Selected polite expressions in contemporary Polish written in Ukraine (against the background of the Polish nationwide standard)

The aim of the article is to show some deviations from the Polish nationwide rules in selected polite expressions in the written text on a large amount of research material (over two thousand units), extracted from almost half a thousand issues of Polonia newspapers, published in Ukraine in the 21st century. What is analysed are some peculiarities of the structure of these units against the background of their pragmatic Polish nationwide equivalents, their functions in the press text of the inherited Polish language, and the communication capabilities both within and without the studied communicative community. The influence of Ukrainian polite expressions on the studied expressions of inherited Polish language is evaluated. The research results give rise to a reflection on the issue of differential acceptability — against the background of the general standard — of the features of the linguistic label in the inherited Polish language in Ukraine.

EXPRESS: The unique role of novel linguistic labels on the disengagement of visual attention

Do novel linguistic labels have privileged access to attentional resources compared to non-linguistic labels? This study explores this possibility through two experiments with a training and an attentional overlap task. Experiment 1 investigates how novel label and object-only stimuli influence resource allocation and disengagement of visual attention. Experiment 2 tests the impact of linguistic information on visual attention by comparing novel tones and labels. Because disengagement of attention is affected both by the saliency of the perceptual stimulus and by the degree of familiarity with the stimulus to be disengaged from, we compared pupil size variations and saccade latency under different test conditions: (i) consistent with (i.e., identical to) the training; (ii) inconsistent with the training (i.e., with an altered feature), and (iii) deprived of one feature only in Experiment 1. Experiment 1 indicated a general consistency advantage (and deprived disadvantage) driven by linguistic label-object pairs compared to object-only stimuli. Experiment 2 revealed that tone-object pairs led to higher pupil dilation and longer saccade latency than linguistic label-object pairs. Our results suggest that novel linguistic labels preferentially impact the early orienting of attention.

A Deep Learning Account of How Language Affects Thought

How can words shape meaning? Shared labels highlight commonalities between concepts whereas contrasting labels make differences apparent. To address such findings, we propose a deep learning account that spans perception to decision (i.e., labelling). The model takes photographs as input, transforms them to semantic representations through computations that parallel the ventral visual stream, and finally determines the appropriate linguistic label. The underlying theory is that minimising error on two prediction tasks (predicting the meaning and label of a stimulus) requires a compromise in the network's semantic representations. Thus, differences in label use, whether across languages or levels of expertise, manifest in differences in the semantic representations that support label discrimination. We confirm these predictions in simulations involving fine-grained and coarse-grained labels. We hope these and allied efforts which model perception, semantics, and labelling at scale will advance developmental and neurocomputational accounts of concept and language learning.

Optimal Contexts for Verb Learning

Purpose Verb learning is a critical but challenging part of language acquisition. Children with or at increased risk for developmental language disorder may particularly struggle with verb learning, and poor verb representations in turn may negatively impact children's language outcomes. Our goal is to examine literature on children's acquisition of verbs, identifying manipulable factors that may determine the ease or difficulty of acquiring a new verb meaning. Method In this narrative, nonsystematic review, we discuss findings about how verbs are learned and represented. Results Several aspects of the learning environment affect children's efforts to acquire verbs, including the linguistic context in which the verb is introduced, the timing of the linguistic label relative to the event it describes, the visual and linguistic variability, and the dose frequency. Conclusions We conclude that some learning situations are likely to be more helpful for children in the process of verb learning than others. We highlight some of the factors that contribute to good learning situations, and we discuss how these may differ depending on properties of the child and of the verb itself. Finally, we propose hypotheses for future translational and clinical research.

New online recommendation approach based on unbalanced linguistic label with integrated cloud

Purpose Online reviews increasingly present the characteristic of bidirectional communication with the advent of Web 2.0 era and tend to be asymmetrical and individualized in linguistic information. The authors aim to develop a new linguistic conversion model that exploits the asymmetric and personalized information from online reviews to express such linguistic information. A new online recommendation approach is provided. Design/methodology/approach The necessity of new linguistic conversation model is elucidated, and a leverage factor is incorporated into the linguistic label of negative review to handle the asymmetry problems of linguistic scale. A possible value range of the leverage factor is studied. A new linguistic conversation model is accordingly established with an unbalanced linguistic label and a cloud model. The authors develop a new online recommendation approach based on several modules, such as initialization, conversion, user-clustering and recommendation models. Findings The unbalanced effect between negative and positive reviews is verified with real data and measured using indirect methods. A new online recommendation approach of electronic products is proposed and used as an illustrative example to prove the practicality, effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed approach. Research limitations/implications Due to the unavailable transaction information of customers, the limitation of this study is the effectiveness of the authors’ established recommendation system for platform or website cannot be verified. Originality/value In most existing studies, the influence of negative review is counterbalanced by positive review, and the unbalanced effect between negative and positive reviews is ignored. The negative review receives much attention from consumers and businesses. This study thus highlights the influence of negative review.

In the name of (de)securitization: Speaking security to protect migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons?

This article examines how the protection of migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) is spoken about and framed. Today it is evident that the dominant responses of sovereign States to each of these groups is heavily reliant on the language of security and (de)securitization, and this article openly conceptualizes ongoing attempts to protect migrants, refugees and IDPs as a series of overlapping (de)securitized “games”. At least three arguments follow from this claim. First, adopting this approach serves as a reminder that the ways in which different groups of people are spoken about often constitutes a dividing line between life and death. Second, the language games of (de)securitization are not identical when it comes to protecting different groups. Third, using securitization as the theoretical point of departure provides a timely reminder that none of the three categorizations listed above is guaranteed to apply. On the contrary, the adoption of each linguistic label – migrant, refugee, IDP – is subject to and dependent upon audience acceptance. Remembering the latter dimension is imperative to fully comprehend the ongoing contestations and countermoves in response to people moving in search of security. By way of conclusion, the article contends that far more attention must be paid to broader understandings of acceptance and love to ensure the protection of migrants, refugees and IDPs.

Similarity-Based Approach for Group Decision Making with Multi-Granularity Linguistic Information

The aim of this article is to investigate the approach for multi-attribute group decision-making, in which the attribute values take the form of multi-granularity multiplicative linguistic information. Firstly, to process multiple sources of decision information assessed in different multiplicative linguistic label sets, a method for transforming multi-granularity multiplicative linguistic information into multiplicative trapezoidal fuzzy numbers is proposed. Then, a formula for ranking multiplicative trapezoidal fuzzy numbers is given based on geometric mean. Furthermore, the concept of similarity degree between two multiplicative trapezoidal fuzzy numbers is defined. The attribute weights are obtained by solving some optimization models. An effective approach for group decision making with multi-granularity multiplicative linguistic information is developed based on the ordered weighted geometric mean operator and proposed formulae. Finally, a practical example is provided to illustrate the practicality and validity of the proposed method.