Language Users Research Articles

THE METAPHORICAL NOMINATION OF WAR IN JOURNALISTIC TEXTS ON THE RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE – AS EXEMPLIFIED BY THE WEEKLY “POLITYKA”

The article deals with the metaphorical nomination of war characteristics, i.e. linguistic (grammatical and semantic) aspects of metaphorical expressions containing the noun ‘war’ in journalistic texts on the Russian-Ukrainian war of 2022-2023. Based on a corpus consisting of constructions extracted from articles published in the weekly magazine “Polityka”, the author describes these expressions in terms of the grammatical properties of the collocate, the case form of the noun ‘war’, as well as aspects of metaphorical nomination. The research analysis, leads, inter alia, to the conclusion that the linguistic nomination of war is so diverse that it is impossible to claim, in the spirit of linguistic determinism, that the existing schemes of the linguistic (lexical and phrasal) nomination of war influence the awareness of language users and the culturally shaped mental conceptualization of war.

AVT and Agency

At the 10th Media for All conference, the meagre representation of minoritized languages (including sign language) in audiovisual media on streaming platforms was tackled. In this way, the very ideal of media for all was challenged. Global streaming platforms tend to adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach in limiting their language settings to a minimum. While the users of minoritized languages often are proficient in the dominant language of their country, it is absolutely crucial that content is available in their smaller — and often endangered — languages as well. Some streaming platforms of local public service broadcasters try to accommodate this need. Still, the questions remain: to what extent do not only minoritized languages users, but also the speakers of the majority languages encounter these minoritized languages in audiovisual content, how linguistically diverse and inclusive is this content, but also: what role can audiovisual translation play here? In this article, the importance of audiovisual translation in and out of minoritized languages, with a special focus on revoicing, is discussed. The children’s content broadcast by Swedish public service broadcaster in the national minority languages and sign language is used as a case study. Lay summary People who speak less common languages or use sign language cannot always access audiovisual media in these languages. The reason for this is that the content, but also the language settings offered by streaming platforms often tend to be rather limited in this regard. For minoritised language communities, however, it is important that audiovisual media is available in their languages, as it can help safeguard these often endangered languages. Likewise, it is important that majority language users become more aware of these languages through audiovisual media. This article explores how streaming platforms can become more inclusive and also provide content in such minoritized languages for both the minoritised and majority language communities. The children’s programmes of Swedish public broadcasters that offer content in minoritised languages for both the majority language, Swedish speaking community, and the minoritised language communities are analysed and discussed as a case study. Yet, it looks at the agency of individuals who try to make a difference. The focus is on (partial) revoicing, yet (partial) subtitling and sign language interpreting are also discussed.

SIGN LANGUAGE TO TEXT CONVERTOR

Sign language is a vital form of communication for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, yet there remains a significant barrier in real time interaction with non-sign language users. This project proposes the development of a Sign Language to Text Converter, an innovative system designed to translate sign language gestures into written text. The goal of the system is to produce an accessible real-time tool that transcends the communication gap between the Deaf people and those who are not familiar with sign language, thus enhancing interaction in diverse spheres such as education, healthcare, and social settings. This system will utilize techniques such as computer vision and machine learning in recognizing and interpreting hand gestures. The system processes real-time video input using OpenCV for image processing and MediaPipe for hand and pose detection, extracting key features such as hand positions, movements, and orientations. These features are then fed into a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) trained to classify individual sign language gestures. The output is translated to text, which can either be displayed on a screen or used with the text-to-speech systems to provide an auditory output. Key Words: MediaPipe, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Text To Speech(TTS), American Sign Language (ASL)

Studies on Understanding and Using Sino-Vietnamese Words Among High School Students in Southeast Vietnam

Sino-Vietnamese words make up a significant portion of the Vietnamese language—over 60%—and play a crucial role in its vocabulary. However, understanding and effectively using Sino-Vietnamese words can be challenging due to their complexity. This difficulty is especially pronounced for students, often leading to misunderstandings, incorrect word usage (in both speaking and writing), and overreliance on these terms. Many students lack awareness of the role language plays in communication and in studying Literature, resulting in a detached attitude toward the subject, with some even taking it lightly in school. Additionally, teaching methods and teacher expertise influence the quality of Literature education, particularly regarding Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary. This study surveyed 600 tenth-grade students from eight high schools across four provinces and cities in Southeast Vietnam. A combination of questionnaires, observations, and in-depth interviews was used to gather data. Based on the findings, this research highlights the current state of students' comprehension and use of Sino-Vietnamese words and proposes practical solutions to improve the teaching and learning of Vietnamese language and literature, with a special focus on Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary.

The Role of English language in global tourism and navigating international destination

English is now a popular language to learn by travelers who want to interact with local communities, as its knowledge has become fundamental for the tourism sector. A lot of scholars are trying to explore how English as a lingua franca can elevate the experience for the visitors who are new in a country and improve how tourism and culture are interdependent. The research focuses on English language usage in the tourism sector such as welcoming and orienting visitors, managing trips, or inter-regional relations. This is done by narrowing down to the languages, places of interests and the cultures that underpin the research. Using different scholarly researches, industry statistics, and project examples, this study seeks to stress the importance of the English language in global tourism and tug at the idea of deploying that international language for tourism to promote language and societal change. , It is concerned with impacting English language skills on the experience of the tourists. It looks at how good knowledge of the English language enables tourism players to reach more clients and improve the experience of tourism to the clients. Thus through better interaction in English, tourists’ overall experiences are improved in terms of satisfaction with the places and services.

The Impact of Social Media Usage Among Teenagers on the Indonesian Language in The Digital Era

Social media, with its advantages and disadvantages, has had a significant impact on the use of the Indonesian language, particularly among teenagers. Social media has shaped and transformed the way society communicates in Indonesian in daily life. The method used to analyze this issue is qualitative descriptive. Data collection techniques include screenshots to capture language usage phenomena on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter (X), along with note-taking and documentation techniques. The research findings show that teenagers on social media employ linguistic aspects such as code-mixing, the use of informal language, phonetic reduplication and spelling variations, the use of acronyms and abbreviations, as well as emotional markers and symbols. The impact of social media on the Indonesian language includes vocabulary enrichment, degradation of language structure, maintenance of social and group identities, shifts in communication styles, and influences on the sustainability of standard language. Efforts to preserve the Indonesian language can be made through the government's role in drafting policies and regulations that support language preservation in the digital era, educational institutions by adjusting the Indonesian language curriculum to the times, active societal campaigns promoting proper Indonesian usage on social media, and individual awareness and responsibility for using correct Indonesian in social media communication.

Features of the nomination of persons in descriptions of Moscow at the beginning of the 19th century (based on the articles of N. M. Karamzin in the magazine “Vestnik Evropy” [“Messenger of Europe”

The work determines the features of the nomination of persons in articles about Moscow by N.M. Karamzin, published in the magazine “Vestnik Evropy” [“Messenger of Europe”] in 1802–1803. It is established that the choice of lexemes is influenced by the topic of the articles, the temporal attribution of the object of description and its characteristics associated with the implementation of the concept “one’s own” vs. “stranger”. The articles regularly use agentive nouns of various semantic types, while the use of some of them from a functional point of view differs from the modern one. For texts by N.M. Karamzin is characterized by the regular use of agreed upon definitions, detailing the expressed meanings and in some cases used as substantives, as well as collective nouns naming class social groups. It is established that the main differences from modern word usage concern the use of archaisms, historicisms, as well as the use of lexemes in meanings that are not characteristic of them from the point of view of a modern native speaker. The principles of distribution of lowercase and capital letters used by N.M. Karamzin when naming persons are determined: capital letters are used when words belong to certain lexical-semantic groups (lexemes indicating nationality, citizenship, religion, etc.), as well as when expressing specific lexical meanings.

The Impact of Language Revitalization Efforts on Indigenous Cultural Practices: A Case Study of the Tahltan, Cherokee, and Lakota Nations

Historically (and currently) Indigenous languages have been suppressed and marginalized within society, inspiring declining levels of language usage and L1 and L2 speakers. It can be argued that these declining levels of speakership have impacted the tangible and intangible elements of Indigenous cultural practices. Although Indigenous peoples have faced punishment for using their languages, the reclamation or revitalization of Indigenous languages can lead to the recovery of cultural knowledge and, in the process, help heal the trauma caused by colonization. This article seeks to address the impact language revitalization efforts can have on maintaining the cultural practices of Indigenous communities by examining three case studies of ongoing revitalization efforts: the Tahltan Nation, the Cherokee Nation, and the Lakota Nation. Moreover, a theoretical analysis will be conducted following the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis of linguistic relativity and linguistic determinism. A review of these practical and theoretical examples demonstrates that the language we speak can shape our thinking patterns as well as how we are predisposed to view the world.

The Effectiveness of Multimedia Usage in Learning Arabic Language (Foreign Language) Based on Student Score Achievement

The Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Educational Revolution 5.0 on the Malaysian higher education system appear to have made learning Arabic much simpler, more accessible, and easier to understand. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of multimedia usage in teaching and learning of Arabic language. The Arabic language achievement scale score was examined through exploratory factor analysis, focusing on three dimensions: teaching method, learning method, and the lecturer’s role in utilising multimedia. The article, which was quantitative research-based, also analysed the relationship between student achievement and these three variables. 266 respondents were selected using the random sampling technique of PLS-SEM analysis. The result showed a weak relationship between lecturers’ roles and score achievement with a correlation of 0.103, followed by the teaching method (0.242). Meanwhile, learning methods have been identified as having a moderate relationship with a correlation of 0.422. The findings also showed that the learning method had the highest mean compared to other factors. This result highlighted that the students are not mentally and physically prepared for optimum multimedia usage in learning Arabic language, with an IPMA performance index of 73.287 compared to the teaching method and lecturer role.

The Phenomenon of Loan Words That Often Used in Social Media

This study uses Sociolinguistics theory, especially regarding the phenomenon of loan words in social media. The purpose of writing is to determine adoption, adaptation and levy from social media. Absorbed words serve to enrich vocabulary and provide more knowledge about foreign languages to Indonesian language users. Because it comes from a foreign language, of course there are some letters that are transliterated into Latin letters in accordance with the rules that apply in Indonesian. This research is descriptive qualitative research, using observation method. This research is what is often confusing when we are going to use absorbing words that are often mistaken in a writing. From this reasearch, the writer found that many words from english that aborbing and people used in social media.

Pragmatic Competence in Saudi EFL Learners: Challenges, Consequences, and Strategies for Overcoming Barriers

This article critically explores the challenges Saudi learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) face in developing pragmatic competence. Despite the pivotal role pragmatic skills play in facilitating effective communication, Saudi EFL learners frequently struggle with the nuances of English pragmatics, leading to miscommunication and social misunderstandings. The article is organized around three key areas of inquiry: the factors contributing to these pragmatic difficulties, the broader consequences of inadequate pragmatic competence, and practical strategies for overcoming these challenges. Major contributing factors include limited exposure to authentic language usage, cultural divergences in communication styles, pragmatic transfer from Arabic to English, and an EFL pedagogy that prioritizes linguistic accuracy over pragmatic awareness. The repercussions of insufficient pragmatic competence extend beyond communication, affecting learners’ academic performance, professional prospects, and social integration. In response, the article advocates for the incorporation of explicit pragmatic instruction into the curriculum, the creation of opportunities for authentic communicative practice, and the inclusion of culturally relevant contexts to foster greater intercultural sensitivity. By equipping Saudi EFL learners to navigate the intricacies of English pragmatics more effectively, this study seeks to enhance their overall communicative proficiency and intercultural competence, while contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of pragmatic development in specific sociocultural contexts.

Shattered Dream of Purism: Sociolinguistic Dynamics of the Emerging Hybrid Social Media Language in Sri Lanka

Abstract The rapid digitization of communication in the last decade, especially in social networking spaces, has contributed to radical changes in the virtual language environment in Sri Lanka. It has not only reshaped the way individuals communicate, but has also fueled the emergence of new linguistic trends that reflect the dynamic nature of language in the contemporary virtual landscape. The present study seeks to explore the prospects of a pure language ideology in Sri Lanka with special reference to the use of Sinhala and English in the virtual space. The study used a corpus of memes extracted from social media and analyzed them from a sociolinguistic standpoint using Critical Discourse Analysis. The results show that social media have created a safe space for less competent language users to interact within their linguistic capacity. The adaptation of words and the invention of neologisms have occurred due to the unavailability of terms in users' L1 or L2, as well as to avoid taboos or prohibitions. Given the rapid evolution of communication technology, added to the dynamic changes that have already occurred within languages, aspirations to linguistic purism have become unrealistic optimism.

Sign Language Translator via Smartphone Image Analysis using Convolutional Neural Network

This study presents the design and implementation of a smartphone-based image processing system aimed at translating sign language gestures into text in real-time. The primary objective was to create a platform that enhances communication between deaf individuals and non-sign language users through the accurate recognition of sign language gestures. Using Kotlin programming and MediaPipe, the system captures and processes gestures, converting them into readable text. The results demonstrated that the system is capable of recognizing and translating various sign language gestures with a high degree of accuracy and efficiency. The successful deployment of this system highlights its potential to break down communication barriers and offers a foundation for future improvements, including expanded sign language support and performance optimization for real-world applications.

The Presence and Progression of Rare Vocabulary in Texts Across Elementary Grades and Between Genres

This study analyzed the prevalence and characteristics of low-frequency and rare words, together described as rarer words, in elementary-level texts, examining both narrative and expository materials to assess their vocabulary demands. By mapping the nature of shifts in rarer words across grade levels and text types, this research aimed to better understand the lexical challenges students face as they progress as readers. Analyzing a corpus of 300,000 words from narrative and expository texts at grades 1, 3, and 5, the research employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitatively, a digital program categorized words into four frequency groups—high, medium, low, and rare—while examining features of word length and age of acquisition that can influence word meaning recognition. Qualitatively, the analysis classified rarer words into 13 lexical categories and assessed their morphological family membership. The findings reveal an increase in total rarer words from 5.7% to 8.7% across grades, alongside a major rise in unique rarer words (32% to 43%). The complexity of features predicting word recognition—word length and age of acquisition—also escalates with grade level. Notably, 23% of rarer words are forms typically not taught in vocabulary instruction, such as proper names, while 76% of rare words belong to morphological families in the high-, medium-, and low-frequency word zones. These results highlight the need for targeted vocabulary instruction that incorporates the complexities of rarer word usage in authentic texts, ultimately aiming to enhance students’ reading comprehension.

Presuppositions and the Content Implication

In the 1950s Peter Strawson analyzed the works of Bertrand Russell regarding fundamental definitions of meaning, sentences and truth value. The debate between them uncovered many issues that Fregean, truth-functional logics have when defining concepts from natural language. To reconcile the Fregean paradigm with the reality of language use, Strawson proposed the concept of presuppositions  necessary preconditions for the truth of other sentences. We believe that his proposition stemmed primarily from the problem caused by the fact that Fregean, truth-functional logics are not sensitive to the contents of sentences and reduce them to their logical values. This is bound to produce a mismatch between the way logic models reasoning and the way language users reason since real-life reasoning is performed on the contents of sentences and not their logical values. Inspired by the ideas of Strawson and Roman Suszko, who initiated the paradigm of non-Fregean logics, we propose a new solution to the debate between Strawson and Russell. In our solution, the content implication connective is used to express content relations between sentences. We move away from truth and falsehood as the sole two semantic correlates of sentences and instead work in a system where the contents of sentences are their semantic correlates.

A Pragmatic Study of Irony in Dickens’ ‘A Tale of Two Cities’

The study aims to examine the phenomenon of irony in Charles Dickens’ novel “A Tale of Two Cities” pragmatically. It identifies the common strategies used to convey irony and the different types of irony used in the novel. The research design involves an introduction that illustrates a literature review on irony and its various forms, analysing samples from the novel, employing a model to analyse the data, and using statistical methods to calculate the results. The findings show that verbal irony is the most frequently employed form of irony in the novel, followed by dramatic irony and situational irony. The study supports the hypothesis that verbal irony is the most prevalent type of irony used in the novel. The data analysis includes examples of each type of irony to illustrate the findings. This research seeks to address that knowledge gap with analysis of this paper, which seeks to establish the functioning and pragmatics of verbal irony alongside situational and dramatic irony in “A Tale of Two Cities” in order to portray cynicism and the criticism of the prevailing social order. The study reached some conclusions, the most important of which is that verbal irony is the most common type used by language users, and the novelist intends to ridicule a subject and point out its faults through satire.

Exploring the educational journey: perspectives of ethnic minority GP-trainees in Dutch GP-specialty training - a qualitative interview study

BackgroundPrevious research highlights persistent differential attainment by ethnicity in medical education, wherein the perceived inclusiveness significantly influences ethnic minority students’ and trainees’ outcomes. Biased organizational practices and microaggressions exacerbate the challenges faced by ethnic minorities, leading to lower academic performance and higher dropout rates. Consequently, understanding ethnic minority GP-trainees’ experiences and perspectives regarding relevant educational aspects is crucial for addressing these disparities and cultivating a more inclusive environment within medical education.Research questionWe aimed to investigate the experiences of minority GP-trainees throughout their educational journey in Dutch GP-specialty training, emphasizing their challenges, sources of support, and suggestions for enhancing their learning environment.MethodWe conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with minority GP trainees, employing purposive convenience sampling to ensure diversity across multiple dimensions. These included gender, age, ethnicity, social background, migration generation, educational stage, encountered challenges, sources of support, and the GP training institute attended. The analysis involved iterative, open and axial coding, followed by generating, reviewing, and defining themes. For a structured analysis of encountered microaggressions, we adopted Sue's Taxonomy of Microaggressions.ResultsAll fourteen ethnic minority interviewees had faced educational barriers stemming from misunderstandings and stereotyping in a predominantly 'white' organization. These barriers impacted various aspects of their education, including professional identity formation, application, admission, assessment procedures, social networks, course content, and expert guidance. Microaggressions permeated throughout their educational journey, hindering their full expression and potential. Their ideal GP-specialty training emphasized uniqueness of all trainees, comprehensive staff engagement in inclusivity, robust diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-policies, individual mentorship, transparent standards, concise language usage in test questions, and bias elimination through mandatory DEI staff training.ConclusionEthnic minority GP-trainees in the Netherlands face significant challenges like biased assessment and admission, stereotyped course content, inadequate support networks, and microaggressions, putting them at risk for underperformance outcomes. They emphasize the need for inclusive training with robust DEI-policies to eliminate bias.

Exploring Reflections on Learning Grammar through Task-Based Activity among Undergraduates

Task-based activities in L2 classroom settings such as preparing multimedia presentation materials and cooperative presentations can significantly improve L2 learners’ language acquisition, in terms of encouraging self-directed learning, improving students’ confidence and interest in learning, as well as promoting peer interactions. Nevertheless, this kind of language learning activity can be difficult, even for advanced L2 students due to challenges like problems working in a team, presentation anxiety, and cognitive load. Within this context, the present study aimed to explore the perception of L2 learners when learning English grammar through task-based activity. This qualitative study is derived from a conceptual framework from Willis (1996), which comprises three stages of task-based learning (TBL). The sample of this study consists of forty-one English language undergraduates who are studying a communicative English language course in a Malaysian public university. The data was derived through a survey questionnaire based on open-ended questions. The findings revealed both positive and negative reflections on the TBL, even though they are considered advanced users of the L2 language. The findings are comparable to past studies of different contexts. From these findings, it is suggested that future research should explore participants' perspectives on the potential effectiveness of implementing TBL in pairs.

FEATURES OF USING INTERACTIVE METHODS IN STUDYING ADVERBS IN RUSSIAN

Annotation: This paper discusses the key features and benefits of using interactive methods in teaching adverbs in Russian. Interactive learning approaches, such as group discussions, role-playing, language games, and digital tools, enhance students' engagement and comprehension by creating a dynamic and participatory classroom environment. The study examines how these methods can facilitate better understanding and retention of adverbial usage in the Russian language, particularly in differentiating types of adverbs and mastering their syntactic roles. The paper also explores the use of technology-based tools to provide real-time feedback, making the learning process more personalized and efficient. The practical implementation of interactive exercises promotes active participation and fosters a collaborative learning atmosphere, which is essential for mastering the nuances of adverbs in Russian.

Metalingvistiskie komentāri par latviešu valodu sociālajos medijos

From a sociolinguistic point of view, it is important that posts and comments in Latvian are published on social media, which shows the language’s viability in the digital environment. The users of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, are mostly not indifferent to language issues, so the metalinguistic comments reflect the writers’ linguistic attitude towards the Latvian language and its use. The aim of the study is to analyse metalingual commentaries about the Latvian language on social media by the addressee. The addressee to whom the content of the metalingual commentaries refers is recognised as primary. In this view, it is possible to distinguish the addressee in the first, second and third person. The empirical material is the original posts and comments of users published on social media Facebook and Twitter, which describe some aspects of the Latvian language used by themselves or others. It consists of approximately 400 items. The article explains the concept of metalingual commentary and provides an overview of research to date. Metalingual commentaries on social media are addressed to a third person, i.e. to others in a generalised or specific sense, to the second person as a communication partner, who can be a language specialist or any other Facebook or Twitter user, and conditionally – to the first person in cases where the author of the post reveals his/her own language user experience. This study found negative and positive, rarely indifferent linguistic attitudes towards the Latvian language and the quality of its use on social media.