse, i.e. the part of discourse organizing the presentation of the ‘story’ to the reader. Sound effects of the second type are imitative in nature and depend on the language the text is written in. In English one of the most common patterns is a regular succession of long and short vowels in an utterance. The pattern is illustrated by examples taken from ‘Cat in the Rain’ by E. Hemingway where a patterned alternation of monosyllabic words with short and long vowels or diphthongs is used to create the impression of the sound of raindrops rattling on the ground. In the Russian language text of emotive prose metadiscursive sound effects stem mainly from the use of syllabic structures. The investigation revealed that ascending arrangement of words consisting of two, three, four, and five syllables as well as corresponding descending arrangement is frequently used in M. Bulgakov’s story of Pontius Pilate in “Master and Margaret”, thus distinguishing it from the rest of the text. This rhythmic device is quite common in Russian poetry, and one might conclude that it is one of the elements performing the poetic function in emotive prose. The paper points at the study of quantitative frames in emotive prose as a perspective of further research since quantitative information (numerals) are part of numerous frames representing knowledge of time, action, and events of the world.

Личностные доминанты как вектор процесса языковой интерпретации количества

The study considers the dominant principle of sense formation in the process of reality perception and conceptualization including the quantitative aspect of being. The individually significant structures of knowledge, i.e. the dominants of the individual’s linguistic consciousness, determine and direct the process of language interpretation. The novelty of the study is seen in the attempt to model the principles of linguistic consciousness in understanding the quantitative properties and relationships. The relevance of the study is determined by the chosen cognitive approach involving the correlation between different mental structures, formats of knowledge and their language representation. The analysis of the empiric material, including the data of English, French, Russian languages, reveals not only the standards of interpretation, i.e. markers of the dominant zones of individual’s linguistic consciousness “exposing” different priority areas, but also identifies cognitive and linguistic mechanisms of meaning configuration. The repertoire of the dominant linguistic consciousness seems to be unique for each individual, because the formation, presence and the degree of certain knowledge structures ‘prominence’ are conditioned by the individual cognitive experience which depends on many factors. The application of the dominant principle allows demonstrating the variability of the cognitive content formatting, the level of linguistic personality development and, as a consequence, the degree of a person’s linguistic creativity.