IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-02-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103874

Dongheng Yang , Ping Liu

Large language models have exhibited satisfactory performance in linguistic tasks pertaining to lexicon, grammar, and syntax. However, their pragmatic competence in user interactions remains underexplored. To address this research gap, the current study delves into the interpersonal dimension of pragmatic competence, specifically focusing on ERNIE Bot’s potential to manage rapport with reviewers in response to negative hotel reviews on TripAdvisor. A comparative approach is employed to analyze the rapport-managing moves in responses generated by ERNIE Bot versus those authored by human hotel managers. Our findings indicate that ERNIE Bot frequently employs rapport-enhancing moves to foster relationships. Specifically, we identify three key interpersonal strategies used by ERNIE Bot: specifying concerns, supporting emotions, and undertaking responsibility. The results suggest that ERNIE Bot demonstrates its pragmatic competence to promote positive rapport with reviewers. However, further training is necessary to align its responses more closely with hotels’ transactional objectives. Overall, this study provides insights into large language models’ linguistic potential in interpersonal contexts and offers practical recommendations for professionals considering the integration of AI-generated content into their operations.

大型语言模型在与词汇、语法和句法相关的语言任务中表现出令人满意的性能。然而，它们在用户交互中的实用能力仍未得到充分探索。为了解决这一研究缺口，目前的研究深入研究了实用能力的人际维度，特别关注ERNIE Bot在处理TripAdvisor上的差评时管理与评论者关系的潜力。采用比较方法来分析ERNIE Bot生成的回复与人类酒店经理撰写的回复中的关系管理动作。我们的研究结果表明，ERNIE Bot经常使用增进关系的动作来培养关系。具体而言，我们确定了ERNIE Bot使用的三种关键人际策略：指定关注点，支持情感和承担责任。结果表明，ERNIE Bot展示了其促进与审稿人积极关系的语用能力。然而，进一步的培训是必要的，以使其反应更紧密地与酒店的交易目标相一致。总的来说，这项研究提供了对大型语言模型在人际环境中的语言潜力的见解，并为考虑将人工智能生成的内容整合到其运营中的专业人士提供了实用建议。

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引用次数: 0

Dashing is faster than lumbering by sound: Speed sound symbolism in English motion verbs 从声音上看，潇洒比笨拙快：英语动作动词的语速符号

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-01-31 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103888

Haotong Zhao, Zhaohong Wu

Psychological experiments have established sound symbolic associations between fast/slow speed and various phonemes or phonetic features in our perception. These associations were also occasionally attested cross-linguistically in words for “fast” and “slow”. This study aims to determine whether speed sound symbolism resides extensively in English motion verbs (e.g., dash, lumber), words presumed to be more likely to exhibit speed sound symbolism. A rating questionnaire was used to obtain each verb’s implied speed. An extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) model revealed that phoneme frequency alone can account for 14.36% of semantic variation along the speed dimension, which is a modest but genuine effect. Phonemes /m/, /ʃ/, /t͡ʃ/ and /ɑ/ emerged as important predictors of speed ratings, with /m/ and /ɑ/ associated with slowness while /ʃ/ and /t͡ʃ/ with fastness. Our findings provided further evidence for the existence of sound symbolism in natural languages. Moreover, the sound-and-meaning matching patterns in English generally agree with patterns identified by previous behavioral tasks, suggesting that the way our language is constructed is affected by, or at least coincides with, speakers’ perception of speech sounds. The possible mechanisms underlying speed sound symbolism and its implications on language evolution and the concept of phonestheme are also discussed.

心理学实验已经建立了快慢语速与我们感知中的各种音素或语音特征之间的声音符号关联。这些关联偶尔也会在“快”和“慢”的跨语言词汇中得到证实。本研究旨在确定语速符号是否广泛存在于英语动作动词（如dash， lumber）中，这些词被认为更有可能表现出语速符号。使用评级问卷来获得每个动词的隐含速度。一个极端梯度提升（XGBoost）模型显示，音素频率本身可以解释14.36%沿速度维度的语义变化，这是一个适度但真实的影响。音素/m/、/ h /、/t / h /和/ h /成为速度等级的重要预测指标，其中/m/和/ h /与慢有关，而/ h /和/t / h /与快有关。我们的发现为自然语言中声音象征的存在提供了进一步的证据。此外，英语的音义匹配模式与之前的行为任务所确定的模式基本一致，这表明我们的语言构建方式受到说话者对语音的感知的影响，或者至少与之一致。本文还讨论了语速符号的可能机制及其对语言进化和电话主位概念的影响。

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引用次数: 0

How labial and alveolar consonants evoke the images of softness and cuteness?: Experiments with Korean speakers 唇音和肺泡辅音是如何唤起柔软和可爱的形象的？：与讲韩语的人进行实验

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103868

Hayeun Jang

The purpose of this study is to report on an experiment that examined how labial and alveolar consonants evoke images of softness and cuteness depending on their laryngeal features in Korean, and to discuss cross-linguistic similarities and differences in sound-symbolic associations. The main findings of the study were: 1) compared to alveolar consonants, labial consonants were more associated with images of softness and cuteness in Korean, as well as in Japanese and Chinese; 2) among both labial and alveolar consonants, lenis consonants were the most strongly associated with images of softness; 3) aspirated and tensed bilabial consonants evoked images of cuteness; and 4) among alveolar consonants, tensed alveolars are the most likely to evoke images of cuteness, while aspirated alveolars are the least likely to do so. The results suggest that 1) sound-symbolic associations of soft images are not always linked to those of cute images; and 2) the strength of sound-symbolic associations of consonants with the same place of articulation can differ depending on their laryngeal features. This study highlights the role of laryngeal features in sound symbolism and emphasizes the importance of cross-linguistic research in understanding both universal and language-specific aspects of sound symbolism.

本研究的目的是报告一项实验，该实验研究了在韩语中，唇音和alveolar辅音如何根据其喉部特征唤起柔软和可爱的图像，并讨论了声音符号关联的跨语言异同。研究结果表明：1)在韩语、日语和汉语中，唇形辅音与柔和、可爱的形象的关联程度高于肺泡辅音；2)在唇辅音和肺泡辅音中，lenis辅音与软性影像的关联最强烈；3)吸气和紧张的双耳辅音引起可爱的形象；4)在肺泡辅音中，紧张的肺泡最容易让人联想到可爱，而吸气的肺泡最不容易让人联想到可爱。结果表明：1)软图像的声音符号关联并不总是与可爱图像的声音符号关联；2)具有相同发音位置的辅音的音符号联想强度可能因其喉部特征而异。本研究强调了喉部特征在声音象征主义中的作用，并强调了跨语言研究在理解声音象征主义的普遍和特定语言方面的重要性。

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引用次数: 0

The conceptual building blocks of kinship terminologies 亲属关系术语的概念基础

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103841

Cliff Goddard

Kinship terminology was once a major focus of structural linguistics, yet the arcane symbols and notations of structural linguistics cannot plausibly represent the cognitive realities of speakers, and therefore hold little appeal for today’s cognitive linguists. This study seeks to put kinship semantics back on the cognitive linguistics agenda. It demonstrates that the emic-conceptual meanings of kinship terms can be successfully modelled using ordinary language words which make sense to the people concerned; and, furthermore, that this approach supports systematic cross-linguistic comparison. The study represents a re-boot of Wierzbicka’s “ordinary-language model” of kinship terminologies, retaining birth and conception as prototypes while shifting the model into the realm of the social. Revised explications of ‘mother’ and ‘father’ take account of adoption and similar practices. Original explications are proposed for ‘wife’ and ‘husband’. While acknowledging cultural elaborations, it is argued that these four concepts (‘mother’, ‘father’, ‘husband’, ‘wife’) may be substantially shared among the world’s linguacultures. With these basic conceptual building blocks in hand, it is demonstrated, using examples from English, Chinese, and Pitjantjatjara, that diverse language-specific kinship concepts can be built up in a systematic fashion. The study overviews a distinctive cognitive linguistic approach to the conceptual semantics of kin terms.

亲属术语曾经是结构语言学的一个主要焦点，但结构语言学的神秘符号和符号不能合理地代表说话者的认知现实，因此对今天的认知语言学家没有什么吸引力。本研究旨在将亲属语义学重新置于认知语言学的议程上。研究表明，亲属关系用语的象征性概念意义可以用人们理解的普通语言词汇成功地模拟出来；此外，这种方法支持系统的跨语言比较。这项研究代表了Wierzbicka亲属术语的“普通语言模型”的重新启动，保留了出生和概念作为原型，同时将模型转移到社会领域。“母亲”和“父亲”的修订解释考虑到收养和类似做法。对“妻子”和“丈夫”提出了最初的解释。在承认文化差异的同时，有人认为这四个概念（“母亲”、“父亲”、“丈夫”、“妻子”）在世界语言文化中可能有很大的共通之处。有了这些基本的概念构建块，通过使用英语、汉语和Pitjantjatjara的例子，可以以系统的方式建立不同语言特定的亲属概念。本研究概述了一种独特的认知语言学方法来研究亲属术语的概念语义。

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引用次数: 0

Nonverbal predication and SELF-assertive truth-conditionality in American Sign Language 美国手语的非语言预测与自我肯定的真条件

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103852

Tory Sampson , Rachel I. Mayberry

Our understanding of nonverbal predication wherein canonically non-verbal phrases such as nouns and adjectives are predicated in American Sign Language (ASL) is fragmentary. ASL has been reported to make extensive use of the null copula in nominal predication, but this claim was countered by recent evidence of an overt copula in the form of the sign SELF. There is also scant description and evidence regarding the structure of adjectival predication in ASL. Thus, we undertake two Likert-scale experiments investigating the relationship between several signs serving as potential copulas (SELF, IX, and null) and a variety of non-verbal predicates including nouns and adjectives in ASL. We find that SELF appears to be the primary means of expressing nominal predication as a copula in contrast to IX and null. As for adjectival predication, there is a preference to use the copular SELF with adjectives exhibiting more permanent properties such as DEAF and TALL. Paired with the finding that all adjectives in ASL appear to be predicative, we propose that the copular SELF carries an additional semantic contribution of grammatical modality. Signers appear to use it to assert truth and certainty, which is a novel finding in sign languages. We conclude that this grammaticalization process in sign languages parallels the account that lexical information historically expressed using non-manual markers eventually takes on a manual form.

我们对非语言谓词的理解是不完整的，其中典型的非语言短语如名词和形容词在美国手语（ASL）中是谓词。据报道，美国手语在名义预测中广泛使用了空连词，但这一说法被最近的证据所反驳，证据显示，一个明显的连词以SELF的形式出现。关于美国手语中形容词谓语结构的描述和证据也很少。因此，我们进行了两个李克特尺度实验，研究了作为潜在连词的几个符号（SELF、IX和null）与美国手语中包括名词和形容词在内的各种非言语谓词之间的关系。我们发现，与IX和null相比，SELF似乎是将名义预测表示为联结的主要手段。至于形容词的谓语，人们更倾向于将流行的SELF与具有更永久属性的形容词（如DEAF和TALL）连用。结合美国手语中所有形容词似乎都是谓语的发现，我们提出共同的SELF具有语法情态的额外语义贡献。签名者似乎用它来断言真理和确定性，这是手语中的一个新发现。我们得出的结论是，手语中的这种语法化过程与历史上使用非手动标记表达的词汇信息最终采用手动形式的说法相似。

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引用次数: 0

Prescriptivism, editing, and morphosyntactic variation in written South African Englishes: A case study of relative who, that and which 南非英语书面语中的规定性、编辑和形态句法变化：有关who、that和which的个案研究

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103855

Haidee Kotze , Melanie Ann Law Favo

In variationist research there is little reflection on the multiple agents involved in written textual production, whose distinct linguistic and normative representations influence the linguistic composition of a text. In this study, we ask where the uniformity and prescription-oriented nature of published written language originate – directly from writers, or from those responsible for editorial intervention. Focusing on the alternation between who, that and which in subject restrictive relative clauses with animate antecedents, we analyse patterns of variation in unedited written texts and their edited counterparts, across three subvarieties of South African English. We find that, generally, in the unedited writing of the subvarieties the distribution of relativisers patterns similarly to other varieties of English, reflecting the stability of the English relativisation system. However, in line with previous findings on New Englishes, there are lower-level divergences in the subvarieties investigated – and, in general, higher proportional frequencies of that and which with animate antecedents in restrictive relative clauses in subject position than is generally the case in previous studies that have focused on written language. Where a variety tends towards less prototypical usage, editorial interventions at times mask this by amending usage towards more prototypical usage. However, the patterns of intervention are not always consistent. The linguistic background of the editor in relation to that of the author (i.e. whether they are users of the same subvariety of South African English or not) appears to be one of the factors conditioning editorial intervention.

在变异论的研究中，很少反思书面文本生产中涉及的多个主体，其独特的语言和规范表征影响着文本的语言构成。在这项研究中，我们询问出版书面语言的统一性和规定性来自哪里——直接来自作者，还是来自那些负责编辑干预的人。关注带有动先行词的主语限制性关系从句中who， that和which之间的交替，我们分析了南非英语三个亚变体中未经编辑的书面文本及其编辑的对应文本的变化模式。我们发现，一般来说，在未编辑的亚变体写作中，相对符号的分布模式与其他英语变体相似，反映了英语相对体系的稳定性。然而，与之前对新英语的研究结果一致，在所调查的亚变体中存在较低水平的分歧，并且，总的来说，与之前专注于书面语言的研究相比，在主语位置的限制性关系从句中使用动画先行词的that和which的比例频率更高。当多样性倾向于较少的原型用法时，编辑干预有时会通过修改使用趋向于更原型的用法来掩盖这一点。然而，干预的模式并不总是一致的。编辑与作者的语言背景（即他们是否使用相同的南非英语亚种）似乎是制约编辑干预的因素之一。

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引用次数: 0

Socio-cognitive influences on translating forward causal connectives: A multivariate analysis of English translations of Tao Te Ching 社会认知对前向因果连接词翻译的影响：《道德经》英译的多元分析

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103872

Hui Kang , Yaxin Zhang

Building on previous research that has primarily focused on explicitation and implicitation in the translation of causal connectives, this study investigated the socio-cognitive imprints that influence the translation of these seemingly neutral function words. We examined the translated expressions of forward causal connectives, which signify both objective (motivator-result) and subjective (support-proposition) inter-clausal relationships, in nine English translations of the ancient Chinese classic Tao Te Ching. Using multivariate analyses, including cluster analysis, factor analysis, and correspondence analysis, we found that translators’ decisions might be influenced by their reasoning traditions (inductive vs. deductive) and the inherent properties of their native languages. Moreover, personal experiences affect these translations within a broader sociocultural context. Viewed through the lens of function word translation, our findings support and extend the principles of Social Cognitive Theory, highlighting the pervasive impact of sociocultural dynamics on translation practices.

在以往研究因果连接词翻译中的显性和隐含的基础上，本研究探讨了影响这些看似中性的虚词翻译的社会认知印记。我们研究了中国古代经典《道德经》的九个英译本中的前向因果连接词的翻译表达，它既表示客观的（动机-结果）关系，也表示主观的（支持-命题）关系。通过多变量分析，包括聚类分析、因子分析和对应分析，我们发现译者的决策可能受到他们的推理传统（归纳与演绎）和母语固有特性的影响。此外，个人经历在更广泛的社会文化背景下影响着这些翻译。从功能词翻译的角度来看，我们的研究结果支持并扩展了社会认知理论的原则，突出了社会文化动态对翻译实践的普遍影响。

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引用次数: 0

Explicitness of referring expressions in heritage speakers’ majority English 传统英语中指称表达的明确性

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103854

Tatiana Pashkova, Shanley E.M. Allen

Several studies on heritage speakers’ (HSs) majority language (ML) have indicated that HSs might be more explicit than monolingually-raised speakers (MSs) of this language. A reason for this might be HSs’ frequent communication with L2 speakers of the ML (e.g., HSs’ parents), which is an under-explored source of influence on the ML. However, explicitness in the ML has not been systematically addressed yet, and studies pointing to HSs’ higher explicitness are scarce.

Filling this gap, we conducted two studies analyzing referring expressions produced by German, Greek, Russian, and Turkish HSs in majority English as well as English MSs in formal and informal narratives. Results indicated that Russian and Turkish HSs were more explicit in informal narratives: they used more noun-headed NPs than English MSs (Study 1). This aligns with the reasoning that HSs’ explicitness stems from frequent communication with L2 speakers since HSs and L2 speakers usually interact in informal settings. However, we found no evidence of HSs’ higher explicitness in the use of pronouns and null anaphora (Study 1) or modified referring expressions (Study 2). Overall, our findings confirm HSs’ higher explicitness in some ML areas compared to MSs, although the effect appears limited to certain phenomena and speaker groups.

一些关于传统说话者（HSs）多数语言（ML）的研究表明，HSs可能比单语培养的说话者（MSs）更明确。造成这种情况的一个原因可能是hs与ML的第二语言使用者（例如hs的父母）的频繁交流，这是对ML的影响尚未得到充分探讨的来源。然而，ML中的显性性尚未得到系统的解决，而且指出hs更高显性性的研究很少。为了填补这一空白，我们进行了两项研究，分析了德语、希腊语、俄语和土耳其语高频语在大多数英语中产生的指称表达，以及英语高频语在正式和非正式叙述中的表达。研究结果表明，俄语和土耳其语的ss在非正式叙述中更明确：他们比英语ms使用更多的名词头np（研究1）。这与ss的明确性源于与第二语言使用者频繁交流的推理一致，因为他们和第二语言使用者通常在非正式场合互动。然而，我们没有发现证据表明高分辨率语言在代词和空回指（研究1）或修饰指代表达（研究2）的使用中具有更高的显性性。总体而言，我们的研究结果证实了高分辨率语言在某些ML领域比MSs具有更高的显性性，尽管这种影响似乎仅限于某些现象和说话群体。

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引用次数: 0

First acquiring articles in a second language: A new approach to the study of language and social cognition 首先习得第二语言冠词：语言与社会认知研究的新途径

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2024-12-02 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103851

Paula Rubio-Fernandez

Pragmatic phenomena are characterized by extreme variability, which makes it difficult to draw sound generalizations about the role of social cognition in pragmatic language by and large. I introduce cultural evolutionary pragmatics as a new framework for the study of the interdependence between language and social cognition, and point at the study of common-ground management across languages and ages as a way to test the reliance of pragmatic language on social cognition. I illustrate this new research line with three experiments on article use by second language speakers, whose mother tongue lacks articles. These L2 speakers are known to find article use challenging and it is often argued that their difficulties stem from articles being pragmatically redundant. Contrary to this view, the results of this exploratory study support the view that proficient article use requires automatizing basic socio-cognitive processes, offering a window into the interdependence between language and social cognition.

语用现象的特点是极端的可变性，这使得很难对社会认知在语用语言中的作用做出合理的概括。我介绍了文化进化语用学作为研究语言和社会认知之间相互依存关系的新框架，并指出跨语言和年龄的共同点管理研究是测试语用语言对社会认知依赖的一种方法。我用三个关于第二语言使用者冠词使用的实验来说明这一新的研究路线，因为他们的母语中没有冠词。众所周知，这些二语使用者发现冠词的使用具有挑战性，并且通常认为他们的困难源于冠词的语用冗余。与这一观点相反，本探索性研究的结果支持这样的观点，即熟练使用物品需要基本社会认知过程的自动化，这为语言和社会认知之间的相互依存关系提供了一个窗口。

引用次数: 0

Interpreter mediation as other-initiated self-repair in court: Effects on the defence in Chinese bilingual criminal trials 翻译调解作为法庭上他人发起的自我修复：对中国双语刑事审判辩护的影响

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2024-12-02 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2024.103850

Xiao Zhao , Jiahui Huang

This study examines the linguistic phenomenon of other-initiated self-repairs (OISRs) in the specific context of Chinese inquisitorial criminal courts. These OISRs are prompted by interpreters and implemented by non-native English-speaking African defendants, adversely affecting the defendants’ defence strategies. Transcriptions of five interpreter-mediated trials are analysed to understand the dynamics at play in court settings. Quantitative analysis of turn distribution data and subsequent qualitative conversation analysis reveal that linguistically vulnerable defendants are relegated to a constrained discursive space with limited support from their lawyers in Chinese bilingual courts. In these settings, frequent interpreter-initiated repairs hinder defendants disproportionately, undermining their ability to establish credibility, present new evidence, argue for exoneration or use sympathy cues for leniency. Placing these findings in the context of Chinese court power dynamics, we argue that the pervasive interpreter-initiated OISRs in Chinese courtrooms should be considered a shared responsibility rooted in the court’s language ideology and its legal beliefs and culture, which, at present, systemically marginalise defendants’ right to a fair trial.

本研究考察了中国刑事讯问法院特定语境下的“他人发起的自我修复”语言现象。这些OISRs由口译员提示并由非母语为英语的非洲被告执行，对被告的辩护策略产生不利影响。五个口译员介导的审判转录分析，以了解在法庭设置发挥的动力。对回合分布数据的定量分析和随后的定性对话分析表明，在中国双语法庭中，语言弱势的被告被限制在一个有限的话语空间中，律师的支持有限。在这些情况下，频繁的由口译员发起的修复对被告造成了不成比例的阻碍，削弱了他们建立可信度、提出新证据、争取免罪或利用同情暗示宽大处理的能力。将这些发现置于中国法院权力动态的背景下，我们认为，在中国法庭上普遍存在的由口译员发起的oisr应被视为一种植根于法院语言意识形态及其法律信仰和文化的共同责任，这些意识形态和文化目前系统性地边缘化了被告获得公平审判的权利。

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引用次数: 0

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