Università del Salento: ESE - Salento University Publishing
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Exploring the intersection of two linguistic variables in British English dialects
Get PDFThe bulk of sociolinguistic research has focused on covariation between linguistic variables and social factors e.g. when a phonological variable is involved in covariation with social variables or other linguistic variables (Trudgill 1974). Recent research, however, note that little attention has been devoted to how multiple linguistic variables are interrelated in a given speech community (Guy, Hinskens 2016). Along this line, this paper investigates the covariation of two linguistic variables which intersect in British English: (t)-deletion and (t)-glottaling in the C(C)t linguistic context (e.g. want, kept). Data was gathered from 36 participants by means of sociolinguistic interviews, reading passages, and word lists in three British speech communities. 1,275 tokens were gathered. Data was transcribed in ELAN, with support from visual cues in the spectrogram in PRAAT, and mixed-effects logistic regression analyses was carried out. Results show that less sonorous preceding segments favour (t)-deletion, whereas more sonorous ones favour (t)-glottaling. The preceding and following phonological environments, syllable stress, style, and sex of participants were also found to play a significant role
Heroes against villains. Frames as the bedrock of unconscious thinking in political discourse
Get PDFThis article focuses on political leader discourses in the context of Kosovo-Serbia relations. It examines how political discourse is used to shape and influence national and international opinion, and to modify the presentation of reality by presenting political truth as historical truth. The analysis of the two speeches here by the leaders of both countries aims to identify their communication strategies, the most common linguistic structures that were used to form and shape the conflict resolution process, to deconstruct their narratives, and compare them. As political speeches generally are built on metaphorical constructions and frames, we demonstrate how complex issues that were previously irreconcilable are represented in these speeches to gain authority, legitimacy, and power
Thomas Hardy’s ‘Impossible Monsters’: The Language of Desire in A Group of Noble Dames (1891)
Get PDFThis article explores the semiotics of desire in Thomas Hardy’s short story cycle A Group of Noble Dames (1891). In its first section, it briefly contextualises the collection in terms of design and critical reception. The following section, focused on a selection of three emblematic stories, reads Hardy’s characters as embodiments of the ‘impossible monsters’ he mentioned in the first entry of his Literary Notes. This section, drawing on James Phelan’s rhetorical theory of characters and Charles Fourier’s The Passions of the Human Soul (1851), investigates the effects of certain mechanisms of desire (gaze, idealisation, fetishisation, reification, jealousy, vindication-torture) on the characters’ mimetic and thematic attributes. Furthermore, it points out how the characters’ pathemic conditions and actions are often driven by bovaristic obsessions and mediated desires that originate in sociocultural microcosms pervaded by rigid social conventions and conformism. In some cases, these mediated passions are triggered by artistic and literary objects such as statues, paintings, and works of literature that function as simulacra of amorous desire. A final section summarises the main points discussed in the article and provides insights for further reflection
Prevenzione e protezione dall'esposizione al radon nei luoghi di lavoro
Get PDFIl radon è un gas nobile radioattivo che non è avvertito dai sensi. L'Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità ha classificato il radon tra le sostanze per le quali vi è evidenza di cancerogenicità sull'uomo. Grazie alle sue proprietà chimico-fisiche questo gas può diffondere liberamente; tipicamente negli ambienti indoor la sorgente primaria è il suolo. Per questo motivo gli ambienti sotterranei, quelli situati al seminterrato e/o pianterreno possono essere maggiormente interessati dal problema. Con l'entrata in vigore della nuova normativa di radioprotezione (D. Lgs.101/2020 s.m.i.) sono state revisionate ed estese le disposizioni sulla protezione dal gas radon nei luoghi di lavoro e sono state date per la prima volta delle indicazioni sulla protezione dal radon nelle abitazioni. In questo articolo si affrontano le principali caratteristiche e gli aspetti normativi relativi al radon
L'inciviltà politica "nell'occhio" del giornalista: percezioni, attori responsabili e pratiche d'uso = Political incivility "in the eye" of the journalist: perceptions, responsible actors and usage practices
No full textPolitical incivility in public debate is an increasingly important and studied phenomenon, yet the role of media professionals in its spread is understudied. This research explores Italian journalists' perceptions, their use of incivility and their views on who drives its spread. Semi-structured interviews with 32 journalists reveal that their view of political incivility aligns with existing literature and they see it as strategically used by politicians and media to capture attention. Uncivil discourse, involving rudeness, delegitimization, and attacks on democratic values, is seen as a tool to attract public interest and profit. The study highlights five main approaches to political incivility: interpretive framing, amplification, contextualization, fueling, and avoidance. These practices are transversal, yet they represent two contrasting journalism models: one side fuels incivility, especially among partisan journalists, while the other provides context, typical of non-partisan journalists
Taking a Detour to Travel Farther Afield: Reconstructing Collaborative Collective Action Networks through Documentary Traces of Events
Get PDFSocial movement scholarship has long examined interorganizational collaboration through diverse theoretical and methodological lenses, with relational theories and network analysis being increasingly adopted. However, empirical investigations of collaborative networks remain limited due to data collection challenges. Reviewing extant network-analytic investigations of collaborative collective action, this paper distinguishes five types of data collection strategies and spotlights indirect-unobtrusive strategies. This long-available yet underutilized approach infers collaborative ties from documentary traces of co-involvement in diverse instances of collective action, offering cost-effectiveness, facilitating longitudinal network analysis, and enabling more theoretically grounded inductive solutions to the problem of network boundary specification. Such benefits are illustrated through recent examples of longitudinal network studies of environmental and LGBTQIA* collective action in distinct local European contexts. By providing a theory of practice of indirect-unobtrusive data collection designs, this article equips social movement scholars with the tools to travel farther afield in their explorations of collaborative networks
The Polish Government's Response to COVID-19 Protests: Restrictions and Contradictions in "Moments of Madness"
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic produced "moments of madness" (Zolberg 1972), a temporary feeling that everything has changed and all things are possible. While usually viewed as an opportunity for the masses to envision positive change, we argue that governments also feel "moments of madness", and in their crisis response, they may attempt to deepen their institutional power. As this is particularly troublesome in countries with authoritarian tendencies, we examined national laws and public statements of leading Polish members of government about street protest in 2020. The PiS-led government implemented European Union and WHO-recommended social distancing measures that curtailed constitutional freedoms of the right to peaceful assembly. They executed these measures via governmental decrees rather than primary legislative acts and thus normatively ruled out street protests. The government framed themselves as defenders of civil liberties and promoters of social solidarity and argued that the restrictions are essential for public safety. At the same time, they contradicted these frames by disparaging political opponents who engaged in street protests as immoral threats to public health. We highlight the tensions and trade-offs between public health and civil liberties and offer an extension and critique of the "moments of madness" thesis
