News Release

Inter faculty -- Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Human and Social Sciences, Vol.9

Patterns of confluence and influence

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Tsukuba

Volume 9 of Inter Faculty takes up the theme of patterns of confluence and influence in the context of the movements of history.

As in previous issues a wide range of disciplines are represented here. However, the body of research itself, whether from the point of view of phenomena or structure, shows that many common threads run through the different studies: history, economy, language, political oppression, culture and more.

Nonetheless, for the current volume of Inter Faculty, we would specifically like to highlight the patterns of confluence and influence in the context of the movements of history which become apparent in the research when viewed as a single whole. Indeed, throughout the course of time, patterns of confluence and influence can be seen in the political regime or governance, in economic strength and power, in society, culture and values. In fact, in every aspect of human activity.

Taken from this perspective then, the first two articles discuss the phenomena of migration in Slovenia and the complexity of Serbian and Croatian Languages in the context of recent movements of history in Yugoslavia (Žarko Lazarević and Vesna Požgaj Hadži respectively). The research of these two authors is intricately related to movements of history, hence the need to distinguish context according to period in time. However, the contexts do not coincide nor are they homogeneous as the socio-economic factors and the institutions governing language are not of the same order.

The third article accounts for the syntactic and semantic characteristics of the nominal predicate in the Japanese Language (Hiroko Sawada). Sawada takes the importance that Japanese places on the concept of subject of cognition and object of cognition to propose three patterns of noun-concluding sentences. Thus language, the focus of analysis here, can be seen as a cognitive system which continuously enables expression of thought and which enables communication in cognitive, social, and interpersonal interaction.

The research note, co-authored by Esther Lovely and Asuka Ando, examines the situation of two bilingual and bicultural groups in Japan: Japanese returnees and hearing children of deaf parents. The three research forums report on: International Mother Language Day, with keynote lectures by Andrej Bekeš and Mohammad Abdul Malek; the Linguapax Asia 2018 International Symposium 'Bilingualism Now'; and the symposium on 'Research Evaluation in the Humanities and Social Sciences'.

Peer Review Paper

Migrations - Local Experiences in a Globalized World

Žarko Lazarević, Institute of Contemporary History, Slovenia

In this paper, Žarko Lazarević examines the phenomena of migration in Slovenia from the nineteenth century on, presenting three contexts of migration movements: the time up until World War I, the period between the two World Wars and the time after World War II. These three periods do not coincide exactly with the regime changes of the region under which, broadly speaking, Slovenia went from being part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to being part of a unified Yugoslavia, before becoming independent on the disintegration of the latter. Nevertheless, based on these contexts of migration, Lazarevi? gives a clear analysis from a socio-economic point of view of the variables that determine migration (emigration/immigration), i.e., overpopulation of rural areas, industrialization and urbanization. He concludes by noting that with accelerated economic growth, present-day Slovenia has become an immigration country, prevailingly for people from the former Yugoslav republics, and is now facing the situation of adapting to a multi-cultural and multi-lingual society.

Peer Review paper

Language as a Symbol of a Fractured Country

Vesna Požgaj Hadži, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

This article by Vesna Požgaj Hadži, describes the historical process of the separated, united, torn apart and reconciled Serbian and Croatian languages. Considerations of the history of the region are inevitable for this research. Požgaj Hadži distinguishes four periods characterized by socio-political movements to analyze the issues of the Serbo-Croatian language: the mid-nineteenth century which represents a time of integration of the two different languages; the twentieth century, under SFR Yugoslavia, when the languages were unified to form a common Serbo-Croatian language with Serbian and Croatian becoming a variation of the language; the 1990s, after the fall of SFR Yugoslavia, with the disintegration of the language; and present-day, with the promotion of successor standard languages which recognize the autonomy of the Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian and Montenegrin languages.

Peer Review paper

Classification of Noun-Concluding Sentences from a Syntactic Analysis Perspective

Hiroko Sawada, University of Tsukuba, Japan

This article by Hiroko Sawada is a descriptive and theoretical work on a specific phenomenon in Japanese - noun-concluding sentences. As the author herself rightly remarks, this phenomenon can be observed in many languages. But the behavior of this phenomenon is different in each language and is therefore specific to each language. Sawada takes the importance that Japanese places on the concept of subject of cognition and object of cognition to propose three patterns of noun-concluding sentences. Thus language, the focus of analysis here, can be seen as a cognitive system which continuously enables expression of thought and which enables communication in cognitive, social, and interpersonal interaction. Sawada opens the way for further research on such sentence structures in the Japanese language.

Peer Review Paper

Invisible Bilingual and Bicultural Groups in Japan

Esther Lovely, Kanagawa University, Japan

Asuka Ando, University of Tokyo, Japan

This research note, co-authored by Esther Lovely and Asuka Ando, examines a hitherto little-known case of bilingualism in two minority bilingual and bicultural groups in Japan : Japanese returnees and hearing children of deaf adults (Coda).

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Articles by: Žarko Lazarević, Vesna POŽGAJ HADŽI, Hiroko SAWADA; Research Note by: Esther LOVELY and Asuka ANDO;

Foreword by: Saburo AOKI;

Research Forums: International Mother Language Day My Mother Tongue Amidst the Languages I Speak, Tsukuba, February 22nd, 2019; Linguapax Asia 2018 International Symposium Bilingualism Now: The Imperative Issues in Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, Tsukuba, June 23rd, 2018; Research Evaluation in Humanities and Social Sciences, Tokyo, February 15th, 2019


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