Main Clause Research Articles

Cultural theory in post-apartheid South Africa: ecotones as theory for cultural enquiry in Mad Buddies (Gray Hofmeyr, 2012)

This article discusses ecotones as a theory and method for cultural enquiry in post-apartheid South Africa. It applies semiotics to critique cultural configurations in Gray Hofmeyr’s Mad Buddies, arguing that, first, the film’s figuration of ecotone through the imagery of debris enables theorization of the shift toward post-racial cultural thought; and, two, that visual of ruins affords us a chance to intercept the new racial configurations. The main proposition is that application of ecotones theory in post-apartheid cultural criticism allows us to grasp the incompletion of the racial and cultural transition by anticipating nondescript cultural norms: neither rigidly segregated nor fully integrated.

Disentangling Two Fundamental Paradigms in Human-Machine Communication Research: Media Equation and Media Evocation

In this theoretical paper, we delineate two fundamental paradigms in how scholars conceptualize the nature of machines in human-machine communication (HMC). In addition to the well-known Media Equation paradigm, we distinguish the Media Evocation paradigm. The Media Equation paradigm entails that people respond to machines as if they are humans, whereas the Media Evocation paradigm conceptualizes machines as objects that can evoke reflections about ontological categories. For each paradigm, we present the main propositions, research methodologies, and current challenges. We conclude with theoretical implications on how to integrate the two paradigms, and with a call for mixedmethod research that includes innovative data analyses and that takes ontological classifications into account when explaining social responses to machines.

A Corpus-Based Study of Korean EFL Learners’ Use of Subordinate Conjunctions in Argumentative Writing: With Focus on if, when, and because

The use of subordinating conjunctions in L2 writing has been widely studied with regard to frequency of occurrence, grammatical accuracy, and relative ordering of subordinate and main clauses. However, relatively few studies investigated the diverse aspects of the L2 use of subordinating conjunctions within a single study. The present study analyzed three representative subordinating conjunctions, if, when, and because as used in a proficiency-stratified Korean EFL written corpus in terms of their frequency of occurrence, grammatical accuracy, and linear ordering relative to the main clause. The results revealed that the proficiency effect on frequency and grammatical accuracy varied among the three subordinating conjunctions, whereas that on linear ordering of subordinate clauses was uniform across conjunctions. The findings provide implications for a better understanding of L2 adverbial subordinate clauses and its application to teaching practice.

Projections in Indenesian Newspapers' Headlines

People cannot attain a communicative goal unless their words address specific cultural or contextual challenges. Thus, language is viewed as a social tool to assist humans in conveying meaning; but, this meaning cannot be obtained if words are conveyed in isolation. As a result, we require contexts or settings in which more phrases and words can be placed in order for listeners or readers to comprehend the meaning behind utterances and words. By applying Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics Theory, this study aims to observe one of three types of meanings, it was ideational meanings. It focuses on language which is used by people in both types of local and regional newspapers to convey information or messages about the experiences of the speakers. Each speaker used different clauses which contained dependent and independent clauses that we call clause complex. To analyze the aspect of projection; Hypotactic Locution, Paratactic Locution, Hypotactic Idea, Paratactic Idea, and Quasi-Projection which were used or appeared in Indonesian newspapers’ story texts. The significance of the study is to improve students’ linguistic knowledge and their writing skill by mastering text structures.

시간의 시작과 끝이 있는가? 구약성경의 시간 이해에 대한 고찰

The present article undertakes an examination of the concept of time in the Old Testament, specifically in relation to the question of whether the text presupposes the beginning and end of time. The investigation proceeds in several stages, the first of which involves a close analysis of the term bᵊrēʾšît as it appears in Genesis 1:1. After carefully examining diverse interpretations of the term, including the conventional perspective that defines rēʾšît as an absolute state noun and Genesis 1:1 as an independent clause, the writer arrives at the conclusion that it cannot be conclusively established that Genesis 1:1 denotes the absolute inception of time.
 The investigation then turns to the examination of three phrases that are commonly associated with the end of time: ʿeṭ-qēṣ, ʾaḥǎrîṭ hayyāmîm, and yôm yhwh. The writer considers these expressions carefully in order to de-termine whether they presuppose the end of time. Additionally, the writer examines the word ʿôlām in order to assess whether it connotes endless time or atemporality. It is argued that the biblical authors’ interest in the end of time does not imply the concept of absolute disappearance of time, but rather expresses the hope for the opening of a new era. Furthermore, the word ʿôlām is found to indicate permanance rather than endlessness or atemporality. It is important to note that the descriptions of time in the Old Testament are conveyed through symbolic and metaphorical language, rather than through theoretical, physical, or mathematical analysis. Consequently, attempts to impose a single, specific view of time onto the Old Testament's descriptions should be avoided, especially when engaged with scientific, philosophical, or other cultural perspectives on time.

English/Spanish Relatives and Their Relative Information Structure: A View from Language Contact in Puerto Rico

The goal of this paper is to analyse the impact of Main Clause Phenomena (MCP) such as Negative Preposing (NPr) in four types of relative clauses, namely definite restrictive, indefinite restrictive, non-restrictive and kind-defining relative clauses, establishing a contrast between English and Spanish and discussing the interconnection of the two languages in a language contact situation such as the one observed in Puerto Rico. To this end, I have carried out an experiment with monolingual native speakers of the two languages (control groups), where they have to judge the grammaticality/acceptability of the different types of relatives when NPr takes place. In addition, the same task is carried out by a bilingual group of Puerto Ricans (PR). The main purpose was to detect any interference of one language upon the other one regarding the licensing conditions of NPr in relative clauses. The main empirical result shows that English makes a distinction in terms of acceptability between types of relatives with NPr, whereas in Spanish NPr is licensed in all types of relatives, and this situation seems to be mimicked in the language contact situation in Puerto Rico, though some crucial differences are detected which suggest that PR bilinguals have an integrated I-language (sensu López 2020). The results support the idea that there are two big groups of relatives, namely asserted (very similar to root clauses) and non-asserted relatives. The latter include definite restrictive relatives, whereas the former include non-restrictive relatives, kind-defining relatives and indefinite restrictive relatives. Based on discourse-feature inheritance, intervention and the projection of a factive operator in non-asserted relatives (subject to parametric variation), I argue that the PR results show that when processing one specific language they may apply a syntactic rule of the other language, which I take to support the integrationist view of bilingualism.

Combinations of Photodynamic Therapy with Other Minimally Invasive Therapeutic Technologies against Cancer and Microbial Infections

The rapid rise in research and development following the discovery of photodynamic therapy to establish novel photosensitizers and overcome the limitations of the technology soon after its clinical translation has given rise to a few significant milestones. These include several novel generations of photosensitizers, the widening of the scope of applications, leveraging of the offerings of nanotechnology for greater efficacy, selectivity for the disease over host tissue and cells, the advent of combination therapies with other similarly minimally invasive therapeutic technologies, the use of stimulus-responsive delivery and disease targeting, and greater penetration depth of the activation energy. Brought together, all these milestones have contributed to the significant enhancement of what is still arguably a novel technology. Yet the major applications of photodynamic therapy still remain firmly located in neoplasms, from where most of the new innovations appear to launch to other areas, such as microbial, fungal, viral, acne, wet age-related macular degeneration, atherosclerosis, psoriasis, environmental sanitization, pest control, and dermatology. Three main value propositions of combinations of photodynamic therapy include the synergistic and additive enhancement of efficacy, the relatively low emergence of resistance and its rapid development as a targeted and high-precision therapy. Combinations with established methods such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy and demonstrated applications in mop-up surgery promise to enhance these top three clinical tools. From published in vitro and preclinical studies, clinical trials and applications, and postclinical case studies, seven combinations with photodynamic therapy have become prominent research interests because they are potentially easily applied, showing enhanced efficacy, and are rapidly translating to the clinic. These include combinations with chemotherapy, photothermal therapy, magnetic hyperthermia, cold plasma therapy, sonodynamic therapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy. Photochemical internalization is a critical mechanism for some combinations.

Cross-cultural boundary spanning activities in a global team: Insights from an ethnographic case study

How can global team leaders effectively span boundaries between highly diverse and distant team members, manage cross-cultural conflict, and foster team performance? Global team leadership continues to face persistent challenges, and while the boundary spanning literature has identified relevant characteristics, traits, competencies, and skills of effective boundary spanners, it says little about boundary spanning activities. This paper proposes new contributions to this question through an ethnographic case study of a highly successful global R&D project team. Over the course of the 2-year project, three conflict situations were resolved through cross-cultural boundary spanning activities. From an ethnographic perspective, the dynamics at work are described in detail. To better understand these dynamics, the paper draws on loosely coupled systems theory by asking how structural and cultural coupling can facilitate boundary spanning activities. In doing so, the paper extends the theory of boundary spanning and global team leadership and connects boundary spanning with loosely coupled systems theory. The contributions relate to four main propositions: effective global team leaders span intra-team boundaries through coupling activities; task-related “structural coupling” and relationship-related “cultural coupling” are interdependent; effective boundary spanning combines tight structural and loose cultural coupling; and boundary spanning objects and agents enhance coupling activities.

The use of the modal particle with the subjunctive in the main clauses in the Odyssey.

In this article, I will address the use of the modal particle (MP) with the subjunctive in the main clauses in the Odyssey. I choose this feature, because this is a usage that is unknown to Attic and even in Ionic this is extremely rare. I first explain how the corpus was obtained, as the forms described as “future indicatives” in the grammars of Classical Greek descend either from the Indo-European desiderative and will be called “future-desideratives” here, or are metrically equivalent to the subjunctive of the sigmatic aorist, and as in the vast majority of cases, the distinction between desiderative and aorist subjunctive cannot be made, these forms are catalogued as “future-subjunctives”. In a second step, I discuss some of the textual issues that could arise in determining whether or not the MP was in fact attested. Thirdly, I outline a working hypothesis, outlining that the MP refers to single and specific action close to hearer and speaker and is only allowed with the epistemic modality (as in Allan’s 2013 framework). Fourthly, I provide the fact and figures and then, I start with the actual analysis. I find that there are no “future-desideratives” with an MP in the Odyssey and that only a very limited number of (future-)subjunctives are used with an MP in the main clause. This is due to the fact that most of these forms have a desiderative, voluntative and/or exhortative meaning, which are all three incompatible with the use of the MP. Besides the passages where the rules seem to be observed, I also discuss those in which the rules seem to have been violated, there are different variants attested or more than one interpretation possible.

Complex sentences of heterogeneous subordination with one conditional component in the scientific style of the Russian language (based on texts of mathematical works)

In the scientific style of the Russian language, of particular interest are multicomponent complex sentences of heterogeneous subordination. They allow decomposing a complex idea into components and conveying it to the addressee intelligibly, which is very important in the texts of mathematical works. However, such constructions cannot be considered as a “mechanicalˮ coupling of different sentences – it is an integral communicative unit that has a single modality in which the dominant syntactic connection can be distinguished. The most productive construction in the scientific style is a three-component complex sentence of heterogeneous subordination, where the main part is combined with a component of an indivisible structure (object, attributive, pronominal-conjunction correlative clauses) and one conditional clause. In the text of mathematical works, where the course of logical reasoning is of great importance, the conditional part helps to identify the connection between two situations, to clearly structure scientific thought, and it contributes to the implementation of the text-forming function of such constructions. The material for the study was the works of famous mathematicians of the 20th – 21st century, the authors of a number of scientific papers and textbooks in the field of algebraic and differential topology, the presentation style of which is considered classical in the scientific community. The article explores various cases of combining a conditional and a component of an indivisible structure in one complex sentence. Structural and semantic features of constructions with prepositive, interpositive and postpositive conditional components are considered. The most pronounced conditional semantics is manifested in the first case; while in the latter case, the conditional clause acquires an additional, restrictive connotation. The subordinate part of the indivisible type loses its independence, becomes like a semi-predicative unit and closely merges with the main part. In a complex sentence, two organising centres are created – in the main clause and in the conditional clause. Thus, it turns out that the multicomponent syntactic construction is in a state of equilibrium, where the complex main clause is balanced by the conditional subordinate part. Such a division coincides with the actual division of the sentence and is easier for the reader to perceive.

Agree and the subjects of specificational clauses

AbstractThis article investigates agreement in Persian sentences with a specificational copular clause embedded under the epistemic modal tavānestan ‘can’. We argue that this structure is a raising structure. It exhibits agreement on both the embedded and modal verbs. Crucially, while the subject fails to control agreement in the embedded clause, it successfully controls agreement on the modal. We argue that the subject's failure to form an Agree relation in the embedded specificational clause is due to its defective feature structure, resulting in agreement with the lower noun phrase instead, this being an accessible goal as well. In the matrix clause, the lower noun phrase is inaccessible, due to the presence of an intervening domain boundary. This triggers probe reduction, a process that impoverishes the feature structure of the probe, expanding the set of possible goals to include the subject. We extend this analysis to subject agreement in simple specificational clauses in languages like English.

The 1950 transformation of the Turkish business system in terms of its basic dynamics: Expectations and results

It is accepted that the Turkish business system is included in the category of state-organised business systems, at least in many aspects. The main issue of this study is whether the change in power and policy in 1950 caused a change in the perception of the state in the market. Another issue is whether this change creates a structural transformation in the state being a founding actor in the market. In this study, the structural elements of the Turkish business system were examined from a historical perspective. Because the studies of the Turkish business system mostly begin with the Republican period, the idea that the traces of the political, economic and social conditions that formed this period should be traced back to the Second Constitutional Period is one of the main propositions of this study. Finally, the internal and external causes of the change in the 1950s are examined and it is discussed whether this change led to a transformation in the state’s business practice.

Why did Trump call prayers politically correct? The coevolution of the PC notion, the authenticity ethic, and the role of the sacred in public life.

Trump's crusade against PC played a key role in his political rhetoric and resonated well among his supporters, yet his notion of PC differed greatly in meaning from earlier uses of the term and was used to denounce a much wider range of socio-political behaviors. Based on a systematic analysis of Trump's use of this notion, I identified five main normative propositions organizing Trump's anti-PC rhetoric. Viewed together, these propositions add up to a rehabilitation of White working-class culture but also outline an emerging late-modern version of the authenticity ethic, whose power extends far beyond the working class. This ethic (as manifested in Trump's anti-PC rhetoric) transforms the role of morality and the sacred in political drama and in symbolic struggles over social worth. Rather than presenting his commitment to moral values, ideals, and allegedly-universal rules, Trump used anti-PC rhetoric to expose and criticize the symbolic self-interests of others who speak on behalf of these values, rules, and ideals to claim superiority (and thus ironically mimicked the sociological critique of symbolic violence to legitimize bigotry). Yet, the sacred is not completely banished from political drama: authenticity as a principle of worth guiding moral evaluation and argumentation is revealed as a sacred in denial. The case of Trump's anti-PC rhetoric thus allows theorizing the implications of the authenticity ethic for the dynamics of social struggles over recognized worth and for the role of ideals in the presentation of self in politics and beyond.

The significance of digital twins for the comprehensive brand experience

This paper argues for the recognition of digital twins, virtual representations of real-time physical objects, as a noteworthy means for brand communications and brand experience management. It briefly reviews the brand experience concept and explains its contributions to shaping comprehensive brand perceptions. Building on this, the paper gives an introduction to the digital twin technology and demonstrates that digital twins need to be considered a major issue for brand experience management in the digital era and the metaverse. The paper also entails a case application to exemplify the main propositions. It ends with some recommendations for practical management and delineates some routes for future research. The paper is the first to discuss issues of the emerging field of digital twin technologies from a brand management perspective.

NOTION RELATED FEATURES OF THE PERFORMATIVES COMPRISING THE VERB “TO SUGGEST” IN ENGLISH ACADEMIC DISCOURSE

The article dwells upon the study of speech acts produced within the frames of the English academic discourse wherein the illocutionary act represents an ultimate unit to consider. Hence, there is an attempt made herein to look into the notion of performativity of English verbs, with the verb “to suggest” being an integral part of the English modals can/may-comprising constructions and playing a key role in this analysis. The field of this study is dedicated to the semantics of an event in academic medical discourse, aimed at revealing the possible trends for mental representations in the course of medicine-related texts reading as well as modelling possible scenarios of such events and their occurrence. The aforementioned information with due account of such terms as plau-sibility, certainty and likelihood that are of high importance when it comes to the medicine and health-related topics, brings across the purpose of this study. This work is thus aimed at proving (and finding the corresponding evidence or reasoning) the fact that the verb “to suggest” belongs to the performative ones. Such methods as due observation and systematic analysis help us reveal the comprehensive properties of the verb “to suggest” as a basis underlying the author’s intentions and representing the new special type of performatives named “implicitly assertive” as suggested by Y.M. Suleymanova in her study dedicated to the performative types.In the course of this study, we consider a handful of possible scenarios with can/may-comprising constructions following the main clause introduced by the verb “to suggest” and apply the theory of speech acts developed by J. Austin. The findings we obtain herein bring us to the conclusion that the verb “to suggest” should be referred to as a performative verb, belonging to the so named class of “implicitly assertive performatives”.

Syntactic complexity and diversity of spontaneous speech production in schizophrenia spectrum and major depressive disorders

Syntax, the grammatical structure of sentences, is a fundamental aspect of language. It remains debated whether reduced syntactic complexity is unique to schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD) or whether it is also present in major depressive disorder (MDD). Furthermore, the association of syntax (including syntactic complexity and diversity) with language-related neuropsychology and psychopathological symptoms across disorders remains unclear. Thirty-four SSD patients and thirty-eight MDD patients diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR as well as forty healthy controls (HC) were included and tasked with describing four pictures from the Thematic Apperception Test. We analyzed the produced speech regarding its syntax delineating measures for syntactic complexity (the total number of main clauses embedding subordinate clauses) and diversity (number of different types of complex sentences). We performed cluster analysis to identify clusters based on syntax and investigated associations of syntactic, to language-related neuropsychological (verbal fluency and verbal episodic memory), and psychopathological measures (positive and negative formal thought disorder) using network analyses. Syntax in SSD was significantly reduced in comparison to MDD and HC, whereas the comparison of HC and MDD revealed no significant differences. No associations were present between speech measures and current medication, duration and severity of illness, age or sex; the single association accounted for was education. A cluster analysis resulted in four clusters with different degrees of syntax across diagnoses. Subjects with less syntax exhibited pronounced positive and negative symptoms and displayed poorer performance in executive functioning, global functioning, and verbal episodic memory. All cluster-based networks indicated varying degrees of domain-specific and cross-domain connections. Measures of syntactic complexity were closely related while syntactic diversity appeared to be a separate node outside of the syntactic network. Cross-domain associations were more salient in more complex syntactic production.

Just Syntax?

Summary According to the norms of the contemporary Russian standard language, the covert first argument of the adverbial participle (AP) has to be co-referential with the first argument of its matrix verb. However, other co-reference choices are a frequent phenomenon, as numerous publications both descriptive (Rappaport 1984; Jokojama 1984) and prescriptive (Ickovič 1982; Glovinskaja 2000) testify. Since the reasons for these divergent co-reference choices have been insufficiently addressed so far, we conducted an experiment that tested the influence of linguistic and sociodemographic factors on the co-reference choices. The linguistic factors tested are sentence semantics, argument structure of the verb and linear syntactic order of adverbial participle and matrix clause. Since the adverbial participle has been subject to an intensive normativization process, we assume that the degree of the respondents’ familiarity with prescriptive language rules and the degree of their exposition to texts reflecting these rules influence respondents’ co-reference choices. Therefore, we also tested for sociodemographic factors reflecting these degrees, namely the status of Russian as primary or secondary language, age, gender and highest level of education attained. Our data suggest a contrast between actual language use, in which the co-referential ambiguity of APs is resolved by verb and sentence semantics and the syntactic position of the AP, and the normative rules of Russian grammaticography, which allow only for co-reference with the first argument of the matrix clause. Long-lasting exposure to highly normatized text registers show effect, as respondents with master’s degree or even higher levels of education significantly prefer co-reference with the first argument of the matrix clause even in ambiguous contexts. The paper is structured as follows: The first section gives a survey of the divergent co-reference choices discussed in the literature and identifies linguistic factors hypothesized to influence a speaker’s choice. Section 2 discusses possible sociolinguistic factors affecting the co-reference choice. How these two types of factors are considered in the design of our experiment as well as participant sampling is described in section 3. In section 4 we apply logistic regression to our data and discuss its results, to be followed by the conclusions in section 5.

THE BULGARIAN PAST FUTURE PERFECT AND ITS SLOVENE EQUIVALENTS: A CONTRASTIVE PERSPECTIVE

The article identifies and analyses Slovene contrastive (linguistic-systemic) equivalents of the Bulgarian future perfect tense, an infrequently used verb form in contemporary Bulgarian, indicating an action/event posterior with regard to a past time reference point and anterior with regard to another (generally past) time point. The analysis is based on text examples with the past future perfect from various Bulgarian grammatical works and their literal Slovene translations. Slovene contrastive equivalents of the Bulgarian past future perfect include different verb forms (with different temporal-modal meanings), which depend partly on syntactic structures in which they appear: the Slovene conditional (pogojnik), the perfect (preteklik) and the future (prihodnjik) correspond to the Bulgarian past future perfect in simple sentences, as well as relative and causal dependent clauses; the conditional in main clauses modified by conditional clauses and the future in content dependent clauses. The Slovene conditional indicates the (non)realizability of an action/event, the perfect signals its (supposed) completion in the past-time sphere, to which the future adds a prospective view (when used with the function of “flash-forward”); the future tense in content clauses signals posteriority in the past. The retrospective view can be either indicated explicitly by time expressions (sometimes found already in the source-text examples) or it can be contextually and co-textually inferred.

Speech act adverbial clauses: The case of conditionaljeśli-clauses in Polish

SummaryIn this article, I examine the external and internal syntax of speech act adverbial clauses in Polish with the main focus on conditional clauses headed by the complementizerjeśli‘if’. I argue that speech act adverbial clauses radically differ from hypothetical/content conditional clauses, and that they adjoin outside the structure of the matrix clause. As far as their internal syntax is concerned, I discuss evidence showing that speech act adverbial clauses project up to JP in Krifka’s terms (2023), and can also host epistemic and evidential expressions.

CAUSAL ADVERBIAL CLAUSES WITH KAK(O)IN THE HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

The work is aimed at describing the steps of evolution of causal meaning of the Russian subordinator како/какъ. We claim that the causal use of како/какъgoes back to the question word како/какъthat could have a causal meaning as well, and this meaning raised from the manner meaning due to the metaphorical shift from manner to cause. We analyze finite clauses with какоand small clauses (appositions) separately. It is shown that какоwas used as a causal subordinator already in the early documents of the 12thcentury. Up to the 18thcentury it introduced embedded finite clauses with or without a correlate in the matrix clause. In the 18thcentury the constructions without a correlate decrease in frequency; the choice of correlates is very broad and includes both one-word deictics such as тоand такand combinations such as по тому, по сему, adverbs such as следовательно. In the 19thcentury these constructions gradually decrease in use and in the beginning of the 20thcentury they are completely lost. The causal construction with a small clause has another origin. We suggest that it is a result of an expansion of какоonto the contexts of the conjunction аки/акы. The increase of frequency of causal small clauses with какоis observed in parallel with the gradual decrease ofаки.