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Language Anglogermanica online. 2009-2010. No. 7
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- Recourse to Language Humour as an Added Incentive to Studying Contrastive Grammar and Idioms: a Modest Proposal(2009) Maciuca, GinaThe present contribution submits to the reader a 'modest proposal' suggesting how language humour can be resorted to in an attempt to improve vocabulary and grammar skills of students taking comparative language courses (English vs. German vs. Romanian). Students ¿ and reader alike ¿ catch a first glimpse of linguicomedy in the second section which exposes the comicality of a prima facie 'humour-proof' sentence like I only drink whisky on the rocks. Sections Three and Four discuss briefly the theory advanced by Coseriu on linguistic norms and my own view on comic effects generated by the flouting of the aforesaid norms, with appropriate examples adduced in corroboration of the theory submitted. Section Five investigates translatability of language humour. Various linguicomedy samples are being anatomized, assigned to the particular linguistic norm type which they have been found to flout, and then provided with a "punchline-friendly" "rendition" "if any" into one "or both" of the other two languages being investigated, with concomitant recourse to domestication and ethnocentric techniques for the intertextual type. A synopsis presented after the concluding section on the two otherwise similarly performing student groups shows the grades which the 'humourful' student group got in their finals to be considerably higher than those of the 'humourless' one, thus proving my 'humorous' strategy right.
- Language and Gender Perspectives in Nigerian Theo-religious Contexts(2009) Odebunmi, AkinWhile some research has been carried out on gender and religion in some parts of Africa, studies are yet to attend to how gender perspectives are expressed in the Christian theo-religious context (in Nigeria). This paper addresses this gap by investigating the gender linguistic and discoursal resources deployed by Nigerian theological seminary students to orient to gender beliefs. Two orthodox religious institutions, the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso and the Dominican Institute, Ibadan were purposively sampled. Seventy eight essays, written by all the students (72 males, 6 females) in the two institutions, on 'God and Humans' were collected. The essays were subjected to linguistic and pragma-discoursal analyses, with insights from dominance and postmodernist gender theories, discourse tracking and critical discourse analysis. Written communication in theo-religious contexts in Nigeria projects two terms: patriarchal and gender-neutral/balanced. Both male and female genders opt for patriarchal terms to refer to God and humans. Men employ the items subjectively to assert independence and, sometimes, gender superiority; women use them objectively to associate with the male group. Nominal and pronominal gender-neutral/balanced items are used by the two groups. Men either draw on the tokens exclusively to subsume women or inclusively to cover both men and women. Women engage the items inclusively by involving both groups and submissively by presuming presenting neutral tokens with patriarchal items. Gendered language used by seminary students largely reflects the traditional social and religious roles of men and women in the larger Southwestern Nigerian society. Future research can compare gendered language in the theo-religious institution with that in medical, academic or commercial institutions. It can also compare gender perspectives among male and female students in selected African and Western seminaries.
- Mujer y escritura en la Inglaterra de los siglos XVII y XVIII: Corte, autobiografía y reivindicación(2009) Torralbo Caballero, Juan de DiosEste artículo aborda parte de la literatura inglesa escrita por mujeres durante el siglo XVII y se centra, concretamente, en las bases de la autobiografía femenina. Se analizan algunas razones que posibilitan la emergencia del género autobiográfico y se estudia parte del legado creativo de seis escritoras. En una primera parte, las escritoras femeninas incluidas, pertenecientes al siglo XVII, son Margaret Cavendish, Ann Lady Fanshawe, Ann Lady Halkett, Mary Countess of Warwick, Lucy Hutchinson y Mary Penington. Finalmente, se considera una contribución perteneciente al siglo XVIII: la reivindicación de Mary Wollstonecraft y, en particular, su búsqueda de una educación y una enseñanza femenina
- Phonological Analysis of English Phonotactics: A Case Study of Arab Learners of English(2009) Al-Saidat, Emad M.; Bin Talal, Al-HusseinThis study aims to analyze the English phonotactics in the English of Arab learners of English as a foreign language to determine the types of pronunciation difficulties they encounter. More specifically, it investigates the types of declusterization processes found in their interlanguage and the sources of such processes. The results of this study demonstrate that Arab learners of English unintentionally insert an anaptyctic vowel in the onset as well as in the coda of certain English syllables. Results also show that the major reason for declusterization processes is the mother tongue influence. In order to overcome such difficulties, this paper suggests a new approach for teaching and learning L2 syllable structure system.
- A Corpus of American and British English: A Case Study of Slang(2009) Hernando Carnicero, CarmenThis article is set against the background of linguistic Globalisation and its diffusion through the media. The mass media allow for linguistic shifts taking place in American English to spread to other World Englishes, as a result of an increasing trend towards colloquialisation, Americanisation and a more democratic model of (power) relationships. The present paper focuses on a corpus-based study that analyses the frequency of use of a series of American slang expressions. The study takes as a basis chiefly audiovisual corpora in parallel to which real linguistic data (drawn from a survey on slang) are examined. Results provide evidence of the so called Americanisation of other World Englishes, among them, British English, and that this influence can be observed in both written and audiovisual corpora.
- Oriental Echoes: William Shakespeare's The Tempest, The Quran and The Arabian Nights(2009) Al-Garrallah, Aiman Sanad; Bin Talal, Al-HusseinThis essay argues that there are striking similarities between William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and The Quran and between that play and The Arabian Nights. In particular, this essay explores how Shakespeare's Prospero and the Quranic Joseph are similar in terms of loss, and reconciliation. It also investigates how Prospero is similar to and different from the Quranic Solomon. Furthermore, the essay examines allusions to the sea in these three texts. By way of concluding, this essay suggests that Shakespeare might have been exposed to The Quran and The Arabian Nights.
