Evolving Nature of the English Language by Veacesav Filimon

Evolving Nature of the English Language This volume presents a collection of interdisciplinary papers pertaining to the most thought-provoking problems in the areas of both theoretical and applied linguistics. The contributors focus on contemporary developments in morphological, semantic and pragmatic theorizing. The contributions are also devoted to various aspects of the methodology of teaching English as well as some intricacies of translation.

ISBN 978-3-631-67625-7

The Editors Robert Kiełtyka is Associate Professor at the Institute of English Studies, University of Rzeszów (Poland). His main research interests include diachronic semantics, cognitive linguistics and morphology-semantics interface. Agnieszka Uberman is Associate Professor at the Institute of English Studies, University of Rzeszów (Poland). Her main research interests include applied linguistics, cognitive linguistics and figurative language use.

Robert Kiełtyka / Agnieszka Uberman (eds.)

Evolving Nature of the English Language

Studie s in Linguistics, Anglophone Liter atures and Cultures 4

Studies in Linguistics, Anglophone Liter atures and Cultures 4

Robert Kiełtyka / Agnieszka Uberman (eds.)

Evolving Nature of the English Language Studies in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics

Robert Kiełtykaâ•›/â•›Agnieszka Uberman (eds.)

Evolving Nature of the English Language

Studie s in Linguistics, Anglophone Liter atures and Cultures 4

Studies in Linguistics, Anglophone Liter atures and Cultures 4

Robert Kiełtykaâ•›/â•›Agnieszka Uberman (eds.)

Evolving Nature of the English Language Studies in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics

Evolving Nature of the English Language

STUDIES IN LINGUISTICS, ANGLOPHONE LITERATURES AND CULTURES Edited by Robert Kiełtyka and Agnieszka Uberman Advisory Board: Piotr P. Chruszczewski (Wrocław, Poland) Grzegorz A. Kleparski (Rzeszów, Poland) Zoltán Kövecses (Budapest, Hungary) Anna Malicka-Kleparska (Lublin, Poland) Sándor Martsa (Pécs, Hungary) Tadeusz Rachwał (Warsaw, Poland) Elżbieta Rokosz-Piejko (Rzeszów, Poland) Slávka Tomascíková (Košice, Slovakia)

VOLUME 4

Notes on the quality assurance and peer review of this publication Prior to publication, the quality of the work published in this series is reviewed by the editors and members of Advisory Board of the series.

Robert KieĹ&#x201A;tyka / Agnieszka Uberman (eds.)

Evolving Nature of the English Language Studies in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics

Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

This publication was financially supported by the University of Rzeszów. Cover Illustration courtesy of Benjamin Ben Chaim. Reviewed by Teodor Hrehovčík and Anna Malicka-Kleparska

ISSN 2364-7558 ISBN 978-3-631-67625-7 (Print) E-ISBN 978-3-653-06993-8 (E-PDF) E-ISBN 978-3-631-70407-3 (EPUB) E-ISBN 978-3-631-70408-0 (MOBI) DOI 10.3726/978-3-653-06993-8 © Peter Lang GmbH Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Frankfurt am Main 2017 All rights reserved. Peter Lang Edition is an Imprint of Peter Lang GmbH. Peter Lang – Frankfurt am Main ∙ Bern ∙ Bruxelles ∙ New York ∙ Oxford ∙ Warszawa ∙ Wien All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems. This publication has been peer reviewed. www.peterlang.com

Table of Contents Introduction ��7 Contributors ��13 Part I: Studies in Theoretical Linguistics Ada Böhmerová Latinisms in Substandard Language ��19 Piotr Cymbalista From Man to Machine: In Search of Regularity in Semasiological Development of Professional/Occupational Names ��33 Yuliya Davydyuk Conceptual Blending in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova”: Identity, Integration, Imagination ��43 Guntars Dreijers London’s Linguistic Capital in Urban Visual Signs ��55 Robert Kiełtyka Verbal Zoosemy Revisited ��67 Grzegorz A. Kleparski The Semantics of Dog Revisited: In Search of Phraseologically Embedded Spectral Zoometaphors ��81 Marcin Kudła On Dagos, Limeys and Yankees: Semantic Evolution of Attributive Ethnonyms ��93 Przemysław Łozowski Tracing Common-Denominator Semantics: In-Between Substantiated and Spectral Senses.......................................................................... 107 Adam Pluszczyk, Artur Świątek The Analysis of Selected Swearwords: Their Meaning, Use and Functions in Various Contexts �� 117

Table of Contents

Agnieszka Uberman The Colour of Endurance: Figurative Semantics of Green �� 133 Edyta Więcławska Quantification and Traceability of Prepositional Meanings in English Legal Texts �� 145 Anastasiia Yeromina Abstract Nouns with Evaluative Meaning: Semantics and Structure �� 161 Part II: Studies in Applied Linguistics Vita Balama Translation Quality Assessment: Cultural and Linguistic Background �� 173 Łukasz Barciński Plaisir-asation in the Polish Translation of Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon �� 189 Magdaléna Bilá, Alena Kačmárová, Ingrida Vaňková What is Behind the Compiling of a Dictionary for a Bilingual User? �� 201 Anna Kiszczak Students’ Self-Generated Questions in Reciprocal Reading Tasks in L1/L2 Settings �� 211 Robert Oliwa Instructional Designing and Modelling in Virtual Foreign Language Learning ��221 Michał Organ The Marginalisation of Vulgar Language in Audio-Visual Translation �� 237 Karolina Puchała-Ladzińska When Languages Interfere Too Much: On Interference and Negative Transfer in Translation �� 253 Barbara Struk, Halina Chodkiewicz Development of Early Literacy Skills in EFL: Problems and Solutions �� 263

Introduction The monographic study Evolving Nature of the English Language: Studies in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics presents a collection of insightful papers pertaining to the most thought-provoking problems in the areas of both theoretical and applied linguistics. The current volume comprises twenty chapters, organized into two parts. Part I, “Studies in Theoretical Linguistics”, consists of twelve chapters devoted primarily to contemporary developments in morphological, semantic and pragmatic theorizing. The opening chapter, written by Ada Böhmerová, touches upon the problem of Latinisms in substandard Slovak. The author expresses the view that countless Latinisms have found their way into Slovak lexis, while many others are constantly being added to it as Neo-Classicisms. They are also shared with other languages as internationalisms. Among other things, the results of the research show that the presence, distribution, semantic content and communicative and pragmatic status of Latinisms in the lexical systems of Slovak and English are marked by various and complex differences. The next chapter, written by Piotr Cymbalista, is devoted to a discussion of the semantic development of occupational names in English. The author would appear to reach the conclusion that terms denoting jobs, professions and occupations are a very potent source of the conceptualizations responsible for one clearly discernible pattern of semasiological development, namely that of the WORKER à MACHINE/IMPLEMENT. The analysed pattern of metaphorical lexical sense development may be explained through the influence of extralinguistic context on meaning conceptualization. In turn, Yuliya Davydyuk carries out an analysis of the mechanism of Conceptual Blending in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin And Lapinova”. The author discusses the identity of the main characters with their alter egos, integration of all the events of the story and all the possible states and conditions of the main characters. The analysis also considers the role of imagination in creating the images of the protagonists which allows the reader to identify and integrate with the mental lives of the main characters. The problems arising during the discussion of London’s linguistic capital in urban visual signs are portrayed by Guntars Dreijers. In the author’s view, texts in London’s visual signs appear in different formats, and they usually perform informative and vocative functions which elicit answers to questions of what the city talks about and how it creates urban narratives. The next chapter, authored by Robert Kiełtyka, sheds some light on the complexity of the mechanism of zoosemy

Introduction

in relation to its extension into the category VERB. It is devoted to the discussion of the mechanics of metaphor-metonymy interaction couched in terms of the theory of conceptual metaphor and metonymy where animal-related verbs are used with reference to human beings or those qualities and actions that are related to human beings. In turn, Grzegorz A. Kleparski, in his cognitively-oriented text, pursues the problem of phraseologically embedded spectral zoometaphors. Having considered a number of historically substantiated senses of dog in the context of the phraseologically embedded spectral senses singled out in the chapter, the author comes to the conclusion that they have much in common, and – not infrequently – the senses overlap, which may explain the historical centrality of certain senses and the marginal nature of others. Marcin Kudła, in another study couched in cognitive terminology and devoted to the analysis of the semantic evolution of attributive ethnonyms argues, among other things, that stereotypes are shared within a culture, but at the same time they operate simultaneously on the cognitive level, since they are products of the mind. In the author’s view, a linguistic analysis may bring us closer to identifying the most salient elements of particular stereotypes and – possibly – to uncovering the general mechanisms which determine the formation, use and evolution of stereotypes. The chapter authored by Przemysław Łozowski discusses some aspects of the so-called common-denominator kind of lexical semantics by making an attempt to uncover Kleparski’s (this volume) proposal of incorporating spectral senses in the study of zoometaphor. The author argues that despite a few problem questions addressed in his study, Kleparski’s proposal is no doubt intriguing and it may well prove to be “a new type of analysis”. Adam Pluszczyk and Artur Świątek offer an analysis of selected swearwords identified in English and American corpora with reference to their alleged (in) appropriateness. The authors make an attempt to determine the functions and communication goals of swearwords by addressing the problem of motivation and functions of offensive language. In turn, the chapter authored by Agnieszka Uberman is devoted to a discussion of figurative semantics of green. The analysis of lexicographic sources targeted shows that the sickness-related aspect of the colour term is peripheral, while the environmentally-related issues are largely highlighted and come to the foreground. Green is most obviously positively valued for freshness, revival and the embodiment of nature-loving attitude, as well as for the peace and serenity it evokes. The penultimate chapter in the theoretical linguistics section is written by Edyta Więcławska who approaches quantification and traceability of prepositional meanings in English legal texts. The author makes an attempt to present the results

Introduction

of a pilot case study conducted within the framework of a larger project devoted to the examination of legal terminology in order to develop an interdisciplinary, cross-linguistically universal model of its description. The last chapter in this section, authored by Anastasiia Yeromina, is a study into the semantics and structure of abstract nouns with evaluative meaning. The research is aimed at identifying and describing semantic characteristics of the abstract evaluative nouns in the English language, as well as creating and outlining the mechanisms and patterns of the formation of abstract evaluative nouns. Part II entitled “Studies in Applied Linguistics” is a collection of eight chapters devoted to various aspects of the methodology of teaching English as well as the various intricacies of translation. This part opens with a chapter by Vita Balama devoted to the cultural and linguistic background of translation quality assessment. The text deals with linguistic and cultural limitations which affect the translation quality of the literary work. It discusses the role of the translator in meeting the demands for qualitative translation that can satisfy the target reader. The empirical part portrays some examples from John Grisham’s novel “The Pelican Brief ” and their translation into Latvian and Russian. The analysed examples point to some linguistic differences between the compared and contrasted languages which adversely affect the translation process. The next contribution, authored by Łukasz Barciński, is a study into the Polish translation of Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. The analysis carried out in the chapter shows that most of the analysed items are not recreated in the target text, which might seriously impoverish the multifaceted message of Pynchon’s works, depriving the target text readers of the access to pivotal aspects of his fiction such as Puritan intertextuality, cinematic imagery, linguistic ambiguities or narrative idiosyncrasies, to mention just a few. The research also reveals a general tendency in the translation of Gravity’s Rainbow into Polish, which might be called the plaisir-asation of the source text, to paraphrase Barthes’s term, i.e. the transformation of a readerly text into a writerly one, making it excessively intelligible and devoid of the original defamiliarisation and sense productive potential by rationalisation, conventionalisation and servile conformance to target language rules. In the next chapter, Magdaléna Bilá, Alena Kačmárová and Ingrida Vaňková focus on the intricacies of compiling of a dictionary for a bilingual user. The aim of the research is to design a bilingual dictionary entry structure. In the authors’ conviction, since in both targeted languages conceptualization is of vital importance, a combination of techniques adopted in both bilingual and monolingual dictionaries should be brought to light. In order to test the feasibility and appropriateness of their approach, the authors conducted a survey, proposed the

Introduction

structure of the dictionary entry and made an attempt to verify their proposal by examining relevant fields and notions. The problem of students’ self-generated questions in reciprocal reading tasks in L1/L2 settings is brought under scrutiny by Anna Kiszczak. The findings presented in this chapter suggest that reciprocal teaching can yield a positive influence on EFL students’ reading comprehension skills and metacognitive awareness. The author believes that the approach can be beneficial for reading to learn and building disciplinary knowledge for both good and poor learners. These results support Palinscar and Brown’s (1984) remark that the final goal for students taking part in reciprocal teaching instruction is not the acquisition of the four strategies but being tutored how to read for meaning and how to control the level of text comprehension. Robert Oliwa makes an attempt to provide an insight into the design and modelling of language learning and to propose a virtual model of foreign language instruction. In the author’s view, the classroom setting has acquired a completely new dimension of virtuality, mobility and shareability as a result of which instructional design is moving away from process-centeredness and creating an environment which is learner-centred. The model proposed may close the digital divide and help teachers extend the teaching process beyond the physical classroom boundaries. It also offers a discussion of the Information Technology setting, the so-called key IT considerations, which may be crucial for the implementation of the proposed model. In turn, Michał Organ’s chapter is devoted to the problem of the marginalisation of vulgar language in audio-visual translation. The author expresses the viewpoint that vulgarisms, as inherent elements of language, are becoming more and more popular in audio-visual productions, however, their translation is frequently highly marginalised, which may, in turn, significantly devalue their humorous nature. The research shows that their rendition is commonly restricted by omissions, reductions and the use of euphemisms which can both negatively affect the humorous nature of adult animated sitcoms and limit certain linguistic and cultural elements contained within the dialogue. Consequently, the viewers of translated versions of these sitcoms seem to be in a somewhat inferior position when compared to those who may enjoy viewing them in the original form. In another translation-based chapter, Karolina Puchała-Ladzińska focuses on interference and negative transfer in students’ translation. The examples analysed by the author show not only the interference of the source language, but also the students’ insufficient knowledge of the structures, idiomatic expressions and collocations typical of their native language. A number of conclusions and implications for the teachers of translation emerge directly from the conducted research. Among these one may highlight the role of dictionaries and online resources in

Introduction

translation classes or the necessity to develop the students’ skills and knowledge of their native language in the form of a comprehensive course in Polish stylistics. The implementation of at least some of the suggested solutions might result in the future omission of errors originating due to negative transfer, and ultimately improve the competence of trainee translators. The last chapter in this section, authored by Barbara Struk and Halina Chod kiewicz brings under scrutiny the development of early literacy skills in EFL. The discussion (undertaken in the paper) clearly implies that it is classroom teachers at EFL primary level who are in need of up-to-date research-based knowledge of the complexity of the reading acquisition processes. Their knowledge and professionalism are indispensable for taking adequate decisions in both planned and unplanned situations when learners arrive at some difficulties and need appropriate scaffolding in order to move forward. The teachers’ role in identifying basic problems in early literacy in English as a foreign language and providing efficient instructional procedures can be possible only when they become aware of such vital issues as: phonological processing in reading, L1/L2 cross-linguistic interactions and word recognition strategies. As editors of the volume, we nurture the hope that this publication will be of interest to specialists pursuing the intricacies of both theoretical and applied linguistics. We believe that the prospective readers shall enjoy thus presented fruit of the academic research carried out by researchers of various institutions. Last but not least, we wish to express our gratitude to Prof. Sylweter Czopek, Rector of the University of Rzeszów and to Prof. Zenon Ożóg, Dean of the Philological Faculty, for their benevolence and significant financial support. Robert Kiełtyka Agnieszka Uberman

Contributors Vita Balama Ventspils University College, Ventspils, Latvia vitab@venta.lv Łukasz Barciński University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland lukaszbarcinski@o2.pl Magdaléna Bilá University of Prešov, Prešov, Slovakia magduska_bila@yahoo.com Ada Böhmerová Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia bohmerovaada@yahoo.com Halina Chodkiewicz State Higher School, Biała Podlaska, Poland h.chodkiewicz@dydaktyka.pswbp.pl Piotr Cymbalista University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland cymbalis@ur.edu.pl Yuliya Davydyuk Khmelnytsky National University, Cherkassy, Ukraine canada82@mail.ru Guntars Dreijers Ventspils University College, Ventspils, Latvia guntarsd@venta.lv Alena Kačmárová University of Prešov, Prešov, Slovakia alena.kacmarova@unipo.sk

Contributors

Robert Kiełtyka University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland bobkieltyka@wp.pl Anna Kiszczak Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland kiszczak.anna@gmail.com Grzegorz A. Kleparski University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland gak@ur.edu.pl Marcin Kudła University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland mq2@tlen.pl Przemysław Łozowski Kazimierz Pulaski University of Technology and Humanities, Radom, Poland przemek.lozowski@gmail.com Robert Oliwa Bronislaw Markiewicz State Higher School of Technology and Economics in Jarosław, Jarosław, Poland robert.oliwa@gmail.com Michał Organ University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland michal.organ@gmail.com Adam Pluszczyk University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland aderle@o2.pl Karolina Puchała-Ladzińska University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland karolinapuchala1@gmail.com Barbara Struk State Higher School, Biała Podlaska, Poland b.struk@dydaktyka.pswbp.pl

Contributors

Artur Świątek The Pedagogical University of Cracow, Cracow, Poland artursw@interia.pl Agnieszka Uberman University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland ag.uberman@wp.pl Ingrida Vaňková University of Prešov, Prešov, Slovakia vankova@ismpo.sk Edyta Więcławska University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland edytawieclawska@poczta.fm Anastasiia Yeromina Mariupol State University, Mariupol, Ukraine dalia3@mail.ru

Part I: Studies in Theoretical Linguistics

Ada Bรถhmerovรก

Latinisms in Substandard Language Abstract: The paper1 investigates the systemic functions and communicative presence of Latinisms in substandard Slovak, which is an area that so far has not been the focus of linguistic investigation. The aim of the research, on the one hand, is to identify Latinisms which have been preserved only in substandard layers of Slovak, highlighting the related specific historical, socio-cultural and communicative circumstances of their presence, and, on the other hand, the linguistic situation is contrasted with English, where considerable differences resulting from the different linguo-cultural development have been found. While the focus is on the investigation of synchronic data from lexicographical sources, comparing the presence and evaluation of the Latinisms contained in them, the research essentially involves diachronic investigation from available etymological sources, and their mutual and contrastive analysis and discussion. Keywords: Latinisms, substandard Slovak, linguo-cultural development, diachronic research, comparison with English

Preliminaries Latin, beyond any doubt, has left a deep, wide and permanent trace in the languages of Europe. As the language of the Romans, who subdued and for several centuries ruled most of Europe within the powerful Roman Empire, it influenced the languages it came into contact with not only during the existence of the Empire, but also in the context of the heritage of Roman civilization. Moreover, thanks to its multiple communicative functions as a lingua franca, it has continuously exerted its international lexical impact. However, the circumstances of the contacts and their results are varied. While Romance languages actually developed directly from Latin as their cradle, and languages like English during their history became highly Romanized, both as a result of the influence of Latin itself and later above all also through the intensive impact of Norman and Parisian French, Latinisms came into other European languages as lexical phenomena that are either not directly genetically related, or else at best only traceable through the Common Indo-European heritage. 1 This paper is based on research carried out within the scope of the VEGA Grant Project No 1/0675/13 Linguocultural Determination of the Lexis in the Anglophone and the Slovak Contexts administered by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic.

Ada Bรถhmerovรก

This is the case with Slovak as a Slavic language. Hence, it is not surprising that countless Latinisms have also found their way into the Slovak lexis, while many others are continually being added to it as Neo-Classicisms and are shared with other languages as internationalisms, recently often formed in English or mediated by it. In spite of the existence of shared Latinisms, many others have had different chances and lexical fates within the differing domains of the receiving languages, including Slovak. Highlighting these cross-linguistic differences is a challenge and could contribute to better understanding and interpreting the historical and socio-cultural contexts of Latinisms in languages.

Aims In connection with the specific functions of L2 within the history of the Slovaks, which in certain ways were much different from those in some other ethnic communities, the primary focus of our research is to identify and investigate the Latinisms occurring in substandard layers of contemporary Sk lexis. Based on the special historical, socio-cultural and communicative circumstances, we analyse the Latinisms which, after penetrating into some areas of the lexis, have been preserved up to the present only in substandard lexis, in spite of the parallel existence of their Standard equivalents, whether Latinate or not. We follow their current communicative status, as well as the thematic areas in which they belong by their semantic content. In our lexicographical investigation we study their inclusion in the representative Sk dictionaries and the accompanying information on their genetic provenance, semantic content and communicative and pragmatic status. The findings are compared to the lexical situation existing in the corresponding equivalents in E and to their systemic status. The research forms part of a wider contrastive investigation of Latinisms in E and in Sk3.

Theoretical considerations and methodology It is generally acknowledged that borrowing constitutes a language-adherent extension and enrichment of the lexis. Its investigation indispensably involves diachronic research, i.e. contrastive historical lexicology and semantics, enabling the revealing of the processes of lexical changes within the etymology of the word 2 Latin; here and in the following text, references to languages are abbreviated to their initial letter(s). 3 Early Latinisms are dealt with in the paper Lexical, Semantic and Lexicographical Aspects of Early Latinisms in English As Contrasted to Slovak (Bรถhmerovรก 2016).

Latinisms in Substandard Language

going back to the source of the borrowing or, if possible, to its original form and meaning. To various degrees, our research involved internal reconstruction and contrastive studies, combining synchrony and diachrony to account for the results of historical developments of the lexis. Panchronic research has been found to be of relevance. As stated by Grygiel (2005, 98), “since language constitutes a spatiotemporal continuum, the only way to describe it is to recognise panchrony as its most objective level of representation” (cf. also Böhmerová 2016). According to Filipović, the studies of lexical borrowings represent a gratifying area of synchronic lexicology and offer the investigation of standard, codified, as well as substandard and dialectal lexical units of national languages (1986). Furdík stipulates that for studying lexical borrowings, which constitute the most prominent and the most direct manifestations of linguistic contacts, the methodological needs involve a variety of approaches, including the etymological, historical, geographical, structural, contrastive, sociolinguistic, etc. (1994, 95). For analysing the reasons and the processes of borrowing lexical units, we also apply the theory of borrowing as outlined by Durkin (2009, 2014). For the purposes of this research we define Latinisms broadly as lexical units borrowed from L directly or through another language, regardless of whether their ultimate origin is in L or they go back to common IE origin. The collection of data for our research involved several problems and, as a result, necessitated a combination of several approaches. Due to a lack of lexicographical (and/or electronic) sources of Latinisms in Sk with comprehensive and unanimous genetic and communicative labelling, most of the compilation of the data could only be done by an empirical lexical search, by incorporating some of the data presented in the existing research on Latinisms in Sk (cf. chap. 4), and by introspection supported by professional familiarity with Latinisms in E, utilizing the detailed and extensive lexicographical etymological information available about borrowings into E. Hence, in this respect, cross-linguistic methodology has also been found to be efficient. Though we had at our disposal a potentially helpful list of borrowings recently generated by the Linguistic Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences from representative Sk dictionaries (cf. chap. 4), this could actually only replicate the lexicographical situation. For checking dialectal lexis, a useful source was Múcsková’s Praktická dialektológia (2012) where several Latinisms are identified. Of course, etymological data are of primary importance for research of this type. Without the availability of the Slovak etymological dictionary (by Králik, submitted for print), in searching for etymological data, similarly to our research into Lexical, Semantic and Lexicographical Aspects of Early Latinisms in English as Contrasted to Slovak (2016), we have resorted to the genetic labels as given in

Ada Böhmerová

representative Slovak dictionaries and to Rejzek’s Český etymologický slovník (CzED 2001). For checking hypothesized Latinisms cross-linguistically, most useful were found English etymological sources, above all OED and Harper’s etymonline. (For sources see the Bibliography.)

Socio-historical circumstances of Latinisms in Slovak and their status Similarly to other languages, the borrowing of Latinisms into Sk took place throughout its development. It is generally claimed that Latinisms represent the largest number of borrowings in Sk. They are part of the core of the lexis and of the general lexis, while others have specific functions within varied domains, typically in terminological and/or formal registers and religious, legal and administrative contexts4. However, as also demonstrated in our research, they occur and function in substandard Sk as well. The first scholar to investigate L borrowings into Sk was Škultéty (1902) who briefly dealt with them within the presence of foreign words in Sk. According to Habovštiaková (1966), as well as Skladaná (1986), the earliest layer of borrowings from and through L were from religious terminology. They go as far back as to the time when Cyril and Methodius Christened the Great Moravian Empire. These include words like e.g. anjel, diabol, apoštol, advent, many of which also have their counterparts in E. Though several works have dealt with some aspects of Latinisms in Sk (e.g. Habovštiaková 1966, Habovštiak 1983, Skladaná 1986, 2011), there is still a lack of wide-range in-depth research into them. Moreover, with data concerning the provenance of entries in the existing dictionaries varying, absent, or problematic, and with the thus-far unavailable Sk etymological dictionary, research into Latinisms in Sk is rather problematic. Still, systemic investigation of this extensive and important layer of the Sk lexical system is a linguistic and cultural imperative.

4 With regard to courts, Habovštiaková (1966) states that L was the language of documentation and official records, hence a hierarchically higher ranking language, while Sk was the language of the witnesses. It was characteristic of many Sk documents, educational literature or correspondence written at the time of the Hungarian Monarchy that they contained quotational borrowings, terminology, dates, place names, statements about sums of money, etc. in L. (cf. also Kajanová, 3).

Latinisms in Substandard Language

With regard to loanwords in Sk, an interesting project is in progress5. It is based on the electronic version of Krátky slovník slovenského jazyka (KSSJ – 2003) containing about 60 000 entries and representing the extended core of the Sk language. Entries labelled as foreign have been extracted from it, the list amounting to 13 557 monolexical items, which would correspond with about 22.6 % of borrowings in the given source of Sk. Though in many ways a very useful database, it cannot but bear all the existing limitations and possible deficiencies in the thus-far existing sources identifying borrowings, including Latinisms. Recently, a valuable contribution to the investigation of Latinisms in Sk has been made by Skladaná (2011) who in a monograph on early borrowings into Sk authored a chapter comprising a dictionary of early Latinisms. Her material is based on the volumes of Historický slovník slovenského jazyka (A-G 2006, H-M 2011) published so far and gives lexical data found in preserved documents from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Though it is the most extensive list of Latinisms, with more than 3000 entries, as most of them are terms, historisms or archaisms, many no longer used, and none labelled as substandard, the source could not be used for our purposes. Within the socio-historical circumstances of the status of Latinisms in Sk, one specific trait was that they penetrated not only into the general lexis, but that they also found their place and have been preserved in dialects (cf. Habovštiak 1983: 7). An explanation is provided by Habovštiaková (1966). She observes that after the period of its nearly exclusive dominance in the educated Christian world of the Early Middle Ages, L gradually started to withdraw from its positions and the local languages started to gain ground. However, in contrast to other European countries, in the multi-national feudal Hungarian state, of which Slovakia was a part, L preserved its privileged position longer than elsewhere, functioning as a supranational, neutral language of cultural communication – a lingua franca. The preservation of L in dialects testifies to the fact that also ordinary people borrowed and used numerous L expressions (within their dialectal modifications). As she points out later, not only the passive command of L, but also practical bilingualism (or even polylingualism) exerted their influence upon the Sk language. According to Tóth (1996), documents testify that up to the 19th century even ordinary shepherds and carters had a command of L, though, on the contrary, the nobility sometimes made very elementary mistakes when using it. As a possible reason we could adduce that while the nobility mostly communicated in Hung as the official language, whether

5 The database has been created by Vladimír Benko from the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

Ada Böhmerová

native to them or only because they became Hungarianized, or else they spoke Gm, the common people in contacts with speakers of other languages used L as a lingua franca. In the context of the historical and cultural importance of L for the Slovaks, of considerable importance is the L-Sk dictionary compiled and in 1763 completed by the Camaldolese monk Romuald Hadvábny. L is also present in the multilingual dictionary by Bernolák (1825), the first codifier of the Sk language.

Lexical and lexicographical data The data have been selected and studied with regard to three communicative and pragmatic areas, namely colloquial expressive Latinisms, some of them obsolescent, obsolete or expressive, then dialectal Latinisms, and finally recent Latinisms in slang. However, as most of them are communicatively polyfunctional, and, moreover, their lexicographical labelling in the sources often differs, we have decided to present them jointly. Wherever possible and relevant, we supplemented the lack of Sk etymological data by information from Rejzek’s CzED. Hence, within the contrastive linguistic perspective of two closely genetically related languages we also give the Cz form and the etymological data which indicate analogies or language-specific differences. The absence of a Cz cognate in the box can hypothetically be interpreted as either its non-existence in Cz or only its non-inclusion in the dictionary. Based on selecting and studying colloquial Latinisms found in Sk, in the following Table we present some of them to document and subsequently analyse the complexity of their formal and communicative features and thus-far existing lexicographical specifications and relatedness to the situation in English. The Sk Latinism is given in boldface, under it the standard Sk equivalent, then the form of the direct or indirect source of L borrowing, and the E translation equivalent of the Sk Latinism. These are followed by the statements given for the Sk Latinism in representative Sk lexicographical sources, i.e. the source language and/or the language of origin of the borrowing and its communicative/pragmatic label. From the Table it is evident that these accompanying data in the Sk dictionaries differ in numerous instances.

Latinisms in Substandard Language Table 1: Substandard Latinisms in Slovak. Sk

E. transl. of Sk

SSSJ 2006, 2011

SCS 2005

Cz 2001

Cz 2001 Etym.

apatieka “lekáreň”

apothēka

“pharmacy”

Gk coll. obsol.

Gk obsol.

apatyka

L < Gk obsol.

árešt “väzenie”

VL *arrest(āre)

“prison”

L obsol.

arest

Gm < MidL obsol. CCz

hárešt “väzenie”

VL *arrest(āre)

“prison”

L coll. obsol. expr.

---

cmiter “cintorín”

coemētērium “cemetery”

L < Gk

---

família “rodina”

familia

L coll.

famílie

L usually expr. CCz

fiškál 1. “štátny zástupca” 2. “bystrý a prefíkaný človek” 3. “právnik”

fiscalis

L 1. coll.

L 1. hist.

---

fiškus 1. “štátny zástupca” 2. “prefíkanec”

fiscus

---

fiškus

LL < physicus expr.

habit 1. “mníšske rúcho” 2. “obradný odev” 3. “odev; vzhľad”

habitus

L 1. ---

1. hábit

L 1. ---

2. “chasuble”

2. liter.

2. ---

2. expr.

3. “dress; looks”

3. expr.

3. hábit

3. expr.

“family”

1. “legal representative” 2. “sly person, smart alec” 3. “lawyer”

1. “legal representative” 2. “sly person, smart alec” 1. “canonicals”

2. coll. expr. 2. --3. coll. expr. 3. coll. expr. L 1. hist. 2. coll. expr. L expr.

háby pl. (sg. háb) habitus “šaty, šatstvo”

“dress, arch. habit”

Turk < Ar

---

helement čert, ďas

elementum

“devil, heck”

L coll. expr. in phras.

---

kantor 1. “organista v kostole” 2. “učiteľ” 3. “cirkevný spevák”

cantor

L 1. hist.

L 1. ---

kantor

L 1. hist.

2. coll. 3. ---

2. hist. 3. ---

1. “church organist” 2. “teacher” 3. “precentor”

2. coll. 3. ---

26 Sk

Ada Böhmerová L

koštovať 1. “ochutnávať” 1. gustāre 2. “stáť (o cene)” 2. constāre

SCS 2005

Cz 2001

1. “to taste sth.” 1. Gm coll. 2. “to cost” 2. Gm< F obsol.

1. Gm coll. 2. Gm<L coll.

1. koštovat 1. Gm; 2. --L-related obsol. CCz

E. transl. of Sk

SSSJ 2006, 2011

Cz 2001 Etym.

kreatúra “tvor, bytosť; Indivíduum”

creāre

“creature; weird L usually or monstrous pejor. being”

L pejor.

kreatura

L pejor.

kurírovať “liečiť”

curāre

“cure, treat”

Gm < L

Gm < L coll.

kurýrovat

Gm < L CCz

mentie(l)ka “kabátec”

mantellum

“cloak, mantle”

obsol.

Hung.

---

probovať “skúšať”

probāre

“to try”

---

Gm coll.

---

regula “pravidlo, predpis”

rēgula

“rule”

---

L obsol.

---

1. coll.

repete

L coll. ---

L coll.

špiritus

Gm < L

repetēre repete 1. “ešte raz, opakovať” 2. “opakovaná dávka (jedla)”

1. “again, encore!” 2. “another (food) serving”

---

2. coll.

špiritus “alkohol”

spiritus

“spirits, alcohol”

špitál “nemocnica”

hospitāle

“hospital”

---

Gm < L coll. or hist.

špitál

L coll.

vakácie prázdniny

vacātiōn(em) “holiday, vacation”

---

L obsol.

---

L 1. agric. 2. ---

---

humus humus 1. “humus” 2. “niečo odporné”

L 1. “humus” 1. agric. 2. “sth disgust 2. slg. pejor. ing”

kandel “smrad, puch

“stink, stench”

candēla

---

Notes: 1. With most entries only their basic meaning/lexia is given. 2. --- No data in the source 3. CCz – Common Czech6

6 In Cz “obecná čeština”.

Latinisms in Substandard Language

Analysis and discussion of data The selected 23 Sk substandard Latinisms are from several thematic and semantic areas, with differing communicative and varied pragmatic features and differing lexicographical representation in our sources. With regard to the thematic and semantic areas, the selected Latinisms include: substantives denoting institutions and locations, i.e. apatieka7, árešt, hárešt, cmiter and špitál8, denoting people or living beings, i.e. família, fiškál, fiškus, kantor and kreatúra, things, i.e. habit, háby, mentielka, špiritus and humus, abstract notions, i.e. helement, regula, vakácie and kandel, and verbs as references to processes, i.e. koštovať, kurírovať and probovať. Repete can be classified as denoting a thing, an abstract notion or as being an adverb. As a result of differing assimilation, several Sk substandard Latinisms have variant forms. This is the case with árešt vs. hárešt which have the same semantic content, and fiškál and fiškus, where fiškál has a wider semantic range, also meaning “lawyer”. In dialects probovať can also have the variant probuvať. In the investigated Sk dictionaries some of the words were not marked as Latinisms, and so we had to find a way of identifying their provenance. This was the case with e.g. apatieka, háby, mentielka, repete, and probovať, which were only marked by the label Gm, moreover, without any specification whether Gm is the source of borrowing or the language of origin. We identified apatieka and háby9 as Latinisms with the help of the etymology given for the formally and semantically corresponding E and Cz words, and mentielka and kandel with the help of our familiarity with the etymology of the corresponding English words. For the first meaning of koštovať “to taste sth” Gm was given in both Sk dictionaries. Though Rejzek also gives Gm, he adds that the word is L-related. That leads to the connection with L gustare. This also seems to be supported by the presence of the semantically related Sk coll. and phras. gusto “taste” and the derived words as degustovať “to taste wine” or the coll. zgustnúť si “enjoy (heartily) (food, event, etc.)”. Indirectly, this etymological and semantic relationship can also be backed

7 Apatieka is one of the Latinisms that has etymological counterparts in repeated borrowings into Sk, i.e. putyka and butik, as pointed out by Múcsková (2010, 445). 8 Due to space constraints, for English equivalents please see the data in the Table. 9 However, for háby further investigation seems to be necessary with regard to the statement in SSSJ that it is < Turk < Ar. Its presentation in the upcoming Slovak Etymological Dictionary will also be of interest.

Ada Böhmerová

up by the now arch. E gust and its meanings related to “taste”10. While for koštovať in the meaning “to cost” SCS appropriately gives the sources < Gm < L, SSSJ erroneously has F involved, i.e. < Gm < F. However, the form coster only existed in OF at a time when Sk was not borrowing from F. Later the F form developed into coȗter, with regard to which the presence of the consonant “s” could not be accounted for in Sk. This suggests that the word has to be traced back to L, though, similarly to numerous other Latinisms in Sk, it could have been mediated by Gm. As to mentielka, while SSSJ does not state that it is of foreign origin, SCS labels it as coming from Hung, which, based on our present knowledge, seems to be highly improbable and is a challenge for further research. Even if Hung could be found to have somehow participated in its development, the etymological relatedness of Sk mentielka to L mantellum, which in F resulted in manteau “coat”, seems to be a fully valid claim. When comparing the Sk lexicographical sources with Rejzek, for Cz in several cases more detailed information is given about the languages involved in borrowing, cf. Cz apatyka, arrest or špiritus. However, a very interesting case of misinterpretation also found its way into the Cz data, namely in the case of fiškus. Evidently, when looking only at the words existing in Cz, the etymologist was unable to find any motivational connections of the word with other items in the lexical system of Cz, and so happened to resort to the formally similar but actually semantically and etymologically unrelated L physicus, adding the purely speculative comment that words starting with fi- tend to denote slyness. Had the author happened to be familiar with the Sk equivalent and checked its relatedness to fiškál, then its motivation as well as etymology would have become evident and the interpretation correct. It can be added that neither could Rejzek’s hypothetical argumentation with the supposed segment fi- be applied to Sk fifík which, is actually, a reduplicative modification of fiškál or fiškus. With regard to the polysemy of some Sk Latinisms listed, we originally wanted to include only their substandard lexias. However, we eventually decided to also include the other lexias with the purpose of providing a more complex picture of the given Sk lexical units and of the communicative and pragmatic features of their particular meanings. This enabled us to present in more detail also their counterparts or translation equivalents in E and the existence of parallel Latinisms in Cz. As to the range of substandard stylistic, communicative and pragmatic features of the Sk data, in the dictionaries they ranged from (neutral) colloquial to

10 The word is homonymous with gust “sudden blast of wind or burst or gush of water” which, however, etymologically goes back to Old Norse.

Latinisms in Substandard Language

otherwise unspecified expressive ones through pejorative to obsolete. However, their range is actually much wider and more subtle. They can be marked as dialectal, e.g. probuvať, or perceived as distorted, e.g. hárešt, helement, hence as being rather uncultured and lacking sophistication, or as pejorative and (mildly) offensive, e.g. kreatúra. Also, they can be jocular, aimed at evoking amusement, e.g. fiškus, kurírovať, or ironical, with the aim of ridiculing, e.g. família. Their usage also depends on idiolect, communicative intention and situation, or, though not specifically dialectal, some of them tend to occur more commonly in particular dialects, etc. Hence, more often than not, as typical also for many other linguistic phenomena, there is no strict dividing line between the above features, but it is rather a cline, or else potential polyfunctionality, e.g. família can also be neutral colloquial or jocular. Our selected set of Latinisms is primarily or prevailingly marked as being colloquial, though involving potential communicative differences. Of special interest are the last two Latinisms in the Table, namely humus as a neosemanticism and kandel. They have recently appeared in slang as jocular, pejorative and mildly vulgar words. They demonstrate that Latinisms arise not only in terminology and technical and formal lexis, but are also resorted to in forming colloquial substandard neologisms, the above two actually qualifying as buzz words above all among students and young people. From the contrastive Sk – E point of view, out of the 23 Sk colloquial Latinisms as many as 19, i.e. 82.6 %, had L counterparts in E, too, though some only in one of their lexias, e.g. koštovať and to cost. Nevertheless, out of these, 5 Sk Latinisms were different L borrowings from those in E, i.e. apatieka vs pharmacy, árešt and hárešt vs. prison, repete vs (another) serving, and humus vs. sth disgusting. Synonymous and parallel Latinisms in both languages occurred in the case of Sk špiritus and alkohol vs E spirits and alcohol. In most of our data, substandard Latinisms in Sk seem to be closer to E than much of the standard non-terminological lexis. In this respect, the cross-linguistic situation of Sk Latinisms is analogous to the situation in terminological Latinisms. Concerning the main aim of our research, i.e. colloquial Latinisms in Sk in a contrastive perspective, the research has led to two principal findings. The first one is that none of the Sk colloquial Latinisms has been found to be paralleled by other than standard E Latinisms. This undoubtedly can be considered to be a linguistic argument in support of the claim of the importance, intensity and the long-time presence of Latinisms in the communication of the common people in Slovakia, where, in contrast to the situation in England and certain other countries, not only did Latinisms find their way specifically into the substandard layers of the lexis, but also many have survived to the present only in substandard language. The

Ada Böhmerová

second contrastive finding concerns Cz, as in Rejzek no Cz Latinism was given for 11 Sk colloquial Latinisms. However, the validity of this merely relative observation would necessitate investigating the lexical situation also in more extensive Cz dictionaries, which was not our aim in this research.

Concluding notes The list of Sk substandard Latinisms which formed the material basis of our research cannot, by a long way, aspire to be exhaustive or to cover all the types of substandard Latinisms in Sk. Also, we had to abstract from a number of related questions, including more complex itineraries of borrowings, repeated and multiple borrowings, hypothetical etymologies, faux amis, etc. Nevertheless, we believe that our analysis and discussion could provide insights into the survey of the existing situation in this area of Latinisms in Sk in comparison with E, and partly also Cz, and be a contribution to and inspiration for further research. The results of the research show that the presence, distribution, semantic content and communicative and pragmatic status of Latinisms in the lexical systems of Sk and E are marked by numerous and complex differences. They testify to the need of further cross-linguistic research on Latinisms for linguistic, lexicographical and pedagogical purposes. As our findings have been formulated and summarized in chap. 6, we only add here what we believe can be some of the possible challenges for further investigation of Latinisms. These include the need for extensive and reliable etymological dictionaries wherever they do not yet exist, based on which Latinisms could be analyzed in individual (non-Romance) languages, and within this interlinguistic mapping their systemic and pragmatic saturation, correspondences and differences could be established.

References Dictionaries Bernolák, Anton. 1825. Slowár Slowenskí Češko-Laťinsko-Ňemecko-Uherskí (manu script). Buzássyová, Klára, Jarošová, Alexandra, editors. 2006 A–G, 2011 H–L. Slovník súčasného slovenského jazyka (SSSJ). Bratislava: Veda. Hadbavný, Romuald. 1763. Latinsko-slovenský slovník. Syllabus dictionarij latinoslavonicus (manuscript). Harper, Douglas. An Online Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. [www.etymonline.com].

Latinisms in Substandard Language

Kačala, Ján, Pisárčiková, Mária, Považaj, Matej, editors. 2003. Krátky slovník sloven ského jazyka. Bratislava: Veda (KSSJ). Králik, Ľubor. Stručný etymologický slovník slovenčiny (Concise Etymological Dictionary of Slovak. Bratislava: Vega (submitted for print). Onions, C. T., editor. 1966. The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Oxford: OUP. Oxford English Dictionary (OED). [http://www.oxforddictionaries.com]. Petráčková, Věra, Kraus, Jiří, editors. 2005. Slovník cudzích slov (akademický). Bratislava: SPN – Mladé letá (SCS). Rejzek, Jiří. 2001. Český etymologický slovník. Voznice: LEDA. Slovenský národný korpus. [http://korpus.savba.sk].

Other sources Böhmerová, Ada. 2016. “Lexical, Semantic and Lexicographical Aspects of Early Latinisms in English as Contrasted to Slovak.” In Text – Sentence – Word. Studies in English Linguistics. Vol. II, edited by Agnieszka Uberman and Teodor Hrehovčík, 35–51. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego. Dolník, Juraj, Benkovičová, Jana, Jarošová, Alexandra. 1993. Porovnávací opis lexikálnej zásoby. Bratislava: Veda. Durkin, Philip. 2009. The Oxford Guide to Etymology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Durkin, Philip. 2014. Borrowed Words. A History of Loanwords in English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Fisiak, Jacek, ed. 1981. Theoretical Issues in Contrastive Linguistics. Current Issues in Linguistic Theory. Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Furdík, Juraj. 1994. “Integračné procesy pri lexikálnych prevzatiach.” Jazykovedný časopis 45, 2:95–102. Grygiel, Marcin. 2005. “Non-linearity and Panchronic Dimension of Semantic Changes Affecting the OE Synonyms of MAN.” In Anglica 14: 127–132, edited by A. Waseliński and Jerzy Wełna. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo UW. Habovštiak, Anton. 1983. “Slová latinského pôvodu v slovenských nárečiach”. In Jazykovedné štúdie. 18. Z dejín slovenského jazyka. Red. Š. Peciar. Bratislava: Veda, 79–93. Habovštiaková, Katarína. 1966. “K otázke lexikálneho pôsobenia latinčiny na slovenský jazyk v 16.–18. stor.”. In Jazykovedné štúdie. 9. Dejiny a dialektológia. Red. E. Pauliny. Bratislava: Vydavateľstvo SAV, 78–90.

Ada Böhmerová

Kajanová, Michaela. 2015. Príspevky k štúdiu lexikálnych prevzatí z latinčiny a gréčtiny v staršej slovenčine. Linguistic Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (27 pages, manuscript in progress). Múčková, Gabriela. 2010. “„Opakované prevzatia“ ako výsledok historických kultúrnych kontaktov”. In Slovo – Tvorba – Dynamickosť. Na počesť Kláry Buzássyovej, edited by Mária Šimková. Bratislava: Veda, 442–451. Skladaná, Jana. 2011. “Latinizmy.” In Staršia slovenská lexika v medzijazykových vzťahoch, edited by Martina Kopecká, Tatiana Laliková, Renáta Ondrejková, Jana Skladaná, and Iveta Valentobá, 71–119. Bratislava: Veda. Škultéty, Jozef. 1902. “Cudzie slová v slovenčine”. Slovenské pohľady, XXII, No 11:633–651. Tóth, György. 1996. “Latinčina ako hovorená reč v Uhorsku v 17. A 18. Storočí so zreteľom na Slovensko”. Historický časopis 44:102–113.

Piotr Cymbalista

From Man to Machine: In Search of Regularity in Semasiological Development of Professional/Occupational Names Abstract: This paper is devoted to a discussion of the semantic development of occupational names in English. The vocabulary in question is analysed from a semasiological perspective, in search for the possible regularities of semantic change. The linguistic material discussed points to the conclusion that the terms denoting jobs, professions and occupations are a very potent source of the conceptualizations responsible for one clearly discernible pattern of semasiological development, namely one which leads from the conceptual domain of WORKER to that of MACHINE/IMPLEMENT. The emergence of the analysed pattern of figurative (metaphorical) lexical sense development may be explained with the influence of extralinguistic context on meaning conceptualization. Keywords: semantic change, regularity in semantic change, semasiological development, metaphor, professions, occupations

Introduction Linguists had been attempting to identify any discernible laws or regularities in lexical semantic change even before Bréal (1883) published his famous essay1 in which he introduced the term “semantics” as the name for the otherwise longpracticed study of meaning and ventured to formulate what he called the “intellectual laws of language”. Nevertheless, what the late 19th- and early 20th-century researchers into meaning referred to as the laws governing the phenomenon of the change of lexical meaning was a far cry from the actually well-defined and dependable phonological laws formulated at much the same time. In the mid-20th century, Williams (1976) – who himself was the discoverer of a regular pattern in synaesthetic metaphor formation (ibid.) – made the following sad observation on the elusiveness of any hard and fast laws of semantic change: The century-old failure of historical linguistics to discover regularities of semantic change comparable to those in phonological change, as described by Grassmann or Grimm, has forced us to entertain as “semantic laws” proposals that express mere tendencies,

1 Subsequently translated into English, by George Wolf, as “The Intellectual Laws of Language: A Sketch in Semantics” (Bréal 1991, 137–144).

Piotr Cymbalista or are so restricted to a particular time, language, or narrow inventory, that the “law” is indistinguishable from a description of a discrete historical event (Williams 1976, 461).

Notwithstanding this scepticism – as well as the reservations expressed by Geeraerts (2010, 237), who rightly ascribes the difficulty in developing unfailing laws of semantic change to the problems with establishing any universal patterns of change of lexical semantic evolution to be found across different languages, language families or cultures – a number of convincing regularities and recurrent patterns have been identified so far. Apart from the late 19th-century developments by Bréal (1883) and his contemporaries,2 one should – at least briefly, due to the spatial limitations of this paper – refer here to the findings of Stern (1921), who discovered that Middle English adverbs expressing the sense of speed developed the senses expressive of imminence or proximity in time, Williams (1976), who found a regularity in the formation of synaesthetic metaphors (whose figurative senses refer to a sensory domain different from the original one),3 or Kleparski (1990), who found that semantic amelioration (or pejoration) must occur via the subsequent stages of first aesthetic, then behavioural and, finally, moral elevation (or degradation, respectively) of the lexical meaning concerned. Relatively recently, Traugott and Dasher (2002) have found regular patterns of semantic change (especially in grammaticalization) in the phenomena occurring at the interface of pragmatics and lexical semantics, leading via pragmatically polysemous meanings to semantically polysemous meanings (i.e. a process of “subjectification”, wherein the meaning evolves from “non-subjective”, via “subjective”, to “intersubjective”). Research has been conducted recently into specific lexical (semantic) fields, for example that of DOMESTICATED ANIMALS in English (Kiełtyka 2008), proving the existence not only of regular patterns of metaphor-based semantic evolution leading from particular sub-sections of that field to the field of HUMAN BEINGS, but also demonstrating more specific patterns of pejorative conceptualizations, as in the case of the lexical items in the field DOG, which almost unfailingly acquire the derogative figurative sense of “a worthless, despicable man” when used with respect to HUMAN BEINGS.4 An example of a metonymy-oriented approach to the regular directionalities of lexical semantic change may be the study of the conceptualization patterns responsible for the metonymic shift from the field of 2 For more, see, for example, Cymbalista and Kleparski (2013). 3 For example, when the figurative sense of sharp, as in a sharp voice (related to the sensory domain of hearing) emerges synaesthetically from the literal sense of sharp (related to the sensory domain of touch, as in a sharp blade). 4 For the cases of animal metaphor used with respect to the field HUMAN BEINGS (so-called “zoosemy”) to be found in Polish, see Kiełtyka (2014).

From Man to Machine: In Search of Regularity …

CLOTHING to the field of HUMAN BEING (Kopecka 2011), whether producing a mostly generic (or even pejorative) sense (as in the case of Eng. skirt expressing the sense of “a woman, a girl”), or a very specific one, for example related to the field of PROFESSIONS/OCCUPATIONS (as in the classic case of blue collar expressive of the sense of “a manual worker, a labourer”). Another field in which a number of frequently reoccurring tendencies in novel sense development have been determined is that of BODY PARTS (especially the HEAD), as discussed by Więcławska (2012). The above-mentioned lexical (semantic) field of PROFESSIONS/OCCUPATIONS has been also approached with respect to the patterns of metonymy-based conceptualization – but this time from an onomasiological perspective – by Cymbalista (2012), who outlines such recurrent directionalities of novel sense formation as WORKPLACE à WORKER;5 PRODUCT à WORKER;6 MATERIAL/ OBJECT OF WORK à WORKER;7 PAY à WORKER8 (as well as the CLOTHES à WORKER pattern referred to above). Yet another tendency for metonymic conceptualization may be seen in the PROPER NAME à WORKER semantic transfer,9 whereas either metonymy or metaphor (or both of them simultaneously) are rele vant to various FOOD à WORKER10 conceptualizations (Cymbalista 2009).

5 For example, watersider, meaning “a dockside worker” – which was recorded for the first time in the early 20th century (see the DAC). 6 For example, effects man may carry the sense of “a special effects specialist” in cinematic industry jargon (see the NDJ and the PWNO). 7 For example, fireman, where the sense of “a male firefighter” has emerged in the compound due to the metonymic association between MATERIAL/OBJECT OF WORK and a specific sense relevant to the field of PROFESSIONS/OCCUPATIONS. 8 For example, penny-a-liner is a pejorative term used with reference to “an inferior writer or journalist” (see the PWNO), where the derogative sense derives from the LOW PAY (penny), as well as QUANTITY (line), rather than GOOD QUALITY, brought to cognitive prominence. 9 For example, pander has become an eponymous term of reference to “a pimp, procurer”, based on the association with the activities of Pander, the character in Chaucer’s Troylus and Cryseyde, Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, etc., seen as a go-between for the lovers (see the THT). 10 For example, sandwich man conveys the professional/occupational sense of “a man wearing an advertising billboard hanging over his abdomen and back” (see the PWNO).

Piotr Cymbalista

From WORKER to MACHINE – A semasiological pattern Most certainly, lexical items in the field of PROFESSIONS/OCCUPATIONS may be scanned for the presence of certain typical paths of semantic evolution also from the semasiological point of view. Although the abundance of the extralinguistic encyclopaedic (in Langacker’s 1987 sense) facts and circumstances relevant to particular members of this lexical (semantic) field occasionally translates into a large number of conceptualizations (hence: novel lexical senses, sometimes substantially different from one another – as illustrated below), it is possible to discern one frequently recurring pattern of semantic change. Extralinguistic context allowing, this popular newly-formed lexical sense of professional/occupational names denotes a MACHINE or an IMPLEMENT (UTENSIL), whether concrete or – paradoxically – abstract. Thus, the pattern in question may be named as WORKER à MACHINE/IMPLEMENT. To illustrate this point, let us start with considering some relevant milestones of the semantic history of Eng. driver.11 The original 15th-century (late Middle English) sense of the word was closely linked to various senses of the Old English verb from which it had derived. The original O.E. meaning of drive included the following (conceptually closely related) senses: “to force people or animals to move on or away”, “to force people or animals to move on before one, or flee away from one, by blows or intimidation”, as well as “to urge on or impel with violence”.12 Since in the light of the cognitive linguistics it is extralinguistic context that influences conceptualization, it is hardly surprising that – given the extralinguistic circumstances of farming – another meaning of the verb emerged soon (c.1000, according to the OED), namely “to urge onward and direct the course of an animal drawing a vehicle or plough, or the vehicle itself ”.13 Subsequently, in line with the above-outlined logic of semantic development, the first (late M.E.) OEDconfirmed sense-thread specific to the noun is “someone who drives a vehicle or the animal that draws it”, as in the following quotations:

11 Only few points made here may be found in Cymbalista (2011), as the two discussions of driver have been conducted for different purposes and from different angles. 12 The earliest contexts of this original sense (c.900) provided by the OED include “Us drifað ða ellreordan to sæ” (“Those barbarians drive us to the sea”). 13 The illustrations of this animal/vehicle related sense (a.1250) offered by the OED include “And þe cheorl beo in fryþ […] And his plouh beo i-dryue” (“And the peasant [should] live in peace […] and drive his plough”).

From Man to Machine: In Search of Regularity …

c.1450 “All þe dryuers ware agaste þat þe sledd suld ga our faste.”14 1581 “Buffons, stage-players, and charet drivers.”

Consequently, it may be postulated that what is fundamental to the formation of further senses of driver is the extralinguistically-conditioned conceptualization of driver as a person being in control (of the activity, behaviour, etc.) of a draught animal and, hence, of an ANIMAL-DRIVEN VEHICLE. Due to the cognitively-grounded mechanism of metaphorical mapping, subsequent (sometimes surprisingly disparate) conceptualizations of driver may be claimed to depend on different elements of the conceptual base being brought to “cognitive salience” (in Geeraerts’s 2010 sense), by virtue of being metaphorically perceived as a VEHICLE (not necessarily animal-driven) controlled by someone. Thus, driver has been able to develop not only its usual present-day sense of “a driver of a car, a motor vehicle” (whether general, or professional/occupational, as in She works as a bus driver), but also its surprising mid-20th-century Am.E. slang sense of “an aircraft pilot”, or the sense of “a commander of a military submarine” (which is still current in today’s Am.E. slang). Consider the following illustrative context offered by the HDAS: 1945 “Big-Time Driver […] What a 10,000-hour pilot can tell you about the world of the air.” 1984 “You are the sub driver, James.”15

Notwithstanding the many extralinguistically-motivated conceptualizations following the line of metaphorical thinking outlined above, let us finally turn to quite a different instantiation of metaphorization here, this time not of the VEHICLE driven, but the PERSON IN CONTROL of it. In conformance to the classic CONCRETE à ABSTRACT path of figurative sense development (Lakoff and Johnson 1980), a person may lose its cognitive salience to an ENTITY (a TOOL, IMPLEMENT, UTENSIL or a MACHINE), whether concrete or abstract – as long as such an entity is metaphorically construed as a being IN CONTROL of something that requires to be operated and controlled (as if it were a VEHICLE). In consequence, driver used with reference to a tool, implement, utensil, device or a machine may have concrete referents (for example, when it conveys the senses of “a wooden-headed golf club with a full-length shaft” or “a part of the propulsion/drive system” – see the OED and the PWNO), or even abstract ones (when it refers to “a piece of software that enables a computer to control and operate a peripheral device”, as in the case of printer driver, video card driver, etc. – see the

14 “All the drivers were aghast that the sledge should go so fast”. 15 In this context, sub is a clipped form of submarine.

Piotr Cymbalista

DPCI). Needless to say, the metaphorical construal of the abstract elements of computer software known as drivers is extremely helpful (if not indispensable) in the understanding of their role and significance – which confirms what was postulated by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). The emergence of the above-specified concrete senses (as in the first two OED-recorded examples below), as well as the abstract sense (as in the third example),16 is evident from the following linguistic material: 1892 “The bat [was] a monstrous club […] wielded as one would wield a driver at golf.” 1831 “The rude wooden wheels and drivers which were long used.” 1996 “Windows 95 is equipped with drivers for almost all printers currently in use.”

More importantly, in the context of the search for semasiological development patterns which originate from the members of the lexical (semantic) field of PROFESSIONS/OCCUPATIONS, it may be observed that the above-presented directionality leading from WORKER to MACHINE/IMPLEMENT is very productive one – as long as the extralinguistic context includes such a level of scientific and technological progress which may produce an implement and then a machine or a facility that will perform the work previously done by a human WORKER. Evidence in the OED and the PWNO is abundant. For example, the 14th-century sense of dyer was “one whose occupation is to dye cloth and other materials”, whereas today it can also refer to “dyeworks”. The 15th-century sense of borer was “one who bores or pierces”; nowadays, it may also denote “gimlet, drill, drilling machine”. Loader used to refer to “one who loads (in various senses)”, “a man who stands on the top of a wagon, a haystack, etc., and arranges the hay or corn which is forked up”. In the late 19th century, it developed another professional/occupational sense of “an attendant whose business it is to load guns for a man who is shooting game”. However, in late-19th-century military terminology, loader became “a loading machines, for howitzers and other heavy artillery pieces”. However, the most popular 21st-century application of the word is with reference to “a loader-digger, a loader-excavator, a JCB”. At the end of the 14th century, the (today extinct) sense of meter was “one who measures; a measurer”, especially “one whose duty or office is to see that commodities are of the proper measure”, as in coal-meter or land-meter. The related sense which has survived until today is “an apparatus for automatically measuring and recording the volume of gas, electricity, water, etc., supplied”, as well as “a parking meter”. Some of the earliest (early 16th-century) senses of mixer were “one who mixes (in various senses), especially in various manufactures”, “a workman who performs the operation of mixing”, whereas the sense of “a machine or mechanical 16 Extracted from the OED Online database.

From Man to Machine: In Search of Regularity …

contrivance for mixing”, as well as “a domestic electrical appliance for mixing food, ingredients for cookery, etc.” appeared in the late 19th century. The 17th-century professional/occupational sense of pacer was “one who trains a horse to pace, a trainer”, but in the latter half of the 20th century it became used, in the cardiological professionalese, with reference to “a pace-maker, the device for automatic regulation of the heart rate”. The O.E. sense of sower was, understandably, “one who sows seed”, rather than “a machine or apparatus for sowing seed, a sowing-machine” (which development occurred in the early 18th century). The late 18th-century professional/occupational sense of tuner – i.e. “one who tunes a musical instrument”, “one whose occupation is to tune pianos or organs” – is still extant today, but it is hardly common knowledge that at the end of the 19th century the word could also denote “an adjustable flap or opening in a flue-pipe of an organ, by means of which it was tuned”. Nevertheless, its present-day sense relevant to the field MACHINE/IMPLEMENT (which goes back to the early 20th century) is that of “any device for varying the frequency to which a radio, television, etc., is tuned”, in particular “a separate unit for detecting and preamplifying the programme signal and supplying it to an audio amplifier”. The mid-16th-century sense of wiper (that is “a person who wipes”, especially “a workman employed in wiping something clean or dry in various industries”) gave way to “a wiping-rod, wiping-stick, a rod fitted with a piece of cloth or tow for cleaning out the bore of a gun” (in the early 18th century), and then was actually supplanted by the sense of “a windscreen wiper” (in the early 20th century). Obviously enough, this selective list is by no means exhaustive.

Conclusions The analysis of numerous items in the lexical (semantic) field of PROFESSIONS/ OCCUPATIONS in English (only some of which – due to the spatial limitations of this paper – have been discussed in the preceding section) may be concluded by stating that the terms denoting jobs, professions and occupations are a very potent source of the conceptualizations responsible, in particular, for one clearly discernible pattern of semasiological development. The WORKER à MACHINE/ IMPLEMENT pattern of metaphorical lexical sense development found shows some onomasiological characteristics as well, as it leads towards a general – though clearly defined – conceptual domain of MACHINE/IMPLEMENT. The fact that this semantic development is definitely recurrent, although not entirely regular, may be explained with the influence of extralinguistic context on meaning conceptualization. The extralinguistic considerations which impose constraints on the productivity of the pattern in question predominantly involve

Piotr Cymbalista

the current level of actual scientific and technological progress of the language users concerned, which – obviously – can prevent from the emergence of the WORKER à MACHINE (or even WORKER à IMPLEMENT) type of novel meaning at a given stage.17 Although one cannot pinpoint the exact moment of the development of the lexico-semantic system of language at which a particular sense formation did or will occur – which (unless one refers in general terms to, say, the time of the Industrial Revolution, which spanned a period of nearly 200 years, or to what we may call Computer/Digital Revolution of today), it may be expected that once the adequate level of technological know-how is achieved, the WORKER à MACHINE/IMPLEMENT type of lexical semantic development will become applicable immediately. Last, but not least, it may be postulated that although it may be safely assumed that the above-outlined pattern of semantic development will generally apply to any language, contrastive analyses might reveal interesting details of how and when different extralinguistic contexts influence the language we use.

References Dictionaries Collin, Simon M. 1997. Dictionary of Personal Computing and the Internet. Teddington: Peter Collin Publishing Ltd. (DPCI) Funk, Charles E. 1985. Thereby Hangs a Tale. Stories of Curious Word Origins. New York, London: Harper & Row Publishers. (THT) Green, John. 1984. Newspeak. Dictionary of Jargon. London: Routlege & Keegan Paul. (NDJ) Lighter, Jonathan E. ed. 1994–97. The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang. (Vols. I and II). New York: Random House. (HDAS) Linde-Usiekniewicz, Jadwiga, ed. 2002–2004. PWN-Oxford English-Polish and Polish-English Dictionary. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN and Oxford University Press. (PWNO) Simpson, John, ed. 2002. The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (OED)

17 Some may also point to another limitation, also extralinguistic in nature, namely that – regardless of technological advancement – certain activities show a potential for becoming mechanized or automated, whereas others not necessarily.

From Man to Machine: In Search of Regularity …

Simpson, John, ed. 2016. The Oxford English Dictionary Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (OED Online) Wilkes, Gerald A. 1978. A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms. Sydney: Sydney University Press. (DAC)

Other sources Bréal, Michel. 1883. “Les lois intellectuelles du langage: Fragment de sémantique.” L’Annuaire de l’Association pour l’encouragement des etudes grecques en France 17:132–142. Bréal, Michel. 1991. The Beginning of Semantics: Essays, Lectures and Reviews. Edited and translated by George Wolf. London: Duckworth. Cymbalista, Piotr. 2009. “Do you Know what you Eat? The Phenomenon of Foodsemy.” In In Medias Res. Studia Resoviensia in Lingua et Litteris. Vol. 1/2009, edited by Grzegorz A. Kleparski, Piotr Cymbalista, Robert Kiełtyka, and Katarzyna Pytel, 9–29. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Promar International. Cymbalista, Piotr. 2011. “The Case of Driver – Metaphor or Metonymy Driven Semantic Development?” In Podkarpackie Forum Filologiczne. Kierunki Ba dawcze Filologii na Podkarpaciu, edited by Grzegorz A. Kleparski, and Robert Kiełtyka, 61–75. Jarosław: Wydawnictwo Państwowej Wyższej Szkoły Technicz no-Ekonomicznej w Jarosławiu. Cymbalista, Piotr. 2012. “Metonymy and Semantic Modification. The Phenomenon of Names of Professions and Occupations.” In Galicia Studies in Language. Historical Semantics Brought to the Fore, edited by Beata Kopecka, Marta PikorNiedziałek, and Agnieszka Uberman, 9–25. Chełm: Wydawnictwo TAWA. Cymbalista, Piotr, and Grzegorz A. Kleparski. 2013. From Michel Bréal to Dirk Geeraerts. Towards the Main Issues in Diachronic Lexical Semantics. Jarosław: Wydawnictwo Państwowej Wyższej Szkoły Techniczno-Ekonomicznej w Jarosławiu. Geeraerts, Dirk. 2010. Theories of Lexical Semantics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kiełtyka, Robert. 2008. On Zoosemy: the Study of Middle English and Early Modern English Domesticated Animals. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego. Kiełtyka, Robert. 2014. “Zoosemic shifts in Polish.” Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego. Seria Filologiczna. Glottodydaktyka 6:39–50. Kleparski, Grzegorz A. 1990. Semantic Change in English: A Study of Evaluative Developments in the Domain of HUMANS. Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL.

Piotr Cymbalista

Kopecka, Beata. 2011. Skirts, Jacks, Piece of Flesh Do Make People: Metonymic Developments to the Macrocategory HUMAN BEING. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego. Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. 1980. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. Langacker, Ronald W. 1987. Foundations of Cognitive Grammar. (Vol. 1). Theoretical Prerequisites. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Stern, Gustaf. 1921. Swift, Swiftly and their Synonyms: A Contribution to Semantic Analysis and Theory. Göteborg: Elanders Boktryckeri Aktiebolag. Traugott, Elisabeth C., and Richard B. Dasher. 2002. Regularity in Semantic Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Więcławska, Edyta. 2012. A Contrastive Semantic and Phraseological Analysis of the English Head-Related Lexical Items in Diachronic Perspective. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego. Williams, Joseph M. 1976. “Synaesthetic Adjectives: A Possible Law of Semantic Change.” Language 52/2:461–478.

Yuliya Davydyuk

Conceptual Blending in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova”: Identity, Integration, Imagination Abstract: This paper aims to represent one of the most promising theories of cognitive linguistics – conceptual integration theory, developed by Fauconnier and Turner’s (2002), to the analysis of Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova.” I apply blending model globally to this story to show how basic operations of mind – identity, integration, and imagination or in terms of what Fauconnier and Turner call “the mind’s three I’s” (Fauconnier and Turner 2002, 7) work for creating complex dynamics in the mental lives of the main characters. Building a conceptual integration network involves setting up mental spaces, selective projection to a blend and running three main operations in the blend itself: composition, completion and elaboration. I will show how these mechanisms, which play a fundamental role in conducting the blend, can be applied to Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova”. Moreover, I will attempt to combine this theory with other techniques used for analyzing literary texts mainly with Ryan’s (1991) Possible Worlds theory that explains the imaginative experience the main protagonists undergo, when they immerse themselves in the fictional worlds that can be traced in “Lappin and Lapinova”. Keywords: mental spaces, conceptual integration, blending, imagination, Possible Worlds theory Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. (Einstein, 1929).

Introduction. Linguo-stylistic aspects of “Lappin and Lapinova” Virginia Woolf ’s story “Lappin and Lapinova” is one of this author’s most interesting stories. It depicts family relationships, based on character’s mental activity, which appears to be highly creative and helps readers to get lost in the web of mental games played in the story. It could be said that “Lappin and Lapinova” has something that I call “mental magic”. This “magic” can be clearly seen in the plot of the story, in the main characters and their world, and in the completely new, parallel world—fantasy—one which can be traced throughout this story. “Mental magic” is the notion that can be also referred to as imagination or Fauconnier and Turner’s theory of conceptual integration (2002). That which the authors call

Yuliya Davydyuk

conceptual blending is “basic mental operation, highly imaginative unconscious activity involved in every aspect of human life” (Fauconnier and Turner 2002: 18). Conceptual blending is closely connected with imagination and imagination is closely connected with fantasy and imaginative worlds created by the main protagonists in “Lappin and Lapinova”. To explore these fantasy worlds I will appeal to Ryan’s (1991) possible world theory. Consequently, I will combine these two theories together and show how to investigate the literary text using revolutionary, and may be in some way unusual, means of analysing and interpreting the whole short story. The main protagonists are Ernest and Rosalind—a newly married couple who live their lives and seem to be happy. Interestingly, in the introduction paragraph, Virginia Woolf, speaking about their wedding, at once uses such contrary notions as happiness and unhappiness, which may show author’s attitude to weddings and family life in general: “crowd of complete strangers which always collects in London to enjoy other people’s happiness (underlying throughout all the quotations ours) or unhappiness” (Woolf 2015, 1). The repetition of the lexeme happy in the following paragraphs shows the importance of this feeling in family relationships for both the author and the main protagonists. It is noteworthy that on the first page of the story, Virginia Woolf explains the similarity between Ernest and Rosalind’s pet rabbit: Ernest’s nose twitched very slightly as he ate, that’s why Rosalind called him a rabbit. “It’s because you’re like a rabbit, Ernest,” she said. “Like a wild rabbit,” she added, looking at him. “A hunting rabbit, a King Rabbit” (Woolf 2015, 1). The word combinations a hunting rabbit, a wild rabbit, sound quite inappropriate, because a rabbit is a domesticated animal, rather than a wild one. Rosalind seems to understand it, that’s why she decides to call him in a French manner “Lapin”, but, due to the fact that he was English-born, quickly changes it into “Lappin”. “Good rabbit, nice rabbit,” she said, patting him, as she used to pat her tame rabbit at home. But that was absurd. He was not a tame rabbit, whatever he was. She turned it into French. “Lapin,” she called him”. But whatever he was, he was not a French rabbit. He was simply and solely English-born…. “Lappin,” she exclaimed suddenly; and gave a little cry as if she had found the very word she looked for. “Lappin, Lappin, King Lappin,” she repeated. It seemed to suit him exactly; he was not Ernest, he was King Lappin (Woolf 2015, 1–2).

The main protagonists had contrasting characteristics: “he was bold and determined; she wary and undependable. He ruled over the busy world of rabbits; her world was a desolate, mysterious place”…. he looked handsome.… he was thin and hard and serious .… and she looked shy” (Woolf 2015, 2). Although at the same

Conceptual Blending in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova” …

time they were united, because the couple had their own private world consisting of people having metaphorically images: Ernest; a rabbit king, Rosalind; a hare queen, mother-in-law; the squire and a bully, father-in-law; a poacher, Ernest’s sister; a ferret. Hence, the author is playing with these contrasts, showing opposite sides of the couples’ characters, but still emphasizing love and private world between them: “He was King Lappin; she was Queen Lapinova. They were the opposite of each other.… All the same, their territories touched” (Woolf 2015, 2). The usages of anthropomorphic metaphors to describe themselves and people who surround them offer great potential for representing an alternative world, a fantasy. On the third page of the story there is a detailed description of the goldenwedding party of the main protagonists. This excerpt plays an important role in the whole story and helps readers to imagine clearly the situation with the Rosalind’s feelings and thoughts. The narrator describes the wealthy, luxurious and very fruitful life of Rosalind’s husband’s family, the Thorburns: “Thorburns assembled in the great drawing-room with the shiny satin wallpaper and the lustrous family portraits”.… all the Thorburns assembled at Porchester Terrace to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of that union which had been so blessed — had it not produced Ernest Thorburn? and so fruitful—had it not produced nine other sons and daughters into the bargain, many themselves married and also fruitful?”. Rosalind “dreaded that party. She felt bitterly that she was an only child and an orphan at that; mere drop among all those Thorburns” (Woolf 2015, 3).

In this excerpt Rosalind shows her attitude towards that family: she did not like them much, moreover, she was afraid of such sumptuous life. The lexemes orphan and drop express the actual solitude and disparity of her life compared with the Thorburns. In fact she was an only child in the fruitful garden of son and daughters. Moreover, the richness of the Thorburns was emphasized by a description of their clothes and gold objects around them: “Holding her present in her hand she advanced toward her mother-in-law sumptuous in yellow satin; and toward her father-in-law decorated with a rich yellow carnation. All round them on tables and chairs there were golden tributes, some nestling in cotton wool; others branching resplendent—candlesticks; cigar boxes; chains; each stamped with the goldsmith’s proof that it was solid gold, hall-marked, authentic”(Woolf 2015: 3). The key words in this excerpt are gold and authentic which together with the colours of richness—yellow and gold indicate the high social level of this family. In the next paragraph of the story, the word gold(en) is used more intensively: Then they went down to dinner …. She was half hidden by the great chrysanthemums that curled their red and gold petals into large tight balls. Everything was gold. A goldedged card with gold initials intertwined recited the list of all the dishes that would be set

Yuliya Davydyuk one after another before them. She dipped her spoon in a plate of clear golden fluid. The raw white fog outside had been turned by the lamps into a golden mesh that blurred the edges of the plates and gave the pineapples a rough golden skin. Only she herself in her white wedding dress peering ahead of her with her prominent eyes seemed insoluble as an icicle (Woolf 2015, 3).

The constant repetition of gold and golden is done deliberately and produces an effect of infinite wealth, however, that could not melt the heart of the main heroine—among all that golden light and golden wealth she feels “insoluble icicle”, mainly because she was “an orphan among all those Thorburns” sitting in her white wedding dress. The last sentence of this excerpt changes the colours of the story from golden into white and, in turn, considering the above mentioned passages, changes golden wealth into white isolation; again we see the contrast that along with repetition and alliteration, helps to create a surprising deviation, or the effect of defeated expectancy which has a great impact on the reader. On the next pages of the story, the main protagonists are faced up with difficulties while living with and getting to know each other. Ernest seems to be distant from Rosalind and their role playing; it comes harder for him to understand and support their Rabbit-Royalty fantasy world. Rosalind is disappointed and tormented—she cannot even believe in her own fantasies—she doubts if her husband is really Ernest and fears, that her King rabbit is dead: “Was it possible that he was really Ernest; and that she was really married to Ernest?…. “I thought my rabbit was dead!” she whimpered” (Woolf 2015, 5). All this struggling continues till the dawn and the next day she feels as if she has lost something. She wanders around the house and even reaches the Natural Museum History where she sees a stuffed hare that makes her shiver. At last she hears a “crack of the gun…. She started as if she had been shot. It was only Ernest, turning his key in the door” (Woolf 2015, 6). Here, the author uses a very interesting sound metaphor, comparing the crack of the gun with a key and shot of the gun with Ernest’s arrival. Actually, this is preliminary culmination before the resolution, Rosalind says that Lapinova is gone and she has lost her, but still she hopes to find her; Ernest, at first, feels pity about that, but finishes the conversation by stating, that Lapinova was caught in a trap and killed. “So that was the end of that marriage”— this is the last phrase of the story which indicates not only the end of the marriage, but also the end of Ernest’s involvement in the great Rosalind’s fantasy world. Throughout this short story the word rabbit was used 22 times, but the word hare was used only 7 times. The words king and queen were used 13 and 3 times respectively. It may show that Rosalind (who most often used the words rabbit and king) is much more deeply involved in fantasy world than Ernest, and is dependent on his conduct and implication to it. Still, there are some questions the reader can

Conceptual Blending in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova” …

put before him/herself: Why is Ernest a rabbit, but Rosalind is a hare? Consequently, we have to deal with gender case A female rabbit is called doe, not a hare. Rabbits and hares are in the same family (like Ernest and Rosalind), yet they are different species. Perhaps, Virginia Woolf used the word “hare” intentionally, to show the difference between the characters—they are as though in one family, but they are varied and will never be a single entity. Such ideas, expressed in the text of the story, as “Rosalind-hare stays at home” and “Ernest-rabbit works at the office” show nonstandard and inverted conception, as hare is not a domestic animal that would stay in a cage/at home, and rabbit is not a predatory animal to go to hunt/work. The substitution of these notions is caused by the author’s desire to play again on severe contract in order to accent reader’s attention to gender problem. Woolf seems to exalt the woman, by calling her a hare rather than a rabbit. In spite of the fact the main heroine stays at home, she is still predatory. The understanding of this problem lies in the fact, that Virginia Woolf is considered to be “a feminist writer in the early twentieth century, whose feminism cannot be strictly categorized, it is unique” (Kathmann 2012, 1). It is possible to interpret Woolf ’s thoughts as ideas that are nowadays referred to as relating to the theory of sexual difference. The focus is often on how men and women are different and how this difference can accentuate both sexes’ strengths” (Kathmann 2012, 47). So, Rosalind-hare, or Lapinova, may seem ridiculous, but “within her is a wild creature longing for the forest and hunted by a patriarchal system” (Walker 2001, 157).

Conceptual integration network in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova” In Fauconnier and Turner’s book The Way We Think (2002) it is postulated that the mind’s three greatest operations, which help us in creating the meaning, are identity, integration, imagination. These operations are mysterious, powerful and are the key to everyday thoughts. Identity is defined as the recognition of sameness, equivalence; it is a spectacular product of complex, imaginative, unconscious work. Integration is a much more complicated process that is finding identities and oppositions; it goes unnoticed since it works fast in the backstage of cognition. At last, imagination seems to be the most important operation between them, because identity and integration cannot account for meaning without imagination (Fauconnier and Turner 2002, 6–7). These three operations were combined into one network represented by four-space model: generic space, input space 1, input space 2, and the blend. I will apply this model globally to Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova” to show mental characteristics of the main heroes and hidden meanings expressed by the author.

Yuliya Davydyuk

Generic and Input spaces. Generic space introduces common features of the input spaces. In this story we can build two input spaces, named after the main protagonists—Ernest and Rosalind; each of the spaces has such elements as role, state, goal, means, and result. Fauconnier and Turner point out that conceptual integration network can have more than two input spaces; such networks are called multiple (Fauconnier and Turner 2002, 279). I decided to concretize the input spaces to the names of main protagonists, because all the characteristics each of them possesses can be collected in one vast mental space. If we have the input space 1 be Ernest and the input space 2 be Rosalind, than in the generic space we will have the relationships which they share, called family relationships. This family has ambiguous private world: at first it was romantic as the protagonists shared the mutual fantasy of royal-animal world; later, this interest was much more of Rosalind’s notion, as Ernest loses interest in playing such games. What is the goal of this family? Definitely, as many other families, they wanted to establish family unity and be happy all the time by means of playing games. But the result was disappointing—the end of the fantasy world became the end of their marriage. Figure 1: Conceptual integration network in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova.”

Conceptual Blending in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova” …

Input spaces. Ernest, having alter ego Rabbit and King Lappin, and Rosalind, having alter ego Hare and Queen Lapinova, are the examples of true identity, integrity and imagination. While reading the story, especially the second part, we can pay attention only to their nicknames and alter egos, but due to principle of identity we definitely know who is being talked about. Therefore, the loss of Lapinova is understood to be the loss of Rosalind. Integrity of all these images on the basis of their identity helps us in building our own picture vision, i. e. we begin to perform a very creative work—we begin to imagine what is happening with the main heroes and their lives. Despite the fact that Ernest and Rosalind are in a married state and share private fantasy world by means of playing games, the goals they pursue are different: for Ernest it is just an amusing game and, as he pretends to be a rabbit, he notices in Rosalind’s big bright eyes happiness, and at that moment he feels very much in love with her: “To-day,” said Ernest, twitching his nose as he bit the end of his cigar, “he chased a hare.” Rather a small hare; silver grey; with big bright eyes?”[Rosalind asks] “Yes,” said Ernest. He felt very much in love with her” (Woolf 2015, 2). Perhaps, Ernest hopes that this game does not last long; he wants to amuse himself and his wife and in such a way to preserve love and childish happiness in their family. For Rosalind, this game was her own fantasy world which represented her life, therefore, she could not imagine her life without her fantasy: “But it was all secret—nobody knew that such a world existed. Without that world, how, Rosalind wondered, that winter could she have lived at all?” (Woolf 2015, 3). So, different goals of the protagonists led to the same results: Rosalind loses Lapinova, but Ernest refuses to “find” her and her identity respectively, thus the marriage is over for both. Here comes the most difficult and volumetric mental space—a blended one, often called the blend (see Fig. 1). The Blend. Fauconnier and Turner state that in blending, structure from two input mental spaces is projected to a new space, the blend, but this projection is selective, because not all the elements and relations from the inputs are projected to the blend (Fauconnier and Turner 2002, 47). The most important structure in the blend is emergent structure, because this structure is not projected from the inputs; it arises in the blend in three ways: through composition, completion and elaboration. Composition is a fusion of projected elements in the blend, in our case it is Ernest and Rosalind, both characters playing the same rabbit game in their married life, even though each input space has only one role or one character. Completion is a part of background knowledge in the blend. It is something we can see beyond the blend. The composition of two protagonists (Ernest and Rosalind) with all the knowledge about them (even the information we didn’t take to the blend, but still we know from the story) makes a richer scenario in

Yuliya Davydyuk

the blend itself. Elaboration, or running the blend is how we enlarge the blend and deliver encounter of the two protagonists to our imagination. This encounter forms a new structure, because there is no encounter in the individual inputs. We can run the blend as much and as long, and in as many alternative directions as we choose (Fauconnier and Turner 2002, 44–49). As we can see, the blend is the most complicated structure in the whole scheme, because it contains the selected information from the two inputs and it has some additional information upon completion. The above mentioned operations together with elaboration form an emergent structure, as in the rectangle (see Fig. 1). Our emergent structure, “Love and live your life without false illusions” contains new meaning, evoked by the conceptual analysis of the story. It is a hidden message of the author, something what Virginia Woolf was trying to tell the readers. Let us finish this part of the article by Fauconnier and Turner’s great words about blending: “Blending is child’s play for us human beings, but we are children whose games run deep” (Fauconnier and Turner 2002, 50). Indeed, the game, played by the main protagonists in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova” is childish, but still it runs deep, because through this childish game we can clearly observe the three basic mental operations: the real identity of main heroine Rosalind along with imagined one, Lapinova; integrity of the two protagonists, despite of them being the opposite of each other, they are a family, a unity; and imagination which takes the leading role in the game they played—without it, there would not be any kind of game, or any kind of identity and integration.

Possible worlds in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova” In fact, we have already considered the story through two kinds of analysis— linguo-stylistic and conceptual, which allows building a conceptual integration network, but still, it is possible in this story to do another kind of analysis connected with Ryan’s possible worlds theory (1985; 1991; 2006; 2011). Ryan states that the foundation of possible world (PW) theory is the idea that reality is a universe composed of a plurality of distinct worlds. This universe is structured like a solar system: at the center lies a world commonly known as “the actual world” and this center is surrounded by worlds that are possible but not actual, called “relative worlds”. These relative worlds exist through a mental act of a character (Ryan 1985, 720); they lie at a variable distance from the actual world and resemble it to various degrees (Ryan 2006, 644–645). Possible worlds differ from the actual by the fact, that they are the product of a mental activity, such as dreaming, imagining, foretelling, promising, or storytelling, while the actual world alone presents an autonomous existence. To integrate these worlds within narrative, Ryan proposes

Conceptual Blending in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova” …

to apply the label of “world” to the set of propositions in the mental life of a character, thus forming the private worlds of a character. These include model worlds, such as epistemic or knowledge worlds (K-Worlds), wish worlds (W-Worlds), desires and obligations worlds (O-Worlds); active goals and plans (GP-Worlds), and fantasy worlds, such as dreams, hallucinations, and stories within stories (Ryan 2006, 648–649). In Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova” the real, actual world is the world, where two main protagonists—Ernest and Rosalind—live their life, but, at the same time there is the possible world, fantasy one—where Ernest is a rabbit/King/Lappin and Rosalind is a hare/Queen/Lapinova. We can state that this fantasy world is divided into two subworlds—animal subworld which is of two kinds: classical animal (rabbit/hare); so-called “French” animal subworld (Lappin/ Lapinova); and royal subworld (King/Queen). Figure 2: Model of possible world theory in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova.”

Using Ryan’s possible world’s theory, we form in real, actual world of the character relative worlds that refer to their private worlds. In Ernest’s real world there are his wishes (e.g. to play game), fantasies (e.g. being a King rabbit), obligations (e.g. to twitch a nose while eating—he did it deliberately, to amuse his wife); there is also an epistemic or knowledge world which represents Ernest’s beliefs and all his knowledge about living a rabbit’s life; Ernest’s goals and plans are represented in goal and plan world (e.g. sharing a private world with the wife). Rosalind’s real world has also K-Worlds, O-Worlds, W-worlds, GP-Worlds (e.g. to know how to live a married life, to be Queen Lapinova etc.), but what is more important she has a very big fantasy world (F-World), which is unfortunately mixed with the real one, that is why it is showed as an integral half-part of the real world (See Fig. 2). We can state that the interaction of two subworlds—animal and royal with the real, actual world is represented through parallel existence of the two subworlds in a real world and at the same time through a merger of these two subworlds into one big fantasy world. Ryan claims that trying to establish what holds as fact in the actual domain (real world) of the narrative universe, distinguishing the factual

Yuliya Davydyuk

and physical from the possible and virtual located in the mental representations of characters, but also building an image of these mental representations as a way to grasp the human significance of physical events and actions, are some of the most fundamental cognitive operations that lead to the construction of narrative meaning (Ryan 2006, 651). Ryan’s possible world theory is perfectly fascinating for those who are interested in narrative imagination and for those who are capable of creating their own worlds and stories.

Concluding remarks Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova” is the perfect example of blending and possible world theory in narrative. Identity of the main characters with their alter egos, integration of all the events of the story and all the possible states and conditions of the main characters make this story unusual for reader’s understanding and perception. Still, it is imagination that plays an important role in creating images of the protagonists and allows us to identify and integrate mental lives of the main characters. It is noteworthy that imagination is the most extraordinary and striking operation that is at the heart of the simplest meaning and it can truly be called “mental magic”. Moreover, in the possible world theory, imagination acts as one of the main process that takes part in creating protagonist’s private world. Thus, the main heroes of “Lappin and Lapinova”, by sharing a private world, immersed themselves deeply in fantasies. But, as the emergent structure “Love and live your life without false illusions” which contains new meaning, evoked by the conceptual analysis of the story, showed, one should not pretend and live somebody’s life. It is important to live and love without false illusions and without mixing real world with a fictional, fantasy one.

References Fauconnier, Gilles, and Mark Turner. 2002. The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the Mind’s Hidden Complexities. New York: Basic books. Kathmann, Ute. 2012. Virginia Woolf and the F-Word: On the Difficulties of Defining Woolf ’s (Anti-) Feminism. Lund University: Centre for Languages and Literature. [http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordO Id=2858555 &fileOId=2858571]. Ryan, Marie-Laure. 1985. “The Modal Structure of Narrative Universes.” Poetics Today 6:717–755. Ryan, Marie-Laure. 1991. Possible Worlds, Artificial Intelligence, and Narrative Theory. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press.

Conceptual Blending in Virginia Woolf ’s “Lappin and Lapinova” …

Ryan, Marie-Laure. 2006. “From Parallel Universes to Possible Worlds: Ontological Pluralism in Physics, Narratology, and Narrative.” Poetics Today 27.4: 633–674. Ryan, Marie-Laure. 2011. “Possible Worlds”. In The Living Handbook of Narratology, edited by Peter Hühn. Hamburg: Hamburg University. [http://www.lhn. uni-hamburg.de/article/possible-worlds]. Walker, Charlotte Zoё. 2001. “The Book ‘Laid Upon the Landscape’: Virginia Woolf and Nature.” In Beyond Nature Writing: Expanding the Boundaries of Ecocriticism, edited by Karla Armbruster, and Kathleen R. Wallace, 143–161. Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia. Woolf, Virginia. 2015. “Lappin and Lapinova”. In A Haunted House, and other short stories. [https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91h/chapter9. html].

Guntars Dreijers

London’s Linguistic Capital in Urban Visual Signs Abstract: The article deals with urban sociolinguistics. Visual written signs scattered all throughout the streets of London echo voices wielding informative, cultural, and corporate capital. All forms of the urban visual capital are part of linguistic capital – a term introduced by Pierre Bourdieu. It allows the establishment of interdisciplinary links between linguistic and economic factors manifested by urban signs in light of capital theories and sociolinguistic considerations. Written signs as a form of the city’s linguistic capital have several roles – guidance, information, education, and manipulation. The practical material explores the multimodal communication of a set of London’s visual signs that serve as intermediaries between those who wield the city’s linguistic capital and those who might benefit from it. Visual signs also reveal the urban self-identity, and act pragmatically as clues for navigating through the city. Visual written signs are viewed as an integral component in the urban multilingual melting pot. The degree of linguistic and paralinguistic creativity in signs often determines not only the viability of signs but also the success of their performative character. Keywords: linguistic capital, advertising, visual literacy, signs

Introduction: General considerations Communication both written and spoken is an inherent characteristic of human being in a social environment. Large cities have multidirectional and multimedial ways of communicating information and advertising goods and services to people of all backgrounds, interests, age groups, and cultural affiliation. The present paper examines texts in London’s visual signs. They appear in different formats, and their functions are mostly twofold – informative and vocative (i.e., advertising). London’s linguistic capital elicits answers to such questions as what does the city talk about and how does it construct urban narratives? Linguistic capital – a term introduced by Pierre Bourdieu designates “utterances as signs of wealth, intended to be evaluated and appreciated, and signs of authority, intended to be believed and obeyed” (Bourdieu 1992, 66). The methodology of the study entailed the data compilation strategy, i.e., gathering textual samples from various districts and parts of London; and the data processing strategy included the grouping of texts thematically and according to formal properties established in the samples. The distinct thematic and formal groups provide an insight into London’s linguistic capital, and the material is illustrative of

Guntars Dreijers

the city’s overall textuality, particularly, the content (e.g., information and subject matter).

Theoretical background The concept of linguistic capital was introduced and outlined by Pierre Bourdieu in 1982. The appeal to P. Bourdieu’s theory lies in the economic factor of the performatives and informatives. Thus, language can be considered as a mechanism of economic power. The novelty of P. Bourdieu’s theory lies exactly in the economic factor that other linguists had not emphasized. P. Bourdieu writes, “Language forms a kind of wealth, which all can make use of at once without causing any diminution of the store” (Bourdieu 1992, 66). Linguistic capital in an urban setting is wealth that one has accrued and displays in public, whereas recipients may share the code in order to make meaningful interpretations of the informative and advertising texts displayed around the city. Linguistic capital is an intangible asset in the sense that it cannot actually and accurately be calculated into monetary terms. However, as an intangible asset linguistic capital adds value to the organisation or business, boosts its reputation and may attract capital that is more tangible. “Tangible benefits can often be equated with increased output, intangible benefits – with prestige” (Rutherford 1995, 150; Case 1989, 271). Hal R. Varian links the capital with the utility function, which means that consumers’ preferences in the market are activated (Varian 1996, 54). Moreover, utility in its turn results in a person’s happiness, which is a consequence of activating different kinds of preferences as embodied in informative and vocative (advertising) texts all throughout the city. Hal R. Varian’s utility function can be expressed in the following way: “a bundle (x1, x2) is preferred to a bundle (y1, y2) if and only if the utility of (x1, x2) is larger than the utility of (y1, y2) (Varian 1996, 55). Texts in urban visual signs are also a part of visual culture as well. In his book “How to See the World”, Nicholas Mirzoeff defines visual culture as one “that seeks to understand the total visual noise all around us every day as the new everyday condition” (Mirzoeff 2015, 285). The topicality of the study about visual culture has been discussed by Richard Howells and Joaquim Negreiros who emphasize visual literacy as a prerequisite to navigate through postmodern material world (Howells, Negreiros 2015, 1–2). With regard to texts in a global city, their textual material is divided into thematic groups hereinafter. The economic perspective highlights those texts that construe urban narratives. As a part of urban linguistic culture, the narratives textualise the values and ideals that are profit / market oriented, and consistent with P. Bourdieu’s theory that language may efficiently participate in the economic exchange in the open market.

London’s Linguistic Capital in Urban Visual Signs

Themes in London’s visual signs Hard sell / soft sell. Retailers and wholesalers use patterns of persuasion that assure the customers of spending less and saving more, for example, save pounds (₤₤₤) on tools; two component slogans expand into longer lines, e.g. final clearance, final reductions to massive stock clearance, closing down sales, the wow deal (the use of an interjection) to specifying 20–60% off absolutely everything, everything must go, a good old fashioned sale, wow! When it’s gone, it’s gone!; the promise to discount new lines of goods on a regular basis – great deals every day. Anadiplosis – the repetition of words at the beginning of phrases is used as a rhetoric of sales pitch that helps the customer memorize the deal (namely a mnemonic aid) – Giant choice – family day out? Now it’s child’s play. Choose Cargiant – it’s how London buys its cars. Car giant. Giant choice. Giant savings. Sales strategies offer the customer more – 3 for ₤16, 5 for ₤26, quality products under a pound. Another marketing rhetoric is to ensure that a customer makes a good investment – making your money go a lot further, making everyone happy for less. A reference to the family defines the target audience that exceeds more than one person – something for the whole family, wholesale prices direct to the family. The surprise aspect is implemented through such adjectives as unexpected, distinctive, cult, bespoke, eclectic, one-of-a-kind, original – unexpected distinctive contemporary cult watch brand and jewellery for the mind; bespoke distinctive eclectic one-of-a-kind gifts using 3D printing and finished by hand; original contemporary beautiful handmade rugs to order. An imitation of word-by-mouth strategy may be an indication of value shopping – don’t just take our word for it; best service I’ve ever had & I’ve shopped online for years! Recommending you to every one”. The rhetorical question – answer format is used to engage the customer in a conversation where the message – riddle is solved: It’s a revelation and it’s fantastic. What it’s all about? Bacharach reimagined. Abundance may be indicated by such words as kingdom or galore, e.g., kingdom of souvenirs, cards galore. Graphic, phonetic, lexical group. Patterns of language innovation and deviations from prescriptive norms capture the attention and serve as mnemonic devices. Among more popular graphic, phonetic and lexical representations are “typographical devices, such as changes of size and emphasis, punctuation, semiphonetic representations of non-standard English, visual intonations through repetition of letters” (Goodman 1996, 150–151). The linguistic creativity of this particular group is employed extensively, for instance, through spelling and graphic representations that either imitate the pronunciation or result in new derivatives – computacentre (a<er), bookatable (<adj. –able or verb+a table), youme sushi (<yummy + you & me), kozzy cafe (<cosy), yumchaa, what’s in a name? Yum + chaa < tasty + tea (slang). Tea (chaa) that tastes yum,

Guntars Dreijers

kleen dry cleaners (< clean), wicked bitz (<bits or bitch), psychle (<psyche+cycle), Kung Fo (<food, abbr.), sunrise snax (x <cks). Visual intonations that evoke sensations – great taste from aaa to zero; brrrrrista (a shake on ice). The innovative play with adjectives in different derivative forms are popular in urban visual signs – a sweet-soul, solid-gold, five-star blast, abba-solutely fabulous (a reference to a musical). Spelling evokes French imagery – roux at the landau, eau la la (a drink ad). Another English word play is used in we know (know or now?) running, thus broadening the associative semantic field. The brevity that verges on the meaningless is used – A:? (a name for a shop); the nostalgia goes back to the old spelling and lexical patterns – Ye Olde Cock Tavern (a pub). Lexical double entendres are popular with advertisers – my sausage is on fire, I cook for kisses (inscriptions on aprons). Rhymes – both full and partial – are popular phonetic devices – curry in a hurry (wraps), stop walking, start working [o: vs. ɛ:], broke not broken (juxtapositions of lexical meanings). Food and drinks group. London offers a huge diversity and creative approach to catering industry. Lexemes in this group indicate both the national and international character of the cuisine in London, for example, Ted’s Veg, Gorwydd Caerphilly (handmade British cheese), Dorset scallops, Borough Cheese Company. Local farmers’ products are in high value – we hand pick the best quality products from our region’s best artisans, Sillfield farm’s delicious huntsman pie, our own farmed British wild boar, the British award winning fish & chip, don’t leave London without trying our famous fish ‘n’ chips, one of London’s lunchtime legends at out premises, CruSSh fit food (unpasteurized juices, onomatopoeia), English lamb rump, English strawberry tart, Devon cream. International cuisines, for example, kosher paradise, kosher deli, Veeraswamy (Indian food), the taste of Korea on the go (takeaway food); Bunnychow (Chinese), Mamuśka (Polish), affordable Polish meals for everyone, Dumpling King, the largest selection of London’s Chinatown, where a world of food is brought especially for your pleasure, Rasa sayang (Malaysian), Suki (Japanese), Indian Balti House, Chilli Shaker (an Indian restaurant), truly Indian, The Real Greek, Masters of fast pasta (Italian, assonance used [a:]), discover Asia’s finest (oriental sauces), Al halal restaurant, Al halal butchers, quality halal meal, Zakuski, Torgovoj dom Metelica (Russian) etc. Food and service can be supplemented with a special view (be it onto the Thames or any other exciting venue – Hispaniola, Upper deck restaurant bar, Welcome on Board: great food, great drinks, great times. The innovative and creative names of pubs and taverns resound all throughout London – The Laughing Stock (on the menu – not pork, but pig, the stag, not venison, the dog, not hot dog), The Laughing Gravy, The Blue Eyed Maid, Look Mum No Hands! (London brewed craft beer kiosk), Yolk Smoke Poke, Ye Olde Bell Tavern, the Slag and Lettuce, Cittie of

London’s Linguistic Capital in Urban Visual Signs

Yorke, Brewtopia (Yorkshire Tea) etc. Drinks invite customers to sip and taste – Absinth makes the heart grow fonder, blitz your summer (drinks and shakes), our barristas don’t just make coffee they hand-craft it (semantic intensification – craft), cloudy cider comes alive; please don’t feed the paparazzi (Remi Martin), Wine Wharf, sista barista (coffee bar). The trend to consume more organic food is becoming increasingly popular in London’s cuisine culture – fresh farm free-range chickens; natural since day one; please don’t shame food with preservatives, chemicals and additives; organic porridge; dived not dredged (fish). Special attention, diversity, a wide palette of tastes, a unique experience are all part of texts in the food and drinks group. Construction and real estate group. As a place (particularly along the South Bank) that is constantly changing, growing, getting greener and smarter, London’s urban visual signs about construction and real estate employ a rhetoric of importance. The texts in this group often emphasize constructors’ social responsibility and presents the construction industry as a desirable workplace, for example, Conway (a company): great people, great work (rhetorical anaphora – repetition of words at the beginning of phrases is used); every home the Berkley Group builds creates 5.6 jobs. The luxury apartments on the Thames to be built advertise the wouldbe and unique contemporary landmark building with an exceptional riverfront location. New types of buildings underline the ergonomic component that will have to sell – living office helps people customize their methods, tools and places of work to express and enable shared character and purpose; It is based on what is fundamental to all humans and evolves continuously in response to change. It is a more natural and desirable workplace that fosters greater connection, creativity, productivity, and ultimately, greater prosperity for all. As a responsible branch of national economy, the industry presents itself politely during the renovation works – excuse our appearance; sorry for any inconvenience whilst we make these improvements; considerate constructors care about the appearance. A question – answer rhetoric of the construction and real estate group signs emphasizes investment efforts and an accomplishment for society – two new swimming pools? That’s right! However, upscale properties for living and rent are concise and brief – discover luxurious living, Grade A office space available to let, a boutique development of 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments. To add glamour to real estate, the American standard (vertical construction and development) is added – New York style loft apartments and penthouses with 24-hour concierge, and an 8th floor sky garden; South Bank Tower: Living High. The housing business presents itself in family-friendly and economic ways – we’d love to talk to you about joining our bankside family (Hilton Group); homes designed to maximise space, light and fresh air, as well as use less energy and water. Greener London is a topic of today and more of tomorrow – creating a place

Guntars Dreijers

full of life in central London’s new green heart in an established neighbourhood where everybody loves to belong. The entertainment group. London offers an unsurpassed number of entertainment possibilities – shows, theatres, concerts, musicals, etc. Texts offer discounts, a unique staging and exceptional performers. Public promotional writings vie for spectators, and they attach labels of quality. Adjectives (also adv.+adj.) abound – mind-blowingy brilliant, thrilling, soaring and spectacular. Postpositional of and superlative -est blurbs are featured in posters – a masterpiece of malfunction; a lavish feast of a musical; the biggest homegrown musical of the year; the most absorbing and compelling show in the West End; the hottest musical of the year; full of dark wit and tenderness. Humour and vice are sought after commodities and therefore well advertised – no one else does enormous gloriously perverted fun quite like this, Lili la Scala’s another f*cking variety show (with an intensifier as a graphic euphemism), a momentum packed triumph – the mother f**ker with the hat (graphic euphemism). Spectator endorsements – I was reduced to tears of joy, bend it like Beckham, it’s as though the Mousetrap has been taken over by Monty Python, exquisitely choreographed. Just like humour, horror finds its appeal to spectators – ripper strikes again, I’ve got fingers in a few pie, the ultimate thrill filled journey through London’s murky past, wicked is spell-binding. Because supply is enormous, discounted entertainment is part of stage culture – tickets to this show could not be more golden, war is peace, 101 tickets for every performance at ₤19.84 (a reference to George Orwell’s “1984”). History and monumentality group. London capitalizes on its past and the imperial magnitude. One of the most characteristic components of this group refers to the London’s blue plaques scheme founded in 1866. Its official homepage reminds that “from the outset the scheme aimed to celebrate the link between people and buildings” (“Blue Plaque Scheme”). London’s blue plaques commemorate places and people, by indicating the part of London, the object, the year, for example, London Borough of Southwark, the Clink, 1144–1780, most notorious medieval prison; Charles Laughton 1599–1962, Actor lived here 1928–1931; In this house occupied by Thomas Davis, Bookseller, Dr Samuel Johnson first met James Boswell in 1763; Sight of Scotland Yard; First Headquarters of the Metropolitan Police 1829–1890; in a building on this site W. A. Mozart and his family lodged with barber John Couzin April – August 1764, the first London address on their Grand Tour of Europe; Johann Strauss 1804–1849, Father of the waltz dynasty and composer of the Radetzky March lodged here, etc. Paul Connerton in his article “Cultural Memory” evokes museumfication as the restoration and preservation of the past, of the old, and of the retro (Connerton 2013, 316). In line with the concept of capital, Beverley Butler

London’s Linguistic Capital in Urban Visual Signs

notes that history and capital may march forwards as an ambitious joint project. (Butler 2013, 465) Historic texts (apart from those in blue plaques) may be of different lengths. However, frequently used lexemes and word groups are remarkable building, kingly (or King’s) and royal (as in Royal Air Force, Royal exchange, King’s College), a protected site, in token of friendship, the original bridge, the iconic landmark and oasis, the modern wonder of the world, a cultural quarter, the only surviving gateway. Logistics and banking group. Traffic in London is about to become greener, safer, and passenger-friendly with improved infrastructure – time to cycle, 1-2-1 cycle training; improving London’s roads (the municipality’s reminder of its duty towards Londoners). Safety is a concern in a traffic-dense city – Cyclists, be seen. Because the underground is London’s reality with millions of passengers travelling daily, underground stations urge the passengers to be polite towards each other in a rhyme: Platforms are really rather long Which is why it seems somewhat wrong To stand together in one place With someone’s backpack in your face By moving down a little more You’ll be much quicker through the door.

Banking names speak about the cosmopolitan and international business atmosphere of London – Europe Arab Bank, Bank of China, Chaabi bank, Arab banking corporation house, etc. Others emphasize loyalty – by your side for 250 years (Lloyds bank); mortgage in a banking offer – your house in Spain, your loan in the UK; e-banking emphasizes timesaving – why banking when you can lounge? (Virgin Money). Texts echo what customers and passengers expect in conjunction with global trends. Education group. Excellence, economic and global impact, efficient knowledge transfer, and a tribute to famous graduates abound in the signs dedicated to learning and higher education across London. Texts in the education signs are often slogans like understanding the basis for prosperity through research, responding to world health issues through our research, responding to risk through research, etc. High-visibility personalities, celebrities endorse the students’ life and quality at the university – I have wonderful happy memories of my time at King’s. I was excited by the accessibility of books, the freedom to question and to debate (Most Rvd Desmond Tutu). Educational efficiency, international ranking, global impact and cutting edge research are part of texts in signs devoted to education – postgrad that really works; with an appetite to grow; uniquely for a London University, our vast, outstanding

Guntars Dreijers

collectors are available to inspire exciting learning and pioneering research; we have extensive, internationally-recognised laboratories that provide exceptional facilities for cutting-edge research; we sit within the top 25% of universities in the UK with research which is rated ‘world-leading’ of internationally excellent. Beauty and fashion group. The language samples in this group contain promises to become young, more beautiful and pampered – book a secret to perfect skin, new youth illuminator, iris extract activating treatment essence, mascaras and liners in colours beyond belief, the art of the flawless face, four simple secrets, our spectacular result, save 10% when you spend ₤40 on luxury beauty and fragrance. In her study about the history of shopping and the language of shopping (sales pitch) in the Occident, Laura Byrne Paquet notes, “Discounts are a classic way to tempt shoppers into spending more than they intended… we don’t shop mainly to get things; we shop for the thrill of spending wisely” (Paquet 2003, 164). However, word groups often verge on semantic innovations – juicy couture (in the sense of colourful, enlivening; fresh colours, appealing), hair architecture (hairstyles and coiffures that border on art works), rougz hair salon (< French rouge – red, implying hair dying and the non-standard French spelling may suggest novelty or vanguard hairstyles). UK’s heritage group. Despite the fact that globalisation engraves certain features in the urban setting such as the names of multinational companies and the attraction to the foreign, the national sentiment may still play a crucial role in preserving the cultural heritage and in promoting local traders and businesses. Admittedly, the UK’s heritage group is not as represented as international companies. London features, for example, things uniquely British and Scottish – Kirk man house (Scottish), Highland store – Scottish goods; great British food served all day; discover the world’s greatest collection of British art; excellence of London special offer. Medical services and counselling group. Language use in this group suggests patient-friendly medicine, fast and efficient solutions, active co-participating with the medical staff, and it breaks the barrier between health care professionals and patients. Building trust is an integral thematic thread in the larger group – healthcare informed by evidence and best practice; students and professionals dedicated to patient care. Colloquial language elements ensure non-hindered communication between the patient and the doctor – say yeh to protection from malaria, yellow fever; yeh stock vaccines for seasonal flu; say yehs (plural) to excellent health. Prevention is part of the city’s medical narrative – your excellent health service, let us inject you before a mosquito inject you. Warnings and persuasion are part of the medical rhetoric – it has been estimated that 1 in 17 people in the world die or suffer serious illness from diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. Medical research is suggestive of financial benefits and the need to cooperate – flu research needs you, ₤100

London’s Linguistic Capital in Urban Visual Signs

a day, it pays to know people. Dentistry and oral cavity care competes for patients’ smiles – because your smile is our passion; great breath guaranteed. Apart from physical health, mental states matter – Who are you? Happy? Honest? Self-confident? Successful? Free personality testing inside. IT and telephony group. The language use in this group implies the field is attracting smart minds – broadband for the broadminded. Technological achievements are emphasized in such one-liners as Apple featuring a HD quality image, enjoy London with a 4 G network you can depend on; be together, not the same. Discounted features appear as well – break free with SIMonly (a lexical interplay between a common noun and a proper noun); our ₤10 Vodafone Big Value Bundle gives you loads of minutes, texts and data. Perfect with a smartphone from ₤35. Public order group. The group contains informative legal notices such as an ₤80 fine or a trip to court isn’t worth the risk. Public order and safety are as shortly as a warning goes – cyclists, be seen; reporting anything unusual won’t hurt you. Legal notices may be lengthy because one of the features of syntax in legal texts is varying sentence length. It often spans a paragraph and even more – take notice; these premises have been secured by a Hugh Court Possession Order Proceedings, civil and / or criminal, will be taken against any party who has entered or attempts to enter the premises without our or the landlord’s prior written consent. Travel and tourism group. Phrases and sentences offer unbeatable and top quality experience while travelling or sightseeing. A typical use of positive upscale nouns and adjectives ensure utmost care for tourist or passenger – excellence in flight, feel flight fabulous, perfect moments, luxury coach holidays. Besides, phrasal colloquial verbs ensure intimacy and echoes familiarity – kick back to London and back; chase down your day (a taxi ad). Special highlights from neighbouring countries bring the atmosphere closer to the potential tourist – what’s your tour de France? Also, perfect moments visiting vineyards in France. The second person address is popular in the travel and tourism industry as it both personalizes the choice tailored specifically to the customer – because your holiday means everything to us; it’s your world, enjoy it. Competition plays an important role – the Airfare experts, experience Qatar Airways, every destination, every airline, every seat. Sports and fitness group. Although it may seem that sport is an integral part of people’s daily lives, advertising and urban visual signs emphasize trends in the world of sports and invite everyone to partake in a healthy lifestyle. Sports ads in urban visual signs are short – fitness first, fitness4less (discounted attendance), Hiit (spelling variation referring to a name of a gym), train like an athlete. A trend and lifestyle fad is yoga– yoga pop up; yoga – change ahead (personality change implied), I am yoga (ego boost).

Guntars Dreijers

Miscellaneous group. Because the thematic division of texts in urban visual signs cannot be exhaustive, the last group in the present article includes texts from different backgrounds. Mass media (i.e., newspapers and magazines) make their presence visible through a degree of intimacy with the general reader – (about Sunday’s Post) People’s Friend, People’s Journal, (about the Monocle magazine) keeping an eye and a near on the world (i.e., fresh news from hotspots). Museums may entice the visitor through double entendres; for example, undress your mind welcome collection (the Institute of Sexology). The purchase of antiquities emphasize extra expenses – (about Tony Street fossils) where the past eats your wallet. A bookstore window text provokes an inquisitive mind through debatable statements endorsed by a famous person – if you can’t understand what economists are saying, it’s because they are lying (Axel Kicillof, Minister of Finance, Argentina). Written unsanctioned slogans may temporarily appear on booths and house walls – wage slave (opposite a cafe in Charing Cross); let’s fill this town with artists (on a South bank building), and others.

Conclusions The scope of thematic signs in urban visual texts indicates topical linguacultural values in a given society. Altogether, sixteen thematic groups were established and described from a total volume of excerpts. Thematic diversity reflects customers’ preferences and market orientation whereas businesses focus on the utility function of goods and services. Utility boosts competition, and advertisers employ and compete for more expressive means of language that help satisfy target audience’s needs. A text offering a customer a choice over a non-choice or weak choice will be preferred because it will activate the economic exchange between the sender and the recipient. Original and innovative language means, as shown by the examples, activate the mnemonic function with special graphic, phonetic and lexical choices. The linguistic creativity in urban visual signs may therefore deviate from prescriptive norms of language use. However, the diversity of linguistic expressions is as broad as the supply of goods and services. Linguistic patterns indicate that entrepreneurs are aware of the use and role of language in the public sphere and thus deliberately use it as linguistic capital to maximize profit. Linguistic wealth will undoubtedly provide financial opportunities provided texts in urban visual signs conform to the formal and thematic trends of language use in public written signs. Thus, language as an intangible asset contributes to the overall turnover of goods and services serves as a mechanism of economic power. In advertising through language, use lies its own paradox – what is imposed to us by us ourselves with the help of linguistic means. What is actually imposed is the capacity to manipulate, and the capacity to

London’s Linguistic Capital in Urban Visual Signs

manipulate is greater the more [linguistic] capital one possesses. In the economic flow of the city life, urban texts reveal those aspects of business and culture that help maximize profit and activate economic functions. In addition to the aforementioned, the notion of linguistic capital may also increase vocative awareness much needed in advertising and public relations. Existing formal and thematic patterns have a linguistic and marketing value because they provide established (both successful and less inefficient) models for informative and vocative text-formation. Properties and patterns of language that work efficiently in a specific culture and location illustrate and reveal the total thematic network of urban text and the London’s story telling in a specific time. Urban visual signs and texts are both diachronic (past) and synchronous (present) evidence for economic and cultural activities at a particular period, and may be useful for lingua-anthropological study over time.

References “Blue Plaque Scheme”. Accessed August 30, 2015. [http://english-heritage.org.uk/ visit/blue-plaques/about-blue-plaques]. Bourdieu, Pierre. 1992. Language & Symbolic Power. Cambridge: Polity Press. Butler, Beverley. 2013. “Heritage and the Present Past.” In Handbook of Material Culture, edited by Christopher Tilley, Webb Keane, Susanne Küchler, Michael Rowlands, and Patricia Spyer, 463–479. London: Sage Publications. Case, E. Karl, and Ray C. Fair. 1989. Principles of Economics. New Jersey Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. Connerton, Paul. 2013. “Cultural Memory.” In Handbook of Material Culture, edited by Christopher Tilley, Webb Keane, Susanne Küchler, Michael Rowlands, and Patricia Spyer, 315–324. London: Sage Publications. Goodman, Sharon, and David Graddol, eds. 1996. Redesigning English. London: Routledge. Howells, Richard, and Joaquim Negreiros. 2015. Visual Culture. Cambridge: Polity Press. Mirzoeff, Nicholas. 2015. How to See the World. London: Penguin. Paquet, Byrne Laura. 2003. The Urge to Splurge. A Social History of Shopping. Toronto: ECW Press. Rutherford, Donald, ed. 1995. Routledge Dictionary of Economics. London: Routledge. Varian, R. Hal. 1996. Intermediate Microeconomics. A Modern Approach. London: W.W. Norton & Company.

Robert Kiełtyka

Verbal Zoosemy Revisited Abstract: The paper sheds some light on the complexity of the mechanism of zoosemy in relation to its extension into the category VERB. It is devoted to the discussion of the mechanics of metaphor-metonymy interaction couched in terms of the conceptual metaphor theory where animal-related verbs are used with reference to human beings or those qualities and actions that are related to human beings. The language data subject to analysis are collected from a variety of lexicographic sources such as The Oxford English Dictionary and The Historical Thesaurus of English. Keywords: zoosemy, metaphor, metonymy, animals, human beings

Introduction The term zoosemy (animal metaphor) has been around in linguistic literature for a relatively short period of time as it was coined by Rayevska (1979) and later adopted by a number of authors (see, among others, Kleparski (1997, 2002), Ben (2013), Kiełtyka (2005, 2008a, 2016)) who analyse the mechanism in hand from different angles. Other scholars analysing the phenomenon in question speak of animal metaphor, for example Wilkins (1981), Martsa (1999, 2001), Ervitia (2012), Aliakbari and Faraji (2013)). Thus zoosemy is traditionally defined as a mechanism by which animal names come to be employed to designate human characteristics of varied kinds. In contrast to earlier studies, such as Kleparski (1997), Kiełtyka (2008a), Górecka-Smolińska and Kleparski (2012) where the terms zoosemy and animal metaphor were frequently put on equal footing, in my current research the term zoosemy is reserved for and restricted to human-specific metaphorisation patterns. Thus, in most general terms, this type of metaphorisation mechanism may be couched in terms of a universal schema <HUMAN BEING IS (PERCEIVED AS) ANIMAL> (e.g. hog “a domestic pig reared for slaughter” (since 14th century > PDE (OED: 1340 Of hare moder þe erþe, þet berþ and norysseþ azewel þe hogges, ase hy deþ þe kinges.) > “a coarse, self-indulgent, gluttonous, or filthy person” (since 15th century > PDE (OED: “Thus arn they hogges; and drynkyn wele ataunt; ffare wel, Flemynge!” > 1890 “‘I am a hog! I am a hog!’ he said ‘I made no resistance; I drank because I was thirsty.’”)). The aim set to this paper is to shed further light on the complexity of the mechanism of zoosemy, especially in relation to its extension into the category VERB. To be more specific, an attempt will be made to discuss some aspects of

Robert Kiełtyka

the mechanics of verbal zoosemy where animal-related verbs (realised in the form of denominal formations or other animal-specific verbs that may be employed in human-specific zoosemic senses) are used with reference to human beings or those qualities and actions that are related to human beings. Therefore, this paper delineates a panorama of possible directions of analysis of carefully selected cases of verbal zoosemy in which the process of semantic alteration results from the extension of animal-specific values to the level of human-specific values. The analysis of zoosemy viewed as metaphor-metonymy interaction proposed here is couched in terms of the conceptual metaphor theory initiated by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and Lakoff (1987), while selected elements of the conceptual metonymy theory are based on Kövecses and Radden (1998), Radden and Kövecses (1999) and Kövecses (2002). The language data subject to analysis have been collected from a variety of English lexicographic sources such as The Oxford English Dictionary, The Historical Thesaurus of English and supported by appropriate parallel examples from Polish and a number of other languages, such as Slovak, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Hungarian and Kazakh.

Towards the categorisation of verbal zoosemy Martsa (1999, 79–85; 2013, 155–158) proposes a classification of animal verbs in which – according to underlying conceptual mappings – 3 types of English denominal animal verbs are identified. The author discusses those verbs which are related to the motivating animal names through metonymic mappings, metaphoric mappings or a combination of the two. And so, in the first type, the animal verbs arise from one of the two possible metonymic mappings, that is either YOUNG ANIMAL FOR BRINGING THAT ANIMAL FORTH (e.g. puppy > to puppy) or ANIMAL FOR CATCHING/EXTERMINATING THAT ANIMAL (e.g. fish > to fish). In the second group postulated by Martsa (1999, 79–85; 2013, 155–158) such animal verbs as to hare or to parrot […] “arise from different kinds of metaphorical mappings and from the combination of metaphorical and metonymic mappings”, but the resultant verbal senses may or may not be conceptually related to the metaphorical senses of the nouns from which they are derived. In the third type, where the metaphorical senses of the derived animal verbs are conceptually related to the readings of the parent nouns (e.g. monkey > to monkey, pig > to pig), the resultant animal verbs arise from metonymic mappings preceded by metaphoric mappings underlying the respective senses of the parent nouns (see Martsa (2013, 157–158)). Our classification of animal verbs is based on different criteria in that we take into consideration the transparency and opaqueness parameter and we analyse only those cases that can be labelled as verbal zoosemy, that is both de-nominal

Verbal Zoosemy Revisited

verbs (derived from animal nouns) and other animal-specific verbs that may be employed in human-specific zoosemic senses. Consequently, such animal-specific verbs as to foal (from foal), to calve (from calf ) or to cub (from cub) which are used exclusively in the animal-specific sense “to give birth to the animal named by the noun from which the verb is derived”, and which do not develop any humanspecific zoosemic applications are – by definition – not taken into account. The analysis of relevant language data seems to point to the existence of at least three different processes held responsible for English verbal zoosemy. For reasons specified elsewhere1 the three distinct yet related processes in hand are referred to as overt, veiled and covert. Due to the lack of space this paper deals merely with some aspects of overt verbal zoosemy, while a detailed analysis of both veiled and covert verbal zoosemy is offered in Kiełtyka (2016). And so, in the case of overt verbal zoosemy a given verb is derived from a noun (through the process of denominal formation) that labels the animal species and – in the process of metaphorisation followed by subsequent metonimisation – comes to be used with reference to representatives of humankind with whom certain animal traits – be it behavioural, aesthetic or others – are foregrounded and, if necessary, translated or modulated and extended to the human level. As an example of the mechanism in hand, consider the case of the zoosemic derivation exemplified by hog > to hog where one may postulate an interpretation based on the GREAT CHAIN METAPHOR in the spirit of Lakoff and Turner (1989). To start with, English hog “a male pig” developed the human-specific metaphorical sensethread “a person who appropriates or monopolizes something in a greedy and selfish manner” grounded in the conceptual sphere BEHAVIOUR/ CHARACTER as early as in the first half of the 15th century (e.g. (OED) c1430 “He schal be holde a nyggard, an hound, or an hoog, an ypocrite & an heretik.” > 1996 “I know that the outside world thinks we’re greedy hogs. As I see it, this is our chance to do some good for society and give something back.”). The metonymically projected, evaluatively loaded verbal sense “to appropriate greedily or selfishly”, which originally developed in Am.E. slang, goes back to the late 19th century (e.g. (OED) 1884 “Spose somebody has hogged that bag on the sly?” > 2001 “‘Did you talk to that girl called Alice Fry?’ ‘You hogged her. I didn’t get a chance.’”). Here, one has grounds to argue that there are two sets of correspondences at issue, namely the general metaphorical extension schema <PEOPLE ARE (PERCEIVED AS) ANIMALS (HOGS)> is coupled with the particularised metonymic

1 See, for example, Kiełtyka (2016).

Robert Kiełtyka

projection pattern AGENT (PERSON BEHAVING LIKE HOG) FOR ACTION2 (APPROPRIATING GREEDILY OR SELFISHLY). The type of meaning evolution discussed here may be presented graphically in the following manner: Figure 1. Metaphor-metonymy interaction in hog > to hog. Stage 1: <PEOPLE ARE (PERCEIVED AS) ANIMALS> metaphor

SOURCE

TARGET

hog

person

Stage 2: AGENT FOR ACTION metonymy

hog “a person who appropriates sth” (source) to hog “to appropriate greedily or selfishly” (target)

It follows from Figure 1 that in the case of the semantic evolution which is morphologically conditioned by the derivation hog “a male pig” > “a person who appropriates or monopolizes something in a greedy and selfish manner” > “to appropriate greedily or selfishly” one may certainly speak of the metaphormetonymy interaction. Here, the metonymic development of the target to hog “to appropriate greedily or selfishly” from hog “a person who appropriates or monopolizes something” results from and is conditioned by the metaphorical semantic change of hog “a male pig” into a person behaving like a hog (“a person who appropriates or monopolizes something”) which means that when we say that people hog something they are seen as performing certain specific actions according to the behavioural traits metaphorically/stereotypically ascribed to them. All in all, one has grounds to conjecture that here there are two sets of correspondences at issue, namely the general metaphorical extension <PEOPLE ARE (PERCEIVED AS) ANIMALS (HOGS)> is coupled with the conceptually 2 For an interesting account of the relationship between metonymy and denominal verbs see Kövecses (2002, 219–221). Our interpretation is (partly) in accord with that proposed in Martsa (1999, 79–85; 2013, 155–158), as well as Ruiz Gil and Herrero Ruiz (2006, 297) and Ervitia (2012). The so-called high-level metonymy AGENT FOR ACTION was originally identified by Kövecses and Radden (1998).

Verbal Zoosemy Revisited

narrower metonymic projection that may be formulated as AGENT (PERSON BEHAVING LIKE HOG) FOR ACTION (APPROPRIATING GREEDILY OR SELFISHLY). A somewhat different interpretation may be advanced in the case of the denominal derivation dog “Canis familiaris – a common four-legged animal” > to dog “to follow closely like a dog; to pursue; to plague” (e.g. (OED) 1519 “Our ennemyes dogged vs at the backe [L. a tergo instabat]” > 1993 “For months, he’d been dogging the youth’s every move… He headed for the bathroom but the stepfather followed him.”). One may argue that a possible motivation here is the observation that dogs are good at tracking and following their prey and/or the fact that they tend to be faithful to their masters and these properties of their instinctive behaviour are foregrounded in the metonymically projected verbal sense of to dog. Again, in order to account for the semantics of the derivation dog > to dog, one may postulate an interpretation based on the GREAT CHAIN METAPHOR. First of all, one may identify the existence of the general well-evidenced zoosemic schema <PEOPLE ARE (PERCEIVED AS) ANIMALS> in which attributed animal behaviour is mapped onto the level of human behaviour: people certainly do behave like dogs in that they are sometimes furious and malicious or they follow closely or pursue others. Further, when people dog others they are pictured as performing some actions according to the behavioural traits ascribed to dogs. Again, this phase of the semantic evolution of the verb in question may be viewed as resulting from a metonymic projection which involves mappings of attributes within a single domain of HUMAN BEINGS: to dog “to follow sb” means “to behave like a human being possessing some qualities typical of dogs”. However, in contradistinction to the derivation hog > to hog discussed above, in the case of noun-verb zoosemic pairs like dogN and dogV or apeN and apeV, where nouns do not have the distinct, lexicalized metaphoric senses from which zoosemic verbs could be directly derived, the role of missing nominal zoosemic senses (labelled below as zoosemic gaps) are, as it were, taken over by the knowledge speakers possess of some animals, i.e. of real-world dogs, apes, rabbits, pigs and parrots, respectively. With regard to dogs and apes, for instance, it means that what really gets metonymically mapped is the knowledge that dogs are faithful animals, devoted to their masters, or that apes, especially in captivity, often imitate or mimic human behaviour or gestures. This suggestion appears to be in line with the encyclopaedic nature of meaning, as proposed by Langacker (1987, 154), according to which in the treatment of linguistic meaning no distinction is to be made between what is traditionally called linguistic and extralinguistic knowledge. In the case of zoosemic pairs, such as foxN and foxV or chickenN and chickenV, the metonymic zoosemic senses of verbs are

Robert Kiełtyka

directly related to dictinct metaphorical nominal senses of the respective nouns: cf. foxN “a cunning person, a trickster” > foxV “to trick, to deceive” and chickenN “a coward” > chickenV “to behave in a cowardly way”. Note that the role of encyclopaedic knowledge, of course, cannot be neglected here either. Therefore, hogV, parrotV, rabbitV and dogV and a number of other animal-related verbs should be viewed as metonymic projections from their respective zoosemic nouns and classified as examples of overt verbal zoosemy. However, it seems that they represent a different type of overt verbal zoosemy than hogV, foxV and chickenV do. There is one more thing to mention in connection with dog. The fact that this generic taxon does not have the nominal zoosemic sense “one who is faithful; one who is good at following others” (a zoosemic gap alluded to above) does not necessarily mean that a specific taxon designating a subspecies of dog cannot occasionally occur in this sense. Bush’s poodle, a name given to Tony Blair in the media for blindly joining President Bush in the Iraqi war, is a case in point. Here, as expected, it is not difficult to notice the obvious pejorative axiological load characterizing the zoosemic but not lexicalized application of this specific taxon. One may hardly underestimate the fact that English abounds with phrasal verbs formed by the addition of particles either to the names of animals or verbs associated with particular animals. It turns out that the thus derived verbs frequently mirror either an activity or behavioural trait associated with a particular animal. For example, the plausible interpretation behind the context Peter is beavering away, is that the person is working hard, much like the animal referred to, toiling to build a lodge in a stream or river. On the other hand, investigative reporters are said to ferret out information by undertaking their task with the same intensity and determination as a ferret attempting to chase a rabbit out of a hole. Likewise, if a person is particularly hungry, they may be found wolfing down their food (eating it very quickly, as in the sentence The famished students wolfed down their sandwiches in seconds). Moreover, if one eats more food than one should or needs, one may be said to pig out, as in The kids pigged out on hamburgers and pepsi. Additionally, someone who fishes something out, pulls it out of the water or out of a certain container, such as rucksack, or as in Sue reached into her ample bag and fished out her lipstick. However, one may point to a number of animal-derived verbs whose metaphorical senses appear to display no conceptual link with the literal senses of the targeted animal names. In this respect consider the semantics of the verb to rabbit on, used in the human-specific sense “to talk at length about a particular subject until people feel bored or annoyed” as in the sentence What on earth is she rabbiting on about? In a similar vein, if a person is said to chicken out of doing something, as in Paul meant to go parachuting yesterday but he chickened out at the

Verbal Zoosemy Revisited

last moment, they seem to lack the necessary courage to do it. Yet, in this particular case, the metonymically-projected meaning of the verb that may be defined as “to decide not to do something because it is too dangerous” seems to be motivated by the metaphorical sense of the noun chicken “a cowardly person”. Therefore, here again the metaphor-metonymy interaction is conspicuously evident. Thus, one has grounds to claim that the overtness or transparency of the mechanism of overt verbal zoosemy lies in the fact that the relevant animal verb is a denominal derivative based on an animal name and the motivation of the process of zoosemy is somewhat self-explanatory and transparent. The working of the likewise conditioned zoosemy emerges from the following set of Polish examples (and their Russian/Slovak equivalents), where the metaphorical senses are clearly grounded in the conceptual sphere BEHAVIOUR/CHARACTER:3 MAMMALS małp-ow-ać (from małpa “monkey” > “(nasty) bastard”) “to copy (ape) somebody’s behaviour” (see Russian oбезьянничать (from oбезьянa “monkey”), Slovak opičiť sa (from opice ‘monkey’)) “to copy sb’s behaviour”, świn-ić (from świnia “pig” > used as insult to refer to people) “to make dirty; to play unpleasant tricks” (see Slovak zasviniť (from sviňa ‘pig”) “to make dirty”), tchórz-yć (from tchórz “polecat” > “coward”) “chicken out”, z-baran-ieć (from baran “ram” > “idiot, fool”) “not to know what to do”, na-jeż-yć się (from jeż “hedgehog” > zoosemic gap; “crew cut – a type of haircut”) “to get angry” (see Russian cъежиться (from ëж “hedgehog”) “to shrink”, Slovak naježiť sa (from jež “hedgehog”), kohútiť sa (from kohút “rooster”) “to get angry”), psu-ć się (from pies “dog” > used as insult for “a policeman”) “spoil”, psi-oczyć (from pies “dog” > used as insult for “a policeman”) “to beef (about sth); to bitch (about sb)” (see Russian cобачиться (from cобака “dog”) “to quarrel”), BIRDS szaro-gęs-ić się (from szara gęś “grey goose” > “bossy person”) “to boss everybody about/around”, osowieć (from sowa “owl” > “night owl”; “intelligent person”) “to become dejected”. OTHER ANIMALS prze-komarz-ać się (from komar “mosquito” > zoosemic gap) “to banter (with sb)”,

3 The examples are quoted from Kiełtyka (2008b,160–161).

Robert Kiełtyka

mysz-k-ow-ać (from mysz-ka “dim. mouse” > “unattractive woman”) “to look for sth” (see Russian мышковать (from мышь “mouse”) “to hide sth”). Notice that viewed from a morphological perspective, the data listed above allows us to distinguish a few verbal patterns. For example, mysz-k-ow-ać “to look for sth/to ferret”4 is derived from myszka “dim. mouse”, and the form *mysz-ow-ać from mysz is hardly attested. Interestingly, the reflexive verb szaro-gęs-ić się “to boss everybody about/around” is derived from a nominal compound szara gęś “grey goose”, while the morphologically simpler form *gęsić (się) does not exist. On the other hand, the two verbal forms psuć się “spoil” (from pies “dog”), and psi-oczyć (from pies “dog”) “to beef (about sth); to bitch (about sb)” appear to follow two different patterns and develop opposing meanings. Yet another pattern of semantic transfer is exemplified by the verb łasić się “to fawn on sb” which – according to BED – is by no means derived from, but rather provided the base for the noun łasica “weasel”. From a semantic point of view, one has grounds to say that in the case of some overt verbal zoosemes, e.g. tchórz-yć (from tchórz “polecat” > “coward”) “to behave like a coward, to chicken out” the range of the secondary nominal and secondary verbal meaning is the same. These cases may be interpreted as displaying the metaphor-metonymy-interaction pattern in that the derived verbal humanspecific senses result from the metonymic projection of the metaphorically extended animal-specific senses. In other words metonymic mappings are preceded by metaphoric mappings which leads to the derivation in the following direction: tchórz “polecat” >>> metaphorical extension >>> tchórz “coward” >>> metonymic projection >>> tchórz-yć “to behave like a coward – to chicken out”. However, in most cases of this type of verbal zoosemy the range of verbal meaning embraces merely a fragment of the original nominal meaning, or a newly developed verbal sense results from the highlighting of a different aspect of the (stereotypically attributed) behaviour or appearance of the targeted animal, e.g. sowa “owl” > sowa “night owl” vs. sowa “owl” > osowieć “to become dejected”. In fact, the metaphorical nominal sense of sowa “night owl” follows as a corollary of the foregrounding of certain attributive elements embedded in the conceptual dimension BEHAVIOUR, while the roots of the metaphorical verbal sense of osowieć “to become dejected” may be sought for in the activation of some conceptual elements presupposed for the conceptual zones APPEARANCE and BEHAVIOUR.

4 Notice that in contradistinction to Polish, the Russian verb мышковать derived from мышь “mouse” is used metaphorically in the human-specific sense “to hide sth” (e.g. Петя замышковал конфеты. “Peter has hidden the sweets”).

Verbal Zoosemy Revisited

Another intriguing aspect of overt verbal zoosemy is the fact that derivation of a denominal animal-related verb may be subject to blocking. For example, in Polish one can hardly derive a verb *konić from the noun koń “horse”, although a similarly directed derivation, namely, horse “a large solid-hoofed herbivorous ungulate mammal (Equus caballus)” > to horse around “fool around” is by all means feasible in English, as attested by, for example, MW ((since 1919) The boys were horsing around on the boat when one of them fell overboard) or the OED ((since 1928) Horse around, to indulge in ill-timed trifling or horse-play). The reasons are not obvious and the answers may be speculative to a considerable extent. Among others, in this respect one may conjecture that a denominal verbal derivation is workable when the source animal-related noun is either comparably rich in symbolism or has a wide stereotypical reference, by which we mean that it is relatively well-grounded in the so-called linguistic picture of the world. Returning to the Polish non-attested derivation of koń “horse” > *konić,5 one may conclude that – since animal-related denominal verbs usually carry negative axiological load – the apparent reason for the existence of this lexical gap is the important role the animal has played for centuries in the life and mentality of Poles. In fact, as shown above, the English derivation of horse “a large solid-hoofed herbivorous ungulate mammal (Equus caballus)” > horse around “fool around” has been relatively recent as it goes back to the first half of the 20th century, that is the historical time when the part played by horses in the life, and – at the same time – mentality of language users may be said to have decreased significantly. Interestingly enough, in the case of the derivation of the Polish verbal form prze-komarz-ać się “to banter (with sb)” from komar “mosquito” one has to point to what may tentatively be referred to as a zoosemic gap as the synchronic dictionaries of Polish (see, for example, USJP, SJPP, SJP) do not provide any zoosemic human-specific senses of the noun komar “mosquito”. One may, thus, rely on the conjecture that the metaphorical sense of prze-komarz-ać się “to banter (with sb)” must be derived from the original sense of komar “mosquito” although – as argued above – the metaphorical use of the verb seems entirely unrelated conceptually. For more examples of overt verbal zoosemy, which either arise from different kinds of metaphorical mapping or may be understood as the metaphor-metonymy interaction, in English and Polish see Kiełtyka (2016). The table below groups representative examples of overt verbal zoosemy in Russian, Hungarian, Slovak, Spanish and Turkish which is but a sample of the crosslinguistic productivity of

5 Notice that in Russian the verb конить (from конь “horse”) developed the sense “to behave in an aggressive way”.

Robert Kiełtyka

the mechanism in hand not only in Indo-European languages (e.g. English, Polish, Slovak, Russian, Spanish), but also in non-Indo-European languages (e.g. Hungarian, Turkish). Figure 2. A sample of cross-linguistic overt verbal zoosemy.6 Animal verb derived directly Animal verb derived from a name of an animal from an animal noun: and its English equivalent

Exemplary sentence or phrase, idiom, collocation, proverb and its English translation Russian Overt Verbal Zoosemy

cсучиться “to become a morally bad person”

cука “bitch”

Все его друзья ссучились и сидят в тюрьме. “All his friends have gone to the dogs and are in prison now.”

нажучить “to deceive sb”

жук “bug”

Их пытались нажучить, заявив такую цену. “They tried to deceive them by setting such a price.”

петушиться “to fly into rage, to become angry”

петух “cock”

Ох и распетушился же ты! “You got into a paddy!”

cобачиться “to quarrel”

cобака “dog”

Ну сколько можно, вы уже тут всё пересобачились! “Why are you always quarreling, stop it!”

рыба “fish”

Ты вряд ли обрыбишься на этом деле! “You will hardly make any money.”

oбрыбиться “to earn, make profit on sth” (see Polish obłowić się (from łowić “to fish”) “to make money”)

Hungarian Overt Verbal Zoosemy majmol “to imitate behaviour” koslat “to pursue women” borzol “to annoy, make mess”

majom “monkey”

Mindig majmol engem, idegesít. “He’s always imitating me – it’s annoying.”

kos “ram”

Mindig a nők után koslat. “He’s always pursuing women.”

borz “badger”

borzolja az idegeket “getting on sb’s nerves”

6 The material collected here is based on a survey carried out among a group of native speakers of the targeted languages.

Verbal Zoosemy Revisited Animal verb derived directly Animal verb derived from a name of an animal from an animal noun: and its English equivalent kígyózik “to go in a spiral way”

kígyó “snake”

Exemplary sentence or phrase, idiom, collocation, proverb and its English translation kígyózó sor “winding queue”

Slovak Overt Verbal Zoosemy pes “dog”

Vojna každého zopsuje “War will spoil/deprave anybody.”

vy-somár-iť sa “to find a way out of a difficult situation”

somár “donkey”

Konečne sa z toho vysomáril. “He finally found a way out of it.”

parazit-ovať “to sponges off sb”

parazit “parasite”

Parazituje na rodine “He sponges off his family.”

kuvik-ať “to predict that something bad is going to happen”

kuvík “owl”

zopsuť “degrade socially”

opič-iť sa “to copy somebody’s behaviour”

opica “monkey”

Prestaň kuvik-ať ! “Stop prophesying!” Dolný koniec sa po hornom opičí. “The bottom end is copied from the upper one.”

Spanish Overt Verbal Zoosemy mono “ape/monkey”

Para de monear, no hace gracia. “Stop doing silly things, it’s not funny.”

torear “to fight with bulls”

toro “bull”

Va a ver cómo torea “She is going to see how he fights with bulls.”

gatear “to crawl on four legs”

gato “cat”

El bebé ya gatea! “The baby started crawling!”

perrear “to dance in a naughty and daring way”

perro “dog”

Mira cómo perrea esa. “Look how that girl dances.”

patear “to kick sb/sth”

pato “duck”

Le pateó el culo al ladrón “He kicked the thief ’s ass.”

monear “to make silly things”

Turkish Overt Verbal Zoosemy solucan gibi kıvrılarak ilerlemek “to make sb’s way with or as if with the sinuous crawling motion of a worm”

solucan “worm”

kaplumbağa avlamak “to hunt for turtles”

kaplumbaga “turtle”

solucan gibi kıvrılarak ilerlemek “to work sb’s way or oneself subtly or gradually” kaplumbağa avlamak “to go out hunting for turtles”

Robert Kiełtyka

Animal verb derived directly Animal verb derived from a name of an animal from an animal noun: and its English equivalent otlakçılık yapmak “to obtain for free” domuzluk etmek “to be obstinate”

otlakçı “sponge” domuz “hog”

Exemplary sentence or phrase, idiom, collocation, proverb and its English translation otlakçılık yapmak “to live by relying on the generosity of others” domuzluk etmek “to insist on something”

The remaining two types of verbal zoosemy, that is veiled verbal zoosemy where a direct link to an animal name is veiled (e.g. the animal-specific verb to twitter “to utter a succession of light tremulous notes; to chirp continuously with a tremulous effect” metaphorically applied to a person (especially a woman) in the sense “to talk or chatter rapidly in a small or tremulous voice”) and covert verbal zoosemy in which the animal-human relation is seemingly absent (e.g. Polish pluskać się “to splash around in water” from plusk “a tail of a beaver”), a detailed analysis of which goes beyond the scope of this paper, are dealt with at length in Kiełtyka (2016).

Conclusion In this paper an attempt was made to shed some light on the mechanisms behind the working of verbal zoosemy. Overt verbal zoosemy may be viewed as an example of metaphor-metonymy interaction although in some cases the lexicalised nominal human-specific senses from which metonymic verbal senses are derived are not attested (the presence of zoosemic gaps). Similar mechanisms are found working in a number of other languages including Polish, Slovak and Russian which comes as no surprise because – as argued by cognitive linguists – language reflects human processes of thinking and conceptualisation. Variations are due to language and culture specificity.

References Dictionaries Merriam Webster Dictionary (MW). [http://www.merriam-webster.com/]. Oxford English Dictionary (OED). [http://www.oed.com/]. Słownik języka polskiego PWN (SJP). [http://sjp.pwn.pl]. Uniwersalny słownik języka polskiego (USJP). [http://usjp.pwn.pl].

Verbal Zoosemy Revisited

Other sources Aliakbari, Mohammad, and Elham Faraji. 2013. “Conceptualization of Man’s Behavioral and Physical Characteristics as Animal Metaphors in the Spoken Discourse of Khezel People”. Linguistik online 59, no. 2/13:3–41. Ben, Wekesa Nyongesa. 2013. “When Metaphorical Language Use Fails: A Case of Zoosemy in the Late Qaddafi’s Political Speeches during the Uprising.” Greener Journal of Social Sciences 3, no. 2:110–119. Doroszewski, Witold. ed. 1958–1969. Słownik języka polskiego PAN (SJPP). Warszawa: PAN. Ervitia, Aneider Iza. 2012. “Resemblance operations and conceptual complexity in animal metaphors.” Revista de Lingüística y Lenguas Aplicadas 7:163–178. Górecka-Smolińska, Małgorzata, and Grzegorz Andrzej Kleparski. 2012. Feathered Creatures Speak: The Study of Semantic Evolution and Phraseology of Domesticated and Semi-Domesticated Birds. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Universytetu Rzeszowskiego. Kay, Christian, Jane Roberts, Michael Samuels, and Irene Wotherspoon. ed. 2009. Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary (HTE). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kiełtyka, Robert. 2005. “The Axiological-cognitive Analysis of the Evaluative Developments in the Domain of EQUIDAE: A Pilot Study”. Studia Anglica Resoviensia 3:59–75. Kiełtyka, Robert. 2008a. On Zoosemy: The Study of Middle English and Early Modern English DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego. Kiełtyka, Robert. 2008b. “Towards Cognitive and Morphological Conditioning of Zoosemic Developments.” In Language Encounters, edited by Magdalena Charzyńska-Wójcik, Anna Malicka-Kleparska and Jerzy Wójcik, 155–166. Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL. Kiełtyka, Robert. 2016. Various Faces of Animal Metaphor in English and Polish. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Kleparski, Grzegorz Andrzej. 1997. The Theory and Practice of Historical Semantics: The Case of Middle English and Early Modern English Synonyms of GIRL/ YOUNG WOMAN. Lublin: The Catholic University of Lublin Printing House. Kleparski, Grzegorz Andrzej. 2002. “Lusta, Mint a Disznó: A Hunt for ‘Correlative’ Zoosemy in Hungarian and English.” Studia Anglica Resoviensia 1:9–32. Kövecses, Zoltán. 2002. Metaphor. A Practical Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Robert Kiełtyka

Kövecses, Zoltan, and Günter Radden. 1998. “Metonymy: Developing a Cognitive Linguistic View.” Cognitive Linguistics 9:37–77. Lakoff, George. 1987. Women, Fire and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson. 1980. Metaphors we Live by. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Lakoff, George, and Mark Turner. 1989. More than Cool Reason. A Field Guide to Poetic Metaphor. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Langacker, Ronald. 1987. Foundations of Cognitive Grammar. Vol. 1: Theoretical Prerequisites. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Martsa, Sándor. 1999. “On Exploring Conceptual Structure of Folk Knowledge: The Case of Animal Terms.” Linguistica e Filologia 9:73–88. Martsa, Sándor. 2001. “On the Lexicalisation of Conceptual Metaphors: A Crosslinguistic Study of Animal-based Metaphors.” In Szines Eszmek nem Alszank. Szepe Gyorgy 70. Szuletesnpjara, edited by Jozsef Andor, Tibor Szucs, and Istvan Terts, 774–789. Pecs: Lingua Franca Csoportss. Martsa, Sándor. 2013. Conversion in English: A Cognitive Semantic Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Radden Günter, and Zoltan Kövecses. 1999. “Towards a Theory of Metonymy.” In Metonymy in Language and Thought, edited by Klaus-Uwe Panther, and Günter Radden, 17–59. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Rayevska, Natalia. 1979. English Lexicology. Kiev: Vysca Skola Publishers. Ruiz Gil, Elena, and Javier Herrero Ruiz. 2006. “The Processing of Animal-related Expressions”. Procesamiento del Lenguaje Natural 37:293–300. Wilkins, David. 1981. Towards A Theory of Semantic Change. Ph.D. Dissertation. Ann Arbour: Ann Arbour University.

Grzegorz A. Kleparski

The Semantics of Dog Revisited: In Search of Phraseologically Embedded Spectral Zoometaphors Abstract: In current semantic research the analyses of animal metaphor have traditionally focused on synchronic and diachronic transfers of animal-specific words with the aim of accounting for the nature of their metaphorical uses. The analysis of polysemic strings attached historically to such lexical items as cat, lion, bat or dog accounts for the registered zoometaphoric lexically substantiated senses, such as those of dog used currently in the human-specific senses “police informer” and “unattractive female”. The radical postulate made here is that, in order to arrive at a more complete picture, the analysis of metaphorical potential of animal-specific lexicon should be extended to bringing to light and analyzing zoometaphoric spectral senses as they emerge from the quantum of phraseological (idiomatic and proverbial) contexts in which the lexical items appear, such as go to the dogs, where the emergent spectral sense of dog is (BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING IN INFERIOR STATE/CONDITION>). The spectral sense of dog, the core of which is the element (INFERIORITY), crops up in the readings of many other dog-based phraseological formations, not only in the polysemic string of dog’s substantiated lexical senses. Keywords: animal metaphor, metaphorical potential, substantiated senses, spectral senses, phraseological formations

Introduction The aim set to this paper is not very far from that of the recent paper authored by Sakalasaite (2010), who carries out a study of animal metaphors, with the exception of the fact that no contrastive aims shall be pursued here and, to make a limitation that goes beyond any possible limitations, we shall restrict our attention only to one representative of the animal world, that is dog and all diachronic and synchronic facts that come within the semantic scope of the male representative of the species Canidae. Such specialized analyses in linguistic semantics that deal with metaphorical use of animal terms have in recent research been labelled as studies in zoometaphor, animal metaphor or zoosemy.

Grzegorz A. Kleparski

Substantiated vs. spectral senses: The case of zoometaphor Current research in this area has provided ample evidence on how various concepts are encoded and expressed by means of zoometaphor; either in the form of simple lexical items or longer segments. They serve to encapsulate various features and qualities of a human being, such as their age, gender, physical, social, behavioural or moral traits and characteristics. Take, for example, the concept <BEING DILIGENT> and observe that in English one may postulate the phraseologically embedded positively loaded metaphorical sense BEING A BEE/ANT/HORSE/BULL MEANS <BEING DILIGENT>. This sense emerges from the semantics of such comparative phrases as, for example, as busy as a bee, as busy as an ant, to work like a horse, to sweat like a bull which all serve to encode certain definite physical abilities of various animals and/or their tireless work. By contrast, the metaphorical evaluatively negative sense BEING A DONKEY/TOAD/PIG MEANS <BEING LAZY> is a part and parcel of such English comparative phrases as as lazy as a donkey, as lazy as a toad, as lazy as a pig, which all render the idea that a person who is compared to a given animal is unwilling to perform any task or creative piece of work. Recent years have witnessed a substantial outpouring of publications on metaphorization processes, including zoometaphor among others. A number of linguists, among others, Martsa (1999), Kiełtyka (2008), Górecka-Smolińska and Kleparski (2012) have not only studied extensively animal metaphorisation processes, but have managed to provide convincing evidence that shows that the mechanism of zoosemy is neither as simple nor as straightforward as it might seem at first glance, but rather one is justified to speak about its varied, multilayered and multifaceted complexity. In the hitherto existing research analysts of zoometaphor have traditionally tended to focus on synchronic and diachronic transfers of animal-specific words with the aim of accounting for their historically registered metaphorical uses. Normally, the analysis of polysemic strings attached historically to such lexical items as cat, lion, bat or dog accounts for what shall be referred to here as registered zoometaphoric substantiated senses, such as, among others, those of dog currently employed in slang usage in the sense “police informer” or the female-specific sense “unattractive female”. In other words, studies in zoometaphor pursue the task of analysing those senses of animal-specific lexical items that are registered and attested in lexicographic works, both synchronic and diachronic. Beyond doubt the study of animal metaphor has gone a long way from anecdotal registering of cases of the process to offering such fully-fledged studies as, for example, the monograph authored by Kiełtyka (2008). Yet, we feel that there are various challenges in the field that are worth facing, and hoping to take a step forward in making the study of zoometaphor more complete, we wish to advance

The Semantics of Dog Revisited â&#x20AC;Ś

a radical postulate. In order to get a more complete picture the metaphorical potential of animal-specific vocabulary research tasks should be extended to bringing to light what are termed here as zoometaphoric spectral senses of animal-specific words as they emerge from the phraseological contexts. The central notion of spectral senses proposed here stands for all those frequently nebulous metaphorical senses of lexical items that are embedded in idioms and proverbs of which they form key constituents, and so, for example, the key constituent of the idiom go to the dogs is dog(s) (see Dobrovolskij and Pirainen 2005, 41). Before we focus our attention of the metaphorics of dog, let us point to the fact that, in terms of extralinguistic conditions, as one of the first domesticated animals the dog was used for a variety of purposes, such as hunting, fighting and quasi nomen omen watchdogging. Very frequently, representatives of human kind and dogs are linked, the former being described in terms of the latter, in such areas as behaviour/character, e.g. untrustworthiness, slyness or other forms of contemptible human conduct. Palmatier (1995) points to the fact that the dog is regarded as the lowest of all domesticated animals, because it does not earn its keep by killing pests (as the cat does), helping haul loads (as horses, mules and oxen do), providing food for the table (as cows, pigs, and chickens do), or providing fibre for clothing (as sheep do). Many authors stress that the concept of dog is universally worse than that of many other animal species (see MozioĹ&#x201A;ek 1992). Rawson (1989, 119) draws our attention to the fact that although the dog was one of the first animals to be domesticated, it is a standard symbol of broadly understood inferiority. This is in a somewhat modified way repeated in Stibbe (2001, 151) who stresses that animals are represented in language not only as being different but also as being inferior. As we shall try to show below, the attribute of <BEING INFERIOR> is one of the main running themes in the phraseologically embedded dog-related senses that are the subject of our scrutiny here. In order to ascertain what the inventory of phraseologically conditioned spectral senses for dog is we shall postulate the construct referred to as DOG: SPECTRAL SENSES REPOSITORY [dog1, dog2, dog3, dog3, dogn] that is meant to accommodate in a somewhat systematic manner the store of spectral zoometaphoric senses that emerge from the semantics of idiomatic and proverbial expressions in which lexical item dog functions as a key element, although we shall restrict our attention to dealing with a selection rather than the entirety of all documented spectral senses related to dog. However, before we get to the core of our discussion let us first deal with the lexicographically evidenced substantiated senses; that is, those historical senses that have become part of the semantics of polysemous dog. Naturally, human-specific zoometaphors will be of primary interest to us.

Grzegorz A. Kleparski

Towards encircling dog substantiated senses repository In an attempt to trace the historical polysemy of dog we see that the etymological sources (see, for example, ODEE, EDME) agree that dog is an Anglo-Saxon word, and it appeared in the history of English in the 11th century, originally used in the SUBSTANTIATED SENSE [dog1] “a quadruped of the genus Canis”. In the middle of the 15th century the noun became gender-specific as it started to be used in the male-specific SUBSTANTIATED SENSE [dog2] “a male hound”. As is the case of most of the animal-specific items related to the domesticated animals the process of zoometaphorisation affected the semantics of the noun very early. Namely, at the beginning of the 14th century, by the process of animal metaphor dog developed human-specific reference, and the word started to be used in reproach or contempt in the pejoratively loaded zoometaphoric sense “a worthless, despicable, surly or cowardly fellow”, labelled here as SUBSTANTIATED SENSE [dog3]. As shown in Kleparski (1990) the process of amelioration seldom follows pejorative downfall, but in this case this was the course and order of events. At the close of the 16th century there was a rise of a positively loaded sense of dog as the noun started to be used playfully – usually in humorous reproof, congratulation or commiseration – in the human-specific SUBSTANTIATED SENSE [dog4] “a joyful or jovial man”. Significantly, when used in this sense dog is usually found in the context of various qualifying adjectives, such as, for example, cunning, jolly, lucky, sad, sly, etc., which may be significant in shaping its contextual senses. Yet, let us stress at this point after Sommer and Sommer (2011, 17) that, in general, describing a person by means of the nominal category dog is uncomplimentary, but becomes affectionate when qualified by some adjectives, such as lucky dog or old dog. Apart from the substantiated senses discussed so far one may speak of further alterations that affected the semantics of the noun. Towards the end of the 19th century dog started to be used in schoolboys’ slang in the human-specific sense “overseer, a watch-dog”, labelled here as SUBSTANTIATED SENSE [dog5]. At the same time, one may speak of dialectal developments that led to the rise of other human-specific senses in other regional varieties of English. Namely, in 19th-century American and Australian slang dog developed the human-specific sense “an informer; a traitor”, SUBSTANTIATED SENSE [dog6]. All in all, with the exception of the 17th-century rise of the ameliorative sense, the semantic history of dog in English is the story of pejorative downfall, and the most plentiful outburst of negatively loaded senses took place in the course of the 20th century when, as shown by Partridge (2002, 323), dog developed such zoometaphoric senses as “a beggar-searcher for cigarette-ends” and “an unattractive woman”. The

The Semantics of Dog Revisited …

substantiated senses that have developed in the millennium-long semantic evolution of dog may be portrayed schematically in the following manner: SENSE [dog1] “a quadruped of the genus Canis”, SENSE [dog2] “a male hound”, NOMINAL

SENSE [dog3] “a worthless, despicable, cowardly person”, SENSE [dog4] “a jovial man, a gallant”,

SUBSTANTIATED SENSES

SENSE [dog5] “overseer, a watch-dog”, SENSE [dog6] “an informer, a traitor“, SENSE [dog7] “a beggar-searcher for cigarette ends“, SENSE [dog8] “an unattractive woman“.

In search of dog zoometaphoric spectral senses repository The phraseology of dog, as shown by such lexicographic works as, for example, Spears (2000), Stone (2006) and Wilkinson (2002), is rich, but opinions with respect to the phraseological value of the noun tend to differ. On the one hand, one may repeat after Chen and Chen (2011) that in the Anglo-Saxon cultural zone the dog tends to be regarded as a symbol of faithful friendship. Therefore, many canine idioms in English show some commendatory sense, and are used to specify human beings. True enough, dogs are linked either to the concept of <BEING LUCKY> (to be a lucky dog), <BEING IMPORTANT/INFLUENTIAL> (to be a big dog) or <BEING HAPPY> (to be a gay dog or to be dog with two tails). However, apart from a handful of phraseological units that encode positive traits and associations there are numerous dog-related idiomatic expressions that have no evaluative traits whatsoever. Above all, one may speak of a multitude of phraseological formations that are negatively loaded, with different type and degree of negative charge involved. As can happen in any field of scientific enquiry, many unjustified or downright counterfactual generalizations have done harm to the research on zoometaphor. For example, it is obvious that Stibbe (2001, 151) formulates an utterly erroneous overgeneralization when he says that all idioms that make use of animals tend to describe negative situations or contain images of cruelty and depravity. On the contrary, when we take into consideration the entirety of spectral senses that emerge from the phraseology of dog we come to realize that the most richly represented is the evaluatively neutral SPECTRAL SENSE [dog1]: BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING A PERSON>.

Grzegorz A. Kleparski

The spectral sense discussed here is embedded in the Elizabethan proverbial expression every dog has his day, the sense of which may be defined as “everybody has a spell of good fortune, success, or fame at least once in his or her life”. The proverb was first recorded in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (The cat will mew, and dog, will have his day).1 It is true that the dog is considered one of the lowest animals, yet even the lowest domestic animal has a chance to enjoy its moment of glory by chasing away thieves or warning a family about a fire, etc., and – on the metaphorical plain – even the most insignificant person can expect fifteen minutes of fame during his lifetime. The same spectral sense emerges from the 18th-century English proverb a dog that will fetch a bone will carry a bone the sense of which may be defined as “beware of those people who bring you gossip about others, because they are equally likely to pass on gossip about you” (for example: She came rushing over to tell me that Julia had left Peter, but I gave her no hint that my own marriage was heading the same way. A dog that will fetch a bone will carry a bone, and I didn’t want the whole town to know). Furthermore, the spectral sense BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING A PERSON> emerges from the semantics of the idiomatic expression every dog is allowed one bite which means “a person may be forgiven for a single misdemeanor provided that it does not happen again” (for example: First offenders are usually let off with a warning, on the basis that every dog is allowed one bite). Finally, the same spectral sense emerges from the American English idiom all dogs bite the bitten dog that is used in the metaphorical sense “when a person comes under attack, many others soon join in”. Consider also the proverb a barking dog never bites used figuratively in the sense “people who make the most or the loudest threats are the least likely to take action” which was first recorded in French in the 13th century.2 As to the dark side of the dog-related phraseology let us stress after Rawson (1989) and Stibbe (2001) that the negatively charged attributive value that may be rendered as <BEING INFERIOR> is one of the most frequent conceptual elements that occur in the semantics of dog-related phraseological data. In this context, let us now turn our attention to the relevant idiomatic formations, such as go to the dogs, charity is not a bone that you throw to a dog but a bone you share with a dog, a dog in a deer’s den, don’t look for musk in a dog’s kennel. To start with, the idiomatic expression go to the dogs used in the sense “to go to destruction or ruin, to deteriorate” has been present in English since the first decades of the 17th century and – as 1 Unless stated otherwise all bracketed examples are taken from Wilkinson’s (2002) Thesaurus. 2 The proverb features in a popular 20th-century joke about a man who is reluctant to enter premises where a dog is barking loudly. On being assured that A barking dog never bites he replies: I know that and you know that, but does the dog know that?

The Semantics of Dog Revisited …

hinted earlier – the phraseologically embedded semantic reading of dog(s) may be phrased as SPECTRAL SENSE [dog2]: BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING IN INFERIOR STATE/CONDITION>. For example, on the zoometaphoric side, when humans go to the dogs, they show disregard for their appearance or reputation. A slightly different manifestation of the SPECTRAL SENSE [dog2]: BEING A DOG IS <BEING IN INFERIOR LOCATION/FROM POOR SOURCE> emerges from the 17th-century idiomatic expression don’t look for musk in a dog’s kennel the figurative sense of which may be paraphrased as “don’t expect good things from poor sources”. Apart from the ones already quoted, there are other phraseological formations in which the zoometaphoric spectral sense discussed here is embedded. Let us take the Scottish idiom a dog in a deer’s den where the notion of inferiority forms part of the zoometaphoric reading “the second spouse of a widow or widower, inferior to the former”. Very much the same can be said about the zoometaphoric sense of the idiomatic expression to put/send a dog out, as used in the context The weather is so bad tonight that I wouldn’t even put my dog-the lowest-ranking member of my family-outside, so I certainly wouldn’t ask you to go, where the inferiority/the lowestranking status of the dog is fairly evident.3 Another variation on the spectral sense discussed here is embedded in the late 16th-century idiomatic expression he who sleeps with dogs shall rise with fleas which is used in the sense “bad company brings bad habits or disadvantages that are soon felt”. With a certain degree of approximation one may qualify the sense of dog as (BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING BAD/ INFERIOR COMPANY>). Let us now move on to other spectral senses of dog that are less copiously represented in the body of English phraseological data. The next sense embedded in dog-related phraseology is the SPECTRAL SENSE [dog3]: BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING HUNGRY/GLUTTENOUS>. The evidence that may be quoted to visualise this are the comparative phrases: the American English phrase hungry as a hound dog and its British English equivalents hungry as a dog and hungry as a foumart-dog all three of which express the idea of being (very) hungry. Apart from this, there is also an idiomatic expression to go at it like a dog at broth and the proverb hungry dogs will eat dirty pudding that are used in the sense “those who are really hungry are not particular about what they eat, and are by no means dainty”.

3 Here the dog is regarded as the lowest of all domesticated animals, probably because it provides no milk, eggs, fiber, nor meat, and works only sporadically as a hunter, herder, or protector (see Palmatier 1995).

Grzegorz A. Kleparski

What is termed here as the SPECTRAL SENSE [dog4]: BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING REPELLENT/WORTHLESS> is not as richly represented in English phraseological resources as the spectral senses analysed earlier. Among others, the sense emerges from the semantics of yard dog “repellent, uncouth person” (for example: Is that lousy yard dog hanging around the neighborhood again? Yup. It’s that yard dog, Max.), dog’s helper “someone of repellent, poor appearance”, and the Texasoriginating comparative 20th-century picturesque idiomatic expression so ugly that when he was a little boy momma had to tie a pork chop around his neck so the dog would play with him. The panorama of evaluatively charged spectral senses extends further and another negatively loaded sense that emerges from several phraseological units is the SPECTRAL SENSE [dog5]: BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING SELFISH>. Among others, this sense is embedded in the 14th-century idiomatic coinage dog in the manger which stands for a type of selfishness where someone prevents another having what he needs, although he does not want it himself. Here, an allusion is made to an Aesop fable in which a snarling dog moves into a manger and refuses to allow an ox to eat the hay that the dog itself has no appetite for. Another English similative formation that apparently embodies the spectral sense discussed here is the Early Modern English comparative phrase like the gardener’s dog that neither eats cabbage itself, nor lets anyone else do so which is used of someone who behaves like a dog in the manger. Note that the dog-related negatively charged spectral senses may be placed at different levels of the axiological scale. It seems that the most heavily burdened is the SPECTRAL SENSE [dog6]: BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING THIEVISH/ DISREPUTABLE> mirrored in the semantics of such compounds dirty dog and yellow dog used in the sense “disreputable/contemptible person”. As to larger units, one may quote here the proverbial expression dog does not eat dog the zoometaphoric meaning of which is “there is honour among thieves” (for example: Ellen: My lawyer did such a bad job that I want to hire another lawyer to sue him. Jane: You’ll never find a lawyer to take on that job. Dog does not eat dog.). Obviously, the analysis proposed here does not account for all the spectral senses that are embedded in the dog-related English phraseological data. Other idiomatic formations speak in favour of positing such spectral senses as BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING USELESS> (a bad dog never sees the wolf “a bad, useless workman avoids difficulties”), BEING A DOG MEANS or BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING A LIAR> that is linked to the semantics of dog-faced liar “a terrible liar”. The results of our enquiry enable us to propose the concept of DOG: SPECTRAL SENSES REPOSITORY [dog1, dog2, dog3, dogn] which may be defined as a storehouse for all

The Semantics of Dog Revisited …

spectral senses that, together with the historically developed substantiated senses, form the total of the panchronically viewed senses of dog.

Dog: Spectral Senses Repository SPECTRAL SENSE [dog1]: • BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING A PERSON>, SPECTRAL SENSE [dog2]: • BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING IN INFERIOR STATE/CONDITION>, • BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING ONE WHO IS NEEDY, • BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING OF INFERIOR STATUS/POSITION>, • BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING IN INFERIOR LOCATION/FROM INFERIOR SOURCE>, • BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING BAD/INFERIOR COMPANY>, SPECTRAL SENSE [dog3]: • BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING HUNGRY/GLUTTENOUS> SPECTRAL SENSE [dog4]: • BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING REPELLENT/WORTHLESS>, SPECTRAL SENSE [dog5]: • BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING SELFISH>, SPECTRAL SENSE [dog6]: • BEING A DOG MEANS <BEING THIEVISH/DISREPUTABLE>, SPECTRAL SENSE [dogn]: • […].

Conclusions When we consider the historically substantiated senses of dog in the context of the phraseologically embedded spectral senses singled out above we come to the conclusion that they have much in common, and the senses oftentimes overlap, which may provide some guidance on the historical centrality of certain senses and the marginal nature of others. Because of the number of dog-based phraseological expressions from which the spectral sense <BEING A PERSON> emerges we have grounds to conclude that the sense was very frequent at the earlier stages of the development of English, and the substantiated lexicographically registered sense “jovial or joyful man” that has come down to our times may be treated merely as

Grzegorz A. Kleparski

an extant variant of the more general sense “a person” in which dog was employed oftentimes in the past. Another specific observation is that the data analysed here allow us to speak in favour of the well-established presence of the attributive element <BEING INFERIOR> in many dog-related substantiated and phraseologically embedded senses. We have signalled the possibility of developing a new type of analysis that is meant to account for both those cases of zoometaphor that are registered in lexicographic sources, in the form of substantiated senses, and those cases of zoometaphor that are not registered, but are embedded in phraseological formations as spectral senses and must be analytically uncovered and shown to the naked eye. We have no claims to have offered any final product to be followed blindly. Instead, we hope to have pointed to a new direction, if not in the study of metaphor, than at least in the study of zoometaphor.

References Dictionaries Palmatier, Robert A. 1995. Speaking of Animals: A Dictionary of Animal Metaphors. Westport: Greenwood Press. Partridge, Eric. 2002. A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. London: Routledge (8th edition). Rawson, Hugh. 1981. A Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk. New York: Crown Publishers. Ryken, Leland, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III, eds. 1998. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. New York: InterVarsity Press. Sommer, Elyse, and Dorrie Weiss. 2001. Metaphors Dictionary. Canton: Visible Ink Press. Spears, Richard A. 2000. NTC’S American Idioms Dictionary. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies. Stone, John R. 2006. The Routledge Book of World Proverbs. New York: Routledge. Company. Wilkinson, Peter R. 2002. Thesaurus of Traditional English Metaphors. LondonNew York: Routledge.

Other Sources Chen, Shu-Fen, and Li-Chi Chen. 2011. “What Animals Reveal about Grammar and Culture: A Study of Animal Metaphors in Mandarin Chinese and English.” Journal of National Taiwan Normal University 6:121–152.

The Semantics of Dog Revisited …

Cymbalista, Piotr, and Grzegorz A. Kleparski. 2013. From Michel Breal to Dirk Geeraerts: Towards the Main Issues in Diachronic Lexical Semantics. Jarosław: Wydawnictwo PWSTE w Jarosławiu. Dobrovol’skij, Dmitrij, and Elisabeth Pirainen. 2005. Figurative Language: CrossCultural and Cross-Linguistic Perspectives. Amsterdam: Elsevier Company. Górecka-Smolińska, Małgorzata, and Grzegorz A. Kleparski. 2012. Feathered Creatures Speak: The Study of Semantic Evolution and Phraseology of DOMESTICATED and SEMI-DOMESTICATED BIRDS. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego. Kiełtyka, Robert. 2008. On Zoosemy: The Study of Middle English and Early Modern English DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego. Kleparski, Grzegorz A. 1990. Semantic Change in English: A Study of Evaluative Developments in the Domain of HUMANS. Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL. Mosiołek, Katarzyna. 1992. „Stereotypy psa zawarte w języku polskim.“ Poradnik Językowy 3:23–28. Sakalauskaite, Aida. 2010. A Contrastive Study of German, Lithuanian, English Zoometaphors: A Corpus Study. University of California: Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Stibbe, Arran. 2001. “Language, Power and the Social Construction of Animals.” Society & Animals 9:127–144.

Marcin Kudła

On Dagos, Limeys and Yankees: Semantic Evolution of Attributive Ethnonyms Abstract: The present paper focuses on the phenomenon of attributive ethnonyms, that is, ethnic terms which ascribe a particular characteristic to the target group. Such terms may be based on various submodels of the idealised cognitive model (cf. Lakoff 1987) – or stereotype – of ethnicity. For example, in different points of history native speakers of English have referred to the French as wooden shoes, oui-oui and frog-eaters, alluding to the submodels of clothing, language and cuisine, respectively. Interestingly, while many terms have been relatively stable in terms of their meaning, others evolved with time and came to denote a different target group than in their early days. As the examples of limey, Dago and Yankee show, in some cases attributive ethnonyms followed quite unexpected paths of semantic change. Keywords: attributive ethnonym, categorial zooming, idealised cognitive model, semantic change, stereotype

Introduction Ethnicity is one of the basic dimensions along which human beings perceive and cut up the surrounding world. As Hutchinson and Smith (1996, 3) put it, “though the term ethnicity is recent, the sense of kinship, group solidarity, and common culture to which it refers is as old as historical record.” In the process of ethnic categorisation the social landscape is divided into “us” (the in-group) and “them” (out-groups). The resulting picture is by no means symmetrical, not only in terms of size – the former group (quite logically) being much smaller – but also in terms of axiology. Again, quite naturally, the attitude towards the in-group is more positive. However, the attitude towards foreigners – rather than being simply less positive – is not infrequently negative. This phenomenon is known as “ethnocentrism” (see Sumner 1906). Admittedly, the black-and-white picture presented here is very simplistic and does not take into account various social, economic, cultural and political factors which may introduce all kinds of shades into the interethnic scenery. Indeed, Herskovits (1973, 102–3) distinguishes between “benevolent” and “militant” ethnocentrism, the former seen as a natural and inevitable side-effect of the process of identification with one’s in-group, while the latter characterised by disrespect and hostility towards the others. Thus, it may be argued that some degree of ethnocentrism is beneficial since it helps create and maintain social bonds within the in-group; it is the extreme version of the phenomenon that can be destructive for interethnic relations. On

Marcin Kudła

the other hand, as argued by the founders of “social identity theory,” Henri Tajfel and John C. Turner (1979, 38), there are cases in which “the mere perception of belonging to two distinct groups – that is, social categorization per se – is sufficient to trigger intergroup discrimination favoring the in-group.” The in-group bias resulting from ethnocentrism can be clearly seen in ethnic stereotypes. Hogg and Vaughan (2002, 652) define the stereotype as “[a] widely shared and simplified evaluative image of a social group and its members.” This definition mentions a number of significant properties of the phenomenon in question. Firstly, observe that among the general public stereotypes are usually understood as targeted at human beings viewed as representatives of various social groups. Secondly, stereotypes are simplified, or – as social psychologists would say – they are subject to the so-called “out-group homogeneity effect” (Allen and Wilder 1979), the working of which is succinctly encapsulated in the statement “they are alike, we are diverse” (Myers 1993, 400). In other words, humans have a tendency to perceive their own group as a collection of individuals, while any out-group appears to a be a more or less homogenous mass. This contributes to the already-mentioned ethnocentric tendencies. Finally, stereotypes operate simultaneously on the cognitive level, being products of the mind, and on the collective level, being shared within a culture (see Stangor and Schaller 1996). The latter is usually achieved through language, which means that a linguistic analysis may bring us closer to identifying the most salient elements of particular stereotypes and – possibly – to uncovering general mechanisms which determine the formation, use and evolution of stereotypes. Cognitive Linguistics, which acknowledges the mental aspects of language, seems to offer the most useful methodological tools for this purpose.

Ethnic stereotypes as idealised cognitive models One such tool, developed by George Lakoff (1987), is that of “idealised cognitive models.”1 The usefulness of this notion for the description of stereotypes stems from the fact that – taking into account its cognitive dimension – Lakoff (1987, 70) sees the ICM as “idealised”, that is, reflecting our (imperfect) understanding of the world, rather than objective reality. In some stereotypes this discrepancy is taken to extremes, in others it is the mere presence of the discrepancy that renders them controversial. Among the types of ICMs distinguished by Lakoff (1987, 74–90), two are particularly helpful in the description of stereotypes, including ethnic ones. These

1 Henceforth ICM.

On Dagos, Limeys and Yankees …

are “metonymic” and “cluster” models. The former concern cases in which one subcategory stands for the whole category, while in the latter an ICM is in fact composed of several models which – taken as a whole – are “psychologically more basic than the models taken individually” (Lakoff 1987, 74). In the present paper an ethnic stereotype is seen as a cluster of metonymic models (see Kudła 2012; 2016). In particular, the core of the ethnicity ICM comprises the submodels of person and place, which form the central model. For instance, the most concise definition of Pole would be “someone from Poland.” Yet an ethnic stereotype usually includes other – more or less accurate – beliefs concerning the target group, which form the extended model of ethnicity. In sum, the analysis of English ethnonyms carried out in Kudła (2016) has allowed for the identification of fourteen extended submodels of ethnicity ICM, namely: body, clothing, cuisine, language, name, religion, paragon, occupation, geography, natural environment, emblem, character, social status and instrument. Importantly, the list should not be seen as complete – theoretically any concept may become a valid dimension of otherness, given the right circumstances. On the other hand, the number of extended submodels which are active for a particular target group at a certain point in time is limited. To give an example, between the late seventeenth and mid eighteenth centuries the French were sometimes labelled in English as wooden shoes (BBBR), apparently activating the submodel of clothing. During the nineteenth century another set of ethnonyms appeared in English, namely ouioui2 and parlay-voo (BBBR),3 evidently drawing on the submodel of language. None of these terms are in use nowadays and instead a French person may be described with the use of terms which activate the submocel of cuisine, such as for instance frog, froggy (also froggie) or frog-eater (see the OED, DSUE, BBBR).4

Attributive ethnonyms The above examples show the importance of language in orgainsing and transmitting beliefs concerning other ethnic groups, enclosed in stereotypes. Indeed, as pointed out by Maass and Arcuri (1996, 196), out-group labels may function as “evaluative reference points,” which draw the hearer’s attention to the target group and at the same time signal the speaker’s attitude. As far as ethnic otherness is concerned, terms which draw on the extended submodels of the ethnicity ICM, 2 Also we-wi and wee-wee. 3 Also parleyvoo. 4 See Kudła (2016) for a more detailed discussion of English ethnonyms based on the submodel of cuisine.

Marcin Kudła

including the examples given in the previous section, may be called “attributive” (see Kudła 2010), since they ascribe a particular attribute to the target group. Other examples of attributive ethnonyms include, among others, ancient Hebrew orel “Gentile” (lit. “uncircumscribed man”),5 mediaeval Arabic badawīy “Bedouin” (lit. “desert dweller”),6 sixteenth-to-seventeenth-century Dutch mof “German” (lit. “muff, one who frowns or sulks”),7 as well as contemporary Czech Fric “German” (lit. “Frederick”),8 Au.E. Zorba “Greek”9 and Polish mafioso “Italian,”10 which are based on the submodels of body, natural environment, character, name, paragon and occupation, respectively.11 A number of observations may be made on the basis of the above sample. Firstly, the use of attributive ethnonyms is not limited spatially or temporally; such terms can appear anywhere and anytime, provided the motivation to describe other ethnic groups is sufficiently strong. This, in turn, means that particular terms are culture-specific, although some terms may be used in more than one language. In fact, as can be seen in the case of badawīy (which has been adopted by numerous contemporary languages), the awareness of the attributive origins of attributive ethnonyms may be lost in the process of transfer to other languages. What is also often lost in such cases is the awareness of the original interethnic relations which have led to the formation of the term in question and – consequently – its original axiological load. Specifically, being un aware of the confrontational context in which attributive ethnonyms are frequently coined, the users of the recipient language adopt such terms as official, or neutral ethnonyms. A case in point is the story behind Eskimo, which until the latter half of the twentieth century used to be an official name for a group who call themselves Inuit (Damas 1984, 7). The reason why Inuit communities fought against the use of the term Eskimo in public discourse is that it had come to English during the sixteenth century from an Algonquian Indian language, in which it meant “eaters of raw meat” (the OED, EOL). In other words, the ethnonym in question was formed

5 See DIS. 6 See the OED. 7 See DIS. 8 Szczepańska (2007, 270); cf. English Fritz (the OED) and Polish Fryc (SPW), which allude to the same name. 9 An evident allusion to a character taken from a novel by Nikos Kazantzakis (BBBR). 10 Peisert (1992, 217). 11 For examples (mainly English) related to the remaining submodels see Kudła (2016).

On Dagos, Limeys and Yankees …

as an attributive ethnonym based on the submodel of cuisine, which Renaissance Europeans (and their American descendants) did not know.12 Another side-effect that can take place when the etymology of an attributive ethnonym is blurred is that its meaning can drift away from the original target group to another. This can be seen in the history of English Dago, limey and Yankee.

Dago The English term Dago is a corruption of the Spanish personal name Diego “James” (the OED). It may be concluded, then, that its origin is connected with the submodel of name and, possibly, with the submodel of paragon, since St. James (one of the apostles, the son of Zebedee) is a traditional patron saint of Spain, with Santiago de Compostella – his main shrine in Spain – being one of the most popular destinations for mediaeval pilgrims from all over Europe (see Fletcher 1984). Yet it was during the Renaissance that Anglo-Spanish relations became more intense, due to the competition for the riches of the “New World.” The climax came in 1588, when the Spanish Armada unsuccessfully tried to gain control of the English Channel in order to enable the invasion of the island. The following century brought the use of the name Diego as a label for a Spaniard, as can be seen in the following quotes (the OED): c 1611 “Next followes one, whose lines aloft doe raise Don Coriat, chiefe Diego of our daies. To praise thy booke, or thee, he knowes not whether, It makes him study to praise both, or neither.” 1659 “The Diegos we’ll board to rummage their hold.”

In the first half of the nineteenth century English-speaking sailors started to use the form Dago as a generic name for an Iberian (be it Spanish or Portuguese) sailor who served on an English or American ship (EOL). In the south-west of the United States, in turn, Dago referred to any man of Spanish descent (the OED). By the end of that century in Am.E. the meaning of the term has been extended to cover any Hispanic immigrant (including Mexicans) and even Italians. As a matter of fact, in the 1880s, which saw a large influx of Southern European immigrants in the U.S., 12 As pointed out by Damas (1984, 5–6), the etymological explanation of the term Eskimo relating it to eating habits is not the only possible one. However, the other most probable interpretation also assumes an attributive origin; more importantly, even if it turned out that the explanation presented here is an example of folk etymology, it is this explanation that – together with the fact that the term Eskimo had come from a foreign language and culture – led to the rejection of the ethnonym in question by the target group.

Marcin Kudła

the term was more commonly associated with those of Italian descent. Nowadays the term in question – while still often used to describe Americans with Spanish or Italian roots – can denote any foreigner, both in Am.E. and in Br.E. (the OED, HES). Importantly, whatever the target group, Dago is often intended and even more often perceived as derogatory. The following quotes (taken from the OED) illustrate the use of the term: 1832 “These Dagos [of Minorca], as they are pleasantly called by our people, were always a great pest.” 1858 “And so, Bill, you served as a ingineer with these ere blamed dagos, you say.” 1882 “I waited until a lot of Dago emigrants passed.” 1909 “E’s a foreigner… That’s what E is — a Dago!” 1940 There are Chinks and Japs and Fuzzy Wuzzies and Ice Creamers and Dagos, and so on. 1968 England should have won. All that stopped us was that the dagos [sc. Paraguayans] got more goals than us.

To conclude, the analysis of the semantic evolution of the term Dago in English seems to suggest an almost linear broadening process, leading from “Spaniard” to “any foreigner.” The real picture, however, is more complicated for two reasons. Firstly, since the original, narrow meaning has not disappeared completely, the traditional terminology (“broadening,” or “generalisation”) does not capture the whole story. Secondly, the earliest use of the term Dago attested by the OED, which comes from an eighteenth-century diary, may further contribute to the complexity of its meaning: 1723 “The negro Dago hanged for fiering Mr Powell’s house.”

The quote seems to suggest the presence of a broad reading of the ethnonym right from the very beginning. Alternatively, it may be the case that the black man who was hanged had some Spanish ancestors or – if he was a slave or a former slave – that his (former) master had named him Dago, for instance because the man had been bought from the Spanish. Let us stop the speculations at this point; whatever the meaning intended by the author of the quoted entry, it is safe to assume that the sense “any foreigner” had been in used by the twentieth century at the latest.

Limey The second analysed term, namely limey, boasts an equally attractive history, although the range of its semantic evolution is narrower than in the previous example. The story begins at the end of the eighteenth century, when the British Royal Navy started to issue lime-juice to sailors as an antiscorbutic (DD). In the second

On Dagos, Limeys and Yankees …

half of the nineteenth century, American sailors coined the term lime-juicer and its shorter form, limey (also Limey) as a label for British or English ships and their crews (thus drawing on the submodel of cuisine) which can be illustrated with the following examples (the OED): 1884 “They would not go on a ‘lime-juicer’, they said, for anything.” 1919 “In our fleet a British ship is regularly called a ‘limey’, from the old lime-juicers. The British seaman is likewise a ‘limey’.” 1930 “I … shipped out East on a limey, on an English boat.” 1954 “This ship differed from a Limey vessel in the way the watch bells are struck.”

In Au.E., N.Z. and S.A.E. the terms were soon broadened to cover anyone coming from Britain or England (the OED, DD, BBBR). This change can be explained by the fact that prior to the development of aviation in the twentieth century the only means of reaching the Antipodes was by ship. Consequently, anyone reaching Australia or New Zealand was – at least for a few months – a “sailor” (however ironic that might have sounded). Yet the semantic evolution of the two terms did not stop at that point. Since the twentieth century, both in the U.S. and in the above-mentioned British colonies, they have come to describe any English or British person, including those who have never set foot on a ship (the OED, BBBR, SAE, DSUE). The following OED quotes illustrate the historical development of the terms in question: 1859 “Turn that lime-juicer out.” 1888 “They’d seen old stagers and limey new chums.” 1931 “‘An Englishman,’ he marvelled, ‘the first limey I ever saw shot in Chicago.’” 1947 “I can remember scores of fights among the ‘Limeys’.” 1954 “Everyone would sneer at the fellow from London, The limey remittance man for whom a job was made.” 1962 “The [English] boys [at Sasolburg, Orange Free State] were constantly taunted by school-mates as ‘Pommie’, ‘Limey’, and ‘Rooinek’.” 1969 “Was it my limey accent that called it forth or did they say it to every customer?”

Interestingly – as can be seen in the above quotes – the axiology of lime-juicer and limey is not entirely clear. In particular, while in some examples the negative load is evident,13 others may suggest its lack. As a matter of fact, the last sentence in the sample shows the adoption of one of the terms by members of the target group, thus implying neutral, possibly positive semantic load.

13 The OED explicitly labels limey as “colloquial and derogatory.”

100

Marcin Kudła

As for the changes in the extension of the analysed terms, observe that – similarly to Dago – the history of lime-juicer and limey witnesses a broadening from a representative of an occupational group of particular descent (in both cases sailors) to a representative of an ethnic group (without any restrictions concerning profession). At the same time, however, while in the former case the broadening of the target beyond a single ethnic group was most probably gradual (though reversible), in the latter case the English and the British appeared side by side from the start. Obviously, this state of affairs can be easily explained by the fact that the English have always been a dominant group within the British Empire, yet this does not solve the chicken/egg dilemma that can be noticed here.

Yankee Yankee (also Yank), the last of the terms examined in the present paper, is wellknown even outside the English-speaking world, yet – as it sometimes happens in the case of popular items of vocabulary – its etymology is the most mysterious. Still, among the several theories of its origin two seem the most sensible. One of them derives it from Dutch Janke, a diminutive form of Jan “John,” while the other links it with Dutch Jan Kees, a regional form which could be translated into English as “John Cheese” (see the OED, RDI, DSUE, MWWH, EOL). If the former interpretation is true, then the ethnonym originally involved the activation of the submodel of name of the ethnicity ICM. If the latter is true, then there were two submodels which were activated, namely cuisine and name. Notice, however, that both theories point to Dutch as the source of the ethnonym in question. As a matter of fact, a number of dictionaries state that it originally – that is, in the seventeenth century – referred to Dutch pirates and colonists in the “New World” (see the OED, RDI, EOL, MWWH). Then we enter a period for which there are no attested occurrences of the term in question. We may hypothesise that between the latter part of the seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth century it denoted the inhabitants of the former colony of New Netherland, eventually taken over by the English in the 1670s (see Balicki and Bogucka 1989, 252–3).14 Consequently, the Dutch settlers were gradually overwhelmed by newcomers from England. The rationale behind postulating such a scenario is that in the second half of the eighteenth century, when the origins of the term had already been forgotten, it was used by the British and by inhabitants of southern colonies to describe (English-speaking) New Englanders. With time its meaning was broadened to Americans in Br.E. (which was

14 Consequently, the capital of the colony, New Amsterdam, was renamed to New York.

On Dagos, Limeys and Yankees …

101

later adopted in other varieties) and to Northerners in Am.E., especially in times of military conflicts,15 as evidenced by the following OED quotes: 1765 “It seems, our hero being a New-Englander by birth, has a right to the epithet of Yankey; a name of derision, I have been informed, given by the Southern people on the Continent, to those of New-England: what meaning there is in the word, I never could learn.” 1775 “They [sc. the British troops] were roughly handled by the Yankees, a term of reproach for the New Englanders, when applied by the regulars.” 1778 “Give me five hundred brave and chosen men, I’ll drive the Yanks from north to south again.” 1796 “Their wit was particularly directed against a ‘Yankee’ who was one of the company. We apply this designation as a term of ridicule or reproach to the inhabitants of all parts of the United States indiscriminately; but the Americans confine its application to their countrymen of the Northern or New England States.” 1798 “If thou marriedst the heiress, thou must give up thy little American, thy fascinating yankey.” 1817 “The enterprising people [at Richmond, Virginia] are mostly strangers; Scotch, Irish, and especially New England men, or Yankees, as they are called.” 1836 “I’ll be d—d, said he, if ever I saw a Yankee that didn’t bolt his food whole like a Boa Constrictor.” 1872 “During the war the Yanks became the universal designation of Federal soldiers in the Confederacy, even as they were called Rebs—not Rebels—by Northern men.” 1891 “The Yankees are the New Englanders, … the name would once have been taken as an insult by a Southerner.”

Interestingly, all these senses co-exist nowadays, which has been captured very well in a witty epigram attributed to the American writer E. B. White (Lee 2010, 211): “To foreigners, a Yankee is an American. To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner. To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander. To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter. And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast.”

One aspect of Yankee that requires comment is its axiological value. As can be seen in the above quotes, the ethnonym in question was originally used as a contemptuous term. Indeed, it featured in the song Yankee Doodle, whose early versions, sung by British soldiers during the French and Indian War and the American War of Independence, were explicitly anti-American (RDI). The story goes that during the first military engagement of the latter conflict, near Lexington, the British soldiers, who were marching to Concord with the song on their lips, were attacked by 15 In particular, the French and Indian War, the American War of Independence and the American Civil War.

102

Marcin Kudła

the American militiamen, whom they easily routed. On their way back, however, near Concord, they were ambushed by another colonist unit, this time suffering heavy losses. The victorious Americans took the song as their trophy and Yankee became a badge of honour (see EOL).

Discussion When we look at the meaning of Dago, Limey and Yankee (including their variants) from a historical perspective, we can notice two sets of changes. One of them is the metonymic transfer following the pattern occupational group for ethnic group. Its occurrence may be explained by the fact that all terms under discussion emerged in the era of colonial expansion and in fact reflected European relations in a new, non-European setting. Since at that time a large number of Europeans who found their way to the “New World” were sailors, it does not come as a surprise that they became the original referents of the analysed terms. When the colonial dust settled and the newly-conquered lands were flooded by colonists, the three ethnicity-based occupational names turned into true ethnonyms. The second set of changes is more puzzling. A quick glance at the semantic development of the terms in question suggests that in the course of history all of them underwent a series of semantic broadening (or generalisation) and narrowing (or specification) changes. Yet a more careful analysis leads to a conclusion that in some cases the process of semantic narrowing was accompanied by a transfer to a different ethnic group, while in other cases the original interpretation – be it broad or narrow – did not disappear. The question is whether it is possible to describe these changes more accurately than as an interaction of the processes of broadening and narrowing. The perspective of Cognitive Linguistics seems to offer an alternative in the form of part-whole schema, which in this case turns into a pair of metaphors part for whole and whole for part. However, as argued by Seto (1999), changes which involve moving across taxonomic levels should not be interpreted along the part-whole schema, since they are not based on partonomy. Nor should they be viewed as metonymic, since they violate the contingency criterion.16 Instead, the author proposes to use the term “synecdoche”17

16 See, for example, Panther and Thornburg (2002). 17 Traditionally denoting the part-whole and genus-species relations, later seen as a subtype of metonymy (see Jakobson 1956[1971]).

On Dagos, Limeys and Yankees …

103

as a name for a “C-relation,”18 that is a non-metonymic relation based on semantic inclusion.19 While acknowledging the observations made by Seto (1999), I believe there is a notion which captures the dynamic nature of the semantic evolution of Dago, Limey and Yankee better. The term in question, coined by Kudła (2016) is “categorical zooming.”20 Under this interpretation language users may “zoom in” and “zoom out” and use the same lexical item to describe membership in smaller or larger groups, depending on their state of knowledge. The need for a more dynamic approach to this phenomenon can be seen very clearly in Limey, which has had a two-fold sense (“English/British person”) right from the start. Also the evolution of Dago in Am.E. can be more systematically and coherently accounted for, with a gradual “zooming out” triggered by the influx of Southern European immigrants perceived as similar to Spaniards, followed by a smooth “zooming in” to Italians, reflecting the change of focus to this community within the American society in the late nineteenth century. Still, however, the speakers of Am.E. can “zoom” back and forth, depending on how well acquainted they are with the target. A similar motivation behind the application of categorial zooming can be observed in the case of Yankee, which – as we have seen above – can describe various levels of group identity, usually depending on the “cultural distance” between the users of the term and the target culture.

References Dictionaries and encyclopaedias Ayto, John, ed. 1993. The Diner’s Dictionary: Food and Drink from A to Z. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (DD) Dalzell, Tom, and Terry Victor, eds. 2008. The Concise New Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. New York: Routledge. (DSUE) Green, Jonathon, ed. 2002. The Big Book of Being Rude: 7000 Slang Insults. London: Cassell. (BBBR)

18 “C” stands for “category.” 19 See also Bierwiaczonek (2012, 22–23, 30–41) for further discussion of the metonymy/ synecdoche distinction. 20 The term comes from the field of photography and cinematography and refers to the smooth movement of the lens of a camera between close and long range.

104

Marcin Kudła

Harper, Douglas, ed. 2001–2016. Online Etymology Dictionary. Accessed March 1, 2016, http://www.etymonline.com. (EOL) Hughes, Geoffrey, ed. 2009. An Encyclopedia of Swearing. The Social History of Oaths, Profanity, Foul Language and Ethnic Slurs in the English-speaking World. London: M.E. Sharpe. (HES) Mish, Frederick C., ed. 1991. The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories. Springfield: Merriam-Webster Inc. (MWWH) Rawson, Hugh, ed. 1991. A Dictionary of Invective: A Treasury of Curses, Insults, Put-Downs, and Other Formerly Unprintable Terms from Anglo-Saxon Times to the Present. London: Robert Hale. (RDI) Roback, Abraham A., ed. 1979. A Dictionary of International Slurs. Waukesha: Maledicta Press Publications. (DIS) Simpson, John A., and Edmund S. C. Weiner, eds. 2009. Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (the OED) Spears, Richard A., ed. 1991. Slang and Euphemism. A Dictionary of Oaths, Curses, Insults, Ethnic Slurs, Sexual Slang and Metaphor, Drug Talk, College Lingo and Related Matters. New York: Signet. (SAE) Stomma, Ludwik, ed. 2000. Słownik polskich wyzwisk, inwektyw i określeń pejoratywnych. Warszawa: Graf-Punkt. (SPW)

Other sources Allen, Vernon L. and David A. Wilder. 1979. “Group categorization and attribution of belief similarity.” Small Group Behavior 10:73–80. Balicki, Jan, and Maria Bogucka. 1989. Historia Holandii. Wrocław: Ossolineum. Bierwiaczonek, Bogusław. 2013. Metonymy in Language, Thought and Brain. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing. Damas, David. 1984. “Introduction.” In Handbook of North American Indians: Arctic, edited by William C. Sturtevant, 5–7. Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office. Fletcher, Richard A. 1984. Saint James’ Catapult: The Life and Times of Diego Gelmírez of Santiago de Compostela. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Herskovits, Melville J. 1973. Cultural Relativism: Perspectives in Cultural Pluralism. New York: Vintage Books. Hogg, Michael A. and Graham M. Vaughan. 2002. Social Psychology. London: Prentice Hall. Hutchinson, John and Anthony D. Smith. 1996. “Introduction.” In Ethnicity, edited by John Hutchinson and Anthony D. Smith, 3–16. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

On Dagos, Limeys and Yankees …

105

Jakobson, Roman. 1956[1971]. “The Metaphoric and Metonymic Poles.” In Critical Theory since Plato, edited by Hazard Adams and Leroy Searle, 1113–1116. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Kudła, Marcin. 2010. „Inność od kuchni (brytyjskiej).“ In Podkarpackie Forum Filologiczne. Seria: Językoznawstwo, edited by Grzegorz A. Kleparski, and Ro bert Kiełtyka, 147–155. Jarosław: PWSZ Jarosław. Kudła, Marcin. 2012. “A Cognitive Account of Ethnicity as a Dimension of Otherness: A Pilot Study.” In Galicia Studies in Language. Historical Semantics Brought to the Fore, edited by Beata Kopecka, Marta Pikor-Niedziałek, and Agnieszka Uberman, 83–98. Chełm: TAWA. Kudła, Marcin. 2016. A Study of Attributive Ethnonyms in the History of English with Special Reference to Foodsemy. Frankfurt am Main/Berlin/Bern/Bruxelles/ New York/Oxford/Warszawa/Wien: Peter Lang. Lakoff, George. 1987. Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Lee, Sander. 2010 “Why are They our Red Sox?” In The Red Sox and Philosophy: The Green Monster Meditations, edited by Michael Macomber, 203–212. Chicago: Open Court Publishing Company. Maass, Anne, and Luciano Arcuri. 1996. “Language and Stereotyping.” In Stereotypes and Stereotyping, edited by C. Neil Macrae, Charles Stangor, and Miles Hewstone, 193–226. New York: The Guildford Press. Myers, David G. 1993. Social Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. Panther, Klaus-Uwe, and Linda L. Thornburg. 2002. “The Roles of Metaphor and Metonymy in English -er Nominals.” In Metaphor and Metonymy in Comparison and Contrast, edited by René Dirven, and Ralf Pörings, 279–319. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Peisert, Maria. 1992. „Nazwy narodowości i ras we współczesnej polszczyźnie potocznej.“ Język a Kultura 5:209–223. Seto, Ken-ichi. 1999. “Distinguishing Metonymy from Synechdoche.” In Metonymy in Language and Thought, edited by Klaus-Uwe Panther, and Günter Radden, 91–120. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Stangor, Charles, and Mark Schaller. 1996. “Stereotypes as Individual and Collective Representations.” In Stereotypes and Stereotyping, edited by C. Neil Macrae, Charles Stangor, and Miles Hewstone, 3–37. New York: The Guildford Press. Sumner, William G. 1906. Folkways: A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals. Boston: Ginn.

106

Marcin Kudła

Szczepańska, Elżbieta. 2006. „Etnonimy deprecjonujące a stereotypy językowe w czeszczyźnie i polszczyźnie.“ Bohemistyka VI/3:265–272. Tajfel, Henri and John C. Turner. 1979. “An Integrative Theory of Group Conflict.” In The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, edited by William G. Austin, and Stephen Worchel, 33–47. Monterey, CA: Brooks-Cole.

Przemysław Łozowski

Tracing Common-Denominator Semantics: In-Between Substantiated and Spectral Senses Abstract: In the article, we set Kleparski’s proposal of complementing “substantiated senses” with “spectral senses”, as applied to examining dog-related metaphors, against a broader background of what we term as common-denominator lexical semantics. Two specific problems are identified: that (i) as long as substantiated senses are calibrated on the commondenominator basis, many interesting contextual readings are left out of consideration (here: dog in Shakespeare), and, that (ii) as long as semantic analyses are based exclusively on idealized dictionary-like substantiated senses, let alone spectral senses, the overall (historical) development of word meanings tends to be unidirectional, which does not reflect the complexity of actual semantic changes and transformations. Keywords: lexical semantics, semantic change, sense relations, textual evidence, Shakespeare

Introduction The main objective behind this contribution is to identify, or rather: uncover, Kleparski’s (this volume) proposal of incorporating what he calls spectral senses “if not in the study of metaphor, than at least in the study of zoometaphor” as one of the latest attempts at pursuing what is termed here as the common-denominator kind of lexical semantics. As the latter may need some explaining, we begin with a little sketch of what we believe this approach to word-meaning actually involves.

Common-denominator lexical semantics Indeed, the generalization that we would like to start with here is that the method ological strategy behind the so-called sense-relation semantics can be as simple as establishing a formal and/or semantic attribute that could prove to be universal and abstract enough to embrace all the examined senses.1 This in practice 1 By sense-relation semantics we understand any strand of lexical meaning examination that makes an extensive and principled use of the idea that the basis of the semantic analysis is mutual relations of meanings with regard to one another, no matter which of the historically-delimited theories specific accounts can actually be identified with. In other words, we find as much of sense-relation semantics in structurally-oriented

108

Przemysław Łozowski

amounts to searching for some shared basis, say, common denominator, for different senses in order to claim these senses to be related or unrelated (to some degree, presumably). In mathematics, to be remembered, the common denominator is a number, or, more technically: an integer, that may be divided by each of the denominators of the fractions involved. Alternatively, in more practical terms, the common denominator is a number that is a multiple of all the denominators of a given set of fractions. One way or the other, the common denominator is an end-product of the process aimed at bringing different entities together for the sake of making possible relations between them transparent. Similarly, in sense-relation semantics, different semantic units, usually and typically called senses, are believed to constitute a system of relations, all relative to the extent to which respective senses share the common basis. For example, the following claims – that pretty and handsome are synonyms, stop and start are antonyms, minister ‘priest’ and minister ‘politician’ are homonyms, book ‘written text’ and book ‘accounts, financial record’ are polysemous, hand is a meronym of arm, car is a hyponym of vehicle, depend directly on how much semantic substance the senses of the involved lexemes share. Once some common ground for comparison has been established, it can further on be shown that the semantic correspondences may vary from what appears to be extensive, if not near-complete, as in synonymy and polysemy, to what seems to be only partial (meronymy, hyponymy, antonymy), if not non-existent (homonymy). Just like in mathematics, a sense can, then, be presented as a combination of the dividend a (the numerator) and the divisor b (the denominator) a b and two (or more) different senses can be, for some analytical purpose, brought to comparison by having been given the same denominator. If so, the fraction-like representation of the synonymy relation between pretty and handsome, respectively, could be given as this: in a man way in a woman way good-looking good-looking

attempts, such as lexical field theory, relational semantics, or componential analysis, as in generativist semantics and poststructuralist semantics, all being distinct and specific schools of lexical semantics if seen from a historical perspective. (Cf. Geeraerts 2010, xiv.)

Tracing Common-Denominator Semantics …

109

which sets two different discriminators, “in a man way” vs. “in a woman way”, against one and the same footing of “good looking”. In the case of the other relations mentioned above, the common-denominator representation could be attempted as follows:

antonymy (stop vs. start): finish begin happen or exist happen or exist

polysemy (book “written text” vs. book “accounts, financial records”): written text printed pages

accounts printed pages

meronymy (hand vs. arm):

the end part beyond the wrist the stretch from the shoulder to beyond the wrist upper-body part upper-body part

hyponymy (car vs. vehicle):

small four-wheeled passenger carrier any transportation carrier means of transportation means of transportation

homonymy (minister “priest” vs. minister “politician”):

priest politician minister /’mɪnɪstə/ minister /’mɪnɪstə/ In each pair, although the involved senses show different “numerators”, the “denominator” remains the same, and it is the latter that facilitates the analysis.2 To repeat, the drive at obtaining a formal and/or semantic common denominator that we ascribe here to sense-relation semantics amounts, in the final resort, to establishing an abstracted attribute that appears to be common to all the members of a given category, which, in turn, allows for postulating specific kinds of relations, all being systemic in nature. This should come as no surprise because, as the name suggests, lexical semantics deals with the meaning of lexemes. Without going into any detailed discussion,3 2 However, it should be noted that in homonymy, the common denominator is of a formal, rather than a semantic, character, be it either the spelling (homography) or the pronunciation (homophony) of the involved senses/lexemes. The minister example illustrates both of these subtypes of homonymy. 3 As we argue in Łozowski (2015), it is not quite clear in the literature that the actual object of investigation in lexical semantics is lexemes, rather than words. Even within the same

110

Przemysław Łozowski

a lexeme is a generalization, an abstraction, a base form for all morphological variants of one and the same word abstracted from all its occurrences. As we argue elsewhere (Łozowski 2015), quite like a phoneme, a lexeme is void of a speaker’s age, sex, gender, attitude, connotation, real-world association, or experience grounding, its primary meaning being the extra-contextual sense it shows in contrastive distinctions with the other lexemes it is related to. To quote one of the champions of this approach, By the sense of a word we mean its place in a system of relationships which it contracts with other words in the vocabulary (…). The sense of a lexical item may be defined to be, not only dependent upon, but identical with, the set of relations which hold between the item in question and other items in the same lexical system (Lyons 1968, 427, 443; emphasis added).

This, naturally, throws the door wide open to systemic linguistics, which is where abstractions called lexemes are believed to relate to each other, and, thus, constitute an autonomous system of relations.4 In a way, then, doing lexical semantics is (i) to examine the intra-systemic correspondences between lexemes, (ii) to identify the formally-oriented tradition, Murphy (2010, 5) argues for the term lexeme, while Kearns (2011), Hurford et al. (2007), or Cann et al. (2009) can do well without it, the latter source mentioning the term lexeme just twice, with sense relations claimed to hold between words, not lexemes. Those that do not seem to take any clear position and aim at no specific theory in their analyses either identify lexemes with semantic words (Saeed 2008), or make a distinction between word forms and lexemes (Riemer 2010; Cruse 2011, 76), or use words in all contexts (Elbourne 2011). What adds to the confusion is that although cognitive semantics holds that “grammatical constructions (…) are themselves inherently meaningful, independently of the content words that fill them” (Evans and Green 2006, 215), the very term lexeme does survive well, yet in a quite different sense. For example, in his brief discussion of the meaning of glass, Langacker (2008, 48–50) embraces the idea that “a lexeme not only gives access to a set of domains, but does so preferentially, making some especially likely to be activated,” which makes him conclude that “strictly speaking, a lexeme is never used twice with exactly the same meaning.” Naturally, that possibility is ruled out in (systemic) sense-relation semantics, a lexeme being an abstraction frozen in its form and its meaning. 4 As we signal in Łozowski (2015), the actual typology of sense (lexical) relations will vary from author to author, with the concept of synonymy enjoying the unrivalled central position and polysemy being most often the bone of contention. And, thus, Cann et al. (2009, 6) speak of only “three basic types of sense relations: synonymy, hyponymy, and antonymy”, with no single mention of polysemy, Riemer (2010, ch.5) allows for two more, meronymy and taxonomy, polysemy being called a “situation,” Griffiths (2006, chapter 2.2) presents and exemplifies these seven – synonymies, complementaries, antonyms, converses, has-relation (words for wholes, or holonymy), hyponymy, and

Tracing Common-Denominator Semantics …

111

senses of lexemes in terms of necessary and sufficient attributes, and (iii) to decide which of the sense relations they actually exemplify, the notion of the common denominator being the implied basis for all the three tasks (i–iii).

From substantiated to spectral senses This all can be found in Kleparski’s (this volume) “radical postulate”, as he calls it, that the traditional research of animal-based metaphorization processes does not provide a complete picture of zoosemic potential because it is limited to “analysing those senses of animal-specific lexical items that are registered and attested in lexicographic works, both synchronic and diachronic”. In other words, the postulate is that next to, or rather: beyond, historically registered “substantiated senses”, one should as well take into account “spectral senses”, which is, as Kleparski explains, “all those frequently nebulous metaphorical senses of lexical items that are embedded in idioms and proverbs of which they form key constituents”. And thus, in his analysis of the metaphorics of the noun dog, Kleparski identifies the following substantiated senses (the diagram after Kleparski, this volume): SENSE [dog1] “a quadruped of the genus Canis”, SENSE [dog2] “a male hound”, NOMINAL

SENSE [dog3] “a worthless, despicable, cowardly person”, SENSE [dog4] “a jovial man, a gallant”,

SUBSTANTIATED SENSES

SENSE [dog5] “overseer, a watch-dog”, SENSE [dog6] “an informer, a traitor”, SENSE [dog7] “a beggar-searcher for cigarette ends”, SENSE [dog8] “an unattractive woman”.

All of these 8 senses are “substantiated” in the sense that they all have been identified in/by various lexicographic works, mainly dictionaries and thesauruses, and can, presumably, be found in historical texts. Indeed, although Kleparski does not evidence his respective senses with any textual evidence, it is safe to assume that the diagram can be completed with some solid historical navigation. An, thus, [dog1] can be traced back to as early as the 11th century, [dog2] to the middle of

incompatibilities, whereas Saeed’s (2008, chapter 3) classification includes as many as 8 kinds of relations, polysemy included.

112

Przemysław Łozowski

the 15th c., [dog3] to the beginning of the 14th c., [dog4] to the close of the 16th c., [dog5] to the end of the 19th c., [dog6] to the 19th-century American and Australian slang, whereas [dog7] and [dog8] appeared in the course of the 20th c. However, these delimited substantiated senses ([dog1] – [dog8] above) are abstractions of numerous actual and specific historically-attested occurrences of dog and, as such, are already spectral themselves. Simply, for the benefit of giving a well-phrased dictionary definition, only an idealized common denominator can be given for a given sense, with the nuances, however revealing, ignored. This is to say that in search of textual data, one may find evidence for a sense that has not been registered in any lexicographic work and, for that reason, has not been recognized in any analysis based on lexicographic resources alone. In what follows, we will attempt to give examples of this mismatch between the delimited commondenominator substantiated senses and actual (con)textual senses. Take dog in Shakespeare. His Tragedy of Coriolanus, Act I Sc. 1, opens with First Citizen’s angry words against Caius Marcius, calling the latter chief enemy to the people.5 In response, Second Citizen tries to pacify the crowd of the mutinous people, all equipped with staves, clubs, and other weapons, evidently ready to rebel and fight, with the following question: Would you proceed especially against Caius Marcius? The crowd have no doubts that the answer is positive and they all shout: Against him first: he’s a very dog to the commonalty, which echoes First Citizen’s accusation of Caius Marcius being chief enemy to the people. The context clearly suggests that dog means here “ruthless enemy, merciless beast”. Although this meaning can possibly be related to Kleparski’s [dog3] and [dog6], neither embraces the attribute “public enemy” in any direct way. If so, [dog3] and [dog6] can be called spectral – they have been abstracted from actual instances without reflecting all the characteristic attributes and nuances of these actual instances. In Shakespeare’s Richard II, Act V Sc. 5, we have a similar case, that is, again, the contextual import of dog escapes any of the substantiated senses delimited for this word by Kleparski. Towards the very end of the drama, King Richard II, having been imprisoned in Pomfret Castle, complains about his fate and loneliness. Hailed by Groom, he says this: Thanks, noble peer; The cheapest of us is ten groats too dear. What art thou? and how comest thou hither,

5 All the quotations from Shakespeare are given after shakespeare.mit.edu, whereas contextual semantic disambiguations come from shakespeareswords.com.

Tracing Common-Denominator Semantics …

113

Where no man never comes but that sad dog That brings me food to make misfortune live?

Dog here is used in reference to Keeper who a minute later brings a dish for the king and invites him to have a meal. Both the name and the role of Keeper might suggest a correlation with [dog5], yet this sense can be evidenced as late as the end of the 19th century only, so the substantiated sense that could cover this application of dog must be [dog4]. In other words, Richard’s calling Keeper that sad dog complies with what Kleparski has got to say on the semantic development of dog that took place already a century before Shakespeare used it in his drama: At the close of the 16th century (…) the noun started to be used playfully – usually in humorous reproof, congratulation or commiseration – in the human-specific SUBSTANTIATED SENSE [dog4] “a joyful or jovial man”. Significantly, when used in this sense dog is usually found in the context of various qualifying adjectives, such as, for example, cunning, jolly, lucky, sad, sly, etc., which may be significant in shaping its contextual senses. Yet, let us stress (…) that, in general, describing a person by means of the nominal category dog is uncomplimentary, but becomes affectionate when qualified by some adjectives, such as lucky dog or old dog.

In this particular context, the king has no reason to use the word with any playful or humorous overtones. Still, he finds Keeper of some comfort or company to speak of him with affection. However, during this one scene, Richard II asks Keeper to taste the food first and when Keeper politely rejects, the king starts beating him. Keeper’s calling for help brings the armed servants and the king gets killed. The situation is nothing but grave, and reducing the actual import of sad dog here to the common denominator of ‘a joyful or jovial man’ is seeing ghosts, or specters, indeed.6 Equally difficult to match with Kleparski’s substantiated senses are the two occurrences of dog used by Shakespeare to the effect of “be adept at, be experienced in”. One of these instances can be found in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act IV Sc. 4, where dog is used several times in Launce’s lengthy monologue: When a man’s servant shall play the cur with him, look you, it goes hard: one that I brought up of a puppy; one that I saved from drowning, when three or four of his blind brothers and sisters went to it. I have taught him, even as one would say precisely, ‘thus I would teach a dog.’ I was sent to deliver

6 The best that the editors of shakespeareswords.com can offer here is the sense “fellow, individual”, without risking any qualifying adjectives.

114

Przemysław Łozowski

him as a present to Mistress Silvia from my master; and I came no sooner into the dining-chamber but he steps me to her trencher and steals her capon’s leg: O, ‘tis a foul thing when a cur cannot keep himself in all companies! I would have, as one should say, one that takes upon him to be a dog indeed, to be, as it were, a dog at all things. If I had not had more wit than he, to take a fault upon me that he did, I think verily he had been hanged for’t; sure as I live, he had suffered for’t; you shall judge. He thrusts me himself into the company of three or four gentlemanlike dogs under the duke’s table: he had not been there – bless the mark! – a pissing while, but all the chamber smelt him. ‘Out with the dog!’ says one: ‘What cur is that?’ says another: ‘Whip him out’ says the third: ‘Hang him up’ says the duke. I, having been acquainted with the smell before, knew it was Crab, and goes me to the fellow that whips the dogs: ‘Friend,’ quoth I, ‘you mean to whip the dog?’ ‘Ay, marry, do I,’ quoth he. ‘You do him the more wrong,’ quoth I; ‘twas I did the thing you wot of.’ He makes me no more ado, but whips me out of the chamber. (…)

As many as six of the seven instances of dog here have to do with [dog1] or [dog2], which is either with the sense ‘a quadruped of the genus Canis’ or the sense ‘a male hound’. As long as Launce speaks of his own dog, we have instantiations of [dog2], but whenever he makes a more general remark, he means [dog1]. The troublesome part is this: (…) I would have, as one should say, one that takes upon him to be a dog indeed, to be, as it were, a dog at all things. (…)

In shakespeareswords.com, the gloss given to the expression be a dog at all things reads ‘be adept at, be experienced in’. The same interpretation is given to Sir Andrew’s boasting in Twelfth Night, Act II Sc. 3: An you love me, let’s do’t: I am dog at a catch, a catch being a canon, a musical round. Clearly, in both expressions, be a dog at all things and be dog at a catch, some experience-based skills are meant, no matter whether they are ascribed to an animal or a human being.

Tracing Common-Denominator Semantics …

115

Final remarks In this contribution, we have identified two problems that Kleparski’s (this volume) proposal seems to pose, both relating to the notion of substantiated senses. One has been developed in Section 3 and has to do with the fact that substantiated senses may have little to do with the senses actually detected in textual contexts. In other words, no matter how well-substantiated substantiated senses can be, they are anyway extra-contextual abstractions that cannot possibly cover all the specific instances. As long as one’s semantic analysis of anything in language, here: zoosemic metaphors, is based on common-denominator driven generalized senses, much of the semantic potential, here: dog-related metaphorics, must be left out. The other problem relates to the validity of conclusions that one derives from common-denominator substantiated senses. Let us notice that Shakespeare’s import of “being highly-skilled or well-trained” in be a dog at all things and be dog at a catch questions the idea that the all-embracing attributive element in the historical development of dog has been <BEING INFERIOR>. Moreover, as Kleparski admits himself, “the substantiated lexicographically registered sense “jovial or joyful man” (…) has come down to our times”. All in all, Kleparski’s proposal is no doubt intriguing and it may well prove to be, as the Author hopes, “a new type of analysis”. Nevertheless, apart from the two problem questions that we have raised above, there are at least two more that seem to be pending: if substantiated senses are shown to be so abstract that can be ascribed with some ghostlike nature, how much more ghostlike must spectral senses be to be truly spectral? and, if we assume that the methodological shift from substantiated to spectral senses is, in fact, a quest of sweeping generalizations, can this all be given the name of panchrony?

References Cann, Ronnie, Ruth Kempson, and Eleni Gregoromichelaki. 2009. Semantics: An Introduction to Meaning in Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cruse, Alan. 1986. Lexical Semantics (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cruse, Alan. 2011. Meaning in Language: An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics, 3rd edition, (Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Elbourne, Paul. 2011. Meaning: a Slim Guide to Semantics (Oxford Linguistics). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

116

Przemysław Łozowski

Evans, Vyvyan, and Melanie Green. 2006. Cognitive Linguistics. An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Hurford, James R., Brendan Heasley, and Michael B. Smith. 2007. Semantics: A Coursebook. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Geeraerts, Dick. 2010. Theories of Lexical Semantics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Griffiths, Patrick. 2006. An Introduction to English Semantics and Pragmatics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Kearns, Kate. 2011. Semantics. 2nd edition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Kleparski, Grzegorz A. (this volume) “The Semantics of Dog Revisited: In Search of Phraseologically Embedded Spectral Zoometaphors.” Kodish, Susan Presby, and Bruce I. Kodish. 2011. Drive Yourself Sane: Using the Uncommon Sense of General Semantics, 3rd edition. Extentional Publishing. Evans, Vyvyan, and Melanie Green (2006) Cognitive Linguistics. An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Langacker, Ronald W. 2008. Cognitive Grammar. A Basic Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lyons, John. 1968. Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Łozowski, Przemysław. 2015. “Lexical Semantics with and without Sense Relations: Pig Terms in EFL Dictionaries”. In New Pilgrimage: Selected Papers from the IAUPE Beijing Conference in 2013, edited by Li Cao and Li Jin, 321–336. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press. Murphy, M. Lynne. 2010. Lexical Meaning (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Riemer, Nick. 2010. Introducing Semantics (Cambridge Introductions to Language and Linguistics). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Saeed, John I. 2008. Semantics. 3rd edition. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. Shakespeare’s Words: A Glossary and Language Companion. [shakespeareswords. com]. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. [shakespeare.mit.edu].

Adam Pluszczyk, Artur Świątek

The Analysis of Selected Swearwords: Their Meaning, Use and Functions in Various Contexts Abstract: Although the use of swearwords is universal as it occurs in every language and culture, it is usually associated with rudeness, anti-social behaviour, violation of the norms, breaking some rules and inappropriateness in most contexts. However, it is common knowledge that there are a number of swearwords that reflect various meanings depending on their function, for instance expressing anger, annoyance, frustration (swearing which serves as an outlet for strong, negative emotions), insulting, emphatic and phatic communication (as a marker of solidarity and group membership), empathy, and even causing humour (i.e. in verbal humour). Thus, one can state that swearing does not always have to be impolite in all contexts. In fact, in some social groups swearing is not necessarily offensive, but the norm or even positive as it serves as a tool for solidarity (Wilson 2012). That is why the objective of this paper is the analysis of selected swearwords (such as fuck, fucking, bitch, shit, piss). Thus the paper aims at exploring the taboo language in the speech of men and women interacting with each other in order to establish a contextual framework, the reasons for swearing – the functions and the incidence of swearing. We have the intention of focusing on the occurrence of the above-mentioned swearwords in various contexts. Two corpora, BNC (British National Corpus) and COCA (Corpus of Contemporary American English), will constitute the basis of our analysis of the subject matter. Keywords: taboo, swearwords, functions, corpora.

Introduction The world we live in is abundant in various norms and rules, more specifically regularities of certain behaviour. A norm is a socially accepted pattern or a way of behaviour in particular circumstances. There are a number of circumstances where we can easily deviate from a particular norm by behaving inappropriately. The violation of social norms can be attributed to various factors, such as: place (sleeping in a classroom, talking on the phone during lessons), situation (laughing in church, tapping your fingers on the desk during an exam), time (fashion, dress code, doing things which are no longer popular), culture (the way we greet with others, such as shaking hands). There are certain norms in communication – in the way we talk. It is often advisable, if not indispensable, to adjust our speech to particular contextual settings,

118

Adam Pluszczyk, Artur Świątek

such as the informality level, the interlocutors and the settings: “When we speak, we must constantly make choices of many different kinds: what we want to say, how we want to say, and the specific sentence types, words and sounds that best unite the what with the how” (Wardhaugh 1998, 255). Apart from inappropriate behaviour in certain situations, one can violate socially accepted norms through inappropriate language, i.e. offensive language. Undeniably in most cultures, swearing has always been regarded as offensive. Swearing is a linguistic phenomenon which contributes to the violation of cultural and social norms. It is usually inappropriate, rude and wrong. It constitutes a linguistic activity which involves the use of taboo words (Stapleton 2010) and serves as an empowering and forceful tool used for a number of purposes. Swearing mostly serves for expressing negative emotions, such as anger, frustration or annoyance when we are unable to control our emotions. Moreover, it also serves to insult or offend other people. Swearing is regarded as rude, obscene, offensive and anti-social. Still, the very act of swearing can also be used for other purposes – not necessarily so negative. Thus, the use of swearwords does not always have to be associated with rudeness, bad manners or disrespect, so it does not need to be face-threatening (Jay and Janschewitz 2008).

The scope of our study The study concentrates on the analysis of swear words identified in English and American corpora with reference to their alleged (in)appropriateness.

Research questions and objectives The objective of the study is to determine the functions and communication goals of swearwords. Thus, the questions are the following: –– What does swearing identified in the corpora mostly serve for? –– What are the functions of offensive language?

Swearing and taboo language – literary review There are the following characteristic features pertaining to taboo language: • b ased on violation of cultural values, beliefs, socio-cultural factors, social and behavioral norms (Ahmad, Ghani, Alam and Gul 2013; Ghounane 2014) • varies from culture to culture – hence it is culture-specific (Trudgill 2000; Fromkin, Rodman and Hyams 2007) • vary from language to language - hence it is language (Pinker 2007)

The Analysis of Selected Swearwords …

119

• i n most languages taboo pertains to sex, excretion, religion, diseases and death, food preparation, consumption (Allan and Burridge 2006) There are several classifications of obscene language. Depending on what is analyzed specifically, it is necessary to determine which classification is more relevant. We will solely mention the following classifications. According to Jay (1996), linguistic taboos are categorized into eight types. These are: –– t aboo / obscene language – expressions restricted from public use, i.e. bitch, shit, fuck, fucking, piss; –– blasphemy – the use of religious expressions in order to denigrate God, religious institutions –– profanity – the use of religious expressions disrespectfully –– insults and slurs – verbal attacks on other people, referring to physical, mental and psychological qualities –– expletives – emotional words used as interjections, not directed to anyone, serve to release negative emotions; –– vulgarisms – expressions regarded as offensive; –– cursing – using inappropriate language; –– slang – created by social groups to identify membership. As far as taboo language is concerned, Wajnryb (2004, 11–16) distinguishes the following types: abusive swearing – words which are addressed to others blasphemy – swearing which vilifies religion cursing – swearing, using foul language cussing – swearing generally dysphemism – the substitution of an offensive item for an inoffensive one epithet – a synonym of an expletive euphemistic swearing – the substitution of an offensive term foul language – generally referred to as swearing; insult – serves to insult others; invective – a refined version of the insult used formally; oath – a metaphoric curse; obscenity – the use of taboo words explicitly with reference to intimate parts of the body, the body’s functions and products. –– profanity – use of words which abuse sacred things; –– swearing -describes the use of foul language –– taboo words – disrespect religion or intimate acts

–– –– –– –– –– –– –– –– –– –– –– ––

120

Adam Pluszczyk, Artur Świątek

According to Jay and Janschewitz (2008), we distinguish between propositional swearing (intentional) and nonpropositional swearing (unintentional, unplanned). –– P ropositional swearing can be polite, impolite or neither. It can be rude when people purposefully and intentionally attack others in order to insult or offend them, i.e. fucking idiot, However, it can be polite when it brings forth social harmony, as in face building, for instance This babe is fucking hot or The performance was so fucking good. –– Nonpropositional swearing can also be polite or impolite depending on the context and the listener. It occurs automatically and uncontrollably and pertains to emotional responses, for example when expressing surprise, joy or pain, as in Shit! I forgot to lock the door! It should be added that nonpropositional swearing is not regarded as polite or impolite. However, it could be perceived as impolite if a listener does not expect to hear a swear word and as a result he / she might be offended by that (Jay and Janschewitz 2008, 270). It is necessary to take into account pragmatic factors (also referred to as contextual): influence the appropriateness of swearing, such as the topic of a conversation, the relationship between the speaker and the listener encompassing all the social variables, such as gender, education, occupation, social status, age. Moreover, the setting of a particular communicative situation and the level of formality contribute to the choice and the incidence of swearing. There are a number of functions to be distinguished, such as: –– a n outlet for negative emotions, such as venting frustration, negative and strong emotions: fuck, shit –– a means of relieving or soothing pain, agony, as a response to pain –– a means to insult or offend others: swearing is offensive; it can be used to offend people, to refer to them in a derogatory way: asshole, fuckhead, shitface. –– emphasis / emphatic talk: swearing can also be used for emphasis with a view to strengthening particular items, i.e. arguments: fucking, the fuck; –– solidarity - phatic talk: expressing social relationships, establishes relations, it functions as a marker of solidarity with other people and group membership (Daly, Holmes, Newton and Stubbe 2004): dog (English); –– filler: to give a speaker a chance to think or to recover before continuing the argument. –– humour: bad language brings forth humour (Dynel 2012), as in the following joke:

The Analysis of Selected Swearwords …

121

An international guided tour near the Eiffel Tower: – Ooo God, it’s wonderfuuuuul….. – Ooo main Gott, das ist wuuuuunderbar…. – Gospodin, eto priekrasnoooojeee… – O kurwa, ja pierdole!

Additionally, there are also other communication purposes expressed by offensive language, for example we can refer to someone we like very much by using swear words addressed to them: “When George takes his guests out for a drink, the jovial swearing begins: the men constantly refer to each other as “bastards” and “sons of bitches” and no one appears offended” (Parker 2008, http://homes.chass.utoronto. ca/~cpercy/courses/6362-ParkerErin.htm). As a result, swearing does not always have to be impolite in all contexts and situations. One can observe that although generally swearing is regarded as offensive and negative, it can also be used for other purposes, not necessarily to cause harm.

Functions of swearing When analyzing the function of swearwords, we focus on the speaker’s intention since the same swearword used in a number of contexts can have different interpretations and functions, i.e. fuck, which can have a different range of functions (Pinker 2007). A swear word used in a given context fulfils some kind of communicative function (Wang 2013). The functions of swearing are the following: expressing emotion (usually negative, especially in emotionally aroused states), aggression, harming or insulting another person, emphasis, solidarity and even eliciting laughter - humour. It is undeniable that swearing is commonplace in various contextual settings. In spite of the ubiquity of swearwords, our analysis will be based on two corpora: COCA (Corpus of Contemporary American English) and BNC (British National Corpus). However, before the very analysis, we will demonstrate the function of selected swearwords which predominate in Polish and English films as they constitute the most accessible and reliable source of swearwords.

Emotion, anger One of the most principal functions of swearing is expressing emotion. Whenever we analyze swearing in terms of expressing emotions, we usually associate it with anger, fury and anxiety. Swearing constitutes an utterance of strong emotions, as in: – Male 1: What a fucking loser. – Male 2: Fuck you!

122

Adam Pluszczyk, Artur Świątek

– Male 1: What’s your problem, you little ingrate? – Male 2: What’s your problem, bitch? Don’t fucking judge me, man! – Male 1: Grow up! (“8 mile”) – Male 1: Danny. Danny, you don’t want to do this. – Male 2: How do you know? If you think I killed Nate, how the fuck do you know I don’t want to do this! (“The Negotiator”)

The examples given above perfectly reflect the necessity of expressing anger or even hatred and releasing bad emotions. They are not directed to anyone personally in order to offend them.

Insult Swearing is also used in order to offend another person. It is undeniable that this function is used in a negative way. There are a number of words in every language which are used to insult others – both men and women. – Female: Come on, bitch! Come on. – Female: _____ (“Kill Bill”) – Female: Where are you, bitch? You fucking bitch! – Female: _____ (“Kill Bill”) – Male 1: Freeze, mother bitches! – Male 2: I don’t understand. – Male 1: Shut up. – Male 3: Take it easy, we are police officers. (“Bad Boys”) – Male 1: Tell me some of the shit you’ve learned, fuck-ass before I pistol with you. – Male 2: OK. I believe in death, destruction, chaos, filth and greed. – Male 1: Cut the shit, Danny. Come on, tell me what I wanna hear, ass-hole. (“American history X”)

According to the examples, we easily observes how swearing is used in order to vent negative emotions, show rudeness, offend, insult another person or refer to them in a derogatory way.

The Analysis of Selected Swearwords …

123

Emphasis Another function of swearing is emphasis. One of the most principal objectives of swearing in this respect is to emphasize one’s feelings or emotions about something and intensify the force of a particular element in an utterance (Wang, 2013). Swearwords, the function of which is emphasis, do not have to be regarded as contextually inappropriate or offensive. Thus, the judgment is not negative in this respect, as in: – Male: So the shit looks like we have one big mother fucking orgy … it’s not what it looks like, OK? – Female: Hm… – Male: Baby, she is a material witness. (“Bad boys”) – Male 2: Do you want to hear shit about your mother, man? – Male 1: Do you want to get fucking beaten, Danny? (“American history X”)

Solidarity / Identity Another function is expressing solidarity or identity. The expletives used in this respect usually occur in order to indicate intimacy or group membership (Wang, 2013), as in: – Male: I’m not fucking talking to you, Divina,. Why don’t you shut up? – Female? _____ – Male: Shut up, Divina! – Female: No, you shut the fuck up! Get out of the fucking house, you piece of shit, please go. (“American history X”)

Humour Finally, swearing can also be used in order to bring forth laughter. There are a number of instances of swear words the function of which is to make the situation funny: – Female 1: Look, bitch! I need to know if you’re gonna start with the shit around my baby-girl. – Female 2: You can relax for now. I’m not gonna murder you in front of your child, OK?. – Female 1: So when do we do this? – Female 2: It all depends when you wanna die? Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. – Female 1: How about tonight, bitch? – Female 2: Splendid! Where? (“Kill Bill”)

124

Adam Pluszczyk, Artur Świątek

There are a lot of examples where swearwords express anger and frustration. Moreover, there are a number of swearwords reflecting other functions, i.e. insult and emphasis. There is also a high incidence of swearing based on solidarity – we observe the phenomenon of imitating the other person’s way of talking. Hence, the reception of the swearwords which serve as markers of solidarity is positive although socially it might be regarded negatively due to the very act of swearing. Finally, swearing causes laughter and provides humorous effects. In summary, based on the examples, one easily observes the wide scope of functions reflected by swearwords. It is necessary to take into account the fact that the reception of swearwords does not always need to be negative.

Corpus analysis The analysis is based on the British National Corpus and Corpus of Contemporary American English. In this section, we will concentrate on selected swearwords registered in COCA and BNC with a view to analyzing their function. These are the following swearwords to be dealt with: bitch, fuck, fucking, piss, shit. It is important to point out that the examples taken from BNC are supplemented with their origin of the website. However, in the case of COCA, such an option is not available.

BNC – BITCH Below we can observe the various functions of the word bitch in different contexts available in BNC: – “But it’s her bitch of a mother.” (emphasis) – “It was all the fault of that bitch they’d brought in.” (harm / insult) – “Damn idiot don’t trust no bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch.” (insult) – “Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch.” (aggression) – “You Shelley are a sick fat bitch!” (aggression) – “Such a bitch!” (aggression) – “I want to give this old bitch the surprise of her life.” (emotions) – “I am going to slit that bitch’s throat for a start!” (aggression) – “He’s the organisation’s prime male bitch, for all he thinks his feathers are so bonny.” (solidarity) – “That’s his real passion, you stupid bitch.” (insult) – “‘But she was just a gorgeous bitch, Fen continued.” (emphasis)

The Analysis of Selected Swearwords …

125

COCA – BITCH Below we can observe the various functions of the word bitch in different contexts available in COCA: – “He called her a bitch. And she got up and dumped a glass of water in his lap and…” (emotions) – “Wake up, wake up, you… (censored by network)… bitch. Get out of bed right now. I was terrified. I thought he…” (harm) – “LYNCH: And second, and I mean this as a compliment. You’re a bitch, Becky. (ENDVIDEO-CLIP) (LAUGHTER) MORGAN: Jane Lynch in her Emmy and Golden Globewinning role” (solidarity) – “All these girls hollering and saying, Get her, and Get the bitch, and this other girl was saying Don’t, please. It was…” (aggression) – “Thought of that analysis. MATT-STONE: Anne’s pretty smart. TREY-PARKER: Anne’s a bitch. MATT-STONE: See? See? That was the opposite, right? Like,…” (emphasis) – “The bitch was her own embellishment. In the entire twelve years that Mac had known…” (emphasis) – “I’m gonna fucking kill you, you lying bitch! Their joker was back on his feet and threatening his wife sooner than…” (aggression) – “You deserved this. You deserved worse, you son of a bitch. It had been a good kill, and now he had to…” (aggression)

FUCK – BNC Below we can observe the various functions of the word fuck in different contexts available in BNC: – “Fuck you!” (aggression) – “Oh, fuck! she said, matter of fact.” (emotions) – “Trying for a second time to get something out of Prince Bandar, he was told ‘You can stop twisting my arm’ or, in out-of-hearings language, ‘Fuck it, stop pestering me.’” (emphasis) – “Holy fuck, woman, ye must have worn it out.” (aggression) – “Get the fuck out of here, he muttered.” (emotions) – “Men still want to fuck me, and I still sometimes want to fuck men.” (emphasis) – “You stupid fuck.” (insult) – “Fuck me, I’m surrounded by Philistines.” (emotions) – “Fuck knows how much that cost, Hitch thought, glancing at the impressive stone.” (emotions) – “If we fuck up, then we go back, hold our hands out and let them smack us.” (emotions) – “Our current model for the universe is entropy, which at the daily level translates as: things fuck up.” (emphasis) – “I was looking at that bloke in the Metro going fuck me.” (identity)

126

Adam Pluszczyk, Artur Świątek

FUCK – COCA Below we can observe the various functions of the word fuck in different contexts available in COCA: – “Speed of liquid flame. Janson kicked it from his hand. “Fuck!” Doug Case rubbed his wrist where Janson’s boot had connected.” (aggression) – “Or just too polite, to admit they’re not numb. Well, fuck it. Save the lido for someone too scared to lie. I twist…” (emphasis) – “As I know the highest part of the ship you can actually stand on. Fuck knows what it has to do with fire. The sun’s setting, …” (emotions) – “Nine a.m. Late to get a line down, like Charlie Brisson gives a fuck. He’s not out on this bullshit lake in the middle of the … (emphasis) – “It’s as empty as Brisson’s motherfucking life. Heh-heh-heh. Fuck crappie. Fuck fucking walleye. After Brisson found out Lisa was fucking Robin, …” (emotions) – “Thank you, Jesus. Yanks it loose to row for shore, where fuck it – fuck all of it – he can start drinking again. Back…” (emotions) – “Slight nod and turned his attention back to his handheld computer. “Ah, fuck me,” he muttered, the traces of his British accent punctuating the curse…” (emphasis) – “Four months ago now, just after the divorce went final. A final fuck hurrah, making love with a passion that took them both by surprise.” (identity)

FUCKING – BNC Below we can observe the various functions of the word fucking in different contexts available in BNC: – “It’s these fucking Pakis, she said, without anger.” (emphasis) – “What a fucking day!” (emotions) – “There is no point in this fucking election.” (emphasis) – “But John, he doesn’t care or nothing about how many there are — he’ll just fly at them fucking mad like and have a go.” (emphasis) – “It’s a good old fucking gun, that one, says Tommy.” (emphasis) – “Oh, a fucking travel programme, what else?” (emphasis) – “Just go fucking steady, will you?” (emphasis) – “It’s fucking ridiculous!” (emotions) – “Fucking I tell you you’ve never seen a pair of hands on this like them.” (emphasis) – “You fucking reject.” (aggression) – “But then again I’ve got fucking smoking chimney pot over there.” (aggression) – “He’s a fucking sad bastard!” (aggression) – “It’ll be fucking!” (emphasis) – “I told you not to fucking thrash the bollocks out of it.” (insult)

The Analysis of Selected Swearwords …

127

FUCKING – COCA Below we can observe the various functions of the word fucking in different contexts available in COCA: – “Had she not been on Bach’s team. I’m gonna fucking kill you, you lying bitch! Their joker was back on his feet…” (aggression) – “Ear to hiss, Liza? Liza-Little? Mosey is here. Shut the fucking fuck up. She kept yelling through my hand. I could feel…” (aggression) – “If you’re not here to kill me, what are you doing in fucking Ogden?” “Telling the truth about what I did is pointless if…” (emotions) – “You got shooters in the van gonna help you wrestle me up your fucking ramp? An awkward smile tightened Janson’s face. For the first…” (insult) – “Cut him off, again. Isle de Foree is two hundred and fifty fucking miles offshore and none of the jumping-off points on the African coast are all that…” (emphasis) – “He’s probably gone into the woods along Lake Garner, to watch Megan and Ryan fucking. It’s a bad feeling. Abandonment and dickishness, but also something…” (emphasis) – “Reds and grays that bulge over each other like intestines. I hate the fucking ocean. Hate it physiologically, it turns out. Being at sea fucks my…” (emphasis) – “Before he came out to the woods. Maybe he shouldn’t be such a fucking, fucking idiot. He just can’t accept it.” (emotions)

PISS – BNC Below we can observe the various functions of the word piss in different contexts available in BNC: – “His bedroom was the Sleeping Beauty scene he’d done for Biba’s children’s department and the kitchen area was full of artificial trees — which his party guests used to piss against.” (identity) – “Some of the lights in the tunnel are busted, and it smells of piss.” (emotions) – “Why don’t you just piss off and leave me alone.” (emotions) – “I only had a piss.” (emphasis) – “Piss off, Ted’ll watch it for me.” (emotions) – “What’s red, white and blue and got piss all over it?” (emphasis) – “Mind you he’s probably taking the piss.” (emphasis) – “So just piss off to your boring little job, and don’t horn in on our fun.” (insult) – “It’s time this snooty bitch tasted piss.” (insult) – “Everyone at once begins to take the piss out of him.” (emphasis) – “Nick tells the crowd to ‘piss off ’ and they fall about laughing.” (emphasis) – “When Marcus comes back, piss off for a bit, will you?” (emphasis) – “Gerald come in and he said you been on the piss already?” (emphasis) – “I’d piss all over you.” (insult)

128

Adam Pluszczyk, Artur Świątek

PISS – COCA Below we can observe the various functions of the word piss in different contexts available in COCA: – “Eating the testicles and brains of your political rivals tends to piss people off, “Case agreed.” Even in Africa.” (emphasis) – “Then I’ll take your fuckin’ eyes out with broken glass and piss in the sockets. The silver automatic trembled slightly in the man’s…” (aggression) – “They said that whatever you do, you shouldn’t piss her off. He gives me a quick, mischievous look through his thick…” (emphasis) – “She whispered, “that the Avish mysteries make you drink your own piss.” “The way Lady Ternigan’s tea tastes, I shouldn’t…” (emphasis) – “Out of here now, and I won’t tell Captain Mota about this. Piss me off any more, and you’re on your own.” The… (emotions) – “Plus I don’t appreciate him telling people Sabrina’s pussy smelled like cat piss. It ain’t like he fucked her! So how would he know,…” (insult) – “The tabloid, was of course out of the question. Better ask him to piss on the graves of the forlorn army of Jews whose great number had not yet…” (aggression)

SHIT – BNC Below we can observe the various functions of the word shit in different contexts available in BNC: – “‘You are a boring shit,’ she retorted, turning her back on him.” (insult) – “You stupid shit,’ I said intensely.” (insult) – “‘Shit,’ he said, pressing the remote control, plunging Arnold into darkness mid-massacre.” (emphasis) – “Suntrap of the south, the gold coast, shit like that.” (emphasis) – “I see people get very defensive and say, ‘Well, that’s my shit’.” (emphasis) – “GEORGE THE CUNT AND Gilbert The Shit.” (insult) – “The KGB will be onto him like a shit.” (emphasis) – “Modern parents encouraged their runtish children to start small fires and shit in the burger van queue. (emphasis) – “Erm shit that reminds me I’ve got to write a letter.” (emphasis) – “They call him ‘the Hero of Hammerfest’, but he’s just a shit.” (insult) – “I thought I recognised the little shit.” (emphasis) – “Fucking shit, he said, this is just what I need.” (emotions) – “Tastes like shit but it fills you up.” (emphasis) – “You can go and shit cinders.” (emphasis) – “He’ll eat shit on bloody shovel if you give it to him!” (emphasis)

The Analysis of Selected Swearwords …

129

SHIT – COCA Below we can observe the various functions of the word shit in different contexts available in COCA: – “All the way through her skull and down her spine. It was scary as shit – or it would’ve been, had she not been on Bach’s…” (emphasis) – “Outfit? The Paul Janson Institute for Raising Fucked-up Former Field Agents Out of Deep Shit? No, keep it simple: the Phoenix Foundation. Janson stood…” (emotions) – “Sure Sarosh can make you a temporary crown. Oh, shit. I totally forgot. She made a pleading face. Can’t…” (emphasis) – “The fourteenth-richest man in America, how come my car’s such a piece of shit? I have kind of been wondering that. I don’t…” (emphasis) – “With Violet Hurst, what message isn’t the medium going to kick the shit out of? Must get lonely, as well as frustrating.” (emphasis) – “Good point. I am fucking angry. Irrationality annoys the shit out of me always, but to get it from Rec Bill? A guy…” (emotions) – “He’d gone off to Texas was to be practical. It sure as shit ain’t easy out there, kid. So if you got any talent do…” (emphasis) – “His watch, semper paratus, always prepared. My motto is merda accidit, shit happens. Opposites attract, right? I spent the rest of the day…” (emphasis) – “Over the Jews, we chased the Jamaicans and the slopes that came from every shit hole in Asia. The Russians ain’t changin’ nothin’. Not while…” (emphasis)

Observations The examples do not reflect the variety of functions of swearing described in the theoretical section. Based on the conducted corpus research, one observes that the swearwords are mostly used in a negative way with a view to expressing anger, annoyance and negative emotions. Thus, the very act of swearing in this respect is definitely considered to be negative. Although the function of emphasis is also observed, the other functions of swearing, such as solidarity and humour etc. have not been identified in the analyzed material. Thus, on no account can we state that swearing depicted in the corpus is positive in any sense. In other words, the reception of the swearwords portrayed in the material is rather negative – that is offensive and rude.

Conclusions Swearing identified in the material is undeniably portrayed negatively. It mostly serves as an outlet for strong and negative emotions. Therefore, the function of the analyzed foul language is to show anger, fury, annoyance and frustration.

130

Adam Pluszczyk, Artur Świątek

All in all, our reception of swearwords has to do with our own behaviour, attitudes and culture, expectations, social factors, such as education, occupation, gender, but it is also context-specific. “Judgments of rudeness are not only determined by the propositional content of swear words but by a sense of what is appropriate in a particular situation” (Jay and Janschewitz 2008, 269). The appropriateness or inappropriateness of swearing is contextually dependent: it depends on a number of miscellaneous factors – apparently not only swear words themselves. It is of great importance to take into consideration who swears, where, for what reason and what kind of swearwords prevail.

References Allan, Keith, and Kate Burridge. 2006. Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Andersson, Lars, and Peter Trudgill. 2007. “Swearing.” In A Cultural Approach to Interpersonal Communication, edited by L. Monaghan, and J. Goodman, 195–199. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Daly, Nicola, Janet Holmes, Jonathan Newton, and Maria Stubbe. 2004. “Expletives as Solidarity Signals in FTAs on the Factory Floor.” Journal of Pragmatics 36:945–964. Dynel, Marta. 2012. “Swearing Methodologically: the (Im)politeness of Expletives in Anonymous Commentaries on YouTube.” Journal of English Studies 10:25–50. Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman, and Nina Hyams. 2007. An Introduction to Language. (8th edition). Boston: Wadsworth. Ghounane, Nadia. 2014. “A Sociolinguistic View of Linguistic Taboos and Euphemistic Strategies in the Algerian Society: Attitudes and Beliefs in Tlemcen Speech Community.” International Journal of Research in Applied, Natural and Social Sciences, vol. 2, issue 3:73–78. Jay, Timothy. 1992. Cursing in America: A Neuro-Psycho-Social Theory of Speech. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Jay, Timothy. 1996. What to Do When your Students Talk Dirty. San Jose: Artium Publishers Group. Jay, Timothy. 2000. Why We Curse: A Neuro-psycho-social Theory of Speech. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Pinker, Steven. 2007. The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature. New York: Penguin. Stapleton, Karin. 2010. “Swearing.” In Interpersonal Pragmatics, edited by Miriam Locher, and Graham Sage, 289–306. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.

The Analysis of Selected Swearwords …

131

Trudgill, Peter. 2000. Sociolinguistics. An Introduction to Language and Society (4th edition). London: Oxford University Press. Wajnryb, Ruth. 2004. Language Most Foul. Crows Nest: Allen Ulwin. Wang, Na. 2013. “An Analysis of the Pragmatic Functions of „Swearing“ in Interpersonal Talk.” Griffith Working Papers in Pragmatics and Intercultural Communication 6:71–79. Wardhaugh, Ronald. 1998. Sociolinguistics. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers.

Electronic sources Ahmad, Khursheed, Ghani, Mamuna, Alam, Mahtab, and Gul, Tahir. 2013. “A Sociolinguistic Study of the Linguistic Taboos in the Pashtoon Society.” In International Researcher Volume (No. 2 Issue No. 1 March). Accessed February 12, 2016. [http://iresearcher.org/34-41%20KHURSHEED%20AHMAD%20 pakistan.pdf]. Jay, Timothy, and Kristin Janschewitz. 2008. “The Pragmatics of Swearing.” In Journal of Politeness Research (4), Walter de Gruyter. Accessed September 15, 2013. [http://www.mcla.edu/Undergraduate/uploads/textWidget/1457.00018/ documents/The_Pragmatics_of_Swearing.pdf]. Jay, Timothy, and Kristin Janschewitz. 2012. The Science of Swearing. Association for Psychological Science. Observer. Accessed January 02, 2014. [http:// www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2012/mayjune-12/the-science-of-swearing.html]. Parker, Erin. 2008. A Pet-Vice among us: Swearing in the Eighteenth Century. Accessed January 02, 2014. [http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~cpercy/ courses/6362-ParkerErin.htm].

Agnieszka Uberman

The Colour of Endurance: Figurative Semantics of Green Abstract: The colour green is universally associated with hope and life. It is interesting to verify whether the presence of the colour term in diverse linguistic expressions confirms such a common belief. The present discussion intends to analyse the semantics of the lexicon containing the colour term in question. It focuses on English phrases and expressions and aims to compare them with existing Polish equivalents in search of shared underlying concepts. The possible areas of diverse metaphorisation shall also be highlighted. Keywords: colour terms, green, metaphorical meaning, endurance, life

Colour in language Colour is the phenomenon so naturally present in human life that it seems unne cessary to ponder. Undoubtedly, it is a daunting task to delimit the various shades of any given colour, as “the borderline between different colours is fuzzy (there is no single line in the spectrum where red stops and orange begins)” (Heider 1972 quoted in Wyler 2006, 95). Webster and Kay (2012, 375) stress the fact that colours are categorised with the application of “a small set of discrete verbal labels”. They also add that strong resemblances have been observed cross-culturally for naming colours by different language communities, yet, at the same time, the demarcation lines between diverse colours in the spectrum are placed differently. Wierzbicka1 (1990, 99) notes that “the hardest things to observe are those which one sees everyday”. Therefore, if one asks the question for the meaning of any colour term, the response appears to be obvious. Yet, this belief can be deceptive as the perspective from which the phenomenon is analysed plays a significant role in the interpretation. A philosopher will view the issue differently than an artist, a physicist, a psychologist or a linguist. Considering a linguistic viewpoint, which is of primary significance to the present discussion, Wierzbicka stresses the fact that meanings will be largely affected by the language of discussion, and “glosses such as niebieski = blue or aoi = blue or sinij = blue will clearly not do, since the range of each word is language-specific and 1 The author states she has borrowed the quote from Jean Jacques Rousseau after Moore and Carling (1982).

134

Agnieszka Uberman

cannot be correctly established on the basis of inter-lingual matching procedures of this kind”. Wierzbicka (1990, 99) argues that colour concepts are rooted in, what she calls, “universals of human experience” which can be recognised as “day and night, fire, the sun, vegetation, the sky, and the ground”. It is essential to highlight that the way various colours are perceived and processed by the human brains is dependent on human biology, however, those sensations can only be talked about by projecting them “onto something in our shared environment”. Colours can be appreciated for and differentiated according to saturation, hue, tone and brightness (Biggam 2012) and other features either in combination or alone. The presence and immensity of the colour spectrum has brought colour to everyday linguistic expression.

Defining green Wierzbicka (1990; 1996) points to the straightforward association of the greenrelated lexicon to growing plants, the flora. “In many languages of the world, the nearest equivalent of the English word green is either morphologically or etymologically related to words for grass, herbs, or vegetation in general. For example, in Polish the word zielony is etymologically derived from zioło, “herb”. […] In fact, even the English word green is believed to be “etymologically related to grow” (Wierzbicka 1996, 306). As noted by Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), green is defined as folliws: “Old English grene, Northumbrian groene “green, of the color of living plants,” in reference to plants, “growing, living, vigorous,” also figurative, of a plant, “freshly cut,” of wood, “unseasoned” earlier groeni, from Proto-Germanic *gronja- […], from PIE root *ghre- “grow” (see grass), through sense of “color of growing plants”.” This claim is confirmed by Casson (1997, 229) who notes after Watkins (1985, 23) that “green, together with grow and grass, descend from the Indo-European root *ghre- “to grow, become green””. The claim expressed in the title of the present discussion of the colour green as representing “endurance” is grounded in the “circularity of vegetation” and the ability to grow back and revive after a dormant period. A prototypical referent or the best example evoked for the category under consideration seems to be grass (compare: Vaňková 2003; Javorska 2003; Waszakowa 2003; Tokarski 2004; Wyler 2006, among others). When English native speakers are questioned for associations with the colour green, they typically point to grass, leaves of fresh vegetation, which is also reflected in various dictionary definitions, such as for instance:

The Colour of Endurance …

135

1. “of a colour between yellow and blue, which is the colour of leaves and grass” (LDELC 2005, 609); 2. “the hue of that portion of the visible spectrum lying between yellow and blue, evoked in the human observer by radiant energy with wavelengths of approximately 490 to 570 nanometers; any of a group of colours that may vary in lightness and saturation and whose hue is that of the emerald or somewhat less yellow than that of growing grass” (AHDEL 2000, 770); 3. “having the colour of grass or the leaves of most plants and trees” (OALD 2003, 590); 4. “of the colour between blue and yellow in the spectrum; coloured like grass etc.” (IOD 2003, 356); 5. “having the colour of grass or leaves” (LDCE 2012, 768); 6. “something that is green is the colour of grass or leaves” (CCNSD 2002, 305); 7. “green is the colour of grass or leaves” (CCALED 2003, 635); 8. “a colour whose hue is somewhat less yellow than that of growing fresh grass or of the emerald or is that of the part of spectrum lying between blue and yellow” (MWCD 1996, 511); 9. “1. the adjective denoting the colour which in the spectrum is intermediate between blue and yellow; in nature chiefly conspicuous as the colour of growing herbage and leaves; 2. said of foliage, grass, and the like” (OED 4.0.0.2 2009); 10. “the colour of growing grass” (Paterson 2003, 186). In order to account for such interpretations, Wierzbicka (1996, 306) suggests the following (partial) explanation of the discussed concept: X is green. = in some places many things grow out of the ground when one sees things like X one can think of this

The author herself explains, referring to the above explanation, that “the association with “things growing out of the ground” is no doubt valid not only for the English word green and for its semantic equivalents in other languages (such as, for example, the Polish word zielony), but also for the nearest counterparts of green in languages in which this word does not have exact semantic equivalents” (1996, 307). In Polish lexicographic sources, zielony, the colour term equivalent to green, is defined as “będący koloru czwartego pasma widma (między żółtym a błękitnym), mający barwę świeżej trawy, szmaragdu” (“of the colour of the fourth band of the light spectrum (between yellow and blue), the colour of fresh grass, emerald”) (SJP 1998, 953).

136

Agnieszka Uberman

In the introductory words to his work Paterson (2003, 1) states: Any attempt to define any particular colour merely by means of words is doomed to failure. We can illustrate the general nature of any particular colour by reference to an object having the same quality (which begs the question) or by reference to its wavelength (which is of interest only as a matter of physics) or by reference to another colour (which becomes circular).

The reference to physical properties is mentioned in AHDEL (2000), while the reference to another colour (here: blue and yellow) is exploited by OED (2009), LDELC (2005), IOD (2003), AHDEL (2000) and MWCD (1996) as well as in the Polish dictionary. As can be easily observed in the above quoted examples, grass is the most typical referent which is present in all definitions quoted above.

Symbolism of green Green, as defined by Paterson (2003, 186), is “the colour of growing grass”. He claims that green is a term referring to a wide spectrum of hues and has more variations than any other colour, however, despite such a great variety it is underrepresented in English. “Green is said to have more variations than any other colour and yet, despite the richness of our language, there is a woefully inadequate supply of words to describe the variety of greens in the British landscape” (2003, 186). It is also considered a symbol of hope, and was “associated once with fertility and springtime and now with environmentalism” (Paterson 2003, 186). As “the holy colour of Islam” or the colour of the Prophet, it is featured in the flags of many Muslim countries. Biedermann (1996, 158) states that green, similarly to other colour terms, is “symbolically ambiguous; it can range from the positively valued “rich moss green” to “nauseous green”. In many cultures it is popularly felt to symbolize hope, and dreams featuring the colour are viewed positively, both in China and elsewhere”. However, a negative overtone can also be noted, for “if in the dream there are excessive amounts of green, then negative forces of nature have taken over” (Biedermann 1996, 158). In Christian symbolism green is viewed as “equidistant from the blue of heaven and the red of hell… an intermediate and mediating color, soothing, refreshing, human, a color of contemplation, of the expectation of resurrection”. Moreover, the colour in question is frequently associated with immaturity, both literally of fruit, and figuratively when referring to people. Biedermann (1996, 159) also notes that green is the colour of environmental movement, “ecological concerns and resists the dominance of unexamined technology”. In English it represents negative emotive values, such as envy and jealousy.

The Colour of Endurance …

137

Room (2002, 264) points out that pale green symbolises baptism, while green represents “faith, gladness, immortality, the resurrection of the just, and (in dresses) the gladness of the faithful”. In art, it appears to designate “hope, joy, youth, spirit” and “in church decoration: [it] denotes God’s bounty, mirth, gladness, the resurrection, and it is used for weekdays and Sundays after Trinity” (Room 2002, 264). As noted by Vaňková (2003, 9), green evokes not only the freshness of spring vegetation and nature, the hope of future harvest or joy of life; it is also the colour of venom, sickness and deterioration. Tokarski (2004) also points out that green has negative connotations with decay, old age, sickness or disintegration. Vaňková (2003) and Javorska (2003) additionally stress the reference to the supernatural, non-human and the chthonic world represented, among others, by water-related and water-dwelling creatures. As opposed to “male” red, green is considered to be “female” and associated with features such as “coldness” and “freshness”. Moreover, owing to its prototypical reference to vegetation, green symbolises fertility and growth, however, when referring to humans and animals it stands for sickness (Vaňková 2003, 11). While the red colouring of the human body connotes health, its lack signifies illness and deterioration. Figuratively, green is associated in English with jealousy (green with envy) or immaturity, but it is more frequently found in environmentally-related senses. Philip (2011, 27) notes that “the “immaturity” sense of green occurred only 20 times in the 450m Bank of English, in contrast with several hundred occurrences of nature-loving/environmentalist sense”, rendering the latter a far more dominant one. Tokarski (2004, 126–134) points out another association opposition inherent in the colour green, namely “the warmth of spring” and “the coolness of shade”. The connotations of the colour term under consideration are twofold. First of all, the colour is characteristic of freshly growing vegetation and unripe fruit, hence the connotations in the human world with “immaturity” and “lack of experience”. Nevertheless, the developing nature in spring highlights the features of “hope”, “joy” and “revitalisation”. Green also connotes “life”, however, unlike red, it symbolises its initial stages, appearance and youth, rather than full development or maturity. The coolness in association with green is attributable to the shade offered by trees in the forest or stretches of water, both of which are positively-valued for the refreshment they provide in heat, hence they evoke features such as “emotional calm” or “rest” (Tokarski 2004). According to Graumann (2007, 132), the typical psychological impressions evoked by green are “natural” and “lively”, while the physiological ones include “cool”, “wet”, “fresh” and “quiet”.

138

Agnieszka Uberman

Metaphorical uses of green Even though the colour lexicon is applied to discuss particular chromatic features of objects, it is equally or even more frequently used to convey figurative meanings. The colour term in question is featured in a variety of expressions and phrases. We shall devote attention to their discussion in the following subsection. It has been noted in Good Word Guide that the adjective green “is becoming overused in its application to any product, policy, or ideology that is connected with the protection of the environment”, while when used as a noun, “green may be spelt with a lower-case or capital initial letter to denote a person who is generally in support of the protection of the environment, but the lower-case form is probably more frequent in this sense. Spelt with a capital G, the word specifically denotes a political party that is chiefly concerned with the protection of the environment” (Manser 2003, 144). Green also signifies the meaning expressed by “young; fresh”. In Polish, the same sense is also expressed figuratively by zielony as “young, inexperienced” (SJP 1998, 953). A green old age is “an old age in which the faculties are not impaired and the spirits are still youthful. Hence, immature in age or judgement, inexperienced; also simple, raw, easily imposed upon, as a characteristic greenhorn” (BDPF 2002, 523). To be green can be interpreted in the sense of “being innocent, immature, undeveloped” or more recently “to fight for ecological measures in order to preserve the environment” (Wyler 2006, 98). In its former sense, the Polish equivalent of to be green can also be noted as a fixed phrase być zielonym rendering the meaning “to know nothing”. This expression can also be considered synonymous with greenhorn (Stanulewicz 2009, 184). Greenhorn is “a novice at anything. The allusion is to the ‘green horns’ of a young horned animal” (BDPF 2002, 523). In Polish the term zółtodziób (WSAP 2002, 522) is applied in this sense, in which a different colour term is adopted. The green colouring of fresh or unripe fruit metaphorically denoting the lack of experience or naivety is adopted in the phrase as green as grass means “naïve; gull ible; inexperienced” (BDPF 2002, 62); (Manser 2003, 278). The Polish equivalent nie mieć o czymś zielonego pojęcia (SJP 1998, 953) makes a reference to the colour term under consideration, though, no allusion is made to the prototypical colour referent, i.e. grass. Instead, the notion of idea is employed. Similarly, a green chum is “an inexperienced person” (Renton 1990, 137). Inexperience is also stressed in the expression distant fields look greener, i.e. “activities of which one has no experience seem much easier than is really the case” (Renton 1990, 137).

The Colour of Endurance …

139

Metonymically, a Green is “someone who belongs to or supports a political party which thinks the protection of the environment is very important” (LDCE 2012, 768). Unsurprisingly, to go green means to “change so that it harms the environment less” (LDCE 2012, 768). Its Polish equivalent is proekologiczny, dotyczący środowiska (naturalnego) or zielony (WSAP 2002, 522). A green revolution, as defined by a Longman dictionary has two senses. It can, therefore, represent “a large increase in the amount of crops, such as wheat or rice, that are produced because of improved scientific methods or farming”. However, it also denotes “the interest in protecting the environment that has developed in many parts of the world” (LDCE 2012, 768). According to Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), green is “the color of environmentalism since 1971”. The verbal noun greening has been coined to denote the process of removing environmentally harmful substances (e.g. the greening of the city streets; the greening of the washing machine (a reference to environment-friendly detergents) (Manser 2003, 144). Hence, the greening of sb/sth describes a situation “when a person or organization starts to think and know more about environmental problems” (LDCE 2012, 768). No reference is made in the explanatory definition of the term in Polish to the discussed colour term, i.e. wzrost zainteresowania sprawami ekologii (WSAP 2002, 523). Thus nature-related, ecological issues are foregrounded rather than the colour term. Also along the train of environmental thought, green tax is “a tax, for example a tax on fuel, that is intended to reduce harm to the environment” (LDCE 2012, 769), while a green audit designates “an examination of the activities of an organization in order to see how much it harms the environment and how much energy it uses” (LDCE 2012, 768). Greenpeace constitutes another instance of the considered colour term applied with reference to environmental issues and denotes “a movement originating in Canada in 1971, aiming to persuade governments to change industrial activities that threaten natural resources and the environment. It supports direct non-violent action and has gained wide attention by its efforts to protect whales and to prevent the killing of young seals” (BDPF 2002, 524). The same name, unsurprisingly, is present in Polish, as this is a proper name which has been adopted without changes as an Anglicism. A greenhouse is “a glass building used for growing plants that need warmth, light, and protection” (LDCE 2012, 768), thus the greenhouse effect is “the warming of the earth’s atmosphere (global warming) caused by an accumulation of gases that trap the radiated heat from the sun. The gases thus function like the glass in

140

Agnieszka Uberman

a greenhouse, hence the name. Sometimes called greenhouse gases, they include carbon dioxide produced by the burning of coal, oil, stubble, and the tropical rainforests that would normally absorb carbon dioxide from the air” (Manser 2003, 144). Szklarnia/cieplarnia, efekt cieplarniany and gazy cieplarniane (WSAP 2002, 522–523) are Polish equivalents of the expressions indicated above. As can be easily observed, Polish counterparts do not employ the discussed colour term. As noted by Room (BDPF 2002, 523) greenbacks are “legal tender notes first issued in the United States in 1862, during the Civil War […] as a war-revenue expedient. They were so called because the back was printed in green. The name is now applied to paper currency issued by any national American bank”. Zielony (WSAP 2002, 522) is the Polish equivalent of the American currency, also stressing the colouring of the bank notes. While kapucha or sałata could also be considered colloquial counterparts owing to the vegetable colouring, their application is not restricted to American currency only. Greenmail is “the stock market practice in which a company buys enough shares in another company to threaten a takeover, so forcing the threatened company to buy them back at a higher price in order to retain control of the business. The term is a variant of blackmail, with ‘green’ here in the sense of money, as in greenbacks” (BDPF 2002, 523). The green stuff used in American English is the informal expression for “money” (LDCE 2012, 768). Green belt is “an area of land around a city where building is not allowed, in order to protect fields and woods” (LDCE 2012, 768) or “a stretch of country around a large urban area that has been scheduled for comparative preservation and where building development is restricted” (BDPF 2002, 523). The phrase is rendered in Polish as pas zieleni (WSAP 2002, 522). However, a greenfield site is “a rural undeveloped site, often near a town or city, that has not been designated as part of a green belt and so is available for development, e.g. for industrial estates, retail parks, or housing” (Manser 2003, 144). Its Polish counterpart, i.e. teren niezagospodarowany (WSAP 2002, 522) does not evoke colour terminology. A person who has high skills in gardening can be said to have green fingers (BDPF 2002, 523). Thus, to have green fingers (BrE) or to have a green thumb (AmE) are equivalents of “to be good at making plants grow” (LDCE 2012, 768). No Polish equivalent is noted for the phrase in question that would employ the discussed colour term; the suggested form is mieć dobrą rękę do roślin (WSAP 2002, 522). Green Berets is a case of metonymy and the name is ascribed to “British or US commandos” (BDPF 2002, 523). The colour term is retained in Polish as zielone berety (WSAP 2002, 522).

The Colour of Endurance …

141

Green cheese is “unripe cheese, or cheese that is eaten fresh, like cream cheese, and not kept to mature” (BDPF 2002, 523). According to the Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), green cheese originally was that which is new or fresh (late 14c.), later with reference to coloring. Green eye is “a jealous or envious eye”, while jealousy is figuratively described as a green-eyed monster (BDPF 2002, 523). Zazdrosny and zazdrość are the Polish equivalents (WSAP 2002, 522). Green flag is “used on railways, roads and so on for signalling ‘Go ahead’” (BDPF 2002, 523). Green Ribbon Day – “in Ireland this is 17 March, St. Patrick’s Day, when the shamrock and green ribbon are worn as the national badge” (BDPF 2002, 524). As this holiday is not celebrated in Poland, no equivalent phrase is available. Greenroom is the common waiting room for the performers near the stage in a theatre. The name originates from the fact that initially “such rooms were painted green to relieve the eyes from the glare of the stage” (BDPF 2002, 524). The colour is not referred to in its Polish equivalent pokój dla aktorów (WSAP 2002, 523). Green sickness is “the old name for chlorosis, a form of anaemia, once common in adolescent girls, which was characterised by a greenish pallor” (BDPF 2002, 524). To be green with envy means “to be jealous or covetous of someone’s achievements, attainments, wealth and so forth. Literally, to have one’s face acquire a pale greenish hue as a result of envy” (BDPF 2002, 524). Its Polish equivalent is zielony z zazdrości (Stanulewicz 2009, 184) or pozielenieć / pożółknąć z zazdrości (WSAP 2002, 394). The equivalent colour term is adopted in Polish, yet not only zielony but also żółty, similarly to the case of greenhorn, is the colouring referred to in the expression. To get the green light means “to get permission to proceed with an undertaking; green being the ‘Go’ sign on road and rail signals” (BDPF 2002, 524). Thus, to give sb/sth the green light means “to allow a project, plan etc. to begin” (LDCE 2012, 768). As noted by Stanulewicz (2009, 184), in Polish the fixed expression conveying the equivalent meaning is dać komuś zielone światło. Fiddler’s Green describes a paradise-type area, “the happy land imagined by sailors where there is perpetual mirth, a fiddle that never stops playing for dancers who never tire, plenty of grog and unlimited tobacco” (BDPF 2002, 437). No Polish translation counterpart is available for the above-quoted phrase. Improvement in status is illustrated by the expression to move on to greener pastures which represents the meaning “to commence a new, better career” (Renton 1990, 137).

142

Agnieszka Uberman

Little green men are “imaginary people of peculiar appearance who supposedly landed from outer space. The description derives from cartoons of such creatures emerging from flying saucers” (BDPF 2002, 705). Zielone ludziki / ludki would be the phrase applied in Polish with reference to the extra-terrestrial visitors. Green informally, also means “looking pale and unhealthy because you are ill”; hence, the expression to look green about/around the gills designates the meaning “to look pale and ill” (LDCE 2012, 768). In Polish, while discussing someone’s complexion or an off-colour, pale-looking face, zielony (SJP 1998, 953; WSAP 2002, 522) can be applied to comment on pale, grey-greenish or sickly pale colouring.

Concluding remarks As can be noted from the analysis of lexicographic sources the sickness-related aspect of the colour term under consideration is peripheral, while the environmentally-related issues are largely highlighted and come to the foreground. Green is most obviously positively valued for the freshness, revival and the embodiment of nature-loving attitude, as well as for the peace and serenity it evokes (Fiddler’s Green). Acceptance and permission to proceed, sought after while undertaking various projects, are embedded in the green flag waved as well as the green light, either received or granted. Lack of experience, immaturity and naivety are stressed in the greenhorn; to be green or as green as grass. Those expressions, however, do not have predominantly negative connotations. Negatively-valued attitudes are present in relation to sickness (green sickness; to look green around the gills; be green) or envy (green-eyed monster; green eye; to be green with envy). The nature-related and preservationist perspective richly emerging from a large number of the above-quoted linguistic expressions can testify to the need for environmental protection. The greatest proportion of the quoted expressions and phrases pertain to the natural environment that the green colour so well represents. Hence, the metaphorical title of the present discussion naming green as ‘the colour of endurance’ seems to be well-grounded. Despite the few negative connotations, green is principally positively-valued and seems to trigger positive associations. It has to be noted that only few of the Polish equivalents for the discussed lexical items and expressions fail to employ the corresponding colour term, i.e. zielony. Obviously, owing to cultural differences, certain terms are not present in the Polish lexicon (Fiddler’s Green or Green Ribbon Day) nevertheless, a majority of the instances alluded to in the preceding discussion incorporate zielony in the process of metaphorisation, either for positive, neutral or negative connotations.

The Colour of Endurance …

143

References Dictionaries Biedermann, Hans. 1996. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Symbolism. Ware: Wordsworth Editions Ltd. Linde-Usiekniewicz, Jadwiga, ed. 2002. Wielki słownik angielsko - polski. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (WSAP). Manser, Martin H., ed. 2003. Good Word Guide. London: Bloomsbury. Mayor, Michael, ed. 2012. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English for Advanced Learners. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited (LDCE). Metcalf, Jonathan, ed. 2003. Illustrated Oxford Dictionary. Warszawa: Wydawnic two Naukowe PWN (IOD). Mish, Frederick, C., ed. 1996. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield, MA.: Merriam-Webster Incorporated (MWCD). Paterson, Ian. 2003. A Dictionary of Colour. London: Thorogood Publishing Ltd. Pickett, Joseph P., ed. 2000. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company (AHDEL). Renton, Nick E. 1990. Metaphorically Speaking. A Dictionary of 3,800 Picturesque Idiomatic Expressions. New York: Warner Books, Inc. Room, Adrian, ed. 2002. Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. London: Cassell (BDPF). Sinclair, John, ed. 2003. Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary. Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers. (CCALED) Sinclair, John, ed. 2002. Collins Cobuild New Student’s Dictionary. Warszawa: Świat Książki (CCNSD). Summers, Della, ed. 2005. Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited (LDELC). Szymczak, Mieczysław, ed. 1998. Słownik języka polskiego PWN. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. Vol. III (SJO). Wehmeier, Sally, ed. 2003. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press (OALD). Oxford English Dictionary version 2.0.0.4, 2009 CD-rom edition (OED). Online Etymology Dictionary. [www.etymonline.com].

Other sources Biggam, Carole P. 2012. The Semantics of Colour: A Historical Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

144

Agnieszka Uberman

Casson, Ronald W. 1997. “Color Shift: Evolution of English Color Terms.” In Color Categories in Thought and Language, edited by C. L. Hardin, and Luisa Maffi, 224–239. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Graumann, Andrea. 2007. “Color Names and Dynamic Imagery.” In Speaking of Colors and Odors, edited by Martina Plümacher, and Peter Holz, 129–140. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Moore, Terence, and Christine Carling. 1982. Understanding Language: Towards a Post-Chomskyan Linguistics. London: Macmillan. Philip, Gill. 2011. Colouring Meaning. Collocation and Connotation in Figurative Language. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Tokarski, Ryszard. 2004. Semantyka barw w we współczesnej polszczyźnie. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej. Webster, Michael, A. and Paul Kay. 2012. “Color Categories and Color Appearance.” Cognition 122:375–392. Doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2011.11.008. Wierzbicka, Anna. 1990. “The Meaning of Color Terms: Semantics, Culture, and Cognition.” Cognitive Linguistics I-1:99–150. Javorska, Galina. 2003. “Ukraiński зелений: głębia symboliki wegetatywnej”. In Studia z semantyki porównawczej. Nazwy barw, nazwy wymiarów, predykaty mentalne. Vol. II, edited by Renata Grzegorczykowa, and Krystyna Waszakowa, 37–48. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. Vaňková, Irena. 2003. “Językowe i kulturowe odniesienia czeskiej nazwy barwy zelený”. In Studia z semantyki porównawczej. Nazwy barw, nazwy wymiarów, predykaty mentalne. Vol. II, edited by Renata Grzegorczykowa, and Krystyna Waszakowa, 9–22. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. Waszakowa, Krystyna. 2003. “Opis porównawczy znaczeń podstawowej nazwy barwy zielonej w języku polskim, czeskim, rosyjskim, ukraińskim, szwedzkim i wietnamskim”. In Studia z semantyki porównawczej. Nazwy barw, nazwy wymiarów, predykaty mentalne. Vol. II, edited by Renata Grzegorczykowa, and Krystyna Waszakowa, 49–68. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. Wierzbicka, Anna. 1996. Semantic Primes and Universals. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wyler, Siegfried. 2006. Colour Terms in the Crowd. Colour Terms in Use. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.

Edyta Więcławska

Quantification and Traceability of Prepositional Meanings in English Legal Texts Abstract: The author aims at presenting a formal method of retrieving language data with the use of electronically-driven systems enabling the determination of trends corresponding to various aspects of the language of law. The text includes selected examples of graphical representations of the phenomena that are causally related. The focus is on the attempt to determine predominant patterns, as regards the distribution and collocability potential of the items belonging to selected grammatical categories. The language data are extracted from JRS-Acquis Corpus (Joint Research Collection of Acquis Communautaire). Keywords: quantification, corpus-driven analysis, prepositional patterns, Legal English, institutional setting

Introduction Semantic and logical structure of legal text sensu stricte1 is traditionally discussed with reference to the notion of legal norm, which – from the linguistic point of view – irrespective of the subject matter includes three content elements related to: (1) the extralinguistic referent of a sentence, (2) the temporal localisation of the factual state, described in the sentence, and (3) modality (Malinowski 2012, 117). From the point of view of grammar, legal communication in legislative texts may be said to be channelled through such a model structure, with the aid of various syntactic structures fitting in with this model, where the terms belonging to various grammatical categories are employed in a language-specific way. Prepositions, functioning as carriers of relational meaning (Quirk, Greenbaum 1973, 143) are claimed to play an important role in legislative texts and they are said to be used in a schematic way, in line with the paradigm of formulaicity (Biel 2014, 29–30; Kjœr 1 Reference is made to the numerous classifications of legal language (e.g. Šarčević 1997; Gibbons 2003; Mattila 2006) which vary depending on – as Biel (2015, 19–22) puts it – “the research needs and perspectives”. Legal language in a strict sense here is said to correspond to the language used by the legislator to construe normative texts and as such it is believed to constitute a matrix upon which it is best to base legal texts of various genres (e.g. Bladowski 1999, 60). The term legislative texts is used synonymously throughout the paper.

146

Edyta Więcławska

2007, 506–515; Więcławska 2013, 73–86). Additionally, long sentences, which are a feature of legal texts, call for consistency in the use of the carriers of relational meaning so that the semantic structure is not distorted. Bearing in mind the important role of prepositions, the main objective here is to trace the context-conditioned use of prepositions in the English legal language by identifying and quantifying specific types of relational meaning conveyed by prepositions in the said texts, i.e. time, location, manner, means, quantity, purpose, state or condition. The author also attempts to determine some predominant patterns, as regards the distribution and type of the items belonging to the discussed grammatical category, which is to put us in a position to formulate a tentative prepositional code in the said type of language. Specifically, the paper aims (1) to verify the well-established assumption of the distinctiveness of legal discourse – i.e. the existence of quantity-related variations when compared to general language texts (i.e. Gotti 2005, 67), and this is to be achieved by examining the frequency of occurrence of specific prepositions (search no. 1), (2) to identify the most salient instances in the category of simple and complex prepositions, with their recurrent patterns, as regards the repetitiveness of the wider context (search no. 2), (3) to identify the specific types of relational meaning of the said grammatical category (search no. 2), and finally (4) to measure the life cycle of the near synonyms in the grammatical category examined (search no. 3). In order to obtain the relevant frequency data, corpus linguistics methodology was used, since, as Lindquist (2010, 9) puts it, corpus linguistics “provides the possibility of total accountability of linguistic features”, where the term total implies taking account of a number of extralinguistic factors, like variation in years, between styles, registers, genres, etc. Thus, the findings related to the stylistic features of legal texts, as obtained in this research, are to be relativised as to the genre of the legal texts, the time when they were drafted and the institutional context. The study covers EU legal texts and it is a well-acknowledged fact that the linguistic style of EU legal texts is said to be distinct primarily in terms of terminology, but also as regards the syntactic style markers (Guggeis, Robinson 2012, 37–39; Zawidzka, Łojek, Grzeszczak, Łazowski 2015, 196; Geeroms 2002, 201, 228; Yankowa 200, 46–48).2 The findings are expected to point to considerable 2 The specificity of EU legal English is evidenced by the existence of concepts such as Eurojargon (Yankova 2008, 46) or Eurofog (Biel 2014). The distinctive character of EU legal language may also be deducted from the institutionalised meaning of specific EU terms, which consequently obliges translators to leave them untranslated (Geeroms 2002, 201–229). The cases in point are cassation, revision and appeal. The autonomous meaning of the EU concepts is also emphasised, both in the legal doctrine and in case law, as

Quantification and Traceability of Prepositional Meanings …

147

consistency in the stylistic patterns as regards the issues analysed due to the homogenous character of the corpus. The texts making up the corpus are institutional legislative texts and these are claimed to be institutionally formulaic and not characterised by subjective stylistics, as emerges from the following quotation: “[…] legislative genre is less flexible by being formulated within institutional setting which curbs idiosyncrasy and increases standardisation” (Biel 2014, 30).

Methodology The analysed language data have been extracted by means of an electronic tool from the corpus which comprises a body of European Union prescriptive texts referred to as Acquis Communautaire. Since the corpus was construed within the framework of a joint research initiative started by the European Commission it is referred to as the Joint Research Collection of Acquis Communautaire (in short JRCAcquis Corpus). The texts making up the corpus were written between the 1950s and the present, which constitutes a rather long time span and thus contributes to the reliability of the statistical data. For English the total number of words in the corpus amounts to 34,588,383. In view of some limitations of technical and strategic nature the number of structures analysed here is limited. The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, this discussion is supposed to be a pilot study and the aim – also determined by limitations of space – is to verify and identify only some general tendencies related to the use of verbal constructions in prescriptive texts. Secondly, the author encountered some technical obstacles as regards formulating and operating the search formula to extract the desired concordance strings. For these reasons the analysis covers only selected lexical items, i.e. in, on, for, by, of, with, after, without, before, about, from (search no. 1) and part of it focuses on on, in, of, for and by (searches no. 2 and 3). The corpus-based method used here involves extracting relevant prepositions by means of a custom-designed computer application which – by way of processing a regular, computational search formula – allowed the author to obtain the

supported by the following quotation: “In order to ensure the uniform interpretation and application of the Union law, the Court of Justice has laid down the principle that any terms that are used in the Union legislation are presumed to have autonomous meaning” (Guggeis, Robinson 2012, 78). Finally, the autonomous character of the specific legal EU concepts (at that time EC concepts) was stressed by the Court of Justice of the European Union, among others, in the judgement Unger against Bedrijfsvereniging voor Detailhandel an Ambachten, 75/63 EU:C:1964:19, related to the meaning of the concept of worker (Zawidzka- Łojek, Grzeszczak and Łazowski 2015, 196).

148

Edyta Więcławska

relevant data. The data extracted were segregated into sub-groups, according to specific criteria; they were subsequently annotated for their formal and semantic characteristics. Finally, the data gathered were analysed statistically. The questions relating to the recurring patterns, as regards the wider context of the prepositions were explored in a qualitative manner. Using the regular expressions one can create scripts which achieve access to the database made up of the XML files. Furthermore, these regular expressions are able to search for specific chunks/phrases connected and co-occurring with any lexical items used in the documents. This can be done in a flexible way and it is referred to as PEARL scripting language. The diagram below illustrates the way the data were extracted from the corpus. Fig. 1: Data extraction model.

Fig. 1 illustrates schematically the way data were extracted from the corpus. By way of explanation let us refer to the main points. The corpus is a collection of XML files placed in the sub-catalogues that symbolise individual years. Searches for data cover all the years and files of the XML included in the corpus (i.e. the terms for each each, for each file). The texts are placed in the structure DOM

Quantification and Traceability of Prepositional Meanings â&#x20AC;Ś

149

(Document Object Model). Perser stands for the module that checks whether the document is correct. It enables us to understand and read the document. In order to analyse a text, it is placed in specific tags (note the symbols < and div <p> in the diagram) which stand for various categories in the corpus macrostructure. The application that enabled the author to search for the data performs a matching process, where all the texts found are matched with regular expressions. An example of a regular expression is the following formula: [\n\s]+of (the\s)*(a\s)*[^\s]+ [^\s]+, which specifies the search environment for of which is to be followed by 3 items with optional indefinite article.

Results In order to obtain the statistical data related to the frequency of the occurrences of the prepositions the author used the said type of search formula which covered the 11 very common, simple prepositions: about, after, before, by, for, from, in, of, on, with, without. The search of the corpus allowed us to extract the data which can be presented in the following graphical way. Fig. 2:â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Distribution of frequency of occurrences of selected prepositions.

By way of interpretation of Fig. 2, the prepositions of, in, for, on, by and with belong to the group of the most frequently occurring prepositions, that is, their number amounts to at least 10 % of the number of occurrences of of, which is the most frequently occurring item. Fig. 2 shows significant disproportions between the use of the prepositions covered by the analysis. Of holds the record for the highest number of occurrences (2 122 832) and it is followed by in (1 108 485), the score for both is measured in millions. For (622 045) on (392 813), by (364 865) with (293 405) and from (179 868) are counted in hundreds of thousands. Finally, the least significant group in terms of numbers covers after (32 060),

150

Edyta Więcławska

without (26 279), before (22 797) and about (7 153) which account for less than 50 000 occurrences.3 At this point we may formulate some tentative conclusions. The high frequency of the occurrences of some of the prepositions (Fig. 2) may be accounted for on the grounds of the general organising forces of English grammar. Hence, the top position of of may be explained by its function as of-genitive (Quirk 1973, 94). Further, the high score of by may – somewhat tentatively – be related to its application in passive voice structures, which is obviously one of the quantitatively distinctive features of legal discourse (Bázlik, Ambrus 2008, 98; Więcławska 2013). We may also hypothesise as regards the data presented in Fig. 2 that some of the top positions are occupied by the prepositions referred to as the most central members of the word class in question, in the sense of being most primary in the cognitive sense, referring to the most central semantic relation in space and time (in, on and for). We perceive the world around us primarily in terms of spatial and temporal relations, as Quirk (1973, 148) puts it “[…] in relation to dimensional properties, whether subjectively or objectively conceived”. Additionally, the high frequency of certain prepositions (Quirk 1973, 153) is determined by their high potential for building abstract meanings. In order to verify the hypothesis and formulate some further findings in relation to the semantics and the categories of prepositions we need to consider the wider context in which the prepositions are employed. To this end the author conducted a corpus search for strings having the prepositional component for-, of-, in-, on- and by. The prepositions included in this search (search no. 2) are the 5 top most ones obtained in search no. 1 (Fig. 2). The sentences extracted from the corpus were randomised, and a sample of 50 sentences for each of the strings were selected for analysis. The random sample of sentences obtained in search no. 2 were analysed primarily with the aim of identifying the dominating semantic categories, and this on the dominating trends emerging from the frequency data. Additionally, reference is made to (1) the categories of the prepositions (simple and complex prepositions), (2) their wider context and (3) tentative conclusions as regards the distribution of nearly-synonymous items covered by the study. The sample data extracted and grouped as to their semantics are categorised as instances of simple 3 The frequency studies in the field under scrutiny are conducted with reference to various aspects. Cf. studies on the occurrences of the most frequent prepositions followed by -ing forms in legal English carried out on the basis of the sample of the Texas Code of Civil Procedure (Bázlik and Ambrus 2008, 98; Bázlik, Ambrus and Bęcławski 2010, 128). Also, see the study on the use of phraseological units in legalese in Więcławska (2013).

Quantification and Traceability of Prepositional Meanings …

151

and complex prepositions along the definition included in Biel (2015, 141) and Biber et al. (2007, 75), where complex prepositions are defined as “multi-word sequences [that] function semantically and syntactically as single prepositions” (Biber et al. 2007, 75). In order to identify the categories in point a test of syntactic variability was conducted on the data extracted (variability test). Further – at points where some tendencies were noticed – the randomised data fitting in the dominating semantic categories were discussed in the light of the wider context of the prepositional strings, i.e. together with the items preceding or following the prepositions repetitively (wider context test). Finally, the cases of dictionarywise close synonyms were put to the life-cycle test in an attempt to identify some tendencies in their distribution (life-cycle test). Fig. 3: Corpus processing – on. Immediate lexical context for on.

Fig. 3 is a sample illustration of the said search results.4 It points to significant disproportions as regards the frequency factor. The parallel data relating to the remaining 4 top prepositions, i.e. by, of, for, in, also show marked, quantitatively varied frequency patterns for the individual prepositions and the bulk of data obtained in search no. 2 allows for the identification of the dominant types of relational meaning, that is, such semantic categories which are embodied in more than one preposition or prepositional phrase.

4 In principle, the computer search covered strings consisting of 3 items, the preposition included, for example, on behalf of. The cases of strings composed of 4 components (e.g. on the day of ) refer to instances where a definite or indefinite article makes up part of the string.

152

Edyta Więcławska

The data point to the extensive application of the most central prepositions, i.e. on and in, to refer to dimensions in space and temporal relations. As regards the category of dimensions the strong representatives here are, for example, in in the string in all Member States accounting for 10010 of the occurrences and on in the string on the market of with a score of 1752 occurrences. In and on in the examples provided are classified as simple prepositions, yet they show a significant degree of repetitiveness in the most immediate lexical environment and they are most often preceded by the chunks shown below in bold. The context-related data for the two illustrative strings are as follows: “[…] be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.” “[…] be uniform in all Member States, shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 19.” “[…] of heating installations through the spread on the market of low-efficiency boilers.” “[…] placing on the market of fishery products.” “[…] … putting on the market of that lot.”

The second, significantly represented category referred to as relations in the time sphere may be divided into two types, i.e. point of time and period of time (Quirk 1973, 154). As regards the dimension of point of time, the data obtained in the search that may be said to belong to this category include the preposition on which, combined with the items day and dates constitutes a semantically and quantitatively salient temporal category of the said type. The cases in point are on the day of with 2286 occurrences and on the date of with 1265 occurrences as representatives of the category of complex prepositions (Biel 2015, 139–162). Further, the strings fitting in the componentially variable paradigm on [[the] [third]] day [following] may be classified as the category of free nominal structures with on the third day scoring 1668 hits, followed by on the day following with 1509 occurrences. The randomised data for on the day of point to the quantitatively significant recurring patterns related to the wider context, i.e. the chunks preceding the said complex preposition. The following extracts are sample illustrations here: “[…] into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.” “[…] be issued on the day of loading of the animal(s) for dispatch to the Member State of destination.”

The second sub-category of the temporal prepositional phrases refer to the period of time. This includes the complex preposition for the period of, scoring 2599 occurrences. The following quotation from the randomised data processed show the recurrent repetitiveness of the components preceding the said complex preposition, as emerges from the following quotations:

Quantification and Traceability of Prepositional Meanings …

153

“[…] the whole or the relevant part of the obligation in question were terminated for the period of time under consideration.” “[…] will be valid for the period of time during which the law is accepted.”

The semantic category of reference to legal provisions covers prepositions which have abstract meanings that are literally related to their locative use (Quirk 1973, 153). The arisal of the said secondary sense is based on the sense transference conditioned by the metaphorical extension, where we observe the conceptual mapping of the source domain onto the target domain in the cognitive sense. The association is triggered by highlighting the similarity between the distances observed physically and the space related to the orientation in a legal document. The context-specific data extracted for the prepositions covered by closer analysis allow us to identify cases of simple and complex prepositions fitting in this category. The quantitatively most distinctive representatives of this category may be said to denote compliance with legal provisions (i.e. in accordance with) and reference to sources, where specific legal norms are anchored (i.e. in Article 1, in paragraph 1, in Annex 1, in this regulation, in the Official Journal). The prepositions here form phrases functioning as denotations of text divisions such as sections, sub-sections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, etc. (Bázlik 2008, 151).5 The whole network of such expressions serves as a navigation tool in a legal document, in that it secures the text cohesion and coherence. The representatives of this semantic category vary as to their componential stability, and thus in accordance with as a structurally stable combination is representative of the category of complex prepositions, scoring 77 669 occurrences. The frequency data for the simple prepositions fitting in this category are as follows: in particular article (18 312) and in Article (4 855), in Annex 1 (5 602) and in the Annex 1 (4 520). As regards the recurring patterns in the wider context the string in article stands out in that it is consistently preceded by the verbal component related to the mode of reference to the said legal provision. The findings are illustrated by the following extracts: “[…] the pension provided for in article 8 and the pensions provided for in article 10 shall not be drawn concurrently by the same person.”

5 The category of reference to legal provisions seems to be abundantly represented. A search of the corpus going beyond the randomised extracts provides us with yet further variants of the prepositional phrases quoted: in that article, in ex-article, in individual articles, in particular articles, in the above mentioned articles, in the aforementioned article, in previous article, in the corresponding articles, in those articles, in former articles.

154

Edyta Więcławska

“[…] laid down in Article 3 (1) (a) of Regulation No 25 (2) on the financing of the common agricultural policy is no longer valid for the financing of refunds.” “[…] referred to in article x.” “[…] as defined in Article 196 of the Treaty.”

Yet another statistically significant group are prepositions that convey concepts introducing context-specific limitations in the cognitive deconstruction of the concepts preceding them. Examples in point include the following complex prepositions: in terms of (4 254), in respect of (17 201), in relation to (6 814), in the case of (17 218), on the occasion of (967). It was not observed that any specific sentence elements constitute repetitive patterns recurring consistently with the said complex prepositions. This may result from the nature of the message conveyed by the structural unit initiated by the prepositions. In the cases examined the prepositions are observed to introduce a type of factual situation, specifying the conditions under which a given rule operates. Since these contents naturally vary, the level of formulaicity in the wider context is low in this group. Manner constitutes another quantitatively salient type of relational meaning conveyed by prepositions in the legal texts making up the corpus. The prepositional phrases in point refer to the legal or material instruments by which something is done. The search of the corpus gave us the following data with the 5 most distinct complex prepositions: on the basis of (19 360), by means of (5 170), by the following (10 024), by way of (4 304), by virtue of (1 530). The wider context shows that they are used in a variety of contexts and the cases of repetitiveness of the preceding or following units may be said to be statistically insignificant. The exception here is by way of which shows to be consistently followed by the term derogation, as, for example, in: “[…] by way of derogation from the system, in order to achieve complete parallelism of the national value added tax systems and thus permit the attainment of the objective stated in Article 4 of the first Council Directive of 11 April 1967.” “[…] By way of derogation from paragraph 1 (a), the levy applicable to frozen meat of the types set out in Section (b) of the Annex may be fixed by the Commission at a percentage which is higher than that indicated in paragraph 1.”

Let us move on to analyse the issue of the distribution of near synonyms, selected from among the 5 top prepositions (see Fig. 2). To this end corpus search no. 3 was conducted with the aim of measuring the life span of the prepositions in question. The distribution of the nearly synonymous prepositions was established by processing the statistical data with consideration to the number of occurrences per year (years 1958–2006). Importantly, the frequency of occurrences of the items is

Quantification and Traceability of Prepositional Meanings …

155

determined with reference to the ratio calculated taking account of the length of the text in a given year, as illustrated by the following equation: no. of occurrences in a year x factor no. of all the occurrences, i.e. in all the years

Specifically, the data was compared for the three pairs of complex prepositions: (1) on the basis of/by virtue of, (Fig. 4), (2) in respect of/in relation to (Fig. 5) and (3) by means of/by way of (Fig. 6). Fig. 4: Average frequency of usage for on the basis of (first column in a given year) and by virtue of (second column in a given year).

Fig. 5: Average frequency of usage for in respect of (first column in a given year) and in relation to (second column in a given year).

156

Edyta Więcławska

Fig. 6: Average frequency of usage for by means of (first column in a given year) and by way of (second column in a given year).

Fig. 4, 5 and 6 show the average frequency of occurrences of the said pairs of expressions. Interestingly, we can observe some clear tendencies in two cases. Namely, as illustrated by Fig. 5, the mid-90s mark the beginning of an increase for in relation to with a simultaneous decrease for in respect of. Another example of some tendency in the life cycle of the prepositions in point is illustrated by Fig. 4, which evidences the pair conveying the sense related to the reason why something is done, i.e. on the basis of and by virtue of. On the basis of was on the increase from the 90s. This stood in opposition to by virtue of, which was in decline in the period starting at the beginning of the 90s up to 2006. We may assume that the prepositions in point influence each other, which determines their distribution trends over the years. In order to identify the factors determining the tendencies we would need to extend the study and generate the contextual profile of the near synonyms, taking into account, among others, the type of texts, the authors, etc. At this stage we may either attribute the findings to the working of Bréal’s well-known distribution law, which assumes that the units tend to differentiate their meaning diachronically (i.a. Nirenburg, Raskin 2005, 95), or hypothesise that the distribution patterns are due to the stylistic conventions of the legislator.

Conclusions The findings provide us with sample, quantitative data related to the way prepositions are used in the language of law. It needs to be noted at this point that, although general stylistic patterns in question remain stable throughout legal language sensu largo, some differences in the frequency and distribution patterns

Quantification and Traceability of Prepositional Meanings …

157

are noted, depending on what genre of the legal texts we are examining, whether it is authentic or translated language, or depending on its institutional setting (Biel 2015, 139–162).6 The pilot study included three search operations: search no. 1 related to identifying the frequencies of the individual prepositions, search no. 2 aimed at determining the immediate context of the 5 top prepositions leading to the identification of the most salient simple and complex preposition and the dominant types of relational meaning, and finally search no. 3, where the author made an effort at verifying whether there are some tendencies in the diachronic perspective as regards the distribution of near synonyms in the grammatical category examined. The findings point to a law-specific, frequency-based model of distribution of prepositions. It is stated in the literature of the subject that this model departs from the general English one (Bázlik, Ambrus 2008, 98–99; Bázlik, Ambrus and Bęcławski 2010, 128–129). It is confirmed in the literature of the subject in reference to specialised languages in general that the linguistic peculiarities in these “[…] do not constitute a typological exception but rather a distinction in quantitative terms” (Gotti 2005, 103). The discussion included therein also reveals the most salient types of relational meaning and this in reference to both simple and complex prepositions. Finally, the issue of near synonymy is addressed and the sample results allow us to draw some tentative conclusions as regards the existence of the interdependencies in the life cycles of the synonymous prepositions. It is hoped that the identification of such law-specific, stylistic patterns proves to be of substantial didactic value in that it contributes to mastering the disciplinespecific competencies of legal translators (Prieto Ramos 2011, 7–21). Moreover, the awareness of the distinct stylistic patterns and the competent use of the carriers of relational meaning by legal practitioners should increase consistency in the interpretation of legal texts and eliminate the linguistic concerns of lawyers in the process of the application of law in the international legal trade (Zawidzka-Łojek, Grzeszczak and Łazowski 2015,195).

6 This tendency also holds true for other stylistic features. For example, Szymor (2015) discusses the issue of aspectual choice in modal contexts and come to the conclusion that there are differences in this respect depending on the text type: authentic vs. translated legal text in Polish.

158

Edyta Więcławska

References Baroni, Marco, and Stefan Evert. 2009. “Statistical Methods for Corpus Exploitation.” In Corpus Linguistics. An International Handbook, edited by Anake Lüdeling and Merja Kytö, 777–803. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Bázlik, Miroslav, and Patrik Ambrus. 2008. A Grammar of Legal English. Bratis lava: Wolters Kluwer. Bázlik, Miroslav, Patrik Ambrus, and Mariusz Bęcławski. 2010. The Grammatical Structure of Legal English. Warszawa: Translegis Publishing. Biber, Douglas, Johansson, Stig, Geoffrey, Leech, Susan, Conrad, and Edward Finegan. 2007. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Harlow: Longman. Biel, Łucja. 2015. “Phraseological Profiles of Legislative Genres: Complex Prepositions as a Special Case of Legal Phrasemes in EU Law and National Law.” In FACHSPRACHE – Current Issue XXXVII 3–4/2015,139–162. Biel, Łucja. 2014. Lost in the Eurofog: The Textual Fit of Translated Law. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Bladowski, Bogdan. 1999. Sędzia cywilista. Rola i zadania. Metodyka pracy. Wzory czynności z komentarzem. Zakamycze: Kantor Wydawniczy Zakamycze. Dipper, Stefanie. 2009. “Theory-driven and Corpus-driven Computational Linguistics, and the Use of Corpora.” In Corpus Linguistics. An International Handbook, edited by Anke Lüdeling, and Merja Kytö, 68–96. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Engberg, Jan. 2013. “Comparative Law for Translation: The Key to Successful Mediation between Legal Systems.” Legal Translation in Context. Professional Issues and Prospects, 9–27. Oxford: Peter Lang. Evans, Vyvyan, and Andrea Tyler. 2003. The Semantics of English Prepositions. Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition. Cambridge University Press. Gibbons, John. 2003. Forensic Linguistics. An Introduction to Language in the Justice System. Malden: Blackwell Publishing. Guggeis, Manueal, and William Robinson. 2012. ““Co-revision”: Legal-Linguistic Revision in the European Union “Co-decision” Process.” In The Role of Legal Translation in Legal Harmonisation, edited by Cornelis J.W. Baaij, 51–81. Alphen an den Rijn: Kluwer Law Internaltionl BV. Geeroms, Sofie M. F. 2002. “Comparative Law and Legal Translation: Why the Terms Cassation, Revision and Appeal Should not be Translated.” The American Journal of Comparative Law, Spring 2002, no. 2:201–229.

Quantification and Traceability of Prepositional Meanings …

159

Gerard-René, de Groot. 2012. “Legal Translation.” In Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law, Second Edition, edited by Jan, M. Smits, 538–549. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Gotti, Maurizio. 2005. Investigating Specialised Discourse. Bern: Peter Lang. Kjœr, Lise Anne. 2007. “Phrasemes in Legal Texts.” In Phraseologie. Ein Internationales Handbuch der Zeitgenössischen Forschung/Phraseology. An International Handbook of Contemporary Research, edited by Harald Burger, Dimitrij Dobrovol’skij, Peter Kühn, and Neil R. Norrick, 506–515. Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter. Kjœr, Lise Anne 1990. “Context-conditioned Word Combinations in Legal Language.” Terminology Science and Research. Journal of the International Institute for Terminology Research 1–2:21–32. Lindquist. Hans. 2010. Corpus Linguistics and the Description of English. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Malinowski, Andrzej. 2012. Polski tekst prawny. Opracowanie treściowe i redakcyjne. Wybrane wskazania logiczno-językowe. Warszawa: LexisNexis. Mattila, Heikki, E.S. 2006. Comparative Legal Linguistics. Aldershot: Ashgate. Prieto Ramos, Fernando. 2011. “Developing Legal Translation Competence: An Integrative Process-Oriented Approach.” Comparative Legilinguistics - International Journal for Legal Communication 5:7–21. Šarčević, Susan. 1997. New Approach to Legal Translation. The Hague: Kluwer Law International. Nirenburg, Sergei, and Victor Raskin. 2004. Ontological Semantics. USA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Szymor, Nina. 2015. “Behavioral Profiling in Translation Studies.” Trans-kom 8 [2]:483–489. [http://www.trans-kom.eu/index-en.html]. Quirk, Randolph, and Sidney Greenbaum. 1973. A University Grammar of English. Longman Group UK Limited. Quiroz, Gabriel Á., ed. 2006. “Using and English-Spanish Parallel Corpus to Solve Complex Premodification in Noun Phrases.” In Insights into Specialised Translation, edited by Maurizio Gotti and Susan Šarčevic, 367–391. Bern: Peter Lang. Vandeloise, Claude. 1994. “Methodology and Analyses of the Preposition in.” Cognitive Linguistics 5:157–184. Więcławska, Edyta. 2013. “On Various Degrees of Stability of Multi-word Combinations in the Polish Legal Language.” In Studia Anglica Resoviensia, edited by Grzegorz, Andrzej Kleparski, Agnieszka Uberman, and Marta PikorNiedziałek, 10:73–86. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego.

160

Edyta Więcławska

Yankova, Diana. 2008. The Text and Context of European Directives. Translation Issues in Approximating Legislation. Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski University Press. Yunus, Kamariah, and Su’ad Awab. 2014. “The Usage of Colligations of Prepositions Among Malaysian Law Undergraduates: A Needs Analysis.” Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 134:34–43. Zawidzka-Łojek, Anna, Robert Grzeszczak, and Adam Łazowski, eds. 2015. Prawo Unii Europejskiej. Vademecum. Warszawa: Instytut Wydawniczy EuroPrawo.

Corpus Joint Research Centre. The European Commission’s Science and Knowledge Service. Accessed April 15, 2014. [http://ipsc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/index.php?id=198#c2726].

Anastasiia Yeromina

Abstract Nouns with Evaluative Meaning: Semantics and Structure Abstract: The present research addresses English abstract nouns with evaluative semantics, which are connected with emotional, intellectual and spiritual activities of a person. The role of abstract words as means of expressing evaluation is discussed. Trends and mechanisms of their formation in the language system are outlined. The analysis of the semantic attributes of the lexical units under analysis presupposes their classification into lexical-sematic groups. Keywords: word-formation, abstract evaluative noun, lexical-sematic group, semantic derivation, affixation, conversion, word composition

Introduction The research deals with the peculiarities of evaluative semantics of abstract nouns in the English language. A variety of concepts that reveal the nature of evaluation are touched upon in the literature belonging to different fields of knowledge: philosophy, logic, ethics, etc. (Andrew 1995; Ayer 1963; Hare 1967). The category of evaluation has become an important area of inquiry in recent years. In various areas of linguistics there is a constant interest in problems of abstract notions that had led to the occurrence of a number of significant works, covering this issue. According to L. Kvarcheliia the nouns that express abstract concepts represent the largest group in the language vocabulary (Kvarcheliia 1985). This group has constantly been updated with the new stock, thus revealing the results of the human activity which reflect extra-linguistic aspects of reality. However, the study of a word evaluative meaning and the types of such a meaning in the abstract vocabulary has not gained much attention. The present study focuses on the evaluative abstract nouns in the English language, i.e. such words as daintiness, which means the quality of being fine, handsome, delightful etc. (SOED). Special attention is paid to the study of structural and semantic features of lexemes with abstract meaning. The research in question is aimed at identifying and describing semantic characteristics of the abstract evaluative nouns (further AEN) in the English language, as well as establishing and describing the mechanism and the patterns of the abstract evaluative nouns formation. The present research is based on the sample of 1012 abstract evaluative nouns excerpted from the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles

162

Anastasiia Yeromina

(SOED). Several criteria have been taken into account while excerpting the abstract evaluative nouns. Descriptive adjectives as indicators of evaluation in the word lexical meaning serve as the first criterion in the material selection. On the one hand, they designate attributes and, on the other hand, can signal either positive or negative evaluation in the word meaning. The second criterion is the abstract seme (e.g. of state, of action, of process, etc.) in the word meaning. The meaning of some nouns can incorporate emotional, stylistic and other connotations, which are lexicographically marked by the labels offensive, derogatory, coarse, vulgar, slang, humorous, jocular, etc. in their dictionary definitions. These labels can be regarded as another criterion for material excerption. This criterion has turned out to be irrelevant in our study as evaluation is always part of denotative component in the abstract nouns meaning. The linguistic methods applied in the research are as follows: componential analysis, aimed at identifying the set of semes constituting the meaning of lexical units under study; morphemic analysis, used to identify the word-formation patterns of evaluative abstract nouns. The research methodology is based both on qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis, aimed at determining the frequency value of the language material in question as well as the productivity of semantic groups and word-formation patterns.

Lexical-semantic groups of abstract evaluative nouns It is very difficult to give a definition to the term “evaluation” that would satisfy the majority of researchers. Numerous definitions of this category confirm this. S. Hidekel treats evaluation as social attitudes of speakers to the extra-linguistic objects and to the facts of language and speech (Hidekel 1983, 7). V. Teliia claims that evaluation is the attitude of the speaker to the subject, which he describes (Teliia 1986, 22–23). Evaluation is defined as the speaker’s objective or subjective attitude to a certain object, which is implicitly or explicitly expressed by language means (Kunin 1996, 6). E. Volf views evaluation as a semantic concept which is interpreted as A (the subject of evaluation) finds that B (object of evaluation) is good or bad (Volf 2002, 5). The Dictionary of Linguistic Terms interprets evaluation as “a judgment of the speaker, his attitude (approval or disapproval, desire, encouragement, etc.) as one of the main parts of stylistic connotations” (Ahmanova 1969, 304). O. Bessonova defines evaluation as an objective or subjective attitude of a semantic subject to a semantic object expressed by language means. Evaluation does not exist irrespective of a person (Bessonova 2002, 26–29). The attempts to classify the evaluative abstract vocabulary on thematic principle were made by many linguists, A. Ufimtseva and N. Arutiunova among them

Abstract Nouns with Evaluative Meaning …

163

(Arutiunova 1988; Ufimtseva 1986). In our study, the semantic classification is grounded on the approach of Z. Verdieva (Verdieva 1986). As a result of the language material analysis, the following lexical-semantic groups have been singled out: “State”, “Action”, “Process”, “Relations between people, attitude”, “Moral qualities”, “Properties”, “Events”, “Categories of the natural world” (see Table 1). Table 1: Semantic classification of abstract evaluative nouns based on dictionary research Lexical-semantic groups “State”

Number of Nouns 455

% 45%

Examples accuracy – “the state of being correct or exact and without error, esp. as a result of careful effort”

“Action”

139

13.7%

ferocity – “fierce behavior”

“Process”

131

13%

decadence – “the process of falling away or declining (from a state of excellence, vitality, prosperity, etc.)”

“Relations between people, attitude”

111

11%

love – “a strong feeling of deep affection for sb/sth”

“Moral qualities”

6.8%

valour – “the quality of character which enables a person to face danger with boldness or fortitude; courage, bravery, esp. in battle”

“Properties”

4.8%

daintiness – “the quality of being fine, handsome, delightful, etc.”

“Events”

disaster – “an event that causes suffering or unfortunate consequences”

“Categories of the natural world”

1.7%

eclipse – “a temporary or permanent deprivation of light”

1012

100%

Total

The largest group is the group denoting state, which consists of 455 units (45% of the total number of the sample). Lexical-semantic groups of abstract evaluative nouns which denote “actions” (139 units or 13.7%), “process” (131 units or 13%), “relations between people, attitude” (111 units, or 11%) are characterized by a high frequency value. Lexical-semantic groups of AEN denoting “moral qualities” (69 units, or 6.8%), “property” (49 units, or 4.8%), “events” (40 units, or 4%) and “the categories of the natural world” (18 units, or 1.7%) are peripheral as for their frequency value is concerned.

164

Anastasiia Yeromina

There are several subgroups in the lexical-semantic group denoting “state”, such as intellectual, physical and emotional state. The subgroup of the AEN denoting emotional state is the most numerous. It consists of 222 lexical units (22% of the total number of the sampling material), e.g. vagrancy—“mental wandering, vacillation, or digression”; an instance of this (SOED). The words wandering, vacillation and digression in the dictionary definition indicate negative evaluation. The subgroup of AEN denoting physical state of a person comes second in number. The subgroup consists of 167 lexical units (16.5%), e.g. debility—physical weakness esp. as a result of illness (SOED). The words weakness, illness in the definition express the seme of negative evaluation in the meaning of the word debility. The subgroup of abstract nouns denoting intellectual state is third in number of words (66 nouns or 6.5%), e.g., in the lexical meaning of the noun cachexia defined in SOED as a bad mental condition; a state of depravity the negative evaluative meaning is expressed by the adjective bad, the word condition realizes the abstract seme in the AEN meaning. All the words constituting this lexical-semantic group express a rational type of evaluation. The rational evaluation is based on cognitive sphere of the speaker, on social norms and stereotypes of the speaking community. The rational evaluation is based on the speaker’s knowledge of mental and social nature of the human reality. The group of AEN denoting condition is represented mainly by the lexical units with the negative evaluation. Abstract evaluative nouns may also denote speech, intellectual, physical, emotional actions and behavior, e.g. the word backhander denotes the result of the person’s speech action, which is interpreted by the dictionary as a hurtful or stinging remark (SOED). The abstract seme ‘action’ is expressed by the word remark, the evaluative seme is expressed by adjectives hurtful and stinging. The subgroup of AEN denoting physical action is presented by such lexical units as benefaction – the action of giving something for a good cause or of doing good (SOED). As we can see from the example, the abstract seme “action” is realized by the word action in the word definition. The marker of positive evaluation is the adjective good. The abstract noun fright–a sudden unpleasant fear, violent terror (SOED) refers to the subgroup of emotional action, the abstract meaning of which is expressed by the semes “fear” and “terror”. Negative evaluation is expressed by the adjectives unpleasant and violent in the lexical meaning of this noun. The noun aggression, which means violent or hostile behaviour (SOED) represents the subgroup of AEN denoting a person’s behavior. The adjectives violent and hostile indicate the evaluative component. The analysis of the AEN semantics shows that the nouns denoting ‘action’ refer to the rational type of evaluation. The nouns with negative evaluation prevail in this group.

Abstract Nouns with Evaluative Meaning …

165

The lexical-semantic group of AEN denoting ‘process’ is represented by the equal proportion of positive and negative lexical units, e.g. attrition—“а gradual process of becoming or making sb/sth weaker and less confident through continual attacks, difficulties, etc.”; (SOED). The adjectives weaker and less confident indicate negative evaluation in the meaning of the word attrition, while the noun advancement which means “the process of helping something to make progress or succeed” (SOED) represents positive AEN denoting “process”. As we can see from the example, the abstract seme “process” is realized by the word process in the word definition and phrases make progress and succeed indicate the evaluative component. The AEN of the lexical-semantic group “relations between people, attitude” are mostly positive in meaning (68.9%). It can be accounted for by the importance of good relations between people, which are treated as one of the highest values in the value hierarchy. For example, in the definition of the noun attachment defined in SOED as “a sympathetic, friendly or romantic connection” the positive evaluative meaning is expressed by the adjectives sympathetic, friendly and romantic, the word connection realizes the abstract seme “relations” in the AEN meaning. Negative lexical units are few in number in this group, e.g. the noun adulation means “excessive admiration” (SOED). In this definition we can observe words with both positive and negative evaluation: the abstract seme “attitude” is expressed by the positive word admiration, while the negative adjective excessive makes the semantics of the attitude expressed disapproving. The group of the nouns denoting “moral qualities” makes 69 lexemes (or 6.8% of the total number of AEN under analysis). Both positively and negatively marked words are equal in number in this group and express rational evaluation. In the word decency, which means “the quality of being or appearing respectable and polite” (SOED) the semes expressed by the words respectable and polite in the lexicographic definition convey positive evaluation. While in the noun imperiousness – “overmastering or imperative quality” (SOED) adjectives overmastering and imperative express the negative evaluation. In both examples the abstract seme “quality” is realized by the word quality. The group of AEN denoting “property” is represented by 49 lexical units (4.8%). The prevalence of nouns with positive evaluation (31 nouns or 64%) has been traced in this group. For example, in the lexical meaning of the noun felicity – “the quality of being pleasing, well designed, well-chosen” (SOED) the adjectives pleasing and well-chosen indicate positive evaluative meaning. All the AEN of this group convey the rational type of evaluation.

166

Anastasiia Yeromina

The lexical-semantic group of AEN denoting “events” consists of 40 lexical units (4%). Most examples in this group represent negative rational evaluation. For example, in the lexical meaning of the noun calamity — “an event that causes great harm or damage” (SOED) the abstract seme is marked by the word event in the lexicographic definition, the nouns harm and damage indicate negative evaluative semantic component. The group of the abstract evaluative nouns denoting “the category of the natural world” is very small in number (18 nouns, or 1.7%). For example, the evaluative meaning of the abstract noun chill — “an unpleasant coldness in the air, in the body, in water” (SOED) is expressed by the negative adjective unpleasant. Words with negative evaluation make about 80% of nouns in this group.

Structural patterns of abstract evaluative nouns Abstract nouns belong to the elements of the English language lexical system, which constantly changes, evolves and reacts to all changes occurring in the language community. Therefore new words constantly appear in the abstract vocabulary, too. The replenishment of the language with new words never ends, with word-formation playing an important role in this process. The empirical material analysis proves that formation of abstract evaluative nouns goes in line with the traditional ways and mechanisms of word-formation, such as semantic derivation, affixation, conversion, word composition, etc. The structural analysis shows that 405 abstract evaluative nouns (40%) are nonderived. Their abstract evaluative meaning often appears as a result of semantic derivation. The words of this group are both borrowed and native (e.g. ache — “a continuous or prolonged dull pain, physical or mental” (SOED) which descended from Old English æae). The sources of borrowings are mainly French, Latin, Greek and Italian. The noun defect (Latin defectus) – “the absence of something essential to completeness; a lack, a deficiency” (SOED) comes from Latin. The noun acrimony which means “bitterness of tone or manner” (SOED) is of either French origin (acrimonie) or Latin (acrimonia). The productivity of semantic derivation is accounted for by the importance of the polysemy factor and by the abundance of monosyllabic words in the English language. Thus polysemantic AEN prevail in English and make 63% of total number of the non-derived AEN. Suffixation is also an efficient way of AEN formation (392 lexical units, 38.7%, e.g. ignore + -ance = ignorance — “a lack of knowledge or information about sth” (SOED)). The following ways of formation are less frequent in occurrence: suffixation and prefixation (91 units or 9%), prefixation (69 lexical units, 6.8%) and composition (55 AEN, 5.5%).

Abstract Nouns with Evaluative Meaning …

167

As a results of the material analysis, we can state that suffixes play a leading role in the formation of the derived abstract evaluative nouns. The verbal stem has turned out to be the most productive: 189 lexical units (48.2%) are built on the basis of verb stem. The process of derivation can be presented in a generalized pattern: V + suf = AEN, where V is a verbal stem, suf means suffix. For example, fixate + -ion = fixation — “an abnormal interest in or feeling about sb / sth; an obsession” (SOED). The adjective stem is second in its productivity: 152 abstract evaluative nouns or 39% are formed on its basis. The noun fatal + -ity = fatality — “a death caused by accident or in war, etc.” (SOED) is formed according to the pattern A + suf = AEN, where A is an adjective stem, the suffix is indicated generally, the equal sign shows the result of the derivation. The noun stem is less productive in the AEN formation according to the pattern N + suf = AEN, where N is a noun stem (51 nouns, 12.8%). The noun noble + -ity = nobility — “the quality of being noble, esp in mind or character” (SOED) illustrates the process of word formation according to this pattern. The most productive suffixes are -ion (20,5%, e.g. agress + -ion = aggression), -tion (18,2%, e.g., adore + -ation = adoration), -ity (15,9%, e.g., acceptable + -ity = acceptability), -ence / -ance (13,6%, e.g., abstinent + -ence = abstinence), -ment (12,5 %, e.g., acknowledge + -ment = acknowledgement). The analysis shows that the AEN evaluative meaning is motivated by the semantics of the root-morpheme. AEN formed by means of both suffixation and prefixation come second (91 lexical units, 9%). The most productive is the verbal stem, the derivational pattern is pref + V + suf = AEN, where V is a verbal stem, pref is a prefix, suf is a suffix, e.g. mis- + carry + -age = miscarriage — “the process of giving birth to a baby before it is fully developed and able to survive” (SOED) or mis- + construct + -ion = misconstruction — “false or mistaken understanding of something” (SOED). The adjective stem is less productive in this group of words. The noun im- + perfect + -ion = imperfection — “a fault that makes somebody imperfect” (SOED) is formed according to the pattern pref + A + suf = AEN, where A is an adjective stem. The evaluative meaning of such nouns is mostly motivated by the negative prefixes mis-, im-, ir-, etc. Prefixation is a non-productive way of word-formation in this group of the vocabulary (69 lexical units, 6.8%). The nouns im- + balance = imbalance — “a lack of balance or proportion” (SOED), in- + discipline = indiscipline — “lack of discipline” (SOED) are formed according to the following generalized pattern: pref + V = AEN, where V is a verbal stem. The least productive way of AEN formation is a word-composition (55 units, 5.5%). Compound AEN are mainly formed according to the pattern N + N = AEN, where N are nouns that are combined into a new lexical unit, e.g. band + wagon =

168

Anastasiia Yeromina

bandwagon — “any popular or fashionable activity” (SOED). The pattern A + N = AEN, where A is an adjective and N is a noun joined together to form a new AEN is less productive, e.g. good + will = goodwill — “friendly, helpful feelings” (SOED).

Conclusions As a result of the research, the conclusion can be made that the system of values, ideas about the world, the attitude to the world, to other people, to good and bad is realized in abstract vocabulary. It means that abstract vocabulary is an expression of all the intellectual, spiritual and emotional human activity. Abstract evaluative nouns are often used to designate the state of a person, his actions, processes; rarely to designate the relations between people, moral qualities and properties; infrequently to nominate events and categories of the natural world. The empirical material represents rational type of evaluation, which is a kind of logical attitude of the subject to the object of evaluation with regards to the standards and stereotypes formed by the speaking community in the course of its historical development. In terms of the character of evaluation abstract nouns can be subdivided into positive (33%) and negative (67%). The analysis shows that negative evaluation prevails in the lexical meaning that can be explained by the fact that positive things are associated with the norm and the attention is usually focused on the deviation from the norm. This trend is reflected in the abstract vocabulary of the English language. The process of abstract evaluative nouns formation goes in accordance with the basic mechanisms of word-formation in English. The majority of abstract evaluative nouns are non-derived (the evaluative meaning is formed as a result of semantic derivation), which is accounted for by a high degree of polysemy in English. Semantic derivation is mainly based on the metaphoric transference of meaning. The most productive way of AEN formation is suffixation, with -ion, -ation, -ity, -ence / -ance and -ment being the most productive suffixes. Suffixation in combination with prefixation, prefixation itself and word-composition have turned out to be less productive. In most cases the evaluative meaning is motivated by inner form of the word, rarely by the derivational formant.

References Ahmanova, Olga. 1969. Slovar lingvisticheskih terminov. Moskva: Sovetskaia entsiklopediia.

Abstract Nouns with Evaluative Meaning …

169

Andrew, Edward. 1995. The Genealogy of Values: The Aesthetic Economy of Nietzsche and Proust. London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Arutiunova, Nina. 1988. Tipy yazykovykh znachenii. Otsenka, sobytiya, fakt. Moskva: Nauka. Ayer, Alfred. 1963. Philosophical Essays. London: Macmillan. Bessonova, Olga. 2002. Otsinnyi tezaurus angliiskoi movy: kognityvnyi ta gendernyi aspekty: monografiia. Donetsk: DonNU. Bessonova, Olga. 2010. “Strukturnye osobennosti otsenochnyh naimenovanii litsa v angliiskom, frantsuzskom i ukrainskom yazykah.” Zapisky z romanogermanskoi filologii 25:7–10. Odesa: Feniks. Hare, Richard Mervyn. 1967. The Language of Morals. London: Oxford University Press. Hidekel, Sara. 1983. “Priroda i kharakter yazykovykh otsesnok.” Leksicheskie i grammaticheskie komponenty v semantike yazykovogo znaka, 72–82. Voronegh: Izd-vo VGU. Hunston, Susan. 2003. Evaluation in Text: Authorial Stance and the Construction of Discourse. New York: Penguin Classics. Kunin, Alexander V. 1996. English Phraseology. Moscow: Vysshaia shkola. Dubna: Phenix Publishing Centre. Kvarcheliia, Liana. 1985. Semanticheskaya struktura chastotnykh sushchestvitelnykh angliiskogo yazyka: avtoreferat dissertatsii kandidata filolologicheskikh nauk. Moskva. Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: On Historical Principles (5th edition), edited by William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson. 2002. New York: Oxford University Press Inc. Teliia, Veronika. 1986. Konnotativnyi aspekt semantiki nominativnykh edinits. Moskva: Nauka. Ufimtseva, Anna. 1986. Leksicheskoe znachenie: printsip semasiologicheskogo opisaniia leksiki. Moskva: Nauka. Verdieva, Zemfira. 1986. Semanticheskoe pole v sovremennom angliiskom yazyke. Moskva: Vysshaia shkola. Volf, Elena. 2002. Funktsionalnaia semantika otsesnki. Moskva: Editorial URSS.

Part II: Studies in Applied Linguistics

Vita Balama

Translation Quality Assessment: Cultural and Linguistic Background Abstract: The translation of literary works has always been very important from different viewpoints, but the most significant issues have been and still are the linguistic environment and cultural background involved in the source text and transferred more or less successfully into the target text. The given paper deals with linguistic and cultural borders of communication; discusses the learning of culture diversity thus assessing the translation quality of the literary work; touches upon the role of translator in order to understand the demands for qualitative translation that can satisfy the target reader. The source culture is translated in such a way that it becomes recognizable, understandable and acceptable for the target audience readers. Although the matter of text translation and culture translation involves the process of translation performed by a translator, there exist several theories on what is the purpose of the translation and the main tasks of translation. Besides transposition and modulation in translation of culture related phenomena there are always involved cultural adjustments. In the literary work translation there are used the following cultural adjustments: correspondence, adaptation, amplification, reduction, explicitation, implicitation, generalization, and particularization. Cultural background of the source text not always is transferred successfully, therefore the translator’s role is discussed in the relation to the issue. At present the quality of translations are discussed at different levels: scientific, popular, artistic, etc. The role of translator has grown significantly, especially concerning the texts involving culture phenomena. The procedures that are used by the translator, the translator’s vocabulary, lexis, background knowledge play very important role when literary works are translated. The empirical research was based on comparison and analysis of the examples taken from John Grisham’s novel “The Pelican Brief ” (1992) and their translations into Latvian (2012) and Russian (2001). The quality of the translation is evaluated according to two polarities of directional equivalence which were discussed above by different theorists. When comparing the translations into Latvian and Russian it was interesting to follow the choice made by the translators in those two different languages which are different by their structure from the source language as well as cultures are also completely different. It was interesting to trace the procedure of the translation of culture phenomena and how much of the source culture is preserved and transferred into the target text presented to the target reader of different (other) culture. Keywords: linguistic environment, cultural background, source culture, target culture, cultural adjustments.

174

Vita Balama

Introduction The translation of literary works has always been very important from different viewpoints, but the most significant issues have been and still are the linguistic environment and cultural background involved in the source text and transferred more or less successfully into the target text. And this success or failure of transferring the culture phenomena from the source text into the target text using the most appropriate linguistic devices and translation techniques form the basis for assessment of translation quality. The present paper deals with linguistic and cultural borders of communication; discusses the learning of culture diversity thus assessing the translation quality of the literary work; touches upon the role of translator in order to understand the demands for qualitative translation that can satisfy the target reader. The empirical part involves the examples from John Grisham’s novel “The Pelican Brief ” and its translation into Latvian and Russian. The selected examples show the linguistic differences of the languages: English (American English) being the source language represents analytical type of languages and the other two – Latvian and Russian – representing synthetic type of languages, which leads to certain linguistic differences. Cultural background of the source text not always is transferred successfully, therefore the translator’s role is discussed in the relation to the issue.

Communication across the borders: linguistic and cultural The present day communication involves basically two main types of communication across borders, namely, linguistic and cultural. When communicating face to face, one can use also body language to help to carry the right message directly. More discussable issues appear when translations are involved. By reading translated pieces of literature people acquire new knowledge about different cultures and the process always involves also recognition of other language peculiarities. Translators are studying and discussing different methods of translation of the texts reflecting different cultures and using different linguistic devices. It has been stated by Anthony Pym (2010) and many others, e.g., Andrew Chesterman (2006) and Gayatri C. Spivak (2007) that it is not only the source text that is translated into the target text, but most often that is the description of the source culture that is transferred into the target culture. The source culture is translated in such a way that it becomes recognizable, understandable and acceptable for the target audience readers. Although the matter of text translation and culture translation involves the process of translation performed by a translator, there exist several theories on what is the purpose of the translation and the main tasks

Translation Quality Assessment …

175

of translation. One of the views emphasizes that translation should explain the source culture. The main issue here concerns the way how to explain the source culture phenomena which appear in the source text. One of the main tasks of the translator is to choose the most convenient way of the applied type of explanation: either by adding extra comments within the translated text or complying the extra comments in footnotes or at the end of the translated text in a form of comments. The perception of the added explanations may differ on the reader’s ability to use such explanations and also on the type of the translated text. In any case such added explanations change the general perception of the literary work. Another opinion stresses the idea that translation should make things understandable to the target culture. The clarity of expression when translating the fiction literature from the source language into the target language always involves the clarity of transfer of culture phenomena from the source culture into the target culture. Much of this clarity of expression in the target culture depends on translator’s background knowledge of both the source culture and the target culture. In more details this issue is discussed further in the paper related to the translator’s role in the process of translation. During the process of translation the translator experiences certain difficulties when translating the source culture phenomena into the target language representing different (for the target) culture. If the translator possesses good or excellent knowledge of the source culture and language as well has good command of the target language there still may happen some faults within the translation because of not enough relevant knowledge of the target culture. In case the translator has good command of the target language and the excellent knowledge of the target culture, in most cases it is the translator’s mother tongue and native culture, the differences and non-correspondence leading to non-equivalence appears because of incomplete knowledge of the source culture, especially of their culture phenomena. The excellent language knowledge sometimes is not enough for successful transfer of culture phenomena from the source language into the target language when translating the fiction. Therefore another approach is argued to be very helpful stating that the translation should re-situate everything in the target culture. This type of translation very often is used in subtitling or dubbing the films, serials or other video materials involving the transfer of culture phenomena from the source culture into the target culture. The drawback for this type of transfer is that not always in the target culture there exist or could be found equivalent culture phenomenon. However, nowadays it becomes more and more easy to apply certain culture phenomena to the translations into the target language as the culture phenomena tend to become internationally recognized and sometimes due to this international recognition

176

Vita Balama

they lose their relationship to the source culture becoming international culture phenomena. The last concept does not refer to the translated fiction because there still exists the source culture and the target culture phenomena. By the complete re-situation from the source culture into the target culture the former loses its original sense and culture individuality, but the latter can become so artificial and confusing that no culture relationship can be traced in the target text. The last but not the least type of the translation techniques which should be mentioned here is the view that there is no need to waste time on an ornamental detail. The translator transfers the basic idea, terms, etc, from the source language into the target language, not paying much attention to the description or explanation of the details of the culture phenomena characteristic only for the source culture and/or not existing in the target culture. The view supports the idea that the work of fiction is the original piece of art and it should not be elaborated and decorated by extra explanations for the readers of the other culture to explore something that the author has not included into his writing. The main point is to make the reader of the target culture go and explore the source culture phenomena on oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own to the extent which is necessary for oneself. Partly it can be acceptable, but the author of the paper here disagrees with the holders of this view (Chesterman, 2006; Spivak, 2007; Pym, 2010). Sometimes there should be added explanations of the source culture phenomena since the reader of the target culture may learn about the source culture while reading the translated piece of fiction. This issue is discussed in the next sub-chapter.

Learning about the diverse culture from the literary works as well as from their translations The studies of the translations of the literary works have brought up the basic ways of translation of the literary works, namely, transposition and modulation (Vinay and Darbelnet, 1958/1972). By transposition is understood the method where there is a switching of grammatical categories. This happens due to differently structured languages, namely, synthetic and analytic ones. In empirical research there is compared English as the source language and Latvian and Russian as the target languages. The source language belongs to the analytic languages, the sentence structure and sentence relationship construction differs very significantly from the target languages which both belong to the synthetic language group, i.e. their sentence structure and relationships in the sentence are constructed in a different way, most usually involving more words to express the same idea as it was in the source language, not to mention the culture differences included in the source text and their translation, that most often demands additional explanation. The

Translation Quality Assessment …

177

empirical research showed that not always such explanation is given. Modulation is applied where adjustments are made for different discursive conventions. Besides transposition and modulation in translation of culture related phenomena there are always involved cultural adjustments. Theoretically the distinction among different gradual or oppositional types of adjustments are formulated. In the literary work translation there are used the following cultural adjustments: correspondence, adaptation, amplification, reduction, explicitation, implicitation, generalization, and particularization. The mentioned adjustments are discussed by several linguists and theoreticians such as Klaudy (2001), Hönig and Kussmaul (1982/1996), Fawcett (1997) who summarized the research and theories of Malblanc (1944/1963) working on comparison of French and German; Vázquez-Ayora (1977) working on Spanish and English; Federov (1953), Shveitser (1973/1987) and Retsker (1974) working on Russian and English; and Malone (1988) investigating American English. At the basis of all these studies lies the research work carried out by Vinay and Darbelnet (1958/1972). Correspondence (actually called équivalence in the French version) would use all the corresponding proverbs and referents. The text of the target culture is made equivalent as much as possible to the source culture text. Therefore, sometimes there appear discrepancies because of lacking some culture phenomena in the target culture. In this case most of omissions happen in the target text. Adaptation would refer to different things with loosely equivalent cultural functions. The adjustments made by the help of adaptation try to implement all possible ways to express the source text cultural message as clearly and fully as possible. Adaptation involves certain transfer of the source culture phenomena substituting them by more adaptive to the target culture phenomena. When the translation uses more words than the source text to express the same idea the amplification is applied. It happens in cases when the target-text word grammatically needs the support of another word. Reduction is the opposite to amplification. It is observed that translating from the English language into Latvian or Russian languages more amplification is used than reduction. In cases the translator decides to use the reduction it is related either to the omission of the culture reference or substitution of it by the target culture phenomenon. Explicitation is a procedure whereby the translation gives specifications that are only implicit in the source text. Implicitation, on the contrary, is the opposite of explicitation and is used if and when it is common knowledge in the target culture. These two procedures are not so common in translations of the literary works as in they are in other types of publications (scientific, popular, etc.).

178

Vita Balama

Very often in the translation process of the literary works the translators involve the procedure of generalization and particularization. When a specific term is translated as a more general (abstract) term, it is named generalization, but when the more general term is replaced in the translation by very particular term is is called particularization. Both these cases may very often lead to the use of “false friends” and/or omissions. In the case of generalization the more abstract term is used in the target language the more often there can arise the wrong connotations thus changing the whole message of the source culture phenomena, especially if the particular details of the phenomena later are used by the author as the main carriers of the culture phenomena of the source culture. Particularization very often describes only a small (and in many cases irrelevant) detail of the source culture phenomenon thus creating the wrong emphasis of the culture phenomenon in general. The reader may accept that only the described detail is very significant, not the whole phenomenon.

Translator’s role in the translation of the literary works The translator as a mediator between the author and the reader or between the source culture and the target culture is not a new issue. But at present the quality of translations are discussed at different levels: scientific, popular, artistic, etc. The role of translator has grown significantly, especially concerning the texts involving culture phenomena. The procedures that are used by the translator, the translator’s vocabulary, lexis, background knowledge play very important role when literary works are translated. A. Pym reminds that “[…] the use of loans and calques is only legitimate when there is no more natural equivalent” (2010, 14). Literal translation when is done word-for-word translation cannot be regarded as qualitative translation. The best quality of the translation can be achieved when translation is done culture fact-for-culture fact. The source culture phenomena requires wide background knowledge of the translator. However, “false friends” lower the quality of any translation but especially those translations containing culture phenomena. “False friends” may have lexical, phraseological or syntactic forms. Translation theories discuss many types of equivalence but the quality of translation best of all is characterized by the directional equivalence thus revealing the direction from the source culture phenomena into the target culture phenomena during the process of translation. As Friedrich Schleiermacher (1813/1963) has noted that “..either the translator leaves the author in peace, as much as possible, and moves the reader toward that author, or the translator leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author toward that reader” (1963, 63). The directional equivalence has been discussed by many scholars and theoreticians

Translation Quality Assessment …

179

where all them have mentioned the polarity of the directional equivalence naming that phenomenon differently, but with the same idea thus answering the basic question which way the translation is heading: remaining more close to the author or moving towards the reader. Already Cicero discussing the translations from Greek into Latin mentioned two types of translation: “ut interpres” and “ut orator” which meant translate either “literally” or “freely” (Cicero 46CE/1996). There he meant different translations of the same thing. In the early 19th century Schleiermacher (1813/1963) stated that translations could be either foreignizing or domesticating the source text while translated into the target text. The above-mentioned quote by Schleiermacher testifies the differences, although Schleiermacher himself more supported the idea of foreignizing, the approach allows the translator to decide which type of translation procedure to use. The American linguist and Bible scholar Eugene Nida distinguishes between “formal equivalence” and “dynamic equivalence”, and his seeking for a “natural” equivalent is more on the dynamic side than the formal side (Nida 1964). Nida was basically mentioning the translation of the Bible into the languages of cultures which were not traditionally Christian. A similar division is found also in English translation critic Peter Newmark (1988) research where he distinguishes between “semantic” and “communicative” translations. Newmark’s preference is on the “semantic” side when the translation would look back to the basic values of the source text and retain those values as much as possible. The Czech theorist Jiři Levý (2000) in his turn distinguished between “illusory” and “anti-illusory” translations. In his opinion the “illusory” translation were so well adapted to the target culture that the reader was not aware that it had been a translation. The German theorist Juliane House (1997) is referring to “overt” and “covert” translations mainly explaining awareness of the interaction of the reader with a translation but not clearly taking any of the sides thus leaving everything for the translator to decide. Christiane Nord (1997) when describing different translations prefers the terms “documentary” and “instrumental”. The Israeli theorist Gideon Toury (1995) discusses the translations being “adequate” to the source text or “acceptable” for those who read the translation. The American theorist and translator Lawrence Venuti in his works refers back to Schleiermacher, and Venuti (1995) identifies “fluent” translation by that emphasizing the domestication of the source text and in opposition to these translations he mentions “resistant” translations which show the reader the foreignness of the text. In all the above mentioned investigations of different theorist and scholars in different ages and times the main conclusion is that the final choice is made by the translator, and it is not determined by the nature of the source text.

180

Vita Balama

The German linguist Ernst-August Gutt (1991/2000) proposes that every text, in fact every translation may have its own theory of equivalence. His assumption is based on belief in “interpretative resemblance” which basic idea is that people do not communicate by language alone but always by the relation between language and context. The French translator Antoine Berman (1984/1992) emphasizes that the ethical translator should not adapt the foreign text to the target culture but should respect and maintain the specifity of its foreignness. He mentions that if we try to “make sense” of the foreign text, we turn it into our sense, our culture, which could only lead to ethnocentric translation. The most important suggestion is to receive the Other as Other.

The empirical background of the research The empirical research was based on comparison and analysis of the examples taken from John Grisham’s novel “The Pelican Brief ” (1992) and their translations into Latvian (2012) and Russian (2001). The quality of the translation is evaluated according to two polarities of directional equivalence which were discussed above by different theorists. When comparing the translations into Latvian and Russian it was interesting to follow the choice made by the translators in those two different languages which are different by their structure from the source language as well as cultures are also completely different. It was interesting to trace the procedure of the translation of culture phenomena and how much of the source culture is preserved and transferred into the target text presented to the target reader of different (other) culture. The author of the paper has used bold italics for the words and phrases which make cultural sense in any or in two or all three compared languages. In the following examples (1–5) there are no differences or almost no differences between the source text and the target text. The translators have chosen the direct equivalence and managed to transfer the culture phenomena precisely from the source culture into the target culture. (1) …his legal stick … Savā tiesneša mundrumā …его юридический жезл… (2) “Are the Indians out there?” he asked loudly.…“With war paint?”“Yes! In full battle dress.” -Vai tur laukā ir indiāņi?- viņš skaļi jautāja…-…-Vai kaujas krāsās?--Jā! Pilnā kaujas apģērbā.

Translation Quality Assessment …

181

-Индейцы тоже там? - гормко спросил он. …-Да! -С боевой раскраской? -Да! В полном походном одеянии. (3) THE OFFICE of the Chief Justice is on the main floor, and is larger and more ornate than the other eight. The outer office is used for small receptions and formal gatherings, and the inner office is where the Chief works. Galvenā tiesneša kabinets atradās pirmajā stāvā, un tas bija lielāks un greznāks par pārējiem astoņiem. Priekšējā telpa tika izmantota nelielām pieņemšanām un oficiālām sanāksmēm, bet tālākajā strādāja pats šefs. Офис председателя суда расположен на главном этаже и поэтому больше и наряднее других восьми. Наружное помещение используется для небольших приёмов и формальных сборов, а внутреннее - рабочий кабинет шефа. (4) .. Puerto Rican terrorists.. Lightweights. .. .. puertorikāņu teroristiem.. Nekas nopietns. .. .. Несерьёзно. (5) The English was perfect. Viņš runāja bez akcenta. Его английский безукоризнен.

The next cluster of examples (6–11) deals with “false friends” which very often appear due to negligence or inadequate background knowledge of the translator either in cultural, linguistic (structural or semantic) or lexical field. In example (6) the translation in Latvian represents the structural inadequacy due to which the whole meaning of the sampled text carries different meaning than the source text by that creating the wrong impression for the target text reader. The translator here has not observed the short dynamic sentence structure in the source text but which is preserved in the translation into Russian. Thus the translation into Latvian differs from the other translation and from the source text. (6) Violence has become common. Abortion clinics had been bombed. Doctors had been attacked and beaten. One was killed in Pensacola, gagged and bound into the fetal position and burned with acid. Visus bija pārņēmusi vardarbības tieksme – tika spridzinātas abortu klīnikas un piekauti ārsti. Pensakolā viens tika pat nogalināts – viņam aizbāza muti, pašu sasēja un aplēja ar skābi. Ожесточение стало общим. Клиники, в которых делали аборты, взрывались. Врачи подвергались нападению и избиению. Один был убит в Пенсаколе. Ему заткнули рот, связали руки и ноги на уровне груди и в таком положении подожгли кислотой.

The example (7) shows that in English and Russian the culture fact has been transferred equivalently, although in Russian there is used added information which

182

Vita Balama

is missed in Latvian text thus changing the source text and culture phenomenon comletely. (7) – it was a massive sea of protest. And the riot police gripped their black sticks. – tā bija milzīga protesta jūra, un satracinātie policisti ciešāk satvēra savus stekus. -это было огромное море протеста. И полиция, вызванная для подкрепления, схватилась за свои чёрные палки.

1. Also in the example (8) the English and Russian versions of the text are equivalent, but in Latvian the translator has used another translation of the English word “meeting” which in its turn again changes the target text meaning completely thus creating the wrong impression for the reader of the target text. (8) The Chief could not ignore it. The windows vibrated. He stood and called an end to this meeting. To šefs vairs nespēja ignorēt. Logu rūtis vibrēja. Viņš piecēlās un aicināja šo mītiņu izbeigt. Шеф не мог не обратить на это внимания. Окна задрожали. Он встал и объявил об окончании совещания.

The examples (9;10) have the same misinterpretation of the English “v.” into Latvian where it is translated as “from” although it means “against”. The translation into Russian is very successful. (9) Rosenberg’s dissent in Nash v. New Jersey … …raksts lietā “Nešs no Ņūdžersijas” ..по делу “Нэш против Нью-Джерси .. (10) In Fordice v. Oregon, a 1977 case… … 1977.gada lietā “Fordiss no Oregonas” … ..Что касается дела “Фордайс против Орегона”..

The example (11) shows differences of translations in different languages. Russian translation transfers the meaning but not the wording of the source text, while Latvian translation has almost direct word-for-word translation which does not reveal the meaning of the source text, not even close to it. (11) Much like a punch-drunk fighter, Salinger waded in for the final round. Stipri atgādinādams punšu piesūkušos cīkstoni, Selindžers slāja uz pēdējo rindu. Как и большинство бойцов, впавших в шок, Сэллинджер как в воду бросился в финальный раунд.

The next two examples (12–13) describe the differences in the measurement systems and this time it is the translator’s choice either to translate using the source text measurement thus saving the source culture peculiarities or transfer

Translation Quality Assessment …

183

the measurement into the target language thus adjusting it to the target culture. The comparison showed that the translator into Latvian has changed the measurements into the target culture phenomena, while the translator into Russian has preserved the source culture measurement description. (12) The lawn in front of the townhome was tiny and their car was a few feet from the front door. Zāliens mājas priekšā bija pavisam niecīgs, tādēļ viņu mašīna atradās tikai nepilnus divus metrus no parādes durvīm. Лужайка перед домом была крохотной, и поэтому автомобиль остановился всего нескольких футах от входной двери. (13) Jensen was eight feet away. Džensens tagad atradās divarpus metru attālumā. Дженсен находился в восьми футах от него.

When it comes to such culture phenomena as food and meals, it is rather big challenge to observe the definite principles of translation in order to keep good quality of it. The names of food and characteristics of some diets may cause in-equivalence regarding the culture phenomena of the source text translated into the target text. Thus the example (14) contains several such translation issues. The first is marked by bold italics and underlined, it shows the different perception of the meals of the day. In the source text it is mentioned as “dinner” having meaning of the “evening meal” which is definitely supported also by mentioning the clock-time. In Latvian translation it is translated correctly naming the meal of the day, but in Russian, although the clock-time is translated correctly, the meal of the day is translated as the “midday meal”. The names of the dishes are translated in both languages using the direct equivalence thus creating the right impression about the food habits, however, in both target languages a very important detail – “stroke food” – is missing. It is not translated in any of the two languages under discussion. In the example it is underlined. (14) At precisely seven, his dinner of chicken bouillon, boiled potatoes, and stewed onions – stroke food- was placed neatly on the table and Frederic rolled him up to it. …pieripināja Rozenbergu pie galda, uz kura akurāti bija uzliktas viņa vakariņas, kas sastāvēja no cāļa buljona, vārītiem kartupeļiem un sautētiem sīpoliem. Ровно в семь на столике, [..] был аккуратно расставлен искусно приготовленный обед. Обед Розенберга, а питался он по часам, состоял из куриного бульона, отварного картофеля и тушёного лука.

The example (15) describes the conference premises and very culture-peculiar eating habits of Americans. The description of the premises involves mentioning the number of the floor (“the fifth floor”) in the source text, in the Russian translation

184

Vita Balama

it is converted to the European/Russian standards as “the sixth floor” (“шестом этаже”), however, it is not translated into Latvian at all. The distance of the smoke above the table in the room is also transferred into metric system in the Latvian translation, but kept as in the source text in the Russian translation. As to the description of the food the Latvian translation mentions incorrectly the way it is carried into the hall, instead of the “sack” there is used “basket”, and in the Latvian translation it does not mention that there were seen “grease spots”, the Russian translation is more precise. (15) At noon Thursday a secretary carried a large sack decorated with grease spots and filled with deli sandwiches and onion rings into a humid conference room on the fifth floor of the Hoover Building. [..] A thin cloud of blue smoke hung around the cheap government chandelier five feet above the table. Ceturtdien ap pusdienlaiku Hūvera augstceltnes apspriežu zālē sekretāre ienesa lielu pītu grozu, kas bija pilns ar sviestmaizēm un sīpolu gredzeniem. [..] Pusotra metra augstumā virs galda lēto lustru apņēma viegls zilu dūmu mākonis. В четверг в полдень в сырой зал заседаний, расположенный на шестом этаже гуверовского учреждения, секретарь внёс большй пакет, весь в жирных пятнах, с деликатесными бутербродами, покрытыми кольцами лука. [..] Тонкое облачко голубого дыма окутывало дорогую правительственную люстру, подвешенную над столом на высоте в пять футов.

Very characteristic culture phenomenon is any description of the President’s lifestyle, habits, etc. The example (16) discusses the use of different sentence structure and transfer of the wrong logical stress of the source text, the Russian translation describes the President’s lifestyle in different manner as it is mentioned in the source text. Here the translator has made a mistake assuming that the use of the past participle “thought” should be regarded as active verb form meaning that the President has thought himself to have the mistress, although, in the source text it is meant that people thought that he had the mistress. Thus one verb in the example (16) changes the whole message of the sentence in the Russian translation. However, in the Latvian translation has been used, according to the language structure differences, longer construction, which has accurately transferred the source text meaning. (16) In the great tradition of American Presidents, he had in years past thought of keeping a mistress. But now it seemed so non-Republican. Ievērojot Amerikas prezidentu tradīcijas, tika uzskatīts, ka pirms dažiem gadiem viņam ir bijusi mīļākā. Bet tagad tas likās tik nerepublikāniski. В соответствии с традицией американских президентов в прошлые годы, он ещё подумывал о любовнице. Но теперь это выглядело так не по-республикански.

Translation Quality Assessment …

185

The language of John Grisham is full of humour when he characterizes some of his characters. The next example (17) describes the attitude of the university professor towards life, death and drinking. The use of the unreal condition in the source text shows that humorous attitude, but in the Latvian translation it is translated using the real condition by that this humour is missing in the expression of the character. Although the Russian translation reveals the humorous attitude of the character also using the unreal condition expression. (17) If death came early, it would be from whiskey and not work. Ja nāve pienāks ātri, tad tas vismaz būs no viskija, nevis no darba. Если бы смерть наступила преждевременно, то причиной было бы виски, а не работа.

Summary of the empirical part The given examples characterize the translation procedures in different languages (here: Latvian and Russian). The quality is reached through translation from culture to culture, thus giving the target reader the clear insight in the source culture. The analysis has shown that Russian translation is more precise than Latvian. However, the Latvian translation turns out to be more word for word or phrase for phrase translation. The quality is attained also by successfully used idiomatic expressions in corresponding languages. Although the main ideas and a lot of details have been transferred in a good quality there is always a desire and expectations to have better quality.

Conclusions The translator’s main goal in qualitative or highly evaluated translation is to identify culture-specific lexical items which could pose problems in a translation of the text into target language. The concept of “culture as translation” defines culture as a space for the interaction of the components of the translation process. During the process of translation each source text which is created in a certain cultural environment is transferred into a completely new cultural situation. Translation of the source text from remote culture proves the importance of the knowledge of intercultural differences for the translators. The translation of Grisham’s works demands good background knowledge about the American life style and cultural environment otherwise the translator is trapped by false friends or misunderstood when revealing the culture references in inappropriate way.

186

Vita Balama

References Berman, Antoine. 1984/1992. The Experience of the Foreign. Culture and Translation in Romantic Germany. Albany: State University of New York Press. Chesterman, Andrew. 2006. “Interpreting the Meaning of Translation.” In A Man of Measure. Festschrift in Honour of Fred Karlsson on his 60th Birthday, edited by M. Suominen et al., 3–11. Turku: Linguistic Association of Finland. Cicero, M. Tullius. 46CE/1996. “De optimo genere oratorum.” In Exploring Translation Theories, edited by Anthony Pym, 14–16. London, New York: Routledge. Fawcett, Percy. 1997. Translation and Language. Linguistic Theories Explained. Manchester: St. Jerome. Federov, Andrei V. 1953. Vvedenie v teoriu perevoda. Moscow: Literaturi na inostrannix iazikax. Gutt, Ernst-August. 2000. Translation and Relevance. Cognition and Context. 2nd edition. Manchester: St. Jerome. Hönig, Hans and Paul Kussmaul. 1982/1996. Strategie der Űbersetzung. Ein Lehrund Arbeitsbuch. Tübingen: Narr. House, Juliana. 1997. Translation Quality Assessment. Tübingen University Press: Tübingen. Klaudy, Kinga. 2001. “The Asymmetry Hypothesis. Testing the Asymmetric Relationship between Explicitations and Implicitations”. Paper presented at the Third International Congress of the European Society for Translation Studies, Copenhagen. Levý, Jiry. 2000. Translation as a Decision Process. London, New York: Routledge. Malblanc, Anna. 1944/1963. Stylistique comparée du français at de l’allemand: Essai de représentation linguistique comparée et étude de traduction. Paris: Didier. Malone, J.L. 1988. The Science of Linguistics in the Art of Translation: Some Tools from Linguistics for the Analaysis and Practice of Translation. Albany: State University of New York Press. Newmark, Peter, 1988. Textbook of Translation. New York: Prentice Hall. Nida, Eugene. 1964. Toward a Science of Translating with Special Reference to Principles and Procedures Involved in Bible Translating. Leiden: E.J. Brill. Nord, Christiana. 1997. Translating as a Purposeful Activity. Functionalist Approcahes Explained. Manchester: St. Jerome. Pym, Anthony. 2010. Exploring Translation Theories. London, New York: Routledge. Retsker, Yury L. 1974. Teoria perevoda I perevodcheskaia praktika. Moscow: Mezhdunarodnii otnoshenia.

Translation Quality Assessment …

187

Schleiermacher, Friedrich. 1813/1963. “Ueber die verschiedenen Methoden des Uebersezens”. In Das Problem des Übersetzens, edited by H.J. Störig, 38–70. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. Shveitser, A.D. 1973/1987. Űbersetzung und Linguistik. Berlin: Akademie. Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. 2007. “Translation as Culture.” In In Translation – Reflections, Refractions, Transformations, edited by P. St-pierre, and P.C. Kar, 263–276. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: Benjamins. Toury, Gideon. 1995. Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: Benjamins. Vázquez-Ayora, Gerardo. 1977. Introducciόn a la traductologia. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. Venuti, Lawrence. 1995. The Translator’s Invisibility. A History of Translation. London, New York: Routledge. Vinay, Jean-Paul, and Jean-Louis Darbelnet. 1958/1972. Stylistique comparée du français et de l’anglais: méthode de traduction. Paris: Didier.

Sources Grisham, John. 1992. The Pelican Brief. New York: Doubleday. Grišams, Džons. 2012. Pelikānu lieta. Rīga: Zvaigzne ABC. Grisham Dzhon. 2001. Delo o pelikanax. Moscow: Knigi v internete.

Łukasz Barciński

Plaisir-asation in the Polish Translation of Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon Abstract: The article includes the analysis of various aspects of Gravity’s Rainbow, the multifaceted novel by the postmodern American writer Thomas Pynchon in Polish translation. The analysis, encompassing such aspects as heteroglossia, slang, wordplay, neologism, proper names, encyclopaedicity, iconicity, intertextuality and narrative, concludes with the statement that the level of defamiliarisation of the target text is lower than in the source text. The study reveals the general tendency in the translation of Pynchon’s novels into Polish, which might be called the plasir-asation of the translated text, to paraphrase Roland Barthes’s term, i.e. the transformation of a readerly text into a writerly one, making it excessively intelligible and devoid of the original defamiliarisation and sense productive potential by rationalisation, conventionalisation and servile conformance to target language rules. Plasir-asation fails to recognise the experimental aspect of some literary works and the infinite interpretative process, which such experimentalism entails. The article also attempts to relate the above findings to the philosophical thought of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Gauttari in order to find interdisciplinary correlations between translation studies, literary theory and philosophy. Keywords: postmodern fiction, literary translation, interdisciplinarity

Introduction Since its humble beginnings, previously pejoratively deemed a sub-discipline, Translation Studies has undoubtedly evolved into a true interdiscipline. Mary SnellHornby in her book Translation Studies: An Integrated Approach (1988) attempted to integrate a variety of concepts to create an ‘integrated’ approach to translation. The present study will apply such an interdisciplinary approach and, in the analysis of the novel Gravity’s Rainbow by the postmodern American writer Thomas Pynchon, will also utilize concepts from philosophical and literary discourses.

Translation-specific typology by Reiß As a point of departure, the present analysis with adopt text typology as offered by the German translation scholar, Katharina Reiss, who represents the functionalist approach. For the purpose of translation analysis, she suggests her own typology, which appreciates the specificity of the aesthetic form:

190

Łukasz Barciński

–– I nformative texts - plain communication of facts: knowledge, information, news, opinions, intentions. The topic or the content is in the foreground of communication. –– Expressive texts - creative composition: the artistic shaping of the context. The sender or the author stands in the foreground along with the form of the message. –– Operative texts - inducing behavioural responses: the purpose of the appellative function is to stimulate or persuade the receiver to undertake certain action. The form is determined by the addressee of the text (1977/89, 108–9). The above mentioned categorisation seems to have a wide application for the analysis of literary works in translation, regardless of some criticism it has generated: e.g. Munday (2008, 76) points out that same texts seem to perform a variety of functions for various purposes and various functions coexist within one text which causes fuzziness that fits uneasy into Reiß’s clear categories. It can be suggested that many texts seem to constitute a kind of hybrid between different text types and the above typology provides just a prototypical picture of textual complexity (Hatim and Munday 2004, 285–6).

Literary jouissance and plaisir by Barthes The literary discourse offers a typology of different kind, put forward by the French semiotician Roland Barthes, who reduces the reception of a work of art to textreader relation proclaiming the death of the author, who is treated as one of the myths of the history of literature (Barthes 1977). He claims that the sense of a literary work is unlimited and each reading is its production (lecture-ecriture – reading-writing). Literature is a permanent revolution of the language, an effort of displacement. A literary work has no one only truth but its truth is the very process of sense production, its productivity which consists in diversification, stratification and clash of elements of sense from various linguistic strata. Barthes distinguishes between readerly texts (texts of plaisir) not challenging for readers who experience just pleasure and writerly texts (texts of jouissance) which persuade readers to engage into the activity of a writer and to explode the literary codes bringing them bliss or orgasm (Barthes 1975, 13–15). The above presuppositions concerning literature also bear upon translated texts (a special type of literature) and have an irreversible impact on the process, perception and product of translation of texts the productivity of which is at a relatively high level e.g. texts written in the postmodern convention.

Plaisir-asation in the Polish Translation of Gravity’s Rainbow …

191

The rhizomaticity of translation by Deleuze and Guattari The team of poststructuralist philosophers, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, offers another division of types of texts, similar to those in the above mentioned discourses. Deleuze and Guattari’s botanical concept: rhizome (an entangled subterranean stem of a plant) is applied to differentiate between: –– A root-cosmos (arborescent), which is a tree/root model as the image of the world around which all the minor branches (growing sideways, circularly or dychotomically) are organised. In this type a book is based on a central, basic organising unity (unity of the subject matter), –– A radicle-chaosmos (rhizomatic), in which the central root is removed; however, its unity is still preserved as one of the side branches or a secondary one, at least potentially takes over the role of the root (Deleuze and Gauttari 1987, 5–6).

Interdisciplinary juxtaposition In the interdisciplinary spirit as postulated above by Snell-Hornby, it might be beneficial for the translation discourse to integrate the literary and philosophical discourse in order to obtain a more comprehensive insight into the inner workings of the translation process, especially that the three typologies, at a closer look, seem to have many parallels (see Fig. 1). Deleuze and Guattari’s division between the arborescent type of books with a more organized and unifying structure seems to refer to books of plaisir in Barthes’s sense, while the rhizomatic type of books - to Barthes’s books of jouissance, which favour the unlimited play of literary codes. If applied to Reiß’s tri-partite model, rhizomatic literature (of jouissance) seems to be a sub-division of the expressive type of texts, while all other types are more or less biased towards the arborescent type (the other subdivision of the expressive type: plasir literature with a tendency towards arborescent organisation, but still preserving some rhizomatic elements resulting from the degree of indeterminacy within its structure; the other types by Reiß – operative and informative – with the highest degree of arborescent organisation and the lowest degree of the rhizomatic aspect, since here any deviation from the communicated message is seen as undesirable). While acknowledging the parallels between the typologies found in various disciplines, it has to be mentioned that the clear cut categories could only be used as starting points or beacons of orientation, and, taking into consideration the inherent hybridity of all texts (Hatim and Munday 2004, 185), all the propositions are of prototypical nature and in a given text the distinctions might be not so clear-cut.

192

Łukasz Barciński

Fig. 1 – The division of text types (Reiß, Barthes and Deleuze/Guattari) – an attempt at juxtaposition. Reiß’s division (extended with Barthes’s distinction) Operative Informative

Expressive

Deleuze and Guattari’s division Appropriated for the purpose of the juxtaposition the highest degree of arborescent inclination – attempting to minimize the deviation/imprecision of the communicated desirable message

Barthes’s texts of plaisir

arborescent novels, territorialising texts, still retaining some rhizomatic aspects, being aesthetic works of art; a relatively medium level of indeterminacy

Barthes’ texts of jouissance

rhizomatic novels (root-rhizome), nomadic/deterritorialising texts; the highest level of indeterminacy; this type of novels explores textual indeterminacy

The analysis of Gravity’s Rainbow in Polish translation Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, a leading figure on the American literary horizon, is often described as a writer within the postmodern convention, which originated in the 1950s in the post-war reality on the American soil. The convention, without a formulated manifesto though, included some discernible characteristics e.g. eclectism, intertextuality, ludicity, departure from mimetism, self-referentiality, parody, pastiche and metatexuality. Gravity’s Rainbow, Pynchon’s novel and the subject of the translation analysis below, seen as one of the most important novels within the postmodern convention, might be perceived as a truly expressive and rhizomatic novel of jouissance (according to the above juxtaposition) as it is teeming with textual indeterminacies and ambiguity allowing multiple, if not infinite interpretations thanks to more than 400 characters and numerous digressions, surrealistic and oneiric passages, unexpected shifts between narrators, flashbacks and esoteric and encyclopaedic allusions, the exploration of a multitude of literary devices and techniques and multifarious vantage points. The purpose of the following analysis is to verify whether the postmodern multiplicity of the source text is rendered in the target text, i.e. whether the rhizomatic/jouissance aspect has been recreated in the Polish translation and hence the selection of the analysed Items covering a variety of pivotal aspects for Pynchon’s multilayered fiction with the seemingly infinite meaning production potential. Due to the limitation of the length of the present article, only selected aspects of the above mentioned postmodern multiplicity will

Plaisir-asation in the Polish Translation of Gravity’s Rainbow …

193

be the subject of the analysis. One symptomatic item of translation analysis will be chosen within each selected aspect as the one best exemplifying shifts of meaning in the Polish translation. (Item 1) GOTHIC IMAGERY elevator lore – windowe życie – the markedness in the source text is not recreated as the original term lore (translated as życie) carries a heavy semantic load (of esoteric knowledge) also associative of Gothic imagery, an important aspect of Pynchon’s works. here are young women in green overseas caps, green velvet basques, and tapered yellowstripe trousers—a feminine zootsuit effect—who’ve been well-tutored in all kinds of elevator lore, and whose job it is to set you at ease (Pynchon 1973, 735). czekają młode kobiety w zielonych egzotycznych czapeczkach, zielonych stanikach z aksamitu i zwężających się u dołu spodniach w żółte prążki - kobiecy efekt zootsuit - obeznane ze wszystkimi przejawami windowego życia, obarczone zadaniem rozładowywania napięcia u podróżnych (Pynchon 2001:578).

(Item 2) AVIATION IMAGERY/NEOLOGISM street-wake – szlak - the target text ignores the aviation term wake, which describes a type of turbulence. Pynchon’s neologism attempts to describe the surrealist vision in innovative terms drawn from the field of engineering, which is lost in translation. It began to slide forward to meet him, over the cobblestones slow as a snail, leaving behind some slime brightness of street-wake that could not have been from fog (Pynchon 1973, 14). To coś zaczęło sunąć ku niemu po kocich łbach, powoli jak ślimak, wychodząc mu na spotkanie i zostawiając za sobą szlak śluzowatej bieli, która w żadnym razie nie brała się z mgły (Pynchon 2001, 18).

(Item 3) PSYCHOANALYSIS Abreactions of the Lord of the Night – Odreagowywanie Władcy Nocy - the reference to Freud is lost. Abreaction is a specialist term denoting a way of therapy: accumulated emotions of a suffering individual can be released by talking about the experienced traumatic events. The reference to psychoanalysis is not recreated as a descriptive term is used: odreagowywanie. Pointsman’s own Fox waits, out in the city, a prize of war. In here the tiny office space is the cave of an oracle: steam drifting, sybilline cries arriving out of the darkness… Abreactions of the Lord of the Night… (Pynchon 1973, 48)

194

Łukasz Barciński

Daleko stąd, w mieście, na Pointsmana czeka jego własny lis - nagroda wojenna. Tutaj przestrzeń małego gabinetu jest pieczarą wyroczni: kłębi się para, z ciemności dobiegają sybilińskie krzyki… Odreagowywanie Władcy Nocy… (Pynchon 2001, 48)

(Item 4) PAINTING IMAGERY scumbled together - utarta - the reference to a glaze painting technique i.e. scumbling is lost and replaced by a conventional kitchen image of tarcie. the knives of the seasons - mieszadła pór roku – again the metaphorical precision is low as the violent image knives (which also denotes the tools used in the above mentioned scumbling technique) in the source text is replaced by unrelated mieszadła. an impasto – ciasto – the metaphor within is not recreated as another painting technique impasto is simply replaced by conventional ciasto, a cooking metaphor. —all got scumbled together, eventually, by the knives of the seasons, to an impasto, feet thick, of unbelievable black topsoil in which anything could grow, not the least being bananas (Pynchon 1973, 5). całość utarta, koniec końców, przez mieszadła pór roku na ciasto niewiarygodnej czarnej gleby grubości stopy, w którym rośnie wszystko, nie najgorzej banany (Pynchon 2001, 11).

(Item 5) HETEROGLOSSIA the sacred idio-lalia – święte bałwochwalstwo - one special example of heteroglossia (linguistic diversity) might be idiolalia i.e. a newly-created language invented for private communication e.g. in case of children. However, the target text renders the source text item dysmorphically because of the denotative imprecision (bałwochwalstwo denotes not a secret language but an act of worshipping an idol instead of God). (…) Manichaeans who see two Rockets, good and evil, who speak together in the sacred idio-lalia of the Primal Twins (some say their names are Enzian and Blicero) (Pynchon 1973, 727) (…) manichejczycy, którzy widzą dwie Rakiety, dobrą i złą, gardłujący w świętym bałwochwalstwie Pierwotnych Bliźniaków (niektórzy twierdzą, że ich imiona to Enzian i Bllcero) (Pynchon 2001, 572)

(Item 6) MYTHOLOGY/NEOLOGISM Were-elves – licho – the combination of werewolves and elves creates a vivid image of a dreadful forest creature, which in Polish translation is only remotely and less precisely denoted as licho (evil spirit). As a result, the reference to mythology

Plaisir-asation in the Polish Translation of Gravity’s Rainbow …

195

is lost as in Pynchon the recurring theme of werewolf can be noticed, also with reference to the Nazi underground army called by that name. Out inside the works of some neurotic Bavarian cuckoo clock of a village, were-elves streaking in out of the forests at night to leave subversive handbills at door and window—“Anything!” Roger groping back to his narrow quarters, “anything at all’s better than this…” (Pynchon 1973, 125). Daleko, w samym środku jakiegoś neurotycznego bawarskiego miasteczka o wyglądzie zegara z kukułką, gdzie nocą licho ciągnie z lasów, by zostawić pod drzwiami i oknami wywrotowe ulotki. Wszystko - Roger wraca po omacku do swej małej kwatery - wszystko lepsze od tego… (Pynchon 2001, 99).

(Item 7) NARRATIVE this time (…) Pökler did slap her – uderzył ją w twarz - the source text uses the emphatic do (in the Simple Past: did) to emphasize that the violent actions had not taken place before, but this time this act did happen, so Pökler’s previous transgressions against his presumed daughter were just a fantasy. The target text ignores the ontological repercussions of the empathic do and what is left is a image of a brutal father presented in the realistic convention. Any minute she’d say it… “Please—stop it Ilse—” this time Pökler got hysterical and did slap her. Ducks surprised at the sharp report about-faced and waddled away (Pynchon 1973, 430). Jeszcze chwila i to powie! - Przestań, Ilse, proszę. - Rozhisteryzowany, uderzył ją w twarz. Zaskoczone nagłym plaśnięciem kaczki wykonały zwrot i odmaszerowały (Pynchon 2001, 343–344).

(Item 8) PURITAN INTERTEXTUALITY second sheep – czarne owce – Biblical other sheep from the Parable of Lost Sheep was utilised by William Slothrop, a Puritan writer, in his heretical treatise as second sheep. The source text item recreates neither the complicated intertextuality nor the positive attitude towards the neglected Preterite (members of the congregation passed over in God’s plan) by flattening the target text item to a mere idiom (czarne owce), which presents the Preterite unambiguously in a negative light and loses the referential depth to the whole tradition of Calvinist religious disputes. (…) all the others pressed in around, feeble ones, second sheep, all out of luck and time: drunks, old veterans still in shock from ordnance 20 years obsolete, hustlers in city clothes, derelicts, exhausted women with more children than it seems could belong to anyone, stacked about among the rest of the things to be carried out to salvation (Pynchon 1973, 3).

196

Łukasz Barciński

(…) napór innych ludzi, stłoczonych dokoła, czarnych owiec, miernot niemających szczęścia ani czasu: pijusy, starzy weterani w szoku po ostrzale artyleryjskim sprzed dwudziestu lat, ubrane po miejsku prostytutki, wraki ludzkie, skonane kobiety z tyloma dziećmi, aż trudno uwierzyć, że można urodzić taką rzeszę, wszyscy ścieśnieni pośród rzeczy, które chciano uchronić od zagłady (Pynchon 2001, 9).

(Item 9) NARRATIVE (sorry pigs, nothing personal) – (bez obrazy, świni) – this instance of metafictional commentary is related to a special narrative perspective: Pynchon’s narrator is extradiegetic (exists outside the primary narrative): sorry pigs. The translation changes this important element of postmodernist fiction to the simple diegetic narrator perspective by not addressing pigs directly and excluding them from the extradiegetic audience, to which the extradiegetic narrator speaks: bez obrazy, świni. In this way, the satiric element is reduced and the role of pigs undermined as not being worthy of being addressed directly. In one puddinglike fist the Gross Suckling clutches a dripping hamhock (sorry pigs, nothing personal), with the other he reaches out for a human Mother’s Nipple that emerges out into the picture from the left-hand side, his gaze arrested by the approaching tit, his mouth open— (Pynchon 1973, 707) W jednej pulchniutkiej piąstce mały ściska ścięgno podkolanowe (bez obrazy, świni), drugą wyciąga po całkiem człowieczy sutek swojej Matki - który wpycha się w ramy z lewej strony - wpatrzony w zbliżający się cyc, ryjek rozdziawiony - (Pynchon 2001, 557)

(Item 10) MATHEMATICS and KABALLAH permuted names of God – rekonstruowane imiona Boga – here mathematics is used as a metaphor of God. Translation of permuted is not imprecise as it ignores the mathematical concept of permutation (meaning rearrangement) and introduces rekonstruowane which does not recreate the associative multiplicity of ways, in which God can be named. As a result, Kaballah is not recreated as kabbalistic texts deal with the permutation of the Sacred Name (YHVH). the meanest sharp sliver of truth - najlichsze ziarenko prawdy – the source text uses the term sliver denoting a piece of broken glass, creating the image of truth, which is like a shattered piece of glass. The target text creates the conventional image of a grain of truth. The reference to Kaballah is lost as in this tradition the concept of broken or shattered vessels (containers made of glass) explains the imperfection of the world. kicking endlessly among the plastic trivia, finding in each Deeper Significance and trying to string them all together like terms of a power series hoping to zero in on the tremendous and secret Function whose name, like the permuted names of God, cannot be spoken …

Plaisir-asation in the Polish Translation of Gravity’s Rainbow …

197

(…) but to bring them together, in their slick persistence and our preterition … to make sense out of, to find the meanest sharp sliver of truth in so much replication, so much waste… . (Pynchon 1973, 590) grzebiemy niestrudzenie wśród plastikowych śmieci, znajdując w każdym Głębszą Doniosłość, próbując uporządkować je wszystkie jak człony szeregu potęgowego w wysiłkach dotarcia do tej potężnej i tajemnej Funkcji, której nazwy, podobnie jak rekonstruowanych imion Boga, nie można wymówić… (…) zgrupować to wszystko, w ich schludnej trwałości i naszym stanie pominięcia… dostrzec w tym sens, odnaleźć najlichsze ziarenko prawdy w masowym powielaniu, w masowych odpadach… (Pynchon 2001, 465)

(Item 11) LINEARITY in line – Ø - linearity is Pynchon’s letmotif, which resurfaces in various contexts, here omitted. In this examples it refers to the Preterite to suggest their submissiveness and resignation. They have begun to move. They pass in line, out of the main station, out of downtown, and begin pushing into older and more desolate parts of the city (Pynchon 1973, 3). Właśnie ruszyli. Wyjeżdżają z dworca głównego, ze śródmieścia, prą do starszych i wyludnionych części miasta (Pynchon 2001, 9).

(Item 12) AMBIGUITY/NEOLOGISM blastulablob – blastula – Pynchon’s neologism (not recreated in the target text) combines blastula (the early embryo) and blob (shapeless mass) to metaphorically emphasize the inceptive and indeterminate aspect of formation of the answer. Already, by itself, the answer is growing, one moment a featureless blastulablob, the next folding, beginning to differentiate… . (Pynchon 1973:51). Odpowiedź nasuwa się sama, w jednej chwili pozbawiona cech blastula, w następnej coraz wyraźniejszy, materializujący się kształt… (Pynchon 2001, 40).

(Item 13) CINEMATIC IMAGERY a shy fade-in – nieśmiałe zlanie się dwóch scen; her silent closeup stabilized – sunie ku jej znieruchomiałej postaci − the cinematic terminology is not recreated in such a marked way as in the source text: the filmmaking instruction terms fade-in and closeup are recreated by means of words not explicitly associated with specialist cinematic terminology: zlanie się scen and sunąć ku, which only describe the smoothness of camera movement.

198

Łukasz Barciński

When she materializes it is a shy fade-in, as Gerhardt von Göll must have brought her on a time or two, not moving so much as Slothrop’s own vantage swooping to her silent closeup stabilized presently across from him (Pynchon 1973, 459) Gdy wreszcie Greta się materializuje, jest to nieśmiałe zlanie się dwóch scen, pewnie w stylu Gerhardta von Gölla, nie tyle ona podchodzi, ile Slothrop ze swego miejsca sunie ku jej znieruchomiałej postaci, kończąc piwo, gasząc papierosa (Pynchon 2001, 365)

(Item 14) ESOTERIC FORCES holy beings of ice – ci zimni patroni – the source text presents the cold saints as enigmatic beings if ice, a defamiliarized image, while the target text describes them in a conventionalised form simply as patroni, a choice not representative of the aura of Pynchon’s novels, the realm where esoteric forces operate. We are safety past the days of the Eis-Heiligen—St. Pancratius, St. Servatius, St. Bonifacius, die kalte Sophie … they hover in clouds above the vineyards, holy beings of ice, ready with a breath, an intention, to ruin the year with frost and cold (Pynchon 1973, 281). Bezboleśnie minęły dni Eis-Heiligen - świętych Pankracego, Serwacego, Bonifacego, die kalte Zofii… unoszą się w obłokach nad winnicami, ci zimni patroni, gotowi jedną intencją, jednym tchnieniem mrozu i chłodu zwarzyć rok (Pynchon 2001, 229).

Conclusion: a tendency called plaisir-asation As a result of the above analysis, it may be concluded that most of the analysed Items are not recreated in the target text, which might seriously impoverish the multifaceted message of Pynchon’s works, depriving the target text readers of the access to pivotal aspects of his fiction such as Puritan intertextuality, cinematic imagery, linguistic ambiguities or narrative idiosyncrasies, to mention just a few. The analysis might also reveal a general tendency in the translation of Gravity’s Rainbow into Polish, which might be called the plaisir-asation of the source text, to paraphrase Barthes’s term, i.e. the transformation of a readerly text into a writerly one, making it excessively intelligible and devoid of the original defamiliarisation and sense productive potential by rationalisation, conventionalisation and servile conformance to target language rules. The tendency of plaisir-asation seems to fail to recognise the experimental aspect of some literary works and the infinite interpretative process, which such experimentalism entails. Some literary works such as Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow, which might be deemed rhizomatic, can be seen as sense productive structures that involve infinite permutations of meanings, a fact ignored in the overwhelming processes of unification and disambiguation of seanse which plaisir-asation entails. The works the modus operandi of which is defamiliarisation, if deprived of its effect, lose the footing, the premise according

Plaisir-asation in the Polish Translation of Gravity’s Rainbow …

199

to which they are created (the source text remainder remains unreleased), and the target text, consequently, becomes mere denotative reproduction of the source text signifiers, cut off the original dense network of interrelated rhizomaticities. By removing the defamiliarising effect, the main pillar of their aesthetics is eliminated and the whole novel collapses, while readers are left with what smouldering rubble can be discerned in the ruin. The apparent tendency in translation practice illustrated by the example of Pynchon’s works, i.e. plaisir-asation seems to be the result of many various impulses and various social, cultural and pragmatic factors including: –– t he failure to recognise the postmodern convention as experimental and, as a consequence, failure to adopt a proper mode of reading and, ultimately, a proper translation strategy. –– erudition - translation of postmodern literature seems to require a sufficient level of erudition from the translator, which may be manifested in the ethical obligation towards representing a foreign culture (Venuti 2012, 247) or in the general familiarity with the source text intertextuality and knowledge of literary tradition and canons (Classe 2000, 300). –– well-formedness: translators’ habitus (the values, dispositions or expectations of a translator, operating within a social group, acquired in the course of every day life) operating under the patronage of publishing houses, which prefer domesticated and well-formed target texts. In conclusion, it may be stated that Pynchon’s postmodern works pose an immense challenge to their translation. The specificity of postmodern literature seems to be best expressed by the precept that Pynchon’s words must remain strange and wonderful,1 which gives justice to rhizomatic/jouissance momentum within his works. The interdisciplinary juxtaposition of text typologies from various disciplines (which helped to identify the negative translation tendency called plaisir-asation) might be immensely beneficial in the de-plaisir-asation of translators’ habitus, i.e. changing translators approach to the translation of highly defamiliarised works such as Gravity’s Rainbow to recreate their experimental nature.

1 A paraphrase of the quotation from Shklovsky: poetic language must remain strange and wonderful (1998, 19).

200

Łukasz Barciński

References Books by Thomas Pynchon Pynchon, Thomas. 1973. Gravity’s Rainbow. New York: Viking. Pynchon, Thomas. 2001. Tęcza Grawitacji. Translated by Robert Sudół. Warszawa: Prószyński i S-ka.

Other sources Barthes, Roland. 1975. The Pleasure of the Text. New York: Hill and Wang. Barthes, Roland. 1977. Death of the Author. Accessed March 19, 2014. [http:// www.deathoftheauthor.com]. Classe, Olive, ed. 2000. Encyclopaedia of Literary Translation into English. Routledge: London. Deleuze, Gilles, and Felix Guattari. 1987. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Translated by Brian Massumi. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Hatim, Basil, and Jeremy Munday. 2004. Translation. An Advanced Resource Book. London/New York: Routledge. Munday, Jeremy. 2008. Introducing Translation Studies. Theories and Applications. London/New York: Routledge. Reiß, Katharina. 1978/1989. “Text types, translation types and translation assessment.” Translated by Andrew Chesterman. In Readings in Translation Theory, edited by Andrew Chesterman, 105–115. Helsinki: Finn Lectura. Shklovsky, Viktor. 1998. “Art as Technique.” In Literary Theory: An Anthology, edited by Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan, 15–21. Malden: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Snell-Hornby, Mary. 1988. Translation Studies: an Integrated Approach. Amsterdam: Benjamins. Venuti, Lawrence. 2012. Translation Changes Everything. London: Routledge.

Magdaléna Bilá, Alena Kačmárová, Ingrida Vaňková

What is Behind the Compiling of a Dictionary for a Bilingual User? Abstract: The new trend in compiling a dictionary is to divert from the Viennese school to an interdisciplinary perspective (Cabré, 1999), i.e. from the term isolation to the need to incorporate textual and sociolinguistic dimensions of terms. This implies rethinking the identity of the target percipient/user and the context in which it occurs as a textual unit. The paper draws on the assumption that human identity is interiority interrelating human competence to articulate individual and collective cultural experience in language, to conceptualize meaning in signs, to institutionalize conventional cultural codes in unique discourses, and to learn and understand the structured system of language by means of hermeneutic understanding. These competences are roofed by the term “human as a language animal” (Taylor, 1985) which is meant as a philosophical, sociolinguistic, psychological and anthropological construct. We claim that the building blocks of the compilation of a dictionary include the conceptualization of the terminology and the identity of the target user since they determine the compilation methods. The paper is explanatory in nature and provides a theoretical frame for further research. It aims to introduce our understanding of the two issues and in doing so justify our opting for a virtual interactive dictionary of general linguistics terminology that would be both encyclopedic and bilingual in nature. Our target perceiver is a Slovak student of English philology, i.e. a bilingual speaker (bilingual in terms of socio-pragmatics, cf. Kecskes and Papp, 2000). Keywords: dictionary, conceptualization, terminology, bilingual speaker, encyclopedic information

Introduction Becoming a professional user of a foreign language should mean both mastering the system of the language (including the linguistics metalanguage) and fluency; yet not only fluency in terms of communicating a message, but also conceptual fluency. Continuous anecdotal evidence shows metalanguage non-awareness, almost “terminology deafness”, as observed in students of English philology at our university. In order to provide students with an appropriate tool, namely a dictionary that would enhance proper understanding of the terms, it is necessary to conduct research into what may as well be considered purposeful in grasping the nature of linguistics terminology. For the time being, our scope is the essential linguistics metalanguage in English and Slovak languages. Thus, the aim of the

202

Magdaléna Bilá, Alena Kačmárová, Ingrida Vaňková

research is to design the structuring of an entry in this kind of a dictionary. We presuppose that in both languages conceptualization has to take place. This can be done through the combination of the techniques adopted in both bilingual and monolingual dictionaries. In order to test the feasibility and appropriateness of this approach, firstly, a survey has been conducted; secondly the structure of the entry has been proposed; thirdly, the proposed structure is attested to through looking into relevant fields and notions.

The research issue We conducted a survey on hermeneutic non-conscious experience, in other words, on what students had come across before having been exposed to the explicit conceptual and terminological explanation of the term. The survey consisted of 15 terms representing linguistics concepts belonging into the field of phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicology. Linguistics terms were excerpted from New English File Upper-intermediate (2008), the book intended for language skills development commonly used at Slovak secondary schools. The selected terms were formerly part of the activity assignments in the student’s book and workbook; hence, their passive rather than active knowledge is presupposed. The respondents, 53 freshmen without prior formal instruction accounting for the conceptualization of the target metalanguage, were asked to provide their answers through explanation, translation, or exemplification. The selected terms could be identified within 3 groups based on the degree of equivalence between English and Slovak languages. The equivalence was assessed based on Kade (1968) and for the purposes of the research simplified as suggested by Kvetko (2009): absolute equivalence is understood in the cases of almost identical content and form (the latter: either sound-patterning or orthographical); relative equivalence may be understood as terminological “faux amis” since form exists in both languages, yet contentwise terms differ in their definition, function, significance, or position within the language as a system; zero equivalence implies that form is present as mere translation (or loan word) because the content is absent. Thus, the selected terms fall within three groups: absolute equivalence, relative equivalence, and zero equivalence, and they represent several metalinguistic problems due to the difference with regard to scope, function and significance. In the questionnaire, absolute equivalence was represented by the terms ‘stress’, ‘intonation’, ‘syllable’, ‘subject’, and ‘object’; relative equivalence by the terms voiced consonant, tense, countability, sentence, phrase, collocation, colloquial vocabulary; zero equivalence by the terms: zero article, clause, and false friends. The survey showed that within the group of absolute (one-to-one) equivalence, 52.83% of the

What is Behind the Compiling of a Dictionary â&#x20AC;Ś

203

answers were appropriate, 47.17% were inappropriate. Within the group of relative (one-to-many or one-to-part-of-one) equivalence, 40.97% were appropriate, 59.03% were inappropriate. Within the group of zero (nil) equivalence, 30.82% were appropriate, 69.18% were inappropriate. All in all, the result was roughly fifty-fifty balance, which was not a pleasing outcome. We assume that among the reasons for the failure in supplying appropriate explanation is a) the non-existence of bilingual linguistics dictionaries since their compiling is problematic due to the cultural embeddedness of some terms; and b) inadequate content of monolingual linguistics dictionaries related to the conceptualization of the English language. Since learning any metalanguage is conscious, it has to be facilitated by teacher-controlled study and/or by a proper resource (Hall 1990, 70, 72). We adhere to the view that it is necessary to foster the linguistics metalanguage awareness by means of an appropriate resource. Thus, in the long run, our contribution will be a dictionary of linguistics terminology. The question is how an entry is to be structured in order to capture the concept of the term concerned in its entirety. This creates a gap in the research, which we are trying to fill (at least in terms of the English and Slovak languages). As of now, with regard to the essential linguistics terminology, our claim is that it has to be a bilingual-encyclopedic dictionary. The present paper aims to justify the hybrid nature of the prospective dictionary. Our proposal implies that in conducting the present research it is necessary to account for the following issues: a/ regarding a human as a language animal within which the concept of pre-understanding has a major role; b/ the target meaning as an interplay of individual and collective salience; c/Â conceptualization as a culture/language-specific determinant of meaning formation and creating a cognitive frame. On the whole, a term will not be treated in isolation, rather as a textual unit. This includes looking into the identity of the target percipient and context (as proposed by CabrĂŠ 1999), which will be showed in the proposal of the structure of the dictionary entry.

The proposal of the issue resolution The structure of an entry in the target dictionary should reflect the cooperation and/or linkage of the concepts of hermeneutics, salience, and conceptualization, we dare venture. It follows that mere translating or mere defining do not provide for a comprehensive treatment. This could be taken care of by the following structure of an entry (identical in both English and Slovak parts of the dictionary). Term 1. the linguistics field that the term belongs to

204

Magdaléna Bilá, Alena Kačmárová, Ingrida Vaňková

2. explanation of what the concept of the term stands for in the language of origin 3. contextualized example 4. suggested translation The following example provides a glimpse at the intended strategy. For the purpose of the exemplification, the English term “phrase” is utilized. It is an instance of such terms that act as terminological “false friends” when English and Slovak metalanguage is juxtaposed. The metalinguistic problem derives from a different function of the term. However, due to phonological semblance of English “phrase” with Slovak “fráza” it is very commonly misinterpreted and misused by laypeople or students of English philology. We suggest that the entries “phrase” and “fráza” look as follows: The English-Slovak part Phrase (noun) 1. syntax* 2. one of the syntactic structures combined to create a sentence, “a small group of words standing together as a conceptual unit, typically forming a component of a clause”* 3. ‘a small house’ (NP), ‘to buy a house’ (VP), ‘a house for sale’ (PP) 4. an appropriate equivalent is absent, it is close to Slovak “syntagma”, yet Slovak ‘syntagma’ is broader than English ‘phrase’ in terms of scope * Source: Phrase (online document) The Slovak-English part Fráza (substantívum) 1. frazeológia* [idiomatology; study of idioms] 2. zaužívané slovné spojenie, klišé [term referring to the idiomatic lexis, cliché]* 3. Škoda plakať nad rozliatym mliekom. [It is no use crying over spilt milk.] 4. proverb, saying, (speech) formula *Source: currently available monolingual dictionaries of the Slovak language In doing so, the entry structure will embody four concepts. Identifying the linguistics field that the term belongs to will make available the conceptualization, more specifically conceptualization in the sense of the establishment of the frame. Through the explanation of what the concept stands for in the language of origin, pre-understanding is supported. Providing an example will help to build salience. Suggested translation of the term will enable conceptualization, more specifically conceptualization in the sense of the configuration of the code and help avoid misinterpretation of the term.

What is Behind the Compiling of a Dictionary …

205

This is to say, the four-point design provides for the following framework: 1. Frame establishment 2. Encoding/Pre-understanding 3. Salience 4. Code configuration The current research in progress accounts for the basic terminology. Hence, we assume that for most terms to be included in the dictionary multiple theories (if they are present at all) can be avoided; this is to say, the above model can be followed. In further stages, when more complex terms are to be processed, the existence of different approaches will have to be taken into consideration. This may need an extended model, which is yet to be worked on.

The justification of the proposed structure The idea behind the above presented design of an entry is to provide a model enhancing the deep structure rather than surface structure of an expression. The suggested “four-dimensional” pattern should guarantee that the actual conceptualization has taken place. Since it is only when the conceptualization is adopted that the term can be appropriately approached and used with confidence. Conceptualization is necessarily about the proper assigning of meanings to the whole texts as well as to their elements, which is a fundamental component of our acting in the world. The competence of assigning meanings to the slices of extralingual reality is based on a human’s ability to recognize potential interpretation of the text within the broad socio-cultural context (Dolník 2009). Assigning meaning to the segmented extralingual reality means being able to conceptualize it and being endowed with a kind of knowledge referred to as conceptual fluency. It reflects the manner in which “a language encodes its concepts on the basis of metaphorical structuring and other cognitive mechanisms” (Kecskes and Papp 2000, 10). Danesi (1992, In: Kecskes and Papp 2000) argues that conceptual fluency underlies all production of language. Research into bilingualism and second language acquisition implies that human mind is predisposed to think metaphorically as a result of which a number of concepts have metaphorical underpinning and these are intertwined with the culture-specific conceptual structuring of the world (Kecskes and Papp 2000). From the perspective of Frame Semantics, in order to achieve conceptualization, it is necessary to employ a cognitive structuring device, an organizer of human experience (Fillmore 1985). Within this paradigm, word meaning stems from experience-based schematizations of the language user’s environment – i.e. frames. Thus, the whole lexicon is typified by frame-based organization; the conceptual

206

Magdaléna Bilá, Alena Kačmárová, Ingrida Vaňková

underpinnings for associated senses of a single word and those for semantically related words derive from the frames (Fillmore 1978, 165 In: Petruck online). In compiling a bilingual linguistics dictionary, two-level frames need to be considered; firstly, frames in the sense of linguistics metalanguage, and, secondly, frames in the sense of fields of linguistics the individual terms belong to. Thus, frames are utilized as tools for description and explanation of terms and are eventually supposed to operate as tools for understanding their meanings (cf Fillmore 1985, 232). From this perspective, a language user refers to a frame trying to make sense of a term, and grasps its meaning by “situating its content in a pattern that is known independently of the text” (Fillmore 1985, 232). In the proposed structure, the first point in the structuring is understood as conceptualization in terms of second-order frame. Our underlying premise is that a dictionary is tackled as a textual unit. If so, then the process of acquiring metalanguage awareness should involve hermeneutic pre-understanding. Hermeneutic pre-understanding (Ricoeur 2000) is to be approached as a precondition and an initial assumption of any cognitive and hermeneutic process. In our case, this role is played by pre-conceptual knowledge of cultural and linguistic structural systems and codes of a percipient’s mother tongue and foreign language concerned. This builds on the theory of a human as a language animal (Taylor 1985) articulating human experience and axiological conceptosphere (cultural and moral codes) in language. The articulation of the experience is the process of meaning configuration in language and its signification. The conceptualization of meaning in a target language can be understood as a process of code creation aimed at the concept denotation, which the percipient is not familiar with due to the diversity of structures and semantic relations. Since English and Slovak languages are characterized by diverse structures and semantic relations, the conceptualization of some terms may be different. Thus the information intended as that representing hermeneutic pre-understanding – in the proposed structure, the second point – should capture the essence of the term in either of the languages and oversee disambiguation (if necessary) or culturallyspecific treatment. We have approached compiling a dictionary as a research issue the resolution of which should help process linguistically salient meanings of the basic linguistics terminology (for the time being). Salient meanings are generally understood as such meanings of a lexeme that are favored over other meanings especially because of being encoded in the user’s mind as conventional, or prototypical (Giora 1997, 2003). This is to say, based on the user’s prior experience and the mere communicative situation and/or mental frame (e.g. linguistics), they are processed

What is Behind the Compiling of a Dictionary â&#x20AC;Ś

207

automatically. In actuality, salience is a matter of evolvement of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience; hence, it is built upon prior knowledge: an experience is once one of many (one within the hierarchy of possible meanings) and gradually becomes the most frequent for the mental frame concerned; it becomes stored and static information automatically retrieved whenever necessary. Any meaning of an expression or of a communicative situation that has become salient, basically, has undergone consolidation and has been coded into the mental lexicon. Consequently, the more often we come across this encoded meaning, the more familiar that particular usage becomes, and the more automatically this particular meaning is filtered out for the mental frame concerned. For a specific situation, a specific meaning of a particular lexeme is privatized, subjectivized, and prioritized in the mind of interlocutors (Kecskes 2014). In the proposed structure, the third point is represented by a contextualized example of an entry so that linguistically salient meaning is foregrounded, and the understanding of the term is endorsed. The structuring of an entry has to be such that treats the given concept as natural preference and, in the end, can be weaved into oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s general linguistic knowledge. Only then can one reach terminological literacy and routinize direct access to understanding an expression as a linguistic term. Essentially, we deal with two situations: 1) the two channels display orthographical or phonological semblance, yet the conceptual base is different; 2) the channels are kept different, but the concept behind the different form is the same. Meaning is structured in the configuration process, i.e. in the formulation of definitions, in the explanation of the concept or term in a foreign language, while the term must necessarily be explained in the mother tongue, though in the mother tongue, an absolute equivalent may not necessarily be present. As it were, the same is true vice versa. Along with the description, the equivalent residing in the lexicon of the other language is often a sought-after solution if a term is hard to grasp. For this reason, in the proposed structure, the fourth point is represented by a translated equivalent. If a zero equivalent is the case, then the closest possible term is offered alongside the description of the constraints of that term. With reference to the present project, we propose a socio-cognitive approach. The cognitive side is represented by the frame establishment and pre-understanding; the social side is epitomized through contextualization and translation (and pointing out the culturally preferred way of expressing ideas). The socio-cognitive approach claims that there is bidirectional influence between linguistic and perceptual salience (Kecskes 2014). Keeping this approach in mind, our ultimate goal is to build collective salience in students of English philology, future professional users of English as a foreign language. Collective salience embodies sharing common

208

Magdaléna Bilá, Alena Kačmárová, Ingrida Vaňková

ground with the other members of the speech community (in our case, the speech community is the above mentioned undergraduates). Our aim is, thus, to provide for the specific context, in which collective salience in the mental frame of linguistics can be built. Building collective salience, however, implies effort on both sides: not only an addresser but also an addressee. The addressees’ input has to demonstrate endeavor to develop linguistically orientated preference in accessing the encoded meaning representing the conceptual base of the term. “Conceptual accessibility is the ease with which the mental representation of some potential referent can be activated in or retrieved from memory” (Bock and Warren 1985, 50).

Conclusion In acquiring linguistics metalanguage, learners usually take for granted that foreign language expressions and structures are carriers of their native concepts. More often than not, however, this is not the case, and as a consequence an asymmetry occurs between language form and conceptual content. Within the paradigm of Frame Semantics, this can be explained by the different frames that determine the usage of first and second language expressions. In other words, foreign language users may fail to know what framing device is intended for the appropriateness of a context in which a foreign language expression is used. The conceptual differences arise from the fact that “frames are created rather than reflected by language” (Fillmore 1985, 227). In order to foster conceptual fluency in the first-order frame, i.e. linguistics (in our case), we consider a term a textual unit, one that does not exist in isolation; rather it becomes delineated through its attachment to a particular second-order frame, i.e. a particular linguistics branch. Moreover, a term is defined through its scope, function and significance. The question is what approach should be undertaken in dealing with the linguistics terminology: mere translating can lead to inadequate fossilization; mere explaining can bring about inadequate mental picture of the term and concept. It follows that a purposeful approach seems to be such that guarantees that conceptualization has taken place. We believe this is a hybrid approach combining bilingual and encyclopedic information and encapsulating frame establishment, pre-understanding, salience and code configuration.

References Bock, Kathryn J., and Richard K. Warren 1985. “Conceptual Accessibility and Syntactic Structure in Sentence Formulation.” Cognition 21:47–67. Cabré, Teresa M. 1999. Terminology. Theory, Methods and Applications. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

What is Behind the Compiling of a Dictionary …

209

Fillmore, Charles J. 1978. “On the Organization of Semantic Information in the Lexicon.” In Papers from the Parasession on the Lexicon edited by D. Frakas, et al., 148–173. Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society. Fillmore, Charles J. 1985. “Frames and the Semantics of Understanding” In: Quaderni di Semantica Vol. 6, No 2:222–254. Accessed December 15, 2015. [http:// www.icsi.berkeley.edu/pubs/ai/framesand85.pdf]. Giora, Rachel. 1997. “Understanding Figurative and Literal Language: The Graded Salience Hypothesis.” Cognitive Linguistics 8.3:183–206. Giora, Rachel. 2003. On Our Mind: Salience Context and Figurative Language. New York: OUP. Hall, Edward T. 1990. The Silent Language. New York: Anchor Books, A Division of Random House, inc. Kade, Otto. 1968. Zufall und Gesetzmässigkeit in der Übersetzung. Leipzig: Verlag. Kecskes, Istvan, and Tunde Papp. 2000. Foreign Language and a Mother Tongue. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Publishers. Kecskes, Istvan. 2013/2014. Intercultural Pragmatics. Oxford: OUP. Kvetko, Pavol. 2009. English Lexicology: in Theory and Practice. Trnava: Univerzita sv. Cyrila a Metoda v Trnave. Oxenden, Clive, and Christina Latham-Koenig. 2008. New English File Upperintermediate. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Petruck, Miriam R. L. Frame Semantics. University of California, Berkeley. Accessed December 15, 2015. [https://www.princeton.edu/~adele/LIN_106:_ UCB_files/Miriam-Petruck-frames.pdf]. Phrase: (Online document). [http://www.bing.com/search?q=phrase%2C+mean ing&qs=n&form=QBRE&pq=phrase%2C+meaning&sc=8-15&sp=-1&sk=&c vid=e5013ae0daf74a0090bc8cdfae70c5a3]. Ricoeur, Paul. 2000. Čas vyprávění [Time and narrative]. Praha: Oikomenh. Taylor, Charles. 1985. Philosophical papers I.: Human Agency and Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Acknowledgments: This paper is part of the KEGA 007PU-4/2015 Virtual interactive encyclopedic English-Slovak and Slovak-English dictionary of general linguistics research grant project and the APVV 0342-11 Dictionary of multi-word naming units (lexicographic, lexicological and comparative research) research grant project.

Anna Kiszczak

Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Self-Generated Questions in Reciprocal Reading Tasks in L1/L2 Settings Abstract: Over the past decades researchers and literacy educators have widely investigated the relevance of text comprehension for knowledge construction and the contribution of reading and learning strategies to learning outcomes (Chamot 2009; Chodkiewicz 2014; Hudson 2007). Consequently, numerous curricular models and instructional approaches suggesting specific practices have been proposed in order to promote and guide studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reading and learning. Reciprocal teaching is a multicomponent reading strategy model based on four reading strategies, dialogue, and scaffolding (Klingner, Vaughn, and Boardman 2015). The following chapter explores the role of asking and answering questions by readers as a component of content-based reciprocal reading instruction. Firstly, the concept, theoretical foundations and implementation procedures of reciprocal teaching are examined. Subsequently, the article discusses the definition of the strategy of reader self-generated questions and its importance for text comprehension and knowledge building. The chapter also provides a brief overview of research findings showing the benefits and pedagogical potential of engaging students in reciprocal reading tasks, including the generation of their own questions. Finally, some implications of research results for developing disciplinary knowledge in L1/L2 settings are discussed. Keywords: reading to learn, comprehension strategies, reciprocal teaching, self-generated questions

Introduction Reading to learn, one of the main goals for reading in educational contexts, is undeniably essential to achieve academic success in all content areas (Chodkiewicz 2014; Grabe and Stoller 2011). However, even though university students are expected to read extensively, there is ample research and literature to report that they still face serious problems with text comprehension (Grabe 2009; Hudson 2007). Too often do students read academic texts in a cursory way without satisfactory comprehension and proper activation of higher-order thinking skills (Neufeld 2005). A possible solution to studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; superficial approach to the study of academic texts can be introducing reciprocal reading tasks (Palincsar and Brown 1984). The concept of reciprocal reading and learning assumes that shared text understanding between students and teachers can involve learners in active and meaningful text processing. This goal can be achieved among others

212

Anna Kiszczak

when students generate their own questions instead of answering predetermined teacher questions.

Defining reciprocal teaching Reciprocal teaching is a multiple strategic approach to reading which recommends engaging readers in constructing text meaning collaboratively. The theoretical underpinnings of the approach lie in Vygotsky’s theory of the zone of proximal development, the theories of scaffolding, proleptic teaching, and insights from cognitive psychology (Klingner, Vaughn, and Boardman 2015). Thus, it can be pointed out that the instructional framework for developing comprehension, as referred to by Wharton-McDonald and Swiger (2008), bridges the mentioned theories and views, and learning and teaching through combining three key components such as discussion, comprehension strategies, and scaffolding (Klingner, Vaughn and Boardman 2015). Reciprocal teaching promotes peer text-based discussions built on the use of four reading and learning strategies each of which is regarded as comprehensionfostering and comprehension-monitoring (Brown, Palincsar and Armbruster 2013). The set of the strategies involves prediction, questioning, clarifying, and summarization (Fisher, Frey and Lapp 2011; Palincsar and Brown 1984). The founders of the approach decided on such a choice of the strategies due to the fact that they are reported to be commonly employed by good readers while processing informative texts (Chamot 2009; Gallagher 2004). Despite the fact that several options of reciprocal teaching procedures have been suggested, all of them are grounded in the use of the four strategies mentioned and focus on engaging students in text-based group cooperation and discussion (Fisher, Frey, and Fehrenbacher 2011). While collaborating in small groups, students are instructed to read and debate about a given text. First, they read a paragraph and one of the members in each group–a dialogue leader–begins a discussion through asking text-related questions to their peers. Consecutively, all of the group members cooperate to answer the questions posed, clarify any discrepancies, unknown words or concepts, and solve comprehension problems that they have experienced. What is more, not only are all group representatives instructed to answer and comment on the leader’s questions, but they are also guided to ask their own questions that would address the text content or structure. The next step involves making a brief paragraph summary by the discussion leader and engaging other group members in the activity of summarization. Finally, the leader predicts the content of the next passage and stimulates his or her groupmates to share their own predictions (Klingner, Vaughn, and Boardman 2015). Then, the procedure

Students’ Self-Generated Questions in Reciprocal Reading Tasks …

213

is repeated while working on subsequent paragraphs, however, each time another group member plays the role of a dialogue leader. Students are continually mentored and prompted by a teacher whose role is not only to control the organisation of learners’ work and their use of the strategies, but also to actively participate in the process of collaborative knowledge construction. Fisher, Frey, and Fehrenbacher (2011) notice that the procedures that reciprocal teaching is built upon recur in cycles, and therefore, they can facilitate a gradual transition from a teacher-centered reading and learning environment into a student-directed one. Even though the approach was initially proposed mainly with a view of helping students who experience problems with text understanding, there is a substantial number of research studies revealing positive outcomes for both poor and good readers (Alfassi 1998; Grabe 2009; King and Parent Johnson 1999). Rosenshine and Meister (1994), who examined 16 quantitative studies on the discussed approach, report that incorporating reciprocal reading and learning tasks into a course curriculum on a regular basis results in achieving higher scores in general reading comprehension tests by students across the age span from first to eighth grades. As pointed out by Klingner, Vaughn and Boardman (2015), a vast majority of more than 150 research studies which have already investigated the potential and the results of the reciprocal teaching approach indicate benefits of it for students. Apart from improving comprehension measures, performing reading activities based on this framework may contribute to students’ deeper metacognitive awareness and more responsible and autonomous learning behaviour (Fisher, Frey, and Fehrenbacher 2011).

The strategy of self-questioning Question generation may be defined as posing and answering one’s own questions connected with a text in terms of its content, structure, or language (Taboada and Guthrie 2006). Questioning is widely acknowledged to be one of the key components of text comprehension (Buehl 2011; Grabe 2009) and as Graesser and Lehman (2011) notice, asking and answering questions drives text processing since it functions similarly as setting goals for reading. Thus, self-generated questions and goal-driven comprehension are strongly related and are of a great significance for constructing a coherent mental representation of the text contents. Olson, Duffy, and Mack (1985) emphasize two key reasons for generating questions by readers, each of which is connected with comprehension monitoring. They argue that “Questions asked about a text are both an indication of having understood what has been read and a guide to the further understanding of what is about to be read” (Olson, Duffy, and Mack 1985, 220). In other words, questions

214

Anna Kiszczak

are posed to test the understanding of the content conveyed by a text, and to direct a reader through the process of text comprehension. However, asking questions by students may serve also other various purposes, such as filling gaps in prior knowledge, noticing breakdowns in the course of reading, and stimulating critical approach towards information found in the text (Rouet 2012). It is noteworthy that various kinds of questions address a range of different cognitive processes (Feldt and Feldt 2001). Alison King (1992) enumerates several of those that may be enhanced by means of distinct types of questions and generic question stems. By way of illustration, she distinguishes questions that induce students in analyzing some notions, detecting main ideas of a text, applying a piece of information in another context, thinking of new examples of a known concept, integrating new content with students’ background knowledge, and evaluating data presented in a text. Graesser and Person (1994) indicate a set of mental processes that are activated while providing answers to questions representing particular subcategories. In their landscape of questions, the theoreticians classified sixteen question subcategories ordered in terms of their cognitive depth from most shallow, through intermediate to complex ones. In accordance with the taxonomy, there are questions which stimulate cognitive processes based for instance on data clarification, feature specification, quantification, interpretation, and expectation. Rothstein and Santana (2013) identify three fundamental thinking abilities that constitute a groundwork for question generation. Firstly, asking questions is based on divergent thinking, which is a capability of creating various ideas, solving problems, hypothesizing, and predicting. Another aptitude crucial for generating questions–convergent thinking–concerns analyzing, comparing, interpreting and finally, synthesizing single facts, ideas and pieces of information with a view of constructing a broader perspective and reaching a meaningful conclusion. The third principal ability mentioned–metacognition–refers to self-monitoring and reflecting on the processes of reading and learning. Numerous empirical studies have already revealed the positive influence of questioning on reading comprehension. They report that generating questions in the process of reading to learn engages readers in deeper text processing (e.g. Singer 1978). Furthermore, it improves the recall of information and metacognitive awareness, increases students’ capability of identifying main ideas in a text, and prepares learners for answering comprehension questions (Davey and McBride 1986; Rosenshine, Meister, and Chapman 1996; Taboada and Guthrie 2006). However, Rosenshine, Meister, and Chapman (1996) in their examination of twenty six research studies on the strategy of question generation showed that the mean comprehension effect sizes differed from insignificant to large and

Students’ Self-Generated Questions in Reciprocal Reading Tasks …

215

relevant. Nevertheless, it is scientifically proven that training students to generate text-based questions is of a prominent importance for the process of reading to learn and for content knowledge construction (Graesser, Ozuru, and Sullins 2010; Berry and Chew 2008).

Self-generated questions in reciprocal teaching in foreign language education: insights from selected studies Over the past three decades, there have been many theoretical considerations and empirical studies devoted to the concept of reciprocal teaching, its effects on reading comprehension and knowledge construction, and the strategies that the approach is build upon. However, the available literature is associated predominantly with the context of the first language (e.g. Alfassi 1998; Fisher, Frey, and Fehrenbacher 2011; King and Parent Johnson 1999; Lysynchuk, Pressley, and Vye 1990; Sporer, Brunstein, and Kieschke, 2009). So far relatively few research studies have attempted to explain the implementation of the discussed approach and the importance of the four strategies–prediction, questioning, clarifying, and summarization–in L2 settings. Rahimi and Sadeghi (2015) as well as Yoosabai (2009) investigated the influence of reciprocal teaching on reading comprehension of EFL high school students. Both of the studies, experimental (Yoosabai 2009) and quasi-experimental (Rahimi and Sadeghi 2015) in nature, took advantage of qualitative and quantitative data sources. Their findings indicated statistically significant differences between test comprehension scores achieved by reciprocal groups and control groups. Indeed, the results revealed that incorporating reciprocal teaching and using the four strategies during content-area lessons yielded positive effects on EFL students’ reading abilities and receptive knowledge of disciplinary terminology. Moreover, the authors of the empirical inquiries pointed out that the students who received longterm the reciprocal reading training improved as well in using the four strategies, questioning being one of them. Furthermore, Yoosabai (2009), who conducted a qualitative analysis of the questions asked and answered by the study participant, noticed that students who were identified at the beginning as poor readers improved considerably in their ability to generate questions addressing the main ideas of a text. Apart from that, the results of the post-study interviews with the proficient and the less proficient students revealed that the strategy of generating one’s own questions was appreciated by the striking majority of the participants. Better students perceived the strategy as helpful for organizing text processing and monitoring comprehension, whereas poorer readers pointed out that asking and answering questions was effective for

216

Anna Kiszczak

them in improving general reading skills, noticing comprehension breakdowns and clarifying problematic parts of the texts read (Yoosabai 2009). In recent years a few authors have begun to examine the impact of reciprocal reading and learning tasks on text processing and knowledge construction in the case of EFL higher education students. Hart and Speece (1998), Soonthornmanee (2002), and Ostovar-Namaghi and Shahhosseini (2011) conducted experimental or quasi-experimental research studies in order to compare the reciprocal teaching approach with other more traditional kinds of classroom-based reading instruction and practice in terms of their effects on student’s level of reading comprehension. Hart and Speece (1998) contrasted reciprocal teaching with cooperative group supplement condition which did not entail using the four strategies characteristic for the first research circumstance. The participants of the study were freshmen students diagnosed as those who could experience serious reading and learning difficulties during their further education. The findings of the investigation reported statistically significant differences between the two conditions. Indeed, the students receiving reciprocal instruction and practice outperformed the second group on both the acquisition of all the four strategies and reading comprehension. The objectives of the study carried out by Soonthornmanee (2002) were to compare the reciprocal teaching approach with a skill-based method, as referred to by the author of the project, and to check if both skilled and less-skilled first year university students can benefit from reciprocal teaching. The results obtained from qualitative and quantitative data analyses indicated that students participating in reciprocal learning–proficient as well as those less proficient ones–performed better on a post-test, as well as mid-term and final exams than students receiving the skill-based treatment. Moreover, the analysis of the data gathered indicated that the quality of students’ questions improved over time as influenced by the training, practice and the teacher’s scaffolding. Indeed, the participants’ tendency to pose detailed questions diminished and more main idea questions were finally generated. The study carried out by Ostovar-Namaghi and Shahhosseini (2011) aimed to measure and compare the effects of the reciprocal teaching approach and the transition model on EFL learners’ reading proficiency. The results of the post-test revealed that the experimental group which took part in a General English course conducted in conformity with the principles of reciprocal teaching gained better scores than the members of the control condition. The differences were statistically important and therefore, a conclusion might be drawn that these findings corroborate those of the research studies previously referred to in this article.

Students’ Self-Generated Questions in Reciprocal Reading Tasks …

217

Conclusions and pedagogical implications Contemporary research in reciprocal teaching in the area of foreign language learning has been conducted with a view to examine the potential effects of the approach on the ability and efficacy of students’ reading comprehension. The findings of the empirical studies presented in this article suggest that reciprocal teaching can yield positive influence on EFL students’ reading comprehension skills and metacognitive awareness. Moreover, as it has already been reported, the approach can be beneficial for reading to learn and building disciplinary knowledge for both good and poor learners. These results support Palinscar and Brown’s (1984) remark that the final goal for students of taking part in reciprocal teaching instruction is not the acquisition of the four strategies but being tutored how to read for meaning and how to control the level of text comprehension. Reciprocal teaching is one of the approaches to reading and learning which advocate combining a set of strategies instead of relying solely on one particular. Therefore, even though there are profound research studies which have verified the effectiveness of questioning as the only strategy incorporated into the content-area reading instruction (Berry and Chew 2008; Davey and McBride 1986; Rothstein and Santana 2013; Singer 1978; Taboada and Guthrie 2006), the literature reinforces the premise propagated by reciprocal teaching that no single strategy can ensure reading and learning outcomes that are thoroughly satisfactory (Chamot 2009). Thus, reading instructors should consider engaging their students in performing text-based tasks which require integrating multiple strategies. Taking advantage of the widely researched four reciprocal strategies can constitute a reasonable option for teaching students how to read and learn from expository texts, and consequently, how to build disciplinary knowledge. It goes without saying that engaging EFL students in performing reciprocal reading and learning activities during content classes instead of following a traditional teacher-centered course of a lesson may be demanding at the beginning. As with other novel learning opportunities, students will need clear instructions, explicit presentation, scaffolding, and practice in incorporating reciprocal teaching and learning procedures while working on disciplinary texts. Although, as mentioned above, all of the four strategies ought to be included in text-based discussions, it might be worth beginning with one at a time (Lysynchuk, Pressley, and Vye 1990). It is hoped that after a period of modeled and teacher-guided reciprocal reading and learning, students will become more autonomous and responsible for their content and language education.

218

Anna Kiszczak

References Alfassi, Miriam. 1998. “Reading for Meaning: the Efficacy of Reciprocal Teaching in Fostering Reading Comprehension in High School Students in Remedial Reading Classes.” American Educational Research Journal 35:309–332. Berry, Jack W., and Stephen L. Chew. 2008. “Improving Learning Through Interventions of Student-Generated Questions and Concept Maps.” Teaching of Psychology 35:305–312. Brown, Ann L., Annemarie S. Palinscar, and Bonnie B. Armbruster. 2013. “Instructing Comprehension-fostering Activities in Interactive Learning Situations.” In Theoretical Models and Processes of Teaching, edited by Donna E. Alvermann, Norman J. Unrau, and Robert B. Ruddell, 657–685. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Buehl, Dough. 2011. Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Chamot, Anna U. 2009. The CALLA Handbook: Implementing the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach. White Plains, NY: Pearson Education Inc. Chodkiewicz, Halina. 2014. “Explaining the Concept of ‘Reading to Learn: A Way Forward in Exploring the Issues of L2/FL Reading Competence.” In Language Skills: Traditions, Transitions and Ways Forward, edited by Halina Chodkiewicz and Magdalena Trepczyńska, 238–255. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Davey, Beth, and Susan McBride. 1986. “Effects of Question-generation Training on Reading Comprehension.” Journal of Educational Psychology 78:256–262. Feldt, Ronald C., and Rebecca A. Feldt. 2001. “A Proposed Method for Learning from Textbooks in the Primary Grades: Use of Text Structure to Guide Selfquestioning.” Psychological Reports 88:645–650. Fisher, Douglas, Frey, Nancy, and Tom Fehrenbacher. 2011. “Reciprocal Teaching: Giving Responsibility to Students.” In Improving Adolescent Literacy: Strategies at Work, edited by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey, 153–168. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Fisher, Douglas, Frey, Nancy, and Diane Lapp. 2011. Teaching Students to Read like Detectives: Comprehending, Analyzing, and Discussing Text. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree. Grabe, William. 2009. Reading in a Second Language: Moving from Theory to Practice. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Grabe, William, and Federica L. Stoller. 2011. Teaching and Researching Reading. New York, NY: Longman Pearson.

Students’ Self-Generated Questions in Reciprocal Reading Tasks …

219

Graesser, Arthur C., and Blair Lehman. 2011. “Questions Drive Comprehension of Text and Multimedia.” In Text Relevance and Learning from Text, edited by Matthew T. McCrudden, 53–74. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc. Graesser, Arthur C., and Natalie K. Person. 1994. “Question Asking during Tutoring.” American Educational Research Journal 31:104–137. Graesser, Arthur C., Yasuhiro Ozuro, and Jeremiah Sullins. 2010. “What is a Good Question?” In Bringing Reading Research to Life, edited by Margaret G. McKeown, and Linda Kucan, 112–141. New York: The Guilford Press. Hart, Ellen R., and Deborah L. Speece. 1998. “Reciprocal Teaching Goes to College: Effects for Postsecondary Students at Risk for Academic Failure.” Journal of Educational Psychology 90:670–681. Hudson, Thom. 2007. Teaching Second Language Reading. Oxford: Oxford University Press. King, Alison. 1992. “Comparison of Self-Questioning, Summarizing, and Notetaking-Review as Strategies for Learning from Lectures.” American Educational Research Journal 29:303–323. King, Caryn M., and Lara M. Parent Johnson. 1999. “Constructing Meaning via Reciprocal Teaching. Reading Research and Instruction 38:169–186. Klingner, Janette K., Vaughn, Sharon, and Alison Boardman. 2015. Teaching Reading Comprehension to Students with Learning Difficulties. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Lysynchuk, Linda M., Pressley, Michael, and Nancy J. Vye. 1990. “Reciprocal Teaching Improves Standardized Reading-Comprehension Performance for Poor Comprehenders.” The Elementary School Journal 90:469–484. Neufeld, Paul. 2005. “Comprehension Instruction in Content Area Classes.” The Reading Teacher 59:302–312. Olson, Gary M., Duffy, Susan A., and Robert L. Mack. 1985. “Question-Asking as a Component of Text Comprehension.” In The Psychology of Questions, edited by Arthur C. Graesser and John B. Black, 219–226. Hillsdale, N. J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Ostovar-Namaghi, Seyyed A. and Mohammad-Reza Shahhosseini. 2011. “On the Effect of Reciprocal Teaching Strategy on EFL Learners’ Reading Proficiency.” Journal of Language Teaching and Research 2:1238–1243. Palincsar, Annemarie S. and Ann L. Brown. 1984. “Reciprocal Teaching of Comprehension-fostering and Comprehension-monitoring Activities.” Cognition and Instruction 1:117–175. Rahimi, Mehrak, and Negar Sadeghi. 2015. “Impact of Reciprocal Teaching on EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension.” Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics 6:64–86.

220

Anna Kiszczak

Rosenshine, Barak and Carla Meister. 1994. “Reciprocal Teaching: A Review of the Research.” Review of Educational Research 64:479–530. Rosenshine, Barak, Meister, Carla, and Saul Chapman. 1996. “Teaching Students to Generate Questions: A Review of the Intervention Studies.” Review of Education Research 66:181–22. Rothstein, Dan, and Luz Santana. 2013. Make Just One Change: Teach Students to Ask Their Own Questions. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Rouet, Jean F. 2012. The Skills of Document Use: From Text Comprehension to Webbased Learning. New York, NY: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. Singer, Harry. 1978. “Active Comprehension: From Answering to Asking Questions.” Reading Teacher 31:901–908. Soonthornmanee, Reongudee. 2002. “The Effect of the Reciprocal Teaching Approach on the Reading Comprehension of EFL Students.” RELC Journal 33:125–140. Sporer, Nadie, Brunstein, Joachim C., and Ulf Kieschke. 2009. “Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension Skills: Effects of Strategy Instruction and Reciprocal Teaching.” Learning and Instruction 9:272–286. Taboada, Ana, and John T. Guthrie. 2006. “Contributions of Student Questioning and Prior Knowledge to Construction of Knowledge From Reading Information Text.” Journal of Literacy Research 38:1–35. Wharton-McDonald, R., and Shannon Swiger. 2008. “Developing Higher Order Comprehension in the Middle Grades.” In Handbook of Research on Reading Comprehension, edited by Susan E. Israel and Gerald G. Duffy, 510–530. New York, NY: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. Yoosabai, Yuwadee. 2009. The Effects of Reciprocal Teaching on English Reading Comprehension in a Thai High-school Classroom. Unpublished PhD Dissertation. Srinakharinwirot University.

Robert Oliwa

Instructional Designing and Modelling in Virtual Foreign Language Learning Abstract: The goal set is to provide an insight into what virtual language learning implies nowadays as well as suggest a model for implementing virtual tools in everyday teaching practice. Traditional foreign language classroom may be considered a place to learn a language whereas an online virtual foreign language classroom can be thought of as a platform where a language is acquired and practised. The connection of the two is evident with the distance between them becoming increasingly shorter along with the development of computer technologies and introduction of new tools and applications. Despite numerous hurdles which online or virtual learning must overcome and despite still effectively functioning traditional language classroom the move towards virtual environments has already taken place. Virtuality, however, should never be a replacement of reality. It may just constitute an extension to what already happens in a classroom. The limitless choice of online teaching resources and studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reliance on Internetbased mobile tools have led to a point where language teachers are not expected to answer the question if but how and most importantly when to use online resources inside and outside the classroom. The dichotomy between the available resources, traditional printed ones on the one hand and electronic on the other poses a question of how to blend what we have in schools with what students already massively use outside. A model which would close the digital divide and help teachers extend learning beyond the traditional classroom boundaries, does not exist yet. Attempts have been made, largely based on worthy initiatives and good practices to work out and share the best possible solution together with a method of its implementation. Keywords: Â virtual, language learning, model, implement

Introduction The goal set to the following article is to provide an insight into the design and modelling of language learning and propose a virtual model of foreign language instruction. To date, we have witnessed an abundance of instructional models used in foreign language learning. A recent addition is the virtual environment which has become an important extension of the traditional classroom; however, models which would assist a smooth implementation of a virtual model are scarce and complex. The article proposes a virtual instruction model which may close the digital divide and help teachers extend learning beyond the traditional classroom

222

Robert Oliwa

boundaries. The model also offers the key Information Technologies (IT) considerations which may be crucial while carrying the model into effect.

An umbrella called Instructional Design Instructional design (ID), being a part of a much larger field of instructional theory, determines how instructional material will be developed, implemented, managed and evaluated in a variety of settings with the intention of improving studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performance. Instructional theory attempts to find an answer to two major questions. The first one concerns the very content which is going to be taught (what) and the other deals with the manner in which content is going to be taught (how). The former is answered by curriculum design and the latter is dealt with by instructional design1. The theoretical foundations of instructional theory largely rely on psychological and learning theories which developed linearly over the years (See Fig. 1). The most significant include behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism2 and postmodernism3. Fig. 1â&#x20AC;&#x201A; Development of instructional design

1 Instructional design has been referred to by an array of names despite describing dissimilar areas. The most popular terms include instructional system design, instructional system development and instructional technology. 2 The shift from behaviourism to cognitivism was not as dramatic as the shift to constructivism which encourages an open-ended learning experience where the methods and outcomes of instructional process are not easily measured and may vary depending on the learner. 3 This will take into account limitations of earlier theories, learner variables, teacher variables, integrative approach, integration of instructional designs, design adaptability, further learning and instructional theories development, Internet (computer) aided instruction, and virtual realities.

Instructional Designing and Modeling …

223

Learning or instructional theories however do not offer any practical placement of educational foundations or transition to application of discussed concepts in a language teaching environment. The practical area of instructional theories which elaborates on and links theory and practice is defined as instructional design modelling. Skowron (2006, 56) defines instructional design as “the process of planning instruction, delivering instruction, and assessing student learning”. The contemporary instructional model taxonomy differentiates three types of design depending on their key characteristics which embrace the level of instructional skills, front-end analysis, type and amount of evaluation (Gustafson and Branch 2001). The models can be classroom-oriented, product-oriented and system-oriented. The last type is the one which considers all the elements such as the teacher, learners, instruction, input and output. It provides the most comprehensive picture of the instructional system (Prestera 2002). The modern instructional design enumerates the below activities as those involved in the instructional design processes (Legault 2015): –– –– –– –– –– ––

identifying learners’ requirements and profiles determining learning aims and objectives finding appropriate learning methods constructing content according to learning objectives finding or authoring (multimedia) applications to support delivery of content building assessment and evaluation systems to measure knowledge/skill acquisition –– piloting course content –– deploying the course in print media or virtual environment

Significant impact Instructional designing has gone through a number of developments over the years and has been under the influence of various theories and approaches starting with the earliest by Dewey (1910) who attempted to establish a link between learning theory and educational practices and Thorndike (1913) who established a framework of educational principles based on task analysis and instructional methods. The first major learning theory which requires consideration is Edgar Dale’s cone of learning (Dale 1969). It endeavours to provide an answer to the question why certain phenomena are better remembered and why some other are never understood (See Fig. 2).

224

Robert Oliwa

Fig. 2 Adapted from Edgar Dale’s (1969) Audio-Visual Methods in Technology. After two weeks of exposition we remember 10 % of content 20 % of content Passive 30 % of content 50 % of content 70 % of content Active 90 % of content

Dales’ model is a tool to help teachers take decisions about the instructional design they might implement. However, the teacher may want to consider adjustments to a particular environment, available materials, students’ experience and expectations, resources available and teaching objectives. 1954 saw another contribution to the area of instructional design with Skinner’s pivotal article “The Science of Learning and the Art of Teaching” (1954). His programmed instruction educational model is a self-paced, self-administered instructional method, delivered in a logical order and with numerous content drills4. Skinner (1954) claims that the process of learning can be divided into stages containing small amounts of information, with a provision of feedback, positive or negative reinforcement and reward. Viewed from the perspective of instructional models Skinner’s programmed model can serve ideally the computer enhanced design which makes use of computer generated chunks of material delivered in virtual environment5. According to Skinner (1958) the design of the 4 Similarly to Pavlov, Skinner postulated the stimulus-response pattern of conditioned behaviours. 5 A computer generated, representation of a real setting; also called virtual space, virtual world.

Instructional Designing and Modeling …

225

programmed instruction takes into account goals, learners’ skills, incremental delivery of content and reinforcement. Skinner’s programmed design has had a significant impact on other instructional models to date as well as language learning and has been applied in numerous fields including foreign language methodology at almost every educational level. The model per se has also received some disapproval as not all communication, verbal or non-verbal, is stimulus-generated, nor does it receive feedback or is reinforced with a reward. Another significant contribution to instructional and further material design was made in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom (1956). Bloom’s taxonomy establishes a development from rote learning tasks to higher order thinking processes which may be applied within a longer perspective. The taxonomy may serve as a framework for designing the process of instruction (including foreign language instruction) from the initial stages of gaining knowledge to the consecutive stages of applying that knowledge in practice. What Bloom’s taxonomy lacked however, and what was later added, addressed the creative aspect of the model (Anderson et al. 2001) and included patterns generation, action planning, and content production. Another major contribution to the instructional design theory in the 1960s was offered by Gagné (1962). In his approach, behavioural by nature6, he proposed the hierarchy of the acquired content starting from the elementary subordinate information to more compound skills students learn to perform. Gagné postulated a nine-step process which describes the necessary learning conditions called the Nine Events of Instruction (Gagné 1985). The events became the ironclad rules for the instructional design and lesson planning (Corry 1996). Gagné’s taxonomy, considered one of the most important structured content delivery schemes, offers a guided instructional framework for introducing new material that helps to ensure a comprehensive and efficacious learning experience. Each external event is intended to present information to learners in a comprehensible fashion who retain it for later application and connect the events in a hierarchy of relationships; however, the mastery of higher level skills involves the command of the subordinate ones and this revelation identifies the instructional design of skill acquisition, applicable in many areas including ELT which require a modelled approach7.

6 Robert Gagné managed to combine in his works two main learning theories from 1960s to 1980: behaviourism and cognitivism. 7 Cf. Becker’s paper “How Are Games Educational? Learning Theories Embodied in Games”.

226

Robert Oliwa

Throughout the following years there was a transition to the cognitive learning theories and research began to take into consideration learners’ psychological processes and discrepancies. Designers attempted to construct an instructional order which would identify and match learners’ cognitive development. Structured learning (Scandura 1970, 2007) was one of the earliest movements with its later follow-ups towards finding the rules that govern the acquisition process and the structure of the knowledge base. The establishment of various instructional design systems which have been developed over the course of time reflects different aims and approaches taken to the process of what McGriff (2001) calls “…systematic guidelines instructional designers follow in order to create a workshop, a course, a curriculum, an instructional program, or a training session…”.

Models in focus The following part of this paper discusses three instructional designs because of their generic nature (ADDIE), constructivist roots (R2D2) and learner centeredness (ASSURE) but most importantly because of their possible application in virtual language instruction. ADDIE Considered the core of contemporary instructional design (Reiser and Dempsey 2007), ADDIE model, alias Instructional System Design (ISD) has undergone substantial evolution over the years to become the design most often referred to nowadays. Simplified many times, ADDIE is deemed the most appropriate for online instruction in addition to being generic and meta instructional design from which many instructional designs derive (Bichelmeyer 2005). Silvern (in AECT 1977) describes the ADDIE model as a “graphic analogue representing a real-life situation either as it is or as it should be”. Contemporarily known, ADDIE stands for A – analyse learning context, needs and objectives, learner characteristics, D design learning/teaching objectives, content, assessment techniques and tools, D – develop instructional strategy, media, content, I – implement developed content, E – evaluate achievement of objectives, improvement. ADDIE is a systematic linear approach in which each stage is crucial to achieving the expected results. Over the years it has gained a substantial amount of recognition because of its adaptability, scope of applications also in ELT and possible development8. By and large, the ADDIE model can be a convenient and flexible tool in the skilful hands of (language) instruction designers because it allows for a heuristic framework where learners 8 It is estimated that there are over 100 ADDIE variations.

Instructional Designing and Modeling …

227

learn by discovering things themselves and learning from t heir own experiences rather than by b eing told what to do. R2D2 A further extension of the changing theoretical frameworks was the R2D2 instructional design model founded on the fundamental assumptions of the constructivist approach. The model derives from the mainstream ADDIE concept (McGriff 2000); however, it is based on constructivist theory which assumes that learners construct knowledge in a learning process by reflecting on experiences and building associations with their prior knowledge. (Cobb 1994). The R2D2 model employs the design principles of recursion, reflection and participation (Willis 1995; Willis 1998; Willis 2000)which are not handled in any specific sequence as it is visible in other models9 where the stages were interdependent and derived from each other. Here, “the model assumes that designers will work on all three aspects of the design process in an intermittent and recursive pattern that is neither predictable nor prescribable” (Willis and Wright 2000, 5). The three stages of the R2D2 instructional design model are (See Fig. 3): Fig. 3 R2D2 instructional design model.

–– Define It embarks on a vague idea of the objectives and direction as the very nature of the model is iterative and progressive. The oncoming stages (design/de velop and dissemination) will provide further information concerning explicit objectives and outcomes. “The understanding that will emerge throughout the 9 Cf. ADDIE; Dick, Carey, and Carey; Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory; Morrison, Wise, and Kemp; ASSURE.

228

Robert Oliwa

design process will be of much higher quality than the information gained by studying people and ideas primarily at the very beginning” (Willis and Wright 2000, 6). –– Design/Develop In a constructivist instructional setting, there is no definite type of learning resources such as textbooks, workbooks, uniform testing tools, computer applications or Internet resources. Materials are constantly authored to suit occurring needs and tools are designed in the instructional environment. A key component of the design/develop stage is formative assessment, here called cooperative inquiry, which helps in collecting information about what goes to plan and what does not and introduces modifications based on the received feedback. –– Disseminate Dissemination involves the evaluation of the design model in a context, distribution of collected information or making it available for further use and adaptation. Constructivism did not label either a process or its outcomes as correct or incorrect. “Instead, the focus should be on helping teachers and learners adapt the material to the local context and to use it in ways that are appropriate to that context” (Willis and Wright 2000, 15). Unlike other instructional design models, R2D2 devotes very little attention to summative assessment because it does not reflect the effectiveness of a design model which may depend on too many variables, viz., materials, teachers, students, institution, length of knowledge construction or experience reflection. The R2D2 model opened a new field of virtual instruction design as well as new vistas of existing instructional designing required for current and future dynamic, unstructured learning possibilities offered by online applications and virtualbased learning environments (Chwen and Toh 2005). ASSURE Finally, ASSURE instructional model10 which is a six-step instructional design (See Fig. 4) reflecting Gagne’s events of instruction essential to the selection, delivery and development of educational technology and computer enhanced teaching with great emphasis on meeting learner needs. The model consists of the following elements:

10 Introduced by Robert Heinich and Michael Molendo of Indiana University and James D. Russell of Purdue University in the 1990’s.

Instructional Designing and Modeling …

229

Fig. 4 the ASSURE Model.

The model presupposes that instruction is distributed using various media including the online technology and “as we know, instructional technology, the convergence of computer and communications technology within the realm of teaching and learning, has already had profound effects on education at all levels.” (Swain 2003, 283) The model caters for different learning styles and learners’ active interaction with the (real or virtual) environment. The ASSURE model serves as a planning blueprint apposite for dealing with the ongoing changes of technology, Internet and mobile media in the dynamic instructional reality. Fig. 5 Proposed Model for Online Learning.

230

Robert Oliwa

Proposed virtual model of instruction In the process of construction the areas taken into consideration were pedagogy, methodology of ELT, instructional design, technology and delivery methods. As a result the below model – INDICE – has been designed (See Fig. 5). It stems and derives from the existing instructional designs. Nonetheless, it attempts to view the Internet setting from the stance of the App Generation11 who are viewed as an active participant of the setting. The proposed model is composed of 6 stages two of which are further linked to two inter-stages. 1. Identify The purpose of this stage is first of all to find out about areas such as curriculum and syllabus which will implement the model of online language learning. Next, it considers both teachers’ and App Generation’s expectations and needs as they will have an impact on motivation and involvement. Furthermore, this stage identifies the computer literacies of teachers and students, technology available as well as parties involved in the implantation, delivery and maintenance processes. Key IT considerations of this stage include the place of online learning in the curriculum and syllabus, students’ and teachers’ computer literacies and technology available. 2. Name The second leg determines aims and objectives of the online learning model, work patterns, technologies, digital tools which will be applied along with anticipated problems which may hinder the content delivery and result in its revisiting and altering. Yet, the most salient element of the Name leg is the task design which concentrates on specifying what tasks students undertake and what means they employ so as to achieve them. In Nunan’s model of task-based learning (2004) the task per se is further split into pre-task, task and post-task which can also be put into effect in an online setting. Finally, this stage also states what assessment and evaluation strategies to use. Key IT considerations of this stage comprise objectives of online learning, computer literacy, technology, applications, tasks and assessment.

11 The term which was used in a book “The App Generation: How Today’s Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World” by H. Gardener and K. Davis.

Instructional Designing and Modeling …

231

3. Develop The third part of the proposed model stems directly from the previous parts and uses the collected data. The Develop stage concentrates on the construction of a detailed syllabus of topics which are task-focused. The developed syllabus provides an order and means of content delivery, plans the induction stage, including the trial lessons, sets tasks which students will accomplish, sets deadlines and timeframes for implementing different elements, feedback collection and evaluation. This stage comprises the technology, in terms of management system, hardware and software which it will use, participants’ roles and means of evaluation. All the stages of the discussed model carry a similar weight; however the Develop stage is the most effort- and time-consuming and it must follow the pedagogical assumptions involved in instructional design. Key IT considerations of this stage are hardware, content management system, applications, tasks, evaluation techniques and feedback delivery. 4. Induct This stage is an innovation in comparison to all the other instructional designs. Its foremost aim is to reduce stress and anxiety and provide support in the new environment. Further to this, both parties (students and teachers) are introduced to management system/software, applications, aims/objectives, tasks, work patterns, timeframes, deadlines, outcomes, evaluation and remedial activities. The induction stage takes the form of a series of trial lessons which are concluded with a feedback collection stage. The feedback collected at this stage allows for any necessary alterations which might be a result of formative assessment such as observation, interviews, evidence from students’ completed task. Key IT considerations of this stage are environment/management system, applications, tasks, feedback collection and modification format. 5. Conduct This is the actual teaching stages which implement all the course content by means of the technology chosen and bearing in mind all the assumptions made. The Conduct stage is divided into tasks each finishing with feedback a collection stage. This again is a novelty which other designs do not include and which aims at catering for all teachers’ and students’ requirements. This, in turn, will enable teachers to modify and/or improve the rest of the planned content and help avoid flaws in the oncoming tasks. The flaws might relate to methodology used, technology, delivery methods, planned tasks, digital literacy or skills. Feedback is collected on the basis of participants’ and instructors’ comments, interviews and sample work.

232

Robert Oliwa

Key IT considerations of this stage comprise hardware, management software, applications, content delivery, feedback and evaluation and assessment format. 6. Evaluate This stage gathers and studies information on an array of topics including teaching theory, instructional design online environment, technology, task achievement, and problems encountered. Evaluation also aims at making judgments about the online learning experience, increasing its efficacy, and taking decisions about future changes. The methods of data gathering might include the questionnaires and surveys, interviews, observation, written tests and case studies. The suggested form of evaluation may take the form of: –– f ormative assessment – done throughout all the stages of the online learning project. It assesses participants’ reaction to the online experience, materials, applications and tasks. Modifications may be introduced as a result of formative evaluation. Formative assessment gathers information regarding problems with project delivery as well as assesses progress towards the outcomes of task achievement. –– summative assessment – conducted at the finish of the project. It determines the task accomplished, progress made and level achieved. Additionally summative assessment provides information about the project continuation, revision, expansion or cancellation. The application of the above proposed instructional model is a challenging task that I wish to embark on and whose outcomes I intend to discuss in following articles. Definitely, there is room for modifications and variations depending on the feedback collected as well as assessment and evaluation made. The first and most important modification is the introduction of the RETENTION stage which will focus on continuing to use skills or knowledge acquired and halt the process of forgetting. Other important considerations I still have to heed comprise setting tasks and objectives, balance between offline and online instruction as well as new mobile applications.

Looking to the future The majority of models to date have been process-oriented (ADDIE, Dick and Carey, R2D2, Morrison, Wise, and Kemp) rather than learner-oriented (ASSURE), with rigid frameworks and assumptions. At present, the classroom setting has acquired a completely new dimension of virtuality, mobility and shareability. Therefore, instructional design is moving away from process-centeredness and creating

Instructional Designing and Modeling …

233

an environment which is learner-centred, “recursive and non-linear, engaging, self-directed, and meaningful from the learner’s perspective” (McCombs 2000, 1). The question concerning what the future of instructional design holds may be hard to respond to; however, there are certain signs which reveal the direction the field is moving in. First, there might be a process of narrowing instructional design to fit particular environments, variables and needs (dedicated instructional design or instructional design for specific purposes). Next, a synergy of different theories and approaches may be sought. Furthermore, there may be a pursuit of a meta-model which might be founded on the existing models and incorporate new elements. Finally, bearing in mind the technological development there might be a substitution of content management systems (CMSs) with instruction management systems (IMSs) or augmented instructional design.

References AECT, 1977. “Educational Technology: Definition and Glossary of Terms.” Vol. Washington DD. Association for Educational Communications and Technology:168. Anderson, Lorin W., Krathwohl, David R., et al., eds. 2001. A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Allyn & Bacon. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Group. Bichelmeyer, Barbara A. 2005. “The ADDIE Model–a Metaphor for the Lack of Clarity in the Field of IDT.” Accessed January 12, 2015. [http://www.indiana. edu/~idt/shortpapers/documents/IDTf_Bic.pdf]. Bloom, Benjamin S. 1956. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook I: The Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay Co Inc. Chen, Chwen J., and Toh, Seong C. 2005. “Are Learning Styles Relevant To Virtual Reality?” Journal of Research on Technology in Education 38/2:123–141. Cobb, Paul. 1994. “Constructivism and Learning.” International Encyclopaedia of Education. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1049–1051. Corry, Michael. 1996. Gagné’s Theory of Instruction. Washington: George Washington University. Dale, Edgar. 1969. Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching 3rd ed., New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Dewey, John. 1910. How we Think. Boston: D.C. Heath. Dick, Walter, and Lou Carey. 2000. The Systematic Design of Instruction. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, and Company.

234

Robert Oliwa

Dick, Walter, and Lou Carey. 2009. The Systematic Design of Instruction (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Gagné, Robert. 1962. “Military Training and Principles of Learning”. American Psychologist 17:83–91. Gagné, Robert. 1985. The Conditions of Learning and the Theory of Instruction. 4th ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Gustafson, Kent, and Robert Branch. 1997. “Revisioning Models of Instructional Development.” Education Technology Research and Development 45/3:73–89. Legault, Nicole. 2015. “An Introduction to Instructional Design E-Learning Heroes.” Accessed January 12, 2015. [https://community.articulate.com/articles/ an-introduction-to-instructional-design]. McGriff, Steven J. 2000. “Instructional System Design (ISD:) Using the ADDIE Model.” Accessed December 9, 2015. [http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/s/j/ sjm256/portfolio/kbase/IDD/ADDIE.pdf]. McGriff, Steven. 1997. “ISD Knowledge Base–Theoretical Introduction.” Accessed May 3, 2014. [http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/s/j/sjm256/portfolio/ kbase/Theories&Models/theoryintro.html]. McGriff, Steven. 2001. “Instructional Systems Design Models.” Accessed November 9, 2015. [http://www.personal.psu.edu /faculty/s/j /sjm256/portfolio/kbase/IDD/ISDModels.html]. Prestera, Gus. 2002. “Knowledge Base Instructional Design.” Accessed September 3, 2015. [http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/g/e/gep111/html/M4/L1%20 %20 ISD/M4L1P1.htm#rapid_proto]. Reiser, Robert, and John V. Dempsey. 2007. Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall. Scandura, Joseph M. 1970. “The Role of Rules in Behavior: Toward an Operational Definition of what (Rule) is Learned.” Psychological Review 77:516–533. Skinner, Burrhus F. 1958. “Teaching Machines.” Science 128 (967–77):137–58. Skinner, Burrhus. F. 1954. “The Science of Learning and the Art of Teaching.” Harvard Educational Review 24:86–97. Skowron, Janice. 2006. Powerful Lesson Planning: Every Teacher’s Guide to Effective Instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Swain, Philip H. 2003. “Psychology of Learning for Instruction”. 2nd edition. The Art of Changing the Brain: Enriching the Practice of Teaching by Exploring the Biology of Learning. Journal of Engineering Education Washington 92/4:283. Willis, Jerry, and Kristen Wright. 2000. “A General Set of Procedures for Constructivist Instructional Design: The New R2D2 Model.” Eductional Technology 40/2:5–20.

Instructional Designing and Modeling …

235

Willis, Jerry. 1995. “A Recursive, Reflective Instructional DesignModel Based on Constructivist-interpretivist Theory.” Educational Technology 35/6:5–23. Willis, Jerry. 1998. “Alternative Instructional Design Paradigms: What’s Worth Discussing and What isn’t.” Educational Technology 38/3:5–18. Willis, Jerry. 2000. “The Maturing of Constructivist Instructional Design: Some Basic Principles that can Guide Practice.” Educational Technology 40/1:5–16.

MichaĹ&#x201A; Organ

The Marginalisation of Vulgar Language in Audio-Visual Translation Abstract: The aim of this article is to discuss the translation of vulgar language in adult animated sitcoms. After a short description and identification of characteristics found in adult animated sitcoms and their humour, the chapter will focus on the issues connected to the translation of vulgar language. The analysis aims to indicate whether the Polish translation alleviates the original vulgarity of language and humour. In order to do this, the source text (ST) dialogue lines will be confronted with their counterparts in the target text (TT). Furthermore, issues connected with censorship, cultural determinants and expectations in audio-visual translation will be discussed. Keywords: adult animated sitcom, audio-visual translation, humour translation, vulgar language

Introduction Vulgar language, present and abused in almost all cultures, ages and social groups, is universally and popularly referred to as a rather negative concept, which should be eradicated from all spheres of human life. Even though people are taught that such language is offensive, abusive and inappropriate, still it is used in most situations encountered in a life time. Vulgar words and expressions are used to indicate both, positive and negative concepts. Vulgar language is also an extension of mental state and emotions linked to a particular occurrence and object. Spoken or unspoken vulgar words and expressions accompany almost every sphere of human thoughts along with language itself, effectively creating a wider spectrum to which such expressions belong. Vulgar language is strongly connected to emotions, and is equally as hard to control. This type of language is also a kind of relief, or a vent of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emotions. Here, an interesting universality and connection can be noticed, where each emotion can be expressed by linguistic means, they can also be expressed by the use of vulgarisms. Moreover, vulgarisms are commonly associated with certain types of humour, especially black humour. The phenomena of humour is also universal, just like vulgar language. If both concepts are so universal, then the translation of humour associated or based on vulgar language should not pose any difficulties. However, the translation practice shows that vulgar language used in humorous scenes is frequently marginalised or simply sanitised. To illustrate this issue, the study will be based on the translation of adult animated sitcoms,

238

Michał Organ

in which humorous scenes are frequently spiced up by the employment of vulgar language. The aim is to present some major techniques of the marginalisation of vulgar language in translation and its influence on humour. In order to do this, the source text (ST) dialogue lines will be confronted with their counterparts in the target text (TT) to present the changes introduced in the translation.

Adult animated sitcoms and black humour An adult animated sitcom is a type of adult cartoon or animation, in which the content and language applied is labelled as suitable for adult viewers only. The content and form of such animations cause some kind of clash. Here, the form is generally associated with productions directed towards the entertainment of children and teenagers. However, the content and language of such shows reveals their actual intended audience and function (Organ 2015a, 81–82). The close resemblance to a rather innocent, entertaining and/or educational cartoon for children causes frequent controversy (Mittel 2004). The content of adult animated sitcoms encompass a multitude of rather dubious topics and motives. Their presentation is varied by the use of humour, usually of a black nature. The notion of black humour, also known as humour noir, was first used by French surrealist André Breton in 1940. The term was rediscovered in the 1950s and 1960s, by a group of “black humourists” gathering such characters as Ken Kesey, Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller and Thomas Pynchon (Bucaria 2010, 224). Black humour neglects social order and rules of behaviour, disregards taboos and portrays life from a surrealistic and distasteful perspective. It breaks moral barriers and makes fun of things and topics which are normally considered to be taboo and not verbally spoken about. For further studies of humour and its problematic nature in translation see Chiaro (2010) or Del Corral (1988). In the case of adult animated sitcoms, black humour is also based on a mixture of slapstick and visual gags as well as satirical commentaries or references to culture (Dobson 2009). The black humour used in adult cartoons frequently applies risqué themes and motives. For instance, various philosophical dilemmas, prejudices, social inequalities, incidents, scandals, religion, sexuality, deviant behaviours, diseases, mental disorders, ethnic minorities, politics, etc. (Organ 2015b, 52). To strengthen the image presented by the application or discussion of such topics, the viewer is additionally exposed to two supplementary factors, namely the surrealism of the presented ideas and motives, as well as the vulgar language used by the characters. The observable combination of such elements serves as a way of presentation, which could not normally be presented by actors. It was highlighted by Batchelor and Hammond, that “such sitcoms wanted viewers to forget that they were watching

The Marginalisation of Vulgar Language …

239

a cartoon, but still have the ability to use animated tropes, such as violence and exaggerated satire that live actors could not perform without physical or moral outrage” (2012, 228). The commentary of culture and society is presented in the form of humorous and exaggerated scenes showing various references which are normally recognizable by most adult viewers. Very often, these references lampoon ongoing realities and events which are popularised by the media. Frequently, they are parodied to indicate their negative influence on behaviour, upbringing, education and social relations. From this stance, one of the functions of adult animated sitcoms is to present a humorous, and at the same time moral, commentary and observation of human behaviour and mentality. The humorous nature of such cartoons is strengthened by the employment of various cultural elements and other intentional references to ongoing events and characters. The recognizability of such references plays an important role, and thus it requires the viewer to possess an adequate knowledge of culture (Organ 2015a). The knowledge, awareness and ability to identify the spoofed elements serves as a strategy of forming and developing the audience. The commentary of culture and reality presented in such shows should be recognizable by most adult members of a given society. Therefore, as presented by Pike, adult animated sitcoms […] “interact with diverse audiences, from cocktail waitress to factory workers to artists to university workers” (2012, 21). In this view, adult animations are produced for the average adult viewer, regardless of one’s education and occupation. In the study of The Simpsons, Berciano (1999) stated that such a genre […] “is aimed at an attentive and cultured audience, able to quickly grasp hidden references […]. Its comic impact is based, more than in any other case, on complicity and relies on the viewer’s competence to both understand private jokes and share the references and parodies to the popular classics in a ‘learned’ way” (in Gil 2009: 148). Therefore, the viewer of adult animated sitcoms should be able to recognize and appreciate various humours references and commentaries to culture and have the ability to learn lessons from them. Adult animated sitcoms predominantly focus on families living in small and fictional towns, for instance shows such as South Park or The Simpsons take place in the small towns of South Park and Springfield respectively. One of the most famous adult animated sitcoms is Family Guy, an American production which will be the centre of further study. The show, created by Seth MacFarlane, tells the story of the Griffins, a nuclear family that experience bizarre and humorous adventures in the fictional town of Quahog. The Griffins are seemingly a typical family consisting of two parents, three children and a dog. However, the stories presented in the show prove that such a perception is far from being true. The marriage of Peter and Lois Griffin is not that of a typical suburban family, as both characters are rather

240

MichaĹ&#x201A; Organ

unconventional. For instance Lois is a bi curious sex addict and kleptomaniac, whereas Peter is an unhealthy obese alcoholic, who additionally is not particularly family-orientated and intelligent. Their children also diverge from the rest of their peers. The oldest one Meg, is presented as a rather unattractive high school girl with suicidal tendencies, who is constantly ridiculed and marginalised by the rest of her family and peers. Chris is a close-copy of his father. This schoolboy is obese, not very intelligent, and is a victim of the mental terror and harassment of an evil monkey living in his wardrobe. The youngest one, Stewie is a diabolic prodigy who aims to kill his mother and conquer the world. The last member of the family is Brian, an anthropomorphic and highly educated dog, who is also an unsuccessful writer. The show is particularly famous for the presentation of the absurd and overemphasized references and commentaries on American, or more generally, Western culture. The application of cutaway gags serves as a means by which various celebrities, historical or fictional characters are ridiculed and lampooned. Most of the seemingly unrelated to the main plot cutaways and scenes, are frequently spiced up by the application of vulgar language (Organ 2015a, 82â&#x20AC;&#x201C;84).

Vulgar language on screen As previously mentioned adult animated sitcoms are characterized by the common application of vulgar language, black humour, obscene motives and highlyinappropriate themes and language. The emergence of such genres is one of the outcomes of the cultural revolution, which resulted in the liberation of language and popularisation of more colloquial and vulgar expressions. In fact, most languages have certain words and expressions that are considered to be vulgar or even regarded as taboos. They are also deemed inappropriate to use in many situations and circumstances. Even though cultural conventions regulate their application in social interactions, vulgar words and phrases seem to be omnipresent and frequently applied by most social groups in society. Vulgarisms can be defined as words or phrases which are considered to be unacceptable by the community due to their crudeness, obscenity, impropriety and rather offensive character (PolaĹ&#x201E;ski 1999, 644). Vulgar language and swearing is also closely related to a way in which emotions are expressed, both positively and negatively. The ordinary use of curses can probably be dated back to the origins of language. However, the common application of vulgar language in audio-visual products is a relatively new phenomena, as the introduction of vulgar words, immoral scenes and obscene motives in movies was strictly regulated by law in the past. The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930, also known as Hays Code, was an official set of rules and guidelines for movie makers. It explicitly defined the rules

The Marginalisation of Vulgar Language …

241

of using vulgar language and presenting shocking and obscene scenes and motives in film productions. The most vital part of the Hays Code restricted the use of: “III. Vulgarity The treatment of low, disgusting, unpleasant, though not necessarily evil, subjects should always be subject to the dictates of good taste and a regard for the sensibilities of the audience. IV. Obscenity Obscenity in word, gesture, reference, song, joke, or by suggestion (even when likely to be understood only by part of the audience) is forbidden. V. Profanity Pointed profanity (this includes the words, God, Lord, Jesus, Christ - unless used reverently - Hell, S.O.B., damn, Gawd), or every other profane or vulgar expression however used, is forbidden” (in: Green & Karolides 2005, 362).

This censorship did not comply with the ordinary, everyday use of language, as common words such as damn, hell or fuck were forbidden to be spoken on the screen. It created an insurmountable gulf between the things and language shown on screen, and the actual ordinary use of language. The Hays Code did not survive the test of time, as it was substituted in 1968 by the MPAA film rating system. This change was caused by emancipation and cultural revolution in which language also became an object of liberation. For further study of censorship in audio-visual productions see Couvares (1996). As a consequence, a former prudery in language, culture and motives presented on screen was substituted by alleged realism and authenticity (Belczyk 2007, 108). In the following years, vulgar language became a vital part of almost every adult movie. The big screen was trying to cope with the changes, as the vulgarisation of everyday language, culture and behaviour affected every sphere of life. Increasing and sometimes overwhelming vulgarisation also affected the needs and expectations of audiences. Soon, swearing, curses and vulgar language permanently settled in Hollywood scripts. These examples presented on the big screen affected and shaped the audience. New types of shows tried to find their own niche on the market to meet the demands of the newly-shaped viewers. During the evolution and emergence of new audiences, one such niche was filled by adult animated sitcoms. These were devised for adult viewers, who enjoyed reflecting on seemingly vulgar and unacceptable themes. This same niche convinced the producers to make adult animated sitcoms available for foreign audiences. The emergence of new audiences and the specification of their needs, also in terms of vulgar language and its translations, affects the chosen mode of translation. In Jakobson terms, audio-visual translation, also known as screen translation, combines elements of inter language and inter semiotic translation (2004, 114).

242

Michał Organ

The three modes constitute audio-visual translation: subtitling, dubbing and voice over. However, it is worth bearing in mind that the latter one is very often referred to as a minor one, at least in the West (Matamala 2008, 115). Nevertheless, voice over will be in the centre of attention during this investigation of vulgar language translation. This is due to the common application of this mode in the translation of adult animated sitcoms for the Polish audience, such as in Family Guy, South Park and The Simpsons. Secondly, it may be noticeable in everyday life that slang and vulgarisms in written form become even more offensive and aggressive, despite sometimes being accepted in spoken language, especially in informal situations. Therefore, it is likely that in a film read by a lector, where offensive and vulgar expressions are not written, one should not expect the same extent of euphemising as is present in subtitled films. Voice over is a type of translation where the ST is presented by a person’s voice which comes from the background and is heard simultaneously alongside the original dialogues and sounds. This distinguishes this mode from dubbing, where the original is never heard. Furthermore voice-over should be synchronised with the speaker’s voice (Díaz Cintas 2006, 477–499). Another crucial point is that voice-over is mostly present on television in Poland, Russia and other ex-communist countries where producers cannot afford dubbed versions of translations (Tomaszkiewicz 2000, 248). Additionally, the voice-over method of translation still appears to be the primary way of presenting foreign films to the Polish television audience. It is worth mentioning that one of the reasons why viewers are such eager advocates of voice-over may be due to a reluctance to make the mental effort necessary to read subtitles. Since films tend to be largely recorded for audio and visual entertainment, it is quite possible that an audience is not willing, or expected, to read anything whilst watching a movie. Furthermore, the habits of audiences also play a crucial role. Poles largely enjoy movies accompanied by a lector, because they are accustomed to such versions of movies. In the following analysis, the focus will be centred on the marginalisation of vulgar language in translation, where the voice-over technique is applied.

The translation of vulgar language Tomaszkiewicz (2006, 191–201) presents various translating techniques applied in the translation of vulgarisms. For example, using an equivalent, coining a new neologism, using a less vulgar counterpart, applying different register or simply omitting the vulgar word or phrase in the TT. When the marginalisation of vulgar language in translation is taken into scope, the last three techniques will be placed in the centre of interest.

The Marginalisation of Vulgar Language …

243

Vulgarisms have a gradable nature, as some words or phrases are considered to be more vulgar or offensive than others. The knowledge of all spheres of language, including vulgarisms and their gradation, can open new possibilities for translators (Obiała 2014, 103). The gradable nature of such elements is just another translation tool, by which the translator may manipulate the extent to which the vulgarism is changed into it’s counterpart. Moreover, certain vulgarisms are more socially acceptable, or even treated as a vital part of everyday language. The application of less crude or vulgar words can be determined by the characteristics of the audience as well as production guidelines. For example, choosing a word that will not cause as much of a shock as when a more suitable, but more vulgar equivalent is employed. It can be illustrated by the following scene: INTRODUCTION OF THE JOKE [Peter is exhilarated by his new managerial position. He recalls his last esteemed job.] (ST) PETER: You shoulda seen the way they treated me. I’ve never gotten that respect before. (TT) PETER: Żebyście ich widzieli, tyle szacunku to nowość. THE JOKE: [The scene presents Peter as a swimming instructor] (ST) PETER: Great work-out, Bobby. (TT) PETER: Świetnie Bobby. (ST) BOBBY: Up yours, sack-breath! (TT) BOBBY: Wal się spaślaku! (ST) PETER: That’s Mr Griffin. (TT) PETER: Dla ciebie Pan Griffin.

This scene is a cutaway in which Peter’s new job is humorously confronted with his previous one. In the past Peter used to work as a swimming instructor, an occupation which is rather low-paid and not very serious. However, Peter considers it as one of the paramount achievements of his career. His false perception is even more ridiculed by the behaviour of his pupil – Bobby. Peter tries to support him, but the boy’s vulgar reaction stands in opposition to his expected behaviour. Therefore, the humour presented in the scene is partially based on the expectations and contradictory development. Secondly, the humours nature of the scene is created by the language used by Peter and Bobby. Here, a significant difference between formal and informal passages used can be noticed. A pleasant and supportive comment from Peter Griffin stands in opposition to the vulgar and impolite reaction of Bobby. Consequently, the humour is based on the abomination of style and kindness as well as on the difference between what is expected and what is presented to the audience. Nevertheless, the humorous nature of the scene is alleviated in the translation due to the marginalisation of vulgar language. The very first part

244

Michał Organ

of Bobby’s reply is rendered by the application of a counterpart on a similar level of vulgarity, namely “up yours” and “wal się”. However, the second part of the line is distorted in translation. In the original version the vulgarism used by Bobby, namely “sack-breath” can be defined as: (1) A case of extreme halitosis where the person(s) breath resembles the scent of genitals. (2) The scent left on a person(s) breath after performing oral sex.

The original vulgarism in the TT is replaced by a far less vulgar insult. Here, “sack-breath” is rendered as “spaślak”, which can be defined as an obese man. The TT insult is compatible with Peter’s figure but its level of vulgarity is not matched to the original. The more vulgar and sophisticated insult spoken by the little boy may be seen as a source of amusement and as an illustration of humour for the audience. Consequently, the alleviation of vulgar language used by the boy in the Polish translation may negatively affect the reception of humour. When translating vulgar words and expressions, the translator may change the language register to propose a target language counterpart belonging to a different register (Tomaszkiewicz 2006, 195–199). The application of the technique will be determined by multiple factors and circumstances, for instance the intended audience. The characteristics of the audience may include elements such as affiliation to social groups, the average level of education or the ability to recognize various linguistic and cultural references. Register and its potential change is also related to the issue of familiarisation and acceptability, illustrated by the difference between the manner used to address a person familiar to the audience, and that used for a stranger. (Obiała 2014, 103). The alternation may be also caused by cultural issues connected to acceptable and non-acceptable linguistic and cultural elements, for example various phrases which should not be uttered by a given member of a given social group. Therefore, the sphere of life can influence the adjustment of language and expression of thoughts. Consequently, the translator may resort to the application of a different register to marginalise or mitigate the vulgar elements presented in the ST. This can be illustrated by the following scene: INTRODUCTION OF THE JOKE [Stewie comments on Lois’ proposition of swimming lessons.] (ST) STEWIE: Well, I guess it couldn’t be worse than that summer I spent in India. (TT) STEWIE: Gorzej niż w Indiach nie będzie. THE JOKE [The scene from the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In the scene Indiana Jones, Willie and Stewie playing as Short Round falls into a trap.] (ST) INDIANA JONES: Whatever you do, Short Round, don’t touch anything. (TT) INDIANA JONES: Niczego nie dotykaj

The Marginalisation of Vulgar Language …

245

(ST) SHORT ROUND: Okay, Dr. Jones, I no touch anything. (TT) SHORT ROUND: Dobrze Panie Jones. [Stewie walks back and accidentally pushes a big button in the wall which starts the trap.] (ST) WILLIE: Indy! (TT) WILLIE: (not translated) (ST) SHORT ROUND: Lady only here ‘cause she humping director. (TT) SHORT ROUND: Pani grać w filmie bo spać z reżyserem.

Movies about the adventures of Indiana Jones and the motives related to them are commonly parodied by adult animated sitcoms such as Family Guy or South Park. In this cutaway, the humour is based on seemingly related dangerous motives, namely Stewie’s fear of the water during the swimming lessons and the reminiscence of a deadly trap, which stopped Indiana Jones. The action moves to the scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Stewie is presented as Short Round, an eleven-year old taxicab driver who is accompanying Indiana Jones on his journeys. The black humour of the scene is based on the overemphasized and stereotypical representation of Asian people. Stewie’s perfect English accent is replaced by Short Round’s manner of speaking. Basing the humour on stereotypes, he is using an exaggerated Asian accent and incorrect grammar. However, this intended humorous spoof of Asian-English is not wholly transferred into the Polish version of the scene. In the ST, both of Short Round’s lines are intentionally grammatically incorrect to strengthen the exaggerated and humorous stereotypical prejudices of Asian people. Conversely, in the Polish version only the last of Stewie’s lines is erroneous, namely: “Pani grać w filmie bo spać z reżyserem.” However, this limitation has not directly affected the level of humour only further marginalised the vulgarity. In the original version, Stewie concludes the scene by stating that Willie is only present in the movie because she had sex with the director. Originally, he uses the verb “to hump”, which is a vulgar way of referring to the act or an instance of having sexual intercourse. The verb is rendered in Polish as “spać”, which is a literal equivalent of the English verb “to sleep”. The level of vulgarity is devalued, as a vulgar English word is replaced by a neutral Polish counterpart. The observable marginalisation does not only influence the level of vulgarity, but also the humour presented in the scene. As mentioned, the humour is also based on the stereotypical use of incorrect English, which is additionally strengthened by the intentional selection of specific vulgar vocabulary. Moreover, the ST humour is intensified by the very character of Stewie playing a young Asian boy, who theoretically should not be familiar with such colloquial and vulgar language. In the Polish translation the application of more socially acceptable and non-vulgar vocabulary largely influences the humorous nature of the scene, as well as the very reception of the presented humour. Due to these points, we can say that the marginalisation of vulgar language in the given

246

Michał Organ

example has negatively affected the level of black humour in the Polish version of the scene. A similar phenomenon can be observed in the following scene of Family Guy: INTRODUCTION OF THE JOKE [Peter is offered to prepare a new TV program entitled You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?, in which he presents his reflections on irritating issues.] THE JOKE [Quahog 5 News, Peter is going to present the newest episode of his show. Before the start, Tom Tucker tries to overawe Peter.] (ST) DIANE: And now it’s time for You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? with Peter Griffin. (TT) DIANE: A teraz Co mi zgrzyta? i Peter Griffin. (ST) PETER: Thanks, Diane. You know what really grinds my gears? (TT) PETER: Dzięki. Wiecie co mi zgrzyta? [Tom Tucker is trying to interrupt Peter] (ST) TOM TUCKER: Hey! Hey! (TT) TOM TUCKER: Hej! (ST) PETER: Those X-ray specs you used to buy out of the comics. (TT) PETER: Promienie rentgena z komiksów. (ST) TOM TUCKER: Hey! Screw up! (TT) TOM TUCKER: Skuś baba. […]

In this scene Peter is running his new episode of the TV show entitled You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? The whole show took TV by storm and stole Tom Tucker’s audience. Tom Tucker, a famous narcissistic and moustachioed anchorman for Quahog 5 News, experiences a fall in popularity. At first, outraged and envious of Peter’s success, Tom tries to disturb the show. Peter’s concentration and professionalism makes Tom furious, and eventually leads to his direct verbal and vulgar interference in the show. In the ST, Tom Tucker uses a rather colloquial and vulgar expression: “screw up”. It can be understood as a vulgar counterpart of such expressions as “to make a mistake” or “to blunder”. The choice of this vulgar expression by Tom Tucker is intended to exhibit his narcissistic character, superficial envy and mediocre professionalism. The Polish version of this line does not employ any vulgar equivalent. Instead of using an equally vulgar word or expression, the translator decides to render it by the application of a rather informal and ‘childish’ counterpart, namely “skuś baba”. This is a part of a larger formula “skuś baba dziada”, which is a children’s game. The whole formula is used by children to distract their opponent during the game and consequently lead them to make a mistake. The whole expression does not include vulgar elements, but its application contributes

The Marginalisation of Vulgar Language …

247

to the humorous reception of the scene. However, the original black humour is replaced by a more natural and emotionless counterpart. Interestingly, the Polish formula is not a well-known and easily recognizable expression and some viewers may experience certain difficulties with its comprehension. The analysed scene serves as an example of the marginalisation of vulgar language and black humour. Even though the TT line of Tom Tucker can be considered humorous and more sophisticated, the nature of the employed humour is different. The original black humour and violent language is marginalised, and the TT version is restricted to more natural and acceptable language and humour. Finally, the last technique applied to marginalise vulgar language in translation can be named as omission (Tomaszkiewicz 2006, 199–200). Omissions may be employed by the translator in the case of excessive accumulation of text in one scene. The condensation of the text makes the translator exclude some original words, expressions or utterances. As well as the condensation of lines, time restraints may also persuade the translator to combine or fuse some sequences into one line. Usually, the application of omission concerns parts of texts denoting various emotions, for instance anger, disbelief or satisfaction (Obiała 2014, 104). The employment of this technique can introduce some negative changes to the ST, as the procedure may restrict the reception of the translation, for instance it can deprive the audience of the proper reception of emotions. Such cuts can be easily noticeable in the case of words and expressions representing anger, which will be demonstrated in the following analysis of two scenes from Family Guy. The translator may also resort to this technique, when certain expressions do not contribute to the reception of the scene or when they do not convey any crucial element of information (Garcarz 2007, 155–162). The omission may concern various repeated lines or expressions, so the viewer’s reception will not suffer. In most cases, omissions will encompass supplementary information determining the emotional state of the character playing in a given scene. However, one should be very careful. Some repetitions are intentional, and their application is intended to influence the overall reception of the scene. For example, we can see that the omission of vulgar elements can negatively affect the reception of humour in the TT: INTRODUCTION OF THE JOKE [Lois is trying to persuade her son to get into the water.] THE JOKE [Quahog Community Swimming Pool, Lois is holding Stewie in her arms. Stewie is wearing armbands and a nose clip.] (ST) LOIS: Come on Stewie, don’t be afraid. It’s just water, it’s not gonna bite. (TT) LOIS: Nie bój się, to woda, nie ugryzie cię.

248

Michał Organ

(ST) STEWIE: Shut up! I know it’s not going to bite, stupid! What a stupid thing to say. You drown in it you moron! It doesn’t have to bite you! (TT) STEWIE: Wiem, że mnie nie ugryzie, ale mogę utonąć bez gryzienia.

This scene is an example of the humorous application of vulgar language by the youngest hero of Family Guy. Since he was born, Stewie has wanted to kill Lois, his mother. This little child is a diabolic arch-villain and genius, who is far ahead of his time. The great mind and a deadly intellect is a master of science and technology, he is capable of constructing various futuristic devices, for instance a time-machine or weather-controlling apparatus. Although he speaks with a perfect English accent to the viewers, almost none of his family are able to understand him, including his own mother. By most members of the family, Stewie is treated like a normal and innocent child. However, this one-year-old prodigy has a mixture of childish behaviour and adult intellect, that is combined with a highly eloquent way of speaking. Stewie frequently applies various curses and vulgar words and phrases to demonstrate his views, indignation, anger, disapproval, disgust and other comments on reality and people. In the presented scene, Lois is gently trying to persuade him to get into a relatively shallow part of the pool. Her pleasant and encouraging suggestion is confronted with a vulgar response. In the ST, Stewie uses such vulgarisms as “shut up”, “stupid” and “moron”. However, none of them are rendered, and consequently all vulgarisms are not present in the TT. Their absence significantly changes the reception of the scene, as vulgarisms are important elements of the scene’s humorous nature, they especially contribute to the black humour presented by Stewie. Here, the black humour is based on Stewie’s ability to speak in such a vulgar way and his attitude towards his mother, and that is reflected by his choice of words. None of these elements are present in the TT, as Stewie’s lines do not reflect his original evil character and his violation of the basic principles of morality. Stewies response in the TT only represents his intellectual abilities, but not his overall character and humorous perception of life and attitude towards his family. In this example, the marginalisation of vulgar language has negatively affected the level of black humour, which is present in the original version. The suppression of vulgar language in this scene could have been set by the censorship rules or morals of the translator. The Polish version does not include any vulgar references to Lois, the mother, because in Poland directing such expressions towards ones mother is considered to be highly socially unacceptable. Therefore, cultural and moral differences, as well as certain guidelines for translators dealing with such shocking lines, can also be the reason for the marginalisation of vulgarisms.

The Marginalisation of Vulgar Language …

249

The omission of vulgar language can be also noticed in the following scene: INTRODUCTION OF THE JOKE [Peter bought a handicapped horse and wants to enter him in a race.] THE JOKE [The action moves to a Quahog Derby. A superannuated and barely-walking paedophile, John Herbert is using his walker to move along the stable, seeking his new under-age victim.] (ST) Herbert: Hey there, little fella. (TT) Herbert: Cześć chłopaczku. (ST) Jockey: I’m 48. (TT) Jockey: Mam 48 lat. (ST) Herbert: This whole place is a giant mindfuck. (TT) Herbert: Co za oszustwo.

This cutaway is another example of the total elimination of vulgarisms in the TT. In the scene John Herbert is taking a stroll along the stables. The character is a humorous representation of an elderly war hero and paedophile, who uses a zimmer-frame walker to slowly get around. Herbert’s voice is very soft and rather effeminate, and he frequently makes highly inappropriate, abusive, vulgar and sexually-tinged comments towards teenage boys. The viewer of Family Guy is well-accustomed to Herbert’s vulgar and sexual commentaries and offers. Here, John Herbert is casting covetous eyes on a jockey. The show is making fun of the slight build of jockeys and Herbert’s lustful interest in their physique. He thinks that the jockey is a young boy, who could be the object of his sexual desire. Herbert is trying to flirt with the jockey, but when his real age is revealed, the paedophile loses interest. In the ST, John Herbert uses a vulgarism, namely a “mindfuck”, to highlight his indignation and disappointment. The black humour is based on the very character as well as on his manner of speaking. Herbert is and elder person who employs a relatively new concept of “mindfuck”. The vulgar term is nowadays frequently associated with Internet memes, in which various ideas or concepts shake, disturb, destabilize, confuse or manipulate previously held beliefs and suppositions about the nature of reality. In the form of memes, the word usually refers to various pictures, in which certain out of the ordinary, vulgar and non-politically correct objects or motives are presented. In the scene, the word “mindfuck” refers to the shock experienced by Herbert, who mistakenly believes the jockey to be a teenage boy. The Polish translation does not include a vulgar counterpart of the source element. In the TT, “mindfuck” is replaced by “oszustwo”, meaning a “fraud” or “deception”. The humorous and vulgar indignation of Herbert is rendered by a very neutral and none-vulgar word, and as such the vulgarity of his response is lost in translation. The marginalisation of vulgarity negatively affects the humorous nature of this

250

Michał Organ

scene, as the Polish audience is not able to fully experience Herbert’s disappointment and vulgar outrage. The Polish viewer may only understand that the character feels tricked. Therefore, the TT audience is not able to appreciate the humours anger of a barely-walking paedophile, who is not be able to flirt with a teenage boy.

Conclusions To sum up, vulgarisms as inherent elements of language are becoming more and more popular in audio-visual productions. However, their translation is frequently associated with their marginalisation, which in turn may significantly devalue their humorous nature. The translation practice shows that their rendition is commonly restricted by omissions, reductions and changes to less vulgar counterparts. In fact, most vulgarisms are euphemised in the translation, even in voice-over versions of shows which are specifically produced for an adult audience. Nevertheless, as presented, the marginalisation of vulgar language can negatively affect the humorous nature of adult animated sitcoms and also reduce certain linguistic and cultural elements stored in the dialogue lines. Consequently, the viewers of such translated versions of these sitcoms are in an inferior position when compared to the viewers of the original versions of the shows. The change in the level of the vulgarity of language can also influence the chosen target audience, causing the whole translation to be aimed at a different age group than originally intended. Furthermore, the lectors reading the lines can be reluctant to use vulgarisms on air, so voice-over versions of films and series’ are adhered to meet their demands instead. Last but not least, translators may be influenced by various censorship guidelines and other top-down restrictions given by the Polish producers of the show. The issue of censorship, and its influence on the change of text or script for the planned target audience may become an object of further study.

References Batchelor, Bob, and Jodee Hammond. 2012. “How Family Guy Changed Television Forever.” In Cult Pop Culture: How the Fringe Became Mainstream, edited by Bob Batchelor, 227–240. Santa Barbara: ABCCLIO, LLC. Belczyk, Arkadiusz. 2007. Tłumaczenie filmów. Wilkowice: Wydawnictwo dla Szkoły. Bucaria, Chiara. 2010. “Laughing to Death: Dubbed and Subtitled Humour in Six Feet Under.” In Translation, Humour and the Media, edited by Delia Chiaro, 222–237. London: Continuum International Publishing Group.

The Marginalisation of Vulgar Language …

251

Chiaro, Delia. 2010. “Translation and Humour. Humour and Translation.” In Translation, Humour and Literature: Translation and Humour, edited by Delia Chiaro, 1–32. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. Couvares, Francis G. 1996. Movie Censorship and American Culture. Amherst and Boston: University of Massachusetts Press. Del Corral, Irene. 1988. “Humor: When do We Lose it?” In Translation Review 27, edited by Rainer Shulte and Dennis Kratz, 25–27. Dallas: University of Texas. Díaz Cintas, Jorge, and Pilar Orero. 2006. “Screen Translation, Voice-Over.” In Encyclopaedia of Language and Linguistics, Volume XIII, edited by Keith Brown, 477–479. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Dobson, Nichola. 2009. Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons. Plymouth: Scarecrow Press, Ltd. Garcarz, Michał. 2007. Przekład slangu w filmie. Telewizyjne przekłady filmów amerykańskich na język polski. Kraków: Tertium. Gil, Marta Muños. 2009. “Dubbing The Simpsons in Spain: A Case Study.” In New Trends in Audiovisual Translation, edited by Jorge Díaz Cintas, 142–157. Toronto: Multilingual Matters. Green, Jonathon, and Nicholas J. Karolides. 2005. Encyclopedia of Censorship. New York: Facts on File. Jakobson, Roman. 2004. “On Linguistic Aspects of Translation.” In The Translation Studies Reader, edited by Lawrence Venuti Lawrence, 113–118. New York and London: Routledge. Matamala, Anna. 2008 “Teaching Voice-over. A Practical Approach.” In The Didactics of Audiovisual Translation, edited by Jorge Díaz Cintas, 115–127. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Mittel, Jason. 2004. Genre and Television: From Cop Shows to Cartoons in American Culture. New York: Routledge. Obiała, Tomasz. 2014. “Translating Taboo Words in the Film: Are Vulgarisms Ever Excluded? A Case Study of “Fuck” Based on Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.” In Unity in Diversity Vol. 2. Cultural and Linguistic Markers of the Concept, edited by Sabine Asmus and Barbara Braid, 95–116. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholar Publishing. Organ, Michał. 2015a. “The Translation of Humour in Adult Animated Sitcoms.” In Indirectness in Language, edited by Dorota Osuchowska and Lucyna WilleFalkiewicz, 80–95. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego. Organ, Michał. 2015b. “Dubbing versus Voice over: Culture-bound Jokes & References in English-Italian-Polish Translation of Humour in Adult Animated Sitcoms.” In Studia Anglica Resoviensia 12, edited by Grzegorz Andrzej Kleparski,

252

Michał Organ

Marta Dick-Bursztyn, and Karolina Puchała-Ladzińska, 50–60. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego. Pike, Deidre M. 2012. Enviro-Toons: Green Themes in Animated Cinema and Television. Jefferson: McFarland. Polański Kazimierz. 1999. Encyklopedia Językoznawstwa Ogólnego. Wrocław: Ossolineum. Tomaszkiewicz, Teresa. 2000. „Tłumaczenie Filmowe.“ In Mała Encyklopedia Przekładoznawstwa, edited by Urszula Dąmbska-Prokop, 247–252. Częstochowa: Wydawnictwo Wyższej Szkoły Języków Obcych i Ekonomii. Tomaszkiewicz, Teresa. 2006. Przekład audiowizualny. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.

Materials used Episodes of Family Guy.

Karolina Puchała-Ladzińska

When Languages Interfere Too Much: On Interference and Negative Transfer in Translation Abstract: Interference is an inevitable phenomenon when people learn a foreign language or when they use two or more languages on a daily basis, since they tend to transfer certain linguistic forms from one language to another. Interestingly enough, the direction of this transfer is not only from their native language to a foreign one, but also the other way round, the latter case being called “backlash interference.” The purpose of this article is to present and analyze the instances of backlash interference in translated texts produced by trainee translators with a view to establishing its possible causes and suggesting certain preventative measures to be applied throughout the translation course. Keywords: interference, backlash interference, negative transfer, translation

Interference and transfer Although these two terms are frequently treated as synonyms (for instance, English Wikipedia suggests they are used interchangeably: “Language transfer (also known as L1 interference (…)”1), there is an important difference between the two that must not be neglected. The term “interference” (Polish: “interferencja”) is defined by Tomaszkiewicz (2006, 44) as: “Translation error resulting from lack of knowledge or inadequate translation technique, and consisting in using in the target text a linguistic form that is typical of the source language.”2 To express this definition in a simpler way, one may say that interference is an act of “transferring patterns and elements of one linguistic system into another”3 (Łuczyński, Maćkiewicz 2002, 111). As these authors aptly notice, interference is common when people learn a foreign language as they have this natural tendency to transfer certain linguistic forms from one language to another. However, the direction of

1 Retrieved February 15, 2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_transfer. 2 „Błąd tłumaczeniowy wynikający z niewiedzy lub ze złej techniki przekładowej, polegający na zastosowaniu w tekście docelowym formy językowej charakterystycznej dla języka wyjściowego“. 3 [„Interferencja, inaczej mówiąc, polega na] przenoszeniu wzorów i elementów jakiegoś systemu językowego do systemu innego“.

254

Karolina Puchała-Ladzińska

this transfer is not only from their native language to a foreign one, but also the other way round, and this latter case is referred to as “backlash interference.”4 The instances of backlash interference will be analyzed later in the article. When linguistic interference results in correct language production, it is called positive transfer. However, when interference leads to erroneous forms in the target language, this is referred to as negative transfer. Hence, interference is a higher-up term with reference to “transfer” (although, of course, when defining the term “interference,” it is almost impossible not to use the notion of “transfer” or “transferring,” as was done in the previous paragraph). However, it needs to be emphasized that although certain scholars associate interference only with negative transfer, this does not always have to be the case. There might be instances in which interference results in correct forms, for example internationalisms. This positive aspect of interference is frequently neglected in literature, perhaps due to the fact that scholars usually focus on negative transfer as a source of errors in language production and translation. This focus is by all means justified as it is negative rather than positive transfer that causes considerable problems for both language learners and translators and hence is worth studying in detail. For the same reason, the present research concerns negative transfer only. However, when talking about interference in general, one must not forget about its potential positive aspect, which may sometimes provide assistance to language learners and translators alike. For the purposes of the present analysis, the term “interference” will be used to refer to the influence of one language on another, which may, but not necessarily has to, be something undesirable. On the other hand, the term “transfer” will be used with reference to a certain effect of interference – either a positive (resulting in correct structures), or a negative one (leading to errors).

Levels of interference It seems that interference is something inevitable, whether a person is a language learner, a bilingual speaker or a translator. As Łuczyński and Maćkiewicz (2002, 111) point out: “(…) it is impossible to keep both languages in total isolation. They must interfere with one another and this interference concerns all levels of linguistic system: from phonological to syntactic.”5 Hence, interference can be identified at the following levels: 4 Jakobovits (1969). 5 „(…) nie jest możliwe, aby udało się utrzymać oba języki w zupełnej izolacji, w zupełnej czystości. Musi dojść do interferencji, interferencji na wszystkich płaszczyznach systemu: od fonologicznej po składniową“.

When Languages Interfere too Much …

255

–– l exical – at the level of lexical units, single words, for instance false friends, spelling (the use of small and capital letters); –– syntactic – at the level of syntax, for instance calqueing the source language word order; –– phraseological – at the level of idiomatic expressions, fixed phrases, collocations; –– punctuation – for instance, in the use of quotation marks, commas, dashes, the way of writing dialogues, numbers, addresses, etc. Instances of backlash interference and the resultant negative transfer at the above levels will be analyzed in the following sections of the article.

The procedure of data collection In order to collect data for analysis, 30 Polish students of the second year of English Philology, translation specialization, were asked to translate a short text on a tourism-related topic, from English into Polish: Why Hula When You Can Bula? When Americans think about tropical paradise, their minds turn to Hawaii. But those in search of sun and island escapes — not crowds and high-end department stores — might want to think about visiting other areas of the South Pacific. For a more affordable, more authentic experience, just say “Bula” — the official greeting of Fiji. The Republic of the Fiji Islands is a nation in the South Pacific known for its rich natural resources, scenery and friendly people. Those looking for white-sand beaches and bright blue waters will not be disappointed. The islands are surrounded by soft coral reefs, which provide a breathtaking underwater spectacle. Visitors can enjoy many one-of-a-kind adventures in a nation less expensive than many in the South Pacific. Visitors to Hawaii are often surprised by the amount of development that has taken place on the islands. In Fiji, however, it is still possible to get back to nature. For example, Koro Sun Resort & Rainforest Spa, an all-inclusive getaway on the island of Vanua Levu, situates its guests within 150 acres of tropical paradise. Surrounded by a coconut plantation, lavish rainforests and a private lagoon, the resort offers its guests a more authentic native experience than can be found at any staged luau. hula – a dance developed in the Hawaiian islands luau – a traditional Hawaiian party or feast that is usually accompanied by entertainment 150 acres – 606900 m2

The students were given about an hour to complete the task. The text contained three footnotes with explanations of certain terms used in the text and converted measurement units. The students were instructed not to translate them but use

256

Karolina Puchała-Ladzińska

this information for their benefit when translating the text. Also, the students were allowed to use all the available translation aids: they had various types of dictionaries, smartphones and laptops with Internet access. Besides, a week in advance they were informed about the direction of translation (from English into Polish), the general topic of the text to be translated and were encouraged to make glossaries of tourism-related terms that they would later bring to the classroom and use during translation. All this was done with a view to creating favourable conditions resembling those of a professional translator who is not normally left to their own devices, but uses various sources of information when performing their job. Given the fact that the text was not very difficult (no specialist vocabulary or complex structures), the students had all sorts of translation aids at their disposal, no time pressure, and were translating into their native language, which all constituted very comfortable conditions (that professional translators only rarely enjoy all at the same time), one might have assumed that the task would not prove difficult for them and that they would produce highly successful translations. It turned out later that some of them were successful indeed. However, the majority of students made a lot of translation errors, most of which were examples of negative transfer caused by backlash interference.

The analysis The results of students’ translations demonstrate that virtually every single sentence of the source text posed a risk of producing an incorrect translation due to interference and negative transfer. Selected examples are presented below. Sentence 3 For a more affordable, more authentic experience, just say “Bula” – the official greeting of Fiji. * Dla bardziej autentycznego/prawdziwego i w przystępnej cenie doświadczenia * Dla tańszych i bardziej autentycznych doznań * Dla bardziej osiągalnego i prawdziwego przeżycia Suggested translation: Aby wybrać opcję niedrogą, a gwarantującą niezwykłe przeżycia Aby przeżyć niezapomnianą przygodę w przystępnej cenie

It needs to be emphasized that the original version is far from perfect as it uses the collocation “more authentic” – it can be argued that something is either authentic or not, it cannot be more or less authentic. Also it seems strange to say “authentic experience” as if some experiences were not authentic or false. But one might claim that it is the translator’s job to identify and discreetly correct such awkward expressions in translation. However, the majority of students failed to do this, but

When Languages Interfere too Much …

257

instead chose the common Polish dictionary equivalents of the source text words, which, unfortunately, did not result in effective translation. The examples quoted above illustrate a negative transfer resulting from phraseological interference (the students created non-existent Polish collocations). There is also a syntactic error due to syntactic interference: „w przystępnej cenie doświadczenia“, which should be: „doświadczenia w przystępnej cenie“. Sentence 6 The islands are surrounded by soft coral reefs, which provide a breathtaking underwater spectacle. * Wyspy otoczone są przez delikatne rafy koralowe, które dostarczają zapierające tchu w piersiach podwodne widowisko. Suggested translation: Wyspy otaczają miękkie rafy koralowe, które tworzą zapierający dech w piersiach podwodny krajobraz.

Here, the student was clearly subject to both syntactic and phraseological interference. In the first part of the sentence he/she preserved the original passive voice instead of turning it into active which is more common in Polish. In the second part he/she chose „dostarczać“ as the equivalent of “provide,” which, unfortunately, does not collocate with „widowisko“. At the same time he/she made a phraseological error: „zapierające tchu w piersiach“ should be changed into „zapierające dech w piersiach“. Sentence 10 Koro Sun Resort & Rainforest Spa, an all-inclusive getaway on the island of Vanua Levu *Koro Sun Resort & Rainforest Spa, w pełni opłacona/all-inclusive ucieczka na wyspę Vanua Levu *Koro Sun Resort & Rainforest Spa, zawierający wszystko wejście na wyspę Vanua Levu *Koro Sun Resort & Rainforest Spa, pełnowystarczalne miejsce na wyspie Vanua Levu *Koro Sun Resort & Rainforest Spa, brama wejściowa na wyspę Vanua Levu (gateway – brama) Suggested translation: Koro Sun Resort & Rainforest Spa – oferujacy opcję all-inclusive/ luksusowy/ ekskluzywny/ spełniający oczekiwania nawet najbardziej wymagających gości ośrodek wypoczynkowy na wyspie Vanua Levu

It appears that the vast majority of students did not understand the underlined expression in the original, nor could they infer its meaning from the context. Most of them simply took the very first dictionary equivalent of the word “get away” and introduced it into their translations without thinking whether or not it makes sense. Some students even misread the word “getaway” and confused it with

258

Karolina Puchała-Ladzińska

“gateway,” whose spelling is strikingly similar but the meaning is totally different (gate, entrance), and hence the incorrect translation in the last example quoted. The students also had problems with the word “all-inclusive.” This is the word they are definitely familiar with because it is often used in Polish with reference to holiday offers. However, because this particular word is commonly used in its original English form, the students did not know how to translate it. Most of them came up with some clumsy equivalents not knowing that this word would be best left untranslated or translated by means of a synonym or a description. The second part of this sentence reads: situates its guests within 150 acres of tropical paradise [150 acres – 606900 m2] *sytuuje swoich gości w 600000 m2 tropikalnego raju *usytuawia swoich gości z 150 akrami tropikalnego raju *rezyduje swoich gości na 150-akrowym tropikalnym raju *umieszcza swoich gości w odległości 606900 m2 od tropikalnego raju *sytuuje swoich gości na 150 arach tropikalnego raju *gości swoich gości na 150 akrach tropikalnego raju Suggested translation: oferuje gościom ponad 600 tys. m2 tropikalnego raju/ goście mają do dyspozycji ponad 600 tys. m2 tropikalnego raju

Here the students proved to be particularly “creative” when trying to come up with the equivalent of the phrase “situates its guests.” All these instances are examples of negative transfer due to phraseological interference – the students created collocations which do not exist in Polish. The fourth example quoted proves that the student misinterpreted the original text (because the guests are in fact in a tropical paradise, and not 606900 m2 away from it). Another problematic issue in this sentence was related to the number. I deliberately provided the students with the information that 150 acres roughly correspond to 606900 m2. I was hoping that they would select the number with square meters (as a unit commonly used in the Polish system) and that they would approximate the number itself. However, very few students did so. Most of them simply preserved the original number together with the original acres. One student even misread the original unit and took it for granted that it must be the same as Polish „ar“, which is a serious translation mistake: technically, 1 acre is about 4046 m2, whereas 1 ar is 100 m2, so the difference is considerable. Sentence 11 (…) the resort offers its guests a more authentic native experience than can be found at any staged luau.

When Languages Interfere too Much …

259

[luau – a traditional Hawaiian party of feast that is usually accompanied by entertainment] * resort oferuje najbardziej naturalne doświadczenie, nawet bardziej autentyczne od zainscenizowanych Hawajskich festiwali. * ośrodek zapewni swoim wizytatorom większą rodzimość i autentyczność doświadczeń, niż ta, którą oferują sąsiednie odpowiedniki. * ośrodek oferuje przyjezdnym prawdziwie rdzenne doświadczenia, o wiele bardziej autentyczne niż na jakimkolwiek udawanym luau. * kurort oferuje swoim gościom bardziej autentyczne i tutejsze przeżycie, niż na jakiejkolwiek innej hawajskiej uroczystości. * kurort oferuje bardziej autentyczne doświadczenia tubylcze niż mogą być odnalezione nawet na uczcie z hawajskimi potrawami. Suggested translation: ośrodek zapewnia gościom o wiele lepszy kontakt z lokalną kulturą niż jakakolwiek hawajska uczta luau.

The largest number of errors due to interference can be found in the first translation mentioned. There is phraseological interference due to strange-sounding collocations: „naturalne/ autentyczne doświadczenie“, but there is also an error caused by lexical interference: the English “resort” and the Polish “resort” are false friends (although the Polish word “resort”, which is a calque from English, is gradually becoming accepted as a synonym for „kurort/ ośrodek wypoczynkowy“). There is yet another error due to lexical interference: the student used the information about “luau” included in the footnote of the original text, but automatically copied the English spelling, forgetting that nationality adjectives are in Polish spelled with a small latter, not a capital one like in English. In the second translation quoted the word „wizytator“ seems to have been chosen by the student as an equivalent of the English “visitor” (a synonym to “guest”) but these two words are in fact false friends. The Polish „wizytator“ is used to refer to a state official who inspects various institutions, for instance schools (Szpila 2003, 274). This is also a result of lexical interference. These and all the remaining translations are instances of negative transfer due to phraseological interference which resulted in various unnatural collocations.

Conclusions The examples quoted not only show interference of the source language but also the students’ insufficient knowledge of the structures, idiomatic expressions and collocations typical of their native language. Therefore, there are certain conclusions to be drawn from the analysis and certain implications for the teachers of translation.

260

Karolina Puchała-Ladzińska

1. The students need to be taught to effectively use dictionaries and online resources, being at the same time aware of the fact that all these sources must not be fully trusted nor treated as final authorities. Also, the role of using Polish dictionaries during translation has to be stressed, and this not only concerns spelling dictionaries but also dictionaries of synonyms and antonyms, idioms, punctuation, etc. 2. The students would benefit from exercises with the use of parallel texts which can show how to correctly formulate a text in a given language as well as are an excellent source of terminology, collocations and other expressions typical of a certain subject or field of study. Such texts provide great assistance before starting the translation. 3. The translation teachers should conduct classes on “false friends,” as a lot of students are not aware of them. 4. The analysis showed that the students should also develop their skills and knowledge of their native language, so they need a comprehensive course on Polish stylistics. It might be conducted alongside the course of English stylistics or in the form of a single course of comparative Polish-English stylistics. It seems that by implementing at least some of these suggestions, a lot of errors resulting from negative transfer due to backlash interference might be prevented, which will in turn lead to enhanced translation training as well as improved competence of trainee translators.

References Dzierżanowska, Halina. 1990. Przekład tekstów nieliterackich na przykładzie języka angielskiego. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. Hejwowski, Krzysztof. 2004. Translation: a Cognitive-Communicative Approach. Olecko: Wydawnictwo Wszechnicy Mazurskiej. Komorowska, Hanna. 1975. Nauczanie gramatyki języka obcego a interferencja. Warszawa: WSiP. Kozłowska, Zofia 2001. „O błędach językowych w tekstach polskich przekładów“. In Język rodzimy język obcy: komunikacja, przekład, dydaktyka, edited by Andrzej Kopczyński, and Urszula Zaliwska-Okrutna, 137–149. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa UW. Łuczyński, Edward, and Jolanta Maćkiewicz. 2002. Językoznawstwo ogólne. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego.

When Languages Interfere too Much …

261

Piecychna, Beata. 2013. „<<Pyszne>> tłumaczenie, czyli jak uczyć przekładu przepisów kulinarnych z języka angielskiego na język polski“. Rocznik Przekładoznawczy 8 Studia nad teorią, praktyką i dydaktyką przekładu 195–210. Szczęsny, Anna. 2007/2008. „Czy można się uczyć na (cudzych) błędach? Z problematyki nauczania tłumaczenia pisemnego“. Rocznik Przekładoznawczy 3/4 Studia nad teorią, praktyką i dydaktyką przekładu 297–314. Szpila, Grzegorz. 2003. An English-Polish Dictionary of False Friends. Kraków: Wydawnictwo EGIS. Szulc, Aleksander. 1984. Podręczny słownik językoznawstwa stosowanego. Dydaktyka języków obcych. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo PWN. Tomaszkiewicz, Teresa. 2006. Terminologia tłumaczenia, edited by Jean Delisle, Hannelore Lee-Jahnke, and Monique C. Cormier, Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM.

Barbara Struk, Halina Chodkiewicz

Development of Early Literacy Skills in EFL: Problems and Solutions Abstract: Learning to read in a foreign language cannot be expected to simply occur as a by-product of the target language global development. It has to be recognized as a complex process that depends on many factors, one that requires intentional, strategic, and researchbased classroom instruction. This care and consideration is particularly due when (1) the learner is at the initial stages of learning to read and (2) when the target language represents an opaque orthography, that is when the connections between graphemes and phonemes are frequently irregular. This paper attempts to look at those issues while considering some problems experienced by Polish primary school learners learning to read in English as a foreign language. First, the process of learning to read in a second/foreign language is compared to learning to read in the native language. Then, three basic hypotheses concerning the interdependence between L1 and L2 reading are discussed. Finally, major difficulties in learning to read in a foreign language stemming from learnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; limited vocabulary knowledge and insufficient phonological abilities are tackled. It is postulated that EFL teachers need to develop an awareness of potential problems early learners face so as to respond to them by using appropriate instructional procedures. Helpful solutions to these problems can come, among others, from enhancing learnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; phonological sensitivity and teaching them how to use efficient strategies in word decoding. Keywords: early literacy skills, L2 reading, Polish EFL learners, cross-linguistic relations, phonological awareness

Literacy skills development in L1 and L2/FL contexts Reading is a linguistic activity, and the development of reading skills in the native and any subsequent language (whether L2 or FL), depends on the mastery of numerous general core linguistic and cognitive abilities (Scanlon, Anderson and Sweeney 2010; Grabe and Stoller 2013). Whereas Kahn-Horwitz, et al. (2005, 528) claim that readers need to develop knowledge in such areas as (1) phonology, (2)Â orthography, (3) morphology, and (4) semantics, Lesaux, Geva, Koda, Siegel, and Shanahan (2008, 29) make the picture more complete by adding (5) discourse knowledge, (6) pragmatics, as well as (7) receptive and expressive abilities. The process of learning how to read in the native language begins with the first interactions between adults and infants, although the primary purpose of those interactions is expressing care and affection. As children get older, their linguistic

264

Barbara Struk, Halina Chodkiewicz

abilities develop, they are exposed to print, and are introduced to the alphabet. By the time they are 5 or 6 years old, children will have acquired quite a high level of oral language skills, both in terms of vocabulary (about 5000 words) and grammar. Hence, the primary aim of literacy instruction in L1 concerns learning to decode the printed words already known to the learners in the aural form, and the most frequent forms of early reading instruction are: shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading (Nation 2009). The onset of literacy development among FL learners not only generally occurs some time later, it also differs considerably. Grabe and Stoller (2013, 34–36) offer a comprehensive comparison between L1 and L2 reading situations by distinguishing three overarching categories, namely (1) “linguistic and processing differences between L1 and L2 readers”, (2) “individual and experiential differences for L1 and L2 readers”, and (3) “socio-cultural and institutional differences influencing L1 and L2 reading development”. Grabe (2004, 44) briefly summarises the important issues of the target language, cross-linguistic similarities, affective factors, cognitive skills, school curriculum, reading materials, and teaching methods. In a similar vein, from the teacher’s point of view, what Nation (2009, 5–7) considers of prime importance are the differences arising from the linguistic distance between L1 and L2/FL, L2/FL reading proficiency and reading motivation, as well as from the fact that L2/FL reading material has to be limited due to L2 learners’ deficiencies in oral language skills and in vocabulary and grammar knowledge. These considerable difficulties are to some extent resolved in the case of L2 learners, who are exposed to the target language both in and out of school. FL learners, on the other hand, continue to have little experience with the target language, and even this limited input is often simplified and of low quality (Gass and Selinker 2000). This is often the case with Polish learners of EFL; they tend to acquire English mostly during English lessons taught by non-native speakers of English, with the exposure to written language more frequent than exposure to oral language (Szpyra-Kozłowska 2014). Often, early EFL learners are still in the process of learning to read in their native language, thus may be unfamiliar with decoding strategies, or the alphabetic principle, which might seriously affect the process of learning to read in a FL.

Towards an explanation of the interdependence between L1 and L2 reading development Many researchers have found it important to explain the role of L1 reading ability in the development of L2 reading skills as L2 readers draw and constantly use the abilities already at their disposal. It is in psycholinguistic terms that L1 and

Development of Early Literacy Skills in EFL â&#x20AC;Ś

265

L2 reading skills, as well as learners general linguistic and cognitive competences cannot be separated (Kahn-Horwitz, et al. 2005). There have appeared three main hypotheses that have referred particularly to the relationship between language and reading in conceptualizing L1 and FL reading development. For instance, the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH), suggests that reading development in a FL can be influenced by L1 linguistic skills which are vital in L1 reading development; therefore, when L2 learners experience difficulties i.e. with phonological processing in their native language, they are at risk of experiencing similar problems when learning to read in other languages (Sparks and Ganschaw 1993). The Central Processing Hypothesis (CPH), developed by Geva and Siegel (2000), puts forward the claim that what is of most importance for L1 and L2 reading development are the same underlying cognitive and linguistic abilities L1 and L2 readers share, such as phonological awareness, phonological processing abilities and the operation of short-term memory. This means that L1 readersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; problems will transfer to their learning how to read in another language; that is poor readers in L1 will remain poor readers in L2. A development of a similar line of argumentation can be seen in an often quoted hypothesis called the Interdependence Hypothesis (IH) provided by Cummins (1984). It extends the CPH hypothesis adding that not only do L1 reading skills influence L2 reading skills, but L2 reading skills influence L1 reading, as well as general linguistic and academic abilities. Hence, there exists a cross-linguistic transfer in bilingual learners on the grounds of phonological awareness, concepts, strategies, pragmatic use of language, which points at the benefits of working with cross-linguistic aspects in different forms of bilingual instruction.

Some potential problems faced by early L2/FL readers Nation (2009, 9) enumerates several aspects of linguistic and cognitive skills to be focused on in teaching early reading skills in English as a foreign language. They comprise (a) the mastery of some letter shapes of the Roman alphabet, (b) awareness that words are made up of phonemes (phonemic awareness), (c) awareness of English writing conventions, and (d) knowledge of most of the vocabulary items to appear during the first attempts at early EFL reading, and can be treated as some kind of general guidelines for primary teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; instructional objectives. As for the situation of Polish learners, for example, a number of facilitating factors in learning how to read in English can be noted. Due to the fact that both languages share the alphabet, Polish learners are already familiar with the English letter shapes, some letter names, and a few phonemes similar to Polish ones, in particular those associated with such letters as t, d, n, or s. They will have already developed some level of phonological awareness and will have been acquainted

266

Barbara Struk, Halina Chodkiewicz

with some writing conventions both languages share. All this will contribute to positive transfer, which will make the introduction of Polish learners into the world of print in English much less demanding than i.e. in the case of those EFL learners whose native language represents a logographic orthography or a different alphabet than the Roman. However, a considerable difference that exists between English and Polish concerns the orthographies of both languages. Polish orthography is considered to be shallow (or transparent), which means that learners have little doubt about the grapheme-phoneme correspondences. The English orthography, on the other hand, is deep (or opaque), that is, characterised by many irregularities in the grapheme-phoneme correspondences. This difference means that Polish learners have to develop a range of new skills, strategies and knowledge when learning to read in English (Cameron 2002). As already stated, reading development in all languages, whether alphabetic or non-alphabetic, depends on the readers’ phonological skills and phonological decoding, which is, as emphasised by Koda (2004, 34), “perhaps the most indispensible competence for reading acquisition in all languages”. Information in working memory is stored in phonological form, and when reading, quick conversion of visual stimuli into the phonological form (word’s speech sound) allows the retrieval of the word’s semantic properties from long term memory. To be able to match graphemes to phonemes, learners need to develop phonological, in particular phonemic awareness, as it is crucial in learning how to read and spell (Snow, Burns, and Griffin 1998). Rayner, Pollatsek, Ashby and Clifton (2012, 311) provide useful definitions of phonological awareness as a general ability “to identify the sound structure of language at the syllable, rime, or phoneme level” and phonemic awareness as “the conscious awareness of single speech sound that allows the segmentation, storage, and manipulation of the phonemes”. A relationship between the efficiency in the use of phonological skills and early reading success has been proved empirically both for L1 and L2/FL environments (Muter and Diethelm 2001; Jongejan, Verhoeven and Siegel 2007; Lesaux, Rupp, and Siegel 2007). In their longitudinal study, Muter and Diethelm (2001, 216) investigated the development of phonological skills among fifty-five early primary learners of English living in Geneva, educated in English but representing diverse L1 backgrounds (i.e. English, French, Turkish, Spanish or Japanese). The researchers concluded that phonological awareness highly correlated with concurrent and subsequent literacy development in English for both L1 and FL learners, and that phoneme segmentation skills were more predictive of reading success than rhyming skills. Apart from phonemic segmenting, for both English L1 and L2/FL children the best predictors of literacy development were also alphabet knowledge

Development of Early Literacy Skills in EFL …

267

and vocabulary skills. Their findings showed, similarly to earlier L1 studies, that phonological facets of L2 reading are equally strong and relevant. There are a variety of teaching materials and tasks that can contribute to raising FL readers’ phonological awareness including: (1) books and songs with repetitions and alliteration, (2) nursery rhymes and children’s poems, (3) enjoyable and fun language and word games, (4) syllable, phonemic, and rhyming tasks, (5) stretching out words to hear the sounds clearly, (6) searching for and creating rhymes, (7) looking for words sharing the same sound, (8) playing with sounds, or (9) manipulating sounds to make new, unreal words (Machado 2010, 267–8). What matters for the development of early literacy in another language is also the ability to perceive and produce its sounds. For instance, despite the fact that Polish and English share the same alphabet, their phonological systems differ considerably (Sobkowiak and Piasecka 2014). Young Polish learners of English who find some English sounds problematic to produce tend to replace them with Polish sounds. Szpyra-Kozłowska (2014) mentions the following mispronunciations: (1) /θ/ and /ð/ pronounced as /t/, /d/, /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/; (2) /æ/, /e/, /ɜː/ as Polish e; (3) /ɒ/ /ɔː/ as Polish o; (4) /ʊ//uː/ as Polish u; (5) diphthongs /eɪ/ /ɑɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /əʊ/ /ɑʊ/ as Polish ej, aj, oj, aw, ow; (6) the final vowel in words like America, or banana often pronounced as Polish a; (7) the inability to perceive the difference in length between long and short vowels (pp. 130–131). Szpyra-Kozłowska (2014, 171) emphasises that training children in the English phonetics by using the simple technique of repeating after a model and drilling should be avoided. She claims that efficient phonetic activities are those which are research-based, attractive, diversified, and both learner-, and teacher-friendly. Instead of repetitions, the researcher recommends that the target language sounds be taught explicitly with the use of contrastive analysis of L1 and FL sounds. For instance, to avoid replacing the English phonemes /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, and /dʒ/ with their harder sounding Polish counterparts, learners should be instructed to compare them with the softly pronounced Polish ś, ź, czi, and dź (2014, 155). Teaching English sounds can also be supported by using authentic songs, poems, drama or phonetic games. Goodwin (2001) points at the utility of incorporating the multisensory approach, and modern technologies.

268

Barbara Struk, Halina Chodkiewicz

In search for better instructional support for early FL readers Adopting research-based procedures in teaching beginning FL reading skills has not been given due consideration by Polish teachers so far. The foreign language curriculum for the early primary learners in Poland favours the development of speaking and listening skills over reading and writing, and even if reading is taught, training rarely leads to developing independent and motivated readers. A research study conducted by Pamuła-Behrens (2012, 224) revealed that Polish teachers of French, which represents an opaque orthography, do not seem to be familiar with other approaches in teaching reading in the target language than the whole language method. The teachers participating in the study reported to rely on repetition, and their priorities were ranked as follows: (1) general comprehension (38%), (2) motivating learners to read (25%), (3) introducing learners to printed material (15%), (4) automatic word recognition (14%), with regular practice in grapheme-phoneme connection (7%) given the least priority. As a consequence, learners struggle with reading in French without being familiarized with knowledge and strategies that can enhance their reading development. A recommendable response to the problem of inadequate methods of teaching reading to EFL learners can be turning to those classroom practices that have been implemented in the context of English as L1 (Cameron 2002; Brewster, Ellis, and Girard 2002). Young EFL learners need to be taught according to the balanced approach: they should learn to decode based on letter-sound correspondences, and to recognise words as sight vocabulary. In general terms, attention needs to be paid simultaneously to letter-, word-, sentence-, and text-levels. Hence, a combination of phonics, Look and Say and the Language Experience Approach can be useful (Brewster, Ellis, and Girard 2002; Cameron 2002). FL teachers of early reading learners should devote much effort to introducing and practicing the strategy of word decoding. Referred to also as phonological recoding, it is defined as “identifying the sounds of individual letters, holding them in mind, and blending them into pronunciations that are recognized as real words” (Ehri and McCormick 1989, 137). This strategy is especially useful for children who have just begun learning to read and for whom the majority of printed words are unfamiliar, thus unrecognizable on sight. What is more, while children repeatedly decode words by blending individual letters or digraphs, they slowly build their knowledge of the grapheme-phoneme correspondences. With more skill, learners learn to follow the same pattern with letter clusters, i.e. syllables (Cain 2010). While decoding is the major strategy in early reading in shallow orthographies, on its own it is insufficient for reading learners of deep orthographies. Generally, beginner readers of English are not exposed to many

Development of Early Literacy Skills in EFL …

269

words that cannot be decoded due to irregular orthography, where, for instance, one grapheme or grapheme cluster might be pronounced in different ways (i.e. cap vs. cape, or look vs. flood), or different graphemes might be pronounced with one sound (i.e. cook, or photo vs. foot). However, in the case of regular words, phonological recoding seems to be a sound way to word recognition. At this particular point in early reading development phonics comes to play an important role (Wyse and Jones 2001). While learning phonics, children acquire a “range of spelling–sound correspondences that exist in a particular language” (Nation 2009, 13). Even in languages representing deep orthography there are many regularities in the spelling-sound rules where, for instance, one consonant corresponds to one consonant sound, i.e. m–/m/, f–/f/, or v–/v/. These simple to teach and learn correspondences can be successfully introduced to EFL learners and serve as a springboard for further phonics instructions. Some irregularities exist, but they may still be based on rules, i.e. bb–/b/ or mm–/m/ (Nation 2009). Primary school pupils are likely to benefit from attending to particular word patterns. The most basic word pattern is the CVC, which can be found in many words, i.e. cat, pet, or hut. In longer words it is a frequent syllable pattern. The CVC pattern serves as a basis for more complicated ones, like CCVC (as in stop) or CCCVC (as in strip). Teaching learners consonant blends is also recommended. Consonant blends consist of two or more consonants, where the sound of each is heard in pronunciation, and include initial blends: bl, cl, br, cr, sk, sm, etc., and final blends: st, sk, mp, ld, or nd. Consonant digraphs also consist of two consonants, but only one sound can be heard. Initial and final consonant digraphs include: ch, ph, sh, th, wh, ck, or lk. Regarding the vowels, phonics might include teaching short and long vowels, vowel digraphs, diphthongs and R-controlled vowels (Gunderson, D’Silva and Odo 2014, 158). Another useful strategy in developing early reading skills concerns reading by analogy. Defined by Goswami (1998, 44) as “using a shared spelling sequence to make a prediction about a shared pronunciation”, it is described by Duffy (2009, 209) as processing word parts, or chunks. Birch (2002), on the other hand, refers to these chunks of words as frames and they can be morphemes, syllables, or intrasyllable parts like onsets and rimes. Frames provide contextual information as to the way the vowel will most likely be pronounced, and it can be considered “most efficient strategy in resolving important decision-making problems quickly and accurately in the incoming contextual data” (Birch 2002, 97). The word parts or chunks in question can be onsets and rimes (also called phonograms) of a syllable. Goswami (1995, 140) defines onset as the consonant sounds matching an individual consonant or consonant cluster that stands before

270

Barbara Struk, Halina Chodkiewicz

the vowel sound in a syllable. Rime is understood as the remaining part of that syllable, that is the vowel sound, corresponding to one or two vowel letters, and the consonant sound corresponding to individual consonant or consonant cluster that follow the vowel. For example, the word valentine can be divided into three syllables: val, en, and tine. The onsets of the three syllables are: /v/ in val, and /t/ in tine, and the rimes are: -al, -en, and -ine. FL teachers of early readers should be aware of the fact that the ability to divide syllables into onsets and rimes comes naturally and fairly early in children’s phonological development. The major advantage of using this strategy lies in an efficient way of systematizing the English spelling systems to early readers. The irregularities with which English vowels are often pronounced might stem from the particular consonants that follow them in a word (i.e. mat–cat vs. car–far vs. ball–hall) (Goswami 1995, 141–142). According to Wylie and Durell (1970), children learning to read in English need to acquire little more than 35 rimes to be able to read about 500 of the words that appear most frequently in elementary children’s texts. These findings were confirmed later by Hiebert et al. (1998, 27) who posited that knowing how to pronounce 38 rimes (phonograms) can be sufficient to read about 600 most common English words. Another beneficial strategy for early readers, that of reading words by sight, concerns reading words encountered by the reader a sufficient number of times on prior occasions. During the first and successive encounters with a new word, the connection forming process takes place. Once the connections are established, a reader does not need to analyse parts of the word or look for similar words, but the orthography, pronunciation and the meaning are automatically retrieved. The more words a learner is able to recognize on sight, the more cognitive resources can be directed towards general comprehension (Ehri and McCormick, 1998). Paran (1996) complained on the neglect of using appropriate techniques in EFL language classrooms so as to help readers develop an ability to identify words in an automatic way.

Concluding remarks The discussion undertaken in the present paper clearly implies that it is classroom teachers at EFL primary level, who are in need of up-to-date research-based knowledge of how the processes of acquiring the beginning reading is progressing. Their knowledge and professionalism are indispensable for taking adequate decisions in both planned and unplanned situations when learners arrive at some difficulties and need appropriate scaffolding in order to move forward. The teachers’ role in identifying basic problems in early literacy in English as a foreign language

Development of Early Literacy Skills in EFL …

271

and providing efficient instructional procedures can be possible only when they become aware, among others, of such vital issues as: phonological processing in reading, L1/L2 cross-linguistic interactions and word recognition strategies.

References Birch, Barbara M. 2002. English L2 Reading: Getting to the Bottom. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum. Brewster, Jean, Ellis Gail, and Denis Girard. 2002. The Primary English Teacher’s Guide. Harlow: Pearson Education. Cain, Kate. 2010. Reading Development and Difficulties. Chichester: Blackwell. Cameron, Lynne. 2002. Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cummins, Jim. 1984. Bilingualism and Special Education: Issues in Assessment and Pedagogy. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Duffy, Gerald G. 2009. Explaining Reading: a Resource for Teaching Concepts, Skills, and Strategies. New York: The Guildford Press. Ehri, Linnea C., and Sandra McCormick. 1998. “Phases of Word Learning: Implications for Instruction with Delayed and Disabled Raders.” Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties 14:135–63. Gass, Susan M., and Larry Selinker. 2000. Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course. Mahwah, NJ; London: Lawrence Erlbaum. Geva, Esther, and Linda S. Siegel. 2000. “Orthographic and Cognitive Factors in the Concurrent Development of Basic Reading Skills in Two Languages.” Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 12:1–30. Goodwin, Janet. 2001. “Teaching Pronunciation.” In Teaching English as a Second Or Foreign Language, edited by Marianne Celce-Murcia, 117–33. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Goswami, Usha. 1995. “Phonological Development and Reading by Analogy: What is Analogy and What is It Not?” Journal of Research in Reading 18:139–45. Goswami, Usha. 1998. “The Role of Analogies in the Development of Word Recognition.” In Word Recognition in Beginning Literacy, edited by Jamie, L. Metsala and Linnea C. Ehri, 39–58. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum. Grabe, William. 2004. “Research on Teaching Reading.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 24:44–69. Grabe, William, and Frederica Stoller. 2013. Teaching and Researching Reading. New York: Routledge.

272

Barbara Struk, Halina Chodkiewicz

Gunderson, Lee, Reginald, Arthur D’Silva, and Dennis, Murphy Odo. 2014. ESL (ELL) Literacy Instruction: A Guidbook to Theory and Practice. New York: Routledge. Hiebert, Elfrieda H., Pearson, P. David, Taylor, Barbara M., Richardson, Virginia, and Scott G. Paris. 1998. Every Child a Reader: Applying Reading Research in the Classroom. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. Accessed September 16, 2015. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED429269.pdf. Jongejan, Wilma, Verhoeven Ludo, and Linda S. Siegel. 2007. “Predictors of Reading and Spelling Abilities in First- and Second-Language Learners.” Journal of Educational Psychology 99:835–51. Kahn-Horwitz, Janina, Shimron, Joseph, and Richard L. Sparks. 2005. “Predicting Foreign Language Reading Achievement in Elementary School Students.” Reading and Writing 18:527–58. Koda, Keiko. 2004. Insights into Second Language Reading: A Cross-linguistic Approach. New York: Cambridge University Press. Lesaux, Noni K., Rupp, Andre A., and Linda S. Siegel. 2007. “Growth in Reading Skills of Children from Diverse Linguistic Backgrounds: Findings from a 5-Year Longitudinal Study.” Journal of Educational Psychology 99:821–34. Lesaux, Nonie K., Geva, Esther, Koda, Keiko, Siegel, Linda, S. and Timothy Shanahan. 2008. “Development of Literacy in Second-Language Learners.” In Developing Reading and Writing in Second-Language Learners: Lessons from the Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth, edited by Diane August and Timothy Shanahan, 27–59. New York: Routledge. Machado, Jeanne M. 2010. Early Childhood Experiences in Language Arts: Early Literacy. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Muter, Valerie, and Kay Diethelm. 2001. “The Contribution of Phonological Skills and Letter Knowledge to Early Reading Development in a Multilingual Population.” Language Learning 51:187–219. Nation, I. S. Paul. 2009. Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing. New York: Routledge. Pamuła-Behrens, Małgorzata. 2012. Nauka czytania w języku obcym w okresie wczesnoszkolnym - Teoria i praktyka. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Pedagogicznego. Paran, Amos. 1996. “Reading in EFL: Facts and Fictions.” ELT Journal 50:25–34. Rayner, Keith, Pollatsek, Alexander Ashby, Jane, and Charles Clifton Jr. 2012. Psychology of Reading. New York: Psychology Press. Scanlon, Donna M., Anderson, Kimberly L., and Joan M. Sweeney. 2010. Early Intervention for Reading Difficulties: The Interactive Strategies Approach. New York: The Guilford Press.

Development of Early Literacy Skills in EFL …

273

Snow, Catherine E., Burns, M. Susan, and Peg Griffin. 1998. Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press. Sobkowiak, Włodzimierz, and Liliana Piasecka. 2014. Phonolapsology of Graded Readers in EFL: Theory, Analysis, Application. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM. Sparks, Richard L., and Leonore Ganschow. 1993. “Searching for the Cognitive Locus of Foreign Language Learning Difficulties: Linking Native and Foreign Language Learning.” Modern Language Journal 77:289–302. Szpyra-Kozłowska, Jolanta. 2014. Pronunication in EFL Instruction: A Researchbased Approach. Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters. Wylie, Richard E., and Donald D. Durrell. 1970. “Teaching Vowels through Phonograms.” Elementary English 47:787–91. Wyse, Dominic, and Russell Jones. 2001. Teaching English, Language and Literacy. London: Routledge Falmer.