______Annals of the University of Craiova______
The Dialectic of Past and Present
in A Maggot by John Fowles
Majed Hamed Aladaylah
Al-Balqa Applied University, Jordan
Abstract
This paper investigates the importance of historical texts produced in contemporary fiction and of being displayed in the act of narration. Fowles has not been tied down to one narrative technique, that he has winnowed the chained narrative of its conventional techniques. The past permeates the present, just as the present spins the representations of the past. Fowles thus traces the language, the texts and the material culture of the past to produce a critical representation of the past. Such novel disavows the traditional boundaries between historical fact and fiction.There seems to be a new desire to think historically, and to think historically these days is to think critically and contextually. Consequently, the meaning and shape are not in the ‘events’, but in the systems which make those past ‘events’ into present historical facts.
Key words: narration, conventional techniques, historic facts, fiction, textualization
The Legal Text – Form of Communication
or Obsessive Discourse?
Simina Badea
University of Craiova
Abstract
Legalese, the language of the law, can be considered a language in itself. But the legal text, despite its authoritative character, should have communication as a main purpose, so that both jurists and ordinary people with an interest in the field could understand it. Sometimes, when writing the law, the legal expert is inclined to engage in the ‘Master’s discourse’, if it is to apply one of the four discourses described by Lacan. The communicative aim of the legal text is thus altered by many factors, among which: the attitude of the all-knowing drafter, the conservative, even archaic character of the legal language, vagueness and ambiguity, peculiar lexical and grammatical features etc.
Key words: legalese, legal text, communicative features, obsessive discourse
Small Talk in the Opening of Informal
Persian Telephone Conversations
Fatemeh Ebrahimi Bazzaz
Azad Islamic University, Iran
Abstract
This paper argues linguistic forms and pragmatic functions of small talk that happened in informal Persian telephone conversations between male participants. The study proposes that existing semantic classes of phatic talk based on English are slightly different from Persian data. Phatic expressions in Persian telephone conversation openings get a variety of forms; they may describe relations, structure as well as ratify marked sequences of telephone conversation openings, and express the purpose of calling in keep-in touch calls. Indexing multiple contextual factors, such as language use, serves significant discourse and interpersonal functions.
Key words: phatic talk, conversational routine, discourse and interpersonal functions
Obsessive Behaviour in Language Classes
Irina Boncea
University of Craiova
Abstract
Obsessions come in many shapes and sizes and it is often the case that we lack the ability to identify them in ourselves. This paper tries to identify the various typologies of obsessive discourse in language classes as well as the factors that generate such manifestations. The focus of this study will be set on the manner in which teachers sometimes lose their grip on reality by emphasizing explicit grammar instruction/memorization in various language classes, by obsessing over some grammatical structures while omitting others, by labeling students on heterogeneous criteria, by using verbal parasites that later become a true landmark for a certain teacher etc.
Key words: tipologies, obsessive discourse, language classes, labeling students
The Difficulty of Acquiring Simple Conversational Routines in a Foreign Language
Anca Cehan
“Al. I. Cuza” University of Iaşi
Abstract
Starting from the debate over memorisation and imitation as techniques used in foreign language acquisition, the paper looks at such aspects of conversational routines as their psychological aspect, ritualisation, meaning, fixedness vs. structural flexibility, and functions. Teaching conversational routines is still something new, as the pragmatic aspects of language have long been regarded as being outside the language, and many foreign language teachers ignore them. Moreover, conversational routines are difficult to teach because they are culture specific and their formal description and situational frames are complex.
Key words: conversational routines, time, memory, social constraints, function and form
Discourse Related Problems
Denisa Cerăceanu
University of Craiova
Abstract
Most important category of communication continuum, the term discourse refers to the process or act of speaking and producing ideas that materialize with the help of words or sentences, a mechanism activated by the nerves and muscles of our body so as to carry out the actually effortless act of speaking. Discourse implies certain processes as: formulation of thought, adjustment to the discourse situation, phonation and articulation which together with an appropriate background and rich vocabulary play a chief role in the way our words are displayed in discourse parts which stand for the basis of our thoughts. Discourse mechanism is an uneven one and is influenced by a number of reasons such as emotional states or disturbances, hence adequacy in thoughts depends on the speaker’s mentally and emotionally adjustment to the speaking situation.
Key words: discourse, communication, essential skills, language competence and performance
A Functional Discourse Approach to a Narrative Text
Mădălina Cerban
University of Craiova
Abstract
In this article we propose an interpretation of a narrative text within the framework of systemic functional grammar, paying attention to the type, value and orientation of all instances of modality. We present some general considerations on the system of MOOD which belongs to the interpersonal metafunction of the language and is the grammatical resource for realizing an interactive move in dialogue as well as the classification of modality from a functional perspective. The text we have chosen to analyze is a dialogue in narrative from Conan-Doyle’s The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes because it illustrates a full range of modality selections, both congruent and metaphoric.
Key words: instances of modality, functional perspective, metaphoric meaning
An Approach to American English Idioms
and Their Origin
Ileana Cristea
‘Lucian Blaga’ University of Sibiu
Abstract
Any language is a living ‘body’ which evolves under the influence of different factors, and since new concepts and fields have developed, new phrases are needed, while most of the existent ones get new meanings. Being very flexible, the English language has enriched its vocabulary with new phrases, thus making it more colorful. Idioms help language learners understand English culture, the contemporary life style of English people, and trace back their rich history.Idioms are used both in friendly meetings and business negotiations. How? It is the purpose of this paper to show, at least partially, how, when, and why.
Key words: idioms, phrases, origin and uses of idioms
Higher Education Access and Equity Issues in the Cultural Capital of Sibiu – 2007
Silvia Florea
“Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu
Abstract
My paper is actually a presentation ofmy research projectcarried out within the Faculty Research Center and it starts from the premise that greater equality of opportunity and outcomes in higher educationare increasingly being recognized as an important national but also international policy objective. This however requires an understanding of what widening participation is on the local level–by targeting under-represented groups and not just increasing their entry, but offering opportunities to succeed within and beyond higher education. My paper tackles the project’s background andobjectives at a few essential points.
Key words: educational discourses, higher education, policy objectives
English Loans in the New Romanian Orthographic, Orthoepic and Morphological Dictionary: Transformations and Their Critics
Daniel Ivănuş
University of Craiova
Abstract
When we intend to analyse and examine language policies, the traditional distinction we usually make is between decisions concerning the structure of a language and decisions related to language choice, i.e. corpus planning versus status planning. The distinction is not easy to set, as Fishman (2001) questioned it. The present article aims at showing that both are ideologically constructed, at least partially, and ‘corpus planning is likely to reveal more signs of status aspirations than has been admitted in the literature’ (p.44). We intend to analyse some of the English loans present in the New Ortographic, Orthoepic and Morphological Dictionary (2005) – DOOM – from an ideological perspective and to answer some questions which arose with regard to the nature, function and origin of orthographic norms.
Key words: loans, language choice, transformations, uses and spelling
Found in Translation: Rerouting Islam in Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses
Mădălina Georgiana Matei
“Transilvania” University of Braşov
Abstract
This paper aims at analyzing the mechanisms of cultural translation in Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. Cultural translation is construed as a discursive reformulation of the metanarratives of existence, in this case of Islam, and also as an attempt of the migrant to create a new story that could ‘accommodate’ and reconcile all cultures within his/her own self. This paper will also look at the clash between two discourses: the Islamic fundamentalist one, pertaining to the Muslim critics, and Rushdie’s new language in which the modern Cartesian doubt is manifest.
Key words: cultural translation, discourse reformulation, Otherness, Islam
The Functionality of Discourse Markers in Conversational Text
Ioana Murar
University of Craiova
Abstract
This paper investigates some functional features of discourse markers in spoken language. Considered an important subtype of pragmatic markers, discourse markers derive from different lexical classes, being structurally made up of single words, phrases or clauses. Discourse markers are (partially) grammaticalized elements as they have developed from lexical words and phrases and have gradually acquired a basically pragmatic function. Markers have a deictic (or indexical) function being oriented backward or forward in the discourse. This function is fulfilled by their ability to link segments of the discourse to one another in ways which reflect choices of organization (opening up and closing down a conversation, sequencing, etc.), or monitoring the discourse (reformulation, changes in the conversational topic, etc). Some discourse markers are ambiguous because they are polysemous, serving multiple functions in discourse.
Key words: discourse markers, textual functions, pragmatic functions
On English Computer Terms in Romanian –
Part II
Carmen Nedelcu
University of Craiova
Abstract
The number of English loans in Romanian is continually increasing while nobody could tell how many would survive more than ..... a few years (which at linguistic level equals .... days). Who prefers them to already existing Romanian words, to what extent and in what context the loans are felt useful and what current Romanian users understand when they hear or use them are only a few issues briefly presented in the paper.
Key words: computer terms, differences and similarities in use
Hollow Rights:
The ‘War on Terror’ & the Changing Work
of Rights Discourse
Bruce O’Neill
Stanford University, USA
Abstract:
How has America’s “War on Terror” changed the place and function of rights discourse? This paper analyzes America’s extraordinary renditions program and how these extra-juridical acts of the State have shifted rights claims from juridical venues to cultural spaces. These cultural spaces include the media, NGOs and the public conscience. It is the central claim of this paper that forcing rights discourse to work through these cultural spaces diminishes the efficacy of rights as a liberal democratic discourse.
Key words: rights discourse, juridical venues, cultural spaces
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______Annals of the University of Craiova______
The Pragmatic Values of Romanian Personal Pronouns and Their “Translation” into English
Claudia Pisoschi
University of Craiova
Abstract
The pragmatic values of the deictic elements in a literary text can be approached from a unified perspective by using the means of cognitive poetics; this allows the identification of the entity-roles specific to the various deictic fields making-up the text, together with the establishing of the deictic field boundaries and shifts and also of the referential domain of the pronouns. The use of pronouns is determined by pragmatic reasons such as long and complex syntactic structures which make difficult the understanding of the message, and by stylistic reasons, in other words the intention to give a pronoun generic pronominal reference or emphatic values in order to express a broad or narrow contrast.
Key words: deictic elements, cognitive poetics, pragmatic and stylistic strategies
The Status of Relative Determiners: Relative Pronouns as Relative Determiners and Their Discourse-Linking Properties
Alina Resceanu
University of Craiova
Abstract
This article is an attempt to answer questions related to the analyses that should be adopted in deriving Romanian relative constructions, taking into consideration the possible variations between the structures of different relative constructions, namely care vs. ce relatives. Moreover, it appears that the two types of Romanian wh-constructions both qualify as movement configuration, but have different properties. Further on, we try to define the property that distinguishes the care wh-element that takes obligatory accusative clitics from ce that precludes them. Since D-linking is a determining factor in the grammaticality of sentences, we end our discussion talking about the discourse-linking properties of these types of relative determiners.
Key words: relative constructions, clitics, quantificational/ non-quantificational strategies
Metaphorical and Metonymic Conceptualizations in English and Romanian Heart Idioms
Ana Maria Trantescu
University of Craiova
Abstract
This paper analyses a series of English and Romanian idiomatic expressions belonging to the conceptual domain of heart from the cognitive point of view. Our analysis is based on the cognitive hypothesis according to which idioms are motivated by conceptual structures: conventional knowledge, conceptual metonymies and metaphors.
The study proves that English and Romanian have much in common regarding their phraseological potential. There is a considerable degree of correspondence between English and Romanian in that there are heart idioms in both languages which share the same figurative meaning, as well as the same fundamental conceptual strategies.
Key words: Cognitive motivation, conceptual strategies, conventional knowledge, conceptual metonymies and metaphors, cultural and linguistic identities.
Non-places as Obsessive Spaces
in Frédéric Beigbeder’s Novels
Alina Ţenescu
University of Craiova
Abstract:
For French anthropologist Marc Augé, non-places refer to spaces destined to circulation, to professional occupations and to leisure activities: highways, means of public transport, airports, malls, entertainment centers, discos and stadiums – transitory spaces which have no memory, but also to the means of transport which transit these spaces and to the media. According to francophone media writer Frédéric Beigbeder, non-places are not only a recurrent theme, but they also become obsessive spaces invading the fictional texts. In this article, we will analyze the non-places as they emerge on a corpus of novels by Frédéric Beigbeder such as: Nouvelles sous ecstasy (Tales on ecstasy), Vacances dans le coma (Holiday in a coma), 99 Francs (14.99 Euros) and establish the impact of modern mass media techniques and advertising signs on the fictional texts as literary language is hybrided with obsessive advertising slogans used by the alter ego of the author and by the author himself.