Forum for Linguistic Studies

Harnessing the Power of Indigenous Zulu Music to Promote Language, Culture, and Diversity

2024-05-10T14:18:40+08:00

Indigenous Zulu music is a reflection of the Zulu people’s cultural and environmental surroundings, incorporating natural sounds and rhythms that highlight their close relationship with nature. This article explores how this music promotes language, culture, and diversity within the Zulu community. Drawing on Cultural Ecology Theory, which underscores the link between culture and the environment, the study examines how Zulu music adapts to these contexts. Methodologically, this qualitative study relied on secondary data from accredited scholarly sources, including journals, books, online government bulletins, and academic databases. The systematic review process ensured data reliability and validity, emphasising the role of indigenous Zulu music in preserving language and cultural identity. The findings reveal that Zulu music, through its songs and performances, celebrates the Zulu language and conveys significant stories and myths. This cultural expression serves as a means of preservation, ensuring the continuity of Zulu heritage. Moreover, the article discusses how integrating Zulu music into modern contexts sustains cultural diversity in South Africa. By blending traditional and contemporary music, Zulu musicians broaden their audience and share their cultural richness. This integration fosters cultural sustainability and dialogue, enriching the cultural landscape. In conclusion, indigenous Zulu music plays a vital role in preserving language, culture, and diversity among the Zulu community. Through its celebration of language and cultural heritage, Zulu music fosters intercultural understanding and represents the cultural richness of the Zulu people.

A Periphrastic Glance at Pre-Service and Basic Education ESL Teachers' Attitude toward PhilE and AmE

2024-05-16T11:13:47+08:00

Studies on attitudes toward Philippine English and American English have been done; however, the attitudes were examined through direct methods like interviews, survey questionnaires, and acceptability tests for the new vocabularies. The present study employs indirect means, such as the Matched-Guised Technique (MGT), to determine the attitude of pre-service and high school ESL teachers toward spoken PhilE and AmE. It utilizes well acknowledged views on attitude in determining the subjects' attitudes toward the speakers. Analysis shows that the judges have positive attitudes toward the PhilE and AmE. The findings differ from the results of previous studies that utilized direct methods of determining attitudes, which revealed the subjects' ambivalent attitude towards PhilE because of their preference for AmE. The paper recommends more seminars on World Englishes (WE) and PhilE in areas where English speakers are not yet open to such language phenomena. It supports earlier scholars' recommendations of inclusion or integration of WE and PhilE in ESL and EFL classrooms and promotion of the Englishes spoken across the globe with respect.

Exploring the Relevant Factors of Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in Language Learning—A Systematic and Bibliometric Approach

2024-05-13T14:06:50+08:00

Recent years have witnessed a surge of interest in learners’ Willingness to Communicate (WTC) within the L2 learning environment. This study aims to explore current trends, remarkable subjects, influential authors, sources and interplay of WTC variables in L2 learning from 1985 to 2023. A total of 259 articles were selected through PRISMA for the visualization of VOSviewer, and 221 publications for the citation network analysis with CitNetExplorer. The findings revealed 3 major variables with the capacity to influence WTC: individual traits, teachers’ roles, and learning environments. Prominent themes include the rising trend of positive psychology, the importance of motivation, confidence, attitudes, the application of teacher immediacy and WTC in L2 learning. The study also highlights the significance of considering peer and cultural factors in future research. By providing a rigorous overview of the literature, this study contributes valuable insights into the current state of WTC in L2 learning education.

Cognitive Linguistics: Disclosure of Cognitive Processes in Language Perception from an Analytical Perspective

2024-05-10T13:57:16+08:00

Cognitive theorists propose that the cohesion of human cognition directs cognitive functions, including all higher cognitive processes like memory, language, problem-solving, etc., are different manifestations of the same basic system. This postulate is at odds with the mental conception of language acquisition, which assumes the existence of a specific linguistic technique pre-programmed by a universal grammar. This concept has given rise to the dichotomy of acquisition and learning, which contrasts two independent ways of perceiving a foreign language: on the one hand, unconscious and accidental acquisition, which provides tacit knowledge that allows achieving spontaneous language use and constitutes linguistic competence. The paper proposes the concept of foreign language learning as part of the cognitive tradition, in which learning is attained through problem-solving in purposeful activities, and in which explicit and implicit, declarative, and procedural processes are integrated into a single, complex operation, forming part of the overarching mechanisms of cognitive processes. The paper uses a closed questionnaire survey of 1st–4th year students of the State Higher Educational Institution “Uzhhorod National University” and the Ukrainian Humanities Institute, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Journalism. The developed questionnaire presents 14 cognitive strategies in foreign language learning. The results of the survey showed that students equally often use language patterns, subtext, context, adaptation to different language situations, information reconstruction, and mnemonics.

The Effect of Background Noise and Music on Speech Recognition Performance of Individuals with Normal Hearing and Hearing Loss

2024-05-09T18:12:57+08:00

This study explores speech recognition characteristics in background noise and music between normal hearing (NH) listeners, hearing aid (HA) users and cochlear implant (CI) users.Sixty individuals participated in the study: 20 with NH, 20 HA users, and 20 CI users. HA and CI users had a Categories of Auditory Performance score of 6 and open set sentence recognition of 85% or higher. They had been using the devices for at least one year. Babble noise (BN), piano solo (PS), piano + violin (PV), and piano + chorus (PC) were presented at +5- and +10 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The participants were asked to listen and repeat words and sentences from the Korean Standard Sentence List for Adults. At +5- and +10 dB SNRs, CI users performed worse than those with NH on word and sentence recognition in BN, PS, PV, and PC. HA users outperformed CI users in all conditions. Those with NH showed better sentence recognition than HA users across all conditions at +5 dB SNR and better word recognition in PV and BN at +5 dB SNR and in PC at +10 dB SNR. Correlational analysis revealed that the percentage of life with hearing loss before CI was not correlated with sentence and word recognition across all conditions in both SNRs. Statistically significant negative correlations were observed between the duration of deafness and sentence and word recognition in some conditions. Despite individuals with HL performing well on clinical tests, background music can still interfere with communication for those using hearing devices. To accurately evaluate individuals’ communication abilities clinical tools that include background music need to be developed. Studies using different types of music could help develop and standardize such tools for assessing speech and language abilities in individuals with hearing loss.

An Ideological Critique of the legacy of Nelson Mandela in Brenda Fassie' s “Black President”

2024-05-21T12:15:23+08:00

The intrarelationship between language and music is an enthralling and intricate interplay that spans various dimensions of human expression. Both language and music are complex forms of communication, and their interaction can be observed in several ways. Words, phrases, and sentences in a language underpin specific meanings and convey information. The structure and choice of words enable precise communication of thoughts, emotions, and ideas. Musical elements such as melody, harmony, rhythm, and dynamic forces contribute to the emotional and expressive power of music. Even without lyrics, instrumental music has the capacity to evoke a wide range of sensibilities. With this in mind, the primary aim of this article is to uncover Brenda Fassie's “Black President” in an attempt to unravel Nelson Mandela’s political and leadership discourse. To achieve this, employing an ideological critique framework as a theory is applied to the discussions. Ultimately, this article makes two notable findings and discussions. First, Fassie's “Black President” stands as a potent symbol in the context of postcolonial and post-apartheid South Africa. In fact, the clause “Black President” is laden with historical significance, representing a departure from the era of racial subjugation. Through linguistic choices and symbolic language, the song contributes to the ideological critique by illustrating Mandela's presidency as a transformative moment in the nation's history. Second (last), Fassie’s lyrical craftsmanship introduces a layer of narrative complexity, offering an ideological critique that goes beyond simple glorification. While the song acknowledges Mandela's heroic stature, it equally confronts the challenges and disparities countenancing in post-apartheid South Africa. Linguistic choices convey a multifaceted reflection on the “Black President's” legacy, questioning whether the dreams of liberation have materialized into concrete improvements for all citizens. The language used becomes a tool for critique, urging listeners to grapple with the intricacies of societal transformation and the realization that, despite the monumental changes, there remains unfinished business in the pursuit of liberty and justice. The concluding remarks underline the necessity to continue to examine political and leadership figures as (re)produced in musical linguistics.

The Role of Climate Change-oriented News in Cultivating Students’Reading Skills and Raising Environmental Awareness

2024-05-10T11:21:19+08:00

Climate change is a term that takes precedence in the 21st century by humanity due to its negative impacts on the environment in various forms. Similarly, reading is a fundamental skill to grasp information and behave in a more civilised way. Accordingly, online news is the readily available source to be informed about the latest news. Although many studies have been conducted about climate change, reading, and news, a gap in the literature has been observed in merging them into one study with an interdisciplinary approach. To this aim, this study investigates the influence of reading climate change-oriented news on university students’ reading comprehension and raising their ecological awareness simultaneously at a private university in Erbil, Iraq, in the 2023–2024 academic year. Having chosen 34 first-year students through the stratified random sampling method in this mixed methods study, experimental group students read news from news websites, brainstormed, and took relevant exams created by Chat GPT spanning 10 weeks. On the other hand, control group students kept reading the passages in their coursebooks. The findings via reading exams, questionnaires, and interviews, unearthed that reading climate change-oriented news enhanced experimental group students’ reading performance significantly, raised their ecological awareness, and prompted them to persuade others in their community to be more proactive, thereby reversing the catastrophic effects of climate change with a feasible plan. The finding of the study may have some implications for all concerned parties to put the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals into practice at educational institutions.

Successful Thai EFL Students and their Language Learning Strategies for Acquiring English If Clause

2024-05-07T10:08:52+08:00

The fact that English if clause is too difficult does not entail impossibility for EFL students to master it. In the Thai context, a few have managed to use it correctly despite persistent failure among many. The present study principally aimed to find out how successful Thai EFL students learned to acquire this grammatical structure by virtue of the language learning strategies (LLS). A group of 32 university English majors were individually given an oral test in which different types of if clause were under investigation, and afterwards a questionnaire to complete about their application of the strategies. Findings show an overall poor performance with only seven students who could pass the test. Mismatch between verb forms and meaning constituted the general typology of mistakes hypothetically as a consequence of negative mother tongue transfer as well as a lack of deep understanding and acquisition of the structures that was supposed to be internalized. Regarding LLSs, the use of mental pictures was found to be significant, the learning technique successful and less successful students applied differently (p = 0.029), hence the probable strategy that helps with their acquisition of the structures. Pedagogical guidelines for incorporating the LLSs into an EFL classroom were provided.

Examining the Linguistic Identity of Asia’s Latin City: A Content Analysis of Multilingualism of a Nonmetropolitan Cityscape

2024-05-06T15:03:03+08:00

This investigation offers an extensive analysis and examination of the linguistic landscape of a nonmetropolitan cityscape, focusing on the linguistic identity and multiple languages used throughout the city. This study fundamentally analyzes the multilingual nature and characteristics of the central district of Zamboanga City. Furthermore, the investigation incorporated analytical categories, adapted from previous studies, which constituted the systematic foundation for gathering and selecting essential data from multiple sources throughout the city proper. The investigation revealed significant results and indicated that the cityscape contains six (6) languages that comprise its linguistic identity, specifically, English (51.25%), Filipino (23.36%), Chavacano (19.59%), Tausug (2.99%), Chinese (1.74%) and Bisaya (1.07%). To ensure the accuracy of the collected data, the photographs were analyzed through content analysis to examine the linguistic signage of the nonmetropolitan cityscape. Moreover, the study revealed that the cityscape employs monolingual (80.79%), bilingual (18.82%), and multilingual (0.39%) signages, highlighting the city’s commitment to providing universally accessible information and preserving cultural/linguistic heritage. The investigation also revealed that English is the dominant language found within the signage, proving its significance in promoting global development, internationalization and economic growth in the city. However, despite its prominence, both local (Chavacano) and national (Filipino) languages are also evident in the cityscape, which underscores the city’s mission to preserve its cultural and linguistic identity, indicating that the languages are linguistically represented. In addition, the cityscape employs both official and nonofficial signage, which underscores its importance in information dissemination and advertising local services and products to international clients.