Related Languages Research Articles

THE BOY, HIS TEACHER AND THE LINGUIST: LEARNING TURKISH WITH AESOP FABLES

Can we “Aesopianise” other languages? This is what this article is about. You must be familiar with the fable of the Fox and the Grapes. Aren’t you? Its popularity has crossed the borders and became one of the most shared fables in the world. That popularity (1) is in fact an asset for linguists to implement the linguistic context predictability (2) using narratives. On the other hand, borrowings (3) and collocational patterns (4) can be of paramount importance to unlocking linguistically related languages. Therefore, it would be interesting to approach fables through specific strategies to try to guess familiar texts in context. To test this novel approach, we invited ten master students to participate in an experiment where they were asked to perform a series of tasks using the four linguistic tools in a game-like exercise. The results showed that participants succeeded in the post-test 26.09% of the lexicon found in ten popular fables -which is for sure not excellent but highly encouraging- when compared with that little 2.94% in the pre-test. Furthermore, the study implies that linguistic awareness preceded by cultural awareness could be a significantly powerful tool for learning any foreign language.

The Onomasiological Aspect of Kinship Terms in the Kyrgyz and English Languages

In our scientific article, along with the consideration of the analysis of the functional features of the kinship terms of the English and Kyrgyz languages, we can say that the anthropocentric nature of the language cannot but leave an imprint on the linguistic elements themselves, on its entire structural organization. The nature of the functioning of English and Kyrgyz kinship terms is different: the means of expressing the referential and non-referential use of kinship terms in English and Kyrgyz languages are different due to their typologically structural heterogeneity. In the comparative study of kinship terms in related and unrelated languages, the semantic and functional nature of linguistic means is considered. Our scientific article compares the terms of kinship in agglutinative Kyrgyz and analytical English. In particular, onomоsiology and its common features and differences in their semantic and functional nature are determined, as well as speech situations in which the above-mentioned terms and their combinations are more often used

The Derivational Functions of the Nasal Prefixes in Old Chinese

This paper explores the derivational functions of nasal prefixes in Old Chinese. Previous studies have shown that certain verbs in Middle Chinese alternate between voiceless and voiced initials, suggesting that these prefixes had a phonological influence. The paper compares three models proposed by Baxter & Sagart, Mei Tsu Lin, and Gong Hwang Cherng, each offering different hypotheses regarding the derivational mechanisms behind this phonological alternation. By using comparative evidence from Tibeto-Burmese and Hmong- Mien languages, this paper evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of these models. The results indicate that the *N- prefix derives intransitive verbs and triggers voicing of the initials, while the *s- prefix is responsible for causative functions but lacks the ability to induce devoicing. This conclusion is further validated through phonological and morphophonological analysis. Moreover, this paper proposes a new hypothesis based on the Baxter & Sagart model, suggesting that the *N- prefix should be subdivided into two distinct nasal prefixes: *n- as an intransitive prefix and *ŋ- as a passive prefix. This division provides a more comprehensive explanation of phonological phenomena in Old Chinese and aligns with comparative evidence from Sino-Tibetan and related languages.

Identification and evaluation of English accents by listeners with related native languages

This study explores the identification and evaluation of English accents by non-native English speakers, specifically Czech and Slovak undergraduate students majoring in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The research aims to determine how these students perceive and rate ten English accents, including native and non-native varieties. Using questionnaires, the study examines the correlation between the ability to identify the speakers’ native language and the evaluation of their English pronunciation quality. The findings reveal that Czech and Slovak students generally share similar evaluations of English accents, with significant differences primarily in identifying and evaluating accents related to their native languages. This research contributes to understanding how related linguistic backgrounds influence the perception and judgment of English accents, providing insights for language teaching and accent training in EFL contexts.

Cognate reflex prediction as hypothesis test for a genealogical relation between the Panoan and Takanan language families.

We present a novel approach for testing genealogical relations between language families. Our method, which has previously only been applied to closely related languages, makes predictions for cognate reflexes based on the regularity of proposed sound correspondences between language families that are hypothesized to be related. We test the hypothesis about a genealogical relation between Panoan and Takanan, two linguistic families of the Amazon. The workflow contributes to new ideas of hypothesis testing in historical linguistics and can likely be transferred to other language families. We predict 206 cognate reflexes from Shipibo-Konibo, a Panoan language, from independently proposed Proto-Takanan reconstructions and test our predictions in elicitation sessions with speakers of the language. We found 21 correct predictions from the core-set, as well as another 20 correct predictions from the extended set of predictions. In addition to confirming the previously established sound correspondence patterns, we find further evidence for additional patterns that suggest the reconstruction of three new phonemes for Proto-Pano-Takanan. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: The stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 06/05/24. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/FGBM7 .

Mother-in-Law–Daughter-in-Law Relationship in the Current Korean Society

One of the prevailing themes in Korean novels and dramas is the fractured relationship between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, caused to a great extent by Confucianism, which preaches submissiveness of women to their parents, husbands, and in-laws. Given the tremendous economic, technological, and cultural development of South Korea in the last fifty years, the question that arises is whether family ties have undergone an equal progress. This study aims at identifying whether the matriarch in the Korean household, i.e. the mother-in-law, still holds the reins or whether there is a shift towards more freedom and independence of the daughters-in-law. The data employed to this aim are Cho Nam-Joo’s (2018) novel Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, which follows the life of a married woman in her thirties and a K-drama titled Marriage Clinic: Love and War that depicts the problems of married couples, among which the bad treatment daughters-in-law receive from their husbands’ mothers. The theoretical framework for the analysis is a combination of critical discourse analysis (Wodak & Mayer 2001, Fairclough 2010), which is employed for “investigating language in relation to power and ideology” (Wodak 2001: 2) and Foucault’s (1983) theory related to power and the subject. The findings indicate various manners in which Korean mothers-in-law in twenty-first-century South Korea exercise power over their daughters-in-law and also ingenious ways in which the latter manage to counteract this dominance.

Mutual predictiveness of sound correspondences for reconstruction and language subgrouping

Abstract This paper uses Gyalrongic languages, a conservative branch of Sino-Tibetan, to illustrate a new method to evaluate proto-language reconstructions in general historical linguistics and to conduct exploratory analyses in language phylogeny. It first reconstructs a proto-system of Gyalrongic preinitials and computes and compares the implicative entropies between reconstructed and modern systems. In a second step, Mutual Implicative Entropy (MIE) is used to measure genetic distances between related languages and to generate Neighbornet networks to visualize the subgrouping of Gyalrongic languages. The resulting networks are in agreement with qualitative historical linguistic analyses and allow adjustments to previous subgroupings obtained by Bayesian phylogenetic inference. Thus, this method can be used to detect nuances in lower sub-branches, which are sometimes neglected by lexicon-based methods. Using MIE in historical linguistics is therefore a quick and efficient means of checking the effectiveness of reconstructions and establishing the accurate preliminary shape of language subgrouping.

Digital glossary as an instrument of the effectiveness improvement of CLIL model at the technical (aviation) university

Importance. The study presents the results of implementing a methodological model for content and language integrated learning (CLIL) in a technical university, utilizing a digital glossary as both a repository for professional and linguistic data and a pedagogical instrument, aimed at enhancing the learning experience within the context of the aviation English course. The purpose is to foster a consistent improvement of students’ foreign language speaking and related language skills, thereby contributing to the professional development of future aviation professionals capable of effectively carrying out their duties in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization requirements.Materials and Methods. This study utilizes methods such as analyzing relevant scientific literature and documentation from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which govern the requirements for aviation personnel language training. Additionally, online platforms suitable for developing a digital glossary are compared and selected. Furthermore, an experiment is conducted and observations are made.Results and Discussion. Based on the experience of implementing digital technologies in the process of foreign language teaching an experimental training has been conducted on the basis of Saint-Petersburg State University of Civil Aviation.Conclusion. An introduction of digital g lossary as an element o f model in the content and language integrated learning process provides the conditions for development and improvement of foreign language proficiency and professional knowledge and, consequentially, provides a better qualification of future civil aviation pilots

Asymmetry as a general cue for V2 (loss)

This paper identifies a micro-cue correlating to verb second word order (V2) in two closely related Medieval Romance languages. As V2 is asymmetrically distributed in main rather than subordinate clauses, an asymmetry would be expected in phenomena assumed to relate to V2, such as subject inversion, null subject and enclisis. The loss of that asymmetry should therefore indicate the loss of the V2 word order rule. These assumptions are tested here by a quantitative analysis of a treebank of calibrated data covering the crucial period of change (from the 14th to the 16th century) for Medieval French and Venetian. The hard quantitative evidence provided demonstrates that the main versus embedded asymmetry is indeed a micro-cue of V2 structure, and of its loss in one of the two investigated languages.

Accounting for asymmetries in cleft sentence use

Cleft constructions exhibit variations in their frequency of usage, influenced by different constraints and preferences at various levels, such as syntax or function. Additionally, these constraints and purposes may differ across languages. This study aims to clarify the factors influencing the use of cleft constructions among speakers of two closely related languages, Italian and French. By analyzing the behaviors of native speakers, we also formulate hypotheses regarding how these factors manifest in the speech of second language (L2) learners of these languages. Our findings highlight a difference in how native speakers handle the functional parameter in the use of clefts, with Italian speakers (but not French speakers) distinguishing between identification and correction. The linguistic proximity between Italian and French facilitates the acquisition of this complex structure among learners. However, other factors contribute to differing receptions of asymmetries in L2, including acquisitional phenomena such as the predominance of communicative need and the difficulty in incorporating the functional parameter.

Unveiling online identity construction: A case study of language teaching micro-celebrities on Bilibili

In the digital age, the global online language education market is experiencing rapid growth. Language teaching micro-celebrities are individuals who create and share language content on social media, attracting large audiences and monetizing their popularity. As these figures gain traction, it is crucial to explore how they construct their identities. The present study examines the identity formation of three language teaching micro-celebrities on Bilibili, a popular Chinese video-sharing platform known for its focus on animation, comics, and games (ACG) content. We utilized Tracy’s (2002) framework on identity. Employing qualitative methods, we analyzed 30 videos from these micro-celebrities to investigate their identities and the multimodal resources they use for identity construction. Findings reveal that these micro-celebrities strategically cultivate multifaceted and hybrid identities, portraying themselves as successful yet relatable language teachers, intimate peers, and entrepreneurial individuals. By leveraging various multimodal resources, they seamlessly blend their native language, English, and visual elements to enhance understanding and establish unique personas. This research underscores the fluid and adaptable use of multimodal resources by language teaching micro-celebrities, highlighting their dual pedagogical and promotional roles. It contributes to a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between online language teaching and micro-celebrity culture in Chinese social media.

Influence of language dominance on crosslinguistic and nonlinguistic interference resolution in bilinguals

Abstract We examined how relative language dominance impacts Spanish–English bilinguals’ crosslinguistic and nonlinguistic interference resolution abilities during a web-based Spanish picture-word interference naming task and a subsequent spatial Stroop paradigm, and the relationship between the two. Results show the expected interference and facilitation effects in the online setting across both tasks. Additionally, participants with greater English dominance had larger within-language, Spanish facilitation and marginally larger crosslinguistic (English to Spanish) interference effects reflected on accuracy performance. Similarly, participants with greater English dominance had larger nonlinguistic congruency facilitation effects. Our results are in line with other studies finding a relation between linguistic and nonlinguistic cognitive control. Correlated reaction time performance between the linguistic and nonlinguistic paradigms suggests that overcoming crosslinguistic interference may be partly based on cognitive control processes used outside of language. Modulations by language dominance underline the importance of accounting for relative language proficiency in bilinguals’ two languages when studying bilingualism.

Sounds of the future and past.

We report evidence of sound symbolism for the abstract concept of time across seven experiments (total N = 825). Participants associated the future and past with distinct phonemes (Experiment 1). In particular, using nearly 8000 pseudowords, we found associations between the future and high front vowels and voiced fricatives/affricatives, and between the past and /θ/ and voiced stops (Experiment 2). This association was present not only among English speakers but also by speakers of a closely related language (German) and those of a more distantly related language (Hungarian; Experiment 3). This time-sound symbolism does not appear to be due to embodied articulation (Experiment 4). In sum, these studies identify a robust time sound symbolism effect, along with tests of underlying mechanisms.

Pragmatic communication functions of greetings in Tatar and Uzbek linguocultures

The issues of speech etiquette and specific speech expressions frequently become the focus of linguists’ attention, as speech etiquette is an integral part of communicative culture. Studying this phenomenon aids in revealing the communication features characterizing representatives of different nationalities and enables us to understand their mindsets. Furthermore, speech etiquette should be addressed when discussing matters related to the establishment and adherence to linguistic norms.This research focuses on the closely related Turkic languages ~ Tatar and Uzbek. Despite considerable similarities in vocabulary and grammar between these languages, differences exist in the usage of greeting expressions.Linguistic research emphasizes the sociolinguistic and methodological approach to evaluating speech etiquette: it identifies key speech expressions, associated with typical communication situations, and reveals their equivalents in other languages. In both Tatar and Uzbek cultures, the fundamental rules of greeting are largely similar. In this case, interrogative phrases are actively employed.Upon meeting, individuals frequently inquire about each other’s health and daily life, using the phrases “Hcanex, cayavixuei?” (“How is your health?”), “Hcau-cay eoma itopucezme?” (“Are you alive and well?") and the like. People greet one another in various forms and manners, wishing each other good morning, good day, suecess in work, health and well-being. Notably, in Tatar and Uzbek linguocultures, it is customary to inquire not only about the addressee’s health but also about the health and well-being of their relatives and close ones, along with invitations to come and see them

Possessor extraction and categorical subject in Tseltalan

AbstractThe Tseltalan (Mayan) languages, Tsotsil and Tseltal, have two options for extracting the possessor in wh-questions. Wh-movement can either move the entire possessive phrase (‘pied piping’) or it can move the possessor alone, stranding the possessum. Each option is associated with restrictions related to the specificity of the possessum: stranding is possible only when the possessum is non-specific, pied-piping only when it is specific. We focus primarily on the former restriction. Earlier work on Tsotsil, and the related language, Ch’ol, analyzed the derivation with stranding as involving subextraction, i.e., extraction of an internal possessor. We argue that subextraction is not possible at all in Tseltalan and that therefore only an external possessor can be extracted without pied-piping. It is fairly clear that in transitive clauses, possessors of the internal argument are extracted as external possessors, not internal ones, as they extract only as applied objects in an applicative construction. We extend this analysis to unaccusative clauses, arguing that the possessor of the internal argument in an unaccusative clause, as well as to the possessor within certain prepositional phrases, extracts from an external position. We identify this position as Specifier of TP and propose that the phrase which occupies it is interpreted as the subject of acategorical judgment (Kuroda 1972, among others). This analysis accounts for specificity effects in possessor extraction and illuminates issues related to word order, predicative possession, experiential collocations, and the nature of ’topic’ positions in Mayan.

За категорията определе-ност–неопределеност в съпоставителното описание на българския и руския език

The task of the presented work is to outline the specific features of the category definiteness- indefiniteness in the structural organization of the two related languages – Bulgarian and Russian, and on this basis to reveal the common features and differences in the linguistic expression of the respective categorial meanings. To denote the category in the study the term is adopted, which emphasizes the objectively existing in Bulgarian and Russian language opposition of two generalized categorial-grammatical quantities. The comparative examination does not pretend to solve the problem of the essence and specificity of the category definiteness- indefiniteness in its entirety, since this is one of the most complex grammatical categories in nature. With regard to the Bulgarian language, for example, despite the accumulated literature with expressed opinions, its full and multifaceted illumination is still awaited [22, p. 78, also the literature referred to by her]. Our attention here will be directed to the possibility of a broader representation of the category, of the linguistic ways and means of expressing definiteness and indefiniteness in the two languages, in view of the aims and objectives of comparative description.

A corpus investigation of the typology of code-switching between closely related languages: Data from Mandarin–Taiwanese code-switching

Aims and objectives: The study provides a documentation of the code-switching patterns in typologically similar languages and compares the code-switching patterns between typologically distant versus typologically similar languages. Design: The study examines the scale, type, matrix language, and syntactic categories of spontaneous Mandarin–Taiwanese code-switching as well as their interaction with the speakers’ language dominance and the main language of the conversation. Data and analysis: The study utilized data from a Mandarin–Taiwanese bilingual corpus of 16,186 utterances and conducted frequency analyses. Findings: Due to the large lexical gap in Taiwanese and the higher sociolinguistic status of Mandarin, code-switching between Mandarin and Taiwanese tends to be intra-sentential, classic—with a non-negligible proportion of composite code-switching, and in the direction of Taiwanese to Mandarin. When compared to the code-switching between typologically distant languages, Mandarin–Taiwanese code-switching tends to occur on a smaller scale as most of the translational equivalents in the two languages have a shared syntactic frame, which poses little constraint as to where code-switching can occur. Originality: This study presents a systematic corpus examination of the typological characteristics of code-switching between typologically similar languages. Significance: The results suggest differences in the code-switching patterns in typologically similar versus distant languages and invite future research to reconsider the applicability of the current models of code-switching when studying bilingual speech in typologically similar languages.

The Historical Development of the Place Name in Armenian (Etymology of ‘Harzhis’ Sacred Area)

Armenian linguistics still has a lot to do in the field of onomastics. Many place names, tribal names, myth names, and names of objects with material cultural value have not yet received onomastic, historical-comparative, dialectological studies. However, they have historical value and contain important information. Place names are important in the study of Armenian Special Names, which contain a lot of linguistic, historical, ethnographic, and archaeological information about the region. Many place names in Armenian, which exist from prehistoric times, have not yet been studied. Harzhis settlement of Syunik region of the Republic of Armenia has received world recognition due to its sacred landscape. However, there is no study on the toponym until now. Comparing the results of the studies in the fields of different scientific disciplines, we tried to etymology the place name Harzhis. We reconstructed its initial version in the Indo-European proto-language, then compared the formal and semantic changes in the Urartian period, in ancient Armenian (grabarum), in the Syunik dialect area, with related languages. The prehistoric cave, the statues with religious significance, the traditions, and the findings preserved in the settlement are not yet complete to determine the period of existence of the Harjis settlement. Linguistic research allows us to conclude that the settlement is one of the first cultural centers of the Indo-European people in the South Caucasus and the Armenian Plateau.

Relational Prompt-Based Pre-Trained Language Models for Social Event Detection

Social Event Detection (SED) aims to identify significant events from social streams, and has a wide application ranging from public opinion analysis to risk management. In recent years, Graph Neural Network (GNN) based solutions have achieved state-of-the-art performance. However, GNN-based methods often struggle with missing and noisy edges between messages, affecting the quality of learned message embedding. Moreover, these methods statically initialize node embedding before training, which, in turn, limits the ability to learn from message texts and relations simultaneously. In this article, we approach social event detection from a new perspective based on Pre-trained Language Models (PLMs), and present \(\mathrm{RPLM}_{SED}\) ( R elational prompt-based P re-trained L anguage M odels for S ocial E vent D etection). We first propose a new pairwise message modeling strategy to construct social messages into message pairs with multi-relational sequences. Secondly, a new multi-relational prompt-based pairwise message learning mechanism is proposed to learn more comprehensive message representation from message pairs with multi-relational prompts using PLMs. Thirdly, we design a new clustering constraint to optimize the encoding process by enhancing intra-cluster compactness and inter-cluster dispersion, making the message representation more distinguishable. We evaluate the \(\mathrm{RPLM}_{SED}\) on three real-world datasets, demonstrating that the \(\mathrm{RPLM}_{SED}\) model achieves state-of-the-art performance in offline, online, low-resource, and long-tail distribution scenarios for social event detection tasks.

Linguistic Relativism: The Limits of Language in Relation to Non-binary and Intersex People in the Jurisprudence of the Austrian and Czech Constitutional Courts

Linguistic Relativism: The Limits of Language in Relation to Non-binary and Intersex People in the Jurisprudence of the Austrian and Czech Constitutional Courts