Towards a semantic typology of specific determiners

This paper investigates properties of a class of determiners which can be loosely la- belled specific in that their distribution falls in between maximally-quantifying definite determiners and indefinites which only contribute existential quantification. Based on a sample which includes data from Buryat, Komi, Mari, Mordvin, and Turkish, I propose that suffixal determiners form a semantically natural class in that their distribution can be modelled by means of a relational component in the semantics of the determiners which relates the denotation of the noun to an antecedent. I derive the observed distributional differences between languages from the range of values available for the interpretation of this component. In particular, whether a relation of identity falls within the range of val- ues has consequences for whether a suffixal determiner triggers existence presupposition, which, in turn, has consequences both for the interpretation of the DP in question and for the inter-paradigm competition in a language

The silent argument of broad focus : Typology and predictions

Peer reviewe

A Pragma-Stylo-Semantic Analysis of Proverbs 26, Verses 4 and 5

Although, the majority view of scholars supports the position that the Proverbs of Solomon are influenced by the Instructions of Amenemope of ancient Egypt, the book of Proverbs is believed by Christians to be one of the poetic books of the Bible known for words of wisdom. The first twelve verses of chapter twenty-six are devoted to the fool. With the possibility of being drawn into conversation with the fool, verses four and five become instructive to the wise. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that a pragma-stylo-semantic interpretation of these verses cancels out the overt contradiction. The semantic and pragmatic presuppositions, as well as the stylistic features of the verses are unravelled to arrive at the underlying connections that unify their interpretations. Also, time-lapse or gap is considered fundamental and analysed using the concept of “appropriateness” in terms of possible compliance with the instructions in the two verses by a single agent. The paper proposes a schematic diagram supportive of the concept of "appropriateness”. The various levels of linguistic, situational, psychological, sociological and cosmological contexts of the text have been examined with the illocutionary forces of the text investigated. These are done with the purpose of arriving at a "global" or "total" meaning. At the end, the analysis indicates a non-contradictory, context-determined phenomenon

Прецедентні феномени як засіб вираження іронії (на матеріалі твору Х. Конзаліка «Гірко-солодкий сьомий рік») (Precedent phenomena as a means of expressing irony (based on work of H. Konzalik «Bitter-sweet seventh year»))

Стаття присвячена проблемі розуміння поняття іронії та вираження її через прецедентні феномени. На матеріалі твору німецької літератури виявлено та проаналізовано прецедентні феномени, з допомогою яких автор твору створює іронічний ефект. (Various approaches to understanding the concept of irony are considered in this article. On the material of work of H. Konzalik «Bitter-sweet seventh year» were identified and analyzed precedent phenomena with which the author creates an ironic effect. To study the linguistic-stylistic irony manifestations at different levels of language it is appropriate to use division of irony according to the context: the situational and associative. Associative irony depends on the text presupposition of a global nature, extralinguistic and intertextual presupposition. One of the ways to create irony is the use of precedent phenomena. In this study irony is created by the effect of exaggeration, that appears as a comparison of historical events and persons with ordinary events and people. On the examples we have demonstrated the creation of ironic effect through precedent phenomena: precedent names Caeser and Cleopatra and the precedent situation. In the analyzed fragments of novel of H. Konzalik «Bitter-sweet seventh year» as precedent names used world-famous names Caesar and Cleopatra, which caused no problems with decoding, just created reference to the precedent situation – transportation of Cleopatra made us search for information in historical references. Our investigation s howed that irony is a complex multi-level phenomenon, a special form of emotional, comical, critical attitude to reality.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF BEAUTY IMAGE IN BEAUTY PRODUCT ADVERTISEMENT SLOGANS: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS STUDY

This research investigated some slogans of beauty product in social media based on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework. The research emphasized the beauty image found in advertising slogans and discourse strategies applied by text producers to manipulate woman as member resource of social order. The research’s design was qualitative. The approach applied is CDA which is based on Fairclough’s framework. This research found out how beauty image is created and manipulated through advertisements. The advertising-slogans were collected from two Instagram accounts which belong to Revlon and Loreal international cosmetic brands. The methods of analysis were referential method and content-analysis (inferential). The finding of this study showed that the commercial text producers promote their beauty products by creating a sense of “being something”, “having something”, and “becoming something”. This implied that beauty product companies try to impose certain beliefs, that by possessing their products, the prospective customers may achieve ideal beauty image. There were implications that companies create certain beauty image by intensifying individualistic habits and promoting individual inadequacies through unrealistic self-representation. Therefore, this study showed that there is a great deal of individualism and materialism in the beauty image created by commercial text producers as text producers. This may lead text producer to gain control over consumers through manipulated beauty image in advertisement. The manipulated beauty image may mislead women to be more individualistic in their beauties. The change of women as member resource of society may change society into believing that beauty is constructed by individualistic and materialistic behavior. Studi ini meneliti slogan produk kecantikan di media sosial dari perspektif Analisis Wacana Kritis. Studi ini terutama berfokus pada penggunaan bahasa dalam slogan iklan dan strategi wacana yang digunakan oleh pengiklan untuk memanipulasi dan mempengaruhi pelanggan mereka. Analisis ini bersifat kualitatif berdasarkan kerangka tiga dimensi Fairclough. Ini menunjukkan bagaimana ideologi 'kecantikan' diproduksi dan direproduksi melalui iklan. Slogan iklan dikumpulkan dari dua akun Instagram milik Revlon dan merek kosmetik internasional Loreal. Metode analisis adalah metode referensial dan analisis isi (inferensial). Temuan penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa pengiklan mempromosikan produk kecantikan mereka dengan menciptakan rasa "menjadi sesuatu", "memiliki sesuatu", dan "menjadi sesuatu". Ini menyiratkan bahwa perusahaan produk kecantikan mencoba untuk memaksakan kepercayaan tertentu, bahwa dengan memiliki produk mereka, calon pelanggan dapat mencapai citra kecantikan yang ideal. Ada implikasi bahwa perusahaan menciptakan citra kecantikan tertentu dengan mengintensifkan kebiasaan individualistik dan mempromosikan ketidakcukupan individu melalui representasi diri yang tidak realistis. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa ada banyak penekanan individualisme dan materialisme dalam citra kecantikan yang diciptakan oleh pengiklan sebagai produsen teks. Hal ini dapat menyebabkan perusahaan mengontrol konsumen melalui manipulasi citra kecantikan dalam iklan. Citra kecantikan yang dimanipulasi dapat menyesatkan wanita menjadi lebih individualistis dalam kecantikan mereka. Perubahan perilaku wanita sebagai anggota masyarakat dapat mengubah masyarakat, sehingga masyarakat menjadi percaya bahwa citra kecantikan dibangun oleh perilaku individualistis dan materialistis

A HIGHLIGHT ON PRAGMATICS

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Aesthetic Adjectives Lack Uniform Behavior

The goal of this short paper is to show that esthetic adjectives—exemplified by “beautiful” and “elegant”—do not pattern stably on a range of linguistic diagnostics that have been used to taxonomize the gradability properties of adjectives. We argue that a plausible explanation for this puzzling data involves distinguishing two properties of gradable adjectives that have been frequently conflated: whether an adjective’s applicability is sensitive to a comparison class, and whether an adjective’s applicability is context-dependent