Analele Universităţii Bucureşti. Limbi şi Literaturi Străine
Analele Universității din București. Limbi și Literaturi Străine (“The Annals of the University of Bucharest”, Foreign Languages and Literatures) is a biannual scientific journal which covers a broad range of topics in linguistics, literature, cultural studies and translation studies. Commenced publication: 1952 ISSN: 1220-0263 ISSN 3008-6035 (online) ISSN-L 1220-0263 The Annals of the University of Bucharest, Foreign Languages and Literatures is an open access journal distributed in accordance with the CC-BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons Attribution – NonCommercial – NoDerivatives 4.0 International) license: the work can be used by mentioning the author and the license, but only for non-commercial purposes and only in the original version. For further information HERE.
Editura Universității din București - Bucharest University Press
GABRIELA BÎLBÎIE. 2024. Sintaxa construcțiilor coordonate în limba română
In this book, Gabriela Bîlbîie offers a significant contribution to the syntax of coordination in Romanian, a topic that has remained relatively underexplored in the linguistic literature. The author's comprehensive classification of conjunctions in Romanian, alongside diagnostic tests and detailed syntactic analyses of coordination phenomena, offers a solid theoretical framework that enriches our understanding of coordination patterns in Romanian. Furthermore, the exploration of related constructions such as gapping and right node raising addresses complex issues that have received limited attention in Romanian linguistic literature. These contributions mark an important step forward in the study of Romanian syntax and help broaden the scope of cross-linguistic syntactic inquiry.
Copyright (c) 2025 Analele Universităţii Bucureşti. Limbi şi Literaturi Străine
REDUNDANCY AND IDENTIFIABILITY AS CRUCIAL ELEMENTS FOR ANTICIPATION IN SI
Anticipation is a crucial aspect in the activity of simultaneous conference interpreting (SI). The interpreter has to predict, based on linguistic, cognitive, situational, and pragmatic inferences, the direction in which the speaker develops the discourse, in order to avoid informational overload and be able to recreate in the target language (TL), the message uttered by the speaker in the source language (SL). One theoretical model that aims to describe the mental processes behind SI it that of Ghelly Chernov. Influenced by the Russian school of psycholinguistics, Chernov views SI activity as a mental process involving, besides linguistic competences, the ability of the interpreter to ‘make sense’ of the speaker by correctly identifying the relevant new information, the rheme, and how this fits into the broader referential framework of the discourse, provided by its theme. Its success relies heavily on the redundancy of the discourse, manifested by iteration and interdependence, which allows the interpreter to make inferences based on the information gradually being revealed by the unfolding speech. A contributing factor to redundancy is the identifiability of referents in the discourse, as theorized by Wallace Chafe. This paper points at the potential complementarities of the two theoretical approaches.
LINGUISTIC EVIDENCE IN TRADEMARK DISPUTES: A FORENSIC ANALYSIS OF LEXICAL, SEMANTIC, AND SYNTACTIC MARKERS
Trademark disputes imply a linguistic battle over a term or a sequence of terms. Linguistic methods focusing on lexical, semantic and syntactic analysis can play an important role in assessing similarities, differences or the possibility of consumer confusion. The paper presents three real trademark cases from two distinguished linguists, who were called upon as expert witnesses to identify how lexical choices, semantic content and syntactic patterns can affect legal interpretation. Linguistic evidence withdrawn from corpus analysis can be very valuable in a trademark case. The work of the linguist consists in investigating how often the contested term appears in large corpora and in determining whether only the plaintiff has the right to use that certain word or not.
This paper discusses the acquisition of motion of native English speakers within Talmy’s (1985, 2000) typological classification of languages, the lexical elements involved in the expression of motion and the syntactic patterns emerging from their combination. Talmy introduces a two-class typology based on how a language encodes Path of motion; he distinguishes between Satellite-framed languages (Path conveyed by a satellite: a preposition, a particle, a prefix, a directional adverb), and Verb-framed languages (the verb itself encodes Path). In this typology, English is a Sattellite-framed language. A CHILDES corpus (Berman & Slobin (1994)) of narratives was analyzed. Participants had to describe images from a frog-story picture book. Five syntactic patterns used to express motion in English were systematically investigated in terms of frequency of occurence: bare directed motion, directed motion with a manner component, Path-Manner verbs (Drăgan (2012, 2022)), Goal of Motion constructions and located motion. Talmy claims that English speakers prefer Goal of Motion construction (manner-of-motion verb with a PP), however the preferred option seems to be the bare directed motion pattern. This paper provides a comprehensive view of language acquisition and development regarding the expression of motion, exploring the intricate relations between lexical items, syntactic structures and age-related changes.
ON NEGATION AND DISJUNCTION IN L2 ENGLISH IN AN L1 ROMANIAN CONTEXT
This experimental study investigates how Romanian-speaking learners of L2 English interpret disjunction in negative sentences, focusing on whether they exhibit L1 transfer effects from Romanian or successfully acquire the English pattern. While English and Romanian are traditionally considered to fall in the same category according to the Disjunction Parameter (Szabolcsi, 2002), favouring the conjunctive interpretation (-PPI value), recent research (Lungu et al., 2021) suggests that Romanian speakers prefer the disjunctive reading (+PPI value). Through three experimental studies, I investigated: (i) how English speakers interpret disjunction in negative sentences, (ii) how Romanian speakers interpret disjunction, and (iii) because I found differences, how Romanian-speaking learners of L2 English interpret disjunction. The results of the first two studies showed that there are differences between the preferred interpretation of disjunction in negative sentences in English and Romanian. Based on these results, I conducted a third study to investigate how Romanian learners of L2 English interpret disjunction in English negative sentences. This study showed evidence of L1 transfer among L2 learners, supporting the Full Transfer Full Access Hypothesis (Schwartz & Sprouse, 1996), indicating that while L1 transfer initially influences L2 acquisition, learners can ultimately reset parameter values based on L2 input.
THE INTRICACIES OF THE RUSSIAN NUMERAL SYSTEM. AN INSIGHT INTO CARDINAL AND COLLECTIVE NUMERALS
The present study aims to investigate constructions with collective and cardinal numerals accompanied by nouns denoting people in the Russian language. By closely examining constructions that follow such patterns, I will explore the possibility that numerals function as a type of classifier, whether morphological or semantic (Yanko, 2004). Thus, I will take a closer look at the nouns selected by numerals and the restrictions imposed on them. In this article I will also advance two proposals: one that is concerned with the case assigned by collective numerals and the other linked to the analysis of higher numerals as morphological classifiers.
MICHAEL SAENGER & SERGIO COSTOLA (Eds.) 2023. Shakespeare in Succession: Translation and Time
The volume Shakespeare in Succession: Translation and Time, edited by Michael Saenger and Sergio Costola, represents a timely contribution to the field of Shakespeare studies, particularly within the subfields of translation studies and global performance criticism. Building on recent presentist approaches to Shakespeare (Grady & Hawkes, 2007; DiPietro & Grady, 2013), as well as on insights from translation and adaptation studies (Hutcheon, 2006; Jonathan Gil Harris, 2009) that posit Shakespeare's works as cultural texts embedded in ongoing processes of translation, adaptation, and reworking, the volume offers a compelling investigation into the complex cultural negotiations that reshape Shakespeare’s texts across time, space, and language.
KATHRYN N. JONES, CAROL TULLY, & HEATHER WILLIAMS. 2020. Hidden Texts, Hidden Nation. (Re)Discoveries of Wales in Travel Writing in French and German (1780-2018)
Part of a joint project between Bangor University, Swansea University and the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, Hidden Texts, Hidden Nation is a timely book that focuses on Wales and the idea of Welshness, as depicted by French, Breton and German travellers from the latter half of the eighteenth century to contemporary times. Furthermore, it aims to unravel a nation which, much like Scotland and Ireland, has long been perceived and represented as marginal to the English imperial discourse. The authors’ rationale for the book is endorsed by the unfair treatment of Wales as a country with a “compromised” relationship with “its globally dominant neighbour”. However, despite the steadfast tendency to regard Wales as a part of England even during the post-devolution times, the nation has showcased not only its own language, social, cultural and political identity but also its specific legislation and education system. This line of thought enables the three authors to zoom in on Continental travel writing so as to reconfigure Wales as a nation radically different from both England and the European Celtic periphery. They successfully achieve their major goal by scrutinizing “the works of European travellers to Wales writing in languages other than English” with a view to erasing Wales’s “cultural ‘invisibility’”.
A DIACHRONIC COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THREE TRANSLATION VERSIONS OF OSCAR WILDE’S THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
The phenomenon of retranslation has been receiving more and more attention in translation studies. Many translations into Romanian of landmark English-language works were carried out during the communist era, as part of a vast translation effort, with the resulting target texts generally being of high quality. But some of these seminal works have been retranslated in the last 30 years, sometimes more than once. A possible record-holder for retranslations (excluding dramatic texts) is Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray, with at least 9 translated versions, six of them dating from the post-communist era. This paper looks at three versions of this classic – one from the communist era and two from the post-communist era. It analyses possible reasons for retranslation, changes in textual-linguistic profile, translation strategies, quality and the relationships between the versions (are they active or passive translations?). Do these changes reflect changes in the broader translation market?
GWEN’S GENDER, RACE, AND AGENCY IN THE BBC TV SERIES MERLIN (2008-2012): FROM SERVANT TO QUEEN
This article discusses the character of Gwen from the TV series Merlin (2008-2012) created and broadcast by the BBC. Gwen starts her journey in the series as a black woman and a servant to lady Morgana, but eventually, she marries Arthur and she becomes the Queen of Camelot. In this text, we note the innovation of the creators of the series to portray the infamous character of Guinevere for the first time as a black woman and a servant in the palace as a way of introducing multicultural and multiracial characters in well-known adaptations. Subsequently, we explore Gwen’s race, gender, and agency as they evolved in the series in relation to her social position and relationships.
REPRESENTATIONS OF REAL AND FICTIONAL BLACK HEROISM IN HO CHE ANDERSON’S KING AND NNEDI OKORAFOR’S SHURI
This article takes into account Black heroism, as illustrated through Martin Luther King Jr. (portrayed in Ho Che Anderson’s graphic novel called King) and Shuri, the sister of Marvel’s Black Panther (featured in Nnedi Okorafor’s two-part comic book entitled Shuri). By looking at a real historical figure and a fictional superheroine, I will pinpoint what differences arise between such depictions, while also highlighting the fact that writers and artists have the possibility to (re)create non-stereotypical representations of heroes. Essentially, such stories end up reminding diverse audiences that it is important to design role models for communities and accentuate how heroism is meant to be defined through a realistic, but hopeful picture of a person who equally embraces their flaws and strengths.
INY LORENTZ’S WANDERING HERO – AN UNCANNY NARRATIVE RESEMBLANCE
This century has seen a resurgence of historical fantasy novels, but few works have come as close to Walter Scott’s historical novel as Iny Lorentz’s books, at least when it comes to narrative technique and selling numbers. There was a period when the public couldn’t access their books, on account of the language barrier, but translations have been published and their success with “Marie, the Wandering Harlot, Series” rivals Ken Follett’s Kingsbridge Series and Peter Tremayne’s Sister Fidelma novels. They managed to eclipse even Rebecca Gable’s success with Fortune’s Wheel. The reader gets copious endnotes, an insight into the “real” historical events which served as a source of inspiration and research prior to the writing, as well as explanations for various local traditions. A central common denominator uniting the Iny Lorentz’s novels with the ancestors of historical novels (Edgeworth and Scott) is the presence of wandering characters. It is our claim that transformations the wandering hero undergoes – a type of hero who plays a central role in both Scott and Lorentz – are rather caused by Lorentz’s narrative style, which injects narrative features pertaining to women writers into the agglomeration of incident specific to a historical novel, rather than by postmodernist precritical assumptions behind the narratorial voice. Otherwise, far from offering a marginal voice and a “petite histoire” (like Ginzburg’s Il formaggio e i vermi), these characters reinforce the dominant set of values and hierarchies and provide a way out of the political/social problems in the fictional/historical societies depicted.
SULLO SGUARDO DEGLI ANGELI NEL PARADISO DANTESCO: UNA GERARCHIA DELLA CONTEMPLAZIONE
The present paper aims to treat an aspect of Dante's angelology, namely the contemplative function of angels, which is closely related to their hierarchical arrangement, standing at the very core of angelic intermediation in the universe configured by Dante. Our paper focuses on the implications of angelic vision, arguing that it is not a passive function, but actually an operation, as it involves a constantly active orientation of the angels toward God as the source of life-giving light and knowledge, but also toward one another, and ultimately towards creation as a whole. At this point, Dante's assimilation of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite’s doctrine on angels plays a fundamental role.
CONVERSATIONS D’EMILIE DE LOUISE D’ÉPINAY : UNE PERSPECTIVE FÉMININE SUR L’ÉDUCATION AU XVIII-E SIÈCLE
This study, based on Madame d'Épinay’s educational novel, Conversations d'Émilie (1781), a series of dialogues between mother and daughter, aims to analyse the principles of education proposed by Louise d'Épinay, about the formation of the female personality and its role in society. According to Louise d'Épinay, the education of the female elite requires a thorough training in order to successfully manage the family universe (combining knowledge of psychology with sensitivity and responsibility towards all members of the field), to succeed in the social role of a rational woman (who, although she has studied worldly norms, does not allow herself to be dominated by them; who, thanks to her discernment and modesty, clearly perceives the intentions of her interlocutors and therefore cannot become a victim of others or of her own ego), to become an intellectually brilliant, sociable figure (mastering the subtle art of conversation, the fruit of reading and intelligence cultivated in discussions of substance).
Copyright (c) 2024 Analele Universităţii Bucureşti. Limbi şi Literaturi Străine
VICTOR IVANOVICI. 2022. De la teoría a la poética de la traducción
La presente reseña es solo una entre las que le han sido dedicadas este último año al libro de Victor Ivanovici De la teoría a la poética de la traducción publicado en español por la Editorial Dirección General de Publicaciones de la Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (2022). En defensa de este gesto repetitivo cabe aducir que una obra meritoria despierta, naturalmente, sucesivas apreciaciones que no se deberían acallar no solo porque dan a conocer un libro, sino también porque, por lo menos en este caso, corren a favor del diálogo entre culturas.
RĂZVAN BRAN. 2018. El verbo español. Teoría y práctica
El libro reseñado aquí es un manual práctico de gramática española, centrado en el sistema verbal y dirigido a los estudiantes de nivel inicial e intermedio. Se compone de diez capítulos, una breve presentación que abre el manual y una lista bibliográfica que lo cierra.
LA TRADUCCIÓN DE LAS CITAS ENTRE LA TRADICIÓN Y LA INNOVACIÓN. ESTUDIO DE CASO: LAS INSERCIONES DE LOS MISERABLES DE VICTOR HUGO EN TERRA ALTA DE JAVIER CERCAS
There is a trend among Spanish writers to cite authors without specifying the publishing house, the year of the publication or the page number. In essayistic texts, the bibliography may complete the missing data, except for the page number. In literary texts, nevertheless, this information is generally missing. This tendency can be justified by the authors’ intention to renew the reading experience, making it more fluent by clearing away the academic appearance in a novel. The present article compares various translations of Javier Cercas’ Terra Alta including fragments from Les Misérables, with a focus on the presence or the absence of references to their location in the Hugo’s novel. At the end, the analysis will emphasize which of them is more respectful to the French masterpiece, without ignoring the need of a fluid reading experience. Traditionally, a published translation is required to be more rigorous when rendering quotations, that should be taken from an existing translation, with the mandatory specification of the publishing house, the year, the page number and the translator’s name. But when footnotes are missing in the source text, the translator is entitled to act as the author himself. Consequently, this article also brings up questions related to this specific situation: should a translator specify all the details about the insertion, paying tribute to one of his or her peers that translated the quoted book, even if this might affect the reading experience? Or should they ignore the existing translation, if outdated or erroneous, and provide a new one, turning to the indirect translation or to the original text (Hugo’s Les Misérables)? And finally, should the translator specify his or her choices in a footnote or act discreetly, running the risk of being accused of plagiarism?
ROBERTO BOLAÑO Y LA AUTORÍA DE CULTO COMO ‘PERFORMANCE’
The article explores the concept of literary authorship as a form of cultural performance, using Roberto Bolaño’s work as a case study. By situating both his fictional and non-fictional works within broader debates about authorship, literary identity, and the dynamic interplay between author, text, and audience, the article highlights how Roberto Bolaño engaged in a deliberate act of authorial self-fashioning, with the goal (and ultimately, result) of achieving his own literary canonization.
JUAN DE MAIRENA (1936): HIPÓSTASIS DEL APÓCRIFO MODERNISTA
The creation of Antonio Machado’s apocryphal personalities, the best known of which are Abel Martin and Juan de Mairena, represents a central part of his poetic thought. Our paper aims to explore the personality of Juan de Mairena as reflected in the 1936 prose volume, Sentencias, donaires, apuntes y recuerdos de un profesor apócrifo. The falsification of identity and the appropriation of an independent body of work separate from what the real author publishes under his real name offers freedom of opinion and a special strategy to debate controversial topics related to artistic creation, philosophy, religion and politics. We shall argue that for Machado the apocrypha is more than an aesthetic and literary motif, that it represents a way of establishing a complex and problematic relationship with reality.
TOWARDS AN INTERPRETATION OF BADIUS AND BAIETUS IN THE MEDIEVAL LATIN DOCUMENTATION FROM CATALONIA
This essay deals with two colour-related adjectives, badius and baietus, in the Medieval Latin documentary sources of Catalonia studied by the Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae (GMLC). The collection of documental testimonies has been conducted through the lexical database Corpus Documentale Latinum Cataloniae (CODOLCAT), a digital corpus of the Latin texts of this linguistic domain. These sources of notarial and juridical nature contain a considerable amount of colour adjectives, which usually serves to identify and differentiate lexical elements within the same referential class. One of the most attested colour adjectives is badius “bay, brown”, frequently documented with its variant baius and always referring to equines. There are also few occurrences of baietus “brownish”, a lexical innovation derived from badius. To refine their precise definitions, this study explores the forms and uses of both adjectives, taking into consideration the contexts in which they appear. Additionally, this study highlights the importance of the integration of digital tools into lexicographical research and emphasizes the need to incorporate insights from other linguistic domains to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the words under analysis.
ESCRIBIENDO PARA ELLAS. ACERCA DE LAS OBRAS DE MARÍA DE ZAYAS Y SOR MARCELA DE SAN FÉLIX
In the following pages we will attempt a brief look at the works of María de Zayas y Sotomayor and Marcela de San Félix, two illustrious authors of the Golden Age whose cultural legacies have survived to the present day. Their works offer an important example of the courage with which they faced the difficulties of a life dedicated to the female communities around them through literature, in their desire to give voice to something that, in addition to reflecting their literary skills, would serve them both as support and entertainment in their daily lives.
Antonio de Nebrija's extensive work covers various fields of the humaniores litterae, and poetry occupies a significant place within this. Not only does he edit and comment on ancient poets, he also sets out to emulate them by composing his own poetic works in the language of Latium. He is also an attentive reader of contemporary cultured poetry in the vernacular. His poems reveal his aspiration to emulate the exemplary bards of antiquity, yet we also observe the persistence of a medieval poetic cliché – the narrative prayer – which the humanist reimagines in the spirit of his time.
Peregrinatio Regis et Reginae ad Sanctum Iacobum
GLOSA BÍBLICA Y CRÍTICA DE TEXTO EN LA EPÍSTOLA AL CARDENAL CISNEROS DE ANTONIO DE NEBRIJA
With this paper we aim to present a case study revealing the history and vicissitudes of medieval biblical hermeneutics in the pragmatic mirror of the humanist and anti-scholastic textual criticism of the early sixteenth century. Taking his cue from the Italian school of Lorenzo Valla, Elio Antonio de Nebrija (1444-1522) applied the rigour of the philological discipline to the practice of critical analysis related to manuscript sources of the biblical text, in order to restore the semantic and functional autonomy of the text against the erroneous variants traditionaly based on an appeal to authority. The letter to Cardinal Cisneros, coordinator of the Polyglot Bible Project and a leading figure of Spanish humanism, highlights the framework of a translatological theory and a poetics of interlingual transfer at the origin of some of the most substantial contributions of Spanish humanism to the comparative study of the Bible in the sixteenth century.
Mihaela Zamfirescu & Dragos Ivana, Enhancing Grammar and Translation Practice. A Handbook for Freshmen in Translation Studies. București: Ars Docendi, 2020. 283 pages, ISBN 978-606-998-115-3
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Irina Stoica, The Syntax and the Semantics of Manner of Speaking Verbs. Limbi, culturi, identităţi series. București: Editura Universităţii din București, 2021. xv + 217 pages. ISBN 978-606-16-1291-8
The Retranslation of Hamlet’s Soliloquy in Act III, Scene 1 – to Adapt or Not to Adapt
This paper sets out to analyse earlier translations of Hamlet, with a focus on Act I, Scene iii, Hamlet's famous soliloquy. The phrase “To be or not to be” is instantly recognizable not simply for theatregoers or students of literature and theatre and it has been (and continues to be) used intertextually by other writers as well as in popular culture. By looking at earlier translations and retranslations / revisions of the soliloquy (Economu 1855; Stern 1877, 1905) the paper examines the Romanian tradition of using indirect translation and retranslation / revision, not only to improve the rendering of the text, but also to adapt it to Romanian culture. The tensions between domesticating versus foreignizing choices are discussed.
Attitude Adverbs in Two Translations of C.S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew – A Case for Paraphrase?
In the present paper we aim to analyze various translation strategies applied in the case of attitude adverbs. Our corpus of investigation is made up of two translations of the first volume in the "Chronicles of Narnia" series by C.S. Lewis. To this extent, we are going to check also whether Berman's hypothesis on retranslations which theoretically benefit from the original translation as some sort of reference point holds true. Our main interest in the analysis of the two translations is related to the solutions provided by the Romanian translators for attitude adverbs. Given that Romanian is a partly adverbial as argued in Protopopescu (2012) in the sense of Swan (1997), our expectation is that for Romanian adverbs the paraphrasing strategy by means of a prepositional phrase (PP) will be more productive.
Taboo or Not Taboo? The Vagaries of Translating Linguistic Violence in Stephen King’s The Shining
The present paper addresses an issue that has been plaguing the community of literary translators for quite a few years now: how to go about translating "bad" language? The paper attempts to deal with the translation of swear words starting from the premise that most Romanian literary translations do not deal well with translating bad language due to applying formal correspondence or resorting to mild equivalence. These two tendencies in translating swear words from English into Romanian are believed to lead to flawed target texts. This paper offers a model of strategies applied in the translating of swear words and provides answers with respect to whether flawed translations are indeed caused by the two aforementioned tendencies.
Helle V. Dam, Matilde Nisbeth Brøgger, Karen Korning Zethsen (Eds.), Moving Boundaries in Translation Studies. London: Routledge, 2018. 248 pages. ISBN 978-131-51-2187-1
The Role of Literary Translation as Linguistic and Cultural Mediation
The present paper aims to highlight the significance of translation studies and the role of professional translators and interpreters as cultural mediators enabled by linguistic competence. Our goal is to emphasize the power of culture to connect individuals and communities, to ensure national survival, to preserve tangible and intangible heritage as the most valuable asset of continuity. Literary translation represents one of the most powerful and effective means of linguistic and cultural mediation, though equally challenging due to the complexity of a process often touched by “untranslatability”.