This article explores the cultural and sociocultural aspects of gastrodiplomacy, as well as its origins and current state. It analyzes the historical roots of gastrodiplomacy, with particular attention to key events and figures that contributed to the global popularization of gastronomy. Various forms of gastronomic diplomacy of the regions under consideration are presented. The aim of the study is to examine contemporary sociocultural and cultural studies perspectives on gastrodiplomacy, including its cultural significance in the context of countries’ participation in international, national, and regional culinary festivals. The article highlights the distinctive features of the national cuisines of Yakutia and Africa, provides examples of successful gastrodiplomatic campaigns, and analyzes the challenges faced by states amid globalization and international competition. The findings include an analysis of how culinary heritage is promoted across different nations, identifying both common and local cultural and sociocultural characteristics of gastrodiplomacy, which serves as an important tool for foreign policy and cultural diplomacy. The practical significance of this research lies in recognizing gastrodiplomacy as a means to strengthen cultural ties, promote economic development, and shape a positive international image for countries. The prospects for research are related to further exploration of various aspects of alimentary culture, including the linguocultural features of the national cuisines of the countries under consideration. This is due to their important role not only in the development of diplomatic activities but also in strengthening mutual understanding and intercultural communication on a global level. In conclusion, recommendations are offered for further development of gastrodiplomatic strategies, emphasizing the importance of integrating traditions with innovations in the culinary sphere. 

This article examines the formation of urban identity among residents of northern cities, analyzing the complex interplay of social, spatial, and linguistic factors in rapidly changing urban environments. Focusing on language dynamics under conditions of accelerated urbanization, the study explores how indigenous languages interact with dominant linguistic systems in Arctic urban centers. The research employs sociolinguistic surveys and in-depth autobiographical narratives to analyze original fieldwork data collected in 2023-2024 in Yakutsk and Mirny (Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)) and Anadyr (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug). Findings reveal urbanization’s dual nature as both a development catalyst and a challenge for northern indigenous communities, with assimilation processes threatening linguistic and cultural heritage while creating risks to ethnic identity preservation. The study demonstrates that linguistic comfort in major cities like Yakutsk correlates with socioeconomic factors, while in smaller centers like Anadyr and Mirny it is shaped by geographic conditions, social dynamics, and political-economic configurations. Notably, ethnocultural comfort manifests through demands for ethnicization of urban spaces, including integration of traditional elements in architecture and public events. In polyethnic cities like Mirny, key factors for ethno-linguistic comfort include compact urban morphology and opportunities for intercultural exchange. The research documents divergent attitudes toward interethnic interaction, underscoring the need for language policies that balance integration with preservation of ethnocultural diversity in transforming northern urban environments. 

The article presents a semiotic analysis of shamanic attributes and clothing of the Evens, documented during a 2024 expedition to the Srednekolymsky District of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The study focuses on a children’s shamanic set (khamasak teti kungangi) and a ritual headdress (khamasak avun) from the collection of the Berezovsky Evens. The author examines the symbolic language and sign functions of these objects, demonstrating their role as sacred cultural texts. The research reveals that the material world of shamanic cults constitutes a complex system of signs and symbols reflecting an archaic worldview. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of terminology associated with shamanic practices, which accumulates profound sacred meanings. The symbolic significance of these terms correlates with key concepts: “spirit”, “soul”, “thread”, “thought”, “ancestor”, “patron”, “totem”, “sign”, “receptacle”, “idol”, “image”, and others. An important aspect of the study is the analysis of the material culture of shamanic attributes. The children’s shamanic set, comprising a caftan, headdress, drum, and beater, is examined as an exact miniature replica of adult ritual attire. The headdress adorned with loon (ökänge) images and anthropomorphic elements (beyken) is analyzed as a complex semiotic object embodying the cosmological views of the Evens. Special emphasis is placed on investigating the technological features of shamanic attribute production, including the use of sacred materials (reindeer hair, rovduga) and specialized ornamentation techniques. The author highlights that these objects served multiple functions: as tools for communication with spirits, models of the universe, protective amulets, and vessels of traditional knowledge. The conducted analysis makes a significant contribution to the study of Even traditional culture, uncovering deep layers of their worldview and demonstrating the intricate system of symbolic codes embedded in shamanic attributes.

Understanding the process of language learning and quantifying interlingual relationships are central challenges in linguistics, cognitive science, and language education. In this paper, we propose a novel framework that models second language acquisition as a diffusion process within a structured, multidimensional space of languages. We introduce a formal measure of interlingual distance, grounded in linguistic features, to quantify structural and functional differences between languages. Building on Barenblatt-type nonlinear diffusion models, we represent language learning as a multicontinua diffusion process, where distinct components of language – such as phonetics, grammar, vocabulary, and pragmatics – are treated as separate, interacting continua. Each continuum evolves independently according to its own diffusion dynamics, capturing the heterogeneous difficulty and pace of learning across linguistic subsystems. The interaction between these continua reflects the coupling between linguistic competencies in real-world acquisition. We can validate this model with empirical data on second language learning rates across various language pairs, demonstrating that diffusion distances in each continuum correlate with observed learning difficulties in the corresponding language domain. This approach not only offers a new theoretical lens on language learning but also provides a predictive framework for curriculum design, learner modeling, and applications in multilingual NLP and AI systems.

The study is conducted within the framework of the cognitive onomasiological approach, which focuses on examining the perception and comprehension of the realities of the natural environment through the analysis of lexical means, particularly plant names. Plant names constitute a distinct segment of vocabulary, representing a rich material for research from various perspectives. For many centuries, plants have played a significant role in human life. Historically, they were used as components of food culture, folk medicine, and elements of ritualistic practices. Currently, as knowledge about the properties of different plants accumulates, humanity continues to utilize them across various spheres of activity. Thus, the analysis of motivated plant nominations in the context of the studied languages enables the acquisition of new scientific insights both at a fundamental and applied level, concerning lexical structure, word-formation systems and psycholinguistic categories. Naming is a complex phenomenon occupying a central position in onomasiology. An onomasiological approach to studying plant nominations allows for revealing the semantic content of linguistic units in relation to their extralinguistic referents. The selection of languages under investigation is motivated by their geographical proximity and similarity of flora within their distribution areas, as well as by historical contacts and genetic relationships within the Turkic language family. Identifying similarities and differences in the structural features of each language, along with determining characteristic traits and establishing general patterns, will help to clarify the degree of closeness between Yakut and other Turkic languages of Southern Siberia. 

The article examines the phonetic characteristics of the language spoken by ethnic Kazakhs in China, focusing on vowel and consonant combinations, phonetic shifts, and distinctive speech features. The phonetic differences between the language of ethnic Kazakhs (repatriates) from China and the standard literary Kazakh language are analyzed, and the detailed linguistic assessment is provided. As part of the empirical research, surveys and interviews were conducted with repatriates from China. The recorded audio and video materials were transcribed and analyzed to identify phonetic features. This analysis confirmed various phonetic phenomena in the Kazakh language, including sound reduction, augmentation, and transportation, as evidenced by both scholarly research and the conducted interviews. Researchers studying the language of ethnic Kazakhs in China have noted differences in the sound system, particularly in the pronunciation of vowels and consonants. However, there is a lack of comparative studies that examine the linguistic features of Kazakh spoken by ethnic Kazakhs in China in relation to the standard literary Kazakh used in Kazakhstan. The phonetic traits preserved in the speech of older ethnic Kazakhs from China are linked to their use of Akhmet Baitursynov’s töte žazuw alphabet system. Their language has undergone little change since migrating to Kazakhstan in the 1990s. In contrast, phonetic changes have been observed in the speech of the younger generation who received education in Kazakh schools and universities and now work as teachers in Kazakhstan. 

The problem of vowel harmony has long attracted the attention of linguistic researchers, as it acts as a system-forming principle that determines the phonetic structure of a word form through the relationship between vowels and consonants. There are different points of view on the nature of vowel harmony. Most often, a parallel is drawn between synharmonism and vowel harmony (labial, palatal, compact and pharyngeal). However, there are works in which consonantism is put first, in others – both aspects. This article discusses palatal vowel harmony because it has been the subject of most discussion in recent times. Using the linguistic material of the Shor language, a number of points related to the distribution of consonants and vowels across the palatal rows are studied: how do mollis consonants behave (traditionally palatal and palatalized, which are accompanied by an acoustic effect of softness), and also what qualitative articulations in the oral cavity (row and rise) the vocal settings acquire in postposition to them. It was established that there is no validity for dividing into front and back rows between soft-row and hard-row vowels in postposition to mollis consonants, respectively. In both synharmonic series, vocal settings are qualitatively modulated in the anterior and middle parts of the oral cavity. As, in fact, there is no difference between mollistic consonants. In the Shor language, in hard-row words in the phonetic chain “mollis consonant + vowel + velarized or guttural consonant”, a duphone is recorded, in which the first component in the articulatory plan harmonizes with a soft prepositive consonant, and the second one is with a postpositive hard one. In case of incorrect transition, an accent is felt, which is related to orthophony. This factor should be taken into account when teaching the Shor language. The results of the study will serve as a basis for the analysis and description of other languages. It has been established by the perceptual method that palatal vowel harmony is associated with changes in the larynx: when pronouncing hard-row words in the larynx, or more precisely in the laryngeal cavity located between the false vocal folds and the aryepiglottic folds, muscle tension occurs in the anterior part, directed into the cavity, and on both sides – compression of extension. As a result of such articulation, the sounds of the entire word acquire a “hard” coloring, which for native speakers of the Shor language is a marker of hard row. When pronouncing soft row words, compression of extension does not occur. This observation requires special experimental phonetic research.