Lithuanian Deaf and Hard of Hearing Viewers’ Preferences for Sound and Music Indications in Subtitles

In a world where audiovisual media plays a central role in communication, information, and entertainment, ensuring accessibility for all viewers, including deaf or hard-of-hearing, is essential. For these audiences, subtitles are not only a means of following dialogue but also a crucial tool for experiencing sound and music, which are often key to the narrative of media content. The aim of the study is to explore and identify effective strategies for subtitling sounds and music in audiovisual media that meet the preferences and needs of the Lithuanian deaf and hard-of-hearing audience. The empirical research approach adopted for this investigation is based on semi-structured interviews with the deaf and hard-of-hearing participants and qualitative data analysis. The results reveal that the target audience prefers strategies that incorporate minimal use of colour and mixed positioning for both sound and music indication, specifically, a sound source indicated in the brackets at the centre bottom of the screen, the genre and/or the instrument represented by a note symbol at the bottom of the screen, and song lyrics transcribed verbatim and marked with the note symbol

Postrzeganie przestrzeni w opowiadaniach beskidzkich Andrzeja Stasiuka

Polish writer Andrzej Stasiuk is a representative of the generation born around 1960. The Low Beskids region serves as the backdrop for several collections of his stories, including Opowieści galicyjskie, Dukla and Zima. In this context, the role of the narrator, as conceived by Stasiuk, is of particular significance. This article explores how the narrator perceives the terrain. Philological analysis has shown that the author focuses on describing transformations that occurred in the area in the 1990s in ordinary people’s lives, but also on the regional nature. The presented backwoods are viewed in opposition to industrial centres, and the standstill in this area is in opposition to an active lifestyle in the external world, majestic mountains to human valleys, severe nature to civilisation, and the present time to the past. The narrator’s role is twofold: he reports on the protagonists’ actions while concurrently offering personal reflections. The author’s primary focus is on the concept of place and, more specifically, on the perception of place. The physical space is integral to the formation of nature and characters; however, the mental space is particularly salient insofar as it refers to the narrator’s mode of perceiving reality.Polski pisarz Andrzej Stasiuk należy do pokolenia urodzonego około 1960 roku. Obszar Beskidu Niskiego stanowi scenerię kilku jego tomów opowiadań: Opowieści galicyjskich, Dukli, Zimy. Niniejszy artykuł dokonuje analizy sposobu przedstawiania w nich przyrody i otoczenia bohaterów. W tym kontekście istotną rolę odgrywa wykreowany przez Stasiuka narrator, który opisuje okolicę. Przeprowadzona analiza filologiczna wykazuje, że w opowiadaniach pisarz skupia się na przedstawieniu przemian, jakie zaszły na tym terenie w latach 90. XX wieku w życiu jego mieszkańców, ale również interesuje się regionalną przyrodą. Przedstawiana prowincja jest postrzegana w opozycji do centrum, z kolei charakteryzująca ją stagnacja – do ruchliwości trybu życia świata zewnętrznego, majestatyczne wzniesienia górskie – do dolin zamieszkiwanych przez ludzi, surowa natura – do cywilizacji, chwila obecna – do czasów minionych. Narrator przedstawia losy postaci, lecz uzupełnia fabułę skojarzeniami rodzącymi się w trakcie jego wędrówki po okolicy, gdyż zastanawia się nad sposobami postrzegania przestrzeni. W jego rozważaniach istotna jest zarówno przestrzeń fizyczna, jak i przestrzeń mentalna

Lithuanian Place Names with the Stem “totor-”

Lithuania’s Tatars are amongst the oldest national minorities in the country. Culturally and ethnically different from the dominant majority of Lithuania’s population, this group have preserved their distinct customs, traditions, national and religious identity. Lithuania’s Tatar minority continues to be the subject of diverse academic studies, focusing on various aspects such as the status of this community in the 19th century (Bairašauskaitė, 1996), the oldest Tatar manuscripts (Miškinienė, 2001), the Tatar history and culture (Jakubauskas et al., 2009), female Tatar anthroponyms in 16–17th century Lithuania (Čirūnaitė, 2021). This research aims to analyse the structure and territorial spread of toponyms with the stem totor-, confirming the areas members of this community have inhabited in the past or continue to inhabit today. The structural analysis of toponyms with the stem totor- revealed the dominance of secondary place names derived from the ethnonym totorius (Tatar), personal name Totorius or another place name with the same stem. The most significant number of Tatars have historically inhabited the southern (south-eastern and south-western) and the northern parts of Lithuania

The Progressive: a cross-linguistic study of English and Albanian

This study explores the use and distribution of progressive forms in English and Albanian. The English-Albanian analysis is significant as it examines how two linguistic systems organize and encode the progressive aspect, revealing the structural contrasts that define their grammatical frameworks. The theoretical part outlines English and Albanian progressive forms. The research analyses English progressive forms translated into Albanian and Albanian progressive forms translated into English. The paper focuses on the progressive be+verb-ing of English. Research shows that, of the two Albanian progressive forms, the po participle (despite being limited to the present and imperfect) is more common and frequently used than the jam+duke+participle structure. There is a difference in how progressive forms are translated between English and Albanian. While 50% of Albanian po forms correspond to English progressives, 58% of English progressives are translated into Albanian using po, reflecting a nuanced difference in their usage across the languages. In conclusion, this shows that the status of the English progressive aspect differs from that of the Albanian progressive

“Paper Theatre” by Milorad Pavić: mystifications with authorship and masonic symbols

The article discusses the main poetic aspects of the collection of short stories, Paper Theatre, by the Serbian writer Milorad Pavić. The author of the article examines autobiographical moments and substantiates that Pavić’s work can serve as an illustration of a productive synthesis of fiction and actual events. The dynamic form and implementation of the postmodern concept of the death of the author are considered with the help of multiplicity of authorship, which in turn caused a shift in emphasis to the text and an increase in the status of the reader, who plays a dominant role. Self-citation inherent in postmodernist prose is analysed and realised through the use of already-known fragments, images, heroes, and symbols. Based on the analysis of the stories in the collection Paper Theatre, the elements that echo the Freemasons’ secrets were identified for the first time. This attests to Pavic’s awareness of the ideas of royal art and his desire to “illustrate” Masonic symbolism, which may be the key to reading his works. Particular attention is focused on the story Blue Sweat, where paratextual elements with Masonic signs were discovered. It is concluded that Pavić counted on an exemplary reader who should have the ability to notice the secret symbols of the semantic labyrinth and become the author’s accomplice in intellectual pursuits

Bajoriškosios kultūros ir literatūros liudijimai laiškais iš XIX amžiaus

Židonis, Giedrius, Niewulis-Grablunas, Jowita, 2024. Nikodemas Erazmas Iwanowskis = Nikodem Erazm Iwanowski: Eliza Orzeszkowa, Maria Konopnicka: korespondencija ir prisiminimai: [Paragiai (Žemaitija) – Varšuva – Gardinas]. Kaunas: LSMU Kalbų ir edukacijos katedra, 327 p. This monograph is of significant interest and value within the contemporary cultural field, offering a comprehensive exploration of the subject matter and providing a foundation for further research. The decision to ​​present the text of the book in two languages ​​– Lithuanian and Polish – is highly commendable as it expands the circle of potential readers. The significance of intertwining languages ​​and cultures in Lithuania during that period is shown. The opportunity is provided to consider the phenomenon of noble culture, its diversity and change in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. In the context of the panorama of Samogitia and Poland\u27s social life, the correspondence between the Lithuanian artist Nikodem Erazm Iwanowski and the Polish writers Eliza Orzeszkowa and Maria Konopnicka is presented.Židonis, Giedrius, Niewulis-Grablunas, Jowita, 2024. Nikodemas Erazmas Iwanowskis = Nikodem Erazm Iwanowski: Eliza Orzeszkowa, Maria Konopnicka: korespondencija ir prisiminimai: [Paragiai (Žemaitija) – Varšuva – Gardinas]. Kaunas: LSMU Kalbų ir edukacijos katedra, 327 p. Išleista įdomi ir vertinga monografija, aktuali šiuolaikiniame kultūros lauke, plečianti akiračius ir skatinanti naujus ieškojimus. Itin sveikintina idėja knygos tekstą pateikti iš karto dviem – lietuvių ir lenkų – kalbomis. Taip išplečiamas potencialių skaitytojų ratas, parodoma kalbų ir kultūrų sampynos reikšmė to meto Lietuvoje, suteikiama galimybė svarstyti bajoriškosios kultūros reiškinį – jo įvairialypiškumą ir kaitą – XIX amžiaus antrosios pusės – XX amžiaus pradžios laike. Žemaitijos ir Lenkijos visuomeninio gyvenimo panoramos kontekste pateikiamas bendravimas laiškais tarp lietuvių dailininko žemaičio Nikodemo Erazmo Iwanowskio ir lenkų rašytojų Elizos Orzeszkowos ir Marios Konopnickos

Online Headlines in Croatian and Lithuanian News Media

The headline is a salient element of the news story, whose aim is to summarise the story and attract attention to its full text. The internet and online news dissemination and consumption have strongly transformed journalistic discourse, including headlines, which have become longer, significantly more complex, and multifaceted in their aim to attract readers’ attention. This paper presents the results of a qualitative comparative study of online headlines published on Croatian and Lithuanian media outlets from a discourse-analytic perspective. The data was collected from four top-read online news outlets (jutarnji.hr, index.hr, lrytas.lt, delfi.lt) and qualitatively analysed bearing in mind linguistic and visual strategies used to frame the news story and attract readers’ attention. The analysis showed that similar clickbait and narrative strategies are consistently aggregated across semiotic modes in all four news outlets in both countries. Apart from minor context-specific distinctions, no substantial differences were noticed in the overall discourse of headlines in the Croatian and Lithuanian observed media outlets

ChatGPT in Foreign Language Acquisition: a close ally or a distant concept for Macedonian university students?

ChatGPT has instigated a tectonic change in foreign language acquisition. The latest research shows that language learners use it to enhance their major language skills and boost their critical thinking, research activities, and exam preparation. Consequently, ChatGPT has significantly impacted all levels of education, particularly the tertiary level. This paper aims to showcase how Macedonian university students fare in employing ChatGPT for foreign language acquisition. The study examines whether they are sufficiently familiar with this chatbot and to what extent they use it in various language-learning contexts. It also explores students’ attitudes toward this novel tool for improving their language abilities. Insights are drawn from qualitative and quantitative analyses of data gathered via a tailor-made survey, which targeted Macedonian university students, the majority of whom took a foreign language course during the academic year 2023/2024. Even though only 180 university students from several higher education institutions in the RN Macedonia showed interest in the study, the findings reveal mixed student perceptions of ChatGPT’s effectiveness, with some recognising its benefits for writing, translation, grammar, and research, while others expressing scepticism, particularly regarding its role in generating high-quality writing ideas, improving speaking skills, and fostering critical thinking, and creativity