KUWAIT: The first Linguistics Studies Biennial Conference (LSBC), co-organized by Kuwait University and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), kicked off on Monday, focusing on current trends in applied education and corpus perspectives. In an opening speech, Dr. Mohammad Al-Enezi, LSBC co-chair, recognized the distinguished participant speakers and attendees, saying this conference is the first of its kind in Kuwait that would hopefully invigorate local researchers and students in their studies.

In a statement to KUNA, Dr. Al-Enezi said the conference included workshops in relation to artificial intelligence and linguistics. He also provided the definition of corpus linguistics, which is the study of a collection of texts that pattern and study language through computerized data. In his keynote speech, Dr. Laurence Anthony (Waseda University, Japan) gave a detailed presentation on the use of AI in corpus linguistics.

“Generative AI platforms, such as ChatGPT, can deliver original answers utilizing corpus linguistics, including syntax and semantics, to provide cohesive sentences in English,” added Dr. Anthony. Meanwhile, guest speaker Dr. Sandrine Peraldi (University College Dublin, Ireland) presented “Let’s wrap this up, shall we? Designing and examining a multimodal corpus of professional online meetings.” She detailed the importance of virtual communication through platforms like Zoom and Teams, underscoring the challenges between face-to-face communication and online meetings.

Dr. Peraldi’s research highlighted the increased successful utilization of non-verbal gestures as a new form of corpus linguistics in virtual meetings and communication. Additionally, Kuwaiti speakers Dr. Yousef Al-Bader, Dr. Eiman Al-Sharhan and Dr. Bashayer Al-Otaibi presented “Numerical hyperbole in Kuwaiti Arabic: a corpus-based study of exaggeration.”

Kuwaiti speakers “invent their own terms for large, indefinite numbers, akin to English’s ‘zillion’ or ‘gazillion,’” with “dabalat” (doubles) and “ahlen” (two hellos), indicating the numerous potential inventiveness of the speakers, added Dr. Al-Bader and Dr. Al-Sharhan. Researchers from the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST), visiting professors outside Kuwait, members of the academic staff, and students participated and attended the two-day conference. — KUNA