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Conceptual Metaphors and Symbols in Romanian and English Proverbs on HEALTH and ILLNESS

Author(s): Gabriela Corina Santa (Câmpean) / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: concept of HEALTH; concept of ILLNESS; paremiology; symbols; conceptual metaphor;

Proverbs reflect both similarities and differences between the English and Romanian cultures, and an analysis considering the symbols encrypted in their structure enriches their interpretation. Furthermore, symbols represent a key factor when the conceptualisation of proverbs is performed, as they contribute to a proper analysis. Therefore, a thorough investigation of the symbolic terms within the proverbs is necessary in order to translate, interpret, and conceptualise them suitably. The English possess a different cultural background from the Romanians, which is mirrored in the symbols found in proverbs, reflecting specific attitudes in each culture. However, common approaches and universal symbols are numerous due to the Christian religious background of both the Romanians and the English, while the Celtic roots of the English represent the primary reason for dissimilarity. Hence, the attitudes regarding the concepts of HEALTH and ILLNESS, as expressed in Romanian and English paremiology, are enhanced and clarified by symbolic interpretation.

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Onomastic Intrusion in Speculative Fiction

Author(s): Krunoslav Mikulan / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: Literary onomastics; speculative fiction; onomastic intrusion;

Literary onomastics deals with onyms in literary works, and onyms in speculative fiction can be a vast field of potential research matter. Onomastic intrusion is the occurrence when authors give real, existing names to invented persons, places or things, which by their characteristics cannot bear those names. The paper compares and analyzes anthroponyms found in several Anglo-Saxon and Croatian works of speculative fiction, explains the probable reasons for the use of those anthroponyms, and evaluates them with respect to the notion of onomastic intrusion.

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Translating boundaries with restaurant menus. Strategies to translate traditional Tuscan food items into English

Author(s): Isabella Martini / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: translation; food translation; translation methodology; restaurant menu; culture-gap terms;

Florence and Tuscany are popular tourist destinations in Italy. Tourists visit the city and the surrounding countryside looking for scenic views and artistic landmarks, as well as to experience the local food culture. The idea for my paper originated with having to translate a restaurant menu – which arose numerous methodological questions. In particular, questions regarding how to examine traditional menu items from a linguistic standpoint and how to actualise effective translations for the real transactional situations where menus are used - i.e., buying a meal. The aim of this paper is to discuss some strategies devised to translate culture-bound menu items not only to help intercultural restaurant transactions, but also to increase awareness of the local culture. The paper also aims to generate debate on how menus, thanks to strategic translation choices, could be considered another “textual” opportunity which might contribute to help crossing cultural boundaries.

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Cognitive grammar concepts applied to motion in cinematographic shots

Author(s): Mircea Valeriu Deaca / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: Cognitive grammar; film analysis; Cognition; film; grammar; motion; dynamic conceptualizations;

Motion can be conceived as a relationship established between two entities (a trajector and a landmark). Motion and entities are conceptualizations. As posited by the cognitive grammar framework two low-level conceptualizations can be adjoined or juxtaposed in order to construct a high-level conceptualization, a conceptual construction. Between the two component elements categorization relationships are possible. For exemplification I chose a swish pan shot from The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980). The motion structures the scene in which Jack breaks with an axe the door-obstacle that obstructs his access to the victim, his wife Wendy. The motion and the entity are conceptualizations that elaborate schematic elements (e.g., elaboration sites or e-sites) that are belonging within the conceptualization of each component. For instance, a type of motion elaborates the e-site of the emotional goal-concept of “anger” present in the conceptualization of the human entity performing the action. In this case “running” elaborates “anger” and not “fear”.Using the terminology of head vs. modifier / complement we can describe several types of conceptual constructions applied to the perceived motion of an entity. The viewer, by phase transition, can choose as foregrounded figure either the movement (the motion pole) or the entity (the object pole). Each construal designs different paths of access inherent of the dynamic conceptualization. A circular loop is instantiated between the movement that explains the character’s state of mind and the character’s state of mind that explains the kind of movement displayed. Both are instantiations that help construct the goal-concept of “anger” in a physical motion event. The same theoretical framework is used in order to describe the motion perceived at the object pole, i.e., the diegetic object moves inside the frame, or the movement of the image pole, i.e., the screen frame exhibits motion.

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Resorting to Faith in a World of Dystopia

Author(s): Irina-Ana Drobot / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2022

Keywords: psychology; fantasy; electricity; myth of renewal;

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the phenomenon of resorting to faith which is present in the science fiction novel published in 2022 “O lacrima de Batavia” by Sergiu Somesan. The novel could be described as showing what happens after an apocalypse, since the sudden lack of electricity and electromagnetism suddenly occur. The story of the main characters resorts to the old myth of renewal and keeping faith. We could make an analogy with the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many turned up to faith given the situation. What makes anyone resort to faith in difficult circumstances will be analyzed from the perspective of psychological theories. The dystopia described in the novel could have links with various presuppositions in the current political world; however, the author claims to have thought of the idea of lack of electricity before it was given as a possible scenario by the EU.

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Analysing the Japanese Indirect Communication Culture

Author(s): Irina-Ana Drobot / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2021

Keywords: face-saving acts; context; speech acts; politeness; non-verbal language;

The purpose of this paper is to analyse Japanese indirect communication culture focusing on the importance of context. The paper will use the theory of pragmatics to understand differences between direct and indirect communication cultures.Issues discussed will include speech acts, politeness theory and face-saving acts.Verbal and non-verbal language aspects will also be taken into account. The analysis will also take into account historical aspects leading to this type of communication in Japanese culture, and will raise awareness regarding communication related to business culture and consequences of misunderstandings at this level if one of the businessmen is part of a direct communication culture.

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The Creator in Darren Aronofsky’s Mother!

Author(s): Alexandra Roxana MĂRGINEAN / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2021

Keywords: Genesis; artist; femininity; feminism; subversion;

This paper relies on Darren Aronofsky’s motion picture Mother! shown in 2017 inVenice, and shortly after in the U.S., as an allegory of the Bible and an environmentalist movie. It starts from the assumption introduced to the press following the release that the central male figure, Him (played by Javier Bardem),is the symbol of the absolute God and Creator, using Mother (the character played by Jennifer Lawrence) as the environment or space where creation can be enacted,only to progressively deconstruct it up to reversing their roles, portraying her as the divine principle and him as a secondary figure. After the Introduction that sets the scene, the second part describes the vision of the biblical parallelisms and,then, that of the movie as an alarm signal for the need to direct our attention to the damage we do to the environment. The third part looks into the incongruities between the female protagonist’s nature and qualities and considering her as subservient to Him. It uncovers the hints to an alternative interpretation, which get supported by a fallen-from-grace male creator depicted in part four. The conclusions pinpoint this subterranean interpretation of the film and sum up the arguments that have led us to it.

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Motivation in the Acquisition of Romanian as a Foreign Language

Author(s): Ana-Mihaela Istrate / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2021

Keywords: Computer Mediated Communication; Romanian as a Foreign Language; linguistic processes; social processes;

The acquisition of any foreign language involves on the one hand the accumulation of vocabulary, grammatical structures, and pronunciation, all these three aspects being sometimes influenced by the native language, which can hamper or enhance the learning process of the new language. On the other hand, there is a social process, that is closely related to the cultural aspects. For example, how different the languages are, if they belong to the same family of languages, as Romanian is a member of the family of Romanic languages, or they belong to different families of languages, if from a religious perspective the countries are at different poles, can help or negatively affect the process of acquisition. Because, at the end of the day, the whole process of learning a language is to help individuals function effectively in a new environment, to be able to study, work, socialize, make friends, overall to be able to become part of a new country and culture emotionally and socially. Sometimes these social and cultural aspects are more difficult to achieve. The purpose of the study is to highlight the most important theoretical models that specialists developed, to talk about the linguistic and social processes involved in learning foreign language. During the second part of the study we will highlight the most important symptoms of culture shock that international students experience after relocating to Romania, as well as the most important aspects that could be considered in order to avoid culture shock, while learning Romanian as a foreign language.

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The Translation of Government Ordinances

Author(s): Mariana Coancă / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2021

Keywords: Specialized language; military ordinance; bureaucratic language; translation competence; ESP acquisition;

The paper examines the translation of Military Ordinances from Romanian into English. In a wider context, this paper can be considered a strategy for developing translation competence in students for whom it represents a soft skill in our global society. We intend to cover certain aspects that we have considered relevant, both in terms of the characteristics of the specialized terminology and in terms of the methods and difficulties of translating military ordinances by our Law school students. We also consider that it is necessary for our students to have linguistic competence and terminological knowledge in several fields in order to analyze the Romanian phraseology of the military ordinances. Then the teacher creates a strategy for building their translation competence – how to find equivalent phrases or appropriate terms pertaining to a specific terminology, how to analyze & split the Romanian long and complex sentences for achieving effective translations and how to revise the word order in the target language.

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Verbal Periphrases in Spanish as a Foreign Language: Language as “a Potential of Meaning” - A Pragmatic and Didactic Approach

Author(s): Victor-Emanuel Ciuciuc / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2021

Keywords: terminological confusion; opposing study methodologies; works on uses and functions; Spanish verbal system; descriptive studies; Spanish as a second language;

e purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the very sinuous subject of verbal periphrasis. When starting to work on verbal periphrasis in Spanish, the first thing that the researcher and / or the ELE teacher will notice will be an enormous difficulty in finding an adjusted definition and a coherent classification of this grammatical category. Likewise, the very scarce work on their uses and functions stands out, since most of the research that deals with this topic focuses on theoretical definitions referring to their formal / categorical nature.

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Deviations in the Use of Tenses in Writing in English as a Foreign Language in Monolingual and Bilingual Primary School Students in Croatia

Author(s): Vladimir Legac / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2021

Keywords: Contact linguistics; bilingualism; contrastive analysis; use of tenses; writing skill; Italian and Czech national minorities in Croatia;

This paper presents the findings of a research study of the writing skill in monolingual and bilingual primary school students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in Croatia. This research study included over a hundred participants. They were divided into two groups: monolingual and bilingual. The monolingualism / bilingualism opposition has been shown in several of the author's earlier works as an important determinant of the individual that has resulted in different achievement in mastering language skills in EFL. Writing skill was tested on writing a letter in which students were required to include certain information items. For the purpose of this paper, the author provides an analysis of deviations in the use of tenses. In addition to the conclusion, the author of the paper gives implications and guidelines for further analysis of the elements that are important for the achievement in writing skill in EFL as well as for the analysis of the differences in achievement in learning EFL between monolingual and bilingual learners of EFL in other language skills.

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The Influence of the Consonants of the Međimurje Dialect on the Pronunciation in the Croatian Standard Language

Author(s): Đuro Blažeka,Vladimir Legac / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2021

Keywords: consonants; local speeches; Kajkavian dialect; Croatian standard language; teaching pronunciation; relationship between dialect and the standard; method of differential language teaching;

This paper discusses the problems that native speakers of the Međimurje dialect face when they speak the Croatian standard language. These speakers are Kajkavians. Kajkavians are speakers of one of the three major dialects of the Croatian language (the other two being Štokavians and Čajkavians). Among other things, the authors describe the problems of correct pronunciation of the palatal affricates č and ć, the tendency of Kajkavians to devoice consonants at the end of words, the softening of some consonants before front vowels, dropping of consonants in consonant clusters, etc. The authors also give some practical recipes for teachers teaching Croatian as a mother tongue in primary schools to help them teach their students to acquire correct pronunciation of consonants in the Croatian standard language. They also claim that the familiarity of the students with the differences between the consonants in the local speech of the Kajkavian dialect and the standard Croatian language might help them to learn foreign languages.

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Perceptual and conceptual reference point constructions in cinematographic shots

Author(s): Mircea Valeriu Deaca / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2021

Keywords: Cognitive grammar; film analysis; Cognition; film; grammar; metonymy; metaphor; cinematic conceptual construction; cinema;

In Cognitive Grammar, the concept of reference point (R) designates the conception of one entity invoked in order to establish “mental contact” with another. The reference point access is a manner of mental scanning of a series of discrete elements in order to find a final element embedded in this chain. In film, we can dissociate between perceptual reference point (pRP) and conceptual reference point (cRP). The pRP can be perceptually present in long takes that, after the editing cut, focus on a metonymic element of a scene in order to track to another section of the scene. The paper analyses several pRP and cRP constructions in film sequences and conceptual phenomena involving metonymy. Diegetic metonymy is compared to symbolic metonymy, which ultimately leads to metaphoric construals. We can also establish metonymic categories used as pivots between semantic domains and metonymies that profile unbounded qualities similar to mass nouns.

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Emergency Remote Teaching Experiences during Covid-19 in the Netherlands – Positive Aspects and Outcomes

Author(s): Denisa Dumitrascu / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2021

Keywords: Covid-19 Pandemic; Emergency Remote Teaching; class dynamics; SCRUM; asynchronous activities;

This paper, finalised in June 2021 is an attempt to analyse more than a year of teaching online, filtered through the author’s personal experiences with 3 Dutch universities of applied sciences and the Romanian-American University. The main examples come from the author’s personal experience, but also from observing the classes of several colleagues who taught English and Business Communication. The paper explores practical solutions, class dynamics (and various contributing factors) by drawing on and comparing the author’s direct experience with some of the results of quantitative and qualitative research performed between March 2020 and May 2021 worldwide, with a particular focus on positive aspects and techniques that created an overall productive class experience, in an unprecedented global emergency remote teaching context.

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Investigating Slang Expressions in the “Ball of Fire” Classic Movie

Author(s): Mariana Coancă / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Keywords: Context; American slang; lexicological description; humour;

Golden Age films created all the premises for the development of American culture, activelyparticipating in its consolidation and in the foundation of American national principles.This paper aims to identify slang terms in the classic film “Ball of Fire” then verify theirregistration in an electronic dictionary focusing, in particular, on the lexicographicaldescription and their features. We also look at how humorous slang can help studentsimprove their language skills. Slang can be a process of arousing humor. The way slang isused varies depending on the context, the level of education, the social status and thepersonality traits specific to each individual. It serves to establish social cohesion orstreamline communication between individuals.

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Metaphors of Limitation in Vasile Voiculescu’s Poems

Author(s): Mădălina Deaconu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Keywords: Metaphors of limitation; cognitive/conceptual metaphors; metaphorical mapping;

The present paper aims at at giving an insight into Vasile Voiculescu’s poems focusing onthe metaphors of limitation. They are present in a large number, in all stages of creation,pointing to Vasile Voiculescu’s consistent and permanent attempt to surpass all obstaclesin order to establish a genuine relation with God. Mention should be made of the fact thatthese metaphors of limitation are analysed having in cognitive linguistics.

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Characteristics of the Romanian Economic Terminology in Mass Media

Author(s): Elena Museanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Keywords: Economic terminology; Anglicism; dynamic; extra linguistic; English influence;

The present research taken hereby identifies the general linguistic aspects of the economic terminology and focuses on the characteristics of this terminology. The analysis of some economic terms has set its selection based on the English terms’ frequency in the texts from mass media and based on their representativeness in the conceptual hierarchy of economics. The factors that generate linguistic deviations can be, on the one hand, the level of English knowledge, the lexical preciousness or the need for the synchronization with the Western world materialized by imitation, and, on the other hand, the recent penetration and the limited circulation power of Anglicism.

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Romanian Derivatives and Compounds in Trend

Author(s): Elena Museanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Keywords: Neologism; dynamics; lexical creativity; derivatives; compounds;

Generally speaking, identity is revealed not only in the actions and attitudes of characters, The affixed derivation is characterized by keeping the suffixation first, in terms of quantitative and qualitative importance, and by a marked increase in derivatives with prefixes. In both situations, the most productive affixes are the neological ones with multiple etymologies. The neological derivation in our language can be achieved in three variants: the neological lexical base + the neological suffix, the lexical base from the old fund (inherited or borrowed) + the neological suffix, the neological lexical base + old suffix (inherited or borrowed). The increase in the number of derivatives depends on the circulation power of the base morpheme. The derivative creativity of the neologisms brings productivity in the sphere of inherited suffixes, selected due to the stable and popular character, as well as for the contrast with modern elements. A current trend in the development of the Romanian language is the ease of obtaining compound lexical elements. The predilection for such internal formations, existing in the current Romanian press, is not a general feature of the writing of this period, but is observable especially in the areas addressed to the young public, generally cultivated, open to novelty, concessional and captivated by the new combinations. The phenomenon of thematic composition highlights the creativity and ability of the current language to assimilate both erudite and internationally successful affixoids.

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Diffusibility and Confusibility of Medical Terms

Author(s): Cristina NICULESCU-CIOCAN / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Keywords: Terminology; COVID-19; coronavirus; medical language;

We have been subjected and, according to some people’s perception, attacked with medical terminology over the last two years. This is why, even highly specialized language items have become popular and lost their semantic specificity when being used by a wide range of communicators, starting with the specialists and ending with the non-specialists. Certain terms have become “must have” or “must know” in all types of discourses.

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The role of motivation in the learning of Spanish by Romanian university students

Author(s): Anda Lucia Ciltan,Victor-Emanuel Ciuciuc / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2020

Keywords: Motivation; affective factors; foreign language learning;

Lately, student’s motivation in the classroom has been marked as a prominent topic within the field of linguistics, due to its impact on the overall performance of the learner. The motivational framework proposed by Dörnyei (1994) represents one of the main models that included this affective learning factor and stands as foundation of the present paper. According to him, there are three dimensions of motivation: the social one that encompasses integrative and instrumental motivation, the personal one that includes the need for achievement and self-confidence and the educational one that integrates the teacher-specific and the course-specific motivation. Hence, since motivation is considered an important factor in learning a foreign language, the present paper intends to observe these dimensions in Romanian university students who are learning Spanish gender-wise and to construe relevant teaching implications. Overall, the study corroborates previous research, which proved that female students show higher motivation levels than males.

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