Meaning negotation in academic discourse: A typology of citations as semantic markers

Author(s): Tanja Collet / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2018

In academic discourse, citations constitute a multifunctional pragmatic act: they acknowledge the property rights of writers, create intellectual or conceptual linkages, and enhance the persuasiveness of a text. Citations can, furthermore, serve to negotiate term meaning within the text. In this capacity, they acquire a dual dialogic quality: as citations, they participate in the social construction of knowledge by engaging in a 'dialogue' with the writers of previous texts but, as semantic markers, they also interact with the text’s readers by responding to plausible needs for semantic clarification. The article’s main focus is to present a typology of citations used as semantic markers. An analysis of the rhetoricity of semantic markers in academic discourse is also included in the discussion.

Analysis of the UK prime ministerial discourse on Brexit: Thematic choices and their implications

Author(s): Ray C. H. Leung / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2018

This study of political discourse focuses on three selected texts about Brexit delivered by British Prime Minister Theresa May in early 2017. The texts represent three rare occasions on which May revealed to the public in detail what “negotiating objectives” the government has for Brexit. The three texts are: (i) the Lancaster House speech; (ii) Britain’s Article 50 notification letter; (iii) May’s oral statement in Parliament on the notification letter. Analytic tools from systemic functional linguistics (SFL) were employed to investigate the thematic choices in these three texts. The findings shed light on the interface between discourse and ideology. For example, frequent reference to the British society in the experiential Themes of the Lancaster House speech suggests that May tries to give prominence to the voice of the British people while addressing the general public. In the Article 50 notification letter, textual Themes which signal an adversative relation construe May’s optimism about the prospect of Brexit. Furthermore, the first-person plural pronoun we in the thematic position serves multiple purposes, one of which is to establish solidarity between Britain and the European Union. The current research underscores the contributions of SFL thematic analysis to the study of ideology in discourse.

Актуални наблюдения върху съвременната езикова ситуация

Author(s): Vladislav Milanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2020

Several newly created verbs and the corresponding newly formed participles are analyzed. An attempt has been made on the basis of examples and statistics of their uses to assume their place in the dictionary of the contemporary Bulgarian.

Aspecte ale uitării (oblivio) în limba latină

Author(s): Theodor Georgescu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2021

In the literature of Classical Antiquity, the oblivion theme appears from the first Homeric texts. Odysseus’ companions, who arrived in the land of the Lotus Eaters, forget their homeland and duties after eating the lotus offered by the natives. Only the energetic action of Odysseus saves them from the dangers of oblivion. In Latin, the notion of oblivion is expressed especially by the subst. oblivio, which, however, renders in Latin literature, in a single word, notions which in the Greek language were expressed by different terms. Oblivio, in the broadest sense, is the equivalent of gr. λήθη and the antonym of mindfulness (lat. memoria). It is mostly reprehensible, because it is a form of betrayal of the past. But it can sometimes be a form of salvation (Publil. Sent. I, 21 iniuriarum remedium est obliuio). But forgetting a thing can sometimes be only a momentary darkening of the mind, which in Greek was expressed by μετεωρία "distraction, confusion" or ἀβλεψία "blindness, inability to know". For doctors, even the state of sleepiness was also expressed by oblivio and rendering gr. ληθαργία. The voluntary erasure of unpleasant memories and the forgiveness of what happened was also a form of oblivio and is equivalent to gr. ἀμνηστία "oblivion", hence "forgiveness, pardon", and, in the field of law, "amnesty". It can be as well a form of conviction to be forgotten by posterity, indicating that a person is to be excluded from official accounts (damnatio memoriae "condemnation of memory"), practiced especially in the imperial period. The analysis of the contexts in which oblivio is attested in Latin authors shows different meanings that we can better understand by reference to the Greek language.

Bulgarian Words in Evliya Çelebi’s Seyahatname (17th Century)

Author(s): Marek Stachowski / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

The paper offers a presentation and discussion of several words classified as Bulgarian in the original text of Evliya Çelebi’s Seyāḥatnāme as well as in its two modern editions. Besides, some other possible Bulgarianisms are discussed, even though they were not classified as such by the editors.

Мифолингвистическое исследование некоторых балканских архетипных моделей при номинации ласки

Author(s): Borislav Popov / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1/2022

The present research employs the method of mytholinguistics to inquire into certain names for the weasel in the Balkan region in the context of the mythoreligious beliefs and rites related to them. The mytholinguistic analyses demonstrate the existence of a common Balkan archetype model in the nomination of the weasel in Bulgarian and in some other Balkan languages. This model emerges in the names characterized by the internal form ‘young married woman’ as well as in some other names of similar internal form related to the wedding rituals. An ancient model has been explored that explicates the symbolic status of the small predator related to female, pristine (girl-like), and wedding symbolism, which is presumably the result of substrate influence of pre-Slavic or even pre-Indo-European mythological beliefs and rites. The motivation behind these names is connected with the popular ancient ritualistic practice “funeral at a wedding”, relics of which have been preserved in the Balkans. Another archetype model emerges in the Balkan context with certain names for the weasel in Bulgarian and Romanian; this, however, is of Slavic origin. It intertwines structural marriage and kin relations between the weasel and the birds (mostly the swallow).

Лексические заимствования из османского турецкого языка в новоболгарских письменных памятниках XVII–XVIII в.в. (на материале одесских дамаскинов)

Author(s): Tatyana Braga / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1/2022

The article deals with lexical borrowings from the Ottoman Turkish language in the New Bulgarian monuments of the 17th–18th centuries. Based on the material of the Odessa Damaskins from the collection of V. I. Grigorovich, an attempt was made at semantic classification, the purpose of which is to study the ways of spreading Turkish borrowings and the scope of their use in the Bulgarian folk language. The group of lexical units analyzed is considered as part of the general Bulgarian lexical fund in its stylistic variants, as well as at the level of everyday speech activity.

Innovatory Study Explores Name-Giving for Foods and their Preparation in Bulgarian Dialects

Author(s): Ana Kocheva / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

‘Najmanj utemeljeno je paligovo mnenje…’. Once again on the origin of slavic *sъto

Author(s): Sorin Paliga / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2012

The paper resumes the paper dedicate to Slavic sъto (Paliga 1988), bringing forth various arguments against the label of Marko Snoj that explaining sъto as a loanword from a north Thracian dialect is ‘najmanj utemeljeno’ (least founded). New data may now prove, without little doubt, that the only satem idiom, which may be the source of borrowing, is a north Thracian dialect. Some other forms in the semantic sphere ‘fire’ and ‘to burn, to heat’ support the initial analysis and show that we have, in fact, two series of phonetic evolutions from PIE to Slavic and Thracian in a larger Indo-European context.

Cтицање стилистичке компетенције на примеру административног струковног стила у настави српског као страног језика

Author(s): Lidija Čolević / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 4/2012

This paper discusses issues related to the confrontation of the administrative style of the Serbian and Romanian language and the formation of the legal terminology in order for students to understand its distinct stylistic mark so that to avoid the danger of its inappropriate use in other areas which might impact the culture of speech. Linguistic analysis for legal terms of the individual words, the norms of their lexical and syntactic connectivity in the example of the complaint, which served as an excellent methodical proposal, could show us how interesting it is from the perspective of translation and from the point of self-production of various documents with a personal character in the Serbian language, too.

Polysémia v právnickej francúzštine

Author(s): Peter Kopecký / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 3/2012

Le vocabulaire du français modifia depuis le XVe siècle sa structure et son contenu. Les changements phonétiques se produisirent en même temps, en renforàant de nouvelles tendances sémantiques. A noter que l´ordre de mots latin n´influença pas le français. D´autre part, le latin imposa au français ses qualités (poly)sémantiques, étymologiques et morphologiques. Le français concourut à sa mère (langue latine) pour la repusser de la Cour et des bureaux vers les cloîtres. Le droit et le langage juridique conservèrent cependant l´esprit de droit romain ce qui reflète le mieux le Code civil de Napoléon Ier et même le droit moderne.

Zapomniane wyrazy polskie z XVII wieku

Author(s): Stanisław Stachowski / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 2/2011

The article presents a group of words from F. Meninski’s Thesaurus Linguarium Orientalium (1680), which denote agents and carriers of attributes. The collection contains about a hundred words. Only few of them are still in use nowadays in the formal language, mainly in historical novels. Some can also be still found in modern Polish dialects. These words, however, are new derivatives rather than the continuants of our words, and usually have a different meaning.

POETIC CYCLES AND INFORMATION BEYOND THE MICRO-LEVEL OF WORDS: ON THE TRANSLATIONS OF JOSEPH BRODSKY’S CYCLE A PART OF SPEECH INTO ENGLISH AND LATVIAN

Author(s): Jānis Veckrācis / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2021

A poetic cycle is a specific case of poetic contextualisation and for translators this means additional efforts in identifying the micro- and macro-level network of functional and semantic links. Joseph Brodsky’s cycle A Part of Speech represents a highly conceptual approach and strong integration of each and every poem. In this context the paper briefly outlines different types of micro- and macroscopic approaches to poetry translation. Further practical analysis of some translation issues observed in the respective English and Latvian translations show that decisions of poetry translators are informed by different backgrounds in the author-text-reader relationships. Artistic creativity is certainly present in the translation activity but this does not mean that a completely independent target text is produced.

Irony in fashion memes:

Author(s): Kristina Stankevičiūtė / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2022

The practice of fashion memes is a rather fresh exercise on the fashion scene, and it has been enjoyed by both the audiences and the brands. Fashion media have turned their attention to the phenomenon as well, addressing its scope, authorship and function from various angles. Scholarly research of the field is very scarce, though. The article seeks to contribute to the emerging field of fashion meme research by analysing a Lithuanian author of original fashion memes, a self-proclaimed fashion critic the Pink Poodle – an imaginary social media personality active on Facebook and Instagram platforms. The subjects of Pink Poodle memes are objects of media photographs from local and global public events (such as the Presidential Inauguration or an international cinema festival opening, Grammy Awards, Oscars) that demonstrate, from Poodle’s perspective, disagreements with fashion and/or aesthetics in general. The aim of the article is to reflect on the function of irony and sarcasm of the fashion meme as an instrument for fashion criticism, and the role of (visual) irony on the perception of fashion in the contemporary society. The text also addresses the role of independent fashion criticism that the practice of fashion meme creation seems to provide, and the function that this kind of intermediary between fashion and its audiences may perform.

Etude morphosémantique dufuture en parlers grecs de la Bulgarie

Author(s): Eleni Valma / Language(s): French Issue: 3/2009

In this paper I investigate the properties of the future in Dialectal Modern Greek spoken in Bulgaria. Even though future has been described before, the analysis of its actual dialect use remains interesting for the Sparchbund and more generaly for typology. I will base my analysis on the aspectual model of Desclés [1980, 1990] & Guentchéva [1990] in order to explain the double aspect (perfective and imperfective) and its particular uses in Dialectal Modern Greek. I will argue that the use of future-referring periphrases (as θ па) provides evidence for the relation between future and modality and I will try to explain the link between future on the one hand, and possibility, probability and volition, on the other hand.

Ел. Любенова. Семантика на творителния падеж в горнолужишкия език.

Author(s): Slavka Velichkova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2007

Review of: El. Lyubenova. Semantics of the creative case in Upper Sorbian. Plovdiv, Makros Printing House, 2006. 324 p.

Mit și logos în opera lui Vasile Voiculescu

Author(s): Oana Marin / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2019

This article proposes, on the basis of an incursion in the work of the Romanian poet and prosaist Vasile Voiculescu, a meditation addressed to the practitioner of theatrical art on the need for understanding and exploitation of the written word in order to offer expressiveness to the spoken word. The importance of the “sense of speech” is underlined by one’s need for meaning and significance in its ontological trajectory, and this is accompanied by a heightened attention given to the symbol, the religious act, the myth, and the legend. The work of Vasile Voiculescu is the perfect framework in which the Actant, the living story maker, can practise his vocal capacity – thus understanding not only the possibility of articulation and sound emission, but also consciousness, feeling, meaning and sacredness, in order to dig up the essence, the primitive substance of the theatrical act - the sacrament of sharing and confession.

Анализ на кохезията на законодателния текст в английски и български

Author(s): Diana Yankova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2005

Language and its Role in Bridging International Communication

Author(s): Georgiana Leotescu / Language(s): English Issue: 21/2022

The English language is in a continuous process of advancement as society evolves and people make distance irrelevant by communicating with each other in various ways. It is unquestionable that the development of technology has substantially improved the English language. Not only was it enriched, but it also became the official donner for many languages around the world. Words changed both their meaning and their grammatical category. A simple noun as text became the verb to text with the development of mobile phones. The word “google” started from the name of the search engine and developed into a transitive verb. The name of a company also converted into a verb and even more a concept uberization. Moreover, the association of two basic words such as face and book created a word that began to be used worldwide.

A LEXICAL, MORPHOLOGICAL, SEMANTIC AND ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DENOMINATIONS OF MONEY IN ROMANIAN NOVEL FROM 19TH CENTURY, CIOCOII VECHI ȘI NOI, N. FILIMON

Author(s): Andreea Brigitte Baștea (Godan) / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

This paper is a study of terms that concern lexical fields approaching money in Ciocoii vechi și noi novel by Nicolae Filimon, a well-known Romanian novel from the 19th century. The main inquiry from this research was how money is conceptualized within the context of our approach of the novel according to the meaning of money identified in this novel. In order to find an answer, we conducted an analysis of money related terms. The data consists of all identified terms referring to money as the main field of interest. 17 terms referring to money have been identified. A lexical, morphological and semantic analysis of the terms was performed and the terms were grouped into two main etymological branches - 5 Romanian terms, and foreign branches - 12 terms from Turkish, Greek and German, and then classified according to the frequency of use. The most important and frequently used foreign currency, besides Romanian currency, are Turkey, Greece, and Germany, as identified and mentioned in the novel. This predominance reflects the money movement outlined by the characters description of setting or commerce products, and this is owing to the circulation of money and the international trade or abroad commerce, owing to political and cultural Phanariot influences in Wallachia, during the first decades of the 19th century. The present paper could be useful as a theoretical background of the relationship between language and culture in the context of Romanian literature from the 19th century, the researched lexemes mentioned here may be considered as approaches of linguistic analysis.