The initial acquisition of expressions of passive meaning by three Mandarin-speaking children is investigated in this paper. It has been found that children initially express passive meanings using the simplest patient-subject structure, “S_p+VP,” which has the same syntactic and semantic features as adults' production. Typical marked passive “bei” (被) sentences, which contain two arguments, are produced three to five months later. Furthermore, all the verbs in the “S_p+VP” structure has been used in the one-word sentence stage. The findings have revealed that the expression of passive meaning has experienced the construction process from single verb to single-argument patient-subject sentences to marked “bei” (被) sentences. The passive expression “S_p+VP” is an absolutive-like structure, which forms part of the ergative-absolutive or nominative-accusative language pattern, while the marked passive “bei” (被) sentences form part of the nominative-accusative language pattern. The initial acquisition of the expression of passive meaning by Mandarin-speaking children has shown a transitional character from an absolutive-like structure to a nominative-accusative pattern. Children initially acquire single-argument patient-subject sentences to express passive meanings. Input is a necessary but insufficient condition for this acquisition, and the decisive factor should be that the “S_p+VP” structure meets an utterance's demands in terms of syntax, semantics, and function expression to the greatest extent.

From the perspective of language communication, language influence is defined in this article and its generation mechanism and measurement methods are explored systematically. First, the concept of language influence is clarified and made concrete based on the argument that it emerges from the process of language communication and is a key indicator of communication effectiveness. Second, the generation mechanism is analyzed in detail across the three dimensions of language power, the transmission and reception phases, and language influence. It has been found that language influence is generated throughout the entire dynamic process of language communication. The realization of language influence follows the path of “language power → transmission and reception phases → language influence”, and its resulting effects ultimately feed back to strengthen language power, initiating a new cycle of language communication. Finally, a Language International Influence Evaluation Index System (LIIEIS) has been constructed using six observational indicators to provide a quantitative assessment of the influence of 25 languages. The aim of this article is to offer valuable insights for understanding the current global language landscape and to enhance the international status and influence of the Chinese language.

Based on three morphological types of languages, this paper selected 45 language samples to explore the argument alignment patterns of world languages, particularly their splits and factors. The results were as follows: (1) languages that lack inflectional morphemes usually use particles and syntactic means to exhibit their argument alignment patterns, which are not neutral; (2) the proportions of ergative languages are different in languages with different morphological types, and agglutinative languages account for the largest proportion; (3) nominative-accusative languages and ergative-absolutive languages both have nominative-accusative pattern and ergative-absolutive patterns; (4) the implicational universal of case markers satisfies the hierarchy: nominal case markers > pronoun case markers; that is, noun phrase case markers entail pronoun case markers; and (5) the ergative-absolutive alignment patterns tend to use the markers in the hierarchy from left to right: nominal case markers > pronoun case markers > cross-referencing.

Discourses of metatranslation refer to translators' discussions about translation in translated works, and they are frequently seen in paratexts such as the introduction, afterwords, and the translated text itself. There are usually many discourses of metatranslation in works written in non-native languages or about non-native cultures, works which, on the whole, can be considered to be translations (without original texts). Some displaced (non-native language or non-native culture) written works are taken as examples in this paper in an attempt to describe the manifestations of explicit and implicit discourses of metatranslation, particularly those relating to the translation of terms and culturally loaded words. Their potential roles are summarized, such as embodying an author's or a translator's views on translation, revealing the complexity of translation and enhancing the foreignness of translated works. As a new concept in translation studies, discourse of metatranslation deserves further research, which might also shed light on translation practice.

The English translation of The Three-Body Problem (2014) by Ken Liu has set the highest record for sales of English translations of contemporary Chinese literature and for global library collections, marking a significant milestone in the translation and international dissemination of contemporary Chinese science fiction. In this article, the perspectives of transmission and reception were employed to analyze how the English translation of The Three-Body Problem achieves communication and interaction with English-speaking readers through various elements of peritexts and epitexts based on paratext theory with the hope of providing original perspectives and new approaches for the dissemination and acceptance of Chinese contemporary literature. It is suggested that the main text of the English translation serves as an intrinsic force, while the paratexts function as extrinsic forces. By interpreting, deepening, and extending the main text, the peritexts and epitexts both provide support for the main text, forming an organic and dynamic system that expands the communicative space and channels of The Three-Body Problem, collectively facilitating its dissemination and reception in the English-speaking world.

This study explores Chinese college students' behavioral engagement with Sino-US peer feedback and its influencing factors in second language writing. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of initial and revised essays, peer feedback and reflective journals reveal that: (1) For the genre of movie review, there is no significant difference in Sino-US peer feedback uptake among Chinese college students, whereas the frequency of revisions triggered by American peer feedback is significantly higher than that triggered by Chinese peer feedback. (2) Feedback uptake shows a marginal correlation with explicitness but no correlation with feedback focus. Revision modes are influenced by feedback explicitness, while revision behaviors are influenced by feedback focus. (3) Behavioral engagement is influenced by multiple factors such as individual characteristics, context and society. The study may provide some implications for the design of peer interaction activities.

The effects of learning conception and engagement on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' willingness to participate in virtual reality- based (VR-based) instruction and their oral performances were investigated in this study. The data were obtained via two surveys (learning conception and learning engagement) and students' audio-recorded oral performances. The results indicated that students' learning conception in the virtual environment included four factors, namely improving presence, increasing motivation, enhancing interaction, and extending learning. Students' learning engagement in the virtual environment consisted of four factors, which were cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social engagement factors. The regression analyses revealed that the factors of learning conception and learning engagement were correlated, and that emotional engagement was associated with being more likely to participate in VR-based instruction. The study provided empirical evidence for using VR in language instruction.

Since the beginning of this century, foreign language attrition has drawn increasing attention from scholars, both in China and abroad, due to its unique research value. Based on a review of classical studies of language attrition, the existing research is categorized according to four types in this paper: longitudinal tracking, cross-sectional comparisons, mixed-method studies, and other approaches. Building on this synthesis, several widely acknowledged findings are identified: (1) the primary aim of research on attrition is to resist language attrition in order to better retain foreign language proficiency; (2) vocabulary remains the focus in the study of language attrition; (3) research methods are increasingly becoming interdisciplinary in nature; and (4) multiple internal and external factors interact in shaping the outcomes of attrition. Finally, a forward-looking perspective from four dimensions is presented in this paper, namely enhancing the systematicity and specificity of research methods, broadening and deepening the scope of the study, refining and integrating intra- and extra-linguistic factors, and innovating and expanding theoretical frameworks. It is hoped that this review will serve as a useful reference for future research on foreign language attrition.

Corporate websites are not only the crucial online communication medium for companies, they are also typical platforms for multimodal resources. In this cross-cultural study, which was inspired by the GeM model and cross-cultural theories, the multimodality of Chinese and US corporate websites were compared by adopting a corpus-based approach. The results show that both Chinese and US corporate websites are dominated by text-typographic and photo-pictorial elements, followed by diagram-representational and video-animated elements. However, the Chinese sites tend to employ more multimodal elements in total and more text-typographic and video-animated elements compared to the US sites. The Chinese sites featured more news and photos that are arranged in an atomized and compartmental format, while the US websites often use larger-sized pictures as backgrounds on which other elements are embedded in a more complex manner. In addition, the Chinese sites display more indicative elements with interactional functions to assist readers to navigate the sites and to build rapport with the audience. Finally, the Chinese sites use more QR codes and include more videos and flash videos, while the US sites display more social media icons. Conclusions about corporate multimodal discourse are drawn and implications for corporate web communications in a cross-cultural context are provided.

Although the terminology that is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) may appear dull and difficult to comprehend, understanding the underlying motivation will make the terminology easier to learn. In an interdisciplinary context, we can use cognitive linguistic theories to conduct research on the terminology that is used in TCM. Both linguistic and TCM researchers have obtained research results using this method. Previous theories of motivation have contributed to improvements in the theory of the motivations underlying TCM terminology; these motivations can be divided into external motivations and internal motivations. In this paper, we present a supplement and an amendment to the former theories of linguistic motivation, as we believe that cultural motivations should be included in internal motivations. As a component of internal motivations, cultural motivations can be divided into various types, such as philosophical thought motivations and family culture. Cultural motivations have influenced different aspects of the production of TCM terms to various degrees during different periods. The motivation of philosophical thought is mainly embodied in the three aspects of the metaphorical cognitive model of the corresponding holographic medical view of nature and man, the metaphorical cognitive model of Yin and Yang theory, and the metaphorical cognitive model of the five elements theory. The philosophical thought in TCM terminology can explain the meanings of quite a number of TCM terms, making the learning of TCM terms simple, interesting, and efficient.