Academic literature on the topic 'Lays Linguistics Folk literature Folk literature'

This article examines the prosody and other features of Hebrew and Yiddish translations of Eugene Onegin , which were composed as a part of Ashkenazi Jewish cultural movements in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Palestine. Russian literature played an important role within the history of modern literature in both Hebrew and Yiddish. Translating Russian literature tested the limits of the literary Yiddish and Hebrew languages. Due to the novel’s status in the Russian canon and its poetic forms, translating it was a coveted literary challenge for high-culture artistic production in Jewish languages. I examine this phenomenon using Pushkin’s simulation of folk poetry in the “Song of the Girls.” Due to the different social and textual functions of Yiddish and Hebrew, as well as their linguistic features, translatability of even formal characteristics differed from one Jewish language to another. The changes in Hebrew pronunciation during this period were reflected clearly in the changing limits of the ability of writers to translate Onegin . Though motivated by an inward-facing drive to produce modern and Western literature in one Jewish language or another, these translations were also a manifestation of the cultural bond between secular, East European Jewish intellectuals and Russian literature.

Oral Theory, which is the discipline that studies the oral tradition, has been characterized as a literary anthropology, centered on essentially two notions: tradition on the one hand, literature on the other. Though emphasis has moved from an initial preoccupation with oral textual form (as advocated by Parry and Lord) to concerns with the oral text as social practice, the anthropological / literary orientation has generally remained intact. But through its designation of a traditional 'other' Oral Theory is, at best, a sub-field of anthropology; the literature it purports to study is not literature, but anthropological data. This undermines the existence of the field as discipline. In this study it is suggested that the essence of orality as subject matter of Oral Theory - should be seen not in the origins of its creativity (deemed 'traditional'), nor in its aesthetic process / product itself ('literature'), but in its use of language deriving from a different 'auditory' conception of language (as contrasted with the largely 'visualist' conception of language at least partly associated with writing). In other words, the study of orality should not be about specific oral 'genres', but about verbalization in general. In terms of its auditory conception, language is primarily defined as existing in sound, a definition which places it in a continuum with other symbolical / meaningful sounds, normally conceptualized as 'music'. Linguistics, being fundamentally scriptist (visualist) in orientation, fails to account for the auditory conception of language. To remedy this, Oral Theory needs to set itself up as an 'aural linguistics' - implying close interdisciplinary collaboration with the field of musicology - through which the linguistic sign of orality could be studied in all its particularity and complexity of meaning.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1996.

Tese de Doutoramento em Estudos Clássicos, no ramo de Mundo Antigo, em regime de cotutela entre a Universidade de Barcelona e a Universidade de Coimbra, e apresentada à Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra
Many authors devoted to the study of ancient social systems pointed out the great dependence on farming and herding for complex society’s genesis. In that sense, such dependence must have had an intrinsic influence on the cultural matrix of cultures sustained by agriculture, as the entire Mesopotamian and italic regions. Farming and herding regulated the daily activities, interfering with the conceptualization of the surrounding cosmos. The natural world was reflected in the abstract thought and that inevitably stated the basis for linguistic creativity an expression based on signs of meaning inspired by the agricultural landscape. A variety of media often shows such potential ‘metaphoric’ language, which surpasses the simple expression of literary telluric feelings; it is the manifestation of obvious images to an interlocutor who recognizes meaning in signs culturally transmitted by empirical experience within the agricultural cosmos or by traditional preconceptions. In this sense, through the identification and crystallization of what modern semiotics call ‘signs of meaning’, the empirical visualization of fertility, abundance and quality of production would work as source for the creation of imagery constructed upon the common sense and upon the experience of rural life and natural phenomena. Those images compounded by cristalyzed signs of meaning would be converted in linguistic symbols, which semantics would reflect the symbiosis of three conceptual planes: rural life, natural phenomena and welfare. The aim of this dissertation is to analyse the way the prejudgment on meanings from nature, based on common sense, is constructed and maintained in a defined cultural context, far behind the exclusivity and artificiality of literary expression. And, at same time, how can such prejudgment help us to understand better an ancient culture and help to approach the thoughts of the silent people of the ancient world. In order to interpret how the allegorical images and mechanics on crystallization of traditional bias are built, I intend to identify possible traces of ancient traditional linguistic thought in Sumerian literature and Latin instructions on farming, which matrix was formed by the contact with the natural world and goes back to pre-historical times. The objective is to identify meaning in images transmitted by literary language applying the same method to two unrelated cultures, in order to attest that different cultures may have the same mechanisms of building abstract meaning, with similar results, when agriculture and nature are the main background context.
Muitos autores dedicados ao estudo de antigos sistemas sociais apontaram que a gênese das sociedades complexas foi sustentada em grande medida pelo desenvolvimento da agricultura e do pastoreio. Nesse sentido, a matrix cultural destas sociedades foi produndamente influenciada por estas actividades económicas, tal como sucedeu com as culturas antigas de toda a região mesopotâmica e itálica. A agricultura e o pastoreio regulavam as atividades diárias, interferindo na conceptualização do cosmos circundante. O mundo natural reflectia-se no pensamento abstrato o que, inevitavelmente, estabeleceu a base para a criatividade linguística e para uma expressão baseada em signos de sentido inspirados na paisagem agrícola. Essa linguagem potencial "metafórica" manifesta-se através de diferentes formas de expressão, que ultrapassa a simples expressão de sentimentos telúricos literários; esta linguagem é a manifestação de imagens óbvias para um interlocutor que reconhece o significado em signos culturalmente transmitidos pela experiência empírica dentro do cosmos agrícola ou por preconceitos tradicionais. Nesse sentido, através da identificação e cristalização daquilo que a semiótica moderna nomeia de ‘signos de sentido’, a visualização empírica da fertilidade, abundância e qualidade de produção funcionaria como fonte para a criação de imagens construídas sobre o senso comum e sobre a experiência de vida rural e fenômenos naturais. Essas imagens compostas por sinais de significado cristalizados seriam convertidas em símbolos linguísticos, cuja semântica refletiria a simbiose de três planos conceituais: vida rural, fenômenos naturais e bem-estar. O objetivo desta dissertação é analisar a forma como o prejuizo sobre a simbologia baseada no mundo natural, sustentada pelo senso comum, é construído e mantido em um contexto cultural definido, muito para além da exclusividade e artificialidade da expressão literária. E, ao mesmo tempo, como tal preconceito pode ajudar a entender melhor uma cultura antiga e favorecer a abordargem ao pensamento das ‘vozes silenciosas’ do mundo antigo. Para interpretar como as imagens e as mecânicas alegóricas sobre a cristalização do preconceito tradicional são construídas, pretendo identificar possíveis traços do antigo pensamento linguístico tradicional na literatura suméria e nas instruções latinas sobre agricultura, cuja matriz foi formada pelo contacto com o mundo natural e remonta a tempos pré-históricos. O objetivo é identificar o significado em imagens transmitidas por linguagem literária aplicando o mesmo método a duas culturas não relacionadas, a fim de atestar que diferentes culturas podem ter os mesmos mecanismos de construção de significado abstracto, com resultados semelhantes, quando agricultura e natureza são os principais definidores de contexto.
Muchos autores dedicados al estudio de los sistemas sociales antiguos señalaron la gran dependencia de la agricultura y el pastoreo para la génesis de la sociedades complejas. En este sentido, tal dependencia habría tenido una influencia intrínseca en la matriz cultural de las culturas sustentadas por la agricultura, como toda la región de Mesopotamia y Itálica. La agricultura y el pastoreo regulaban las actividades diarias, interfiriendo con la conceptualización del cosmos circundante. El mundo natural se reflejó en el pensamiento abstracto e inevitablemente estableció la base de la creatividad lingüística como expresión basada en ‘signos de significado’ inspirados en el paisaje agrícola. Una variedad de formas de expressión a menudo muestra ese potencial lenguaje "metafórico", que supera la simple expresión de los sentimientos telúricos literarios; ese lenguaje es la manifestación de imágenes óbvias para un interlocutor que reconoce el significado de signos culturalmente transmitidos por la experiencia empírica dentro del cosmos agrícola o por prejuicios tradicionales. En este sentido, a través de la identificación y cristalización de lo que la semiótica moderna llama "signos de significado", la visualización empírica de la fertilidad, abundancia y calidad de producción funcionaría como fuente para la creación de imágenes construidas sobre el sentido común y sobre la experiencia de vida rural y fenómenos naturales. Esas imágenes compuestas por ‘signos de significado’ cristalizados se converten en símbolos lingüísticos, cuya semántica refleja la simbiosis de tres planos conceptuales: la vida rural, los fenómenos naturales y el bienestar. El objetivo de esta disertación es analizar la forma en que el prejuicio sobre los significados de la naturaleza, basados en el sentido común, se construye y mantiene en un contexto cultural definido, muy por detrás de la exclusividad y la artificialidad de la expresión literaria. Y, al mismo tiempo, cómo puede este prejuicio ayudarnos a comprender mejor una cultura antigua y ayudarnos a acercarnos a los pensamientos de la gente silenciosa del mundo Antiguo. Para interpretar cómo se construyen las imágenes alegóricas y la mecánica de la cristalización del preconcepto tradicional, pretendemos identificar posibles rastros del antiguo pensamiento lingüístico tradicional en la literatura sumeria y en las instrucciones latinas sobre la agricultura, cuya matriz se formó por el contacto con el mundo natural y se remonta a tiempos prehistóricos. El objetivo es identificar el significado en imágenes transmitidas por lenguaje literario aplicando el mismo método a dos culturas no relacionadas, para atestiguar que las diferentes culturas pueden tener los mismos mecanismos de construcción de significado abstracto, con resultados similares, cuando la agricultura y la naturaleza son la base fundamental del contexto.

The chapter focuses on a gallery of representative figures of Romanian women imagery, with a view to fostering the cultural dialogue. It is an approach to understanding Romanians in general, with their history, traditions, symbols, and myths, seen from a women's studies point of view. The women who are chosen as examples are real personalities, such as historic characters, creators of Romanian symbols, past or present public figures who have had a significant impact on the women's national imagery. The chapter also uses fictional examples, eg. protagonists of folk or cultured literature or national legend heroines. Through these female figures, the author aims at assembling an image of the Romanian society with a focus on women's representations, in order to “decode” key cultural and civilizational elements, explain attitudes, and thus, guide non-native learners through their understanding process of Romanian culture and values.