Linguistic Theory Research Articles

The Postmodern Transformation of Language through Social Media, Memes, Emojis, and GIFs: A Study Among Selected North Indian University Students

This study explores how digital communication technologies—a consequence of late capitalism—have changed language usage. The study looks at how GIFs, memes, emojis, and social media language have evolved and how postmodern cultural logic is embodied in these forms of communication. Based on Fredric Jameson's theory that postmodernism is the cultural logic of late capitalism, the study highlights the digital forms' inherent fragmentation, intertextuality, and pastiche. It focuses on how language has evolved to reflect postmodern society's hyperreal and dispersed structure by becoming more context-dependent, expressive, and visual. The study employs a mixed-methods approach to examine how social media content is analyzed and to obtain perspectives on various communicative forms from 300 university students in Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana. The findings imply that, in addition to changing language, digital communication technologies have also introduced new forms of expression that combine text, image, and emotion, challenging established linguistic theories. This study advances our knowledge of language in the digital era and has implications for the larger cultural shifts these developments signify.

NEGATIVE POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN ANDREA HIRATA’S NOVEL LASKAR PELANGI

This research delves into the intricate portrayal of negative politeness strategy in Andrea Hirata's novel Laskar Pelangi. Employing linguistic politeness theory by Brown and Levinson and a structuralism approach, the study aims to elucidate the connection between linguistics and literature within the novel's context. Utilizing a qualitative research methodology, the text is analyzed, focusing on instances of negative politeness strategies employed by characters in various social interactions. Through a descriptive qualitative approach, 53 instances of negative politeness strategies are identified in the novel. The literature review underscores the significance of negative politeness for maintaining rapport and respect in social interactions, particularly in contexts prone to imposition or conflict. Extracted examples from the novel illustrate how characters utilize negative politeness to navigate complex social dynamics and preserve harmonious relationships within their community. The findings reveal cultural nuances embedded in politeness strategies, reflecting Indonesian societal norms and values. Characters in Laskar Pelangi employ indirect speech acts, hedging language, and deferential expressions to mitigate threats to others' autonomy or comfort, contributing to the narrative's tone of warmth and sincerity. Overall, this research highlights the integral role of negative politeness strategies in shaping character interactions and reflecting cultural values in Laskar Pelangi. By employing these strategies, characters negotiate social hierarchies and navigate interpersonal relationships while demonstrating respect and consideration for others.

Linguistic Landscapes of Social Media Discourse: Exploring Language Practices and Identities on Jordanian Online Platforms

The present research is designed to investigate the language practices and identities of Jordanian users on the selected social media platforms of Facebook and Twitter. A total of 400 posts and tweets were selected from both social media platforms. Based on the Systemic Functional Linguistics theory, the study found that the users demonstrated various language practices on social media like code-switching, emojis, localized expressions, and identity affiliations like racism, patriotism, and feminism. Consequently, the study established that Jordanian Arabic is the most frequently-used language style, while the use of English and MSA as secondary language styles was considerably less popular. Additionally, code-switching was the most prevalent language practice. The study recommended educational policies to advocate bilingualism, while for social media, the strategies need to reflect linguistic characteristics to increase reach and engagement.

The didactic features of James Summers’s (1828–1891) research on Chinese*

Abstract James Summers (1828–1891) is distinguished as the first professor of Chinese in Britain to conduct systematic research on the Chinese language. During his tenure as a Chinese professor, Summers’s research on the Chinese language demonstrated a pronounced didactic emphasis. This was evident in his departure from rigidly following linguistic theories, his adoption of diverse linguistic ideas and methodologies from scholars of varied backgrounds, and his inclusion of multiple varieties of Chinese as target languages, particularly Nanjing Mandarin. Summers’s early missionary work in China, along with his role at King’s College London, where he trained student interpreters for the British Foreign Office, greatly shaped his pedagogical focus. The didactic feature of his works aligns with the broader pragmatic approach of British sinology, reflecting the trend of recruiting retired missionaries and diplomats with experience in China into European university faculties after the mid-19th century.

A Comparative Study of Subordinate Conjunctions in Azerbaijani and English: A Typological Perspective

This study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of subordinate conjunctions in Azerbaijani and English, examining their syntactic structures, semantic functions, and frequency of usage. Drawing from a diverse corpus of literary, academic, and spoken texts, the research reveals significant typological differences between the two languages. Azerbaijani, with its agglutinative and head-final structure, uses flexible clause positioning and morphological markers, whereas English adheres to a fixed, head-initial clause arrangement. The semantic analysis categorizes conjunctions into causal, conditional, temporal, and adversative types, highlighting unique patterns and preferences in each language. Additionally, frequency analysis shows a higher density of conditional conjunctions in Azerbaijani, reflecting cultural emphasis on hypothetical relationships. These findings have important implications for translation, language teaching, and linguistic theory, offering practical tools and insights for both academic and applied linguistics. The study also identifies limitations, such as the focus on written texts, and suggests directions for future research, including analysis of spoken language and digital communication.

Language learners, chess champions, and piano prodigies – insights from research on language contact and expert behavior

Abstract One of the central assumptions in Cognitive Linguistics is that the cognitive mechanisms underlying our language use are domain-general and thus apply to human behavior beyond language. Examples of such cognitive mechanisms are, among others, our ability to focus attention, to memorize and categorize, as well as processes related to chunking, generalization, and inhibitory control. Testing this core assumption, however, is often difficult, as it requires us to move beyond linguistic research and to actively look for links between our language use and other areas of human cognition. This paper is an illustration of what such links could look like, particularly focusing on links between research on (Dutch-German) language contact and expert behavior. In doing so, it shows (a) that there are many shared links, for example, regarding the cognitive mechanisms of entrenchment and chunking, and (b) that these shared links (as well as potential differences across the fields) can be used to improve our linguistic theorizing. In particular, I argue that linguistic research can benefit from the insights from research on expert behavior, especially from its more advanced insights modelling individual variation, and that the shared links can help us to test the core assumption that the cognitive mechanisms underlying our language use are indeed domain-general.

EXPLORING THE ROLE OF L1 LITERACY SKILLS IN L2 READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT AMONG SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GHANA

This study investigated the relationship between first language (L1) literacy skills and second language (L2) reading comprehension and vocabulary development among students in Ghana. The study was grounded in Cummin’s (1970) Linguistic Interdependence Theory (LIT). The qualitative approach was adopted, and three instruments- focus group discussions, interviews and classroom observations- were used to obtain data from the sample of 300 secondary school students and 40 teachers. The researcher assessed participants' views in L1 literacy domains (phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge, and reading fluency) as well as their views on L2 (English) reading comprehension and vocabulary. The findings revealed a significant positive correlation between students' L1 literacy skills and their achievement in L2 reading comprehension and vocabulary. Those with more advanced abilities in their native language consistently demonstrated higher levels of reading comprehension and broader English vocabulary knowledge. This underscores the critical role of strong foundational literacy in the first language as a precursor to successful second language acquisition. The study also identified key instructional strategies that could help bridge the gap for ESL learners, such as explicit instruction in L1 literacy, structured opportunities for cross-linguistic transfer, and the incorporation of culturally relevant, mother-tongue materials into the curriculum. The implications of these findings for policymakers, curriculum designers, and teachers working to improve educational outcomes for linguistically diverse student populations are discussed.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0799/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Pragmatic Analysis of Undergraduate Male and Female Students’ Politeness Strategies in Initiating and Terminating Conversations Online

This study examines the politeness strategies employed by male and female undergraduate students in online interactions, focusing on conversation initiation and termination. A pragmatic analysis was conducted using House and Kasper's (1981) linguistic politeness theory alongside Miles and Huberman's model for data interpretation. The findings indicate that male students predominantly used committers, consultative devices, and downtoners to initiate conversations, while employing downtoners, understaters, and politeness markers for termination. In contrast, female students utilized committers, consultative devices, politeness markers, and playdowns for initiation, and committers, playdowns, and politeness markers for termination. Applying Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory, male students mainly favored positive politeness, negative politeness, and bald-on-record strategies during initiation, while employing both positive and negative strategies for termination. Female students exhibited a preference for positive and negative politeness strategies, along with off-record strategies for initiation, relying solely on positive politeness for termination. These findings highlight distinct gender-specific communication patterns in online environments, providing valuable insights for linguistics, communication studies, and gender studies. The results can guide educators, policymakers, and practitioners in developing inclusive and effective communication strategies tailored to digital learning contexts.

Subordinate conjunctions in illocutionary usage (abstract review)

The subject of the research in this article is subordinate conjunctions in the Russian language, such as "if", "once", "for now", "to" and others that are used in the illocutionary function. The peculiarity of these conjunctions is that they establish a relationship between the proposition of one predicative unit and the illocutionary component of the semantics of another predicative unit, transmitting additional meanings related to the target attitude of the utterance and the conditions of its success. In such constructions, one of the valences of the union can be implicitly expressed. This aspect of the use of subordinate unions was noted by T.A. Kolosova in the late 1970s and has since become an object of interest to a number of linguists, including E.V. Paducheva, L.N. Jordanskaya, V.Z. Sannikov and O.E. Pekelis. The present study is aimed at identifying the features of the illocutionary function of subordinate unions, as well as systematization and generalization of existing scientific data on this topic. The research uses methods of analysis and synthesis, descriptive and interpretative methods, as well as system analysis, which allows us to identify the communicative and functional features of the studied unions. The novelty of this article lies in the fact that the author contributes to the systematization of knowledge about subordinate unions in their illocutionary function. In contrast to the traditional approach, in which conjunctions are considered primarily as means of communication between propositions, this study emphasizes their ability to influence the perception and interpretation of a statement. The work reveals three main functions of conjunctions in complex constructions: the expression of the illocutionary purpose of the utterance, compliance with the conditions of its success and justification of the speech act performed in the main sentence. The theoretical significance of the research lies in the contribution to the theory of complex sentences, communicative and functional linguistics, the syntax of the Russian language as a whole, as well as in the possibility of using its results in subsequent scientific research on the stated problems and in university courses on the syntax and stylistics of the modern Russian language.

Language is a “quite useless” tool: A rejoinder to Fedorenko, Piantadosi, and Gibson’s “Language is primarily a tool for communication rather than thought”

Contrary to the prevailing assumption that language is “primarily a tool for communication rather than thought”, I argue that language is, to invoke Oscar Wilde, “quite useless”. Arguing from aesthetic philosophy and the minimalist program for linguistic theory, I conject that language, like art, is not “for” anything—it simply is, conforming to aesthetic rather than utilitarian principles. Of course, like art, language can be a powerful instrument of communication, but its function is not that of expressing thought; it creates thoughts, “primarily” for communicating with oneself, engaging in Popperian critical rationalism, making thoughts (e.g., sentences, constructive proofs) to match Platonic objects (e.g., propositions, classical proofs).

It all made sense: ASL-first approach in classroom practice.

This qualitative study delves into the innovative Bilingual Grammar Curriculum. The curriculum aims to enhance bilingualism and linguistic skills among deaf students by integrating American Sign Language instruction and written language grammatical structures. The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with 12 experienced educators of the deaf who have implemented the curriculum in their teaching practices. Employing a thematic analysis approach, the researcher sought to uncover the educators' perceptions, experiences, and insights regarding the curriculum's effectiveness and its impact on bilingual language acquisition for deaf learners. Findings revealed a diverse range or perspectives, highlighting both the advantages and challenges of the curriculum's implementation. Themes emerged encompassing the curriculum's alignment with linguistic theories, its adaptability to diverse learning needs, the role of educator training, and the incorporation of cultural nuances within bilingual instruction. The study contributes valuable insights to the field of deaf education, shedding light on the intricate dynamics of bilingual grammar pedagogy and providing recommendations for curriculum refinement and educator professional development. Ultimately, this research underscores the significance of innovative approaches in enhancing the linguistic abilities and educational experiences of deaf and hard-of-hearing students within a bilingual framework.

Identifying artificial intelligence–generated content in online Q&A communities through interpretable machine learning

This study aims to construct a comprehensive feature system for identifying artificial intelligence–generated content (AIGC) in online Q&A communities, thus uncovering the key factors and mechanisms influencing the identification of AIGC. First, based on the theory of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) and information quality (IQ), this article extracts vocabulary, content, structure, and emotional features from the text, and identifies the AIGC through nine mainstream machine learning algorithms. Subsequently, three widely used resampling strategies are exploited to address the category imbalance problem. The grid search optimisation algorithm fine-tunes different combinations of parameters to improve the performance of the identification classifier. Finally, SHAP values are introduced to evaluate and elucidate the global feature importance and feature influence mechanism. A Chinese corpus from the Zhihu Q&A community is constructed to verify the validity of these methods. The experimental results show that the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model optimised with hybrid sampling and grid search parameters exhibits excellent performance in identifying AI-generated text, which achieves an F1-score of 0.9935, an improvement of 0.11 percentage points over the original model. In addition, all four dimensions of features constructed in this article contribute to AI-generated text identification, and the results of feature interpretability analysis show the greatest impact of features that focus on content readability. The study facilitates the identification and labelling of AIGC in online Q&A communities, thereby enhancing transparency and accountability of information shared online.

Effectiveness of Mother Tongue Instruction on Literacy Rates in Primary Education in Kenya, Examining the Transition from Indigenous Languages to English in Urban and Rural Settings

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the effectiveness of mother tongue instruction on literacy rates in primary education in Kenya, examining the transition from indigenous languages to English in urban and rural settings Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: Studies on the effectiveness of mother tongue instruction in Kenya's primary education reveal that using indigenous languages in early education significantly improves literacy rates, particularly in rural areas. In these settings, children who learn in their native languages during the early grades develop stronger foundational literacy skills compared to those taught in English from the start. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Sociocultural theory, cummins’ linguistic interdependence theory & transitional bilingual education theory may be used to anchor future studies on the effectiveness of mother tongue instruction on literacy rates in primary education in Kenya, examining the transition from indigenous languages to English in urban and rural settings. Schools, particularly in rural areas, need more resources like textbooks and teaching aids in indigenous languages to support early literacy development. Policymakers should implement flexible language policies that consider the different linguistic needs of urban and rural populations.

English fronting constructions as a window to the semantics of tense: the case of belief reports

This paper delves into the temporal interpretation of fronting constructions in English, a topic that has received limited attention in the literature on tense semantics. It presents new empirical findings revealing that specific fronting configurations, involving present tense morphology in a complement CP under a matrix past tense, can yield a theoretically unexpected simultaneous interpretation. A novel theoretical framework for understanding English tense is proposed, which accounts for the temporal interpretation of both fronting and non-fronting versions of attitude reports. The framework introduces a null simultaneous tense as a replacement for the conventional indexical present and the Sequence-of-Tense (SOT) de se tense. It is argued that in complement CPs the null simultaneous tense, as well as past tense, can be anchored either to the attitude time or to the utterance time. In either case, each tense receives a de re interpretation. Moreover, the paper contends that evidence from fronting constructions supports Kratzer’s (Proceedings of semantics and linguistic theory 8, pp. 92–110, 1998) proposal that the transmission of temporal features (as part of the mechanism of SOT) occurs at PF. Finally, the proposed revision of the English tense system contributes to a more unified cross-linguistic perspective on tense. It is demonstrated how the temporal readings of attitude reports arising in such non-SOT languages as Russian, Japanese, and Hebrew can be captured within the system developed for English, with known contrasts attributed to the absence of Feature Transmission in those languages. Further known and new data from English, Modern Greek, and German are examined, revealing variations in SOT effects across SOT languages. These data are used as additional evidence supporting the claim that cross-linguistic variation in the interpretation of complement tense stems solely from differences in Feature Transmission. Regarding the semantic profile of tenses, it can be considered largely invariant.

Musical Mirroring of Social Predicaments in Aristotle “GLOC-9” Pollisco Song Compositions through Stylistic Lens

This study was a stylistic analysis aimed at delineating the different social predicaments embedded in the ten (10) song compositions of GLOC-9. Particularly, it sought to: (1) identify the linguistic levels used in cascading the message and style of the songs along with semantics, lexicogrammar, phonology, and acoustic phonetics; (2) determine the stylistic devices under figures of speech used in the songs; (3) define the thematic levels presented in the songs along with the thematic concept and thematic statement; (4) specify the values or morals conveyed in the songs; and (5) discuss the social predicaments embedded in the songs. To further strategize the data gathering, the researchers used the Hallidayan Systemic-Functional Linguistic Theory in order to extract the different linguistic levels in the songs. Thus, the researchers found out that the social predicaments embedded in the song compositions that depicted social realities were: (1) social injustice; (2) violence; (3) prostitution; (4) drug addiction; (5) corruption; (6) gender discrimination; (7) killing; (8) poverty; and (9) brain drain mentality. Ergo, the results being demarcated in this study may help cultivate social awareness and provide positive implications in terms of transcending the minds of every Filipino, which is a crucial determinant in society and more especially in that of the nation.

Arguing with numbers in social media based COVID-19 debates: A study of the argumentative functions of visual graphs

This study engages with a growing body of literature on numerical communication in COVID-19, which suggests that numbers and numerical measurements can be manipulated to shape governmental policy and public health measures. It uniquely focuses on numerical graphs generated through professional open-resource visualization tools but used by laypersons in social media debates. By combining theories of multimodality and linguistic theories of argumentativity, we analyzed Twitter interactions on COVID-19 policy that occurred on the Twitter account of a leading public health figure in Scotland. Our fine-grained qualitative analysis shows that while language choices are essential for establishing the argumentative context for graphs, choices about how to encode visual information, such as the placement of elements in the composition, can also provide information about the communicator’s intention. To understand the argumentative purpose of the graphs, the interlocutor needs to grasp not only how information is packaged in the multimodal message but also the argumentative agenda of the speaker/writer, which is encoded in their multimodal message and other contextual information.

Computational Architecture of Speech Comprehension in the Human Brain

Understanding the computational algorithm that gives rise to human language is a shared endeavor among neuroscience, linguistics, and machine learning. We propose a conceptual framework for making measurable progress toward this goal by studying the subcomponents of the processing system: its underlying representations, operations, and information flow. We review evidence from neurophysiology, neuropsychology, linguistic theory, and computational modeling and suggest future directions to push the field forward in developing a precise characterization of spoken language understanding. Overall, we claim that representations of speech properties, and the operations that generate and manipulate those representations, exist within a highly parallel, highly redundant spatiotemporal regime.

Spiritual Healing: Ragam Bahasa Balian Sebagai Salah Satu Pelestarian Tradisi Lokal di Bali

This research aims to identify the language varieties of Balian and the factors that influence these language varieties. This research is descriptive qualitative with a linguistic and pragmatic theory approach used by Balian. Data collection was done by in-depth interviews with Balians in the hotel. The collected data were then transcribed and thematically coded to identify patterns in language use, such as the use of language, the use of metaphorical language styles, and the sentence structure used. The results found that the balian language variety when communicating with clients is the use of affirmative language, the use of spiritual metaphor style, and the use of imperative sentence structure to direct the client's experience and emotional response during the healing process. Meanwhile, the factors that influence balian language varieties are cultural, spiritual, social, economic, and personal factors. An understanding of these factors helps explain how balians navigate between local traditions and the needs of their clients, as well as how they integrate different elements of language to create effective and meaningful healing experiences. Future studies go more in-depth into analyzing balian language use when viewed pragmatically and therapeutically.

Russian-speaking immigrants’ adaptation in Canada

Abstract This article examines acculturation among Russian speakers in Canada focusing on immigration goals achievement, integration, feeling at home in Canada, and self-identity vis-à-vis the participants’ socio-demographic characteristics and language use. The study draws on data from a survey which was completed by 100 native speakers of Russian. The survey included Likert-scale responses and short answers analyzed quantitatively using Pearson correlations and chi-squares. The results indicate that most participants feel well-adjusted in Canada, they view immigration as the right decision and believe they have reached their immigration goals. However, about half of the respondents report experiencing discrimination, and only 20 % consider Canada their true home. In their self-identity expressions, their country of origin is prioritized. Correlations have been observed between the adaptation parameters and self-identity on the one hand, and the length of stay in Canada, participants’ age and age upon immigration, gender, and language use, on the other hand. These findings are crucial for immigrant help centers, ESL teachers, local governments and immigrants themselves (facilitating comparisons with peers’ immigration experiences). The results are interpreted in the light of Acculturation and Linguistic Equilibrium theories.

A cognitive modelling of translation

Abstract This paper attempts to usher in a cognitive linguistic theory into (cognitive) translation studies and offers a theoretical model of translation from the construal perspective. In this construal-based theory, translators are modelled as construers which are featured by subjectivity, and meaning decoding and encoding in translation are equated with construal which is manifested at two levels. At the cognitive level, translators construe the source text whereas at the linguistic level the construal established by the translators is packaged in the target language. Translation process involves translators’ construal operations such as perspective, selection, prominence and dynamicity, and imagination. Since construal is situated in context, it is impossible to recreate the construals of the source text author but optimal construal can be envisioned if the situated contexts for the source text author(s) as well as that for the target text are best accommodated.