Words Research Articles

Emotional Prototypicality Ratings for 636 Chinese Words: A Database of Chinese Words with Affective Information

Exemplars of concepts vary in their degree of prototypicality. This is also true for emotion concepts. This study presents prototypicality ratings for a large set of Chinese words. The database contains 636 potential Chinese emotion words (i.e., words that directly express particular emotions, like “高兴 happy” and “哀愁 sad”), from different grammatical categories. Native Chinese speakers rated the words in terms of emotional prototypicality. The database also contains values for valence, arousal, and emotionality. The analyses of the ratings revealed that 502 out of 636 words had a high prototypicality value (value equal to or above three on a 1-to-5 scale), the most prototypical words being negative and high-arousal words. The analyses also indicated that the emotional prototypicality of a word was positively related to both arousal and emotionality, and negatively related to valence. Among these variables, arousal was the most important contributor. Similar results have been found in studies conducted in other languages. This will be a useful resource for researchers interested in studying emotion words in the Chinese language and for those interested in cross-linguistic comparisons.

Morpheme-Based Neural Machine Translation Models for Low-Resource Fusion Languages

Neural approaches, which are currently state-of-the-art in many areas, have contributed significantly to the exciting advancements in machine translation. However, Neural Machine Translation (NMT) requires a substantial quantity and good quality parallel training data to train the best model. A large amount of training data, in turn, increases the underlying vocabulary exponentially. Therefore, several proposed methods have been devised for relatively limited vocabulary due to constraints of computing resources such as system memory. Encoding words as sequences of subword units for so-called open-vocabulary translation is an effective strategy for solving this problem. However, the conventional methods for splitting words into subwords focus on statistics-based approaches that mainly conform to agglutinative languages. In these languages, the morphemes have relatively clean boundaries. These methods still need to be thoroughly investigated for their applicability to fusion languages, which is the main focus of this article. Phonological and orthographic processes alter the borders of constituent morphemes of a word in fusion languages. Therefore, it makes it difficult to distinguish the actual morphemes that carry syntactic or semantic information from the word’s surface form, the form of the word as it appears in the text. We, thus, resorted to a word segmentation method that segments words by restoring the altered morphemes. We also compared conventional and morpheme-based NMT subword models. We could prove that morpheme-based models outperform conventional subword models on a benchmark dataset.

The use of lexical retrieval strategies by creative second language learners: A computational analysis of clustering and switching

This study seeks to delve into the potential role of divergent thinking, a component of creativity, in second language learning. Specifically, we compare the use of lexical organization and production strategies of two groups of more and less creative EFL learners in year 12 through an automatic vectorial semantic analysis of their retrieval in three second language semantic fluency tasks. Consistent with previous research in the field of creativity, our findings indicate that the creative group retrieved more second language words than the less creative group. These words were less related to each other and to the stimulus categories than the words generated by the less creative group. While the creative participants’ retrieval was based on an extensive use of switching, a slight but non-significant trend was found in the production of longer clusters by the less creative participants. These results yield interesting insights into the potential role of creativity in second language learning.

The effects of sensorimotor and linguistic information on the basic-level advantage

The basic-level advantage is one of the best-known effects in human categorisation. Traditional accounts argue that basic-level categories present a maximally informative or entry level into a taxonomic organisation of concepts in semantic memory. However, these explanations are not fully compatible with most recent views on the structure of the conceptual system such as linguistic-simulation accounts, which emphasise the dual role of sensorimotor (i.e., perception-action experience of the world) and linguistic distributional information (i.e., statistical distribution of words in language) in conceptual processing. In four preregistered word→picture categorisation studies, we examined whether novel measures of sensorimotor and linguistic distance contribute to the basic level-advantage in categorical decision-making. Results showed that overlap in sensorimotor experience between category concept and member concept (e.g., animal→dog) predicted RT and accuracy at least as well as a traditional division into discrete subordinate, basic, and superordinate taxonomic levels. Furthermore, linguistic distributional information contributed to capturing effects of graded category structure where typicality ratings did not. Finally, when image label production frequency was taken into account (i.e., how often people actually produced specific labels for images), linguistic distributional information predicted RT and accuracy above and beyond sensorimotor information. These findings add to our understanding of how sensorimotor-linguistic theories of the conceptual system can explain categorisation behaviour.

Translingual practice as a representation of heritage languages and regional identities in multilingual society

AbstractBy drawing attention to the translingual practices in Malaysian Mandarin (MM), this study uses lexical variations as an analytical lens through which the changes in linguistic dimensions can be viewed from a social perspective. We present translingual practice as a communicative, rather than a pedagogical, resource that has broader applied relevance in multilingual society. Two findings are presented. First, we elaborate on how MM is interwoven with translingual words of various heritage languages (HLs)/dialects and major/powerful languages; second, we examine how translingual words varied from or standardised towards Standard Mandarin (SM) over time, by HL and in place/region. We argue that intersection with competing levelling pressures reflects not only a “standardisation” process at schools/in society but can be further interpreted as the decline of local translingual practices and local sounds, suggesting the risk of losing rich ethnic and regional heritage and identities. By giving a voice to marginalised HL speakers, this study goes beyond the description of an unstudied/understudied research site or linguistic phenomenon, implying important aspects of power and inequality and a subtle resistance against dominant policies/discourses. This could be salient for advancing future studies and theories to address efforts in advocating critical language awareness and inclusive policies.

How Grammar Conveys Meaning: Language-Specific Spatial Encoding Patterns and Cross-Language Commonality in Higher-Order Neural Space.

Languages come in different forms but have shared meanings to convey. Some meanings are expressed by sentence structure and morphologic inflections rather than content words, such as indicating time frame using tense. This fMRI study investigates whether there is cross-language common representation of grammatical meanings that can be identified from neural signatures in the bilingual human brain. Based on the representations in intersentence neural similarity space, identifying grammatical construction of a sentence in one language by models trained on the other language resulted in reliable accuracy. By contrast, cross-language identification of grammatical construction by spatially matched activation patterns was only marginally accurate. Brain locations representing grammatical meaning in the two languages were interleaved in common regions bilaterally. The locations of voxels representing grammatical features in the second language were more varied across individuals than voxels representing the first language. These findings suggest grammatical meaning is represented by language-specific activation patterns, which is different from lexical semantics. Commonality of grammatical meaning is neurally reflected only in the interstimulus similarity space.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Whether human brain encodes sentence-level meanings beyond content words in different languages similarly has been a long-standing question. We characterize the neural representations of similar grammatical meanings in different languages. Using complementary analytic approaches on fMRI data, we show that the same grammatical meaning is neurally represented as the common pattern of neural distances between sentences. The results suggest the possibility of identifying specific grammatical meaning expressed by different morphologic and syntactic implementations of different languages. The neural realization of grammatical meanings is constrained by the specific language being used, but the relationships between the neural representations of sentences are preserved across languages. These findings have some theoretical implications on a distinction between grammar and lexical meanings.

Semantic adaptation of germanisms in the conceptual field: Sports, entertainment and games

Semantic adaptation refers to the process of adjusting the meaning of a foreign word to the linguistic system of the recipient. When a word is "borrowed" from a foreign language, its original meaning may be lost or changed to better fit the new linguistic environment. This usually happens through prolonged use of the word in the target language, during which a new connotation of the word may gradually develop. In this study, the semantic adaptation of German-origin words in the Bosnian language system refers to the adjustment of the meanings of words integrated into the Bosnian language. Specifically, we examine how German-origin words related to sports and games are adapted to the Bosnian language system and what changes in their semantics are noticed after integration into the Bosnian language. This paper will also analyze the prevalence of German words in the field of sports and games and investigate how often they are used in the Bosnian language. By combining the analysis of semantic adaptation of words and research on the frequency of word usage in the Bosnian language, this paper will provide insight into the influence of the German language on the Bosnian language in the field of sports and games.

How do the ethnicity minangkabau male express their masculinity in language: A identity point of view

Modernization significantly alters the structure of human existence, including the relationship between men and women. This change creates a new dimension of masculinity, including in literary works, specifically Novels. Clear language inequality between men and women gives rise to differences in language characteristics or word choice when men and women communicate. The novel 'Tamu’ by Weiran Hadi, set in Minangkabau Socio-Cultural Background, served as the data source for this qualitative descriptive study based on Coates' concept of masculinity. This analysis reveals that the characters in Weiran Hadi’s novel “Tamu” exhibit three linguistic traits indicative of masculinity as formulating new conceptualizations of Minangkabau culture in psychology: the use of profanity and taboo words, the use of commands and directives, and the use of rhetorical questions. Inversely proportional to the use of language by women, they are more on intuition when talking with others than their male counterparts, whereas male users approach language more directly and with less emotional investment.

Zu althochdeutsch <spenchil> in Gl. 2,355,11

Abstract The form <spenchil> in Gl. 2,355,11 is normally emended in either sprenkil or swenkil ‘slingshot (belt)’. As there is a later parallel for spenkil these emendations are refuted. Old High German spenkil m. ‘slingshot (belt)’ and Middle High German or Early Modern German spenkel m. ‘casting net’ are connected with words in the Germanic languages that have as their basic meaning ‘to move swiftly’. As these words are isolated in Germanic (and Indo-European) it is assumed that they belong with sporadic loss of ‑r‑ in the sequence spr- to the root Proto-Germanic *sprenǥe/a‑ ‘to jump’.

Recursos digitales para el análisis del léxico de origen latino en las lenguas románicas

Within the framework of the CoToHiLi project (Computational Tools for Historical Linguistics), set up with the aim of providing computational tools for the research of linguistic change, we created a database containing the cognate chains from the main Romance languages. Starting from this database, we conducted experiments that test the machine’s ability to automatically detect cognate sets in any pair of Romance languages. We also explored the possibility of distinguishing semi-automatically between inherited and borrowed words in the Romance languages. The article describes the challenges of each experiment, the application of digital methods, as well as the importance of integrating linguistic data. We also propose an interpretation of the results.

Dinamica elementelor de compunere în limba română actuală

In this study we have started from an overview of the composition with semidependent elements problem, the confusion that can be made between the composition with composing elements and derivation, or between composing elements and suffixes or prefixes. We also showed that the number of composing elements is very high, potentially all the words of ancient languages, Greek and Latin, from which they are borrowed. The indirect etymology, i.e. the word originating in ancient languages and its meaning, is very important for understanding the meaning of the compound word. The following chapter provides an overview of the elements of composition classification. They can be prime, final or median. They can originate in ancient languages or can be formed by using Romanian independent words. The trends observed are to transform the composing elements commonly used into standalone ones or, on the contrary, they are to turn independent words into composing elements. Fashionable composing elements form extremely large word families, compared to the word families formed by derivation. To study the tendencies in the language, what is required is the observation of trends in habits and attitudes; we described the computerization and the return to nature, which are in equilibrium. Romanian was a predominant derivative language, but it is probable that, that under the influence of English, composition as a means of enriching the Romanian vocabulary will increase and the two processes will become equal in importance.

Word processing before explicit attention: Using the gaze-contingent boundary paradigm in L2 reading research

Eye-movement studies investigating second language (L2) word processing during reading are growing exponentially. However, what information L2 readers are able to process parafoveally is a less researched topic. The gaze-contingent boundary paradigm (Rayner, 1975) allows researchers to manipulate visual information in an upcoming word during reading, tapping into real-time word processing without awareness. This article provides an overview of experimental studies of parafoveal word processing in reading, followed by a methodological review of the use of the boundary paradigm in L2 and bilingual research. We synthesize key methodological details (including preview type, eye-movement measures) and findings of 15 experiments that met our search criteria, concluding that the parafoveal preview effect observed when reading in the first language is also present in L2 reading. We propose how the gaze-contingent boundary paradigm can be used to study L2 lexical knowledge and factors that affect its development. Finally, we provide advice and instructions for designing and conducting boundary paradigm experiments.

Jargonaphasia in logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia

BackgroundLogopenic variant primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA), which is most commonly an early onset variant of Alzheimer's disease (AD), is a progressive impairment in word retrieval and language expression. Clinicians often misdiagnose these patients when they present with severely unintelligible speech consistent with jargonaphasia. MethodsWe reviewed all patients presenting to a behavioral neurology program over a 23-year period who met criteria for lvPPA after completion of an evaluation extending to positron emission tomography (PET) of the brain. Among these lvPPA patients, we additionally identified and characterized those whose presentation involved incomprehensible yet fluent verbal output. ResultsOut of 95 patients with lvPPA, 9 (9.47%) had jargonaphasia on presentation. These patients differed from the remaining 86 patients in lacking awareness or concern for their impaired communication, having worse mental status scale scores, greater auditory comprehension difficulty, and more bilateral temporo-parietal hypometabolism. In addition, 44.4% of those with jargonaphasia, compared to 14% of those without, were bi/multilingual. ConclusionNearly 1 in 10 patients with lvPPA present with severely unintelligible speech. These patients have disease extending to bilateral temporoparietal areas affecting language comprehension and disease awareness. Jargonaphasia can be a confusing presentation of AD and must be differentiated from other progressive aphasias, Wernicke's aphasia, and the word salad of “schizoaphasia”.

Pertarungan Makna Atas Pernyataan Cawe-Cawe Presiden Jokowi Mengenai Pemilu 2024 di Media Indonesia

The mass media has an important role as a means to reach a wide audience that can influence public opinion in society. Therefore, the media is a social institution that is contested to obtain and win power. Text is a form of ideological practice, language, writing and choice of words that are understood to carry ideological meanings that are used to win public support. In a meeting with the editors-in-chief of mass media and content creators, President Jokowi stated that he would participate in the 2024 elections to ensure that the elections take place safely and smoothly. President Jokowi's statement that he will chat in the 2024 Presidential Election has received pros and cons and has been interpreted differently by the public. The purpose of this study is to find out how the battle for meaning is being carried out by Media Indonesia regarding the statements of President Jokowi's cawe in the 2024 election in the headline news. This study uses a critical paradigm using a political economy media approach. The method used is Halliday's social discourse analysis method which is based on three concepts, namely, the field of discourse, the involvement of discourse and the mode of discourse. Based on the analysis carried out, in its reporting, Media Indonesia chose sources who were dominant against President Jokowi's cawe-cawe statements. Cawe-cawe is interpreted as the President's non-neutrality in the 2024 presidential election, a setback to democracy and as scaring the people.
 Keywords: Battle of Meaning, Cawe-cawe, 2024 Election, Media Indonesia.

Types of Code-Mixing Found in Natasha Surya’s TikTok

This study classified the types of code-mixing contained in TikTok contents of Natasha Surya. The data sources of this research were taken from 5 TikTok videos which used many codemixing styles. This study applied a qualitative descriptive method in analyzing the data to elaborate the types of code-mixing found in the contents. The theory used in this study was the type of code-mixing theory proposed by Muysken (2000). Based on the analysis, there were two types of code-mixing; they were 5 insertions and 6 congruent lexicalizations. Insertion type was indicated by inserting a foreign word in a sentence while congruent lexicalization was a combination of more than one word shifting in a sentence to form a whole structural arrangement. Code-mixing was commonly used by bilingual people to show their skill in language and mixing words could raise the confidence. Further research was necessary to answer this hypothesis.

Social Media Zero-Day Attack Detection Using TensorFlow

In the current information era, knowledge can pose risks in the online realm. It is imperative to proactively recognize potential threats, as unforeseen dangers cannot be eliminated entirely. Often, malware exploits and other emerging hazards are only identified after they have occurred. These types of risks are referred to as zero-day attacks since no pre-existing anti-malware measures are available to mitigate them. Consequently, significant damages occur when vulnerabilities in systems are exploited. The effectiveness of security systems, such as IPS and IDS, relies heavily on the prompt and efficient response to emerging threats. Failure to address these issues promptly hinders the effectiveness of security system developers. The purpose of this study is to analyze data from the Twitter platform and deploy machine learning techniques, such as word categorization, to identify vulnerabilities and counteract zero-day attacks swiftly. TensorFlow was utilized to handle the processing and conversion of raw Twitter data, resulting in significant efficiency improvements. Moreover, we integrated the Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) tool to extract targeted words in various languages. Our results indicate that we have achieved an 80% success rate in detecting zero-day attacks by using our tool. By utilizing publicly available information shared by individuals, relevant security providers can be promptly informed. This approach enables companies to patch vulnerabilities more quickly.

Near-Optimal Active Learning for Multilingual Grapheme-to-Phoneme Conversion

The construction of pronunciation dictionaries relies on high-quality and extensive training data in data-driven way. However, the manual annotation of corpus for this purpose is both costly and time consuming, especially for low-resource languages that lack sufficient data and resources. A multilingual pronunciation dictionary includes some common phonemes or phonetic units, which means that these phonemes or units have similarities in the pronunciation of different languages and can be used in the construction process of pronunciation dictionaries for low-resource languages. By using a multilingual pronunciation dictionary, knowledge can be shared among different languages, thus improving the quality and accuracy of pronunciation dictionaries for low-resource languages. In this paper, we propose using shared articulatory features among multiple languages to construct a universal phoneme set, which is then used to label words for multiple languages. To achieve this, we first developed a grapheme−phoneme (G2P) model based on an encoder−decoder deep neural network. We then adopted a near-optimal active learning method in the process of building the pronunciation dictionary to select informative samples from a large, unlabeled corpus and had them labeled by experts. Our experiments demonstrate that this method selected about 1/5 of the unlabeled data and achieved an even higher conversion accuracy than the results of the large data training method. By selectively labeling samples with a high uncertainty in the model, while avoiding labeling samples that were accurately predicted by the current model, our method greatly enhances the efficiency of pronunciation dictionary construction.

Tracking learnables and teachables in L2 Arabic dyadic conversations‐for‐learning

AbstractThis article adopts learning‐behavior tracking as a research methodology within conversation analysis for second language acquisition to investigate its applicability to track and document how learning opportunities through collaborative repair work are brought about and whether they lead to second language (L2) word learning. To this end, the study examines longitudinal video‐recorded data from L2 Arabic dyadic conversations‐for‐learning beyond the classroom over 3 months. Findings highlight empirical and methodological contributions. First, the detailed analyses show that other‐initiated repair of a vocabulary item by the first language (L1) conversation partner is found to create opportunities for learning and lead to learning when it is oriented to as worthy of teaching by the L1 speaker and as a learnable by the L2 learner. Second, the study demonstrates the applicability of the learning‐behavior tracking model in illuminating learnables and teachables and providing evidence for whether learning has occurred as a result of being oriented to as such by both participants in real‐time interaction.

The Arabic Definite Article: A Challenge Facing Advanced L2 Learners

One of the most difficult challenges of learning Arabic as a foreign language is mastering the definite article system. Research in the area of Arabic L2 acquisition shows that the Arabic definite article al- ‘the’ poses serious difficulties for adult learners even at advance levels. This article is among the most frequent words of the Arabic language, and has a crucial role in maintaining text cohesion and coherence. Because of this importance and high frequency, al- ‘the’ has a huge effect on L2 learners’ language competence. The present study examines the written errors in advanced non-native Arabic learners’ use of the definite article in order to identify the most difficult areas for them, explor possible factors contributing to these difficulties, and suggest strategies that could reduce their effect. The data examined cosists of 89 written text extracted from the Arabic Learner Corpus (ALC) v2, compiled by Alfaifi, Atwel, & Hedaya (2014). A general description of the errors is provided after they are identified and classified. The study found both stuructural and semantic areas of difficulty in the learners’ usage of al, these areas were then examined to explore possible factors causing this persistent problem. Based on the analysis, some strategies to overcome these difficulties were suggested.

Re‐assessing regional chronologies for island southeast Asian voyaging to Aboriginal Australia

ABSTRACTAccording to written histories, trepang fishers from Island Southeast Asia (“Makassans”) frequented coastal northern Australia from c.1750 to 1907 CE. Yolŋu oral traditions and old Austronesian borrow words in coastal Aboriginal languages suggest a long and complex history of foreign voyaging to northern Australia. Yet archaeological radiocarbon chronologies for the Southeast Asian trepang industry and earlier voyaging encounters are few and the dates have never been comprehensively reviewed. Only one Arnhem Land trepang fishery site has been dated extensively, and others have produced unusually old dates of c.1200–1500 CE. The Groote Eylandt rockshelter of Dadirrigka yielded an enigmatic sherd of friable earthenware above a radiocarbon date of c.1100 CE. Here we have compiled, reviewed and recalibrated all 49 radiocarbon dates directly associated with Southeast Asian contact sites, stratigraphy and rock art in northern Australia. We discuss the dates and their archaeological contexts region by region to assess their reliability. We also report for the first time Yanyuwa (southwest Gulf of Carpentaria) oral traditions which shed light on their past kinship and exchange relationships with Makassan visitors. The radiocarbon dates provide tentative support for four phases of interaction in northwest Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt, including pre‐Makassan encounters and the organised trepang industry of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. There is a paucity of archaeological excavations and radiocarbon data from northeast Arnhem Land, the Kimberley and the southwest Gulf of Carpentaria, where historical writings, linguistics and oral traditions are still the most reliable indicators of the timing and nature of cross‐cultural interaction.