Hungarológiai Közlemények

THE VERB ’STAND’ IN THE LOCATIVE SENTENCES OF THE SLOVAK LANGUAGE

Zsuzsanna MOLNÁR — 2024-11-01

Our article aims to present the rules of use of the Slovak quasi-copula meaning ’stand’. The study is part of a series of research carried out in the Uralistics Research Group of the HUN-REN Research Centre for Linguistics. In Slovak, as in Hungarian and several other languages, the verb ’stand’ has been grammaticalized and has become a quasi-copula used in locative and existential sentences. In the framework of the analysis, we present the list of the objects in the locative sentences whose location is typically described using the quasi-copula ’stand’. Our results show that, in addition to the geometric properties of the object (height, prominent verticality), the aspect of functionality is also very important. In general, ’stand’ expresses if the orientation of the object is such that the object is capable of performing its role, i.e. in Slovak locative sentences, a visual similarity is not the only basis for the presence of the posture verb ’stand’ as a verbal element.

THE ROLE OF FEKSZIK AND HEVER QUASI-COPULAS IN LOCATIVE SENTENCES

Beatrix OSZKÓ — 2024-11-01

This paper presents an overview of the uses and roles of the Hungarian quasi-copulas fekszik ’lie’ and hever ’lie around’. Our corpus-based analysis focuses on their role in locative sentences. Referring to both quasi-copulas, the paper summarizes the various types of the FIGURE (i.e. the subjects), as well as those of the GROUND (i.e. locative elements) occurring in locative sentences, and also gives an overview of the various types of relation between the two elements in question. Concerning both quasi-copulas, the analyses end in discussing the principle of function. Our analyses reveal that fekszik ’lie’ has a neutral meaning. Its use is not only directed by the geometric properties of the FIGURE and its relation to the GROUND but also it is often found in sentences that aim to describe that the given object cannot fulfill its role in the given position or orientation. Concerning the quasi-copula hever, expressing the unexpected position of the FIGURE, resulting in the failure of the object to perform its own function, has been shown to play a major role. The semantic component ’abandonment, neglectedness’ of the original meaning of the verb used with inanimate subjects, can often be detected in its quasi-copula role.

VARIABILITY OF SPELLING SYSTEMS IN ROMANI DICTIONARIES PUBLISHED IN HUNGARY BETWEEN 1797 AND 1935

Mátyás ROSENBERG — 2024-11-01

The study argues that based on the analysis of 48 Hungarian Romani dictionaries, the works can be chronologically dated, and the first phase (1797–1935) is also important from an orthographic point of view since in this period we find spontaneous writing systems that were no longer used for scientific or educational purposes. The analysis has revealed that the choice of letters was not only motivated by individual intuition and mutual copying but also by an intended adaptation to Hungarian orthography and the written representation of special sounds in the Romani language. This resulted in a high degree of variability. In addition, sounds were marked inconsistently, with special regard to vowel length, aspirated sounds, and the velar fricative. This general inconsistency means that the sources do not come from a single informant even if the author said so and that a thorough examination of the dictionaries requires knowledge based on fieldwork so that a distinction can be made between error and dialectal variation.

SOCIOONOMASTIC-SOCIOPRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE PLACE-NAME DATABASE OF FRIGYES PESTY IN NÓGRÁD COUNTY

László ANGYAL — 2024-11-01

One of the aims of the Hungarian National Toponym Registry Program is to publish the toponyms of Frigyes Pesty’s database. In the programme, I undertook to describe the corpus of the place-name corpus of Nógrád County. In my study, I present a socioonomastic-sociopragmatic analysis of the Nógrád County material of Frigyes Pesty’s place-name database. This database is an extremely valuable collection from the point of view of onomastics, language history, ethnography, local history, historical geography, etc. It contains a corpus of synchronic place names collected in a relatively short period, which has since become a body of names of historical value. While describing the settlements of Nógrád County, I came across numerous entries of villages whose texts are perfectly suitable for socioonomastic-sociopragmatic studies. My research is therefore socioonomastic: I aim to present the linguistic interference phenomena and the characteristics of the name contactology of the Hungarian and Slovak ethnic groups living together in Nógrád county. As a result of the Hungarian–Slovak bilingual environment and the linguistic interaction, contact phenomena appear in the material of geographical names and personal names. In the boundary descriptions of a municipality, Hungarian and Slovak names of areas fluctuate, and names often appear in both languages. In addition to socioonomastic studies, the material of the place-name directory is also suitable for sociopragmatic studies: there are numerous data on the naming, designation, and addressing of women, so I also deal with this topic in the study.

THE TECHNIQUES OF ESTABLISHING RAPPORT BETWEEN HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS AND PATIENTS IN THE MATERNITY AMBULANCE

Annamária MARTHY — 2024-11-01

The study presents communication techniques used in a specific area of medical care, namely in obstetric care. Adequate communication is crucial in the relationship between the midwife and the expectant mother, as it facilitates optimal information flow, understanding, and the development of mutual trust between the parties. By applying effective communication techniques, the midwife can clearly and comprehensibly convey information, respond to questions, and emotionally support the laboring woman. This, in turn, can help the expectant mother understand the process of labor and make informed decisions. Empathy and attention towards the expectant mother can also be expressed through communication. Research on the communication between midwives and expectant mothers (Rijnders et al. 2008; Rowe et al. 2002) has found that the quality of communication with healthcare professionals significantly influences patients’ satisfaction (Dahlberg et al. 2016). In my research, after analyzing transcripts of recorded audio from the maternity ambulance, I summarize the communication techniques employed by midwives in establishing a connection with expectant mothers. Understanding the communication techniques used by midwives can help improve communication between the parties and make the support of expectant mothers more effective.

TEACHER TRAINERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT THE PLURICENTRICITY OF ENGLISH AND GERMAN

Máté Imre HUBER — 2024-11-01

The present study investigates the beliefs of teacher trainers at Hungarian universities about the pluricentricity of English and German as foreign languages. The results of the pilot phase are based on the analysis of two semi-structured interviews with one lecturer each from two Hungarian universities from 2023. The analysis also includes a comparison of the results with 37 previous interviews conducted between 2020 and 2022 with 21 English and German teachers and 16 language learners in Hungary. The interviews were analysed using the Taguette software, in a qualitative content analysis framework, by setting up a coding frame with 13 codes. The main research question was how the university instructors’ beliefs about pluricentricity relate to those of the language teachers and language learners. The results show that there are far more similarities than differences, and that university instructors appear to be more open to pluricentricity than their colleagues in public education, but more conservative than language learners. The pilot nature of the study means that, in addition to presenting the preliminary results, I have also drawn methodological conclusions which will be very important for the continuation of the study, i.e. for the addition of further university instructors to the sample.

LINGUISTIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE SPOKEN, WRITTEN, AND COMMUNICATIVE USE OF HUNGARIAN IN VOJVODINA

Eleonóra KOVÁCS RÁCZ — 2024-11-01

By reviewing the background factors behind the functionality of Hungarian language use in Vojvodina, the study points out the sociological and linguistic factors that determine language use in everyday life. Among the sociological factors, we considered the relationship between language and identity, language and education, language and social communication, as well as the use of economic and legal language, the media, cultural aspects, and the role of the church and national political organizations. Among the linguistic background factors, we discussed the influence of Serbian on Hungarian and the role of the Hungarian regional dialect in the functionality of the language, as well as its community function. As a conclusion of the study, we can say that Hungarians in Vojvodina use Hungarian depending on the given communication situation and the social and linguistic context, that is along the lines of functional and situational language use in the given communication situation.

SIMILES RELATED TO VERBAL COMMUNICATION IN HUNGARIAN AND SERBIAN

Edit ANDRIĆ — 2024-11-01

The present study explores a subtype of phraseological units, similes, focusing on those made with verbs of communication. This study aims to determine to what extent similes related to the manner of verbal communication correspond or differ in the two languages. Depending on the communication situation, verbs other than verbs of communication may also occur in these similes in both languages under scrutiny. These are also discussed in the study. The emphasis is placed primarily on the issue of the conceptualization of speech, as well as the source domain of conceptual associations.

ON THE THEORETICAL PROBLEMS OF PREDICTABILITY IN SERBIAN PALATALIZATION

Szilárd TÓTH — 2024-11-01

The paper presents the Serbian velar palatalization: /k/ → [tʃ], /ɡ/ → [ʒ], /x/ → [ʃ]. A detailed, comprehensive description of the phenomenon will not be provided, as it is not the main task and theme of the paper. The paper demonstrates that predictability does not strictly hold „in equal measure” in phonology, contrary to what traditional grammars suggest (e.g., Klajn 2005). Even theory-specifi approaches do not address it (e.g., Starčević 2005). This is one of the foundational assumptions of the theory of Government Phonology à la Kaye et al. (1985; 1990): phonological processes are organized according to universal principles and are not arbitrary (Non-Arbitrariness Principle). Universal rules can be overridden by parametric settings, which characterize the phonology of a specific language – in this, Government Phonology shares principles parallel to those of the Minimalist Program. The task of the paper is to show when predictability is not met, through the lens of Serbian phonology, based on the aspect that shows I-U asymmetry. The paper’s implicit goal is to highlight that the strict conditions imposed on phonological theories may not necessarily account for the variations shown on the surface, and things are much more complicated than what we might assume about Universal Grammar. The paper follows the theory of Government Phonology along with Element Theory (Backley 2011), which will be essential for explaining the phenomenon.