Original Language Research Articles

“Where You Go I Will Go and Where You Stay I Will Stay”: How Exegetical Poetry Enriches Our Understanding of Ruth 1:16–17 and 1:20–21

It is easy to underestimate Ruth. The story is short and sweet, in elementary Hebrew, about a loyal and obedient daughter-in-law, or so we have been led to believe. The book and its eponymous character are surprisingly complex. Although Ruth is an exemplar of Hebrew narrative, it contains two poetic insertions in the first chapter. Literal translations lose the poetry, and poetic translations are less faithful to the original language. Ruth has been chosen for road-testing a range of hermeneutical approaches, and here is one more. This paper approaches these poetic insertions and, indeed, the book of Ruth, as poetry and explores a new method for examining and interpreting Hebrew poetic texts, namely, exegetical poetry. I pay particular attention to poetic devices—parsing for parallelism, alliteration, and other poetic elements—and explore their significance. As I translate and exegete, I compose poetry reflecting the form, content, and theological themes of the Hebrew poetry through the use of similar English devices, imagery, and mood. The result is an amalgam of showing through exegetical poetry and telling through prose commentary, enriching our understanding of the characterization of Ruth and Naomi, and the relationship between these poetic insertions and the broader narrative.

A New Sign Language Translation System Based on Expert Model

Abstract. The linguistic diversity of sign languages across regions presents significant challenges for the development of accurate and culturally sensitive recognition systems. To address this, This paper propose a modular sign language recognition system that detects the regional origin of a sign language and uses specialized sub-models for translation, bypassing the limitations of generalized models. This approach allows for more precise translations by catering to regional variations, ensuring higher accuracy and preserving cultural nuances.This paper also explore the creation of a standardized, diverse dataset, integrating multiple sign languages, which serves as the foundation for the systems region detection process. The dataset was meticulously annotated, normalized, and augmented to support robust model training. By adopting sub-models and utilizing region-specific data, the system improves efficiency and scalability, offering a practical solution for real-world sign language translation. This work emphasizes the importance of preserving sign language diversity while enhancing the usability and adaptability of recognition systems.

TURKS AND TURKISH LANGUAGE IN “KISASI RABGUZI”

The spirit of a nation is manifested through its language. Therefore, national thought, especially artistic thought, arises from the potential of language. This article discusses the origins of language and explores the relationship between language and spirituality, emphasizing the unique characteristics of the Turkic language.

Translation of catch phrases in an audiovisual text

The article discusses the problem of interlinguistic and intercultural transfer of winged words (catch phrases) in an audiovisual text of the Soviet period. The source of the material is the Russian motion picture "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" and its translation into English (subtitling), the material is 34 winged words (catch phrases) which were selected with verification based on Internet sources. The purpose of the research is to study the methods/techniques of transferring catch phrases in audiovisual translation (subtitling) from Russian into English, as well as to analyze the results obtained from the point of view of preserving the characteristics inherent in catch phrases and preserving the national cultural component. The main methods are the method of continuous sampling, the method of comparative analysis, the method of contextual analysis, etc. The direction of the translation (Russian-English translation) and the approach chosen by the authors indicate the novelty of the research. Having analyzed the translation of catch phrases, the authors made observations regarding the methods/techniques used which contributed to conveying meaning and complying with the norms of audiovisual translation, as well as to the conclusions that a partial loss of cultural information may occur during translation and that in a situation where a film subsequently becomes a precedent text, postediting may be required, as the conditions of how the text/part of the text functions in the linguoculture of the original language change. The results may be of interest to specialists in the field of audiovisual translation, as well as to philologists, linguists, and to ordinary readers who are interested in translation studies and/or cinematography.

Gender Bias in Linguistic Structures: A Comparative Study of French

Language is a form of power that can shape the cognitive thinking of its users and even serve as a tool of domination for those in authority. Historically, language has been an instrument of patriarchy, with its use under patriarchal systems that often serving to suppress women. However, in the modern era, with the rise of feminism, there has been increasing attention to issues of gender inequality. Many linguists have begun to question whether gendered languages exacerbate existing gender biases. Yet, few have undertaken comparative analyses across different language families. Considering grammatical structures and language origins, this paper will examine French from the Romance language family and German from the Germanic language family—both of them are gendered languages. This study will conduct a comparative analysis to identify the gender biases present in these languages and to explain the cognitive and linguistic causes underlying these biases. By highlighting these issues, the research aims to raise readers’ awareness of gender bias in linguistic structures.

Ibn Jinni's Reading of the Book of Characteristics Offers Insights into Language and Signs

The sign is a distinctive concept in linguistic thought, serving as the foundation for research into the origin of language and the acquisition of its significance. Almost no philosophical theory, whether ancient or modern, makes any mention of it. Indeed, modern linguistics has become inextricably linked with the sign because of its bond with the signifier, which is the basis of language and relied upon in its study.In the fourth century, Ibn Jinni was the most prominent linguist. His linguistic thought was linked to the fundamentalists of logic and speech, as evidenced in his book Al-Khassas. In this work, he presented the origins of language and the processes by which connotations are obtained and acquired.In addition to his contributions to the field of linguistics, Ibn Jinni also presented a printed work on jurisprudence and speech, as well as undertaking linguistic investigations.This paper examines the concept of the 'mark' as it is presented in the thought of Ibn Jinni, exploring it through a number of different axes.

EXPLORING KAZAKH EFL TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY

This study's extensive quantitative research design to investigate the professional identities of in-service EFL teachers in Kazakhstan and Turkistan makes it stand out. A comprehensive survey, unparalleled in scope and exhaustiveness, was distributed to 470 English instructors in 45 state schools, offering an extensive synopsis of how these educators see their professional identities. The survey findings provide insights into several professional identity factors, including the propensity to teach, act as role models, and establish productive learning settings. The results show that participants' professional identities were generally average, with major exceptions for knowledge-sharing and role modeling. Simultaneously, less emphasis was placed on recognizing students' original language culture and establishing a favorable classroom atmosphere. The study also looks at how different professional identities are within qualification categories, and it finds statistically significant variances that highlight how teachers' self-perception and professional growth are influenced by their educational background. These findings have implications for teacher education and professional development initiatives and a deeper knowledge of the elements influencing EFL instructors' professional identities in Kazakhstan.

Adaptive teaching: Latin and the use of digital parsing tools

Abstract The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Common Core Framework (CCF) requires all teachers to adapt classroom teaching to support all students (Department for Education, 2024). While the Department for Education's previously-encouraged concept of ‘differentiation’ was well-intentioned, in that tasks were meant to be graded to support and develop all students' learning in a class where there were many different levels of prior attainment, it tended to mean that in practice in the classroom different tasks were often set to cater to the supposed different learning attributes of students. Differentiation has now been superseded by the concept of ‘adaptive teaching’. Adaptive teaching is characterised by teaching that takes account of the range in prior attainment of students and anticipates barriers to learning by providing resources or specific support so that they may all achieve the same intended outcomes. Classics teaching is often characterised by the reading of large amounts of text, both in the original languages of Latin or ancient Greek or in translation. Students in the Classics classroom contain a wide range of prior attainment, cultural experiences and may have barriers to learning, such as Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. This article presents findings of how the use of a blended language approach, involving the digital parsing tools in the Cambridge Latin Course and Suburani Latin course books, improved the quantity of translation of Latin achieved by students of mixed prior attainment and encouraged a more effective use of classroom time to develop deeper comprehension and understanding of the translated texts.

Reality and imagination intertwined: A sensorimotor paradox interpretation

As a hypothesis on the origins of mind and language, the evolutionary theory of the sensorimotor paradox suggests that capacities for imagination, self-representation and abstraction would operate from a dissociation in what is known as the forward model. In some studies, sensory perception is understood as a system of prediction and confirmation (feedforward and feedback processes) that would share common yet distinct and overlapping neural networks with mental imagery. The latter would then mostly operate through internal feedback processes. The hypothesis of our theory is that dissociation and parallelism between those processes would make it less likely for imaginary prediction to match and simultaneously coincide with any sensory feedback, contradicting the stimulus/response pattern. The gap between the two and the effort required to maintain this gap, born from the development of bipedal stance and a radical change to our relation to our own hands, would be the very structural foundation to our capacity to elaborate abstract thoughts, by partially blocking and inhibiting motor action. Mental imagery would structurally be dissociated from perception, though maintaining an intricated relation of interdependence. Moreover, the content of the images would be subordinate to their function as emotional regulators, prioritising consistency with some global, conditional and socially learnt body-image. As a higher-level and proto-aesthetic function, we can speculate that the action and instrumentalisation of dissociating imagination from perception would become the actual prediction and their coordination, the expected feedback.

Relational description as pivotal to dialogical translation

Abstract Depending on whether translation leans toward objective rendering or subjective interpretation it will have different truth-functions. This essay reflects on the issues of truth-function at stake on both sides of the “hosting” language (translation) when seeking to understand “otherness” (original language). The essay will draw from particular examples of translation of Chinese thought such as the literal renderings of the Classics in Western languages, Li Zehou’s concept of “subjectality” (zhutixing 主體性) and François Jullien’s Western-inverted “deconstruction”. The point here is not to establish validity in translation, but to describe what are the cognitive and ethical implications when understanding and performing translation – a relational description thus presented as precondition for the possibility of translation-as-dialogue.

The translation and validation of the surgical anxiety questionnaire into the modern standard Arabic language: results from classical test theory and item response theory analyses

BackgroundPreoperative anxiety is commonly found in patients who are waiting for surgery and can lead to negative surgical outcomes. Understanding the sources of surgical anxiety allows healthcare providers to identify at-risk patients and implement psychosocial interventions such as counseling, relaxation techniques, and cognitive‒behavioral therapy to minimize anxiety. Few comprehensive psychiatric measures are available to assess preoperative anxiety in Arabic.ObjectiveOur study aimed to translate, adapt, and validate the Surgical Anxiety Questionnaire (SAQ) into the modern standard Arabic language, also known as Fusha al-Asr Arabic.MethodsTo translate the questionnaire, the research team used the gold standard process of forward translation by two independent translators along with back translation evaluation by four trained medical doctors. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey completed by 208 Arabic speakers (mean age 38 years, 44% women) from four countries. Psychometric analyses, which included internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, confirmatory factor analysis, and item response analysis, were performed. Convergent validity tests were performed against the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2-item Scale (GAD-2), Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-2), Perceived Stress Scale 4 (PSS-4), and Arabic version of the Visual Analog Scale for anxiety (VAS-A).ResultsThe mean SAQ of our sample was 19.38 ± 12.63 (possible range 0–68). The Arabic SAQ translation demonstrated excellent internal consistency, with McDonald’s omega and a Cronbach’s alpha of approximately 0.90. The test-retest reliability was also high, with an intraclass coefficient of 0.94. The SAQ showed strong convergent validity against the GAD-2 (r = 0.94, p < 0.01). The SAQ also showed weak-moderate correlations with the PHQ-2 (r = 0.26, p < 0.01), PSS-4 (r = 43, p < 0.01), and VAS-A (r = 0.36, p < 0.01) scores. The original three-factor structure was supported by confirmatory factor analysis, confirming the original structure reported in the original English language version. The results for fitness indices showed acceptable preliminary results (CFI/TLI approximately 0.90), and deleting some items improved the model fit (CFI/TLI > 0.90, RMSEA < 0.08). We suggest retaining the original factorial solution until further validation studies can be conducted. The item response theory (IRT) results identified no items that were excessively difficult or subject to guessing. The multidimensional IRT provided evidence that the SAQ items form a multidimensional scale assessing surgical anxiety that fits the classical model reasonably well.ConclusionThe SAQ has demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity; thus, it is a trustworthy and valid tool for evaluating preoperative anxiety in Arabic speakers. Future research could benefit from using the SAQ in both surgical and psychiatric research.

Individual attendance data for over 30 years of international climate change talks

The international community has formally negotiated over climate change since 1991. The annual meetings that host these negotiations have seen an ever-growing number of individuals representing countries, international organizations, or non-governmental organizations. These meetings and their attendees have accordingly become the focal point of international climate change cooperation for both the international community and scholars studying climate change politics. Yet, researchers have been unable to access and analyze comprehensive attendee-level data pertaining to these negotiations in terms of attendees’ names, genders, job titles, delegations, divisions, and affiliations. In applying text-as-data techniques to attendance roster PDFs, we extract and build attendee-level datasets for all annual negotiations held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its precursor, 1991–2023. These data include original language and English-translated information on 27,470 unique delegations and 310,200 attendees over a 32-year period. Summaries and validations in turn highlight the promise of our data for the study of attendance patterns and characteristics across delegations and over time.

Constructions with reduplication of the referent in sentences with the relative pronoun который in the translation of «Il regno degli slavi» by Mavro Orbini

The article considers some language features of the translation from Italian made by Savva Ragusinsky in the first quarter of the XVIII century by order of Peter I. The historiographic work under consideration is Mavro Orbini’s book «Il regno degli slavi». The author of the article analyses the use of the construction with the pronoun который and the repetition of the referent, which allows identifying the degree of influence of the original language on the translated text, various transformations within the construction or a gradual departure from it. Savva Raguzinsky, while working on the translation, resorts to using the construction 40 times, not always relying on the original text and often using synonyms, which may indicate its consistent destruction. The paper analyses two manuscripts dating from 1714 and currently stored in the library of the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg, the text published in 1722 «The Book historiography of the Commencement of the Name, Glory and Expansion of the Slavic People ...», as well as the original text in Italian. The relevance of the research topic is due to the significant influence of translations from foreign languages on the formation of a new type of language. It was in the Peter the Great era that texts appeared, the language of which modern researchers call «simple», contrasting with the «high Slavonic dialect». There are practically no Church Slavonic and obsolete forms, words and phrases in it. Until now, a generally accepted view of the linguistic situation of the first quarter of the XVIII century has not been developed, and many printed and handwritten monuments of that time have not become the object of research.

Творческий юбилей Галимджана Ибрагимова (на примере архивных источников)

The article presents with archival materials in which the celebrations of the twentieth anniversary of the Tatar literature classic, publicist, public figure Galimjan Ibragimov, held in 1928, are documented. The funds of the State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan (Kazan) and the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow) have a protocol and a transcript from the celebrations dedicated to this anniversary. The protocol is printed in Tatar, the transcript is presented in Russian. Due to a serious lung disease, the writer was residing in Yalta for treatment at the time. The preparation and holding of events was organised at the highest level, the anniversary date was celebrated even outside the Tatar Republic. Although G. Ibragimov was not able to attend the event personally, the anniversary was held on a large scale and was broadcast on the radio. A concert was organised and a play based on the writer’s drama New People was staged. At the end of the event, a telegram with anniversary greetings to the hero of the day was read and later sent to Yalta. Later, G. Ibragimov sent a reply telegram with words of gratitude to the editorial offices of the newspapers “Kyzyl Tatarstan” and “Eshche”. Among those invited and speaking were prominent literary and public figures and orientalists (I. Rakhmatullin, G. Nigmati, G. Linstser), birthday greetings from various addressees from Russian cities and abroad were read out. The transcript is very voluminous. As can be seen from the content, prominent figures took part in the meeting, such as N. Tyuryakulov, I. Borozdin, A.N. Maksudov, B.Kh. Mansurov, A.M. Arsharuni. The speakers’ speeches trace the significant role of G. Ibragimov in the public life of the Tatar people, as a literary scholar, researcher and public figure. The article provides quotes from archival documents in the original language and facts concerning the writer’s creative anniversary from the periodical press of the first half of the 20th century.

Discourse complex &lt;i&gt;i da&lt;/i&gt; ‘and yes’ as a dialogue actualizer in modern Russian speech

The article examines semantic and pragmatic features of the discursive complex i da (“and yes”). The relevance of the research is explained by the active inclusion of i da in contemporary speech practice, various genres and styles over the past decade, which was not observed before. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the element i da becomes the object of linguistic analysis for the first time. This study contributes to the understanding of the discursive complex i da in the context of modern linguistic practices. The findings of this research can be beneficial for further linguistic studies and practical applications. The element i da is not recorded in dictionaries and reference books, which also testifies to the novelty of the material presented in the article, which was extracted from the “National Corpus of the Russian Language”, the electronic media bank “Integrum”. The paper is also based to some degree on the personal observations of the authors. This study provides a fresh perspective on the linguistic element i da, contributing to the existing body of linguistic research. The research was conducted within the framework of the structural and descriptive method using semantic, syntactic, and contextual analysis. As a result, the main discursive role of the complex i da was established, i. e., maintaining the interactive nature of conversation through a ‘delayed response’ mechanism, which allows considering i da as a feedback marker. The discursive complex i da involves a real or potential (in the case of a monologue) interlocutor/opponent in the discourse, performing the role of a dialogic actualizer. The core seme of the complex (‘agreement’) can be explicitly supported by the context, and the addressee of the agreement can be not only the ‘other’ but also the speaker himself. The study reveals the rhetorical potential of i da in monologic speech. This research provides a comprehensive analysis of the discursive complex i da, highlighting its role in dialogic actualization and its rhetorical potential in monologic speech. The variants of punctuation design of the complex i da identified during the research indicate the need for its further study and the creation of a theoretical basis for subsequent codification in punctuation guides. The study proposes a hypothesis about the appearance of i da in Russian as a result of calquing English phrases and yes / and yeah, which are of international nature. This research emphasizes the importance of further investigation into the discursive complex i da, its punctuation variants, and its origins in the Russian language.

A Study on Benjamin’s Theory of Translation

Walter Benjamin is one of the most creative and important critics of the early 20th century, and his work “The Task of Translation” stands as one of the most influential translation theories. It has greatly influenced the traditional notions of faithfulness and the “original language first” principle, laying the theoretical foundation for deconstructionist translation theory.

Funkciniai metakalbiniai komentarai skliaustuose Martino Fordo knygoje „Rise of the Robots“ ir jų vertimas į lietuvių kalbą

Research on the translation of metalinguistic comments (MLCs) in parentheses is rather scarce considering the relevance of the topic. The quality of the translation largely depends on the use of translation strategies such as the omission and addition of MLCs in the target texts as well as the retention or displacement of punctuation marks based on the function of the comment in the original language and the pragmatic aspects of punctuation. The aim of the study is twofold: to determine the functions of MLCs in parentheses in a popular science text and the strategies of their translation into Lithuanian. The study is mainly based on the typology of the functions of MLCs in parentheses and the classification of translation strategies, developed by Levin and Ström Herold (2021). The results of the study revealed that MLCs in parentheses in popular science texts were mostly used for the purposes of specification and were always retained in target texts. MLCs in parentheses that appeared only in the target text included cases of additions and shifts that were used to maximise the pragmatic effect, to highlight the author’s subjective opinion or to hide information that was not particularly relevant to the target reader. Omission, on the other hand, was more of a coincidence than a tendency.

From fashion to sustainability

Sustainability issues are increasingly influencing firms’ decision making, leading to the creation of new business models for finding solutions to environmental and societal challenges. is work aims to explore what is the role played by industrial districts in firms’ orientation towards sustainability. It implements a Propensity Score Matching technique on a novel datatabase with information on 1300 Italian fashion firms. eir sustainability orientation is measured using the Quantitas Intelligent Business Analyzer (QIBA), an original Natural Language Processing-based data mining technique, which allows scraping firms' websites and analyzing their content adopting a Term Frequency–Inverse Document Frequency weighting scheme. Findings suggest the existence of a sustainability-driven industrial district effect, i.e. a positive association between the sustainability orientation of fashion firms and their localization in industrial districts.

Time to COVID-19 Vaccination by Language and Country of Origin

Disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates by race and ethnicity are well documented. Less is known about primary language and COVID-19 vaccine uptake. To describe the time to COVID-19 primary series vaccination and booster doses by primary language and country of origin. This retrospective cohort study included patients aged 6 months or older with at least 1 health encounter from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2023, at a single health care system serving patients across Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Primary language and country of origin documented in the electronic health record. Three COVID-19 vaccine coverage outcomes were evaluated: (1) primary series (1 Ad26.COV.S vaccine or 2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccines), (2) first-generation booster (primary series Ad26.COV.S vaccine plus 1 Ad26.COV.S or mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at least 2 months after the second dose or primary series mRNA vaccine plus 1 mRNA vaccine at least 5 months after the second dose), and (3) bivalent booster. Vaccine coverage was described by patient characteristics. Associations of primary language, race and ethnicity, and other patient characteristics with COVID-19 vaccine uptake were evaluated using time-to-event analysis in multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models, and adjusted hazard ratios (AHRs) with 95% CIs were reported. There were 1 001 235 patients included (53.7% female). Most patients reported English as a primary language (94.1%) and were born in the US (91.8%). Primary series coverage was 63.7%; first-generation booster coverage, 64.4%; and bivalent booster coverage, 39.5%. Coverage for all outcomes was lower among those with a non-English primary language compared with English as the primary language (56.9% vs 64.1% for primary series; 47.5% vs 65.3% for first-generation booster; 26.2% vs 40.3% for bivalent booster). Those with a non-English primary language had lower COVID-19 vaccine uptake for the primary series (AHR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.84-0.86), first-generation booster (AHR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.73-0.75), and bivalent booster (AHR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.64-0.67) compared with patients with English as their primary language. Non-US-born patients had higher primary series uptake compared with US-born patients (AHR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.18-1.20) but similar first-generation booster (AHR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.99-1.02) and bivalent booster (AHR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.98-1.02) uptake. In this retrospective cohort study, patients with a non-English primary language had both lower coverage and delays in receiving COVID-19 vaccines compared with those with English as their primary language. Reporting on language may identify health disparities that can be addressed with language-specific interventions.

Linguistic discussions of Urdu Language

The beginning and evolution of Urdu language is a controversial issue in our country. The research and editing of linguists regarding the early characteristics of Urdu language and its development is still going on. First, European historians researched and edited linguistics and presented their ideas. These theories were an early reference, hence their importance to Islam. Subsequent researchers and linguists carried on the same work. The beginning of the twentieth century marks the beginning of a vernacular period of linguistic research. During this period, there is a tendency to assign Urdu to a particular place or place. Many researchers have traced the traces of Urdu in the Mughal period. Among them, Mera Man, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Maulana Sohbai, Shamsullah Qadri and Maulana Muhammad Hussain Azad are worth mentioning. And some say it is a Dravidian language and some say Urdu is the daughter of Braj Bhasha. There are many theories about the origin of the Urdu language, but it is not entirely correct to connect it with any one region.