The Catholic Church versus the Greek Catholic Orthodox Church in the USSR after World War II: Way Towards Cooperation

Kościół katolicki a Cerkiew greckokatolicka w USRR po II wojnie światowej – droga do współpracy

Author(s): Inna Pojizdnyk / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

Local leaderships in Poland significantly affected the consequences of the open conflict between Rome and Moscow in new political conditions. Anti-catholic actions carried out by communist authorities resulted in reaching an agreement between the Soviet government and the Polish Committee of National Liberation (Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego). It concerned a displacement of Ukrainian citizens from the Polish territory as well as of Poles from the USSR. Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic hierarchs negatively referred to the Polish- Ukrainian settlement. The vast majority of Polish society decided not to leave their homes. That decision was attributed to the significant influence of Roman Catholic clergy they had on Polish worshippers. Communist authorities, with all possible methods of persuasion (extortion, deportations and arrests), tried to use that influence in order to accelerate the process of displacement. At the request of Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak the authorities of the Greek Catholic Church officially expressed their opposition against such actions taken by the government. Soviet officers not only put the clergy and worshippers under intense pressure but also used permanently existing Polish-Ukrainian conflicts to achieve their goals (distributing threatening leaflets with UPA signature, resettling Ukrainian citizens in areas yet uninhabited by Poles, etc.). The clergy of both Churches – Greek and Catholic – took an effort to prevent the worshippers in their parishes from creating tension between them. Polish parsons kept on Greek Catholic rectories their liturgical vestments, parish registers and another pieces of church property. Due to the fact that Polish clergy had friendly relations with Greek Catholic parsons, Polish priests used to give them the keys to their churches before being displaced. During the action of liquidation of the Greek Catholic Church the Soviet authorities extensively used the Russian Orthodox Church to erupt a dispute inside the Greek Catholic environment. Between 1944 and 1946 both Greek Catholic priests and laymen were required not only to declare their personal attitude to church (in general) but also their religious affiliation. It was caused by remarkable variety of opinions existing in Ukrainian society rich in many religious beliefs, family traditions etc. Moreover, that society was also deeply and constantly affected by the influence of the Ukrainian clergy, underground and it felt intense pressure from the authorities. In addition to this, the USSR leaderships took under consideration the possibility of carrying out a similar action against Roman Catholic Church. However, any attempt of taking such an action met with strong resistance of the clergy.

Poles Assisting Ukrainians on Contemporary Polish Territories between 1945–1947

Polacy pomagający Ukraińcom na ziemiach dzisiejszej Polski w latach 1945–1947

Author(s): Jan Pisuliński / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

The article is an attempt to present briefly the extent and variety of forms of help that Ukrainians being resettled from southeastern territories of Poland into the USSR (the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) between 1944–1946 as well as during the Operation Wisła campaign in 1947 were provided with by Polish people. First of all, they were assisted by Poles in obtaining new identity cards confirming Polish nationality and also they were helped in changing the Orthodox or the Greek-Catholic Church membership into the Roman-Catholic which automatically exempted them from the relocation duty and what is more, they were not required to register for resettlement list. Polish people interceded with the authorities on behalf of the particular Ukrainian individuals who were supposed to have gone to the USRR, guaranteeing for their loyal attitude towards Poland and Polish nation during the war. According to the author’s approximate estimates, as a result of those actions, over a dozen thousands of families avoided the repatriation. When the compulsory resettlement in the USRR, starting from September 1945, was being conducted by the army, [not only did Poles offer their houses as a shelter for Ukrainians but they also interceded with commanders of the resettlement troops and committees or even paid bribes to set them free.] there were Poles who offered their homes as a shelter for Ukrainians, what is more, they interceded with commanders of the resettlement troops and committees or even paid bribes to set Ukrainian people free. Thanks to the agreement reached in 1945 (between Ukrainian Insurgent Army [UPA] and a Polish underground anti-communist organization Wolność i Niezawisłość WiN [Freedom and Independence]), in the spring of 1946, WiN members from the county of Hrubieszów provided many Ukrainian families with help hiding them among Poles of the neighbouring county of Chełm. Another important matter to be mentioned is that during the military resettlement campaign carried out in border counties of Lesko, Lubaczów, Nowy Sącz and Sanok, many public appearances of particular starosts as well as of members of local national councils (especially in counties of Sanok and Lubaczów) were being made to prevent Ukrainians and Lemkos – the most – from being relocated. Whenever those interventions failed another forms of help were used like: assistance in obtaining Polish identity cards or attempts of gaining new Ukrainian professionals considered to be indispensable for local economy. Similar efforts were being made a year later during Operation Wisła campaign, but in that case, the effects were weaker because of the fact that the authorities in Warsaw decided to expel all Ukrainians even those considered by the local administration to be loyal towards Poland as well as those of mixed families.

Military and Defence Expenses in Hungary between 1949–1979

Wydatki wojskowe i obronne na Węgrzech w latach 1949–1979

Author(s): Pál Germuska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

The study presents the development of the military and defence expenses during the period of 1949 to 1979, based on so far unknown, formerly top secret sources. It describes the decisional mechanisms, the party and state organisations having the competence to determine the mentioned expense, as well as the international circumstances and internal events influencing the volume of the military expense. From 1949 till 1956 a dual budgetary system was in application in Hungary as well: beside the official, public budget existed a secret budget containing the military expense and state dotations to be dissimulated. Concerning the military expenditure, as from 1956 another hiding technique was also in use: the budget line of the Ministry of Defence contained exclusively the operational costs, while the cost of investments and weapon acquisitions was placed among the items of the national economy investments and the trade expenditure.

Karol Lewkowicz’s Activity – Contribution to pro-nation Attitude of Emigrants

Działalność Karola Lewkowicza – przyczynek do powstania orientacji prokrajowej na emigracji

Author(s): Krzysztof Tarka / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

New tactic of the PRL (the People’s Republic of Poland) authorities toward Polish emigration was initiated in the middle of 1950’s. The liberalization of the Communist system in Poland in 1956 and hopes for the “second stage” of the October; simultaneously - disappointment with the Western politics as well as constantly lessening chances to change a situation in Central and Eastern Europe and on the same breath, growing crisis and internal disunity of the emigration, created a fertile ground for pro-country orientation in exile. One of the form of communist diversion was offering financial support by the PRL’s intelligence services to those communities which opted for collaboration with the country and which were fighting the „unbroken” off. A weekly “Odgłosy” (“Sounds”), than renamed “Oblicze Tygodnia” (“The face of the week”), edited by the former activist of the Polish Socialist Party – Karol Lewkowicz, was considered to be one of such “dirty” initiatives after the “October”. In January 1957, Lewkowicz, on his own initiative, came into contact with the Polish embassy in London, where during the following talks, he suggested creating an all-party Polish organization in-exile (Kongres Polonii w Wielkiej Brytanii, The Polish Congress in Great Britain). He also highlighted a vital necessity for a new pro-country paper-in-exile to be edited. Lewkowicz, acting on intelligence services’ order, was preparing reports covering information about not only a political situation in exile but also about personal characteristics of particular emigration activists. He was paid regularly for it in return. In the end of June 1957 the first issue of “Odgłosy” was published. The main purpose of publishing that weekly was to stop the press monopoly held by the „unbroken” and what is more it caused some kind of “crack” in the emigration’s environment so hostile to the PRL authorities. Ostensibly for being independent and having an autonomy, actually the “Odgłosy” popularized an idea of cooperation between the country and the exile. It also unmasked a “harmful” activity of the immigrants. By publicizing conflicts between particular groups and inside them, the editors sow confusion and aggravated the breakdown of emigration. Lewkowicz stressed that after the October, the communist party in Poland was no longer a foreign agency. He also considered to be the only legitimate one the authority from the “Vistula country”. The Intelligence Service had grounds to suspect that Lewkowicz was also at British service, nevertheless the cooperation was continued. In 1966 the leadership of the MSW (the Ministry of Internal Affairs) finally decided to stop supporting financially the “Oblicza Tygodnia” as a consequence of too high costs of its upkeeping. Moreover, the magazine was no longer the only pro-country paper in-exile.

Estonian Historiography on Contemporary History

Współczesna historiografia estońska

Author(s): Olaf Mertelsmann / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

This paper aims at giving an overview on Estonian historiography on contemporary history since the regaining of independence in 1991. I will focus on authors living and working in Estonia, but have to mention also some research done abroad. With few exceptions, document editions and lists of victims of repression will not be dealt with. Because historians have not really started to investigate the 1990s, I will cover the period from establishing independence in 1918-1920 until the end of the Soviet regime. Different factors shaped the writing of history in Estonia in recent years. The Socialist past – Estonia was part of the Soviet Union as a Soviet republic – influenced greatly research on contemporary history. Professional history in Estonia was established by Baltic German scholars in the 19th century and Estonians entered the field as professional historians mainly in the interwar period, thus German and Soviet/Russian traditions were important. History is often seen as a ‘national science’ (rahvateadus) and an indivisible part of constructing national and state identity. Thus, many historians are on the track of a ‘national narrative’ of history. Additionally, Estonia is a small country with 1.3 million inhabitants, thus the community of historians is rather small, too. The brunch of quality research and publishing is conducted by a group of approximately 55 historians holding a PhD or the equivalent and not being retired yet. Most of the publications are in Estonian, but there is a growing trend to publish in English, Russian or German, too. The profession of historians faced like in other post-Socialist countries serious changes during transition. Some well-established Soviet historians lost influence and maybe their position. Others retired. The Soviet past had a serious impact, too. The distortion of history under Socialist rule led to the tendency since the late 1980s to explore the ‘blank spots’ of history in a certain positivist way stressing facts and not analysis, interpretation or a theoretical approach, but the further integration into European research structures has clearly a beneficent impact. Political history, the repressions under Stalin or military history seem to be at the moment far more important than let us say social or economic history. The main fields of interest remain the interwar period of independence, World War II and Stalinist rule, which have been presented in a rather distorted way by Soviet historiography.

“Meetings” and Emigration. Contribution to Studies on Relations between Country and Western Emigrant’s Opposition in 1976–1989

Współpraca środowiska „Spotkań” z emigracją na Zachodzie. Przyczynek do badań

Author(s): Małgorzata Choma-Jusińska / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

Opposition in Poland in the seventies and eighties and emigration environments in the West were connected by multifarious relations. Historical and political emigration literature was one of the elements that formed the opinions of opposition activists in the country. Emigration press was a forum of opinion exchange for them before the independent publishing movement came into being. Since the middle of the seventies, emigration financially supported the opposition in Poland and was the main proponent of its interests in the West. The environment of the independent paper “Spotkania” presents the relations between the emigration and opposition in the country well. The paper came out between 1977–1988 in Lublin. One of the papers’ initiators was Piotr Jegliński who has lived in Paris since 1974. In 1978, he established there a “twin” publishing house – Editions Spotkania, which reedited the paper. During the whole period in which the paper “Spotkania” was published, the main source of financing was the help from the West. Its organiser was Jegliński and the donors were private persons, Polish foundations and also subjects financed by the governmental institutions in the West. Jegliński made many contacts with associations, institutions and private persons who had influence on public opinion in the West. He conducted information and lobbying activities – as, especially after the introduction of martial law in Poland, it was essential to publicise the problem of political repression in Poland, to obtain financial support for victims and to obtain the support of the West for the opposition activity in the country. Jedliński organised propaganda campaigns and happenings together with other circles of Polish emigrants in Paris, among others, the group of people concentrated around the paper “Kontakt” (“Contact”), which was published in Paris. In the eighties, it was essential to maintain social resistance in the country. On Jegliński’s initiative, among others, thousands of miniature publications from his and other emigree publishing houses reached Poland. The environment of “Spotkania” appreciated the enormous informative role played by Radio Free Europe. Over the years, Jegliński and an emigrant Jan Stepek, the editor of “Spotkania”, cooperated with RFE. The goal of the paper “Spotkania” was similar to the one of the Parisian paper “Kultura” (“Culture”). Since the first edition of the paper, editors and journalists stressed the importance of reconciliation and cooperation of nations in the Central-Eastern Europe. The paper also opened its columns to representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian emigration.

The Background of American Antycommunism

Tło amerykańskiego antykomunizmu

Author(s): John Earl Haynes / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

Americans perceived communism in a hostile light from the time of its origins. Lenin’s withdrawal of Russian from World War I freed up German troops to fight in France against American forces just arriving, and many American perceived Bolshevism as linked to the German enemy. Further, traditional American support for a market economy, religious freedom mixed with an widespread religiosity, and emphasis on individual liberties clashed with Communist emphasis on collectivism, atheism, and proletarian dictatorship. American hostility to communism thereafter waxed and waned with the perceived seriousness of the Communist threat to American interests and institutions. After the fading of fears of world revolution, during most of the 1920s communism was regarded as an insignificant domestic nuisance while Soviet Russia was too far away and too weak to be of concern. During the 1930s the economic difficulties of the Great Depression caused a segment of Americans to view communism’s anti-capitalist stance in a more sympathetic light, and the anti-Fascist stance of the USSR also drew support although suspicious of communism remained predominate. Public anticommunism flared up once more with the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in August 1939 and the perception of fascism and communism as simply two varieties of totalitarianism. After American entered World War II, anticommunism subsided as a issue during the wartime alliance with the USSR. But with the Soviet Union’s emergence as America most potent foreign adversary in the Cold War and revelations that the American Communist Party has actively assisted Soviet espionage against the United States, anticommunism became a dominating public sentiment. And with the outbreak of armed combat between American troops and Communist forces in Korea in 1950 popular and political anticommunism became extremely intense with communism regarded not merely as a treat to American national interests but as a challenge to the fundamental principles of American democracy and individual liberties.

State of Research on Emigration and Sources of its History

Stan badań nad emigracją i źródła do jej dziejów

Author(s): Krzysztof Tarka,Małgorzata Ptasińska-Wójcik,Antoni Józef Bohdanowicz,Władysław Bułhak,Andrzej Friszke / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

State of Research on Emigration and Sources of its History (Discussion)

Territory Authorities’ and the Security Apparatus Activity against Educational-tutorial Institutions of Salesian Sisters in Łódź and their liquidatio

Działania władz terenowych oraz aparatu bezpieczeństwa wobec placówek oświatowo- -wychowawczych ss. salezjanek w Łodzi i ich likwidacja

Author(s): Krzysztof Kolasa / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

During People’s Poland (the People’s Republic of Poland) after having dispose of the independent underground and the overt political opposition, Communistic authorities started the fight against the Catholic Church. Its spiritual influence on children and adolescents was being systematically eliminated by reducing religion classes and elimination of the Catholic educational-tutorial institutions. These repercussions were also felt by Catholic convents, especially by the Convent of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (The Salesian Sisters), which sisters during the 1930-1939, in the house at 85 Franciszkańska street, in Lodz established and were keeping (running) nursery school, workshops, school, oratory and youth associations. Shortly after World Word II they rearranged and re-brought to the life educational-tutorial institutions which were liquidated during the German occupation. In 1948 “Ochronka Bałucka” (the shelter located in Białuty district in Lodz, where children from the poorest families could gather to play together, learn, pray and hide from harm) was finally liquidated, as well as sodality and oratory – probably in the next year. In 1952 the territory authorities seized the nursery school, while in 1963 the Vocational School of Clothing (Zasadnicza Szkoła Odzieżowa) which was the last Catholic educational institution in Lodz, was eventually closed. Practically from 1948 until 1963, the Salesian Sisters in Lodz were struggling constantly to maintain the operation of their ongoing educational works. The activity of the territory authorities and of the Security Apparatus in Lodz took various forms and methods like: inspections, bans on the recruitment of female students to the 1st class of the primary school, using various types of pressure, which consequently led to the removal or resignation of the work the most resistant teachers (for example sister Maria Lipińska – the headmaster of the school), attempts of creating communistic youth organizations, persuading into organizing chats, wall magazines, rallies, events and celebrations of occasional national holidays, rivalling in work between female school students, calling for nuns for „talks” which took place in the Department for Religious Affairs (Wydział ds. Wyznań) and in the office of the security service and also attempts of recruitment new members into the net of secret service agents as well as taking control over the most indomitable Salesian Sisters.

Coldwar Political Emigration – Case Study

Zimnowojenna emigracja polityczna jako przedmiot badań

Author(s): Sławomir Łukasiewicz / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

Researches in the field of the 20th century migration, achieved particular level, however an attempt of the overall look at the phenomenon of the political emigration in Central Europe, starting from II World War until transformations ofyears 1989–1991, is still required. In postwar Poland, it was allowed to write about the political emigration, identified until 1989 as a threat, either in secret papers intended for security service and for a small group of decision makers, or in publications which main purpose was to diminish the very idea of the emigration, or – after some time – in studies aimed to show the emigration only as a one out of many human communities, with no political beliefs and what is more – hostile to the political system of socialist states. In 1990s, two major synthesis of the history of the polish emigration were published: Materiały do dziejów uchodźstwa niepodległościowego [Materials for the history of the independence emigration] (London) and Druga Wielka Emigracja [The Second Great Emigration] (Warsaw). During the following decade several crucial works that extend, complement or revise the findings concerning the functioning of the parliamentarism in exile, the party system, important people’s life, day-to-day problems, as well as contacts between emigrants and Poland, appeared. Furthermore the opening of the former secret services’ archives delivered new types of sources to conduct researches on the history of the emigration. In addition to this, the development of research using sociological methods to study the phenomenon of the political emigration is also considered to have been an important achievement. The result of previous researches – mentioned above – should be treated as a good starting point to the next trail of making a synthesis of the history of the Polish emigration and also as a possibility to create a wider program of study the history of emigration during the Cold War. While concentrating on the 20th century processes of migration reveals the structure and the scale of people’s displacements, there is still a real necessity for the characteristic Cold War-migration to be focused on from the political reasons – the analysis of knowingly conducted state’s policies. Therefore, undertaking a study of this phenomenon seems to be essential to understand the undercurrent of the Cold War. Seeing that, it is important to confront with each other at least three perspectives – the Communist bloc countries, the countries of resettlement and the emigrants themselves. What is more, the synthesis of the history of the 1939–1991 Central Europe emigration is highly required to be published.

Unresolved Crime. About the Complexity of Human Lot in the First Years after War – Example of Teodor Jałowski, the Officer of State Police

Zbrodnia niewyjaśniona. O złożoności losów ludzkich w pierwszych latach powojennych na przykładzie zabójstwa Teodora Jałowskiego

Author(s): Wojciech Jałowski / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

The article presents the results of thorough research on an attempt to explain the circumstances of Teodor Jałowski’s murder in April 1947 who was an officer of National Police Forces during Second Polish Republic and Citizens’ Militia in the beginning of People’s Republic of Poland. The problem of verification and the following discussion of the circumstances of his death have been an opportunity to publish this material. Family ties with the character of this work – my grandfather – have been the reason for endeavoring to uncover the family mystery. Archival material collected by the author enables to trace the description of 13 April 1947 event concerning the murder of Teodor Jałowski in a fairly detailed way. Existing archives of UB and Citizens’ Militia repressive forces are the basis of reference in this material as they provide an authentic picture of that event. The article includes several authentic descriptions of security apparatus which was created after the liberation of Radom by the Soviet Union army and soon subordinated to NKVD. Existing UB reports as well as those of Citizens’ Militia Headquarters in the County of Radom (Komenda Powiatowa MO) verified in the text question the circumstances of the death of Jałowski presented at the time of People’s Republic of Poland, until 1989 to be exact. At the time of People’s Republic of Poland Second Lieutenant Tadeusz Zieliński “Igła”, who was a leader of an underground group struggling for independence in the region of Kielce and in places surrounding Radom, was considered, together with his people, to be responsible for the death of Jałowski. In the given period of time a substantial body of literature confirmed this opinion and placed Jałowski as a victim of military underground groups acting in the region in works by S. Skwarek and r. Halaba. A detailed archival study of existing documents as well as meetings with still living eye witnesses remembering that tragic 13 April 1947 event deny findings revealed before 1989. The successful attempt to prove that Jałowski was not killed by the group led by “Igła” showed a misleading picture of the lists of victims, who died or were murdered in the post-war period, constructed at the time of People’s Republic of Poland. Enlisting Jałowski as a victim of anti-communist underground was undeniably unreasonable.

Minutes of the IV Department of the Citizens Militia Voivodeship Commander Division’s Employees’ Counsel in Lublin Concerning Plan Realisation

Protokół z narady pracowników Wydziału IV dot[yczącej] omówienia realizacji planu za pierwsze półrocze 1972 r.

Author(s): Marcin Krzysztofik / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

W naradzie uczestniczył z[astęp]ca komendanta wojewódzkiego MO ds. SB płk B[ronisław] Świta. Zabierający głos naczelnik Wydziału IV tow[arzysz] T[adeusz] Hawrot swoje wystąpienie poświęcił następującym sprawom: 1. Jakie główne kierunki działania zakładaliśmy sobie w bieżącym półroczu: – wykorzystanie możliwości operacyjnych pionu IV do działań na rzecz dalszej politycznej neutralizacji kleru, kształtowania tendencji pozytywnych, zbliżanie do władz i ogniw administracyjnych, osłabianie pozycji księży o poglądach negatywnych oddanych hierarchii; – wyciszanie elementów demonstracyjności w imprezach religijnych, szczególnie w peregrynacji (szczególnie w mieście), – niedopuszczanie do tworzenia się sytuacji naciskowych na władze, zwłaszcza w kwestii budownictwa sakralnego (Puławy, Kraśnik, Świdnik, Poniatowa i inne);

Reviews and disputes

Recenzje i polemiki

Author(s): Włodzimierz Domagalski,Robert Spałek,Patryk Pleskot,Alexander Gogun,Łukasz Pasztaleniec / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 1/2010

Jörg Baberowski, Czerwonij teror. Istorija stalinizmu, tłum. z niem. na ukr., Kyjiw 2007 Dionizy Garbacz, „Wołyniak”. Legenda prawdziwa, Wydawnictwo „Sztafeta” we współpracy z IPN Oddział w Rzeszowie, Stalowa Wola 2008, s. 232. Patryk Pleskot, Sukces „grzecznej” historii. Niemiecko-francuski podręcznik historii najnowszej Robert Spałek, Warszawska ulica w stanie wojennym. Demonstracje, protesty, zamieszki, pochody w oczach opozycji i władzy 1981–1983, Wspólnota Samorządowa Województwa Mazowieckiego, Warszawa 2008, s. 266. W odpowiedzi na recenzję Włodzimierza Domagalskiego

The productivity of the English derivational -ing suffix in contemporary Polish

The productivity of the English derivational -ing suffix in contemporary Polish

Author(s): Alicja Witalisz / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2014

Keywords: -ing formation; poductivity; borrowing; hybrid creation; pseudo-anglicism

The paper presents and examines -ing formations used in Polish. It also addresses the notion of productivity in morphology and discusses the growing productivity of the English derivational -ing suffix in contemporary Polish. To address the issue of productivity all -ing formations must be divided into foreign loans and derivatives that have been coined in Polish. One of the two forms of analysis of the research material used for the present study is based on the typology of contact-induced innovations; the other involves a synchronic morphological and semantic analysis of -ing formations coined in Polish. A thesis concerning the appearance of English -ing in Polish and its becoming an independent suffix and a productive word-formation rule is proposed.

“I’m not sure what that means yet, but we’ll soon find out” – the discourse of newspaper live blogs

“I’m not sure what that means yet, but we’ll soon find out” – the discourse of newspaper live blogs

Author(s): Anna Tereszkiewicz / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2014

Keywords: blogs; live blogs; news; online newspapers; open structure discourse

The following paper focuses on newspaper live blogs. The aim of the analysis is to investigate the structure and discourse properties of this news format. The analysis examines the basic conventions concerning the form and content of these text types, including structural components of live blogs, multimedia, quoting and linking patterns, as well as discourse strategies used to underline “liveness”, interactivity and evaluation. The analysis proves that the discourse of live blogs constitutes an example of open structure news discourse, and reflects a blending of discourse properties typical of blogs as well as of broadcast and newspaper reporting.

Fluency in second language writing: A developmental perspective

Fluency in second language writing: A developmental perspective

Author(s): Iwona Kowal / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2014

Keywords: writing fluency; second language development; Dynamic Systems Theory

The paper presents a longitudinal study of writing fluency in second language students. The aim was to follow the development of the students’ fluency during a three-year period in which they studied Swedish as a second language. Fifteen Polish university students participated in the study. The analysis shows that fluency develops non-linearly with some peaks in the average developmental curve. Furthermore, we observed both between- and within-individual variability in fluency in text production. The development of fluency is unpredictable and no one subject mirrors in their development the average curve. Individual differences were observed at every step of second language development. The analysis shows that writers who are slow at typing are not automatically less fluent and that subjects who develop more slowly can achieve a high level of fluency in writing. In general, writers who were slower and less fluent at the beginning made the greatest progress in fluency during the three-year period, compared with those who were more skilled with regard to both language and typing, who achieved a certain level of fluency faster than their fellow students.

Manipulation in Russian advertising of nutriments and dietary supplements

Manipulation in Russian advertising of nutriments and dietary supplements

Author(s): Anna Romanik / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2014

Keywords: advertising; manipulation; persuasion; the Russian language

The purpose of this article is to analyse the phenomenon of linguistic manipulation in the advertising of nutriments and dietary supplements published in Russian bodybuilding magazines. Advertisers use the persuasive capabilities of the language on its various levels in order to create an effective message. Common manipulative methods in slogans include the use of references to the world of sporting values, the recommendation of the product by sports authorities, and the use of evaluative lexis. Also, short expressive syntactic structures loaded with forms of imperatives have the potential for manipulation.

Bernhard Jülg, Cracow and the von Der Gabelentz family

Bernhard Jülg, Cracow and the von Der Gabelentz family

Author(s): Marek Stachowski / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2014

Keywords: history of linguistics; Jagiellonian University; Chinese linguistics; Mongolian linguistics; Kalmuck language

A comparison of two books (GG; JG), newly published by the Harrassowitz Verlag and concerning history of Oriental (mostly Kalmuck and Chinese) linguistic studies in 19th century Europe is presented in this article, along with an analysis of some information on Bernhard Jülg’s studies and scholarly plans during his stay in Cracow.

Pragmatic marker use in police interviews: The case of I mean and you know (Part 1)

Pragmatic marker use in police interviews: The case of I mean and you know (Part 1)

Author(s): Magdalena Szczyrbak / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2014

Keywords: comment clauses; police interview discourse; power relations; pragmatic markers

Drawing on interactional approaches to comment clauses (Stenström 1994; Povolná 2010), the paper reveals the discourse functions of I mean (Part 1) and you know (Part 2) in the context of police interviews. More specifically, taking into account the socio-pragmatic setting of police-suspect interaction, it highlights the context-dependence and the multifunctionality of these markers based on data from two police interview transcripts. Thus, following the spirit of the study by Fox Tree and Schrock (2002), Part 1 of the analysis demonstrates that while the primary role of I mean is that of “forewarning upcoming adjustments” (Schiffrin 1987), the marker performs interpersonal, turn management, repairing, monitoring and organizing functions. This being the case, the study examines the potential of I meanm to modify the ongoing interaction and stresses its contribution to the coherence of the interviewees’ narratives. Attention is also drawn to the syntactic environment in which I mean occurs as well as to listener responses to I mean and I mean-introduced ideas. Finally, the discussion touches upon the issue of power relations and shows the role which I mean plays in the linguistic manifestation of power in an institutional setting.

Ethnolinguistic Study of Idioms Referring to Cereals and Products Made of Cereals

Pentru un studiu etnolingvistic al frazeologiei cerealelor şi preparatelor din cereale

Author(s): Petronela SAVIN / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 1 (05)/2007

Keywords: ethnolinguistics; social imaginary; national identity

Notre étude se place dans le domaine de l’ethnolinguistique, offrant des repères pour une analyse des expressions et proverbes du roumain qui contiennent des images des céréales et des préparations des céréales. Loin d’être simples métaphores, ces formes linguistiques font revivre un monde dont l’imaginaire collectif garde les traces profondes. Notre démarche essaie de mettre en valeur des aspects universels et particuliers de la signification de ces structures figées par rapport aux formes de la culture roumaine. Nous considérons que ce corpus est une source efficace de connaissance de l’identité nationale et humaine en général.