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Fast Politics: Propaganda in the Age of TikTok (The Language of Politics)

The goal of this book is to show the role of TikTok as a tool for political purposes. To this end, the authors analyse the messages posted on this social medium by political figures and institutions such as politicians and political parties, their impact on political landscapes, as well as the transformation of political communication techniques in order to suit the platform’s features. In the last two years, the exponential growth of TikTok has led an increasing number of politicians and institutions to incorporate it into their communication strategies. The platform displays some very different features from other social media that determine the way in which the content is presented. In addition, it manages to reach an audience that normally does not access or share political messages.Within this context, the volume pursues two main objectives. First, to examine how the communication techniques and the peculiarities of this social medium – where short videos with actors in informal attitudes prevail – affect the political message. A second objective is to analyse the influence of the messages distributed through TikTok that redefine political scenarios, and of the relationships of politicians and parties with voters. The core of the book comprises case studies that are organised into three parts, with nine chapters in all.The authors are scholars and practitioners of political communication, with diverse geographical representation, who approach the topics from a range of methodological perspectives. The first part addresses the state of the art and the influence of TikTok features on the way political communication is performed. The second part discusses the influence of TikTok on electoral scenarios and political culture in India, Bangladesh, the United States, and Ecuador. Finally, in the third part, TikTok is analysed as an instrument for promoting far right politicians and parties in Europe, as in the case of Matteo Salvini in Italy, and AfD in Germany and Vox in Spain.The volume is oriented to both scholars and communication professionals, such as journalists, communication consultants, and speechwriters, who want to become familiar with the platform, learn about its political impact, or wish to deepen their understanding of transformations in communication techniques and their adaptation to this growing social medium.

A Poetics of Minds and Madness: Fiction, Cognition and Interpretation

​This monograph aims to explore the mind-narrative nexus by conducting a cognitive narratological study on the mad minds in fictional narratives. Set on the interface of narrative and cognitive science (cognitive linguistics, cognitive psychology and cognitive neuropsychology), it adopts an indirect empirical approach to the fictional representation of madness. The American writer Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is chosen as the primary text of investigation, whereas due consideration is also given to other madness narratives when necessary. This book not only demonstrates the value of reading and rereading literary classics in the modern era, but also sheds light on the studies of cognitive narratology, cognitive poetics, madness narratives and literature in general.

The Chinese May Fourth Generation and the Irish Literary Revival: Writers and Fighters (Asia-Pacific and Literature in English)

This book examines how the early twentieth-century Irish Renaissance (Irish Literary Revival) inspired the Chinese Renaissance (the May Fourth generation) of writers to make agentic choices and translingual exchanges. It sheds a new light on “May Fourth” and on the Irish Renaissance by establishing that the Irish Literary Revival (1900-1922) provided an alternative decolonizing model of resistance for the Chinese Renaissance to that provided by the western imperial center. The book also argues that Chinese May Fourth intellectuals translated Irish Revivalist plays by W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, Seán O’Casey and Synge and that Chinese peasants performed these plays throughout China during the 1920s and 1930s as a form of anti-imperial resistance. Yet this literary exchange was not simply going one way, since Yeats, Lady Gregory, Synge and O’Casey were also influenced by Chinese developments in literature and politics. Therefore this was a reciprocal encounter based on the circulation of Anti-colonial ideals and mutual transformation.

Dutch Interbellum Canons and World Literature A. Roland Holst, M. Nijhoff, J. Slauerhoff (Canon and World Literature)

This text takes a wholly new look at a major early twentieth-century Dutch poet and novelist from the perspective of world literature, situating his work in both a national and a world literary context as measured against contemporaries and near-contemporaries such as Conrad, Pound, Brecht, Segalen, and Malraux. Exemplifying how an author from a “minor” literature may be a “major” world author, this book considers the debates within World Literature regarding the classification of literatures as ‘major’ and ‘minor’, canon formation within Dutch literature, Slauerhoff's position in the Dutch tradition as well as well as his contribution to world literature, particularly focusing on his East Asian poems, his East Asian novels and stories and his poetry and prose set in Latin America. This book is a key read for scholars and students of comparative literature, world literature, European literature, and Dutch literature. Lucid in style, innovative in approach, surprisingly fresh qua topic, this book opens new horizons for literary studies.

Intersections of Sport and Society in Creative Writing

This edited collection is positioned at the nexus of sports, society and creative writing. In its explorations of the intersections of sports writing, analysis of literary contributions and examinations of craft, it offers rare consideration of a rich diversity of form in narratives that occur in, and as creative practice. Included in the collection are dynamic academic investigations into football writing and poetry focused on community sporting activities in Afghanistan, to those addressing the intersections of writing and boxing in the reflexive reclamation of the post-trauma self, the absence of women in the rodeo and who and what is represented in our sports shelves. This book breaks new ground in approaches to sport’s role in creative writing and what creative writing can provide in furthering our understanding of sport in society. The works in this edited book draw on a diverse range of methods to interrogate the processes, concepts and liminal spaces through an intersectional array of voices, offering analysis and insight into the application of creative writing knowledge and practice in relation to sport and its impact on wider discipline discussion and research. It is relevant to students and scholars studying and researching creative writing, sports writing, sports studies, cultural studies and sports media studies.

Plastic Pasts: Sited Memory in Paris, Algiers and Marseille

This book uses plasticity as a metaphor for understanding how the past endures and evolves within the landscape, and the ways in which remembering shapes the sites we occupy and use. The plastic site is characterised both by its resilience, its form never entirely altered from an earlier mould, and by its malleability, which ensures that whatever persists is inevitably transformed. Embodied in its present configuration are the many moments that have produced it over time, and these are continually supplemented and modified. Surveying examples from Paris, Algiers and Marseille, and media as diverse as literature, film, photography, blogs and video games, Plastic Pasts interrogates how different communities and cultural producers have grappled with the present past in space as an enduring and dynamic memory. It argues that understanding sited memory as plastic entails recognising a multiplicity of immutable pasts that exist in a permanent state of ongoing evolution.

Concise Reader of Chinese Literature History

This book includes the history of Chinese literature before 1949. It firstly outlines the development process of Chinese literature and basic features and then discusses them according to the literary genre, for the literature of each era. This book gathers established scholars in the field and presents their latest research in the Chinese literature history studies. Moreover, it has included the literature history of different nationalities in the history of China and the records of folk literature history, reflecting literature from different classes. In the limited space of this book, the writers who have been loved by the Chinese people for three thousand years are discussed, such as Qu Yuan, Tao Yuanming, Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Shi, Xin Qiji, Yuan Haowen, Nalan Xingde, and so on. Careful elaborations are made on each writer together with quotations and analysis of their work.

A Narrative Inquiry into the Experiences of Vietnamese Children and Mothers in Canada: Composing Lives in Transition (Global Vietnam: Across Time, Space and Community)

This book recounts the understanding of three Vietnamese children and their mothers’ experiences as they navigate being newcomers to Canada. It explores the cultural, traditional, familial, intergenerational, personal, social, institutional, political, historical, community, and linguistic narratives shaping Vietnamese children and mothers as they compose their lives. The author employs narrative inquiry as a methodological approach, beginning by positioning herself through her narrative beginnings, delving deep into philosophical and methodological underpinnings. The author lays out the three child–mother pairs’ experiences as they negotiated a new culture in Canada, particularly the spaces of home, schools, and communities. The book brings a holistic and relational way of understanding familial curriculum-making as support for children’s school curriculum-making and for the ways in which Vietnamese families’ sustain their ongoing life making. It also looks at the influence of the homeland’s language, culture, and educational traditions. Through the complex interplay between the children and mothers’ narratives and the writer’s own stories, this book discusses multiperspectival and multidimensional ways of supporting Vietnamese newcomers and other ‘arrivals’ composing their lives in similar landscapes. The book is relevant to educators, researchers, cultural brokers, and policymakers, opening avenues for understanding cultural ethics within the relational ethics of narrative inquiry, as well as familial narratives in relation to institutional and social narratives.

Chinese Semiotic Thoughts in the Pre-imperial Age (China Academic Library)

This book examines practices on the relationship between sign and meaning in the Pre-Imperial period of China from the semiotics perspective. Although the Chinese civilization did not develop a comprehensive semiotics system in that period, they are highly semiotic in many ways. The thinking and application of signs of Chinese people can be found in many classics, such as The Book of Changes, The Analects of Confucius, Tao De Jing and Zhuangzi. This book begins its study by re-examining the semiotic thoughts contained in The Book of Changes and inquiries into the thoughts of the major philosophers of different schools. It provides insights into the findings of these philosophers concerning the relationship between sign and meaning. In particular, it concentrates on how the prosperity of the various contending semiotic thoughts complemented each other in forming a sign system. In addition, the book also emphasizes the wholeness and associativity of observing things and studying relevant signs of Chinese people. As the first monograph in any language to systematically summarize Chinese semiotic thought in the Pre-Imperial period, this book helps promote understanding of the traditional Chinese culture and mindset.

The Effects of Personality Hardiness on Interpreting Performance: Implications for Aptitude Testing for Interpreting

This book sheds new light on personality dispositions research into interpreter performance, injecting fresh impetus for a new research agenda designed to further our understanding of hardiness–performance linkages in interpreters. Interpreters are made not born (Mackintosh, 1999: 67), i.e., it is generally assumed that everyone has the potential to become an interpreter, given proper training. Nonetheless, time constraints and financial limitations make it advisable to select applicants who need the least training. Aptitude testing for interpreting, with a purpose to admitting the most promising candidates, has thus become not only a practical necessity for institutions but also a central issue among interpreting researchers. The book presents a literature review and empirical survey, which reveal, e.g., that aptitude testing for interpreting attaches great importance to cognitive aptitude. In contrast, non-cognitive attributes (personality in particular), while also considered important, are seldom measured, due to their complex structure and the lack of scientific measurement tools. Bearing this gap in mind, the book focuses on research into personality traits in aptitude testing for interpreting, with an aim to expanding the objective means of testing candidates for the requisite knowledge and skills. It is devoted to an empirical investigation into the effects of personality hardiness on interpreting performance, with interpreting anxiety and self-efficacy as two intermediates. To this end, a quantitative method (questionnaire survey) and a qualitative in-depth interview were used with 149 Chinese student interpreters at postgraduate level. The results indicate that personality hardiness is a valuable trait for student interpreters. By systematically presenting the effects of personality hardiness on interpreting performance, the book offers both theoretical and empirical stepping stones to understanding the position of personality hardiness in aptitude testing for interpreting, providing stakeholders with valuable insights into and blueprints for selecting the most teachable candidates for interpreting training programs.

Teaching Chinese Language in the International School Context (Chinese Language Learning Sciences)

This book explores the learning and teaching of K-12 Chinese language in international schools. The authors of this book are scholars from teaching training institutions and universities, as well as professional frontline teachers. With a combination of the works and insights from both perspectives of theory and practice, the book presents how theories of teaching can be operated in classroom to improve the effectiveness of language teaching. It covers curriculum setting, design of teaching materials, teaching principles, methods, strategies, and evaluation. The book also discusses issues and concepts such as concept-driven learning, identity change and recognition of L1 and L2 Chinese teacher, pinyin teaching, Chinese character teaching, evaluation for learning improvement, and integration of South Asian non-Chinese speaking students into local schools. It emphasizes empirical action research methods. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book, providing high value insights to scholars from university and teacher training institutions and teachers from kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools around the world.

Introduction to Pragmatics (Peking University Linguistics Research #9)

This book covers major topics in the Anglo-American tradition, including deixis, presupposition, implicature, speech acts, and (im)politeness. These key topics are illustrated with examples and case studies from various contexts such as romantic relationships, online forums, social media posts, and popular culture. The book also includes a methods chapter that offers a hands-on guide for literature search, data collection, and data analysis. This book is particularly suitable for readers who have no prior knowledge of pragmatics.

Corpora and Translation Education: Advances and Challenges (New Frontiers in Translation Studies)

This edited book covers a range of topics related to the use of corpora in translation education, including their standing in corpus-based translation studies, their relationship with machine learning and post-editing, recent advances in learner corpora development and the integration of corpora into translation pedagogy.The book draws the reader into the latest debate on the potential benefits and challenges of using corpora in translation education, as well as serving as practical guidance on how to incorporate corpora into their teaching practice.The book is of particular interest to translation educators, researchers, and postgraduate students who are interested in exploring theoretical underpinnings as well as new ways of teaching and learning translation.

Literary Digital Stylistics in Translation Studies (New Frontiers in Translation Studies)

This book presents a systematic literary comparison of the retranslations by adopting a mixed-method and bottom-up (inductive) approach by developing an empirical corpus approach. This corpus is specifically tailored to identify and study linguistic and non-linguistic modernist features throughout the texts, such as stream of consciousness-indirect interior monologue and free indirect speech. All occurrences are analysed quantitatively in the computations of inferential and comparative statistics, such as tests of time trends, lexical variety, and lexical frequency. The target texts are digitised, and the resulting text files are then analysed using a bespoke, novel computer program capable of the functions not provided by commercially available software such as WordSmith Tools and WMatrix. This methodology enables in-depth explorations of micro- and macro-textual features and allows a mixed-method approach combining close-reading qualitative analysis with systematic quantitative comparisons. The empirical study of the digital corpus of eleven Italian (re)translations of Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse identifies a progressive source-text orientation only in a relatively few aspects of a few target texts. The translators’ presence affects all the examined target texts in terms of register and style under the influence of the Italian translation norms usually attributed to the translation of literary classics. Its intended readership comprises students of the mentioned fields and the general public of readers, editors, and publishers.

A Study of Macao Tertiary Students’ Attitudes Towards Language After the Handover (SpringerBriefs in Education)

This book focuses on the attitudes of Macao tertiary students toward language after the handover. It shares the findings of a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews, which were conducted among freshmen of the University of Macao to investigate their attitudes toward Cantonese, Putonghua, English, and Portuguese, as well as their attitudes toward Macao's language planning and language policy. Utilizing a multidimensional and multilayered perspective in the study, this book also demonstrates the orientations of Macao tertiary students and the correlation between their social categories (gender and social class) and their attitudes toward language.

The Rise of Trans-Eurasian Exchange: Re-visiting the Correlation Between Movement of Chinese Millet and Painted Pottery Before the 2nd Millennium B.C.

This book has re-visited two distinctive patterns, namely pottery and millet, the movement of both of which conflict with conventional narratives concerning prehistoric trans-Eurasian exchange. The significance of this lies beyond the simple matter of chronology, but rests on the relationship between the movement of agricultural resources and of other items of material culture. Studies on early west–east interaction have attracted researchers from various disciplines, such as archaeology, history, Asian studies, art history, etc. Pursuing an archaeological approach, the book re-examines two of the earliest evidences of trans-Eurasian cultural exchange. The book is intended for researchers who are interested in prehistory, archaeobotany, pottery studies and comparative studies of early civilizations.

(Un)Following in Winnetou’s Footsteps: Representations of North American Indigeneity in Central Europe

This book examines the ways in which North American Indigenous identity has been (re)imagined, represented, and negotiated in German, Croatian, Italian, Polish, and Czech culture. Employing a cross-disciplinary and comparative approach and drawing on a range of media—from literature, comics, and film to photography, painting, and the performative arts—across different historical and cultural backgrounds, it aims to both contribute innovative scholarship on Indigenous studies in Europe and open a new avenue in the field by focusing on Central European settings that have received little or no critical attention to date. The book’s novelty also comes from its focus on the latest developments in the field, including the “Ravensburger/Winnetou controversy,” which swept across Europe in 2022, echoing the 2017 Canadian debate over Indigenous appropriation and free speech. It seeks to provide a sound reference and lay the groundwork for future scholarship by opening up a conversation on how Indigenous identities have been portrayed in Central European literature and media texts. To this end, it not only addresses generalized expectations about North American Indigenous people underlying (Central) European public discourse and imagination but also questions whether and to what extent some of the ingrained stereotypical views and practices, such as hobbyism, have been challenged in the face of Indigenous resurgence, rapidly changing media and information-sharing realities, and global cultural shifts. The closing interview with Métis playwright, actor, and director Bruce Sinclair underscores one of the book’s key goals—to spark an informed cross-cultural dialogue that will reveal the mechanisms of, as well as the contradictions and tensions inherent in, the politics of Indigenous representation in (Central) European cultural industries and encourage (Central) Europeans to confront their own cultural assumptions and attitudes.

Studies in Silk Road Archaeology

This book is a collection of Nai Xia’s quintessential works on Silk Road studies. A key resource in the field of Silk Road Archaeology, it features in-depth content, a broad range of material, careful textual research, and meticulous analysis. With thorough investigations of foreign coinage, silk textiles, and artifacts with foreign styles excavated in different parts of China, it explores the exchange between ancient China and Central Asia, Western Asia, and Europe. In particular, this book provides detailed descriptions of the economic and cultural ties between ancient China, Pre-Islamic Arabia, the Sasanian Empire, and the Byzantine Empire. The research propounds innovative theories on the history and evolution of East-West transportation routes, i.e., the overland Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road. Based on the study of ancient relics and excavated artifacts, it points out that cultural exchange along the Silk Road was never unilateral, but instead, mutual influence and cooperation were obvious. Since ancient times, countries along the Silk Road have had a tradition of amicable foreign relations and the promotion of common interests. The book is intended for academics, scholars and researchers.

Communications, Signal Processing, and Systems: Proceedings Of The 2018 Csps Volume Iii: Systems (Lecture Notes In Electrical Engineering Ser. #517)

Exploring the Cross-Language Transfer of L1 Rhetorical Knowledge in L2 Writing: Cognitive and Metacognitive Perspectives

This book addresses the transfer of rhetorical knowledge from a first language (L1) to a second language (L1-to-L2 rhetorical transfer), a common cognitive phenomenon in the L2 writing of students in foreign language learning environments. It investigates L1-to-L2 rhetorical transfer from a cognitive perspective and examines a specific component of L2 writers’ agency in this transfer, namely metacognition. The book’s ultimate goal is to enhance our understanding of the cognitive mechanism of rhetorical transfer across languages. This goal is in turn connected to the need to determine how L1 rhetorical knowledge can be steered and oriented toward successful L2 writing.To this end, this book proposes a theoretical framework for transfer studies, encompassing the dimensions of text, transfer agency, and L2 essay raters. It facilitates an in-depth exploration of the intricacies involved in L1-to-L2 rhetorical transfer. It then presents empirical studies on this transfer. Embracing a dynamic perspective, this book furthers our understanding of interlingual rhetorical transfer as a conscious or intuitive process for making meaning, one that can be monitored and steered. Moreover, it discusses the pedagogical implications for L2 writing instruction that guides students to use metacognition to transfer L1 rhetorical knowledge during L2 writing.

Crossing the Border: On the Quadruple-Evidence Method

This book is the first monograph of its kind in the academic world which comprehensively expounds the new methodology of humanities. The quadruple-evidence method is one which integrates quadruple-evidences to open up new horizon for interpretation of ancient culture in the three-dimensional manner. The first layer of evidence refers to documents passed down from the past; the second layer of evidence refers to local written materials; the third layer of evidence includes oral legends of anthropology and folklore and etiquette in the living folk customs; the fourth layer of evidence refers to those ancient objects and images either unearthed in archaeological excavations or handed down from the past. The book consists of theoretical explorations and their applications in individual cases. While the first part studies the academic evolution, theory and methodological value of the quadruple-evidence method, the second part, in using the method in different cases, explores different historical and cultural phenomena in the history of China, attempting to extend the frontier of the origin of civilization from the approach of mythological study

The Handbook of Mirza Ghalib’s Poetry and Poetics: Commentaries And Contemporary Concerns (Springer Handbooks In Languages And Linguistics Ser.)

Translanguaging for Empowerment and Equity: Language Practices in Philippine Education and Other Public Spaces

This book investigates how translanguaging is employed for pedagogical purposes and describes how speakers use translanguaging in specific multilingual contexts. It examines the beliefs and perceptions that shape translanguaging in different public spaces and interrogates the notion of translanguaging through the lens of various Philippine public spaces. This book also focuses on the breakthroughs that may be achieved through translanguaging in the academic field and other domains. It presents studies conducted in the Philippines, a multilingual and post-colonial setting where many multilingual speakers engage in translanguaging practices while recognizing the significance of each language in their communication repertoire in expressing their ideas and identities. It provides insights and knowledge on the current language practices in basic and tertiary education and offers more information about the crucial role of translanguaging in the government, media, and church domains in the Philippines. While this book mainly covers the use of translanguaging in various domains in the Philippines, it remains relevant to other multilingual societies around the world. Being a highly multilingual society, the Philippines serves as a global case study for understanding multilingualism. This book demonstrates how blocks to translanguaging may be overcome and explores possibilities that may be considered in introducing it as an effective pedagogical and communication tool. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing the translingual paradigm as a strong force that has been adopted by multilingual language users to promote empowerment and equity.

Machine Translation and Foreign Language Learning (New Frontiers in Translation Studies)

The book investigates how machine translation (MT) provides opportunities and increases the willingness to communicate in a foreign language. It is informed by a mixed methods methodological approach that analyzes quantitative and qualitative data of questionnaires and real-time instant messages (IM). The book is unique because it contains tables, figures, and screenshots of actual real-time IM exchanges. It is innovative in discussing IM translation, a novel form of MT, and demonstrates how the technology offers English foreign language learners, in this case, Chinese college students, communication opportunities while increasing their willingness to communicate. The study provides an interesting insight into IM user profiles, clients, and usages. Smartphone screenshots are the locale of the study whose findings have far-reaching implications for students, language and translation instructors, and curriculum designers.

Marriage Migration, Intercultural Families and Global Intimacies

This book brings an innovative study of marriage migration in Australia, offering new insights into issues of intimacy and authenticity online. In doing so, it delivers on five main objectives: exploring emotional attachment and personal life in global spaces; interrogating stereotypes and their pervasive influence on personal relations; analysing attitudes and social practice within the institution of marriage; investigating immigration policy, marriage, and citizens’ rights; theorizing gender and class relations in the current global order. The analysis moves between ‘online’ and ‘offline’ social relations and processes, with comparative data enabling a critical framing of the data on marriage relationships developed online. This important contribution places contemporary forms of transcultural marriage and marriage brokering in a historical context of ‘marriage’ in the ‘Anglosphere’ tradition, and in particular historical forms of marriage migration in settler colonial and now multicultural Australia—including histories of colonial era ‘bride ships’ and post WW2 ‘proxy brides’ from southern Europe.