Personal Pronouns Research Articles

Language Conventions of Kurdish Scientific Books in the Context of Scientific Translation between English and Kurdish

This paper explores the language conventions of Kurdish Scientific Books (KSBs) within the context of scientific translation between English and Central Kurdish. The study analyses five KSBs to investigate their language characteristics, including clarity, precision, formality, use of terminology, style and so forth. The current study utilizes Lambert and van Gorp’s (1985/2006) four-step scheme for analysing and describing the KSBs. The findings reveal that KSBs generally employ clear and precise language, maintain objectivity and formality, and make use of nominalization and scientific terminology. The KSBs generally favour incomplete sentences in titles and figures, and, in the body of the sections and chapters, prefer long sentences and active voice and avoid direct quotations, abbreviations, acronyms, and personal pronouns. They also incorporate English loanwords and terms to fill lexical lacunae, indicating the influence of the English scientific language. This research accordingly sheds light on the language conventions of KSBs and their potential similarities to the English scientific language.

A multimodal approach to polysemy: the senses of touch

Abstract This study investigated whether speakers use multimodal information (speech and gesture) to differentiate the physical and emotional meanings of the polysemous verb touch. We analyzed 302 hand gestures that co-occurred with this perception verb. For each case, we annotated (1) the meaning of touch (physical vs. emotional), (2) the gesture referent speakers physically touched (other-touch vs. self-touch), (3) the personal pronoun following the verb and (4) if they used intensifiers and negation. There were three main findings. First, we have seen that when speakers express the physical meaning, they are likely to reach an external referent (other-touch), but when they imply the emotional meaning, they tend to touch their own body (self-touch). Second, the most frequent co-speech gesture (chest-touching gesture) was associated with the emotional meaning, uncovering the metaphor the heart is container for emotions. Third, this study showed that the physical meaning of touch usually coexists with a wide variety of personal pronouns and negation words; in contrast, the emotional meaning of touch occurs primarily with the pronoun me and it is usually modified by intensifiers. Thus, speakers use both speech and gesture to differentiate the meanings of the polysemous verb touch.

Which Linguistic Cues Make People Fall for Fake News? A Comparison of Cognitive and Affective Processing

Fake news on social media has large, negative implications for society. However, little is known about what linguistic cues make people fall for fake news and, hence, how to design effective countermeasures for social media. In this study, we seek to understand which linguistic cues make people fall for fake news. Linguistic cues (e.g., adverbs, personal pronouns, positive emotion words, negative emotion words) are important characteristics of any text and also affect how people process real vs. fake news. Specifically, we compare the role of linguistic cues across both cognitive processing (related to careful thinking) and affective processing (related to unconscious automatic evaluations). To this end, we performed a within-subject experiment where we collected neurophysiological measurements of 42 subjects while these read a sample of 40 real and fake news articles. During our experiment, we measured cognitive processing through eye fixations, and affective processing in situ through heart rate variability. We find that users engage more in cognitive processing for longer fake news articles, while affective processing is more pronounced for fake news written in analytic words. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work studying the role of linguistic cues in fake news processing. Altogether, our findings have important implications for designing online platforms that encourage users to engage in careful thinking and thus prevent them from falling for fake news.

Negative Capability in Keats’s “Ode to Autumn”

This paper examines and analyzes the ideations of negative capability postulated by Keats in his “Ode to Autumn”. His negative capability embraces uncertainty, doubt, and ambiguity in poetry, without seeking to impose rational explanations or resolutions. He employs the third- person narration, depersonalized imagery, universal themes, and avoids using personal pronouns in writing the odes. These aspects expose his fundamental concept of negative capability because he desires to remain in doubt, uncertainty, and mysteries by the process of depersonalization of the authorship. He explicates the true nature of beauty in his “Ode to Autumn”. He embraces the mystery and complexity of the ripening of fruits like grapes, apples, gourd and hazelnuts. The bee-hives are filled with honey. The season embodies the contrasting qualities with their harmonious coexistence. Keats explores the occupations of autumn. The season performs various activities in the form of a reaper, a winnower, a gleaner and a cider –presser. Keats juxtaposes the activities of life as well as the passivity/ death in these occupations. He introduces the songs of autumn. The mournful sounds of the gnats, the bleating of the lambs, the singing of the crickets, the whistling of the redbreast and the twittering of the swallows offer the music of autumn. The ambiguities of the abundance and the decline in these songs reflect the cyclical nature of the autumn season. This paper applies the dynamics of the qualitative approach, with an interpretive research design to unveil the beauty of the autumn season.

Authorial Presence in English Research Articles in Medicine Written by American and Indonesian Authors

The present research attempts to investigate authorial presence in English research articles in medicine written by American and Indonesian authors. In doing so, the study first attempts to describe first-person pronouns used to express authorial presence. Secondly, the research aims to examine the discourse functions of first-person pronouns in the research articles. Data for the present research were taken from 20 English research articles in medicine, consisting of 10 articles published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (Wiley) and 10 in Medical Journal of Indonesia. A corpus of 81,657 words was analyzed with the help of a concordance program, WordSmith Tools 5.0 (Scott, 2008), to identify the occurrences of first-person pronouns used in research articles. A qualitative analysis was also conducted to examine the discourse functions of each first-person pronoun using the classification proposed by Filimonova (2005) and Tang and John (1999). Hopefully, the present research findings could indicate the intention of authorial presence in academic writing, specifically in medical research articles. The findings also contribute to investigating the difference between American and Indonesian authors in presenting themselves in academic writing.

Грамматикализация местоимений “you” и “Sie” в английском и немецком языках

The research aims to prove the similarity of the processes of grammaticalization of personal pronouns, used as a polite form of address to one person, in two Germanic languages of different structure, English and German. Scientific originality of this research lies in the fact that the grammaticalization paths of the English and German pronouns ‘you’ and ‘Sie’ have been studied for the first time, with their etymology being analyzed and grammaticalization mechanisms being compared. The research findings have shown that the processes of grammaticalization of the pronouns under study are similar and caused by the same mechanisms: the desemanticization of original lexical items and the context extension. In both languages, as a result of grammaticalization, no changes have been identified on the morphological and phonetic levels. Grammaticalization caused the pronouns ‘you’ and ‘Sie’ to be used as a polite form of address to one person, spelt and pronounced as second- and third-person singular and plural pronouns ‘you’ and ‘sie’ ‘she, they’. The research proves the similarity of the processes of grammaticalization of the personal pronouns under study in two languages of different structure belonging to the same language group. This similarity is due to their common meaning.

Pronoun shifts in political discourse

Abstract This article examines the English translations of former Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s statements on the international stage and the shifts in the first-person pronoun. Looking at interpersonal positioning through a systemic functional linguistic lens, we found that the translations underline the explicitness of agency, highlighting the variation of stylistic choices and interplay with source-text politics. The shifts come with a modified degree of willingness, a more active agency, an increase in the modality of inclination, and more force in attitude. These interpersonal overtones largely contribute to recasting the image of the Thai government to ensure its legitimacy, promote national unity, and appeal to the international community. These crafted translated texts seem to hone the leader’s public persona in front of global audiences by continuing to enhance the country’s reputation, thereby maintaining the speaker’s dignity and prestige–an essential for the national leader’s image.

Do Sitcom Conversations Fully Depict Those in Natural Settings: A Corpus-Based Lexical Analysis

An increasing number of studies in pragmatics, second language acquisition, and related fields have opted to use sitcom conversations as a substitute for natural conversations in their analyses. However, few studies have critically examined the validity of this substitution. Taking this into consideration, the present study aims to examine the lexical similarities and differences between sitcom and natural conversations by utilizing the Friends Corpus and the Santa Barbara Corpus of Spoken American English as samples under a synthesized analytic framework of six lexical categories that have been frequently examined in previous research. The findings indicate that there are significant differences between sitcom and natural conversations at the lexical level, particularly in terms of word lengths, keywords, and the use of discourse markers, personal pronouns, vocatives, and religious words. While sitcom conversations tend to be more concise, interactive, evaluative, and involving, natural conversations provide more explanations for their speech acts and refer to their parties who are not present in the conversations. Additionally, sitcom conversations use more intensifiers and vocatives while using fewer tentative modals, expletives, and religious words. Based on these results, it can be concluded that sitcom conversations do not fully depict the conversations in sitcoms, and thus substituting natural conversations with those in sitcoms should be approached with caution in language teaching and research. This study provides insight into the differences in lexical patterns between two types of conversations, and highlights the importance of using natural conversations as a basis for language teaching and research.

Personal/impersonal and subject/null subject phenomena in the multi-structural languages

The study examines the functional potential of impersonal pronouns in different languages. The aim of this study is to analyze personal/impersonal and subject/null subject phenomena in multi-structural languages. The novelty of the study is to establish the role of the pronoun in personal and impersonal aspects. To achieve the aim of the study, the following methods are used: lexico-grammatical analysis, structural analysis, contrast analysis, and interpretative analysis of artistic and lexicographic texts. The comparative research was based on Russian, English, German, and French lexicographic resources and examples from artistic discourse in Russian, English, German, and French with their translations. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the impersonal pronoun is a homonym for the personal pronoun of the 3rd person unit. In grammatical studies, the impersonal pronoun stands out as an independent category. A unit known in grammar as the 3rd person pronoun (in German es, in English it, in French il, ce) has a broader functional potential than other pronouns. Namely, it can act in the text not only as a substitute for another word but can also indicate syntactic structures of different complexity: from a word to a complex of propositions. The prospect is to study the discursive nature of impersonality in various types of discourse in different linguocultures.

Personal Pronouns in Biden’s Inaugural Speech: A Critical Discourse Perspective

Personal Pronouns in Biden’s Inaugural Speech: A Critical Discourse Perspective

A Study on Personal Pronouns in Shanxi Xinzhou Dialect

Please refer to the URL that includes this article for the abstract.

Critical Discourse Analysis of the Speech of Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the United Nations General Assembly

The research study entitled “Critical Discourse Analysis of the Speech of Recep Tayyip Erdogan at United Nations General Assembly” aims to analyze and find out the ways used by Recep Tayyip Erdogan in delivering his political speech using the Critical Discourse Analysis theory proposed by Fairclough and the theory of Persuasion postulated by Aristotle. During a political speech, the leader tries to express, declare, commit, emphasize, or motivate the listeners by using one’s ideology and power. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is considered an effective approach to exploring the use of power and hidden ideologies in a text. The method applied in this research is the descriptive qualitative method. The transcript of Erdogan’s speech was taken from the mentioned web page (America Times News Service September 21, 2022) and the video (with subtitles) from YouTube which has 30 30-minute time duration. Both the transcript and video of the speech were used in the investigation of the data. His speech of Erdogan has been analyzed to show how using language, he motivated and persuaded his followers to comply with his cause. Based on the study's findings, it can be concluded that figurative language, modal auxiliaries, and personal pronouns are used very efficiently and widely in the persuasive discourse of Erdogan, and the rhetorical elements that most frequently have been applied are a combination of appealing using ethos and pathos.

Towards a scalable approach to assess speech organization across the psychosis-spectrum -online assessment in conjunction with automated transcription and extraction of speech measures

Automatically extracted measures of speech constitute a promising marker of psychosis as disorganized speech is associated with psychotic symptoms and predictive of psychosis-onset. The potential of speech markers is, however, hampered by (i) lengthy assessments in laboratory settings and (ii) manual transcriptions. We investigated whether a short, scalable data collection (online) and processing (automated transcription) procedure would provide data of sufficient quality to extract previously validated speech measures. To evaluate the fit of our approach for purpose, we assessed speech in relation to psychotic-like experiences in the general population. Participants completed an 8-minute-long speech task online. Sample 1 included measures of psychometric schizotypy and delusional ideation (N = 446). Sample 2 included a low and high psychometric schizotypy group (N = 144). Recordings were transcribed both automatically and manually, and connectivity, semantic, and syntactic speech measures were extracted for both types of transcripts. 73%/86% participants in sample 1/2 completed the experiment. Nineteen out of 25 speech measures were strongly (r > 0.7) and significantly correlated between automated and manual transcripts in both samples. Amongst the 14 connectivity measures, 11 showed a significant relationship with delusional ideation. For the semantic and syntactic measures, On Topic score and the Frequency of personal pronouns were negatively correlated with both schizotypy and delusional ideation. Combined with demographic information, the speech markers could explain 11–14% of the variation of delusional ideation and schizotypy in Sample 1 and could discriminate between high-low schizotypy with high accuracy (0.72−0.70, AUC = 0.78–0.79) in Sample 2. The moderate to high retention rate, strong correlation of speech measures across manual and automated transcripts and sensitivity to psychotic-like experiences provides initial evidence that online collected speech in combination with automatic transcription is a feasible approach to increase accessibility and scalability of speech-based assessment of psychosis.

EVALUATING THE COMMUNICATIVE VALUES OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Personal pronouns have various uses in English grammar and communication. However, experiences have shown that many learners of English as a second language, especially students in Nigerian schools have problems with the effective use of personal pronouns in spoken and written communication even though adequate knowledge of the personal pronouns and usage is crucial to individual student’s educational advancement and sustainable national development in this country. This article is therefore aimed at minimizing the problem encountered in the use of personal pronouns. To achieve this, the paper critically examined the concept of personal pronouns with copious illustrations. Finally, some recommendations were made that will serve as a guide to learners of English as a second language (students in particular) on the proper use of personal pronouns.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0758/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Actor Description of the Protagonists Violet and Klaus in Lemony Snickets’ Series of Unfortunate Events: A Critical Discourse Analysis

The way by which actors are described in discourse through depending on our ideologies and how we perceive them. It gives a detailed description of the entities (position, person, thing) of discourse. The research aims at exploring the ideological perspectives of presenting the orphans through the “Us versus Them” mentality. The data is limited to (4) extracts from the selected novels. These novels are “The Bad Beginning” and “The End” that are derived from “Lemony Snickets' A Series of Unfortunate Events”. These extracts are derived from the two selected novels which are written by the author Daniel Handler. The analysis involves two orphans: Violet is the eldest sister with 14 years old and Klaus is the middle with 12 years old. The model analysis involves van Dijk’s (2006, 2008) Socio-cognitive approach and ideological square was adopted. The study concluded that Violet and Klaus use strategy of actor description for the purpose of focusing on the self-representation through employing the personal pronouns "we' and 'I" as well as using certain expressions many times for the purpose of adopting their personal identity in the selected extracts of both novels.

Discourse analysis: A reference approach to investigating a good speech script

The purpose of this study was to investigate a good speech script by examining the types and functions of references in Joe Biden’s victory speech using Hasan and Halliday’s theory. The use of references is crucial for avoiding misunderstandings and effectively conveying information from sentences. This study used content analysis as a descriptive-qualitative method. The data used in this study consisted of Joe Biden’s speech script as president of the United States of America. According to Halliday and Hasan’s theory, there are three types of references: personal, demonstrative and comparative. Anaphora and cataphora are the two types of reference functions. The researchers followed Creswell’s concept in collecting and analyzing the data. Identification of the references used in Joe Biden's victory speech, classification of the references' types, data analysis (marking each reference that appears in the video), classification of terms that contain reference words in the video, assignment of codes to each reference category (personal, demonstrative and reference) and finally an explanation of the purposes of the references used in Joe Biden's victory speech were all aspects of the process. The results revealed that the speech script contained 395 instances of references including 236 instances (60%) of personal pronouns, 152 instances (38.5%) of demonstrative references, 7 instances (1.5%) of comparative references and 198 instances of reference functions with 128 instances (64.5%) being anaphora and 70 instances (35.5%) being cataphora. It is intended that this research will serve as a guide for others to use while speaking in order to reduce misunderstandings and improve the effectiveness of information.

Linguistic markers for major depressive disorder: a cross-sectional study using an automated procedure.

The identification of language markers, referring to both form and content, for common mental health disorders such as major depressive disorder (MDD), can facilitate the development of innovative tools for early recognition and prevention. However, studies in this direction are only at the beginning and are difficult to implement due to linguistic variability and the influence of cultural contexts. This study aims to identify language markers specific to MDD through an automated analysis process based on RO-2015 LIWC (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count). A sample of 62 medicated patients with MDD and a sample of 43 controls were assessed. Each participant provided language samples that described something that was pleasant for them. (1) Screening tests for MDD (MADRS and DASS-21); (2) Ro-LIWC2015 - Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count - a computerized text analysis software, validated for Romanian Language, that analyzes morphology, syntax and semantics of word use. Depressive patients use different approaches in sentence structure, and communicate in short sentences. This requires multiple use of the punctuation mark period, which implicitly requires directive communication, limited in exchange of ideas. Also, participants from the sample with depression mostly use impersonal pronouns, first person pronoun in plural form - not singular, a limited number of prepositions and an increased number of conjunctions, auxiliary verbs, negations, verbs in the past tense, and much less in the present tense, increased use of words expressing negative affects, anxiety, with limited use of words indicating positive affects. The favorite topics of interest of patients with depression are leisure, time and money. Depressive patients use a significantly different language pattern than people without mood or behavioral disorders, both in form and content. These differences are sometimes associated with years of education and sex, and might also be explained by cultural differences.

What's in a Name? Experimental Evidence of Gender Bias in Recommendation Letters Generated by ChatGPT.

Artificial intelligence chatbots such as ChatGPT (OpenAI) have garnered excitement about their potential for delegating writing tasks ordinarily performed by humans. Many of these tasks (eg, writing recommendation letters) have social and professional ramifications, making the potential social biases in ChatGPT's underlying language model a serious concern. Three preregistered studies used the text analysis program Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to investigate gender bias in recommendation letters written by ChatGPT in human-use sessions (N=1400 total letters). We conducted analyses using 22 existing Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count dictionaries, as well as 6 newly created dictionaries based on systematic reviews of gender bias in recommendation letters, to compare recommendation letters generated for the 200 most historically popular "male" and "female" names in the United States. Study 1 used 3 different letter-writing prompts intended to accentuate professional accomplishments associated with male stereotypes, female stereotypes, or neither. Study 2 examined whether lengthening each of the 3 prompts while holding the between-prompt word count constant modified the extent of bias. Study 3 examined the variability within letters generated for the same name and prompts. We hypothesized that when prompted with gender-stereotyped professional accomplishments, ChatGPT would evidence gender-based language differences replicating those found in systematic reviews of human-written recommendation letters (eg, more affiliative, social, and communal language for female names; more agentic and skill-based language for male names). Significant differences in language between letters generated for female versus male names were observed across all prompts, including the prompt hypothesized to be neutral, and across nearly all language categories tested. Historically female names received significantly more social referents (5/6, 83% of prompts), communal or doubt-raising language (4/6, 67% of prompts), personal pronouns (4/6, 67% of prompts), and clout language (5/6, 83% of prompts). Contradicting the study hypotheses, some gender differences (eg, achievement language and agentic language) were significant in both the hypothesized and nonhypothesized directions, depending on the prompt. Heteroscedasticity between male and female names was observed in multiple linguistic categories, with greater variance for historically female names than for historically male names. ChatGPT reproduces many gender-based language biases that have been reliably identified in investigations of human-written reference letters, although these differences vary across prompts and language categories. Caution should be taken when using ChatGPT for tasks that have social consequences, such as reference letter writing. The methods developed in this study may be useful for ongoing bias testing among progressive generations of chatbots across a range of real-world scenarios. OSF Registries osf.io/ztv96; https://osf.io/ztv96.

Beyond the Liberal Subject: Susan N. Kiguli and the Lyric Poem in 1990s Uganda

This essay is concerned with the ways in which lyric poetry, as a certain kind of literary practice, reconfigures and reimagines dominant constructions of the liberal subject. In so doing, it focuses on the work of Susan N. Kiguli, a Ugandan poet whose 1998 collection, The African Saga, was published in the wake of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government’s attempts to improve the position of women in Ugandan society. Although these (neo)liberal reforms were successful in bringing more women into the orbit of national politics and the economy, they relied on a process of recognition that, when analyzed using the work of Kelly Oliver, appears to do little to change patriarchal structures. This essay argues that four poems in The African Saga – “I am Tired of Talking in Metaphors,” “Where am I?”, “Deconstructing You,” and “The Swing” – constitute an attempt to move beyond the version of the female liberal subject implied in the government’s rhetoric. Through a sustained manipulation of personal pronouns and syntax, the poet articulates a lyric subjectivity that is characterized by movement, constant change, and a redeployment of the desire for recognition that is central to liberalism. This subjectivity, which is highly adaptable yet firmly embodied, therefore cannot be “recognized” within the government’s liberal politics. It is also articulated against deconstructive theories of subjectivity which, according to Kiguli, would construe it as an entity that is entirely relational in its construction. The essay concludes by considering how, in the case of Kiguli, the lyric poem does a certain kind of subjective-political work that is out of the reach of novels written in Uganda during this period.

A Revelation of Life-Experiences in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's Waiting for a Visa

This article endeavours critically to analyse and evaluate the life experiences of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in his autobiography, Waiting for a Visa. A literary autobiography is truly a full and actual portrayal of the truthful incidents, pains, pleasures, actions, achievements, successes and failures of a protagonist's life. It is genuinely a life story of a great person authored by himself or herself. Ambedkar's autobiography entitled Waiting for a Visa presents justifiably a true story of the experiences, observations, sufferings and struggles of the character hero’s life and gives authentically a deep insight into the inner-outer personality and public life of Ambedkar and his contemporaries. Apart from introducing a detailed description of his life the autobiographer, Ambedkar, reveals actually an abridged account of his life- experiences and observations that are much more significant and relevant to the modern world than merely introducing dates and events of his life. Ambedkar is popularly known as the father of Indian constitution and is immensely honored as one of the most intellectual personalities ever born in Indian society. This study evaluates objectively that Ambedkar's autobiography, Waiting for a Visa contains continuously historical, cultural and intellectual significance in the moral evolution of several communities of Indian life. It reveals dispassionately the literary relevance of the major issues that the autobiographer raised fearlessly through his bitters experiences of evil practice of untouchability in Indian national life. The narrated conflict in the autobiography is wholly a literary device that stands for a struggle between the two conflicting forces. One represents moral language, conduct and dignity while the other represents immoral language, conduct and evil practice of untouchability. The conflict plays a vital role of struggle that creates crucial hardships in this life story of Ambedkar and is used to move the autobiography forward. In Waiting for a Visa Ambedkar tirelessly struggles for his education, water, food, shelter and safety. It is exceptionally appreciable and inspirational. With the help of moral and humanitarian values like meekness, kindness, courage and patience Ambedkar endeavors powerfully to overcome the immoral thinking, attitude of the Hundus who were responsible for this injustice. He fought bravely against conservative tradition, custom, false belief, superstitions, social discrimination and immoral people who made Dalit people deprived of their basic and existential rights and due dignity on the ground of the hierarchical system in Indian national life. He uses technically the first person pronoun such as I, me, my, we, us, our.