Tolerance in real and fictional world - an elliptical approach

La tolérance dans le monde réel et fictionnel – une approche elliptique

Author(s): Sergiu Zagan / Language(s): French / Issue: 1/2015

Keywords: Tolerance; intolerance; ellipsis; attacks; violence; consensus; boards; frustration; recovery

In this paper, we argue that tolerance and intolerance are elliptical terms because they have the same referent but one can have a different vision towards it. We consider that tolerance and intolerance are sometimes interchangeable terms – what is tolerant for one party can be intolerant for another party. The recovery of the ellipsis is possible only by a dual approach to the same referent, sometimes perceived as a negative aspect, sometimes as a positive one. We envisage the reading of the novels in which intolerance is the main topic, as a possibility of learning to be tolerant, but again, this is an elliptical possibility because the borders between these aspects are still maintained, Tahar Ben Jelloun introducing only a part of what tolerance-intolerance is. We believe that consensus is the key and that the writers who take into consideration only one aspect of the phenomenon do not owe it. We are trying to answer questions such as: Is there a border between tolerance and intolerance? If one is tolerant, does this necessarily imply tolerance for the intolerant, too?

The Importance of Dictionary Skills – A Lexical Approach to Business English Teaching

The Importance of Dictionary Skills – A Lexical Approach to Business English Teaching

Author(s): Adrian Ciupe / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: business English; CEFR; collocations; delexicalised words; dependent prepositions; dictionary skills; electronic dictionary; empowerment; ESP; idioms; language levels; lexicalised words; lexis; phrasa

Traditionally, learner dictionaries have been regarded as ancillary tools facilitating language acquisition. Many students (and teachers) still consider them `optional`, relying on basic (or even simplistic) `reminders` of word usage through overused `formulaic` student-teacher exchanges like `Teacher, what does [word] X mean` / `[Word] X means ...`. Students in general and ESP students in particular are thus continuing a `tradition` that is relatively behind the times, leaving many of the existing technological advances in dictionary availability, design and functionality sorely under- / misused. This article analyses this issue from the practical perspectives implied by class teaching / guidance and self-study by suggesting a practical guide to effective dictionary use on the part of both teachers and students.

Examination Anxiety - Can Language Teachers Help?

Examination Anxiety - Can Language Teachers Help?

Author(s): Ana Maria Hopârtean / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: public speaking; debate; anxiety; facilitation.

The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the extent to which different types of speaking anxiety can be dealt with through academic debate. After looking at relevant research in the field of anxiety, I suggest a model to facilitate the transition from debilitating anxiety in the context of teaching debate and public speaking to facilitating anxiety in the context of debate competitions and real life communication contexts.

Is it too Late to Learn a Foreign Language?

Is it too Late to Learn a Foreign Language?

Author(s): Mariana Toma / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: different language levels; blending; learning; teaching; natural environment; communicating.

It is not too late to learn/teach a foreign language in a heterogeneous classroom at bachelor level if the students’ language-learning potential is considered alive and their emotional response easy to be triggered with the appropriate methods, materials and strategies. Some uncomplicated activities chosen spontaneously by the teacher have proved this, not to speak about the teacher’s passion to put together such working tasks. The reward is great - students come to classes not thinking about their imperfections but about being part of a community with equal chances.

Training Cultural Intelligence with the Intercultural Communication Courses

Training Cultural Intelligence with the Intercultural Communication Courses

Author(s): Eugenia Irimias / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: Intercultural communication; syllabus; communication skills; diversity; dialogue; intercultural intelligence; interaction.

Different cultures collide more often now than in the past. Therefore developing skills that address an efficient intercultural communication becomes a critical aspect in today’s life. Te purpose of our research is to identify to what extent different universities worldwide include in their curriculum the study o intercultural communication. We are also interested how the different intercultural (business) communication syllabi provided by these universities look like, and to compare their content in terms of efficiency and effectiveness in building intercultural communication skills. We will try to emphasize the similarities and differences that will be found during the syllabi analysis.

Old Feuds and New Alliances between Philosophy and Literature

Old Feuds and New Alliances between Philosophy and Literature

Author(s): Ioana-Gabriela Nan / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: literature; fiction; theory; literary theory; poetics; philosophy; pragmatism.

The article explores a hypothesis according to which what came to be known as literary theory may have deeper roots than those identified either in a nineteenth century paradigmatic shift in philosophy, or in cultural criticism a century later. More precisely, it proposes that the long traditional tension between philosophy and poetics may have made it equally possible both for literature to be “theorised” and for philosophy to become “narrativised.” With Plato, the scholastics, Hume and Frege firmly on the side of philosophical clarity and truth, and with Aristotle, Horace, Boccaccio, Sidney and the English Romantics defending a truth of the poetic order, the history of the dispute seems to supply an inexhaustible chain of arguments for both parties. Perhaps it takes a more pragmatic (a pragmatist) approach to truth, if not to resolve the conflict, then at least to put it first into perspective, and then to better use.

The Obsession for the Written Word in Eco and Pennac

L’ossessione per la parola scritta in Eco e Pennac: Il Pendolo di Foucault vs. La prosivendola

Author(s): Delia-Ioana Morar / Language(s): Italian / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: comparison; passion; book; word; writing; contemporary culture.

The present work is a parallelism between Umberto Eco and Daniel Pennac and more precisely two of their novels. Te comparison leads us to the following conclusions: Pennac’s faith that if life is not always a novel, the novel must necessarily contain life, and Eco’s faith that life surpasses the novel most of the times. A parallelism between the two novels seems relevant from the perspective of the tribute paid to the word by the two contemporary writers. Although their styles differ, they both invoke the same purpose of their existence, namely their love for the word and the book. Both writers demonstrate that they are fully grounded in reality and perceive the spirit of the times we live in, but they do not give up their passion for the book and their desire to learn and discover the world, which they try to transfer to their readers too.

Ecaterina Iorga and some unpublished documents preserved at Blaj

Ecaterina Iorga et quelques documents inédits gardés à Blaj

Author(s): Cristina Rodica Puscas / Language(s): French / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: Documents; Ecaterina Iorga; family; Nicolae Iorga; photographs.

The paper presents some family documents and photographs concerning the relation between Nicolae Iorga and his wife, Ecaterina Iorga, and some of her relatives.

Peter Hurley, The Way of the Crosses (Bucureşti: Martor, 2013) ISBN 978-606-8472-11-9

Peter Hurley, The Way of the Crosses (Bucureşti: Martor, 2013) ISBN 978-606-8472-11-9

Author(s): Veronica-Diana Armasu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: Romanian spirit; core values; traditions; customs; traveler; stereotypes.

Book review: Peter Hurley, The Way of the Crosses (Bucureşti: Martor, 2013) ISBN 978-606-8472-11-9

Book review: If You Are a Foreigner and Want to Learn Romanian... Elena Platon, Ioana Sonea şi Dina Vîlcu, Romanian as a Foreign Language (RLS) A1 - A2, Casa Cărţii de Ştiinţă Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca, 2012.

Book review: If You Are a Foreigner and Want to Learn Romanian... Elena Platon, Ioana Sonea şi Dina Vîlcu, Manual de limba română ca limbă străină (RLS) A1 - A2, Editura Casa Cărţii de Ştiinţă, Cluj-Napoca, 2012.

Author(s): Anca Ursa / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2015

Keywords: manual; foreigners, educational book; language teaching; communicative approach.

Book review: If You Are a Foreigner and Want to Learn Romanian... Elena Platon, Ioana Sonea şi Dina Vîlcu, Manual de limba română ca limbă străină (RLS) A1 - A2, Editura Casa Cărţii de Ştiinţă, Cluj-Napoca, 2012.

‘Red’: Colour term and formulaic poetic language

Punane regilaulus: sõnad ja vormelid

Author(s): Tiiu Jaago / Language(s): Estonian / Issue: 64/2016

Keywords: colour terms; Estonian old folk song regilaul; formula; red

In this article the occurrence of the colour term ‘red’ is studied comparatively in the regilaul of two Estonian counties. Earlier studies on colour terms in the Estonian regilaul have shown that colour terms are rarely found in songs. At the same time, they are conspicuous in set phrases, forming formulae, fixed lexical combinations characteristic of the regilaul tradition. The analysis of the songs studied in this article is based on the formulaic concept (i.e. the premise that colour terms are found in set lexical phrases). In interpreting colour term-containing motifs and related topics, this article draws on context-centred folklore research (i.e. the premise that the meaning of neither the formulae nor the colour terms is autonomous, independent of their context of use). A formula containing a colour term does not carry an unambiguous meaning. It is not possible to say, for example, what evaluation the modifier ‘red’ involves in such compounds as ‘pale punane’ (red countenance), ‘punane põõsas’ (red bush), ‘proua punane’ (red lady). However, it reveals that on the motif level these formulae carry a certain meaning: in the praise of the bride or the groom in wedding songs, the ’pale punane’ (red countenance) refers to health and youth, while in the ’indifferent maiden’ motif it refers to the angry disposition of the maiden. Partly, the meanings of ‘red’ become evident thanks to its parallel words (ilus / punane – handsome / red), while on the motif level it appears when the word is used to praise or warn against a character (ilus mees on ihusööja – punane aga verejooja (the handsome husband is a flesh-eater, the red one a blood-drinker): such a young man is not recommended to the girl, as working in the man’s house would ruin her health). It is characteristic that ‘red’ tends to be related with the topic of courting and wedding. When the parallel word of ‘red’ is ‘blue’ (e.g. Minu hella emakene, / siruta see sinine lõnga, / poeta punane paela, / tõmba minu taevasse (Dear mother, / stretch out the blue yarn, / drop down the red ribbon, / pull me up to the heaven)), it remarkably often describes a border situation, either in the social (wedding, death) or natural environment (morning, evening). In summary, it can be said that lexical phrases or formulae that contain colour terms can vary widely. However, the thematic context of using formulae that contain colour terms is considerably stable.

In memoriam

In memoriam

Author(s): Piret Voolaid / Language(s): Estonian / Issue: 64/2016

The eulogy is written by Piret Voolaid.

About the links between phraseology and psychology at an international conference of linguistics

Fraseoloogia ja psühholoogia seostest rahvusvahelisel lingvistikakonverentsil

Author(s): Anneli Baran / Language(s): Estonian / Issue: 64/2016

Anneli Baran writes about an international conference of linguistics, Slavofraz 2016: Phraseologie und (naive) Psychologie, which took place in Graz, Austria, on April 7–10.

“Young Voices” 2016

“Noorte hääled” 2016

Author(s): Ave Goršič ,Piret Koosa / Language(s): Estonian / Issue: 64/2016

Ave Goršič and Piret Koosa bring to the reader an overview of the 11th conference of young ethnologists, folklorists, and other culture researchers, “Young Voices”, which was held on April 20.

REGIONAL IDENTITY: A PREREQUISITE FOR ANY EFFICIENT CHANGE OF THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC STRUCTURE

REGIONAL IDENTITY: A PREREQUISITE FOR ANY EFFICIENT CHANGE OF THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC STRUCTURE

Author(s): Mircea Maniu,Radu Cristian Barna / Language(s): English / Issue: 20/2016

Keywords: Identity Factors; Regional Development; Regional Governance; EU Regional Policy; Romania

Most of the territorial frameworks one could define as regions developed into coherent structures only when the multilayered functionality of those peculiar areas changed radically. While the lifespan of the very process of change depends on a plethora of factors such as social and political ones, the factorial core of the change always depends on identity, institutions and traditions born out of the historical evolution of a certain region. Our research goal within this paper would be to point to the fact that a certain regional economic structure is inevitably mirroring a specific economic culture, here defined as the sum of all human creations targeting economic purposes, focusing on the present day Romanian outlook of the issue of regionalization. Identifying and elaborating on those factors that basically illustrate the comprehensive and intricate concept of regional identity and eventually make a contribution to the better administrative shaping of the territory under scrutiny was attemted in chapters 2 and 3. In our own view, expressed in chapters 4 and 5 of this paper, such kind of investigations could contribute to the optimization of the EU regional policy design, to a better governance of the domain, as “Europe for Citizens” should become much more than a slogan in the years to come.

FORMAL VERSUS SUBSTANTIVE REGIONALIZATION IN EU SEEN THROUGH THE RULE OF LAW PERSPECTIVE

FORMAL VERSUS SUBSTANTIVE REGIONALIZATION IN EU SEEN THROUGH THE RULE OF LAW PERSPECTIVE

Author(s): Georgi Dimitrov / Language(s): English / Issue: 20/2016

Keywords: Rule of law; anticorruption policy; clustering; quasi-regions

The paper targets a policy problem concerning the EU’s changing approach to the rule of law (RoL) – from lip service in its constituting documents to a major accent in the current enlargement policy towards new candidate states. More to that since 2014 the EU has launched a new policy to safeguard the RoL. However the effectiveness of the policy depends on the adequacy of the identification of the social problem which finds a huge variety of forms of manifestation. Here a novel analytical instrument is proposed whose implementation reveals that in a conventional European anti-corruption 15-thlon the participants show results so various as to be hardly comparable: the differences between the top positions and the lowest are of the order of 5 times. The results of comparisons between EU member states, based on quantitative indicators regarding the “political geography” of the affirmation of RoL, have made evident that the usual clichés of European regions are meaningless in this particular regard: the former communist countries may have once been tied together in a common military-political bloc but today they are national societies that differ significantly from one another. The CEECs are actually more diverse than homogeneous; in terms of RoL the Balkan countries (and the Baltic countries as well) do not belong to an integral region in the way the Scandinavian counties do. Hence, a typologically diversified policy approaches are most needed if the effectiveness is what the European citizens require.

ASYMMETRIC DECENTRALIZATION IN ROMANIA: LOST OPPORTUNITY

ASYMMETRIC DECENTRALIZATION IN ROMANIA: LOST OPPORTUNITY

Author(s): Bogdana Neamţu / Language(s): English / Issue: 20/2016

Keywords: decentralization;reform;administrative capacity;Romania;subsidiarity;

This article endeavors to investigate if asymmetric decentralization should still be considered a solution for continuing and deepening the sectoral decentralization process in Romania in the context of growing inequalities and differences among various types of local administrative units. In close connection with asymmetric decentralization, the article explores the most significant challenge associated with this concept, mainly how to measure administrative capacity. This research effort is placed in the context of recent changes to the framework law on decentralization no. 195/2006 which introduced this concept. The main research questions are: a) What is the level of administrative capacity in Romania, measured using the criteria established in the methodological norms for the implementation of the framework law no. 195/2006?; b) Are there any weaknesses with respect to the measurement systems and if yes, what are some of the options for improving the assessment criteria?; c) Is asymmetric decentralization, decided based on the assessment of administrative capacity, regarded by the Romanian local authorities as a positive thing? Secondary data analysis and interviews were used as the main research methods. Based on the main findings it can be argued that the proposed criteria allow for a rather uncomplicated separation of local authorities in two categories (haves and have-nots), however additional criteria should be developed/included. As with regard to asymmetric decentralization, the majority of individuals in key administrative positions at the local level see it as a limitation of local autonomy and as a rather unnecessary innovation in the framework of the Romanian administrative system.

A EUROPEAN UNION À LA CARTE? REFLECTIONS ON STRUCTURAL ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS AND ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE

A EUROPEAN UNION À LA CARTE? REFLECTIONS ON STRUCTURAL ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS AND ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE

Author(s): Dragoș Păun / Language(s): English / Issue: 20/2016

Keywords: community method; multilevel governance; European Semester; capacity building; competitive federalism

Recent developments within the European Union have made scholars and politicians alike question the depth of the institutional reform processes conducted by the Treaty of Lisbon, to the extent that a new Intergovernmental Conference is likely to occur in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, in the aftermath of the economic downturn, the Union has become endowed with numerous financial instruments meant to tackle the multiple facets of the crisis and its outcomes, whose analysis is paramount for the understanding of the degree of readiness the Community framework exhibits at this time, from a financial standpoint. In the light of the above, one questions the usefulness and feasibility of a possible return to the community method, which did yield considerable results in the previous steps of the integration process. Our study performs a scenario analysis of the hypothetical application of this method in the current context, set against the background of the pattern of multilevel governance that has resulted from recent evolutions. Special emphasis is placed on the specific mechanisms of the European Semester, which denotes a set of procedures and institutional endeavours assisting in the implementation of the latest multiannual agenda of the Union, namely Europe 2020. Structural and administrative reforms but also capacity building and competitive federalism emerge as potential facets of the broader Europe à la carte concept, itself lying at the core of this analysis.

POLICY RESPONSES TO POVERTY: IS ROMANIA ON THE ROAD TOWARDS A NEW INTEGRATIVE APPROACH?

POLICY RESPONSES TO POVERTY: IS ROMANIA ON THE ROAD TOWARDS A NEW INTEGRATIVE APPROACH?

Author(s): Diana-Gabriela Reianu / Language(s): English / Issue: 20/2016

Keywords: poverty; social policy; strategy; Europe 2020;Romania;

Poverty and social exclusion represent an essential topic for our society, a topic considered to be the main challenge for the years to come. Even if, nowadays, the social problems of the society are tried to be solved through an intervention in the social and the economic field, at the same time, being known that if we don’t have an efficient increasingly economy we would not have the resources to fight with social exclusion, data show that the current trend of global economic growth did not bring an improvement in the social field, and did not reduce the inequalities, but, adversely, they grew and continue to grow. Moreover, the economic crisis brings along not only a fragile environment but also low quality jobs and more people in risk of poverty and social exclusion. Statistics in Europe show that the social situation is not improving, but, in some countries, is even worsening. Romania is one of them, poverty remaining a major challenge for this country. For these reasons, the paper tries to offer an overview of the strategic measures taken in Romania in order to alleviate poverty, to emphasize those fields in which the measures show limited progress (as noticed by the European Commission), and to present the currently proposed package of anti-poverty measures and the dilemmas that come along.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE NEW REGIONALISM IN THE CONTEXT OF SPAIN’S FISCAL FEDERALISM

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE NEW REGIONALISM IN THE CONTEXT OF SPAIN’S FISCAL FEDERALISM

Author(s): Anca Stângaciu / Language(s): English / Issue: 20/2016

Keywords: regionalism; fiscal federalism; local autonomy; local identities

From the dimension of a state of autonomies, Spain has now become a formal unitary political structure, functioning on basis of the principles of fiscal federalism. The asymmetrical character of regionalism, especially the special statute of the autonomous historical communities, makes the Spanish state have an administrative architecture similar to the ones of the federal states, which does not exclude contestations and especially the fiscal federalism claims which become more and more visible, leading towards secession.