Analysis of the Role of Syntactic Complexity in Students’ Reading Comprehension: A Teacher’s Perspective

This study examines the role of the syntactic complexity of the text in the reading comprehension skills of students.Utilizing the qualitative method of research,this paper used structured interview questions as the main data-gathering instruments.English language teachers from Coral na Munti National High School were selected as the respondents of the study.Finding of the study suggests that the syntactic complexity of the text affects the reading comprehension of the students.Students found it challenging to understand the message that the author conveyed if he or she used a large number of phrases and clauses in one sentence.Furthermore,the complex sentence syntactic structure was deemed the most challenging for students to understand.To overcome said challenges in comprehending text,various reading intervention programs were utilized by teachers.These interventions include focused or targeted instruction and the implementation of the Project Dear,suggested by the Department of Education.These programs were proven to help students improve their comprehension as well as their knowledge in syntactical structure of sentences.This study underscores the importance of selecting appropriate reading materials and implementing suitable reading intervention programs to enhance students’comprehension skills.

A Comparative Analysis of Syntactic Complexity in Applied Linguistics Abstracts Written by Chinese Novice Writers and Native English Advanced Writers

The rhetorical structure of abstracts has been a widely discussed topic, as it can greatly enhance the abstract writing skills of second-language writers. This study aims to provide guidance on the syntactic features that L2 learners can employ, as well as suggest which features they should focus on in English academic writing. To achieve this, all samples were analyzed for rhetorical moves using Hyland’s five-rhetorical move model. Additionally, all sentences were evaluated for syntactic complexity, considering measures such as global, clausal and phrasal complexity. The findings reveal that expert writers exhibit a more balanced use of syntactic complexity across moves, effectively fulfilling the rhetorical objectives of abstracts. On the other hand, MA students tend to rely excessively on embedded structures and dependent clauses in an attempt to increase complexity. The implications of these findings for academic writing research, pedagogy, and assessment are thoroughly discussed.

Aspect-Level Sentiment Analysis Incorporating Semantic and Syntactic Information

Aiming at the problem that existing models in aspect-level sentiment analysis cannot fully and effectively utilize sentence semantic and syntactic structure information, this paper proposes a graph neural network-based aspect-level sentiment classification model. Self-attention, aspectual word multi-head attention and dependent syntactic relations are fused and the node representations are enhanced with graph convolutional networks to enable the model to fully learn the global semantic and syntactic structural information of sentences. Experimental results show that the model performs well on three public benchmark datasets Rest14, Lap14, and Twitter, improving the accuracy of sentiment classification.

Aspect-Level Sentiment Analysis Based on Deep Learning

In recent years,deep learning methods have developed rapidly and found application in many fields,including natural language processing.In the field of aspect-level sentiment analysis,deep learning methods can also greatly improve the performance of models.However,previous studies did not take into account the relationship between user feature extraction and contextual terms.To address this issue,we use data feature extraction and deep learning combined to develop an aspect-level sentiment analysis method.To be specific,we design user comment feature extraction(UCFE)to distill salient features from users’historical comments and transform them into representative user feature vectors.Then,the aspect-sentence graph convolutional neural network(ASGCN)is used to incorporate innovative techniques for calculating adjacency matrices;meanwhile,ASGCN emphasizes capturing nuanced semantics within relationships among aspect words and syntactic dependency types.Afterward,three embedding methods are devised to embed the user feature vector into the ASGCN model.The empirical validations verify the effectiveness of these models,consistently surpassing conventional benchmarks and reaffirming the indispensable role of deep learning in advancing sentiment analysis methodologies.

The Meaning Composition of Chinese Calligraphy Sign

This paper clarifies the composition of meaning in the art of Chinese calligraphy on the basis of American semiotician Charles Morris’s three divisions of sign,namely,“Syntactics,Semantics,Pragmatics”.The syntactical dimension of Chinese calligraphy sign is the artistic meaning of the form of Chinese character.“Semantical dimension”refers to semantic referents of linguistic signs and their literary significance,“pragmatical dimension”refers to the use and interpretation of calligraphy.The study of the three dimensions of meaning in Chinese calligraphy reveals a complex and unique composition of sign meaning.Chinese calligraphy deforms the structure and form of Chinese characters while retaining their semantic invariance.In this way,calligraphy acquires more practical semantic and symbolic meanings through the carrier of Chinese characters which are also linguistic symbols at the same time.Chinese calligraphy is dominated by the meaning of sign forms,taking into account the linguistic reference and the use of sign,and the three dimensions of meaning interact and promote each other,building a dynamic and multidimensional space of sign meaning.

Vague Language of Journalistic English in Syntactic Level

Vagueness is a natural character of language. Vagueness of journalistic English exists in lexical level and syntactic level as well. Lexical vagueness in journalistic English is usually resulted from the indefinite meaning of words, while in syntactic level, it may be resulted from the combined use of vague words or the employment of some sentence patterns. This thesis aims to help readers to understand journalistic English from the perspective of vague language.

L2 Syntactic Alignment in the Reading-Writing Integrated Continuation Task: Evidence From Chinese EFL Learners’ Description of Motion Events

This study investigated how the mode in which the reading-writing integrated continuation task was conducted modulates the effects of second language(L2) syntactic alignment, through the English motion event construction with manner verbs. Ninety Chinese students were assigned to either of the two experimental groups or a control group, and they all experienced a pretest, an alignment phase and a posttest. In the alignment phase, the two experimental groups completed a reading-writing integrated continuation task but in different modes. For the multi-turn mode,participants reconstructed a picture story by continuing the episodes extracted from the story with one episode presented and continued at a time;for the single-turn mode, the first half of the same picture story was presented as a chunk, and then participants read and continued it. Results show that L2 learners aligned with the target structure in completing the story, and the alignment effect was retained in the posttest conducted after a delay of two weeks. Moreover, syntactic alignment was modulated by task mode with the multi-turn group exhibiting stronger immediate and longterm alignment effects. We conclude that the continuation task is a fruitful context for L2 structural alignment, and the magnitude of alignment effect hinges on interactive intensity.

SUBDIVIDING VERBS TO IMPROVE SYNTACTIC PARSING

This paper proposes a new way to improve the performance of dependency parser: subdividing verbs according to their grammatical functions and integrating the information of verb subclasses into lexicalized parsing model. Firstly,the scheme of verb subdivision is described. Secondly,a maximum entropy model is presented to distinguish verb subclasses. Finally,a statistical parser is developed to evaluate the verb subdivision. Experimental results indicate that the use of verb subclasses has a good influence on parsing performance.

Effects of sphere size on the microstructure and mechanical properties of ductile iron–steel hollow sphere syntactic foams

The effects of sphere size on the microstructural and mechanical properties of ductile iron–steel hollow sphere（DI–SHS） syntactic foams were investigated in this study. The SHSs were manufactured by fluidized-bed coating via the Fe-based commercial powder–binder suspension onto expanded polystyrene spheres（EPSs）. Afterwards, the DI–SHS syntactic foams were produced via a sand-mold casting process. The microstructures of specimens were investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy（EDS）. The microscopic evaluations of specimens reveal distinct regions composed of the DI matrix, SHS shells, and compatible interface. As a result, the microstructures and graphite morphologies of the DI matrix depend on sphere size. When the sphere size decreases, the area fractions of cementite and graphite phases are observed to increase and decrease, respectively. Compression tests were subsequently conducted at ambient temperature on the DI–SHS syntactic foams. The results reveal that the compression behavior of the syntactic foams is enhanced with increasing sphere size. Furthermore, the compressed specimens demonstrate that microcracks start and grow from the interface region.

Effects of particle size,bimodality and heat treatment on mechanical properties of pumice reinforced aluminum syntactic foams produced by cold chamber die casting

In recent years,metal matrix syntactic foams(MMSFs)have become highly attractive owing to their unique physical,microstructural and mechanical features.Due to their promising potential for different industrial areas like automotive,aviation,and defense,these advanced engineering materials can also be evaluated as serious alternatives to particle reinforced metallic composites and conventional metallic foams.Differently from previously reported laboratory scaled techniques in the literature,this experimental effort focuses on the feasibility of MMSF manufacturing via a fully automated and industrial-based cold chamber die casting technique.Accordingly,1-2 mm,2-4 mm,and bimodal(50vol.%)natural-based pumice filled aluminum syntactic foams were manufactured utilizing a purpose-made casting machine.Physical,macroscopic,and microscopic examinations show that all of the fabricated samples display perfect matrix/filler harmony.Average density levels of fabricated syntactic foams range between 1.50 and 1.80 g·cm^(-3) depending upon the pumice particles size interval.To assess mechanical responses,quasi-static compression tests were performed.Furthermore,half of the foam samples were subjected to heat treatment to explore possible influences of aging on the compressive features and damage modes.Results indicate that although the heat treatment enhances the compressive strength,plateau stress,and energy absorption properties of the fabricated foams,it changes damage mode of the samples by causing brittle dominant deformation.

Complex human activities recognition using interval temporal syntactic model

A novel method based on interval temporal syntactic model was proposed to recognize human activities in video flow. The method is composed of two parts: feature extract and activities recognition. Trajectory shape descriptor, speeded up robust features(SURF) and histograms of optical flow(HOF) were proposed to represent human activities, which provide more exhaustive information to describe human activities on shape, structure and motion. In the process of recognition, a probabilistic latent semantic analysis model(PLSA) was used to recognize sample activities at the first step. Then, an interval temporal syntactic model, which combines the syntactic model with the interval algebra to model the temporal dependencies of activities explicitly, was introduced to recognize the complex activities with a time relationship. Experiments results show the effectiveness of the proposed method in comparison with other state-of-the-art methods on the public databases for the recognition of complex activities.

Genre Effect on L2 Syntactic Complexity and Holistic Rating for Writing Quality of Intermediate EFL Learners

This exploratory study examines whether genre has an impact on syntactic complexity and holistic rating in EFL writing. Over 300 sample texts produced by intermediate learners were collected from a test and some regular after-class assignments for English writing courses. Each participant completed two writing tasks, one argumentative and the other narrative. Results show that genre type has a significant impact on L2 syntactic complexity. Genre effect is found stronger with timed writing tasks. L2 holistic ratings show correlation with syntactic complexity on the different measure(s) depending on genre type and planning conditions. Regression analyses reveal that for timed writing tasks, clausal density(clauses per sentence) is a reliable predictor for holistic assessment on intermediate EFL learners’ writing quality. It is found to account for 6% of the score variance for timed writing and 10% for timed argumentative writing. Genre is evidenced to be related to EFL writing holistic ratings. Closer examination indicates that while syntactic complexity is predictive of holistic writing scores for argumentative writing, it does not correlate with holistic scores for narrative writing. Other linguistic features rather than syntactic complexity may be accountable. Overall, the study lends support to genre effect in the relationship between syntactic complexity and L2 writing quality holistic rating.

On Syntactic Characteristics of Jinwen Shangshu

Jinwen Shangshu consists of the earliest documents handed down in China, and it is the classic of political history compiled no less than 2600 or 2500 years ago. The article makes a thorough analysis on object-preposed sentences, passive sentences,judgment sentences, and double-object sentences in Jinwen Shangshu ( 《今文尚书》） . By comparing various sentence patterns and investigating them systematically combining with the development and the changes of the documentation language, it sums up some syntactic characteristics of Jinwen Shangshu as well as the the evolution law of syntactic forms in the documentation language, and it is of reference value to the study of the history of Chinese grammar.

Effect of Ultrasonication on the Properties of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes/Hollow Glass Microspheres/Epoxy Syntactic Foam

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes（MWCNTs） reinforced hollow glass microspheres（HGMs）/epoxy syntactic foam was fabricated. The effects of ultrasonication on the density, compression strength, and water absorption properties were studied. Better dispersed MWCNTs can be obtained after ultrasonication treatment, but an increasing viscosity will lead to a larger amount of voids during syntactic foam preparation especially when the content of HGMs is more than 70 vol%. The existing voids will decrease the density of epoxy syntactic foam. However, the ultrasonication does not change the compression strength much. Ultrasonication treatment will decrease the water absorption content due to the better dispersion and hydrophobic properties of MWCNTs. But a significant increase of water absorption content occurs when HGMs is more than 70 vol%, which is attributed to the higher viscosity and larger amount of voids.

A Study of Syntactic Errors in College English Writing

Writing is an integrated task which can test language learners’ability towards vocabulary,grammar,syntax,etc,and is therefore favored by many examinations both at home and abroad.However,Chinese students tend to perform poorly in English writing.The paper randomly chooses 30 compositions from sophomores from a Beijing university and picks out the syntactic errors,which can hardly be corrected merely by reference books and is therefore of great value.These errors are classified into eight types and the reasons are put forward in order for students to avoid them in future studies.

The Impact of Syntactic Differences Between English and Chinese on Interpretation

In recent years,as economic globalization has swept every corner of the world,the communication among different nations is also becoming more and more popular,which not only creates a broad market for translation and interpretation but offer many opportunities to interpreters and translators.However,differences and difficulties in the transformation between Chinese and English make interpreters shrink back at sight of those activities.In the face of above-mentioned situation,it makes an analytic studies on the relevant issues.On the basis of theories and comparisons between Chinese and English made by LIU Mi-qing and CHEN Ding-an,this paper further explores the syntactic differences between Chinese and English through comparsion,and the impacts of these differences on expressions both in Chinese and English.Analyzing the differences,it provides some corresponding tactics for interpreters to overcome these difficulties in the process of interpretation,which not only makes interpreting activities more smooth but improve the efficiency and quality of interpretation.

The Efficiency of Syntactic Linearity in Simultaneous Interpreting

With the development of our country, the use of simultaneous interpretation also increased greatly. As everyone knows, simultaneous interpreting is a very complex task. Therefore, the interpreters need to grasp some particular strategies to reduce the difficulty of simultaneous interpreting. Then this thesis aims to discuss the efficiency of Syntactic Linearity in Simultaneous Interpreting.The theory evidence of this thesis comes from the most fundamental principle in Simultaneous Interpreting, that is, syntactic linearity, which helps the interpreters to deal with long and complex sentences even if he or she has no time to hear and remember the whole sentence.

Discussion on the Syntactic Features of English Advertisement Slogans

Advertising helps manufacturers to increase profits, manipulates attitudes, and shapes lifestyle. As an indispensable part of advertising, slogans possess unique syntactic features. Through analysis of 100 ad slogans, the author tries to find out the most frequently used sentence type(s) and structure(s). The statistics show that declarative sentences especially simple ones are the most frequently used type; phrases and fragmental elliptical sentence are preferred structures in slogans. They make the slogans simple,short, and precise to remember and recall.

The Feasibility of the Syntactic Linearity in the Chinese Version of Life of Pie

Translation is by no means a process of bilingual alternating.Practically speaking,translators need to abide by different princi-ples according to different contexts and readers.The emergence of translation theories in the world contributes a lot for cross-culturecommunication.With the development and prevalence of the simultaneous interpreting,people tend to shift their eyes from translation tointerpretation.Syntactic linearity makes interpreting easier and more efficient.However,whether this strategy can be applied into writ-ten translation is unknown.This thesis takes Life of Pi as an example to further discuss the feasibility of syntactic linearity used in liter-ary translation,on the basis of interpreting and translating theories.

Mechanisms underlying syntactic and semantic processing of Chinese simple sentences Evidence from event-related brain potentials

This study sought to test the processing of three types of sentences in Chinese, as correct sentences, semantic violation sentences, and sentences containing semantic and syntactic violations, based on the following sentence pattern： ＂subject （noun） ＋ yi/gang/zheng ＋ predicate （verb）＂. Event-related potentials on the scalp were recorded using 32-channel electroencephalography. Compared with correct sentences, target words elicited an early left anterior negativity （N400） and a later positivity （P600） over frontal, central and temporal sites in sentences involving semantic violations. In addition, when sentences contained both semantic and syntactic violations, the target words elicited a greater N400 and P600 distributed in posterior brain areas. These results indicate that Chinese sentence comprehension involves covert grammar processes.