Volume 54, Issue 1

The purpose of our current research is to see how Relevance Theory can handle one specific translation problem, namely strategic ambiguous structures. Concisely, we aim to provide a conceptual framework as to how the translator should cope with a pervasive ambiguity problem at the discoursal level. The point of departure from probably all previous models of analysis is that a relevance-theoretic analysis would, we believe, require that a “good” translation be not the one that represents an interpretation of the text, but the one which leaves the door open for all interpretations which the original text provides evidence for. Hence, the role of translator is not to ‘interpret’ but to ‘translate’ . If this is true, ambiguity resolution should not be a viable alternative. In other words, what the translator should do is empower the audience with all it takes to let them work out all the explicatures (linguistically inferred meanings) and entertain themselves with the implicatures (contextually inferred meanings) of the original. Direct Translation, along the lines laid down by Gutt (1991/2000), is the method of translation which can, we believe, bring about the desired results because “it tries to provide readers with contextual information that enables them to draw their own inferences” (Smith 2000: 92).

Spanish dialects show substantial variation in coda s weakening. Yet, to provide a comprehensive treatment of this phenomenon, a bigger prosodic constituent than just the coda position should be analysed. Crucially, two aspirating varieties of Spanish are considered. The Granada dialect weakens s to [h] inside words, at word edges and at prefix edges. The process may be either transparent ( esto [éh.to] ‘this’, des-calzar [deh.kal.sáɾ] ‘to unshoe’, las cosas [lah.kó.sah] ‘the things’) or opaque ( des-hecho [de.hé.tʃo] ‘undone’, las aguas [la.há.ɣwah] ‘the waters’). Chilean Spanish, on the other hand, presents transparent ( esto [éh.to] ‘this’, des-calzar [deh.kal.sáɾ] ‘to unshoe’) and opaque ( las aguas [la.há.ɣwa] ‘the waters’) aspiration, as well as deletion ( las cosas [la.kó.sa] ‘the things’), and no aspiration across a prefix boundary ( des-hecho [de.sé.tʃo] ‘undone’). The reported variable behaviour calls for an integrated approach to segmental weakening across all prosodic constituents, and for a revision of the present understanding of contiguity. The boundary between the prefix and the stem is protected by the grammar despite the weak coda position of the prefix-final s , therefore the domain of application of the C ONTIGUITY constraint should be extended to the supramorphemic level.

There is a consensus in the literature that a negative polarity item is an expression that requires a licenser varying from overt negation to questions or conditionals (see Benmamoun 1997; Kelepir 2001; Kumar 2006; Kural 1997; Laka 2013; Mahajan 1990; Vasishth 1999). However, the licensing conditions of NPIs might have different accounts, which has not been fully discussed within the literature. This study aims to discuss whether phasemateness (in the sense of Chomsky 2001 and further) might have a direct influence on NPI-licensing. Based on preliminary observations, the fact that the derivation will crash if a domain containing negative polarity items is spelled out before being licensed by a negative verb suggests that licensing of negative polarity items may have to do with their positions in the derivation in coordination with the accessibility of the spell-out domains as well as with asymmetrical c-command relationships. The analysis has also an extension and an implication as to such theoretical problem as phasehood of DPs.

A large body of academic literature (e.g. Fishman 1977, 1999; Giles and Johnson 1981; Romaine 2000, among others) claims that language is one of the most significant markers of ethnic identification and that it plays a crucial role not only in the external perception of an ethnic group by outsiders but also in the selfidentification of an ethnic group. In a minority environment, sense of ethnic identity and language retention are connected very tightly, which is why it is of extreme importance to study attitudes towards the dialects of a language and value judgments about them. The paper presents the results of a research into attitudes toward dialects, conducted with approximately three hundred 5th and 8th grade pupils (age 12 and 15, respectively) attending school in Hungarian in two regions of Vojvodina, Serbia. It explores the subjects’ local features of identity, given that the research was conducted in eight different localities. The results of the research serve as a sound basis for developing use-centered, functional-situational mother tongue education of Hungarian minority pupils living in Serbia, since the current curriculum completely disregards the language varieties of many Hungarian minority pupils brought up and living in rural areas, who acquire and use the dialect spoken in the family.

Attitude is an important resource for courtroom discourse to perform interpersonal functions. This paper analyzes the attitude expressions in the audio recording transcripts of eight trials and finds that: judgement is the most important way for courtroom participants to express attitude, followed by appreciation, while affect is the least frequently used. In the four criminal trials, the defendants express attitude most frequently and most negatively; in the four non-criminal trials, the plaintiffs express attitude most frequently and most negatively. In the debate section of criminal trials, judgements of legality and capacity and non-judgement invoking appreciations are employed by the prosecutors and defense attorneys to express attitude and debate each other. Non-judgement invoking appreciations are used not only to evaluate the evidence, but also to introduce substantial statements, serving as an intermediate link between the two.