Prof. Tatiana Ivushkina
MGIMO University, Russia

Tatiana Ivushkina is a Professor at Moscow State Institute of Foreign Affairs (MGIMO-University), Russia. She got her Candidate degree (PhD) in Philology from Moscow State University for the thesis "Stylization in Modern English Literature Speech Portrayals"and Doctoral degree (advanced PhD) from Moscow State University for the thesis «Socio-linguistic Aspects of English Speech Development (in speech portrayals of the upper classes of Great Britain in the 19-20th c. English Literature)». Her research interests are social linguistics, stylistics, stylization in speech portrayals, upper-class speech, English & American literature and culture, innovative methods of teaching and intercultural communication. She is an executive secretary and editor of the journal "Philology at MGIMO" and author of articles in refereed journals and international conference proceedings.

Linguistic Typology of High Language in Polylingual Societies: Universal Formal Characteristics of the H-Variant in Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Senegal, Brazil, and the United Kingdom

Abstract: This study investigates whether high language (H) possesses universal formal characteristics that manifest independently of language family, cultural context, and historical development. Moving beyond sociolinguistic approaches to diglossia, the analysis focuses on five linguistic levels—phonetics, morphology, lexis, syntax, and discourse—across six diverse language situations: Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Senegal, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.
Despite profound differences in language structures and colonial histories, the findings reveal a stable typological invariant of high language across all cases. H is consistently characterized by: (1) conservative pronunciation and a prestige accent; (2) full morphological forms and preservation of archaic categories; (3) archaisms and borrowings from classical languages; (4) hypotaxis, passives, nominalization, and impersonal constructions; and (5) formal connectors, objectivization, and etiquette formulas. These features remain consistent regardless of whether H coincides with the lingua franca (as in the UK, Thailand, and Brazil) or diverges from it (as in Senegal and Hong Kong).
The study concludes that high language exhibits cross-linguistic structural regularities that transcend cultural and historical particularities, offering a typological framework applicable to language teaching, policy, and further comparative research.

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Professor Daniel J. Mills
Ritsumeikan University, Japan

Daniel J. Mills, Ed.D. is a professor in the Faculty of Economics at Ritsumeikan University in Shiga, Japan, where his research focuses on financial literacy education, educational technology, and innovative approaches to teaching personal finance. Having lived and worked in Japan for more than twenty years, he has extensive experience working at the intersection of economics education, language education, and technology-enhanced learning.
Dr. Mills’ research examines how digital tools, artificial intelligence, and informal learning communities can improve financial literacy and expand access to financial education. His recent work explores the role of generative AI and emerging technologies in supporting scalable, technology-enhanced financial learning both inside and outside the classroom. His scholarship has been published in leading journals in the fields of educational technology and computer-assisted language learning.
In addition to his academic research, Dr. Mills is the editor of the Scopus-indexed journalCALL-EJ and has been an active contributor to international academic conferences on technology-enhanced learning. He is also a certified financial educator and the founder of The FI Professor, an educational initiative dedicated to helping individuals, particularly Americans living abroad, build financial independence through practical financial literacy education.
Dr. Mills regularly speaks at international conferences and has appeared on numerous podcasts and webinars on financial independence, investing, and financial education. His work uniquely bridges academic research and real-world financial practice, bringing evidence-based insights to the global conversation on financial literacy and lifelong learning.