Diminutives in Granada (Spain) require special study because Granada and its surrounding area is one of the few places in the Hispanic world where three productive suffixes coexist: -ito, which can be considered general across all Spanish geolects; -illo, which is specific to the Andalusian variety; and -ico, which has a more local or subregional character. Data from the PRESEEA-GRAN corpus indicate the low representation of -ico with phonic restrictions, the penetration of -ito through lexical diffusion, and the maintenance of -illo as the most productive suffix. The PRESEEA-GRAN corpus was replicated in the AGENDA-GRAN corpus. Modern data, at a first level of analysis, indicate the maintenance of the previous distribution, but a more detailed analysis shows productivity data that suggest a slow diffusion of -ito at the expense of the other two suffixes.

Based on the methodology of linguistic landscapes (LLs) and semiotic landscape research, this article highlights recent changes in the LL of German cities. The article explores LL data collected by the author in German cities and towns, mainly in the state of Hesse. Additionally, images from social media, especially from groups of Ukrainians in Germany, are also included in the analysis. The presence of Ukrainian symbols (flags and national colors) and language appeared as a reaction of the German society toward Russia's full-scale invasion and the war against Ukraine. Forced mass migration, known also as the Ukrainian refugee crisis, transformed language surroundings in the German big cities as well as in small towns and villages, where refugees are settled. Ukrainian language and symbolics are markers of identity (on the bottom-up level) and support (on the top-down level). They appear in public and semi-public spaces and are constructed by a variety of actors including state organizations, small and middle businesses, non-government organizations, and Ukrainian communities (formed by traditional diaspora, work migrants, and newcomers). Ukrainians in Germany actively form their places of belonging and enhance them with national symbols and language when interacting with German authorities and society, and these processes are reflected in LL tokens.

Given names in many countries are typically sex-specific, whether this is legally enforced or completely unregulated. Gender-neutral names have been rare, have tended to evolve from masculine names, and have been seen as more advantageous for girls than boys, to whom sex stereotyping is more rigidly applied. However, in the context of recent shifts in gender equality and in conceptualizations of gender as nonbinary, linguistic marking of gender through names may itself be changing over time and exhibit variations across different language cultures. Our main goal in this special issue is to advance knowledge on contemporary gender-related personal naming practices through examining evidence about continuities and discontinuities in linguistic representations of gender in given names. We bring together a collection of studies that explore how gender is marked through names in a range of language cultures in Europe (Spanish, Bulgarian, and German) and Asia (Japanese and Mandarin Chinese). In this introductory article, we provide an overview of changing societal contexts of gender relations and identities that frame developments in the linguistic marking of gender through names, review research literature, and outline a theoretical background for the articles included in the special issue.

This study investigates gender-specific names, as well as gender-neutral names in Mandarin Chinese, and explores their naming strategies from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives. Synchronically, we examined the 100 most frequently used names for girls, boys, and gender-neutral names, using data from the full population of Taiwan ( Ministry of the Interior of Taiwan, 2018 ). We analyzed the frequency of each character in accordance with metaphoric and nonmetaphoric qualities. Diachronically, we reviewed the most frequently used gender-specific names from the recent 100 years over each 10-year period and then analyzed how they change over time. Both diachronically and synchronically, a higher diversity in boy's names is observed. Such diversity aligns with traditional perspectives that assign greater social and public expectations to men. Over time, there appears to be a decrease in gender stereotypes, as reflected in naming practices. The most commonly used gender-neutral names often feature characters with less gendered connotations, which may involve the incorporation of functional words or metaphoric usage not conventionally associated with either gender.

Predominant theories of folkbiology emphasize universal aspects of human perception and cognition but have often been contested by research emphasizing cultural relativity. Drawing on languages that encode knowledge of endangered ecosystems, this paper argues that the contrast between universalist and relativist approaches to the folk classification of living kinds is a false dichotomy: despite the existence of cognitive universals based mostly on visual perception, there is abundant evidence that the lexical semantics of words and phrases denoting particular taxa and their relation to overt cultural expression vary cross-linguistically. Recent calls for the indigenization of knowledge highlight the need to illuminate parallel and complementary knowledge systems in line with efforts to decolonize academic research. I present a range of examples from Indigenous taxonomies that provide lexical windows into local ecology and belief systems and propose an analysis by which (i) universalist and relativist perspectives are not in conflict and (ii) Indigenous naming systems are of comparable social and scientific value to Western taxonomies. More generally, I suggest that a more comprehensive understanding of the linguistics of folkbiology is possible by moving beyond binary thinking in this domain.

The present study is an investigation of the indigenous Cham community of Vietnam, descendants of an ancient civilization, and their efforts to preserve traditional forms of knowledge related to plant diversity and its applications for health and personal wellness. The study was conducted over two years through ethnographic fieldwork in two Cham villages and employs a mixed-methods approach, combining observation, interviews, and linguistic analysis. The findings reveal the challenges faced by the Cham people in preserving medicinal plant varieties and indigenous knowledge amid Vietnam's rapid modernization and economic reforms. The linguistic practices surrounding the cultivation of medicinal plants and the movement of local vendors between rural and urban environments for the sale of traditional medicine are analyzed. The findings emphasize the importance of the Cham language in safeguarding both cultural practices and livelihoods, contributing to the broader discourse on indigenous knowledge and conservation. This work serves as a foundation for further exploration into how the Cham's medicinal practices could inspire community-based tourism, offering new perspectives on addressing contemporary challenges and fostering sustainable development.