Evaluation of the Optimal Topic Classification for Social Media Data Combined with Text Semantics: A Case Study of Public Opinion Analysis Related to COVID-19 with Microblogs

Online public opinion reflects social conditions and public attitudes regarding special social events. Therefore, analyzing the temporal and spatial distributions of online public opinion topics can contribute to understanding issues of public concern, grasping and guiding the developing trend of public opinion. However, how to evaluate the validity of classification of online public opinion remains a challenging task in the topic mining field. By combining a Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) pre-training model with the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model, we propose an evaluation method to determine the optimal classification number of topics from the perspective of semantic similarity. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified based on the standard Chinese corpus THUCNews. Taking Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related geotagged posts on Weibo in Wuhan city as an example, we used the proposed method to generate five categories of public opinion topics. Combining spatial and temporal information with the classification results, we analyze the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of the five optimal public opinion topics, which are found to be consistent with the epidemic development, demonstrating the feasibility of our method when applied to practical cases.

Cross-Dialectal Novel Word Learning and Borrowing

The objective of this paper was to study the cognitive processes underlying cross-dialectal novel word borrowing and loanword establishment in a Standard-Chinese-to-Shanghainese (SC-SH) auditory lexical learning and borrowing experiment. To investigate these underlying cognitive processes, SC-SH bi-dialectals were compared with SC monolectals as well as bi-dialectals of SC and other Chinese dialects (OD) to investigate the influence of short-term and long-term linguistic experience. Both comprehension and production borrowings were tested. This study found that early and proficient bi-dialectism, even if it is not directly related to the recipient dialect of lexical borrowing, has a protective effect on the ability of cross-dialectal lexical borrowing in early adulthood. Bi-dialectals tend to add separate lexical representations for incidentally encountered dialectal variants, while monolectals tend to assimilate dialectal variants to standard forms. Bi-dialectals, but not monolectals, use etymologically related morphemes between the source and recipient dialects to create nonce-borrowing compounds. Dialectal variability facilitates lexical borrowing via enriching instead of increasing the short-term lexical experience of learners. The long-term bi-dialectal experience of individuals, as well as their short-term exposure to each specific loanword, may collectively shape the route of lexical evolution of co-evolving linguistic varieties.

A Study on Chinese-English Translation Standard of Landscape Public Signs Along the "Road of Tang Poetry" in Eastern Zhejiang Province

Based on the development background of the "Road of Tang Poetry" in eastern Zhejiang, this paper discusses the influence of the non-standard Chinese-English translation of public signs along the "Road of Tang Poetry" on the development of the "Road of Tang Poetry," which to some extent hinders the acceptance and understanding of foreigners and affects the international dissemination of Chinese culture. Therefore, it is urgent to regulate the translation of public signs in scenic spots. This research studies the theory and practice of translating public signs from the perspective of translation norms discuss the problems existing in translating public signs in the vital scenic spots of "Road of Tang poetry" in eastern Zhejiang Province. This research also puts forward corresponding translation principles and strategies, hope that relevant developments can pay attention to and standardize the translation of public signs in scenic spots, to promote the promoting role of the translation of public signs in the construction of the "Road of Tang poetry" in eastern Zhejiang, and deepen the level of the foreign communication and exchanges.

Netspeak in China: features and impact on standard Chinese language

In order to explore the impact of Netspeak on the modem standard Chinese language, this study investigates the features and sources of Netspeak and then examines two anxieties that prevail around Chinese society: (1) Can the English elements in Netspeak be regarded as a sign of "English Invasion" and destroy the purity of Chinese language or even blemish Chinese cultural sovereignty? (2) Can "Netspeak confuse people's perception of what standard Chinese language should be so as to have negative impact on Chinese language? Related literatures both in China and in the western countries are examined. Some linguistic theories are applied or verified. Quantitative research method is used to verify my hypothesis that Netspeak will not have a deeply negative impact on Modem Standard Chinese in the long run, although it has already become a popular social dialect in the China"--From introduction, page 4.

Netspeak in China: features and impact on standard Chinese language

In order to explore the impact of Netspeak on the modem standard Chinese language, this study investigates the features and sources of Netspeak and then examines two anxieties that prevail around Chinese society: (1) Can the English elements in Netspeak be regarded as a sign of "English Invasion" and destroy the purity of Chinese language or even blemish Chinese cultural sovereignty? (2) Can "Netspeak confuse people's perception of what standard Chinese language should be so as to have negative impact on Chinese language? Related literatures both in China and in the western countries are examined. Some linguistic theories are applied or verified. Quantitative research method is used to verify my hypothesis that Netspeak will not have a deeply negative impact on Modem Standard Chinese in the long run, although it has already become a popular social dialect in the China"--From introduction, page 4.

The Linearity of Verb Copying Cleft Construction in Chinese: Semantic Underspecification and Pragmatic Enrichment

In Standard Chinese, verb doubling cleft construction (henceforth VDCC) has received little attention in the linguistic literature. Recently, Cheng and Vicente (2013) claim that VDCC has the same internal syntax as regular clefts, and two verbs stand in A-bar movement relation based on the lexical identity effect. In this paper, we argue that (1) VDCC is derived in line with the principle of linearity; (2) the first verb is a reduced minimal form acting as a topic which is pragmatically enriched via contextual information; (3) the second verb is interpretively dependent on the first verb.

Language Diversity of China and National Security

China with its dozens of languages of national minorities and numerous Chinese dialects is still a linguistically very diverse country, and this diversity regularly finds its reflection during the events in various regions. In 2020, medical teams sent to Wuhan during the coronavirus outbreak faced difficulties with understanding the patients speaking local Mandarin dialects. Later on, language problems in Wuhan were urgently solved by the local administration. Starting from 2019, language confrontation became more visible during the protests in Hong Kong. Already in 2021, a volume devoted to the complicated language situation in the recently created economic cluster of the Greater Bay Area, which is to combine Hong Kong and Macau with nine cities across the Pearl River Delta, was published in the series of the annual reports of the State Language Commission. According to the model proposed by the linguists, Standard Chinese is to become the main spoken language both within the Greater Bay area and in contacts with other regions of China. Cantonese is to be used only as an additional local means of communication, while English and partially Portuguese in Macao are to be preserved as the languages of contacts with foreign countries. To solve various problems of the economic cluster, new structures are to be created with the help of the latest information technologies and participation of the linguists. Language unity as a whole is considered to be a key guarantee of the national security of China.