Miloš Tasić

Prototype Theory and Translation Equivalent Selection: The Case of Motion Verbs

The paper aims to investigate whether prototypicality effects (e.g., Rosch 1973a, b; Lakoff 1987) correlate with selecting Serbian translation equivalents of English motion verbs in cases in which we have no context determined (one-word translation). By applying three empirical stages, we have generated a potential prototypicality list for English motion verbs. We have then tested 60 translators in another procedure, so as to check whether there were statistically valid links between a verb’s typicality and the choice of a translation equivalent. The results indicate that a higher degree of prototypicality positively correlates with a more consistent choice of a translation equivalent. At the same time, there is a negative correlation between the determined prototypicality and the diversity of translation equivalents offered for the verb in question. These results may reveal certain psychological aspects of translation, while simultaneously corroborating the tenets of prototype theory.

Facial expressions in comics: an empirical consideration of McCloud’s proposal:

In Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels (2006), Scott McCloud proposes that the use of specific drawing techniques will enable viewers to reliably deduce different degrees of intensity of the six basic emotions from facial expressions in comics. Furthermore, he suggests that an accomplished comics artist can combine the components of facial expressions conveying the basic emotions to produce complex expressions, many of which are supposedly distinct and recognizable enough to be named. This article presents an empirical investigation and assessment of the validity of these claims, based on the results obtained from three questionnaires. Each of the questionnaires deals with one of the aspects of McCloud’s proposal: face expression intensity, labelling and compositionality. The data show that the tasks at hand were much more difficult than would have been expected on the basis of McCloud’s proposal, with the intensity matching task being the most successful of the three.

Однос метафоре и контекста у когнитивној лингвистици

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between metaphor and context in cognitive linguistic literature, as well as to show the diversity of positions towards this complex relation. Firstly, it provides a summary of the development of conceptual metaphor theory (CMT), one of the main topics in cognitive semantics and cognitive linguistics in general. Secondly, using the method of comparison and exploring the corpus which comprises the relevant books and papers on this topic, the paper reviews the manner in which the views on the relation between metaphor and context emerged and evolved during the development of the theory. The papers and books found in the corpus include authors such as George Lakoff, Mark Turner, Mark Johnson, Raymond W. Gibbs, Zoltan Kovecses and Vyvyan Evans. Finally, the paper provides the accounts of two authors (Stern and Leezenberg) who oppose the mainstream views on the relation of metaphor and context. The conclusion that follows ought to help us get a clearer picture of the mentioned relation.