Kilka słów o niemieckich podręcznikach i tradycjach pisania autobiograficznego – najciekawsze porady i inspiracje

Author(s): Brigitta Helbig‑Mischewski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2015

Currently a huge number of manuals on creative writing, especially autobiographical writing, isbeing published in Germany. Also very popular are literary autobiographies about family historiesconnected to the former GDR. The German manuals distinguish between the two most populartypes of autobiographical writing: writing as therapy (inspired by psychoanalytical thought) andwriting for literary purposes. Their techniques overlap more and more, inspire each other andthus bear the fruit of new methods to stimulate one’s creativity. Creative writing can be aimed atprivate purposes (f.e. to leave behind a symbolic legacy for one’s descendants) or can be aimed atthe public – the chosen method depends on the goal. The author of the text presents the manuals’most interesting advises on the motivation for writing, the best conditions for creative work,techniques of non-linear writing, the stimulation of private memories, narrative techniques andquestions of style and language. The author also points to the existential aspect of autobiographicalwriting – it deepens one’s experience of life.

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.

Newspaper portrayal of teachers: A comparative study of representations of teachers in a British and a Czech broadsheet

Author(s): Dita Trčková / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2018

The study compares representations of teachers in the Czech broadsheet Mladá fronta and the British broadsheet The Daily Telegraph, aiming to reveal their possible impact on the level of public respect towards teachers. The methodology employed is critical discourse analysis, combining an investigation of semantic macrostructures and recurrent transitivity patterns. It is revealed that both newspapers call attention to problems regarding the teaching profession, advocating social change and higher job prestige. The social significance of a teacher is enhanced in both newspapers by allocating a teacher not only the role of a transmitter of knowledge but also a moral guide concerned with social issues. The main difference between the two broadsheets is that The Daily Telegraph foregrounds teachers’ wrongdoings, while Mladá fronta highlights teachers’ accomplishments. This seems to be mainly due to the inclusion of a section with regional content in the Czech broadsheet.

Journey to the Moroccan Empire

Author(s): Agnieszka Pałka-Lasek / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2021

Jan Potocki – Polish traveller, geographer, ethnographer and writer, mostly known as the author of The Manuscript Found in Saragossa, embarked on a journey around Morocco in 1791. In 1792, the memoirs from the journey entitled ‘Voyage dans l’Empire de Maroc, fait en l’année 1791. Suivi du Voyage de Hafez, récit oriental’ were released, the Polish translation of which was published in the collective work of Leszek Kukulski entitled ‘Journeys’ in 1959. And in 2014, the Arabic translation of ʿAbd Allāh Bāʻalī entitled ‘ Yān Būtūtskī. Jan Potocki. Riḥla fī Imbirāṭūriyyat al-Maġrib tammat hilāla sanat 1791’ appeared under the imprint of a Moroccan publisher. The article depicts the circumstances in which the travel diaries were created and presents translations of the work into Polish and Arabic. From a comparative perspective, the translation techniques and strategies in selected semantic categories are demonstrated – such as toponyms, anthroponyms, titles, names of professions – and the article focuses on the problem of overcoming cultural barriers.

Presenting and perceiving humour in Estonian tourism settings

Author(s): Marit Piirman,Katrin Saks / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

Humour plays a significant role in everyday interactions. Individuals perceive humour differently and experience various emotions, from exaltation to umbrage. Therefore, providing humorous communication in customer service is challenging. The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of humour in a tourism customer service context. In the first part of the study, representatives of Estonian tourism companies were asked their opinions about using humour in communication with their clients. They provided examples of the use of humour in customer service situations, which were then evaluated by potential tourists in the second part of the study. The results of the evaluation were analysed in relation to the respondents’ sense of humour. The findings were discussed in line with the four implicatures of humour.

Exploring teacher-initiated humour in Academic English classes:

Author(s): Aziz Kholmatov / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

As a subject focused on teaching grammar forms needed for academic studies and genres of academic writing, Academic English may seem tedious at times. Sometimes it is a complex subject for students who are fresh to academia and it needs a peculiar didactic approach to provide a smooth transition of students from general to academic English writing at a university level. One of these approaches may be using humour during classes. The current research explores teacher-initiated humour in Academic English classes at Westminster International University in Tashkent and its effects on students. Besides, it seeks answers to questions as to what types of humour teachers employ during the class mostly, how often they use humour, as well as students’ and teachers’ recommendations given on how to use humour in class. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative data extraction methods in the form of an online questionnaire with students and a semi-structured interview with teachers. Obtained results show that affective and social roles of humour, its quality of lessening anxiety, creates favourable conditions for students and teacher’s connectedness, which outweighs other humour’s roles. Besides, mnemonic and engaging roles of humour received a solid support in the respondents. To obtain a more positive effect, it is recommended that teachers, when incorporating humour in class, apply a systematic approach. Humour should be planned beforehand and needs to be appropriate. Moreover, it should be used with moderation.

Laughter interjections in Xhosa

Author(s): Alexander Andrason / Language(s): English Issue: 55/2021

The present paper analyzes the system of laughter-based interjections (L-INTJs) in Xhosa. By drawing on corpus and fieldwork evidence, the author concludes the following: the systems of L-INTJs consists of five types of constructions built around the segments ha, he, ho, hi, and yha, the satellites te and ti, as well as a number of replicative templates. The pattern hVhVhV with a short vowel is the most productive. Other replicative patterns, patterns involving (extra‑)long vowels, and the pattern tVhV are less productive. Overall, L-INTJs are the canonical members of the interjective category. The presence and range of uses of L-INTJs result from the interjectionalization of laughter-based onomatopoeias or the onomatopoeization of non-laughter-related interjections.

Izotopii generatoare de clișee jurnalistice în contextul pandemiei de Covid-19: „patologii la mod㔆 sau „cuvinte-oglindă” ale realității psihosociale?

Author(s): Armanda Ramona Stroia / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 12/2020

The present paper examines the dominant isotopies under which linguistic clichés emerge in the context of the intense media coverage of the current COVID19 pandemic. The analysis of the linguistic automatisms excerpted from the online journalistic discourse proved to be prolific in identifying additional features of the linguistic “behaviour” of clichés. Furthermore, the investigation facilitated our understanding of the underlying motivations, implications, and potential effects triggered by the use of specific prefabricated structures. As a general remark, the analysis of these dominant overused schemes revealed how media institutions overuse, under the pressure of the international model, specific lexico-semantic isotopies which exploit prefabricated structures from distinct fields: war, particularly the area of pyrotechnic elements(“explosion of new cases”, “huge explosion of Covid cases”), the semantic area of natural disasters subsumed to liquidity (“a new wave of COVID”, “anti-Covid control wave”, “death wave”, “a wave of hateful comments”, “wave of infections/confirmations/illnesses”, “flood of accusations/fines”, “tsunami of COVID-19 patients/displacements”). We have also identified journalistic automatisms circumscribed to the isotopy of the economy(“epidemiological balance”), ranking and sports competition (statistical clichés: “top of infections”, “Covid top”, “top Covid infections”, “European top of Covid evolution”, “vaccine race”, among others), disaster (clichés of melodramatic excess, salient to tabloid journalism: “disaster”, “chaos”, “nightmare”, “COVID-19 drama”). For the present article, we channeled our investigative effort only towards the first two dominant isotopies. To achieve these objectives, we proposed a two-dimensional research model. Specifically, we correlated the data obtained through conjugating linguistic micro-parameters (semantic, stylistic features, lexical and morpho-syntactic patterns) and macrolevel variables (pragmatic, psycholinguistic aspects, perspectives derived from the sociology of media communication, critical analysis of discourse, among others). The investigation results revealed that these linguistic patterns, analyzed under the conceptual “umbrella” of isotopy, can function as rhetorical and lexicosemantic strategies through which journalists activate the receptors’ affective responses. Consequently, media discourse can trigger and maintain artificial states of anxiety, panic, and restlessness. Over time, this journalistic operation leads, through the impact of obsessive repetition, to the passive consumption of media representations and cultural stereotypes, of preconceived ideas.

Journalistic clichés under the conceptual “umbrella” of isotopies: “linguistic pathologies in vogue”† or “mirror-words” of psychosocial reality?

Author(s): Armanda Ramona Stroia / Language(s): English Issue: 12/2020

The present paper examines the dominant isotopies under which linguistic clichés emerge in the context of the intense media coverage of the current COVID19 pandemic. The analysis of the linguistic automatisms excerpted from the online journalistic discourse proved to be prolific in identifying additional features of the linguistic “behaviour” of clichés. Furthermore, the investigation facilitated our understanding of the underlying motivations, implications, and potential effects triggered by the use of specific prefabricated structures. As a general remark, the analysis of these dominant overused schemes revealed how media institutions overuse, under the pressure of the international model, specific lexico-semantic isotopies which exploit prefabricated structures from distinct fields: war, particularly the area of pyrotechnic elements(“explosion of new cases”, “huge explosion of Covid cases”), the semantic area of natural disasters subsumed to liquidity (“a new wave of COVID”, “anti-Covid control wave”, “death wave”, “a wave of hateful comments”, “wave of infections/confirmations/illnesses”, “flood of accusations/fines”, “tsunami of COVID-19 patients/displacements”). We have also identified journalistic automatisms circumscribed to the isotopy of the economy(“epidemiological balance”), ranking and sports competition (statistical clichés: “top of infections”, “Covid top”, “top Covid infections”, “European top of Covid evolution”, “vaccine race”, among others), disaster (clichés of melodramatic excess, salient to tabloid journalism: “disaster”, “chaos”, “nightmare”, “COVID-19 drama”). For the present article, we channeled our investigative effort only towards the first two dominant isotopies. To achieve these objectives, we proposed a two-dimensional research model. Specifically, we correlated the data obtained through conjugating linguistic micro-parameters (semantic, stylistic features, lexical and morpho-syntactic patterns) and macrolevel variables (pragmatic, psycholinguistic aspects, perspectives derived from the sociology of media communication, critical analysis of discourse, among others). The investigation results revealed that these linguistic patterns, analyzed under the conceptual “umbrella” of isotopy, can function as rhetorical and lexicosemantic strategies through which journalists activate the receptors’ affective responses. Consequently, media discourse can trigger and maintain artificial states of anxiety, panic, and restlessness. Over time, this journalistic operation leads, through the impact of obsessive repetition, to the passive consumption of media representations and cultural stereotypes, of preconceived ideas.

Morphological and syntactical aspects of Romanian/ English codeswitching

Author(s): Arina Greavu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

This paper examines the grammatical structure of Romanian/ English codeswitching in the speech of a ten-year-old bilingual child. The analyzed data set consists of single-word switches and phrases, the main focus of the paper being the morphological integration of these English elements in Romanian and the relations they establish with their larger syntactic environment. Using the principles of the Matrix Language Frame model developed by Myers-Scotton (2002, 2006), we show that the structural integrity of Romanian is maintained during codeswitching, and that the English material is used according to the rules imposed by the Romanian grammar. Although Romanian inflectional morphology is often absent on switched words and phrases, the placement of these elements in the grammatical frame of the sentence follows matrix language specifications and word order; moreover, function words in mixed constituents, such as determiners and prepositions, tend to come from Romanian.

JAPANESE PROVERBS BETWEEN EQUIVALENCE AND COMPARATIVE TRANSLATION FROM JAPANESE AND ENGLISH INTO ROMANIAN. AN ANALYSIS FROM THE SEMANTIC AND PRAGMATIC POINT OF VIEW

Author(s): Oana Florina Avornicesei / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

The current paper takes a comparative look at a selection of Japanese proverbs and their translation into English to their Romanian equivalents. The English translation belongs to David Galeff, the author of the book ‘Japanese Proverbs. Wit and Wisdom’ from which stems the selection of proverbs which are the object of the current analysis. The Romanian translation applies two methods. It tries to find an equivalent in Romanian, both in terms of wit i.e. wording or sense and in terms of wisdom i.e. meaning or reference. As such the two perspectives of analysis are semantic and pragmatic. The aim is firstly to find an equivalent in meaning and reference to a relevant wisdom inspired by reality and life. If such an equivalent is not found, alternative translations are attempted using other translation procedures,such as modulation or even adaptation. The theoretical framework used is the one Vinay and Dalbernet outlined in their ‘Comparative Stylistics of French and English: A Methodology for Translation’. This is a translational attempt to look towards the East and towards the West and see how different and how similar they are in the way they understand life and express that understanding. The aim of the analysis is to see to what extent it can identify corresponding ways of wording or equivalent forms of expression in Romanian for the wit and the wisdom incapsulated in the Japanese proverbs, via the English language.

Antiracism in Othello sketch comedy, 1967-199

Author(s): Stephen Hamrick / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

Despite Shakespeare’s rejection of comic, racist stereotypes in Othello, minstrel shows offeredracist blackface caricatures of slaves and others of African descent that filtered through BritishMusic Hall and Variety to television sketch comedy. Analyses of twenty-five screenedappropriations of Othello provide a cultural history of racism for 1967-1999. The articlerecovers an antiracist tradition overlooked in comedy studies.

Stereotyping Arab women in jokes circulated on social media during the coronavirus crisis

Author(s): Ahmad S. Haider,Linda S. Al-Abbas / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in late 2019, fear and panic dominated thecontent of online news. Simultaneously, there was a prevalence of jokes on different social mediasites. During the crisis, most Arab countries went through a nationwide lockdown for weeks thatpeople found themselves trapped in their homes and resorted to social media to express theirfrustration about the prevailing happenings. They began exchanging jokes on social media thatindirectly reflected stereotypes about them. One thousand four hundred and twenty-four jokes(1424) were collected from Facebook and WhatsApp messages for three months and werecategorized based on the themes they covered. Gender-related jokes ranked the highest andwere predominantly targeting women. Hence, this study is an attempt to explore how ArabWomen were stereotyped in jokes circulated on social media during the coronavirus crisis. The508 gender-related jokes were analysed in light of the General Theory of Verbal Humour(GTVH) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The analysis generated four main themes,namely ‘marital relations’ (33%), ‘habits and attributes’ (26%), ‘beauty and makeup’ (23%),and ‘violence’ (18%). Women were stereotyped as being ugly and less feminine without makeup,talkative, shopaholic, despising and annoying wives, and violent and harmful partners in theirprivate sphere. The study concludes that such negative stereotypes might be unintentionallyproduced and reinforced through laughter-eliciting jokes circulating fast in the virtual world.

Book review

Author(s): Anna Piata / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

Book review

Author(s): Liat Steir-Livny / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

The role of ‘familiarity’ in Mandarin Chinese speakers’ metapragmatic evaluations of Australian conversational humour

Author(s): Wei-Lin Melody Chang,Valeria Sinkeviciute / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

Although research on humorous practices of Anglo-Australians has received much attention,the understanding of those practices by members of various multilingual communities inAustralia has not been much studied. In this paper, we look at metapragmatic comments onconcept familiarity in relation to conversational humour, particularly focusing on MandarinChinese speakers’ perceptions of conversational humour in Australian English. In order toexplore what role ‘familiarity’ plays in (inter-)cultural conceptualisation of humour, we analyseinterview data where speakers of Mandarin Chinese provide their metapragmatic comments onhumorous exchanges among Australians. Drawing on approximately 8.2 hours of interview dataelicited by a segment from the reality television gameshow Big Brother 2012, i.e., a teasingsequence between two acquainted persons, it is suggested that the concept of familiarity is theone most frequently alluded to in the theme of how participants ‘draw the boundary’ betweenintimates and acquaintances. From the analysis it emerged that Mandarin Chinese speakers’evaluations of humorous exchanges in Australian English are driven by their culturallyinformedperceptions that are conceptualised through various emic notions, e.g. guanxi(‘interpersonal relationship’), various labels for classifying different relational distance, andqiji (‘opportune moment’). The findings of this exploratory paper suggest that the role of‘familiarity’ in relation to humour is crucial in the perception of appropriateness of humorouspractices in interaction, especially across cultures.

Book review

Author(s): Antti Lindfors / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

Book review

Author(s): Saša Babič / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

A supportive climate may protect employees’ wellbeing from negative humour events:

Author(s): Ana Junça Silva,Antonio Caetano,Rita Rueff Lope / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2022

This study investigated: (a) the mediating role of affect between humour events and wellbeing at work and (b) the moderating role of psychological work climate in the indirect relationship between humour events and well-being at work, via affect. The moderated mediation model was tested through a study with 93 full-time employees. We used regressions and bootstrapping analyses to test the moderated mediation model. The findings indicated a significant association between humour events and well-being at work with affect as a mediator. Moreover, psychological work climate was found to significantly moderate the indirect relationship between humour events and well-being at work via affect, such that it become stronger when individuals were in a positive psychological work climate. This paper adds considerable evidence of the relationship between humour-related events and their impact on individuals’ well-being. Psychological work climate strengthens the association between affect and well-being after humour events.