Romance Linguistics Research Articles

The Program of the Academic Discipline “Romance Linguistics: The History of Linguistic Ideas”

The Program of the Academic Discipline “Romance Linguistics: The History of Linguistic Ideas”

L’anxiété nuisible chez les apprenants du FLE. Le cas des étudiants de la philologie romane en cycle de licence

Language anxiety is the feeling of tension and apprehension associated with second / foreign language learning. It manifests itself in two types of emotional reactions: positive (positiveanxiety) and negative (debilitating anxiety). The focus of this article is to explore the debilitating language anxiety of students learning French as a foreign language and to find out its level in thefirst, second and third years of undergraduate studies in Romance philology. The main research problem concerns the need to develop their ability to manage debilitating language anxiety. Forthis purpose, the findings of a FLCAS questionnaire are presented

La notion d’ altérité en linguistique française française

The notion of otherness is conceived variously according to theoretical approach-es within Romance linguistics. Although operational among Spanish and Portuguese linguists, it is nevertheless in the writings of French linguists that this term ends up impos-ing itself in line with a long linguistic tradition whose exploration constitutes the goal of this research. In order to shed light on the notion of otherness, it is considered in connec-tion with other concepts widely discussed in current linguistics, such as shown heteroge-neity / constitutive heterogeneity, polyphony, dialogism, subjectivity, truth, etc., This con-nection brings out the different modes of presence of the Other and the various forms of apprehension of the otherness / identity relationship in French linguistic literature.

Menéndez Pidal y la lingüística by Yakov Malkiel

Reviewed by: Menéndez Pidal y la lingüística by Yakov Malkiel Yasmine Beale-Rivaya Malkiel, Yakov. Menéndez Pidal y la lingüística. Nota preliminar de Francisco Rico, prólogos de Charles B. Faulhaber y Steven N. Dworkin, índices de Miguel Requena, al cuidado de Rosa Bono, Centro para la Edición de los Clásicos Españoles, 2018. ISBN: 978-84-0907-639-0. This book is essentially the completion of a project that, unfortunately, could not be completed by the original author, Yakov Malkiel. The original intent was to produce a critical analysis of "Etimologías españolas" and "Notas para el léxico romanico" by Ramón Menéndez Pidal. The analysis, which was to offer a panoramic perspective, was supposed to appear in monograph form with the intended title of Menéndez Pidal y la lingüística. However, the collection of essays that would eventually form part of the monograph did not make it into print before Malkiel's passing. The current book seeks to rectify this situation. The main part of the book is a collection of Malkiel's work, articles, book chapters, and correspondence with Menéndez Pidal that would have appeared in some form in the original work. What sets this posthumous publication apart and makes this book invaluable is the fact that the chapters are reprinted "as is," with Malkiel's own notes and edits on [End Page 180] the page. The reprint of his notes, letters, and rough drafts of the chapters provide precisely the panoramic vision that he was not able to complete. From a reader's perspective the most interesting aspect of the inclusion of these letters is that they offer a window into Menéndez Pidal and Malkiel's work method, relationship, and the questions that they thought were most pressing. In addition the letters provide the reader with an example of how letters and conversations become the foundation for research. The combination of the letters, along with the chapters, draws back the curtain on their research and writing process. Malkiel's work constitutes the introduction to the intended work: "Introducción: el carácter del problema." Here, Malkiel lays out the areas of study: general medieval history, literary history, folkore, and linguistics. The second section is an inventory of the linguistic contributions by Menéndez Pidal. This section helps to guide the reader in understanding the breadth of Menéndez Pidal's work in linguistics and the importance of each of his contributions. The third section with the title "Era omme essencial…" is almost prophetic. Malkiel writes: In conversations with laymen I have had occasion to observe that Menéndez Pidal's name is most frequently associated with three inherent qualities or incidental features of his biography and record: an exceptionally long lifespan; a massive output of scholarly writings … and an unusually meritorious performance. … As for the overwhelming wealth of D. Ramón's scholarly production, nobody can help referring to it in a hushed voice, with awe and veneration. (43) Anyone familiar with Malkiel's work would probably say the same of him and would probably lower one's voice when speaking of his work as if to recognize that someone such as Malkiel comes around once in a generation. This sentiment is reflected in the first part of the book: the preface, notes, and prologue by Francisco Rico, Charles B. Faulhaber, and Steven N. Dworkin. In much the same way that Malkiel was contextualizing and analyzing Menéndez Pidal's body of work, Rico, Faulhaber, and Dworkin contextualize and explain Malkiel's academic progression and his vast contributions to the field, including his work in establishing the journal Romance Philology, and his relationship with his protégés. In these chapters, the breadth and profundity [End Page 181] of Malkiel's contributions to the field are laid out. While it can be argued that Menéndez Pidal is probably the most recognizable figure in Hispanic Linguistics, what becomes apparent in these preliminary chapters is that Malkiel is responsible for the shape of the field today. In this way, the prefacing chapters frame and mirror the content of the analysis offered by Malkiel on Men...

Reading by the Light of the Moon

This special issue of Romance Philology developed in response to the an-nouncement of celebrations in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 space ight, the rst manned landing on the Moon, which oc-curred on 20 July 1969. Many festivities and retrospectives were scheduled in anticipation of the event, yet it seemed unlikely that Philology would be among those invited to attend. If present-day concerns had failed to rec-ognize her rightful place at the table, if there was no longer any Martianus Capella to see to arrangements for the Liberal Arts, then Philology and her handmaidens, Astronomy among them, would just have to throw their own party.

LE B-LEARNING COMME UNE MODALITÉ D’APPRENTISSAGE COMPLÉMENTAIRE DANS L’ATELIER DE CRÉATIVITÉ

The present paper is based on a research implemented with the second year students of Romance Philology, which took place in winter 2014/2015. Its purpose was to assess efficiency of b-learning used to improve the integration of lexical skills development with divergent thinking during our creative workshops. First of all, we provide the ex-planation of how the work on Moodle was planned. We then propose an analysis of the results of a survey carried out among our students to assess formal and functional level of their work on the platform. Finally, we share our reflections on the benefits, limitations and possible obsta-cles of the implementation of b-learning during a course, as well as some suggestions to optimize the objectives.

Home-comers as a source of language contact: Return Azorean emigrants’ English code-switching practices

AbstractThe aim of this paper is two-fold: first, it seeks to highlight the potential ofreturnemigrants — orhome-comers— to introduce lexical change in their first language (L1). Second, it represents a contribution to Lusophone linguistics and Romance linguistics more broadly in examining speech performance data from home-comers of an under-researched Portuguese variety, a dialect of Azorean Portuguese. Drawing on Backus’s notion ofentrenchment, I first present home-comers as a possible source of language change due to their contact with and potential use of L2 lexical items encountered abroad, and I highlight the Azores as an important yet overlooked site for language contact and change. In analyzing spontaneous oral narratives of emigration collected in the Azores, I demonstrate how home-comers’ ideological attitudes and linguistic resources serve as the ground on which linguistic changes occur. After examining the import of performance data on the individual level, I consider the status of a particular lexical category of code-switches — English discourse markers (i.e. ‘so’ and ‘you know’) — in Romance and their potential to become lexicalized and regarded as Portuguese in this particular contact situation.

Profesor Witold Mańczak – dydaktyk

This memoir on Professor Witold Mańczak as an academic teacher opens with a list of grammars and textbooks of the history of Romance languages which he wrote for students of Romance philology. This is followed by a description of Professor’s lectures in historical grammar of Romance languages – erudite but clear, with multiple examples and digressions which widened the scrutinized topic. Also his manner of examining is mentioned, known and strictly defined criteria of evaluation, and its objectivity. Professor’s colleagues from the Institute of Romance Philology like to reminisce his friendly and selfless help and cordiality towards students – beside his attributed severity. Lastly, we emphasize the importance of Professor’s scientific views and methodology in the shaping of academic staff.

From Cairo to Camagüey: IBN Daniyal's <em>The Shadow Spirit</em>, Sarduy's <em>Cobra</em>, and Rojas's <em>Celestina</em> as a Bawd between the Arab World and Latin America

Abstract There have been numerous studies of the transmission of literatures of the medieval Arab world to al-Andalus, such as those by López-Baralt and Menocal. There have also been various studies examining the transmission of literatures from Golden Age Spain and Portugal to Latin America, such as Roberto González Echevarría's Celestina's Brood. There have, however, been almost no studies that examine continuities between the literatures and cultures of the medieval Arab world and modern Latin America through al-Andalus. Utilizing existing scholarship and an approach derived from romance philology, this study examines the continuities between the shadow plays of Iraqi poet Ibn Daniyal, written and presented in Cairo around 1300, especially The Shadow Spirit, which features a sexual go-between, and Celestina, by Fernando de Rojas, published in Salamanca in 1499. The study then looks at the intertextual links between Celestina and the Cuban Severo Sarduy's postmodern novel Cobra, published in 1972, which also has a sexual go-between as a principal character, and the substantial affinities Cobra shares with The Shadow Spirit. The study suggests that these texts, and many others, can fruitfully be viewed as belonging to a centuries-long translinguistic tradition that includes works from the Arab world, the Iberian Peninsula, and Latin America.

Романская этимология: тенденции и перспективы

The article is devoted to the methodology, theory and practice of etymological research in Romance linguistics. The paper presents general regularities of the construction of the Romance etymological dictionaries and the main directions in the modern Romance etymology. The relevance of the work is determined by the special importance of etymology for the Romance languages, which origin and development is well documented, as well as by the limited use of Romance material outside the circle of novelists. Special attention is paid to dictionaries of French and Italian languages. The novelty of the study is due to the fact that the paper identifies the main lines of development of modern etymological studies both in retrospect and in prospect. The article shows how the etymological method that establishes the origin of the word and the historical analysis that recreates the history of the word are combined in the application to the Romance languages, as well as how the phonetic, morphological and semantic components are correlated in the etymological study.

Hermann Suchier (1848–1914) und Gaston Paris (1839–1903): «Monsieur» oder «Mon cher ami»?

Abstract Hermann Suchier, since the year 1876 Professor of Romance Philology at the University of Halle, was one of the most prominent scholars of his generation. Since he preserved all his correspondence, we are able to study his various international written relationships with his French colleagues, including Gaston Paris and Paul Meyer. However, a temporary disagreement between Suchier with Paris and Meyer did arise. This conflict was due to Suchier supporting the work of Wendelin Foerster, whose edition of Aiol et Mirabel was severely criticized by Paris and Meyer. Subsequently, Suchier once again changed support back to Paris and Meyer and then was invited to publish in their house journal, Romania, and additionally to contribute two editions in ancient French to the Société des Anciens Textes Français which had also be founded by Paris and Meyer. In this way Suchier became one of the most important intermediaries between German and French Philology in the years following the Franco-German war and the outbreak of World War I.

Dámaso Alonso e a lingüística galega a partir da súa correspondencia (1943-1946) con Ramón Otero Pedrayo

Neste artigo lembramos a contribución á lingüística galega de Dámaso Alonso (1898-1990) nas décadas centrais do século XX. Tras anotar algúns datos biográficos sobre el e contextualizar os seus traballos de lingüista dentro da Romanística, nos cales ocupan un lugar destacado os dedicados ó galego, damos a coñecer oito cartas dirixidas a Ramón Otero Pedrayo entre 1943 e 1946. Nelas, Dámaso Alonso solicítalle ó daquela grande patriarca das letras galegas datos de tipo lingüístico; pero a correspondencia revela tamén as súas reflexións sobre o estudo do galego, o seu método de traballo e a súa relación con Galicia.

Romance Philology - With No Regrets † Rebecca Posner (17 August 1929-19 July 2018)

Romance Philology - With No Regrets † Rebecca Posner (17 August 1929-19 July 2018)

Fonologia histórica do latim ao português (sécs. I-III d.C.): vocalismo, aquisição e epistemologia

Neste artigo, tentamos esboçar uma reanálise de como se perdeu o traço de quantidade das vogais latinas, levantando as seguintes hipóteses que a guiaram: i) a perda da quantidade vocálica teve início já durante as Guerras Púnicas; ii) tal mudança teve como uma de suas fontes irradiadoras o Norte e parte do Sudeste da Península Ibérica; iii) tal mudança foi o resultado de processos de aquisição do latim como segunda língua, por povos conquistados, e foi transmitida às gerações seguintes, completando-se. Esta última hipótese é a principal e está atrelada à visão de complementaridade entre os estudos da Sociolinguística e do Gerativismo, denominada, por Tarallo (1987), seu primeiro teorizador, de Sociolinguística Paramétrica. Para fazer esta atrelagem, procuramos estender sua teorização ao nível do objeto, de modo a que os processos sócio-históricos que envolveram a expansão do latim pudessem ser conjugados com o paradigma gerativista de aquisição da linguagem – o que inclui a assunção da existência prévia do componente biológico-cerebral, que disponibiliza uma Gramática Universal para o uso inato da criança, quando começa a adquirir uma língua. Portanto, trata-se de um trabalho situado, simultaneamente, na linguística teórica e na linguística românica.

Telling the difference: linguistic differentiation and identity in Guillem de Berguedà, Giacomo da Lentini and Bonifacio Calvo

AbstractEditorial practice in literary traditions still dominated by neo-Lachmannian philology remains focussed on the establishment of the text as the medieval author knew it himself. For adherents of this method, the influence of “foreign” languages is labelled as a contamination that should, if possible, be removed as unauthentic. This article proposes a less doctrinaire practice and demonstrates its fruits when brought to bear at the interstices of literary history and Romance philology, as represented by poems by Guillem de Berguedà, Giacomo da Lentini, and Bonifacio Calvo. Approaching both medieval poets and their modern editors in the light of Derrida’s Le monolinguisme de l’autre, the present contribution counters the tendency to impose linguistic and cultural identities on medieval authors, instead allowing their manuscripts to speak for themselves. It further considers the thinking of medieval poets and their transmitters on the nature of language and lyric poetry, and how these systems could and should be used and developed.

Gustav Gröber und die Anfänge der «Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie»

AbstractGustav Gröber (1844–1911), Professor of Romance Philology at the Universities of Zurich, Breslau (Wrocław) and Strasbourg, went down in the annals of his discipline for the founding of the «Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie» (1877), which exists still today. Gröber’s merits have been appreciated by the writers of his obituaries, but as he has destroyed his personal papers prior to his death, we know little about his professional environment. The present article evaluates more than six-hundred letters which Gröber wrote to certain peers and traces back the period of time the «Zeitschrift» needed to consolidate and gain international reputation.

Diccionario herbario de textos antiguos y premodernos by Thomas M. Capuano

Reviewed by: Diccionario herbario de textos antiguos y premodernos by Thomas M. Capuano Steven N. Dworkin Capuano, Thomas M., compiler. Diccionario herbario de textos antiguos y premodernos. New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 2017. 495 pp. ISBN: 978-1-56954-158-6 Thomas M. Capuano has devoted his career to the study of the texts and the lexicon of medieval and early modern Spanish agricultural, medical, and botanical treatises. The starting point for this activity is his dissertation at the State University of New York, entitled "Agricultural Terminology in Spanish Medieval and Renaissance Treatises" (1986). His research has culminated in 2017 with two major publications, the Diccionario herbario de textos antiguos y premodernos (the work under review), and an edition of the Latin text of Saladino Ferro d'Ascoli's Compendium aromatariorum (ca. 1450) with Alonso Rodríguez de Tudela's El compendio de los boticarios, a 1515 translation of d'Ascoli's work. This edition, published as Volume 71 of Romance Philology (Spring 2017), includes an English translation of the Spanish text prepared by Capuano and Chelsea Firra, and a Glossary that repeats some of the material found in the Diccionario herbario. The Diccionario seeks to record and define those terms referring directly or indirectly to flora found in selected medieval and early modern texts dealing with agriculture, nutrition, and medicine. It does not purport to offer a complete list of all plant names recorded in texts from this period. The main sources range from two texts from the second half of the thirteenth century, the Libro de las formas y de las imágenes (of which only the lengthy Table of Contents has survived) and the cynegetic treatise Libro de Moamín, to Andrés Laguna's translation (1566) of Dioscorides's Materia medicina. The remaining medieval sources are Tratado de agricultura de Ibn Wafid, Los nueve libros de Valerio Máximo, Menor daño de medicina, Suma de la flor de cirugía, Libro de recetas, Compendio de medicina, Libro de los olios, Libro de Palladio, Recetas, Tratado médico, Corbacho, Tratado de la peste, Tratado útil, Compendio de la humana salud, Lilio de medicina, Sumario de la medicina, and Regimiento contra la peste, as well as the 1499 edition of the Comedia de Calisto y Melibea, and several early sixteenth-century editions of the Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea. To demonstrate the continued vitality of this lexical field, Capuano includes relevant examples from selected additional texts through the late eighteenth century (all identified in Apéndice I, pp. vi-viii). [End Page 126] The individual entries display a structure that will be familiar to readers who have consulted other dictionaries prepared by -or in collaboration with- the Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, for example the Diccionario español de textos médicos antiguos (Herrera, 1996) or the Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X (Kasten and Nitti, 2002). The headword appears in modern Spanish spelling, followed by a definition in Spanish. In the case of names of plants, the definition is followed in parentheses by the appropriate Latin designation, following Linnaeus's binomial nomenclature. The entry next offers selected examples in context with the precise identification of the location in the text. In the case of words documented with a wide semantic range, the individual meanings are numbered and presented in separate paragraphs. I give here one example chosen at random: s.v. apretar, Capuano distinguishes five meanings, each of which he illustrates with appropriate quotations: 'apiñar estrechamente'; 'unir'; 'apiñarse estrechamente las uvas del racimo'; 'encogerse una planta o parte de ella, como por el frío o por el rigor del trasplante'; 'trepar una planta sobre otra ahogándola'. A separate section lists the forms in their medieval or early- modern orthographical garb as found in the texts and, when relevant, multi- word lexical units (unidades pluriverbales) involving the item in question. Capuano has not limited the dictionary entries to names of plants and herbs. He includes nouns, adjectives, and verbs that appear in the texts with meanings specifically related to the world of plants. The data on these specialized meanings may prove valuable in the preparation of future historical...

Appunti sulla stilistica (italiana) di László Gáldi

The paper deals with László Gáldi’s Introduction to Italian Stylistics (1971), placing it in the coeval context of the methodological discussions between stylistics and structuralism in the 60s and 70s, as well as in the history of the Italian stylistics in the 20th century.
 It investigates the theoretical sources of Gáldi’s book, which was influenced by different reference points: the European Romance philology, the Russian literary theory (mainly Viktor Žirmunskij’s approach to stylistics) and the Rumanian aesthetics and literary criticism.
 Moreover, it shows the connection between the Introduction and Gáldi’s previous works, particularly the important book on the poetical style of Mihai Eminescu (1964), maybe Gáldi’s most relevant stylistic study, and other significant works of the same period (an interesting stylistic analysis of Musset’ Stances and a historical study of Rumanian versification).
 In doing so, it shows the rich methodological and theoretical sources of Gáldi’s Introduction and the peculiar position of the Hungarian scholar in the history of European stylistics.

Obituary: David Mackenzie, 1943–2016

David Mackenzie was born in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. As his surname and perhaps even his temperament suggest, the ancestry of his family was Scottish. He attended Brighton Grammar School. In a characteristically forthright interview given in October 2013 to Cuttings, the online journal of the Forum for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Ireland, he explained that he had originally intended to go on to study photography, but was pushed by the school and, even more firmly, by his mother in the direction of university:I decided that I wanted to take Romance Linguistics (or Spanish and Arabic at Edinburgh), having loathed literature at my Brighton Grammar school. [...] Edinburgh and Birmingham rejected me, but then I was called for interview at Cambridge, and this time I rejected them on the grounds that they didn't do a year abroad.In the meantime, David had spent seven weeks in the summer of 1960 at the home of his Galician penfriend in rural Mosteiro de Meis, an experience that marked the beginning of what was to be a deep, lifelong relationship with the language and culture of that region.In the end, he matriculated at Keble College, Oxford, in 1962, 'They charitably gave me a place on the strength of my performance in the Scholarship Exam., but no Scholarship, unfortunately'.The humane attitude towards students that characterized him as a teacher was largely a matter of his own personality, but also owed not a little to his formation at Oxford in the early 1960s. In the interview, when asked who his most inspirational teacher there had been, David replied:Fred Hodcroft [...], because whenever I dried up in the one-to-one tutorials because I'd written the paper I was to read out to him overnight, he would fill in the gap by explaining the different sensations to be derived from smoking the pipe or the cigarette or the hazards of being a rear gunner on a plane (Mosquito, I think, but do they have a rear gunner?) in the far east, fighting the Japs.After taking a BA Honours degree in Spanish in 1966, he worked as Assistant Keeper of Printed Books in the British Library from 1970 to 1974.In 1975 he was awarded a PhD by the University of Nottingham for a thesis entitled 'A Critical Edition with Linguistic and Historical Introduction of the Coronica de Santa Maria de Iria' (a mid-15th-century Galician chronicle tracing the history of the diocese of Iria). The Chronicle pays special attention to the period of the first Archbishop of Santiago, Diego Xelmirez (1068/70-1136), whose name David latterly incorporated into his email address, much to the mystification of the uninitiated.From 1974 until 1986 he was lecturer in Spanish Language and Literature at the University of Ulster at Coleraine, and an enthusiastic member of its men's hockey team.He lectured at the University of Birmingham between 1986 and 1996, before taking up the Chair of Spanish at University College Cork in 1996, a position he held until his retirement in 2008. Ireland suited his temperament and he proved to be an engaging and energetic Head of Department, securing additional posts, reinvigorating medieval and linguistic studies, generally expanding horizons, particularly the department's range of external (and internal) connections and relationships, and playing a key role in establishing the Irish Centre for Mexican Studies.David's research interests lay in the fields of Medieval Spanish Literature, especially the works of Juan Rodriguez del Padron and the Sentimental Romance; the editing of Medieval Castilian, Galician and Aragonese texts; and Lexicography. …

Enseigner l’analyse du discours en langue étrangère. En quoi consiste le cours de spécialisation en linguistique destiné aux étudiants du 2nd cycle ?

The paper addresses the two following questions: 1) how should a discourse perspective on specialized communication training course be introduced ? 2) should student’s identity attending a course in specialized communication be taken into account, or, conversely, left out ? Special attention is paid to methodological problems of teaching linguistics. Two MA postgraduate programmes run at Romance Philology are taken as examples La manipulation et ses aspects linguistiques (Linguistic aspects of interpersonal manipulation) and L’image linguistique du monde. Les stereotypes racistes dans la langue et la culture (Racist stereotypes in language and culture).