Modern English Research Articles

Luther in Early Modern English

Abstract: This article surveys and examines the translations into English of Luther's works during the early modern period. Certain themes emerge, with anti-Catholicism, devotion, and consolation particularly noted as safe and unobjectionable Lutheran topics for English audiences. English reformers chose to integrate certain divines from the European mainland at certain points, with Luther playing key roles. The reign of Elizabeth (1558–1603) was a highpoint for English translations of Luther, and these coincided with other efforts by some in England as well as Germany to emphasize unity among Protestants while downplaying divisions. A flexible and contingent deployment of Luther in English continued into the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when developments such as the Civil Wars, the Restoration, and German immigration provided moments of relevance for Luther. The article draws on and points to the considerable scholarship that has reshaped English Reformation studies over the past few decades, and it offers reflections on how the particularity of early modern England can be seen in relation to the heterogeneity of Reformation Europe.

Sociocultural and linguodiscursive characteristics of irony

The article is a review of existing scientific views on irony as a phenomenon at the junction of several disciplines. Definitions of this phenomenon are presented from the point of view of philosophical, aesthetic, anthropological, literary, linguistic approach. The views on irony as a category of the comic, a worldview category, as a way of perceiving and comprehending reality are listed. The author points out that in the process of communication, irony is a kind of barrier to dividing participants into "ironic" and their "victims", that is, those who are able to interpret irony and the "uninitiated". Discursive irony is considered as a product of interaction, cooperation between the author and the addressee, as a result of which an ironic effect may arise (if the ironic utterance is correctly interpreted) or not (in the case of a communicative failure). Various interpretations of the concept of "irony" are considered in comparison, arguments are given justifying the author's agreement / disagreement with existing formulations. The focus of the article is on irony, an effect that arises as a result of interaction between interlocutors: the ironic speaker and the recipient who perceives and interprets irony. The author's contribution to the development of the theory of discourse is expressed in the analysis of irony in English and Russian linguistic cultures. The article highlights the main socio-cultural and linguodiscursive characteristics of irony. The conclusion is made about the importance of irony in communication, about its role in the verbal and emotional intelligence of the participants of the discourse. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that in the proposed work irony is considered as an integral characteristic of modern English and Russian discourse, which ensures that the speaker achieves the fulfillment of a communicative intention. The main result of the work is the postulate about the ethnostilistic labeling of irony, which opens up wide prospects for studying the features of irony in national discourses. The data presented in the article can be used for the further development of ethnostilistics, linguistic pragmatics, and the theory of intercultural communication.

Thinking about Collaboration

When Henry VIII, or All Is True was staged at Shakespeare's Globe in London in May 2022, the production elicited a lukewarm review from Arifa Akbar in the Guardian. The theatre critic stated that "the play itself feels slightly disjointed, perhaps because it was not the Bard's work alone but a collaboration with John Fletcher. There is now the added authorial hand of Hannah Khalil, who edits the text to accentuate women's roles and adds some well-known lines from Shakespeare's other works. Where this should enrich the drama, it exposes its faultlines." Akbar's comment is revealing, and particularly so in the context of this issue's engagement with the varieties of early modern dramatic collaboration. It not only mentions several collaborative practices used in early modern theatre which are explored in the articles brought together for this special issue – co-authorship, adaptation and quotation, to name but three – but also reflects a profound unease towards collaboration in twenty-first-century culture. Henry VIII, Akbar infers, is an imbalanced play because Shakespeare wrote it with somebody else rather than by himself. Akbar also implies that the relationship between these two authors has to be hierarchical, with Shakespeare (aka the inevitably capitalised, solitary ‘Bard’) as the better and Fletcher as the lesser playwright, who is responsible for the play's alleged shortcomings. A similarly dismissive attitude towards Fletcher is reflected in the review's title, which refers to Henry VIII as ‘little-seen Shakespeare’ as a form of skewed advertisement (this is Shakespeare, but not as we know him),2 thus erasing Fletcher's co-authorship completely, only to eventually present his name by way of explaining the play's mediocrity. The review also suggests that the play's merit has been further reduced by Hannah Khalil's contemporary adaptation, which adds too much ‘wokeness’ (the accentuation of women's roles) as well as too much middle-class Shakespeare (the well-known lines recognisable for those who know their Shakespeare inside out). In short, the review relies on a hierarchy well established in (traditional) literary criticism: Shakespeare is the epitome of playwrighting, and his solo-authored plays are the gold standard of early modern English drama; his co-authored plays are diminished by the lesser dramatic ability of his collaborators (where Shakespeare is sprezzatura, Fletcher is learned rhetoric); adapters have even more limited authorial skills and, therefore, an adapted play is a ‘lesser’ play because of the adapter's ‘interference’. As Akbar's review showcases, the notion of dramatic co-authorship, especially Shakespeare's, is still routinely met with scepticism and disdain in public discourse. Rather than enriching a play, three cooks (Shakespeare, Fletcher, Khalil) have spoiled the broth.

Ian Ward. The Play of Law in Modern British Theatre

Ian Ward’s The Play of Law in Modern British Theatre offers readings of major dramatic works of the last half century, focusing on an array of legal themes and legal histories, from the constitutional crises of the English Civil War to sexual violence and violation in the age of technology.

후기 현대영어 시기(1700-1900)의 영어 규범 용법(Prescriptive Usage)의 발달에 관한 연구

후기 현대영어 시기(1700-1900)의 영어 규범 용법(Prescriptive Usage)의 발달에 관한 연구

PECULIARITIES OF FUNCTIONING OF LEXICO-SEMANTIC GROUPS OF VERBS IN THE CONTINUOUS FORM IN ENGLISH DRAMA OF XVII–XX CENTURIES

The article identifies lexico-semantic groups of verbs which were used in the Continuous form through the Modern English period (XVII–XX centuries). It has been determined that in most cases the Continuous forms are used with the verbs of dynamic semantics. Nevertheless there has been revealed a tendency of Continuous forms to increase their use with stative verbs, which contribute to the fixing of expressive meaning in these forms.

Cognitive, Structural, and Semantic Features of Professional Neologisms in Modern English

This article describes 180 modern English neologisms with a professional component. Their structural and semantic features reveal how native speakers perceive and conceptualize new words through spiritual and practical activities, thus adjusting their worldview to the changing reality. The research involved the methods of definitional analysis, word formation, semantic assay, and cognitive-discursive interpretation, as well as various standard linguistic and statistical methods. The material was classified according to the type of professional activity. These lexical and semantic groups were united by intralinguistic links based on interrelated and interdependent connotative shades of meaning. Many neologisms demonstrated a metaphorical basis, which served as a tool for creating expressive images. All the neological units were emotive and evaluative. The emotive content conveyed the thoughts and feelings of the speaker, while the evaluative content was associated with the pragmatic function and contained information about the speaker’s attitude to the denotation. Most professional neologisms were gender-neutral. The universal nature of the images behind the neologisms probably testifies to the current mental changes in a society that values gender equality. Interdiscursivity appeared to permeate all lexical and semantic fields of the English neological space. The heterogeneity reflected the complex activity the speaker performs in an attempt to comprehend a complex and multifaceted environment, which, in turn, gives the neological units an anthropocentric character. The relevance of the research is determined by the rapid development of various social spheres, which inevitably affects the modern communication and the linguistic worldview in general.

Tomasa Stērnsa Eliota “Nīkā zeme” pirms 30 gadiem un šodien: Ievas Lešinskas tulkojuma versijas

In 2022, a hundred years were celebrated since the publication of the poem The Waste Land by Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888–1965). The article deals with a comparison of two translations of the poem in Latvian. The first translation was published in the magazine Avots in 1990, and the second – in Eliot’s Selected Poems, published in 2022. Both translations are done by Ieva Lešinska (b. 1958) in completely different cultural and historical contexts. The article aims to analyse the differences between two Lešinska’s Latvian translations of The Waste Land and establish the main tendencies, tracing the changes made in the text of the translation. The comparative analysis of the translations uses some concepts and approaches of cognitive poetics. Attention is paid to changes in dominants; the changes are analysed in the context of English modernism and Eliot’s works and in comparison with the source text. The changes in the translation can be observed on the level of lexis, syntax, morphology, and semantics, as well as in the aspects of form.

Ben Highmore: <i>The Great Indoors. At Home in the Modern British House</i>

Ben Highmore: The Great Indoors. At Home in the Modern British House: Profile, 2013: 292 pp., hardback, £15.99.

Understanding historic buildings from an environmental perspective: Finsbury Health Centre – as an environmental rhetoric of modernism

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how the interrelation between architecture and the physical environment came to prominence and influenced the pioneering modernist architects to acquire the features of modern architecture that the British modernists later adopted. How the post-war urban poor of Britain, suffering from ill-health and dire need of sun, air and a good environment, played an essential role in alleviating the environmental concerns of the modern movement architects.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology of this research involves a comprehensive architectural analysis of the Finsbury Health Centre alongside an in-depth historical investigation of modernist design principles. This review article examines books, articles and some archival materials, such as recordings, pictures, etc. on the early phase of British modernism and its environmental dimension by looking at the works of historians, architects and critics.FindingsDesign based on modernist principles. While it can be seen as the political agenda of the Labor Party, this building was not only functionally efficient but also represented the biometric concerns of modern architecture with the most natural means.Research limitations/implicationsWhile this study provides valuable insights, it may be limited by historical documents and data availability.Originality/valueThe originality and value of this paper lie in its examination of the Finsbury Health Centre as a case study, shedding light on the environmental rhetoric of modernism in historic architecture. By providing a holistic assessment of the building’s environmental aspects, this research contributes to both architectural history and contemporary sustainable design practices.

Exploring The Influence Of Movements On The English Language: A Critical Analysis

This paper mainly deals with the different events and the events impact on the English language. Different movements brought many changes to the English language. Modern technology brought printing, mobile phones, emails, and some short forms of the languages are exposed because of the different movements. As the life-changing similarly the people English languages changes form the past to its current position. How different events brought about changes in spoken and written English language and how the change will persist even in the future. The combination of languages in trade, commercial and technical progress resulted in modern English. The press has facilitated language standardization, and the internet has simplified new terms in English, while social media platforms have made it possible for English speakers to invent new terms and words with reference to newness, while English is a prestigious language for media and other sources of en[1]tertainment. Simply put, with media, the internet, and other technologies, political, social and economic globalization makes English a vital and increasingly viable tool for communication and new developments provide English the potential to prosper as a language. In the future, contemporary English may soon become ultra-modern as the language is dynamic and always changing.

Book Reviews: Maritime Musicians and Performers on Early Modern English Voyages: The Lives of the Seafaring Middle Class by James Seth

Book Reviews: <i>Maritime Musicians and Performers on Early Modern English Voyages: The Lives of the Seafaring Middle Class</i> by James Seth

Modern phraseology of the English language: the world of fantasies, dreams and hallucination

The article examines phraseological units of modern English from the perspective of expressing the meaning of dreaming, fantasizing and making things up. Examples of the use of phraseological units from modern English dictionaries served as empirical material. The relevance of the study is due to the emergence of a secondary nominative meaning for the word hallucinate for the purpose of further analysis of phraseological units and their possible similarity in meaning. The object of study in the article is phraseological units used in the examples presented in dictionaries to correlate the original meaning of the verb hallucinate with the presented phraseological units. The subject of the study is the communicative and pragmatic functions of the received phraseological units to describe dreams, fantasies and inventions in a state of conscious and unconscious. The purpose of the work is to study and analyze the received phraseological units. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the quality of the material (modern phraseology and vocabulary of the English language), as well as the analysis of the relationship between the meaning of the word hallucinate and the presented phraseological units. The main research method is an inductive approach to the analysis of empirical material, in which conclusions are based on the analysis of specific phraseological units. To identify derivational transformations in the structural-semantic organization of phraseological units, the work uses structural-semantic analysis. The result of the analysis reveals a number of phraseological units, the meaning of which does not correspond to the original meaning of the word hallucinate. However, one phraseological unit has been identified which can be considered as a synonym for the word hallucinate. This study contributes to the development of the study of phraseology of English, its enrichment, as well as its understanding in a broad approach.

Formation of modern English abbreviations in business and scientific communications and their translation into Russian

For completeness and accuracy of meaning, most of new concepts, both in Russian and in English, are expressed using phrases or compound words. But multicomponent terms, are often quite cumbersome. That is why there is a need to shorten terms and use abbreviations. The object of the study is the phenomenon of abbreviation of English terminology in business and scientific discourse. The subject of the work is the analysis of the structural and semantic features of the abbreviation lexical units, the ways of forming English-language abbreviations and their translation into Russian. The article uses comparative research method to compare complete terms and their abbreviations to identify structural and semantic transformations; method for analyzing semantic structure of abbreviations to establish their common and distinctive properties; method of contextual analysis to determine the degree of linguistic economy through the use of abbreviations and to identify differences between semantically similar abbreviations. The novelty of the research lies in the identification, analysis and generalization of ways of education and translation of English-language abbreviations in business and scientific communications. Inaccurate translation of abbreviations can change or distort the intended meaning. To transfer foreign-language abbreviations into Russian, such methods can be used as searching for a translation equivalent, full borrowing of an abbreviation, transliteration, transcription, translation of an abbreviation, translation of an abbreviation and creation of an abbreviation in the translating language, transcription of the letter-by-letter pronunciation of an abbreviation. Among the main difficulties of translating abbreviations are difficulties in identifying abbreviations and problems of their correlation with complete lexical unit, as well as the phenomenon of homonymy of terminological units. It is important to take into account the normalization of translated text and its compliance with literary and linguistic norms and cultural traditions of target language.

PECULARITIES CONCERNING THE TRANSLATION OF POLITICAL SPEECHES IN THE MODERN PERIOD

The article is devoted to the study of the terminology of political discourse in modern English and the ways of its transmission in the process of translation. The difference between translation and paraphrase or summary, or any kind of adaptation, lies in the correctness and completeness of the information transference. Nowadays, the language is used not only as a means of forming and expressing thoughts, but also as a means of concealing them. In the context of political struggle and the process of transition in the world, the awareness of the fact that political discourse is a linguistic and cultural problem is becoming increasingly stronger. Difficulties in translating political discourse texts are often related to the fact that the boundaries between certain types of political texts are not always clearly defined in scientific research, which makes this topic relevant. Since political discourse is created for the speakers of a particular culture, the translator faces a number of additional challenges when interpreting it into another language. The purpose of translation is to convey the essence of the original thought as accurately as possible to a reader (listener) who does not know the source language. To translate means to express correctly and completely, using the tools of one language, what has already been expressed earlier by means of another language. That is why the purpose of this article is to identify the ways to preserve the fullness of meaning when translating political texts from English into Ukrainian. To define the concept of political discourse; to study the main characteristics of political speeches as a subtype of political discourse; to identify the features of English political speeches; to analyze the ways of translating speeches into Ukrainian. Modern political discourse is characterized by a number of specific features. The point here is not only the use of specific vocabulary determined by political activity, but also in the proper selection and organization of certain structures of expression in accordance with the pragmatic guidelines. Today, in both Ukrainian and foreign societies, the ability of language to influence people's attitudes to facts and events, in particular the impact of language on the political sphere is quite clear, which makes scholars interested in the language of politics. In order to reproduce certain characteristics of the speech in translation, the translator sometimes needs to use translation grammatical transformations, which are changes in the grammatical character of a word, phrase or sentence in the translation. To analyze political speeches, we have taken the speech of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the Munich Security Conference and the speech of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a joint session of both houses of the US Congress.

CLASSIFICATION FEATURES OF ENGLISH COMPLEX SENTENCES BASED ON SYNCRETISM AND A FUNCTIONAL-SEMANTIC FIELD

Modern English is characterized by a desire to integrate various syntactic means. Syncretism is the main tool that helps neutralize asymmetric language relationships and the limited functional nature of the units. In the English language the growth of a large number of syncretic complex sentences is connected, first of all, with the desire of the speaker to convey complicated semantic meanings with the help of polyfunctional constructions where subordinate clauses function both as carriers of a single meaning and convey additional information. The development of an additional meaning occurs as a result of the semantic mobility of subordinate parts. That is, the intermediate character of the models indicates a high degree of complexity of the semantic structure and a considerable potential of semantic meaning. The purpose of the work is to investigate the internal organization of English complex sentences taking into account their structural and semantic features; to analyze the role of the influence of relevant words and connecting elements at the sentence level in order to clarify the content and linguistic aspects of complex sentences. The reliability of the analysis results is ensured by the use of various research methods and techniques. The leading methods in the work are general scientific methods (the method of observation, the method of analysis and synthesis), special methods (the comparative method, the method of component analysis, the descriptive method, the method of component and oppositional analyzes with the techniques of grouping complex sentences, the comparative method, the modeling method, functional-semantic analysis) The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that the paper attempts to analyze syncretic English complex sentences based on the semantic field and to describe the semantic potential of complex constructions taking into account the functional-semantic field in the English language. Conclusions. When analyzing and studying complex sentences in view of the influence of functional -semantic field and syncretism, the fact is established that the functionalsemantic fields are interconnected and realize their most significant shades of meaning precisely in the peripheral zones that testifies to the flexibility of the hypotaxis system and its dynamic nature.

Cognitive Linguistic Analysis of Hyperbole-based Phraseological Expressions in Kazakh and English Languages.

The relevance of the research lies in the fact that in the modern Kazakh and English languages there are a huge number of expressive techniques of phraseological expressions, which are actively used in one way or another. The aim of the study is to conduct a cognitive linguistic analysis of the features of phraseological expressions based on hyperbole in the Kazakh and English languages. The study employs an integrated methodology encompassing cognitive, descriptive, and linguistic approaches to analyze hyperbole-based phraseological units in Kazakh and English, aiming to uncover their figurative basis, structural characteristics, and cognitive underpinnings. The study explores hyperbole-based phraseological units, particularly in Kazakh and English, categorizing them based on figurative aspects and formal structure. It reveals that seemingly similar phrases often have unique conceptual differences, emphasizing the role of culture and context in interpretation. This interdisciplinary research underscores the complexities of understanding these linguistic expressions. In conclusion, this study underscores the significance of cognitive linguistic analysis in understanding hyperbole-based phraseological units, revealing idiosyncratic conceptual differences across languages and emphasizing the importance of refining methodological approaches in this field of research.

Alternations (at) that time: NP versus PP time adjuncts in the history of English

Abstract The present paper investigates variation between nominal and prepositional adjuncts of time as in, for example, [on] that day, they left. The main goals are (i) to assess potential changes in the distribution of these variants in the history of English, specifically from Middle English to Late Modern English (1150–1914), and (ii) to test which factors most strongly impact the choice between the two variants, with a focus on the impact of different complexity measures. To address these questions, the paper makes use of data from the Penn-Helsinki Parsed Corpora of Historical English (PPCME2; PPCEME; PPCMBE), explored by means of logistic regression modelling. The results suggest that there is no dramatic, sweeping change in this abstract alternation over time, but that this variation may mainly plays out on lower, noun-specific levels.

Unlyric: The Lute-Object in Early Modern English Poetry

ABSTRACT Considering that early modern poetic theory retains the classical genealogies and iconographies of lyric poetry as song to the accompaniment of a lyre, how can one account for lyrics which portray the poet’s stringed instrument, frequently the lute, as antithetical to his or her poetic aspirations, as a recalcitrant tool that resists the poet’s desires and thus engenders a lyric crisis? This article uses object-oriented ontology (OOO) to think through the lyric poet’s relationship with the lute which, fractured between real object and its sensual qualities, withdraws its essential being from access yet involves the poet in a network of sensual and essentially aesthetic bonds with the instrument. By reading several early modern riddles, sonnets, and other lyrics about deviant lutes as encounters between human and nonhuman objects, the article traces the poetics of unlyric — a form of poetry that disentangles poiesis from musical subjectivity and harmony, articulating instead a vision of lyric as fraught negotiations between entities whose forces lie beyond the powers of human art.

Choreographing urban ambulance in Britain, c.1870–1920: movement, gender, biological time and the city

ABSTRACT Modern British ambulance originated during the late 1800s in the country’s metropolitan areas. The fast-urbanising cities of Glasgow and London recognised that biological-temporal need required the time between injury and specialist care to compress. This was nowhere more urgent than in the large number of burn injuries that occurred in the cities’ homes and workplaces. In tracing the origins and choreography of ambulance – a set of skills; a body of trained responders; and emergency service vehicles – in Glasgow and London, this article argues that the rollout of ambulance technologies was a key moment in urban modernity. Using first aid publications, newspapers, police and fire brigade reports, and London Ambulance Service log books, we reveal how much of the early development of first aid was improvised by enterprising individuals. This led to the formation of voluntary organisations, the St John and St Andrew’s Ambulance Associations in England and Scotland respectively, followed by municipal services at the turn of the twentieth century. This early choreography of ambulance was organised on strictly gendered lines, which shut women out of public-facing roles before the First World War, and we discuss the ways in which this was achieved, from clothing to learning.