Linguistic Forms Research Articles

Teaching Inclusive Language Against Exclusive Norms: Theoretical, Empirical, and Practical Considerations for the L2 Spanish Classroom and Beyond

Languages exhibit varying degrees of complexity in their gender systems. Some, like Finnish and English, convey gender distinctions solely through lexical variation (e.g., äiti–isä, mother–father, respectively), while others feature intricate agreement systems encompassing pronouns, adjectives, predicate nominatives, and verbs. Further, some languages already employ gender-neutral pronouns within their traditional linguistic norms (e.g., Finnish uses hän for ‘he,’ ‘she,’ and ‘it’) while others have had to create new pronouns (e.g., hen in Swedish) and new agreement systems (e.g., elle and the corresponding -e gender morpheme in Spanish) that exist beyond gender binaries. Relatedly, languages employing grammatical gender often use the so-called generic masculine to refer to mixed-gender groups of people, presenting issues for women who go linguistically unrepresented in such constructions which have prompted calls and attempts for reform. But where innovation towards inclusion occurs also come issues in using and teaching novel linguistic forms. This article uses the Spanish gender system and its novel inclusive forms, along with some examples from other languages, as a case study for answering two key questions that world language and second language educators must answer as they approach inclusive languages: What do I tell my nonbinary students when they ask what linguistic options they have? and How do I teach language without enforcing gender stereotypes? Recommendations include faithfulness to the morphophonology of the target language, visibilizing linguistically marginalized groups, and, above all, a willingness to engage in discussions about gender. Lastly, sample inclusive pedagogical resources for language teachers are provided.

Understanding online advice-giving evaluations through the politeness evaluation model

Abstract One of the most popular online sites where advice interactions routinely occur is Reddit. As a predominately public platform, Reddit users presumably extend beyond only registered contributors. Thus, it is important to examine Reddit advice outside of the interactional or discursive level (e.g., exploring perceptions from other audience types). To bridge this gap, an experiment was designed based on a previous study on Reddit advice-giving, which investigated how audiences might perceive and evaluate the quality of advice-giving formulations. This experiment contained both qualitative and quantitative measures. Both components of the experiment yielded significant and interesting findings, with each meriting an in-depth discussion on their own. This paper reports on the qualitative aspects of the experiment, where results show that evaluations of advice invoke various aspects of Spencer-Oatey and Kádár’s (2021. Intercultural politeness: Managing relations across cultures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) politeness evaluation model, highlighting the particular pragmatic issues that are important for the advice interaction. These results also show that the manipulation of rhetorical moves used during Reddit advice-giving have an effect on the saliency of different face sensitivities, with implications for how linguistic forms as realized in rhetorical moves might be connected to higher level pragmatic concepts (e.g., face), and cognitive perceptions of warmth and competence.

TEACHING ENGLISH IN 21st CENTURY AND THE IMPORTANCE 4 Cs

Second or foreign language learning/teaching has been in the curriculum of schools for centuries. It has gone through various stages up to the 21st century in which both teachers and learners have assumed different roles and responsibilities in various approaches, methods, and techniques of teaching English. For that reason, in this chapter, the roles, responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges of learners and teachers in the 21st century have been described in terms of various contexts by taking into account the learners' level and age in terms of 21st-century skills. This article discusses about the importance of 4 Cs p in educational settings especially in teaching English . It explores the ways of solving them and giving motivation to students and it’s effective sides for teaching. The author presents arguments supporting the process, overview real-world language use in curricula and highlights the impact of it for overall academic success. Additionally, the article acknowledges potential challenges and offers suggestions for overcoming them. Overall, it advocates for the significance of 4 Cs that refers to an approach in language teaching and learning that prioritizes the communication of meaning over that refers to an approach in language teaching and learning that emphasizes the explicit focus on linguistic forms such as communication ,critical thinking , collaboration ,creativity.

Agency as doing-together: learning from fieldwork experiences

Abstract Drawing on the perspective of critical sociolinguistics, this article presents preliminary reflections on the debate on agency in sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology. It draws upon three studies inspired by the Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology, conducted in various contexts in the Spanish state: (i) a university setting of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, characterized by a high linguistic diversity that remains largely invisible; (ii) a cultural organization in Catalonia, whose objective is to overcome social and linguistic forms of segregation by fostering contact between recent migrants and the local population; (iii) sport clubs in the Basque Country, where young people are encouraged to use Euskara (the Basque language) and resist the tendency to resort to the more dominant Spanish language. We discuss diverse approaches to the notion of agency, while also offering an innovative perspective grounded in field experience: agency emerges as a “doing-together”, as a dialogic-collaborative process resulting from the interaction of researchers and participants. The outcomes of our interactions in the field extend beyond the confines of research studies, revealing the inherent political dimension of the project. This realization compels us, as researchers, to engage in ongoing reflection both within and beyond the context of fieldwork.

Grammar-constrained decoding for structured information extraction with fine-tuned generative models applied to clinical trial abstracts.

In the field of structured information extraction, there are typically semantic and syntactic constraints on the output of information extraction (IE) systems. These constraints, however, can typically not be guaranteed using standard (fine-tuned) encoder-decoder architectures. This has led to the development of constrained decoding approaches which allow, e.g., to specify constraints in form of context-free grammars. An open question is in how far an IE system can be effectively guided by a domain-specific grammar to ensure that the output structures follow the requirements of a certain domain data model. In this work we experimentally investigate the influence of grammar-constrained decoding as well as pointer generators on the performance of a domain-specific information extraction system. For this, we consider fine-tuned encoder-decoder models, Longformer and Flan-T5 in particular, and experimentally investigate whether the addition of grammar-constrained decoding and pointer generators improve information extraction results. Toward this goal, we consider the task of inducing structured representations from abstracts describing clinical trials, relying on the C-TrO ontology to semantically describe the clinical trials and their results. We frame the task as a slot filling problem where certain slots of templates need to be filled with token sequences occurring in the input text. We use a dataset comprising 211 annotated clinical trial abstracts about type 2 diabetes and glaucoma for training and evaluation. Our focus is on settings in which the available training data is in the order of a few hundred training examples, which we consider as a low-resource setting. In all our experiments we could demonstrate the positive impact of grammar-constrained decoding, with an increase in F 1 score of pp 0.351 (absolute score 0.413) and pp 0.425 (absolute score 0.47) for the best-performing models on type 2 diabetes and glaucoma datasets, respectively. The addition of the pointer generators had a detrimental impact on the results, decreasing F 1 scores by pp 0.15 (absolute score 0.263) and pp 0.198 (absolute score 0.272) for the best-performing pointer generator models on type 2 diabetes and glaucoma datasets, respectively. The experimental results indicate that encoder-decoder models used for structure prediction for information extraction tasks in low-resource settings clearly benefit from grammar-constrained decoding guiding the output generation. In contrast, the evaluated pointer generator models decreased the performance drastically in some cases. Moreover, the performance of the pointer models appears to depend both on the used base model as well as the function used for aggregating the attention values. How the size of large language models affects the performance benefit of grammar-constrained decoding remains to be more structurally investigated in future work.

Ion type-based formation rules and functional properties of polysaccharide-starch aerogels with chitooligosaccharide, xanthan gum, and locust bean gum: A comparative study

Ion type-based formation rules and functional properties of polysaccharide-starch aerogels with chitooligosaccharide, xanthan gum, and locust bean gum: A comparative study

Frege’s platonism and mathematical creation: some new perspectives

AbstractIn this three-part essay, I investigate Frege’s platonist and anti-creationist position in Grundgesetze der Arithmetik and to some extent also in Die Grundlagen der Arithmetik. In Sect. 1.1, I analyze his arithmetical and logical platonism in Grundgesetze. I argue that the reference-fixing strategy for value-range names—and indirectly also for numerical singular terms—that Frege pursues in Grundgesetze I gives rise to a conflict with the supposed mind- and language-independent existence of numbers and logical objects in general. In Sect. 1.2 and 1.3, I discuss the non-creativity of Frege’s definitions in Grundgesetze and the case of what I call weakly creative definitions. In Part II of this essay, I first deal with Stolz’s and Dedekind’s (intended) creation of numbers. In what follows, I focus on Grundgesetze II, §146, where Frege considers a potential creationist charge in relation to the stipulation that he makes in Grundgesetze I, §3 with the purpose of partially fixing the references of value-range names. I place equal emphasis on the related twin stipulations that he makes in Grundgesetze I, §10. In §10, Frege identifies the truth-values with their unit classes in order to fix the references of value-range names (almost) completely. He does so in a piecemeal fashion. Although in Grundgesetze II, §146 Frege refers also to Grundgesetze I, §9 and §10 in this connection, he does not explain why he thinks that the transsortal identifications in §10 and also the stipulation that he makes in §9 regarding the value-range notation may give rise to a creationist charge in addition to or in connection with the stipulation in §3, and if so, how he would have responded to it. The two main issues that I discuss in Part II are: (a) Has Frege created value-ranges in general in Grundgesetze I, §3? (b) Has he created the unit classes of the True and the False in §10? In Part III, I discuss, inter alia, the question of whether in developing the whole wealth of objects and functions that arithmetic deals with from the primitive functions of Grundgesetze by applying the formation rules Frege creates special value-ranges and special functions. This procedure is fundamentally different from the reference-fixing strategy regarding value-range names that Frege pursues in Grundgesetze I, §3, §10–12. It is just another aspect of his anti-creationism. In Grundgesetze II, §147, Frege makes a concession to an imagined creationist opponent which might suggest that he was fully convinced neither of the defensibility of his anti-creationist position regarding the syntactic development of the subject matter of arithmetic nor of his actual defence in §146 of the non-creativity of the introduction of value-ranges via logical abstraction in Grundgesetze I, §3 and the twin stipulations in §10. I argue that not only in Grundgesetze II, §146 but also in Grundgesetze II, §147 Frege falls short of defending his anti-creationist position. I further argue that on the face of it his creationist rival gains the upper hand in the envisioned debate in more than one respect.

Forms, Mechanisms, and Roles of Iconicity in Spoken Language: A Review.

Historically, debates over relationships between spoken lexical form and meaning have been dominated by views of arbitrariness. However more recent research revealed a different perspective, in which non-arbitrary mappings play an important role in the makeup of a lexicon. It is now clear that phoneme-sound symbolism - along with other types of form-to-meaning mappings - contributes to non-arbitrariness (iconicity) of spoken words, which is present in many forms and degrees in different languages. Attempts have been made to provide a mechanistic explanation of the phenomenon, and these theories largely centre around cross-modal correspondences. We build on these views to explore iconicity within the evolutionary context and the neurobiological framework for human language processing. We argue that the multimodal bihemsipheric communicative system, to which iconicity is integral, has important phylogenetic and ontogenetic advantages, facilitating language learning, comprehension, and processing. Despite its numerous advantages however, iconicity must compete with arbitrariness, forcing language systems to balance the competing needs of perceptual grounding of the linguistic form and ensuring an effective signal. We conclude that, on balance, iconicity should be viewed as integral to language, and not merely a marginal phenomenon.

Eufemisme dalam Surat Kabar Kompas Edisi Oktober 2024 dan Relevansinya dalam Pembelajaran Bahasa Indonesia di SMA

In addition to using standard language, the Kompas newspaper also uses special terms or certain words to replace words or things that are considered rude. The language used to replace other terms to sound more subtle is euphemism. This study aims to describe the linguistic form of euphemism in Kompas newspaper and its relevance in Indonesian learning in high school. The type of research used is qualitative research that is descriptive. The data taken in this study are in the form of words and phrases in which there is an element of euphemism. The source of data for this research is the October 2024 edition of the Kompas letter. The data collection technique in this study is the look and record technique. The data analysis techniques used are data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The study results showed that there were four words and seven phrases that contained euphemisms. Words containing euphemisms are in the form of basic words and affixed words and are in the form of verbs, adjectives, and nouns. Words and phrases containing euphemisms are used to produce and reduce the negative impression of the meaning or meaning of the actual words and phrases. The study results also have relevance to Indonesian language learning in high school and can be associated with learning outcomes in phase F for grade XI.

Contribution of Interventionist Dynamic Assessment to the Acquisition of Modal Verbs: The Moderating Role of Field (In)dependence and Working Memory

ABSTRACTAs an alternative to conventional instruction and evaluation methods, dynamic assessment aims to promote language learning by utilising an interactive approach. As a subset of dynamic assessment, the interventionist approach to dynamic assessment focuses on mediation from implicit to explicit. In spite of its central role in language learning and assessment, the interventionist dynamic assessment has received less attention in empirical research. To fill part of the gap, this study examined the contributions of interventionist dynamic assessment to the acquisition of modal verbs treating working memory and field (in)dependence as two moderating variables. Two intact classes of experimental and control groups, each with 30 subjects, took part in this quantitative quasi‐experimental research. The experimental group received an interventionist dynamic assessment based on the target linguistic feature, while the control group received a traditional presentation‐practice‐production mode of instruction. The findings of the study revealed that while at the onset, both groups performed similarly, the experimental group outperformed the control group on the posttest, as determined by the between‐subjects ANOVA. The difference between pretest and delayed posttest scores was also significant, corroborating the effectiveness of the treatment on the acquisition of the linguistic form. The study findings highlighted how interventionist dynamic assessment along with a high working memory and a field‐independence trait influence the acquisition of linguistic features. The study has multiple implications for EFL learners and teachers.

Affixation in English with Reference to Dialects in Kurdish

Derivational morphology form new words either by changing the meaning of the base to which they are attached, or by changing the word classes .The present study aims at investigating affixation in English language versus in Kurdish language as a significant comparative analysis. According to a genetic factor (i.e. genetic similarities), both languages are descended from Indo – European Language Family. Section one deals with the introduction that sheds light on the derivational morphology. The purpose of the study to create new words, the limitation of the study, the method of research is a comparative study to shed light on similarities and dissimilarities between English and Kurdish and the significance of the study for non – native learners and educators as a second language in both languages English and Kurdish. Section two consists of the definitions of morphology, morphological terms such as derivation versus inflection, root, base, morpheme, types of morphemes, two diagrams of subdivision of morphology and different types of affixation , ( prefix, infix, suffix ) and allomorphs, allomorphic forms, the rules of word formation. There are four ways of derivation to change the meaning and category ; affixation is one of them. Section three points out the comparative analysis of the types of affixation in English language versus Kurdish language, it comes up with some significant points. At the end the study presents references and websites.

The Influence of Language on Interaction and Communication Within Social Media Platforms

This study examines the influence of language on interaction and communication within social media platforms. Language, as a primary tool for conveying messages, plays a crucial role in shaping digital identities, building social relationships, and influencing how information is perceived by users. In this context, language not only serves as a medium for communication but also acts as a bridge for culture, social norms, and self-expression. The research identifies various linguistic phenomena that emerge on social media, such as the use of slang, colloquial expressions, code-switching, and their impact on effective communication. The findings suggest that language on social media tends to be more informal, flexible, and adaptive, creating space for the development of new linguistic forms and influencing communication patterns in everyday life. In conclusion, language on social media not only reflects social and cultural evolution but also plays a significant role in shaping the dynamics of digital communication in the modern era.

М. Қашқаридің «Диуани лұғат-ит-түрк» еңбегіндегі есімшелер және олардың адъективтенген, заттанған тұлғалары

In the study of the history of the formation and development of the Kazakh language, ancient and middle Turkic monuments occupy a special place. The study and analysis of linguistic forms in the work of M. Kashgari «Divan lugat at-turk» is one of the urgent tasks today. Although this work has been widely studied in the literary and historical context, it has not yet been fully studied from the point of view of linguistics and the theory of Kazakh linguistics. Therefore, this article analyzes the participles in the «Dictionary» of M. Kashgari, as well as their adjectival and substantivized forms. This topic is considered for the first time in Kazakh linguistics.

Low Transitive Constructions as Typical Clauses in English: A Case Study of the Functions of Clauses with the Nonverbal Predicate be in Stance Displays

Low transitive constructions are ubiquitous in English conversation and as such can be considered “typical” clauses. This article furthers this claim by showing that these constructions are also most frequent in a different genre: arguments between participants at organized protests. It has been argued that one reason these constructions are so frequent is that they function to display participants’ stances. Arguments are a type of interaction where stance displays abound. In fact, they are defined as sequences of utterances that display opposing stances. Thus, the study goes on to examine how the most frequent of the low transitive constructions in the data—clauses with the nonverbal predicate be—function to display opposition across utterances. Du Bois has analyzed stance as resonance across utterances, created from structural parallelism, and he argues that slight changes between linguistic forms can create differing focal points that index contrasts. This framework is used to analyze how participants use the multiple semantic functions of be clauses across interactional sequences to display and modify their stances in response to their opponent. It is suggested that the versatility and ambiguity of be clauses are especially useful in arguments where participants do not share a set of common beliefs.

GENDER-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE USAGE IN ACADEMIA: EXPLORING PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' PERSPECTIVES

The utilisation of gender-inclusive language, aimed at promoting equal treatment between men and women, has sparked both positive and negative reactions in Spanish society. Consequently, it has evolved into an ideological issue that transcends linguistic boundaries. This study examines the perceptions of pre-service teachers regarding the use of non-sexist language in the academic environment. Specifically, it analyses the current level of usage and acceptance among the study population, while also investigating the correlation between the language of instruction (Spanish vs. English) and participants’ stance on this matter. Given the ongoing debate surrounding its usage, it is essential to identify the factors that influence the opinions of student teachers. Ad hoc questionnaires were administered to a non-probabilistic sample of 348 undergraduate students from Spain. The results indicated widespread adoption of inclusive language, with most participants considering it necessary in daily life and academia. Non-biased linguistic forms were notably prevalent in the L1 context, and nearly half reported using them to enhance academic performance. Age and academic year did not significantly influence these perceptions, as confirmed by Spearman’s correlation analyses. However, gender and university degree emerged as critical factors, with female participants showing a stronger inclination toward its use for academic purposes.

Exploring the Idea of Task in the Context of the Young Language Learner Classroom

Originating in adult education, the approach of task‐based language teaching (TBLT) has been promoted in young language learner (YLL) education. However, its application often encounters challenges due to varying interpretations of what constitutes a “task.” Previous research has repeatedly highlighted gaps in teachers' understanding of tasks, often reducing them to mere exercises rather than opportunities for genuine communication. A potential issue could be that some of the criteria of a task as defined in the literature that focuses on adult second/foreign language (L2) learners do not necessarily apply or may need to be modified in YLL education. For example, tasks have traditionally been defined as having “authenticity,” but this may vary, as YLLs are often engaged in play and driven by imagination. Additionally, for children, school represents their “real world,” so their concept of an “authentic” task may differ from that of adult L2 learners, who may be attending classes to improve workplace skills. In this study, we aimed to explore the concept of task in the context of teaching an additional language to YLLs in primary education. Utilizing a Delphi method, 16 well‐known experts who work at the intersection of applied linguistics, TBLT, and YLLs participated in three rounds of data collection via email. After providing written definitions of a task and its characteristics in the YLL classroom in Round 1, the experts rated each other's definitions on a 4‐point Likert scale and provided comments on the definitions in two subsequent rounds. Additionally, we conducted follow‐up interviews with a subsample of the participants (n = 6) relative to a particular task characteristic: “authenticity.” Using both quantitative and qualitative analyses, we identified key aspects from the data, including task characteristics, learner considerations, and implementation details. Findings showed a distinction between “activity” and “task,” with the latter being understood as featuring certain characteristics. Accordingly, a task in the YLL classroom has a goal orientation, an orientation to meaning rather than linguistic form, a need for YLLs to use their L2 repertoire, a type of information gap, and a real‐life connection. While largely congruent with the concept of task in the L2 adult literature, the experts particularly highlighted a learner‐oriented approach to tasks that stresses cognitive, social‐emotional, and affective development of YLLs. In particular, experts highlighted the significance of imagination as part of children's authentic world. Thus an “authentic” task for adults may reference a “real‐world” domain, whereas an authentic task for YLLs may reference an imaginary one. We discuss the findings and emphasize that the concept of task in YLL education should be broadened to include aspects of imaginary worlds and make‐believe.

The productivity of oak stands in the Tsumanska Pushcha of Kivertsi National Natural Park

Abstract Today, the unique highly productive pine-oak and hornbeam-oak stands in Volynsk Polissia have been preserved in separate areas of the Tsumanska Pushcha Kivertsi National Nature Park (NNP) and need protection, regeneration and study of their condition and productivity at various stages of development. The objects of research were pine-oak and hornbeam-oak stands growing in different types of forests of the NNP. Forest management materials of the park for 2018 and typological analysis methodology were used for the study of the stands. The distribution of stands according to age classes and predominant species and stand density was carried. It was determined that productivity of stands with oak participation and forest typological potential in different types of forest is used by 82%–91%. In the wet and fresh hornbeam-oak-pine fairly fertile forest site type and wet hornbeam fairly fertile oak forest type the average actual volume of stands reaches the greatest value in the ninth age class (382, 350 and 309 m3 ha−1). From the tenth age class and older there is a decrease of the average actual stand stock. Mature and overmature pine-oak stands of a wet fairly fertile site type are characterised by low productivity. As a result of non-observance of the formation and improvement felling rules of forests, secondary stands were formed in the NNP. The share of secondary stands in the most widespread forest types is 66%–78%. Pine, red oak, birch and alder dominate in the secondary stands. Spruce, aspen, hornbeam, ash, linden, larch and acacia grow in small forest areas. Secondary stands of hornbeam fertile oak forest type are formed by middle-aged red oak and fir. In order to increase the productivity and stability of stands with the participation of English oak in the conditions of the NNP, it is necessary to transform secondary stands into primary stands. The study of the features of the formation of the primary stands based on the principles of close to nature forestry is a prospect for further research.

On the verb zdechnąć – zdychać from a historical perspective (in light of media comments made by J. Bralczyk)

The public discussion on how to refer to animal death has been going on for quite some time now. However, it has been revived following a media comment made by Jerzy Bralczyk, a renowned linguist. In a television programme, he expressed his preference for traditional linguistic forms that refer to animals, e.g., przygarnąć ‘to take in’ (not adoptować ‘to adopt’), zdechnąć – zdychać ‘to die – of an animal’ (not umrzeć – umierać ‘to die – of a human’). The article aims to draw attention to the historical evolution of the verb in question in the Polish language against philosophical approaches to animals and the contemporary cultural changes in how they are treated.

ANALISIS TINDAK TUTUR DIREKTIF ANAK USIA PRASEKOLAH DI LINGKUNGAN BERMAIN

The importance of analyzing directive speech acts in preschool-aged children needs to be carried out to see how preschool-aged children act. At pre-school age, children experience rapid language development. Understanding the speech acts of pre-school children helps parents and educators support the language learning process effectively. The research was conducted at Timezone Lampung City Mall, this research data is directive speech acts of preschool children aged 5-6 years. The research subjects were children aged 5-6 years who played at Timezone Lampung City Mall. Based on the results, it can be seen that the forms of directive speech acts found in preschool children (5-6 years) at Timezone Lampung City Mall are in the form of requests, questions, commands, prohibitions and advice. There were no directive speech acts found in children's speech. The results of the research show that children's early speech repertoires are limited, transitional, and imperfectly language-like to a certain extent. Most of the linguistic forms acquired by children are expressions that lack the characteristics of syntactic combinations in adult language. The most dominant types of directive speech acts that often appear in the speech of preschool aged children are the types of directive speech acts of questions and commands. These two types of directive speech acts are the most prominent and are widely used by children to ask, order, and ask to remind.

Toward predictable phase structures in high-entropy oxides: A strategy for screening multicomponent compositions

The recent surge in interest in high-entropy oxides (HEOs) as a novel class of ceramic materials can be attributed to the remarkable performance enhancements caused by both the complexity of their chemical composition and the simplicity of their structure. The extensive range of components presents challenges to the implementation of HEOs, rendering it difficult to predict the phase structure prior to the final synthesis. Herein, semi-empirical methods based on various parameters, including ΔX, VEC, ΔSmix, ΔHmix and δ, were utilized to determine the phase stability of rock salt, spinel, perovskite and fluorite structures. The combination of δ with ΔX, VEC, ΔSmix, and ΔHmix, in graphical form, is an effective indicator for determining the phase stability of rock salt, perovskite and fluorite structures. The spinel structure is stabilized outside the range of the other three structures. The phase formation rules were further verified with two newly designed and prepared HEOs via X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The HEOs show potential for functional applications, e.g., methyl orange degradation.