Abstract With the increase in the use of face masks as a health precaution in the post-pandemic era, the effects of wearing such masks on language learners’ speech perception, which depends highly on visual cues, remain uncertain. This study explores the impact of wearing face masks on the listening comprehension and word recognition of 254 learners of English as a foreign language at intermediate and lower-intermediate levels at a university in Saudi Arabia. Participants listened to a passage read by a native English speaker in one of three conditions assigned randomly: audio-visual-face (AV-F), audio-visual-mask (AV-M), or audio-only (A-O) groups. A series of multiple-choice questions measured their comprehension of the listening passage and recognition of words. Findings revealed significant differences in accuracy scores, with AV-M and A-O resulting in lower accuracy than AV-F, which was the highest in accuracy. Additionally, higher language proficiency correlated with better AV-F performance, indicating the participants’ experience in recognizing facial cues. This study supports other findings on the negative impact of face masks on second language learners’ listening comprehension and word recognition, emphasizing the significance of observing facial and lip movements for language learners. Relevant implications and recommendations are provided for educators and researchers working with language learners to support their listening comprehension and perception skills.
Special aspects of education, Language acquisition
Статтю присвячено дослідженню маркування інтертекстуальних включень у художньому дискурсі з метою розкриття семантико-функційного потенціалу імпліцитних та експліцитних маркерів інтертекстуальності у творах американських та англійських письменників ХХ століття. Аналіз інтертекстуальності в художньому дискурсі допоміг виявити інтертекстуальні маркери та визначити засоби їх репрезентації, систематизувати інтертекстуальні включення та встановити їх дискурсивно-функційний потенціал. Матеріалом дослідження слугували романи "The Crying of Lot 49" Томаса Пінчона та "A History of the World in 10½ Chapters" Джуліана Барнса. Методологія дослідження передбачала використання методу уважного читання для аналізу структури романів, методу текстологічного аналізу творів дібраного матеріалу, методи лінгвостилістичного та інтертекстуального аналізу для ідентифікації й опису різних видів інтертекстуальності та міжтекстових зв’язків, методу інтермедіального аналізу для встановлення семантичних зв’язків між інтертекстуальними елементами належних до суміжних видів мистецтв, семантико-стилістичного методу для опису мовностилістичних ресурсів та їх семантики, методу деконструкції для ідентифікації непрямих інтертекстуальних зв'язків між текстами. Розроблено критерії для ідентифікації та типологізації інтертекстуальних маркерів: прямі та непрямі. Окреслено особливості семантики й функціонування інтертекстуальних маркерів у проаналізованому корпусі матеріалу. Результати дослідження полягають у розробленні авторської таксономії прямих і непрямих маркерів інтертекстуальності, що дозволить оцінити вплив рівня читацької компетенції на розуміння художніх текстів.
Discourse analysis, Computational linguistics. Natural language processing
With a systematic and systematic view, Saussure considers language to be a set of signs, and therefore, in her linguistic theory, sign is the main keyword. Signs are also very important in translation, and the translator should be able to identify the relationships between them by knowing the words of the text accurately and use these relationships for a more accurate translation; This issue is doubly important in the translation of the Holy Quran. Among the words used in the Holy Qur'an, whose semantic analysis requires attention and precision, is the word "Sehr". The present research, which was carried out in an analytical-descriptive method, tries to answer the question with a semantic-structuralist approach, how the different levels and layers of meaning of the word "Sehr" are formed in the Holy Quran, and the concept of "sohar" in the use of the Holy Quran, based on The axis of substitution and companionship is synonymous with which words? And the obtained result states that although both in the Persian original of the word "Sehr" and in the Arabic dictionary, one of its main meanings, "Nasab", is mentioned, but on the other hand, its association with the same word causes it to have a different meaning. To be therefore, translators have taken different approaches in this regard, and some of them have translated the two into relative and causative, taking into account the conflicting relationship between Nasb and Sahr. Some have translated these two as male and female. Also, although the meaning of son-in-law for the word Sahr is found in many sources, but in the ten translations examined in this article, only one of the sources, the translation of Fuladvand, gives such a meaning for this word.Keywords: Translations of the Qur'an, Relative, Ferdinand de Saussure, Succession and Cohabitation.IntroductionOne of the most important factors in the formation of meaning in a text is the relationships of substitution and association of words. Saussure, with a new and structuralist approach to language, shifted his focus from the word to the phrase, leading to a major revolution in linguistics. A part of Saussure's modern theories pertains to the two axes of substitution and association. One of the binary oppositions among signs is the contrast between two fundamental types of relationships, namely the associative relationship and the substitutive relationship or "syntagmatic" relationship in language. In other words, meaning is derived from the difference between signifiers, which are of two types: differences arising from association, also known as syntagmatic, and differences resulting from the axis of substitution.The substitutive relationship examines the reason for choosing a word for a phrase, and the associative relationship examines the reason for creating a specific order for the arrangement of words in a phrase. Thus, the substitutive relationship delves into the deeper layers of language, necessitating comparison and analogy since one must examine a word and its synonyms in various texts.The substitutive relationship is based on intertextual and intratextual relations. In this relationship, texts are always interacting with each other (Ostakhrian Haqiqi and Ahsant, 2019: 15). Chandler examines substitutive relationships in three layers: contrastive, analogical, and comparative; and associative relationships in three layers: sequential, spatial, and conceptual (Sajudi, 2019: 52).After Saussure, structuralists who have theorized about translation, including Catford and Nida, believe in the translatability of texts because they argue that what Saussure established are general rules that align with the principle of linguistic systems, and therefore, the substitutive and associative relationships that exist in one language can also be transferred to another language.Saussure specifically, and structuralism in general, hold a view aligned with translatability: "If all natural languages share a level called 'langue,' this is where translation is possible, and therefore, anything that can be expressed in one language can be expressed in another language as well, which means absolute translatability" (Mousavi Razavi, 2018: 562).Given the axes of substitution and association in Saussure's theory, the present article conducts a comparative analysis of the translation of the word "ṣahr" in Surah Al-Furqan, explaining its semantic aspects, synonyms, and related concepts. This word appears in the Quran in this form only once:﴿وَهُوَ الَّذِی خَلَقَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ بَشَرًا فَجَعَلَهُ نَسَبًا وَصِهْرًا وَکَانَ رَبُّکَ قَدِیرًا﴾ (Al-Furqan/54)and once in another form with a different meaning:﴿یُصْهَرُ بِهِ مَا فِی بُطُونِهِمْ وَالْجُلُودُ﴾ (Al-Hajj/20)which, given the semantic difference, does not seem to have the same root.The necessity of this research lies in its structuralist perspective, meticulously examining the axes of substitution and association to analyze and compare the translations of one of the disputed words in the Holy Quran.In this context, the study aims to answer the following questions:How are the different semantic levels and layers of the word "ṣahr" in the Holy Quran formed?With which synonymous words is the concept of "ṣahr" in its Quranic usage associated on the axis of substitution, and how does each synonym change the meaning of the verse?Literature ReviewNumerous articles have been written on the semantics of Quranic vocabulary, including:Akbari and Kabiri, in an article titled "The Semantics of the Word Makr in the Holy Quran" (2018), explained the verses related to this word and concluded that this term in the Quran is used for both good and evil deeds and has synonyms such as deceit, plot, arrogance, treachery, and betrayal.Among the articles addressing the subject of substitution and association are:Zafari et al., in a study titled "Semantic Components of the Word 'Nazul' with Emphasis on the Two Axes of Association and Substitution" (2017), examined the uses and derivatives of this word and its synonyms, concluding that the word has gained semantic breadth through its association with other concepts.Vafaei and Ali Nouri, in a study titled "Artistic Appropriateness in the Two Axes of Association and Substitution in the Poetry of Qaisar Aminpour" (2010), examined the poems of this poet and concluded that Aminpour deliberately chooses words on the axis of substitution to create the greatest semantic and lexical harmony in combination with other elements of speech on the axis of association.Parmehr Yabandeh et al., in a study titled "Semiotic Analysis of the Collection of Posters of the Art of Resistance Festival with Emphasis on the Two Axes of Substitution and Association of Signs" (2022), conducted an analytical-conceptual examination of these posters, concluding that in all the works, when a visual sign metaphorically expresses the concept of revolution and Iran, the understanding of the sign occurs on the axis of substitution, and the arrangement of textual and visual signs is based on the axis of association.Additionally, Mousavi Razavi, in an article titled "An Explanation of What Structuralism Is, Based on the Views of Saussure, Lévi-Strauss, and Propp, and Examining the Traces of Structuralist Thought in Contemporary Translation Theories" (2018), examined the views of structuralists on the translatability or untranslatability of texts and concluded that structuralism believes in the translatability of texts.Upon reviewing the studies related to the subject of the present article, it was found that no research has been conducted on this specific topic, thus indicating the innovation in this study.Research MethodologyTextual AnalysisCollect and analyze interpretive and lexical texts related to the term "صهر"from various sources such as Quranic dictionaries, lexicons, and Quranic commentaries.Examine the usage of the term "صهر" in Arabic poetry before and after the revelation of the Quran and compare it with its usage in the Quran. Collocation AnalysisInvestigate the term "صهر" in collocation with words that appear alongside it in Quranic sentences. This includes analyzing the relationship between the term "صهر" and the term "نسب" in verse 54 of Surah Al-Furqan.Analyze different translations of the Quran and examine how various translators have rendered the term "صهر" in context with other words.Substitution AnalysisAnalyze the substitution axis of the term "صهر" with words that can replace it. For example, substituting the term "صهر" with "بعل" and "الأقربین".Examine the impact of substituting the term "صهر" with other words on the meaning of the sentence and the overall concept of the verse.Comparative AnalysisCompare different translations of the term "صهر" in the Quran and analyze their differences and similarities.Investigate the impact of substitution and collocation relationships on various interpretations of the term "صهر".Linguistic AnalysisExamine linguistic and semantic structures related to the term "صهر" using theories of linguistic semantics.Analyze the phonetic and pronunciation features of the term "صهر" and their impact on meaning.Sources and ReferencesThe Holy Quran and its various translations.Quranic commentaries including Tafsir Al-Mizan, Tafsir Majma' Al-Bayan, and Tafsir Nemooneh.Reputable lexicons such as Lisan Al-Arab, Taj Al-Aroos, and Quranic dictionaries.Articles and books related to semantics and theories of substitution and collocation.Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry and poetry after the revelation of the Quran.ConclusionThe word "sahr" (صهر) appears in the Quran only twice and in two different meanings: as "صِهْرًا" and "یُصْهَرُ." These two uses have no semantic connection and do not seem to share the same root. This paper analyzed the first usage of the word in verse 54 of Surah Al-Furqan and examined its translations based on Saussure’s theory in terms of substitution and collocation. The findings indicate that in terms of collocation, the association with the word "nasab" (نسب) plays a crucial role in the translation of "sahr" because, while one of its main meanings in both Persian and Arabic dictionaries is "kinship" (نسب), its collocation with this word gives it a different meaning. Consequently, translators have adopted various approaches regarding this term, with some translating it as "males" and "females."Although the meaning "son-in-law" for "sahr" is mentioned in several sources, only one out of the ten translations reviewed in this study, namely Fooladvand’s translation, uses this meaning.In terms of substitution, words such as "ba'al" (بعل), "al-aqrabin" (الاقربین), "arham" (ارحام), and "zawj" (زوج) are conceptually and semantically close to "sahr" and are mentioned in the Quran. However, the choice of "sahr" over these synonyms relates to the context of the verse. In the preceding verse, verse 53 of Surah Al-Furqan, Allah mentions: "He is the One who merges the two seas, one fresh and sweet, the other salty and bitter." Therefore, since verse 54 also speaks of water and its division into two opposites, it seems that "sahr" more effectively conveys the concept compared to its synonyms. Additionally, considering the preceding verse, translating "nasab" and "sahr" as opposites may be more accurate.
Biomolecular condensates form via phase transitions of condensate-specific biomacromolecules. Intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) featuring the appropriate sequence grammar can contribute homotypic and heterotypic interactions to the driving forces for phase separation of multivalent proteins. Experiments and computations have matured to the point where the concentrations of coexisting dense and dilute phases can be measured or computed for individual IDRs in complex milieus. For a macromolecule such as a disordered protein in a solvent, the locus of points that connects concentrations of the two coexisting phases defines a phase boundary or binodal. Often, only a few points along the binodal are accessible via measurements. In such cases and for quantitative and comparative analysis of parameters that describe the driving forces for phase separation, it is useful to fit measured or computed binodals to well-known mean-field free energies for polymer solutions. The non-linearity of the underlying free energy functions makes it challenging to put mean-field theories into practice. Here, we present FIREBALL, a suite of computational tools designed to enable efficient construction, analysis, and fitting to experimental or computed data of binodals. We show that depending on the theory being used, one can also extract information regarding coil-to-globule transitions of individual macromolecules. Statement of Significance Macromolecular phase separation drives the assembly of membraneless bodies known as biomolecular condensates. Measurements and computer simulations are being brought to bear to quantify how the concentrations of macromolecules in coexisting dilute and dense phases vary with changes to solution conditions. These mappings can be fit to analytical expressions for free energies of solution to extract information regarding parameters that enable comparative assessments of the balance of macromolecule-solvent interactions across different systems. The underlying free energies are non-linear and fitting them to data can become non-trivial. To enable comparative numerical analyses, we introduce FIREBALL, a user-friendly suite of computational tools that allows one to generate, analyze, and fit phase diagrams and coil-to-globule transitions using well-known theories.
Studies of ASD children have mainly focused on pragmatics, but research showed they have problems in other language dimensions. The present systematic review aims to analyze the literature related to linguistic and metalinguistic studies to determine linguistic characteristics and their correlation with reading and writing. After reviewing 43 articles founded, the studies were divided into four main categories: descriptive, comparative, linguistic, and finally nonlinguistic interventional studies. 42% of studies are descriptive, 14% were comparative, and 5% were about the effect of linguistic and metalinguistic training on reading and writing. Studies on the effect of other training on linguistic and metalinguistic skills were about 39% of the studies. They have deficiencies in different linguistic and metalinguistic skills, especially grammar. There were no studies investigating the relationship between linguistic and metalinguistic abilities. The relationship between language and reading skills has been neglected and only one study has examined the correlation between phonological awareness and reading skills. Thus, there is a serious gap in metalinguistic studies. However, it is necessary to study these relationships due to the change in the reading education system from a phonological to a lexical path in schools. The effect of nonlinguistic interventions has been studied more than linguistic ones.
Der vorliegende Beitrag ist eine kontrastive rechtslinguistische Studie, die sich mit Phraseologismen in Strafurteilen des deutschen und arabischen Rechtssystems befasst. Sie zielt in erster Linie darauf ab, Rechtsphraseologismen zu ermitteln, die in deutschen und arabischen Strafurteilen wiederholt in der gleichen festen Form auftreten und die eine fachsprachlich spezialisierte Bedeutung aufweisen. Sie konzentriert sich auf die Identifizierung der Typen solcher Phraseologismen in den verschiedenen Bestandteilen der Strafurteile. Ziel ist es herauszufinden, welche rechtssprachlichen Phraseologismen in welchen Textteilen der Strafurteile eingesetzt werden und welche Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen dem deutschen und arabischen Rechtssystem in dieser Hinsicht festzustellen sind.
Language. Linguistic theory. Comparative grammar, Comparative law. International uniform law
Tulisan ini berbicara tentang Faktor-Faktor Dari Penyebab Rendahnya Aktivitas Peserta Didik Pada Mata Pelajaran Bahasa Arab Kelas VII MTs Nurul Falah Bukit Kemuning, dengan fokus persoalan apa faktor-faktor penyebab rendahnya aktivitas peserta didik pada mata pelajaran Bahasa Arab kelas VII di MTs Nurul Falah Bukit Kemuning?. Selanjutnyametodepenelitian yang digunakan adalah kualitatif deskriptif yaitu analisis data yang menekankan pada makna, penalaran, definisi suatu situasi tertentu (dalam konteks tertentu).Sementaraalatpengumpul data terkaitdenganpenelitianiniadalah interview, observasi, dan dokumentasi. Adapun dalam pengambilan kesimpulan menggunakan pendekatan berfikir induktif yaitu pemikiran yang berangkat dari fakta atau peristiwa khusus, kemudian dari fakta-fakta yang khusus dimaksud, ditarik generalisasi yang memiliki sifat umum.
Mengacu padastatemen di atas, maka temuan yang dihasilkan menunjukkan bahwa faktor-faktor penyebab rendahnya aktivitas belajar bahasa arab peserta didik kelas VII MTs Nurul Falah Bukit Kemuning adalah faktor internal dan eksternal. Faktor internal dapat dilihat dari indikasi yaitu tidak menjaga kesehatan, aktivitas belajar menjadi terganggu sehingga mengakibatkan tidak bergairah untuk mengikuti kegiatan belajar, minat dan motivasi yang rendah sangat mempengaruhi keinginan peserta didik dalam mengikuti aktivitas belajar bahasa arab cara belajar yang salah tidak memperhatikan waktu belajar dan tidak menggunakan teknik belajar yang baik sehingga hasil belajarpun kurang memuaskan. Sedangkan faktor eksternal dapat dilihat dari indikasi yaitu letak sekolah yang tidak strategis dan kondusif, metode mengajar guru yang kurang memuaskan, kemampuan guru dalam mengajar, kurangnya penegakan disiplin sekolah, kurangnya penggunaan alat pelajaran, kurangnya penempatan waktu belajar disekolah dikarenakan keadaan gedung sekolah yang kurang memadai.
A large class of RNA secondary structure prediction programs uses an elaborate energy model grounded in extensive thermodynamic measurements and exact dynamic programming algorithms. External experimental evidence can be in principle be incorporated by means of hard constraints that restrict the search space or by means of soft constraints that distort the energy model. In particular recent advances in coupling chemical and enzymatic probing with sequencing techniques but also comparative approaches provide an increasing amount of experimental data to be combined with secondary structure prediction. Responding to the increasing needs for a versatile and user-friendly inclusion of external evidence into diverse flavors of RNA secondary structure prediction tools we implemented a generic layer of constraint handling into the ViennaRNA Package. It makes explicit use of the conceptual separation of the “folding grammar” defining the search space and the actual energy evaluation, which allows constraints to be interleaved in a natural way between recursion steps and evaluation of the standard energy function. The extension of the ViennaRNA Package provides a generic way to include diverse types of constraints into RNA folding algorithms. The computational overhead incurred is negligible in practice. A wide variety of application scenarios can be accommodated by the new framework, including the incorporation of structure probing data, non-standard base pairs and chemical modifications, as well as structure-dependent ligand binding.
This paper aimed to investigate metaphorical images used by master’s students in order to gain an insight into their schemata for thinking about the process of master’s thesis writing. Semistructured interviews on the topic of master’s thesis writing with three students coming from humanities, social sciences and natural sciences served as a corpus from which the data were extracted. The paper analysed participants’ unconscious use of metaphorical language in their narratives, mirroring their perception of the thesis writing process. The results revealed that the participants’ personal experience revolves around the concept of journey as the central image they share and the journey metaphor, along with a group of related specific metaphors, serves to illustrate the complexity of the writing process itself.
[straipsnis ir santrauka lietuvių kalba; santrauka anglų kalba]
Versti Šekspyro poeziją yra vienas iš sudėtingiausių uždavinių, jaudinusių šimtus vertėjų, vertimo teoretikų ir mokslininkų visame pasaulyje. Kadangi poezijoje vartojama daug retorinių priemonių, dėl kurių dažnai išnyksta riba tarp vaizdingumo ir intertekstualumo, ji pati tampa neaiški, dviprasmiška, o kartu ir neišverčiama. Be to, vartojamos stiliaus figūros, tokios kaip palyginimai, sinekdokos ir metaforos, šiai poezijai su-teikia tokią diskursinę jėgą, kuri nekinta nepaisant anglų kalbos evoliucijos ir to, kad poetas mirė jau prieš kelis šimtmečius. Šioje poezijoje temų spektras toks didelis, kad pats Šekspyras atrodo kaip kosmopolitinė figūra, neapribota nei laiko, nei erdvės. Straipsnyje siekiama įvertinti Šekspyro poezijos meilės tema vertimo sprendimus Ibrahimo (2012) vertime į arabų kalbą. Siekdamas šio tikslo, autorius siūlo naudoti gretinamąją anglų ir arabų poetinio teksto analizę ir nustatyti, ar vertėjui pavyko išsaugoti jos esmę. Daroma išvada, kad originalaus poetinio teksto stilistiniai aspektai ir estetinės savybės vertimuose į arabų kalbą daugeliu atvejų buvo prarasti, nes dėl archainių formų ir reikšmių daugiasluoksniškumo vertėjui dažnai nepavyko išsaugoti sonetų stilistikos, kartais net supainiotas soneto adresatas (vyriška / moteriška giminė).
While nation-branding campaigns have become a popular means for governments to attempt to improve their country’s standing on international indexes, such as the Anholt-Gfk Roper Nation Brand Index (NBI), the generally static ranking on such indexes suggests that national brands cannot simply be shaped by clever marketing campaigns. Instead, national brands rest on deeply rooted perceptions of a country’s character and identity, which often have much in common with popular stereotypes about the country. This article analyzes how several advertising campaigns in Germany and Denmark, sponsored by both governmental entities and private corporations, explicitly engage with and manipulate positive national stereotypes in order to shape public narratives about what their countries have to offer the world.
Computational linguistics. Natural language processing, Language. Linguistic theory. Comparative grammar
Slogans, both chanted and written, are one of the most frequent and standard forms of social protest discourse. Based on data from Quebec’s 2012 student strike, this paper focuses on the roles of slogans in collective action. Starting from a broad definition of argumentation, the aim is to examine the ways through which do written slogans contribute to the collective call for action. Which, among the mobilized groups, both activists and their opponents, is addressed by the slogans? Which groups are constituted as target audiences? What are the discursive components used in the construction of slogans? Focusing on instrumental functions of slogans in protest, this paper defines the slogan as a series of socio-disursive acts of a ‘call for action’, which contribute to the formation of activist groups and to the public expression of social tensions.
Este artigo explora a natureza da enunciação da poeta Ana Cristina na primeira pessoa. Trata-se de buscar definir como seus poemas se localizam num espaço aberto pela escritura que já não é mais tentativa de escrever o eu, mas a abertura para o encontro com o outro. Neste sentido exploramos a sua escrita feminina como exemplo maior da natureza multifacetada de sua lírica, que a poeta define também como gênero ligeiro. A relevância deste artigo está em buscar demonstrar que a expressão lírica de Ana Cristina é própria ao “feminino” ou do que se entende comumente por tal.
Language. Linguistic theory. Comparative grammar, Literature (General)
For young children, language learning is not a direct, motivated, personal choice. Parents are the main agents in these linguistic and educational decisions. In Brittany, parents make the atypical choice to send their children to a bilingual school combining French and the so-called ‘regional’ language despite the fact most of them speak little or no Breton. This doctoral study examines the representations behind this choice of schooling and their influences. The purpose of this article is to document the development of this work in progress and reveal its preliminary results. Opening with a description of the context and origins of the study, the article sets out the general problematic, initial hypotheses and proposed methodology and then presents an analysis of a few words, which gives an indication of the richness of the study to come.
Following the studies of Marshall McLuhan and Eric Havelock, Derrick De Kerchkove argues that the invention of theater by the Athenian community between the sixth and fifth centuries BC marks a decisive moment in the formation of Western mind, to be closely connected with the contemporary invention of alphabetic writing. Since attending to the theatrical performance requires attention and behavior characterized by immobility, distance and mental reflection, theater would have contributed to the emergence of modes of perception and participation in social life dependent on the increasing value of eye and sight, while promoting the decline of the oral and tribal ear. Theater was indeed one of the main instruments of what de Kerckhove call “desensorialization” of knowledge and experience. Has the profound transformation of communication media brought to some change? Signals from experimental theater of the second half of the twentieth century seem to suggest a significant change in the status of the performing arts, if not a true reversal. In the context of contemporary communicaton, characterized by virtuality and digital networks, the practice of performing arts (theatre, music, dance) acquires a predominantly opposite value as a potential "accelerator" of “ri-sensorialization” of knowledge.
Geography. Anthropology. Recreation, Language. Linguistic theory. Comparative grammar
In her article "Fiction, Film, Painting, and Comparative Literature" Ramona L. Ceciu proposes a view of comparative literature as a "language in a process of ascertaining its proper grammar." She argues that like any language in order to survive, comparative literature must allow for a constant rejuvenation of its vocabulary and methods it must keep an "open" structure that would accommodate fresh extra-methodological approaches through a procedure of re-invention and expansion. Ceciu posits that in this process the comparatist's "objective creativity" plays a crucial role and draws on Steven Totosy de Zepetnek's concept of a "new comparative literature" and applies the concept to literature, painting, and film in India.