Words Research Articles

A meta-analytic review of morphological priming in Semitic languages

Abstract Two types of discontinuous morphemes are thought to be the basic building blocks of words in Semitic languages: roots and templates. However, the role of these morphemes in lexical access and representation is debated. Priming experiments, where reaction times to target words are predicted to be faster when preceded by morphologically-related primes compared to unrelated control primes, provide conflicting evidence bearing on this debate. We used meta-analysis to synthesise the findings from 229 priming experiments on 4710 unique Semitic speakers. With Bayesian modelling of the aggregate effect sizes, we found credible root and template priming in both nouns and verbs in Arabic and Hebrew. Our results show that root priming effects can be distinguished from the effects of overlap in form and meaning. However, more experiments are needed to determine if template priming effects can be distinguished from overlap in form and morphosyntactic function.

Supplemental Material for Weaker Semantic Priming Effects With Number Words in the Second Language of Math Learning

Supplemental Material for Weaker Semantic Priming Effects With Number Words in the Second Language of Math Learning

Language Policy in Turkic States and Societies Historical Aspect

The roots of the communication history of the Turkic language, which has a history of at least 1300 years as a written language, are, of course, much older. If we take into account the features of the words in the language of the Orhon-Yenisey monuments, which are the first written sources, and the similarities of words in other languages, we see that the Turkic language has a history of four to five millennia as a language of communication. The Turkic language, whose origin goes back thousands of years, has been influenced by many languages as a result of the cultural, social, and political relations of Turks with other nations. The settling of large territories by Turks, leading a sedentary and nomadic life, constantly migrating for new lands, and coming into contact with many peoples against the background of these events led to the contact of the Turkic language (the languages of the Turkic-speaking peoples and tribes) with many related and unrelated languages. As a result of these relations, sometimes the Turkic language influenced these languages from the lexical and even grammatical aspects, and sometimes, on the contrary, it borrowed words from those languages. In this research article, we will try to talk about the language policy in the Turkic state and societies and the developments in the historical process.

COMPARISON OF THE STRUCTURE OF WORDS IN PATANI MALAY AND THAI

This study investigates the structure of words in Patani Malay and Thai to determine the similarities and differences in the marker of the two languages through contrastive analysis studies. The data used in this study are collected from Patani Malay speakers who can speak the Patani Malay language well. They can remember most Patani Malay vocabulary and communicate with others on various topics. They can also tell stories or explain something with their language and still use their language in daily life. The informants are students, teachers, merchants, fishermen, farmers, and retirement people. This study indicates that the structure of words in Patani Malay and Thai languages has similarities and differences in rules. The equation includes the addition of affixes, compounding, and reduplication. The differences in the rule of the word in Patani Malay and Thai include the position of affixation, reduplication of the root and assigning an ‘emphatic high tone’, and semantic reduplication.

STYLISTIC LITERALISMS: DEFINITION AND TYPOLOGY

The description of literal translation problematics is an age long tradition. Notwithstanding this fact, many dimensions of literalisms have been open for academic research both in theoretical and practical aspects. The article focuses on such kind of literalisms as stylistic literalisms and explores their definition and typology. The subject matter of this article is crucially topical and reflects the current demand of modern theory of translation for new and profound research in this sphere. The objective of the article is to describe stylistic literalisms through the prism of modern Translation Studies. The objective determined the tasks of the research: to clarify and describe literalisms and the factors of their creation, to define the term “stylistic literalism” and to classify their multifaceted essence. Our study relies substantially on the application of linguistic descriptive methodology and devices. The innovation of this article relies in specifying the quintessence of “stylistic literalism” notion which is relevant for understanding the translation interference mechanism and crucial for modern Translation Studies; highlighting and analyzing different types of stylistic literalisms; grounding the comprehensive definition of literalism — key term of modern Translation Studies. The article claims that stylistic literalisms are the result of interference between two languages which leads to violation of target language stylistic norms. Various factors of stylistic literalisms origins contribute to their types selection: difference in relative frequency of definite word; ignorance of the erase metaphor degree; distinction in stylistic tone of source and target texts; stylistic discrepancies among words of different languages or within the boundaries of one target text; disparities in connotations; vague and sloppy phrases in translation text.

Yesterday's “lake” endures in its name—The etymology of lake names

AbstractThe global language of limnology is English, but most of our study objects do not have English names. Here, I compare 57,000 lake names in a lake‐rich, non‐English speaking country, that is, Sweden, with a previous analysis of 83,000 lakes in the conterminous United States. The diversity of lake name appellations is strikingly different. In the United States, three different appellations (“lake,” “pond,” “reservoir”) apply to 96% of the lakes, whereas in Sweden to account for 93% of the lakes, 76 different appellations and suffixes were required. The etymology of the remaining largely idiosyncratic 4000 lake names is difficult to assess, and of ancient origin. In the United States, lake names with appellations in languages of non‐English European colonizers are rare and lakes that include words in indigenous languages almost exclusively also include an English appellation. Contrastingly, in regions of Sweden where Sami, Finnish, and Meänkieli are spoken, lake names are typically fully indigenous, including the appellation. The historical reasons for the differences are discussed. Examples of malpractice in the use of lake names in scientific papers are presented, and suggestions are made for how we better can achieve a good lake‐name practice.

About the unusual name “drone” in the Udmurt language of the 18th century

The relevance of the proposed topic is due to the insufficient identification and description of the vocabulary of fauna, as one of the most archaic layers in the vocabulary of almost all FinnoUgric languages. The purpose of this study is to trace the history of the written fixation of the word var-bozgo ‘drone’ in the Udmurt language, starting from its first appearance in the earliest written monuments of the 18th century and ending with the main lexicographic works of the modern period, to consider the lexical-semantic formation of a complex name and determine by possibilities of its etymology. Achieving this goal seems possible by solving problems related to identifying and describing this entomological term in comparison with data from other related and unrelated languages. The research material is handwritten and published written monuments of the 18th-19th centuries, the most important lexicographic works on the Udmurt language of the modern period, as well as possible parallels of these words from contacting related and unrelated languages. The descriptive method is mainly used, as well as some elements of semantic and comparative etymological analysis. The name var-bozgo ‘drone’ is unique - it has no typological parallels, it is recorded only in one written source - the handwritten grammar of M. Myshkin, compiled in the second half of the 18th century. To develop the question, further fixation of individual components of this complex word in the Udmurt language, which function with high and low frequency, is provided. As a result of the study, an expansion of the lexical and semantic content of the word bozgo was discovered during the development of the language. Etymological analysis made it possible to identify the origin of the constituent elements of the entomological term: var ‘servant, slave’ has parallels in many Finno-Permian languages and is an original Udmurt word of the Finno-Permian period of development of the base language; and the origin of the component bozgo ‘zhuk; dung beetle’ is associated with the expressive-figurative word boz ( boz-boz ), expressing the sound image of a buzzing or low voice, to which the unproductive nominal formant -go was added during the period of independent formation of the Udmurt language.

EMPOWERING CHILDREN: MEANING, REQUIREMENTS AND IMPORTANCE

Empowerment is a means to transforming the lives of the people and it encompasses a broad range of things. Therefore, of the core aims of Islam is to empower individuals and societies spiritually, physically, morally and intellectually. This paper is an illuminating insight into an understanding of the concept of empowerment in general and empowerment of children in particular from the perspective of Islam, i.e., the Qur’an and Hadith. It describes how children should be empowered intellectually, emotionally, morally, spiritually and physically. It provides the most essential skills children need to be successful and achieve their life goals and demonstrates how these skills should be developed. The paper serves as a primer to answering some of the questions related to empowerment of children from the standpoint of Islam. This is qualitative research employing descriptive methods with literature review analysis. The primary sources of this paper comprise selected verses from the Qur’an and their exegesis (tafsir) and Hadith, both of which constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims. Its secondary sources consist of books, journals and other materials. The English translation of the selected verses is based on Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an and The Qur’an: English Meanings by Saheeh International because of their simplistic and comprehensive language. Due to the multidimensional use of words in the Arabic language, it is difficult to translate them into one specific word, therefore, we have retained the Arabic concepts but given some of their meanings in the brackets. Our findings indicate that: firstly, empowerment of children is crucial for sustainable living, and; secondly, the aim of empowering children is nurturing power with, meaning creating the conditions whereby power can be shared, power to and power within. It is not about exercising or maximizing their power over others.

Crucial Requirements for Children's Empowerment

This paper sheds light on the important and mostly neglected role that parents play in raising their children, namely empowerment through character development, impartment of knowledge and skills. The key objective of this paper is to enhance the understanding of the concept of empowerment of children from the Islamic perspective and the importance of character and values education in today’s society. The paper is structured around six core sections describing the role of parents in children’s (1) virtues and character formation and development, (2) physical development, (3) emotional development, (4) mental development, (5) intellectual development, and lastly their role in preparing children for the realities of life and death. The focus of this paper is character formation and development. Character development and impartment of knowledge and skills are the three crucial and mandatory requirements for children’s empowerment. The paper outlines the ideas underlying character refinement or character education focusing on its meaning, aims, importance, and the role of parents, teachers, and community as character educators. It outlines some of the moral qualities of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as the universal model of all virtues and goodness. This is qualitative research employing descriptive methods with literature review analysis. The primary sources of this paper comprise selected verses from the Qur’an and their exegesis (tafsir) and Hadith, both of which constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims. Its secondary sources consist of books, journals, and other materials. The English translation of the selected verses is based on Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an and The Qur’an: Arabic Text with Corresponding English Meanings by Saheeh International because of their simplistic and comprehensive language. Due to the multidimensional use of words in the Arabic language, it is difficult to translate them into one specific word, therefore, we have retained the Arabic concepts but given some of their meanings in the brackets. Our main contention in this paper is that: first, knowledge, skills, and values or personality traits need to be combined for a thriving life; second, moral values are of paramount significance to peaceful coexistence and harmony in society. They are critical for sustainable living. Without them, there is no cohesion and solidarity among people. Hence, there is no civilization; third, learning is of little value and with no soul unless core ethical values are added to it. Hence, one of the aims of education is to graduate ethical individuals; fourth, the development of character in children is not just the responsibility of parents and schools, it is also the responsibility of those who come into contact with them; last but not least, character education should be included as a core component of schools’ curriculum.

The structure correspondence hypothesis predicts how word and sentence in language correlate with term and principle in mathematics.

The association between language and mathematics is an important debated topic. Here, we proposed a structure correspondence hypothesis to explain under what conditions language and mathematics are closely related. According to the hypothesis, there would be an association when they have equivalent structure. One hundred and fifty high school students were recruited to finish mathematical and language tests at the element level (i.e., geometric term processing and word analogy) and at the low-dimensional combination level (i.e., geometric principle processing and sentence completion) as well as the tests to measure cognitive covariates (general intelligence and spatial processing). After controlling for age, gender and cognitive covariates, geometric term processing and word analogy were closely correlated, and geometric principle processing and sentence completion were significantly correlated. No other correlations were found. The results support the structure correspondence hypothesis and provide a new perspective of structure of language and verbalized mathematics for the relation between language and mathematics.

Morphological and Semantical Effects of Phonemes on Pashto Lexical Structures

Phonemes and segments are the key elements in the structure of Pashto words, playing an important role similar to other languages worldwide. Through the combination and arrangement of these segments, numerous morphemes and diverse words are generated. When assigning a vowel or consonant to the origin or base form of a word, it leads to the creation of new words and constructions that possess different forms, meanings, and belong to various grammatical categories. Structurally, at least one, two, three, or a maximum of four bound morphemes in the form of segments or phonemes could be added to the root or base morpheme, thus generating new lexemes and words. The addition of new phonemes and segments to the base or root form of a word alters its case, identification, quality, quantity, gender, number, tense, modification, meaning, and grammatical classification. Another important role of segments in the structure of lexemes is the syllabification of simple and complex words. The accumulation of each phoneme brings changes in the number of syllables within that word or phrase. Vowel segments primarily contribute to the syllabification of words. In conclusion, the hierarchical arrangement of segments generates new morphemes, while the combination of bound and free morphemes forms the basis for creating new simple, compound, and complex words in the Pashto language.

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, awareness creation and risk communication of Covid-19 pandemic amongst non-literate population in South-West Nigeria: Lessons for future health campaign.

Risk communication of Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria appeared to be urban-centered with the dominant use of social media, print communication and other controlled media. In such times of public health emergencies, non-literate population could be vulnerable as a result of their limited understanding of the nature of such health risk. Therefore, the study seeks to investigate the extent to which Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) communicated the risk of Covid-19 disease to non-literate population in its public health campaign during the pandemic in South-West Nigeria. The study adopts risk communication theory which advances the approach communication should take during public health emergencies. Using descriptive cross-sectional mixed methods research design, a sample of 420 respondents were purposively selected from 6 towns in the rural areas of Lagos, Oyo and Osun states to examine the level of awareness on Covid-19 pandemic among non-literates. In addition, NCDC risk communication on Covid-19 for non-literate population were analyzed from 3 Jingles in Yoruba language as well as 9 flyers designed for Covid-19 disease from NCDC websites. Results showed that NCDC awareness creation on Covid-19 disease for non-literates in Southwest achieved significant success as a result of the medium used in creating awareness. Specifically, radio was highly rated among majority of the respondents (60.4%) followed by health workers (19.8%) as channels that created understandable message on Covid-19 safety protocols. Further findings on Jingles content revealed that all Covid-19 safety protocols were communicated in Yoruba language for Southwest populace. However, NCDC fall short in communicating Covid-19 risk effectively for non-literates in Southwest as jingles only buttressed the Covid-19 safety protocols and symptoms as well as the need to comply, without educating the masses on the dreadful nature of the disease and its dynamics. Though flyers designed by the NCDC communicated risk to an extent, nevertheless, graphics and symbols on Covid-19 disease were complimented by words in English language only, which could be difficult for non-literates to decipher. Based on the findings, the study recommends that public health agencies need to educate non-literate population about the nature of a disease more than creating awareness about the outbreak of a disease, and such education should be strategic, context-specific, and evidence-based.

A Review of Research on Mobile-Assisted Vocabulary Learning

More academics are concentrating on the topic of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) on account of the advancement of mobile technology and the widespread use of mobile electronics in modern culture, and mobile-assisted vocabulary learning (MAVL) as a hot topic in MALL has attracted a large number of scholars. The study reviews some representative literatures during 2010-2023, including the impact of using mobile Short Message Service (SMS)/Multimedia Message Service (MMS) on Second Language (L2) word learning and the effectiveness of using mobile learning applications. Moreover, this study analyses the research methods used by previous researchers and summarises the results of the studies, finding that most of the experiments focused on vocabulary enhancement and retention, the effect on motivation, and learners perceptions and satisfaction. The results of many studies show that MAVL as a learning approach is better than the traditional vocabulary learning approach. Also, researches on MAVL has many pedagogical impacts on teaching of second and foreign languages in the future. However, researches have also shown that MAVL has some drawbacks that will hopefully be addressed in the future.

Improvement of Spelling Correction Accuracy in Indonesian Language through the Application of Hamming Distance Method

Spelling correction is a critical feature in software to reduce typing errors, commonly found in document processing software and smartphone keyboards. This research aims to evaluate the accuracy of the Hamming Distance method in correcting words in the Indonesian language, both standard and non-standard forms. The research data is derived from a previous study and comprises 60 standard and non-standard Indonesian words. Typos are generated by considering the layout of letters on the QWERTY keyboard. Typing error data is divided into two groups, namely words with 1 and 2 character differences. The first test is conducted on standard words, achieving an accuracy rate of 98.33% for 1 and 2 character differences. Subsequent testing on non-standard words shows an accuracy rate of 100% for 1 character difference and 96.67% for 2 character differences. The results of this research highlight the potential of the Hamming Distance method in improving the quality of spelling correction in the Indonesian language.

An Exploration of the Nature of Vocabulary Change Following Language and Literacy Together Intervention.

This exploratory study evaluates how bilingual first graders' vocabulary use in narrative changed after a Spanish-language intervention that focuses on connection between language and literacy. Ten Spanish-English bilingual first graders produced three English and three Spanish narratives based on the Test of Narrative Language protocol pre- and postintervention. All samples were transcribed. Based on comprehensive word inventories, all words produced by the children were identified as being core words; Tiers 1, 2, and 3 words; and/or cognates in both languages. We also coded all utterances for use of internal state terms (ISTs). We evaluated total and unique production of these kinds of words. Postintervention children increased their total number of cognates and ISTs across languages. They also increased the unique core words, Tier 1 words, and cognates postintervention. They also used more of each of these kinds of words in Spanish-the language of intervention-than in English. Children make qualitative changes to their vocabulary postintervention. There is greater change in the use of core words and Tier 1 words in Spanish. These increases in productivity and variability were indicated by the number of unique words added to the children's repertoires in ways that supported narrative production.

ON THE STUDY OF PREDICATIVE WORDS IN THE KARAKALPAK LANGUAGE

The article deals with the study of predicative words in the Karakalpak language. To prove the statement that predicative words in the modern Karakalpak language are a separate part of speech, knowledge of the study of this issue is indicated as one of its main functions. Opinions on the consideration of predicative words in Turkic languages as a separate part of speech and the peculiarities of their use are also indicated.

Modeling Brain Representations of Words' Concreteness in Context Using GPT-2 and Human Ratings.

The meaning of most words in language depends on their context. Understanding how the human brain extracts contextualized meaning, and identifying where in the brain this takes place, remain important scientific challenges. But technological and computational advances in neuroscience and artificial intelligence now provide unprecedented opportunities to study the human brain in action as language is read and understood. Recent contextualized language models seem to be able to capture homonymic meaning variation ("bat", in a baseball vs. a vampire context), as well as more nuanced differences of meaning-for example, polysemous words such as "book", which can be interpreted in distinct but related senses ("explain a book", information, vs. "open a book", object) whose differences are fine-grained. We study these subtle differences in lexical meaning along the concrete/abstract dimension, as they are triggered by verb-noun semantic composition. We analyze functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activations elicited by Italian verb phrases containing nouns whose interpretation is affected by the verb to different degrees. By using a contextualized language model and human concreteness ratings, we shed light on where in the brain such fine-grained meaning variation takes place and how it is coded. Our results show that phrase concreteness judgments and the contextualized model can predict BOLD activation associated with semantic composition within the language network. Importantly, representations derived from a complex, nonlinear composition process consistently outperform simpler composition approaches. This is compatible with a holistic view of semantic composition in the brain, where semantic representations are modified by the process of composition itself. When looking at individual brain areas, we find that encoding performance is statistically significant, although with differing patterns of results, suggesting differential involvement, in the posterior superior temporal sulcus, inferior frontal gyrus and anterior temporal lobe, and in motor areas previously associated with processing of concreteness/abstractness.

A Comparative Study of LIQUID Metaphors in English and Romanian Economic Language

Abstract This article discusses the economic terminology of English and Romanian from the perspective of Conceptual Metaphor Theory, focusing on the way in which the two languages employ lexical items from the semantic field of liquids in relation to the economy. The approach used here is both quantitative and qualitative. Thus, the study analyses the dictionary distribution in the two languages of words and phrases that fit the LIQUID metaphor of the economy, and tries to formulate statistical conclusions regarding the importance of this metaphor in shaping the vocabulary of the subject. The results of the quantitative analysis are illustrated with examples from economic publications, with an emphasis on those cases where English and Romanian do not share the same conceptual metaphors, and which could thus prove problematic for learners of Business English as well as for professionals working with the two languages. Metaphor researchers studying English and Romanian generally agree that English is more metaphorical in the way it discusses economic phenomena. However, dictionaries and newspaper articles may differ in the extent to which they follow this prediction, with the latter showing a higher density of metaphorical language than the former.

Grasping Virtual Objects Benefits Lower Aptitude Learners’ Acquisition of Foreign Language Vocabulary

Theories of embodied cognition describe language acquisition and representation as dependent on sensorimotor experiences that are collected during learning. Whereas native language words are typically acquired through sensorimotor experiences, foreign language (L2) words are often learned by reading, listening or repeating bilingual word lists. Recently, grasping referent objects has been demonstrated to serve as a useful sensorimotor strategy for L2 vocabulary learning. The effects of grasping virtual objects, however, remain unknown. In a virtual reality cave, we trained adult participants (N = 46) having low language aptitude and high language aptitude on novel L2 words under three conditions. In an audiovisual (baseline) condition, participants were presented with written and spoken L2 words. In an audiovisual observation condition, participants additionally saw virtual visual objects that corresponded to the meanings of L2 words. In an audiovisual, an observation, and a grasping condition, participants were asked to grasp the virtual objects. Participants’ word learning was assessed in free and cued recall tests administered immediately after training. Relative to baseline learning, simply viewing virtual objects during learning benefitted both groups. As expected, grasping virtual objects was found to benefit vocabulary retention in low language aptitude learners. Interestingly, this benefit was not observed in high language aptitude learners. Language learning aptitude scores correlated with vocabulary learning outcomes in both audiovisual learning conditions, but not in the sensorimotor condition, suggesting that grasping altered the typical relationship between aptitude and language learning performance. The findings are interpreted in terms of differences in the extent to which procedural and declarative memory systems are accessed in low language aptitude and high language aptitude learners during sensorimotor-based vocabulary learning. Additionally, the results suggest that simulated interactions without tangible feedback can benefit learning. This outcome expands our understanding of how physical experience extends cognition and paves the way for the application of sensorimotor enrichment strategies to virtual environments.

Translation of medical terms into Chinese

The subject of this study is the peculiarities of translating medical terms into Chinese. The purpose of the study is to analyze strategies for translating medical terms into Chinese, as well as to identify the most effective and frequent methods of translation of medical terms. The research material is medical terms (60 hieroglyphic names of medicines and medical equipment) and their translation into Chinese. The article analyzes the four most commonly used ways of translating medical terms: phonetic, semantic, graphic and mixed. The analysis also focuses on alphabetic words of the Chinese language: full alphabetic words and partial alphabetic hieroglyphic words. The features of translating medical terms of Latin origin into Chinese and medical terms borrowed from English are compared. To achieve this goal, the following methods were used: descriptive method, method of analysis of theoretical literature, as well as methods of systematization of material and classification. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that with the advent of new medicines and medical equipment, the question of translating new concepts into other languages, in particular into Chinese, has become acute. The article provides examples illustrating typical ways of translating medical terms into Chinese. The authors conclude that when translating borrowings from Latin into Chinese, preference is given to the phonetic method, while when translating English medical terms, phonetic-semantic, semantic and graphical methods are mainly used. The semantic method allows you to convey the meaning of borrowed words most fully, as well as create a pragmatic effect. The frequency of using the graphical translation method is significantly lower, since English and Chinese have different types of writing, which also introduces limitations for the transmission and interpretation of information.