Brief history of general languages and language policies in colonial Brazil

Author(s): Samuel Figueira-Cardoso,Alexandre da Silva Borges / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

Brazil is a multilingual and multicultural country and was so even before the Europeans arrived in the territory. Over the centuries, contact and conflict between European and African languages with indigenous languages have influenced the variety of Portuguese spoken in the country since the 16th century. In this paper, we present an overview of Brazil’s languages, referring to the so-called general languages and the language policies in favor of the Portuguese language in the period. To this end, we resort to the contributions of scholars who investigate the use of language in society or “social history of language” (Burke 2002, Freire 2003); some concepts derived from the field of language policy; notions of heritage and indigenous culture. It is shown that the policies of colonization were harmful to linguistic diversity, as in the case of the Nheengatu language spoken until today in the North of the country, due to the continuous resistance of the speakers of the language.

Realizacja reguł gatunku w formie kolekcji w konkretnym przewodniku

Author(s): Maria Wojtak / Language(s): Polish Issue: 3/2023

The application of methods of genological analysis in relation to a specific text allows for a formulation of hypotheses about its genre and discursive identity, which broadens the research perspectives of descriptive genology. The analysed text is characterised by an intricate structure, combining a chain and box compositions that may be discovered by referring to the concept of genre in the form of a collection. It includes a profiled description of sanctuaries in a creatively modified convention of Bedeker descriptions and encourages readers to visit specific churches as architectural monuments and places of worship, juxtaposing the perspectives of tourism and pilgrimage. The analysis of a specific text gains a broader cognitive perspective in the article. It allows for reflections, which supplement knowledge about the categories functioning in descriptive genology, such as: genre in the form of a collection, relations between text and genre, as well as between text, genre and discourse, text mosaic and text collage, genre and text hybridizatio and a tourist guidebook as a genre of speech.

Oedipus’ Freudian slips: language, kinship and tyranny

Author(s): JANEK KUCHARSKI / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

This paper deals with the linguistic aspect of tragic irony in the Oedipus Rex. It begins with the observation that several ambiguous expressions in the play telegraph their double meaning through various kinds of linguistic slips. It is argued that these slips occur on three distinct levels: semantics, syntax and pragmatics. There follows an analysis of several examples under each of these three headings. The paper concludes with the observation that when it comes to the question of Oedipus’ familial relationships and the legitimacy of his rule in Thebes, language itself fails the hero and defies his attempts at controlling it.

Linguistic scenery in Latvian botany textbooks (1880s-1940s): Stable and varying features

Author(s): Jānis Veckrācis / Language(s): English Issue: 42/2023

Texts, including original botany textbooks (not translations or adaptations) produced in the second part of the 19th century and early decades of the 20th century embody a period of intense linguistic development in the Latvian language. This paper provides a linguistic analysis of the features of two botany textbooks: Botānika tautas skolām un pašmācībai (Botany for Folk Schools and Self-Education) by Jānis Ilsters (1883) and Botānika (Botany) by Pauls Galenieks, also citing its further editions (1924–1945). The aim of the study is to collate data that is representative of morphological, syntactic and lexical changes and stable elements from these texts. The respective linguistic phenomena are discussed and analysed in the context of language facts present in several dictionaries and other relevant publications. The data obtained in this study illustrates that by the end of the period covered in this paper, the process of turbulent linguistic changes in the Latvian language had been replaced by more balanced development with some indications of stabilisation, although numerous features remained variable and dynamic. Despite a number of the syntactic and lexical elements recorded in the main sources of the study having since changed and/or become obsolete, these textbooks provide evidence that both the Latvian language and the linguistic materials used in botany were to a great extent already well developed and had begun to enter the stabilisation phase. In recent years, botany has become an area of increased linguistic interest among botany experts and linguists themselves, although the collation of a detailed data set detailing the development of the whole body of specialised lexis used in botany remains a task for the future.

Юрдан Трифонов (1864–1949) - (Не)забравеното наследство

Author(s): Ivana Vitanova,Vasil Stamenov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2022

In the following paper are represented the life and the scientific work of Academician Yurdan Trifonov. The main focus is on some of his most contributing academic researches in the fields of Linguistics, Literary studies, History and Folklore studies which are not so popular outside of narrowly focused specialist’s circles.

Te Deum в кириллической транскрипции с подстрочным церковно­-славянским переводом

Author(s): Vittorio Springfield Tomelleri / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1/2023

The Latin Psalter from the Chudov monastery, written in Cyrillic letters around the end of the 15th century, is a document of paramount importance for the study of the Latin cultural tradition in Muscovy. This unique manuscript seems to be linked to the fervent translation activity directed by the archbishop of Novgorod Gennadii (1484–1504). The wide space left between the lines of the main Latin text was without doubt supposed to be filled with the Church Slavic corresponding text. A Slavic “translation” was indeed inserted into the biblical cantica and other texts, among which the hymn Te Deum, traditionally (and wrongly) considered to be a joint composition by Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine, which was very widespread in the Western Church. The article features the first diplomatic interlinear edition of the Slavic-Latin Te Deum, which is pre-ceded by a short description and analysis of the Slavic text and its main linguistic peculiarities in comparison with another translation of the same work, made some decades later by Dmitry Gerasimov. Here all relevant differences between the two Slavic versions, both at the lexical and grammatical levels, are presented and shortly discussed. Further, some evident errors in the Slavic text of the Chudov Psalter cast some doubts on the possibility to consider it a real translation in the strict sense of the term; it seems rather to function as a lexico-grammatical interlinear gloss, to be read vertically as an auxiliary tool for a proper understanding of the Latin original.

За кирилицата като шрифт на Балканите през XV–XVI век

Author(s): Mariyana Tsibranska-Kostova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2023

The author explores the following issues: the differing graphical systems of the early print Cyrillic fonts and their role in establishing common identity through achieving cultural unity in graphical diversity. The paper provides conclusions about the types of orthographic systems (the Tarnovo two-nasal system and the Raška and Resava systems); the graphical inventory of individual editions accor-ding to selected differential features; the areal and cultural specifics of the studied editions. The author argues that the early print Cyrillic fonts functioned as a sign and information system and a cultural phenomenon that upheld tradition and rein-forced its literary prestige.

Новооткрит възрожденски писмен паметник с гръцко писмо от Централните Родопи

Author(s): Georgi Mitrinov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2023

The article deals with the recently discovered Ustovski sbornik, a written monu-ment from the Central Rhodope region. The collection was compiled and owned by Kiryak Byalkovski, a prominent figure in the Central Rhodopes. The texts included in the collection are written in the local Rhodope dialect using the Greek alphabet. In addition, they contain features of South-western Bulgarian dialects, as well as vocabulary distinctive of Church Slavonic. The collection comprises sections of Damaskin sermons and gospel texts, among others. The article presents a set of guidelines for exploring the graphical, grammatical and lexical characteristics of this manuscript as part of the Central Rhodope literary tradition of the Bulgarian National Revival period.

Диахронен аспект на българската антропонимна система през XIX в. Езикови особености. Тенденции

Author(s): Tatyana Braga / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2023

The article presents results of a study of the historical aspects of Bulgarian anthro-ponymy obtained as part of a postdoctoral project. The study is based on 19th-century archival materials that have been introduced into scientific circulation only recently. It reveals the unique features of the formation of the anthroponymy char-acteristic of a Bulgarian community outside Bulgaria’s ethnic territory. The study presents linguistic and statistical data on 19th-century Bulgarian personal names, highlighting the changes in the personal name system of the settlers in Tabak (South Bessarabia) that took place under polylinguistic influence.

Съществителните имена от общ род в Найден-Геровия речник

Author(s): Vanina Sumrova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2023

The article explores the representation of common gender nouns in Nayden Gerov’s dictionary. The author outlines the structure of the dictionary entry and its characteristics, indicating the types of definitions employed. The analysis shows that the first multi-volume dictionary in Bulgarian lexicography offers a correct grammatical description and an accurate interpretation of the semantics of the nouns under consideration.

Проф. д.ф.н. Марияна Цибранска-Костова празнува юбилей

Author(s): Kalina Micheva-Peycheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2023

Felületes magyarosodás? A hitszónoklat nyelve a régi magyar statisztikában

Author(s): Dániel Bolgár / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2023

Hungarian censuses started surveying linguistic competences in 1880. Data showed that the rate of Hungarian-speakers had been increasing among the population. This process was by far the fastest in the Jewish community. The official and proper interpretation of the linguistic data before World War I was that the country is becoming more Hungarian, with special emphasis on the success story of the acculturation of the Jewish population. However, there were some who believed that the assimilation of the Jews was a failure: they perceived it to be facitious and superficial. After World War I, this interpretation became part of the mainstream. However, this narrative of failed assimilation was not supported by any substantial empirical data, except the accounts regarding the language of sermons, published by the Central Statistical Office between 1897 and 1912. These statistics revealed that the language of Christian churches is changing at a glacial pace, while that of the synagogues is becoming Hungarian really fast. However, the director of the Central Statistical Office, József Jekelfalussy, followed by many of his contemporaries, interpreted the data to mean the exact opposite. Jekelfalussy compared the data on sermons with the census statistics about native languages, to verify that the censuses could be believed, and the country was indeed becoming more Hungarian. Therefore he noticed that rate of Hungarian sermons in synagogues was much smaller than the percentage of Jews who declared their native language to be Hungarian. Jekelfalussy concluded that Jews lied en masse about their mother tongues, and their linguistic assimilation had been superficial. The study argues that Jekefalussy’s interpretation was based on a severe methodical error, and therefore false, but this was not identified by his contemporaries.

Српска хемијска терминологија у делу „Historiae Natvralis” Андреаса Волног (1805)

Author(s): Ksenija Radoja / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 54/2023

The paper examines the chemistry terminology used in the Serbian language, more precisely the names of chemical elements and compounds used in the 1805 book by Andreas Wolny titled Historiae naturalis elementa. The paper gives an overview of the terminology in the glossary form as well as the analysis of collected material and provides basic information on the life and work of the author. The goal of the research is to compare the terminology system in the field of chemistry from the pre-standard period to the standard language. Special emphasis will be placed on determining the reasons for the disappearance of some words and preserving of others.

Математичка терминологија у Алгебри Атанасија Николића (1839)

Author(s): Vesna Stojković / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 54/2023

This paper analyzes the mathematical terminology from the mathematical Algebra manual by Atanasijе‚ Nikolic from 1839. In addition to the basic data related to the concept of terminology and the development of the given scientific fields, the paper also contains data on the author and the language in which the text was written. The excerpted material refers to the mathematical terms and it is presented in the form of a dictionary, with notes on lexicographic processing. The analysis conducted in the paper refers to the origin and structure of words. The noted terminological system was compared with the terminological system of the modern Serbian language in the field of mathematics, in order to determine the reasons for the preservation and / or loss of certain terms.

ENGLISH IN ROMANIA

Author(s): Irina-Ana Drobot / Language(s): English Issue: 35/2023

The impact of English in Romania can be seen function of historical ages, which lead to various developments in research, in the academic domains, as well as in the introduction in the Romanian language of Anglicism and even the introduction of Romanian words in the English language. Borrowings from the English language show the strong impact this language had over our own, together with its culture. Anglistics has developed various fields in literature and linguistics, lexicography and phonetics, right from its beginnings. Philological and non-philological departments of English in various universities do their best to keep up with the trends requiring Romanians to know English.

Kolektivna agentivnost i toposi u funkciji gradnje rimskog nacionalnog i nadnacionalnog identiteta u historiografskom narativu V. Paterkula

Author(s): Seada Brkan / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 7/2023

Language, as the linguistic manifestation of extralinguistic experiences, often functions as a means for the creation and expression of societal inequality. In addition to the fact that the participants of social reality are almost never socially equal, which means that someone has power over others, the linguistic reflection of those relationships always derives from the author, who has the power to control the context; his practical instrumentation comes from his own lexical and grammatical choices, as well as their conscious and targeted combination. In this paper, the focus is on noticing and distinguishing, and analyzing and interpreting the choices of V. Paterculus as an author within the framework of collective agency and the topoi with which the Roman national identity is first built, and then positioned as superior to the identities of the peoples with whom the Romans came into contact. While for authors from the 1st century A.D. the language strategies touched on in this paper were not available, since they were neither described nor defined before the 20th century, ancient writers used them completely unconsciously in their spontaneous writing; therefore, these texts, as well as modern ones, are subject to linguistic analysis, interpretation and criticism precisely according to the guidelines of modern language criteria. In this paper one of the possible methods of analysis of the construction of the national and supranational identity of a nation in the historiographical discourse will be offered; the analysis will be based on discursive strategies and macro-strategies offered by the discursive-historical approach and based on empirical data gathered in tabular reviews. An indispensable part of the analysis will be the analyst’s criticism, which derives from democratic norms, human rights and the criteria of rational argumentation from today’s temporal, cultural and political context, because the purpose of critical discourse studies is to expose and point out how domination, i.e., the abuse of social power and inequality, are realized and reproduced in text and speech, but also on how to oppose them in a social and political context (van Dijk 2001, 352).

За звездата Цигръ в астрономическия комплекс от текстове и изображения от ръкопис BAR 219, XVI в.

Author(s): Mariyana Tsibranska-Kostova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

The article discusses the text pertaining to the mysterious star Цигръ (Venus) and its image found in the 16th-century Moldavian collection BAR 219. The aim is to provide a summary of the data and an analysis of a piece of evidence from another geographical area written in Middle Bulgarian orthography, rather than solve the problems surrounding the name’s etymology and the sources used in the Slavic collection. This analysis is conducted against the backdrop of an abundance of texts and legends about this star in the Russian written tradition and popular culture. The paper illustrates the process of enriching prognostic literature during the post-Byzantine period from the 15th century onwards. It highlights the various foreign influences on ancient Near Eastern and Byzantine motifs in astronomical knowledge during the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Times and discusses the role of monastic communities in their dissemination.

Чужди думи в езика на средновековни апокрифни молитви

Author(s): Kalina Micheva-Peycheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

The article analyses foreign words found in apocryphal prayers from the 15th to the 17th century, with particular attention to two groups of loanwords: names of snakes and names of objects. The loanwords, calques and untranslated transliterated lexemes of Greek origin used in the prayers against snakes are associated with the magical power of words in the Bulgarian tradition. In other prayers, names of utilitarian means to help the suffering are found. The words under consideration have been preserved in the Bulgarian language, demonstrating its connections with Greek and Western European languages during the Middle Ages.

Лексеми, назоваващи и съпътстващи магическите практики, в Женския сборник на Йосиф Брадати

Author(s): Tatyana Braga / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

The so-called Women’s Collection occupies a special place within the vast literary legacy of Yosif Bradati (Joseph the Bearded). Its content was intended for a secular, predominantly female audience. The codex contains valuable vocabulary describing popular superstitions and occult practices and mentions names for people who practised such activities and the role of women in them. An appendix containing a typeset fragment of this work and its translation into contemporary Bulgarian has been included in the article to make it accessible to a wider range of researchers.

Владко Мурдаров. Любомир Милетич и Македонският научен институт. Културно-исторически очерк

Author(s): Lilyana Vasileva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

This review presents the book Ljubomir Miletić and the Macedonian Scientific Institute. A Cultural and Historical Study by Prof. Vladko Murdarov. The study focuses on the contributions of Ljubomir Miletić to the establishment of the Macedonian Scientific Institute in Sofia in 1923 and its extensive activities. In addition, the book highlights the role of Acad. Ljubomir Miletić as a linguist and Slavist for the study of the Bulgarian dialects and the history of the Bulgarian language, as well as his organisational, publishing and popularisation work.