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Lexis
In linguistics, lexis describes the storage of language in our mental Lexicon as prefabricated patterns that can be recalled and sorted into meaningful speech and writing. Recent research in corpus linguistics suggests that the long-held dichotomy between grammar and vocabulary does not exist. Lexis as a concept differs from the traditional paradigm of grammar in that it defines probable language use, not possible language usage. This notion contrasts starkly with the Chomskian proposition of a “Universal Grammar” as the prime mover for language; grammar still plays an integral role in lexis, of course, but it is the result of accumulated lexis, not its generator. In short, the Lexicon is • Formulaic: it relies on partially-fixed expressions and highly probable word combinations • Idiomatic: it follows conventions and patterns for usage • Metaphoric: concepts such as time and money, business and sex, systems and water all share a large portion of the same vocabulary • Grammatical: it uses rules based on sampling of the Lexicon • Register-specific: it uses the same word differently and/or less frequently in different contexts
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Topic Review
Proto-Circassian
Proto-Circassian (or Proto-Adyghe–Kabardian) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Adyghean and Kabardian languages.
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Topic Review
Rajʻa
Rajʻa (Arabic: الرجعة) (alternatively rjaa, rajaʻa, rajʻat) in Islamic terminology, refers to the Second Coming, or the return to life of a given past historical figure after that person's physical death. While primarily used in Shia Muslim terminology, variations on the doctrine exist in Sunni Islam and the Baháʼí Faith, and rajʻa is used to describe certain Christian doctrines in Arabic.
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Topic Review
Leprechaun
A leprechaun (Irish: leipreachán/luchorpán) is a type of fairy of the Aos Sí in Irish folklore. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. They are solitary creatures who spend their time making and mending shoes and have a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If captured by a human, they often grant three wishes in exchange for their freedom. Like other Irish fairies, leprechauns may be derived from the Tuatha Dé Danann. Leprechaun-like creatures rarely appear in Irish mythology and only became prominent in later folklore.
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Topic Review
Second Language Acquisition
Second language acquisition, or SLA, is the process by which people learn languages in addition to their native tongue(s). The term second language is used to describe any language whose acquisition starts after early childhood (including what may be the third or subsequent language learned). The language to be learned is often referred to as the "target language" or "L2"; SLA is sometimes called L2A, for "L2 acquisition". The term "language acquisition" became commonly used after Stephen Krashen contrasted it with formal and non-constructive "learning." Today, most scholars use "language learning" and "language acquisition" interchangeably, unless they are directly addressing Krashen's work. However, "second language acquisition" or "SLA" has become established as the preferred term for this academic discipline. The study of SLA is usually viewed as part of applied linguistics.
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Topic Review
Object
An object is a philosophical term often used in contrast to the term subject. A subject is an observer and an object is a thing observed. For modern philosophers like Descartes, consciousness is a state of cognition that includes the subject—which can never be doubted as only it can be the one who doubts—and some object(s) that may be considered as not having real or full existence or value independent of the subject who observes it. Metaphysical frameworks also differ in whether they consider objects existing independently of their properties and, if so, in what way. The pragmatist Charles S. Peirce defines the broad notion of an object as anything that we can think or talk about. In a general sense it is any entity: the pyramids, gods, Socrates, Alpha Centauri, the number seven, a disbelief in predestination or the fear of cats. In a strict sense it refers to any definite being. A related notion is objecthood. Objecthood is the state of being an object. One approach to defining it is in terms of objects' properties and relations. Descriptions of all bodies, minds, and persons must be in terms of their properties and relations. The philosophical question of the nature of objecthood concerns how objects are related to their properties and relations. For example, it seems that the only way to describe an apple is by describing its properties and how it is related to other things. Its properties may include its redness, its size, and its composition, while its relations may include "on the table", "in the room" and "being bigger than other apples". The notion of an object must address two problems: the change problems and the problems of substances. Two leading theories about objecthood are substance theory, wherein substances (objects) are distinct from their properties, and bundle theory, wherein objects are no more than bundles of their properties.
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Topic Review
Secular Religion
A secular religion is a communal belief system that often rejects or neglects the metaphysical aspects of the supernatural, commonly associated with traditional religion, instead placing typical religious qualities in earthly entities. Among systems that have been characterized as secular religions are capitalism, communism, anarchism, fascism, nationalism, Auguste Comte's Religion of Humanity and the Cult of Reason and Cult of the Supreme Being that developed after the French Revolution .
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  • 04 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Postinternet
Postinternet denotes an idea in arts and criticism that refers to society and modes of interaction following the widespread adoption of the internet. The term emerged from discussions about Internet Art by Marisa Olson, Gene McHugh, and Artie Vierkant. Guthrie Lonergan and Cory Arcangel have mentioned it as a term for being "internet aware", which some believe to be more accurate. Generally it is described as art that is about the internet's effects on aesthetics, culture and society. Critics of the term claim that it falsely implies that there is a kind of art made after the internet has ceased to exist (and artists such as Rafael Rozendaal have criticized the ambiguity of "post-" in this instance).
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Topic Review
Guilt-shame-fear Spectrum of Cultures
In cultural anthropology, the distinction between a guilt society (or guilt culture), shame society (also shame culture or honor-shame culture), and a fear society (or culture of fear) has been used to categorize different cultures. The differences can apply to how behavior is governed with respect to government laws, business rules, or social etiquette. This classification has been applied especially to so called "apollonian" societies, sorting them according to the emotions they use to control individuals (especially children) and maintaining social order, swaying them into norm obedience and conformity. The terminology was popularized by Ruth Benedict in The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, who described American culture as a "guilt culture" and Japanese culture as a "shame culture".
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Topic Review
Japanese Zen
Zen is the Japanese variant of Chan Buddhism, a Mahayana school that strongly emphasizes dhyana concentration-meditation. This practice, according to Zen proponents, gives insight into one's true nature, or the emptiness of inherent existence, which opens the way to a liberated way of living.
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