Lexico-Semantic Peculiarities of Greek Words in Rhodope Vernaculars

Лексико-семантични особености на гръцките думи в родопските говори

Author(s): Tsvetana Mandzhukova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Bulgarian language; Rhodopi dialects; Greek language; Greek loanwords; lexico-semantic peculiarities

Greek loanwords in Bulgarian constitute a significant share of the total number of foreign words in it. In some Bulgarian dialects the number of Greek words, in comparison with other foreign lexemes, is larger owing to the proximity of these vernaculars to those of Greek, and also due to the historical and cultural processes transpiring in Bulgarian lands in the past. In a considerable number of Greek words that have entered the Rhodopi vernaculars semantic changes have occurred. There also are loan words that have preserved the central meaning they have in the source language. Depending on the semantic characteristics of Greek loan words in the Rhodopi vernaculars, three main groups can be differentiated: a) words where no change in meaning has occurred, b) words that have acquired new meaning, and c) new words that are derivatives of lexemes from the former two groups. The study also traces penetration routes of Greek words in the Rhodopi vernaculars. The frequency of use of loan words is analysed in a diachronic aspect.

On the Cult Scenes in the New Babylonian Glyptics, 7th–5th Century BC (Part 2)

За култовата сцена в Нововавилонската глиптика през VII–V в. пр. Хр. (част II)

Author(s): Kabalan Moukarzel / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: stamp-seal; cultic scene; Neo-Babylonian; style; worshipper; symbol; type

The present research is dedicated to the stamp-seals and their im-pressions with the Neo-Babylonian Cultic scene. The research is ba-sed mainly on published monuments in the collections of Le Louvre (Paris) and Vorderasiatischen Museum (Berlin), added with some artifacts from other museums. A classification of the motive on the monuments is proposed. It is based on the styles used in the art of Mesopotamian glyptics during the First Millennium BCE. Three types of scene’s depiction are de-fined, and the peculiarities of their figural elements are examined. Based on new publications, some additional observations on the chronology of the scene in the period under study are made.

Elements of Eastern Influence on a Timpani of the Island of Crete

Елементи на източно влияние по тимпан от остров Крит

Author(s): Zozan Tarhan / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

The purpose of this article is to prove the existence of an eastern influence on a Greek monument dating back to the 8th – 7th centuries BC – timpani of the island of Crete. The analysis is based on specific elements in the scene of the artifact, which are considered separately and compared to other monuments of Mesopotamia, Asia Minor and Levant.

Approaching the Infinite: The Boundary Situation and the “Dao” of Language

Подстъпи към безпределното: граничната ситуация и "дао"-то на език

Author(s): Desislava Damyanova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

The hermeneutic approach to the philosophical background of ancient Chinese thought reveals an aspiration to combine the traditional values of the East with the achievements of existential analytics. Daoist cultural heritage attracts Europeans not only with its mirror otherness but mainly with the harmonic relationship of man and nature, as oneness with the Way (道 – Dao). Many authors, including poets, writers, philosophers, cultural anthropologists, scientists, etc. have adopted the fundamental difference between the East and the West as a way of dichotomous thinking based on ontological and epistemological distinctions. Such presuppositions have become the starting point for elaborate theories, comparative studies and political science developments relating to the ‘far-eastern spirit’, peoples, traditions and destinies. We ask ourselves whether to construct an overview concerning the early Daoist parables and sayings as an imaginary whole is justified and to what extent. Despising technocratic rationality and the artificiality of modern technological culture, Daoism and the cultural orientations broadly associated with it, provide an ideal source of alternative creativity. It discloses the impermanence of the hidden meaning in life and the assumption that the universe or some fundamental issues in society could not necessarily be manifested in philosophical theories, but can be embodied in the performance of poetry, allegory, image thinking. It carries out a kind of philosophical criticism – the idea that with the transition from the epistemological to the ontological implication, the so called ‘common sense’ may exist in other branches of knowledge and modes of speech. Daoists focus on nonstandard, non-competitive mind, challenging the legitimacy of their own conceptual schemes. Dao-language implies the unconditional, irreducible presence of the Way which precedes all the artificially fixed meanings. The so called ‘image thinking’ encompasses the Boundless and is opposed to the distortion of any natural discourses. As a kind of incarnation of the Great Ultimate, the speech is born in the empty mind just as the sound occurs in silence, so ‘forgetting the words’ (Zhuangzi) is a precondition of any cognition.

Wine in China and in the Poetry of Li Bai

Виното в Китай и в поезията на Ли Бай

Author(s): Iskra Mandova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Wine in China has a long history which can be traced back to about 4000 BC to the period of the Neolithic Yangshao culture. In 1979 archaeologists excavated a grave of the Dawenkou culture in Shandong Province where they found a set of about 100 wine making vessels from 5000 years ago, including vessels for wine boiling, fermentation, storing and drinking. After issuing of the first anti-wine regulation in the Chinese history from the first ruler of the Western Zhou (1046–771), from the period of the Han dynasty wine industry registered a boom. Under the Sui and the Tang dynasties, wine making continued to develop, private production was no longer limited and ordinary people could make and sell wine freely.

Phraseological Units Which Include the “Head” Somatism in Bulgarian and in Japanese

Фразеологичните единици, включващи в своя състав соматизма "глава" в българския и в японския език

Author(s): Katya Marinova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: phraseological units; somatisms; interlinguistic equivalence; phraseological equivalents

Depending on the degree of interlinguistic equivalence, the phraseological units with Bulgarian somatism head and Japanese somatism 頭 (atama, kashira; zu, tou) can be divided into: complete (absolute) phraseological equivalents, incomplete (partitive) phraseological equivalents, relative phraseological equivalents, phraseological analogs and formal phraseological equivalents. In view of the fact that the Bulgarian and Japanese languages belong to different language families, complete (absolute) phraseological equivalents can be found very rarely, but we can detect a lot of partitive and relative phraseological equivalents, as well as many formal phraseological equivalents. Since Bulgarian phraseological units with head exceed Japanese phraseological units in number, we detect more phraseological analogues in Bulgarian phraseological units.

Symbiosis of the Ancient Cultures of the Levant

Симбиоза на древните култури в Леванта

Author(s): Diana Petkova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Millenniums before Christ from cults through goddesses to the most systematized archive for cuneiform writing, documents classified and put in order like a contemporary library. Respect and protection of knowledge. Combining the riches of ancient nations. What do the elderly Christians teach us from “the cradle of civilization”. Among our customs there are traditions we need to retain. When we come to know each other’s cultures we get closer. To understand the temper, customs, to respect religion, to come to know the people. Human love is respect for each other and tolerance for other people. Otherwise you become like a flower without its roots, the inlay can’t be assembled, each piece has its own place, role and meaning and the absence of even one of them ruins the harmony. In the world we hear about the Arabic expansion while erudite and the people of Levant (Baled Sham) emphatically declare that there is Arabian invasion. When the Arabians came they did not have any knowledge or culture, but they had respect and dignity. While meeting a nation with an ancient culture, language, traditions and knowledge, Arabians are interested in the knowledge, ability and cultural treasure so they treat them with respect. It is written so in the books and they bring so their children up. Aramaic translations preserve and pass on achievements from the ancient Greek erudite. Umayyad and Abbasid ages are a trampoline in the development of science, as the knowledge is spread by paper.

Sufism as аn Instrument to Counter Radical Islam

Суфизмът като инструмент за противодействие на радикалния ислям

Author(s): Vesela Todorova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: radical islam; sufism; shari‘a; radicalization; jihad; Quran

The influence of radical islam is spreading not only in the Middle East but also around the rest of the world. With the surge of the terrorist attacks in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and USA, commited in the name of radical organizations such as Islamic State and Al Qaeda, there is an urgent need of finding a solution to counter radicalization among the muslim population and converts around the world. In this paper the roots of the modern doctrine of the radical islam are explained as well as the reason why sufism can be used as an instrument to fight the radicalization in islam.

Comparison of Some Myths Considering the Creation

Съпоставка на някои митове за сътворението

Author(s): Reni Stoyanova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: mythology; creation; chaos

Mythology is the basic feature of every ethnicity.The Creation of the world is an important starting point and is differently represented by every nation. In addition, myths are spread into pieces. Here is a brief comparison of the Chinese, Greek, Japanese Egyptian, Indian and Hittite Anatolia mythology. Each of them has its unique features, but they also have some overlapping points. Generally speaking there are one and the same elements, people or things appearing in the myths mentioned above. For example we can find the conception of the Chaos not only within the Chinese myths but also in the Greek and Indian ones.

Intercultural Competence in Japanese Language Teaching

Интеркултурна компетентност в обучението по японски език в Япония

Author(s): Magdalena Vasileva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

The paper sheds light on some contemporary methodologies of teaching Japanese as a second language at Japanese universities from the point of view of intercultural competence. In linguistics the terms intercultural and cross-cultural are often used synonymously, but we make a certain distinction between them. While crosscultural supposes a kind of meeting between different cultures without any special interferences, intercultural evokes an association of a „crash“ between different systems of values while trying to accept the „otherness“ and it also implies a process of retrospection of one’s own system of values. On the other hand, the development and cultivation of intercultural competence is a long and many sided process concerned both: 1) with the foreign language and culture, that are to be mastered and 2) with one’s own language and culture, too. Many of the practices described in the paper stress on two points that are important for the development of intercultural competence: 1) teaching language and culture as a whole and inseparable unit and 2) providing the proper medium for a communication at an individual level.

Charon’s Obol and the “Dropped” Coins of the Thracian Tombs Which Were Robbed in Antiquity

Харонов обол и „изпуснатите“ монети в ограбени в Древността тракийски гробници

Author(s): Miroslav Izdimirski / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Obol; Charon; funerary practices; mounds; Ancient Thrace

In this article I examine the cases of setting of coin/s in funeral context in Ancient Thrace. This practice may be connected with Charon’s obol, but I thing that this practice is not valid for Thrace. These cases are an Hellenistic fashion because of different Thracian religious and posthumous concepts for Other world. There are examples for posthumous practices with coins in mound’s embankments after death of human bean. There are and examples for coin hoards in funerary mounds deposited like hoards because of relief of environment. All this cases are connected with levels of monetary exchange in Ancient Thrace in Hellenistic and Roman times

The Sycophants in Ancient Athens: Origin and Evolution of the Term

Сикофантите в Древна Атина – възникване и развитие на термина

Author(s): Stela Moneva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: ancient Athens; fig; religion; sycophant; snitching; judiciary

In this research work, attention is paid to the unattractive term „sycophant“. The root of the work „fig“ is taken as a starting point in the study. Initially, this noun connected the term with the primitive agricultural cults and the rites of fertilization. The solving of the set out task goes through the tracing of the fate of the words „fig“ and „sycophant“ in ancient literature. On the basis of the studied source data, generally two semantic circles could be outlined: the one – when the word „sycophant“ is used in its religious meaning, and the other – when it bears a „judicial“ meaning. In the 30s of the 5th century BC, the meaning of the word shifted and sycophant already meant an „informant”, a „spy“. Ancient Athens judiciary incorporated this practice and during the next 4th century BC snitching thrived but in the atmosphere of total contempt on the side of the citizens of Athens.

Perdika II and Athens in the Context of the Peloponnesian War

Пердика II и Атина в контекста на Пелопонеската война

Author(s): Zhivko Zhekov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Ancient Macedonia; Perdiccas II;' Peloponnesian War; Athens; Halkidiki Peninsula

The history of Ancient Macedonia and Athens in antiquity are closely related especially in the period V–IV BC. That their relationship is determined by several major factors including the first should be pointed out the need of the Athenians of wood for the production of military and commercial ships, which they imported mostly from Macedonia. No less important for Athens has a strategic location Macedonia right bank of the Thermaic Gulf, the control of which is of very great importance for the Athenians account their desire to master domination positions in the region of Halkidiki peninsula and along the lower reaches of the river Strimon. Macedonia immediately adjacent to these areas and can therefore be used as a base for their conquest, in case it was an ally of Athens. In their relationship during the Peloponnesian War is of particular interest. First, because of the relatively good condition of the source basis and secondly because in this period the contacts between them are especially intense and well reflected in the preserved ancient narrative tradition. The policy of Perdiccas II to Athens during the Peloponnesian War can be evaluated essentially as successful. Macedonai is facing a superior it in its military, political and economic force capabilities. He tried and largely managed to limit the Athenian influence in the region of Halkidiki. And because he has no powers skilfully using the resources of its allies.

Prostitution in Ancient Rome

Проституцията в Древен Рим

Author(s): Ivanka Doncheva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

The practice of prostitution in ancient Rome reflected the ambivalent attitudes of Romans toward pleasure and sexuality. Prostitution was legal and licensed. Even Roman men of the highest social status were free to engage prostitutes of either sex without incurring moral disapproval, as long as they demonstrated self-control and moderation in the frequency and enjoyment of sex. At the same time, the prostitutes themselves were considered shameful: most were either slaves or former slaves, or if free by birth relegated to the infames, people utterly lacking in social standing and deprived of most protections accorded to citizens under Roman law, a status they shared with actors and gladiators, all of whom, however, exerted sexual allure. Latin literature makes frequent reference to prostitutes. Historians such as Livy and Tacitus mention prostitutes who had acquired some degree of respectability through patriotic, law-biding, or euergetic behavior. The highclass “call girl” (meretrix) is a stock character in Plautus’s comedies, which were influenced by Greek models. The poems of Catullus, Horace, Ovid, Martial, and Juvenal, as well the Satyricon of Petronius, offer fictional or satiric glimpses of prostitutes. Real-world practices are documented by provisions of Roman law that regulate prostitution, and by inscriptions, especially graffiti from Pompeii. Erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum from sites presumed to be brothels has also contributed to scholarly views on prostitution.

The Nature of Erotic Frescoes in Suburban Baths in Pompeii

За характера на еротичните фрески в крайградските терми на Помпей

Author(s): Ivanka Doncheva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

The Suburban Baths in Pompeii were built around the end of the 1st century BC against the city walls north of the Porta Marina. They served as a public bath house to the residents of Pompeii They were originally discovered in 1958 and have since been excavated and restored. Excavation of the Suburban Baths have given historians a glimpse into an aspect of the social and cultural workings of Roman life in Pompeii. The entrance to the Baths is through a long corridor that leads into the dressing room. Excavation of the Baths revealed only one set of dressing rooms and has led to wonder by archaeologists that both men and women shared this facility. This dressing room (known as the apodyterium) is where archaeologists discovered erotic wall paintings in the 1980s. The dressing room then led to the tepidarium (lukewarm room), followed by the calidarium (hot room). The erotic wall paintings in the Suburban Baths are the only set of such art found in a public Roman bath house. Explicit sex scenes (such as group sex and oral sex) are depicted in these paintings that cannot be easily found in collections of erotic Roman art. The paintings are located in the apodyterium and each scene is located above a letterd. These boxes are thought to have functioned as lockers in which bathers put their clothes. It is speculated that the paintings possibly served as way for the bathers to remember the location of their box (in lieu with the numbering). The presence of these paintings in a public bath house shared by men and women gives some insight into Roman culture and suggests that people would not have found this offensive.

From The Cult of The Pagan Heroes To The Cult of The Christian Saints in The Balkan Lands Problems of Historiography

От култа към езическите херои към култа към християнските светци в балканските земи - проблеми на историографията

Author(s): Milen Ivanov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

The present paper deals with the current state of scientific research concerning the religious transformation from the cult of the pagan heroes to the cult of the Christian saints in the Balkan lands south of the Danube. The geographic frame of this study covers the area, which was inhabited in the age of Antiquity by the Thracians. A comparative review has been made of the research works of some western authors like P. Saintyves, H. Delehaye, P. Brown, J. Fredouille and others, who represent various research trends and paradigms. It seems that the more Christian viewpoint the author shares, the more is he inclined to reject the idea of dependency between the cult of the saints and the cult of the heroes; and vice versa – the more emancipated is he from the authority of the church, the more tending is he to affirm the idea of religious continuity. At this background, there is a number of major Bulgarian researchers, as well as foreign researchers, dealing with the Balkan lands, who have been presented in the paper – like I. Gueorguieva, G. Kazarow, Chr. Walter, E. Theodorov, I. Dujčev and some other. They have treated certain aspects of the transition. The study of the traditional popular culture, containing ancient pagan vestiges, is of primary importance in analyzing the subject matter. There are many other authors, who have treated the religious transition, but, in genera, the researchers, presented in this study, seem to form the overall notion concerning the scientific discourse on the problem. Of course, there remain numerous issues, which may be subject of further fruitful research.

Participation of Bulgarians in the Franciscan Missions in Southeastern Europe during the 17th Century: Paolo Da Cinquefonti

Българското участие във францисканските мисии в Югоизточна Европа през XVII в.: Павел от Петокладенци

Author(s): Elmira Vasileva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

The Bulgarian Catholics’ history should not be studied independently but in connection with the general Roman Church’s Balkan policy in the Ottoman period. The Bulgarian Catholics and their Franciscan priest were in contact with other Catholic groups living under the Ottomans, as well as outside the Empire. They are part of a sort of religious network that goes beyond political and geographical borders. Bulgarian Franciscans participated in Roman Church’s missions in the 17th century, being sometimes appointed to important positions. They are educated in the Catholic colleges in Italy and, being fluent in Italian and Latin, are familiar with the European intellectual trends and political concepts of their time. Actually, they are the main bearers of modern ideas among the Bulgarians.

George Washburn’s Visit to Stara Zagora in 1875, as Reflected on the Pages of the “Den” (Day) Magazine

Посещението на Джордж Уошбърн в Стара Загора през 1875 г., отразено на страниците на списание „Ден“

Author(s): Vanya Doneva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: George Washburn; Robert College; Stara Zagora

This publication aims to analyze only a brief moment in the life of George Washburn, American Protestant missionary and longtime rector Robert collage in Istanbul, which is intertwined with the history of Stara Zagora, based on information published by reportage of pages of the Bulgarian scientific politically magazine “Den” (1875).

Atanas Iliev and the History of Stara Zagora

Атанас Т. Илиев за историята на Стара Загора

Author(s): Vanya Doneva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Person and work of Atanas Iliev are subject to various historical research on the development of education and textbook literature in Stara Zagora at the end of the nineteenth century. His contributions as a researcher’s past Stara Zagora and initiated the creation of a local museum remains underrated.. The purpose of this notice is to outline research interests related to the history of his native town on the basis of a series of publications “From the history of the city of Stara Zagora“, printed on the pages of the newspaper “St.- Zagorskiy glas“ (1912).

Yugo-Nostalgia in The Individual–and The Collective Memory (Case Study Bitola, Macedonia)

Югоносталгия в индивидуалната и колективната памет (Case Study - Битоля, Македония)

Author(s): Nadya Toshmakova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

This study explores the manifestation of Yugonostalgia among people of Bitola, Macedonia. Over two decades after Yugoslavia broke up, a feeling of nostalgia towards the former nation has surfaced. In the countries that emerged out of socialist Yugoslavia, it is called “Yugonostalgia” and is a very wide spread cultural phenomenon in all age groups. Has the dramatic transition into a post-socialist country fostered Yugonostalgic feelings among these people? If not, what in perceptions of citizens their country today is better than Yugoslavia? What in the memories about Yugoslavia is better than nowadays experiences? If so, what are these people nostalgic for? What about Yugoslavia seems so much better than present-day Macedonia? Which are the real personal memories and which of them have become part of the collective myth about the past that people present like their own narratives? The study is based on fieldwork conducted in the summer of 2015 in the city of Bitola, Republic of Macedonia, and some nearby villages. Multiple ethnological and historical methods are used, including: method of oral history, participant observation, method of life story, semi-structured interviews, photo and video documentation, archive materials gathered in the museums around the city.