Foreword

As linguistic research continues to navigate the complex interplay between structure, meaning, and pedagogy, increasing attention is being paid to how languages are learned, represented, and taught across diverse sociocultural contexts. From script acquisition and intercultural teaching practices to the analysis of morphosyntactic and semantic structures, contemporary studies are expanding the scope of inquiry to include both traditional and emerging perspectives. This issue brings together five contributions that reflect this multifaceted engagement, with a particular focus on East Asian languages and their learners in multilingual and historically rich environments. We are pleased to present the summer 2025 issue of Acta Linguistica Asiatica, which features five original research articles exploring diverse linguistic phenomena in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language contexts. The issue opens with “Multiple Classifier Constructions in Chinese: Semantic Representations and Interpretation Mechanism” by YANG Yongzhong. Drawing on a critical re-evaluation of prior analyses, the author proposes an alternative semantic framework for interpreting multiple classifier constructions, focusing on distributive mechanisms and definiteness. Martina JEMELKOVÁ contributes the article “Chinese Binomes: A Graphical or Phonological Construct?”, which investigates disyllabic morphemes in Chinese that include sinograms with no independent meaning. This corpus-based study illuminates both the aesthetic and structural dimensions of binomes, offering new insights into their typological classification and linguistic function. In “Persian Learners Mastering Kanji: Strategies, Use, and Efficiency,” Zeinab SHEKARABI and Fatemeh TAJFIROOZ explore kanji learning strategies among Persian-speaking learners of Japanese. The paper categorizes cognitive and mnemonic approaches across learning stages and genders, highlighting a critical disconnect between strategy frequency and perceived effectiveness. The next contribution, “Fostering the Critical Perspective in Intercultural Competence: The Role of the L2 Japanese Teacher” by Magdalena VASSILEVA, addresses the integration of critical pedagogical frameworks into Japanese language instruction. The study emphasizes the role of the teacher as an intercultural mediator and details an institutional model for developing critical intercultural awareness through reflexive teaching practices. Finally, Kalina offers a comparative study of historical Korean language textbooks used at the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies. “Comparative Analysis of Historic Grade 1 Korean Textbooks at the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies” contrasts materials from pre- and post-liberation periods, highlighting differences in pedagogy, orthography, and linguistic content, and underscoring their historical and educational value. Editors and Editorial Board invite the regular and new readers to engage with the content, to question, challenge, and reflect. We hope you have a pleasant read full of inspiration and a rise of new research ideas inspired by these papers. Editors