Arabic language is a challenging language for automatic processing. This is due to several intrinsic reasons such as Arabic multi-dialects, ambiguous syntax, syntactical flexibility and diacritics. Machine learning and deep learning frameworks require big datasets for training to ensure accurate predictions. This leads to another challenge faced by researches using Arabic text; as Arabic textual datasets of high quality are still scarce. In this paper, an intelligent framework for expanding or augmenting Arabic sentences is presented. The sentences were initially labelled by human annotators for sentiment analysis. The novel approach presented in this work relies on the rich morphology of Arabic, synonymy lists, syntactical or grammatical rules, and negation rules to generate new sentences from the seed sentences with their proper labels. Most augmentation techniques target image or video data. This study is the first work to target text augmentation for Arabic language. Using this framework, we were able to increase the size of the initial seed datasets by 10 folds. Experiments that assess the impact of this augmentation on sentiment analysis showed a 42% average increase in accuracy, due to the reliability and the high quality of the rules used to build this framework. Arabic language is considered the most widely spoken language among the Semitic languages . It is aRecently, many efforts have investigated the Arabic language whether to analyze the text , parse sSentiment analysis is the task of processing data, mainly textual, in order to determine its polarity, i.e., positive, negative, or neutral . This taDeep learning has received unprecedented attention in recent years and provided state-of-the-art results in many fields including sentiment analysis . HoweverThe syntax of Arabic language is complex —as seversame labels as the input sentences. By comparison, applying the set of rules described in (3) as aforementioned, generates new sentences with opposite labels to the input sentences. Experiments proved the viability and effectiveness of the augmentation framework by running three experiments using three datasets. The size of the original datasets substantially increased and the generated sentences were of high quality.For building the framework, initially the Stanford Arabic Parser was used to generate the parse trees of Arabic sentences. Afterwards, the augmentation rules generated were used on these trees, to generate several equivalent parse trees for the original sentences utilizing Arabic morphology, syntax, synonyms and negation particles. These augmentation rules can be broadly divided into: (1) rules which alter or swap branches of the parse trees as per Arabic syntax and thus generate new sentences with the same labels; (2) rules which generate new parse trees by utilizing the synonyms of words in these sentences, and also generate new sentences with the same original labels; (3) rules which insert negation particles into the sentences and thus generate new sentences with opposite labels. It is worth mentioning here that the work in this paper addresses text augmentation for sentiment analysis. This means that the labels of the investigated sentences are either neutral, positive or negative. Applying the sets of rules described in (1) or (2) above will generate new sentences with the The rest of this article is organized as follows: “Related Work” briefly describes the related literature works. “Arabic Language Properties” explains the properties of Arabic language. “Description of Framework” explains the design of the transformation rules which are the core of the augmentation framework. “Negation” describes the implementation of the framework. “Evaluation” demonstrates the experiments which were carried out to assess the effectiveness of the proposed work. And finally “Conclusion” summarizes the conclusion of this work.This section describes related studies which have utilized Arabic WordNet as a component of frameworks. It also describes the related work which addresses data augmentation.WordNet  is a larWordNet has been very useful as it was used to build many Natural Language Processing applications, Information Retrieval, term expansion and document representations . For exaHowever, many efforts have been reported to adapt WordNet for other languages, such as WordNets for European languages  and FrenSeveral researchers have targeted extending Arabic WordNet. For example, in the work reported in Data augmentation is a technique that is used to increase the size of datasets and preserve the labels at the same time. It became popular with deep learning networks as they require training on huge datasets to secure high accuracies . ExtendiOn the other hand, data augmentation is limited when dealing with textual data. This is due to the very difficult definition and standardization of specific rules or transformations that preserve the meaning of the produced textual data . BasicalThe works reported in The work reported in k score words as a substitute. In a similar study, As it can be seen from the above literature, most of the existing augmentation techniques address image or audio data and less work addresses text augmentation. In this regard, it should be mentioned that no work addresses Arabic text augmentation. The current proposed framework is substantially different from text augmentation which relies on the replacement of words by their synonyms. On the other hand, it utilizes the rich syntax and grammar of the Arabic language in order to generate transformation rules, that are subsequently used to generate new sentences based on seed sentences.Arabic language is one of the Semitic languages. It consists of 28 basic letters. Several Arabic letters change their shapes based on their location in the word. For example, the letter (س) has the shape (ســ) when it is located at the beginning of the word, the shape (ـسـ) when it is located at the middle of the word, (ـس) when it is located at the end of the word but connected to the previous letter, and (س) when it comes at the end of the word but disconnected from the previous letter. Arabic is an inflectional language that is written from right to left. The following three subsections provide background about Arabic language.Study “darasa دَرَسَ ”Scholar “dAris دارِس ”Lesson “daros دَرْس ”Teacher “mudaris مُدَرِس ”Schools “mdAris مدارِس ”School “madrasop مَدرَسْة”Study “mudArasop مُدارَسْة”Morphology is the structure of words. The morphology of Arabic language is complex but systematic—where there are two ways to build a word in Arabic: derivation and agglutination. The derivation is a way of generating stems from a list of roots; based on three basic letters (ف، ع، ل) for trilateral roots. For example, by using the root word “درس” that rhymes with “فعل” one can generate the following stems:The second way to build words in Arabic language is agglutination. In this way, the words are built by adding affixes to the word. These affixes could be prefixes at the beginning of words such as (است، تم ، ت، ان), infixes in the middle of the word (such as ا), or suffixes at the end of the word such as (ة ، اء ، ان).In Arabic scripts, the sentence has two types or categories . Each type has its own grammar and rules. The nominal sentence, in Arabic, consists of a subject (Almubtada) and predicate (Alkhabar). The normal order is that the subject is followed by the predicate but in certain cases, it is allowed to swap them (e.g. the sentence “أنْت َ مجتهدٌ ” which means “You are diligent” could be “مجتهدٌ أنْت َ”). The subject in the nominal sentence can be Noun, Pronoun or Number while the predicate can be Singular Noun, Adverb, Preposition, Nominal sentence, or Verbal Sentence.The verbal sentence in Arabic, like in many other languages, consists of Verb (V), Subject (S) and Object (O) without a specific order, which means that the order of verbal sentences could be: VSO, VOS, SVO or VOS. Additionally, in Arabic language diacritics, prefixes and suffixes are used to represent gender. Therefore, the absence of diacritics can create ambiguity and might change the meaning.Fatha: symbolized as an italic score on the top of the letter.Dma: symbolized as a small (و) letter on the top of the letter.Ksra: symbolized as an italic underscore on the bottom of the letter.Sokon: symbolized as a small circle on the top of the letter.One of the Arabic language features is the diacritics that are written above or underneath its letters. Diacritics are small vowel marks that represent three short vowels . They are used to regulate and control the letters and pronunciation. Therefore, diacritics have a huge effect on the text and its meaning, removing them may lead to morphological-lexical and morphological-syntactical ambiguities. For example, the word (nEm) (نعم) has the meaning ‘Yes’ if it was written (naEom نَعْم), while it means ‘graces’ if it was written (niEm نِعم). The basic diacritics of Arabic language are:As a first step, clear definitions of Arabic grammar rules were specified. These rules include specifications for nominal sentences, verbal sentences, questions, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions and numbers. These defined grammar-based rules were represented using the Stanford Arabic parser tagset. RULE 1: DTNN+ADJ → ADJ+DTNNExample: Alrjl mHbwb (الرجل محبوب) → mHbwb Alrjl (محبوب الرجل)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (DTNN الرجل)) (ADJP (JJ محبوب)))) → (ROOT (ADJP (JJ محبوب) (NP (DTNN الرجل))))RULE 2: NN+ADJ → ADJ+NNExample: mAlk rA}E (مالك رائع) → rA}E mAlk (رائع مالك)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (NNP مالك)) (ADJP (JJ رائع)))) → (ROOT (FRAG (NP (JJ رائع)) (NP (NNP مالك))))RULE 3: DTNN+NN → NN+DTNNExample: Alrjl $jAE (الرجل شجاع) → $jAE Alrjl (شجاع الرجل)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (DTNN الرجل)) (NP (NNP شجاع)))) → (ROOT (ADJP (JJ شجاع) (NP (DTNN الرجل))))RULE 4: NN+NN → NN+NN(swap)Example: AHmd Swth rA}E (احمد صوته رائع) → rA}E AHmd Swth (رائع احمد صوته)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (NNP احمد)) (NP (NN صوته) (JJ رائع)))) → (ROOT (FRAG (NP (JJ رائع)) (NP (NNP احمد) (NNP صوته))))RULE 5: NN+DTNN → NN+DTNNExample: Ebd AlrHmn xlwq (عبد الرحمن خلوق)→xlwq Ebd AlrHmn (خلوق عبد الرحمن)Parse: (ROOT (FRAG (NP (NNP عبد)) (NP (DTNNP الرحمن)) (NP (NNP خلوق)))) → (ROOT (NP (NNP خلوق) (NNP عبد) (DTNNP الرحمن)))RULE 6: DTNN+DTNN → DTNN+DTNN(swap)Example: Ebd AlrHmn AlrHym (عبد الرحمن الرحيم) → AlrHym Ebd AlrHmn (الرحيم عبد الرحمن)Parse: (ROOT (FRAG (NP (NNP عبد)) (NP (DTNNP الرحمن)) (NP (DTNNP الرحيم)))) → (ROOT (S (NP (DTNNP الرحيم)) (NP (NNP عبد) (DTNNP الرحمن))))RULE 7: ADJ+ADJ → DTNN+DTNN (sawap)Example: AlftAp Aljmylp mjthdp (الفتاة الجميلة مجتهدة) → AlftAp mjthdp Aljmylp (الفتاة مجتهدة الجميلة)Parse: (ROOT (NP (DTNN الفتاة) (DTJJ الجميلة) (DTJJ مجتهدة))) → (ROOT (NP (DTNN الفتاة) (DTJJ مجتهدة) (DTJJ الجميلة)))RULE 8: PP+(NN+DTNN) → place them in the beginning and reverse the sentenceExample: Ebr Alm$rf En $kr AlfSl (عبر المشرف عن شكر الفصل) → En $kr AlfSl Ebr Alm$rf (عن شكر الفصل عبر المشرف)Parse: (ROOT (S (VP (VBD عبر) (NP (DTNN المشرف)) (PP (IN عن) (NP (NN شكر) (NP (DTNN الفصل))))))) → (ROOT (S (PP (IN عن) (NP (NN شكر) (NP (DTNN الفصل)))) (NP (NN عبر) (NP (DTNN المشرف)))))RULE 9: PP+DTNN → place them in the beginning and revese the sentencesExample: bAsm yqdm $y}A mn AlfkAhAt (باسم يقدم شيئاً من الفكاهات) → mn AlfkAhAt bAsm yqdm $y}A (من الفكاهات باسم يقدم شيئاً)Parse: ROOT (S (NP (NNP باسم)) (VP (VBP يقدم) (NP (NP (NN شيئا)) (PP (IN من) (NP (DTNNS الفكاهات))))))) → (ROOT (S (PP (IN من) (NP (NN الفكاهات) (NP (NNP باسم)))) (VP (VBP يقدم) (NP (NN شيئا)))))RULE 10: PP+→ place them in the beginnig and reverse the sentenceExample: tSAdq mE Al*}Ab ElY >n ykwn f>sk mstEdA (تصادق مع الذئاب على أن يكون فأسك مستعد ) → Al*}Ab ElY >n ykwn tSAdq mE Al*}Ab f>sk mstEdA (على أن يكون تصادق مع الذئاب فأسك مستعداً)Parse: (ROOT (S (VP (VBP تصادق) (NP (NN مع) (NP (DTNN الذئاب))) (PP (IN على) (NP (DTNN أن))) (S (VP (VBP يكون) (NP (NNP فأسك)) (ADJP (JJ مستعدا))))))) → (ROOT (S (PP (IN على) (NP (DTNN أن))) (VP (VBP يكون) (S (VP (VBP تصادق) (NP (NN مع) (NP (NNP الذئاب) (NNP فأسك))) (ADJP (JJ مستعدا)))))))RULE 11: Wh-prounoun at the end of the sentences → Move it to the beginningExample: njH Al*y *hb AlY Almdrsp (نجح الذي ذهب الى المدرسة) → Al*y *hb AlY Almdrsp njH (الذي ذهب الى المدرسة نجح)Parse: (ROOT (S (VP (VBD نجح) (SBAR (WHNP (WP الذي)) (S (VP (VBD ذهب) (PP (IN الى) (NP (DTNN المدرسة))))))))) → (ROOT (S (SBAR (WHNP (WP الذي)) (S (VP (VBD ذهب) (PP (IN الى) (NP (DTNN المدرسة)))))) (VP (VBD نجح))))RULE 12: Special adverb+) → )+Special adverbExample: AlEfw End Almqdrp (العفو عند المقدرة)→End Almqdrp AlEfw (عند المقدرة العفو)Parse: (ROOT (NP (NP (DTNN العفو)) (NP (NN عند) (NP (DTNN المقدرة))))) → (ROOT (NP (NN عند) (NP (NP (DTNN المقدرة)) (NP (DTNN العفو)))))Example: frH Alwld bxbr AlrHlp qbl >n y*hb (فرح الولد بخبر الرحلة قبل أن يذهب) → qbl >n y*hb frH Alwld bxbr AlrHlp (قبل أن يذهب فرح الولد بخبر الرحلة)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (NP (NN فرح) (NP (DTNN الولد))) (NP (NP (NN بخبر) (NP (DTNN الرحلة))) (NP (NN قبل) (NP (DTNN أن))))) (VP (VBP يذهب)))) → (ROOT (S (NP (NN قبل) (NP (DTNN أن))) (VP (VBP يذهب) (NP (NN فرح) (NP (DTNN الولد))) (NP (NN بخبر) (NP (DTNN الرحلة))))))RULE 13: Pronoun+(NN |VB | ADJ) → (NN |VB | ADJ)+PronounExample: hy tjyd AlxyATp (هي تجيد الخياطة) → tjyd hy AlxyATp (تجيد هي الخياطة)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (PRP هي)) (VP (VBP تجيد) (NP (DTNN الخياطة))))) → (ROOT (S (VP (VBP تجيد) (NP (PRP هي)) (NP (DTNN الخياطة)))))Example: Ant rjl krym (أنت رجل كريم) → rjl krym Ant (رجل انت كريم)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (PRP انت)) (NP (NP (NN رجل)) (NP (NNP كريم))))) → (ROOT (NP (NP (NN رجل) (NP (PRP انت))) (NP (NNP كريم))))Example: hy Al>jml (هي الأجمل) → hy Al>jml (الأجمل هي)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (PRP هي)) (NP (NNP الاجمل)))) → (ROOT (S (VP (VBP الاجمل) (NP (PRP هي)))))RULE 14: (NN|DTNN)+VB → VB+(NN|DTNN)Example: Alwld y>kl qlylA (الولد يأكل قليلاً) → y>kl Alwld qlylA (يأكل الولد قليلاً)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (DTNN الولد)) (VP (VBP يأكل) (NP (NN قليلا))))) → (ROOT (S (VP (VBP يأكل) (NP (DTNN الولد)) (NP (NN قليلا)))))Example: bAsm yqdm $y}A mn AlfkAhAt (باسم يقدم شيئا من الفكاهات) → yqdm bAsm $y}A mn AlfkAhAt (يقدم باسم شيئا من الفكاهات)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (NNP باسم)) (VP (VBP يقدم) (NP (NP (NN شيئا)) (PP (IN من) (NP (DTNNS الفكاهات))))))) → (ROOT (S (VP (VBP يقدم) (NP (NNP باسم)) (NP (NP (NN شيئا)) (PP (IN من) (NP (DTNNS الفكاهات)))))))RULE 15: NN+ → +NNExample: Alwld <n ydrs ynjH (الولد إن يدرس ينجح) → <n ydrs Alwld ynjH (إن يدرس الولد ينجح)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (DTNN الولد) (DTJJ إن)) (VP (VBP يدرس) (S (VP (VBP ينجح)))))) → (ROOT (S (VP (VBD إن) (S (VP (VBP يدرس) (NP (DTNN الولد)) (S (VP (VBP ينجح))))))))Example: bAsm lw ynAm mbkrA lA ytEb (باسم لو ينام مبكرا لا يتعب) → lw ynAm bAsm mbkrA lA ytEb 0(لوينام باسم مبكرا لا يتعب )Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (NNP باسم)) (SBAR (IN لو) (S (VP (VBP ينام) (ADJP (JJ مبكرا))))) (PRT (RP لا)) (VP (VBP يتعب)))) → (ROOT (S (SBAR (IN لو) (S (VP (VBP ينام) (NP (NNP باسم)) (ADJP (JJ مبكرا))))) (VP (PRT (RP لا)) (VBP يتعب))))RULE 16: VB+(NN|DTNN) → (NN+DTNN)+VBExample: wqE Alwld ElY Al>rD (وقع الولد على الأرض) → Alwld wqE ElY Al>rD (الولد وقع على الأرض)Parse: (ROOT (S (VP (VBD وقع) (NP (DTNN الولد)) (PP (IN على) (NP (DTNN الارض)))))) → (ROOT (S (NP (DTNN الولد)) (VP (VBD وقع) (PP (IN على) (NP (DTNN الأرض))))))RULE 17: VB+) → Special-character+(NN|DTNN))+VBExample: Elmt >n AlwfA' Sfp EZymp (علمت أن الوفاء صفة عظيمة) → >n AlwfA' Elmt Sfp EZymp (أن الوفاء علمت صفة عظيمة)Parse: (ROOT (S (VP (VBD علمت) (NP (NN أن) (NP (DTNN الوفاء))) (NP (NN صفة) (JJ عظيمة))))) → (ROOT (S (NP (NN أن) (NP (DTNN الوفاء))) (VP (VBD علمت) (NP (NN صفة) (JJ عظيمة)))))RULE 18: +) → )+Example: ln >Elm >n AlwfA' Sfp EZymp (لن أعلم أن الوفاء صفة عظيمة) →>n AlwfA' ln >Elm Sfp EZymp (أن الوفاء لن أعلم صفة عظيمة)Parse: (ROOT (S (VP (PRT (RP لن)) (VBP أعلم) (NP (NN أن) (NP (DTNN الوفاء))) (NP (NN صفة) (JJ عظيمة))))) → (ROOT (S (NP (NN أن) (NP (DTNN الوفاء))) (VP (PRT (RP لن)) (VBP أعلم) (NP (NN صفة) (JJ عظيمة)))))RULE 19: +(NN|DTNN) → (NN|DTNN)+Example: ln >Elm Alwld n$yT (لن أعلم الولد نشيط) → Alwld ln >Elm n$yT (الولد لن أعلم نشيط)Parse: (ROOT (S (VP (PRT (RP لن)) (VBP اعلم) (NP (DTNN الولد)) (ADJP (JJ نشيط))))) → (ROOT (S (NP (DTNN الولد)) (VP (PRT (RP لن)) (VBP اعلم) (ADJP (JJ نشيط)))))RULE 20: )+VB → VB+)Example: >n AlwfA' yEml mEk (ان الوفاء يعمل معك) → yEml >n AlwfA' mEk (يعمل أن الوفاء معك)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (NN أن) (NP (DTNN الوفاء))) (VP (VBP يعمل) (NP (NN معك)))) → (ROOT (S (VP (VBP يعمل) (NP (NN أن) (NP (DTNN الوفاء) (DTJJ معك))))))RULE 21: )+ → +)Example: >n AlwfA' lA yHlw mEk (ان الوفاء لا يحلو معك) → lA yHlw >n AlwfA' mEk (لا يحلو أن الوفاء معك)Parse: (ROOT (S (NP (NN أن) (NP (DTNN الوفاء))) (VP (PRT (RP لا)) (VBP يحلو) (NP (NN معك))))) → (ROOT (S (VP (PRT (RP لا)) (VBP يحلو) (NP (NN أن) (NP (DTNN الوفاء) (DTJJ معك))))))RULE 22: CD+(NN|DTNN|VB) → CD+(NN|DTNN|VB)Example: njH TAlb fy Altwjyhy (نجح 15 طالب في التوجيهي) → fy Altwjyhy njH TAlb (في التوجيهي نجح 15 طالب)Parse: (ROOT (S (VP (VBD نجح) (NP (CD 15) (NP (NN طالب))) (PP (IN في) (NP (ADJP (DTJJ التوجيهي))))))) → (ROOT (S (PP (IN في) (NP (ADJP (DTJJ التوجيهي)))) (VP (VBD نجح) (NP (CD 15) (NP (NN طالب))))))RULE 23: WH-Adverb+) | ) → ) | )+WH-AdverbExample: kyf kl AlnAs y>klwn (كيف كل الناس يأكلون) → kl AlnAs kyf y>klwn (كل الناس كيف يأكلون)Parse: (ROOT (SBARQ (WHADVP (WRB كيف)) (S (NP (NOUN_QUANT كل) (NP (DTNN الناس))) (S (VP (VBP يأكلون)))))) → (ROOT (S (NP (NOUN_QUANT كل)) (VP (NP (DTNN الناس)) (SBAR (WHADVP (WRB كيف)) (S (VP (VBP يأكلون))))))Extensive experiments, showed that the Arabic Stanford parsing is not very accurate especially for the adverbs and negation words. This will adversely affect the system by generating wrong synonyms for the sentences. Therefore, there existed the need for declaring our own list of some adverbs, negation and special words because Stanford Parser does not assign the proper labels, as expected. These lists are presented in The general framework is illustrated in The Arabic WordNet browser is free and publicly available. It uses a locally-stored database of Arabic data in XML format—where words of the same meaning are linked through pre-defined lexical relations. Furthermore, the interface is modeled on the European language WordNet interface; hence, it contains the basic components with additional Arabic components. However, the performance of the Arabic WordNet is not satisfactory when compared with other WordNets. For example, the Arabic WordNet contains only 9.7% of the Arabic lexicon, while the English WordNet covers 67.5% of the English lexicon. Also, the Arabic WordNet synsets are linked only through hyponymy, synonymy and equivalence; correspondingly seven semantic relations are used in the English WordNet. However, since the main goal is generating the synonyms of the words, the limitation of the Arabic WordNet did not substantially affect the work. Also, to avoid the noise caused by diacritics, only the first top five synsets in each synonyms list were considered. Employing the synonyms and the transformation rules, enables us to generate a huge number of sentences that are equivalent, in meaning and label, to the original input sentence. Every extracted synonym, using Arabic WordNet, creates a new sentence from the input sentence. Subsequently, these sentences are processed by the transformation module which selectively applies the proper transformation rules and generates even more sentences with the same meaning and label to the original sentence. Meaning, here, is defined in the loose sense of being suitable for sentiment analysis and is not from a linguistics perspective. From a linguistic perspective, synonymous sentences represent close meanings but not exactly the same. As an example, one can generate 47 sentences from the simple verbal sentence (“أكل الولد التفاحة”) (The boy ate the apple) using only the synonyms and transformation rules (i.e. without using the negation module which would generate even more sentences). This module is responsible for generating parse trees for the original input sentence; and the generated sentences using Stanford Arabic parser tagset. With parse trees, it becomes easier to apply the suitable transformation rules to a given sentence, and it also facilitates the infusion of negation particles into sentences as described in the next section. Negating a sentence in Arabic means inserting one of the negation particles used in Arabic into an affirmative sentence. Every negation particle, in Arabic, has its own rules in terms of the type of verbs or nouns it affects and in terms of the position in the sentence in which it is inserted. Negating a sentence will result in a new sentence that has an opposite meaning to the original input sentence. The label of the input sentence is also flipped from positive to negative. In addressing the negation problem, we adopted the Negation-aware Framework presented by After defining the negation rules, the system is able to negate a set of sentences and generate all possible variations of these sentences as a result of inserting negation particles regardless if the sentences are nominal or verbal sentences. The following subsections describe, thoroughly, three experiments that were designed to test the accuracy of the proposed augmentation framework. Firstly, an assessment for the impact of the proposed framework on sentiment analysis was made. Secondly, we tested the correctness of each transformation rule. Finally, the accuracy of the Negation module was tested and formulated.souq.com. The data was annotated with three labels . In this experiment, and before performing any changes on the original data, the data was tested using several supervised classifiers . The data was divided into 70% for training and 30% for testing. All the classifiers used word embedding that is generated using AraVec with a dimension equals to 300 (The aim of this experiment is to classify product reviews into positive, negative or neutral reviews. The focus of this experiment is not the classifier, but to assess the resulting accuracy of using the proposed framework when enlarging the size of the dataset. To perform the first experiment, we used a subset of a public dataset of product reviews  which cos to 300 . After tThe aim of this experiment was to test the accuracy of each transformation rule independently. To achieve this goal, it was preferable to design a small artificial dataset, which consists of 40 statements with positive sentiment, 32 statements with negative sentiment and 27 neutral statements. A total of 99 sentences were carefully designed to align with the 23 transformation rules. Each sentence was processed by the augmentation tool, and thus several sentences were generated for each input sentence. The generated sentences were manually inspected to test their validity. Rule accuracy is a measure that evaluates the ability of a given rule to generate correct and meaningful sentences. Rule accuracy is calculated by dividing the number of correct sentences generated by a given rule by the number of all sentences generated by that rule. “A correct sentence” means a grammatically correct and meaningful sentence. The goal of the third experiment is to assess the capability of the Negation module in order to generate correct sentences. A small artificial dataset which consists of 26 positive sentences and 24 negative sentences was created for this purpose. It should be mentioned here that the Negation module is responsible for inserting proper negation particles into the input sentences. Negation flips the polarity of the input sentence. This means that positive sentences will become negative and vice versa. All the resulted sentences from the Negation module are correct with their respective labels properly flipped.In this study, a novel data augmentation framework for Arabic textual datasets for sentiment analysis was presented. In total, 23 transformation rules were designed to generate new sentences from the input ones. These rules were designed after carefully inspecting Arabic morphology and syntax. To increase the number of generated sentences for every rule, Arabic WordNet was used to swap the words with their respective synonyms. These rules preserve the labels of the input sentences. This means that if the input sentence has a positive label then the generated sentences also have positive labels. By the same token, if the label of the input sentence is negative, the labels of the generated sentences are also negative. The same is true for the neutral label. A Negation module was also designed to insert negation particles into Arabic sentences. This module inverts or flips the labels of the generated sentences, as this is the effect of negation particles on the polarity of statements. Experimentally, we tested the proposed framework by conducting three experiments. The first experiment has demonstrated the effect of increasing the dataset size, using the augmentation tool, on classification. As expected, the accuracy improved in all the classifiers. This indicates that the quality of the generated sentences was high. The second experiment was designed to test the accuracy of each transformation rule. An artificial dataset was designed for this purpose. All rules scored extremely high accuracies. The third and last experiment used an artificial dataset to assess the quality of the generated sentences from the Negation module. The experiment reveals that all generated sentences were correct with proper associated labels.10.7717/peerj-cs.469/supp-1Supplemental Information 1Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj-cs.469/supp-2Supplemental Information 2Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj-cs.469/supp-3Supplemental Information 3Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj-cs.469/supp-4Supplemental Information 4Click here for additional data file.


Nadwaga i otyłość z ich konsekwencjami pod postacią cukrzycy typu 2 i chorób układu krążenia, stanowią duży problem zdrowia publicznego. Według ostatnich doniesień ważną rolę w „epidemii” otyłości może odgrywać mikrobiota jelitowa. Z uwagi na to, że mikrobiota jelit może wpływać na masę ciała, wrażliwość na insulinę czy metabolizm glukozy i lipidów pozwala wysunąć hipotezę, że zmiany w obrębie mikrobioty mogą mieć znaczenie w patogenezie otyłości i zespołu metabolicznego. Nadwaga i otyłość oraz ich konsekwencje pod postacią m.in. chorób układu krążenia, zaburzeń lipidowych czy cukrzycy typu II, stanowią olbrzymi problem zdrowia publicznego od kilku lat. Rozwój otyłości ma związek z wieloma czynnikami, zarówno genetycznymi, jak i środowiskowymi. Od kilku lat podnosi się rolę jelita i organizmów go zasiedlających w patomechanizmie otyłości.Przewód pokarmowy człowieka jest skolonizowany przez kompleks 10 mld drobnoustrojów nazywany kiedyś mikroflorą jelitową. Pojęcie mikrobiomu zostało wprowadzone w 2001 r. przez Joshua Lederberg’a i określało całość ekologicznego środowiska złożonego z drobnoustrojów komensalicznych, symbiotycznych i chorobotwórczych. Obecnie termin ten określa zespół wszystkich genów mikroorganizmów żyjących w i na ciele człowieka, natomiast zespół tych mikrobów określa się pojęciem mikrobioty jelitowej .Do badania mikrobioty człowieka wykorzystuje się analizę 16S rRNA oraz bada się złożoność próbek na drodze sekwencjonowania materiału genetycznego uzyskanego bezpośrednio ze środowiska. To podejście jest nazywane „metagenomiką”. Termin metagenomika został zaproponowany przez prof. J.Handelsma’a w roku 1998 .Ogromną rolę w badaniach, oprócz metagenomiki, odgrywają również badania mRNA (meta-transkryptomika), białek (metaproteomika) i sieci metabolicznych (metainteraktomika), z uwagi na to, że sama metagenomika nie zapewnia bezpośrednich informacji o tym, które geny są w danych warunkach funkcjonalne .Metagenomowe analizy ludzkiego mikrobiomu wykazały, że w jelicie znajduje się 3,3 miliona unikatowych genów, czyli 150 razy więcej niż w naszym własnym genomie, a różnorodność bakterii jelitowych jest szacowana na ponad 1000 gatunków .Badania, dzięki którym, możliwe jest poznanie wpływu mikrobioty na organizm ludzki są możliwe dzięki badaniom na myszach germ-free  oraz analizie genu 16SrRNA u wielu mikroorganizmów. Gen ten, wielkości 1,5 kb, zawiera w swojej strukturze silnie konserwowane sekwencje, utrwalane w toku ewolucji. Służy on do klasyfikacji mikroorganizmów i pozwala udokumentować historię ich ewolucji oraz tworzenie drzew filogenetycznych , 8. GrupKompleksowe badania pozwoliły sklasyfikować 4 typy mikroorganizmów jelitowych, które stanowią 94-98% wszystkich izolowanych drobnoustrojów, są to: Firmicutes (64%), Bacteroides(23%), Proteobacteria(8%), Actinobacteria (3%). Dominują Bacteroides i Firmicutes. Bakterie te są obecne w całym przewodzie pokarmowym, ale największa ich liczba jest w jelicie grubym − między 10 do 10 a 10 do 12 komórek/gram treści pokarmowej [Do niedawna uważano, że noworodek, a szczególnie jego jelito jest jałowe. W 2014 r. pojawiły się doniesienia o obecności bakterii w łożysku i płynie owodniowym w okresie prenatalnym. Uważa się, że pochodzą one z przewodu pokarmowego matki , 12, 13.Mleko kobiece można zaliczyć do naturalnych synbiotykow, bowiem zawiera naturalne oligosacharydy − HMO (Human milk oligosacharydes) i bakterie probiotyczne, wpływające na skład mikroflory jelitowej dziecka. U noworodków urodzonych silami natury w 3 dobie życia zmniejsza się liczebność bakterii z rodzaju Clostridium na korzyść Bifidobacterium , 16.Noworodek urodzony przez cięcie cesarskie jest pozbawiony kontaktu z mikrobiotą jelitową matki, co ma wpływ na skład jego mikrobioty jelitowej. Po porodzie w jelicie noworodków częściej hoduje się Clostridium dificile oraz bakterie ze środowiska szpitalnego . ZmienioWażnym czynnikiem wpływającym na skład mikrobioty niemowlęcia jest antybiotykoterapia matki w czasie ciąży oraz w pierwszych tygodniach życia dziecka. Przyjmowanie antybiotyków w czasie 2 i 3 trymestru ciąży przez kobiety zwiększa ryzyko rozwoju otyłości o 84% u potomstwa w porównaniu z grupą dzieci, których matki nie przyjmowały antybiotyków. Według badań, antybiotykoterapia może mieć wpływ na ryzyko wzrostu masy ciała u dzieci w wieku 2 lat, zwłaszcza dotyczy to antybiotyków makrolidowych podawanych w pierwszych 6 miesiącach życia i częściej niż 1 raz .Badania kohortowe KOALA z 2002r. (n=2834) wykazały, że skład mikrobioty jelitowej we wczesnym dzieciństwie wpływa na masę ciała dzieci w późniejszych latach, a dokładniej − kolonizacja Bacteroides fragilis u dzieci w 1 miesiącu życia wiąże się z wyższym BMI dzieci w wieku 10 lat. Dotyczyło to dzieci, których matki miały małą ilość błonnika w diecie w okresie ciąży . Około 2Jednym z najistotniejszych czynników wpływających na skład mikroflory jelitowej jest dieta. Wiele przeprowadzonych badań wykazuje, że zmiana diety z nisko- na wysokotłuszczową powodowała znaczące różnice ilościowe w składzie mikrobioty jelitowej. Obserwowano spadek liczebności bakterii należących do typu Bacteroidetes przy jednoczesnym, znaczącym wzroście liczebności Firmicutes i Proteobacteria. Zmiany te były niezależne od występowania, bądź braku objawów otyłości u badanych osób . PodobneW ostatnich latach mikrobiota jelitowa została zidentyfikowana jako determinanta rozwoju otyłości, zarówno w badaniach na zwierzętach, jak i na ludziach. Badania Ley’a i wsp., opublikowane w 2005 r. pokazały po raz pierwszy różnice w mikrobiocie jelit myszy szczupłych i otyłych . MikrobiProwadzono również badania przeniesienia ludzkiej mikrobioty jelitowej do jelit myszy germ-free. Skolonizowanie ich ludzką mikrobiotą powodowało, że przekazywały cechę potomstwu i dodatkowo zwiększały różnorodność mikrobioty. Porównania sekwencji 16S rRNA bakterii z próbek kału ludzi dorosłych o różnym stopniu pokrewieństwa, pokazały m.in. wyraźnie wyższe podobieństwo mikroflory jelit pomiędzy monozygotycznymi bliźniakami niż w przypadku niespokrewnionych osób żyjących w takich samych warunkach środowiskowych np. małżeństw . NatomiaKolejne badania polegały na badaniu składu mikrobioty jelit myszy po wprowadzeniu diety wysokotłuszczowej. Okazało się, że dieta taka powoduje zmiany składu mikrobioty jelita już po upływie jednego dnia. Badania wykazały również możliwość wywołania otyłości u zwierząt na skutek przeniesienia mikrobioty ludzi otyłych do jelit zdrowych zwierząt .Turnbaugh i wsp. udowodnili, że skład mikrobioty jelitowej wpływa na masę ciała. Przeprowadzili oni transfer mikroorganizmów z jelit homozygotycznych myszy otyłych ob/ob (myszy z genetycznie uwarunkowanym brakiem leptyny wynikającym z mutacji typu nonsens w 105 kodonie genu ob.) i myszy o prawidłowej masie ciała do jelit myszy germ free  o prawidłowej masie ciała. Po dwóch tygodniach zaobserwowano, że myszy, którym przeszczepiono mikroflorę od myszy otyłych, pozyskiwały więcej kalorii z pożywienia i wykazywały szybsze odkładanie tkanki tłuszczowej. Myszy otyłe w porównaniu z myszami szczupłymi miały o 50% mniejszą zawartość Bacteroides i proporcjonalny wzrost Firmicutes, zaobserwowano również wzrost genów związanych z wykorzystaniem energii z pożywienia, co może być przyczyną rozwoju otyłości , 27.W innym eksperymencie wykazano, że w przeciwieństwie do myszy posiadających mikroflorę jelit, zwierzęta GF nie mają tendencji do tycia, pomimo spożywanej wysokotłuszczowej i wysokocukrowej diety . KolejneMikrobiota jelitowa wpływa na homeostazę energetyczną organizmu gospodarza, co jest nazywane „hipotezą magazynowania” (the storage hypothesis) . Jest kiWykazano, że popularne diety mające na celu zmniejszenie masy ciała, oparte na spożywaniu przede wszystkim białek i małej ilości węglowodanów, mogą powodować zmianę składu populacji bakterii w jelicie grubym człowieka i ich mikrobiologicznej aktywności, a co za tym idzie, ich wpływu na zdrowie gospodarza. Wprowadzając określone diety i pobierając próbki kału od badanych osób do analizy 16S rRNA przy pomocy ( uorescencyjnej hybrydyzacji in-situ (FISH), wykazano, że redukcja ilości węglowodanów w spożywanych posiłkach prowadzi do spadku zawartości w jelitach bakterii produkujących maślan: Roseburia spp., Eubacterium recitale oraz Bifidobacterium spp., ale nie stymuluje zmian liczby Bacteroides spp., zaś spożywanie większej ilości węglowodanów skutkuje zwiększeniem ogólnej liczby komórek bakterii , 40.Potwierdza to hipotezę, że bakteryjna mikroflora nie tylko umożliwia wydajniejsze wykorzystywanie węglowodanów zawartych w pożywieniu, ale też ma zdolność do modulowania przetwarzania pokarmu i magazynowania tłuszczu przez gospodarza , 28, 36.Mikrobiota przewodu pokarmowego, nazywana przez badaczy „nowym organem w obrębie ludzkiego organizmu”, ma znaczący wpływ na funkcjonowanie organizmu od okresu prenatalnego. Nowoczesne badania umożliwiają lepsze zrozumienie funkcji mikrobioty jelitowej, w szczególności w świetle narastającej w świecie otyłości i związanych z nią powikłań.


In this paper, we study the problem of exponential stability for the Hopfield neural network with time-varying delays. Different from the existing results, we establish new stability criteria by employing the method of variation of constants and Gronwall's integral inequality. Finally, we give several examples to show the effectiveness and applicability of the obtained criterion. Since Hopfield  proposedu∗ of system (x(t)=u(t) − u∗ and obtainThey shift the equilibrium point f system  to the o1 and Δ2 and positive scalars τm, τM, ρm, ρM, βk, γj, n1, and n2, there exist symmetric definite matrices P > 0, Ws > 0, Ss > 0, Qk > 0, and Rj > 0, positive definite diagonal matrices V > 0, U > 0, Λ1 > 0, and Λ2 > 0, and matrices Gr and J such that the following inequalities hold, s=1,2,3:They constructed a new Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and then used Jensen's integral inequality to obtain the following criterion for system . The oriThese symbols are defined in .P, Ws, Ss, Qk, and Rj exist?Do the matrices For such complex matrix inequalities, how does one ensure the existence of the unknown matrices?If they exist, how are they represented?There are some problems with this result:If one does not solve these problems, the stability of the original equation remains unsolved. In fact, the stability depends only on the coefficient matrices of the system, not on the existence of those unknown matrices.We have also paid attention to some recent research results –30. TheiTo solve this problem, in this paper, we will use the technique of integral inequality to construct a new stability criterion, which is only related to the coefficient matrix and independent of those unknown matrices.x(t)=(x1(t),x2(t),…,xn(t))T denotes the neuron state vector, g(x(t))=(g1(x1(t)), g2(x2(t)),…,gn(xn(t)))Tis the activation function, and g(x(t − τ(t))) is the time-delay term. A={diag a1, a2,…, an}, B=(bij)n×n, and C=(cij)n×n are the interconnected matrices with appropriate dimensions. The initial state κ(t) is a continuously differentiable vector function. U is the bias value, and τ(t) denotes transmission delay and satisfies 0 ≤ τ(t) ≤ τ, τ′(t) ≤ τ∗ ≤ 1, where τ and τ∗ are constants.Gronwall's integral inequality plays an important role in the qualitative theory of differential equations. Many researchers extended it and used it to solve numerous problems –36. Howen × n matrix M=(aij)n×n and the n-dimensional vector as follows:In this paper, we define the norms of the gi satisfy the following conditions:gi: R⟶R is continuous and differentiable, and gi(0)=0gi is bounded on R, that is, ‖gi(t)‖ ≤ Gi for t ∈ R, and Gi is a constantgi(y) − gi(x)‖‖≤Li‖‖y − x‖ for all y, x ∈ R, where Li is a constant, and let L=max{L1, L2,…, Ln}‖We assume that all activation functions A−1(B+C)‖L < 1 and the activation function g satisfies conditions (i)–(iii), then the equilibrium point of system T is the equilibrium point of system A, the inverse matrix A−1 of A exists; therefore, =(wij)n×n and I=A−1U, then  is a continuous mapping of Rn⟶Rn; then, H(u) is also a continuous mapping of Rn⟶Rn. According to the definition of the norm of the n-dimensional vector and assumption (ii), we have thatG=max{G1, G2,…, Gn}.From conditions (i)–(iii), x|‖x‖ ≤ ρ} is a bounded convex set and H(u) is a continuous mapping of Ω⟶Ω . According to Brouwer's fixed-point theorem, there must exist u∗ ∈ Ω such that H(u∗)=u∗. As formula T is another equilibrium point of system ‖L > 0, we have ∑j=1n|uj∗ − vj∗|=0 and v∗=u∗. This equation shows that the equilibrium point is unique.According to the condition 1 − ‖x∗ and y(t)=x(t) − x∗. In this situation, system (f(y)=g(y+x∗) − g(x∗), f(y(t))=(f1(y1(t)), f2(y2(t)),…,fn(yn(t))T, and the initial state is η(t)=x(t) − x∗, t ∈ . The meaning of the other symbols is the same as that of system (fi(z) be a continuous function that satisfies a Lipschitz condition for all z ∈ R. That is, assume thatLi > 0 and for all z1, z2 ∈ R.Let the equilibrium point of system  be x∗ an, system  can be rf system . Let actM ≥ 1 and α > 0, such thatSystem  is said K be a nonnegative constant and v(t) and p(t) are nonnegative and continuous functions on the interval α ≤ t ≤ β and satisfy the inequalityLet In this section, we discuss the global exponential stability condition for the trivial solution of system .The linear term in system  can be eThe fundamental solution matrix of  is(20)ext=0 and the corresponding initial value be η(0)=T, then the solution of system  satisfies conditions (i)–(iii) with the Lipschitz constant L; ifSuppose that the activation function f system  is globat=0, the initial value is η=T; by using the method of constant variation, we obtain that the solution of system L(1/1 − τ∗)exp(ωτ)) − ω < 0, then the delay system L  exp(ωτ)) − ω < 0, the trivial solution of system =tanh(u) satisfies the Lipschitz condition with the Lipschitz constant L=1.We consider the following two-dimensional neural network model without delay:ω=2, ‖B‖=1.4 and L‖B‖ − ω=−0.6 < 0. When t=0, the initial value is (x(0), y(0))=. According to We takeω=1, ‖B‖=30, and L‖B‖ − ω=28 > 0. When t=0, the initial value is (x(0), y(0))=. The state rail diagram of the system is shown in If we take fi(u)=tanh(u), i=1,2, satisfies the Lipschitz condition and L=1.We consider the following two-dimensional neural network model with constant delay:τ=0.1, ω=2, ‖B‖=0.8, and ‖C‖=1, then ((‖B‖+‖C‖)L  exp(ωτ)) − ω ≈ −0.0107 < 0. According to t=0, the initial value is (x(0), y(0))=. The state rail diagram of the system is shown in If we takefi(u)=tanh(u), i=1,2, satisfies the Lipschitz condition andL=1.We consider the following two-dimensional neural network model with variable delay:τ(t)=0.1  sin(t)+0.1, then ω=2, ‖B‖=0.5, ‖C‖=0.6, τ=0.2,  τ∗=0.1, and ((‖B‖+‖C‖)L(1/1 − τ∗)exp(ωτ)) − ω ≈ −0.1767 < 0. According to t=0, the initial value is(x(0), y(0))=, and the state rail diagram of the system is shown in If we takeτ(t)=0.1  sin(t)+0.1, then ω=2, ‖B‖=11, ‖C‖=10.3, τ=0.2, τ∗=0.1,  and ((‖B‖+‖C‖)L(1/1 − τ∗)exp(ωτ)) − ω ≈ 33.31 > 0. When t=0, the initial value is (x(0), y(0))=. The state rail diagram of the system is shown in If we takeIn , the autIn this work, we have studied the exponential stability for the Hopfield neural network with a time-varying delay. We use the method of variation of constants of ordinary differential equations to obtain an equation satisfied by the state variable of the neural network. Then, we used Gronwall's inequality to analyze this system and obtained new criteria for the exponential stability of the neural networks with time-varying delay. Our result is related only to the coefficient matrix of the system and not to the existence of the other unknown matrices. It is easy to test the exponential stability for specific systems by using these criteria.


Tipula (L.) eleniyasp. nov. is described as new to science, and variations in the male terminalia in two populations are noted. Two subspecies (quadridentataquadridentata and quadridentatapaupera) are elevated to species rank. Detailed photo’s complement the descriptions of all five species , and data on ecology and distribution patterns are included as well as identification keys to males and females. Tipulacaucasica is recorded from the West Caucasus and Tipulaquadridentata is recorded from Dagestan (Russia) for the first time. Parallel evolution is traced in the male terminalia of the new species and in several non caucasica species group of Palaearctic Lunatipula.The  Lunatipula Edwards in the world fauna  caucasica Riedel, Tipula (Lunatipula) armata Riedel , and Tipula (Lunatipula) aurita Riedel. caucasica was first proposed by Lunatipula from the Caucasus  at altitudes of 1200–2000 m. The new species is characterized by a projection on the inner gonostylus of the male, the structure of this shape is not known in any of the 502 known species, including the 360 Palaearctic species.There are 502 species in the subgenus ld fauna . This isld fauna , 1983, cCaucasus , 2018. Ihttp://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconsoft-products/helicon-focus). Photographs of lateral and dorsal view and details of the structure of head, pronotum and scutum were made with a Canon 5D Mark IV digital camera equipped with a Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1–5 × macro lens and Canon Macro Twin-Lite MT-26EX-RT flash. Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 software was used to edit the pictures. Measurement were made with an MBS–10 microscope with a scale installed in the focal plane of the 8× eyepiece .All crane flies were collected by sweep-net and then pinned. The genitalia were macerated in warm 10% KOH for ca. one hour to remove soft tissue, and then rinsed in distilled water. Cleared genitalia are preserved in glycerol in micro vials pinned with their respective specimens. Specimens were studied with an Olympus SZ61 stereo microscope. A Nikon d7000 digital camera equipped with combined Tamron 70–300 / 4–5.6 and EL-Nikkor 50/2.8 lenses or Mitutoyo M Plan Apo 10X Microscope objective lens was used to capture partially focused images of each specimen or structure. These were stacked using the Helicon Focus (version 7.6.4) software (Tipula (Lunatipula) caucasica were unavailable for this study.For citing label data on type specimens, a slash / separates each label. Square brackets  are used to indicate additional information not on the original label. Original spelling is retained, including punctuation. In some cases, holotypes were marked by a red label without text and some paratypes were not initially marked. In such cases, specimens with locality labels corresponding to those in the publications of We generally follow the terminology of All measurements of the new species were made on pinned material.Species distributions are given according to The original descriptions and measurements by IEMT Tembotov Institute of Ecology of Mountain Territories of Russian Academy of Sciences, Nalchik, Russia; VPMC private collection of Valentin E. Pilipenko, Moscow, Russia; ZISPZoological Institute Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia. All specimens from the caucasica species group deposited in ZISP and collected before 1964 have been identified by E.N.Savchenko unless specifically noted.Abbreviations for institutional and private collections used herein: Taxon classificationAnimaliaDipteraTipulidaeEdwards, 193152FEDC5D-FC63-5689-B524-1DC67EEADBF9Diagnosis (after T.quadridentata). Caucasian endemics. Savchenko included the following species in the caucasica group: caucasica, quadridentataquadridentata, quadridentatapaupera, talyshensis.Taxon classificationAnimaliaDipteraTipulidaeRiedel, 1920219A9352-B860-5688-9DBE-B0947CC84DEATipula (Lunatipula) caucasicaZISP • 1 male; “Цхра-Цхаро близ Бакуриани” [Tskhra-Tskharo near Bakuriani]; 29 Jun. 1958; Kurnakov leg.; ZISP •1 male; “Леберде, Менгрелия, Грузия” ; 17 Jul. 1959; Savenko leg.; ZISP • 1 male; “Аджаро-Имеретинск. хр. Горы у Саирме, Грузия” ; 23 May 1958; Kurnakov; ZISP • 2 males, 1 female; ”ущ. Цваниат-Хеви Аджаро-Имеретинск. хр. Грузия” ; 23 Jun. 1958; Kurnakov leg; / “Высокотравье у верхн. границы леса у ручья” [High grass at the edge of the border of the forest by the stream]; ZISP • 2 males; “с. Отхара, Гудаутск. р-н, Абхазия, бер. речки, кусты.” ; 30 Jun. 1958; Kurnakov; ZISP •2 males; “Абхазия, с. Отхара предгорья Бзыбского хр.” ; 20 May 1958; Kurnakov; / “Дубово-грабовый лес, кусты Asalia” ; ZISP; Azerbaijan • 1 male; “Белоканы, хр. Ахкемал. Азерб. 200 м”  alt. 200 m]; 15 Jun. 1964; Pastukhov leg.; ZISP; Russia – Krasnodarskiy kray • 1 male; Sotshi prov. Pontica; 6 May 1932; B.Rohdendorf leg.; / “T.caucasica Ried det. Lacksch.” [terminalia in Canada balsam pinned with specimen]; ZISP • 1 female, Khosta, Caucasian Reserve, Tiso-samshitovaya rosha [Yew-and-Boxwood Tree Grove]; 43°31'656"N, 39°52'467"E; alt. 54 m; collected at light, 8 May 2018; V. Lantsov leg.; IEMT • 2 males, 2 females; same collection data as for preceding, 43°31'688"N, 39°52'561"E; alt. 35 m; 8 May 2018; V. Lantsov leg. / Lime-beech  forest with yew (Taxusbaccata) and hornbeam (Carpinusbetulus) in tree layer and butcher’s-broom (Ruscuscolchicus – dominant and Ruscusaculeatus) in ground layer [one of the females was collected in the same community in a damp place near a yew log]; IEMT • 2 males, 2 females, same collection data as for preceding, 43°31'780"N, 39°52'518"E; alt. 98 m; 9 May 2018; V. Lantsov leg.; / Hornbeam – ash  forest with addition of yew (Taxusbaccata) and lime (Tiliabegoniifolia) with blackberry (Rubussanctus) and fig (Ficuscarica) in shrub layer and with butcher’s-broom (Ruscuscolchicus) in ground layer; ZISP • 4 males, 4 females, same collection data as for preceding, 43°31'775"N, 39°52'423"E; alt. 101 m; 9 May 2018; V. Lantsov leg.; / Hornbeam  forest with butcher’s-broom (Ruscuscolchicus) and fern (Aspleniumscolopendrium) in ground layer; ZISP • 1 male and 1 female (in copula), 1 female; same collection data as for preceding, 43°31'913"N, 39°52'463"E; alt. 153 m; 9 May 2018, V. Lantsov leg. / Ash-lime (Fraxinusexcelsior + Tiliabegoniifolia) forest with hornbeam (Carpinusbetulus) and with black berry (Rubusanatolicus) and miscellaneous herbs in ground layer; IEMT • 2 males, 1 female, same collection data as for preceding, 43°31'825"N, 39°52'653"E; alt. 99 m; 10 May 2018, V. Lantsov leg.; IEMT • 1 male, same collection data as for preceding, 43°31'656"N, 39°52'467"E; alt. 54 m; V. Lantsov leg.; ZISP • 2 males, 1 female, same collection data as for preceding,43°32'257"N, 39°52'682"E; alt. 94 m; 10 May 2018, V. Lantsov leg.; / beech  forest with addition of yew (Taxusbaccata) and hornbeam (Carpinusbetulus) with bunch grass  in ground layer; IEMT • 6 males, 3 females; Krasnodar Territory, environs Shakhe River higher than Salokh-Aul; 5–8 Jun. 2011; V. Pilipenko leg.; VPMC; Russia – Dagestan • 1 female, “Хочал-Даг, альп. обл. Дагст. [Дагестан]” ]; 29 Jun. 1909 Mlokosevich leg.; ZISP • 1 female; Tlyaratinsky district, near village Salda, stream on the right bank of the river Dzhurmut; 41°58'388"N, 46°30'446"E; alt. 1792 m; 2 Jul. 2016, V. Lantsov leg.; / “Oak (Quercusiberica) sparse forest with Populustremula and Acerplatanoides in tree layer, Rosa canina, Spiraeacrenata and Cotoneasterintegerrimus in shrub, and clover (Trifoliumcanescens) and miscellaneous herbs in ground layer; ZISP • 2 males, 1 female; near village Betelda, stream on the left bank of the river Dzhurmut; 41°56'853"N, 46°32'424"E; alt. 1850 m; 3 Jul. 2016, V. Lantsov leg.; / Willow  shrub with herbaceous layer (Epilobiummontanum) (dominant), Cardamineseidlitziana, Menthacaucasica, Veronicaanagallis-aquatica and Myosotonaquaticum community near spring above the flood plain of the left bank of the river; ZISP • 2 males; near village Genekolob, on the high left bank of the river Dzhurmut; 41°57'392"N, 46°31'276"E; alt. 2011 m; 4 Jul. 2016, V. Lantsov leg.; / Oak (Quercusiberica) forest with mountain-ash (Sorbusaucuparia), wayfaring tree (Viburnumlantana) in shrub layer [the lower border of a forest and a forb-cereal meadow]; ZISP • 2 males; same collection data as for preceding, 41°57'449"N, 46°31'228"E; alt. 1977 m; 4 Jul. 2016, V. Lantsov leg.; ZISP • 2 males, between the villages of Gerel and Genekolob, the right bank of the river Dzhurmut, 41°55'619"N, 46°34'468"E; alt. 1925 m; 5 Jul. 2016, V. Lantsov leg.; / Above the floodplain terrace with a rare herbaceous birch (Betularaddeana) forest with willow  (coppice forest); ZISP.Georgia • 1 male, 3 females; “ущ. Бани-Хеви бл. Боржоми, Аджаро-Имеретинск. хр. ; 26 Jun. 1958; Kurnakov leg.; Dark stripes medially on lighter background extending entire length of scutum. Inner gonostylus posteriorly with wedge-shaped projection directed anteriorly. Tergite 9 at apex with three rounded notches, middle one usually deepest and widest.Adult male Fig. . GeneralHead. Light grey, sometimes bluish  of wings barely reaching base of discal cell. Female terminalia  to 2011 m (in Dagestan).From end of April to the beginning of July.Fagusorientalis, Taxusbaccata, Carpinusorientalis, Quercusiberica, Populustremula, Acerplatanoides, etc., sometimes in communities near springs with Salixcaprea.Specimens were captured in diverse forest habitats (see above) predominantly in mesophytic moderately moist deciduous or mixed communities with Endemic to the Caucasus. It was recently noted for Russia (Dagestan) for the first time . CurrentAccording to Taxon classificationAnimaliaDipteraTipulidae35B73B80-118E-5247-AD3A-67AD3A54266Chttp://zoobank.org/2847C4F8-9727-4FC3-BECD-C552B75382C8Holotype: Russia • 1 male; Krasnodarskiy Kray, Sochi env. Psekhako Mt., 43°41'28"N, 40°22'E; alt. ~ 2000 m; 14–18 Jun. 2008; K. Tomkovich leg.; ZISP. Holotype in good condition; however, left antenna, front right and left hind legs missing. Paratypes: Russia • 1 male; same data as for holotype • 2 males; Krasnodarskiy Kray, Kamyshanova Polyana env. [Biological station of Krasnodar State University], 44°16'91"N, 40°04'46"E; alt. 1200 m; 26 Jul. 2018; V..Pilipenko leg.; ZISP.Male. General coloration grey with silver pruinescence. Tergite 9 with deep rounded notches either side of slightly grooved cone-shaped projection. Sternite 8 with a pair of small appendages, each bearing a long medially curved spine, broad base of appendages with fringe of long whitish hairs. Outer gonostylus small, triangular, slightly thickened distally, covered with long setae. Inner gonostylus with small rod-like outgrowth in middle of outer edge.st flagellomere 0.5 mm. Length (mm) of leg segments, fore (1), mid (2), and hind (3); successively femur, tibia, 1st and 2nd tarsomeres: 1 , 2  and 3 . Length (mm) of 3rd, 4th, and 5th tarsomeres of all three pairs of legs, approximately the same: 1.0; 0.6; 0.5 mm, respectively.Adult Fig. . Male boHead ; with short but clearly visible arolium between ones.Abdomen  Fig. , variantThe new species is readily separable from all other species of the subgenus by the presence of an outgrowth medially, on the outer edge of the inner gonostylus Figs ; 14G.Adults were collected at altitudes ranging from 1200–2000 m.Adults are active from middle of June through the end of July.Carpinusbetulus), oriental beech (Fāgus orientālis), Nordman fir (Abiesnordmanniana), ash vulgaris (Fraxinusexcelsior), field maple (Acercampestre), colchis holly (Ilexcolchica), etc.Mixed moderately moist mesophytic plants, shady communities that include common hornbeam (Endemic to the Caucasus: currently known from the West Caucasus.Tipula (Lunatipula) eleniya sp. nov. is named after the mother of the first author, Elena Nikolaevna Lantsova.Taxon classificationAnimaliaDipteraTipulidaeSavchenko, 19640273951C-175D-51F0-98B0-12BAF0F9EB34Tipula (Lunatipula) quadridentatapauperaHolotype: Georgia •1 male; “Загор [Загар Сванетия], Груз. ССР” ; alt. 2623 m; 19 Jul. 1957; R. Savenko leg.; ZISP. / “Tipula 4-dentata paupera ssp. n. det. Savchenko” / “Holotypus”  / “Tipula (Lunatipula) paupera Sav., stat. nov. Lantsov, Pilipenko, 2020” [white label]. Thorax  smeared, obscuring coloration. Preservation of legs: forelegs both with only trochanters; midlegs: left with part of femur, right only with femur; hind legs: right missing. Wings slightly crumpled. Paratypes. Georgia •1 male; “ур. Лаедиль (Корулдаш [Корулдаши] – Загар)” [Laedil [territory] (Koruldash [Koruldashi] – Zagar)]; 5 Aug. 1957; Savenko leg.; ZISP. / “Paratypus”  / “Tipula (Lunatipula) paupera Sav., stat. nov. Lantsov, Pilipenko, 2020” [white label] • 2 males; “Спуск с перевала Басса в Накру [в долину р. Накра], Ставропольский кр.” [Descent from the Bassa Pass to Nakra [to the valley of the river Nakra], Stavropol kr. ; 5 Aug. 1956; L. Arens leg.; ZISP. / “Paratypus”  / “Tipula (Lunatipula) paupera Sav., stat. nov. Lantsov, Pilipenko, 2020” [white label].Male. Gonocoxite with two elongate, pointed teeth, one dorsally and one ventrally. Tergite 9 with two projections posteriorly, separated by deep wide notch. Paired appendages of sternite 8 widely spaced, base shorter than wide, gap between not masked by setae. Apical appendages of sternite 9 elongate, narrow distally, with dense bundle of relatively short golden yellow setae at tip.Adult male Fig. . GeneralHead .The species was described and treated as a subspecies of caucasica group by the number and arrangement of setae dorsally on the head  and one of the paratypes was collected “on the descent from the Bassa Pass”, the height of which is 3057 m. It can be assumed that this species occurs in high-mountainous habitats.Adults were collected from the last third of July to early August.Data absent.Endemic to the Caucasus-currently known from the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus (Georgia).Taxon classificationAnimaliaDipteraTipulidaeSavchenko, 1964E104034B-F2F2-51DB-8C14-5337C9D914B4Tipula (Lunatipula) quadridentataquadridentataHolotype. Russia • 1 male; ”околицы Ставрополя, байрачн.[ый] лес”  [small forest in steppe ravines]; 25 May 1954; [S.] Medvedev leg.; ZISP. / “южн. скл. под пологом [леса]” [southern slopes under the canopy forest] / “T. (Lunatipula) quadridenta sp. n., опр. Е.Савченко” [det. E. Savchenko]. The specimen is very badly damaged and glued together. The head is glued to the thorax; the abdomen is broken in half and glued together; two legs of uncertain position are glued to the specimen, one without coxa and trochanter, and the other missing the last four tarsal segments. Paratypes. Russia •1 male; “Старый лес к югу от Ставрополя” [Old forest south of Stavropol]; 25 May 1954;[S.] Medvedev leg.; ZISP. / “ниж. часть сев. склона” [lower part of northern slope] • 1 female, “Георгиевское лесничество Туапсинск. р-н” [Georgievskoe forestry Tuapse District]; 21 May 1954; K. Arnoldi leg.; ZISP •1 male, same collection data as for preceding; 22 May 1954 • 3 males, 2 females; “г. Лысая, 800–900 м, Туапсинск. р-н” ; 26 May 1954; K. Arnoldi leg.; ZISP; / “вершинная луговина и опушка леса 800–900 m” .ZISP / “T. (Lunatipula) quadridentata sp. n. опр. Е.Н.Савченко” • 1 female, “м. [мыс] Пенай, к югу от Новороссийска”  24. V. [1]956; Gilyarov leg.; ZISP • 1 male, 1 female; “окр. ст. Смоленской, Сиверского р-на, Краснодар. кр.”  20 May 1963; Savchenko leg.; / “опуш.[ка] смеш.[анного] предгорн.[ого] леса” [edge of mixed foothill forest]; ZISP • 1 male; “окр. ст. Кривенковской, Туапс.[инского] р-на Краснодар.[ского] края” ; 25 May 1963; Savchenko leg.; / “опушка листв.[енного] леса у реки, вдоль горн.[ого] потока” ; ZISP • 1 male; Khosta, Krasnodarskiy Kray, Caucasian Reserve, Tiso-samshitovaya rosha [Yew-and-Boxwood Tree Grove]; 43°32'014"N, 39°52'621"E; alt. 135 m; 10 May 2018; V. Lantsov leg.; / Fern-butcher community on the rocky slopes of the right side of the gorge of the Khosta River; IEMT • 1 male; Khosta, Krasnodarskiy Kray, Caucasian Reserve, Tiso-samshitovaya rosha [Yew-and-Boxwood Tree Grove]; 43°31'656"N, 39°52'467’’ E; alt. 54 m; 12 May 2018, V. Lantsov leg.; / collected on light; IEMT • 2 males ; North Caucasus, Krasnodarskiy Kray, near village Mezmay; 44°11'291"N, 39°58'090"E; alt. 808 m; 15 May 2018; V. Lantsov leg.; / Beech , fruit tree  forest with Fraxinusexcelsior in under growth, Sambucusnigra, Cornusmas, Rosa canina, Crataegus sp., in shrub layer and sedge Carexpendula, cereals and herbs in ground layer ; IEMT • 1 male; Krasnodar Territory, Apsheron District, environs of village Mezmay, Guam Gorge, left slope, 44°12'409"N, 39°55'056"E, alt. 547 m; 24 May 2019; V. Lantsov leg.; / Landslide foot, community with butterbur [Petasitesalbus] as dominant along the banks of the stream, open places at the edge of the forest; ZISP • 8 males ; Krasnodar Territory, Seversky District, in vicinity of village Thamaha, 3 May 2016; S. Kustov leg.; ZISP • 7 males, 1 female  ; Krasnodar Territory, Seversky District, environs of village Plancheskaya, 3 May 2016. S. Kustov leg.; ZISP • 5 males ; Krasnodar Territory, environs of village Bolshoy Utrish; 1 May 2008; E. Hachikov. leg.; ZISP • 3 males ; Krasnodar Territory, municipality Anapa, environs of village Sukko, Kvashin’s Gorge, Dolgaya Niva territory; 44°47'20"N, 37°28'33"E; alt. 67 m; 6–8 May 2016; S. Kustov, V. Gladun. leg.; ZISP • 5 males  ; Krasnodar Territory, river Shakhe Gorge; 43°52'46"N, 39°50'00"E; 2 May 2012; V. Pilipenko leg.; VPMC • 3 males; ; Khosta, Krasnodarskiy Kray, Caucasian Reserve, Tiso-samshitovaya rosha [Yew-and-Boxwood Tree Grove]; 43°32'014"N, 39°52'621"E; 8 May 2012; V. Pilipenko leg.; VPMC • 4 males ; Krasnodar Territory, 13 km to the N from Sochi, Sukhoy Canyon; 43°32’N, 39°56’E; 5 May 2014; V. Pilipenko leg.; VPMC; RUSSIA – Dagestan • 5 males; Makhachkala, Tarki Distr.; 42°56'57"N, 47°29'41"E; alt. 220 m; 1 May 2019., V. Pilipenko leg.; cemetery on the hillside; VPMC • 1 male, 1 female; same locality; 10 May 2019., V. Pilipenko leg.; VPMC • 1 male, Tarki-Tau Mt.; 42°56'28"N, 47°28'08"E; alt. 450 m; 2 May 2019; V. Pilipenko leg.; oak forest; VPMC.Russia • 9 males, 8 females; “курорт “Горячий Ключ” хр. Котх.[ский] Краснодар.[ский] кр. дуб.[овый] лес” [Goryachiy Klyuch resort Koth[skiy] Ridge, Krasnodar.[sky] District oak. Forest]; 18 May 1956; Gilyarov leg.; Tergite 9 with four widely spaced teeth and with three rounded notches distally; caudal margin of gonocoxite with two dentate projections. Paired appendages of sternite 8 with wide base bearing thick yellow setae distally covering gap between. Cercus long and straight; hypogynial valve only slightly longer than width at base.Adult male Fig. . GeneralHead  by tergite 9 with four widely spaced teeth and with three small notches at the apex and a small spine beneath  to 800–900 m .Adults were collected from throughout the month of May.Specimens are found in moderately humid woody deciduous communities.Endemic to the Caucasus; currently known from the West Caucasus  and from the East Caucasus .Taxon classificationAnimaliaDipteraTipulidaeSavchenko, 19641D18358B-8391-55CF-B3A1-33D56252432ATipula (Lunatipula) talyshensisHolotype: Azerbaijan •1 male, “р-н Лерик, Азербайдж. ССР 26. VI. [1]954 Джафаров”  ; 26 Jun. 1954; Jafarov; / “Tipulatalyshensis det. Savchenko sp. n.” [white label] / [Original red label without text] / “Holotypus” [red label]; ZISP. Holotype in good condition .Malescaucasica group only)Females  eleniya was compared with those of the 502 known species including the 360 Palaearctic species of the subgenus Lunatipula. No direct matches were found, but outgrowths of various shapes on the middle of the inner gonostylus were found in some Palaearctic species: two species from Turkey (Tipula (Lunatipula) auriculata Mannheims, 1963 and Tipula (Lunatipula) horsti Theischinger, 1982), one from China (Tipula (Lunatipula) oreada Alexander, 1933), and two from Kyrgystan (Tipula (Lunatipula) milkoi Pilipenko, 2005 and Tipula (Lunatipula) zarnigor Savchenko, 1954). The latter species has also been recorded in Tajikistan and northeastern Afghanistan (The inner gonostylus of hanistan . The spe


Metaphtonymy is identified as a special rhetoric figure that specifies the interaction between metaphor and metonymy and which is pervasive in literary works. How and why do trainee translators translate metaphtonymy? Using task analysis, semi-structured discourse-based interviews, and a questionnaire survey among 30 master of translation and interpreting (MTI) trainee translators, this study investigates their translation approaches adopted when translating the metaphtonymies in Chinese extracted prose and explores the effects of their choices. It is found that they mainly employed three approaches: omission, modification, and retainment, with omission being the most, and retainment the least frequent. The main factors attributing to each approach range from the prominence degrees and cross-cultural adaptation abilities of the metaphtonymies, rhetorical awareness of translators, and transference competence to their translation knowledge sub-competence. This study suggests that trainee translators should be instructed to systematically construct rhetoric knowledge, and the teaching design should emphasize the competence of trainees of identifying rhetorical devices and their competence of shifting rhetoric between languages. Since the 1980s, metonymy and metaphor have been widely accepted as different ways of thinking rather than as mere stylistic devices , from the School of Foreign Languages, Northeast Normal University, each of whom was enrolled in the second year. All the participants were native speakers of Chinese and had learned English for at least 15 years. They all passed the Test for English majors–Band 8 organized annually by the National Foreign Languages Teaching Advisory Board under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter abbreviated as PRC), which proves that they have acquired high-level competence in the English language and culture. Each participant demonstrated translation competence, obtaining a Level-2 certificate of the China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters, a state-level vocational qualification examination entrusted by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the PRC. In addition, they have completed two courses in translation theory and four practical courses in translation strategy, literary translation, English and Chinese rhetoric and Chinese grammar, and rhetoric and writing. The participants provided their written informed consent forms prior to the translation task and were rewarded with course credits. All participants were informed that their translations were only for academic use.The participants involved in the study were 30 MTI students , with ages ranging from 23 to 25 years  were submitted in word documents via E-mail.All the participants attended the translation workshop, an optional course designed and taught in the last term of the second year for students of MTI. They were from Class One opened by the first author. At the end of the term, they were given the task of translating the selected Chinese prose into English. The PDF version of the material (the ST) was sent to each participant The translations of participants were to be used to assess their achievements in the course. Each participant had access to the internet and the library for information related to the prose and the writer. The participants could refer back to translation dictionaries when needed. It was assumed that the participants would be familiar with the genre of prose, as literary works including prose had been used as STs in their translation classes.Cultural Sojourn written by Yu Qiuyu, one of the most influential contemporary Chinese writers. As important prose of his volume Cultural Sojourn published in 1992, the full text of the prose was longer than their previous translation assignments, thus, the ST was abridged from Section One and the first five paragraphs of Section Two, consisting of 1,403 words. Second, the ST should be the one that has never been translated into English. The selected prose meets this criterion, and no translations would be used as a reference by the participants. The last criterion is related to the number of metaphtonymies in the ST. Ten metaphtonymies were identified based on the below-mentioned identification procedure.Consulting the criteria for evaluating interpreting materials proposed by Zheng and Xiang , we madevia similarity, the linguistic unit is labeled as metaphor; if via contiguity, it is labeled as metonymy, (4) determine if the linguistic metaphor conveys metonymic meaning via conceptual mapping, or if the linguistic metonymy embodies metaphorical meaning via conceptual mapping. If it is one of the cases in (4), label the linguistic unit as a metaphtonymy. The third and fourth steps were also used to examine if the translations of metaphtonymies identified in the ST were metaphors, metonymies, or metaphtonymies. When deciding the basic meaning and contextual meaning of the linguistic unit, we referred to Xin Hua Ci Dian, a Chinese authoritative dictionary, and some journals analyzing the prose. With few exceptions, all the explanations of the metaphtonymic expressions rely on that source, and the exceptions will be identified as they appear. As per the procedure, 10 metaphtonymic lexical entries presented in 1-TT30) were analyzed by the authors in terms of the way that metaphtonymies in the ST were translated by each participant, thus, translation approaches were categorized.As for the identification procedures, we modified MIPVU established by Steen et al.  and FiveA questionnaire was given to all the participants before they handed in their translations, which was returned to the researchers with their translations. The questionnaire consists of 14 questions focusing on their knowledge of metaphor, metonymy, and metaphtonymy (3 questions), their identification of metaphor, metonymy, and metaphtonymy in the translation task (3 questions), their attitudes toward handling the metaphtonymies in translation (4 questions), and the challenges they met in translating those figurative linguistic units (4 questions). They could refer back to their translations when they filled in the questionnaire.1-P10) was given back their translations and the ST for reference. Metaphtonymies and their translations (if translated by the participant) have been highlighted with a red line by the authors in the ST and their translations. Subsequently, each of them was asked to explain what metaphor and metonymy are, and then the interviewer elaborated what metaphtonymy meant to them. Finally, the participants were encouraged to reflect on their translating processes, especially, the processes of translating the highlighted linguistic units, and above all the reasons why those metaphtonymies were handled that way. The interviews were organized in Chinese and finally were recorded and transcribed. In this study, each question of the interviewer and the response of the interviewee has been translated into English by the authors.During the next day, 10 participants (one-third of the group) were randomly selected to attend a retrospective discourse-based semi-structured interview. In the interview, each participant , is a metaphtonymic expression, in which “斗士” (its basic meaning is fighters or warriors), metonymically stands for the Chinese patriotic demonstration initiated on May 4, 1919, and “五四” (its basic meaning is May Fourth) metaphorically refers to the demonstration camp mainly constituted by college students, intellectuals and citizens, etc. “斗士” and “五四” interact conceptually with each other and combine into a phrase. The three translations keep the conceptual interaction relation by literally translating “五四” into May Fourth and “斗士” into fighters, soldiers, or warriors. In the above ST, “五四斗士”  and “狗” (its basic meaning is dog) comprise the source domain and map onto the target domain of greedy and duplicitous people, and Han Yu metonymically used the phrase to name his colleagues who served the royal families. Example 4 kept one of the metaphors in the ST using “flies-like cowards,” while Example 5 creatively replaced the metaphtonymic relations in the ST adopting “piggy Shylock” in which a new interaction occurs between a new pair of metaphor and metonymy. The word “piggy” metaphorically prompts the source domain “pig” in which some bad features of pigs, such as laziness and greed, are mapped onto the target domain of avaricious people. Shylock, a classical figure in Shakespeare's Omission occurs through ellipsis, where the translation of the ST offers no metaphorical and metonymic equivalents that are employed in the TT, thus leading to the deletion of the interaction between metaphor and metonymy in the TT.ST3: 文人们的衣衫步履、 谈吐行止 、 居室布置、交际往来 ，都与书法构成和谐 。Wen ren men de yi shan bu lv, tan tu xing zhi, ju shi bu zhi, jiao ji wang lai, dou yu shu fa gou cheng he xie.TT: Example 6. The literati's dressing codes and behavioral manners, living conditions and communication habits were all in harmony with calligraphy.Example 7. The literati's living styles and social interactions were all in harmony with calligraphy.In ST3, the metaphoricity of “谈吐行止” resides in the compound “谈吐,” in which the word “吐” means throwing up something out of the mouth of an individual. The basic meaning of “谈” is talking, and combined with “吐,” “谈吐” means making utterances. The abstract content of these utterances is metaphorically contrasted with some specific things thrown out of the mouth. In “行止,” “止,” an interchangeable word with “趾,” whose meaning is toes, first word stands for foot, then refers to walking manners and is finally combined with “行” to metonymically mean behavior patterns, thereby forming a metonymic chain. “谈吐” and “行止” form a phrase emphasizing the interactive relationship between metaphor and metonymy. Example 6 employs “behavioral manner,” the metonymic meaning of “谈吐行止.” While Example 7 uses “living styles,” an umbrella term, to refer to “dressing code,” “behavior manner,” and “room layout,” which are denoted by “衣衫步履,” “谈 吐行止,” “居室布置,” respectively. The two examples adopt the omission approach to translate the metaphtonymic phrase “谈吐行止” in the TT.Besides the different rates of translation approaches to each metaphtonymy, every trainee translator shows considerable variations in the three approaches employed in their TTs, which are listed in 2 and TT23, retainment was not adopted.In all the 30 TTs, the omission approach was more frequently employed to translate the metaphtonymic expressions including “官屠宰辅,” “侠骨赤胆,” “脂腻粉渍,” “得心应手,” and “谈吐行止.” These four-character structures constitute idioms originating from some Chinese historic allusions, which meant challenges to the thirty translators because they are culture-specific, and find no equivalents in target language culture. However, analysis of the translations reveals that most translators had a good command of the contextual meanings of these metaphtonymic expressions but chose to omit their metaphtonymic provenance.The modification approach accounts for nearly one-third of the 30 TTs. It is assumed that most translators attempted to sustain the rhetoric force in the ST using the equivalent metaphor or metonymy or modified metaphtonymic expressions in the TT.2 and TT23 discussed. These two examples presented the metonymic meaning of “钢笔文化” and translated them explicitly as “foreign advanced culture” and “the great culture of western countries.”Retainment was used by 28 trainee translators to render “钢笔文化,” except the two of TT钢笔文化 。ST4: 五四斗士们自己也使用毛笔，但他们是用毛笔在呼唤着Wu si dou shi men zi ji ye shi yong mao bi, dan ta men shi yong mao bi zai hu huan zhe gang bi wen hua.foreign advanced culture.TT: Example 8. The fighters of May Fourth Movement used brushes, but they were using them to call upon the great culture of western countries.Example 9. The warriors of the Movement also used brushes, however, they called for The questionnaires and interviews centered on the translation process of metaphtonymic expressions of the participants, with the intention to probe how they identified metaphtonymies of the ST, reveal their attitudes toward translating these rhetorical figures of the ST and understands the difficulties they encountered when translating these figurative languages.In the questionnaire, questions 1–6 were related to their understandings of metaphor, metonymy, metaphtonymy and whether they could identify them in the ST. Nearly 93% of the participants reported that they had sufficient knowledge of metaphor and metonymy, the rest reported that they had a basic knowledge of metaphor and metonymy, while 80% of the answers of the participants revealed that they knew metaphtonymy but seldom encountered, analyzed, or relied on them in practice. Almost 70% of the participants admitted that they knew what metaphtonymy and its working mechanism were because they translated some cognitive linguistics papers in which they saw this term and referred back to common dictionaries and journals. The rest explained that they found some lexical units entailed both metaphorical meaning and metonymic meaning after referring to dictionaries and analyzing the context in which these lexical units emerged, but they did not know the term used to name these phenomena.All the participants reported that the ST was well-written in which metaphors and metonymies were widely used. When asked to list some specific examples, they could give at least five for each group. However, as to metaphtonymies, most of them could list “官屠宰辅,” “侠骨赤胆,” “蝇营狗苟,” “脂腻粉渍,” or ‘五四斗士,” while a few participants categorized “蝇营狗苟” into metaphor, but “脂腻粉渍” and “官屠宰辅” into metonymies. Three of the participants in the interview explained that the metaphoricity of “蝇营狗苟” was highly prominent, for instance:Interviewer: ‘为什么你认为‘ 蝇营狗苟 '是隐喻?” [Why did you identify “蝇营狗苟” as a metaphor?]4: “很明显, 这是个隐喻。在文中，作者把部分传统文人比喻成 ‘苍蝇 '或 ‘狗'。查 了相关资料 后 ，才 了解到这 短语 是比喻不择手段追求名利的人. PAll the interviewees reported that they first searched for in their mental lexicon the meaning of the 10 metaphtonymies highlighted in their TTs by the teacher, and then judged the meaning based on linguistic context. If they were uncertain, they continued to look it up into dictionaries or the internet to find out its basic and extended meaning and then reanalyzed the sentence in the ST. After the meaning of the lexical unit was decided, they would search for its equivalent in the TT. Taking the response of Participant 9 as an example:Interviewer: “能 请 你 回忆下隐喻转喻互动表达“五四斗士”的翻译过程 吗? [Could you please retrospect your translating process of the metaphtonymic expression “五四斗士”?]9: “读到这个句子, 就想到 ‘五四 '是指 ‘五四运动 ', 斗士是比喻那些 运动 领导 者和 参与者。虽然五四运动的历史 早 就学过, 但 译前 还是 上网 查阅了相关介绍 。 在英语里斗士对应的词有 soldier, warrior 等, 查阅 字典 后, 我选择了 soldier, 因为 它的语义色彩更积极。五四运动上文已经提过, 所以译为 The soldiers of May Fourth 不会让英语读者困惑。” PAs to the rhetorical devices of the ST, the questionnaires show that nearly 33.3% of the participants thought it was extremely important to sustain or modify the figurative languages in the TT, those who thought it was important or unimportant accounted for, respectively, 53.3% or 13.4%. Overall, most participants attached importance to the metaphtonymies in the TT in terms of their equivalents of the ST. Their responses show that they were more concerned with the equivalence of stylistic features between the ST and the TT.They thought the ST was prose, characterized by highly poetic language, for which it was the duty of translator to preserve. The response of participant 1 is instructive in this respect:Interviewer: “你认为在译文中保留原文中的转喻、隐喻等修辞重要吗？为什么？” 1: “我认为保留原文中的修辞很重要。 我也是这么做的。 例如， 在英语里找 不到 “蝇营狗苟 ”的对应项，我就用了 “piggy Shylock” 这个转喻来代替, 这也算创造性翻译吧 。 原文是散文，语言美，修辞多，意境 还很 深。如果翻译的时候，不保留这些特征，只用 简单 语言，译文就不美了，不能表达余秋雨的写作意图了。 ” PAbout 86.6% of the participants thought it was necessary to translate figurative languages into their equivalents in the TT. However, Interviewer: 源语和目的语存在差别, 这对你翻译包括隐喻转喻互动现象在内的修辞 产生影响了吗？ [Were there any influences from the differences between the source language and target language on your handling of the figurative languages including metaphtonymy?]7: 是啊, 有影响。汉语四字格结构, 对仗优美, 比如说这篇散文中的 “得心应手” 翻译的时候如果把 “心 ”和 “手 ”都翻译出来, 就会使英语句子冗长, 不符合英语的习惯。所以, 要么保留一个, 要么意译. PThe analysis of the TT translated by the trainee translators revealed that three main approaches were employed, namely, retainment, modification, and omission, although there were some variations among the individual participants to some extent. Combined with the analysis of the translations of participants, the results of the questionnaires and interviews show that there were at least three underlying factors affecting how the participants handled these metaphtonymic expressions in the TT.The first factor contributing to the three translation approaches was metaphtonymic expressions, specifically, their prominence degrees in the ST and cross-cultural adaptation abilities in the TT. Figures of rhetoric occur when an expression deviates from expectation of the receiver, but the expression is still interpreted as an appropriate one (McQuarrie and Mick, The second factor was metaphtonymy awareness of the trainee translators and their transference competence of bilingual rhetoric. The competence of translators in recognizing the rhetorical devices of the ST when translating figurative language requires them to adopt appropriate strategies Smith, , which sThe bilingual sub-competence, a very basic componential element of translation competence, is made up of pragmatic, socio-linguistic, textual, and lexical-grammatical knowledge in each language (PACTE GROUP, The last factor seemed to be the translation knowledge sub-competence of participants, namely, the knowledge of the principles of translators that guide their translation processes (PACTE GROUP, This study examined the performance of Chinese students of MTI in translating metaphtonymic devices in an extracted Chinese prose, based on the analysis of the TT, combined with questionnaires and interviews after translation. It was found that the participants most frequently deleted the interactive relations between metaphor and metonymy of the ST by explicitly presenting in the TT the extending meaning of the metaphtonymic expressions. Moreover, the participants modified the ST metaphtonymies as metaphors or metonymies in the TT or creatively employed a new English metaphtonymy. However, not all the participants attempted to retain the ST metaphtonymies in the TT. In other words, retainment was employed less frequently, a subtle violation of the rhetorical equivalence principle.The analysis of the questionnaires and interviews shed light on the factors contributing to the three approaches employed by the participants to translate metaphtonymies. It seems that the three approaches were influenced by the prominent cultural features of the ST metaphtonymies and whether they had lexical equivalents in the target language system. In addition, the rhetoric awareness and rhetoric shifting intercultural competence of translators comprised the underlying reasons for the choices of translators in handling metaphtonymies. The principles and standards to which the translators adhered also exerted influence on the way they dealt with the ST metaphtonymies. It can be concluded that metaphorical and metonymic thinking of translators emerges when they comprehend and render the metaphtonymies.ex-post-facto task analysis and semi-structured interviews should be developed, such as think-aloud protocols and also eye-tracking protocols for capturing attention fixation points in the ST.The findings raise several implications for training translators. In training practice mainly related to rhetoric and translation, trainees should be instructed to systematically construct knowledge of the rhetorical structures, including analyzing metaphor, metonymy, and the interactions between them. In addition, teaching design should center on competence of trainees in identifying multiple rhetorical devices, and their competence in shifting rhetoric between languages. Instruction of trainees should emphasize the features of different genres of texts and the importance of mastering appropriate translating principles and strategies. The findings also provide potentially important issues for future studies. The translation material was narrowed down to Chinese prose, one type of literary work, but metaphtonymy is not the sole province of literature, it exists in all types of prose and is distributed over many different genres and occasions. Additional research should focus on scientific and political texts, to enhance the reliability and validity of the present findings. Moreover, the sample of trainee translators in the present study was in relatively small quantity and limited to Chinese students of MTI. Therefore, it is suggested that the follow-up research should consider comparative studies of novice and expert translators, with the hope of teasing out other factors contributing to the translation of metaphtonymies. Finally, methods extending beyond The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent for participation was not required for this study in accordance with the national legislation and the institutional requirements.SJ designed the study and the manuscript, analyzed the data, and wrote all sections. ZL collected, annotated, and analyzed the data. TO reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors contributed to the conception of the study and analyzed and discussed the data.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.