Communication across genres and discourses sixth Brno conference on linguistics studies in English
Communication across genres and discourses sixth Brno conference on linguistics studies in English
Brno, 11-12 september 2014, conference proceedings
Contributor(s): Martin Adam (Editor), Radek Vogel (Editor)
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Communication studies
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: English language;discourse analysis;proceedings of conferences
Summary/Abstract: These conference proceedings contain papers presented at the Sixth BrnoConference on Linguistics Studies in English entitled Communication acrossGenres and Discourses. The conference was organised by the Departmentof English Language and Literature of the Faculty of Education of MasarykUniversity and was held on 11-12 September 2014.
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-80-210-7922-9
- Page Count: 185
- Publication Year: 2015
- Language: English
English-Slovak language contact: the case of lexical borrowings
English-Slovak language contact: the case of lexical borrowings
(English-Slovak language contact: the case of lexical borrowings)
- Author(s):Klaudia Bednárová-Gibová
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Language studies, Language and Literature Studies, Comparative Linguistics
- Page Range:7-29
- No. of Pages:23
- Keywords:Anglicism; borrowing; economics; politics; Slovak
- Summary/Abstract:This paper zeroes in on current English borrowings in the Slovak language sourced from the areas of politics and economics. The paper elucidates the philosophy of mutual language contact and gives reasons as well as consequences for the borrowing of English lexemes in the present-day globalised world. English borrowings from the Slovak news on the STV1 channel are analysed both from a quantitative and qualitative angle, leaning primarily on Haugen’s approach consisting of loanwords, loanblends and loanshifts. With respect to a qualitative analysis, heed is paid to the analysis of orthographic, morphological and lexical levels. The overall aim of the present paper is to identify current patterns of English borrowings in Slovak in the selected semantic fi elds. The paper aspires to answer the question to what extent English as a lingua franca has infl uenced the Slovak speech community and how this is refl ected in the assembled word-lore, having either a positive or negative impact. A picture of English lexical borrowings as a critical route of cultural diffusion is given.
Realization of impoliteness strategies in American TV Series: Orange Is The New Black
Realization of impoliteness strategies in American TV Series: Orange Is The New Black
(Realization of impoliteness strategies in American TV Series: Orange Is The New Black)
- Author(s):Mariya Fedyna
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Social Sciences, Psychology, Media studies, Communication studies, Social psychology and group interaction
- Page Range:31-44
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:politeness; impoliteness; face; positive impoliteness strategies; negative impoliteness strategies; on-record impoliteness; off-record impoliteness;
- Summary/Abstract:This paper focuses on impoliteness and the use of communicative strategies, designed to attack face. The study makes an attempt to analyze defi nitions and understandings of impoliteness. Moreover, having justifi ed why an impoliteness framework is needed, we explore the models of impoliteness developed by Culpeper and Bousfi eld and consider whether the impoliteness strategies can be found in prison discourse type. Taking the scripts of American TV series: Orange Is the New Black, namely the interaction between prison offi cials and inmates (on the one hand) and prison inmates (on the other) as the data, we will attempt to observe what type of impoliteness strategies seems to be prevalent in prison discourse.
Syntactic functions of non-fi nite verb forms in a learner corpus of Czech students
Syntactic functions of non-fi nite verb forms in a learner corpus of Czech students
(Syntactic functions of non-fi nite verb forms in a learner corpus of Czech students)
- Author(s):Libuše Hornová
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Syntax, Language acquisition
- Page Range:45-58
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:learner corpus; spoken language grammar; syntactic functions of non-fi nite verb forms; L1 transfer; contrastive analysis; second language acquisition;
- Summary/Abstract:The aim of this paper is to present some fi ndings resulting from the analysis of a small learner corpus of spoken English. Major attention is paid to the frequency of non-fi nite verb forms in their varied syntactic functions. The results are compared with corpus fi ndings presented in Biber et al. (1999 ) and also assessed according to contrastive interlanguage analysis (CIA), (Granger, 2009), which can help us estimate the possible infl uence of the learners´ native language (L1), Czech. The CIA analysis is based on the typological differences between the students’ L1 and L2 (Mathesius, 1975, Knittlová et al, 2010, Dušková et al, 1988, to name a few). The third aim is to suggest possible innovations in advanced language teaching/learning of the English language. By reducing the L1 transfer, the students´ performance could become closer to English native speakers´ norms.
Discoursal functions of ideational, interpersonal and relational idiomatic expressions
Discoursal functions of ideational, interpersonal and relational idiomatic expressions
(Discoursal functions of ideational, interpersonal and relational idiomatic expressions)
- Author(s):Zuzana Hrdličková
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Theoretical Linguistics
- Page Range:59-72
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:cohesion; coherence; connective; discourse; function; idiomatic expression;
- Summary/Abstract:Research into language learning pays more attention to how rules are learnt, rather than to the goals of such learning. Conventionalized multiword expressions, or idioms, and the lexis itself have been relatively neglected in language studies. Such neglect can be ascribed to the vocabulary being viewed as the non-generative component. Picking up prefabricated expressions constitutes one of the means of acquiring language. Idiomatic expressions have the potential of appearing anywhere and everywhere, and are marked as occurring in mature discourse. The analysis of reading texts, taken from two English course books series at the advanced level of profi ciency, aims to reveal whether and to what extent idiomatic expressions are used in this type of discourse, and what functions they perform.
Towards British or American English: Translation from Lithuanian to English across genres
Towards British or American English: Translation from Lithuanian to English across genres
(Towards British or American English: Translation from Lithuanian to English across genres)
- Author(s):Ramunė Kasperavičienė
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Language studies, Language and Literature Studies
- Page Range:73-82
- No. of Pages:10
- Keywords:British English; American English; consistency; websites; institutional register;
- Summary/Abstract:The tradition in Lithuania, like in the European Union, is to use the British standard when writing in or translating to English. However, due to globalisation, the infl uence of the American culture and language on various types of texts in English produced in Lithuania cannot be denied. The nature of the institutional register requires writers to follow one or the other variant, and British English is usually expected in Lithuania. Other registers are more fl exible although a mixture of two most popular varieties, i.e. British and American, in one and the same text may demonstrate incompetence of the text producer. The study focuses on English in new media, namely websites of offi cial institutions, a news portal and business websites. An assumption is made that in new media settings neither of the two variants of English prevails.
Cognitive-ontological approach to metaphor
Cognitive-ontological approach to metaphor
(Cognitive-ontological approach to metaphor)
- Author(s):Zhanna Maslova, Denis Minakhin
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Applied Linguistics, Cognitive linguistics
- Page Range:83-91
- No. of Pages:9
- Keywords:consciousness; cognitive poetics; mythological metaphor; mythological image; ontological system;
- Summary/Abstract:The cognitive approach considers metaphor but there are no researches explaining the genesis of metaphor as mental phenomenon. Cognitive-ontological approach to the study of formation of metaphor makes it possible. Three ontological systems (human consciousness, world, language) are considered; initially these were not separated. In process of partial division between them some “nuclear” ideas have appeared (interference, authenticity, semblant). They were basic for some cognitive mechanisms. Metaphor developed from mythological metaphor and mythological image. Mythological metaphor was different from modern metaphor. It was the fi rst stage in metaphor developing. It is considered as a piece of mythological image represented in language and it had no function of free comparison of different objects. Mythological metaphor transformed when mythological image ruined.
Political discourse and national identity in Britain
Political discourse and national identity in Britain
(Political discourse and national identity in Britain)
- Author(s):Ildikó Némethová
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Politics and Identity
- Page Range:93-100
- No. of Pages:8
- Keywords:political discourse; national identity; Britishness; integration; political parties;
- Summary/Abstract:The aim of this paper is to examine the discourse of British political parties on national identity in the context of European integration. The mainstream national parties, Labour and the Conservatives, are the main focus of the analysis. It demonstrates that European integration has consistently represented a major division between political parties at the discourse level, even if the reality of European policy by alternating governments has been more continuous than rhetorical differences would imply.
Speaking skills practice at ESP instruction at the University of Economics in Bratislava
Speaking skills practice at ESP instruction at the University of Economics in Bratislava
(Speaking skills practice at ESP instruction at the University of Economics in Bratislava)
- Author(s):Zuzana Ondrejová
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Applied Linguistics, Language acquisition, Cognitive linguistics
- Page Range:101-110
- No. of Pages:10
- Keywords:language competence; communicative competence; speaking; integrated skills; exercises
- Summary/Abstract:The article describes communicative competences that undergraduates − future economists − should possess, and presents methods used in speaking skills practice at ESP seminars at the University of Economics in Bratislava. The target group are undergraduates at B2 and C1 levels of language competence. The autor sums up the situations in which an undergraduate may fi nd himself/herself in an academic and professional setting as well, defi nes factors that may affect an undergraduate’s ability to get involved successfully in verbal communication, and gives examples of exercises/tasks which simulate various situations and are applied successfully at ESP seminars. Opinions and attitudes expressed by the author are based on her vast teaching experience and direct observations made at ESP seminars conducted by the author. She has grounds for supposing that the intensity and scope of interpersonal communication among the younger generation is becoming narrow. Poor communication in Slovak as their mother tongue corelates with poor verbal communication in the target English language.
Emotion and opinion in British online newspapers
Emotion and opinion in British online newspapers
(Emotion and opinion in British online newspapers)
- Author(s):Petra Peldová
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Applied Linguistics
- Page Range:111-122
- No. of Pages:12
- Keywords:emotion; opinion; evaluative language; graduation; attitude;
- Summary/Abstract:Recently, linguistic descriptions of the expression of evaluative meaning in various genres have received a lot of attention (e.g. Bednarek, 2006; Hunston & Thompson, 2000; Martin & White, 2005). Drawing on Martin and White’s Appraisal Theory, the present paper sets out to explore three questions: 1) What means do British online newspapers use to express attitude? 2) Do they convey predominantly opinion (i.e. appreciation or judgement) or emotional evaluation? 3) What differences (if any) are there in expressing attitude between tabloids and broadsheets? To answer these questions six articles from British online tabloids and six from broadsheets were analysed. The study has shown that the two types of newspapers differ mainly in the expression of emotion (affect), which constitutes the dominant subsystem of attitude.
The marked word order as a syntactic means of emphatic expression in chosen literary samples
The marked word order as a syntactic means of emphatic expression in chosen literary samples
(The marked word order as a syntactic means of emphatic expression in chosen literary samples)
- Author(s):Jana Richterová
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Theoretical Linguistics
- Page Range:123-136
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:word order; emphatic expression; thematic variations; dynamic equivalence; cline of similarity
- Summary/Abstract:The word order as an important carrier of sentence dynamism has a substantial impact on the overall impression and effect a text will make on the addressee. With English and Czech, representing typologically different languages, the Czech translation of the English sentences with marked word order, i.e. such structures that serve the emphatic and expressive functions of the language, represents a demanding and challenging phenomenon. The focus of this paper is on the English literary texts whose Czech translations have been published, more specifi cally on two books by the same author, yet translated into Czech by different translators, as well as three versions of translation of the same English novel, which were carried out within the spell of fi fty years.
Sentence structures of Czech and English legal texts
Sentence structures of Czech and English legal texts
(Sentence structures of Czech and English legal texts)
- Author(s):Alice Rubášová
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Applied Linguistics, Cognitive linguistics
- Page Range:137-150
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:legal language; 2-move structure; cognitive structuring; information flow; comparable texts
- Summary/Abstract:Compared to scientifi c texts, legal texts are more diffi cult to follow for two reasons: the complexity of legal systems and the purpose of the communication. They are intended to be clear and unambiguous so as to allow precise interpretation. This intention results in complex grammatical and syntactic structures. Common features of legal texts with the focus on style, terminology and syntax were studied by Hiltunen (1990), Bhatia (1993) and Trosborg (1997). Based on Bhatia´s move-structure approach, the paper is to present a comparison of English and Czech syntactic structures in English and Czech legal texts.
Phraseology: A link between language and culture
Phraseology: A link between language and culture
(Phraseology: A link between language and culture)
- Author(s):Jelisaveta Šafranj
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Theoretical Linguistics, Phraseology
- Page Range:151-162
- No. of Pages:12
- Keywords:English phraseology; social phenomenon; idioms; proverbs
- Summary/Abstract:Language studies consider cultural models as well as linguistic cultural models which are of particular interest for phraseology since collectively shared cultural norms, attitudes or values can manifest themselves in presuppositions underlying proverbs, idioms and other prefabricated stereotypes. Culture is defi ned as the complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. The close link between culture and phraseology is best revealed by proverbs and fully idiomatic set phrases because they heavily rely on images, traditions and habits that are characteristic of a given culture. The paper deals with English phraseology which is the embodiment of English people consciousness and culture and at the same time serves as the means of communication and the knowledge of reality.
An emerging variety in the European Union: Some issues around the complexity of the Euro-English
An emerging variety in the European Union: Some issues around the complexity of the Euro-English
(An emerging variety in the European Union: Some issues around the complexity of the Euro-English)
- Author(s):Dagmar Sageder
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Language studies, Language and Literature Studies, Applied Linguistics
- Page Range:163-170
- No. of Pages:8
- Keywords:Euro-English; Euro-terms; legal English; concept of the EU; variety;
- Summary/Abstract:In the European Union, which represents linguistically diverse institution sui generis, texts are produced in a supranational multicultural discourse community describing specifi c aspects and concepts of European law or of national legal systems. The efforts of unifying and harmonising national laws with the aim of developing a European system of law have resulted in a number of new concepts that in turn caused proliferation of numerous new terms – the Euro-terms. They represent a basis for shaping a kind of supranational language: legal Euro-English. Nevertheless, can we talk about a new emerging variety? What are the features and characteristics of it compared to legal language in general?
Comparative Czech-English analysis of written English (KAPA): Transforming linguistic expertise into a practical EAP course
Comparative Czech-English analysis of written English (KAPA): Transforming linguistic expertise into a practical EAP course
(Comparative Czech-English analysis of written English (KAPA): Transforming linguistic expertise into a practical EAP course)
- Author(s):Radek Vogel, Martin Adam
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Theoretical Linguistics, Syntax, Semantics, Comparative Linguistics
- Page Range:171-185
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:comparative; EAP; lexico-semantic; syntax; written English;
- Summary/Abstract:The paper proposes to present the design of a new course, the aim of which is concerned with the functional syntax and vocabulary in the English-Czech comparative approach. It offers students a functional comparison of the two languages in which they will be able to apply the knowledge acquired in the bachelor programmes of English studies against the background of their mother tongue, i.e. the Czech language. After completing the course the students will be able to functionally distinguish the main features of English and Czech (with the emphasis on syntactic and lexico-semantic plan in both languages) and to use this linguistic expertise practically in the production of written English or in translation. The paper outlines the key syntactic and lexico-semantic areas which were identifi ed as potential causes of interferential problems and which thus compose the core of the course syllabus.