Examining Cold War encounters between Hungary and the US during the 1960s-80s, this book explores how academic and cultural mid-level mediators brokered official and informal ties between these separate geopolitical ‘worlds’ and identifies how their interactions shaped the cultural and scholarly environment of both countries.Cold War Brokersfollows the transnational adventures of writers, academics and teachers as they crossed the Iron Curtain literally and figuratively, facilitating the circulation of knowledge between the global centre and periphery. From Hungarian writers who toured the US with the International Writing Program, to music teachers who transferred the acclaimed Kodály-method to the US, and experts on Uralic and Altaic languages who introduced a separate branch of area studies to the US national security paradigm, these transnational mediators ushered in processes of inter-reliant modernization in cultural policy, education and science in both countries. Arguing that their collaboration could not merely undermine ideological dichotomies, but rewrite the history of the Cold War period and the imbalances of centre-periphery relations, László shows how non-state actors were able to use the opportunities presented by the Cold War for professional development and network building to achieve agency in Cold War encounters.
After examining the archaeological findings of the Scythians in both the Northern Black Sea region, Siberia and Kazakhstan, it was seen that the change and development in Scythian art showed regional differences. It has become clear within the scope of this study that Scythian art has three main phases. When archaeological elements belonging to pre-cultures such as Khirigsuur culture and Tagar culture are compared with Scythian finds in the early period, it is understood that Scythian art has an origin based on early Ural-Altaic art, such as the Khirigsuur culture. Later, towards the end of the early period, Urartu interacted with Assyrian art, and Mesopotamian elements such as winged goddesses, drop-shaped tree of life and lions appeared in its art. It is seen that there was a short intermediate period, and it is understood that this period was experienced only in the Caucasus and the Black Sea region. Towards the end of this period, elements of Achaemenid and Greek art begin to find a place in Scythian art. It can be seen that the animal figures found on objects belonging to late Achaemenid and Greek elements have almost moved away from the art used by the Scythians in the steppe. However, it has been determined that this change occurred only in the Trans Caucasıa and the north of the Black Sea, and that the development based on the early origins of Scythian art continued as it was in Siberia. As a result, it has been determined that Scythian art was initially formed in the Minusinsk and Altai regions of Siberia, and over time it moved west and was influenced by the cultures and arts in those regions.
Zhumagali İbragimov, R. Uskenbayeva, A. Omurzakova
This article undertakes a comparative linguistic analysis of the shared lexical inventory between Kazakh dialects and Mongolic. Motivated by the scarcity of research on linguistic similarities between Kazakh vernaculars and Mongolic, the study examines materials collected from dictionaries and reveals noteworthy lexical and semantic correspondences across the two languages. These similarities are predominantly concentrated in plant and animal names, titles and designations related to human society, various natural phenomena, and terms for everyday tools and implements. In addition, verbs denoting states and actions associated with nature, commerce, and human activity provide further significant insights. Kazakh and Mongolic belong to the Altaic language family and have historically coexisted within the same geographical regions, resulting in extensive lexical exchange. While some shared elements are attributable to borrowing, others appear to stem from their common genetic affiliation. A crucial observation is that several of the comparative lexical items are absent from Standard Kazakh but preserved in dialectal varieties. The presence of these archaic elements in both Old Turkic and Mongolic demonstrates that Kazakh dialects have retained conservative features. For instance, the word adak in Old Turkic corresponds to adaqqı in Kazakh dialects and adag in Mongolic, representing a significant lexical parallel. This evidence underscores the importance of examining Kazakh dialects and Mongolic in a comparative framework for a deeper understanding of the historical development of Turkic–Mongolic linguistic relations.
N.Ariunzul N.Ariunzul, Yoon Seo Choi Yoon Seo Choi
Mongolian and Turkic languages are agglutinative, belonging to the Altaic language family, and exhibit high structural similarity in overall aspects of sentence constituent order as well as of morphological and syntactic systems. Although there have been substantial studies that compared or contrasted grammatical systems of the two languages, based on such similarity, a comparative study that focuses on the aspect where person-reflexive possessive markers extend beyond their basic function of indicating possession to serve as modal particles is not yet conducted systematically. Therefore, this study aims to demonstrate the phenomena that some of person-reflexive possessive markers in contemporary Mongolian and Turkish take on modal meanings beyond their original function of indicating possession and attribution. To this end, the study will analyze actual example sentences, examining both commonalities and differences between the two languages.
The usefulness of traditional environmental folklore in addressing sustainability issues in modern contexts requires a more nuanced analysis. Despite the technologized and secularized surface of modern society, its values (including environmental ethics and concepts of sustainable resource use) are based on traditional worldviews. This article uses qualitative content and context analysis to look at key concepts and motifs in Estonian environmental folklore based on the corpus of Estonian lake folklore. It examines the following questions: How can we better integrate traditional knowledge about the causes of environmental problems, methods of prevention and mitigation into modern environmental debates? Can Estonian environmental folklore, which is mostly related to specific local ecosystems and the practices of people living in these ecosystems, serve as a guide for mitigating global environmental challenges? To what extent can traditional rituals of adaptation to environmental crises inspire collective constructive behaviour today? What lessons can we draw from folklore to improve green communication in the context of today’s environmental risks and uncertainties (e.g., avoiding moral panics and polarization)? The author concludes that a greater awareness of vernacular psychological, sensory, emotional, and narrative aspects of environmental behaviour is essential for understanding and predicting public responses.
The emergence of Estonian family names (in Estonian: perekonnanimi) is typically dated to the 19th century. However, approximately one-fourth of these names have older onomastic roots. The first comprehensive lists of Estonian peasants date back to the 16th century. This study examines eight regions of Estonia, encompassing 765 peasants. Of these, 662 (87%) were recorded with a binominal naming structure (byname + given name), which suggests that by the 1560s, Estonian peasants had adopted a binominal personal naming system. One list from the 1540s recorded 63% of peasants with a byname, indicating that the development of bynames was likely complete by the mid-16th century. Among the peasants with bynames, four regions exhibited patronymic bynames (with the suffixes –son or –poeg ‘son’) in at least one-third of cases. In the other four regions, patronymic bynames were rare, yet no clear geographical pattern appears to explain this variation. Comparative analysis with later records from the same areas reveals that the stock of bynames sometimes changed over time, with patronymic bynames replacing those of other origins. This suggests that both bynames and naming practices were fluid and subject to change. Of the 662 peasants with bynames, 3.8% had bynames that later evolved into legal family names during the general bestowal of family names in the 1820s–1830s. Some of these family names appear to have originated from migrated bynames (appearing in a neighbouring village in the 16th century) or from rare given names. Consequently, approximately 1,500 family names (representing about 2% of the total) likely trace their origins back to the 16th century. If research confirms that the same family carried a name before the 1820s, it can be regarded as a family name rather than merely a byname.
The development of written Estonian during the early national awakening period through the lens of literary translations
This article explores the development of written Estonian during the early national awakening period, with a focus on the mid-19th century, as reflected in literary translations. The language reform process involved a transition from the old orthography to a new one, reducing dialectal differences, and enriching the vocabulary. Translated texts played a central role in this process. By broadening readers’ worldview with new concepts and ideas, and introducing language innovations in an appealing and engaging context, translations from the early national awakening period significantly contributed to the evolution of written Estonian. The article highlights examples from the works of translators who are now largely forgotten, such as Berend Gildenmann, Heinrich Nieländer, and Aleksander Umblia, alongside texts by key figures of the early Estonian national awakening, including Johann Voldemar Jannsen, Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, and Friedrich Nikolai Russow.
During the mid-19th century, the majority of Estonian-language literature comprised translations from German folk literature, adapted to suit the needs and knowledge levels of Estonian-speaking audiences. Translators often added explanations, introduced new words, expanded the existing vocabulary, and included notes that provided cultural and geographical context. Faithfulness to the original source text was not a priority; texts could be abridged, expanded, or annotated as needed. Thus, Estonian translations of popular books, such as Kreutzwald’s Reinowadder Rebbane (1850) and Kilplaste imewärklikud, wäga kentsakad, maa-ilmas kuulmata ja tännini veel üleskirjutamata jutud ja teud (1857), heavily adapted European literary heritage. These and other literary translations helped cultivate reading habits among the Estonian people, establish a book market, and lay the foundation for the emerging tradition of original Estonian literature as a cultural and communal phenomenon.
The article also examines the historical context of the 19th-century standardization of written Estonian and its links to broader social and cultural changes, such as ideological disagreements between Baltic German and Estonian intellectuals and the bilingualism of educated Estonians. It discusses the attitudes of translators towards the language reform as well as the debates and perceptions surrounding translation as a cultural process.
Rääkimisoskuse arendamine on teise keele õppes väga oluline, kuid sellega on õppijail ka palju probleeme. Üheks rääkimisoskuse arengut mõjutavaks teguriks on tunnis kasutatavad õppetegevused. Artikli alusuuringus arendati rääkimistegevuste klassifikatsiooni, rääkimistegevused jagati keelelise eesmärgiga harjutusteks ning suhtluseesmärgiga ülesanneteks. Selle klassifikatsiooni alusel analüüsiti üheksa täiskasvanute eesti keele kui teise keele B1-taseme õpperühma rääkimistegevusi ja nende mahtu. Tulemused näitavad, et kursustel räägiti küllaltki palju, kuid teadlikku rääkimisoskuse arendamist esines vähem. Kokkuvõttes kasutati tundides rohkem harjutusi ning vähem ülesandeid. Enim rääkimistegevusi viidi läbi kogu õpperühmaga, mis vähendas iga üksiku õppija rääkimismahtu. Rääkimisoskuse arendamine varieerus küllaltki palju sõltuvalt õpetajast ja õppematerjalist.
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"Learning activities that develop speaking skills in B1-level Estonian language courses for adults" *** This study examines the teaching of speaking skills in Estonian language classes. It aimed to investigate the activities used to develop speaking skills in B1-level Estonian language classes for adults. Research material was collected through lesson observations (n = 27) from nine adult B1-level Estonian language study groups. The average class size was 9–14 learners, exept for one group with 4 learners. The duration of one course was 120 academic hours, held 2–4 times a week. The observer attended three study meetings of each study group (2–4 academic hours at a time) and collected the following data: 1) list of all the activities related to developing speaking skills 2) a log of time spent on these activities, and 3) the speaking time of learners. The experience of teachers teaching Estonian L2 varied from two years to more than 20 years. Teachers had generally graduated from Estonian language and literature or Estonian as a foreign language/second language. Some teachers had previous experience in teaching Estonian to adults at the B1 level. In addition to adult courses, teachers also teach in general education, vocational education and the university. The activities were categorised as exercises or tasks. Exercises were considered to be fully supported (e.g. reading phrases, repeating what you heard) or partially supported (e.g. practicing grammar forms according to a model) reproductive activities. Productive speech activities that develop communicative skills or prepare for situations that require spontaneous speaking (e.g. improvisation, role-playing games) were considered tasks. A distinction was made between activities for monological and dialogical speaking. We also examined the use of the teaching material. Speaking activities were done a lot in classes – an average of 61% of the total learning time. Speaking activities included more exercises – 34% of the total speaking time – and fewer tasks – 27% of the total speaking time. There were used many receptive exercises. Of the types of tasks, the largest number of conversational tasks were used. The largest number of speaking activities was done with the whole group (56%). 34% of the total speaking time was used in pairwork and 10% in a small group (3–5 people). The results of the study show variation between the courses. There was also visible a link between the teacher and the use of the teaching material. The subsequent stage of the study examines the development of learners’ speaking skills during the course. In the final stage of the study, the relationship between the speaking activities used in the course and the development of speaking skills and motivation are examined.
ABSTRACT The synergetic lexical model, which regards language as a self-organizing and self-regulating system, has been widely validated in various Indo-European languages. However, its applicability to Mongolian, an Altaic language, has yet to be explored. Traditional Mongolian linguistic research has primarily employed qualitative approaches, with limited attention to quantitative investigations. Therefore, based on the Modern Mongolian Corpus, which includes one million word tokens, this study investigates the properties of a synergetic-linguistic model of the Mongolian lexicon. This is a quantitative study of word frequency, word length, polysemy, and synonymy at the lexical level, which aims to reveal the interrelations between these properties. Our findings reveal significant power function relationships among these properties, demonstrating that synergetic theory can be applied to the Mongolian lexicon. These results establish a foundation for future quantitative studies in Mongolian linguistics and other Altaic languages.
This study examines the linguistic characteristics and academic significance of the Russian-annotated version of Muqaddimat al-Adab, compiled by the Soviet linguist and ethnographer Nikolai Poppe (1938). Muqaddimat al-Adab is a multilingual lexicon encompassing Arabic, Persian, Turkic, and Mongolian, and serves as a key source for understanding the linguistic and cultural exchanges of medieval Central Asia. Poppe’s Russian annotations go beyond simple translation, demonstrating how Russian functioned as an analytical and comparative linguistic framework in describing non-Slavic languages. As the first study of its kind in Korea, this research investigates how Russian operates as both an analytical language and a meta-language for interpreting the morphosyntactic and semantic systems of Altaic languages. Poppe’s commentary reveals how Russian grammatical devices—particularly aspect, causativity, reflexive and reciprocal constructions—replace the agglutinative morphology of the source languages with syntactic structures that allow for semantic precision and hierarchical organization of events. By situating Russian not merely as a medium of translation but as a methodological tool of linguistic analysis, this paper demonstrates the adaptability of Russian grammatical frameworks for cross-linguistic description. The findings establish Muqaddimat al-Adab as a foundational text for understanding the functional transformation of Russian within comparative linguistics. Furthermore, this research provides a cornerstone for future studies on semantic expansion, grammatical structures, and historical lexicography, while contributing to the broader integration of Russian, Central Asian, and digital philological scholarship.
This study examines the phonetic, phonological, morphological, and semantic evolution of the reconstructed Proto-Altaic holophrasis *qɵɖɵɽ͡ɖ(-), semantically contextualized as “to dry, to scorch; the state of being dry.” The research primarily focuses on the development of this structure within Turkic varieties, tracing its derivatives across historical and contemporary dialects. Utilizing phoneme theory and historical-comparative methodology, the study integrates Altaic and Nostratic perspectives to uncover deeper etymological links. Through phonemic splitting tables and structural analyses, the relationships between variations in surface structure and their shared roots are clarified. While Turkic dialects remain the central focus, comparative examples from other Nostratic languages provide additional insights into the shared linguistic heritage. Despite the inherent challenges of reconstruction-based linguistics, this study underscores the value of systematic analysis in elucidating complex linguistic patterns. It seeks to contribute to the understanding and development of the linguistic phylogeny of the Altaic language family, which includes Turkic dialects.
The article presents the results of a comparative historical study of the postposition ‘belӓ(n)’ (lit. menӓn ‘with’) in the dialects of the Bashkir language which in combination with a noun or a name of action, expresses spatial and temporal relations as well as conveys the meanings of purpose, cause, effect, mode of action, comparison, compatibility, instrument of action, etc. Its original linguistic structure is revealed. The protoform is intended to present a picture of the historical ancient Turkic past dating back to the Altaic language community. The areal, dialectal and literary variants of the ‘menan’ postposition of the Bashkir language are described as well as its correspondences in other modern Turkic languages. Materials on grammar, scientific works on Turkology, dictionaries, various ancient Turkic written sources and folklore materials were used as comparative materials. В статье изложены результаты сравнительно-исторического исследования послелога белән (лит. менән) в диалектах башкирского языка, который в сочетании с именем существительным или именем действия выражает пространственные, временные отношения, а также передает значения цели, причины, следствия, образа действия, сравнения, совместности, орудия действия и т. п. Выявляется его исходная языковая праформа с целью представления картины исторического древнетюркского прошлого, восходящего к алтайской языковой общности. Описываются ареальные, диалектные и литературные варианты послелога менән башкирского языка, а также его соответствия в других современных тюркских языках. В качестве источников для сравнительно-сопоставительного изучения привлекались материалы по грамматике, научные труды по тюркологии, словари, различные древнетюркские письменные памятники, фольклорные записи.
This study examines Turkish lexical item insan and its plural form insanlar to uncover their functions as impersonal pronouns. These lexical items serve as impersonal pronouns when they appear in the subject position of the sentences of which verbs bear the aorist ending –Ir or the modality markers –Abil and –mAlI . However, when they occur in the object position, they do not assume an impersonal reading. These lexical items have inclusive readings regardless of their syntactic positions. Although insan and insanlar can be used in episodic sentences, the former still requires the use of the verbal endings –Ir, –Abil and –mAlI . The study concludes that impersonality in Turkish is realized through a combination of impersonal subjects such as insan and insanlar and generic verbal endings, –Ir, –Abil and –mAlI . The findings of the study offer a starting point to describe other Altaic and related languages in terms of impersonal pronouns.
The article comprehends the work of a forgotten Russian writer of the first half of the 20th century Mikhail Plotnikov. The Mansi epic reconstructed by M. Plotnikov belongs to the classical stage of development of the folklore tradition and includes elements of the historical legend about the “meeting” of this small people of the Ob-Irtysh North with the Russians. The poem traces typical plots and motifs characteristic of epic classics, in particular the plot of “heroic matchmaking” with the event components of “searching and getting a wife”, reveals the syncretic nature of the image of Madura Vaza, in the structure of which the functions of a musician-storyteller and hero-liberator of a conquered people are highlighted. His knowledge of Russian and world literature, languages and culture of Russia’s northern peoples, as well as literary critical work in the periodicals of the Urals and Siberia allowed the writer to freely navigate the epic material when creating the poem, completing the necessary links in the mythopoetic cohesion of typologically similar figurative series and discourses recorded in various cultural traditions. M. Plotnikov’s modeling of the Mansi epic tale corresponds to the logic of the formation of the Soviet literary canon and receives intentional and meaningful expression in two versions of the poem, created with a difference of about twenty years. The experience of the poem “Yangal-maa” by M. Plotnikov reveals the features of the modernization of the national archaic and its actualization as the building value base of the new 20th century literature.
Guilherme Duarte, Nelma Moreira, Luca Prigioniero
et al.
In this paper we consider block languages, namely sets of words having the same length, and study the deterministic and nondeterministic state complexity of several operations on these languages. Being a subclass of finite languages, the upper bounds of operational state complexity known for finite languages apply for block languages as well. However, in several cases, smaller values were found. Block languages can be represented as bitmaps, which are a good tool to study their minimal finite automata and their operations, as we illustrate here.
In the pedagogy of programming languages, one well-known course structure is to tour multiple languages as a means of touring paradigms. This tour-of-paradigms approach has long received criticism as lacking depth, distracting students from foundational issues in language theory and implementation. This paper argues for disentangling the idea of a tour-of-languages from the tour-of-paradigms. We make this argument by presenting, in depth, a series of case studies included in the Human-Centered Programming Languages curriculum. In this curriculum, case studies become deep, serving to tour the different intellectual foundations through which a scholar can approach programming languages, which one could call the tour-of-humans. In particular, the design aspect of programming languages has much to learn from the social sciences and humanities, yet these intellectual foundations would yield far fewer deep contributions if we did not permit them to employ case studies.
A discussion of the problem of “Altaic” influence on Proto-Slavic is the main focus of this paper. In its first part, chronological and terminological questions are presented; the second part is devoted to etymologies (*baranъ ‘ram’, *koza ‘goat’, *klobukъ ‘fur cap, hat’, *kъlbasa ‘sausage’, sablja ‘sabre’).
The tent was considered one of the most important elements of the Turkic-ethnic
cultural system. Because, mainly for the Turks who lead a nomadic lifestyle, a place of
residence that can be built and dismantled quickly was more comfortable. There were different
types of this settlement structure. "Dade Gorgud" has a tent home, a white house, a room, a tent,
a room, a shed, a bargah, etc. described by names. At the same time, the tent symbolized not
only a place of residence, but also a model of the world, an artistic expression of mythological
thought. The belief and way of thinking of the Turks is also reflected in their tent tradition. This
in turn shows that the tent is one of the most important elements of Turkish culture.
While the tent symbolized the small state order - the family in Turkic thought, it also
symbolized the world model in the archaic belief of the Turk in a broad sense. In his epic
thinking, the Turk used the tent as a metaphorical means of understanding the world. The
structure, poles, and design of the tent were reminiscent of the world. The tent built by the Turk
also contained the four mother elements (fire, water, air, earth) which are considered the
beginning of life. "Building the tent above the sky and the grass" shows that it is related to the
element of earth, and the presence of a hearth inside it, called "gorglug", indicates that it is
related to the element of fire. On the upper side of the tent, the hole that ensures easy entry of air
and easy exit of smoke connects it with the element of air. Water was always considered the
most important source of life for Turkic tribes.
Programming is an integral part of computer science discipline. Every day the programming environment is not only rapidly growing but also changing and languages are constantly evolving. Learning of object-oriented paradigm is compulsory in every computer science major so the choice of language to teach object-oriented principles is very important. Due to large pool of object-oriented languages, it is difficult to choose which should be the first programming language in order to teach object-oriented principles. Many studies shown which should be the first language to tech object-oriented concepts but there is no method to compare and evaluate these languages. In this article we proposed a comprehensive framework to evaluate the widely used object-oriented languages. The languages are evaluated basis of their technical and environmental features.
Elisabeth Griebl, Benedikt Fein, Florian Obermüller
et al.
Block-based programming languages like Scratch are increasingly popular for programming education and end-user programming. Recent program analyses build on the insight that source code can be modelled using techniques from natural language processing. Many of the regularities of source code that support this approach are due to the syntactic overhead imposed by textual programming languages. This syntactic overhead, however, is precisely what block-based languages remove in order to simplify programming. Consequently, it is unclear how well this modelling approach performs on block-based programming languages. In this paper, we investigate the applicability of language models for the popular block-based programming language Scratch. We model Scratch programs using n-gram models, the most essential type of language model, and transformers, a popular deep learning model. Evaluation on the example tasks of code completion and bug finding confirm that blocks inhibit predictability, but the use of language models is nevertheless feasible. Our findings serve as foundation for improving tooling and analyses for block-based languages.