Old French was a mixed language formed by the contact between the Germanic Frankish dialect and Latin, as well as the original Gaul Roman language. In the 9th century, the Normans from the north occupied the lower Seine River and the Cotentan Peninsula, bringing with them the Germanic Norman dialect. Gaul Norman was a Latinized dialect that had undergone long-term language contact and fusion. After the 12th century, Doyle language emerged in the northern part of the Frankish Kingdom, then expanded to the southwestern region of France in the 15th century. The blending of various Gaul Norman dialects in the southern and northern regions gave rise to the Middle French. In the 16th century, early modern French came into being. The Normandy Conquest in 1066 completely changed the social culture, language and literature of England, which began a multilingual period in England. Anglo-Norman turned out to be the court language and official language, Latin became the written language of the church and education, and Anglo Saxon the spoken language of the natives. Anglo-Norman was a dialect of Old French. In Shakespeare's plays, from King John to Richard III to Henry VIII, there are French words and sentences, English-French mixed sentences, and even such early modern English concepts as King English and pure English. The King of Frank in King Lear is a fictional historical illusion. The periods from King John of England to Henry VI to Richard III belonged to the Doyle and Middle French periods of France, while the French language of Henry VIII period belonged to early modern French. However, in Shakespeare's plays, there is no manifestation of the evolution of French in different periods. The French language used as a foreign language in the play may be similar to that spoken by London merchant population in the late 16th century, which was a crude and arbitrary mixed foreign language. As a clear example of spoken French, there are quite a few spelling errors in Shakespeare's plays.

In this study, the structural characteristics and fundamental typographical elements of Chinese characters were investigated on the basis of the origins and principles of formation of these characters. This study also discussed how the technological reform following the introduction of electronic computers in typography elevated the philosophy and method of contemporary typography. Building on this new philosophy and method, this study explored and dissected various design routes of Chinese typography from various aspects as follows: combination of visual and semantic elements; visual design of characters; combination of characters, words, and sentences; and combination of text and graphics.

After the effectiveness of GDPR and the Schrems II case, the global data flow seems to have entered the “era of Standard Contractual Clauses”. Promoting cross-boundary data transmission between the mainland and the Macao Special Administrative Region is essential for building an “electronic bay area” and a digital trade port with Portuguese speaking countries. SCCs, with its convenience and practicality, are the top choice in the existing legal toolbox that can drive leading innovation and break institutional barriers. The “9+1” transmission structure is only the starting point, and the rule convergence of SCCs should point to the future of the “1+1+1” system. There are differences in terms of contractual clauses between the two regions, including relevant concepts, applicable prerequisites, specific content, and procedures. Hengqin In-Depth Cooperation Zone has a top-level design and a “bottom-up” dynamic normative structure, retaining considerable institutional flexibility in legislation, administration, and judiciary, providing a experimental platform for the rule convergence of contract clauses between the two regions; Its existing experience in institutional reform, such as “one place, two inspections” and the division of functions among statutory bodies, can also serve as a reference for SCCs system harmonization. On the premise of fully recognizing the institutional differences between the two regions, taking the institutional innovation of the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone as an opportunity, the general principles and framework of standard contractual clauses can be established, and distinctions in professional terminology can be eliminated. Then, sample contracts can be launched through agreements, and institutions within the executive committee can be established to supervise and execute, thus building a interactive development status of “rule co-consultation, platform co-construction, institution co-management, and achievement co-sharing”. This can achieve an improvement in the information industry and residents' welfare in Guangdong, Macao, and even the region, while effectively safeguarding digital human rights, and providing a “Greater Bay Area Scheme” with Chinese characteristics for cross-boundary data flow.

From a black feminist perspective, especially Narayan’s theory on “epistemic privilege”, the paper examines the cross-racial female relation in Toni Morrison’s A Mercy, focusing on two pairs of friends - Lina and Rebekka, and Florens and Daughter Jane. In each relation, the two women, who are in different racial and class backgrounds but are both outcasts of the hierarchic society in the colonial new land, make an attempt to form a bond with each other. However, the relations head to opposite directions and end differently. The friendliness between Lina and Rebekka does not turn into a political solidarity because they are outsiders of the knowledge of “epistemic privilege” they respectively own, and their relation is greatly influenced by patriarchy and supremacy. On the contrary, Florens and Daughter Jane develop an interdependent and reciprocal relation as they bear witness to each other’s untold misery, which leads to their denial of being defined by the dominators and assimilated by supremacist notions. Their friendship bridges the racial differences, functioning as the healing power to help them seek for subjectivity and political solidarity against the same social oppression upon them. Through these two pairs of friends, Morrison illustrates the difficulty as well as the possibility of forming cross-racial sisterhood in slavery. The openness to the women of other races and the willingness of building connection with the other may not only give birth to a female community on the basis of equality and mutual benefits but also contribute to their personal growth and identity construction.

Literature on GM foods reports often examined article tones in general, omitting the differences in various social actors' attitudes. To explore such differences, we conducted a comparative framing analysis of news reports on genetically modified (GM) foods in the United States and China, two large markets of GM foods, to examine (1) the use of frames on GM foods; (2) who has more power in defining the risks of GM foods and (3) the tones towards GM foods of the sources in each country. We used both article and source assertion as the unit of analysis. By content analyzing 267 news articles on GM foods from 2014-2023, including 126 from the People’s Daily (PD) and 141 from the New York Times (NYT), we identified the frames, sources, and tones of each article. We also identified 1,496 source assertions to examine the tones of each source. Results showed PD used more treatment responsibility frame than NYT, while the latter used more conflict and causal responsibility frames than the former. While both publications primarily published neutral articles, NYT published more anti-GM food articles than PD. The NYT used a broader range of sources and more anti-GM food sources than PD, while PD cited more pro-GM food sources. The two newspapers both held neutral attitudes toward GM foods. By reporting both sides of the opinion on the issue, most news articles framed it as uncertain rather than having harm or benefit to human society, which may lead to public confusion about GM foods.

The meteoric rise of ChatGPT has ignited the so-called “chatbot tsunami,” propelling AI chatbots into the vanguard of technology research and development. This study conducts a comprehensive review of AI chatbot research from 2000 to 2023, harnessing bibliometric and content analysis methods facilitated by VOSviewer software. Quantitative and visual analyses of 1,236 relevant documents retrieved from the Web of Science in May 2023 unveil AI chatbots as an interdisciplinary research domain. The most influential authors are identified from three distinct fields: human-computer interaction, human-related, and computer-related research. Key research foci encompass AI technologies, digital health and education, conversational AI, COVID-19 applications, customer service, and sentiment analysis. Building upon the bibliometric findings, we delineate the developmental trajectory of AI chatbot research and propose a conceptual framework to guide future endeavors. Furthermore, we outline prospective research avenues for AI chatbots, including advancements in AI capabilities, optimization of human-computer interaction design, and fostering interdisciplinary synergies. This comprehensive review elucidates the AI chatbot research landscape, offering valuable insights to steer both academic pursuits and industrial applications in this burgeoning field.

Jin Yong's martial arts fiction (wuxia) works play a pivotal role in opening the narrative space for the localization and internationalization of Chinese stories. These works encapsulate vivid Chinese tales, embodying unique martial arts spirit (wuxia), through charismatic character dialogues, profound martial arts, multidimensional heroic figures, they convey Chinese language and culture to the world. This study explores how Jin Yong's wuxia works, Originating from Guangdong-Hong Kong area, reaching global audiences and has become a window for the world to understand China. First, based on the overlapping academic perspectives of international Chinese communication and international Chinese education, the theoretical background and research value of Jin Yong's wuxia works in the context of international Chinese communication are clarified. Secondly, the study investigates the unique humanistic connotations and cross-cultural communication functions such as: “shared appreciation” (a blend of language, culture, history, and customs), “shared empathy” (heroic ideals, chivalric spirit, and cultural core essence), and “shared dialogue” (the pursuit of new order and the imagination of a new world). Finally, the research explores effective strategies for utilizing Jin Yong's wuxia works in international Chinese education under the framework of cultural exchange. These include fostering cross-cultural understanding in language and culture education, enhancing the interpretation of cultural symbols in cultural exchange practices, and strengthening the influence of Chinese culture through multimedia communication. Therefore, using Jin Yong's wuxia works as a medium, the study aims to build a “dream community” of international Chinese communication and also explore practical approaches to promoting international Chinese communication globally.

The modal particle ‘ba’ is a multi-functional grammatical structure with complex meanings; the difficulty of its internal functional types varies greatly. The modal particle ‘ba’ is frequently taught in second-language teaching using implicit teaching, which omits the explanation of metalinguistic principles. Based on this circumstance, we conducted a trace experiment on four native English speakers using a large number of implicit input teaching without elaborating on meta-linguistic principles, adhering to the six features of implicit instruction identified by Housen & Pierrard (2005). The experiment is divided into two parts: situation-oriented thematic interview implicit teaching input and scene reproduction natural dialogue test. The findings reveal that: (1). Situation-oriented implicit teaching is successful for the acquisition of the modal particle ‘ba’ with complex meaning, and the learners' application capacity of ‘ba’ has improved nonlinearly. (2). The effect of implicit teaching is different for native English speakers with varying Chinese language proficiency, In addition, the influence of implicit teaching on each functional item of modal particle ‘ba’ is also diverse.