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16504 papers
This study examines the intersection of language, identity, and politics in Nigerian online discussion through a sociolinguistic analysis of Nairaland, Nigeria's largest internet forum. Drawing on Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) and sociolinguistic theory, the research investigates how participants strategically use code-switching, Nigerian Pidgin, and local languages to negotiate identity, voice dissent, and establish community in politicised debates. Three selected threads, "Igbo Founded Ile-Ife," "Okrika Women Protest Unlawful Suspension of Fubara," and "Rivers Emergency Rule", serve as case studies for the analysis of how language works as a vehicle to convey ethnic pride, political grievance, and gendered opinion in online environments.Participants are observed to employ convergence, divergence, and maintenance strategies to show group membership, claim differences, or refuse linguistic norms. Nairaland's language options are not arbitrary but serve affective, rhetorical, and ideological functions, permitting speakers to negotiate group membership or sociopolitical grievances. The study reveals how Pidgin English and blended varieties of language are employed to construct a collective sense of identity and solidarity, particularly in protest or satirical contexts. It also discloses the gendered politics of exclusion whereby women's political voices are diminished through sexist and class-based labelling, an outcome of more profound societal biases replicated within the virtual spaces.The study contributes to the knowledge of digital multilingualism and bottom-up creativity in African online forums, highlighting the importance of ethical digital literacy and the moderation of inclusive discourses. By examining language use on Nairaland, the book enlightens readers on how Nigerians imaginatively appropriate linguistic material to shape power relations, assert their identities, and construct solidarity in the digital sphere. Relevant to scholars in sociolinguistics, digital humanities, and African studies, the book presents a case study for examining political discourse and identity creation in multilingually complex cyberspaces.
The size of physical objects is systematically associated with specific speech sounds used to refer to these objects. This phenomenon, termed size sound symbolism, has been demonstrated with a number of different behavioral measures such as word rating or word selection tasks. Yet, there is little data on where and how such sound-symbolic associations come into play within the brain's cognitive processing hierarchy. In the present EEG study, we investigated whether the neural activation of associations based on size sound symbolism can be automatic by nature. Participants were presented with small or large novel visual objects (greebles), followed by small-sounding or large-sounding (containing the letter <i> or <a>) fictional greeble names. We found, in accordance with our hypotheses, that the processing of sound-symbolically congruent names, compared to incongruent names, elicited a reduced N400 ERP component, in particular with regard to the small greebles. An additional exploratory analysis revealed an effect of size sound symbolism also in a subsequent time window, capturing a late positive component. These findings were evident in the absence of any task demands or conscious awareness related to sound symbolism. We argue that the greebles' presentation entailed an automatic activation of sound-symbolically associated linguistic information, which in turn facilitated the subsequent linguistic processing of sound-symbolically matching input, followed by stronger engagement of memory functions. The present study thus demonstrates that size sound symbolism is an inherent component of the brain's information processing system rather than a product of deliberate decision or response mechanisms and that it thereby exerts a significant influence on how we experience the world around us.
This article analyzes linguistic issues encountered in the translation of Uzbek auxiliary verbs into English. In the Uzbek language, auxiliary verbs are used to express various grammatical meanings, including the continuity or completion of an action, the manner of execution, and the speaker’s attitude. In English, these meanings are conveyed through different grammatical constructions and independent verbs. Within the scope of this study, approximately 29 auxiliary verbs were identified to express around 70 grammatical meanings. The article examines their translation features and discusses the key methods for translating auxiliary verbs and the challenges in constructing a linguistic database.
This article is devoted to the study of the nomination process for urban landscape elements. The purpose of the study is to determine the types and methods of nomination of commercial objects of Ufa. This article examines the functions of ergonyms and methods of creating such nominations, implemented in the designations of commercial objects of the Ufa urban landscape. The implementation of the ethno-cultural component in the multi-ethnic communicative urban environment is studied. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that the principles of creating ergonyms are considered for the first time based on the material of a multi-ethnic urban space. As a result of the study, it was established that the name of the object is motivated by the function that prevails in the author’s mind at a particular moment. The most frequent methods of forming names are revealed, among which the lexical, lexical-semantic and word-formation methods of nomination dominate. Among the studied principles, a group of names motivated by the principle of compliance with Islamic laws and norms is highlighted, which emphasizes the ethnic and cultural diversity of the linguistic appearance of the capital city. The study revealed that the ethnonym “bashkort”, the toponyms “Ufa” and “Bashkortostan” are widely represented in the city language, characterizing it as a regional component with a distinct cultural and linguistic identity.
This study aims to explore decolonised strategies for challenging hegemonic assessment practices in teacher education, which often equate academic quality with dominant English-language writing conventions. It confronts the perception that effective assessment inherently privileges specific linguistic norms, arguing instead for a social justice approach that reconceptualises evaluation to empower all students. The purpose is to propose how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be harnessed within a decolonised framework to develop inclusive assessment methods that assess for learning at the Department of Educational Foundations ‘ B.Ed. Honours programme at the University of South Africa. The methodology involved a systematic literature review across major academic databases (ERIC, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar) and specialised journals. Initial searches using terms related to decolonised pedagogy, inclusive assessment, and AI in education yielded approximately 100 papers. After screening titles, abstracts, and full texts for theoretical depth and conceptual relevance, 24 publications were selected for in-depth analysis based on strict criteria of relevance, rigour, and contribution to the synthesis of a decolonised AI approach. The discussion synthesises the literature to argue that AI strategies, when guided by a decolonial ethos, may provide innovative models for supporting academic writing and reframing assessment. This approach may help dismantle repressive structures by moving away from a deficit model and towards one that values diverse student voices and backgrounds. The study recommends that academics intentionally integrate prescribed AI tools into Honours-level assessments to promote learning and equity. The conclusion asserts that a decolonised approach to assessment, augmented by AI, may transform standard practices to advantage historically underrepresented students, ultimately aligning assessment with the goals of social justice and inclusive education.
This article examines ethnocultural identity in the artistic space of the postcolonial novel from the perspective of literary translation. Based on Abraham Verghese’s “Cutting for Stone” and its Russian translation by S. Sokolov, the study identifies and systematizes the specific difficulties involved in rendering the linguistic markers of identity. The object of the research is the linguistic and stylistic means of expressing ethnocultural identity in the original text of the novel, while the subject comprises the strategies and methods for translating these elements into Russian. The central argument is that recognizing the distinct genre-stylistic conventions of postcolonial literature is essential for developing effective translation strategies and achieving textual adequacy. The research employs a comprehensive methodological approach, integrating semantic, contextual, comparative, stylistic and translation analysis. The analysis reveals that the most significant challenges for a translator are posed by passages conveying cultural and linguistic polyphony, hybridity, and the fundamental oppositions that shape both character identity and the text’s conceptual space. The study highlights how elements such as foreign-language inclusions, erratives, graphons, and other deviations from linguistic norms act as manifestations of linguistic and cultural hybridity and as means of character self-identification. Furthermore, culture-specific items (realia) are used not only to embody cultural memory but also often acquire metaphorical and symbolic meanings, highlighting central narrative conflicts and functioning as markers of individual and collective identity. The novelty of this research lies in its endeavor to formulate practical recommendations for more authentically recreating the effects of linguistic and cultural hybridity and internal identity conflict in translation. The study concludes that while translating culturally marked units in a postcolonial novel, it is essential to consider its genre specificity, thematic and ideological content and macro-context.
The purpose of our research is to show the types of lexical units and their interconnection, to distinguish five types of frame structures, which largely determine the formation of the future translator’s image of the world. Methods of the research. The following theoretical methods of the research were used to solve the tasks formulated in the article: a categorical method, structural and functional methods, the methods of the analysis, systematization, modeling, and generalization. The empirical method is ascertaining research. The results of the research. The goal of the Methodological Support is to form students’ communicative competence; conscious positive speech behavior; mastering the norms of the modern Foreign and Ukrainian literary language; acquiring skills in operating with the terminology of a future profession; the ability to use various functional styles and substyles in the educational activities and professional use of them; forming skills in the process of communication justified use of language tools in compliance with the etiquette of professional communication; ensuring the skills of competent compilation of professional documentation. Conclusions. Depending on the type of lexical units and their interconnection, we distinguish five types of frame structures, which largely determine the formation of the future translator’s image of the world: 1) a semantic frame, in which one and the same entity, content, etc. is characterized by its quantitative, qualitative, existential, positional and temporal characteristics; 2) a transformational frame, in which several elements that are participants in a certain event are assigned roles; 3) a possessive frame, which contains the subject entities some / any, which are related to each other as a whole and its part: the frame is characterized by certain semantic characteristics; the whole one consists of different parts; 4) a taxonomic or identification frame represents a separate categorization of relationships; 5) a comparative frame, which illustrates the similarity relations, which are based on the convergence of concepts in a paradigm of human perception.
With the increasing application of automated news writing and digital anchors in journalism, AIGC (Artificial Intelligence-Generated Content) has become highly realistic in form and increasingly conforms to the linguistic norms of traditional news. However, AIGC news often suffers from ambiguous sources and insufficient factual support, leading to a crisis of authenticity. Drawing on Baudrillards theory of simulacra, this paper systematically analyzes the manifestations of the authenticity crisis in AIGC news at the levels of content generation, expressive form, and audience perception, revealing its impact on the ontological logic of news content. The study argues that AIGC drives a shift in news authenticity from a logic of facts to a logic of perception. Its high imitation of traditional news styles in language, layout, and headline structure creates a hyperreal illusion, blurring the standards of authenticity and forcing audiences into a state of non-judgmental reading, thereby deepening the publics cognitive crisis. This paper aims to provide a critical perspective for the development and theoretical study of AIGC news.
The research paper is devoted to a comprehensive consideration of the mediative function of language in traditional Kazakh culture. The main purpose of the work is to identify the specifics of the use of language in the historical and cultural practice of Kazakh society as a means of coordinating interests, settling disputes and harmonizing social relations. In accordance with this goal, the article defines the following tasks: cultural and social foundations of linguistic mediation in traditional Kazakh society; description of linguistic structures and pragmatic strategies of institutions that ensure dispute resolution through speech; identification of semantic features of linguistic norms aimed at maintaining social harmony in national culture. In the course of solving these tasks, the oral oratorical heritage of the Kazakhs is analyzed from linguistic and pragmatic positions. The conducted research allowed us to establish that the mediative function of language in traditional Kazakh culture goes beyond simple communication. It forms the basis of mechanisms for maintaining social harmony, regulating the moral code of the community and the peaceful settlement of conflict situations. It is also proved that the speech culture of leaders and bi-speakers contributed to the formation of a specific national model of mediation, and its language strategies (forms of etiquette, indirect ways of expression, metaphorical and symbolic structures and pragmatic means of mitigation) are consonant with modern theories of mediation. The scientific significance of the study lies in the fact that the phenomenon of mediation in Kazakh culture is being systematically examined for the first time in a linguistic and pragmatic perspective, which makes it possible to identify the contribution of traditional speech experience to the development of the general theory of mediation. The practical value of the work is determined by the possibility of using the results obtained in mediation training programs, in the development of ethno-cultural models of negotiation practices, as well as in projects aimed at updating the culture of Kazakh oral speech.
The article offers a comprehensive analysis of the burlesque metalinguistic communicative personality (BMCP) in contemporary networked discourse, contrasted with the elite metalinguistic communicative personality (EMCP). The object of the study is modern network discourse as an environment for constructing and performing communicative personalities. The subject of the study is the burlesque metalinguistic communicative personality in network discourse, its structural and functional parameters, and the communicative effects arising from them (audience engagement, reframing, delegitimisation/repositioning, etc.) in comparison with EMCP. The purpose of the research is to theoretically conceptualise and empirically model the BMCP phenomenon and to develop criteria for distinguishing it from EMCP. In line with this purpose, the following objectives are formulated: to refine the terminology and definition of BMCP; to identify the theoretical and methodological framework of the study; to describe the structural, linguistic, sociocultural and psychomental characteristics of BMCP; to compare them with the parameters of EMCP; to outline ethical risks (manipulation, hate speech, privacy) and provide recommendations for further research. The empirical data include approximately 40,000 texts from 1,000 accounts across multiple platforms (X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Telegram). The study employs a combination of discourse-analytic, pragmalinguistic, context-interpretative, network, and quantitative methods. The findings demonstrate that BMCP represents a new and unstable type of linguistic behaviour that disrupts established cultural codes, employs burlesque, irony, and linguistic chaos, and foregrounds material and globalisation-related factors. This contrasts with EMCP, which fulfils norm-setting and educational functions. The prospects for further research involve expanding the classification of network communicative personalities, modelling their discursive strategies, and analysing the influence of burlesque practices on the formation of new linguistic norms and ethical standards in the digital environment.
У статті здійснено детальний морфологічний аналіз пейоративної лексики, що використовується в романі «МУР» («Малий український роман») сучасного українського письменника Андрія Любки. Пейоративи, як емоційно забарвлені мовні одиниці, відіграють важливу роль у створенні саркастичного, іронічного або негативного забарвлення тексту. У дослідженні розглядається їхня функція в художньому дискурсі, що дозволяє підкреслити специфіку персонажів, їхні емоційні стани та соціокультурний контекст. Аналіз охоплює 340 лексичних одиниць, з яких 303 класифіковані як пейоративи, а 37 – як інвективи. Пейоративи розподілено на п’ять основних морфологічних категорій: іменники, дієслова, прикметники та прислівники та дієприкметники. Найбільшу кількість становлять іменники та дієслова, що використовуються для характеристики персонажів та опису дій. Наприклад, іменники («фіфа», «гуцулик», «хахаль») підкреслюють соціальну або ґендерну приналежність персонажів. Тоді як дієслова («нализатися», «видудлити», «потикатися») створюють динаміку комічних або іронічних ситуацій. Також наголошено, що у тексті роману є низка іменникових словосполучень на позначення персонажів твору чи опису й характеристики людей, персонажів та ситуацій. Дієслова й дієслівні словосполучення пейоративної лексики позначають процеси споживання, мовлення, переміщення у просторі, мислення, емоційного стану людини та негативно-оціночного значення певних дій, зокрема, інтимного характеру та фізіології людини. За частотою вживання найпоширенішими є дієслова й дієслівні словосполучення на позначення процесу споживання, процесу мовлення, процесу переміщення у просторі. Опрацьовано 113 дієслів й дієслівних словосполучень. Прикметники, прислівники та дієприкметники у романі позначають характеристику людини крізь призму тваринних ознак, зовнішнього вигляду людини та принизливо-оціночних норм поведінки. Дослідження підкреслює значення контексту для визначення функції пейоративів у тексті. Контекстуальний метод дозволяє врахувати залежність між словесними одиницями та їхнім емоційним забарвленням. Використання пейоративної та інвективної лексики додає тексту експресії, реалізму й сатиричного колориту. Окрему увагу приділено класифікації за морфологічними ознаками, що розширює уявлення про функціональність пейоративів у літературі. Актуальність дослідження визначається зростаючим інтересом до емоційно забарвленої лексики та її ролі у художньому дискурсі. Практична цінність роботи полягає у можливості використання результатів у лінгвістичних і літературознавчих дослідженнях, викладанні мовознавства. | The article provides a detailed morphological analysis of pejorative vocabulary used in the novel MUR (“A Small Ukrainian Novel”) by contemporary Ukrainian writer Andriy Lyubka. Pejoratives, as emotionally charged linguistic units, play an important role in creating a sarcastic, ironic, or negatively toned text. The study examines their function in artistic discourse, which helps to underscore the specificity of the characters, their emotional states, and the sociocultural context. The analysis covers 340 lexical units, of which 303 are classified as pejoratives and 37 as invectives. Pejoratives are divided into five main morphological categories: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and participles. The largest portion consists of nouns and verbs, which are used to characterize characters and describe actions. For instance, nouns “fifa”, “hutsul”, and “khakhal” (e.g., фіфа, гуцулик, хахаль) emphasize the social or gender affiliation of the characters, while verbs like “nalysiatysia” (to get drunk), “vydudlyty” (to drink up), and “potykatysia” (to poke around) (e.g., нализатися, видудлити, потикатися) create the dynamics of comedic or ironic situations. It is also noted that the novel’s text contains a number of noun phrases that denote characters or serve to describe and characterize people, characters, and situations. The verbs and verbal phrases of the pejorative lexicon denote processes of consumption, speech, spatial movement, thought, and the emotional state of a person, as well as the negatively evaluative connotation of certain actions – particularly those of an intimate nature and related to human physiology. In terms of frequency, the most common are the verbs and verbal phrases indicating processes of consumption, speech, and spatial movement; a total of 113 such verbs and verbal phrases have been analysed. Adjectives, adverbs, and participles in the novel characterize individuals through the prism of animal traits, physical appearance, and derogatory evaluative norms of behaviour. The study emphasizes the importance of context in determining the function of pejoratives in the text. A contextual approach allows for accounting the interdependence between linguistic units and their emotional connotations. The use of pejorative and invective lexicon adds expression, realism, and a satirical nuance to the text. Special attention is paid to classification by morphological features, thereby broadening the understanding of the functionality of pejoratives in literature. The relevance of this study is underscored by the growing interest in emotionally charged lexicon and its role in literary discourse. The practical value of the work lies in the potential application of its findings in linguistic and literary research, as well as in language instruction. | A tanulmány részletes morfológiai elemzést nyújt Andrij Ljubka kortárs ukrán író «МУР» [„Egy kis ukrán regény”] című művében előforduló pejoratív szókincs használatáról. A pejoratív kifejezések, mint érzelmileg telített nyelvi egységek, fontos szerepet játszanak az ironikus, szarkasztikus vagy negatív hangvételű szövegek létrehozásában. A kutatás e kifejezések funkcióját vizsgálja az irodalmi diskurzusban, amely segít kiemelni a szereplők egyediségét, érzelmi állapotát és a szociokulturális kontextust. Az elemzés 340 lexikai egységet ölel fel, amelyek közül 303 pejoratívként, 37 pedig invektívaként lett meghatározva. A pejoratívák öt fő morfológiai kategóriába sorolhatók: főnevek, igék, melléknevek, határozószók és melléknévi igenevek. A legnagyobb arányban a főnevek és igék fordulnak elő, amelyek a szereplők jellemzésére és a cselekvések leírására szolgálnak. Például a fifa, hucul és hahal (ukránul: фіфа, гуцулик, хахаль) típusú főnevek a szereplők társadalmi vagy nemi hovatartozását hangsúlyozzák, míg az olyan igék, mint a nalysiatysia („leissza magát”), vydudlyty („felhajtani az italt”), vagy potykatysia („lófrálni”, „ténferegni”) (ukránul: нализатися, видудлити, потикатися) ironikus vagy komikus helyzeteket teremtenek. A tanulmány azt is megállapítja, hogy a regény szövegében számos főnévi szókapcsolat található, amelyek szereplőket jelölnek vagy személyeket, helyzeteket írnak le. A pejoratív igék és igei szerkezetek az evés, a beszéd, a térbeli mozgás, a gondolkodás, az érzelmi állapotok, valamint egyes – különösen intim vagy fiziológiai jellegű – cselekvések negatív értékelését jelölik. Előfordulási gyakoriságuk alapján a leggyakoribbak az evés, a beszéd és a térbeli mozgás folyamatait kifejező igék és igei szerkezetek; ezekből összesen 113-at vizsgált a kutatás. A regényben előforduló melléknevek, határozószók és melléknévi igenevek az emberek jellemzését szolgálják állati tulajdonságokon, külső megjelenésen, illetve lealacsonyító viselkedési normákon keresztül. A tanulmány kiemeli a kontextus jelentőségét a pejoratív kifejezések szövegbeli funkciójának meghatározásában. A kontextuális megközelítés lehetővé teszi a nyelvi egységek és érzelmi töltetük közötti összefüggések figyelembevételét. A pejoratív és invektív szókincs használata kifejezőbbé, életszerűbbé és szatirikusabbá teszi a szöveget. Külön figyelmet kap a morfológiai jegyek szerinti osztályozás, amely bővíti a pejoratív szókincs irodalmi funkcióinak megértését. A kutatás aktualitását az érzelmileg telített szókincs iránti növekvő érdeklődés és annak irodalmi diskurzusbeli szerepe adja. A munka gyakorlati értéke abban rejlik, hogy eredményei felhasználhatók a nyelvészeti és irodalomtudományi kutatásokban, valamint a nyelvoktatásban.
This study aims to examines the impact of television programs in developing children’s language skills, with a focus on the deficiencies in the language used in TV programming. To explore these issues, the authors conducted a comprehensive survey across all regions of Kazakhstan and analysed the findings. Based on respondents’ feedback, the study identified primary challenges and drew conclusions grounded in scholarly perspectives. The survey addressed several aspects, including the language of children's television programmes and its effect on linguistic development, children's fluency in Kazakh, the extent to which media language conforms to linguistic norms, common speech deficiencies among children, and the amount of time children spend watching television. The survey involved 407 participants. Lexical deviations in children's language were analysed using data from a social questionnaire completed by respondents. Conducted across diverse demographic and geographic regions, the survey results show the frequency and impact of various social factors contributing to lexical deviations, including children's exposure to television. The study also highlighted the role of parents in fostering native language development (Kazakh) and confirmed that the surrounding environment – especially television – affects children’s adherence to lexical norms. The questionnaire was administered in the state language, with respondents given the opportunity to provide additional comments. Based on the findings, the study assessed the impact of television on children's language development and proposed recommendations for linguistic, cultural, and social interventions.
The present research assessed university student stakeholders’ perceptions of positive outcomes (i.e., appropriateness and benefits of conferencing) and negative outcomes (i.e., endangerment and revictimization of the complainant) associated with restorative justice-based direct conferencing in sexual misconduct cases. Stakeholders received random assignment to a 2 (allegation severity: more vs. less) × 2 (evidence strength: lower vs. higher) between-participant experimental design. More severe allegations and higher evidence strength were associated with lower ratings of appropriateness; allegation severity and evidence strength interacted to affect ratings of benefits; and more severe allegations, but not stronger evidence, were associated with higher ratings of endangerment and revictimization. Belief in the alleged perpetrator’s guilt explained the relationship between evidence strength and ratings of appropriateness, and desire to punish the alleged perpetrator explained the relationship between allegation severity and ratings of appropriateness. Researchers and Title IX coordinators should evaluate and respond to stakeholder sentiment toward direct conferencing.
The article systematizes and comprehensively analyzes the phenomena of the phonetic level of the Internet vocabulary of the modern Kazakh language. Instagram, Facebook, social networks (Threads, Instagram, Facebook), and instant messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram), which have been actively used in recent years, were chosen as the object of the study. The research used methods of observation, generalization, comparative and descriptive analysis. As a result, it is revealed that new forms of linguistic usage are being formed in the Internet space, characterized by a mixture of elements of spoken and written speech. At the phonetic level, phenomena such as sound compression of words and, conversely, the repetition of graphemes to convey emotions in writing are widespread. The active use of Latin graphics and the development of foreign-language sounds indicate a new stage of phonetic adaptation in the Kazakh-speaking Internet space. The article provides specific examples of these phenomena, reveals their causes and impact on the modern linguistic norm and writing culture. According to the results of the study, it was found that the phonetic features of the Internet vocabulary reflect the natural development and adaptability of the Kazakh language.
Large Language Models (LLMs) employ deep learning algorithms to generalize patterns in data. Applying these LLMs to classification tasks can reduce the required labor and time. The research aims to fine-tune the LLM Llama 3.1 to correctly identify whether a chosen text message exhibits a positive or negative emotion. The goal of this procedure is to apply the fine-tuned LLM to large databases of text messages and locate users whose recent texts contain a large proportion of negative samples. This way, I can alert the users and direct them to help very early on. I chose the Stanford Sentiment Treebank v2 (SST-2) dataset. It mimics the emotional polarity of real texts with its even positive-negative sample distribution and its contextless format. I used the Unsloth framework and LoRa to significantly reduce the resources required during the fine-tuning process. I tested the model by taking SST-2’s train split and inputting them individually into the trained model. Using this method, I found the Llama model to be highly accurate, with an accuracy of 94.8%. Interestingly, it had a high average Binary Cross-Entropy (BCE) Loss of 0.782 but achieved high accuracy. The testing against other models shows that the BCE Loss for sentiment analysis is not correlated to the actual accuracy of the model. From the results, I determined Llama 3.1 was the most suitable LLM for the sentiment analysis of large text databases.
Uncertainty of scientific findings are typically reported through statistical metrics such as $p$-values, confidence intervals, etc. The magnitude of this objective uncertainty is reflected in the language used by the authors to report their findings primarily through expressions carrying uncertainty-inducing terms or phrases. This language uncertainty is a subjective concept and is highly dependent on the writing style of the authors. There is evidence that such subjective uncertainty influences the impact of science on public audience. In this work, we turned our focus to scientists themselves, and measured/analyzed the subjective uncertainty and its impact within scientific communities across different disciplines. We showed that the level of this type of uncertainty varies significantly across different fields, years of publication and geographical locations. We also studied the correlation between subjective uncertainty and several bibliographical metrics, such as number/gender of authors, centrality of the field's community, citation count, etc. The underlying patterns identified in this work are useful in identification and documentation of linguistic norms in scientific communication in different communities/societies.
The paper presents the analysis of thematic groups of English youth slang, its functional and pragmatic realization in social networks using the most used Instagram and X. It is noted that one of the most noticeable manifestations of modern linguistic dynamics is the emergence and active functioning of Internet slang is a flexible, creative and multifunctional layer of vocabulary, which vividly reflects linguistic innovations, stylistic experiments and current cultural codes of the digital era. Accordingly, the thematic classification of digital slang units is not just a way of ordering. It enables a deeper understanding of the pragmatic intentions of speakers, the specifics of lexical choice, and the dominant emotional codes that operate in the youth and student environment. Modern English language slang, operating in the digital space of Instagram and X, structurally represents several key thematic domains that demonstrate the pragmatic, emotional, and socio-communicative functions of youth speech. The corpus analysis proved the most common use of slang units of an emotionalevaluative nature, reflecting the need for a quick verbal response, assessment of situations and phenomena; then slangisms of self-presentation and style, which fix the priorities of visual culture and aestheticization of everyday life; then words and phrases related to gender identity, topics of flirting, romantic relationships, and social positioning in the sphere of privacy; then comes the slang of psycho-emotional state and self-awareness, which indicates the normalization of the topic of mental health in public discourse, and, finally, units related to the academic sphere and work processes: the vocabulary of deadlines, academic stress and self-irony about productivity. Thus, digital slang is a multifunctional resource, reflecting both cultural markers and the lexical dynamics of Generation Z, as well as the need for constant stylistic balance between irony, self-presentation, and co-creation. It has been determined that each of these groups, namely: emotional-evaluative vocabulary, selfpresentation and style, gender relations, psycho-emotional states, humor and meme culture, as well as academic and career life, represents not only the content priorities of digital youth communication, but also specific functional and pragmatic strategies: expressive self-expression, irony, social identification, cognitive de-escalation or symbolic opposition to norms. The slang does not simply reflect linguistic innovations, but also captures the transformations in the culture, thinking, and values of Generation Z within the context of the hybrid discourse of the digital age.
PURPOSE: This study interrogates the intercultural experiences of African international students (AIS) in a US Midwestern University. With a focus on West African students, the study explores how students confront and overcome linguistic, cultural, and systemic barriers as they create new dynamic spaces which are neither American nor African, but a mixture of both. SUBJECTS: 12 West African students. METHODS: I utilized ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews to better understand how the AIS engage in ongoing identity negotiation through language, food, cultural expressions, and technology. I conducted 40 hours of participant observation research over a 5-month period and interviewed 12 West African students. OUTCOME: Drawing on the theoretical constructs of hybridity and language ideology, the findings reveal how AIS negotiate identity by using traditional African cultural traits, rooted in what I term Africanism—with new cultural influences, generating unique, fluid and constantly-evolving hybrid identities. Language emerges as a powerful site of hybridity, where students shift between linguistic norms to balance intelligibility and cultural authenticity. These hybrid identities emerge through active, creative processes. IMPACT: The findings offer important implications for higher education, emphasizing the need for more culturally responsive support systems that recognize the distinct experiences of African students. Additionally, the study contributes to the fields of communication and migration studies by advancing a nuanced understanding of identity formation in transnational contexts. By foregrounding the voices of African students, this research challenges monolithic representations of international students and promotes intercultural dialogue in fostering inclusive communities and enriching educational environments.
This article explores the peculiarities of how euphemistic and dysphemistic expressions function as tools in the author’s strategy of linguistic play within the narrative space of contemporary French writer Bernard Werber’s short prose. The research is based on the collection “L’Arbre des possibles et autres histoires”, where each story unfolds as a speculative scenario set in an alternative spatiotemporal dimension. Linguistic play is understood as a deliberate deviation from linguistic norms, a playful manipulation of linguistic resources to achieve a particular pragmatic resonance. In Bernard Werber’s works, euphemistic and dysphemistic substitutes manifest as linguistic entities drawn from diverse discursive domains – media, administrative, juridical, and scientific domains, particularly medical, biological, psychological, and philosophical, as well as lexemes and expressions from diverse linguistic registers interacting within a single context. Such stylistic heterogeneity, coupled with the contamination of usual media euphemisms with substitutes forged through alternative stylistic figures, generates not merely humorous, ironic, and satirical effects, but also cultivates an atmosphere of absurdity and, occasionally, cognitive dissonance within the reader’s consciousness. The synthesis of euphemisms and dysphemisms within unified contextual boundaries precipitates an effect of semantic and stylistic flickering – a peculiar oscillation between the veiling and illumination of an object’s negative attributes in a 'veil–spotlight' mode (in line with D. Jamet’s metaphors). This phenomenon induces cognitive tension in the reader, thereby activating their interpretative engagement. Through this mechanism, the author not only constructs possible worlds but also engages the reader in an active game of meaning decipherment – a manifestation that simultaneously embodies postmodernist literary practice and reflects the distinctive features of the writer’s individual stylistic signature.
This article examines the ways in which speech culture norms are violated within contemporary television information flows and explores how these violations influence public perception of language standards. As television remains one of the most powerful and widely consumed sources of information, its linguistic output significantly shapes the communicative behavior, speech habits, and normative expectations of viewers. The study focuses on identifying typical types of norm deviations such as improper pronunciation, lexical inaccuracies, stylistic inconsistency, syntactic fragmentation, and conversational markers inappropriate for formal broadcast settings. Using a qualitative discourse analysis of selected news programs and informational talk shows, the research reveals how repeated exposure to such deviations gradually normalizes them in the public consciousness. The findings indicate that audiences often internalize these linguistic patterns, which contributes to the erosion of established literary norms and reduces sensitivity to linguistic correctness. The study also highlights how the speed, emotional tone, and commercial orientation of modern television programming contribute to the spread of simplified or colloquial language forms.
This article explores the phenomenon of lexical borrowing and semantic shift within digital neologisms that have emerged at the intersection of Chinese and English languages. The rapid development of digital communication and social media platforms has facilitated a dynamic exchange of linguistic elements between cultures, giving rise to unique hybrid terms. The study analyzes the etymology, adaptation, and contextual meanings of selected Chinese-English neologisms used in online discourse. Special attention is given to how borrowed words undergo semantic transformation during cross-cultural integration, reflecting changing social values, technological innovation, and evolving communicative norms. Drawing on examples from platforms such as WeChat, TikTok (Douyin), and Xiaohongshu, this paper highlights how digital spaces function as laboratories for lexical experimentation and identity expression. The research contributes to the understanding of global linguistic convergence and the role of technology in shaping modern vocabulary.
The computational burden associated with transformer architectures like BERT presents obstacles for deployment in resource-constrained environments. Contemporary compression methodologies primarily employ uniform compression strategies across diverse input instances, neglecting the inherent variability in computational requirements among different examples. In this paper, we present a distinct example-aware adaptive layer pruning framework that dynamically orchestrates transformer layer selection contingent upon input complexity characteristics. Our methodology incorporates a compact policy network architecture that generates binary activation masks for individual layers, allowing for personalized computational resource allocation per input instance. Through the implementation of differentiable Gumbel-Sigmoid relaxation mechanisms, we enable end-to-end optimization protocols while preserving classification accuracy. Comprehensive empirical evaluation on the Stanford Sentiment Treebank (SST-2) corpus demonstrates our approach achieving 93.0% classification accuracy while utilizing just 3.81 layers on average from the complete 12-layer architecture, yielding a substantial 3.15 × compression ratio. This methodology outperforms established compression techniques including DistilBERT, TinyBERT, and conventional static pruning approaches, establishing a superior equilibrium between accuracy preservation and computational efficiency in BERT compression paradigms.
This article explores the stylistic and linguistic peculiarities of gender-based proverbs in the Uzbek language, emphasizing their cultural, communicative, and aesthetic dimensions. Proverbs reflecting gender relationships have been an essential part of the national linguistic worldview, encoding social norms, values, and the perception of men and women in society. Through the lens of stylistics, this research investigates how lexical, metaphorical, and syntactic features convey gender meanings. The study draws upon comparative examples from English, Russian, and Turkic proverb traditions to highlight universal and culture-specific aspects. The findings reveal that gender-based proverbs function as both linguistic art and ideological instruments that reflect and reproduce gender identities across generations. Keywords: gender linguistics, stylistic features, proverbs, figurative language, national mentality, linguistic worldview, gender stereotypes, metaphor
The article presents a linguistic analysis of gender conflict in the Kazakh women’s prose of U. Tazhikenova. Special attention is given to the linguistic means through which the author conveys the contradictions between the personal aspirations of the heroines and the social expectations of society. The analysis is conducted on three levels: lexical, syntactic, and discursive. At the lexical level, the contrast between terms denoting traditional family duties and words reflecting the pursuit of self-realization, creative independence, and professional development is highlighted. Syntactic devices, including complex sentences, inversions, and repetitions, enhance the emotional coloring of the text and emphasize the psychological tension of the heroines. Discursive analysis reveals mechanisms of reinforcement and dismantling of gender stereotypes through dialogues, internal monologues, and authorial remarks. Lexical, syntactic, and discursive elements simultaneously reflect social and cultural transformations, serve as a tool for artistic construction of gender conflict, and allow deeper understanding of the heroines’ psychological states, social positions, and struggles for personal identity. These mechanisms help reveal complex interactions of characters with society and cultural norms.
Loneliness has been linked to impairment in emotional appraisal and emotion regulation. This study aimed to test a set of pre-registered hypotheses by suggesting that loneliness alters bottom-up appraisal processes of social threat and top-down emotion regulation mechanisms. In this double-blind, within-subject study, we included 120 individuals (equally split between highly lonely and non-lonely groups) who received active (2 mA) or sham transcranial direct current stimulation over the left or right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) in separate sessions. Participants were asked to passively watch negative or neutral stimuli or to reinterpret negative stimuli to decrease their affective response. Overt behavioral responses (valence and arousal self-response) and covert physiological markers (event-related potentials [ERPs]) of the affective response in each group were analyzed separately for stimuli with and without social content. Active dlPFC stimulation enhanced neural modulation during the reappraisal of social stimuli, as reflected in a larger difference in late positive potential between reappraised and passively viewed negative images. However, the valence rating difference between these conditions suggested less effective reappraisal under active stimulation. Anodal stimulation of the left dlPFC selectively decreased self-reported emotional reactivity during the passive viewing of social stimuli in highly lonely individuals. However, this effect occurred without corresponding changes in ERP markers. Loneliness may primarily impair the self-monitoring of affective responses rather than that of regulatory mechanisms. The left dlPFC supports the accurate self-assessment of emotional states, and targeted non-invasive brain stimulation can alleviate loneliness-related difficulties in this domain.
Math anxiety poses significant challenges for university psychology students, affecting their career choices and overall well-being. This study employs a framework based on behavioural forma mentis networks (i.e. cognitive models that map how individuals structure their associative knowledge and emotional perceptions of concepts) to explore individual and group differences in the perception and association of concepts related to math and anxiety. We conducted 4 experiments involving psychology undergraduates from 2 samples (n1 = 70, n2 = 57) compared against GPT-simulated students (GPT-3.5: n2 = 300; GPT-4o: n4 = 300). Experiments 1, 2, and 3 employ individual-level network features to predict psychometric scores for math anxiety and its facets (observational, social and evaluational) from the Math Anxiety Scale. Experiment 4 focuses on group-level perceptions extracted from human students, GPT-3.5 and GPT-4o's networks. Results indicate that, in students, positive valence ratings and higher network degree for "anxiety", together with negative ratings for "math", can predict higher total and evaluative math anxiety. In contrast, these models do not work on GPT-based data because of differences in simulated networks and psychometric scores compared to humans. These results were also reconciled with differences found in the ways that high/low subgroups of simulated and real students framed semantically and emotionally STEM concepts. High math-anxiety students collectively framed "anxiety" in an emotionally polarising way, absent in the negative perception of low math-anxiety students. "Science" was rated positively, but contrasted against the negative perception of "math". These findings underscore the importance of understanding concept perception and associations in managing students' math anxiety.
The article examines the word-formation competence of artificial intelligence in translating German feminatives into Ukrainian, with a focus on competing suffix models and compliance with contemporary linguistic norms. The object of the study is feminatives as a component of the Ukrainian word-formation system, while the subject is the translation strategies used by different versions of the ChatGPT language model. The research material includes German official texts containing feminatives denoting professions, positions, and social status. The methodology is based on contrastive and quantitative analysis of German feminatives with the suffix -in/-innen and their Ukrainian equivalents generated by three ChatGPT versions (GPT-4.0, GPT-5.1, and GPT-5.2), correlated with data from the General Ukrainian Language Corpus (HRAK). The results reveal clear differences in word-formation strategies. GPT-5.2 shows the highest sensitivity to modern Ukrainian tendencies, while GPT-5.1 demonstrates a transitional pattern and GPT-4.0 prefers traditional forms. The findings confirm the increasing sensitivity of language models to word-formation variability and corpus-based data.
The paper examines the history of editing the Arabic liturgical Psalter in the Church of Antioch after the introduction of Arabic printing in the Ottoman Empire. The study is based on a collation of the manuscripts and printed versions of the Arabic Psalter. The first important step towards the standardization of the Arabic Psalter was the 1706 Aleppo edition of the Metropolitan Athanasios Dabbās. It was based on a 17th-century handwritten text derived from the version of the well-known Bible translator ‘Abdallāh ibn al-Faḍl of Antioch (11th cent.). The 1747 Psalter, printed in Bucharest, was based entirely on the Aleppo edition, except for minor grammatical changes. In 1735, an improved version, based on the Aleppo edition, was printed at the Shuwayr monastery in Lebanon. The Shuwayr edition demonstrates a much higher quality in terms of spelling, grammatical norms of Classical Arabic, and conformity to the Septuagint, the Vorlage of the Arabic Bible of the Church of Antioch. This version underwent many reprints and became the second important stage in the editing of the printed Arabic Psalter. The third 18th-century version of the Psalter, with independent corrections in the biblical texts and with the kathismata prayers borrowed from the Shuwayr version, was the Beirut edition of 1752. The editors of the Psalter employed a consistent approach: biblical texts (psalms and Odes of the prophets) underwent minimal intervention, since their long-established version, edited by ‘Abdallāh ibn al-Faḍl, had already been tested over centuries and enjoyed authority. At the same time, the editors allowed themselves more freedom with the kathismata prayers: the latter underwent many lexical changes and sentence restructuring, as they were not biblical texts and were influenced by many colloquialisms and features of Christian Middle Arabic. The publication offers a Ukrainian translation of the second preface to the Aleppo Psalter (1706) and the preface and afterword to the Beirut Psalter (1752), which contain important references to the editorial work on the Arabic text.
Abstract: Emotions impact pain; appetitive (pleasant) emotions reduce pain, and aversive (unpleasant) emotions increase pain. Emotion regulation (ER) strategies can alter emotional experience, and we have shown that ER can alter emotional modulation of pain, but not emotional modulation of spinal nociception (as assessed by nociceptive flexion reflex, NFR). The current study examined whether ER influences the emotional modulation of cortical event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to nociceptive input. To investigate, 68 pain-free individuals viewed pleasant (erotic), neutral, and unpleasant (mutilation) pictures during which painful electric stimulations were delivered. Participants viewed one block of pictures without engaging in ER and were then randomly assigned to ER (suppress or enhance) employed during a second block of pictures. Picture-evoked valence and arousal ratings, skin conductance response, and corrugator electromyogram (EMG) suggested that ER successfully regulated emotional experience. Instructions to suppress led to a significant reduction of emotional modulation of self-reported pain (i.e., reducing pleasure-induced pain inhibition and displeasure-induced pain facilitation), but neither NFRs nor ERPs were affected. Paradoxically, enhance instructions had no effect on pain or NFR, but were associated with a general suppression of the P260 ERP, indicating non-specific emotional arousal up-regulation. Findings indicate ER can independently impact emotional modulation at perceptual and supraspinal levels, but does not impact spinal nociception. Given that emotional suppression led to decreases in displeasure-evoked pain facilitation without reducing displeasure-evoked facilitation of spinal or supraspinal responses to nociception, future research should determine whether this divergence is associated with positive or negative long-term consequences.
Learner Handover (LH) involves sharing information about learners between faculty supervisors, aligning with a growth mindset. Previous studies, however, demonstrate LH can bias subsequent ratings. Most of these studies collect ratings after a single encounter but faculty often have multiple interactions with learners potentially mitigating LH-related bias. This study explored if LH influences faculty ratings, entrustment decisions and feedback after observing several encounters of the same learner. Internal medicine faculty (n = 57) from five medical schools were randomly assigned to one of three study groups. Each group received either positive, negative or no LH prior to watching five simulated resident-patient encounter videos of the same white male resident. Participants rated each video using an entrustment scale, the Mini-CEX and provided written feedback. Feedback was assigned a valence score (-3 to + 3). There were no statistically significant differences between the mean ratings across the LH conditions (positive, control, negative) for entrustment [3.42, 3.26, 3.62], Mini-CEX [6.00, 5.90, 6.28] or feedback valence ratings [-0.34, -0.99, -0.74]. In the post-study questionnaire, most raters reported the LH had minimal effect on their decisions. Only 29% of raters guessed the true purpose of the study. Unlike previous studies, LH had no effect on ratings, entrustment decisions, or feedback after one encounter, nor over subsequent encounters with the same resident. These findings suggest LH's influence may vary and highlight the need for replication under different conditions, including diverse genders and equity-deserving groups, to identify factors that contribute to or mitigate bias.
Background: Color plays a pivotal role in visual perception, shaping emotions, attention, and cognition, particularly in art-related contexts. However, the influence of artistic training on color perception and neural processing remains poorly understood.Methods: This study examined differences in color perception between art and non-art groups using behavioral ratings and EEG data. Forty-four participants (22 art majors: 21.82 ±1.56 years old; 22 non-art majors: 20.73 ± 1.67 years old) with an equal gender ratio were recruited. Participants completed color perception tasks involving cool, warm, and neutral hues while EEG data were recorded with a 65-electrode system. Behavioral ratings and ERP components (P2 and P3) were analyzed, supplemented by decoding analysis to uncover neural processing patterns.Results: Behavioral data indicated that warm hues elicited higher emotional valence ratings than cool and neutral hues for both groups. EEG analysis revealed that warm and cool hues evoked larger P3 amplitudes compared to neutral hues. A group-hue interaction was observed in the P2 component, with the non-art group showing greater variability in P2 amplitudes across hues. Decoding analysis provided further evidence of distinct neural processing differences between the two groups.Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that color perception differs between art and non-art groups, particularly in the neural processing of the P2 component. Warm and cool hues elicit stronger emotional and attentional responses, highlighting distinct cognitive mechanisms influenced by artistic expertise.Keywords: ERP; color perception; P2; P3; artistic training
This article examines lexical and semantic deviations in the language use of Generation Z (Gen Z) in Nigeria, analysing how such deviations function as tools of creativity, identity, and communication in digital spaces. Despite extensive studies on Nigerian English, little attention has been given to the emerging, unconventional linguistic practices of Gen Z, particularly the role of digital technologies in driving their diffusion and the implications for intergenerational communication. The data collection process involved non-participant observation of online conversations, trending hashtags, memes, and other digital interactions. Slang terms and phrases were identified, recorded, and cross-checked with online slang dictionaries, blogs, and user-generated content to ensure reliability. Each lexical item was documented alongside its contextual usage, allowing for an accurate analysis of meaning in practice. This study systematically analyses twenty linguistic data drawn from Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, focusing on their semantic shifts, lexical innovations, and syntactic deviations from Standard English. Anchored in William Labov’s variationist theory (1966), the study adopts a sociolinguistic qualitative design, using purposive sampling to select relevant data and employing qualitative content. Analysis to categorise deviations based on their type, standard meaning, and social meaning. Findings reveal that Gen Z’s linguistic practices are not anomalies but deliberate strategies that serve to index social belonging, redefine conventional meanings, and facilitate cultural expressions. The study concludes that language use by Gen Z reshapes the lexico-semantic norms of English, highlighting broader implications for intergenerational communication, linguistic evolution, and sociocultural identity.
Recent studies demonstrate that visual working memory capacity is greater for real-world objects compared to simple features like colors and scrambled objects. This led to the proposal that conceptual meaning plays a critical role in structuring visual working memory (Chung, Brady, & Störmer, 2024). However, one challenge in comparing memory performance across stimulus sets is that they vary not only in conceptual meaning but also in perceptual similarity. Thus, some of the working memory benefits for real-world objects may arise from these perceptual differences – for example whether the visual system interprets inputs as objects or not. Here, we provide a strong test of this by using novel objects generated by generative adversarial networks designed to resemble real objects (Cooper et al., 2023), and compare memory performance across novel and familiar real-world objects. Across experiments, participants remembered sets of four objects drawn from one of four stimulus types: familiar objects, novel objects, scrambled familiar objects or scrambled novel objects. After a short delay, they completed a two-alternative-forced-choice task, selecting between a target and a foil object. Results revealed enhanced working memory performance only for familiar objects, with no differences among the other conditions. Importantly, convolutional neural networks analyses confirmed comparable perceptual similarities between familiar and novel objects relative to scrambled stimuli. Thus, although novel objects closely resembled familiar objects, they did not enhance memory performance. Further correlation analyses revealed that subjective familiarity ratings are correlated with memory performance for familiar objects, while low-level features like colorfulness are correlated with memory performance for novel objects, suggesting that visual memory relies on different aspects to best remember each stimulus type. Overall, these results demonstrate that “object-ness” alone is insufficient to enhance visual working memory. Instead, familiarity and conceptual knowledge are critical in improving working memory performance.
Math anxiety poses significant challenges for university psychology students, affecting their career choices and overall well-being. This study employs a framework based on behavioural forma mentis networks (i.e. cognitive models that map how individuals structure their associative knowledge and emotional perceptions of concepts) to explore individual and group differences in the perception and association of concepts related to math and anxiety. We conducted 4 experiments involving psychology undergraduates from 2 samples (n1 = 70, n2 = 57) compared against GPT-simulated students (GPT-3.5: n2 = 300; GPT-4o: n4 = 300). Experiments 1, 2, and 3 employ individual-level network features to predict psychometric scores for math anxiety and its facets (observational, social and evaluational) from the Math Anxiety Scale. Experiment 4 focuses on group-level perceptions extracted from human students, GPT-3.5 and GPT-4o's networks. Results indicate that, in students, positive valence ratings and higher network degree for "anxiety", together with negative ratings for "math", can predict higher total and evaluative math anxiety. In contrast, these models do not work on GPT-based data because of differences in simulated networks and psychometric scores compared to humans. These results were also reconciled with differences found in the ways that high/low subgroups of simulated and real students framed semantically and emotionally STEM concepts. High math-anxiety students collectively framed "anxiety" in an emotionally polarising way, absent in the negative perception of low math-anxiety students. "Science" was rated positively, but contrasted against the negative perception of "math". These findings underscore the importance of understanding concept perception and associations in managing students' math anxiety.
“Pictures are worth a thousand words," yet most platforms like Yelp, Google Maps, Instagram, Walmart, and Amazon require users to provide text, ratings, and images. Images often capture a user's intent, and the features within the images typically correlate with that intent. In this paper, we extract various features from images (such as edge distribution, color distribution, text within the image, focus, etc.) and compare simple vs. complex models to predict the ratings associated with these images. We find that features such as brightness and contrast significantly explain the rating at image-level, and models such as random forest and logistic regression provide a 0.84 F-1 score when predicting the rating. In the era of generative AI, we anticipate that sharing an image will allow platforms to auto-generate user intent and image ratings, thereby simplifying the dissemination of information.
Abstract Older adults consistently report higher emotional well-being despite some physical and mental declines with age. Some theorize this is due to differences in emotion regulation, however no conclusive evidence for age differences in emotion regulation strategies has emerged. Emotion regulation tactics, such as positive-approaching (enhancing the positivity of a situation) and negative-receding (reducing the negativity of a situation), hold promise for uncovering age differences. However, no studies to date have considered whether tactic vary in their physiological profiles. Thus, this study investigated 35 younger (M = 19.06 years, SD = 3.58; 17 women) and 42 older (M = 74.02 years, SD = 4.69; 23 women) participants who viewed emotionally-evocative videos and regulated emotions using positive-approaching and negative-receding techniques (with both regulation blocks compared to a neutral video block to control for baseline differences in psychophysiology). Multi-level linear models revealed significant Age x Sex x Tactic interactions, such that positive-approaching tactics (vs negative-receding) were associated with lower arousal ratings for younger women and older men (but not younger men or older women). While there was no tactic difference in self-reported arousal for older women, Respiratory Sinus Arrythmia (a measure of heart activity associated with calm parasympathetic states) was higher during positive-approaching for them. Interestingly, older men had higher RSA during negative-approaching tactics as compared to positive-approaching. These findings suggest emotion regulation tactics have age and sex differential impacts on self-reported and physiological arousal. Future work may disentangle physiological activation and self-reported behavior by also considering the role of interoceptive awareness.
Background: Cleft lip and /or palate affects speech production skills. To enable uniformity in reporting the speech outcomes in individuals with cleft lip and/. or palate, universal parameters were formulated. Aim: To develop and validate test (word) stimuli in Malayalam, for the evaluation of speech outcomes (hypernasality, audible nasal air emission, and/or turbulence and consonant production errors) in children with cleft palate based on the guidelines reported by Henningsson et al. Materials and Method: The study was carried out in two phases. The first phase involved the development of the word list and content validation by parents, primary school teachers, and speech-language pathologists. The second phase involved establishing the construct validity of the word list by administering it to children with cleft lip and palate. Results: From the 351 words chosen from textbooks, storybooks, and picture books of children; 170 words had obtained a familiarity rating of greater than 80%. However, the word list desired to be used during clinical practice can be restricted to 44 words with 10 words representing high vowels, three words representing low/mid vowels, and 31 words representing pressure consonants. Conclusions: Developing test stimuli in the vernacular language, Malayalam for describing speech outcomes in children with cleft palate would aid in designing a customized management plan and effectively delivering it.
Introduction. This article analyses media practices of euphemisation in diplomatic communications during Ukraine's War of Independence. The relevance of this research stems from the transformation of diplomatic and media communication in the context of full-scale war, when language becomes not only a tool for informing, but also a space for competing interpretations, legitimising decisions and shaping public opinion, where euphemisation acts as a means of preserving international solidarity, softening tragic realities and legitimising complex political decisions. Methods. The study uses discourse analysis of diplomatic speeches and media news reports, content analysis of quotations and their media presentation, comparative analysis of media texts and diplomatic sources, generalisation for the processing of theoretical sources, the method of contextual analysis to identify euphemisms and the process of euphemisation, as well as the method of classification to structure the most common techniques of euphemisation in diplomatic messages. Results and discussion. It has been established that the euphemisation of diplomatic messages during the War for Ukraine's Independence is a systematic linguistic-pragmatic strategy that functions at the intersection of diplomatic and media discourses and significantly influences the formation of public perceptions of the war. An analysis of the corpus of diplomatic statements, speeches by the President of Ukraine, Ukrainian diplomats and their media broadcasts revealed the dominance of lexical, syntactic and pragmatic euphemisation techniques aimed at softening, abstracting and neutralising direct references to war, violence and political responsibility. It has been found that diplomatic discourse consistently uses nominalisation, impersonal constructions and generalised formulas to reduce agency and avoid directly naming the aggressor, which is in line with the norms of institutional diplomatic communication and strategies of deliberate ambivalence. Ukrainian media, retransmitting these messages, mostly reproduce euphemistic formulas without change, thereby institutionalising them as a habitual model of speaking about war. Two levels of euphemisation have been identified: primary - in diplomatic speech, and secondary - in media representation, where euphemisms are reinforced through headlines, quotations and editorial interpretations.
When stimuli are retained in visual working memory (VWM), external stimuli which overlap this representation capture attention when performing a visual task. It has not been determined whether this mechanism can partly account for attentional capture by categories of real-world affective stimuli. Across five dual-task visual search and VWM change detection experiments (4/5 pre-registered; total N = 119) participants had to detect the change in either positive (kitten) or threat-related (spider) animal exemplars, whilst performing an intervening visual search task with peripheral distractors from these affective categories. Affective stimulus associations were confirmed by self-reported arousal and valence ratings in all samples, and confirmed in an independent sample (n = 82). It was hypothesised that threat-related and positive distractors would capture attention more, versus a neutral (bird or no distractor) baseline, when matching the contents of VWM. Experiments 1 - 3, however, found no evidence of increased capture by VWM-matching affective stimuli, though there was cumulative evidence of goal-independent capture by threat-related distractors. When, however, the trial structure became unpredictable, requiring constant preparation for the VWM task response (Experiment 4), or advanced action preparation to the VWM task was enabled (Experiment 5), then VWM-matching threat-related distractors caused greater attentional capture. This VWM-driven capture, however, was not found for positive distractors in any experiments. The results probe the boundary conditions when VWM contents drive attentional capture by entirely task-irrelevant affective categories, and suggests that background memory representations may not influence attention unconditionally, and instead may depend partly on their current prioritisation.
Previous research regarding verb production deficits in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) primarily concentrated on either the quantity of verbs (inflections) or verb-related semantic units, with little consideration given to verb production within syntactic contexts, i.e., verb collocations. This study explored verb collocations in the connected speech of Chinese AD patients within the framework of dependency syntax. The findings include: (1) The frequency distribution of verb collocation patterns in AD follows the Mixed-Poisson function similar to that in the healthy control elderly (HCE) and healthy control young (HCY) groups, but it differs in the use of low- and high-collocation patterns; (2) In the static aspect, the AD patients exhibit the lowest overall mean collocation pattern (MCP) among the three treebanks, followed by the HCE group. In the dynamic aspect, the MCP and sentence length in the three groups show a similar synergistic relation, but differences exist in the quadratic regression parameters; (3) Based on the probabilistic distribution of verb-governed dependencies, the AD patients exhibit the lowest syntactic proficiency, followed by the HCE group. The differences between the AD patients and the HCE group confirm the presence of verb production deficits and a decline in syntactic proficiency in AD. Although the HCE group also shows mild language deterioration compared to the HCY group, the extent of these changes is considerably smaller than that observed in the AD patients. These findings suggest that while aging may contribute to a partial decline in language abilities, AD markedly exacerbates and accelerates this deterioration process, following a pathological trajectory distinct from normal aging.
Background and objective Navigating interprofessional team dynamics is essential for high-quality patient care in pediatric settings. This study involved medical students on a pediatric clerkship who explored the characteristics of high- and low-performing clinical teams by considering drivers and barriers to effective team performance. By analyzing these reflections, the study aimed to identify key facilitators and barriers to effective team-based care. Methods Survey evaluations and narrative reflections were completed by third-year students (M3s) at a single US allopathic medical school during their pediatric clerkship after receiving training in TeamSTEPPS® and Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Open School, two programs that support quality improvement (QI) in healthcare. Descriptive statistical and inductive thematic analyses were conducted on the resulting 183 narratives. A valence rating system was employed to quantify narrative responses as positive/attractive or negative/aversive, with a Cronbach alpha of 0.958 between two independent reviewers. Results Inductive thematic analysis generated 40 themes that we grouped under the five TeamSTEPPS® skill domains (situation monitoring, communication, leadership, team structure, mutual support) into thematic conceptual models. High-performing teams demonstrated open communication, role clarity, shared understanding, and organized task delegation. Low-performing teams displayed a lack of information exchange, uncertain team roles, unhealthy power dynamics, and disorganized task delegation. Conclusions After instruction in QI methods, pediatric clerkship students identified consistent drivers of and barriers to effective team performance. The themes within the narrative reflections can provide insights into improving patient care delivery, specifically around situation monitoring, communication, and team structure.
The article offers a comprehensive analysis of the burlesque metalinguistic communicative personality (BMCP) in contemporary networked discourse, contrasted with the elite metalinguistic communicative personality (EMCP). The object of the study is modern network discourse as an environment for constructing and performing communicative personalities. The subject of the study is the burlesque metalinguistic communicative personality in network discourse, its structural and functional parameters, and the communicative effects arising from them (audience engagement, reframing, delegitimisation/repositioning, etc.) in comparison with EMCP. The purpose of the research is to theoretically conceptualise and empirically model the BMCP phenomenon and to develop criteria for distinguishing it from EMCP. In line with this purpose, the following objectives are formulated: to refine the terminology and definition of BMCP; to identify the theoretical and methodological framework of the study; to describe the structural, linguistic, sociocultural and psychomental characteristics of BMCP; to compare them with the parameters of EMCP; to outline ethical risks (manipulation, hate speech, privacy) and provide recommendations for further research. The empirical data include approximately 40,000 texts from 1,000 accounts across multiple platforms (X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Telegram). The study employs a combination of discourse-analytic, pragmalinguistic, context-interpretative, network, and quantitative methods. The findings demonstrate that BMCP represents a new and unstable type of linguistic behaviour that disrupts established cultural codes, employs burlesque, irony, and linguistic chaos, and foregrounds material and globalisation-related factors. This contrasts with EMCP, which fulfils norm-setting and educational functions. The prospects for further research involve expanding the classification of network communicative personalities, modelling their discursive strategies, and analysing the influence of burlesque practices on the formation of new linguistic norms and ethical standards in the digital environment.
The meditation claims that it leads to better anti-inflammatory response and healthy aging by proper telomerase regulation. There are also benefits and positives in physical and mental health. The variety of diseases to be studied should be increased. It affects immunology, genetics and various aspects of physical and mental health including depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, conflict between couples, anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Sit quietly and focus on your natural breathing or a word or mantra that you repeat silently. Let thoughts come and go without judgment and focus your attention on the breath or mantra. Physical sensations. Notice subtle physical sensations like itching or tingling without judgment and let them go. Pay attention to each part of your body sequentially from head to toe. Sensory. Pay attention to sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Name them without judgment, such as “sights”, “sounds”, “smells”, “tastes” or “touch” and let them go. Human beings have between 12,000 and 50,000 thoughts per day, and 80 percent of them are negative. Emotional experiences deeply affect our physical states, for example, when we feel anger, our eyes close and our face burns. The training has positive effects on the physical and mental health of adults, such as reducing mood and anxiety disorders, distress and blood pressure. Magnetic alternating current stimulation applied at different frequencies (beta, theta and gamma) while theta and beta-tACS caused participants to rate emotional images as more pleasant (higher valence), while only theta-tACS reduced subjective arousal ratings (more calm). Regular practitioners have younger and brighter skin due to freedom from fear and stress.
Abstract This study investigates linguistic variation within the Rakhine community in Chattogram, Bangladesh, with a focus on age, exploring how language use shifts across generations. It examines generational differences in language proficiency, domain of use, and attitudes to ward the Rakhine language. The findings reveal a significant generational gap: older speakers demonstrate the highest proficiency in Rakhine and use it across nearly all domains, serving as custodians of traditional linguistic norms. In contrast, younger speakers exhibit greater bilingualism in Rakhine and Bangla, influenced by education, media, and technology. This exposure leads to code-switching, borrowing from Bangla and English, and a reluctance to use Rakhine in formal settings. The adult generation occupies a transitional position, balancing traditional language practices with the demands of a multilingual society. The study concludes that while the family remains a key site for language transmission, the increasing dominance of Bangla in public spheres poses challenges to the long-term vitality of Rakhine. To preserve the language’s heritage and its continued use in formal and public life, institutional support and community-led initiatives are important.
Michael Riffaterre’s semiotic theory, with its emphasis on ungrammaticality and multi-layered reading, has provided an influential model for analyzing the distinctive structure of poetic language. This study investigates the application of Riffaterre’s semiotic framework to Qur’anic interpretation, with a specific focus on Angelika Neuwirth’s intertextual readings of the Qur’an. Neuwirth views the Qur’an as a poetic and dialogical text that engages with earlier religious and cultural traditions. She employs Riffaterre’s model to reveal the text's semantic depth and internal coherence through the notions of ungrammaticality and dual signification. Using Surah al-Ikhlāṣ as a case study, this paper critically evaluates Neuwirth’s application of Riffaterre’s theory by examining her treatment of the supposed “ungrammaticality” regarding the use of the word aḥad. The paper argues that the notion of ungrammaticality in the Qur’an can be reinterpreted not as a violation of linguistic norms, but rather as a semiotic cue that signals deeper intertextual and theological meanings. Accordingly, evaluating alleged irregularities requires a contextual analysis of lexical patterns across the entire Qur’an, where usage, frequency, and semantic range reveal a consistent theological logic. By integrating insights from classical Arabic grammar, lexicography, and tafsīr with modern semiotic theory, this study reassesses the scope and limits of applying Riffaterre’s model to sacred text analysis. It concludes that while semiotic and intertextual approaches can illuminate the Qur’an’s structural and semantic complexity, they must operate within a balanced hermeneutical framework that respects the text's revelatory nature and linguistic precision. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the intentional utilization of ungrammaticality in the Qur’an effectively serves specific theological functions.
The translinguistic research paradigm contributes to the study of specific aspects of social interaction among multilingual language users. The multimodal and multisensory nature of language is manifested in language varieties including geographical, social, age or gender varieties. Human beings in the process of language contacts are very conscious of the relationship between race, nation and community on the one hand and language on the other, and the discrepancies between boundaries in linguistic structural terms and in socio-cultural and ideological terms. The object of the study is anglicisms used by the students of Don State Technical University in the media space from the point of view of highlighting their lexico-semantic characteristics and functioning. The aim of the research is to study the main trends in the use of anglicisms by students in social student networks. On the basis of the conducted online survey of 360 students of DSTU we tested hypotheses about the reasons and main trends in the use of anglicisms, the influence of students' specialization on their use in speech. The respondents' answers were divided into the following categories: 1) the most frequent anglicisms; 2) meanings of words; 3) spheres of application; 4) violation of the linguistic norm; 5) reasons for their usage; 6) prospects. We collected both quantitative and qualitative data, including surveys and observations. The results of the research indicate the tendency of frequent usage of direct borrowings and calques from English related to the sphere of “Internet” usage. Multilingual learners freely incorporate Anglicisms into their speech to overcome differences, discrepancies, inconsistencies and ambiguities in communication, manipulating them for strategic benefits when necessary. The use of anglicisms in the speech of the youth does not depend on their belonging to a professional community, with the exception of jargon and professional slang.