Sapir-Whorf in Italy: Jhumpa Lahiri and Domenico Starnone

Author Jhumpa Lahiri, in her intriguing autobiographical essay „Teach yourself Italian‟ (The New Yorker, December 7, 2015, pp. 30-36; translated from the Italian), provides a fascinating accountof her linguistic Odyssey, from her native Bengali, through English, to a final Italian „metamorphosis‟ (p. 34)

Cognition and Poetics: Minding Language and Literature

Extending the concept of speech act, as it has been developed in classic pragmatics, I have defined the ‘pragmatic act’ as an interactive communicative practice in which we determine, and are determined by, the entire context of communication (See Mey 2002, chapters 8 & 9). Applying this notion to poetics, I want to establish the concept of the ‘poetic act’ by which we create the fictional universe called the ‘poetic space’. The poetic (or more generally, the literary) space is where authors and readers meet; furthermore , the poetic (or more generally, the literary) pragmatic act creates the ‘chronotope’ (to use Bakhtin’s expression) that characterizes the poetic context in time and space. The co-creators of this chronotope communicate by using their ‘voices’, understood as the entirety of their time/space affordances as authors and readers, aka. producers and consumers of the literary product. I will illustrate my ideas by analyzing a few texts: a sonnet by the Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Fraga e sombra; anextract from Virginia Woolf’s novel Jacob’s Room; a work, Surfaces, by the contemporary US poet Peter Meinke; and finally a poem by the late US writer John Updike, entitled Commencement, Pingree School

The computer as prosthesis - Reflections on the use of a metaphor

The use of metaphors in a computerized setting is not without its problems. Far from being a simple ‘tool’, in the ordinary sense, the computer has a built-in propensity for ‘capturing’ both its maker and its users. One could say that by its very structure, it defies the boundaries set for normal human activity: speed, memory, (co-) presence, interacting, steering, producing, and so on. If we talk about the computer as a ‘pros-thesis’ (one of the most recent metaphors that have been suggested), such talk too, implies a certain attitude towards the prosthetic ‘tool’ The present article examines the various aspects of this particular metaphor and discusses its pros and cons, also with a view towards the newly emerging sub-discipline of Cognitive Technology, CT

Til ødipus-kompleksets problematik

En anmeldelse af Ole Andkjær Olsen: Ødipus-komplekset,Hans Reitzels Forlag, 1988; pris kr. 340.En anmeldelse af Ole Andkjær Olsen: Ødipus-komplekset,Hans Reitzels Forlag, 1988; pris kr. 340

Pragmatics and Identity

A pragmática pode ser considerada como o locus de integração de vários domínios do comportamento humano. Como “teoria geral dos sistemas comunicativos” (Caffi, 2001), a pragmática constitui a convergência de atos realizados em relação à sociedade a que pertence. No entanto, neste trabalho pretende-se debater um conceito duplo (e dialético) de identitade: de um lado, o agente autônomo (o/a falante/ouvinte de Saussure); do outro lado, o sujeito societário

Culture and education in a pragmatic context

One area where cultures clash is education. Over the years, we have been witness to such movements as ‘English Only’ in the US (originating in California and Florida, but now operating in a number of other states as well), or the acrimonious European disputes over how much of ‘foreign’ culture can be allowed into the school’s environment (head scarves on the playgrounds, religious symbols like crosses worn around the neck, prayer in the classrooms, and not least use of other languages than the ‘official’ one in teaching and socializing). Pragmatics, by placing the emphasis on the users of language in culture, defuses the potentially explosive elements in such clashes by stressing the need to respect the individual’s options in face of the collective cultural pressure. This is especially important in an area such as education, where schools have historically been used to propagate the ‘domestic’ culture over other cultures, the latter being considered as foreign imports. In a pragmatic view of education, teachers and students should be culture sharers, rather than the former considering themselves exclusively as the rightful owners and proprietary protectors of a culture along with its languag

Atos de fala e a lei

The present article endeavors to put the old question of the ‘force of words’ into a pragmatic perspective, especially insofar as the law and legal texts are concerned. Questioning the wisdom of the old adage “Saying it don’t make it so”, I show that words do have an effect (which philosophers and linguists have tried to capture, using the concepts of ‘speech act’ or ‘pragmatic act’), and that the legal constituents of this ‘force’ are precisely what makes contractual acts valid. Here, too, words sometimes may be omitted, or substituted by actions, provided the context allows for it. Based on a few historical and contemporary cases, the article demonstrates furthermore how words indeed make a difference in a variety of legal and other societal contexts. The pragmatic (that is, user-oriented) angle is always paramount, and our words should obey the pragmatic conditions, often called ‘affordances’, of the situation in which they are being uttered.O presente artigo busca colocar a velha questão da ‘força das palavras’ em uma perspectiva pragmática, especialmente na medida em que a lei e os textos legais são colocados em questão. Ao se questionar a sabedoria do velho ditado “Dizer não é fazer”, mostro que as palavras realmente têm um efeito (o que os filósofos e linguistas têm tentado entender, utilizando os conceitos de ‘ato de fala’ ou ‘ato pragmatico’), e que os constituintes legais desta ‘força’ são precisamente o que faz com que os atos contratuais sejam válidos. Aqui, também, as palavras às vezes podem ser omitidas, ou substituídas por ações, desde que o contexto o permita. Baseado em alguns casos históricos e contemporâneos, o artigo sugere, além disso, como as palavras de fato podem fazer a diferença em uma variedade de contextos: sociais, legais e outros. O ângulo pragmático (isto é, a orientação para o utilizador) é sempre primordial, e as nossas palavras devem obedecer às condições pragmáticas, muitas vezes chamadas de ‘affordances’, da situação em que elas estão sendo proferidas

OPPOSITION VED BENT ROSENBAUMS DISPUTATSFORSVAR: 5. maj 2000, Aarhus Universitet

Bent Rosenbaum: Tankeformer og talemåder. En undersøgelse af skizofrenes udsigelse, tankeforstyrrelse og kommunikation. Multivers, 2000.200 kr.Bent Rosenbaum: Tankeformer og talemåder. En undersøgelse af skizofrenes udsigelse, tankeforstyrrelse og kommunikation. Multivers, 2000.200 kr

Questões correntes na pragmática social

The essay argues for the need for a renewed consciousness of the human element in language use: a human ‘ecology’ of language, as one could call it. The label ‘societal’ is intended to capture the fact that the human user is central in all considerations of language policies, in efforts to save endangered languages and raise language awareness (‘conscienticização’), with regard to questions of language and gender, of language abuse, and so on. It is further argued that an emancipatory language use must incorporate an anticipatory aspect, by which present and foreseeable effects of language policies are placed within the actual life situations of the users. (Two actual cases, one from Brazil, the other from India, are discussed).O ensaio defende a necessidade de uma renovada consciência do ser humano no uso da linguagem: uma ecologia humana da linguagem, como se poderia chamá-lo. O rótulo “social” destina-se a captar o fato de que o usuário humano é central em todos os aspectos das políticas de língua, nos esforços para salvar as línguas em perigo e aumentar a conscientização da linguagem (‘conscienticização), no que concerne às questões de linguagem e gênero, abuso de linguagem, e assim por diante. Argumenta-se ainda que o uso da linguagem emancipatória deve incorporar um aspecto antecipatório, pelo que se apresenta e pelos efeitos previsíveis das políticas lingüísticas que são colocados dentro das situações da vida real dos usuários. (são discutidos dois casos reais, um do Brasil e outro da Índia,)