Linguistic Research Research Articles

Perception of Iconic Russian Elements by English Speakers: Experimental Data

Introduction. In recent years, the anthropocentric scientific paradigm has been actively developing and the experimental method of research in linguistics is becoming increasingly popular and relevant. This article is devoted to the experiment of studying the process of perception iconic lexis of the unfamiliar language. Scientific novelty of this study is determined both by the selected material and methods of presenting this material for consideration.Methodology and sources. The basis for the experiment was a survey for native English speakers who did not know the language of the target stimuli (Russian). To conduct the experiment, a corpus of verbs of motion was used (546 verbs, 2273 word usages). The corpus was selected from 12 novels of English literature of the 20-21st centuries, as well as contextual translations of these verbs into Russian. During the study, a group of respondents (106 people) of both genders, various social and age groups were offered 20 English contextual uses of phonetically motivated verbs of motion, which were pre-selected from the above-mentioned corpus of verbs. In each sentence, a verb of motion was highlighted, and also a sound recording of two Russian verbs was presented, which was a translation of the highlighted English verb and its synonym. The total number of responses was 2120.Results and discussion. Participants of the experiment were asked to choose one of two Russian words that corresponded to the highlighted English word in the best way. Respondents chose with great confidence 4 iconic verbs of motion out of 15 pairs of synonyms in which only one verb is phonetically motivated. In 3 cases, respondents more often preferred the non-iconic word. The remaining pairs of synonyms were divided approximately equally. The more developed syntax of the Russian language compared to English, which sometimes obscured the sound motivated basis of the word could be a possible reason for this. Conclusion. The results of the experiment show that the perception of phonetically motivated units of an unfamiliar language depends on many factors. Thus, native English speakers who do not speak Russian or who speak it at a minimal level do not perceive Russian iconic vocabulary in all cases. Simultaneously, statistically significant differences in the perception by people of different age groups and gender were not revealed during the experiment.

The syntactic position of the “people” in the political discourse of left and right populism (NLP-based syntactic analysis experience)

This paper attempts to measure populism in English-language speeches of politicians using computational linguistics methods. The relevance of this study is related not only to the rise of populism in the world and the importance of understanding the mechanisms of political discourse, but also to the lack of linguistic research in the context of corpus studies. Most of the methods proposed to date require significant resources or suffer from structural limitations, especially when they rely heavily on the human annotation process to analyze extensive corpus data. The material for the study was public speeches and interviews of right-wing populist politician and 45th President of the United States Donald Trump and political rhetoric of left-wing populist politician Senator Bernie Sanders. The corpus analysis was based on transcripts downloaded from The American Presidency Project and Miller Center websites. The syntactic position of key lexical units is determined using a comprehensive method based on dependency grammar combined with natural language processing (NLP) and van Leeuwen’s linguistic theory. The application of natural language processing methods confirms the assumption that the frequency of politicians’ reference to the people is not the only relevant indicator for measuring people-centrism in (populist) political discourse, as usually proposed in the political science literature. The results of the study indicate that there is no predominant role of the people in the discourse of Trump and Sanders. In most cases, the people appear in a complementary or adjunct position, indicating their secondary importance in their rhetoric. Given that populism implies proximity to the people and is positioned as “vox populi” – “the voice of the people”, it can be assumed that for both Trump and Sanders, addressing the people is only a way to achieve their political goals.

Корпусная интерпретация англоязычного экологического дискурса: лингвистические закономерности и функциональные особенности

English-language environmental speech has its own linguistic features. Ecological discourse is a relevant, self-sufficient, and highly identical communication continuum. This article introduces a corpus analysis of the English-language environmental discourse with its linguistic patterns and functional interpretation. The texts were considered not as static linguistic objects, but as a system of functional features in speech. The English-language research material was authentic and featured various environmental issues. Corpus analysis is a popular and reliable tool for big linguistic data while the corpus-discursive methodology proved to be an effective interdisciplinary tool. It was applied to the EuroNews Green Corpus, aggregated from 506 English-language texts on environmental issues. This innovative type of corpus can be qualified as instrumentally independent. The research proved the effectiveness of universal case managers or case shells of open architecture, e.g., Sketch Engine. Not only did it manage to collect the data, but also performed quite a complex structure analysis, interpreting, and discourse modeling. Corpus linguistics is looking for qualitatively new opportunities to identify complex linguistic relations. The case study provided a comprehensive description of environmental discourse as an object of linguistic research. Based on statistic details, the authors analyzed the categories of tokens, keywords, and terms to structure them as lemmas, collocations, and n-grams, which were presented as metadata. The metadata modeling provided concordances, thesauruses, and frequency glossaries. Environmental discourse had a pronounced lexical and semantic uniqueness resulting from specific ecological terminology. However, the multidimensional corpus analysis revealed an extremely low frequency of the key concept of ecology. Thus, this corpus study of the English-language ecological discourse demonstrated a good potential for further linguistic research.

Associations between lyric and musical depth in Chinese songs: Evidence from computational modeling.

Musical depth, which encompasses the intellectual and emotional complexity of music, is a robust dimension that influences music preference. However, there remains a dearth of research exploring the relationship between lyrics and musical depth. This study addressed this gap by analyzing linguistic inquiry and word count-based lyric features extracted from a comprehensive dataset of 2372 Chinese songs. Correlation analysis and machine learning techniques revealed compelling connections between musical depth and various lyric features, such as the usage frequency of emotion words, time words, and insight words. To further investigate these relationships, prediction models for musical depth were constructed using a combination of audio and lyric features as inputs. The results demonstrated that the random forest regressions (RFR) that integrated both audio and lyric features yielded superior prediction performance compared to those relying solely on lyric inputs. Notably, when assessing the feature importance to interpret the RFR models, it became evident that audio features played a decisive role in predicting musical depth. This finding highlights the paramount significance of melody over lyrics in effectively conveying the intricacies of musical depth.

Проблема модификации слухов: от традиционной фактуры до возникновения новых цифровых жанров

The purpose of the study is to reveal the problem of the transformation of rumors as a communicative unit against the background of globalization and informatization of the modern stage of society development, which is characterized by the emergence of social media and electronic platforms for mass communication. The research is carried out by systematizing and studying (reviewing) scientific papers within the framework of linguistic, philosophical, sociopsychological, computer and information research. In this article, an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the nature of unconfirmed information is used for research, taking into account the definition of the main areas of modification of the phenomenon under study, as well as its latest characteristics. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time it provides a deep and detailed analysis of the modification of the phenomenon of rumors, taking into account the identification of the specifics of the transformation of the studied object as a special type of communication based on an integrated approach to the emergence and dissemination of unverified information. For the first time in scientific practice, a scheme for modifying such messages has been developed involving a diachronic analysis of the main characteristics of rumors in the period from the middle of the 21st century to quarter of the XXI century, based on the available domestic and foreign works of scientists. As a result of this work, a classical and modern understanding of the texture of rumors has been formed, taking into account an extensive analysis of various views on the problem of determining rumors within the framework of scientific discussion.

Health information-seeking on Reddit, by people who use opioids

Introduction. In the most recent year that data is available, 101,035 people died from drug overdoses in the United States. For people who use drugs, obtaining treatment remains a significant barrier due to issues of fear, stigmatisation, and illegality. Some people turn to the anonymous social media site, Reddit, for obtaining health and harm reduction information. Method. In this study we analysed 2,748 health-related posts on the subreddit r/opiates over a three-month period. Analysis. Using a thematic analysis grounded in social constructivism, we categorised the data to determine the most frequent types of health questions asked by people who use opioids. We then used the text analysis software Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to determine the emotional content of the posts. Results. Most of the posts were asking about harm reduction strategies and methods to reduce or quit opioid use. Conclusion. The text analysis demonstrated evidence of Foucault’s discourse theory. People who use opioids need more information on harm reduction strategies, and especially safely administering and withdrawing from them.

Transformation of Applied Linguistics in the Global South Context of Bangladesh: Researcher Agency, Imagination, and North-South Cooperation

Abstract This article examines the transformation of applied linguistics knowledge production in the Global South taking postcolonial Bangladesh as a case. In the 1990s, one could not locate even a dozen applied linguistics articles in international journals authored by Bangladeshi researchers. However, in about two decades, Bangladeshi researchers can claim hundreds of journal articles, book chapters, monographs, and edited volumes. Drawing on bibliometric data and autoethnography, this article seeks to document a new dawn in applied linguistics research in Bangladesh complemented by researchers’ engagement in Southern epistemological thinking in a decolonial spirit. While demonstrating the role of researcher agency and imagination in this transformation, we also highlight the role of North-South interaction and collaboration. We argue that despite the hegemony of Eurocentric views underpinning language, epistemology and geopolitics of knowledge, there may be hope for Southern applied linguists to decolonize their research imagination and bring disciplinary changes in line with Southern perspectives to make the world a better place for the global community.

Review of Bēl Lišāni: Current Research in Akkadian Linguistics

Bēl Lišāni: Current Research in Akkadian Linguistics. Edited by Rebecca Hasselbach-Aandee and Na‘ama Pat-El. Explorations in Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, vol. 8. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns, 2021. Pp. xv + 259. $119.95.

Research on the Linguistic Landscape of Memorial of Northeast China Revolutionary Martyrs

The use of language in red education bases is an important part of linguistic landscape research. The red education bases in Harbin not only represent the local revolutionary history and spirit, but also are important symbols of the Chinese people's struggle for national independence and people's liberation. Taking Memorial of Northeast China Revolutionary Martyrs as an example, the paper uses qualitative and quantitative analyses to examine the use of the linguistic landscape of the red educational bases in Harbin City from the perspectives of code types and combinations, dominant codes, and functional classifications, and to point out the various problems and their coping strategies, with a view to better understanding and grasping the current situation of the history and inheritance of the red culture in Harbin, providing theoretical support for the subsequent protection and inheritance, promoting the overall red culture in China, and providing a better understanding of the history and inheritance of the red culture in Harbin. In order to better understand and grasp the history and inheritance status of Harbin red culture, provide theoretical support for the subsequent protection and inheritance work, and promote the overall inheritance and development of Chinese red culture.

A Linguistic Inquiry into the Social Media Era Based on the Context of Online Language Variation and Development

A Linguistic Inquiry into the Social Media Era Based on the Context of Online Language Variation and Development

Objective Linguistic Markers Associated with Callous-Unemotional Traits in Early Childhood

Background. Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are associated with interpersonal difficulties and risk for severe conduct problems (CP). The ability to communicate thoughts and feelings is critical to social success, with language a promising treatment target. However, no prior studies have examined objective linguistic correlates of childhood CU traits in early childhood, which could give insight into underlying risk mechanisms and novel target treatments. Methods. We computed lexical (positive emotion, sad, and anger words) and conversational (interruptions and speech rate) markers produced by 131 children aged 5–6 years (M = 5.98; SD = 0.54, 58.8% female) and their parents while narrating wordless storybooks during two online visits separated by 6–8 weeks (M = 6.56, SD = 1.11; two books, order counterbalanced). Audio recordings were diarized, time-aligned, and orthographically transcribed using WebTrans. Conversational markers were calculated using R and word frequencies were calculated using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software. We examined links between child CU traits and linguistic markers, and explored whether relationships were moderated by child sex. Results. Higher CU traits were associated with fewer positive emotion words produced by parents and children. Higher CU traits were also associated with greater concordance in the degree of interruptions and expression of anger emotion words by parents and children. Conclusions. Results suggest that objective linguistic correlates of CU traits are detectable during early childhood, which could inform adjunctive treatment modules that improve outcomes by precisely tracking and targeting subtle communication patterns.

Translating Healthcare Simulationist Code of Ethics into Urdu: bridging gaps in Pakistani healthcare simulation

This paper detailed the translation process of the Healthcare Simulationist Code of Ethics from English to Urdu, Pakistan’s national language, addressing the need for healthcare simulation in the country’s native language. Pakistan, a lower–middle-income country, faces challenges accessing healthcare education in Urdu. The systematic translation by bilingual simulation and social sciences experts considered linguistic and cultural nuances by combining translation by committee and back-translation of selected text. Bilingual experts in linguistic research and healthcare practice verified this translation from healthcare, healthcare simulation and linguistics perspectives. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of ethical values in healthcare simulation, positively influencing healthcare professionals and educators in Pakistan. The translation sought to enhance access to responsible healthcare training initiatives, specifically targeting remote regions and underserved rural communities. This includes health workers, who serve as the primary conduits for health-related initiatives in these areas.

Sociological and linguistic issues research grants

Sociological and linguistic issues research grants

Automatic Detection of Verbal Deception in Romanian With Artificial Intelligence Methods

Automatic deception detection is an important task with several applications in both direct physical human communication, as well as in computer-mediated one. The objective of this paper is to study the nature of deceptive language. The primary goal of this study is to investigate deception in Romanian written communication. We created a number of artificial intelligence models (based on Support Vector Machine, Random Forest, and Artificial Neural Network) to detect dishonesty in a topic-specific corpus. To assess the efficiency of the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) categories in Romanian, we conducted a comparison between multiple text representations based on LIWC, TF-IDF, and LSA. The results show that in the case of datasets with a common subject such as the one we used regarding friendship, text categorization is more successful using general text representations such as TF-IDF or LSA. The proposed approach achieves an accuracy of the classification of 91.3%, outperforming the similar approaches presented in the literature. These findings have implications in fields like linguistics and opinion mining, where research on this subject in languages other than English is necessary. Keywords: Deception Detection, Text Classification, Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning.

Conjunction as a cohesive device in the disturbed discourse of people with aphasia

Aphasia is a speech disorder that signifi cantly affects the social functioning of people who have suffered a stroke. Although there is an increase in linguistic research on discourse, there is also an observable shortage of studies concerning cohesion and coherence in mixed aphasia in the Polish context. One of the determinants of cohesion is the conjunction, which was analysed in the utterances in the presented research. Among other things, a more frequent use of conjunctions was observed in the control group, and, by contrast, conjunctions were the rarest in those with mixed aphasia with a motor component. The study showed that patients with mixed aphasia with a sensory component used more conjunctions indicating purpose and cause-and-effect reltionship, which may indicate attempts to form subordinate sentences and a desire to continue speaking. Research indicates the need to enrich therapeutic activities in exercises that develop the skill of using conjuncƟ ons properly in utt erances.

Delineating the field of language evolution research

Abstract Research on language evolution is an established subject area yet permeated by terminological controversies about which topics should be considered pertinent to the field and which not. By consequence, scholars focusing on language evolution struggle in providing precise demarcations of the discipline, where even the very central notions of evolution and language are elusive. We aimed at providing a data-driven characterisation of language evolution as a field of research by relying on quantitative analysis of data drawn from 697 reviews on 255 submissions from the Joint Conference on Language Evolution 2022 (Kanazawa, Japan). Our results delineate a field characterized by a core of main research topics such as iconicity, sign language, multimodality. Despite being explored within the framework of language evolution research, only very recently these topics became popular in linguistics. As a result, language evolution has the potential to emerge as a forefront of linguistic research, bringing innovation to the study of language. We also see the emergence of more recent topics like rhythm, music, and vocal learning. Furthermore, the community identifies cognitive science, primatology, archaeology, palaeoanthropology, and genetics as key areas, encouraging empirical rather than theoretical work. With new themes, models, and methodologies emerging, our results depict an intrinsically multidisciplinary and evolving research field, likely adapting as language itself.

A research bibliography for world Englishes and Cultural Linguistics

AbstractThis research bibliography lists some of the hallmark works in the field of Cultural Linguistics and has an exclusive thematic focus on cultural‐linguistic approaches to world Englishes. Therefore, other important and congenial works that have been published under the umbrella of, for example, Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) or deal with langauges other than English are excluded but can be found in the respective references of the individual contributions of this special issue. The research bibliography offers reference works for research strands of the world Englishes framework, such as English language teaching and language use in multicultural and multilingual contexts, as well as language use in the public space. Furthermore, with a collection of publications ranging from the 1980s to most recent state‐of‐the‐art works from the year 2024, the authors identify trends and topical developments in the synthesized research of Cultural Linguistics and world Englishes and offer an outlook on new frontiers in this realm.

Adoption of mixed method designs in applied linguistics research

: This study aimed to explore the adoption of mixed methods designs (MMDs) in applied linguistics research (2007–2021) and the types most commonly adopted. A purposive sample of a corpus of 300 applied linguistics research studies published in the specified period were selected. These articles were examined to identify their use of MMDs and their types. To determine the MMD types, Creswell and Plano Clark’s (2017) classification of MMDs was employed. The results revealed that MMDs appeared in the corpus in the fourth place, following qualitative, quantitative and quantitative/qualitative designs. The most common types of MMDs were found to be the convergent design firstly, followed by the explanatory sequential design. The exploratory sequential design did not appear in the investigated corpus. The greatest occurrence of these designs was found in the period 2012–2016, followed by 2017–2021. Regarding the most frequent subtypes, data analysis revealed that the data transformation, parallel database, questionnaire and fully integrated variants were the most prevalent designs. The case-selection variant did not appear in the corpus. The study recommends more attention to adopting MMDs in applied linguistics research.

Da muss erst mal Gras drüber wachsen

Abstract On the different meanings and syntactic functions of da based on a German-Italian parallel corpus. This study investigates the use of the German word da and its equivalents in Italian. After assessing the academic literature regarding the various meanings of da in the German language, the research focuses on the analysis of da translations available in several examples taken from InterCorp. The findings are consistent with previous research, revealing that da can express causality, time, location, neutrality, contrast, and deixis. Additionally, it is observed that translators often use creative solutions. Also, some translations are not found in dictionaries, but align perfectly with the source text, indicating a need for more linguistic research on Italian-German translations, as well as the necessity to always adapt rendering to the specific context.

Teaching bare plurals in Spanish language classrooms

Language instruction has shifted towards communication, often neglecting detailed grammar explanations based on linguistic research. This article examines the interpretation of bare plurals in Spanish, arguing for the integration of theoretical linguistics into classroom practices to enhance grammar instruction. The discussion highlights the differences between Spanish and English bare plurals and underscores the necessity of teaching these distinctions to prevent negative transfer and improve language acquisition. By analyzing recent linguistic findings, the article proposes practical approaches for incorporating these insights into teaching strategies, ultimately aiming to improve learners' comprehension and usage of Spanish bare plurals.