Translation as special type of bilingual speech. Speech contact and language contact. Translation uni-versals as a special type of language contact universals. Contact induced features. Convergence – levelling up. Linguistic insecurity. Simplification – implicitation. Analytic tendency – explicitation. Purism -adherence to the norms. The main goal of the paper is to show that there are a number of questions dealt with in translation theory which can be interpreted and studied in the framework of contact linguistics. No wonder that this is so, since the translators are bilingual persons whose speech shows the same features as that of other bilinguals, even if their language use is more conscious than that of “ordinary” bilinguals and therefore there may be substantial differences between the types of contact induced features characteristic of the two groups. Translation contact is a part of language contact in general, which is one of the most significant factors influencing language change. The problems of universals of language contact as well as translation uni-versals show how important it is to deal with translation theory, bilingualism and contact linguistics in a uniform conceptual frame. The concepts used in contact linguistics seem suitable for describing all the relevant phenomena on... continue reading →
In my paper I deal with language management activities aimed at the standardization of a language. As an introduction I present three concepts of the “standard” (standard as an ideal variety, standard as a dialect, standard as an ideological construct). Further I analyse three constitutive features of standards: regulatedness, polyfunctionalism and high degree of ideological loadedness. The main part of the paper is concerned with various language management activities, the common trait of which is that they play role in creating, developing and maintaining the standard: selection, codification, functional differentiation, elaboration, standardist discourse, creation of sample texts in the standard variety, acquisition and learning of the standard, dissemination of the standard, management of standard discourses. Besides I touch upon the question of the differences between the processes of standardization and koineization. István Lanstyák 811.511.141 Standardization as a language management activity 81`24 81`26 81`27 Keywords: standard, standardization, standard ideology, codification, koineization, variation, dialect, register. continue reading →
In this paper the author continues with what he has been dealing with in the previous two issues of this journal: language problems. This time he presents the various strategies of treating language problems in general, with special regard to the bilingual minority communities like the community of Hungarians in Slovakia. He distinguishes the following language treatment strategies: solving, preventing, avoiding, denying, eliminating, accepting and enduring language problems. In each case, he gives a short definition and then illustrates every strategy with a number of examples, many of which come from language diaries written by students of Hungarian language and literature. He also deals with the question of the impact of language ideologies on discerning, evaluating and treating language problems. István Lanstyák 81`27 The treatment of language problems 81`246.2 811.511.141`242 81`242 Keywords: Language management. Simple management. Organized management. Language problem. Strategies of treating language problems. Language ideologies. continue reading →
The author deals with various examples of language myths and other unschol-arly statements concerning linguistic matters as well as with the stigmatiza-tion of non-standard linguistic features and their users. Most of his examples come from the articles on language cultivation published in the periodical called Édes Anyanyelvünk (Our Sweet Mother Tongue). Most of the authors of these articles are laymen engaged in language cultivation activities, but somé of them are professional linguists who work at the Linguistic Institute of the Hungárián Academy of Sciences or teach at renowned universities, neverthe-less consider themselves alsó language cultivators. The author of the present paper comments the “tommy-rot” in language cultivation literature mostly from sociolinguistic point of view. He concludes that “language cultivation” should limit itself to popularizing linguistic knowledge and giving counsels in matters of language use and these linguistic services should be provided solely by well-trained professional linguists. continue reading →
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