Directional adposition use in English, Swedish and Finnish

Directional adpositions such as to the left of describe where a Figure is in relation to a Ground. English and Swedish directional adpositions refer to the location of a Figure in relation to a Ground, whether both are static or in motion. In contrast, the Finnish directional adpositions edellä (in front of) and jäljessä (behind) solely describe the location of a moving Figure in relation to a moving Ground (Nikanne, 2003). When using directional adpositions, a frame of reference must be assumed for interpreting the meaning of directional adpositions. For example, the meaning of to the left of in English can be based on a relative (speaker or listener based) reference frame or an intrinsic (object based) reference frame (Levinson, 1996). When a Figure and a Ground are both in motion, it is possible for a Figure to be described as being behind or in front of the Ground, even if neither have intrinsic features. As shown by Walker (in preparation), there are good reasons to assume that in the latter case a motion based reference frame is involved. This means that if Finnish speakers would use edellä (in front of) and jäljessä (behind) more frequently in situations where both the Figure and Ground are in motion, a difference in reference frame use between Finnish on one hand and English and Swedish on the other could be expected. We asked native English, Swedish and Finnish speakers’ to select adpositions from a language specific list to describe the location of a Figure relative to a Ground when both were shown to be moving on a computer screen. We were interested in any differences between Finnish, English and Swedish speakers. All languages showed a predominant use of directional spatial adpositions referring to the lexical concepts TO THE LEFT OF, TO THE RIGHT OF, ABOVE and BELOW. There were no differences between the languages in directional adpositions use or reference frame use, including reference frame use based on motion. We conclude that despite differences in the grammars of the languages involved, and potential differences in reference frame system use, the three languages investigated encode Figure location in relation to Ground location in a similar way when both are in motion. Levinson, S. C. (1996). Frames of reference and Molyneux’s question: Crosslingiuistic evidence. In P. Bloom, M.A. Peterson, L. Nadel & M.F. Garrett (Eds.) Language and Space (pp.109-170). Massachusetts: MIT Press. Nikanne, U. (2003). How Finnish postpositions see the axis system. In E. van der Zee & J. Slack (Eds.), Representing direction in language and space. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Walker, C. (in preparation). Motion encoding in language, the use of spatial locatives in a motion context. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Lincoln, Lincoln. United Kingdo

Regionalized models for Spanish language variations based on Twitter

Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the globe, but not necessarily Spanish is written and spoken in the same way in different countries. Understanding local language variations can help to improve model performances on regional tasks, both understanding local structures and also improving the message's content. For instance, think about a machine learning engineer who automatizes some language classification task on a particular region or a social scientist trying to understand a regional event with echoes on social media; both can take advantage of dialect-based language models to understand what is happening with more contextual information hence more precision. This manuscript presents and describes a set of regionalized resources for the Spanish language built on four-year Twitter public messages geotagged in 26 Spanish-speaking countries. We introduce word embeddings based on FastText, language models based on BERT, and per-region sample corpora. We also provide a broad comparison among regions covering lexical and semantical similarities; as well as examples of using regional resources on message classification tasks

Expressing emotions in words: Facebook text-based comments in Tamil

Language being used as a communication tool is embedded with emotions. Emotions in language are obvious in face-to-face (F2F) communication than in any other forms of communications. Media Richness Theory explains that the richer the media is the more successful communication will be and vice versa (Moczynski, 2010). This means text-based communication such as letters, e-mails, memo and so forth lacking of non-verbal cues like intonations, facial expressions, body movements and others, will not be as successful as F2F communication. On the other hand, there are also studies which have proven that computer mediated communication can convey non-verbal cues as effective as in F2F communication by manipulating the fonts with capitalization or using coloured fonts to express emotions (Mali, 2007; Boonthanom, 2004). Nevertheless, how is it possible to communicate non-verbal informations in a language like Tamil which does not have capital letters or colour code? The aim of this study is to identify the techniques used by Tamils in conveying emotions through words in facebook. This paper further discusses the frequent and helpful techniques used in Tamil communication. Samples chosen for this study were forty active facebook users who have good language competency in Tamil

LANGUAGE STRATEGIES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: NEW PROSPECTS FOR NEGOTIATION AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

With the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 — when negotiations have been almost exclusively carried out in online settings — there is a growing need for research which addresses this new norm. This dissertation explores how linguistic cues can corroborate or challenge the established measures in negotiation and conflict management research. The overarching objective is to study the interdependence of language and culture in the presence of technology within the domain of international negotiations and conflict resolution. The first essay of the dissertation addresses the anomalies regarding the use of the two major negotiation strategies identified by prior research – questions and answers (Q&A) and substantiation and offers (S&O) – and their effectiveness across cultures. I triangulate between cognitive methods utilized in negotiations research (mental model convergence, fixed-pie bias), linguistic cues (words with positive and negative connotations), and language style matching (LSM), a novel analysis in international buyer-seller negotiations. Based on an online negotiation simulation between representatives of a high-context (Hong Kong Chinese) and low-context (U.S.) communication culture (total sample size is 300) and subsequent linguistic analysis of the transcripts, the essay questions the notion of normative strategy; shows the conditions when the strategies have an integrative versus distributive character; identifies cognitive mechanisms which explain why S&O might be more beneficial than Q&A in a high-context communication culture; and clarifies in which cultural contexts the index of language style matching reflects a deeper, cognitive simmilarity and in which an automatic process. The second essay is a systematic literature review of studies about language in international conflict management research. The essay emphasizes a positive potential of a conflict and suggests how it can be achieved linguistically in an intercultural environment. It shows how language can give a dynamic process to conflict management. Unlike the static view of conflict, the proposed theoretical framework underscores the importance of poly-contextual behavior, i.e., how the behavior changes across contexts. By focusing on the multilingualism, the essay further disentangles language and culture, which are often mixed together. The essay suggests short term and long term strategies for a dynamic conflict de-escalation in the domain of international business

Age-related differences in the ability to decode intentions from non-literal language

Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. We are grateful for the input of Megan Campbell and Ruth Filik in designing the stimuli, and we would like to thank Isla Donaldson and Hannah McDonald for carrying out some of the testing. Declarations of interest: none. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.Peer reviewedPostprin

Language Choice and Marketing Communications

The ever-increasing population of bilinguals raises important questions for marketing scholars. For example, the ubiquity of web-based retail platforms brings potential consumers to a single online marketplace, bombarding them with a myriad of options. Web retailers and advertisers typically post an online image of the products they sell, from which consumers must glean as much information as possible before making their purchase decision. With this in mind, marketers must decide how, and in what language, to best communicate with their audiences. This question is especially difficult to answer in bilingual populations, who may process information differently depending on the languages that they know. Previous research has suggested many mechanisms by which the choice of language may affect various brand outcomes. The present study was designed to examine whether presenting the same information in different languages has an inherent effect on cognitive patterns associated with information processing. We find partial support for the effects of language choice on emotion, recall, and narrative transportation, and lay the framework for future research

Language and anxiety: an ethnographic study of international postgraduate students

This paper presents some findings from an ethnographic study of international postgraduate students at a university in the South of England, which involved interviews and participant observation over a twelve-month academic year. One of the major themes that emerged from this research was students’ anxiety over their level of English language. Although all students entered their course with a minimum level of IELTS 6, the majority felt disadvantaged by particularly poor spoken English, and suffered feelings of anxiety, shame and inferiority. Low self-confidence meant that they felt ill-equipped to engage in class discussion and in social interaction which used English as the medium of communication. A common reaction to stress caused by language problems was to retreat into monoethnic communication with students from the same country, further inhibiting progress in language. Whilst some linguistic progress was made by nearly all students during the academic sojourn, the anxiety suffered by students in the initial stage must not be underestimated, and appropriate support systems must be put in place to alleviate their distress

A Model of Persuasion for Speaking Rate Adaptation

Proper speaking rate is a key attribute of effective communication. Emerging persuasive technologies use computers as a tool to induce human behavioural and attitude changes. This thesis established a computational framework which can persuade people to slow down their speech and communicate more effectively. We defined a conceptual model and implemented a computer software system, both serving as the cornerstones of our persuasion framework. The computer system is designed to persuade people to be aware of their speaking rate and to slow down their speech. The combination of computer technology and persuasive technologies and theories are embedded in the system. In order to conduct effective persuasion, a number of computer-based survey questions were asked and a short tailored letter was generated for each participant. A virtual coach system monitored and reminded the participant to slow down. A few adaptive cues were used to enhance the effects of the persuasion. We evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of the overall system. At the same time, we evaluated the feasibility of individual elements. A total of 22 participants was selected to make up the sample. The experiments were conducted under controlled conditions. The results indicated that our system is effective in persuading people to speak more slowly. The feedback from users indicated that our system raised their awareness about speaking rate