Asocjacyjny wymiar konceptu слобода (wolność) w języku serbskim

The purpose of this article is to attempt to reconstruct the concept слобода (freedom) in the Serbian language. The analysis is based on survey data and their interpretation in relation to a broad context of culture, history and language. The starting point for the analysis are responses gathered in the Associative Dictionary of the Serbian Language. Associations are classified according to formal types, such as contrastive, metaphorical and metonymic associations. In terms of meaning, the responses were divided into the following conceptualizations: слобода personal freedom, слобода as struggle for independence, слобода as a bird, слобода as a boundless space, слобода as blue and white colors, слобода as a white horse, слобода as a place where we feel at ease, слобода as nature, слобода as a bridge, слобода as free will, слобода as the highest value. Presented associative fields have been documented with examples of idioms, proverbs, dictionary definitions, lyrics, and literary texts.Celem artykułu jest rekonstrukcja konceptu слобода (wolność) w języku serbskim w oparciu o dane ankietowe i ich interpretację w nawiązaniu do szerokiego kontekstu kulturowego, historycznego i językowego. Punktem wyjścia dla analizy są odpowiedzi respondentów zebrane w Słowniku skojarzeń języka serbskiego. Asocjacje zostały podzielone pod względem formalnym na kontrastywne, metaforyczne i metonimiczne. Pod względem znaczeniowym dokonano podziału na następujące konceptualizacje: слобода jako wolność osobista, слобода jako niezależność, слобода jako walka, слобода jako ptak, слобода jako bezgraniczna przestrzeń, слобода jako błękit i biel, слобода jako biały koń, слобода jako miejsce, gdzie czujemy się swobodnie, слобода jako przyroda, слобода jako most, слобода jako wolna wola, слобода jako najwyższa wartość. Prezentowane pola asocjacyjne zostały udokumentowane przykładami frazeologizmów, przysłów, definicji słownikowych, słów piosenek czy tekstów literackich

Narzędnik afirmacji w wybranych językach słowiańskich

Instrumental of affirmation in selected Slavic languagesIn the present article I argue that apart from the genitive of negation, Slavic also makes use of the instrumental of affirmation – but its recognition requires a more sophisticated, function-oriented analytic model, firmly grounded in the real linguistic usage and sensitive to semantic conditioning – such as cognitive semantics. The discussion offered seems to suggest that the Slavic instrumental is an inherently affirmative case, as opposed to genitive which has specialized in expressing partition, disjunction and negation, e.g. compare Pol. ciasto z orzechami/ Srb. kolač sa orasima ‘a cake with nuts INSTR’ vs. Pol. ciasto bez orzechów/ Srb. kolač bez oraha ‘a cake without nuts GEN’. Furthermore, because of its semantic properties, the instrumental case is attracted by positive contexts and acts as an intensifier of affirmation. Slavic instrumentals can be classified, on the basis of the positive meanings they imply, as instrumentals of completeness, instrumentals of conjunction and instrumentals of existence. The proposed semantic classification becomes more refined when image-schemas of CONTAINER, PATH, SURFACE and conceptual metaphors related to the physical relation of COVERAGE are included in the model

Affirmation Modality in Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian

Affirmation Modality in Bulgarian, Macedonian and SerbianIn the case of affirmation modality the speakers transform their utterances by stressing or attributing a positive value as an additional component added to the semantic structure of a proposition. This type of affirmative polarization is triggered in opposition to negation or hypothetically negative contexts. The goal of the present paper is twofold: on the one hand to compare and contrast affirmative periphrastic constructions in Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian and, on the other hand, to ascertain what these constructions reveal regarding the organization of grammatical categories in general and the status of affirmation modality as a coherent and homogenous category with a linguistic validity

Pro-Peace vs. Pro-War Conceptualizations in the Language of Hungarian Propaganda

The language of propaganda can be treated as a specialist language with its own specialized terminology. It is produced by groups of variously configured propaganda experts responsible for the creation of propaganda messages, placed at one end of the communication channel, together with its specific target audience that consumes these messages, situated at the other end of the communication channel. As a result of this specialized communication process, the language of propaganda is function-oriented and its focus is always put on the objectives that are to be achieved. These include shaping and manipulating public opinions. For these goals to be successful, the language of propaganda must be equipped with efficient and well-designed conceptualizations able to change and modify the way people think. Defined as such, the language of propaganda is not a purely linguistic construct, but a multimodal tool able to make use of the visual and audiovisual output as well. The interest in mental processes such as conceptualization lies at the very center of cognitive linguistics and the study of cognitive mechanisms responsible for various types of conceptualizations is of high priority in cognitively driven approaches to language. Another issue which makes cognitive linguistics suitable for this type of research in specialist languages is its long standing preference for multidisciplinary and multimodal phenomena. Applying the methodology of cognitive linguistics, the present paper aims at identifying and discussing the PRO-PEACE vs. PRO-WAR network of conceptualizations in the language of Hungarian propaganda, often compared in its mastery with Orwell’s newspeak or the Soviet propaganda machinery because of its power and influence. Hungary’s leading right-wing party, Fidesz-KDNP, has retained political control in Hungary ever since its landslide victory in the 2010 national elections and developed a powerful propaganda tool that is ideally customized to the culture-specific preferences of Hungarian voters. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, this research studies linguistic expressions shaping PRO-PEACE vs. PRO-WAR conceptualizations with their rich social, historical and cultural contexts

The role of pragmatic inferencing in causing semantic change

Semantic change does not have to be viewed as a linear and historical phenomenon. Meaning is dynamic by its very nature and semantic variability can be primarily traced in synchronic pragmatic processes such as inferencing. The aim of the following study is to illustrate the thesis that without interactionally-induced and cognitively-motivated polysemy one cannot account for the fine-grained step-by-step developments that are attested by detailed analyses of texts and contexts over time. The semantic developments presented here seem to show that semantic change is embedded in larger contextual units such as sentence, text or discourse rather than being lexically-confined. From this perspective, the semantic change itself appears as a multi-directional and pragmatically conditioned meaning configuration.

Results of surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome by mean of an open and semi - open method

The aim of this study was to compare outcome obtained using the two methods of surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) - the open method with the method of two incisions called ‘semi-open’. The material included 478 patients, with clinically diagnosed CTS, who were surgically treated in the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology CM in Bydgoszcz in years from 2001 to 2010. The minimum duration of the follow up was 6 months. We prepared for the study an observation card, which includes all data relating to the treatment and follow up. Analysis of the results of treatment was based on pre and postoperative assessment of pain, touch resolution, static hand grip, strength, postoperative subjective assessment of treatment as well as EMG. Results obtained were mostly good or very good comparable in both groups operating. In the subjective assessment, significantly better outcomes were obtained when using semiopen method. The surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome confirmed by EMG test should be the method of choice.Celem pracy jest porównanie wyników leczenia, uzyskanych przy pomocy dwóch metod operacyjnego leczenia zespołu cieśni nadgarstka: metody otwartej z metodą dwóch cięć („półotwartą”). Materiał obejmuje 478 chorych, z rozpoznanym klinicznie ZCN, operowanych w Klinice Ortopedii i Traumatologii Narządu Ruchu CM w Bydgoszczy w latach 2001-2010. Okres obserwacji wynosił minimum 6 miesięcy. Dla potrzeb badania przygotowano kartę obserwacji chorego, zawierająca wszystkie niezbędne dane dotyczące leczenia i obserwacji. Analizy wyników leczenia dokonano na podstawie przed- i pooperacyjnej oceny bólu, dotyku, statycznej rozdzielczości, siły chwytu ręki, pooperacyjnej subiektywnej ocenie leczenia jak również badania EMG. Wnioski: 1. Uzyskane wyniki w zakresie danych obiektywnych w większości przypadków były dobre i bardzo dobre porównywalne w obu grupach operacyjnych. 2. W ocenie subiektywnej znacznie lepsze wyniki leczenia występowały w metodzie półotwartej. 3. Leczenie zespołu kanału nadgarstka potwierdzonego badaniem EMG powinno być z wyboru operacyjne Ze względu na złożony problem, ZCN i jego następstwa oraz częste trudności stojące przed chirurgiem w czasie wyboru metody leczenia, wyniki badań powinny być pomocne w wyborze metody otwartej lub „półotwartej”