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LIMBI I LITERATURI STRINE
2014 Nr. 2
SUMAR SOMMAIRE CONTENTS
119
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Recenzii Comptes rendus Reviews .....................................................................
Contributors ...........................................................................................................
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153
3
15
37
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97
109
1. Introduction
Research so far on English varieties in East Africa has taken the form of
studies on English in the area as a whole or as a cluster of two or three varieties
(Abdulaziz 1991, Kanyoro 1991, Simo Bobda 2000 and 2001, Trudgill and
Hannah 2002, Mutonya 2008, Schmied 2008).
Kenya features a multilingual ecology made up of 69 indigenous
languages, according to some sources (Ethnologue 2009), or 40 languages,
according to some others (Abdulaziz 1991: 391). Crystal (2003: 107) writes that
Kenya has about 2.7 million speakers who use English as a second language,
but, according to the Ethnologue (Lewis 2009), more than 65% of the total
population of Kenya use English. Of course, individual variation in the use of
English will depend, to a large extent, upon the quality and quantity of exposure
to the language combined with the attitude of the speaker towards English.
Schneider (2007: 196) notes that Kenyan English (henceforth KenE) is during its
third phase, i.e. nativization is still going on and the language is spreading gradually.
In the present study I analyze speech samples obtained from 10 subjects,
from the Speech Accent Archive (SAA), in order to verify some of the features
of KenE. In processing the sound files I have used the Praat software (Boersma
and Weenink 2010). The phonological standard used for reference and ease of
the mergers may also differ within varieties of a larger group, as will be shown
in the case of KenE among East African Englishes.
Mutonyas (2008) study is particularly relevant as his findings disconfirm
some of the data in Schmied (1991a) regarding the vocalic system of KenE as a
variety of East African English. As the Figure 2 below shows, the differences
lie in the STRUT and BIRD vowels which merge with the TRAP and START vowels
to [a], rather than towards [o] for STRUT vowel and [e] for the BIRD vowel, as
predicted by Schmied (1991a).
3. Present study
In this study, I aim to look at the mergers in Mutonya (2008), to discuss a
number of implications that acoustic measurements may have at the
Figure 3:
The two vowels are similar in terms of duration: the [i] sound has 159 ms in
thick and 131 in meet. This difference is not statistically significant and it can
1
The names of the samples indicate the mother tongues of the recorded speakers.
This /i/ is short, but also [+tense], a feature which characterizes long vowels in RP
(Brozb 2011 and 2012).
2
Given the expected length leveling observed, the first step taken was to
measure all tokens for the KIT and FLEECE vowels so as to ascertain whether the
length difference is indeed unimportant.
The measurements of the current data show that things are not quite so
clear-cut. There is a lot of variation whose sources may be multifold.
The table below displays the realizations for the potential targets of the
KIT and FLEECE tokens in the text for all the 10 speakers whose samples were
considered for this analysis. The length measurements show that the short
monophthongs vary between 40-60 milliseconds, while the long ones exceed at
times the double of those values, varying between 110 and 160 milliseconds. I
have delimited some of the cells with borders in boldface in order to underline
breath or sense pauses, as they should be marked during the reading by the
subjects recorded here4.
The speech samples at my disposal do not comprise any words which could allow me to
make any clear statements from a phonetic point of view on the status of the FOOT vowel.
However, it is my intuition that the FOOT/GOOSE pair behaves similarly to the KIT/FLEECE one.
4
This will prove important, as they do not always overlap with the ones made in RP.
WORD
please
bring
these
things
with
six
peas
thick
cheese
we
need
plastic
big
kids
she
these
things
into
three
we
will
meet
RP
target
vowel
F
K
F
K
K
K
F
K
F
F
F
K
K
K
F
F
K
K
F
F
K
F
Gusii1
F
F
F
F
K
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
K
F
F
K
F
K
K
K
K
K
K
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
K
F
F
K*
K*
F
K*
K
K
K
K*
K*
K
K*
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
Nandi1
F
K
K
K
K
K
F
K
F
F
F
K
F
K
F
F
K
K
F
K
K
F
Table 1 reveals that the difference is still maintained between the KIT and
FLEECE vowels in most of the cases. Therefore, can one really speak of a
KIT/FLEECE merger? Before moving on to clarifying this issue, or at least
attempting to do so, a few more remarks are in order. First and foremost, the
pronunciation for these is sometimes (in the cases of Kiswahili8, Luo2 and
Nandi1) [ds] rather than [iz]. A twofold explanation can account for this
unexpected pattern: one can expect an invariant use of this (which is neither
unexpected nor uncommon for a variety of New English) or we could be
dealing with a case of allophonic vowel length which might function as a cue
for final consonant voicing, in the sense that the voicing of the word-final
consonant could be predicted on the basis of a quantity-sensitive distinction in
the preceding vowel (see Roach 2000: 50). Secondly, we encounter a lot of prepause lengthening5 which is visible in the extra long FLEECE tokens (marked in
boldface in the table). This being the case, one could claim that they could serve
5
as prosodic cues. However, this is not what happens as their placement does not
serve prosodic functions6.
Two speakers (Luo1 and Gusii1) display a similar behavior. What they
have in common is a late English onset age, namely that they started learning
English when they were 12. In their case, KIT tokens are used only in functional
words. So do the two vowels merge to a single vocalic position in their speech?
Let us consider the sample of Luo1 first.
Lexical set
FACE
DRESS
NORTH
THOUGHT
GOAT
KIT
FLEECE
GOOSE
TRAP
BATH
BIRD
STRUT
Word
snake
Stella
store
call
go
thick
meet
spoons
plastic
ask
her
brother
F1 (Hz)
502
577
557
591
448
435
316
409
745
766
758
740
F2 (Hz)
1949
1752
1150
1135
1072
2131
2099
987
1463
1437
1397
1433
Duration
(ms)
153
150
270
151
252
150
115
204
107
128
190
106
The table above shows that there is no length distinction between the vowels
that make up the KIT and FLEECE pair. However, the vowel plot below will
uncover some interesting facts.
FACE
F1 - Backness (Hz)
22
00
21
00
20
00
19
00
18
00
17
00
16
00
15
00
14
00
13
00
12
00
11
00
10
00
90
0
DRESS
GOAT
600
700
800
F2 - Height (Hz)
THOUGHT
400
500
NORTH
300
KIT
FLEECE
GOOSE
TRAP
BATH
900
BIRD
1000
STRUT
Word
snake
Stella
store
call
go
thick
meet
spoons
plastic
ask
her
brother
and
F1 (Hz)
429
484
543
532
474
318
311
327
709
657
676
654
535
F2 (Hz)
1939
1699
1224
1207
1011
2014
2046
905
1403
1386
1408
1429
1465
Duration
(ms)
194
114
138
130
238
159
131
150
128
118
170
111
113
I operate on the assumption that the GOOSE/FOOT pair behaves as the KIT/FLEECE pair,
which is the case in many non-native varieties of English. For an in-depth description of the cases
of Cameroon English, Black South African English and Singapore English, see Brozb (2012,
chapters 5, 6 and 9).
10
FACE
F2 - Backness (Hz)
2000
1800
1600
1400
DRESS
1200
1000
800
NORTH
300
THOUGHT
GOAT
500
KIT
600
700
800
900
F1 - Height (Hz)
400
GOOSE
FLEECE
TRAP
BATH
BIRD
SCHWA
1000
STRUT
The measurements show, however, that there are only eight vowels
(Figure 6): two originating in the same diphthongs (i.e. FACE and GOAT) which
have been monophthongized, one comes from the paragogic schwa and the
remainder are the result of various vocalic mergers. The length distinction in the
high area has been lost. In terms of quality, this time the KIT/FLEECE and
8
FOOT/GOOSE pairs have merged to one vocalic position. The [ATR] distinction
is restored once again in the mid area with the help of FACE and GOAT. Just like
in the case of the Luo speaker, the BATH/TRAP/BIRD merger and
THOUGHT/NORTH merger are to be found again. As mentioned before, schwa
occurs sporadically as a paragogic vowel.
By looking at the vowel plot in Figure 5, one can see that BATH, TRAP,
and BIRD vowels have merged towards one single vocalic position, as is the case
of THOUGHT and NORTH.
3.2 Some vocalic processes in KenE
In spite of the low number of speakers and the shortness of the text, the
samples analyzed in the preceding section are illustrative of some recurrent
vocalic processes, which are characteristic of new varieties of English in
8
I suppose this is the case for the GOOSE/FOOT pair as well. From the data in Schmied
(1991b: 424) on the Africanisation of RP phonemes in KenE, it appears that the RP GOOSE
vowel is more or less approximated in KenE, whereas the RP FOOT vowel is lengthened in this
variety.
11
a.
b.
c.
d.
quickly
Wednesday
and
toy
[kwikili]
[wnzdei]
[and]
[tju]
[ATR]
[k] to prepare
[kl] to scatter
[kn] to refuse
[+ATR]:
[iko] to bury
[kelo] to bring
[kuno] to preserve
Further evidence of such harmony effects comes from the adaptation of English
loanwords in Luo:
(3)
a.
b.
c.
d.
conductor
cinema
station
television
[kndakta]
[snma]
[sitesen]
[telefison]
a.
b.
c.
book
hospital
spring
[bk]
[hosptal]
[sprn]
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
bring
end
raised
told
went
[brigi]
[nd]
[rezd]
[told]
[wnt]
12
3. Conclusions
The current sociolinguistic picture shows that KenE is still a non-unitary mix
of elements from the whole pool of features (in the sense of Mufwene 2001).
The analysis above has highlighted the existence of considerable
variation with respect to the vowels of KenE at this stage in its evolution. There
is both intra-speaker and, more importantly, inter-speaker variation, which
undoubtedly reflects the influence of the first language of the users of KenE.
This is not surprising given the diverse and complex linguistic ecology of
Kenya. The predominance of Bantu languages in the ecology as well as the use
of Swahili as a lingua franca in the area will determine the selection of features
based on their frequency in the future development and stabilization process of
KenE (cf. also Lim and Gisbone 2011).
It remains to be investigated whether factors such as less careful speech
styles, different levels of education and non-interference with native varieties
will lead to different results and will have different implications.
REFERENCES
Abdulaziz, Mohamed H. (1991), East Africa (Tanzania and Kenya), in J. Cheshire (ed.), English
around the World: Sociolinguistic Perspectives, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
391-401.
Boersma, Paul and David Weenink (2010), Praat - Doing phonetics by computer (version 5.2.03),
http://www.praat.org/, retrieved on November 29th, 2010.
Brozb, Gabriela (2011), The treatment of monophthongs in the New Englishes, in A. Cuni,
F. Florea and M.-O. Punescu (coords.), Regards croiss sur le TEMPS, Editura Paralela
45, Piteti, 153-160.
Brozb, Gabriela (2012), The Phonology of New Englishes, Editura Universitii Bucureti,
Bucharest.
Cammenga, Jelle (2002), Phonology and Morphology of Ekegusii: A Bantu Language of Kenya,
Rdiger Kppe Verlag, Kln.
Crystal, David (2003), English as a Global Language, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge.
Deterding, David (2007), Singapore English, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
Kanyoro, Musimbi R. (1991), The politics of the English language in Kenya and Tanzania, in J.
Cheshire (ed.), English around the World: Sociolinguistic Perspectives, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 402-419.
Lewis, Paul M. (2009), Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th edition, SIL International,
Dallas, http://www.ethnologue.com, retrieved on December 22nd, 2009.
Lim Lisa and Nikolas Gisbone (eds.) (2011), The Typology of Asian Englishes, John Benjamins,
Amsterdam/Philadelphia.
Mufwene, Salikoko S. (2001), The Ecology of Language Evolution, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge.
13
Mutonya, Mungai (2008), African Englishes: Acoustic analysis of vowels, in World Englishes,
27, 3-4, pp. 434-49.
Owino, Daniel (2003), Phonological nativization of Dholuo loanwords, PhD dissertation,
University of Pretoria, http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-02092004-112729/ un
restricted/00thesis.pdf, retrieved on March 1st, 2012.
Roach Peter (2000), English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course, 3rd edition,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Schmied, Joseph J. (1991a), English in Africa: An Introduction, Longman, London.
Schmied, Joseph J. (1991b), National and subnational features in Kenyan English, in J.
Cheshire (ed.), English around the World: Sociolinguistic Perspectives, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 420-434.
Schmied, Joseph J. (2008), East African English (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania): Phonology, in R.
Mesthrie (ed.), Varieties of English, vol. 4, Africa, South and Southeast Asia, 150-63.
Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin New York, 150-163..
Schneider, Edgar W. (2007), Postcolonial English: Varieties around the World, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge.
Simo Bobda, Augustin (2000), Comparing some phonological features across African accents of
English, in English Studies, 83, 3, pp. 53-70.
Simo Bobda, Augustin (2001), East and Southern African English accents, in World Englishes
20, 3, pp. 269-284.
Trudgill, Peter and Jean Hannah (2002), International English. A Guide to the Varieties of
Standard English, 4th edition, Edward Arnold, London.
Weinberger, Steven (2010), Speech Accent Archive, George Mason University. http://accent.
gmu.edu/, retrieved on October 2nd, 2010.
Wells, John C. (1982), Accents of English, vol. I, An Introduction, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge.
1. Introduction
The present paper is an analysis of the strategies employed by Solomon
Islands Pidgin English to repair illegitimate syllables1. The theoretical framework of
the analysis below is that of Optimality Theory (see e.g. Kager 1999).
Solomon Islands Pidgin English2 is one of the varieties of Melanesian
Pidgin English whose earlier stages are hardly documented. Samples of early
Solomon Islands Pidgin English are presented and analyzed by Mhlhusler
(1987), Keesing (1991a and 1991b) and by Tryon and Charpentier (2004). They
provide valuable information about e.g. the syntax and the lexicon of the
language at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, but
provide little insight into the phonology, given the faulty transcriptions or the
normalizing, i.e. anglicizing orthography frequently restoring English-like
forms3, as in e.g. the samples in Keesing (1991a) and Tryon and Charpentier
(2004: 236240). Consequently, except for a small number of early attestations,
*
15
the data examined in this article consist of forms used by older speakers or of
fossilized forms, taken from Keesing (1988 and 1991b), Jourdan and Keesing
(1997), Jourdan (2002), Lee (2008). It is assumed that such forms reflect,
faithfully enough, the phonology of the so-called bush Pidgin, which is close
to that of earlier Solomon Islands Pidgin English. Theoretically and
methodologically, this is in accordance with what Rickford (1986: 162) calls
feed-back from current usage4. Empirically, as noted by Goulden (1990: 54),
bush varieties of [Solomon Islands] Pidgin English conserve archaic
material and thus provide insights into the history and development of MPE [=
Melanesian Pidgin English].
All examples are rendered in the orthography or the system of
transcription used in the sources mentioned. Intrusive vowels appear in bold
characters. If known, the date of the early attestations is mentioned.
The article is structured as follows. In section 2 I analyze the adjustment
of illicit onset clusters in the etyma. I treat /s/-initial onset clusters separately
given the frequent exceptional behaviour of /s/ in English. Section 3 focusses on
the treatment of complex codas. The reflexes of etyma with simple codas are
discussed in section 4. Finally, section 5 summarizes and discusses the findings.
2. The treatment of onset clusters
2.1. Reflexes of /s/+ oral stop clusters
Jourdan and Keesing (1997: 409) note the use of interconsonantal []
vowels to break up illicit three- or two-consonant onset clusters with /s/
followed by an oral stop. Consider the following examples:
(1)
a.
b.
c.
/skr/
sikarapu (< E scrub) bush
/st/
sitoa (< E store) store
/sk/
1916 sekool (< E school) school
The prohibition against onset clusters made up of /s/ and a voiceless stop can be
captured by means of the high ranked constraint *ONS/sO:
(2)
ANDREI A. AVRAM
16
*ONS/sO dominates DEP-IO since these illicit clusters are broken up via
epenthesis. Given that deletion is not an option, MAX-IO also outranks DEP-IO.
Both *ONS/sO and MAX-IO are ranked higher than CONTIG, the constraint
militating against medial epenthesis or medial deletion5. Finally, the constraint
L-ANCHOR, which bans epenthesis (i.e. vowel prothesis) or deletion at the left
edge, also dominates DEP-IO, and CONTIG is prohibited. The ranking of DEP-IO
and CONTIG is irrelevant to the outcome. It follows that for such forms the
constraint hierarchy is:
(3)
The evaluation of a relevant form, e.g. sitoa, is given in the tableau below6:
(4)
/st :/
sto.a
to.a
so.a
si.to.a
is.to.a
*ONS/sO
*!
MAX-IO
L-ANCHOR
*!
*!
*!
DEP-IO
*
*
CONTIG
*
*
Two other strategies appear to have been only sporadically used. Thus,
deletion of /s/ is attested only in one form in the corpus (Tryon and Charpentier
2004: 368):
(5)
(6)
Interestingly, a fact gone unnoticed by Jourdan and Keesing (1997: 409), one
form in the corpus illustrates both vowel prothesis and vowel epenthesis:
(7)
/st/
isitapu (< E stop) to stay
In this paper I do not decompose this constraint as e.g. in Alber and Plag (1999).
In all tableaux dots indicate syllabic boundaries.
7
Kager (1999) uses epenthesis as a cover term for both prothesis and epenthesis.
6
17
(1999: 105), epenthesis always applies minimally, that is, precisely to the
extent that is necessary to improve structural markedness.
The examples under (1), (6) and (7) suggest that [i] or [e] are the default
epenthetic vowels8. However, /s/ + voiceless stop onset clusters are also broken
up by an epenthetic [u], if the vowel after the cluster in the etymon is /u/:
(8)
a.
b.
/sp/
supun (< E spoon) spoon
/sk/
sukulu (< E school) school
Jourdan (2003) writes that speakers will tend to insert epenthetic vowels in
Pijin words in order to avoid these clusters and that the choice of the vowel is
directed by a rule of vowel harmony9. In fact, the phenomenon illustrated by
such forms is that of vowel copying. In optimality-theoretic terms, this can be
straightforwardly accounted for by assuming a constraint COPY, defined as follows:
(9)
The high ranked constraint COPY ensures the elimination of the competing
candidate [sikulu], with the default epenthetic vowel [i], while securing the
selection of [sukulu]:
(11)
/sku:l/
sku.lu
ku.lu
su.lu
su.ku.lu
si.ku.lu
is.ku.lu
*ONS/sO
*!
MAX-IO
L-ANCHOR
COPY
DEP-IO
CONTIG
*!
*!
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*!
*!
ANDREI A. AVRAM
18
(12)
/sl/
silip (< E sleep) to sleep
The onset cluster /sl/ does not surface, even though it would not violate the
sonority sequencing generalization. This can be captured by positing the
following constraint:
(13)
The constraint is ranked high and dominates both DEP-IO and CONTIG since the
onset cluster at issue is resolved by epenthesis. The hierarchy of constraints is:
(14)
*ONS/sL
*!
MAX-IO
L-ANCHOR
*!
*!
DEP-IO
CONTIG
*
*!
*
*
19
/sw/
a.
b.
c.
The glide /w/ in the etymon does not surface in the Solomon Islands Pidgin
English reflex, but appears to have undergone vocalization. This can be
accounted for in terms of the constraints *ONS/CG and *GLIDEVOCALIZATION:
(18)
(19)
*ONS/CG
*!
MAX-IO
L-ANCHOR
*!
*!
DEP-IO
CONTIG
*GVOCAL
*
*!
*
*
But swit (Link Komik n.d.), in presumably Anglicized Solomon Islands Pidgin English.
ANDREI A. AVRAM
20
a.
b.
c.
d.
The occasionally different spelling reflects variation between [w] and [u] in the
modern variety. This would suggest that the retention of /w/ characterizes the
more recent, possibly anglicized pronunciation whereas the vocalization of /w/
in stop + glide onset clusters represents a prior stage. If so, this confirms the
generalization expressed in (18) and the correctness of the ranking in (20). The
ranking of constraints is therefore:
(24)
*ONS/CG
*!
MAX-IO
L-ANCHOR
*!
*!
DEP-IO
CONTIG
*GVOCAL
*
*!
*
*
21
(27)
(28)
(29)
(30)
(31)
/pl/
a.
bilai (< E play) play
b.
piles (< E place) place
c.
pulande (E plenty) lots
/br/
a.
barata (< E brother) brother
b.
birek (< E break) to break
/tr/
a.
tarae (< E try) to try
b.
tarake (< E truck) truck
c.
turu (< E true) true
/dr/
dorop-em (< E drop, him) to drop
kalaem (< E climb) to climb
/kr/
a.
karae (< E cry) to cry
b.
koros-im (< E cross) to cross
c.
sikarapu (< E scrub) bush
*ONS/OL
*!
MAX-IO
L-ANCHOR
*!
*!
COPY
DEP-IO
CONTIG
*
*!
*!
*
*
*
*
*
ANDREI A. AVRAM
22
Second, epenthesis with vowel copying is the preferred solution, for the
resolution of the illicit stop + liquid onset clusters, but not the only one, contra
Jourdan (2003), who claims that the vowel is exclusively dictated by vowel
harmony. In three of the forms in (26) and (27) [i] is the epenthetic vowel. In
sections 2.1 and 2.2 I have claimed that [i] is one of the default epenthetic
vowels. This is supported by the existence of the three forms with epenthetic [i].
Compare barata brother with a copy of the vowel between /b/ and a liquid
to bilai play and birek to break [i] in the same phonological environment.
The constraint hierarchy is:
(35)
*ONS/OL
*!
MAX-IO
L-ANCHOR
DEP-IO
*!
CONTIG
*
*!
*
*
*!
The constraint CLAB-VLAB outranks both DEP-IO and CONTIG. The constraint
hierarchy is:
(38)
*ONS/OL
*!
MAX-IO
L-ANCHOR
CLAB-VLAB
*!
DEP-IO
CONTIG
*
*!
pu.lan.de
pi.lan.de
up.lan.de
23
*
*
*
*!
*!
*
*
/r/
torou-em (E throw, him) to throw
The illicit cluster in the etymon is resolved by epenthesis of a copy of the vowel
after the cluster. Therefore, the constraint hierarchy securing the emergence of
this candidate is the same as in (33):
(41)
*ONS/OL
*!
MAX-IO
L-ANCHOR
*!
*!
COPY
DEP-IO
CONTIG
*
*!
*!
*
*
*
*
*
a.
b.
c.
/mp/
siambu (< E jump) to jump
/nt/
wande (< E want) to want
/nd/
endi (< E and) and
ANDREI A. AVRAM
24
*CODA/NS: coda clusters made up of a nasal and an oral stop are disallowed
All these clusters are reduced by paragoge. This clearly violates both DEP-IO
and R-ANCHOR, which prohibits epenthesis (i.e. paragoge) or deletion at the
right edge. Since neither deletion nor epenthesis is an option it follows that
MAX-IO and CONTIG outrank DEP-IO and R-ANCHOR. For the forms in (43b, c)
displaying the default paragogic vowel [i] or [e] the constraint hierarchy is:
(45)
This ranking ensures the emergence of e.g. [endi] as the optimal candidate:
(46)
/nd/
end
en
ed
en.di
e.nid
*CODA/NS
*!
MAX-IO
CONTIG
*!
*!
DEP-IO
R-ANCHOR
*
*!
*
*
In the form siambu the paragogic vowel is [u]. The selection of [u] as the paragogic
vowel is triggered by the /p/ in the etymon, since both are [LABIAL]. This can be
handled in terms of the constraint CLAB-VLAB, formulated in (37). In the constraint
hierarchy CLAB-VLAB necessarily outranks DEP-IO and
R-ANCHOR:
(47)
*CODA/NS
*!
MAX-IO
*!
CONTIG
CLAB-VLAB
DEP-IO
R-ANCHOR
*
Prenasalized stops occur in the substrate languages (see e.g. Lynch 1998, Lynch et al.
2002, and Jourdan 2003).
si.ap
si.am.pu
si.am.pi
si.a.mip
*!
25
*!
*
*
*
*!
*
*
*
Consider next how the same etymological coda clusters are adjusted by
speakers who realize phonetically /mp/, /nt/ and /nd/ as prenasalized stops [mb],
[nt], [nd] respectively. These are prohibited from occurring in coda position by
the following constraint:
(49)
(53)
/mp/
si.a.mp
si.a. mpu
si.a. mpi
*CODA/SPRENASAL
*!
*CODA/SPRENASAL
*!
MAX-IO
MAX-IO
CONTIG
CONTIG
DEP-IO
R-ANCHOR
CLAB-VLAB
DEP-IO
R-ANCHOR
*!
*
*
*
*
Note that a consequence of the phonetic realization of /b/, /t/ and /d/ as
prenasalized stops is the avoidance of the closed syllables in the etyma.
Consider next reflexes of the same coda clusters in the so-called bush
varieties. Typically, if the oral stop in the etymon is a coronal one it is deleted,
and the etymological cluster is thereby reduced:
(54)
(55)
/nt/
difiren (< E different) different
/nd/
a.
giraun (< E ground) ground
b.
han (< E hand) hand
ANDREI A. AVRAM
26
(56)
CORONAL]
Since epenthesis is disallowed DEP-IO and CONTIG are also ranked high.
Further, since paragoge would incur their violation, max-io and r-anchor are
both outranked by *CODA/C+t/d and CONTIG. This yields the following
constraint hierarchy:
(57)
The hierarchy of constraints if verified in the tableau below, for the input /hnd/:
(58)
/hnd/
hand
han
had
han.di
ha.nid
*CODA/C+t/d
*!
DEP-IO
*!
*!
CONTIG
MAX-IO
R-ANCHOR
*
*
*!
*
*
/ns/
Pranis (< E France) French
a.
b.
c.
d.
/ns/
fenis (< E fence) fence
/n/
manis (< E month) month
/n/
branis (< E branch) branch
/n/
oranis (< E orange) orange
27
First, note that in coda position the reflex of the affricates // and // is the
fricative /s/. Second, as can be seen, the reflexes of nasal stop + fricative/
affricate contain the default epenthetic vowel [i]. The relevant high ranked
constraint is:
(61)
*CODA/SF: coda clusters made up of a stop and a fricative or affricate are disallowed.
The constraint *CODA/SF dominates both DEP-IO and CONTIG. Since neither
deletion nor paragoge is resorted to, it follows that MAX-IO and MAX-IO are
also ranked high and that they also outrank DEP-IO and CONTIG. The hierarchy
of constraints for the reflexes of the clusters at issue is:
(62)
*CODA/SF
*!
MAX-IO
R-ANCHOR
*!
*!
*!
DEP-IO
*
*
CONTIG
*
*
One example in the corpus illustrates the treatment of oral stop + fricative coda clusters:
(64)
/ks/
1909 bokkis (< E box) box
The same form and other relevant ones are attested in the modern variety
(Miller 1989, Beimers 1995, Jourdan 2002, Beimers 2006, Link Komik n.d.):
(65)
/ks/
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
ANDREI A. AVRAM
28
/bks/
boks
bok
bos
bo.kis
bok.si
*CODA/SF
*!
MAX-IO
R-ANCHOR
*!
*!
DEP-IO
CONTIG
*
*
*
*
*
*!
/st/
a.
b.
c.
d.
Similar forms occur in the modern variety. Consider e.g. the following
examples (Miller 1989, Beimers 1995, Jourdan 2002, Beimers 2006, Link
Komik n.d.):
(68)
/st/
a.
b.
c.
d.
In the reflexes of etyma with /st/ in the coda the illicit coda cluster is normally16
reduced via deletion of /t/. In optimality-theoretical terms this can be handled
by the constraint *CODA/C+t/d, formulated in (56). The coda cluster /st/ in the
etymon is reduced by deleting /t/, in violation of the constraints MAX-IO and RANCHOR. Therefore, this shows that the constraint *CODA/C+t/d is ranked
higher than MAX-IO and R-ANCHOR. Since the illicit coda cluster at issue is not
reduced by epenthesizing a vowel, it follows that DEP-IO and CONTIG also
outrank MAX-IO and R-ANCHOR. Here is the ranking of constraints:
(69)
16
There are just three exceptions in my corpus: pristi (< E priest) priest in bush
Pidgin; isti East and westi West in a song, possibly composed during World War II
(reproduced in Jourdan 2007: 8485).
29
(70)
/st/
dast
das
dat
das.ti
da.sit
*CODA/C+t/d
*!
DEP-IO
*!
*!
CONTIG
MAX-IO
R-ANCHOR
*
*
*!
*
*
(72)
(73)
(74)
(75)
(76)
(77)
(78)
(79)
(80)
(81)
(82)
(83)
/p/
a.
antafu (< E on top) up there
b.
isitapu (< E stop) to stay
c.
koafu (< E go up) to climb
d.
robu (< E rope) rope
/b/
sikarapu (< E scrub) bush
/m/
a.
finisitaemu (< E finish, time) worker whose indenture has elapsed
b.
kamu (< E come) to come
c.
sut-imu (< E shoot, him) to shoot
d.
talemu (< E tell) to tell
/v/
muvu (< E move) to move
/t/
a.
bata (< E but) but
b.
oraete (< E alright) alright
c.
waetemane- (< E white man) white
d.
wokaboti (< E walk, about) to walk
/d/
loti (< E road) road
/s/
bisinisi (< E business) business
/z/
bisinisi (< E business) business
//
finisitaemu (< E finish, time) worker whose indenture has elapsed
//
siosi (< E church) church
//
kabisi (< E cabbage) leafy greens
/l/
a.
olo (< E all) all
b.
raeholo (E < rifle) rifle
c.
solodia (< E soldier) policeman
d.
sukulu (< E school) school
e.
tale (< E tell) to say, to tell
/r/
ANDREI A. AVRAM
30
got bagere (< E got, bugger) forget about it
/n/
a.
ana (< E and) and
b.
Diapane (< E Japan) Japanese
c.
taone (< E town) town
d.
wanekaeni (< E one kind) indefinite article
e.
waetemane (< E white man) white
/k/
a.
gobeke (< E go back) to return
b.
laeka (< E like) like
c.
seke (< E check) to check
d.
tarake (< E truck) truck
e.
wawaka17 (< E work) to work
/g/
bikibiki (< E pig) pig
//
a.
banga (< E bang) to bang
b.
bilongo (< E belong) of
c.
longo (< E along) in
(84)
(85)
(86)
(87)
As can be seen, the simple codas in the etyma include oral stops /p, b, t, d, k, g/,
fricatives /v, s, z, /, affricates /, /, nasal stops /m, n, /18 and liquids /l, r/.
These simple codas do not surface in the early Solomon Islands Pidgin English
reflexes. This suggests that in reflexes of simple codas the constraint NOCODA
ranks high. A vowel is added to permit syllabification. Note that this appears to
be true including of word-internal codas in the etyma, as illustrated by the forms
waetemane, finisitaemu, bisinisi, solodia, wanekaeni.
Since reflexes of word-final codas are much better represented, in what
follows I will focus on paragoge. In all forms with a paragogic vowel, NOCODA
and MAX-IO dominate DEP-IO and R-ANCHOR. In addition, the examples listed
in (71)(87) show that there is considerable variation in the quality of the
paragogic vowel. A frequently occurring case is that of vowel copying, with the
constraint COPY also outranking DEP-IO and R-ANCHOR:
(88)
NOCODA
*!
MAX-IO
*!
COPY
DEP-IO
R-ANCHOR
*
ba.ta
ba.ti
*
*
*!
31
*
*
NOCODA
*!
MAX-IO
CLAB-VLAB
DEP-IO
R-ANCHOR
*!
*
*
*
*
*
*!
Note that muvu may reflect either the effect of COPY or of CLAB-VLAB since both
constraints would ensure the selection of [u] as the paragogic vowel:
Finally, and not surprisingly, [i] and [e] are the default paragogic vowels
as well. The relevant hierarchy of constraints is:
(92)
NOCODA
*!
MAX-IO
DEP-IO
R-ANCHOR
*
*
5. Conclusions
The evidence presented in sections 2 through 4 points to a strong
tendency towards a CV syllable structure in early Solomon Islands Pidgin
English. This is not surprising given the influence of the substrate languages19
19
For an outline of the phonology of the substrate languages see Lynch (1998), Lynch et
al. (2002).
ANDREI A. AVRAM
32
(Jourdan and Keesing 1997, Jourdan 2003, Jourdan 2008, Jourdan and Selbach
2008, Lee 2008, Avram 2011).
This article has also analyzed the various strategies used by early
Solomon Islands Pidgin English for the restructuring of illicit syllables in the
etyma. The strategies at issue are mostly epenthesis or paragoge employing the
default vowels [i] or [e], epenthesis or paragoge with vowel copying, epenthesis
or paragoge with labial attraction. Consonant deletion appears to be more
restricted. It has also been shown that vowel harmony20 plays no part in
determining the quality of the epenthetic or of the paragogic vowel.
Identical illicit onsets or codas are occasionally subject to different
adjustment strategies in early Solomon Islands Pidgin English. For instance, I
have shown in section 2.1 that /s/ + oral stop clusters are normally simplified by
means of epenthesis, but occasionally via deletion of /s/ or via both vowel
prothesis and epenthesis. As seen in 3.1, the clusters /nt/ and /nd/ are reduced
either by means of paragoge or through deletion of the oral stop. Similarly, the
/st/ cluster in coda position in the etyma is simplified by deleting the /t/.
Simple codas are not excluded altogether. First, as seen in 3.1, [m] and
[n] may occur in word-internal codas, with speakers who have /b/, /t/ and /d/,
whereas with those speakers who realize them as prenasalized stops, i.e. as [mb],
[nt] and [nd] respectively, nasal codas are excluded even word-internally.
Second, [s] is attested in the reflexes of stop + fricative/affricate coda clusters,
as discussed in 3.2. Third, simple codas occasionally appear in reflexes of
simple codas. As shown in 4, reflexes of simple codas normally display a
paragogic vowel. However, the simple coda may surface as such. Actually,
etyma ending in an identical consonant may have reflexes with or without a
paragogic vowel: compare e.g. birek (< E break) to break, where [k] appears
in coda position, with seke (< E check) to check, with a paragogic vowel after
[k]. This variability has been reported for the earlier stages of other Englishlexifier pidgins and creoles as well (Avram 2005).
Clearly, as shown in sections 2 through 4, identical illicit onsets or codas
are occasionally subject to different adjustment strategies in early Solomon
Islands Pidgin English. This also accords rather well with the variability typical
of early pidgins, abundantly documented in the literature.
Further evidence in support of the analysis of syllable restructuring in
early Solomon Islands Pidgin English comes from early records of Tok Pisin
analyzed by Hall (1943), Murphy (1966)21, Mhlhusler et al. (2003), Tryon
and Charpentier (2004), and of Bislama analyzed by Crowley (1990, 1993 and
1998) and by Tryon and Charpentier (2004). The strategies employed by early
20
33
For a summary see Holm (1989: 526-529). For a detailed account see Tryon and
Charpentier (2004).
34
ANDREI A. AVRAM
Avram, Andrei A. (2007a), Syllable restructuring in early Solomon Islands Pidgin English, in
Bucharest Working Papers in Linguistics, IX, 1, pp. 219-230.
Avram, Andrei A. (2007b), On the alleged occurrence of vowel harmony in Solomon Islands
Pidgin English, in Analele Universitii din Bucureti. Limbi i literaturi strine, LVI,
pp. 87-98.
Avram, Andrei A. (2008), Vowel harmony in Pijin?, talk given at the Research Group in
Phonology, 14 February 2008, Lancaster University, Lancaster.
Avram, Andrei A. (2009), The epenthetic and paragogic vowels of Pijin, in Revue roumaine de
linguistique, LIV, 3-4, pp. 365-382.
Avram, Andrei A. (2011), The epenthetic and paragogic vowels of Pijin: Internal development
or substrate influence?, in P. P. Chruszczewski, Z. Wsik (editori), Languages in
Contact 2010, Philologica Wratislaviensia. Acta et Studia 4, Wydawnictwo Wyszej
Szkoy we Wrocawiu, Wrocaw, pp. 7-23.
Balzer, Trevor, Ernie Lee, Peter Mhlhusler, Paul Monaghan, Denise Angelo, Dana Ober
(2008), Pidgin Phrasebook, 3rd edition, Lonely Planet Publications, Hawthorn.
Beimers, Gerry (1995), Wei fo Raetem Olketa Wod long Pijin, Solomon Islands Christian
Association, Honiara.
Beimers, Gerry (2006), Pijin dictionary. www.pijinplus.net/lexicon/lexindex.htm.
Churchill, William (1911), Beach-la-mar. The Jargon or Trade Speech of the Western Pacific,
The Carnegie Institution, Washington.
Clements, George N. (1993), Lieu darticulation des consonnes et des voyelles: une thorie
unifie, in B. Laks and A. Rialland (eds.) Architecture des reprsentations
phonologiques, CNRS ditions, Paris, pp. 101-145.
Crowley, Terry (1990), Beach-la-Mar to Bislama. The Emergence of a National Language in
Vanuatu, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Crowley, Terry (1993), Pre Pionnier and late nineteenth-century Bislama, in Journal of Pidgin
and Creole Languages, 8, 2, pp. 207-226.
Crowley, Terry (1998), The Bislama lexicon before the First World War: Written attestations,
in Papers in Pidgin and Creole Linguistics, 5, pp. 61-106.
Goulden, Rick (1990), The Melanesian Content in Tok Pisin, The Australian National University,
Canberra.
Hall, Robert A. (1943), Melanesian Pidgin English. Grammar, Texts, Vocabulary, Ams Press,
New York.
Hancok, Ian F. (1977), Recovering pidgin genesis: Approaches and problems, in A. Valdman
(ed.) Pidgin and Creole Linguistics, Indiana University Press, Bloomington & London,
pp. 277-294.
Holm, John (1989), Pidgins and Ceoles, vol. II, Reference Survey, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge.
Jourdan, Christine (1988), Langue de personne, langue de tout le monde: le Pijin Honiara, in
tudes Croles, XI, 1, pp. 128-147.
Jourdan, Christine (1989), Nativization and Anglicization of Solomon Islands Pijin, in World
Englishes, 7, 3, pp. 25-37.
Jourdan, Christine (2002), Pijin. A Trilingual Cultural Dictionary [PijinInglisFranis] [Pijin
EnglishFrench] [PijinAnglaisFranais], The Australian National University, Canberra.
Jourdan, Christine (2003), Pijin phonology. http://www.pidgin.ca.
Jourdan, Christine (2007), Parlons Pijin, Histoire sociale et description du pidgin des les
Salomon. LHarmattan, Paris.
Jourdan, Christine (2008), Solomon Islands Pijin: Morphology and syntax, in K. Burridge, B.
Kortmann (eds.), Varieties of English, vol. 3, The Pacific and Australasia, Mouton de
Gruyter, Berlin New York, pp. 467-487.
35
Jourdan, Christine and Roger Keesing (1997) From Fisin to Pijin: Creolization in process in the
Solomon Islands, in Language in Society, 26, 3, pp. 401-420.
Jourdan, Christine and Rachel Selbach (2008), Solomon Islands Pijin: Phonetics and
phonology, in K. Burridge, B. Kortmann (eds.) Varieties of English, vol. 3, The Pacific
and Australasia, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin New York, pp. 164-187.
Kager, Ren (1999), Optimality Theory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Keesing, Roger M. (1988), Solomons Pidgin pronouns: A further look, in English World-Wide,
9, 2, pp. 271-292.
Keesing, Roger M. (1991a), The expansion of Melanesian Pidgin: Further early evidence from
the Solomons, in Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, 6, 2, pp. 215-229.
Keesing, Roger M. (1991b), Substrates, calquing and grammaticalization in Melanesian Pidgin,
in E. C. Traugott and B. Heine (eds.) Approaches to Grammaticalization, vol. I, Focus on
Theoretical and Methodological Issues, John Benjamins, Amsterdam/ Philadelphia,
315-42.
Lee, Ernie (2008), Solomon Islands Pijin, in Balzer et al., 53-96.
Link Komik (n.d.) Honiara.
Lynch, John (1998), Pacific Languages. An Introduction, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.
Lynch, John, Malcolm Ross and Terry Crowley (2002), The Oceanic Languages, Curzon,
Richmond.
Miller, Laura (1989), Peace Corps Solomon Islands Pijin English Dictionary. Peace Corps,
Honiara:
Murphy, John J. (1966), The Book of Pidgin English, 2nd edition, W. R. Smith & Paterson,
Brisbane.
Mhlhusler, Peter (1987), Tracing predicate markers in Pacific Pidgin English, in English
World-Wide, 8, 1, pp. 97-121.
Mhlhusler, Peter (1997), Pidgin and Creole Linguistics, expanded and revised edition,
University of Westminster Press, London.
Mhlhusler, Peter, Thomas E. Dutton, Suzanne Romaine (2003), Tok Pisin Texts. From the
Beginning to the Present, John Benjamins, Amsterdam/Philadelphia.
Rickford, John R. (1986), Short note, in Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, 1, 1, pp.
159-163.
Schuchardt, Hugo (1883/1980), Melanesian English, in G. G. Gilbert (ed.) Pidgin and Creole
Languages. Selected Essays by Hugo Schuchardt, Cambridge University Press,
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Tryon, Darrell T. and Jean-Michel Charpentier (2004), Pacific Pidgins and Creoles. Origins,
Growth and Development, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin New York.
36
ANDREI A. AVRAM
1. Introduction
The paper is divided into three main sections, as follows. Section 2
introduces Control Theory and its main tenets as discussed initially for
English infinitival complements: the Obligatory Control (OC) vs. NonObligatory Control (NOC) dichotomy, the characteristics of (OC) PRO and
previous analyses of object control in Romanian (a much less discussed topic as
compared to subject control). Section 3 elaborates on the idea that what have
been dubbed obligatory object control verbs do not impose OC in Romanian
and hence we cannot speak of syntactic control in the subjunctive complements
selected by these verbs. Supporting evidence for this is provided not only from
naturally-occurring examples, but also the results of a questionnaire. A brief
section 4 summarizes the main findings and draws the conclusions.
38
PRO therefore differs from DPs in point of phonological content and case,
which are actually connected since case cannot be assigned to null categories
(but see refinements in more recent literature, according to which PRO can also
bear case). However, the internal properties of an empty category (EC) and
thus of PRO as well represent a subset of the set of properties that
characterize lexical DPs. Consequently, an R-index should be among the
obligatory properties of PRO for reasons of semantic coherence and wellformedness. Besides the R-index, phi-features must also be specified, for cases
when the EC itself functions as an antecedent of anaphors, as in (2):
(2)
a.
b.
Unlike other empty categories (NP-trace, pro, wh-trace), the case of PRO
is somewhat more complicated, given its specification as both [+anaphor] and
[+pronominal] on account of the fact that sometimes it behaves like an
anaphor (3a) and other times like a pronoun (when it receives arbitrary
interpretation) (3b). This points out it should obey both Principle A and B.
(3)
a.
b.
39
The fact that GB PRO is both bound and free in its governing category
leads to a contradiction, solved by the claim that PRO is ungoverned, i.e. it does
not have a(ny) governing category (the PRO Theorem).
The ungoverned position of PRO, its specification as both [+anaphor] and
[+pronominal] and the fact that besides its lack of case it has to bear a distinct
theta role from that of its antecedent, hence be visible for theta-marking at LF,
represent complications of the theory of PRO in GB, which were later tackled in
various ways.
In GB Control Theory and the interpretation of PRO were approached
using the basic claims and concepts of Binding Theory (BT). In other words,
control was seen as an extension of BT, such that obligatory control was treated
on a par with anaphoric binding and optional control instances were likened to
pronominal reference relations. More plainly, PRO in OC instances was
analyzed as an anaphor which needed to be bound in its domain governing
category (the main clause), whereas NOC PRO was analyzed as a pronoun free
to pick up a (non-)local antecedent or otherwise bear arbitrary reference.
The GB problems of ungoverned and caseless, but theta-marked PRO
found a solution in Chomsky and Lasniks (1993) proposal that PRO should
bear a special type of case, null case, assigned by non-finite inflection. The
authors propose that PRO, too needs case so as to be visible and interpretable at
LF, on a par with lexical DPs. However, unlike the latter, which bear structural
nominative assigned by finite inflection, PRO will bear null case, a special type
of case that only non-finite inflection can assign and which only PRO is
compatible with. The fact that PRO is incompatible with any other type of case
explains why it is disallowed in regular case-marked position as well as its
complementary distribution with lexical DPs:
(4)
a.
b.
Hornstein (1999, 2001) takes issue with some of the earlier accounts on
the interpretation and distribution of PRO. Thus, among others, he maintains
that the distribution of PRO can be explained without recourse to the notion of
government, tackles the problematic different interpretation of PRO in OC and
NOC and draws attention to the theory-internal flavour of null case. His answer
to the above problems is to provide an alternative to the classical theory of
control, proposing to analyse it as a case of DP movement, advocating a
modification in the GB chain theory. In his view, the controller which at PF
surfaces in the matrix clause has moved from the lower infinitival clause where
it was originally projected, stopping to the next theta-position of the main
clause and finally to the case position of the matrix. According to this
40
assumption, the same DP actually bears two theta-roles (the one of the
complement verb and the one of the verb in the matrix). Thus, the chain in (5a)
contains two theta roles of the type (DP Agent, t Agent):
(5)
a.
b.
He tried [ t to come].
He seemed [ t to be crying].
(6)
a.
b.
c.
41
a.
b.
a.
b.
42
a.
b.
a.
b.
c.
In (10a) above, force is a verb of obligatory direct object control in that it is its
direct object that controls the empty PRO subject of its infinitival complement.
Promise and try in (10b, c) are verbs of obligatory subject control because they
force their subjects to control the empty subject of the infinitival complements
that they select. Verbs of obligatory control always select PRO-TO
complements and disallow FOR-TO infinitive clauses as complements
43
a.
[PROarb to err] is human, [PROarb to forgive] divine.
b.
[PROarb to vote for Vadim] would be a tremendous mistake.
Maryi knew that it would damage Johnj [PROi/j to perjure himselfj/herselfi]
a.
b.
Johni said that Maryj thought that [PROi to shave himselfi] would bother Suek
[PROi storming out of the room like that] convinced everyone that Johni is
immature.
(Cornilescu 2003: 249)
(ii)
(14)
a.
b.
(ii)
Strict Reading of PRO is only possible with NOC, not with OC.
Strict vs. sloppy readings are visible in contexts with gapped material,
which are ambiguous as to the interpretation of the gap. Thus, the reconstructed
constituents tend to be paired with overt NPs in different ways. Consider (15) below:
(15)
44
The interpretation in (15a), in which Tom is the one who picks up the
liquor, illustrates the sloppy identity (identity established with the closest
possible antecedent), while the interpretation in b), according to which I/me is
the one who picks up the liquor illustrates the strict reading (identity
established with the remote antecedent).
As far as the OC/NOC opposition is concerned, only the latter allows for
strict readings (i.e. identity of PRO with a remote antecedent), whereas the former
requires strict identity between the controller and PRO, that is sloppy reading.
(16)
a.
b.
Only Billi expects that it will make a strong impression on Maryj [PROi to
read the play].
Johni tried to leave early, and Billj did too (OC, only sloppy identity possible,
i.e. Billj tried [PROj/*i to leave early]).
We do not insist on such matters here, since they are not relevant to the present
discussion. For details, see Landau (1999).
45
such that syntactically plural anaphors are licensed in these contexts (see the
italicised anaphor in (17c)):
(17)
a.
b.
c.
Johni told Maryj [hei didnt know [which club PROi+j to join together](PC)
Johni agreed with Billj [PROi+j to kiss Mary].
Maryi thought [that Johnj said [that [PROi+j helping each other is vital]]].
46
complements with an available Nominative
controlled/anaphoric pronominal/pro (18)3:
(18)
position,
filled
by
am
rugat pe Ioni ca mine
s plimbe proi/eli cinele.
Lihim.acc have.1sg asked pe Ion that tomorrow sbj walk-3sg pro/he dog-the
I asked Ioni PROi to walk the dog tomorrow./that hei should walk.
(Alboiu 2006: 35-36)
Landau (2004: 826-827) analyzes verbs such as urge and ask on a par
with other subject control verbs like try and manage and claims that these
predicates select Controlled-subjunctives and, consequently, that their empty
subjects must be PROs. He quotes Comorovsky (1985) as well as Dobrovie
Sorin (2001) to support his claims:
(19)
(20)
The notation used in the examples above (i.e. Pro) is Landaus: the author
chooses to notate the empty embedded subject as neither PRO, nor pro, but as a
combination of the two before actually proceeding to demonstrate that the
examples undoubtedly display OC properties and hence that the null subject of
the embedded subjunctives must be a formative of the PRO type. Regardless of
the notation adopted, the indices clearly show what the authors claim, namely the
fact that the object control verbs in question induce OC. In Landaus own words:
these constructions display all the typical properties of obligatory control. The embedded
subject must be null, lexical subjects excluded in this position; it must be coreferential
with a c-commanding matrix antecedent; control by a distant antecedent, or a discourse
referent, is impossible. Furthermore, Pro only permits a sloppy reading under ellipsis []
and supports a de se but not a de re interpretation just like PRO does. Thus, these are
3
The examples under (i), (ii) and (iii) support similar claims (see the subscripts):
(i) Mamai
a
obligat -ok
pe Anak [s mnnce prok toat supa]
mother-the have.3sg obliged her-acc pe Ana s eat-3sg pro all soup
Mother obliged Ana to eat up the soup.
(ii) proi Lk
-am
convins pe Mateik [s plece
elk primulk.]
pro him-acc have.1sg convinced pe Matei s leave-3sg he first-the
I convinced Matei to leave (himself) the first (himself).
(iii)
proi Ik
-am
ordonat servitoareik [s tearg eak masa, nu valetulm.]
pro her-dat have.1sg ordered maid-dat
s wipe-3sg she table-the not butler-the
I ordered the maid the maid to wipe the table herself, not the butler.
47
definitely OC constructions, with the peculiar property that the controlled subject occurs
in a subjunctive clause, rather than an infinitive or gerund. (Landau 2004: 827)
48
a.
b.
c.
d.
Bock ii a
ordonat lui Opreai ca avioanelem s zboare aa
Boc him-dat-3sg have.3sg ordered to Oprea that planes-the s fly-3pl like
cum merg tancurile in Irak
how go-3pl tanks-the in Irak
Boc ordered Oprea that planes (should) fly the same way as tanks roll in
Irak.
Mamak biatului s- a
rugat de profesorii s nu afle
tatalm-the
mother-the boy-gen have.3sg asked of professors s not find out-3sg fatherlui ce
s-a
ntmplat.
his what have.3sg happened
The boys mother begged the teachers that his father not be told about what
happened.
prsit
unitatea i miia
Colonelul Kemenicik a
colonel-the Kemenici have.3sg abandoned unit-the and me-dat has.3sg
ordonat ca nimenim s nu intre
n birou nainte de
a se ntoarce el
ordered that no one s not enter-3sg in office before comp come back he
Col. Kemenici left the unit and ordered me that nobody should enter the
office until he came back.
[Ai plecat la All Star Game cu gndul de-a participa la competiia de Slam
Dunk?]
[Did you go to All Star Game intent on taking part in the Slam Dunk
competition?]
La nceput nu, dar colegiik miau
ncurajat s fie
i un
at beginning not but colleagues me-Acc have.3pl ncurajat s be-3sg and one
romnm la concurs
Romanian at contest
Not at first, but my colleagues encouraged me that there should be a
Romanian, too in the competition.
In all the four examples above the complement features an overt disjoint lexical
subject. In (21c), this is the negative pronoun nimeni nobody, licensed by
embedded (local) negation.
Likewise, disjointedness can be signaled by the presence of a floating
quantifier whose features retrieve a lower subject different from the matrix
49
object (22a) or merely by the phi-features of the subjunctive. In (22c & d) the
embedded verb appears in a passive-reflexive construction which identifies a
null disjoint subject:
(22)
a.
b.
c.
d.
Colonelulk ii a
ordonat (locotenentuluii) s participe
colonel-the him-dat.3sg has.3sg ordered lieutenant-dat.3sg s participate-3pl
toim n raidul de a doua zi.
all in raid of second day
The colonel ordered the lieutenant that they should all take part in the next
day raid.
[mi-am desprit de elj pentru c au aflat pariniik mei] i mi[I broke up with him because my parents found out] and me-acc.1sg
au
obligat prok s nei+j desprim
proi+j
have.3pl obliged
s us.refl break up-1pl
I broke up with him because my parents found out and obliged me that we
should break up.
a
ordonat s nu se execute
foc prom
generalulk Milea miigeneral Milea me-dat have.3sg ordered s not se execute-3sg fire
asupra demonstranilor
onto demonstrators
Gen. Milea ordered me that no gun shots should be fired onto the
demonstrators.
D.S.S.k leia
ordonat s nu se deschid focul prom n
D.S.S. them-dat have.3sg ordered s not se open-3sg fire
in
interiorul cldirii
interior-the building-gen
D.S.S. ordered them that fire should not be opened on the premises.
Mariai ik a
convins pe prinik s se duc (singuri /i eai) la
Maria them.acc have.3sg convinced pe parents s go-3sg (alone-fem/and she) at
concert.
concert
Maria convinced her parents that she should go (alone/too) to the concert. not
Maria convinced her parents to go to the concert.
Finally, the following set of examples illustrates the extent to which these
verbs allow split control (see above for a brief account of this type of NOC),
such that the reference of the null embedded subject (syntactically marked for
50
plural, as shown by the plural phi-features on the subjunctive verb) includes that
of both the matrix subject and (direct or indirect) object.
(24)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
abia iiam
convins prok [s nu plecam prok+i
hardly them-acc-3pl have.1sg convinced
s not leave-1pl
n ziua
cnd avem
cazare
in day-the when have-1pl accommodation
I had a hard time convincing them we should not leave on the very day of
our check-in.
mai bine ar fi
s ii
convingi prok [s traversai prok+i Bulgaria
better
would be s them-3pl convince
s cross-2pl
Bulgaria
noaptea]
night
It would be better if yousg convince them that youpl should cross Bulgaria at
night.
Spre
sear, gazdak mea mi a
convins [s mergem
towards evening host my me-acc-1sg have.3sg convinced s go-1pl
prok+i la un vecin]
at a neighbour
Around dusk, my host convinced me that we should pay a visit to one of the
neighbours.
li am
convins prok [s facem
prok+i bebe]
him-acc-3sg have.1sg convinced
s make-1pl
baby
I convinced him that we should have a baby.
Vrciuk a
convins -oi
[s fac sex
prok+i n zece
Vrciu have.3sg convinced her-acc-3sg s make sex-3pl
in ten
minute!]
minutes
Vrciu convinced her in ten minutes that they should have sex!
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
51
have.3sg obliged
s us.refl get married-1pl
When he found out that I was pregnant, he obliged me that we get married.
oblig
prok [s ieim
prok+i pe cmp, n
i mi
and me-acc-1sg oblige-3sg
s get out-1pl
on field in
ntmpinarea lor]
welcoming-the theirs
and he obliges/obliged me that we go out into the fields to welcome them.
Eak mi
oblig
s nu m
lenevesc
i s mergem prok+i
she me-acc-1sg obliges-3sg s not me-acc get lazy-1sg and s go-1pl
dimineaa i seara
la plimbare
morning-the and evening-the at walk
She obliges me not to laze about and that we should go for walks in the
mornings and evenings.
a.
b.
c.
d.
l iam
ncurajat prok s gteasc proi, s fac
curat proi
him-acc-3sg have.1sg encouraged s cook-3sg
s make-3sg clean
cu mine, s vorbim prok+i la telefon
with me
s talk-1pl
at phone
I encouraged him that he should cook, tidy up the house with me, that we
speak on the phone.
la nceputul
lui 2007 am
ncurajat prok un grup de tinerii
at beginning-the of 2007 have.1sg encouraged
a group of youngsters
s facem
prok+i o echip de jurnaliti cretini
s make-1pl
a team of journalists christian
At the beginning of 2007 I have encouraged a group of youngesters that we
should set up a team of Christian journalists.
Tot faniik miau
ncurajat s -i
facem
proi+m i
still fans-the me-acc-1sg have.3pl encouraged s it-dat make-1pl
and
un videoclip acestui nou single
a video
this-dat new single
It was again the fans who encouraged me that we should also have a video
done for this new single.
a
ordonat prok s ateptmi+m noi ordine de la elk
Miime-dat-1sg have.3sg ordered
s wait-1pl
new orders from him
He ordered me that we should await new orders from him.
52
3.2. Further evidence: a questionnaire
3.2.1. Method
The aim of our questionnaire was to test whether disjoint lexical subjects
are accepted by speakers in the complements of subject implicatives and object
control verbs. In the present paper, we will focus on the data and results for
verbs of object control. Given the evidence above, our expectation was that this
should be easily accepted. Also, as far as object control verbs are concerned, we
expected that a obliga oblige, given its semantics (implicative), should yield
somewhat different results from its exercitive object control sisters. This is in
accord with more recent accounts in Landau (2012), who distinguishes between
desiderative object control verbs and implicative control verbs and associates
them with different syntactic behaviour (see the Discussion)
Our questionnaire consists of 24 sentences whose grammaticality
speakers were asked to decide on. The sentences featured five implicative verbs
of subject control (a ncerca try, a cuta (s) try/endeavour, a reui
manage, a izbuti succeed/manage, a risca risk) and five verbs of object
control (four directive: a ruga/cere ask/beg, a ncuraja encourage, a
convinge convince, a ordona order and the implicative a obliga
oblige/coerce). Next to these which were our target , two more matrix
verbs were included as distractors: the modal a putea can and the
implicative/psych verb a-i aminti remember. As previously stated, all the
sentences involving these matrix verbs featured subjunctive complements with
overt disjoint DP subjects. Therefore, a number of 12 verbs were tested, of
which we mainly focused on the five subject implicatives and the five object
control predicates just mentioned. The fact that our questionnaire actually
contains 24 sentences instead of 12 is easily accounted for: each of the 12 verbs
tested appeared twice, i.e. for each of them there were two distinct sentences on
whose correctness respondents had to make judgements. The two sentences
with the same selecting predicate differed in that one was a s-complement,
whereas the other a ca-complement (i.e. had embedded material displaced to the
complements LP sometimes the disjoint subject DP itself, other times
adverbial expressions). Notice that under our approach, s-subjunctives are no
different from ca-subjunctives as far as their CP status is concerned. As stated
above, we take the subjunctive complements in the control environments under
analysis as CP projections (either CFins with covert ca or CforcePs)4. Moreover,
the two sentences featuring the same type of matrix verb were not given one
4
Thus, s-subjunctives are CFinP projections, whereas ca-subjunctives would be CForceP
projections. Nonetheless, CFinPs (i.e. complements without lexicalization of ca) can also be phasal
(i.e. temporally independent, Nom. case position, etc).
53
after the other, but were jumbled with the others, for a better homogeneity of
the test. Next to keeping them apart, we tried to make them as different in
content as possible, so different matrix subjects/objects as well as different
embedded DPs and predicates were used each time.
Our expectation was that the presence or absence of ca should not in
principle influence the interpretation of the given sentence5 an expectation
borne out by the results. Another prediction was that the bulk of respondents
should allow for the possibility of disjoint subjects in the complements of these
verbs. More precisely, this was an expectation we put to the test.
To sum up, our questionnaire contains 24 sentences featuring (twice) all
the 12 above-mentioned predicates as matrix verbs selecting either s- or casubjunctives with overt disjoint subjects. Its aim is to show how felicitous such
disjoint subjects are in such contexts as far as our informants are concerned.
The respondents were 40 people of various ages roughly between 22 to
60 and professional backgrounds (students, colleagues, mainly people
activating in various fields). They were asked to pass grammaticality
judgements on the 24 statements by choosing either yes or no as an answer
to the requirement State whether you find the following examples
grammatical/interpretable or not. They were also given the opportunity to
make any observations they saw fit in a special rubric provided after each
sentence in part. Most significantly, next to choosing Yes or No, they were
asked to provide grammaticality scores from 1 to 5 for each sentence, such that
a score of 5 meant perfectly grammatical/correct, whereas a score of 1 stood
for ungrammatical/incorrect/unacceptable. Naturally, the choice of a Yes
triggered a score of 5, whereas a No answer could be associated with a score
on a 1-4 scale.
In the discussion of the results below, we provide the percentages for the
No answers as well, depending on the scores received. Importantly, as we
shall see, most of the No answers revolve around a score of 3 or 4, which
shows that even though the respondents did not consider a certain example
perfectly acceptable, they did not dismiss it as altogether ungrammatical. Below
are a few samples of the sentences in our questionnaire, involving predicates
like a ordona order and a convinge convince. The disjoint embedded DP
subjects appear in boldface, as are the relevant disjoint phi-features in the
corresponding glosses:
54
(27)
a.
b.
c.
d.
Boc i- a
ordonat
lui Oprea
ca avioanele armatei
Boc him.dat have.3sg ordered-3sg to Oprea-3sg that planes-the army.gen
s survoleze zona. din dou n dou ore
s fly over-3pl area-the from two in two hours
Boc ordered Oprea that the armys planes should fly over the area every two
hours.
Ia
ordonat secretarei
s nu intre
nimeni n
her.dat have.3sg ordered secretary.dat-3sgi s not enter-3sgj nobody in
birou pn nu se termin edina.
office till not finish
meeting-the
He ordered the secretary that no one was to enter the office before the
meeting was over.
Cu greu
am
reuit
s l
convingem pe Mihai
with difficulty have.1pl managed-1pl s him.acc convince-1pl pe Mihai-3sgi
ca masa festiv s aib
loc la Marriott
that dinner festive s have-3sgj place at Marriott.
We had a hard time trying to convince Mihai that the farewell dinner should
take place at Marriotts
ntr-un sfrit lam
convins pe colonel
s plece
i
in one end him.acc have.1pl convins pe colonel-3sg s leave-3pl and
soldaii
n permisie peste weekend
soldiers-the in leave
over weekend
We finally convinced the colonel that the soldiers, too should have a
weekend leave.
2.2.2. Results
Below we present the results of our questionnaire for the five object
control verbs. The Yes columns provide the percentages corresponding to
those answers which confirmed the possibility of control suspension, whereas
the No ones give the numbers corresponding to those answers which
disallowed this option to various degrees. As far as the total number of No
answers for each of these verbs is concerned, we also provide the percentages
relative to the 1 to 4 scores, to see to what extent the judgement of
ungrammaticality translates into totally unacceptable (i.e. a score of 1) or else
marginally acceptable or even quite acceptable (i.e. scores ranging between
3 and 4).
Let us then look at the results for the five object control verbs we have
chosen to test. With some of these verbs the results are lower than the ones
observed for subject control implicatives of the try and manage type. This
might be due to their semantics, i.e. to the fact that most of them are
directive/exercitive verbs (as well as the force type implicative) that signal
that a certain action (asking/ordering/convincing/encouraging, etc.) is
performed by an Agent (the matrix subject) onto a(n animate) Patient/Theme
(the matrix object), who should as such be the logical subject (agent) of the
event denoted by the embedded subjunctive. They are thus less permissive with
55
The results for a convinge convince are given below, with slightly
decreasing scores:
YES (score: 5) NO (score 1-4)
57 (71.25%)
23 (28.75%)
Table 5: Grammaticality judgements for a convinge convince
56
Score 4 15 (65.21%)
Score 3 7 (30.43%)
Score 2 0
Score 1 1 (4.5%)
Table 6: Percentages of ungrammaticality scores for a convinge convince
Finally, the next two sets of charts (7 & 8 for a ncuraja encourage and
9, 10 for a obliga oblige/make) show that with these last two verbs
respondents have been more reserved in allowing control suspension. However,
in spite of the fact that the number of ungrammaticality judgements is higher,
the bulk of these scores still revolve around 3 or 4.
YES (score: 5) NO (score 1-4)
50 (62.5)
30 (37.5%)
Table 7: Grammaticality judgements for a ncuraja encourage
Score 4 15 (50.21%)
Score 3 12 (40%)
Score 2 3 (10%)
Score 1 0
Table 8: Percentages of ungrammaticality scores for a ncuraja encourage
57
3.2.3. Discussion
The most important fact to be emphasized is that the percentages above
confirm our initial expectations, as well as the empirical data illustrated in the
previous sub-section, proving that the majority of speakers (72.5% for object
control verbs) allow disjoint subjects in their complements. Let us analyze the
results in more detail, concentrating on key issues, i.e. s-subjunctives vs. casubjunctives, (ii) the position and type of embedded subject, and (iii) type of
matrix verb.
It is interesting to notice that there were no significant differences in the
interpretation of these sentences depending on the introductory element (s vs.
ca). That is, generally speaking, speakers who accepted the possibility of
control suspension in the subjunctive complements of the ten verbs under
analysis did so regardless of whether these dependents were s- or casubjunctives. Similar observations apply to those cases where the respondent
dismissed such a possibility: the choice of no was roughly consistent across
the two types of complements.
There were cases, however, when some respondents mentioned in the
observation rubric corresponding to a s-subjunctive (with a disjont subject in
situ) that though the sentence may sound interpretable and correct as it was
a word order according to which the (disjoint) subject appears leftmost,
necessarily hosted by ca would make it sound even better.
Most likely, this has to do with parsing reasons: while reading through
the sentence from the matrix down, the parser first sees the matrix subject, the
verb and the (in)direct object, followed by the embedded subjunctive. At this
point, a point where s/he hasnt yet bumped into the lexical disjoint subject,
particularly if the phi-features of the subjunctive happen to match those of the
matrix tense the parser has most probably already identified the matrix object
as the agent of the action denoted by the subjunctive. Thus, the presence of a
disjoint subject might be perceived as disruptive, since it forces one to
overwrite an already formed (or at least preferred) interpretation.
Conversely, once the parser sees the complementizer, followed either by
the left-dislocated disjoint subject itself or by topicalized embedded material,
this might be taken as a (more) reliable cue that the complement domain is truly
self-standing. What is more, when the embedded DP subject appears
topicalized, it is actually the first embedded element available for interpretation.
In such cases therefore, the presence of an overt ca alongside the topicalized
embedded subject immediately following it allows the parser to understand that
somebody else is performing the embedded action even before knowing what
that action actually is.
58
6
The condition on syntactic predication is that the argument predicated of must be
syntactically represented. Hence, because EC control is syntactic predication, it fails with an
implicit controller (Landau 2012: 14). Actually, it is precisely this unavailability of implicit
59
We do not expand on these here, mainly for space reasons and because
further investigation in required. The relevance of this analysis to the discussion
at hand about our object control predicates is the following: discussing object
control crosslinguistically7, Landau (2012) points out a cut within this class into
what he calls a) desiderative object control verbs (persuade/ask) and b)
implicative object control verbs (force-type predicates). Importantly, the
difference lies, again, in their ability to omit the object controller, such that a)
desideratives (order, command, entrust) freely allow object drop whereas b)
implicatives (compel, force, influence) resist it.
Before we (briefly) look at the behaviour of our verbs with respect to
object drop, let us notice that the proposed cut nicely reflects the gradability of
our five object control predicates above. From the proposed framework, we
understand that desiderative object control verbs pattern with/are PC verbs,
whereas implicative object control verbs pattern with EC ones. Hence, verbs
like ask or order/command are less restrictive on their complements than verbs
like force/compel or influence.
This is exactly what our results reflect: a ruga/a cere ask and a ordona
order/command (alongside a convinge convince/persuade, whith slightly
lower scores), as irrealis desiderative object control verbs not entailing their
complements, have shown themselves quite permissive as far as control
suspension is concerned, unlike a ncuraja encourage (to be likened, perhaps,
to Landaus influence) and a obliga oblige (= force/compel), which, as
implicative object control verbs have revealed themselves more restrictive with
respect to this possibility.
Of course, since all the five verbs display NOC behaviour in Romanian,
we are not arguing here that they evince different control constructions as
they may well do in control languages such as English (alongside Polish,
Hebrew, a.s.o.).
Interestingly, this cut seems to be coherent with respect to the
(im)possibility of object drop. Bearing in mind the above gradability from most/
more to least/less permissive (a ruga ask > a ordona order/command > a
convinge persuade > a ncuraja encourage/urge > a obliga oblige/force/
compel), the examples below confirm that while object drop is acceptable with
the first two, it is definitely less so with the other ones. Given that the data as
well as the results have confirmed the possibility of control suspension in these
complements, we represent the embedded subject (when empty) as ei/k:
(28)
a.
Am
rugat ei [s mi
aduc
ei/k o carte] / [s nu mai stea
have.1sg asked
s me.dat bring-3sg/pl
a book / s not more stay-3sg
lumeak aici]
control with EC verbs which defines the EC/PC dichotomy. For more details, see forthcoming
work of the author on this issue.
7
The examples are from Hebrew and Polish, languages that offer fertile testing ground for
object drop because they do not abhor object drop as mush as English (Landau 2012: 11)
60
b.
c.
d.
e.
folk
here
I have asked [that s/he/they should bring me a book]/[that people should not
cram the stairs]
Am
ordonat ei [s nu (se) mai trag
(ei/k)]
have.1sg ordered
s not
more shoot-3sg/pl
I have ordered [that s/he/they should cease fire]
ei/k]
??Am
convins ei [s nu mai vin
have.1sg convinced
s not more come-3sg/pl
*I have convinced [that s/he/they should not come anymore]
??/*Au
ncurajat ei/k [s plece
lumeak mai devreme]
have.3pl encouraged
s leave-3sg folk more early
*They have encouraged [that everybody should leave earlier]
*Am
obligat [s plece
cu toii (abia mine)]
have.1sg obliged s leave-3pl with all (barely tomorrow)
*I have obliged [that they should all leave only tomorrow]
61
REFERENCES
Alboiu, Gabriela (2007), Moving Forward with Romanian Backward Control and Raising, in
W. Davies and S. Dubinsky (eds.), New Horizons in the Analysis of Control and Raising,
Springer, Dordrecht, pp.187-211.
Alboiu, Gabriela (2006), Are we in agreement?, in C. Boeckx (ed.), Agreement Systems, John
Benjamins, Amsterdam/Philadelphia, pp.13-39.
Chomsky, Noam and Howard Lasnik (1993), The theory of Principles and Parameters, in J.
Jacobs, A. von Stechow, W. Sternefeld, Theo Vennemann (eds.), Syntax: An International
Handbook of Contemporary Research, De Gruyter,Berlin, pp. 506-569.
Cornilescu, Alexandra. (2003), Complementation in English: A Minimalist Approach, Editura
Universitii din Bucharest.
Cotfas, Maria Aurelia (2012), On the Syntax of the Romanian Subjunctive: Control and
Obviation, PhD dissertation, University of Bucharest.
Dobrovie Sorin, Carmen (2001), Head to head Merge in Balkan subjunctives and locality, in M.
L. Rivero and A. Ralli (eds.), Comparative Studies of Balkan Languages, Oxford
University Press, Oxford, pp. 44-74.
Kapetangiani, Konstantia (2010), The Minimalist Syntax of Control in Greek, PhD dissertation,
University of Michigan.
Hornstein, Norbert (1999), Movement and Control, Linguistic Inquiry, 30, pp. 69-96.
Hornstein, Norbert (2001), Move! A Minimalist Theory of Construal, Blackwell Publishing,
Oxford.
Landau, Idan (1999), Elements of Control, PhD dissertation, MIT.
Landau, Idan (2004), The scale of finiteness and the calculus of control, Natural Language and
Linguistic Theory, 22, pp. 811 877
Landau, Idan (2012), Towards a dual theory of obligatory control, handout at Annual Conference
of the English Department 14, June 2012, University of Bucharest.
Landau, Idan (2013), Control in Generative Grammar: A Research Companion, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge.
Spyropoulos, Vassilios (2007), Finiteness and control in Greek, in W. Davies and S. Dubinsky
(eds.), New Horizons in the Analysis of Control and Raising, Springer, Dordrecht, pp.
159-183
1. Introduction
Nous proposons, dans cette tude, une analyse des divers emplois du
verbe faire de mme que de ses htronymes hindi (karn et bann) et
roumain (a face).
Le verbe faire dont la signification est celle daccomplissement,
dexcution, reprsente le factitif explicite1 prototypique et, en tant que tel, il
permet, en vue de son analyse, une premire classification de ses emplois.
*
64
SABINA POPRLAN
65
SABINA POPRLAN
66
lexical peut tre rendu par une expression analytique, ou par un autre verbe
autonome (factitif implicite), en hindi, on rencontre le plus souvent la variante
verbe support, ce qui nexclut pourtant pas les solutions monoverbales, plus
rares. Voil quelques exemples qui illustrent les variantes analytiques et les
solutions monoverbales en franais et en roumain: faire la traduction dun texte
/ traduire un texte, faire des achats / acheter; a face traducerea unui text / a
traduce un text, a face cumprturi/ a cumpra. En hindi les variantes nominoverbales, drives partir du verbe karn, sont les plus frquentes: kis ph k
anuvd karn (faire la traduction dun texte), bien quon rencontre, de manire
plus rare, aussi des variantes monoverbales: khardr karn / khardn, faire
des achats / acheter.
(1)
Or se trouvait l un homme qui avait une main paralyse; ils lui posrent une question:
Est-il permis de faire une gurison le jour du sabat? Ctait pour laccuser.
(Matthieu, 12.10)
M w , xM x . Dx w M E x ,
M c M M A ?
Vah ek manuya th, jisk hth skh gay th. s par do lagne ke lie log ne un se
pch, Ky virm ke din cg karne k j hai?
i iat un om avnd mna uscat. i L-au ntrebat, zicnd: Cade-se, oare, a vindeca
smbta? Ca s-l nvinuiasc.
67
subjonctif >: a face s scrie, mais aussi (et assez souvent) la structure bi-verbale
< a pune + le subjonctif du verbe auxili >, a pune s scrie. En hindi, le sens
correspondant faire crire en tant que structure agentive initiale ou causative
(< fairei >): demander quelquun dcrire est rendu par un lexme
synthtique, intgrant, correspondant la signification directive, dans ce cas,
likhvn: likh-, racine du verbe likhn crire + -v, suffixe spcifiquement
causatif + la terminaison de linfinitif -n attache la nouvelle racine likhv-:
enjoindre qulquun dcrire .
Au cas o le mme syntagme faire crire et a face s scrie correspondrait
la signification dicter et a dicta , on aurait en hindi le premier driv
partir de la racine, ici transitive, likh-, likh- form laide du suffixe - qui
introduit non plus le sens factitif initial ou causatif (cf. lagentivit initiale dans
la thorie smantaxique de Theban), mais le sens factitif proprement dit ou
central, correspondant lagentivit mdiane (< fairem >), qui indique une
action pratique (non-discursive) spcifique, comme celle de dicter un texte
quelquun.
part les significations agentives initiale et mdiane quon vient de
mentionner, faire en tant que verbe auxiliaire peut tre aussi le porteur dun
sens agentif final (< fairef >), comme cest le cas pour une expression du type
faire tomber, si on se rfre, par exemple laction du vent qui, soufflant, fait
tomber quelques feuilles dun arbre.
Tandis quen roumain on peut rencontrer la structure factitive ci-dessus,
sous la forme dj mentionne < faire + lauxili au subjonctif >, a face s
cad, en hindi, comme prcdemment, on naura pas une variante structurale
analogue, mais une squence du type < cause du / par le vent quelques feuilles
de larbre tombrent >, hav se pe ke kuch patte gir gae.
Les expressions coverbales seront, dans ce qui suit, classifies selon un
critre fonctionnel smantaxique, compte tenu du type dagentivit ou factitivit
que faire en tant que verbe agentif ou factitif explicite impose au syntagme dans
lequel il apparat.
Nous allons inventorier et analyser trois types de faire coverbal: faire en
tant quauxiliant agentif initial, mdian et final, auxquels nous ajouterons le
faire coverbal perlocutoire, dans des structures comme faire (ac)croire quelque
chose quelquun. Larticle de Theban et Theban (2005) nous a inspire dans le
choix de cette organisation conceptuelle.
Dans lexemple ci-dessous, lauxiliant faire de lexpression faire
composer impose celle-ci une valeur agentive initiale correspondant lacte
directif par lequel le Causateur (Ai/ C, le matre de musique) a exig de
lExcutant (Am/ E, son lve) daccomplir laction en question.
(2)
SABINA POPRLAN
68
Matre de musique: Oui, cest un air pour une srnade que je (C) lui (E) ai fait composer
ici, en attendant que notre homme ft veill. (Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, p. 25)
-vM : M D D c ?
x -vM : , x- M M x M , o M M
E .
Nritya-ikak: Ko na cz hai ky?
Sgt- ikak: H , preyas gt k ek tarz hai jise ma ne (C) yah par taiyr karvy
hai, jab tak ki rmn uh (p. 89)
Profesorul de dans: Ceva nou?
Profesorul de muzic: Da, o arie de serenad. Am pus s-o fac aici, pn s-o scula
jupnul. (pp. 377 - 378)
Je voudrais avoir assez dhaleine pour parler posment, et que la douleur dont je
souffre cette cte brise se calmt un peu, pour te faire comprendre, Panza! dans
quelle erreur tu es. (Don Quichotte, vol. I, p. 141)
xM ,
M
Ac
o M E . M O x
. E M Q Q M
x . (vol. I, p. 98)
Sako, yadi mujh m dam hot to ma tumhr bt k zordr uttar det. Mer ek cho
pasl m bhayyak dard ho rah hai. Vah yadi utn der ke lie mer p cho det to ma
tumhr bhl ko acch tarah samajh det.
69
- Mi-ar plcea s pot rsufla mai uor, ca s-i vorbesc mai n voie, i mcar de mi s-ar ostoi
durerile din coasta asta, s te pot face s pricepi, Panza, ct de greit judeci!
(vol. I, p. 180)
Ne vous amassez pas de trsors sur la terre, o les mites et les vers font tout
disparatre. (Matthieu, 6.19)
A M , c , M Q
Prithv par apne lie pj jam nahkaro, jah morc lagt hai, ke khte ha
Nu v adunai comori pe pmnt, unde molia i rugina le stric
SABINA POPRLAN
70
(5)
bien
le
moyen
de
vous
le
faire
croire.
A : A M M x x M .
Orgon: Aur ma jnt h ki kaise tumh vivs kary jy. (p. 34)
Orgon: Am leac eu la-ndemn, ca s te fac a crede. (p. 37)
71
elle [la moutarde] devient un arbre, si bien que les oiseaux du ciel viennent faire leurs
nids dans ses branches. (Matthieu, 13. 32)
x Q o M AM v M A M ExM Q ox M .
ais pe bant hai ki k ke pch kar usk liy m baser karte ha.
se face pom, nct vin psrile cerului i se slluiesc n ramurile lui
72
SABINA POPRLAN
(7)
Le ciel, ce que vous dites, ma faite belle (). Mais, () si le ciel, au lieu de me faire
belle, met faite laide. (Don Quichotte, vol. I, p. 134)
D Ax x M (...) D M o
var ne mujhe asm saundarya k vardn diy hai () yadi var ne mujhe kurp
bany hot (vol. I, p. 92)
Vru cerul s m fac frumoas, aa cum zicei voi, () dac cumva, ntocmai aa cum
m-a fcut frumoas, m-ar fi fcut cerul urt (vol. I, pp. 169 - 170)
Les lexmes roumains sont des quivalents fidles des termes franais; en
hindi, le premier htronyme est une expression verbo-nominale, vardn den,
faire don , dans la squence var ne mujhe asm saundarya k vardn diy
hai, Dieu ma fait (le) don dune beaut infinite ; le second est exprim par le
verbe bann, symptomatique pour la fonction de verbe plein de faire/ a face.
3.1.4. Dans des structures vnementielles trans-locatives/ - possessives
Les vnements trans-locatifs ou trans-possessifs correspondent, en
essence, lide de dplacement dun Patient dun Lieu initial (Source) dans un
Lieu final (Bnficiaire/ But), en parcourant un Lieu mdian (Trajet) plus ou
moins implicite.
(9)
Ils neurent pas fait deux cents pas que leurs oreilles furent frappes par un grand
bruit deau (Don Quichotte, vol. I, p. 181)
Q M E - M A x D .
Ve tho dr gae hge ki unh jal - pratp k vz sun d. (vol. I, p. 134)
dar nu fcuser nici dou sute de pai, cnd le ajunse la ureche un vuiet mare, ca de
ape (vol. I, p. 240)
73
Pour toi, quand tu fais laumne, que ta main gauche ignore ce que fait ta main droite.
(Matthieu, 6.3.)
o , o M M
.
Jab tum dn dete ho, to tumhr by hth na jnne pye ki tumhr dy hth ky kar
rah hai.
Tu ns, cnd faci milostenie, s nu tie stnga ta ce face dreapta ta.
Si Dieu habille ainsi lherbe des champs, qui est l aujourdhui et qui demain sera jete
au feu, ne fera-t-il pas bien plus pour vous, gens de peu de foi! (Matthieu, 6.30)
A x ! M x A A M c M . Ex
D Cx M x , ?
Re alpavivsiyo! Khet k ghs j bhar hai aur kal clhe m jhk d jyeg. Yadi use bh
var is prakr sajt hai, to vah tumh ky nah pahanyeg?
SABINA POPRLAN
74
Iar dac iarba cmpului, care astzi este i mine se arunc n cuptor, Dumnezeu astfel
o mbrac, oare nu cu mult mai mult pe voi , puin credincioilor?
Cela fait, il commanda lune de ses dames de lui ceindre lpe, ce quelle fit avec
beaucoup de grce et de retenue En lui ceignant lpe
(Don Quichotte, vol. I, p. 67)
cM M o Ex M v M A v M M M M c
A M . Ex oQ Ax M x M M ExM M M
x
C M
75
SABINA POPRLAN
76
BIBLIOGRAPHIE
Austin, John (1970), Quand dire, cest faire, traduction par Gilles Lane, ditions du Seuil, Paris.
Charolles, Michel (1990), LAnaphore associative. Problmes de dlimitation , in Verbum,
XIII, 3, pp. 119-148.
Cornish, Francis (1999), Anaphora, Discourse and Understanding. Evidence from English and
French, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Cuni, Alexandra (2006), De quelques formes verbales du roumain et de leurs emplois
injonctifs , in Travaux et documents, 32, pp. 203-217.
Iliescu, Maria (1993), Le factitif roumain , in Revue roumaine de linguistique, 4, pp. 297-305.
Kacr, Yamuna (1973), Hind rpntaratmak vykara ke kuch prakara, Kendrya Hind
Sansthn, Agra.
Kleiber, Georges (1993), Lorsque lanaphore se lie aux temps grammaticaux , in C. Vetters
(diteur), Le Temps, de la phrase au texte, Presses Universitaires de Lille, Lille, pp. 117166.
Kleiber, Georges (1994), Contexte, interprtation et mmoire: approche standard vs. approche
cognitive , in Langue Franaise, 103, pp. 9-22.
77
Abstract
The adjective has preoccupied grammarians since the dawn of time, having been an object
of study even since antiquity; along the years, we have witnessed an evolution of the conceptions
and analyses of the adjective, so that nowadays this category benefits from the latest
developments in language studies. Our research aims at analyzing the behavior of the adjective
along the lines of its transition from free combinatorial abilities, where the adjective is incidental
to the noun, to blocked combinatorial dynamics, where the adjective is an integral part. The two
types of combinatorial dynamics (free and blocked) are presented comparatively. We analyze the
transition of the adjective from the dynamics of free combinations to blocked combinations by
explaining the way of establishing blockage and stating the conditions and elements taking part in
the blockage. The blocking mechanism is also explained and illustrated. We define, explain and
illustrate the parameters that underline the complexity of the blocking process. The structures and
values of the blocked phrases are also stated. The paper analyzes the properties of the adjective in
blocked structures in contrast with the properties of the adjective in free combinations on the
basis of blocking tests.
Keywords: adjective, blocked combinatorial abilities, blocking, blocking mechanism,
blocking parameters, blocking degree, blocking tests.
1. Introduction
Ladjectif a constitu une proccupation pour les grammairiens ds
lAntiquit, aussi assiste-t-on une volution de la conception sur ladjectif et
des modles de description de cette partie du discours le long de lhistoire,
jusqu prsent.
Lobjet de notre recherche a t la variation du comportement de
ladjectif lors de son passage de la combinatoire libre o il est incident un
nom aux squences figes o ladjectif est partie composante.
*
DANIELA BORDEA*
80
2. Recherches prliminaires
2.1. Le figement dans les approches traditionnelles
Les grammaires traditionnelles envisagent les expressions figes du point
de vue formel et fonctionnel. Cest aussi le cas des expressions figes contenant
des adjectifs, quand on fait la prcision que les lments constituants sont
gnralement eux-mmes des mots de la langue, possdant leur autonomie
syntaxique et appartenant une catgorie grammaticale dtermine. Par
exemple les lments de petit-beurre peuvent semployer sparment, le
premier comme adjectif et le second comme nom (Riegel et al. 1994 : 547).
Un regard comparatif sur le comportement de ladjectif dans la
combinatoire fige par rapport celui de ladjectif dans la combinatoire libre
met en vidence un comportement atypique de ladjectif dans les structures
figes : la place inhabituelle de ladjectif par rapport au nom (vif-argent,
chauve-souris, plat-ventre, faire la sourde oreille, pleurer chaudes larmes) ;
absence des degrs dintensit et de comparaison :
(1)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
81
a.
b.
DANIELA BORDEA*
82
Ces phrases sont libres parce que leur sens peut tre dduit partir du sens de
chaque mot qui les forme. Au contraire, les phrases
(4)
a.
b.
a.
b.
c.
Jai achet une table ronde /vs/ Jai organis une table ronde
Marie a achet un cordon bleu /vs/ Marie est un cordon bleu
Pierre a achet un panier pain perc /vs/ Pierre est un panier perc
83
une condition ncessaire, mais non suffisante; (iii) un savoir qui relie les
deux lments et qui est une donne pragmatique. Cette donne, la
mmorisation (Svensson 2004 : 42), reprsente une condition non
ncessaire pour le figement syntagmatique mais une condition ncessaire pour
les autres types de figement. Elle fonctionne comme un liant qui ralise la
cohsion plus troite des lments impliqus dans la relation de figement : une
carte bleue est une carte ayant la couleur bleue, mais dont on sait que cest une
carte accrditive et de paiement, ainsi on ne peut pas dire ma carte bleue pour
nimporte quelle carte de couleur bleue ; donner ( quelquun) un carton rouge
ne signifie pas seulement lui donner nimporte quel carton qui soit rouge, mais
lui donner un mauvais point, porter un jugement dfavorable son encontre.
Cette donne pragmatique a le rle de limiter ou mme dannuler la
possibilit dun paradigme tel :
(6)
a.
b.
a.
b.
a.
b.
un cerf-volant
*une biche volante
DANIELA BORDEA*
84
85
a.
b.
DANIELA BORDEA*
86
adjectifs sont considrs comme des tiquettes et non comme des qualits
(Gross 1996 : 51).
Les composs exocentriques sont figs du point de vue syntaxique et
smantique. Ce sont des suites geles qui ne diffrent dun mot simple que
par leur polylexicalit et les marques morphologiques spcifiques aux composs
(Gross 1996 : 35-36), comme par exemple panier perc (figement opaque) :
(11)
a.
b.
a.
b.
a.
b.
(13)
cordon bleu
panier perc
rouge-gorge
chauve-souris
Cest pour cela que la rponse ce test doit tre toujours (+), donc seulement le
test I et le test II peuvent admettre des rponses variables. Dans ce cas, selon
une formule mathmatique de lanalyse combinatoire on a : 2n = 22 = 4 variantes
possibles. Les quatre variantes, notes : (1), (2), (3), (4) sont (Schma 3)
87
Du point de vue linguistique la variante (4) nest pas possible parce que si la
rponse au test I est ngative :
Test I () :
Test II () :
DANIELA BORDEA*
88
ADJECTIF + ADJECTIF
a.
un fruit aigre-doux
b.
un enfant sourd-muet
ADJECTIF + NOM COMMUN
a.
blanc-bec
b.
un livre bon march
NOM COMMUN + ADJECTIF
a.
racine carre
b.
col-vert
c.
avoir une peur bleue
d.
chaise longue
(17)
(18)
(19)
(20)
(21)
(22)
(23)
89
valeur nominale :
a.
cordon bleu
b.
col-vert
DANIELA BORDEA*
90
(25)
(26)
(27)
c.
panier perc
d.
chaise longue
e.
cerf-volant
f.
court-circuit
valeur adjectivale adjectifs composs :
a.
un enfant sourd-muet
b.
un fruit aigre-doux
c.
une blouse jaune paille
d.
une jupe bleu fonc
valeur adjectivale locutions adjectivales :
e
de bas tage
f.
de bon poil
valeur verbale (locutions verbales) :
a.
en avoir le cur net
b.
faire la sourde oreille
valeur adverbiale
petit petit
a.
b.
c.
d.
un rouge-gorge
*un rouge la gorge
*un rouge cette gorge
*un rouge sa gorge
a.
b.
un panier perc
*ce panier est perc
(30)
(31)
a.
b.
a.
b.
91
un rouge-gorge
*cette gorge est rouge
un blanc-bec
*ce bec est blanc
Cependant, lorsque le sens nest pas opaque, le compos est moins fig,
ladjectif dsigne un type particulier, une varit par rapport aux autres de la
mme catgorie:
(32)
(33)
a.
b.
c.
a.
b.
c.
un accent aigu
*cet accent est aigu
ceci est un accent aigu
un vin blanc
*ce vin est blanc
cest du vin blanc
Il est remarquer quun groupe nominal ordinaire, form dun nom et dun
adjectif est en fait le rsultat dune phrase, tandis quune expression fige ne
lest pas (Gross 1996 : 51):
(34)
(35)
a.
b.
a.
b.
a.
b.
a.
b.
un panier perc
*le perc de ce panier
un bas-bleu
*le bleu de ce bas
Les expressions figes (dans leur totalit) et les adjectifs impliqus dans
le figement ne reoivent pas de gradation ou dadverbe dintensit:
(38)
(39)
(40)
(41)
a.
b.
c.
d.
a.
b.
c.
d.
a.
b.
c.
d.
a.
DANIELA BORDEA*
92
b.
c.
a.
b.
c.
d.
un compte-rendu
*un compte vite rendu
*un compte bien rendu
*un compte correctement rendu
Lordre des lments qui composent une expression fige ne peut pas tre
chang:
(43)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Goes (1999: 223) fait la prcision que dans ce cas les adjectifs fonctionnent
simultanment comme attributs par rapport au syntagme nominal et comme
adverbes par rapport au verbe :
(44)
a.
b.
93
Dans le cas des expressions formes dun adjectif suivi dun complment,
Wilmet (1997 : 214) remarque la solidarisation de ladjectif avec son
complment :
(45)
a.
b.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
a.
b.
a.
b.
a.
b.
a.
b.
c.
a.
b.
c.
a.
b.
a.
b.
c.
a.
b.
c.
un enfant sourd-muet
un enfant sourd qui est aussi muet
un enfant muet qui est aussi sourd
a.
b.
DANIELA BORDEA*
94
c.
d.
e.
f.
a.
b.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
un cerf-volant
*un cerf-volant et beau
*un cerf beau et volant
une toile cire
*une toile cire et blanche
une toile blanche et cire
a.
b.
c.
voir clair
voir dun bon il
*voir clair et dun bon il
a.
b.
*Elle a achet une chaise longue et elle a mis cette chaise dans sa chambre
*Il a fait la sourde oreille, mais toi, tu ne las pas faite.
Cependant, pour les expressions moins figes on peut avoir: Il a achet du vin
rouge et il la mis sur la table.
Etant donn le fait que le sens global dune expression fige correspond
un concept existant dans la langue (Gross 1996: 42), lexpression fige peut
commuter avec un quivalent synonyme: une fine bouche commute avec
gourmet. Cependant il est remarquer qu lintrieur des suites figes la
possibilit de substitution synonymique ou par des units de la mme famille est
exclue :
(60)
(61)
(62)
a.
b.
a.
b.
a.
un court-circuit
*un bref-circui
clair comme le jour
*clair comme le matin
un cerf-volant
b.
95
Combinatoire libre :
a.
une grande fentre /vs/ une petite fentre
b.
une fentre ouverte /vs/ une fentre ferme
Combinatoire fige :
a.
une fentre grande-ouverte
b.
*une fentre petite-ferme
a.
clair comme le jour
b.
*sombre comme la nuit
a.
fort comme la mort
b.
*faible comme la vie
a.
b.
4. Conclusions
Notre tude sur le figement dans la classe de ladjectif franais a mis en
vidence quelques conclusions : (i) le figement est un processus dynamique qui
se ralise selon un mcanisme cyclique, ferm sur lui-mme, qui fonctionne en
feed-back ; (ii) le figement se caractrise par un paramtre intensionnel (le
degr de figement) et par un paramtre extensionnel (la porte du figement) ;
(iii) le figement peut tre mis en vidence par des tests de figement.
Quelle quelle soit, lexpression fige rend le message plus clair, surtout
quand elle sert illustrer des concepts abstraits, et ainsi elle amliore et facilite
le processus de communication. Linterlocuteur saisit plus facilement les
images mentales que les abstractions et cela justifie le fait que les expressions
figes utilisent des lments constitutifs pris au vocabulaire fondamental de la
langue, le plus concret et le plus susceptible veiller des reprsentations
mentales.
BIBLIOGRAPHIE
Cuni, Alexandra (1980), La formation des mots. La drivation lexicale en franais
contemporain, Editura Didactic i Pedagogic, Bucarest.
Goes, Jan (1999), Ladjectif. Entre nom et verbe, Duculot, Paris.
96
DANIELA BORDEA*
Grevisse, Maurice (1988), Le bon usage, 12e d., (revue par Andr Goosse), Duculot, Paris.
Gross, Gaston (1988), Degr de figement des noms composs , in Langages, 90, Larousse,
pp.57-72.
Gross, Gaston (1996), Les expressions figes en franais, noms composs et autres locutions,
Ophrys, Paris.
Noailly, Michle (1999), Ladjectif en franais, Ophrys, Paris.
Picabia, Llia (1978), Les constructions adjectivales en franais. Systmatique
transformationnelle, Droz, Genve.
Riegel, Martin, Jean-Christophe Pellat, Ren Rioul (1994), Grammaire mthodique du franais,
Presses Universitaires de France, Paris.
Svensson, Maria-Helena (2004), Critres de figement, Ume Universitet, Ume,.
Tuescu, Mariana (1978), Prcis de smantique franaise, Editura Didactic i Pedagogic,
Bucarest.
Wilmet, Marc (1997), Grammaire critique du franais, Duculot, Paris.
1. Introduction
According to the sociolinguist Sachiko Okamoto (2008), Japan can be
defined as a monolingual country since, leaving aside the language policies
followed by the government in this last century, it is geographically in a
position of isolation that accentuates these characteristics. However, the
increase of loanwords together with the lack of their standardization in
transcription over the years, has raised many discussions among scholars and
within the Japanese government so much as to talk about aGairaigo
Hanran foreign words flood. According to the dictionary by Kno et al.
(1996), one should consider gairaigo all the terms entered in the archipelago
during the Muromachi period after the first contacts with European merchants
and missioners and, secondly, loanwords imported from Europe and America
*
School of Languages and Literature, Translation and Interpretation, Alma Mater
Studiorum Bologna University, Department of Asian and African Studies, Ca Foscari University,
Venice, fvitucci@gmail.com.
FRANCESCO VITUCCI
98
starting from the Meiji period (mainly from English). Conversely, are not to be
considered gairaigo, the kango of Chinese origin. Unlikewasei eigo
terms, gairaigo mainly designate loanwords imported from foreign
languages and conventionally written in katakana. The first garaigo reached
Japan in the late medieval period, brought by the Portuguese and the Dutch1.
The use of katakana was due to the fact that in Japan since the Heian period this
syllabary had been utilized for the practice of kanbun kundoku in order to insert
auxiliary glosses within Chinese classics ().
2. A brief history of garaigo
Today, scholars are still arguing on the issue of garaigo transcription2.
The current mode of gairaigo transcription was sanctioned in 1991 by the
ministerial document Gairaigo no Hyki. However, since no fixed
rules for transcription can be found in this document, the reader is often left
confused. Obviously, given the absence of a clear framework and having to rely
on subjective transcription choices, it is clear that the probability that these
terms will be reproduced incorrectly is no doubt very high. In fact, as described
above, the use of katakana for transcription had already begun during the
Muromachi period with the translation of Dutch and Portuguese lexicon, even
if, at that time, most of these words were still transcribed through kanji or
hiragana. It is only during the Edo period that katakana are officially
formalized for the transcription of loanwords. Arai Hakuseki () and
Sugita Genpaku () set the rules for transcription in their works
(Seiy Kibun, 1715) and in (Kaitai Shinsho, 1774), the translation of
Ontleedkundige tafelen, from Dutch. Among the transcription parameters
suggested by Arai Hakuseki, it is mentioning, as an example, the line of
elongation for long vowels ().
99
Although during the Edo period one normally resorted to the use of kanji
with katakana rubi for writing foreign words, during the period of the socalledBunmei Kaika, all gairaigo terms were finally transcribed
through katakana trying to follow the phonetics rules of the languages which
they came from. Between the beginning of the Meiji period and Taish period,
due to an increase of foreign lexicon imported from several research branches
often translated throughshinkango, Japanese speakers started to feel
uncomfortable with the ideographic writing and began to replace kanji
transcriptions with katakana. During the Second World War foreign words
were banned, but they soon returned to prominence with the American
occupation of Japan. Thanks to the so-called policy of language
renewal, Latin characters were reintroduced in the elementary schools together
with the teaching of English in junior high school. In the daily life of the
Japanese, the habit of dealing with road signs, place names, station names
transcribed with the Latin alphabet became widespread, with billboards written
in English so as not to feel the presence of English and rmaji as intrusive and
alien. It is in this climate that wasei eigo terms permeated the Japanese
language due to the dominance of English in Japan (Okamoto 2008).
After the economic boom reached by Japan in the Fifties, Western
products and ideas invaded the Japanese archipelago. From this point on, the
term katakanago was coined to indicate the transcription not only
of loanwords, but also of onomatopoeia, dialect expressions, oral and written
language produced by foreign speakers, hybrids terms, names of animals and
plants, technical jargon, obscene language, proper names of people and states,
toponyms entirely transcribed with katakana (see e.g. Kaneya 2002).
Nevertheless, the increase of gairaigo was perceived in Japan as a threat to the
survival of the Japanese language. In the Fifties, it comes
togairaigo rany gairaigo misuse, in the Sixties to
gairaigo kzui gairaigo flood, and in the Seventies
togairaigo hanran gairaigo overflowing. In the Sixties,
theKokuritsu Kenkyjo began their investigation on gairaigo
entitled (Gairaigo no rikaichsa) which revealed garaigo
intelligibility disparities among Japanese due to generational gaps and lifestyle
differences between the town and the countryside (Jinnouchi 2007). In the
Eighties, the myth of thekokusaijin spread all over the country and the
first gairaigo dictionaries began to be published (Tanaka and Tanaka 1996).
According to them3, the percentage of loanwords, if compared to late
nineteenth century Japanese dictionaries, had risen from 1.4% to 10%.
3
Statistical surveys are also being conducted through television and reveal how the
presence of gairaigo is strongly influenced by the type of TV program broadcast. Compared to
programs that do not use loanwords (such as jidaigeki, sum matches, programs with a
FRANCESCO VITUCCI
100
3. Japanese surveys and anti-gairaigo measures
101
at finding viable solutions to the problem. The results of the surveys and
research
were
first
collected
in
2003
in
a
dossier
entitled
Gairaigo Iikae Teian wakarinikui gairaigo wakariyasuku
wo suru tame no kotobazukai no kuf.
The dossier was meant to replace
gairaigo with Japanese terms by adding explanatory comments where
necessary. It also insisted that the comprehensibility of gairaigo is lowered by
generation gaps, sex, type of profession and place of residence in the country .
This statement is based on the fact that gairaigo normally enter the Japanese
language from technical jargon and that they then gradually filter downward
into the common language. Therefore, according to the dossier, it would be
necessary to distinguish the various contexts in which garaigo are utilized
introducing Japanese translations and explanations when possible. Even though
the activity of the committee continued until 2006, in the end, not a lexical item
of those examined was replaced (Figure 2).
FRANCESCO VITUCCI
102
According to Suzuki, in the case of former colonies, the situation would be different.
103
FRANCESCO VITUCCI
104
105
FRANCESCO VITUCCI
106
107
108
FRANCESCO VITUCCI
1. Introduction
Language is a mirror of society. It reflects a societys structure, its beliefs
and values as well as the transformations it undergoes. Among all varieties of
language public language, or namely, words and phrases frequently used on all
kinds of public occasions, is one of the most direct and obvious linguistic
evidence. It is an open and dynamic system closely related to social
development and peoples daily life, manifesting cultural qualities, moral
attainment and spiritual features of the whole society.
In different historic stages public signs prevail in every corner of cities in
China to provide information, give warnings or advocate specific social norms.
As social slogans directed to the general audience the technique and art of
designing public signs embodies the connotations of Chinese culture and the
progress of the Chinese society. This paper aims to analyze the historic
development of public signs and explore the linguistic features and pragmatic
strategies of public signs in todays China to shed light on characteristics of
public language in China and the social life of the Chinese people.
College of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Fudan University, and School of Foreign
Languages, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, dengjingchina2005@aliyun.com.
JING DENG
110
2. Definition and characteristics of public signs
111
Public signs in this phase generally were mainly didactic by nature to discipline
peoples behavior and maintain the social order. The tone of public signs at that
time was rigid, distant or even threatening with the speaker giving commands
on behalf of the administrative institutions concerned. Words like jnzh
is forbidden, ynjn is strictly forbidden or bx Do not
frequently appeared. For example, in many directive public signs such as
Ynjn jihu kich. Drunk driving is strictly forbidden. and
Bx jint copng, fuz jing chy
fkun! Trampling on the lawn is not allowed. Otherwise you will be fined!,
the tone was serious and authoritative with an unequal power relationship
between the interlocutors. Consequently although the illocutionary forces of
these public signs were asking the public not/to take the intended actions, it was
very possible that the very opposite perlocutionary act would occur because the
public was offended by the cold and blunt tone of the speaker.
3.2. Phase two (from the reform and opening-up program to the early
1990s)
Since the reform and opening policy in 1978, China strengthened its
exchanges with the outside world and gained great momentum in its economic
drive. And the material and cultural life of the Chinese people became richer in
this period. The designers of public signs began to pay attention to the propriety
issue by adopting a more friendly and polite tone. The most typical example is
the frequent use of the politeness marker please and some explanatory
remarks in directive public signs. For example public signs Qng
boch njng. Please keep quiet. and Wile
nn h trn de jinkng, qng byo xyn. For the sake of your and others
health, please do not smoke. These public signs indicate that the speaker
realized the face threat to the public incurred by the tough and overbearing
language of the public signs in the past and began to consider the audiences
emotions and feelings by showing them respect.
3.3. Phase three (the early 1990s - present)
During this period the economy of China continued to develop rapidly
and China enhanced its exchanges with the outside world. Peoples living
standard at that time was further improved and they craved for a more
meaningful social life. Public language in this period became much more
individualized and diversified with the integration of modern culture and
foreign cultures into traditional Chinese culture with the advent of the
information age. Public signs became humorous, diversified, humanized,
marking a more civilized Chinese society. For example, in a shopping center,
JING DENG
112
113
pragmatic markers mentioned above like qng please, the speaker also often
resorts to indirect speech acts or a sequence of speech acts to adjust its
illocutionary force.
4.1.1. Indirect speech acts
According to Searle (1975) and Leech (1983) people use indirect speech
acts out of politeness. Brown and Levinson (1987) also hold that indirect speech
act is a strategy of avoiding face-threatening acts. Many public signs today
contain indirect speech acts to increase the degree of politeness. Consider
example (1).
(1)
a.
b.
JING DENG
114
are auxiliary speech acts that help to enhance the acceptability of the intended
act. In many public signs today, there is more than one speech act. Consider the
examples in (2):
(2)
a.
b.
In the above examples, two speech acts are combined: an assertion and a
request. In example (2a) the first speech act is a statement that emphasizes the
importance of water to human life, while in example (2b) the significance of
books to faculty and students. In these auxiliary speech acts that support the
main speech act (i.e. the request), the speaker provides some surplus
information which violates the maxim of quantity assuming that we are concise,
brief and to the point in communication (Grice 1975). In this way the speaker
highlights the importance of water and books and reinforces the illocutionary
force of the main speech act.
4.2. Bonding
In a typical eastern culture like China, collectivism and closeness among
people is very important. In public sign designing, the speaker often tries to make
the audience feel warm and tender by underscoring the bonding between the
interlocutors, thus enacting the intended behavior unconsciously. One of the most
frequent devices of showing bonding is the unconventional usage of personal deixis
or shift of personal deixis, which emphasizes the solidarity between the
interlocutors by vitalizing the empathetic effect, as in the examples in (3):
(3)
a.
b.
115
a.
b.
JING DENG
116
Example (4a) is from the university library and tells the readers to keep
quiet while they study in such public places. These are the first two lines of the
modern Chinese poem Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again by the modern
Chinese poet Xu Zhimo, familiar to and welcomed by most college students. It
creates a lifelike image in the audiences mind and gives them a sense of
beauty. It caters to the audience of young college students and contributes to
build a civilized atmosphere on the whole campus. Example (4b) is found in
student canteens of many universities as a reminder for college students not to
waste food. These are the original lines of the noted classical ancient Chinese
poem Chuhe [= Toiling Farmers] by Li Shen of the Tang Dynasty. With the
antithesis of balanced structure and symmetric rhythm it impresses the audience
and conveys the maximum of information in an economical way. In addition,
the striking size and regular font of the words on the red slogan reinforce the
cautioning effects on the audience.
4.3.2. Personification
One of the other prevalent rhetoric devices adopted in public signs in todays
China is personification, which gives personal attributes to inanimate objects which
makes public signs more vivid and lifelike, as in the examples under (5):
(5)
a.
b.
117
a.
b.
Xngf sh k sh/Anqun sh wt
Happiness is like a tree; safety is the fertile soil.
a.
JING DENG
118
b.
Lko wc b jg
Five failures in road test.
119
REFERENCES
Brown, Penelope and Stephen C. Levinson (1987), Politeness: Some Universals in Language
Usage, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Ferrara, Alessandro (1980), An extended theory of speech acts, in Journal of Pragmatics, 4, 3,
pp. 233-252.
Grice, Paul (1975), Logic and conversation, in P. Cole and J. L. Morgan (eds.), Syntax and
semantics, vol. 3, Speech Acts, Academic Press, New York, pp. 41-58.
Leech, Geoffrey (1983), Principles of Pragmatics, Longman, London.
Levinson, Stephen C. (2001), Pragmatics, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, Beijing.
Websters Third New International Dictionary (2000), Merriam-Webster, Springfield.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (1978), Longman, Harlow.
Searle, John (1975), Indirect speech acts, in P. Cole and J. L. Morgan (eds.), Syntax and
semantics, vol. 3, Speech Acts, Academic Press, New York, pp. 59-82.
Wood, Linda A. and Rolf O. Kroger (1994), The analysis of facework in discourse: Review and
proposal, in Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 13, 3, pp. 248-277.
1. Introduction
The present paper1 analyses commercial names in Vama Veche, currently
one of the most important Romanian seaside resorts, from a sociolinguistic
perspective. My study aims at delineating and describing the onomastic trends
that are promoted in the contemporary public space of the settlement and
performing a commercial onomastic characterisation of the linguistic landscape
(LL) of Vama Veche, by looking at the types of consumers that are targeted by
the name choices. Thus, by considering the trade names in Vama Veche in
relation to the tourists that visit the resort (regularly or occasionally), two main
*
ALINA BUGHEIU
122
These settlers came from the Gagauz communities in Bessarabia and the
southern extremity of the Republic of Moldova, after the two former Romanian
territories were conquered by the Russian Empire. The number of Gagauz ethnics
severely decreased over the years, to such an extent that the results of the census of
2011 do not make any particular reference to the Gagauz minority, implying, however,
that there exist either less than three members of this community or that they are extinct
(Recensmntul populaiei i al locuinelor 2011).
123
name coined by the Gagauz settlers, meaning a place full of snakes (the
toponym was related to the faunal peculiarity of the region) (Primria comunei
Limanu, Judeul Constana).
Under the communist rule in Romania, Vama Veche was not visited by
tourists mainly because of its geographical position. However, for the very
same reason, starting with the 1990s, this poor fishermens hamlet with its
rather obscure beach became a favourite haven especially for nudists. Along
with the end of the 1990s and in the early 2000s, the village started being
promoted by a local rock band, eponymously called Vama Veche, who depicted
the settlement in the lyrics of their songs as an idyllic place, praising its pristine
landscape and the almost utopian freedom that it seemed to offer. Thus, tourists
began to pour in, eager to discover a site like none other on the Romanian coast
and, basically, like nowhere in Romania. A rock music festival was established
in 2003, called Stufstock (a portmanteau word coined from the Romanian neuter
appellative stuf reed + the second component of the English proper name
Woodstock), in line with the hippie atmosphere that pervaded the settlement
every year in summer. Three years later, another music festival was set up,
suggestively and symbolically named Folk You! (one of the logos of the event
was the profane middle finger whose nail resembled the headstock of a guitar).
Whereas Stufstock kept its name and tradition (the only significant change being
the recent focus on Romanian bands), Folk You! was subsumed under Micarea
de rezisten (the resistance movement), whose broad aim was to fight against
the gross behaviour and lack of education promoted by most of the popular
culture in contemporary Romanian public space.3 Therefore, in an almost
overnight experience, Vama Veche became a fully-fledged seaside resort, and
year after year its Edenic aura keeps fading, as a result of tourist services
providers attempt to satisfy more diverse visitors. October to May, however,
Vama Veche goes back to being a poor hamlet, a derelict and almost abandoned
place, with most of the inhabitants past their middle age, commuting to nearby
towns and bigger villages to work or study.
By the time Micarea de rezisten appeared, the tourists of Vama Veche
were already divided into two main subgroups. Perhaps it would be more
accurate to state that Micarea de rezisten occurred because of the two
communities of tourists that could be noticed to visit the resort, as a reaction of
one of the communities (the original one) to the consolidation of the others
existence (the newcomers):
(1) The vamaioi are the people that love Vama Veche for what it used to
be: a place where one could listen to jazz, rock or folk, sleep on the beach and
3
The frequently used term is manelizare, derived from the appellative manele, a
music genre that mixes several influences especially Turkish, Arabic, Serbian,
traditional Romanian folk music and traditional Gypsy music , recurrently dealing with
topics such as money, reciprocated or unrequited love, family and enemies, and
generally associated with Romanian mass culture.
ALINA BUGHEIU
124
enjoy the untarnished scenery. The term is a slang appellative derived from the
first component of the toponym Vama Veche with the addition of the suffix iot,
of Greek origin (also found in appellatives like fanariot Phanariot or cipriot
Cypriot, the latter recorded as borrowed from French), which is used to form
names of inhabitants. The suffix is fairly productive in colloquial Romanian
and, according to Zafiu (2000), it often evokes pejorative or humorous
connotations. This explanation tallies with the image that is triggered by the
employment of the term vamaiot by the mass media: to the outsiders, the
prototypical Vama Veche tourist is (euphemistically speaking) an unreliable
young person, whose sole aim in life is to lead a bohemian existence, with
disregard for any kind of order. Nonetheless, the online dictionary of urban
Romanian language, 123urban.ro, records another definition of the term in
question, highlighting in a jocose, manifesto-like note the positive qualities of
the prototypical Vama Veche tourist and aiming at distinguishing him/her from
the prototypical mass tourist: 1. Someone who goes to the seaside, to Vama
Veche on a regular, yearly basis. A vamaiot loves: the beach, the sea, a beer,
more beers, fried fish, a bed sheet laid down on the beach, tents, guitars, the
blues, Expirat [the name of a well-known pub, literally meaning stale, out of
date]. A vamaiot does not love: bathing suits, Jeeps, chaise longues, fads, raids,
buoys, Jet Skis, forbidden camping, leased beaches, plastic (123urban.ro, s.v.
vamaiot, orig. Romanian, my translation). The last part of the definition
identifies, by means of negation, the Other tourist, with whom the vamaiot
wishes not be mistaken. All the items or aspects listed in the latter section of the
definition are seen by the vamaiot as being the negative effects of globalisation,
perceived as a neutralising phenomenon that leads to the amputation of individuality.
(2) The mainstream tourist is a person that is more rule-bound and
follows a set of widely acknowledged and promoted standards in his/her pursuit
of a holiday experience. These expectations demand that the natural landscape
and the public space in a certain place be altered so that they can fulfil the
tourists needs. With a place like Vama Veche, alterations of this kind are
considered detrimental by the vamaioi, who believe that their (natural, social
and cultural) place of refuge should escape the influence of globalisation
unscathed. This does not mean that the mainstream tourist is the Wicked Witch
of the West in Romanian contemporary tourism. It is simply that, as a
representative and promoter of mass culture, s(he) stands for the very thing that
the vamaioi zestfully reject: swimming in the direction of the rivers flow.
3. Commercial names as markers of group identity
This sociocultural configuration of Vama Veche is also visible in the
linguistic landscape (LL) of the resort. The commercial signage of the hamlet is
suggestive of the two communities of tourists that pertain to Vama Veche. The
trade names that define the commercial onomastic dimension of the public
125
space are indicative in this respect on the level of (a) non-verbal configuration
(mostly visual cues, i.e. typeface and chromatic properties, and so on, but aural
cues can also occur: for instance, the music played in some pubs or bars can
enable one to associate that business entity with a certain referential categorial
subtype) and (b) lexical-grammatical and semantic construction. While the nonverbal elements may be used to capture the attention of prospective customers
and help them to perform the first step in the identification of a given
commercial entity in relation to either of the aforementioned touristic groups,
the name content can confirm or invalidate the categorial presupposition and
even trigger new associative and emotive meanings; moreover, the latter kind of
meanings, established by the non-verbal dimension of a business entity, may
sometimes be reinforced or even contradicted by the associations conveyed via
its trade name.
The LL in Vama Veche is determined by the business owners wish to
meet the tourists demands, trying to keep up to date with the newer wave of
tourists, while also preserving the loyal consumership. According to Kallen
(2009: 275), there are four types of tourists needs that can influence the
shaping of the local LL: (1) the need for an authentic experience of place, to
see the real foreign land; (2) the need to feel secure, ensuring that what is
different is not so different as to be threatening or in some way repugnant; (3)
the need to break away from normal routines; and (4) the need to return from a
journey of transformation, i.e. to create a memory of the experience of travel
that stands out from other experiences. While the third and fourth needs are
prominent as regards the vamaioi, it is the first and second needs that are
manifested by the mainstream tourists.
In the LL of Vama Veche the discourses that correspond to the two
touristic communities are often juxtaposed or even overlapped (Kallen 2009:
274). The latter situation can be found with business establishments that adjust
their marketing strategies in order to satisfy a wider range of tourists, albeit
their names are still indicative of the community of the vamaioi: e.g. Elgas
Punk Rock Hotel (the first component is an acronym containing the truncations
of the owners first names, Ella and Gabi), Expirat (Rom. adj.4 expirat stale,
out of date, obtained from the past participle form of vb. a expira to expire),
La Canapele (Rom. prepositional noun phrase < prep. la at + pl. c.n. canapele
sofas, indicating the type of furniture that can be found in the pub), La Galerie
(Rom. prepositional noun phrase < prep. la at + c.n., f., galerie gallery,
referring to art galleries), and so on. Thus, one and the same name can
4
126
ALINA BUGHEIU
127
128
ALINA BUGHEIU
in which the name of the hotel is written imitates the one of the name of the
soap opera) or mythology (e.g. Vila Polux). Displaying a semantic status that is
in between proper names and appellatives (as a result of antonomasia),
noncategorial elements in accommodation locations may refer to types of
alcoholic drinks: Hotel Bourbon (Bourbon, a type of American whiskey; the
owners even used the corresponding Bourbon typeface in writing the hotel
name; see Fig. 1), Vila Martini (Martini, a type of Italian vermouth).
129
appellative noun phrases may also suggest the high standards of the touristic
experience: Hotel Jakuzzi (Rom. c.n., neuter, hotel hotel + *jakuzzi, perhaps
from the French borrowing jacuzzi, although it might also come from En.
Jacuzzi), Pura Vida Beach Bar & Hostel (Sp. adjectival noun phrase pura vida
pure life + En. compound, specialised categorial marker beach bar & hostel,
indicative of the development and increase of basic level categories in the field
of commerce; while the phrase pura vida could be considered highly suggestive
of the type of experience that Vama Veche is supposed to offer its tourists, it is
rendered neutral by the numerous accommodation locations throughout
Romania that bear this very name). The quality of the touristic experience is
also implied by the only commercial name that comprises an adjective
alongside the categorial marker: Casa Rustic (Rom. c.n., f., cas house, with
the enclitic form of the definite article -a + Rom. adj. rustic, male form; the lack
of gender agreement between the categorial term and the characterising
adjective shows that the latter is not treated as an adjective, but functions as
proper names usually do in partially descriptive names of this kind). There are
many rustic accommodation locations in Romania, as a result of the
development of agritourism.
Some microtoponyms do not include categorial markers but are
indicative of the type of commercial establishment (e.g. Quick Food, coined
after En. fast food), or are semantically related to the seaside landscape: Sea
Temple. Prepositional phrases can also be found, especially with the Romanian
preposition la at attached to other proper names: La Dinamo (Rom. prep. la
at + Dinamo, the name of a Romanian football club).
(2) Marked names make up the oldest coherent group of names in the
LL of Vama Veche, consisting of microtoponyms that refer to the community
of the vamaioi. On the level of lexical and grammatical constructions,
commercial names that can be included in this onomastic orientation may be
simple structures, derived from anthroponyms that display a significant cultural
and historical weight (e.g. Zapata, the surname of Emiliano Zapata, a key figure
in the 1910 Mexican Revolution), resonating with the ideals of the community
of the vamaioi, especially with what they see themselves to be in the
contemporary Romanian public space. Appellatives that are used as commercial
names may trigger associative meanings originally related to
- places or establishments: e.g. Cherhana (< Rom. c.n., f., cherhana
fishery, of Turkish origin), Gulag (< Rom. c.n., neuter, gulag, a Russian
borrowing), Shire (< En. c.n. shire, written in Blackletter typeface, also known
as gothic script; see Fig. 2), Taverna (< Rom. c.n., f., tavern tavern, with the
enclitic form of the definite article -a);
ALINA BUGHEIU
130
131
as in several others that will be shown further on, the associative and emotive
meanings triggered by the name form and/or content are not crucial in
connecting the commercial name to the community of the vamaioi; however,
this link is made based on the associative and emotive meanings established in
relation to the name bearer, which is an old, well-known bar in the resort.
Some commercial names can be derived from acronyms, which constitute
the basis of cultural names: e.g. M*A*S*H (< M*A*S*H, a famous American
television series that was aired in Romania in the 1990s and early 2000s; the
actual establishment is a big old army tent, see Fig. 4).
132
ALINA BUGHEIU
Anthroponyms may occur with appellatives that are suggestive of the basic
level category of the named entity, without mentioning it clearly: Papa la oni
(Rom. c.n., f., papa food, baby-talk + Rom. prep. la at + oni, according to
the approximate pronunciation of the male hypocoristic Sanyi, from the
Hungarian male first name Sndor). Similarly, in some instances, the categorial
identifier can be missing altogether: La Barb Neagr (Rom. prep. la at +
Barb Neagr, the Romanian cognate of Blackbeard, a famous early 18th
century pirate), La Mexicanu (Rom. prep. la at + Mexicanu the Mexican,
the owners nickname, which may be related to the type of food served, derived
from the Romanian appellative and corresponding adjective mexican
Mexican, with the apostrophe marking the colloquial pronunciation of the
word, without the ending consonant sound of the enclitic form of the male
definite article u(l)); La Theo Vamaiotu (Rom. prep. la at + Theo, a
hypocoristic form of the male first name Teodor, with the variant Theodor +
Vamaiotu the vamaiot, here functioning as a byname). In other cases,
categorial terms co-occur with appellatives or appellative constructions: Bazart
Hotel (< a portmanteau word obtained from the merger of Rom. c.n., neuter,
bazar + Rom. c.n., f., art), Casa Dor de Vam (Rom. c.n., f., cas house,
with the enclitic form of the definite article a + Rom. c.n., neuter, dor
longing + Rom. prep. de for, indicating the object of longing + Vam, the
short form of the toponym Vama Veche), Casa La Meduza (Rom. c.n., f., cas
house, with the enclitic form of the definite article a + Rom. prep. la at + Rom.
c.n., f., meduz jellyfish, with the enclitic form of the definite article a), Terasa
Povestea Ceaunului (Rom. c.n., f., teras patio, garden, with the enclitic form
of the definite article a + Rom. c.n., f., poveste story, with the enclitic form
of the definite article a + Rom. c.n., neuter, ceaun cauldron, in the genitive
case ceaunului of the cauldron), Vila No Name (Rom. c.n., f., vil villa, with
the enclitic form of the definite article a + En. determiner no + En. c.n. name).
There are trade names in the LL of Vama Veche that contain English
appellative noun phrases with a proclitic definite article: The Jack, The Shot
(referring to a shot of tequila), The Stage. Some appellative noun phrases may
be post-modified by prepositional phrases: Csua cu minuni (Rom. c.n., f.,
diminutive csua the little house + Rom. prep. cu with + Rom. c.n., f., pl.,
minuni wonders, miracles). The post-modifier can also be an adjective: Colu
Vesel (Rom. c.n., neuter, col corner, with the enclitic form of the definite
article ul and the apostrophe marking the elision in pronunciation of the ending
consonant l + Rom. adj., m., vesel happy).
Many commercial names in the LL of this resort contain the Romanian
preposition la (at) in initial position. The other components may be:
- appellatives: La Canapele (Rom. c.n., f., pl. canapele sofas, indicating
the type of furniture that is typical of this place), La Epav (Rom. c.n., f., epav
shipwreck), La Frontier (Rom. c.n., f., frontier frontier, border), La
133
Galerie (Rom. c.n., f., galerie gallery), La Pirai (Rom. c.n., m., pl. pirai
pirates), La Stuf (Rom. c.n., neuter, stuf reed);
- adjectives obtained from past participles: La Culcat (Rom. adj. culcat
laid down);
- prepositional phrases with an initial temporal adverbial phrase (La Fr
un Sfert < Rom. fr un sfert a quarter to) or a colloquial, euphemistic
expression functioning like an adverb of manner (La Pe Sub Mn < Rom. pe
sub mn secretly, stealthily).
4. Conclusions
Curiously, although not so numerous, marked names are more prominent
in the LL of Vama Veche. On the one hand, this happens because they occur in
the core area of the resort (not necessarily the geographically central one). On
the other, there is a financial motivation behind this situation: most of the
commercial establishments (guesthouses in particular) that bear unmarked
names are small businesses and they refrain from putting on view their name.
Thus, in most cases, what one finds displayed outside the establishment is just a
sign reading Cazare lodging. Nevertheless, these names do occur on
specialised websites aimed at tourists, contributing to the virtual LL of the
resort (cf. Puzey 2011: 22).
The significant representation of the marked names in the LL of Vama
Veche can also be accounted for by their brand-like function in relation to this
location, whose own name has developed the qualities of trademark use.
Marked names define especially the brand image of the resort (what the tourists
deem representative of it). As the commercial names that became marked
names were established by the community of the vamaioi, it is only natural that
they became associated with this community, as an expression of its existence
in the LL. Therefore, the preservation of this microtoponymic stock suggests
the solid structure of this group and of the peoples feeling of belonging to a
certain community (Helleland 2009: 503).
Whether marked or unmarked, microtoponyms in Vama Veche are
mostly based on anthroponyms. Nevertheless, a difference in their use in these
two contexts needs to be pointed out. Anthroponyms in unmarked names do not
have an identifying function, as it is common for trade names throughout
Romania (and not only) to be derived from first names (full forms or
hypocoristics) and, sometimes, family names. Therefore, such commercial
names convey familiarity and, when they comprise female first names in
particular (as most unmarked names in Vama Veche tend to do), they are also
related to feminine stereotypes of cosiness and good care. The only situations in
which first names help to achieve differentiation are when they are spelled
ALINA BUGHEIU
134
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Coulmas, Florian (2010), Sociolinguistics: The Study of Speakers Choices, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge.
Felecan, Daiana (2011), Aspecte ale polifoniei lingvistice, 2nd edition, revised, Editura Mega,
Cluj-Napoca.
Helleland, Botolv (2009), Place names as identity markers, in W. Ahrens, S. Embleton and A.
Lapierre (eds.), Names in Multi-Lingual, Multi-Cultural and Multi-Ethnic Contact.
Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, August 17-22,
2008, York University, Toronto, Canada, York University Toronto Canada, pp. 501-510,
http://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/3986/icos23_501.pdf?Seq
uence=1.
Kallen, Jeffrey (2009), Tourism and representation in the Irish linguistic landscape, in E.
Shohamy and D. Gorter (eds.), Linguistic Landscape: Expanding the Scenery, Routledge,
Abingdon, pp. 270-283.
van Langendonck, Willy (2007), Theory and Typology of Proper Names, Mouton de Gruyter,
Berlin New York.
Ooiu, Adrian (2003), An exercise in fictional liminality: The postcolonial, the postcommunist,
and Romanias Threshold Generation, in Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and
the Middle East 23 (1&2), pp. 87-105, http://www.cssaame.com/issues/23/15.pdf.
135
RECENZII
138
sujets dans les villes franaises canadiennes, y compris dans des villes importantes, tels Qubec et
Montral, par exemple : en 1945, Gabrielle Roy inaugure, avec Bonheur doccasion, ce
nouveau cycle de fictions. (p. 109), [] la suite de Gabrielle Roy, dans les annes 50 et 60,
Montral devient un cadre romanesque privilgi, o voisinent le naturalisme dun Bessette (La
Bagarre), les sarcasmes et gauloiseries dun Jean-Jules Richard (Ville rouge, Faites-leur boire le
fleuve, Carr Saint-Louis, Centre-Ville), la prose critique dun Girouard (La Ville inhumaine)
[] (p. 112), mais cest surtout avec Michel Tremblay et ses Chroniques du Plateau MontRoyal [que] le roman qubcois prend dfinitivement possession de la ville [] [l]e Montral
romanesque de Tremblay commence dans les annes 1940 et se dploie jusquaux annes 80 (p.
116). Le chapitre 5 est consacr aux romans du voyage, qui traitent des dplacements des
personnages travers des espaces gographiques immenses. Ainsi, Lise Gauvin montre que
bien que la ville soit le cadre romanesque privilgi par les romanciers qubcois au cours des
dernires dcennies, lexploration du continent nord-amricain a galement sduit les crivains
qui, partir des annes 1980, ont promen leurs hros dest en ouest et de Gasp San Francisco
[...] ; [d]ans ce contexte, le roman du voyage ou le road novel peut tre considr comme la
mtaphore de tout rcit dans la mesure o il vient doubler, par son sujet mme, le parcours narratif
sur lequel se fonde le genre romanesque (p. 131). Lise Gauvin mentionne quelques exemples de ce
type de romans, o apptit despace et dsir dcriture sont intimement lis [...] , ce qui se vrifie
[...] avec les romans qubcois qui ont comme sujet la traverse de lAmrique, parmi lesquels
tout dabord Volkswagen Blues de Jacques Poulin, inspir du modle On the Road de Kerouac
[...] ; [d]eux autres romans, Une histoire amricaine de Jacques Godbout et Copies conformes de
Monique Larue, situent leur intrigue San Francisco, dernire halte du rcit de Poulain [...] ; [d]e
leur ct, les voyageurs dUn train pour Vancouver de Nicole Lavigne et du Joueur de flte de
Louis Hamelin parcourent le Canada dest en ouest (p. 132). Le chapitre 7 est consacr
lcriture dite migrante , cest--dire la littrature crite par les immigrants vivant au Qubec.
Ainsi, tel que lexplique lauteur : au cours des annes 1980, la littrature qubcoise est
engage dans diverses pratiques de dcentrement, pratiques dont la revue Drives, fonde par
lcrivain dorigine hatienne Jean Jonassaint, tmoigne loquemment [...] [c]e lieu dchanges
interculturels de premire importance est bientt suivi par la cration de la revue Vice Versa
(1984) par les Italo-Qubcois Fulvio Caccia et Lamberto Tassinari, ainsi que par la fondation par
Ghila Benestry Sroka de la Parole Mtque (1986), qui se dfinit comme magazine du
renouveau fministe [...] [l]a notion de littrature migrante est ainsi apparue pour dsigner les
textes dcrivains de diverses origines [hatienne, italienne, juive polonaise, asiatique dExtrmeOrient, etc.] ayant choisi de publier en franais [...] [b]ien avant cette dcennie, des auteurs
avaient immigr au Qubec sans que leur prsence ne soit souligne par une dsignation
particulire (p. 181). Nous ne mentionnerons ici que deux des exemples prsents par Lise
Gauvin parmi ces auteurs immigrs : Dany Laferrire, dorigine hatienne (tabli en 1976
Montral) (Comment faire lamour avec un Ngre sans se fatiguer ; Cette grenade dans la main
du jeune Ngre) et Marco Micone, dorigine italienne (qui avait immigr avec ses parents en 1958
Montral), auteur dramatique (ses pices de thtre prenant pour sujets des aspects de la vie de
plusieurs gnrations dimmigrs, ainsi que le souligne Lise Gauvin, telles les pices Gens du
silence, Addolorata et Dj lagonie), auteur dun manifeste (Speak What) et dun rcit (Le
Figuier enchant), mais aussi de traductions pour le thtre.
Par ailleurs, dans son ouvrage, Lise Gauvin relve galement des aspects linguistiques qui
caractrisent le franais qubcois. Nous prsentons ici les traits essentiels de ces aspects
linguistiques qui sont abords par Lise Gauvin :
le statut de la francophonie dans cette rgion du monde, son tat jeune et rcent,
puisqu on donne gnralement la date de 1837 et LInfluence dun livre ou Le Chercheur de
trsors de Philippe Aubert de Gasp fils comme premier roman. (p. 13) ;
le terme de pricolonialisme, choisi par Lise Gauvin pour dsigner ce statut de la
culture et de la littrature franaises qubcoises par rapport au franais de la Mtropole, mais
139
aussi langlais : Aussi me semble-t-il que le terme le plus adquat pour dcrire ltrange
modle qubcois, sa complexit et son originalit, est celui de pricolonialisme, car on indique
que cette littrature reste priphrique dans lensemble de la francophonie, mais aussi par rapport
laxe colonialiste ou postcolonialiste, comme toute pense dualiste qui ferait lconomie des
nombreux rseaux dappartenances et dinfluences qui la traversent et en font la spcificit ; ce
concept rejoint ce que Rownald Smith appelle le side-by-sidedness (p. 12) ;
laffirmation, dans une littrature qui cesse dtre traditionnelle au cours de la deuxime
moiti du 20e sicle, du vernaculaire qubcois (de ses particularits locales, comme des traits du
joual) et du multilinguisme, par exemple, lutilisation, par les mmes locuteurs appartenant la
communaut linguistique qubcoise, du franais, de langlais et de litalien, mais aussi dautres
langues ; voir la reprsentation de la pice de thtre les Belles-Surs de Michel Tremblay, qui
intgre la langue populaire au rcit et qui produit un effet joual du texte (pp. 26-27) ;
ladoption lcrit, dans les romans qubcois de la deuxime moiti du 20e sicle, de
plusieurs registres de langue franaise (le franais standard utilis en France, mais galement un
franais standard qubcois, le franais populaire qubcois, etc.) (v. le chap. 1) ;
la fminisation du franais qubcois par les auteurs fminins de la
littrature qubcoise : par exemple, Lise Gauvin prcise que si les annes 1960 ont t
marques, au Qubec, par une nouvelle donne politique, accompagne dune rflexion soutenue
de la part des crivains sur le rle et la fonction sociale de la littrature, il est gnralement admis
que les annes 1970 ont t surtout remarquables par les prises de position et les mouvements
fministes (p. 159) ; si ce courant littraire devient intressant sur le plan linguistique, selon
Lise Gauvin, cest parce que les femmes ont voulu penser dabord la langue, articulant leur
thorie des pratiques transgressives et provocatrices (p. 159) et qu elles se sont nommes
crivaines, fires de cet e que lon disait muet (p. 159) : lauteur explique le fait que ce sont ces
questions [qui sont] poses la langue et au langage [...] [et qui sont] formules dans des
noncs de type programmatique, mais aussi dans une srie de textes mixtes qui empruntent
tantt au manifeste ou lessai, tantt au rcit ou au pome en prose, tantt lautobiographie et
lautofiction les formes de leur agencement (p. 159) ; lune des figures importantes dcrivaines
cites est Nicole Brossard, qui crit des thories-fictions telles que LAmr ou le chapitre effrit,
o elle se propose de fminiser le langage en franais qubcois.
Deux conclusions du livre nous semblent importantes. Nous les illustrons ici par les
propos mmes de Lise Gauvin :
(i) Une culture et une littrature comme rfrences, telle tait la caractristique que je
signalais comme une nouveaut de la littrature qubcoise en 1983 dans Trajectoires, ouvrage
publi en collaboration avec des collgues de la Belgique francophone (pp. 223-224) 1 ;
(ii) Depuis les premiers crits, aventuriers et sdentaires sont reprsents dans le roman
qubcois. Entre le dsir denracinement et le besoin de nomadisme sinscrivent les tapes dun
parcours qui passe du roman paysan au roman urbain, de la traverse de la ville celle du
continent amricain. Le franais qui sy affiche renvoie une langue dcomplexe, arrime une
culture marque par lhtrogne et le non-conventionnel. Une culture porte par la forte
prsence des crivaines et riche des apports des nouveaux arrivants, ces trangers du dedans
devenus peu peu les tmoins privilgis et les porte-parole dune collectivit en mutation. Une
culture marque galement par un questionnement constant quant la lgitimit et la fonction
du littraire dans lespace social. Lcrivain au Qubec est celui qui, sans abdiquer son devoir de
vigilance concernant le statut accord au franais dans lensemble de la collectivit, rend compte
dune variance infinie des potiques. (p. 224) [nos soulignements].
Bien que Lise Gauvin fasse des rfrences, tout au long de chaque chapitre, de
nombreux auteurs franais qubcois fameux, tels le romancier Jacques Ferron, le pote Gaston
1
140
Miron et dautres, mais aussi aux titres des oeuvres crites par ceux-ci, louvrage Aventuriers et
sdentaires. Parcours du roman qubcois ne traite pas uniquement de lhistoire du roman
qubcois, ainsi que nous lavons vu : selon les propos de Lise Gauvin dans sa conclusion, cet
ouvrage sest voulu une invitation lire le roman qubcois davantage quune histoire de son
volution (p. 221). Dautre part, tel que nous avons essay de le dmontrer, les observations de
lauteur concernant le franais qubcois savrent remarquables pour le champ de la linguistique.
Par consquent, si louvrage de Lise Gauvin retient en premier lieu lattention des lecteurs
intresss par la littrature, lutilit du livre pour le domaine de la linguistique est loin dtre
ngligeable. De plus, la prsentation de lauteur est ralise dans un langage qui est accessible au
grand public. Ainsi le livre Aventuriers et sdentaires. Parcours du roman qubcois de Lise
Gauvin est-il destin toutes les catgories de lecteurs : aux spcialistes de la littrature , de la
linguistique romanes et des tudes francophones, mais galement aux amateurs des belles-lettres.
ANTONIA CIOLAC*
141
impresos en el alfabeto cirlico, segn los sistemas propuestos en los estudios de I. Fischer, M.
Avram, Fl. Dimitrescu, Finua Asan, I. Gheie y Al. Mare. El volumen incorpora el estudio sobre
los textos cientficos escritos entre finales del siglo XVIII (Gramatica de la nvtura fizicii de
Amfilohie Hotiniul, del ao 1796) hasta la segunda mitad del siglo XIX (Curs elementar de
istoria natural. Zoologia de D. Brndz, del ao 1872). Esta franja temporal incluye, segn las
especificaciones ofrecidas por la autora, dos etapas: la primera, entre 1780 y 1860-1870, de
absorcin y de formacin del estilo cientfico rumano, y la segunda, despus de 1860, que marca
un principio de autonoma de la investigacin cientfica rumana, representada a nivel
internacional por Victor Babe, Nicolae Teclu, Anghel Saligny, Dimitrie Brndz, entre otros.
Adems del Argument [Argumento] (pp. 6-7) y Not asupra ediiei [Prlogo] (pp. 811, que contiene una tabla til de las correspondencias entre las letras del alfabeto cirlico y las
letras latinas, ya que cinco textos estn escritos en cirlico, mientras que uno est escrito con
alfabeto ruso), el estudio incluye tres captulos introductivos.
Din nceputurile studiului tiinific n limba romn repere istorice [Sobre los
principios del estudio cientfico en rumano referencias histricas] (pp. 12-17) se refiere a la
actividad cientfica desarrollada antes del perodo comentado en el presente volumen, dividido a
su vez en dos etapas: antes de 1640 (caracterizado por un nmero reducido de obras) y despus de
1640 (cuando se puede constatar un aumento del inters por las ciencias en los Pases Rumanos).
En Schi de istorie a medicinii i a tiinelor naturale n limba romn [Esbozo de la
historia de la medicina y de las ciencias naturales en la lengua rumana] (pp. 17-22) se constata
que hasta el ao 1830, la ciencia mdica era ms desarrollada en Transilvania comparativamente
con los Pases Rumanos bajo la influencia del Iluminismo, para que despus de este ao, el centro
de gravedad se desplazara hacia los Principados de Moldavia y Valaquia; el inters para las
ciencias de la naturaleza, que, igual que la medicina, conoce un perodo de florecimiento sobre
todo despus de 1830, se va a manifestar pronto en primer lugar en Transilvania, donde se
convierte en asignatura para estudiar en las escuelas aun desde el siglo XVII; adems, un listado
de nombres de plantas se incluye en el primer diccionario de la lengua rumana - Dictionariul
valachico-latinum [Diccionario valaco-latino];
Didacticismul trstur definitorie a primelor texte tiinifice [El didacticismo
rasgo caracterstico de los primeros textos cientficos] (pp. 22-33) muestra que, al nivel de la
enunciacin (que concierne la relacin locutor/interlocutor: raportul locutor/interlocutor i
poziia acestora fa de obiectul cunoaterii, p. 22), el texto cientfico es de tres tipos:
especializado, didctico o de divulgacin (popularizacin). El didctico se manifiesta a travs de
los textos estudiados por las formulaciones dirigidas directamente al interlocutor con intencin
pedaggica, creando la apariencia de un dilogo con el lector, por las estructuras interrogativas,
por las definiciones, sobre todo con propsito de divulgacin, a travs de las cuales se intenta
establecer una relacin entre la nocin nueva y los conocimientos anteriores de los lectores, por
las indicaciones etimolgicas, los ejemplos, las explicaciones, las taxonomas y las ilustraciones.
A estos captulos introductivos les sigue la parte ms amplia del estudio que incluye los
textos cientficos, ordenados cronolgicamente y comentados desde una perspectiva
terminolgica, ya que se aade tambin un listado de trminos y sintagmas terminolgicos del
mbito mdico o de las ciencias de la naturaleza, de origen popular o prstamos.
Para el mbito de la Medicina (pp. 34-115), representado por numerosos textos y
caracterizado por un lxico especializado de formacin temprana, se mencionan y se analizan los
siguientes autores:
Amfilohie Hotiniul, Gramatica de la nvtura fizicii [Gramtica sobre la enseanza de
la fsica] (1796), pp. 34-52, representante del iluminismo en Moldavia, conocedor de varios
dominios cientficos, cuyo lenguaje se caracteriza por prstamos lxicos, inserciones de etimones
populares, igual que por la utilizacin de sinnimos para algunos trminos cientficos, prctica a
evitar para no dar lugar a ambigedades, pero justificable por aquellos principios de las escrituras
con carcter cientfico en el espacio rumano;
142
Petre Maior, nvtura pentru ferirea i doftorirea boalelor [Enseanza sobre la
prevencin y el tratamiento de las enfermedades] (1816), pp. 53-72, autor dedicado a varias reas
cientficas, a la traduccin y a la adaptacin de textos extranjeros, que recurre tambin a calcos, a
la terminologa popular, a prstamos del italiano, pero tambin del aromuno;
Alexandru Teodori, Scurt artare despre om i despre ntocmirile lui [Corta
presentacin del ser humano y de su constitucin] (1825), pp. 73-85, autor al que se debe la forma
final del Lexicon de la Buda [El diccionario de Buda], introduce en su obra trminos anatmicos
internacionales, especificando para la mayora de ellos su equivalente griego;
tefan Vasile Episcopescu, Oglinda sntii i a frumuseii omeneti [Espejo de la
salud y de la belleza humana] (1829), pp. 85-102, que sienta las bases de la terminologa mdica
en Valaquia, caracterizada por la frecuencia de los trminos populares y de los calcos;
Pavel Vasici-Ungurean, Antropologia sau scurta cunotin despre om i despre
nsuirile sale [Antropologa o corto conocimiento sobre el ser humano y sobre sus
caractersticas] (1830), pp. 103-115, cuya significativa actividad mdica incluye tambin la
preocupacin por crear un lxico mdico rumano especializado, aunque su obra tambin contiene
trminos populares.
En cuanto a las ciencias de la naturaleza (botnica, zoologa, geologa), pp. 116-257, se
analizan textos que pertenecen a los siguientes autores:
Amfilohie Hotiniul, con Gramatica de la nvtura fizicii [Gramtica sobre la
enseanza de la fsica] (1796), pp.116-146 ya que, segn la autora, se trata de la primera
escritura que representa un principio de terminologa cientfica botnica, zoolgica y geolgica en
rumano, caracterizndose por la presencia de los prstamos y de los trminos populares;
Iacob S. Cihac, con Historia natural [Historia natural] (1837), pp. 147-182, miembro de
honor de la Sociedad Acadmica Rumana, autor del primer tratado de ciencias naturales impreso
en rumano, que recurre a prstamos lxicos para crear un lenguaje especializado utilizable en los
mbitos cientficos rumanos;
Iulius Barasch, con Minunele naturei [Las maravillas de la naturaleza] (1852), pp. 183209, que se ha hecho importante por haber introducido la terminologa especializada que, segn la
autora, se sigue utilizando incluso en los manuales actuales de la enseanza media y por haber
adoptado trminos cientficos del francs;
Dimitrie Iarcu, con Elemente de istorie natural [Elementos de historia natural] (1860),
pp. 210-243, autor y traductor de obras cientficas francesas, cuya obra contiene trminos
cientficos que siguen siendo utilizados aun en el presente;
D. Brndz, con su Curs elementar de istoria natural. Zoologia [Curso elemental de
historia natural], pp. 244-257, el padre de la ciencia botnica rumana, fundador del Jardn
Botnico de Bucarest y miembro de la Academia Rumana, representa un momento de madurez
del lenguaje cientfico rumano, ya que utiliza en el manual analizado en Din nceputurile
terminologiei tiinifice romneti una terminologa que, en su gran mayora, sigue siendo
vigente, segn la autora.
Las obras de estos autores reflejan, en buena medida, a nivel lingstico, no slo las
edades de la terminologa en los Pases Rumanos, sino tambin el desarrollo de la ciencia en este
espacio rumano.
A este vasto captulo dedicado a los textos del mbito mdico y de las ciencias naturales
le sigue un Glosario (pp. 259-262) que rene trminos arcaicos de todos los mbitos
mencionados con sus correspondientes de la terminologa rumana actual. Una recomendacin en
cuanto a la construccin del glosario sera que ste fuera ms extenso y contuviera, en caso de una
posible reimpresin, unas cuantas menciones en lo que concierne la obra de procedencia (el autor,
el ttulo, el ao, la pgina), para facilitar las investigaciones de los que quisieran continuar este
estudio. Aunque los anlisis de las obras de los autores mencionados contienen tambin
enumeraciones de los trminos populares o neolgicos, retomar estos vocablos en un glosario
final hara ms visible la continuidad o la detencin/suspensin de la evolucin terminolgica de
143
una obra a otra situadas en intervalos temporales diferentes. Sin lugar a duda, es posible que
algunos trminos sean presentes en los textos de varios autores o, todo lo contrario, sean
especficos de un solo autor, pero justamente estas coincidencias o diferencias pueden representar
puntos de inters en un futuro estudio terminolgico.
Los Anexos incluyen fotos de las hojas de titulo/portadas y algunas pginas de las
ediciones consultadas (pp. 263-272), mientras que Izvoarele [Las fuentes] (pp. 273) contienen una
enumeracin de las obras cientficas en orden alfabtico segn los autores.
El estudio de Liliana Soare puede representar un importante punto de partida tanto para
sus propias investigaciones como para los dems investigadores que se propongan adentrarse en
un cierto mbito y seguir la evolucin del lenguaje cientfico rumano, su aproximacin paulatina
de los requisitos terminolgicos internacionales.
MIOARA ADELINA ANGHELU*
144
by students. The sections on segmental phenomena (pp. 24-41) are concerned with the following
topics: TH-stopping, i.e. the tendency towards the substitution of the stops [t] and [d] for the
fricatives [] and [] respectively; the reduction of word-final consonant clusters, via consonant
deletion; intrusive [t] in word-final position; the realization as a glottal stop [] of word-final /t/
and /k/; obstruent devoicing in word-final position; /l/-vocalization; /l/-deletion; rhoticity; the
tendency towards the levelling of the length distinction in the lexical sets2 KIT and FLEECE, FOOT
and GOOSE; the confusion of the vowels in FACE and TRAP; the tendency towards the
monophthongization of the FACE and GOAT vowels; the absence of reduced vowels; instances of
spelling pronunciations and of idiosyncratic pronunciations. The suprasegmental phenomena
discussed (pp. 41-47) include word stress, compound stress, rhythm, sentence stress, deaccenting, and the utterance-final rising pitch.
Chapter 4, Morphology and syntax (pp. 49-70), is based on the interviews in the
UBDCSBE and it focuses on a selected number of salient morphological and syntactic features of
Brunei English. The issues covered are: the occurrence vs. non-occurrence of the plural suffix -s;
the treatment as count-nouns of nouns which are uncountable in standard varieties of natively
spoken English; the omission of the plural suffix -s after one of; the occurrence of plural forms
such as brother-in-laws or runner-ups; the classifier-like use of piece; subject-verb agreement,
with -s either unexpectedly occurring on or missing from present tense verbs; the use of theres
with plural noun phrases; the occurrence of -s with modal verbs; the effect on agreement patterns
of an intervening noun between the head of the subject and the main verb, which triggers the use
of the suffix -s, e.g. most of the words of English comes, or of were, e.g. the performance of the
participants were satisfactory; the use of the present tense for past time reference; frequentative
will; the widespread use of would to express tentativeness and also as a stylistic variant of will;
the use of the auxiliary verb do in affirmative declarative sentences; the occasional occurrence of
ever in affirmative sentences; the occurrence of null subjects; the occurrence of subject-auxiliary
inversion in embedded questions; the variable usage of determiners; the absence of the definite
article before names of countries, e.g. shes in UK right now or US would be good; the use of
affirmative answers to negative questions; the complementation patterns Adj to V and Adj Ving; the occurrence of redundant prepositions, e.g. discuss about/on, emphasize on, grasp at.
Chapter 5, Discourse (pp. 71-87), is an overview of the most typical discourse patterns
of Brunei English. The analysis is based on data of both spoken and written discourse; the former
are from the UDSCSBE interviews while the latter come from the two national English-language
newspapers The Brunei Times and the Borneo Bulletin and from texts displayed at the Kampong
Ayer Cultural and Tourism Centre. The authors deal in turn with: the discourse particles bah
perhaps the favourite particle for Bruneians (p. 72), lah and kan; the use of yeah to signal the
end of the turn or a change of mind; the use as discourse markers of the phrases sort of/kind of;
the particle tsk (where <tsk> stands for an alveolar click); topic fronting, e.g. my grandparents
they speak Hakka; the use of -wise to mark a noun as the topic, e.g. job-wise, I wouldnt mind any
job that lets me travel; the occurrence of compared to instead of than; reduplication; the repetition
of lexical items; the widespread occurrence of words with similar meanings connected by and,
e.g. love and affection, enhance and upgrade; instances of tautology, e.g. total overall; the cooccurrence of such as and and so forth/and so on in the same sentence; the tendency towards
what the authors call overdoing explicitness (p. 84), e.g. the diabetes disease; the tendency
towards using whereby as an all-purpose connector; the tendency towards lengthy sentences; the
occurrence in written discourse of ill-formed run-on sentences.
Chapter 6, Lexis (pp. 89-106), is concerned with the characteristics of the vocabulary of
Brunei English. First, the influence of other languages is illustrated: the borrowings from Arabic
via Malay, consisting mostly of religious terms; the borrowings from Malay of terms such as for
2
The lexical sets (see p. 23) are taken from J. C. Wells (1982), Accents of English,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
145
addressing or referring to the royal family, to designate items of clothing, for specific cultural
items, e.g. traditional dances and festivals; the (probably Chinese-influenced) use of three or/to
five years; calques from Malay, e.g. four-eye meeting. Next, the authors discuss phenomena such
as: the widespread occurrence of initialisms, e.g. BSB Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital city of
Brunei; the use of specific clippings, e.g. ex-coms ex-committee members; blends, e.g. promex
promotion exam; the occurrence of semantic shifts, e.g. bring take, stay live, sober
ashamed; the existence of a special terminology for participants in various sports, e.g. shuttler
badminton player.
Chapter 7, Mixing (pp. 107-116), focuses on code mixing and code switching involving
Malay and English. Also addressed, though only tentatively, are the factors that account for the
widespread occurrence of both code mixing and of code switching: what the authors call the
inability to think of a word (p. 111); the need to explain something; the lack of English
equivalents for terms relating to the Islamic religion, to food and to other elements of local
culture; direct quotations; stylistic reasons. The authors conclude that both code mixing and code
switching appear to be the norm (p. 116), i.e. the unmarked option3 of speakers.
In chapter 8, Brunei English in the world (pp. 117-125), the authors first assess the
status of Brunei English in terms of the called Dynamic Model4 and conclude that Brunei
English is still in the third stage, i.e. nativization. The other issues covered in this chapter are the
place of Brunei English within World Englishes, the intelligibility of Brunei English in
international settings, and the pedagogical implications of the findings in light of the paradigm
shift away from strict adherence to the norms of native-speakers.
There are five Appendices: Appendix A, The female UBDCSBE speakers (pp. 127128), lists the age, ethnicity, first language and second language of the female subjects in the
UBDCSBE corpus; Appendix B, The male UBDCSBE speakers (pp. 128), lists those of the
male subjects; Appendix C, The Wolf passage (pp. 128-129), consists of the passage used for
the readings; Appendix D, Transcripts of the interview with Umi (pp. 129-151), is the
orthographic transcript of the .wav files of the extensive interview with Umi; Appendix E, The
BruDirect data (pp. 151-153), provides the identification code, title, date of the initial post, and
URL of the 15 discussion threads from the BruDirect internet discussion forum, analyzed in
chapter 7.
Deterding and Sharbawis monograph is the first book-length description of Brunei
English. The analysis of Brunei English data includes references to other New Englishes, in
particular to those spoken in Malaysia, Singapore5, the Philippines and Hong Kong, as well as to
natively spoken varieties. Due consideration is given to the complex interplay of factors in the
emergence and development of Brunei English, including the influence of Malay and Chinese.
Controversial issues and less well documented facts are discussed in a remarkably objective way.
The frequently tentative nature of the findings, given the insufficiency of the data in many areas
of interest, is repeatedly underscored. The book is written in a lively and engaging style, which
makes it accessible to a wide readership. The volume has been very carefully edited and indexed.
There are very few inaccuracies: with is about (p. 78) instead of which is about; hybrid
mature (p. 110) instead of hybrid nature; Schneiders modal (p. 120) instead of Schneiders
3
146
model; Ishaminas first name is Athirah, not Athura (pp. 157 and 166); the reference (p. 159) to
Noor Azam Haji-Othman (2012b) does not include the page numbers.
In conclusion, Brunei English: A New Variety in a Multilingual Society is a welcome
description of a hitherto under researched variety of New English, advancing our understanding
not only of south-east Asian Englishes but also of World Englishes, for which the authors are to
be commended.
ANDREI A. AVRAM*
147
stage, which offers great learner freedom (free production). These stages may not occur only in
this order, i.e. they do not represent a rigid linear classroom routine. Moreover, they may
sometimes be combined within one and the same activity, and it is possible to both start and finish
a lesson with the same stage. In order to make sure the readers understand the main ideas of the
chapter, the author discusses some problematic lessons and explains what seems to be wrong with
them.
Chapter 3, Teaching integrated skills (pp. 158-219), focuses on teaching the four basic
skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Although most learners can cope with a higher
level in receptive skills than they can in language production, an equal importance is given to
both the receptive and the productive skills. First, it attempts to explain a number of specialist
skills which learners have in their own language but which need to be re-activated when it comes
to reading in a foreign language, i.e. English. Then, it discusses some ways of, and reasons for,
reading a text, and clarifies some principles and aspects of the nature of reading. As reading, just
like listening, involves active participation on the part of the reader, special emphasis is laid on
pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading activities. The teaching of listening skills follows the
methodological model of the teaching of reading skills, but training students in the former skills
presents problems not found in reading material. The reasons for teaching listening may be
different as well, and the listening material itself can come in at least two different forms: audio
tapes and video. As spoken language differs markedly from written text, teachers should prepare
differently and should pay attention to other aspects of pre-listening, while-listening, or postlistening activities. As far as writing is concerned, unfortunately it is often considered the
forgotten skill and does not attract great attention. Nonetheless, writing activities can be very
helpful in reinforcing the new language, in helping students learn the grammatical structure of the
foreign language, in getting them to acquire the abilities and skills they need in order to produce a
range of different kinds of written texts, as well as some of the basic conventions of writing. The
largest part of the section proves that there are numerous activities and tasks that can stimulate
writing. Also, what the author emphasizes is that teachers should not underestimate the role of
correction of written work and should know how to provide feedback on writing. Finally,
speaking seems to be the most important skill, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that
most foreign language learners are primarily interested in learning to speak. Evidently, speaking
shows differences from writing, and this implies different reasons for teaching this skill and
different types of exercises, which, in their turn, focus on other aspects of language and demand
different levels of correctness.
Chapter 4, Teaching vocabulary (pp. 220-258), reinforces the importance of teaching
vocabulary and reconsiders its once marginal status relative to the main purpose of language
learning: the acquisition of grammatical knowledge about the language. And this should come as
no surpise, as vocabulary expansion is one of the central aspects learners express interest in. The
chapter talks about ways and techniques of memorizing and remembering vocabulary, the criteria
that should be taken into account when selecting vocabulary, and what students need to know
when it comes to vocabulary teaching. The core of the chapter is based on the pattern we are
already familiar with: the three important stages of teaching vocabulary are presentation,
discovery techniques, and practice.
Finally, the response to the well-known question whether literature should be included in
the course or not is affirmative, as Chapter 5, Teaching literature (pp. 259-287), emphasizes the
fact that teaching and learning literature is very important. Some of the reasons why we should be
in favour of including literature in courses are the following: (i) it arouses and maintains students
interest in literature and contributes to enjoyment; (ii) it helps them explore their own responses
to literature; (iii) it has intrinsic educational and aesthetic value; (iv) last but certainly not least, it
is a rich source of language. To give only one example, in order to show that language can be
taught through literature, the author gives the example of the novel Mrs. Dalloway, in which
Virginia Woolf makes use of free indirect discourse.
148
Generally speaking, this is a well structured book. It provides an excellent overview for
teachers who need some background about terminology and methods that is not too technical.
Attached to each chapter is a special section entitled Checking understanding, which
presents a wide variety of communicative activities and seminar worksheets. I consider that they
may be used by anyone looking for new ideas or teaching resources.
We witness a student-friendly approach and a student-centered way of explaining the
methodology and it is precisely this approach that I liked best. Let me mention only one example
related to teaching listening. The author first mentions (pp. 174-176) two (negative) versions of
the same lesson plan, from which she summarizes the most important things to remember when
devising a listening activity. Then, she invites her readers to reconsider the lesson procedures and
redesign them so as to include the newly-discovered features of teaching listening. She concludes
by extracting some general principles of teaching this integrated skill.
The authors style of presenting the material is easy to read and she speaks directly to her
readers. Take a look at the following examples: What I want to make you understand is that
(p. 120), What would you do to change that? (p. 122), In order for you to see the importance
of language planning, I (p. 123), Before establishing together some of the most important
principles (p. 173), etc. Readers are invited to answer questions, think about possible
approaches and solutions to various problems or difficult situations, they are encouraged to
elaborate upon their reasons, motivate their standpoint, select from the multitude of activities, or
design their own activities. The author provides very many examples and there are a lot of
practice exercises.
In the Introduction, the author mentions that this book can be used as a textbook meant
to teach future teachers about English taught as a foreign language (p. 13). I consider that this is
an underestimation: the present book, precisely because it is both a scientific and a
methodological approach to teaching English as a foreign language, is a useful tool not only for
future teachers, but also for trainee or novice teachers, and some of its material may also be found
interesting and helpful by more experienced practitioners.
IMOLA-GNES FARKAS6
149
estructura detallada pero sin embargo muy clara, casi matemtica. El estudio introductorio ofrece
antes que nada detalles sobre el contexto externo a las Etimologas isidorianas que influy en su
creacin, para que posteriormente sumergiera en las entraas de la estructura interior de la obra
explicando el hilo de su filosofa. Sus apartados siguientes tratan primero de sus fuentes y luego
de las influencias que tuvo posteriormente en otros escritos, para que el final se dedicara a unos
ejemplos prcticos de etimologas isidorianas, enfocando en los ms impactantes e ingeniosas.
Con vistas a demostrar desde el principio el hecho de que a San Isidoro no se le poda
pasar por alto en cualquier enumeracin de los espritus cientficos de la Edad Media, Anca Criv
parte en su estudio de una hermosa imagen del Paraso de Dante, la cual trata del momento en
que el poeta florentino viene acompaado por Beatrice hacia el cuarto cielo, el del Sol. Ah los
espritus felices de quienes se hubieran dedicado la vida al estudio y al conocimiento se mueven
en crculos de luces brillantes, al son de una cancin de una harmona perfecta. Se encuentran all
las ms importantes personalidades: Toms de Aquino, Alberto Magno, Graciano, Pedro
Lombardo, el sabio rey Salomn, Dionisio Areopagita, Paulo Orosio, Boecio, Isidoro de Sevilla,
San Beda el Venerable, Ricardo de San Victor y Siger de Brabante.
A continuacin nos explica la autora que la inclusin de San Isidoro en esta encantadora
imagen dantesca viene justificada por el xito que debi de tener sus escritos durante los siglos
VIIXV, entre los cuales el estudio introductorio destaca un tratado de dogmtica y moral
cristiana, Sententiae/ De summo bono, considerado como una Summa theologica del siglo VII y
un escrito de carcter mstico, Synonyma/ Soliloquia con el subttulo De lamentatione animae
peccatricis. La autora tambin muestra que a San Isidoro se lo conocieron como histrico y
naturalista, y enfoca sobre todo en su importante papel como enciclopedista, debido a su obra de
proporciones impresionantes, las Etymologiae sive Origines. Aade que sta fue una de las ms
conocidas, copiadas y citadas obras medievales, que, hasta que se public la edicin princeps en
Augsburgo en 1472 por Gnter Zainer de Reutlinger, haba circulado entre los siglos VII y XVI
en ms de mil copias manuscritas.
Con respeto a las fuentes de las Etimologas, el estudio establece las auctoritates para San
Isidoro, quien practica el humanismo cristiano enseado por las lecciones de San Agustn. As, en
primer lugar estn los escritos de San Ambrosio, San Jernimo y San Agustn de Hipona, el
ltimo siendo el ms importante por encontrarse citas agustinianas a cada paso en las
Etimologas. En segundo lugar los autores cristianos, Casiodoro y Gregorio Magno, y en el
tercero, los escritores de la Antigedad pagana.
En lo relativo a las influencias que tuvo en las producciones posteriores, la enciclopedia
de San Isidoro se configur como el fundamento de todas las enciclopedias medievales, sobre
todo durante el siglo XIII, la edad de oro del enciclopedismo medieval, de los lapidarios y los
bestiarios, como por ejemplo lo fue el Fisilogo latino B, que ms tarde se convirti en la fuente
de los bestiarios franceses.
En lo que concierne al contexto de la obra, la autora apunta datos significativos sobre los
textos que informan de los escritos de San Isidoro comenzando con el siglo VII y explica la
naturaleza que el concepto de enciclopedismo poda tener en aquella poca. Anca Criv advierte
que, aunque el trmino enciclopedia en el sentido que hoy conocemos y utilizamos se consagra
despus del ao 1559, se pueden mencionar como ejemplos de obras de tipo enciclopdico
anteriores a las Etimologas de San Isidoro, Disciplinarium libri de Marco Terencio Varrn,
Naturalis Historia de Plinio el Viejo, Prata de Suetonio, Nocte satticae de Aulo Gellio y
Saturnalia de Macrobio. Enfatiza que la enciclopedia pagana que instituye las siete artes liberales
como esqueleto fundamental del sistema educacional medieval es el tratado escrito por Marciano
Capella en el siglo V, De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii. Este tratado representa la boda del dios
de la Retrica, Mercurio, con la virgen Filologa, quien recibe como regalo a las siete artes
liberales: la gramtica, la dialctica y la retrica el trivium y la aritmtica, la geometra, la
msica y la astronoma el quadrivium.
150
Este conjunto de disciplinas que haban formado en la Antigedad la
(enkkliospaidea la cultura general) se conserv a lo largo de la Edad Media a travs del canon
educacional del trivium y el quadrivium que permite no solamente la conservacin de la cultura
antigua, sino ms que nada la asimilacin de sta como propedutica sine qua non para el
entendimiento de las sagradas escrituras. Esto se da sobre todo comenzando con la poca y los
escritos de San Agustn de Hipona, quien se remonta en la tradicin de Filn de Alejandra en
virtud de la cual Moiss y los profetas no fueron sino predecesores de los filsofos antiguos.
Como ya se conoce, fue San Agustn quien promulg la idea de que anteriormente a la
Encarnacin, Dios les haba hablado a los hombres por medio de los filsofos.
La autora describe el trayecto del fenmeno de la cristianizacin del saber antiguo desde
el inicial rechazo de las artes liberales por parte de los padres de la iglesia hasta el momento en
que el tratado de San Agustn, De doctrina christiana, ofrece el programa esencial de la cultura
eclesistica en una sntesis del cristianismo y la cultura griega y latina, a la vez que consagra la
idea de la philosophia ancilla theologiae, es decir el estatuto ancilar de la filosofa antigua frente
al conocimiento de la Sagrada Escritura y al acercamiento a Dios.
Todo ello explica, por ejemplo, cmo fue posible que aproximadamente en el ao 552
Casiodoro escribiera Institutiones divinarum et saecularium litterarum, un programa de estudio
para los monjes del monasterio de Vivarium, que se fundara en los siete artes liberales.
La siguiente parte del estudio ofrece datos y explicaciones amplias y detalladas sobre el
escrito en frente del cual estamos, las Etymologiae, desentraando su estructura y filosofa. Los
datos se refieren al ttulo original, a la datacin de la obra, al hecho de que inicialmente se dedic
al monarca visigodo Flavio Sisebuto, quien falleci el ao 621. Tambin nos proporciona Anca
Criv informaciones sobre la primera mencin de las Etimologas por Braulio, obispo de
Zaragoza y discpulo de San Isidoro, en su trabajo, Renotatio. Braulio explica la divisin de las
Etimologas en libros, y adems, advierte la autora, por ofrecer tanto indicios obvios sobre los
conocimientos comprendidos en ellos, como indicaciones sobre la modalidad de organizacin de
este contenido de conocimientos, da razn de la concepcin isidoriana de tales conocimientos y
de tal modalidad de la organizacin de stos. Harto fundamento para que el estudio ofrezca
explicaciones sobre el sistema organizativo de la materia en 20 libros, para el anlisis del modo
de encadenamiento de los captulos, de los puentes que dan coherencia al conjunto y de las
referencias encrucijadas. La conclusin de este apartado mantiene que las Etimologas son de
hecho un inmenso base de datos del siglo VII, cuya coherencia se debe al mtodo explicativo
empleado sistemticamente por San Isidoro: la etimologa.
Para que lector se percatara de tal mtodo, enumeramos a continuacin unos cuantos
ejemplos de etimologas de San Isidoro. El Libro XI. El hombre y los monstruos, Captulo 1. Del
hombre y sus partes empieza con una de las etimologas confirmadas por la filologa moderna:
homo ex humo. sta viene como motivo para recalcar la construccin binaria del hombre, duplex
est homo, interior et exterior, la superioridad frente a los animales por un lado y su propensin
hacia la contemplatio mundi, por el otro. Los sentidos, sensus, hacen que el alma, anima, mueva
el cuerpo entero a travs de la fuerza de las sensaciones. Las cosas presentes, praesentia, se
localizan frente a los sentidos, praesensibus, as como lo que est en frente de los ojos se halla en
la vista. Las lgrimas, lacrimas, se refieren a laceratio mentis laceracin de la mente. Los
hinojos, genua, se llaman as porque en el vientre materno se hallan cara a cara con los prpados,
genae, por lo cual tienen rasgos en comn con los ojos. Ello explica como los hombres, nada ms
se prosternen de hinojos, que inmediatamente empiezan a llorar, puesto que la naturaleza, por
haber dispuesto a los hinojos aplastantes en las mejillas, quiso recordar que antes de que salieran
a la luz, se haban encontrado juntos en la oscuridad.
Siguiendo a San Agustn, De trinitate 4.4.7, San Isidoro enumera en el segundo captulo
del mismo libro a las seis edades del hombre. Anota la autora del estudio que los est conectando
al tiempo grande de los seis das de la Creacin segn la Biblia y a los seis perodos de la
historia de la humanidad: de Adn a No, de No a Abraham, de Abraham a David, de David a la
151
esclavitud babilnica; de sta a Cristo, y el sexto perodo despus de Cristo. De esta forma el
hombre atraviesa la infancia, siendo infans mientras no sabe hablar y fari hasta los siete aos, la
niez, pueritia, es decir la edad pura hasta los 14 aos, la adolescencia hasta los 28, la juventud es
la ms poderosa de todas hasta los 50, la madurez hasta los 70, y la vejez, cuya ltima parte se
llama senium. Difunto, defunctus, de llama el que ya haya concluido su oficio de vida,
functiofficio, y sepultado, sepultus, el que ya no tiene pulso, sine pulsu.
El captulo tercero trata de los monstruos (portenta, ostenta, monstra y prodigia) que se
llaman as porque parecen prever (portendere), mostrar (ostendere), demostrar (mostrare) y
predecir (praedicere) los hechos del porvenir. De los escipodas llamados en griego skiopodas se
conoce que vivan en Etiopa y que slo tienen un pie, que, al alzrselo en tiempo de mucho calor,
le sirven a estos etiopios para hacerse sombra. Tambin se imagina que hubo tres sirenas, de
cuerpo mitad virgen, mitad ave, que tenan alas y garras. Entre ellas, una cantaba, otra tocaba la
flauta y la tercera la lira. Ellas hacan que los marineros naufragaran al ser hechizados por su
msica. San Isidoro explica que de hecho se trataba de tres prostitutas de los que, habiendo dejado
a los pasajeros pobres, se dijo que les hacan naufragar. Las alas y las garras eran smbolos del
dios Amor quien vuela y hierre a la vez y tambin se dijo de ellas que vivan en las olas, porque
Venus haba nacido de las olas.
El cuarto captulo, sobre las metamorfosis, da cuenta entre otras de las transformaciones
de varios cuerpos y de la consecuente aparicin de varios tipos de formas de vida. Por ejemplo, de
la carne ptrida de vaca nacen las abejas, de la de caballo los escarabajos, de la del asno los
saltamontes y de la del cangrejo los escorpiones.
El Segundo libro de las Etimologas incluido en el presente volumen es el XII y trata de
las bestias. En el primer captulo hay explicaciones sobre el cordero, agnus, nombre que viene de
la palabra griega hagns puro, que equivale a santo. Explica San Isidoro que los latinos
consideran que lleva este nombre porque reconoce, agnoscere, a su madre entre los otros
animales an en una manada numerosa por su manera de balar. Al otro extremo, el chivo, hircus,
es un animal lascivo, sin vergenza, que mira siempre en diagonal, y de ah su nombre, porque
hirqui se usa para designar las partes laterales de los ojos. Su natura es tan caliente, que incluso el
diamante, que ni el fuego ni el hierro lo pueden romper, se disuelve solamente en sangre de chivo.
Del segundo captulo citamos las explicaciones sobre el nombre del oso, ursus, que
proviene de su hbito de dar forma a su cachorro con su propia boca, ore suo, y de ah orsus
significa comienzo. Del sptimo, que trata de los pjaros, aprendemos que las aves se llaman as
porque no siguen vas, viae, ciertas, sino que se desplazan en direcciones no determinadas, avia.
Tambin la grajilla, monedula, tiene su nombre de monetula, porque una vez que encuentra oro,
se lo lleva y lo esconde, por lo cual se le conoce como que roba el oro. El cuervo, corvus, corax,
tiene su nombre del sonido de su voz, coracinare. Gregorio Magno cuenta en Moralia que este
pjaro alimenta suficientemente a sus hijos slo despus de que les hubiera crecido el plumaje
negro oscuro tpico, de modo similar al predicador que se niega a nutrir a sus discpulos con las
verdades sutiles de la fe hasta que stos no se hubieran convertido conscientes de la negrura de
sus pecados.
Para entender mejor y contextualizar tal inditas e interesantes explicaciones de palabras
y conceptos, volvemos a la teora sobre la ciencia de la etimologa y encontramos en el estudio
introductorio la clasificacin de Jacques Fontaine, que la autora utiliza para desarrollar las seis
tradiciones que configuran este tipo de reflexin lingstica: la etimologa popular, la tradicin
gramatical, la retrica, la dialctica, la filosfica o inicitica derivada de la conviccin neopitagrica de que ciertas prcticas etimolgicas son capaces de desvelar la verdadera naturaleza
de la realidad, y la sexta, que surge de la exegesis cristiana, y a la que se denomina compleja
por englobar la tradicin hebraica de interpretacin de los nombres bblicos.
Entre stas, la visin de San Isidoro parece emplear a la etimologa como el mtodo para
definir el valor autntico de las palabras, o bien su cara verdadera: vis verborum. sta ltima se
establece a partir de su origen, pero a la vez permite el conocimiento de la realidad por medio del
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origen de las palabras que designan. Anca Criv advierte que el obispo sevillano apoya el viejo
debate a encontrar tambin en el dialogo platnico Cratylos, el de la coexistencia de los dos tipos
de etimologa, la secundum naturam y la por convencin arbitraria, una coexistencia que no
permite el desvelo de la realidad entera por medio de las palabras.
Adems, en base de la clasificacin de las tradiciones etimolgicas hecha por Fontaine, la
autora del estudio considera que San Isidoro emprende un mtodo gramatical etimolgico, dado
que la gramtica es la ciencia piloto que facilita el acceso a los textos fuentes del saber. Este
mtodo no solamente conserva el valor metafsico que tuvo en ciertos corrientes de pensamiento
de la Antigedad, sino que an ms, hay que darse clara cuenta de que se trata de unos
conocimientos provenidos de los autores antiguos prestigiosos, considerados unas auctoritates
durante la Edad Media.
Con referencia a San Isidoro y en apoyo de la importancia de su impactante obra que
apunta a la transmisin del saber, Anca Criv puntualiza no sin cierta emocin que decir que los
antiguos hablan por medio de tu persona significa asumir conscientemente la posicin de alguien
que se siente capaz de llevar el conocimiento adonde est en peligro de desaparecer
definitivamente y de salvar, en medio de un mundo de guerreros que amenazan a caer en la
barbarie, los valores de una cultura que muchos ya no pueden entender.
SILVIA TEFAN*
Valerie Pellatt, Eric T. Liu, and Yalta Ya-Yun Chen, Translating Chinese
Culture. The Process of Chinese-English Translation, Routledge, London and
New York, 2014, viii + 191 pp.
The book discussed here comes as a natural continuation of Thinking Chinese
Translation. A Course in Translation Method: Chinese to English7, where the authors touched
upon many of the problems young translators encounter when dealing with Chinese texts, both
linguistically and culturally. The present book goes a step further and explores the very specific
challenges young translators face when dealing with texts which are intimately related to the
Chinese culture, such as writing or calligraphy, clothing or traditional painting, nursery rhymes or
poetry.
One of the most common remarks one hears when it comes to Chinese culture is about its
uniqueness, about how Chinese culture has got an intimate structure which is very hard for an
outsider to understand and virtually impossible to translate. It is this kind of attitude that the book
fights against and the authors are quite successful in showing that translating Chinese culture for a
Western audience is not necessarily doomed to fail. For this, however, the translator must pay
attention to many extra-linguistic elements, starting with the similarities and differences between
the cultures involved, the background of the source text and the author, the target audience, etc.
The nine chapters of the book, each of them dealing with a specific area of expertise,
could be loosely grouped around visual or performing arts. Each chapter follows the same pattern,
*
Universidad de Bucarest, Departamento de Lingistica Romnica, Lenguas y Literaturas
Iberoromnicas e Italiano, silvia.stefan@lls.unibuc.ro.
7
Valerie Pellatt and Eric T. Liu (2010), Thinking Chinese Translation: A Course in
Translation Method: Chinese to English, Routledge, London and New York.
153
starting with an introduction of the area of expertise, followed by case-studies organized
hierarchically, from the less to the more complex ones, and finish with practical exercises. The
authors do not forget to provide the reader with possible translations for the examples and
exercises in the book, with linguistic analysis of the choices they make, or discussions regarding
various methods of translation. They pay very much attention to the cultural background of the
texts chosen as examples and the extra-linguistic elements that influence the process of
translation, helping the young translator get a better understanding of their work and avoid a
common mistake made by many inexperienced translators, that the translated text must be
linguistically as close as possible to the original text. The book can help students in translation
find the fine line between excessive domestication or foreignization of a text.
Most of the areas of expertise chosen for discussion are familiar to all students in
Chinese: calligraphy, painting, poetry, drama, etc. There are also elements which might not be
covered by a special course, in many universities, such as clothing, or nursery rhymes, but this
does not make them less important, especially because it is highly probable to encounter them
when translating Chinese literature. Most of the areas covered in the book have their own
specialized vocabulary and, just as the authors observed, most of the times, this vocabulary is not
translated, especially when appearing in texts destined to people familiar with the Chinese
culture, who are supposed to understand the vocabulary as such. But what happens when the text
is destined to a larger audience? How should these terms be translated when they refer to a type of
reality inexistent in the target culture? The chapters dedicated to calligraphy and clothing are very
good examples of how to deal with this type of texts.
Dedicated to calligraphy, the third chapter shows not only the difficulty of translating the
vocabulary specific to this art form, but also touches upon the different ways of organizing a text
in Chinese and English. There are many Chinese authors who feel that, when writing about
traditional Chinese culture, one needs to use long elaborate sentences with structures borrowed
from the classical language. The translator needs to show a lot of skill in order to preserve the
flavor of the text, by choosing the right register, and, at the same time, to come up with a coherent
and natural text in the target language. It is also the translator who needs to decide how to
translate the specific terms and how much information his/ her translation should contain in order
to make the text as informative as needed.
Similar problems pose the translation of clothing, as shown in the fourth chapter. The way
people dress, especially in a highly hierarchized society such as imperial China, was extremely
important since it said a lot about the status a person enjoyed in the society. How can a translator
use words to make the reader visualize the clothes characters wear, especially when transliteration
or contextualization does not work the magic? The answer given by the authors is semantic
fields hyponyms or hyperonyms. Good mastery of the semantic fields, corroborated with
knowledge about dressing culture, can help the translator make the right choice based on the
function and the appearance of the term to be translated.
The need for a translator to be bold and daring is shown in the sixth chapter dealing with
translation of poetry. Translating poetry is notoriously difficult, because, more than in any other
case, it involves both the content and the form. By looking at the process of translating poetry as
transcreation, the authors encourage the translator to use his/ her creativity and spontaneity and
became aware of the fact that classical Chinese poetry would be extremely difficult to be
translated from classical into modern Chinese, let alone a foreign language. There are many
instances where translators tried their best to recreate the poem either by employing the same
composition rules as in Chinese, or by imitating well-known classical poems or poets in the
source culture. Needless to say that, most of the times, the results are disappointing. The
translator needs to reach an audience which is absolutely different from the one for which the
poem was composed, therefore the poem needs to be translated in such a way that it reaches the
new audience and it allows for them to identify with it.
154
Translation as a collaborative project is discussed in the eighth chapter, dedicated to
drama translation. Collective translation was a very common phenomenon in China, where most
of the Buddhist sutras in the local language are the result of the corroborated efforts of a large
team of monks. Due to the special destine of the text to be staged in front of the audience, there
is a lot of discussion regarding drama translation, whether it should be more literal or more
performance-oriented, how domesticated the text should be to ensure that it reaches the audience,
what role the director, or of the actors, should play in the process of translation. The two case
studies described in this chapter, the translation of Cao Yus Peking Man and Wang Fangs
Poison, might be ideal cases where the team involved in producing and staging the play also acts
as translator. Thus, the students involved in the process became much more aware of the
difficulty of their task, when they needed to take into account not only the text, but also to
accommodate their colleagues understanding of the plot and anticipate the potential problems
related to staging the text. It is rarely the case that the team acting the play be also the one that
translates it. Nevertheless, the chapter emphasizes the importance of collaborative work when it
comes to translating drama, the fact that people who might have no special knowledge of the
source culture, such as the director or the actors, can actually contribute to a successful
translation.
Translating Chinese Culture. The Process of Chinese-English Translation. is a rich book
which gives food for thought not only to young translators from Chinese, but also to other people
interested in the Chinese culture. It might seem that the authors overemphasize the introductory
part of some of the chapters, paying less attention to the concrete text analysis than to the cultural
background, but from the point of view of someone involved in teaching students how to deal
with a Chinese text, I can understand that emphasizing the role of culture to a successful
translation never seems enough. After all, to quote Bassnett (2002: 23)8, language is the heart
within the body of culture, and it is the interaction between the two that results in the continuation
of life-energy. In the same way that the surgeon, operating on the heart, cannot neglect the body
that surrounds it, so the translator treats the text in isolation from the culture at his peril.
MUGUR ZLOTEA*
York.
Susan Bassnett (2002), Translation Studies, 3rd edition, Routledge, London and New
CONTRBUTORS
156
JING DENG is Lecturer of English and Linguistics at Nanjing University of Science and
Technology in Nanjing. She is currently conducting post-doctoral research at Fudan University in
Shanghai. Her research focuses on cross-cultural pragmatics, pragmatics of the Chinese language,
the grammar-pragmatics and sociolinguistics interface. Her publications include articles in
Linguistica Atlantica and Bucharest Working Papers in Linguistics.
SABINA POPRLAN is Lecturer at the University of Bucharest, Department of
Oriental Languages and Literatures, where she teaches courses on Hindi language and
culture. She received her PhD in philology in 2009 from the University of Bucharest. Her
research interests focus on Hindi linguistics, mostly from a typological perspective and
comparing Hindi to French and Romanian, but also on Indian culture. Her publications
include LAnaphore verbale. Domaine typologique: franais, hindi, roumain (2010,
Bucharest) and articles in Revue roumaine de linguistique, Analele Universitii din
Bucureti.
FRANCESCO VITUCCI is Professor of Japanese Language and Linguistics and
Japanese Philology at the School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Interpreting and
Translation and of the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna and teaches Japanese
Language at the Department of Asian and Mediterranean Africa Studies of Ca Foscari
University, Venice. His research interests are the multimedia teaching of modern Japanese, with
particular attention to audiovisual translation. His publications include Nihon JP-1 (2007,
Bologna), Nihon JP-2 (2010, Bologna), Eserciziario Orale di Giapponese Moderno (2009,
Bologna), Il Giapponese per viaggiatori (2011, Bologna), the monograph La didattica del
giapponese attraverso la rete - Teoria e pratica glottodidattica degli audiovisivi (2013, Bologna)
as well as numerous articles in international journals.
N ATENIA COLABORATORILOR
Pentru o cooperare eficient ntre editori, autori i casa editorial, autorii de
articole i de recenzii sunt rugai s respecte urmtoarele norme:
Articolele pot fi trimise n englez, francez, romn, italian, spaniol,
german.
Articolele trebuie s fie trimise pe suport electronic (e-mail sau CD) n
format WORD (.doc or .rtf).
Articolele trimise trebuie s conin numele i afilierea instituional a
autorilor, ca i adresa de e-mail. Autorii sunt rugai s predea i o scurt
prezentare auto-bio-bibliografic (cca. 10-15 rnduri).
Articolele trebuie s fie nsoite de un rezumat (10-15 rnduri), urmat de 5-7
cuvinte-cheie, ambele n englez (font Times New Roman, corp 9, la un rnd).
Toate articolele i recenziile vor fi redactate cu diacritice; dac sunt
folosite fonturi speciale (Fonetic, ArborWin etc.), se va trimite i tipul de font
folosit.
Formatul documentului: pagin A4 (nu Letter, Executive, A5 etc.).
Marginile paginii: sus 5,75 cm; jos 5 cm ; stnga i dreapta
4,25 cm ; antet 4,75 cm; subsol 1,25 cm.
Articolele trimise trebuie tehno-redactate cu font Times New Roman, corp 11,
la un rnd.
Titlul articolului trebuie s fie centrat, cu majuscule aldine (font
Times New Roman, corp 11).
Numele (cu majuscule aldine) trebuie s fie centrat, sub titlu (font
Times New Roman, corp 11).
Rezumatul (nsoit de titlul articolului tradus, dac articolul este n alt
limb dect engleza) preced textul articolului (font Times New Roman, corp 9,
la un rnd); cuvintele-cheie (Times New Roman, corp 9, italic) urmeaz
rezumatului.
Notele trebuie s apar n josul paginii (cu font Times New Roman, 9, la
158
un rnd).
Trimiterile bibliografice, indicarea sursei pentru citate se vor indica
n text, dup urmtoarea convenie: (Autor an:(spaiu)pagin) (Pop 2001: 32);
(Pop/Ionescu 2001: 32).
Se pot utiliza n text abrevieri, sigle (SMCF, vol. II, p. 20) care vor fi
ntregite la bibliografia final, dup cum urmeaz:
SMCF Studii i cercetri privitoare la formarea cuvintelor n limba
romn, vol. II, Bucureti, Editura Academiei Romne, 1961.
LR Limba romn etc....
RITL Revista de istorie i teorie literar etc.... RRL Revue roumaine de
linguistique
Bibliografia va fi indicat dup urmtorul model:
(1) Pentru cri, volume, monografii se indic numele autorului,
prenumele prescurtat, anul apariiei, titlul cu italic, editura, oraul (eventual volumul
sau numrul de volume). n cazul n care una dintre componentele trimiterii
bibliografice lipsete, se vor folosi normele consacrate [s.l.], [s.a.]. La
volumele colective se va indica ndrumtorul/ coordonatorul/ editorul prin
(coord.) sau (ed.)/ (eds.) dup nume i prenume. n cazul n care exist mai
muli autori/ coordonatori/ editori, doar primul nume va fi inversat (Zafiu, R., C.
Stan...).
Coteanu, I., 1982, Gramatica de baz a limbii romne, Editura Albatros,
Bucureti, Riegel, M., J.-C. Pellat, R. Rioul, 1999, Grammaire mthodique du
franais, Presses
Universitaires de France, Paris.
Zafiu, R., C. Stan, Al. Nicolae (eds.), 2007, Studii lingvistice. Omagiu
profesoarei Gabriela Pan Dindelegan, la aniversare, Editura Universitii din
Bucureti, Bucureti.
(2) Pentru articole din volume colective se indic numele autorului,
prenume, an, titlu ntre ghilimele, urmat de in + prenume (prescurtat), numele
editorului/ editorilor (ed./ eds.), titlul volumului n italice, editura, oraul, pagini
Zamboni, A., 1998, Cambiamento di lingua o cambiamento di sistema?
Per un bilancio cronologico della transizione, in J. Herman (ed.), La tranzitione
dal latino alle lingue romanze. Atti della Tavola Rotonda di Linguistica
Storica, Universit CaFoscari di Venezia, 14-15 giugno 1996, Tbingen,
Niemeyer, pp. 99-127.
Portine, H., 2012, De la synonymie la reformulation , in S. Berbinski,
D. Dobre, A. Velicu (ds.), Langages(s) et traduction, Editura Universitii din
Bucureti, Bucureti, pp. 47-62
159
(3) Pentru articole din reviste se indic numele autorului, prenumele
autorului, anul, titlul articolului ntre ghilimele, urmat de in + numele revistei
cu italic (neabreviat), volumul/ tomul, numrul, pagini. n cazul n care exist mai
muli autori, doar primul nume va fi inversat.
Fischer, I., 1968, Remarques sur le traitement de la diphtongue au en latin
vulgaire , n Revue Roumaine de Linguistique, XIII, nr. 5, pp. 417-420.
Cornea, P., 1994, Noiunea de autor: statut i mod de folosin, n Limb i
literatur, vol. III-IV, pp. 27-35.
Sorea, D., A. Stoica, 2011, Linguistic Approaches to Verbal and Visual
Puns, in Analele Universitii Bucureti. Limbi i Literaturi Strine, anul LX2011, nr. 1, pp. 111-127.
Toate referinele bibliografice din text trebuie s apar n bibliografia final
; pentru mai multe detalii despre normele de editare (Guidelines for authors),
se poate consulta adresa : http://www.unibuc.ro/anale_ub/limbi/index.php
Articolele trimise vor fi discutate de o comisie de specialiti n domenii
filologice: lingvistic, literatur, studii culturale, studii de traductologie.
Articolele trebuie trimise la urmtoarele adrese de e-mail:
sabina_ioana@yahoo.com; ruxandra.visan@lls.unibuc.ro.
162
the article, as it follows:
SMCF Studii i cercetri privitoare la formarea cuvintelor n limba
romn, vol. II, Bucureti, Editura Academiei Romne, 1961.
LR Limba romn etc....
RITL Revista de istorie i teorie literar etc....
RRL Revue roumaine de linguistique
The references should observe the following styles:
1. Books Basic Format: Author: last name, first name (only the name of the
first author is inverted), year of publication, Title of Work, publisher, location.
Coteanu, I., 1982, Gramatica de baz a limbii romne, Editura Albatros,
Bucureti. Riegel, M., J.-C. Pellat, R. Rioul, 1999, Grammaire mthodique du
franais, Presses Universitaires de France, Paris.
2. Edited Books Basic Format : last name of the editor, first name,
(ed./ eds.), year of publication, Title of Work, publisher, location (only the
name of the first editor inverted).
Zafiu, R., C. Stan, Al. Nicolae (eds.), 2007, Studii lingvistice. Omagiu
profesoarei Gabriela Pan Dindelegan, la aniversare, Bucureti, Editura
Universitii din Bucureti.
3. Articles or Chapters in Edited Book Basic Format: last name of the author,
first name, year of publication, Title of article/ chapter, in name of the editor/ editors
(ed./ eds.), in Title of Work, publisher, location, pages of chapter.
Zamboni, A., 1998, Cambiamento di lingua o cambiamento di sistema?
Per un bilancio cronologico della transizione, in J. Herman (ed.), La tranzitione
dal latino alle lingue romanze. Atti della Tavola Rotonda di
Linguistica Storica, Universit CaFoscari di Venezia, 14-15 giugno 1996,
Tbingen, Niemeyer, pp. 99-127.
Portine, H., 2012, De la synonymie la reformulation , in S.
Berbinski, D. Dobre, A. Velicu (ds.), Langages(s) et traduction, Editura
Universitii din Bucureti, Bucureti, pp. 47-62
4. Articles in Journals Basic Format: last name of the author, first name
(only the name of the first author is inverted), year of publication, Title of the
article, in Title of Periodical, volume number (issue number), pages.
Fischer, I., 1968, Remarques sur le traitement de la diphtongue au en latin
163
vulgaire , in Revue Roumaine de Linguistique, XIII, nr. 5, pp. 417-420.
Cornea, P., 1994, Noiunea de autor: statut i mod de folosin, n
Limb i literatur, vol. III-IV, pp. 27-35.
Sorea, D., A. Stoica, 2011, Linguistic Approaches to Verbal and Visual
Puns, in Analele Universitii Bucureti. Limbi i Literaturi Strine, anul LX2011, nr. 1, pp. 111-127.
All the bibliographical references should appear in the final bibliography.
For
some
more
details
(Guidelines
for
authors),
visit also
:
http://www.unibuc.ro/anale_ub/limbi/index.php
All the papers will be peer-reviewed by a committee of specialists in different
philological fields: linguistics, literature, cultural studies, translation studies.
The first version of the articles should be submitted to the e-mail
addresses: sabina_ioana@yahoo.com; ruxandra.visan@lls.unibuc.ro.