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Revising the History of Germanic Languages: The Concept of Germance
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, January 2021
Pages:
1-5
Received:
30 November 2020
Accepted:
20 January 2021
Published:
28 January 2021
Abstract: This paper puts forward a new division of the history of Germanic languages, taking into account the existence of three different historical periods (prehistoric, proto-historic, and literary) in the development from Common Germanic or Proto-Germanic to modern Germanic languages, analogously to the development of Romance or Romanic languages from Vulgar Latin (also called Proto-Romanic or Proto-Romance), in which three stages can be retraced: Vulgar Latin (prehistoric), Romance (proto-historic) and literary (historical). So far, only two stages have been considered in the linguistic history of Germanic languages, namely, the Common Germanic (not documented) and the literary Germanic languages (documented since the Middle Ages). Nevertheless, the history of both families of languages is similar in most aspects, so that the three aforementioned periods can be clearly recognized in both: a period of considerable linguistic unity, although poorly or not at all documented; a period of dissolution of this unity and fragmentation into several dialects not mutually intercomprehensible; and a period of full and intense literary production and official recognition of some of these dialects, now raised to the condition of culture languages. Due to this new historiographical division, the denomination Germance is proposed for the second of the three evolutionary stages of Germanic.
Abstract: This paper puts forward a new division of the history of Germanic languages, taking into account the existence of three different historical periods (prehistoric, proto-historic, and literary) in the development from Common Germanic or Proto-Germanic to modern Germanic languages, analogously to the development of Romance or Romanic languages from V...
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(Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, January 2021
Pages:
6-16
Received:
29 December 2020
Accepted:
19 January 2021
Published:
23 February 2021
Abstract: This paper, which investigates written corrective feedback (WCF) in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), will address two research questions: (a) to what extent are the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the provision of WCF on the students’ EFL writing aligned?; (b) to what extent do the students’ preferences match the teachers’ practices regarding WCF? The participants of the study were nine writing teachers and their 75 pre-intermediate and intermediate students in one General Foundation Programme (GFP) in Oman. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, student text analysis, and student focus groups were employed as the research instruments of the study to attempt to answer the research questions. The study revealed more areas of misalignment than alignment between the teachers’ beliefs and practices related to WCF. The areas of misalignment are related to the writing of praising comments, redrafting, the amount of feedback, the explicitness of feedback and the focus of feedback, whereas the areas of alignment are related to the identification and the correction of errors. In addition to that, the findings indicated that there were more areas of congruence than incongruence between the students' preferences and the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding WCF. As for the areas of congruence, they are related to the explicitness of feedback, the amount of feedback, the source of feedback, and the correction of errors. The areas of incongruence, however, are related to the focus of the feedback and the writing of praising comments. The paper concluded by providing some implications for pedagogy related to WCF.
Abstract: This paper, which investigates written corrective feedback (WCF) in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), will address two research questions: (a) to what extent are the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the provision of WCF on the students’ EFL writing aligned?; (b) to what extent do the students’ preferences match the teache...
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On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of The Story of the Stone and Its Translation by Hawkes
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, January 2021
Pages:
17-23
Received:
2 February 2021
Accepted:
9 February 2021
Published:
4 March 2021
Abstract: Euphemism, as a language phenomenon, exists in both English and Chinese language. At the same time, euphemism is also a cultural phenomenon. Different habits of using euphemisms form gradually through different cultural traditions, values and national personalities. Generally speaking, euphemism is an effective and simple way for people to communicate and convey their emotions. It is generally recognized that The Story of the Stone is the highest achievement of Chinese classical novels, especially in Chinese traditional culture. In many different languages and cultures, death is one of the taboo subjects. The Story of the Stone contains a large number of euphemisms, including more than 100 death euphemisms. By taking The Story of the Stone and its translation by Hawkes as the research objects, this thesis looks into the similarities and differences of the cultural connotations in Chinese and English death euphemisms via quantitative analysis of their classifications and distributions. Specifically, there exist differences in religious beliefs and hierarchical concepts between Chinese and English cultures, as well as the similarities in cognitive attitudes and physical reactions between two sides. Hence, some relevant translation strategies are put forward by analyzing the cultural contrasts reflected by these Chinese and English euphemisms, which will accordingly guarantee a successful cross-cultural communication.
Abstract: Euphemism, as a language phenomenon, exists in both English and Chinese language. At the same time, euphemism is also a cultural phenomenon. Different habits of using euphemisms form gradually through different cultural traditions, values and national personalities. Generally speaking, euphemism is an effective and simple way for people to communic...
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When the Language Discovers Hidden Meanings in the Collective Unconscious: Four Conceptual Metaphors in the Montenegrin Language
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 1, January 2021
Pages:
24-31
Received:
18 February 2021
Accepted:
13 March 2021
Published:
22 March 2021
Abstract: In this paper, four conceptual metaphors very frequently used in the Montenegrin language are analyzed. These are conceptual metaphors: Negotiation is Boxing Match, Stone is Weak, Bad, Low-Quality, Humorous is Bloody and Capital is a Woman (During Intercourse, with an Intention for Procreation). The mentioned conceptual metaphors have entered the focus of our scientific interest because they reveal some very important facts about the Montenegrin mentality. We can say that these facts are immanent to the way of thinking of the average resident of Montenegro to the extent that they are firmly woven into the linguistic expression. These conceptual metaphors can be found in all functional styles of the Montenegrin language, and, most importantly, they are most often used in everyday language. The conceptual metaphors we deal with in this paper, however, are not only related to the way of thinking of the inhabitants of Montenegro, but are, potentially, also part of the universal way of functioning of the human mind. In the explication of the mentioned conceptual metaphors, we will apply the methodology of cognitive linguistics, and above all, we will focus on the theory of conceptual metaphor. The literature on the phenomenon of conceptual metaphor in contemporary world and domestic linguistics is extremely large and diverse. In our research and theoretical foundation of the concept of conceptual metaphor, we will start, of course, from the now classic book by Lakoff and Johnson "Metaphors We Live By", and then we will add to this classical study in the continuation of the paper the insights that individual (cognitive) linguists have gained about conceptual metaphor in the last twenty years.
Abstract: In this paper, four conceptual metaphors very frequently used in the Montenegrin language are analyzed. These are conceptual metaphors: Negotiation is Boxing Match, Stone is Weak, Bad, Low-Quality, Humorous is Bloody and Capital is a Woman (During Intercourse, with an Intention for Procreation). The mentioned conceptual metaphors have entered the f...
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