Writing in a foreign language is a particularly difficult skill to develop, especially when young learners are concerned because they are parallelly learning to write in their L1 and do not have ...strong oral foundations in their L2. The issue becomes even more complex when the ways to assess young learners’ writing are considered, given that research has shown there is room for improvement regarding English language teachers’ assessment literacy. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine the practices and challenges of assessing the writing of young EFL learners in Croatia. In the first part of the study, 97 English language teachers working with learners from year 1 to year 4 of elementary school (children aged 7 to 10) took an online questionnaire with close-ended and open-ended questions. In the second part, I analyzed the writing tasks that the learners were assigned by the teachers in the school. The results show that teachers do not always use appropriate writing tasks for summative assessment, that they need more support in creating language tests, and that Croatian universities need to do more to prepare future teachers to teach and assess young English language learners.
In research on collocations published in English we encounter, albeit rarely, the use of the notion “metaphorical collocations”. It is interesting to note that seldom if ever are metaphorical ...collocations defined in any way in these studies, suggesting that researchers find the term self-explanatory. However, seeing that metaphorical collocations are an exciting area of research that is yet to draw attention from the wider community of researchers, the aim of this paper is to analyze the current understanding of what a metaphorical collocation is by examining the theoretical foundations as well as studies, specifically those published in English (as the language of scientific research). Therefore, I examined publications in English (and German) for definitions of a metaphorical collocation, and I examined a number of studies on such collocations, or studies that refer to such collocations, in English. In view of theoretical considerations, I have found that metaphorical collocations indeed have an established definition, while in regard to research on such collocations, I have found that authors most often than not leave out the definition and actually label a wide range of multiword units as metaphorical collocations. I propose that for the sake of clarity and transparency in research on metaphorical collocations in English, researchers refer to and adhere to a definition of the notion. This is particularly important as metaphorical collocations are at the intersection of two quite complex linguistic phenomena: metaphors and collocations.
U istraživanjima kolokacija objavljenima na engleskome jeziku susreće se, iako rijetko, uporaba pojma „metaforičke kolokacije“. Zanimljivo je primijetiti da se rijetko ako uopće metaforičke kolokacije u tim radovima definiraju, što upućuje na to da znanstvenici pojam smatraju značenjski transparentnim odnosno samoobjašnjivim. No, s obzirom na to da su metaforičke kolokacije zanimljivo polje istraživanja koje tek treba privući pažnju šire akademske zajednice, cilj je ovoga rada analizirati trenutno poimanje metaforičke kolokacije pregledom teorijskih radova i istraživanja na engleskome jeziku kao jeziku znanosti. Stoga su pregledane publikacije na engleskome, ali i njemačkome, jeziku kako bi se pronašle definicije metaforičke kolokacije te su pregledana istraživanja na engleskome jeziku koja se bave takvim kolokacijama ili koja ih spominju. U pogledu teorijskih razmatranja, pronađeno je da metaforička kolokacija doista jest definirana, no kad su u pitanju istraživanja, u njima se autori rijetko referiraju na definiciju. Predlaže se da se radi transparentnosti u istraživanju metaforičkih kolokacija na engleskome jeziku znanstvenici referiraju na definiciju metaforičke kolokacije kako bi se povećalo razumijevanje toga jezičnog fenomena u akademskoj zajednici i šire. To je posebice važno jer se metaforičke kolokacije nalaze na razmeđu dviju složenih jezičnih pojava: metafora i kolokacija.
Početkom
se 21. stoljeća u Hrvatskoj zamjećuje promjena diskursa – ne govori se više o
posuđivanju iz engleskoga već o prodiranju toga jezika u hrvatski. Doba
interneta i elektroničkih medija ...omogućilo je da govornici hrvatskoga dolaze u
kontakt s riječima iz engleskoga jezika neposrednije i mnogo brže nego prije te
da engleske riječi brzo uključuju u svoju komunikaciju. Dio je jezikoslovaca
ali i drugih stručnjaka podigao uzbunu da je hrvatski jezik pod opsadom
engleskoga te su kao jedan vid obrane počeli nuditi zamjenske, hrvatske riječi
za anglizme. Cilj je ovoga rada istražiti stavove govornika hrvatskoga jezika
spram anglizama i pripadajućih prevedenica. U radu se stoga na temelju mrežnoga
upitnika koji je ispunilo 1340 sudionika sagledava prihvatljivost određenoga
broja hrvatskih zamjena za anglizme. Analiziraju se usto i razlozi sudionika za
uporabu anglizma naspram prevedenica te obratno. Kvantitativna je i
kvalitativna analiza pokazala da postoje razlike u prihvatljivosti pojedinih
zamjenskih riječi za anglizme te da govornici imaju različite razloge zašto
prednost daju engleskoj odnosno hrvatskoj inačici. Zaključuje sa da pri osmišljavanju
prevedenica anglizama i oblikovanju hrvatske jezične politike u obzir svakako
treba uzeti stavove govornika kao jedan od važnih čimbenika.
At the beginning of the 21st century, a
change in discourse could be noticed in Croatia – no longer were linguists
talking about the Croatian language borrowing words from English, but about
English words penetrating into Croatian. The age of the Internet and electronic
media has made it possible for Croatian speakers to come into contact with
English words more directly and much faster than before and hence to include
English words in their communication faster. A number of linguists and other
experts raised the alarm that Croatian is under siege and thus started to
defend it by offering Croatian substitutes for anglicisms. The aim of this
paper is to investigate the attitudes of Croatian speakers towards anglicisms
and Croatian loan translations. Based on an online survey completed by 1340 participants,
the acceptability of a certain number of Croatian substitutes for anglicisms is
analysed. Furthermore, an analysis was carried out in view of the participants’
reasons for preferring either English or Croatian words. Quantitative and
qualitative analysis has shown that there are differences in the acceptability
of certain loan translations and that speakers have a variety of reasons for
using either the English or the Croatian word. The conclusion is that those who
offer Croatian substitutes for anglicisms and design Croatian language policy
need to take into account the speakers’ attitudes as an important factor.
In this paper, based on the research of paronym use, we discuss the relationship between the norm and usage, and the challenges of researching norm and usage. Paronyms, as words that look similar but ...have a different meaning are an interesting standard language issue – and a linguistic issue as well because paronymy is a type of lexical relationship. When researching paronyms as a standard language issue we are faced with the challenge of researching norm and usage; therefore, we think about the normative sources in the Croatian language, about what the norm should be based on, and about the possible ways researching usage. The research was carried out on the sample of 296 participants via an anonymous questionnaire that comprised a sentence completion task. The results of the research show that there are paronym pairs which a quite high percentage of participants uses in a meaning that is different from what is prescribed by the norm; the results also show that the norm itself does not always treat certain pairs as paronyms, but rather as synonyms.
The paper describes Croatian EFL learners’ collocational competence with regard to congruent and incongruent collocations. Congruent collocations are those which express the same meaning in both ...languages with similar lexical components, whereby a direct translation from L1 into L2 produces an appropriate collocation. On the other hand, incongruent collocations use different lexical components in the two languages to express the same meaning and a direct translation from L1 into L2 most likely produces an error. Based on this difference between the two types of collocations, the hypothesis is that participants would be more successful in producing congruent as opposed to incongruent collocations due to a positive crosslinguistic influence. To test the hypothesis, 175 Croatian high school students at different year levels (ages 15-18) were tested by using a 22-item task in which they were asked to translate collocations from L1 Croatian into L2 English. The results show that students were more successful in producing congruent than incongruent collocations, and their collocational competence grew with year level and the number of foreign languages spoken.
The aim of this paper is to explore differences in the usage of punctuation between Croatian and English, especially regarding the influence of English as a foreign language on native speakers of ...Croatian. In recent decades, English has been such a large presence in the media in Croatia that it has begun influencing the Croatian language. Therefore, the first part of the paper uses English and Croatian guidebooks on punctuation to describe differences in the usage of punctuation, while the second part of the paper presents the results of research carried out among students in the first and second year of an English language and literature graduate study programme who are expected to be familiar with the norms of both languages. This research was carried using a sample of 48 students who were asked to translate a short paragraph containing selected punctuation marks. The last part of the paper discusses the possible causes of mistakes (the influence of the English language or a lack of knowledge of punctuation rules in Croatian) and highlights the importance of Croatian language core courses for future teachers, translators, and members of the academic community.
Language learning strategies (LLS) have been in the focus of researchers for the past five decades. However, few studies have explored young learners’ LLS. Starting with the assumption that the ...intensity of second language (L2) exposure is one of the factors in the use of LLS, the aim of this paper is to investigate whether there is a difference between the use of LLS in young children with different L2 exposure in Croatia. The analysed data was collected from a sample of 35 participants aged 5 to 7 using a structured interview at two points. In the interview, participants were explaining how they would help a plush toy to learn to say certain words and structures in L2. This method enables participants to become aware of the LLS they are using and to verbalise them. Based on an analysis of the results from the first and second data collection, we describe the similarities and differences in LLS use regarding the intensity of L2 exposure. A key finding, in relation to the criterion of similarity considering the intensity of L2 exposure, is that participants prefer to use the memory strategies such as listening to the interlocutor, model repetition, and autonomous repetition. Regarding the differences in the use of LLS considering the intensity of L2 exposure, a key finding is that children at an early age with a higher intensity of exposure to L2 show a tendency to use informal strategies, such as learning through rhyme in rhymes and chants and exposure to media, as well as social strategies such as establishing contact with a native speaker. The results show that certain LLS are used regardless of L2 exposure, whereas the use of others may be linked to the intensity of L2 exposure.
The way people are spoken or written about has a critical role in how they are perceived, and this in turn influences how they are positioned within a society – belonging to its core, the majority, ...or being relegated to the margins, the minority. Various authors have reflected on the role of language in dehumanizing, oppressing, and discriminating certain groups, be it the Jewish citizens during the Nazi regime in Germany, the Tutsi in the Rwandan genocide of 1994, black people in the United States since 1619, women throughout history, or gay and disabled people today, to name a few marginalized groups. In these and other cases, language was the first step in the othering and, consequently, the marginalization of a certain group. The aim of this paper is to explore the language of marginalization in Croatian public discourse, looking at how media workers and public figures contribute to stereotyping people with autism by using the words “autistic” and “autistically” as pejoratives. For this purpose, I analyzed one of the most visited newspaper websites in Croatia in relation to how these words are used. I found that journalists, writers, and politicians use “autistic” and “autistically” as pejoratives when they want to say that an individual, an institution, or a state is “out of touch with reality”, “self-centered”, “unresponsive”. In addition, “autistic” and “autistically” are often used with the intent to insult, thus further imbuing these words with negative connotations. I conclude that raising awareness is needed among media workers and public figures so that they recognize the danger of stereotyping people with autism through the pejorative use of the words “autistic” and “autistically”.
Način na koji se o ljudima govori i piše ima ključnu ulogu u tome kako se te ljude percipira, a to zatim utječe na pozicioniranje tih ljudi u društvu – pripadaju li jezgri društva, većini, ili ih se udaljuje na margine, u manjinu. Različiti su autori pisali o ulozi jezika u dehumanizaciji, potlačivanju i diskriminaciji pojedinih skupina, bez obzira na to je li riječ o Židovima tijekom nacističkoga režima u Njemačkoj, Tutsijima u ruandskome genocidu 1994., crncima u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama od 1619., ženama kroz povijest ili gej i osobama s invaliditetom danas, da navedemo samo nekoliko marginaliziranih skupina. U tim je i drugim slučajevima jezik bio prvi korak u otuđivanju i zatim marginalizaciji određene skupine. Cilj je ovoga rada istražiti jezik marginalizacije u hrvatskome javnom diskursu ispitujući kako novinari i javne osobe pridonose stereotipizaciji autističnih osoba uporabom riječi autističan, autistična, autistično u pejorativnome značenju. Analizirao sam stoga uporabu navedenih riječi na jednome od najposjećenijih novinskih portala u Hrvatskoj. Rezultati pokazuju da se novinari, pisci i političari koriste riječima autističan, autistična i autistično u pejorativnome značenju kad žele reći da je osoba, institucija ili država „izvan doticaja sa stvarnošću”, „usmjerena samo na sebe”, „neresponzivna”. Nadalje, te se riječi često upotrjebljavaju kao uvrede, što pridonosi daljnjem bojenju tih riječi negativnim konotacijama. Zaključujem da je potrebno podizati razinu svijesti među novinarima i javnim osobama kako bi prepoznali opasnost od stereotipiziranja osoba s autizmom uporabom riječi autističan, autistična i autistično u pejorativnome značenju.
U istraživanjima kolokacija objavljenima na engleskome jeziku susreće se, iako rijetko, uporaba pojma „metaforičke kolokacije“. Zanimljivo je primijetiti da se rijetko ako uopće metaforičke ...kolokacije u tim radovima definiraju, što upućuje na to da znanstvenici pojam smatraju značenjski transparentnim odnosno samoobjašnjivim. No, s obzirom na to da su metaforičke kolokacije zanimljivo polje istraživanja koje tek treba privući pažnju šire akademske zajednice, cilj je ovoga rada analizirati trenutno poimanje metaforičke kolokacije pregledom teorijskih radova i istraživanja na engleskome jeziku kao jeziku znanosti. Stoga su pregledane publikacije na engleskome, ali i njemačkome, jeziku kako bi se pronašle definicije metaforičke kolokacije te su
pregledana istraživanja na engleskome jeziku koja se bave takvim kolokacijama ili koja ih spominju. U pogledu teorijskih razmatranja, pronađeno je da metaforička kolokacija doista jest definirana, no kad su u pitanju istraživanja, u njima se autori rijetko referiraju na definiciju. Predlaže se da se radi transparentnosti u istraživanju metaforičkih kolokacija na engleskome jeziku znanstvenici referiraju na definiciju metaforičke kolokacije kako bi se povećalo razumijevanje toga jezičnog fenomena u akademskoj zajednici i šire. To je posebice važno jer se metaforičke kolokacije nalaze na razmeđu dviju složenih jezičnih pojava: metafora i kolokacija.
This paper examines the challenge of starting a sentence with a proper noun or an abbreviation that is written with an initial lowercase letter (e.g. iPhone, danah boyd, pH). Traditionally, placing ...such words at the beginning of a sentence would be avoided, but this limits one’s syntax and style. Hence, the aim of this paper is to explore the rules and practices of writing certain proper nouns and abbreviations with a lowercase letter and starting a sentence with such words in Croatian and English. Therefore, we reviewed the rules and guidelines in orthography handbooks and style guides, analyzed the corpora to examine the use of the initial lowercase letter, and surveyed a group of 60 bilingual college students to gain an insight into what they find acceptable regarding the matter. The results show that a sentence can indeed begin with a lowercase letter and that the acceptability of this phenomenon depends on several factors.
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