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The Case-law of the European Court of Human Rights Regarding the Protection Against Discrimination in the Field of Labour and Social Rights
Get PDFThe study analyses the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the protection against discrimination in the field of labour and social rights. The emphasis is on the Court's application of the provisions of Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as Protocol No. 12 to it
Translation of Metaphors in Official and Automatic Subtitling and MT Evaluation
Get PDFOne of the main aims of this work is to compare and analyse the translation of metaphors in subtitles as performed by human translators and by machine translation, and conduct MT evaluation. The work considers two YouTube videos of a Cyberpunk 2077 (2020) videogame walkthrough. The first video is in the original language (English) with English subtitles and the second one is an officially translated video in Russian, with Russian subtitles. Both videos have the same content, but in different languages. Metaphors were extracted manually from selected audiovisual material in English by the usage of MIPVU (Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit). In order to achieve our aims, first the translation of these metaphors in the official Russian subtitles were analysed; secondly, their automatic translation into Russian as it appears on YouTube by Google Translate were analysed as well; after that the results were compared to find the similarities and the differences between the automatically translated version of the metaphors on YouTube and the translated metaphors in the official subtitling. Another aim is to perform Machine Translation (MT) evaluation using the BLEU (Bilingual Evaluation Understudy) algorithm and to determine the errors made by MT while translating metaphors in the analysed subtitles. Three examples, which were taken from the videos, are presented in the format of cases. The cases show different metaphors and the situations they were used in and analyse why these metaphors were used in that particular situation, how metaphors were identified there, how they were translated and why they were translated exactly in this way. Furthermore, the machine translation of the same metaphors is analysed and a comparison between them is made. The topic of the speech recognition process and the metaphor identification procedure is also touched upon. The results demonstrate that although machine translation is able to translate frequently used, popular metaphors, or metaphors, the literal translation of which retains the meaning, it is still difficult for the machine to recognise original author’s metaphors or to translate using the context of the situation. The results could encourage training the machine to recognize metaphors and to create a larger database of metaphors to identify them
Building a fashion influencer image on Instagram
Get PDFThis article examines the shift from analogue to digital transmission of information; the metaphor of virtual community, and the everyday life of social networks. It also studies the construction of virtual identity taking place under the influence of the influencer system on the Internet. Viewing fashion as a process of constant production and reproduction of the social, of imitation as a means of social adaptation, the text examines the transformation of fashion into a primarily digital representation through influencer marketing. The analogue and digital evolution of codes is distinct, and the need of media and digital literacy are a growing challenge for modern society. This work will provide a clearer delineation of the fluid nature of identity and social belonging as well-articulated behaviors
Attempting a gendered cultural semiotic analysis through the transmedial study of the myth of Carmen
Get PDFThe story of Carmen is perhaps one of the most translated, adapted, culturalized, indigenized and re-produced stories in the western world’s canon. Carmen herself has become a myth, an icon, a strong sign of female independence, eroticism and threat. Although suggested to be read as an Orientalistic story of a femme fatale, later readings and reproductions have turned the story of Carmen into a discourse regarding gender, class, race and systems of power. “Whether the adaptation portrays Carmen as victim or victimizer, in short, depends on the politics of the particular contexts of creation and reception” (Hutcheon 2006: 154). This study, however, does not aim to contribute to this vast discourse on femininity, sexuality and violence1, all issues raised by Carmen’s story, but rather track the adaptations and trace the cultural ideologies manifested through female representation. Women in culture, in this case Carmen, act as a counter mirror, reflecting the culture’s Other. Quoting Pollock (2003: 210) “woman is the sign, not of woman, but of that Other in whose mirror masculinity must define itself ”. In this case study of Carmen’s adaptations, cultural semiotic theory will be used as a methodological and analytical tool in the attempt to understand how the sign “woman” is used almost metonymically as the embodiment of counter-culture
Visual Metaphor in Early Second Language Education
No full textThe paper adapts the theory of knowledge enablement in knowledge-sharing companies to the needs of the second-language classroom to explicate the association between pedagogical interaction and the effectiveness of the teaching process. The goal of the inquiry is to alert language teachers to the hidden opportunities visualization and layout suggest in designing a stress-free educational environment conducive to amplifying language knowledge and skills in a context stimulating knowledge enablement. Visualization is explored at two levels: 1) the level of text layout and illustrations; and 2) the level of visual images and visual metaphors. The method of structural and functional modelling is used to present the layout of exercises and language content and the visual metaphor identification method is employed in the analysis of visual images. A conclusion is asserted of the instrumental role of visuals in English coursebooks for young learners as a medium of visual literacy and as a factor in streamlining the development of productive second language skills. This claim is substantiated by a case study that 1) demonstrates the contextualizing function of images and visual metaphors in English language coursebooks for young learners; and 2) explores the means, instruments and ways of visualizing the instructional content of two TEYL coursebooks published in 2014 and 2015
Needs Analysis in ESP as a Motivator and Means to Optimise Academic ESP Courses
No full textThe paper presents the results of a needs analysis conducted to optimise the academic ESP courses at a Bulgarian university. There are few studies on the issue in Bulgaria unlike the global situation with universities and employers studying the ESP needs of their students and workforce regularly. Hence by carrying out a survey of the students at this particular university along with students from another six local universities and fifteen universities from eleven countries worldwide, all with the same profile, the research team expected to gather reliable information about the course parameters that require improvement. The student sample includes 939 local and 167 foreign students. In addition, a survey of 32 local faculty teaching language and/or subject matter was conducted to triangulate data and strengthen the research contribution to the enhanced course effectiveness based on the greater motivation for ESP acquisition by formulating recommendations for syllabi development
Decisions related to binding information issued under the Union Customs Code
No full textThe research covers the issues related to the procedure for issuing decisions concerning binding information by the customs authorities of the Member States in the European Union. There is currently no in-depth elaboration on these issues. The legal framework is new and the practice of the administrative authorities competent to issue acts implementing the customs legislation reveals uncertainty and not yet good knowledge of it, which undoubtedly leads to contradictions in the judicial resolution of legal disputes. The study is part of a larger study related to the administrative services provided by the customs administrations of the EU Member States and aims to clarify and analyse the issues at stake
What is the deadline in accordance with the Constitution by which the President must appoint to а Prime-minister candidate a mandate for formation of a regular Government
No full textThis article provides an analysis of case with the possible delay of the deadline within which the President of the Republic is obliged to appoint a mandate for formation of a Government as to art. 99. There is no explicit deadline in the Constitution, by which the latter must appoint the mandate, as e.g. he is obliged by art. 75 to convene the newly elected Parliament within 1-month-term. The case is especially important as there is no practice of the Constitutional Court on this matter, while there are quite a few rulings on the other aspects of art. 99 and the applicable terms after the first mandate has been appointed. While there are also some gaps in the constitutional framework, the Constitutional Court has adopted the term “reasonable term”, beyond which any delay shall be in contradiction with the Constitution. Precisely this “reasonability” in the context of appointing the first mandate will be analysed, in the context of the entire constitutional regulation of art. 99 for forming a regular Government but also in the spirit of a parliamentary Republic
