In: Iran and the Caucasus: research papers from the Caucasian Centre for Iranian Studies = Iran i kavkaz : trudy Kavkazskogo e͏̈tìsentra iranistiki, Band 27, Heft 1, S. 64-89
Abstract This article intends to focus on the concept of linguistic border in the verbal system of contemporary Pashto, an Iranian language mainly spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A careful, systematic, and detailed analysis of used radical simple verbs in different Pashto dialects draws attention to a certain degree of variation in one third of these verbs, which are switching from one category to another. Thanks to our research on Pashto verbs, we could identify four main trends of change, displaying as morphologic regularization, syntactic simplification, morphologic differentiation, and semantic clarification.
This contribution, which should not be seen as a theory-driven scientifically based endeavor, raises the following question : does the linguistic border constitue the wall of the Belgians? In order to tackle this question, the author puts forward insights from the media, history, political science and sociology. But one should not expect to find here a solution to this tricky question… ; Sur un ton léger, cette contribution pose la question suivante : la frontière linguistique constitue-t-elle le mur des Belges ? Pour y répondre, l'auteur mobilise des éléments médiatiques, historiques, politiques et sociologiques. Mais il ne faut pas s'attendre à obtenir ici une réponse à cette épineuse question…
AbstractThis chapter ethnographically documents "lessons learned" in an evaluation of a tuberculosis program, focusing on linguistic rich points gathered from interviews and conversations with program staff.
The article reveals the understanding of space and the state border as a national value of Russia. As a result of historical development, due to the presence of a constant threat to the country and the resource mobilization for its protection, the citizens of Russia have formed a sustainable defense consciousness and understanding of the border as a sacred value. The article raises the question of further understanding of the problem.
The paper deal with the impact of translation on a small language (400,000 speakers) brought about by entry into the European Union and the obligation to translate all documents, in a range of subjects, which previously were not written in Maltese. The paper draws on the myth of Babel in the Bible and the Koran, and Umberto Eco's 'The Search for the Perfect Language (1993) for a underpinning discussion on the dream of the perfect universal language. ; peer-reviewed
The hybrid genre of poetic treatise occupies a somewhat marginal position within the literary genres landscape. Nonetheless, it holds particular interest as a realm of interaction between artistic and scientific discourses, sometimes intertwining with everyday speech. In the twentieth century, the interplay between scientific and poetic texts, as well as between verse and prose, took on new experimental forms. Western literature saw the influence of Ludwig Wittgenstein and his philosophical treatise form on artistic practices, including poetry. Wittgenstein's "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus" left a significant imprint on poets associated with the 'language school' in the USA. Furthermore, Wittgenstein's treatise and its interpretation by Arkadii Dragomoshchenko continue to reverberate in contemporary Russophone poetry, particularly within the objectivist line. The research material encompasses texts of poetic treatises from the Russian avant-garde (Ivan Terentyev, Daniil Kharms, and Yakov Druskin), contemporary Russophone objectivist poetry (Arkadii Dragomoshchenko, Aleksandr Skidan, and Nikita Safonov), and American 'language writing' (Ron Silliman, Lyn Hejinian, Charles Bernstein, and Bob Perelman). The article scrutinizes the linguistic characteristics of such discursive interaction within the experimental form of a 'treatise disguised as a poem'. Specific linguistic traits of the treatise genre, typically found in scientific and philosophical works, are transposed onto poetic texts. These include discourse words and expressions conveying metatextual deixis and the process of argumentation, a distinct I-We subjectivity characteristic of scientific discourse, a pronounced focus on propositionality as a determinant of truth or falsity, and a clearly delineated, mathematically ordered division of statements.
Contemporary social policy debates on community cohesion in the UK appear to have very prescribed identities for migrants centred around on concepts of 'Britishness', having 'common values' and one national language, that is, English, for their successful integration. This paper draws on an empirical study of the integration and identity experiences of overseas-trained South Asian Doctors in the UK. The study involved in-depth interviews with 27 overseas-trained South Asian doctors practicing as general practitioners (GPs) in three geographical locales with varying ethnic density and urban/rural mix in the UK. The study set out to explore how this group of highly skilled migrants integrated into the UK society, perceived their identities and whether they had acquired a sense of belonging to Britain. The key concepts examined included identity, context of migration, structural and socio-cultural integration. Their narratives show that while they drew on certain sections of British society for recognition and realisation of opportunity by embedding themselves in local social contexts, they also drew strength from their own religious/cultural and linguistic resources. This included engaging with the revolutionary writings of their own poets and scholars as a way of creative thinking, innovating and dealing with adversity. In addition to the adaptation and dealing with adversity in the UK, the evidence shows that South Asian languages have played a significant role in maintaining transnational identities.
