Department of British and American Studies at the - Univerzita ...

DEPARTMENT OF BRITISH AND AMERICAN STUDIES 

FACULTY OF ARTS, COMENIUS UNIVERSITY, BRATISLAVA 

IDENTITY 

IN INTERCULTURAL 

COMMUNICATION 

Slovak Studies in English III 

Edited by Ada Böhmerová 

2011

Editor: Assoc. Prof. PhDr. Ada Böhmerová, M.A., PhD. 

Technical Editor: Lucia Otrísalová, PhD. 

Proofreaders: Peter Barrer, Ph.D. 

Linda Marie Steyne, M.A. 

Reviewers: Prof. PhDr. Richard Repka, PhD. 

Assoc. Prof. PhDr. Pavol Kvetko, PhD. 

Copyright: Univerzita Komenského, 2011 

Published by: ŃEVT, a.s. 

ISBN: 978-80-8106-047-2

Contents 

Mária Huttová: 

Dedication .................................................................................................................................. 7 

Ada Böhmerová: 

Editor‘s Note .............................................................................................................................. 8 

Marián Gazdík: 

A Life Devoted to British and American Studies ...................................................................... 9 

Marián Gazdík: 

Bibliography of Professor PhDr. Jozef Olexa, CSc. ................................................................ 16 

HONORARY CONTRIBUTIONS 

Josef Jařab: 

The Transnational American Identity of Allen Ginsberg ......................................................... 26 

Ján Vilikovský: 

Dialect in Fiction ...................................................................................................................... 35 

CULTURAL STUDIES 

Peter Barrer: 

Promoting New Zealand: The State and Exporting Popular Culture ....................................... 47 

Judit Mudriczki: 

Narrating the Intercultural Face of the Australian Body Politic .............................................. 56 

LINGUISTICS 

Miroslav Bázlik: 

Are We Losing Our Linguistic Identity? .................................................................................. 65 

Ada Böhmerová: 

Cross-Pollination vs Lexical Blending: Horticulture vs Onomatology.................................... 72 

Jan Chovanec: 

Weapons of Ms Destruction: The Subversive Role of Linguistic Creativity ........................... 82 

Mária Hardošová: 

How to Render ―Directives‖ in Intercultural Written Business Communication .................... 94

Jozef Lonek: 

The Past Perfect: What's in a Name? ..................................................................................... 101 

Nataliya Panasenko, Miroslava Zolichová: 

Cognitive Approach to the Text Analysis of British Fairy Tales ........................................... 109 

Milica Urbániková: 

Creating One‘s Virtual Identity: A Look Through Internet Nicknames ................................ 127 

Jitka Vlčková: 

Interpersonal and Crosscultural Communication: Australian Aborigines and Central European 

Romanies ................................................................................................................................ 136 

LITERATURE 

Simona Hevešiová: 

Tales from India: Aravind Adiga in the Role of a Travel Guide ........................................... 148 

Emília Janecová: 

(Re)Creating Ethnic Identity in American Writing - Roberto G. Fernández: Raining 

Backwards .............................................................................................................................. 156 

Mária Kiššová: 

Chinese Prayers and American Heaven – Cultural Struggles in Yiyun Li‘s A Thousand Years 

of Good Prayers ..................................................................................................................... 163 

Ivan Lacko: 

The Loss of ―Self‖ in Nathaniel Hawthorne‘s Fiction ........................................................... 173 

Lucia Otrísalová: 

Naming and Identity in Lawrence Hill‘s Someone Knows My Name .................................... 182 

Martin Solotruk: 

The Waste Land: A Field of Fragments or Multidentity? ...................................................... 190 

METHODOLOGY 

Zdeněk Janík: 

Enhancing Intercultural Awareness of Teachers of English .................................................. 202

Jela Kehoe: 

Identity of the English and Its Implications for Students of the English Language and 

Translation Studies ................................................................................................................. 213 

Anatol Shevel: 

James Bond as a Culture-Specific Archetype in EFL Teaching ............................................ 223 

Agnieszka Uberman: 

Learning Strategies in Teaching Culture-Related Language Issues at Advanced Level ....... 229 

Eva Tandlichová: 

Can Authentic Text on Internet Help the Development of Creativity? .................................. 246 

TRANSLATION STUDIES 

Martin Djovčoš, Ľubica Pliešovská: 

Questionable Identity in Intercultural Monologue ................................................................. 257 

Xenia Liashuk: 

Images and Concepts of Slovak Presidential Speeches and Their Reflection in English 

Translation .............................................................................................................................. 265

This issue of Slovak Studies in English is dedicated to and a tribute to Professor Jozef Olexa, a 

foremost Slovak literary scholar, who has considerably contributed to the development of Slovak 

studies in English literature. As a university teacher for three decades at the Faculty of Arts at 

Comenius University in Bratislava, he played a key role in the promotion and development of 

teaching English literature, and for several years he also held the position of Head of the 

Department of British and American Studies. He also supervised a number of doctoral 

students and in this way helped to extend the circle of Slovak experts in British literature. As 

a literary critic and translator, he has promoted English literature in the Slovak cultural 

context and represented Slovak studies in English literature also in the European context. 

Without him, the history of Slovak studies in English would not be complete. 

Mária Huttová 

Slovak Studies in English, Vol. 3, 2011 – Identity in Intercultural Communication 

Head of the Department 

DEDICATION 

7

It is with great pleasure that we present Slovak Studies in English III within the 

tradition of our series, which started in 2005. This issue is dedicated to Professor Jozef Olexa, 

a distinguished scholar and a former member of our department, whose personal and 

academic profile is presented by Marián Gazdík. The leitmotif of the volume is the role of 

identity in intercultural communication and the ensuing responsibility of the individual. 

We are honoured that the collection can be introduced by papers by the prominent and 

esteemed Anglicists Prof. Josef Jařab and Assoc. Prof. Ján Vilikovský. The collection includes 

international contributions by acknowledged academics from the Czech Republic, Hungary, 

Poland and Ukraine, as well as papers by Anglicists from several Slovak universities, 

including our own alma mater, which 88 years ago was the first in Slovakia to start English 

studies. The volume presents recent research into linguistics, literature, cultural and 

translation studies, as well as methodology, discussing the importance and significance of 

investigating identity in intercultural communication as manifested in the given fields and 

their interconnections. 

The thematic focus of the volume provides a framework for individual scholarly input 

into our shared goals of research, and within its multifarious approaches it is a contribution to 

the achievements in this area. We hope that reading it will be intellectually both gratifying and 

challenging. 


Ada Böhmerová 

Editor 

EDITOR’S NOTE 

8

A Life Devoted to British and American Studies 

Marián Gazdík 

Comenius University, Bratislava 

Professor Jozef Olexa, one of the founding personalities of British and American 

studies in Slovakia after World War II and a distinguished scholar, recently celebrated his 

80th birthday. On this occasion the Department of British and American Studies at the Faculty 

of Arts of Comenius University would like to honour him by dedicating to him this volume of 

studies by Slovak and foreign Anglicists. 

Jozef Olexa was born on 1 November 1929 in the village of Spińské Bystré. He 

studied at three different high schools in Poprad in the years 1943–51, including a business 

school and a business academy. Then between the years 1951–56 he continued in his studies 

at the Faculty of Arts at Comenius University in Bratislava, specializing in English and 

Russian. Within that time for one term he also studied at the Faculty of Arts at Charles 

University in Prague. After graduation he worked as editor at the Tatran Publishing House (at 

that time still called Slovenské vydavateľstvo krásnej literatúry – Slovak Publishing House of 

Belles Lettres). In 1960 he married Irena Malovcová and they have two children, a daughter, 

Eva, born in 1961, and a son, Peter, born in 1966. In 1962 he left the publishing house and 

applied for doctoral studies at the Institute of Slovak Literature at the Slovak Academy of 

Sciences in Bratislava. At the end of his stay there he successfully defended his doctoral 

thesis entitled The Novel as a Chronicle of Contemporary Life – the Contemporary English 

Novel. 

In 1968 he left the Academy and decided for a pedagogical career. He started to 

lecture and teach at the Department of British and American Studies at the Faculty of Arts of 

Comenius University in Bratislava where he was to stay for almost three further decades. At 

this institution he educated several generations of Slovak Anglicists and Americanists, either 

teachers and translators or editors and other people working in various spheres of our cultural 

life. According to data from the early 1990s, he was the supervisor of the diploma theses of 

nearly 100 students and of around 15 students participating in student scholarly research 

competitions, not to speak of tutoring numerous post-graduate students working on their 

doctoral theses. Over the course of three decades, for several terms he served as the head of 

the Department of British and American Studies. In 1980 he defended his habilitation thesis 

on the theme Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights. An Interpretation of the Early Victorian 


9

Novel from the Point of View of its Composition and the Author‟s Individual Vision of the 

World and Society and gained the academic title of ―docent‖ (Associate Professor). 

After 1989, similarly to other fields, Anglicist Studies acquired a new impetus. Under 

these new conditions Professor Olexa presented his inaugural address on the theme From the 

History of Czecho-Slovak English Studies, which took place on 11 June 1992 at the Faculty of 

Arts of Comenius University in Bratislava, on the basis of which he was appointed Professor 

by the then President of Slovakia Michal Kováč in 1993. Professor Olexa was then able to 

take charge of graduate and post-graduate students in the fields of British and American 

Studies. 

The year 1997 witnessed a radical change in his life when he left the Faculty of Arts, 

and joined the Pedagogical Faculty of Comenius University, where he was active until 2000. 

In that year he left Comenius University and started to teach at the University of SS Cyril and 

Methodius in Trnava. Most unfortunately, due to the inexorable twists of fate, in December 

2001 he suffered an apoplectic stroke which resulted in his discontinuing active pedagogical 

and literary-critical activities. However, Jozef Olexa did not give up and has refused to 

surrender to his health problems. Until recently, he has still been meeting with his colleagues 

and eagerly listening to and following the news and information about the events and 

activities in the field of Anglicist studies. 

Let us now go back in time and have a look at the numerous aspects of his vigorous 

life. Already at the beginning of his professional career, in the middle of the 1950s, Jozef 

Olexa, as an editor in a publishing house, devoted his time not only to rich literary-critical 

activities but also to translating. His articles appeared in the daily press and in literary journals 

(Mladá tvorba, later also Revue svetovej literatúry). In the field of translation he was 

evidently fascinated by Ernest Hemingway, an important personality in American and world 

literature. He translated two collections of short stories by this writer: 49 Stories (all translated 

by him) and The Snows of Kilimanjaro (with Peter Ņdán). Apart from translating Hemingway 

he also participated in a magnificent project: an anthology of American (US) short stories, 

Days and Nights of America. Already the very length of this project (the publication contains 

757 pages and around a 60-page long scholarly essay about the history and characteristic 

features of the American short story written by its editor, Jaroslav Schejbal) speaks for itself. 

Within this anthology Jozef Olexa translated 8 stories by prominent American writers, such as 

(in addition to Hemingway) J. D. Salinger, R. P. Warren, William Saroyan and Sherwood 

Anderson. He also translated the whole collection of stories by the latter author, which is 

entitled Winesburg, Ohio and is now already considered a classic. From among other 


10

translations we can mention his participation in the translation of short stories by one of the 

most prominent English writers from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th 

centuries, Rudyard Kipling. This prolific writer is at present neatly labelled as the author of 

the tales for children Jungle Book I and II, but during his life his short stories and poems 

(including his ―poetical hit‖, the poem If), set in the milieu of British colonial regions, 

especially India, were very popular and informed people in Britain of life overseas. In 

cooperation with Viktor Krupa, Jozef Olexa translated stories for the publication Kim and 

Other Stories, and it seems to me that aside from Kipling‘s works for children this is the only 

translation of Kipling‘s stories into the Slovak language. 

Today it is hard to say what at the end of the 1960s and in the beginning of the 1970s 

caused Jozef Olexa to gradually cease translating and find a haven in the field of literary- 

critical and theoretical activities. (For the sake of exactness, we have to add that two more 

translations were published by him: Aldous Huxley‘s Point Counter Point in 1998, which was 

done in cooperation with Ńarlota Barániková, with the share of each translator not being 

specified in this publication, and in 1999 the publishing house Slovenský spisovateľ issued a 

collection of stories by Ernest Hemingway Men without Women. The stories included in this 

collection formed part of the previous translation, 49 Stories, thus it was a case of a second 

edition of an already existing translation, although with a reduced number of stories.) 

However, with regard to Jozef Olexa‘s ceasing to translate we could comment that 

―every cloud has a silver lining‖, as this fact may have led to his involving his energy in other 

areas. Already in the period of the 1960s we can see that his afterwords appeared in many 

translations of books. We can mention those in his translation of Sherwood Anderson and in 

the translation of Charlotte Brontë‘s Wuthering Heights. In the 1970s and 1980s many well- 

informed and erudite afterwords were published which could stand alone as chapters of 

scholarly monographs or of a history of British or American literature. The list of his 

afterwords to translations includes, inter alia, the novel Winter in the Hills by John Wain, the 

already mentioned Huxley‘s Point Counter Point, the novel by Charles Dickens A Christmas 

Carol, the novel by J. Galsworthy The Patrician, the shocking novel by the important English 

modernist D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley‟s Lover, as well as his afterwords to (in our 

country) new voices, such as Penelope Fitzgerald or Monica Dickens. He himself very highly 

valued his afterword to a selection of stories by Eudora Welty (translated by Adela 

Príhodová-Böhmerová), in which he offered a typology of the American short story, as well 

as an afterword to the already mentioned novel Point Counter Point, where he provided to 

readers a characterization of English society and of the literary scene in the 1920s. 


11

Aside from afterwords, mention should also be made of various popular articles in the 

daily press or in literary journals, both reviews of newly-published translations or articles 

written on the occasion of the birthday of various authors. Most of them were published in the 

1960s, but some articles appeared as late as in the 1990s (e.g. an article about Graham 

Greene). 

In 1990s his long experience and vast knowledge of the history of English literature 

bore fruit in a qualitatively new enterprise – in the preparation of the first History of English 

Literature written in the Slovak language, in which he himself wrote almost all of its text 

(with the exception of one chapter containing 20 pages). Actually, this work could have been 

much better if the publisher had not forced him to reduce the overall length of his text by one 

third, which in some places made this book more of an encyclopaedia (I learnt about this fact 

from personal interviews with the author in the 1990s). In spite of that, Jozef Olexa proved 

with this work too that he had a deep insight into the problems discussed. He also shared his 

opinions with us – students, and without imposing them on us he led us through the winding 

alleys of the over 1000-year-long history of English literature. 

Maybe these years of experience and reminiscences of colleagues from the field of 

British and American studies contributed to the fact that in this period Professor Olexa felt a 

need to share the knowledge that he had gathered over many decades. This can be proved by 

several articles which he published about the history of English studies in Slovakia, as well as 

by the reminiscences of Professor Vočadlo or Ján Ńimko (see the Personal Bibliography in 

this volume). 

However, along with his interest in the English novel, which proved to be dominant in 

his profile, Jozef Olexa was also interested in other branches of English studies. Apart from 

varied issues, he dealt with the works of the most prominent English bard of poetry and drama 

– William Shakespeare, and he is to be credited with holding an honourable place in 

popularizing this author in Slovakia. It should be pointed out that for many years he had 

cooperated with the editors of the Shakespeare Quarterly in the USA. Since 1966 he had been 

its contributor and 10 years later also a member of its editorial board. He contributed to this 

scholarly journal a number of bibliographical entries on all the translations, theatre 

productions and articles dealing with Shakespeare in Slovakia. Moreover, as we were 

reminded by Konńtantín Palkovič in his article (see Personal Bibliography, No. 83), Jozef 

Olexa discovered a manuscript translation of Hamlet by Michal Bosák from 1810 in Biblical 

Slovakized Czech and he informed the public about this discovery in 1981 in the above 


12

mentioned journal. Apart from that, he was also a correspondent of the Shakespeare Data 

Bank, which is a supplement to the journal Shakespeare Newsletter published in Chicago. 

Nevertheless, Jozef Olexa certainly did not focus on English studies as a narrowly 

conceived field. His interest in the issues of literary theory also led him to follow the activities 

of his colleagues who transcended beyond the frame of literatures written in English. This can 

be proved by a review of an English publication of the monograph by the important Slovak 

theoretician Dionýz Ďurińin Theory of Literary Comparatistics. But also in this review he 

proved to be a devoted Anglicist applying the knowledge of general literary theory to English 

literary history. Moreover, he manifested his pedagogical focus and pointed to some 

inconsistencies in the terminology used in the English text of this work. 

This brief and thus necessarily inadequate and fragmentary look at the life of Professor 

Olexa would be incomplete if we did not refer to his rich international contacts and 

willingness to support British and American Studies in Slovakia from an organizational point 

of view as well. As I know from the archive sources of Comenius University, and also from 

the article by the above mentioned writer Konńtantín Palkovič, Jozef Olexa had been a 

member and later also chairman of the Circle of Modern Philologists associated with the 

Slovak Academy of Sciences. In the field of evaluating translations into Slovak he was active 

as a member and also chair of the committee for the Ján Holý Prize for the best translation of 

artistic literature in Slovakia. He also used to be a member of the Association of Modern 

Philologists in the USA, had contacts with important Anglicists across the whole world and 

received invitations to take part in conferences and symposiums. However, in the 1970s and 

1980s, due to the pressures of the secret police, he often had to refuse such opportunities. But 

all along his career he had intensive contacts with colleagues from the Czech Republic. For 

example, he took part in the first British and American Studies Conference in Brno, where he 

spoke about the historical conditions and differences between Czech and Slovak English 

studies. I recall his having invited Professor Zdeněk Stříbrný to Bratislava in the late 1980s. 

This Czech literary historian and lecturer spoke about the circumstances connected with the 

preparation of the History of English Literature (in two volumes) which had been published 

some time before this visit. In spite of the unfavourable conditions, Professor Olexa managed 

to lecture at Columbia University on the history and development of the English sonnet in 

1970, at a seminar in Cambridge in 1983 he dealt with Slovak theatre and its system of 

financing, and at the University in Marburg in Germany in 1991 he lectured about the 

contemporary state of English Studies in Czechoslovakia. At the same time, he was a member 

of many academic bodies of universities and participated in the process of granting academic 


13

degrees and titles to graduates, postgraduates or Associate Professors and Professors at 

universities in Slovakia. 

In the space of several pages, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to try to present 

faithfully the whole life of a man who devoted himself to so many different activities: 

translating, editing, journalistic activities, lecturing at universities, writing various literary- 

critical texts, as well as being involved in many organizational activities. Thus I would like to 

supplement his professional image with my personal memories of encounters with him. I met 

him in the middle of the 1980s at first as my lecturer of literary theory and later of English 

literary history. Still later I asked him to be the supervisor of my diploma thesis on English 

literary history, and many years later to be the supervisor of my doctoral thesis which I wrote 

while working in the Institute of World Literature at the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Let me 

confess that Professor Olexa stood behind two decisions of mine which influenced my 

professional career and, naturally, also my life in general. Firstly, in 1991, when I was a fresh 

university graduate, he recommended me to apply for the position of an intern at the Slovak 

Academy of Sciences. Six years later, when Professor Olexa was leaving his post at the 

Faculty of Arts of Comenius University in Bratislava, he advised me to apply for the newly 

vacant position of lecturer of literary theory. I do not have to add how grateful I am to him for 

both these pieces of advice. 

But let me come back to my memories of him from the times of my university studies. 

I have to say that he always had decent and kind manners and that he was indeed a decent and 

kind person. Somewhat in the style of an Oxford don, in a casual corduroy jacket and 

inseparably connected to his favourite pipe, he introduced to us freshmen the magical charms 

of British and American literature, when like a wizard with silver hair he started to incant the 

unforgettable words of Blake‘s poem: ―Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright‖. (I cannot refrain from 

mentioning that from the very beginning of my lecturing I have included this poem into my 

syllabus, thus handing over this ―message‖ to further generations of students.) However, 

Professor Olexa‘s kind disposition did not mean that he would give all his students ―A‖ 

grades. I think he was an embodiment of the phrase ―strict but just‖. I remember when I was 

taking a test on English literature and I was very ―exam-fevered‖, he wittily corrected me 

when I used the incorrect idiom ―notorious alcoholic‖. He told me: ―That alcoholic may not 

be notorious, but he is surely an addict‖. Thanks to his vast and deep knowledge and 

orientation in the field of English literature, he sometimes enriched his lectures with slightly 

piquant memories of some personalities of the literary Parnassus. One story has remained in 

my memory about the visit of the bohemian Welsh-English poet Dylan Thomas to Bratislava. 


14

As Jozef Olexa told us, during his visit some Slovak writers one day tried to get him drunk, 

but early in the following morning, when they were still overwhelmed with sleep and 

exhaustion, Thomas stood up and was eager to continue to have fun somewhere else. It seems 

to me that also this ―rumour‖ shows that Jozef Olexa did not take literature and its history as 

something boring, as only ―some dust which falls from books lying for many centuries on 

shelves hidden in libraries‖. For him, literature was a living and fascinating object. 

I hope I have provided my readers with an image of Professor Olexa and his work 

which is as complete as was possible within such a short space. The rest can be said by his 

work, and his merit can deservedly be expressed by using a quote from Horace‘s ode: he has 

―raised a monument more permanent than bronze‖ (Odes, Book III, Ode xxx). 

To this short homage we also attach a personal bibliography of Professor Olexa so that 

the reader can create their own idea of the lifelong achievements of this rare personality. But 

most of all, his years spent at various departments of academic institutions, as well as the 

many years of his working as an editor and translator, testify to his having markedly 

influenced Slovak culture and the reception of literature written in English, and thus helped to 

shape the tastes of demanding readers. 

I think I can, and I certainly would like to, in the name of all members of our 

Department of British and American Studies, as well as the wider circle of Anglicists and 

Americanists in Slovakia, wish him good health and a peaceful autumn of his life. May we for 

many more years have the privilege of meeting Professor Olexa as a unique and distinguished 

scholar and a most humane personality. 

Note: 

I would like to express my gratitude to Konńtantín Palkovič for his article Kto je kto? Jozef 

Olexa (―Who Is Who? Jozef Olexa‖) in Slovenské národné noviny (Volume 6 (10), No. 52, 

1995, p. 5), and also to the Comenius University Archives for enabling to me access to the 

materials concerning the habilitation procedure of Professor Olexa, as well as those of his 

professorship inauguration in 1992. 


15

Bibliography of Professor PhDr. Jozef Olexa, CSc. 

I. TRANSLATIONS 

I.1. Translations in Book Publications 

Marián Gazdík 


1. ANDERSON, Sherwood: Winesburg, Ohio. Afterword (O človeku, ktorý písal čudné 

poviedky – On the Man Who Wrote Strange Stories, pp. 217-221), written by Jozef Olexa. 

Bratislava, SVKL 1959. 

It contains these short stories translated by Jozef Olexa: 

Kniha grotesiek – ―The Book of the Grotesque‖ (pp. 9-12), Ruky – o Wingovi Biddlebaumovi 

– ―Hands—concerning Wing Biddlebaum‖ (pp.13-19), Papierové pilulky – o doktorovi 

Reefym – ―Paper Pills—concerning Doctor Reefy‖ (pp. 20-23), Matka – o Elizabethe 

Wilardovej – ―Mother—concerning Elizabeth Willard‖ (pp. 24-33), Filozof – o doktorovi 

Parcivalovi – ―The Philosopher—concerning Doctor Parcival‖ (pp. 34-41), Nikto o tom nevie 

– o Luise Trunnionovej – ―Nobody Knows—concerning Louise Trunnion‖ (pp. 42-45), 

Bohabojnosť (časť prvá a druhá) – o Jessovi Bentleym – ―Godliness - Parts I and II— 

concerning Jesse Bentley‖ (pp. 46-65), Poráņka (časť tretia) - o Luise Bentleyovej – 

―Surrender (Part III)—concerning Louise Bentley‖ (pp. 66-74), Hrôza (časť ńtvrtá) – 

o Davidovi Hardym – ―Terror (Part IV)—concerning David Hardy‖ (pp. 75-80), Človek 

podivuhodných nápadov – o Joeovi Wellingovi – ―A Man of Ideas—concerning Joe Welling‖ 

(pp.81-89), Dobrodruņstvo – o Alice Hindmanovej – ―Adventure—concerning Alice 

Hindman‖ (pp. 90-97), Lepńí ľudia – o Washovi Williamsovi – ―Respectability—concerning 

Wash Williams‖ (pp. 98-104), Potmehúd – o Sethovi Richmondovi – ―The Thinker— 

concerning Seth Richmond‖ (pp. 105-118). Tandy – o Tandy Hardovej – ―Tandy— 

concerning Tandy Hard‖ (pp. 119-122), Boh je mocný – o dôstojnom pánu Curtisovi 

Hartmanovi – ―The Strength of God—concerning The Reverend Curtis Hartman‖ (pp. 123- 

131), Učiteľka – o Kate Swiftovej – ―The Teacher—concerning Kate Swift‖ (pp. 132-140), 

Samota – o Enochovi Robinsonovi – ―Loneliness—concerning Enoch Robinson‖ (pp. 141- 

151), Prebudenie – o Belle Carpenterovej – ―An Awakening—concerning Belle Carpenter‖ 

(pp. 152-161), Čudák – o Elmerovi Cowleym – ――Queer‖—concerning Elmer Cowley‖ (pp. 

162-172), Nevyslovená loņ – o Rayovi Pearsonovi – ―The Untold Lie—concerning Ray 

Pearson‖ (pp. 173-179), Whisky – o Tomovi Fosterovi – ―Drink—concerning Tom Foster‖ 

(pp. 180–189), Smrť – o doktorovi Reefym a o Elizabethe Wilardovej – ―Death—concerning 

Doctor Reefy and Elizabeth Willard‖ (pp. 190-202), Dospievanie – o Helen Whiteovej – 

―Sophistication—concerning Helen White‖ (pp. 203-212), Odchod – o Georgeovi Wilardovi 

– ―Departure—concerning George Willard‖ (pp. 213-216). 

2. HEMINGWAY, Ernest: 49 poviedok. (Forty-Nine Stories). Translated by Jozef Olexa. 

Afterword (Hemingway – Románopisec a poviedkár – ―Hemingway – Novelist and Short 

Story Writer‖, pp. 447-464) written by Július Pańteka. Bratislava, SVKL 1961. 

It contains these stories: Krátky ńtastný ņivot Francisa Macombera – ―The Short Happy Life 

of Francis Macomber‖, (pp. 9-39), Hlavné mesto sveta – ―The Capital of the World‖ (pp. 40- 

51), Snehy Kilimandņára – ―The Snows of Kilimanjaro‖, (pp.52-74), Starček pri moste – ―Old 

Man at the Bridge‖ (pp. 75-77), V Michigane – ―Up in Michigan‖ (pp. 78-82), Na prístavnej 

hrádzi v Smyrne – ―On the Quai at Smyrna‖ (pp. 83-84), V indiánskom tábore – ―Indian 


16

Camp‖ (pp. 87-90), Doktor a jeho ņena – ―The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife‖ (pp. 93-96), Uņ 

ma to nebaví – ―The End of Something‖ (pp. 99-102), Povíchrica – ―The Three-Day Blow‖ 

(pp. 105-114), Zápasník – ―The Battler‖ (pp. 117-126), Kratulinká poviedka – ―A Very Short 

Story‖ (pp. 129-130), Návrat z vojny – ―Soldier's Home‖ (pp. 133-140), Revolucionár – ―The 

Revolutionist‖ (pp.143-144), Manņelia Elliotovci – ―Mr. and Mrs. Elliot‖ (pp. 147-150), 

Mačka v daņdi – ―Cat in the Rain‖ (pp. 153-156), Nevydarené podujatie – ―Out of Season‖ 

(pp. 159-164), Zasneņené stráne – ―Cross-Country Snow‖ (pp. 167-172), Môj tato – ―My Old 

Man‖ (pp. 175-188), Na rybačke pri Hornom jazere I – ―Big Two-Hearted River (part 1)‖ (pp. 

191-198), Na rybačke pri Hornom jazere II – ―Big Two-Hearted River (part 2)‖ (pp. 201- 

210), Nepremoņený – ―The Undefeated‖ (pp. 213-240), V cudzine – ―In Another Country‖ 

(pp. 241-246), Hory ako biele slony – ―Hills Like White Elephants‖ (pp. 247-251), Zabijaci – 

―The Killers‖ (pp. 252-261), Che ti dice la patria? (262-271), Päťdesiat veľkých papierov – 

―Fifty Grand‖ (pp. 272-294), Ktovie, či mi neluhal – ―A Simple Enquiry‖ (pp. 295-297), 

Desať Indiánov – ―Ten Indians‖ (pp.298-302), Kanárik z Palerma – ―A Canary for One‖ (pp. 

303-307), Alpská idyla – ―An Alpine Idyll‖ (pp.308-313), Preteky – ―A Pursuit Race‖ (pp. 

314-318), Na Veľký Piatok – ―Today is Friday‖ (pp.319-322), Banálna poviedka – ―Banal 

Story‖ (pp. 323-324), Leņím a bdiem – ―Now I Lay Me― (pp.325-332), Po búrke – ―After the 

Storm‖ (pp. 333-338), V čistej útulnej kaviarni – ―A Clean, Well-Lighted Place‖ (pp. 339- 

343), Svetlo sveta – ―The Light of the World‖ (pp. 344- 350), Hospodin vás opatruj a doņič 

vám radosti – ―God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen‖ (pp. 351-355), Zmena pri mori – ―The Sea 

Change‖ (pp. 356-359), Taký nikdy nebudeń – ―A Way You'll Never Be‖ (360-371), 

Zvrhlíkova matka – ―The Mother of a Queen‖ (pp. 372-376), List jednej čitateľky – ―One 

Reader Writes‖ (pp. 377-378), Hold Ńvajčiarsku – ―Homage to Switzerland‖ (pp. 379-390), 

Zvýńená teplota – ―A Day's Wait‖ (pp. 391-394), Prírodopis mŕtvych – ―A Natural History of 

the Dead‖ (pp. 395-403), Wyominské víno – ―Wine of Wyoming‖ (pp. 404-419), Hazardný 

hráč, mníńka a rádio – ―The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio‖ (pp. 420-436), Otcovia 

a synovia – ―Fathers and Sons‖ (pp. 437-446). 

3. KIPLING, Rudyard: Kim a iné prózy. (Kim and Other Stories. Kim. Soldiers Three. Plain 

Tales from the Hills. Tales from Land and Sea. Traffics and Discoveries. Debits and Credits. 

Limits and Renewals). Bratislava, Slovenský spisovateľ 1968. 

The novel Kim and these short stories were translated by Viktor Krupa: Dvojčatá – ―Gemini‖ 

(pp. 320-328), Za povodne – ―In Flood Time‖ (pp. 329-338), Pri mestskom múre – ―On the 

City Wall‖ (pp. 339-368), Ony – ―They‖ (pp. 391-416), Býk, ktorý rozmýńľal – ―The Bull 

that Thought‖, Nepriatelia navzájom – ―The Enemies to Each Other‖ (pp. 432-444), and 

Cirkev, ktorá bola v Antiochii – ―Church at Antioch‖, (pp.444-462). 

These short stories were translated by Jozef Olexa: Lispeth (pp. 369-362), Uväznenie 

poručíka Golightlyho – ―The Arrest of Lieutenant Golightly‖ (pp. 363-374), Sais slečny 

Youghalovej – ―Miss Youghal‘s Sais‖ (pp. 375-382) V Sadhuovom dome – ―In The House of 

Suddhoo‖ (pp. 382-390) and Zvolil si inú cestu – ―He Chose a Different Road‖ (pp. 462-483). 

The afterword (―Rudyard Kipling‖, pp. 485-497) and biographical note („Ņivot a dielo― – 

―Life and Works‖, pp. 492-497) was written by Jozef Olexa. 

4. HEMINGWAY, Ernest: Snehy Kilimandņára. (The Snows of Kilimanjaro). Afterword 

(Kľúč k Hemingwayoevj tvorbe – A key to Hemingway‘s Works, pp. 249-266) written by Dr. 

Július Pańteka. Bratislava, TATRAN 1970. 

It contains these short stories translated by Jozef Olexa (original titles – see No. 2): Snehy 

Kilimandņára, (pp. 5-34), Krátky ńtastný ņivot Francisa Macombera (pp. 35-73), Hlavné 

mesto sveta (pp.74-89), Hore v Michigane (pp. 90-95), Indiánsky tábor – (pp. 96-100), 

Vojakov domov – ―Soldier's Home‖ (pp. 101-110), Veľrieka dvoch sŕdc I. ―Big Two-Hearted 


17

River (part 1)‖ (pp. 111-121), Veľrieka dvoch sŕdc II., ―Big Two-Hearted River (part 2)‖ (pp. 

122-134), Hory ako biele slony (pp. 135-140), Zabijaci (pp.141153), Taký nikdy nebudeń 

(pp. 154-168). The novella Starec a more – ―The Old Man and the Sea‖ (pp. 169-248) was 

translated by Peter Ņdán. 

5. HUXLEY, Aldous: Kontrapunkt. (Point Counter Point). Translated by Jozef Olexa and 

Ńarlota Barániková. Afterword (Anglická spoločnosť v krivom zrkadle Huxleyho satiry – 

―English Society in the Distorting Mirror of Huxley‘s Satire‖, pp. 499-507) written by Jozef 

Olexa. Notes and commentaries written by Adriana Oravcová. Bratislava, Slovenský 

spisovateľ, 1988. 

6. HEMINGWAY, Ernest: Muņi bez ņien. (Men without Women). Translated by Jozef Olexa. 

Bratislava, Slovenský spisovateľ 1999. 

It contains these stories (original titles – see No. 2): Nepremoņený (pp.5-31), V cudzine (pp. 

32-36), Hory ako biele slony (pp. 37-41), Zabijaci (pp. 42-50), Che ti dice la patria? (pp. 51- 

59), Päťdesiat veľkých papierov (pp. 82-84), Ktovie, či mi neluhal (pp 82-84), Desať 

Indiánov (pp.85-89) Kanárik z Palerma (pp. 90-94), Alpská idyla (pp. 95-100), Preteky (pp. 

101-105), Na Veľký Piatok (pp.106-109), Banálna poviedka (pp. 110-111), Leņím a bdiem 

(pp. 112-118). 

I.2. Translations in Anthologies of Short Stories 

7. Dni a noci Ameriky. (―Days and Nights of America‖). Edited by and afterword written by 

Jaroslav Schejbal. Bratislava, Slovenský spisovateľ 1964. It contains these short stories 

translated by Jozef Olexa: 

ANDERSON, Sherwood: Chcem vedieť prečo. (I Want to Know Why). pp. 194-205. 

HEMINGWAY, Ernest: Vojakov domov. Zabijaci. (Soldier‘s Home. The Killers). pp. 219- 

239. 

HOWELLS, William Dean: Editha. pp.12-28. 

SALINGER, J.D.: Deň ako stvorená na banánové rybky. Milej Esme – s láskou a mizériou. 

(A Perfect Day for Bananafish. For Esme – With Love and Squalor) pp. 563-602. 

SAROYAN, William: Leto krásneho bieleho koňa. (The Summer with the Beautiful White 

Horse). pp. 442-450. 

WARREN, Robert Penn: Cezmínová zima. (Blackberry Winter). pp. 460-485. 

8. Samé poľovnícke príhody. (―All Tales about Hunting‖). Edited by Milan Rajský and Vlasta 

Mikláńová. Bratislava, Slovenské vydavateľstvo pôdohospodárskej literatúry 1967. Contains a 

short story by Ernest Hemingway: Krátky ńťastný ņivot F. Macombera – ―The Short Happy 

Life of Francis Macomber‖, pp. 159-190. 

I.3. Translation of an Afterword 

9. DOS PASSOS, John: Manhattanské kriņovatky. (Manhattan Transfer). Translated by Viera 

Maruńiaková, afterword written by Antony Hope Sawyer, translated by Jozef Olexa. 

Bratislava, TATRAN 1970, pp. 388-397. 


18

I.4. I.3. Translations in Periodicals 

10. ANDERSON, Sherwood: Vzneńenosť – ―Respectability‖. Ņivot, volume 8, June 11, 1958, 

No. 24, p. 17. 

11. ANDERSON, Sherwood: Nikto o tom nevie – ―Nobody Knows‖. Mladá tvorba, volume 

3, August-September 1958, Nos. 8-9, p. 42. 

12. ANDERSON, Sherwood: Papierové pilulky – ―Paper Pills‖. Nová literatúra, volume 2, 

October 25, 1958, No. 18, p. 10. 

13. DICKENS, Charles: Syn pána Dombeyho. (An excerpt from the novel Dombey and Son). 

Ņivot, volume 5, June 10, 1955, No. 23, p. 17. 

14. HEMINGWAY, Ernest: Starček pri moste – ―Old Man at the Bridge‖. Beseda, volume 1, 

September 2, 1961, No. 10, p. 13. 

15. HEMINGWAY, Ernest: Návrat z vojny – ―Soldier‘s Home‖. Ņivot, volume 1, October 23, 

1961, No. 43, pp.19-20. 

16. HEMINGWAY, Ernest: V indiánskom tábore – ―Indian Camp‖. Rudé právo, volume 46, 

March 26, 1966, No. 84, Saturday supplement, p. 1. 

17. SHAW, George Bernard: Zamestnanie Cashela Byrona – ―Cashel Byron‘s Profession‖. 

(An excerpt from the novel). Ņivot, volume 5, November 4, 1955, No. 44, p. 17. 

II. MONOGRAPHS 

18. Dejiny anglickej a americkej literatúry – ―History of English and American Literature‖. 

Ńtefan Bańtín, Jozef Olexa and Zora Studená. Bratislava, Obzor 1993, 346 pp. 

Jozef Olexa wrote these parts: History of English Literature: Introduction, Old English Period, 

Middle English Period, English Renaissance (pp. 11-67), Romanticism, Victorian Period, 

Modern English Drama, Literature between the Two World Wars, Literature after World War 

II. 89-231. 

III. PARTICIPATION IN COLLECTIVE WORKS 

19. Malá encyklopédia spisovateľov sveta – ―Small Encyclopaedia of World Writers‖. Edited 

by Ján Juríček. Bratislava, Obzor 1978, 642 pp. 

20. Malá encyklopédia spisovateľov sveta – ―Small Encyclopaedia of World Writers‖. Edited 

by Ján Juríček. Bratislava, Obzor 1981, 642 pp. Second edition. 

21. Encyklopédia spisovateľov sveta – ―Encyclopaedia of World Writers‖. Edited by Ján 

Juríček. Bratislava, Obzor 1987, 643 pp. Third rewritten and complemented edition. 

Encyklopédia literárnych diel – ―Encyclopaedia of Literary Works‖. Edited by Kamil Banák 

and Jozef Telgárský. Bratislava, Obzor 1989, 858 pp. 

22. Portréty svetových spisovateľov: učebná pomôcka ńkoly 2. cyklu. ―Portraits of World 

Writers: A Teaching Aid for Schools for Children from the Age of 10 to 14 years‖. Edited by 

Anna Doleņalová. Banská Bystrica 1989. 


19

IV. AFTERWORDS AND VARIOUS CRITICAL TEXTS IN BOOK 

PUBLICATIONS 

23. STEVENSON, Robert Louis: Únos. (Kidnapped). Translated by Ada Kuzmány- 

Bruothová. Afterword (pp. 343-350), written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, SVKL 1957. 

24. ANDERSON, Sherwood: Winesburg, Ohio. Afterword (O človeku, ktorý písal čudné 

poviedky – ―On the Man Who Wrote Strange Stories, pp. 217-221) written by Jozef Olexa. 


25. SHAW, George Bernard: Translated by and afterword written by Eugen S. Rosian. 

Footnotes written by Jozef Olexa. Two volumes. Selected Works by G. B. Shaw, volume 2. 

Contents: Lekárova dilema (The Doctor‘s Dilemma), Androkles a lev (Androcles and the 

Lion), Pygmalion, Dom zlomených sŕdc (Heartbreak House), Svätá Jana (Saint Joan), Tragač 

s jablkami (The Apple Cart), Milionárka (The Millionairess). Bratislava, SVKL 1960. 

26. FIELDING, Henry: Joseph Andrews. Príhody a dobrodruņstvá Josepha Andrewsa a jeho 

priateľa Abraháma Adamsa. (The Adventures of Joseph Andrews). Translated by Tatiana 

Ruppeldtová. Afterword (Henry Fielding a vznik anglického realistického románu – ―Henry 

Fielding and the Rise of the English Realistic Novel‖, pp. 311-315) written by Jozef Olexa. 


27. CONRAD, Joseph: Lord Jim. Translated by Ivan Krčméry. Afterword (Joseph Conrad – 

majster narácie a charakterizácie postáv – ―Joseph Conrad – Master of Narration and 

Characterization of Characters‖, pp. 269-273) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, SVKL 

1963. 

28. BRAINE, John: Miesto hore. Ņivot hore. (Room at the Top. Life at the Top). Translated 

by Miloń Ruppeldt. Afterword (Brainova dilógia Miesto hore. Ņivot hore. ―Braine‘s Dilogy 

Room at the Top‖. Life at the Top, pp. 447-456) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, SVKL 

1964. 

29. BARSTOW, Stan: Niečo ako láska. (A Kind of Loving). Translated by Tatiana 

Ruppeldtová. Afterword (pp. 327-330) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Tatran 1966. 

30. BRONTËOVÁ (BRONTË), Emily: Búrlivé výńiny. (Wuthering Heights). Translated by 

Viera Bukvová-Daxnerová. Afterword (Autorka Búrlivých výńin a jej doba – ―The Author of 

Wuthering Heights and Her Times‖, pp. 281-290) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Tatran 

1966. 

31. McCULLERSOVÁ (McCULLERS), Carson Smith: Srdce je osamelý lovec. (The Heart is 

a Lonely Hunter). Translated by Tatiana Ruppeldtová. Afterword (pp. 307-315) written by 

Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Pravda 1966. 

32. BRONTËOVÁ (BRONTË), Emily: Búrlivé výńiny. (Wuthering Heights). Translated by 

Viera Bukvová-Daxnerová. Afterword (Autorka Búrlivých výńin a jej doba – ―The Author of 

Wuthering Heights and Her Times‖, pp. 281-290) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Tatran 

1967. 


20

33. CHESTERTON, Gilbert Keith: Príhody pátra Browna. (The Father Brown Stories). 

Translated by Karol Dlouhý. Afterword (pp. 369-374) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, 

Slovenský spisovateľ 1967. 

34. GREENE, Graham: Brightonská skala. (Brighton Rock). Translated by Ivan Krčméry. 

Afterword (pp. 261-268) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Tatran 1967. 

35. AUSTEN, Jane: Pýcha a predsudok. (Pride and Prejudice). Translated by Rudolf Końtial. 

Afterword (pp. 305-311) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Tatran 1968. 

36. KIPLING, Rudyard: Kim a iné prózy. (Kim and Other Stories). Translated by Viktor 

Krupa and Jozef Olexa. Afterword (―Rudyard Kipling‖, pp. 485-497) written by Jozef Olexa. 


37. STEVENSON, Robert Louis: Únos. (Kidnapped). Translated by Ada Kuzmány- 

Bruothová. Afterword (pp. 203-208), written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Tatran 1968. 

38. WAIN, John: Zima v horách. (A Winter in the Hills). Translated by Jarmila Samcová. 

Afterword written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Smena 1974. 

39. WHITE, Patrick: Voss. Translated by Eduard V. Tvaroņek. Afterword (Patrick White, pp. 

471-478) and chronology of the author‘s life (Ņivot a dielo – ―His Life and Works‖, pp. 479- 

484) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Slovenský spisovateľ 1977. 

40. DEFOE, Daniel: Volume I. Robinson Crusoe. Translated by Juraj Vojtek. Volume II. 

Moll Flandersová. (Moll Flanders). Translated by Rudolf Końtial. Volume III. Roxana. 

Translated by Miroslava Majerčíková. Edited by, the introductory scholarly article (Vol. I., 

pp. 7-18) written by and the chronology of the author‘s life (Vol. III., pp. 273-283) compiled 

by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Tatran 1978. 

41. WELTYOVÁ (WELTY), Eudora: Nevesta z Innisfallenu (The Bride of the Innisfallen). 

Translated by Adela Príhodová–Böhmerová. Afterword (pp. 231-242) written by Jozef Olexa. 


42. BRONTËOVÁ (BRONTË), Emily: Búrlivé výńiny. (Wuthering Heights). Volume I. 

Translated by Magda Ņáryová. Edited by and introductory scholarly article (―Dva svety 

sestier Bronteových – The Two Worlds of the Brontë Sisters‖, pp. 7-22) written by Jozef 

Olexa. Bratislava, Tatran 1980. 

43. BRONTËOVÁ (BRONTË), Charlotte: Villette. Volume IV. Translated by and Notes 

written by Jozef Máček. ―A Chronology of the Lives and Works by the Brontë Sisters‖ 

written by Jozef Olexa (pp. 539-545). Bratislava, Tatran 1980. 

44. DICKENS, Charles: Vianočná koleda. (A Christmas Carol) Translated by Magda 

Ņáryová. Afterword (Charles Dickens kritik ranoviktoriánskej spoločnosti – ―Charles Dickens 

– A Critic of Early Victorian Society‖, pp. 153-165) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, 

Tatran 1985. 

45. DICKENS, Monica: Vlani, keď som bol mladý. Translated by Nina Dovinová. Afterword 

(pp. 219-222) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Slovenský spisovateľ 1985. 


21

46. FITZGERALD, Penelope: U starej Freddie. (At Freddie‘s). Translated by Silvia 

Červenčíková. Afterword (Poznámka k románu „U starej Freddie― – ―A Note Written on the 

Novel At Freddie‘s‖, pp. 169-173) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Slovenský spisovateľ 

1986. 

47. FITZGERALD, Penelope: Ďaleko od brehu. (Offshore). Translated by Darina Urbánková. 

Afterword (pp. 127-130) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Smena 1986. 

48. BOYD, William: Dobrý človek v Afrike. Translated by Gabriela Hanáková. Afterword 

(pp. 353-356) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Slovenský spisovateľ 1987. 

49. HUXLEY, Aldous: Kontrapunkt. (Point Counter Point). Translated by Jozef Olexa and 

Ńarlota Barániková. Afterword (Anglická spoločnosť v krivom zrkadle Huxleyho satiry – 

―English Society in the Distorting Mirror of Huxley‘s Satire‖, pp. 499-507) written by Jozef 

Olexa. Notes and commentaries written by Adriana Oravcová. Bratislava, Slovenský 

spisovateľ 1988. 

50. LAWRENCE, David Herbert: Milenec lady Chatterleyovej. Translated by Ńarlota 

Barániková. Afterword (D. H. Lawrence – apońtol modernej lásky – ―D. H. Lawrence – The 

Apostle of Modern Love‖, pp. 321-327) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, Slovenský 

spisovateľ 1989. 

51. GALSWORTHY, John: Patricij. (The Patrician). Translated by Tatiana Ruppeldtová. 

Afterword (John Galsworthy – posledný Viktorián a humanistický moralista – ―John 

Galsworthy – The Last Victorian and Humanist Moralist‖, pp. 269-278) written by Jozef 

Olexa. Bratislava, Slovenský spisovateľ 1990. 

52. GREENE, Graham: Monsignor Quijote. Translated by Viera Maruńiaková. Afterword 

(Greenova tvorba – ―Greene‗s Works‖, pp. 194-198) written by Jozef Olexa. Bratislava, 

Slovenský spisovateľ, 1991. 

V. SCHOLARLY ESSAYS AND ARTICLES 

53. O súčasnom anglickom románe. ―On the Contemporary English Novel‖. (A Survey 

Article on New Works by J. Aldridge, L. Durrell, G. Greene, D. Lessing, B. Davidson, C. P. 

Snow, A. Wilson, W. Golding, K. Amis, J. Wain, I. Murdoch, L. Doherty and A. Sillitoe). 

Slovenské pohľady, volume 80, 1964, No. 2, pp. 81-86. 

54. Colin Wilson: Absurdný rebel v slepej uličke. Colin Wilson: ―An Absurd Rebel at a Dead 

End‖. (The author mentions and comments on excerpts from these works by Wilson: ―The 

Outsider‖ (1956), ―Religion and the Rebel‖ (1957), ―Ritual in the Dark‖ (1960), ―Adrift in 

Soho‖ (1961), ―The Man without a Shadow‖ (1963), ―Beyond the Outsider‖ (1965), ―Sartre, 

Romantic Rationalist‖). Revue svetovej literatúry, volume 1, 1965, No. 4, pp. 203-211. 

55. Allan Sillitoe, majster malej epickej formy. ―Allan Sillitoe, Master of the Short Epic 

Form‖. (Essay on the Concept of the Social Novel by A. Sillitoa along with an Analysis of the 

Main Characters of his Works, Arthur Seaton and Brian Seaton). In: O svetovom románe. 


22

Sborník ńtúdií. ―On the World Novel. An Anthology of Essays‖. Bratislava, SAV 1967, pp. 

205-219. 

56. Téma mora u Josepha Conrada. ―The Theme of the Sea in the Works of Joseph Conrad‖. 

Revue svetovej literatúry, volume 12, 1976, No. 3, pp. 167-169. 

57. Pohnevaní mladí muņi versus ńtát verejného blahobytu. ―Angry Young Men Versus the 

State of Welfare. Survey Article‖. Revue svetovej literatúry, volume 16, No. 6, 1980, pp. 100- 

103. 

58. Romantic and Realistic Features in the Composition of ―Wuthering Heights‖. (A scholarly 

article dealing with the novel by Emily Brontë). An anthology of essays published by the 

Faculty of Arts at Comenius University. Philologica, volume 35. 1985. Bratislava, SPN 1989, 

pp. 115-123. 

59. From the History of English Studies in Slovakia. Scholarly article. ASA Journal (Journal 

of the Association of Slovak Anglicists), volume 1, 1992, No. 1, pp. 3-9. 

60. Shakespearean Scholarship in Domestic and Foreign Periodicals. Scholarly article. ASA 

Journal, volume 3, 1994, No. 2, pp. 6-8. 

61. The Structural Principles of the Sonnet. Scholarly article. Bulletin, volume 2, Summer 

1995, pp. 2-12. 

62. Prof. Ján Ńimko – Dr. Leonard Polčík. Bulletin, volume 3, Winter, 1995, pp. 2-5. 

63. Otakar Vočadlo (1895-1974): A Homage to Our First Professor of English on the 

Occasion of the 100th anniversary of His Birth. Bulletin, volume 3, Winter, 1995, pp. 6-9. 

64. The History and the Present State of English Studies in Slovakia. In: ―European English 

Studies: Contributions towards the History of a Discipline‖, pp. 191-200.Edited by Balz 

Engler and Renate Haas. Published for The European Society for the Study of English by The 

English Association, 2000. 

VI. POPULAR ARTICLES AND REVIEWS 

65. (fa): Román arabskej púńte. ―Novel of the Arabian Desert‖. (Review). Večerník, volume 

1, October 2, 1956, No. 2, p. 3. 

66. James Aldridge: Hrdinovia prázdnych obzorov. ―Heroes of Empty Horizons‖. (Review). 

Ņivot, volume 6, October 5, 1956, No. 40, p. 16. 

67. Ernest Hemingway: Starec a more. ―The Old Man and the Sea‖. (Review). Ņivot, volume 

6, November 23, 1956, No. 47, p. 16. 


23

68. Ernest Hemingway: Majstrovská novela. ―A Novella by the Master‖. (Review of ―The 

Old Man and The Sea‖ by Ernest Hemingway). Nová literatúra, volume 2, April 16, 1958, 

No. 4, p. 18. 

69. Irving Stone: Utíńený smäd. ―A Thirst Which is Satisfied‖. (Review of ―Lust for Life‖ by 

Irving Stone). Nová literatúra, volume 2, April 24, 958, No. 5, pp. 17-18. 

70. Za Ernestom Hemingwayom. (Obituary for Ernest Hemingway). Pravda, volume 42, 

1961, July 6, 1961, No. 186, p. 3. 

71. Myńlienkový a umelecký odkaz Dreisera. ―The Philosophical and Artistic Message of 

Dreiser‖. (An Article on the Occasion of the 90th Anniversary of Author‘s Birth). Pravda, 

volume 42, August 27, 1961, No. 238, p. 3. 

72. Majster humoru a irónie. O novom románe Grahama Greena. ―A Master of Humour and 

Irony. On the New Novel by Graham Greene‖. (Review). Pravda, volume 43, February 16, 

1962, No. 46, p. 3. 

73. Starý a Nový svet v diele H. W. Longfellowa. ―The Old and New World in the Works by 

H. W. Longfellow‖. (On the 80th Anniversary of the Author‗s Death). Pravda, volume 43, 

April 1, 1962, No. 90, p. 2. 

74. Pohľad na vývin anglického románu. ―A Look at the Development of the English Novel‖. 

(Review of: W.E. Allen: ―The English Novel: A Short Critical History―. London, Phoenix 

House, 1954. 359 pp). Slovenská literatúra, volume 12, 1965, No. 2, pp. 217-219. 

75. Eudora Weltyová. ―Eudora Welty‖. (Profile Article about the Author). Revue svetovej 

literatúry, volume 2, 1966, No. 3, pp. 157-159. 

76. Charles Dickens. 1812-1870. (Article on the 100th Anniversary of the Author‘s Death). 

In: Jubilanti vo svete. Bratislava, Osvetový ústav 1970, pp. 127-135. 

77. Básnik hľadá svoje miesto. ―A Poet Is Looking for His Place‖. (Commentary attached to 

translations of British poets made by Marián Andričík: Keith Bosley, Peter Dale, Douglas 

Hill, John Fuller, Stewart Conn, A. C. Jacobs, Derek Mahon, Brian Patten, Hugo Williams, 

Ian Hamilton, Roger McGough, Peter Brown, Patrick Waites, Roger Jones, Stuart Mills, Neil 

Oram and Tom Taylor). Revue svetovej literatúry, volume 22, No. 6, 1986, pp. 63-64. 

78. Dionýz Ďurińin: Theory of Literary Comparistics. (Review). Slavica slovaca, volume 21, 

No. 4, 1986, pp. 375-378. 

79. Prvé slová. ―First Words‖ (Transcript of a discussion with the English poet Dannie Abse. 

Also present were Joan Abse, Ján Vilikovský, Marián Andričík, Ján Zambor, Dana Podracká, 

Jozef Olexa and Mária Huttová. Prepared by Marián Andričík). Dotyky, volume 1, No. 2, 

1989, pp. 25-27. 

80. Graham Greene. (Biographical article). Kultúrny ņivot, volume 25, No. 17, 1991, p. 9. 

VII. Editing 


24

81. An Anthology of English Poetry. Edited by Jozef Olexa. Published by Univerzita sv. 

Cyrila a Metoda (University of SS. Cyril and Methodius), Trnava 2001. 

VIII. Bibliographical Activity 

82. Bibliographical entry in Shakespeare Quarterly, volume 42, 1991, No. 5. Bibliography of 

Shakespeare‘s quotations and references for Slovakia for 1990. (Probably also entries in the 

previous and following volumes). 

IX. ABOUT JOZEF OLEXA 

83. Interview: Alexandra Ruppeldtová: Náń hosť Jozef Olexa. ―Our Guest Jozef Olexa‖. 

Revue svetovej literatúry, volume 16, No. 6 (1980), pp. 177-180. 

84. Palkovič, Konńtantín: Kto je kto? Jozef Olexa. ―Who Is Who? Jozef Olexa‖. Slovenské 

národné noviny, volume 6 (10), No. 52, 1995, p.5. 

Note: 

I would like to express my apologies to Professor Olexa and all readers of this bibliography 

for any omissions and inaccuracies caused by the limited time and conditions in preparing this 

survey. I would also like to express my indebtedness to The Bibliography of English and 

American Literature compiled by Dezider Kormuth (Martin, Matica slovenská 1995), to the 

files of the University Library in Bratislava, the Slovak National Library in Martin, as well as 

to the staff of the archives of Comenius University, namely Ms. Mária Grófová. 

As for the method of preparation of this bibliography, I divided it into nine basic 

categories within which I held to a chronological order. For the sake of better orientation, 

I marked the translations in book publications with one number. 


25

The Transnational American Identity of Allen Ginsberg 

Josef Jařab 

Palacký University, Olomouc 

When Allen Ginsberg was born in 1926 America was still undergoing a very dramatic 

struggle for cultural identity. The white and still predominantly English mainstream society, 

or rather Anglo-Saxon, as the racialists of the day would have it, felt allegedly endangered by 

the growing number of immigrants, above all from Eastern and Southern Europe, and also by 

the rising visibility of ethnic and racial minorities in the country. Official attempts to stop or 

at least limit and regulate massive immigration were supported not just by the popular core of 

believers in ―American‖ principles and values but were also encouraged from the highest 

political representatives of the nation, such as President Theodore Roosevelt, and, somewhat 

surprisingly, and less aggressively, even from Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt, for instance, 

excluded quite manifestly from the term ―native Americans‖ all ―Indians, Negroes, Asians, 

and immigrants from southern and eastern Europe‖ (qtd. in Painter 2010). And as for the 

assimilation policy metaphorically represented by the melting pot idea he, along with other 

advocates of radical ―Americanization‖, believed that only a one-hundred-percent American, 

and not any hyphenated one, can be considered a full success of the assimilation process, but 

at the same time not really believing that such result was easily achievable by the newcomers 

in a short time. 



It should not be surprising therefore that some of those who realized that the plurality 

of American society is, and had historically proved to be, not a source of its weakness but, on 

the contrary, one of the sources of its strength and human wealth, started opposing the melting 

pot idea and practice, wanting to retain some of the original culture, and offer it as an 

enrichment of the American mainstream. The philosopher Horace M. Kallen with his theory 

of cultural pluralism (made public in 1915 and 1924) and Randolph Bourne‘s hope for a 

―Trans-National America‖ expressed in his essay of the same title (1916), or Alain Locke‘s 

ground-breaking anthology The New Negro (1925), which offered the intellectual and artistic 

harvest of the Harlem Renaissance, were such early signals of change to be expected in the 

understanding of the concept and contents of American cultural identity (see Kallen 1915; 

Kallen 1924; Bourne 1916; Locke 1925). As the signals and forces for change came mostly 

from outside the official mainstream, they were not always welcome and so it took some time 

26

efore they were recognized for what they really were – that is very relevant agents of change 

bringing along also the birth of modernism in American culture. But only after World War II 

did it become clearer that a radically different mainstream was shaping up in which the plural 

ethnic, national, and racial tributaries became important, if not decisive, constituents. 

Allen Ginsberg grew up in a Jewish family. Both his parents were children of Russian 

Jews; the mother, Naomi, was even born in Russia and was brought over to America at the 

age of eight. The family name was Levy, but at Ellis Island it was Americanized to Livergant. 

Both the Livergants and the Ginsbergs, and consequently their children too, however, paid 

more attention to the socialist and even communist ideas they brought from Europe than to the 

synagogue built in the neighborhood. Like many of the Jewish immigrants, they believed 

utopian leftist ideas should be compatible with the principles of freedom and democracy in 

the ―Promised Land‖, i.e. America. 

Still, Allen never refused his Jewish Identity, though he always felt a need to 

somehow qualify it, referring to himself as a Buddhist Jew or a Jewish Buddhist. The literary 

critic Allen Grossman, however, finds reason enough to devote an essay, ―Jew as an 

American Poet,‖ to Ginsberg, of whom he says that he ―can entertain the Jewish subject 

matter only as it is in the process of being transformed into something else‖, which, of course, 

in America was to be expected anyway (Grossman 1984: 109). And then Grossman 

particularly suggests a possible kinship or interrelatedness between Zoharistic mysticism and 

Christian Gnosticism (1984: 105). 

But Allen‘s return to Jewish matters was much more specific and personal. It came 

when he wanted to write a tribute to his mother after she died, having for years suffered from 

a mysterious mental illness as much as from problematic medical treatment and never ending 

haunting visions of various kinds. His Kaddish for Naomi Ginsberg 1884-1956 was finished 

in 1959 and gave him a feeling of having written something he had wanted to do and 

something he felt fully satisfied with, even more so than with the by then already notoriously 

famous Howl. In the rhythm of shedding tears and giving in to various, most often painful, 

memories of his mother he addressed her as a ―glorious muse that bore me from the womb, 

gave me suck first mystic life & taught me talk and music, from whose pained head I first 

took Vision…‖ (Ginsberg 1962: 29). Indeed ―Kaddish‖ meant for the poet much more than 

saying good-bye to his beloved and life-tortured mother, it was also a liberating act from what 

Naomi and the family represented for him. 

As for his own experience, one hallucinatory vision that greatly influenced his life 

happened to him already in 1948, at the time when he was joining the group of young people 


27

at Columbia University who were to become his friends and the core or embodiment of the 

Beat movement, the real and symbolic representatives of the Beat Generation, namely Allen 

Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac with a few others hanging around 

Columbia, the Times Square, Harlem, or Greenwich Village. In his solitary life, being deeply 

involved in reading poems by William Blake, hoping that he could crack open ―the 

complicated code to reveal Blake‘s hidden secrets‖, he suddenly heard Blake himself read his 

―Ah Sun-flower!‖ poem for him. Allen, fascinated, felt a flash of recognition in which he 

could finally grasp the universal mysteries implied. 

―He realized that the world as we see it is complete, there is nothing outside it. His 

heightened cosmic awareness lasted for a brief time, less than an hour, and then was gone. 

The important thing for Allen was that the enlightenment remained‖ (Morgan 2006: 103). The 

young Ginsberg also took this strong illusion for a calling to become a poet – he would write 

and pursue a search for meaning in everything the world is or appears to be. The Blake vision 

remained one of his strongest arguments when he was persuading people that the Beat 

movement was more a spiritual than social or even political phenomenon. In our interview in 

1989, I wanted to discuss with him the rebellious mission of the group but he resolutely 

refused to do so, saying: ―Caught up by William Blake, you don‘t have to worry about 

cleansing yourself of middle-class values‖ (Josef Jařab 2001: 115). 

But despite his admiration for Blake and his universe, he continued his personal 

spiritual search beyond Judaism and Christianity in the Eastern religions, namely out of the 

realm of monotheism and into Buddhism with the practices of meditation and conscious 

breathing (mind breaths). He later studied Zen, and found for himself a private Tibetan 

Buddhist teacher, and introduced some of the exercises into the Naropa Institute in Boulder, 

Colorado, but also into his classrooms wherever he later taught or lectured, including his 

lecture series at Palacky University, Olomouc in the fall of 1993, when every session was 

started by a short meditation by the whole audience. 

Ginsberg‘s plural, multicultural and transnational identity is forcefully declared in the 

poem which was formed in his head when he was leaving, or rather when he was forced to 

leave Prague in 1965. Having been just spontaneously nominated and celebrated as Král 

Majales by thousands of students on the official May Day, which provoked the regime to 

speedily evict him, a Whitmanesque poetic catalogue was unrolling in his mind when flown to 

London: 

And I am the King of May, naturally, 


28

for I am of Slavic parentage 

and a Buddhist Jew 

Who worships the Sacred Heart of Christ 

the blue body of Krishna 

the straight back of Ram 

the beads of Chango the Nigerian singing 

Shiva Shiva in a manner which 

I have invented, 

and the King of May is a middle-european 

honor, mine in the XX century 

despite space ships and the Time Machine, 

because I heard the voice of 

Blake in a vision and 

repeat that voice. (Ginsberg 1997: 148) 

During the visit to Prague, and other places in the Soviet bloc, including Moscow 

where he met with the poets Yevtushenko and Voznesensky, Ginsberg must have gotten a 

taste of both the total lack of freedom and the suppressed but stored-up desire to be free. The 

short visit to Czechoslovakia was a memorable event, indeed a powerful political happening. 

It was understood as such by everybody involved, from the enthusiastic students to the 

irritated regime, and the poet himself. Ginsberg‘s visit and eviction were remembered for 

years as a symbolic moment of resistance, especially among young people and above all 

among students, despite the fact that hardly anyone knew his poetry, which could only 

circulate as samizdat material, if it was at all available or translated. When asked about the 

impact of Ginsberg and others in Czechoslovakia, Václav Havel wrote in 1999: ―There has 

been a sensitive awareness of the Beat movement in our country since the nineteen fifties. The 

general revolt against the official establishment and the literary nonconformism of the Beat 

poetry and prose have most likely been perceived in our unfree conditions as even more 

rebellious than in the land of their origin‖ (Havel 2001: ix). The fact that Ginsberg was also 

remembered as one of the close and familiar figures of world literature from the outside of the 

Iron Curtain was confirmed when he was welcomed in Prague after the November revolution 

of 1989. Already in May 1990 we had him back, an elderly man but still full of life and 

visibly happy that he was able to celebrate with us the return of freedom and democracy. And 

so the Czechoslovak episode from 1965 remained a surprisingly strong memory not just for us 

here but for the poet himself, as I found out when interviewing him. It took away some of his 


29

ideals and illusions about the world of socialism and communism, as the poem ―Kral Majales‖ 

confirms: ―And the Communists have nothing to offer but fat cheeks and eyeglasses and lying 

policemen…and when Communist and Capitalist assholes tangle the Just man is arrested or 

robbed or had his head cut off… (qtd. in Morgan 2006: 293) And it made him very 

empathetic towards people within the Iron Curtain territory. This is how he became our poet 

as well. 

After Ginsberg returned to America, he threw himself into the growing wave of 

protests against the war in Vietnam and joined various events organized by counterculture 

groups, such as the flower children in San Francisco or the yippies in Chicago. He also met 

and started cooperation with Bob Dylan; he had always admired the blues form, and wrote a 

few blues songs and ballads himself. He set to music William Blake‘s Songs of Innocence and 

Experience, and continued to write and tour the country, performing in various places, thus 

promoting poetry as a relevant part of national culture. In the sixties Allen Ginsberg became 

one of the most visible American poets and through his personality he contributed greatly to 

the public visibility of poetry and literature. In his long poem from 1966,―Wichita Vortex 

Sutra‖, he declared the Vietnam War over, and although it in fact continued for another 

decade, the idea that it would have to be ended was already pronounced and remembered 

(Morgan and Rosenthal 1986: 219). The voice of the charismatic poet and activist became a 

public voice that a growing number of Americans could not just hear but could also identify 

with. 

One false label that the Beat writers, including Ginsberg, were given by conservative 

academic critics and media was to call them ―Know-Nothing Bohemians‖ who were allegedly 

―hostile to civilization‖ and worshiping ―primitivism, instinct, energy, blood‖ (qtd. in Miles 

1986: 174), as Norman Podhoretz wrote in his attack on the movement. Ginsberg responded 

angrily because he was convinced that the Beat writers were very erudite both in classical and 

modern literature and art. He did not really like the term ―beatnik‖ because it was an invention 

of journalists rather than a name invented by the members of the group. He was particularly 

defensive and protective on behalf of Jack Kerouac, probably more so than the author of On 

the Road himself. And it was always Ginsberg who reacted to distorted images of the Beats 

when they appeared in the media. 

But it was the Berkeley professor Thomas Parkinson who helped to correct the false 

notion and helped to spread the knowledge that Ginsberg and his Beat friends were well- 

educated and highly serious artists. His A Casebook on the Beat from 1965 helped in this 

sense effectively. At a conference for which the text was prepared, writers of all the new 


30

trends in American poetry were assembled – in addition to the Beats, some Black Mountain 

poets, and a number of representatives of the San Francisco Renaissance, such as Gary 

Snyder, Robert Duncan, Michael McClure and others. 

Years later, in 1986, when Allen was sixty and his friends issued a celebratory 

publication called Best Minds: A Tribute to Allen Ginsberg, professor Parkinson in his 

contribution remembered his literary encounters with Ginsberg and felt he had to remind his 

readers that Allen was truly ―steeped in the great literature of the world, and in his presence 

the commonplace became symbolic and grand symbolic entities were carried alive into the 

heart by his impassioned perception of them‖ (Morgan and Rosenthal 1986: 219), which 

anyone who took sightseeing walks with Allen around Prague or Olomouc could confirm. 

In a survey of decisive moments in the process of building Allen Ginsberg‘s identity 

of an American character, and a responsible American citizen and a citizen of the world, who 

had the courage and talent to use poetry as a means for liberating the human mind and body 

wherever and whenever needed, we certainly have to go back to his first public appearance 

which not only remains but is being repeatedly reaffirmed as an act of literally history-making 

consequences – his reading of ―Howl‖ in Gallery Six, a run-down second rate experimental 

art gallery in San Francisco, on October 7, 1955. It is evident now that on the day a literary 

revolution started in America. The following publication of the poem in City Lights 

paperback brought the publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti into court with an allegation of 

spreading obscenity but the sensational court judged the publication as not lacking ―social 

importance‖ (see Miles 1986: 175 – 188, 134, 111 – 119) and thus granted on the basis of the 

First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution a great victory to the publisher, the 

poet, and all those who stood for them and came to later to stand for them in the United States 

and in the wider world. 

Allen Ginsberg‘s howling voice let the listeners, and later thousands of readers know the 

disconcerting and horrifying news: 

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by 

madness, starving hysterical naked, 

dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn 

looking for an angry fix, 

angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly 

connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night, 

who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat 


31

up smoking in the supernatural darkness of 

cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities 

contemplating jazz… (Ginsberg 1997: 49) 

All that and more at a time when many if not most people in the United States 

believed they were living in a happy world with a booming economy and flourishing markets, 

and nothing but a bright future in front of them. So it was to be expected that the reception of 

Ginsberg´s daring ―Howl‖ would be divided in two distinct camps, though the one of the two 

that was capable of appreciating it was slowly growing, not just for its rebellious tone but also 

for its literary qualities, the powerful imagery, and the new, open, and yet appealing form. 

When thirty years passed from the first reading, a volume was published which recorded the 

writing process and the memorable performance of the poem, including the dramatic 

consequences. Besides the development of the manuscript the poet himself let his readers 

know the ―model texts‖ that served for him as ―inspirations precursor to Howl‖. Again the 

wide scope of sources is admirable. To be expected among the names would have been Walt 

Whitman, but the list had certainly a few surprises. Among them Chistopher Smart‘s Jubilate 

Agno, Percy Bysshe Shelley‘s ―Adonais‖ and ―Ode to the West Wind‖, Guillaume 

Apollinaire‘s Zone, Kurt Schwitters‘s ―Priimiititiii‖, Vladimir Mayakovsky‘s ―At the Top of 

My Voice‖, Antonin Artaud‘s – ―Van Gogh – The Man Suicided by Society‖, Federico 

Garcia Lorca‘s ―Ode to Walt Whitman, Hart Crane´s Atlantis, and William Carlos Williams‘s 

―To Elsie‖. Additional inspiration came from jazz musicians, such as Lester Young, Coleman 

Hawkins, Charlie Parker and Illinois Jacquet. But Ginsberg generously admits incentives from 

other artists, and from his friends. After all, the whole poem is dedicated to one of them, Carl 

Solomon, who is for the poet the embodiment of madness addressed in ―Howl‖. 

Proof that the poem is not forgotten even fifty-five years after its first reading comes 

with the news that Allen Ginsberg‘s poem has become a film and a graphic novel, animated 

by Eric Drooker. The reviewer, Douglas Kennedy, raises public expectations with the 

conclusion: ―Read now – as Tea Party populists clash with secularist intellectuals – Howl‘s 

prescience is amazing‖ (Kennedy 2010: 3). 

Except for William S. Burroughs and Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg outlived most of 

his Beat friends. He experimented with drugs all through his life but called alcohol, which 

killed at least Kerouac and Corso, the old American ―monster‖. He grew more concerned 

about the state of the world and its nature, and added his poetical voice to the ecological 

warnings of the time. In his younger life he created for himself an image of a wild and radical 


32

activist protesting in original ways, such as in sit-in gatherings against militarism and 

censorship of all kinds. But as his biographer, Bill Morgan, claims and those of us who knew 

Allen could better confirm, basically he was a Good Man and a peacemaker rather than an 

instigator of violence or conflict. 

He was faithful to friends throughout his life. He did not part with Kerouac even after 

their views on the Vietnam War differed considerably. And he helped to found the Naropa 

Institute of Disembodied Poetics as a tribute to his friend. 

He always defended Neal Cassady, the beatnik hero, when he was criticized for 

―misbehaving‖ and quite a few failures that he was responsible for. He put a great deal of 

effort to get Gregory Corso‘s poetry published and encouraged his life-long partner Peter 

Orlovsky to try his hand at writing too. He reconciled with his father Louis, and even 

organized a poetry reading for the two of them – the poetry being as different as heaven and 

hell, but in the end it was enjoyed by both of them. And Allen composed a very beautiful song 

when his father died, called ―Father Death Blues‖. Whenever Allen sang it, in his deep voice 

to the accompaniment of his well-known little harmonium, it was very moving. When on 

stage he impressed everyone by the power of his performance, which was surprising even at 

the stage of his deteriorating health; when reading poetry or singing he must have tapped the 

energy from a special poetic battery, as a few observers who worked with him must have 

noticed. 

And Allen was also generous, with books, with his time, and his wisdom that he was 

always ready to share with anybody interested. But above all, he was a great American poet 

with a global appeal. 

Here is what Helen Vendler, the undisputable high court of judgment of American 

poetry, thought of Allen Ginsberg in 1986 when he still had a decade to go on and work: 

Allen Ginsberg‘s poetry requires an unstable moment of perception, passion, and 

humor in the right proportions. In many ways, he came of age at a lucky moment. A 

loosening of inhibition (at first enabled by drugs) let the long-breathed visionary 

emerge from the good student who had imitated Donne and Crane. The ethnic chant of 

the Hebrew palms came into fragile conjunction with Whitmanian enumeration; the 

demotic speech-rhythms of Williams and his insistence on visibilia, gave the visionary 

Ginsberg permission to notice‖ the real world. Pound had opened the door to lyric 

history. Eliot, Tate, and Ransom offered handy targets for iconoclasm… Allen 

Ginsberg is responsible for loosening the breath of American poetry at mid-century, 

influencing other poets more formal than he… And having listed the attempts of the 


33

Bibliography 

poet to find a grasp on the world and the universe through Buddhism or Judaism she 

concludes with a positive´ finding that ―The poetry wins over the desire for a paternal 

religious discipline… (Morgan and Rosenthal 1986: 278 – 279) 

And that in the case of poets is of the highest value. 

BOURNE, Randolph (July 1916). Trans-National America. Atlantic Monthly, 118. 

GINSBERG, Allen (1962). Kaddish and Other Poems 1958 – 1960. San Francisco: City Lights. 

GINSBERG, Allen (1997). Selected Poems 1947 – 1995. London and New York: Penguin 

Books. 

GROSSMAN, Allen (1984). Allen Ginsberg: The Jew As an American Poet. In Lewis Hyde 

(Ed.), On the Poetry of Allen Ginsberg (102 – 110). Ann Arbor: University of 

Michigan Press. 

HAVEL, Václav (2001). Preface. In David Carter (Ed.), Allen Ginsberg: Spontaneous Mind, 

Selected Interviews 1958 – 1966. New York: Harper Collins. 

Josef Jařab, May 17–18, 1989, New York City (2001). In David Carter (Ed.), Allen Ginsberg: 

Spontaneous Mind, Selected Interviews 1958 – 1966 (499 – 520). New York: Harper 

Collins. 

KALLEN, Horace M. (1915, Feb. 25). Democracy versus the Melting-Pot. Nation. 

KALLEN, Horace M. (1924). Culture and Democracy in the United States: Studies in Group 

Psychology of the American Peoples. New York: Boni and Liveright. 

KENNEDY, Douglas (2010, Nov. 20). Ginsberg: the poet who undid America. The Times. 

LOCKE, Alain (1925). The New Negro. New York: Boni. 

MILES, Barry (Ed.). (1986). Allen Ginsberg, Howl: Original Draft Facsimile, Transcript & 

Variant Versions, Fully Annotated by the Author, with Contemporaneous 

Correspondence, Account of First Public Reading, Legal Skirmishes, Precursor Texts 

& Bibliography. New York: Harper & Row. 

MORGAN, Bill (2006). I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg. 

London: Viking. 

MORGAN, Bill, and Bob ROSENTHAL (Eds.) (1986). Best Minds: A Tribute to Allen 

Ginsberg New York: LospecchioPress. 

PAINTER, Nell Irvin (2010). The History of White People. New York, London: W. W. 

Norton. 


34

Dialect in Fiction 

Ján Vilikovský 


Dialect is one of the oldest and most frequently used non-standard linguistic elements 

to be found in creative literature. 

This paper deals primarily with the use of regional or urban dialects; social dialects, 

slang, argot &c. are of marginal interest only. 

Dialects, of course, are the elements entering into the formation of a national 

language, either by one of them attaining a dominant position (as in Slovak), or by 

amalgamation. The classical Greek koiné is the best known case of the latter, but there are 

other examples of this process – e.g. the Danish-Norwegian koiné, which became the basis of 

Norwegian Bokmål, Friulian in Italy (Furlan), and some scholars would also include Scots 

English or Quebec French under this heading. 

Obviously, this process is gradual and slow. Nevertheless, its result is the existence of 

two levels of language – the first being the standard or codified variety, and the second a 

subordinate one, covering a number of usages. As we know from semiotics, if this distinction 

is to be used for literary purposes, there has to be a definite and well-marked opposition 

between the two levels, and in the case of the language of literature there must exist 

systematic and unambiguous conventions allowing a ready identification of the various forms. 

The primary functions of dialect in a literary work are localisation and 

characterisation. Localisation serves to identify a character or action with a certain 

neighbourhood or milieu, placing them in a given space through linguistic means, an 

association or allusion, instead of explicit geographical designation. Characterisation is a 

more complex process, since dialect is used here both as an attribute of belonging to a certain 

class or group, and as a symbolic means exploiting our tendency to generalise and associate 

certain types of behaviour with particular properties. Moreover, book learning stigmatizes the 

use of non-standard linguistic elements and uses them as a means of foregrounding 

(estrangement). We see that this is a multipurpose approach offering numerous possibilities, 

depending on the authorial intent. 



Non-standard and dialect elements appear in literary language from very early times. 

As far back as the first century B.C. we find, side by side with classical Ciceronian Latin, 

35

elements of ―vulgar‖ (spoken, common) language, differing from the standard usage both in 

grammar and vocabulary. The etymology of numerous words in Romance languages indicates 

that the language used by Roman legionaries in Gaul or Hispania was by no means strictly 

literary (e.g., French tête, ―head‖, derives from the slang testa, ―pot, jug‖). Similar non- 

standard elements can be found in some works from the classical age – in the speech of slaves 

in the comedies by Plautus and Terentius, or of freemen in Petronius (Cena Trimalchionis). 

In the absence of a codified literary language, medieval documents – in so far as not 

using Latin – were written in one of the regional dialects. In this case, however, we are not 

dealing with an intentional use of an alternative linguistic variety but with a situation that 

allowed no other choice. If we do find evidence of other, contrasting varieties, these are 

mostly unintentional lapses of a scribe speaking a different dialect. 

However, as soon as we observe the first efforts at establishing a national (literary) 

language, we find dialect being used with a specific purpose – to set the speaker apart from 

the other characters. Geoffrey Chaucer is considered as one of the originators of the poetic 

idiom of English, and it is therefore interesting that his work offers probably the first case of 

the use of dialect for characterization. In the Reeve‘s Tale from The Canterbury Tales we 

meet two Cambridge students, Alan and John, who are natives of Northumbria and their 

language bears clear traces of the northern dialect (swa for so, ham for home, bathe for both, 

sal for shal, til for to, pit for put, &c.). Chaucer‘s reproduction is not strictly consistent, but 

the indications of dialect are numerous and unmistakable, especially when forms with a 

different phonetic structure appear in rhyming positions. 

The second Grand Master of the English language, William Shakespeare, is a little 

disappointing in this respect – the turn of the 16 th and 17 th centuries was a period of great 

linguistic turmoil, of strong tendencies towards experimentation and a changed attitude 

towards language. Shakespeare used to the utmost the possibilities offered by this state of 

affairs, but he dealt mostly with non-standard language generally and depicted characters 

oscillating between antithetic poles of linguistic habitat (Doctor Caius or Parson Evans in The 

Merry Wives of Windsor, and generally the English discourse of the Welsh, Scots or Irish 

characters), but specifically dialect elements are rather rare: out of the total of 31 534 lexical 

items his works contain, only 137 are dialectal (Elfron 1976). 

In the age of neo-classicism, striving for the sublime and proper, the existing linguistic 

ideal militated against the use of dialect; in a systematic way, it started to appear in the 

realistic novel of the 18 th century. In Tom Jones, Henry Fielding introduces the character of 


36

squire Western, a typical early 18 th century Tory – lackadaisical, given to huntin‘, shootin‘ 

and culinary pleasures, and speaking openly his mind. In accordance with his name, he 

frequently breaks out in the Somerset dialect of the West Country, which is apt to erupt in 

moments of intense passion. His language is forceful and contains numerous expressions 

which until recently used to be replaced in English fiction by dashes. Fielding reproduces the 

variants of pronunciation (thof instead of though, oum instead of of them, initial z- instead of 

s-, and v- instead of f-, – volks, vorty instead of folks, forty &c.) as well as grammar (they be 

instead of they are, zeed instead of saw). This linguistic portrait has several functions: first, it 

serves as a source of comedy; second, it serves as a means of localisation, placing the 

character in a concrete geographical scene; and third, in a novel exploiting the contrast 

between the elegant Whig London and rustic Tory provinces, the rambunctious character of 

the squire‘s language underlines his bond with the circle of provincial magnates. 

This line of characterisation by dialect culminates with Dickens. Sam Weller remains 

carved in our memory as an essentially comical figure and his cockney is an inseparable part 

of his portrait. His comicality, however, is not of the cheap kind – we laugh with him rather 

than at him. He is witty, has a natural gift of looking at things in his own way, and find 

solutions – also in his own way. (In many respects he reminds us of Josef Ńvejk – they are 

both children of a big city, with little formal education but a lot of natural intelligence, and 

life taught them how to find a way out of any situation.) It is worth noting that although his 

dialect adds to the comic effect of his remarks – transcribed into standard English they would 

lose something of their earthiness – it is, nevertheless, not the source of their humour: they are 

humorous in their own right. After all, he gave his name to Wellerisms, those pronouncements 

converting a well-known saying to its opposite by adding an idiosyncratic tag: ―It‘s over, and 

can‘t be helped, and that‘s one consolation, as they always say in Turkey, ven they cuts the 

wrong man‘s head off.‖ 

In later works Dickens modifies his technique and creates a more complex structure. 

Although in The Pickwick Club it is always possible to distinguish between the author‘s 

speech and that of the characters, in later works colloquial diction – including dialect – 

infiltrates the authorial level through the various forms of indirect speech. While with Sam 

Weller dialect is an integral part of the comic effect, in Dickens‘s mature works it operates as 

a means of characterisation without necessarily attempting at comedy. It is also worth 

noticing (e.g., in the above quotation of Sam Weller) that Dickens does not aim at a 

painstaking reproduction of pronunciation and grammar, being rather satisfied with setting a 

few impressionistic accents in a position where they count. 


37

A break with the existing comic tradition was the use of dialect in Emily Brontë‘s 

Wuthering Heights. It is found in the speech of Joseph, a representative of the old, isolated 

rural world, a servant, and therefore not one of the ―heroes‖. The north Yorkshire (Haworth) 

dialect appeared for the first time in a serious role. The momentousness of this change may 

create some misgivings, particularly when we keep in mind that other characters with a 

similar past and social position use the standard language. 

Consequently, this change of intent presented problems with the reproduction of 

dialect. Emily Brontë attempted to record the sounds of the discourse as faithfully as 

possible 1 , but her sister Charlotte considered the text difficult to understand, and readers 

apparently were of the same opinion. 2 After Emily‘s death Charlotte reviewed the text for the 

edition of 1850, believing that although Joseph‘s speech ―exactly renders the Yorkshire 

dialect to a Yorkshire ear, yet I am sure Southerns must find it unintelligible‖ (Elizabeth 

Gaskell, qtd. in Ferguson 1988). Actually, her changes disrupted the consistency of Emily‘s 

record, although admittedly made it more accessible to the ―Southerns‖. The following short 

quotation may give us an idea of her emendations: 

‗Maister Hindley!‘ shouted our chaplain. ‗Maister, coom hither! Miss Cathy‘s riven 

th‘back off ―Th‘Helmet o‘ Salvation,‖ un‘ Heathcliff‘s pawsed his fit into t‘first part 

o‘ ―T‘Brooad Way to Destruction!‖ It‘s fair flay-/some that ye let ‘em go on this gait. 

Ech! th‘owd man wad ha‘ laced ‘em properly — but he‘s goan!‘ (Brontë 448-449) 

Charlotte‘s changes concerned practically only the phonetics, reverting in some 

instances to a more readily recognizable spelling (e.g. that for ut or wad [would] for ud) and 

only exceptionally substituting a standard lexical item for a dialectal one. Modern editions 

have mostly returned to Emily‘s original spelling. 

Getting this far, we should pause. The use of dialect in a literary text poses a number 

of questions. The first concerns linguistic problems: to what extent should we insist on 

accuracy and completeness of transcription? An elaborate record, even without using the 

phonetic alphabet, obstructs the perception of the text, slows down reading and disrupts 

emotional atmosphere. Since Chaucer‘s days authors therefore have desisted from trying to 

1 Mrs. Gaskell reports that the real identity of the Bell sisters (writing under pseudonyms) was revealed in part 

because a local man recognized Joseph's speech as a Haworth form of the Yorkshire dialect. (Ferguson) 

2 Even today one can find (especially American) papers where authors have had obvious troubles with 

deciphering Joseph‘s speech. (cf. "Dare I Read", http://dareiread.blogspot.com/2008/01/dialect-in-wutheringheights.html) 

(16.10. 2010). 


38

achieve a perfectly faithful record. Champions of maximum accuracy should realise that in 

any case a reader who is not familiar with the dialect in question will be unable to reconstruct 

its sounds on the basis of the author‘s record. 

Actually, there are several compelling reasons for differences between the 

reproduction of dialect in linguistics and in literature. Linguistics aspires to an objective 

representation that would have universal validity; in literature the representation is influenced 

by particularities of historical development, tradition (both historical and literary) and even by 

sociological considerations, since speech is an important component of characterisation. Even 

a cursory glance will show that the method mostly used by writers is basically impressionistic 

– it usually deals with attributes and signals capable of evoking certain associations 

considered to be typical for the given dialect. Ordinarily a convention is created that keeps its 

validity for a certain period; this is of importance for both the writers and the readers who 

must be capable of identifying the author‘s intention. A more complex situation may be found 

when dialect is used with a significant purpose, often closely connected with the given region 

and/or ideologically or politically motivated. (In poetry, a well-known case in former 

Czechoslovakia was that of Ondra Łysohorsky [real name Dr. Ervín Goj], who undertook an 

attempt at a kind of canonisation of the Lach dialect and met with a positive reaction of no 

less a critic than F. X. Ńalda.) 

Evidence of the impressionist method is the so-called eye dialect – the use of spelling 

which differs from the codified standard, although there is no difference in actual 

pronunciation. In English we could adduce the spelling enuff instead of the standard enough, 

although the pronunciation in both cases is the same [i’n�f], wimmin instead of women (both 

[‘wimin]), woz, wuz instead of was [wəz], &c. Wikipedia quotes an example from the Russian 

author V. M. Ńukńin, whose character says ―ш‖ instead of ―ч‖, both with the identical 

pronunciation of [�to]. Slovak offers fewer such possibilities, since the spelling is to a large 

extent phonetic and the pronunciation of various graphemes more or less fixed; but even so, 

examples are not hard to find – fšetci (Ragan: 3), vjete, vje, céry, na zdravje (Metropola: 102), 

hovorja, vozja (Metropola: 103). Actually, fšetci is a rather interesting case, because in a 

strictly phonetic reproduction we would expect the form fšeci or even fšecci; the digraph -tc- 

is pronounced as in writing only in cases of the so-called spelling pronunciation. Moreover, in 

the same sentence the speaker uses the form vaččì instead of väčšì, which shows a certain lack 

of consistency on the part of the author. Eye dialect is frequently used with comic intent since 

it magnifies the number of departures from the norm and in this way reinforces the apparent 


39

lack of education of the fictitious speaker; this is usually bolstered by appropriately 

exaggerated grammatical howlers. 

The second group of questions concerns sociolinguistic problems. The speech of 

people we meet in real life constitutes a sort of linguistic continuum – from pure (or almost 

pure) vernacular to correct (or almost correct) literary language. On the basis of the speaker‘s 

placement on this continuum we more or less subconsciously form an opinion of his or her 

background, education and social position. Can we demand that the author create a similarly 

broad spectrum of language in his work? It could be argued that a novel, which presents a 

slice of life, does not offer enough space for a full reproduction of the totality of language. 

But in the past we may meet different opinions. A reviewer of Dickens‘s Oliver Twist in 1837 

animadverts on the author‘s incongruity in describing his hero‘s character, ―[t]o say nothing 

of the language which this uneducated workhouse-boy ordinarily uses, there are many phrases 

which amount to positive absurdities in one of his standing‖ (qtd. in Ferguson 1988). 

Obviously the Victorian reader expected the language of a character to correspond with his 

social standing. 

In practice we see that dialect has been considered to constitute a special case, so to 

speak, resorted to in situations that have their own justification; the remaining characters use 

more or less standard language. Indeed, one can observe a sort of convention that standard 

language is reserved for positive characters deserving of one‘s sympathies, regardless of their 

social standing. Sophia, the daughter of squire Western in Fielding‘s novel, uses standard 

language, although with a few exceptions she had spent her whole life with her father. 

Hardy‘s Tess D‘Urbervilles also uses standard language, although Mrs Durbeyfield, her 

mother, is a dialect speaker. The illiterate Lizzie Hexam in Dickens‘s Our Mutual Friend 

speaks almost standard English, unlike her equally illiterate father; but then she is a positive 

character. One could quote many such instances. 

The third group of questions concerns the ideological – or, if we wish, philosophical – 

attitudes of the author. A seemingly neutral concept like the sociolect, the recording of dialect 

and situations in which it functions, is closely related to the problems of social stratification 

and to views on the structure of society. In German literature, for instance, rural dialect is 

generally connected with the ideas of the ―wholesome world‖, traditional values represented 

by land, hard work, frugality – values that are not necessarily unproblematic, since in this 

combination they were invoked by German national socialism. A group apart is formed by the 

dialects of mountain communities, which mostly preserved their original character owing to 

sparse settlement, difficult terrain and the consequent isolation. This resulted in the 


40

emergence of a special type of literature closely connected to this environment (Jean Giono, 

in Slovak literature Chrobák, Figuli, and the whole ―Alpine‖ genre in German, Swiss, and 

particularly Austrian literature.) 

A complex ideological construction can be traced behind the use of dialect in the 

works of D.H. Lawrence. To him, the language of Nottinghamshire miners is indicative of 

elemental male force, the brotherhood of men earning their bread in the presence of constant 

deadly danger, unlike the female principle governed by feeling and perhaps also by 

intellectual superiority. (The author had been influenced by the situation in his family, where 

the father, a miner, had married a schoolteacher.) And in his Lady Chatterley‟s Lover the 

game-keeper Mellors switches from standard language to dialect precisely in the most 

intimate moments, in scenes of extreme erotic build-up. 

And a different approach can be found in the works of contemporary authors, e.g. in 

the novel (or rather a collection of short stories) Trainspotting by Irvin Welsh, where the 

Glasgow dialect spoken by the heroes serves to subvert the customary associative ideas about 

the character of its speakers and about man in general. 

On the other hand, the situation in the United States was radically different: vast 

spaces, the mobility of inhabitants – themselves of heterogeneous origins – and dynamic 

development did not favour the emergence of clearly defined dialects. (Moreover, in the 

American context the meaning of the term dialect is vaguer than elsewhere – some authors 

speak of African-American dialect although others mostly prefer the term variety [of 

English].) Speaking broadly and at the cost of some simplification, there are three well- 

defined and generally acknowledged dialects of American English: East New England, 

Southern, and Western. The first two are the result of continuous colonial settlement with 

relative permanence; unlike them, the third region was settled too recently for distinctive 

dialects to have time to develop or to be studied in detail. Actually, the colloquial speech 

recorded in American fiction is probably better described by the term vernacular: it is lively, 

slangy, spontaneous, imaginative and does not care about the standards of correctness, but – 

perhaps with the exception of Southern speech – it rarely tries to depict a regional dialect. 

Mark Twain‘s Huckleberry Finn was called the Declaration of Independence of 

American literature; it brought a new treatment of language, full of immediacy and vigour. 

The author prefixed a note entitled Explanatory where he pointed out that he used seven 

dialects in the story, acting not ―in a hap-hazard fashion, or by guesswork; but pains-takingly, 

and with the trustworthy guidance and support of personal familiarity with these several forms 

of speech‖. Nevertheless, the speech of the characters shows various inconsistencies and 


41

scholars have had difficulties trying to identify the dialects in question; some even suspected 

that the whole note was another of Mark Twain‘s ironic jokes (Carkeet 1979). No one will try 

to deny the seminal importance of Twain‘s novel, or his ear for the language of his 

contemporaries – the whole confusing history rather goes to show the difficulty of pinpointing 

particular areas of various dialects. 

Compared with this long and organic development (which could be sketched here in 

curtailed form only) the situation in Slovakia has been dogged by inauspicious circumstances 

and a lack of continuity – Slovak literature had claimed its place in the sun relatively late, it 

used two literary languages and had to cope with frequent changes of orthography, which 

were actually changes of the linguistic norm, encroachments upon the codified system of 

language 3 . In consequence, the dividing line between standard language and dialect remained 

blurred; a word or grammatical form was evaluated according to sensibilities dictated by 

regional alliance rather than stylistic classification. Conditions for a functional use of dialect 

in literature arose as late as the beginning of the last century. It was mostly brought into play 

with comic intention – in short stories rather more frequently than in novels – and this line 

was later strengthened by the popularity of ―folk story-tellers‖ (ľudovì rozprávači, a belated 

parallel to the English stand-up comic) whose use of dialect was de rigueur. Dialect was 

associated with the idea of a lack of education or, more properly, a lack of schooling, because 

the heroes of these narratives do not lack cunning and in case of conflict with their betters are 

often victorious. Actually we see here a modernised modification of the archetype of the poor 

boy who evolves into a dragon-slayer (popolvár). 4 

The authors using dialect in the dialogue of their rural characters more or less 

consistently were Elo Ńándor and Zuzka Zgurińka. Elo Ńándor started with stories about sváko 

(Uncle) Ragan using the West Slovak dialect, but in later stories he switched with equal 

facility to the East Slovakian vernacular. His works bore the stamp of journalism and were of 

unequal quality, both in narrative technique and reproduction of dialect: 

―Vidíń ho – bráni sa upodozrievaný – a prečo by mal akurát moje viselectvá spomínat, 

azda si bol Ty Ńčeván odchodnejńí od ostatných? Vaččím dílom sa to na Teba 

3 Even the Ńtúr reform of 1843 had to suffer a correction ten years later, which prompted the protest of Samo 

Chalúpka: "Dluhô é v slovenčine niet; ktorí ho uviedli, uńkodili ním určitosti reči; na pr. To dobré dietæ a tie 

dobré deti. Ja mluvím: To dobrô dietæ a tye dobrye deti. Ktorô ņe je lepńie?" And he had a number of other 

reservations as well. (Spevy Sama Chalúpky. Banská Bystrica, 1868, s. 216.) 

4 Quite apart from this use of dialect for literary purposes one should view attempts to use a variety of the East 

Slovakian dialect as a standard literary language in periodicals &c., ultimately misused for political purposes 

(the ―Slovjak‖ theory). 


42

vztahuje, bol si Ty Ńčevko fajn chlap, ej veru bol, bouprisám, ońmek si bol aj Ty jako 

fšetci...‖ 5 (Ragan: 3) 

―...Nuņ povedali pán prezident, ņe vec prikáņu vyńetrit a vybavit ministrovi vnútra a ņe 

budú záujmy nás Brezovanôv podporovat. Ńak ja to dobre viem, ņe pán prezident jako 

hlava ńtátu, nepôjde sídlo okresu z Myjavy k nám prenáńat. To by sme sa tu uņ velmi 

zle mali, keby takú prácu on mosel vykonávat. Bolo by to samé, jako keby si náń pán 

farár sám chodél zvonit.‖ (Ragan: 144) 

Although Zuzka Zgurińka, too, started with shorter sketches, she later advanced on to 

novels. Her version of dialect has a more authentic ring resulting not only from a more 

systematic record but, more importantly, from the character of utterance, which is dynamic 

and rich in folksy earthiness: 

―To sa vjé, jakoņ ináč! Richtár mosí byt pri ńeckém. Mosí dávat z úradu pozor, aby 

rečnýk nejaké podezrelé slovo z huby nevypustel alebo neurazel doņhovie jakú váņenú 

osobu. Von je za to zodpovedný, aby sa ńecko vykonalo jak sa patrí. A keby v náhode 

obecenstvo začalo doráņat na rečnýka, ba čo vác aj k bitke by malo príst, vtedy mosí 

von, richtár, urobit poriadek.‖ 6 (Bičianka: 128 – 9) 

At the risk of some simplification it could be said that the decades before and after 

World War II were the ―folklore‖ period in this respect (including the ―folk story-tellers‖). 

Dialect serves to create comic effect, but this does not the result from the use of dialect per se, 

but from the intentionality of the text it appears in. Should anyone find this statement too 

bold, we ought to remember that when Zgurińka decided to write a ―serious‖ trilogy depicting 

recent social changes (Metropola pod slamou 1949, Mestečko na predaj 1953, Zbojnìcke 

chodnìčky 1959), the last two parts – in spite of identical localisation – contained no dialect. 

M. Smatana studied the use of dialect in Slovak literature and came to the conclusion 

that it can be divided into three phases. In the first one, roughly from the turn of the century, 

there is little difference between standard literary language and dialect, which is used in a 

spontaneous manner, with the authors not being fully conscious of its non-standard character. 

The second phase covers the period before the war and immediately afterwards; this includes 

5 For words in bold type, cf. the discussion of eye dialect on p. 4. 

6 Take note of the expression To sa vjé, as opposed to doţhovie, with identical pronunciation. (The difference in 

spelling, however, might perhaps be justified as the result of differences in stress and intonation.) 


43

the culmination of the movement of ―lyrical prose‖ in Slovak literature. Dialect elements 

serve as tools of aesthetic foregrounding in order to create a distinctive atmosphere. The third 

phase in the 1960s and 1970s (the paper appeared in 1988) treats dialect as a non-standard 

element and uses it mostly to describe rural life in the past and to depict the disappearing way 

of life and period realia, where it is virtually indispensable. This phase is fully conscious of 

the distinction between standard and non-standard language. 

It is worth pointing out that starting with the 1960s we may observe a change of the 

―linguistic ideal‖ – the views on the functions and stratification of language, and of what 

constitutes ―the right word in the right place‖. The innovations, however, concerned mainly 

the various forms of slang, social dialects, urban and students‘ language, which were looked 

upon as linguistically progressive elements, while dialect was considered a conservative 

component of language. Nevertheless, the social changes of the 1980s, and especially after the 

revolution of 1989, concluded the process of revaluation even in this sphere. Gradually, the 

old ceased to be synonymous with expiring prejudices and the new with progress. Dialect in 

literature began slowly to lose its folklore overtones; it remained a non-standard element, but 

it preserved its dignity. At the same time one could notice the differentiation of the treatment 

of dialect, in accord with the author‘s intention. 

―Daj si na cestu eńče jeden ńtamprlík,‖ podal Karolkovi plný horčičiak. [...] 

―Tak nazdravie,‖ dedo chytil do trasľavých rúk horčičiak [...], ńtrngli si, vypili si a 

oboch ich striaslo, akoby ich kopla elektrina. 

―Ńlak aby to trafil,‖ zahreńil môj vulgárny dedo a Fidibus dopovedal: ―Uņ sme v rici, 

ked nám ani slivovica neńmakuje.‖ 

―Ponáhlaj sa s tú truhlú,‖ zakańľal dedo na Fidibusa. 

―Len sa neposer,‖ odkańľal Fidibus. ―Ked príde tvoj čas, bude hotová. Uņ len vrchnák 

chýba. Tá druhá je pre mladú Krńákovú.‖ 

―Ale aj Cestár má na kahánku,‖ upozornil ho dedo. (Cintorìn: 62 – 3) 

The dialect is recorded in an impressionist manner, sparingly. In spite of all the 

expressiveness and swearing, the mood of the text is serious, dealing as it is with the last 

things of man. Dialect here has the same rank as the authorial speech, the text is not built on 

the contrast between the two. Although brief, the fragment clearly shows the difference in 

treatment compared with the older quotations. 

If we compare this text with a fragment from Sedláci by Ńtefan Moravčík, we 

immediately perceive the different approach of the two authors: 


44

―– ... tá mrňa Pyskatá! Ņe zválajte ten hakáč! A proč? Čo ťi zavadzá? Povidau sem í, 

co ťi to moņe, babo jedna, zavadzat, to tam zasadzili eńte múj prastareček! A ona 

enem válat a válat! Ná, Vendel, povidá, nevíń, ņe kuvík na ňem sedává, Leońenka 

vouá! Syna. V noci nemoņe spat. Ceuý je z teho zmandotaný... Nech je, nemá suopat. 

Já temu téņ neodpuscím, doktor Bajér predpísau, a mja kuvík nevouá... Ťelo to 

vyņaduje, Bajér predpísau... Che-che, Bajér predpísau...‖ 

The monologue of an older man is reproduced with an almost audio-recording 

precision and the utmost faithfulness (notice the ―í‖, the ―ť‖ preceding the ―soft i‖, where the 

mark of palatalization is theoretically redundant) as well as authenticity of speech (addressing 

a person in 3 rd person pl.). At the same time, in spite of this, we feel Moravčík‘s sensuous 

pleasure at handling the words and sounds of his favourite Záhorie countrymen – the words 

and sounds that are the only material of a writer, and yet the theme here, too, concerns 

serious, momentous, almost grim affairs, although observed with reserve and an indulgent 

half-smile. 

In conclusion we might state that in the course of more than a century the use and 

functioning of dialect in Slovak literature had undergone considerable changes. After initial 

vacillation caused by the lack of distinction between dialect and standard forms of language, 

there came what we could term the first folklore phase, with dialect serving as a source or 

highlighting of humour. Speculatively one could propose a thesis (and we should stress that it 

is a purely speculative one, for it is not even based on half-way scholarly research) that this 

situation was enabled by the fact that – with the exception of the Central Slovak dialect 7 – 

most Slovaks consider as ridiculous any dialect they do not speak themselves. (And maybe 

even this exception is no longer valid, as confirmed by the popularity of the satirical radio 

programme Stredoslováci [central Slovaks] a few years ago.) A further step meant that dialect 

began to be considered a conservative, backward-looking element, its most appropriate use 

being the depiction of the rural environment, particularly in the past. After the political 

change in 1989 the situation was reassessed, dialect acquired the status of one among several 

forms of literary communication, albeit with specific properties. Recent works of the authors 

of the generation that had been then in early middle age contain passages that use dialect to 

discuss serious questions, including the so-called ―ageless themes‖, although, of course, the 

actual character of the discussion is determined by the demands of psychological plausibility. 

7 That served as the foundation of the Slovak literary language codified by Ľudovít Ńtúr in 1843. 


45

At present, dialect, together with other forms of non-standard language, is becoming a 

legitimate linguistic element broadening the choice of possibilities of literary expression. It 

might not yet be capable of reproducing fully the polyvalence and allusive richness to be 

found in the pages of D. H. Lawrence or even Maxim Gorki, and we still remember the 

predicament that one of Slovak foremost translators got into when trying to reproduce the 

speech of Sholokhov‘s Cossacks. Nevertheless, in view of the shortness of time, Slovak 

literary idiom had the opportunity to develop. We dare to predict that it will ultimately catch 

up with the members of older cultural traditions. 

Bibliography 

Primary Sources 

Bičianka: Zgurińka, Zuzka (1954). Bičianka z doliny. Bratislava: SVKL. 

Cintorìn: Mitana, Duńan (2000). Môj rodný cintorìn. 2. ed. Koloman K. Bagala, s.a. 

Metropola: Zgurińka, Zuzka (1954). Metropola pod slamou Bratislava: Práca. 

Ragan: Ńándor, Elo (1927). Sváko Ragan z Brezovej. Myjava: Dan Paņický. 

Sedláci: Moravčík, Ńtefan (1977). Sedláci. 2. ed. Bratislava: Slovenský spisovateľ, 1977. 

Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In Bradley, S., Beatty R. C., Long, E.H. 

(1967). American Tradition in Literature. 3. ed. New York, W.W. Norton & 

Company, Inc. 

Secondary Sources 

CARKEET, David (Nov. 1979). The Dialects in Huckleberry Finn. American Literature, 51 

(3), 315 – 332. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2925388 on Oct. 16, 2010. 

ELFRON, Bradley, and Ronald THISTED (1976). Estimating the number of unknown 

species: How many words did Shakespeare know? Biometrika, 63, 435 – 437. 

Eye dialect. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_dialect on Sept. 2, 

2010. 

FERGUSON, Susan L. (Spring 1988) . Drawing fictional lines: dialect and narrative in the 

Victorian novel. Style. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2342/ 

is_1_32/ai_54019319/ from on Sept. 2, 2010. 

FINDRA, Ján (1978). Dialektizmy ako ńtylistické prostriedky. Kultúra slova, 12, 139 – 144. 

PAGE, Norman (1973). Speech in the English Novel. Longman: London. 

SMATANA, Miloslav (1988). Vyuņívanie nárečí v slovenskej umeleckej literatúre. Slovenská 

reč, 53, 282 – 290. 

WILTSHIRE, Iren (March 2005). Speech in Wuthering Heights: Joseph‘s Dialect and 

Charlotte‘s Emendations. Brontë Studies, 30, 19 – 29. Retrieved from 

http://brontesisterslinks.tripod.com/SpeechInWH.pdf on Oct. 16, 2010. 


46

Promoting New Zealand: The State and Exporting Popular Culture 8 

1. Introduction 

Peter Barrer 


How can a small nation project its popular culture beyond its national borders? And 

what role should the government play in the production and export of local popular culture? 

This paper discusses the state‘s role in establishing an international profile for the local 

popular culture industries in New Zealand. The particular focus is on film and popular music: 

two forms of popular culture which carry a strong potential for presenting a national identity 

to domestic and international audiences of considerable scope. Following an interpretation of 

the importance of popular culture to modern national identity formation as well as its 

attributes as an export commodity, a framework is outlined describing existing state-led 

approaches to the production and export of popular culture. The paper then locates the 

realisation of innovative approaches to exporting popular culture in New Zealand and argues 

that despite some shortcomings the state‘s promotional role has delivered a number of direct 

and indirect benefits to New Zealand‘s local popular culture industries. 

2. Popular Culture and the Nation-State 



Media-based popular culture (―popular culture‖) refers to the symbols, meanings and 

practices of a media-dominated society and forms ―the ubiquitous background and often the 

highly seductive foreground of our attention and activity‖ (Kellner 1995: 1). Its critics 

commonly present popular culture (―mass culture‖) as a set of practices which undermines 

long-standing symbols and national, traditional and ―high‖ cultural orders in favour of a 

commercialised cultural substitute bereft of any values of aesthetics or signification (Adorno 

and Horkheimer 2002: 124 – 125, 136 – 137; Leavis 1986: 285; Pells 1997: 210 – 211). 

Popular culture does reduce diverse and complex cultural meanings to universal 

aspects of human existence and transforms indigenous traditions, pastimes and games into 

fusions of commerce, culture and celebrity targeted at the ―middle class‖ and other groups 

8 This paper was written in fulfilling the project ―Global and Local Challenges in Slovakia: Social Innovation 

under the European Union's Internationalization‖ with the support of the operation programme Research and 

Development financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). 

47

perceived to be more socially or geographically distant from the consumer society (Edensor 

2002: 15; Featherstone 1991: 43 – 48; Hobsbawm 2003: 128; Hartley 1999: 157 – 158). 

However, despite its all-encompassing reach and the aesthetic argumentation of its detractors, 

popular culture is not factually devoid of cultural meanings or significances, for it carries a 

range of distinctive cultural signifiers which convey playful and complex messages of cultural 

and social significance to audiences who would be unreachable through more traditional 

cultural representations (Bennett 2001: 97; Fairlamb 2007: 192 – 193; Stratton 2006: 250 – 

251). These cultural expressions are ultimately interpreted on a local level by consumers, who 

receive and independently generate malleable meanings from cultural objects (Eriksen 2001: 

302 – 306; Fiske 1989: 15; Kellner 1995: 237 – 238, 246 – 247). Therefore, popular culture is 

a field of expression within which identities are constantly renegotiated and made coherent to 

national populations as well as to international audiences on their own terms (Billig 1995: 5 – 

7; Edensor 2002: 14, 29 – 30; Price 1995: 3; Schlesinger 1991: 164 – 165). 

Given its commercial imperatives and dissemination through the mass media, popular 

culture has a significant potential to represent a nation‘s cultural identity to international 

audiences of immense scope. In addition to its wealth of distinctive cultural markers in 

comparison to other export commodities such as cars and electronics, popular culture is also a 

noticeable factor within a country‘s export profile. Popular culture is a ―highly lucrative‖ 

export and an important part of many developed economies (White and Walker 2008: 69). 9 In 

addition to the direct earnings gained for cultural practitioners from overseas sales and the 

formation of international audiences and fanbases, there are a range of indirect economic and 

cultural benefits brought to a country as a result of exporting its popular culture, such as 

resultant cultural tourism and particularly the building of a fashionable national image (e.g. 

―Czechoslovak New Wave‖, ―Britpop‖, ―J-rock‖ and ―Korean Wave‖) among youth and other 

audiences abroad. Given this importance, it makes economic sense for the nation-state to take 

some interest in the promotion of its domestic popular culture abroad as an export commodity. 

This analysis of the state‘s role in the export of popular culture from New Zealand is 

placed within an influential framework provided by Martin Cloonan (1999), who developed 

three key concepts to identify the role of the nation-state in relation to the domestic popular 

music industry: the authoritarian state, the benign state and the promotional state. Herein, 

Cloonan‘s framework is to be used a little more widely. According to Cloonan (1999: 203), 

9 The mediatised entertainment industries, including television, film, music, game software and other animation 

(―content industry‖) make up some 5 percent of the United States‘ total GDP, with the world national average 

being around three percent (Digital Content Association Japan, cited in Otmazgin 2008: 79fn8). 


48

the authoritarian state is typical of non-democratic regimes past and present and features rigid 

controls on the production of popular culture, a licensing system for its practitioners and a 

strict control of popular culture imports and exports. In this context the nation-state adopts a 

rigid ‗top-down‘ approach to the production of popular culture by dictating how popular 

culture is to be produced, disseminated and promoted with official sanction. Neither a 

hindrance nor a help to popular culture, the benign state presents the nation-state as a 

disinterested bystander to the local popular culture industries, whose domestic sustainability 

and international presence is solely determined by national and international market forces 

(Cloonan 1999: 204). While this stance need not be problematic for large countries with self- 

sufficient popular culture industries, this approach does present a problem for countries with 

relatively small consumer markets (such as New Zealand) because domestic popular culture 

can find itself marginalised by the domineering presence of internationally marketed Anglo- 

American popular culture within the national market as well as internationally. 

The most interesting of Cloonan‘s concepts for the present discussion is the 

promotional state, which depicts the nation-state as an active supporter of domestic popular 

culture through such policies as the implementation of local content quotas on national 

broadcast media and the state-funded promotion of local cultural industries in the domestic 

and international marketplaces (Cloonan 1999: 204). In stark contrast to the ‗top-down‘ 

interfering practices of the authoritarian state, the promotional state employs a ‗bottom-up‘ 

approach of assistance for local popular culture, whereby state intervention is actively 

supported by industry stakeholders so as to organically develop existing cultural and business 

networks as well as identify new avenues for the sustainment and growth of local popular 

culture industries within the context of globalisation and the overbearing presence of Anglo- 

American popular culture. The promotional state is a particularly useful approach for a small 

country such as New Zealand so as to ensure the domestic sustainability and international 

presence of its local popular culture given the small size of the domestic market and the 

domineering presence within it of multinational publishers and distributors, for whom the 

promotion of local artists may not be a priority. 

3. The Promotional State in New Zealand Film and Popular Music 

The New Zealand promotional state prioritises the projection of a New Zealand 

identity abroad as a highly desirable and profitable cornerstone of supported projects and 

artists (Harley, in Jones and Smith 2005: 932). The effectiveness of the ‗bottom-up‘ 

promotional approach by the state is evident in New Zealand, whose popular culture 


49

practitioners have achieved some considerable international success since 2000. 10 

Independently run state-funded agencies specialising in the production and export of popular 

music (New Zealand On Air and the New Zealand Music Industry Commission respectively) 

and film (New Zealand Film Commission) offer a range of financial and complex support 

programmes to both practitioners and publishers of these popular culture forms. This complex 

support includes the mentoring of cultural practitioners and the marketing of locally-made 

popular culture domestically as well as internationally through a regular New Zealand 

presence at key industry trade events. 

Interestingly, the state-supported supplementary branding of popular culture products 

as having an ‗authentically‘ New Zealand aspect has also even been achieved with projects 

(such as the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy) where the thematic connection to New Zealand 

is somewhat tenuous (Jones and Smith 2005: 926 – 928). When approached for assistance by 

the project‘s New Zealand-born director Peter Jackson, the New Zealand government 

provided a range of incentives (including tax breaks) to ensure the trilogy was filmed in New 

Zealand. Even though the Lord of the Rings is clearly not a New Zealand story, its film 

version was earnestly claimed and internationally recognised as a New Zealand cultural 

product which highlighted positively appraised national characteristics such as ‗Kiwi 

ingenuity‘ (Jones and Smith 2005: 935 – 936). The spin-off tourism campaign saw the 

national tourism body (Tourism New Zealand) and the state-owned national airline (Air New 

Zealand) intensely promote New Zealand internationally as ―The Home of Middle Earth‖ and 

a natural tourist destination for fans of the trilogy, moves which met with some measurable 

economic success (Hudson and Brent Ritchie 2006: 389; Jones and Smith 2005: 926, 936 – 

38; Statistics New Zealand 2005: 4; Statistics New Zealand 2006: 5). While the extent of this 

achievement needs to take into consideration the cost of tax breaks given to the production 

company in order to secure New Zealand as the film trilogy‘s filming location, the additional 

linkages made to New Zealand by the film company‘s own promotional activities and residual 

international media exposure significantly complemented the New Zealand government‘s own 

efforts (Hudson and Brent Ritchie 2006: 391). 11 Furthermore, the project provided 

10 Recent examples of internationally successful films with a New Zealand theme include The Whale Rider 

(2002) and The World‟s Fastest Indian (2005). In popular music, the recent international success of New 

Zealand-based Polynesian hip-hop artists such as Savage and Scribe are noteworthy as is the success of 

Hayley Westenra, who has even been described as ―the biggest selling Classical artist of the 21 st century‖ 

(New Zealand Music Commission 2009). 

11 According to the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, the international exposure from the 

marketing and popularity of the first film alone was estimated to be worth some 41 million US dollars to 

the New Zealand economy (Hudson and Brent Ritchie 2006: 388). 


50

unprecedented employment opportunities for New Zealanders in film production and post- 

production. 12 

Importantly, the role of the New Zealand government in supporting the local film 

industry has not merely been in the promotion of New Zealand as a film location for 

international projects. The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC), the state-run film 

promotion and financing body, has been highly active in producing and internationally 

promoting a number of locally-made movies with New Zealand story lines (see footnote 3), 

which have registered significant international success since 2000 (New Zealand Trade and 

Enterprise 2007). However, criticism has been levelled at the NZFC for their apparent 

reluctance to fund some projects submitted by experienced and internationally renowned New 

Zealand-born film makers, who have instead decided to pursue their careers abroad (New 

Zealand Press Association 2010). While affirming the crucial role the NZFC plays in ensuring 

the production of films with a clearly New Zealand identity, a 2010 report examining the 

NZFC‘s performance since its inception was highly critical of some aspects of the NZFC‘s 

role. It cited for instance a lack of mutual respect between film makers and the NZFC, 

discontent among film makers with the commission‘s apparent interference in the creative 

process, its foregoing of risk by preferring to fund ―mediocre‖ projects with safe and modest 

profits, its rigid thematic framework for funding schemes, its ―controlling‖ and ―aloof‖ nature 

as well as the lack of a clear mechanism for offering feedback on the NZFC‘s own 

performance (Jackson and Court 2010: 8 – 17). While such areas of concern need to be 

addressed as they suggest some elements of a ‗top-down‘ attitude towards cultural 

practitioners, the NZFC has nonetheless been invaluable in turning New Zealand film making 

into an industry of some substance and giving it an international presence. 

The New Zealand popular music industry has benefited considerably from the ‗bottom 

up‘ promotional approach of the state towards its production and export in the 2000s (Shuker 

2008: 271). From the 1980s to the mid-1990s New Zealand‘s domestic popular music market 

appeared unable to financially support local artists on a full-time basis and only two percent 

of total music radio airplay in New Zealand was of domestic popular music (Shuker 2008: 

276). As Roy Shuker states: 

12 New Zealand film-making expertise has been utilised in subsequent major film projects shot in New Zealand, 

such as Avatar, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Last Samurai. An important predecessor to these films and 

the Lord of the Rings in this regard was the United States fantasy adventure TV series Xena: Warrior 

Princess, which was shot in New Zealand from 1995 to 2001. 


51

[D]espite occasional successes, at the end of the 1990s the vital signs of the New 

Zealand music industry remained mixed. As some ten years earlier, the local scene 

was insufficient to support full-time professional performers, there was still limited 

radio and television exposure for local artists, and government initiatives to support 

the recording industry remained very small scale. New Zealand artists who stayed ‗at 

home‘ remained marginal to the international music industry, since the country lacked 

the population base to support a music industry on the scale of neighbouring Australia. 

(Shuker 2008: 276) 

As a result of pressure from the local culture industries and the sympathetic ear of 

prime minister Helen Clark, the New Zealand government of 2000 – 2008 significantly 

increased funding for popular culture with the clear goals of building a New Zealand national 

identity and making the local industries economically viable and profitable (Shuker 2008: 

277). The state funding agency for popular music and television, New Zealand On Air 

(NZOA), which ensures diversity and the presence of New Zealand culture and identity in 

broadcasting, had its funds markedly increased for popular music as part of a strategy to 

secure local content on music radio. A publicly-funded investigation recommended that a 

local content quota be introduced for music radio and music television on terms that the 

industry would accept (Smyth, in Scott 2008: 301; Shuker 2008: 278). As a result, NZOA 

established a strongly encouraged (but not compulsory) local content quota, whereby NZOA 

funding was made available to those broadcasters who complied with its guidelines; NZOA 

also employed ‗song pluggers‘ to promote locally-made popular music to radio stations (Scott 

2008: 301). Alongside the concurrent success of some New Zealand artists nationally and 

internationally, the proportion of New Zealand popular music broadcast on music radio had 

reached over 20 percent of the total by 2005 (Dann, in Scott 2008: 299; Shuker 2008: 278 – 

279). Even though ―true international success has been much harder to achieve‖ (Ferguson 

2008) for New Zealand music artists compared to the considerable domestic success they 

have experienced with New Zealand On Air‘s assistance, exports of New Zealand popular 

music have nonetheless increased sharply since 2000 (Shuker 2008: 279). 

Notwithstanding the above success, NZOA has come in for some sharp criticism from 

cultural practitioners. In describing the NZOA‘s annual promotion of New Zealand-made 

popular music in the national media (―New Zealand Music Month‖), one group complained 

that for many aspiring artists the event was actually ―a reminder of what they can‘t get‖ and 

stated that NZOA support was more or less contingent upon applicants following the 


52

standardised norms of the music radio industry in format and lyrics (Under the Radar 2010). 

This compliant has also been voiced by Maori musicians in New Zealand, who have claimed 

that mainstream music radio ignores music sung in the Maori language (Radio New Zealand 

2010). Furthermore, some of New Zealand‘s most significant international successes in the 

popular music field in the last decade (such as the rock group The Datsuns and the TV 

comedy/music duo The Flight of the Conchords) have come about without state support. 

While taking the above into consideration and accepting the need for constant 

improvement in policy so as to ensure artistic and cultural variety in supported projects, the 

goals of creating a commercially sustainable local popular culture industry and exporting 

contemporary popular music and films with a discernable New Zealand identity have been 

achieved largely due to the supportive and proactive approach of the New Zealand 

government and its agencies dedicated to promoting popular culture. Furthermore, it is 

important to mention that the promotional state is a popular policy in New Zealand: according 

to a recent representative survey, 71 % of New Zealanders felt a strong sense of pride in the 

achievements of the country‘s cultural practitioners and 59 % strongly agreed that New 

Zealand culture should be promoted abroad (Ministry for Culture and Heritage 2009: 7, 12). 

This data appears to validate the promotional policies of the New Zealand government 

concerning popular culture. 

4. Some Concluding Remarks 

To conclude, it appears that the promotional approach by the New Zealand 

government towards popular culture has brought some cultural and economic rewards to the 

country. New Zealand popular music and film have become internationally visible largely due 

to the government‘s policy of helpful intervention and its extensive cooperation with local 

popular culture practitioners, aficionados and other industry stakeholders. Despite some fair 

criticisms and deficiencies noted above, New Zealand is a successful exporter of its popular 

culture and can serve as a model of innovative practice in cultural policy for other countries of 

a broadly similar population size. 

A key characteristic of this success has been the ‗bottom-up‘ nature of state 

intervention, where state agencies have worked in collaboration with the local popular culture 

industries to locate and support organic opportunities for its expansion domestically and 

internationally. When removed from direct political interference and when adequately 

financed, state-funded promotional agencies can facilitate the international establishment and 

expansion of local popular culture with a clearly discernable national identity which is 


53

attractive to international audiences of immense scope. Furthermore, a range of marketing 

opportunities emphasising a nation‘s cultural identity can present themselves when popular 

culture is exported. 

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Philosophical Fragments. Trans. Edmund Jephcott. Ed. Gunzelin Schmid Noerr. 

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BENNETT, Andy (2001). Cultures of Popular Music. Buckingham: Open University Press. 

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CLOONAN, Martin (1999). Pop and the Nation-State: Towards a Theorisation. Popular 

Music, 18(2), 193 – 207. 

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ERIKSEN, Thomas H. (2001). Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and 

Cultural Anthropology. 2nd ed. London: Pluto Press. 

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FERGUSON, John (2008, May 3). The Promised (Zea)land? Billboard, 120 (18), 20. 

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135). Malden, MA: Blackwell. 

HUDSON, Simon and J.R. BRENT RITCHIE (2006). Promoting Destinations via Film 

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document/pdf/Report.pdf. 

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and Location in the Making of ‗The Lord of the Rings‘. Journal of Management 

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the Modern and the Postmodern. London: Routledge. 

LEAVIS, F.R. (1986). Valuation in Criticism and Other Essays. G. Singh, (Ed.). Cambridge: 

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NEW ZEALAND TRADE AND ENTERPRISE (2007). Screen Production Industry in New 

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Resumé 

Ako môņe malý ńtát propagovať svoju populárnu kultúru za vlastnými hranicami? A akú 

úlohu by mala zohrávať vláda pri realizácii a vývoze miestnej populárnej kultúry? Tento 

príspevok sa zaoberá úlohou vlády pri vytváraní medzinárodného profilu priemyslu 

populárnej kultúry na Novom Zélande. Zameriava sa predovńetkým na film a populárnu 

hudbu, teda dve formy populárnej kultúry, ktoré majú silný potenciál prezentovať národnú 

identitu rozsiahlemu miestnemu aj zahraničnému publiku. Po interpretácii významu 

populárnej kultúry v rámci tvorby modernej národnej identity, ako aj jej atribútov exportnej 

komodity, príspevok vymedzuje teoretický rámec opisu existujúceho ńtátom vedeného 

prístupu k produkcii a exportu populárnej kultúry. Príspevok ďalej identifikuje spôsoby 

uplatňovania inovatívnych prístupov na Novom Zélande v oblasti vývozu populárnej kultúry a 

argumentuje, ņe napriek istým nedostatkom podporná úloha vlády priniesla mnoņstvo 

priamych i nepriamych výhod pre miestny novozéladský priemysel populárnej kultúry. 


55

Narrating the Intercultural Face of the Australian Body Politic 


Judit Mudriczki 

Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Hungary 

On February 13, 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a historic speech in the 

House of Representatives in Canberra in which he offered an official apology to indigenous 

Australians on behalf of both the federal government and the parliament of the 

Commonwealth of Australia. While standing in the blue carpet room, he addressed not only 

those seventeen indigenous people who were representing the Stolen Generations, or the one 

hundred and fifty MPs who had their second sitting day in the House, but also the whole 

country including approximately five hundred thousand citizens who claim themselves to be 

Aboriginal today (Welch 2008: 1). 

The purpose of this paper, on the one hand, is to reconstruct the historical context of 

the speech by mapping European-indigenous relations between the 1967 referendum and 

2008. On the other hand, it also analyzes how the Prime Minister initiates a discourse that 

intends to define the collective identity of Australian society and also to bridge the gap 

between indigenous and non-indigenous citizens, which eventually signals a sharp change in 

the federal government‘s rhetoric. While discussing the proposed topic, the author of the 

paper intends to take a balanced point of view of an outsider presenting both federal and 

indigenous approaches. 

2. The Historical Context of the Speech 

2.1 Milestones of the Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Relations between the 1967 

referendum and 2008 

Trying to define his policy, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd claims that his motion carries 

the ―unfulfilled spirit of the 1967 referendum‖ (Rudd 2008: 5). This attitude implies that his 

words intended to end a forty-year long historical process that had its various phases that this 

article will summarize in a nutshell. 



As part of an intensified protest movement that fought against the discrimination of 

indigenous people in the 1960s, the campaign launched by the Federal Council for Aboriginal 

56

Advancement eventually brought real success. At the 1967 referendum an overwhelming 

majority, more precisely eighty-nine percent of the voters, decided to remove Sections 51 and 

127 from the Constitution of Australia and thus ―the people of the Aboriginal race‖ were 

finally granted the same constitutional rights as any other people, and became counted when 

reckoning the numbers of people of the Commonwealth (Anderson, Mark and Ashton, Paul 

2000: 237 – 239). Although this legal change was a historic event, it did not provide any 

special means to improve the economic hardship of the indigenous people. 

The next decade saw a series of legal battles over land rights that were the key to 

overcoming economic difficulties. Spectacular events like the setting up and pulling down of 

the ―Aboriginal Tent Embassy‖ in Canberra in 1972, or the handing over of the pastoral lease 

to the Gurindji people on Wave Hill Station in the Northern Territory in 1975 called attention 

to the nation-wide need for settling Aboriginal land ownership. However, during the 1980s 

this issue remained in the hands of state governments, and in national public discourses the 

period was marked by a strong focus on the resurrection of the use of indigenous languages 

and establishing various media services that promoted indigenous interests (Molnar 2001: 

318). Besides the rather gradual development of Aboriginal media, there were two significant 

waves of protests that noticeably demonstrated the power of indigenous people in the public 

life of Australia with the intention to raise their claims to an international level. Regardless of 

the massive presence of the police that anticipated some civil disorder, in 1982 the Brisbane 

Commonwealth Games were disturbed by Aboriginal protests during which more than three 

hundred people were arrested, and more significantly in 1988 Aboriginal protesters boycotted 

nearly all of the public events that celebrated Australia‘s Bicentenary of European Settlement 

(White 2007: 35 – 37). 

As for the case of land ownership, the real breakthrough was the 1992 Mabo decision 

of the High Court that recognized the Mer people‘s ownership to their island in the Torres 

Strait, which at the same time challenged the concept of pre-colonial Australia being a ―terra 

nullius,‖ a territory where nobody had owned any land before the arrival of the British in 1788 

(Anderson, Mark and Ashton, Paul 2000: 267 – 275). The legacy of this ruling was continued 

by the 1996 Wik decision, which declared that ―Native Title may coexist on pastoral leases 

although, where there is a conflict, the rights of pastoralists will prevail‖ (Rigney 1998: 127). 

In order to manage the indigenous attempts to regain their traditional land, in 1993 the 

Commonwealth Parliament passed the Native Title Act, which provided the legal grounds for 

Aboriginal people to claim ownership to land and waters under their laws and customs 

(Anderson, Mark and Ashton, Paul 2000: 274 – 275). Besides its legal significance, indirectly 


57

the act also had spiritual importance for Aboriginal people as Lester Irabinna Rigney, one of 

the most respected university professors in the field of Indigenous Studies and Education, 

points out: 

Native title right allows Indigenous Australians to access bodies of water and land to 

pursue our cultural traditions of hunting, fishing, ceremony and the vital teachings of 

our knowledges to our children. Our indigenous spirituality and culture are rooted in 

the soils of our land and the interconnectedness of all things that live above or below 

its surface. (Rigney 1998: 127) 

Nevertheless, this act was modified by the 1998 Native Title Amendment Act that, 

significant as it was, on the whole provided legal means for the Howard government to 

control the ownership and use of indigenous lands (Mészáros 2009: 315). 

On the field of institutional representation, in accordance with the intentions of the 

self-determination policy, in 1973 the Labor government established the National Aboriginal 

Consultative Committee to provide advice to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. 

Nevertheless, one of the most significant milestones of federal recognition of Aboriginal 

representation was 1990 when the Keating Government set up the Aboriginal and Torres 

Strait Islanders Commission. This commission took an active role in furthering aboriginal 

issues for more than a decade but its operation was contrary to the intentions of the ―one 

nation, one future‖ policy of the Howard government therefore it first suffered budget cuts 

and then became abolished in 2004 (Mészáros 2009: 317). Nevertheless, there was another 

establishment of the Keating Government, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (1991 - 

2000) that determined the public mediation of indigenous affairs until 2000 when the non- 

profit organization Reconciliation Australia took over its function. Thus for a decade 

Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations were branded with the diplomatic word 

―reconciliation‖ that, as Bretherton and Mellor point out, carried different meanings 

regardless of its simplicity. 

The term is used variously to describe the need for, the strategy to achieve, and the 

goal of achieving better relationships between Indigenous and other Australians […] 

For many people, the term denotes the need to address a lack of positive and 

empathetic attitudes toward Aborigines and Aboriginal culture. For others, it refers to 

relationship building to promote harmony, in contradistinction to more adversarial 


58

means to restore justice, such as advocating for a treaty. (Bretherton and Mellor 2006: 

94) 

The year 2000 brought about a series of public events that popularized the idea of 

reconciliation. Celebrating the anniversary of the 1967 referendum on Reconciliation Week, 

Aboriginal people presented the Document Towards Reconciliation at the Sydney Opera 

House on May 27 within the context of the celebration called Corroboree 2000. Prime 

Minister John Howard received this document in a highly reserved manner, and gave a short 

public speech in which he failed to apologize and take responsibility for the harm done to 

indigenous people. In reaction to his behaviour, the following day two hundred thousand 

people marched across Sydney Harbour Bridge in order to protest and express their sympathy 

for Aboriginal people (Cowlishaw 2010: 208). The general public dislike and criticism of the 

Prime Minister‘s refusal to say ―Sorry‖ culminated in the autumn during the opening and 

closing ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The performance of the 

―Awakening‖ segment at the opening ceremony involved a spiritual renewal since it was 

staged as a tribal event in which more than a thousand aboriginal people participated, who 

gathered from all over the country, and it also involved the burning of eucalyptus leaves, 

whose smoke literally purified the audience. (White 2009: 100) Significantly enough it was an 

Aboriginal athlete, Cathy Freeman who lighted the cauldron with the Olympic flame, which 

also provided an emblematic image to strengthen the idea that the history of Australia 

includes the history of Aboriginal people (White 2009: 101 – 102). At the closing ceremony 

even non-Aboriginal artists expressed their support of indigenous people in various ways. 

First the lead singer of the Savage Garden, Darren Hayes, wore a top with the image of the 

Aboriginal flag. Then the band Midnight Oil performed the song ―Beds are Burning‖ 

expressing concerns about Native land rights while all the members of the band were wearing 

black clothes on which the word ―Sorry‖ was glaring in white despite the ban of the 

International Olympic Committee on clothes with explicitly political, religious or cultural 

messages (White 2009: 102 – 103). Nevertheless, it took eight years until the same message 

reached the political stage and thus Prime Minister Kevin Rudd‘s Apology Speech provided 

the official answer to all the public disappointment that Prime Minister John Howard 

provoked in 2000. 


59

2.2 Textual Precedents of the Speech: The Bringing Them Home and Little Children are 

Scared Reports 

At the beginning of his motion for apology, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd adopts the 

diction of a historiographer when he claims that he intends to reflect on what he figuratively 

calls a ―blemished chapter‖ in Australia‘s history in order to ―turn a new page […] by righting 

the wrongs of the past‖ (Rudd 2008:1). Studying his speech as a verbal construct shows that 

in fact the only story he is narrating concerns an old lady, Nungala Fejo, who at the age of 

four was taken from her family by the welfare men ―in the name of protection‖. This anecdote 

is meant to exemplify the story of the so-called ―Stolen Generations‖, a term that first 

appeared in the title of Peter Read‘s pamphlet disclosing the case of: 

those Aboriginal children in New South Wales who were taken away from their 

parents, either living on government reserves and stations, by government legislation, 

and put in the care of the whites. It is the story of the attempt to ‗breed out‘ the 

Aboriginal race. It is the story of attempted genocide. (Read 1981:3) 

The author, a prominent professor of History at the University of Sydney, in those days was 

working mainly at Link-Up, the organization that he founded in order to find the members of 

those Aboriginal families that were separated due to government policies. Nevertheless, Prime 

Minister Kevin Rudd‘s speech as a text relies more on the content of a special and more 

comprehensive collection of stories that became known in Australian public discourse as the 

Bringing Them Home Report. Originally commissioned by Prime Minister Keating in 1995, 

the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission prepared a comprehensive 

study that was published in 1997 under the title of Bringing Them Home: Report of the 

National Enquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from 

their Families. 

As Bretherton and Mellor explain, the inquiry was initiated as a response to the 

findings of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Death in Custody that claimed that out of 

the ninety-nine Aboriginal people who died in prison between 1980 and 1989, forty-three had 

been separated from their families in their childhood. In order to investigate the background 

of this tendency, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission led by Sir Ronald 

Wilson travelled around in the country and collected evidence from almost eight hundred 

people and organizations (Bretherton and Mellor 85 – 86). The report contains their personal 

accounts proving that the removal of children from their families resulted in the psychological 


60

and physical suffering of the indigenous people involved. To cite directly the words of the 

report: ―For individuals, their removal as children and the abuse they experienced at the hands 

of the authorities or their delegates have permanently scarred their lives. The harm continues 

in later generations, affecting their children and grandchildren‖ (Bringing Them Home 1997: 

5). 

There are two main reasons that made this document so powerful: one of them was 

that it portrayed innocent children as ―stolen from home‖, which emotionally moved all its 

readers; and the other is that the removal policy did not only take place in the distant past but 

continued even until the 1970s. Regardless of its emotive power, from a social point of view 

the report did not bring unprecedented results. Lester Irabinna Rigney‘s words exemplify the 

aboriginal attitude to the report and other similar federal inquiries: 

The Fourth Report of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Social Justice Commission, the 

National Inquiry into Racist Violence in Australia, and the findings of the Royal 

Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody concluded that we as Indigenous 

Australians face individual, institutional, societal and epistemological racism in almost 

every aspect of our lives. (Rigney 1998: 126) 

Besides the Stolen Generation Report, there was another document that shadows 

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd‘s speech even if he does not make any direct reference to it. 

Published in June 2007, the Little Children are Scared report revealed the details of child 

abuse and alcoholism within aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory (Mészáros 

2009: 317 – 318). In order to tackle the problem, the Howard government decided to declare a 

―national emergency‖ and introduced a policy called the Northern Territory Emergency 

Response (NTER) part of which police and military forces were moved onto native lands. In 

fact this intervention was still taking place while Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was delivering 

his Motion to Apology; moreover, it has not stopped ever since. Richard Mohr highlights that 

the day before the Rudd government offered the official apology to Aboriginal people, 

thousands of people protested in front of the Parliament building against the intervention, and 

the Prime Minister ―was notably silent on the question of continuing responsibility for the 

NTER‖ (Mohr 2009: 15). 


61

2.3 Building Bridges, Closing Gaps 

A year after the publication of the Stolen Generation Report, Lester Irabinna Rigney 

worded the widely-supported idea that ―most fair-minded Australians would view an apology 

to the stolen generation and a recognition of the past treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait 

Islanders as a positive step in the healing of our country‖ (Rigney 1998: 126). As if 

remembering his words, Kevin Rudd answered this desire ten years later when he claimed 

standing in the House of Representatives that ―we the Parliament of Australia respectfully 

request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of 

the nation‖ (Rudd 2008: 4). 

The figurative treatment to cure the wounds of the Australian body politic in Kevin 

Rudd‘s rhetoric relies on the intercultural values of the unity of families and the ―fair go for 

all‖ principle. The Prime Minister emphasizes that the apology is also meant to ―build a 

bridge between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians‖ and ―to close the gap […] on life 

expectancy, educational achievement and employment opportunities‖ (Rudd 2008: 4). 

Although he did not cite any figures, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics at the 

time when the speech was delivered indigenous life expectancy was seventeen years lower 

than the Australian average; only 21 % completed Year 12 in comparison to more than 54 % 

non-Indigenous people; and the unemployment rate for Indigenous people, 16.6 %, was more 

than three times the unemployment rate of the civilian population of 5 %. 

Besides directly claiming that the new government policy depends on improving 

education, primary and preventive health care for indigenous communities, Prime Minister 

Kevin Rudd‘s narrative also manages to tackle the threat of acknowledging individual 

responsibility. The Prime Minister applies a smart rhetorical device when he points out the 

scapegoat that legitimized the removal of indigenous children from their families on racial 

grounds: ―We, the parliament of the nation, are ultimately responsible, not those who gave 

effect to our laws. The problem lay with the laws themselves‖ (Rudd 2008: 3). Richard Mohr 

convincingly argues that while focusing on the role of the Commonwealth institutions as 

collective bodies, the speech manages to ―absolve any individual of responsibility. […] With 

this device the whole question of agency is dispatched, leaving the field open to parliaments, 

laws and other nameless institutions to act as technologies to disperse responsibility‖ (Mohr 

2009: 17). 


62

3. Conclusion 

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd‘s Apology in 2008 meant a landmark in Australian public 

discourses for many reasons. First of all, he acknowledged the responsibility of federal 

policies for long decades of unfair and discriminative treatment of indigenous people. He also 

fulfilled the expectations of the reconciliation policy by officially saying sorry to Aboriginal 

people, more particularly to the members of the Stolen Generations. On the other hand, he 

initiated a new rhetoric of government policy that was markedly different from the alleged 

intentions of the Howard government. Nevertheless, studying the historical context and 

rhetorical devices of his speech also reveals that his figurative words cover some issues that 

may even challenge the seemingly unmistakable message of his motion to apology. 

Bibliography 

ANDERSON, Mark, and Paul ASHTON (2000). Australian History and Citizenship. South 

Yarra: Macmillan Education. 

BRETHERTON, Di, and David MELLOR (2006). Reconciliation between Aboriginal and 

Other Australians: The ‗Stolen Generations‘ Journal of Social Issues 62, 81 – 98. 

Bringing Them Home: Report of the National Enquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and 

Torres Strait Islander Children form their Families. Human Rights and Equal 

Opportunity Commission. 2005. Retrieved from http://www.hreoc.gov.au/ 

social_justice/bth_report/index.html on October 8, 2006. 

COWLISHAW, Gillian (2010). Mythologising Culture. The Australian Journal of 

Anthropology 21, 208 – 227. 

EVANS, Raymond (2007). A History of Queensland. Cambridge: Cambridge University 

Press. 

MESZAROS, Zsolt (2001). How to Give Back Stolen Dignity: Assessing John Howard‘s 

Aboriginal Policies in Australia. Öt kontinens, 309 – 322. 

MOLNAR, Helen (2001). Indigenous Media and Policy Making in Australia. In Tony Bennet 

and David Carter (Eds.) Culture in Australia, Policies, Publics and Programs (313 – 

333).Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

MOHR, Richard (2009). Response and Responsibility. Indigenous Law Bulletin 7, 15 – 18. 

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey. (2008). Cat. no. 4720.0. 

Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/ 

abs@.nsf/Lookup/4714.0Main+Features12008?OpenDocument on October 2, 2010. 

READ, Peter (1981). The Stolen Generations. The Removal of Aboriginal Children in New 

South Wales 1883 to 1969. Sydney: New South Wales. Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs. 

RIGNEY, Lester Irabinna (1998). Native Title, the Stolen Generation and Reconciliation. 

Interventions 1(1), 125 – 130. 

RUDD, Kevin (2008). Motion of Apology to Australia‘s Indigenous Peoples. Australian 

Indigenous Law Review 12, 1 – 5. 

WELCH, Dylan (2008, Feb. 13). Kevin Rudd says sorry. Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 

from http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/kevin-rudd-sayssorry/2008/02/13/1202760342960.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2 

on October 2, 

2010. 


63

WHITE, Leanne (2007). The Bicentenary of Australia: Celebration of a Nation. In Linda 

Fuller (Ed.), National days/national ways: historical, political, and religious 

celebrations around the world (25 – 40). Greenwood Publishing Group. 

WHITE, Leanne (2009). Indigenous Australia and the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games: 

Mediated Messages of Respect and Reconciliation. In Jane Ali-Knight, Martin 

Robertson, Alan Fyall, and Adele Ladkin (Eds.), International perspectives of festivals 

and events: paradigms of analysis (97 – 106). Amsterdam, Boston, London: 

Elsevier/Academic. 

Resumé 

Vo svojom historickom prejave v parlamente 13. februára 2008 sa premiér vlády Kevin Rudd 

oficiálne ospravedlnil austrálskym domorodcom. Hoci jeho prejav je súčasťou dlhého procesu 

zmierovania, ktorému v austrálskej právnej histórii predchádzalo uņ viacero iných fáz i 

miľníkov, zároveň symbolizuje aj novú rétoriku Austrálie, pričom na jej obyvateľov nazerá z 

nového hľadiska, zvýrazňujúc význam medzikultúrnych hodnôt, a vytyčuje nové ciele, ktoré 

smerujú k zbliņovaniu sa domorodcov a ostatných obyvateľov Austrálie. Tento príspevok 

rekonńtruuje historické okolnosti tohto prejavu prostredníctvom mapovania európskoautochtónnych 

vzťahov z obdobia medzi referendami z roku 1967 a 2008. Cieľom práce je 

taktieņ analyzovať, ako premiér svojím prejavom iniciuje spoločenskú diskusiu o austrálskej 

kolektívnej identite. Zameriava sa aj na rieńenie otázky takzvaných ukradnutých generácií a 

kritizuje dlhodobú federálnu politiku, ktorá na rasovom základe legitimizovala odobratie detí 

domorodcov od ich rodín. Interpretuje úlohu vlády v súvislosti so ńkodami spôsobenými 

autochtónnym komunitám, ale dejiny ich osudov zároveň začleňuje do dejín Austrálskeho 

spoločenstva/súńtátia, čím vymedzuje základy nového hodnotového systému, z ktorého by 

mohlo vychádzať austrálske medzikultúrne spoluņitie. 


64

Are We Losing Our Linguistic Identity? 

Miroslav Bázlik 


We often criticize what we call the ―word-for-word translation‖ or ―literal translation‖, 

or even ―slavish translation‖, in spite of the fact that such a translation may be a source of 

inspiration. While the history of the English language has proved that foreign influences can 

be beneficial for a language, many Slovaks (including some linguists) strongly oppose 

anything foreign penetrating our language. Notwithstanding, as Ambrus (2008: 72) puts it, 

―the penetration of English words and structures into Slovak is not always justified‖. In this 

article, we try to look at the arguments for and against such penetration by analyzing a well- 

established advertisement which has recently appeared in Slovakia containing the catch 

phrase 

A s kým bankujete vy? 

When it first appeared, it did not seem to say much to a Slovak addressee unless 

perhaps he or she had a good knowledge of English and realized that it might stem from a 

literal translation of the English question 

Who do you bank with? 

its meaning being ―The services of which bank do you use?‖. 

This advertisement in question form was first brought to public attention without 

indicating what answer should be expected, thus provoking the curiosity of the addressee not 

only by its unconventional make-up but also by the intentional lack of information normally 

provided by context. After a time, it was extended in several versions and disseminated 

through various media, each mentioning the Slovenská sporiteľňa bank. 

The motivation for using this kind of advertisement is not fully transparent. We 

assume that its author was primarily relying on its unconventionality, which would cause the 

advertisement to be noticed and remembered, perhaps only subconsciously, by a relatively 

large number of potential addressees. Our assumption is that the interest in attracting attention 

was much more important than the information itself (if any) conveyed by the advertisement 

as a whole. 

Looking at some linguistic aspects of the above advertisement, there are at least two 

unusual features to be noticed in the Slovak wording: 


LINGUISTICS 

65

(1) One is the formation of the verb bankovať, derived from the noun banka. The 

word-formation process here is consistent with the rules of Slovak, where new verbs can be 

regularly formed by adding -ovať, which represents a productive verb-forming suffix in 

present-day Slovak for conveying the meaning ―to do what is expressed by the noun base‖ (as 

in bukovať, surfovať, esemeskovať, četovať, meilovať, etc.). 

As can be seen from the examples above, new verbs often tend to be formed from the 

noun bases which are also relatively new to the Slovak language. We rarely think it necessary 

to derive such verbs, on a day-to-day basis, from nouns which have already had a long 

existence in Slovak and where the products of such derivation have become integrated into 

the Slovak language, e.g. dierovať, stolovať, hniezdovať, mapovať, and such verbs, as a rule, 

are not perceived as neologisms. We can say that if a particular noun has existed in the Slovak 

language for a relatively long period of time, the corresponding verb – if needed – has mostly 

already been derived. If a verb is, nevertheless, newly derived from a well-established noun, 

such a derived verb is usually formed only if the noun has developed a new meaning. In our 

assumption, the principal justification for creating the verb bankovať from the long- 

established banka comes from an effort to provide a new ―condensed‖ meaning related to the 

types of services or transactions and their use. 

What is also noteworthy is the fact that in Slovak the word banka is systemically a 

homonym and may also refer to a glass vessel used mainly for laboratory purposes, while the 

derived verb bankovať is an established technical term naming an operation involving such 

vessels. Some of the respondents interviewed by us first thought of the latter meaning as 

being aimed at (in spite of the fact that this latter meaning is highly technical). 

(2) The second striking feature of the above structure is the use of the preposition s + 

instrumental case. Those who speak English are usually accustomed to associating the 

preposition s, so with the English preposition with: 

hrať sa s niekým – play with sb 

uspokojiť sa s niekým – be satisfied with sb 

spolupracovať s niekým – cooperate with sb. 

However, apart from s/so, other possible translation equivalents also exist (not all of 

them being prepositions) and can be illustrated: 

with all his effort – napriek všetkému úsiliu 

stay with somebody – bývať u niekoho 

vote with a party – hlasovať za niektorú stranu 

he won‟t pass with me – u mňa neprejde 


66

the solution rests with her – riešenie je na nej 

be angry with somebody – hnevať sa na niekoho 

with no conclusion reached… – keďže sme nedospeli k záveru… 

with the weather being cloudy – vzhľadom na oblačné počasie. 

Some translations use the instrumental case (without preposition): 

cut with a knife – rezať noţom 

fill with something – naplniť niečìm. 

From among the meanings that the preposition s/so expresses in Slovak, those which 

may be relevant for bankovať s niekým are mainly the meanings characterized together in 

KSSJ as ―spojenosť, zlučovanie, styk s niekým, vzájomnosť‖ – i.e. connectedness, 

association, contact with somebody, reciprocity (cf. Kačala and Pisárčiková 1989: 391). 

Other meanings listed in KSSJ tend to associate with non-human NPs, which would be 

relevant if the question were s čìm bankujete. 

English obviously uses the preposition with in many more situations and meanings 

than is the case of the Slovak preposition s/so, and the generally higher occurrence of 

prepositions in English is consistent with the analytical nature of the English language. 

The use of the English preposition with in a context similar to the examined 

advertisement can be illustrated by a short text from a Lloyds Bank leaflet: 

Ways to bank with us 

We‟ve made it easy for you to bank with us by offering several ways to 

manage your money. 

Here bank with (us = Lloyds Bank) means ―use Lloyds Bank‘s services‖. 

The English question Who do you bank with? could alternatively be translated 

into Slovak as: V ktorej banke ste klientom? 

Sluţby ktorej banky pouţìvate? 

V ktorej banke máte (zaloţený) účet? 

Ktorá banka vám vedie účet? 

Advertising in the form of a question stimulates the addressee and provides an 

invitation to give an answer, i.e. it aims at making the addressee a participant in the dialogue, 

assuming an eventual positive attitude. 

Apart from using the question form, the advertisement under study enhances the 

invitation, or challenge, by using the second person (vy). 

We assume that the author of the advertisement considered the possible translations 

and thought that the unusual nature of the question translated into Slovak literally would, in 


67

spite of leading to some misinterpretation and in spite of violating some rules of the Slovak 

language, attract more attention than a ―more adequate‖ translation. In view of the massive 

campaign using the question under analysis we can say that the advertiser, consciously or 

subconsciously, manipulates the grammatical system of the Slovak language. The public are 

getting used to it and may, even if jocularly at first, introduce this type of structure into 

common use. We are thus witnessing the penetration of a syntactic, or grammatical, 

neologism. Such penetration is less noticeable than the borrowing of lexical items. 

Grammatical innovations result, e.g., from changing a peripheral structure into a central one. 

This occurs especially by giving preference to the structure analogical to that of the source 

text. For example, in recent decades, we have witnessed the increased use of possessive 

pronouns and fewer uses of the verb ―mať‖ in translations into Slovak, as in: 

Pouţite tento šampón a vaše vlasy budú hebké a krásne. 

The use of the pronoun vaše is felt as penetrating deeper into the addressee‘s thinking than the 

verb mať, which would traditionally be used in a similar context. 

Pouţite tento šampón a vlasy budete mať hebké a krásne. 

A parallel of such influence can be seen, e.g. in the fact that the Norman French 

grammatical system had an impact on the Old English system thanks to a high number of 

linguistic structures borrowed into English. A similar phenomenon seems to be operating 

within the Slovak grammatical system, which, even if not so transparently, allows for not only 

lexical items but grammatical phenomena to be borrowed as well. So there is perhaps some 

room for the fears of those who want to preserve our linguistic identity. 

We are facing one of the few cases where advertisers try to teach us to change our 

linguistic habits. In the process, they use seemingly unacceptable structures to attract our 

attention, making us remember the advertisement for its unusual linguistic make-up, where 

otherwise we might let the advertisement pass unnoticed. They start using a new grammatical 

structure without sufficient context, thus making the recipient feel puzzled and curious; 

subsequently, they introduce a suitable context which reveals the meaning; and then they use 

the unusual structure repeatedly in new contexts, until it ―goes down‖ and is digested. The 

advertisers literally ―teach‖ us the ―new‖ structure and associate it with the manufacturer or 

the product, which they want to promote. 

We became interested in the degree of acceptability of the ―newspeak‖ among Slovaks 

and tried to detect what the meaning ―guessed at‖ by the addressee may be and whether 

knowledge of English may act positively or negatively in deciphering the intended message 


68

(on the role of pragmatic knowledge in the interpretation of complex situations see 

Kudrnáčová 2008: 89 – 90). 

Though most of the people asked about how they perceived Who do you bank with? 

understood it as ―The services of which bank do you use?‖, they did not derive the meaning 

from the question itself but rather from rejecting other possibilities as being even more 

absurd. Most of them found the advertisement ―stupid, strange, blurred, unclear‖. 

Our presumption was that the advertisement may have missed the target; though, on 

second thought, mentioning a concrete bank in an unusual, mysterious context may contribute 

to the awareness of the existence of that bank. 

If we assume that in creating advertisements one of the main targets is to attract the 

potential addressee‘s attention and curiosity, literal translation may thus be inspiring. It is a 

similar case to that of modified (incorrect) spelling, which makes one notice hoardings 

containing elements like 

boyz (boys), lite (light), nite (night) 

or the spelling-out of non-standard pronunciation: 

luv (love). 

Slovaks may be sensitive to such issues as substituting the letter i with y or vice versa 

(cf. also nay instead of naj in naystrovské zľavy blended from naj- + majstrovské in an 

advertisement of the BEST Company; in Böhmerová 2010b: 124). 

In our opinion, even with the risk of ―losing‖ our linguistic identity, there is no harm 

in borrowing (or rather calquing) not just words but even syntactic combinations or 

collocations (cf. also in Böhmerová 2010a). However, where unconventionality is the only 

reason for such borrowing, we can assume that the linguistic product will be short-lived and 

that not many analogical formations will follow. 

This whole process of using foreign elements seems to be possible especially due to 

the fact that English borrowings are now relatively easily recognized by Slovak speakers, as 

we have been exposed to many English words borrowed into Slovak in the last two decades or 

so. With a large number of lexical items being borrowed, even syntactic structures can now be 

adopted as we have become less sensitive to ―attacks‖ against our linguistic identity and more 

aware of English formulations which, due to their non-conventionality, can sound 

linguistically refreshing and exotic. 

Other instances of targeted ―foreignisms‖ which we have recently been bombarded 

with involve a group of neologisms coming from an unidentified ―African language‖ 

(supposedly Zulu), illustrated by the word bukekela. The addressee is first ―taught‖ to 


69

ecognize the meaning and then the word is used in the desired contexts with a more 

expressive load than any domestic item might provide. 

This testifies to a new stage in the Slovak language, which in some spheres of usage 

opens itself more intensively to non-Slovak influences, with tendencies not only to influence 

the vocabulary but also other linguistic levels. Advertisements are a powerful vehicle for such 

borrowings as they tend to be used repeatedly, possibly in several contexts, so they actually 

teach Slovak addressees to learn new structures. 

Returning to our initial ―intruder‖, we can assume that the verb bankovať may perhaps 

become domesticated in Slovak. The problem remains in the case of the preposition s/so, 

which is used in the examined advertisement. As we saw, s/so does not completely reflect the 

meaning of the English preposition with as used in bank with. It should be noted that 

prepositions belong to closed system items, and changes in their uses, meanings, if any, are 

relatively rare and cannot occur on a day-to-day basis. 

A new meaning of s/so is not easily accepted and it would be more systematic if the 

wording kde bankujete? or u koho bankujete? were used, avoiding the preposition s/so. 

Though the advertisers have been trying to manipulate the Slovak language, they have 

hardly preserved ―the upper hand‖ and competing entities have already reacted to the 

examined advertisement by making allusions to it in contexts that suit them. The ČSOB bank 

came up with the following: 

S NIMI MÔŅETE BANKOVAŤ 

S NAMI 

NAJBEZPEČNEJŠIE SPORIŤ 

Výhodný úrok 

2 % ročne 

ZVOĽTE SI ISTOTU A SPORTE V NAJBEZPEČNEJŃEJ BANKE NA SLOVENSKU 

ČSOB 

Here the context highlights the undefined, general and, therefore, ―insufficient‖ or 

―blurred‖ meaning of bankovať contrasting it with the unambiguous sporiť, enhanced by the 

well-understood najbezpečnejšie, výhodný, istota. 

In spite of a negative rather than positive evaluation of s kým bankujete?, its frequent 

use in the advertising media has caused that ČSOB is not the only other advertiser beginning 

to take advantage of analogous structures. As the probable target – to arouse the interest of as 

many people as possible – has been attained, some advertisers come up with more analogical 


70

structures. One such example is the advertisement intended to attract those who need their 

cars serviced, its wording being 

servisujte s nami. 

We can expect more, similar structures to gradually enter the Slovak language. If such 

borrowings prove to be convenient, witty, practical, necessary, etc., there is no harm in taking 

over even syntactic structures. The identity of a language continues to exist not only in spite 

of, but also thanks to dynamic developments, including borrowings. 

Bibliography 

AMBRUS, Patrik (2008). Menej je niekedy viac. Kultúra slova, 42 (2), 71 – 76. 

BÖHMEROVÁ, Ada (2006). Medzijazykové lexikálne paralely v jazykovom systéme a v 

preklade. In 35 rokov výučby prekladateľstva a tlmočnìctva na Slovensku, 1970 – 

2005: minulosť, súčasnosť a budúcnosť prekladateľstva a tlmočnìctva na Slovensku 

(15 – 22). Bratislava: LETRA. 

BÖHMEROVÁ, Ada (2010a). Udomácnení hostia? Nahliadnutie do prítomnosti anglicizmov 

a dynamiky ich vplyvu na jazykové roviny súčasnej slovenčiny. Smolenice, 

Conference Proceedings of JÚĽŃ SAV (forthcoming). 

BÖHMEROVÁ, Ada (2010b). Blending As Lexical Amalgamation and Its Onomatological 

and Lexicographical Status in Slovak. Krìţenie ako lexikálna amalgamácia a jeho 

onomatologické a lexikografické postavenie v angličtine a v slovenčine. Bratislava: 

ŃEVT. 

KAČALA, Ján, and Mária PISÁRČIKOVÁ (1989). Krátky slovnìk slovenského jazyka (often 

referred to as KSSJ). Bratislava, Veda. 

KUDRNÁČOVÁ, Naděņda (2008). Directed Motion at the Syntax-Semantics Interface. Brno: 

Masaryk University. 

RAKŃÁNYIOVÁ, Jana (1993). Preklad reklamy. Romboid 28 (5), 53 – 55. 

Resumé 

Keď sa na Slovensku objavila reklama nezvyklého typu obsahujúca otázku: „A s kým 

bankujete vy?―, vyvolalo to rôznorodé reakcie u adresátov, pričom určitú úlohu zohralo aj to, 

či ovládajú angličtinu, keďņe jej znenie zjavne kopíruje anglickú ńtruktúru. Príspevok si 

vńíma moņné a konkrétne reakcie adresátov a hodnotí proces prenikania nielen lexikálnych 

ale aj gramatických prostriedkov do slovenčiny, kde gramatické ńtruktúry doteraz viac 

odolávali preberaniu alebo tento proces nebol natoľko výrazný. Autor sleduje reakcie 

Slovákov na takéto „inovácie―, mieru ich porozumenia a vnímanie nového typu jazykovej 

interakcie; pritom uņ dávnejńie pozoruje prenikanie anglickej gramatiky do slovenčiny, 

napríklad pri nadmernom pouņívaní privlastňovacích zámen. Tie sa postupne udomácňujú aj 

tam, kde tradične neboli potrebné a objavujú sa nielen v prekladoch. Skúmaná reklamná 

formulka ilustruje, ņe slovenčina sa nebráni cudzím vplyvom a ņe sa tento trend rozńiruje aj 

do netradičných jazykových oblastí. 


71

Cross-Pollination vs Lexical Blending: Horticulture vs Onomatology 


Ada Böhmerová 


The joint presence of cross-pollination and lexical blending in the title of a 

linguistic paper may sound surprising, or even absurd, as horticulture and 

onomatology occur in completely different domains. Nevertheless, a closer look 

can reveal that in some respects they can be not only related, 

but can actually manifest a certain parallelism. 

Similarly to other areas of communication, the phenomena and processes in natural 

sciences are denoted by lexical units which are not only from the semantic but also 

onomatological points of view (directly or indirectly) motivated by the features of their 

referents. In some cases, the form of these lexical units can quite explicitly testify to the 

character of the phenomena themselves. 

The aim of this paper is to investigate a set of those names of hybrid or crossbred 

plants in English which are denoted by blends, hence in which their identity resulting from 

merged species is also word-formatively expressed by merged lexical constituents. 

2. Botanical Terminology and Hybrids 

In biology, of which botany is an integral constituent, species, sometimes naturally or 

through the interference of humans, become mixed. In OED2 13 such a hybrid is defined as 

―the offspring of two plants or animals of different species or varieties, such as a mule‖. As to 

the origin of the noun hybrid, OED dates its penetration into English by the early 17th century 

(1601), the source of borrowing being Latin hybrida, more correctly hibrida, a variant of 

ibrida ―offspring of a tame sow and a wild boar, child of a slave, etc.‖ 

The term has also been extended to botany, which is aimed at in this paper, where the 

hybrid plant is the result of the cross-pollination of two different species, the grafting of one 

species into another, or, more recently, the modification of a species via genetic engineering. 

Cross-pollination itself is usually defined as fertilization by transfer of pollen from the anthers 

of a flower of one species to the stigma of another species with a different genetic 

13 The Compact Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition 


LINGUISTICS 

72

composition as carried out by insects, or deliberately by a botanist 14 or horticulturist, resulting 

in the development of a new intergenetic or interspecific plant – a cross of the parental plants. 

In the botanical sense, the word hybrid has been attested to in English since 1788, but 

according to some sources 15 it was only rarely used before 1850. 

The international scientific terms in Latin binary nomenclature for denoting plants, 

including hybrids, are bound to follow the rules set by the International Code of Botanical 

Nomenclature (ICBN) as presented in its Appendix 16 . The ICBN for hybrids has been updated 

by the Vienna Code 17 adopted in 2006 which states: ―In order to be validly published, the 

name of a nothogenus 18 or of a nothotaxon 19 with the rank of subdivision of a genus must be 

effectively published with a statement of the names of the parent genera or subdivisions of 

genera.‖ 

Though, as pointed out in the latter source, within the last 50 years there has been 

much discussion about how the names of hybrids should be formulated, several naming 

procedures seem to have been generally acknowledged. The most common is to indicate a 

hybrid ―by placing the multiplication sign between the names of the taxa; the whole 

expression is then called a hybrid formula‖ 20 . Consequently, in the Latin binary nomenclature 

the hybrid is marked by an ―x‖ between the two words constituting the term, e.g. Salix x 

glaucops 21 . The newly developed plant can also be denoted by a new epithet, thus not having 

any formal indication of its being a hybrid. This is, e.g., the case of the hybrid of the plants 

referred to by Latin binomical nomenclature as Quercus alba and Quercus macrocarpa which 

has been denoted as Quercus bebbiana, the head noun getting a new attribute distinguishing it 

from the parental plants. 

Viewed from the onomatological perspective, within the rules of the ICBN we can 

also identify two derivative possibilities for naming hybrids of plants. One is the prefixing 

―notho-‖ 22 before the epithet to denote a hybrid or cross of flora or fauna, the other is using 

the suffix -ara with the name of the person who developed the hybrid and submitted it for 

registration. The latter possibility is reserved for intergeneric hybrids derived from four or 

14 Cf. e.g. www.yourdictionary.com/cross-pollination 

15 www.etymonline.com 

16 Cf. http://www.bgbm.org/iapt/nomenclature/co... 

17 Cf. www.epric.org/index.php?cid=29 

18 A genus denoting a hybrid or cross. 

19 A hybrid which is formed by direct hybridization of two species, not other hybrids. 

20 Cf. www.epric.org/index.php?cid=29 

21 The ICBN provides the information that the author of the species was Anderssen and it was published as the 

name of a hybrid in 1868. 

22 From Greek νόθος ―bastard‖. 


73

more genera, and, according to the Rules, no such name may exceed eight syllables. The 

resulting term is regarded as a condensed formula. 

Of relevance for the theme of our research is Rule H.6.2. of the above Vienna Code 

which states: ―The nothogeneric name of a bigeneric hybrid is a condensed formula in which 

the names adopted for the parental genera are combined into a single word, using the first part 

or the whole of one, the last part or the whole of the other (but not the whole of both) and, 

optionally, a connecting vowel.‖ However, the rule does not distinguish between two different 

word-formation processes. 

One of these processes could be classified as compounding, which can be exemplified 

by Laeliocattleya, the plant being a cross between Laelia and Cattleya. This hybrid plant, 

quite typically, is a cross of two parent plants. If such a hybrid is crossed with another plant, 

its name can be compounded with the name of this plant, which is the case of the hybrid of 

the above with Brassavola resulting in Brassolaeliocattleya. However, beyond three genera, 

the names would become too long and cumbersome, so usually a new name is assigned. 

The other word-formation process as an option for naming hybrids can be identified as 

blending. It could be exemplified by Philageria 23 , a bi-generic hybrid between Philesia and 

Lapageria, by Alpestria 24 generated from Alpina and Campestria, by Solidaster from 

Solidago and Aster 25 , and by Asterago 26 from Aster and Solidago, which as to its linguistic 

structure is a mirroring counterpart of the preceding term (for more on mirroring blends see 

Chap. 3), though botanically a different plant. 

Though rarely, some names intended for hybrids, including those formed by blending, 

are later declared invalid. In our excerpts, this was the case of Ericalluna (Erica + Calluna 

vulgaris), which in 1960 was published only in anticipation of developing a hybrid, and the 

term was later declared invalid due to the non-existence of the hybrid. 

It should be pointed out that these and many other blends as names of hybrid plants, 

though formed in English, were created from Latin or Latin-based terms. 

More familiar than the official Latin nomenclature of hybrid plants formed by 

blending are, above all, the names of hybrid fruits which include e.g.the plumcot, the tangelo 

and the nectaplum (for blending see Chap. 3). 

With regard to hybrid species, the above two word-formation processes, i.e. 

compounding and blending, can, as onomatological options (in addition to collocation and 

23 Also Philageria veichii, registered as early as in 1872. 

24 Registered in 1968. 




74

derivation), be hypothesised to be universal, though the tendency at compounding may be 

expected to have fewer language-specific restrictions than blending. While compounding 

word-formatively indicates the joining and coexistence of the features (which in the 

respective lexeme are onomatologically present as morphemes and with regard to meaning as 

semes) of the parent species, blending, also lexically (by the structure of the word) represents 

the merging or amalgamation of their genetic characteristics within a new species, thus, in 

fact, onomatologically reflecting the biological hybridization. 

3. Blending in Naming Hybrid Plants 

Blending has recently proved to be an attractive process of word-formation not only in 

English but also in a number of other languages, its roots (not only) in English going rather 

deep into linguistic history (cf. Böhmerová 2010: 22 – 56). 

The definitions of blending vary considerably. Consequently, a miscellania of lexical 

phenomena can and do get included in (more rarely also excluded from) the number of blends 

in differing theoretical and lexicographical sources. In our definintion, blending is a process 

of forming new naming units from existing words as bases which, in contrast to 

compounding, are not linearly joined but undergo deliberate, complex and relatively 

unpredictable reduction and coalescence in either their contacting sections or as a result of 

telescopic overlap, structural fusion or intrusion (cf. Böhmerová 2010: 61). 

Basically, blending allows for endless possibilities of selecting two, or exceptionally 

more, lexical units as bases and amalgamating them within the process of telescoping or 

fusing into one lexical unit having a new semantic structure and meaning. In spite of the 

above, blendability is subject to some restrictions. However, as stated by Bauer: ―Exactly 

what the restrictions are [...] beyond pronounceability and spellability, is far from clear‖ 

(1983: 235). 

On the other hand, the investigation of blends can reveal some typical productive 

patterns with regard to the semantic content and the selection of the bases to be joined within 

blending. Hybrids, and in their number also hybrid plants, are phenomena which, by their 

objective characteristics and their related semantic content, ―suggest‖, as it were, their being 

denoted by lexical units formed as blends. Lexical blending testifies to the statement that 

cognitive operations on mental spaces within conceptual integration (cf. Fauconnier and 

Turner 2003; Turner 2006; Repka 2009: 17 – 18), in the case of names of hybrid plants also 

based on the merging of the phenomena in the objective reality, constitute the principle 


75

allowing for a number of linguistic processes, including – and in some ways above all – 

lexical blending. 

This semantic type of blend is motivationally most directly related to the actual 

blending or merging of the phenomena denoted. The hybrid phenomenon is mentally 

processed within conceptual blending, and word-formatively it is then onomatologically and 

onomasiologically structured by lexical telescoping (blending with phonological ovelapping) 

or by fusion (blending with only structural overlapping). Hence, the blending or the mutual 

integration of the motivating phenomena is linguistically parallelled by the lexical blending of 

the bases involved. 

It is symptomatic to note that cultivar (existing also as an internationalism, in Slovak 

in the form kultivar), meaning a cultivated sub-species variety of a plant, was formed as a 

blend, too, from cultivated + variety 27 . 

With regard to early linguistic research on blends, several blends referring to hybrids 

of flora or hybrids of fruit were already mentioned in the first monograph on blends by Pound 

(1914). These included citrange (citrus + orange), nicotunia (tobacco plant 28 + petunia), 

plumcot (plum + apricot), pomato (potato + tomato), and tangelo (tangerine + pomelo). 

As for the plumcot, its first cultivator was Luther Burbank, a US horticulturist, who in 

the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century created hundreds of new varieties of 

plants. A number of others can be traced to Floyd Zaiger (1926), a US biologist noted for fruit 

genetics. His experimenting brought about a multitude of varieties of the above plumcot (plum 

+ apricot), referred to sometimes as the pluot or plucot (plum + apricot), and the aprium 

(apricot + plum). Quite symptomatically for the hybrid character of the fruits, their names 

were formed by blending, with differing extent of the combination and preservation of the 

bases. Of special semantic relevance is the sequencing of the bases. 29 While plumcots and 

pluots with plum as their first base have prevailingly the features of plums (most of their 

varieties are reported to carry about 70 % genetic characteristics of plums and 30 % of 

apricots), in apriums the share of the genetic material is reversed ( 1 /4 genetic characteristics of 

plums and 3 /4 of apricots). 30 In this sense, the first base is of higher semantic importance than 

the second, and though as to their linguistic structure these lexical units defy characterisation 

27 

In 1923 by U.S. horticulturalist Liberty Hyde Bailey (1858-1954) in his Gentes Herbarum. 

28 

In spite of this formulation given, the first motivating base was obviously nicotine. 

29 

Sequencing of the bases is semantically relevant also in the case of the names of some animals (cf. e.g. liger 

vs. tigon). 

30 

"Pluots are sometimes sold by the name of Dinosaur egg due to the strange dappled coloring on some of the 

fruit." www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluot 


76

y Dokulil‘s (1960) or Horecký‘s (2003) functional opposition of the onomasiological base 

and the onomasiological feature, the first base is of higher semantic relevance than the second 

for the resulting blend. 

From the systemic onomatological point of view it should be noted that a possibility of 

semantically relevant structural alternation of bases marginally occurs also in the so-called 

―mirroring compounds‖, e.g. bridgestone vs stonebridge. However, in such compounds the 

bases occur in a subordinative relationship and are constituted by an attribute and a head 

noun, while the syntactic relationship of bases in blends as plumcot or aprium can be 

characterized as coordinative. Consequently, while in mirroring compounds one of the 

constituents onomasiologically functions as the feature of the base, in blends the 

onomasiological bases coexist within a relationship of coordination and their meanings are 

merged. The semantic components from each base are to a specific or specifiable extent 

present in the blend, corresponding to the degree or extent of the features shared by the 

merged phenomena themselves. Onomatologically, blends such as plumcot vs aprium can, 

analogously to the compounds concerned, be qualified as mirroring blends. 

Pluots are one of the about 20 varieties of crosses between plums and apricots that 

have been developed by Zaiger, with differing percentages of plum and apricot features. ―As 

to colour, pluots range from pink to red, and are sweeter than both of their parents. They are 

very juicy and very sweet, which makes them much favoured by kids. […] A pluot tends to 

taste and look more like a plum.‖ 31 Thus, the first base is again semantically dominant. Less 

transparent is the case of plucot where the sequencing of the bases would suggest the 

prevalence of plum features, but according to the sources the fruit actually more resembles an 

apricot, whose taste also prevails. This indicates that while in some instances where mirroring 

blends exist, the prevalence of semantic features tends to be related to the sequencing of the 

bases; in individual blends the sequencing need not be semantically decisive in this respect. 

Another hybrid species of fruit also developed by Zaiger is e.g. nectaplum (nectarine 

+ plum) characterised as having dark skin and white flesh, and as to flavour being both very 

sweet and spicy, with low acidity. In this case the semantic prevalence of one of the two bases 

does not seem to be present. 

From among other numerous hybrids of fruit denoted by blends pointed out could be 

the tangelo – a citrus fruit that is usually defined as a cross between the tangerine and the 

pomelo, or the Mandarin orange and the pomelo, which may have been developed in Asia 

31 http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-pluots.htm 


77

some 3500 years ago; however, some sources present it as being a cross between the 

tangerine and the grapefruit. 

Pomelo (Citrus maxima or Citrus Grandis), sometimes spelled pomello, pommelo, 

pomolo or pum(m)elo), is mostly considered a cross between grapefruit and orange, and can 

be found as being etymologically based on the Tamil pampa limāsu the meaning of which is 

presented as ―pomous lemon‖. In other sources, its origin is considered uncertain, and is given 

either as an alternation of pampelmoes 32 ―shaddock‖ or alternatively as being formed from 

pome (obsolete, ―apple‖) and melon 33 , which would qualify it for a blend. It is also known 

under a number of other names including Chinese grapefruit, jabong, or lusho fruit. 

The mandelo 34 (or mandalo) is also a citrus hybrid, a cross between the Frua hybrid 

mandarin and the Siamese Sweet pomelo. It was developed in 1966 in California and has 25 

% genetic characteristics of King Mandarin, 25 % of Dancy Tangerine and 50 % of Siamese 

Sweet Pomelo. 35 

Much less known 36 and denoted by a blend is the limequat (Citrus Floridana), another 

citrus fruit hybridized in 1909 from the Ley lime and the kumquat by Walter Swingle. 

As manifested by tangelo and pomelo, the interpretation of the parentage of some 

hybrid fruits can differ in the sources. In some cases, this can also result from the fact that if 

they are denoted by blends, these mostly entail only residues of their bases. Consequently, the 

degree of their structural transparency and recognizability can be limited (cf. Böhmerová 

2010: 89 – 90) as a result of the reduction of their phonological and graphical distinguishing 

features. In addition to the difficulties in deciphering the meaning of such blends, this can also 

be conducive to misinterpretation, or the potential coexistence of two meanings based on the 

potential presence of differing bases. In the area of common names of hybrid fruits, this is 

also the case of papple 37 which was listed in MWOD 38 in 2007 as a crossbred between a 

peach and an apple, while in the same year it was presented as a cross between an apple and a 

pear (with this reversed order of its constituents given) 39 in Urban Dictionary (online). 

32 

OED2 gives pompelmoose and dates the first occurrence of pomelloes, or ―forbidden fruit‖ by 1858. 

33 

Cf. http://en.wiktionary.org 

34 

It is listed neither in OED2 nor in OED3 publicly accessible online: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/ 

page/ichll . 

35 

Cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomelo 

36 

It is listed neither in OED2 nor in OED3 publicly accessible online. 

37 

In OED2 it is absent, though listed, but as dialectal word for popple or cockle which is a field weed. 

38 

Merriam Webster Open Dictionary New Entries (online) to which the general public contributes. 

39 

The difference can perhaps be due to the fact that MWOD is an online database to which the general public 

contributes; hence, it can also include mistaken interpretations. 


78

Our data also included Pinotage – a red vine that is South Africa‘s signature variety. It 

is reported to have been bred there in 1925 as a cross between the Pinot noir (one of the 

toughest vine to grow, from which Burgundy‘s most famous ―noble‖ wine is made) and the 

Hermitage (the latter used in South-Africa for Cinsaut). While the wine is praised for its 

smoky, bramble and earthy flavour, with notes of bananas and tropical fruit, sometimes it is 

criticized for smelling of acetone. However, the sources point out that it is not a hybrid but a 

viticultural cross of two varieties of Vitis vinifera. 

Similarly to the situation with other plants, fruit hybrids can also be the result of 

several genetic parents. Thus the nectacotum is a hybrid of the nectarine, the apricot and the 

plum, while the peacotum, another hybrid created by Zaiger‘s genetics, is a result of crossing 

the peach, the apricot and the plum. Such hybrids of fruit contribute to the relatively rare 

triple-base blends which in other semantic areas can be found to occur for example in 

chemical terminology, e.g. magnox (magnesium + no + oxidation) or in cullinary names, e.g. 

turducken (turkey + duck + chicken) (cf. Böhmerová 2010: 81). 

Nevertheless, the fact that herbal referents are denoted by blends does not necessarily 

mean that hybrid species are concerned, and so the meaning of such blends is not predictable. 

This is the case of e.g. the LRNW 40 entry cinnamint which denotes a mixture of the herbs or 

herbal extracts of cinnamon and mint as used in candies, chewing gums, or used as tea. In this 

sense, the meaning of blends with herbal bases is not predictable, though the semantic 

constituents might be evident. 

Of course, blends can potentially be used not only for real hybrids as e.g. the vegetable 

species broccoflower (broccoli + cauliflower) 41 . In the animated series ‗The Simpsons,‘ a 

fictional vegetable cross denoted by a blend is the tomacco which suggests as if it had arisen 

by hybridizing a tomato and tobacco. 42 Other similar lexical constructs with fictional referents 

can also be supposed to exist. 

As a final note, it can be added that of special interest could be the Hybrids of Plants 

and Ghosts, 43 a collection of poems by Jorie Graham (1951– ) in which she explores ―the 

dichotomy between spirit and body, perception and mechanism, process and product‖, but 

however absurdly unique, those are already outside the scope of our investigations. 

40 Ayto: Longman Register of New Words (1990). 

41 For broccoflower see Lehrer (2007: 129). 

42 Cf. the article PluWhat? in the online journal Slate, August 19, 2009. 

43 Princeton, NJ, 1980. 


79

Conclusion 

Our research indicates that rather direct – though language-specific – relations 

between the phenomena denoted and the particular naming units can exist not only on the 

phonological level in the case of onomatopoeic words, but also on the word-formation level in 

the case of blends, as manifested by the names of crossed species of plants. Lexical blending 

can word-formatively mirror their hybrid character. In English, such lexical blending has 

occurred for more than a century, using mostly, though not exclusively, foreign bases. As 

both cognitive blending and horticultural hybridization have unlimited possibilities to arise, it 

can be hypothesized that, in connection with them, lexical blending could occur and be 

productive also in other languages and potentially constitute a universal. 

Bibliography 

AYTO, John (1990). The Longman Register of New Words. Vol. 2. Longman: Harlow. 

BAUER, Laurie (1983). English Word-Formation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

BÖHMEROVÁ, Ada (2010). Blending As Lexical Amalgamation and Its Onomatological and 

Lexicographical Status in English and in Slovak. Krìţenie ako lexikálna amalgamácia 

a jeho onomatologické a lexikografické postavenie v angličtine a v slovenčine. 

Bratislava: ŃEVT. 

DOKULIL, Miloń (1962). Tvořenì slov v češtině. 1. Teorie odvozování slov. Praha: 

Nakladatelství ČSAV. 

FAUCONNIER, Giles, and Mark TURNER ([2002], 2003). The Way We Think. Conceptual 

Thinking and the Mind‟s Hidden Complexities. New York: Basic Books. 

HORECKÝ, Ján (2003). Onomaziologická ńtruktúra slovenčiny. Spisy Slovenskej 

jazykovednej spoločnosti, 5. Bratislava: Slovenská jazykovedná spoločnosť pri SAV, 

Jazykovedný ústav Ľudovíta Ńtúra SAV. 

LEHRER, Adrienne (2007). Blendalicious. In Judith Munat (Ed.) Lexical Creativity, Texts, 

Contexts. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company (115 – 133). 

Merriam-Webster Open Dictionary New Entries: http://www3.merriamwebster.com/opendictionary/ 

Oxford English Dictionary. 3rd ed. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/ichll 

POUND, Louise (1914). Blends – Their Relation to English Word Formation. Heidelberg: 

Carl Winter‘s Universitäsbuchhandlung Verlags. 

REPKA, Richard (2009). A Short Overview of Cognitive Linguistics (Its Basic Concepts). 

Acta Facultatis Paedagogicae Universitatis Tyrnaviensis, Séria A – Philologica (9 – 

19). Trnava: Trnavská univerzita. 

The Compact Oxford English Dictionary. New Edition. ([1989], 1991). Oxford: Clarendon 

Press. 

TURNER, Mark (2006): The Art of Compression. In Mark Turner (Ed.) The Artful Mind: 

Cognitive Science and the Art of Human Creativity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

Resumé 

Kríņené slová sa v angličtine vyskytujú v mnohých oblastiach lexiky, najmä vńak v 

hovorovom jazyku a v médiách. Príspevok rozńiruje záber doterajńích výskumov o zameranie 


80

na názvy niektorých rastlín, ktorých hybridný charakter je jazykovo vyjadrený lexikálnym 

kríņením. Ide v nich o isté paralelizovanie kríņenia rastlinných druhov v objektívnej realite a 

kríņenia na onomatologickej rovine, pri ktorom dochádza k ńpecifickému lexikálnemu 

„splývaniu― názvov materských rastlín. Takéto názvy hybridných rastlín tvoria súčasť 

botanickej terminológie a prispievajú ku ńkále tematických oblasti, v ktorých sa v angličtine, 

ale aj v iných jazykoch, kríņené slová vyskytujú. Súčasťou ńtúdie je aj diachrónny výskum 

tejto terminológie, ktorý potvrdzuje, ņe v angličtine sa názvy hybridných rastlín tvorili uņ viac 

neņ storočie a tento spôsob slovotvorby je naďalej produktívny. Hlavný dôvod moņno vidieť v 

súvislostiach s neobmedzenou ńkálou moņností ako kognitívneho kríņenia tak aj hortikultúrnej 

hybridizácie. Lexikálne kríņenie sa v tomto názvosloví javí aj ako potenciálna univerzália. 


81

Weapons of Ms Destruction: The Subversive Role of Linguistic 

Creativity 


Jan Chovanec 

Masaryk University, Brno 

The events of 2001 constituted, in many respects, a watershed in the global situation. 

The ensuing decade was marked with a lot of turmoil on the international scene, much of it 

still in progress. In 2003, a military action was launched in Iraq despite widespread opposition 

from the public in many countries. 

Perhaps not surprisingly, the events sparked significant interest among researchers in 

various disciplines, including linguistics. Scholars have explored such areas as political 

discourse and war rhetoric, concentrating on a broad range of diverse issues and discourse 

genres. To name just a few, these have included political speeches (Cap 2006; van Dijk 2007), 

visual representation (Taylor 2005; Machin 2007), metaphor (Lule 2004), and lexical choice 

(Ebeling 2006; Weiss 2009), etc. Several collections have addressed issues such as political 

discourse analysis, propaganda and persuasion (Chouliaraki 2007; Hodges and Nilep 2007; 

Haridakis et al. 2009; Okulska and Cap 2010, etc.). These studies reflect the awareness of the 

crucial importance of language in constructing our understanding of the extralinguistic reality. 

The present article focuses on the creative use of the phrase ‗weapons of mass 

destruction‘ at the time of the imminent war in 2003. It has been suggested that propaganda in 

the media ―emanates from all interested parties during wartime, and perhaps especially during 

the run up to wars‖ (Richardson 2007: 182, original emphasis). During such pre-war times, 

one witnesses a battle of mutually opposed discourses in which the opposing sides articulate 

arguments for and against the war (cf. Lule, 2004), as well as the discursive construct ‗us‘ and 

‗them‘ (cf. Chovanec 2010). The expression ‗weapons of mass destruction‘ appears to have 

been at the centre of such a linguistic battle over the minds of people. Widely circulated by 

the proponents of the military action in order to legitimize the war, and – as argued here – 

creatively appropriated also by those who were opposed to the war, the phrase could 

eventually be used subversively to delegitimize the concept. 


LINGUISTICS 

82

2. Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and Lexical Creativity 

The alleged presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was one of the most 

controversial arguments used as a justification for military action. However, the expression 

was not a linguistic innovation brought about by the Iraq war rhetoric, although it became a 

catchphrase only in March 2003, amid the heated debate over the impending war. Renouf 

(2007: 71) notes that the phrase originated as early as 1989, though it was quite rare 

throughout the 1990s. Richardson (2007: 187), while identifying a similar pattern of almost 

negligible use in the media prior to 2003, explains that its sharp increase in use coincides with 

the pre-war propaganda campaign. He also points out that the expression is, in fact, a new and 

technically imprecise name for what is more correctly identified as ‗nuclear, chemical, 

bacteriological and toxic weapons‘, ‗non-conventional weapons‘, ‗biological weapons‘, etc. 

Almost overnight, the phrase weapons of mass destruction not only turned into a 

vogue expression but also began to be used in a highly creative way. The creativity consisted 

in the modification of the phrase by replacing any of the three constituents, although the most 

frequent pattern tended to preserve ‗weapons of‘ and either ‗mass‘ or ‗destruction‘, i.e., 

modifying only one of the three words. 

Data obtained from the Internet using the WebCorp system by scholars at the 

Research and Development Unit for English Studies at Birmingham City University, 

for instance, have revealed the existence of the following novel expressions: 

weapons of ass destruction; weapons of bluff, brinkmanship and bloody-mindedness; 

weapons of bumps and bruises; weapons of indiscriminate destruction; weapons of 

market destruction; weapons of mass casualties; weapons of mass deception; weapons 

of mass discomfort; weapons of mass disruption; weapons of mass distraction; 

weapons of mass entertainment; weapons of mass obstruction; weapons of mass 

terror; weapons of ministerial destruction; weapons of modest destruction; weapons 

of most destruction; weapons of nasty scratches; weapons of scant destruction. 44 

All the above-mentioned expressions were used on the same day, 20 February 2003. The next 

day, i.e., on 21 February, this compounding word formation pattern became even more 

productive, with (at least) another 35 attested examples added to the list: 

44 ―Weapons of Mass Destruction‖ Neologisms. Source: www.rdues.liv.ac.uk/weaponsofmassdestruction.html 

(Accessed on 16 October 2003.) 


83

weapons of catastrophic destruction; weapons of class destruction; weapons of 

complete destruction; weapons of further destruction; weapons of global destruction; 

weapons of godlike destruction; weapons of great destruction; weapons of his 

destruction; weapons of less destruction; weapons of local destruction; weapons of 

mad destruction; weapons of mass banalization; weapons of mass construction; 

weapons of mass consumption; weapons of mass deconstruction; weapons of mass 

distortion; weapons of mass distractions; weapons of mass effect (WME); weapons of 

mass hysteria; weapons of mass instruction; weapons of mass irritation; weapons of 

mass media (WMM); weapons of mass partying; weapons of mass protection; 

weapons of mass repression; weapons of massive destruction; weapons of 

mischievious [sic] destruction; weapons of moose destruction; weapons of murderous 

destruction; weapons of nuclear destruction; weapons of pattern destruction; weapons 

of terrible destruction; weapons of total destruction; weapons of wealth destruction 

(WWD); WMD: weapons of media destruction. 45 

As Renouf (2007) shows in her detailed analysis of the lists, these creative ad hoc 

formations follow several clear patterns, in which certain components of the phrase are 

replaced by various words to yield novel and unexpected combinations. The patterns are: 

―weapons of mass X‖, ―weapons of X destruction‖ and even ―weapons of X Y‖ (e.g. weapons 

of nasty scratches and weapons of math instruction used in the media on a later date). This 

creativity is not random; rather, it involves relatively predictable ―substitution on the basis of 

phonological, morphological, semantic and other types of similarity as well as allusion‖ 

(Renouf 2007: 74). This involves the difference of one phoneme, the same initial letter, the 

same prefix/suffix, semantic similarity/contrast, etc. 

Yet, there is another possible pattern. In all the phrases above, the crucial constituent 

―weapons of‖ remains unchanged, even though it, too, can be modified. That is the case of the 

Daily Mirror front page headline ‗WEAPON OF MS DESTRUCTION‟ accompanying a report on the 

British minister Clare Short, who was opposed to the idea of British forces joining in the 

military campaign (11 March 2003). The phrase in the headline is used metaphorically to refer 

to a person for her determined opposition: she destroys Blair‘s government‘s unity by refusing 

to accept the ‗weapon of mass destruction‘ pro-war argument. 

45 ―Weapons of Mass Destruction‖ Neologisms. Source: www.rdues.liv.ac.uk/weaponsofmassdestruction.html 

(Accessed on 16 October 2003.) Both lists are given in Renouf (2007), who uses them to illustrate 

neologisms in media discourse. 


84

Figure 1. Weapon of Ms Destruction. Daily Mirror, 11 March 2003. 

3. Linguistic Creativity and Manipulation of Linguistic Form 

On its front page, the Daily Mirror is doing much more than just engaging in wanton 

linguistic creativity by modifying a currently vogue phrase through wordplay. The headline 

needs to be read against the newspaper‘s own position on the issues reported: the editorial 

policy of the newspaper in the weeks and months preceding the war was strongly against any 

military intervention (cf. Freedman 2003). The Daily Mirror‘s critical and openly anti- 

war attitude was, thus, in stark contrast to its main tabloid competitor, the Sun with its pro- 

war stance. 

Some of the front pages from this period, for instance, are particularly telling in regard 

to this rhetoric and lend themselves well to multi-modal analysis in which the verbally and 

visually expressed meanings may stand in various kinds of relations to each other, typically 

complementing and extending each other (cf. Kress and van Leeuwen 1998: 187). 

Chovanec (2010), for instance, analyses a Daily Mirror front page with a particularly 

non-flattering photograph of the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, pointing out how it 

positions the readers and Blair with respect to the ‗ingroup‘ and ‗outgroup(s)‘ that were being 

discursively constructed at that time by means of the strategy of dehumanization. On the 

verbal level, the page included the headline PRIME MONSTER? superimposed over Blair‘s 

forehead. Not only did the text resemble a label stuck across his forehead, it also labelled and 

categorized Blair (albeit questioningly) through allusive wordplay. This was accompanied by 


85

the brief text Drag us into this war without the U.N., Tony, and that‟s how history will judge 

you. For God‟s sake man, DON‟T DO IT (Daily Mirror, 14 March 2003). 

By way of illustration, Figure 2 below shows another front page where linguistic 

creativity is used subversively, i.e., in order to make a strong point about one‘s political stance 

in opposition to the official government policy of the time. The whole page is taken up by a 

single photograph with three words on it: UNlawful, UNethical, UNstoppable. The phrase 

essentially functions as the headline of the article printed inside the newspaper, although front 

page headlines of this kind (particularly in tabloids) could be considered as a somewhat 

different category owing to their strong links with the images. The headlines ‗open‘ the 

respective stories, yet they are often less dependent on the actual articles; typically, they 

provide commentary on the accompanying visuals. 

Figure 2. UNlawful, UNethical, UNstoppable. Daily Mirror, 18 March 2003. 

The main rhetorical structure of the headline is parallelism. There are three evaluative 

adjectives, all with negative meanings. All three words use partial capitalization in order to 

highlight the same negative prefix. This gives repeated prominence to the letters UN, which 

can – given the context – be also read as an abbreviation of ‗United Nations‘. 

Parallelism is a device that can be used for foregrounding (cf. Cook 2001: 136), 

inviting readers to look for new meanings beyond what appears on the surface. Inferences can 

be drawn beyond what appears optimally relevant in a given situation. Thanks to the 

parallelism and the highlighting of the UN, it is plausible – and worth the readers‘ extra 


86

processing effort – to look for additional meanings. This interpretation is linked to the article 

proper, where we learn that the Daily Mirror considers the impending war as unlawful without 

the sanction of the United Nations. 

Owing to the special graphology, a single word, such as UNlawful, becomes rich in 

meaning because the form ‗UN-‘ becomes multifunctional. Moreover, the use of the colour 

red for the morpheme/abbreviation ‗UN‘ adds another dimension. It is the colour of blood 

and, hence, it may connote the newspaper‘s evaluative perspective on the impending 

bloodshed. One word thus stands as a shortcut for a number of propositions that can be easily 

inferred as relevant in the context, e.g. ‗this war is illegal‘, ‗the war is not authorized by the 

UN‘, ‗wars are bloody‘, etc. 

Interestingly, several weeks after the beginning of the war, the Daily Mirror found its 

readership actually dropping in number – and it was its critical attitude of ‗our‘ actions that 

was claimed as the cause (Freedman 2003). As a result, the newspaper decided to mitigate its 

anti-war rhetoric, essentially for commercial reasons, and ―to shift the war off its front pages‖ 

(Freedman 2003: 104, as cited in Richardson 2007: 186). 

4. Weapons of Mass Destruction As a Means of Delegitimization 

The discursive development of the phrase ‗weapons of mass destruction‘ as a means of 

the delegitimization of the ingroup‘s action – i.e. the opposite to what the phrase had been 

intended to achieve – combines two aspects: (1) linguistic creativity at the time of the highest 

frequency of the phrase, when it was the focus of public debate; and (2) the subsequent fate of 

the phrase after the WMD pretext for the war became discredited by lack of evidence. 

4.1 The „Life-Cycle‟ of Lexical Coinages and Linguistic Creativity 

Using a diachronic approach to her data, and supported and exemplified with the 

phrase weapons of mass destruction as well as other lexical innovations mapped onto a time 

frame of occurrence, Renouf (2007) makes the general argument that lexical coinages have a 

predictable life-cycle. The birth (or re-birth) of a lexeme is followed by a slow increase in 

frequency leading to the zenith of popularity and a subsequent gradual decline in use, until the 

usage levels out on a relatively stable frequency. 

That has also been the usage pattern of the phrase weapons of mass destruction, which 

reached the peak of its popularity in March 2003 – a period which coincided with the largest 

number of productive and creative variants (as shown in the examples in Section 2 above). 

Since then, the phrase has remained in the public consciousness: it is occasionally used in the 


87

media, but its fashionability has worn off. Widely accepted and lexicalized, the phrase has 

reached a relatively steady currency of use, and is unlikely to achieve a boom in popularity 

similar to that of 2003. (Unless, perhaps, WMD play a role in some future conflict, in which 

case the phrase might enjoy another peak in popularity.) 

However, a formal perspective on the productivity and the creativity of the phrase 

does not explain why there was such a boom in creative adaptations of the phrase and how the 

popularity of the creative formations can be interpreted. As the following example illustrates, 

such creative modifications can be used, for instance, for the purposes of irony: 

She showed more than a touch of class scything down Armed Forces minister Adam 

Ingram, who accused her of disloyalty. The veteran actress-MP raged: “I am very 

proud of my party. It is my government of which I am ashamed.” [...] If she goes on 

like this, anti-war Glenda will be subjected to a UN ban onweapons of ministerial 

destruction. (Daily Mirror, 14.2.2003) 46 

One way of understanding how such adaptations work is to consider them from the 

point of view of intertextuality. Creative formations such as Weapon of Ms Destruction are 

instances of echoic allusion. Allusion, as a traditional figure of speech, is based on the 

operation of two kinds of units: the text in praesentia (the alluding unit) and the text in 

absentia (the target). The successful operation of allusion depends on the recipients‘ 

understanding of the alluding unit as such, whereby their recognition of the target is triggered. 

The writer/speaker can then use allusion as an intentional strategy when encoding the 

message, and expect that the recipient will be able to recognize the absent text. In this way, 

the recipients are urged to seek, beyond what is immediately apparent from a given text, 

additional meanings that arise out of the juxtaposition of the two texts. 

The four-word template starting with ‗weapon(s) of‘, especially if it preserves one of 

the subsequent components (the word mass or destruction), unmistakably cues the recognition 

of the absent text, i.e. the complete phrase weapons of mass destruction. As Lennon (2004: 3) 

points out, allusion has the additional pragmatic and functional characteristic in that it sets up 

a communicative dialogue between the author of the text and the recipient. As a result, the 

text typically yields a primary, textual meaning, and a secondary, associated meaning on the 

46 ‗GIVE another Oscar to Glenda Jackson for her star performance in Parliament!‘. Daily Mirror. Source: 

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Paul+Routledge's+column%3A+Glenda+socks+it+to+'em.-a097609568 

(Accessed on 13 February 2011.) 


88

asis of the source text. Allusion is one of the technical devices for realizing intertextuality, 

and ultimately interdiscursivity (cf. Fairclough 1992). 

Intertextuality involves recontextualization: a text (however short) is lifted out of its 

original context and used in a new situation. The juxtaposition of the two texts, situations or 

discourses can invite comparisons between them, and result in the recipients‘ inference of 

additional, implicit meanings. This, arguably, is also present in the case in many of the 

examples of the creative modifications of the underlying vogue phrase ―weapons of mass 

destruction‖. Not only do the modifications of the phrase trigger the full phrase, they also 

bring to the foreground the discourses and the contexts in which weapons of mass destruction 

were used in the public domain at that time. 

Since the existence of WMD was seriously doubted at the time, allusion to weapons of 

mass destruction through creative modification of the phrase also activates the recipients‘ 

background knowledge of the controversy of the alleged existence of WMD and of the 

impression that the public were being misinformed or manipulated (depending on one‘s point 

of view) in that matter. 

It may be assumed that people who believed in the topos of ―weapons of mass 

destruction‖ would be less likely to creatively adapt this phrase to new contexts: such a 

modification and recontextualization could diminish the seriousness of the issue. The liberty 

taken with the form is indeed liberating for the creative user, who shows that he is not bound 

to accept the form, the concept and – in the case of the pre-war propaganda – the pretext 

which WMD turned out to constitute. 

Clearly, a creative alteration of a phrase like ―weapons of mass destruction‖ is more 

than just a creative act through which the author manifests his or her ingenuity and linguistic 

skill. It can also serve as a way of expressing one‘s evaluative stance, personal attitude, 

commentary on current political events, and even irony or mockery. Linguistic creativity can 

be subversive: wordplay – in addition to, for instance, punning, and other kinds of verbal 

humour – are ways in which the repressed express irony, reservation, disagreement or 

opposition to the official policies and establishment. 

4.2 Delegitimization of the Phrase „weapons of mass destruction‟ 

What Renouf (2007) describes as a general ‗life-cycle‘ of lexical innovations is 

explained differently by Richardson (2007), who offers an interpretation of the phenomenon 

not in terms of general lexicological tendencies but from a functionally-oriented critical 

perspective. For him, the significant drop in the frequency of the phrase ‗weapons of mass 


89

destruction‘ in the media by 2005 is essentially a case of failed propaganda: ―The prominence 

of the phrase, as reflected in the frequency ... is therefore directly related to the propaganda of 

the US/UK regimes: necessary for policy aims in 2003, embarrassing in 2005‖ (Richardson 

2007: 188). 

Once again, that interpretation has two sides to it. By 2005, the WMD threat had not 

only disappeared (thus leading to a natural drop of newsworthiness and a consequent lack of 

media coverage), but – more importantly – the rhetorical topos of ‗weapons of mass 

destruction‘ had totally lost credibility with the public, since it turned out to be unfounded. 

The expression may thus be avoided – as Richardson seems to hint – by some politicians 

because it is, indeed, an embarrassing reminder of their past failures. (By contrast, other 

politicians may be attracted to the phrase precisely for that purpose, as long as it serves their 

rhetorical goals.) 

However, the phrase can also appear in new contexts that may not be revealed by 

quantitative, frequency-based analysis that may fail to register subtle and emerging patterns of 

usage. Where the phrase appears, for instance, as a simile, it is not its denotation but rather the 

associated meanings that are involved. Such a situation can be illustrated with the following 

reader comment from a recent online discussion forum. The comment was attached to an 

article noting that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair had become an economic advisor: 

Wouldn‟t trust him or his wife as far as I could trough [sic] them. Look at all the lies 

and self interest in everything they did when he was in power. On a huge scale like 

weapons of mass destruction to using a convicted criminal to negotiate on their behalf 

when he was prime minister and use their name to get a deal on an investment 

property. 47 

As mentioned above in the discussion of intertextuality, the phrase ‗weapons of mass 

destruction‘ has developed a very strong negative connotation, equivalent roughly to ‗a deceit 

of the public by politicians‘. The mention of WMD can, thus, intertextually link with the past 

discourses of perceived manipulation and deception – as long as the readers are still aware of 

them. 

47 A reader comment by Andrew Mckay on the article ‗Tony Blain Joins VC Firm to Advise Cleantech 

Investments‘. Source: http://mashable.com/2010/05/24/tony-blair-vc/ (Accessed on 11 February 2011.) 


90

5. Conclusion 

The relatively novel phrase ‗weapons of mass destruction‘ offers an interesting case 

study on how concepts introduced as a part of political propaganda can evolve and assume 

meanings contrary to what the ‗spin doctors‘ may have intended. It appears that based on 

ideological motivation, the expression itself was chosen over other available terms in order to 

help manufacture public consent for the impending war in 2003. The phrase magnifies the 

threat and, in conjunction with the ‗45-minute claim‘ (a leaked report under which Great 

Britain could allegedly be hit by WMD within this period of time), proximizes the external 

danger by discursively constructing the threat as imminent. (As such, the phrase ‗weapons of 

mass destruction‘ compresses the discourse space along all three axes [spatial, temporal and 

axiological] that the pragmatic-cognitive theory of proximization works with [cf. Chilton 

2004; Cap 2008]. Thus, it can be interpreted as a significant instrument in politicians‘ 

attempts to obtain, discursively, legitimization of their actions.) 

The fact that the phrase was quickly appropriated by the media, as evidenced by the 

productivity of creative word formations based on the WMD pattern, can be interpreted as a 

potential subversion and denial of the official discourse associated with the concept. By 

involving wordplay in the new formations, the encoder can delegitimize the concept that is 

intertextually alluded to: language creativity then becomes a form of disagreement, resistance 

or even ridicule. This interpretation is in harmony with what Carter (2004: 20, 48) claims 

about creative wordplay: it is not just a matter of amusement; it can also have a social and 

critical purpose, and certain ideological implications. A similar idea is echoed in Chovanec 

(2008: 240): ―where official, standard and literal language, marked by absence of playfulness 

and self-reflexivity, connotes official values, the presence of foregrounding devices may 

question such values or express indirect disagreement with them‖. 

As Blommaert aptly observes, ―apart from referential meaning, acts of communication 

produce indexical meaning: social meaning, interpretative leads between what is said and the 

social occasion in which it is being produced‖ (2005: 11). That is also what characterizes the 

potential communicative value of the phrase weapons of mass destruction after the period 

when it was used as part of political rhetoric: although it retains its referential meaning, the 

phrase has had a strong negative connotation ever since the rhetorical topos of WMD as a 

threat became discredited. 


91

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CAP, Piotr (2006). Legitimisation in Political Discourse: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective 

on the Modern US War Rhetoric. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 

CAP, Piotr (2008). Towards the proximization model of the analysis of legitimization in 

political discourse. Journal of Pragmatics 40, 17 – 41. 

CARTER, Ronald (2004). Language and Creativity: The Art of Common Talk. London and 

New York: Routledge. 

CHILTON, Paul (2004). Analysing Political Discourse. Theory and Practice. Routledge, 

London. 

CHOULIARAKI, Lilie (Ed.). (2007). The Soft Power of War. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: 

John Benjamins. 

CHOVANEC, Jan (2008). Focus on form: Foregrounding devices and football reporting. 

Discourse & Communication 2(3), 219 – 242. 

CHOVANEC, Jan (2010). Legitimation through differentiation: Discursive construction of 

Jacques Le Worm Chirac as an Opponent to Military Action. In Urszula Okulska and 

Piotr Cap (Eds.), Perspectives in Politics and Discourse (61 – 81). Amsterdam and 

Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 

EBELING, Karin (2006). The Language of war in the media. In Piotr P. Chruszczewski, 

Michał Garcarz, and Tomasz P. Górski (Eds.), At the Crossroads of Linguistic 

Sciences (245 – 254). Kraków: Tertium. 

FAIRCLOUGH, Norman (1992). Discourse and Social Change. Cambridge: Polity Press. 

FREEDMAN, D. (2003). The Daily Mirror and the war on Iraq. In A.R. Biressi and H.A. 

Nunn (Eds.), Mediactive, 3: Media War (95 – 108). London: Barefoot Publications. 

HALLIDAY, M.A.K. (1985). An Introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward 

Arnold. 

HARIDAKIS, Paul M., Barbara S. HUGENBERG and Stanley T. WEARDEN (Eds.). (2009). 

War and the Media. Essays on News Reporting, Propaganda and Popular Culture. 

Jefferson: McFarland & Company. 

HODGES, Adam, and Chad NILEP (Eds.). (2007). Discourse, War and Terrorism. 

Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 

KRESS, Gunther and Theo van LEEUWEN (1998). Front pages: (The critical) analysis of 

newspaper layout. In Allan Bell and Peter Garrett (Eds.), Approaches to Media 

Discourse (186 – 219). Oxford: Blackwell. 

LENNON, Paul (2004). Allusions in the Press. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 

LULE, Jack (2004). War and its metaphors: News language and the prelude to war in Iraq, 

2003. Journalism Studies 5(2), 179 – 190. 

MACHIN, David (2007). Visual discourses of war: Multimodal analysis of photographs of 

the Iraq occupation. In Adam Hodges and Chad Nilep (Eds.), Discourse, War and 

Terrorism (123 – 142). Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 

MUSSOLF, Andreas (2010). Political metaphor and bodies politic. In Urszula Okulska and 

Piotr Cap (Eds.), Perspectives in Politics and Discourse (23 – 41). Amsterdam and 

Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 

RENOUF, Antoinette (2007). Tracing lexical productivity and creativity in the British Media: 

―The Chavs and the Chav-Nots‖. In Judith Munat (Ed.). Lexical Creativity, Texts and 

Contexts (61 – 92). Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 

TAYLOR, John (2005). Iraqi torture photographs and documentary realism in the press. 

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van DIJK, Teun A. (2007). War rhetoric of a little ally: Political implicatures of Aznar‘s 

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van LEEUWEN, Theo (2007). Legitimation in discourse and communication. Discourse & 

Communication 1(1), 91 – 112. 

WEISS, David (2009). ―New Mexico‘s always been patriotic and loyal to the country‖: 

Uncritical journalistic patriotism in wartime. Paul M. Haridakis, Barbara S. 

Hugenberg, and Stanley T. Wearden (Eds.), War and the Media. Essays on News 

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Company. 

Resumé 

Článek se věnuje lexikální kreativitě a potenciálu, který jazyková tvořivost a humor 

představují pro společenskou kritiku. Článek je detailní analýzou neologismu „weapon of Ms 

destruction―, který se vyskytl na titulní straně britského bulvárního deníku Daily Mirror v 

roce 2003 jako pojmenování britské ministryně, a to ve zjevné naráņce na koncept „weapons 

of mass destruction―. Slovní hříčka obsaņená v neologismu je interpretována v dobovém 

kontextu konzistentního protiválečného postoje deníku jako kritická opozice vůči oficiální 

vládní politice. Článek poukazuje na skutečnost, ņe humor zaloņený na minimální variaci 

jazykové formy můņe v souvislosti s místním a časovým kontextem mít silný subversivní 

potenciál, např. pro vyjadřování stanoviska nesouhlasného s oficiální vládní propagandou. 


93

How to Render “Directives” in Intercultural Written Business 

Communication 


Mária Hardošová 

Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica 

As we all know, the pace of globalisation and contact with other cultures is increasing. 

Travelling and technology are bringing great changes in everyday communication. We are 

now able to communicate with almost everyone almost everywhere with very little effort due 

to mobile phone technology, the Internet and e-mail, teleconferencing codes, high-speed data 

processing, etc. All this makes our communication easier. 

Following the basic division of communication as stated by Bennett, M. J. (2007: 3), 

who claims that monocultural communication is similarity-based, sharing common language, 

behaviour patterns and values, we can see that members of the same culture exchange 

meaning with one another and the similarities enable people to predict the responses of others 

to certain kinds of messages. 

On the other hand, intercultural communication as given by Bennett, M. J. (2007: 3), 

is difference-based. Cultures are different in their languages, behaviour, patterns and values. 

In intercultural communication identity serves as a framework for understanding one‘s self 

and the surrounding world. Language is one of the distinguishing features that may identify 

and reflect other people‘s ethnic identity. 

2. Directives 

Taking a linguistic approach to identity in this paper, I will look at the written 

discourse of business communication and my goal is to point out the culture specific aspects 

when directive speech acts are realized in English and Slovak business correspondence. 

I will draw on Huddleston, R., who claims that ―a directive expresses a proposition 

representing a potential situation: realising and actualising that situation constitutes 

compliance with the directive‖ (2006: 929). As he puts it, ―directive in imperative is a cover 

term for request, commands, instructions and the like‖ (Huddleston, R. 2006: 853). 


LINGUISTICS 

94

2.1 Direct Speech Act 

First let us look at the direct speech acts where the illocutionary force is conveyed by 

the clause type concerned, i.e. the imperative clause. My primary analyses are based on the 

comparison of English and Slovak business letters to see what culture-specific ways of 

expressing commands are used in the two different languages and how the style of English 

business letters affects the Slovak style. Based on a thorough analysis, I can claim that in 

English business letters the direct speech act conveyed by imperative is rarely used, and if it 

is, imperative is followed by the marker ―please‖ or the imperative is combined with a 

conditional or purpose clause. The low frequency of direct speech act results from a balanced 

interaction where both the writer and the addressee are expected to be socially equal. In the 

relations between business companies where no subordination is expected, the direct speech 

act – in the imperative – could be considered too strong, even impolite in the English and it 

could interfere with good mutual relations and have negative consequences. In some cases, 

direct speech acts might cause unpleasant reactions on either side and end the business 

transaction. In English business letters, even urgent requests to make payment are seldom 

realized by direct imperative such as Your balance is outstanding, pay as soon as possible. 

This is considered to be very impolite, even inappropriate in the context of business 

communication. Therefore this culture-specific aspect of the English-speaking world should 

be taken into account in doing business. What is written in direct speech act in one culture can 

be rendered in a different way in another. Knowing cultural norms and behaviours can 

contribute to mutually beneficial intercultural communication. 

If we compare English and Slovak equivalents, we can say that English direct speech 

acts of directives realized by imperatives are mostly used with the marker ―please‖ in two 

general cases: 

1. to draw the addressee‘s attention to a certain fact, problem, procedure, e.g. 

Please take notice that ... Please note that I have brought your comments to the 

attention of.. 

2. to encourage further communication, e.g. …let us know..., please do not 

hesitate to contact me, ... feel free to contact us, ... please contact me at the 

number indicated below. Please advise us as to your intentions as soon as 

possible. 

In Slovak the directive speech act need not be conveyed in the same way. Looking for 

the adequate equivalents in the first case in order to preserve our identity in business letters, a 

translator is not expected to use the direct speech act as it is in the source text because Slovak 


95

usiness letters do not draw the addressee‘s attention by imperatives, e.g. Prosìm, všimnite si, 

ţe... Zaznamenajte si, ţe... alebo Poznačte si, ţe... This can be adequately substituted by 

another speech act containing performative verbs instead, e.g. Oznamujeme Vám, ţe… 

Slovak equivalents which are used to encourage further communication are in the 

same directive speech act as in the source text, e.g. Prosìm, oznámte nám... Zatelefonujte 

nám... Neváhajte a spojte sa s nami... 

In English business letters, direct speech act is frequently combined with: 

– conditional clauses beginning with the subordinator if, e.g.: If you have any other 

questions regarding our credit policy, please contact me... If payment has been 

made or if there are any questions in regard to your account, please contact me at 

the number indicated below. 

– conditional clauses with the modal verb Should and inversion, e.g.: Should you 

require any immediate assistance, or would prefer to respond by telephone, please 

feel free to contact between... Should you develop or wish to submit other products 

in the future that you feel may be of interest to us, please feel free to contact us. 

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

The same direct speech act of the main clause is also realized in the target language, e.g.: 

Ak budete mať akékoľvek otázky, napìšte nám / zatelefonujte nám! It is conditioned by the 

semantics of the dependent clause; the goal is to meet the other party‘s demands and wishes 

and to encourage them to further activities. 

However, we can see the imperative in both languages conveying the indirect speech 

act of apology, e.g.: 

Please accept our apology for this delay. / Prijmite, prosìm, naše ospravedlnenie or 

Ospravedlňte nás, prosìm za oneskorenie... or the performative verb ospravedlniť sa in the 

declarative clause can be used instead:Ospravedlňujeme sa za oneskorenie... A similar 

approach is taken when conveying that some documents have been enclosed to a business 

letter, e.g. Please accept the enclosed certificate... The Slovak version must not be affected by 

the English one and written as Prijmite, prosìm, priloţený certifikát. Again the performative 

verb in statement Prikladáme certifikát is an appropriate alternative. 

2.2 Indirect Speech Act 

In English business letters, in polite formal style strongly tied to the members of the 

foreign trade community, indirect speech acts conveying the illocutionary force of directives 

tend to be represented by interrogative and declarative sentences. Special formulae, lexical 


96

and syntactic structures, terms and professional lexis dominate. Terminology competence is 

necessary to translate administrative texts (Vallová 2009). 

Declarative clauses with illocutionary force of directives employ the modal verb 

―would‖ to express condition and the full verbs ―like, appreciate, welcome, be 

pleased/appreciative‖ as in the following: 

I would appreciate it if this situation could be resolved… 

I would appreciate it if you will call me at… 

… we would appreciate having the opportunity to show you these innovations. 

I would be most appreciative if you would… 

We would welcome any comments you may have… 

We would be pleased to accept your idea or proposal for review, provided it is 

accompanied by this acknowledgement letter signed by you. 

The Slovak equivalents to the given examples have the same realization of directives; 

however, the English verbs ―appreciate‖ and ―welcome‖ are not rendered as Ocenili by sme... 

or Privìtali by sme… but are substituted by phrases such as Boli by sme radi, keby..., Radi by 

sme prijali Váš návrh, keby... as Slovak language users follow the traditional ways of 

expressing their own identity. 

Declarative clauses with the illocutionary force of directives tend to be preferred even 

in cases of urgent requests, such as in the case of an outstanding invoice: 

We regret to inform you that we are unable to extend any more time for payment of the 

above invoice. 

S ľútosťou Vám oznamujeme, ţe nemôţeme predĺţiť lehotu na úhradu uvedenej 

faktúry. 

As can be seen from this example, in both sentences, in using the indirect speech act, 

the writer‘s intention is to make the addressee pay the invoice. Even in the case of non 

payment as can be observed in the following example, the client is not urged by the direct act 

– the imperative – but by the conditional clause while the main clause implying apology 

emphasizes that the seller will have no other choice but to solve the matter in a legal way. 

... but if we do not receive payment in full on or before [date], we shall have no other 

choice but to turn this matter over to our attorney with instructions to use all 

available legal remedies to collect the amount owing. 

... ak nedostaneme celú platbu do..., nebudeme mať inú moţnosť, len sa v tejto 

záleţitosti obrátiť na právneho zástupcu s pokynmi, aby vyuţil všetky dostupné 

právne prostriedky na vymáhanie dlţnej čiastky. 


97

The illocutionary force of indirect directive is realized in both languages, in Slovak... 

nebudeme mať inú moţnosť, len sa obrátiť na právneho zástupcu, though a more appropriate 

equivalent corresponding to the norms of Slovak business communication... obrátime sa 

v tejto záleţitosti na právneho zástupcu could be given instead. 

The following example also proves that an urgent request in business correspondence 

in both languages is realized by an indirect speech act in the form of declarative sentence: 

In order to bring your balance down to the approved limit, it is requested that you 

remit the amount of € … In the event that you are unable to comply with this 

request, we suggest that you visit the bank as soon as possible, in order to make 

other arrangements. 

Za účelom znìţenia prečerpania do povoleného limitu poţadujeme, aby ste uhradili 

čistku… €. V prìpade, ţe tejto ţiadosti nemôţete vyhovieť, navrhujeme Vám, aby 

ste čo najskôr navštìvili banku a zariadili to inak. 

The agentless passive form it is requested combined with the subjunctive of the verb remit in 

the subordinate clause realizes the indirect speech act – the request. Similarly, the verb 

suggest followed by subjunctive of the verb visit in the subordinate clause implies directive to 

solve the given matter. In the Slovak version, the same illocutionary act is used. 

The indirect speech act of directives is frequently conveyed by means of interrogative 

sentences using modal verbs. Huddleston and Pullum (2006: 939) distinguish a few semantic 

categories of interrogative directives: ―(a) your ability to do something, (b) your desire or 

willingness to do something, (c) the deontic necessity for you to do something, (d) the reason 

for you to do something.‖ In English business correspondence, (a) and (b) are mostly used. 

The versions with can and its preterite form could indicating tentativeness, however, are not 

used so frequently as we would expect on the basis of its usage in polite spoken discourse. If 

they are used, they appear as parts of compound and complex sentences, e.g.: 

I‟m sure you must have mistakenly overlooked this but could I ask that you give it your 

prompt attention now? and To enable us to extend the line of credit you may need for future 

orders, could you please send us the usual credit information? Willingness to do something 

has a natural connection with directives. The typical formulae of will you/would you like to…/ 

would you be so kind as to… are preferred, e.g.: Would you please send me the missing parts 

as soon as possible? Asking for permission by means of the verb may also adds to the effect 

of politeness in directive, e.g. May we please have your latest instructions on this account? 

The Slovak equivalents of directives conveyed indirectly by simple interrogative 

sentences containing modals will/would or may are rendered as direct speech act – imperatives 


98

– accompanied by the modifier ―prosìm‖ to soften the request, e.g.: Pošlite mi, prosìm, čo 

najskôr chýbajúce časti! and Pošlite mi, prosìm, k tomuto najnovšie pokyny! In case of the 

questions using the verb could, the Slovak equivalents can also have the same speech act as 

the English, e.g.... mohol by som Vás poţiadať... mohli by ste nám poslať? 

The ways to make a request which are used in English correspondence seem less 

imposing; they tend to use mitigators to downplay the demands, e.g. Would it be possible for 

you to...? In Slovak the mitigators of this kind are very rarely used. 

3. Conclusion 

As can be seen from the given examples, forms of directive speech act conform to 

politeness and formal style of English business correspondence. To sum up, indirect act of 

directives is realized by declarative clauses containing performative verbs in main clauses, 

modals conveying request and conditionals. Interrogative structures containing modal verbs 

will, would, can, and could are less frequently used. The direct form of conveying directives – 

the imperative – is connected mostly with drawing the addressee‘s attention, asking for 

information and with encouragement to further action. 

It follows from what has been said that writers of business letters are expected to adapt 

their discourse according to particular language and culture, to take into account the specific 

dimensions, such as the level of directness, formality in the interaction, the choice and use of 

speech acts and cultural norms in the target English or Slovak language respectively. 

Bibliography 

BENNETT, Milton J. (2007). Intercultural Communication: A Current Perspective. Basic 

concepts of intercultural communication: selected readings. Yarmouth: Intercultural 

Press. 

CARTER, Ronald, and Michael McCARTHY (2006). Cambridge Grammar of English. 

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

CUTTING, Joan (2008). Pragmatics and Discourse. London: Routledge. 

HUDDLESTON, Rodney, and Geoffrey K. PULLUM (2006). The Cambridge Grammar of 

the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

VALLOVÁ, Elena. Súčasné trendy v terminológii. In Od textu k prekladu IV. Praha: Jednota 

tlumočníků a překladatelů, 2009. 

Corpus: Business-in-a-Box http://www.envision-sbs.com/help/upgrade.asp?home=1 

Resumé 

Príspevok sa týka priamych a nepriamych direktívnych rečových aktov v interkultúrnej 

komunikácii obchodnej koreńpondencie. Na základe skúmania, analýzy a komparácie 

anglického obchodného listu sa uvádzajú vhodné ekvivalenty v slovenskom jazyku, pokazuje 


99

sa na priame i nepriame vyjadrenia ilokučnej sily v závislosti od kultúrno-ńpecifických javov 

príznačných pre dva odlińné jazykové systémy. 


100


The Past Perfect: What's in a Name? 

Jozef Lonek 


English has a variety of names for the past perfect form (had + v-en). This is due to 

the diversity of linguistic traditions and concepts from which various grammarians draw on 

their works. The choice of a particular name is often conditioned by its ability to express the 

grammatical and semantic properties which individual linguists find characteristic of the past 

perfect, or which distinguish this form from other forms or categories. Thus, in many cases, 

such labels indicate associations with more general categories (tense, perfect aspect, etc., and 

their terminological variations) which constitute the meaning of the past perfect. 

Grammarians often choose a particular name to match it up with the names of similar or more 

established forms of the same category, or to avoid a clash with the terms they use for other 

categories (e.g. Jespersen 1965; see below). An effort to differentiate oneself from other 

linguists may also play a role. With the exception of one work (Graustein et al. 1977), whose 

terms are often combinations of the names of the constituent grammatical categories, we will 

not pay attention in our survey to the capitalization of the initial letters in the names of the 

past perfect form, as it occurs in some literature, because we consider it only an orthographic 

habit of individual authors or a typographical convention to make text more readable. 48 This 

paper is based on findings made in Lonek (2010: 10 – 17). 

2. Conventional Names of the Past Perfect Form 


LINGUISTICS 

The generally accepted and by far the most widespread term is past perfect (tense). It 

seems that it completely dominates the literature, such as textbooks and grammar books, 

aimed at wider (lay) audiences. It also prevails in scholarly literature, which, however, makes 

frequent use of alternative names as well, and which will be discussed later. From a 

pedagogical point of view, the term past perfect may be helpful because it is terminologically 

analogous to the traditional name present perfect for a corresponding form have + v-en, which 

48 The capitalization of the initial letter can help distinguish from each other homonymous terms with different 

meanings. Korsakov (1978) uses the term Beforepast as the name of the had + v-en form and the term 

beforepast for the semantically corresponding segment of objective time (past in the past). 

101

is semantically embedded in the present. This may help learners better master the rules of the 

past perfect usage (in the case of its perfect meaning) as they can apply their knowledge of the 

present perfect. 

Although both the names present perfect and past perfect indicate the grammatical 

category which constitutes the meaning of the respective forms, the latter can be seen as less 

precise because it fails to reflect all the grammatical functions of the past perfect form. Unlike 

the purely perfect meaning of the present perfect, which traditionally falls into the category of 

aspect, the past perfect form has some additional grammatical functions corresponding to 

tense and even mood. Leech (1987: 3) is aware of this terminological discrepancy and sees a 

danger in the fact that many grammatical categories ―... have labels which are derived from a 

characteristic feature of meaning, but which can be very misleading if they are used as if 

semantic rather than grammatical labels.‖ This is true of the term past perfect whose 

semantics implies a perfect meaning (in the past), but the name actually covers more 

grammatical functions of one and the same form had + v-en. Although linguists often address 

this problem by distinguishing terminologically between the different functions (e.g. 

Jespersen 1924: 271; 1965: 81), only a few of them use different labels for the form had + v- 

en itself as if they denote grammatically distinct, though homonymous, forms (Graustein 

1977; see below). 

The tense-aspect dichotomy raises the question of the association of the word tense 

with the names of the past perfect form, which is sometimes referred to as past perfect, 

sometimes as past perfect tense, and often the two versions are used simultaneously and 

interchangeably. If we sharply distinguished (grammatically and terminologically) between 

the categories of tense and perfect aspect, the term perfect tense would actually carry an 

internal contradiction, and that even with the past perfect whose form performs both 

functions, although this problem could possibly be overcome by viewing the term perfect as 

merely referring to the perfect form of had + v-en rather than a perfect meaning. Nonetheless, 

the categories of tense and (perfect) aspect are very closely linked and in some temporal 

properties even similar (e.g. the present perfect is sometimes viewed as a kind of past tense). 

It is especially grammar books and textbooks, which, for practical pedagogical reasons, do not 

draw any explicit distinction between the categories of tense and aspect, especially the perfect 

aspect. In cases like this, even the perfect forms are simply listed as grammatical tenses, and 

the past perfect is referred to as past perfect tense. In this respect, the shorter version past 

perfect could simply be understood as a result of an ellipsis of the word tense (e.g. Korsakov 

1978). However, some linguists omit the word tense from the names of the past perfect form 


102

intentionally as they reserve it exclusively to the three basic (= simple) tenses or even to the 

two morphological tenses, which they sharply distinguish from the periphrastic forms 

expressing the perfect and progressive aspects (cf. e.g. Lewis 1986; Palmer 1965; Greenbaum 

and Quirk 1990). Leech (1987), while clearly separating the categories of tense and aspect, 

uses the term tense with the perfect forms as well. 

After the term past perfect, the second most commonly used name of the had + v-en 

form is pluperfect. It is often mentioned only as an alternative name alongside past perfect, 

but in some works it is the only/main name (e.g. Comrie 1976, 1985). Also worth mentioning 

in this respect is Jespersen (1965) because he illustrates our note from the initial paragraph 

that the choice of a name may depend not only on its ability to reflect some feature of the past 

perfect, but also on whether it fits a linguist‘s overall terminological system. Unlike other 

grammarians, Jespersen (1965: 81) clarifies his choice – he uses pluperfect instead of past 

perfect because in his work the word past is only confined to objective time rather than 

grammatical tense. According to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary (1991: 1370), which 

also lists the name plusperfect, the first record of the word pluperfect in English dates from 

1530 when it was used by Jehan Fullonius Palsgrave in his work Lesclarcissement de la 

langue francoyse as follows: ―The Preter Pluperfit Tens. I had spoken‖ (p. 88). Elsewhere: 

―Verbes Actives circumlocute theyr preterperfit and plus perfit tenses throughe all theyr 

modes, … with the tenses of je ay and the participle preterit‖ (113; emphasis ours). 49 

The etymology of the term pluperfect brings us to another, yet equally motivated, 

name for the past perfect form, which is plusquamperfect. Both terms have their origin in the 

Latin name tempus praeteritum plūs quam perfectum, which literally translates into English as 

past tense more than perfect, that is a tense whose temporal reference goes further into the 

past than that of another form with a past meaning, the perfect (Latin tempus praeteritum 

perfectum). The Latin name itself, which is usually given as (tempus) plusquamperfectum, is 

essentially a translation of the Greek chronos hypersyntelikós. The term plusquamperfect 

occurs relatively rarely in literature and is almost exclusively mentioned as an alternative 

name of the past perfect alongside other names or only in relation to similar tenses in other 

languages, for example classical. We have not found it used on its own or as the main name. 

Something similar is true of its Slovak version, pluskvamperfektum, which is used for a 

similar tense in the Slovak language, where, however, its occurrence may be slightly higher. 

49 The names of the present and past perfects preterperfit and preter pluperfit/plus perfit used by Palsgrave 

evidently derive from the names of the corresponding Latin tenses – praeteritum perfectum and praeteritum 

plusquamperfectum (see below). 


103

3. Alternative Names of the Past Perfect Form 

In addition to the three traditional names, which we mentioned above, the linguistic 

literature in particular offers a wide range of alternative names of the past perfect. Most of 

these are rare names, confined to one particular linguist or work. Following the earlier 

terminology, let us start with those which include the word perfect. Only a slight modification 

of the term past perfect is past perfective, used by Quirk et al. (1985) who refer to the perfect 

aspect in general by the term perfective rather than perfect. However, such use of this term 

and its connection with the specific forms present/past perfective is unusual and has met with 

criticism (cf. e.g. Beedham 2005: 174; Meyer et al. 2005: 23). In linguistics, the term 

perfective is usually used in connection with a different aspectual opposition than the name 

perfect, although both the oppositions can also be found in a more or less developed form in 

English. While the term perfect is traditionally associated with the English 

(present/past/future) perfect forms, the term perfective is most commonly associated with 

other languages, especially with the aspectual opposition imperfective-perfective typical of, 

for example, Slavic languages, including Slovak. Nonetheless, to some degree it can be 

identified with the unmarked member of the opposition nonprogressive-progressive in 

English. 

The name past perfective brings us to the last three of the group of names of the past 

perfect form which contain the term perfect. These are the names remote perfect, used by Joos 

(1964: 142), preterite perfect, which is used by, among others, Huddleston and Pullum (2005: 

48), and anteperfect, which appears in Kuhn and Portner (2002: 279). Joos generally replaces 

the terms present and past in the names of tenses with actual and remote, as in the 

aforementioned remote perfect instead of past perfect or actual perfect instead of present 

perfect. The name preterite perfect is clearly motivated by the preterite form of the perfect 

operator had. The part ―ante‖ in the term anteperfect indicates the perfect before the (present) 

perfect and at the same time leads us to another group of alternative names which all contain 

similar semantic elements. 

Other alternative names, which appear in literature, share one common feature. All in 

some way explicitly express the fact that the past perfect refers to a time before another 

moment in the past, as expressed by the corresponding Slovak name predminulý čas. They 

mostly share the identical base past and differ from one another only in that part which 

corresponds to the meaning ―before‖, which, however, can be very variable. Dixon (2005: 

224) uses the name previous past (previous present for the present perfect). Another example 


104

is beforepast (tense), used by Korsakov (1978), although in several places he inconsistently 

resorts to the traditional past perfect (similarly with beforepresent [tense] and present 

perfect). Moreover, since all perfect forms express temporal precedence, (not only) Korsakov 

calls them anterior tenses. Some linguists, such as Reichenbach (1947), even used the term 

anterior with the individual perfect forms; the past and present perfects thus correspond to 

anterior past and anterior present respectively. 

Similarly, Graustein et al. (1977) use the term anteriority to describe a relation within 

a category called correlation which corresponds to the relation denoted by the perfect aspect. 

The individual perfect forms are then a result of a combination of anteriority and individual 

tenses, hence their names which combine (parts of) the names of their constituent categories, 

namely AntPast (anteriority + past) for the past perfect. Although such terms are rather 

artificial in nature, we mention them because Graustein et al. represent the only work in our 

survey to draw a terminological distinction between formally homonymous, but 

grammatically different forms of the past perfect (corresponding in function to tense, perfect 

aspect, and ―derived tense‖ in tense shift). Thus the above-mentioned term AntPast refers to 

the past perfect with a perfect meaning while the term Past-Past (past-in-the-past) is used for 

the past perfect form with a purely temporal (non-perfect) function, which also as a ―derived 

tense‖ replaces the preterite in the tense shift. However, if the tense shift applies to the present 

perfect AntPres, there is yet another name for the corresponding homonymous form, and that 

AntPres-Past (anteriority + present-in-the-past). 

Lewis (1986: 76, 79), who also attempts to make the name of the past perfect form 

reflect the meaning of anteriority in the past, stresses the importance of the reference time 

with the perfect forms. Like many other linguists, he does so by emphasising the fact that 

verbs in the perfect aspect denote situations viewed as if in retrospect and finds it therefore 

appropriate to refer to the perfect forms as retrospective forms. Consequently, he does not use 

the name past perfect, but past retrospective (similarly present retrospective for the present 

perfect, which, however, he uses somewhat inconsistently alongside the term present perfect, 

which he wanted to replace). Kreidler (1998: 221), too, considers the term retrospective more 

appropriate and offers another similar term – retrogressive. 

The group of alternative names can be completed with two terms which not only differ 

from the preceding names in expressing the meaning ―before‖, but also in indicating the past, 

when instead of the traditional past, they include the name of the form denoting the simple 

past tense, preterite. Jespersen (1992: 271) uses the term ante-preterit, which, however, seems 

primarily to represent the past perfect form with a temporal function, that is grammatically 


105

non-perfect (referring to before-past time rather than to retrospective past time which 

corresponds to the perfect aspect). This term is also known in Slovak linguistics as 

antepréteritum, where it is used as an equivalent name of the Slovak predminulý čas, e.g. by 

Mistrík (1985: 173), G. Horák (1993: 90), Ņigo (1997: 27). The other term in this group is the 

name pre-preterite, which appears in Fenn (1987: 218), where it only has a temporal function. 

Vachek (1976: 177) mentions this name without making a distinction between the perfect and 

temporal meanings. 

On a last note, we would like to mention a grammarian who, unlike other linguists, 

does not use any particular name for the English past perfect form. Conner (1968) is aware of 

the fact that the conventional names of ―traditional‖ grammar fail to capture the semantic 

diversity of the forms they represent. When describing the tense-aspect system of English, he 

draws on semantic criteria, which means that he assigns the range of meanings that the two 

categories are capable of expressing to individual forms, and not the other way round. 

Therefore, when talking about the before-past time in connection with tense and the 

resultative aspect in connection with aspect, he refers to the had + v-en form as a possible, 

though not the only, way of expressing these meanings. 

4. Conclusion 

The most familiar and frequent English name of the had + v-en form is past perfect, 

but linguistic literature in particular offers a much wider variety of names for this verb form. 

Apart from the well-known term pluperfect, which can be seen as the only widely-used 

alternative to the term past perfect, there is a large number of names which are usually rare 

and confined to a limited number of linguists. In this paper, we dealt with the following: 

plusquamperfect, past perfective, remote perfect, preterite perfect, anteperfect, previous past, 

beforepast, anterior past, AntPast, Past-Past, AntPres-Past, past retrospective, ante-preterite, 

and pre-preterite. They reflect various ways in which individual linguists view the identity of 

the had + v-en form, i.e. its classification within the system of the English verb, relation to 

various grammatical categories, functions, etc. 

Bibliography 

BEEDHAM, Christopher (2005). Language and Meaning: The Structural Creation of Reality. 

Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. 

The Compact Oxford English Dictionary. (1991). 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 

COMRIE, Bernard (1976). Aspect: An Introduction to the Study of Verbal Aspect and Related 

Problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 


106

COMRIE, Bernard (1985). Tense. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

CONNER, Jack E. (1968). A Grammar of Standard English. Boston: Houghton Mifflin 

Company. 

CRYSTAL, David (1995). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. London; 

New York; Sydney; Toronto: Cambridge University Press. 

DIXON, R. M. W. (2005). A Semantic Approach to English Grammar. 2nd ed. New York: 

Oxford University Press. 

FENN, Peter (1987). A Semantic and Pragmatic Examination of the English Perfect. 

Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag. 

GRAUSTEIN, Gottfried et al. (1977). English Grammar: A University Handbook. Leipzig: 

VEB Verlag Enzyklopädie. 

GREENBAUM, Sidney, and Randolph QUIRK (1990). A Student‟s Grammar of the English 

Language. Longman. 

HORÁK, Gejza (1993). Slovesné kategórie osoby, času, spôsobu a ich vyuţitie. Bratislava: 

VEDA. 

HUDDLESTON, Rodney, and Geoffrey K. PULLUM (2005). A Student‟s Introduction to 

English Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

JESPERSEN, Otto (1965 [1931]). A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles. Part 

IV: Syntax (Vol. III). London: Allen & Unwin; Copenhagen: Ejnar Munksgaard. 

JESPERSEN, Otto (1992 [1924]). The Philosophy of Grammar. Chicago and London: 

University of Chicago Press. 

JOOS, Martin (1964). The English Verb: Form and Meanings. Madison; Milwaukee: The 

University of Wisconsin Press. 

KORSAKOV, Andrey K. (1978). The Use of Tenses in English. Kijev: Vyńča ńkola. 

KREIDLER, Charles W. (1998). Introducing English Semantics. London and New York: 

Routledge. 

KUHN, T. Steven, and Paul PORTNER (2002). Tense and Time. In D. M. Gabbay and F. 

Guenthner (Eds.), Handbook of Philosophical Logic, Vol. 7 (277 – 346). 2nd ed. 

Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. 

LEECH, Geoffrey N. (1987). Meaning and the English Verb. 2nd ed. New York: Longman. 

LEWIS, Michael (1986). The English Verb: An Exploration of Structure and Meaning. 

London: Language Teaching Publications. 

LONEK, Jozef (2010). Minulé perfektum v časovo-aspektovom systéme angličtiny. 

[dizertačná práca] Bratislava: Univerzita Komenského. 

MEYER, Paul Georg et al. (2005). Synchronic English Linguistics: An Introduction. 3rd ed. 

Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag. 

MISTRÍK, Jozef (1985). Štylistika. Bratislava: Slovenské pedagogické nakladateľstvo. 

PALMER, F. R. (1965). A Linguistic Study of the English Verb. London: Longman. 

QUIRK, Randolph et al. (1985). A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. 

London; New York: Longman. 

REICHENBACH, Hans (1947). Elements of Symbolic Logic. New York: The Free Press & 

London: Collier-Macmillan. 

VACHEK, Josef (1976). Selected Writings in English and General Linguistics. Prague: 

Mouton. 

ŅIGO, Pavol (1997). Kategória času v slovenskom jazyku. Bratislava: Univerzita 

Komenského. 

Resumé 


107

V odbornej literatúre sa s formou had + v-en spája značná terminologická variabilita, pretoņe 

popri známych a často pouņívaných názvoch ako past perfect a pluperfect sa pouņíva aj 

mnoho ďalńích pomenovaní, ktoré buď naznačujú prísluńnosť k perfektovej kategórii v 

minulosti, ako to je v prípade plusquamperfect, past perfective, remote perfect, preterite 

perfect, anteperfect, alebo zdôrazňujú vlastnosť spoločnú pre vńetky perfektové tvary, ktorou 

je anteriorita, čomu zodpovedajú označenia ako previous past, beforepast, anterior past, 

AntPast, Past-Past, AntPres-Past, past retrospective, ante-preterite a pre-preterite. 


108

Cognitive Approach to the Text Analysis of British Fairy Tales 


Nataliya Panasenko 

University of SS Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Slovakia 

Kiev National Linguistic University, Ukraine 

Miroslava Zolichová 

University of SS Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Slovakia 

Folklore texts have always been in the field of view of linguists. Nevertheless, their 

potential as the object of research has not been exhausted yet. The appearance of cognitive 

linguistics gives the possibility to apply new types of analysis. Our objective is to make a 

contrastive analysis of English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish and island fairy tales using the method 

of cognitive analysis, which allows for the defining of cultural identity of different nations. 

A few words about our language material. From different sources, we have found 53 

texts in which various illnesses and their treatment are described. We must state that it was 

not easy to find such texts, because they are scarce. Namely, in the book by K. Briggs 

(―British Folk Tales and Legends‖) there are 156 tales and only 12 are connected with the 

topic of our interest; the book ―Folk Tales of the British Isles‖ consists of 55 stories and only 

7 include episodes of treatment. Thus from all hard copies, we have processed 282 tales and 

found 35 which met the requirements of our goal; the final 18 were added from Internet 

resources. 

Before we proceed to the analysis of fairytale content and structure, let us discuss their 

types, principles of their classification, and ways of their analysis. What is more important, 

notwithstanding their cultural peculiarities, they are a part of world folklore and have many 

common features. 

2. Folklore As the Well of People‟s Wisdom 


LINGUISTICS 

Folklore culture includes stories, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, 

popular beliefs, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions 

(including oral traditions) of that culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices 

through which those expressive genres are shared. The academic and usually ethnographic 

109

study of folklore is sometimes called folkloristics. The study of folklore covers a wide area 

and touches a great number of disciplines (Georges and Jones 1995). Professor A. Taylor, 

one of the great folklore scholars, as Briggs claims (Briggs 2002: 2), used to describe folklore 

as a central study because it dealt with so many different aspects of scholarship: sociology, 

anthropology, literature, linguistics, music, drama, history, and archaeology. All these are 

important to folklore and folklore is significant to all of them. 

Literary forms of various genres have come into the focus of folklore researchers. O. 

S. Kitchenko defines the folklore genre as a historical category which has some universal 

features. The formation of the folklore genre as culture is the process of transformation of 

elementary communicative structure into a communicative model (Kitchenko 2002: 148). He 

defines the folklore genre as a conceptual model of a mythological cultural situation which is 

re-created by folklore poetic means (Kitchenko 2002: 149). 

2.1. Folklore of the British Isles 

The British Isles and Ireland have a rich diversity of folklore, stemming in part from 

the mix of cultural identity from region to region. They have had a turbulent history, where 

invaders and settlers have brought with them their own beliefs and lore, which have become 

amalgamated into older traditions. Some stories seem to be widespread, such as the tradition 

of sleeping warriors under hollow hills and the wild hunt, often incorporating local heroes 

(Folklore of Britain and Ireland, online source). 

If we characterize British folklore in general, differences may be found in specific 

creatures of folklore (detailed analysis of them was done by J. and C. Matthews, 2005), which 

can be found in different parts of the British Isles. As N. Yelina claims, in Celtic Wales fairy 

legends and tales about elves and mermaids prevail; in Eastern England preference is given to 

ghosts and in Scotland we find more archaistic fairytales about magic metamorphoses of 

animals (Yelina 1987: 16). 

2.1.2 English Folklore 

The folklore and folk customs of England are rich and varied. Many customs are 

ancient, passed down, generation to generation from Germanic and Celtic ancestors. Some are 

more modern creations, whilst others are revivals of customs that were forgotten or neglected 

over the years. Whatever their root, and whatever their age, they all make up the rich and 

diverse folk heritage of England and the English. The most known stories are Robin Hood 


110

tales, the legend about King Arthur or the tale about Beast of Bodmin Moor (Folklore and 

Folk Customs, online). 

Folklore texts abound in different creatures, most of them are evil and meeting them 

brings ill luck to people. Some of such creatures look like animals (Barguest) or turn into 

domestic animals (Brag), some have specific features of character (Bogey), some of them live 

in a house and help their master (Brownie). 

2.1.3 Irish Folklore 

Irish folklore is characterized by stories which have also been passed from generation 

to generation. In some of these stories an event of fantastic character is presented by the 

storyteller as an authentic case, it is frequently referring to concrete names and surnames of 

the participants of history, the name of the places where all has occurred, etc., which makes 

this narrative true to life. 

These stories have such specific characters as leprechauns, Banshee, Pooka and some 

others. Leprechauns are very smart and artful. They take pleasure from deceiving everyone; 

each of them has a pot with gold. They like to drink and can drink much. By trade they are 

shoemakers. Banshee means ―Faerie woman‖ or ―woman of the Faerie mound‖. It is an evil 

character, as well as the Pooka, which usually appears at nighttime. 

2.1.4 Scottish Folklore 

Scotland has a rich Celtic History going back over 2,000 years, at a time when 

superstition was rife and where unusual events were ―explained‖ by stories and inventions 

which were then passed on by word of mouth. It is therefore not surprising that Scotland has 

an extensive heritage of myths and legends (Scottish Myths and Legends, online source). The 

characters of Scottish folklore are so numerous that we'll mention only some of them: Asrai, 

Baobhan Sith, Bean Nighe, Biasd Bheulach, Bodach, Black Donald, Brownie, Clootie, Ghillie 

Dhu, Scotia, and Shellycoat. 

2.1.5 Welsh Folklore 

The remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons have come down to us in 

much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the 

White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin. The prose stories 

from the White and Red Books are known as the Mabinogion, a title given to them by their 

first translator, Lady Charlotte Guest, and also used by subsequent translators (Welsh 


111

mythology, online source). Mythical creatures typical of Welsh folklore are: Adar Llwch 

Gwin, giant birds that understand human languages; Afanc, a lake monster; Coraniaid; 

Cyhyraeth, death spirit; Gwiddonod (Witches); Pwca, shape shifting animal spirit and many 

others. 

2.1.6. The Islands Folklore 

There are more than a thousand islands around the United Kingdom, large and small 

ones. Among them the most famous are: St Mary‘s, the largest of the Scilly Isles; Anglesey; 

the Isle of Man; the Rathlin Island and many others. People who inhabit these islands have 

their own folklore, based on a system of characters, and specific ways of treatment (magic 

spells and charms). The place where events take place is usually mentioned. The characters of 

the folktales are both positive (Ben Bheara, the Isle of Man; Lurida, the Orkney islands) and 

negative (Buggane, Bendith Y Mamau, Glashans, Cabyll-Ushtey, Cughtach, the Isle of Man; 

Wulver, Marool, Mester Stoorworm, the Shetland Isles) (Mythology of the British Isles 

2003). 

3. Folk Tales 

What is a folk tale? Sometimes all kinds of folklore prose are called folk tales. A more 

exact definition is based on its characteristic feature – fictitious content: the anonymous 

author of a fair ytale deliberately created poetic fiction and the listeners perceived it. But it 

was not only this feature. Yelina considers that the fairy tale assumes a certain vision of the 

world, certain types of plots, of the characters, a certain accurate structure, a special stylistic 

form of narration, that is quite developed poetics (Yelina 1987: 10). 

Folktales are stories of different genres. They are traditional narrative. They have 

uncertain origin and they are told from generation to generation orally. The telling of stories 

appears to be a universal need of all cultures. Ethnologists claim that there are numerous 

similarities in the structure and motives of folktales from very distant cultures. 

English folk and fairy tales were collected and published in numerous books. For 

instance, the Celtic scholar John Francis Campbell (1822 – 1885) published the bilingual 4- 

volume Popular Tales of the West Highlands (1860 – 1862) and many Scottish Gaelic tales. 

The Scottish poet, novelist and anthropologist Andrew Lang (1844 – 1912) retold 

classical fairytales in a beautifully illustrated Blue Fairy Book (1889), later followed by many 

other collections of fairytales today called Andrew Lang‟s Fairy Books, which have different 

colours corresponding to different cultures. 


112

Folk tales usually include ancient myths, fables, legends, fairytales or other forms 

(Pokrivčáková 2008: 20). As far as it is impossible to analyze all the types of folk tales in a 

short article, we shall focus mainly on fairy tales. 

A fairy tale is a form of narration with folkloric character. In fairy tales, there are 

usually strange characters such as fairies, gnomes, ogres, dragons, witches, talking animals 

and magical things. A fairy tale has got usually a happy ending, educational nature or moral 

lesson. A fairytale is usually an unlikely story. In some cultures where the fairytale creatures 

are considered to be real, fairytales may become legends. They are told as if they were real 

situations from history. However, unlike legends and epics, they usually do not contain more 

than superficial references to religion and actual places, people and events; they take place 

‗upon a time‘ rather than in actual times (Orestein 2003: 9). 

Fairy tales are found in oral and in literary form. The history of the fairy tale is 

particularly difficult to trace, because only the literary forms can survive. Still, the evidence of 

literary works at least indicates that fairy tales have existed for thousands of years, although 

not perhaps recognized as a genre; the name ―fairy tale‖ was first ascribed to them by 

Madame d‘Aulnoy. Many of today's fairytales have evolved from centuries-old stories that 

have appeared, with variations, in multiple cultures around the world (Gray 2009). 

Folklorists have classified fairy tales in various ways. Among the most notable ones is 

the Aarne-Thompson classification system, which includes a historic-geographic method of 

comparative folkloristics (Aarne-Thompson classification system, online source). The 

morphological analysis of the fairy tale offered by Vladimir Propp became the basis of 

research of the folklore texts structure. In one of his works V. Propp proved that all fairy tales 

were of the same type in structure (Propp 1968). The results of research of specialists in the 

folklore of different countries allow for the examining of the fairy tale as a standard of speech 

text with an optimal composition structure, finding its expression by pragmatic expedient sound 

means. Eight composition parts are mostly distinguished in a fairytale (Propp 1986: 90). 

In numerous research projects, which dealt with the fairy tales in literary criticism and 

folklore studies, such problems as history of fairy-tale origin as a genre, its correlation with 

other genres, its international and national features, peculiarities of oral and written folk arts 

are examined. 

Fairy tales with very similar plots, characters, and motifs are found spread across 

many different cultures. Many researchers hold this to be caused by the spread of such tales, 

as people repeat the tales they have heard in foreign lands, although the oral nature makes it 

impossible to trace the route except by inference. 


113

The geographical principle prevails in the anthologies of British fairy-tales. The book 

by K. Briggs (2002) consists of 18 parts, based on typological principle. One may single out 

three groups: the first includes such titles as Fables and Exempla, Fairy Tales, Jocular Tales; 

another subdivision is based on naming fantastic creatures which play an important role in the 

narrative: Black Dogs, Bogies, Devils, Dragons, etc.; and the third division is connected with 

local traditions, historic and cultural events: Historical Traditions, Local Legends, and Saints. 

3.1 Fairy Tales from Cognitive Point of View 

A lot of specialists in folklore and linguists have studied the fairy tale; they have 

investigated the reasons for its occurrence, established its structure, functions, plot, motives, 

its source, composition, structural elements, characters, fantastic chronotope, and so forth 

(Propp 1968, 1986; Panasenko 2005). Nevertheless, the possibilities of folklore texts as object 

of scientific research are not settled yet. So, the occurrence of cognitive linguistics, on the one 

hand, opens new possibilities of research of folklore texts as source of popular wisdom, 

characters and mentality; on the other hand, research of folklore texts may stimulate further 

progress of cognitive science (Panasenko 2009: 820). We find it effective to combine the 

semantic roles introduced into linguistics by Ch. Fillmore (1981) and consider them as slots of 

a frame representing the healing activity of a man at the stages obviously preceding officinal 

medicine. 

3.1.1 Semantic Roles 

Semantic relations were introduced in generative grammar during the mid-1960s and 

early 1970s as a way of classifying the arguments of natural language predicates into a closed 

set of participant types which were thought to have a special status in grammar (Semantic 

Roles, online source). In his first article ―Case for Case‖ Ch. Fillmore (1981a) presented a list 

of semantic cases or roles, which further on was edited and enlarged (Fillmore 1981b). In our 

research we use the following cases: Agent, Experiencer, Patient, Instrument, Location, 

Direction or Goal, Recipient, Source or Origin, Time or Temporal case, Beneficiary, Manner, 

Purpose, Cause and some others. 

3.2 The Frame Analysis of the Text 

A frame is a remembered framework to be adapted to fit reality by changing details as 

necessary (Minsky 1974: 1). When one encounters a new situation (or makes a substantial 

change in one‘s view of the present problem), one selects from memory a structure called a 


114

frame. Thus, a frame is a data-structure for representing a stereotyped situation, like visiting a 

doctor, a trip by train, wedding ceremony, etc. (Panasenko 2010: 164). We want to construct 

the frame of human healing activity as it is reflected in the fairytales of the British Isles. 

4. The Frame of Healing Activity 

The frame of common healing activity includes the doctor, the patient, instrument of 

healing, reason and result of healing, location, time of the year and some more details. At the 

periods preceding the appearance of officinal medicine, the healers were witches, shepherds, 

monks, etc. Later there appeared hospitals, laboratories, computer tomography, but the 

essence of the frame of healing is still the same: the centre of it is the person – the doctor, the 

healer and the principal slot is a patient. In fairy tales the slots are filled in a specific way. Let 

us consider it in detail. 

4.1 The Frame of Healing Activity in British Fairytales 

Either the healer or a patient may be human (the doctor, the magician, the wizard) or 

mythical creature (angels, fairies, elves, gnomes, etc.). The material processed by us shows 

that in the original version this frame will be of the following form: somebody (patient or 

his/her relative) charges his/her assistant by magic means (a horse, a boat and so forth) to 

deliver to oneself a person living somewhere (in a cave, in an underwater empire, in a wood – 

the locative), that is the healer (agent), who lives in a specific district nearby or very far 

(locative), and has big popularity and respect, because someone (patient) needs one‘s help 

(reason) owing to (illness, wound, baby delivery). The healer uses for treatment certain 

means (herbs, spells, ointment, sheep skins – the instrument), thus making the certain actions 

lead to a certain result (resultative). For treatment the healer receives an official message of 

thanks or compensation, though not always. The next day the received money may turn to oak 

leaves, dust. However, considering the features of a genre, there may be obstacles in the 

reception of these magic curing means, and the healer starts a long trip (quest). Extremely 

interesting and perhaps even mysterious is the temporal case: the time of absence of the 

healer in the actual world mismatches mythical time. The problems of literary time in a 

fairytale may be the object of special study. This frame is presented in Figure 1. 


115

eason 

Figure 1. Frame of healing activity in British folk tales 

After the presentation of our hypothesis we shall now describe how the slots of the 

healing activity frames are filled in the folklore texts of various genres, taking into account 

mainly the geographic principle. 

4.1.1 Frame of Healing Activity in English Fairy Tales 

Let us start with English stories. As we are short of space we shall not draw a picture 

of a frame but only mention the content of the slots. Among patients we may differentiate 

between men (a poor man with a great hump on his back; the young prince) and women (the 

woman who gave birth and her new-born child; ladies: Anna, Lady Mary); children (a baby, a 

young boy, a child, the master‘s son, twins) and sick persons. The assistants (mediators) are a 

strange squinty-eyed man, a little ugly old fellow; the reason of treatment: a deformed arm, 

love for Cap O‘Rushes (the name of a young girl). In some texts details of being ill are added: 

a man is haunted by a ghost, thus his nerves and general health are in poor condition; one 

looks pale because of insomnia and horrible dreams. 

Healers are of a different sex (females: Dame Goody, a nurse that looked after sick 

people and babies; Kate, mother; males: a man), and occupation (a doctor). With the 

appearance of Christianity clergymen (Rev. John Rundall) and saints (St. George) appear in 

fairytale texts, though, as K. Briggs remarks (2002: 295 – 296), people who lived as hermits 

and helped the sick were named saints. In one fairytale the healers are fairies and a man who 

is himself a hunchback. 

PATIENT 

resultative/ 

gratitude 

(объектив) 

assistant/ 

mediator 

temporal 

location 1 location 2 

The ways of treatment are various – rubbing in the magic ointment as well as those 

connected with the church: exorcism, reading prayers, or definite action by the permission of 

the Bishop. In English texts instruments/remedies are scarce: three strokes by a magic wand, 

eating three bites of birdie flesh, a meal (gruel) with the ring, or the white powder from the 

fairies. The location is definite (Treva, a hamlet in Zennor; London; Tavistock, Devon) and 


instrument 

HEALER 

116

common (a small village, Mr Fox‘s castle, Lady Mary‘s country house) or connected with 

magic (inside the magic hill where fairies are dancing). 

As the factor of time is not very important in British fairy tales, we shall omit it. The 

results of treatment may be connected with the state of health (Anna has lost her sheep head 

after three strokes of the magic wand and a prince has become healthy after eating three bites 

of the birdie; the vanishing of the hump, the vanishing of the ghost), or with happy marriage. 

Gratitude is mentioned only once: paying the nurse more than she had ever been paid before 

for such a service. 

4.1.2 The Frame of Healing Activity in Irish Fairy Tales 

From Irish fairytales, we get to know that there were warriors in Ireland who were 

wounded in different battles headed by their kings. This is reflected in such patients as 

Nuada, the warrior; Cathal, king of Menster; the King, wounded men and women. Many 

women are also patients: Kitty, Corcoran‘s wife; a woman with a definite location (in Innish 

Shark, one of the groups of islands on the eastern coast, named Biddy Mannion); Silver-Tree 

(a woman, mother), the King of France‘s daughter. Here we also come across such patients as 

an animal (a cow), Lusmore, a poor man with a hump back, and some others. 

Among the assistants (mediators) we may mention such ones as the three men, an 

equestrian and a man. 

The reason for calling the healer may be connected with war, a battle with an enemy, 

a wound (Nuada‘s hand was stricken off), an evil eye, misbehavior and morals (children have 

thrown the dirty water out of the door after dusk and before sunrise just when the good people 

are passing their door, which the good people do twice a day and envy), baby delivery, 

physical state (weakness, the result of sudden hunger; old age; the loss of voice). The 

treatment can also be connected with magic (a young girl loses consciousness because the 

magician stuck a pin into her, or a woman is asked to feed the fairy‘s baby). The reason of 

illness may be a poisoned stab. 

Healers are well known people: the Tuatha De Dannan, who lived in the northern isles 

of the world, learning lore, magic, druidism, wizardry and cunning, until they surpassed the 

sages of the arts of heathendom; Diancecht the leech (to leech – archaic: to cure, heal), 

Morraha, women (a little woman who was dressed in a neat red cloak, an old woman, a 

midwife who lived in a little house ―in between this and Listowel‖), and some others: Credne 

the brazier (brazier – one who makes articles of brass), who made Nuada a new hand of 


117

metal, one of the first records of a prosthetic appliance, as well as a council of Druids, St. 

Kaving, Wizard Doctor‘s son and fairies. 

Treatment is very specific: putting on Nuada, the warrior a hand of silver; singing 

and dancing with fairies; healing with magic ointment; taking a poisoned stab away; taking in 

the juice of the plant; making a cross; putting a salve of herbs on a wounded leg; magic 

healing through a song; specific meals; a set of various actions, e.g. burning flesh on the arm 

or, as it is described in the following fairytale: Take ten green rishes from the side of the well 

of Aughavalla a holy well in the barony of Murrisk, not far from Croagh Patrick. Throw the 

tenth away, and squeeze the juice of the rest of them into the bottom of a teacup, and give it to 

the colleen to drink, and she will get well in no time (The Fairy Nurse). 

There are four types of instruments, namely a glittering fairy branch with 9 apples of 

red and a specific meal (Silver-Tree daughter‘s heart and liver, in fact she gets those of a 

goat). The special location of the possible tool of healing is accentuated: the apples of a tree 

that grew in the orchard under the window and a herb growing by the patient‘s own door. 

In Irish fairytales we may also mention the victim/objective of ill treatment: Gold- 

Tree (a girl, daughter); the objective of healing: a wounded (cut off) hand. 

The location is various: definite and detailed (Yriu near Briug na Bуinde; the fertile 

glen of Aherlow, at the foot of the gloomy Galtee Mountains, Innish Shark, one of the group 

of islands on the eastern coast, named Biddy Mannion, near Coolgarrow); approximate (the 

northern isles of the world), with a humoristic shade (between this and Listowel) and specific 

(a fair). 

The temporal case in Irish fairytales is used very often, connected with the sacral 

number three: Diancecht, and he said ―joint to joint of it and sinew to sinew,‖ and he healed 

Nuada in thrice three days and nights (The Second Battle of Mag Tured /Moytura/). 

The results are different: vanishing of the hump; people are lulled to sleep by the 

sound of very sweet fairy music; complete recovery. We give here a detailed description of 

the reason of treatment and the means of recovery: For the seven years of her disease her 

children have thrown dirty water out of the door after dusk and before sunrise, just when the 

good people were passing by. If she avoids them to do this, the disease will leave her. She 

made her children pour water out in a different place and at a different time and she was 

healthy immediately (Paddy Corcoran‘s Wife). 

healing. 

The gratitude may be traditional (immediate recovery) or acquiring the gift of 


118

4.1.3 The Frame of Healing Activity in Scottish Fairy Tales 

Speaking about Scottish fairy tales we may claim that they have something in common 

with the Welsh ones, especially in their roles connected with the patients, the reason of bad 

health and the healers. Among patients we may differentiate between men and women (a man 

[with a definite location], a man with a hump back, a shepherd‘s wife, a beautiful lady), 

taking into account their social status (the Black King, the king) and occupation (shepherds), 

age (a boy/smith‘s son). The patient may also be an animal (a seal king), which/who lives 

under water and can speak, or a mythological creature (a wounded giant). 

The assistants (mediators) are scarce: a stranger and a messenger (from Land-under- 

Waves). The reason of some problems with the state of health may be connected with old 

age, the fairies‘ spell, the substitution of a child by fairies. Another group is connected with 

everyday life (baby delivery, fever) and fight (a patient is wounded by a knife; the shooting of 

an arrow leads to death). Some people want to gain the wisdom of life. 

People who live in a definite location at a definite period of time, and are famous for 

their art of healing, form the healers group: the Norsemen, Jeermit, the healer, Michael Scott, 

the Laird of Balmachie himself and some others. Among female characters we may mention 

the Black King‘s mother, Beira and the Midwife. Healing can be done by fairies as well. 

The treatment may be surgical (cicatrisation of the wound), based on phytotherapy 

(application of the herbs, 3 portions of red moss); it can include using ointment (rubbing in a 

healing balm), spells and charms (the power of healing, laying healing spells upon 

somebody.), fire (throwing a fairy into it), special conditions (to eat the meat of King of 

Salmon; to take the drink 3 times; to find water from the waterfall that was falling down on 

the red moss which grew under a red rock; one should drink water in 3 gulps, and use the 

moss like a bandage; singing and dancing with fairies). 

The instruments are connected with religion (the Bible), cultural reality (a dirk – a 

dagger, esp. as formerly worn by Scottish Highlanders), a crowing cock, healing balm, or a 

typical plant (a bunch of red moss). As we speak about fairytales we cannot but mention some 

magic tools used for treatment: an old coat which makes a man invisible; a cap, which 

furnishes one with knowledge; an old rusty sword which cuts whatever you strike; or shoes of 

extraordinary swiftness. 

We can find examples with definite location (Dundee, Highlands, and Wales) and 

indefinite location (under the sea). Time here is important. When Jeermit, the hermit (the 

healer) was away during 7 days, 7 years passed in the real world. 


119

According to the structure of the tale (after Propp 1968) there may be some obstacles 

in the process of healing, e.g.: the medicine can be taken only from the cup of the King of the 

Plain-of-Wonder (The Princess of Land-under-Waves). The results are connected with 

changes for the best: recovery and immediate recovery; vanishing of the hump; the dead 

Black King gets back to life; the princess opens her eyes; the evil spirits leave a beautiful lady. 

4.1.4. The Frame of Healing Activity in Welsh Fairy Tales 

One of the peculiarities of Welsh fairy tales is that examples of treatment are not 

numerous in them. The patient is the mistress of the house; the assistant (mediator) – a 

gentleman; a healer – a midwife from Nanhwynan, priests and a wise man, Gwr Cyfarwyld. 

The reasons are various: a demon entered the man‘s body after his death; or children 

enchanted by goblins do not grow up. 

In one of the fairy tales the process of exorcism as the main treatment is described: 

Three clergymen volunteered for the task, and in the small hours of a dark moonless night 

they gathered within the confines of Henllys church to exorcise the spirit. One of the 

clergymen drew a chalk circle on the floor in front of the altar; they sat within its confines, 

each with a lighted candle, and started to pray. They continued to pray, but the roaring of the 

monster, and its beating on the outside of the circle caused one man‟s nerve to fail, and his 

candle went out. They still continued to pray, and then the giant appeared as an enormous 

lion, and then a raging bull, then it seemed as if a giant wave was flooding the church, and 

the West wall looked like it was crashing down upon them. A second priest lost heart at this 

turmoil and his candle went out, but still the third priest prayed even though his own candle 

was now nothing but a low flickering flame (The Great Giant of Henllys). 

The location is always given in detail: a midwife from Nanhwynan; the Hafoddydd 

Brithion, the banks of the river Wye; they rode at highest speed and passed a lot of places: 

Cwmllan, over the Bwlch, down Nant yr Aran, and over the Gader to Cwm Hafod Ruffydd. 

The temporal case, or Time, is not very important: some time in the 18th century; a 

box with sealed demon in it is thrown into Llynwyn Pool for the sum of ninety-nine years, or 

nine hundred and ninety nine years depending on which you prefer (The Great Giant of Henllys). 

The results are different, but positive: a woman stayed there until the lady had 

completely recovered; thanks to prayers the giant appeared in smaller and smaller forms until 

he was only a fly which was put in a tobacco box; or the goblins took their dwarfs and 

children recovered. 


120

The gratitude to a midwife from Nanhwynan surpassed her expectation: the 

nobleman gave her a large purse, with the order not to open it until she had got into her own 

house. Then he bade one of his servants escort her the same way that she had come. When she 

reached home she opened the purse, and, to her great joy, it was full of money. She lived 

happily on those earnings to the end of her life (The Midwife of Hafoddyd). 

4.1.5. The Frame of Healing Activity in Islands Fairy Tales 

We have analyzed fairy tales which are popular on different islands surrounding the 

British Isles, in particular, the Orkney Islands in general and the Sanday, the Shetland Islands 

in general and the Unst, and the Isle of Man. 

The patients are Tom Beg, a humpback and a young girl, Darraday. The reason – 

being enchanted by ghosts; the objective of treatment: the cure of sprains; the healer – Our 

Savior, the King of fairies, saggyrt (sage), mother. On the islands different charms as the tools 

of treatment are very popular. They are combined with specific actions, e.g. a linen thread is 

tied around the injured part, after the solemn repetition of the charm; we may also mention 

casting the ―wresting thread‖, or chanting the spell. In one fairy tale the hump is being taken 

away for service (this motif is very popular in many British texts). 

The events take place on the isles (the Isle of Man) and in a definite place (a green 

glen Nikessen Pool). As a result the hump is taken away and thrown to bushes and the man is 

coming back home safe. There is a special condition (mist). 

5. Discussion and Conclusion 

All the above-mentioned fairytales have the same frame, the same pattern. It means 

that there is somebody who is a healer (man, woman, witch, old lady) who has to heal 

someone. The healers in different parts of Great Britain are different (see Table 1). 

Types of 

healers 

English 

fairy tales 

Irish 

fairy tales 

Scottish 

fairy tales 

Welsh 

fairy tales 


Islands 

fairy tales 

Men 5 9 7 2 3 25 

Women 4 1 1 1 1 8 

Fairies 2 3 1 - - 6 

Table 1. Types of Healers in British Fairy Tales 

Total 

121

We can see that notwithstanding the location, males as healers prevail (see Diagram 1). 

Types of healers in British fairytales 

Women 

21% 

Fairies 

15% 

Men Women Fairies 

Men 

64% 

Diagram 1. Types of Healers in British Fairy Tales 

In the texts under consideration the obligatory element of treatment is the patient (a 

boy, a girl, a king, a prince, etc.). As it is reflected in Table 2 and Diagram 2, in all texts the 

major part of patients is males, though in English texts these are children. This can be 

explained by the more active role which men played in everyday life at that period of time: 

men defended their country with weapons and very often were wounded; they were hunters, 

builders, sailors, knights, and so on. Women were at home, they bore children and needed the 

assistance of a professional (a midwife) in baby delivery, they suffered from different 

diseases, and the possibility of having well-qualified medical aid was limited, especially high 

in the mountains. 

Types of 

patients 

English 

fairy tales 

Irish 

fairy tales 

Scottish 

fairy tales 

Welsh fairy 

tales 

Table 2. Types of Patients in British Fairy Tales 



fairy tales Total 

Men 2 7 6 - 1 16 

Women 4 5 3 1 - 13 

Children 5 3 1 1 1 11 

Fairytale 

creatures 

- - 1 - - 1 

Animals - 1 2 - - 3 

122

25% 


2% 

7% 

30% 

36% 

Men Women Children Fairytale creatures Animals 

Diagram 2. Types of Patients in British Fairy Tales 

The obligatory elements of healing are some instruments (herb, lotion, special meal, 

magic wand, etc.). There must also be some purpose of healing/treatment and we usually 

expect some result, which should be successful, but it is not always so. The specific ways of 

treatment in different parts of Great Britain are reflected in Table 3. 

Ways and 

instruments of 

treatment 

English 

fairy tales 

Irish 

fairy tales 

Scottish 

fairy tales 

Welsh 

fairy tales 


fairy tales Total 

Plants - 6 4 1 - 11 

Hands: touch, 

movement 

Ointments, balms, 

powder 

Professional 

medical aid 

Set of specific 

actions 

- - 1 - - 1 

2 3 1 1 - 7 

1 1 - - 2 

1 4 1 - 1 7 

Fire 1 1 - 2 

Special meal, diet 1 2 1 - 4 

Connected with 

religion (using the 

Bible, making a 

cross, exorcism, 

prayers, etc.) 

3 1 - 1 - 4 

123

Magic things 

(singing and 

dancing with 

fairies) 

3 1 - 1 6 

Spells - - 2 1 3 6 

Table 3. Ways and Instruments of Treatment Used in British Fairy Tales 

As we can see from Table 3, in English fairy tales the methods connected with religion 

prevail, in Irish and Scottish fairy tales plants are very popular, in Welsh fairy tales we cannot 

single out anything very popular, and in the Islands fairy tales the healers use spells. The ways 

of treatment in all the British fairy tales are presented in Diagram 3. 

12% 

22% 


8% 

12% 

8% 

4% 

14% 

4% 

2% 

14% 

Plants 

Hands: touch, movement 

Ointments, balms, powder 

Professional medical aid 

Set of specific actions 

Fire 

Special meal, diet 

Connected with religion (using a Bible, making a cross, exorcism, prayers, etc.) 

Magic things (singing and dancing with fairies) 

Spells 

Diagram 3. Ways and Instruments of Treatment Used in British Fairy Tales 

Judging from Diagram 3, the most popular means of treatment in all British fairy tales 

which we have analyzed are plants (22 %), the second place is shared by ointments, balms, 

powder and a set of specific actions (14 %), and the third place is for magic things and spells 

(12 %). 

We believe that the use of cognitive approach to folklore text analysis is very fruitful. 

Notwithstanding the specific characters of the fairytale texts analyzed, preference in healing is 

given to real things (plants, balms, etc.) and only then to magic things and spells. 

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The comparative analysis of officinal medicine sources in the folklore texts of 

different epochs and people will be the next stage of our research, which seems to us of 

exceptional importance from diachronic, culturological and cognitive aspects. We find of 

interest the comparison of British and Slavic, in particular, Russian and Ukrainian folklore, as 

the folklore of the people, where the traditions of folk medicine and phytotherapy based in 

deep antiquity, have been strong until now not only in villages, but in cities, too. At the same 

time, on the British Isles folk medicine was forced out by the scientific one as far back as in 

the 18 th and 19 th centuries and since then has actually ceased to exist. 

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BRIGGS, Katharine (2009). The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature. London and 

New York: Routledge. 

FILLMORE, Charles (1981a). Case for Case (Филлмор Ч. Дело о падеже // Новое в 

зарубежной лингвистике. Вып.Х. Лингвистическая семантика. – М.: Прогресс, 

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FILLMORE, Charles (1981b). Case for Case reopened (Филлмор Ч. Дело о падеже 

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Telegraph.co.uk. 

GEORGES, R. A., and M.O. JONES (1995). Folkloristics: An Introduction. Indiana 


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―Каменяр‖. 

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Hammersmith, London: HarperElement. 

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Москва: изд-во Эксмо; Спб: Terra Fantastica. 

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A.I.Laboratory. 

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Evolution of a Fairytale. New York: Basic Books. 

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(163 – 170). Bratislava: Univerzita Komenského. 

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(Стилистические особенности текстов шотландской сказки. // Вісник 


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Луганського національного педагогічного університету ім. Т. Шевченка 2 (82), 

128-133. 

PANASENKO, Nataliya (2009). System of nontraditional medicine in the folklore of the 

British Isles (linguocognitive aspect) (Панасенко Н.И. Система народной 

медицины в фольклоре Британских островов (лингвокогнитивный аспект). // 

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Е.С. Кубряковой. Москва: Языки славянских культур, 820 – 832. 

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PROPP, V.Ya. (1986). Historic roots of a fairytale (Пропп В.Я. Исторические корни 

волшебной сказки) Ленинград: Изд-во Ленингр. ун-та. 

PROPP, V. (1968). Morphology of the Folktale. Austin: University of Texas Press. 

Semantic Roles // http://www.ilc.cnr.it/EAGLES96/rep2/node8.html semantic roles 

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Британских островов) Сборник/ Сост. Дж. Риордан. Москва: Радуга, 9 – 18. 

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BRIGGS, Katharine (2002). British folk-tales and legends. London and New York: 

Routledge. 

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Giftsfolktales and legends of type 503 translated and/or edited by D. L. Ashliman© 

1998 – 2009 // http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0503.html#evans 

Folk tales of the British Isles (Народные сказки Британских островов) (1987): Сборник/ 

Сост. Дж. Риордан. Москва: Радуга. 

GANTZ, Jeffrey (1984). Early Irish myths and sagas. Middlesex: Penguin Books. 

Irish fairytales . Selected and edited by J. Jacobs (2001): Ware: Wordsworth Editions Ltd. 

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type0503.html#evans 

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составление Н.В. Шерешевской (1993): Мoscow: МНПП ―Гендальф‖. 

Scottish Folk and Fairytales. Chosen and edited by G. Jarvie (1997): London: Penguin. 

Scottish Mythology // http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_folklore 

Scottish Myths and Legends // http://www.rampantscotland.com/features/mythology.htm 

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The Second Battle of Mag Tured (Moytura) // http://web.ncf.ca/dc920/tured.html 

Резюме 

В данной статье авторы сделали попытку проследить корни официнальной медицины, 

которые отражены в британских сказках, принимая во внимание географический 

принцип. Полученные результаты показывают, что во всех текстах большинство 

целителей – мужчины, в то время как пациенты отличаются: в ирландских и 

шотландских сказках – мужчины, в английских – дети. Способы и орудия лечения 

также различны. В ирландских и шотландских текстах главным инструментом лечения 

является растение, в английских сказках – действия, связанные с религией. Мы можем 

выделить реальные способы лечения, включающие хирургию, протезирование, 

фитотерапию и др., которые преобладают в большинстве текстов, и магические 

(заговоры, заклинания). 


126

Creating One’s Virtual Identity: A Look Through Internet Nicknames 


Milica Urbániková 


The Internet, besides its informative function, also serves as a means of how to stay in 

touch with friends and relatives or even make new friends. In this aspect, it has taken over the 

role of letters. And as with letters, the major disadvantage is that the interlocutors do not see 

each other during the communication (technically, this obstacle has been overcome, but 

cameras are still not usually used in Internet communication.). Thus the interlocutors have the 

opportunity to construct their identities on various Internet forums and chat rooms or to even 

to make up a brand new self. One of the typical features of these virtual selves is that they use 

nicknames instead of real names composed of a first name and a surname. 

Of course, nicknames did not start with the Internet. Etymologically, ‗nickname‘ 

comes from the misdivision of ‗an eke name‘, meaning simply an additional name. Gradually 

it gained a derogatory shade of meaning, as can be seen from a quote from William Hazzlitt: 

―A nickname is the heaviest stone that the devil can throw at a man.‖ Today, a nickname has 

both positive and negative connotations. This is true even of the same nickname in different 

usages. For example, when an outsider uses a nickname to denote a certain group of people, 

the group in question perceives it as insulting and derogatory, in spite of the fact, that they 

themselves use it as an emblem and to show their identification with the group. (Locher and 

Strässer 2008: 59). 


LINGUISTICS 

When talking about nicknames, we should first get straight the differences between 

various synonyms and near-synonyms, e.g. pseudonym, nick, sobriquet, and first name. 

Taking a closer look, we discover that the basic difference between these terms is in who 

gives them to whom and why, and, eventually, what it means. Pseudonyms are chosen 

deliberately by their bearers to hide their true identity. Nicknames, as well as sobriquets and 

first names, are given by others similarly to highlight some characteristic physical or 

psychological feature or some fact from the personal history of the bearer. While there are 

immeasurable possibilities for pseudonyms, nicknames and sobriquets, first names are usually 

chosen from a relatively finite list. We get them from parents, i.e. before we can agree or 

protest or before anyone can say whether the name suits us or not. If we consider the semantic 

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opacity of first names today, it is questionable whether some name can be said to describe its 

owner. Therefore, it is often just a question of sound connotations – our liking the name‘s 

sound or not and/or of connotations with people we knew with the same name. Nicknames, on 

the other hand, are usually given to us at a later stage and for a certain reason – some physical 

attribute, personal history, etc. As with first names, we usually cannot agree or disagree, 

although to a certain degree we can limit the use of a nickname we do not like, yet only with 

moderate success. 

There is also a difference between the nicknames used in real life and those used on 

the Internet. Those in real life are given to us, while those on the Internet are chosen by 

ourselves. Also the motives for choosing this or that nickname can vary from those of our 

friends – people with a big nose rarely sign themselves up as Nosey, or those who are obese 

as Fatty. It is usually the best picture of ourselves we want to create on the Internet. 

The difference in the connotations of a nickname in real life and a nickname used on 

the Internet is reflected also in the Slovak use of the term ‗prezývka‘ and ‗nick‘. ‗Prezývka‘ 

means nickname and it is interesting that it is not usually used to refer to an Internet 

nickname. For this purpose, the English word ‗nick‘ was borrowed and is used, almost 

universally, especially among young people. 

It thus becomes interesting to look at in what ways and by what means these virtual 

identities are created. In order to learn more about these processes, I studied sets of nicknames 

used on Slovak, English, and Polish discussion forums. The topics of the forums varied from 

popular music to presidential elections, and the supposed age of the debaters ranged from 

teenagers to adults. 

What interested me most was the linguistic point of view of the creation of nicknames. 

Of course, ―linguistic‖ is a very wide term. The most notable processes of creation were those 

connected with orthography, lexicology and semantics. 

2. Orthographic Point of View 

As is usual for Internet communication, the traditional rules of orthography are often 

not respected. This disrespect ranges from the ignorance of capital letters to various 

fashionable unorthodox spellings and simplification of spelling to playful orthography. 


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Capital letters are often ignored at the beginning of nicknames derived from proper 

names, like ‗petruska‘ (SK) 50 , ‗mala.zoja‘ (SK), ‗bartek4‘ (PL) or ‗cecille‘ (EN). This may be 

caused, as in emails and short text messages, simply by the need to save time and to log on to 

the forum as fast as possible. 

Ignorance of capital letters was most common with Slovak nicknames and in this 

group especially among the teenagers, presumably as part of their revolt against any form of 

rules. 

The next noticeable feature is the absence of spaces in multi-word nicknames. Here, 

however, capital letters were sometimes used excessively in place of spaces. If a nickname 

was composed of several words, it would often be difficult to decipher, so the author 

capitalized every word. So there were nicknames like ‗whodoyouthinkiam‘ but also those 

written down as ‗DoNotBlink‘ (PL) ‗TaMałaWilczyca‘ (PL) or ‗StadiumLooksFabulous‘ 

(EN) and ‗CleanUpNyNow‘ (EN). In the last example, the author had to decide what to 

capitalize and what not – whether they would have the shortening NY correct and then have 

three capitals in succession, which would be confusing, or whether they would break their 

own rule and, after the NY abbreviation, spell the last word with a small-case letter, or finally, 

whether to break the general rule and not capitalize all the letters in an acronym. They went in 

for the last option, obviously because breaking someone else‘s rule is not so painful, and it 

may be even ‗in‘. 

Spaces were replaced also by means other than capital letters: full stops were used as 

in ‗mala.zoja‘ (SK) or other characters like the ‗x‘ in ‗hearxmexrawrxx‘ (EN) or the 

underscore in ‗uncle_charlie‘ (EN) or the dash in ‗Quisiera-me‘ (PL). 

However, since nicknames are meant as certain identification tags and denote one 

person, they are usually, despite their multi-word character, treated as one word ―s‖ was 

added, and to underline this mono-wordness, they are spelled without spaces or any other 

device to replace them. Sometimes they are a bit illegible, because at first you often do not 

know where to put the end of one word and start another, so you may feel as if transcribing 

Old English texts. Examples of such ‗agglutinates‘ are especially frequent on the English- 

speaking forums: ‗Siobhansmommy‘ (EN), ‗brooklynbombshell‘ (EN), ‗kissarmy‘ (EN), 

‗bagelkingofnyc‘ (EN), ‗itsallinperception‘ (EN), ‗whydoicare‘ (EN), ‗gogogogiants‘ (EN), 

‗vestigesofhermind‘ (EN) and many others. 

50 The abbreviations in brackets following the examples of nicknames show their language origin: SK stand for 

Slovak, PL for Polish and EN for English. However, it denotes only the language of the forum, not necessary the 

language in which the nickname was composed. 


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Apart from the capital letters, the spelling of common words was also often changed. 

This, in combination with the lack of capitalization or spaces in multi-word nicknames, 

sometimes made them a bit incomprehensible in the beginning before you realized what you 

are looking at. Logically, since English has more complicated spelling than Slovak or Polish, 

it also offers the greatest possibilities of change: we can come across simply leaving out of 

silent letters as in ‗Alwayssleepin‘ (EN) and ‗Nomorracism‘ (EN); well-known 

simplifications such as ‗and‘ to ‗n‘ in ‗Blacknproud‘ (EN); partly phonetic transcriptions like 

‗ImamuzikKid‘ (EN); cases of colloquial or even dialectal pronunciation transcriptiosn such 

as in ‗Jersey Gal‘ (EN); and completely innovative spelling such as ‗beekwiet‘ (EN), which 

takes a minute or two to understand. 

Innovations of Slovak spelling were not so frequent. Of course, almost no one respects 

the diacritical marks, which is, again, usual in communication on the Internet. Sometimes, 

however, these are substituted by English-based or foreign-language-based spelling of 

particular sounds. So for example, Slovak ‗ń‘ is often spelled ‗sh‘: ‗natashatko‘ (SK), 

‗grietusha‘ (SK), ‗mishelin4‘ (SK), and ‗kikushenka22‘ (SK). Slovak ‗k‘ is also sometimes 

spelled as ‗q‘, or even ‗qu(e)‘: ‗bublinqac‘ (SK) and ‗nikusqqquaaa‘ (SK). Sometimes a ‗w‘ 

instead of a ‗v‘ and excessive doubling of consonants are used, presumably imitating English, 

both of which are present in the nickname ‗wranna‘ (SK). The reason for these 

―improvements‖ of Slovak spelling is probably the influence of English, its omnipresence and 

fashionableness, so that young people especially want to make their nicknames attractive in 

this way. 

As for the spelling of Polish nicknames, they sometimes intentionally spelled Polish 

words incorrectly as in ‗zielona_maupa‘ (PL) (instead of ‗zielona małpa‘) and sometimes 

used ‗q‘ instead of ‗k‘, as in Slovak: ‗Ptaq‘ (PL) (instead of ‗ptak‘), and ‗Dzika_kotQa‘ (PL) 

(instead of ‗dzika kotka‘). 

A special chapter in the spelling of nicknames is the playful spelling in which the 

users substitute letters for numbers and other various special characters. This play with 

language is not reserved to nicknames only, words like ‗2re‘, ‗o5‘, ‗s5‘, ‗ńe3‘ often appear in 

Slovak advertisements or various puns, even trade marks (such as TV channel TA3). In these 

words, the play is based on the fact that normally these words contain the same sequences of 

phonemes as the numerals, so in order to decipher the words you just have to pronounce the 

number in full. With nicknames, the situation is a bit different. 

We can meet with spellings like ‗Too Bad 4 You‘ (EN), ‗Conceited4aRzn‘ (EN), or 

‗Note2Errata‘ (EN) where the number is to be pronounced in full, but also with spellings like 


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‗M4TO6‘ (SK), ‗nUcleaR-c0r3‘ (EN), ‗fr4nk‘ (SK), and ‗za8icka‘ (SK) where the numerals 

substitute particular characters which resemble them in form. As we can see, the number 4 has 

two different values in nicknames: it either substitutes the preposition for or character A. Of 

course, we have to be careful and distinguish these cases from nicknames which have a 

number as their part, e.g. ‗9roses‘ (PL), ‗taka-ja-92‘ (PL) (where 92 is the year of birth), or 

which had to be numbered because such nicknames are already being used, as in ‗bartek4‘ 

(PL). 

Characters other than letters or numbers are also used in nicknames: ‗Karoli$‘ (PL), 

‗steep@‘ (EN), even the chemical formula ‗H2Ogerl‘ (EN). Here, the dollar sign is used 

instead of ‗S‘ and should be pronounced as such, @ and H2O should be pronounced in full, 

although we can easily imagine a nickname, where @ might replace and function as the letter 

‗A‘. 

3. Lexical Point of View 

From the point of view of word-formation, there are basically several types of WF 

processes by which nicknames arise. However, as to productivity, they differ considerably 

from one language to another. 

Firstly, there is compounding, which is used very frequently in English nicknames. 

Sometimes the nicknames are regular compounds, which are or could be used even in normal 

speech, like ‗Fairplay4231‘ (EN), ‗northstar‘ (EN), ‗morningfog‘ (EN), and ‗icefist‘ (EN). 

But much more frequent, and this is valid for all three of the examined languages, are 

compounds which could be called quotational, but for being spelled without spaces. Plus, 

unlike quotational compounds, they often contain a whole statement but are all, naturally, 

used as nouns, even proper nouns, and therefore there is a friction between the grammatical 

head of the ―compound‖ and the signified. Good examples would be: ‗jaskusimto‘ (SK), 

‗SayWhat‘ (EN), ‗You_cant_Handle_The_Truth‘ (EN), ‗itsallinperception‘ (EN), 

‗Dontreallycare‘ (EN), and ‗isuckedthemoon‘ (EN). Sometimes, the compounds are rhyming 

like ‗gothicpoetic‘ (EN) and ‗nikimiki‘ (SK). 

In Slovak and Polish, in those nicknames in which their creators stick to their native 

tongue, derivation prevails as the WF process and of the derivation types mainly the 

diminutive and augmentative suffixes are used. Here one thing should be noted – boys and 

men usually use augmentation, while girls and women diminution. So we have ‗hujerisko‘ 

(SK), but ‗agusiek‘ (PL), ‗za8icka‘ (SK), ‗misinka‘ (SK), ‗adulicek‘ (SK), ‗lienocka‘ (SK), 

and others. In the Polish sample, there was even one case of augmentation combined with 


131

ackformation, when a boy wanted to use ‗jagódka‘ (Polish for ‗little blueberry‘) as his 

nickname. He made a masculine form, non-existent in normal language, ‗jagod‘, by removing 

the feminine and diminutive suffix -ka. Many nicknames were formed by something which 

could be called condensation and the result resembles the skeleton shortenings like ‗Hqtrs‘ for 

headquarters. This is true mainly, but not only, for English nicknames. By condensation here I 

mean a process in which some letters, usually vowels, are intentionally left out in spelling, so 

that the result is shorter, and more interesting. Sometimes it can become even a cipher, 

especially when combined with numbers, like ‗Brtk90‘ (PL) where we need to know that the 

Polish name Bartłomiej is often shortened to Bartek in order to decode the nickname, or even 

‗brlracincwgrl‘ (EN), where we can decode only the last word – girl. Usually, however, only 

some part of the nickname is condensed: ‗Conceited4aRzn‘ (EN), ‗musiclovr89‘ (EN), and 

‗Poisenbld‘ (EN). 

The next WF process present in the creation of nicknames is shortening. This can be 

restricted to known shortenings like the above-mentioned ‗nycexpat‘ (EN), ‗CleanUpNyNow‘ 

(EN), or shortened versions of proper names like ‗Bartek‘ (PL), ‗Aguś‘ (PL), ‗MrBob‘ (SK), 

and others, or it can be the partial shortening like ‗iluvbball‘ (EN), where ‗bball‘ is 

presumably basketball, or ‗Forthewreckord‘ (EN) where ‗wreckord‘ is probably mis-spelled 

(intentionally?) shortening of world record. 

Last but not least, the omnipresent word-formation process that embraces all 

nicknames that are not based on first names in all the languages is conversion. Every such 

nickname is an outcome of at least a partial conversion – from a common noun to a proper 

noun, or even a full conversion from a verb, adjective, phrase, etc. to proper noun. 

4. Semantic Point of View 

Before we turn to the semantic point, let‘s say a few words about the sense of Internet 

nicknames. They are not meant, like their real life predecessors are, to distinguish one bearer 

of the same name from another, or to create an atmosphere of familiarity, trust and 

friendliness. They serve several functions: users in this way protect their real identity, and 

have a unique opportunity to present themselves, to make a good impression at the first 

meeting. In real life, when you are introduced to other people, one‘s name is the least 

important piece of information. A smile, clothes, a handshake, body language, and appearance 

are of much greater importance. On the Internet, of course, you do not have any or most of 

these means to impress the other side, so all you can do is present yourself by means of your 

nickname. Plus, the nickname gives you the chance, which is rather limited in real life, to 


132

choose the people who talk to you, for example by hinting at your hobbies in your nickname 

so that only people with similar hobbies will contact you. 

Therefore, users try to give some information about themselves in their nicknames. It 

can be either their sex (in gender-sensitive language, because it is unusual for a boy to choose 

a nickname which has feminine grammatical gender, although the other way round is not 

unprecedented) or the origin (‗New Yorker‘ (EN), ‗VinnyfromBrooklyn‘ (EN)), or something 

more personal, like attitudes, likes and dislikes: for example, it is rather clear that someone 

called ‗gogogogiants‘ (EN) is a sports fan, that ‗CleanUpNyNow‘ (EN) has certain objections 

to the state of New York be it the cleanness of its streets or the morals of its city council, that 

‗Brokeninsideme‘ (EN) probably has some psychological problems, and what ‗Nomorracism‘ 

(EN) often thinks about is the relations between particular races. 

Moreover, besides this rather straightforward way of describing themselves, users can 

express the desired values indirectly. This is especially true of nicknames on the forums 

attended mainly by teenagers. Girls this age want to be perceived as sweet and attractive 

whereas boys just the opposite, as rough and tough. So girls‘ nicknames are often flowers: 

‗BelleFleur‘ (PL), ‗tulipan22‘ (PL), and ‗rumianek‘ (PL); or something edible (fruits and 

sweets): ‗sStrawberRy‘ (SK), ‗jagodziczek‘ (PL, Polish for blueberry), ‗truskaawkaa14‘ (PL, 

Polish for strawberry), ‗karczoch‘ (PL, Polish for artichoke), ‗dumpling‘ (EN), ‗karamelka03‘ 

(SK), and ‗lentill-ka‘ (SK); or some little animals considered cute or interesting: ‗ważka‘ (PL, 

Polish for dragonfly), ‗zajac112233‘ (SK), ‗9beruska‘ (SK), and ‗motylik141‘ (SK). Another 

group of girls‘ nicknames are those which, on the contrary, want to express that the girl is not 

a stereotypical girl with girlish interests: ‗ciernapuma‘ (SK), ‗krutafunebracka‘ (SK), 

‗malapohroma‘ (SK), ‗kleopatra‘ (SK, PL), ‗Vampirzyca‘ (PL, Polish for vampiress), and 

‗TaMałaWilczyca‘ (PL, Polish for ‗that small she-wolf‘). 

Typical or even stereotypical boys were inspired by various warriors, comic book 

heroes and other ―strong‖ characters, by guns, war, and film, etc., e.g. ‗torpedo08‘ (SK), 

‗belzeboss‘ (SK), ‗duke05‘ (SK), ‗Zlodejruzi‘ (SK), ‗Psycho Krusher‘ (PL), ‗Spartacus‘ (PL), 

‗Sokol‘ (PL), ‗Jack‘ (PL – from the profile picture of Jack Sparrow from The Pirates of the 

Caribbean it was clear who the nickname refers to), ‗onehandbandit‘ (SK), ‗ghost1511‘ (SK), 

‗szeregowy89‘ (PL, Polish for soldier), ‗hovädo‘ (SK), and ‗kamikadze2008‘ (SK). 

Interestingly, and surprisingly, teenagers often take inspiration from school and 

classical culture: ‗plutvonozceakrivozubky‘ (SK), ‗otvoreneokno‘ (SK), ‗ujoperun‘ (SK), 

‗atonrays‘ (SK), ‗ja liryczne‘ (PL, Polish for lyrical subject), ‗kleopatra‘ (PL, SK), 


133

‗Annnchesenamon‘ (PL), ‗kirke‘ (SK), ‗ishtar‘ (PL), ‗Spartacus‘ (PL), and ‗Templar knight‘ 

(SK). 

The degree of innovativeness and creativity correlates with the age of the users and the 

topic(s) they talk about, which, of course, are interrelated as well. Teenagers show the highest 

degree of inventiveness and their nicknames have two opposing functions: to hide their real 

identity and, at the same time, to say as much about their bearers as possible, sometimes 

containing whole opinions. They usually do not use their real names and, if so, use only their 

first name, or some familiar form or diminutive of it. The older the users and the more serious 

the topic, the more serious the names are. So, for example, on a forum where people give 

legal and administrative advice everybody uses their real names, sometimes full, sometimes 

only in part, sometimes even with the academic title intact. 

Of course, when studying Internet nicknames, especially if the research deals with age, 

sex and the like, we should bear in mind that the anonymity of the Internet also gives people a 

chance to pretend they are someone else and, therefore, our research can be marred by ―false‖ 

men, girls, teenagers, etc. On the other hand, in this paper, concerned with the creative 

process, the person of the creator is not of primary importance. To pass successfully as a 

teenage girl one has to follow some processes and ―rules‖ of creating a teenage girl‘s 

nickname, making it irrelevant whether the bearer of the ―typical teenage girl nickname‖ is a 

man in his eighties or a mother of four. 

5. Conclusion 

Internet nicknames offer their bearers a unique opportunity to express their whole 

identity or ideal identity which they wish to present in their name. Some users choose the 

stable, conservative method and stay with their first name, others invent a new one, which is 

often meant to say something about them. In this process, they can be very creative from 

several points of view, including word-formation, semantic content and orthography. The 

means and degree of this linguistic creativity varies according to the seriousness of the forums 

and the (supposed) age of the users. However, language has almost no impact on the degree of 

creativity, only on the choice of means (mainly in word-formation). We can conclude now, 

that language innovativeness certainly concerns also the choice of the nickname to be used in 

Internet discussions. 


134

Bibliography 

LOCHER, Miriam A., and Jürg STRÄSSER (Eds.). (2008). Contributions to the Sociology of 

Language: Standards and Norms in the English language. Berlin; New York: Mouton 

de Gruyter. 

Internet pages from which the nicknames were taken: 

www.birdz.sk 

www.diva.sk 

www.post.sk 

www.yahoo.com 

www.thoughts.com 

www.narkoza.pl 

www.forumnasze.pl 

Resumé 

Dôleņitou časťou identity, najmä pre mladých ľudí, je ich existencia na internete. 

Rôzne fóra, mailové servery a sociálne siete ponúkajú nespočetné moņnosti pre prezentáciu 

alebo vylepńenie svojej identity, či dokonca aj pre vytvorenie úplne novej. 

Tak ako meno v reálnom svete, aj vo virtuálnom je prezývka/prihlasovacie meno/ 

„nick― prvý poznávací znak. Na rozdiel od skutočného mena, ktoré dostávame pri narodení 

prv, neņ môņeme súhlasiť alebo protestovať, internetovú prezývku si kaņdý vyberá sám podľa 

svojich chutí a preferencií. Prezývka sa tak stáva zdrojom informácií nielen o tom, aký jej 

nositeľ je, ale aj o tom, aký by chcel byť alebo sa ako by chcel javiť ostatným. Tu zrejme 

treba hľadať aj korene nezvyčajnej kreativity a nápaditosti, ktorú pri výbere internetových 

prezývok pozorujeme. 

Príspevok skúma prezývky členov slovenských, anglických a poľských diskusných fór 

práve z tohto „kreatívneho― hľadiska, čiņe z pohľadu slovotvorných procesov, sémantického 

obsahu a pravopisu, ktoré boli pouņité pri výbere a tvorbe internetových prezývok. Pozornosť 

bola venovaná aj lexikálnemu, sémantickému a lingvistickému hľadisku. Ďalej sa v príspevku 

skúma závislosť kreativity, inovatívnosti a nápaditosti prezývok v závislosti od národnosti, 

pohlavia a predpokladaného veku nositeľa prezývky. 


135

Interpersonal and Crosscultural Communication: Australian 

Aborigines and Central European Romanies 

1. Aspects of Communication 

Jitka Vlčková 


Communication between people in different parts of the world has many faces and 

occurs at different levels while taking on a great variety of forms which are shaped by cultural 

norms. In practice this means that some behavioural communicative patterns in one culture 

may remain unobserved in another, or some patterns which are considered positive in one 

culture may be misunderstood and seen as undesirable in another (and vice versa). 

By a behavioural communicative pattern we understand ―a recurrent way of acting by 

an individual or group toward a given object or in a given situation‖ (dict.com). In other 

words it is cultural rules implemented in interaction, including ways of speaking and body 

language in face-to-face encounters. 

The above suggests that communication is a complex phenomenon, which, in Raffler- 

Engel words ―operates on three channels: the unmaterial of shared and unshared 

presupposition, the vocal auditory channel of language and paralanguage and the visual 

channel…‖ (1980: 1). In reference to language the author says that it is ―the verbal rules and 

the rules of the ethnography of speaking. Paralanguage covers volume, pitch, intonation, 

pauses, phonation ration (the ratio between speech and pauses), stress, rhythm, and tempo‖ 

(ibid.). The visual is the non-verbal, both intentional and unintentional. It has been found that 

nonverbal processes account for more than 55 % of communication (Mehrabian 1968) found 

that words count for 7 %, tone of voice 38 % and body language 55 %); in some cultures the 

non-verbal element may account for as much as 70 % of the communication 

(http://africa.aeduproject.net/). 


LINGUISTICS 

It is not easy for an individual or a group to ‗translate‘ the behavioural pattern of a 

different cultural or ethnic group and accordingly adjust one‘s own patterns in the attempt to 

communicate successfully. As Schleflen (1980: 12) notes, the patterns that a person learns, 

are not determined by chance, but by the particular tradition in which s/he is brought up. ―Any 

particular member will learn those particular patterns of his repertoire that are appropriate to 

his social class and status, his gender, his health, his skills and his special positions in groups. 

136

[...] The understanding of a message is then a ‗cumulative result of the very exchange of 

communication against the background of shared and unshared presuppositions‖ (ibid.). 

Taking the example of the Aboriginal people in Australia and the Romany people in 

Central Europe, this paper will briefly explore some of the aspects of communication within 

an ethnic community and between different ethnic communities, i.e. situations of intra- and 

intercultural communication, when individuals from the same country but with different 

ethnic or racial backgrounds are involved (Jensen 1998a: 39). This requires from the 

participants to process a message produced in another culture (Samovar and Porter 1982: 6). 

According to Wiseman (2003), successful intercultural communication depends on three 

components: 

knowledge (information necessary to interact appropriately and effectively), 

motivation (positive feeling toward the other culture, empathy), 

skills (behaviour necessary to interact appropriately and effectively). 

The presented study aims at showing the most important cultural specifics in 

Aboriginal and Romany communities and prominent features in their communication and 

behaviour which, in the encounters with the white community, cause misunderstanding, often 

leading to resentment and even scorn due to misinterpretation. Aboriginals in Australia and 

Romanies in Europe constitute disempowered minorities, sometimes perceived by the 

powerful majority as being primitive and uncivilized. Our own experience tells us that there is 

little interest and motivation on the majority‘s side to understand them. 

One of the reasons for misinterpretation in communication is in the values of each 

culture: some cultures value individualism, others collectivism. The white culture is 

individualistic whereas Aboriginal and Romany cultures are collectivist. The primary goal in 

the members of individualistic cultures is in their own achievements, self-reliance and 

responsibility to self; whereas, in the members of collectivistic cultures, it is obligations to 

others in their group. Individualistic cultures are more direct and solution-oriented in their 

approach because they are more tolerant of conflict use, whereas members of collectivistic 

cultures are less direct in striving to maintain balance (Adler and Rodman 2003: 276 – 278). 

In connection with (mis)interpretation, it has been observed (Adler and Rodman 2003: 36) 

that in any contact, including the one across cultural boundaries, ―we tend to assume others 

are similar to us, we tend to cling to first impressions, even if wrong, and favour negative 

impressions over positive ones.‖ In other words, if the other party does not project their 

identity in communication in a way similar to that which is current our culture, we may 


137

perceive their action as threatening; for example, by not having our recognized norms of 

etiquette observed (Brown and Levinson 1987). 

2. Australian Aborigines and Central European Romanies – What Do They Have in 

Common? 

One may ask why look for parallels between Aboriginal Australians and Romany 

peoples in the Czech Republic (and other countries of Central Europe) when they live so far 

apart and when there is contact between the two cultures? The answer is to be sought both in 

history and the current situation Aboriginal and Romany peoples find themselves in. The goal 

of the pilot study was to find possible interferences between the Aboriginal and white 

cultures, as well as between the Romany and Czech (Central European) cultures. 

The paper draws on data obtained thru a questionnaire, which was administered to 25 

Romanies in the Czech Republic who could speak English, and also personal encounters with 

Romany people. As for Aborigines, the source was several films with no or little participation 

of Aboriginal professional actors, such as Samson and Delilah (dir .W. Thornton) and Alinta 

the Flame, where the script was created with the help of an Aboriginal (Hyllus Marris) and in 

which a traditional Aboriginal tribe was engaged. The language they use is Aboriginal 

(English subtitles) and it is possible to presume that their communication reflects their natural 

and authentic ways and is not markedly influenced by possible instructions from the film 

director. 

The Table below lists aspects that can be considered most prominent in Aboriginal and 

Romany cultures: 

Aspect Aboriginal Romany 

1. Origin (came from) Asia Asia 

2. Social organization band/group tribe 

3. Way of life nomadic nomadic 

4. Culture contact/collective 

horizontal/oral 

5. Language Aboriginal – many 

(originally 600) 

6. Language today Aboriginal Australian 

(ethnolect/creole) 


contact/collective 

vertical/oral 

Walchian, Sinti + dialects 

Walchian, Sinti 

Romany Czech, Romany 

138


affected by European local 

languages (ethnolect) 

7. Communication NV more important than V NV more important than V 

8. Verbal communication Silence, taboos, specific 

politeness 

9. Law & order ‗dreaming‘ 

10. Effects of state 

assimilation policy 

(customary/oral) 

Native languages-> 

language death 

11. Social status low low 

12. Exposed to racial 

stereotype 

yes yes 

taboos, specific politeness 

‗Romanyia‗ 

(customary/oral) 

Romany banned at schools-> 

creolized Czech 

(ethnolect) 

As mentioned above the presumed origin of both ethnic groups is in Asia. It is known 

that they were Nomads. The Nomadic way of life and climatic conditions prevented them 

from accumulating property, cultivating land, and storing food. They lived and moved in 

hordes, i.e. in groups of various sizes (tribes, bands), which spoke different languages. In 

Australia, the estimates are as many as 600 (e.g. Ward 1992; Bakalář 2004). Traditional 

wisdom was passed from generation to generation orally; there were no records in any form. 

Aboriginal nomadism was gradually made impossible as their land was taken by the whites. 

Romany nomadism in Czechoslovakia was banned in 1958, and families were forcibly 

dispersed (CT24 11.11.2008). 

Both Aboriginal and Romany cultures are considered to be contact and collectivist. 

Contact cultures are characterized by a high degree of physical contact or proximity. 

This is reflected in the extent to which people within a culture touch, embrace, shake hands, 

or stand close to one another. For example, South American cultures are for the most part 

high contact cultures, whereas U.S. and British and a lot of European cultures are low contact. 

Difficulties occur when people of both types of culture meet: feeling your space is being 

invaded by someone standing too close; feeling that friendship and trust are lacking because 

someone is standing too far away during conversation; uncomfortable feelings from being 

touched; or a feeling of unfriendliness from not being touched, may arise (Ahmad 1992). 

―Emotions and passions are linked directly to the body, and are contrasted with the rational 

139

operation of the mind which is the basis of representation and communication‖ (Joseph 2004: 

16; on conventionality of emotion and gestures and their linguistic expression cf. also 

Kudrnáčová 1998). For example, there is scene in the film where Aboriginal people touch 

each other‘s bodies in places and ways that are unacceptable in western culture, such as 

females stroking each other‘s upper parts of their bodies in a ‗ritual‘ of welcome. 

Individualistic and collectivist cultures: In individualistic cultures, the face of the 

individual is more important than the face of the group, there is more competitiveness, and 

individuals rely more on themselves than on other members in the group. ―In the Romany 

community individualistic attempts are seen as turning away from the Romany tradition and 

culture as such. Romanies do not have the need of pursuing personal ambitions, such as 

professional career.‖ (transl. from: Bakalář 2004: 76). Ting-Toomey (2005) notes that in 

collectivist cultures, the face of the group is more important than the face of any individual in 

the group. The arrangement of Aboriginal societies was horizontal; there was no chieftain and 

decisions were taken by elders. The expressions of ‗brother‘ or ‗sister‘ were used in 

addressing other members, though these may not be blood siblings. This fact obviously 

contributed to a strong social cohesion. Romany groups had a hierarchy structure; they were 

‗vertical‘, with the oldest or most respected man of the kin (‗vajda‘) having most power 

(Brychta 2010; Čengerová 2009). In collectivist cultures, there is more cooperativeness than 

in individualistic cultures, and verbal communication is vaguer and employs fewer words. 

Silence is frequently an inseparable part of conversation in some cultures, including 

Aboriginal. Eades (www.elit.edu.au) comments on silence: When they start school, 

Aboriginal children have to learn to interact in the dominant question-answer pattern, which 

we have seen to be much more direct than the patterns they are generally used to. They are 

also quite likely to find that the silence which is used frequently and positively in Aboriginal 

conversations is interrupted by teachers, who misinterpret it as a sign that the children are 

ignorant, shy or unwilling to cooperate. We need to understand that the Aboriginal response 

to a question will often start with silence, not because of ignorance, but because this is the 

Aboriginal way of communicating. 

In Aboriginal societies, silence usually indicates a participant‘s desire to think. 

(Walsh and Yallop 2005: 187). ―Because Aboriginal people are so accustomed to using 

silence in conversation with other Aboriginal people, many are uncomfortable if they are not 

given the chance to use silence in their conversations or interviews with non-Aboriginal 

people.‖ (ibid.) 


140

As people of some other Asian cultures, Aboriginals believe that ‗remaining silent is 

the proper state when there is nothing to be said. To them, a talkative person is considered a 

show-off or insincere. Western culture generally views talk as desirable, as a demonstration of 

interest, while silence in conversational situations is interpreted as a lack of interest, and a 

sign of interpersonal incapability, or even hostility (Giles, Coupland, and Wieman 1992). 

Silence is often understood in negative terms, such as ignorance or secrecy (―if he didn‘t have 

something to hide, he‘d speak up‖) (Adler and Rodman 2003: 155). Silence is also related to 

taboos. Both in Aboriginal and Romany cultures, mentioning the name of a deceased person 

is not allowed. This may cause problems and misunderstanding, for example, in police 

investigations and court hearings. ‗Romanyia‘ is the rule that Romanies must follow 

according to their spiritual beliefs. 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_avoidance_practices) 

3. Aboriginal and Romany Languages Today 

Historical events and processes did not pass without major effects on both ethnic 

societies. Most Australians, who today identify themselves as Aboriginal, speak varieties of 

English as their first language. The fact that such people speak little or none of their 

traditional Aboriginal languages is often used by non-Aboriginal people as evidence that these 

people are ―not really‖ Aboriginal. This puts Aboriginal people in a disadvantaged position in 

issues of needs and rights in areas such as politics, land rights and education‖ (Eades 1988). 

―Aboriginal English reflects grammatically the structure of traditional Aboriginal languages. 

For example, the plural -s marking on nouns in English is frequently absent in Aboriginal 

English (e.g. 'one dog: 'two dog'). This is a reflection of the traditional Aboriginal languages 

in which plural is rarely overtly marked. Such features have led to a widespread tendency 

among non-Aboriginal Australians to regard Aboriginal English as a deficient variety of 

English‖ (www.elit.edu.au/medial library). However, ―it is not only the actual words people 

use which reflect and create continuities of Aboriginal culture. In contemporary Aboriginal 

society, we see continuities of traditional norms concerning who an individual can speak to 

and in what ways. For example, the standard English word mother means ‗the woman who 

gave birth to a person, or her equivalent‘. But in many varieties of Aboriginal English the 

word mother means ‗the woman who gave birth to a person, and that woman‘s sisters‘. This 

shows a continuity from the kinship organisation of traditionally oriented societies, where a 

mother‘s sister is often treated as a mother, and a single word would translate into standard 

English both as ‗mother‘ and ‗mother ‘s sister‖ (Eades, www.elit.edu.au/mediallibrary). 


141

The Romany language in its varieties has been highly influenced by the languages 

spoken in countries where Romanies live; as a consequence, a number of local dialects 

(ethnolects) have developed. There are a few studies of the Roma ethnolect of Czech (e.g. 

Hübschmannová 2002; Bořkovcová, 2007). As most studies note, young Romany people in 

particular can speak neither the Roma language nor Czech correctly. Sometimes they grow up 

in homes where Romany is spoken and it is only when they come to school that they are 

forced to learn Czech. The problem is that they think in Romany and do not understand 

abstract concepts (such as math), as there are no equivalents in Romany. They do not 

understand the subject matter because they do not understand the language. As a consequence, 

these children are considered stupid and are put in special schools (Řeháček 2010; Bakalář 

2004: 75). The Romany ethnolect of Czech manifests deviation from SCz at all levels, 

perhaps semantic calques can serve as examples: ―Hoď ji víno!‖ (*throw her wine) hodit – 

from R, čhivel = ‗throw‘, but also ‗pour‘. There are also examples of deviated collocations: 

―Ten baráček nám rozbili‖ (they * broke up (= destroyed) our house) (Bořkovcová 2007: 65 – 

66). 

In addition to verbal language, there are great differences in cultural norms and 

practices of nonverbal behaviour. Nonverbal communication, both intentional and 

unintentional, refers to processes between the communicating parties, other than the spoken 

word. As mentioned above, successful interaction in intercultural settings requires not only 

understanding of verbal messages but of nonverbal messages as well. A characteristic feature 

of nonverbal communication is that it is less systematized than verbal communication; it is 

culture-bound and ambiguous. (http://africa.aeduproject.net/). 

Gestures are an inseparable part of both Aboriginal and Romany communication. 

Words in Romany are multivocal and semantically imprecise. The meaning is then derived 

from the speaker‘s body language. A similar thing can be said about dances – neither 

Aboriginal nor Romany dances are performed for their own sake, they constitute part of a 

much wider and important non-verbal ‗vocabulary‘. (www.orientalnitanec.cz). 

Eye contact is an inseparable component of non-verbal communication Whereas 

members of western cultures tend to look away from a conversational partner while speaking, 

and at the partner while listening, some other cultures, including Aboriginal, do the opposite, 

they look more at their partner while speaking and less when listening (Adler and Rodman 

2003: 40). This difference may lead to communication problems without either person 

realizing the cause. The use of more eye contact in the white culture is interpreted as paying 


142

more attention. A lack of eye contact in a person from another culture may be considered a 

sign of inattention or rudeness when quite the opposite could be true (ibid.). 

Law and order – ‗Romanyia‘, the Romany law mentioned in connection with taboos, 

defines the rules Romanies must follow according to their spiritual beliefs. Any behaviour 

that affects the group is either ―clean‖ or ―unclean‖. Romany law ensures that the legal system 

of the host country affects the life of the Roma community as little as possible. Romanies are 

aware of gaje law. Gaje (non-Roma) is ‗unclean‘ (marime). Romanies believe that their names 

and rituals lose the power if revealed to a gaje. Any crime against another Roma is ‗marime‘. 

On the level of politeness, interpersonal communication in Romany culture is 

conspicuous by a lack of thanking, especially among family members. Though the word 

paľikerav (thank you) does exist, it is scarcely used. The reason is not ignorance or 

impoliteness of Romany people, but the fact that mutual help is considered to be natural part 

of family life. Aborigines also have a lot of laws, many of which are secret and sacred and 

never revealed to a white person. Their rules of behaviour have roots in their set of customary 

laws, ‗Dreaming‘. Similar, though not exactly the same of what has been said about Romanies 

applies to Aboriginals – in the traditional groups, anything that might endanger the group is 

punished. The politeness principles, as they are known in western cultures, do not fully apply; 

there are certain principles of obligations, and therefore there is no need of special phrases of 

politeness in the sense of ―would you mind‖, ―could you please‖, or ―thanks‖. Most 

Aboriginal languages and Romany dialects have no word for ―please‖ or ―thank you‖ (on 

Romany: cf. Rous 2003). 

4. Romany English in the Czech Republic 

The issues discussed briefly above are crucial to ethnic identity. The following part of 

this paper will provide information about the survey which was conducted among Romany 

people in the Czech Republic who could speak (at least some) English. The goal was to detect 

which of the two cultures, i.e. Romany or Czech, prevail in their communication in English. 

The questionnaire comprised questions related to everyday situations. The participants were 

asked to tick off an answer in English and also state the corresponding utterance in Romany. 

Here are some examples: 

Example 1. A fellow traveller on the train asks you a question but you don‘t understand 

because of the noise. What will you say? 

a) What? 

b) Pardon? (Sorry?) 


143

c) Speak up, please. 

d) I‘m sorry I can‘t hear you. 

e) I am afraid I don‘t understand. It‘s noisy here, isn‘t it? 

Most respondents chose answer a), followed by d) and b) and eventually c). A very similar 

picture was provided for Romany. 

Example 2. You have dinner with your friend and your meal needs more flavouring. The salt 

is on the opposite side of the table. How would you ask for it? 

a) Pass me the salt. 

b) I need the salt. 

c) Could you pass me the salt, please? 

d) Would you mind passing me the salt, please? 

Most respondents chose a) and b) while no one chose d). For Romany, they favoured a) and 

b), no one opted d). 

information: 

The following situation requires conversational cooperation in order to get the desired 

Example 3: You are in a foreign city for the first time and you get lost. How would you ask a 

bystander for help? 

a) Where is the station, please? 

b) Excuse me. Could you tell me the way to the station? 

c) I wonder if you could help me. How can I get to the station? 

d) Would you mind telling me the way to the station? 

The overwhelming majority of respondents (86.4 %) preferred a direct question followed by 

the polite marker ―please‖. Only 13.6 % would engage a ‗hinting strategy‘ (using Leech‘s 

terminology) and start with an apology ―Excuse me‖, followed by a more indirect question. 

No informant ticked off the ―superpolite‖ questions c) or d). 

Leech (1983) says, ―…we cannot automatically assume the right to engage someone in 

conversation, let alone to use that conversation as a means to our own ends‖ (p. 140). That is 

why tact in English is engaged in the form of ―indirect askings such as I wonder if you 

would...‖ (141). The speaker ―does not feel entitled to ask h[earer] a question, and therefore 

expresses interest in knowing the answer to the question in a manner which suggests that it is 

no part of h[earer]‘s responsibility to provide it‖ (141). 

As for the question in Romany, the most frequent answer was also a). Only a few 

respondents (9 %) stated b). All the informants who answered this question ticked off the 


144

same answers question both in English and Romany, irrespective of the language they knew 

better (Romany or Czech). Thus, it can be concluded that their language behaviour in English 

seems to be highly influenced by Romany. 

norms: 

The reaction to the last example testifies to the maintenance of Romany cultural 

Ex. 4. You visit your Romany friends living in Britain. They serve a meal which you don‘t 

really like. What will you say? 

a) Mmmm… delicious. 

b) Well, it doesn‘t seem to be typical English cuisine, is it? 

c) I think it needs more flavouring. 

d) To be honest: I don‘t particularly like it. 

e) No answer 

Most respondents (64 %) chose the first answer; the remaining 36 % did not provide any 

answer. If a visitor comes to a Romany family, s/he is usually offered something to drink and 

something to eat. Even if the meal is not tasty, the visitor should pay a compliment as an 

expression of respect for the family. 

5. Conclusion 

Aboriginals in Australia and Romanies in Central Europe have preserved a strong ethnic 

identity in spite of the long-time oppression and later attempts of integration exerted on them 

by the powerful white majority. Imposed ethnocentric practices striving for both Aboriginal 

and Romany adaptation and complete integration failed. Today, there are only few speakers of 

Aboriginal languages in Australia. Aboriginals developed their own variety of Australian 

English, which is not fully understood by the whites, as numerous examples from court 

interrogations exemplify (cf., e.g. Eades 2008). Though the mutual obligations as they were 

observed in the past disappeared with the destruction of traditional Aboriginal life, there are 

still certain features in behaviour and communication that are typical of collective cultures. 

Romany people in Central Europe have preserved most of their laws which control their 

behaviour both internally and externally. Individuals who achieved some kind of higher 

education and are seemingly accommodated in the ‗gaje‘ society, still observe the traditional 

ways in their behaviour and communication, testifying thus to their predominantly Romany 

identity. 


145

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http://africa.aeduproject.net/communication/media/Theory_for_teachers 

http://studie.blog.cz/rubrika/jake-maji-jednotlive-skupiny-romu-u-nas-vzajemne-vztahy 


146

www.orientalnitanec.cz 

www.czechkid.cz/si1350.html 

www.sdb.cz/domisal 

CT24 11.11.2008 

Resumé 

Studie uvádí hlavní charakteristické rysy kolektivních a individualistických cultur. Srovnává 

postavení potomků původního obyvatelstva Austrálie a Romů v České republice (střední 

Evropě) a jejich začlenění do majoritní společnosti. Kolonizace Austrálie vedla k téměř 

naprosté likvidaci původních domorodých kultur, včetně jazyků. Postupem času vznikla nová 

varianta australské angličtiny, „Aboriginal English―, která má svoje specifika, jejichņ 

neznalost v řadách majoritní skupiny vede k neporozumění nebo misinterpretaci, někdy 

s fatálními následky (např. soudní jednání). Romové v Evropě si do značné míry udrņeli svou 

integritu, nicméně jazyk se nikterak nevyvíjí a zůstává komunikačním prostředkem 

v domácím prostředí. Úzká svázanost s komunitou se projevuje i u vzdělanějńích Romů při 

komunikaci v jiných jazycích. 


147

Tales from India: Aravind Adiga in the Role of a Travel Guide 

Simona Hevešiová 

University of Constantine the Philosopher, Nitra 

The search for one‘s identity and the process of its (re)construction rank among the 

most frequent discourses in contemporary academic discussions. The concept of identity has 

been scrutinized within a variety of disciplinary areas and from many perspectives, such as 

psychoanalytical, social constructionist or ideological but also in terms of its representation in 

the literary form through the view of essentialists or structuralists. To large extent, the 

preoccupation with identity and the self in the literary milieu has been fuelled by the 

emergence of postcolonial and ethnic writing, which has gained prominence in the last 

decades and became almost fashionable to deal with (at least at Western universities). In fact, 

the explosion of theories and new concepts of identity aiming to investigate the mysterious 

depths of human mind triggered Madan Sarup to mark the ―widespread, pervasive fascination 

with identity‖ as a ―symptom of postmodernity‖ (1996: 28). However, there has been a 

noticeable development within the field that has marked a shifting terrain in the studies. As 

Zygmunt Bauman pointed out, the ―modern ‗problem of identity‘ was how to construct an 

identity and keep it solid and stable, the postmodern ‗problem of identity‘ is primarily how to 

avoid fixation and keep the options open‖ (Bauman 1996: 18). 


LITERATURE 

In general, the self has been exposed to a crucial and dramatic transformation since its 

(re)evolution which has contributed to the alteration of its essential characteristics. It has gone 

from being marked as homogeneous and unified to being viewed as transitory and 

polysemous. The idea of a coherent, centered and integrated identity has disappeared and been 

replaced by its flexible, fragmented and ambiguous counterpart. With the traditional views 

being undermined a new concept regarding identity as ―fabricated, constructed, in process‖ 

(Sarup 1996: 14) has supplanted them. Clearly, the postmodern world is a world of dynamism 

that leads to the reconstitution of the self that no longer possesses stability and fixedness. 

Instead, contradiction, inconsistency and hybridization take their place. In consequence, 

identity becomes a multidimensional space in which both psychological and sociological 

aspects have to be taken into consideration and which give rise to a relational self. It can be 

viewed as a ―mediating concept between the external and the internal, the individual and 

society‖ (ibid.: 28), adjusting the self-definition to the changing relationships with others. 

148

Writers such as Zadie Smith, Hanif Kureishi, Monica Ali, Diran Adebayo, Sunetra 

Gupta, Romesh Gunesekera, Caryl Phillips, Kiran Desai or Jhumpa Lahiri, to name just a few, 

all deal with questions of identity in their novels. As Mária Kińńová points out, ‖the formation 

of the notion of identity and belonging are the key concepts of postcolonial literature 

discussed by McLeod, Spivak, Bhabha and many others‖ (2006: 93). Most of the current 

narratives, from the postcolonial literary spectrum or those that are labeled as postcolonial, are 

set in the multicultural centers of the contemporary metropolis where different cultures 

coexist side by side. The protagonists, often immigrants or their descendants, inhabit a strange 

space in between two cultures, which forces them to renegotiate their identities and come into 

terms with the challenges this position poses to them. Contemporary postcolonial writing 

seems to be so suffused with diverse comments on identity that, from certain perspectives, it 

appears to be stuck in the same place. Despite their unique style, poetics and their ability to 

lure the reader into the inner world of the characters, the stories seem to recycle the same 

notions or problems again and again. The Indian writer Aravind Adiga brings a little bit of 

fresh air into the stale atmosphere. 

Born in Madras in 1974, Adiga has achieved international acclaim with his debut 

novel The White Tiger, which won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2008. Over the course 

of seven nights, Balram Halwai, the ambivalent protagonist of the story, recounts his journey 

from the dark world of servants to the shiny life of successful entrepreneurs. Revealing the 

rotten mechanisms that move Indian society and the omnipresent corruption and amorality, 

Balram himself becomes part of the machinery by murdering his employer. The book, both 

funny and gruesome at the same time, portrays life in India as the author got to know it during 

his life and his travels. Yet as he points out, India has changed tremendously and not all of its 

inhabitants were able to come into terms with these changes. As the writer states: ―[t]he past 

fifty years have seen tumultuous changes in India's society, and these changes – many of 

which are for the better – have overturned the traditional hierarchies, and the old securities of 

life. A lot of poorer Indians are left confused and perplexed by the new India that is being 

formed around them.‖ 51 

What the novel seems to suggest is that there are no securities or fixedness in social 

structures that have been in operation for generations and have determined the shape of Indian 

identity. Balram himself floats easily from one identity to another as he climbs up the social 

ladder and the only distinction that he is willing to accept in relation to India‘s social diversity 

51 http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm?author_number=1552 


149

is the division into the India of Darkness, or as he calls it, the world of small bellies, and the 

India of Light, i.e. the world of big bellies. At the end of the novel Balram has gone a very 

long way and is as far from his origins as he can be, thus eluding any attempt at putting a label 

on him. The author himself attempts to avoid clear identification; in one of the interviews he 

claimed that he does not necessarily see himself as an Indian author: ―As a writer, I don't feel 

tied to any one identity; I'm happy to draw influences from wherever they come.‖ 52 

Adiga‘s second published book Between the Assassinations, which he wrote before 

The White Tiger, discusses identity both on the personal and cultural (or national) level. Most 

of the stories do not open this discourse explicitly, yet the preoccupation with the topic is 

omnipresent and seems to be rooted in the very culture the book refers to. The text itself is 

very elusive in terms of genre identification and structure; in fact, it repudiates any attempt at 

defining it with a single and ultimate tag. The thick volume looks like a novel but it consists 

of separate short stories; it also contains simple maps and other typographical elements that 

refer to the format of a guidebook 53 and masquerade fiction as fact. In terms of style, the 

stories are written in a straightforward way and are devoid of the dense usage of symbolism 

characteristic for short stories. On the other hand, it lacks the profound characterization and 

formal unity typical for novels. Adiga is simply a master of disguise (like some of his 

characters). 

Kittur, the fictional setting of Adiga‘s book, represents a small town vibrant with life 

and energy. The temporal framing of the stories dates from the assassination of Indira Gandhi 

on 31 October 1984 to the assassination of her son Rajiv on 21 May 1991 (hence the title). By 

employing an unusual format for his writing, reminding one of the structure of a guidebook, 

Adiga puts the reader in the role of a tourist who, in Bauman‘s words, ―is a conscious and 

systematic seeker of experience, of a new and different experience, of the experience of 

difference and novelty‖ (Bauman 1996: 29). The gaze of the tourist might be perfunctory, as 

the brief factual descriptions of the town‘s monuments and places of interest suggest; yet 

Adiga forces the recipient to look under the surface of the tourist glamour. The factual 54 

descriptions of various places of interest and short digressions into the town‘s history or its 

linguistic and religious diversity are accompanied by stories of its inhabitants. These stories, 

which are always related to a particular monument or a place in Kittur, reveal another face of 

52 ibid. 

53 The section ‗Contents‘, for example, is structured as an itinerary. 

54 Since Kittur is a fictional town Adiga created for his own purposes, one has to bear in mind that the factual 

parts of the book referring to the town‘s history, social and demographic landscape are fictional as well. The 

author thus creates an illusion (that of a guidebook which is not a guidebook at all) and complicates the 

matter even further by blending the borders between the objective and the subjective. 


150

the town, one which a tourist cannot access normally, and they provide a glimpse into what 

lies beyond the appealing fabrications of tourist machinery. 

At first sight, the town is presented as an ideal tourist destination – it is a place with a 

rich historical background and is inhabited by diverse religious and ethnic communities. As 

the introductory passage of the travel guide informs the reader, ―[g]iven the town‘s richness of 

history and scenic beauty, and diversity of religion, race, and language, a minimum stay of a 

week is recommended‖ (Adiga 2009: 1). The central street of the town, namely Umbrella 

Street, accommodates a pornographic cinema, a manufacturer of beedis, an ice cream shop, an 

English-language film theatre and a Chinese restaurant together with a Ganapati Temple, a 

Roman Catholic suburb, a Hindu suburb and a Muslim area. Temples exist alongside 

mosques, cathedrals and churches, and Hindus live side by side with Muslims and Christians; 

there are the poor and the rich, the masters and the servants, the high castes and the low 

castes. 

Yet what appears as a multicultural and multireligious paradise is in fact a battlefield 

of races, castes, classes and religions fuelled by prejudices and stereotypes. Words like 

‗Brahmin‘, ‗Hoyka‘ or ‗low-caste‘ are thrown into people‘s faces as the worst offence. The 

history of the town, as the book informs us, has been marked by constant religious unrests and 

riots, violated treaties and conflicts, be it among the Arabs, the Portuguese or Mohammedans 

to name just a few. The town was ruled and inhabited by so many different groups of people 

that it failed to achieve a unified common identity that would embrace its diversity. The 

unrests and the violations of the past are obviously recast into the present and become the 

unofficial trademark of the town, where it has gone so far that real-estate transactions 

masquerade as religious riots (ibid.: 162). 

As far as the town‘s demographic diversity is concerned, there are clear rules in 

operation – boundaries that are not to be crossed and which prevent different groups from 

mingling. Identifying with one group may automatically lead to repudiation from certain 

social and professional spheres as the opening sentence of the introductory story suggests. 

Obviously, it outlines Kittur‘s problems springing from its cultural and religious diversity and 

unmasks the real face of the town. Moreover, the vast majority of characters in the stories are 

introduced to the reader in terms of their caste, religious denomination or social status (some 

of them even remain nameless) as if these labels would imply the existence of fixed and solid 

identities. Unmistakably, they are supposed to facilitate mutual contacts and communication 

as they evidently outline the territories in which they operate. But the stories continue to 


151

demonstrate that these labels and the characteristics that are attached to them are completely 

meaningless and imaginary. Let me mention a few examples. 

The protagonist of the first story is Ziauddin, a small Muslim boy, who has 

miraculously found employment in the local tea-and-samosa shop despite the fact that ―[n]one 

of the shopkeepers near the railway station would hire a Muslim‖ (ibid.: 3). The first sentence 

uttered by the boy when addressing his future employer is an evident statement of self- 

identification. Ziauddin‘s ―I am a Muslim, sir‖ (ibid.) clearly implies that the boy associates 

his religious denomination with some personal qualities and characteristics (evidently positive 

ones) and expects others to recognize them as well. Two pages later, however, the boy 

announces vehemently that he is Pathan, which is obviously better than being a Muslim and 

even better than being a Hindu. Even at his age, Ziauddin understands that belonging to a 

certain group is far more beneficial than being a member of some other so he assumes those 

religious or ethnic identities that suit him best in a given situation. But the matter is 

complicated even further when one of the locals starts claiming that ―Pathans are white- 

skinned, like Imran Khan,‖ and the boy is ―as black as an African‖ (ibid.: 7). 

The rich and spoilt boy Shankara, the hero of another story, faces similar problems as 

Ziauddin. 55 Being born half-Brahmin and half-Hoyka, Shankara finds himself in a conflicting 

position in between two different castes which leads to a dramatic turn of events. Shankara, 

feeling that the hated chemistry professor humiliates him because of his origin, decides to 

explode a bomb in the classroom. This act of violence, meant as a form of protest, represents 

Shankara‘s attempt to silence his own rage and helplessness, yet it also produces an 

atmosphere of fear and inflames further anger and suspicions. The world that the boy lives in 

is a world of contradictions. Among his Hoyka relatives, Shankara is viewed as their superior 

since he is half-Brahmin, i.e. he belongs to a higher caste. Among Brahmins, he is looked 

down upon because of his Hoyka heritage that degrades his social position despite the fact 

that he comes from a rich family. The very family is divided by an impenetrable boundary 

produced by the caste system and Shankara decides to fight against it. 

I have burst a bomb to end the 5,000-year-old caste system that still operates in our 

country. I have burst a bomb to show that no man should be judged, as I have been, 

merely by the accident of his birth. (ibid.: 57) 

55 Like Ziauddin who adopts identities as it suits him, Shankara has also been willing to change his denomination 

and become a Christian since there are no castes among them. 


152

This pathetic message that the boy addresses to the police in an imaginary interview 

sharply contrasts with his own behaviour. Shankara is not only a victim of prejudices and 

cultural bias; he himself acts according to them (although unconsciously). He looks down 

upon his chauffeur and his relatives in the same way he is discriminated for his own 

background, which only documents how deeply rooted the notions of caste are in Indian 

society. As the boy gets involved with caste business more intensely (by attending some 

rallies), a world of absurdity is uncovered before him. As one professor informs him, the 

Hoyka caste, which already belongs to the lower castes, is further subdivided into seven sub- 

castes that are all governed by their own special principles. It is practically impossible to 

follow all of them and behave appropriately in every situation. 

Adiga makes it clear that caste politics only create unnecessary subdivisions and 

artificial borders between people and support the discords in society. They only lead to further 

problems and splits which demarcate dangerous territories; and no one knows how to navigate 

in them. At one point Shankara is proud to be half-Brahmin and dismisses Hoykas, only to 

change his opinion few hours later, and ends up absolutely confused. ―[He] felt ashamed to be 

a Hindu; what a repulsive thing, this caste system that his ancestors had devised. But at the 

same time he was annoyed with Daryl D‘Souza. Who was this man to lecture him on caste? 

How dare the Christians do this? Hadn‘t they been Hindus too, at some point?‖ (ibid.: 71). 

Obviously, once you get involved in the absurd caste politics there is no way out of this 

carousel. 

I have the anxiety and fear of the Brahmin, and I have the tendency to act without 

thinking like Hoyka. In me the worst of both has fused and produced this monstrosity 

which is my personality‖ (ibid.: 74). ―He was in a secret caste – a caste of Brahmo- 

Hoykas, of which he had found only one representative so far, himself, and which put 

him apart from all the other castes of humankind. (ibid.: 75) 

Unlike the young generation that is able to adapt to new circumstances, to a certain 

extent at least, the 50-year old Jayamma is stuck in a world of the past where stable rules were 

in operation; everybody having a clearly assigned role and position within society. Jayamma, 

working as a cook in the household of a Christian advocate, is a proud ―high-born Brahmin 

woman‖ (ibid.: 233). She clings to this mantra that represent all the certainties she has, but is 

unable (or unwilling) to acknowledge the transformations that are taking place all around her. 

Throughout the story she keeps asking: ―What kind of era is this when Brahmins bring lower- 


153

caste girls into their households? Where have the rules of caste and religion fallen today 

[…]?‖ (ibid.: 236). Feeling punished for being ―stuck among Christians and meat-eaters in 

this strange town‖ (ibid.: 232), Jayamma holds on to the stereotyped worldview. She does not 

change her opinion even after she finds out that the Hoyka girl she despised is in fact a lonely 

little girl and the Brahmin boy that she cared for behaves like a spoilt prat. 

The concept of identity presenting it as a rigid, unchanging entity simply does not 

work for Shankara, Ziauddin and the other characters in the book. What Adiga‘s narrative 

suggests about identity does definitely correspond with current trends and theories in the field 

since they both emphasize the elusiveness of identity and the impossibility to fix it. Of course, 

Adiga‘s portrayal of this matter is situated in more or less absurd and even (tragi)comic 

circumstances, but the essence of the problem remains the same, i.e. it is impossible to fix 

identity in a particular place and time and keep it solid forever whether on the personal or on 

the national level. India, presented through the microcosm of Kittur, seems to be as intangible 

as its inhabitants. The book is flooded with numerable references to various religious 

denominations, caste divisions or nationalities. For a non-insider it is fairly difficult to 

orientate within the intricate Indian system of castes and religious denominations which 

determine the social status of the members of these groups respectively. Moreover, the 

linguistic variety of the town working in accord with the caste and religious divisions are 

remindful of the chaotic organization of Babel. 

In conclusion, Between the Assassinations abounds in foreboding images and 

portrayals. There seems to be no sense of a collective self that would unite the town and its 

diversified inhabitants; the majority of the characters are egoistic individuals who are 

interested solely in their lives, not realizing that without some unity no positive change can be 

achieved. Adiga‘s book, then, does not provide a very optimistic portrayal of the multi- 

layered society; the stories depicting people struggling with irreversible poverty, corruption 

and with an unendurably stratified environment imply that there is a dark ominous cloud 

hanging over India like the sword of Damocles. 

Bibliography 

ADIGA, Aravind (2009). Between the Assassinations. London: Atlantic Books. 

BAUMAN, Zygmunt (1996). From Pilgrim to Tourist – or a Short History of Identity. In 

Stuart Hall and Paul du Gay (Eds.), (2005). Questions of Cultural Identity (18 – 36). 

London/Thousand Oaks/New Delhi: Sage Publications. 

http://www.nyu.edu/classes/bkg/tourist/Baumann-pilgrim-tourist.pdf 


154

KIŃŃOVÁ, Mária (2006). The Search for Identity in Salman Rushdie‘s Midnight‟s Children. 

In Janka Kańčáková and Dalibor Mikuláń (Eds.), Emigration to the English Speaking 

World (93 – 103). Ruņomberok: Catholic University. 

SARUP, Madan (1996). Identity, Culture and the Postmodern World. Georgia: University of 

Georgia Press. 

Interview. Retrieved from http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/ 

index.cfm?author_number=1552 

Resumé 

Dej druhej knihy indického spisovateľa Aravinda Adigu je zasadený do malého imaginárneho 

indického mesta Kittur a odohráva sa v období medzi atentátmi na Indiru Gándhiovú v roku 

1984 a jej syna Rádņíva v roku 1991. Netradičný formát knihy, ńtruktúrou pripomínajúci 

turistického sprievodcu, poskytuje autorovi jedinečnú príleņitosť na zobrazenie sociálneho 

pozadia krajiny vo fiktívnom i skutočnom rozmere. Prelínanie objektívneho a subjektívneho 

naratívneho módu umoņňuje autorovi preniknúť pod povrchný pohľad turistu a tak pred 

čitateľom odkrýva pestrý portrét krajiny naprieč kastami, náboņenstvami a povolaniami. 

Jednotlivé príbehy tak odhaľujú závaņné morálne dilemy indického subkontinentu, no 

zároveň odkazujú na princíp ľudskosti, ktorý sa vinie celou zbierkou ako nosný motív. 


155


(Re)Creating Ethnic Identity in American Writing 

Roberto G. Fernández: Raining Backwards 

Emília Janecová 


The United States has been acknowledged as a nation of nations for quite some time 

and diversity itself has always been understood as the paradigm of America. However, its 

ethnic groups have been, for a long period, underrepresented and underrated in literary 

histories and anthologies. In the 1950s or 1960s it would probably be very difficult to find any 

writing of ethnic authors to such an extent, as there is nowadays. 

Only a few decades ago this type of literature was considered to be a serious matter 

only by the cultural anthropologists. The attention of literary studies and literary criticism 

appeared later when the human and civil rights movement of ethnic minorities took place in 

the late 1960s and 1970s. This brought not only a change to the political situation, but also to 

the understanding and overview of the issues of race, ethnicity, gender and belonging. 

Nowadays, various ethnic writers, often described as literary immigrants responding to 

their experience in the United States of America, are coming to be considered as mainstream 

authors. The new paradigm of the third millennium, when various ethnic groups try to 

preserve their own identity through various types of arts, undoubtedly requires not only a new 

approach within cultural, political and social studies, but also in literary science and criticism. 

As Igor Maver stated in the volume of essays Ethnic Literature and Culture in the U.S.A, 

Canada and Australia, ―the monolithic concept of the ―Americanness‖ of American literature 

is a theme of the past.‖ (Maver 1996: 10) and the growth of the amount of literary works and 

recent studies in the field of ethnic writing ―points to the convergence in the critical 

approaches to the literatures of the New World‖ (ibid.). They can be seen as the way to 

―decentralization, decanonization and demarginalization in literature and literary criticism, in 

which there is no centre and no margin left, at least it would seem‖ (ibid.). 

2. American Identity – Melting Pot or Salad Bowl? 


LITERATURE 

According to Samuel P. Huntington (2004), Americans have assigned their national 

identity with significant prestige, which differentiates them from other nations. Obviously, the 

156

prestige of American identity has changed throughout history – from the eighteenth century, 

when the British settlers began to consider themselves not only as inhabitants of separate 

colonies, but also as members of the future United States of America, to adopting the idea of 

American identity in the nineteenth century, and the growth of American nationalism in the 

first half of the twentieth century. 

Throughout the history of the USA, the notion of American identity has variously 

been described in terms of race, ethnicity, religion and various beliefs or values. As early as 

1751, Benjamin Franklin commented upon the inflow of German immigrants into the State of 

Pennsylvania: 

And since Detachements from Britain sent to America, will have their Places at Home 

so soon supply‗d and increase so largely here; why should the Palatine Boors be 

suffered to swarm into our Settlements, and by herding together establish their 

Language and Manners, to the Exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded 

by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to 

Germanize us instead of our Anglyfying them, and will never adopt our Language or 

Customs, any more than they can acquire our Complexion. (Labaree 1961: 234) 

On the other hand, these newcomers were later on perceived as industrious, law- 

abiding, and skilful farmers, improving the land and stimulating economic growth, and when 

the first national standard for naturalised citizenship was adopted by Congress in 1790, no 

ethnic or religious limits were set. The only required criteria were two years of residence, and 

a promise to uphold the constitution. In other words, it demanded only the decision to become 

‗American‗. 

The consequent melting pot character of American identity led to assimilating 

tendencies. On the other hand, the increasing will of ethnic groups to preserve their 

characteristics has been shaping this character, firstly in the pluralism spanning the racial, 

religious and ethnic differences, and later in the colourful transnational model of an America 

retaining distinctiveness, enriching the country as such. 

Nowadays, America is understood as a multicultural, multiethnic and multiracial 

entity and previously defined overviews of American identity based on values of Anglo- 

Saxon origin cannot be retained. Coming back to Franklin‘s statement from the middle of the 

eighteenth century, it is remarkable that, previously, one of the most numerous sections of the 

American population – the descendants of German immigrants – is nowadays one of the most 


157

invisible, inaudible and almost unnoticeable ethnic groups (Binder and Breining 1995). 

However, present American society is a result of the coexistence and reciprocal influence of 

so many ethnic groups that questioning identity in older-fashioned terms is unrealistic. The 

previous notion of the Melting Pot Society is being replaced by the American Salad Bowl, 

referring to a presence of various elements which do not merge together into a homogenous 

cultural entity, but, on the contrary, try to preserve their own distinct qualities. 

3. Ethnicity, Ethnic Identity and its Representation in American Writing 

Defining American identity as such, and its portrayal in literature, is an increasingly 

difficult matter, and the questioning of ethnicity and ethnic identity is still taken into 

consideration in literary studies and literary criticism. 

The terms ethnicity and ethnic group, originating from the Greek word ethnos, were 

originally used in the meaning of nation. The related form ethnic (derived from ethnikos), 

which appeared in the fourteenth century, was used to assign a pagan, heathen, being other, 

and later in the nineteenth century acquired the context of being other to the nation. 

According to the Harvard Encyclopedia of Ethnic Groups, ethnicity is a ―pervasive theme in 

all American literature whether the shape of ethnicity as ancestry or ethnicity as diversity‖ 

(Jioubu 1980: 649). It is usually represented by a group of people with a shared culture, 

traditions, language and sense of common cultural identity or religion. In modern cultural 

studies, ethnic identity is a belief of belonging to an ethnic group based on shared inherited 

values, traditions and opinions. Maver points out that ethnic identity is nowadays often 

characterised as ―emotional experience describing primarily a feeling of historical or cultural 

belonging to a group, although it should be stressed that ethnic identity is far from being 

uniform and cannot be stereotyped‖ (Maver 1996: 12). In addition, it is important to 

understand that ethnic identity can no longer be viewed as something which a person simply 

has in its full extent. The ethnic identity of the new generation is more understood as 

a person‘s conscious affiliation to a group with which one not only shares the ethnicity as 

defined above, but is aware of the fact and is willing to preserve it (Huntington 2004). 

There is no other country more characterised by the presence of various different 

ethnic groups, and the abovementioned results and issues relating to their reciprocal influence, 

as today‘s United States. Strictly defining the concept of ethnic writing is thus an even more 

ambiguous and complicated issue. In current literary studies, two partial approaches to this 

question can be described. Firstly, ethnic writing is understood as writing using an ethnic 

setting, or portraying ethnic experience. Secondly, as it is often argued, it should be a literary 


158

work written by authors who have had the ethnic experience themselves. In this article we 

prefer the combination of both of the abovementioned theses, and ethnic writing is understood 

as a collection of writings of immigrants, or the descendants of immigrants, for which the host 

country happened to be their new homeland. The reasons and results of the immigration are 

often portrayed in their works, trying to represent the untold or withheld individual or 

collective experience. In these works, the binary opposition centre – periphery is often 

deconstructed, since groups, topics or issues from what was a long time considered to be 

periphery are intentionally brought to the centre of attention. 

The specific socio-cultural background of ethnic writing is reflected in the form of 

language the authors use, the topics they choose, and the perspective from which they 

perceive the world around. Within the literary works, the authors often return to their 

countries of origin or monitor the stories of fictional characters living between two cultural 

environments, but some writers try to avoid explicit reflecting of their origin and instead 

portray issues of religious co-equality, or equality between men and women. 

Although the range of themes is quite wide, significant common features or even 

stereotypes can often be recognised. Writers usually choose as a protagonist a person on the 

edge, an outsider in a complicated social situation passed on from generation to generation, or 

a young rebel questioning the clichés about natives and immigrants. 

Thanks to the special position between two or more cultures, ethnic writing naturally 

reflects intercultural confrontation. This is presented in the main aspects portrayed within the 

works, such as mother tongue, individual or national memory, historiographic representation, 

belonging to the ethnic or cultural group or reconstruction of one‘s identity. In present 

American writing, the abovementioned notions are not presented explicitly, but are hidden in 

a complicated web of composed and significantly processed motifs, language variations and 

styles. 

Because of the wide variety of ethnic writers, describing American Ethnic Writing 

would require a more detailed analysis. Remarkable works by contemporary African- 

American, Arab-American, Asian-American, Cuban-American, Italian-American, Jewish- 

American, Mexican-American, Native American and Puerto Rican writers undoubtedly call 

for individual exploration. Each of them is unique, specific and peculiar, thus judging them as 

one complex could bring many disadvantages. Denomination is important as well. We are 

often concerned with various types of labelling of ethnic writers. For us, it is only 

denomination, for them a question of belonging. As the Cuban-American writer Roberto G. 

Fernández emphasises: ―I am a Cuban-American writer. If you would say that, for example, I 


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am Hispanic, it denies me my whole Cuban Culture. Hispanic may be – eighty or a hundred 

years from now – valid term, when there is some sort of group consciousness about being 

Hispanic. But right now I don‘t like to use it because it denies what I am! Everything that I 

was taught to retain by my parents this term takes away from me – my literature, culture, the 

history I learned as a child when I went to school in Cuba‖ (Binder and Breinig 1995: 17). 

4. (Re) Creating Ethnic Identity in Roberto G. Fernández‟s Raining Backwards 

In order to present the above-mentioned thesis we have decided to introduce the 

remarkable literary work of the contemporary Cuban-American writer Roberto G. Fernández, 

Raining Backwards, which won acclaim because of its unique, grotesque satirisation of 

Cuban-American identity, and its appeal to all types and generations of American readers. 

Fernández represents the Cuban-American avant-garde. In his literary works he uses 

pastiche and parody through which he serves the reader with the motifs of individual history 

and both personal and collective identity in terms of diaspora and displacement. All his works 

point out the issues emerging from being a member of two different worlds – traditional 

Cuba, and free and independent America. Questioning the identity of his characters, satirising 

both the unnatural attempts to assimilate and the inflexible efforts to be ―an American‖, using 

hybrid language and linguistic humour based on these forms, Fernández has gained the 

attention of many readers even in Europe. 

Raining Backwards is considered to be one of the most significant works of Cuban- 

American writing. New extravagant types of characters are set into an absurd environment 

portrayed through wordplay and the uniquely humorous narrative describes the tragicomic 

history of Cuban immigrants in Miami. In the story of one family and all the Cuban, 

American or Cuban-American people surrounding them, the absurdity of value preservation is 

questioned. Cuban immigrants are satirised as they are desperately trying to create a modified 

notion of what used to be their home – the ―new Havana‖. 

The novel is divided into two parts, Raining Backwards and Tatiana. The first part 

introduces the characters using all the clichés presented by the media. The older characters are 

portrayed as strictly religious, always telling stories of ―good old Cuba‖, wishing to be able to 

go back and die in their homeland. The younger ones are affected by both their home 

environment and their American surroundings. Keith Rodriguez is arrested for smuggling 

cocaine from Colombia, then escapes from jail and forms a revolutionary group in the 

Everglades. His lovesick sister Connie, a cheerleader, hangs herself and is canonised by their 

brother Quinn, who becomes the pope of a religion that sweeps the world and causes the 


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U.S.S.R. to invade Alaska. The second part of the book is focused on old Manny, who loses 

his sight. Manny wants to return to Cuba at least once, even though he can‘t see it any more. 

Walking on the beach with his granddaughter he asks: ―Tatiana, which way is Cuba?‖ 

―Cuba?‖ she answers bewildered. ―Yes, which way is Cuba from this beach? I want you to 

turn me in that direction. I want to breathe that air‖ (Fernández 1988: 213). This undoubtedly 

represents one‘s melancholic desire to die in the country where one was born. But Tatiana‘s 

response confirms an immigrant‘s greatest fear: the unavoidable elimination of a common 

past. ―Why grandpa? Cuba is a restaurant and the air there stinks. It smells like onions and 

grease. It is just fattening‖ (ibid.). Many parodic situations throughout the book represent the 

continuous feeling of alienation of the younger generation towards the old homeland. With 

the passing of time, the Cuban exiles become assimilated into the majority American culture 

that surrounds them. The disruption of Cuban traditions is represented by various extreme 

events, for example the prohibition of the use of the Spanish language by the Anglo-Saxon 

terrorist group The Tongue Brigade. 

Fernández plays with language on many levels. Even on the level of theme, he often 

mentions the prohibition of the use of Spanish, which reflects the fact that the educational and 

administrative systems operate only in English, which causes troubles not for the young, but 

for the older generation. Trying to reflect the mixed environment, his principal method of 

accurate portrayal is word play and the use of mixed language, often with entertaining mixed 

translation puns such as ―Vacillation‖ (vacilón – Having fun), ―The Good Night‖ (La Noche 

Buena – Christmas Eve), the reference to the city in Cuba, ―Cienfuegos‖ as the ―City of One 

Hundred Fires‖. These are often almost non-understandable for a monolingual English- 

speaking reader; explanation can be found in the opening quote by Gustavo Pérez Firmat, 

which states: ―The fact that I am writing to you in English already falsifies what I wanted to 

tell you. My subject: how to explain to you that I don't belong to English though I belong 

nowhere else, if not here in English‖ (Fernández 1988: 5). This proclamation is applied in the 

whole book and often it seems that the writer is intentionally trying to confuse us. 

The novel in question is interesting from the point of view of structure as well. It has a 

mosaic form, with plenty of characters and short episodical stories, which helps to capture the 

chaos in interaction of the Cuban ethnic group and its American surroundings. As another tool 

to represent the mixture and reciprocal influence and interdigitation of two cultures, numerous 

allusions to American popular culture and also allusions to Cuban-specific realia are 

mentioned. 


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The novel has undoubtedly a lot to offer in the analysis of Cuban-Americans in the 

United States, their perception by Americans and their self-perception. Capturing the 

predicament of the Cuban exile, it reflects Fernández‘s own experience and provides valuable 

insight into various matters emerging from the notion of ethnic identity in today‘s world. 

Bibliography 

BINDER, Wolfgang, and Helmbrecht BREINIG (1995). American Contradictions. London: 

University Press of New England. 

FERNÁNDEZ, Roberto G. (1988). Raining Backwards. Houston: Arte Publico Press. 

HEVEŃIOVÁ, Simona, Mária KIŃŃOVÁ, and Alena SMIEŃKOVÁ (2008). Multicultural 

Awareness. Reading Ethnic Writing. Nitra: FF UKF. 

HUNTINGTON, Samuel P. (1997). The Clash of Civilisations. New York: Touchstone. 

HUNTINGTON, Samuel P. (2004). Who Are We? – The Challenges to America‟s National 

Identity. New York: Simon and Schuster. 

JIOUBU, Robert M. (1980). Harvard Encyclopedia of Ethnic Groups. Albany: State 

University of New York Press. 

LABAREE, Leonard W. (1961). Observations Concerning the Increase and Peopling of 

Countries. New Haven: Yale University Press. 

MAVER, Igor (1996). Ethnic Literature and Culture in the USA, Canada and Australia. 

Frankfurt am Mein: Peter Lang. 

Resumé 

Na otázky týkajúce sa etnickej identity reaguje v posledných desaťročiach svetová literatúra 

rozmanitými spôsobmi. V nańom článku sme sústredili na americkú etnickú literatúru a snaņili 

sme sa v ńirńích súvislostiach poskytnúť ucelenejńí pohľad na meniaci sa spôsob jej 

zobrazovania v americkej próze. Zaoberali sme sa najmä charakteristickými prvkami 

americkej etnickej prózy, a to v súvislosti s uvedomovaním si, stotoņnením sa a následne 

s reflexiou etnickej identity v americkej multikultúrnej spoločnosti, pričom náhľad na zmenu 

v spôsobe zobrazovania sme prezentovali na príkladoch z diela kubánsko-amerického 

spisovateľa Roberta G. Fernándeza Raining Backwards. 


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Chinese Prayers and American Heaven – Cultural Struggles in 

Yiyun Li’s A Thousand Years of Good Prayers 


Mária Kiššová 


Culture and identity likely belong among the most discussed concepts nowadays in the 

humanities. Even a brief look at the titles of the scholarly papers presented at various 

colloquia and conferences in recent years supports the trend. In literary studies the terms are 

mainly applied in two ways. First, they are the key terms in the framework of a theoretical 

approach towards texts, i.e. they are used within literary theory which may scrutinize either 

any literary text, including texts with subtle cultural references. Secondly, the words ‗culture‘ 

and ‗identity‘ are used in the discourse about the content of a literary work per se as modern 

literature in English portrays various forms of cultural encounters and clashes resulting from 

globalization and migration, and reflects on the cultural changes happening worldwide. We 

are convinced that it is impossible for a literary scholar to discuss 21 st century literature (not 

only in English) and ignore the terms ‗culture‘ and/or ‗identity‘. 


LITERATURE 

Our time is characterised by a deep interest in other cultures, a fact fuelled by the 

possibilities of travel and media, such as magazines, newspapers, TV and especially Internet 

communication. As a result of this, two distinct standpoints might be observed and they are 

often reflected in literary works. Besides the attempts to strengthen cultural tolerance and 

understanding – cultural difference viewed as a positive feature bringing enrichment, it may 

also be perceived negatively, as a threat and danger. Having said that, it is literature that 

―depicts‖ what is going on, though admittedly, it may become very political, sometimes even 

propagandistic when portraying different cultures which at the same time represent two 

different political systems. However, we do not suggest approaching literature just as an 

account of social changes, although that perspective may also be interesting. Our aim is to 

show how literary qualities and literariness of a specific text create and form what we 

understand as culture, identity and cultural identity. The following study discusses the 

collection A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2006) by the Chinese American Yiyun Li, an 

author praised for her short stories which were published in the US, but which reflect and 

depict the radical changes within modern Chinese society. We approach the collection 

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analytically, scrutinizing the ways in which the author observes identity crises in various 

forms of dissatisfaction with the self, conditioned culturally by one‘s distinct ethnicity or 

sexuality. Focusing on specific cultural struggles, we formulate how the idea of cultural 

identity is expressed and we ask if a specific notion or version of cultural identity may be 

abstracted from Yiyun Li‘s fiction and what literary attributes are used to achieve this. 

2. Culture, Identity and Cultural Identity 

An extensive overuse of the terms ‗culture‘ and ‗identity‘ – both in modern literary 

and cultural studies – conditions precise definitions and characterizations of the terms if the 

concepts applied to a literary text are not to be misused. Countless studies have been devoted 

to the modern and past usage of the terms (in the bibliography we refer for instance to Maria 

Gabriela Rebok‘s study on cultural identity in the postmodern world (1998), the paper What Is 

Identity by James D. Fearon commenting on the general usage of the term identity (1999), or 

Peter Prevos‘ essay Cultural Identity (2004)). Culture was s described as ―one of the two or 

three most complicated words in the English language‖ by Raymond Williams (1976: 76, 

quoted in Watkins 2005: 7). Similar problems occur when writing about identity. Terms such 

as national, regional, political, religious and sexual identity are often used very vaguely. 

James Fearon observes that ―[o]ur present idea of identity is a fairly recent social construct, 

and a rather complicated one at that. Even though everyone knows how to use the word 

properly in everyday discourse, it proves quite difficult to give a short and adequate summary 

statement that captures the range of its present meanings‖ (1999: 2). Simona Heveńiová also 

states that in the postmodern world ―identity becomes a multidimensional space in which both 

psychological and sociological aspects have to be taken into consideration, giving rise to a 

relational self‖ (2006: 51). And Peter Prevos suggests that ―Deconstruction of the aspects of 

the Web of Identity results in the recognition that identity is a fluid concept. Postmodern 

recognition of the instability of self, of openness in the choosing of identities, reduces identity 

to a flux‖ (ibid.: 3). 

The combination of culture and identity in the quest for cultural identity might 

essentially suggest an even more complicated construct. For instance, Maryem Ayan 

formulates the notion of cultural identity as ―the feeling of identity of a group or culture, or of 

an individual as far as she/he is influenced by her/his belonging to a group or culture. The 

awareness of cultural identity is possible only via the confrontation with other cultures 

because of the differences between the unshared and shared cultural identity.‖ (2009: 61) It 

seems evident that the terms ‗identity‘ and ‗culture‘ and consequently ‗cultural identity‘ are 


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fluid. It might be tempting to suggest that any analysis based on the terms may get lost in the 

terminological labyrinth. An obvious question then arises: what contribution does the analysis 

bring if there is no definite answer as to what culture, identity or cultural identity mean? 

However, there are a few aspects which convince us that such a discussion is needed. First of 

all, precisely because the notions are so abstract and general, literary analyses of specific texts 

may show what these concepts mean in practice, i.e. in what literary contexts are they used 

and how do we construct them through reading literary texts. Also, due to this fact there is a 

great symbiosis between culture and literature today, and an analysis of a literary text which 

focuses on intercultural relations may help to understand how individual concepts may be 

defined or formulated. 

3. Yiyun Li‟s Fiction 

A Chinese American, Yiyun Li was 23 when she came to the US in 1996 – at the time 

without the merest thought of becoming one of the most influential short-story writers in 

English. A Beijing native born in 1972, Yiyun Li was only four when Mao died and the 

Cultural Revolution ended. She saw the turmoil – including the executions – of the late 70s 

and 80s, times often captured in her fiction as the main setting or as a provoking parallel to 

the more recent society. Her debut short-story collection A Thousand Years of Good Prayers 

(2006) has been awarded several prizes including the Guardian First Book Award, the Frank 

O‟Connor International Short Story Award and PEN/Hemingway Award, and was shortlisted 

for the Kiriyama Prize and the Orange Award for New Writers. The collection depicts life in 

the rapidly changing society of modern China and Li‘s characters frequently embody the 

cultural struggles between what is generally thought of as the characteristics representing the 

West (individual rights, political freedom, democracy) and China (the Communist regime). 

Many of her characters are migrants who either have to flee China because of persecution or 

they willingly decide to move to get freedom and establish their identity, which they cannot 

do at home. The stories in the collection may be divided either according to the setting (China 

or the US) or to an extent according to the East-West (China – the US) dichotomy. The first 

category includes stories about the social changes within Chinese society happening as a 

result of its political development (Extra, After a Life, The Arrangement and Persimmons) and 

will not be mentioned as they do not offer explicit cultural encounters. The second one 

includes Immortality and Death Is Not a Bad Joke If Told the Right Way, set in China and 

containing some minor remarks on Western culture. Other stories in the collection – Love in 

the Marketplace and Son set in China, and Princess of Nebraska and A Thousand Years of 


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Good Prayers set in the US – have numerous and significant references to cultural difference 

and identity and bring a detailed picture of cultural struggles. 

3.1. Cultural Struggles in Immortality and Death Is Not a Bad Joke If Told the Right Way 

In Immortality, there are three cultures (‗culture‘ as in Mitchell‘s Way of Life, 14) 

depicted. First, there is the traditional culture of the Chinese past, threatened from two sides 

by the political system of present dictatorship (the threat within) and by Western culture (the 

threat from outside). How Chinese traditions are in ruins, symbolically and literally, is shown 

in the decline of the Great Papas – boys taken from their families in order to serve the 

emperor – possessing traditionally a very high social status in society. As the modern 

government cannot take care of them, they must turn themselves into business artefacts to 

earn their living. Once a culturally rooted phenomenon, now Great Papas paradoxically 

depend on their supposed ideological enemy. They do not represent live culture any more, the 

past way of life has disappeared; there is no other function in the society for them except of 

being the objects of stares. The modern governing power does not care for the individuals, it 

even subverts the concept of individualism and uniqueness; an ―ordinary man‖ is approached 

only within the mass and ―I‖ changes into ―we‖. As in other stories in the collection, in 

Immortality the differences between cultures are seen through the concepts of freedom and 

liberties; thus, a despotic dictatorial regime at home is a bigger threat to an everyday man than 

the Western cultural influence. The foreign culture threatens the traditional values in terms of 

bringing commerce, new brands and products which stand for the free market and liberal 

society: ―Now we have Sony & Panasonic; we have Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson‖ 

(60). However, the dictatorship at home is a threat to life, to mere existence, and is not a 

matter of some new products in the shops: ―Mouth to mouth the rumours travel, how under 

his reign fifty million people have died from famine and political persecution. But if you 

looked at the number closely, you would realize it is far less than what the dictator was once 

willing to sacrifice to American nuclear bombs. So what is all the fuss about?‖ (60). 

In Death Is Not a Bad Joke If Told the Right Way politics is implemented into the folk 

culture. It appears here in a simple word game for children who do not know the actual 

meaning and context: ―four girls are jumping rope, chanting a song I have never heard before: 

―One two three four five. Let‘s go hunt the tiger. The tiger does not eat man. The tiger only 

eats Truman.‖ It will be years later when I realize that the Truman they are singing about was 

the American president during the Korean War, so in the winter of 1979, the song makes little 

sense to me.‖ (148) What is more, political manipulation turns traditional values and social 


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structures upside down. The culture of a nation is not cultivated within a family as its place 

has been taken by a party with its structure of power and dominance. Unsurprisingly, 

migration is often the only way out. However, people migrate with despair, knowing what 

they had left behind is their culture, their ―real‖ place. America in Death Is Not a Bad Joke If 

Told the Right Way is not the country of dreams but a country of the future full of melancholic 

memories: ―In four years, my favourite actress, Chen Chong, will finish her table-waiting 

career and start as Joan Chen in Hollywood, an actress and a director, her smile still pretty as I 

remember, though she will never again be the sixteen-year-old on our wall‖ (170). ―In five 

more years, I will be in America, sitting in my small and humid apartment in a Midwest town, 

reading my father‘s letter about Mr. Pang‘s death, knowing that for the last sixteen years of 

life, he has never missed one day of work, sealing envelopes with patience‖ (170). 

3.2. Disillusionment and Hopes of the West – Love in the Marketplace and Son 

Sansan, a protagonist of Love in the Marketplace, is a 32-year-old English teacher at 

the Educators‘ School abandoned by her boyfriend Tu, who left for America ten years ago. It 

was Sansan who came with a plan that Tu – being an excellent student – would apply to an 

American graduate school and would help Min, Sansan‘s friend, out of China through a false 

marriage. As it happened, Tu stays with Min and disappointed Sansan is left with her pupils. 

Playing a cult American movie Casablanca for her students repeatedly, Sansan has become 

Miss Casablanca for them, a sentimental abandoned spinster. Casablanca – a celebration of 

freedom, sacrifice and love – means different things for different people in the story. For 

students, it is ―the first real American movie they have watched, without Chinese dubbing or 

subtitles‖ (92), a cultural import which soon becomes a boring nuisance. They even make fun 

of it spotting the imperfections of the movie in the Paris scene. For Sansan, however, the film 

has obvious sentimental value as she discovered it in the year when Tu sent a letter about his 

decision not to marry her. Interestingly, it is not the Chinese culture but some English novels 

(besides re-reading English novels from her college years, she also mentions a scene from 

Women in Love) and the American movie which make her life bearable. It is the foreign 

culture which gives her shelter and Sansan does not reject it as the culture which stole her 

love. On the contrary, it is the politics at home which she blames. 

In Son, a 33-year-old Han comes from the US to visit his mother living in China. 

Having spent ten years abroad, he seems to be a naturalized American, sure of his ultimate 

knowledge of life. Han‘s submissive mother, ―a parrot to his father‖ (113) is a pure 

embarrassment for him. Coming back he expects she would haunt him with matchmaking, 


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and it is a big surprise for him when she gives him a gold cross instead. The gift is an initial 

impulse leading to Han‘s revolting reactions, a starting point for his revenge. At thirteen, Han 

fell in love for the first time and got the Bible from his boyfriend as a birthday present, ―the 

most precious gift he had ever got.‖ (119) Han‘s world of youth – with its double secrecy of 

forbidden love between boys and similarly forbidden love for god – was destroyed when his 

mother burnt the Bible. He accuses her of frailty commenting ironically on Christianity and 

Communism, both representing dogmatic beliefs of people weak to rely on themselves for 

Han: ―Maybe someday you will even come up with the old conclusion that God and Marx are 

the same.‖ (118) He considers his parents‘ faith in anything superficial and shallow: ―It was 

the communist god you both worshipped. And now Baba is gone, and you‘ve got yourself a 

new god to please‖ (120). When he sees his mother‘s belief, Han takes his chance for revenge 

and his mother‘s attempt to persuade him to visit the church happens to be simply one of the 

possibilities how to humiliate her for the past. The turning point comes when his mother 

offers some money to the begging children if they go to church. On the other hand, the 

sceptical and sardonic Han pays them more, just to prove that the real motivation is money 

and neither child‘s fondness for a man or god. Thinking of his moral victory, he suddenly sees 

a child run down by a car (One of those little beggars? We do not know.). The scene provokes 

Han to disclose his homosexuality. Confessing the most intimate issue of his life he wants to 

challenge her: Would she still accept him? Where are the limits of her love? Han knows that 

either as a Christian, or as a Communist, she would refuse his homosexuality. However, she 

accepts him and eventually proves to be stronger than the son whose eyes avert his mother‘s 

look. The closing scene establishes a key step in their relationship; it is obvious that Han‘s 

shattered personality, and his struggles with sexual and religious identity might be overcome 

only through reconciliation with his mother – the point where it all started. 

3.3. The Chinese Silence in the West - The Princess of Nebraska and A Thousand 

Years of Good Prayers 

In The Princess of Nebraska a daughter escapes an abandoned, middle-of-nowhere 

Inner Mongolian town, leaving her mother there. The story starts as Sasha, now a 21-year-old 

woman is eating a chicken sandwich in Chicago with Boshen on her way to get an abortion at 

the Planned Parenthood Clinic. Boshen is a middle-aged-man, a Chinese gay rights activist 

who managed to flee the country through a false marriage to a lesbian friend, a newly 

naturalized American citizen herself. Sasha is expecting a baby with Yang, a young Chinese 

bisexual and Boshen‘s lover who already met him as a prostitute. Yang, a former actor, who 


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started with prostitution after his first lover abandoned him; later – when his affairs were 

revealed – he had to stop his acting career. Yang is simply left behind, an utterly useless 

prostitute shamelessly and hopelessly selling his body. Again, it is the state of the political 

and social affairs in China which are to blame for the despair, ruined lives, broken couples 

and families. As a contrast, America is the country of hopes. For Sasha it is the place that can 

offer a shelter for her and for Yang, she is enchanted by it and feels she has found what she 

missed back in China or Mongolia: ―‗Moving on‘ was a phrase she just learned, an American 

concept that suited her well. It was such a wonderful phrase that Sasha could almost see 

herself stapling her Chinese life, one staple after another around the pages until they became 

one solid block that nobody would be able to open and read. She would have a fresh page 

then, for her American life. She was four months late already.‖ (69) She wants to persuade 

Yang to move but he refuses, and willingly decides to follow the fate of Great Papas and gets 

lost in history. He cannot leave, as he knows this would not satisfy him. When they watch 

Pretty Woman ―with almost unreadable Chinese subtitles‖ (81) together, it is again Sasha who 

is much more enthusiastic about the movie, its actress and culture than the sceptical Yang. For 

Sasha, Pretty Woman is an American story that may happen to anybody while Yang 

understands it is not a story of anyone, definitely not of him. The Princess of Nebraska 

depicts another culture which has been dying out due to the political oppression from China. 

It is Sasha‘s mother‘s Mongolian culture which is gradually disappearing. Similarly to the fate 

of cultural emblems such as Genghis Khan who ―was turned into a clown in the pop song. 

Mongolia was once the biggest empire in the world, and now it was a piece of meat, 

sandwiched by China and Russia‖ (85). Sasha also admits she has forgotten ―almost all of the 

Mongolian words she had learned, after her parents‘ divorce; she had not seen her father for 

fifteen years‖ (84). When Sasha and Yang discuss the origins of her name, Yang is 

disappointed to learn Sasha was named after her mother‘s favourite heroine from a Soviet war 

novel rather than having a name of Mongolian origin. Like other characters in Li‘s stories, 

Sasha needs to realize and understand her mother in order to decide upon her own life. Only 

after admitting and realizing what her mother sacrificed, is Sasha able to make a new 

beginning. 

In the story A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, the former rocket scientist Mr. Shi 

comes to visit his daughter who moved to the US a few years before and now – recently 

divorced – lives alone. There is something very heavy between the father and his daughter, a 

huge communication gap for which the father blames the daughter until it becomes evident 

that he must be held responsible for lying to the family for many years previously. What is 


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more, he still has not stopped telling lies, either to the people he met in America (introducing 

himself as a rocket scientist, he is silent about his inferior position of a helping hand and a 

decorator for the Party) or to his daughter. Ironically, it is a 77-year-old Iranian woman, two 

years his senior, who does not speak Chinese or English. Mr. Shi was just a victim of the 

political system which turned the essence of communication upside down. Unable to talk at 

home but to satisfy the natural need for communication and sharing thoughts, Mr. Shi finds it 

at work, the only place it was allowed: ―I was not a rocket scientist because of a woman. The 

only thing we did was talk‖ (201). Tragically, there is no place where one can feel safe as 

there is no time for privacy and intimacy, either at home or at work. Mr. Shi‘s daughter grew 

up in a society where language was not used to express one‘s feelings, and her dislike of 

Chinese and preference for English is obvious in this sense. Significantly, Mr. Shi‘s attitude to 

his daughter‘s use of English is ambiguous. On the one hand, he blames himself for the 

inability to raise up his child in a harmonious family and justifies her need for the new 

language. On the other hand, he is shocked to hear her talking in English on the phone. She 

has become a stranger for him – this is not the daughter he knew. Learning about her new 

lover, he calms down only when she mentions that the lover comes from Romania: ―At least 

the man grew up in a communist country, Mr. Shi thinks, trying to be positive. ―Do you know 

him well? Does he understand you – where you were from, and your culture – well? 

Remember, you can‘t make the same mistake twice. You have to be really careful‖ (198). 

This is a warning of a man who has been bitterly disappointed in life; this is the crucial 

confession in which the father shows his care for his daughter. He admits the importance of 

one‘s cultural background, and highly significant is his fear that his daughter‘s lover is an 

American who would not be able to understand the context she grew up in. 

4. Conclusion 

Culture in the stories by Yiyun Li is present as a geographically, historically and 

politically rooted construct; here, it is the Chinese nation versus the West represented by the 

US. An individual is defined by his belonging to a specific power structure: Chinese 

dictatorship versus American liberties; it is through the concepts of freedom that people 

differ. Various forms of freedom are sought – freedom of speech, freedom to choose a partner 

and freedom to travel – all suppressed by the dictatorial regime. There are three cultures 

clashing in the stories. The first one is represented by the common Chinese, the oppressed, 

anonymous mass whose cultural heritage is destroyed by the ruling class (representing the 

second culture), and also by Western influences (the third one). One‘s cultural identity is 


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strongly defined by politics and ideological assumptions. In Communism any activity pursued 

has to follow precise, established and regular patterns; private matters (sexuality and religion) 

are controlled. Li‘s characters are often abandoned by their families, growing up and 

experiencing sterile relationships. They ask: Who am I? But the answers are frightening for 

them and also for the ruling power, so the voices must be silenced, put to prison, or in a better 

case made to leave China. If they do not escape, they are lost (Immortality, Yang in The 

Princess of Nebraska). If they do, they are displaced. The US is offered as a possible cultural 

variant, yet, even this country does not provide everything. In comparison with the Chinese 

society and its political regime – which suppresses vital features of culture such as freedom 

and the possibility to express one‘s identity – it is heaven on earth. In a new cultural milieu, 

they do not have to hide their identity and a new language offers them expressions they 

searched for (The Princess of Nebraska, Thousand Years of Good Prayers); on the other hand, 

however, these are the Chinese who are displaced, abandoned and what they experience in the 

US is just a result of their rootlessness. They are aware of the fact that in leaving their 

homeland, a part of their cultural identity has been lost, but for most of them there is no other 

way. Thus the narrator in Death Is Not a Bad Joke If Told the Right Way bitterly notes on her 

future in the US and this is also the reason why Sasha wants Yang to leave the country. Is 

there any future for Yang or Granny Lin in China or for Sasha‘s mother in Mongolia? 

Interestingly, it is only through family and relationships with parents that children 

come back to their roots; the family is a final shelter; without the mother‘s acceptance of her 

son‘s homosexuality, without the father‘s understanding for his daughter, children but also 

parents are just wanderers, homeless and abandoned. There is simply no other way. The 

political system has broken the families, leaving shattered relationships, ruined couples and 

abandoned parents; now they have to find their ways to themselves, which is also the way to 

their culture. Thus it is always the past that the emigrants reflect, the world left behind and 

while America offers them safety, they have to settle their past so that they may understand 

their identity and start a new life abroad. 

Bibliography 

AYAN, Meryem (2009). Cultural Identity Tapestry in Amy Tans The Hundred Secret Senses. 

In Buletinul Universităţii Petrol – Gaze din Ploieşti, LXI(1), 61 – 66. 

GATHMAN, R. (2008, Aug. 12). Chinese Gothic. Publishers Weekly, 255(49), 45. 

FEARON, James D. (1999). What is Identity (As We Now Use the Word)? Retrieved from 

http://www.stanford.edu/~jfearon/papers/iden1v2.pdf. 


171

HEVEŃIOVÁ, S. (2006). Voices of Immigrants in Maxine Hong Kingston‘s The Woman 

Warrior. In Emigration to the English speaking world (47 – 62). Ruņomberok: 

Vydavateľstvo Michala Vańka. 

LEE-LOY, Anne-Marie (2009). Saying No to Chineseness: The Possibilities and Limits of a 

Diasporic Identity in Janice Lowe Shinebourne´s Fiction. Journal of Chinese 

Overseas, 5(2), 291 – 309. 

LI, Yiyun (2006). A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. London, New York, Toronto & 

Sydney: Harper Perennial. 

REBOK, Maria Gabriela (1998). Civilization and Cultural Identity in Postmodernity. Topoi, 

17, 29 – 36. 

SEAMAN, D. (2005). A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (a review). Booklist, 101(22), 

1964. 

STORCK, Thomas (2008). What is Western Cultural Identity? Three Examples, Three 

Disputes. New Blackfriars, 89(1019), 88 – 101. 

STUHR, John J. (1991). Cultural Identity, Cultural Authenticity. Social Alternatives, 10(2), 

27 – 29. 

STUHR, R. (2005). A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (a review). Library Journal, 130(14), 

136. 

TOMLISON, John. Globalization and Cultural Identity (269 – 277). Retrieved from 

http://politybooks.com/global/pdf/GTReader2eTomlinson.pdf. 

Resumé 

Autorka Yiyun Li sa narodila v Pekingu, no v Spojených ńtátoch ņije uņ viac ako desať rokov. 

Jej zbierka poviedok A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2006) bola veľmi pozitívne prijatá 

kritikmi a získala niekoľko ocenení, vrátane Guardian First Book Award a dostala sa i do 

uņńieho výberu Orange Award. Postavy Yiyun Li nezaņívajú iba konflikty vyplývajúce z 

dvoch rôznych kultúr reprezentovaných ich krajinami, ale problémy, ktoré sa ich dotýkaju, sú 

oveľa komplexnejńie. Mnohé postavy sú migranti, ktorí museli buď opustiť svoju vlasť z 

dôvodu prenasledovania, prípadne odińli z vlastnej vôle, aby získali vytúņenú slobodu. 

Kultúrne dedičstvo a identita sa tak stávajú kľúčovými aspektami jednotlivých príbehov. Po 

stručnej charakteristike zbierky príspevok skúma spôsoby, akými sú rôzne formy kultúrnej 

identity vyjadrené v textoch. Väčńina príbehov pribliņuje vzťahy medzi deťmi a rodičmi, 

opakovane sú zdôraznené medzigeneračné rozdiely, akceptovanie vlastnej rodiny, ako i 

vlastných kultúrnych koreňov. Pozornosť je venovaná i odkazom na rôzne prvky kultúrnej 

ikonografie (napríklad kultové filmy Casablanka, či Pretty Woman), ktoré – zasadené v 

novom kontexte – osvetľujú a zvýrazňujú odcudzenie a vykorenenie jednotlivca. 


172

The Loss of “Self” in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Fiction 

Ivan Lacko 


In Self-Reliance, one of the most influential American essays of the 19 th century, 

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: ―Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. 

Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world‖ (Whicher 1960: 149). 

For Nathaniel Hawthorne, the transcendentalist movement – which found its theoretical 

foundation and philosophical refuge in Emerson‘s essays – was of great significance. But 

while Emerson‘s ideas pertain to self-reliant individuals who are aware of their position in 

their immediate (and distant) social environment, the characters of Hawthorne‘s short stories 

and romances seem to frequently relinquish their ―selves‖, or even whole identities, in the 

face of theocratic rules and principles, and the ensuing social and emotional hypocrisy in the 

community. This paper endeavours to examine how Nathaniel Hawthorne‘s characters and 

narrators present, camouflage and eventually lose their ―self‖ in the ambivalent social 

circumstances of 17 th century Puritan New England. 

I will attempt to put forward an alternative reading of selected stories by Hawthorne 

(primarily The Scarlet Letter, Young Goodman Brown, and The Minister‟s Black Veil) in 

which the author not only seeks to artistically communicate his personal extrication from a 

Puritan familial history, but also attempts to relate the ambiguity of the narration, story and 

plot to the indistinctness of individuality subjected to a religious doctrine. 


LITERATURE 

The introductory chapter to The Scarlet Letter, entitled ―Custom-House‖ reveals 

Hawthorne‘s uncertainty and hesitation concerning his artistic ambitions, ―his own deep, 

indeed Puritanic, guilt about the very act of creation‖ (Bradbury and Ruland 1991: 147). ―It 

was a folly,‖ the narrator of The Scarlet Letter concedes, ―to attempt to fling myself back into 

another age [...] The wiser effort would have been to diffuse thought and imagination through 

the opaque substance of today [...] The fault was mine‖ (Hawthorne 1990: 37). Despite the 

uncertainty and skepticism, the narrator (very much a fictional reflection of Hawthorne 

himself), then proceeds to tell a story that started some 200 years prior to his finding a 

mysterious embroidered letter in the Salem Custom House. In telling the story of the scarlet 

letter, Hawthorne does exactly what he describes in the Preface to the 1851 edition of his 

173

Twice-told Tales. There he defines his aspiration to write books as the result of his desire ―to 

open an intercourse with the world‖ (McIntosh 1987: 290 – 291). 

But for Hawthorne (and the narrator of The Scarlet Letter), a productive 

communication with the world via story-telling and characterization is subject to a permanent 

doubt which originates in his own past: 

‗What is he?‘ murmurs one grey shadow of my forefathers to the other. ‗A writer of 

story-books! What kind of a business in life, what manner of glorifying God, or being 

serviceable to mankind in his day and generation, may that be? Why, the degenerate 

fellow might as well have been a fiddler!‘ (Hawthorne 1990: 10) 

But Hawthorne understands that by dissociating himself completely from his own Puritanic 

history, he will never accomplish his goal as a novelist (or, to be more loyal to his own 

nomenclature, a writer of romances). He has to take the imaginary flak from the past and 

make use of his present capabilities, which he acknowledges he partly owes to the social and 

spiritual system of his forebears: ―And yet, let them scorn me as they will, strong traits of 

their nature have intertwined themselves with mine‖ (Hawthorne 1990: 10). 

At the same time, however, Hawthorne‘s approach to his literary material and his 

personal attitude very much obscure the true identity of both his narrators and characters. The 

dim and murky features of Arthur Dimmesdale‘s deeply Puritan personality mix with his 

natural and passionate attributes, the integrity, ordinariness and everyman characteristics of 

young Goodman Brown entirely vanish after his staggering experience in the forest, and the 

bona fide self of the Reverend Hooper is forever shrouded in the black veil he dons over his 

face. 

Obscuring, shrouding, and veiling are Hawthorne‘s favourite methods to poke, 

provoke, and consciously lead and mislead his readers. In Young Goodman Brown, a story 

making both direct and indirect references to the 1692 Salem witchcraft events, Hawthorne 

employs spectral evidence as a tool which serves not just a historical, but also literary 

purpose. All that Brown sees and experiences in the forest is a make-believe conjured by the 

Devil. In turn, also what Goodman Brown becomes at the end of the story – a ―stern, a sad, a 

darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man‖ – is the consequence of his 

phantasmal experience (Hawthorne 1987: 123 – 124). Goodman Brown‘s very self seems to 

have been transformed by spectral evidence (Levin 1962). Just like the Devil can take the 


174

form of any person, so can spectral evidence bring on a total transformation of the beholder‘s 

eye and thus, also, of the beholder him- or herself. 

Hawthorne also playfully used supernatural ambiguity in explaining his own 

behaviour and attitude, e.g. when he tried to account for his disenchantment with the Brook 

Farm community experiment: ―The real me was never an associate of the community; there 

has been a spectral Appearance there […] doing me the honor of assuming my name‖ 

(Stewart 1949: 60). Though this is clearly an ironic statement – mostly because it exposes 

Hawthorne‘s awareness of the distinction between what is real and what is projected – it gives 

us insight into the significance of matters which have personal relevance, and the uncertainty 

(in this case, a jocular lightness) resulting from a lack of personal involvement. 

For Hawthorne‘s characters, the line between personal perception and dependence on 

social standards appears to be too thin to accept their role in society as anything but 

predetermined. The trait which Hawthorne repeatedly criticizes in his characters is the 

tendency to promote a legitimate and defensible idea to the category of an absolute truth 

(Stibitz 1962: 182). For example, Reverend Hooper in The Minister‟s Black Veil suffers from 

―so painful a degree of self-distrust, that even the mildest censure would lead him to consider 

an indifferent action as a crime‖ (Hawthorne, 1987: 150). As Thomas F. Walsh argues, 

Hooper‘s doubt and disbelief in his ability to discriminate between ―indifferent action‖ and 

―crime‖ makes him ―eventually consider all his actions crimes and himself intrinsically evil, 

and then, by extention [sic], all mankind‖ (1959: 404 – 405). 

To some degree, Hawthorne‘s characters represent what John Rathbun sees as 

essential for our understanding of Herman Melville‘s story Billy Budd which ―revolves about 

the point that social forms and conventions radically narrow the range of individual 

perception and response‖ (Rathbun 1965: 20). In fact, the recession of Captain Vere‘s identity 

when he sends Billy Budd to his death, and the ensuing transformation to a faceless, 

institutional self makes Vere equal to characters like Goodman Brown, Reverend Hooper, 

Hester Prynne, or even Arthur Dimmesdale. While John Rathbun‘s assumption that if ―we 

deny the existence of constituent elements in human nature and see man as simply a bundle of 

social habits, we impose limits to man‘s perception [and] culture becomes simply a pattern of 

response,‖ (ibid.: 33) has the greatest validity in reference to the struggle between individual 

and society, as well as law and justice in Billy Budd, this applies also to Hawthorne‘s fiction. 

Even though Nathaniel Hawthorne‘s writing is often deemed allegorical and overly 

reliant on symbolic and metaphorical semantics, his artistic imagination worked as a realistic 


175

and truthful mirror of society and character personality. R. K. Gupta argues that for 

Hawthorne 

the imagination is by no means a merely beautifying and idealizing faculty. It is a 

faculty which also enables the artist to burrow into the depth of reality. It is an 

―inward eye‖ which, fresh, undimmed by custom, and undeceived by appearances, 

perceives objects not visible to the physical eye. If, on the one hand, the imagination, 

like the moonlight in ―The Custom House,‖ envelopes objects in an aura of romance 

and beauty, it also, on the other hand, like the mirror in ―Feathertop‖ and ―Dr. 

Heidegger‘s Experiment,‖ uncovers the veneer of superficial appearance and gives a 

glimpse into the very heart of reality. (1968: 316) 

This ―inward eye‖ echoes Emerson – although in a fairly fantastical manner. The ambivalence 

which is prominent in the seeming contrast between romance and realism is what Hawthorne 

is consciously aiming for. Phrases like ―as nearly as could be discerned‖, ―it might almost be 

seen‖, ―this, of course, must have been an ocular deception‖ abound in the text of Young 

Goodman Brown (Hawthorne 1987: 111 – 124), lending the text an aura of ambiguity woven 

into the allegorical patchwork of this story. The omnipresent ambiguity stems from what 

Walter J. Paulits considers to be primarily ambivalent behaviour on the part of Goodman 

Brown: ―The precise ambivalence in Brown at the beginning of the tale is an attraction for the 

Devil conjoined with a regret at leaving Faith […] [Brown] wants two things strongly enough 

to be unwilling to give up either‖ (1970: 578). This ambivalence is a subtle manifestation of 

Goodman Brown‘s loss of individuality and determination, brought forth by his fervent 

dependence on the Puritan dogma. Hawthorne presents the character of Goodman Brown as 

both indecisive and resolute, as optimistic and morose, as gullible and distrustful. The 

uncertainty that is prominent in his character can be considered as the universal ambivalence 

of all mankind, while Brown, as a representative sample, is presented as an imitator – not an 

independent and morally strong human being, not an Emersonian self-reliant individual, but 

as a person who appears to emulate Christ, mechanically and indiscriminately (Paulits 1970: 

580). 

In the Scarlet Letter, the façade is very often all that glitters – like the Governor‘s Hall 

where Hester goes to defend herself as the custodian of her illegitimate child. The unexpected 

pumpkins and weeds growing in the garden of the otherwise opulent mansion give away the 

Puritan obsession with symbols. Quite paradoxically, it is in the Governor‘s Hall where 


176

Hester faces a mirror which – instead of exposing the ―veneer of superficiality‖ – shows a 

Puritan reflection of herself, degrading her to a pictogram: 

[Hester] saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter 

was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most 

prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it. 

(Hawthorne 1990: 106) 

Hawthorne‘s approach to character, as mentioned above on the examples of Goodman Brown 

and Hester Prynne, allows him to scrutinize and criticize a society ―that demands so much of a 

man that he can achieve what is demanded only through hypocrisy‖ (Miller 1959: 262). In 

this kind of society, expectations and stakes are just too high, and people lose their sense of 

identity and self-knowledge. In the ensuing personal, intellectual and emotional vacuum, 

interaction with the world outside themselves is fractured, de-humanized, sometimes even 

completely lost: 

Could it be true? [Hester] clutched the child so fiercely to her breast that it sent forth a 

cry; she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her 

finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real. Yes!– these were her 

realities,– all else had vanished! (Hawthorne 1990: 59) 

Hester Prynne is punished by having to wear the scarlet letter on her chest. What first appears 

to be just an administrative measure becomes a transformational device of sorts – both for 

Hester and those around her. When Hester is seen wearing the scarlet letter for the first time, 

the narrator describes the crowd observing the token, feeling that it ―transfigured the wearer,– 

so that both men and women, who had been familiarly acquainted with Hester Prynne, were 

now impressed as if they beheld her for the first time‖ (53). The purport the letter assumes 

both elevates Hester into a different state of being and diminishes her to the linear meaning of 

the crimson A. But while the letter is also assigned all kinds of other meanings – by Hester 

herself, her daughter, the narrator, and others – the powerful and enchanting nature of it is 

never questioned: ―[The scarlet letter] had the effect of a spell, taking [Hester] out of the 

ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself‖ (54). 

Correspondingly, Hester‘s enigmatic transformation can take a reverse course: ―She who has 

once been a woman, and ceased to be so, might at any moment become a woman again, if 


177

there were only the magic touch to effect the transformation‖ (164). This magic touch is 

reliant on the possibility to give Hester a chance to express her true self, concealed beneath 

the Puritan semiotics. 

While Hester‘s fate is brought upon her by the Puritan authorities of the 17 th century 

Boston, Hawthorne presents us also with characters who transcend into another state of 

perception and even existence by their own decision. The Reverend Hooper from the story 

The Minister‟s Black Veil makes a sudden decision to wear a black veil over his face for the 

rest of his life: ―On a nearer view it seemed to consist of two folds of crape, which entirely 

concealed his features except the mouth and chin, but probably did not intercept his sight 

further than to give a darkened aspect to all living and inanimate things‖ (Hawthorne 1987: 

145). The veil, just like Hester Prynne‘s token of shame, becomes Hooper‘s most prominent 

feature, indeed an expression of his personality. While others cannot see Hooper‘s face 

because of the veil, he himself can make out everybody‘s face, though all that he sees appears 

much darker – not only in terms of colour and brightness of the image, but also in making 

Hooper a pessimistic and gloom-laden man. At the beginning, the narrator hastens to inform 

us that ―the veil lay heavily on [Reverend Hooper‘s] uplifted countenance‖ (146), only to 

suggest later that ―all through life that piece of crepe had hung between [Reverend Hooper] 

and the world: it had separated him from cheerful brotherhood and woman‘s love […] and 

still it lay upon his face, as if to deepen the gloom of his darksome chamber, and shade him 

from the sunshine of eternity‖ (155). 

But if the Reverend Hooper obliterates his personality with the donning of the black 

veil, Goodman Brown struggles to find his ―inward eye‖ and look into the mirror that would 

tell him what is imagined and what is real. He fails, eventually, although it seems to be his 

moral victory that he does not give in to the Devil‘s temptations. At the same time, however, 

he is credulous enough to give credence to the projected (spectral) evidence, apparently 

provided by the Devil. Despite all the ambiguity, it is clear that he and the Devil are the only 

real personages in the forest. All else is imaginary, conjured up, projected. Before he wakes 

up in the wood and begins his sad journey into depression and eternal gloom, he cries out to 

his wife Faith: ―Look up to heaven, and resist the wicked one‖ (123). This is an attempt to 

prevent the loss of his Puritan self, a desperate try to remain a member of the community. The 

loneliness he feels in the forest is transformed into his isolation from the Salem community 

for the rest of his life. Goodman Brown‘s journey into the forest and Reverend Hooper‘s 

confinement behind the black veil are both hidden exclamations of two men who are trying to 

connect their selves to a larger scheme of faith, meaning and identity. ―Oh, you know not how 


178

lonely I am,‖ Reverend Hooper says to his fianceé Elisabeth, pleading for her compassion and 

understanding, ―and how frightened to be alone behind my black veil! Do not leave me in this 

miserable obscurity for ever‖ (153). 

The loss of self leads to Hooper‘s and Brown‘s loneliness and seclusion. Similarly, 

Hester‘s loss of identity not only isolates her from the community, but also allows her true 

self to be replaced by the letter A – as if the letter‘s symbolic meaning had the power to 

override Hester‘s personality. Furthermore, if Hester gives the scarlet letter a human face, her 

daughter Pearl becomes the elaborate embroidery around it – giving it radiance and gleam, 

completing it. Just like Hester is seen by others as an embodiment of sin, Pearl is ―the scarlet 

letter endowed with life‖ (Hawthorne 1990: 102). They are rarely viewed primarily as mother 

and daughter – their symbolic meaning supersedes their human and natural one. 

If Hester‘s and Pearl‘s personalities are reduced to have only emblematic value (the 

former as a result of Puritan social and legal regulations, and the latter by the author), Arthur 

Dimmesdale‘s self is subordinated to his social position as a minister and the indoctrinated 

belief that his parishioners need him more than they need to know the truth. In this, 

Dimmesdale resembles Hooper: he shows a great deal of doubt about himself. But at the same 

time, Dimmesdale is very determined and insistent on severely castigating himself for his 

double-facedness. While Hooper does this publicly by wearing the veil everywhere he goes, 

Dimmesdale chastises himself only in private – but with more vigour and fortitude. Just like 

Hooper‘s fate sees no hope, since from underneath his veil ―there rolled a cloud into the 

sunshine, an ambiguity of sin or sorrow, which enveloped the poor minister, so that love or 

sympathy could never reach him‖ (Hawthorne 1987: 154), so can Dimmesdale never find a 

moment of peace and forgiveness. He seems unable to ever experience even an instant of 

respite and liberation like Hester does when she throws off her symbol of ignominy: 

The stigma gone, Hester heaved a long, deep sigh, in which the burden of shame and 

anguish departed from her spirit. O exquisite relief! She had not known the weight 

until she felt the freedom! By another impulse, she took off the formal cap that 

confined her hair, and down it fell upon her shoulders, dark and rich, with at once a 

shadow and a light in its abundance, and imparting the charm of softness to her 

features. There played around her mouth, and beamed out of her eyes, a radiant and 

tender smile, that seemed gushing from the very heart of womanhood. A crimson flush 

was glowing on her cheek, that had been long so pale. (Hawthorne 1990: 202) 


179

In this passage, Hester Prynne undergoes a transformation nearly worthy a conjuror‘s effort. 

She becomes a different person entirely, as if her previous, indistinct and dulled identity were 

a tabula rasa on which her new self could find fertile ground to sprout. The very physical and 

naturalistic description of Hester‘s temporary liberation, the glow that replaces the paleness, 

and her new inner glitter – all that serves as a memento that the power of symbols which are 

considered so important by Hester‘s judges and fellow Puritans relies on the human capacity 

to perceive and interpret them. The symbols themselves are meaningless, but combined with 

theocratic tendencies, they bring along de-personalizing and de-humanizing susceptibilities. 

Thus, minister Hooper terrifies his parishioners, becoming ―a monster for the symbol beneath 

which [he has] lived and [will] die‖ (Hawthorne 1987: 157). Hooper‘s last words vibrate with 

Hawthorne‘s significant message, namely that in symbolizing his own inability to deal with 

sin, grief or utter depression, Hooper represents all people: ―I look around me, and, lo! on 

every visage a Black Veil!‖ (157). 

Hawthorne attaches great value to the innermost self of his characters and places them 

in situations in which they either emerge from underneath their symbolic surface (Hester), or 

stay covered and hidden forever (Hooper), or – ironically enough – manage to do both 

(Goodman Brown). The inner personality – the human heart – is for Hawthorne a source of 

one‘s true identity and therefore the most important and primary element necessary for 

improvement, like, for example, in the story Earth‟s Holocaust: 

The heart, the heart […] Purify that inward sphere, and the many shapes of evil that 

haunt the outward, and which now seem almost our only realities, will turn to 

shadowy phantoms and vanish of their own accord; but if we go no deeper than the 

intellect, and strive, with merely that feeble instrument, to discern and rectify what is 

wrong, our whole accomplishment will be but a dream. (247) 

There is both sunshine and gloom in Hawthorne‘s texts – just like Herman Melville wrote 

about his fellow writer and friend in the essay Hawthorne and His Mosses: ―For spite of all 

the Indian-summer sunlight on the hither side of Hawthorne‘s soul, the other side – like the 

dark half of the physical sphere – is shrouded in a blackness, ten times black‖ (Melville, 

Parker, and Tanselle 1987: 243). It is this darkness, unfathomable and seemingly unjustified, 

which acts both as an aspect of Hawthorne‘s art and identity as a writer descended from 

Puritan forebears, whose social predicament came to constitute an important part of 

America‘s past. Though conformist and controversial from a modern point of view, the 


180

Puritan legacy catalyzed the country‘s future and helped shape the identity of its inhabitants. 

In Hawthorne‘s fictional accounts of various expressions of the Puritan Weltanschauung there 

emerges a noticeable link, or perhaps outright cross-cultural communication between the 17 th 

and 19 th centuries. It is striking to see how the preoccupation with sin and purity, individual 

responsibility for sin, an insistence on collective punishment, and the impossibility of any 

individual expression, stood at the dawn of Emersonian individualism, whose optimism and 

flowering enthusiasm were counteracted by Hawthorne‘s ―blackness, ten times black‖. 

Bibliography 

BRADBURY, M., and R. RULAND (1991). From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History 

of American Literature. New York: Penguin Books. 

GUPTA, R. K. (1968). Hawthorne‘s Theory of Art. American Literature, 40 (3), 309 – 324. 

HAWTHORNE, N. (1990). The Scarlet Letter. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

HAWTHORNE, N. (1987). Young Goodman Brown and Other Tales. Oxford: Oxford 


LEVIN, D. (1962). Shadows of Doubt: Specter Evidence in Hawthorne‘s ―Young Goodman 

Brown.‖ American Literature, 34 (3), 344 – 352. 

MCINTOSH, J. (Ed.). (1987). Nathaniel Hawthorne‟s Tales. New York: Norton. 

MELVILLE, H., H. PARKER, and T. TANSELLE (Eds.). (1987). The Piazza Tales and 

Other Prose Pieces, 1839 – 1860: Volume Nine, Scholarly Edition. Evanston: 

Northwestern University Press. 

MILLER, P. W. (1959). Hawthorne‘s ―Young Goodman Brown‖: Cynicism or Meliorism? 

Nineteenth Century Fiction, 14 (3), 255 – 264. 

PAULITS, W. J. (1970). Ambivalence in ―Young Goodman Brown.‖ American Literature, 41 

(4), 577 – 584. 

RATHBUN, J. W. (1965). Billy Budd and the Limits of Perception. Nineteenth-Century 

Fiction, 20 (1), 19 – 34. 

STEWART, R. (1949). Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Biography. New Haven: Yale University 

Press. 

STIBITZ, E. E. (1962). Ironic Unity in Hawthorne‘s ―The Minister‘s Black Veil.‖ American 

Literature, 34 (2), 182 – 190. 

WALSH, T. F. (1959). Mr Hooper‘s ―Affable Weakness.‖ Modern Language Notes 74(5), 

404 – 406 . 

WHICHER, S. E. (Ed.). (1960). Selections From Ralph Waldo Emerson. Boston: Houghton 

Mifflin Company. 

Resumé 

Cieľom článku je predstaviť alternatívnu interpretáciu vybraných diel amerického prozaika 

Nathaniela Hawthorna s osobitným prihliadnutím na identitu autora (resp. jeho rozprávačov) a 

spôsob, akým autor prezentuje a maskuje jednotlivé postavy, ktoré v konečnom dôsledku 

svoje "ja" úplne strácajú. V analyzovaných dielach (The Scarlet Letter, Young Goodman 

Brown, The Minister‟s Black Veil, atď.) sa Hawthorne neusiluje iba o umeleckä prezentáciu 

vlastného oslobodenia sa od puritánskej minulosti svojej rodiny, ale aj o hľadanie vzťahu 

medzi viaczmyslenosťou rozprávania, príbehu a zápletky, a neurčitosťou individuálnosti 

postáv podliehajúcich náboņenskej (alebo inej) doktríne. 


181

Naming and Identity in Lawrence Hill’s Someone Knows My Name 

Lucia Otrísalová 


Name and identity are inextricably interrelated. One‘s name is a symbol of one‘s 

social identity – that is, the identity as recognized by others. The bestowal of a name marks 

the starting point of one‘s life as an individual in a society. By giving a name, society 

acknowledges a person‘s existence and simultaneously accepts its responsibilities towards 

him or her. The name differentiates a person from others and gives him or her a sense of 

personal identity and uniqueness. Through the name, the individual becomes part of society‘s 

history and whatever he or she does will stand apart from the deeds of others. 

As name and identity are closely linked, a change in the name necessarily results in a 

change in the way a person perceives himself or herself and the way the person is perceived 

by others. This problematizes the concept of identity as a stable, inwardly generated quality 

and renders it fluid, negotiable, and subject to transformation. This means that we do not have 

a free choice when constructing an identity to present to others, but we negotiate it with others 

in our culture and society. The well-known Canadian social philosopher Charles Taylor 

confirms this by saying, ―My discovering my identity doesn‘t mean that I work it out in 

isolation, but that I negotiate it through dialogue, partly overt, partly internal, with others. […] 

My own identity crucially depends on my dialogical relations with others‖ (Taylor 1994: 34). 

The intricate relationship between name and identity has always been a significant 

issue in the literary production of the North American black diaspora. It is due to the earliest 

experiences their ancestors had in America that the writers of the black diaspora are 

sensitively aware of the political weight the act of naming carries. Their enslaved forefathers 

were, upon arrival in the New World, if not immediately upon capture, stripped of their 

African names and identities and renamed – and redefined – by their masters. In an interview 

with Thomas LeClair, Toni Morrison reflects upon this topic: 

If you come from Africa, your name is gone. It is particularly problematic because it is 

not just your name but your family, your tribe. When you die, how can you connect 

with your ancestors if you have lost your name? That‘s a huge psychological scar. 

(LeClair 1994: 126) 


LITERATURE 

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As a result of this traumatic experience, black authors grasp the significance of names and 

understand that naming is always linked to the exercise of power: those who name also 

control and those who are named are subjugated. 

This awareness also permeates the book Someone Knows My Name by black Canadian 

author Lawrence Hill, the winner of the Commonwealth Writers‘ Prize 2008 and Canada 

Reads 2009. Based on thorough research and first published in 2007, the novel tells the story 

of Aminata Diallo, who – as a girl of eleven – is abducted from Africa and enslaved. She 

survives the horrors of the Middle Passage, rape by her first owner, Mr Appleby, forcible 

separation from her husband and children, yet she remains unbroken. We follow her journey 

from St. Helena Island, South Carolina, up to New York, then to Nova Scotia, back to Africa 

and eventually to London, where she (already an old woman facing the end of her life) helps 

William Wilberforce and the Abolitionists end the slave trade. 

The book‘s title itself indicates what importance is attached to names and naming in 

the novel. It suggests that having a name and having someone say it out loud gives one worth 

and individual identity and affirms one‘s humanity. On the other hand, the title also touches 

on the dehumanizing effects of being stripped of one‘s name. In what follows, I will therefore 

examine and demonstrate with particular examples from Someone Knows My Name on how 

the processes of naming and being named contribute to one‘s identity. 

The novel‘s title is a good example in itself of what I am speaking about as Someone 

Knows My Name is not the original title of Hill‘s novel. In Canada it was published under the 

title The Book of Negroes, yet, as Lawrence Hill writes in his article ―Why I‘m not allowed 

my book title‖ (2008) in The Guardian, the American publisher made him, for political 

reasons, change its name. The word ―Negro‖ is considered politically incorrect in the United 

States, but in Canada it does not have the same negative connotations: ―If you use it in 

Toronto or Montreal, you are probably just indicating publicly that you are out of touch with 

how people speak these days. But if you use it in Brooklyn or Boston, you are asking to have 

your nose broken‖ (Hill 2008). The Canadian title refers to the Book of Negroes, a historical 

document kept by British naval officers at the end of the American Revolutionary War, which 

contains a list of 3,000 Black Loyalists who had served the British crown in the war and were 

fleeing Manhattan for Canada in 1783, so if the title‘s historical origins are explained, no one 

in Canada will complain. However, the United States is different. Lawrence Hill grasped it 

when he began touring some U.S. cities with the book. African-Americans kept approaching 


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him and telling him ―it was a good thing indeed that the title had changed, because they would 

never have touched the book with its Canadian title‖ (Hill 2008). 

We can only guess why the American publisher chose the title Someone Knows My 

Name for Hill‘s novel. On the one hand, it may have been chosen because it gives an added 

emphasis to one of the main themes threaded through the book. On the other hand, it puts the 

novel in the context of African-American tradition as it echoes James Baldwin‘s 1960s book, 

Nobody Knows My Name. 

Regardless of what motivated the American publisher, changing the title of a novel has 

more or less the same effect as changing a person‘s name: it affects a change in perception. 

The Canadian title underscores that Hill‘s novel, spanning six decades and three continents, 

brings to life an important chapter in world history. As reviewer Angela Smith (2009) writes, 

the title also implies the awareness of what Derek Walcott characterizes as the ―pain of 

history words contain,‖ focusing on the word ―Negro‖ as a term of exclusion. The American 

title, on the other hand, replaces, according to Smith (2009), ―historical bluntness‖ of the 

original title with ―modern blandness―. It also puts a greater emphasis on the humanizing 

force of naming, the book‘s recurrent theme. 

Lawrence Hill argues in Someone Knows My Name that recognizing and 

acknowledging people‘s names and having one‘s name recognized and acknowledged is a 

way of giving and receiving respect. There are several powerful examples in the book where 

this is illustrated. 

As Aminata Diallo, the novel‘s main protagonist, is walking through the slave vessel 

bound for America, a hand reaches out and takes her wrist. It is Chekura, a helper to the 

African slave traders, who got enslaved himself when he was no longer useful to them. Not 

letting go of her hand, the boy repeats Aminata‘s name over and over and then he adds, 

―I must hear you say it. Please say my name.‖ 

―Chekura,‖ I said. 

―Someone knows my name. Seeing you makes me want to live.‖ (Hill 2007: 66) 

The moment Aminata utters Chekura‘s name, the boy‘s spirit is greatly uplifted and bathed in 

the glimmer of his own humanity again. Similarly, as Aminata goes on, in the darkness men 

repeat her name and call out their own. ―They wanted me to know them. Who they were. 

Their names. That they were alive, and would go on living‖ (Hill 2007: 66). The men 

exchange their names and personal biographical information to be remembered, to overcome 


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their dehumanization and to retain a sense of distinctiveness. In the squalor and despair below 

the deck of the slave ship, the names and the places the men are from become the last shreds 

of dignity they desperately hold on to. 

Coming from a primarily oral culture where the name is still far more than the label it 

has become in Euro-American society, Aminata struggles hard to retain her own name in the 

face of dismissiveness from her masters. On the slave vessel, a ship doctor, appreciative of 

her language and midwifery skills, takes her under his protection. Recognizing her value, he 

has her sleep in his room and feeds her better than he does other slaves. He even makes an 

attempt at establishing a more personal relationship between them by telling her his name. 

He struck his own chest, thumb pointing toward his breastbone, and repeated another 

word. ―Tom,‖ he said many times. 

―Tom,‖ I repeated. 

Then he pointed at me. I said my name. He scrunched up his face. 

―Aminata,‖ I said once more. 

But he pointed at me and said something else. Over and over. He wanted me to repeat 

it. 

―Mary,‖ I finally said. He pointed to me again, and I did it too. I used my thumb, just 

like him. (Hill 2007: 71 – 72) 

Aminata immediately understands that the relationship the medicine man – as she refers to the 

doctor—is offering to her is not one of equality and mutual respect. Aminata interprets his 

attempt at renaming her with a name he finds more familiar and convenient as disrespect for 

her individuality, which makes her assume a defensive stance. 

―Mary,‖ I said softly. I pushed the word through my lips and told myself it would be 

the last time I would ever say it, or his name. (Hill 2007: 72) 

By refusing to call the medicine man by his first name, Aminata denies him the respect he has 

denied her by giving her the generic name ―Mary,‖ which slavers often used in reference to 

female slaves, a name that effectively dispossessed a person of her individuality and her own 

distinctive claim to an identity. 

The generic name, be it Mary for black women or Sam for black men, does not 

designate an individual as self so much as ―a segment of community, an identity larger than 


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self‖ (Rigney 1991: 50). The name suggests that the look of the white society classifies all 

blacks as alike, they become a ―we-object‖ or what Jameson calls ―representatives of a class 

or species, [...] anonymous types of something‖ (qtd. in Davis 1982: 327). The designation 

has thus nothing to do with the self-identification of slaves, but it serves solely for the benefit 

of slave masters who do not think beyond the monetary value of black people. Aminata 

obviously realizes this as she disregards anybody who addresses her generically. 

While working on Mr. Appleby‘s plantation, she is approached by his visitor, William 

King, a person in charge of the slave trade in Charles Town, and asked, ―‘How old are you, 

Mary?‘ She does not respond, keeping her eyes down and her mouth shut‖ (Hill 2007: 169). 

This act of defiance on Aminata‘s part may be interpreted as an attempt to resist or escape 

naming. She understands that naming is a form of power and she does not want to let anyone 

have that power over her. She resists being forced into an object position, which happens 

when one is named by another, and insists on the position of subject, where she can name 

herself. 

Her African name is very dear to Aminata. Given to her at birth by her parents, the 

name represents a connection with family, history and tradition. It is the name of a proud 

freeborn Muslim girl who aspires to become a djeli, or storyteller, although she was not born 

into the family of djeli. Having the meaning of ―faithful, truthful or trustworthy‖ in Arabic, 

the name Aminata in fact predestines the girl to be one. Taking on the responsibility of a djeli, 

she is able to distance herself from the suffering she is a witness to on the slave vessel and to 

survive the trauma without falling into a pit of despair. Aminata understands that she is 

required ―to see and remember everything, [...] to witness, and to prepare to testify‖ (Hill 

2007: 56). It is no wonder then that Aminata views all attempts at renaming her as attempts to 

symbolically cut her off ―from [her] African identity and heritage, and from [her] sense of 

personhood‖ (Walker 1977: 74). 

On Mr. Appleby‘s plantation in South Carolina, the girl is known as ―Meena Dee‖ to 

her fellow slaves, who, like their masters, do not take pains to learn to pronounce her African 

name properly. Aminata does not fully identify with the new name as it was given to her by 

―someone who did not even know me‖. She refers to it as ―a new name for the second life of a 

girl who survived the great river crossing‖ (Hill 2007: 127). The name ―Meena Dee‖ thus 

becomes emblematic of Aminata‘s life and slave status in the New World. In the end, she 

responds to both names, which is symbolic of her fragmentation, yet she gives clear 

preference to her original African name. It is the name she is addressed with by her lover 

Chekura and by the slave overseer Mamed, ―the only person in South Carolina who ever 


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asked for my whole name, [...] spoke it properly, and then he taught me how to write it‖ (Hill 

2007: 155) – the people who respect and care for her. 

Under slavery, the power to name and define belonged to the white masters: they were 

the Adams given the power to name all created beings and assign qualities to them. Naming 

slave children was the white master‘s domain too. The name bestowed on a slave child by the 

white master was an expression of the master‘s entitlement to an absolute ownership of the 

child. By giving her first-born son a name of her own choosing, Aminata denies Mr. 

Appleby‘s ownership of her son‘s body and soul. Although she was raped by him, her son 

was not conceived in the act of rape but is a product of love between her and Chekura. 

Following ―the African tradition of naming children in honour of close relatives,‖ Aminata 

names her son Mamadu after her father, ―thereby placing the child firmly within the kin 

network‖ (King 1995: 6) and trying to re-establish continuity in her otherwise random and 

dispossessed existence. Aminata understands that the African name will probably be the only 

frame of reference for her son, the only connection with community and culture. 

Self-designation is associated with social and economic freedom in Hill‘s novel. The 

freedom to choose one‘s name means reclaiming sovereignty over one‘s self. The fugitive 

slave who Aminata runs into while fleeing from her second owner, Solomon Lindo, is a proof 

thereof. ―Claybourne the only name they done give me,‖ he said. ―Mitchell is a name I done 

took. Heard a man called that one, and liked it so much I decided when I got here I was gonna 

be a new man. Free man. With two names, both for myself‖ (Hill 2007: 259). Clayborne was 

born a slave and as such he was given no surname: he was deprived of any sense of genuine 

lineage or shared familial identity. As he was viewed as property without identity, he had no 

need for a significant and personalized name, a name that would reflect something about him. 

Once free, however, he adopts a meaningful surname which allows him to take possession of 

his self and become his own man. 

It seems that in Hill‘s novel there is not a more liberating feeling that having the 

freedom to name oneself and having one‘s name recognized by others. When Aminata arrives 

in New York with her master, Mr. Lindo, and she is asked to write her name into the 

registration book at Sam Fraunces‘s tavern, where they find lodgings, her heart jumps with 

delight: 

I took it as a good sign that I was free to write my own name in New York City. The 

mere act of writing it, moving smoothly, unerringly with the quill in the calligraphy 

that Mrs. Lindo had so patiently taught me, sealed a private contract that I had made 


187

with myself. I had now written my name on a public document, and I was a person, 

with just as much right to life and liberty as the man who claimed to own me. (Hill 

2007: 243 – 244) 

Seeing her signature attached to a public document gives Aminata such a sense of 

empowerment, liberation and satisfaction that she resolves ―not to return to Charles Town‖ 

and not to ―submit again to ownership by any man‖ (Hill 2007: 244). The writing of one‘s 

name, the mark of personhood, thus becomes a catalyst of change in Hill‘s story. Regaining a 

sense of her own humanity and becoming aware of all the rights associated with it, Aminata 

cannot but shed her slave status and embark on a journey to freedom and selfhood. According 

to Lawrence Hill, regaining the power to name and to tell one‘s story is an important 

milestone on the journey. In order to testify against slavery, Aminata writes her autobiography 

and eventually becomes the djeli she has always desired to be. 

Bibliography 

DAVIS, Cynthia A. (1998). Self, Society and Myth in Tony Morrison‘s Fiction. In Linden 

Peach (Ed.), Toni Morrison: Contemporary Critical Essays (27 – 42). New York: St. 

Martin‘s Press. 

HILL, Lawrence (2007). Someone Knows My Name. New York: W. W. Norton. 

HILL, Lawrence (2008, May 20). Why I‘m not allowed my book title. The Guardian. 

Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2008/may/20/ 

whyimnotallowedmybooktit on Sept. 5, 2010. 

KING, Wilma (1995). Stolen Childhood: Slave Youth in Nineteenth-Century America. 

Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 

LECLAIR, Thomas (1994). The Language Must Not Sweat: A Conversation with Toni 

Morrison. In D. Taylor-Guthrie (Ed.), Conversations with Toni Morrison (119 – 128). 

University Press of Mississippi. 

TAYLOR, Charles (1994). The Politics of Recognition. In A. Gutmann (Ed.), 

Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition (25 – 73). Princeton: 

Princeton University Press. 

RIGNEY, Barbara Hill (1991). The Voices of Toni Morrison. Columbus: Ohio State 


SMITH, Angela (2009, Feb. 27). Rev. of The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill. The 

Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/artsentertainment/books/ 

reviews/the-book-of-negroes-by-lawrence-hill-1632967.html on Oct. 8, 2010. 

Resumé 

Predloņená ńtúdia sa zaoberá vzťahom medzi menom a identitou v románe kanadského autora 

Lawrenca Hilla Someone Knows My Name. Uņ samotný názov naznačuje význam, ktorý sa 

v románe pripisuje menám a aktu pomenovania. Podľa Hilla meno potvrdzuje nańu 

individuálnu identitu a prísluńnosť k ľudskému pokoleniu a pomenovanie je nástrojom moci. 

Tí, ktorí majú moc mená dávať, vládnu a tí, ktorí mená dostávajú, sú podrobení. Na základe 


188

príkladov z textu, ktorý je fiktívnou autobiografiou Afričanky, ktorú v detstve uniesli a uvrhli 

do otroctva, ńtúdia hľadá odpoveď na otázku, ako meno a proces pomenovania prispievajú 

k utváraniu osobnej identity. 


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The Waste Land: A Field of Fragments or Multidentity? 

Martin Solotruk 


This paper seeks to explore T.S. Eliot‘s The Waste Land as a possible project of 

a new, modern, self, which explores the possible viability of a spiritual revival via 

transcending limitations and inculcations of the concepts of identity prevailing in the Western 

Canon in the first decades of the twentieth century. 

The concepts of identity that Eliot transcends include a whole range of presumptions, 

such as the following: the identity of a work is directly related to and guaranteed by the 

positive experience of the author; the identity of a classical work is defined through an 

established canonised interpretation thereof; the identity of a lyrical subject as an 

anthropocentric referential model is enfolded in and defined by prevalent concepts of time and 

space within a ―human scope‖; the identity of a ―voice‖ is a positively identifiable property of 

a single human self with its features of identity informed by but also limited to the experience 

of ―one human life‖; the identity of a voice or subject is predominantly monoculturally 

defined within a particular section of historical time and political (meaning also cultural) 

space; the identifiable notion and presence of a central persona or lyrical subject is an 

inevitable prerequisite and referential frame for any possible sense of coherence or 

comprehensiveness of a single corpus of work. 


LITERATURE 

Given this backdrop of expectations that a traditional reader was likely to rely upon at 

the time Eliot was writing the poem – and would be even today – The Waste Land may still 

seem, perhaps more than ever, not only a highly sophisticated, though radical, subversion of 

many of the above expectations, but also a deliberate act of artistic and even philosophical 

proposal of a new concept of identity defined as a dynamic field – a dynamic equilibrium of 

partial and relative concepts or forms of identity (of figures, persons, heroes, countries, 

stories, histories, myths, genres, actions, styles, minds, consciousness, human, animal, the 

identity of space, time determinants, positive experience versus delusion, etc.) with their 

implied fields of meanings and projected auras of interpretation. In other words, the poem 

apparently proposes a kind of ―ars poetica‖ treatment of the central problem of notional 

ambivalence of human experience that Eliot dealt with in his Harvard and Oxford PhD thesis 

named, in abbreviation, ―The Appearance and Reality‖ as it explores frontiers of identity of 

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phenomena, i.e. what is ―it‖ and what makes ―it‖ distinct and ―solid‖ and different from but 

also related to any other ―it‖. 

The Waste Land itself builds its unique and distinct identity by if not outright 

integration then at least cohabitation, meaningful juxtaposition as well as dramatic 

reconciliation of the shattered, crumbled, and scattered ―identities‖ of the past and present. 

The poem composes its textual corporeality and appearance of identity of a ―subject‖ by 

relating to, including and digesting a vast ranges of identities (very much like Dante‘s 

Paradise Lost – Eliot‘s major source of inspiration) represented and manifested by their own 

fragmented, fleeting, but also recurring presence in the form of a speech act, citation, or other 

intertextual reference in the dramatic ―arena‖ or ―opera of voices‖. At the same time, this 

chorus of voices can be viewed both in a Wagnerian sense, as well as an array of sampled 

―token voices‖ in a mode of ―mimicking cultural history‖, a kind of ―grotesque scrutiny‖ very 

much along the lines of the poem‘s original title ―He do the police in different voices‖. 

However, one of the main possible ―identity problems‖ of this poem, the very issue which 

makes it so inaccessible for an unprepared reader, is its apparent lack of central lyrical 

subject, or ―persona‖. 

However, Eliot himself, at least in his correspondence with Pound, expresses their 

shared belief that the role of the central persona, if need be, would and could definitely be 

played by the figure of Tiresias. The very reference to, or rather incorporation of (the mythical 

figure of) Tiresias, however brief or loose – as it only appears mentioned three times between 

lines 218 and 246, can and indeed does equip the poem with an explicit concept of one central 

―consciousness‖, or a personified lyrical subject. The joke or the crux is, however, that the 

mind and identity of Tiresias is not the kind of identity we would usually ascribe to 

a traditionally imagined ―human‖ character, defined by cultural, historical, class, and personal 

experience, or even behavioural aspects of their very ―personal‖ identity. 

Tiresias is the mind transcending divisions of time and space (i.e. also the divisions of 

locally or temporarily defined culture or individual identity based on humanly defined 

experience and behaviour), as well as the division of gender identity. Tiresias metamorphosed 

between sexes while residing very much alike Sibylla of the introductory motto, who had as 

many years as the grains of dust in her hand, hovering in timespace over many a life in her 

―ampulla pendere‖ in a realm which supersedes the linearity of time and space and the 

mundanity of the causality of the world as we conventionally interpret it. Moreover, Tiresias, 

(once again alike Sibylla) i.e. his or her or its mind (Tiresias‘ gender identity must be 

recognised as polyvalent) is literally ―throbbing between two lives‖ (line 218), i.e. it belongs 


191

to both the past, future, and the present, belongs to ―this world‖ as well as to ―the 

netherworld‖. 

The split sense of identity this line seems to indicate translates differently in several 

different relations: both Sybilla and Tiresias had the experience of and could understand the 

logic of the netherworld as well as of ―this world‖, meaning the one defined by historical and 

positive experience. As a result, the mind is either split between what is, what will be, what 

was, and what could be or transcends all of these apparently separate paradigms. The mind 

also sees the limits and relativity of an individual perspective as well as the ambiguity 

resulting from such a relativity in a broader context. The mind can also recognise all that was 

supposed to stay or simply stayed ―secret‖ (or was buried with the Burial of the Dead), 

invisible to an inexperienced, unknowing, or lay recipient. 

As it (the mind of Tiresias) is actually not directly involved in the time-bound action 

and passions, it can apparently see the world of events in a naked light, as either trivial or 

metaphysical, but still as a phenomenon meaningful in a broader context of existence. It can 

see it as if unbiased by ―the fire of lust and other passions‖ (The Waste Land, ed. Kermode 

1998: 101), from a distance of an atemporal voyeur, uninvolved, but still perhaps feeling sorry 

or not feeling anything we could understand as we are ourselves distant from such experience. 

What‘s more, the identity question is made even more elusive as the prevalent 

principle of the poem seems to be the one of Ovid‘s Metamorphoses, i.e. that identities of 

persons, creations, creatures, animals, figures, and even objects and particular meaningful 

situations, events, are mutually commutative and swappable, or substitutable. 

But, let us remember, this poem also employs the principle of ―a game of chess‖ 

(which is the title of the second part of the poem), i.e. a process of creating meaningful 

tensions and correspondences, a processual system, which does not generate meaning from 

a single figure or a move. Rather, meaning is construed or established as a sum of all 

prevalent correspondences between all figures and postures (throughout the ―board‖ of the 

text) made mutually related and informative. Their relations are not simply linear, even 

though a text is usually perceived as a linear continuum, but their identity and value is defined 

only through the overall selfsameness of the game, of the constellation of meanings of all the 

latent potencies and implied meanings, and is actually built and gathered as a summa of 

implications within one interactive and integrated system. 

At the same time, the poem‘s play with cultural memory can also be seen as part of its 

strategy to redefine a sense of cultural identity. As a result, we have a witness, a mosaic 

testimony of the ―dead‖, whose fully fledged presence is activated by the gravity of the 


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invoked context, while the authority of their ―voice‖, presently unbiased and nonpartisan, 

bears witness – as of almost Buddha-like observers – to the mundanity of the spiritually 

declined and desolate mechanical existence of the inhabitants of the remains of the project of 

the Holy City, turned into City, doomed to fall as a result of the withering vitality and 

genuinity of its own cultural signifiers which no longer enable rejuvenation, unless shattered, 

vivisected, and recomposed. So the readily available identity of the modern urban existence 

remains, both for Eliot and his persona, primarily an identity of a legacy of violence, 

conspiracies, or just profit driven emptiness, i.e. of a waste history deprived of any genuine, 

spiritual or simply rewarding experience. That is why the persona, and Eliot himself, 

gravitates to a position of a pariah or a cultural exile, seeking a perspective from without, 

a perspective of a post-apocalyptic scanning the rubble, even though he takes his baggage of 

personally defined cultural legacy with him. 

In such a situation, i.e. in such a posture and condition of the poem‘s sole possible 

lyrical subject, the key issue remains: what enables these voices, this mixed bag, to turn into 

a unified whole? 

How, if at all, can that whole be made into a sovereign identity dissimilar to the 

individual fragments and their original, but now obsolete, weakened or cut off ―wasted‖ 

identities, which are at the same time acknowledged, but only to pretend having some quality 

of evidence, either historical or even canonical? 

In the first place, these fragments are turned to ready-made, appropriated or found 

textual or semiotic objects – very much similar to the mathematical understanding of logical 

objects, which are simultaneously brought to cohere, to yield some unified field of meaning 

by means of a series of expiations. 

In principle, the work seems to find its inner coherence as coming from implied 

meanings of the finely cut-out fragments and other incorporated speech acts, and their 

valencies that are activated into meaningful circuits established across the poem as both serial 

and parallel connections. 

At the same time, though, the individual fragments inevitably show a part of the whole 

submersed matrix of meaning of the text or artifact they originate in and thus serve as vectors, 

as constituting arches of a much broader and more complex multidimensional matrix of 

meaning – a kind of ruined, but still cathedral of a tradition – or a matrix that stands as a 

multidimensional and multiangular object constituted by partial statements, hints, incidental 

―symbolism‖ or rather incidental evidence of some overall self which is actually defined and 


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articulated and sustained virtually by the very merit of the poem‘s workings and which would 

otherwise not have a way of existence. 

As a result, the identities that were viewed as disparate in terms of traditional 

divisions, categorisations, and even canonisations of the history, culture, class, gender, or 

religious or even ethnic identity thus, by virtue of the poem‘s meaningful juxtaposition 

possibly acquire new affinities, simultaneously informing each other within the realm of the 

poem‘s meaningful flow, which in its cruel process melts and reconfigures the partial 

identities from their insularity into a plasmatic field (where the sun beats – line 22) of a joint 

meaning, a new pattern of the modern self. 

That self even takes its fresh strength and a sense of affirmation from the newly 

acquired ability to integrate, to build upon ―the fragments I have shored against my ruins‖ 

(line 430), as that ability helps it to reflect and overcome past schizophrenia, perversions, and 

acts of violence while making many of them backdrop motifs embedded in the poem‘s 

kaleidoscopic structure, or even turning these momentous moments into pivotal points or 

cornerstones of the very compositional architecture. 

Effectively, the poem combines references to and the patterns of the ―mythical‖ and 

―political‖, of the past and present, of the atemporal and the very historical – from those of the 

mythic past to those of the later historical time in which the mythical as if still perpetuates and 

permeates: from the change of Philomel, the killing of Narcissus, Ezekiel‘s vision of the fall 

of Jerusalem, through to St. Augustine‘s personal vision of the unholy Carthage, the tale of 

Dido Queen of Carthage, through to the private life of the Virgin Queen Elizabeth and the 

conspiracies of her Privy Council, the trade wars, exemplified by the Battle of Mylae, the 

murder in Kyd‘s The Spanish Tragedy and conspiracies surrounding Kyd himself all the way 

to the murder of Countess Larisch at Lake Leman, the mysterious ―drowning‖ of King 

Ludwid II of Bavaria at Starnbergersee, to dead Albert – a token name for the millions of 

soldiers killed in the Great War and buried in the news, to self-destructive acts of desperate 

abortion, drug abuse, indulgence in spiritualism, loose sex, life by ―automatic hand‖ (verse 

255), etc. Moreover, there are a number of acts of cultural violence: the demolition of the City 

churches, the ruins of Alexandria, the sacking of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Provençal 

Troubadour, etc. 

There is a perpetual paradox, however, that the persona of the poem faces, as it suffers 

from the irreducible relativity of its ―intention‖, which stems from the fact that however 

strongly is it immersed in the fragments of the past, it does not afford to indulge there or in 


194

them, but is rather repelled, scanning and weighing them as a heap of broken images (verse 

22) or the dust which it fears in line 30. 

Rather to the opposite of the expected alienation, though, the persona becomes 

affirmative at the very end and climax of the poem with ―shantih, shantih, shantih‖ – a kind of 

―peace that passeth understanding‖ as Eliot himself explains in his authorial note on The 

Waste Land, No. 433 (ibid.: 108). In our opinion, Eliot, who studied Sanskrit as well as 

Buddhism and Eastern religions, together with Leibnitz‘s concept of monads, mathematics 

and anthropology here proposes a peace of mind that comes not only from a recognised logic 

of the canonical interpretation of the past or established cultural forms and patterns, but rather 

seeks a state, or a condition, which can be culturally universal. The very condition of the 

mind, which is universal also anthropologically, had already in the early twentieth century, 

along with the arts scene, become also a focal point in Western anthropology and philosophy 

and had later evolved into the phenomenology, hermeneutics, and semiotics of the century. 

For our reading and dealing with the identity issues and the resulting problem of 

intention, it is also important to remember there is a profound polysemy and doubleness 

embedded at the heart of the poem – the doubleness of the mundane, the ordinary versus 

spiritual or even sacred, the most overt and even trivial versus clandestine, the secret, vulgar 

versus holy, as well as the civic and low-key versus the pathetic and enflamed. The visible 

versus the invisible world in a spiritual and religious sense. The here and now versus then and 

there, the present or even extatic moment of elevated presence versus banal presence or even 

timelessness that never truly happened in a spiritual sense of experience. The private and 

spiritual, mythical time and experience stand in opposition to the ―objective‖ and authoritative 

time and ―official experience‖. 

That doubleness is even further enriched and made more complex by a whole array of 

semiotic figures, tropes, and meaningful strategies that reach beyond the overtly textual or 

pragmatic reading and require a reading of both the implied and latent meaning, as well as 

situational and cognitive dynamics. Such a reading also requires knowledge and informed 

―empathy‖ for the very situation that is established as an ―icon‖, ―image‖ or a frame of 

reference, which can also be a dramatic situation or effect. 

Needless to say, the poem‘s identity problem, it seems, itself implies several 

challenges. We need to ask ―What is the identity of this work?‖, once we acknowledge the 

plain fact that the poem almost exclusively uses quotes, i.e. it is as if there is no original Eliot 

work, except for his work as a composer of the fragments. 


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At the same time, of course, this is the identity of the text composed of fragments of 

texts and images and artefacts that themselves have their identity of separate contexts, carry 

both their own original contexts in terms of cultural history, as well as their own 

phenomenological and iconic quality – the identity of their original time and cultural 

perception and identity as defined by their reading or misreading over time and across 

cultures. 

Even though this is primarily an ontological poem, a poem of ontological strife – it is 

also irreducibly personal, at least to a degree. The strife of reassembling an identity via a very 

specific kind of archaeology of meaning actually integrates cultural fragments – revived by 

personal relation – with occasional references to a map of personal journeying and being, loci 

of personal myth and experience (especially Munich, the City of London, Margate, etc.). The 

purging process, scanning and refining the mental debris, in the same breath, stays very much 

in line with Eliot‘s personal and original concept of authorial appropriation as a way of 

rejuvenating the tradition, and thus remains also necessarily ―personal‖. 

As we have indicated, a major problem for the positive identification of the poem‘s 

clearly defined field of identity is a relativity of the voices‘ intent and tone. As we have hinted 

above, the working method of the poem is a kind of ―Shakespearian rag‖ (verse 128) – a kind 

of processing of samples of ―tunes‖ of works into different overall pattern. But, as a result, 

partial expressions become relative as the samples put together correlate differently in 

different mutual relations. This new constellation produces a whole range of variegated 

meaningful emanations and tensions, previously non-existent, which range from the grotesque 

to metaphysical, from the trivial to Wagnerian, and often subvert or relativise the notion of the 

very genres and genre identities they originated from. 

For instance, the voice of Madam Larisch here is no longer just safely set in its 

original context of her book of memories My Past, but plays out as a vocal counterpoint in the 

operatic environment of Wagner‘s Tristan and Isolde, which itself is in a way conducted by 

a leading voice of The Ezekiel‘s command ―rise to thy feet, son of man‖, which is the ―voice 

from above‖. The divine and divining voice is of course possibly mocked and made mundane 

by later motifs of Ms. Porter, and other, but also developed in the gravely pious while 

possibly also jocular presence and voice of Madame Sosostris – a famous clairvoyant dealing 

and reading the Tarot ―pack of wicked cards‖, who cannot be attached any particular historic 

identity but, perhaps, Madame Blavatsky or, equally possibly, Pharaoh Sesostris, one of the 

greatest military leaders Egypt ever had, who also was the one to introduce a cult of Serapis, 

a syncretic Hellenic Egyptian God. The effort of the poem is very much similar to cultural 


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syncretism in its absorbing and melting of identities of the original canonical contexts and 

references into this fresh operatic playing field of interactions. 

The identity quest can be claimed to be one of the prime objectives of this poem as it 

deliberately, in a syncretic effort, pulls together apparently random and arbitrary sets and 

groups of samples and quotes and meaningful grains or stones playing their role in the overall 

mosaic, which itself is fluid. 

The problem of establishing identity in a more conventional sense also stems from the 

fact that the whole of this metatext, due to its highly unique structuring, is difficult to compare 

to anything previously known and bears little semblance to established categories in the realm 

of poetry. As a result, the problem of the poem‘s identity is very much identical to the 

question of the poem‘s original construction and constitution in itself, as well as in a broader 

cultural context. 

The lyrical subject of this text seems to be open-ended, reaching beyond a particular 

section or paradigm of political, cultural or even historical and religious reality or even time, 

and brings into question the very interpretation of the very nature of reality, as it transforms 

the code of the text into the code of the mind and is not necessarily related to primary 

experience of any kind but experience of the cultural legacy and legacy of the myth. 

The healing and reconciling effort of the poem is in a way a ritual, a procedure of 

reconciling the apparently disparate and dead, singularised, truncated ―fragments‖, which by 

the very act of inner appropriation using both the conscious and unconscious processes – like 

in the performing arts – enlivens and animates new possibilities of a new kind of logos, i.e. 

coding, structuring, and integrating the cognitive and the artifactual into a new kind of 

cultural and even ontological reality and identity. The poem seems to suggest that it is 

possible for a mind, educated and creative, to open to more than one culture, to transcend its 

temporary condition, and thus reinvent the tradition it inherited in an original and unique way. 

Let us just pose an example of the open nature of the fragmented identity of meaning: 

merely by the virtue of the very quote from ―Tristan und Isolde‖, the Wagner opera. Eliot 

establishes a reference not only to the text semantics in its nominal value, but also to all of the 

Arthurian tradition, as well as to the totality of stylistic paradigm of the opera, of the music 

score and its revolutionary structure, as well as to Wagner‘s presence, i.e. his possible 

connection with Marie Larisch via King Ludwig II of Bavaria, etc. 

The fluid quality of the identity of the individual voices, and contexts, bears serious 

implications for our reading, or rather ―perception‖. TWL (as Eliot himself labelled the poem 

as an acronym) has to be perceived not only as a ―text‖ with purely semantic qualities, but 


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also as a meaningful assembly of different semiotic artifacts bearing qualities and meanings 

that are of different, not only semantic, orders or kinds. These other kinds of cultural or 

philosophical meaning, that together cohabitate and inform each other in the fabric of the 

poem woven of a number of formal logics – for instance musical phrasing, the score, or even 

operatic quality combining specific musical and dramatic effects – need to be taken into 

account in our perception of The Waste Land. They need to be perceived not just 

semantically, but as fully fledged multigenre meaningful objects, or even subsystems defined 

by their own specific discourse, sublogic or subphilosophy – as Wittgensteinian cases – i.e. as 

semiotic artifacts of their own specific subculture, own code and material structure. Only such 

a perception might enable us to wholly interpret, and actually ―tune together‖, i.e. harmonise, 

the variegated samples and fragments that the reader – or rather ―recipient‖ – is either 

required or invited to find coherent. 

The way to coherence seems to lead via an inferring phenomenological meaning of 

each and every fragment and their collection into a whole of matrix of implied meanings – 

a matrix of interpreted fields of meaning – which itself, by virtue of its existence as a field of 

depersonalised, displaced and abstracted identities, will converge to a coherence that will be 

unique to the very particular reading of the very particular reader. The very quality of 

pulsating meaning brings The Waste Land, at least potentially, also close to Eco‘s concept of 

an open text that allows multiple interpretations by the readers. However, if we were to take 

many a text sample in their original authoritative, not phenomenological quality, The Waste 

Land would – in contrast – remain a closed text that leads the reader to one intended 

interpretation of one embedded ―code‖ (for the concept of the open text, see Eco 1984). 

But, at the same time, in The Waste Land, by cutting the fragments off their original 

(canonised) context (or plucking out – verse 309), making them autonomous 

phenomenological, not merely semantic entities of the original context, Eliot manages to 

create ―a void in between‖ the very incorporated fragments. This act of releasing the semiotic 

charge (of incidental symbolism) of the fragments called in to the corpus of work enables 

Eliot to make his juxtapositioning a deliberate act of composition that carries both the 

principles of affirmation and subversion of the original ―tone‖, meaning, genre or style as 

many fragments become subject to transforming forces of pastiche, grotesque, and as the low 

or even vulgar might acquire a nearly metaphysical quality and vice versa. 

The central persona, the central voice, is really the voice of the mind, which ―can do 

the police in different voices‖. This is the voice of voices that are mostly serious or tragic in 

their original identity, but his is also the voice that mimics and mocks. 


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To illustrate the problem of relative intentionality, let us pose a few questions related 

to Tiresias, the only possible central persona of the poem. 

How do we imagine Tiresias? What voice does he or it speak or use? Old or young? 

More similar to the music of Babylonia or Ragtime (or this metaphysical ―oooo 

Shakespearean rag‖ – verse 128)? Is his voice a high pitch or a bass, more masculine or 

feminine, or ―androgynous‖? Is it engaged, enflamed, or rather withdrawn or even robotic- 

automatic? Melodramatic or reconciled? Is his mind still in the time immemorial, in the 

mythic time as he peers at the banality of the mundane unreal city life? How does his 

atemporal experience and its tension with the experience of the present inform his voice, tone, 

and supposed intentionality? 

A single-minded answer to any and all of these questions would demand reducing our 

overall interpretation of the poem‘s meaning to one level, to one line. But that would not be 

productive or appropriate at all because the poem‘s identity, its distinct quality, also lies in the 

fact it is designed as a meaningful field of multiple identities, voices and even relative pitches 

or intentionalities working in a mode of both affirmative and subversive appropriation of the 

original genre and cultural and historic identity and canonised or established version of the 

―message‖. 

Tiresias‘ mind is not only present in all points in time in a linear line, but his 

perspective is also as if on a plane above the causality and temporary or limited identity of 

those immersed in ―local‖ time and sense of space. As a result, his ―mind‖, not necessarily 

just as a biological identity but also as an identity of tradition, transcends conventional 

concepts of identity of a ―human‖ lyrical subject. 

Given this quality of ―experience‖ of the totality of experience, Tiresias does not fall 

victim to emotions, but is rather a dry, desolate, even more strongly a depersonalized 

observer. As his is primarily the consciousness of what is ―bound to come‖, it is a 

consciousness of evidence rather than experience, even though from his perspective the 

unfolding history is still his ―mental event‖ – while outside his will, still not outside his 

sensory and cognitive experience. 

So, in a sense, the figure of Tiresias, with its weight of universal evidence made 

personally relevant, stands for Eliot‘s own controlling self in the text. All of the allusions, 

literary references, themes, and images made their way into the poem only because there was 

Eliot‘s control combining conscious and intuitive (i.e. anthropologically atemporal and 

archetypal) approaches and procedures of inclusion. 


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As a result, Eliot blurs the noetic and noematic dimension of the fractured ―subjects‖ 

appearing in the poem and ―atemporal‖ all inclusive ―subject‖ of androgynous Tiresias and 

via this inferring personification proposes a kind of universally informed, experienced, and 

empathic identity as a possible form of existence of an ever more universalist and globalist 

individual of the twentieth century. 

The concept of identity, in essence, might also be compared to more recent 

developments in the field of comparative philosophy, which combine the concept of the 

Transcendental Ego in Husserl‘s phenomenology with the concept of the primacy of self- 

consciousness in the work of Sankaracharya and uncover a wholly new eidetic 

phenomenological science called ―convergent phenomenology‖. This new phenomenology 

takes over where Husserl left off, and deals with the constitution of relation-like, rather than 

merely thing-like, or ―intentional‖ objectivity. 

Bibliography 

BAGCHEE, Shyamal (Ed.). (1990). T. S. Eliot: A Voice Descanting: Centenary Essays. 

London: Macmillan. 

BEDIENT, Clavin (1987). He Do the Police in Different Voices: The Waste Land and Its 

Protagonists. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 

BISHOP, Jonathan (1985). A Handful of Words: The Credibility of Language in The Waste 

Land. Texas Studies in Literature and Language 27(2). 

BLOOM, Harold (Ed.). (1987). T. S. Eliot‘s The Waste Land. Modern Critical 

Interpretations. New York: Chelsea. 

BOSE, Purnima (1988). ‗End-Anxiety‘ in T. S. Eliot‘s The Waste Land: Narrative Closure 

and the End of Empire. Yeats-Eliot Review 9(4). 

CHANDRAN, K. Narayana (1989). ‗Shantih‘ in The Waste Land. American Literature 61(4), 

681 – 83. 

DEAN, Michael P. (1984). T. S. Eliot‘s Tiresias: A Unifying Force in The Waste Land. 

Publications of the Mississippi Philological Association, 125 – 33. 

DIEPEVEEN, Leonard (1989). Shifting Metaphors: Interarts Comparisons and Analogy. 

Word and Image 5(2), 206 – 13. 

EASTHOPE, Antony (1983). The Waste Land as Dramatic Monologue. English Studies 

64(4). 

ECO, Umberto (1984). The Role of the Reader: Explorations in the Semiotics of Texts. 

Bloomington: University of Indiana Press. 

ERWIN, Mark (1997). Wittgenstein and The Waste Land. Philosophy and Literature 21(2). 

JOHNSON, Anthony L. (1985). ‗Broken Images‘: Discursive Fragmentation and 

Paradigmatic Integrity in the Poetry of T. S. Eliot. Poetics Today 6(3), 399 – 416. 

KERMODE, Frank (Ed.). (1998). The Waste Land. New York: Penguin Classsics. 

KINNEY, Clare R. (1987). Fragmentary Excess, Copious Dearth: The Waste Land as Anti- 

Narrative. Journal of Narrative Technique 17(3): 273 – 85. 

LITZ, Walton (Ed.). (1972). Eliot in His Time. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 


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Resumé 

Príspevok interpretuje Pustatinu T.S.Eliota ako dielo, v ktorom autor prináńa nový koncept 

modernej identity, pričom narúńa a transformuje celý rad predpokladov, s ktorými sa pojem 

identity spájal na začiatku dvadsiateho storočia. Eliotova transformácia pojmu identity sa 

premieta do poetiky hraničnej a fluidnej koherencie, ktorá tak pre Pustatinu otvára moņnosti 

Ecovho otvoreného diela. Eliotova Pustatina a ambivalencia prítomnosti jej lyrického 

subjektu umoņňuje interpretáciu autorovej koncepcie identity vedomia ako dynamického 

ekvilibria fragmentárnych (textových a kultúrnych) identít, ktoré sú apropriované, 

inkorporované a procesuálne integrované na základe fenomenologickej afinity. Proces 

integrácie týchto fragmentarizovaných a fragmentárnych identít vńak otvára celé pole 

následných nečakaných výziev a neurčitostí, ako napr. neurčitosť „identity― vedomia, hlasu, 

postavy, skúsenosti, intencie, ba dokonca aj času a miesta. Tieto tradičné vymedzenia sa 

uvoľňujú a prelínajú v Eliotovom mýtickom, ritualizujúcom a súčasne parodujúcom 

poetickom „mode operandi―, ako aj „mode Vivendi―, ktoré hľadá a nachádza svoju identitu 

v stave mysle, ktorý je kultúrne aj antropologicky univerzálny, pričom presahuje hranice 

vyčerpaného západného kánonu svojej doby, aby súčasne umoņnil jeho revitalizáciu. 


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Enhancing Intercultural Awareness of Teachers of English 


Zdeněk Janík 


Today‘s pedagogical debate brings to the fore cultural proficiency as an intrinsic part 

of foreign language teaching and learning. The often-stressed linguistic proficiency as the 

fundamental goal of communicative competence has been revised to include the objective of 

appropriate language use in context. English language teaching should thus incorporate 

cultural proficiency and reflect the mutual link between language proficiency and cultural 

factors that define the context of communication. Language-and-culture teaching is the 

fundamental discourse of the course of Cultural Studies for Teachers of English taught at the 

English Department of Faculty of Education in Brno. 

The underlying objective of the course (Janík 2009) is to point out the misconception 

of English language and English culture as essentially the same in all English-speaking 

countries and explore the cultural and linguistic diversity of English speaking countries. This 

new discourse of English language teaching discards as insufficient and erroneous the concept 

of one native speaker of one national language coming from one national culture, and instead 

views English as lingua franca used by various cultural groups as their target language, 

second language, and international language in international and interethnic communication 

(Risager 1998). Emphasis is given on learners‘ intercultural awareness, development of 

positive attitudes towards other cultures, and improvement of competence in intercultural 

communication. 

2. English As a Contact Language in Intercultural Situations 


METHODOLOGY 

A decisive factor in developing the course of Cultural Studies for Teachers of English 

was precisely the urgency to challenge the idea that ―language learning should offer insights 

into the culture and civilization of the countries where the language is spoken‖ (Risager 1998: 

242). This assumption claims the existence of pure, authentic, and locally bounded cultures 

and languages that can be clearly delimited, which does not reflect the reality of interactions 

of cultures and languages and their hybridization in today‘s multicultural and global world. 

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The focus of language and culture learning should then move away from teaching of national 

cultures and national differences that only perpetuates national and linguistic stereotypes. 

Teaching and learning about specific cultures do not contribute to the growth of 

learners‘ communicative competence in intercultural context. The language-and-culture 

approach taken in Cultural Studies for Teachers of English has the fundamental goal to bring 

learners to an understanding of English as a contact language in intercultural situations 

characterized by both cultural and linguistic complexity. The course primarily focuses on the 

target countries, namely Great Britain and the United States of America 56 , but it moves 

beyond the concept of learning about national culture and national identity by encompassing 

cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of the target countries. Learners come to realize that 

the target language (i.e. English) is a lingua franca that can be spoken by people who, to 

borrow Risager‘s words, ―on the one hand belong to the society where the target language is 

also spoken as a first language [for example American English in the USA], but on the other 

hand belong to another culture [for example African American culture] and who may speak 

another language as their first language [i.e. Black English]‖ (ibid.: 249). 

An essential element of the cultural dimension of the language-culture approach is a 

cognitive learning process in which learners become aware of cultural factors embedded in 

communication. Any foreign language communication involves interactions between the 

culture of the target language speakers and learners‘ own culture. Both parts engaged in the 

intercultural communication need to be aware of the fact that their own cultures influence the 

communication by means of their judgments, interpretations and behavior. This intercultural 

awareness will not, as Begley rightly presumes, guarantee to learners that they will know 

when to bow or shake hands, but it will help them to understand that greetings vary according 

to culture, which will enable them to speak with people from diverse cultural backgrounds 

(2003: 409). Intercultural awareness of contrasting cultural practices in intercultural 

communication is the first necessary step to be taken by learners who wish to become 

intercultural speakers (and teachers) of English. If the learners‘ awareness is then successfully 

transformed to their understanding, recognition, and acceptance of different modes of thinking 

and behavior, as they are embodied in foreign language communication, the learners will 

enhance their intercultural communicative competence in English (cf. Byram and Fleming 

1998). 

56 It is the author‘s intention to include other English speaking countries, namely Australia and Canada. 


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3. The Course of Cultural Studies for Teachers of English 

The following is a summary of the content of the course with the focus on knowledge, 

skills, and attitudes learners need to gain in order to become competent intercultural speakers 

and teachers of English. Cultural Studies for Teachers of English is an e-learning course, 

which means that all the study materials as well as activities required from learners are web- 

based. The e-learning course creates an environment in which learners exchange their ideas in 

discussion forums, check their understanding of the study materials through on-line quizzes, 

and submit essays and receive teacher‘s feedback on their work (see more in Janík, 2009). 

The e-learning course does not fully replace the need for ―contact lessons‖: learners meet in 

regular class sessions for discussions and they consult cultural issues with their colleagues and 

the teacher. The course consists of the following twelve topics: 

1. Introduction to Cultural Studies 

2. Cultural Identity 

3. Cultural Awareness and Cultural Differences 

4. Explaining Differences and Similarities across Cultures in Europe and Elsewhere 

5. Cultural Values 

6. Seeing the others: Developing Stereotypes and Making Judgments 

7. National Culture and Cultural Diversity 

8. Theory of Multiculturalism: How to Cope with Cultural Diversity 

9. Culture and Communication 

10. Language and Power Relations: British English and British Imperialism. Black 

English in the U.S. 

11. Language and Power Relations: Discriminating Attitudes Toward Speech 

12. Differences in cultural values, communication and learning strategies in an 

intercultural classroom 

3.1 Towards Learners‟ Intercultural Awareness 

The first part of the course is devoted to learners‘ awareness of their own culture, 

which is the first condition to be met by learners if they intend to learn about and understand 

other people‘s cultures, regardless of the target language. The Introduction to Cultural Studies 

provides learners with various definitions of cultures. In light of the language-culture 

approach, emphasis is placed on learners‘ understanding of the inseparability of culture, 

language, and communication (for more see Fong 2003; Gay 2003). 


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The objectives of learning in topics 2 through 5 can be summarized as follows. Culture 

involves learning of culturally-embedded perceptions: we socialize and interact with one 

another in a cultural group by means of acquiring and modifying meanings we assign to our 

life and the outside world. Once we have acquired our culture, we take it for granted. That is, 

we are not aware of our own culture and, in a parallel manner, we do not perceive in our 

culture what we were not taught to perceive. It is only when we encounter other cultures that 

we see our culture as being different from those of others. But seeing differences does not 

equal being aware of one‘s own culture, let alone other cultures. This is because when we 

interact with other cultures, and thus actually engage ourselves in intercultural 

communication, we subconsciously bring our own cultural frame of interpretation to the 

intercultural situation. Shortly, we perceive them through the lenses of our own culture. The 

ensuing ethnocentric attitudes of members of one culture who judge another culture‘s habits 

and practices as good or bad according to their own cultural beliefs and values are a social 

phenomenon common for Western cultures, including the cultures of English-speaking 

countries. 

By focusing on learners‘ cognition, the course helps learners to become aware of their 

own culture and explore cognitive mechanisms that enable one to avoid ethnocentrism. The 

stories of ‗The Peacelike Mongoose‘ and ‗The Bear Story‘ in topic 2 give insight into how our 

cultural identity influences the ways we see the world around us and, vice-versa, the ways the 

world sees us. The theme of the stories is that a cultural group has a strong impact on one‘s 

own cultural identity, especially if one is treated as an outsider (a foreigner) to the group. The 

topic also explains how cultural identity effects language acquisition and communicative 

competence in a foreign language. 

Topic 3 continues in the cognitive stage of learning by introducing an activity 

(adopted from Hofstede et al. 2002: 8 – 1) in which learners find out how their cultural 

perceptions differ from those of others. Learners are presented with unfinished and unclear 

drawings of people involved in various activities. By describing the pictures (first alone, then 

in groups) learners see how their perceptions of the same picture differ from others. They 

learn how to separate their observation from what may be culturally-influenced interpretations 

and judgments. The second activity under topic 3 presents learners with situations that require 

certain behavioral and communicative response. Learners are asked to choose responses that 

are closest to their modes of thinking and behavior, in other words, to their culture. It must be 

stressed here that the activity does not offer situations that might be considered ―typical‖ for 

the target language cultures, nor does the activity give multiple-choice answers with 


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explanations provided for the rightness or wrongness of these answers. Such an approach 

could not be aligned with the goal of reaching cultural awareness with learners, but would 

erroneously instill in learners superiority of one‘s cultural habits, worldviews, behavior, and 

ways of communication over another‘s. 

Realizing that modes of behavior and communication differ across cultures, learners 

further look into reasons for and underlying conditions of cultural similarities and differences. 

Topic 4 adapts Hofstede‘s scientific classification of cultures according to cultural dimensions 

of identity, hierarchy, gender, and virtue (Hofstede et al. 2002: 91 – 113). Each of the 

dimensions has its opposites: for example, the dimension of identity on one side expresses 

collectivism, its opposite conveys individualism; hierarchy signifies large power distance, and 

its opposite is small power distance, and so on. The authors believe that most of the world‘s 

cultures incline to either of the two dimension opposites. To give an example, Japanese 

culture tends to collectivism that gives priority to a group over individual, and large power 

distance, which means acknowledging social status, hierarchical positions, and use of formal 

language. The culture of Americans, on the other hand, is said to move towards the opposite 

extreme of identity, encompassing individualism with its emphasis on personal opinion and 

rights of individual before his/her group. Likewise, the American small power distance 

regards privileges and social status as unimportant in communication and values instead an 

informal talk between equal people. 

Hofstede‘s cultural dimensions can provide learners with knowledge of cultural 

differences, yet such knowledge per se will not prevent learners from avoiding cross-cultural 

misunderstanding. Hypothetically speaking, in intercultural communication between a Czech 

employee and his Japanese employer, the Japanese may decide to act contrary to the Czech 

employee‘s cultural expectations by being informal and trying to be on an equal footing with 

his employee. The notion of expectations gathered through knowledge of cultural differences 

does not lead to intercultural awareness and communicative competence. Experience of 

intercultural communication always reveals something unlearnt and new and learners need to 

know when and how to adjust to various and unexpected circumstances arising within 

intercultural communication. In order to achieve such intercultural skills, learners need to be 

mindful of the communication process, not only of the outcome of communication, they 

should be able to tolerate ambiguity and manage anxiety (Gudykunst 2004: 253 – 273). 

Nevertheless, even if learners concentrate on behavioral differences in intercultural 

communication, differences in turn-taking and in verbal and non-verbal communication, they 

still lack full understanding of differing cultural values that lie behind the cultural differences 


206

apparent in communication (cf. Morgan 1998). Topic 5 moves further the discussion of 

behavioral and language differences to explore differing beliefs and cultural values. Learners 

complete and evaluate a questionnaire on cultural values and they compare their values with 

those of others in groups and with values of other cultures. The cultural values under scrutiny 

are classified according to their subject-relation as institutionalized, personal, and internalized 

values, and they are further combined into value continuums of individualism versus 

collectivism, altruism versus self-interest, industry versus relaxation (adopted from 

D‘Andrade 2008). 

Topic 5 also commences discussions and explorations of cultures of the target 

language speakers. Learners study specific examples of differences in cultural values between 

Euro-Americans, based on competition and individualism, and African Americans, who stress 

the importance of group and community needs over individual aspirations (Jackson II, 

Dangerfield 2003). Learners further discuss and compare values of the target language 

cultures with values common in non-Western cultures to verify assumptions about differences 

in cultural values. The cultures involved are American and Japanese teachers in two day-care 

centers (one situated in Tokyo, the other in a city in Wisconsin). Learners read about attitudes 

and values the teachers attach to the teaching and upbringing of children. The text reveals to 

learners that cultural differences cannot be always treated as differences in values. Both 

groups of teachers want children to become adults. The Japanese help the children grow up by 

letting them express in their childish ways, whereas the American teachers prefer giving the 

children verbal directions and explanations as helping them grow up. The value is the same; 

different are specific beliefs and perceptions of the same value (D‘Andrade 2008: 108 – 113). 

Topic 5 also opens the second part of the course: learners build on the subjects of 

culture they have learnt in the previous part of the course (the interrelation between culture 

and communication, cultural identity, ethnocentrism, cultural perceptions, cultural and 

intercultural awareness, and cultural values) and relate their theoretical understanding of 

culture to specific cultural and language issues in the target language countries. 

3.2 The Study of American and British Cultural Issues 

Topic 6 returns to the subject of ethnocentrism to shed light on cultural stereotypes in 

the USA and Great Britain. Learners read about and discuss stereotypes used by Euro- 

Americans to label Native Americans and Asian Americans. Other reading material looks 

back to history to explore stereotypes and prejudice arising from British Imperialism and 

American Plantation Policy. To illustrate, in the former, learners analyze labels such as 


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Geronimo, Crazy Horse, and Tonto, and the stereotyping traits the major Euro-American 

culture has historically ascribed to people of Native American origin. The latter focuses on the 

British and American representations of black people and, among other things, it makes 

learners question stereotypes that are derived from plantation and slave images (Toms, Coons, 

Mammies, etc.). 

The following topic defines the political context of stereotyping and labeling applied 

by allegedly superior culture over cultures of minorities and ethnic groups. Within such a 

context the notion of national culture, shared by citizens of a geographically bounded nation, 

is challenged by the perspective of cultural diversity of various ethnic and cultural groups 

living in the same nation. Using the example of the USA, learners analyze characteristics of 

the American national culture and are encouraged to reason the myth of the national culture 

by studying U.S. presidential speeches (i.e., the Inaugural Addresses of Ronald Reagan in 

1981, Bill Clinton in 1993, and George W. Bush in 2001). The U.S. Presidents‘ call for one 

nation and the same national values shared by all Americans, and their appeal to the American 

culture, history, and the language as all the same all over the USA, is then contrasted with the 

reality of American cultural diversity. Learners come to the understanding that learning about 

American culture should not equal studying one American national culture, but exploring the 

diversity of cultures and languages within the American nation. 

Topic 8 introduces political theories of assimilation, cultural pluralism, 

multiculturalism, and extremist nationalism. The aim is learners‘ awareness of assimilative 

tendencies of today‘s nations that suppress cultural and language diversities in favor of one 

national culture; extremist nationalism of radical and extremist groups that call for eradication 

of minorities and their cultural groups; multiculturalism and cultural pluralism that, on the 

other hand, are the appropriate mechanisms of protection of cultural and language diversity. 

The topic supplements the theories with an account of how multiculturalism efficiently works 

in practice in the state of Hawaii. 

Topics 9 through 12 are devoted to the subject of relations between culture and 

language. Topic 9 defends the interconnectedness of culture and language by explaining how 

appropriate use of language depends on a speaker‘s recognition of the cultural contexts and 

situation. Learners should realize that when people of different cultures meet and 

communicate in English, their language proficiency per se will not guarantee their 

understanding of differences in culturally given styles of conversations. Learners study a text 

on two cultural groups, one using Western (i.e. British and American) and other Japanese 

conversational style, both trying to communicate with one another in English. The resulting 


208

misunderstandings and misinterpretations are attributed to differing cultural perceptions and 

values between the two groups. Whereas the Western style of conversation reflects the values 

of freedom and equality by allowing, and indeed expecting from listeners to respond to the 

speaker‘s ideas by asking additional questions, expressing one‘s own opinion, agreement or 

disagreement, the Japanese style of conversation does not tolerate such interference in the 

speaker‘s talk. Listeners involved in the Japanese conversational style are expected to respect 

the values of social hierarchy and power distance (Sakamoto 1982). 

Topic 10 and 11 approach the link between culture and language from the perspective 

of power and analyze the history of ―superior‖ cultural and language discourses imposed by 

the British and Americans on other cultures that were deemed inferior. Topic 10 first defines 

the meaning of discourse as a cultural mechanism that sets and regulates who can speak, how, 

when and where (cf. Barker 2003; Campbell and Kean 2006). The first reading material under 

the topic is a narration of how British colonizers in Trinidad forced the native elites to learn 

―proper‖ British English and accept it as their first language (adopted from Dowdy 2008). The 

second text takes learners to the USA of 1960s and tells an authentic story of African 

Americans in Los Angeles who were coerced by their high school teachers to give up their 

Black English Vernacular, i.e. Ebonics (adopted from Smith 2008). The text also focuses on 

some of the differences between Euro-American English and Ebonics. 

If the national cultures of English speaking countries represent one variety of English 

language as superior to other varieties and permit the ―inferior‖ varieties to be marked 

―dysfunctional‖, full of ―broken English‖ and ―corrupt speech‖, the speakers of such varieties 

consequently face an irrevocable harm to their cultural identities. Topic 11 gives an example 

of school policy of an American board of education that required students to make a public 

promise that they would not dishonor American English by using improper speech and 

grammar (see more in Delpit and Dowdy 2008: 29). Topic 11 further attempts to answer the 

question, why we assign importance to people‘s quality of speech. A study on linguistic 

stereotypes inquires into some of the dialects in Britain and the USA and explains how people 

draw conclusions about a person‘s level of education and his social status based on how the 

person speaks (Stubbs 2008: 63 – 86). The topic aims at challenging the myth of Standard 

English and offers the perspective of intercultural speaker of English who replaces the notion 

of the native speaker‘s traditional privilege of being the model for English speakers and 

learners (cf. Byram and Fleming 1998). Learners should take from the topic the understanding 

that no English dialect is superior or inferior to any other and that all languages and dialects 

are suited to the needs of the community and culture they serve. 


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The last topic of the course is devoted to an essential aspect of Cultural Studies for 

English Teachers, which is the study of cultural and language diversity within the classroom 

setting. The first text is an authentic story of a schoolgirl at a junior high school in 1940s New 

York City. Her story addresses her teacher‘s decision to impose strict discipline on her and 

her fellow students and questions the teacher‘s disrespect of the students‘ unique cultures. The 

teacher‘s refusal to learn to tolerate and work with the students‘ cultural differences, ranging 

from Italian to Jewish, had displeasing consequences both for the teacher and the students (see 

more in Kohl 2008). 

Having to teach a group of students of different cultural backgrounds is an every-day 

reality for many English teachers in target countries. The last reading material under topic 12 

explains to learners how various cultural groups bring to the classroom different 

communication and learning styles, ways of problem-solving and task engagement. For 

example, a teacher expects from learners to assume a passive-receptive posture, requiring 

from the learners to listen quietly while the teacher talks, speak in complete sentences, focus 

on one issue at a time, and have facts arranged in a linear and logical order. African 

American, Latinos, and Native Hawaiians, however, culturally incline to a participatory- 

interactive posture, in which speakers expect listeners to engage actively through vocalized 

and motion responses and get participatory entry into conversations through associative 

discourses that address more than one issue at once that mutually intersect and overlap (see 

more in Gay 2003). To learn about such cultural differences among students and to learn to 

respect them is the task of intercultural speakers and teachers of English. 

4. Conclusion 

The course of Cultural Studies for Teachers of English is perhaps too ambitious to try 

to encompass all the subject areas of cultural studies for English teaching purposes. The 

course, nevertheless, does not pursue a thorough insight into cultural theories, nor does it 

acquaint learners with all cultures in all English speaking countries. The outlook the course 

offers to future teachers of English is that English language teaching would be incomplete 

without systematic and persistent queries to cultures of the target language and the rich 

relations between cultures and their languages. 

Bibliography 

BARKER, Chris (2003). Cultural Studies. Theory and Practice. London: Sage Publications. 


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BEGLEY, Polly A. (2003). Sojourner Adaptation. In L. A. Samovar and R. E. Porter (Eds.), 

Intercultural Communication: A reader (406 – 411). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 

BYRAM, Michael, and Michael FLEMING (Eds.). (1998). Language Learning in 

Intercultural Perspective: Approaches through drama and ethnography. Cambridge: 

CUP. 

CAMPBELL, Neil, and Alasdair KEAN (2006): American Cultural Studies: An introduction 

to American culture. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. 

D‘ANDRADE, Roy (2008). A Study of Personal and Cultural Values: American, Japanese, 

and Vietnamese. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 

DELPIT, Lisa, and Joanne Kilgour DOWDY (Eds.). (2008). The Skin That We Speak: 

Thoughts on language and culture in the classroom. New York: The New Press. 

DOWDY, Joanne K., Ovuh Dyuh. In L. Deplit and J. K. Dowdy (Eds.), The Skin that We 

Speak: Thoughts on language and culture in the classroom (3 – 14). 

FONG, Mary (2003). The Nexus of Language, Communication, and Culture. In L. A. 

Samovar and R. E. Porter (Eds.). Intercultural Communication: A reader (198 – 206). 

GAY, Geneva (2003). Culture and Communication in the Classroom. In L. A. Samovar and 

R. E. Porter (Eds.), Intercultural Communication: A reader (320 – 338). 

GUDYKUNST, William B. (2004). Bridging Differences: Effective Intergroup 

Communication. 4 th ed. California, India, London: Sage Publications. 

HOFSTEDE, Gert Jan, Paul B. PEDERSEN, and Geert HOFSTEDE (2002). Exploring 

Culture. Exercises, Stories and Synthetic Cultures. Main: Intercultural Press. 

JACKSON II, Ronald L., and Celnisha L., DANGERFIELD (2003). Defining Black 

Masculinity as Cultural Property: Toward an Identity Negotiation Paradigm. In L. A. 

Samovar and R. E. Porter (Eds.), Intercultural Communication: A reader (120 – 130). 

JANÍK, Zdeněk. (2009). Cultural Studies for Teachers of English (E-Learning Course) 

[online]. Brno: Masarykova Univerzita. Retrieved from http://moodlinka.ped.muni.cz/ 

course/view.php?id=1533 on Oct. 20, 2010. 

KOHL, Herbert (2008). Topsy-Turvies: Teacher Talk and Student Talk. In L. Deplit and J. K. 

Dowdy (Eds.). The Skin that We Speak: Thoughts on language and culture in the 

classroom (145 – 162). 

MORGAN, Carol (1998). Cross-cultural encounters. In M. Byram and M. Fleming (Eds.), 

Language Learning in Intercultural Perspective: Approaches through drama and 

ethnography (224 – 241). 

RISAGER, Karen (1998). Language teaching and the process of European integration. In M. 

Byram and M. Fleming (Eds.), Language Learning in Intercultural Perspective: 

Approaches through drama and ethnography (242 – 254). 

SAKAMOTO, Nancy (1982). Polite Fictions: Why Japanese and Americans Seem Rude to 

Each Other. Japan, CA: Kinseido. 

SMITH, Ernie (2008). Ebonics: A Case History. In L. Deplit and J. K. Dowdy (Eds.), The 

Skin that We Speak: Thoughts on language and culture in the classroom (17 – 27). 

STUBBS, Michael, Some Basic Sociolinguistic Concepts. In: L. Deplit and J. K. Dowdy 

(Eds.), The Skin that We Speak: Thoughts on language and culture in the classroom 

(63 – 86). 

Resumé 

Článek prezentuje cíle výuky v předmětu Kulturních studií pro učitele angličtiny. Předmět 

přináńí budoucím angličtinářům poznatky o kulturní a lingvistické různorodosti anglicky 

mluvících zemích a upozorňuje na chybnou představu o uniformitě anglického jazyka a 

homogenitě jeho uņivatelů. Vedle otázek a problémů, kdo je rodilým mluvčím dneńním 


211

multikulturním a globálním světě a jak se afroamerický dialekt lińí od standardní americké 

angličtiny, studenti například analyzují, jak národní, etnické a kulturní identity ovlivňují styly 

komunikace a strategie učení. Cílem výuky je prohlubovat interkulturní uvědomění studentů 

a posilovat jejich kulturně jazykové dovednosti pro uņívání angličtiny v interkulturním 

prostředí. 


212

Identity of the English and Its Implications for Students of the 

English Language and Translation Studies 

Jela Kehoe 

Catholic University, Ruņomberok 

1. Cultural Identity, Cultural Memory and Multiculturalism 

We live in a world where cultures meet, merge and occasionally collide. It is a 

multicultural world where globalisation fuels and empowers not only commerce and media, 

but also peoples‘ thirst for knowledge and recognition. We realise that others might view the 

world we live in differently to us, making us aware of our own cultural preconceptions, 

sometimes even of our outdated dogmas and self-righteousness. The issue of cultural identity 

is relevant to everybody because of the potential ―tension caused by multiculturalism and 

misunderstanding of different cultural identities‖ (Balák 2006: 237). 


METHODOLOGY 

We all derive our specific characters from being members of distinct societies and 

cultures in a process of socialization and conforming to customs. Every human society 

possesses mechanisms which enable it to consistently maintain its nature throughout 

generations. One such mechanism is cultural memory, which is a collective concept that 

consists of all the knowledge that commands our behaviour and experience. Cultural memory 

facilitates the reproduction and continuation of a given cultural identity when the members of 

this culture draw upon the collective experience or images from the past, attempt to emulate 

respected or admired members of this culture, follow customs or rituals, conform to the norms 

and/or obey the rules of this culture, whether explicit or implicit. Cultural memory of an 

individual is created and shaped within the process of interaction with other people, typically 

groups of people who view their unity and specificity through a representation of the past they 

have in common. Family is the first such group that supplies the cultural memory necessary 

for the creation of one‘s cultural identity; other groups are in schools, neighbourhoods, 

societies, companies, political parties all the way up to a nation, as a sense of a group of 

people. The sensation of unity and specificity that such groups of people experience and share 

(in other words cultural identity) is derived from the stock of knowledge preserved by cultural 

memory. The attitudinal manifestations of cultural identity are realised via the contrasts of 

‗we are this, the others are not‘; ‗we belong here, the others belong there‘; and/or ‗this is 

familiar, that is foreign‘. The awareness of these distinctions combined with the content of 

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cultural memory and cultural heritage assist a society in the process of becoming visible to 

itself and to others, effectively shaping and structuring its cultural identity. 

Multiculturalism, as well as globalisation, force us on the one hand to realise our own 

cultural identity in confrontation with the identities of members of other cultures, and, on the 

other hand, force us to consider whether it is necessary, or even worthwhile, to identify with a 

specific culture: ‗our‘ culture. As Erazim Kohák says, ―To be sure, we need not retain any 

cultural identity at all. We can, if we so wish, dissolve in the easy world of instant 

gratification. We can become an ethnic manifold distinguished only by an awkward, 

unintelligible language [Czech] and gradually melt into a global English-speaking civilisation. 

[...] Yet I believe we would be the poorer for it, and so would the world be. Culture is rooted 

in the heritage of a language, of shared memories and hopes. There is no culture in a language 

devoid of that depth, however well suited to superficial communication it may be. English 

stripped of Shakespeare, of the King James Bible and the Prayer Book, of seafaring, of 

theatre, of struggles, of defeats and small triumphs [...] is no longer the language of culture. A 

multicultural world cannot be based on global superficiality. It is possible only as a mosaic of 

cultures, each lovingly polished as a precious stone‖ (Kohák 2008: 228). 

2. Stereotypes 

An understanding of other cultures can be accomplished either through personal 

experience (as long as an ‗experiencee‘ is an open-minded one) or through the study of 

‗second-hand‘ sources, provided by schools, libraries and, last but not least, the mass media. 

If proper care is not taken and the gained information is only haphazard and superficial, the 

image of the ‗other‘ culture in question might come out distorted, even twisted, in other 

words, stereotyped. Paxman recounts an article where some seventy years ago George Orwell 

described with some disgust the manner of the stereotypical portrayal of foreigners in two 

magazines: the Gem and the Magnet. He wrote: ―As a rule it is assumed that foreigners of any 

race are all alike and will conform more or less exactly to the following patterns: 

FRENCHMAN: Wears beard, gesticulates wildly. 

SPANIARD, MEXICAN, etc: Sinister, treacherous. 

ARAB, AFGHAN, etc: Sinister, treacherous. 

CHINESE: Sinister, treacherous. Wears pigtails. 

ITALIAN: Excitable. Grinds barrel-organ or carries stiletto. 

SWEDE, DANE, etc: Kind-hearted, stupid. 


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NEGRO: Comic, very faithful.‖ (Paxman 2007: 36) 

We could laugh at such superficiality, feeling quite superior, but is it not an 

unfortunate truth that we can still see parallel (‗updated‘) versions of stereotypical images of 

different nations? They might be as follows: 

FRENCHMAN: Nationalistic Complains a lot. A good cook. 

SPANIARD, MEXICAN, etc: Loud, excitable. 

ARAB, AFGHAN, etc: Sinister, treacherous, fanatical. 

CHINESE: Subdued, hard-working, passive. 

ITALIAN: Passionate, excitable.Gesticulates wildly. 

SWEDE, DANE, etc: Kind-hearted. Drinks a lot. 

AFRICAN AMERICAN: Violent, untrustworthy, lazy. 

3. The English Nature 

Let us consider a nature of Englishmen, their cultural identity, and their ‗Englishness.‘ 

As Jeremy Paxman says: ―Some aspects of Englishness remain constant over the centuries, 

others are forever changing.‖ Not all of them are uniquely English, yet, especially when one 

finds three or four of them together, they truly manage to evoke that English flavour. He 

makes a list which ―includes ‗I know my rights‘, village cricket and Elgar, Do-It-Yourself, 

punk, irony, vigorous politics, brass bands, Shakespeare, Cumberland sausages, double- 

decker buses, Donne and Dickens, twitching net curtains, breast-obsession, quizzes and 

crosswords, country churches, dry-stone walls, gardening, Christopher Wren and Monty 

Python, easy-going Church of England vicars, the Beatles, […], drinking to excess, Women‘s 

Institutes, fish and chips, […], civility and crude languages, ugly caravan sites on beautiful 

clifftops‖ (Paxman 2007: 22 – 23). 

The English are aware of their cultural identity and to maintain it many of them draw 

upon their pride of what they have achieved as a nation. ―They developed the current form of 

soccer and rugby, tennis, boxing, golf, horse-racing, mountaineering and skiing. The English 

created modern tourism with the Grand Tour and Thomas Cook‘s first package tour. They 

developed the first modern luxury hotel (the Savoy with electric lights, six lifts and seventy 

bedrooms). Charles Babbage produced the world‘s first computer in 1820s. ... Sandwiches, 

Christmas cards, Boy Scouts, postage stamps, modern insurance, and detective novels are all 

products ‗Made in England‖ (Paxman 2007: 63). 


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Social anthropologist Kate Fox, Co-Director of the Social Issues Research Centre in 

Oxford and Fellow of the Institute for Cultural Research, takes a more detailed, more 

empirical approach. In her book Watching the English. The Hidden Rules of English 

Behaviour (2004), Fox set out to create a picture of Englishness, listing a series of 

characteristics that she found to be crucial when defining English cultural identity. She 

grouped them into three clusters: reflexes, outlooks, and values revolving around a central 

core. 

3.1 The Core 

The Core constitutes of what she calls Social Dis-ease: the incompetence and/or 

discomfort of the English in the context of social interaction, their insularity, awkwardness, 

obliqueness, fear of intimacy and the obsession with privacy. She states that ―most 

peculiarities of English behaviour are traceable, either directly or indirectly to [social dis- 

ease] and both famous ‗English reserve‘ and [their] infamous ‗English hooliganism‘ are 

symptoms‖ (Fox 2004: 401, 402) of this affliction. As a result when a social situation makes 

the English uncomfortable they either become over-polite and reserved, or loud, crude, and 

even violent. The English ease their misery caused by social dis-ease with the help of props 

and facilitators – games, pubs, weather-speak, pets, etc. 

Key phrases: ―„An Englishman‟s home is his castle‟; „Mind your own business‟; „Nice 

weather, isn‟t it?‟; „Don‟t make a fuss/scene”; „Keep yourself to yourself‟‖. (Fox 2004: 402). 

3. 2 The Reflexes 

3.2.1 Humour 

Humour as a ‗default mode‘ constitutes the most effective remedy for social dis-ease. 

Although the English do not have a ‗patent‘ on humour, nor is it always more sophisticated 

than the humour of other nations, it is, however, persistent in everyday life and supremely 

important to the English, permeating most discourse. Fox says: ―Virtually all English 

conversations and social interactions involve at least some degree of banter, teasing, irony, 

wit, mockery, wordplay, satire, understatement, humorous self-deprecation, sarcasm, 

pomposity-pricking or just silliness ... The taboo on earnestness is deeply embedded in the 

English psyche. [Their] response to earnestness is a distinctively English blend of armchair 

cynicism, ironic detachment, a squeamish distaste for sentimentality‖ (Fox 2004: 403). 


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Key phrases: ―‗Oh, come off it!‟; „Not bad‟ (meaning outstandingly brilliant); „A bit of 

a nuisance‟ (meaning disastrous, traumatic, horrible); „Not very friendly‟ (meaning 

abominably cruel)‖ (ibid.). 

3.2.2 Moderation 

Moderation is defined by Fox as a distinctive tendency to avoid extremes, excess or 

intensity of any kind. She marks in them the strong dislike of change, the dislike of fuss. The 

English are cautious and focused on domesticity and security. They are ambivalent, 

conservative, and unwilling to make rash decisions. They like order and even manage their 

special brand of ‗orderly disorder‘. 

Key phrases: “„Don‟t rock the boat‟; „Don‟t go overboard‟; „For the sake of peace 

and quiet‟; „Can‟t be bothered‟; „Safe and sound‟; „Order! Order!‟; „A nice cup of tea‟; „Too 

much of a good thing‟; „Happy medium‟ ‖ (ibid.). 

3.2.3 Hypocrisy 

Hypocrisy could be seen as a common English trait. Though it might be true, it is not 

because they are by nature more deceitful than other cultures, but because of their ingrained 

cautiousness, obliqueness, indirectness, and inclination to polite pretence rather than honest 

assertiveness. It could be said that ―most of [their] politeness/modesty/fairness is hypocritical, 

but also that most of [their] hypocrisy is a form of politeness – concealment of real opinions 

and feelings to avoid causing offence or embarrassment‖ (Fox 2004: 404). 

(ibid.). 

Key phrases: ―‗please‟; „thank you‟; „sorry‟; „nice‟; „lovely‟ (plus smiles, nods, etc.)‖ 

3.3 The Outlooks 

3.3.1 „Empiricism‟ 

Fox uses this term in a broader, more informal sense denoting anti-theory, anti- 

abstraction, anti-dogma aspects of English philosophical tradition, and the penchant for down- 

to-earthiness, matter-of-factness, and pragmatism, as well as a stubborn preference for the 

factual, concrete and common-sense. 

Key phrases: ―‗Oh, come off it!‟; „At the end of the day..‟; „As a matter of fact‟; „In 

plain English‟; „I‟ll believe it when I see it‟‖ (Fox 2004: 405). 


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3.3.2 Eeyorishness 

A characteristic of English people named after Milne‘s Eeyore and his catchphrase 

‗Typical!‘, by which Fox means moaning and whingeing as a socially therapeutic tool for 

facilitating social interaction and bonding. ―Almost all ‗social‘ moaning is humorous mock- 

moaning. Real, tearful despair is not allowed, except among intimates‖ (Fox 2004: 405). The 

English are persistently pessimistic and assume that things are most likely to go wrong and be 

disappointing, but are also perversely satisfied when they see their gloomy predictions 

fulfilled. 

Key phrases: “„Huh! Typical!‟; „The country‟s going to the dogs‟; „What did you 

expect?‟; „I could have told you‟; „There‟s always something!‟; „Mustn‟t grumble‟; „Better 

make the best of it‟; „Never mind‟; „Blessed are they who expect nothing, for they shall not be 

disappointed‟ ‖ (Fox 2004: 406). 

3.3.3 Class-Consciousness 

Every society has means for indicating social status, effectively creating a social 

hierarchy. The English class system is specific because: 

1. of the extent to which the class (and/or class-anxiety) influences how the English 

interact, behave and form judgements. 

2. the class of the English is generally not determined by their affluence or their 

profession, but entirely on non-economic indicators, for example taste, manner, speech 

and the choice of a lifestyle. 

3. the English are very much aware of the class system, and acutely sensitive to the 

above mentioned class indicators. 

4. the English react to any mention of class system with ―coy squeamishness‖ or show 

a tendency to deny all the above. 

Key phrases: ―‗That sort of back-ground‟; „Don‟t say “serviette,” dear: we call it a 

napkin‟; „A bit naff/common/flashy/vulgar/unsmart/Sharon-and-Tracey/mock-Tudor‟; „Stuck- 

up posh tart (upper-class twit/snob/public school yah-yah/green-wellie/Camilla...) thinks 

s/he‟s better than us‟; ‟What do you expect from a jumped-up grocer‟s daughter?‟; „That nice 

little man from the shop‟ ‖ (ibid.). 


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3.4. Values 

3.4.1 Fair Play 

Fair play is a trait which Fox calls ―a national quasi-religious obsession.‖ For the 

English, fair play is an undercurrent in most elements of their rules of conduct and any 

violation of the fair-play principle is likely to cause more righteous offence than any other sin. 

It is not just with sports and games that it is associated, but also everyday activities such as 

queuing, buying rounds, table manners, rules of flirting, driving etiquette, conduct of 

business, etc. 

Key phrases: ―„Well, to be fair ...‟; „In all fairness...‟; „Come on, it‟s only fair‟; „Fair 

enough‟; „Firm but fair‟; „Fair and square‟; „Wait your turn‟; „That‟s out of order!‟; „Don‟t 

be greedy‟; „On the other hand‟; „There‟s always two sides‟; „Let‟s just agree to disagree, 

shall we?‟ ‖ (Fox 2004: 407). 

3.4.2 Courtesy 

The English are criticized for their ‗reserve‘, and respected for their courtesy. Most of 

the time, however, when uttering ‗please‘, ‗thank you‘ or ‗sorry‘ (and they do so more than 

other cultures), they are conforming to a set of rules, rather than expressing genuine concern. 

Key phrases: ―„I‟m afraid that...‟; „I‟m sorry, but...‟; „Would you mind...?‟; „Could 

you possibly...?‟; „I don‟t suppose...‟; „Excuse me, sorry, but you couldn‟t possibly pass the 

marmalade, could you?‟; „Excuse me, I‟m terribly sorry but you seem to be standing on my 

foot‟; „With all due respect, the right honourable gentleman is being a bit economical with the 

truth‟.‖ (Fox 2004: 408). 

3.4.3 Modesty 

Modesty is a quality the English hold in high esteem, and also one they aspire to. Not 

that they are more humble than others, but they obey rules about the appearance of modesty, 

which deem boasting inappropriate, and forbid it. These unwritten rules also impose self- 

deprecation and self-mockery. As a result, the modesty observed is not of an earnest kind; it is 

usually of an ironic kind, or at least an understatement. 

Key phrases: ―„Stop showing off‟; „Don‟t blow your own trumpet‟; „Don‟t be clever‟; 

„I do a bit of sport‟ (meaning I‟ve just won an Olympic medal); „Well, I suppose I know a bit 

about that‟ (meaning I‟m the acknowledged world expert on it); „Not as hard as it looks/just 

lucky‟ (standard response to any praise for personal achievement).‖ (Fox 2004: 409). 


219

3.5. The Causes of English Dis-ease 

The causes of English social dis-ease can, according to Kate Fox, be multiple. Some 

would blame the public schools for English reserve; others might point their finger at 

unreliable English weather. English history and the empire built and lost could be the source 

of fatalistic pessimism, according to some. There were attempts to explain English insularity 

through geography. England being relatively a small, very overcrowded island produces a 

territorial, privacy-obsessed, reserved, acutely class-conscious culture preoccupied with 

demarcations and status. Fox concludes that though there is no simple answer to account for 

social dis-ease if the English, it might be ―due to [the] particular combination of climate, 

history and geography – which at least could be said to be unique.‖ (Fox 2004: 413). 

4. Implications for Students of the English Language and Translation Studies 

In a traditional sense, the culture of a society covers products of arts (literature, fine 

arts, music and architecture), feats of history and, beginning in the last century, also products 

of popular culture and mass media. From a more anthropological point of view, culture also 

includes by-products of everyday life, its traditions and customs, attitudes, ethics, laws and 

taboos. Linguistic competence combined with knowledge of the cultures in question generates 

a specific type of competence necessary for teachers as well as for translators and interpreters. 

The role of a second language teacher in the educational process is twofold: a teacher 

is a speech model for students to imitate, which means s/he should have a good command of 

the given language as a whole (good grammar, decent pronunciation, and lexis); and a teacher 

is primarily a mediator of a culture, culture being both an effective aim and the content of the 

lesson, language being mainly a means to an end, a tool. A second language lesson becomes a 

―crossroads of cultures, [... and] the methodological foundation of this approach is 

intercultural communication, the object of which is the cultivation of mutual relationships‖ 

(Kollárová 2004: 38). 

Translating as an activity and translation as the result of this activity are inseparable 

from the concept of culture. The role of a translator is not only to mediate between two 

languages (which means being highly sensitive to all the layers present in both languages, 

including knowledge of their phraseology or slang), the translator‘s role is also to mediate 

between two cultures. By breaking down the language barriers, a translator can help break 

down, or even erase, the barriers between cultures. In order to be able to function as such a 

mediator, a translator must be familiar with all that the word ‗culture‘ covers. 


220

Gromová (2004) mentions the interpretative, text-forming and technological aspect of 

translation process and states that the training of future translators should assist them in 

developing five essential competences: linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence, 

discourse competence, strategic competence and intercultural competence, which ―consists in 

a) the acquiring of knowledge of culture of the original and the target text in the 

implicit and explicit confrontation; 

b) the ability of self-reflection of one‘s own culture in relation to the culture; and 

c) the ability to anticipate cultural presupposition (information of which the translator 

supposes to be known to the receiver)‖ (Gromová 2004: 38). 

Such competences will allow students to master the process of translation in its every 

aspect, from text production and formatting, through correct interpretation and subsequent 

translation of grammatical structures, all the way to correct interpretation of culture specific 

items, and intertextual and cultural references. 

5. Final Words 

Students learn to decide the degree of naturalisation or exotication, or might choose 

creolisation of the text in order to best accommodate the peculiarities of the source text as 

well as the target readers. Even though we live in a global village, the need to identify with 

groups sharing the same outlooks on life, values, ethical principles, customs – the culture – is 

ever present and possibly more important than ever. Students of English language and 

translation studies must be knowledgeable in culture specific items, as well as in the 

peculiarities of the natures of the nations in question, so they could be competent mediators 

whether in a classroom or when creating a target text in the process of translation. 

Bibliography 

BALÁK, René (2006). Kultúrna identita vo vzťahu k ľudskej prirodzenosti. In Ľudská 

prirodzenosť a kultúrna identita (227 – 253). 

FOX, Kate (2004). Watching the English. The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour. London: 

Hodder & Stoughton. 

GROMOVÁ, Edita (2003). Kompetencie prekladateľa. Letná škola prekladu 2: Kvalita 

prekladu a prekladateľské kompetencie (35 – 41). 

KOHÁK, Erazim (2008). Hearth and Horizon. Cultural Identity and Global Humanity in 

Czech Philosophy. Praha: Filosofia. 

KOLLÁROVÁ, Eva (2004). Kulturologické smerovanie cudzojazyčnej edukácie. In Svet 

cudzìch jazykov dnes. Inovačné trendy v cudzojazyčnej výučbe. 

PAXMAN, Jeremy (2007). The English. London: Penguin. 


221

Resumé 

Úspeńná interkultúrna komunikácia sa môņe realizovať len za predpokladu, ņe jej participanti 

majú jeden o druhom primerané objektívne poznatky. Príspevok si kladie za cieľ naznačiť, 

akú úlohu zohráva kultúrna identita a kultúrna pamäť vo vnímaní okolitého sveta 

a v komunikácii s ním, a ako nás ovplyvňujú stereotypy. Príspevok tieņ hovorí o povahových 

črtách, reflexoch, postojoch a hodnotách, ktoré sú beņné pre obyvateľov Anglicka. 


222

James Bond as a Culture-Specific Archetype in EFL Teaching 

Anatol Shevel 

University of Rzeszow, Poland 

The notion of archetype is not new and is widely exploited in art. In this article I 

would like to show its manifestations in EFL teaching and the practical value it has for 

making our language teaching practice livelier. 

The most commonly used definition of archetype is ―An abstract or ideal conception 

of a type; a perfectly typical example; an original model or form‖ (I-Net 1) or ―an original 

model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or 

emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all.‖ As we see, it has well expressed 

properties, such as being a widely known model, having a clear pattern, and good material for 

replication. The more popular the archetype, the more expressed these qualities are. James 

Bond has indisputably become one of the most famous archetypical heroes known around the 

world. 

On the other hand, the idea of the emotional involvement of a student in the process of 

second language learning has long been well known to language teachers. The classification 

of the types of learners has been roughly made as goal-oriented, relationship-(social)-oriented, 

learning-oriented and thrill-oriented. The last ones are the most emotionally prone. 

What is exciting appeals more strongly than something trivial, hence, teaching 

materials that awaken students‘ imagination are always more successful. How can Bond help 

here? His mission is rather easy due to the fact that by virtue of his existence he possesses all 

the necessary features. Such attributes as the spying streak, glamour, excellence, bravery, 

awesome technological gadgets, near-supernatural potential, stunts and physical attraction 

make this image an ideal model for designing classroom activities. 

Firstly, the idea of spying is well known to young language learners 

from an activity called ―I Spy‖ where a student has to find certain objects in a 

picture. There are a lot of sites with such content, 

http://www.scholastic.com/ispy/games for one. Another incarnation of spying 

and imitating Bond is a computer game for children called ―Spy Fox‖ by 

Humongous Entertainment. 


METHODOLOGY 

223

Another way of creating a thrill in teaching English has been exploiting mysteries, like 

the legends of King Arthur, the Bermuda Triangle, old English castles, UFOs and Stonehenge. 

On top of that, a police or detective investigation has always been a good way to organize a 

task-based activity. If a fun component is added, the classroom work becomes especially 

attractive. A great example is the Brook Bond story in the Grapevine course by Peter and 

Karen Viney (OUP, 2004) where the Chief wants Bond to investigate the case of pigeons 

mysteriously disappearing from Trafalgar Square. The light vein of the unit only helps to 

elaborate on the most difficult grammar subjects, which are indirect questions. 

one example: 

The idea of spying is well-used by Polish cartoonists. Here is 

http://mleczko.interia.pl/zdjecia/rysunki- 

kolorowe,10561/zdjecie,601895. 

The caption reads ‗FOR AN EXTRA CHARGE WE CAN 

OFFER A TABLE WITHOUT EAVESDROPPING.‘ 

An Internet search for eavesdropping appeared to be very 

productive and on one dictionary site (I-Net 3) we can find the 

following: 

eavesdrop 

Mobile Phone Spy 

– 3 dictionary results 

Remotely Listen To Calls & Read SMS Works On All Cell & Mobile Phones! 

www.E-Stealth.com 

For the following section I have to check the original 

eaves⋅drop 

'i:vz,drɒp/ – Show Spelled Pronunciation [eevz-drop] – Show IPA verb, -dropped, 

-drop⋅ping, noun 

Use eavesdrop in a Sentence 

See web results for eavesdrop 

See images of eavesdrop 

– verb (used without object) 1. to listen secretly to a private conversation. 

– verb (used with object) 2. Archaic. to eavesdrop on. 


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– noun 'i:vz,drɪp/ Also, eaves⋅drip – Show Spelled Pronunciation [eevz-drip] – Show 

IPA 3. water that drips from the eaves. 4. the ground on which such water falls. 

Origin: bef. 900; (n.) ME evesdrope, evesdripe, OE yfesdrype; as v., prob. back 

formation from eavesdropper, late ME evisdroppyr, appar. lit., one who stands on the 

eavesdrop in order to listen to conversations inside the house; see eave, drop, drip 

This site gives rise to many activities: firstly, the origin of the word, which can be a matter of 

a report made by a student, and, secondly, all the links to eavesdropping devices and software. 

Individual students can make presentations on the technical characteristics and application of 

the spy gadgets, etc. 

Spying also appears to be a productive subject in music. A search of only one music 

site (http://www.songlyrics.com) yields this many titles: 

Carly Simon - Spy 

Bauhaus - The Spy In The Cab 

Dead Kennedys - I Spy 

Foley Ellen - Spy In The House Of Love 

INXS - Spy Of Love 

Wall Of Voodoo - Spy World 

Was (Not Was) - Spy In The House Of Love 

They Might Be Giants - Spy 

Cinerama - Model Spy 

Pulp - I Spy 

Guster - I Spy 

Disco Biscuits - Spy 

Weird Al Yankovic - Spy Hard 

The Moffatts - Spy 

Blue Oyster Cult - Spy In The House Of The Night 

Moffatts - Spy 

Dr. Feelgood - Spy Vs Spy 

Girlschool - I Spy 

Roland Shaw - Theme From The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 

Roland Shaw - I Spy 

The Loved Ones - Spy Diddley 

Shakira - Spy 


225

Anouk - I Spy 

Stan Ridgway - Spy World 

Steve Winwood - Spy in the House of Love 

The Doors - The Spy 

Sporty Thievz - Spy Hunter 

Project 86 - The Spy Hunter 

Ian Hunter - American Spy 

Carly Simon - Nobody Does It Better [From ―The Spy Who Loved Me‖] 

Saliva - Spy Hunter Theme Song 

The Spinto Band - Spy Vs. Spy 

They Might Be Giants - Spy (Unreleased Live Version) 

Waldeck - Spy Like an Angel 

DC Talk - Spy 

Deerhoof - Spy On You 

Ophelie Winter - I Spy 

Kasey Chambers, Poppa Bill & The Little Hillbillies - I Spy 

White Skull - Spy 

For advanced learners, we can offer a more sophisticated piece by Judas Priest with 

the theme inspired by Orwell‘s 1984. 

Electric Eye (lyrics) 

Songwriters: Robert Halford, Glenn Tipton, Kenneth Downing 

Up here in space 

I'm looking down on you. 

My lasers trace 

Everything you do. 

You think you've private lives 

Think nothing of the kind. 

There is no true escape 

I'm watching all the time. 

I'm made of metal 

My circuits gleam. 

I am perpetual 

I keep the country clean. 


226

I'm elected electric spy 

I protected electric eye. 

Always in focus 

You can't feel my stare. 

I zoom into you 

You don't know I'm there. 

I take a pride in probing all your secret moves 

My tearless retina takes pictures that can prove. 

Electric eye, in the sky 

Feel my stare, always there‘s 

nothing you can do about it. 

Develop and expose 

I feed upon your every thought 

And so my power grows. 

Protected. Detective. Electric eye. 

The text abounds in many advanced-level vocabulary items (circuits gleam, 

perpetual, in focus, take a pride, to probe, retina, expose, etc.) More ideas on how to work 

with advanced vocabulary can be found in ―The application of cognitive models for adult 

learners' vocabulary instruction‖ by A. Uberman (2008). This activity can be extended with a 

discussion of currently popular subjects, such as 

invigilation, surveillance, crime prevention, 

privacy, etc. 

Finally, there are very many mock themes 

about Bond whereby students can simply have 

fun doing the activity. One such offer (I-Net 4) is 

the task to find ten differences between the 

pictures. 

Bibliography 

I-Net 1. www.jerichoschools.org/hs/teachers/lfischer/apvocab.htm 

I-Net 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetype 

I-Net 3 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eavesdrop 

I-Net 4 alex-inside.livejournal.com/538983.html?threa... 

Uberman, A. (2008). The application of cognitive models for adult learners' vocabulary 

instruction. Acta Humanica 2/2008. Aktuálne problémy výchovy k euroobčianstvu v 

dimenziách spoločensko-vedných odborov (167 –171). Ņilina. 


227

Resumé 

Artykuł jest próbą przedstawienia kilku praktycznych wskazówek dotyczących zastosowania 

archetypu w nauczaniu angielskiego jako języka obcego. Zaprezentowane pomysły, w oparciu 

o materiał dostępny na stronach internetowych, pozwolą na przygotowanie ćwiczeń 

niewymagających wysokich środków finansowych. 


228

Learning Strategies in Teaching Culture-Related Language Issues 

at Advanced Level 


Agnieszka Uberman 

University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów 

The article briefly outlines learning strategies available to learners of foreign 

languages. It also addresses issues of instruction in culture-related language and content to 

learners of English at the advanced level of language proficiency. Moreover, the need for 

raising intercultural awareness is discussed and highlighted. 

The necessity of raising the cultural awareness of foreign language learners and 

students at the advanced level is indubitable. As proficient language users, they need to be 

acquainted with the diversity expressed in language use as well as in forms of behaviour. In 

line with the universally adopted approach, Risager notices that ―apart from developing the 

students‘ communicative competence in the target language, language teaching also ought 

also as far as possible to enable students to develop into multilingually and multiculturally 

aware world citizens‖ (2007: 1). 

2. Diverse Views of Culture 

Unquestionably, culture is a notion that defies definition in one short sentence. A great 

number of researchers have been devoted to the study of the nature of culture, and, as a result, 

scholars approach the issue from various angles. Of the many available approaches to the 

classification and definition of the terms of culture, let us consider the compilation of views 

accumulated by Moran (2001). The author tries to present the multi-faceted combination of 

aspects involved by stating that, among other options, culture can be viewed as civilisation. 

Traditionally, it can be interpreted as composed of two complementary elements, namely ‗big 

C‘ and ‗small C‘ culture. The former is known to stand for ―the great achievements of a 

people as reflected in their history, social institutions, works of art, architecture, music, and 

literature‖ (Moran 2001: 4), whereas the latter is the multitude of customs, traditions, beliefs 

or daily practices shared by a particular community. 


METHODOLOGY 

Culture is also viewed as communication and all aspects and means available to 

members of various cultures to communicate despite differences, i.e. verbal and non-verbal 

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forms of language and expression including body movement, eye contact, physical distance 

and space, touch, smell, aspects of time and the use of social situation. The implications for 

language teaching are expressed primarily in the form of developing ‗communicative 

competence‘ 57 interpreted as the ability to communicate efficiently in accordance with culture 

and language rules. 

It is equally fair to say that culture can be interpreted as a general concept not referring 

to any specific culture. Moran states that ―this view is prevalent in intercultural education and 

training and consists of culture-generated components that apply to any and all cultures. 

These components include generalised conceptions such as intercultural awareness, value 

orientations, attitudes and behaviours. The contrasts between cultures are emphasised, 

particularly those that produce cross-cultural conflicts or misunderstandings‖ (2001: 4). Such 

issues are introduced and analysed in the form of case studies, simulated cultural experiences 

or critical incidents. 

Intercultural communication, seen as universal and applicable across cultures and not 

relating to any specific culture, appears as another possible interpretation of culture. It is 

described as ―the capacity and ability to enter other cultures and communicate effectively and 

appropriately, establish and maintain relationships, and carry out tasks with people of these 

cultures.‖ Culture is perceived in terms of a cognitive process – ―what people go through as 

they think, do, and feel in order to successfully communicate across cultures‖ (Moran 2001: 

5). The notions reflecting this view are intercultural competence and intercultural 

communicative competence. 

Another point of view for interpreting culture is the wider perspective seen as the 

arena for groups and communities to interact. This interaction can assume a number of forms, 

including among others ―vying for power, influence, authority, or dominance. The insiders 

and the outsiders, the haves and the have-nots, the privileged and the underprivileged, or the 

oppressors and the oppressed are seen as participants in an ongoing struggle to achieve their 

ends – either to change or to maintain the cultural status quo‖ (Moran 2001: 5). 

One more interpretation of culture perceives it as a dynamic construction between and 

among people. From this standpoint, it is considered to consist of values, meanings or beliefs 

that are created in specific social conditions. Hence, culture is not seen as a static knowledge 

construction, but rather constantly develops as it is created by interpersonal relationships. 

57 Communicative competence lies at the heart of The Communicative Approach to language teaching, which 

focuses on teaching individuals to use language systems (grammar, vocabulary) in real communication. 

(Thornbury 2006). 


230

Finally, Moran (2001) notes that culture can be viewed as related to or embedded in 

biology or evolutionary psychology, due to the fact that many of its aspects appear to be 

―universal to all members of humankind, derived from the nature and functions of the human 

brain. These universals, as in language, music, or in the universal facial expressions 

associated with emotions are the shared basis of communication across cultures. Culture is 

thus seen not as relative or variable but in terms of innate biological commonalities‖ (Moran 

2001: 5). 

From the above brief discussion it becomes apparent that depending on the approach 

taken to the analysis of its nature, the notion and scope of culture do appear multidimensional. 

2.1 Ethnolinguistics 

It is interesting to note that culture can be also studied from the perspective of 

language. Ethnolinguisitcs is ―the study of language as an aspect or part of culture, especially 

the study of the influence of language on culture and of culture on language‖ (Svoboda and 

Hrehovčík 2006: 145). Cultural differences are frequently manifested in the language used by 

speakers from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Present-day ethnolinguisitcs 

focuses largely on the study of these cultural characteristics replicated in language and the 

comparative analysis of diverse languages related to different cultures. Svoboda and 

Hrehovčík point out that in ethnolinguisitc research, culture is interpreted from a much wider 

perspective than traditional literature and art. In addition to these, it represents beliefs, habits, 

ceremonies, customs, rituals, and ―the social and political organisation, social stratification 

and the like on the one hand, and even such details as the movements of the body 

accompanying certain language expressions, on the other‖ (2006: 147). Thus, it becomes 

evident that the study of culture is inextricably tied to language study, as language is 

embedded in the culture; they are interrelated, inseparably connected, and one cannot exist in 

the absence of the other. 

3. Teaching Culture and Learning Outcomes 

The need to introduce various aspects of culture of the foreign language one is 

studying cannot be questioned. What is of interest, however, is what outcomes are expected of 

culture learning. The general cultural learning outcomes overlap to some extent and they can 

be summarised in the following form (adapted from Moran 2001: 108): 


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Outcome Emphasis Examples 

Culture-specific 

understanding 

Culture-general 

understanding 

Intellectual insight and empathy 

regarding a specific culture 

Insights into general concepts of 

culture and culture learning 

Competence Verbal and non-verbal cultural 

behaviours and skills 

Adaptation Entry and adaptation to a specific 

culture 

Social change Critical thinking and action 

regarding the target culture 

Identity Transformations in the learner‘s 

self-concept 

The learning outcomes related to culture teaching are diverse. The learners are expected to 

develop holistically along a number of different paths specified above. 

3.1 Culture-Specific Understanding 

Focusing on culture-specific understanding as the outcome of culture instruction, the 

emphasis is placed on ‗intellectual insight and empathy regarding a specific culture,‘ which 

naturally involves mental power, thoughts, feelings and emotions. Learners are supposed to be 

able to identify and describe cultural phenomena, as well as show a certain approach towards 

the culture. ―To achieve culture-specific understanding […] learners not only acquire 

information about the culture, they also develop the ability to make valid cultural explanations 

based on this information. In order to make such explanations, learners need an awareness and 


� History, literature, the arts 

� Area studies 

� Products, practices 

perspectives, communities, 

persons 

� Analysis of critical incidents 

� Values clarification exercises 

� Cultural simulations 

� Language proficiency 

� Communicative competence 

� Cultural competence 

� Intercultural competence 

� Integration 

� Assimilation 

� Acculturation 

� Social justice 

� Cultural change 

� A second language ‗self‘ 

� Bilingualism 

� Multiculturalism 

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understanding of their own cultural perspectives, etic or outsider views, which they 

consciously contrast with those of the target culture, emic or insider views‖ (Moran 2001: 

109). Such knowledge and understanding enables learners to appreciate other cultures, their 

members and diverse forms of behaviour, which in turn contributes to raising their cultural, as 

well as intercultural awareness, appreciating other people, empathising with them and 

developing a broader perspective of seeing the world. 

Tomalin and Stempleski interpret ‗cultural awareness‘ as ―sensitivity to the impact of 

culturally-induced behaviour on language use and communication‖ (1993: 5). This view is in 

accordance with both culture-specific as well as culture-general understanding. 

3.2 Culture-General Understanding 

Culture-general understanding is aimed at developing in learners the appreciation of 

the nature of culture in general, processes involved in entering cultures other than the native 

one, and cultural relativity, as well as the issues involved in regarding oneself as a cultural 

being. With culture-general understanding set as a goal, learners focus on acquiring ―generic 

aspects of culture‖ including perspectives, practices, products and communities. Learners 

primarily categorise perspectives from their own cultures, which are in turn compared with 

those present and exposed in other cultures. The process of instruction is primarily directed at 

intercultural training and education which prepares learners to enter other cultures. Activities 

of a culture-general focus aim at emphasising the process of entering another culture, namely 

‗encounters with differences.‘ Students‘ responses and reactions to such simulated differences 

are analysed and then related and linked to relevant theories and models of culture, forms of 

cultural adjustment, or cross-cultural communication. Tasks employed for practice include 

simulations, critical incidents, case studies as well as awareness raising activities 

(inventories). Such tasks are aimed at developing in learners‘ intercultural awareness, 

sensitivity to differences across cultures and recognising ―the cultural dimension of their own 

behaviours and background‖ (Moran 2001: 110). 

3.3 Competence 

Competence is an umbrella term under which a number of issues and models can be 

included. The predominant aspects of competence are communicative competence, cultural 

competence, intercultural competence and intercultural communicative competence. 

Competence in its various aspects assumes the learner ability to communicate and interact 

appropriately and effectively with speakers of other languages and from various cultural 


233

ackgrounds. Depending on the focus of study and research, different models of competence 

highlight and background certain aspects. Moran summarises the main emphasis of diverse 

views of competence in the following way: 

� Communicative competence – developing language abilities for effective and 

appropriate communication within cultural contexts of the target language-and- 

culture. This competence encompasses other specific language competencies, 

namely grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic; 

� Cultural competence – developing the ability to act appropriately (alongside 

communicating appropriately) in the target culture. Gestures, body movements, 

action sequences such as non-verbal greetings, table manners, manipulation of 

cultural products 58 are additionally stressed; 

� Intercultural competence – developing the ability to interact effectively and 

appropriately in intercultural situations, regardless of the culture involved; 

� Intercultural communicative competence 59 – developing intercultural 

competence and communicative competence (2001: 111). 

Irrespective of which competence model is assumed as principal, the competence- 

based culture teaching relies on participating in the culture, either simulated or real. 

Fantini points out that preparing and teaching students to communicate with English 

speakers ―involves more than teaching just language. […] It has the potential to also engage 

learners in a powerful socialising process leading to the development of new, different, and 

alternative ways of being.‖ He also stresses the fact that the activities employed in the process 

of instruction should ―not only increase learner participation, but also direct attention to the 

cultural context of language and teach how to behave and interact when speaking English. 

The result is socialisation into different communicative possibilities that are bound to present 

challenges as well as opportunities‖ (2009: 12). This clearly supports the necessity of 

developing intercultural communicative competence as a merger of two forms of competence, 

i.e. communicative and intercultural. 

58 Hrehovčík and Uberman point out that cultural competence implies ―implicit mastery of the norms of society, 

the unspoken rules of conduct, values and orientations, which make up the cultural fabric of a society. It 

further implies the ability to recognise culturally significant facts, and knowledge of the parameters within 

which conduct is acceptable and unacceptable. Cultural competence merges into communicative 

competence‖ (2003: 51). 

59 Klyukanov refers to intercultural communication competence as ―a system of knowledge and skills enabling 

[language users] to communicate successfully with people from other cultures‖ (2005: 4). It includes 

cognitive (I know…), affective (I feel…) as well as behavioural (I do…) components. 


234

3.4 Adaptation, Social Change and Identity 

Adaptation assumes that an individual actually enters a different culture with the 

intention of working and living in it for an extended period of time. Prominence is given to 

―learners‘ adjusting, fitting in, living, and working within the way of life of the host culture‖ 

(Moran 2001: 112). Adaptation to the host culture is the long-term goal and the end stage of 

the lengthy culture learning process. Adaptation assumes changing one‘s own approach, i.e. 

ways of thinking, feeling and doing; understanding the ways of the target culture people; and 

accepting and adapting to the culture instead of trying to impose changes. 

Social change as a culture learning outcome in essence requires learners to act in order 

to modify certain aspects of the target culture on the basis of critical assessment of the given 

aspects of the target culture in line with their own way of thinking, values, attitudes and 

ethics. 

Where identity is concerned, Moran states that this culture learning outcome stresses 

the psychological transformations learners are exposed to and likely to experience in culture 

learning. Such effects are manifested by ―a learner‘s enhanced or transformed sense of self‖ 

(Moran 2001: 115) involving such aspects of identity as linguistic, cultural, gender, social, 

racial, ethnic, and the like. 

Irrespective of the culture learning outcome taken to function as the core of the 

language-and-culture teaching, educators need to adapt these to the educational situation of 

learners, their needs and abilities on the one hand, and the teaching context on the other. This 

demands flexibility on the part of the teacher and learners‘ needs analysis. 

4. The Content and Strategies of Culture Teaching 

Foreign language teachers aim at encouraging cross-cultural understanding, peaceful 

interaction and tolerance of socially-accepted forms of behaviour other than their native 

variety; therefore the study of other cultures with their various forms of behaviour has become 

an integral part of the foreign language instruction. The aim of language learning-teaching 

process is to achieve, among other things, cross-cultural understanding and the raising of 

cultural awareness of the students‘ own culture as well as of the target language culture. 

Tomalin and Stempleski note that ―not all teaching about culture implies behaviour change, 

but merely an awareness and tolerance of the cultural influences affecting one‘s own and 

others‘ behaviour‖ (1993: 8). Culture is interpreted by Klyukanov as ―a system of symbolic 

resources shared by a group of people‖ (2005: 8), hence instruction must focus not only on 

forms of behaviour but those symbolic resources as well. The curriculum used in teacher 


235

training colleges and English departments at university level includes ‗culture of English- 

speaking countries‘ as one of its core subjects. Hrehovčík and Uberman (2003) state that the 

content of teaching is generally arranged with the inclusion of the following aspects/topics of 

culture: places, way of life, society, history, institutions, art and music. The scope of each of 

the components is adapted to the learners‘ proficiency level, and prior learning experience, as 

well as general educational background. 

The number of techniques that can be employed to teach culture forms a vast array of 

tools at language teachers‘ disposal to be adopted for the classroom setting and context. Eight 

different approaches to teaching culture can be enumerated (Hrehovčík and Uberman 2003: 

53 – 55): 

� An authentic classroom environment – the classrooms are decorated with 

maps, posters, cartoons, etc. which mimic the presence of the target 

community; 

� Provision of cultural information – thus drawing learners‘ attention to 

comparing target and native cultures, making cultural comparisons by short 

‗slices of life‘; 

� Problem solving activities – learners‘ task is to find a solution to culturally- 

significant, problematic situations they are presented with; 

� Behavioural and interactive aspects – learners are requested to improvise 

actions and interaction between simulated characters; this usually takes the 

form of dramatisation, role play or simulation; 

� Cognitive approaches – focus primarily on providing cultural information 

through readings, lectures, discussions, debates; 

� Real life exposure to the target language – this form of exposure to real-life 

culture and language can assume the form of visits to a foreign country, visits 

of native speakers to the language classroom, pen pals, etc; its value cannot be 

underestimated; 

� The role of literature – the use of literary texts of different kinds has the power 

of introducing readers to the values, beliefs, feelings and thoughts of the 

foreign language speakers whose culture is being studied; 

� Additional devices and real-world resources – a variety of materials such as 

songs, limericks, sayings and proverbs, idioms, etc. can be made use of as 

supplementary materials to correspond to and complement the topics that are 


236

analysed and they additionally tend to increase learners‘ motivation for 

language and culture study. 

In higher education institutions the demands are far greater and more complex than in 

primary or secondary level learning programmes; therefore, students in English departments 

and teacher training colleges are exposed to advanced language levels and culture content. For 

students in the above-mentioned institutions, elements of culture are not information 

appended to language study but constitute a course of study in their own right. In order to 

examine the content and means of teaching culture at university and teacher training college 

level, a brief survey was designed and conducted among a group of teachers. The survey was 

not directed at students and did not focus on strategies that learners use in the process of 

language-and-culture learning; this aspect of research is a complex issue which deserves an 

individual detailed study and analysis. 

4.1 Survey 

The survey designed to analyse the scope and procedures employed in the process of 

instruction was composed of six questions addressing issues related to the overall aim. The 

teachers were requested to supply as detailed responses as possible to the following queries: 

1. What type of activities do you employ most frequently to teach culture-related issues? 

a. recognising cultural images and symbols (including personalities, architectural 

features, songs, landscape, etc.) 

b. working with cultural products (realia, postcards, newspapers, radio and TV 

broadcasts) 

c. examining patterns of everyday life (lifestyles, common situations, daily 

experiences) 

d. examining cultural behaviour 

e. examining patterns of communication 

f. exploring values and attitudes 

g. exploring and extending cultural experiences (exploring and sharing students‘ 

experiences of the target culture) 

h. other: 

2. Do you outline differences between the native and the foreign language culture? How 

do you do that? 

3. Which of the techniques specified below do you apply most frequently? 

a. an authentic classroom environment 


237

. providing cultural information 

c. problem solving activities 

d. behavioural and interactive aspects 

e. cognitive approaches (readings, lectures, discussion, debates, etc.) 

f. real life exposure to the target culture 

g. using literature 

h. additional devices and real-world resources 

i. other: 

4. What culture content do you focus on? 

5. Do you supplement course content with your own materials and activities? What type? 

6. What strategies do you adopt to develop learners‘ cultural awareness? (Please list as 

many as possible.) 

4.2 Response Analysis 

In multiple choice type questions, several possible responses are provided; therefore, it 

is much easier to tick or underline the options that a particular teacher finds relevant. 

The types of activities that are by far the most popular among the teachers of culture 

for teaching culture-related issues include recognising cultural images and symbols (100 % of 

respondents), working with cultural products, and examining patterns of everyday life (both 

of the latter chosen by 75 % of the teachers). Exploring values and attitudes, as well as 

exploring and extending cultural experiences, are the preferred activity types for nearly 65 % 

of the educators. Examining cultural behaviour is a task type used by only 30 % of 

respondents while examining patterns of communication is an activity type employed by 

fewer than 13 % of all teachers participating in the study. The teachers have not suggested any 

other kinds of tasks that they adopt in the course of culture teaching. 

While analysing the techniques that the instructors make use of in the process of 

teaching culture, providing cultural information is the response given unanimously by all 

teachers, with cognitive approaches (readings, lectures, debates and discussions) in its wake, 

approved of for application in the process of instruction by over 85 % of culture teachers. 

Over 60 % of the respondents resort to additional devices and real-world resources to 

supplement materials available for introducing various aspects of the English-speaking 

culture. Exposing behavioural and interactive aspects of culture is a technique implemented in 

the classroom setting by half of the teachers, while problem solving activities and using 

literature to cope with culture-related issues are the ones exercised by nearly 40 % of the 


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espondents. Surprisingly, one teacher stated that the use of problem solving activities is ―too 

time-consuming, better for language practice.‖ The least frequently adopted of the culture 

teaching techniques appear to be real life exposure to the target culture as well as an authentic 

classroom environment. While the former result may be to some extent understandable (native 

speakers are not always teaching this subject and visits to foreign countries can be a serious 

financial burden), the latter is rather surprising as authentic classroom environment is 

relatively easy to achieve. Different maps, posters, brochures or leaflets are not hard to obtain, 

and neither are newspaper cuttings or Internet printouts. Such resources contribute to the 

creation of a concrete and palpable, visual presence of the target culture and equip learners 

with additional input for reference at all times. 

Teachers‘ responses to the issue of outlining differences between aspects of the native 

and the foreign culture are quite similar in the vast majority of the cases. All culture teachers 

stated that there is a need to raise students‘ awareness and it is exercised in a variety of ways. 

The most recurrent ideas include comparing different patterns of behaviour in one situation, 

highlighting real-life examples, discussing (i.e. comparing and analysing specific examples 

and certain modes of behaviour exhibited in culture-related materials, for instance feature 

films or literary texts, stimulating students to draw cross-cultural comparisons after being 

watched, listened to or read) and subsequently analysing a particular culture-related text. 

Teachers also hold classes devoted to, for instance, stereotypes, followed by assignments in 

which students write essays dealing with the issues of popular stereotypes concerning the 

native and the target culture members. Other suggestions refer to main and visible differences 

pointed out during discussions on historical background, patterns of everyday life, cultural 

behaviour and experiences or national values and attitudes. The diversity between native and 

target cultures is also exposed by comparing political institutions in respective countries, the 

process of conducting elections, and the representatives of class systems, as well as by 

contrasting ethnic composition and migration patterns or religious denominations. Some 

teachers also mention elicitation, namely drawing on students‘ own experience, provided that 

they have some first-hand experience of the target culture. 

Another query was devoted to the content of culture teaching. As it was largely 

expected, teachers focus on a plethora of issues, including life and institutions, social classes, 

composition of the society, racial discrimination, multiculturalism, customs and traditions, 

values and attitudes, achievements of particular social groups, social and political institutions, 

as well as changes in the historical context, migration patterns, high culture and pop culture. 

Moreover, the scope covers modes of behaviour, cultural icons and symbols, influence of 


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certain historical periods or figures on contemporary culture, feminist issues, family models 

and their role in early socialisation, the system of education, geography, folklore, local food 

and drink, places of interest, architecture, art, film, music and the like. 

The present-day book market is abundant in culture-teaching materials. Teachers were 

asked whether they needed to supplement course content with their own materials and 

activities. In response, many instructors stated that they employ electronic media to introduce 

pictures, slide shows or PowerPoint presentations together with authentic materials such as 

films, internet/website search tasks, songs and/or TV programmes. Traditional printed 

materials in the form of brochures, leaflets, excerpts from literary texts, magazine and 

newspaper articles are also used to supplement topics discussed in rudimentary literature. 

Additionally, instructors refer to maps, posters and any other visuals that can be of help and 

enhance students‘ exposure to assorted aspects of the target culture. 

The final question concentrated on the strategies adopted by teachers to develop 

learners‘ cultural awareness. Unfortunately, some teachers (up to 13 %) openly state they 

were not familiar with the notion of ‗strategy‘ and so failed to respond to the question. Among 

other varied responses the following stand out as most representative (over 50 %): 

� Lecture (focusing on a given cultural aspect presenting essential facts and 

looking at the attitudes and beliefs shaping them), 

� Group discussions, 

� Integrating technology, 

� Analysis of culture-related materials, graphs, tables, statistical data, etc., 

� Problem solving activities, 

� Discussing advantages and disadvantages of particular issues raised and 

analysed. 

Other interesting, yet far less frequently expressed options (less than 15 %) include: 

� Active learning and cooperative learning, 

� Think-aloud procedures, 

� Dialogue journals between student and teacher, 

� Open-ended narrative-type surveys and structured questionnaires, 

� Self-directed workbooks, 

� Informal and formal observations and interviews, 

� Brainstorming, 

� Language learning diaries, 


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� Emphasising the need for sensitivity towards minority issues. 

The strategies adopted by teachers to some extent develop the learning strategies that students 

employ in the process of language learning culture. 

5. Learning Strategies 

Learning strategies are considered to be ―techniques or behaviours that learners 

consciously apply in order to enhance their learning‖ (Thornbury 2006: 115). Of the many 

available research data and strategy taxonomy suggestions, the one proposed by Oxford is 

largely adopted as universal and this one shall be adopted as the primary point of reference in 

the present discussion. 

Oxford, one of the most prominent figures in the area of learning strategy research, 

defines the notion of learning strategies as ―steps taken by students to enhance their own 

learning. Strategies are especially important for language learning because they are tools for 

active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing communicative 

competence. Appropriate language learning strategies result in improved proficiency and 

greater self-confidence‖ (Oxford 1990: 1). Strategies form a system of interrelated individual 

strategies which fall into two broad classes of direct and indirect, each of which is further 

subdivided into three types. Memory, cognitive and compensation strategies with individual 

sets in each form a group of direct strategies, while metacognitive, affective and social 

strategies compose the class of indirect strategies. 60 

Direct strategies are those language-learning strategies in which the target language is 

directly involved and they all ―require mental processing of the language‖ (Oxford 1990: 37); 

however, all groups of direct strategies process the language in a different way and for a 

different purpose. Oxford states that memory strategies perform a function of ―helping 

students store and retrieve information,‖ cognitive strategies allow students ―to understand 

and produce new language by many different means,‖ while compensation strategies enable 

language users ―to use the language despite their often large gaps in knowledge‖ (Oxford 

1990: 37). Memory strategies comprise the following individual strategies: creating mental 

linkages, applying images and sounds, reviewing well and employing action. A group of 

cognitive strategies is composed of practising, receiving and sending messages, analysing and 

reasoning as well as creating structure for input and output. Compensation strategies are the 

60 A thorough discussion of issues pertinent to strategy typology can be found in Oxford (1990). 


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least numerable group built up of two individual strategies, namely guessing intelligently and 

overcoming limitations in speaking and writing. 

Indirect strategies support and enhance the control over the process of language 

learning, often without directly involving the target language. They are divided into 

metacognitive, social and affective. Metacognitive strategies enable students ―to control their 

own cognition […], to coordinate the learning process by using functions such as centring, 

arranging, planning and evaluating‖ (Oxford 1990: 135). Those functions are individual 

strategies belonging to the group in question. Affective strategies assist in control over 

emotions, attitudes and motivations. They are made up of three individual strategies: lowering 

one‘s anxiety, encouraging oneself and taking one‘s emotional temperature. Social strategies 

―help students learn through interaction with others‖ (Oxford 1990: 135) and are further 

composed of three strategies: asking questions, cooperating and empathising with others. 

5.1 Strategy Application and Learner Strategy Development 

The survey conducted with a group of culture teachers exposed their relatively limited 

use of strategies for raising learners‘ cultural awareness. As it was already mentioned before, 

they mainly consisted in lecturing on a given topic, involving learners in group discussions 

and problem solving activities, analysing culture-related materials and integrating technology 

into the process of instruction most probably in order to facilitate comprehension, supplement 

content and boost motivation. 

The application of these forms of work, however, seems to develop some of the 

learning strategies that language users are likely to employ in the process of culture-and- 

language) learning. What appears most evident is the stimulation of learners‘ cognitive 

strategies of analysing and reasoning with reasoning deductively and transferring in some 

instances. Where learners are exposed to materials for analysis such as graphs, tables or 

statistical data, they naturally need to transfer information obtained in the form of a particular 

figure and decoding the meaning it represents in light of a given fact. At the same time, they 

will be developing the cognitive strategy of creating structure for input and output as they are 

likely to take notes, highlight some notions or details and summarise the content. 61 The same 

is true of lecture participation – learners have to take notes, highlight important points for 

future reference and summarise key notions specified by the lecturer. Moreover, students may 

be developing another cognitive strategy, namely receiving and sending messages, with both 

61 ‗Taking notes‘, ‗summarising‘ and ‗highlighting‘ are three specific strategies included in the cognitive 

strategy of ‗creating structure for input and output‘ (Oxford 1990: 44). 


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individual strategies, i.e. getting the idea quickly as well as using resources for receiving and 

sending messages (Oxford 1990: 44) involved. While in lecture participation the reception of 

messages is highlighted, in the case of discussions and problem solving activities both 

strategies will be most likely utilised. The cognitive strategy of practising (with most of its 

individual strategies 62 involved) is undoubtedly exercised in the case of most activity types 

provided by the teachers in the classroom setting and learning context. 

Considering the development of memory strategies, the strategies that appear to be 

shaped most evidently are creating mental linkages (grouping, associating/elaborating, placing 

new words into a context) and applying images and sounds. 63 These tend to be adopted by 

learners in the process of lecture participation, group discussion, problem solving, and 

analysis of materials or technology implementation. In case of uncertainty whether a 

particular concept discussed by the lecturer, peers or introduced in a presentation has been 

grasped appropriately, a learner will be inclined to apply the compensation strategies of 

guessing intelligently or overcoming limitations in speaking and writing. 

Some of the indirect strategies that learners have a chance to develop in the process of 

culture teaching with the application of the teaching procedures most frequently exercised by 

teachers include metacognitive strategies of centring your learning (overviewing and linking 

with already known material, paying attention 64 ), arranging and planning your learning 

(identifying the purpose of the language task) and some social strategies of asking questions 

(most likely asking for clarification or verification rather than asking for correction), 

cooperating with others (cooperating with peers but less likely cooperating with proficient 

users of the new language) and empathising with others, with the individual instances of 

developing cultural understanding and becoming aware of others‘ thoughts and feelings. 

6. Conclusions 

The analysis of the responses to the survey allows to observe the following tendencies: 

� The majority of culture teachers indirectly contribute to the development of 

cognitive, memory and compensation learning strategies in learners; 

62 The cognitive strategy of ‗practising‘ involves ‗repeating‘, ‗formally practicing with sounds and writing 

systems‘, ‗recognising and using formulas and patterns‘, ‗recombining‘ and ‗practising naturalistically‘ 

(Oxford 1990: 44). 

63 ‗Using imagery‘, ‗semantic mapping‘, ‗using keywords‘ and ‗representing sounds in memory‘ are the 

individual strategies involved in the memory strategy of ‗applying images and sounds‘ (Oxford 1990: 44). 

64 The third strategy i.e. ‗delaying speech production to focus on listening‘ (Oxford 1990: 137) seems irrelevant 

here. 


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� Some culture teachers tend to enhance the development of indirect 

metacognitive and social strategies in their culture-and-language learners – this 

can be observed based on the example of the strategy employed for raising 

learners‘ cultural awareness in the form of think-aloud procedures, dialogue 

journals between student and teacher, brainstorming, self-directed workbooks, 

language learning diaries and emphasising the need for sensitivity towards 

minority issues; 

� The content of culture teaching is wide-ranging and enables learners to expand 

cross-cultural understanding, raise their cultural sensitivity and provides ample 

input for general language proficiency practice and development; 

� The culture teaching outcomes that appear to be expected are culture-specific 

understanding, culture-general understanding and competence. 

Culture and language are intertwined, and the conscious and directed study of either 

aspect greatly contributes to the development of the other. Language teachers are thus 

privileged in the sense of influencing the cultural competence of their students. 

Bibliography 

FANTINI, Alvino E. (2009). Teaching English as a Socializing Process. Essential Teacher, 

6(1), 12 – 13. 

HREHOVČÍK, Teodor, and Agnieszka UBERMAN (2003). English Language Teaching 

Methodology. Rzeszów: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego. 

KLYUKANOV, Igor E. (2005). Principles of Intercultural Communication. Boston: Pearson. 

MORAN, Patrick R. (2001). Teaching Culture: Perspectives in Practice. Boston: Heinle & 

Heinle. 

OXFORD, Rebecca L., and SCARCELLA, Robin C. (1995). Patterns of Cultural Identity. 

Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers. 

OXFORD, Rebecca L. (1990). Language Learning Strategies. Boston: Heinle & Heinle 

Publishers. 

RISAGER, Karen (2007). Language and Culture Pedagogy. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters 

Ltd. 

SVOBODA, Aleń, and Teodor HREHOVČÍK (2006). An ABC of Theoretical and Applied 

Linguistics. Opava: Silesian University. 

THORNBURY, Scott (2006). An A – Z of ELT. Oxford: Macmillan. 

TOMALIN, Barry, and Susan STEMPLESKI (1993). Cultural Awareness. Oxford: Oxford 


Resumé 

Artykuł omawia pokrótce różnorodne poglądy na definiowanie kultury. Relacja kultury 

obcojęzycznej w świetle nauczania języka obcego jest uwypuklona. Wskazane zostały 

różnorodne aspekty oczekiwanych wyników nauczania kultury oraz zakres i techniki 

nauczania elementów kulturowych w kształceniu językowym na poziomie zaawansowanym. 


244

Wymieniono aspekty tematyczne objęte programem nauczania kultury a na podstawie 

przeprowadzonych badań pokazane zostały tendencje dotyczące zakresu, sposobów i strategii 

uczenia tego aspektu wiedzy. Pokrótce przeanalizowane zostały strategie uczenia się a analiza 

wyników badań pozwoliła na określenie które z owych strategii są rozwijane u studentów w 

procesie kształcenia kulturowego. 


245

Can Authentic Text on Internet Help the Development of Creativity? 


Eva Tandlichová 


Foreign language learning and teaching has always been inseparable from the search 

for ―the best‖ method and suitable teaching aids. Computers and the Internet have 

become useful devices in teaching science and foreign languages. There are discussions going 

on among teachers on how the use of computer programmes can help the development of 

teamwork, project work and learner autonomy or even self-study and creativity. Students 

browse the Internet to find material for projects or seminar papers. Students at vocational 

schools or ESP departments look for information about the subjects they study. In other 

words, they search for authentic texts on the Internet to fill in the information gap they might 

have. The processing of new information, the effort to join the new with already known 

information, cannot be done without learners‘ personal involvement and creativity. Authentic, 

real texts based on genuine written ESP language are sometimes difficult for learners of 

English as a foreign language. First of all, it is difficult from the linguistic point of view, but it 

becomes difficult from the psychological point of view, too. When reading such a text in their 

mother tongue, the pupil can match the text with the images behind it more easily because of 

his/her previous knowledge of that particular subject or other subjects. In a foreign language, 

special problems may occur: the learner understands every single word but the sentence or a 

paragraph does not make sense because the images or ideas behind it are not clear enough. 

This fact may discourage the learner in his/her search for new information and minimize 

creativity in processing the text. The analysis of text structure and content helps learners 

develop not only reading comprehension but also reading skill. Understanding the text 

structure helps learners develop the technique of reading and writing as well. 

2. Text, Authentic Text and ESP Text on Internet 


METHODOLOGY 

Text is usually spoken or written. It is a medium through which the speaker or writer 

passes intentional information to the listener or reader. Spoken text is usually shorter and 

requires [immediate] response from the listener, while the information encoded in the written 

text do not require immediate response. The ESP text, e.g. a text on biology or chemistry or 

246

physics, on the Internet is an authentic text of special composition for the foreign language 

learner: i.e. it brings specific information encoded in ―scientific‖ language. The language of 

science is very precise and has specific linguistic characteristics. We can find some 

differences in its the rhetorical organization, syntax and lexis. For example, the rhetorical 

organization of a scientific, or a technical article published on the Internet or in a special 

journal is different from an article published in a newspaper. The obvious difference between 

general and scientific discourse is, for example, wider use of passive voice in scientific 

discourse. As far as lexis is concerned, the learners should identify vocabulary types which 

are frequently used in scientific discourse: function words, technical, semi-technical 

vocabulary and general vocabulary. 

There are three important steps to keep in mind when dealing with authentic texts 

from the Internet with learners: first, the identification of good criteria for the selection of an 

appropriate text; secondly, the selection of corresponding activities for developing reading 

comprehension; and thirdly, the selection of appropriate linguistic activities based on learners‘ 

previous morphological knowledge, syntactic knowledge, general world knowledge, genre 

knowledge and topic knowledge. 

2.1 Criteria for Authentic-Text-Selection 

The Internet offers a variety of authentic texts, but not all can be used in an EFL 

classroom. From 2005 to 2008, seven universities in Europe (including Comenius University) 

decided to look into the problem and started a project called ―PEC: European Science 

Teachers: Scientific Knowledge, Linguistic Skills and Digital Media.‖ The team worked on 

criteria for selecting the best texts. The discussion and investigation have resulted in the 

following. There can be identified several aims of the process of selection. The teacher has to 

focus on why s/he considers the use of authentic text from the web useful for developing 

learners‘ skills and knowledge. As all we do in the classroom should have aims and goals, the 

same is valid for the selection of the authentic texts from the web. In my opinion, the 

following aims should be considered: the text should provide information about the selected 

topic, it should encourage individual work and self-study, and work with the text should 

improve reading skills and linguistic competence. 

From the above the following criteria for selection of authentic texts seem to work: 

relevance to school curricula; language suitability to learners‘ level of proficiency (i.e. B1- 

C1); motivational aspects; prompts for discussion, further study, research, etc.; links to other 

related websites; the use of multi-media; relation to real life experience; reliability of the 


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information provided; scientific accuracy; amount of reading content; easy access and 

navigation; and easy and pleasant to use. 

2.2 Well-Chosen Pre-Reading Activities Help Creativity and Motivation 

Reading is an active process in which the reader gets new knowledge by processing 

the text. Once the reader understands the meaning of a given text, it activates the previous 

knowledge the reader has on the subject and the reader is able to improve the quality of the 

knowledge by combining it with new information. In other words, previous knowledge affects 

reading significantly, and it is well-known that the text is more easily understood if it deals 

with a familiar topic. Moreover, contexts, topics and discussions affect interest and learning. 

In my opinion, pre-reading activities, such as Read the questions below and discuss them with 

a partner. Look at the title of the story. What do you think the text will be about? Skim the text 

to see if you were right. Discuss with your partner what you already know about the topic. 

Read the definitions of different layers and parts of the Earth, then label the diagram below. 

etc., create good ground for reading a text and guarantee the motivation for reading, and the 

teacher gets feedback on the previous knowledge of the learners which can help 

comprehension. 

3. Skilled Reader Is a Better Learner 

Using authentic text on the Internet is not just help for developing reading skills, but 

also helps learning. Learning by reading requires cognitive activities which enable the reader 

to communicate with the writer through the text. Learning is not just transferring information 

from an authentic text to the student‘s memory. It has been proved that learning represents the 

learner‘s own personal knowledge construction process which presupposes the learner‘s 

active application of creative thinking and the development of metacognitive skills. In other 

words, learning can be effective if the learner is able to think creatively, if there are enough 

impulses for the encouragement of creative thinking in order for the new knowledge and skills 

to merge with the previously acquired knowledge and skills. Through a creative approach to 

learning, the learner identifies new information, tries to find a link between previously 

acquired knowledge, selects essential information, considers its relevance and makes it part of 

his/her personal framework, as well as a springboard for the next piece of knowledge to come. 

And this is a longitudinal process by means of which a learner develops in a cyclical way into 

a ―wiser‖ personality in its own right. 


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Cognitive skills are closely connected with solving the tasks, as well as with making 

analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction, and note taking. Cognitive skills also include 

creative thinking which can be developed by comparing, problem-solving, classifying, 

paraphrasing, mid-mapping, drawing conclusions, organizing information, and generalizing. 

Critical thinking is needed when providing grounds for argumentation and questioning. 

According to Facione (2007), critical thinking is defined in terms of six cognitive skills: 

interpretation, i.e. comprehending and expressing meaning based on experiences; situations; 

data and beliefs; inference, i.e. considering relevant information and determining the 

consequences resulting from data; and self-regulation skill, which enables critical thinkers to 

improve their own thinking. 

Metacognition refers to the learner‘s awareness of the strategies, procedures and 

thinking involved in learning. Therefore s/he decides about the goal/aims, the planning of 

individual steps in reading, the monitoring of his/her progress and (self)-evaluation and, in 

this way, develops into an autonomous reader and learner. In other words, the learner 

becomes responsible for how much information s/he reveals from the authentic text, how well 

new knowledge is created on the basis of the information and how well s/he understands deep 

and surface structure of the authentic text. Looking at my experience with EFL learners, I can 

agree with Baker (1991) who lists the following types of problems learners encounter when 

reading an authentic ESP text: 

� ―Learning materials abound in texts that are abstract and difficult to 

understand. 

� Learning materials feature texts that neither encourage readers to notice things 

on their own nor guide to problem solving. 

� Learning materials start by explaining concepts and phenomena, e.g. the text 

starts with definitions of the concepts and phenomena which might be difficult 

for the learners. 

� The number of new terms and concepts (information density) is high and 

concepts are vaguely explained, e.g. the text includes too many new and 

difficult words in each sentence which blocks understanding the sentence. 

� The introduced concepts do not draw on the previously discussed ones, e.g. the 

article is about acid rain and has no pre-reading lead-in about the environment, 

chemical processes in nature, etc. which the learners might have come across 

in previous sessions, or in other subjects. 


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� The information structure in learning materials is blurred. 

� Students have several preconceptions on concepts dealing with natural 

sciences. These preconceptions often contradict with what the learning 

materials state. 

� Students lack substantial previous knowledge in comparison with what 

understanding a particular text presupposes. The extent to which students have 

previous knowledge varies depending on a given student. 

� Students have never been guided to studying by reading.‖ 

My experience highlights the fact that well developed metacognitive skills help 

development of strategies for learning from the authentic text and thereby learning by reading 

a text. I think that those readers who can thoroughly process a text are also capable of 

examining the strategies they use for authentic text processing and thereby choose a suitable 

strategy. The most efficient strategies involve looking for main ideas, extracting secondary 

ideas, skimming, scanning, organizing the contents, note-taking, mind-mapping, drafting 

summaries, connecting previous knowledge with new information, and anticipating what the 

text states next. From this it follows that the authentic text should respect certain criteria: 

1. its grammar and lexis should correspond with learner‘s level of proficiency in the 

foreign language, 

2. it should respect the extra-linguistic experience of the learner, his/her current 

knowledge of the topic so that the learner is able to anticipate the flow of writer‘s 

ideas while reading, 

3. its structure should help comprehension of the information included in the text, 

4. at the same time, the text should aid in the selection of linguistic activities. 

4. Selected Linguistic Activities 

In the PEC project, we offered teachers criteria for selection of appropriate activities 

and also suggested didactic recommendations for their application in the teaching-learning 

process. The aim of these activities is to help learners have a better understanding of scientific 

concepts. Therefore, some key linguistic activities are presented here. They are expected to 

improve comprehension and expression in reading: direct questions, true/false statements, 

multiple choice questions, re-building a text, and find the word referred to (cohesive and 

coherent devices). 


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It is obvious that lexis is an important part of linguistic competence. Reinforcing and 

enlarging learners‘ vocabulary will help learners not only to enrich their language, but also to 

improve their comprehension and expression. Possibly the following activities might help: 

recognizing the words of science, inferring the meaning of new words from the 

context, using suitable vocabulary within the context, defining words, building up 

vocabulary, matching words with definitions, finding synonyms and antonyms, word 

formation (prefixes, suffixes, compound words) and collocations. 

The following is an example of such activities from a pupils‘ CD which is the result of 

the project mentioned above: 

Introductory Pre-Reading Activities 

THE EARTH 

The following text will introduce you to the topic of the EARTH. Look at the way it is 

divided into sections and paragraphs. Pay close attention to the headings, illustrations and 

captions. 

Now look at these tasks: 

1) From the headings to the 3 sections of the text, what will the 3 sections be about? 

Section 1: 

Section 2: 

Section 3: 

2) Think of as many terms and ideas relating to the 3 sections as possible. 

Section 1 

Section 2 

Section 3 

planet, the Milky Way 

layers, boundaries 

Pangaea, earthquakes 

3) Pre-Reading Activity 

INTRODUCTION TO THE EARTH 

Study this mind map. Complete it with as much information as you can about the solar 

system. Then compare your findings with your classmates. 


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Reading I 

Moon Earth 

Uranus Saturn 

Jupiter 

SOLAR SYSTEM 

4) Read the text below and explain the underlined words. Three have been done for you. 

Click on words “diameter”, “circumference” and “the tilt” to see the clues. 

The Earth is the third planet from the Sun in our Solar System. It is the planet we evolved on 

and the only planet in our Solar System that is known to support life. 

The Earth is about 7, 926 miles (12,756 km) in diameter. The Earth is the fifth largest planet 

in our Solar System (after Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune). 

Eratosthenes (276-194 BC) was a Greek scholar who was the first person to determine the 

circumference of the Earth. He compared the midsummer‘s noon shadow in deep wells in 

Syene (now Aswan on the Nile in Egypt) and Alexandria. He properly assumed that the Sun‘s 

rays are virtually parallel (since the Sun is so far away). Knowing the distance between the 

two locations, he calculated the circumference of the Earth to be 250,000 stadia. Exactly how 

long a stadia is unknown, so his accuracy is uncertain, but he was very close. He also 

accurately measured the tilt of the Earth‘s axis and the distance to the sun and moon. 

The Earth has one moon. The diameter of the moon is about one quarter of the diameter of the 

Earth. The moon may have once been a part of the Earth; it may have been broken off the 

Earth during a catastrophic collision of a huge body with the Earth billions of years ago. 

(Retrieved from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/) 

5) Now read the text again. Check the meaning of the underlined words with the 

classmate next to you. If you understand the words, use them in sentences of your own to 

make your own text about the Earth. Write the text down. 

6) If you want to check your knowledge of the Earth, answer the questions below. After 

you have finished, click on the Earth to find correct answers. 

1. Is the Earth the third planet from the Sun? 

⁭ Yes ⁭ No 

2. Is the Earth one of the smallest planets in our Solar System? 


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3. Is the Earth the only planet which supports life? 


4. Is the Earth the only planet in our Solar System with liquid water? 


5. What percentage of the Earth is covered by oceans? 

⁭ 50 % ⁭ 70 % 

6. Do the oceans get saltier over time? 


7. Is Earth‘s atmosphere mostly oxygen or nitrogen? 

⁭ Nitrogen ⁭ Oxygen 

8. What is the average density of the Earth? 

⁭ 5 520kg/m3 ⁭ 6 010kg/m3 

9. How many hours does one day take on Earth? 

⁭ 24 hrs ⁭ 23.93 hrs 

10. What does the tilting give us? 

⁭ the four seasons ⁭ the night-and-day change 

Further activities in Section II and Section III include work with diagrams and concepts about 

―Inside the Earth‖. We present some of the closing activities for developing reading skills. 

ALFRED WEGENER AND PANGAEA Part B 

Pre-reading activity 

18) Before you do the cloze reading below, brainstorm with your classmates how much 

you know (if anything) about A. Wegener and Pangaea. 

19) Use your dictionary, the Glossary or Internet and find meanings to these words 

which you will need to do the cloze. 

Continental drift Fossil to measure to break up 

Expedition Supercontinent thickness plate tectonics 

Geologist land mass To die out Earth‟s crust 

to evolve mass extinction volcanism abundance 

20) While reading the cloze text (text in which some words have been deleted), fill in the 

missing expressions. Then click on the cloze text and check your work. 


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Alfred Weneger 

Alfred Wegener, the German (1)___________and meteorologist, proposed his theory of 

(2)___________in his book ―On the Origin of Continents and Oceans‖ published in1915. His 

theory states that parts of the (3) _________slowly drift atop a liquid core. The (4) 

______record supports and gives credence to the theories of continental drift and 5)_______ . 

Wegener initiated many (6) _________to Greenland in which he measured the (7) 

___________of the ice. During one of his major expeditions to Greenland he died. 

Pangaea 

Wegener hypothesized that there was an original, gigantic (8) ___________200 million years 

ago, which he named Pangaea, meaning ―All-earth‖. Pangaea was a super-continent 

consisting of all of Earth‘s (9)___________. It existed from the Permian through Jurassic 

periods. 

The Permian period is known as ―The Age of Amphibians‖, because during that period 

amphibians were abundant. The continents had merged into a single super-continent, which 

we now call Pangaea. Phytoplankton and plants had oxygenated the Earth‘s atmosphere to 

close to modern oxygen levels. The Permian ended with largest (10)_________ever. This 

extinction was perhaps caused by glaciation or increased (11) _________on Earth. 

At the beginning of the Jurassic period, the Earth‘s continents were still jammed together, 

but they were beginning to drift apart. There had been a minor extinction at the end of the 

Triassic period, which gave rise to an (12)___________of dinosaurs in the Jurassic. The 

dinosaurs dominated the near-tropical Earth during the Jurassic as the climate was hot and 

dry. About 140 million years ago, during the late Jurassic period, the flowering plants 

evolved, and would soon change the face of the Earth. 

Pangaea started (13)_________into two smaller super-continents, called Laurasia and 

Gondwanaland, during the Jurassic period. By the end of the Cretaceous period, the 

continents were separating into land masses that look like our modern-day continents. 

Post-reading activities 

(Adapted from http://www.enchantedlearning.com) 

21) Use the section on the Continental Drift to answer the following questions. 

1. Do plates move horizontally, vertically, or both? ________________ 

2. What do plates float on? ______________________ 

3. What type of rock are oceanic plates made of? ______________________ 

4. What type of rock are continental plates made of? ______________________ 


254

5. What is the name of the area where the crust goes back down into the Earth? 

___________________ 

6. What is the process of new crust formation called? _______________________ 

7. When two continental plates collide, what types of mountains are 

formed?_______________________ 

8. What is the name of the supercontinent that existed about 200 million through 100 million 

years ago? _______________________ 

9. Who first stated the theory of continental drift? ______________________ 

10. Name a fossil that was found on different continents and was used to support the theory of 

continental drift. ______________________ 

5. Conclusion 

I can highlight the fact that through the above mentioned linguistic activities learners 

can not only understand the content of the text on the Internet, but also develop certain 

attitudes toward the topic in question, and develop learners‘ autonomy and, in such a way, 

willingness to take responsibility for their own learning. They will also improve their 

transferable abilities, such as analysis and critical thinking, problem solving, group work and 

teamwork. Well-chosen activities will help learners understand coherence and cohesion of 

authentic scientific texts and logical sequence of ideas and concepts, as well as develop 

creativity and activity in teams and pairs. 

Bibliography 

FACIONE, P. A. (2007). Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts. Millbrae, CA: 

California Academic Press. Retrieved from www.insightassessment.com/ 

pdf_files/what&why2007.pdf 

BAKER, L. (1991). Metacognition, Reading and Science Education. In C. M. Santa and D.E. 

Alvermann (Eds.), Science Learning: Progresses and Applications. Newark: 

International Reading Association, IRA. 

Common European Framework for Languages. (2001). Cambridge University Press. 

Resumé 

Autorka sa v tejto ńtúdii zamýńľa nad tým, ako moņno rozvíjať kreativitu a kritické myslenie 

u ņiakov a ńtudentov, ktorí sa učia cudzí jazyk. Poukazuje na to, ņe jednou z moņností je aj 

vyuņitie autentických textov z internetu, pretoņe internet je uņ súčasťou náńho ņivota. Autorka 

sa sústreďuje na odborný text a poukazuje na potrebu chápať ńpecifiká autentického 


255

odborného textu z hľadiska jazykového i obsahového. Vychádza z výsledkov výskumu, 

ktorého sa zúčastnila v medzinárodnom projekte a odporúčania na criteria výberu vhodného 

textu pre pedagogickú prax kulminujú v ukáņkach kreatívnych cvičení na rozvíjanie čítania s 

porozumením a kritického myslenia. 


256

Questionable Identity in Intercultural Monologue 

Martin Djovčoš, Ľubica Pliešovská 

Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica 

We live in a very dynamic world in which intercultural communication plays a major 

role. This communication is mainly performed via translation. The world is currently facing 

an unprecedented ―translation boom‖, and contemporary translation studies should reflect 

this. The ways it does vary and may be generally distinguished as positive attitudes, usually 

represented by practicing translators, and negative or sceptical ones, usually represented by 

deconstructionist/post-structuralist/postcolonial translation scholars who are dealing with 

translation as a significant ideological tool used to colonise ―minor‖ or non-dominant cultures. 

Tymoczko, for example, asks: 

To what extent will cultural exchange be multidirectional in the age of globalization, 

and to what extent will asymmetries of power, resources, and technologies mean that 

―cultural exchange‖ will become an euphemism for the acculturation to Western or 

dominant international standards of many peoples around the world?.... To what extent 

will ―cultural exchange‖ become a banner for opening up and exploiting new markets 

around the world? (Tymoczko 2007: 4 – 5). 

This statement, however radical it may seem, is very interesting and worth exploring. It will 

be very interesting to observe how power and dominant ideology influences the selection and 

above all the quantity of translated works into ―small languages‖ and from ―small languages‖ 

into the language of the dominant culture. 

The term ―intercultural communication‖ implies cultural dialogue. Lotman (1994) 65 , 

who quotes Newson, mentions that the main condition of dialogue is to communicate by 

taking turns speaking, the silent communication partner repressing their activity and focusing 

on receiving their partner‘s activity. In general, we may understand literature as a dialogue 

between readers and the author, but taking translation into account also as a dialogue between 

cultures through which cultures form each other. However, it is very interesting to observe the 

position of so-called ―minor‖, ―small‖ or ―subordinate‖ cultures in this dialogue. Lotman 

65 When quoting Lotman we use the Slovak translation published in 1994. 



257

(1994) uses the analogy of hemispheres to illustrate cultural mechanisms and changes which 

take place during this process. He says that in order to have balanced perception, both 

hemispheres have to function equally (pressure versus back pressure/rational versus 

irrational). It is the same with culture. Static cultural periods are created at the expense of 

compromised balance between contradictory tendencies. He further claims that there are 

stabilising and destabilising mechanisms which present its means of self-organisation either in 

a dynamic or a balanced way. 66 If we apply this analogy to the political situation, power 

structures and asymmetries and how these influence translation, we may find rather 

interesting results. There has always been a ―dialogue‖ between the world powers who have 

always been struggling for control over areas and the tool not only for this area but also 

cultural and intellectual colonisation has often been translation. Tymoczko claims that ―...the 

writers (translation scholars) give prescriptive and definitive advice and they proclaim clear 

norms. It does not seem to matter to writers that they contradict each other from decade to 

decade, from century to century, often knowingly‖ (Tymoczko 2007: 17). Debeljak (2006) 

says that translation makes the foreign understandable and is therefore inevitably political. 67 

However, we believe that this ―cultural dialogue‖ or intercultural communication is applicable 

only to dominant powers 68 and those subordinate are usually only consumers of what is being 

served. Slovakia is surely a great example of such a consumer. 

As Kusá (2005) states in her study Translation as a Part of the History of Cultural 

Scope (Preklad ako súčasť dejín kultúrneho priestoru), each translation within translation 

literature is impacted by the national and political system, the social and cultural system and 

by the literary system, and its functions change along with space and time. In the case of 

Slovakia, our social and cultural scope is determined by our geographical and political context 

as well as being influenced by the surrounding cultural contexts: Czech, Russian and even 

Anglo-Saxon and Romanic contexts. 

During the period of the communist regime, Slovak connections with foreign cultures 

were characterised by the relative absence of contact with Anglo-Saxon culture. There were 

historically conditioned contacts with the Czech, Russian, Hungarian, German and French 

cultures, and yet direct connections with the Anglo-Saxon culture were almost non-existent. 

66 

Lotman says that if the analogy is not used properly it may cause more harm than good. We hope this is not 

the case. 

67 

This resource has been quoted by Keníņ in his book ―Preklad ako hra na invariant a ekvivalenciu‖ published 

in 2008. Doc. Keníņ has advised us to use this resource so we didn‘t have to use a secondary quotation. 

68 

And even here the asymmetry is obvious, depending on the current power and political situation. 


258

The situation since has changed – we are now primarily dominated by the European Union 

and the United States. 

We will try to illustrate the changing paradigm in intercultural relationships by 

comparing translation production during two periods: 1945 – 1968 and 1990 – 2010. The 

types of translation and selection of works to be translated clearly show a shift in power 

structures. Whereas during the socialist period, translation was the main political propaganda 

tool (with minor exceptions that we will mention later), nowadays it is a commercial 

commodity and therefore also a propaganda tool for the dominant ideology. In his paper 

dealing with translation as a reflection of the cultural situation in Slovakia, Keníņ stated: 

Sixteen years after the Velvet Revolution that changed us, determined warriors against 

American and western imperialism, into its fiery promoters, in the times when the 

globalization wave took the essence of our economy and some level of self- 

sufficiency, we come to see that it is also robbing us of the last thing that we had – a 

national culture and national identity. (Keníņ 2006: 29) 

As for the philosophical and aesthetic aspect of quality, translation is often 

underestimated and poorly paid. If we look at this from the perspective of national identity, 

we see it is highly questionable. Quoting Levy-Strauss‘s notion, Keníņ (2008) claims that we 

are overcommunicated and that differences between cultures are productive and move culture 

forward. The mentioned asymmetries deny minor cultures to a higher or lower extent 

depending on how aggressive and refined they are. In general, minor cultures are usually 

subject to one-way translation and communication, and therefore not a dialogue but a 

monologue. Still, the situation isn‘t purely pessimistic if we take into account the benefits for 

practicing translators in connection to translation units and translatability mainly from the 

English language. Globalisation has caused objects which were not reachable to common 

individuals behind the Iron Curtain to enter our reality, thus making foreign things accessable 

and ―translatable‖. From the ―how to do it‖ or functional point of view, this can be perceived 

as a positive tendency as it enables translators to work more accurately. But again, we have to 

relativise the notion of accuracy when we take into account that the amount of new objects 

and notions is so high that they are often not translated but used in their original form, despite 

in many cases possessing Slovak equivalents. This causes the foreignisation of the receptor 

culture. We will not discuss matters of foreignisation and domestification or naturalisation 

and exotisation in this article in more detail, as that would be a topic for a separate paper. 


259

In the 1990s, Gideon Toury introduced a concept based on target-oriented translation. 

Well aware of the dominance of mainstream cultures, he advocated for an approach that 

would shift the attention from the place of origin of the literary text to the place of their 

reception by means of translation. As for the choice of texts to be translated, he proposed a 

three-phase target-oriented methodology. 

1) Consider the text in terms of target culture to determine its significance and 

acceptability. 

2) Compare segments of the source text and target text to determine the linguistic 

relationship. 

3) Distinguish trends, make generalizations, identify norms, and draw conclusions for 

future decision-making. 

However, while contemporary translation production reflects the fact that Toury‘s concept is 

a well-defined theory, the situation on the translation market is different. Rather than speaking 

of a target-oriented approach, we should be speaking of a market-oriented approach. 

As we have stated at the beginning, our aim was to emphasize how the changing paradigm of 

translation policy is dependent on the changing paradigms of domineering power by 

comparing the translation data representing selected dominant and small cultures during the 

period of strongest ideological oppression, 1945 – 1968, and the period after the fall of the 

Iron Curtain. As for the period of the communist regime, we relied on available bibliographies 

published by the Slovak headquarters of book culture between 1945 – 1976/1977; for the 

post-communist period, we drew on the database The Index Translationum, an international 

bibliography of translations, created in 1932. The database contains cumulative 

bibliographical information on books translated and published in about one hundred of the 

UNESCO Member States since 1979 and totals more than 2,008,763 entries in all disciplines: 

literature, social and human sciences, natural and exact sciences, art, history and so forth. It is 

planned to update the work every four months. The data that we analyzed for the purposes of 

this paper resulted in the following findings: 

1) Intercultural Dialogue? 

As for the existence of intercultural dialogue that has been on everybody‘s lips for 

over a decade, there is not much of it. Translations are being made in great numbers, but when 

we compare the reciprocity of translation among selected cultures, we come to see that rather 

than speaking of intercultural dialogue it would be more appropriate to speak of intercultural 

monologue. It is not surprising that there is great discrepancy in numbers when comparing 


260

traditionally big and small cultures (e.g. American/Slovak), but great differences in the 

number of translations to and from particular languages appear even in the case of relatively 

comparable cultures from the perspective of their population or economic power (e.g. 

USA/China, USA/Russia). We can probably attribute this discrepancy to the historically and 

economically conditioned supremacy of American culture (representing pars pro toto the 

whole of Western culture, especially due to its overwhelming production of films, songs, TV 

programmes, fashion and other forms of art and pop culture) executed by means of the 

English language, the contemporary lingua franca. 

Facts in Numbers, Part 1 

We were primarily interested in the number of translations from American literature to prove 

our point on the dominance of American culture; however, the statistics in Index 

Translationum only show the number of translations from English to other languages without 

distinguishing the country of their origin – thus we have to take into consideration translations 

from British literature and other English-written literatures as well. 

USA (plus other English-speaking countries) – Slovakia 

Translations from English to Slovak 3900 

Translations from Slovak to English 16 

USA – China 

Translations from English to Chinese 6913 

Translations from Chinese to English 686 

USA – Russia 

Translations from English to Russian 14683 

Translations from Russian to English 1657 

The only cases of intercultural dialogues were seen in the translation interaction of two 

relatively comparable non-Anglophone cultures (e.g. Slovakia/Slovenia, France/Germany). In 

connection with the ―translation permeability‖ of particular cultures, J. Vilikovský 69 speaks of 

the importance of the phenomenon of open and closed cultures; e.g. Germany has traditionally 

69 Comment presented at the 3rd Triennial Conference of British and American Studies, 21 – 22 October, 2010, 

Budmerice, Slovakia. 


261

een perceived as an open culture, and the statistics presented in the Index Translationum 

testify to this. 


Slovakia – Slovenia 

Translations from Slovak to Slovenian 7 

Translations from Slovenian to Slovak 9 

France – Germany 

Translations from French to German 14290 

Translations from German to French 9684 

2) Shift in Translation Paradigm 

By this we mean the shift in the focus of translation production from source to target 

cultures, conditioned by political and ideological pressures. What had once been the dictate of 

ideology now became the dictate of good marketing. We demonstrate this with the 

comparison of translation production from American literature and Soviet literatures into 

Slovak in 1945 – 1968 and in 1989 – 2010. 


The situation in Slovakia between 1945 – 1968 

Translations from American literature 347 

Translations from Soviet literatures 2040 

Proportion of translations from Western 

literatures in total translation production 

Proportion of translations from socialist 


The Situation in Slovakia between 1989 – 2010 

22.2 % 

77.8 % 

Total production of translations into Slovak 7854 

Proportion of translations from English- 3900/7854 


262

written literatures in total translation 

production 

Proportion of translations from Russian 


Proportion of translation of other than 

English-written or Russian literatures 

49.6 % 

115/7854 

1.5 % 

48.9 % 

Even though we consider these statistics more informative than 100 % accurate (the 

data in the Index Translationum database vary from month to month), we believe they serve 

as an explicit indicator of the translation/reception situation in Slovakia within the above- 

mentioned context of power shifts and intercultural monologue. 

However pessimistic this article may seem to be, it is not its goal to treat translation as 

something harmful to culture. Translation is needed as it helps us communicate about 

common issues (non-literary texts) as well as aesthetic values (literary translation). Our main 

goal was to warn about and challenge the hypocrisy expressed by the term ―intercultural 

communication‖, or more specifically, ―intercultural dialogue‖. Even Slovak scholars are not 

united in their treatment of these issues. Keníņ for example used the metaphor of ―rizňa‖ (a 

wooden water-trough used for transportation of wood from the forest), saying that we keep 

taking from others while nobody takes from us. Kusá on the other hand used the metaphor of 

a bridge where the transport of people keeps taking place, but it is not equal. However it may 

be, in the end we all have to translate, but we must not forget the cultural context and the 

possible effects of our work. 

Bibliography: 

KENÍŅ, Alojz (2006). Preklad ako odraz spoločensko-kultúrnej situácie. In Preklad a 

tlmočenie 7 (29 – 34). Banská Bystrica: Filologická fakulta Univerzity Mateja Bela. 

KENÍŅ, Alojz (2008). Preklad ako hra na invariant a ekvivalenciu. Bratislava: AnaPress. 

KUSÁ, Mária (2005). Preklad ako súčasť dejìn kultúrneho priestoru. Bratislava: Ústav 

svetovej literatúry SAV. 

LOTMAN, Jurij (1994). Text a kultúra. Bratislava: Archa. 

TYMOCZKO, Maria (2007). Enlarging Translation, Empowering Translators. Manchester: 

St. Jerome Publishing. 

DEBELJAK, Erika (2007). Zisk z prekladu. Kritika a kontext (1996 – 2006), 33. 

The Index Translationum. Retrieved from http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php- 

URL_ID=7810&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html 


263

Resumé 

Príspevok sa zaoberá problematizáciou pojmu interkultúrna komunikácia. Poukazuje tieņ na 

fakt, ņe dominantná ideológia a mocenské ńtruktúry vplývajú na prekladovú produkciu a 

výber z prekladaných jazykov. Článok porovnáva pomer prekladov na Slovensku v obdobiach 

1945 – 1968 a 1989 – 2010, čím ilustruje prekladovú situáciu v rôznych ideologických 

obdobiach. Autori pracujú so ńtatistikami z databázy Index Translationum UNESCO, ktorá 

obsahuje výber zo svetovej prekladovej tvorby a na základe týchto informácií sa dá poukázať 

na fakt, ņe interkultúrna komunikácia je skôr jednosmerný proces (monológ), v ktorom 

―slabńia‖ kultúra často stráca vlastnú identitu a prijíma identitu ―silnejńej‖ kultúry. 


264

Images and Concepts of Slovak Presidential Speeches and Their 

Reflection in English Translation 


Xenia Liashuk 


Dwelling on the national dimension of cultural identity from the linguistic perspective, 

it is apt to start with a landmark conclusion by W. von Humboldt stating that language is the 

spirit of the nation. From this we might assume that speech, whether in the form of a written 

text or an oral statement, should contain variably explicit reflections of a nation‘s cultural 

identity. Straightforward references to a given national context included into the topical 

contents of a text as a part of speaker‘s intention are positively not the only national identity 

markers present in it. People do not tend to ponder on the reasons for choosing a particular 

word or word combination to name a certain sector of reality, which spares them a 

considerable amount of mental activity and is quite natural as such. Hence, the linguistic 

‗outfit‘ of a text contains a variety of largely unconscious national identity markers, namely 

on the level of lexemes. Being inherently dualistic as an instrument and a part of thinking, 

language not only reflects reality but also predetermines the way it is interpreted by the 

members of a given linguistic community. Due to this, language ―becomes the primary 

cognitive source in the process of studying national features‖ 70 (Sipko 2008: 16), the features 

of world- and self-perception in particular. 

2. Research Background 

2.1 Research Objective 

The present research focuses on the constituent elements of Slovak identity and 

worldview detectable from text sources. Since their examination comes mainly within the 

realm of linguistic cultural (linguoculturological) studies, we used it as a starting point for 

analyzing linguistic identity markers from the perspective of and in application to translation 

studies. If we view a language as a culturally-marked code with identity reflecting and 

forming elements embedded into it, the process of translation as re-coding information is of 

70 Hereinafter, the translation of non-English citations is done by the author of the paper. 



265

particular interest. The target language bears its own distinctive markers of national identity, 

thus in transferring information from one linguistic code into the other, the danger of the clash 

of cultural elements is real and tangible, compelling a translator to balance on a thin marking 

line between undue imposition (exotization) and excessive loss (naturalization) of source 

identity markers. Namely, translation techniques and solutions in respect of the transfer of 

identity-associated linguistic units constitute the main object of interest within the present 

paper. 

2.2 Conceptual Framework 

The process of perception of reality by a nation as an integrated entity is referred to as 

a ‗mapping of the world‟. It results in the creation of a coherent ―system of images reflected 

in linguistic semantics that interpret the experience of a nation speaking the given language 71 ‖ 

(Виросткова 2007: 318). From the cognitive perspective, the world is being mastered by an 

individual by means of concepts which are constituent to the given nation‘s worldview. The 

linguistic cultural approach to the notion of a concept differs from the philosophical one with 

the former regarding the concept as ―the main cultural cell in the mental world of an 

individual‖ (Степанов 2001: 41). V. Karasik singles out three inalienable dimensions of any 

concept – a reference to a specific object or image, a notional component, and an evaluative 

approach (Карасик 2002: 105). Virtually, the same sector of reality can be conceptualized by 

different linguistic cultural groups in different ways depending on the elements to which the 

preference is given and the mode of their evaluation. Thus, the study of concepts helps to 

create a cultural profile of a nation as a total of its views and values reflected in speech. 

According to G. Lakoff and M. Johnson, the ―human conceptual system is 

metaphorically structured and defined‖ (Lakoff and Johnson 2003: 7). In the collective 

conscience, single concepts are linked to each other by customary association, which 

highlights a certain aspect of the definiendum, evokes related features and implications, and 

triggers a corresponding behavioural pattern. From a cognitive perspective, the metaphor can 

be represented by means of a generalized formula: 

concept A (definiendum) as concept B (definition), 

implying that objective, notional and evaluative features of concept B predetermine the 

perception of concept A. Metaphors belong to the collective thought of a nation and thus 

remain largely unrealized by single individuals. Being detectable from various text sources, 

71 A corresponding term employed by the Russian school of linguistic cultural studies can be loan-translated 

into English as ‗the linguistic picture of the world‘. 


266

they give a valuable clue to understanding cognitive and attitudinal patterns distinctive to the 

given nation. 

2.3 Factual Basis for the Analysis 

The empirical material chosen in accordance with the research objectives included 

speeches and addresses delivered by the incumbent President of the Slovak Republic Ivan 

Gańparovič since the beginning of his office term (2004) till 2010. As a basis for contrastive 

analysis, the translations of corresponding speeches from the official Presidential web-site 

(www.prezident.sk) were used. 

The genre of presidential speeches is particularly suitable for our research objectives 

because of certain pragmatic features peculiar to it. The pragmatics of presidential speeches is 

predetermined by the distinctive features of the political system of the given country. For 

instance, in Slovak context, the actual (‗working‘) leadership belongs to the Prime Minister, 

with the President being assigned the role of ‗opinion leader‘ who monitors and evaluates the 

development of the country, maps out directions of improvement, and communicates his 

conclusions and views to the nation. The communicative function in this case is particularly 

noticeable due to its close connection with phatic and instrumental functions: the President 

addresses the nation to establish operative contact between the authority and the people, by 

means of which he ensures that the nation has a clear understanding of the countrywide state 

of affairs, and is ready to support the oncoming changes should they be necessary. 

In contrast to candidate speeches that focus on separate target groups within the 

population, presidential speeches are bound to cater for the needs and be in line with the 

features of the whole nation as the target audience, as far as both their essence and their form 

are concerned. Thus, using the term employed by J. Vilikovský, they can be defined as 

‗culturally introversive‘ (Vilikovský 1984: 63) on the nationwide scale. Being nation- and not 

group-oriented, such speeches are therefore the reflection of the values, patterns of thinking 

and behaviour, attitudes and worldview of the nation of interest, and can serve as a foundation 

for conclusions and generalizations as far as its cultural identity is concerned. Presidential 

speeches employ linguistic (lexical) and cognitive (conceptual, figurative) means that are 

understandable to all social groups within the nation, regardless of their specifics, and 

constitute the nation‘s representation of reality. 


267

2.4 Culturally-Marked Elements As a Translation Challenge 

The nation-centered character of presidential political statements induces certain 

reserves to the overriding principle of functional (communicative) equivalence which 

stipulates that the text of translation should produce the same effect on the foreign target 

audience as the original text did on the initial target audience. Being tightly bound to the 

national context, presidential speeches cannot be transferred into an alien context to function 

on equal terms with domestic political speeches that originally belonged to it. J. House points 

out the necessary modification of text function in this case from persuasive (i.e. aiming to 

influence) to informative (House 1977: 203). 72 But the functional shift should not be regarded 

as a carte blanche for a translator as far as the processing of culturally marked linguistic units 

is concerned. As the source text originally bears certain persuasive, culturally-dependent 

elements and thus is not purely informative, the strategy of internationalization which 

presupposes adherence to a ―culturally independent ‗neutral‘ style‖ of translation as defined 

by E. Gromová (Gromová 2005: 24), is not the one that should be applicable by default. The 

dual nature of language implies that the form of verbalization constitutes a part of the 

information conveyed. Conceptual and metaphorical elements not only add a culture-specific 

touch to the text, but also reveal certain information about the worldview of the nation 

concerned. Omitting them undermines the original cultural richness of the source text, which 

cannot be considered beneficial particularly in the case of presidential speeches that are meant 

to represent the ‗face‘ of the country, and, being deprived of cultural markers, become 

‗faceless‘. We deem it necessary that a translation should preserve as many culturally-marked 

elements as possible without prejudice to the norms and rules of the target language. 

3. Peculiarities of Cross-linguistic Transfer of Concepts 

3.1 Selected Concepts and Their Metaphorical Linkage 

As our research is not originally aimed at creating a comprehensive conceptual picture 

of the Slovak mentality, we focused on a restricted number of concepts selected on the basis 

of their demonstrativeness and frequency of appearance which suggests their importance for 

the given national context. The examination of concept-bearing lexemes on the basis of their 

72 A specific instance when the original goal of a text should remain intact is when a source language speech is 

addressed directly to the target language audience (members of diplomatic corps, and foreign delegations). 

Although the speech is re-coded into another language, it is still meant to function in the original cultural 

context. 


268

combinatory features in a sentence allowed us to reveal the filling of the given concept, to 

trace its metaphorical elaboration, and to ponder on its mental and behavioural implications. 

3.1.1 The „House‟ Concept 

In the analyzed speeches, the concept of a house was recurringly linked to the image 

of the state, thus creating a metaphor of ‗the state as our house (home)‘. As a house is first 

built and then maintained in order by those who live in it, being at the same time tailored to 

their needs, a state similarly requires constant constructive efforts of its citizens. Furthermore, 

the given concept is occasionally extended to embrace larger social political formations (e.g. 

the EU) and can reach out as far as the world or life in general: prispieť k budovaniu sveta 

(contribute to building the world 73 ), budúcnosť nestaviame na zelenej lúke (we do not build 

the future on a green meadow). Viewing the future in terms of building implies that its 

formation is a time-consuming and laborious process, which is a necessity if the final goal of 

creating an environment that will be comfortable like home is to be achieved. 

Another important aspect of the concept of house derived from the factual material is a 

solid foundation as an indisputable prerequisite if the house is to give shelter and protection, 

i.e. to function adequately and efficiently: zvrchovaný štát, pevne stojaci na princìpoch 

demokracie (a sovereign state firmly based on democratic principles), jedným zo základných 

znakov modernej spoločnosti (one of the fundamental characteristics of modern society). 

3.1.2 The „Space‟ Concept 

The spacial approach in perceiving and defining reality is manifested in the usage of 

lexemes with a dimensional meaning: prìchod nového roka otvára priestor na vyslovenie 

prianì (the New Year opens up space for conveying wishes), prehlbujú hospodársku 

spoluprácu (deepen economic cooperation), je zužovaním našich moţnostì (is the narrowing 

of our opportunities). In the last example, the same meaning could have been expressed by the 

words zmenšenie (reduction) and zhoršenie (impairment), which represent the concepts of 

quantity and quality respectively. Of the three conceptual forms available, the preference to 

the spacial one can be attributed to the importance of the given concept in the Slovak context. 

The application of spacial (specific) measurement to otherwise unmeasurable (abstract) 

entities implies that they are subject to human monitoring, control and/or modification. A 

73 The English translation in brackets is provided for explanatory purposes and is therefore composed of word- 

for-word equivalents. 


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spacial approach to reality, on the one hand, makes it predictable; on the other hand, it 

increases a person‘s responsibility in dealing with it. 

3.1.3 The Concept of „Way/Journey‟ 

The predominant metaphor in relation to life is the metaphor of ‗life as a journey 

along a certain way‘. According to this metaphor, individuals are viewed as staying at a 

certain point on a way with a considerable mileage of overall national and their own personal 

experience behind them, and still more distance waiting ahead. The distance covered (e.g. in 

form of history) is perceived as something of value as it accumulates experience and has the 

power to direct future movement. As to the objective reference of the given concept, there is 

normally not one but a multitude of different paths and roads: long, short, intersecting, dead- 

end, hampered, new, rutted, etc. Hence, in the conceptual dimension, the decisions people 

make constitute the path they take, with preparation (setting the goal, working out a route) as 

a necessary prerequisite: spoločnosť je na takúto dohodu, na túto cestu pripravená (the 

society is ready for such an agreement, for this path). The metaphor here also implies that 

one should be careful not to lose the path, and not to turn in the wrong direction, which 

presupposes the need to constantly check the progress in the form of single deeds (or ‗steps‘) 

and reflect upon the past activity while keeping an eye on future: uvedomenie si správnosti 

politických krokov, smerujúcich k historickému vzniku dvoch samostatných štátov (realizing 

the correctness of political steps directed to the historical emergence of the two independent 

states). The way is not entirely under a person‘s control – there can be blocks that stop the 

movement and which are impossible to overcome unless they clear out naturally, at the same 

time one never knows what alternative paths can open up along the way: udalosti, ktoré 

nadlho zahatali cestu k vytúţenej slobode a demokracii (events that for a long time blocked 

the way to desired freedom and democracy). 

3.1.4 The „Malady‟ Concept 

The metaphorical understanding of problems as maladies emphasizes their alarming 

nature and warns against negligence: if uncured, an illness can cause grave complications or 

even result in demise. The further implication of the metaphor is that the emergence of a 

problem, like the occurrence of an illness, is not generally related to the deliberate intention of 

a people thus it cannot be blamed entirely on them (in contrast to the cultures which view 

problems as mistakes). Despite the involuntary occurrence, the control and treatment of an 


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illness unarguably falls within the responsibility of an individual: budeme si musieť od 

neduhov odpomôcť (we will have to treat the ailments). 

3.2 Translation Techniques and Solutions with Regard to Concept-Bearing Linguistic 

Units 

Translation techniques applied in the cross-linguistic transfer of concept-bearing units 

can be generalized into three core tactics which, for convenience, can be designated 

preservation, abandonment and elaboration. 

The translation tactics of preservation consists in implanting the source concept- 

bearing unit into the text in the target language, which, on the linguistic level, is most often 

fulfilled by means of word-for-word (loan) translation: 

(1) Nech nám je potešenìm a cťou, ţe môţeme prispieť k budovaniu sveta, v ktorom 

ľudia ţijú dôstojne, majú zmysluplnú perspektìvu. – We should be pleased and 

honoured that we can contribute our share to building a world where people live their 

lives in dignity and where their lives have a meaning 74 (concept of house). 

(2) Imunita ekonomiky Slovenskej republiky voči chorobným prejavom globálnej 

krìzy nie je neobmedzená, ale nie je dôvod k prehnanému pesimizmu. – The immunity 

of the Slovak Republic‟s economy to the illness of global crisis is not unlimited, but it 

is not a reason for excessive pessimism (concept of malady). 

V. Liashuk notes that the ―subconscious imposition of source language models on the 

target language constitutes an actual stage of the process of transmitting contents and 

meanings‖ (Ляшук 2009: 171). Furthermore, the preservation of source forms is enabled and 

justified by the fact that concepts as such belong to the overall realm of human thinking 

without distinction as to a specific national worldview. According to V. Karasik, ―the 

difference between cultures lies in the quantitative and combinatorial preference of 

characteristics in the process of conceptualization‖ (Karasik 2002: 93). Each language 

disposes of a certain set of linguistic means to verbalize the given concept which can differ in 

terms of quantity, frequency and habitual usage. Source concept-bearing units in the 

translation serve as cultural identity markers giving the foreign receiver additional, less overt 

information about the worldview of the nation of the source language. But in order not to 

exceed the acceptable limits of exotization, such units should be checked for linguistic 

consistency with norms and speech standards of the source culture. 

74 Hereinafter, the English translation from the official website is provided. 


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In a more general way, the tactics of preservation means the preservation of a concept 

which is ‗materialized‘ by means of verbal units. Hence, a necessary prerequisite for a 

successful translation is what A. Keníņ defined as ‗creative reception‘ (Keníņ 2010: 51), 

which in the given case entails transcending the purely linguistic level into the cognitive 

sphere to detect the core concept of the utterance and then searching for the corresponding 

linguistic means in the target language. 

The translation tactics of abandonment is based on the principle of giving preference 

to the meaning in case of collision between semantic and formal equality. In practice, the 

given tactics entails the de-conceptualization of a concept-bearing linguistic unit: the unit is 

interpreted by the translator who defines its central meaning and then chooses a suitable form 

to shape it in the target language. The de-conceptualization of a linguistic unit involves the 

elimination of additional characteristics and implications that the concept attached to it, which 

diminishes the semantic outreach of the given unit and deprives it of the ability to convey 

culture-specific information about the nation‘s worldview. 

The form chosen to convey the detected meaning in the target language, as a rule, is 

itself a bearer of a certain concept, therefore the process of abandonment, in a larger 

perspective, can be viewed as the concept substitution. 

(3) V súčasnosti si plnosť a šírku jeho [kréda] dosahu uvedomujem stále viac a viac 

(concept of space). – I am increasingly more aware of its [motto] true meaning and 

message nowadays (concept of communication). 

The introduction of a different concept-bearing unit into the text of translation can be 

viewed as a micro-distortion of the original meaning as the newly introduced concept adds up 

its own implications and associative links to it. In the case of overt collision of the norms of 

two languages, such distortions can be unavoidable, thus tolerable. At the same time, too 

loose an approach to the transformation of the source conceptualized forms can result in the 

impairment of the original message by losses or misinterpretations: 

(4) Ale moderná kriminológia razí cestu, ţe základom riešenia kriminality je 

prevencia. Najmä sociálna, vedomostná a mravnostná. – However, modern 

criminology stresses the importance of prevention in all its aspects – social, 

educational, moral. 

In the original utterance, it was emphasized that the modern criminology not only 

realizes (‗stresses‘) the importance of prevention, but actively uses it as a starting point for its 

development. Furthermore, the translation lacks the reasons why prevention is considered 

important (because of its fundamental role in countering the criminality problem). 


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The preference for one of the tactics (preservation or abandonment) can depend on the 

pragmatic function of the given linguistic unit in a larger syntactical context. The instances of 

particular interest in this regard are extended metaphors, intensifying repetitions, and idioms. 

An extended metaphor is composed by a number of lexemes of the same conceptual 

nature that contribute to the creation of a coherent image of a situation, hence its correct and 

complete transmission presupposes the choice of the closest formal equivalents that bear the 

core concept on which the whole metaphor is based. The loss of a constituent element of an 

extended metaphor breaks the link between the other components undermining its expressive 

power: 

(5) Vláda Slovenskej republiky je v stave najvyššej pohotovosti, má snahu sanovať 

dôsledky krìzy ešte predtým, ako by mohlo dôjsť k nezvratnému poškodeniu 

ekonomiky (extended metaphor based on the concept of malady). – The Government of 

the Slovak Republic is in a state of the highest readiness and strives to mitigate the 

effects of the crisis before they can cause irreversible harm to the economy. 

The repetition of paronymous words in a close syntactical context is aimed at 

emphasizing the core idea of the sentence. Since the lexical spheres of the source and the 

target languages are not commensurate, it might be impossible to find the same amount of 

paronymous translation equivalents for the given conceptualized lexeme. The loss of the 

original intensifying effect can be compensated by the introduction of additional lexical 

elements reinforcing the remaining concept-bearing elements: 

(6) Prvé kroky, ktoré v tejto súvislosti urobila nová vláda, sú len vykročením k 

očakávaným istotám. – The first measures taken by the new government in this field 

can be hailed as steps in the right direction towards the expected guarantees. 

An idiom is based on a prototypical situation unfolding around a certain concept; 

therefore, its cross-linguistic transfer is conditioned by the existence of analogous idiomatic 

means to describe the given situation in the target language. The inability to find such means 

results in the selection of the most closely corresponding translational equivalent. The 

possible criteria taken into consideration at this point can be ranged in the following way: the 

meaning conveyed by the linguistic unit – idiomatic nature – conceptual orientation. It should 

be noted that the compliance with the first two criteria appears to be sufficient for the 

adoption of a given unit as a translational equivalent even if the conceptual conformity is not 

achieved: 

(7) Aj preto vzdelávanie a kultúra nemôţu stáť na neistých nohách. – Therefore 

education and culture have to stand on solid foundations. 


273

In the given example, the translational equivalent chosen by the translator (a Slovak 

national) is based on the concept of house, which was lacking in the source utterance. The fact 

of its introduction into the text of translation confirms our assumption about it being one of 

the core concepts in the worldview of the nation concerned. 

The tactics of elaboration occupies the intermediate position between the first two 

and consists of introducing modifications into the given conceptualized notion while staying 

within the limits of the same conceptual sphere: 

(8) Ţiaľ, musìm konštatovať, ţe v tomto smere máme dlhodobo značné resty (concept 

of space, movement and directivity). – Unfortunately, I have to admit that we have 

long-term shortcomings in this field (concept of space, statics and boundedness). 

As in the case of complete abandonment, the change of an angle at which the 

conceptualized notion is presented might cause the expansion of the original meaning. Its 

outreach beyond the originally intended limits might cause an inappropriate shift: 

(9) Najmä preto, ţe svet v 21. storočì je stále plný násilia, občianskych nepokojov, 

hladu, chudoby a utrpenia. “Liek” na tieto bolesti sveta sa hľadá veľmi ťaţko. – 

Particularly because in the 21st century the world is still full of violence, civil unrest, 

famine, poverty and suffering. It has proved extremely difficult to find a “panacea” 

for all pains. 

The noun ‗panacea‘ has the implication of a universal (i.e. easy) solution for pending 

issues and problems. The problems outlined in the utterance (violence, civil unrest, etc.) 

obviously demand thorough attention and specific approach, not a quick, all-purpose remedy. 

4. Conclusion 

The peculiarities of the nation‘s worldview are reflected in speech by means of 

linguistic units that bear core concepts, create specific images and align into metaphors. Such 

culturally-marked elements transmit additional information about the source culture which 

makes their preservation in the course of translation necessary and desirable. The preservation 

of concepts is enabled by their attribution to the overall realm of collective human thought. A 

too easy abandonment of the source concept-bearing forms, as well as a too loose elaboration, 

might introduce additional implications and cause distortions to the original meaning intended 

to be conveyed. 


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Resumé 

В статье рассматриваются особенности межъязыковой передачи лингвистических 

единиц, содержащих в себе маркеры национального характера и мировоззрения. 

Предметом анализа являются концепты, образы и метафоры, используемые в 

политических обращениях и характеризующиеся высокой частотностью и 

демонстративностью (концепты дома, пространства, дороги, недуга). Компаративный 

анализ исходного словацкого материалы и его англоязычного эквивалента проводится 

на более широком лингвокультурологическом фоне. Автором оценивается полнота и 

адекватность выбранных переводческих эквивалентов, анализируются искажения, 

вносимые в текст перевода на когнитивном и смысловом уровне, а также обобщаются и 

характеризуются используемые переводческие техники. 

____________________ 

The present research was conducted with the support of the International Visegrad Fund 


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Department of British and American Studies at the - Univerzita ...

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