STATES IS Research Articles

UN English-Language Discourse: Peculiarities and Applications in Describing the World Order

This research paper is set in the context of growing interest in globalization and its effects on contemporary English-language discourse. The focus on discourse in the United Nations can be explained by the pivotal role of this organization in identifying, shaping and spreading global trends. The underlying assumption is that conceptual, cognitive and semantic analyses of the UN English-language discourse enable a deeper understanding of the western worldview, which expands into other types of discourse with a broad audience (the media, education, etc.). The application of the conceptual metaphor theory allowed us not only to identify a conceptual level of the concepts used, but also to more comprehensively explore the image and value levels of these concepts in order to identify the various cognitive-linguistic tools that are used to construct a model of the world order and assess modern reality. The study showed that language behaviour can be described through the dichotomy of “unification – segmentation.” On the one hand, reality is represented as a “family” field of life (based on the conceptual metaphor THE WORLD IS A FAMILY) with inherent family values and obligations. On the other hand, the world is subject to explicit categorization through the conceptual opposition of FRIEND vs. FOE and the conceptual and metaphorical model of “The fairy tale of the just war.” Mechanisms of linguistic hierarchization of participants’ relations are also revealed with the help of conceptual metaphors RELATIONS AMONG STATES ARE PARENT–CHILD RELATIONS and THE LEADER STATE IS A NURTURANT PARENT. The results of the study may be useful for further research on contemporary English-language discourse in a cognitive-pragmatic way, with the possibility of using the identified conceptual metaphors to detect speech tactics and strategies, as well as for comparative analysis of the constructed English-language world view with language models represented by other official UN languages: Russian, French, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic.Transl.: Britsyna N. M. 2022. UN English-Language Discourse: Pecularities and Applications in Describing the World Order. Linguistics & Polyglot Studies. 8(3). P. 70–81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24833/2410-2423-2022-3-32-70-81

Abstract LT05: METTL8-MEDIATED EPITRANSCRIPTOMIC REGULATION OF GBM CYCLING STATE IS DEPENDENT ON RTK/PI3K/AKT SIGNALING

Abstract Glioblastoma (GBM) is a lethal brain tumor with limited treatment options. Treatment failures are often attributed to the existence of glioma stem cells (GSCs), which confer intratumoral heterogeneity and therapy resistance. Contrary to common belief that cancer cells employ aerobic glycolysis (Warburg effect) to sustain their metabolic requirements, GSCs rely on oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) for energy production. As a result, GSCs are uniquely sensitive to OXPHOS inhibitors (Gboxin), as well as mitochondrial translation inhibitors which disrupt OXPHOS. METTL8 is a newly discovered mitochondrial methyltransferase which catalyzes m3C32 modifications in mitochondrial tRNAsThr/Ser(UCN) (mt-tRNAs). This post-transcriptional modification ensures the optimal structure of mt-tRNAs to facilitate efficient translation of mitochondrial proteins involved in electron transport chain (ETC). Although the epitranscriptomic functions of METTL8 have been well characterized, its roles in cancers (i.e. glioblastoma) remain largely unexplored. In this study, we showed that METTL8 is overexpressed in GBM and high METTL8 expression portends poor patient prognosis. In GSC, METTL8 is under the transcriptional regulation of HIF-1α, and the chromatin accessibility at METTL8 promoter is facilitated by the deposition of histone variant H2AZ. METTL8 depletion downregulated m3C32 modifications in mt-tRNAsThr/Ser(UCN) in GSC, leading to impaired mitochondrial translation and OXPHOS defects. Phenotypically, METTL8 knockdown (KD) compromised GSCs’ self-renewal, proliferation, invasiveness and tumorigenicity. Interestingly, METTL8-KD GSC acquired a slow cycling state which is linked to reduced receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling. Consistently, METTL8-KD GSC showed lower Akt phosphorylation and exhibited increased sensitivity to mTOR/Akt inhibitors. Finally, our mechanistic findings led to the identification of a novel HIF1-α/Akt inhibitor drug combination which faithfully recapitulates the phenotypes of METTL8-KD GSCs. In conclusion, our findings provide the first in-depth study of METTL8 roles in GBM pathogenesis, and highlights a novel drug combination which could potentially be used to treat this dreadful disease. Citation Format: Bernice Woon Li Lee, You Heng Chuah, Jeehyun Yoon, Oleg V. Grinchuk, Jia Feng, Yajing Liang, Jayshree L Hirpara, Ya Ting Shen, Loo Chien Wang, Yan Ting Lim, Tianyun Zhao, Radoslaw M Sobota, Tan Boon Toh, Shazib Pervaiz, Zhewang Lin, Derrick Sek Tong Ong. METTL8-MEDIATED EPITRANSCRIPTOMIC REGULATION OF GBM CYCLING STATE IS DEPENDENT ON RTK/PI3K/AKT SIGNALING [abstract]. In: Proceedings of Frontiers in Cancer Science; 2023 Nov 6-8; Singapore. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(8_Suppl):Abstract nr LT05.

Revelative evidential markers in English-language dream reports: A corpus-based study

This corpus-based study investigates revelative evidential marking in English dream reports, specifically focusing on the word dream. Analyzing a corpus of 60,155 dream reports, the research identifies the expressions in * dream (in the dream, in my dream etc) and of the dream as most frequent revelative evidentials. The frequency of the central revelative marker in the dream reveals a conventional conceptualization of DREAM IS A CONTAINER, aligning with the broader linguistic metaphor of STATES ARE CONTAINERS. Concordance analysis of the second-frequent phrase of the dream illustrates that narrators tend to use the marker for navigation and coherent narrativization of the dream experiences, conceptualizing the experience as DREAM IS A STORY or DREAM IS A SPACE. Identified with the help of cluster analysis, the trends in dream experience narrativization also emphasize navigation and coherence. The study argues for pragmatic and cognitive implications of evidential marking, which is accounted for by juxtaposing dream content with real-world knowledge via the use of evidential markers in dream reports. It has been found that evidential marking serves to maintain a coherent construal and retain the epistemic control over the conceptualization of the narrated experience. The findings contribute to the expounding revelative evidential labelling, specifically, as well as of the broader semantic evidential system of the English language, advancing the scholarship on linguistic expressions of subjective states and narrativization of subjective experience.

Conceptual metaphors in Volodymyr Zelensky’s political discourse

The article aims at identifying and analysing conceptual metaphors in Volodymyr Zelensky’s political discourse, their role and functions within the armed conflict. The consequences of this war are globally relevant because the geopolitical situation in the region, the future of the EU and its member states, especially Poland, the Baltic States and EU candidate Moldova, are highly dependent on the end of this war. The most prevalent conceptual metaphors, identified in Zelensky’s discourse are – WAR IS A JOURNEY, STATE IS A BUILDING, WAR IS A GAME and STATE IS A PERSON. Their role is to form an intended positive image of Ukraine and a negative image of Russia; to define who is a victim and who is an enemy in this war. Furthermore, the real perception of the situation, based on conceptual metaphors, might attract more support in the form of armament, stricter sanctions against Russia, and, eventually, to lead to the victory.

Building bridges between conceptual metaphor theory, L2 speakers’ perception, and pedagogical practice

ABSTRACT Within Cognitive Linguistics, Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) has focused on conceptual representation and has been applied to the study of emotion since the 1980s. Since the study of language is a powerful asset for understanding how speakers conceptualize emotions, examining frequent yet difficult linguistic constructions to express one’s emotions in the L2 seems, therefore, a relevant task, especially for the L2 teaching-learning process. By looking at the description of the semantic relation between the literal and figurative meaning of the Spanish change-of-state construction ‘ponerse + adjective’, the present study aims to offer a CMT-based analysis of two rather neglected metaphors in the CMT literature: EMOTIONS ARE CLOTHES and A SPONTANEOUS AND TEMPORARY CHANGE OF STATE IS A SPONTANEOUS AND TEMPORARY CHANGE OF LOCATION. Along with the CMT analysis, empirical data seeking evidence of the psychological reality of metaphorical thoughts were collected from two surveys. Participants were 36 intermediate Spanish/L2 students from a US-based college. In light of our findings, we designed a cognitive linguistics-informed pedagogical proposal that has been implemented in a follow-up study. This research corroborates the idea that building bridges between theoretical and applied disciplines is paramount for investigations in both fields to evolve.

Why the United States Was Wrong in the Forced Technology Transfer Debate with China

Why the United States Was Wrong in the Forced Technology Transfer Debate with China

Positive Discourse Analysis of Political Thought in The Analects From the Perspective of Metaphor

Against the query about hierarchical political system of Confucianism, this article tries to identify and analyze the political metaphors reflected in The Analects - the master piece of Confucianism based on Positive Discourse Analysis. We have the findings as follows. Basically, political metaphors in The Analects include STATE IS FAMILY, PATH, UP-DOWN, and ENTITY which construct a unified and coherent political system of Confucianism. In this political system, Confucius and his disciples intend to emphasize the leadership of virtuous and knowledgeable men and the co-construction of family and state, require people to strengthen personal moral cultivation, follow the social norms and do what they are required to do according to their social identities, and participate in the governance and development of the country actively. Based on positive discourse analysis, the positive meanings of Confucian political thought constructed by metaphors in The Analects are revealed.

POLITIČKI MITOVI U KOMUNIKACIJI NA DRUŠTVENIM MREŽAMA TOKOM ZDRAVSTVENE KRIZE U REPUBLICI ITALIJI 2020. GODINE / POLITICAL MYTHS IN COMMUNICATION ON SOCIAL NETWORKS DURING THE HEALTH CRISIS IN THE REPUBLIC OF ITALY IN 2020

In this paper we analyze conceptual metaphors used in social network communication. We focus on conceptual metaphors regarding the Covid-19 epidemics in Facebook status updates of the Italian minister of foreign affairs Luigi de Maio. Using a cognitive linguistics approach to text and based on the Conceptual Metaphor Theory we analyze five metaphors: orientational metaphors, as well as the CURING THE VIRUS IS WAR, THE STATE IS A PROTECTOR, and FIGHTING THE VIRUS IS A GAME metaphors. Our main goal is to analyze the ways in which conceptual metaphors manifest and what their political goal is. We hypothesize that conceptual metaphors, seeing as we analyze a specific type of political discourse, are a part of a political machinery whose goal is the promotion of a single political party. Our research shows that conceptual metaphors have an ideological and a political purpose; further more they are completely adequate for the creation of political myths. The results of this paper can be further used in research on the analysis of (political) discourse, specific analysis of conceptual metaphors, and in more detailed research on the communication about the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak.

UN English-language discourse: pecularities and applications in describing the world order

This research paper is set in the context of growing interest towards globalization and its effects on contemporary English-language discourse. The focus on the United Nations’ discourse can be explained by the pivotal role of this organization in identifying, shaping and spreading global trends. The underlying assumption is that conceptual, cognitive and semantic analyses of the English-language UN discourse enable deeper understanding of the western worldview, which expands into other types of discourse with a broad audience (media, educational, etc). The application of the conceptual metaphor theory has allowed to discover a conceptual-definitional level as well as image and value levels of the employed concepts in order to find out cognitive linguistic tools which construct the world order model and the view of today’s reality. The study has shown that the language behaviour can be described with the dichotomy “uniting – separating”. On the one hand, reality is represented as a “family” field of life (based on the conceptual metaphor THE WORLD IS A FAMILY) with inherent family values and obligations. On the other hand, the world is subject to explicit categorization through the conceptual opposition of FRIEND vs. FOE and the conceptual and metaphorical model of “The fairy tale of the just war”. Mechanisms of linguistic hierarchization of participants’ relations were also revealed with the help of conceptual metaphors RELATIONS AMONG STATES ARE PARENT-CHILD RELATIONS and LEADER STATE IS A NURTURANT PARENT. The results of the study may be useful for further research on contemporary English-language discourse in a cognitive-pragmatic way, with the possibility of using the identified conceptual metaphors to detect speech tactics and strategies, as well as for comparative analysis of the constructed English-language world view with language models represented by other official UN languages: Russian, French, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic.

Genocide against Yazidis in the coverage of German media outlets 2014 - 2021

Genocide of Yazidis by the Islamic State IS has received wide attention by the international media outlets. The Islamic State has killed thousands of civilians, captured and raped hundreds of women. Despite the delay in the Western political stand, specifically the German stand, regarding ISIS’s occupation of the Yazidi areas, German media had an active role in shedding light on the crimes committed by ISIS and determining its danger to the future of peaceful coexistence in Nineveh Governorate, which is a center for religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq. This paper sheds light on the characteristics of the German media coverage (Tagesschau 24 TV channel and website of Der Spiegel magazine 2014 - 2021) towards the Genocide of Yazidis, starting with the entry of the Islamic State to their areas, the kill of thousands of civilians and the taking of women as slaves, raping and selling them in the slave market in the city of Mosul. In the paper, we use the descriptive method to understand the media texts that dealt with the genocide of Yazidis. describe a sample of the news, reports, interviews and articles. The paper concluded that the coverage of the Tagesschau 24 TV channel and website of Der Spiegel magazine for the genocide of Yazidis was extensive to a large extent. The media coverage of the two institutions revealed the relationship between mismanagement and political chaos in Iraq and the success of the Islamic State IS in occupying the Yazidi areas. There was sympathy for the Yazidis who were exterminated because of their religious affiliation.

The Recent Rise in Sexually Transmitted Infections in the United States Was a Harbinger of the New Monkeypox Pandemic.

The Recent Rise in Sexually Transmitted Infections in the United States Was a Harbinger of the New Monkeypox Pandemic.

Varied Health Spending Growth Across US States Was Associated With Incomes, Price Levels, And Medicaid Expansion, 2000-19.

Little is known about health care spending variation across the US for recent years. To estimate health spending by state and payer, we combined data from the government's State Health Expenditure Accounts, which have estimates through 2014, with other primary data on spending. In 2019 state-specific per person spending ranged from $7,250 to $14,500. After adjustment for inflation, annualized per person spending growth for each state ranged from 1.0percent in Washington, D.C., to 4.2percent in South Dakota between 2013 and 2019. The factors that explained the most variation across states were incomes (25.3percent) and consumer prices (21.7percent). Medicaid expansion was associated with increases in total spending per person, although the median of spending in expansion states showed slower growth in out-of-pocket spending than the median in nonexpansion states. Contemporary estimates of state health spending are valuable for tracking divergent expenditure trajectories in the US and assessing the associated factors.

Language of Persuasion: Analysis of Conceptual Metaphors in Political Discourse

The aim of this article is to study the scope of conceptual metaphors as a persuasive tool inherent to political discourse in English. In particular, it dwells upon the use of four conceptual metaphors such as NATION IS A FAMILY, STATE IS A BODY, POLITICS IS A WAR, and POLITICS IS A GAME. For this purpose, the transcripts of twenty-eight public speeches delivered by David Cameron, Hillary Clinton, Theresa May, and Donald Trump were analysed. The results revealed numerous functions of these metaphors in the process of persuasion. Apart from that, the analysis showed that the majority of the analysed politicians resort to the source domain of WAR to conceptualise their political activities, while the source domain of GAME is the least frequently used.

Teodora Popescu (Editor). Cognitive approaches to contemporary media. New Castle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2021. Pp. i-xi, 1-210. ISBN: 978-1-5275-6953-9

Teodora Popescu (Editor). Cognitive approaches to contemporary media. New Castle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2021. Pp. i-xi, 1-210. ISBN: 978-1-5275-6953-9

Yahya Kemal’in ‘Sessiz Gemi’ Şiirinin Bilişsel Poetik Çözümlemesi

This study is a cognitive stylistic/poetic analysis of one of Turkish literature’s best-known poems ‘Sessiz Gemi’ (Silent Ship) by Yahya Kemal Beyatlı. More specifically, based on the premises of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980) and Conceptual Blending Theory (Fauconnier & Turner, 1998, 2002), the study aims to identify the conceptual devices and strategies used in the construction and interpretation of the poem. The analysis reveals that the poem is rich in conceptual projections and symbols, which make the whole poem an allegory for the concept of ‘death’. Within the frame of JOURNEY, a blend is constructed between the sea voyage and the abstract concept of death, which entails several conceptualizations that match with the metaphors CHANGE OF STATE IS CHANGE OF LOCATION, DEATH IS GOING TO A FINAL DESTINATION and DEATH IS REST proposed by Lakoff and Turner (1989). The study reveals that a cognitive poetic approach to literary texts is significant in disclosing the conceptual processes the human mind undergoes to sort out the composition of the text by the writer and decomposition by the readers.

Sick at Heart: A Fundamental Reason the United States Was Unprepared for the COVID-19 Emergency

This article explicates a fundamental reason the United States was unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic, which is that we have systematically institutionalized and created a culture of selfishness in our system for financing and delivering health care. After a brief introduction, the article proceeds in six steps. In Part One, I describe the origins of the novel coronavirus in China, the actions taken there, the fact that while the ban on domestic travel from Wuhan limited the degree of spread within China to cities like Beijing and Shanghai, it failed to prevent the virus’s spread across the world and its march across the United States in the midst of denial, obfuscation, refusals to act and delay. In Part Two, I explicate the various ways in which the United States was unprepared for the pandemic, focusing particularly on the lack of public health infrastructure, including the ability to mobilize supply lines, but also the breakdowns in hospitals and nursing homes and, importantly, the manner in which our continuing lack of a national health care system is part of our lack of preparedness. In Part Three, I describe how some other nations have had much greater success in staunching the outbreak, focusing particularly on Germany, as a liberal democracy in which civil liberty is respected. In Part Four, I take note of some of the complicated social, political and cultural features that steer a pandemic, which is as much a biological as a social and cultural phenomenon: leadership; disparate interests, regional rivalries and political structures; globalization; the role of the 24/7 news cycle; and finally, the importance of communal embrace of public health to minimize the need for coercive measures. In Part Five, I turn to the institutionalization and embodiment in culture of selfishness in our system for financing and delivering health care, giving rise to a fragmented system of payment and delivery, along with massive concentration of economic power and separate, siloed networks, all reflected in and created by legal doctrine that itself is fragmented. Finally, in Part Six, I offer a brief reflection on the possibility of change, given the crisis. This reflection is rather gloomy, as is, frankly, what is written in the entire article.

United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali

UNITED NATIONS MULTIDIMENSIONAL INTEGRATED STABILIZATION MISSION IN MALIThe security and political instability of West and Central African countries is influenced by several factors and is a topical issue for the United Nations UN and the European Union’s EU foreign policy. The security of the region decreased to a low level after the declaration of the war on terrorism in 2003. According to the Global Peace Index GPI, which takes into account the militarization and security of society, countries such as Mali 2.686 — 144, Central African Republic 3.236 — 155 or Libya 3.262 — 157 compared to other countries of the world have long been in the unflattering index position, which is evaluated by 163 countries. The destabilization of Libya and the consequences of the fall of the dictatorial regime of Muammar Gaddafiled to the subsequent spread of instability in the region in 2011. After the emergence of the radical organization of the Islamic State IS, as well as other organized armed groups in the Middle East and in some African Union states, fighters are rapidly expanding into Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali MINUSMA was launched in July 2013. As asymmetric terrorist attacks on UN peacekeepers have increased, a UN-level debate was held to strengthen the mandate and capabilities of UN MINUSMA. Contributing countries of the African Union were aware of the fact that terrorist attacks could spread to neighboring countries and therefore called on UN Member States to become more actively involved in the mission in Mali. The pre-sented article analyzes the political and security situation of Mali and the participation of members of the Army of the Czech Republic at the UN MINUSMA. The author of the article concluded that Mali in the post-conflict reconstruction needs to implement all stages of post-conflict reconstruction and necessarily needs the presence of UN and EU troops.Participation of members of the Army of the Czech Republic should correspond to the ambitions of the Czech Republic within the EU in achieving the objectives of stabilizing the unstable territories in the neighborhood in order to prevent future potential security risks.

WAYS OF EXPRESSING DISAGREEMENT IN MEDIA TEXTS ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

In media text on international relations, disagreement between countries is presented metaphorically as a disagreement between people.The relation between metaphor and discourse is studied by Zinken and Musollf (2009). Mussolf studies metaphors related to the EU organized in “scenarios”. In his view, the thematic target (for instance, EU politics) is accessed through a source input for the metaphor complex (family/marriage/concepts) (Mussolf 2006) and this is “characterized by the dominance of a few traditional, gender-coded stereotypes of family roles” (Mussolf 2009: 1).The present paper traces the ways disagreement in the sphere of international relations is presented in the media.In this study, the observed patterns used to represent disagreement between countries are argument, disagreement, conflict, and fight. The level of disagreement varies depending on the metaphoric scenario used to represent it. It was observed that the strongest way of expressing disagreement is based on the “split up”, and “break up” scenario, followed by the “fight”, “conflict” and the “argument” scenario.In expressing disagreement in media text on international affairs, Lakoff’s STATE IS A PERSON metaphor (Lakoff 1990, 1995) is used. In Chilton and Lakoff’s view, metaphors are not mere words or fanciful notions, but one of our primary means of conceptualizing the world. As they have stated, a metaphor is “a means of understanding one domain of one’s experience in terms of another” (Chilton, Lakoff 1989). Member states are presented as people who quarrel and disagree over issues related to international relations or policies. Along with that metaphor, a place for the institution metonymy is used. As Barcelona has stated, proper names are often metonymic in origin, i. e. they refer to a circumstance or distinctive aspect linked to their referent (Barcelona 2004, 2005).The place for the institution metonymy is found in two variants: the country for the institution and the capital for the institution. For instance, a disagreement between the governments of two countries is presented as disagreement between their capitals, as in “Paris and Berlin fundamentally “disagree” on who should succeed Jean-Claude Juncker” (https://www.express.co.uk)”. The same situation is presented as a disagreement between countries: „Germany and France ‘DISAGREE’ over Juncker replacement” (ibid). In the abovementioned examples, an item from one of the two metonymic chains is juxtaposed to a corresponding item in the other chain:Paris (place name - capital) — Berlin (place name - capital)Germany (place name- country) — France (place name- country)It seems that names from one metonymic chain belonging to a certain class of names (country name, names of cities, capitals, regions, continents, etc.) are juxtaposed to names from another metonymic chain, belonging to the same class of names. However, there are texts in which this is not necessarily the case. A name of city (capital) is often juxtaposed to a name of a country, as in “Paris put its foot down, and won’t let Germany get its way” (www.politico.eu). Expressions may vary depending on the stregth of disagreement, ranging from “disagree”, “argue”, “conflict” to “fight’, “split up” and “break up”.

DEMOCRATIC, ACCOUNTABLE STATES ARE IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT “BEHAVIORAL” HUMANS

ABSTRACTAccountable, democratic government is impossible assuming that the self‐interested, rational individuals of traditional economic theory are the only available citizens and officials. Approaching near realization of such a form of government, as occurred in parts of the world during recent generations, required reconfiguring autocratic states with the aid of the actual human impulses that underlie attraction to norms of fairness, capacities to cooperate, desire for social approval, and anger at norm violators. Increasing our understanding of how accountable government began to approach realization during the past two centuries may aid society in preserving and building on this still‐new political arrangement.

Immigration metaphors in a corpus of legal English: an exploratory study of EAL learners’ metaphorical production and awareness

Metaphor is central to human understanding and communication. It pervades our everyday language and also abounds in specialized discourse, with legal language not being an exception. This is particularly relevant since metaphors are powerful framing tools able to affect our worldview. With the aim of exploring the use that EAL law undergraduate students make of metaphorical expressions as well as their awareness of their connotations, a learner corpus was compiled and qualitatively analyzed. Results have shown that learners, like native speakers, rely on the use of conceptual metaphors such as MIGRATION IS A NATURAL FORCE, STATES ARE CONTAINERS or IMMIGRANTS ARE A THREAT to describe immigration issues. This exploratory study has also revealed that learners are not always conscious of the negative slant that metaphors may convey and that raising their awareness is key to enhance critical thinking.