Vol 12, No 2 (2020)

Shift of Oral and Written Discourse Features in Audio-visual Translation - A Corpus-Based Study  (PDF)

Salah BEN HAMMOU

Abstract: This study investigates the use of spoken and written discourse features in audio-visual translation. To investigate the characteristics of spoken and written language features in audiovisual translation, I have conducted a quantitative comparison between a dubbed and a subtitled version of an American TV Show. I adopted Bibber’s (2004) Dimension 1: involved vs. informational production. According to this dimension, we distinguish between positive and negative features. The high frequency of the first group characterizes involved registers. Whereas, the high frequency of the second group typifies informational registers,. In this case study, it can be concluded that positive features, namely first- and second person pronouns, private verbs and present -tense are more frequent than the negative features in the three samples. Thus, the register used in the three samples of our data is highly involved. But when comparing between the three versions, we see that the dubbed language is more involved than the subtitled language. Similarly, when comparing the degree of “informationality” in the three samples, we can see that the subtitled language is more informational than the original and dubbed languages.

 Coffeehouses, the Shift in English National Sentiment in 1673 and the Glorious Revolution  (PDF)

György BORUS

Abstract. This paper seeks to explore and explain some of the distant causes of the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89. It argues that without the fundamental change in English public opinion at the beginning of the 1670s, the Glorious Revolution – which was an Anglo-Dutch achievement – would have been impossible. It discusses the foreign policy of Charles II, the consequences of the third Anglo-Dutch War and some domestic developments, which all combined to change the way well-informed people in England perceived continental affairs. The article also touches upon the role of coffeehouses in the development of a public sphere in later Stuart England.

On the Role of Society and Culture in Speaking: The Analysis of Oral Language Performance in the Light of the Socio-Cultural Perspective  (PDF)

Klaudia Emanuela GAJEWSKA

Abstract. Many theoretical discussions on speaking have unanimously pointed to the underlying role of information exchange in every day oral communication. Even though such a tendency to stress the communicative aspect of speech production processes associated with the works of, for instance, Caroll (1953), Byrne (1976), Levelt (1959) or Whorf (1940) could be identified, the objective of the present paper is to focus on the society- and culture-oriented investigations of speaking. On having considered the selected socio-cultural constructs, among others, Hofstede’s (1991) typology of cultural dimensions, Lakoff’s (1975) description of gender-based linguistic differences or Vygotskian (1934/2012) Socio-Cultural Theory, we intend to argue for the adoption of the interdisciplinary approach to the discussion of speaking, whose final product, speech, is a highly socially- and culturally-determined linguistic phenomenon.

Beyond the Online Voices during Crisis Communication. Case Study: Product Recall in Romania after the Usage of Fipronil  (PDF)

Ioan MICLEA

Abstract. In August 2017, a health crisis has spread all over Europe due to the contamination of eggs with Fipronil, which according to the World Health Organization, is “slightly toxic” when ingested in large quantities. Purpose: This paper aims to examine how the Romanian media and the Romanian media online users framed the egg recall and to determine the level of crisis responsibility attributed by the media and the Romanian media online users, as stakeholders, to the organizations involved in this crisis. Methodology: Using Semetko & Valkenburg’s typology of frames (2000), I employed a content analysis of the news articles issued from August 1 to December 8, 2017 by the Romanian mass-media and of the comments related to these articles. I used the QDA miner 5 software to determine the frequency of the frames and a correspondence analysis was employed to identify the relationship between the keywords (phrases) and the frames. Results: The findings showed the salience of attribution of responsibility, followed by human interest and economic frames within the news coverage. The qualitative analysis of the attribution of responsibility frame in the news articles showed that the European Union is the institution usually made responsible for the spread of contaminated eggs, being the institution that regulates the usage of unsafe substances (such as Fipronil). The findings showed that the Romanian media online users mainly focused on the economic consequences frame of the crisis, talking about the price increases that the crisis has produced.

User-Generated Contents and Professional Journalism Practice in Nigeria: Perception of Journalists in Select Media Houses in Abuja and Lagos  (PDF)

Barikui NNAANE, Prosper Festus OLISE

Abstract. One of the trends redefining and reshaping the landscape of the mass media not only in Nigeria, but also globally is the integration of User-Generated Contents (UGCs) in professional journalism practice. This trend which is driven by the social media has engendered citizen and participatory journalism. However, in spite of the seeming contributions of UGCs to the expansion of the public sphere, there are genuine concerns and fears about the erosion of gatekeeping and factual verification of information. The focus of this study therefore was on User-Generated Contents (UGCs) and professional journalism practice in Nigeria, and how journalists in select media houses in Abuja and Lagos perceived and used this phenomenon. The research design was survey; the sampling technique was accidental or convenience sampling, while the research instrument was questionnaire. A key finding of the research amongst others was that Twitter UGCs were the most used, followed by those from YouTube. The authors recommended that while social media UGCs should be used with caution especially in a country like Nigeria where there is gullibility of information-consumption without verification.