Sociolects

The article concerns the functioning of the specialized language in statement of journalist, who covers live broadcast of sports competitions. On the basis of observations of the verbal layer of volleyball matches telecasts the author concludes that professional forms are mandatory elements of the commentator’s communique. They not only enable a precise terming techniques or sports actions, but also condition the simultaneity of the journalistic narration and games presented to the viewer.

The theoretical framework of this paper is based upon the views of Polish and Anglo-Saxon sociolinguists on the concepts of sociolect and register. In the main section
the author gives a brief overview of the language of soccer and distinguishes 10 subvarieties of this language, which differ from each other mainly in lexico-grammatical as well
as stylistic features. Finally, the author attempts to categorize each of these subvarieties as either a sociolect or a register.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the scope of the following terms: język specjalistyczny, język specjalny, język fachowy, język profesjonalny, język zawodowy, profesjolekt, technolekt (language for special purposes, specialist language, special language, expert language, professional language, occupational language, professiolect, technolect), which are used interchangeably in the Polish linguistic literature even though their denotations are not the same. The semantic (in)compatibility of the above terms was investigated in the following stages: (1) explaining the meaning of the expressions without their theoretical context, i.e. the analysis of the meanings of specific components of the terms as established in general Polish; (2-3) interpretation of explanations and specifications functioning in dictionaries containing linguistic terminology and in theoretical studies; (4) formulating a proposal of distinguishing the concepts by defining the scopes of the terms and the relationships between them.

Celem artykułu jest analiza zakresu nazw: język specjalistyczny, język specjalny, język fachowy, język profesjonalny, język zawodowy, profesjolekt, technolekt, które są wymiennie stosowane w polskiej literaturze lingwistycznej, pomimo iż ich denotaty nie są tożsame. Kwestię semantycznej (nie)kompatybilności wymienionych form zbadano etapowo: (1) przybliżenie sensu sformułowań w oderwaniu od ich teoretycznego obciążenia, tzn. analiza ugruntowanych w polszczyźnie ogólnej znaczeń poszczególnych składników nazw; (2-3) interpretacja objaśnień i uściśleń funkcjonujących w słownikach zawierających terminologię lingwistyczną oraz w opracowaniach teoretycznych; (4) sformułowanie propozycji rozgraniczenia pojęć poprzez wytyczenie zakresów badanych nazw i określenie łączących ich relacji.

Polish and Russian Slang Vocabulary


The book’s subject matter are the means employed for communication in unofficial situations when the information to be conveyed is by nature more or less confidential and expressive and emphasises the existence of a common world, of a group designating itself as (US) and opposing another (THEM) most frequently as a result of age (youth) and the profession practiced, chiefly the way of spending time though here not merely free time.  These means of communication are not separate languages competing with national languages; they are unable and have no desire to fully replace these, for they are a part of them: a part which though not recognised as model or standard cannot be denied liveliness as a tool. With regard to their practical nature and brevity they may even appear at times to be more effective in situations where time is money, where a patient’s health is at stake, when it is necessary to quickly find the perpetrator of a crime or to pass on other forms of information in secret. Some words and phrases may even experience elevation and become accepted by the users of the national language as being generally understood, while for others no such fate awaits, for they are deemed to be unnecessary, dated or disturbing.

Das Ziel dieser Lizentiatsarbeit mit dem Titel „Sprache des polnischen männlichen homosexuellen Milieus und ihre deutsche Übersetzung im Roman „Lubiewo“ von Michał Witkowski“ ist die Analyse der Sprache der homosexuellen Männer, insbesondere des Wortschatzes und der Merkmale dieser Sprache. Das Thema, die Ziele und die Arbeitsmethoden werden im ersten Kapitel definiert. Begriffe, die im Zusammenhang mit dem Thema der Arbeit relevant sind, werden im zweiten Kapitel beschrieben. Im dritten Kapitel werden Übersetzungsmethoden von Slang präsentiert. Das vierte, empirische Kapitel analysiert die von männlichen Homosexuellen gesprochene Sprache. Der letzte Teil der Arbeit ist ein polnisch-deutsches Wörterbuch mit der Auswahl charakteristischer Vokabeln aus dem Roman „Lubiewo“.

Cette contribution s’attache à la problématique de la traduction d’une variante linguistique. Concrètement nous analysons la traduction néerlandaise du « français-tirailleur », à partir de 18 extraits de quatre textes d’auteurs francophones africains de la première génération. Partant du constat que les théories traductologiques de l’équivalence sociolinguistique ne permettent pas de trouver une issue à l’impasse pour ce qui est de la traduction en néerlandais du français-tirailleur, nous argumentons que, dans le corpus étudié, la stratégie de l’équivalence linguistique appliquée par les traducteurs néerlandophones peut s’expliquer dans le cadre de la théorie du Skopos. L’équivalence linguistique permet en effet de produire dans les traductions néerlandaises les mêmes connotations qui sont attribuées au français-tirailleur dans l’original.

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This contribution focuses on the translation issues that arise when translating linguistic variants. More concretely, it analyses the Dutch translation of “français tirailleurs”, on the basis of 18 excerpts from four texts by French African authors of the first generation. Starting from the given that translation theories dealing with the phenomenon of sociolinguistic equivalence do not offer any solutions for the Dutch translation of this French linguistic variant, I will argue that the strategy of linguistic equivalence used by the Dutch language translators in the corpus at hand can be accounted for by Skopos theory. Indeed, opting for linguistic equivalence allows the translators to create connotations in the Dutch translations that are the same ones as those attributed to the “français-tirailleur” of the source texts.

Апстракт: У раду се разматрају неке од особина и данашње функције бошкачког језика у шарпланинској жупи Сиринић. Материјал који чини основу рада прикупљен је у разговорима са житељима ове жупе. Од њих су такође добијени и неки ванлингвистички подаци. Мора се истаћи да се сада само отвара питање раслојавања језика и смештања обрађеног лексичког фонда (у који улазе и лексички дијалектизми) у ужу врсту социолекта. Испитују се, затим, функције традиционално везиване за тајне језике, конспиративна и демаркациона. Као једно од најзначајнијих питања у вези са целокупним прикупљеним материјалом истиче се његов опстанак и губљење, а њему се у раду приступа са стилистичког становишта будући да се ова лексика користи за стилизацију говорног израза, најчешће као маркер емоционализације, експресивизације или фамилијарног тона.

This paper deals with the language practices of French-speaking reggae singers and listeners. The observed phenomena comprise code-switching (selecting and alternating between languages) and lexical borrowings in reggae and dancehall, which form a musical tradition with unique features, both in song recordings and on stage. The method includes comparative lexicographic research and a web survey answered by 189 French-speaking reggae fans. The linguistic richness and diversity of reggae lyrics at a global level are also compared to multilingualism in hip-hop lyrics.
Firstly, the empirical part investigates a random sample of 160 reggae songs in search of languages embedded in French. The lyrics draw on twelve foreign languages, placing every code-switch according to a song’s structure in a generally regular fashion. Secondly, the focus shifts to adoption of innovative lexical devices found in reggae songs, resulting in more than a hundred new loanwords from English and Jamaican Creole. Finally, the work points out functional differences between these borrowings and code-switching, in song lyrics and in an improvised DJ event. The strategies identified include addressing a concrete audience and combining spontaneity with lyrical editing. The loanwords’ reoccurring use in the fans’ discourse appears to be typical of the vernacular of francophone reggae listeners.

Lists characteristics of ‘women’s language (Lakoff 1973) as a symbolic representation of  feminine language (Cameron 1998) and compares it to actual linguistic practices.

Εξετάζει τη ‘γυναικεία γλώσσα’ (Lakoff 1973) ως συμβολική κατηγορία (Cameron 1998) σε σύγκριση με τη γλώσσα που χρησιμοποιούν οι εκάστοτε συγκεκριμένες γυναίκες και η οποία αποτελεί εμπειρικό δεδομένο.

The chapter starts from Astrid Erll's hypothesis that cultural products, such as a literary novel or a theatre play, can augment cultural memory, if they are widely read, distributed and discussed. This is tested on examples of a popular Slovenian novel "Yugoslavia, My Fatherland" (2011) written by Goran Vojnović, and a subsequent theatre play of the same name, directed by Ivica Buljan in the Slovenian National Theatre (2015). First, I analyze how the memory of Yugoslavia is evoked, and what are the main memory tropes in both novel and theatre play. Second, I follow the media coverage of "Yugoslavia, My Fatherland" from 2010 to 2016, tracing the changes in discourse on both the novel and the theatre play. Reception analysis shows that there was a visible shift in media discourse. In 2010 media treated the novel and Yugoslav legacy as an interesting and attractive, but ultimately foreign topic that is not part of Slovenian heritage and national self-perception. After initial rejection of Yugoslav past, media understanding shifted to the perception of the novel, the theatre play and Yugoslavia itself as an inherently Slovenian story – a story of the Slovenian past. The paper describes this shift in detail, and traces the reasons for it. It also notices that there was a strong oppositional discourse, that rejected the idea of Yugoslavia as Slovenian story, but was left outside of mainstream media.

The text is devoted to the issues of contemporary semantic research. The author discusses the problems and dangers connected with explaining the meanings of forms, which are used by members of various social groups. The article scrutinizes, among others, a troublesome issue of inability to collect all statements, indywidual transformation of meanings and the insufficent substantiation of formulated opinions.

The article concerns the issue of community languages, i.e. sociolects. the text is a didactic proposal for Polish language lessons, especially for the seventh and eighth grades of the second educational stage. In addition to the characteristics of the issue, the author presents sets of tasks (of varying degrees of difficulty), in which she uses analytical material concerning the automotive sociolect. In the language of automotive enthusiasts, the lexical field which reflects technical changes and the development of society is growing.
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Artykuł dotyczy problematyki języków społeczności, czyli socjolektów. Tekst jest propozycją dydaktyczną na lekcje języka polskiego, zwłaszcza dla klas siódmej i ósmej drugiego poziomu edukacyjnego. Oprócz charakterystyki zagadnienia autorka przedstawia zestawy zadań (o różnym stopniu trudności), w których wykorzystuje materiał analityczny dotyczący socjolektu motoryzacyjnego. W języku pasjonatów motoryzacji rośnie pole leksykalne odzwierciedlające zmiany techniczne i rozwój społeczeństwa.

The fish - trophy, monster from the depths or equivalent opponent? The linguistic worldview of fishes in angling stories
The main issue of this article is the way that angling community perceives fishes. What can be said about these creatures by someone who is using the language of anglers? Objective analysis of the lexis and the phraseology of the sociolect that is used by anglers is essential to notice some characteristic tendencies. Some of these tendencies are consistent with the linguistic worldview of fishes while the other part of these tendencies are found only in environmental contacts of anglers.
The introduction of this article contains the elaboration of the linguistic worldview of fishes in polish language. In the further part this report is focused on the observation of individual tendencies of anglers’ sociolect. The most evident of these tendencies are: a clash with fish, the hyperbolization of nomenclature of fishes and the objectification of fishes – perceiving them only by criterion of the size. After this linguistic analysis there is comparison of the discussed tendencies with the example from literature which is the collection Balet boleni i inne opowiadania by J. Putrament. What the writer used the most are anthropomorphisation of different kind. However all of the typical tendencies for angling sociolect can be found in his work.

Tematem artykułu jest polski socjolekt wędkarski. Po wyjaśnieniu nieścisłości terminologicznych związanych z właściwym klasyfikowaniem języków środowiskowych autor udowadnia, że wędkarze posługują się socjolektem. Analiza zgromadzonego materiału leksykalno-frazeologicznego jest podstawą do omówienia charakterystycznych cech tego socjolektu, takich jak internacjonalizacja leksyki, ekspresywność języka, związana z nią twórczość językowa wędkarzy oraz zapożyczenia wewnątrzjęzykowe.

Magistrska naloga kritično sooča socialnozvrstna označevanja, kot so bila zasnovana v Slovarju slovenskega knjižnega jezika (1970-1991), njegovi dopolnjeni in deloma prenovljeni izdaji (2014), slovarskem delu Slovenskega pravopisa (2001) in Slovarju novejšega besedja slovenskega jezika (2012), s Skubičevo teorijo sociolektov s poudarkom na zunajjezikovnih dejavnikih in družbenih spremembah, ki zahtevajo ponoven premislek koncepta socialnozvrstnega označevanja, ki bo upošteval sociolingvistična in druga jezikoslovna spoznanja, slovaropisno tradicijo in potrebe slovarskega uporabnika. Na podlagi primerjave označitve enakih leksemov v Slovarju slovenskega knjižnega jezika in Slovenskem pravopisu se razkrijejo aktualno stanje in problematična mesta, za katera se na podlagi spoznanj o socialnih, geografskih, funkcijskih in ekspresivnih segmentih sociolektov in večsociolektalnosti govorcev predlaga določene rešitve.

The master's thesis critically compares social language variety labellings as they were laid out in Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika (The Standard Slovene Dictionary, 1970-1991), its updated and partly revised edition (2014), the dictionary part of the Slovenski pravopis (The Slovene Normative Guide, 2001) and the Slovar novejšega besedja slovenskega jezika (The Dictionary of Newer Slovene Vocabulary, 2012), with Skubic's theory of sociolects, with an emphasis on external language factors and social change. They require a new consideration of the concept of social language variety labelling, one that would take into consideration sociolinguistic and other linguistic discoveries, lexiographic tradition and the needs of the dictionary user. The current state is illustrated by comparing the labellings of the same lexemes in the Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika and the Slovenski pravopis. Additionally, problematic areas are pointed out and, based on findings on the social, geographical, functional and expressive segments of sociolects and multi-sociolect speakers, some solutions are proposed.

Culturally-orientated translation studies no longer consider the source text and the target text as purely linguistic samples of language (Ritva Leppihalme, 1997).  In recent decades, the ‘cultural turn’ has established a trend in translation scholarship that regards translation as a medium for intercultural communication. At present, however, there is a paucity of research aimed at exploring the transposition of how characters in a novel communicate amongst themselves, and how their social identity is forged in said communications.  To that end, this paper will carry out an empirical analysis on the John Updike’s novel Rabbit Redux and its Spanish translation, ‘El regreso de Conejo’ (2003, trans. by Iris Menéndez).
Character identities are constructed through various literary devices, but among these, dialogue is of special interest because it is through the graphic representation of characters’ speech patterns that the reader may discern culture-specific idiolects and sociolects. These sociolinguistic paradigms of dialogue translation have always represented something of an impasse in Translation Studies.  This, no doubt, is due to the interlinguistic and intercultural differences that oftentimes lead this type of scholarly work into the vacuum of ‘untranslatability.’  This paper takes the view that the C.S Peirce’s theory of signs, and in particular, his tripartite of signs (symbol, icon, and index) offers translation scholars a valuable methodological tool that can shed new light on the subtle intricacies involved in the process of translating dialogue.

The book presents both recent trends and historical developments of theoretical concepts of the study of neologisms and sociolectisms, including the parallels and paradoxes in their dictionary treatment, including the issue of the relationship between neography and sociolectography. Using French language data, the book outlines ways to approach the constantly changing manifestations of generational or group cohesion through the lens of sociolexicology. The sociolinguistics of innovation defined here involves, primarily, the modelling of the diffusion of neologisms, i.e., finding out how and why new words spread in society. The case studies also deal with how lexical innovations can be extracted from generationally symptomatic sociolects and how they can be tested by means of longitudinal questionnaires and rap song lyrics, which are a unique source of information on the semantic development of identitary neologisms.

The article focuses on the professional language of Polish press journalists, an aspect of the Polish language practically unexplored by scholars to date. The text signals selected research areas that should be of interest to linguists. The article begins with an attempt to prove the existence of such a professiolect and with a reference to several studies that preliminarily describe some of its features or elements. Subsequently the author discusses research tasks that need to be accomplished in order to describe the professiolect constituting a communication tool of Polish journalists (these tasks include the necessity of gathering empirical data, determining stages in the process of the creation of the linguistic code, characterizing internal differentiation into subvariants, establishing connections with the language of typographers, and formal-semantic analysis of individual lexical units)

У раду се анализира творба речи у бошкачком језику, некадашњем тајном занатлијском језику, који се реализује само на лексичком плану, док се граматички ослања на говор у којем се користи. Будући да се истражује бошкачки језик, који се говори на територији Сиринићке жупе, једном од српских говора, творбени форманти и њихова значења пореде се са творбом у савременом српском језику, како би се утврдило да ли се бошкачки језик у том домену на њега ослања. Творбена анализа подразумева издвајање творбених форманата и проналазак мотивне речи код сваке лексеме. Мотивна реч у бошкачком језику може бити 1. из самог бошкачког, 2. из локалног говора, односно, то може дијалектизам карактеристичан за говор у којем се истражује, и 3. из савременог српског језика. На основу тога, пронађена су три типа творбе: суфиксација, префиксација и конверзија. Суфиксација је ограничена на именице, префиксација на глаголе, а под конверзијом се подразумева само супстантивизација. Сваки префикс у грађи облички и семантички подударан је са префиксима у савременом српском језику, док међу суфиксима постоје три незабележена у савременом српском језику: -алак, -аўник, -аўка, чија је форма у складу са сиринићким говором. Супстантивизирају се само придеви који спадају у дијалектизме или савремени српски језик, односно они придеви који не постоје самостално у бошкачком језику. Анализа показује да је бошкачки у творби речи у највећој мери подударан са савременим српским језиком.

The subject of the article concentrates around typologies of social dialects functioning in Polish linguistic literature. The classifications proposed by Aleksander Wilkoń, Stanisław Grabias, Halina Satkiewicz, Grażyna Sawicka and Tomasz Piekot, which are divided on the basis of various criteria (e.g. dominating sociolectal category, kind of a social group, its attitude to reality, society and norms), have been reviewed and analyzed. The author not only indicates similarities between these typologies and emphasizes questionable solutions, but also tries to recognize and to solve terminological problems concerning variants of language functioning in different social groups.

Tematyka artykułu koncentruje się wokół typologii socjolektów funkcjonujących w polskiej literaturze językoznawczej. Omówieniu i analizie zostały poddane klasyfikacje Aleksandra Wilkonia, Stanisława Grabiasa, Haliny Satkiewicz, Grażyny Sawickiej i Tomasza Piekota, w których podstawą podziału stały się różne kryteria (np. dominująca kategoria socjolektalne, rodzaj grupy społecznej, jej stosunek do rzeczywistości, społeczeństwa, norm). Autorka nie tylko wskazuje podobieństwa przywoływanych typologii i zaznacza rozwiązania dyskusyjne, ale też próbuje wykazać i rozstrzygnąć kłopoty terminologiczne dotyczące odmian języka funkcjonujących w różnych grupach społecznych.

Study about how Islamic writers in Russia can switch between two variants of the Russian Islamic sociolect, namely 'Arabism' (a form of Russian with lots of Arabic loanwords) and 'Russicism' (as a variant in which all Islamic terms are rendered by Russian equivalents that stem from the Church Slavonic language. What does the choice of one or the other variant imply, in terms of semantics? How are linguistic strategies linked to positions in Islamic theology, law or politics? And how and why do authors switch between the two variants? Finally, what is the relation between the Russian Islamic sociolect and the 'native Muslim' languages, like Tatar and Avar?

The subject of the article focuses on the relations that links sociolects and conformism. The author shows, inter alia, that the functioning of jargon or slang reveals the features of non-conformism (rejection or modification of a certain part of a generally accepted norm), conformism (the reception of communication models typical of a given group often constitutes a condition for participation in this community) and uniformism (the unification of communication is aimed at ensuring the predictability of communication and suggests a commonly-shared views). The conformism/non-conformism relationships, in which a sociolect is involved, form a network depending on whether the point is the attitude of the individual towards the norms of the group and its general rules, the attitude towards the general language and its gouverning rules, or attitude to other variants.

[PL] Celem artykułu jest wstępne zbadanie funkcjonowania animalizmów, czyli formacji leksykalno-frazeologicznych dotyczących zwierząt, w mowie potocznej współczesnej młodzieży. W tym celu autorzy wyekscerpowali z Miejskiego słownika slangu i mowy potocznej (www.miejski.pl) 226 jednostek leksykalno-frazeologicznych, które podzielili na siedem grup: słownictwo dotyczące sfery seksualnej, słownictwo związane z życiem towarzyskim, nazwy czynności (w tym czynności fizjologicznych), nazwy osób i grup społecznych, ekspresywizmy o silnym nacechowaniu emocjonalnym (na granicy wulgaryzmu) służące określeniu konkretnej sytuacji, akty mowy bezpośredniej do odbiorcy oraz pozostałe, niedające się przyporządkować do żadnej z powyższych grup. Artykuł stanowi przedstawienie i analizę zebranego materiału oraz wnioski, będące punktem wyjścia do dalszych tego typu badań.

[ENG] The purpose of this article is preliminary research of the functioning of animalisms, that is to say lexical-phrasal formations concerning animals in the colloquial language of today’s youth. To this end, the authors have excerpted 226 lexical and phrasal units from Miejski słownik slangu i mowy potocznej (www.miejski.pl). The units are divided into seven categories: vocabulary regarding sexual area, vocabulary concerning social life , designation of acts (including physiological acts),  names of people and social groups, expressivisms with strong emotional features (on the edge of vulgarisms) used to define a particular situation, acts of direct speech and others, unsuitable to be assigned to any of the groups above. The article is a representation and an analysis of gathered materials and conclusions that has become a starting point to further research of this kind.

This article concentrates on polish journalists special language (technical language). It analises terminological layer of vocabulary of that speciffic code. The description includes various types of terms, i.e. scientific terms, technical terms, branch terms, interbranch terms and transterms. The article presents also the cases of terminological’s forms disappearance and their semantic modification. Considerations are completed with description of mechanisms purposive to creation new terms – neology and neosemantics. The supplement to this article is reference to phenomenon of intralingual interference.

U ovome radu opisane su jezične osobine govora Bošnjaka, sela smještenoga nekoliko kilometara jugoistočno od Županje. Ovaj se govor ubraja u govore slavonskoga dijalekta ili šokačke govore, preciznije u istočnoposavsku grupu posavskoga govora, jedne od triju podvrsta ili poddijalekta slavonskoga dijalekta. S obzirom da su govori slavonskoga dijalekta sve više izloženi promjenama zbog različitih utjecaja (mediji, obrazovanje govornika i dr.), stare su jezične osobine čuvane uglavnom samo u starijih stanovnika koji su cijeli svoj život proveli u selu. Cilj je ovoga rada zabilježiti osobine slavonskoga dijalekta očuvane u izvornom govoru sela Bošnjaci. Na temelju fonološke, morfološke i leksičke analize snimljenih materijala, uočeno je da se u govoru Bošnjaka čuva zavinuti naglasak (akut), mnoge stare riječi (poglavito turcizmi i germanizmi), nekoliko riječi šćakavskoga izgovora, ikavsko-jekavski refleks jata, nepostojanje glasa h i druge osobine slavonskoga dijalekta.

The article is devoted to the issue of the range of use and reception of sociolect forms. Referring to contemporary tendencies and phenomena (e.g. specialization and increase of media professionalism, or contemporary literary strategies), the author proves that notions of environmental origin popularize becoming a tool of communication on the supranational level.

Despite the vast amount of research on translation in recent decades, the issue of fictive dialogue has yet to gain prominence in the field. Viewed from a monolingual perspective, dialogue is already problematic in that it defies a concrete definition. It is written language, yet its function is to represent oral discourse. From a translation perspective and beyond this ontological conundrum, dialogue warrants consideration because it is a crucial characterisation device. The illusion of communicative immediacy that authors create by removing themselves as proxy not only allows characters to interact with one another directly, but also allows readers to observe the behaviour of characters without the intrusion of the narrator, thus raising the issue of how characters perform their identity through language. With this in mind, the overarching question this thesis asks is the following: if the language characters use in dialogue changes, as it must do in translation, how does this change affect how they perform their identity through language?

This project compares John Updike’s “Rabbit” books and their Spanish translations to explore whether the linguistic identity of the main character, Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, his wife, Janice, and the African-American community, are codified in the target dialogue. With regards to translating Harry Angstrom’s voice, the focus is on transposing his source text idiolect in order to reflect salient character attributes; the focus with regards to the African-American characters is on finding a suitable target language vernacular that constructs an intratextual speech community; finally, the focus for Janice’s voice is on reflecting her gender in Spanish. Informed by a theoretical framework constructed with translation, sociolinguistic and semiotic theory, the analyses describe the translation shifts and losses that are in evidence in the professional translations, and put forward alternatives that recast the voice of the characters in line with the identity described in the source narrative.