Journal of Modern Languages

Acoustic analysis of Malay /r/ in connected speech: A preliminary study on tap and trill variants

W. A. Wan Aslynn, Muhammad Roslan, Nur Hanisah Tukiran — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0800

Differences in regional dialects in the production of consonants and vowels can influence the pronunciation of Standard Malay. This study aims to acoustically characterise the pronunciation of the Malay phoneme /r/, a consonant known to exhibit phonetic variation. The data analysed in this study contained both tap [ɾ] and trill [r] realisations of /r/. A total of 74 tokens containing the /r/ sound were extracted from audio recordings of four Standard Malay-speaking participants. Based on acoustic analysis, it was found that the /r/ phoneme was consistently realised as either a tap or trill in initial and medial positions, while it was frequently omitted in word-final position. These findings have clinical relevance for speech-language pathology, particularly in differentiating between typical dialectal variation and disordered speech.

The behaviour of liquid consonants in the Tambirat Malay dialect: An optimality-theoretic account

Mohd Zulkanien Sarbini — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0800

Given its diverse population, Sarawak exhibits a remarkable degree of linguistic variation. Among its varieties is the Tambirat Malay dialect, a unique and understudied subdialect spoken in Kampung Tambirat, Samarahan. This study is an attempt to model the phonological behaviour of liquid consonants in this dialect, an aspect that has been overlooked by prior research. This study uses primary data collected from native speakers through interviews and the citation method with the Swadesh 200-word list as the primary instrument. Offering insights from the constraint-based approach, this study reveals that the rhotic [ɣ] is completely excluded in syllable codas, and to avoid this, deletion is employed as a repair strategy. The lateral [l], on the other hand, is allowed in a coda only when the preceding vowel is [e]. This restriction arises from the dialect’s general avoidance of coda [l], and as a resolution, it is typically substituted by the high vowel [j]; however, since this substitution will yield the diphthong [ej], which is marked and ill-formed, this process is blocked by the constraint NO-[ej]. The analysis shows that ALIGN-RHOTIC must be highly ranked, but NO-[ej] must dominate ALIGN‑LATERAL to eliminate candidates with the diphthong [ej]. IDENT‑IO[+lateral] and MAX-IO[+rhotic], on the other hand, must be ranked low to ensure that the candidates with ɣ-deletion and l-substitution emerge as the optimal outputs. Ultimately, the following partial constraint ranking is developed: ALIGN-RHOTIC, DEP-IO, MAX-IO[–rhotic], IDENT‑IO[–lateral], NO-[ej] >> ALIGN‑LATERAL >> MAX-IO[+rhotic], IDENT‑IO[+lateral]. Beyond its theoretical significance, this study is crucial for the documentation of Sarawak’s subdialects, many of which are gradually undergoing extinction due to language shift and urbanization.

Reevaluating the concept of partial reduplication in Banjarese through an optimality theoretic approach

Muhammad Farris Imadi Fuze, Sharifah Raihan Syed Jaafar — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0800

This paper aims to re-examine the partial reduplication process in Banjarese. Previous scholars have mostly claimed that partial reduplication in this language is merely a process of copying the initial syllable of the base. However, we argue that this definition does not adequately describe how the reduplicative morpheme is actually copied. Banjarese syllable structure can be any size, however, the partial reduplicative morpheme in this language can be either CV or V only. A corpus linguistics approach was employed, utilizing data collected from a corpus of hundreds of Banjarese short stories. Additionally, secondary data from previous studies of Banjarese reduplication was incorporated into this study. By implementing the Optimality Theory of phonology, we propose that partial reduplication in Banjarese can be defined as copying the initial syllable of the base while ensuring that the reduplicative morpheme remains an open syllable in size. This means that the NOCODA constraint is essential to ensure that the reduplicative morpheme is either CV or V making it impossible for a consonant to emerge in the coda position of a syllable. Moreover, the light reduplicative morpheme represents an unmarked syllable structure that arises in Banjarese partial reduplication. This study aims to contribute to the existing body of research on Banjarese reduplication.

Language concerns and issues of Uyghur international students in Japan

Zulihaer Alifu, Kim Tiu Selorio, Hiroki Saito — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0800

Through one-on-one in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, this study examines the language-related concerns and issues encountered by Uyghur international students, a Muslim minority from northwest China, at various stages of their migration journey, including pre-departure preparations, life and academic experiences in Japan, and future prospects. Through narrative and thematic analysis, we examine how their ethnic identity and linguistic strategies shape their academic experiences, social interactions, and daily lives. Our findings reveal that due to diverse educational backgrounds, these students demonstrate varying proficiency in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Uyghur, leading them to develop unique coping mechanisms using available linguistic resources. To cope with these language challenges and difficulties, they actively develop unique strategies by leveraging the linguistic resources available to them. To enhance the study-abroad experience for all international students, we argue that Japan should clarify study pathways at language schools, reduce initial adjustment burdens, and provide comprehensive information on higher education to facilitate a smoother academic transition. Moreover, structured language exchange programs and government-supported initiatives could help students integrate more effectively into society. For tightly connected ethnic groups like the Uyghurs, platforms that foster community-building and mutual support can be particularly beneficial. Ultimately, to promote the internationalization of higher education and address future talent shortages, Japan should strengthen language support services, improve accessibility to information, and foster an inclusive social environment to ensure that students from diverse backgrounds can thrive and contribute meaningfully to society.

The vitality of the Daur language in Inner Mongolia, China

Jinke Du — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0800

This article reports on research assessing the vitality of Daur, an ethnic language spoken mainly by Daur people residing in Inner Mongolia, China. The research involved a language use survey, individual interviews, and the EGIDS framework. Based on analysis of Daur use patterns in various domains and answers to the five key EGIDS questions, it is observed that Daur enjoys relatively low vitality (6b) and seems to be threatened in Inner Mongolia. The likely main causes for its relatively low vitality are the lack of a unified and widespread writing system and the small size of the speaker population. After presenting the findings and discussing the vitality level of Daur, this article concludes with some general implications and considerations for the maintenance of the Daur language in Inner Mongolia. This research sheds light on issues related to the vitality of ethnic languages in Inner Mongolia and seeks to contribute to the discussion on ethnic language maintenance in ethnic regions and areas in China.

Challenges and strategies in post-editing English into Arabic Neural Machine Translations of movie subtitles

Al Sammarraie Huda Saad Mudheher — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0800

This study investigates the challenges and strategies involved in post-editing (PE) Neural Machine Translation (NMT) subtitles for the Netflix movie La La Land from English to Arabic, utilizing Gottlieb's ten subtitling strategies. By adopting a descriptive-qualitative approach, this study identified issues related to linguistic fidelity, cultural adaptation, and technical constraints. The findings also revealed an enhanced understanding of audiovisual translation workflows, emphasizing the role of human expertise in refining machine-generated outputs. Among these, paraphrasing was the most frequently used strategy as many dialogues required localization and modification to enhance clarity for an Arabic audience. In contrast, transcription, cultural substitution, and deletion were employed less often. The study highlights the importance of human expertise in refining machine-generated output and offers recommendations for optimizing Arabic subtitle PE in NMT environments.

Editorial

Stefanie Pillai — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0800