Avatud küsimused suulises argivestluses

Author(s): Andra Rumm / Language(s): Estonian / Issue: 11/2016

The purpose of the article is to research the social actions of wh-questions in Estonian everyday conversations and find out whether there is a connection between the form of the question and the social action. Wh-questions are formed with question words (mis ‘what’, kuidas ‘how’, kes ‘who’ etc.) and the question does not contain an answer. The material consists of 271 extracts collected from the Corpus of Spoken Estonian of the University of Tartu. The extracts were analysed using the methodology of conversation analysis. There were four social actions performed by the wh-questions analysed: Request for information (144), Rhetorical question (65), Repair (55), and Outloud (5). Hence, not all of the wh-questions are related to the prototypical role of seeking information. Moreover, a wh-question can perform more than one action at the same time. For example, it can function as a Request for information and simultaneously convey a statement. What is more, social actions have central performers among form variants. Requests for information and Rhetorical questions are typically formed as sentences and Repairs as phrases. As Repairs are closely linked to prior talk they can be formed by minimal linguistic units. However, a preferred type of Repair (viz. other-initiated self-repair) is formed as a phrase, whereas a dispreferred type – self-initiated other-repair – is formed as a sentence. While Requests for information use a different range of q-words, Rhetorical questions are formed mainly by the q-words mis ‘what’, or miks ‘why’; and Repairs by the q-words mis ‘what’, kus ‘where’, or the particle ah ‘huh’.

Awareness of second language inflectional morphology: A case study on Finnish as a second language

Author(s): Minna Suni / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2007

The Finnish language has a very extensive inflectional morphology, whereas Vietnamese, as an isolating language, has no inflection at all. Therefore, the major challenge encountered by Vietnamese immigrants learning Finnish is to develop awareness of the existence, function and use of inflection. This paper examines how this process manifests itself in native-non-native speaker (NS-NNS) conversations during the initial stages of second language acquisition. All the negotiation sequences including overt signals of problems in understanding were subjected to a closer analysis, and the linguistic modifications performed to solve the problems were analysed on the level of both interaction and grammar. In this paper, the focus is on the observable signs of gradually growing morphological awareness, and especially the receptive segmenting skills of the learners.

AZ INFORMÁCIÓTECHNOLÓGIAI (SZAK)NYELV MAGYARíTÁSÁNAK FŐBB KÉRDÉSEI ÉS EREDMÉNYEI1

Author(s): Mária Pásztor-Kicsi / Language(s): Hungarian / Issue: 1/2017

The jargon of Information Technology (IT) is a language variety belonging to the category of registers which mostly embraces terminology, i. e. vocabulary on the course of using computers in various fields. During its barely half-a-century long history, IT and communication technology have seen such a dynamic development and have entwined in every sphere of social and private life that it can rightfully be called information revolution, i.e. global information society, which generated out of this revolution. Since social and political changes and radically restructuring notion systems inevitably affect the language as well, this paper attempts to give a brief insight into the phases and dilemmas of the process along which the originally English IT jargon rooted itself in the Hungarian language in its present form and state. Additionally, it gives a picture of what language, type and structure are the words and expressions that characterize this state.

Between CIFU XII and CIFU XIII

Author(s): Tiina Klooster,Gerson Klumpp / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2017

Between CIFU XII and CIFU XIII

Bibliography of professor Gyula Káldy-Nagy

Author(s): Nándor Erik Kovács / Language(s): English / Issue: 1-2/2008

Bibliography of professor Gyula Káldy-Nagy

Book Review

Author(s): Noémi Fazakas / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2014

Review of: Miklós Kontra (ed.) "A magyar nyelv Ausztriában és Szlovéniában [The Hungarian language in Austria and Slovenia]."; Budapest–Alsóőr–Lendva: Gondolat Kiadó–Imre Samu Nyelvi Intézet–Magyar Nemzetiségi Művelődési Intézet, 2012. pp 352. by: Noémi Fazakas

Book Review

Author(s): Louise Mycock / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2013

Review of: Tibor Laczkó and Catherine O. Ringen (eds.) “Approaches to Hungarian, Volume 12: Papers from the 2009 Debrecen Conference.”; Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2011. pp x + 242. by: Louise Mycock

Book Reviews

Author(s): István Vásáry,Klára Agyagási / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2013

Review of: 1. András Róna-Tas and Árpád Berta “West Old Turkic: Turkic loanwords in Hungarian (Turcologica 84).”; 2 volumes. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 2011. pp 1494. by: Klára Agyagási 2. Sándor Klára “Nyelvrokonság és hunhagyomány. Rénszarvas vagy csodaszarvas? Nyelvtörténet és művelődéstörténet [Linguistic affinity and the Hun tradition. Reindeer or miracle stag? Historical linguistics and cultural history].”; Budapest: TypoTEX, 2011. pp 468. by: István Vásáry

BULGARİSTAN’DA TÜRKOLOJİNİN GELİŞMESİNE HİZMETİ GEÇEN TÜRK DÜNYASI AYDINLARI

Author(s): Hayriye Süleymanoglu Yenisoy / Language(s): Turkish / Issue: 14/2012

Turkology studies in Bulgaria in scientific context have started in the first years of the last century. In 1906 beginning with the establishment of a course of Turkish language at History-Philology Faculty of The Sofia University certain steps have been made towards scientific research. With time, the published works of turkologists from countries like Russia, Poland and Hungary have contributed to the field. After The World War II a Soviet model was buildt in Bulgaria leading to substantial changes in all fields. In the context of Y. V. Stalin’s National Question Theory certain rights were given to national minorities. Having the largest population after Bulgarians, Turkish minority was provided with opportunities for development in educational, science and cultural fields. In 1952 with the establishment of Turkish Philology at Philology Faculty of The Sofia University (afterwards renamed to Turkology) as an independent department, Turkology studies were placed on a scientific basis. Leaded by Azerbajdzanian turkologists, reputed intellectuals from Turkic World have contributed essentially to the raising of specialist among the Turks in the field of Turkology. Courses were given in The Turkology Department, young students were educated in Baku, exchange visits were made between students of Department of Kazakh Language and Literature of Alma-Ata University and Sofia University Turkology Department, research personnel were trained in Baku and Alma-Ata. However, all relationships with the Turkic Republics of the former Soviet Union ended after the assimilatory ethnic oppression on Bulgarian Turks.

C1-tasemega eesti keele õppijate ja emakeelekõnelejate kirjaliku keelekasutuse võrdlus verbialguliste tetragrammide näitel

Author(s): Kais Allkivi / Language(s): Estonian / Issue: 26/2016

This paper comparatively describes verb-initial morphosyntactic patterns in the written language use of C1 level learners of Estonian, i.e. proficient L2 users, and educated native speakers. For this purpose, verb-initial four grams were investigated. A further aim of the study is to help provide research-based linguistic content to define language acquisition levels.The research material consists of L1 and L2 argumentative writings: – essays written by L2 learners of Estonian, which have been evaluated o represent the proficient user level C1 were taken from the inter language corpus of the Tallinn University (75,320 tokens, 8364 four grams);– L1 reference corpus was compiled from opinion articles published in the two leading newspapers in Estonia during December 1–31 in 2014 and written by highly educated non-linguists, considered the benchmark for both L1 and L2 learners (107,590 tokens, 11,437 four grams).Cluster analysis was applied to bring forth identical linear sub sequences of morphological and syntactic tags based on frequency. These sequences were grouped into more general patterns of language use. Four grams where the word classes of the components coincide (e.g. VPSS, representing verb-pronoun-substantive-substantive) constitute bundles, referred to as clusters. 'e highest level in the hierarchy has been presented on the basis of the word class of the first and last component of four grams. These groups of four grams (e.g. V–S, representing verb–substantive) are referred to as morphological classes. 'us, clusters are distinguished by the variation of the middle components of four grams. The analysis revealed mostly statistically relevant differences in the frequencies of classes and clusters of four grams. E.g. the adjective-final class V–A is more common in L1 use, while the pronoun-final class V–P is more common in L2 use. Furthermore, the preferred clusters mostly do not overlap, e.g. the preferred cluster in class V–A is VSSA (verb-substantive-substantive-adjective) in L1 and VVDA (verb-verb-adverb-adjective) in L2. The morphological, syntactic and lexical comparison of the preferred clusters of L1 and L2 within the same class (e.g. VSSS favored by L1 users and VPSS favored by L2 users in class V–S) brought out several interesting tendencies: 1) negative verb forms are used more frequently in L2 than in L1; 2) analytic tense forms (Present and Past Progressive) are less common to L2 language use; 3) there is a tendency of the subject to precede the verb more commonly in L2 than in L1, therefore, subjects are rarer in L2 verb-initial structures; 4) the object, however, follows the verb more commonly in L2 than in L1; 5) in L2 there is a wider use of predicative that occur together with the existential verb to be;7) lesser use of infinitive verb forms in L2 shows in the compared clusters;8) the use of modal verbs is relatively similar in the two groups;9) a greater lexical diversity shows in L1, especially in substantives, as well as in adjectives and verbs, whereas there is no difference in the lexical diversity of adverbs, conjunctions, and pronouns.

Changes in argument structure in the course of derivation in Hungarian

Author(s): Gábor Alberti / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2006

For all types of derivation characterised as productive by Kiefer (2000), the original version of Model Tau (Alberti 1997), dealing only with verbal derivation coming with no category change, can be extended to the entire spectrum of derivations; moreover, it can be extended in a straightforward way: the single novel factor is the central case frame peculiar to particular word categories. For instance, if the predicator is a noun, what corresponds to the case frame More...

Clustering Lexical Variation of Finnic Languages Based on Atlas Linguarum Fenni­carum

Author(s): Terhi Honkola,Jenni Santaharju,Kaj Syrjänen,Karl Pajusalu / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2019

The article focuses on lexical relations of the Finnic languages. Here we studied whether lexical data is suitable for detecting the coarse-grained and fine-grained substructure within the Finnic group. We evaluated this by clustering old lexical variation from a dialectal dataset covering the whole Finnic speaker area (Atlas Linguarum Fennicarum; ALFE) using quantitative methods adopted from population genetics, and by comparing our results to groups suggested by earlier linguistic literature. We found the main lexical division between north-eastern and south-western Finnic. According to our lexical analysis, the Finnic languages are Finnish, North Estonian, South Estonian, Livonian, Karelian, Veps, and Votic-Ingrian. These groups matched well with the earlier suggested divisions, and we concluded that lexical data could be utilised more often in defining linguistic sub-structures, especially in linguistic situations that involve dialect continua.

Code-switching in emergent grammars

Verb marking in bilingual children’s speech

Author(s): Virve-Anneli Vihman / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2016

This paper examines the code-switching of verbs in the speech of two children bilingual in Estonian and English (aged 3 to 7). Verbs typically have lower rates of code-switching than nouns, due to their central role in argument structure, lower semantic specificity, and greater morphological complexity. The data examined here show various types of morphological mixing, and include examples which violate the prediction from the literature that only finite verbs bear inflectional morphology from the other language, suggesting that children do not adhere to the same constraints as adults when code-switching.

Cohesion and News Translation - An Exploratory Study of Shifts of Cohesion in the Hungarian–English Translation of News Stories

Author(s): Krisztina Károly,Szilvia Kovalik Deák,Andrea Éva Mészáros,Henrietta Ábrányi,Ágnes Laszkács,Márta Seresi / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2013

This study explores the (re)creation of cohesion in the English translations of Hungarian news stories. It reveals the quantity and quality of shifts of cohesion and the extent to which these are influenced by the differences between the languages, the stereotypical features of the kind of translation (news translation) and the genre (news story). Results indicate no significant quantitative shifts in translation; the in-depth analysis of the corpus, on the other hand, shows considerable qualitative shifts, some of which (optional shifts in particular) modify news contents. The paper also investigates the validity of the explicitation and the repetition avoidance hypotheses regarded as universals of translation.

Comments on Proto-Uralic Etymology: Derivations and Lexemes

Author(s): Patrick O’Rourke / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2016

This article consists of two sections: in the first section, I provide additional evidence of the proposition made in Luobbal Sámmol Sámmol Ánte (Aikio) 2012 that derivational suffixes prevented the secondary lengthening of low vowels in Proto-Finnic when preceded by a single voiced consonant in an e-stem word. I will argue for this restriction by discussing the etymology of Estonian mäletama ’to ­remember’. In the second section, I suggest a new interpretation for the etymologies of Proto-Finnic *nälvä ’slobber’ and Proto-Uralic *tulka ’wing, feather’ as well as new etymologies for Finnish muikea ’sour’, muju ’smile’, muikku ’vendace (Coregonus albula)’ and muisku ’kiss’ deriving from Proto-Uralic *muja ’to become happy; happiness, smile’.

Comments on Uralic Historical Phonology

Author(s): László Honti / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2013

In this paper, the author poses three questions of historical phonology and gives explanations that are meant to be rational: 1. With respect to the Hungarian reflexes of Proto-Uralic/Proto-Finno-Ugric/Proto-Ugric word initial *p, *t, and *k, two reasons are suggested for the dual reflexes *p > H f ∼ b and *t > H t ∼ d: (a) the word internal (primary or secondary) voiced consonant triggered the assimilation (that is, voicing) of the initial consonant; (b) subsequently, due to an effort to eliminate homonymy, the closest congener of the initial consonant (that is, its voiced counterpart) replaced the original voiceless stop. It is also discussed why *k does not similarly have dual reflexes (k ∼ g) in Hungarian. 2. Concerning the phonological reality of Proto-Uralic/Proto-Finno-Ugric/Proto-Ugric *δ and *D, as well as the potential etymological correspondence of s-initial Finnic words with t-initial words of the other Uralic languages, it is proposed that *2 and *´2 should be assumed rather than *δ and *D, and the correspondence “Finnic s- ∼ other Uralic t-” is explained by positing a PU/PFU *ϑ. 3. Reflexes in present-day Uralic languages of the PU/PFU word internal clusters “*l/*ľ /*r/*j/*δ (= *2)/*D (= *´2) + (some vowel +) *m” are explained by the palatalisation and subsequent semivocalisation of the first consonant; the resulting semivowel either remained as it was, or underwent partial assimilation to the other consonant, or it was dropped: “C > Ć > j > 0/ /ń”.

Compiling the Dictionary of Word Associations in Estonian: From scratch to the database

Author(s): Ene Vainik / Language(s): English / Issue: 14/2018

The present paper describes the project titled “The Dictionary of Word Associations in Estonian” undertaken by the author at the Institute of the Estonian Language. The general aim of the Dictionary is to provide insights into Estonians’ common-sense mind. It is meant to be a tool of self-reflection for Estonian native speakers and a guide for the foreigners who are eager enough to make themselves familiar with the Estonian cultural patterns of thought. The Dictionary will be published online. The number of keywords was initially limited to approximately 800. Specific emphasis is given to the stage of data collection by implementing the principles of citizen science.

Compositional analysis of interrogative imperatives in Hungarian

Author(s): Judit Kleiber,Gábor Alberti / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2017

The paper investigates utterances which combine imperative and interrogative elements in Hungarian. We intend to explore the scope of the hypothesis that the pragmatico-semantic content of mixed-type sentences can be obtained compositionally. We present four types of interrogative imperative. The imperative factor is indicated by subjunctive morphology on the verb. The interrogative character is represented by (1) rise-fall intonation which marks polar questions, (2) the discourse marker ugye expressing bias, (3) the particle vajon expressing self reflection or hesitation, and (4) wavy intonation which indicates surprise. We claim that such sentences are primarily questions with their main function being ‘request for instruction’. For the analysis, we take a formal pragmatico-semantic point of view. Our goal is to demonstrate how these sentences can be analyzed compositionally within a belief–desire–intention frame. We apply the formal dynamic discourse- and mind representation theory ℜeALIS. We have found that the pragmatico-semantic content (intensional profile) of each type can be constructed via using two formal operations: concatenation and pragmasemantic blending. The composition produces the required output, namely that the interrogation / bias / speculation / surprise which pertains to an eventuality in the case of a simple question, pertains to the “commanding” of this eventuality in the case of interrogative imperatives.

Correlative topicalization

Author(s): Anikó Lipták / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2012

This article takes a close look at correlatives in Hungarian and shows that they occupy a particular space in the typology of correlatives: Hungarian correlativization is solely used as a left-peripheral discourse strategy, which will be evidenced by the fact that correlatives display properties of topics, both when it comes to syntax and discourse. Concerning their discourse interpretation it will be argued that correlatives in Hungarian are aboutness topics, and take part in a discourse structure akin to simplifying left dislocation. Concerning their syntax, unlike Hindi correlatives in the analysis of Bhatt (2003), correlatives in Hungarian are not merged to their demonstrative associate in a local manner; nevertheless, their relationship to their associate is subject to locality considerations. Hungarian correlatives are merged at the edge of the CP that contains the base-generated DP and may undergo topic movement to the left, into higher clauses. The demonstrative associate on the other hand minimally raises to the left periphery of its CP, and alternatively into higher clauses, via topicalization or focusing. This means that Hungarian correlativization involves two mobile elements: both the correlative clause and the demonstrative are able to undergo movement.

Corrigendum

Author(s): Galina Punegova,Rimma Popova / Language(s): Russian / Issue: 3/2017

Corrigendum