Belgrade English Language and Literature Studies

Contributors

2023-12-26T16:33:21+01:00

Hearer’s real-time aspect recognition in English as a compositional-aspect language vis-à-vis aspect recognition in verbal-aspect languages

2023-09-15T18:10:30+02:00

This paper deals with the way the hearer recognizes in real-time speech the aspect of a sentence or clause in English as perfective or imperfective. Due to the compositional effectuation of aspect in English, the aspect (perfective/imperfective) of an English sentence is explicated through an elaborate interplay between referents of situation-participant NPs and the referent of the verb, plus a possible impact from adverbials. This interplay involves the need for the hearer to wait until the end of a sentence or clause in compositional-aspect languages to identify the aspect of the situation and forms a stark contrast with verbal-aspect languages, where the aspect value of the verb can be clear even from the very beginning of a sentence.

WHAT ARE PSEUDO-ANGLICISMS AND HOW CAN WE DEFINE THEM?

2023-12-26T13:23:33+01:00

Although it is a well-known fact that many languages borrow words and phrases from English, there are also many words coined from English elements that do not exist in varieties of English used by native speakers. These words are described as anglicisms in a broader sense, but since they are created by speakers of other languages, contain English elements, but do not appear in English, they are often referred to as pseudo-anglicisms. Pseudo-anglicisms differ across languages in terms of how they are formed and how they are defined by local linguists. It is possible to say that pseudo-anglicisms are often compounds, but according to various linguists, some languages also use derivation, semantic shift, or other processes to create them. In this paper, we will analyze different types of words described as pseudo-anglicisms in several European languages and attempt to provide a comprehensive definition based on their common features.

Conceptual Integration in Altered Carbon Occasionalisms

2022-08-31T22:35:58+02:00

Since language has to adapt and follow technological advancement, terminology is much different than twenty years ago when Altered Carbon, a science fiction novel, was written. This paper explores its occasionalisms through the lens of cognitive linguistics, specifically Fauconnier and Turner’s theory of conceptual integration, with the aim of determining the entries’ integration network type (simplex, mirror, single-scope, double-scope). Within each, special attention was paid to the recurring blend between the human and the technological. It was assumed and later proven that double-scope is the most frequent network, and that the conceptual meaning of human + machine occurs in every network type, confirming that science fiction requires cognitive blending in order to understand the integration between these frequently reoccurring mental spaces.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON IMAGE-TEXT RELATIONS IN BIG PHARMA’S CODES OF ETHICS

2023-09-13T14:52:30+02:00

The study of image-text interconnections offers an interdisciplinary approach to understand and contextualise visuals. The present research explores image-text relations in codes of ethics (CoEs), which are corporate documents issued by corporations. Drawing from a generalised system of image-text relations (Martinec & Salway 2005), quantitative and qualitative analyses are conducted to illustrate the type of image-text relation implemented in CoEs by companies operating in the global pharmaceutical sector, the so-called Big Pharma industry. Findings suggest that visual type does not necessarily determine a fixed pattern of image-text relations in CoEs. While pictures, drawings and tables display a clear, recurring trend, graphics do not.

The Effect of Video-Watching in The EFL Classroom

2023-06-23T15:00:16+02:00

This paper presents the research conducted in a Vilnius middle school related to the effect of watching educational animated videos on the English acquisition process. For this purpose, 98 fifth- and seventh-graders participated in the research by taking a pre-test before watching a video three times, and then taking a post-test to check their improvement in different foreign language proficiency areas, all related to the shown video. The results overwhelmingly demonstrate the effectiveness of watching this sort of video content in the language learning process during adolescence, provided that the content is interesting and useful. In addition, the same students filled out a questionnaire on their preferences and their opinion about the improvement of foreign language skills related to video watching. The results provide a valuable insight into the EFL acquisition in the era of digital education.

PROVIDING FEEDBACK ON STUDENTS’ WRITING IN EFL CLASSES WITH #LANCSBOX

2023-08-10T12:27:41+02:00

Heavy workloads do not always allow EFL teachers to be sole feedback providers, so there is a need to search for tools to facilitate the feedback provision process. This exploratory case study regarding students’ writing in EFL classes adopted a corpus-based approach. It used #LancsBox, a corpus tool, to analyse posts written on Moodle by Lithuanian students of English, as the study aimed to see what kind of information could be received and then provided to the students. The analysis revealed certain spelling variations, collocations, and patterns of information. The article suggests that corpus-driven analysis of written texts could be used for providing indirect feedback to higher-proficiency EFL students to foster their ability to correct their errors independently.

THE PEDAGOGY OF HANDWRITING IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF RESOURCES AND CHALLENGES IN SERBIA’S ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

2023-10-24T11:46:50+02:00

Establishing good handwriting habits in the earliest grades is very important for the entire schooling. It affects school performance and promotes learning. In Serbia, pupils start learning Cyrillic letters in Grade 1, while the Serbian Latin alphabet is taught in the second term in Grade 2. When it comes to ELT, there is no official introduction to the English Roman alphabet and children are expected to acquire the new script from Grade 3 and use it efficiently. In this paper, we analysed the learning resources for English (student’s books and workbooks) used in Grades 1 and 2 to determine the type of writing activities given, whether they provide sufficient support to develop writing skills, and how they can be improved. Based on the results, recommendations are given to improve the teaching instruction.

Editors’ Preface

2023-12-26T12:07:46+01:00

THE PATHWAYS OF EZRA POUND’S POETRY IN SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO

2023-12-26T15:01:32+01:00

The paper aims to provide an introduction to the study of the reception of Ezra Pound’s poetry in Serbia, and Montenegro. It also aims to examine the possible influences of his poetry on some Serbian and Montenegrin authors. I believe that his poetry is still alive and continues to evolve into new works and shapes – therein lies much of its challenge and fascination. An overview of the changing contexts for publishing Ezra Pound’s poetry and reactions to it highlights a strong response from Serbian scholars but the modest reception of his poetry in Montenegro. This provides a vital contextual setting for discussing the reception not only of his poetry, but also of American literature in Serbia and Montenegro.

Otherness and Sharing: Space, Emotions, and Discourse in Elizabeth von Arnim's The Enchanted April

2023-07-24T10:28:41+02:00

This paper deals with Elizabeth von Arnim’s 1922 novel The Enchanted April as an example of modernist travel narrative. The novel focuses on four different women vacationing together in Italy for a month and the present analysis aims to address how these protagonists experience otherness – of the Italian place, their own emotions, and one another. To this effect, the analysis relies on the theoretical concept of heterotopia and descriptions of Christian love. Close reading of selected excerpts, which prominently feature free indirect discourse (as a signifier of otherness in the text), reveals that otherness can be overcome through sharing and love mediated through the specific (heterotopic) spatial setting, which bears the aspects of sacredness and the potential for transformation.

KUREISHI’S HYBRID IDENTITIES - THE BLACK ALBUM AND MY SON THE FANATIC

2022-05-07T19:11:58+02:00

Hanif Kureishi’s novel The Black Album and the short story My Son the Fanatic depict contemporary Britain swamped in a religious explosion of radical Islam. They also illustrate white British hypocrisy and the constant molestation of hybrid immigrants. Due to their skin colour, they are exposed to humiliation regularly. The hostile behaviour of white Brits affects their maturation, forcing them to act in a different way. The goal of this paper is to analyze these two literary works and their protagonists as the epitome of hybrid identity, in the tradition of the postcolonial Bildungsroman in order to show that, for them, the only acceptable way is the third way.

TESTIMONIES OF TRAUMA AND POSSIBILITIES OF HEALING IN OCEAN VUONG'S ON EARTH WE'RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS (2019)

2023-09-09T13:18:20+02:00

The present paper explores the concept of trauma and its intergenerational transmission in Ocean Vuong’s semi-autobiographical novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019). This paper aims to present a study of the Vietnamese American immigrant experience within the context of literary trauma studies and argue for both the transgressive power of trauma and the potential of writing to effect healing. Family becomes the space of the intergenerational transmission of trauma, but also a locus of transformation with Vuong highlighting the intimacy that also defines the family members’ relationships. The potential of strong familial bonds and intimate relationships to counteract a legacy of violence and precarity is explored, alongside generic experimentation undertaken by the author.

REVERSAL OF ROLES BETWEEN MEN AND MACHINES IN WILFRED OWEN’S POEM “THE LAST LAUGH”

2023-02-28T17:13:19+01:00

The present article examines “The Last Laugh” by Wilfred Owen from the perspective of utopian studies. It explores the fact that, in this poem, the roles of men (soldiers) and machines (WWI mechanical weapons) are reversed compared to what they should be like according to the Baconist view of what a normal relationship between humans and machines should be like in a utopia. The said role reversal is based on the personification of weapons and the passivisation of soldiers. The author of this article argues that “The Last Laugh” victimises the three dying soldiers it presents and simultaneously makes their deaths seem futile. The latter, nihilistic message is particularly important because it is closely related to the poem’s anti-utopian aspect which, basically, boils down to the idea that mankind’s machine-making genius does not guarantee the creation of a perfect society but that it may instead only amass the quantity of human suffering.

MAY SINCLAIR AND HER ILLUSTRATORS

2023-08-08T19:37:14+02:00

Before the advent of visual media, illustrations were striving to show in images what the written text intended to tell in words. In addition to their semiotic function as highlighting devices for particular contexts and characters’ attitudes in the work of fiction, illustrations exude aesthetic feelings and states of mind which may at times even interfere with the meaning of the illustrated text. The present paper intends to negotiate the effects of the novelist/illustrator interactions on the readers’ reception of the works of May Sinclair, especially in the context of the representation of gender relations. The topic of collaboration will mainly be analysed within Sinclair’s text, as this interaction is itself the subject matter in some of her major works.

‘Atrocious Lusts’: The Vampire and Transgressive Sexuality in Polidori, Le Fanu, and Rice

2023-08-15T12:25:21+02:00

Gothic literature has always tackled and played with various anxieties present in contemporary culture, often projecting those anxieties onto the figure of the vampire. One of such ever-present themes that the Gothic deals with is sexuality and the fears of changing norms and moral values regarding it, coupled with anxieties related to shifting gender norms and family structures. This paper aims to give an overview of how the Gothic genre deals with transgressive sexuality and the breaking of gender norms. The works discussed here are selected based on how historically important and culturally prominent they are. ‘The Vampyre’ is the first prominent vampire story in English literature, and deals heavily with the titular vampire’s sexual voraciousness. ‘Carmilla’ is the first prominent Gothic story to explicitly deal with lesbianism, while Interview with the Vampire is the most culturally relevant vampire story, and the first prominent one to openly embrace homosexuality. These works are analysed and compared to gain insight into how the representation of transgressive sexuality in the genre changed over time.

Zenia as a Canadian Monster in Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride

2023-09-13T14:13:15+02:00

This paper examines the character of Zenia in The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood, focusing on the elements of the novel that are characteristic of Canadian literature. These motifs, which include the split attitude towards nature, the double position of the colonizer and the colonized, victimhood and the treatment of otherness, as well as a sense of inferiority in relation to both Europe and the United States, are examined in an attempt to shed light on the way Atwood uses them to construct Zenia as a fantastically powerful adversary to her three protagonists. Bearing in mind that Atwood has argued that the perceived dullness of Canada might be only a disguise, this paper aims to demonstrate how The Robber Bride’s monstrous Zenia brings those hidden hauntings to the forefront.

IN FAERY LANDS FORLORN: THE FANTASTIC NARRATIVE POETRY OF QUEEN’S EARLY LYRICS

2021-10-06T13:46:02+02:00

Popular music lyrics and mainstream poetry share many similarities. They can both be analysed as poetry, using traditional theoretical tools of such interpretation. The paper focuses on early narrative songs by the band Queen, which all feature fantastic characters and seem to share the same setting. They can be interpreted as parts of the same story that takes place in Freddie Mercury’s imaginary land of Rhye. This paper argues that the songs in question can be understood and analysed as narrative poetry, with the focus on narrative elements such as story, storytelling, narrative formulae, dynamic motion, or narrative intensity (Kenner). Furthermore, importance will be placed on the songs’ intertextual elements, since they help place the songs within the larger literary canon and reinforce their status as poetry. Since music and lyrics create meaning together, special attention will, whenever necessary, also be given to the musical element of the songs.

Process and Product, Transfer and Adaptation Proper, Real-World Practice

2023-09-08T14:14:24+02:00

Understanding the development of adaptation studies and the restrictions, requirements, and possibilities of literature-to-film adaptations enables an effective engagement with adaptations of narrative literature into film. An overview of the disparate approaches to defining adaptations, of Robert Stam’s reevaluation of adaptations on the basis of ‘intertextual dialogism’, and of Linda Hutcheon’s layered understanding of adaptations as processes and products sets up the essential framework for understanding text-to-screen adaptations. The demands for transfer and adaptation proper within adaptations of literary texts to films, and the similarities and differences between cinematic and literary codes complement the essential framework for effectively evaluating text-to-screen adaptations.