Edited by Elena Bu ja and Stanca M ăda 2 3 Structure, Use, and Meaning Linguistic Studies Edited by Elena Buja and Stanca M ăda Editura Casa C ărții… [600871]

STRUCTURE, USE, AND MEANING
LINGUISTIC STUDIES
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Edited by Elena Bu ja and Stanca M ăda

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Structure, Use, and Meaning
Linguistic Studies

Edited by Elena Buja and Stanca M ăda

Editura Casa C ărții de Știință
Cluj-Napoca
2012

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Coperta: Patricia Pu șcaș

Editură acreditată CNCSIS (24)

Copyright © Autorii, 2012

CIP

We are grateful for the financial support of the City Hall of Bra șov, in
the project entitled “Cultural and Academic Excellence in Bra șov”
(Project Director: Professor Andrei Bodiu, PhD)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STRUCTURE, USE, AND MEANING IN THEORETICAL AND APPLIED
LINGUISTICS Stanca M ĂDA, Elena BUJA ……………………………………………………………………………. 7

Pragmatics and beyond ………………………………………………………………………………. 9

MODALIZARE ȘI IRONIE ÎN TEXTELE CU CON ȚINUT POLITIC
IMPLICA ȚII TRADUCTOLOGICE ROMÂN Ă-SPANIOL Ă
Mioara Adelina ANGHELU ȚĂ……………………………………………………………………….. 9

DEALING WITH REGISTER AND STYLE TRANSLATION ERRORS
Mona ARHIRE, Oana TATU…………………………………………………………………………. 23
IDEOLOGIE ȘI MANIPULARE: LIMBA DE LEMN DIN LIMBA ROMÂN Ă
POSTCOMUNIST Ă
Ioana Paula ARM ĂSAR………………………………………………………………………………… 35

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN DIPLOMACY: PERSIA VS. FRANGISTAN
Elena BUJA…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 47

DIACHRONIC COGNITIVE ONOMASIOLOGY AND LEXICAL CHANGE: THE
CASE OF PICKPOCKETING
Ileana CHERSAN…………………………………………………………………………………………. 63

ASPECTE ALE RESEMANTIZ ĂRII ÎN ARGOU
Ana ENE …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 75

REALIZATIONS OF HYPERBOLE IN THE REPRESENTATION OF THE CHARACTER MORRIS ZAPP FROM DAVID LODGE’S TRILOGY CHANGING
PLACES, SMALL WORLD, NICE WORK
Luiza ENACHI-VASLUIANU, Flavia M ĂLUREANU …………………………………….. 89

CONSTRUIREA RELA ȚIILOR SOCIALE ÎN MEDIUL ROFESIONAL
Stanca MADA ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 97

ELEMENTS OF DISCOURSE COHESION IN THE EU LEGAL DOCUMENTS
A CORPUS-BASED ANALYSIS
Georgiana RE ISS ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 109
TRANSLATING CULTURALLY LOADED SOMATIC IDIOMS: A
CONTRASTIVE APPROACH
Mihaela Raluca ȘTEFAN…………………………………………………………………………….. 127

THE LINGUISTICS OF FEEDBACK : ENTITLEMENT AND CONTINGENCY

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Adina I. VELEA…………………………………………………………………………………………. 139

Morphosyntax ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 151

PSEUDO-CLEFT STRUCTURES AND THE THEMATIZATION PROBLEM Liviu CĂLBUREAN…………………………………………………………………………………… 151

PERSPECTIVES DIFFERENTES SUR LA FEMINISATION DES NOMS DE METIER EN FRANÇAIS CONTEMPORAIN
Alina IFTI ME…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 157
LINGUISTIC FUNDAMENTALS OF THE THEORY OF CONCEPT-HOLES
Adrian LESENCIUC…………………………………………………………………………………… 169
STATIQUE VS. DYNAMIQUE : LE CAS DES NOMS ABSTRAITS NOMS
D’ETATS EN FRANÇAIS
Corina Silvia MICU ……………………………………………………………………………………. 187

THE ABBREVIATIONS IN ANCIENT AND MODERN HEBREW AND THEIR
MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
Asher SHAFRIR…………………………………………………………………………………………. 197

BINOMINAL QUALITATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS IN SPANISH AND
ROMANIAN:
AGREEMENT PATTERNS AND MISMATCHES Mihaela T ĂNASE-DOGARU………………………………………………………………………. 207

Academic discourse ……………………………………………………………………………………. 221

THE USE OF CITATIONS IN PhD THESIS IN ROMANIAN: AN OVERVIEW
Marinela BURADA…………………………………………………………………………………….. 221

ROMANIAN LEARNERS OF ENGLIS H: LEARNER VARIABLES AND
VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES Gabriela CU SEN ………………………………………………………………………………………… 233

METHODENTRAINING FÜR DEN STUDIENBEGLEITENDEN DAF UNTERRICHT
Ioana DIACONU………………………………………………………………………………………… 247
COMMON ERROR ANALYSIS OF ABSTRACTS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS
FOR TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING
Dragana VUKOVI Ć-VOJNOVI Ć, Jelena JERKOVI Ć…………………………………….. 259

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STRUCTURE, USE, AND MEANING IN 
THEORETICAL AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS 

Stanca M ĂDA, Elena BUJA
Transilvania University of Bra șov

The contributions comprised in the present volume of linguistic
studies address the issue of how the structure, use, and meaning of texts
belonging to various discourse types can be better understood in the light of
different theoretical and analytical linguistic frameworks.
People use linguistic structures in comprehending texts and utterances.
When discussing structure, researchers consider the syntactic, lexical, prosodic, morphological, semantic, and discourse structure. Uttering clearly, using long, complex sentences with correct grammar does not necessarily
imply that the speaker may not have a communication problem. Of equal
importance are mastering the rules for the social use of language, adjusting
the use of a certain language to the need s of the listener in a given context,
following certain turn-taking rules for conversation and telling jokes, or using
verbal and non-verbal signals. When bot h structure and use are considered,
meaning is easily conveyed and inherent at a ll the structural levels of words,
phrases, sentences, and texts. Thus, every discourse is linguistically built by
means of structural elements, is used in a given context, with a definite
intention, and conveys a certain meaning.
The intended readership of this volu me consists of scholars and students
interested in recent developments and re search areas in theoretical and applied
linguistics. In Structure, Use, and Meaning. Linguistic Studies , the
contributions are grouped under three main headings: Pragmatics and beyond ,
Morphosyntax , and Academic discourse .
Angheluță’s study focuses on translating political discourse from various
perspectives (pragmatic, semantic , and functional), with a view on
modalization and irony as manifested in two linguistic codes (Romanian and
Spanish). Other translation challenges ar e approached in Arhire and Tatu’s
contribution on the errors occurring in rendering the proper register and style in students’ translations of a literary piece. Ideology and manipulation in Romanian post-communist political discourse by means of clichés and ‘wooden language’ represents the topic of Arm ăsar’s paper in this volume.
Having as a research support a 19
th century literary text, Buja’s study depicts

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the cultural differences occurring in in terpreting non-verbal communication
codes and their importance for diploma tic encounters. The aim of Chersan’s
contribution to this volume is to demonstrate that diachronic cognitive onomasiology is responsible for inves tigating the means of verbalizing a
concept (here “pickpocket”) in a cogn itive framework in order to explain
lexical innovation processes. Some aspects regarding resemantization in
Romanian argot are further analysed in Ene’s study, with an emphasis on the
expressiveness of this language in various degrees of encoding. Enachi-
Vasluianu and M ălureanu propose a structural approach of a stylistic device
(the hyperbole) used to depict a litera ry character. In Mada’s contribution,
professional communication is tackled from a sociolinguistic perspective, that
of creating both power and solidarity relationships among workplace
colleagues. Reiss’s paper contains a thorough corpus-based analysis of the
elements of discourse cohesion in EU legal documents. Ștefan’s research on
the difficulties in translating somatic idioms is another thought-provoking
issue of the present volume. A conversational analytical approach of giving feedback on the basis of entitlement and contingency in academic meetings is
offered in Velea’s paper.
In the second part of the volume, Morphosyntax, the authors approach
mainly structural issues, such as pseudo-cleft structures and thematization
(Călburean), feminisation of profession names in contemporary French
(Iftime), the theory of concept-holes (Lesenciuc), the static and dynamic
linguistic behaviour of abstract nouns in French (Micu), the morphological
analysis of abbreviations in Hebrew (Asher), and the agreement patterns and
mismatches of some binominal quant itative constructions in Spanish and
Romanian (T ănase-Dogaru).
The Academic discourse section comprises a theoretical overview on the
citation patterns used in PhD theses in Romanian (Burada), a study on the
vocabulary learning strategies and learner variables (Cusen), an analysis of
the training methods used for teaching German in universities (Diaconu), and
an account of the implications of common error analysis of abstracts for teaching academic writing (Vukovic-Vojnovic and Jerkovic).

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Pragmatics  and beyond 

MODALIZARE ȘI IRONIE  
ÎN TEXTELE CU CONȚINUT POLITIC 
IMPLICAȚII TRADUCTOLOGICE  
ROMÂNĂ‐SPANIOLĂ 

Mioara Adelina ANGHELU ȚĂ
Universitatea din Bucure ști
Școala Doctoral ă Limbi și Identități Culturale

Modalizarea este o no țiune semantico-func țională, cu evidente implica ții
pragmatice. Perspectiva pragmatic ă se impune în discursul politic unde
claritatea și univocitatea nu sunt întotdeauna respectate. Dincolo de a
transmite un mesaj, oratorul are de ap ărat imaginea pozitiv ă (a sa/a
partidului) și de subminat imaginea pozitiv ă a adversarului, folosind uneori
arma subtil ă a ironiei. Modalitatea epistemic ă poate introduce observa ții/
inferențe ironice la adresa adversarului, productivitatea acesteia derivând
din crearea unor lumi posibile. Dac ă modalitatea conduce nu de pu ține ori
la construc ții ambigue (anumite verbe sunt folosite atât cu sens epistemic,
cât și deontic), traduc ătorul este chemat s ă sesizeze nu numai sensul
ansamblului, ci și intenția oratorului, prin distingerea tipurilor de
modalitate, nu de pu ține ori, în lumina cuno ștințelor enciclopedice.

Cuvinte cheie : Modalizare, epistemic, deontic, ironie, pragmatic ă.

Aspecte teoretice

Ironia este un procedeu recunoscut nu numai în discursurile adresate unui
public larg sau în opere le literare, nu este o art ă inaccesibil ă vorbitorilor
obișnuiți (deși presupune o oarecare abilitate în folosirea limbajului,
capacitatea de a crea sensuri echivoce, dar și de a le decripta, în calitate de

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receptor), ci o resurs ă folosită frecvent în comunicarea cotidian ă pentru a
exprima mai nuan țat, personalizat, un adev ăr care, rostit ca atare, f ără
ocolișuri, ar putea jigni sau ar pune într-un con de umbr ă atât pe cel care îl
rostește, cât și pe cel căruia îi este adresat. Totu și, pentru a exprima un adev ăr
sau pentru a- și exterioriza punctul de vede re, ironistul (cum este numit
emițătorul unei ironii) recurge la un procedeu care poate p ărea contradictoriu
la prima vedere, întrucât sensul enun țului său este chiar contrariul a ceea ce a
vrut să exprime, a șa cum se poate desprinde din defini țiile ironiei.
Sensul cuvântului ironie a evoluat de-a lungul timpului, evolu ția sa
presupunând de fapt o nuan țare, o specializare, dar și o migrare a acestuia din
sfera conduitei neacceptate de societat e în cea a normelor sociale nu numai
acceptate, ci și apreciate: în definitiv, persoana capabil ă de ironie este un bun
cunoscător al limbajului, un bun observator al societ ății și un nu mai pu țin bun
diplomat, care știe cum s ă rostească un adev ăr fără să recurgă la injurie,
calomnie.
În Grecia Antic ă însă, ironistul era perceptul ca un în șelător și un
mincinos. Conform lui Quintilian în Institutio Oratorica (apud Vlastos 2002:
25), ironia este un trop prin care se sugereaz ă contrariul a ceea ce se spune,
vădind și o intenție de disimulare a celui care o emite (apud M ăgureanu în
Negrea 2010: 9). Acest sens core spunde etimologiei cuvântului ( eirōneia,
eirōn, eirōneuomai – Vlastos 2002: 27), diferit ă de percep ția actuală asupra
procedeului. De evolu ția sensului ironiei de la dezaprobarea de c ătre opinia
publică la acceptarea și chiar aprecierea lui se face responsabil Socrate
(Negrea 2010: 31).
În prezent, sensul care i se d ă îndeobște ironiei este de a spune contrariul
a ceea ce gânde ști, ceea ce implic ă o relatare r ăsturnată, inversată a realității,
în compara ție cu percep ția interioar ă, care se vrea lucid ă, realistă, și tocmai de
aceea, critic ă.
Kierkegaard (2006: 356) afirm ă că, față de enun țarea adev ărului, care
presupune identitatea dintre fenomen și esență, adică între cuvânt și
gând/sens, ironia nu mai înseamn ă o identificare a gândului cu esen ța, ci
opusul ei. Acela și filosof define ște ironia și ca o simulare a ignoran ței sau,
dimpotriv ă, a cunoașterii: „ironie poate s ă fie în aceea și măsură a pretinde c ă
știi, când știi că nu știi, ca și a pretinde c ă nu știi, când știi că știi”
(Kierkegaard 2006: 360).
Această perspectiv ă poate fi aplicat ă și strategiilor unor politicieni de a
submina imaginea adversarului lansând o serie de inferen țe, deci simulând
faptul că nu cunosc fenomenul în profunzime și arborând astfel prezum ția de
nevinovăție (adversarul nu-l poate acuza astfel de calomnie). Inferen ța
presupune o cunoa ștere prin deduc ție a realit ății, reprezentat ă prin verbul a
crede , diferită de cunoa șterea exprimat ă prin verbul a ști, nici aceasta deplin ă,
dar validat ă de comunitate, conform lui Tu țescu (2005: 143-154).
Conform lui Grice (apud Negrea 2010: 31), ironia este rezultatul unei
intenții de simulare, unde sensul nu este afirma t direct, ci este implicat, este o

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„reprezentare contrafactual ă a lumii”, din care re ținem că acest procedeu nu
este „un act nesincer”, ci „un act simulat”.
Conform lui Haverkate (2004: 57), ironia este o strategie conversa țională
a cărei esență rezidă în manipularea valorii de adev ăr de către vorbitor,
reprezintă faptul de a spune contrariul a ceea ce crezi în realitate. Acela și
autor consider ă de asemenea c ă ironia se poate compara cu minciuna, întrucât
ambele se caracterizeaz ă prin aceea și intenție de comunicare, rezultat ă din
lipsa de sinceritate a emi țătorului. Totu și, ne atrage aten ția asupra faptului c ă
lipsa de sinceritate a mincinosului are drept scop p ăcălirea și, ca atare,
urmărește să fie conving ătoare și să treacă neobservat ă, în timp ce lipsa de
sinceritate a ironicului este manifest ă (aici trebuie s ă menționăm că este
manifestă pentru cine vrea și știe să o perceap ă ca atare, vorbitorul dore ște să
fie decriptat, dar, ca în orice act de limbaj, el trebuie tradus de ascult ător, iar
acesta trebuie s ă dețină o serie de abilit ăți pentru a în țelege mesajul și să aibă
acces la contextul situa țional).
Deși Haverkate explic ă în ce constau asem ănările și diferențele dintre
minciună și ironie, totu și afirmația că intenția mincinosului este comun ă cu
cea a ironistului se cere nuan țată (chiar dac ă el însuși dezvoltă această idee,
afirmația „las dos estrategias se caracterizan por una intención comunicativa
común” (Haverkate 2004: 57) poate duce la confuzii): numai în aparen ță
intențiile acestora coincid, din moment ce unul î și propune ca afirma țiile sale
să fie luate drept adev ăr (deci ca destinatarul s ă se limiteze strict la sensul
emis), iar cel ălalt dorește ca actul s ău comunicativ s ă fie interpretat corect (în
spirit , și nu în literă), ca ascult ătorul să ajungă prin inferen țe la sensul real,
chiar dacă a emis contrariul a ceea ce crede. Ironicul doar în aparen ță nu este
sincer, sau nu este sincer din perspectiva legilor comunic ării, conform c ărora
se presupune c ă fiecare act de comunicare trebuie s ă fie sincer și suficient
cantitativ din punctul de vedere al informa ției, ținând seam ă de maximele lui
Grice (apud Escandell Vidal 1996: 77-90).
Prin urmare, ironia este o dovad ă a faptului c ă maximele lui Grice sunt
valabile doar atunci când descriu func țiile idealizate ale limbajului ca
instrument univoc, eficient de comunicar e: „Din perspectiva teoriei lui Grice,
ea [ironia] presupune respectarea maximei calit ății (a spune ceea ce crezi c ă e
adevărat, a nu spune ceea ce știi că este neadev ărat). O aser țiune ironic ă este o
încălcare manifest ă a acestei maxime, atr ăgând o disociere între o lume
contrafactual ă a așteptărilor legate de un anumit eveniment, comportament,
discurs, care este descris sau reluat din discursul altcuiva. În consecin ță,
aserțiunea ironic ă este un act ilocutoriu simulat, ceea ce nu anuleaz ă valoarea
comunicativ ă a actului locutoriu […]” (M ăgureanu în Negrea 2010: 10) .

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Aspecte aplicative

Ironia func ționează în vorbirea cotidian ă și poate fi decriptat ă corect dac ă
ținem cont de faptul c ă limbajul nu presupune doar o opera țiune de codificare-
decodificare, ci și capacitatea de a în țelege ceea ce a vrut s ă spună emițătorul
dincolo de în țelesul strict din punct de vedere lexical și semantic al celor
afirmate. Prin urmare, ironia nu poate fi în țeleasă și analizată cu instrumentele
pe care ni le pune la îndemân ă semantica, lexicologia, sintaxa, ci pragmatica,
întrucât, spre deosebire de acestea, implic ă și intenționalitatea emi țătorului.
Așadar, remarci aparent lipsite de substrat ironic de tipul:
(1) Ce cald e aici!
(2) Ce curată e apa!
(3) Îmi pare r ău că nu mergi cu mine pân ă la Baia Mare!
pot fi interpretate drept reale, adev ărate, dacă nu cunoa ștem contextul și
intenția vorbitorului, fapt din care deducem c ă ironia în sine nu prezint ă
niciun element de lexic sau de sintax ă care să o anunțe sau care s ă o genereze.
Aceasta poate fi recunoscut ă doar grație intonației emițătorului, dar și situației
comunica ționale: în primul caz, comentariul devine ironic dac ă s-ar referi, de
pildă, la temperatura dintr-un apartament de bloc debran șat de la re țeaua de
termoficare, în al doilea, la un râu care nu a fost cur ățat de alge și gunoaie, în
al treilea, la un pasager în st are de ebrietate care inoportuneaz ă barmanul din
vagonul-restaurant.
Destinatarii în țeleg inten ția vorbitorului doar datorit ă contextului și
intonației, fraza scoas ă din contextul situa țional, redat ă izolat, nu garanteaz ă
decriptarea inten ției emițătorului, ci antreneaz ă doar un efort de decodificare,
în spiritul presupusei respect ări a maximelor lui Grice în limbaj, conform
cărora se presupune c ă vorbitorul ofer ă o informa ție pertinent ă, suficient ă și
sinceră.
Când, din diverse motive (care țin și de lipsa cuno ștințelor și abilităților
sociale ale receptorilor), ansamblul format din construc ția ironică – intenția
vorbitorului – context se vede perturbat, însu și individul c ăruia i se adreseaz ă
ironia poate crede c ă emițătorul s-a exprimat sincer (aceasta s-ar putea
întâmpla în exemplul (3), de pild ă, dacă destinatarul nu este con știent de
impresia pe care o creeaz ă celor din jur). Dac ă s-ar produce aceast ă
neînțelegere, se poate spune c ă ironia a încetat s ă mai fie invita ție la inferen ță
și s-a transformat în în șelăciune, apropiindu-se de sensul etimologic ini țial.
Prin urmare, afirma ția din exemplul (3) poate fi considerat ă drept
minciună – dacă scopul ei este s ă păcălească, sau drept ironie – dac ă scopul ei
este să redea adev ărul, exprimând tocmai opusul.
După cum vedem, grani ța dintre minciun ă și ironie este fixat ă de
intenționalitatea vorbitorului și de perspicacitatea ascult ătorilor.

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Fiind un adev ăr inversat, ironia nu recurge la elemente lexicale specifice,
ci doar la antonime la ceea ce ne-am fi a șteptat din partea emi țătorului să
afirme în leg ătură cu o anumit ă situație sau personaj.
Ca adevăr inversat, ironistul poate spune mai mult decât conven ția socială
(care prevede evitarea ofens ării interlocutorului) îi permite, are posibilitatea
de a spune adev ărul, în situa ția în care adev ărul – tabu – ar putea deranja
ascultătorii, sau persoana vizat ă, conform acelora și convenții sociale.
Ironia poate fi interpretat ă ca o form ă de aparent ă politețe (mai ales
atunci când are func ție fals apologetic ă, iar ascult ătorii nu decripteaz ă corect
sensul urm ărit de emi țător), deci ca o abilitate social ă. Dacă orice act de
comunicare poate fi considerat ca o amenin țare la imaginea pozitiv ă a
interlocutorului, conform lui Goffman (apud Brown și Levinson 2004: 1-4),
ironia are un dublu rol: pe de o parte, dat fiind c ă presupune o atitudine
critică, nu i se poate ne ga latura amenin țătoare (face parte, a șadar, conform lui
Goffman, din rândul actelor de vorbire care atenteaz ă la imaginea public ă a
celui despre care se vorbe ște – FTA – face threatening acts ), iar, pe de alt ă
parte, ironia are func ție de atenuare a componentei critice, amenin țătoare.
Prin urmare, ironia este o critic ă mai estompat ă față de cea direct ă,
întrucât, asemenea polite ții, are func ția de a reduce, atenua componenta
amenințătoare (cu maxima reprezentat ă de ofensă, jignire, calomnie), f ără a o
anula totu și.
Ironia este o form ă de politețe (chiar simulat ă) din două motive: pentru c ă
poate fi interpretat ă ca atare, în sensul strict al frazei, f ără a ține cont de
context, dar și pentru c ă nu agreseaz ă imaginea interlocutorului pe cât ar putea
să o facă sau pe cât ar permite-o circumstan țele: „the necessary condition on a
successful irony is that it should express ‘a value judgement’ that is more positive than the circumstances deserv e”) – Perret (1976: F2), apud Brown și
Levinson (2004: 262).
Prin ironie, ca form ă de polite țe simulată, mai ales atunci când este fals
interpretat ă drept apreciativ ă, se evită o relație conflictual ă la care s-ar putea
ajunge dac ă adevărul ar fi rostit f ără
ocolișuri, în virtutea faptului c ă politețea
afirmă și susține spiritul de cooperare între oameni: „[politeness] is basic to
production of social order, and a preco ndition of human cooperation, so that
any theory which provides an understand ing of this phenomenon at the same
time goes with the foundation of human social life” (Brown și Levinson 2004:
xiii).
Conform Gramaticii Limbii Române, modalitatea este „raportarea
vorbitorului la un con ținut propozi țional” (vol. II, 2008: 702), care arat ă și
gradul de responsabilizare al acestuia fa ță de cele afirmate, este o categorie
„fundamental subiectiv ă (2008: 703), iar conform Gramaticii de baz ă a limbii
române (2010: 631) – o no țiune semantico-func țională, așadar, semantico-
pragmatic ă, fapt care permite analizarea ei în raport cu ironia.

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Așa cum modalitatea este produsul unui eu-enunțiator, conform lui
Pottier (1992: 204 apud Tu țescu 2005: 14), acela și eu-enunțiator se manifest ă
și în ironie.
Prezența și atitudinea acestuia, interpretarea neechivoc ă a unor fapte
drept ironice și invitația nerostit ă de a-i interpreta afirma țiile ironice ne permit
să facem distinc ția între ironia situa țională și cea verbal ă. În prima situa ție,
vorbitorul nu recurge la inversarea adev ărului, ci define ște în mod clar,
demască o situație drept contradictorie cu un orizont de a șteptări, în timp ce în
cea de a doua, procesul inferen țial realizat de destinatar joac ă un rol
important, întrucât emi țătorul însu și răstoarnă orizontul de a șteptări cu
afirmațiile sale : „Spre deosebire de ironia situa țională, ironia verbal ă este de
cele mai multe ori implicită, fără declanșatori lingvistici care s ă-i anunțe
prezența. Existen ța unui eveniment contradictoriu în lume este irelevant ă
pentru producerea ironiei verbale; important ă este inconsisten ța dintre ceea ce
este spus și ceea ce locutorul intenționează să comunice prin ceea ce spune”
(Negrea 2010: 16-17).
Revenind la exemplul (3) Îmi pare r ău că nu mergi cu mine pân ă la Baia
Mare, observăm că ironia este introdus ă prin expresia modalizatoare îmi pare
rău, cu sens epistemic, prin care se presupune c ă vorbitorul î și exprimă
atitudinea fa ță de conținutul propriei fraze și se responsabilizeaz ă față de
valoarea de adev ăr a acesteia.
Ca și în cazul verbelor modale, se observ ă o lipsă de autonomie a
expresiei modale: luat ă izolat, fără context, f ără posibilitatea de a recupera
semantic sensul, ea este lipsit ă de semnifica ție.
Propoziția secundar ă trasmite informa ția presupus ă adevărată, arată
convingerea, gradul de siguran ță al vorbitorului fa ță de cele spuse, tot cu
valoare epistemic ă: nu vii cu mine la Baia Mare. De asemenea, arat ă gradul
de cunoaștere a realit ății și a circumstan țelor, prezentarea acestei informa ții ca
pe un dat, f ără să exprime, îns ă, atitudinea acestuia.
Prin urmare, pentru a avea acces la atitudinea vorbitorului (mai ales în
cazul ironiei), nu este suficient ă expresia modalizatoare, ci și propoziția suport
semantic și, nu în ultimul rând, contextul situa țional.
În timp ce con ținutul propozi ției secundare poate fi prezentat ca autonom,
structurile/expresiile modalizatoare pot fi rostite și ele fără structuri suport,
dar atunci se presupune c ă structura suport a fost rostit ă anterior și că poate fi
reconstituit ă semantic.
Dar tocmai aceast ă aparentă libertate, înso țită de nevoia de recuperare,
duce la ambiguit ăți, care pot fi exploatate ironic, a șa cum vom vedea din
textul umoristic cu tem ă politică, ilustrativ pentru studiul modalit ății,
consemnat de Papafragou (2000: 22).
(4) Castro visits Moscow and is taken on a tour by Brezhnev. First they
go for a drink and Castro praises the beer.
“Yes, it was provided by our good friends from Czechoslovakia”.
Next, they go for a ride in a car and Castro admires the car.

15
“Yes, these cars are provided by our good friends from Czechoslovakia”.
They drive to an exhibition of beautiful cut glass, which Castro greatly
admires. “Yes, this glass comes from our goo d friends from Czechoslovakia”.
“They must be very good friends”, says Castro. “Yes, they must”, says Brezhnev.
Comicul acestui dialog deriv ă din sensurile diferite ale verbului must în
replicile celor doi oameni politici (se exploateaz ă funcția epistemic ă sau
deontică a verbului must , în funcție de context).
În ultima replic ă a lui Castro, must are sens epistemic (emi țătorul face o
inferență pornind de la datele anterioa re, care îl conduc la posibilitatea ca
Republica Ceh ă să trimită toate aceste bunuri în semn de prietenie), în timp ce
răspunsul lui Brejnev, laconic și eliptic (nu exist ă niciun verb suport, dar el
este recuperabil din context) ne tr imite în mod paradoxal pe terenul
deonticului. Aceast ă schimbare de modalitate este paradoxal ă pentru că se
presupune c ă sensul este recuperabil c ontextual, de unde deducem ca
răspunsul repetitiv al lui Brejnev ar trebui s ă mențină aceeași modalitate ca al
lui Castro. Totu și, în ciuda recuper ării contextuale, interpretarea este deontic ă
(și trebuie s ă fie deontic ă pentru a ob ține efectul comic).
Există cel puțin două motive pentru care interpretarea se face în aceast ă

direcție: verbul modal must are și funcție deontic ă, iar replica lui Castro însu și
ar putea fi citit ă în cheie deontic ă dacă nu ar fi fost precedat ă de contextul dat,
ci, de exemplu, de o întreag ă structură al cărei sens s ă fie: ei sunt obliga ți să
fie buni prieteni pentru a demonstra lu mii întregi spiritul de solidaritate din
blocul comunist ; această anecdotă nu este lipsit ă de subtext – ea se cere
recuperată macrocontextual: pentru a fi interpretat ă în sensul urm ărit de
emițător, trebuie s ă se cunoasc ă tipul de rela ție stabilit între fosta U.R.S.S și
țările din fostul bloc comunist.
Un cititor inocent, care cunoa ște limba englez ă, dar nu și natura rela țiilor
între statele men ționate, ar putea s ă continue decodificarea în cheie
epistemic ă, așa cum las ă să se înțeleagă replica lui Castro.
Prin urmare, ceea ce d ă sens acestei anecdote sunt cuno ștințele
enciclopedice ale cititorului/ascult ătorului, direc ția pe care acesta vrea s ă o
dea, cât mai apropiat ă de realitatea istoric ă.
În cazul traducerii, cel mai recomandabil lucru pentru ob ținerea aceluia și
efect din limba surs ă este men ținerea structurii eliptice din replica lui Brejnev:
– Trebuie s ă fie foarte buni prieteni, spune Castro.
– Da, trebuie, spune Brejnev.
Este posibil ca aceast ă construc ție eliptică să nu fie foarte transparent ă
pentru cititorul român, dar tot contextul și cunoștințele enciclopedice trebuie
să-l conduc ă la sens, și nu explica țiile furnizate de traduc ător (explica ția
aceasta ar reda sensul, dar ar distruge efectul urm ărit de enun țiator).

16
Întrucât și în limba român ă verbul a trebui poate fi deontic și epistemic,
lectura replicii lui Castro poate fi interpretat ă tot drept epistemic ă, pentru ca
răspunsul lui Brejnev s ă conțină sensul deontic al verbului modal.
Totuși, e posibil ca efectul acestei glume rostit în limba român ă să nu fie
la fel de puternic ca în limba englez ă, sau poate fi ob ținut, dar f ără să mizeze
obligatoriu pe jocul diferen ței de modalitate.
E de subliniat faptul c ă, în român ă, verbul a trebui are doar sens
epistemic dac ă este înso țit de conjunc ția că, chiar dac ă folosirea verbului
urmat de aceast ă conjuncție nu este conform ă normei, cu toate c ă este atestat ă
în texte literare ( Gramatica Limbii Române 2008: 709). Prin urmare, în
traducerea în limba român ă poate alterna varianta epistemic ă a verbului a
trebui : trebuie că sunt buni prieteni , cu sensul ambiguu deontic / epistemic:
da, trebuie s ă fie.
Această alternanță a sensului unui verb modal, cu evident ă, neechivoc ă
semnifica ție epistemic ă prin al ăturarea prepozi ției „de” diferen țiatoare
(conform Nueva gramática de la lengua española (2009: 2143), poate fi
realizată și într-o eventual ă traducere în spaniol ă:
(5) Deben de ser buenos amigos, dice Fidel Castro.
Sí, deben serlo.
În limba spaniol ă, verbul deber însoțit de infinitiv (f ără prepoziția de)
poate avea sens atât deontic, cât și epistemic (în func ție de context), prin
urmare, ar putea fi folosit în ambele replici, dar ar presupune un efort mai
mare de interpretare pentru cititori.
Replica lui Brejnev este ironic ă pentru că, deși repetă verbul modal al lui
Castro, sensul este diferit, putând fi interp retat chiar ca o negare a sensului dat
de Castro: a fi prieten cu cineva presupune un grad de libertate, pe când faptul
de a fi obligat s ă fii prieten cu cineva neag ă atât conceptul de libertate, cât și
pe cel de prietenie.
Ca multe remarci ironice, replica lui Brejnev are și o component ă
pseudopoliticoas ă: prin faptul c ă repetă verbul folosit de Castro, î și manifest ă
aparent adeziunea fa ță de afirma ția acestuia: „[la alorrepetición] expresa
conformidad total con un punto de vista formulado por el interlocutor. El
efecto perlocutivo que se pretende suministrar consiste en transmitir una
marcada señal de cortesía positiva” (Haverkate 2004: 57).
Cum este de a șteptat, traducerea (cu atât mai mult a unui text umoristic,
care mizeaz ă pe inferen țe, jocuri de cuvinte intraductibile, referin țe culturale
greu accesibile unui public str ăin și dificil de redat într-o replic ă sintetică, fără
posibilitatea explica ției, care ar necesita timp și care ar reduce considerabil
efectul comic) nu trebuie realizat ă prin transcodaj (g ăsirea unor coresponden ți
pentru cuvintele izolate), ci printr-o în țelegere corect ă a mesajului și o redare
a acestuia și nu a limbii: „Le sens de la parole, celui que transmet le message,
ne se retrouve pas de manière discrète dans chaque mot, dans chaque phrase. Le sens s’appuie sur les significations linguistiques mais il ne s’y limite pas et
c’est l’ensemble du texte au fur et à mesure qu’il se déroule à la lecture qui

17
permettra comprendre le vouloir dire de l’auteur” (Lederer și Seleskovitch
2001:17).
Dat fiind c ă în modalitate se manifest ă atitudinea vorbitorului printr-o
serie de expresii modalizatoare, traduc ătorul nu trebuie s ă urmărească doar
redarea acestor modalizatori din limba surs ă în limba țintă, ci în primul rând
reconstituirea atitudinii vorbitorului, a adeziunii sau neadeziunii acestuia fa ță
de propriile afirma ții.
Prin urmare, traduc ătorului i se cere în primul rând s ă înțeleagă, să-și
însușească sensul, să interpreteze, și apoi să traducă, etapa traducerii neputând
premerge interpret ării, în speran ța faptului c ă cititorii/ascult ătorii vor face
operațiunea interpret ării în locul mijlocitorului în tre culturi: „Sur l’essentiel,
l’interprétation et la traduction ne di ffèrent pas : toutes deux se doivent de
passer par le sens, toutes deux se libèrent de l’emprise linguistique de l’original […]. On ne traduit pas pour comprendre, on comprend pour traduire” (Lederer și Seleskovitch 2001: 90).
Interpretarea îns ă nu se realizeaz ă numai atunci când este vorba de
transferul unui mesaj din limba țintă în limba surs ă, ci și când e vorba de
înțelegerea unui mesaj adresat unui destinatar de aceea și limbă cu vorbitorul:
în limbă
funcționează principiul economiei și al polisemiei, generatoare de
ambiguitate. Expresiile modale înse și sunt ambigue, dat fiind c ă multe dintre
acestea pot func ționa atât cu sens epistemic, cât și deontic, în func ție de context,
situație prezent ă în mai multe limbi naturale, fapt care nu ne permite pentru
moment s ă o universaliz ăm. Aceast ă ambiguitate și multifunc ționalitatea
expresiilor modale ne provoac ă să ne formul ăm o serie de întreb ări, asemeni
celor formulate de Papafragou: „Are mo dals lexically ambiguous, polysemous
or unitary in meaning? […] Do natu ral languages gramatically distinguish
between dinamic and deontic, or episte mic and alethic categories of modal
meaning?” (2000: 6).
Ironia îns ăși se cere decriptat ă, interpretat ă, „tradusă” corect de c ătre
destinatarii de aceea și limbă cu emițătorul, tocmai pentru ca acesta s ă-și fi
atins ținta.
Atunci când expresiilor m odale li se asociaz ă ironia, textul devine mai
greu de decriptat de c ătre cititori/ascult ători și cu atât mai mult de c ătre
traducător, așa cum se poate întrevedea din fragmentul redat în continuare:
(6) „Deci, cred c ă Ponta nu o s ă poată fi un politician, pentru c ă are
impresia c ă în politic ă se poate min ți cu senin ătate, știind bine c ă
minți. Poți să vorbești prostii când nu știi și ai informa ție proastă”
(din discursul rostit de Traian B ăsescu pe 6 iulie 2012 cu ocazia
suspendării) (I).
Acest fragment abund ă în verbe modale și expresii modalizatoare,
introduse la rândul lor de un verb al cogni ției a crede , cu valoare epistemic ă,
universul credin țelor, al convingerilor neputând fi disociat de conceptul de
modalitate, conform lui Tu țescu (2005: 16).

18
Verbul a putea din fraza „Ponta nu o s ă poată fi un politician” poate fi
interpretat drept ironic prin prisma faptului c ă sensul modal dinamic
(considerat pseudomolidatate în Gramatica limbii române 2008: 702, dar
inclus în modalitatea radical ă de alți lingviști, precum Tu țescu 2005: 49 sau
Papafragou 2000: 4) se refer ă la capacitatea, abilitatea de a fi politician,
abilitate care îi e negat ă.
Modul conjunctiv, resurs ă modalizatoare la rândul s ău, contribuie la
ironia fragmentului deoarece se refer ă la viitor, la o lume posibil ă, virtuală,
lăsând să se înțeleagă că Ponta nu ar fi deocamdat ă politician în prezent, de și
publicul știe că este, deși aceasta corespunde cu portretul public arborat. Prin
această ironie, este afectat ă imaginea pozitiv ă a lui Ponta, dar în acela și timp
este atenuat ă politicos de epistemicul cred, care se refer ă la un univers de
credință asumat de vorbitor, dar nu împ ărtășit în mod obligatoriu și de ceilal ți.
Tot ironic ă este și fraza Poți să vorbești prostii când nu știi și ai
informație proastă, pentru c ă folosirea deontic ă a verbului a putea conduce la
ideea că a deține informa ție greșită este o circumstan ță atenuantă, singura în
care se permite minciuna. Sensul real pe care vrea s ă-l exprime vorbitorul este
că în politic ă nu ai voie s ă minți.
De asemenea, trimiterea la lumile posibile prin adverbul epistemic poate ,
alternanța dintre posibilitatea ca Victor Ponta s ă-și mărturiseasc ă parcursul
academic (care include și eventualitatea refuzului) și prezentarea delictului
academic ca o realitate, ca un evenimen t deja produs, incontestabil, fac parte
din strategia ironiei men ționată de Kierkegaard (2006: 360), aceea de a simula
atât cunoa șterea, cât și necunoa șterea faptelor:
(7) „Între timp poate v ă spune și cum a fost master la Catania, la asta m ă
refeream eu cu Dottore.” (II).
Nu este prima dat ă când este aplicat ă această strategie în ironizarea
adversarului prin jocul cunoa ștere/ignoran ță. În următorul exemplu, Traian
Băsescu se prezint ă drept unic cunosc ător al unei reguli care ar trebui s ă
funcționeze în lumea politic ă, și anume plasarea intereselor na ționale deasupra
intereselor personale. Marcarea superiorit ății vorbitorului și punerea în
evidență a imaginii sale pozitive se realizeaz ă prin alternan ța dintre verbul
deontic a vrea la persoana I din propozi ția principal ă și modul imperativ din
propoziția completiv ă directă să știți că, pe de o parte, și valoarea de adev ăr a
propoziției subordonate sunt lucruri mai importante decât atingerea
scopurilor politice :
(8) „Vreau s ă știți că sunt lucruri mai importante decât atingerea
scopurilor politice: și un lucru care este infinit mai important este
stabilitatea țării și reputația țării.” (III).
Manifestarea cunoa șterii chiar a inten țiilor adversarilor, marcat ă prin
expresia modalizatoare epistemic ă sunt sigur , este menit ă să sugereze
ignoranța acestora:
(9) „N-aș vrea să intru acum în detalii, dar vă asigur că ori nu ave ți o
evaluare corect ă asupra a ceea ce face ți, ori o ave ți și nu vă pasă,

19
pentru că este mai important pentru dumneavoastr ă să puneți mâna
pe toate pârghiile puterii, inclusiv pe justi ție, pentru a v ă apăra,
eventual, penalii. Vine rândul domnului Voiculescu, dac ă am înțeles
bine din pres ă”. (IV)
Cunoașterea mai profund ă a intențiilor și a politicii adversarilor decât
aceștia înșiși alterneaz ă cu mimarea ironic ă a unei cunoa șteri parțiale, pasibil ă
de a fi contestat ă (dacă am înțeles bine din pres ă), care are drept surs ă nu
propriile inferen țe, ci însăși Presa. Totu și, în mod strategic, trimiterea la o
autoritate, la sursele de informa ție publice, formatoare de opinii, are rolul de
validare a afirma ției.
În comunicatul de pres ă rostit pe 13 iulie 2012, Crin Antonescu recurge
de asemenea la expresii modalizatoare epis temice nu lipsite de ironie la adresa
situației politice generale din România:
(10) „Și dacă, sigur, din fericire , în România drepturile și libertățile
pentru pres ă, pentru politicieni, pentru fiecare dintre noi sunt atât de
largi încât fac loc și posibilit ății sau libert ății de a dezinforma, de a
manipula, de a min ți, există, tot din fericire, și dreptul și pentru mine
obligația de a spune adev ărul și în sensul acesta câteva lucruri trebuie
categoric clarificate.” (V)
Prima utilizare a locu țiunii adverbiale epistemice din fericire are sens
ironic, mai ales pentru c ă fraza face trimitere la adversari, invinui ți indirect de
manipulare, minciun ă, în timp ce a doua utilizare a aceleia și locuțiuni
subliniază imaginea pozitiv ă a oratorului, prezentat ca ap ărător al unei valori
precum adev ărul.
De asemenea, ironic ă este și invitația:
(11) „Domnule Traian B ăsescu, dați ordin oamenilor dumneavoastr ă să
înceteze def ăimarea României.” (VI)
Ironia const ă în faptul c ă modul imperativ trimite îndeob ște la lumea
reală, la ceea ce vorbitorul dore ște să se facă și ceea ce consider ă că poate fi
realizat, pe când Crin Antonescu îl folose ște retoric, f ără să se aștepte
realmente ca Traian B ăsescu să se supună acestui îndemn.
Imperativul are de asemenea rolul de a poten ța imaginea pozitiv ă,
superioară a vorbitorului fa ță de cel căruia îi dă ordin (aflat astfel în pozi ție de
inferioritate) și de a afecta imaginea pozitiv ă a celui c ăruia i se adreseaz ă, în
cazul nostru, pre ședintele suspendat.
În eventualitatea traducerii acestor discursuri, traduc ătorul trebuie, în
primul rând, s ă nu omită niciunul dintre ace ști modalizatori, pentru c ă ei sunt
dovezi ale felului în care oratorul abordeaz ă realitatea, ar ătând totodat ă și
raportul în care acesta se situeaz ă față de adversarii s ăi politici. Respectarea
tipului de modalitate (epistemic ă, implicând judecat ă de valoare, manifest ări
ale cogni ției, și deontic ă, implicând îndemnuri, solicit ări, exprimarea
necesității) poate contribui la rândul s ău la marcarea pozi ției voit superioare a
vorbitorului fa ță de adversar.

20

Concluzii

Ironia poate fi considerat ă o formă de exprimare a polite ții, fie ea chiar
simulată, atâta timp cât, chiar critic ă fiind (deci ca act de amenin țare a
imaginii publice), determin ă renunțarea la invective, jigniri, calomnii,
organizându-se într-o form ă de atac mai subtil ă (în care vorbitorul se poate
arăta ca un strateg al limbajului și al argument ării). Ironia prezint ă o reflectare
aparent atenuat ă a unei realit ăți sau a unor tr ăsături de caracter care merit ă
criticate.
Modalizarea în sine nu este creatoare de ironie, dar introduce ironia:
atunci când recurg la modalitate, vorbitorii nu o fac pentru a- și disimula
intenția critică, deși modalitatea poate func ționa ca atenuator al unor
convingeri care ar putea fi interpretate drept acuze jignitoare sau drept manifestări ale autorit ății vorbitorului dac ă ar fi rostite direct, mai ales prin
folosirea modalizatorilor epistemici de probabilitate (Ionescu-Rux ăndoiu
2009: 274).
Valoarea de adev ăr care este pus ă la îndoial ă prin ironie se afl ă în
structura suport, dar ironia nu rezid ă în structura suport: sensul ironic, la
nivelul frazei, dup ă ce a fost luat în considerare contextul, se construie ște din
îmbinarea dintre modalizator și structura suport.
Ironia poate fi introdus ă atât de expresii modalizatoare epistemice, cât și
deontice, în func ție de inten țiile emițătorului.
Dat fiind c ă ironia presupune manifestarea atitudinii vorbitorului fa ță de
un fapt și față de propriile afirma ții, ea poate fi studiat ă din perspectiva
modalității.
Dacă modalitatea nu implic ă ironie, r ămâne de cercetat dac ă ironia
implică întotdeauna modalitate, dat fiind c ă aceasta este asociat ă în
majoritatea defini țiilor cu atitudinea vorbitorului fa ță de conținutul propriului
enunț.

Referințe critice
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Guțu-Romalo, Valeria (ed.). 2008. Gramatica Limbii Române , București: Editura
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Haverkate, Henk. 2004. “El análisis de la cortesía comunicativa: categorización
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Briz (eds.), 55-65. Barcelona: Ariel.

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Ionescu-Rux ăndoiu, Liliana. 2009. “Perspectiv ă și modalizare în discursul politic –
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Papafragou, Anna. 2000. Modality: issues in the semantics-pragmatics. ELSEVIER
University of Pennsylvania.
Real Academia Española. 2009. Nueva gramática de la lengua española – Sintaxis.
Madrid: Espasa.
Tuțescu, Mariana. 2005. L’auxiliation de modalité – dix auxi-verbes modaux.
București: Editura Universit ății din Bucure ști.
Vlastos, Gregory. 2002. Socrate. Ironist și filosof moral . București: Humanitas.

Surse citate
http://www.presidency.ro/index.php?_RID=det&tb=date&d=13829&_PRID=lazi
(consultat la 12 august, 2012), pentru I) și II)
Discurs rostit de Traian B ăsescu în Parlamentul României pe 06.07.2012
www.gandul.info/gandul-live/suspendarea-presedintelui-discursul-lui-traian-basescu-
din-parlament-mesajul-catre-usl-zdruncinati-statul-de-drept-9824212, minutul 1:07
(III) și 1:58 (IV)
http://presidency.ro/?_RID=det&tb=date&id=13838, pentru V) și VI)

Modalization and Irony in Political Discourse

Modalization is a semantic and functional notion, with obvious pragmatic
implications. Pragmatic perspective is needed in political discourses where unique sense is not always respected. Besides transmitting a message, the speaker has to
defend his positive face or the image of his party while undermining the opponent’s,
sometimes using subtle weapons as irony. Through the epistemic modality one may introduce ironic inferences regarding one’s opponent; this is an efficient strategy due
to its capacity to refer to possible worlds. If modality often leads to ambiguity (some
verbs can be used as either epistemic or deontic), the translator is expected to seize
not only the meaning of the text as a whole, but also the author’s intention, making
the difference between epistemic and root modality, mainly when irony is perceived.
Keywords : Modalization, irony, deontic, epistemic, pragmatics

22

23

DEALING WITH REGISTER AND STYLE 
TRANSLATION ERRORS 

Mona ARHIRE, Oana TATU
Transilvania University of Bra șov

The aim of the present study is two-fo ld: on the one hand the analysis is
meant to point out and raise awareness as to the linguistic areas within the
social level where most translation challenges occur, su ch as regional
dialects, class dialects, regi sters, idiolects and, on the other hand, it suggests
ways of improving the translation process beneficial both for students and
for teachers. The paper investigates such translation instances and challenges in a parallel corpus consisting of students’ translations of an
American short-story called Black Angels , authored by Bruce Jay Friedman.

Keywords : dialect, register, sociolect, translation, equivalence .

1. Introduction: language variability

We shall develop our study within the framework of diversity and
multiplicity, namely that of sociolinguistics defined by Crystal as “a branch of linguistics which studies all aspects of the relationship between language and
society. Sociolinguists study matters as the linguistic identity of social groups,
social attitudes to language, standard and non-standard forms of language, the
patterns and needs of national language u se, social varieties and levels of
language, the social basis of multilingualism, and so on.” (Crystal 2003: 422)
All these matters that Crystal aptly enumerates are variables of linguistic
and extra-linguistic substance. When su ch variables become the concern of
translators, the challenge is double. Translators are anyway supposed to
accomplish a difficult task since they need to deal with meaning and
equivalence of meaning at different la nguage levels, and, consequently, these
problems they are faced with are of various sorts, such as phonological,
lexical, grammatical, collocational, and situational.
Among these, the one that stands out as the most difficult to grasp given
its dynamic and variable nature is the s ituational issue. The situational issue is

24
yielded by the context of situation which includes the event itself, the
participants in the speech events, the e ffects of the verbal action, and other
related features.
Thus, if we perceive the context of situation as the totality of cultural
aspects that define the text production and reception, we can easily conclude that it is the context of situation that generates language variation.
The fact that language variation exists is the best proof that language is a
living entity, that it displays flexibility and dynamism, and adjusts itself to any situational requirement. When it com es to language variation there are
multiple theories; however, they all conv erge towards the same fundamentals.
Thus, one of the earliest theories on the topic, and the one that put its mark on later opinions, belongs to Halliday , McIntosh and Strevens (1964),
subsequently taken over by Hatim and Mason (1990).
In their view, there are two paramete rs that cause the language to vary,
namely the language user and the language use. In their turn, language users
will be described by the place they occ upy in space, time and society, so
language will vary function of these para meters and will result in dialects
which, according to Hatim and Mason, refer to speech differences noticeable
particularly in the phonic medium.
On the other hand, language varies al ong the line of language use, and,
therefore, use-related varieties are called registers, which unlike dialects,
differ from each other especially in language form – defined by choice of
vocabulary and grammar. Language use ca n also be described in terms of
three sub-parameters, namely tenor, mode and domain.
In what follows, we are going to briefly explain the parameters along
which language varies, namely use and user, along with their respective sub-
parameters. The relevance that we attach to this explanation as far as
translation is concerned is paramount because first and foremost translators
need to have an understanding of the source text which goes beyond the mere level of denotation, and allows them a conscious choice of appropriate register
in the target language. Furthermore, by thoroughly taking in the meaning of
these notions, translators gain a certain independence or detachment both from the source language and from the ta rget language, and this will help
them rise above hindering practical details which can easily be resolved at a
theoretical level. Hence, the idea of “the huge potential that a translator owns, namely that of finding, inside the target language, areas which may be poorly
represented or even inexistent, and of marking them linguistically so as to be
easily recognizable by the audience as foreign elements, and perceived as
such” (Tatu 2008: 265).

25

2. User-related varieties

In point of language users, and the impact they have upon language
variation, it all comes down to where the users come from (geographical variation), what time/age they live in (historical variation), and what social
status they enjoy (social variation).
As far as the geographical variation is concerned, the challenges that a
translator has to deal with when f aced with a text marked from a regional
point of view are quite numerous.
The basic question here is whether th e translator, assuming he recognized
the use of geographic dialect in the source text, will be able to convert it to a
regional dialect in the target text, a nd still avoid the awkwardness of such an
attempt. A translation of the kind, called transparent (Fawcett 2003: 122) – as opposed to the one that renders any fo reign suggestion invisible – might be
creating unwanted effects such as humour, irony, weirdness, so it defeats the purpose.
However, to neutralize completely the regional hints in the original
means depriving the reader of the ideological and political implications that the source text might display. Consequen tly, perhaps the best way to go for a
translator is to drive written representa tions of the dialectal speech towards
the centre, while also making slight allusions to a sort of regional dialect that
his target audience is likely to recogni ze without much effort, and, even more
at hand, to insert among regional suggestions social ones, in other words, perform a conversion from regional to social dialect, as the latter is more readily recognizable.
As regards the temporal dialect, problems arise given the fact that
language, as living organism, changes almost as we use it; meanings are
altered, words fall out of use or become outdated, grammar structures are
going extinct, spelling particularities are subjected to alterations. Thus, when
confronted with a source text pertaining to an earlier stage of language, what
exactly is a translator to do? Should he preserve the temporal suggestion by choosing to render the text also in an ea rlier version of the target language or
should he modernize the text and make it sound contemporary in its target
variant?
Just as in the case of regional dialect, the greatest fear a translator has to
do with here too is the lack of readership provided he chooses the former variant. The general public are reluctan t to reading texts full of archaisms,
even though specialists delight in the process. The truth is that for a modern
reader to prefer an archaic version of Shakespeare, for instance, in translation
is less likely than the same reader at tempting an approach of the original
archaic Shakespearean play.
As far as the third parameter is concerned – the social class that the user
is part of – , things tend to be diffe rent in this case. More precisely, a

26
translator should first be able to recognize the particular social dialect in the
source text and strive to preserve the entirety of suggestions in the target text.
The danger here is that of standardizing the non-standa rd versions, and thus of
erasing any ideological and social hints the source text might have included. In Hatim and Mason’s view, “as translators and interpreters, we are here up against problems of comprehensibility with ideological, political and social
implications. Principles of equivalence demand that we attempt to relay the
full impact of social dialect, including whatever discoursal force it may carry” (1990: 42).
Having tackled upon these issues, we shall move on now to what has
been previously called use-related vari eties, that is varieties of language
employed according to the situation of use.

3. Use-related varieties

Registers, as this is their common denomination, heavily rely on
vocabulary or grammar specificities which are brought to light by the
requirements that a context of situation surfaces.
“The category of register is postula ted to account for what people do with
their language. When we observe language activity in the various contexts in
which it takes place, we find differences in the type of language selected as appropriate to different types of situation” (Halliday et al. 1964: 87). Indeed,
these differences which account for the a ppropriacy of use within various
situations are all related to conventions of language use. Thus, for instance,
we all know that conventionally the selection of vocabulary, grammar and syntax for an academic lecture will be totally different from the selection of
language for an entertainment program.
Registers can accurately be describe d in terms of thr ee sub-parameters
namely tenor, mode and field. The term tenor describes the relationship that
exists between text producer and text receiver, and focuses on degrees of formality and politeness ranging from formal and officialese to informal and
intimate.
The second sub-parameter, mode , also called channel , refers to the choice
of code to be used when conveying th e message; thus, we have in view the
written mode as opposed to the oral one. These two modes however, are not
fully distinguished as such because interferences of the oral mode could occur
in the written one, and the other way around. An interesting example here would be the language of theatre plays, always employed in written mode, but
meant to be conveyed in oral mode. Translators should be careful in this case
too not to efface the markers of spoken mode existent in the source text, and to preserve the conventionalized appearance of theatrical speech.
As far as the field of discourse is concerned, this sub-parameter seems to
be of a more elusive nature than the pr evious two. While Bell admits that “in a
much broader sense, domain can refer to family, friendship, education and so

27
forth” (1991: 191), Hatim a nd Mason argue the opposite: “field is not the
same as subject matter” (1990: 48).
The notion of field is very difficult to pinpoint because it subsumes
features of the other two sub-paramete rs. Thus, it can be taken as subject
matter as long as subject matter involves the choice of vocabulary, grammar and syntax with a view to formality or to the choice of a presentational mode,
which are all factors contributing to the text function.
In translation, the field of discourse might pose a problem whenever there
is a mismatch between the discursive means of expressing experience, a mismatch that reverberates at an ideologi cal level of the text to be translated.
The three sub-parameters that we ha ve briefly outlined ensure the basic
conditions for communication to take place, in the sense that a transaction of
meaning is open between the source text and the target text. The translator
runs the obligation of recognizing the register(s) in the source text, of finding the best means of interlingual transfer, and of building a coherent and cohesive target text which should preserve that transactional function that any
instance of communication inherently owns.

4. Overview of the register levels: The characters’ social status and
sociolects

“Language variation not only pertains to the depiction of local colour, but
plays a key role in distinguishing and individualizing the various characters of
a work of literature” (Bonaffini 1997: 280). If truly the use of dialects and
registers individualizes the characters in a piece of literature, it goes without saying that, when translated, such a pi ece will sometimes defy the translators’
potential, while it will, at other times, grant them surprising escapes given that translators are not ignorant in the above theoretical considerations, and fully
equipped with all the necessary skills en abling them to achieve a quasi-ideal
language transfer.
Indeed, we are now approaching the actual practical purpose of our study,
and for our target to be attained we have chosen an American short-story
called Black Angels , authored by Bruce Jay Friedman, and published in The
Esquire Magazine in December, 1964. The reason for our choice is that the
story contains plenty of dialect and register instances, it is funny enough to become of interest to our students, and serious enough to be granted more
than a humorous glance. The short-stor y was translated by nineteen of our
MA level students, so the learner corpus we have compiled so far allowed us
to extract material conclusions as far as the method of translation, the
challenges different translators face and their choices of translation.
Our analysis will further focus on th e two characters interacting in the
short-story: Stefano, the main character , and Cotten. The difference in the two
characters’ sociolects is the one that situ ates them on different social layers in
front of the readers. We know that Cotten is an Afro-American employed by

28
Stefano to mend his garden and house, whereas Stefano is “a free-lance
writer of technical manuals” (Friedman 1964: 45). Thus, the sociolect and the
unequal social status that reveal the social gap between the characters are
obvious.
Stefano’s regular speech, in the initial part of the dialogue with Cotten,
can be sampled like that:
“She took the kid with her,” said Stefano. “That may be the worst part.
You don’t know what it’s like to have a kid tearing around your house for ten years and then not to hear anything. Or maybe you do?” Stefano asked
hopefully. “You probably have a lot of trouble of your own.” (Friedman 1964:
47)
But heating up while going deeper into relating his story to Cotten, he
would descend in register level, such as in the following examples:
“I‘ll be goddamned if I know what to do.” (Friedman 1964: 47) ;
“I don’t know what in the hell to do with myself” (Friedman 1964: 47);
Here and there, Stefano would insert low-style lexical items within an
overall higher-level utterance:
“… this girl has been a bitch ever since the day I laid eyes on her.”
(Friedman 1964: 48, our emphasis)
Additionally, Stefano uses elliptical sentences: “Best I’ve seen” (Friedman 1964: 45) ;
“You guys do other kinds of work?” (Friedman 1964: 46);
“What about painting? A house?” (Friedman 1964: 46).
Other instances of Stefano’s spoken language pertain to the way he
addresses his employee, such as: “You guys…”
As can be seen, Stefano generally u ses a careful spoken language. But, at
times, in order to fit Cotten’s level of education or integrate into Cotten’s
social class and thus better catch his attention and also, overwhelmed by the
emotional content of his discourse, he would switch towards a language
register closer to Cotten’s. It is a register lower than his customary one.
We claim that the highest register level a character is able to use stands
for the sociolect integrating him/her into a social class, a professional group, conferring him/her a social status. Nevert heless, in our main hero’s particular
case, we can identify various register dimensions, ranging from the
predominant high one to a quite low register, when carrying a face-to-face conversation with Cotten on matters with pregnant personal character.
Still, there is a difference in the low register used by Stefano and the one
used by Cotten. Stefano’s speech contains features of the spoken language but
not grammar mistakes . In contrast, Cotten speaks out utterances in incorrect
English:
“How long she gone?” (Friedman 1964: 47) ;
“You think you any good?” (Friedman 1964: 48) ;
“It do” (Friedman 1964: 48) .
And even writes to Stefano a note with incorrect grammatical agreement:

29
“You owes us $2.80.” (Friedman 1964: 46)
Also, it is Cotten’s sociolect that strikes from the beginning of the
short-story, which heavily adds up to his being situated into a determined social shelf:
“Thutty dollars.” (Friedman 1964: 44) ;
“Fo’ hundred” (Friedman 1964: 48) .
4. Analysis
In the previous section we have presented the distinction that is to be
made among the two voices that make themselves ‘heard’ in the short-story.
We shall now proceed to investigating whether the MA students’ translations
have preserved the same distinction in the characters’ styles. Our assessment
of the translations is basically grounded on the use of different language varieties, i.e. according to use and user, thus also exploring the re-creative
force in our young translators. Not to be neglected here is the component of
power – with serious effect on the teno r of discourse – shifting from Stefano’s
holding it when employing Cotten, and then moving over to Cotten’s superior
attitude towards Stefano’s using him as his personal psychologist. Hence, we
shall analyze the text and each of the register parameters to see how they contribute to conveying information (dom ain) and to building a relationship
between author and reader (tenor). Then we shall examine the degree of
register match or mismatch. Our ultim ate focus lies in checking whether the
translations are functionally equivalent to the original.
To this end, we have picked up some of the most relevant examples in the
short-story, illustrating the characters’ particular sociolects, but also the shifts in the tenor and mode of discourse.
To start with, we shall look into the way Stefano’s urge below has been
suited in translation to the register level in the original:
(1) “I’ll be goddamned if I know what to do.” (Friedman 1964: 47)
The translation of this utterance seems to be handy to most of our
students. Nine translations overlapped into a good equivalent solution and a common way of putting it in Romanian:
(a) Să fiu al naibii dac ă știu ce să fac. x 9
Other five translations have been similarly suitable, corresponding to the
register type used in the original. They are:
(b) Să fiu blestemat dac ă știu ce să fac. x 2
(c) Blestemat s ă fiu dacă știu ce să fac.
(d) Să fiu afurisit dac ă știu ce anume s ă fac.
(e) Să
mă bată sfântu’ dac ă știu ce să fac.
We consider the following three vers ions slightly tougher in expression
than all the previous ones, though fo rmally closer to the original and
appropriate as well:
(f) Să mă ia naiba dac ă știu ce să fac. x 2

30
(g) Să mă ia dracu dac ă știu ce să fac.
(h) Să fiu al dracului dac ă știu ce să fac.
Only one translation version displays a rather melancholic tone and can
be deemed as higher in register than all the previously presented translations
plus the original:
(i) De-aș putea ști ce să fac
The rest of the translations, amounting to five, contain errors that are
irrelevant to our discussion, so they have not been taken into account.
The translations analyzed above indicat e that most of the students had no
difficulty in finding an appropriate solution in the target language in as far as
the register is concerned. Out of the nineteen translations counting in this analysis, eighteen would not affect the readers’ perception of the hero’s
sociolect as well as his state of mind at the moment of utterance. So, there are
no stylistic errors in the first eighteen translations discussed above, but there is one in the last example ( De-aș putea ști ce să fac), stimulating a perception
of Stefano’s feelings towards a lighter emotional state and thus generating a
more relaxed atmosphere. Also, the tr anslation versions that have been
assessed as being tougher in expression induce a slightly different tone,
implicitly indicating a slightly different state of mind in the character. Hence,
it clearly results that the sociolect is by far not the only criterion shaping the
stylistic input of a stretch of discourse. Fo r, even if the sociolect has been used
in an appropriate manner in the target language, there are other stylistic
features that have not been preserved in translation, and they all pertain to the equivalent effect. This legitimately is in Newmark’s view of paramount
importance (Newmark 1995: 132).
While opening up his soul in front of his pretended psychologist, Stefano
confesses that his marriage had never b een happy. The introductory statement
announcing his true story is:
(2) “… why kid around.” (Friedman 1964: 48)
In their attempt to suit Stefano’s speech in the target language, two of the
students rightly opted for the Romanian idiomatic expression:
(a) Ce să ne mai ascundem dup ă deget? x 2
The idiom is equivalent to the original phrasal verb both from the point of
view of register and the semantic load it carries.
Another series of translation versions, amounting to eleven, hit the
meaning, but are rather explicit. This entails a slightly different effect as
compared to the previously presented translations, in whose case a phrasal
verb has been translated by an idiom, which is desirable since, in both source

31
language and target language, the words do not carry their primary meanings.
The versions, categorized as such, are:
(b) De ce să mă (mai) am ăgesc? x 3
(c) De ce să mă păcălesc? x 3
(d) De ce să mă (mai) mint (singur) x 5
Related to the last translation above, the use, in the following translation,
of the first person plural is also correct, even if rather inappropriate due to its
explicit expression. But the version after the slash has been influenced by the
source language kid, which taken isolated has the meaning of joke and has
therefore been erroneously translated by glumim . This indicates that the
student has not considered the word in its idiomatic context:
(e) De ce să ne tot min țim/ glumim?
The following translation, occurring twice:
(f) De ce să mă (mai tot) ascund? x2
only hints at the preferred idiomatic way of translating, as in the example
(a) above, but does not display the complete idiom in Romanian. The verb
ascunde means hide.
The translation:
(g) De ce să mă prostesc?
can be assessed in a si milar way to (b) and (c) above – as correctly
rendering the meaning, but entailing a lo ss in the stylistic effect. The verb mă
prostesc means to fool myself.
Almost similar to example (b), in the next translation we witness the
same translation option supplemented by a lexical item which raises the
requirement for a separate treatment. The word aiurea , completing Stefano’s
utterance means uselessly , which is semantically appropriate in context, but
lowers the hero’s sociolect towards a slangy expression.
(h) De ce să ne amăgim aiurea?
Even more obvious becomes the slang in the following example, which
also wrongly integrates Stefano into a social class of youngsters which he
does not belong to:
(i) Pe cine aburesc eu?
At this point it may be worth saying that even if correct grammatically,
such translations perplex an initiated re ader, because of the obvious register
mismatch. As tutors, we need to remember that “paying attention to fine and
subtle semantic differences is another strategy that helps students understand
the real meaning of a particular word in its context and co-text” (Arhire,
2007:42), so the importance of meaning nuances and context is never to be underestimated.

32
Moving over to Cotten’s way of expression, we shall examine the
translations provided to the first instance mirroring the negro’s sociolect,
which represents a striking switch not only from the author’s exquisite style, but also from Stefano’s use of the spoken language:
(3) “Thutty dollars” (Friedman 1964: 44)
The phrase is marked from the point of view of the sociolect; it indicates
a user pertaining to lower social classes; however, it also indicates the
relationship between text producer and te xt receiver (tenor) – the producer is
in a position of power compared to the receiver, as the latter (Stefano) needs the former’s (that is Cotten’s) services, so the producer can afford a careless
speech. The mode is clearly marked as oral.
Several translations strive to preserve the class dialect suggestion, and
adopt different spellings of the numeral ; among these, many are just invented
tools employed on site; the most accurate translation variants seem to be:
(a) Trej’ de dolari
(b) treij de dolari (7 translations in total),
which observe both the rules of Romanian spelling and the dialectal
meaning involved.
A significant number of translations (10 in total) neutralize the initial
suggestion either by employing the numeral in figure spelling ( 30) or by
erasing any trace of slang speech and using the standard numeral treizeci .
In the sphere of ‘funny’ translations, there are those that step out of the
field of dialect and imply a physiological speech defect in the text producer,
which nevertheless particularizes his speech:
(c) Teizeci de dolari.
(d) Treis de dolari.
The idea is that such translations switch the register suggestion from low
to comical, which rather oversteps the ‘moral’ limits that a translator is
confined to.
Another interesting example of Cotten’s sociolect is: (4) “you owes us $2.80” (Friedman 1964: 46)
This is a brief note Cotten leaves for Stefano after doing some more
maintenance work. Interestingly enough, it is a case pertaining to the written
mode, so the lack of subject-predicate agreement is the author’s way of
emphasizing that whatever the context of situation and the register, Cotten is
consistent with his own sociolect, and refuses to fall prey to conventions or
misconception. Furthermore, it is again an indication that, finding himself in a
position of power, as he is a service provider, Cotten doesn’t need to try hard
to suit his employer’s potential expectations.
Our students’ translations range from a majority of variants that
neutralize the sociolectal suggestion – a total of 12 translations, materialized
either in:

33
(a) Ne datorezi 2.80 dolari
or (unsuitably) written out as :
(b) Ne datorezi doi dolari și douăzeci de cen ți,
to those that strive to preserve the original allusion. Among these, four
students choose to render the flawed verbal form in the original with a similar
verbal form in Romanian:
(c) Ne datore ști 2.80 de dolari
(d) Ne datore ști 2,80$ x2
(e) ne datore ști doi dolari optzeci
The verbal form datorești does not exist as such in our language, and its
use rather stirs laughter because it is a form obtained through the addition of a
grammatical suffix which is unspecific of the morphological group this verb is part of. So, the informal register sugges tion is converted into a humorous one.
Then, a single translation chooses to render Cotten’s words with a quite
outdated version:
(f) Aveți la plată 2.80,
which, as such, would be a marker of Cotten’s old age, not the case here.
Finally, the version: (g) Ne datora ți 2,80 dolari. x2,
completely changes the informal regi ster suggestion in the source text
into its very opposite (a formal varian t), so this exceeds the limits of the
translator’s average liberty.

5. Conclusions and solutions
In the end, it all comes down to acknowledging, tolerating, enjoying and
sharing difference. These should be inherent qualities in every translator, and our students, although unskilled translators yet, are certainly on the right
track. As far as dialects and registers are concerned, the most important idea
to be remembered is that as translators/unwavering supporters of the principle of equivalence, we are bound to carry over the entire force that dialects and
registers incur. We should not fall into the trap of neutralization for the sake
of comprehensibility because the limits th at we are confined to as translators
do not allow for any alteration as far as the ideological charge of social dialect
is concerned.
Even though at times, being accurate involves sacrificing dynamic
equivalence – that is conveying the or iginal meaning without being bound by
linguistic features – for the sake of formal equivalence – involving the
preservation of grammatical and syntactic features –, this only serves the
higher purpose of relaying the meaning, and it may be a solution of
recuperating whatever meaning componen ts have been lost in the process.

34

References
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American Studies . Burada, Marinela (ed.), 39-46. Bra șov: Editura Universit ății
Transilvania Bra șov
Bell, Roger. 1991. Translation and Translating. Theory and Practice. London: Longman.
Bonaffini, Luigi. 1997. “Translating Dialect Literature”. World Literature Today . 71.2,
279-288.
Crystal, David. 2003. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Fawcett, Peter. 2003. Translation and Language . Cornwall, UK: T.J. International Ltd.
Halliday, Michael, Angus McIntosh and Peter Strevens. 1964. The Linguistic Sciences and
Language Teaching. London: Longman.
Hatim, Basil and Ian Mason. 1990. Discourse and the Translator. London: Longman
Friedman, Bruce Jay. 1964. “Black Angels”. In Great Esquire Fiction. The Finest Stories
from the First Fifty Years. Hills, L. Rust. (ed.), 304-309. 1983. Canada: Penguin
Books.
Newmark, Peter. 1995. Aspects of Translation. London: Phoenix ELT.
Tatu, Oana. 2008. Traduceri române ști din dramaturgia shakespearian ă. Studiu lingvistic
contrastiv . Brașov: Editura Universit ății Transilvania din Bra șov.

35

IDEOLOGIE ȘI MANIPULARE: LIMBA DE LEMN DIN 
LIMBA ROMÂNĂ POSTCOMUNISTĂ 
 
Ioana Paula ARM ĂSAR
Universitatea Transilvania din Brașov

Trecerea de la regimul comunist, totalita r, închis, la soci etatea democratic ă,
deschisă, nu a însemnat la noi și dispariția, în acela și timp, a categoriilor de
gândire. Reflexul „limbii de lemn” predeterminat ă ideologic și puternic
cultivată în comunism nu a disp ărut, ci s-a reinventat într-o nou ă limbă de
lemn, versiune îmbun ătățită prin rafinare și prin multitudinea variantelor
dată de paleta de culori politice a liderilor. Analfabetismul cultural
românesc devine efectul prelu ării unor formule tipice transpuse în situa ții
atipice și tinde să se întind ă ca o molim ă în spiritele de diferite vârste și
categorii sociale. Multitudinea cercet ărilor legate de studiul cli șeelor și
analizei discursului politic contemporan relev ă și interesul fa ță de
remanențele trecutului. Având la baz ă cercetările Rodic ăi Zafiu, ale lui
Françoise Thom, ale Tatianei Slama-Cazacu și ale Laviniei Betea, studiul,
prin metoda comparatist ă, își propune o succint ă analiză a diferen țelor între
discursul politic comunist și cel postcomunist și efectul noii „limbi de lemn”,
în spiritul profilactic al cunoa șterii mecanismelor de func ționare și evitare,
de înțelegere a caracterului lor pers uasiv, adeseori manipulator.

Cuvinte cheie : limbă de lemn, discurs politic, ideologie, manipulare,
persuasiune.

1. Repere teoretice

Dincolo de ideea unei Europe Unite și a mult teoretizatei unit ăți în
diversitate, persist ă, din punctul de vedere al împ ărțirii social-politice, o
Europă vestică și una estic ă, o modă internațională a două unități lingvistice:
dialog și limbă / limbaj de lemn. Pe de o part e, întâlnim o mentalitate modern ă
și democratic ă ce promoveaz ă dialogul, tratativele ca principal ă modalitate de
rezolvare a unei probleme litigioase, a conflictelor de toate felurile, iar, pe de
alta, o mentalitate ex-totalitar ă, rămasă blocată într-o limb ă de lemn ce nu are
drept efect în receptare vibra ția și sensibilitatea, ci încremenirea în idee. Pa șii

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către o eliberare de ecourile mentalit ății comuniste se fac prea mici, într-o
tranziție prelungit ă, din acest punct de vedere.
În România, unul dintre “produsele de succes” ale “Epocii de aur” s-a
dovedit a fi limba de lemn, un vehicul perfect al ideologiei comuniste. În toate timpurile și oriunde propaganda și dezinformarea au constituit pârghiile
puterii pentru manipularea maselor. Sistemul propriu creat de c ătre puterea
comunistă, pe model sovietic, prin institu ții și organisme abilitate s ă
controleze “ridicarea nivelului polit ico-ideologic al întregii popula ții”
consolida un univers, un limbaj și practici sociale ce antrenau surparea
inteligenței. Când ne referim la puterea de manipulare și de ideologizare a
unei limbi într-un moment istoric dat, trebuie s ă avem în vedere distinc ția
dintre limbajul politic în general și limbajul politic totalitar, în particular.
După Rodica Zafiu (2007: 30) care prefer ă o ipoteză moderată, neadmițând
neapărat limbajul totalitar ca antilimbaj sau form ă de patologie a limbii,
limbajul totalitar accentueaz ă în condi ții speciale tr ăsăturile negative ale
oricărui limbaj politic, de la tendin ța de clișeizare la inten ția de manipulare,
până la minciuna ascuns ă sub eufemizare. Fa ță de limbajul politic normal,
limbajul politic totalitar se dep ărtează prin posibilit ățile de constrângere
exterioare limbii care fac s ă se estompeze caracterul persuasiv, persuasiunea
presupunând libertate de alegere din partea ascult ă
torului/cititorului.
Propaganda politic ă denumită popular “munc ă de convingere” era obiectivul
declarat al regimului totalitar. Statul represiv comunist se bucura de avantajele
sale, folosindu-se, pe lâng ă persuasiune, de alte mijloace represive și
mulțumindu-se cu mimarea supunerii de c ătre cetățeni. Astfel se folose ște
sintagma de “persuasiune coercitiv ă” (Zafiu 2007: 44) pentru persuasiunea
însoțită de mijloace de persuasiune psihologic ă și/sau fizic ă. “Limbajul cap ătă
o funcție suplimentar ă: de marcă a consim țirii, supunerii, accept ării regimului.
Din acest punct de vedere convingerile nu mai conteaz ă: simplul fapt c ă un
vorbitor preia formulele limbii de lemn constituie o victorie a puterii politice
asupra poten țialilor opozan ți. Limbajul devine astfel un instrument eficient al
puterii, folosit ca s ă împiedice manifestarea altor discursuri: omniprezen ța sa
devine un scop în sine” (Zafiu 2007: 45). Françoise Thome (1987/1993) în bine cunoscuta sa lucrare La langue de bois remarcă avantajul limbii de lemn:
de a egaliza, de a dispensa de responsabilitate și de efortul de gândire, practic
de a șterge diferen țele de inteligen ță și cultură, de a nivela competen țele, a
uniformiza. Astfel, era posibil în impune rea de sus în jos a limbii de lemn, și
un anume consim țământ social (Zafiu 2007: 45). „Modificarea politic ă a
limbajului a fost împins ă pân
ă la ultimele sale consecin țe în utopia negativ ă a
lui Orwell” (Zafiu 2007: 16) realizat ă cu romanul “1984”.
Ca orice discurs, discursul politic con ține o anume viziune asupra lumii.
Termenul de “ideologie” poate avea valen țe neutre sau aspecte puternic
marcate negativ. Accep ția neutră dă ideologiei un sens de component ă
normală a discursului politic pe palierele sale istorice, sociale și culturale
(Zafiu 2007: 34). În abordarea critic ă lansată de F. Thom în 1987, limba de

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lemn este definit ă ca vehicul al ideologiei, ca o schem ă simplificatoare a
realității deformate și a gândirii deformante. Cu valoare general ă, formula
langue de bois este folosit ă curent în limba francez ă pentru a numi limbajul
politic. Zafiu consider ă că “sintagma limb ă de lemn poate s ă apară în două
ipostaze principale: a) ca desemnare denotativ ă, specializat ă pentru limbajul
politic al regimurilor totalitare comuniste; b) ca desemnare calificativ ă,
evaluativă, conotativ ă a limbajelor politice considerate ca excesiv
birocratizate, puternic cli șeizate, cu un vocabular s ărac și repetitiv, etc.”
(Zafiu 2007: 43). De și critica de specialitate repro șează limbajului politic
(într-o interpretare negativ ă atribuindu-i inten ții clare de în șelare) componen ța
elementelor de manipulare și distorsiune, putem vedea manipularea ca
persuasiune ce nu ține cont de dorin ța și/sau necesitatea destinatarului. “În
practică, manipularea este versantul negativ al persuasiunii, e termenul cu care
sunt critica ți adversarii” (Zafiu 2007: 32) .
Prima abordare teoretic ă a fenomenului limbii de lemn a fost cea propus ă
de Roman Jakobson în 1963. Din compara ția cu limbajul natural el stabile ște
caracteristicile limbii de lemn, urm ărind cele șase elemente ale comunic ării
lansate de cercet ările sale : a) emi țătorul rareori specificat, cu personalitate
insignifiant ă vorbește ca reprezentant al unei entit ăți : partid , guvern, popor,
b) destinatarul este la fel de neprecizat; c) referentul, mesajul și codul se
confundă; d) funcția metalingvistic ă în limba de lemn trece pe primul plan
pentru că aplicarea codului este în acela și timp, expresia puterii și expresia
supunerii la aceasta; e) func ția fatică se realizeaz ă prin formule rituale din
comunicare, care instaureaz ă și păstrează puterea; f) func ția referen țială este
absorbită de func ția incitativ ă; narațiunile și descrierile transformându-se
inevitabil în ordine și imbolduri.
La noi, conceptul de limb ă de lemn a început s ă fie utilizat și teoretizat
după 1989. Tatiana Slama-Cazacu a publicat în 1991 primul articol referitor la
această teorie, iar în 1993 a fost tradus ă de către Sorin Antohi (care a realizat
și prefața) cartea lui Françoise Thom, Limba de lemn , primii pa și în domeniu
fiind făcuți.
Tatiana Slama-Cazacu stabile ște în Stratageme comunica ționale și
manipularea inter-rela ționarea limbaj-manipulare, aspect major în literatura
sub comunism sau în literatura postcomunist ă ce parodiaz ă clișeele lingvistice
utilizate pentru recompunerea „tabloului dictaturii”. Autoarea face o selec ție a
clișeelor lingvistice cu care este asociat sinonimic con ceptul în literatura de
specialitate: „stereotipie”, „formule încremenite” (figées), „caracter de jargon”, „aspect mecanic”, „limbaj de propagand ă”, „de intoxicare”, dând
calificative ca „osificare”, „v ag”, „repetitivitate, „redundan ță, „încremenire a
formelor”, „instrument de disimulare, de mascare, de dedublare, de uzurpare”.
Ideea fundamental ă lansată se află în capitolul al doilea, „Limba de lemn – o
universalie în contextul româ nesc” (Slama-Cazacu 2000), aceea c ă domeniul
de aplicare al conceptului de limb ă de lemn este mult mai larg – în orice
societate de tip totalitarist, în orice societate în care Puterea se impune. A șadar

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se asociaz ă o deschidere spa țio-geografic ă, orizontal ă, dar și una vertical ă,
temporală, precizându-se c ă limba de lemn nu dispare odat ă cu înlocuirea unui
regim politic, c ă ea reverbereaz ă în planul expresiei și în cel mental al unei
națiuni și că se pot genera alte tipuri de limbaje de lemn. Aceast ă idee, a unei
posibile imixtiuni limb ă comună – limbaj politic este sus ținută și de Daniela
Rovența-Frumușani în „Analiza discursului: ipoteze și ipostaze” (2004).
În România de dup ă 1989, în contexte diferite, sintagma “limb ă de lemn”
a apărut în mijloacele media de toate orient ările, de guvern ământ sau de
opoziție. Dacă în comunism frica și forța impuneau formule verbale specifice,
ca efect de manipulare a gândirii receptorului, în postcomunism formulele se impun și se propag ă, devenind cli șee, prin frecven ța utilizării, și se mențin
prin prestigiul sau autoritatea emi țătorului. Un stil general stabilit de liderii
fiecărui partid se impune în toate tipurile de discurs. Difuzat repetitiv, prin
utilizarea frecvent ă în diversele mijloace de comunicare oral ă sau scris
ă, ori în
limbajul de „ ședință”, el anihileaz ă gândirea receptorilor, care pot ajunge s ă
fie supuși unei sugestii colective; inten ția reală sau măcar efectul ob ținut este
acela de a se impune autoritatea, de a elimina alt ă modalitate de gândire,
„rețeta” fiind în general eludarea sau ocultarea propriu-zis ă a realității.
Limbajul politic postcomunist a fost subiectul de analiz ă al multor
cercetători români, mai ales în aspectele sale lexicale, retorice și pragmatice:
Angela Bidu-Vr ănceanu, Valeria Gu țu Romalo, Liviu Papadima, Rodica
Zafiu, Gina Necula, Bogdan Ficeac, Ruxandra Cesereanu, Lumini ța Roșca, C-
tin Sălăvăstru etc.

2. Scurtă analiză a discursului politic postcomunist

Încercarea de plasare a limbajului politic actual între cli șeu și o nouă
limbă de lemn necesit ă delimitarea termenilor implica ți. O defini ție riguroas ă
vine de la Tatiana Slama-Cazacu care consider ă clișeele ca elemente lexicale
parte constitutiv ă a limbii de lemn, un șablon lingvistic, cu formule
inconsistente, care se generalizeaz ă și ajung să fie preluate în mod incon știent.
În schimb, limba de lemn, fa ță de clișeu, este promovat ă conștient, cu inten ția
de manipulare, de influen țare a gândirii și determinare a ader ării la o opinie
(1991: 4).
Noua limb ă de lemn ce caracterizeaz ă limbajul politic actual se îndreapt ă
mai mult spre cli șeizare prin manifestarea tendin ței de vehiculare a unor
cuvinte/expresii cu con ținut uneori rar în țeles, unde formule goale de con ținut
sunt preluate, pierzându- și sensul prin repetare. O infiltra ție de incultur ă și o
vehiculare de forme goale reies la iveal ă prin vorbitul în termeni considera ți la
modă, pigmentat de o invazie de termeni str ăini, folosi ți fără discernământ.
Dincolo de noua limb ă de lemn reflectat ă atât în discursul politic cât și în cel
social prin adoptarea f ără reticență de termeni str ăini, reminiscen țele limbii de
lemn vechi, comuniste, r ăzbat uneori printr-o oarecare virulen ță verbală și
prin discursul na ționalist ce are în contraparte o anticli șeizare la fel de bine

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mediatizat ă (se remarc ă discursurile lui C.V. Tudor, Gh. Funar, M. Bela, L.
Tökes sau articolele din „România Mare” vs. „Academia Ca țavencu”).
O variant ă a discursului gorbaciovian în România, de adev ărată
perestroik ă, este cel al lui Petre Roman (într-un fragment dintr-un discurs
parlamentar sus ținut în aprilie 1993) pe care Lavinia Betea (2005: 162) îl ia
drept model, eviden țiindu-i elementele de marc ă: efortul de transparen ță (dat
de apelul la cifre și descrieri ce ar denota concrete țea), introducerea unor
termeni noi proveni ți în general din englez ă, fără a mai apela la sinonimele
din limba român ă, folosirea unor expresii din limbajul popular în încercarea
apropierii fa ță de receptor. Autoarea mai consider ă că o particularitate tipic ă
discursului postcomunist poate fi considerat și „împrumutul de termeni
caracteristici doctrinei cre știn-democrate (dialog, adev ăr, consens, purificare)
și totodat ă utilizarea lor în contexte lexicale caracteristice discursului
comunist” (Betea 2005: 163).
Pe coordonatele lingvistice ale contextului politic al României
postcomuniste vom urm ări, prin metoda comparativ ă, câteva aspecte la nivel
lexical, sintactic și stilistic tangente cu vechea limb ă de lemn comunist ă.

2.1. Nivelul lexical

Categoria lexicului este cea mai bine reprezentat ă prin mo ștenirea la
scară largă a mecanicit ății limbii de lemn autentice. De și limbajul politic
actual este mai viu, nu scap ă pe deplin de impresia de artificialitate ce
caracteriza textele regimului totalitar și care avea drept scop construirea unei
realități paralele. Maniheismul (lipsa nuan țelor, împărțirea strict ă în doar dou ă
categorii a oric ărui domeniu sau mul țimi de oameni: buni și răi, prieteni și
dușmani, devota ți și trădători, pe principiul „cine nu e cu noi e împotriva
noastră”) adesea invocat, structurat în comunism pe dualitatea destinat ă să
opună două realități diferite și să atragă inducerea unei anume st ări de spirit,
este bazat în postcomunism pe dualitatea vechi–nou, din aceea și dorință de a
opune dou ă realități contrastive. Tonul r ămâne polemic, iar cuvintele inspir ă
același militantism: „acum mai mult decât înainte”, „clasa politic ă actuală”,
„practicile r ăsăritene”, „tranzi ția dinspre r ău spre bine”, „B ăsescu pentru noi
este Ceau șescu doi” etc. Totu și, dacă vechea ideologie înclina spre pres ărarea
discursului cu o aglomerare de substantive și grupuri nominale în detrimentul
verbului, fapt ce-l opaciza și crea monotonie, în postcomunism verbul
primește noi valen țe: incitare la ac țiune, repro ș, adeziune la o atitudine.
Combinarea stilului imperativ cu discursul voluntarist, tipic ă limbii de lemn
totalitare, adunând oximoronic discursul științei și pocnetul sloganului este
înlocuită de preferin ța ocazional ă pentru verbele la imperativ, manifest ă mai
ales în discursurile de campanie electoral ă. Apare repetat imperativul
impersonal „trebuie” sus ținut prin adverbul afirmativ „da”: „Da, Parlamentul
trebuie reformat!”, „Da, trebuie vot uninominal!”, „Da, trebuie o nou ă
Constituție!” (Mircea Geoan ă, discursuri în campania pentru alegeri

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prezidențiale 2011). Infinitivul lung preferat verbului face ca fraza s ă-și piardă
din precizie și vehemen ță: „reorientarea”, „reconcilierea”, „adoptarea”,
„aderarea” etc. Apelul la adjective demonstreaz ă etichetări pozitive sau
negative, cu aceea și tendință de favorizare sau m ărire a unei tabere politice:
„lider justi țiar”, „argumente ra ționale”, „politic ă serioasă”, „electorat obosit”,
„decizie ra țională”.
Sloganurile electorale sunt structurate în jurul unor cuvinte emblematice,
cuprinzătoare. Declan șând comportamente stereotipe (entuziasm, adeziune,
indignare, simpatie etc.), sloganurile, prin m ărcile afective pe care le transmit,
au uneori o mai mare eficien ță decât discursurile articulate, nuan țate. (Zafiu
2007: 118) O serie de cuvinte au fost succesiv folosite în luptele politice,
existând o interesant ă concordan ță între ele și starea de fapt a momentului. De
la „liniștea” propus ă de sloganul preziden țial din 1990 („Un pre ședinte pentru
liniștea noastr ă”) s-a trecut la sloganul esen țial din 1992 cu o întreag ă istorie
în utilizarea sa pân ă azi, „schimbare” (Zafiu 2007: 119), ap ărut în majoritatea
intervențiilor ambelor tabere, fie ale guvernului, fie ale opozi ției. Evolu ția sa
către versiunea „schimbare în bine” a fost rodul unei strategii care i-a redus
aria sintagmatic ă la o simpl ă transformare gradual ă. Termenii de
„democra ție”, „revolu ție”, „libertate” au ap ărut în limbajul totalitar românesc
cu sensul politic neutralizat, constituind dup ă 1989 un tipar cu tradi ție.
Alte cuvinte cu impact scontat în sloganuri și discursuri politice dup ă
Revoluție sunt „stabilitate” și „credibilitate”. Între cuvintele la mod ă – modă
datorată unor situa ții extralingvistice persistente –, adjectivul „credibil” este
foarte bine marcat (Zafiu 2007: 123). Purt ător al semnifica ției de transparen ță
prin sufixul „–bil” el este preferat unei perifraze din tendin ța de economie a
limbajului. Adjectivul apare ca determ inant al unor substantive ce denumesc
instituții și funcții, în toate contextele r ămânând apreciativ. Se deta șează astfel
în discursul politic postcomunist român pe fundalul unei infla ții de termeni
apreciativi venit din trecut. Conceptele de „deschidere” și „transparen ță” fac
parte din limbajul politic modernizat, de limitându-l de vechiul limbaj de lemn
românesc. Folosirea lor s-a cli șeizat, fapt dovedit de extinderea folosirii în
contexte improprii (afirma ția primului ministru din 1992 „Voi fi deschis, voi
fi transparent” (Zafiu 2007: 124). Ve rbul „a cosmetiza” (Zafiu 2007: 129),
aparținând derivatelor neologice în „-iza”, e, împreun ă cu familia sa lexical ă,
una dintre inova țiile limbajului publicistic și politic de dup ă 1989, acuzând
caracterul formal al reformelor. Limbajul politic de dup ă Revoluție
înregistreaz ă pe de o parte modificarea conota țiilor cuvintelor „nostalgic” și
„nostalgie” (formula tautologic ă „nostalgii fa ță de trecut” imaginând
semnifica ția limitat ă de „trecut apropiat”), iar pe de alt ă parte preferin ța
pentru nota lor ironic ă, eufemistic ă și pentru concizie (Zafiu 2007: 130).
Abrevierile sunt un caz aparte ce caracterizeaz ă discursul politic actual,
mult mai numeroase decât în regimul politic anterior. Contextul actual cu multe partide (PSD, PND, PNL, UDMR, USL etc.) aduce în plan lexical noi creații spontane de genul „pesedi știi”, „pedeli știi” etc., ca urmare a deriv ării

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acestor abrevieri. Tendin ța abrevierii cât mai multor cuvinte duce la
vehicularea unor cli șee, reproduse mecanic și nedescifrate întotdeauna
maselor. Derivarea este la rândul s ău bine valorificat ă („băsisme”,
„băsescuție”, „băsist” etc.). Fenomenul deriv ării cu prefixe este bine
reprezentat prin sporirea productivit ății unor prefixe: „anti-”, „contra-”,
„pseudo-”, „ex-”, „post-” („antid emocrat”, „contracandidat”, „pseudo știință”,
„ex-securist”, „postdecembrist” etc.). Aderarea României la Uniunea
European ă a dat productivitate superioar ă prefixului „euro-”. Tot atât de
productiv este în cadrul social mai larg prefixul „super-”, un cli șeu care se
pretează la aproape orice context cu atât mai mult cu cât prefixul a devenit
cuvânt autonom cu semnifica ție superlativ ă, o modă care mascheaz ă sau
demască incultura, vehicularea cuvintelor inconsistente, forme f ără fond.

2.2. Nivelul sintactic

Câteva particularit ăți sintactice care definesc azi limbajul politic erau
cenzurate în vechea limb ă a ideologiei comuniste. Poate din dorin ța de a
sparge tiparele, au devenit pregnante și marcheaz ă rigiditatea unui astfel de
mod de manifestare lingvistic ă.
O primă particularitate este prezen ța deicticelor care în limba de lemn
totalitară fie lipseau, fie d ădeau un aspect greoi exprim ării, aspect datorat
alternanței obsesive a pronumelor personale noi și ei evocând limpede cele
două blocuri aflate în permanent conflict. Tonul polemic exist ă și astăzi între
putere și opoziție, dar este completat cu apelul la celelalte pronume, deci de
implicare a tuturor persoanelor, ceea ce învioreaz ă discursul. În discursul
politic postdecembrist se utilizeaz ă până la abuz persoana întâi singular prin
pronumele „eu” sau desinen ța verbelor, inten ția fiind de afirmare a propriei
persoane sau/ și de apropiere de publicul receptor, ca mijloc de manipulare:
„Voi face tot ce e bine pentru țară”, „Mă felicit că împreună cu colaboratorii
mei am luat decizia s ă…”, (Traian B ăsescu, campania de suspendare a
președintelui, iulie 2012); „Da. Am aceast ă forță […] Da. Am solu ții […] Da.
Am șanse și această Românie are șanse. […] Eu cred c ă se poate. Eu cred c ă
zidul care desparte politicienii români de societatea româneasc ă poate fi
dărâmat și dinăuntru și dinafară. […] Noi va trebui s ă facem, începând de la
alegerile preziden țiale aceste dou ă lucruri …[…] Vreau să fiu un pre ședinte
responsabil, un pre ședinte care s ă fie reperul și garantul îndrept ării
României c ătre marile ei obiective” . (Crin Antonescu, prezentarea
programului preziden țial, august 2009).
Formulele de polite țe înregistreaz ă o mare diferen ță între limbajul politic
din regimul dictatorial și limbajul politic postdictatorial. Adresarea uniform ă
cu „tovar ășe/a” a fost repede înlocuit ă (persisten ța adresării directe cu
„tovarășe/a” a căpătat în timp un sens ironic-poetic) cu „domnule/ ă”. Nicolae
Ceaușescu se adresa ascult ătorilor săi cu „dumneavoastr ă” sau prin grupuri
nominale impersonale diferite: „participan ți la conferin ță”, „muncitori”,

42
„țărani”, „comuni ști” etc. Pe de alt ă parte, adresarea cu „dumneavoastr ă” avea
valoare diferit ă: cu interlocutor unic (singular) sau cu interlocutor colectiv
(plural). Adresarea c ătre conduc ător avea valoare de singular, nota de polite țe
fiind astfel subliniat ă, și se repeta pentru consoart ă, ca un artificiu retoric al
tuturor discursurilor epocii, reg ăsite ca formule de adresare în orice pagini ale
epocii, de la congrese, conferin țe, la alocu țiuni și discursuri: „ Mult stimate și
iubite tovar ășe Nicolae Ceau șescu”, „Mult stimat ă și iubită tovarășă Elena
Ceaușescu”.
Formulele de adresare din noul limbaj politic sunt extrem de diferite,
politețea fiind uneori doar afi șată prin formula de început, alteori grani ța fiind
estompată prin contaminarea cu mai familiarul englezesc “you”, în cele mai
multe cazuri adresarea voit afectiv ă mizând pe o mai pozitiv ă receptare a
mesajului. Exemplele sunt multiple și se găsesc în orice discurs politic scris
sau vorbit. Se întâlne ște adeseori o folosire agresiv politicoas ă tocmai pentru
sublinierea ostilit ății interlocutorilor. „ Vorbiți, domnule prim ministru, cu
voioșia unui statistician, cum am cunoscut amândoi în tinere țele noastre… ”
(referirea lui Crin Antonescu în timpul dezbateri mo țiunii de cenzur ă, iunie
2012, făcându-se nu numai la statisticianul comunist care se supunea
ordinelor de a prezenta rezultate statistice „aduse din condei”, ci și la referin ța
comună a celor doi opozan ți).
Limba de lemn actual ă înregistreaz ă și elemente deictice spa țiale și
temporale pentru o delimitare mai exact ă a contextului: „Ceea ce constat ăm
în clipa de fa ță este o ruptur ă a clasei politice. […] A venit vremea s ă
disponibiliz ăm, să trimitem în șomaj clientela politic ă. […] A venit vremea ca
elitele să vină la putere, ca elitele s ă dea forță, ca elitele s ă dea profunzime,
să dea amplitudine institu țiilor”. (Crin Antonescu, prezentarea programului
prezidențial, august 2009).
În același scop, construc țiile pasive și imperative nu mai încarc ă discursul
actual preferându-se numirea/demascar ea persoanelor publice care ini țiază o
acțiune: „Aș dori să informez opinia public ă referitor la faptul c ă
reprezentantul Companiei Na ționale Romarm împreun ă cu grupurile de
interese din aceast ă zonă strategic ă a României doresc destructurarea și
dezmembrarea Romarm și privatizarea ei pe nimic” . (Deputatul Ion Stan
demască sistemul mafiot din industria de ap ărare, Cotidianul.ro, oct. 2012)
Se păstrează efectul modului imperativ al verbelor exprimând un îndemn
și o mobilizare a popula ției, mai ales în timpul campaniilor electorale. Este
cazul discursului lui Mircea Geoan ă din timpul candidaturii la pre ședinție
(2011): „Da, parlamentul trebuie reformat! Da, trebuie luptat împotriva
corupției! Da, trebuie o nou ă Constituție! Da, trebuie vot uninominal! Spune ți
stop Băsescu! ” Tot Mircea Geoan ă este cel care în alt discurs televizat
apelează la imperative, c ărora le urmeaz ă aglomer ări de substantive cu
rezonanță de clișeu: „Să redăm onoarea politicii române ști! Să reclădim
încrederea românilor! S ă arătăm că putem să avem în conducere oameni de
care să fim mândri c ă ne reprezint ă! ”

43
Imperativul se combin ă, de multe ori cu lozincile și sloganurile scandate,
mult mai variate fa ță de cele ale vechii ideologii, u șor de reliefat și de
parodiat. Exemplele sunt multiple în aceast ă privință, mai ales în contextul
generat de campania de suspendare a Pre ședintelui B ăsescu: „Marinarul
dictator s ă se întoarc ă pe vapor! B ăsescu pentru noi este Ceau șescu doi!
Parlamentul României, ru șinea Europei! Noi am votat, ei au suspendat! ”

2.3. Nivelul stilistic

Dacă limba de lemn a ideologiei to talitare suferea de lipsa stilului
individual și de manifestarea unui stil colectiv, rigid și impersonal, pus
exclusiv în slujba propag ării unor idei la fel de inflexibile, destinate s ă
converteasc ă gândirea și să inducă automatisme verbale și de comportament,
stilul ce caracterizeaz ă discursul politic postcomunist cunoa ște variante
individuale, renun țând la generalitate și uniformizare. Ca o confruntare pentru
supremație, există chiar tendin ța de impunere a propriului stil, orice politician
arătând sau doar sugerând la un moment dat inten ția intimă de mediatizare a
propriei maniere de discurs. O modalitate de cucerire a adep ților este tonul
patetic apelând la afectivitate și mizând pe sensibilitatea publicului:
„Campania populist ă va miza mult pe emo ții! […] Pe tine, românule cinstit, te
voi sprijini! […] Vă cer, dragi prieteni liberali, s ă faceți asta în partidul
nostru. Le cer tuturor celor care îmi vor da votul s ă conteze pe toat ă energia
mea, pe toat ă credința mea, pe toat ă capacitatea mea de a face aceste
lucruri.” (Crin Antonescu, prezentarea programului preziden țial, august
2009). Dincolo de faptul c ă unele fragmente din declara ții făcute la
conferințele de pres ă par rupte din paginile lui Caragiale, ele dau mult de
lucru anali știlor politici, lingvi știlor, politicienilor și chiar oamenilor de
afaceri: „Îndemnul meu pentru oamenii politici este pruden ță, îndemnul meu
pentru români este solidaritate, pentru c ă nimeni nu poate sc ăpa de criz ă
individual. Din criz ă ori ieșim toți, dar numai o dat ă cu țara, nu exist ă loc în
țara asta în care s ă fugim de criz ă, deci ori scoatem țara din criz ă și fugim
toți ori salvarea individual ă din criză nu există”. La aceast ă intervenție a lui
Traian Băsescu, Guvernatorul Mugur Is ărescu declar ă că „dacă s-ar face o
analiză de text a discursului lui Traian B ăsescu cuvântul care apare cel mai
des este criz ă, iar acest cuvânt a ajuns s ă însemne orice.” (Business 24, sept.
2012)
Tendința spre argumentare, prin lipsa de argumenta ție, este o tr ăsătură a
limbajului politic postdecembrist prin care se creeaz ă impresia de
credibilitate, trimi țând la argumente insuficient explicitate sau chiar
nefondate, introduse prin formule ca: „ținând cont de o seam ă de factori”, „în
afara câtorva probleme de o anumit ă importan ță” etc. (Călin Popescu
Tăriceanu)
Metatextualitatea este un element bine pozi ționat în frecven ța cu care
oamenii politici recurg chiar la trimiteri la discursurile comuniste, într-un fel

44
de epurare a propriului discurs: „Suntem oameni cam de aceea și vârstă și am
apucat cu to ții povestea genera țiilor de sacrificiu, povestea lui vom face, vom
stabili, la cincinalul urm ător, vom tr ăi bine” (aluzie la sloganul lui Traian
Băsescu din prima sa campanie electoral ă la preziden țiale: „Să trăiți bine!”)
(extras din Discursul pre ședintelui PNL, Crin Antonescu, la dezbaterea
moțiunii de cenzur ă PNL, august 2009).
Dacă în discursul politic al dictaturii metaforele cli șeu erau pu ține și
șocante prin desemantizarea lor maxim ă și irealitatea imaginilor cuprinse dus ă
până la absurd, cea mai solicitat ă sursă din care se alimenteaz ă discursul
politic actual este întruchipat ă de figurile de stil, mai ales de metafor ă. În
vocabularul s ărăcit exista o serie banal ă de metafore: drumul, c ărarea, calea,
zborul, organismul, timpul etc. Înainte totul trebuia s ă fie în ascensiune, fiin ța
biologică și organismul social dep ășeau prin superioritatea socialismului ceea
ce nu depindea decât de jocul brutal al legilor lumii fizice. Mai mult, se putea
ajunge la combina ții imposibile, comice dac ă n-ar fi fost tragice ca aceea a
„navigației spre piscurile înalte ale societ ății comuniste”. (Zafiu 2007: 59).
Despre transform ările dialogului politic în societatea româneasc ă după 1989
vorbesc etichetele puse de c ătre opinia public ă ori de c ătre mass-media
româneasc ă (având un rol extrem de activ în acest dialog politic permanent):
astfel, propaganda PSD este „o ma șină care încă nu a ruginit”, „popoarele
aspiră la inima Europei”, Ion Iliescu este „bântuit de trecutul lui”, Mircea
Geoană „s-a afundat în mocirla vorb ăriei goale, a gogo șeriei politice”,
Corneliu Vadim Tudor „este r ătăcitul național” etc. Alte metafore sunt
utilizate drept marc ă: „haiducii majorit ății parlamentare”, „r ăzboinicii de
carton” etc.
Emfaza din limba de lemn a limbajului politic postcomunist nuan țează
benefic vocabularul și accentueaz ă o anume idee prin repetarea pe ariile sale
semantice: astfel ideile de corup ție, amenin țare, determinare se reg ăsesc în
frecvența cu care apar în discursuri sub forma sintagmelor: „interesele de
grup”, „mogulii”, „oligarhii”, „victimele”, „stil mafiot”, „am decis f ără nici un
fel de rezerv ă”, „decizia pe care am sprijinit-o și cu care dorim s ă fim
consecven ți”. O modalitate retoric ă de exprimare în discursul politic
postcomunist românesc este ironia. Fina ironie sau ironia grosolan ă combinate
cu metafore și metonimii țin de vorbitor, de caracterul s ău, de cultura și
educația sa, de starea de spirit sau ecoul scontat al discursului. „Domnule
prim-ministru, Sunte ți, împreun ă cu guvernul dvs., ca un mecanic de
locomotiv ă beat. […] Beat de euforie, beat de euforia reformei. […] Opriți-vă,
pentru că țara e în vagoane și repet, vagoanele s-au decuplat și au deraiat,
iar oamenii nu au nicio vin ă. […] Dvs. nu a ți făcut decât s ă aveți un program
de guvern pe care ar trebui s ă-l prezenta ți românilor limpede: nu putem noi
plăti pe cât putem noi împrumuta” . (Discursul pre ședintelui PNL, Crin
Antonescu, la dezbaterea mo țiunii de cenzur ă PNL, iunie 2012).

45

3. Concluzii
Este dificil de identificat care sunt tr ăsăturile noii limbi de lemn
politicianiste postcomuniste, întrucât, dup ă mai bine de dou ă decenii de
tranziție, acesta r ămâne un compartiment înc ă aflat în faza taton ărilor, a
experimentului lingvistic, a combina ției haotice de informa ții.
Comparând limba de lemn din regimul totalitar, cu tr ăsăturile sale
intrinseci, cu limba de lemn postcomunist ă pot fi scoase în eviden ță pierderi și
câștiguri prin diferen ță. Consider ăm că această stare de fapt nu se poate pune
pe baza amor țirii lingvistice și ideologice de o jum ătate de secol de comunism
infiltrate în con știința populației și în reflexele vorbirii. Inevitabil limbajul
politic cade într-un anumit con de ideologie și de inten ție de manipulare,
indiferent de culoarea politic ă a discursului, schimbarea trebuind s ă vină însă
din partea receptorilor care nu vor prelua formule, nu vor participa la clișeizarea ca modalitate de adoptare a ideilor, vor fi capabili s ă recunoasc ă
mijloacele și tehnicile de manipulare c ărora nu se vor l ăsa pradă. Până la
atingerea acelui obiectiv, este necesar ă o educaț
ie în acest sens, este nevoie de
cultură și este nevoie de epurarea limbii române de vorb ăria goală, de
conținuturile seci.
Demersul, lipsit de resursele practic ării unei analize exhaustive, vine s ă
continue linia de observare și analizare, prin metoda comparativ ă și decupajul
de text, a particularit ăților limbajului politic actual ce se disting de
reminiscen țele ideologiei comuniste care înc ă invadeaz ă discursul, punctând
trăsăturile acestui nou limbaj de lemn , la nivel lexical, sintactic și stilistic.
Simple reflexe ale viziunilor schematice despre lume și viață, clișeele de
limbaj (folosite în mod incon știent) cuprind reprezent ări stereotipale ale
spațiului, timpului și societății, care pot fi valorificate, studiate,
contextualizate. Limba de lemn (utilizat ă în mod incon știent) între ține o
ficțiune ideologic ă și dă receptorului iluzia în țelegerii unui mesaj acolo unde
nimic nu e de în țeles, făcându-l complice la întreaga mascarad ă politică,
dincolo de felul regimului politic. Ea nu dispare odat ă cu înlocuirea unui
regim politic, reverbereaz ă în planul expresiei și în cel mental al unei na țiuni.
Ca o confruntare pentru suprema ție și o valorificare maximal ă a tehnicilor de
manipulare, înregistr ăm tendința politicienilor de impunere a propriului stil, a
propriei maniere de discurs.

Referințe
Betea, Lavinia. 2005. Mentalități și remanen țe comuniste. București: Nemira.
Rovența Frumu șani, Daniela. 2004. Analiza discursului : ipoteze și ipostaze.
București: Tritonic.
Thom, Françoise. 1993. Limba de lemn. București: Humanitas,
Slama-Cazacu, Tatiana. 2000. Stratageme comunica ționale și manipularea . Iași:
Polirom

46
Slama-Cazacu, Tatiana. 1991. „Limba de lemn”. România literar ă 17 oct. 1991: 4.
Zafiu, Rodica. 2007. Limbaj și politică. București: Editura Universit ății din Bucure ști.

Ideology and Manipulation:
the Cliché Language of Post-communist Romania

The overcoming of the communist totalitarian regime in Romania and the
transition to the democratic open society has not triggered the disappearance of
certain thought categories, of the deeply inculcated cliché language, which was
ideologically determined and strongly promoted in the communist period. The post-communist period saw the reinvention of this language, the birth of an improved,
more exquisite version given by the multitude of the political leaders’orientations.
The cultural Romanian illiteracy becomes the effect of taking over typical formulae in atypical situations and it tends to dangerously extend over numerous age ranges and
social categories. The multitude of research connected to the study of clichés and to
the analysis of the contemporary political discourse reveals the interest in the reminiscences of the past. Using the comparatist approach and drawing on the
research belonging to Rodica Zafiu, Françoise Thom, Tatiana Slama-Cazacu, Lavinia
Betea, our study aims at briefly analysin g the differences between the communist
political discourse and the post-communist one, as well as the effect of the new cliché
language, from the perspective of the way it works, of its persuasive, often manipulative character, of possible ways to avoid it.

Keywords: cliché language, political discourse, ideology, manipulation,
persuasion

47

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN DIPLOMACY:  
PERSIA VS. FRANGISTAN 

Elena BUJA
Transilvania University of Brasov

The aim of the present paper is to shed light on some misunderstandings
caused by cultural differences in non-verbal communication, specifically
focusing on diplomatic encounters, as depicted in an English novel of the
19th century: J. Morier’s The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan . The
investigation covers issues such as chro nemics (use of time), proxemics (use
of space), artifacts and rituals, in an attempt to find causes and possible
solutions for the misunderstandings between people belonging to two different cultures: the Persians and the English, involved in diplomatic
encounters at the end of the 18
th century.
Keywords: non-verbal codes, diplomatic encounters, cultural differences,
misunderstandings, cultural prejudices.

1. Introduction

Owing to modern travel and communication technology, intercultural
encounters have multiplied in the mode rn age at a prodigious rate. As a
consequence, people have started learni ng various languages in order to better
communicate with foreigners. But perfect mastery of foreign languages is not a guaranty for successful communication: there is a major invisible barrier which prevents people of different cultu ral backgrounds from interacting with
each other in a normal way, namely the cultural varieties . Very frequently,
these are the major cause of misunderstandings and misconceptions during intercultural communication. Cultural differe nces play an important role in the
interpretation of various phenomena or societies. They are reflected not only
in everyday life, but also in academic a nd business circles, in law practice, but
also in diplomatic circumstances , as will be illustrated by the novel
subjected to analysis in the present paper.
Thus, apart from learning foreign languages, people should also put some
focused effort into learning the non-verbal communication signals of other cultures in order to avoid a lot of misunderstandings. What we need to do first
and foremost is to be aware of the fa ct that just as languages differ, so do

48
cultures. We have to start noticing the differences and be willing to deal with
cultural prejudices. It is only by reflecting on the deeper nature of cultural
differences that our communication skills may improve (Holliday et al 2004).
Before embarking on the analysis of some cultural differences related to
diplomacy encountered in an English novel of the 19th century, it would be
appropriate to define two important concepts, namely culture and non-verbal
communication .

2. What is ‘culture’?
As the meaning of the term culture is not self-evident, its brief discussion
is necessary before we can proceed with the study of non-verbal barriers in
communication. The word, though simple, is very difficult to define as it describes complex and diverse human social phenomena which can be approached from various perspectives/angles. Friedrich H. Tenbruck, a modern German cultural anthropologist, stated that culture is an ambiguous concept because ‘the word culture carries different meanings in various
languages, occupies different places in thei r culture, and plays a different role
in their histories (Tenbruck 1989: 95)
The Austrian researcher Manfred E. A. Schmutzer defines culture as ‘a
way of life simultaneously creating a distinction between groups of persons,
but allowing at the same time a definition of equality, similarity and
consensus and the capability to co-opera te with others within a group of
persons’ (Schmutzer 2004: 3). Though very true, the definition does not exactly pin down what a layman might expect culture to be. One might ask himself whether culture covers such aspects of our life as traditions and
customs, or festivals and celebrations. Could we expand the concept to cover
other elements such as thoughts, behaviours, or even objects that people
produce?
The concept seems to be quite difficu lt to define, as each person (be they
anthropologists, sociologists or linguists) might approach it from a different perspective. For this reason, in the pr esent paper I will employ a more general
definition of culture: in a narrow sen se, culture refers to ‘civilization’,
‘refinement of the mind’ and the results of such refinements, i.e. art,
education, and literature. This could be called CULTURE 1. In a broad sense,
the term culture includes all the elements mentioned above plus patterns of
feeling, thinking, and acting, ordinary and menial things in life, such as: greeting, eating, sleeping, showing/ not showing feelings, and keeping a
certain physical distance from others. This could be called CULTURE 2.
Generally speaking, culture 2 is always a collective phenomenon which is
partly shared with people who live within the same social environment. It is this kind of culture that I will have in mind in the following pages of the
paper.

49
But this type of culture is very diffi cult to distinguish from concepts such
as ethnicity or religion. In certain areas of the world, ethnic groups form sub-
cultures within the larger culture ( see the Irish-American, Jewish-American,
and even Romanian-American sub-cultures in America). Religion, on the other hand, defined just like culture as a set of beliefs, may overlap with both
culture and ethnicity. As Nancy Jervis (2006: 1) points out, ‘while some
religions confine themselves to the real m of ideas or beliefs, other religions
extend into the realm of behavior and prohibit or mandate certain actions as
well’. Hall (1990: 53) underlines the fact that ‘the content of religion, its
organization, and the manner in which it is integrated with the rest of life
varies greatly from culture to culture’. Thus, in the Middle East, Islam plays a
more pervasive role than Christianity does in Europe or other parts of the
world. The Islamic religion seems to have had such a strong impact on the
Persian culture that one might think that Persia (present-day Iran) is an Arab
country.
Let us now turn to non-verbal communication and its codes.
3. Non-verbal communication
This section aims at defining the second key concept which is of major
importance for the present paper, namely nonverbal communication. In broad
lines, nonverbal communication involves human interaction based on the
transmission and reception of simulta neous signals through the physical
presence and/or the behaviour of indivi duals. But a look at some definitions
provided by various researchers will reveal that the concept is not very easy to
pin down. I will start with the definition given by Siegman and Feldstein (1978: 4), according to which ‘Nonverbal communication […] could include all nonverbal behaviors that are involved in the transmission of experiences or
information from one person to another (or others). This definition includes
all behaviors which are part of an individual's communicative act and excludes those which are not.’
This definition seems to be incomple te in that it focuses on some aspects
of non-verbal communication, and leaves out some others. Thus, it points out
the connection between non-verbal co mmunication and non-verbal behaviour,
but it fails to indicate when exactly someone’s non-verbal behaviour may be
interpreted as communicating something, i.e. as a message. To illustrate the idea, we could think of the act of b linking. This could be interpreted as
behaviour: it is performed without cons cious thought or intent. We do not pay
any attention when someone is blinking, much less attach a meaning to it. But
rapid blinking, to hold back tears, fo r instance, classifies as a message: the
action is intentional in that you don ’t want other people to realize how
sentimental you are. Consequently, in order to qualify as a message, a behavior typically must be sent with intent and/or it must typically be
interpreted by others, i.e. it must have a social meaning.

50
Another shortcoming of this definition consists in the fact that it limits
the functions of non-verbal communication to the transmission of experience
or information, but this type of communication, as it is known, is employed to convey/express emotion, to create first impressions, as well as to send messages of power and persuasion. Moreover, Siegman and Feldstein’s definition leaves out a number of codes that are part of non-verbal
communication, as is the case of olfactics, chronemics, proxemics and the use
of artifacts. As this particular definitio n seemed rather restrictive, I have tried
to find a more encompassing one and I ca me across the one provided by Ting-
Toomey (1999: 115-116): ‘Nonverbal communication is defined as the nonlinguistic behaviors (or attributes) that are consciously or unconsciously
encoded and decoded via multiple communication channels. Multiple
channels refer to how the meaning of nonverbal messages can be simultaneously signaled and interpre ted through various nonverbal mediums
such as facial expressions, bodily gestures, spatial relationships, and the environment (physical and psychological) in which people are communicating’.
In addition to the previous definition, Ting-Toomey specifies that non-
linguistic behaviours may be conscious and that the information conveyed by
them can take the form of various codes (‘non-verbal mediums’).
Chelcea (2008) takes the definition of nonverbal communication even
further by emphasising the importance of the cultural context: ‘By nonverbal
communication we understand human interaction based on the transmission of
signals through the physical presence and/or the behaviour of individuals in a
certain socio-cultural s ituation’ (2008: 30).
1
If we combine the three definitions mentioned above, we may obtain a
clearer picture of the concept of non-verbal communication. So, non-verbal communication includes all the messages othe r than words that people
exchange through various mediums in inte ractive, socio-cultural contexts. The
socio-cultural situation is of major im portance in the present paper because, as
I will try to prove, it has a great impact on the way people communicate non-verbally, especially in diplomatic encounters.
Because there are so many different levels of nonverbal communication,
researchers (Birdwhistell 1975, Pease 1981) have found it useful to separate
nonverbal messages into different CODES. Codes are organized message systems that consist of a set of symbols and rules for their use. In what follows, I will briefly present each of the codes.
a. Kinesics includes messages sent by your body through gestures,
posture, body movement, body lean, and so forth. It also includes messages
sent by your face, such as smiles, frowns, grimaces, and pouts. The kinesic

1 Translated from Romanian into English: ‘În țelegem prin comunicare nonverbal ă interacțiunea
umană bazată pe transmiterea de semnale prin prezen ța fizică și/sau prin comportamentele
indivizilor într-o situa ție socio-cultural ă determinat ă’.

51
code also includes eye behavior, which is sometimes referred to as oculesics.
Eye behavior includes eye movement, eye contact, gaze aversion, and pupil
dilatation and constriction.
b. Appearance and adornment. This code includes influential nonverbal
cues which are non-movement bound, i.e. ph ysical appearance and olfactic (or
smell) cues, such as those used to adorn oneself and create impression on
others. Physical appearance cues include size, shape, and color of your
body, one’s perceived level of attractiveness, and how people dress, wear
their hair and use cosmetics, as well as what accessories (e.g. briefcases,
jewelry) they use to adorn themselves. Olfactic cues deal with how smell or
odor communicates. Included here ar e body smells and perfume/cologne.
c. Vocalics . This code includes the sounds of the voice as well as
silences. In other words, vocalics (also re ferred to as ‘paralanguage’) refers to
HOW people say words rather than WHAT they actually say. This includes
how someone communicates through chang es in speaking rate, volume, voice
quality and pitch, accents, pauses, and h esitations. Also included are silence
and the meanings attributed to it. Sometimes silence communicates a message
more loudly than words ever could.
d. Time and Place Code s. These refer to the larger context in which
communication occurs. Communication through time (chronemics) includes how people use and perceive time. Time preferences, punctuality, and personal perceptions of time are some of the many chronemic factors.
Environmental cues (proxemics) refer to elements that impinge on the human
relationship, but which are not directly a part of it. They include factors such
as architectural design, interior d ecorating, color, noise, furniture
arrangement, and so on.
Now that the basic concepts have been clarified, it is time to consider the
research questions and the approach employed for the analysis of the
diplomatic encounters between Persians and British people at the turn of the
17
th century, as revealed in James Morier’s novel The Adventures of Hajji
Baba of Ispahan in England .

4. Research methodology and hypotheses
The theoretical framework the present paper relies on is an adapted form
of the form-functional approach to language (Berman and Slobin, 1994),
according to which, each form (in our case a non-verbal one) is associated
with a certain communicative function. The non-verbal forms that will be
analysed are chronemics, proxemics, appearance (with focus on clothing),
artifacts (presents), and rituals.
The research questions that guided me in the analysis are the following:
1) Which are the non-verbal codes (form s) that show radical differences
between one culture (Western) and the other (Eastern)?

52
2) To what extent do such differences lead to feelings of
frustration/misunderstandings between th e representatives of the two cultures
under investigation?
3) Derived from (1) and (2), a third question arises: could such non-
verbal barriers be eliminated for the sake of fruitful cooperation in international diplomatic encounters?
Let us now turn to the analysis of the first volume of James Justinian
Morier’s novel The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan in England to find
the answers to the above-mentioned research questions.
5. A picture of the 18
th century diplomatic encounters
Before embarking on the analysis proper, a short presentation of the book
would be appropriate at this point.
Hajji Baba, the son of a barber of Is pahan, who has become ‘a man of
consequence’, is asked by the Shah of Persia to accompany the Persian
ambassador (Mirza Firouz) and his embassy on the journey to England where
they were to be received by the King of the Franks. This journey is full of
adventures and discoveries of a world which the Persians had very little
information about, adventures which are nicely narrated by Hajji Baba.
The book abounds in examples of cu ltural differences in non-verbal
communication, but due to reasons of sp ace, I have selected to analyse only
those fragments related to diplomacy, following, at the same time, the
stipulations in the Procedure Rega rding the Negotiating and Mediating
Techniques employed in a military in stitution (Gheorghe et al 2009:134-137),
more specifically, the one referring to the ‘preparation of the setting’.
As it is nicely stated in the above-mentioned document, ‘small things
make a lot of difference’. Making a good first impression, one of the main
functions of verbal communication, implies the way in which people
introduce themselves. But the manner of introducing the members of the
delegations varies from culture to culture. Thus, the Persians meeting
somebody for the first time would inquir e 3 times whether the person’s health
is good, if his brains are right and his spirits up, while the Brits would talk
about their favourite topic: the weather.

(1)
This being the first officer of con sequence whom we had seen in England,
the ambassador thought it right, fo r our interests, to produce as
favourable an impression as possible on his mind, and accordingly put
into practice all those attentions and well-set speeches of which he is so eminently the master. After he had inquired three times over whether his
health was good, his brain right, and his spirits up, he turned round to me and said, ‘Praise be to God, the governor is a fine youth;’ […] by being acquainted with such like persons, the friendship of the two

53
countries will be cemented, and the Persians and English will henceforth
call each other brothers.’ (164-165).

The Persian ambassador waited for so me time for an equally elaborate
response to the compliment he paid the English people, but was appalled when the English governor simply made a remark about the weather (i.e. that
it was a fine day), without mentioning any connection between the weather
and the event, as the Persians would have done: (‘the sun shone because of the
joyful event of the ambassador’s arrival’ (166)). This brought about a wave of
criticisms of the Frank governor who w as considered to speak worse than a
Persian camel-driver.
The whole incident is in total disagreement with the negotiation
procedure (see Gheorghe et al 2009:138), which specifies (chapter 4.3, a, 2) that people should remember the greetings and salutations typical of the other
party’s tradition and courtesy. But sin ce the Persians and the British people
might have been at the beginning of their exchanges of all kinds, we have to be mild on both of them.
The first impression made by the setting is also very important, ‘as it
creates a comfortable, pleasant and friendly atmosphere meant to ensure a favourable beginning’
2 (Gheorghe et al 2009:136) of the encounter. One
element pertaining to the setting is the time of the encounter . But we have to
be aware of the fact that various cultu res have different perceptions of time.
Thus, once the time of the meeting ha s been decided upon, the English people
will stick to it, whereas for the Persians this is not a must, as illustrated below.
The evening before their encounter with the English king, the Persian
delegation was informed that they would be taken to the king’s palace shortly
after their morning prayer and that they should be ready at a particular hour. Being used to their chronemic habits , according to which a delay would not
upset anyone, the Persians were very surprised to see their mehmandar (i.e.
interpreter/translator),
(2)
«who, in the greatest haste, ordered us to hurry to the coach, for not
moment was to be lost. ‘But what is the haste?, rejoined I. ‘Have we not
all the day before us? The sun is no t so hot here as in our country,
requiring us to leave our resting-place so early!’ – ‘We have nothing to do with the heat of the sun’, answered the mehmandar; ‘time is not thrown away here; every minute is of consequence.’ – ‘But who throws
away time?’ exclaimed Mohamed beg […]. ‘Is it throwing away time to say one’s prayer?’» (174-175).

2 Translation from Romanian: ‘Lucru rile mici fac o mare diferen ță. Prima impresie a scenei e
imperativ ă. Creează un climat în mod fire sc, dar convenabil, pl ăcut și prietenos care s ă ofere un
început favorabil […].’

54

In the Eastern culture, it is insulting to come in time to an appointment.
The Muslims are of the opinion that guests should be given plenty of time to get accommodated to the new environment. In the Western world, punctuality is the rule and disobeying it may be insulting. Also obvious is the fact that the Eastern time-system lacks synthesising
3: for the Persians, the time of events is
settled depending on the sun, for the English people it is dependent on the
isolates called minutes and hours (Hall 1990: 140).
Depending on the level (importance) of the diplomatic encounters, it
might happen that before the discussions or negotiations proper in a specific
location, the host organizes a ceremonial reception for the guests upon their
arrival. Nowadays, such a reception may take place at the airport and consists
in the presentation of military honours, brass band/army drum corps performance, and a short walk along a red carpet; at the same time, it seems to
have been adopted in most parts of th e world. But the situation was different
in the 18
th century, when the diplomatic encounters were not as frequent as
they are at present. An illustration of the ceremonial reception offered by the
Franks to their Persian guests and the disappointment caused by it is
illustrated below.

(3)
«The mehmandar, to our great joy, confirmed to us what the master of
ceremonies had announced. The shah of England would receive the embassy ere a week has elapsed; (235-36) Mirza Firouz then made
inquiries as to the manner in which th e ceremony was to be performed; to
which the mehmandar answered that he would be received with the same
honours as ambassadors from other powers. ‘And how is that? said the Mirza.
‘The King’, said the mehmandar, ‘will receive you in his apartments. You
will proceed in your carriage to the pal ace. You will be met by the master
of ceremonies, and presented by the vi zier for foreign affairs; and then
you will deliver your credentials’» (236-237).

The Persian elchi (ambassador) was outraged by this kind of reception
and promised that if indeed this was th e way he was to meet the English king,
he would simply go alone to the palace, hand the king the credentials and leave the country. The English mehmandar, on the other hand, was also perplexed by the Persian ambassador’s reaction and tried to convince him that
all ambassadors, irrespective of the c ountries they represent, enjoy the same

3 Synthesising, according to E.T. Hall (1990:142), refers to people’s perception that minutes
and hours have to add up in order to have orde r in the universe. Whenever people whose time
systems lack this isolate come in touch with people whose time systems do have it, they
experience great difficulty.

55
kind of reception by the English King. Further on in the novel, we find out
how the English ambassador had been received by the Persian shah and we
realize the cause of Mirza Firouz’ dissatisfaction.

(4)
«‘When your ambassador in Persia’, said Mirza Firouz, ‘reached the
Imperial Gate of Teheran, was he received in this manner that I have
been here? No. The king’s amou4 was sent to welcome his arrival before
he even entered the city. And when he proceeded to his audience, the
streets were lined with troops, salut es were fired, sugar was thrown
under his horse’s feet; drums, trumpets, and cymbals, resounded
throughout the city; the bazaars we re dressed; the populace was ordered
to pay him every respect. He was clothed with robes of honour, and he was allowed to stand in the same room in which the king of kings reposed
himself» (238-239).

If we compare the two kinds of reception, we realize that the Persian one
is more pompous, more colourful and cheerful, but also more costly.
Eventually, the mehmandar manages to talk to the English vizier of
foreign affairs about the Persian amba ssador’s expectations concerning his
reception and promises the latter to give him a public audience, similar to the one received by the English ambassador in Teheran, in an attempt to avoid
any ill feelings:

(5)
«We have plenty of troops and plenty of coaches, abundance of fine
clothes, and fine things, and you shall go before the king, accompanied in
any manner you like» (245).

At first sight, we may have the impression that it is this abundance of
details that the Persian ambassador is looki ng for, but this is not true. The real
reason, which is disclosed by Hajji Baba in his recollection of the Shah’s reception of the English elchi (ambassador), is a different one: it is the
attention of everybody present that is focused on the main character of the
ceremony (in our case the Persian ambassador). Most probably, the Persian ambassador wanted to enjoy his moment of glory, away from the shadow of the shah he represented, and the thought of his dream being spoilt made him rebel against the kind of reception th e English king inte nded for him.
Another element that is part of non-verbal communication and that is
present in the diplomatic document mentioned above is the place where the
encounter will take place, more specifically the seating arrangement

4 Footnote provided by J. Morier: ‘ amou , or uncle, is an epithet often given to favourites or
playmates’ (238).

56
(Gheorghe et al, 2009: 138, 6 c). While for the English people of the 18th
century this was of minor importance, fo r the Persians the seating hierarchy is
something that must be strictly obeyed. Thus, when the English ‘governor of the city’ came to meet the Persian ambassador at the inn where the Persian suite was accommodated,

(6)
«he walked in, with his hat in his hand, and, without in the least seeming
to think where he was to sit, placed himself in the first chair that was at
hand. The ambassador, who is all courtesy and politeness, and who
understands perfectly how high up in the room every man is entitled to,
was quite shocked at seeing the governor in a place only good enough for
a kedkhoda
5, and after much entreaty persuaded him to sit on the sofa
next to him» (163-164).

The Persians were not used to the ch airs; for them, the most appropriate
way to sit was on the ground, and when they discovered a number of types of
chairs in the house that had been allotted to them by the English king, they felt
lost:
(7) « […] we found chairs of all fashions: so me to keep one’s legs up; some
to let them down; some to loll with the right arm; some with the left;
others to support the head. Now, this to us, who have only one mode of
sitting, namely upon our heels, appeared an excess of madness» (204).

One important aspect revealed by this short fragment is the fact that when
they sit on the ground, the Muslims never show the soles of their feet, as this
is an insult towards the persons around. That is why the soles need to be
hidden from eye-sight.
Everything Persian seems to be bette r than what the Franks had. This
holds true even for the master of ceremonies , an important figure in any
diplomatic encounter. The fragment be low contrasts the Persian and the
English masters of ceremony, in the detriment of the latter.
(8)
«But oh! What a difference between the two individuals. The Isheagassi,
the shah’s master of ceremonies in personal appearance has few equals
in the world. He is a kajar, one of the king’s own tribe, who are famous
for the magnificence of their beards, and he is blessed with one which
surpasses that of his royal master. His dress and manners are unrivalled;

5 Footnote provided by James Morier: ‘A kedkhoda is the principal officer of a parish, or a
village’ (163).

57
his language is the same; and his knowledge in the niceties of the chum
wa hum*6 is greater than that of any man of the court. He is altogether a
fine specimen of a son of Iran. But the person who appeared before the ambassador as the King of England’s master of ceremonies was an old, fat, superannuated khan, who tottered so much upon a pair of swollen
legs, that we naturally asked whether he had not received the bastinado
upon them» (231-232).

What this (and other fragments in the book) shows, is that the two
diplomatic parties are not perceived by the reader to be on equal footing, as they should be, according to the stipulat ion in the negotiation procedure which
shows that each party should have equa l authority and that each should show
genuine objectivity and respect for their opponents (Gheorghe et al, p. 138, 4.3, a, 7 and 4.3, b, 2).
One other provision in the document mentioned above regards clothing .
According to a stipulation in it, people taking part in an official meeting
should be dressed properly
7. When the Persian suite arrived at the English
King’s palace, they noticed the difference between the dress of the Frank
viziers and that of other men:

(9)
«the peculiarities of which we concluded pertained to their office. For
instance, black silk bags hung at the back of their necks; and as they were
something similar to the satin and brocade bags in which the letters of our kings and princes are sent, we conceived this might indicate officers of dispatch; but then, on the other hand, they wore a long thin weapon by their side, which might, for all we knew, mean a sword, and thus indicate a lord of the scimitar, but that it looked more like one of our campaigning
spits, upon which we make a hasty kabob; and thus, they might be taken
for the shah’s head cooks. Upon i nquiry of the younger mehmandar, he
told us that this was the dress of ceremony common to Franks, and was
the same which they wore when they appeared before their kings, and
was now put on in honour of the ambassador» (225).

What this fragment shows is that indeed the English courtiers dressed
properly for the event, only that their dress code seems to be in disagreement
with that of the Persians, whose ceremonial garments are richly adorned. In preparing himself for the meeting with the English king, the Persian
ambassador adorned himself according to the etiquette of his country. Hajji
Baba nicely depicts the image of his ambassador:

6 Foot-note provided by James Morier : ‘flattery and compliments – humbug’
7 Menține cel mai înalt nivel vestimentar (Ghe orghe et al 2009: 138, 4.3, a, 8)

58

(10)
«It was delightful to behold the ambassador dressed for the occasion;
[…] he stood an excellent representative of our king of kings. The Franks, ‘tis true, little understood the privile ges which he enjoyed in wearing
certain parts of his dress. […] He wore that distinguished badge of
royalty, a jika, on his cap. His sword and dagger were studded with
precious stones, and the pearl tassel of a vizier was suspended from his
girdle» (248-249).

Both fragments above show that none of the parties was familiar with, not
to mention appreciated, their counterpart ’s dress code, which must have left
all of them with a feeling of frustration.
The rich adornment of the Persian o fficial clothes sometimes made them
quite difficult to wear, especially for a person belonging to a different culture.
An example of such clothes is presented at the beginning of the book, when Hajji Baba was asked by the shah (prior to the departure to England) to make:

(11)
«two full suits of dress for the queen of the Franks, similar to those worn
by the Banou of the royal harem, duly adorned with precious stones,
before and behind, above and below» (9).

Most probably the Persian tailor did his best to produce something that
was assumed would be on the English queen’s liking only that when the present was evaluated by the Frank vizier, he laughed out-right and informed the Iranian party that his queen would find it inconvenient to put on these articles, as Frank women dress differently to the Persian ones. And this is
what one of the dresses looked like:

(12)
«the jacket opened to display the embr oidery, the shirt with its ingrafted
precious stones, and the trousers so well padded and overlaid with cloth
of gold as to stand by themselves in the middle of the room» (35).

In speaking about the appropriate cl othing, one other important element
in diplomatic encounters h as been introduced, namely small presents . It is
customary (though not specified anywhere in official documents) for
delegation members to offer their counter parts various objects typical of their
country. Thus, the Persians considered it appropriate to send presents both to
the queen and the king of England, whereas in Britain it was only the queen
who sent her Persian counterpart a present. But when finding out what presents have been exchanged, one realizes how useless and inappropriate

59
they were. Thus, apart from the ‘two full suits of dress’, the queen of England,
was also sent
(13)
«[…] a store of collyrium for the eyes, khennah for staining the hands
and feet, jewels for the nose, and jewels for the ear, pins for the shirt, a
zone for the waist, and rings for fingers as well as toes» (9).

The most intriguing element in this list of presents seems to be the rings
for the toes: they were quite appropria te for Persian women who did not wear
any socks or stockings and whose toes we re visible, while the English queen
could not have possibly put them on he r toes, over the stockings! Nor would
she know the use of khennah , employed since antiquity to dye skin, hair or
fingernails.
The presents sent by the shah to the English king were quite numerous;
among them were ‘one of his own robes, the highest distinction which a
person subject can enjoy’ (52), ‘a portrait of the king of kings’ (53) and

(14)
«a shirt inscribed all over with choice sentences of the Koran, and which
had been worn by the shah’s uncle […] during all his wars, was sent as a
special mark of friendship of the shah to the person of his brother of
England, with a pressing request that he would wear it next to his skin
whenever he went to battle, for that it was a sure talisman against any
danger in or out of the field» (34).
A Westerner could easily imagine the disappointment of the English king
on seeing the presents. First, as regards the portrait, the English kings would
hang on the walls of their castles and palaces portraits of themselves or of
their ancestors, but not those of foreigners. As far as the robe worn by the shah and the shirt worn by his uncle ar e concerned, knowing that the Persians
would ‘return to your shirt worn for weeks before; to your trousers which pass
from father to son; and to your sheepskin cloaks that go through whole
generations’ (186), the king who change d clothes every day most surely
would not think of putting them on. Turning now to the present sent by the English queen, a ‘portrait of the qu een, set round with diamonds, suspended
by a chain to be worn round the neck’ (4), one could not say that it was an inspired present to the Banou Harem (the chief wife of the shah), as Muslim
women would not embellish themselves with this kind of jewellery.
Though the English vizier who was to inspect all the Persian presents that
he was supposed to take to England by ship pointed out that some of them were really inappropriate (as was the case of horses or slaves, for instance), he had to accept most of them because the refu sal of a present in Persia is always

60
considered an affront and between crow ned heads it is a signal of warlike
intentions.
One final aspect of non-verbal communication that has certain relevance
is related to food and drinks . In most diplomatic meetings food and drinks are
served. The encounter between the Pers ians and the English people made no
exception to the rule, only that instead of strengthening the relations between
the two parties, the dinner they had to gether seems to have produced some
tension due to the different table mann ers. The Persians use their hands to
insert food into their mouth, something which the Franks find appalling, using
instead cutlery and individual dishes, which the Persians express surprise at.
The first idea is illustrated by the visit of the English vizier to the inn where
the Persian ambassador and his suite were accommodated. On his arrival,

(15)
«a very handsome breakfast was served up to him, but which, strange to
say, did not seem to his taste. The ambassador helped him with the choicest bits with his own fingers; he even put his fingers in the same
mess of rice with him, and gave him hi s own spoon to drink sherbet with;
but he could not be prevailed upon to make the most of the good things
before him» (226-227).
Most probably the Persian guests felt offended, feeling that the English
visitor considered them impure. It seems that offering somebody food with
your own fingers is a sign of deep respect, but this holds for the Muslim world, not for the one of the ‘infidels’ or ‘unbelievers’. On the other hand, we
can imagine the astonishment and disgust of the English vizier at the thought of having to share the spoon for drinking sherbet as well as the food in which all the people around introduced their hands. The Persians had their share of
amazement when after having reached the English caravanserai (inn), they
were served dinner: ‘[…] our astonishment never ceased when we saw all the
silver and rich ornaments that were displayed on our table’ (167), i.e. the
many plates and glasses for various dish es and drinks, which they may not
have known how to use.
Drinks are also sometimes served, but as we know, Muslims are not
allowed to drink alcohol, so the other option in official encounters is coffee. But while this drink had been with the Persians for quite some time, for the
Franks of the 18
th century it was completely unknown. Moreover, the
Muslims attribute a certain symbolism to the type of coffee they serve which the English people were completely unfamiliar with. The following fragment
nicely illustrates the idea.

(16)
«The visit of the minister for foreign affairs had been so abrupt and
unexpected, that we had not had the time to prepare refreshments suited

61
to the dignity of his character; an attention which is never failing in our
country, however different it may be am ong the Franks. He had only been
treated to the common ceremony of sweet and bitter coffee; […] and as
we were come on a friendly mission, the sweet coffee, emblem of good
feeling which prevails between the tw o countries, was served first; whilst
the bitter, being reserved for the emblem of disagreements which sometimes intervene between sovereigns , was presented last. Whether the
vizier understood the delicacy of this pro cedure, we were at a loss to say;
we rather thought that these propens ities were neither peaceable nor
warlike, since he scarcely tasted the sweet draught, and absolutely made
wry faces at the bitter one» (222-223).

6. Conclusions

To paraphrase Hajji Baba, who at the end of the first volume of the novel
very wisely said, in referring to the English people, ‘ We found that we still
had much to learn concerning this extraordinary people ’ (227), so can
everybody say that in order to be able to successfully communicate both
verbally and non-verbally with foreign pa rtners in international encounters (an
not only) we still have much to learn about non-verbal communication: while
learning a foreign language will not be very problematic for some people,
being aware of and learning all the subtleties of non-verbal communication is a more difficult endeavour.
What the present analysis has hopefully demonstrated is that there were
cultural differences between the Easterners and the Westerners of the 18
th
century at the level of all the non-verbal codes (forms) and in most of the cases such differences led to misinterpretations of the messages and thus, to feelings of uneasiness or even frustration. This confirms the first two hypotheses indicated in chapter 4.
Since the diplomatic encounter under investigation occurred at a time
when people did not travel as extensively and as easily as in modern times, we may assume that they were less interested in cultural issues, and even less in
cultural differences in non-verbal communication. This might be the reason
why each of the parties involved very ra rely made an attempt at understanding
the beliefs, customs and rituals of thei r opponent. I am well aware that in time
things have changed: once people of different backgrounds can identify
cultural differences and are willing to a void the tendency of ethnocentrism,
the cultural barriers may be broken and they successfully reach the goal of communication. Otherwise, as Bremeck Winston (1997: 14) put it, ‘To know another’s language and not his culture is a very good way to make a fluent
fool of one’s self’.

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63

DIACHRONIC COGNITIVE ONOMASIOLOGY AND 
LEXICAL CHANGE:  
THE CASE OF  PICKPOCKETING   

Ileana CHERSAN
Police Academy, Bucharest

This paper debates diachronic onomasiology from the point of view of
cognitive linguistics, as premises of lexical (or lexemic) change. Traditional
dichotomies of universality and culture-specificity of concepts, or semasiology versus onomasiology ar e addressed as a framework for a
semantic typology of lexical innovations (conversion, blending etc.), the
types of relations between source and concept (similarity, contrast,
contiguity), and their combinations. A model is then built on the English
concept pickpocket and its lexemic representation since mid 14
th century.
The aim of the paper is to prove that diachronic cognitive onomasiology
investigates the main strategies of ver balizing a concept (here pickpocket) in
a cognitive framework, where the two types of relations combine to explain the lexical innovation process.

Keywords : diachronic onomasiology, lexical change, culture-specific
concepts, semantic processes and relations

1. An introduction to semantic change

As a historical entity, language can only be understood against the
background of its development over tim e. Various extralinguistic factors
combine to shape human cognition and experience into a dynamic, ever-
changing linguistic manifestation. Ther efore, the revealing paths followed by
linguistic change can be identified and investigated according to the specific
parameters of a given community of speakers.
Similar to other segments of the language, the study of semantics took its
origin in the investigation of meaning and lexical change. The literature in
meaning change offers more than 100 years of extensive classificatory work,
where the large-scale theories of meaning change are supplemented by

64
specialized investigations into single patt erns of change, such as lexical fields,
metaphor, metonymy, grammaticalization and historical pragmatics.
In this context, three broad types of change can be distinguished, which
lead to lexical and meaning change: changes in the domain of reference (for instance ship used to refer to ‘wooden vessels’, then to any ‘vessel’);
knowledge increase (a whale was classified as a ‘fish’ before it was found to
be a ‘mammal’), and changes in the c onventions that determine the referents
of a word. But studies in word hist ory will frequently address cases that
cannot be clearly assigned to one of the three modes of change, as they “are inextricably inter-woven in a dynami c equilibrium between knowledge and
reference” (Eckart et al 2003:15).

2. Towards a diachronic cognitive onomasiology

Linguist Andreas Blank (2003) argues that meaning reflects our
conceptualization of the world, and that change in the conceptualization triggers meaning and lexical change. Ob ject domains are conceptualized into
semantic or conceptual fields which are structured by certain parameters.
Language maps sets of words (lexical fields) onto these semantic or conceptual fields, and the relation between conceptual and lexical structure is shaped by cognitive processes such as metonymy and metaphor. In his article
Words and concepts in time: Towards a diachronic cognitive onomasiology ,
Blank (2003) demonstrated that onomasiology (i.e. the way we name objects
we refer to) represents more truethfully the way we conceptualize objects than
does the traditional perspective of semasiology (i.e. the investigation into the
meaning of expressions). His investigation into conceptualization is based on detailed contrastive comparisons on ho w different languages name one and
the same object. One of his examples is words for ‘small piece of wood for
lighting candles, cigarettes, etc.’. The English word match was formed as a
metaphor from the word match (lamp) wick, while the French word allumette
from the same object is derived from alum- ‘to light’ and a suffix with a
meaning ‘instrument for…’. Blank concludes that the principle of lexical change can only be understood if we st art from the cognitive level of concepts
and proceed in the onomasiological direction towards the realm of words.
This leads Blank to a diachronic cognitive onomasiology as the background theory for diachronic semantics.
Cognitive linguistics has already had its effects on historical semasiology,
but hardly on historical onomasiology. Although certain "modern" linguistic
concepts can be traced in the literature of the late nineteenth and early
twentieth century (the term onomasiology was coined almost one hundred
years ago by the Austrian linguist Adolf Zauner (1914) in his dissertation on
body-part terminology in Romance la nguages), it is cognitive linguistics
which systematized tem to a certain extent.

65
In the following three sections, this study presents onomasiology as an
inverted mirror of semasiology, and systematizes some traits of onomasiology
as a pathway to lexemic change. These characteristics will be further exploited in the study of PICKOCKET, a significant concept of the world of
crime in the UK, richly verbalized in English.

2.1. Semasiology and onomasiology are schematically explained in the
next picture (cf. Quadri, 1952).

From a semasiological point of view (< Gr sema ‘sign’) we focus on
multiple senses, or the polysemy of e.g . to seize , while onomasiology (< Gr
onoma ‘name’) asks for the denominations of e.g. the concept
UNDERSTAND. Individual semasiological diachronic approaches describe
the development of a given word throughout time, e.g. how to seize has
acquired the metonymic sense of ‘to take into custody’ and the metaphorical
sense of ‘to understand’, but also its derivatives ( seizure and seizing ) and
idioms ( to seize an opportunity ). On the level of theoretical lexicology,
semasiology is the perspective behind ty pologies of the mechanisms of lexical
innovation, such as metaphor, metonymy, types of word formation, idioms, etc. Onomasiological studies try to discover the different lexical routes through which a particular concept has been designated by going back to the
respective source concepts. They focus mainly on the change in the way we
express concepts and thus help to discover recurrent schemata for designing a
concept, a group of concepts, or the motives of lexical change (Zgusta 1990).
In a short article on onomasiology, Zgusta (1990: 390) gives a short but
comprehensive description of naming processes: (1) An already existing word is endowed with a new meaning. (2) A word that had existed in the language
but became obsolete is revived. (3) A ne w word is built by word formation or
a collocation is lexically stabilized. (4) A multiword lexical unit is frequently
abbreviated (by ellipsis, truncation, or acronymy). (5) A word is borrowed. (6)

66
A word is not borrowed but calqued (i.e . loan-translated). (7) Proper names
are used as a source for a new expression. (8) A word is coin ed with existing
linguistic material, but not by normal derivational processes. (9) A word is coined without a graspable source.
However, some instances of lexical change are often overlooked: words
can be borrowed not only from other languages, but from other varieties of the
same language, and not only from other regional (i.e. diatopic) varieties, but
also other social (i.e. diastratic) and functional (i.e. diaphasic) varieties
(specialized languages, such as register s/jargons/slangs); and obsolete words
can be revived, in the sense that they can also be borrowed from other
chronological (i.e. diachronic) varieties.

2.2. Are concepts universal, language-sp ecific or culture-specific? This
issue has been addressed from many points of view. Cognitively, speech communities create their own conceptual systems (cf. Cuyckens et al 2001).
Concepts are neither universal nor language-specific: rather they are culture-specific and thus extralinguistic pheno mena (e.g. the many Inuit words for
‘snow’).
The methodology and the aim of onomasiological research become
strongly connected to external factors, such as the various linguistic communities. Literally, every concept and every referent can be verbalized by any language. It is however more inte resting to study which concepts are
usually and constantly expressed in a given language. Only from this
perspective can we gain insight into the way a speech community
conceptualizes the world.
2.3. Human cognition employs several basic mental operations, such as
the grouping of contiguous elements in to domains, the association of similar
and opposite elements, the analysis of complex scenarios into clear-cut
smaller scenes, etc. Thus cognitive onomasiology requires a deepened insight into diachronic lexical processes in or der to understand the processes that
have become opaque over time.
Traditional onomasiological studies usually distinguish between
metaphors and metonymies, or loan words and semantic loans, but they do not
tackle other types of semantic change . If we want to fully understand the
relation between the target concept (MATCH), the source concept (‘wick’, ‘to light’) and the words expressing the target concept ( match, allumette ) then we
have to develop a semantic typology for all types of lexical innovation, such
as semantic change, derivation, compounding, gender change, conversion, the
different types of idioms, as well as word blending, agglutination, deglutination, onomatopoeia , as well as loan words. Recent studies (Blank
2003) have shown that, although these typ es of lexical innovation are formally
completely different, they rely semantically on a small set of associative

67
relations between source and target concepts: similarity, contrast and
contiguity (cf. Blank, Koch 1999).
Similarity is the most diverse; it is a gradual phenomenon ranging from
peripheral similarity to very str ong conformity. The highest degree of
similarity is ‘conceptual identity’, i.e. an association of the same concept or
the highlighting of prototypical features of a concept (e.g. tautology); the
lowest is ‘formal similarity’, on the level of signifiers (e.g. popular
etymology). Contiguity relations result from reality, considering that there are
spatial, temporal or logical connecti ons between the concepts; it exhibits
relations of the type: part/whole, cause/consequence, activity/place etc.
A cross-classification of processes and relations may appear abstract, but
highly useful when describing word-f ormation and other types of lexical
innovation where a morphological process (suffixation, compounding, and conversion) and a semantic process co incide. These processes do not have
traditional names, but allow a clear specification of the manner of verbalization (compound, idiom, convers ion, semantic change, etc.) and on
the type of relations between source and target concepts (metaphorical
similarity, conceptual contiguity, etc.) Semantic innovation, idioms, blends,
etc, are one way to verbalize a concep t. Another way is to borrow the word
for the concept from a language th at has already verbalized it.
Blank’s model (2003) reflects all these processes and relations in a
concise illustrated table
:

68

3. The case of pickpocketing

This study adopts the same typological perspective, demonstrating both
that the same real object can be conceptu alized in different ways in different
times as well as investigating the impli cations of this for meaning and lexical
change. To this, we will add the inter action between structural linguistics and
anthropology in the investigation of one language community (English slang),
arguing that language is grounded in a speech community where the use of words and terms is driven by the speak ers’ interests and needs (perspective
shared by Eckardt et al 2003). The aim of this chapter is to develop a
framework of diachronic cognitive o nomasiology (with the example of
pickpocket ) and show how onomasiology and cognitive linguistics reveal their
full explanatory power in a diachronic perspective.
3.1. Pickpoketing has always been one of the most popular crimes
recorded. Its rivals are maybe highwa y theft, prostitution and begging, which
is why it was bound to gather a large amount of denominations, reflecting
both its specialization and culture-sp ecific context (cf. Chersan 2012).
A pickpocket is an individual who employs a variety of methods such as
distraction, misdirection, compassion and dexterity, to take advantage of a passerby by lifting their personal belo ngings. It is a common misconception
that pickpockets are the lowest form of thieves. Pickpockets have a very good
understanding of human nature, and despite the stereotype, they are extremely
skilled. A pickpocket can earn easily as much as an armed robber, without the
risk, or jail time (http://www.cashloopholes.co.uk/quick-guide-to-
pickpocket.html). However, picking pockets without a person's knowledge
and approval is a crime, a form of theft which involves the stealing of money
and valuables from a victim without their noticing the theft at the time.
The Oxford English Dictionary (h ttp://www.oed.com) gives a definition
of the term pickpocket, as “a person who steals from or picks pockets”, and
historical attestations since the end of the 16
th century.

69
1591 Notable Discovery of Coosenage T o R d r . s i g . B 2v, The picke-
pockets and cut-purses are nothing so daungerous to meete withal, as
these Coosening Cunny-catchers. 1898 Argosy Apr. 178 Penniless counts, swindling duchesses, notorious
pickpockets were duly honored with a line upon Delavigne's list.
1943 Wall of Eyes xiii. 168 Murillo belonged to the substratum of
criminals, the petty thieves and pickpockets, the pimps and hopheads and
peddlers of dirty pictures.

Its derivatives include pick-pocketing (the picking of pockets) and
pickpocketism or the obsolete pickpocketry.

3.2. The semantic field of pickpoketing encompasses both underworld
slang and various synonyms which ha ve settled in time, developed new
meanings, or disappeared.
Amongst any gang of thieves there are always groups of pickpockets who
will use slang terms to communicate with each other. For instance, a mark is
the target of a pickpocket; pickpockets’ choices of marks vary and can include
a dark crowded area, such as a night club or cinema, or a distracted person or a group. A moll buzzer is a bag snatcher and someone who targets women, as
men can get confrontational when challenged. Open gateway refers to goods
left unattended including, but not limite d to: handbags, coats, wallets and
anything else for pickpockets to snatch up. A lift is taking the goods from the
pocket or handbag of their mark. A bump is the skillful bumping into a mark
to take off his guard while they bump up the wallet with their other hand up to
the top of the pocket ready for them to pull off a better lift. A slip is the
grabbing of the tip of a wallet and letti ng the mark walk away and naturally
the wallet slipping out as well; usually co mpleted after a bump up. Drop refers
to dropping off a wallet or purse at a location for later retrieval. Toss is used
in team pickpocketing when the goods are tossed to the partner to cause
confusion or to keep out of trouble wh en questioned while their partner gets
away. To snip is the cutting of a female's handba g in order to retrieve the bag
from off her arm/shoulder. Slit refers to the slitting of a pocket in order to
retrieve a wallet from a bigger opening. Stroking is the act where they give a
slight stroke on the mark's pocket to f eel whether a wallet is in the mark's
pocket, ready to be lifted.
The concept ‘pickpocket’ has been verba lized in slang and street talk for
ever. The collection bellow comprises words since the 16th century, selected
form the online Oxford English Dictionary, A History of Cant and Slang
Dictionaries (Coleman 2004) and The S ecret Language of Crime: Vocabulum
or the Rogue's Lexicon (Matsell 2008). Synonyms for pickpocket include:
abandanad, Adam Tyler, autem-di ver, bludget, bugnipper, bulk(er),
buzz(man), cannon, catholic, clouter, cutpurse, dip, diver, dumee-hunter,

70
figging law, file (clay), foin, haul-c ly, kirk-buzzer, knuck(le), handkerchief-
thief, moll-buzzer(d), operator, snib , staller, tool, wiper-drawer.

3.3. The semantic description of pickpocket as a concept reveals the
intricate background of English th ievery and crime in general.
For example, a file (attested by the OED since 1600) is a pickpocket who
is generally accompanied by two others, one of whom is called the Adam
tyler, and the other one the bulker, or staller . It is their business to jostle, or
ramp the victim, while the file picks his pocket and then hands the plunder to the Adam tyler, the accomplice, who mak es off with it. Thus, a bulk and file
are a pickpocket and his mate, a low-lived person; a petty thief; a street-
walker, prostitute. A file, whose etymology is unknown, is also refered to as a
metal tool in Old English. It first appeared in the longer form foyl-cloy (later
file-cloy ), also file-cloy or file-lifter .
Buzz is colloquial for ‘searching for’, as in the descriptive quote below,
followed by a plain-English translation.

“I was in a push and had to buzz about half a glass before I touched a flat’s
thimble and slang. I fenced the swag for half of century” reads
“I was in a crowd and searched for half an hour before I succeeded in stealing a
man’s watch and chain, which I sold for fifty dollars.”

A buzzman or a buzzer is a pickpocket. As slang, to buzz (off) also
meant ‘to go (quickly)’; and to buzz in –‘to come in (quickly), to enter’.
The tenth sense of dip is thieves' slang for a pickpocket; and also pocket-
picking, (since around 1859). Back in 1000 the Old English word meant ‘to put down’ or ‘let down temporarily or partially in or into a liquid’; ‘to
immerse’; ‘to plunge’, mean ing which is still active.
A (tail)-diver is the one who steals pocket-handkerchiefs from coat-tail
pockets, thus a pick-pocket:
1608 Belman of Lond. Wks. 1884-5 III. 140 The Diuer workes his Iugling
feates by y
e help of a boy, (called a Figger) whom hee thrusts in at a casement.
This Figger deliuers to the Diuer what snappings he findes in the shop or
chamber.

An older meaning (since 1500) is that of a person who dives under water,
and especially one who makes a business of diving in order to collect pearl-oysters, to examine sunken vessels, etc.
Further extreme specializations of pick-pockets include cross-fanning
(picking a pocket with the ar ms folded across the chest), or moll buzzer (a
thief that devotes himself to picking the pockets of women).
Operator was first coined as a post-classical Latin worker, producer. In
Middle French, opérateur was a person engaged in practical work (1374).

71
However, it gradually specialized into ‘surgeon’ (1592), ‘charlatan’ (1611)
and ‘pickpocket’ (1740).
A staller was orginally an officer, equivale nt to constable in 1100. In the
19th century it developed the meaning of ‘one who stalls or prevaricates; a
person who gains time by obstructionism’, and later on one who ‘stalls up’ or
acts as confederate to a pickpocket, or a pickpocket.
Target concept
A pickpocket is “a thief, person who steals from or picks pockets”
(cf. OED).

Target form Process
relation Source
concept Process
relation Source
concept Source form
buzz (-er,
-man)
(1862) metonymical
deterioration
to search
for (1812) contiguity
speciali-
zation to enter
(move)
quickly
(1380) suffixation
buzz, v. + -er
dip (1859) metaphorical
similarity to emerge
(1506) – – conversion
dip, v.
(tail)diver
(1608) metaphorical
similarity one who
makes a
business
of diving speciali-
zation person
who goes
under-
water
(1000) suffixation +
compound-
ing
tail + dive, v.
+ -er
file
(1676) speciali-zation cunning
person
(1673) amelio-ration worthless
person
(1300) back
formation
foyl cloy
operator metonymical
speciali-zation charlatan
(1611) metony-
mical
deterio-ration person
engaged in
practical
work
(1374) suffixation
operate , v. +
-er
staller
(1812) speciali-zation one who
stalls up
(1812) metaphori-
cal
deterio-ration officer,
constable
(1100) suffixation
stall, v. + -er
tool conceptual
contiguity any
weapon
(1938) speciali-
zation instru-
ment of
manual
operation
(888) tool, n.
cut purses conceptual
contiguity one who
steals by
cutting
purses
(1362) – – compounding
cut,v. +
purses, n.
pickpocket Conceptual
contiguity one who
steals
from
pockets
(1591) – – compound-
ing
pick, v. +
pocket, n.

72
1812 Flash Dict. , s.v. Stall, The stallers up are gratified with such part of
the gains acquired as the liberality of the knuckling gentlemen may prompt
them to bestow.
1977 New Society 7 July 6/2 At first he was a staller. ‘You get a woman
trying to get on a train, someone goes in fr ont of her, stalls her for ten to 15
seconds, and she's forgot about her bag.’

A tool is described as ‘any instrument of manual operation’ (since 888) or
a mechanical implement for working upon something, usually one held in and operated directly by the hand; in crim inals' slang it only recently developed
the new meanings of ‘any weapon’ (1938), or ‘pickpocket’.

3.4. Going back to our onomasiological study, we can now describe the
lexical pathways by which the words for pickpocket got their meaning. For
this purpose we use the next schema which reveals several conceptual developments from a given source concept to its target concept. In most cases,
this source concept is also a target concept for another (previous) source
concept. The associative relations linking source and target concepts are also
included in the schema below.
One lexicalization of the concept ‘p ickpocket’ presented in the table is
buzz, and its forms buzzer and buzzman . The initial source concept, the verb to
buzz, had the former meaning of ‘to ente r quickly’ (1380). Through a process
of contiguity and specialization of meaning it aquired the sense of ‘to search
for’ (1812). This form also became the source for the current meaning,
through a process pf metonymical deterioration. Similarly, operator is the
result of metonymical specialization from the source concept ‘charlatan’
(1611), which is derived from the sense ‘person engaged in practical work’ (1374) through a process of metonymical deterioration.
A systematization of findings is based on the selection the main features
of the conceptual developments from s ource concept to target concept and the
processes and relations involved. The process (or manner of verbalization)
revealed in the table is lexical and semantic change. Most words have been
borrowed not from another language, but from another sociolect of the same
language. All words initially had a neutral meaning, which gradually
specialized.
The types of relation are conceptual contiguity and formal similarity.
Metaphorical and metonymical constructs rely heavily on assumed characteristics of the pickpocket or of his actions. There is a consistent change
in the degree of formality, from formal/neutral to informal, slang.
A common trend is the shift from general to increasingly specialized
meanings, for example c ross-fanning , or moll buzzer .
There are distinctions between comp lex and simple denominations. The
concept pickpocket is verbalized by objects ( tool), agents in –er, and –man
(operator, buzzman) or actions ( pickpocket, cutpurse ). These denominations

73
become increasingly complex, whilst suffixation and compounding are the
preferred forms.
There are also distinctions of diffe rent diachronic stages. Despite the
early attestations as neutral words, the slang specializations came mostly in the 19
th and 20th centuries. The ones which are still in use are: staller,
pickpocket, tool, buzzer .

4. Concluding remarks

Diachronic cognitive onomasiology inv estigates the main strategies that
exist in a language sample (here law enforcement English and criminals’
slang) for conceptualizing and verbalizing a given concept ( pickpocketing )
and tries to explain them against a cognitive background in terms of
similarities and contiguities. It singles out recurrent source concepts, relies on
the associative relations between source and target concepts and describes the
lexical processes used by the community of speakers. It thus requires a double framework of associative relations wh ich can virtually combine with any
process of lexical innovation.
This theoretical foundation also allows the description and explanation of
changes towards a cognitively more prom inent strategy and of reorganization
of conceptual structures. Furthermore, we can predict to a certain extent
which strategy will be the most probable to be taken by speakers when they
produce lexical innovations.

References
Blank, Andreas. 2003. Words and Concepts in Time: towards Diachronic Cognitive
Onomasiology . In Words in Time: Diachronic Semantics from Different
Points of View. Regine Eckardt, Klaus von Heusinger, Cristoph Schwarze
(eds.). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyer.
Blank, Andreas, Peter Koch. (eds.) 1999. Historical Semantics and Cognition ,
Cognitive Linguistics Research 13 . Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Chersan, Ileana. 2012. A social history of the English police vocabulary . Craiova:
Sitech.
Coleman, John. 2004/ 2009. A History of Cant and Slang Dictionaries. vol. I, II
(2004), III (2009). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cuyckens, Hubert, René Dirven, John Taylor (eds.). 2001. Cognitive Linguistics
Research 33, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Cuycken, Hubert, René Dirven, John Taylor (eds.). 2003. Cognitive Approaches to
Lexical Semantics . Cognitive Linguistics Research 23 . Berlin: Mouton de
Gruyter.
Eckardt, Regine, Klaus von Heusinger, Cristoph Schwarze (eds.). 2003. Words in
Time – Diachronic Semantics from Different Points of View . In Trends in
Linguistics. Studies and Monographs 143. W.Bisang, H. Hock, W. Winter
(eds.). New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

74
Matsell, George. 2008. The Secret Language of Crime : Vocabulum, or the Rogue's
Lexicon . New York: Cosimo.
Quadri, Bruno. 1952. Aufgaben und Methoden der onomasiologischen Forschung.
Eine entwicklungsgeschichtliche Darstellung . In Romanica Helvetica 37.
Bern: Francke. Cited in Words in Time: Diachronic Semantics from Different
Points of View. 2003. Eckardt, Regine, Heusinger, Klaus. van, Schwarze,
Cristoph (eds.). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyer.
Zgusta, Ladislav. 1990. Onomasiological change: Sachen-change reflected by
Wörter . In Research guide on language change . Polomé, Edgar (ed.). Berlin:
Mouton de Gruyter.
Zauner, Adolf. 1914. Romanische Sprachwissenschaft . Berlin und Leipzig: G. J.
Göschen.

On-line sources
http://www.oed.com
http://www.cashloopholes.co.uk/qui ck-guide-to-pickpocket.html

75

ASPECTE ALE RESEMANTIZĂRII ÎN ARGOU 

Ana ENE
Universitatea Transilvania din Brașov

Lucrarea investigheaz ă, la nivelul limbii române, fenomenul resemantiz ării
în argou – una dintre cele mai importante surse ale permanentei reînnoiri
ale argoului în calitatea sa de lexic special, codificat în diverse grade.
Configurarea perimetrului acestei investiga ții implică evidențierea unor
aspecte ce țin de încadrarea argoului ca limbaj special vs. specializat.
Cercetarea de fa ță își propune: i) identificarea ariilor semice afectate de
resemantizarea termenilor proveni ți din limbajul comun; ii) o punere în
discuție a resemantiz ării după tipul de complicitate comunica țională din
diversele categorii argotice; iii) studierea rela ției dintre resemantizare și
ariile sinonimice în argou. Realizarea obiectivelor enun țate reclam ă o
metodologie general lingvistic ă, instrumentele apar ținând preponderent
analizelor de tip semantic. Dat ă fiind necesitatea lu ării în calcul a
contextului, a parametrilor situa ției de enun țare, pentru identificarea
elementelor/nucleelor semice resemantizate și pentru cuantificarea
expresivit ății termenilor argotici, analiza corpusului va implica și
instrumente din domeniul pragmastilisticii și sociolingvisticii. Derivat ă din
obiectivele men ționate, se deta șează ipoteza conform c ăreia tipul de
expresivitate a termenilor argotici depinde de gradul de codificare a lexicului argotic respectiv, de nivelul stringen ței împrosp ătării lexicului
argotic.

Cuvinte-cheie: resemantizare, complicitate comunica țională intrinsec /
extrinsec argotic ă
, lexic special, expresivitate .

1. Preliminarii

Una dintre tr ăsăturile definitorii ale argoului, ca sociolect implicând un
limbaj special, este constituit ă de complexa și permanenta sa reînnoire.
Această mobilitate este dictat ă de o altă caracteristic ă, aceea a utiliz ării unui
lexic codificat în diverse grade. Gra dul de codificare a lexicului argotic
depinde, la rândul lui, de nivelul de permeabilitate fa ță de intruși a grupului
social care utilizeaz ă lexic argotic. Grupurile utiliz atoare de limbaj argotic
funcționează, așadar, ca ni ște comunit ăți guvernate de un cod ini țiatic propriu.

76
Cu cât comunitatea argotic ă este mai închis ă, cu atât ini țierea outsiderilor este
mai greu acceptat ă și mai dificil ă pentru ace știa din urm ă.
Resemantizarea este una dintre principalele surse de împrosp ătare a
lexicului argotic. Încercarea de a studia dinamica limbajului argotic prin identificarea ariilor semice afectate de resemantizarea termenilor proveni ți din
limbajul comun și care, astfel, devin argotici, întâmpin ă însă mai multe
dificultăți derivate din imprecizia terminologic ă privitoare la acest tip de
sociolect. În urma investig ării diverselor perspective din care este definit
argoul, s-a impus o punere în discu ție a resemantiz ării după gradul și tipul de
complicitate comunica țională presupus ă de diversele categorii argotice.
Procesul resemantiz ării este strâns legat, ca aproape orice evolu ție
semantică, de acțiunea unui trop, dar tipul de expr esivitate pare a fi determinat
în acest caz de gradul de încriptare la care se dore ște a se ajunge în
comunitatea argotic ă respectiv ă.
În fine, limbajul argotic con ține arii sinonimice – uneori, extrem de
bogate cantitativ și interesante din punctul de vedere al mecanismului
provenien ței termenilor. Împrumutul, derivarea, utilizarea de termeni
dialectali sau reactivarea unor termeni arhaici reprezint ă surse/mecanisme ale
constituirii acestor arii sinonimice. Între ace ste mecanisme (sau chiar la baza
unora dintre ele), resemantizarea termenilor proveni ți din limbajul comun sau
chiar din limbajul tehnico- științific are un rol extrem de important, deoarece
asigură o anume structurare a ariilor sinonimice argotice. Mai mult decât atât,
implică și o ierarhizare a termenilor acestor arii dup ă gradul de codificare
ajustat de utilizatori în func ție de inten ția de comunicare și de parametrii
situației de enun țare.
Este evident c ă limbajul argotic presupune ceea ce vom numi în cele ce
urmează complicitate comunica țională. Rămâne ca aceast ă complicitate s ă fie
descrisă în relație cu fenomenul resemantiz ării, care ne preocup ă aici, mai ales
că același fenomen pare a avea o manifestare bidirec țională, adică nu doar
dinspre termenii limbajului comun spre constituirea celor argotici, ci și invers.
Clarificarea aspectelor men ționate nu se poate face decât ținând cont, și
descriind succint totodat ă, principalele dificult ăți care apar în studierea
argoului. Este deja un loc comun afirma ția că permanenta mobilitate a
argoului împiedic ă o studiere adecvat ă a acestui tip de limbaj. Cu alte cuvinte,
ceea studiem azi ca elemente de argou reprezint ă, de fapt, elemente deja
demonetizate în acest limbaj. Este o fals ă problemă, căci specialistul în cauz ă
este interesat de fenomenul în sine, de mecanismele constituirii limbajului argotic și nu de ini țierea într-un grup argotic oarecare. Evident îns ă, este
normal ca specialistul interesat de aceste probleme, mai ales când perspectiva
este cea sincronic ă, să încerce s ă-și constituie un corpus cât mai proasp ăt cu
putință. Așadar, nu aceast ă mobilitate permanent ă impune un obstacol în calea
studierii argoului. Cele mai frecvente și reale dificult ăți în acest sens ni se par
a fi terminologia privitoare la argou și, implicit, definirea sa, iar derivat ă de
aici, labilitatea grani țelor dintre limbajul argotic și cel familiar (colocvial).

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Pentru constituirea corpusului, speci alistul care nu întreprinde anchete
propriu-zise (investigarea direct ă a diverselor comunit ăți argotice) se mai
lovește de o problem ă, aceea a lipsei dic ționarelor specializate de argou.

2. Cum definim argoul?
Denumirea argou apare doar în unele limbi – în francez ă (argot ), română
(argou ) și rusă (арго , în transliterare, argó ), ultimele dou ă preluând termenul
din francez ă. În alte limbi sunt utiliza ți alți termeni. În italian ă, furbesco este
un termen restrictiv, desemnând doar „limbajul șmecherilor”. În spaniol ă, caló
(provenit din limba románi, țigănească), desemneaz ă „limbajul ho ților”, dar
există și termenii argot și germanía , mai permisivi, în sensul diversit ății
categoriilor de utilizatori, dar și din alte perspective (a grani ței superflue cu
limbajul colocvial, de exemplu). În englez ă, întâlnim și termenul argot , mai
rar, iar mai frecvent, termenii cant, folosit restrictiv, doar cu sensul „limbajul
răufăcă
torilor”, și slang , mult mai permisiv, incluzând multe alte categorii
argotice și chiar elemente din afara limbajului considerat literar a un anumit
moment dat.
În lingvistica româneasc ă, argoul este definit ca variant ă/varietate social ă
a limbii na ționale (așadar, ca sociolect ), „limbaj codificat, în țeles numai de
inițiați, […] utilizat de grupuri sociale relativ închise, care se opun
convenien țelor […], grupuri care vor s ă se diferen țieze de al ți vorbitori”, prin
intermediul unui „lexic specializat și [al unor] structuri sintactice specifice,
prin care se asigur ă circuitul închis”, al c ărui vocabular este „foarte
schimbător”, pentru a se realiza încriptarea; limbaj ale c ărui „cuvinte de baz ă,
fonetică și morfosintax ă sunt ale limbii pe care o dubleaz ă” și care „se
folosește mai mult oral” ( DSL 2005: 66). Aceast ă definiție comport ă deja o
serie de clarific ări.
Sociolectul se define ște ca „varietate social ă a limbii”, „cod [lingvistic]
minimal uniform” (DSL 2005: 490). În categoria sociolectului se încadreaz ă,
de exemplu: terminologiile ԟ „limbaj(e) specializat(e) […], ansamblu(uri) de
termeni sau cuvinte specializate apar ținând unui sociolect, care se
caracterizeaz ă prin univocitate și nonambiguitate” (DSL 2005: 535);
profesionalismele ԟ (la sg.) „cuvânt care apar ține unui limbaj profesional”
(DEX 1998: 855); jargoanele , desemnând, într-una dintre accep ții, „orice
limbaj tehnic, cu o terminologie de specialitate” (DSL 2005: 282).
Dacă ținem cont de toate aceste aspecte, atunci, argoul, definit și el ca
sociolect dotat cu lexic specializat (vezi defini ția de mai sus), ridic ă o serie de
probleme.

2.1. Argoul, „limbaj codificat”
Argoul este un limbaj codificat în sensul încript ării lui inten ționate. În
cazul limbajelor specializate, al terminologiilor (la care ne vom referi în continuare ca termen de compara ție dintre sociolectele men ționate mai sus),

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codificarea nu presupune inten ție, este intrinsec ă domeniului, scopul fiind
acela al asigur ării unei comunic ări cât mai precise în interiorul unui domeniu
tehnico-științific de către utilizatori cu competen țe egale. Pe de alt ă parte, la
fel ca în argou, decodificarea terminologiilor presupune ini țiere. Aceast ă
inițiere nu este îns ă blocată de mecanismele limbajului respectiv; cu alte
cuvinte, limbajele specializate sunt deschise din acest punct de vedere.

2.2. Mobilitatea vocabularului argotic
Argoul presupune o mare mobilitate a vocabularului (cf. „foarte
schimbător”, vezi defini ția de mai sus), în vederea asigur ării caracterului
închis. Sursele și mecanismele care furnizeaz ă lexic argotic proasp ăt sunt
multiple și complexe. Dimpotriv ă, terminologiile8 sunt stabile din perspectiva
termenilor vehicula ți într-un anume domeniu, utilizarea lor cu consecven ță
fiind chiar o condi ție a rigurozit ății științifice.
Așa stând lucrurile, modific ările terminologice sunt foarte rare, iar
adăugarea unor termeni specializa ți se face cu o mare aten ție și cu respectarea
unor condi ționări precise. Prin urmare, nici sub raportul frecven ței intrării în
sistem a termenilor, nici sub acela al modalit ăților de intrare, nu exist ă
similitudini între cele dou ă limbaje specializate comparate – argoul și
terminologiile.

2.3. Vocabularul „specializat” al argoului
Terminologiile, ca, de altfel, orice limbaj specializat9, au în vedere
evitarea sinonimiei ca recomandare ideal ă. În contrast, argoul utilizeaz ă
frecvent termeni afla ți în sinonimie. De exemplu, universitate , facultate ,
incubator , preventoriu , mititica , bulău (acesta din urm ă, intraductibil) etc. –
desemneaz ă „închisoare”, cu conota țiile de rigoare, în argoul pu șcăriașilor.
În toate limbajele specializate ( și cu atât mai mult în terminologii),
precizia , interdependen ța termenilor , predominan ța componentei denotative
(aproape absen ța celei conotative) și economia sunt postulate nonsusceptibile
de dezbateri sau modific ări (Pavel și Rucăreanu 2001, Vintil ă-Rădulescu
1999, Bidu-Vr ănceanu 2001, 2002 ș.a.).
Precizia, de exemplu, presupune univocitate , monosemantism și
nonambiguitate pentru termenii din interiorul limbajului respectiv. Argoul
respectă oarecum condi ția preciziei, dar înregistreaz ă și cazuri de
biunivocitate , căci nu exist ă, după cum s-a v ăzut, o singur ă denumire pentru o
anumită noțiune.

8 Vezi toat ă discuția privitoare la aspecte ale diferen țierii argoului de term inologii în Ene 2008:
44-49.
9 Deși sunt opinii conform c ărora trebuie f ăcută o distinc ție între terminologii (în sens strict) și
limbajele specializate. John Humbley, de exemplu (1997), este preocupat de rela ția dintre
terminologie, ca limbaj specializat, terminografie și lexicografia specializat ă.

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În ceea ce prive ște interdependen ța termenilor, aceasta este discutabil ă în
argou. Nu se poate vorbi de o structurare riguroas ă a termenilor argotici într-
un sistem de rela ții pe orizontal ă (coordonare) și pe vertical ă (subordonare),
nu se pot statua rela ții de ierarhizare specific ă (termeni supraordona ți,
subordona ți). Dată fiind mobilitatea argoului, ar fi și greu să se constituie
astfel de rela ții precise.
În argou, componenta conotativă nu este exclus ă, dimpotriv ă, acțiunea
tropilor st ă la baza majorit ății mecanismelor care furnizeaz ă termeni argotici,
iar economia mijloacelor de formare a termenilor noi nu este nicidecum un
deziderat.

2.4. Vocabularul special al argoului
Aspectele înf ățișate în paragrafele anterioare îndrept ățesc următoarea
afirmație: argoul este o variantă socială a limbii na ționale, deci un sociolect ,
dar cu un lexic special și nu specializat . În acest sens, se mai vorbe ște despre
argou ca fiind redus la un „ vocabular specific , grefat pe structura
morfosintactic ă a limbii comune” (Stoichi țoiu-Ichim 2007: 123).
Caracterul special al lexicului argotic ține de modalit ățile sale de
constituire10 (resemantizarea lexicului comun, reactivarea unui lexic arhaic,
derivarea, crea ția lexicală, împrumutul etc.), în contextul dinamicii impuse de
stringența înnoirii permanente.

3. Limbaj argotic vs. jargon, limbaj colocvial

Labilitatea grani țelor dintre argou și jargon sau limbaj colocvial este un
lucru recunoscut și dezbătut în literatura de specialitate. Este îns ă această
labilitate o real ă problemă?
Da, dacă ne preocup ă o distinc ție clară, „matematic ă”, între argou și
jargon (în accep ția de variant ă familiar ă a unui limbaj profesional), de
exemplu, sau între argou și limbajul popular sau cu cel familiar (colocvial).
Nu, dacă ne preocup ă, mai degrab ă, identificarea cauzelor care determin ă
migrația elementelor argotice în limbajul comun sau în alte sfere de
comunicare (limbaj colocvial, jargoane profesionale, limbajul presei, literatur ă
etc.). Investiga ția de față este interesat ă de acest al doilea aspect r ăspuns la
întrebarea de mai sus.
Dinamica argoului a devenit în ultima vreme un subiect din ce în ce mai
supus discu ției în lingvistica româneasc ă. Abordărilor nesistematice și, uneori
din unghiuri false, li s-au substituit voci avizate. S-a observat c ă atunci când
funcția criptică a argoului, adesea îmbinat ă cu cea identitară (de exprimare a
apartenen ței la un grup), cade în plan secund, funcția estetic ă (sau ludică,

10 O excelent ă prezentare a acestor modalit ăți o realizeaz ă Adriana Stoichi țoiu-Ichim (2007:
123-142).

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expresivă) devine mai important ă decât preocuparea de a asigura un caracter
închis comunic ării (Zafiu 2010: 15).
Puterea de circula ție a argotismelor autentice (mai limitat ă), în raport cu
cea a pseudoargotismelor (mai mare), și atitudinea pe care o exprim ă
(subversiv ă11, în cazul argotismelor autentice) sunt dou ă dintre reperele
sociolingvistice care ar ajuta la operarea acestor distinc ții (Zafiu 2010: 24).
Într-adevăr, există situații, nu pu ține, în care limbajele argotice sunt
caracterizate mai degrab ă de o propensiune spre ludic, spre pitoresc, decât
spre încriptare, chiar dac ă se păstrează funcția identitar ă. Încercăm prin câteva
exemple din argoul studen ților, elevilor și tinerilor în general s ă ilustrăm
această balansare a ponderii dinspre codificare spre expresivitate, f ără
pierderea ideii de apartenen ță la grup/comunitate. Exemplele, nu și
comentariile, sunt preluate din Stoichi țoiu-Ichim (2007: 133).
(1) holist , „student care st ă mai mult pe holurile facult ății decât în s ălile
de curs”
Aceasta este o derivare progresiv ă, în circuit argotic, de la rom. hol +
sufixul substantival -ist. Creația lexicală are la baz ă aici o metonimie de tipul
loc [de pierdere a vremii] pentru ac țiune [a pierde vremea]. Expresivitatea
termenului vine din faptul c ă, pe lângă utilizarea sufixului -ist pentru a crea
denumirea însu șirii din obiecte, -ist este ș
i sufix de agent; mai exact,
originalitatea expresiv ă vine din contradic ția ilară dintre sensul generic al
formațiilor cu sufix de agent, „cel care îndepline ște o acțiune”, deci face ceva,
și sensul lexemului analizat, „cel care pierde vreme”, adic ă nu face nimic.
(2) pinguin glazurat , „om foarte prost”
Aici avem o combina ție lexical ă neașteptată, absurdă la nivelul limbii
standard, c ăci glazurat se combin ă, în mod obi șnuit, cu lexeme din sfera
substantivelor ce denumesc dulciuri, de exemplu: tort, prăjitură etc.
Expresivitatea sintagmei vine din selectarea semelor /[pas ăre] palmiped ă cu
aspect și mers caraghios/, de la pinguin și /[aspect și consisten ță] rigid(ă),
înghețat(ă)/, de la glazurat . De aici sensul nou „om foarte prost”, altfel spus,
„caraghios de rigid/înghe țat în prostia lui”.

(3) a avea înf ățișare, „a avea examen”
Acest este un caz de resemantizare a unei expresii deja existente (preluat ă
și de limbajul comun din limbajul juridic): substantivul înfățișare îl substituie,
în expresia argotic ă
, pe examen . Resemantizarea vizeaz ă substantivul
înfățișare printr-o opera ție de substitu ție la nivelul semului /prezentarea în
fața unei instan țe de judecat ă/, instanța fiind în acest caz profesorul
examinator. Expresivitatea sintagmei vine din substitu ția amintit ă, dar și din

11 Despre natura subsersiv ă a argoului, vezi Zafiu 2001, subcap. 1 din cap. III Pregnanța
oralității.

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păstrarea semului /[înf ățișare, prezentare] cu poten țial efect negativ pentru
inculpat/, anumi ți studenți percepându-se aprioric ca victime în contextul
susținerii unui examen. Expresia este mai degrab ă ludică (și autoironic ă) decât
criptică, mai ales dac ă un poten țial outsider cunoa ște statutul de student al
utilizatorului expresiei respective.
În aceleași limbaje se p ăstrează însă funcția criptică dacă apare nevoia ca
membrii grupului s ă nu fie în țeleși de outsideri. Exemplul de mai jos este
preluat, nu și comentariul din Zafiu (2010: 35).

(4) tripangiu , „drogat”, „persoan ă care consum ă droguri”
În acest caz avem o adaptare deplin ă (Dimitrescu 1994: 229), fonetic ă și
morfologic ă, de la engl. trip + sufixul augmentativ -an + sufixul substantival –
giu (ultimul, sufix de origine turc ă, frecvent folosit în argou pentru ob ținerea
unei conota ții peiorative). Baza (engl.) trip este exploatat ă metaforic, prin
saltul de la sensul denotativ „c ălătorie, excursie” la acela virtuemic conotativ
„halucina ție, stare indus ă de consumul de droguri”. Interesant este c ă, în acest
caz (ca și în altele), s-a format o microfamilie lexical ă argotică12 cu bază
străină: trip („acțiunea de a se droga”, dar și „doza folosit ă de narcomani” sau
„starea indus ă de consumul de droguri”), a tripui („a se droga”), tripuist
(„dealer de droguri”), tripat (adj. „aflat sub influen ța unui drog”), tripangiu
(„drogat”). Mai mult decât atât, acestea dezvolt ă și arii sinonimice argotice;
de exemplu: tripat este sinonim cu stoned (anglicism), pastilat (pastilă + -at),
spart , fumat , dus/plecat , departe (ca adjectiv invariabil) etc. Dezideratul
încriptării este ajutat s ă se concretizeze în acest caz și de faptul c ă se
utilizează o bază străină.
Adesea, unele dintre elementele argotice intr ă/pot intra în limbajul comun
tocmai datorit ă atracției exercitate de gradul de fantezie și umor implicat de
acestea: a sta la r ăcoare „a sta în închisoare”, a unge [pe cineva] „a da mit ă
[cuiva]”etc. Exemplific ăm aici doar cu prima expresie.
(5) a sta la r ăcoare
(cu varianta a sta la umbr ă), „a sta/executa o
pedeapsă în închisoare”, „a fi de ținut”
La bază, expresia face parte din argoul infractorilor. Spre deosebire de
îmbinarea liber ă din limba comun ă a sta la r ăcoare , expresia devenit ă din
argotică familiară mizează pe semul comun pentru răcoare și închisoare ,
anume /ferit de lumina soarelui/. Pe când îns ă, pentru expresia liber ă, efectul
este unul benefic, pentru expresia fost ă argotică, efectul este unul negativ:
lipsirea de libertate ca urmare a satisfacerii unei pedepse pentru o fapt ă
condamnat ă de lege. Expresivitatea vine tocmai din aceast ă aparentă
binefacere pentru cel care st ă la răcoarea „oferit ă” de închisoare ԟ evident,
este implicat aici procedeul antifrazei.
Așadar, stabilirea unor grani țe mai mult sau mai pu țin precise între argou
și alte tipuri de limbaje speciale sau specializate, ca și identificarea cauzelor și

12 Termenii acestei microfamilii, ca și explicațiile sensurilor „de la surs ă” (adică de la
utilizatorii direc ți ai acestor termeni), sunt consemna ți pe site-urile www.123urban.ro și
www.dictionarurban.ro.

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modalităților de migrare a termenilor argotic i în limbajul comun, depinde de
nuanțarea defini ției argoului. Aceasta pe de o parte.
Pe de alt ă parte, dac ă suntem de acord c ă expresivitatea joacă un rol
important în deschiderea argoului (vezi exemplele 1, 2, 3, 5), ca limbaj secret,
către tipuri de argou mai permisive sau chiar c ătre ale tipuri de limbaj
(popular, familiar etc.), r ămâne însă de văzut dacă expresivitatea nu joac ă și
un rol de închidere (vezi exemplul 4), care conduce la un argou în sensul tare
al termenului.

4. Probleme ale dic ționarelor de argou

Problemele legate de definirea argoului și de frontierele sale labile se
răsfrâng, logic, și în modul în care sunt inventaria ți termenii argotici în
dicționarele dedicate acestora, care nu sunt nici pe departe specializate. La
lipsa dic ționarelor specializate de argou se adaug ă, așadar, lipsurile
dicționarelor de argou existente, din care amintim câteva: indicarea par țială
sau deloc a etimoanelor; lipsa total ă a descrierii mecanismului de la baza
cuvântului sau argotice (derivare, compunere, crea ție lexical ă etc.); lipsa
termenilor pe tipuri de argou; lipsa indic ării gradului de argotizare (în sensul
extinderii sensului unor termeni); lipsa rigorii terminologice în structurarea articolului de dic ționar.
Problema lipsei unor dic ționare specializate dedicate argoului se pune și
invers, dinspre speciali ș
tii preocupa ți de studiul argoului și care deplâng
modul în care „dic ționarele limbii actuale reflect ă procesul respectiv” și care
este, „în unele cazuri, discutabil, tocmai din cauza interpret ărilor diverse date
mărcii stilistice familiar ” (Stoichi țoiu-Ichim 2007: 143).
Aceeași imprecizie a dic ționarelor dedicate argoului o surprinde și Rodica
Zafiu (2010: 23): „Dic ționarele recente de argou alunec ă uneori în confuzii
[…], cuprinzând și termeni populari, regionali, familiari, crea ții jurnalistice de
ultimă oră etc. […] Amestecul e și mai derutant în dic ționarele on-line, care nu
au criterii lingvistice clare […]: 123urban.ro se autodefine ște ca «o colec ție de
termeni și expresii care, de și nu și-au găsit locul în dic ționarele tradi ționale,
umblă libere și nestingherite în limbajul colocvial […]»”.
Rezolvarea problemei ar trebui s ă vină dinspre lingvi ști către lexicografi.
Înmulțirea studiilor lingvistice concentrate pe problemele argoului îi va ajuta
pe lexicografi s ă-și sistematizeze cât mai corect materia dic ționarelor.

5. Resemantizarea și complicitatea comunica țională

Una dintre sursele cele mai frecvente pentru împrosp ătarea permanent ă a
argoului este resemantizarea termenilor din limbajul comun sau (mai mult sau
mai puțin) specializat. Odat ă demonetiza ți din punct de vedere argotic, adesea
din cauza deconspir ării lor, termenii argotici ob ținuți prin resemantizare
reintră în limbajul comun, sensul fost argotic dublându-l, în registrul
colocvial, pe cel de baz ă. Exemplific ăm în cele ce urmeaz ă resemantizarea

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aplicată unor termeni comuni având ca rezultat trei microserii de sinonime
argotice:
(1) microseria sinonimic ă pentru sensul „închisoare”, constituit ă în baza
semului comun /institu ție/;
(2) microseria sinonimic ă pentru sensul „amant ă”, constitut ă în baza
semului comun /auxiliar (substitut)/;
(3) microseria sinonimic ă pentru sensul „informator”, constitut ă în baza
semului comun /care d ă (mai departe)/.
Termenii microseriilor analizate sunt prelua ți din dicționarul de argou
elaborat de G. Volceanov (2007). Analiza semic ă va fi sistematizat ă într-un
tabel pentru fiecare microserie.

Tabel 1 Microseria „închisoare”
TERMENI
ARGOTICI CU
SENSUL
„închisoare” SENSUL DIN
LIMBAJUL COMUN REZULTATUL RESEMANTIZ ĂRII
ACADEMIE /instituție/ + /de rang
superior/ + /cu referire la
cultură/ + /compus ă din
literați și savanți/ /instituție (corecțională)/ + /de rang
superior (închisoare de maxim ă
securitate)/ + /cu referire la
recunoașterea ‘măiestriei’
infracționale/ + /compus ă din
infractori și criminali/
UNIVERSITATE /instituție/ + /de rang
superior/ + /referitor la
învățământ/ + /compus ă
din mai multe facult ăți și
secții/ /instituție (corecțională)/ + /de rang
superior (închisoare de maxim ă
securitate)/ + /(locul cel mai
‘potrivit’) cu referi re la posibilitatea
perfecționării abilităților
infracționale/ + /compus ă din mai
multe tipuri de condamna ți și de
infracțiuni/
PREVENTORIU /instituție/ + /curativ-
profilactic ă/ + /îngrijire pe
termen lung/ + /pentru
persoane predispuse la
boli/ /instituție (corecțională)/ + /de
‘odihnă’ [recluziune]/ + /’îngrijire’
[educare] pe termen lung/ + /pentru
persoane ‘bolnave’, predispuse la
încălcarea legii/
INCUBATOR /cameră special amenajat ă/
+ /într-o institu ție
spitaliceasc ă/ + /pentru
asigurarea dezvolt ării/ +
/în condiții optime/ +
/pentru copii prematuri/ /cameră specială [carceră, celulă]/ +
/într-o institu ție corecțională/ +
/pentru asigurarea ‘dezvolt ării’
[reeducării]/ + /în condi ții optime/ +
/pentru persoanele inadaptate la
societate/

(1) Microseria {academie, universitate, preventoriu, incubator}
este structurat ă de semul lexical (de substan ță) /instituție/, iar în cazul
termenilor {închisoare, academie, universitate}, și de semul lexical
/apreciere în plus/, care cap ătă în argou conota ție peiorativ ă. Pentru

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termenul universitate semul /mai multe facult ăți și secții/ face referin ță
la organizarea spa țiilor de recluziune în func ție de gravita tea pedepsei.
Termenul incubator transleaz ă în limbajul argotic în special prin semul
lexical /camer ă special amenajat ă/ și prin semul /spa țiu închis/,
echivalent cu acela și sem descriptiv al termenului închisoare . Între
semul /curativ-profilactic/, apar ținând termenului preventoriu , și semul
/corecțională/, aparținând termenului închisoare , se stabile ște o relație
de echivalen ță, pentru c ă primul sem dobânde ște în limbaj argotic
conotația de „vindecare” în sens social. Semul lexical /(pe) termen
lung/, apar ținând tot substantivului preventoriu va căpăta conota ția
„durată mare a peniten ței”. Mecanismul resemantiz ării a devenit
transparent pentru vorbitorii obi șnuiți în cazul acestei serii și datorită
punerii în discu ție a termenilor respectivi în diverse studii despre argou,
devenind astfel exemple clasice, de manual. Implicit, complicitatea
comunica țională argotică se dilueaz ă în asemenea situa ții. Rămâne însă,
în diacronie, un caz interesant de resemantizare.
Tabel 2 Microseria „amant ă”
TERMENI
ARGOTICI CU
SENSUL
„amantă” SENSUL DIN LIMBAJUL
COMUN REZULTATUL RESEMANTIZ ĂRII
ASISTENT Ă /persoană de sex femeiesc/ +
/care asist ă (ajută) la ceva/ +
/de rang inferior/ +
/funcționând într-o institu ție
medicală, publică etc./ /persoană de sex femeiesc/ + /care
„ajută” un bărbat căsătorit să-și
satisfacă anumite nevoi
(fizice/afective)/ + /de rang inferior
(substitut al so ției)/ + /func ționând
într-o rela ție ilicită (concubinaj)/
CALMANT /medicament/ + /cu propriet ăți
analgezice, sedative/ + /pentru dureri fizice sau excita ții
nervoase/ + /care persist ă/ /persoană de sex femeiesc/ + /care
calmează „durerile” unui b ărbat
căsătorit/ + /în lipsa (ca substitut al)
soției/
CALORIFER /instalație/ + /care produce
căldură/ + /în lipsa c ăldurii
naturale/ /persoană de sex femeiesc/ + /care
„încălzește” un bărbat căsătorit/ + /în
lipsa (ca substitut al) afec țiunii soției/

(2) Microseria {asistent ă, calmant, calorifer}, structurat ă de semul
lexical (de substan ță) /auxiliar (substitut)/, poate fi l ărgită prin termenii
{încălzitoare, înlocuitoare, învelitoare, mesad ă} (și, la limit ă, chiar și
prospătură), dar ace știa nu intereseaz ă în economia acestei analize, dat
fiind gradul lor ridicat de transparen ță semantic ă. Termenii argotici ai
acestei microserii stabilesc o rela ție de echivalen ță prin semul comun
/substitut/. Devin astfel, prin transfer metaforic, termeni de agent
pentru ac țiuni întreprinse într-un cadru ilicit (în afara institu ției

85
căsătoriei), dar ratate/nerealizate (volitiv sau nu) de so ția bărbatului
care devine pacientul (în termeni fillmorieni) al acestor ac țiuni.
Acțiunile pot viza beneficii fizice și/sau afective. Complicitatea
comunica țională argotică crește în situa ția în care comunicatorii
beneficiaz ă de acelea și acțiuni (au amante), ca semn al apartenen ței la
un fel de cast ă, sau dacă situația de enun țare impune o anume re ținere
în divulgarea de informa ții, susceptibile de a ajunge la so ția înșelată. În
prezența contextului (cel pu țin pentru primul termen), mecanismul
resemantiz ării devine recognoscibil.

Tabel 3 Microseria „informator”
TERMENI
ARGOTICI CU
SENSUL
„informator” SENSUL DIN LIMBAJUL
COMUN REZULTATUL RESEMANTIZ ĂRII
ANTENĂ /dispozitiv/ + /de transmitere
(sau de captare) în (din)
spațiu/ + /transmitere de unde
electromagnetice/ + /surs ă de
informații/ /delator (fost/actual infractor)/ + /care î și
trădează grupul infrac țional/ + /prin
transmiterea de informa ții (în detrimentul
grupului c ăruia i-a apar ținut)/ + /surs ă de
informații pentru organele legii/
ASPERSOR /dispozitiv/ + /care împr ăștie
(disperseaz ă) apă/ + /asupra
unei culturi agricole/ /delator (fost/actual infractor)/ + /care î și
trădează grupul infrac țional/ + /prin
transmiterea de informa ții (în detrimentul
grupului c ăruia i-a apar ținut)/ + /surs ă de
informații pentru organele legii/
PHILIPS /marcă reprezentativ ă
(fiabilă)/ + /de aparatur ă
electronic ă/ + /pentru redarea
sunetului și a imaginii, de
iluminat, electrocasnic ă etc./ /delator (fost/actual infractor)/ + /care î și
trădează grupul infrac țional/ + /prin
transmiterea de informa ții (în detrimentul
grupului c ăruia i-a apar ținut)/ + /surs ă de
informații pentru organele legii/

(3) Microseria {anten ă, aspersor, philips}, structurat ă tot de un sem
lexical (de substan ță), anume /care d ă (transmite) mai departe/, poate fi l ărgită
și ea prin mul ți alți termeni care con țin (uneori, la limit ă) semul respectiv
{canar, castor, cânt ăreț, cintezoi, ciripitor, cl ănțău, clănțoi, cobzar, fla șnetar,
gurist, instrumentist, interpret, jet, l ătrător, limb ă, mârâitor, papagal,
privighetoare, râ șnițar, scuipător, sifonar, trâmbi țar, țambalagiu, țânțar, țap}.
Motivul pentru care nu i-am inclus în analiz ă este acela și ca mai sus.
Revenind la termenii care intereseaz ă, aceștia sunt cu atât mai potrivi ți cu
scopul încript ării, cu cât to ți desemneaz ă obiecte, nu au tr ăsătura /+uman/
(nici măcar /+animat/), și cu cât pierd/î și modifică mai multe alte tr ăsături în
trecerea lor la categoria argoticului. Metafora este tropul implicat și de aceast ă
dată în resemantizarea termenilor comuni, ultimul termen, philips , implicând
și mecanismul metonimiei, denumirea (marca) pentru aparat, devenind
substitut argotic pentru „delator”. Complicitatea comunica țională argotică este
puternică în acest caz al grupului infrac țional trădat de un fost membru, ceea

86
ce dicteaz ă o resemantizare mai greu recognoscibil ă, chiar și în prezen ța
contextului.

6. Concluzii

Așadar, putem distinge o complicitate comunica țională argotic ă
intrinsecă (tare), în argoului ca limbaj secret, și o complicitate
comunica țională argotică extrinsec ă (slabă), în cazul argoului aflat la grani ță
cu sau chiar dizolvat în limbajului familiar (colocvial).
Această complicitate comunica țională poate fi m ăsurată, într-adev ăr, prin
puterea de circula ție și atitudinea exprimat ă, dar expresivitatea și, mai ales,
tipul de expresivitate , poate fi ad ăugată la criteriile de cuantificare a
argotismelor autentice. Aceasta, deoa rece expresivitatea este principalul
„responsabil” atât pentru resemantizarea termenilor din limbajul comun pentru a deveni argotici, cât și pentru trecerea termenilor argotici în limbajul
comun.
În procesul implicat de resemantizare, complicitatea comunica țională
argotică [CCA] se afl ă într-un raport de invers ă proporționalitate cu
expresivitatea: (i) [CCA] intrinsecă presupune o expresivitate (în special prin
intermediul metaforei) care vizeaz ă nucleul semic „dur” (al semelor de
substanță, conform clasific ării lui Lyons, sau al semelor inerente, în
terminologia propus ă de Rastier & Pottièr); (ii) [CCA] extrinsecă presupune o
expresivitate (mai ales prin tropi din clasa metonimic ă) care vizeaz ă nucleul
semic „slab” sau chiar periferic (al se melor aferente sau contextuale, în
termenii lui Rastier & Pottièr).

Referințe critice
Bidu-Vrănceanu, Angela (coord.). 2001. Lexic științific interdisciplinar . București:
Editura Universit ății din Bucure ști.
Bidu-Vrănceanu, Angela (coord.). 2002. Lexic comun, lexic specializat . București:
Editura Universit ății din Bucure ști.
Bidu-Vrănceanu, Angela, Cristina C ălărașu, Liliana Ionescu-Rux ăndoiu, Mihaela
Mancaș, Gabriela Pan ă Dindelegan. 2005. Dicționarul general de științe.
Științe ale limbii (DSL). București: Nemira.
Coteanu, Ion, Luiza Seche, Mircea Seche (c oord.). 1998. Dicționarul explicativ al
limbii române (DEX). București: Univers Enciclopedic.
Dimitrescu, Florica. 1994. Dinamica lexicului românesc – ieri și azi. București:
Logos.
Ene, Ana. 2008. Introducere în lexicografie: probleme teoretice și aplicații. Brașov:
Editura Universit ății Transilvania din Bra șov.
Humbley, John. 1997. „Is terminology specialized lexicography?”. Journal of
Liguistics 18: 13 – 31.
Lyons, John. 1995. Introducere în lingvistica teoretic ă (trad. de Alexandra Cornilescu
și Ioana Ștefănescu). Bucure ști: Ed. Științifică.

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Pavel, Eugeniu; Costin Ruc ăreanu. 2001. Introducere în terminologie . București:
Editura Academiei Române.
Pottièr, Benjamin. 1992. Sémantique générale . Paris: PUF.
Rastier, François. 1987. Sémantique interprétative . Paris: PUF
Stoichițoiu-Ichim, Adriana. 2007. Vocabularul limbii române actuale. Dinamic ă,
influențe, creativitate . București: Bic ALL.
Vintilă-Rădulescu, Ioana. 1999. Terminologia și problemele ei actuale. București:
Editura Academiei Române.
Volceanov, George. 2007. Dicționar de argou al limbii române. București: Niculescu.
Zafiu, Rodica. 2001. Diversitate stilistic ă în româna actual ă. București: Editura
Universității din Bucure ști.
Zafiu, Rodica. 2010. 101 cuvinte argotice . București: Humanitas.

Aspects of Resemantisation in Argot

The present paper investigates, with application to Romanian, the phenomenon
of resemantisation in argot – one of the main sources of the permanent development
of argot as a special kind of lexis, encoded to various extents. A configuration of the
perimeter of this investigation involves highlighting certain aspects of framing argot as a special vs. specialized language. The aims of the paper are as follows: 1) to
identify the semic areas affected by the resemantisation of the common core elements;
2) to approach resemantisation according to the type of communicational complicity
of the various argot categories; 3) to study the relationship between resemantisation
and the synonymic ranges in argot. The acco mplishment of these objectives requires a
general linguistic methodology, whose inst ruments belong mostly to semantic
analyses. Given the need to take into cons ideration the context, the parameters of the
enunciation situation, in order to identify resemantised semic elements/cores and to quantify the expressiveness of the argotic terms, the analysis of the corpus will
involve instruments of both Pragmastylistics and Sociolinguistics. The research
hypothesis derived from the above-mentioned objectives is that the degree of expressiveness of the argot terms depends on the encoding degree of the repective
argot vocabulary and on the urgency of refreshing of this lexical type.
Keywords: resemantisation, intrinsic/extrinsic argot communicational
complicity, special vocabulary, expressiveness

88

89

REALIZATIONS OF HYPERBOLE IN THE 
REPRESENTATION OF THE CHARACTER MORRIS ZAPP 
FROM DAVID LODGE’S TRILOGY  CHANGING  PLACES, 
SMALL WORLD, NICE WORK 

Luiza ENACHI-VASLUIANU, Flavia M ĂLUREANU
The Department for Teachers’ Training, the Foc șani Branch,
University of Bucharest

The article focuses upon hyperbole and its linguistic representations in the
depiction of Moris Zapp, one of the main characters in David Lodge’s
campus trilogy Changing Places (1975), Small World (1984), Nice Work
(1988). As an academic figure, Zapp dominates the trilogy through vitality and distinctiveness of portraiture. He is a man of extremes, as an academic
or as an individual personality. Not unexpectedly, hyperbole is also a
stylistic constant in his portrait. We have selected and analysed some formal realizations of hyperbole with examples ranging from words, phrases of
different length and type (accompanying modifiers, intensifiable concepts) to
complete sentences or whole syntactic contexts. We have considered as the element of identification the contextually determined conflict between what is
said and what is meant.
Keywords: stylistic analysis, linguistic representations of hyperbole,
contextually determined phenomenon, portraiture

As one of the most expressive figures of speech, alongside metaphor,
personification, simile, with which it can overlap in the stylistic interpretation,
the hyperbole is “considered to represen t an extravagant exaggeration used for
its shocking effect or the strong impr ession aimed at” (Hulban 2009: 7). The
element of identification is the conflict between what is said and what is meant, which is clear in those cases where a statement is grossly overstated.
Hyperbole is a highly contextually determined phenomenon. A crucial
aspect of its definition is that hyperbolic statement is contradicted by the
actual facts, that is, these stay below th e limits of what is expressed. As a rule,
the hyperbole implies a big contrast be tween the stated point and the actual
point. The greater the contrast, the greater its stylistic value is. A small contrast would mean that the hyperbole is not registered at all or that its force

90
is so weakened as to be uninteresting to the listener / reader. On the other
hand, the contrast should perhaps not be too great either, so that the listener /
reader should still be able to see the connection easily.
Two important factors concerning th e relationship between context and
hyperbolic expression are important he re, namely the distinction between
truth and deception and the problem of f actual truth versus emotional truth.
Leech (1979) heads the chapter deali ng with hyperbole, litotes and irony
“honest deceptions,” because, on the one hand, they give a wrong representation of the truth (“deception”) and, on the other hand, they give some indication of the true state of affairs (“honest), which is necessary for reaching the desired effect (cf. Claridge 2011: 18). Hulban (2009: 7) asserts
that this “true worth” implied by the hyperbole is not “an objective, but a
subjective evaluation, according to the sp eaker’s belief, and it is this very
subjectivity that gives force to any hyperbole.”
Linguists have paid attention to the terminology, namely to the three
terms hyperbole , exaggeration and overstatement . Hyperbole is the traditional
term taken from classical rhetoric and thus is associated with formal and
persuasive speech, later with stylistics a nd literature. It is the term used in
dictionaries of literary terminology, while overstatement and exaggeration are
everyday terms with no clear affiliation to any domain or use. Raymond W. Gibbs (1994) distinguishes between hyperbole as intentional exaggeration and
overstatement as non-intentional and subconscious (disregarding exaggeration
itself as a denomination). Neal R. Norrick (quoted in Claridge 2011: 7) also
distinguishes between hyperbole, overstatement and extreme case
formulation, with hyperbole tendi ng towards metaphoric and imagistic
expressions. We will use hyperbole as the primary technical term because it is
well established as an intentional linguistic act, with the mention that overstatement and exaggeration will be used as loose, non-technical terms.
The material used for investigation is provided by David Lodge’s campus
trilogy Changing Places (1975), Small World (1984), Nice Work (1988). They
are set, entirely or partly, in the university and city of Rummidge. Despite the continuity of places and of some of the characters, the three books were never planned as a trilogy and it was only after Lodge began his work on Small
World that he decided to make it a sequel to Changing Places . As such the
novels are formally and thematically distinct, although in 1993 they were
brought together under the title (rather artificial and derived from obvious
marketing reasons) A David Lodge Trilogy .
The topic of investigation is Professor Zapp’s portraiture. As an academic
figure, Zapp dominates the trilogy th rough vitality and distinctiveness of
portraiture. He “is a sort of deconstruc tionist extraordinaire, an intellectual
bedazzler who enjoys the hell out of academic life – its give and take, its
peccadilloes and its perks. He is an American bon vivant” (Schlag 1996: 92). Morris Zapp is self-confident, conceited, and vain. He is a restless womanizer who has endangered two of his marriages. As a professor, an expert on Jane

91
Austen and the Theory of Fiction and later on Deconstruction, he is brilliant
and stimulating. His academic writing is prolific and his ambition of writing
the complete book of criticism on Jane Austen is impressive. He is a man of extremes, as an academic or as an indi vidual personality. Not unexpectedly,
hyperbole is also a stylistic constant in his portrait. We have selected some formal realizations of hyperbole with examples ranging from words, simple or
via phrases of different length and type, (accompanying modifiers,
intensifiable concepts) to complete sentences or whole syntactic contexts. Thus, hyperbolic intensification lies in:

(1) the word:
(a) “He was something of a local legend at Rummidge, having steered the
Department safely through the student revolution of ’69, when he had exchanged posts with Philip Swallow.” ( N.W. 322)

The identification of Professor Zapp with a legend , that is a person who is
the center of stories defined by convention, nonhistorical or unverifiable, handed down by tradition from earlier times, reflects the idea of excess proper to hyperbole. On its own, legend would have been perfectly normal for a
person of extraordinary deeds, but in this paradoxical union with Zapp, it
creates a peculiar effect, namely that of producing a very positive and enthusiastic evaluation of an, otherwise, capable professional.

(b) “The idea was to be utterly exhausti ve, to examine the novels from every
conceivable angle, historical, biograph ical, rhetorical, mythical, Freudian,
Jungian, existentialist, Marxist, struct uralist, Christian-allegorical, ethical,
exponential, linguistic, phenomenological, ar chetypal, you name it; so that when
each commentary was written there would be simply nothing further to say about
the novel in question.” ( C. P. 44)

(c) “Then I began a commentary on the works of Jane Austen, the aim of which
was to be utterly exhaustive, to examine the novels from every conceivable angle
– historical, biographical, rhetorical, mythical, stru ctural, Freudian, Jungian,
Marxist, existentialist, Christian, a llegorical, ethical, phenomenological,
archetypal, you name it. So that when each commentary was written, there would be nothing further to say about the novel in question.” ( S. W. 24)

These two “geometrical constructions of words” belonging to different
novels illustrate Lodge’s mastery in cr eating hyperbole, which through either
amplification or exhaustion, overstate the truth with the paradoxical result to
make the attainment of truth easier. In the beginning of his career, Morris
Zapp embarked upon a colossal project of writing a complete analysis of Jane Austen’s literary work. His ambition is presented in Changing Places through
the narrator’s perspective and then repeated in Small World in the character’s
discourse. The grandeur of the project is conveyed hyperbolically by lexical

92
cumulation: a succession of 15 adjectives repeated in the second succession of
14 items, with the intent of making the reader realize the huge dimensions of
the character’s professional claims: historical , biographical , rhetorical ,
mythical , Freudian , Jungian , existentialist , Marxist , structuralist , Christian-
allegorical , ethical , exponential (C.P.), linguistic (C.P.), phenomenological ,
archetypal . The idea of hyperbolic exhaus tion is strengthened through the
repetition of nothing further to say (which becomes repetition if the two texts
are considered together), marked graphically in the two bodies of the texts through italics.
(2) the accompanying determiner. We have included in this category of
determiner with hyperbolic functions the article and the accompanying
modifier, that is the epithet performing the role of hyperbole.
(a) “[…] Zapp is a Jane Austen man, of course – indeed the Jane Austen man in
the opinion of many.” ( C. P. 123)

(b) “I used to be a Jane Austen man. I think I can say in all modesty I was the
Jane Austen man.” ( S. W. 24)

(c) “She was familiar with his publications: originally a Jane Austen specialist in
the Neo-Critical close-reading tradition, he had converted himself (rather
opportunistically, Robyn thought) into a kind of deconstructionist in the nineteen-seventies, and enjoyed an international reputation in both guises.”
(N.W. 322)

An interesting case of hyperbole reinfo rced through its repetition in the
first two novels of the trilogy based on a semantic contrast between the
indefinite and the definite articles is used to portray Morris Zapp.
Traditionally, the function of the is to identify something which is
contextually known to be unique, while the function of a is to express
indefiniteness or new information. Lodge, as a skilled stylist, plays on this
linguistic convention to create interesting effects. Thus, the indefinite article
in (a) and (b), in the descrip tive subject complement, “Zapp is a Jane Austen
man” tags as new (for the reader) the information on Zapp’s academic
specialty field, while, at the same time, it implies that the referent is one among many of the academics specialized in Jane Austen’s oeuvre. However, the perspective of the focalizers cha nges within the same sentence and the
shift in articles together with the graphic emphasis in italics claims unique
reference on the basis of academic contextual knowledge: “indeed the Jane
Austen man in the opinion of many.”
These contrastive perspectives on the same referent, meant to foreground
uniqueness and notability of the academic Morris Zapp, are repeated in the
first two novels of the trilogy, Changing Places and Small World . In the last
novel, Nice Work , the perspective on Zapp’s academic career tends to be more

93
objective and Zapp is referred to as originally a Jane Austen specialist . The
reference connoted hyperbolically by m eans of the definite article misses.
Thus the playful perspective from (a) (r endered by the use of the evaluative
modals of course – indeed expressing climatic degrees of truth which
emphasize the conviction that what is being said is undebatable) and from (b)
(rendered by the use of the PP in all modesty functioning as an understatement
for the reference by means of the defi nite article) is counterbalanced by
objectivity in reference in (c). The ironic approach is lost and Zapp’s
portraying is closer to the reality of the academic proper.
(d) “Neanderthal appearance” ( C. P.137);

(e) “every line in his figure, slightly exaggerated ” (S. W. 115);
(f) “a reception of almost exaggerated (if that were possible) interest and
excitement” ( C. P. 69);

(g) “To the Rummidge faculty his prescience seemed uncanny , his
expertise in chairing negotiations amazing .” (C. P. 215-216)

The hyperboles exhibited by the selected epithets function on two levels:
on the one hand they give greater prominence and, on the other hand, they
transport evaluative, emotional meaning. Neanderthal (d) is an example in
this sense. It is used to emphasize inadequate (specific of a caveman)
appearance, on one hand, and on the other hand, to express the negative
emotional impact of such an appearance. The next two epithets slightly
exaggerated (e) and almost exaggerated (f) are semantically hyperboles as
they denote the idea of “enlarged beyond bounds of normality.” The two
accompanying intensifiers slightly and almost through their lowering intention
have, in fact, the opposite effect, of high lighting a situation or its effect on
focalizers or readers. The same case of semantically incorporated hyperbole is met in the next two epithets, uncanny (g), with the meaning of “beyond what
is normal or what is expected” and amazing (g), with the meaning of
“displaying bewilderment, uncommon emotional effect.”
(3) the intensifiable, scalable concept . We have included in this
category with hyperbolic functions whole propositions containing degree
adjectives:

(a) “He was a little larger than life […].” ( S. W. 115)
(b) “In all modesty Morris imagined himself to be the biggest fish ever to swim
into this academic backwater , […].” ( C. P. 69)

94
(c) “[…] smoking a cigar the size of a small zeppelin […]” ( N.W. 323)
Hyperbole implies gradability and inte nsification as “the notion of degree
is basic to hyperbole” (Claridge 2011:10). As a consequence, many of the realizations of hyperbole are in the co mparative and the superlative degree. In
(a) we find such an example with an overstatement already contained in the
element to be compared against, life while the modifying adjective in the
comparative degree takes the exaggeration even further producing a strong, perplexing impression, ( a little ) larger . On top of it, the pre-positioned
intensifier a little (larger ) is used to perfect the hyperbole and add a clear
humorous touch.
Hyperbole implies the association of two things, persons or ideas. This
association makes hyperbole similar with metaphor, “in a large number of cases being a special kind of metaphor, or a metaphor created with a specific purpose” (Hulban 2009: 7). In (b) we have a case of hyperbolic self-
representation which overlaps a me taphoric analogy in which Zapp’s
notability in Rummidge is structured in terms of the the biggest fish ever to
swim into this academic backwater . The ironic touch of the overstatement of
the association Zapp – the biggest fish and Rummidge (as the habitat of the academics) – backwater (as the habitat of the fish) is highlighted by the
presence in the same sentence of the count erpart figure of speech, that is, the
understatement in all modesty .
In (c) there is another example of an exaggerated comparative of equality
as the contrast a cigar – size of a small zeppelin produces the hyperbole.

(4) the sentence / the syntactic context:

(a) Why should Morris Zapp, who always claimed that he had made himself an
authority on the literature of England not in spite but because of never having
set foot in the country , why should he of all people suddenly join the annual
migration to Europe? And, still more pressingly, why did a man who could have
gotten a Guggenheim by crooking his little finger , and spent a pleasant year
reading in Oxford, or London, or on the Cote d’Azur if he chose, condemn
himself to a six months’ hard labour at Rummidge ?” (C. P. 39)

(b) Besides, there was something about Morris Zapp that inspired hope. He had
blown into the jaded, demoralized atmosphere of Rummidge University like an
invigorating breeze , intimating that there were still places in the world where
scholars and critics pursued their profes sional goals with zestful confidence,
where conferences multiplied and grants we re to be had to attend them, where
conversation at academic parties was mo re likely to be about the latest
controversial book or article than about the latest scaling-down of departmental
maintenance grants. ( N.W. 327)

The self-presentation in the beginning of the paragraph (a) has hyperbolic
value just because it is a presentation of a self: Morris Zapp, who always
claimed that he had made himself an authority on the literature of England

95
not in spite but because of never having set foot in the country . If the
presentation would have been made by some other than Zapp himself, the subjectivity of evaluation would have b een preserved, but would have lost its
hyperbolic interpretation as moral ru les of social conduct fine highly
appreciative, lacking in modesty presentations of the self.
In a man who could have gotten a G uggenheim by crooking his little
finger the corresponding literal expression might have been for instance,
“with little effort,” as “literal” is here the shorthand for the expression that
agrees as closely as possible with the state of affairs and that is, thus, factually appropriate. However, the choice of idiom is more valuable and gets
hyperbolic reading especially set in association with the Guggenheim Fellowships, which, as those working in the academic field know, are rather
difficult to obtain.
Another instance of hyperbole is in condemn himself to a six months’
hard labour at Rummidge , with the grossly overstated association (with comic
effect) of two realities: Rummidge – prison , rendered metonymically through
the syntagm hard labour , meaning “punishment for criminals which involves
a lot of tiring, physical work.”
What makes the large-scale example from (b) hyperbolic are, on the one
hand, the combined details of antonymy ( jaded, demoralized atmosphere vs.
an invigorating breeze , zestful confidence ) and, on the other hand, the
accumulation of the clauses in a row. In other words, while each clause
individually might not be at all ( there were still places in the world where
scholars and critics pursued their prof essional goals with zestful confidence ,
or where conferences multiplied and grants were to be had to attend them ) or
only mildly hyperbolic ( where conversation at academic parties was more
likely to be about the latest controversial book or article than about the latest
scaling-down of departmental maintenance grants ), the clauses support each
other, in their kind of staccato sequence thus producing the overall hyperbole.

(c) “What does he look like, Desiree, for Christ’s sake? What manner of man
is he? Swallow, I mean. Do his canines hang out over the lower lip? Is his handshake cold and clammy? Do his eyes have a murderous glint?” ( C. P.
134)

Much like in any of his verbal manifestations, Zapp exaggerates by
suggesting a hyperbolized negative image of Philip Swallow, the British academic he has changed places with in the exchange programme in the first
novel of the trilogy. The strategy of portraying is parodistic. Morris Zapp,
intrigued and angered with Swallow’ s allegedly having written a vicious
review to an article of his, asks Desire e for information in one of the letters.
His portraying (as he not only asks for information, but also provides his own information in an attempt to express his discontent with his “opposite number”) in (c) consists of a series of questions dislocated at one time (to
delineate and draw attention on the de piction furthered by him) by a
declarative clause with emphasis on the nominal direct object, Swallow ,

96
foregrounded by fronting and stylistically functioning as anaphor for the
antecedent he, repeated every time in the two questions: What does he look
like, Desiree, for Christ’s sake? What manner of man is he ? Swallow , I mean .
Semantically, Zapp’s portraying explores the category of horror: canines
hanging out over the lower lip as symbol of or metonymic representation of
the vampire (with the word itself avoided so as to stir the reader’s attention
and to mark this special psychological moment), epithets marked [- Presence
of Life] with references to senses as symbols of life: touch, handshake cold
and clammy , and sight, a murderous glint .
The stylistic analysis in this article has attempted to show the variety of
hyperbolic forms used to portray (directly or indirectly) Morris Zapp, a special character in David Lodge’s tr ilogy. As the investigation of the
examples has shown, it is in context that the hyperbolic meaning is usually
carried because all these categories high light the fact that some items are
fairly prominent or salient in hyperbolic usage, but often do not cause the overstating effect on their own. We must also mention that almost of all cases in the present data are unpredictable fo rms, which testifies to the creative
nature of Lodge’s language in realizing the hyperbole.

References
Claridge, Claudia. 2011. Hyperbole in English: A Corpus-based Study of
Exaggeration . Cambridge University Press
Gibbs, W. Raymond. 1994. The Poetics of Mind. Figurative Thought, Language and
Understanding. Edinburgh: Cambridge University Press.
Hulban, Horia. 2009. Hyperbole: A Way of Seeing the World . In Style in Language,
Discourses and Literature , Horia Hulban (ed.), 7-21. Ia și: Editura Lumen.
Leech, Geoffrey. 1979. A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry . Longman Group Ltd.
Lodge, David. 1978. Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses . Harmondsworth;
Middlesex: Penguin Books.
Lodge, David. 1984. Small World: An Academic Romance . Harmondsworth;
Middlesex: Penguin Books.
Lodge, David. 1989. Nice Work. Harmondsworth; Middlesex: Penguin Books.
Schlag, Pierre. 1996. Laying down the Law: Mysticism, Fetishism, and the American
Legal Mind . New York and London: New York University Press.

97

CONSTRUIREA RELA ȚIILOR SOCIALE ÎN MEDIUL
PROFESIONAL

Stanca MADA
Universitatea Transilvania din Bra șov

Lucrarea prezint ă strategiile comunicative asociate construirii și menținerii
relațiilor sociale în mediul profesional, a șa cum apar ele în cadrul formal al
ședințelor. Corpusul folosit spre exem plificarea strategiilor const ă din
transcrierea a dou ă ședințe înregistrate în dou ă organiza ții diferite. Analiza
conversațională este un prilej de a determina cele mai eficiente strategii
folosite de c ătre manageri pentru a- și atinge obiectivele tranzac ționale și
cele sociale specifice comunic ării profesionale.

Cuvinte cheie: interacțiune, obiective tranzac ționale, putere, obiective
relaționale, strategii ale polite ții pozitive.

1. Considerente introductive

Deși ușor de recunoscut, ședințele la locul de munc ă sunt greu de definit
într-un mod satisf ăcător. Se oscileaz ă între o variant ă prea cuprinz ătoare,
informală și non-tehnic ă (orice interac țiune între doi oameni putând fi descris ă
ca o “ședință”) și una prea strict ă și formală pentru scopul nostru (“reuniuni
orientate spre rezolvarea unei probleme și luarea unei decizii” implicând un
“efort de cooperare între dou ă părți, Președintele de ședință și Grupul” –
Bargiela-Chiappini și Harris 1997: 208). În multe organiza ții, întâlnirile și
ședințele ocupă un spațiu semnificativ din timpul petrecut la locul de munc ă,
reprezentând forumul de baz ă al comunic ării informa țiilor, al planific ării și
organizării activit ății. Aici se iau deciziile și se colaboreaz ă în vederea
rezolvării sarcinilor de serviciu. Chiar și în firmele de produc ție, ședințele
aduc o contribu ție esențială la atingerea obiectivelor propuse. În ambele
cazuri, ele prilejuiesc exprimarea puterii institu ționale și a relațiilor bazate
pe autoritate . Mumby (1988: 68) afirm ă că ședințele “func ționează ca unul
dintre cele mai importante și vizibile locuri de manifestare a puterii și de

98
reiterare a ierarhiei organiza ționale”1. Așa cum vom ar ăta în cele ce urmeaz ă,
ședințele oferă și spațiul de manifestare a polite ții, a respectului sau lipsei
acestuia, a colegialit ății și solidarit ății unui colectiv, fiind un context ideal de
desfășurare a “muncii rela ționale2” (Fletcher 1999) de diverse tipuri.
Indiferent de tipul lor, de gradul de formalism adoptat de participan ți sau
de obiectivele acestora, ședințele reprezint ă un proces comunicativ dinamic.
Pentru a face fa ță acestui tip de interac țiune verbal ă, participan ții folosesc
strategii comunicative variate, care contribuie la construirea rela ției de putere
și la menținerea discu țiilor în limitele polite ții.
În general, factorul vârstei și al autorit ății este important în
managementul unei ședințe. Fie direct, pe fa ță, fie indirect, persoanele cu un
statut superior au cea mai mare influen ță asupra con ținutului, a stilului, a
structurii generale și a direcției în care se îndreapt ă o ședință, indiferent de
dimensiunea ei temporal ă sau de num ărul de participan ți implica ți. Când
persoana superioar ă din punct de vedere ierarhic îndepline ște și rolul de
președinte de ședință, această influență este mai evident ă și mai ușor de
identificat. În continuare, vom exemplif ica doar câteva dintre strategiile de
management al ședințelor pe care le-am observat pe parcursul cercet ării
noastre, și anume, instan țele explicite de manifestare a puterii.

2. Strategii de construire a rela ției de putere
După cum am precizat anterior, unul dint re modurile cele mai evidente de
manifestare a puterii în cadrul unei ședințe este legat de stabilirea agendei.
Managerii stabilesc agenda departamentului sau a sec ției pe care o conduc,
dar și pe aceea a ședințelor. Ei o fac explicit la începutul ședinței, precizând
subiectele pe care doresc s ă le aducă în discu ție, ordinea lor și uneori,
perioada de timp alocat ă fiecăruia.
Strategia stabilirii și a preciz ării agendei apare în ședințe de orice
dimensiune, fiind semnalizat ă prin expresii precum: Vom discuta despre…,
Deci, ce v ă propun eu la ședința asta, să discutăm…, Vom analiza…, ne vom
opri asupra… și vom aduce în discu ție…, Hai s ă trecem în revist ă
principalele chestiuni de pe ordinea de zi… Aceste expresii indic ă faptul că
vorbitorul î și organizeaz ă discursul conform obiectivelor propuse. Prezentarea
explicită a agendei unei ședințe constituie o modalitate eficient ă
prin care
președintele de ședință controleaz ă discursul și își afirmă autoritatea. Atunci
când un alt participant, în afara pre ședintelui de ședință, propune o agend ă
alternativ ă sau divagheaz ă nepermis de mult de la discu ții pentru a- și expune
propriile puncte de vedere, acesta încearc ă să submineze autoritatea liderului
și structurile de putere prestabilite.

1 ‘function as one of the most important and visi ble sites of organizational power, and of the
reification of organizational hierarchy’
2 ‘relational work’

99

Exemplul (1)
1 INA: a șa… și dacă tot suntem la tip ărituri… Ai v ăzut că nu a fost
greu… asta a fost tot despre expreso. 2 ENI: mai sunt… 3 INA: a, mai sunt…
4 IRINA: cel mai important mi se pare c ă e folosirea siglei de…
5 CAROL: a… 6 IRINA: c ătre terți
7 INA: insurance documents… 8 IRINA: acolo.
9 INA: aicea la insurance m ă uit eu… asta merge la tehnic…
10 IRINA: se ocup ă cineva?
11 MATEI: da […] 12 INA: certificatele de calitate 13 MATEI: tot la tehnic. 14 IRINA: tot la tehnic?
15 INA: da… și după ce sunt puse la punct s ă le dăm la logistic ă și să le
trimită odată cu produsele…
16 CAROL: nu ar putea fi f ăcută o chestie… în func ție de ce sort avem
noi atunci, în momentul în care tip ărește factura s ă iasă și un certificat de
calitate… s ă-și ia numărul de lot… și așa mai departe.
17 INA: deci…
18 CAROL: introdus în baza de date. 19 INA: mentorul este în com ă…
20 CAROL: mentorul este în com ă de?
21 INA: timp, pierdem foarte mult timp…

În exemplul de mai sus avem dou ă mișcări de subminare a autorit ății
pre
ședintelui de ședință (Ina). Prima apare în secven țele (4), (6) și (8), în care
Irina (din serviciul administrativ) încearc ă să preia rolul Inei și să conducă
discuția spre un alt aspect. Ina revine în (9) și își asumă rezolvarea chestiunii.
În (10) Irina încearc ă să ia inițiativa deleg ării responsabilit ății înaintea Inei și
rezolvă problema. Ulterior Ina abordeaz ă o chestiune colateral ă (12), pe care
și-o asumă Matei (13). În (14), Irina contest ă propunerea lui Matei, c ăutând
confirmarea Inei. Aceasta intervine, trasând sarcinile de serviciu (15). Cea de-a doua încercare de subminare a autorit ății manageriale se declan șează în (16)
și continuă în (18). Carol, trecând peste decizia Inei de a încheia problema
certificatelor de calitate, propune și susține o alt ă soluție tehnică. Ina o
respinge abrupt (19), într-o replic ă deconcertant ă pentru Carol (20), prin care
încearcă și reușește revenirea la firul discu ției inițiale și încheierea divaga ț
iilor
(21).
Menținerea discu țiilor în limitele stabilite ini țial face parte din atribu țiile
președintelui de ședință. Acesta este responsabil pentru acoperirea în

100
întregime a agendei în bugetul de timp prestabilit. El folose ște numeroase
strategii de controlare a subiectului, semnalizate discursiv prin marcatori
precum: da, sigur, bine, deci, OK sau chiar mai explicit prin: hai să revenim
la discuția noastră / la oile noastre sau să ne întoarcem de unde am pornit .
O strategie conex ă este aceea a folosirii unor crâmpeie de propozi ții sau a
unor răspunsuri scurte, care s ă întrerupă strategic discursul și să soluționeze
problemele ridicate de al ții. Vorbitorul transmite astfel un mesaj foarte clar al
dorinței sale de a stopa discu țiile și de a le îndrepta spre o rezolvare eficient ă.
El previne posibilitatea devierii de la subiect printr-o digresiune mai ampl ă.

Exemplul (2)
1 MATEI: p ărerea mea…
2 INA: da. 3 MATEI: este c ă facem un talme ș-balmeș din toate… ne trebuie
cineva să răspundă… să ne facă toate traducerile, adapt ările, de fapt…
4 INA: deci anumite documente da, altele nu. 5 MATEI: s ă le aducem în discu ție pe fiecare în parte… s ă le citim
apoi să…
6 INA: sigur, le parcurgem și apoi am putea s ă le împărțim ca și
sarcini…

Contribuțiile Inei (replicile 2, 4, 6) sunt sumare și destinate s ă mențină
explorarea problematicii discutate la minimum necesar. Este de notat faptul c ă
membrii grupului se cunosc bine între ei și atenția acordat ă factorului polite țe
în discuțiile lor este minimal ă.
O altă strategie des folosit ă de președintele de ședință constă în
menținerea cursului discu ției prin întreb ări adresate participan ților, pentru a se
asigura că toți cei implica ți și-au spus p ărerea în leg ătură cu un aspect sau
altul din cele discutate și, prin urmare, nu se va mai reveni asupra lui.

Exemplul (3):
INA: din punctul meu de vedere… ceea ce aveam de discutat în plen am acoperit… dac ă voi mai ave ți ceva de comentat… v ă rog
să comentați.

Alte strategii utilizate de cel care conduce o ședință rezidă în marcarea
parcurgerii fiecărei etape din desf ășurarea ședinței, rezumarea progresului
discuțiilor și ajungerea la o decizie.

Exemplul (4):
INA: și…dacă nu aveți nimic împotriv ă o să încep… s ă vă prezint […]
INA: hai s ă deschidem […] prima dat ă și ne concentr ăm pe aceast ă
coloană… și pe aceasta… da? […]

101
INA: acum ajungem la B… deci am comparat 2004 cu 2005.
INA: hai s ă vedem, mai știm să bugetăm? […]
INA: și hai să ne uităm și la […]
INA: și acum hai s ă vă arăt cum ne-a influen țat […]
INA: deci asta e bifat ă, da?

Pe parcursul primei p ărți a ședinței, Ina îi direc ționează pe ceilal ți
participan ți spre analiza comparativ ă de buget. Ajutat ă de materialul pus la
dispoziție tuturor p ărților, Ina marcheaz ă punct cu punct liniile directoare ale
analizei. Pentru a preveni eventualele neîn țelegeri, ea men ționează chiar și
situarea în pagin ă a conținutului analizat.
Uneori, rezumarea progresului discu țiilor este f ăcută explicit numai
înainte și după o pauză. În exemplul urm ător, aceast ă strategie func ționează
nu doar rezumativ asupra a ceea ce s-a discutat, ci chiar și proiectat ă în viitor
(ceea ce se va discuta dup ă pauză).

Exemplul (5):
INA: […] deci ăăă dacă vreți facem o pauz ă după care revenim s ă
discutăm punct cu punct subiectele din expresso și cine răspunde de
implementare și să dăm termene… pentru c ă termenele erau 31
decembrie 2005. Facem pauz ă?
MATEI: facem.
INA: dacă vreți… dacă nu… continu ăm […]
INA: La fix ne vedem. Da? […] INA: relu ăm… deci foarte multe în plen nu mai avem, decât despre
expresso…

Ina nu doar rezum ă ceea ce s-a discutat pân ă atunci, ci reaminte ște
participan ților punctele care au mai r ămas de discutat din agenda ini țială. Ea
atrage aten ția asupra termenelor, stabile ște priorități și pregătește partea a
doua a ședinței. Aspectul democratic al deciziei de luare a pauzei contrasteaz ă
cu modul autoritar în care Ina prezideaz ă
ședința. Ea îi întreab ă pe participan ți
dacă vor să facă o pauză, afirmându- și în acela și timp disponibilitatea de a
continua. Aceasta e o strategie prin care nu doar câ știgă timp, ci și dovedește
că este preg ătită pentru discu țiile viitoare, oricât de dificile ar fi acestea.
Una dintre cele mai importante func ții îndeplinite de o ședință se leagă de
procesul de luare a deciziilor. Atât ajungerea la o decizie, cât și ratificarea
acesteia se pot face direct sau prin negociere. Cea mai simpl ă strategie este de
a exprima direct decizia dorit ă.

Exemplul (6): INA: condi țiile generale de vânzare le-am discutat, a șa… și cu
disclaimers … care trebuie s ă apară pe scrisori, pe mailuri și pe așa mai

102
departe… de astea se ocup ă Irina în a șa fel încât s ă avem formularistica la
zi și să nu mai vin ă mail-uri f ără…
IRINA: da, aia e u șor.
Exemplul (7): INA: deci sunt ni ște texte care trebuie s ă apară obligatoriu pe orice
prospect și având în vedere în continuare c ă de prelucrarea prospectului
ăstuia se ocup ă… da? sau dai la altcineva?
CAROL: (d ă din cap aprobator)
INA: atunci Carol are grij ă ca… Carol are grij ă ca aceste disclaimer
traduse… s ă apară pe toate documentele tip ărite…

Folosirea legitim ă a puterii de c ătre Ina în exemplele de mai sus este
nuanțată în funcție de statutul celor îns ărcinați cu implementarea deciziilor
luate. Dac ă în exemplul (6), afirmarea și ratificarea deciziei de c ătre Ina se
face direct, “on record”, și Irina nu e consultat ă în prealabil, în (7), pozi ția
superioară a lui Carol nu îi permite Inei s ă omită solicitarea unei confirm ări
(chiar și tacite) a deciziei înainte de ratificarea ei. Rapiditatea cu care se iau
decizii de comun acord subliniaz ă faptul că participan ții sunt obi șnuiți să
lucreze împreun ă.
După luarea și ratificarea deciziei, mecanismul managerial se reia: se
propune un nou subiect de pe ordinea de zi, ce va fi prezentat, analizat,
dezbătut și încheiat sub forma unei noi decizii.

Exemplul (8): Context: ședință de analiz ă a departamentului de vânz ări într-o firm ă de
comercializare a sistemelor de ferestre și scări de mansard ă, la care
participă șapte persoane: o femeie (pre ședintele de ședință, șefa
departamentului – 35-40 de ani) și șase bărbați (directorii zonali de
vânzări – cu vârste cuprinse între 25 și 50 de ani).
CARMEN: […] nu este vorba de asisten ță-montaj… unde a ți dat voi
asistență nu discut… deci verifica ți montaje f ăcute de al ții… ăsta e
domeniul lui Tibor… numai c ă eu vă centralizez… Mergem mai
departe… analiza cheltuielilor… situa ția cheltuielilor de reclam ă…

Carmen conduce dezbaterea te mei spre delegarea responsabilit ății pentru
acțiunile care vor fi întreprinse, urmând s ă aducă în discuție un nou subiect de
analiză. Ea marcheaz ă astfel deschiderea unui nou ciclu de analiz ă – dezbatere
– soluționare – delegare a responsabilit ății.
În alte situa ții, președintele î și diminueaz ă latura autoritar ă a rolului
(dimensiunea puterii) , punând accentul pe latura colegial ă a procesului
(dimensiunea politeții) de luare a deciziilor.

103
Exemplul (9):
INA: Da, deci la prima vedere este OK. Ne-am men ținut în buget cu
cheltuielile. La o cre ștere de aproape cinci la sut ă a cifrei de afaceri fa ță
de buget […] INA: De acord? […] INA: Aceea și creștere o cunoa ștem și în marjă. Uitați-vă! Am avut cinci
la sută, patru virgul ă cinci, ceea ce înseamn ă că… relația dintre cifra de
afaceri și marja la bugetare […]
INA: De acord? Dac ă nu înțelegeți vă rog să mă întrerupe ți, da?

În exemplul nostru, în ciuda interesului aparent pe care îl arat ă Ina pentru
înțelegerea cifrelor și a prezent ării sale, ea face o demonstra ție de for ță,
autoritate și control asupra celorlal ți participan ți, subjugându-i. Acest fapt este
evident din lipsa de reac ție a participan ților la cele prezentate. Efortul Inei
răspunde nevoilor de menajare a imaginii celorlal ți și de păstrare a bunelor
relații de munc ă, extrem de necesare punerii în aplicare a deciziilor luate în
cadrul ședinței.
Este demonstrat (Holmes și Stubbe 2003: 77) faptul c ă „participan ții la
activitățile desfășurate într-un loc de munc ă în care rela țiile de autoritate și
statuturile relative sunt accentuate și acceptate ca dominante vor accepta mai
ușor o decizie unilateral ă asupra unui subiect aprig disputat, în timp ce
locurile de munc ă cu o etic ă egalitară și cu accent pe conceptul de participare
vor susține negocieri aprinse în astfel de situa ții”. Soluția de rezolvare a
diferendelor sau cel pu țin de minimalizare a lor rezid ă în folosirea umorului.
Strategie eficient ă de atenuare a amenin țării imaginii personale în fa ța unui
veto explicit, a unui dezacord f ățiș sau a unei decizii contestate, umorul
implică și subtilitate.

Exemplul (10):
Context: ședința a avut loc la începutul anului, în data de 13 ianuarie.
IRINA: cât de repede trebuie introduse? INA: 31 decembrie CAROL: a, da?
INA: da
IRINA: 31 decembrie care? INA: 2005 CAROL: noroc c ă nu am apucat…[…]
IRINA: atunci când?
CAROL: la sfâr șitul anului trebuia s ă fie gata
INA: e dep ășit… la sfâr șitul lui februarie
IRINA: sfâr șitul lui februarie
CAROL: 29 INA: anul ăsta nu are 29
CAROL: 31 da? 31.

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Așa cum reiese din acest exemplu, umorul este strategia cea mai
eficientă de aplanare a unui poten țial conflict, dar și de destindere a unei
atmosfere încordate la locul de munc ă.
Într-un interviu post-anchet ă, managerul departamentului de resurse
umane al unei organiza ții multina ționale spunea c ă rolul cel mai important al
unui președinte de ședință este acela de mediator. El trebuie s ă se erijeze în
moderatorul ședinței, devenind „invizibil” și lăsând membrii echipei s ă ajungă
la consens. Într-adev ăr, managementul eficient al unei ședințe presupune
adesea abilit ăți de negociere a consensului.
Face parte din rolul de pre ședinte al ședinței ca acesta s ă se asigure c ă
toți participan ții au luat la cuno ștință și au fost de acord cu scopul ședinței și
cu subiectele de pe ordinea de zi. Fiecare participant trebuie s ă se simtă inclus
în procesul de luare a deciziilor, fapt ce presupune o manevrare abil ă din
partea pre ședintelui de ședință a strategiilor polite ții pozitive, prin folosirea
conversației fatice și a umorului. F ără presiunea constant ă a autorit ății
manageriale exercitate de pre ședintele de ședință, oamenii discut ă mai liber și
rezultatele pe termen lung ale acestei colabor ări vor fi evidente în cre șterea
eficienței ședințelor.
În culturile egalitare, locul de munc ă poate fi spa țiul în care
participan ții interac ționează zilnic și frecvent, asupra unor chestiuni
profesionale sau sociale diferite. Aici î și găsesc locul ședințele conduse
democratic, în spiritul unor strategii de moderare a discu țiilor și nu de punere
explicită în valoare a autorit ății. Strategiile folosite pentru a controla
interacțiunea sunt mai subtile și mai sofisticate. Cap ătă importan ță crescută
rolul de rezumare a ceea ce s-a discutat. Cel care o face, va recunoa ște deschis
ceea ce s-a rezolvat, trecând discret sub t ăcere restul observa țiilor.

3. Strategii de construire a rela ției de colegialitate

În unele organiza ții, tiparele comunica ționale ale locului de munc ă
sunt caracterizate prin implicare total ă a participan ților, adaptare la contextul
situațional și prin accent crescut asupra nevoilor de comunicare face-to-face.
Granița dintre personal și profesional este mai difuz ă, iar conversa ția
personală, socială își face loc chiar și în întâlnirile de lucru.
Grija pentru imaginea celorlal ți este reflectat ă în strategii ale polite ții
precum: evitarea impunerii unei solu ții și încurajarea discu țiilor libere asupra
unui subiect controversat, marcarea clar ă, repetată a unui subiect dificil și
negocierea acordului înainte de luarea unei hot ărâri definitive.

Exemplul (11): CARMEN: deci avem o sut ă de dealeri care nu vând deloc […] fiecare
va face o analiz ă pe zona lui și nu numai o analiz ă, vor face și
un raport […] Da? Deci analiza dealerilor care nu vând, dar au

105
standuri… se va prezenta raport de c ătre fiecare director în
parte și aici să analizăm îi mai ținem la anul… nu îi mai
ținem, ne scoatem standul… avem stand pentru c ă e într-o
zonă bună și atunci sigur… îl l ăsăm… îl mai ținem… dar aici
fiecare… o s ă vedeți fiecare ce trebuie s ă facem și ce nu…
da? […] Dac ă doriți aici să discutăm ceva? Analiza ți fiecare
pe zona voastr ă… da? Și la următoarea întâlnire o s ă vedem
ce facem aici unde avem standuri… s ă vedem care e solu ția…
le desființăm sau nu.
Stilul managerial al lui Carmen și strategiile consultative pe care le
folosește pe parcursul ședinței susțin ajungerea la o decizie satisf ăcătoare
pentru toate p ărțile. Dar Carmen are și calitățile unui manager cu autoritate,
controlând interac țiunea și încercând s ă propună soluț
ii de rezolvare a
situației. După ce chestiunea a fost explicat ă exhaustiv, ea trage concluzia și
finalizeaz ă discuția.
De-a lungul ședinței, Carmen d ă o atenție deosebit ă factorilor
interpersonali și relaționali, dinamicii grupului și acordă interes menaj ării
imaginii personale. Pe lâng ă strategii evidente de complimentare a
participan ților ( El este foarte eficient… De f apt este singurul care a intrat în
top… în topul de la bonifica ție…) asupra muncii și a atitudinii lor
profesionale, Carmen folose ște umorul, în special pe cel auto-depreciativ,
pentru a elibera tensiunea creat ă la un moment dat în ședință (Ar trebui s ă
verific în fi șa postului… Du-te și adu fișa postului de director de vânz ări). Ea
se adreseaz ă sistematic fiec ărui director de zon ă în parte, stimulând
participarea lor la ședință, pentru a- și exprima deschis rezervele, temerile sau
nelămuririle.
Date fiind complexitatea și perpetua schimbare cu care se confrunt ă în
zilele noastre liderii unei organiza ții, educa ția permanent ă, deschiderea,
adaptarea și abilitățile inovatoare devin cerin țe necesare pentru supravie țuire.
În lupta continu ă pentru suprema ție în lumea afacerilor, oamenii uit ă să se
asculte unii pe al ții. Adesea, în conversa ție, acordăm mult mai mult timp
susținerii propriei opinii decât c ăutând să o auzim și să o înțelegem pe aceea a
interlocutorului nostru. „A asculta” de vine astfel cheia unei bune comunic ări,
deoarece aceasta reprezint ă un act de respect și de valorizare a opiniei
celuilalt. C ăutând să ascultăm și să înțelegem înainte de orice, vom crea și la
partenerii no ștri receptivitatea pentru a ne asculta și înțelege mai bine. Într-un
climat de securitate comunica țională reciprocă, oamenii sunt mai deschi și,
mai dispu și să își asume riscuri. În timpul ședințelor, dar și în afara lor,
managerii au prilejul s ă îi asculte efectiv pe subordona ți.
Abilitățile de receptare activ ă a interlocutorului se manifest ă prin:
menținerea contactului vizual; ascultarea interlocutorului; intuirea
conținutului emo țional, pe lâng ă cel informa țional; adresarea unor întreb ări de
clarificare a mesajului transmis de interlocutor. Curiozitatea și interesul nu

106
trebuie s ă se manifeste prin interogarea interlocutorului, ci s ă vizeze
înțelegerea deplin ă a opiniei lui.

Exemplul (12): Context: Într-o ședință de analiz ă a activit ății unei societ ăți
comerciale, are loc o discu ție între managerul departamentului și
directorul zonal de vânz ări
1 CARMEN: la Bucure ști…[firma x] a achitat deja?
2 ADI: [firma x] mi-a zis c ă a băgat ordinul de plat ă…
3 CARMEN: (d ă din cap aprobator) îhî
4 ADI: dar nu l-am primit pe fax deci nu l-am b ăgat ca și când… am
vorbit cu Gina… [firma y] este prima lui întârziere din cauza
unei probleme cu un client final la care a vândut șaișpe scări
la Ploiești și tot îl amân ă de pe o s ăptămână pe alta… c ă tre să
dea vreo trei sute de milioane…dar [firma y] colabor ăm bine
cu el de trei ani de zile, deci nu e nicio problem ă… e clar…
5 CARMEN: îl cuno ști, da?
6 ADI: [firma y] sunt vechi
7 CARMEN: da… și…
8 ADI: am fost și cu Bebe, le-am dat prin fax, le-am zis… au zis c ă
se rezolvă… ai văzut…
9 CARMEN: da…
10 ADI: asta a fost
11 CARMEN: bine, le-a mai r ămas pu
țin, au plătit… da.
12 ADI: [firma z] a avut dou ăzeci și opt o factur ă și a achitat
douăzeci… mai nou, Valerica a lui Liviu [numele de familie]
e plecată la deltă c-a fost ziua ei…
13 CARMEN: Cine? [firma y] e [numele de familie]?
14 ADI: îhî
15 CARMEN: da… a șa […]

În exemplul de mai sus, Carmen dovede ște abilități de ascultare
deosebite. Ea îl aprob ă tacit (3) și verbal (7, 9, 11, 15) pe Adi, îl încurajeaz ă
să ofere detalii (replicile 4, 8 și 12), solicit ă informații (replicile 5 și 13)
pentru a-și manifesta interesul și deschiderea.
Managerii trebuie s ă fie conștienți că evaluările, în special cele negative,
sunt piedici în calea dezvolt ării capacit ății de a asculta. Fie c ă ne judecăm pe
noi sau pe al ții, ne restrângem creativitatea, puterea de a ne imagina și de a
învăța lucruri noi. Comunicarea eficient ă reclamă testarea presupunerilor pe
care le facem despre al ții și clarificarea opiniilor altora despre noi. Numai a șa
putem deschide calea c ătre un univers al sensurilor deplin și mutual în țelese și
acceptate. Posedând aceste calit ăți orice manager va putea construi alian țe sau
negocia situa ții dificile, în vederea g ăsirii unor solu ții benefice pentru toate
părțile implicate.

107

4. Concluzii

În fragmentele analizate am c ăutat să exemplific ăm instan țe de
manifestare deschis ă sau subtil ă a puterii , prin strategii de controlare a
desfășurării interac țiunii într-o ședință obișnuită la locul de munc ă. De
asemenea, am enumerat o serie de strategii ale politeții pozitive
(complimentarea, exprimarea aprecierii și a interesului fa ță de activitatea
celorlalți și față de nevoile lor personale, umorul auto-depreciativ), menite s ă
sublinieze necesitatea cre ării unor rela ții colegiale la locul de munc ă. Ceea ce
reiese poate fi redat astfel: Polite țea este imaginea în oglind ă sau cealalt ă față
a puterii. Una f ără cealaltă este lipsit ă de valoare, dar împreun ă reușesc
realizarea unei simbioze comunica ționale eficiente.

Referințe critice
Bargiela-Chiappini, Francesca și Susan Harris. 1997. Managing Language: The
Discourse of Corporate Meetings. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Fletcher, Joyce. 1999. Disappearing Acts: Gender, Power, and Relational Practice at
Work. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Holmes, Janet și Maria Stubbe. 2003. Power and Politeness in the Workplace. A
Sociolinguistic Analysis of Talk at Work . London: Pearson Education.
Holmes, Janet. 2006. “Sharing a laugh: Pragmatic aspects of humour and gender in
the workplace” Journal of Pragmatics 38: 26-50.
Mumby, Dennis. 1988. Communication and Power in Organizations: Discourse,
Ideology and Domination . Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Constructing social relationship in the workplace

Workplace interaction is a site for achieving objectives: both the transactional
objectives, embedded in the organizational targets, and the relational objectives i.e. linked to the concepts of power and politeness. This paper focuses mainly on the
communication strategies used by the chairs of two meetings, which took place in
Romanian organizations. The direct and indirect manifestations of power aim at controlling the development of the meet ings and at building and maintaining
hierarchical relationships. Positive politeness strategies foster collegiality and
strengthen workplace relationships.

Keywords: Workplace interaction, transactional objectives, relational
objectives , power, positive politeness strategy.

108

109

ELEMENTS OF DISCOURSE COHESION IN THE EU LEGAL 
DOCUMENTS 
A CORPUS‐BASED ANALYSIS 

Georgiana REISS
PhD Student
University of Craiova

The present paper aims at identifying and analysing some important
cohesive ties which achieve discourse cohesion in the European Union legal
documents. Our study takes into account the two main types of discourse cohesion, namely lexical cohesion and grammatical cohesion. In what
concerns lexical cohesion, we discuss reiteration (repetition, use of a
synonym, an antonym and of hyponyms) and collocation (three important patterns of collocations and other types of collocations, which contribute to
discourse cohesion). As regards grammatical cohesion, we deal with
reference (personal, demonstrative, comparative reference, as well as
reference achieved by modifying adj ectives), substitution (nominal, verbal
and clausal substitution), ellipsis, and discourse markers (conjunctions and
connecting adverbs, with reference to different types of relations which they create).

Keywords : discourse cohesion, lexical cohesion, grammatical cohesion,
cohesive ties, EU legal documents

1. Introduction

Before discussing the elements that achieve lexical and grammatical
cohesion in the EU legal documents, let us cast some light on the important
concepts which dominate the present paper.
Generally speaking, the term discourse refers to written or oral
communication. In discourse analysis, the term discourse means “actual
instances of communication in the medium of language. Discourse in this

110
sense is usually a mass noun” (J ohnstone 2002: 2). But the term discourse is
also used as a count noun, referring to co nventional ways of talking, involving
patterns of belief and language. A complete definition of the term discourse is
provided by Celce-Murcia & Olshtain (2000: 4): “a piece of discourse is an instance of spoken or written language that has describable internal relationships of form and meaning (e.g. words, structures, cohesion) that
relate coherently to an external communicative function or purpose and a
given audience/interlocutor”.
In the Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics (Crystal 2008: 85), the
term cohesion is defined as “a term often used in grammar to refer to a
defining property of the word, seen as a grammatical unit. […]. The term is
used by some linguists to refer to the property of larger units than the
morpheme to bind together in construc tions, e.g. article + noun. […]. In the
hallidayan approach to grammatical analysis, cohesion is a major concept,
referring to those surface-structure featur es of an utterance or text which link
different parts of sentences or larger units of discourse, e.g. the cross-
referencing function of pr onouns, articles and some types of adverb.” More
clearly, we can say that cohesion refers to the grammatical and lexical
relationships within the text, whic h tie it up and give it meaning.
The semantic relations between sentences, which are achieved through
links between grammatical a nd lexical items, are called cohesive ties by
Halliday and Hasan (1976). “ Cohesive ties are the forces that keep the text
together in the original order and what we manipulate when we try to regain a
text’s meaning after a reordering of its sentences” (Georgakopoulou and
Goutsos 2004: 12). These cohesive ties may be anaphoric or cataphoric ,
meaning that an item may refer to so mething previously mentioned or may
indicate something that follows.
Below we provide a schematic representation of the two types of
discourse cohesion, along with their cohesive ties (devices), which we will
discuss further on.

Our paper attempts to identify and discuss, by providing relevant
examples, some important cohesive ties which achieve lexical and
grammatical cohesion in the European Union legal documents.
We mention that we have used a m onolingual English corpus of EU legal
documents made up of various regula tions, directives, decisions and the
Consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union for the purpose of the present paper. Discourse Cohesion
Lexical Grammatical
Reiteration Collocation Reference Substitution Ellipsis Discourse Markers

111

2. Lexical cohesion

We have started our study by analysing lexical cohesion in the EU legal
documents making up our corpus. Halliday and Hasan (1976) divide the various lexical cohesive ties (or cohesive devices) into two main categories:
reiteration and collocation . Reiteration refers to the repetition of the same
word, or to the use of a synonym, the use of a superordinate term and the use of a general word. “All these devices have the function of reiterating the previous item, either in an identical or somewhat modified form, and this is the basis for the creation of a cohesive tie between the items” (Tanskanen
2006: 32). Collocation is “cohesion that is achieved through the association of
lexical items that regularly co-occu r” (Halliday and Hasan 1976: 284).

2.1. Reiteration
“Reiteration means either restating an item in a later part of the discourse
by direct repetition or else reasserting its meaning by exploiting lexical
relations” (McCarthy 1991: 65). By lexi cal relations, McCarthy (1991) refers
to the stable semantic relationships that exist between words, which are
synonymy, antonymy and hyponymy.

2.1.1. Repetition
As Cutting (2002: 13) explains, repetition is “simply repeated words or
word-phrases, threading through the text”. We have come across many cases of repetition in the EU legal docum ents under analysis. Although the
repetition of the same word leads to redundancy, it is useful in order to create precision in legal contexts, by avoiding ambiguity.
E.g.
(1) For this reason, comments on injury aspects put forward in both
these proceedings were taken into account in both proceedings
1.
(2) When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a
reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the
occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how
such reference is to be made2.
(3) Where a Member State provides a wider cooperation to a third
country than that provided for under this Directive, that Member State
may not refuse to provide such wider cooperation to any other Member
State wishing to enter into such mutual wider cooperation with that
Member State3.

1 Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 452/2011 of 6 May 2011
2 Commission Directive 2011/13/EU of 8 February 2011
3 Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011

112
2.1.2. Use of a synonym
Synonyms are “lexical items which have the same meanings” (Crystal
2008: 470). We have noticed that, in the EU legal documents, synonyms are
used in order to avoid the repetition of the same word, but at the same time
they are triggered by collocational usage: “ to implement a policy ” / “to apply
a procedure ”; “to respect rights ” / “to observe principles ”.
E.g.
(1) The implementation of the common foreign and security policy
shall not affect the application of the procedures and the extent of
the powers of the institutions la id down by the Treaties for the
exercise of the Union competences referred to in Articles 3 to 6 of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union4.
(2) This Regulation respects fundamental rights and observes the
principles recognised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in accordance with Article 6(1) TEU
5.

2.1.3. Use of an antonym
Antonyms represent “all types of semantic oppositeness” (Crystal 2008:
28). In our corpus of documents, antonyms are usually coordinated by the
conjunctions or or and.
E.g. (1) Within the framework of the committe e referred to in Article 8(1),
Member States shall exchange in formation on the grounds for the
recognition or non-recognition of specific travel documents with a
view to reaching a harmonised position
6.
(2) In order to ensure that the Ag ency carries out its tasks, the
Management Board shall: (a) appoint , and if appropriate dismiss , the
Executive Director, in accordance with Article 187.
(3) No Member State shall impose, directly or indirectly , on the products
of other Member States any internal taxation of any kind in excess of that imposed directly or indirectly on similar domestic products
8.

4 Consolidated versions of the Treaty on Eur opean Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union
5 Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
6 Decision No 1105/2011/EU of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
7 Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
8 Consolidated versions of the Treaty on Eur opean Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union

113

2.1.4. Use of hyponyms
“Hyponymy is the relationship which obtains between specific and
general lexical items, such that the former is ‘included’ in the latter (i.e. ‘is a
hyponym of’ the latter)” (Crystal 2008: 233). According to our analysis, in the
EU legal documents, hyponyms are usually used in enumerations. In the first
example provided below, “ travel documents ” represent the hypernym,
followed by an enumeration of hyponyms. In the second and third examples, some enumerated hyponyms precede the hypernyms “ other large-scale IT
systems ” and “ other unlawful activities ”.
E.g.
(1) This Decision applies to travel documents such as a national passport
(ordinary, diplomatic, service/official or special passport), an
emergency travel document , a refugee or stateless person's travel
document , a travel document issued by international organisations ,
or a laissez-passer
9.
(2) The Agency shall monitor the develo pments in research relevant for
the operational management of SIS II, VIS, Eurodac and other
large-scale IT systems10.
(3) In order to combat fraud, corruption and other unlawful activities ,
Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 shall apply11.
Our analysis shows that all three types of reiteration are present in the EU
legal documents, repetitions and the use of hyponyms being the most frequent
ones.
2.2. Collocation
The term collocation “refers to the habitual co-occurrence of individual
lexical items” (Crystal 2008: 86). Or, in plain words, we can say that a
collocation represent two or more words that usually go together.
In her book, Cozma (2006: 81-82) men tions two types of collocations
achieving lexical cohesion in the EU legal documents: words and expressions
that belong to the semantic field of the EU politics and administration and
words and phrases belonging to the specialis t field to which the text of the law
applies . Besides these two categories, she also discusses general collocations ,
which are characteristic to an official style (Cozma 2006: 175-176). We have
also identified these three types of collo cations in our corpus of documents.
Collocations belonging to the EU field contain names of EU institutions
and EU concepts.

9 Decision No 1105/2011/EU of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
10 Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
11 idem

114

E.g.
(1) The European Parliament and the Council, acting in
accordance with the ordinary legisl ative procedure and after consulting
the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions ,
shall adopt implementing regulations relating to the European Social
Fund12.
(2) Member States shall provide remedies sufficient to ensure
effective legal protection in the fields covered by Union law13.
Collocations belonging to different specialist fields to which the
European law applies. In the first example given below the collocations
belong to the field of animal feed , while in the second example the
collocations are proper to the field of nuclear energy.
E.g. (1) The preparation specified in the Annex, belonging to the additive
category ‘ zootechnical additives ’ and to the functional group
‘digestibility enhancers ’, is authorised as an additive in animal
nutrition , subject to the conditions laid down in that Annex
14.
(2) Council Directive 2003/122/Euratom (7) provides for the control of
high-activity sealed radioactive sources and orphan sources ,
including disused sources15.

Collocations characteristic to an official style contain combinations of
words used in formal contexts.
E.g. (1) In accordance with Article 15(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1451/2007,
the findings of the review were incorporated, within the Standing
Committee on Biocidal Products on 24 September 2010, in an
assessment report
16.
(2) Those Decisions should be adapted to the institutional and legal
framework of the Union17.

We have observed that collocations belonging to the EU field are
frequently encountered in the Consolidated versions of the Treaty on

12 Consolidated versions of the Treaty on Europ ean Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union
13 Consolidated versions of the Treaty on Europ ean Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union
14 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1088/2011 of 27 October 2011
15 Council Directive 2011/70/Euratom of 19 July 2011
16 Commission Directive 2011/13/EU of 8 February 2011
17 Decision No 1105/2011/EU of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011

115
European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ,
whereas collocations belonging to diff erent specialist fields to which the
European law applies are very numerous in other types of EU legal documents (e.g. regulations, directives, decisions) and collocations characteristic to an
official style are present in all types of EU legal documents.
Apart from this classification of collocations given by Cozma (2006), the
EU legal documents in our corpus make use of many types of collocations.
We provide below only a few examples of frequent word combinations, which achieve lexical cohesion.
E.g. (adjective + noun): environmental protection ; sustainable development ;
financial conditions ; legislative act ;
(noun + noun): customs duties ; guarantee funds ; development
programmes ; transport policy ;
(noun + preposition): allocation of ; amount of ; charge on ; abolition of ;
lack of ; need for ;
(noun + preposition + noun): standard of living ; methods of calculation ;
movement of capital ; enforcement of sanctions ;
(adjective + preposition): compatible with ; dependent upon ; applicable
to; meaningful to ; compared to ;
(verb + noun): adopt provisions ; submit a report ; deliver an opinion ;
impose a sanction ; draw conclusion ;
(verb + preposition): comply with ; enter into ; draw up ; set out ; refer to ;
provide for ; account for ; aim at ;
(adverb + verb): directly affect ; unanimously adopt ; act unanimously ;
amend accordingly ;
subsequently adopt ; slightly decrease ;
(verb + noun + preposition): have the right to ; give an opportunity to ;

3. Grammatical cohesion
Taboada (2004: 160) states that “the types of ties established under
grammatical cohesion are all resources found in the grammar of the language.
They enter into cohesive relations only when they relate to some other item
outside the clause where they occur” . The cohesive ties that ensure
grammatical cohesion are: reference, substitution, ellipsis and discourse
markers .

3.1. Reference “Reference refers to resources for referring to a participant or
circumstantial element whose identity is recoverable. In English the relevant
resources include demonstratives, the de finite article, pronouns, comparatives,
and the phoric adverbs here, there, now, then ” (Martin 2001: 36). We can say

116
that reference concerns the relation between a discourse element and a
preceding or following element.

3.1.1. Personal reference
In the EU legal documents that we have analysed, we have come across
all types of devices for achieving personal reference: personal pronouns (he,
she, it ), possessive adjectives (his, its, their ) and possessive pronouns (theirs ).
These personal pronouns and possessive adjectives have an anaphoric
function, as they refer to something th at has been previously mentioned.
Besides, the EU legal documents do not contain instances of personal
pronouns and possessive adjectives for the first and second person, singular
and plural. In what concerns the po ssessive pronouns, we have encountered
only cases of possessive pronouns for the third person plural.
E.g. (1) Members of the European Parliament, the members of the
Commission shall resign as a body and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy shall resign from
duties that he or she carries out in the Commission
18.
(2) Where the opinion of the Court is adverse, the agreement envisaged
may not enter into force unless it is amended or the Treaties are
revised19.
(3) The Members of the Commission shall refrain from any action
incompatible with their duties20.
(4) In the areas of research, technological development and space, the
Union shall have competence to carry out activities, in particular to define and implement programmes; however, the exercise of that competence shall not result in Member States being prevented from exercising theirs
21.

3.1.2. Demonstrative reference
In the EU legal documents under analysis, demonstrative reference uses
the following devices, which mainly have an anaphoric function: demonstrative pronouns (this, those ), demonstrative adjectives (this, that,
these ), the definite article (the), the determiner such and the adverb here. The
predominant ones are demonstrative adjectives and the definite article.
E.g. (1) For the same purposes as those referred to in paragraph 1 and if the
Treaties have not provided the necessary powers, the Council, acting

18 Consolidated versions of the Treaty on Europ ean Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union
19 idem
20 idem
21 idem

117
in accordance with a special legi slative procedure, may adopt
measures concerning social security or social protection22.
(2) This situation shows that the Chinese producers are able to quickly
export and penetrate new markets and to maintain a dominant position for a long period of time
23.
(3) It should be possible for third countr ies to participate in the exchange
of VRD provided that they have concluded an agreement with the
Union to this effect. Such an agreement would have to include
necessary provisions on data protection24.
(4) As will be explained below, this is not the case here25.
3.1.3. Comparative reference
“Comparative reference establishes relations of identity or similarity with
the use of adjectives and adverbs: same, identical, better, more, less, etc.”
(Taboada 2004: 161). There are fairly many adjectives and adverbs in the comparative degree, in the EU legal documents under analysis, which achieve
comparative reference .
E.g.
(1) The EU guarantee shall be restricted to 65 % of the aggregate amount
of credits disbursed and guarantees provided under EIB financing operations, less amounts reimbursed, plus all related amounts
26.
(2) There is a benefit according to Articles 3(2) and 6(b) of the basic
Regulation to the extent that the government loans are granted on
terms more favourable than the recipient could actually obtain on the
market27.
3.1.4. Reference achieved by modi fying adjectives/adjectival phrases
(Cozma 2006: 74)
We have encountered the following modifying adjectives, which are used
in order to obtain anaphoric reference, also being characteristic to an official
style: above-mentioned, aforementioned, aforesaid, referred to .
E.g. (1) The scope of the above-mentioned software applications should be
limited to the processes used in the exchange of formation between
the national contact points in the Member States
28.

22 Consolidated versions of the Treaty on Europ ean Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union
23 Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 990/2011 of 3 October 2011
24 Directive 2011/82/EU of the European Parlia ment and of the Council of 25 October 2011
25 Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 452/2011 of 6 May 2011
26 Decision No 1080/2011/EU of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
27 Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 452/2011 of 6 May 2011
28 Directive 2011/82/EU of the European Parlia ment and of the Council of 25 October 2011

118
(2) The list of travel documents shall be drawn up in accordance with the
advisory procedure referred to in Article 8(2)29.
(3) According to the GOC the aforesaid circular confirms that
preferential lending or special loans have been eliminated30.

Cozma (2006: 75) discusses a reference device represented by the archaic
compounds which consist of an adverb and one or two pre positions. We have
also come across this special reference device, which is generally present in the English legal texts: hereby, hereto, thereof, hereinafter, therefrom,
forthwith, etc.
E.g.
(1) In order to promote coordination of the policies of Member States to
the full extent needed for the func tioning of the internal market, an
Economic and Financial Committee is hereby set up
31.
(2) They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of
those provisions and a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive
32.
(3) They shall inform the Commission of any subsequent changes
thereto33.

3.2. Substitution
As Taboada (2004: 162), explains, “ substitution refers to a previous
element in the text through the use of a substitute term”. She adds that
substitution can be nominal, verbal or clausal, depending on the substituted
item. In addition, Salkie (1995: 35) stat es that “there are some special words
in English which contribute to cohesi on by substituting for words that have
already been used. The most impor tant of these special words are one, do, and
so”.
There are few examples of substitutions in the EU legal documents, as
their usage may create misunderstandings or ambiguities. For the nominal substitution we have encountered the items the same and the one , for the
verbal substitution we have come across the verbal substitute to do so and for
the clausal substitution we have found the item so and the clausal substitute if
so.
3.2.1. Nominal substitution . In the first example the same refers to the
whole previous sentence, while in the second example the one replaces only
one word, “ situation ”.

29 Decision No 1105/2011/EU of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
30 Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 452/2011 of 6 May 2011
31 Consolidated versions of the Treaty on Europ ean Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union
32 Commission Implementing Directive 2011/48/EU of 15 April 2011
33 Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011

119
E.g.
(1) The Union shall enjoy in the territories of the Member States
such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the performance
of its tasks, under the conditions laid down in the Protocol of 8 April 1965 on the privileges and immun ities of the European Union. The
same shall apply to the European Central Bank and the European
Investment Bank
34.
(2) The non-cooperation was therefore not seen as an indication that
their situation would be different from the one of the remaining
Union producers35.
3.2.2. Verbal substitution , in which to do so refers to what is stated in
the previous sentence.
E.g. (1) If, within that period, the Conciliation Committee approves a joint
text, the European Parliament, acting by a majority of the votes cast, and the Council, acting by a qualified majority, shall each have a period of six weeks from that approval in which to adopt the act in
question in accordance with the joint text. If they fail to do so , the
proposed act shall be deemed not to have been adopted
36.
3.2.3. Clausal substitution , in which so and if so substitute the
information previously mentioned.
E.g.
(1) All interested parties who so requested and showed that there were
particular reasons why they should be heard were granted a hearing
37.
(2) In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling would
be necessary and, if so, to select a sample, exporting producers and
representatives acting on their behalf, Union producers and importers
were requested to make them selves known and to provide
information as specified in the Notice of initiation38.

3.3. Ellipsis
In the Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics (Crystal 2008: 166),
ellipsis is defined as “a term used in grammatical analysis to refer to a
sentence where, for reasons of economy, emphasis or style, a part of the structure has been omitted, which is recoverable from a scrutiny of the context”. Ellipsis is considered to be closely re lated to substitution and can be

34 Consolidated versions of the Treaty on Europ ean Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union
35 Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 452/2011 of 6 May 2011
36 Consolidated versions of the Treaty on Europ ean Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union
37 Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 990/2011 of 3 October 2011
38 idem

120
referred to as “substitution by zero”. Therefore, ellipsis consists in leaving
out a word or phrase instead of repeating it.
E.g. (1) Member States are < > and should remain competent for the
recognition of travel documents for the purpose of allowing the older to cross the external borders and affixing a visa sticker
39.
(2) Where < > necessary , the Commission shall adopt practical
arrangements necessary for the implementation of the first subparagraph in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 26(2)
40.
(3) If < > appropriate , the Commission shall present a proposal to the
Council regarding the categories of income and capital and/or the
conditions laid down in paragra ph 1, including the condition that
information concerning residents in other Member States has to be available
41.
We haven’t encountered too many cases of ellipsis in the EU legal
documents. In the first example that we have provided above, the adjective
“competent” is omitted, although it can be retrieved from the context. Cozma
(2006: 77) mentions the high frequency of the English adverbial clauses with a formulaic character if necessary , where appropriate , whenever possible .
Likewise, the most frequent cases of ellipsis in our corpus of documents are represented by the adverbial clauses “ where / if necessary ”, “where / if
appropriate ”, in which the impersonal subject “it” and the copulative verb “to
be” are omitted.

3.4. Discourse markers
As Lenk (1998: 52) explains, “ discourse markers are short, lexical items,
used with a pragmatic meaning on a metalingual level of discourse in order to
signal for the hearer how the speaker intends the present contribution to be
related to preceding and/or following parts of the discourse”. According to Müller (2005: 1) discourse markers contribute to the pragmatic meaning of
utterances, playing an important role in the pragmatic competence of the speaker.
The two types of discourse markers that contribute to the cohesion of the
text, indicating a sequential relationship, are conjunctions and connecting
adverbs .

3.4.1. Conjunctions
In the EU legal documents that we have analyzed, conjunctions are used
to create different types of relations such as:

39 Directive 2011/82/EU of the European Parlia ment and of the Council of 25 October 2011
40 Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011
41 idem

121

A. Additive relations , which are achieved by conjunctions that add more
information: and, as well as and nor.
E.g. (1) Without prejudice to Article 12, the Executive Director shall assume
full responsibility for the tasks entrusted to the Agency and shall be
subject to the procedure for annu al discharge by the European
Parliament for the implementation of the budget
42.
(2) It shall not constitute a barrier to or discrimination in trade between
Member States, nor shall it distort competition between them43.
(3) Each Member State and the Commission shall appoint the members of
the Management Board as well as alternate members, by 22 January
201244.

B. Disjunctive relations , which are achieved by the conjunction or,
expressing a choice.
E.g.
(1) The provision of information may be refused where it would lead
to the disclosure of a commercial, industrial or professional secret or
of a commercial process, or of information whose disclosure would
be contrary to public policy45.

C. Adversative relations , which are achieved by the conjunction but,
expressing opposition or contrast. We have not encountered the adversative
conjunction yet, which is generally used in informal contexts.
E.g. (1) The storage of radioactive waste, including long-term storage, is an
interim solution, but not an alternative to disposal
46.

D. Correlative relations , which are achieved by the correlative
conjunctions: both…and ; either…or ; neither…nor ; whether…or ; etc, showing
the relationship between the information gi ven in different parts of a sentence.
The most used correlative conjunctions in our corpus are either…or and
neither…nor , while both…and and whether…or are less frequent.
E.g.

42 Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
43 Consolidated versions of the Treaty on Europ ean Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union
44 Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
45 Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011
46 Decision No 1080/2011/EU of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011

122
(1) Without prejudice to the respectiv e competences of the Commission
and the Management Board, the Executive Director shall neither
seek nor take instructions from any government or other body47.
(2) The spent fuel can be regarded either as a valuable resource that may
be reprocessed or as radioactive waste that is destined for direct
disposal48.
(3) The amended versions of the softwa re applications shall provide for
both online real-time exchange mode and batch exchange mode, the
latter allowing for the exchange of multiple requests or responses
within one message49.
(4) The Member State of the offence shall decide whether to initiate
follow-up proceedings in relation to the road safety related traffic
offences referred to in Article 2 or not50.

E. Conditional relations , which describe a condition, being achieved by
the conjunctions if, unless and where .
E.g.
(1) The Management Board may re quire a repeated procedure if it is not
satisfied with the suitability of any of the candidates retained in the list
51.
(2) In the interests of transparency, the Commission shall make publicly
available on its website specific information relating to all cases of
recoveries under the guarantee agreem ent referred to in Article 14
unless confidentiality is necessary52.
(3) It should also consult and follow up the recommendations of the
European Network and Information Security Agency regarding network security, where appropriate
53.

F. Reason/causal relations , which express a cause or a reason, being
achieved by the conjunctions because , as and since .
E.g. (1) In this respect it is noted that the Commission resorted to the use of
facts available in line with the provisions of Article 28 of the basic

47 Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
48 Council Directive 2011/70/Euratom of 19 July 2011
49 Directive 2011/82/EU of the European Parlia ment and of the Council of 25 October 2011
50 idem
51 Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
52 Decision No 1080/2011/EU of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
53 Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011

123
Regulation because the specific conditions set out under Article
28(3) were not fulfilled54.
(2) In that Decision, as amended by Commission Decision 2011/238/EU
(2), the programme submitted by Tunisia has been deleted since that
third country has stopped the programme55.

G. Concessive relations , which are achieved by the conjunctions
although and even though .
E.g. (1) Although no administrative rules were provided by the GOC, the
exporting producers provided the available legal texts
56.
(2) If information is requested by a Memb er State in accordance with this
Directive, the requested Member State shall use its measures aimed at gathering information to obtain the requested information, even
though that Member State may not n eed such information for its
own tax purposes
57.

H. Purpose relations , which are achieved by the conjunction so that
indicating the purpose, usually followed by the modal can.
E.g. (1) The EIB should be encouraged to increase its operations and to
diversify its financial instruments outside the Union without recourse
to the EU guarantee so that use of the guarantee can be encouraged
for countries and projects with poor access to the market, taking into account debt sustainability considerations, and where the guarantee therefore provides greater added value
58.

J. Contrast relations , which are achieved by the conjunctions while and
whereas , showing a contrast or a comparison.
E.g. (1) While Union consumption grew by 4 % between 2006 and 2007 (see
recital (377) above), the sales volume of the product concerned by the Union industry to independent customers on the Union market
only increased by 2 % during that same period
59.

54 Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 452/2011 of 6 May 2011
55 Commission Regulation (EU) No 364/2011 of 13 April 2011
56 Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 452/2011 of 6 May 2011
57 Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011
58 Decision No 1080/2011/EU of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
59 Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 452/2011 of 6 May 2011

124
(2) Moreover, between 2008 and the IP, whereas Union consumption
decreased by 15 %, the sales volume of all Union producers
decreased even more, by 18 %60.

K. Temporal relations , which are achieved by the conjunctions when ,
after , before and as soon as expressing different relations in time.
E.g.
(1) In such a case, the period laid dow n in Article 7 shall start the day
after the request for cooperation is forwarded to the central liaison
office61.
(2) Financing could also include projects in support of health and
education infrastructure when there is clear added value62.
(3) As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it
simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.
All types of relations achieved by co njunctions previously discussed are
well-represented in the EU legal documents under analysis, playing an important part in discourse cohesion.
3.4.2. Connecting adverbs
A connecting (or conjunctive ) adverb is an adverb that connects two
clauses, showing different types of relationships such as:
Additive relations , which are achieved by the adverbs also,
furthermore , moreover and in addition .
E.g.
(1) In addition , the Agency should perform tasks relating to training on
the technical use of SIS II, VIS a nd Eurodac and other large-scale IT
systems which might be entrusted to it in the future
63.
(2) Furthermore , the scheme is specific within the meaning of Article
4(4)(b) of the basic Regulation, given that the subsidy is contingent
upon the use of domestic over imported goods64.
Adversative relation , which are achieved by the adverbs however and
nevertheless , however being the predominant one.
E.g.
(1) One co-operating exporting producer benefited from the scheme.
However , the Commission notes the total lack of any relevant
documentation concerning the cooperating exporting producer as no application to the scheme or decision granting the award was provided
65.

60 idem
61 Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011
62 Decision No 1080/2011/EU of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
63 Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011
64 Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 452/2011 of 6 May 2011
65 idem

125
(2) The claim is nevertheless worrying because it may point to an even
much more detailed government intervention than found in the
current investigation and in the parallel anti-dumping investigation66.
Resultive relations , which are achieved by the adverbs therefore , thus,
consequently and accordingly .
E.g.
(1) It is therefore concluded that the two related exporting producers
found to produce only multi-ply paperboard are not concerned by the current proceedings. Thus the findings presented in this Regulation
are not based on their information and data
67.
(2) Consequently , the delegation of the Principality of Liechtenstein
should participate in the Management Board of the Agency68.
Just like conjunctions, connecting adverbs are extremely necessary and
quite frequent in the EU legal documents that we have analyzed, achieving
additive, adversative and resultive relations.

3. Conclusions

Pursuant to our analysis, we consider that the legal discourse of the
European Union legislation is characterised by clear and precise language, which respects the rules of cohesion.
Some punctual conclusions can be form ulated as follows: in the EU legal
documents that we have analysed, repetition and the use of hyponyms are the
most frequent means of reiteration; different types of collocations are very used in order to achieve lexical cohesion; personal, demonstrative,
comparative reference and reference achieved by modifying adjectives are also well represented; the archaic compounds are a special case of reference device, being fairly often encountered; there are few examples of nominal,
verbal and clausal substitution; the predominant cases of ellipsis are
represented by the elliptical adverbial clauses: “ where / if necessary ”, “where
/ if appropriate ”; discourse markers, which contain both conjunctions and
connecting adverbs, are frequently used to achieve grammatical cohesion.
Our endeavour provides relevant insights into lexical and grammatical
cohesion of the English EU legal documents and may be of use to the
Romanian translators of EU legislation, who should be aware of the way discourse cohesion is achieved in order to properly decode the meaning of the
source text and render it as precisely as possible in their translations.

66 Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 452/2011 of 6 May 2011
67 idem
68 Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 of the European Pa rliament and of the Council of 25 October
2011

126

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was fully supported by the strategic grant
POSDRU/CPP107/DMI1.5/S/78421, Project ID 78421 (2010), co-financed by the European Social Fund – Investi ng in People, within the Sectorial
Operational Programme Human R esources Development 2007 – 2013 .

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Halliday, M.A.K., Ruqaiya Hassan. 1976. Cohesion in English . London: Longman.
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Lenk, Uta. 1998. Marking Discourse Coherence: Functions of Discourse Markers in
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Martin, James R. 2001. Cohesion and Texture . In The Handbook of Discourse
Analysis , D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen, and H. E. Hamilton (eds.), 35-54. Malden:
Blackwell Publishers.
McCarthy, Michael. 1991. Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers . Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Müller, Simone. 2005. Discourse Markers in Native and Non-native English
Discourse . Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Salkie, Raphael. 1995. Text and Discourse Analysis . London: Routledge.
Taboada, Maria Teresa. 2004. Building Coherence and Cohesion: Task-oriented
Dialogue in English and Spanish . Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Tanskanen, Sanna-Kaisa. 2006. Collaborating towards Coherence: Lexical Cohesion
in English Discourse . Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

127

TRANSLATING CULTURALLY LOADED SOMATIC IDIOMS: 
A CONTRASTIVE APPROACH 

Mihaela Raluca ȘTEFAN
University of Bucharest

The aim of this paper is to examine a number of culturally loaded somatic
idioms focusing primarily on concepts embedded in the culture. As “idiomatic language is difficult to translate because it is the area of
language closest to culture” (Wright, Jon, 2002: 52) this paper analyses
several somatic idioms, their origin and/or cultural background, and how
these aspects have influenced their actual meaning. Moreover, it outlines the
similarities and differences found in the corresponding Romanian idioms,
even when they do not contain a body part and are related to different
semantic fields. Also, the paper justifies the concept of “native-like
selection” (Pawley, A., Syder, F.H., 1983: 191), namely the ability to speak a
fluent and appropriate version of a language, based on cultural selection and idiomaticity.

Keywords : somatic idiom; idiom translation; equivalence; cultural selection

1. The nature of somatic idioms

It is generally acknowledged that an idiom is a phrase which has cultural
meaning independent of the words that make it up because its overall meaning cannot be worked out form the meanings of its constituent words. For example, if one says to a friend who never stays in a job long that he “gets
itchy feet after two or three years” (1) (Parkinson and Francis 2010: 194) one
is not implying that his friend often has some kind of skin condition such as a fungal infection. Instead, the speaker ex pects his friend to understand that he
refers to a strong desire to go somewh ere different or do something else such
as travelling, moving house or changing the job. Thus, the meaning of such idioms is unpredictable and cannot be guessed if the two speakers do not
share a certain cultural knowledge and this matter is a direct consequence of
the fact that each language organizes the world differently and thus coins its own fixed phrases.

128
And this notion that is also valid in case of somatic idioms (“idiomatic
combinations of various functions containing at l east one obvious body-part
name” – Čermák 1999: 110) is closely connected to the Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis of linguistic relativity which captures the relation of language, thought and culture and argues that “language is a guide to social reality … it
powerfully conditions all our thinking about social problems and processes”
because “human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in
the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society” (Sapir 1962: 68 in Davies and Elder 2006: 237). As a consequence if each language represent s a separate reality and carves the
world up in different ways it is clear that each language shall have unique
somatic idioms regardless of the body parts they may refer to, the most important aspect will always be the meaning of the whole fixed phrase and from this perspective stems “the difficulty of interpreting idioms in terms of
the meanings of their constituent words” (Cowie et al 1993: xii).
Furthermore, because idioms are both culturally-bound linguistic units
and the most irregular category among phrasemes, linguists are still far from
being able to give a definite and ge nerally accepted definition of what they
actually stand for. However, it is commonly accepted that idioms are those “phrasemes with a high degree of idiomaticity and stability” (Dobrovolski ĭ
et al 2005: 40), and that idiomaticity is understood as a semantic
reinterpretation and/or opac ity, closely related to th e notion of figurativeness,
whereas stability is understood as frozenness or lack of combinatorial freedom of a certain phrase. Moreover, it is obvious that what is literally said in an idiom differs from what is meant even if there is a link between the two concepts; in all cases the source concep t has been semantically reinterpreted
to denote the target concept, it is a matter of figurative language that makes
sense only if the translator bridg es the cultural gap between the two
languages.

2. Material and methods

This article analyzes, from a cultu ral perspective, somatic idioms
containing the lexeme “foot” in relation to their Romanian equivalents and for
this reason, it uses descriptive methods of analysis and a general conclusion is
arrived at by specific contrastive examples.
Also, it emphasizes the fact that most feelings, experiences or human
relationships are conveyed symbolica lly and/or metaphorically through
different conceptual images in the tw o languages under consideration because
“idioms reflect the transformation in c onceptualization of the universe and the
relationship between human bei ngs and the universe” (Sadeghi et al 2005:
81). This is why sometimes it can be a challenge to decipher and/or translate
the precise meaning of certain idioms because “idiomatic language is the area

129
of language closest to culture” (Wright 2002: 52) and problems arise when it
comes to finding “the closest natural e quivalent” (Nida and Taber 1969: 251)
of the source language message in the target language. At this point translation strategies used consciously a nd effectively, come into effect and
the translator becomes an assessor, if not, even a critic, of his/her own work.
When it comes to translating idioms, it is well known that a complete
equivalence is almost impossible b ecause languages are so different in
structure, having distinct codes and rules that govern their internal organization and because idioms are not only culturally dependent semantic units but they are also culturally influen ced, and they are relevant only if both
speakers share the same cognitive image of that particular idiom.
Furthermore, the idiomatic encount er between two different languages
may suffer because idioms are considered the object of “native-like selection”
namely, “the ability of the native speaker routinely to convey his meaning by an expression that is not only grammati cal but also native-like” (Pawley and
Syder 1983: 191). Thus, because idioms are an indicator of native or near native mastery of the language most tran slators often feel constrained to find
an idiom in the target language that sounds as natural as the source language
fixed expression, which is not necessarily the best solution. But, for this thing to happen the translator should not onl y understand the source language, he
should also be wholly proficient in the target language and be able to write in
a number of different styles, maybe, as Anthea Bell suggested “the translator
needs a wider vocabulary than most authors” (2007: 65). Additionally, not
only that the translator has to find an a ppropriate equivalent but he also has to
select a phrase from among a wide range of grammatically correct linguistic units that it is native-like and that it does not have highly marked usages.
Also, it is worth mentioning that “the translator also needs to develop
sensitivity to the use of idioms in the receptor language and use them
naturally to make the translation lively and keep the style of the source
language” (Larson 1984: 116) because each translation unit is a part of a complex network of reciprocal pres uppositions and interrelations among each
lexeme.
For this reason, the translator has to consider all the factors involved in
translating an idiom as close as possibl e to the source language significance,
for example, if there is a similar idio matic meaning available in the target
language, if the specific lexical items constituting the idiom are vital for its understanding or/and are culturally-bound, if it is appropriate to use a certain
correspondent target language idiom in the given context or if the register of
both the source language idiom and the ta rget language idiom really match.
And the bigger the cultural gap between L1 and L2, the more difficult for the translator to transfer an idiomatic meaning.
Moreover, as Gottlieb (1997: 315) argued, “an idiom is difficult to
decode correctly for someone who on ly knows the normal meanings of its
constituent elements” therefore, the translator should be aware of the

130
figurative uses of words, their metaphori cal extensions and the ways they can
change over time when native speakers shift their meanings to fit new
conditions.
On the other hand, it is true that all idioms resist simple, straightforward
definitions and some are perceived as frozen word sequences while others may be quite flexible constructions but it is obvious that all of them share to a
certain extent elements specific to the source culture because all idiomatic
expressions reflect the respective peopl e’s culture. Therefore, even if
translators have many factors to take into account when finding an appropriate
equivalent in the target language it a ll comes down to cultural linguistic units
relevant for a particular case.

3. A corpus-based investigat ion of several somatic idioms

Because the human body serves as a frequent source of our metaphorical
thought and language, many cultural specific idioms use words denoting body parts to express more vividly certain feelings or situations. It is a case of
understanding an event in terms of ot her more familiar and well-understood
notions, as body parts are.

3.1. To put your foot in it
The idiom “to put your foot in it” (2) with its informal variant “to put
your foot in your mouth” (3) (Parkinson and Francis 2010: 135) is used to
show that a person said or did something that offended or embarrassed somebody without intending to, more precisely, it is employed to talk about an ignorant, unintentional, or accident al action which usually makes matters
worse and it can be considered an “i mageable idiom” (Lakoff 1987: 447), “a
figurative expression that tends to ca ll up a conventional scene in the native
speaker’s mind” (Boers and Demecheleer 2001: 255). Such “idioms that have
associated conventional images” (Lako ff 1987: 447) display formal-semantic
isomorphism between the surface form of an idiom and its semantics.
Moreover, a high degree of imag eability enhances the semantic
transparency of idioms but this fact does not necessarily mean that it will be
easier for the translator to find a more suitable correspondent in the target
language because it is not an issue dependent on the semantic features of the source language idiom, but rather on the cross-cultural influences that may exist between two languages because, as Bassnett-McGuire (1991: 14) argues
“language, then, is the heart within the body of culture, and it is the
interaction between the two that results in the continuation of life energy.”
For example, the Romanian equivalents for the above-mentioned idiom,
that is, “to put your foot in it” (4) are either “a o face boac ănă/de oaie” or “a
da cu bățul/ bâta în balt ă” or “a nimeri ca Ieremia cu oi ștea-n gard” (Nicolescu
et al 1999: 305) which are neither somatic fixed phrases nor do they display
formal-semantic isomorphism and if the translator is not fully aware of the

131
meaning of the source language idiom, it can be quite a challenge to render it
accurately into Romanian.
Thus, because each language has its own culture-specific idioms which
allow its speakers to express ideas and emotions that go beyond the resources
of the so-called literal language, the tr anslator cannot accurately predict the
meaning of a target language idiom no matter how “imageable” that idiom
might seem or how relevant the contextual clues. The translator cannot simply
speculate about just what kind of association might be imagined between a certain notion and an attitude or situati on that might be connected to it, just
for the simple reason that there can be two completely different idiomatic
meanings for exactly the same fixed phrase.

3.2. To put your best foot forward
The somatic idiom “to put your b est foot forward” (5) (McCarthy et al
1998: 30) which has two distinct idiomatic meanings, namely, “to do something as well as you can” (McCarthy et al 1998: 30), to present yourself
in the best possible way in order to make a good impression and “to go or
work as fast as you can” (McCarthy et al 1998: 30); of course, both of them
depend on the context in which they are employed. However, in Romanian, the translator has to find two different idioms to render the two independent meanings because a similar fixed phrase valid for both situations does not exist. Unfortunately, the “English-Ro manian Phraseological Dictionary”
(Nicolescu et al 1999: 304) offers two possible solutions but only for the
second meaning it provides an idiomatic phrase and this is because the target
language culture, namely, Romanian does not conceive of “having to put a
better foot” so as to appear at one’s best and to try to make a good impression, as one can easily see, it is a matter of c ognitive image in one culture that is not
self-evident in the other.
The Romanian equivalents for the same English somatic idiom are in case
of the first acceptation, as already stated, a non-idiomatic phrase which is meant to render the overall meaning but not in a figurative way, that is “a
depune toate eforturile” (Nicolescu et al 1999: 304) and in the case of the
second one, a symbolic image, namely, “a întinde pasul, a-i da b ătaie, a da
zor” (Nicolescu et al 1999: 304). In this latter acceptation, it is, as it is the
case of the English idiom, an invitation to the addressee to follow a particular
imaginative track that conveys a distinct meaning which of course, requires a certain result or behaviour and even if the source language and the target
language do not share the same linguistic units or at least a similar imagery
created by the mind they reflect a common metaphoric theme, namely, “to
hurry up, to walk faster than usual”.
3.3. To put your foot down
On the other hand, the informal idiom “to put your foot down” (6)
(Parkinson and Francis 2010: 135) which means both “to use your authority to

132
stop somebody doing something” (Parki nson and Francis 2010: 135) and in
British English “to suddenly increase your speed when you are driving”
(McCarthy et al 1998: 145) displays a higher degree of semantic transparency
and apparently it may be easier for the translator to find an appropriate correspondent but their imageability is a matter of degree, for example, compared to the first meaning, the second one may be more imageable to
most language users, and therefore easier to render into the target language.
However, unfortunately, it is precisely this second meaning that the
“English-Romanian Phraseologi cal Dictionary” (Nicolescu et al 1999: 304) chose
to ignore and not offer at least an expl anation, maybe because the only solution
would have been a paraphrase, such as, “a calca accelera ția” or “a ap ăsa pedala de
accelerație”. This misrepresentation of the meanings of the aforesaid fixed phrase
proves that English idioms may offer a striking new insight into ordinary issues which are culturally-bound, deeply rooted in some relevant British historic or economic events and not easily rendered i n t o R o m a n i a n b ecause they do not
naturally appear within the target language context.
But, it is worth emphasizing that th e first meaning of the above-mentioned
English somatic idiom, that is, “to put your foot down” (Parkinson and Francis
2010: 135) has a similar counterpart in Romanian to refer precisely to someone
who asserts something strongly and makes a firm stand to establish his authority
on an issue, namely “a pune piciorul în prag” (Nicolescu et al 1999: 303) maybe
because it is a common human attitude in bo th the source languag e and the target
language and due to this fact even if the words are used metaphorically the
surface structure has a bigger role to pl ay in understanding the meaning of the
whole expression.
Therefore, idioms display either cross-cultural similarity or variation and
while some of them can be identified in many different languages others are language- and culture-specific, for this re ason the translator cannot ever pretend
to have offered the most appropriate, universally used version of an idiom, all of
them are context dependent because, metaphorically speaking, “if translating involves the transporting of meaning across linguistic and cultural frontiers, or
over bridges and tightropes, it seems that the buckets in which it is carried are
leaky” (Hanne 2007: 209), that is , the context is never the same.

3.4. To put a foot in the grave
Furthermore, a relevant example of the aforesaid notion of cross-cultural
similarity which translators find it easier to convey into the target language because its meaning can be inferred from the meanings of its constituents and
each component has a direct meaning but the way they combine acquires
figurative sense is the informal, humorous, somatic idiom “to have one foot in the
grave” (7) (Parkinson and Francis 2010: 135). Its Romanian equivalent is “a fi cu un picior în groap ă” (Nicolescu et al 1999: 426), exactly the same source
language lexemes for the same significance. Both of them are u sed to refer to the
fact that one is so old and/or ill that probably he will not live much longer.

133
Naturally, this idiom has a clear origin and imagery, know n by all the users
of the two languages under consideration and therefore it is more transparent than
other idioms whose origin has become obscure. Both the source language idiom and the target language idiom employ th e same figurative sense to emphasize that
somebody is very old and likely to die soon, “one foot is in his/her grave”, a symbolic image which can be easily predictable.
Thus, in the case of this fixed expressi on the cultural convention between the
two languages is similar so that a stra ightforward image in one culture is self-
evident in another and calls up the same conventional scene in the minds of the
source and target language speakers.
Therefore, “native language idioms and set phrases can blend together ethno-
specific concepts pertaining to the world view of its speakers, to their national
character, as well as their traditional social relations, thus becoming an
embodiment of national dispositions and spiritual values” (Maalej 2005: 215).

3.5. To shoot yourself in the foot
Take for example, the following somatic idiom “to shoot yourself in the
foot” (8) (Brenner 2003: 260) which is presented metaphorically and has no
corresponding counterpart in Romanian, at least not an idiomatic one, its meaning
can be conveyed only by paraphrase becau se it is an expression that has become
fossilized, after a literal usage back in the days of forced conscription in the army
when if a man shot himself in the foot he could get an instant dismissal, but later
on when this rule was abolished people were still shooting themselves in the foot,
to no avail; it just caused them pain for a few months (Brenner 2003: 260).
In time the component words of this phrase were deprived of their intrinsic
light and meaning due to incessant usage a nd stopped referring exclusively to a
method of avoiding the draft, by extension, it started being used if someone harmed himself in some way by doing something stupid or making a silly mistake
which damaged his ambition, career or even his prospects for the future.
Furthermore, to make things clear, as cult ure exists in a good interaction with
people because it is rooted in some important historic or social events that have marked a generation and as most idioms are culturally-bound and in the target
language there was not such a regulation regarding military conscription it is
obvious that the source language idiom is culture-specific and the only ways to
render it are by paraphrasing according to context or by using a target language
idiom that has a similar meani ng but dissimilar form such as “a- și tăia craca de
sub picioare” (Barbu et al 2003: 1139) which means to do something without
intending to, something that spoils a situation for yourself and, thus, you
inadvertently make matters worse for yourself and demonstrate gross
incompetence.
Additionally, the inner force of the idiom, its intrinsic capacity lies in the
invitation to the translator to recognize that it cannot be understood literally and, given that fact, to speculate about just what kind of associati on might be imagined
between the meaning of each constituent and the overall meaning of the phrase.

134

3.6. To get your feet wet
Usually idioms suggest equivalence and identity between objects or qualities
which cannot be identical or/and between semantic domains which have little in common, such as the following idiom, “to get your feet wet” (9) (Parkinson and Francis 2010: 123), namely, to start doing something that is new for you, which
associates the idea of a first-time experience with the notion of getting your feet
wet, which, at first glance, may seem rather common, but actually, it is an idiom which originates in the Biblical story of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt
and the crossing of the River Jordan when God promised He would part the waters of Jordan when the feet of the priests touched the water, so they had to get
their feet wet and have faith in God. (McCarthy et al 1998: 132).
However, even if this expression might seem well known due to the Bible’s
universality which speaks to people from all types of cultures, in Romanian it has not become fossilized and widely used, inst ead, the target language equivalent for
a first-time experience that in volves taking a risk is “a- și încerca mâna” (Barbu et
al 2003: 384) which still renders the idea of gaining your first experience of
something.

3.7. To get cold feet
On the other hand, for other idioms th e association between the lexemes and
the overall meaning is quite obvious both in the source language and in the target
language, such as in the case of the informal somatic idiom “to get cold feet” (10)
(Parkinson and Francis 2010: 66) which refers to someone who no longer wants to continue what he intended or has starte d to do because he is nervous or afraid.
Its Romanian equivalents, depending on the context, are the following ones “a-i
trece răcorile/ sudorile; a-i înghe ța sângele în vine; a-l lua cu frig; a sta cu frica în
sân; a-i intra frica în oase” (Nicolescu et al 1999: 96).
Thus, this idiom makes use of a figu rative image that describes a physical
process to express a state in a more comprehensive and concise way than it is possible in literal language, both of them, namely the source language idiom and the target language one seem quite tr ansparent because they offer a reasonable
literal interpretation but the translator should be very careful as their idiomatic
meaning may not necessarily be sign aled in the su rrounding text.
Therefore, when referring to cont rastive idiomaticity, equivalence and
translatability of various fixed phrases the translator should also consider cross-
cultural influences, if the meaning of the figurative id iom is “motivated” by its
origin or if it is equally salient across cultures or specific only to the target
language culture. For this reason, one can perceive translation as a blending of
cultures capable of generati ng a wide range of idioms that are easily understood
by both the source and target language speakers.
However, “a blending of the culture of the source language with the
conventions and culture of the target langua ge that results in a translation which,
though not an exact transfer ence of the original text, pr ovides a faithful cultural

135
understanding of the original in the minds of the target language readers” (Abu-
Mahfouz 2008: 5) may be a possible solution to render a culturally loaded
somatic idiom into a target language. In this way, not only that the cultural
connotations are reflected in each phrase ological unit and any possible cross-
cultural and/or linguistic differences or si militudes are identified but also that the
reader in the target language will beco me aware of the fact that idioms vary
according to the language an d should not be viewed on ly as illogic units or
“mental monuments of history” (Roberts 1944: 304).

3.8. To cut the ground from under somebody’s feet
Take for instance, the following idiom used when someone suddenly spoils
somebody’s idea or plan by doing something to stop him from continuing with it,
namely, “to cut the ground from under somebody’s feet” (11) (Parkinson and Francis 2010: 156) which has a similar equi valent in the target language, that is,
“a face pe cineva s ă piardă terenul de sub picioare; a-i lua cuiva apa de la moar ă”
(Nicolescu et al 1999: 65) and which may seem to originate as an innovations of
individuals but reveals itself as an instance of cross-cultural similitude, a mental
monument of common history, a source of language change and a proof of the
way culture and language evolve together because as Roberts (1944: 299) argued
“yesterday’s discourse is today’s langua ge; today’s discourse is tomorrow’s
language.”
3.9. To have/keep both/ your feet on the ground
Similarly, to shed more light on the fact that idioms are mainly conceptual
and not linguistic in nature because they are not just fixed phrases whose overall
meaning is somehow special and obviously, different in relation to the meanings
of their constituting parts but they reflect a more general knowledge of the world,
consider the following example which coincides both in the source language and in the target language “to have/keep both/ your feet on the ground” (12)
(Parkinson and Francis 2010: 123) translated as “a fi cu picioarele pe p ământ”
(Trofin 1996: 196) which proves that some somatic idioms share a common conceptual system no matter how grammatically or semantically unusual they
may seem. As it is for instance, the case of the idiom “to sweep somebody off
their feet” (13) (Parkinson and Francis 2010: 393) which means “to attract somebody very strongly because you are exciting or charming” and which even if
it does not have a similar counterpart in Romanian, and it may only be translated
with another body part, namely “a rupe gura cuiva” (Nicolescu et al 1999: 366),
“a da gata pe cineva” (Trofin 1996: 195 ) or with a paraphrase “a entuziasma pe
cineva la culme, a zgudui/ impresiona teribil pe cineva” (Nicolescu et al 1999:
366) this fact does not de-emphasize its merit and importance in everyday
communication.

136

4. Conclusions

The results of this article show that a possible ideal translation strategy
for rendering an idiom in the target language by using a similar idiom from
the same target language is not always the most suitable solution. And literal
translation without considering its restri ctions may lead to serious deviations
through translation due to the tribute paid to the source language because it is
widely believed that “translation is basically a complex decision process based only on the source text available information” (Heizmann 1994: 1).
Taking everything into consideration, the overall findings in this paper
suggest that, although some idioms ar e “neutral” in th e sense that their
meaning cannot be inferred from their or igin or it is completely irrelevant
while others are, on the contrary, closely connected to their cultural background, when translating, one shou ld always remember that all somatic
idioms share a common source domain − culture, which turns them into “the
poetry of daily discourse” (Cacciari and Tabo ssi 1993: ix), due to the fact that
those who speak different languages see the world in completely different ways. Thus, the connection between a somatic idiom origin and its meaning should be extensively analysed because it helps the translator avoid misrepresentations in the mediation of cu ltures, especially given the fact that
as Bell suggested “translators are in the business of spinning an illusion” (2007: 59) and “there is always semantic loss from the source text at the convergence of cultural systems” (Neube rt and Shreve 1992: 2) because the
translator uproots the somatic idiom in a courageous attempt to transplant its
fragile meaning.

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Dicționar Academic . București: Editura Univers Enciclopedic.
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as Writer. Bassnett, Susan, Peter Bush. (eds.), 58-67. London: Continuum.
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differences on learners’ comprehension of imageable idioms”. ELT Journal
55: 255-262
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Cacciari, Cristina, Pa trizia Tabossi. 1993. Idioms: Processing, Structure, and
Interpretation . New Jersey: Lawrence Er lbaum Associates, Inc.
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W. Eismann. Universitätsverlag Dr. N. Brockmeyer, Bochum. (Studien zur
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Figurative language: cross-cultural and cross-linguistic perspectives .
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Gottlieb, Henrik. 1997. Quality Revisited: The Rendering of English Idioms in Danish
Television Subtitles vs. Printed Translations . In Text Typology and
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Hanne, Michael. (2007). Metaphors for the Translator In The Translator as Writer.
Bassnett, Susan; Bush, Peter (eds.), 208-224. London: Continuum.
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Maalej, Zouhair (ed.). 2005. Metaphor, Cognition and Culture . Manouba, Tunis:
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McCarthy, Michael; Elizabet h Walter, Glennis Pye, et al. 1998. Cambridge
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139

THE LINGUISTICS OF FEEDBACK: ENTITLEMENT AND 
CONTINGENCY 

Adina I. VELEA
Transilvania University of Bra șov

This paper aims at investigating linguistic choices for providing feedback in
Romanian multi-party academic meeting interactions. The results of this
conversation analytic study show that feedback is differently, but
systematically provided by the participants. For instance, in general, the chair uses mostly imperatives, deontic verbs, and question tags whilst the
others mainly use conditionals, impersonal constructions and interrogative
sentences. Thereby, we might claim for an asymmetric distribution of
linguistic forms among the participants at the meeting according to several
degrees of entitlement covered by their social status, the chair having a senior academic position. However, furt her investigation reveals that there
are cases in which the other participants use deontic verbs too and the chair
interrogatives, in circumstances of different degrees of contingency, or difficulty of providing a solution.

Keywords: Romanian, feedback, entitlement, contingency, meetings

1. Introduction

Meetings have extensively been in th e focus of research due to several
characteristics that render them intere sting for analysing. Apart from their
pervasiveness at the workplace, they pr esent a special turn-taking system and
are presided by a chair who usually organises the agenda and allocates turns or ‘sanctions’ interventions (Svenne vig 2012). The meeting interactions
investigated in this study have been held in Romanian academic settings, their
agenda being to provide feedback on several articles developed by the
members of the academic institutions.
Within a study on the leadership styl e of managers who provide feedback
in industrial meetings, there have been identified three stages in performing
this action: clarification and diagnos is, evaluation (assessment) and giving

140
directions for future action (Svennevig 2011). This paper is mainly focused on
the last stage, when the participants at the meetings provide solutions to
several issues presented in the articles.
In order to describe the feedback turns and especially their linguistic
design, I apply the methodology of conversation analysis (Drew 2005; Drew
and Heritage 1992; Sidnell 2010; Her itage and Clayman 2010), which is
mainly qualitative and focussed on ac tion. More precisely, within this
framework “we are examining in detail th e particular way in which a turn or
turns is/are constructed; what actions speakers are engaged in, or conducting,
or even ‘performing’, in a turn at talk; how turns are responsive to one
another, and thereby built into sequences; what shapes or patterns those action
sequences come to exhibit; and how it is , then, that speakers manage social
actions and activities in interaction w ith one another” (Drew and Heritage
1992: 10).
As the participants at the meeting u se various linguistic forms to provide
feedback, the main research question th at this paper aims at respond to is:
what are the criteria for selecting a form instead of the other?

2. Findings and discussion
The findings that resulted from the conversation analytic perspective are
twofold. On one hand, there is an as ymmetric distribution of the linguistic
forms among the participants at the mee ting, thereby the chair (identified in
the data as A) uses constructions that th e others (B, C, D) generally do not.
The chair presents a higher academic status than the other participants. Under these circumstances, we might claim that she has a higher entitlement
(covered by status) to use specific forms, such as the imperative or question
tags. These findings are therefore commen surate with previous research in a
Swedish home help service, that highlighted the connection between status
and high entitlement (Lindström 2005).
Nevertheless, further investigation of the data shows that there are cases
(very few, though) in which the other participants use forms that were
exclusively employed by the chair a nd vice versa. In these cases, it is the
degree of contingency or difficulty of providing a solution that makes the chair use interrogative constructions or the others employ deontic verbs or
modalisers, for example. Thereby, contingency trumps status in these
circumstances. The framewo rk of entitlement and contingency has been first
used in order to show that the social setting is not so salient in the speakers’
selection of linguistic forms than thei r anticipation or acknowledgement (that
is the contingency) of possible difficulties in having their request granted (Curl and Drew 2008). For an overview on this framework see (Antaki and
Kent 2012).

141
2.1. Asymmetry & entitlement
In the following, I will illustrate with relevant examples the first part of
the results, highlighting the asymmetric distribution of linguistic forms among the participants at the meeting according to their entitlement.
The chair uses mostly direct forms, such as the imperative, expressing
thereby her high entitlement. In extract (1 ), for example, the chair tells the
author of the paper how to number the ex amples. In line 2 the bare imperative
is accompanied by the clitic ‘le’ and followed by an account towards the end
of which the author cuts in to expr ess her motivation of having chosen a
specific model for numbering the examples:
(1)
1 A: apropo de asta (.) sunt acuma la exemplele trei (.) în primul
rând eu (1.0) nu ai
by the way (.) I am now at examples three (.) first I (1.0) you do not
have a a

2 a a unu spune-le a b c d c ă n-avem modelu ăsta [iar la
one refer to them as a b c d cause we do not have this model [and at
3 B: [ George așa mi-a spus
[ George told me so
4 A: e George nu ți-a spus bine (.) c ă nu le păstră_
1 nu
well George did not inform you properly (.) cause we do not
kee_ we do not have

5 avem avem a b c
have have a b c

In extract (2), the chair uses again th e imperative (‘read’) which is in this
case prefaced by the construction RO: ‘t e rog din suflet’, EN: ‘please kindly’,
and followed by a second imperative addr essed to another participant at the
meeting who has to tell the author exactly what to read:
(2)
1 A: ↑te: rog din suflet >CITE: ȘTE< spune-i exact ce s ă citească
↑ please : kind:ly >REA:D< tell her exactly what to read
2 D: deci (2.0) paragraful treisprezece trei cinci
so (2.0) paragraph thirteen three five

3 B: trei::sprezece
thir::teen

1 The interactions have been transcribed acco rding to Gail Jefferson’s transcription system
except that the cut off symbol was changed from (-) to (_).

142

4 A: ↑te rog din su:flet citește (.) totu și >de asta avem textul ăsta
ce s-a dat pentru
↑ please kind:ly read (.) though >that is why we have this text that was
given
5 toată lumea< adic ă (.) de citit (.) vezi ce ↑spune.
for everyone< I mean (.) to be read (.) see what it ↑ says.

We can notice that the same construction for giving directions is repeated
in line 4, emphasising the necessity of th e author to read a designated text.
The chair’s turn finishes with a reformul ation of the same request, this time
linguistically expressed through a Romanian non-finite form (preposition plus participle) called supine, followed by another imperative (RO: ‘vezi’, EN:
‘see’).
Generally, it is the chair the one who provides solutions for various issues
identified in the paper. However, there are cases (3) in which the chair asks
the author herself to find a soluti on. After having assessed the problem,
followed by a pause and an in breadth the chair uses the construction RO: ‘te
rog’, EN: ‘please’, which in this case is translated as ‘I am asking you’. The
subject is also made explicit which is not compulsory as Romanian is a pro-
drop language (Pan ă Dindelegan Forthcoming).
(3)
1 A: deci nu este o chestie genera::l ă (1.0) .hhhh și atunci aici te rog
tu
să găsești
so it is not a gene::ral issue (1.0) .hhhh and then here I am asking you
to find
2 o solu ție
a solution

We have seen so far cases in which mainly the chair provides feedback,
but this does not mean that the othe r academic participants do not express
their suggestions. In the following, I pre sent extracts illustrative of the others’
linguistic choices to provide solutions to problems.
For instance, in (4), one of the participants uses an interrogative
construction to suggest the author a specific order of her information within the article. We notice that through the mechanism of self-repair, the
suggestion is first expressed through the verb ‘want’ at past tense, then
changed to the modal ‘would’, the speaker orienting thereby to the normative
character of the conversation, in which th e chair, through her high status is the
one who would use such direct forms such ‘I want you to change’:
(4) 1 C : eu vroiam totu și să schimb_ n-ar fi n-ar fi bine s ă lași
I wanted however you to change_wouldn’t wouldn’t be good to leave

143

2 asta cu VSO în partea cu informa ția?
this with VSO in the information section?

In extract (5) we have another inte rrogative construction through which a
participant at the meeting provides a solution regarding the insertion of an
example. We see also that the sp eaker accounts for her suggestion by
mentioning that her example is more appropriate to the Romanian language:
(5)
1 D: TE-AR DERANJA cu ceva ? dacă spui că
WOULD YOU BE SOMEHOW BOTHERED? if you say cause it

2 sună mai române ște George reviste cite ște (.) nu cărți
sounds more Romanian like George reads (.) magazines not books
Once the problem has been identified, the author of the paper may also
self-provide a solution. For instance, in extract (6), line 1, although the author
expresses her lack of knowledge at th e beginning of the turn, she initiates a
solution which is ratified by the chair in line 2 and contradicted by another participant in line 3. We see that whils t the chair uses the modal ‘can’, the
speaker in lines 3 to 6 employs more indirect and elaborated constructions such as ‘I was thinking’ or ‘wouldn’t be’ in order to provide a different
solution:
(6) 1 B: eu nu știu ce să spun pot s ă renunț la notă și să dau trimitere și =
I do not know what to say I can give up the footnote and quote
and =
2 A:= poți să [renunți
= (you) can [give up
3 C: [nu că mă gândeam c ă la io ș
tiu la exclamativ
[no cause I was thinking that of/about I don’t know of/about
exclamative (sentences)

4 nu mai e atât de important ă ordinea adic ă nu la oarecum diferit
pe ce focalizezi la
the order is not so important anymore I mean somehow it is different the
focus on

5 fiecare m ă gândeam c ă și aici declarativul n-ar fi mai corect s ă-l
unești în
each I was thinking that here too the declarative wouldn’t it be
more appropriate to

144
6 relație cu celelalte
relate it to the others

In extract (7), lines 1-3 an academic pa rticipant at the meeting identifies a
problem within the author’s paper. It is interesting to see that again through the mechanism of self-repair, at the begi nning of the turn, the speaker changes
from the form ‘you talk’ to ‘you give the impression that you talk’. In line 5,
when the same participant provides a so lution, she uses lexical items such as
‘possibly’ and the subjunctive mood. Sh e could have used the imperative for
example, but her low status prevents her from doing so. However, in line 8, the chair comes in with an alternative to the already expressed solution, using
the indicative mood, which is accepted by the author of the paper in her next
turn (line 9):
(7) 1 D: tu vorbești de imper_dai impresia c ă vorbești de
you talk about imper_you give the impression that you strictly talk
about the

2 imperativ în sens strict dup ă care zici c ă există două feluri de
imperative
imperative then you say there are two types of imperative
3 și-al doilea e conjunctivul de exemplu . =
and the second one is the subjunctive for example. =

4 B: = NU. unu este
= NO. one is
[…]
5 D: atuncea eventual la-ncepu_s ă dai [Ș:I ceva cu imperaTIvu ↓
then possibly at the beginnin_ give [something with the imperaTIve ↓ in
the first
6 B: [da alea
[yes those
7 D: în primele exemple ↓ca să [ (să se-nțeleagă.)
examples ↓ too so as [( it can be understood.)

8 A: [ sau că-i concept prototipic [imperativul și:
[or that the [imperative is prototypical concept and:
9 B: [ da.
[yes.

The last extract (8) from this secti on is illustrative of the different
linguistic choices selected by the others and the chair. In line (8) the chair
provides a solution, the author being asked to give up some examples from

145
her paper. We notice that the next turn following the one of the chair is
linguistically designed in a different manner even though it expresses the
same solution. The verb ‘give up’ is u sed by the chair at the indicative mood,
and by another participant, in a silent way, at the conditional:
(8)
1 B: mă refer numa la aspectul de uz
I refer only to its usage
2 A: hh bine atunci renun ți la b și c ::
hh okay then you give up b and c ::
3 C : ° da și eu aș renunța°
°yes I would give up too°

Thereby, the extracts illustrated in this section have shown different
linguistic choices of providing feedback (Figure 1) selected by the participants at the meeting (chair and others) according to different degrees of entitlement
covered by social status.
Figure 1: Asymmetric distribution of forms

High –––––––––––––––––––––––>Low
entitlement entitlement
Imperative I ask you To be read I was thinking Would you? I wonder if

2.2. Entitlement and contingency
Even though there is a clear asymmetric distribution of linguistic forms
according to the status of the particip ants, I have identified few cases within
the data in which the chair uses inte rrogative constructions and the other
participants employ forms that were generally used by the chair of the meeting in circumstances of low or high contingency or difficulty of
providing a solution. For instance, in extract (9) before providing a solution,
the chair assesses her future comment (line 1) and then asks a series of
questions (lines 3, 4) expressing thereby a high degree of contingency or difficulty in evaluating as true or false a statement within the article. Note also
the cut off in line 1, marking the chai r’s hesitancy. In lines 4-5 the author
replies before the chair has finished her turn in order to inform that she will
have a look in the grammar in order to provide an accurate answer: chair other

146

(9)
1 A: și am o chestiune s-ar putea s ă s- fie o prostie. întrebările-ecou
COPIAZĂ
and I have an issue it might be a stupidity. the echo questions
generally COPY

2 intonația în general enun țurilor baz ă. (.) I-AdevăRAT? „a spus
că CE?” e
the intonation of the main clauses (.) IS IT TRUE? „ he said that
WHAT? ” is

3 copiat? (.) adic ă mi se pare (.) c ă NU copiaz ă. „a spus c ă
[CINE ?”
copied? meaning it seems to me that it does NOT copy. „he said that [WHO? ”
4 B: [ habar
[I have no

5 n-am. trebuie s ă mă uit să văd ce e în gramatica
idea. I have to look to see what is in the grammar

The context of extract (10) is that the chair wonders about the spelling of
an English word. She uses an interr ogative construction (high contingent
form) which is positively replied in line 2 by the author of the paper. We see that a solution to a problem can be coll aboratively provided, the chair does not
only tell the author what to do, but she also asks her interrogatively. After the
solution is provided, in th e next turn the chair agrees and moves to the next
topic: (10)
1 A: așa se zice cu ‘o’ ?
that’s how it is said with ‘o’?

2 B : da
yes
3 A : bun mai departe
good let’s move on

As far as the other participants are concerned, there are cases in which
they display both high (line 1) and low (line 2) contingencies. In (11), the speaker first expresses an unknown pers pective by using the construction ‘I
do not think’ and then towards the end of the turn she inserts the deontic

147
modaliser ‘obligatory’, clearly disagreeing with the author’s choice of giving
a word in brackets:
(11)
1 D: și mai aveam aicea ceva (.) tu l-ai pus în parantez ă pe ‚îl’ dar nu cred
că-i în
and I had something here (.) you gave it in brackets but I do not think it is
in

2 paranteză în ambele cazuri e obligatoriu
brackets in both cases it is obligatory

In extract (12) we encounter a similar dichotomy between high and low
contingencies. One of the participants at the meeting uses the form ‘I wonder’
at the beginning of her turn in line 1, which in previous research literature
(Curl and Drew 2008) represents a high contingent construction used in
unknown circumstances. After having give n several accounts (lines 3, 6) the
speaker (C) employs a low contingent form, a deontic verb (RO: ‘trebuie’,
EN: ‘must/have to’) followed by an evaluation, which strengthens her
solution: (12)
1 C: eu mă întreb de ce mai e nevoie de b-ul ăsta =
I wonder why there is a need for this b =

2 A: = deci nu e nevoie
=so there is no need 3 C: aveți aici toate tipurile de enun ț aveți declarativele interogativele
you have here all types of clauses you have the declaratives the
interrogatives

4 imperativele și gata
the imperatives and that’s all

5 B: dar eu discut dintr-o alt ă perspectiv ă
but I discuss from another perspective
6 C: dar ați discutat și gramatical eventual zice ți aicea o propozi ție
but you discussed also from a grammatical perspective you might say
here a sentence

7 la început
at the beginning
((overlaping talk))

148
8 C: dar nici nu mai trebuie spus c ă se știe nu chiar e superfluu
but it isn’t anymore compulsory to be said cause it is known no this
thing is really
9 chestia asta și nu =
superfluous and no =

10 B: = okay
We can see that the author agrees to the other participant’s feedback (line
10) only after a low contingent form has been used, as the modal ‘have to’,
expressing no difficulty in providing a solution.
Figure 2 displays several forms identifie d in the feedback turns either of
the chair or of the other participants and their situation on the scale of contingency or acknowledgement of the speakers’ possible difficulties involved in providing feedback:
Figure 2: Continuum of forms according to contingencies

High–––––––––––––––––––––––>Low
contingency contingency
I wonder if Interrogatives Deontic verbs Imperatives

3. Conclusions

This paper has focussed on examining in detail the linguistic design of
feedback turns in academic meeting inte ractions. The analysis has revealed
two sorts of results. On one hand, there is a recurrent asymmetry in selecting one form instead of the other. The chair having a senior position uses forms
that the other participants generally do not. Their choice is related to different
degrees of entitlement covered by social status. Nevertheless, there are cases
in which social status is trumped by the speakers’ anticipations of problematic circumstances of giving feedback. Th e chair uses interrogative constructions
and the other participants employ forms th at were mainly used by the chair in
situations that involve various degrees of contingencies or difficulties of
providing feedback. Thereby, within the analysis, we should be wary when identifying the functions of linguistic forms. Future research will apply the framework of entitlement and contingency on an enlarged dataset in order to
illustrate the normative character of Romanian meeting interactions in academic settings. chair/othe rs

149

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This paper is supported by the Sectorial Operational Programme Human
Resources Development (SOP HRD), ID76945 financed from the European Social Fund and by the Romanian Government.

References
Antaki, Charles and Alexandra Kent. 2012. "Telling people what to do (and,
sometimes, why): Contingency, entitlement and explanation in staff requests
to adults with intellectual impairments". Journal of Pragmatics, 44: 876-889.
Curl, Traci and Paul Drew. 2008. "Contingency and Action: A Comparison of Two
Forms of Requesting". Research on language and social interaction, 41:
129-153.
Drew, Paul. 2005. Conversation analysis . In Handbook of language and social
interaction. K. Fitch and R. Sanders (eds.), 71-102. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Drew, Paul and John Heritage. 1992. Talk at work. Interaction in institutional
settings. Cambridge UK, Cambridge University Press.
Heritage, John and Steven Clayman. 2010. Talk in Action: Interactions, Identities,
and Institutions. Oxford, Blackwell.
Lindström, Anna. 2005. Language as social action: A study of how senior citizens
request assistance with practical tasks in the Swedish home help service . In
Syntax and lexis in conversation. A. Hakulinen and M. Selting (eds.), 209–
233. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing House.
Pană Dindelegan, Gabriela. Forthcoming. Romanian Grammar: A linguistic
introduction. Oxford University Press.
Sidnell, Jack. 2010. Conversation Analysis. An introduction. Chichester: Wiley-
Blackwell.
Svennevig, Jan. 2011. Leadership style in mana gers’ feedback in meetings . In
Constructing Identities at Work. Jo Angouri and M. Marra (eds.), 17-39.
London: Palgrave.
Svennevig, Jan. 2012. "Inter action in Workplace Meetings". Discourse Studies 14: 3-
10.

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151

Morphosyntax  

PSEUDO‐CLEFT STRUCTURES AND THE 
THEMATIZATION PROBLEM 

Liviu CĂLBUREAN
Elementary School no. 2, Bra șov

This paper aims at distinguishing between cleft and pseudo-cleft structures
from the point of view of thematic and rhematic fragments. If we study them
at the level of the discursive couple question-answer (in the case of what
traditional grammar calls the partial interrogation), our conclusions will be the following:
1. Cleft sentences proper are to be associated to identificational focuses, so
they represent a case of strong rhematization. In Romanian such constructions do not exist, but elliptic answers will have the same syntactic
behaviour.
2. Pseudo-cleft sentences represent a case of strong thematization, a situation that is to be found in Romanian as well.
Keywords : cleft and pseudo-cleft structures, thematization, rhematization .

1. Introduction

A debatable syntactic problem troubled the public opinion in Romania at
the beginning of this summer. The only complex structure students in the
eighth grade had to deal with was rela ted to the syntactic status of the
embedded clause in the following structure:
(1) What embarrasses me is the diffic ulty of browsing through an e-
book. (Ion Vianu, Kindle , Dilemateca )
Everybody could see parents and students vigorously protesting in front
of the headquarters of the Ministry of Education. They wanted the authorities to validate two variants out of three: some of them considered the sentence
”What embarrasses me” as the subject of the complex sentence, while others

152
chose another variant, considering th e previously mentioned sentence as the
subject complement of the same complex structure.
What was even more disappointing wa s the fact that those who assessed
the students hesitated in their turn betw een the two variants or some of them
supported, by means of empiric arguments, one of the variants. With the risks of hurting the feelings of those teach ers (including the ones who proposed the
item), we may say that the image they showed the entire society was that of
lack of competence.
Not only does the whole society contribute to an endless process of
weakening the teachers’ authority, but also the whole activity of the
Romanian education is too much didactics oriented. Considering linguists as professional authorities, we could say that it is our obligation to raise our voices when it comes to imposing our viewpoints in the process of elaborating didactic documents that regulate the educational system
2.

2. The syntactic solution

The first contact with the above-mentioned structure would lead the
teacher to the subject solution. Apparently, the verb to be in (1) is impersonal,
so this solution seems natural. It is th e variant that a high-school student with
decent skills is entitled to choose.
However, if one applied the agre ement test, the situation would
completely change:
(2) What embarrass me are the difficulties of browsing through an e-book.
In this case, it is more than obviou s that the number agreement between
the verb to be and the noun difficulties allows us to conclude that the correct
interpretation of the first sentence is that of subject complement.

3. Structuring information

However, as linguists, we all know that the interest for this structure is to
be found elsewhere. Besides the syntactic analysis, we must take into account the way in which information is organized in (1) or (2). The first question that
arises is related to the pattern of the structure we are dealing with. The first
one can be called the unmarked case:
(3) Subject – Copula – Subject Complement This word order does not give preference to any constituent of the
sentence. The theme of such a structure and its grammatical subject overlap ,
so it is a case of weak thematization
3.
As for the second syntactic interpreta tion of context (1), it corresponds to
what is called the preferential organization of information:
(4) Subject Complement – Copula – Subject

2 A relevant example of such a document is the Common European Framework of Reference
for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment , Council of Europe, 2011.
3 Cf. GALR (2008, II) for the weak vs. strong thematization.

153
This last context reflects what is called the strong thematization . Old
information is placed in front of the complex structure, re-establishing the relationship between the discursive memory and the new information the author of the text is going to come up with.
This analysis would not make sense if it weren’t for the opinion that some
of the Romanian teachers expressed: wo rd order is for them the only one
responsible both for the selection of the grammatical subject and of the theme (followed by the new information i.e. th e informational focus of the complex
sentence (1)). The natural consequence of such a perspective is that according
to traditional grammar, we have a case of unmarked and, consequently, weak
thematization. What is clear, in our opinion, is the fact that, at high-school level, involving those notions is not a good idea. The theme or rheme of a sentence are not helpful, even when it comes to assessment activities.
Before we go on, let’s clear up an important aspect: the analysis will not
deal with a terminological variety relate d to the organization of information:
sometimes, notions such as topic and theme , on the one hand, and comment
and rheme on the other hand, sometimes overlap, sometimes they don’t. From
now on, we will adopt this assimilation.
However, this does not mean that we do not appreciate the efforts some
linguists have made for a better conceptual specialization. In this respect, we
would like to mention Marc Wilmet’s contribution of perfect theoretical
architecture (1997: 454). In a sentence like:
(5) Her beautiful eyes I like,
he considers that theme represents th e logical subject of the sentence,
whereas the topic is the result of the process of selecting the grammatical subject. As for the different dislocations (right, left, cleft or pseudo-cleft sentences), they represent what he calls the specialized focu s of the sentence.
The reader may disagree with such a con ception, but what is for sure is the
fact that its author succeeds in avoiding overlapping terminology.
Coming back to the depths of our analysis, the structure (1) is known in
the specialized literature as pseudo-clef t sentence. From the informational
viewpoint, it is highly thematic . By way of contrast, cleft sentences proper
are deeply rhematic :
(6) It’s your positive attitude that I admire.

4. Pseudo-cleft structures and thematization

According to GALR (2008, II: 210), “the specificity of such a
construction is given by the insertion of a relative clause and of a copula. Consequently, the initial structure is broken, the new surface structure being an equation of the type X = Y”. Th e semantic and pragmatic arguments
confirm all our assumptions. The two po ssible syntactic interpretations of
structure (1) are suggested in the sam e work, preference being given to
interpretation (4). The reason for this option is the agreement (be it virtual)
between the subject and the copula ( GALR 2008: 211).

154
Thematization proves to be more interesting in such a case, since the
marked element, i.e. the strong them e of the sentence has a particular
syntactic status which is different from the grammatical subject. The part that the speaker plays in the process of selec ting a theme is of crucial importance.
Many languages have the possibility of emphasizing the element of the sentence. In Romanian, English or Fr ench, pseudo-cleft structures are meant
to underline the thematic fragment of a sentence.
The other side of the coin is the id entification of the focal part of a
sentence, i.e. its rheme. We can’t possibly analyze the old information, ‘engraved’ in the discursive memory of the interlocutors without referring to the new one. That is why we will take in to account the informational focus. In
GALR (2008, II: 929), focalization is defined as “the insertion of a type of new
information brought by the utterance to the global stock of information which is predefined when the dialogue takes place. Thus, it contributes to the progression of that information stock.” Sanda Golopen ția (1988: 69) calls it
the conversational history the interlocutors share.
The new information provided by the focalized utterance is of
identificational type. We insist upon this type of utterances. We may wonder
why a rheme is to be associated with the identification process. In the
same GALR (2008, II: 919) , it is admitted that “identifying an entity that has
only partially and provisionally been taken into account is a way of speaking
about it , providing information about it.”
The organization of information can clear up syntactic problems
associated to a context like What embarrasses me is the difficulty of browsing
through an e-book . Such a structure of equational type can receive both
syntactic interpretations we have already spoken about. The easiest and
commonest approach would allow us to consider the relative as the subject of
the complex structure. By way of contr ast, it is more than obvious that, as it
has been mentioned before , the focus is of an identificational type, which
makes us conclude that the focus of the complex sentence is its subject as well, whereas the predication the vehicle of categorial information (GALR 2008: 919).
Example (1) is part of a descriptive text with argumentative parts about e-
books that replace more and more frequ ently traditional books. The way in
which topics are introduced and/or reactivat ed is similar to a dialog in which
they are permanently negotiated. A monological text is a virtual dialog in which topics are manipulated according to a scenario (cf. GALR 2008: 912). Such a perspective is situated at the le vel of virtualities, and the linguist can
make extensive use of fabricated contexts in order to decide upon the topics and the focal information.
The analysed example (1) can be part of a broader context of the type:
(6) A: What is it that embarrasses you?
B: What embarrasses me is the dif ficulty of browsing through an e-
book.
Both the question and the answ er are based on the following
presupposition: There is something that embarrasses me . That part of both

155
sentences is the thematic fragment of it. The new information that is added
individualizes the topic, being the focal pa rt of the answer. This is the best
way to distinguish between the topic (theme) and the comment (rheme) of
utterance B. To conclude, pseudo-cleft c onstructions play a definite thematic
part. They emphasize or reactivate a discursive topic the interlocutors are aware of.

5. Cleft structures and the focal information

As it has been mentioned before, cont ext (7) is an example of using the
discursive couple question-answer in order to identify correctly the informational entities of a sentence.
We suggest a slightly different appr oach when speaking about topics and
focuses. They shouldn’t be analyzed at simple sentence level. Our idea is to
operate the bipartition theme-rheme directly inside the interaction of the type
question-answer. Thus, we will no more di vide each part of the interaction,
i.e. each utterance into theme and rheme, but we will have a single theme and a single rheme of the complex structure question-answer
4.
This suggestion is not a mere test of the correct identification of the
informational fragments in the questi on and in the answer, but a way of
analyzing that verbal exchange by adapting concepts of semantics and discourse analysis. The interrogative word is the one generating the presupposition. In order to be able to lead our approach in the expected direction, we adapted Robert Martin’s theory of the local morphematic presupposition (1983: 213). It is worth men tioning that this theory is to be
applied only in the case of the partial in terrogation. In the spirit of Robert
Martin’s logics of meaning, a theme is to be defined as the common fragment
of the local morphematic presupposition and of both members of a verbal exchange of the type question-answer.
The benefit of such a conception is that we must re-evaluate traditional
approaches to the theme and define it by means of semantic terminology. This
is really a good proof of the fact that the notion we are dealing with (that of theme) is to be accounted for in semantic terms rather than in syntactic ones:
“Notions like topic or comment refer to the informational content of an
utterance; those informational elements find their correspondents at the expression level, a topical (or thematic) fragment and a rhematic fragment ”
(GALR 2008, II: 910). So speaking about a discursive topic exclusively in syntactic terms would be a serious limitation.
However, thematization becomes im portant in a syntactic approach
whenever the topic is different from the grammatical subject. In the case of
strong thematization, it is interesting to account for the way in which informational content is structured . We are not going to discuss other
syntactic procedures of giving front position to a sentence constituent.

4 For a more detailed analysis, see C ălburean, L., Thématisation et interrogation en français
contemporain. Pour une perspective discursive de la notion de thème , VDM, 2010

156
What we intend to speak about is the counterpart such a construction. We
refer to cleft structures. In a kind of symmetry, they give front focus to the
new information that has just been iden tified. The front position is reserved to
the rheme or topic of an utterance.
The same symmetry allows us to study the syntactic behaviour of cleft
structures inside an interaction of the type question-answer. The following
fabricated context is again a test:
(8) A: What is it that embarrasses you? B: It’s the difficulty of browsing through an e-book that embarrasses me. We have the same presupposition: There is something that embarrasses
me, but this time it is obvious that what a cleft construction isolates is the
new, i.e. focal information. This structur e is to be found in English and French
but not in Romanian. What we could have in Romanian as an answer to this question, is probably an ellipsis:
(9) A: Ce anume te jeneaz ă?
B: (Mă jenează) dificultatea r ăsfoirii.
If GALR analyzes weak vs. strong thematization , we see no reason to
exclude from the specialized terminol ogy notions like weak vs. strong
focalization. A complete utterance woul d be a case of weak focus whereas an
elliptical answer would be a case of strong focus.

6.Limitations of the present approach The last analyzed context reflects the limits of the present analysis: if the
presupposition is the same as in the case of pseudo-cleft structures, the answer
(be it complete or elliptical) reflects exactly what high-school teachers supported: the fact that the correct answer to that item would be subject and not subject complement.
However, this reality does not discour age us. It is the syntax of pseudo-
cleft sentences that imposes the other variant – subject complement.
In a neutral word order, we could not have another syntactic status
associated to the fragment the difficulty of browsing through an e-book than
that of subject. However, the idea of resorting to the dichotomy topic –
comment in order to justify the subject option is completely wrong.

References
*** 2008. II, Gramatica academic ă a limbii române (GARL) , Editura Academiei
Române, Bucure ști.
Golopenția, Sanda. 1988. Interaction et histoire conversationnelle. In Echanges sur
la conversation. Cosnier, J., Gelas, N, Kerbra t-Orecchioni, C. (dir.) Editions
du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre Régional de
Publication de Lyon.
Martin, Robert. 1983. La composante discursive: thème et thématisation de l'énoncé .
In Pour une logique du sens , Presses Universitair es de France, coll.
linguistique nouvelle.
Wilmet, Mark. 1997. Grammaire critique du français. Duculot: Hachette Supérieur.

157

PERSPECTIVES DIFFERENTES SUR LA FEMINISATION 
DES NOMS DE METIER EN FRANÇAIS CONTEMPORAIN 

Alina IFTIME
Université Ovidius Constanța

En 1998, le Premier Ministre de la France, Lionel Jospin, attribue à la
Commission générale de terminologie et de néologie, par une Circulaire, la
mission de préparer une étude sur des pratiques passées et des usages en
vigueur dans les pays francophones relativement à la féminisation des noms de métier, fonction, grade ou titre. La même année, 1998, L’Académie
française prend position contre la féminisation, par un article signé par son
secrétaire perpétuel honoraire, Ma urice Druon. Dans les autres pays
francophones, vu les polémiques provoquées par la création des formes
féminines, on vote pour la féminisation des noms de métier, par la rédaction
des guides de féminisation concernant la féminisation du lexique. Cette
communication se propose de repérer l’évolution et l’état actuel du
phénomène de la féminisation des noms de métier dans les pays francophones, ayant observé le fait qu’il y a des différences en ce qui
concerne l’utilisation des formes féminines dans les divers pays
francophones.

Mots clés : féminisation, noms de métier, langue française,
recommandations officielles.

1. Introduction

Un aspect frappant de la langue fran çaise est constitué par l’inexistence
d’une forme féminine pour certains noms qui désignent des professions, bien qu’il y ait des règles du système linguistique qui n’empêcheraient pas le processus de féminisation de ces noms. Quand même, au moment des manifestations évidentes du mouvement féministe des années ’80 en France,
plus précisément, au moment de la publication en 1986 dans le Journal
officiel , d’une Circulaire qui recommande la féminisa tion des noms de métier,
fonctions, grades ou titres, cette tradition souffre des réactualisations, comme une réaction, en fait, aux démarches entreprises au Québec par l’Office de la

158
langue française qui avait émis, le 28 juillet 1979, l’avis qui recommandait
„l’emploi des formes féminines, usitées ou pas et, dans tous les cas, l’accord
du déterminant au féminin“ (Bouchard , Guilloton, Vachon-L’Heureux 1999 :
8).
Dès lors, on a enregistré une activité linguistique prolifique, dans le
domaine de la féminisation en français, par des livres et des articles publiés
par Yaguello, Houdebine-Gravaud, Khaznadar, Moreau, Baider, Burr,
Bouchard, Guilloton, Vachon-L’Heureux, Elmiger, Dister.
La problématique de la féminisation des noms de métier, fonction, grade
ou titre est très complexe, se plaçant dans un contexte interdisciplinaire qui rattache plusieurs domaines tels que : la linguistique, la sociologie, la
politique, l’histoire.
Le but de cet article est d’insister sur les dimensions linguistique et
sociolinguistique de la féminisation des noms de métier, tout en étudiant l’implication de la politique dans ce phénomène de la féminisation.

2. La féminisation des noms de métier au Québec: décisions
politiques, recommandations officielles.

L’insertion des femmes au marché du travail et dans des postes occupés
auparavant seulement par des hommes, a entraîné la nécessité de l’évolution
de l’usage linguistique dans le doma ine de la féminisation des noms de
métier, fonctions, que la langue française pouvait satisfaire, ma is à laquelle la
norme linguistique n’avait pas répondu.
Au Québec, la féminisation, au ni veau linguistique, est survenue au
moment de l’apparition des instituti ons créées pour promouvoir l’égalité des
sexes et l’amélioration de la condition de la femme dans la société.
Le Québec est considéré le pays précurseur en ce qui concerne la
féminisation du français, qui s’est d’ abord manifestée dans les textes
administratifs et dans les conventions collectives, confor mément à l’avis
intitulé Féminisations des titres , publié le 28 juillet 1979 dans la Gazette
officielle et qui offre des recommandations pour les administrations
d’implanter les dénominations au féminin dans les habitudes linguistiques des
usagers :
„- soit à l’aide du féminin usité, ex : couturière , infirmière , avocate ;
– soit à l’aide du terme épicène marqué par un déterminant féminin, ex : une journaliste , une architecte , une ministre ;
– soit par la création spontanée d’une forme féminine qui respecte la
morphologie française, ex : députée , chirurgienne , praticienne ;
– soit par l’adjonction du mot femme , ex : femme-magistrat , femme-chef
d’entreprise , femme-ingénieure “ (in Vachon-L’Heureux 1992: 140)
Le 28 mars 1981, paraît un avis intitulé Féminisation des titres :
affichage des postes dans lequel l’Office se montre en faveur de l’utilisation
des articles devant „les termes géné riques englobant hommes et femmes“ et

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de l’écriture des désignations au mascu lin et au féminin, y compris pour les
mots composés, dont un des termes est épicène et l’autre ne l’est pas :
„L’utilisation d’appellations d’emploi , de titres, de fonctions et de
désignations de personne ( candidat , candidate etc.) au masculin et au
féminin, en toutes lettres. L’usage dans les appellations d’emploi composées ( secrétaire-trésorier ,
secrétaire-trésorière ) du masculin et du féminin, en toutes lettres
lorsqu’une partie de l’appellation est épicène et l’autre pas.“ (in Vachon-
L’Heureux 1992: 141.) La note de cet avis offre des procéd és stylistiques auxquels recourir pour
éviter l’éventuelle difficulté provoquée pa r le respect des règles précédentes :
„1. Le recours à des formulations impersonnelles, notamment dans les
formules ; ainsi l’on préférera : Êtes-vous de citoyenneté canadienne? à
Êtes-vous citoyen canadien?
2. Le recours au pluriel pour les appellations d’emploi épicènes ou au
genre indifférencié (masculin) appliqué au poste plutôt qu’à la personne.
Ex : Les secrétaires ont la responsabili té principale du classement. Les
fonctions relatives au poste de psychiatre sont les suivantes : …
3. Le recours au masculin pluriel, s’il y a lieu, conformément aux règles
d’accord grammatical pour les adjectifs, les attributs, les participes et les pronoms, de même que pour les noms en apposition et pour les déterminants, si ces derniers ne font pas partie de l’appellation d’emploi.
Ex : Les infirmières et les infirmiers, candidats aux postes de
représentants syndicaux….ils pourront…
4. Le recours à la note explicative, en début de texte, pour signifier
clairement que la forme masculine non marquée désigne aussi bien les femmes que les hommes, lorsque les recommandations précédentes ne peuvent s’appliquer.“ (in V achon-L’Heureux 1992 : 141)
Le 4 avril 1986, l’Office publie le guide Titres et fonctions au féminin :
essai d’orientation de l’usage qui réunit l’étude de la morphologie du genre et
des modèles à des suggestions pour la formation de formes féminines qui en
découlent. La note spéciale de ce document est représentée par l’ouverture envers les néologismes et le rejet des modes de formation traditionnels.
En 1991, l’Office de langue française publie Au féminin, guide de
féminisation des titres et fonctions et des textes qui révèle les ressources de la
langue française pour réaliser la fémi nisation et qui reprend deux règles
établies en 1981:
– l’écriture des formes féminines en toutes lettres à côté des formes
masculines, qu’il s’agisse de noms ou de pronoms afin d’éviter à tout prix
les formes tronquées ; – le recours aux termes génériques et aux tournures neutres. (Office de la
langue française 1991: 15) Au Québec, il semble que la féminisation des titres, qui illustre une
réalité sociologique évidente, est en voi e de généralisation. Cette évolution,

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quant à la reconnaissance des femmes dans le milieu, est due à l’arrivée
massive des femmes sur le marché du trava il, mais aussi au féminisme de plus
en plus intégré.
Dans les grammaires, la féminisation est largement traitée et les règles de
formation des féminins y sont intégrées. La grammaire de Jacob et Laurin (1994: 322) fait la précision suivante, c oncernant la féminisation des titres:
„Au Québec, en Suisse et en Belgique, on a tendance à féminiser les titres de
fonction. Les formes proposées alors respectent les règles habituelles de la formation du féminin. L’emploi de ces formes nouvelles demeure facultatif.“
Piccard et Hénault (1991: 25) ajoutent à la fin d’une liste de noms masculins
et féminins de professions: „l’évolution de la langue et de la culture veut que
l’on rejette de plus en plus le term e masculin générique et que l’on favorise
plutôt l’utilisation des formes féminines de ces noms dans tous les cas possibles.“ Donc, les grammaires accordent une importance particulière à la
féminisation des noms de métier.

3. La féminisation des noms de métier en France : décisions
politiques, recommandations officielles.

La Circulaire du 11 mars 1986 relative à la féminisation des noms de
métier, fonction, grade ou titre , jamais appliquée, ni abrogée, présente en
annexe, un abrégé de règles morphologiques de féminisation:
„1. L’emploi d’un déterminant féminin : une, la, cette .
2. a) Les noms terminés à l’écrit par un « e » muet ont un masculin et un
féminin identique : une architecte , une comptable …
Remarque : On notera que le suffixe féminin « esse » n’est plus employé
en français moderne : une poétesse …
b) Les noms masculins terminés à l’écrit par une voyelle autre que le
« e » muet ont un féminin en « e » : une chargée de mission , une
déléguée …
c) Les noms masculins terminés à l’écrit par une consonne, à l’exception
des noms se terminant par « eur », ont :
– un féminin identique au masculin : une médecin … ;
– ou un féminin en « e » avec éventuellement l’ajout d’un accent sur la
dernière voyelle ou le doubleme nt de la dernière consonne : une agente ,
une huissière , une mécanicienne …
d) Les noms masculins terminés en « teur » ont :
– si le « t » appartient au verbe de base, un féminin en « teuse » : une
acheteuse … ;
– si le « t » n’appartient pas au verbe de base, un féminin en « trice » : une animatrice …
Remarques :
– l’usage actuel a tendance à donner un féminin en « trice », même à des noms dans lesquels le « t » a ppartient au verbe de base : une éditrice … ;

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– dans certains cas, la forme en « trice » n’est pas aujourd’hui acceptée ;
dans ce cas, on emploiera un féminin identique au masculin : une
auteur …
e) Les autres noms masculins terminés en « eur » ont, si le verbe de base
est reconnaissable, un féminin en « euse » : une vendeuse , une
danseuse …
Remarque . – Le suffixe féminin « esse » n’est plus employé en français
moderne : une demanderesse …
Si le verbe de base n’est pas reconna issable, que ce soit pour la forme ou
le sens, il est recommandé, faute de règle acceptée, d’utiliser un masculin
et un féminin identique : une proviseur , une ingénieur , une professeur …“
En 1998, par la Circulaire du 6 mars 1998 relative à la féminisation des
noms de métier, fonction, grade ou titre , le Premier Ministre Lionel Jospin
demande à la Comission générale de terminologie et néologie ( Cogeter ) de
mener une étude sur la féminisation, et à l’Institut National de la Langue
française (INaLF) confie la mission d’ établir un guide pour les usagers, qui
contienne les termes utilisés dans les pa ys francophones et qui contienne „des
recommandations quant aux formes féminines les mieux adaptées à nos
usages“. La recommandation faite par le Premier Ministre en conclusion de la circulaire: „il convient de recourir a ux appellations féminines pour les noms
de métier, de fonction, de grade ou de titre dès lors qu’il s’agit de termes dont
le féminin est par ailleurs d’usage courant (par exemple, la secrétaire
générale , la directrice , la conseillère ).
En 1999, INaLF, sous la direction de Bernard Cerquiglini, a publié le
guide de féminisation Femme, j’écris ton nom … Guide d’aide à la
féminisation des noms de métiers, titres, grades et fonctions , un document qui
complète les recommandations formulé es dans la circulaire parue au Journal
Officiel du 11 mars 1986“ et qui suit, en même temps, „les propositions
émanant de Suisse, du Québec et de Belgique publiées entre 1991 et 1994“
(Becquer, Annie, Cerquiglini, Bernard et al, 1999 : 21). Les règles de féminisation des noms de métiers, titres, grades et fonctions présentées dans ce guide (Becquer, Annie, Cerquiglini, Bernard et al 1999: 22-25):
„1. Le déterminant : le féminisation implique l’utilisation d’un
déterminant féminin, comme : la, une, cette …
2. Noms se terminant au masculin par une voyelle : 2. a. Noms se terminant par – e :
– la forme féminine est identique à la forme masculine (forme épicène). Remarque : – certains noms ont été féminisés depuis longtemps à l’aide
du suffixe – esse : hôtesse , mairesse , maîtresse , poétesse . Ce suffixe étant
aujourd’hui senti comme désuet, on a préféré ne plus y avoir recours. Seuls les emplois consacrés sont retenus ( une hôtesse , une maîtresse
d’école ) ; les emplois encore partiellement en usage sont toujours admis,
à côté des formes épicènes proposées ou déjà concurrentes dans l’usage :

162
une maire ou mairesse , une maitre ou maitresse (d’hôtel , de conférences ,
etc.), une poète ou poétesse …
2. b. Noms se terminant par – é et –i:
Le féminin est formé par adjonction d’un – e à la finale.
2. c. Noms se terminant par – a, –o et –u:
Ces rares cas concernent des désignations très anciennes ( boutefeu ) ou
des emplois métonymiques ( tuba). La forme épicène est retenue : une
boutefeu , une tuba .
Les autres cas correspondent à des fo rmes abrégées (voir 4.) ou d’origine
étrangère (voir 5.)
3. Noms se terminant au masculin par une consonne:
3.1. Noms se terminant par une finale autre que – eur:
Le féminin se construit norma lement par l’adjonction d’un – e à la finale.
ex. : une adjointe, une agente, une artis ane, une avocate, une cheminote,
une commise, une consule, une consul tante, une écrivaine, une générale,
une intendante, une laborantine, une lieutenante, une magistrate, une
présidente, une sergente, une substitute …avec les éventuelles
modifications grapho-phoniques qui obéissent aux lois morphologiques
de la langue : – doublement de la dernière consonne: ex. : une chirurgienne, une
colonelle, une doyenne, une élect ricienne, une industrielle, une
informaticienne, une vigneronne…
– modification de la dernière consonne: ex. : une créative, une sportive,
une syndique…
– ajout d’un accent sur la dernière voyelle: ex. : une bâtonnière, une
conseillère (culturelle, d’État, municipale…), une greffière, une
huissière, une menuisière, une officière, une pompière, une préfète, une sommelière…
Remarque 1 : L’adjonction du – e est facultative pour les termes issus des
comparatifs latins : ex: une junior(e), une major(e), une sénior(e).
Remarque 2 : La solution de l’épicène a été retenue pour les quelques
rares cas dont la féminisation est sentie comme difficile, ex: une chef , une
clerc , une conseil , une témoin . L’adjonction du – e est facultative pour les
mots dont le féminin est attesté : une camelot(e), une mannequin(e), une
marin(e), une matelot(e), une médecin(e).
3. 2. Noms se terminant par – eur (à l’exception de – teur)
3. 2. a. La forme féminine se termine par – euse lorsque le nom
correspond à un verbe en rapport sémantique direct
(démarcher/démarcheur ), ex. : une annonceuse, une chercheuse, une
démarcheuse, une entraineuse, une programmeuse, une receveuse, une
relieuse, une retoucheuse…
Les quelques noms formés sur une base nominale sont féminisés de la
même façon, ex. : une avionneuse, une camionneuse, une chroniqueuse,
une pisteuse… Cette règle s’applique aux noms suffixés à partir d’une

163
base nominale empruntée à l’anglais, ex. : une basketteuse, une
footballeuse…
Remarque : Les formes féminines anciennes en – esse de défendeur ,
demandeur et vendeur : défenderesse , demanderesse , venderesse , sont
conservées dans la langue juridique. 3. 2. b. Lorsqu’il n’existe pas de verbe correspondant au nom ou que le
verbe n’est pas en rapport sémantique dir ect – il s’agit, le plus souvent, de
noms issus directement du latin – on a le choix entre l’emploi épicène (solution adoptée par les Belges) et l’adjonction d’un – e à la finale
(solution préconisée par les Québécois et les Suisses), ex. : une
assesseur(e), une censeur(e), une comm andeur(e), une entrepreneur(e),
une gouverneur(e), une ingénieur(e), une professeur(e), une proviseur(e) Remarque : Les noms issus de comparatifs latins ont un féminin régulier
en –eure : une prieure, une supérieure.
3. 3. Noms se terminant par – teur
3. 3. a. La forme féminine se termine par – trice dans les conditions
suivantes, non exclusives les unes des autres :
– il n’existe pas de verbe correspondant au nom ( agriculteur , aviateur ,
instituteur , recteur …), ou bien le verbe est apparu postérieurement au
nom ( acteur /acter , auditeur /auditer ).
– il existe un verbe correspondant au nom ne comportant pas de – t- dans
sa terminaison ( calculer /calculateur ; conduire /conducteur ;
former /formateur ),
– il existe un substantif co rrélé au nom se terminant par – tion, -ture, ou –
torat (quelle que soit la terminaison du verbe correspondant)
(éditeur /édition ; lecteur /lecture ; tuteur /tutorat ), ex. : une agricultrice,
une animatrice, une auditrice, une ca lculatrice, une compositrice, une
conductrice, une conservatrice, une correctrice, une curatrice, une
dégustatrice, une détectrice, une directrice, une éditrice, une formatrice,
une inspectrice, une institutrice, une perceptrice, une programmatrice, une promotrice, une rectrice, une rédac trice, une sénatrice, une tutrice…
Remarque 1 : Pour les termes auteur , docteur et pasteur , les formes
morphologiquement régulières et attestées en – trice ou en – oresse
(autrice , aut(h)oresse , doctrice , pastoresse ) ne sont plus acceptées
aujourd’hui. On conservera la form e identique au masculin, avec le choix
d’ajouter ou non un – e à la finale, comme pour assesseur , censeur , etc. :
une auteur(e), une docteur(e), une pasteur(e) . Il va de soi que les
féminins en – esse encore en usage sont toujours admis : une doctoresse .
Remarque 2 : La règle s’applique aux noms empruntés à l’anglais, qu’ils
soient francisés ou non : reporter, reporteur/reportrice; supporter,
supporteur/supportrice .
Remarque 3 : L’usage contemporain a tendance à privilégier la forme
épicène pour certains termes dont la forme régulière en – trice est par
ailleurs attestée, ex. : une sculptrice , mais aussi une sculpteur(e) .

164
3. 3. b. La forme féminine se termine par – teuse lorsqu’au nom
correspond un verbe en rapport sémantique direct comportant un – t- dans
sa terminaison et/ou qu’il n’existe p as de substantif corrélé se terminant
par – tion, -ture ou – torat (acheter/acheteur ), ex. : une acheteuse, une
ajusteuse, une batteuse, une é tiqueteuse, une transporteuse…
4. Abréviations et sigles
Les formes abrégées et les sigles sont épicènes : une extra, une O.S., une
P.D.G.
5. Mots empruntés à une langue étrangère
Pour les mots empruntés à une langue ét rangère dans l’inté gralité de leur
signe, sans adaptation morphologique, la forme féminine est identique au
masculin, ex. : une clown, une imprésario, une jockey…
Lorsqu’il existe des équivalents recommandés par les commissions ministérielles de terminologie, seuls ces équivalents sont féminisés ici, ex. : stylicien, stylicienne (pour designer ).
Remarque : La forme féminine étrangère est également admise dans le
cas de langues dont le locuteur francoph one sait que le féminin est en – a
et lorsque ces formes, récentes pour la plupart, sont attestées telles quelles
: une pizzaïola , une torera .
6. Cas particuliers
Lorsque le nom désigne de manièr e explicite la personne de sexe
masculin, il est remplacé par son équivalent féminin : un confrère/une
consœur ; un garçon (boucher, d’étage …)/une fille (bouchère, d’étage…)
; un homme (d’entretien)/une femme (d’entretien …).
Remarque : Cette règle s’efface bien évidemment devant l’usage consacré
: l’équivalent féminin de garçon de café est serveuse . De même pour les
mots empruntés aux langues étrangère s : l’équivalent féminin de barman
est barmaid , celui de rugbyman est joueuse de rugby ou rugbywoman ,
celui de steward est hôtesse .

4. La féminisation des noms de métier en Suisse: décisions politiques,
recommandations officielles.
En Suisse, la Confédération n’a pas formellement légiféré – à la
différence du canton de Genève, où une loi de 1988 féminise les noms de profession -, mais elle a donné des instructions pour l’adoption de dénominations non discriminantes.
En 1991, en Suisse, les autorités fédérales, pour présenter des solutions
identiques applicables dans les trois la ngues nationales officielles (l’allemand,
le français et l’italien), concernant la féminisation du lexique et du discours,
ont publié le rapport La formulation non sexiste des textes législatifs et
administratifs par lequel on recommande, pour la rédaction des textes, une
solution „créative“, plus précisément, une combinaison de moyens différents qui permettent d’éviter l’utilisation des formes masculines à valeur générique.

165
Toutefois, le Conseil fédéral a déci dé en 1993 que ce rapport ne s’applique
qu’aux textes législatifs en allemand, une décision justifiée par les problèmes
que rendraient la mise en œuvre de ces recommandations pour le français et l’italien, concernant la reprise pr onominale ou à l’égard des relations
d’accord. Par conséquent, la section fran çaise des Services linguistiques de la
Chancellerie fédérale a publié en 2000 un guide: Guide de formulation non
sexiste des textes administratifs et législatifs de la Confédération qui
s’applique exclusivement à la langue française.

5. La féminisation des noms de métier en Belgique: décisions
politiques, recommandations officielles.

En Belgique, la 21 juin 1993, le gouvernement vote un décret concernant
la féminisation linguistique Décret du 21 juin 1993 relatif à la féminisation
des noms de métier, fonction, grade ou titre . Les deux premiers articles du
décret imposent la féminisation aux administrations de la Communauté et aux institutions qu’elle subventionne. Le troi sième et dernier article de ce décret
stipule que ces règles doivent être appliquées aussi dans les demandes et
offres d’emploi pour désigner les femmes.
Ce décret est suivi, le 13 décembre, par un Arrêté du Gouvernement de la
Communauté française qui se propose d’établir les règles de féminisation des
noms de métier, fonction, grade ou titre.
La première annexe de l’ arrêté présente les règles de féminisation, et la
deuxième, les recommandations général es du Conseil supérieur de la langue
française à propos de la féminisation d es noms de métier, fonction, grade ou
titre.
Les règles de féminisation sont répa rties en deux catégories : les règles
morphologiques et les règles syntaxiques. Ces règles de féminisation sont
pareilles à celles déjà précisées en France, dans l’annexe de la circulaire de 11
mars 1986. Cependant, on identifie quelqu es éléments complémentaires, tels
que le traitement des titres, fonctions, mé tiers d’origine étrangère – le Conseil
recommandant dans ce cas d’utiliser l’équivalent français et de le féminiser – et l’accord automatique des adjectifs et des participes avec le substantif
féminisé : „les adjectifs et les participes en relation avec les noms concernés
s’accordent systématiquement au féminin, y compris dans les appellations professionnelles complexes, ex. : une conseillère principale, une contrôleuse
adjointe, une ingénieur technicienne, une première assistante, la doyenne s'est
montrée intéressée, la présidente directrice générale .“ (Gouvernement de la
Communauté française, 1993)
Les recommandations suggèrent d’écrire systématiquement le féminin en
toutes lettres à côté du terme féminin dans les demandes ou les offres d’emploi, de ne pas abuser de l’empl oi générique des noms masculins, mais,
de l’autre côté, de ne pas abuser de s formulations écrites qui n’ont pas de
correspondant oral.

166
En 1994, le Conseil Supérieur de la langue française édite un guide de
féminisation Mettre au féminin , qui explique les nouvelles formes à utiliser
dans tous les documents du secteur publique.
Le guide reprend les règles énoncées dans l’arrêté et les
recommandations de 1993 avant de propo ser un répertoire de 1500 termes de
professions et de fonctions pour les de ux genres. Cependant, le guide reste
très prudent en mentionnant les termes attestés par l’usage qui ne respectent
pas les règles morphologiques en note, comme par exemple une écrivaine ou
une chauffeuse .

6. Conclusion

Bien que ces pays partagent officie llement la même langue, leur manière
respective d’aborder un problème linguisti que tel que la féminisation n’est pas
similaire en tout point.
La féminisation s’est implantée ra pidement dans le grand public
québécois et canadien, touchant à la fois la terminologie (notamment grâce à
l'utilisation très large du féminin en – eure (autrefois très rare, il concernait
principalement des fonctions religieuses : prieure , supérieure , etc.), mais
aussi la rédaction des textes, parce que le phénomène a rencontré la sensibilité
et l’attitude ouverte de la société, nécessaire pour changer quelque chose.
En Suisse, et dans une moindre mesure en Belgique, la féminisation
terminologique s’est largement répand ue, quoique moins spectaculairement,
étant donné qu’on a parfois exprimé l’idée que le droit d’initiative en matière
de langue était un monopole français.
C’est sans doute en France qu’elle s’impose avec le moins de vigueur.
Malgré les vives controverses et les fo rtes résistances des représentants de
l’Académie, on observe un progrès au niveau de la féminisation lexicale,
grâce aux conditions politiques favorables – les gouvernements socialistes
sous lesquels les plus importants changements ont été provoqués.
En dépit de ces différences de ryth me, le mouvement de féminisation est,
dans toute la francophonie, profonde et rapide, en comparaison à la lenteur
habituelle des innovations linguistiques. Grâce à des interventions politiques
de grande envergure, la conscience linguistique des usagers peut être
graduellement influencée.
La langue française évolue dans des ai res géographiques diverses et elle
est pratiquée par des sociétés diverses, ce qui a des conséquences diverses sur l’évolution et l’emploi du féminin.
Les divergences au niveau des air es de la francophonie, se manifestent
dans le cas des noms qui se terminent en – eur ou en – teur. Il est souhaitable
une harmonisation des pratiques de fé minisation au sein de la francophonie
parce que cette concertation, „inscrite dans les programmes de coopération
linguistique favoriserait la compréhens ion de la féminisation linguistique

167
comme facteur d’évolution de la norme“ (Bouchard, Guilloton, Vachon-
L’Heureux 1999: 22).

References
Becquer, Annie, Bernard Cerquiglini, et al. 1999. Femme, j’écris ton nom … Guide
d’aide à la féminisation des noms de métiers, titres, grades et fonctions.
Préface de Lionel Jospin, Paris: CNRS-InaLF. http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/dglf/ressources/feminisation.pdf
Bouchard, P., N. Guilloton, P. Vachon-L’Heureux. 1999. Le Québec. La féminisation
linguistique au Québec: vers l’âge mûr. In Bouchard et. al. 1999. La
féminisation des noms de métier, fonctions, grades ou titres au Québec, en
Suisse romande, en France et en communauté française de Belgique .
Français et société 10: 6-29. Louvain-la-Neuve: Duculot.
Chancellerie fédérale. 2000. Guide de formulation non sexiste des textes
administratifs et législatifs de la Confédération .
http://www.bk.admin.ch/dokumentation/sprachen/04908/05037/index.html?lang=fr
Circulaire du 11 mars 1986 relative à la féminisation des noms de métier, fonction,
grade ou titre . In Journal officiel de la République française du 18 mars
1986, p. 4267.
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/ common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=
19860316&numTexte=04267&pageDebut=04267&pageFin=
Circulaire du 6 mars 1998 relative à la féminisation des noms de métier, fonction,
grade ou titre . In Journal officiel de la République française , 8 mars 1998:
3565.
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/ common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=
19980308&numTexte=03565&pageDebut=03565&pageFin=

Conseil de la Communauté française. 1993. Décret du 21 juin 1993 relatif à la
féminisation des noms de métier, fonction, grade ou titre
http://www2.cfwb.be/franca/publicat/pg005.htm
Conseil supérieur de la langue française. 1994. Mettre au féminin: Guide de
féminisation des noms de métier, fonction, grade ou titre. Bruxelles: Service
de la langue française (2e édition 2005)
http://www2.cfwb.be/franca/femini/feminin.htm
Gouvernement de la Communauté française. 1993. Arrêté du Gouvernement de la
Communauté française du 13 décembre 1993 établissant les règles de
féminisation des noms de métier, fonction, grade ou titre
http://www2.cfwb.be/franca/publicat/pg006.htm
Jacob, Roland; Jacques Laurin. 1994. Ma grammaire. Montréal: Éditions françaises.
Office de la langue française. 1986. Titres et fonctions au féminin : essai d’orientation
de l’usage . Les publications du Québec, 1986.
Office de la langue française. 1991. Au féminin: guide de féminisation des titres de
fonction et des textes . BIRON, Monique, DELAGE Gisèle, GUILLOTON,
Noëlle, VACHON-L’HEUREUX, Pierrette, VERREAULT, Carole,
Publications du Québec, Québec.

168
Piccard, R; J. Hénault. 1991. Grammaire française par l’observation , Laval: Éditions
FM.
Schafroth, Elmar. 2009. La féminisation des noms de métier et des titres dans trois
langues romanes (français, italien, espagnol): convergences et divergences .
In Marilena Karyolemou et al. (Hg.), Proceedings of the 1st International
conference on language policy and language planning in the Mediterranean,
Nicosia: University of Cyprus.
Vachon-L’Heureux, Pierette. 1992. Quinze ans de féminisation au Québec: de 1976 à
1991 . In Recherches féministes 5/1: 139 – 142.
http://www.erudit.org/revu e/RF/1992/v5/n1/057675ar.

Different perspectives on the feminization of profession names in
contemporary French

In 1998, the Prime Minister of France, Lionel Jospin has given the General
Commission of Terminology and Neologisms the task to carry out a study on past and current practices in the Francophone countries in relation to the feminization of
profession names, position, rank or title.
In the same year, the French Academy took position against feminization in an
article signed by its honorary permanent secretary, Maurice Druon.
In the other Francophone countries, given the controversy caused by the
creation of the female form, the feminization of profession names was adopted, by
writing guides for feminization regarding the feminization of the lexicon.
This paper aims to identify the evolution and the current state of the phenomenon
of the feminization of profession names in the French-speaking countries, as it has
been noticed that there are differences regarding the use of the female forms in the
various Francophone countries.

Keywords : feminization, profession names, French, official recommendations.

169

LINGUISTIC FUNDAMENTALS OF THE THEORY OF 
CONCEPT‐HOLES 
 
Adrian LESENCIUC
“Henri Coand ă” Air Force Academy, Bra șov

Through the agency of this research we intend to analyze the linguistic
foundations of a new trans-disciplinary theory: the theory of concept-holes.
In this respect, we aim to bring both scientific contributions within what
Thomas Kuhn named "normal science" and metaphysical contributions. In
scientific terms, the dynamic relationship between language and culture, analyzed in a fractal manner, is a novelty. The new model is based on the
perception of language (la langue) as a system of concept-holes, possible to
be “filled” with signified content (signifié), acquired from cultural experience. The signified part of the sign, liquefied and culturally shaped,
transcends the previous perspective of sign s seen as solid (plastic or elastic)
bodies. This communicational meaning of culture, understood as a structure of shapes that predefines the content of signs (in communicative cultural
patterns) could be associated with the possibility of language fractal
modeling, at least in terms of succe ssive levels of meaning according to
Barthes’ model. Replication by the rules of some simple unit-shapes of
communication – in more specialized te rms, fractal iterations applied to a
particular communication act within a homogeneous community -, led to reduced variation in communicative significance exchange, confirming some
of the theory of concept-holes statements.
Keywords : language, structuralism, theory of concept-holes, fractal
geometry, communication

1. Introduction
Language, seen as the fourth regnum in de Saussure’s terms (1972), can
be understood as a system of holes, a system of concept-holes, as one of the potentialities that intermediates the relationship between notion and its
expression. The concept-holes are culturally predefined. They are linguistic

170
possibilities, valued individually, through a collective matrix: culture. The
language – perceived as a vivid organism – implies a user’s engagement in the
exploitation of potentialities. A language is not taught, for example, to achieve
equivalence between linguistic conventi ons. The conceptual content differs
due to different life experiences, scal es of values, the speakers’ and the
listeners’ perceptions. Irrespective of the dynamic and fluid structure of
concept-holes that are culturally shap ed, communication between members of
the same linguistic community invol ves negotiation between different
meanings, based on a common cultural set of values. Therefore, a language in everyday use means both the possibility of balancing the structure of potentialities and the negotiation betw een strongly connoted individual
meanings.
In 1967, Abraham Moles identified two general perceptions of words: a)
rigid, based on conventional associations , with cubic, parallelepipedic or
cylindrical structure, like pieces of Lego games, able to be assembled in an infinitude of ways; and b) elastic, meaning deformable words, with dough consistency, that, despite the need of multiple definitions, are characterized by
easiness and richness of combinations (Moles 1974: 59). This view is,
however, unsatisfactory, as long as the richness of language is reflected beyond the possibilities of combinatorial possibilities of additive and juxtaposable words. In this spirit, we propose to enrich the perspective of
Moles, who saw the combination between words as combinations of rigid
solids, non-deformable or elastic/defor mable, with the possibility of words
being associated to a “higher” temperature (term proposed by the mathematician Mandelbrot, the father of fractal geometry), i.e. a higher
degree of liquefaction. Under these circumstances, a combination of words is not a combination of plastic or elastic solids, and language can be seen as a
structure of concept-holes, culturally shaped and partially filled with signified
content. As long as words’ meanings are acquired within the limits of possible
semiotic coverage, these limits are culturally predefined into a matrix and
language can be analyzed in terms of fractal geometry. Fragmented structure of language leads automatically to the possibility of exploitation of each fragment, each irregularity, and each fra ctal structure associated to meaning.
More to the point, the term ‘fractal’ is etymologically derived from the Latin
term fractus , coming from the verb frangere – “irregular, fragmented”, from
which the terms “fraction” and “fragment” are also derived. The fractal – “ a
mathematical set or a concrete object , whose shape is extremely irregular
and/or fragmented in all dimensions ” (Mandelbrot 1977 apud Manolescu
2003: 51) – can be understood as a possible way of interpretation of an
irregular and dynamic whole (the language), as long as other natural shapes are found in the nature: ferns, branches, snowflakes, galactic structures, etc.
To understand the cultural matrix , the most suggestive image is the one
of coral atolls: an amount of calcareous skeletons, deposited over time in a
particular fractal relief. United to each other by calcareous channels, the coral

171
polyps are continuously adapting to the r eef-culture predefined relief, merging
into it after a long journey. Moreover, during their life, polyps link to their
neighbors through bridges of living tissues, and after death are added to the reef-culture, enriching it and allowing other polyps to settle on their own
skeletons. This continuous reef deve lopment, seemingly chaotic, could be
modeled under fractal laws.
The intention of our study is not to id entify the laws of fractal geometry
appropriated to modeling pa rticular linguistic contents (linguistic iterations
implying individual meanings closed in molds, matrixes or patterns built based on some behavioral trends, called fractal attractors, in mathematics), but to state the “rudiments” of a possible theo ry that could develop in the vicinity
of such areas as culture, language and communication. Generally speaking, a
language cannot be taught or lear ned with the purpose of achieving
equivalence between linguistic conventi ons. Usually, the conceptual content
differs due to particular life experience, scale of values, Weltanschauung , and
grid of perception. No matter how dynamic and fluid the structure of concept-holes is, due to its culturally shaped feature, communication between
members of the same linguistic community involves negotiation of different
meanings based on a common grid of values, implying the notional content
for filling the concept-holes. Theref ore, a language means weighing the
structure of potentialities (the holes) and negotiating contents, individually
connoted. From this perspective, langua ge could be seen as a creative entity,
as Coșeriu asserted, in direct relationships with culture: “… it is not a
language that one learns, one learns creating within a language, that is, not
only what has already been said is learned, but also what can be said, what
the language’ s possibilities are. ” (Coșeriu in Saramandu 1996: 13). Creating
in a language, learning its possibilities i nvolves learning about the limits of
each notional shape, the limits of th e concept-hole that borders a content
which was suspected to be the content of language. Language, however, is not
limited to a summative structure of contents; it also includes the sum of denotative meanings with which conn otations are individually associated.
Considering such a complex perspectiv e, two projective intentions can be
brought under the light of research: a) the possibility of configuring a theory
to define language as a structure of concept-holes, which are culturally
shaped, and b) the possibility of mathematically modeling this projected theory, through the fractal geometry.

2. Linguistic background. Structuralist premises/roots of the theory
of concept-holes.

Regarding the study of language as potential concept-holes, some
particular perspectives of linguists an d philosophers should be highlighted.
One of these extremely fertile perspe ctives, belongs to the linguist Emile
Benveniste (1966), who identifies cult ure with a complex framework or

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matrix of representations, organized unde r a code of relationships and values,
impregnated in the “deepest” human bein g’s conscience, taking the form of a
universe of symbols integrated into a specific structure (language), able to exploit the depth of the framework (matrix) and to transmit it. Defining culture as a framework, as a shape wi thin whose limits a particular cultural
content is manifest, represents the first step in releasing it from the previous
rigid thinking canons that associated culture with a sum of contents.
Benveniste’s perspective has the role of releasing the meta-cultural (and meta-
linguistic) reflection on a culture percei ved as a whole (i.e. sum) of cultural
additive and juxtaposable shapes. Although the outlines of a cultural
framework or matrix are considered above
1, the real separation from the
monolithic and additive conception occurs later, in the latter half of the
twentieth century, starting with the reconfiguration of the relationships
between language and culture, based on st ructuralist consideration. It is
noticeable, thus, that with Benveniste’ s unequivocal perception of culture as a
structure of representations organized on axiological and relational inherited
frames, the perspective on language is ra dically changed. Added to the already
existent Saussurean equation (rewritten): language ( le langage ) = language
(la langue ) + speaking (de Saussure 1972: 44), or perceived as a set of
communicative skills (Jespersen 1922/2007), or a set of conventions adopted and systematized by members of language community (Palmer 1921/2008), the new perspective exceeds the restri ctive limits of meaning rigidly
associated to a denotation.
Defining culture as a framework in whic h a cultural content exists and is
manifest is the first necessary step towards a separation from the previous perspective over culture, which regarded it as a structure of contents. Saussure’s idea of accepting language as a structure of differences has been
adopted by Co șeriu (1962/2004), who transferred the capacity of
understanding these differences from the consciousness of the language user
to the conscience of language itself. Language, imagined as a structure of
differences, is the starting point in appr oaching the theory of concept-holes.
A language understood as an extension of a culture-block or of an
additive culture is not proper for a human community, nor is it to an
individual user of the language. The hist ory of linguistic research – even if we
cannot mention a particular interest in an approach of this kind – is marked by
the emphasis, in time, of each one of the terms of Saussure’s equation.

1as in Dilthey’s work (1923/1988), where the structure named Lebensstimmung , for example,
is understood as root of worldviews, a cultu ral framework for predefining attitudes and
behaviors, or as in Spengler’s assu mption (1914/1996), whose starting point in The Decline of
the West is that society depends on the spiritual framework of culture ( formgewordenes
Seelentum ), on the refuse of Descartes’ perspective (1964/2004) of cultural phenomena and on
assimilation of spiritual form of culture with th e vivid organism, or as in Scheler’s view (apud
Frings 1997), expressed in Die Wissensformen und die Gesellschaft , according to which,
culture can be understood as a suprastructure in relationship with the infr astructure of reality.

173
Antonio Pagliaro (apud Coșeriu 1962/2004:36-38), for example, focused on
an important aspect in the language-cu lture relationship: language belongs
both to the community and to the individual (where it is perceived as alterity ,
as something belonging to him/her and othe rs). This perspective is able to
cause a dislocation of rigid blocks of significant matter, at meta-linguistic level.
The structuralist direction was divided at the conceptual level: on the one
side, we witnessed the rigid orientation of Hjelmslev (1961), on the other side,
we benefitted from Benveniste’s openness. In the former case, the Danish
linguist Louis Hjelmslev considers that the fundamentals of linguistic processes are not numerous, while the comb inations of them, almost infinite,
continuously create new processes (Macoviciuc 2000: 208-214). He
distinguishes between atomary units at li nguistic levels (ceneme) and atomary
units at expressive level (plereme), both of which contribute to deepening Saussure’s discrimination, between form and substance, on four plans: a) the
form of content; b) the substance of content; c) the form of expression and d) the substance of expression, where a) + c) represent the sign (or sign-
function). Hjlemslev’s perspective doe s not oppose the theory of concept-
holes, but neither is it able to facilitate openings.
Benveniste’s direction is the starting point in configuring the theory of
concept-holes – the possibility of understanding language as a structure of holes. Benveniste’s separation from Hjelmslev’s direction is complete.
Understanding the Danish linguist’s approaches to designing a new logical
model and for operating definitions, Benveniste (1966:13) considers the
possibility of exploiting the language with in the limits of structuring the form
of thinking. From such a view, Saus sure’s equation is reversed. Language
(langage ), the highest of the human faculty, becomes content of language
(langue ) and develops itself within a language ( langue ). Language ( langue )
becomes the product of a culture th at is conditioned by language ( langage ).
There arises a new system of interactions able to open a similar dynamic perspective with Pagliaro’s:
language ( ) langue
culture language
()langage

Fig.1. Inter-determination : culture – language ( langue ) – language ( langage )

174
Structuralist theories preceding the theory of concept-holes do not
constitute its absolute basis. Ever si nce Socrate’s antiquity, knowledge was
not conditioned by its relation with naming, but by the relation with things and ideas. In other terms, it is about a direct relation between the sign user and the signified, not a direct relation between sign user and the significant. The flow of linguistic forms that contain concepts was perceived at that time as
being assigned, conventional, and able to transmit only the forms of thinking.
The arbitrariness of language should not be understood as a form of its strangeness; language still remains fundamental in establishing culture, understood, in the same structuralist view, as providing this foundation (Jakobson 1952, apud Waugh and Monville-Burston 1990/1998), respectively
as providing communication foundation (Ruwet, 1959, apud Eco 1962/2002:
80). Linguistic field lines are, however, difficult to be understood within this static conditioning. In this environment of challenges, a new theory able to
organize the linguistic matter is absolutely necessary.

3. The theory’s system of statements

I started my study grounding the theory of concept-holes in Karl Popper’s
manner (1963/2002), by formulating the th eory statements, in order to test
them in relationship with facts and ob servation statements. In this respect, I
set up a communicative model based on the theory of concept-holes. This
model of communication, valuing stru ctured and unstructured content of
thought in accordance with the cultura l shapes (or patterns), allows the
modeling through fractal geometry.
Starting with the ambition to design a theory of concept-holes – even if a
more appropriate perspective is the projection as openness towards a paradigm, in Kuhn's terms (1976/2008) – we thought to shape the steps of our
design, in accordance with Popper's perspective:
a. the theory of concept-holes h as the role to polarize previous
conceptions of scholars (in the areas of communication, linguistics/semiotics, cultural anthropology) and philosophers;
b. the theory of concept-holes can be conceived as a system of
statements, as follows:
i. Language is a structure of concept-holes. ii. The concept-holes are culturally shaped and transmitted to all
members of a linguistic community;
iii. In the process of language learning (including the process of
learning the creation within language), the holes of the language are filled
with signified content according to language user's experience, his scale of values or his Weltanschaaung .
iv. Communication within a linguistic community involves the
relation between the same structures of concept-holes (communicative

175
patterns) and the different contents (i ndividually connoted) of these structures
of holes.
v. Intercultural communication involves the relationship between
different structures of holes and different contents.
vi. Common communicative patterns can be found in different
cultures; therefore, intercultural commu nication can start with the setting of
common concept-holes structure.
c. The observation sentences can be compared with theory's sentences
(statements).
d. The structuralist theories are partic ular cases with respect to the theory
of concept-holes.
Although, broadly, Popper’s epistemology (1963/2002) is sufficient for
designing the concept-holes theory, in order to understand the hollow content of language, there is need for a new paradigm, where the projective claim does not imply empirical tests. Therefore, any assessment within Popperian fundamentals concerning the organizati on of theoretical structure is not
necessarily valid in terms of Kuhn’s fundaments of paradigms and scientific
revolutions (Kuhn 1976/2 008). Dogmatic narrow-mindedness, meaning and
implying (direct) measurably, would be opposed (and opposes) to exemplary case of drawing up a linguistic theory based on principles of fractal geometry. Explicit knowledge cannot be invoked w ithin this so-called “theory” of
concept-holes.

4. Case study: Possibilities of fractal modeling of communication
based on theory of concept-holes

Born in 1975, the fractal geometry is a new language by means of which
“once you speak it, you can describe a cloud’ s shape as precisely as an
architect can describe a house ” (Barnsley 1988, apud Manolescu 2003: 50).
Fractal geometry enables understanding unity in diversity, the archetypal
structure (including the primary play of language) being a potential fertile
direction of observation and modeli ng complex phenomena in non-Euclidian
spaces, either real or imaginary.
The possibilities of exploiting the openings created by fractal geometry in
semiotics, linguistics, and communication were considered before. Unfortunately, many studies refer only to quantitative aspects, dealing with
issues in the field of statistic linguistics or in the area of modeling vocal
signals. One of first researches was Alex Gross’ study Selected elements from
a theory of fractal linguistics: possible implications for machine translation,
terminology management and other NLP applications (Gross 1993: 235-264),
based on a glossematic theory derived from Hjelmslev’s structuralist studies
and from Udall’s work „The Gross Gloss Theory of Label Linguistics”
(1991). Gross proposes the linguistic mapping based on mathematical (fractal)

176
models. With reference to statistic lingui stics, a mark in this area is the
chapter „Fractals, scale invariance and power chaos” (Naranan,
Balasubrahmanyan 2005: 732-736), wher e the possibilities of mathematical
modeling of variation laws of complex linguistic systems are highlighted.
Concerning the modeling of vocal signa ls, one of the reference works is
Fractal Speech Processing written by Marwan Al-Akaidi (2004), that includes
a special chapter entitled „Speech processing with fractals” (Al-Akaidi 2004:
141-163), which analyzes the necessities of recognizing vocal signals based
on the fractal model ( fractal-based speech recognition ). In a synthesis of
researches in fractal semiotics, Matthiese n et al. (2010) identifies a set of three
meta-functions of this area, each of them subject to different scholars
analyses: the ideational meta-function, i nvolving the consideration of logical-
semantic typology of linguistic pattern s’ projection and expansion in logical
and experiential environments (H alliday & Matthiessen 1999/2006);
interpersonal meta-function, involvi ng a number of types of modal
assessments, specific to different interp ersonal contexts, and the textual meta-
function, implying the principles of textual statuses expressed in different
environments (Martin 1993). The possi bilities of fractal analysis of some
linguistic, semiotic and communicati onal particularities have attracted
criticism. Fractal geometry has been re jected, for example, by Garcia (1991
apud Aronin et al. 2011: 183), who justified his perspective arguing that „[…] Fractal Geometry is applied where visual exploration is essential ”, without a
more specific analysis of verbal-iconi c constructs used in literature, written
media, television, or the Internet.
A different view on the relationships between structuralism and fractal
modeling, entitled Chaos, fractals and dissipative structures in language Or
the end of linguistic structuralism belongs to Wolfgang Wildgen (1998: 596-
620). Wildgen does not justify the gap between structuralism and fractal
geometry. He only affirms that linguistic structuralism is exceeded by other
models, such as grammar, with its variable rules, logical grammar, spatial grammar, and other computational models. Studying the possibility for
chaotic attractors to exist, in case of recursive expressions, does not
necessarily include abandoning the struct uralist concept. Other works in the
field of fractal linguistics were the studies of Cooper (1999), Gutiérrez,
Cofino and Abbott (2003), Robert (2005) or Birken and Coon (2005).
For the fractal modeling of communication, starting with the theory of
concept-holes, we can consider some important associations: the denotation
2

2 The concept-hole of a particular word or phras e is wider than its denotative meaning, but the
concept-hole cannot be figured or approximated, it being the maximum volume (in flat section,
the maximum surface) filled with significant content. The denotation is a(n) (cultural) average
of filling the concept-hole with significant conten t. It is a constant for a certain culture for a
certain period of time. In case of fractal modelin g, considering the denota tion, whose sphere of

177
of a word (or of a phrase) can be represented by a circle – a closed curve of
constant length (
) and topological dimension
. Let it be a circle
of radius R = 1. Due to particular meanings, in interpersonal communication, two different notional contents are in relation: the connotations or the
individual variations of meaning. Th e variation value of the connotative
meaning in a homogeneous linguistic community may be approximated.

4.1. Methodology and results
Throughout Communication classes, taught during the first semester of
the academic year 2011-2012 to 103 students enrolled in their third year of
study at “Henri Coand ă” Air Force Academy, we asked the students to
identify (in writing) the meanings they associated with the Romanian word
“dor” ( missing/longing for ). 101 students (98,06%) completed this task in
January 2012. The subjects displayed the following features:
–they had been members of the same group for 28 months, most of the time living together 24 hours per week;
– they had learnt about some semiotic models of communication:
Saussure, Peirce, Ogden-Richards , Bühler, Jakobson, Hjelmslev,
Benveniste, Barthes, Sebeok, Eco during their Communication classes,
therefore, they should have been able to distinguish between denotative
and connotative meaning of a term (or a phrase), based on Barthes’ model of signification, or on the on e described by Fiske (2003:117).
Despite the homogeneity of the investigated group, our intention was to
obtain a response for a current workshop task, not for some goals of a previously designed research. The require ment was issued during a workshop,
as follows: “ Please identify your personal (connotative) meanings associated
with the Romanian word dor, in order to cover its denotative meaning, as
clearly as possible ”. We identified the variations of connotations starting with
the content sphere of the term, established by Dicționarul explicativ al limbii
române (1998: 316) / The Explanatory Dictionary of Romanian Language,
namely: dor
3 = 1. strong desire to see or review someone or something dear,
to return to a favorite occupation; melancholy; 2. mood of one who tends,
craves, aspires to something; longing; desire; 3. Suffering caused by love for
someone; 4. physical pain ; 5. appetite, taste; 6. erotic attraction; 7. (‘în dorul
lelii’- idiomatic use) aimlessly, pointlessly, randomly .
Intending (later on) to interpret the obtained results based on the theory of
concept-holes, we assigned each of the seven meanings of the term dor

filling in the median section can be approximate d as a circle of topological dimension 1, the
mathematical modeling based on this constant is possible.
3 dor = 1. dorință puternică de a vedea sau a revedea pe cineva sau ceva drag, de a reveni la o
îndeletnicire preferat ă; melancolie; 2. stare sufleteasc ă a celui care tinde, râvne ște, aspiră la
ceva; năzuință, dorință; 3. suferință pricinuită de dragostea pentru cineva; 4. durere fizic ă; 5.
poftă, gust ; 6. atracție erotică; 7. (în dorul lelii) fără țintă, fără rost, la întâmplare

178
coefficients of use (whose total sum shoul d be 1) by their use in the current
language, as shown in Table 1.
Table no.1 Coefficients of use assigned to each of the denotative meanings of
the Romanian word dor

Furthermore, we approximated the di fferences in meaning between the
elements belonging to the denotative sphere of content and each meaning
associated by students. For example, in one of the cases – with the highest
difference between connotation and denotation (subject 67): “ Missing means
unfulfilling of (one’s) soul. Through the absence of something, missing arises
as an ineffable pain ”
4, we associated the following percents: 1: – 30%, 2:
+40%, 3: +40%, 4: -20%, 5. -100%, 6. -100%, 7. -100%, which led, after the
calculus of the coefficients of use for each associated meaning, to the result of
variation of connotative meaning of 45% . Other examples of quantification:
“Missing: the feeling that someone misses from you, that you feel like being
close to someone ”5 (S 93), equivalent to the following scores: 1: +10%, -10%;
2: +20%, -5%; 3: -20%; 4: -100%; 5: -100%; 6: -100%; 7: -100%; (variation:
37,5%); “ Missing: a sum of feelings of different intensity; in association with
family and close friends, the intensity is maximum; in associ ation with places
and objects, the intensity is lower; tendency to return to something that no
longer exists ”6 (S 46), equivalent to the scores: 1: +20%; 2: +40%; 3: +10%, –
20%; 4: -100%; 5: -100%; 6: -100%; 7: -100%; (variation: 44%). The table of
variation of connotative meanings in re lation with the denotation is presented
in Annex 1. Under these conditions, the average of variation is 23.69% of
denotative meaning7. We can further describe the interpersonal

4 „Dorul este neîmplinirea sufletului. Prin absen ța a ceva, dorul ia na ștere ca o durere
inefabilă”, in original
5 „Dorul: sentimentul c ă cineva îți lipsește, că vrei să fii în preajma cuiva ”, in original
6 „Dorul: un cumul de sentimente de intensitate diferit ă; asociate cu familia și prietenii
apropiați, intensitatea este maxim ă; în asociere cu locurile și obiectele, intensitatea este mai
mică; sinonim cu lipsa a ceva; tendin ță de revenire la ceva ce nu mai exist ă”, in original
7 Note: This interpretation is irrelevant as a resu lt; we intended only to illustrate how the fractal
modeling could be useful within the theory of co ncept-holes. Instead of identifying the degree
of variation from the connotative to denotative meanings of the whole construct, we could
approximate the following sentence: Let be the average variation of connotative meaning of the
word X from its denotative meaning 23.69%. In order not to remain „quartered” within a strictly
theoretical approach, we decided to discuss this case study, although the approximative answers
preexisted, and only the quantification and interpretation of results was necessary. associated meanings
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. coefficient of use
0.3 0.3 0.2 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05

179
communicative process among subjects, based on iterations, which can be
modeled by fractal geometry.

4.2. Modeling
For a variation of connotative meaning 23.69% from denotative meaning,
we consider a reduction by the same percentage of the area of circle (the denotation). The result is a figure whose area is calculated as follows:
the initial area of circle: S
1 =
= π (for R = 1) = 3, 1415…
the resulted shape area: S 2 = 3,1415 – 0,2369 × 3,1415 = 3,1415 – 0,7442
= 2,3972
To the area variation by 23.69%, no similar variation in perimeter
corresponds. To identify the variation of perimeter, we need to calculate the central angle, to which the dislocation of the initial arc of circle and the
construct of a semicircle with radius R’ correspond, and which is able to
describe the new figure (equivalent to the first contact in interpersonal communication within the group, on the already established topic, dor). The
dislocated area must be equal to the di fference of 0.7442. It is composed of
the sum of the area of circular segment included between the chord [AB] and the circle arc
, and the area of semicircle centered in O’, with radius R’, as
shown in figure 2.

OA
BO’R’
R

Fig. 2 Displaced area of word denotation

180
To achieve this, we must consider the following mathematical
equations:
– the area of the circular segment:
( 1 )
– the area of the semicircle:
( 2 )
Under these conditions, the equation of displacing the
denotative content is:
, but R’ [0’A] is half
of the chord [AB] length,
, where the chord length is calculated
as follows:
( 3 )
The equation becomes:
. We considered
from the beginning the denotative circle radius R = 1. The value α =
55,16o is the only one solution within the interval
. For
this value
, and the radius R’ is
equal to 0.46.
The arc subtended to chord [AB] is
( 4 )
In our case,
.
The perimeter of the displaced semi circle is calculated by the same
formula, where we consider the radius R’ = 0.46 and the value
. The result is
.
Under these conditions, we can calculate the fractal dimension of
interpersonal communication among the members of the linguistic
community, discussing dor, the term whose connotative variation was
calculated. The value n of the displaced perimeter equals the sum of
difference between the semicircle perimeter and the length of circle arc that subtends the chord [AB] and that of the circle perimeter. Basically, a
perimeter 2 πR (= 6.283) is replaced, after the first iteration, by a perimeter
2πR + (
, that holds the value 0.4827 + 6.283 = 6.7654. By
tabulating the iterations, we got the following:

181

Table no. 2 Richardson’s values in the itera tive process regarding the fractal „dor”
Iteration
N(
L(

1 1 1 1
2
6.7654 1.0768
3
6.76542 = 45.7706 1.158
.
.
. .
.
. .
.
. .
.
.
n

→ 0

→ ∞

→ ∞

The result is a fractal dimension
.

5. A possible interpretation. Conclusions

According to concept-holes theory, the low value of fractal dimension is
an important indicator in highlighting th e fact that the meaning variation (4
hundredths) in communicational excha nge between two actors is very
reduced, being in the mathematical vicinity of the topological dimension, 1.
The high score of connotations’ variation from their denotative meaning (23.69) is, apparently, an indicator of non-communication. Fortunately, this indicator is useful in expressing the extent to which the degree of filling the concept-holes varies from an intermediate reference, the denotation. It is not
an indicator of communicability, as it coul d be interpreted at first glance. The
communicability could be calculated within non-linear limits. The value of fractal dimension, 1.04, is the real indicator of communicability within the homogeneous studied community, despite the apparent differences between the sphere of denotative content and th e average of connotations (that vary up
to almost half of the content sphere). Even if we intended a simple debate on
the possibilities of mathematical mode ling of the theory of concept-holes
based on fractal geometry, the result is both a starting point for further development of mathematical exploitati on of theory, and a surprising response
to the efficiency of communication in homogeneous communities.
Including the theory within Popper’s epistemology is insufficient. Our
intention was not to study the possibilities of verifying theoretical statements
through observation facts, but to ope n up a new linguistic paradigm. In a

182
Euclidian meaning, the theory of c oncept-holes could be verified within
Popper’s epistemology. But the Euclidian meaning is just a flat and static
picture of a dynamic, non-Euclidian whole. The theory of concept-holes is circumscribed to a trans-disciplinary th eory, that holistically establishes a new
grid of language and cultural (includi ng intercultural) perception.

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Annex 1
Tabel no. 3 Table of variation of connotativ e meanings associated to the term „dor”
associated meanings
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. coefficient
of use 0,3 0,3 0,2 0,05 0,05 0,05 0,05
differ-
rence differ-
rence differ-
rence differ-
rence differ-
rence differ-
rence differ-
rence subjects
plus
minus
plus
minus
plus
minus
plus
minus
plus
minus
plus
minus
plus
minus
AVERAGE
S 1 0,1 0,5 0,2 1 0,190
S 2 0,1 0,2 0,2 1 0,180
S 3 0,2 0,1 0,2 1 1 0,230
S 4 0,1 0,1 0,2 1 1 0,200
S 5 0,2 0,2 0,3 0,180
S 6 0,2 0,1 0,4 1 1 0,270
S 7 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,4 1 0,220
S 8 0,1 0,1 0,2 0,2 1 0,190
S 9 0,1 0,2 0,2 0,3 1 0,260
S10 0,1 0,3 0,2 1 0,210
S11 0,1 0,3 0,2 0,100
S12 0,1 0,3 0,2 1 1 0,260
S13 0,2 0,1 0,2 1 1 0,230
S14 0,2 0,1 1 1 0,180
S15 0,1 0,2 1 1 0,170
S16 0,2 0,1 0,2 0,5 0,155
S17 0,2 0,1 0,2 1 1 0,230
S18 0,2 0,2 0,1 1 1 0,240
S19 0,2 0,1 0,3 1 0,200
S20 0,3 0,2 1 0,180
S21 0,2 0,2 0,2 0,3 1 1 0,275
S22 0,1 0,3 0,2 1 0,150
S23 0,3 0,4 0,2 1 1 1 0,330
S24 0,2 0,2 1 1 0,200
S25 0,1 0,3 0,2 0,3 1 1 0,275
S26 0,3 0,2 0,3 0,210
S27 0,2 0,2 0,3 1 1 0,280
S28 0,1 0,2 0,1 0,3 1 1 0,225
S29 0,1 0,4 1 0,160
S30 0,1 0,1 0,2 1 1 0,200
S31 0,3 0,3 0,3 0,2 1 1 1 0,400
S32 0,3 0,1 0,3 1 0,230

185
S33 0,2 0,2 0,3 0,3 1 1 0,295
S34 0,4 0,4 1 0,250
S35 0,2 0,2 0,1 0,4 1 1 0,260
S36 0,2 0,1 0,2 1 1 1 0,280
S37 0,1 0,4 0,3 1 1 1 0,360
S38 0,1 0,3 1 1 0,190
S39 0,3 0,3 0,1 1 1 1 0,350
S40 0,3 0,3 0,3 1 1 0,265
S41 0,1 0,1 0,2 0,2 1 0,160
S42 0,3 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,175
S43 0,2 0,2 0,2 1 1 0,240
S44 0,2 0,1 0,2 1 1 0,230
S45 0,2 0,3 1 1 0,220
S46 0,2 0,4 0,1 0,2 1 1 1 1 0,440
S47 0,1 0,3 0,2 0,1 1 1 1 0,350
S48 0,1 0,1 0,2 1 1 0,200
S49 0,3 0,1 0,1 0,2 1 1 0,250
S50 0,1 0,2 0,3 1 1 0,250
S51 0,2 0,3 1 1 0,220
S52 0,2 0,2 1 1 0,200
S53 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,2 0,2 1 0,190
S54 0,3 0,4 1 1 0,270
S55 0,2 0,1 0,2 1 1 0,230
S56 0,2 0,1 0,3 1 1 0,250
S57 0,1 0,1 0,2 0,3 1 0,230
S58 0,1 0,2 0,3 1 1 1 0,300
S59 0,1 0,4 0,3 1 1 0,225
S60 0,2 0,2 0,1 1 1 0,240
S61 0,2 0,1 0,2 0,2 1 1 1 0,290
S62 0,1 0,1 0,2 0,3 1 0,165
S63 0,1 0,3 1 1 0,190
S64 0,2 0,1 0,3 1 0,200
S65 0,2 0,2 1 1 0,200
S66 0,1 0,4 0,4 1 0,180
S67 0,3 0,4 0,4 0,2 1 1 1 0,450
S68 0,2 0,2 0,2 0,2 1 1 0,270
S69 0,2 0,3 1 0,170
S70 0,2 0,1 0,3 1 1 0,250
S71 0,1 0,3 0,2 1 0,150
S72 0,1 0,1 0,3 1 0,170
S73 0,3 0,2 0,2 1 1 1 0,340
S74 0,2 0,2 0,3 1 1 1 0,330
S75 0,1 0,1 0,4 1 1 1 0,290
S76 0,2 0,1 0,1 1 1 0,210
S77 0,1 0,2 0,4 1 1 0,270
S78 0,2 0,1 0,2 1 1 1 0,270
S79 0,2 0,2 0,2 1 1 0,260

186

S80 0,1 0,3 0,4 0,110
S81 0,1 0,2 0,1 0,4 0,3 1 1 0,315
S82 0,3 0,2 0,2 0,3 1 0,255
S83 0,2 0,2 0,2 1 1 0,260
S84 0,1 0,1 0,4 1 1 0,240
S85 0,2 0,2 0,4 0,2 1 1 1 0,360
S86 0,2 0,4 1 0,190
S87 0,2 0,2 0,3 1 0,230
S88 0,2 0,3 0,2 0,190
S89 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,4 1 0,150
S90 0,2 0,5 1 0,210
S91 0,3 0,4 1 0,220
S92 0,3 0,4 1 0,220
S93 0,1 0,1 0,2 0,05 0,2 1 1 1 1 0,375
S94 0,2 0,2 0,5 1 0,175
S95 0,2 0,3 0,4 1 0,190
S96 0,2 0,3 1 1 0,220
S97 0,1 0,1 0,3 0,3 0,135
S98 0,1 0,2 0,4 0,2 0,4 1 0,320
S99 0,2 0,1 0,3 1 0,200
S100 0,1 0,4 0,3 1 1 0,310
S 101 0,1 0,2 1 1 1 1 0,270
0,2369

187

STATIQUE VS. DYNAMIQUE  : LE CAS DES NOMS 
ABSTRAITS NOMS D’ETATS EN FRANÇAIS 
 
Corina Silvia MICU
Université Transilvania de Brașov

Quoiqu’une définition de la notion d’état ( noms qui désignent des situations
ou des dispositions transitoires, ayant un début et une fin propres, dans
lesquelles se trouve une personne ou un ensemble de personnes, une chose
ou un ensemble de choses (Micu 2011: 38) laisse percevoir le côté statique
marquant des états en tant que réalités du monde, cependant, tout aussi présent, même si moins manifestant, s’avère leur côté dynamique. Notre
communication se propose d’explorer et de décrire la manière de laquelle le
discours présente ces deux dimensions apparemment opposés, tout en mettant en évidence les ressorts syntaxiques, sémantiques et pragmatiques
impliqués.

Mots-clés : nom, abstrait, support, statique, dynamique.

1. Concret vs. abstrait
Avant de pouvoir parler des N
ét, il est indispensable de discuter
l’opposition concret/abstrait . Cette distinction se mble échapper à toute
tentative de description rigoureuse car les difficultés liées aux critères de catégorisation ou à la catégorisation même des unités lexicales inventoriées apparaissent à chaque pas. De plus, les points de vue des différents auteurs
sont tellement divers, qu’aucun critère définitionnel ne s’est véritablement
imposé jusqu’à présent (Benninger 2001: 12).
A une première vue, la différence en tre les deux consiste en ce que les
concrets sont matériels et par conséquent, accessibles aux sens, et les abstraits
ne le sont pas. On peut donc affirmer que des noms tels chat, tapis , verre sont
des noms concrets et les noms pensée , idée, tristesse entrent dans la catégorie
des noms abstraits . Cependant, les difficultés apparaissent tellement souvent

188
qu’on arrive à se demander si une opposition nominale concret/abstrait existe
vraiment (Galmiche, Kleiber 1996: 23).
Lorsqu’on parle de noms concrets ou abstraits, il faut tenir compte du fait
que ce ne sont pas les noms eux-mêmes qui sont abstraits ou concrets, mais
leurs référents. En conséquence, il fa ut voir lesquels des référents sont
concrets et lesquels peuvent être dits abstraits. Il est indispensable aussi de
faire la différence entre référence a priori du nom et référence discursive
nominale, celle qui s’attache à l’emploi du nom dans le discours, c’est-à-dire au syntagme nominal et non plus au nom. (Galmiche, Kleiber 1996).
Finalement, le caractère abstrait est directement lié à l’emploi lui-même
(Galmiche, Kleiber 1996: 25)).
On peut affirmer que concret correspond à un référent perçu comme
matériel, alors que abstrait correspond à un référent conçu comme non
matériel. Cela revient à dire que chat, tapis , verre, chien, maison etc. sont des
noms concrets tandis que pensée , idée, tristesse et d’autres sont des noms
abstraits. Matériel présuppose immédiatement et ob ligatoirement la notion de
volume, d’espace et la dimension temporelle.
Tout objet concret, matériel, a donc une matière et une forme qui peuvent
être les mêmes à deux moments différents, et sont par conséquent, capables de se répéter dans le temps. Il découle d’ ici que toute entité concrète présente un
grand nombre de propriétés perceptibles : (couleur, densité, poids etc.) et
interactionnelles (on peut les voir, les toucher, les goûter etc.) La définition en
termes de matériel, c’est-à-dire de matière apporte un nouveau critère pour
définir le statut du concret : celui de l’indépendance ontologique. Les noms
tels chien, tapis, verre, rocher sont concrets également parce qu’ils ont des
occurrences matérielles comme référent et parce que leurs référents ont une certaine existence autonome, catégorématique (Voir, sur ce sujet Galmiche,
Kleiber 1996).
Les choses changent lorsqu’il s’agit des noms massifs pour lesquels la
notion de forme convient moins qu’aux noms comptables. Elle existe, évidemment, mais elle n’est pas inhérente au type de nom (les massifs ne sont
pas comptables), elle provient de la conjonction d’un conditionnement
extérieur, d’un autre référent maté riel, possédant, lui, une forme (ex. tasse de
farine ). Cette absence de forme individuante, rend les noms massifs moins
concrets que le noms comptables, mais, pa r cela, ils ne sortent pas, cependant,
de la catégorie des concrets.
Compte tenu de ces considérations, on pe ut affirmer que sont concrets les
noms qui renvoient à des référents matériels (des noms comptables tels tapis,
verre, chien, homme etc. ainsi que les noms massifs comme sable, eau, huile,
beurre ), et que sont abstraits les noms qui renvoient à des référents sans
matière, à savoir idée, sentiment, tristesse, mais aussi rondeur, triangle,
explosion, rougeur etc.
Toute réalité matérielle est, évid emment, accessible aux sens. Mais il
existe aussi des réalités non matérielles qui sont aussi accessibles aux sens,

189
mais de façon intermédiée. Les interm édiaires consistent dans des référents
matériels dans la mesure où ces référents non matériels expriment leurs
propriétés. L’accessibilité aux sens des noms tels blancheur, rougeur ou
explosion provient directement de leur applicabilité référentielle: ils
concernent des occurrences matérielles ayant une forme intrinsèque (en ce qui
concerne les comptables), ou contingente (massives) et qui envisagent une
récurrence dans le temps. Cela n’ est pas valable pour des noms tels patience,
tristesse, haine, idée , parce que leur domaine d’applicabilité n’est pas celui de
la matière donc ils ne sont pas accessibles directement aux sens.
Les substantifs dérivés des adjectifs ou des verbes, ou, du moins, en
rapport avec des adjectif s ou des verbes, comme rougeur , blancheur , ou
explosion ne sont pas facile à ranger dans une des deux catégories.
Généralement, ils sont considérés comme abstraits. Galmiche et Kleiber (1996) emploient les deux critèr es présentés auparavant (matériel vs
non matériel et accessible aux sens vs non accessible aux sens) afin de déterminer l’opposition abstrait/conc ret : matériel/non matériel et
référentiellement autonome/référentielle ment non autonome. Si l’on recourt
au premier critère, les substantifs considérés sont des noms abstraits, parce
que les occurrences qu’ils actualisent n’ont pas de matérialité. Si l’on recourt au second, si on considère comme abstra it un nom dont le référent n’existe
pas indépendamment d’un autre, le résultat est le même.
Les substantifs rougeur, blancheur et explosion sont donc, des substantifs
syncatégorématiques parce que leurs occurrences dépendent d’autres
occurrences. Autrement dit, pour qu’on puisse parler de l’actualisation de rougeur, blancheur et explosion il faut qu’une entité quelconque ait la
propriété rougeur ou blancheur ou qu’elle ait explosé.
Si on se rapporte au critère de l’accessibilité/inaccessibilité aux sens, on
peut aisément se rendre compte que les noms rougeur, blancheur et explosion
s’inscrivent dans le deuxième terme de l’opposition envisagée,
l’inaccessibilité aux sens étant la consé quence du détachement référentiel de
la propriété ou de l’action par rap port aux objets auxquels elles sont
susceptibles de s’appliquer. Ces critères étant satisfaits, on peut donc conclure
que les noms rougeur, blancheur et explosion sont abstraits. Mais ils sont en
même temps, des prédicats généraux destinés à être appliqués à des
occurrences particulières comme dans les exemples
(1) La rougeur de ses joues la rendait encore plus belle.
(2) L’explosion du pneu a provoqué un grave accident.

Là on voit bien que les noms rougeur et explosion ont le même degré de
concrétude que l’adjectif rouge et le verbe exploser desquels ils sont dérivés
parce qu’ils sont tout aussi perceptib les. Une conclusion s’impose : c’est
l’emploi et les occurrences dans lesque lles ces noms apparaissent qui gèrent
leur appartenance au concret ou à l’abstrait.

190
A l’intérieur de la catégorie des ab straits, les auteurs (Flaux, van de
Velde: 2000) parlent de deux grandes s ous-catégories : les intensifs et les
extensifs.

2. Intensif vs. Extensif 1
L’intensité est un trait caractéristique principalement aux adjectifs (on les
définit généralement comme variables en intensité) et aux adverbes (on isole
parmi les adverbes une classe d’adverb es d’intensité). Ce pendant, on peut
adopter ce trait comme caractérisant au moins une partie des noms abstraits. Dans son oeuvre Critique de la raison pure , Kant, (repris par Flaux, van de
Velde 2000), oppose la catégorie de l’in tensité à celle d’extensivité. Plus
exactement, il oppose les «grandeurs exte nsives» (qui caractérisent tout ce qui
a une extension spatiale ou temporelle ) aux «grandeurs intensives» (définies
par la force de l’effet produit par un ob jet sur un sujet.). Si tous les objets
concrets sont extensifs (pour la plupart dans l’espace – table, chaise, boîte , et
quelques uns seulement dans le temps – sonate ), les «abstraits se répartissent
à peu près également entre intensifs ( bonté ) et extensifs, mais dont l’étendue
est exclusivement temporelle ( effondrement ) (Flaux, van de Velde 2000: 32)».
Il faut ajouter le fait que ni les frontières de ces deux catégories ne sont
strictement tracées : il existe d’une part, des noms qui cumulent les propriétés des deux (la tristesse peut être plus ou moins intense et présente aussi une
étendue dans le temps), d’autre part, d es noms qui semblent n’être affectés par
aucune des deux (l’ immortalité n’a ni degrés d’intensité, ni étendue). La
notion d’intensité implique non seulement le plus et le moins mais le passage du plus au moins et inversement (van de Velde 1996).

3. Noms abstraits intensifs

La catégorie des noms abstraits in tensifs comprend les noms de qualités
et les noms d’états auxquels s’ajoutent les noms de sentiments.
Les états sont dotés de la double dimension de l’intensité et de
l’extension. Ils sont à la fois des gra ndeurs intensives, susceptibles d’affecter
leur sujet, et des grandeurs extensives – ils passent, ou sont traversés par leur
sujet. Ils sont liés au temps d’une manière essentielle (c’est le temps celui qui réalise la distinction entre les états).
Toute différence entre l’expression de la quantité et celle de la qualité
(entre combien/que de et quel), disparaît avec les noms intensifs, les N
ét y
inclus.

1 Van de Velde (2006: 169): «J’appelle «grandeurs in tensives» toutes les grandeurs qui n’ont ni
extension spatiale, ni extensi on temporelle, mais seulement des degrés d’intensité, et
«grandeurs extensives» les autres. Si on classe les noms abstraits selon ce critère, les noms
d’état sont les seuls à avoir de s propriétés des deux classes».

191
Les états affectent leur sujet et en dépendent, à la différence des qualités
qui adhèrent à leur sujet et des sentimen ts qui, tout en affectant leur sujet,
adhèrent en revanche à leur objet, dont ils sont dépendants. Pour cette raison,
certains auteurs appellent les noms de sentiments noms d’états «ressentis» (Voir, sur ce sujet van de Velde 1995).
Les états se rapprochent des activités par la faculté que tous les deux ont
de se constituer en un milieu dans lequel baigne le sujet. Mais si les activités
apparaissent comme dynamiques, les états sont perçus comme statiques.
Les N
ét acceptent comme spécifieurs des expressions nominales ayant
comme tête un nom de fraction de temps du type quelques instants de /des
mois de /des longues heures de Nét, expressions totalement exclues avec les
noms de sentiments.
En prenant en considération tous ces aspects, nous avons défini les noms
abstraits noms d’états comme des noms qui désignent des situations ou des
dispositions transitoires, ayant un début et une fin propres, dans lesquelles se
trouve une personne ou un ensemble de personnes, une chose ou un ensemble
de choses (Micu 2011). Les noms abstraits noms d’états peuvent être
identifiés suivant certaines caractéristiques parmi lesquelles le plus important
est le fait que le début et la fin des ét ats sont marqués par le choix des verbes
opérateurs accompagnés par des propositions : entrer en /dans , sortir de et la
localisation du sujet à l’intérieur de l’ét at ou de l’état dans le sujet sont
spécifiées par des expressions du type être en /dans , être plongé dans .
Les états peuvent affecter leur sujet d’au moins deux points de vue :
physique et psychique. Les sujets des états, eux aussi, peuvent appartenir aux
différentes classes d’objets de la réalité.
Les états «physiques » ( NétΦ) peuvent affecter soit exclusivement des
sujets [+animé] , soit exclusivement des sujets [-animé] soit les deux
[±animé] , alors que les états «psychiques» ( NétΨ) entretiennent des relations
seulement avec les sujets [+personne] .
Considérant tous les éléments présent és plus haut, nous avons établi une
liste de N ét qui obéissent à la définition que nous avons proposée et, en même
temps, présentent les caractéristiques énumérés : Abattement, abrutissement,
accablement, agitation, alourdissem ent, anarchie, anémie, anxiété,
appréhension, attendrissement, calme, captivité, catalepsie, colère, coma,
confusion, décomposition, délabremen t, dénuement, dépendance, dépression,
désespoir, détresse, doute, énerve ment, engourdissement, épouvante,
épuisement, équilibre, euphorie, évanoui ssement, extase, fa iblesse, fatigue,
fureur, gaieté, hébétude, hiberna tion, hypnose, immobilité, inanition,
incertitude, inconscience, indéterminati on, indifférence, inertie, inquiétude,
instabilité, ivresse, joie, lassitude, léthar gie, malaise, neurasthénie, passivité,
perplexité, prospérité, prostration, quiétude, rêverie, santé, satiété,
somnolence, souffrance, stagnation, tension, transe, tristesse, trouble.
Il est important à ce moment de préciser la présence des verbes
supports à côté des N ét.

192

4. Verbes supports des N ét

Les verbes supports se différencient des verbes prédicatifs par quelques
caractéristiques qui leur sont propres: ils servent à actualiser les prédicats nominaux et ils n’ont pas en eux-mêmes une valeur prédicative, c’est-à-dire
ils peuvent disparaître de l’énoncé suite à une opération de relativisation sans
que celui-ci perde son statut d’énoncé :
(3) Luc a donné
une réponse à cette question.
(4) la réponse que Luc a donnée à cette question.
(5) la réponse de Luc à cette question (Exemples repris à
GROSS,G. (1996)).
En revanche, les verbes prédicatifs peuvent constituer l’objet d’un
changement de catégorie (nominalisati on), ce qui ne se passe pas au cas des
verbes supports : être, faire , avoir , n’ont pas de forme nominale. Il y a des
verbes qui, suivant le contexte, peuve nt fonctionner soit comme des verbes
prédicatifs, soit comme des verbes supports.
Il est très difficile, sinon impossible, d’établir d’une manière exacte le(s)
verbe(s) support approprié(s) pour chaque N ét, la notion d’«état» étant trop
générale pour permettre des prévisions de ce genre. Cependant, grâce à la fréquence avec laquelle ils sont sélectés par les N
ét, certains verbes peuvent
être considérés comme tels : avoir, êtrePrép, resterPrép, entrerPrép,
tomberPrép, plongerPrép, sombrerPrép, sortirPrép , auxquels on ajoute
quelques constructions verbales : être dans un état (de), être plein/rempli (de),
être plongé (dans) accompagnés par des prépositions qui servent à exprimer le
rapport établi entre le sujet d’un état et l’état qui l’affecte.
C’est la nature des manifestations du sujet d’un certain état qui engendre
chez les N ét l’opposition statique/dynamique .

5. Statique vs. dynamique

Les états statiques renvoient :
● aux états intérieurs qui ne se manifestent pas par des signes
extérieurs : doute , dépendance
● aux «états de choses» : décomposition, délabrement, équilibre
● aux états physiques et psychiques aux faibles manifestations
extérieures qui ne permettent pas l’identification de l’état d’une manière exacte. Par exemple : dépression
2 et détresse3, indifférence, inertie, léthargie,

2 «L’humeur dépressive est la pr incipale manifestation de la dépression . Elle se traduit par une
tristesse intense et continue». (http ://www.comment.be/fr/symp toms_behaviour.aspx.
3«Profonde tristesse, sentiment de démoralis ation, de mélancol ie, de nostalgie» ( Colloque La
détresse psychologique des femmes : À Laval, c’es t l’affaire de tout le monde! présenté le 14
novembre 2007 à Laval ; Et si bien-être rimait avec égalité présentation d’ Évelyne Fortin,
Conseil du statut de la femme http://tclcf.qc.ca/site/files/4-

193
ou passivité (NétΨ), catalepsie, coma, inconscience (NétΦ)(tous les trois états
sont caractérisés par la perte de la conscience).
● le sujet de l’état est passif
Exemples : abattement, accablement, alourdissement, anémie, calme,
catalepsie, coma, décomposition, dé labrement, dépendance, dépression,
détresse, doute, engourdissement, é puisement, équilibre, évanouissement,
extase, faiblesse, fatigue, hébétude, hibernation, hypnose, immobilité,
inanition, incertitude, inconscience, indétermination, inertie, lassitude, léthargie, neurasthénie, passivité, p erplexité, prospér ité, prostration,
quiétude, rêverie, santé, satiété, somnolence, stagnation, tension, transe
Les états dynamiques réfèrent
● aux états intérieurs dont les manifestations extérieures sont
marquées et permettent une identification exacte de l’état en question, chaque
état présentant des manifestations «spécifiques» : agitation, anarchie, colère,
énervement, euphorie, indétermina tion, ivresse, joie, tristesse .
● le sujet de l’état est actif dans la mesure où les manifestations de
l’état qui l’affecte sont visibles
Exemples : agitation, anarchie, anxiété, appréhension, attendrissement,
colère, confusion, désespoir, énervement, épouvante, euphorie, fureur, gaieté,
indifférence, inquiétude, instabilité, ivresse, joie, tristesse, trouble
Les N
ét statiques sont, bien sûr, beaucoup plus nombreux que ceux que
nous avons appelés dynamiques ; cela parce que les états sont conçus comme
des entités «statiques» par rapport aux actions ou activités qui sont vus
comme étant «dynamiques». Cependant, à l’intérieur de la catégorie des états nous considérons qu’un certain dyna misme est présent et caractérise
notamment les N
ét susceptibles de fonctionner dans certains contextes comme
des noms d’actions ou des N sent, le plus souvent. Les sentiments sont
caractérisés pour la plupart par des ma nifestations sensibles visibles qui se
constituent en des indices de la présence de l’état/sentiment chez son sujet.
La catégorie des N ét statiques comprend à côté des noms d’états
proprement dits ( anémie, calme, coma, etc.), des noms qui peuvent appartenir,
en fonction du contexte, à la catégorie des résultats des actions, des états résultatifs : abattement, accablement , etc.
Si les états physiques peuvent être t ous considérés comme étant statiques,
les états psychiques sont divisibles en statiques et dynamiques. Cette opposition est soutenue au niveau des verbes supports que ces N
ét sélectent.
Le début d’un état est représenté différemment par la langue, suivant le
caractère statique ou dynamique de celui-ci. La plupart des N ét dynamiques se
combinent souvent avec entrerPrép (agitation, anarchie, colère, désespoir,
euphorie, fureur, gaieté, inquiétude ) alors que les N ét statiques se combinent

EtSiEgaliteActesColloqueTCLCF.pdf) Comme les dé finitions citées lai ssent prévoir, la
détresse et la dépressi on se manifestent d’une manière presqu e identique : tristesse, mélancolie,
nostalgie.

194
avec les supports tomberPrép (abattement, accablement, catalepsie, coma,
dépendance, extase, faiblesse, hébétude, léthargie, prostration ), sombrerPrép
(désespoir, doute, inconscience ), plongerPrép (abattement, coma, doute,
hébétude, incertitude, léthargie ).
Le verbe entrer renvoie à l’idée du déplacement d’un sujet actif, impliqué
dans le mouvement, qui «ent re» dans l’état alors que tomber, sombrer,
plonger introduisent l’idée d’un sujet passif qui «subit» le mouvement de
déplacement qu’on lui imprime de l’ex térieur. En d’autres termes, on peut
parler de deux directions de déplaceme nt mises en évidence par les supports
considérés : d’un côté, le déplacement sur l’horizontale ( entrerPrép ) de
l’autre côté un mouvement sur la verticale ( tomberPrép, sombrerPrép,
plongerPrép ). La trajectoire horizontale implique la présence d’un sujet actif,
capable de la parcourir, alors que toute tr ajectoire verticale de haut en bas est
soumise aux lois de la gravitation, le sujet demeurant passif. D’une part, le
sujet pourrait contrôler, à la rigueur, s on déplacement, d’autre part il ne peut
que suivre la trajectoire qui lui a été imprimée.
Le rapport locatif institué entre un état et le sujet qui l’affecte est exprimé
en règle générale par la construction S+êtrePrép+N ét. Les N ét dynamiques
peuvent être également accompagnés par éprouver (anxiété, appréhension,
colère, euphorie, joie, tristesse, atte ndrissement, indifférence, inquiétude,
tension ) ou ressentir (agitation, appréhension, col ère, fureur, ivresse, joie,
tristesse, indifférence ). La présence de ces supports traduit l’implication du
sujet par rapport à l’état considéré, état duquel il est conscient et le «ressent».
Eprouver et ressentir , étant des supports caractéristiques des N sent, leur
compatibilité avec certains N ét, (les noms des états dynamiques) soutient ce
que nous avons déjà affirmé, à savoir que ces N ét sont susceptibles de
fonctionner contextuellement comme des noms de sentiments.
Une grande partie des noms abst raits noms d’états dynamiques sont
combinables avec le verbe actif manifester (agitation, anxiété, colère,
confusion, gaieté, joie, indifférence ), verbe que les noms d’états statiques
semblent ( coma, immobilité, etc.) rejeter.

Conclusion

Même si la catégorie des N ét semble renvoyer exclusivement à des
réalités statiques, on peut, cependant, repérer des états qui démontrent un
certain dynamisme dans leur manifestati on, en ce qui concerne la manière de
laquelle ils affectent leur sujet. Les états physiques peuvent être tous
considérés comme étant statiques, mais les états psychiques sont divisibles en
statiques et dynamiques, opposition sout enue, également, au niveau des
verbes supports sélectés par les N ét en question. Aussi, le début d’un état est
représenté différemment par la langue, suivant le caractère statique ou
dynamique de celui-ci. Les N ét dynamiques peuvent être également
accompagnés par éprouver ou ressentir ce qui montre leur capacité de glisser

195
du côté des noms de sentiment. En même temps, les N ét dynamiques, à la
différence des N ét statiques peuvent sélecter le verbe manifester .

Bibliographie

Benninger, C. 2001. Noms de propriété, noms de sentiment et quantification
nominale. Dans Le syntagme nominal : syntaxe et sémantique , Actes du
colloque franco-roumain D. Amiot & W. de Mulder & N. Flaux (éds.), (25-
27 avril 1999, Université d'Arras), APU, Arras.
Flaux, N., Van De Velde, D. 2000. LES NOMS EN FRANÇAIS: esquisse de
classement . Paris: Ophrys.
Galmiche, M., Kleiber, G. 1996. Sur les noms abstraits Dans Les Noms Abstraits.
Histoire et Théorie. Acte s du colloque de Dunkerque (15-18.09.1992), textes
réunis par Nelly Flaux, Michel Glatigny, Didier Samain.
Gross, G. 1996. “Prédicats nominaux et compatibilité aspectuelle “, Langages 121 :
54-72.
Micu, Corina. 2011. Les noms abstraits noms d’états en français : une description .
Brașov: Presses Universita ires Transilvania.
van de Velde. D. 1995. LE SPECTRE NOMINAL Des noms de matières aux noms
d’abstractions . 129-218. Paris: Éditions Peeters Louvain.
van de Velde, D. 1996. “La détermination des noms abstraits “. Dans Les Noms
Abstraits, Histoire et Théorie . Actes du colloque de Dunkerque (15-
18.09.1992), textes réunis par Nelly Flaux, Michel Glatigny, Didier Samain.

Static vs. Dynamic: the State Abstract Noun in French

Even if the very definition of the state abstract nouns might lead to the
conclusion that they highlight exclusively the static side of the reality, however, inside
this category, a certain opposition between a static and a dynamic linguistic
behaviour can be found. This paper aims to explore this opposition focusing on the state abstracts’ nouns syntactic, semantic and pragmatic behaviour.

Key-words : noun, abstract, static, dynamic

196

197

THE ABBREVIATIONS IN ANCIENT AND MODERN 
HEBREW AND THEIR MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS  

Asher Shafrir
Tel Aviv University

In the first part of this paper, we present a short diachronic description of
the using of abbreviations during the centuries. Abbreviations are known
since at least the Rabbinical Hebrew during the second temple Talmud
period. Words are abbreviated in vari ous ways. Distinction must be made
chiefly between the abbreviation of a single word and that of more than one.
The main groups to adopt abbreviations in Israel are: (1) the army: military
rank, units, and equipment are ex pressed almost exclusively by
abbreviations; (2) most public enterprises: government, political parties,
associations, corporations; (3) the Jewish ultra-orthodox groups as a
tradition of centuries .
In the second part, we propose to examine some of the inflectional and
derivational processes applicable to abbreviations. We observe 11 patterns (miškal), and we classify them according to their pronunciation in three
categories: blends, initialisms, and clippings. We propose to present some of
Hebrew inflectional categories: gender, number, and possession and some of derivational processes, according to word classes: nouns, adjectives, verbs,
and adverbs and creation of new roots.

Keywords: Hebrew, abbreviation, acronym, blend, clipping, initialism

1. Introduction Several terms, as abbreviation, acron ym, initialism, blend, clipping, are
found in various studies and dictionaries in their attempt to classify the various types of shortened forms. In this study, the term abbreviation ( rašey
tevot ) refers to acronyms and clippings as well.
2. Terminology Abbreviations in Hebrew are known since at least the Rabbinical Hebrew
during the second temple Talmud period (first two centuries AD) as

198
notarikon , from the Greek 'notaricum' = 'shorthand signs' and received the
meaning "Abbreviations". The expression o ccurs in the Mishnah and refers to
the use of initial letters 'dots and dash es' to indicate abbreviation. In the
middle Ages, they have been widely used, and several important rabbis are
referred to with abbreviation of their names, e.g., Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon
(Maimonides) is commonly known as RaMBaM*, and Rabbi Moshe ben
Nahman (Nahmanides) is likewise known as the RaMBaN.
The usage of Hebrew abbreviations extends to liturgical groupings: the
word TaNaX** is an acronym for Torah 'Five Books of Moses', Nevi'im
'Book of Prophets', and Ketuvim 'Hagiographa'.
In many Hebrew texts, and especially Rabbinic Hebrew texts, the
proportion of abbreviations to words is about 20% and over one third of them
permit more than one expansion (Koppel, n.d.).
3. Graphic representation In medieval writings, abbreviations marked by various signs are found:
one, two and three dots, single line slanting in two directions, horizontal line, and semi-circle. In modern times, two signs only are used: the single and the double slanting line. The single line is used at the end of an abbreviated single word. They are clips of a single word, consisting of the first letter or first several letters of that word and ar e denoted using the punctuation mark gereš
(׳ )by placing the sign after the last letter of the abbreviation, e.g., rabi > R
'rabbi'; gveret > GV 'Mrs.'. The double line is used between the letters of an
abbreviation of two or more words using the punctuation mark geršayim (״ ,)
placing the sign between the second-last and last letters of the non-inflected form of the abbreviation, e.g., kal vahomer > KV 'all the more'; ta do'ar > TD
'post box'.
4. Methods Words are abbreviated in various ways. Distinction must be made chiefly
between the abbreviation of a single word and that of more than one.
(1) Clippings . Single words may be abbreviated in the following ways:
(a) When a single word consists of only two letters it is very rarely
abbreviated, e.g., B < ben 'son'; (b) When it consists of more than two letters,
one or more of the final letters are dropped, e.g., VeGO < vegomer 'etc'.
(2) Acronyms . When there are two or more words, the following modes
of abbreviation prevail:
(a) The initial letter of every word, wh ether it is a radical or a formative
element, is retained – the rest is omitted, e.g., 'aH < 'alav ha+šalom 'blessed
be his soul', H'S < ha+ein sof 'infinity'; ha- is the article in Hebrew
(b) When the first or last word of the combination is short, it is sometimes
retained in the abbreviation entire, e.g., 'a'aPi < af al pi 'in spite of'

199
(c) A species of abbreviations consis ts in the use of the letters with
numerical value. On this use is also based the hermeneutic rule of Gematria. These letters with numerical value may be written by themselves, e.g., ŠY = 310, pronounced shay, TV = 15 pronounced tu. In some cases the numeral
YX is written XY and pronounced xay with allusion to the meaning 'alive,
living' which the word has in Hebrew
(d) The mystic combination of lette rs, to which dynamic powers were
attributed, dates from the early Gnosis, and was very common in the Middle Ages, in particular in Cabbala
4. Pronunciation Abbreviations were frequently formed into patterns which, when read as
a word in form of set-phrase, gave a me aning and were used to help memory
in oral study. Even as such they have no meanings, they came in later times to
be pronounced with supplied vowels and were taken as words, e.g., 'aKuM,
'idolatry', YaYiŠ 'brandy'. This is especi ally common with names of authors,
e.g., RaŠi, RaMBaM.
Equally frequent is such pronunciati on of numbers, e.g., RaMaX = 248,
ŠaSah = 365. Year numbers in the Hebr ew calendar are written the same way
with geršayim before the last character, but pronounced as separate letter
names; e.g., TaŠSaB = 5762, the Hebrew year 2001–2002 is tav-šin-samex-
bet. Abbreviations pronounced this wa y are accepted in Modern Hebrew as
real words, and even form morphological processes (see below).
5. History Abbreviation has been used as long as phonetic script existed, in some
senses actually being more common in early literacy, where spelling out a whole word was often avoided, init ial letters commonly being used to
represent words in specific application. Initialisms have been found in Sumerian (Cannon 1989), Assyrian, Aramaic, and Punic inscriptions. By classical Greece and Rome, the reduction of words to single letters was still normal.
As the Hebrews wrote at an early stage of their history, the early
invention of abbreviations could be assu med. At first rather few in number,
lack of space, economy of writing material, a desire for secrecy, religious scruples, and the convenience of the writer multiplied their number to the extent found today. The abbreviation R for 'rabbi' common in the Mishna is due to the convenience of the writer. The abbreviation H for yehova is due to
religious scruples. The numerous abbreviations found in the Masorah are due
to lack of space, scarcity of writing material, and the convenience of the scribe . In the Middle Ages and later, the names of famous personalities
continued to be called by an abbreviation, such as RaŠi < R. Šelomo Yicxaki ,
Ba'al Šem Tov > BeŠT. Since the 19
th century, some authors' initials have

200
almost superseded their actual names, e.g. the poet Judah Leib Gordon is
commonly known as YaLaG.
Many 19th and 20th century Jewish organizati ons and institutions have
become known by their abbreviated titles, e.g., Alliance Israelite Universelle:
KiYaX < kol yisrael xaverim . The Hasidic movement emanating from
Lubavitch is known by the initials of their motto HaBaD < xoxma, bina, da'at
'wisdom, understanding, knowledge'. The habit of calling international bodies
by their initials, e.g., UN, UNESCO has found an echo in Hebrew 'uM < umot
meuxadot 'United Nations' (Lehmann 1982).
In Israel, constant use is made of abbreviations. The main groups to adopt
abbreviations are: (1) the army: m ilitary rank, units, and equipment are
expressed almost exclusively by abbreviations; (2) most public enterprises: government, political parties, associations , corporations; (3) the Jewish ultra-
orthodox groups as a tradition of centuries; (4) in science for units of measurement, as weight, length, volum e, area, time, speed, frequency,
temperature.
6. The Morphological Analysis of Hebrew Abbreviations Abbreviations are a non-core domain, which is quite prevalent in Modern
Hebrew. Abbreviations exhibit core behavior in two respects: they are usually stressed on the final syllable, though in some cases they are stressed as
segolates on the penultimate (3d below). Moreover, they do not contain foreign consonants. However, they do allow final [b] and [p], e.g., KaLaB <
karov la+bayit , ‘close to home’, and they have distinct syllable structure, e.g.,
SaManKaL < sgan menahel klali 'vice general director', which is tri-syllabic
but contains no miškal consonant (Meir, 2006). There is a tendency to
construct the abbreviation so that it conforms to a Hebrew noun-pattern
(miškal ) (3):
(1) SaKuM < sakinim, kapotu+mazlegot 'cutlery = knives, spoons and
forks'
'éŠeL < 'axila, štiya, lina 'per diem = food, beverage, lodging'
DaŠ < drišat šalom 'regards = sending greetings'

Nir (1993) classifies abbreviations acc ording to their pronunciation in
three categories, while Bar-Asher ( 2012) in two categories (a) and (b):
(2) (a) Acronyms and blends
In this case, the abbreviation is pron ounced as an ordinary Hebrew word
adapted to various patterns (miškal) (3 below).
When a Hebrew expression was ne eded for orange, the compound
Tapuax Zahav was first used. This was later turned into the blend TaPuZ,
which was also in the standard language (Kutcher, 1982). This type includes,
among others, words formed from the initial letters of their bases (acronyms), such as DuaX < din vexešbon 'report ', MaNKaL < menahel klali 'director

201
general ', ToLaR < totax lelo reta 'reco illess gun'. Some of these acronyms and
blends also exist in the form of set-phrases: tapuax zahav , din vexešbon ; and
this explains their idiomatic quality. Mo st of them conform to a Hebrew noun-
pattern, e.g., DaŠ 'regards', SaMaL 's ergeant', and are therefore relatively
easily absorbed into the noun-system (3). As a result, the Hebrew speaker's
awareness of the etymological original of such words is fading (Nir, 1980).
(b) Initialisms
They are abbreviations consisting of initial letters pronounced separately,
such as MK pronounced mem kaf < mefaked kita ′company commander ′, ŠG
pronounced šin gimel < šomer gdudi ′regimental policeman ′.
(c) Clippings
In this group, they are set-phrases in their oral form and clipped in the
written form: 'aXHaZ < 'axarey hacohorayim 'after noon', DN < dó'ar n'a
'rural delivery'. Nir (1993) included in this category idiomatic traditional religious clippings, e.g., BH < barux ha+šem 'thank God', NY < ner+o ya'ir
'may his light shine'.
Most of Hebrew abbreviations are primarily formed by a combination of
a discontinuous consonantal form with a discontinuous vocalic pattern, at
times with added consonants as well (the so-called miškal for substantives,
binyan for verbs). According to those patterns, Zadok (2002) divided the
abbreviations in 3 groups. Nir (1993) stated that there are 8 groups. In this study, we find 11 noun-patterns ( miškal ):
(3) (a) The most common pattern is CaCaC as the noun nagar 'carpenter':
TaLaG < tozar leumi golmi 'GNP'
MaKaM < megale kivun umakom 'radar'
(b) The next pattern is CaCCaC, as the noun safsal 'bench':
MaZKaL < mazkir klali 'secretary general'
NaGMaŠ < nisa geyasot mešuryan 'armored personnel carrier'
(c) The pattern CaCaCCaC: RaMaTKaL < roš ha+mate ha+klali 'chief of Staff'
(d) The pattern CéCeC/CáCaC with penult stress, as mélex 'king':
'éŠeL < 'axila, štiya, lina 'per diem = food, beverage, lodging'
Má'aM < mas 'erex musaf 'VAT'
(e) The pattern CaCuC: TaPuZ < tapuax zahav 'orange'
SaKuM <
sakinim, kapot u+mazlegot 'cutlery'
(f) The pattern CaCiC, as the noun katin 'minor':
SaTiL < sfinat tilim 'missile boat'

202
(g) The pattern CiCuC, as in the noun sipur 'story':
MiKuD < mispar kod 'zip code'
(h) The pattern CuC, as the noun šum 'garlic':
XuL < xuc la'arec 'abroad' DuaX < din vexešbon 'report'
(i) The pattern CoC, as the noun xof 'beach':
YoR < yošev roš 'chairman'
MoL < moci la'or 'publisher'
(j) The pattern CaC, as the noun sal 'basket':
ZaL < zixrono livraxa 'of blessed memory'
ŠaX < šekel xadaš 'New Israeli Shekel'
(k) The pattern CiC:
XiR < xel raglim 'infantry'
CiM < ci yami misxari 'ZIM'

Inflection and derivation Linguists often distinguish between in flectional and derivational affixes.
In English boy and boys or chop and chopped are alternate forms of the same
entity. The endings added to those form s are inflectional affixes. Derivational
affixes are rather different in character. The derivational affix -ly serves to derive the adverb quickly from the adjective quick (Langacker, 1973).
The abbreviations are a special derivational category in Hebrew. They are
very similar to foreign nouns in various morphological and phonological criteria (Schwarzwald, 1998).
Inflection: gender, plural affixatio n, stress, possessive, and article
Nouns in Hebrew fall into two gende r classes: masculine and feminine.
The feminine is the marked ge nder, feminine nouns ending with –á (stressed)
or –t (not rooted): simxá 'happiness', xanút 'shop'. Masculine nouns are
unmarked, lacking a feminine endi ng. However, some masculine-sounding
nouns are nonetheless feminine: even 'stone' (Meir 2006).
The abbreviations are usually formed in masculine, unmarked. Some of
them are used as masculine and feminine as well: DaŠ 'regards' is used in masculine and feminine as well: DaŠ xam m., or DaŠ xamá f. 'best regards',
MéCaX 'investigating military police'. A very small number ends with the
suffix –'a. This ending in nouns marks the ma sculine gender. In abbreviations,
it marks feminine: TáC'A < taclum 'avir 'aerial photograph', MáD'A <
magen
david adom 'Israeli Red Cross'. A very few ends with suffix –t not rooted:
SaMaL m. > SaMéLeT f. More common feminine are abbreviations derived
from masculine, ending usually with –it:
(4) Masculine Feminine

203
YoR YoRiT
MaNKaL MaNKaLIT Hebrew has two nominal plural suffixes: -im and –ot. Masculine nouns
usually take the –im suffix, and feminine nouns the –ot suffix. The correlation
is not entirely consistent. There are about 200 masculine nouns in current use taking the –ot suffix, and 50 or so feminine nouns taking the –im suffix (Meir,
2006). In plural formation of abbrevia tions, the correlation is consistent:
masculine in –im, and feminine in –ot or its allomorph –iyot .
(5) Masculine Feminine RaMaTKaLiM TaCoT YoRiM YoRiYoT Rarely the masculine takes –ot: DuaX – DuXot. The sole inflectional suffixes adde d to intialisms (2b above) are the
nominal plural suffixes. Some of them can be in the plural: MK pronounced mem kaf < mefaked kita 'company commander' > MKiM pronounced mem
kafim or makim , ŠG pronounced šin gimel < šomer gdudi 'regimental
policeman' > ŠGiM pronounced only šin gimelim .
The regular feminine and plural stress pattern in Hebrew is on the final
syllable. Hence suffixation results in str ess shift to the suffix, as is illustrated
by the following plural forms: sipúr > sipurím 'story' m.; mapá > mapót 'map'
f.
Abbreviations are also usually stressed on the final syllable: DuáX –
DuXóT.
However, there is a class of nouns in which stress does not shift to the
feminine or plural suffix. This class includes a few groups of nouns, one of
them being abbreviations:
(6) YóR – YóRiT – YóRiM RaBáT – RaBáTiM XáK – XáKiT – XáKiT – XáKiYoT TáC'A – TáCoT

Construct state possession is expressed by stem modification of either sg.
m. f. or pl. m. f. A few masculine plural abbreviations show the suffix –ey in
the plural construct state. In nouns it is obligatory in plural construct state but
in abbreviations it is rarely found:
(7) MaNKaLiM – MaNKaLey MaZKaLiM – MaZKaLeY The possessive suffixes are as exemplified in (8):

204
(8) talmid 'Student (m)': talmidi, talmidxa… 'my Student, your (m)
Student …'; talmidot 'students (f)': talmidotay, talmidotexa… 'my students,
your (m) students, … their (f) students'.
Hebrew inflectional possessive suffixes do not attach to abbreviations,
except one: ZaBaŠ < zot ha+be'aya 'it's the problem' and with possessive
suffixes: ZaBaŠi, ZaBaŠXa, ZaBaŠo… 'my, your, his'. Rarely, possessive suffixes are attached to other abbreviations: MaNKaLeNu 'our', NaGMaŠo 'his'.
Hebrew has only a definite article, the prefix ha-. The article is used with
abbreviations, e.g. Ha+YoR, Ha+RaMaTKa L, and it is even added to names:
KaKaL < keren kayemet leyisrael 'Jewish National Fund' > Ha+KaKaL,
RaMBaM > Ha+RaMBaM.
Derivational suffixes The derivational suffixes may be added to any stems, be they singular,
plural, masculine or feminine. For instance, -I is a productive derivational
adjective suffix (S chwarzwald, 1998). In kafri it is attached to the singular
stem kfar 'village'. Parallel formations ar e derived from abbreviations from
first category of blends: CaHaL – CaHaLi (9c).
The semantics of suffixed derivation in Hebrew is far less predictable
than that of inflection. There is a st ock of inflectional nominal suffixes in
Hebrew and their meanings are fixed and defined by features of number,
gender, and possession. The number of derivational suffixes is limited. However, their meanings vary and fa ll into a larger number of semantic
categories (Schwarzwald, 1998):
(9) a. +an 'agent, has the profession or feature': psantran 'pianist'
(<psanter 'piano').
Abbreviations: YaXCaN 'public relations officer' (< yaxac 'public
relations')
b. +ut 'abstract noun': 'itonut 'journalism' (< 'iton 'journal').
Prevalent in abbreviations: MaNKaLuT 'charmanship' (< MaNKaL 'chairman'), MoLuT (<MoL < moci' la'or 'publisher').
XaKuT > (<XaK < xaver kneset 'MP').
c. +I 'adjective': CaHaLi ( < CaHaL < cva ha+hagana
le+yisrael 'Israel defense forces'),
TaNaXi (< TaNaX < tora, nevi'im , ketuvim 'Hebrew Bible').
d. +nik (foreign, Russian) 'doer, member':
MaGaVNiK < MaGaV < mišmar hagvul + nik ' a member of the border
guard',
'uMNiK < 'uM < umot meuxadot
+ nik 'a member of UN forces'.
Derivation of new words by creation of new roots and formation of new
patterns ( miškal and binyan ) (10 below) or derivation of suffixes (9 above)
occurs only in a few items. The followi ng list includes the derivational forms
from abbreviations:

205
(10) a. noun: BaGaC < bet din gavoah lecedek 'supreme court': root
(√bgc)
+ pattern (CaCiC ' -able') > bagic 'justiceable in supreme court' (Bar-
Asher, 2012).
b. verb: DuaX < din vexešbon 'report': root ( √dux) + pattern (CiCe/aC) >
divax (past), yedavax (future), medaveax (participle), ledaveax
(infinitive);
YaXCaN 'public relations officer': root ( √yxcn) +pattern (CiCCeC) only
meyaxcen (participle) and leyaxcen (infinitive) not full verb paradigm
as √dux above;
MaNKaL < menahel klali 'general manager': root ( √mnkl )
+ pattern (CiCCeC) only memankel (participle) and lemankel √yxcn
above.
c. gerund: DuaX < din vexešbon 'report': root ( √dux) + pattern (CiCuC) >
divuax 'reporting'
In abbreviations, unlike in nouns, th e number of derivational suffixes is
limited and their meanings fall into a small number of semantic categories.
7. Conclusions This study deals with the history of Hebrew abbreviations and their
morphology. Stern (1926) s hows the large numbers of abbreviations in Hebrew
serving the traditional orthodox groups in his first book length-collections of
Hebrew abbreviations: 16000 entries. The real explosion in systematically created
abbreviations began with the establishmen t of the Israeli Army. The many new
items, including informal an d obscene ones, prompted the army one official list,
the updated revision entitled Dictionary of shortened forms and abbreviations
(2010). This lists the offici al abbreviations and the poli cy, places for their use, and
contains 176 pages (23-199), circa 8000 abbreviations. Today we find updated collections of abbreviations in most su bject fields and a recognized need for
efficient items to serve th e ever-growing business co mmunity and organizations
Cannon (1989), a few thousands more.
Our belief in this paper is that morphology is a distinct component of
Modern Hebrew abbreviations. We have described the inflectional and derivational systems applicable to Hebrew abbreviations. They involve features
such as stems, suffixes, stress patterns, syntactic structures and semantic values,
syllabic structures, and dynamic changes.

Notes *Names are generally transcribed as they appear in the Encyclopedia Judaica
(1972). Hebrew acronyms are represented by uppercase letters with vowels added in lower case to make the word re adable in English (Katz, 2000).
**We chose to retain non-standard tr anscription system based on every day-
spoken language and not to use IPA transcription.

206

References

Bar-Asher, M. 2012. Studies in modern Hebrew . Jerusalem: The Academy of the
Hebrew Language [In Hebrew].
Cannon, G. 1989. English abbreviations and acronyms in recent new-words
dictionaries. American Speech , 64: 99-127.
Dictionary of shortened forms and abbreviations. 2010. IDF Doctrine and Instruction
Brigade [In Hebrew].
Katz, J. 2000. Tradition and crisis: Jewish society at the end of the middle ages .
Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press.
Koppel, M. (n.d.). The response project: Some promising future directions . (Doctoral
dissertation). Retrieved from:
http://scholar.google.co.il/scholar ?cluster=4282389859883344040&hl=en&a
s_sdt=0,5
Kutscher, E.Y. 1982. A history of the Hebrew Language . Jerusalem: The Magnes
Press.
Langacker, R.W. 1973. Language and its structure . San Diego: Harcourt Brace.
Lehmann, R. 2007. Abbreviations. In Encyclopedia Judaica (Vol.1: 237-239) 2nd ed.
Farmington Hills: Gale.
Meir, I. 2006. Morphological levels and diachronic change in modern Hebrew plural
formation. Studies in Language, 30(4) : 777-806.
Nir, R. 1980. The semantic structure of nominal compounds in Modern Hebrew.
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 43(2) : 185-196.
Nir, R. 1993. Word-formation in modern Hebrew . Tel Aviv: The Open University [In
Hebrew].
Schwarzwald, O. 1998. Inflection and derivation in Hebrew linear word formation.
Folia Linguistica 32 (3-4): 265-287
Stern, A. 1926. Handbuch der hebräischen abbreviaturen . Sighetul-Marmatiei:
Tipografia. A. Kaufman [In Hebrew].
Zadok, G. 2002. Abbreviations: A unified analysis of acronym Words, clippings,
clipped compounds and hypocoristics . Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.

207

BINOMINAL QUALITATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS  
IN SPANISH AND ROMANIAN:  
AGREEMENT PATTERNS AND MISMATCHES♦ 

Mihaela T ĂNASE-DOGARU
University of Bucharest

The paper investigates binominal qualitative constructions in Spanish and
Romanian, with a two-fold aim. On the one hand, the paper attempts to show
that there is a finite but nevertheless complex number of agreement patterns
with binominal qualitative constructions in Romanian and thereby refute the claim that the determiner on the second nominal in such a construction must
be null (cf. Villalba 2007). Secondly, the paper tries to shed light on an
aspect that has not been discussed in the literature on Romanian binominal
constructions, i.e. (gender) agreement mismatches. Data from Spanish will
serve to compare and contrast with Romanian data and illuminate crucial
aspects of binominal qualitative constructions.
Keywords : binominal qualitatives, N1 de N2, agreement mismatches,
Spanish, Romanian

1. The data
1.1. Romanian
The literature on Romanian binomin al qualitative constructions is
relatively scarce. Starting from Milner’s (1978) seminal work, Vi șan (2003,
2006) operates a distinction between figurative constructions, where the
relation between the two components is based on a simile or metaphor, and literal constructions , where N2 is the category to which N1 is assigned and
the N1 position is filled by an insult or by an endearment.
(1) a. O pr ăjină de om se a șezase pe scaun.
a pole of man sat-3sg in chair

♦ This work was supported by the strategic grant POSDRU/89/1.5/S/ 62259, Project "Applied
social, human and political sciences. Postdocto ral training and postdoctoral fellowships in
social, human and politic al sciences" cofinanced by the European Social Fund within the
Sectorial Operational Program Huma n Resources Development 2007-2013.

208
‘A very tall man had sat in the chair.’
b. un om înalt ca o pr ăjină
a man tall as a pole a very tall man

According to Vi șan (2003, 2006), two further patterns can be further
distinguished within the construction:
– a ‘comparative’ construction, where N2 retains at least part of its lexical
meaning (2 a-d) (see also Doetjes and Rooryck 2003)
– a ‘pure degree’ construction where N1 has completely lost its original
lexical meaning, having become semantically transparent, and contributes to a
positive/negative evaluation of N2, expr essing a high or low degree of quality
(3 a-d)
(2) a. o bomboan ă de om b. o cotoroan ță de femeie
a candy of man a hag of woman ‘a treasure of a man’ ‘a hag of a woman’
c. un bujor de fat ă d. o namil ă de om
a peony of girl a giant of man ‘a very pretty girl’ ‘a giant of a man’
(3) a. boala de arm ăsar b. o loaz ă de elev
disease-the of stallion a vine of pupil ‘that mean old horse ‘that good- for- nothing of a pupil’ c. o frumuse țe de băiat d.o nebunie de pr ăjitură
a beauty of boy a madness of cake ‘a beauty of a boy’ ‘a delicious cake’

In previous work of mine (see T ănase-Dogaru (2011), T ănase-Dogaru (in
preparation)), I operated a distinc tion between two types of binominal
qualitatives in Romanian: Single_DP qualitatives – SDPQs (4)
i and Double-

i The constructions in (1) have been the focus of much research in the recent literature and have
been referred to as ‘qualitative’ (Milner 1978, Hulk and Tellier 2000), predicate inversion
structures (Corver 1998, Den Dikken 1998, 2006), binominal NPs (Aarts 1998), pivotal N1of
N2 constructions (Zamparelli 1996), N/A de N constructions (Espanol-Echevarria 1998).
The single-DP qualitative construction exists in many other languages such as Dutch, Spanish
and French, among others:
(1) a. cet imbecile de garcon (French, Hulk and Tellier 2000)
‘this imbecile of boy’
b. deze idioot van een kerel (Dutch, Vi șan 2003)
‘this idiot of a guy’
c.el gallina de Juan (Spanish, Casillas Martinez 2001)
‘the chicken of Juan’
d. that barge of a woman (English, Den Dikken 2006)

209
DP qualitatives – DDPQs (5). The dis tinction was based on syntactic and
semantic criteria:
(4) a. o m ămăligă de om
a polenta of man ‘a languid man’ b. un cal de femeie
a horse of woman
‘a horsy woman’ c. o zgâtie de fata a naughty of girl ‘a naughty girl’
(5) a. Am vorbit cu prostul ăla de frate-t ău
I have talked with stupid-the that of brother-your ‘I have talked to that stupid of brother of yours’ b. bietul de tine poor-the of you ‘poor you’
c. sărmanul de copilul ăla de la țară
pitiable-the of child-the that from at countryside ‘that poor child from the coutryside’

As already hinted at, the SDPQ/DDPQ distinction is supported by a
number of differences in syntactic be havior and semantic interpretation.
DDPQs feature exclusively prenominal adjectives in the structure, are
presuppositional and display definite ness agreement (for details, see T ănase-
Dogaru 2011, T ănase-Dogaru in preparation).

1.2. Spanish
Part of the literature on Romance qua litatives makes the strong claim that
the only determiner (see, for instance Villalba 2007, Vi șan 2003) allowed on
N2 in Romance languages is the definite determiner; in its strongest version,
the claim is that the determiner mu st be necessarily null in French and
Romanian (Villalba 2007:7).
A notable exception seems to be Span ish, which displays the following
types of qualitatives (6), classified accor ding to the determiners occurring
with each of the nominals (Español-Echevarría 1996):
(6) a. DEF-DEF: el imbecil del doctor
the imbecile of-the doctor
‘the imbecile of a doctor’ b. INDEF-INDEF:

210
un imbecil de doctor
an imbecile of doctor
‘an imbecile of a doctor’ c. DEM-PN: ese imbecil de Juan that imbecile of Juan
‘that imbecile of a Juan’
d. DEM-INDEF: ese imbecil de doctor that imbecile of doctor ‘that imbecile of a doctor’

However, a close investigation of Ro manian data reveals that the same
patterns are found here and that, therefore, the claim that no determiner is allowed on N2 is too strong:
(7) a. DEF-DEF:
imbecilul de doctorul Ionescu
imbecile-the of doctor-the Ionescu ‘that imbecile of a doctor Ionescu’ b. INDEF-INDEF: un imbecil de doctor
an imbecile of doctor
‘an imbecile of a doctor’ c. DEM-PN: acest imbecil de Ion this imbecile of Ion ‘this imbecile of a Ion’
d. DEM – INDEF:
acest imbecil de doctor this imbecile of doctor ‘this imbecile of a doctor’
In the spirit of much of the previous research on qualitative constructions
(see den Dikken 2006, Bartra and Villalba 2006, Villalba and Bartra-
Kaufmann), Gonzalez-Rivera (2011), Gonzalez-Rivera & Delicado-Cantero (2011) suggest that a distinction should be made between attributive BQs (8)
and comparative BQs (9):

(8)a. un idiota de gobernador an idiot of governor ‘an idiot of a governor’ b. un idiota como gobernador an idiot as governor

211
‘an idiot as a governor’

(9)a. el idiota del decano the idiot of-the dean ‘the idiot of the dean’ b. el decano es un idiota
the dean is an idiot
‘the dean is an idiot’ The authors propose that attributive binominals (8a) overlap the INDEF-
INDEF pattern and involve no movement , while comparative binominals (9a)
overlap the DEF-DEF pattern and are derived by predicate inversion.
However, the two types of binomi nals discussed by Gonzalez-Rivera
(2011) and Gonzalez-Rivera & Delicado-Cantero (2011) can easily be integrated into my analysis of qualitatives as falling into two categories: SDPQs (8a) and DDPQs (9b).

To briefly conclude the section, ther e are four patterns of (in)definiteness
agreement in Spanish and Romanian. The claim that the determiner on N2 in
Romanian should be null is strong and should be refuted. The four patterns
investigated can be further refined as falling into the two syntactic categories
of qualitative I proposed in earlier work: DDPQs and SDPQs.
2. Agreement patterns and mismatches 2.1. Information structure and ‘emotiveness’
Qualitative constructions always entail an emotive element, i.e. they
express positive or negative evaluation with respect to the speaker's attitude.
While researchers have linked ‘emotiveness’ to degree operators and scalarity,
the analysis I adopt claims that th e semantic peculiarities of qualitatives
derive from their being periphery constructions that check P-features like
[+c(ontrast)] or [+(a)naphoric] (cf. Lopez 2009, Cornilescu 2007, Cornilescu
and Nicolae 2011) in an outer D. Since phases are quantificational domains,
notions like ‘scalarity’ or ‘degr ee operators’ applied to qualitative
constructions find a much more economical explanation.
Matushansky (2002), Bartra & Villalb a (2006 a, b), Español-Echevarría
(1996, 1998), Villalba & Bartra-Kaufm ann (2010) have all discussed the
‘affective’ characteristics of the qua litative construction. According to these
researchers, if we compare the structures in (10a) and (10b), while the subject-
predicate canonical order in (10b) enco des old information+new information,
in the qualitative construction in (10a), it is precisely the other way round.
Matushansky 2002, Bartra-Kaufmann & Villalba 2010 take this inverted
structure to be the chief source of th e affective/emotional reading associated
to the construction.

212
(10)
a. el bestia del doctor = new information-old information
beast-the of-the doctor ‘that beast of a doctor b. El doctor es una bestia = old information – new information the doctor is a beast
‘the doctor is a beast’
Bartra & Villalba (2006), Villalba & Bartra-Kaufmann (2010) suggest
that in Spanish the inverted predicate is interpreted as focus with respect to
the topic DP (11), which they take to provide an explanation for the ban
against typically focused DPs and str ong pronouns in qualitatives (12 a, b).
(11) el idiota
FOCUS de su hijo BACKGROUND
the idiot of his son (12) a.*Hable con el idiota de el
alked-1sg with the idiot of him
b. *No ablaste con el idiota de que alcalde? not talked-2sg with the idiot of what mayor However, in Romanian, DDPQs do a llow strong pronouns and wh-in situ
elements (13).
(13) a. Proasta de mine nu și-a dat / mi-am dat seama c ă…
fool-the-fem of me not refl.3sg.have realized /refl.1sg.have realized t
hat…
‘I’m such a fool that I haven’t realized that…’
b. Prostul de el nu și-a dat seama c ă…
fool-the-masc of him not refl.3sg.have realized that… ‘He’s such a fool that he hasn’t realized that…’ c. N-ai vorbit cu idiotul ăla de care/CARE primar?
not have.2sg talked with idiot-the of which / WHICH mayor?
‘You haven’t talked to the id iot of which / WHICH mayor?’
These facts may suggest that N1 is not a focus, but a contrastive topic,
which, unlike contrastive foci, which are not checked in situ, is realized by
means of quantificational elements appearing at the left periphery.
Further support for this analysis comes from examples such as (14),
where the postnominal demonstrative is a focalization marker (see Manoliu-
Manea 1994), the first DP in the structure being a topic.
(14) idiotul.
topic de profesorul ăsta. focus (care m-a picat)
idiot-the of professor-the this (who me-has flunked) ‘that idiot of a professor who flunked me’

213

To conclude the section, in Romanian binominal qualitatives, N1 can be
construed as a topic and N2 as a focus.

3. Mismatches
Milner (1978) is one of the first to note that (gender) mismatches appear
with N1 in contexts such as (15):
(15) a. Ma vache de frère a refuse de me prêter de l’argent my.fem cow.fem of brother.masc has refused to me lend of the-money
‘My cow of a brother has refused to lend me money’
b. Mon vache de frère a refuse de me prêter de l’argent my.masc vache.fem of brother.masc has refused to me lend of the-
money
‘My cow of a brother has refused to lend me money’ As, the examples clearly show, the article sometimes agrees with N2 and
usually with N1.
According to Casillas-Martinez (2003), the determiner always agrees
with N1 and the apparent counterexam ples are listed as exceptional, not
inherently gendered, along with their sp ecial meaning in this construction (the
exceptions in French are vache , saloperie , canaille and diable )

3.1. For Romanian, Vi șan (2003, 2006) notes that N1 and N2 can have
conflictual gender features: the N1 positi on can be filled by a masculine noun,
while the N2 position will be filled by a feminine noun.
(16) pacostea de om
nuisance-the of man
‘that nuisance of a man’ According to Vi șan (2006), in case of gender mismatches, according to
most native speakers, the adjective or pa rticiple located outside the DP agrees
with N2, if N2 is animate, although the determiner agrees in features with N1.
Thus, semantic gender features are relevant in this case and not grammatical features.
(17) a. Șarpele ăsta de femeie s-ar putea face vinovat ă/*vinovat de a șa
ceva.
serpent.masc this.masc herself coul d make guilty.fem/ *guilty.masc of
such something
‘This serpent of a woman could be guilty of such a thing’ b. Comoara asta de b ăiat nu poate sa se fi facut vinovat/* vinovat ă de
asa ceva.

214
treasure.fem this.fem herself could make guilty.masc/ *guilty.fem of such
something
‘This treasure of a boy could not be guilty of such a thing’
Agreement judgments are less clear in the case where N2 is inanimate.
According to several speakers in examples such as (18) the participle here can
agree with N1.
(18) a. Hârbul ăsta de ma șină ar trebui aruncat. /?aruncat ă.
wreck- the.masc this.masc of car-the.fem should be thrown.masc /
?thrown.fem
‘This wreck of a car should be thrown away’ b. Tâmpenia de articol citit/? citit ă
idiocy-the.fem of article.masc read.masc/ ?read.fem
‘This stupid article that was read’ 3.2. For Spanish, Casillas-Martinez (2003) notes that no agreement
mismatches happen with what he calls the ‘adjectival type’ (Det1A de
(Det2)N2):
(19) a.el tonto del vecino
the.masc dumb.masc of-the.masc neighbor.masc ‘the dumb neighbor’ b.la tonta de la vecina the.fem dumb.fem of-the.fem neighbor.fem
‘the dumb neighbor’
Casillas-Martinez treats the counterex amples in (20) as not showing
agreement mismatches but as featuring ‘ungendered, noninflecting, denominal
adjectives’, with ‘idiosyncratic’ meaning.
(20)a.el gallina de Juan the.masc chicken.fem of Juan.masc
‘Juan, that coward’
b.el pelota de González the.masc ball.fem of González ‘González, that suck-up’ c.la cerebrito de tu hermana
the.fem brain.masc of your sister.fem
‘Your sister, that brainy girl’

The only Spanish construction featurin g ‘true’ gender mismatches is the
‘nominal type’ (Det N1 de (*Det) N2):
(21)a. Ese espanto de puerta está rota.
that.masc fright.masc of door.fem is broken.fem ‘that frightful door is broken’ b. Ese horror de película es aburrida. that.masc horror.masc of movie.masc is boring ‘that horror of a movie is boring’

215
However, besides the obvious argument that gender agreement is
conspicuously ‘visible’ in (20), there is at least one other argument against
Casillas-Martinez’s (2003) analysis, i.e. he collapses two types of gender
agreement (agreement between the de terminer and the noun and agreement
between N2 and a past participle), wh ich may trigger different responses and
analyses.
Español-Echevarría (1998) discusses an interesting case of agreement
patterns in Spanish (22-23), where (22a) and (23a) exemplify ‘long-distance agreement’, i.e. agreement between Det1 and N2:
(22) a. El rata de tu hermano the.masc rat.fem of your brother.masc
‘your stingy brother’
b. La rata de tu hermano the.fem rat.fem of your brother.masc ‘your evil brother’ (23) a. El perla de tu hermano the.masc pearl.fem of your brother.masc
‘that jewel of your brother’
b. La perla de tu hermano the.fem pearl.fem of your brother.masc ‘that jewel of your brother’
Noticing that the same pattern can be found in copular sentences (24),
Español-Echevarría (1998) analyzes the DP un rata in (24a) as complex
predicate of kind-membership, while the agreeing counterpart una rata in
(24b) is an identificational predicate.
(24) a. Tu hermano es un rata your brother.masc is a.masc rat.fem
‘Your brother is stingy’
b. Tu hermano es una rata. your brother.masc is a.fem rat.fem ‘Your brother is evil’ The difference between the two lies in the way they choose to check their
phi-features: identificational predicates (24b) involve N-to-D raising and the
gender feature move along with N while complex predicates of kind-membership (24a) do not involve N-to-D raising, but they contain a compound headed by pro:
(25) a. Un [N [N rata] [pro]]
a.masc rat.fem
b. Tu hermano
i es un [N [N rata] [pro] i]
your brother.masc is a.masc rat.fem Luckily, Romanian does not feature su ch variation in copular sentences.
In BQs, the context where one can us ually find agreement mismatches – since

216
the definite article is enclitic in Roma nian – is agreement with the participle
(26-27):
(26) a.Timofti-i o matahal ă pusă în scaunul de pre ședinteii!
Timofti-is a.fem hulk.fem set.fem in chair-the of president ‘Timofti is a gorilla who others for ced into the presidential chair’
b.Matahala de om îmbr ăcat într-un costum evident mult prea strâmt…
iii
scowl-the.fem of man.masc dressed.m asc in-a suit evidently much too
tight
‘That scowl of a man was dressed in a much too tight suit’ (27) a.Asemenea specie de om lipsit de responsabilitatea faptelor sale rar
am văzut
iv
such species.fem of man.masc lacking.masc of responsibility
deeds.the.gen his rarely have-seen
‘Rarely have I seen such a species/ kind/breed of a man lacking in the
responsibility for his deeds!’
b.Asemenea specie de om lipsit ă de responsabilitatea faptelor sale rar am
văzut.
such species.fem of man.masc lacking. fem of responsibility deeds.the.gen
his rarely have-seen
‘Rarely have I seen such a species/ kind/breed of a man lacking in the
responsibility for his deeds!’

(28) a.S-a descoperit o nou ă specie de oameniv.
se-has discovered a new.fem species.fem of humans.masc ‘A new species of humans has been discovered’ b. O specie de om nou
vi.
a species.fem of man.masc new.masc ‘A new species of humans’

(29) a. Scârbo șenia de tricou ro șu-albastru
vii
foulness-the.fem of T-shirt.masc red.masc-blue.masc ‘That horror of a red-blue T-shirt’ b. Nu vor s ă cumpere porc ăria aia de film pe care ei au
făcut-o!
viii

ii http://www.publika.md/deput atii-suparati-foc-pe-timof ti–a-comis-o-eroare-de-
neiertat_1007161.html
iii http://www.wattpad.com/2003376-once-upon- a-clock-on-hold-capitolul-i-o-viata
iv http://www.gandul.info/news/ponta-in-29-iulie- il-putem-bate-in-sfars it-pe-traian-basescu-
prin-ko-9895288/galerie?p=1
v http://stirileprotv.ro/stiri/revista-presei/cerce tatorii-uluiti-s-a-desc operit-o-noua-specie-de-
oameni.html
vi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfh8xfgfZ0o
vii http://www.gsp.ro/fot bal/liga-1/culisele-comis iilor-63306-comentarii.html

217
not want to buy shit.fem that.fem of film.masc which
they have made-it
‘They do not want to by that horror of a film that they
themselves have made’
To conclude the section, both Romanian and Spanish allow (gender)
agreement mismatches. Casillas-Mar tinez’ ‘idiosyncratic’ account can be
retained but it is not sufficient. Español-Echevarría’s pro account again can be
retained but is not sufficient. Further research will hopefully clarify the issue.
3.3. Cueva (2007) reports on an interesti ng type of micro-variation. In
Ecuadorian Spanish, the DEM-I NDEF pattern is ungrammatical:
(30) a. Ese imbécil de doctor no me supo curar (Spanish / *
Ecuadorian Spanish)
this imbecile of doctor not me knew heal ‘This imbecile of a doctor did not know how to
cure me’
b. Ese imbécil del doctor no me supo curar (Spanish /
Ecuadorian Spanish)
this imbecile of-the doctor not me knew heal ‘This imbecile of a doctor did not know how to
cure me’
Cueva (2007) suggests that the differe nce in meaning lies in the way the
individual doctor is construed. In (30a), one speaks of a particular individual
who happens to be a doctor, but what is judged by the speaker is not his
medical training but his personality. In ( 30b) it is not the person who is judged
as an imbecile but his medical capacity. Therefore, (30a) favors a reading based on the individual, while (30b) favors a reading based on the
function/role/profession.
Cueva (2007) was able to find two minimal pairs where the difference in
meaning between the DEM-INDEF and the DEM-DEF patterns is clearly distinguishable:
(31) a. Ese estúpido de padre
that stupid of father
‘that fool of a father’ b. Ese estúpido del padre that fool of-the father ‘that fool of a priest’
(32) a. Esa tonta de hermana
that stupid of sister

viii http://www.cancan.ro/showbiz/s howbiz-intern/video-maria-di nulescu-luata-la-misto-trei-
actori-de-stand-up-comedy-o-imita-si-vorbesc-in-engleza-in-timp-ce-se-plimba-prin-casa-
208140.html

218
‘That fool of a sister’
b. Esa tonta de la hermana
that stupid of-the sister ‘that fool of a nun’ As the glosses clearly show, the DEM-DEF pattern in Ecuadorian
Spanish points to the function/profession of the individual, while the DEM-
INDEF pattern points to the individual as such.
A similar contrast obtains in Romanian with kinship terms, but only
marginally and in the presence of a post-nominal possessive:
(33) a. toanta de sor ă-mea
stupid-the of sister-my
‘that fool of a sister of mine’
b. toanta de sor ă
stupid-the of sister ‘that fool of a nun / nurse’ To briefly conclude the section, in Ecuadorian Spanish and (marginally)
Romanian, there is micro-variation with respect to a reading of BQs that is
centered on the individual and a reading centered on the function.

4. Conclusions

The paper has looked at binominal qualitative constructions in Spanish
and Romanian, with a two-fold aim. Firstly, the paper has shown that there is
a finite number of agreement patterns with binominal qualitative constructions
in Romanian and has thereby refuted the claim that the determiner on the second nominal in such a construction must be null (cf. Villalba 2007). Secondly, the paper has tried to shed light on an aspect that has not been discussed in the literature on Romanian binominal constructions, i.e. (gender)
agreement mismatches. Data from Span ish have been used in order to
compare and contrast with Romanian data and illuminate crucial aspects of binominal qualitative constructions.
There are four patterns of (in)defi niteness agreement in Spanish and
Romanian. These patterns clearly show that the determiner on N2 in
Romanian may be definite. The four patterns investigated can be further
refined as falling into the two syntactic categories of qualitative I proposed in earlier work: DDPQs and SDPQs.
Both Romanian and Spanish allo w (gender) agreement mismatches.
Casillas-Martinez’ ‘idiosyncratic’ account h as been investigated to the effect
that it can be retained but it is far from explaining all the syntactic facts.
Español-Echevarría’s pro account can itself be retained but is not sufficient. It
was also shown that in Ecuadorian Sp anish and (marginally) in Romanian,
there is micro-variation with respect to a reading of binominal qualitatives
that is centered on the individual and a reading centered on the function
.

219

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Spanish DP”. Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 2004 , J. Doetjes &
P. Gonzalez (eds.), 23-41. Am sterdam: John Benjamins.
Bartra, Anna and Xavier Villalba. 2006b. Spanish non Agreeing Quantificational
Nominals. In Studies in Spanish Syntax , Laura Bruge (ed.), 15-45. Venezia:
Libreria Editrice Ca Foscarina.
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aniversare . R. Zafiu, C. Stan, A. Nicolae (eds.). 43–56. Bucure ști: Editura
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Phase Structure in the Romanian DP”. Revue Roumaine de Linguistique,
LVI, 1: 35-68.
Cueva, Rebeca. 2007. Les constructions ‘N1 de N2 ’. MA Diss., Leiden University.
den Dikken, Marcel. 1998. Predicate Inversion in DP . In Possessors, Predicates and
Movement in the Determiner Phrase . Artemis Alexiadou and Chris Wilder
(eds.), 177-214. Benjamins: Amsterdam.
den Dikken, Marcel and Pornisiri Singhapreecha. 2004. “Complex Noun Phrases and
Linkers”. Syntax 7/11: 1-54.
den Dikken Marcel. 2006 . Relators and Linkers . Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Doetjes, Jenny and Johan Rooryck. 2003. Generalizing over quantitative and
qualitative constructions . In From NP to DP (Volume 1: The syntax and
semantics of noun phrases). Martine Coene & Yves D’hulst (eds.), 277-295.
Amsterdam-Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Español-Echevarría, Manuel. 1996. “Definiteness Patterns in N/A of an N Contexts
and DP-Internal XP-Movement”. MIT Working Papers in Linguistics 31:
145-169
Español-Echevarría, Manuel. 1998. N/A of a N DP’s. Predicate raising and subject
licensing . In Romance Linguistics. Theoretical perspectives, A. Schwegler,
B. Tranel, and M. Uribe-Etxebarria (eds.), 67-80. Amsterdam-Philadelphia:
John Benjamins.
Gonzalez-Rivera, Melvin. 2011. On the internal structure of Spanish attributive
qualitative binominal constructions . In Selected Proceedings of the `13th
Hispanic Linguistics Symposium , Ortiz-Lopez, L. A. (ed.), 275-285.
Sommerville, MA, Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
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Hulk, Aafke and Christine Tellier. 2000. “Mismatches: Agreement in qualitative
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Lopez, Luis. 2009. A Derivational Syntax for Information Structure , Oxford, Oxford
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Academic  discourse  

THE USE OF CITATIONS IN PhD THESIS IN ROMANIAN: 
AN OVERVIEW 

Marinela BURADA
Transilvania University of Bra șov

Based on a small corpus consisting of PhD theses composed in Romanian by
graduate students in Engineering, Silviculture, and Business, the research
outlined in this paper consists in a qualitative descriptive investigation of citations. Despite its appeal to the wider research community, the area of
intertextuality has been largely overlooked in the Romanian context. The
present contribution takes one tentative step towards bridging this gap. It
starts by placing Citation Analysis in the wider, applied linguistics landscape
by surveying some of main lines of re search in the field. It then briefly
considers academic writing against the theses writers’ native socio-cultural
backdrop. The discussion proceeds with a description of the corpus, the data
and the findings resulting from the analysis of the literature review chapter of the twelve theses in the corpus. Em pirical evidence has clearly indicated
some degree of variation in both form and function of citation across fields
which are traditionally included among the ‘hard’ disciplines. The final part highlights the conceptual and procedural obstacles in the way of the present
survey and suggests possible steps to circumvent them by further
explorations of this territory.
Keywords : citation, intertextuality, academic discourse, literacy,
interference.

1. Theoretical preliminaries
Within the more general framework of research on academic writing,
intertextuality has been the object of much scholarly interest. Citation, in

222
particular, has received a fair amount of attention from three different
disciplines – Applied Linguistics, Sociology of Science, and Information
Science – all of which have individually contributed to the area, while somehow keeping out of each other’s way, despite their shared interest in citation. This should not suggest, however, that there has been a complete overlap in the research conducted across disciplines: while their agendas have
been domain-specific and, hence, thei r focus clearly different, studies of
citation performed within the differe nt knowledge areas have occasionally
come to converge on particular issues such as citation typology, citation context, or the motives for citing, for example. The lack of synergy between
research emanating from different fields was highlighted quite early in the
literature by Swales (1986), who raised the issue from the discourse analyst’s
vantage point. Almost two decades later, White (2004) noted some progress in
this direction, together with the n eed for the empirical data yielded by
quantitative and qualitative research to crys talize into a more cohesive theory
of citation, grounded on and shaped by methodologies and insights originating
from different disciplines. Whilst expl orations of citation patterns and
practices are still being undertaken conc urrently within different research
paradigms, still little has been done si nce White’s clarion call article, to
‘connect the dots’ and turn citati on analysis into one overarching
interdisciplinary domain.
To allow for a glimpse into the variety of venues from which citation has
been approached over the past years, this section briefly overviews some of
the previous work on citation deemed par ticularly relevant to the investigation
reported here; besides this, it also incl udes the theoretical frame used in my
analysis of the Romanian corpus.
Within the applied linguistics framewo rk, research on intertextuality and
citational patterns emerging from the analysis of expert and novice writing by
native and/or non-native authors has main ly been associated with Discourse
Analysis, English for Academic Pur poses (EAP) and English for Research
Purposes (ERP). From a wider perspective, Academic Literacies has shifted the attention from the product (the text) to the process of writing by considering ‘the ecology of writing’, i.e. the educational context, the ways of
enculturing the writer in the writing prac tices across specialist communities,
etc.
By and large, explorations undertaken in Discourse Analysis, EAP and
ERP traditions target the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic features of citations found in academic/scientific texts and seek to determine the extent to
which the use of citation by different types of writers serves the overall
rhetorical purposes of the text in which they are embedded. ERP discourse analysts (e.g. Hyland 1999, 2003; Thompson 2000, 2005; Thompson and Tribble 2001, Charles 2006, Harwood 2009) have drawn on more or less extensive corpora to investigate cita tion patterns and practices within or

223
across disciplines and (sub)genres, in te xts (e.g. research articles, master’s
dissertations, doctoral theses) produced by expert or apprentice writers.
Other studies have factored in the cultural component and considered
citations from a cross-cultural persp ective (e.g. Okamura 2008; Shooshtari
and Jalilifar 2010) taking English as the default platform of reference, or
focused on academic and professional wr iting in English as a second language
(e.g. Dong 1996; Pecorari 2006, 2010). C iting in professional texts has further
been looked upon as a rhetorical act (e.g. Paul 2000; Hyland 2003; Petric 2007). This has marked yet another shift in focus from the form to the content
of citations. But since content-oriented analyses afford little insight into the
citer’s motives for the use of citati on, a number of studies have foregrounded
the writer, taking the emic dimension in to their stride (e.g. Wang and White
1999; White 2004; Harwood 2008, 2010; Pecorari 2010). With all the limitations of this line of approach (Nicolaisen 2007, for a critique), such
studies have contributed to the formulation of the possible functions that citation may serve in the textual macros tructure in keeping with the domain-
specific ways in which knowledge is constructed. As such, it has become
apparent that the act of citing involves the writer’s decision on the optimum
match between those forms and functions av ailable in the rhetorical repertoire
of a discourse community which best suit his/her intentions and purposes.
Furthermore, contemplating citations in their relationship with the surrounding text has given rise to discussions on the ethical issues involved in
the use of sources, such as the fine line which sometimes separates citation
from plagiarism (Pecorari 2010).
To formalize the wealth of data pouring from various directions inside
and outside applied linguistics, classi fying citations has become not only
desirable but rather imperative. A num ber of typologies have emerged over
the years: two of them will be illustra ted here, both of wh ich are grounded on
investigations of discourses from the ‘hard science’ disciplines.
The first is content-oriented, and belongs to Moravcsik and Murugesan
(1975): it derives from their insider’s intr a-disciplinary analysis of a corpus
consisting of thirty research articles in physics composed by expert writers and published in a professional journal over a period of four years. The
resulting typology of citations consists of four categories, each based on a
binary opposition, i.e. conceptual vs. operational ; organic vs. perfunctory ;
evolutionary vs. juxta-positional ; confirmative vs. negational . Despite these
contrasts, the categories themselves are not mutually exclusive, which entails
that one and the same citation may combine a number of features pertaining to
different categories. This seems to warrant the framework’s descriptive
validity more than it does its capabilities to discriminate among the different citation types. Furthermore, with all its impact on subsequent research, Moravcsik and Murugesan’s (1975) analytical frame appears to have limited applicability outside the domain it h as originally been designed for.

224
The second classification is form-oriented: it has been put forward by
Thompson and Tribble (2001) who build on Swales’s (1990) distinction
between integral and non-integral types of citation. Based on an analysis
performed on a corpus of doctoral theses composed within two subdisciplines,
i.e. Agricultural Botany and Agricu ltural Economics, the authors refine
Swales’s set and add a number of subcategories which they circumscribe to
each type. Since this is the frame used in the analysis of the Romanian corpus,
a condensed description thereof would be in order here.
Two points need clarifying from the outset. First, it is useful to remember
that the focus here is on citation exclusively, which leaves quotation outside
the scope of investigation. It will also be recalled that despite the
terminological blur in the pedagogical literature, the essential difference
between citation and quotation hinges on the degree of embedding that the
cited text has in the citing text: put si mply, it opposes, respectively, the act or
practice of acknowledging the source/author ship of an idea or concept without
a verbatim rendition of the exact words it was couched in, to the inclusion, in
one’s writing, of an actual extract of the original text authored by the source
referred to and signalled as such via gr aphic means (e.g. quotations marks,
indentation, etc.). In other words, citation presupposes an attribution of
content whilst quotation involves an attribution of content and form. Second,
reverting to the contrast between the two forms of citation, i.e. integral and
non-integral , it is worth noting that, as initially devised by Swales (1990), this
contrast relates to the position of the source author in the citing text: while the
former category refers to cases in whic h the source is treated as an integral
part of the citing text and, subsequently , enters in a grammatical relation with
other constituents of the sentence whic h includes it (when used in subject
position, for example), the latter includ es instances when the source is placed
outside the sentence, in which case it is typically bracketed. Pragmatically,
integral citations are ‘author prominent’, in the sense that they direct the
reader’s attention to the source author(s), whereas non-integral citations are ‘information prominent’ as they tend to de-emphasize the source authors
while foregrounding their contributions (cf. Pecorari 2010: 47).
As already mentioned above, Thompson and Tribble’s (2001) analysis of
doctoral theses has taken Swales’s categories as a starting point. From this
formal basis, the authors ha ve set out to identify the functions that each form
of citation may perform in the citing text . In terms of their function, then, non-
integral citations further subdivide into Source , when their purpose is ‘to
attribute a proposition to another author’, that is, when they ‘indicate where
the idea comes from’ (Thompson and Tribble 2001: 95). Identification is a
type of citation which points at the agent (i.e. who did whatever the citing sentence refers to), whilst also keepi ng information in prominent focus: in
other words, it introduces what was done (by whom). Reference labels
citations which do not include the information itself but rather direct the reader to the text containing the info rmation in question. Reference citations

225
in academic/scientific discourse are typically marked by directives like see, cf,
q.v. The last subtype of non-integral citation is Origin : in contrast to source
citations, this subtype refers to citati ons which introduce the creator/originator
of an object or concept.
Integral citations, on the other ha nd, have been subdifferentiated as Verb
controlling , to refer to cases in which ‘the citation acts as the agent that
controls a verb, in active or passive voice’ (Thompson and Tribble 2001: 95).
The opposite category is Naming , which includes citations based on
reifications which, linguistically, take on the shape of noun phrases. A naming
citation ‘refers generally to the work or findings of particular researchers’ or
identifies, for example, ‘a particular equation, method, formulation or similar
construct with individual research ers’ (Thompson and Tribble 2001: 96).
Finally, Non-citations supply the source author’s name but omit the year
reference in order to avoid repea ting it shortly after its introduction.
The brief outline above has sketched the theoretical foundation
underpinning the present investigati on. The following section takes the
discussion one step further by setting the context for the analysis: it considers
some features of the local ethos in the light of which the results described
further on will hopefully make more sense.

2. The local context: a few remarks

The need for an investigation of Romanian citation patterns emerged in
the course of my work as an English la nguage writing instructor with a group
of doctoral students at my home university. Attempting to determine the causes of errors in performance where citations were concerned, I assumed, a
priori , that part of them must be brought about by some degree of cultural
relativism and interference from Romanian.
For writers composing texts in a second language, one generally accepted
assumption has been that deviations from the rhetorical norms typically associated with their second language text s are the side effects of the writer’s
biliteracy and hence, they can be c onstrued as instances of interference from
his/her native cultural and rhetorical pr actices. The view according to which
cultural and rhetorical discrepancies are at the heart of difficulties in the
learning of second language writing was voiced as early as the sixties by Kaplan (1966). It follows from here that, theoretically, correlating the native
and non-native rhetorical repertoires, finding the areas where they converge
and/or depart, and drawing on them to fa cilitate the internalization of the new,
non-native conventions by the learners should solve the problem. Let it be
said here that, my specific context has made it obvious that not all
performance errors can be put down to cu ltural/rhetorical interference and that
a clear-cut separation of the macro-, micro-, and idiocultural factors responsible for such deviations is, arguably, an almost impossible task.

226
But such considerations apart, the fact remains that any study of citation
in English language texts composed by Romanian writers would be seriously
hampered by the lack of relevant da ta accounting for citation practices in
Romanian text writing. In the absence of groundwork in this area, it is rather
difficult to predict the areas where in terference may occur, understand the
cultural factors it was triggered by and, from a pedagogical perspective,
sensitize the novice writer to the peculiarities of English language (L2)
writing by capitalizing on his/her rhetorical competence in Romanian (L1).
It is, then, this hiatus which has prompted this small-scale analysis. My
investigation is predicated on the belie f that literacy in one’s native language
is likely to assist rather than obstruct the acquisition of literacy in a second
language (Swales 1985; D ong 1996; Paul 2000). In the case of apprentice
learners with less than perfect rhetori cal competence in both L1 and L2 – as in
this case – the two kinds literacy do not compete with each other, they grow together. This further suggests that in stances of interference in performance
are innocuous as long as they constitute the stepping stones towards building
up rhetorical competence in L2.
Having said this, in what follows I will single out two aspects of the local
environment which are likely to put my learners’ writing abilities in a wider perspective. While one relates to th eir educational background and the other
to the local ethos, both of them impact on the process as well as on the product of writing.
First, it should be mentioned that th ere is no formal, focused instruction
in academic text writing in the Romanian educational system. This obviously includes thesis writing or writing from sources. As students embark on the doctoral programme, their ability to compose in L1 is assumed de facto . The
lack of formal instruction in L1 writing explains why the rhetorical conventions regulating writing within th e different disciplinary domains are
implicit rather than explicit: to a larg e extent, they are based on the tacit
acceptation of a number of rules of thumb that students are expected to find out empirically and adhere to unreserve dly. This being the case, it is not
uncommon that some writers structure their information and intuitions about
L1 text writing by drawing on formal input and categories they acquired while
learning to compose in L2. It is also impor tant to note, in this connection, that
the modicum of L1 composition literature dealing with the ways to produce
different types of text is rather prescr iptive in approach and is largely based
on emulation of (what is considered to be) exemplars of good writing. This
rules out the self-reflective dimension and the rationalization of the writing
process that learners at this level of instruction would benefit so much from.
Second, it is equally important to acknowledge the fact that quite a
number of writers in my context are trapped by a series of misperceptions about writing, which may well be the side effects of the prevailing attitudes to
writing. One such misperception relat es to the balance between content and
form: in a text, it is content which is of essence while everything else is

227
ancillary. In this view, rhetorical st rategies and layout conventions do not
contribute knowledge and hence, author s feel less compelled to attend to
form-related demands. My contention is that there is still too little awareness
of the interplay between content and form, of the way in which form can
enhance the cognitive value of the text, and of how it can facilitate the negotiation of the message.
This brings the discussion to the seco nd misperception prevailing in the
context under discussion here: ‘communi cative responsibility’ (Hinds’s term
1987), which raises the question of who (writer or reader) bears the onus to make sense of the text. Empirical evidence indicates that a sizeable amount of academic writing is reader-responsible, wh ich is particularly conspicuous in
texts composed within the ‘hard’ di sciplines. Placing the responsibility for
meaning making with the reader entails that the writer is under little (if any)
obligation to make the information he /she imparts readily accessible to the
reader. Conceivably, this has a bearing on the quantity and quality of metadiscourse found in the texts in the Romanian corpus.
Although the points made above have grazed the sociocultural context of
academic writing in general, they ar e particularly germane to this
investigation of the use of citation, which will be described below.
3. The corpus
The corpus consists of twelve doc toral theses defended between 2005 and
2011 at my home university in three ‘hard’subject areas: Engineering, Silviculture, and Business. The sample te xts were selected at random and their
number divides equally among the three disciplines: the four texts for each academic area were referenced (for anonymity purposes) as E1 through E4, S1 through S4, and B1 through B4, respectively.
Focusing on citation use in doctoral theses rather than, say, in research
articles has been determined by the r ealization that citation patterns in a
research article may be less genuine in the sense that they may have been subject to the local editorial policy of the journal in which it was published.
From this point of view, then, authors of doctoral theses are likely to enjoy more freedom in selecting from a wider range of possibilities.
The scope of analysis has extended over one chapter of each text,
specifically the one reviewing the spec ialist literature. Some difficulty arose
from situations in which surveys of the literature were lumped together with
other types of information (e.g. description of the research goals, overview of text structure, etc.), which accounts for the variable length of the chapters in
question as well as for their different pos itioning in the textual macrostructure
– most typically, as the first or second chapter.

4. The data: findings and discussion

The citation typology used in the present analysis belongs to Thompson
and Tribble (2001) and has been described briefly in Section 1. But before

228
attempting to determine their form and f unction, citations had to be identified
as such. This was not an easy task, cons idering the fact that source use was
not always transparent. Whether my lack of expert knowledge in the field obscured the relations between the citing and the cited text or whether they
would be non-transparent even to a doma in-specialist, that is a matter which
will have to go unanswered. Such con cerns apart, however, the extract below
illustrates what might be considered a non-transparent source use:
Example 1 : Extract from S1
‘Cercetări din Elve ția și Germania au ajuns la concluzia c ă o bandă
forestieră de 120 – 180 m l ățime poate asigura o diminuare
satisfăcătoare a zgomotului provocat de circula ția neîntrerupt ă a
vehiculelor pe o autostrad ă (Negruțiu, 1980). Alte m ăsurători au indicat
că o perdea de protec ție lată de 30 m, instalat ă paralel cu o șosea,
reduce zgomotul produs de circula ția auto cu 8 – 11% (Dinu, 1979;
Milescu, 1990).’ (RO)
‘Research conducted in Switzerland and Germany has concluded that a 120 to 180 metres wide green belt can bring down the noise caused by the non-stop traffic on a highway up to a reasonable level (Negru țiu,
1980). Further measurements have shown that a 30 metres wide backdrop running parallel to a motorway helps reduce by 8 to 11% the noise made by traffic (Dinu, 1979; Milescu, 1990). ’ (EN)
This extract includes two non-integral citations. The former introduces
information about previous research in Switzerland and Ge rmany and, since
the cited author is Romanian, it can reas onably be inferred that he is not the
originator of the findings, but rather the source of information about somebody else’s research. In contrast, the absence of metalanguage and/or logical clues in the latter citation make s the intertextual relationship appear
occluded (Pecorari 2010: 53-4): does the co-citation above refer the reader to
the sources of information, as in the previous case, or does it identify the
agents, i.e. the specialists who actually made the measurements in question?
From within a different cultural paradigm and, obviously, from a writer-
responsible standpoint, Pecorari (2010) lists three elements that a writer must
provide in order to appropriately signal source use to the reader:
‘(1) identity of the source: does th e reader understand which sources
materially influenced the new text?
(2) content: does the reader receive an accurate impression of what the
source text said?
(3) language: does the reader understand whether the language comes
from a source (i.e. whether the writer has used quotation or paraphrase)?’ (2010: 59)
Since, as suggested above, my (micro)cultural context is predominantly
reader-responsible, and given the fact that citing conventions in L1 are
implicit (as are the thesis writing conventi ons, in general), my expectations of
the texts in the corpus had to be adjusted accordingly.
Therefore, the first step of the analysis involved identifying the in-text
citations included in the literature review chapters together with the context of

229
citation, i.e. the surrounding text in wh ich metalanguage is used to signal or,
as the case may be, to weave the cited text into the fabric of the citing text.
From here, the analysis proceeded towards determining the forms and
functions of citations for each text, th en summarizing the types of citations
per each discipline and finally comparing the findings across disciplines. Table 1 below is a synopsis of the results: it shows the types of citations used across disciplines, and makes no reference to the frequency of their use.

Table 1 : Types of citation across disciplines
TYPES OF CITATION
Non-integral Integral
Discipline
Source
Identification
Reference
Origin
Verb-
controlling
Naming
Non-citation
ENGINEERING 9 – – – – –
SILVICULTURE 9 – –
BUSINESS 9 – – –

Although the three disciplines are trad itionally included among the ‘hard’
sciences, the results above indicate variations among them, as far as citation is
concerned. The texts from Engineering stand out, as they employ non-integral citation exclusively. As mentioned earlie r, non-integral citations lay emphasis
on the information and leave the author /agent in the background. This is
consistent with the way in which knowledge is constructed in this discipline.
From among the subcategories of non-integral citation, only source and identification citations could be detected. This may further account for the virtually non-existent metalanguage in these te xts. It is also interesting to note
that only one text, E1, uses co-citation while E4 does not seem to employ citation at all: instead, numbered refere nces are given below each chapter title,
indicating the sources on which the info rmation in the chapter is based. An
illustration of this format is shown below.
Example 2 : Extract from S4

230
The numbers in square brackets indicate the alphabetical sequence of
sources in the bibliography section (221 sources in all) at the end of the thesis.
In contrast to Engineering, thesis wr iters in Silviculture and Business
make comparatively more extensive use of citation in general. The density of
non-integral citation is lower than in the Engineering texts, but writers in Business and Silviculture draw more on integral citation, placing the source author(s) in prominent position in the citing text. There is a higher incidence of metalanguage (particularly reporting verbs) in the theses from Silviculture than in the other texts; globally, however, metadiscourse is used sparingly. This may be accounted for in different ways: first, this is acceptable in my home culture where, as argued earlier, writing is largely reader-responsible.
Second, it may be the writer’s awareness th at the text (the literature review in
particular) is targeted at a pseudo-audience , i.e. his/her supervisor and other
disciplinary experts for whom decoding the intertextual relationships would
pose no problem. Finally, the overexplic itness that the use of metalanguage
may be construed as is not particularly valued by some discourse communities
across cultures, a fact which has emerge d clearly in the course of contrastive
rhetoric research (cf. Connor 1996).
Further, even without the absolute cer tainty that precise figures allow for,
it would still be possible to represent citation frequency as a gradient with
Engineering at the lowest point and Silv iculture at the highest. This seems to
indicate that the label ‘hard’ covering such a sizeable number of fields is a matter of degree. Considering the larg er context of citation, however, a
manifest feature across the entire corpus is the writers’ lack of critical engagement with the sources, which sugg ests that citation is mainly (if not
entirely) used to display knowledge.
4. By way of conclusion

The study of citation patterns and practices in Romanian academic texts
is, to the best of my knowledge, a new territory awaiting discovery by applied
linguists. The small-scale investiga tion reported above is, hopefully, a
tentative step along this trail. This step has been taken enthusiastically but not
without some difficulty, which accounts for the limitations of the present research.
Conceptually, my lack of expert knowledge in the three disciplines, on
the one hand, and the dearth of metali nguistic signals, on the other, have
occasionally obstructed the process of d ecoding intertextual relations. For
example, it was the lack of ‘content sch emata’, i.e. ‘knowledge relative to the
content domain of the text’ (Carrell 1987: 461) which prevented me from determining whether E4 quoted above (Example 2, q.v.) is a case of
rephrasing or reconceptualisation.
According to Pecorari, ‘when a text is written in such a way that an
experienced reader makes the correct assumptions about the ways sources have been used, then the source is tr ansparent’ (2010: 59). But what kind of
background knowledge woul d an ‘experienced reader’ actually possess?

231
Does this presuppose familiarity with both the ‘formal schemata’ and the
‘content schemata’ (Carrell’s terminology, 1987) associated with the
discipline? In this particular case, could it be that the writers’ treatment of citation, their predilection for unsigna lled intertextual relations were a
reflection of some sort of disciplinary parochialism?
I believe that answering such queries calls for an ethnographic approach
to thesis writing, where input and insights from both thesis writers and advisors would shed more light on the ‘ecology of writing’ and the professional ethos. This, in turn, would enable the linguist to make the right
assumptions about the logical mechanisms and rhetorical strategies involved
in the use of external sources in one’s own text. Since, as Kaplan argued, ‘logic (in the popular rather than the logi cian's sense of the word), which is
the basis of rhetoric, is evolved out of a culture; it is not universal’ (1966: 44), researching citation practices in Romanian academic discourse will have to go beyond textual analysis, from patterns to practices.
This ties in with the methodological di fficulty encountered in the course
of this study: since the rhetoric of cita tion is culture-specific (as is writing, in
general), using a frame originally devised for English to analyse Romanian
data may cast some doubt on the validity of the results obtained. This highlights the need for a Romanian frame of analysis, and for coordinated efforts to structure and formalize the w ealth of natural data originating from
this cultural context.

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233

ROMANIAN LEARNERS OF ENGLISH : LEARNER 
VARIABLES AND VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES 

Gabriela CUSEN
Transilvania University of Bra șov

The present study is an attempt to contribute to the existing body of research
investigating language learning strategies (Oxford, 1990, 1996; Schmitt, 1997). Unlike in much of the literature in the field, the context of this study is
that of EFL rather than ESL. This paper, inspired by the words of Hosenfeld
(1976: 128) who states: ‘Too often our focus has been on what students should be doing; we must begin by asking what students are doing’, reports
on an investigation into the strategies Romanian learners use and focuses
not only on what respondents ‘are doing’ to learn vocabulary in English, but
also on who it is they are and how this influences learning. Hence, the paper
includes two important parts: one looking at the learners, the other at the vocabulary learning strategies they report. I also look at the link here: how
‘who the subjects are’ appears to influ ence ‘how the subjects learn words in
English’ as far as this can be seen in the strategies they report. Finally, the paper includes a re-evaluation of the analytical frameworks used in this
study and summarises the findings of this research.

Keywords : SLA, grounded theory, vocabulary learning strategies, learner
profiles
Motto:
‘ Mieux vaut tête bien fait e que tête bien pleine’
(‘A good head is bette r than a full head’)
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)

1. Introduction

The quote in the Motto is intended to capture the idea, related to language
learning in general and to vocabulary lear ning in particular, that learners’ use
of language learning strategies and th eir awareness of the existence and
usefulness of such strategies, would help them have ‘a good head’ rather than
a ‘full head’.

234
The research reported in this paper focuses on vocabulary learning
strategies and is part of a case study in the sense given by Gomm,
Hammersley, and Foster (2000: 2-3). It is mainly about trying to understand
aspects of one area of language learning , i.e. vocabulary learning, in order to
possibly identify implications for teachi ng and teacher education. As Johnson
and Johnson (1998: 280) st ate, it seems ‘increasingly unlikely that we are
going to understand very much about t eaching if we fail to try to understand
learning at the same time’.

2.1. Motivation for the study
The present study aims at filling a gap in existing research into the
learning of EFL vocabulary: that of vocabulary learning strategies employed
by experienced learners of English. I decided to investigate this area of
language learning with Romanian E nglish major and minor undergraduates
who are studying to become English teachers first because of my personal general interest in how languages are learnt and, second, because my teaching
experience has faced me with an ‘intellectual puzzle’ related to what learners
actually do to learn words in a foreign language.
Vocabulary is seen in the litera ture as ‘the most sizeable and
unmanageable component in the learning of any language, whether a foreign or one’s mother tongue’ because of “tens of thousands of different meanings” (Oxford 1990: 39-40, quoting Lord 1 974). ‘Sizeable and unmanageable’ as
vocabulary might be, learners seem to be able to deal with it in that they use
various strategies to learn it (see for example Gu and Johnson 1996; Lawson
and Hogben 1996; Schmitt 1997).
The interest in how vocabulary is learnt and therefore in the strategies
used by learners seems to have brought the study of vocabulary learning into the limelight after a period of negl ect (Channell 1988; Huckin and Coady
1999; Meara 1980, 1982, 1989, 1992). That is, vocabulary appears to have
changed status from ‘a neglected aspect of language learning’ (Meara 1980) to an area of growing research and publication. Meara (1982 1997) also contrasted the neglect of L2 vocabulary acquisition by applied linguists with the importance afforded it by students.
This neglect is all the more striking in that, in my study, learners
themselves readily admit that they expe rienced considerable difficulty with
vocabulary, and even when they had got over the initial stages (i.e. prior to becoming university undergraduates) of acquiring their foreign language
(English in this case), most learners s till identify the acquisition of vocabulary
as a source of problems. However, they seem to have found solutions both in
the classroom and outside it, on their own (see below).
Vocabulary learning strategies represent an important, interesting and
researchable area of enquiry (Cohen 1991; McDonough 19 95; O’Malley and
Chamot 1990; Oxford 1990; Schmitt 1997). Yet, research is still lacking in this area. My personal interest in vocab ulary learning strategies resides in my

235
experience as a teacher of English. I was faced both with success and failure
in leaning and my aim was to understand both. For deeper insights into such
issues, I investigated the vocabulary learning behaviour of a group of experienced young adult foreign language students in a study based on data
collected by means of language learning diaries and interviews with the diarists.
For these learners, who study English as a foreign language and
apparently seek as much exposure to this language as possible because their
aim for studying is basically that of becoming English teachers, it would seem that strategies are: (a) something worthy of enquiry and (b) a point of interest both as advanced users themselves and as future teachers (who might have to
or need to teach strategies themselves).
There is little reason to believe that vocabulary learning strategies are
different in Romania and indeed the findings of my research do not differ dramatically from those of other studies. However, I tend to think that not very many existing studies have given attention to the context in which the learners have a professional interest in the study of English as a foreign
language (my respondents being future teachers of English).
The findings of my research might be of help for both my
respondents/students (future language teach ers) and other people situated at
the practice end of the research–practic e continuum where the former passes
the baton to pedagogy. The implications of my study may facilitate the re-
evaluation of aspects of current pedagogic practice in Romanian ELT.

2.2. Research methodology
The study reported here could be considered as exploratory in that it
investigates vocabulary learning strategies, which are not widely dealt with in
the literature. Certainly, to my knowledge, it is one of the few existing
investigations of this kind in the Roma nian context. Moreover, this appears to
be the only study focusing on the vocabulary learning strategies of university undergraduates in the Romanian contex t and might fill a gap in present-day
language learning strategy research in that it also investigates the behaviours
of subjects who have a professional interest in the learning of the foreign
language. It can also be seen as a ‘small- scale case study’ which could later be
developed into an ampler investigati on of the same area of language study,
perhaps in a wider context such as sever al universities in this country. Hamel
et al. (1993: 35) note that the number of cases in ‘any sociological
investigation […] is a significant factor ’, however, it is not a ‘paramount issue’
intended to define this type of investigation because such a definition resides
in fact in what the case is intended to explain. Platt (1988: 2) appears to share this opinion in that for her, ‘the number of cases falling into a given category
is not treated as of significance’. My own study is thus intended to explain what Romanian undergraduates planning to become teachers of English do to learn vocabulary in English.

236
This study may be considered a case study also by looking at it in
contrast with other types of studies such as experimental studies and surveys. Gomm, Hammersley, and Foster (2000: 2-3) observe that ‘the term “case study” is employed to identify a specific form of inquiry; notably one which contrasts with two other kinds of soci al research: the experiment and the
social survey’. This study is thus an in-depth investigation of the vocabulary
learning strategies used by a group of English major and minor undergraduates learning this language in or der to become teachers of English.
In terms of what case studies ‘can do’ Platt (1988: 8-9) notes that they:
‘may suggest hypotheses, interpretations , empirical uniformities, for future
[…] investigation. [They do] so by showi ng that things are so, or that such an
interpretation is plausible, in the partic ular case, so that they might be so in
other cases.’
The exploratory nature of my stud y (see above) and the attempts thus
made to render the interpretation as ‘plausible’ as possible may inform both my future research and that of other researchers.
Exploring a sample of university unde rgraduate learners of FL English,
the study shows the relationships between vocabulary learning strategies on the one hand and language learning experience / background prior to the study
on the other. The ten subjects involved in this study are highly educated and motivated (with a professional interest) and are thus not representative of all language learners – but in no study coul d this be achieved. More positively,
surely this makes mine a case study.
The study is based on analysis and interpretation of data collected by
means of language learning diaries, wh ich constitute the main data set, and
interviews with diarists, intended to su pplement and shed light on such issues
as how the learners’ language learning expe rience is related to their report of
vocabulary learning strategies. This may have both methodological implications in relation to the use of the diary and the interview in the investigation of vocabulary learning strategies and in relation to the possibility of implementing strategy training pr ogrammes for groups of undergraduates
similar to the ones under consideration here.
2.2.1. Research questions
This section focuses on the research questions that have guided the study
reported in this paper in terms of th e investigation of language learning
strategies, more specifically that of vocabulary learning strategies in the Romanian EFL context.
The three RQs that have guided this research are: 1. What do experienced learners of English who are studying to become
English teachers, Romanian English major and minor undergraduates, do to
learn (or improve their knowledge of) vocabulary?
2. What types of strategies do th ese experienced learners use when
learning vocabulary?
RQ1 and RQ2 were designed to expl ore whether undergraduates studying
English as a foreign language to beco me teachers might have special
vocabulary learning habits. They were not designed to help find answers

237
about Romanian undergraduates’ ways of learning vocabulary in terms of a
possible cultural dimension that would influence their choice of strategies.
These RQs were also the starting point in deciding upon the selection of the respondents and the research instruments. Briefly, deciding on the group of respondents was not a problem since they were undergraduates I was currently teaching and I knew I would have easy access to them. However, the decision to use the language learning diary and the interview as research instruments meant a lot of reading and thinking.
3. How are the language learning ba ckground profiles related to the
vocabulary learning strategy use profiles? How is previous language learning
experience related to vocabulary learning strategy use?’
RQ3 was designed to guide the research towards a more detailed
investigation. A more in-depth exam ination of the data could provide a
twofold ‘profile’ of my subjects. The first was thus meant to look at the learner’s language learning experience / b ackground prior to this study (which
would lead to defining the learners as experienced, or less experienced learners of English, in terms of th e similarities and differences among them,
e.g. length of learning English). The ot her profile was intended to describe the
vocabulary learning strategies each indivi dual learner reported (in terms of the
same possible similarities and differences) . I considered this would allow the
possibility of the identification of re lationships between learners’ language
learning background and their reported use of strategies.
2.2.2. Subjects of the study and research instruments
At the time of data collection the subjects of this study were all
undergraduates either majoring or minor ing in English with the aim of
becoming teachers of English. As indicated in section 1.2.1, they were all my students.
The table below shows whether English is a major or minor specialism
for these subjects, the number of subjects in each group, their year of undergraduate study, their names (for reasons of confidentiality, these are not their real names) and that stage of the diary study (DSO = diary stage one; DST = diary stage two) which they took part in:

Diary stage English major English minor
DSO Dan, Andra, Aura (IIIrd year) Ana, Ina (IIIrd year)
DST Tina (IInd year), Nina (IVth year) Doru, Anda, Nora (IVth
year)
No. in each group 5 5

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Of the five English major respondents, four were French minors (Andra,
Aura, Nina and Tina) and Dan was a Romanian minor. The five English
minors all majored in Romanian.
The whole diary study was designed to last for the two semesters of an
academic year. It was to have two stages: Diary Stage ONE (DSO) in the first semester (October to January) and Diary Stage TWO (DST) in the second
semester (March to June). I knew I woul d teach different groups of students in
the two semesters and I hoped I would be able to collect data from a wider range of respondents in terms of year of undergraduate study and major or minor specialisms.
The preliminary analysis of the diary data showed that a new set of data
appeared to be necessary. First, this was in order to supplement and support
the data collected in the diary study in terms of learner biodata and, then, to
get richer data and deeper insights an d explanations. Moreover, the initial
analysis of the diaries, resulting in a tentative classification of strategies, i.e. addressing RQ 1, also showed that certain aspects of vocabulary learning reported in the diaries needed to be cl arified. The other RQs were designed to
guide the collection of new data in order to define the type of learners whom I
called ‘experienced’. I started from the hypothesis (actually confirmed by the analysis of the respondents’ answers to the introductory interview questions)
that at least two major variables: ‘English as a major or minor university specialism’ and ‘classroom learning’ would to enable me to relate their
experience as language learners prior to this study to the kinds of strategies
they appeared to report. To this aim, a set of ‘learner variables’ was created,
which informed the design of a ‘la nguage learning background profile’ for
each individual respondent. This was then followed by a ‘vocabulary learning strategy use profile’ of each individual respondent intended to aid a more in-
depth analysis of the data.

The second set of data related to the respondents’ language learning
background was considered necessary to support the data collected by means
of diaries, and the decision was made to interview the diarists. For the
operationalisation of RQs, the interview data were thought necessary in the
sense that they would enable the identif ication of learner variables necessary
for the creation of the learner profiles mentioned above.

2. Learners and their profiles

This section discusses the issue of variability in the context of this study.
It establishes and describes the learner variables that were later used to identify relationships between these a nd the use of vocabulary learning
strategies reported by the subjects in both the diary and interview data, as well
as learner profiles.
Hatch and Lazaraton’s (1991: 51) definition of variables and their

239
classification of variables as ‘dependent’ and ‘independent’ are useful here.
The authors say: “A variable can be defined as an attribute of a person, a
piece of text, or an object which “varies” from person to person, text to text, object to object, or from time to time (emphasis in the original).”
Variables are either dependent or independent according to their
functions ‘which grow out of the research questions’ (1991: 63), i.e. to the
relationship existing between them. A ‘dependent variable is the major
variable that will be measured in the research’ (1991: 63) and an ‘independent
variable is a variable that the research er suspects may relate to or influence
the dependent variable’ (1991: 64). However, this does not mean
manipulating artificially the independent variable.
In this study, the variables are ‘attributes’ of learners reporting on their
learning of vocabulary in English. RQ1 informed the identification of the dependent variable in this research as vocabulary learning strategy use . The
independent variables , those thought to have an influence on the dependent
variables, were investigated through analysis of the information obtained in the introductory part of the interviews. It is in this section of the data that two
main independent variables and several other factors related to language
learning and, more particularly, to the use of vocabulary learning strategies, to a lesser extent, have been identified.
More specifically, the independent variables are:
(1) English as a major or minor university specialism
(2) classroom learning including:
a) the main focus on all or any of the four language skills
b) individual classroom work/pair work/group work
c) types of textbooks used
d) types of homework
e) main language learning difficulties
The factors related (to a lesser extent) to language learning in general and
to the use of vocabulary learning strategies in particular are:
(F1) general learner characteristics including bio-data on :
a) age
b) gender
c) year of undergraduate study
d) type of high-school the learner graduated from prior to university and
number of lessons of English a week
e) English as first or second foreign language studied in school
(F2) teachers (and the influence the learners think the former had on
their learning as reflected in either diary or interview data)
(F3) contact with native speakers/ English TV and radio in class or
outside
(F4) evaluation of self as language learner
(F5) other languages (only for the subjects of Diary Stage Two – see
Chapter Three).

240
The issue of background learner variables and learning factors which may
be related to the respondents’ experien ce of language learning was seen as of
importance in terms of these variables and factors becoming points of reference for the construction of the learner profiles. These profiles were then used to facilitate the understanding of strategies that the subjects appear to be using when learning vocabulary.
The language learning background profiles (LLBs) of the ten participants
were meant to shed light on the relati onship between patterns and trends in the
use of strategies and the language learni ng experiences the learners had prior
to becoming university undergraduates. Therefore the focus was on how the
previous language learning experience profiles of subjects of this study
positions them as language learners in terms of the variables and language
learning factors listed above.
The vocabulary learning strategy u se (VLSU) profiles were constructed
by the application of two analytical frameworks: Rebecca Oxford’s (1990)
classification of language learning strategies ; and Glaser and Strauss’s
(1967) grounded theory method .
VLSU profiles were constructed by examining specific vocabulary
learning strategy characteristics ‘emerging’ from the data themselves and the context of this study, and by relati ng them to characteristics of language
learning strategies in the literature. The analysis of the data revealed the
following characteristics: a) how certain types of strategies seem more
popular with the learners within each major category, i.e. how they seem to be
personally favoured by the respondents b) behavioural (directly observable)
vs. mental (non-observable) strategies c) classroom-based vs. acquired strategies in terms of effectiveness of strategy use, and d) strategies (present in
Oxford’s 1990 taxonomy) that the respondents do not report . The exploratory
nature of this study, i.e. a study whic h attempts to identify strategies used by
respondents and to assess them from various angles in order to gain an
understanding of what learners appear to do in order to learn vocabulary,
seems to lend itself to the examination of the strategies from the aforementioned five perspectives.
Moreover, the data showed that the respondents appear to use most of the
direct (i.e. memory, cognitive and compensation) and indirect (i.e.
metacognitive, affective and social) stra tegies included by Oxford in her 1990
taxonomy, but also certain ‘strategies specific to the group’. Patterns of strategy use and possible explanations for them leading to conclusions about
the learners’ vocabulary learning behavi ours were established for each of the
major categories of strategies.
One important aspect to be clarified at this point is my adaptation of
Oxford’s analytical framework to cater for both the specific type of strategies
on which this study focuses, i.e. vocabulary learning strategies, and for the advanced academic EFL Romanian lear ners who participated in it.
In this line of thought, it seems first necessary to state that Oxford’s work

241
is of utmost importance in the field of language learning strategies as shown
by many other researchers who have used her taxonomy to focus on various
aspects of language learning; the study of how vocabulary is learned is just one example. Schmitt (1997: 205), for example, used this framework in his study of vocabulary learning strategies because: ‘[o]f the more established systems, the one developed by Oxford […] seemed best able to capture and
organise the wide variety of vocabulary learning strategies identified.
However, in my own classification of the strategies I was confronted with
the following issues in relati on to Oxford’s framework:
a) some of Oxford’s categories were ‘redundant’ for my data: the
subjects did not report the use of many of her strategies, in particular those not
meant to help with the learning of vo cabulary (which underlines the idea that
it is only normal not to expect that any given group of learners should exhibit all of Oxford’s strategies);
b) although most of the vocabulary learning strategies identified in
the data matched Oxford’s definitions sa tisfactorily, others did so only partly.
For example, in the category of ‘memory strategies’, in reporting
‘Associating/elaborating’, the learners in this study seem to associate new
lexical items with people who uttered th em in direct interaction, with TV
shows in which they heard them and with objects that surround them in everyday life and not with ‘concepts al ready in the memory’ (Oxford, 1990:
41). Another example is the social stra tegy ‘Asking for correction’ which,
unlike in Oxford’s description, for these learners is not related to classroom
learning but seems rather to be used by the respondents in interaction outside
the classroom with more proficient speakers of English.
c) importantly, strategies different from the ones classified by
Oxford (but relatable to her six major categories) emerged in the process of data analysis and new names were created. These strategies are all related to
the learning of vocabulary and were called ‘strategies specific to the group’
(see above). They consist of ‘Practising by talking to oneself in the FL’, ‘Practising by helping/teaching others’, ‘Learning for pleasure’, ‘Suggesting action in class’, and ‘Writing word posters’. These strategies were added to Oxford’s taxonomy.

3. Relationship between language learning background and reported
vocabulary learning strategies

This section focuses on how the learner variables and language learning
related factors discussed in the learne r profiles (see above) and used in the
examination of the subjects’ language learning experience prior to their becoming involved in this study are rela ted to the general trends/patterns of
vocabulary strategy use identified in th e data. This discussion of the possible
influence of learner variables on strategy use is guided by RQ3: ‘How are the language learning background profiles re lated to the vocabulary learning

242
strategy use profiles?’ and therefore ‘How is previous language learning
experience related to vocabulary learning strategy use?’
The most influential variable proved to be whether learners are studying
English as a major or minor university specialism . This seems to result in
different reports of number and of type of vocabulary learning strategies.
Thus, except for affective strategies, English majors report a larger number of
vocabulary learning behaviours for all the categories identified in the data.
This suggests that university major (and therefore career orientation) is directly related to learners’ use of le arning strategies This seems consistent
with the claims of Oxford, 1989a or Oxford and Nyikos, 1989.
As far as types of strategies reported by the two groups of learners are
concerned, more than their minor counterparts, English majors seem to use:
• memory strategies directly aimed at dealing with new language
material
• cognitive strategies related to a more thorough analysis of language
• metacognitive strategies which show them to be more confident in
their knowledge and more inclined towards evaluating it
• few affective strategies showi ng little emotional involvement in
learning
• social strategies mainly directed at co-operating with others in order
to learn
• ‘strategies specific to the group ’ which focus on both vocabulary
practice and finding new ways of improving it
English majors also appear to use compensation strategies used only
when dealing with problematic lexical items and only one of the ‘negative
activities’ identified in the data.
These characterise the English majo r undergraduates in this study as
learners able to deal with lexis in wa ys appropriate to experienced advanced
independent learners. They both actively enhance their knowledge of
vocabulary by constantly seeking opportunities to do so and consolidate this knowledge by various types of practice.
In contrast, minors appear to use (more than the majors):
• memory strategies that help them learn new lexical material by
relating it with what they already know
• cognitive strategies more related to practice leading to improved
retention of words
• compensation strategies that involve circumlocuting when at a loss
for words and avoidance of communicati on which seems to be consistent both
with their more reduced report of social strategies and their larger recourse to
negative activities
• metacognitive strategies which show them to be more aware of the
necessity of monitoring their errors
• more affective strategies showing their need for a boost of

243
confidence in their language abilities
• practice ‘strategies specific to the group’
• both ‘negative activities’ (‘refusing to put effort into learning’ and
‘unwillingness to co-operate with others’) identified in the data.
Although the English minor respondents involved in this study can also
be characterised as experienced advanced independent learners of vocabulary,
unlike their major counterparts, they seem more inclined towards taking
smaller steps to enhance their knowledge of vocabulary. They also rely less
on language analysis and more on practice to consolidate this knowledge, and
tend to be more emotionally oriented, less socially oriented and thus more
prone to use ‘negative activities’.
The findings about the relationship between the learners’ major or minor
university specialism and the strategies th ey report, may have implications for
both the future learning and teaching of vocabulary at tertiary level. Here, I
look at how teachers and classrooms may have contributed to my findings about strategy use. In other words, it might be that these findings will help
both students and teachers in their approach to this area of language.
The variable ‘classroom learning’ was found to affect the use of
vocabulary learning strategies in two ways. First, the learning that takes place
in the classroom appears to foster the u se of certain strategies. For example, if
most of the learners report that th eir classroom activities mainly focus on
reading and writing, it seems unsurprising that they report the use of such a cognitive strategy like ‘using resources’ in order to both learn new lexical
items and practice them in writing. Second, lack of emphasis on certain
language skills in classroom activities may have lead these learners to use
strategies outside the classroom or to acquire new strategies on their own. For example, the lack of listening activities in the classroom that all the subjects
mention may have been compensated fo r by their use of the same cognitive
strategy (‘using resources’), but this time with the resources consisting of
recorded audio material or television shows. Similarly, the lack of speaking
activities may have made them adopt ‘co-operating with more proficient
users’ of English. Moreover, in te rms of how the variable ‘classroom
learning’ is related to vocabulary learning strategy report in this study, I have
also shown that if left on their own (outside the classroom), learners with a professional interest in the learning of English will develop strategies that
were not encouraged in the classroom a nd that appear to be helpful for their
learning. The comparison of classroom-based and acquired strategies has
revealed the learners’ tendency towards the use of indirect acquired strategies which once more underscores the aspect of learner independence.
It appears therefore that language teaching methods have influenced the
use of strategies by these learners. This see ms to be consistent with findings in
the literature. Oxford (1989a: 243) states that ‘[l]anguage teaching methods, as well as unspoken expectations permea ting the instructional environment,
often influence language learning strategy use’. Similarly, Oxford and Nyikos

244
(1989: 293) found that ‘students’ la nguage learning strategies mirrored
analytical, rule-based instructional methods used in the university’.

4. Conclusion

To conclude, I now look at possible implications of the findings of the
study reported in this paper. That th e findings of research into language and
vocabulary learning strategies have im portant implications for language
teaching can clearly be seen in such positions related to both learning and teaching of vocabulary as the one expressed by Carter (1987: 158), who states that:
unless satisfactory answers are obtained to the question of just what it is
that learners learn when they acquire new words in another language,
then teaching procedures will be to some extent a hit-and-miss affair. This case study may also have contributed in a small way. Its findings
may lead to raising the awareness of teachers interested in finding out how
foreign language major and minor undergraduates learn vocabulary, which
again might improve both the teach ing and learning of vocabulary and
language learning strategy instruction at tertiary level.
I suggest that some of the findings of this study (see above) could have
implications for language learning strate gy instruction (more particularly for
vocabulary learning strategy instru ction) since they show that:
• Strategy instruction involving lear ners such as those participating
in this study, i.e. highly motivated, advanced and independent university undergraduates whose main goal in learning English is that of becoming language teachers, may be highly successful since they seem to be aware of the fact that the acquisition of good language knowledge is their own
responsibility as future teachers;
• The types of strategies that seem to be the pattern of strategy use
for these English major and minor undergraduates studying to become teachers of English (i.e. cognitive strategies leading to improvement of vocabulary learning and metacognitive strategies helping with both
understanding how vocabulary learni ng works and with taking full
control of it mainly outside the classroom and thus aim to become
autonomous, self-regulated learners) may be taught to similar groups of
younger students and lower-achievi ng students at tertiary level;
In sum, what the findings of this study might indicate for foreign
language instruction in Romania at unive rsity level is that both teachers and
their students can benefit from awareness of existence of vocabulary learning
strategies. Thus teachers could be active parties in strategy training
programmes and instruct students about how to develop new and potentially
more powerful strategies and to broaden use of strategies already in place. Students could be encouraged to experiment with a great variety of strategies and to apply them to tasks which promote creative, communicative learning.

245
They could also be encouraged to u se familiar strategies better and look at
combinations of strategies. Additionally, what university majors seem to do
really well could be taught to the minors.

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foreign language students”. Language Learning 46/1: 101-135.
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Linguistics in Language Teaching 12: 239-247.
Meara, Paul (ed.). 1980. “V ocabulary acquisition: a negl ected aspect of language
learning.” Language Teaching and Linguistics: Abstracts 13: 221-246.
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METHODENTRAINING FÜR DEN 
STUDIENBEGLEITENDEN DAF UNTERRICHT 

Ioana DIACONU
Transilvania Universität, Bra șov

Die Rechtfertigung des Einsatzes des handlungsorientierten Unterrichts in als
studienbegleitender DaF Unterricht wurde in neueren Untersuchungen
bewiesen. Da im handlungsorientierte Unterricht das Lernen um das Modell
einer vollständigen Handlung stattfindet und dieser Unterricht exemplarisch ist,
also keine Einverleibung der Begriffe erfolgt, sondern diese nachgeschafft, wobei
die Begebenheiten neu kombiniert werden, indem Verstand, Fertigkeiten und
Gefühle (Kopf, Hand, Herz) in gleichem Maße angesprochen werden, bedarf dieser Unterrichtstyp eigene Methoden. Der vorliegende Beitrag setzt sich mit
einigen dieser Methoden auseinander und mit der Art und Weise, wie derartige
Methoden von den Unterrichtenden angeeignet werden können.

Schlüsselwörter: SDU, Schlüsselqualifikationen, fachübergreifende
Kompetenzen, Methodentraining

1. Begriffsbestimmung

1994 haben das Goethe-Institut Warschau und später die Goethe-Institute
Prag und Bratislava in Zusammenarbei t mit Universitäten und Hochschulen
ein Projekt mit dem Ziel gestartet, den studienbegleitenden Deutschunterricht
an Universitäten und Hochschulen durch Verfassen von Curricula und Lehrwerken zu fördern. Angefangen mit 2004 hat auch Rumänien an dieses
Projekt beteiligt, es wurde ein eige nes Curriculum zusammengestellt, das
noch nicht veröffentlicht wurde, und einige Dozenten haben an dem SDU
Lehrbuch „Mit Deutsch studieren, arbeiten, leben“ mitgewirkt.
Als Studienbegleitender Deutschunterri cht wird der Deutschunterricht an
Universitäten und Hochschulen gemeint, de r sich an Studierende aller Fächer
außer Germanistik wendet, als Wahlpfli chtfach 2 bis 6 Semester lang parallel
mit dem Hochschulstudium verläuft und meistens auf die bis zum Abitur erworbenen Sprachkenntnissen aufbau t. Dieser Deutschunterricht wird
studienbegleitend genannt, weil sein Ziel nicht ausschließlich der Aufbau der
Sprachkompetenz (Fachsprache oder Wi ssenschaftssprache mit einbezogen)
im engeren Sinne ist, sondern auch der Erwerb der Handlungskompetenz, als

248
eine der Hauptvoraussetzungen in der Ausübung des zukünftigen Berufs. „Der
studienbegleitende Deutsch- und Fr emdsprachenunterricht ist daher
berufsorientiert und interdisziplinär, und setzt sich – aufgrund der speziellen
Zielgruppe – von einem allgemeinen Deutsch- und Sprachunterricht für Erwachsene ab, und hat sich in den le tzten Jahren durch die Entwicklung von
Curricula und Lehrmaterialien als eigenständiges Fachgebiet etabliert“ (Levy-Hillerich und Serena 2009: 7).
2. Ziele des SDU
Wie oben aufgeführt wurde, sehen di e Curriculummodelle der Partnerländer,
zu denen auch Rumänien gehört, im Proj ekt zur Förderung des SDU vor, dass die
durch den SDU vermittelte Handlungskompe tenz durch die Verfolgung mehrerer
Teilzielen zu erreichen ist. (vgl. Krajewska-Markiewicz; Lévy-Hillerich, und Serena: Rahmencurriculum )
Eine erfolgreiche Ausübung des zukünftigen Berufs ist ohne die
Entwicklung von kommunikativen Kompetenzen im jeweiligen Fach und in allgemeinsprachlichen und berufsübergreife nden Situationen nicht vorstellbar.
Dazu gehören unter anderem auch die En twicklung von sozialen Kompetenzen,
von Einstellungen und Haltungen, also des soziokulturellen Wissens, das zur
Wahrnehmung der Beziehungen zwischen der eigenen Kultur und fremden Kulturen, d. h. die Entwicklung eines interkulturellen Bewusstseins führt. Berufs-kommunikation im engeren Sinne verlangt auch den Aufbau von Wissen und Kenntnissen und die Entwickl ung der Fertigkeiten, diese Kenntnisse in die Praxis
umzusetzen. Zusammenfassend sind die Globalziele des SDU Aufbau von
Wissen und Vermittlung von Kenntnissen (deklaratives Wissen), Entwicklung
der Einstellungen und Haltungen / des soziokulturellen Wissens, des
interkulturellen Bewusstseins und der Fertigkeiten (prozedurales Wissen).
Im Bereich Wissen und Kenntnisse sollen die Studierenden ihr Wissen über
Fremdsprachen und deren Strukturen vert iefen, ihre Fachsprachenkenntnisse
(über fachspezifische Fakten, Prozesse, Methoden, Zusammenhänge u.a.) je nach
Studiengang und dem zu erreichendem Sp rachniveau aufbauen, das Wissen über
berufs- und fachbezogene Kommunikati onsformen aufbauen, ihr Wissen über
europäische und internatio nale Normen, Standards und Institutionen ergänzen
und sich landeskundliche und inte rkulturelle Kenntnisse aneignen.
Das soziokulturelle Wissen (Einst ellungen und Haltungen), das durch den
SDU vermittelt und entwickelt werden soll, verfolgt eine gewi sse Sensibilisierung
gegenüber Gemeinsamkeiten und Unter-schiede in den Konventionen der verbalen und nonverbalen Kommunikation in der eigenen und in der fremden Kultur und eine Bereitschaft, den anderen zuzuhören. Die Studierenden sollen lernen, in gleichem Maße ihre Werte, Überzeugungen und Einstellungen einzubringen und rücksichtsvoll durchzuset zen, aber sie auch zu relativieren und
eventuell zurückzunehmen. Hinzu so ll im SDU auch das Bewusstsein der
Studierenden gestärkt werden, für sich und andere Verantwortung zu übernehmen und kooperativ (besonders in der Lernergruppe) zu handeln. (Krajewska-Markiewicz; Lévy-Hillerich, und Serena: Rahmencurriculum )

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Die Sensibilisierung gegenüber Kommunikationskonventionen anderer
Kulturen führt zur Entwicklung des interkulturellen Bewusstseins , ein weiteres
Ziel des SDU. Die Studierenden sollen le rnen, als kultureller Mittler zu agieren
und interkulturelle Missverständnisse und Ko nfliktsituationen zu vermeiden. Der
SDU nimmt sich vor, bei den Studierenden durch die Bewusstmachung der eigenen Vorurteile, eine tolerante Haltung gegenüber dem Fremden aufzubauen.
Die durch den SDU zu entwickelnden Fertigkeiten beziehen sich vor allem
auf den Umgang mit fremdsprachlichen Texten. Die verschiedenen Curricula sehen die Entwicklung von vielfältigen Formen des Verstehens, Erschließens und Produzierens von Texten und Fachtexten in geschriebener und gesprochener Form vor, wobei die Arbeit mit Fachtexten in Abhängigkeit von dem zu erreichenden Sprachniveau betrachtet wird.
Die Studierenden sollen im SDU lernen , verschiedene Text-sorten und deren
jeweiligen Textmuster und Sprachhand lungen zu erkennen, sie sollen
verschiedene Lesestile beherrschen und entsprechend der Textsorte anwenden, sie sollen den Sinnzusammen-hang authentischer Texte – auch mit fachlichen Inhalten – erfassen und sprach arme Textsorten (Charts) versprachlichen können,
sie sollen Fachinhalte erschließen u nd mit fachspezifischen Kommunikations-
verfahren wiedergebe n und sich Strategien zum Verfassen von
hochschuladäquaten und berufs- und fachbezogenen Textsorten aneignen.
Auf der berufsübergreifenden Eben e sollen sie über bestimmte
Kernkompetenzen verfügen, wie Frag e-, Gesprächs-, Argumentations-,
Moderations-, Visualisierungs- und Präsent ationstechniken u.a. und sie sollen die
ästhetische und kreative Gestal tung von Textsorten nachvollziehen können. (Vgl.
Krajewska-Markiewicz; Lévy-Hillerich, und Serena: Rahmencurriculum )
Je nach Sprachniveau beschränkt sich die zu erwerbende Textkompetenz
nicht nur auf rezeptiven und produktiv en Fertigkeiten, sondern auch auf
sprachmittelnden Fertigkeiten. So sollen die Studierenden als sprachmittelnden
Personen den Inhalt des ursprünglichen Textes als mündlichen Text weitergeben können (Sprachmittlung mündlich) und zwar aus dem Deutschen in eine gemeinsame Sprache und umgekehrt. Die schriftliche Sprachmittlung sieht auch die Kompetenz vor, je nach Fall, den Zieltext durch eine Veränderung der Textsorte (von einem Fachartikel zu eine m Diagramm, von Informationstexten zu
Kurzreferaten oder Interviews) wiedergeben zu können.
(Vgl. Krajewska-
Markiewicz; Lévy-Hillerich, und Serena: Rahmencurriculum )
Neben der Handlungskompetenz und ihrer untergeordneten Kompetenzen
verfolgt der SDU auch die Entwicklung von Schlüssel qualifikationen, also von
Fähigkeiten, Kenntnissen u nd Fertigkeiten, die die Voraussetzung für Flexibilität
und Anpassungsfähigkeit an die rasc hen technischen Veränderungen von
Unternehmensorganisationen bilden und Erfahrung, Sachkompetenz, Gestaltungskompetenz und Sozialkompet enz zusammenführen. Es handelt sich
dabei um um die Vermittlung von sozialen und personalen Qualifikationen, mit
deren Hilfe man die Entwicklungen in der Arbeitswelt meistern soll. Man unterscheidet materielle Schlüsselqualifikationen wie Berufsübergreifende
Kenntnisse und Fertigkeiten, wie Ku lturtechniken u nd Fremdsprachen,
Kenntnisse und Fertigkeiten neuer Techni ken, wie Datenverarbeitung, Textver-

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arbeitung, Internet, Kenntnisse von Verfahrens- und Arbeitsabläufen, formale
Schlüsselqualifikationen wie Logisches und analytisches Denken und Handeln,
Organisationsfähigkeit, Konzentrationsfähigkeit, Denken in komplexen Zusammenhängen, Urteilsfähigkeit, Kreativität, Problemlösungsfähigkeit, Kommunikative Fähigkeiten wie Ausdrucks-vermögen und Argumentationsfähigkeit, Entscheidungsfähigkeit und Gestaltungsfähigkeit und personale Schlüsselqualifik ationen (Sozial-kompetenz) , die sich aus
Individualverhalten und Sozial verhalten zusammensetzen. Zum
Individualverhalten gehören S achlichkeit, Zu-verlässigkeit, Fleiß, Zielstrebigkeit,
Leistungsbereitschaft, Eigen-initiative, Ausdauer und Motivation und das Sozialverhalten wird von Teamfähigkeit, Kooperationsbereitschaft, Hilfsbereitschaft, Fairness und Toleranz ausgemacht.
3. Zur Methodenkompetenz
Eine für den Erwerb der oben aufgeführten Kompetenzen grundlegende
Kompetenz, die somit auch vermittelt werden muss, ist die Methodenkompetenz. Die Absolventen müssen lernen, einerseits die richtigen Methoden für die Lösung
der fachspezifischen Probleme und für die persönliche und berufliche Dauerentwicklung zu finden und anzuwenden. Das betrifft sowohl private, als auch berufliche und gesellschaftliche Situationen, in denen man wissen muss,
welcher Weg einzuschlagen ist, diesen We g gehen können und bereit sein, diesen
Weg zu gehen. (vgl. St ănescu 2004)
Aus der Methodenkompetenz sind Schlüsse lqualifikationen wie logisches und
analytisches Denken und Handeln, Organisatio ns-fähigkeit, Konzentrationsfähigkeit,
Denken in komplexen Zusammen-hängen, Urteilsfähigkeit, Kreativität, Problemlösungs-fähigkeit, kommunikative Fähigkeit wie Ausdrucksvermögen, Argumentations-fähigkeit, Entscheidungsfähigkeit und Gestaltungs-fähigkeit herauszu-kristallisieren.
Die Methodenkompetenz kann zur Fachkompetenz, aber zugleich zusammen
mit der Sozialkompetenz und der personalen Kompetenz den fachübergreifenden Kompetenzen untergeordnet werden. Die se doppelte Zuordnung kann auch im
Falle der interkulturellen Kompetenz unternommen werden, die als Fachüber-greifende Kompetenz betrachtet wird.
Mit Methodenkompetenz wird aber auch die Fähigkeit des Unterrichtenden,
die Unterrichtsmethoden auszuwählen und ein-zusetzen, die optimal für das Erreichen der Unterrichtziele sind un d somit eng mit den zu vermittelnden
Lerninhlaten sind.
4. Inhalte
Die Inhalte des SDU entstehen in Anlehnung an den Zielen und vermitteln in
erster Linie Wissen über das Funktioniere n der Sprache, Methodentraining und
die Lernstrategien , die notwendig sind, um dieses Wissen und Handeln in der
Sprache zu erreichen. Die Inhalte sind an den jeweiligen Studiengang angepasst, der auch die Themen-bereiche und die dara us resultierenden Textsorten bestimmt.

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Der Studienbegleitende Deutschunterricht kann auch fachübergreifende Themen
zum Inhalt haben, oder allgemeine Themen können fachspezifisch behandelt werden.
Zu den hochschuladäquaten Textsorten gehören die Anfrage nach Stipendien
und Unterlagen, der Lebenslauf, das Bewerbungs-schreiben und das Begründungs- / Motivationsschreiben , das Bewerbungsgespräch, das
Beratungsgespräch, der offizielle Brief, der persönlicher Brief (u.a. Dankesbrief),
Smalltalk, Charts (Schaubilder /sprach arme Textsorten: Diagramm, Schaubild,
Statistik), Lexikon-artikel, Bericht, Zu sammenfassung, Stellungnahme, Protokoll,
Leser-brief, Interview, Diskussion, Fragebogen, Umfrage, Reportage, Rezension, Organigramm, Abstract, Beitrag (Tagung, Kongress, Exposé, Kommentar, Referat, Handout, Thesenpapier, Präsentation, Bibliogra fie, Praktikumsbericht Hausarbeit /
Seminar / Diplomarbeit, Dokumentarfi lm, Bedienungs-/ Betriebsanleitung,
Handlungs-/Gebrauchsanweisung, Montage-/A ufbauanleitung, Definitionen, Fach-
referat, Strukturdiagramm, die auf Niveau der der mündlichen und schriftlichen Rezeption, Produktion und Interaktion verarbeitet werden müssen.
5. Methoden und Arbeitsformen im SDU und im
handlungsorientierten Unterrich
5.1. Methoden im handlungsorientierten DaF – Unterricht
Dadurch, dass der SDU wichtige Merk male des handlungs-orientierten
Sprachunterrichts aufweist, wird im Folgenden eine kurze Darstellung des
handlungsorientierten Unterrichts gemacht.
Im Handlungsorientierten Unterricht findet das Lernen um das Modell
einer vollständigen Handlung statt. Es handelt sich um einen exemplarischen
Unterricht, be dem auf inhaltliche Volls tändigkeit verzichtet wird. Begriffe
werden nicht einverleibt, sondern n achgeschafft und die Begebenheiten neu
kombiniert, wobei Verstand, Fertigkeit en und Gefühle (Kopf, Hand, Herz) in
gleichem Maße angesprochen werden. Bei der Durchführung der vereinbarten
Handlungsprodukte ergeben sich Probleme und Feststellungen, die den Inhalt
ausmachen, der nicht aufgrund von Fachsystematik ermittelt wird. (vgl. Hölscher, Piepho und Roche 2006)
Der handlungsorientierte Unterricht kombiniert mehrer Eigen-schaften
aus anderen Unterrichtsformen, wie Lern erorientierung, Inhaltsorientierung,
Prozessorientierung und Produktorientierung, die spezifische Arbeitsformen erfordern. Das subjektive Interesse des Lerners, also die Lernerorientierung
stellt den Ausgangspunkt des handlungsor ientierten Unterrichts dar. Der
Lerner steht im Mittelpunkt, ihm wird bewusst gemacht, zu welchen zwecken
er lernen will, welche Voraussetzungen (Anlagen, Alter, spezifische Lebens-
und Lerner-fahrungen) er mitbringt und welches seine bevorzugten
Lernweisen sind. Der Lerner ist Selbstständig, er wird in der Planung, Durchführung und Auswertung des Unterrichts einbezogen, im Verlauf dessen er selbst erkundet, entdeckt, erprobt, erörtert, plant oder verwirft. Der Unterricht wird zu einem Forum der Veröffentlichung und der Kritik.

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Die Lernerorientierung führt zur Inhaltsorientierung, so dass die
Themenbereiche die persönliche Erfa hrung und die Interesse der Lerner
verfolgen, die sich an den privaten und beruflichen Bereich orientieren und
dadurch die emotionale und kognitive Auseinandersetzung mit den verschiedenen Inhalten fordern.
Der Lerner ist ein aktiver Lerner, er verarbeitet das dargebotene Material
und die Informationen aufgrund sein es Vorwissens, seiner vergangener
Lebens- und Lernerfahrungen, aber auch aufgrund intellektueller und
affektiver Faktoren. So wird der ha ndlungs-orientierten, lernerzentrierten
Unterricht auch zum prozessorientierten Unterricht, in dem die unterrichtende
Person als Moderator, Manager oder Coach handelt.
Das Ergebnis der „Lernhandlung“ sind konkrete Handlungs-produkte, die
auch praktisch verwendbar sind, wie z. Bsp. Studentenzeitung, Ausstellung, Leserbrief, Webseite, Flugblatt, Broschüre, Teilnahme an Wettbewerben, Ratgeber, Organisierung und Durchführung einer Exkursion, Handlungsprodukte die ihrerseits der Auswertung und Kritik der Lerner
ausgesetzt sind. Dieser Unterrichts-verlauf macht die Produktorientierung des handlungsorientierten Unterrichts aus, der auch spezifische Arbeitformen wie
Projekt-unterricht, offenen Unterri cht und Stationenlernen bedarf.
Die Lerner haben die Möglichkeit, die Zuteilung, die Reihenfolge der
Lösung und die Sozialform zu bestimmen.
Eine andere spezifische Arbeits form des handlungsorientierten
Unterrichts ist das Lernen durch Lehren, ein Konzept, das aus der
Fremdsprachendidaktik stammt, eine Un terrichtsart, in der die Lerner den
Unterricht selbst organisieren, also sich gegenseitig unterrichten.
Der erwünschte Verlauf des handlungso rientierten Unterrichts findet in
Phasen statt. Er beginnt mit der Problemstellung, wo man die Handlungsprodukte genau definiert, di e Terminplanung erfolgt, die
Arbeitsgruppen festgelegt werden und die Arbeitsaufgaben verteilt werden.
Die Lernenden planen selbstständig ihre konkrete Arbeit und erarbeiten selbstständig das Handlungsprodukt durch Lernen. Das Ergebnis der
Lernhandlung wird präsentiert und wird der Bewertung, dem Lob oder der
Kritik durch Kollegen unterzogen (vgl. Diaconu [2013]).
5.2. Methoden im SDU Die Ziele des SDU, also die En twicklung der Handl ungskompetenz mit
ihren Teilkompetenzen und der Schlüssel qualifikationen bedürfen den Einsatz
nicht nur spezifischer Unterrichtsme thoden, aber auch berufs- und
fachorientierten Methoden.
Die zu erwerbende Handlungskompet enz zwingt eine interaktive
Vermittlung der kommunikativen Fer tigkeit (Sprachkompetenzvermittlung),
einschließlich im Bereich der Vermittlung von morphologischen und
syntaktischen Strukturen. Wortschatz so ll sowohl rezeptiv als auch produktiv
beherrscht werden und die Grammatikstrukturen werden im Zusammenhang mit den Textsorten und den davon abhä ngigen Sprachhandlungen vermittelt.

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Eine vollständige Handlung entsteht au ch um die Textsorte Referat. Zuerst
wird das Material für das Referat gesa mmelt, dann verfasst, das Referat wird
gehalten und gehört und anschließend werden die Thesen des Referates diskutiert.
Der SDU baut auf eine Übertragung von bekannten Lernstrategien und
gespeichertes Alltags-, Welt- und Sp rachwissen, so wie auf bekannten
kommunikative Strategien.
Somit weisen die Ziele und Methoden des SDU viele Ähnlichkeiten mit
denen des Handlungsorientierten Unterricht auf. Diese beziehen sich auf die einzusetzenden Sozialformen wie Fronta lunterricht, Plenum, Einzelarbeit,
Gruppenarbeit. Ein Teil der Prinzipien des SDU wurden auch aus dem Handlungsorientierten Sprachunterricht üb ernommen. Es handelt sich vor allem
um die Kommunikations- und Handlungsorientierung, Lernerzentrierung, Lernerorientierung und um die Entfaltung und Förderung von mehr Lernerautonomie.
Die Unterrichtsmethode im SDU betrifft so wie auch im
handlungsorientierten Unterricht die Rolle des Studierenden und des Unterrichtenden. Der Studierende wird so wie der Lerner im Falle des oben
dargestellten handlungsori entierten Unterrichts als Partner der Lehrkraft
behandelt und steht im Mittelpunkt des Unterrichts.
Er beteiligt sich an der Unterrichtspl anung, indem er Themen vorschlägt und
bei der Materialsuche hilft. So wird er Mitverantwortlich in der Gestaltung des
Unterrichts und er entwickelt gleichzeitig Strategien im Projektmanagement, was
auch den Aufforderungen der Bolognaerklärung entspricht.
Die Rolle des Studierenden bestimmt somit die Rolle des Unterrichtenden,
der so wie im handlungsorientierten Unterricht Ratgeber, Koordinator und Moderator des Lernprozesses wird. Er entwickelt passende Lern- und Arbeitsstrategien für verschiedene Lernertypen, indem er gleichzeitig die im Erstsprachenerwerb entwickelten Lernstrategien berücksichtigt, eventuell sogar auf sie aufbaut. Er macht den Studierenden die Anwendungs- und Übertragungsmöglichkeit der Problemstelllungen im Fremdsprachen-unterricht im lebenslangen Lernen und unterstützt das autonome Lernen.
Der Lerner entscheidet, wie und was er lernen will, er arbeitet
eigenverantwortlich und verbindet das neu Gelernte mit dem vorhandenen
Wissen. Zu diesem Ziel werden auch Lernstrategien und -techniken zum
Gegenstand des Unterrichts, indem der Un terrichtende im Unterricht verdeutlicht,
wie Lernstrategien angewendet / eingesetzt werden.
Die fachübergreifenden Kompetenzen, die im SDU vermittelt werden sollen,
werden auch durch Berufs- und Fachorientierten Methoden vermittelt. Es sind in
verschiedenen beruflichen Situationen an wendbare, fachübergreifende Methoden,
die den Studierenden Schlüsselqualif ikationen und die internationalen
Kompetenzen vermitteln, die sie im Beruf, Weiterstudium und Umschulung eingesetzt werden. Einige dieser Berufs- und Fachorientierten Methoden sind:
Brainstorming und Metaplan, Mindm apping, Versprachlichung von
Schaubildern, Kommunikations-, Gesprächs- und Moderationstechniken, Informationsaufnahme- und Protoko ll-techniken, Präsentations- und
Visualisierungstechniken, Rollen- und Planspiele und Projektarbeit.

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Im SDU Curriculum wurde jeder Unterrichtsphase die passende
Unterrichtsmethode zugewiesen (Krajews ka-Markiewicz; Lévy-Hillerich, und
Serena: Rahmencurriculum : 66).

Phase oder Tätigkeit im
Unterricht Durch die Studierenden angewendete
Arbeitstechniken Klein- oder Großformen
Problemfindung Notieren, Markieren, Exzerpieren,
Brainstorming, Brainwriting,
Fragerunde, Metaplan, Innenkreis/Außenkreis
Überlegungen zur Problemlösung Brains torming, Brainwriting, Metaplan,
Mindmapping, Puzzle und
Fragerunde
Problemlösung Blitzlicht, Puzzle, Stationenlernen und
Mindmapping
Wissenssicherung Kreuzworträtsel, Dominospiel, Schülervortrag
und Podiumsdiskussion
Reflexion der Lernergebnisse Kreuzworträtsel, Dominospiel, Schülervortrag
und Podiumsdiskussion
Einstieg ins/ Auseinandersetzung
mit Thema – Darstellung und Austausch von
Erfahrungen Brainstorming, Brainwriting, Mindmapping,
Ein- und Mehrpunkt- Frage, Karten-Abfrage, Pro und Kontra, A-B-C-Listen-Methode,
Kopfstandtechnik, Kugellager // Rollenspiel
Informationsaufnahme,
Informationsverarbeitung
und -weitergabe Frage- und Interviewtechniken
Auswertung von Frage- und Evaluationsbögen
Strukturierung und Darstellung von Ergebnissen, Sachverhalten und
Zusammenhängen Mindmapping, Metaplan
Visualisierungstechniken wie Folie, Lernplakat, Wandzeitung
ALLE PHASEN Postkorb, Leittext, Rollenspiel, Erkundung,
Szenario, Planspiel, Expertenbefragung oder Projekt

6. Methodentraining

Der SDU und der Handlungsorientierte Unterricht bewirken auch eine
Änderung der Rolle des Unterrichtenden, der nicht mehr im Frontalunterricht
referiert, präsentiert und erklärt, sond ern die Rolle eines Moderators übernimmt
und in seinem Unterricht die oben au fgeführten Methoden einsetzen muss.
Derartige Methoden müssen sowohl den Studierenden, als auch den
Unterrichtenden im Methodentraining beigebracht werden.
Heinz Klippert hat sich in mehreren Werken mit dem Thema
„Methodentraining“ auseinandergesetzt. Methoden-Training. Übungsbausteine
für den Unterricht . 12. Auflage. Weinheim und Basel. 2002; Kommunikations-
Training. Übungsbausteine für den Unterricht II . Mit Illustrationen von Heinz

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Krähe. 9. Auflage. Weinheim und Basel. 2001; Teamentwicklung im
Klassenraum. Übungsbaust eine für den Unterricht. 4. Auflage. Weinheim und
Basel. 2001. ; Pädagogische Schulentwicklung. Pl anungs- und Arbeitshilfen zur
Förderung einer neuen Lernkultur . Weinheim und Basel. 2000.) Er bezieht sich
auf allgemeine Unterrichtsmethoden, die auch für den Fremdsprachenunterricht angepasst werden können. Ein Methodentr aining verfolgt Methodenlernen, also
das Üben der unterschiedlichsten Arbeitsverfahren, aber auch Spieltechniken.
Klippert sieht in derartigem Methoden training für Lernende das eigentliche
„Lernen des Lernens“, den entscheidende n Schritt zum selbstständigen Lernen,
denn die Übernahme der Verantwortung der Lerner und Studierenden für ihr Lernen ist auch eine Haltung die eingeübt werden muss.
Klippert setzt den Begriff „Methodentraining“ sowohl mit einem engen Sinn
ein, in diesem Fall wird die Einübung el ementarer Lern- und Arbeitstechniken,
wie z.B. Informationen erfassen, besc haffen und verarbeiten verfolgt. Das
Methodentraining einem weiteren Sinn zielt die Förderung der Kommunikation und die Teamentwicklung.
Er unterscheidet zwischen Mikromethoden (Lern- und Arbeitstechniken:
rasches Lesen, Markieren, auswendig Lern en, Strukturieren oder Visualisieren
sowie auf die Einübung elementarer Gesp rächs- und Kooperationstechniken wie
Reden in ganzen Sätzen, aktives Zuhören, Kollegen helfen oder Teamregeln beachten) und Makromethoden wie z.B. Projekt, Planspiel, Gruppenarbeit,
Hearing, oder Referat und plädiert für ei n Aneignen im systematischen Fortschritt
von einfach zu schwer.
Im polnisch-tschechischen- Curriculum wurde Kliperts Aufzählung von
Micro- und Macromethoden durch fü r das Hochschulstudium spezifische
Methoden ergänzt (Krajewska-Markiewicz; Lévy-Hillerich, und Serena: Rahmencurriculum : 65).

Makromethoden Micromethoden
Vertraut sein mit
zentralen Makromethoden Beherrschung
elementarer Lern und Arbeitstechniken Beherrschung elementarer
Gesprächs- und Kooperationstechniken
– Arbeitsplatz-
gestaltung – Facharbeit – Fallstudie – Leittextmethode – Metaplanmethode – Planspiel – Postkorb – Präsentations-methode – Problemanalyse – Projektmethode – Referat vor den – Bericht schreiben
– Briefgestaltung – Exzerpieren – Folie gestalten – Fragebögen auswerten – Gliedern/ Ordnen – Heftgestaltung – Kartei anlegen und führen/mit Lernkartei arbeiten – Lernplakat gestalten – Markieren – Aktives Zuhören
– Andere ermutigen – Blitzlicht – Brainstorming/ -writing – Diskussion/ Debatte – Expertenbefragung – Feedback – Fragerunde – Fragetechniken – Freie Rede – Gespräche bei der Kaufvertragsvorbereitung

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Kommilitonen
– Rollenspiel – Selbstevaluation vorbereiten – Sozialstudie – Stationenlernen – Szenario – Mindmapping
– Mnemotechniken – Nachschlagen – Notizen machen – Protokollieren – Selektives Lesen und Hören – Strukturieren – Wandzeitung gestalten – Zitieren – Gesprächsleitung
– Innenkreis/Außenkreis – Internetrecherche – Interviewtechnik – Juniorenfirma – Konflikte regeln – Stichwortmethode – Telefonieren – Virtuelle Firma

Klippert schlägt für die Art des Lesens, Informationsaufnahme /
Informationsbeschaffung Textverarb eitung die Entwicklung von sieben
„elementaren“ Techniken vor, die diese Kompetenz entwickeln sollen: schnelles Lesen, systematisches Lesen, Markieren und Unterstreichen von
Texten, Zusammenfassen von In formationen, Arbeiten mit
Nachschlagewerken, Entwickeln von Fragetechniken, Hinweise zum Bibliothekswesen. (vgl. Klippert 2002: 87)
Für das für das Methodentraining schlägt er eine Progression nach
Schwierigkeitsgrad, die sollte mit elem entaren Lern- und Arbeitstechniken,
wie z.B. Informationen erfassen, b eschaffen und verarb eiten beginnen und
sich in Richtung der Förderung de r Kommunikation und der Teamfähigkeit
entwickeln, wobei die Einübung dies er Methoden und Arbeitstechniken
immer im Zusammenhang mit den zu vermittelnden Inhalten durchgeführt
werden muss.
Im SDU erfolg das Methodentraining nicht von den eigentlichen
Unterrichtseinheiten gesondert, sonder n gleichzeitig mit den zu lösenden
Aufgaben. Für Unterrichtende / Dozent en empfiehlt sich ein gesondertes
Methodentraining für die Bekanntmach ung und Erprobung der verschiedenen
Unterrichtsmethoden, Übungen und Spie le. Auch wenn die Situation einer
Dozentengruppe, die verschiedenen Ü bungs- und Spielphasen durchmacht,
nicht eine hundertprozentige Simulierung der realen Unterrichtssituation darstellen kann, gibt so ein Training ei nen guten Einblick in Vorgänge, die in
der Lernergruppe stattfinden.

PRIMÄRLITERATUR
Krajewska-Markiewicz, Renata; Lévy-H illerich, Dorothea; Serena, Silvia.
Rahmencurriculum für Deutsch als Fremdsprache im studienbegleitenden
Fremdsprachenunterricht an den Universi täten und Hochschulen in Polen, in
der Slowakei und in Tschechien.
http://www.goethe.de/ins/pl/pro/media/curriculum%20_12_12_06.pdf Juli, 2012.
Stănescu, Speran ța. 2004. Ein Rahmencurriculum für den studien-begleitenden DaF-
Unterricht in Rumänien , Bukarest 2004, unveröffentlicht.

257
Sekundärliteratur
Diaconu, Ioana. [2013] „Sind Vorlesungen heute noch vertretbar? Vom Einsatz
alternativer DaF Methoden im Germanistikunterricht“ Kronstädter Beiträge zur
Germanistische Forschung . Passau: Stutz.
Hölscher, Petra; Piepho, Hans-Eberhard; Roche, Jörg. 2006. Handlungsorientierter
Unterricht mit Lernszenarien. Kernfragen zum Spracherwerb . Oberursel:
Finken Verlag GmbH.
Klippert, Heinz. 2002. Methoden-Training. Übungsbausteine für den Unterricht . 12.
Auflage. Weinheim und Basel: Beltz Verlag
Klippert, Heinz. 2001. Kommunikations-Training. Übungsbausteine für den Unterricht II .
Mit Illustrationen von Heinz Krähe. 9. Auflage. Weinheim und Basel: Beltz Verlag.
Klippert, Heinz. 2001. Teamentwicklung im Klassenraum. Übungs-bausteine für
denUnterricht . 4. Auflage. Weinheim und Basel: Beltz Verlag.
Klippert, Heinz. 2000. Pädagogische Schulentwicklung. Planungs- und Arbeitshilfen zur
Förderung einer neuen Lernkultur . Weinheim und Basel: Beltz Verlag.
Levy-Hillerich, Dorothea, Silvia Serena. (2009). Studienbegleitender Deutschunterricht in
Europa. Rückblick und Ausblick: Versuch einer Standortbestimmung . Roma:
ARACNE
editrice S.r.l.

Training Methods in Teaching German as a Foreign Language at
Universities

The justification of the use of action-oriented teaching as a teaching method of
German as a foreign language (SDU) in uni versities has been demonstrated in recent
studies. The concept of SDU – Studienbegleitender Deutschunterricht – concerns language courses in all faculties except phi lology, which are taught alongside other
subjects and are supporting at the same time the training for the work environment.
Since during the action-oriented teaching learning takes place around the model of a complete action, is exemplary and concepts are not incorporation but re-created,
whereby events are combined in new ways, by using mind, skills and feelings (head,
hand, heart) to the same degree, this type teaching requires its own methods. The present paper explores methods of the SDU and their application.

Keywords: SDU, key skills, multidisciplinary skills, training methods

258

259

COMMON ERROR ANALYSIS OF ABSTRACTS AND ITS 
IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACH ING ACADEMIC WRITING 

Dragana VUKOVI Ć-VOJNOVI Ć, Jelena JERKOVI Ć
University of Novi Sad

International professional communication in academic setting comprises
submitting abstracts of scientific research papers across disciplines. This paper examines abstracts as a short academic form, analyzes the most
typical errors in abstracts written by doctoral students at the Faculty of
Science and the Faculty of Technology and gives recommendations how to use obtained information in teaching academic writing at postgraduate level
of study. Errors will be classified according to their type and origin, and
suggestions for alleviating the problems will be presented. Abstracts represent a useful tool for improving writing skills and critical thinking,
especially at university postgraduate level. Students can learn how to
become more informative, concise and persuasive in their writing. The error
analysis will set ground for finding the most effective ways how to master
this useful and important skill.

Keywords : error analysis, academic writing, ab stracts, university education.

1. Introduction

Academic writing is recognized as a ge nre with many subtypes, which we
have already discussed in our previous study on academic writing (Jerkovic
and Vukovic-Vojnovic 2011). It follows a rather strict content structure and format, having a specific style and conventions. Jordan (1997: 266) mentions different types of academic genre in writing: essays, reports, case studies, projects, literature review, exam an swers, research papers/ articles,
dissertations and thesis. What could be added to this list are abstracts, which
also appear as individual types and not only as inte gral parts of scientific
papers, articles or dissertations. Today there are huge electronic databases of
abstracts, so they could be observed as separate pieces of writing. According to Glasman-Deal (2010: 197) the abstracts should persuade the reader to obtain a full copy of a piece of scientific writing.

260
Pedagogically, abstracts are useful tools for developing writing skills in
an ESP course at an academic level. In th e existing university syllabi in Serbia
not much time can be assigned to wr iting. Most of the universities do not
include a full time Academic English or Academic Writing course at any level
of study. Furthermore, most of the currently taught English language courses
at faculties not philologically orientated try to combine some General English
coursework with English for Specific purposes. This is why abstracts, as a
short form, are ideal to be integrated in otherwise not purely academic skills
course.
Another question concerning academic writing is which approach to
apply when teaching writing. According to Jordan (1997: 164-170) all of the
approaches can be summarized into two main types: product and process
approach. The best way for integra ting abstracts would be a combined
approach. First of all, students should b ecome familiar with the best abstract
format and style for their field of study, followed by a guided writing practise. In order to make most of this approach in a short period of time, teachers or writing tutors need to identify problem areas for students and help them make
their writing acceptable and accurate. One of the methods that could help
teachers and students to improve their writing is Error Analysis. After identifying the most common problem areas, students should also develop appropriate amount of practise. When they master language-related problems
they will gain more confidence with writing activities.
In this paper we have focused on error analysis as a helpful tool for
becoming aware of students’ errors and defining sections which are not just incidental mistakes but are real issues to be alleviated. Error analysis was
performed on abstracts which were collected during a more complex research conducted at the Faculty of Technology and the Faculty of Sciences (University of Novi Sad). There were two phases of this research. In the first
phase, abstracts were analysed according to the use of verb tense, the length
and the language of an abstract. Th e second phase consisted of a qualitative
research conducted by the standardized open-ended structured interview based
on the questions and response categori es determined in advance as proposed
by Patton (2002: 349). Finally, error analysis would be considered as the third
phase of this research.

2. Second language acquisition
Error analysis has developed as part of second language acquisition
(SLA) studies. Ellis (1985: 4-5) un derstands second language acquisition as
an interest into the learners of L2 an d the learning situation which is different
for each learner and thus causes the l earning to occur differently for each
individual learner. No difference is made between foreign and second
language acquisition. Second language acquisition looks into the processes of
how learners acquire their knowledge of languages and communication and

261
how they use it to express themselves. Ellis (1985: 6) also points out that one
should be careful with making a di stinction between second language
acquisition and learning and sees SLA as a general term for both 'subconscious and conscious processes by which a language other than the
mother tongue is learnt in a natural or tutored setting'.
Another notion that is in the focus of SLA and is relevant for any error
analysis is the role of the learner' s first language. The differences between
learner's L1 and learner's L2 can greatly influence the acquisition of L2 because learner's knowledge of L1 can interfere in various ways with the learning or acquisition of L2. Firstly, the researchers started comparing L1 and L2 which led to the development of contrastive analysis in 1960s. New
notions emerged such as language transfer – positive and negative transfer.
As Ellis points out (Ellis 1985: 7), the transfer can occur in different ways, namely learners may transfer a rule from L1 into L2 or even avoid a rule in L2
if it does not exist in L1. The problem with Contrastive Analysis was that it tried to generalize the errors that occurred in L2 production even though SLA showed that learning occurs differently for different learners.
Another stage in L1 and L2 studies was 'L2=L1' hypothesis which
assumed that the learning stages of L2 follow the same route as the stages in
L1 acquisition (Ellis 1985: 8). This hypot hesis was tested in two different
ways – through the analysis of learne r errors and through the longitudinal
studies of L2 learners. The first process, which is of interest for this paper,
classified the errors according to wh ether they are developmental errors
related to L1 acquisition or they coul d be linked to contrastive analysis
results. Ellis (1985: 9) states that all these studies showed that there are great similarities between L1 and L2 processes but it was not proven that they were
identical.
Finally, SLA studies deal with five key elements, as proposed by Ellis
(1985: 16-17):
1. Situational factors , which together with the linguistic input create an
environment for language learning;
2. Input , which determines the process of language acquisition and the
question is to which extent;
3. Learner differences, which potentially influence how L2 is learned and
acquired;
4. Learner process , or different cognitive a nd linguistic strategies the
learner applies in L2 learning;
5. Linguistic output, which is the language the L2 learner produces in a
systematic but also variable way, depending on different situational or
linguistic contexts.
In this paper, the focus is on the linguistic output or the analysis of the
learner language among the learners with not so many differences in terms of
their language learning backgrounds and th e situational context in which they
use L2.

262

3. Error Analysis

According to Corder, when one st udies the standard works on the
teaching of modern languages many aut hors do not pay enough attention to
the question of learners’ errors and their correction (Corder 1981). As Rod
Ellis cites, it was not until the 1970s that Error Analysis (EA) became a
recognized part of applied linguistics, a development that owed much to the
work of Corder (Ellis 1994: 48). Previously, linguists observed learners’ errors, divided them into categories, tried to see which ones were common and which were not, but not much atten tion was drawn to their role in second
language acquisition.
Among many major concepts introduced by Corder (1967: 161-169), one
of the most important distinctions is between systematic and non-systematic
errors. Non-systematic errors are occasional memory lapses or slips of the tongues (or pens) usually due to physical states (e.g. tiredness) or psychological conditions (such as strong em otions). Since such errors usually
occur in one’s native language, the l earners become aware of them the
moment they occur and can correct them with more or less complete assurance. Corder calls them mistakes and states that they are not significant
to the process of language learning. On the other hand, systematic errors reveal the learners’ underlying knowledg e of the language, which occur in a
second language; they occur because the l earners do not know what is correct
and thus errors cannot be self-corrected. So, mistakes refer to learner’s
performance, while errors refer to learner’s competence. An additional problem
is to discover what a learner’s mistake is and what a learner’s error is.
Corder (1981) states that errors are relevant to the teacher (showing
students’ progress), to the research er (indicating the ways of language
acquisition and learning strategies), and to the learner (to recognize problem
areas). In other words, many researches were conducted not only in order to understand errors themselves, but also in order to use what is learned from
error analysis and apply it to improve language competence.
Corder cites Carrol (1955) who claims that when learners make errors,
the most efficient way of teaching the learners is not by correcting but by
letting them discover the correct forms. This claim tells us that the emphasis is on the process of searching for the correct linguistic form (Carroll 1955 cited in Corder 1967: 161-169). Karra menti ons the work of Claude Hagege (1996)
who calls it self-correction (Karra 2006). According to Hagege, self-
correction is preferable to correction by the teacher, especially if the latter is
done in a severe or intimidating way. This, of course, does not mean that corrections should be avoided since teacher’s duty is to teach the rules of L2. Furthermore, Freiermuth (1997) suggests a hierarchy of errors – according to seriousness.

263
Thanks to Corder, numerous studies were conducted in SLA, since the
researchers recognized the importance of errors in SLA and started to
examine them in order to achieve a better understanding of SLA processes –
how learners acquire an L2. Dulay and Burt (1974) proposed for example, the
following three categories of errors: de velopmental, interference and unique.
Stenson in Ellis (1974) proposed the category of induced errors, which result
from incorrect instruction of the language.
One of the major problems, as stated by Ellis (1985: 9), is that learner
errors may not be entirely systematic a nd rule-based. This is explained by the
fact that learners produce L2 different ly in different situations and under
different external influences, so the errors that occur are not due to the lack of
competence or wrongly acquired rule and in another situation no errors would
occur in the L2 production of the same L2 learner. Ellis calls this variable
rules, or 'if…then' rules. The language-learner production can also be dependable on the linguistic context when certain errors occur in one type of sentences and not the other.
Language-learner errors also depend on individual differences and the
five factors that are relevant are age, aptitude, cognitive style, motivation and
personality (Ellis 1985:10). Children and adults do not learn the language in
the same way in terms that adults have a greater memory capacity and can focus on more formal language aspects, but the stages they pass in the
language learning process are not differe nt in any age. The aptitude is
understood as a special ability for language learning, but it is not yet clear
which cognitive abilities are related to aptitude. Motivation and needs are
related to language learning in the wa y that L2 learning or acquisition slows
down or stops when the learner has met their communication needs. This was
called fossilization by Selinker ( 1972) (quoted in Ellis 1985: 11).
One of the theories of SLA that dealt w ith the explanation of errors is the
formation of habits which was explai ned behaviourist psychologists such as
Watson (1924) and Skinner (1957) (cit ed in Ellis 1985: 20-21). A simple
explanation is that 'old habits get in the way of learning new habits' (Ellis
1985: 21). As we have already mentioned the notions of interference and transfer are important for explaining language-learner errors. Transfer is
positive when L1 and L2 have the same habits, and negative when they are
different and cause inhibition in learning the correct L2 habit. By comparing the learner's first language and th eir second language, by identifying,
describing and classifying the differences can help predict areas of potential errors. This is the essence of Contrastiv e Analysis which was developed in the
late 1960s. On the other hand, Error Anal ysis which developed as part of SLA
and Contrastive Analysis starts from the other end and does not try to predict errors, but explain their causes and nature.
It can be concluded that error analysis provides information on
interlanguage or learner's language – the linguistic type of errors and it shows
the developmental stage of the learner (Ellis 1985: 52). It can also show

264
psycholinguistic strategies used in in terlanguage. The main psycholinguistic
causes of errors proposed by Richards (1974) as given in Ellis (1985: 53) are:
1. Overgeneralization , when a linguistic feature does not carry any
obvious contrast for the learner
2. Ignorance of rule restrictions , when the learner applies a rule to
contexts in L2 where they do not exist
3. Incomplete application of rules, when the learned did not manage to
learn more advanced structures
4. False concept hypothesis when the distinctions that exist in the target
language are wrongly understood and learned.
Having observed various approaches to Error Analysis, it can be inferred
that EA plays an important role in SLA , but it can also be successfully used in
the teaching process. In this paper, we will focus more on the traditional Error
Analysis and its pedagogical implications in academic writing.

4. Research Methodology

As it has already been mentioned, this paper is based on a previous
research that was conducted at the Faculty of Technology and the Faculty of Sciences (University of Novi Sad) by the authors (Jerkovic and Vukovic-Vojnovic 2011). The research involved interviews on writing skills and the criteria and elements analysis of alr eady published abstracts. The abstracts
submitted for the research were written by five PhD students from each
Faculty making the total of twenty abstracts.
Our research interest is mainly on the language output and the PhD
students who were chosen share comm on language learning backgrounds and
the situational context in which they use English as the Second Language.
Error analysis was conducted in the following stages:
1. Corpus collection (the collection of PhD student abstracts)
2. Describing and interviewing the participants in the research (the
second phase)
3. Data description (in the first phase the structure, style and overall
language of the abstract was anal ysed and in the third phase error
analysis was conducted)
4. Explanation and classification of errors in the corpus
5. Pedagogical implications and conclusions
Firstly, errors were marked and classified according to their type, whether
they belong to grammatical, lexical or orthographic errors. Some attention
was paid to style and register of the sentences.

5. Discussion of interview results

In this part of the paper, it is important to summarize the results of the
second phase of the previous research, pr oviding background information on

265
interviewees. The first three demographic questions of the interview guide
showed that nine interviewees had st udied English for 10 and more than 10
years and only one technology PhD student studied it for five years. Consequently, most of them consid er their level of knowledge as upper
intermediate or advanced, and only one of the students considers it to be at an
intermediate level. The second question showed us that almost all students
attended grammar school before enrolling at the university, only two of them
completed high school of economics and one of them completed high school
of technical sciences. Finally, the interview showed that all of the interviewees had previously obtained graduate degrees in their respective
subjects (tourism or technology). Furthermore, the questionnaire also showed
us that all of the interviewees wrote abstracts very often and they wrote them
on their own.
Generally, the students are very well-informed about abstract writing,
mainly through the internet – by read ing scientific papers and abstracts in
their respective scientific field or fro m their senior and more experienced
colleagues. As far as the literature on academic English is concerned, only
two tourism PhD students used reference books on academic writing.

6. Error Analysis Results and Discussion

There are many different ways of classifying errors according to various
authors and criteria. For the purpose of this research we have used one of the
most frequently used classification accor ding to Dulay, Burt and Krashen
(1982) which indicate four major linguistic categories of errors:
1. Orthography (spelling)
2. Lexicon and semantics (vocabulary and meaning)
3. Syntax and morphology (grammar)
4. Discourse (style)
In the following chapters, we are going to mention the most frequently
found errors in PhD students’ abstracts and try to give the most reasonable causes for them, propose ways to overcome them as well as the pedagogical implications for teachers, syllabus designers and textbook writers.
Although the first category of errors is orthography, it is necessary to be
explained here that all of the students th at were engaged in this research used
spelling check at their computers; th at is why we have not found many
orthographic errors in the analyzed abstracts. The punctuation sub-category consisted mainly of errors in comma use, the main source of which was a
failure to mark off a main clause af ter a long initial sentence element and in
relative clauses. Here are some examples of comma omission:
(1) According to the observed results alumina
supported bimetallic
catalyst based on,
(2) In these approaches it is widely acknowledged that at the regional
level…

266
Although our results did not show th at students have problem with the
correct English spelling due to spelling check software, we have to emphasize
here that the results would be different if the students had to write their abstracts
by pen during the lesson. A number of errors could be assigned to the lack of time or not paying much attention to it, but a number of them are surely the result of the lack of competence or they were mislear ned. All this could also be explained
by the fact, that the Serbian language follow the rule of one le tter in the alphabet
corresponds to the one phoneme, so the words are written in the way they are pronounced. For example, the word ‘kosa’ (Br.E. ‘hair’/ [h εə]) is pronounced
[kosa]. This means that Serbian L1 learne rs do not have problems in L1 spelling
once they acquired the alphabet and basic morphological rules.
Orthographic errors could be reduced by increasing student exposure to high-
quality English texts – such as reading authentic scientific English texts written by native speakers. Furthermore, much mo re class time needs to be dedicated to
writing practice. As we have already ment ioned, abstracts are a useful tool for
practising writing because they are short, concise with a strict form and style.
They also provide realistic writing practise suitable for ESP students.
Secondly, regarding the category of lexicon, a very frequent error found in
the sample is the incorrect use of preposi tions. Such errors were expected since
Serbian and English prepositions fo r place, time and manner are somewhat
similar. On the other hand, there are completely different uses of English
prepositions or they are sometimes not used at all. Here are some examples:
(3) Incorrect: This resulted as
changes of temperature…
Correct: This resulted in…
(4) Incorrect: The results depend of different method
Correct: The results depend on different method
(5) Incorrect (omission of preposition): … regardless ____ economic
benefits
(6) Incorrect (omission of preposition): …the congress destinations
worldwide are competing in bidd ing ____ international congresses
…
In terms of the choice of words, st udents have shown a rather high level
of competence. This is not surprising, because PhD students are expected to
read scientific papers and academic litera ture in English and they are quite
familiar with the key terminology in their respective fields.
As far as grammar is concerned, th e overwhelming majority of errors
appeared in the form of article misu se. This is expected since Serbian
grammar lacks this category. The most frequent was article omission in the
structure ‘ the____ of ______ ’ , and not the confusion of definite and
indefinite article. For example:
(7) _____ effects of immersion time,
(8) _____ population of Vojvodina Province
(9) _____ influence of natural increase
(10) _____obtained results showed that,

267
Since the problem of article misuse in English for foreign language
speakers is generally the category that is fully acquired after many years of studying, the obtained results were e xpected. We can only propose to teachers
to pay enough attention to article pr actice even at the university level.
Word order cannot be called a very frequent error in PhD students’
abstracts, but we found several sentences with the wrong word order. Some of
the examples are as follows:
(11) According to the Strategy of Tourism Development of the Republic of
Serbia (2005), congress tourism is recognized as a quick win product that could contribute in a short period of 3 to 5 years to tourism development and image of Serbia.
(12) It is of great importance with re gard to further applications of the
carbon nanotubes, the enhanced mes oporosity of the purified CNTs sample.
The smaller number of word order errors can be attributed to the fact that
abstracts are short, concise forms so the students did not have enough scope to develop longer, more complex sentences.
The problem of subject – verb agreement is already mastered at this level
of study, so we found only two examples of such an error. They are the following:
(13) The carbon nanotubes growth were
carried out by flowing the
mixture of C 2H4 and nitrogen over the catalyst powder in a horizontal
oven. (14) …in the period since the last census 2002 to 2007 the natural
population growth was negative, so that the migration are
determining
factor in future population growth in Kac. In the Example 13, the student made an error probably due to the plural
form immediately preceding growth and made S/V agreement between ‘nanotubes’ and ‘were’, and not ‘growth’ . The error in the next example is
caused by L1 transfer, since the word ‘migration’ in Serbian is more often
used in plural form ‘migracije’.
Regarding the category of stylistic erro rs, we should say that such errors
are numerous and that style or discourse should be much more paid attention
to at the university level. First of a ll, we should mention that almost all
abstracts lack introduction, background or at least an introductory sentence. In most of them, the aim and method are given in the first sentence. On the other hand, two of them are too long, with a lot of unnecessary details and with the
long introductory paragraphs, which us ually represent the actual introduction
of the whole paper.
Apart from this, we also found sever al stylistic errors referring to
verbosity – using too many words w ith a lot of unnecessary repetition:
(15) In more and more
significant market race…
This example clearly indicates the la ck of knowledge of coherent and
accurate written expression, which should be practiced more at the university
level.

268
7. Conclusion and Pedagogical Implications
It can be concluded that Error Analysis provides useful information for
researchers as well as for teachers of fo reign languages. Researchers can learn
about interlanguage or learner’s language and look into the influence of L1 on
acquiring a second or a foreign language (L2). They can make
generalizations about errors for certain groups of speakers, but it has also been
proven that some errors are dependa ble on situational, linguistic or
psycholinguistic factors. This is why E rror Analysis needs to be continually
conducted in different learning and teachi ng situations, at different levels of
study and with different groups of learners.
For teachers, error analysis points to the most frequent and relevant
mistakes and errors that students make , and helps them plan the teaching and
learning processes more effectively. In our study, PhD students showed high competence in writing scientific abstracts, which was partially expected if we
take into account their age and educati onal background. However, some areas
of language still need to be practised further. The main issues for these
students were:
• definite article omission
• misuse or omission of prepositions
• stylistic errors
It seems that some linguistic and stylistic issues still have to be practiced
further even at higher levels of langua ge study. If courses in academic writing
and/or academic English are not part of curriculum at non-philological faculties, foreign language teachers still have to find ways to practice
academic writing skills. This can easily be done through practicing abstracts
writing, which as short, concise forms ca n easily be integrated into any ESP
course at university level.

References
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Corder, Stephen Pit. 1981. Error Analysis and Interlanguage . Oxford: OUP.
Dulay, Heidi and Marina Burt. 1974. "Error and strategies in child second language
acquisition", TESOL Quaterly 8 : 129-136.
Dulay, Heidi, Marina Burt, and Stephen Krashen. 1982. Language Two . Oxford:
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Ellis, Rod 1985. Understanding Second Language Acquisition . Oxford: OUP.
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Freiermuth, Mark R. "L2 Error Correction: Criteria and Techniques", The Language
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