Synchronic Perspective Research Articles

“Look not thou upon the wine…”. Wine Drinking in Proverbs 23:19–35 in Light of the Book of Sirach

This article examines the motif of wine drinking in didactic biblical wisdom literature from a synchronic perspective, using an analogy between two textual units in the Book of Proverbs in light of the Book of Sirach. The complex literary and social functions of the motif of wine drinking and its significance for ancient Israelite society are examined. The first part of the article focuses on Prov 23, which presents the didactic wisdom approach to drinking wine, consisting mainly of warnings and cautions to youth regarding wine and its consequences for the community. The second part compares this didactic approach to the hybrid approach of the Book of Sirach, where didactic precepts appear beside a cultural portrayal of wine drinking as a joyful and accepted tradition. The author of this article claims that this complex attitude is rooted in using the wine-drinking motif in biblical wisdom literature to reflect the social reality in ancient Israel.

언어 접촉(Language Contact)의 관점에서 본 중국 조선어의 변이 양상

This paper aims to empirically demonstrate the variation patterns observed in Chinese Korean and rationally explain them from the perspective of language contact. Over a long period and for various reasons, the ethnic Koreans who migrated from the Korean Peninsula to China have been influenced by the Han Chinese, the majority ethnic group in China, in numerous aspects, including economy, society, culture, and language, due to the policies of the Chinese government. In the multi-ethnic and multilingual society of China, language contact is a common phenomenon. Consequently, Chinese Korean inevitably exhibits elements of the Chinese language in addition to its original Korean linguistic features. Previous research has primarily focused on the diachronic perspective, addressing the characteristics of Korean vocabulary altered under the influence of Chinese. This paper, however, aims to directly observe the variation patterns resulting from language contact with Chinese from a synchronic perspective. For this purpose, Korean compositions written by adolescents in Korean ethnic communities were collected and comprehensively examined. The analysis revealed a significant presence of hybrid words combining Korean derivational suffixes or endings with Chinese morphemes, despite the typological and genealogical differences between Korean and Chinese. Additionally, certain sentence structures showed the influence of Chinese. Based on these findings, it was concluded that the intensity of contact between Korean and Chinese corresponds to level three according to Thomason (2001).

Revealing the mechanism of subsynchronous torsional interaction caused by LCC-HVDC from the perspective of vector synchronization

Line-commutated converter-based high voltage direct current transmission (LCC-HVDC) has been widely applied worldwide due to its great advantages in realizing long-distance and large-capacity power transmission. However, it may also lead to instability problems, including subsynchronous torsional interaction (SSTI). This destructive phenomenon greatly threatens the safe and stable operation of power systems and has been widely concerned since the 1970 s. Existing literature has found that SSTI is caused by DC current control of rectifier station. However, the physical mechanism of this phenomenon has not been clarified clearly, which hampers further understanding of how negative damping is generated and whether it is evitable. To fill this gap, the physical process of SSTI caused by LCC-HVDC is clarified through the perspective of vector synchronization. Based on this, the negative damping mechanism is revealed. The influence of control on damping is also studied with the contribution of different control loops quantified. All results are verified through time-domain simulations and damping torque analysis.

Strategic integration of vertiport planning in multimodal transportation for urban air mobility: A case study in Beijing, China

In pursuit of strategic sustainable development goals, this study seeks to analyze the spatial placement of vertiports for urban air mobility, positioning them as integral components within the multimodal transportation system. We propose an iterative weighted k-means clustering method that incorporates the value of travel time of different transportation modes to identify potential vertiport locations. A multi-objective optimization model that maximizes total air taxi ridership and minimizes total facility costs and travel distances to vertiports is developed considering the constraints of the distance from vertiports to existing mobility hubs. A case study is conducted using the data of Beijing city, incorporating the modes of taxis and metro. We found that 19 vertiports can guarantee a robust performance of urban air mobility service. Users of urban air mobility can benefit from substantial travel time savings of 80% (48 min on average). This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the optimal setting of urban air mobility facilities from the perspective of network synchronization, offering useful insights into policy decision-making for sustainable infrastructure planning.

A diachronic perspective on ‘prosodies’ in Central Chadic languages (Afroasiatic)

Abstract The paper reports on generalisations drawn from the author’s historical analysis of a sample of some five thousand words, which reflect more than two hundred lexical items from up to sixty-six Central Chadic languages and language varieties. The paper provides illustrative examples from present-day languages with explicit diachronic analyses of the evolution of their synchronic segmental and ‘prosodic’ suprasegmental structures. Four typologically characteristic prosodies (i.e., palatalisation, labialisation, nasalisation, glottalisation) operate across words, which are – in synchronic perspective – mostly monomorphemic, while in diachronic perspective they are mostly polymorphemic. The paper shows that, and how the four reconstructed prosodies lead to the diachronic emergence of innovative phonemes in the modern languages, which were not part of the segmental phonological inventories of the common proto-language. This empirical fact poses considerable challenges to the application of the well-established ‘comparative method’ as originally developed by the Neogrammarian school of historical linguistics.

Revisiting Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hong Kong during the Influenza Epidemics in the 1950s and 1960s.

This paper examines the supply and utilization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Hong Kong during the influenza epidemics of the 1950s and 1960s. Existing narratives of TCM in Hong Kong have predominantly framed with within the dichotomy of Western medicine "Xiyi" and Chinese medicine "Zhongyi," portraying TCM as marginalized and nearly wiped out by colonial power. Departing from this binary opposition, this study views TCM as an autonomous space that had never been subjugated by the colonial power which opted for minimal interventionist approach toward TCM. By adopting diachronic and synchronic perspectives on Hong Kong's unique environment shaped by its colonial history and the geopolitics of the Cold War in East Asia, particularly its relationships with "China," this research seeks to reassess the role and status of TCM in post-World War II Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, along with other countries in East Asia, traditional medicine has ceded its position as mainstream medicine to Western medicine. Faced with the crisis of "extinction," Chinese medical professionals, including medical practitioners and merchant groups, persistently sought solidarity and "self-renewal." In the 1950s and 1960s, the colonial authorities heavily relied on private entities, including charity hospitals and clinics; furthermore, there was a lack of provision of public healthcare and official prevention measures against the epidemic influenza. As such, it is not surprising that the Chinese utilized TCM, along with Western medicine, to contain the epidemics which brought about an explosive surge in the number of patients from novel influenza viruses. TCM was significantly consumed during these explosive outbreaks of influenza in 1957 and 1968. In making this argument, this paper firstly provides an overview of the associations of Chinese medical practitioners and merchants who were crucial to the development of TCM in Hong Kong. Secondly, it analyzes one level of active provision and consumption of Chinese medicine during the two flu epidemics, focusing on the medical practices of TCM practitioners in the 1957 epidemic. While recognizing the etiologic agent or agents of the disease as influenza viruses, the group of Chinese medical practitioners of the Chinese Medical Society in Hong Kong adopted the basic principles of traditional medicine regarding influenza, such as Shanghanlun and Wenbingxue, to distinguish the disease status among patients and prescribe medicine according to correct diagnoses, which were effective. Thirdly, this paper examines the level of folk culture among the people, who utilized famous prescriptions of Chinese herbal medicine and alimentotherapy, in addition to Chinese patent medicines imported from mainland China. In the context of regional commercial network, this section also demonstrates how Hong Kong served as a sole exporting port of medicinal materials (e.g., Chinese herbs) and Chinese patent medicines from the People's Republic of China to capitalist markets, including Hong Kong, under the socialist planned or controlled economy in the 1950s and 1960s. It was not only the efficacy of TCM in restoring immunity and alleviating symptoms of the human body, but also the voluntary efforts of these Chinese medical practitioners who sought to defend national medicine "Guoyi," positioning it as complementary and alternative medicine to scientific medicine. Additionally, merchants who imported and distributed Chinese medicinal materials and national "Guochan" Chinese patent medicine played a crucial role, as did the people who utilized Chinese medicine, all of which contributed to making TCM thrive in colonial Hong Kong.

Study Socialist Cultural Ideology with Chinese Characteristics to Innovate Urban Governance

The significance and main content of socialist cultural ideology with Chinese characteristics are explored in the context of urban governance. The document emphasizes the critical role of cities in China's economic and social development and the need for cultural ideology to guide urban governance. It highlights the importance of enhancing people's well-being and happiness as the ultimate goal of urban governance, rather than solely focusing on GDP growth. The socialist cultural ideology is valuable in providing theoretical guidance for China's cultural construction and contributing to the comprehensive realization of socialist modernization. It further explains the main content of socialist cultural ideology from both a diachronic and synchronic perspective, highlighting its historical depth, theoretical profundity, and practical requirements. Overall, the document emphasizes the importance of studying socialist cultural ideology with Chinese characteristics to drive cultural innovation and improve urban governance in China. Urgent implement should be conducted concerning the practical requirements of socialist cultural ideology in urban governance, including maintaining the leadership of cultural innovation, strengthening cultural confidence, and promoting cultural exchanges and mutual learning.

Nomina loci с наставка -ниц(а) в българския език (продуктивна в миналото и днес)

Place names (nomina loci) in Bulgarian represent a very interesting research subject both in a diachronic and synchronic perspective. The word-formation type of the nouns derived by attaching the ending -ниц(а) or the extended suffixes -арниц(а), -ачниц(а), -илниц(а), -джийниц(а)/-чийниц(а) to designate the places where the activity or occupation denoted by the motivating verb is performed or exercised (or the places/homes where the entities denoted by the motivating noun are stored), is represented by a significant number of substantives. This group of derivatives clearly reflects the dynamics of the language as observed in the transition of words from the active to the passive lexical layer, the revival of lexical items belonging to the passive lexis, the emergence of neologisms following the established derivational patterns, the development of neosemantics, the proprialisation resulting in the formation of firmonyms. A recent phenomenon attested in the language has been the incorporation of nomina loci into the internet space: without actually existing, these places perform similar functions to their physical counterparts. The suffixes under discussion are used in the derivation of both simple and compound substantives. The empirical material confirms the productivity of the ending -ниц(а) in contemporary Bulgarian.

Le verdissement de la presse. La néologie terminologique entre métaphore et manipulation

The Greening of the Press. Terminological Neology between Metaphor and Manipulation. Through the analysis of Cop26 eco-political discourses, collected from the newspapers Le Monde, Libération, Le Devoir and La Presse, the aim of the contribution is to propose a systematisation of ecological green. Rooted in political terminology while used in a diplomatic and mediatic context, the colour provokes a counter-discourse that calls into question accusations of greenwashing. The referential domain linked to green is largely that of the energy crisis on the one hand, and the opportunities of a sustainable approach to global economy on the other, themes analysed as semantic preferences of the lexeme, as well as discursive contexts that evoke promise/hope or deception/catastrophe. The synchronic perspective is chosen to probe the topicality of environmental lexis in journalistic contexts, whose stylistic and creative turns of phrase also contribute to enriching the specialised terminology, and to shape the double perception of the colour in the collective discursive memory. Keywords: Neology, ecological technolect, journalistic discourse, anglicisms

Idiomatic space of the concept MOTHERLAND in the English and Ukrainian languages

The article presents the study of the verbalization of the concept motherland in the Ukrainian and English languages. In today’s world, the question of importance of the concept motherland is more pressing than ever. In view of the tragic events in Ukraine and the sociopolitical situation in Britain, theconcept motherland acquires a special resonance, which determined the relevance of this study. The research establishes the theoretical basis for examining the concept motherland, unveiling its essence in philosophical and theoretical contexts. The concept is analyzed in the studied languages, considering both diachronic and synchronic perspectives. The study reveals that in Ukrainian ethnic consciousness, the concept motherland is associated with home, family and evokes warm feelings, although the illusions of the ideal are no longer present. The English concept motherland is slightly different, as the country’s rich history inspires a sense of pride, but often grappling with issues such as a lack of unity. Common basic cognitive-invariant archetypal constants of both peoples as descendants of Indo-Europeans include benevolence, patriotism, hospitality and success. However, in the process of historical and cultural development, each ethnic group acquired distinct variant profiles. Rational kindness is characteristic of the British, while openness and sincerity are typical of Ukrainians. The British exhibit abstractness in expressing feelings towards their native country, whereas Ukrainians demonstrate a close-intimate attitude towards their homeland. Stereotypically, the British may possess a sense of national superiority over other peoples, while Ukrainians harbor an interested attitude towards foreigners. Although researchers refer to the linguistic and cultural concept motherland as abstract and universal, as its deeper reconstruction shows, it has a clearly expressed ethno-cultural marking.

Dark complexion in the nineteenth century baseball of remediano and cienfueguero

“Dark complexion in the nineteenth-century baseball of Remedio and Cienfuegos" is not a specific scientific article focused on raciality from history. Its content offers, from the analysis, description and interpretation of primary sources, the participation of blacks and mestizos in the baseball life of the declared Cuban historical regions during the 19th century. The aforementioned allows declaring that the content of the present research production is unpublished. In general terms, the methodology used is based on the resources offered by the Dialectical Materialist conception of History, without discarding certain essential elements that need to be handled from a synchronic perspective, without the expository discourse responding to a type of comparative analysis strictly speaking, but to a specific historical reconstruction. Among the methods used are theoretical, historical-logical and analysis-synthesis methods. As for empirical methods, bibliographic-documentary methods were used. Likewise, the procedures of external criticism and internal criticism were used to work with the different newspaper and documentary sources. This work allowed establishing the relationships between the facts and phenomena inherent to the sociocultural influence of baseball as a sports practice in Remedios and Cienfuegos in the blacks and mestizos during the stated period.

Nominal targets and individuation in Qurʾānic Arabic agreement variation

Qurʾānic Arabic is characterised by a highly complex agreement system. This system is commonly regarded as a transitional stage in a process that affected the high register of the written/literary language from (before) the 6th to the 10th century CE, namely the spread and (almost) obligatorisation of deflected (i.e., f.sg.) agreement with nonhuman plural controllers, and its counterpart, i.e., the receding and (almost complete) loss of plural agreement in the same contexts. Consequently, Qurʾānic Arabic agreement with nonhumans shows a high rate of agreement variation: mainly f.sg., f.pl. and c.g.pl, but also marginal m.sg. and m.pl. The present study takes a synchronic perspective on Qurʾānic agreement and aims to provide a detailed account of the factors that lead to the choice of each agreement value and, thus, to their relative distribution. The focus is laid exclusively on nominal targets (to the exclusion of verbal and pronominal ones) because they are the most conservative, i.e. the richest in plural agreement, and therefore display the most complex agreement patterns. The description is based on a full-text study of the Qurʾān and aims to identify all factors, semantic-pragmatic and formal, involved in determining the agreement outcome. However, particular attention is paid to agreement-relevant “individuating factors” (e.g., quantification, animacy, physical prominence) and their multifaceted manifestations. A thorough analysis is provided of how the individuating factors interact with each other and with the more formal type of agreement-relevant factors (controller and target morphology, syntax, stylistics) in determining the agreement outcome. The description proceeds along the different derivational types of nominal targets (elative, colour and form adjective, participle, verbal adjective). It culminates in postulating a specifically Qurʾānic “agreement hierarchy of nominal targets,” which, for each type of nominal target, reflects its plural-affinity vs. accessibility to individuating effects.

Cooperative Localization for UAV Systems From the Perspective of Physical Clock Synchronization

Cooperative Localization for UAV Systems From the Perspective of Physical Clock Synchronization

Exploring the Past and the Present: Examining Preservation, Management and Resistance practices in the Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia

This study was conducted to explore the dynamic relationship between society and biodiversity in the Simien Mountains National Park (SMNP). As the local communities who inhabited the environs of the SMNP struggle for survival, they have altered the environment, and they caused for biodiversity revival as well. SMNP was exempted from the UNESCO “red list” in 2017 as a result of significant conservation efforts, but intensive grazing and farmland expansions are still affecting the sustainability of the natural environment. In order to alleviate this problem, qualitative research approach with in-depth interview was employed. Similarly, both diachronic and synchronic perspectives were implemented in analyzing changes in continuities as a result of biodiversity-society interaction. Archival documents were also meticulously consulted to corroborate data which were collected in interview. In the SMNP, thus, it is found that the connectedness has persisted for a long time while the nature of relationship has changed as human society evolves in terms of organization, structure and technological innovation. The early years in the origin of the SMNP were characterized by resistance from the local communities due to the attempt to impose unfriendly conservation ethos by the international conservation experts. The nature of biodiversity and society interaction in the SMNP is characterized by reciprocity relationship in which there is mutual affection between the two for many years. The life of the local community is largely dependent on the environment’s ability to provide welfare demands (food, shelter, and clothing). The judicious use of the physical environment’s plentiful resources by people on the other hand is correlated with the sustainability of biodiversity, and it assures community’s’ fundamental source of ongoing existence.

Altered dynamical integration/segregation balance during anesthesia-induced loss of consciousness.

In recent years, brain imaging studies have begun to shed light on the neural correlates of physiologically-reversible altered states of consciousness such as deep sleep, anesthesia, and psychedelic experiences. The emerging consensus is that normal waking consciousness requires the exploration of a dynamical repertoire enabling both global integration i.e., long-distance interactions between brain regions, and segregation, i.e., local processing in functionally specialized clusters. Altered states of consciousness have notably been characterized by a tipping of the integration/segregation balance away from this equilibrium. Historically, functional MRI (fMRI) has been the modality of choice for such investigations. However, fMRI does not enable characterization of the integration/segregation balance at sub-second temporal resolution. Here, we investigated global brain spatiotemporal patterns in electrocorticography (ECoG) data of a monkey (Macaca fuscata) under either ketamine or propofol general anesthesia. We first studied the effects of these anesthetics from the perspective of band-specific synchronization across the entire ECoG array, treating individual channels as oscillators. We further aimed to determine whether synchrony within spatially localized clusters of oscillators was differently affected by the drugs in comparison to synchronization over spatially distributed subsets of ECoG channels, thereby quantifying changes in integration/segregation balance on physiologically-relevant time scales. The findings reflect global brain dynamics characterized by a loss of long-range integration in multiple frequency bands under both ketamine and propofol anesthesia, most pronounced in the beta (13-30Hz) and low-gamma bands (30-80Hz), and with strongly preserved local synchrony in all bands.

Analysis of the role and use of prefixes in word formation in modern german compared to english

The aim of the paper is to formulate and summarise the research on word formation in German in comparison with English. The literature review made it possible to conduct a typological analysis of word formation rules in German and English to classify the scope of current research in this area. The results showed that the paradigm shift of recent years has led to increased attention to issues related to language use and empirical issues, theories, and methods of word formation not only from a synchronic perspective but also from a diachronic one. The fact that words are formed distinguishes them from a competing process, phrase formation, in which phrases, i.e., groups of words, form collocations rather than words, i.e., groups of words to verbalise concepts. Since a phrase verbalises a concept in the same way as a word, these two methods compete both at the intra- and inter-linguistic levels. We conclude that it is the potential of word formation that distinguishes modern language from primitive language. The comparative compilation of German and English word formation models has led us to the typology of language.

A diachronic study of authorial stance in the discussion of Chinese MA theses and published research articles

Stance-taking in academic writing changes over time in response to individual options and shifting disciplinary, social and cultural practices. The existing literature on stance primarily adopts a synchronic perspective and diachronic studies are scarce. To add to the thin body of literature, this study investigates the changing patterns of authorial stance in the part of discussion of Chinese MA theses and published research articles (RA) over the past 30 years in the discipline of applied linguistics. Two corpora, one consisting of 90 thesis discussions written in English by Chinese MA students from 1991 to 2020, and the other comprising 90 RA discussions from three leading journals in the field from the same time period, were built and retrieved for four major stance resources, namely, hedges, boosters, attitude markers, and self-mentions according to Hyland's (2005b) stance model. Results reveal that Chinese students consistently used fewer stance markers than RA writers across the three decades. The two groups of writers' employment of the four stance resources also displayed distinct changing patterns over the years. The study also unveils problematic demonstration of authorial stance by Chinese students, thus emphasizing the need for explicit instruction on stance-taking in L2 English academic writing.

On One Important Peculiarity of the Imperative Singular in the Dialect of Ararat

Morphological rules of forming the Imperative in the dialect of Ararat mainly correspond to those applied in the colloquial speech of Literary Modern Eastern Armenian. Nonetheless, some subdialects have an important peculiarity – an ա vowel-final rather than ի vowel-final form in the Imperative singular of transitive simple verbs of the the է (< Old Arm. ե and ի) conjugation - which, to our knowledge, so far has not been explained properly from either a diachronic or synchronic perspective. It is argued that the form in question has been created through analogy with the Imperative singular of three high-frequency transitive verbs (namely, ասել, Imp. sg. ասա՛, ածել, Imp. sg. ածա՛, անել, Imp. sg. արա՛)․ Therefore, it is no accident that only transitive simple verbs of the է conjugation usually show the ending ա in the Imperative singular, whereas intransitive ones in the same conjugation class have regularly preserved the standard ending ի, the latter, in its turn, dating back to the Old Arm. ending իր, or, possibly, the stem-final diphthong եա՛ via the intermediate stage of է (that is, եա՛> է > ի)․ Later the ending ա of the Imperative singular has also been extended analogically from transitive simple verbs of the է conjugation to causative verbs in some subdialects (most regularly in the subdialect of Vaɫaršapat (Ēǰmiacin), where this has become a productive morphological rule that admits of no exceptions).

Romanian first names in America: a synchronic perspective

This article deals with a topic which has not been researched extensively. It refers to first names of children born over the last decades in North America and aims to show how Romanian immigrants chose for their children various types of first names: traditional, international, adapted to the language used across the Atlantic, or specific to the adoptive country.
 A simple, four-question survey was drawn up and applied to 56 Romanians who have settled in Canada, the USA, and Martinique over the last decades. It reveals that the integration into the host country is achieved on the social, professional, and educational levels, as well as on the linguistic and onomastic ones. Thus, we can state that first names chosen for children born across the Atlantic are socio- and psycholinguistic markers not only of the attachment to family, cultural, and religious values, but also of the wish to integrate seamlessly into the adoptive society. The reasons behind the anthroponymic choices are related to the parents’ level of education, the size of the community of immigrants, the connection with certain religious, cultural, and educational institutions which can influence the parents’ onomastic decisions. At the same time, ethnic prestige, on the macrosocial level, and self-esteem, on the microsocial level, determine the choice of first names for newborns.

A diachronic approach to perceptions of success and failure in language education

The paper is an article of reflection which aims to critically analyze the concept of success as viewed from an individual’s perspective as well as through the lenses of others. Historically and socially dependent norms and values regulating psychological and sociological approaches to success and failure are also considered and their personal and social consequences examined. Against this background the postwar concepts of a successful language learner and a successful language teacher are examined from both diachronic and synchronic perspectives. A model with six stages is proposed, the function of which is to estimate their approximate duration as well as to identify criteria adopted in order to distinguish between success and failure in particular periods. Terminology, drawn from the philosophy of law, relating to norms and expectations is presented to examine methodological issues in evaluation and assessment. Implications for language teacher education are also considered.