Language Strata Research Articles

“Husband” Designations: A Classification of Nomination Models (In the Linguo-Semantic Field of Eurasia)

The present article offers the first section of a collective study devoted to identifying the basic models of designating the notion of “husband, spouse”. The study is based on textual and lexicographical data, as well as that stored in databases of semantic shifts (CLICS and DatSemShift). The paper analyzes synonymous denominations of “husband” in different language strata and concludes that there is an unusual abundance of “parallel” designations (in contrast with other terms of kinship). The empirical data comes mainly from languages of Europe (both Indo-European and belonging to other language families), as well as from Uralic and Dravidian languages, including also other linguistic material with additional comparative value. A comparative analysis of the corresponding semantic shifts in the aforementioned databases has provided the article with colexification graphs. In the course of research, general models of the nomination of “husband” were identified and described, partly based on the specifics of archaic marriage law, namely the unequal status of “husband” and “wife”, which is also reflected in some of the nomination models. The most common (and presumably the most archaic) of these models, M-1 (husband as my man, my human), is based on the implicit idea of EGO, in this case, the wife as the supposedly initial subject of nomination. Further, another model was identified in which the “husband”, according to the nomination strategy, does not rely on EGO, but rather appears as a socionim (M-2). Within this model, 4 subgroups are distinguished (husband as a married person; husband as an outstanding member of society; husband as an old man; husband as a master, landowner). Another model (M-3) implies paired husband-wife nominations (spouses, husband as a friend, a partner, companion etc.). In the course of research, it is planned to create maps of the areal distribution of these models throughout Eurasia and to identify preferential zones for each of them.

MULTIMODALITY IN MIDDLE AGES: DECIPHERING OLD PROVERBS’ IMAGE TEXT

The carnivalesque late Middle Ages, with passion for proverbs running through all its language strata and love for their visualisation not only through fine arts, but in book artwork as well, are a unique source of research data for the rapidly growing field of multimodality studies. Although verbal and iconic signs are different in nature, they supplement each other and interweave under the book covers of the time to form a semantic and pragmatic unity to influence the receptor holistically. It is worth noting here that the meaning of the “proverb” term is contingent in this context, as it was used by the philosophers, scientists, and literary figures of the time to refer to almost all manner of set phrases. Drawing from a variety of texts belonging to different genres, the article analyses the specifics of how the language and image components interact to create a hybrid semiotic complex. Studying the specifics of semiotic hybridisation as observed in the medieval texts is key to the further development of the historical phraseology as well, especially when it pertains to the issue of visualising persistent lexical complexes. Said significance derives from the fact that the so-called visualised phraseology may serve as a source for the historical phraseology research that would complement the phraseographical data, phraseology found in the literary work, and research insights. This research shows, on the one hand, how text and image of the early stages of the people’s culture and language development become one, and on the other hand how a set lexical unit and the image accompanying it synergise in a given hybrid textual space on both semantic and cognitive levels. Based on historical data, the article showcases how multimodality has become a complex semiotic phenomenon intrinsic to any society employing not only language, but other complex systems of signs as well. A complex lexico-semantic nature of the special semantics linguistic units being visualised is one of the key factors in rendering the interaction between these two modalities unique.

Dictionary of Variant Vocabulary in the Light of Monographic Description: Theoretical Justification

The article theoretically substantiates the Dictionary of variant vocabulary of a separate idiom as a particular aspect dictionary in a monodialect lexicographic complex. Nowadays, in the field of dialectology, word variability is explained by incompleteness or lack of empirical basis, failure to master the available factual material, insufficient attention to ways of studying formal modifications of the word, poor coverage of source and methodological issues. The urgency of the problem is determined by a number of theoretical provisions: 1) variability, being an immanent property of any kind of language, is widely represented in dialectal speech; 2) formal variation of the word ensures the continuity of speech as a system of language; 3) the lexicon of the dialect, the dialectolingual, is an information-research lexicographic system of the idiom – the thesaurus. A generalized review of the theoretical foundations of the dialectological lexicography of the variant vocabulary of the dialect allowed us to conclude about the specifics of the presentation of the dialect linguistics in it. The results of the research represent the Dictionary of variant vocabulary of speech as an aspect one, which is a part of a monodialect lexicographic complex, having unified rules of demonstration of language units and at the same time differing in its structural and nomenclatural parameters of lexical-semantic variations of language units. The dictionary of variant vocabulary of speech is seen by us as a representative of complexity, diversity of the phenomenon of formal variation of a dialect word, as a demonstration of a number of formal-semantic connections in vocabulary for further monodialect description focused on monographic description of speech. Lexicography of materially oscillating vocabulary within one idiom in the future is focused on the consideration of the peculiarities of word variation in the system of speech as a separate stratum of language.

SOME ASPECTS OF STUDY OF FRENCH INTERNET LANGUAGE AS A MODERN PHENOMENON

The article deals with the emergence and use of the French language of Internet networks, the reasons for the appearance of such concept and the ways of its use in the speech of modern youth. The language of Internet networks is presented as a kind of linguistic and cultural phenomenon, which gives an idea not only about the features of its use, but also about the global prospects for the development of the national language. The language of social networks uses lexical units and units that entered the lexical-semantic system of the language, the linguistic sphere, but did not exist in the same linguistic sphere in the previous period, formed according to the laws of word formation of the corresponding language, sublanguage or borrowed from another language for communication needs, as well as those who have switched from the positive composition of the language. They possess the formed semantic, pragmatic and stylistic properties (attributes) and are perceived by the speakers in this language community as new, being fixed in the dictionary of new words. Teaching French as a foreign language requires compulsory reliance on the language of young French people who communicate with each other through modern means of communication, studying the slang of French youth helps to understand the features and originality of the national picture of the world, to understand the national specific features of the mentality of French youth better. It has been established that the Internet language is characterized by the same phenomena that exist in a literary language: a change in the grammatical form of a word, synonymy, borrowing from other languages and language strata, and import into a literary language. The article considers the general speech characteristics of the phenomenon and analyzes the language of French social networks. Based on the results of the work, some features of the French Internet language were identified and the corresponding Ukrainian lexical and grammatical examples were given.

ENGLISH INTERJECTIONS AS A WORD CLASS: A TRI-STRATAL DESCRIPTION

Traditionally known as interjections, the highly conventionalized linguistic forms like aha, hey, ouch, oh, sh, etc. have not been recognized as a word class in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). A proximate word class that does get acknowledged in SFL is the continuative (typically represented by well, oh, yes, no and now), while other members in the traditional class of interjections tend to be treated as bi-stratal forms in language, if not protolanguage. Studies that are non-SFL driven have affiliated interjections with routines, formulae, discourse particles, discourse markers, etc. Such terminological complexity can be solidified and cleared if interjections are perceived as a word class under the SFL framework. The present paper, thus, proposes to discuss interjections across the language strata – from below (phonology and graphology), from around about (lexicogrammar), and from above (semantics, in terms of the metafunctions). This holistic view will contribute to linguistic description of interjections and help enhance the understanding of interjections as a word class.

Reconsidering the Emergence of Non-core Dative Constructions in Modern Hebrew

This article critically scrutinizes the perceived view that the emergence of non-core dative constructions in Modern Hebrew is due to a Slavic-Yiddish influence. It studies the Biblical and Mishnaic sources, showing that these language strata contain highly similar constructions to the ones in Modern Hebrew. It additionally shows that parallel constructions existed in languages spoken in the Jewish communities at the time of the revival, revealing that this linguistic phenomenon is typologically widely attested. We therefore claim that this could be an example of an internalization of the old grammar in the new spoken language, enhanced by the fact that similar constructions are reflected in the non-Hebrew native languages of the revival era speakers. These speakers, at the same time, imported into their colloquial Hebrew a sub-type of non-core dative—the discursive dative—to which they could not have been exposed through the ancient written texts, since this type of dative construction occurs only in the spoken language.

Sakha language and education in a social, cultural and political context

This paper analyses the language situation in the Republic of Sakha, Russian Far East. Due economic, social and political processes, Sakha language occupies at least two niches in the society – as a language of disadvataged low social strata and as a language for the national elite. The paper demonstrates that one language can have several social positions simultaneously in an envirounment where multiple social, economic and political factors determe the social and cultural identity of its speakers. The role of education and access to the good quality schools is in the Republic of Sakha more crucial in creating a social status of the speakers and their language than official national language policy. Our paper is critical to sociolinguistic theories of “killer languages”, language utility, code switching and other theories that see a language group as homogenous body acting as a unit. The Sakha case demonstrates that in reality language speakers do not form a coherent group and the status of their language can vary according to the social position of the speakers. The paper also shows that processes we call “elitarisation” and “lumpenisation” of the language are intermingled and that people can move from one language strata into another using various strategies. As a result we conclude that in multilingual environment, education system is important as an institution that affects people’s life paths via networks they are able to establish in school or social groups they study with.

Cognitive performance in community-dwelling English- and Spanish-speaking seniors

to examine the association of language (English vs Spanish), and commonly used measures of memory and word fluency among older adults. cross-sectional. community-based settings in New York City, including senior centres and residential complexes. four hundred and twenty independently living adults aged 60 or older (mean 73.8 years). participants completed the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), animal naming test (ANT) and Wechsler Memory Scale III (WMS) Story A immediate and delayed subtests. Scores were examined by strata of language, age or education and for different thresholds of the MMSE. We tested the association of language and cognitive test performance using multivariable linear regression. twenty-one per cent of subjects were interviewed in Spanish and 16.2% reported poor-fair English proficiency. The mean WMS scores were not statistically different between English and Spanish groups (immediate recall, 9.9 vs 9.5, P = 0.44; delayed recall, 8.0 vs 7.6, P = 0.36, respectively), whereas ANT scores did differ (16.6 vs 14.3, P < 0.0001). These associations were consistent across MMSE thresholds. The association of language and ANT score was not significant after accounting for education. we found little difference in performance on the Story A subtests from the WMS suggesting that this test may be used for both English- and Spanish-speaking populations. Results suggest that variations in ANT performance may be accounted for by adjusting for the level of education. These results have important implications for the generalisability of test scores among diverse older populations.

Written discourse and acquired brain impairment: Evaluation of structural and semantic features of personal letters from a Systemic Functional Linguistic perspective

This qualitative study investigated written discourse in the form of personal letters written by ten people with aphasia following stroke and ten people with cognitive‐language disorder as a consequence of traumatic brain injury, and compared their performance with 15 non brain‐damaged writers. Personal letters perform the dual function of providing information and maintaining social relationships. Using the Systemic Functional Linguistics framework for investigation, letters were examined in terms of their dual functions, and at two different strata of language—generic structure and semantic organisation. A small quantum of research suggests that the dissociation between different strata of language (i.e., macro and micro linguistic abilities), identified in the spoken discourse of people with aphasia and people with cognitive‐language disorder is mirrored in written discourse. Aphasic writers largely maintain coherent text structure while writers with cognitive‐language impairment demonstrate problems with global text coherence and the episodic structure of texts. Results of the generic structure analysis did not support the hypothesis. However, the semantic Move analysis revealed how diminished linguistic resources, most evident in the letters written by the subjects with aphasia, impacted upon the semantic diversity of the text, as well as the interpersonal function of the personal letter. Variable performance as a feature pathology and normality is highlighted and clinical implications discussed.

Poétique et textualité

Despite some reluctance, the problem of genres is part and parcel of linguistics. Genre is a global clue which characterizes every text. Moreover, genre determines the relationship between the two strata of language at the text level, by means of what we may call textual semiosis. Genres also have a feedback on local clues, at the lev el of vocabulary and morphosyntax.Finally, the description of genres is necessary to conceive the space of norms, a mediation between a linguistic system and usage.

Poétique et textualité

François Rastier : Poétique et textualité. Despite some reluctance, the problem of genres is part and parcel of linguistics. Genre is a global clue which characterizes every text. Moreover, genre determines the relationship between the two strata of language at the text level, by means of what we may call textual semiosis. Genres also have a feedback on local clues, at the level of vocabulary and morphosyntax. Finally, the description of genres is necessary to conceive the space of norms, a mediation between a linguistic system and usage.

F. Waismann. Language strata. Logic and language (Second series), edited by A. G. N. Flew, Basil Blackwell, Oxford 1953, and Philosophical Library, New York 1953, pp. 11–31; also Logic and language (First and second series), edited and with introductions by Antony Flew, Doubleday Anchor Books, Doubleday &amp; Company, Inc., Garden City, N.Y., 1965, pp. 226–247.

F. Waismann. Language strata. Logic and language (Second series), edited by A. G. N. Flew, Basil Blackwell, Oxford 1953, and Philosophical Library, New York 1953, pp. 11–31; also Logic and language (First and second series), edited and with introductions by Antony Flew, Doubleday Anchor Books, Doubleday &amp; Company, Inc., Garden City, N.Y., 1965, pp. 226–247. - Volume 38 Issue 4

R. Harré. Preface. How I see philosophy, by F. Waismann, edited by R. Harré, Macmillan, London-Melbourne-Toronto, and St. Martin's Press, New York, 1968, p. vii. - F. Waismann. How I see philosophy. A reprint of XXIII 209. How I see philosophy, by F. Waismann, edited by R. Harré, Macmillan, London-Melbourne-Toronto, and St. Martin's Press, New York, 1968, pp. 1–38. -

R. Harré. Preface. How I see philosophy, by F. Waismann, edited by R. Harré, Macmillan, London-Melbourne-Toronto, and St. Martin's Press, New York, 1968, p. vii. - F. Waismann. How I see philosophy. A reprint of XXIII 209. How I see philosophy, by F. Waismann, edited by R. Harré, Macmillan, London-Melbourne-Toronto, and St. Martin's Press, New York, 1968, pp. 1–38. -

Words About God: The Philosophy of Religion ed. by Ian T. Ramsey

BOOK REVIEWS Words About God: The Philosophy of Religion. Edited by IAN T. RAMsEY. New York: Harper and Row, 1971. Pp. ~44. $3.95. This book is one of the latest additions to the Harper Forum series designed to present students with reliable resources for the study of religion. Words About God is subtitled The Philosophy of Religion, but the book is concerned solely with the logical uses of religious language. Moreover, except for the first section, the essays are limited to contributions of British philosophers of this century. This is, of course, a parochial view of the problem, but it is also the case that in recent years British philosophers have given special attention to these issues. It is clear that Ramsey, now Bishop of Durham, makes no pretense of inclusiveness. He wants to illustrate the evolution of the discussion of the logic of religious language in British empiricism from the early work of Russell, G. E. Moore, and Wittgenstein to A. J. Ayer and the Verification Principle and on to the broadening of empiricism and the implications of this development for more recent explorations of the logic of theological discourse. Ramsey fulfils this intention very well. I must remark, not entirely gratuitously, how heartening it is to see a Bishop so at home in the intricacies of contemporary philosophical analysis! The editor's Introduction gives an excellent brief over-view of the issues. This is followed by a section of classical passages on the problem by Plotinus, Maimonides, Thomas Aquinas, Mansel, and R. Otto. These essays should impress the student with the fact that theologians have long been aware of the necessity of reserve or reticence in speaking about God. I found the lesser-known selections (perhaps for that reason) from Lotze and Bradley on the personality of God especially interesting. Parts Three and Four include numerous selections from ~Oth century British philosophers on the analysis of language--from Russell's distinction between knowledge by acquaintance and by description and Ayer's Verification Principle to Weismann's discussion of "language strata," Ryle's " category mistakes," Strawson's " logic of persons," Austin's " performative utterances," and Max Black's analysis of the cognitive role of metaphor, among others. Part V of the book illustrates how these newer insights into the uses of language are now being applied to the logic of religious discourse . This section contains essays by R. W. Hepburn, Donald Evans, and the editor. The last section of the book is not entirely satisfactory. One is led to see how philosophical analysis has presented theology with new tools and 150 BOOK REVIEWS 151 a new opportunity for fruitful exploration of the peculiarities of its language, but the selections chosen to illustrate the application are few and, in this reader's view, not among the best in what has become an extensive and richly diverse body of literature. Two points can be made in the editor's defense: He was apparently required to pare down his original selection of essays considerably, and he was no doubt mindful of the fact that numerous collections of essays on religious language have appeared in the past few years-many of them containing the best journal articles in the field-indeed, some of them duplicating essays already reprinted more than once. Does this collection of readings serve the purpose for which it was designed? As indicated, Ramsey illustrates the development of language analysis in this century with a perceptive and economical choice of basic essays. However, the book offers the student a limited exposure to the theological uses of language analysis. It will have to be supplemented with the now well-known collections of Flew and Macintyre, Basil Mitchell, Dallas High, and others. Scholars in the field will be familiar with the literature condensed into this volume. On the other hand, students with limited philosophical training will find much in this book too difficult for them. The book will, then, be of primary use to students with some philosophical sophistication -advanced undergraduates and graduate students. The book should do good service in advanced courses in the philosophy of religion. The publisher has priced the book too high for a paperback edition of...

The nature of the machine translation problem

Machine translation can be viewed as a type of human translation, since the translating machine will merely follow rules provided by the human linguists now engaged in machine translation research; but it is more difficult than ordinary human translation, and the solution of the problem requires a careful analysis of the translation process and its relation to linguistic structure. The inadequacy of ineffective procedures can be shown by their lack of means of handling various phenomena known to exist in languages. Methods that can be discarded in this way include those of word-for-word substitution and word-for-word substitution plus doctoring, as well as other methods which use words as basic units. More advanced systems, which show promise of success on theoretical grounds, are those which recognize the various independently functioning grammatical units and structural strata of language. For such systems translation consists of a series of interstratal conversions, from morphemic to lexemic to sememic to semantic and from there through the strata of the target language, ending with strings of target-language graphemes.

Language strata and alternative logics

Language strata and alternative logics