Language Variation Research Articles

The Role of Reverse Linguistic Stereotyping in Thai English Learners’ Language Attitudes toward English Speakers

This study explores how reverse linguistic stereotyping (RLS) affects Thai English learners’ evaluations of English speakers and their choices of pronunciation models. Ninety-five first-year Thai English majors were divided into an uninformed group, unaware of speakers’ nationalities, and an informed group, knowledgeable of the same. Participants listened to six speakers both native and non-native and rated them using a modified verbal guise technique before choosing the speaker(s) they think exemplify good pronunciation models. Knowledge of the speakers’ nationalities was found to influence the participants’ social ratings and their selection of speakers as pronunciation models. This study contributes to understanding how listeners’ language perception may be shaped by expectations about a speaker’s social identity rather than the speaker’s actual linguistic abilities. This study advocates the importance of English language teaching (ELT) in addressing the issue of RLS and its impact on language perception, calling educators to raise students’ understanding of stereotypical judgments of language variation and promote unbiased communication.

COMPARATIVE TYPOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF DIRECTIVE VERBS IN FRENCH AND UZBEK LANGUAGES

This research paper examines the functional-semantic features of directive verbs in French and Uzbek, exploring their usage in commands, requests, and suggestions. By analyzing these verbs through linguistic and cultural frameworks, the study identifies both universal characteristics and language-specific distinctions. French, as a Romance language, leverages inflection and mood variations, while Uzbek, a Turkic language, employs agglutinative morphology and hierarchical markers. The paper discusses politeness strategies, structural differences, and cultural nuances, highlighting their role in effective communication. The findings provide insights valuable to linguists, educators, and translators, contributing to the broader understanding of cross-linguistic pragmatics. KEY WORDS: Directive verbs, functional semantics, French language, Uzbek language, speech acts, politeness strategies, cultural nuances, linguistic comparison, cross-linguistic pragmatics, morphology.

Potret Ragam Bahasa Lisan Di Pasar Citra Niaga Samarinda, Kalimantan Timur

Each community has its own pattern of communication. These patterns can eventually form a variety of languages. Handayani (2019: 5) states that various languages are variations of language that can be distinguished according to usage, topics discussed, the relationship between the speaker, the person he is talking to, the person being talked about, and the medium of the speaker. This study aims to find out the portrait of the interaction of various spoken languages in the Citra Niaga Samarinda market area, East Borneo, amidst the strong flow of modernity. This research belongs to the type of field research in which researchers obtain direct data from the Citra Niaga Samarinda market area for further review. Data collection was carried out by observation and documentation techniques. The recorded data was transcribed into written form and then sorted according to categorization. Furthermore, the data was analyzed using the matching method. The results of this study were in the form of data on the variety of languages which were qualified based on age, context, and the tendency to use regional languages. There are three kinds of languages found in the Citra Niaga Samarinda area, including Indonesian, Javanese, and Banjarese. Based on the number of speakers, Indonesian is the most common language, followed by Javanese, then Banjar. The use of code switching from local languages to Indonesian by speakers proves that Indonesian is accepted by the people in the Citra Niaga area.

Language Contact and Morpho-Syntactic Change in Bajjika: A Sociolinguistic Study of Auxiliary Verb Variation

This study examines the impact of language contact on morpho-syntactic change in Bajjika, a minority language spoken in the north-western districts of Bihar, India. Specifically, we investigate the adoption of the Bhojpuri auxiliary verb hawe in Bajjika, and its implications for language variation and change. Our analysis is based on a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data from 12 speakers across four age groups. The findings suggest that language contact with Bhojpuri has led to the diffusion of new auxiliary verb forms in Bajjika, particularly among adult speakers. Interestingly, our data reveal a conflict-driven motivation for this language change, with Bajjika speakers adopting Bhojpuri forms as a means of distancing themselves from Maithili, a language closely associated with the Brahmin castes in Bihar. Our study contributes to a nuanced understanding of language contact, variation, and change, and highlights the complex interplay between social, cultural, and linguistic factors in shaping language use.

Variety of Slogan Languages in Food Advertising through Television Media

Advertising is one of the ways that manufacturers market products or services with the aim of attracting consumer attention. The success of the product or service marketed is greatly influenced by the creation of attractive advertisements. The selection of a variety of languages packaged in the form of slogans will be a characteristic of each producer. The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of slogan language variations in food advertisements aired on television. With the increasing competitors of the food industry, television is becoming the most effective medium to attract the attention of consumers. This study classifies and identifies various variations of advertising language including the use of figurative language, vocabulary selection, and emotional elements that can create connectivity with consumers. The data analysis method uses descriptive analysis of the languages used in advertising with an emphasis on language structure, meaning, and psychological impact on consumers. The results of this study show that the variation of slogan language contained in food product advertisements conveyed through television media can increase and influence consumer psychology. This finding can be used as a reference for producers in increasing people's purchasing power for food products through television media. In addition, it can also provide knowledge and insight for producers in designing more creative and innovative advertisements.

Bi-aspectual verbs in heritage Russian against the background of baseline language dynamics

Our study investigates language processing in mono- and multilingual settings, focusing on language dynamics in heritage Russian against the background of baseline Russian.In this context, we explore bi-aspectual verbs as an unstable part of Russian grammar. As verbs without morphologically marked expression of aspectual contrasts, bi-aspectual verbs represent a special case within Russian aspectual morphology and demonstrate significant variations in their monolingual use. Our study examines the use of bi-aspectual verbs in heritage Russian acquired as a home language in a multilingual environment in families with migrant background. In contrast to monolingual speakers, heritage speakers operate with polylingual variation, which can comprise single varieties within the same language or even two or more typologically different languages. These language variation mechanisms in heritage speakers represent notable specifics of their language use and the special dynamics of heritage Russian. Therefore, when comparing the use of a dynamic part of the language system, we aim to shed light on the analogous vs specific language processing in baseline and heritage Russian.Based on the elaborated production data, we test the use of ten bi-aspectual verbs in heritage speakers (N = 30) with high proficiency in Russian. The control group of the study was composed of monolingual Russian respondents (N = 30). By examining the use of bi-aspectual verbs in monolingual (baseline Russian) and bilingual (migrant heritage Russian) speakers, we focus on the question of the extent to which language dynamics in the core domains of the language system are either similar or dissimilar in heritage vs baseline language. In so doing, we further contribute to the discussion of the primary vs secondary role of the internal vs external mechanisms of language change.

Finnish Romani during the 20th century

This paper discusses the history of Finnish Romani during the 20th century. The 20th century was a period of decreasing use of Finnish Romani and internal language erosion, resulting in the co-existence of inflecting Romani retaining its morpho-syntactic framework, and a Para-Romani-like variety. Numerous attested changes in Finnish Romani were attributed to the contact of the speakers of Romani with Finnish. This paper is based on a corpus comprising most written documents of Finnish Romani from the 20th century, comprising religious texts, textbooks, wordlists and dictionaries. This paper follows the theoretical framework as commonly used in European and Finnish Romani Linguistics during the 1990s and 2000s. Starting points for explaining language variation and change are functional-typological. The focus is on language-internal changes, innovations vs. conservative features, as well as on contact-induced changes. In addition, this paper deals with variation and linguistic attrition, which characterized Finnish Romani of the 20th century. This paper shows that tendencies of language-internal change both simplified the language structure and significantly increased the amount of linguistic variation. The paper also shows that matter replication is later and occurs more rarely in FR than pattern replication.

Contemporary Adaptive Language Models and the Challenges of Literary Translation (in F. Dostoyevsky’s Novel “The Brothers Karamazov”)

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in 2006, has highlighted the need to find ways of ensuring access to information and full communication for people who have difficulty reading and understanding “standard” literary texts. The authors of the convention highlight the use of specific languages and the development of new methods of presenting text and its formatting. Particular emphasis is placed on the availability of cultural information in appropriate formats. Indeed, this paves the way for a novel approach to language communication. The Convention has provided a catalyst for a new direction in linguistics, namely the comprehension and practical description of the communicative variant of a national language intended for certain groups of its speakers. Practical work has a long history and has undergone significant developments, whereas academic research is still in its infancy. Another parallel process is the general trend towards the need for simplified forms of language, caused by digitalization and the accelerated pace of life, which does not allow for extensive reading and in-depth understanding of texts. As a matter of fact, a revision of the criteria for linguistic norms in "standard" texts is currently being considered. However, it should be noted that the process does not only affect standard texts; the practice of translating complex cultural texts into more comprehensible forms is also on the rise. This encompasses both intralanguage transformations and interlingual translations. The objective of this paper is to elucidate the concepts of "plain" and "easy-to-read" languages, to examine the distinctive characteristics of their operational nuances, and to address the challenges associated with the translation of fictional texts into "easy-to-read language," with a particular focus on F.M. Dostoevsky's novel "The Brothers Karamazov", translated into Japanese.

A Sociolinguistics Analysis of Styles and Registers Used in Pondok Pesantren Nahdlatul Wathan

This study aims to analyze the styles and registers used in Pondok Pesantren Nahdlatul Wathan, a prominent Islamic boarding school in Indonesia, to understand the linguistic dynamics within this unique cultural setting. Grounded in sociolinguistic theories, particularly those by William Labov and John J. Gumperz, the research explores how language variations reflect social roles, settings, and purposes. Utilizing a qualitative descriptive method, the study involves observations and interviews to document and categorize language use. Findings reveal significant variations in language styles, with formal registers employed in academic and administrative contexts and informal styles preval_ent in casual interactions. These linguistic practices are influenced by cultural and religious factors, emphasizing respect, communication effectiveness, and community cohesion. This research contributes to sociolinguistic scholarship by highlighting the interplay between language, identity, and social dynamics in educational and religious environments.

LIntegration of NLP and NLU in the Implementation of Chatbot in Asset Management System

PT XYZ, a startup in the Information Technology sector, developed an asset management application to digitalize the asset management process for its clients. However, as new features were added, the application became more complex, causing difficulties for new users. PT XYZ responded by introducing a customer service system to assist new users in exploring the company’s services and application features. To improve service efficiency while maintaining quality, the company opted to implement a chatbot. The chatbot was designed to provide automatic and responsive assistance, reducing the load on the customer service team and increasing user satisfaction. The author integrated NLP and NLU in designing the chatbot for PT XYZ using the open-source RASA framework. This framework was chosen for its strong capabilities in natural language processing and understanding conversational context. The NLP and NLU models are used to create a customer service engine in the form of text messages that answer questions specifically related to the use of the asset management application. By leveraging this technology, the chatbot can provide relevant and accurate responses, even when faced with variations in language and complex questions. Based on black box testing, the chatbot successfully recognized the intent behind user queries. The testing was conducted to evaluate how well the chatbot understood and responded to user questions. The results, using a confusion matrix, showed that precision, recall, accuracy, and f1-score all achieved a perfect score of 1.0.

Exploring Tonal Variation Using Dialect Tonometry

Most research on dialectometry so far primarily focuses on European languages. Within these studies, analyses on the phonetic level predominantly focus on segments. A lack of studies on languages outside of Europe means that the variation in many lesser-studied languages, including tonal languages, is largely unknown. Tonal languages are languages which pitch is used as an indication in the lexical realisations in (at least some) morphemes, and over half of the world’s languages include lexical tones. Despite tones being the inseparable and unneglectable part of the majority of the world’s languages, there is only a handful of quantitative dialectometric studies on the dialectal variation in tonal languages. In this paper, we explore the phonetic and phonological variations in Yue, a lesser-studied tonal language spoken by around 80 million people in Southern China. Using a newly devised tone representation (modified Onset–Contour–Offset) combined with the Levenshtein distance, we explore the patterns of dialectal variation on the tonal level, as well as to what extent tonal variation correlates with segmental variation. Our results show that tones behave rather differently from segments, and thus, we illustrate that studying lesser-studied and tonal languages can contribute immensely to the study of dialect variation in general.

Nekaj teoretskih izhodišč pri proučevanju jezikovne variantnosti

The article addresses selected theoretical issues in the study of language variation and change, aiming to contribute to the reflection on researching and describing the variation of spoken Slovene. In the first part, it highlights certain terminological dilemmas and key points in the treatment of this field in Slovene linguistics and justifies the use of the term "variety". Furthermore, it addresses criteria for defining varieties: homogeneity and covariance, cognitive boundaries and emic category status, and idiovarietary features. It also examines the vertical stratification between dialects and standard language and describes European models of variety constellations, as defined by the German linguist Peter Auer in his seminal article from 2005.

Cross-linguistic influence of English on conjunction system in translated Arabic: a multifactorial corpus-based study

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effects of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) from English on (translated) Arabic, as a recurrent feature of translated language and a key factor in language variation and change. It focuses not only on CLI effects on translation, across different registers, but also considers whether CLI effects in translation may be related to contact-induced language change in original Arabic more generally. This study makes use of a custom-designed and -compiled comparable corpus consisting of a bilingual sub-corpus of original English and Arabic texts, and a monolingual one consisting of translated and non-translated Arabic texts, across two periods of time (1950–1990, and 2000–2020), and four registers (fiction, legal, academic, and journalistic texts). The conjunction system is investigated as the main operationalization of CLI in this study, where a primarily quantitative methodology is used to investigate whether the independent variables of sub-corpus (language and/or translation status), register, and timespan have any significant effects on the frequency, distribution and preferences of connectives and their logico-semantic relations. The findings confirm the overall effect of language/translation status and register, providing support for (covert) CLI effects, which ‘inhibits’ the typical preferences of Arabic writing, leading to a generally reduced use of connectives in translated Arabic.

Sociolinguistic Content in Training Courses: Pidgin Arabic and White Dialect for Bus Drivers

This study examined a gap in the company's manual book for Indonesian bus drivers assigned to work in Saudi Arabia. The manual book used formal Arabic vocabulary about bus parts, occupational safety, and traffic signs, while foreign workers from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh frequently communicated in simplified Arabic. This discrepancy highlights the need to align training courses with the practical demands of daily interaction. The study employed a qualitative descriptive content analysis approach. The findings confirm Canagarajah's work on the importance of sociolinguistic competence in transnational work environments, Duggan's focus on the necessity of sociolinguistic awareness for migrants, and Kött and Vogl's research on the role native speakers play in acquiring hybrid Arabic. It supports Ubalde et al.'s findings on the impact of interethnic contact on language learning and aligns with Al-Rojaie's analysis of dialectal variations in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, it agrees with Al-Mutayri and As-Susuwah's studies on pidgin Arabic. The study concludes the importance of equipping bus drivers with language variation in real-world communication and recommends incorporating sociolinguistic content into training courses to address multicultural work environment challenges.

Enhancing EFL Education: The Role of Metadiscourse in Language Assessment

This study was motivated by students' low ability to write and communicate effectively in English. This study aims to analyze the effect of metadiscourse on language assessment in the context of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) education. This study is a qualitative research. The subjects involved in the study were students learning English as a foreign language. The data collection method was through a robust literature review to establish basic knowledge of metadiscourse and its significance in language assessment. The review also included important works on metadiscourse language evaluation theory and research investigating the relationship between metadiscourse and language skills proficiency. Using a comparative perspective, the analysis of data from language assessment utilizes pass-linguistic and pass-cultural insights to complement the knowledge of metadiscourse in EFL education. By analyzing how metadiscourse operates in specific languages and cultural contexts, the researchers found widespread patterns in addition to particular language variations in the use of metadiscourse. The results showed that metadiscourse plays an important role in shaping students' language skills ability, discourse competence, and universal communicative effectiveness. In conclusion, integrating metadiscourse in language evaluation provides great hope for improving EFL training and promoting stronger language consequences.

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.

Pemerolehan Leksikon Ragam Bahasa Gaul pada Aplikasi X

The study used a qualitative descriptive approach method. The purpose of this study was to determine the acquisition of slang lexicon by teenagers on the X application, providing insight into language in the modern era, the role of social media in language development, understanding slang in forming individual and community identities in social media, and understanding rapid language changes due to technological developments. Language variety is a variation of language that differs according to the context of use, including the relationship between the speaker and the listener. Slang, as a form of variation that continues to develop, is heavily influenced by social media, especially the X application (formerly Twitter), which is the main platform for teenagers. Through interactions on social media, users learn and absorb new vocabulary quickly, which shapes their social identity. This study used a qualitative approach to analyze the slang lexicon that appears in the application, finding categories such as abbreviations, foreign words, and phonological changes. Although slang enriches communication, there is a risk of reducing the use of formal language that needs to be balanced with language literacy education.

South African English: social and linguistic aspects

The research work is devoted to the analysis of the English language variability specific characteristics in the context of modern community globalization process. The research proves that the English language variant, adapting to the realities of local languages and cultures, acquires new sociolinguistic properties. The aim of the study is to identify the specifics of such a variant of the English language as the South African English which was formed during the contact interaction of the British English language and the autochthonous languages and cultures of South Africa. The key properties of the South African English are revealed on the basis of methods groups: analysis and synthesis; comparative analysis; and the method of component analysis. The key attention is paid to the historical process formation of South African English and to the development of the English language and its role in the life of South Africa. The complex nature of long-term historical inter language and intercultural interaction has led to the formation of a heterogeneous structure of South African society, is which is presented by Europeans, numerous local peoples, Indians and their descendants living on the same territory. The complex differentiation of South African society has defined a unique variety of languages, dialects, and sociolects, among which English has a special social prestige and unites all other languages. Having a multicomponent structure, sociolinguistic differentiation of South African society contributed to the emergence and functioning a series of South African English variants types in one territory. These types are: Black South African English, White South African English, Coloured South African English. The English language of each sociolinguistic group has unique features that manifest themselves to a greater extent at the phonetic level.

Dynamic Linguistics

Abstract As opposed to static approaches, the dynamic approach (DA) emphatically distances itself from the routinised use of the concept of language (as in the English, French or Quechua language), the sole reliance on the dichotomised model of language history explained by vertical change (the Stammbaum approach) and horizontal change (the contact approach), and the eccentrification of creole language emergence. The notion of a DA to language surfaced at several points in time, reaching two climaxes, namely the advent of Wave Theory (Schmidt 1872) and the incorporation of variation in the machinery of a modular approach to grammar (Bailey 1973; Bickerton 1971; Seuren 1982). In a nutshell, the DA advocates for the polylectal nature of linguistic competence (in the transformationalist/generative semantic sense), the fluid nature of language variation over time and space, as well as for the notions of functionality and the Principle of Semantic Transparency as guiding forces throughout the history of languoids.1 In this article, the basic tenets of this approach are outlined, embedded in a historical frame within the advent of Generative Semantics and variation-centred approaches to language. These tenets are illustrated with case studies from languoids used in Northwestern Amazonia, Balgo in Western Australia, as well as Senegambia in West Africa.

Influence of topic-prominent L1s on the use of L2 English copula be: a corpus-based study

Abstract This study explores the influence of first language (L1) on the acquisition of second language (L2) English, specifically examining the use of copula be as a topic marker. Although prior research suggests that L1 transfer may impact L2 acquisition of copula be, the evidence remains inconclusive. To address this issue, the study analyzes the use of be in L2 English spoken by learners with topic-prominent L1s (viz., Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean) and those with non-topic-prominent L1s (viz., Filipino). Using the ICNALE corpus, the study investigates whether L1 topic-prominence affects the use of be in L2 English. The findings reveal that L2-English learners with topic-prominent L1s use copula be more often with definite NPs than those with non-topic-prominent L1s, indicating the influence of L1 topic-prominence properties on the use of copula be. Additionally, learners from topic-prominent L1s more frequently produce nontargetlike topic-comment structures using be verb (e.g., restaurant is many people eat their foods). Based on these findings, the study discusses the implication of L1 transfer effects in L2 acquisition and emphasizes the importance of a more global and refined understanding of language variation in L2 teaching and learning.