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Kalbotyra
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This is an Open Access Journal

Open Access journal
ISSN (Print) 1392-1517 - ISSN (Online) 2029-8315
Published by Vilnius University

[38 journals]

The Importance of Task-Based Learning and Focus on Form in Teaching
Phraseology
- Authors: Marios Chrissou
  Pages: 8 - 30
  Abstract: A controversial issue for teachers of German as a foreign language is the balance between content and form. This also applies to vocabulary work in the field of phraseology. The modeling of language competence in the communicative approach is based on the understanding of language as a means of communication. Accordingly, the primary claim of communicative language didactics is to go beyond the description of structures of the foreign language and to place appropriate, situated linguistic action at the center of teaching. Against this theoretical background, content-oriented approaches such as Task-Based Learning have emerged in foreign language didactics, which emphasize the communicative aspect of language and place the didactic emphasis on situated, authentic tasks. Nevertheless, this emphasis did not lead to the suppression of form-based approaches which consider precision in language mastery by focusing on formal aspects through exercises to be necessary and desirable.
  This paper examines the question of the importance of exercises and tasks in phraseology-based vocabulary work. Against the theoretical background of the approaches of Task-Based Learning (TBL) and Focus on Form (FoF), possibilities for the integration of content-oriented and form-focussing teaching concepts for the promotion of phraseological competence are shown by means of concrete examples. Furthermore, the question of their balance in teaching is discussed.
  PubDate: 2020-12-28
  DOI: 10.15388/Kalbotyra.2020.1
  Issue No: Vol. 73 (2020)
Figurative Language in the German-Speaking Press Abroad
- Authors: Csaba Földes
  Pages: 31 - 60
  Abstract: This article is based on the understanding that figurative linguistic signs are in general a common research topic in the media language but represent a desideratum especially with regard to the German-speaking press abroad. Against this background, some of the figurative and formulaic related observations as well as the results of a current research project are thematised and discussed. The primary goal is a focused evidence-based analysis – more precisely: a theory-based qualitative exploration – of special features of figurative language use in three German-language minority newspapers from Russia, Kazakhstan and Hungary. In addition, manifestations of culturality are developed in the analysed media discourse, which is characterised by multilingualism and interculturality or rather transculturality. The approach is not normative and error-analytical, but descriptive and primarily contact- or intercultural-oriented.
  Among other things, it was found that the empirical database provided only relatively few figurative phrases. The findings include that other textual mechanisms prevail and due to the multilingual settings the text producers adopt fixed syntactic schemes from the contact languages. On the producer side, a German-based figurative language is generally used, but it is congruent with the figurativity of the respective contact language (in the present case: Russian, Kazakh and Hungarian), including Russian/Kazakh/Hungarian-oriented framings. In this context, the dominant feature is constituted of (virulent or latent) language contact-related phenomena with some dynamics: primarily transference formations of different kinds. At the same time, it cannot be ignored that the language and text (types) competence and especially the figurative competence of the text producers in the area of conceptual-writing skills vary widely and are often not comparable to those of federal German journalists.
  PubDate: 2020-12-28
  DOI: 10.15388/Kalbotyra.2020.2
  Issue No: Vol. 73 (2020)
Review of a Basic Phraseological Vocabulary – an Explorative Data
Analysis
- Authors: Lea Hoffmann
  Pages: 61 - 75
  Abstract: This article addresses the question of which possibilities and limitations of frequency-based studies on the relevance of multi-word expressions open up for applied purposes. For this purpose, the corpus Ref10 of the project Wortschatzwissen.de was exploratively examined. After the development of a category system for multi-word expressions, a sample of the corpus was examined and assigned to the different categories. Subsequently, the identified multi-word expressions were compared with a phrase list of Hallsteinsdóttir, Šajánková & Quasthoff (2006). Findings suggest that the proportion of collocations is particularly high in all subcorpora and that, in addition, idioms and light verb constructions are predominant. Moreover, a large proportion of the idioms identified in the Ref10 corpus sample does not occur at all or occurs only partially, i.e. in an unlisted variant, in the phraseological optimum of Hallsteinsdóttir, Šajánková & Quasthoff (2006). This raises above all the question of how phrase variance is to be evaluated in corpus analyses and to what extent corpus linguists should rely only on basic vocabulary from the perspective of Applied linguistics.
  PubDate: 2020-12-28
  DOI: 10.15388/Kalbotyra.2020.3
  Issue No: Vol. 73 (2020)
On the Synonymy of Person-Identifying One-Word Idioms – An Analysis on
the Example of Angsthase and its Synonyms
- Authors: Marcelina Kałasznik
  Pages: 76 - 91
  Abstract: The subject of this article are selected German one-word idioms that describe the human trait of anxiety. At the center of the investigation is the question of the synonymy of the phraseologisms to be analyzed. The aim of the study is to show to what extent the analyzed phraseological units can be regarded as synonymous and consequently as interchangeable. The analysis is carried out on the basis of the data taken from the DeReKo. The background to the research on this question is provided by considerations over the definition of single-word idioms, which aim to show that, despite their monolexicality, German single-word idioms should be included in the subject area of phraseology. For this, various arguments are presented and discussed in the theoretical part of the article. The appearance of the synonyms in the lexicon is then explained in more detail, and the manner in which the synonymy is manifested in the phraseolexicon is also discussed. It is pointed out that phraseological units can be synonymous both with one another and with other units of the lexicon. However, it should be noted that only the first perspective of the synonymy of phraseological units is examined in the article.
  PubDate: 2020-12-28
  DOI: 10.15388/Kalbotyra.2020.4
  Issue No: Vol. 73 (2020)
Verschiedene sprichwörtliche Redensarten – the First Croatian
Phraseological Dictionary
- Authors: Barbara Kovačević, Barbara Štebih Golub
  Pages: 92 - 103
  Abstract: The first Croatian phraseological dictionary, compiled in German under the title Verschiedene sprichwörtliche Redensarten was published as a part of the conversational manual accompanying the last published grammar of the Kajkavian literary language, Grammatik der kroatischen Mundart. Its author, Ignac Kristijanović, had accomplished this pioneering undertaking against the contemporary practice, listing the idioms as separate phraseological units in form of a small phraseological dictionary, and not within the dictionary entries of the general dictionary. The paper deals with the macro- and microstructure of Kristijanović’s dictionary within the theoretical framework of the so-called Zagreb School of Phraseology (Menac, Fink-Arsovski).
  On the macrostructural level, the analysis focuses on the selection principles of the included units and their order in the dictionary. Special attention is paid to the question which material is included, ie. whether the dictionary contains only idioms defined in accordance with today’s phraseological theory and whether the author makes a distinction between idioms and other fixed multi-word expressions (collocations, proverbs).
  On the microstructural level, it is being examined which form of a idiom is taken as a lemma and how the Kajkavian idioms are translated on the German side of the dictionary (an equivalent German idiom; a German idiom and the explanation of its meaning; the description of the situation in which the idiom is being used). In addition, the question of dealing with synonymous idioms is discussed.
  In spite of a sporadically non-systematic treatment of structurally similar idioms as dictionary units, and taking into consideration that the Verschiedene sprichwörtliche Redensarten was compiled in the first half of the 19th century, Kristijanović’s dictionary can be viewed as an interesting and valuable contribution to Croatian and Slavic phraseology and phraseography.
  PubDate: 2020-12-28
  DOI: 10.15388/Kalbotyra.2020.5
  Issue No: Vol. 73 (2020)
Formulae, Wordplay, Verses and More: Where Humor Research Meets
Phraseology
- Authors: Virginija Masiulionytė
  Pages: 104 - 131
  Abstract: This paper aims to examine the meeting points between phraseology and humor research, focusing on the role and the functions of fixed phrases in humor discourse. The examples to illustrate certain aspects of usage of fixed phrases for joke purposes are taken mainly from social media such as Facebook and Twitter and include jokes in English, German, Lithuanian, Russian, and Polish. In the course of the investigation, a distinction ought to be made between set phrases (idioms in the narrower sense of the term, proverbs, catch phrases etc.) and fixed phrases in general. Set phrases (phrasemes) have an “added value” regarding their meaning – be it a figurative element, be it ready-made reasoning or behavioral models in short form in the case of adages. In humor discourse idioms – and proverbs – are used mainly for wordplay, in which both the literal and the idiomatic meaning are activated. The wordplay can happen also in verse form. Adages can be transformed or twisted resulting in new parodistic or funny sayings. Fixed phrases outside of the phraseology can be separated into two groups: phrases typical for a particular discourse type and joke frame related phrases. The former, as means to evoke a certain frame, are used in parodistic jokes (e.g., the phrase ladies if he evokes the dating tips frame). The latter constitute a distinct class of fixed phrases which can be found only in the humor discourse: these phrases act as joke formulae und provide a basis for bigger or smaller joke categories. Certain phrases in this group, such as checks notes or nothing like deserve a mention as irony markers with a distinctive evaluative character. The shared feature of all these idiomatic and non-idiomatic phrases is that they are well-known, re-occur in the language and, in that respect, can considered belonging to the sphere of interests of phraseology. Regarding the main functions of fixed phrases in the humor discourse, they can contribute to the social play, provide the cues to switch to a nonserious humor mindset or express evaluation – from mild mockery to aggressive ridicule.
  PubDate: 2020-12-28
  DOI: 10.15388/Kalbotyra.2020.6
  Issue No: Vol. 73 (2020)
Emotion or Reason' Heart as a Container in English and Lithuanian
- Authors: Inesa Šeškauskienė
  Pages: 132 - 149
  Abstract: Body part lexemes are among the most frequently metaphorised lexemes across languages and cultures. Heart is often conceptualised as a container for feelings and emotions, especially in Western languages and cultures. The paper sets out to examine a typical construction signalling the image schema of heart as a container: in the/my/his/ her heart in English and šird-yje (heart-loc.sg) in Lithuanian to determine the relevance of the image schema for the semantics of the above construction, especially in reference to emotions and feelings. Also types of containers in each language are identified. The investigation is based on corpus data and the key principles of metaphor identification procedure. The results demonstrate that the construction is mostly used metaphorically in both languages and the container image schema is paramount in interpreting the semantics of the construction. It is employed in at least three senses: container for emotions and feelings, centrality and hiding. However, the distribution of the senses in the two languages is quite different with Lithuanian showing more adherence to the metaphor of a container for emotions and feelings and English giving preference to heart as centre of activity and attraction.
  PubDate: 2020-12-28
  DOI: 10.15388/Kalbotyra.2020.7
  Issue No: Vol. 73 (2020)
Collocations in Academic Language in German and Danish
- Authors: Irene Simonsen
  Pages: 150 - 175
  Abstract: This study compares the collocational use of the different word forms of five roots of academic language in German and Danish, considered essential for the realization of obligatory moves in the academic abstract, namely *analy*, *untersuch*/*undersøg*, *method*/*metod*, *theor*/*teor* and *empiri*. The aim of the comparison is to uncover differences and similarities in the expert norm of the two languages in order to gain insights that may help to inform the teaching of German-speaking students who must learn written standard Danish as part of their studies in Denmark. The study places special emphasis on the topic of variation, since variation reflects interculturally different uses of language specifically and is a major theme in academic language in general. The frequency and distribution of the five roots as verb, noun and adjective are compared in the collocations: noun + verb, verb + noun, adjective + noun in a study of two corpora of 100 dissertation abstracts from each of the two languages (approx.145.000 tokens), using the Word Sketch function of the corpus tool Sketch Engine. The LogDice measure has been used to identify the collocations, and variation is operationalized as the type-token ratio, computed for each syntactic relation. The results show general differences between the two languages. The use of different collocations with word forms from the five word families is greater in academic language in German than in Danish, despite a very similar distribution of the collocations in the languages and despite higher frequencies in Danish. The collocational use of the words in Danish therefore seems to be less varied and more restricted than in academic language in German.
  PubDate: 2020-12-28
  DOI: 10.15388/Kalbotyra.2020.8
  Issue No: Vol. 73 (2020)
Collocations in Letters to the Editor of Die Zeit
- Authors: Mariann Skog-Södersved, Anita Malmqvist
  Pages: 176 - 187
  Abstract: In the field of phraseology collocations have been less extensively researched than idioms. Because of their lower degree of idiomaticity collocations do not normally cause receptive problems in foreign language learning but need to be paid attention to when producing texts. We therefore argue that collocations are an important part of phraseology.
  The purpose of this paper is to investigate the syntactic structure, use and functions of collocations in 243 Letters to the Editor published in the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit. After consulting two dictionaries of collocations and some more universal sources a total of 278 collocations were identified and their respective bases and collocates were determined. The results show that nouns make up the majority of the bases (97%), while adjectives and verbs prevail among the collocates (96%). This is contradictory to the distribution of parts of speech in one of the two most comprehensive German dictionaries of collocations. A closer analysis of the empirical material reveals that the bases seem to reflect the subjects discussed in the letters, whereas the collocates provide the means for expressing the authors’ attitudes and values.
  PubDate: 2020-12-28
  DOI: 10.15388/Kalbotyra.2020.9
  Issue No: Vol. 73 (2020)
Phraseological structures in Hermann Kinder’s autobiographical novel
„Der Weg allen Fleisches“ (2014)
- Authors: Christian Thienel
  Pages: 188 - 211
  Abstract: Hermann Kinder’s novel contains a conspicuous number of phraseological elements, which is unusual for the writing style of this author. The article describes the accumulation of phraseological and idiomatic material and its usage as a literary stylistic resource. The analysis focuses on the relation of the linguistic appearance and the aesthetic function of the phraseologisms. Therefore, the article intends to contribute to an interdisciplinary method of interpretation, linking linguistic and literary studies. It also includes psychoanalytic concepts to describe the author’s specific linguistic expression of his autobiographical experience of illness. The aesthetic function of the phraseologisms and idiomatic phrases changes in relation to the novel’s progress. In the beginning, collocations increase the cohesion of the text in order to create an image of health. When the disease becomes more and more evident, the emotional affection of the protagonist is being controlled by formulistic linguistic elements. In addition, the author unmasks the pragmatic automatism of the medical language and the failure of its empathetic function by ironically evoking the ambiguity of idiomatic phrases. As a contrast, the narrator refers back to a comforting symbolic language by using linguistic patterns of fairy tales as an imitation of phraseological components. As a result, the analysis indicates that the inclusion of phraseological material in this literary pathobiography seems to provide a linguistic space of shelter for the suffering protagonist. The context-related, varying usage of phraseologisms in this text also seems to linguistically reflect a collective, culturally overarching psychosomatic experience of illness.
  PubDate: 2020-12-28
  DOI: 10.15388/Kalbotyra.2020.10
  Issue No: Vol. 73 (2020)