LIMB, CULTUR I CIVILIZAIE

CONFLUENA IDEILOR INOVATOARE

a IX-a CONFERIN INTERNAIONAL

EDITORII VOLUMULUI: Yolanda-Mirela CATELLY Coordonator volum
Fabiola POPA
Brndua RILEANU-PREPELI
Voichia Alexandra GHENGHEA

Redactor ef: Yolanda-Mirela CATELLY

 UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURETI
FACULTATEA DE INGINERIE N LIMBI STRINE
DEPARTAMENTUL DE COMUNICARE N LIMBI MODERNE

LIMB, CULTUR I CIVILIZAIE

CONFLUENA IDEILOR INOVATOARE

a IX-a CONFERIN INTERNAIONAL

mai 2015

Editura POLITEHNICA PRESS

BUCURETI, 2015
Copyright , 2015, Editura Politehnica Press.
Toate drepturile asupra acestei ediii sunt rezervate editurii.

Adresa: Calea Griviei, nr. 132

10737, Sector1, Bucureti
Telefon: 021.402 90 74

NOTA EDITORILOR
Au fost respectate ntru totul ideile i formulrile autorilor.

Redactor: Yolanda-Mirela CATELLY

Coperta: Sonia MILITARU

ISSN: 20671628
 SECIUNILE CONFERINEI

Didactica

Studii literare i culturale

Lingvistica

Comunicare

Traductologie
 CUPRINS

KEYNOTE SPEECHES

OPENING SPEECH THE NINTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF

DCLM FILS 2015 ................................................................................................................ 15
PROF UNIV ADRIAN VOLCEANOV, PHD - DEAN OF FILS - UPB

PREZENTARE DAAD ............................................................................................................ 17

DIETER MLLER, M.A. GERMANIA, DIRECTOR CENTRUL
DE INFORMARE DAAD BUCURESTI

DEZVOLTARE PROFESIONALA COLABORATIVA (DPC) ......................................... 20

CONF UNIV DR YOLANDA-MIRELA CATELLY - DIRECTOR DCLM FILS - UPB

LUCRRI PREZENTATE N CONFERIN

TERMS VS. COLLOQUIAL WORDS .........................................................31

ASSOCIATE PROF. PHD CRISTINA ATHU, FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
AND ECONOMICS - DIMITRIE CANTEMIR" CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY,
BUCHAREST

TEORIA ATAAMENTULUI O PERSPECTIV N COMUNICARE ......................... 37

CONFERENIAR UNIV. DR. BALGIU BEATRICE ADRIANA

VOICES IN POLYPHONY CLASSROOM OBSERVATION AS A PROFESSIONAL

AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE / EXPERIENCE .................................. 43
ASSOC PROF YOLANDA-MIRELA CATELLY, LECT FABIOLA POPA,
UPB FILS DCLM

VERS UNE TAXONOMIE DE LA TERMINOLOGIE DE LINCLUSION

ET DE LA DFICIENCE MENTALE .................................................................................. 48
DR. SEBASTIAN CHIRIMBU, CENTRE D ETUDES MULTICULTURELLES
ET INTERLINGUISTIQUES, UNIVERSITE SPIRU HARET
DR. LAURA GORAN, UNIVERSITE SPIRU HARET/ COLE MATERNELLE MES AMIS
(BUCAREST)

CULTURE AS A PLATFORM FOR E-LEARNING IN ADVANCED LEARNING

SOCIETIES .............................................................................................................................. 56
DR. SEBASTIAN CHIRIMBU, CENTRE FOR MULTICULTURAL AND INTERLINGUISTIC
STUDIES, SPIRU HARET UNIVERSITY / DEPARTMENT FOR RESEARCH UWR,
DR. ADINA CHIRIMBU, FACULTY OF LETTERS, SPIRU HARET UNIVERSITY

7
THE NEED FOR LIFELONG LEARNING ......................................................................... 64
LECTOR UNIV. DR. CONDRUZ-BACESCU MONICA, ACADEMY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
BUCHAREST

ROMANIAN UNIVERSITY IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT ........................................ 68

LECTOR UNIV. DR. CONDRUZ-BACESCU MONICA, ACADEMY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
BUCHAREST

ON THE SEMANTICS OF CND CLAUSES ................................................................... 72

LORENA DAVID, PROFESOR ASOCIAT - UNIVERSITATEA DIN BUCURETI

THE POLYSEMIC STRUCTURE OF THE ENGLISH SOCIAL RANK

TERM QUEEN ......................................................................................................................... 79
DR DRIMALA IULIA CRISTINA, UNIVERSITATEA DE STIINTE AGRONOMICE SI
MEDICINA VETERINARA - BUCURESTI

THE SEMANTIC STRUCTURE OF THE FRAMES OF ENGLISH AND FRENCH

SOCIAL RANK TERMS.......................................................................................................... 87
DR DRIMALA IULIA CRISTINA, UNIVERSITATEA DE STIINTE AGRONOMICE SI
MEDICINA VETERINARA - BUCURESTI

GRAHAM SWIFTS WRITINGS: A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE .................................... 95

ASIST. UNIV. DR. IRINA-ANA DROBOT, UNIVERSITATEA TEHNIC DE CONSTRUCII
BUCURETI, CATEDRA DE LIMBI STRINE I COMUNICARE

MANAGING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES FOR EFFECTIVE CROSS-CULTURAL

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND PERFORMANCE ................................................ 101
LECTOR DR.VIRGINIA MIHAELA DUMITRESCU, ACADEMIA DE STUDII ECONOMICE
BUCURETI

NEW PROSPECTS FOR ESP TEACHING AND LEARNING IN A FLAT WORLD ......106
LECTOR DR.VIRGINIA MIHAELA DUMITRESCU, ACADEMIA DE STUDII ECONOMICE
BUCURETI

LA MTAPHORE DANS LA MISE EN SCNE DU CONFLIT RUSSO-UKRAINIEN

DANS LA PRESSE CRITE FRANCO-ROUMAINE ...................................................... 112
DOCTORAND GEALAPU OLARU SIMONA CRISTINA, SCOALA DOCTORALA LIMBI SI
IDENTITATI CULTURALE UNIVERSITATEA BUCURESTI

MODULAR DESIGN OF TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION ........................................ 119

LECT. DR. GHENULESCU RALUCA MIHAELA, DEPARTAMENTUL DE LIMBI STRINE
I COMUNICARE, UNIVERSITATEA TEHNIC DE CONSTRUCII BUCURETI

DEVELOPING THE ENGLISH RESEARCH SKILLS OF JAPANESE STUDENTS ... 123

DEVENA HAGGIS, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES,
UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA, JAPAN

LINGUOCULTURAL APPROACH TO ORGANIZATIONAL SECURITY STUDY ... 131

ILIEVA DIANA, PH. D., MANEV EVGENI, PH. D., STATE UNIVERSITY OF LIBRARY
STUDIES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES, SOFIA, BULGARIA

8
NATIONAL CULTURE IN THE LIGHT OF PROVERBS AND SAYINGS .................. 139
ILIEVA DIANA, PH.D, UNIVERSITY OF LIBRARY STUDIES AND INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGIES, SOFIA, BULGARIA

DEUTSCH LERNEN MIT BEISPIELEN AUS KURZEN ZEITUNGSMELDUNGEN . 146

LECT. UNIV. DR. IROAIE ANA, UNIVERSITATEA DIN BUCURETI, FACULTATEA
DE LIMBI I LITERATURI STRINE, DEPARTAMENTUL DE LIMBI I LITERATURI
GERMANICE

AN, AUF, BERBEDEUTUNGS(IR)RELEVANTE ASPEKTE BEI FESTER

REKTION IM NOMINALEN BEREICH ............................................................................ 154
LECT. UNIV. DR. IROAIE ANA, UNIVERSITATEA DIN BUCURETI, FACULTATEA DE
LIMBI I LITERATURI STRINE, DEPARTAMENTUL DE LIMBI I LITERATURI
GERMANICE

LA FORMATION DE LACTIVITE COGNITIVE AUX COURS DU FRANAIS A

LUNIVERSITE TECHNIQUE............................................................................................. 160
NADEJDA KILINSKAA, UNIVERSITE TECHNIQUE DE SARATOV, RUSSIE

NOILE MEDIA I REINVENTAREA IDENTITII EUROPENE ............................... 163

PROF. UNIV. DR. GEORGETA MARGHESCU, UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN
BUCURETI

CONCEPIA SOCIAL I POLITIC LA GALA GALACTION (1) ........................... 168

CS. DR. MARIUS MAZILU, INSTITUTUL DE LINGVISTIC ,,IORGU IORDAN AL. ROSETTI

CONCEPIA SOCIAL I POLITIC LA GALA GALACTION (2) ........................... 176

CS. DR. MARIUS MAZILU, INSTITUTUL DE LINGVISTIC ,,IORGU IORDAN AL. ROSETTI

THE JOB INTERVIEW SIMULATION AS AN INSTANCE OF E-LEARNING .......... 182

SIMONA MAZILU, PHD, DCLM-FILS-UPB

IMPROVING TEACHER SOFT SKILLS BY MEANS OF PEER INTERACTION AND

OBSERVATION ..................................................................................................................... 187
LECT DR SIMONA MAZILU, ASST DRD SIMONA MARIA GROSU, DCLM-FILS-UPB

MANAGING CONFLICT BY MEANS OF THIRD PARTY INTERVENTION ............ 192

DANIELA MURARU, PH.D., LICEUL TEHNOLOGIC FERDINAND I CURTEA DE ARGE

THE LINGUISTIC ELEMENT IN MEDIATION .............................................................. 197

DANIELA MURARU, PH.D., LICEUL TEHNOLOGIC FERDINAND I CURTEA DE ARGE

TOLERANT PERCEPTION OF THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND PERSONAL

DIFFERENCES AS A BASIS FOR GROUP WORK ......................................................... 203
N. G. NEDOGREEVA, M. N. NURLYGAYANOVA ,Y. K. KOSTENKO, TECHNICAL
UNIVERSITY OF SARATOV, RUSSIA

COLLABORATIVE TEACHING: AN OVERVIEW ........................................................ 206

LECTOR DR. NISTOR CRISTINA MIHAELA, DEPARTAMENTUL DE COMUNICARE
N LIMBI MODERNE, FILS, UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA BUCURETI

9
THE ROLE OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE IN TEACHING ROMANIAN
TO MULTICULTURAL GROUPS ..................................................................................... 211
LECTOR DR. NISTOR CRISTINA MIHAELA, DEPARTAMENTUL DE COMUNICARE
N LIMBI MODERNE, FILS, UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA BUCURETI

WHICH SIDE WE ARE ON: ON DESACRALISATION OF POETRY IN KATE

TEMPESTS BRAND NEW ANCIENTS (2013) .................................................................. 215
CONF. UNIV. DR. ELENA NISTOR, UNIVERSITATEA DE TIINE AGRONOMICE I
MEDICIN VETERINAR DIN BUCURETI, VISITING RESEARCH FELLOW - INSTITUTUL
DE STUDII ENGLEZE, UNIVERSITATEA DIN LONDRA

THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS PERCEPTION OF ROMANIAN LANGUAGE

AND CULTURE...................................................................................................................... 221
DR. ANDREEA-IULIA OLARU, CADRU DIDACTIC ASOCIAT, DCLM FILS - UPB

REFERINE LA CULTURA GERMAN N AUTO I HETERO IMAGINILE

EVREILOR DIN ROMNIA ................................................................................................ 229
DR. ANDREEA-IULIA OLARU, CADRU DIDACTIC ASOCIAT, DCLM FILS - UPB

PORTRAIT DE LA TERMINOLOGIE ACTUELLE: TERMINOLOGIE TEXTUELLE

VS. TERMINOLOGIE CONCEPTUELLE ......................................................................... 237
AS.UNIV.DR. IZABELA OPREA, UNIVERSITE DES SCIENCES AGRICOLES ET MEDECINE
VETERINAIRE-BUCAREST

CONCEPTUALIZATION . CLASSES AND CATEGORIES............................................ 244

AS.UNIV.DR. IZABELA OPREA, UNIVERSITE DES SCIENCES AGRICOLES ET MEDECINE
VETERINAIRE-BUCAREST

COMPLEXITY OF BEDSIDE MANNERS AS A FORM OF COMMUNICATION ...... 249

SEF DE LUCRARI DR CORINA SILVIA POP, UMF CAROL DAVILA BUCURESTI

REFLECTION-BASED TASKS: THE PHOTOVOICE ASSIGNMENT ......................... 255

LECTOR DR. FABIOLA POPA, UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA BUCURETI

SOCIAL MEDIA-CHALLENGE OR PERSONAL INFLUENCE .................................. 261

CONF. UNIV. DR. MARIA MAGDALENA POPESCU, UNIVERSITATEA NATIONAL DE
APRARE CAROL I

RELATIVIZAREA NORMELOR DE CONDUIT EDUCAIONAL N CLASA

MULTICULTURAL ............................................................................................................ 266
LECT.DR. MIHAELA PRICOPE, ASIST.DR STOICA DIANA SILVANA, DEPARTAMENTUL
DE COMUNICARE IN LIMBI MODERNE, UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN
BUCURESTI

ACTIVE LISTENING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORAL COMMUNICATION

SKILLS .................................................................................................................................... 272
LECT.DR. MIHAELA PRICOPE, DEPARTAMENTUL DE COMUNICARE IN LIMBI
MODERNE, UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI

TERMINOLOGIA MEDICAL-STUDIU LINGVISTIC ................................................. 277

ASISTENT UNIV. DR. RADU MIRELA, UNIVERSITATEA TITU MAIORESCU,
FACULTATEA DE MEDICIN

10
LA GRANIA DINTRE LITERATUR I MEDICIN .................................................. 281
ASISTENT UNIV. DR. RADU MIRELA, UNIVERSITATEA TITU MAIORESCU,
FACULTATEA DE MEDICIN

THE FRAME THAT SEPARATES REALITY FROM FICTION IN TRACY

CHEVALIERS NOVELS...................................................................................................... 289
CONF. UNIV. DR. BRNDUA PREPELI RILEANU, UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA
BUCURETI, FILS, DCLM

EDUCAIA IN EPOCA TEHNOLOGIEI INFORMAIEI, STRATEGII de PREDARE

ASISTAT de CALCULATOR ............................................................................................ 297
CONF. DR. PREPELITA RAILEANU BRNDUA, LECTOR DR. SALVAN MIRELA,
UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA BUCURETI, FILS, DCLM

RELEVANT MOMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF ENCYCLOPAEDIAS,

WITH A FOCUS ON THE FIFTEENTH EDITION OF BRITANNICA ......................... 304
ASIST. UNIV. DR. VALENTINA ROBU, ACADEMIA DE STUDII ECONOMICE BUCURETI

NOTE DE SPIRITUALITATE PROTESTANT N GNDIREA ECONOMIC

A LUI ADAM SMITH ............................................................................................................ 312
ASIST. UNIV. DR. VALENTINA ROBU, ACADEMIA DE STUDII ECONOMICE BUCURETI

UPDATING TECHNIQUES IN THE EFL CLASS ............................................................ 321

LECT. DR. SAVU ELENA, UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA BUCURESTI

TEACHING ENGLISH FOR AEROSPACE ENGINEERING CLASSROOM

OBSERVATION ..................................................................................................................... 325
DR. SAVU ELENA, DR. COMANETCHI DOINA LECTOR, UNIV.POLITEHNICABUCURESTI

SPATIUL OMULUI DE NCEPUT ...................................................................................... 329

LECT. UNIV.DR.OTILIA SRBU, DEPARTAMENTUL DE LITERE I LIMBI STRINE AL
FACULTII DE TIINE SOCIALE, UMANISTE I ALE NATURII, UNIVERSITATEA
HYPERION, BUCURETI

NEW OTHERNESS: THE ARAB WORLD THE SELF, THE BODY

AND THE OTHER ................................................................................................................ 334
ASISTENT DOCTOR STOICA DIANA, UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA BUCURESTI

ILIADA, TEATRUL DE OPERAII PENTRU PROTOTIPUL

RZBOINICULUI GREC, AHILE ...................................................................................... 339
LECTOR UNIV. DR.STRECHIE MDLINA, UNIVERSITATEA DIN CRAIOVA,
FACULTATEA DE LITERE, DEPARTAMENTUL DE LIMBI ROMANICE I CLASICE

OFF THE LEASH: THREE MEN IN A BOAT: TO SAY NOTHING

OF THE DOG! (1888) ........................................................................................................... 347
KAREN KURT TEAL, PH.D., THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, USA

LES ENJEUX DE LA SCNARISATION PDAGOGIQUE ........................................... 353

CONF. DR. ROXANA ANCA TROFIN, LECT. DR. MARIA-CRISTINA MUNTEANU-
BNTEANU, UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA BUCURESTI, FILS - DCLM

11
STRATEGIES DE CONSTRUCTION NARRATIVE DES FIGURES DU POUVOIR ........357
ROXANA ANCA TROFIN, DCLM FILS - UPB

PRATIQUES CULTURELLES ET ALTRIT DANS LES RCITS DE VOYAGE DE

MAXIME DU CAMP.............................................................................................................. 361
LECTOR UNIV. DR. TUDOR DIANA LIGIA, UNIVERSITATEA DIMITRIE CANTEMIR,
BUCURESTI

LE VOYAGE COMME RENCONTRE DE LAUTRE CHEZ LCRIVAIN MAXIME

DU CAMP ............................................................................................................................... 367
LECTOR UNIV. DR. TUDOR DIANA LIGIA, UNIVERSITATEA DIMITRIE CANTEMIR,
BUCURESTI

INFINITIVAL PERIPHRASTIC CAUSATIVES IN OLD ROMANIAN ........................ 373

CONF. DR. USURELU CAMELIA, CONF. DR. TNASE-DOGARU MIHAELA,
UNIVERSITATEA DIN BUCURESTI

ACADEMIC DISCUSSIONS AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN AN

INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT IN JAPAN ............................................................ 381
SIMONA VASILACHE, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SYSTEMS AND INF. ENGINEERING,
UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA, JAPAN

PUZZLING RESULTS FROM EXPERIMENTAL DATA ANALYZING THE NPIS

VREUN .................................................................................................................................... 387
MIHAELA ZAMFIRESCU, ASISTENT, UNIVERSITATEA DIN BUCURESTI

POETICA REALISMULUI N INCIPITUL ROMANULUI ION .................................... 395

ZANET RODICA MIHAELA, PROF. GR. I, COLEGIUL TEHNIC RADU NEGRU, GALATI

12
KEYNOTE SPEECHES
 OPENING SPEECH THE NINTH INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE OF DCLM FILS 2015

Prof Adrian VOLCEANOV, PhD

Dean of FILS - UPB

Distinguished guests to the international conference LANGUAGE,

CULTURE, CIVILIZATION, organized by the DEPARTMENT OF
COMMUNICATION IN MODERN LANGUAGES under the aegis of the
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES,

It gives me particular pleasure to be here together with you in this hall, formally
declaring open the conference that has become traditional for our faculty and
university!

I feel particularly honored to participate in the opening session and I take this
opportunity to bring you the greetings of the FILS faculty management!

We all expect with great interest the presentations included in the program and
we feel confident that the participants will have the opportunity to turn these
presentations on topics apparently so different into new manners of generating
investigation areas.

After all, this is precisely the role of such a scientific event to give researchers
a voice in an open arena of debate, meant to create stimulating challenges in
order to get valuable results. And this is exactly what we all hope to achieve by
organizing such a conference within the generous framework of a technical
university open to humanism and humanities, namely to fully benefit from the
exchanges of ideas and the professional experience at high level in all these
fields of scientific endeavor.

This event will demonstrate, I am quite positive about it, that your department
has a great teaching staff, that has become more and more visible, not only in
Romania, but also abroad, by the participations in scientific reunions and
international projects.

In support of this, we could mention, only for the recent period, the good
organization of the Course of Romanian for Foreign Students or the participation

15
of our FILS students with papers in two international conferences in Saratov
Russia. In the same vein, our collaboration with higher education organizations
and official representatives of countries such as Germany or France has been
equally fruitful.

Certainly, we have noticed the interest of the department in evolving

professionally in order to respond to the expectations in front of us. As can be
seen, a workshop focused on professional development has been included in
the conference agenda this year, whose role will be to ascertain where we are at
the moment and what vistas we should take in order to ensure a high quality
instructional process.

The ascending direction and the interest of the department teachers could
equally be seen from the high number of supervised students papers in the six
scientific sessions a fortnight ago, as well.

To conclude, I would like to thank you for the warm invitation addressed to me
and, implicitly to the FILS Council members, to attend the conference.

May you have a very successful event!

I will end by quoting Einsteins words: Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope
for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.

THANK YOU!

16
 PREZENTARE DAAD

DIETER MLLER, M.A. GERMANIA

DIRECTOR - CENTRUL DE INFORMARE DAAD BUCURESTI

La sesiunea plenara de deschidere a Conferintei internationale Limba, cultura,

civilizatie editia cu numarul 9, participantii au avut deosebita placere de a audia o
ampla prezentare, ce a avut si un puternic caracter interactiv, prin faptul ca invitatul, Dl
Dieter Mller, M.A. Director al Centrului de informare DAAD Bucuresti, a raspuns cu
deosebita amabilitate numeroaselor intrebari suscitate de prezentarea domniei sale.

Avand in vedere contextul academic de desfasurare a conferintei, cu participanti din

Romania din diverse centre universitare, dar si din alte tari, aceasta prezentare s-a
referit la rolul si obiectivele DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst),
focalizandu-se in mod deosebit asupra posibilitatilor oferite tinerilor de a studia la
universitati din Germania.

Un prim tronson al informarii a fost reprezentat de contextualizarea, cu date precise, a

activitatii DAAD, ce indeplineste, intre altele, functii de informare, consiliere, suport si
finantare pentru tinerii doritori sa urmeze o cariera universitara in Germania. Astfel,
pentru a indeplini aceste roluri multiple, s-au furnizat cateva date esentiale, de
exemplu:
- un buget anual de cca. 430 milioane Euro la nivelul anului 2013;
- sprijinirea unui numar de peste 119.000 bursieri in 2013;
- reprezentare printr-un numar de peste 60 de birouri in intreaga lume, avand
peste 480 de lectori care lucreaza in 105 tari.

Cat despre Romania, vorbitorul s-a referit in alocutiunea sa la faptul ca un numar de 11

cadre didactice se afla in prezent in tara noastra, iar bugetul alocat, la nivelul anului
2014, a reprezentat cca. 3 milioane Euro.

Referindu-se apoi la avantajele ce pot fi enumerate, care reies din faptul de a studia, cu
sprijinul DAAD, in Germania, dl Director Dieter Mller a prezentat o serie de
convingatoare argumente in acest sens, care au inclus, printre alte aspecte, si
urmatoarele:
- Germania este pe locul 4 in topul destinatiilor studentilor romani, existand un
numar de aproximativ 3.500 de studenti din Romania care studiaza in aceasta
tara, deschisa pentru a primi la studiu straini (cu un total de cca. 280.000 de
studenti straini in prezent definitivandu-si studiile superioare in Germania);

17
 - aceasta atractivitate se sprijina pe fapte solide si date statistice extrem de
convingatoare, astfel: o oferta de studiu variata (in peste 390 de universitati si in
cadrul a peste 16.000 de programe la nivel licenta si master), calitate ridicata a
actului didactic si a mediului de cercetare stiintifica (existand peste 250.000 de
cadre didactice si cercetatori), o buna coordonare si organizare cu costuri reduse,
reliefandu-se numeroasele legaturi si parteneriate internationale de nivel inalt,
precum si posibilitatea de a studia in limba germana si de asemenea in limba
engleza;
- diversitatea universitatilor in care sunt disponibile locuri pentru studenti straini,
inclusiv din Romania: universitati cu profil tehnic sau de stiinte aplicate,
universitati de stat si private, institutii de invatamant superior de arta, muzica
s.a.;
- conditiile in care este conceput curriculumul, ce combina aspectele teoretice si
stiintifice cu aplicabilitatea lor practica, intr-un evantai larg de specializari la
toate nivelele: licenta, masterat, doctorat;
- posibilitati de obtinere a unor specializari multiple, indeosebi in domeniile:
inginerie, economie, design si stiinte sociale;
- calitatea inalta a nivelului cercetarii stiintifice, ce sta la baza succesului economic
deosebit al tarii un exemplu oferit fiind faptul ca numai Universitatea din
Gttingen a dat lumii 42 de laureati ai prestigiosului premiu Nobel.

Studentilor straini care aleg sa studieze in Germania le sunt puse la dispozitie

numeroase moduri de a petrece in mod placut si util timpul liber, in activitati extra
curriculare de tip sportiv sau artistic, deoarece exista o puternica viata culturala, ce se
desfasoara in peste 350 de teatre si mai mult de 120 de sali de opera, dar si peste 4.000
de muzee. Iubitorii de lectura pot alege dintr-un numar mare de oferte (cca. 18% din
aparitiile anuale de publicatii de carte sunt in Germania), iar numarul de pagini web
este de cca. 7,7% din totalul existent in lume.

In finalul prezentarii sale, vorbitorul s-a referit la caile si conditiile ce pot fi urmate
pentru a aplica si deveni student in Germania, la facilitatile existente de tip burse,
oferind cu deosebita amabilitate si link-uri de sprijin, dintre care cele mai importante - si
desigur utile celor ce doresc sa aplice - sunt urmatoarele:
- www.study-in.de o baz de date cu toate programele de studiu acreditate;
- www.uni-assist.de - pentru aplicatii prin uni-assist (un singur dosar pentru
mai multe universiti);
- www.hochschulstart.de - Hochschulstart pentru locuri limitate la nivel local i
naional;
- www.funding-guide.de pentru posibilitati de sprijin financiar;
- www.daad.ro si www.facebook.com/daadromania - Biroul DAAD Romania;
- www.daad.de

18
Discutiile, cu intrebari din partea asistentei si raspunsuri utile si detaliate din partea
dlui Dieter Mller, M.A. Director al Centrului de informare DAAD Bucuresti, au
continuat indelung si dupa incheierea prezentarii, in timpul pauzei, astfel incat putem
conchide cu deplina justificare ca prezenta invitatului keynote, precum si modul in care
au fost aduse la cunostinta informatiile din cadrul prezentarii sale, au fost considerate
extreme de interesante de catre cadrele didactice si cercetatorii prezenti, care au aratat
ca vor disemina datele astfel obtinute catre studentii din centrele universitare pe care le
reprezinta, subliniind necesitatea organizarii unor astfel de prezentari, care au rolul de a
apropia si crea punti intre universitati si manageri de universitati, profesori si
cercetatori, dar si studenti, adica intre toti actorii importanti ai mediului academic.

19
 DEZVOLTARE PROFESIONALA COLABORATIVA (DPC)

Conf univ dr YOLANDA-MIRELA CATELLY

DIRECTOR DCLM FILS - UPB

1. Introducere

Voi incepe prin a imi exprima speranta ca astazi sa aveti posibilitatea de a va

imbogati profesional si personal in arena de dezbateri pe care ne-o si v-o propunem,
sau, dupa cum concis am regasit exprimata aceasta idee de catre romanciera americana
contemporana Monica Drake in cea mai cunoscuta lucrare a sa, Clown Girl, sa intelegem
o data in plus ca: singura valoare a timpului irosit este cunoasterea.

Pentru ca ne aflam la cea de a noua conferinta, am dorit nu numai sa continuam

traditia deja stabilita ci, pentru a face un mic joc de cuvinte, sa avem ceva nou, sa
aducem programului nostru o innoire care s-a concretizat in introducerea
workshopului DEZVOLTARE PROFESIONALA COLABORATIVA (DPC) in cadrul
conferintei.

Dorim sa prezentam doar cateva repere necesare si sa asezam proiectul DPC, care este in
plina desfasurare, intr-un context-cadru care sa ofere un suport explicativ de ordin general, nu
vom insista asupra foarte multor detalii, ci va vom invita sa va alaturati noua, cadrelor didactice
din DCLM, care suntem chiar in miezul evolutiei sale.

Finalul etapei actuale va avea loc tot astazi, in cadrul workshopului de dupa-amiaza, dar
de fapt si acela se va continua prin lucrarile elaborate de participanti si care vor fi publicate in
volumul conferintei iar apoi, deoarece mersul unui asemenea tip de activitate este o spirala
evolutiva, in care fiecare participa cu sugestii ce ne imbogatesc personal si profesional pe toti,
ideile emergente ar trebui sa se transforme in planuri de actiune viitoare.

Este posibil ca intre aceste idei sa se afle: propuneri de cursuri si manuale noi poate
mai bine adaptate la contemporaneitatea imediata care isi spune cuvantul in profilul
studentului politehnist al anilor 2015-2020, noi tipuri de colaborare in alcatuirea de forme de
evaluare adecvate - si altele asemenea.
Evident, finalitatea proiectului este dubla, iar cele doua obiective sunt strans corelate:
1- pe de o parte, la nivelul participantilor, profesori din departamentul nostru, in calitate
de facilitator, imi place sa cred ca fiecare va identifica, prin reflectie individuala si
discutii colegiale inspirate de dorinta de progres, caile si prioritatile proprii de
dezvoltare;

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 2- totodata insa, agenda ascunsa si scopul cel putin egal ca semnificatie, include si dorinta
de a veni, prin calitatea inalta a actului didactic, in sprijinul partenerului nostru
permanent STUDENTUL.

Este util, insa, sa precizam dintru inceput, ca am fost - si suntem - constienti cu totii ca
ne confruntam cu o serie de riscuri si limitari multe vor fi mentionate in workshop.

Pe unele nu le-am putut surmonta in vartejul activitatilor zilnice, numeroase, ale

tuturora, la clasa, dar ne bucura faptul ca putem astazi sa venim aici si sa procedam conform
unui verb din limba engleza pe care, ca profesoara, permiteti-mi sa il si folosesc: to take stock,
dar si sa ii dau o explicatie, tot in limba engleza, din dictionarul wordweb: To look at, critically or
searchingly, or in detail asadar in cele ce urmeaza voi schita:
1- motivatia initierii proiectului DPC si analiza sa de nevoi
2- avantajele potentiale si limitarile inerente in organizarea proiectului
3- etapizarea, participantii, instrumentele de lucru si modalitatile de utilizare a acestora
4- rolul si asteptarile de la workshopul din cadrul conferintei
5- deschideri viitoare scontate.

2. Motivatia initierii proiectului DPC si analiza de nevoi

In februarie 2014, Wynn Godbold publica o carte intitulata How to Be a Great Teacher:
Create the Flow of Joy and Success in Your Classroom, in care autoarea afirma: Un profesor bun este
asemanator cu o lumanare. Se consuma pe sine insusi pentru a lumina calea pentru ceilalti. Insa,
sustine Godbold, este posibil ca fiecare profesor sa invete cum sa sufle in acea lumanare si sa se
transforme conform unei paradigme noi, diferite, comparabile cu o fantana. Citatul pe care il
reproduc aici ne va folosi ca reper de pornire in initierea proiectului DPC iata-l: Un Profesor
Grozav (Great!) este asemanator cu o fantana; isi extrage seva din apele linistite dar adanci ale dezvoltarii
personale si cunoasterii profesionale tocmai pentru a oferi si altora din izvorul sau abundent.

Probabil ca in fiecare dintre noi exista o asemenea aspiratie iar proiectul nostru
intentioneaza asadar sa faciliteze intalniri intre profesori care isi doresc sa devina grozavi si sa
ofere studentilor ceva din abundenta izvoarelor noastre!

Daca intreprindem o sectiune transversala in profilul DCLM din punct de vedere al

trasaturilor cadrelor didactice, vom putea distinge cateva elemente care au contat la analiza de
nevoi:
- existenta unei diferente intre generatiile mai vechi si mai noi (acestea din urma fiind si
cel mai bine reprezentate numeric) din punct de vedere al expunerii anterioare la
traininguri profesionale de durata, cu exceptia celor din programele doctorale, care nu
intotdeauna se suprapun total cu zona de interes imediat din punct de vedere al practicii
curente departamentale
- corelat, necesitatea de a crea oportunitati de pregatire profesionala de tip neinvaziv, fara
consecinte oficiale in evaluarea cadrului didactic, tocmai in scopul asigurarii unui
anume confort al participarii la proiect intr-un cadru de tip mai degraba semi-formal si
nicidecum impus - ca optiuni ale fiecarei echipe de lucru

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 - necesitatea de subtile reglari de ordin metodologic, vizand pe de o parte standardizarea
in esenta, dar permitand si incurajand explorari personale si innoiri, in mod flexibil, pe
diverse directii de cercetare stiintifica de interes pentru fiecare dintre colegi, ca de pilda:
utilizarea mijloacelor IT, aspecte de psihopedagogie, autonomizarea studentului,
confluentele dintre culturi etc.
- startul firesc, plecandu-se de la un proiect de dimensiuni temporale si de efort relativ
reduse, avand si un rol de tatonare a deschiderii participantilor spre asemenea
intreprinderi, cu posibile continuari si/sau deplasari pe paradigme de actiune pe termen
mai lung, dupa caz, care sa includa efort de cercetare stiintifica si design de cursuri si
manuale, dar si peer teaching pentru omogenizarea metodologica atat de mult dorita
intr-o universitate cu 15 facultati, atatea cate are UPB in prezent.

In mod evident, daca macar o parte din aceste directii se substantializeaza in urma
proiectului, putem spera ca implicit se va produce o crestere a calitatii si eficientei actului
instructional oferit de DCLM, masurabile in angajabilitatea imediata a absolventilor nostri, intr-
o lume globalizata si aflata la dimensiuni mai ample, si in dinamici temporale mai rapide, decat
o prevedea mcluhanismul satului global. Iar pe termen lung, oferta, competitivitatea si
potentialul propriu de a ne modela abordarile didactice se pot amplifica, dincolo de nivelul
individual, la acela de grup.

3. Avantajele potentiale si limitarile inerente in organizarea DPC

Daca vorbim de beneficiile pe care DPC le poate aduce fiecarui participant, sa o facem
plasandu-le pe un continuum imaginar, avand la cele doua extreme: pe de o parte - elementul
subtil, ideal, al implinirii proprii, iar pe de cealalta parte aspecte poate mai prozaice, dar cat de
importante intr-o lume universitara aflata - nu numai in Statele Unite - sub semnul autoritar al
sentintei: Publish or perish!

Astfel, proiectul poate contribui la dezvoltarea profesionala a participantilor intr-o

modalitate lipsita de constrangeri de orice fel, in care optiunile de lucru se decid de comun
acord intre membrii fiecarei perechi in ceea ce priveste: clasa observata, tema predata, aspectele
accentuate, zonele de focalizare a discutiilor post-observatie.

Poate ar fi oportun sa amintim in acest context ca asemenea activitati se fac peste tot in
lume in sistemul educational, la orice nivel, fie in mod strict, chiar rigid evaluativ, fie ca o
componenta a activitatii specifice firesc unui profesor aflat permanent in cautare de a formula
intrebari si a identifica posibile raspunsuri cu scop ameliorativ si/sau optimizator. In consecinta,
DPC poate fi vazut si prin prisma sansei oferite de acomodarea cu eventuale activitati similare
impuse de sistem in viitor.

De asemenea, se deschide calea unei activitati de durata pentru cei interesati sa utilizeze
modalitatea numita observatie reciproca la clasa, valorificand valentele actiunii colaborative.

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 In plan imediat si concret, acest efort se poate include intre criteriile de evaluare si
totodata reprezinta punctul de pornire a cel putin unei lucrari elaborate in regim de co-autoriat
element nu de neglijat in aprecierea capacitatilor fiecarui cadru didactic de a evolua si
comunica bine in echipa. Putem de asemenea de ce nu?! - sa regasim in DPC germenii unor
dezvoltari ulterioare, care sa constituie nucleul tare al unor propuneri de proiecte internationale
in parteneriat, pe coordonate sugerate de acest prim demers.

Cat despre unele limitari de care am fost constienti dintru inceput sau care au aparut si
mai pot aparea inca iata-le listate intr-o imposibil de prioritizat ordine :
- cadrul strict de timp si incarcarea foarte mare a normelor didactice in DCLM
- elementul de noutate al propunerii
- surpriza descoperirii lipsei afinitatilor si/sau compatibilitatii necesare unei bune
realizari a lucrului in echipa
- directiile proprii de cercetare stiintifica, insumand investitii anterioare de timp si efort
- propunerea unei forme de crestere profesionale, si chiar personale, prin reflectie
asumata si actiune rezultata, dificil de concretizat intr-o lucrare stiintifica, mai ales in co-
autoriat
- concentrarea pe didactica de tip limba moderna pentru domenii specializate, care este
campul predilect necesar in contextul nostru educational in cadrul UPB
- etc. si cine stie cate alte asemenea limite si/sau riscuri dificil de controlat, prevazut,
contracarat sunt cuprinse in acolada lui et caetera.

Suntem deja in etapa mediana a proiectului si pana in prezent nu s-au inregistrat accente
foarte dure ale punctelor critice si de risc, ceea ce ne incurajeaza sa credem ca fiecare participant
este situat undeva mai aproape - sau poate inca nu foarte aproape, dar se indreapta intr-acolo pe
calea internalizarii aspectelor pozitive ce pot interesa, cum ar fi intrebari de tipul:
- Predam cum ar trebui sa predam?!
- Predam ce ar trebui sa predam?!
- Pot incerca si eu ceea ce am vazut practicandu-se la colegul meu?!
- Oare nu gresesc si eu in acelasi fel in care o face, poate, colegul meu observat la clasa?!
- Ce prioritati ar trebui sa-mi stabilesc pentru a ma schimba in mai bine?!
Sa ne dorim ca recurenta unor asemenea intrebari sa ne conduca treptat la identificarea,
pe cai proprii, a raspunsurilor corecte.

4. Etapizarea, participantii, instrumentele de lucru si modalitatile de utilizare a acestora

Iata cadrul concret de organizare a proiectului etapizat:

- demarajul are loc la mijlocul lunii februarie 2015, prin analiza de nevoi si schitarea
desfasuratorului de etape;
- inceput de martie elaborarea instrumentelor de lucru, constand din: (i) FISA DE
ASISTENTA RECIPROCA LA CLASA, si (ii) FISA DE DISCUTII SI FEEDBACK POST-
ASISTENTA LA CLASA si prezentarea lor in sedinta departamentala acestea sunt

23
 vazute doar ca un cadru orientativ, participantii avand in mod explicit posibilitatea de a
se focusa doar pe unele aspecte sau de a amenda fisele propuse;
- martie-aprilie perioada in care au loc observatiile reciproce la clasa la fiecare pereche
constituita (doua sedinte per participant);
- pana la sfarsitul lunii mai concretizarea notelor post-observatii in proiecte de
prezentari in cadrul workshopului DPC de la conferinta de azi si nucleu al viitoarei
lucrari in co-autoriat incluse in sectiunea dedicata din volumul LCC9;
- 29 mai - prezentarea concluziilor privind participarea la proiect in cadrul workshopului
ca masa rotunda deschisa tuturor participantilor;
- final de septembrie redactarea lucrarii in co-autoriat pentru volumul LCC9.

Cadrul principial de stabilire a perechilor de lucru a avut in vedere prioritar doua

directii (in masura posibilitatilor reale oferite de programul participantilor si luand in
considerare si alti factori de natura obiectiva sau subiectiva):
(i) coincidenta de limba moderna predata de cei doi participanti dintr-o pereche si, respectiv,
(ii) profilul la care cei doi profesori predau s-a vizat ca acesta sa coincida sau sa fie cat mai
apropiat.

In alcatuirea perechilor, nu s-a luat in consideratie faptul ca participantii sa aiba

neaparat aceiasi pozitie in ierarhia universitara, existand diferite combinatii din acest punct de
vedere tocmai in scopul asigurarii unui schimb de experienta cat mai fructuos.

Caracterul neinvaziv al proiectului reiese din urmatoarele aspecte comunicate de

facilitator participantilor:
- perechile de lucru decid de comun acord datele si grupele la care se desfasoara
observatia la clasa;
- participantii pot adapta/modifica instrumentele de lucru (cele doua fise) in
conformitate cu obiectivele si nevoile proprii dar este recomandabil ca aceste modificari
si ratiunea pentru care au fost facute sa fie precizate in feedback/lucrare;
- la finalul celor patru sesiuni de observatie, se vor discuta problemele ce vor constitui
obiectul comunicarilor la workshop / ce vor fi incluse in lucrarea pentru LCC9 se pot
viza anumite aspecte metodologice etc. sau intreaga participare, optiunea apartinand
celor doua cadre didactice respective.

Ca o observatie: aceiasi modalitate de lucru orientativa s-a preferat si pentru organizarea

workshopului, sugerandu-se ca acesta sa includa doua etape:
1) O runda de prezentari semi-formale, libere, realizate de unul sau de cei doi participanti la
observatia la clasa in fiecare pereche (la latitudinea fiecarei echipe, dar recomandabil sa se
stabileasca acest lucru dinainte), cu focus pe urmatoarele aspecte: CE SEMINAR/CURS S-A
OBSERVAT; CONTINUTUL DISCUTIILOR POST-OBSERVATIE IN ESENTA,
COMENTARII SI ALTE IDEI REIESITE DIN INTREAGA ACTIVITATE
DESFASURATA LA NIVEL pesonal/departamental.

24
 2) Discutii asupra celor prezentate colectarea tuturor ideilor importante pentru
stabilirea liniilor de actiune viitoare.

Pe de alta parte insa, in scopul obtinerii unui bun control asupra variabilelor aleatorii
posibil sa survina, au fost recomandate insistent urmatoarele componente:
- observatiile la clasa sa se desfasoare in 2 etape: prima observatie la clasa - persoana A
la persoana B si reciproc; apoi a 2-a etapa persoana B la persoana A si reciproc;
- imediat dupa fiecare asistenta se va desfasura sesiunea de completare a Fisei de discutii
post-observatie;
- S-au emis via email cateva recomandari (v. Tabel 1)

Tabel 1. RECOMANDARI DE ORDIN GENERAL

PENTRU BUNA DESFASURARE A OBSERVATIILOR SI DISCUTIILOR

RECOMANDABIL SA: NU ESTE RECOMANDABIL

SA:
- se pastreze caracterul de confidentialitate al - se intervina in ora in timpul
observatiilor la clasa si al discutiilor strict intre cei doi desfasurarii seminarului de catre
colegi participanti desigur pana la elaborarea si prezentarea profesorul care observa IN
concluziilor in lucrarea de finalizare a trainingului la NICIUN FEL
workshopul dedicat de la conferinta LCC9
- se pastreze stilul si modalitatile de - se aleaga un subiect diferit de
predare/invatare/evaluare obisnuite/caracteristice cel care ar fi programat in mod
fiecaruia, evitandu-se crearea de mari diferente fata de normal pentru respectiva ora
stilul obisnuit al seminarului/cursului
- se anunte studentii referitor la motivele pentru care sunt - se faca referiri in discutiile de
observati la clasa si anume: desfasurarea unui proiect de dupa observatia la clasa doar la
cercetare stiintifica, prin observatie la clasa, in vederea aspectele pozitive sau doar la
optimizarii calitatii actului instructional cele nu neaparat percepute drept
pozitive
- se respecte strict datele convenite reciproc pentru - se reduca discutia dintre
observatiile la clasa, evitandu-se total intrarea la clasa fara participanti doar la o critica, fie si
anunt prealabil constructiva se asteapta avansarea
de sugestii/alternative/propuneri
profund justificate din punct de
vedere pedagogic pentru contextul
observat
- se porneasca in discutiile ulterioare observatiei de la - ... ... ...
aspectele pozitive, apoi sa se treaca la clarificari, daca este
cazul, prin intrebari si raspunsuri de tip discutie
constructiva, la aspectele care trebuie clarificate, evitandu-
se crearea unei stari de insatisfactie/reticenta etc. a
participantilor
- se noteze, pe scurt insa imediat dupa observatie,
aspectele principale mentionate in discutii, urmand a se
reveni la ele, dupa caz, in etapele urmatoare ale
proiectului

25
 - S-a inclus si recomandarea ca: in timpul desfasurarii sedintelor de observatie la clasa sa se
noteze orice alta posibila recomandare de ordin general ce se considera ca ar fi utila pentru
trainingurile urmatoare si sa fie transmisa pentru a o inlude in lista de recomandari.

Un comentariu de culise se impune aici: desi nu s-au stabilit reguli foarte stricte, dupa
cum s-a aratat, experienta proprie ne indeamna sa credem, in urma discutiilor din pauze si
altele asemenea, ca lucrurile se pare ca s-au desfasurat fara asperitati sau nemultumiri de vreun
fel.
Instrumentele utilizate la observatiile la clasa au fost (v. Tabel 2 si 3):

Tabel 2. FISA DE OBSERVATIE LA CLASA

REPERE SESIUNE Prof observator: ....

DE OBSERVATIE Prof observat: .....
Facult/nivel/an/grup
a: ........
Data/sala: ............
NOTE OBSERV. LA CLASA
Se pot include una sau mai multe din urmatoarele:
- tema seminar
- obiective didactice
- materiale didact
- metode didact
- management clasa
- atmosfera clasa
- participare studenti
- management didactic ora
- desfasurare seminar in general
- forme de interactiune utilizate & justificarea lor
- etc.
Se va putea utiliza si verso-ul paginii pentru note. O copie va ramane fiecaruia din cei doi
participanti.

Tabel 3. FISA DE DISCUTII POST-OBSERVATIE

REPERE SESIUNE DE OBSERVATIE Prof observator: ....

Prof observat: .....
Facult/nivel/an/grup
a: ........
Data/sala: ............
TEMATICI DISCUTII POST-OBSERVATIE:
Se vor mentiona: aspectele observate asupra carora s-a revenit in discutii
notandu-se sintetic ideile principale, sugestiile, intrebarile, clarificarile etc. -
reiesite din discutia post-observatie.
Se va putea utiliza si verso-ul paginii pentru note. O copie va ramane fiecaruia din cei doi
participanti.

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5. Rolul si asteptarile de la workshopul din cadrul conferintei

Va marturisesc cu sinceritate ca astept cu nerabdare momentul workshopului de astazi,

cu speranta ca fiecare dintre participanti va aduce in discutie atat aspecte care le-au produs
placere sau entuziasm, dar si frustrare sau blocaje, le-au suscitat temeri sau le-au ridicat
intrebari la care urmeaza sa gaseasca raspuns, singuri sau impreuna, acceptand provocarea,
reflectand, discutand si deci impartasind (sharing) cu ceilalti toate aceste etape, adica
asumandu-ne riscuri si invatand, poate, cate ceva.

Noi ne putem crea singuri mediul propice unui schimb de idei realist si util, din care sa
reiasa macar cateva din urmatoarele:
- arealele de cercetare vizate pentru viitor
- zonele pentru care este nevoie de training specializat
- ce materiale si suport metodologic sa adoptam/pastram/adaptam/innoim/generalizam
pe termen scurt si mediu
- ce putem face in acest sens fiecare dintre noi individual, dar si in grup.

6. Deschideri viitoare scontate

Sunt trei nivele importante la care ma voi referi:

- Individual sa adoptam cu luciditate, optimism si modestie fiecare dintre noi
palaria de dascal care accepta sa faca efort si sa reflecteze permanent, iar apoi sa aplice
si experimenteze ideile proprii in scop ameliorativ, reusind sa se dezvolte uman si
profesional;
- Grup departamental sa comunicam constructiv si deschis, sa invatam sa lucram
impreuna si sa oferim astfel o paleta corespunzatoare de materiale, sa marim unghiul de
deschidere la nou printr-o mentalitate de profesori-cercetatori receptivi si flexibili;
- Pentru partenerul nostru, studentul sa il inarmam cu munitia abilitatilor
lingvistice si de comunicare ce il pot face competitiv pe o piata a muncii atat de dura.

Poate nu vom gasi repede multe raspunsuri, poate ne vom mai bloca si vom incerca sa
iesim la lumina cumva este sigur insa ca vom fi inceput o lucrare indreptata spre progres. Si,
folosind cuvintele prim-ministrului britanic Tony Blair: Progresul uman nu a fost niciodata
modelat de cei care doar comenteaza, se plang sau de cinici.

In final, o tema de gandire intr-o tusa mai relaxata: v-as ruga sa luati acronimul
Dezvoltarii Profesionale Colaborative - DPC si sa incercati sa gasiti si alte variante pentru el le
vom dezbate in cadrul workshopului!

Ramanand in nota de optimism prudent a intregii mele prezentari, eu va propun

varianta: Drum Pietros in Constructie !

27
LUCRRI PREZENTATE
N CONFERIN
 TERMS VS. COLLOQUIAL WORDS

Associate Prof. PhD Cristina Athu

Faculty of International Business and Economics
Dimitrie Cantemir" Christian University, Bucharest

Terms are the elements of a specialized language or terminologies, representing

knowledge in a particular field and as units of knowledge with a stable meaning they are more
independent versus context than the usual words1. Typically, the words of general vocabulary,
having many meanings in various fields are differently understood according to the specific
context. They are therefore somewhat addicted to the contexts in which they are located.
However, the terms, being systematically organised, lexical units belonging to a specialty field,
are interpreted in accordance to various styles and functional aspects. Thus, the fact that the
terms are monosemic makes them more independent of context.
1. Signifier vs. signified
In comparison with Saussures research on the linguistic sign as made up of two entities:
signified and signifier, the term can be classified in the same way, sound and sense, i.e., the
name and notion. The name (denomination) coincides with "the signified", both referring to
the acoustic form, and "the notion" concurs with "the signifier, in that it addresses the
meaning. There are, however, differences between "name" and the "signified" and "the name"
of a term is used in a specialized field in order to denote the concepts more systematically,
from an onomasiological point of view, and "the signified" is the sound of a word used in
general fields. "Notion" is a term meaning that fits into a conceptual system being related to
other concepts of the same field, while "the signifier" is the meaning of an object or concept.
This comparison belongs to the cognitive level. Sometimes the term and word do not
exist as separate entities in a language lexicon; when they are used contexts of special
communications, then the code (= communication tool) is interpreted as a term that is more
abstract and provides accuracy in the transfer of information.
It can be said that through lexical units, which are clearly delineated against the
benchmark, the concepts can be expressed without ambiguity. Hence the terms are
imperatively used for an accurate expression in certain fields, such as the specialty language of
chemistry. In other words, in the reverse direction, in order to have an appropriate designation
that acts systematically, the concepts must be clearly delineated and must be without
overlapping spheres of conceptual domain. Unlike the term, the meaning of a word contains
overlapping areas between concepts, as there are many words for a reference and its has a
richer expressiveness.
This does not mean that a concept may have only one term since a single concept may
have multiple representations in different communicative situations, required by different
linguistic signs. Hence in specialized languages, terms are found in various linguistic contexts
1
A.Bidu-Vrnceanu, C.Clrau, L.Ionescu-Ruxndoiu, M.Manca, G.Pan-Dindelegan, 1997, p.505

31
 with a wide range of meanings To differentiate the meaning of the terms, they can be classified
according to their specialty fields where there is a differentiated definition.
Grammatical, lexical and phonetical changes may generally occur in every language and
the grammatical and phonetical modification derives from the social and regional variety, a
branch studied by sociolinguistics. The terminologists pay little attention to this aspect as they
study the lexical variety as an obvious fact in specialized languages and the linguistic system
of the speaker whose speech is focused on a specific domain.2
The term and the word belong to different lexical categories, but they are used for the
same purpose, for example the exchange of information, understanding, deliberate
communication etc. Both lexical categories are used as a communication tool, but they have
differnt meanings regarding their communication goal. General communication uses words as
they enable easy access and rich expressiveness whereas special communication must use
terms which allow perfect accuracy of communication and high lexical productivity.
2. The semantic aspects
The semantic changes relate both to the relationships between the primary meaning and
figurative ones ( denotation vs. connotations) and the changes in communication intention .3
The use in various words associations leverages one of word meanings, exploiting some of the
contents and referring to the speaker's intention.
The identification of a particular meaning is contextual whenever a polysemic word is
used, the selection being determined by the semantics of the words it is associated with in
communication or by relating it to the object. In relation to the dictionary data, the way we
semantically use the word is determined by contextual and stylistic conditions of use.
Due to the development of polysemy, the preferential polysemic terms lose their accuracy,
adding more figurative meanings and thherefore they entail the occurence of semantically
ambiguous situations. At the same time, the conotative meanings of terms may may
strengthen their everlastingness in language, enabling their movement towards other areas
or to the colloquial language.
In many works, the meaning is regarded as a reflection of the general and the particular
traits that belong to a class of objects or phenomena, etc., based on a notion. So any lexical unit
representing a notion considers the object denoted by the respective word and comprises the
common characteristics of specimens in that class.
Most of the linguists consider the meaning as a relationship on many levels:
a) Semantically: as a reversible mutual relationship as between a word and and the named
object, the meaning highlighting the features of a whole class of an object. St. Ullmann
defines the meaning as a mutual, reversible relationship between the word and the denoted
object .4 definete sensul ca o relaie reciproc, reversibil ntre cuvnt i obiectul denumit.
b) Systemically: taking into account the relationship between the words of a language, the
meaning is constituted by opposing the individual characteristics to the general ones. I.
Coteanu, considering language as a system, believes that "every word means something in
relation to something else, primarily with the denoted object or phenomenon and secondly
with other words and notions." (1986, p. 184)

2
J.C.Sager,1990, p.18
3
Vezi E.A.Nida, 2004, p. 76
4
St.Ullmann, 1962, p.56.

32
 The description of a word meaning is done according to semantic and contextual
differences related to the reality described, as well as to the opposit meaning of other words. A
word value is determined by its relations with the other analogous values without which there
could be no significance. Its content is really determined only if related to what exists beyond
it. "As part of a system, it mainly has a value besides the meaning." 5
c) Pragmatically, the word is considered as a link between the individual and the
reviewer. From a philosophical perspective, A. Schaff describes the meaning as a social-human
relationship, hence the individuals communication and practical work are not possible without
the sense that an awareness.
3. Denotative meaning vs. connotative meaning
The meanings of the words differ by the special features of the denoted objects as well as
by situational combinations in communication.
The denotative meaning is defined according to the extralinguistic conditions, taking
into account the characteristics of a class of objects, the way they are perceived by the speakers.
Denotation represents a word conceptual meaning and brings together non-biased semantical
elements, analysed out of context, while connotation is defined regarding the relationship
between the sign and some qualities of the object and the speaker's intentions.
The denotative meaning is different from the conotative one/ones or secondary one/
ones in a given context, hence its worth mentioning its importance (implicit and explicit) in the
analysis of a word meanings. Contextual interpretation of the meaning is relevant because a
term can be used in different utterances in which the speaker assigns additional meanings. It is
imperative to know the descriptive meaning of words in the paradigmatic relations of a
language to analyse the real meanings of the linguistic discourse.
I.Coteanu considers the connotation and denotation as values of the sign which rely on
different relations: "denotation relies on the relationship between sign and object whereas
connotation relies on the relation between the sign and the object qualities perceived as its
traits.6 According to A.J.Greimas "the natural language is never purely denotative, it is multi-
levelled as the existence under the threat of constant metaphor is a normal condition, a human
life condition."7
In the colloquial language, lexical units may have one or more secondary meanings in
different contexts and in special languages, words typically have only a denotative meaning.
The possibility to develop connotative meanings makes the difference between the
common lexical units those in a specialized language. The latter ones, the terms, have only the
denotative meaning, representing a notion (preferably just one) particularly encountered in a
specialty field of activity.
The terms (the strictly specialized ones), although restrictively used in a particular field ,
can also be used in other languages or even in colloquial language. The scientific and technical
terms used both in special languages and the common language are defined in two ways: the
scientific definition and the common (usual) one .
As to the the words used in specialized languages, there are no significant contextual
differences from a semantic point of view because of the univocal and monoreferenial

5
F. de Saussure, 1998, p.129
6
I.Coteanu, 1973, p.35
7
A.J.Greimas, 1975, p.28

33
 meaning, the covered concept belonging to a system of notions. The terms have a specific
information that makes the specialized lexical units used in various areas of activity differ
from those of the common literary language. When is used outside the specialized field , the
term may not be understood or it may be assigned a different meaning.
Depending on the degree of specialization, some terms only work in the field that
launched them, while others broaden their scope of usage by moving into other languages or
even in colloquial vocabulary.
According to E.A.Nida, a term may be endowed with one or more meanings depending
on the number of domains where eventually various meanings fit. "This is certainly correlated
with distinct features of the meaning about which one can say that defines those domains and
subdomains." (2004, pp. 95-96)
The terms circulation depends on their accessibility and on the eventual semantical
extensions. In Romanian the scientific and technical terms frequently move to other languages
and even to the literary language and this process is enhanced by the accessible definitions in
the dictionaries as well as their increased occurrence.
The languages interference entails a generally rapid movement of the terms and
decreases the number of the highly semantically specialized ones. By semantic extension, the
may enter the other terminologies or even the common language.
4. The terminological unit
Linguistic signs study investigates units made up the as words, phrases, etc., together
with their meanings in "the natural language"; an ordinary language, which may be the native
language of a community, for example, Romanian language, Italian language, rather than one of
an artificial language like Esperanto.
Terminology has close connection with the study of signs taking into account that the
terminology is carried out through a linguistic form that establishes the connection between
objects and meanings of concepts.
In the late 19th century and 20th century, linguistics studied words as morphemes as the
smallest units of language with a determined (lexically or grammatically) meaning.
From the sociolinguistic point of view, the words and collocations which can be analysed,
are very important, semantically and semiotically. The terms included in the general language
lexicon are distinct as soon as they are used in special languages communication. The terms
have pragmatic aspects because they are used in special communication situations referring
to the real world objects. This fact makes the terms differ from words. The main peculiarity
that brings them closer to the general language lexicon is that the terms are used to describe
the concepts belonging to some special areas.
The terminological unit is a conventional symbol representing a defined concept within a
particular area, encompassing not only the terms but alsothe significant signs. The terms are
units with signs and meanings that belong to the linguistic system of a language where there
are few alternative sub-specific systems. These systems are not fully distinct sub-codes, given
that some parts of the systems are shared with others. Like the other significant linguistic
units of the system, the terms are part of a structural system at a certain level where they
connect to other units. The relations between the terminological units in the same area are
more closely connected than those between the other units.
The terminological units are signs which can be analysed from three points of view:
formally, semantically and functionally; formally- units with internal structure; semantically-

34
 units referring to objects in the real world, they have distinguished meanings related to
distinctive features; functionally- distributional units imposing certain linguistic proximity.8.
From a linguistic point of view, the terms are morphemes formed on morphological and
phonetic rules. Graphical form is an important element in terminology as its standardization
was achieved starting from this written form. In terminology, the form of a term is the
sequence of sounds or letters that represents the phonological form, in accordance with the
phonetic rules or the written language and with the spelling rules. The terms are phonetically
or morphologically like the colloquial words. A special characterisic is that terminology has
more Latin or Greek afixes than the general vocabulary.
In the language logic and philosophy, in the language ethnology, in sociolinguistics,
dialectology, etc., the lexical unit and the wordare still highly important.9.
The term can be separated into morphemes, smaller units with significance. In
terminology, the essential morpheme is the theme, as it can be a term as such. Considering the
form, terms are classified regarding the number of morphemes comprised in a term, a
compound, a combination of terms or other forms, such as initials, abbreviations, acronyms,
etc.
From the point of view of information, the concept of "coded unit" refers to both the word
and the "phraseological unit". Among the terminological units, the terms are basic components
of terminology. Terminological units often occur as words and coded combinations as noun
phrases. The term can be represented like a graphical figure , numerical expression etc., but,
especially like a word or phrase .
As regards the terminological phrase, distinction must be made between the free words
combinations achieved in the communication process (e.g. consumer goods) although the
phrases which exist in language as such are "recognized duet to the frequent use" and are felt
as distinct units, precisely because the composing elements have more or less fused (eg.
capital market).
From a broader point of view, "the standard texts" may be included in the scope of the
terminological units .10 The standard texts represent the large parts of texts occurring
repeatedly on special occasions. For example, the preamble of a contract is one of the standard
texts . The scope of "standard textbooks" stretches from the incomplete phrase up to phrases
and full pages.
The terms can be generally classified according to the function and meaning criteria.
Regarding the function, terms can be classified in various parts of speech: noun, verb,
adjective and adverb; the number of nouns is very high compared to that of adjectives or
adverbs.
The origin criterion classify terms as terms of origin and (OTs) and elaborated
terms (ETs); OTs are the ones introduced by the specialists in their field of activity
and the ETs are made by intermediaries." The difference between the specialist and the
intermediary is that the specialist in a certain field is engaged in the production of the
article, study, etc., and the intermediary is in charge with relaying the scientific or
technical information. Through this we can say that the OTs are made for the

8
M.T.Cabr, 1996, p.82
9
A.Rey, 1995, p.25
10
S.E.Wright, G.Budin, 1997, p.16

35
 specialists to denote the new concepts in special areas, and the ETs are introduced by
terminologists with the aim of expanding the use of new concepts through systematic
denotation. TEs are different from the neologisms because concept of neology is
diachronic and the neologisms are linked to the dynamism of the current evolving
languages , regardless the impression of apparent stability the speakers might
eventually sense 11.
From the semantic point of view, the proper name is an important part of terminological
unity, while the word is a linguistic sign that belongs to a natural language vocabulary having
an indivisible meaning and a certain use in the language to which it belongs, ' the name ' has a
different semantic function. Considering the distinction between the universal terms and
special terms, "the words" can be part of the universal terms category, and ' proper names ' can
fall within the special terms category. "Proper names and pronouns, as nominal groups that
identify a specified person or object must be regarded as being the most" substantial "or as
nouns", the most authentic nominal expressions of a language Proper names are "singular"
terms denoting an individual substance . Other words or nominal groups such as indefinite
common nouns and abstract nouns, as well as the verbs adjectives and adverbs are universal
terms; instead of denoting individual substances they denote either a class of individuals, or
qualities, , situations, actions etc. that may be associated with individual entities ".12A name
refers to a particular element of human experience, in its logical and philosophical sense.
Denotation is a name reference to reality. The semantics of the proper names is purely
referential and can be expressed through their extension.

References

- Bidu-Vrnceanu A.,Clrau C., Ionescu-Ruxndoiu L., Manca M., Pan-Dindelegan G. (1997),

Dicionar de tiine ale limbii, Ed.tiinific, Bucureti
- Cabre M. Teresa (1996), Terminology Today din Terminology, LSP and Translation editat de Harold
Somers, John Benjamins Publishing, Amsterdam/Philadelphia
- Coteanu Ion (1973), Stilistica funcional a limbii romne, Editura Academiei R.S.R., Bucureti
- Greimas A.J. (1975), Despre sens. Eseuri semiotice, Editura Univers, Bucureti
- Lyons John (1995), Introducere n lingvistica teoretic, Editura tiinific, Bucureti
- Nida A. Eugene (2004), Traducerea sensurilor, Institutul European, Iai
- Rey Alain (1995), Essays on Terminology tradus de Juan C. Sager, John Benjamins Publishing Company,
Amsterdam/Philadelphia,
- Sager C. Juan (1990), A pactical Course in Terminology Processing, John Benjamins Publishing,
Amsterdam/Phiiladelphia
- Saussure Ferdinand (1967), Cours de linguistique gnerale, Paris, Payot, traducerea integral, Curs de
lingvistic general (1998), Ferdinand de Saussure, Ed. Polirom, Iai
- Wright S.E., Budin G. (1997), Handbook of Terminology Management, Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John
Benjamins

11
Ibid, p.479-483
12
J.Lyons, 1995, p.379

36
TEORIA ATAAMENTULUI O PERSPECTIV N COMUNICARE

Confereniar Univ. Dr. Balgiu Beatrice Adriana

1. Originile teoriei ataamentului

Teoria ataamentului are originea n ncercarea de nelegere a modului n care

interaciunea printe copil afecteaz dezvoltarea personalitii. Ulterior, teoria a fost
aplicat la o varietate de relaii interpersonale de-a lungul vieii, inclusiv relaiile dintre
parteneri, prieteni i rude. Primul care teoretizeaz ideea ataamentului este John Bowlby
(1969, 1973) - medic, psihanalist i psiholog specializat n psihologia dezvoltrii.
Putem urmri viziunea autorului n trei prezumii generale:
oamenii au o propensiune nnscut pentru ataamentul cu alii. Acest lucru
dateaz din copilrie i continu toat viaa. Observaiile lui Bowlby asupra
copiilor instituionalizai l conduc la concluzia c deprivarea de afeciune
matern are consecine adverse asupra copiilor de-a lungul ntregii viei. Cnd
sunt separai, de mam, copii devin detaai iar cu ct este mai lung separarea,
cu att mai mare devine probabilitatea ca respectivii copii s fie mai detaati i s
dezvolte comportament antisocial. Pentru a-i explica observaiile, Bowlby se
folosete de cercetarea etologic deoarece aceasta prezint modele similare de
comportament n cazul animalelor, inclusiv al psrilor, cu cel uman. Bowlby
conchide c ataamentul este o component critic nnscut a comportamentului
uman care servete ca funcie protectiv vieii.
Aceast idee este consistent cu alte dou afirmaii de baz ale teoriei ataamentului.
ataamentul este un produs att al forelor biologice ct i al interaciunii sociale
din mediu;
sistemul de ataament care include cogniii, emoii i comportament observabil
este activat cnd oamenii au nevoie de protecie sau cnd experimenteaz stresul
sau n ambele situaii.

2. Principalele caracteristici ale teoriei ataamentului

n termeni generali, ataamentul este descris ca un stil de interaciune social care

reflect tipul i calitatea relaiilor pe care o persoan le dorete i le ateapt (Bartholomew,
1993). Teoria ataamentului explic modul n care apar diferite stiluri de ataament i cum
pot fi modificate aceste stiluri. Ideea poate fi rezumat n cinci principii care ajut la
nelegerea relaiei dintre ataament i comunicare:
1 interaciunea timpurie a indivizilor cu prinii (sau tutorii) conduce la securitate
sau insecuritate care stabilete stadiile dezvoltrii personalitii i ataamentul de mai
trziu. nc din 1978 o serie de autori au investigat cum copii devin ataai cu securitate de
tutori i cum copii care au ataament nesigur (de insecuritate) folosesc mecanisme defensive
(Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters et al, 1978). Cercetrile autorilor respectivi bazate pe interviuri i
experimente (expunerea copiilor de un an la un mediu nefamiliar) au condus la
conceptualizarea stilurilor de ataament. Aa de pild, copii siguri rspund la situaii de
separare prin faptul c devin imediat stresai, apoi se adapteaz la mediu i devin fericii
cnd tutorele se ntoarce. Copii evitani sunt indifereni cnd printele (tutorele) a plecat i

37
s-a rentors. Copii anxioi sunt stresai cnd tutorele pleac i mnioi cnd acesta se
rentoarce. Dup Hazan i Shaver (1987), aceste trei stiluri timpurii de ataament
caracterizeaz i ataamentul din relaiile sentimentale de mai trziu;
2 modelele de sine i de alii determin stilul de ataament. n viziunea autorilor
teoriei ataamentului, modelele sunt definite drept scheme cognitive care reprezint
experienele n interaciune cu alii. Modelul de sine reflect gradul n care o persoan are o
imagine de sine pozitiv vs. una negativ. Modelul comportamental fa de alii (sau
patternul de alii) reflect cum recompensarea (sau nerecompensarea) determin perceperea
unei relaii. Bartholomew i Horowitz (1991) au descris patru stiluri de ataament pentru
aduli pe baza acestor modele. Prin urmare, exist un stil sigur (model de sine pozitiv i
model de alii pozitiv) care caracterizeaz indivizii suficieni lor nii i care se simt
confortabili n relaia cu cei apropiai. n acest caz, sunt cei care doresc un echilibru ntre
autonomie i dependena de ceilali. Stilul desconsiderant (model de sine pozitiv i model de
alii negativ) se manifest la cei care nu se ataeaz de ceilali i se simt inconfortabil n
relaiile interpersonale iar scopurile personale au prioritate n faa relaiei;
Stilul preocupat (model de sine negativ i model de ali pozitiv) este caracterizat prin
relaii nchise iar cel n cauz se aga de relaiile din jurul lor doarece sunt ngrijorai c
partenerii i vor abandona. Stilul temtor (model de sine negativ, model de alii pozitiv) este
prezent n cazul celor rnii i respini n relaii trecute i ca urmare se tem de implicare n
relaii noi;
3 oamenii cu diferite stiluri de ataament difer n termenii percepiei, experienei
emoionale i a comunicrii, toate aceste influennd calitatea relaionrii. Stilurile de
ataament influeneaz cum gndesc, simt i se comport oamenii n rspunsul lor la
evenimentele relaionale. De pild, Jang, Smith i Levine (2002) examineaz reaciile
oamenilor cnd descoper c partenerii i-au dezamgit i observ c indivizii siguri de sine
vor vorbi despre problema respectiv n timp ce indivizii cu ataament nesigur vor pune
punct relaiei;
4 dei stilurile de ataament sunt relativ stabile, ele pot fi modificate. Stilurile sunt
constant rentrite cnd persoanele se angajeaz n comportamente sociale care reflect
percepiile lor i ale altora. De pild, o persoan cu probleme n relaiile personale continu
s se izoleze de alii i i va ntri ideea c i este suficient i nu are nevoie de relaii pentru
a fi fericit. Schimbri n stilurile de ataament sunt atribuite evenimentelor critice (cele care
sunt ntlnite n lista de stresori a lui Holmes i Rahe) precum divor, moarte sau
dezvoltarea de relaii sntoase;
5 stilul de ataament poate varia n funcie de tipul de relaie i de partenerul
relaional. De pild, n cazul unei investigaii pe subieci americani, 70 % dintre aduli se
percep ca avnd un stil de ataament relaional, iar 30 % percep c nivelul lor de securitate
fluctueaz. Evenimentele critice au puterea de a activa sistemele de ataament i de a
modifica stilul de ataament.

3. Conceptualizarea comunicrii n teoria ataamentului

Comunicarea joac cel puin patru roluri n cadrul ataamentului. Este vzut att
cauz ct i consecin a stilului de ataament i mediator al ataamentului. n cele ce
urmeaz, ne vom orienta pe rnd asupra acestor roluri.

38
 a. Comunicarea cauz a stilului de ataament
n primul rnd, comunicarea determin stilurile de ataament. Astfel, copii mici tind
s dezvolte un stil de ataament sigur cnd tutorii lot sunt ateni, responsivi i sensibili la
nevoile lor. Copii neglijai sau suprastimulai de tutori tind s devin evitani. Actele de
evitare ca mecanism defensiv fac ca aceti copii s devin prematur independeni (n cazul
neglijailor) sau tcui i nchii n interaciuni sociale (n cazul suprastimulailor). Mult mai
probabil, copii vor dezvolta un stil ambivalent anxios cnd tutorele lor le va da o ngrijire
inconsistent (cu suiuri i coboruri n ngrijire). Copii se autoblameaz pentru aceast
inconsisten i experimenteaz o combinaie de emoii inclusiv anxietate cnd
interacioneaz cu printele.
Comunicarea continu s funcioneze ca agent cauzal al ataamentului de-a lungul
vieii. Noi interaciuni sociale semnificative pot modifica modelele de sine i de alii i, n
consecin, stilul de ataament. De pild, un copil care a fost neglijat de prinii si poate
deveni mai sigur fcndu-i noi prieteni. Un brbat tnr poate avea interaciuni minunate
cu familia lui, dar dac a experimentat frustrare, el poate dezvolta un ataament temtor n
relaiile romantice;
b. Comunicarea consecin a stilului de ataament. n al doilea rnd, o dat ce stilul de
ataament a fost dezvoltat, persoana reflect percepiile de sine i ale altora. Persoanele cu
stil nesigur nu vor iniia conversaii cu ali indivizi chiar dac i consider atractivi. Sau,
persoanele temtoare vor reproa apropiailor lipsa lor de ajutor n cele privete. Aceste
modaliti de comunicare sunt consecine ale stilului de ataament ca i ale modelelor de
sine i de alii care sunt legate de dou dimensiuni de baz ale comunicrii: ct de anxios vs.
ct de confident apare o persoan i ct de mult o persoan evit sau dorete nteraciuni
sociale.
c. Comunicarea mediator al ataamentului
n al treilea rnd, cercetrile sugereaz c indivizii siguri au un stil de comunicare
care promoveaz relaiile sntoase, raporteaz mult mai mai mult satisfacie relaional i
stabilitate dect indivizii cu alte stiluri de ataament. Diferenele de stil de ataament n
comunicare explic de ce indivizii siguri au mai mullte relaii satisfctoare. Cercetrile care
susin aceast afirmaie arat c autodezvluirea (Keelan, Dion i Dion, 1998),
comportamentele conflictuale (Feeney, 1992) i exprimarea emoional (Guerrero i
Bachman, 2006) explic diferenele de stil de ataament n satisfacia relaional. Astfel,
comunicarea este vehiculul prin care indivizii siguri i dezvolt i menin relaiile de succes.
d. Comunicarea ca rentrire a stilurilor de ataament
Cercettorii susin c stilurile de ataament sunt autorentrite deoarece oamenii
comunic n moduri consistente cu stilurile de ataament ceea ce i conduce la rentrirea
modelelor de sine i de alii (Bartholomew, 1993). De exemplu, indivizii siguri tind s
manifeste comunicarea care reflect autoconfidena i sentimentele pozitive fa de alii, iar
interaciunea cu persoanele nesigure este adesea una mai puin pozitiv.

4. Aplicabilitatea teoriei

Cercetrile au artat c ataamentul este reflectat n forme specifice de comunicare

interpersonal incluznd conflictul i ntreinererea relaiei, intimitatea, exprimarea
emoional i abilitile sociale (Guerrero, 2008).

39
 a. Comportamentul n conflict i n ntreinerea de relaii

Managerizarea conflictului i angajarea n comportamente de ntreinere a

interpersonalizrii sunt doi factori cheie pentru relaiile de succes. Cercetrile sugereaz c
indivizii cu stil sigur de ataament sunt avantajai n aceste dimensiuni. Acetia manifest
comportamente de dezvoltare a relaiei precum exprimarea emoiilor de ndrgostire, a
atitudini pozitive (entuziasm, optimism etc), mprtirea cu ceilali a activitilor proprii
etc, dect cei cu alte stiluri de ataament (Guerrero i Bachman, 2006). n contrast,
persoanele cu stil evitant (temtorii i cei lipsii de consideraie) folosesc retragerea i
mecansimele defensive n rspunsurile la conflict n timp ce persoanele preocupate tiu s-i
manifeste preteniile (Simpson, Rholes i Philips, 1996; OConnel-Corcoran i Mallinckrodt,
2000).

b. Expresii verbale i nonverbale n intimitate

Se consider c indivizii cu modele de alii pozitive (stilurile sigur i preocupat)

manifest mai mult intimitate verbal i nonverbal comparativ cu persoanele cu stil
desconsiderant i temtor (modele de alii negative) n sensul c exprim mai mult plcere
vocal i facial, interes i atenie pentru cei din preajm (Guerrero, 1996). ntr-un alt studiu
implicnd analiza de conversaii dintre parteneri, se arat c indivizii cu stil sigur mult mai
probabil vor rde, atinge, zmbi i arta expresivitate i bucurie. Evitanii tind s aib
niveluri reduse de expresivitate i bucurie iar indivizii anxioi arat mai puin
expresivitate (Tuckers i Anders, 1998). Se pare c autodezvluirea are un pattern
asemntor. Indivizii siguri se angajeaz n modele flexibile de autodezvluire; indivizi
preocupai - n niveluri nalte de autodezvluire dei aceasta este adesea inadecvat sau
nediscriminativ. Celelalte dou stiluri evitante temtorii i cei cu desconsiderare sunt
caracterizate prin niveluri reduse de dezvluire (Feeney et al, 2000).

c. Exprimarea emoional

Alte cercetri au identificat stilul de ataament n exprimarea emoiilor specifice.

Astfel, Feeney (1999) arat c n cuplurile cu parteneri anxioi este exprimat mai puin
dragoste iar n cuplurile n care exist persoane evitante este manifestat mai puin
mndrie, dragoste i fericire. Indivizii siguri i dezvluie chiar i strile de gelozie, inclusiv
mnie dar reacioneaz la aceste stri n moduri care ajut la meninerea relaiei. Indivizii
preocupai raporteaz relativ nalte niveluri de comportament de supraveghere precum
verificarea partenerului, iar temtorii i cei cu stil desconsiderat neag sentimentele de
gelozie i vorbesc despre gelozie ntr-o manier constructiv. Cercetrile asupra mniei
sugereaz c inidvizii siguri mult mai probabil s exprime mnie folosind negocierea sau
comunicarea asertiv; indivizii cu stil preocupat vor face fa mniei prin agresivitate direct
sau pasiv iar temtorii vor fi pasivi cnd se vor confrunta cu stri de mnie.

d. Abilitile sociale

Indivizii siguri sunt mult mai abili social n exprimarea de sine reuind s furnizeze
comfort i susinere social celorlali oameni. n contrast, persoanele cu stil desconsiderant i
temtor sunt incapabile s se exprime pe sine (Guerrero i Jones, 2005). Acetia din urm
tind s fie cel mai puin abili social deoarece nivelurile nalte de evitare i anxietate i in
deoparte de interaciuni sociale i de dezvoltarea abilitilor interpersonale. n conversaie

40
cu partenerii, ei pot arta lips de flexibilitate ideaional, laten nalt n rspunsuri ca i
evitare (relativ nalt distan proxemic i niveluri reduse de concentrare pe partner).
Indivizii preocupaii pot fi anxioi i sensibili.

5. Puncte forte i limite ale teoriei

Popularitatea de care s-a bucurat teoria ataamentului poate fi atribuit punctelor ei

forte care includ aplicabilitatea ei la diferite relaii i natura ei multidisciplinar. Oamenii
pot fi catalogai prin cele patru stiluri de ataament i se pot autopercepe ca potrivindu-se n
aceste categorii. De asemenea, teoria este una parcimonioas conceptul de stil de
ataament reprezint intersecia modelelor de sine i de alii, n timp ce explic modele
coerente de cogniie, emoie i comportament. Astfel, teoria atasamentului este aplicabil la
multe aspecte ale relaionrii.
Investigaiile n teoria ataamentului au fost limitate de problemele de msurare i
concentrarea pe ataamant ca variabil de personalitate dei cercettorii au msurat
ataamentul folosind o varietate de metode (cum ar fi, de exemplu, metoda autoaprecierii).
O alt limitare n teoria ataamentului este legat de faptul c doar stilul de ataament este
tratat ca o variabil de personalitate. Acest lucru a condus la opinii care susin c teoria
ataamentului nu este o teorie n adevratul neles al cuvntului ci mai degrab o variabil
care difereniaz indivizii.
Importana teoriei rezult i din deschiderile pe care le produce n viitoare aplicaii.
Un punct important n cercetri ulterioare ar trebui s fie legat de nelegerea modului n
care interaciunea cu alii semnficativi modific stilul de ataament i cum comunicarea
rentrete stilul de ataament sau, cum i unde comunicarea mediaz asocierea dintre stilul
de ataament i calitatea relaiei.
n anumite studii se demonstreaz c interaciunea dintre stilurile de ataament ale
partenerilor prezice modelele de comuncare (Guerrero i Bachman, 2006). n aceste condiii,
este important ca cercetrile s se concentreze pe modul n care stilurile influeneaz
comunicarea. Teoria ataamentului are, de asemenea, importante implicaii practice. Bowlby
a sperat ca psihologii clinicieni s foloseasc principiile teoriei ataamentului pentru a ajuta
persoanele nesigure s dezvolte mai multe modele pozitive de sine i de alii (Bowlby, 1973).
Aa, de pild, cunoaterea stilurilor de ataament ale partenerilor poate conduce la
descoperirea unor poteniale sfere. Dac un individ cu stil desconsiderant se relaioneaz cu
un preocupat pot iei la suprafa probleme legate de autonomie i afeciune.
n concluzie, teoria ataamentului furnizeaz un cadru pentru nelegerea rolului pe
care comunicarea l joac n dezvoltarea i modificarea modelelor de sine i de alii. Teoria,
de asemenea, evideniaz cum aceste modele se combin pentru a produce stiluri de
ataament care sunt caracterizate prin patternuri distincte de cogniie, emoie i
comportament. Comunicarea rentrete stilurile de ataament i mediaz legtura dintre
stiluri i calitatea relaiei interpersonale. Cercetri viitoare ar trebui s nvestigheze multe
dintre rolurile pe care comunicarea le joac n procesul de ataament, cu noiunea de
ataament contextualizat n cadrul diferitelor tipuri de relaii. Beneficiul unor astfel de
cercetri ar fi promovarea unei mai bune nelegeri a interaciunii dintre ataament i
relaiile interpersonale de-a lungul vieii.

41
Bibliografie

1. Ainsworth, M.D.S., Blehar, M,C,, Waters, E., Wall, S., (1978), Patterns of attachment. A
psychological study of the strange situation, Hillsdale, NJ, Erlbaum
2. Bowlby, J. (1969), Attachment and loss, vol I, Attachment, New York, Basic Books
3. Bowlby, J. (1973), Attachment and loss, vol 2, Separation, New York, Basic Books
4. Bartholomew, K., Horowitz, L.M. (1991), Attachment styles among young adults. A test of
four category model, Journal of personality and social psychology, 61, p.226-244
5. Feeney, J.A. (1999), Adult attachment, emotional control and marital satisfaction, Personal
relationship, 6, p. 169-185
6. Guerrero, L.K., (1996), Attachments style differences in intimacy and involvment: a test for the
four-category model, Communication monographs, 63, p. 269-292
7. Guerrero, L.K. (2008), Attachment theory n L.A. Baxter, L.A. Braithwaite (eds.), Engaging theory
in interpersonal communication, London, Sage, 2008
8. Guerrero, L.K., Jones S.M., (2005), Differences in conversational skills as a function of
attachment style. A follow up study, Communication quarterly, 56 p. 305-321
9. Guerrero, L. K., Bachman, G.F. (2006), Associations among relational maintenance behaviors,
attachments style categories and attachments dimensions, Communication studies, 57, p. 341-361
10. Hazan, C., Shaver, P. (1987), Conceptualizing romantic love as an attachemnt process , Journal of
personality and social psychology, 52, p. 511-524
11. Jang, S.A., Smith S.W., Levine, T.R. (2002), To stay or to leave? The role of attachment styles in
communication patterns and potential termination of romantic relationships following
discovery of deception, Communication monograpfs, 69, p. 236-252
12. Keelan, J.P.R., Dion, K.K., Dion, K.L. (1998), Attachment, style and relationship satisfaction. Test
of self disclosure explanation, Canadian Journal of Behavioural science, 30, p. 24-35
13. OConnel-Corcoran, K., Mallinckrodt, B. (2000), Adult attachments, self-efficacy, perspective
taking and conflict resolution, Journal of counseling and development, 78, p. 473-483
14. Simpson, J.A., Rholes, W.S., Philips, D. (19996), Conflict in close relationships: an attachment
perspective, Journal of personality and social psychology, 71, p. 899-914
15. Tuckers, J.S., Anders, S.L. (1998), Attachments style and person-centered comforting, Western
journal of communication, 66, p. 64 - 103

42
 VOICES IN POLYPHONY CLASSROOM OBSERVATION
AS A PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE /
EXPERIENCE

Assoc Prof Yolanda-Mirela Catelly

Lect Fabiola Popa
UPB FILS DCLM

1. Collaborative professional development background and agenda

This paper is one of the co-authored studies included in a cycle of activities of DCLM
FILS UPB named Collaborative Professional Development (CPD), initiated in the second term of
the academic year 2014 - 2015 within the Department of Communication in Modern Languages
of the Faculty of Engineering in Foreign Languages (FILS) of the Bucharest Polytechnic.
The study co-authors, coded as YC and FP, participated in the classroom observation
activity, with four rounds of observation taking place over the spring months of 2015, as
follows: YC attended classes of FPs at the Computer Science Faculty, bachelor level, year one
and at the FILS year one bachelor level, while FP observed YCs similar FILS group and a
course of ENGLISH FOR ENGINEERING ACADEMIC STUDY (EEAS) for bachelor FILS
students.
The main aspects that were initially convened upon for (post)classroom observation
covered:
- classroom atmosphere ways and means of ensuring a pleasant learning
environment, its role in the smooth flow of a lesson;
- updating the teachers portfolio of resources in order to cope with the changes in the
students profile, wants, needs and interests;
- maintaining a fresh perspective of the relationships between teacher and students in
class;
- ways of handling the contradiction between an apparently high level of fluency of
the students, especially of the FILS faculty, with the sometimes severe flaws in their
accuracy in speaking and writing in the professional context;
- (re)designing and/or amending teaching materials with a view to attaining the aims
above.
However, the preparation for the expected points turned out to be an (apparently)
useless framework of expectations, as the points that emerged from the discussions at the post-
observation stage can be summed up as follows certainly, not exactly in a prioritized order, as
we cannot decide on their ranking; we would rather see them as producing a whole, with
interwoven threads, ranging from local and/or contextual ones, and up to quite general aspects
specific to the fundamental paradigms of teaching, evaluating and learning, all conducive to as
many food for thought sources.

43
 Among them, in an order that refers only to the moment of appearance:
- what should the teachers attitude look like in order to ensure the so-called pleasant
atmosphere in other words, is there room for concession for the sake of higher
access to the learners response?
- can anything more be done in order to reduce absenteeism (e.g. improving timetable,
distributing classes not only at the middle of the day/week etc.) ?
- best ways of flexibly amending the forms of evaluation in order to meet not only the
aims of the curriculum, but also other, newly appeared, specific purposes ?
- the manner in which the teachers approach to the content and teaching style should
reflect the changes undergone in the students profile (better access to Internet,
sometimes higher previous exposure to English language via various means,
different expectations from the course, moral aging of the materials available and
similar);
- establishing new priorities in the selection of materials, topics, even approach in
class, increase of focus on the acquisition and/or development of soft skills, need for
a new type of English classes, beyond the traditional already ESP communicative
core ones orientation towards CLIL, multicultural aspects, strategies of language
learning and using, ICT support in redesigning our materials;
- short and medium term needs of our students in terms of materials resources
updating by collecting data from a thorough needs analysis stage and learners
needs/wants/expectations/interests questionnaires;
- coping with the real priorities of the FILS students, who are focused on the technical
specialisms and tend to fossilize their level of proficiency in English, particularly in
writing.
What resulted from the four sessions, followed by numerous other less formal
discussions, which are to be considered equally useful and illuminating for the participants, is
presented in the following two sections, as self-reflection voices at individual level in a
polyphony inviting the readers flexible approach.

2. One voice

Teaching is about imparting knowledge, but equally, it is about feelings. Like any other
vocational profession which entails working with people and, implicitly, stepping into their
inner worlds, teaching is at the crossroads between three main concepts: hard pragmatism
(syllabus, lesson plan, objectives in short what does the curriculum asks me to obtain from
this person I am teaching?), focused action (elicitation, dialogue, lecture, practical
experimentation namely how do I share the knowledge I possess?), and finally slippery
ineffability (classroom atmosphere, bonding, the mental state of flow, intrinsic meaningfulness
of the teaching/learning act in other words In what way do/should we, teacher and
students, influence one another at a psychological level in order to make the best of our
encounter in the classroom ?).

44
 The teacher-student relationship and the air of the place was one of the main focuses
of our activity of classroom observation. In psychology, the notion of emotional contagion has
long been at the heart of research, with its NLP version of matching and mirroring, and it has
proven to be an irrefutable reality.
Given that we now know that people can influence other peoples states of mind simply
by projecting a certain type of energy onto their interlocutors, it is not difficult to understand
how a teacher can make students apprehend information more easily, retain concepts better and
enjoy classes more by bringing in his/her own enthusiasm and passion about a certain subject.
Our classroom observation has revealed a match between the personal effort of the
teacher to impart interest and the responsiveness of the students, be it verbal (questions,
comments, debates) or non-verbal (increased attention). This responsiveness was even more
obvious in two cases.
Firstly, whenever the teacher chose to illustrate a concept/situation/idea by giving a
personal example ( this is what happened to me/this is how I reacted to this/ This is the
method that works best for me/This is why I first failed and then succeeded etc.), because
such an approach takes teachers down from their ivory tower and makes them humans who
live their lives through trial and error, like everybody else. Plus it takes abstract knowledge out
there into the real world and it gives it an intrinsic quality in terms of practical benefits.
Secondly, the teacher quite frequently let the students teach her something and allowed
them to enrich the discussion with their own pieces of knowledge and ideas on the subject,
simply because such an approach established a more balanced dynamics of power in the
relationship. In such cases, the concepts of active listening and rephrasing come in as useful
tools to be used in order to give the student the courage, coherence and desire to share,
necessary to air ones views in public. Letting the speaker know s/he is acknowledged as a
producer of valuable ideas and as a unique individual by means of body language and fillers
and by rephrasing their words to check the message has proven to be a fruitful way of fostering
meaningful conversation and of keeping the flow of ideas fresh and productive.
Another valuable aspect we noticed during our classroom observation is related to the
already well-known method of elicitation. To our mind, the usefulness of elicitation cannot be
overstated. While the concept has been around since the Socratic school under the form of
maieutics, nowadays teachers often seem to forget that their students are already deep
fountains of knowledge ready to spring, if given the right impulse. On the one hand, questions
for which students do not have an answer yet make them sit up and listen. They remind them
why they have chosen to walk on the path of school. On the other hand, from a psychological
point of view, elicitation places the power back into the hands of the student. People who learn
are vulnerable by default, they are not knowledgeable about a certain subject, which makes
them fearful. Being able to reach the right conclusion on their own (with the right type of
question asked by the teacher) lessens the burden of insecurity and makes them direct
participants in the production of knowledge, which they can thus refine and enrich.
Another trick we have found out to be useful during our classroom observation is to
make constant references to the world outside the classroom and the relevance of what students
learn for the challenges that await them. Thus, teachers should reframe knowledge into very
personal terms, which will make it more likely to be accepted and retained.

45
 We have already mentioned the power of the examples pertaining to the teachers
personal/professional life; to this, we add power of the reinforced message that what students
learn in the class will be useful for them in very specific contexts.
This needs to be described by the teacher, given the fact that at such a young age some
students may not be aware of certain realities in their future careers (example: you are expected
to be familiar with the notions of intercultural communication, political correcteness, positive
discrimination etc., since you will be very likely to work in multicultural teams).
Being able to cope with differences will enrich you as a person, first of all, not to
mention that will make teamwork much more pleasant, fruitful and it will also bring external
benefits, in terms of productivity. A case study would probably work best to raise awareness of
this particular aspect of ones working life.

3. Another voice

The distance between the plan to the real activity covers, and even goes beyond any
expectation. Thus, although we had anticipated the mismatch between expectations and the real
class facts, still the key element of the entire activity was surprise.
It occurred at all levels, from changes of the discussion topic, through digressions for
explanatory purposes, and up to coincidence of views at points initially seen as different,
because of the differences of age, experience, background and so on between the two
participants.
What matters, though, is the result of the discussions providing feedback, which shows
deep agreement of our basic viewpoints concerning the range of aspects of interest and
reflection for us and a sort of reinforcement of the efforts by the coincidence of our doubts.
We could notice consistency of our self-development effort, irrespective of age and/or
experience and similarities in our concern as to identifying appropriate ways and means to
refresh and update our teaching approaches.
The discovery of all those elements gave us both the necessary encouragement to pursue
our endeavour in a more confident manner.
Throughout the activity it became clear that some of the issues raised could find
solutions, by further concrete classroom research, involving more than one teacher, with a view
to enlarging samples of respondents and finely comparing concrete educational contexts.
Even co-authoring this study represented one more phase that is a must for a team to get
more coherent in teaching and research projects.

4. Open conclusions

We could start from the very different reflections in the voices /opinions above, yet
almost fully coinciding as far as their essence is concerned.
We agreed that there is room for learning from one another at any age, provided that the
experience is shared with honesty and open-mindedness.
Equally, if there is mutual empathy between the participants, this can be the most
important prerequisite for common project work to be carried out, for instance in designing
materials for our classes, implementing common techniques and even borrowing ideas from

46
one field of scientific interest to another, for example in designing multicultural oriented tasks
or in creating course input for the teaching of soft skills.
On a pragmatic plan, we could reach an interim conclusion, which would be voiced as: a
teacher should try to know as much as possible about their clients , the trainees, aim at much and
consistently pursue their goal, however in a flexible manner, always based on the feedback obtained from
them.
In direct correlation with the previous point, a second plan, referring to the personal and
professional development of a teacher, brings to the fore the need for:
- an open attitude of the trainer as to both students and colleagues,
- an interest in understanding the students profile changes,
- dynamism and reflection before operating well informed and pedagogically justified
changes, and, not least,
- the wish to cooperate with peers professionally with a view to optimizing their
approach to teaching.

47
 VERS UNE TAXONOMIE DE LA TERMINOLOGIE DE
LINCLUSION ET DE LA DFICIENCE MENTALE

Dr. Sebastian Chirimbu

Centre d Etudes Multiculturelles et Interlinguistiques, Universit Spiru Haret
Dr. Laura Goran
Universit Spiru Haret/ cole Maternelle Mes Amis (Bucarest)

Lducation est larme la plus puissante que lon puisse utiliser pour changer le monde.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

1. Lcole inclusive - apprentissage centr sur llve ou diversit des besoins des
lves ?
La ncessit de redimensionner lducation pour tablir des normes denseignement et
pour dterminer les coles devenir responsables de la russite des lves, exige un grand
effort et du dvouement, la fois collectivement et individuellement. Pour cela, nous devons
croire que chaque enfant peut apprendre et russir, que la diversit nous aide tous et que les
lves exposs diffrents risques peuvent les surmonter grce lattention et la participation
des enseignants et de la communaut en gnral. Au fur et mesure que ce redimensionnement
de lenseignement intervient, linclusion ne sera plus considre comme une action isole,
distinctive, et deviendra une action naturelle, simultane. Lintgration des enfants ayant des
besoins ducatifs particuliers (BEP) dans la communaut devient lune des questions
pdagogiques les plus pressantes, toujours objet de la recherche des spcialistes de diffrentes
branches de la science.
Enseigner aux lves ayant des besoins particuliers demande les mmes stratgies et
pratiques comme enseigner toute autre catgorie. En dautres termes, une bonne mthode
denseignement en gnral sera aussi une bonne mthode denseignement pour les lves ayant
des besoins particuliers. Tous les lves ont le droit dattendre de lducation les meilleures
mthodes et efficaces, et les tudiants avec BEP ne sont pas diffrents.
Lcole inclusive est un dfi pour les coles ordinaires, mais elle ne devrait pas tre
considre comme une menace pour les performances de ces coles. Beaucoup dinstitutions
considrent quil est difficile intgrer les lves ayant des besoins particuliers dans une classe
ordinaire. Mais cette peur peut tre surmonte grce lducation, les ressources pdagogiques
appropries, au soutien, et non moins la conviction que lintgration est un droit moral et
social qui ne peut tre refus quiconque.
Il y a certaines tapes suivre dans la scolarisation des enfants ayant des besoins
particuliers, y compris, dabord, accepter lide quil existe tels enfants, en reconnaissant leur
droit lducation, leur intgration graduelle dans les coles ordinaires. mesure que ces
enfants grandiront, deviendront adultes et auront probablement leurs enfants, linclusion sera
dj un fait accept et une mesure naturelle dans lducation. Les enfants scolariss dans les
coles inclusives seront mieux prpars interagir avec diverses personnes et diverses
situations du monde rel.

48
 Dans les coles inclusives, les enseignants doivent collaborer avec divers spcialistes de
lducation, tels des psychologues, des conseillers, des thrapeutes et dautres spcialistes parce
que seulement ensemble, ils seront en mesure dobtenir les meilleurs rsultats. Lenseignant
consultant cest probablement celui qui travaillera le mieux avec chaque enseignant, il est celui
qui assistera en grande mesure aux classes.
Lcole inclusive consiste amliorer le systme dducation pour tous les lves. Elle
implique des changements dans le curriculum, dans les mthodes denseignement des
enseignants, dans le mode dapprentissage des lves, et des changements dans la faon dont
les enfants interagissent avec leurs pairs ayant des BEP et rciproquement.
Les coles, les centres dapprentissage et dducation devraient changer de manire
devenir des communauts ducationnelles o les besoins dapprentissage de tous les lves et
enseignants soient satisfaits. Les coles inclusives ne fournissent plus de lenseignement
ordinaire ou de lducation particulire, mais elles fournissent une ducation inclusive et par
consquent les lves pourront apprendre ensemble. En dautres termes, ce type dcole est
ouvert tous les tudiants afin que tous les lves y participent et apprennent. Pour ce faire, les
enseignants et les coles, gnralement, exigent un changement pour mieux accueillir la
diversit des besoins des lves. Lducation inclusive est un processus de facilitation de
lapprentissage pour tous les lves, mme pour ceux qui taient auparavant exclus.
Parmi les avantages de lcole inclusive il y a le fait que les lves avec des BEP sont
traits comme une partie intgrante de la socit, ayant pour modle dautres collgues qui
nont pas de problmes, de faon que tant les enfants avec des BEP que leurs collgues
dveloppent leurs comptences de communication, deviennent plus cratifs, acceptent la
diversit, etc. Les enseignants adoptent diffrentes mthodes denseignement/apprentissage,
dont tous les lves profitent, pas seulement ceux qui ont des BEP. Socialiser entre les lves et
dvelopper lamiti entre collgues sont trs importants dans le dveloppement du processus
dapprentissage grce lchange permanent dinformations..
En ce qui concerne les enseignants des coles inclusives, ils devraient tre encourags
adopter des pratiques modernes dans la classe, lauto-amlioration permanente par rapport
aux enfants ayant des BEP. Un autre rle important que les enseignants aient, est celui de faire
dterminer les enfants sans problmes accepter et aider les collgues avec des BEP, sans les
ridiculiser ou exclure.
Il est noter galement quavec les enseignants et les camarades de classe, un rle
important pour assurer le succs des enfants avec des BEP est attribu leur famille et aux
parents de ces enfants. Il a galement t dmontr que dans les cas o les parents et la famille
en gnral, se sont activement impliqus dans le processus dapprentissage, les enfants avec des
BEP ont eu des rsultats plus efficaces. Grce cette implication active de la famille, on cr, en
fait, une communaut inclusive qui aidera les enfants ayant des BEP sintgrer plus
rapidement et avec plus de succs dans la socit aprs lobtention dun diplme.
La premire chose quon remarque dans lapproche de la dlimitation de la dficience
mentale est que, aujourdhui, elle ne peut pas tre ralise que de manire interdisciplinaire et
elle ne peut tre rsolue que sur/et travers une seule discipline. Lmergence de la nature
interdisciplinaire met en vidence de plus en plus la ncessit du dveloppement conceptuel et
la mise en place dun systme uniforme qui fournisse les points de rencontre et de
comprhension de diffrents spcialistes provenant de diffrents secteurs dactivit.

49
 2. Language et terminologie de lenseignement spcial. Tendances
Une analyse de la littrature de spcialit et du langage utilis dans la pratique nous
rvle facilement le fait quil y a une immense diversit en ce qui concerne la terminologie. Les
causes en sont multiples: la diversit des spcialistes, la position des diffrents auteurs et coles
relativement cette question, laspect que lauteur souhaite rvler, etc.
Le chercheur qui a tent dtablir une corrlation entre les termes utiliss dans la
littrature franaise, anglaise et allemande a t P. Baton (1962 :28) dans son ouvrage Inadapts
scolaires et enseignement spcial, Bruxelles - 1962. Dans cet ouvrage, il donne les termes similaires
aux trois degrs de dficience mentale, lesquels, en fait, sont quivalents parce quils ont un
systme de rfrence unique: le QI (cas limit, forme lgre, forme modre, forme svre et
forme profonde).
Ren Zazzo (1979 :52), clbre psychologue lUniversit de Paris, utilise le terme de
arriration mentale pour dcrire linsuffisance mentale dans lintroduction intitule La
dbilit en question. Zazzo note quil y a la possibilit dutiliser deux critres diffrents lun
mdical et lautre psychologique pour tablir un diagnostic, y collant les deux tiquettes
diffrentes: sot ou idiot et dbile mental.
Roger Perron utilise le terme de dficience mentale dans son article Attitudes et ides face
aux dficiences mentales intgrant toutes les formes de dficience mentale tablies au cours des
sicles.
Andr Rey (1979 :94) aborde le terme darriration mentale dun point de vue
clinique, dans son ouvrage Arriration mentale et premiers exercices ducatifs.
Dans la littrature anglaise et amricaine, la terminologie est largement diffrencie.
La notion gnrale utilise est celle darriration mentale. Certains auteurs amricains ont
introduit le terme de pseudo-dbilit mentale.
Lorsquon utilise le critre tiopathognique de Matty Chiva (professeur mrite de
psychologie lUniversit de Paris - Chef du Dpartement de Psychologie infantile), la notion
gnrale de dbilit mentale est divise en deux catgories un peu distinctes: dbilit
mentale normale et dbilit mentale pathologique.
A. Busemann dans Psychologie des dficiences intellectuelles opte pour deux concepts
distincts: dbilit de lesprit et dficience intellectuelle. Il parle, par exemple, de la dbilit de
lesprit infantile ou oligophrne de la mme manire dont on parle du concept global de
dbilit de lesprit diffrencie de la dficience intellectuelle qui peut tre constitutive ou
conscutive. Enfin, lauteur propose une mthode de classification base sur la dispensation
du QI, comme suit:
intelligence infrieure la normale (mais pas dbile);
dbile;
imbcile;
idiot.
Il faut signaler aussi un autre ouvrage qui porte sur lhistoire et la terminologie des
critres de classification Lintgration socioprofessionnelle des dficients mentaux de tefan
Ionescu (1975 :74). Lauteur a essay une uniformatisation de la terminologie, choisissant le
terme de dficience mentale

50
 On peut dlimiter trois tendances distinctes dans lutilisation de la terminologie:
Utiliser un terme gnral, tel que loligophrnie, la dficience mentale, le retard
mental ou de dbilit mentale pour couvrir tous les formes et degrs de sous-dveloppement
mental;
La deuxime tendance, appartenant en particulier lcole franaise, consiste dans
lutilisation de lexpression dbilit mentale avec 12 sous-catgories, en fonction de leur
tiologie:
- Dbilit mentale pathologique - y compris toutes les formes organiques;
- Dbilit normale - des formes ayant des causes paragntiques sans lsions
dtectables.
Une troisime tendance reprsente par lcole dans lex-U.R.S.S., utilise le terme de
base - oligophrnie. Les cours sont fixs en fonction de QI, ce qui imprime une unit de
classement sous une varit dtiquettes.
Lexistence dun seul critre de classification a vu natre une terminologie si
diffrente, un systme thorique diversifi de la dficience mentale.
Dans le tableau ci-dessous, nous prsentons la terminologie utilise par certains
auteurs : psychiatres, psychologues, pdagogues.

Terminologie Auteurs
Arriration mentale Ed. Seguin, J. De Ajurioquerra
Oligophrnie E. Bleuler, V. Predescu, P. Brnzei, A.
Srbu
Dficience mentale OMS, A. Bursemann, R. Perron
Arriration mentale tefnescu-Goang, A. Roca
Retard mental OConner, C. Burt
Retard mental AAMD et AAP
Handicap mental M. Roca
Insuffisance mentale A. R. Luria
Sous-normalit mentale C Punescu
Altration du comportement R. Zazzo
adaptatif
Altrations de lhabilit (maturation) OMS, OConner
dans lapprentissage et la socialisation

3. Terminologie de la dficience mentale

Pour comprendre le concept de dficience mentale, il est ncessaire de prsenter une
srie de termes synonymes tels: arriration mentale, amentia, oligophrnie, insuffisance mentale,
dficience intellectuelle, faiblesse intellectuelle, retard mental.
Arriration mentale
Le terme darriration mentale a t introduit par E. SEGUIN (1846) et comprend trois
grandes catgories: les idiots, les imbciles, les arrirs mentaux.
Le terme est utilis principalement dans la psychopathologie franaise, qui couvre
parfois seulement la catgorie des dficients mentaux profonds, y excluant les formes lgres,
et il est synonyme du retard mental. Au sens large, le terme darriration mentale couvre

51
toute la varit des formes de sous-dveloppement de la pense, dtermin par de
nombreuses causes. Dans le sens le plus large, le terme est utilis comme arriration
relative ROSANOFF, conformment aux tudes, dans les limites normales, des surdous et
des arrirs, note une diffrence de QI, bien que les enfants de chaque groupe aient bnfici
de milieux dducation relativement identiques. Dans un sens limit, le terme darriration
mentale se rfre uniquement aux formes graves, se dtachant des formes lgres, telle la
dbilit mentale considre comme une forme particulire de larriration mentale,
comme une forme clinique tiologique de larriration.
Larriration mentale a de nombreuses dfinitions:
REY dfinit larriration mentale comme un dveloppement psychologique
incomplte dont le plafond est atteint selon lincapacit mentale (un enfant de huit
ans, qui na pas atteint un dveloppement typique dun sujet de trois ans, est
probablement idiot, et un enfant de douze ans qui est un niveau de cinq six ans,
sera imbcile).
E.A. DOLL dfinit larriration mentale travers quatre termes cls:
1. infriorit sociale (ducation et formation);
2. retard mental;
3. arrt dans le dveloppement;
4. dficience ou dficit constitutionnel.
R. PERRON( 1997 :132) la dfinit travers trois critres:
1. dficience intellectuelle constante;
2. origine organique de nature hrditaire ou acquise;
3. caractre dincurabilit, en gardant le dficit pour toute la vie.
POROT (1999 :121) la dfinit comme un arrt ou une insuffisance dans le
dveloppement des facults intellectuelles qui mettent le sujet dans un tat
dinfriorit, dadaptation plus ou moins grave aux exigences de la socit et celles
qui sont impliques dans les processus de formation. Le niveau mental est nettement
infrieur lge rel, se manifestant de manire prcoce par des retards dans le
dveloppement de la motricit, du langage et de laffectivit, et plus tard par des
difficults ou des incapacits dacquisition scolaire, tant gnralement associe des
troubles de nature motrice, affective.
Larriration mentale est caractrise par:
le dveloppement insuffisant des processus suprieurs de pense, tant dfinie
comme infirmit de pense ;
le dficit est gnralement congnitale;
le dveloppement psychologique, plus ou moins lente, jusqu un niveau qui ne peut
pas tre dpass;
des anomalies sensori-motrices et des troubles du caractre.
Amentia
Le terme damentia (manque dintelligence) a t utilis pour la premire fois par
MAYNERT (1890), puis A.F. TREDGOLD, quivalent larriration mentale. Tredgold classe
lamentia en quatre groupes distincts:
amentia primaire, lorsquelle est de nature hrditaire (intrinsque, endogne);
amentia secondaire, lorsque lorigine du dficit intellectuel est en termes de contexte
familial, social, culturel et elle est exogne, extrinsque;

52
 amentia mixte, consquence de deux causes:
amentia dont lorigine est inconnue.
En fait, les quatre groupes peuvent tre classs en deux catgories se distinguant par le
fait que la premire implique une potentielle transmission hrditaire, gntique du dficit, et
la seconde implique un dficit caus par des maladies qui entranent une lsion irrversible
du systme nerveux.
Par cette classification, A.F. Tredgold introduit en fait la dichotomie dbilit endogne
et dbilit exogne.
Dbilit endogne et exogne
La dbilit endogne comprend la catgorie des dficiences primaires dues des
anomalies gntiques ou chromosomiques anormales, sans le soutien de la lsion du systme
nerveux central. La dbilit endogne correspond la dbilit primaire, le terme de Tredgold
et elle est parfois appele normale, simple, naturelle, ou on lui donne le qualificatif
daclinique (A. Rey). Les dbiles endognes reprsentent la majorit de dbiles modrs ou
lgers, avec un dveloppement physique plus proche de lge rel, gnralement sans
malformations congnitales, avec un quipement sensoriel relativement bon. Les dbiles
endognes, selon R. Zazzo, devenus adultes sadaptent la vie sociale, contrairement ceux
dorigine lsionnelle dont ladaptation manifeste de grandes difficults.
La dbilit exogne comprend la catgorie des dficiences secondaires provoques par
des causes extragntiques (par exemple, des lsions ou infections crbrales) qui se
produisent avant, pendant ou aprs la naissance. La dbilit exogne est appele dans la
littrature anglo-saxonne le Syndrome Strauss .
Dbilit normale et pathologique
Cette classification est ralise par Matty Chiva. La dbilit normale est correspondante
la dbilit endogne, inne, et la dbilit pathologique correspond la dbilit exogne,
acquise. La dbilit normale dans lacception de M. Chiva couvre la fois la dbilit
endogne et la dbilit culturelle du type Tredgold. La dbilit normale est caractrise par
un dveloppement physique normal, et les lments de dysgnsie congnitale, quipement
sensoriel presque satisfaisant. La dficience intellectuelle est le seul critre de distinction de
la dbilit mentale pathologique.
La dbilit pathologique correspondante la dbilit exogne acquise, est conue avec
deux significations: dans lacception de M. Chiva comme une catgorie caractrise par
raideur, viscosit, troubles essentiels de perception, avec une pense dpourvue de souplesse
adaptative et dans lacception de LEWIS (1939) - la dbilit pathologique est considre une
dbilit du type organogntique, y incluant les causes de dficience du groupe de lamentia
primaire et les causes secondaires de la classification Tredgold. La dbilit pathologique
comprend tous les cas o ltiologie est un facteur pathologique associ une certaine
anomalie (par exemple : les dficits attribus aux traumatismes, les processus inflammatoires,
lhydrocphalie, le crtinisme, le mongolisme, lidiotie, lamentia sclrotique). Les deux
catgories se distinguent selon M. Chiva, savoir: au pathologique on constate plus de
difficults de perception, une pense dpourvue de souplesse adaptative, une infriorit nette
et constante des performances obtenues dans lacquisition du vocabulaire, de la graphie.
Dbilit typique et atypique
La dbilit typique est caractrise par la prdominance des facteurs hrditaires ou des
tats du cerveau gagns et aggravs travers les dficits des fonctions sensorielles, motrices,

53
affectives ou du milieu socioculturel. La dbilit atypique est quivalente la dbilit
apparente en raison des troubles instrumentaux.
Oligophrnie
Un synonyme des dficiences mentales a t introduit par E. Bleuler et E. Kraepelin
pour dcrire les formes de non-dveloppement ou darrt dans le dveloppement des
fonctions de connaissance, en raison des souffrances causes par des causes hrditaires ou
survenant dans la premire enfance. Dans la premire tape, le concept a t utilis dans un
sens large, se rfrant toutes les formes de dveloppement psychique insuffisant, et puis il a
acquis une signification limite, scartant donc de formes moins graves. Le psychiatre russe
Ghiliarowsky parle du polymorphisme de loligophrnie, la situant dans la catgorie des
formes de dveloppement psychique incomplte, caractrise la fois par une psych
affaiblie que par un manque dharmonie de celle-ci parce que les affections du systme
nerveux central ne se produisent pas galement tous gards .
Insuffisance mentale
Cest un terme introduit par lO.M.S. pour dcrire les lacunes dintelligence, daffectivit
et de morale. Le terme est trs large, dsignant tant un dveloppement incomplet et gnral
quune insuffisance de la capacit intellectuelle sans fournir loccasion dtablir une
dmarcation claire entre les conditions congnitales et acquises. Le rapport de lO.M.S.
stipule que pour dterminer le degr dinsuffisance mentale on recourt des qualificatifs tels
facile, moyen et grave.
Retard mental
Terme utilis rgulirement par lO.M.S., la neuvime rvision de la CIB, qui quivaut
au retard mental.
Dficience intellectuelle
Terme introduit par CI. Kohler (1965 :121) et A. Busemann. Le premier chercheur a
rparti la dficience intellectuelle en deux groupes :
la dficience intellectuelle primaire, qui comprend les dficients intellectuels simples,
dficience associe des malformations (idiotie avec microcphalie) et la dficience mentale
associe aux maladies dgnratives;
la dficience intellectuelle secondaire qui inclue les cas dtermins par des lsions
prnatales (infections, intoxications, traumatismes), des lsions prinatales (traumatismes
obsttricaux, incompatibilits de groupe sanguin), des lsions postnatales organiques
(infections, intoxications, traumatismes crniens) et des lsions psychiques (carence affective
maternelle).
Retard mental
Terme utilis principalement dans les pays anglo-saxons qui ont tendance substituer
la notion genre de dficience mentale.
Retard mental
Terme utilis par lO.M.S., la neuvime rvision de la Classification internationale des
maladies, et dans notre pays par Mariana Roca(1983 :37), avec la tendance remplacer les
notions traumatisantes pour parents et enfants. Dans le sens gnral, cette notion comprend
la catgorie des enfants qui prsentent un retard plus ou moins important dans le
dveloppement des fonctions intellectuelles, sensorielles, motrices, et dans le sens troit, les
sujets ayant un cart entre la formation scolaire par rapport aux pairs du mme ge (retard
pdagogique).

54
 Conclusion
Une nouvelle dimension qui commence prendre forme dans le paysage de
lenseignement roumain consiste dans la dmocratisation et lgalit des chances de chaque
enfant. A cet effet on a mis en place lcole inclusive - une rponse la r-dimension de
lducation. Le but de cette cole est de crer un environnement favorable lapprentissage
pour tous les enfants partir de la prmisse que les diffrences entre les gens sont normales
et quil faut les accepter. Un rle important dans lcole inclusive est jou par la pdagogie et
lapprentissage centr sur llve.
Cela implique automatiquement ladaptation des programmes et des mthodes
denseignement aux capacits et aux besoins de chaque lve , mais aussi de la terminologie
specialise et son matrise. Lapparition de la notion dinclusion dans le dbat concernant la
scolarisation des enfants en situation de handicap suscite diffrentes interrogations. Elles
portent notamment sur la distinction entre cette notion et celle dintgration et sur la
pertinence de substituer un terme lautre. Le vocabulaire de linclusion nest gure utilis en
franais pour dsigner des processus concernant des personnes. Comme le reconnaissent E.
Plaissance, B. Belmont , A.Verillon et C. Schneider, il est au contraire courant en langue
anglaise, souvent coupl lexpression ducation inclusive, de plus en plus adopte dans les
organismes internationaux ..

Rfrences

Baton,P., Inadapts scolaires et enseignement spcial, Universit Libre de Bruxelles, coll. tudes de sociologie
de lducation, Bruxelles, 1962.
Ionescu, ., Integrarea socio-profesional a deficienilor mentali, Ed. Academiei, Bucureti, 1975.
Kohler, C., Despre copiii anxioi: bazele unei practici educative spirituale, Ed. Didactic i Pedagogic,
Bucureti, 1965.
Perron, R., Istoria psihanalizei, Ed. de Vest, Timioara, 1997.
Porot, A., Toxicomanie-Psihopatologie-Psihoterapie, Ed. Stiinific, Bucureti, 1999.
Rey,A., Arieraia mental i premisele exerciiilor educative, Ed. Didactic i Pedagogic, Bucureti, 1979.
Plaisance, E., Belmont, B., Verillon, A., Schneider, C., Intgration ou inclusion? Source en ligne:
http://www.ecolepourtous.education.fr/fileadmin/pdf/INSHEA_Plaisance.pdf. (01.09.2015)
Roca,M. , Specificul diferenelor psihice dintre copiii ntrziai mintal i cei normali, Ed. Academic, Bucureti,
1983.
Zazzo,R., Debiliti mintale, Ed. Didactic i Pedagogic, Bucureti, 1979.

55
 CULTURE AS A PLATFORM FOR E-LEARNING
IN ADVANCED LEARNING SOCIETIES

dr. Sebastian Chirimbu

Centre for Multicultural and Interlinguistic Studies, Spiru Haret University /
Department for Research UWR
dr. Adina Chirimbu
Faculty of Letters, Spiru Haret University

1. Introduction
Many organizations, faculties, universities, schools are integrating e-learning solutions
into their training/learning programs. With the introduction of self-paced e-learning, most
companies go through this dilemma of whether to go for off-the-shelf e-learning courses or a
customized e-learning course. This advancement has led instructors and (school/academic)
teachers, syllabus and material designers to consider the possibility of integrating technology
into the mainstream curriculum development.
Nowadays, developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have
become an integral part of our personal and social lives and also influence our professional
career.Although some years ago there were different difficulties in applying technology-based
tools in classes to help learners with their language study, today teachers who fail to draw upon
technology in language teaching are likely to be considered behind the times (Chapelle, 2008).
ICT programs provide so many novel opportunities for language learning (Tafazoli &
Chirimbu, 2013: 33).
The relation between culture and E-learning is a bilateral relation. Culture is a platform
for E-learning, and in the other hand, E-learning is an influential tool on culture, beliefs and
values. Nowadays in advanced societies, more cultural changes and learning have been
occurred through virtual environments. Certainly in close future in advancing societies, E-
learning tools will replace by traditional learning. The effect of new technologies extensions and
developments has caused principal changes which influence on various human life aspects, and
culture is not exception from this rule. In our times, knowledge and technology are in the same
way and it is not easily possible to achieve one of them without another.
Virtual space by providing huge and enormous resources and facilities in the area of
science and knowledge for self users and having some characteristics such as no time and no
place, interactivity, etc provides extra capabilities in learning and culture field for users. By
philosophical point of view, partnership interaction opinion is accordance with John Davie view
(Tafazoli & Chirimbu, 2013: 34). Davie rejects all dual thinking especially individual and
community. In Davie point of view, individual and community are not able to be separate and
follow each other.
Recognition Learning is mutual understanding between interests and experiences of
individual with values, manners and social knowledge. By this interaction, ideas become
produced which will describe external world. It means that concept will be built and put in
participation. McMillan has defined four structures for interaction relationships in cyberspace,

56
including: content sophistication, Feed back opportunities, dialogue complexity and
responsiveness. Each of these concepts is the sign of interaction characteristics in virtualspace
which may be learning interaction and/or interaction between people and governmental men
(Dalvand, 2007).
By information technology development and influence of remote communication tools
to depth of society, learning methods became changed. Changing in these tools and methods is
in the way that each person can be learning in each time he identifies himself.
By technology development and the most important one, decreasing the cost of
technology usage, application of new tools presented for E-learning and new amendment shave
done in this field daily. In the fact, we can declare that learning speaks about two words:
training and learning.
Training means teaching and learning means understanding. In traditional approach is
used teaching method and because sometimes it accompanies with impose and force, it cause
that students encounter with education fall. Even it may be made problems for students out of
educational environment. But in new approach, learning method is used. As in this method,
each individual person wants to lean he, then there is not any force and obligation, as a result
previous problems will not be occurred (Asgharzadeh, 2007).

2. The Dimensions of Learning and Learning Societies

Jarvis (2000) identifies four useful dimensions of learning and learning societies as: 1)
futuristic, 2) planned, 3) reflexive, and 4) market. The learning society as futuristic is fostered
through the use of technologies and computers to provide equal opportunities for all
individuals to receive as much education as they are believed to be capable. In a futuristic sense,
the learning society approach is aimed at the central goal of allowing individuals to develop to
their maximum potentials. In the planned approach, a learning society recognizes the role of
governments and their institutions in offering education through either policy or legislation.
According to Olaniran (2009:182), the overarching goal of the planned learning society is
to prepare employees for increasing national and/or global market competitiveness,
competencies, widening participation, and lifelong learning. Put differently, the planned
learning approach focuses on the promotion of the learning so that learners can participate in
the democratic processes within societies (Collomb & Seidel, 1998; Jarvis, 2000; OECD Report,
1996; National Center on Education and the Economy, 2007; Olaniran & Agnello, 2008).
The learning society as a reflexive society is based on the approach that every society
needs to change with the times, and as such, cultures must be altered to give way to progress.
According to Jarvis (2000) cited by Olaranian (2007) as society changes, everyone in it is
required to learn new ideas to keep up. Within a modern society, knowledge-based occupations
are by nature reflexive as individuals are required to change with requirements of their jobs and
to use new technologies and procedures (U.S. Department of Education, 1983, 2001; National
Center on Education and the Economy, 2007). Consequently, educational institutions along with
contemporary organizations are required to change their approach toward learning and more
importantly to cultivate outside classrooms. It is no surprise that the approach has given birth
to varieties of online universities (Olaniran, 2007a) and corporate universities, some of which
give attention to workplace experiences. However, Jarvis (2000) also questions how long such
programs will remain in the face of constant changes from outside environments. He argues
that there is the danger that traditional education institutions are assuming a role in a

57
non-educational process as public accreditation penetrates the private world (Kienle & Loyd,
2005). The opposite is also true as private start-up universities, school administrator programs,
and alternative teacher certification programs become more numerous with the private business
world moving into the larger and public educational domain.

3. E-learning or Interactions in Real Educational Space?

Learning through internet is not novel issue. Its arisen referred to 30 years ago. Two
prominent changes have occurred in this field: the first one was concurrent to multimedia
computers introduction and the second one was the time that the possibility of internet usage
for learning presented. Every learning, education or breeding which are presented by using
recognized computer technologies especially technologies based on internet, are called E-
learning. E-learning can be classified to two general classes: Synchronic and Asynchronic.
In synchronic E-learning, all participants should take part concurrently in virtual classes
through internet. There are some software packs which prepare possibilities for online
conversation. These software packs are called partnership tools. Some of these software packs
can save presented materials for future; although in this case is part of asynchronic class. In
asynchronic case, web based version of education is given by CD ROM. Learner scan receive
their courses in each time they want. Education materials can be mixed of texts, fixed and
movable pictures, audio and video. Education material is a good interaction and assessment
will be done too. Education material are held and managed by education management system.
In E-learning principal work are based on facilitator approach which has characteristics
of interactive relationship. According to two kinds of E-learning, two kinds of synchronic and
asynchronic interaction dependent to method of presentation exist. In E-learning, interaction
will happen among three principal education items: professor, student and education material.
It means interaction among professor and student, student and material, student and student,
professor and professor. Each of these interactions has similarities with interactions in real
educational space.
Interaction shall be a bilateral action, operation or influence of persons or objects on each
other. Interactive means active in bi-direction.

4. E-learning. Cultural Options. Virtual Space

An online system is a sample of virtual space which its users can communicate together
by email. It is the contrary of real space; virtual space does not need physical changes and all
actions are done by pressing keys or mouse movements. This physical immovability, made
researchers to study some similarities between virtual spaces with unconscious states, especially
mental states which appear in dreams. Virtual space consists of two concepts space and virtue.
Then, for more clear understanding, it is better to describe the meaning of each word:
- Virtue sometimes is interpreted in opposite of real affaire and sometimes it is known as
an imaginary and illusive one. Virtue is used in contrast with tangible fact, too and in some
cases it is a mental affaire in opposite of visual one. Applying one word beyond its principal
meaning is nominated virtue, too (Ameli, 2006). Then, space or world with virtue specific
contrasts to real space or world and it is called "second space". Although being virtue never
decreases the fact effect, it only represents a fact in a virtual frame, and it may be along and
parallel with real world. Real virtue attempts to create new environments which are imaginary,

58
illusive areas that seems uniquely "real", but they do not have any direct relationship with
world like what they are felt (Suler, 2006).
Concept of space is applied in contrast with concept of location. These two concepts
have fundamental differences. The first difference aspect which is prominent in comparing
space and location is the wresting level of these two concepts. Space in contrast to location is a
very wresting concept and it is too hard to imagine rather understanding this concept without
interfere of understanding location is impossible for us (Golmohammadi, 2004). Another
difference is that space is everywhere, but location is specified location. Location has content,
but space is a kind of vacuum. Location is two dimensional, but space has three dimensions.
Location can be bordered, but space is without boundary and infinite. Locations remain
constant, but space can change and transform in a glance.So space has more extensive and
complex concept in contrast to location and maybe these space specifications cause to be special
and create other characteristics for virtue space (internet).
- Many researchers have studied about the nature and platform of virtual culture values;
they have speech values, accessible, free and quick reaction and the virtual culture is a force
which made culture, policy and economy and defines "technology power" as a power that
configures the virtual culture manner discipline. Others (Loe, Healy 1997) think that E-learning
is a new place for creation culture. For example, Loe said: "virtual culture is creation of new and
universal different culture, because it is derived from lack of prejudice in world thought." Healy
(1997) thinks that E-learning is the space among civilization andnomadism that cultural options
and directions can be chosen in it.

5. Interaction of Culture and E-learning

162 definitions have been identified for culture up to now in the most well-known
encyclopedias. According to Gidens view, culture is values which the members of a definite
group respect to them, customs that they follow and material goods which they produce
(Giddens, 2004).
Culture is: "set of convictions, customs, formalities, manners and values" which has
following characteristics and specifications:
1. Whole spread and acceptable by the common people
2. Its acceptance will not require any reason and scientific dispute
3. Its omission and creation take time
4. It is not created in specific time, location and conditions
5. In the creation time, it has diverse causes and sometimes opposite ones.
6. It creates unanimity, agreement and intimacy between its owners. (cultural
independent identity) (Khani Jazani, 2008)
Culture and E-learning have systematic relationship; rather culture as a platform of
creation, has a central role in E-learning change and development and in second stage, E-
learning as a cultural tool has an effective and remarkable role in cultural interchange,
interaction, agreement, amendment and development in each country. By this tool, information
are produced, processed and spread and all activities such as cultural one alters to electronic
format and this affair will change society. So not only information is making society but also it
is principal of each decision making in E-learning. But it should not be neglected that this tool
based on supporting culture change the society direction. As a result, if the dominant culture in
virtual environment be agreement and concord to culture of target society, information also can

59
be put in service of cultural development for each society and it can be followed by destroying
culture.
Rapid and incontrollable development of digital space have pursued software and
computer products, complex network of information and media with high coverage capacity,
profound and wide spread cultural traces that role and amount of their effectiveness on whole
society such as cultural arena cannot be underestimated. Management of this huge and complex
network requires planning, policy making and correct, considered and exact control by ministry
of communicating and information technology. Undoubtedly doing these spread, delicate and
wide duties and functions without cooperation and supporting of research, specialist and
scientific organizations will not be achieved any targets.
Culture is related to that aspect of social affair that produce the meaning. In Twist et al.
point of view, social affairs have various parts like economical affairs, issues related to
government and or scientific aspects, but these are not necessarily a cultural affair and they are
not in knowing cultural studies areas. For instance circumscribe between economic affairs and
governmental affairs and "social culture" is difficult but boundary between economical affairs
like producing a part with its cultural aspect refers to "reflection meaning". So an aspect of part
production which has "meaningful signs" is considered culture. Therefore, culture is "place of
meaning production" and not necessarily place of declaration and or meaning story which there
are in other place. This case in culture refers to "sign" interpretation. Cultural signs are not only
an interpretation and or reflective meaning, but they have meaning themselves and they are
meaning producer too. (Ameli, 2006) Toits, Davis and Mools analyze cultural studies through
knowing meaning. In this aspect, culture is a set of meaning which is produced, moves, part of
it is fixed but it may be possible that not absolute, rather it may change according to social
areas.
In the other hand, it should be considered that culture is a "whole meaning" that is
obtained from wresting cultural affairs, and as said by Twits et al., culture is a set of meanings
not a unique process. Therefore it is a set appendix with a lot of components. Culture is a set of
social actions in which meaning is produced; spread and exchanged and knowing culture issue
is "producing social meanings". This rational and wresting aspect ofculture makes it more
complex. Because of that many people such as Wiliams believe that one of two or three
complicated concepts in English literature is culture concept.
Another point is diversity in "culture interpretation" which is the origin of
variouscultural meaning and concepts. Culture has had distinct interpretation in historical way
anddifferent societies and dependent and arisen from specific social place of each society.
In opposite of culture that has intense wresting and ambiguous aspects, technology is
aconcept which reflects specific identities externally, although it has wresting aspect. Therefore
it has general wresting concept and also it has various and many evidences whichis proof of
this general concept. In opposite of technology, culture is a word that gatherswide, diversity
and contradictory concepts in itself. By this huge content of concept, transferring from cultural
thinking in frame of "general meaning" to cultural identity inframe of "details of sensible
evidence", is ambiguous affair which cause that "culture"concept become complex and
intangible, especially culture in developed society. In theother hand culture is a "rational"
concept which time, geography, theology, race, policy andfinally technology as "construction
culture", are source of more developed increasing. Themore important issue is that the

60
extension of effective variables on culture in developedsociety has been source of more
complexity in "culture meaning".
In conceptual comparison between technology and culture can be declared
thattechnology is product of experienced practical thought and culture is product of
wrestingconcept and mental sociality. Interaction between technology and culture, donates
anothermeaning to technology and cause that as Heidegger,1977 said it is not only technology
andmore exactly "technology is not equivalent with technology nature" but it makes
othermeanings that lead us to other meanings like dominant, colonization,
nostalgia,estrangement oneself, tranquility and development. As it is obvious, all of these
concepts which account for technology appendices, arewresting culture concepts which are in
front of visual and real concepts. The concept likedominant is derived from set of behaviors
social interactions and it may not able torecognize "definite affair" externally as a "rule
existence" and or "rule object". In Heideggerpoint of view, as technology nature is non-
technological and since technology is notequivalent to its nature, then it causes that technology
become a multi-level concept. Itmeans in one aspect it accounts for as an industrial issue and in
another one it is completelya cultural, political and economical issue. Heidegger's opinion in
technology analysis can be extended to technological products like "goods" too. It can be made
differences betweengoods and goods nature. Goods nature is part of goods which has cultural
signs. Goods nature consists of "consuming culture" area and or David Chins opinion "material
culture"area which includes goods and services and currently it has assigned "dominant
cultureaspect" to itself. This culture aspect has been dominant aspect of social culture, because
Brian Terner believes that daily life has been jointed to material culture totally.
Concurrentcommunication technology became important because of that and it is necessary to
focusedon nature aspect of this industry which are produced new culture and or virtual culture
(Ameli, 2006).

6. The Relationship between Technology and Culture

Heidegger emphasizes to this issue that interaction between technology and
cultureshould not be searched in technology outputs, it should be followed in type of
humansociety jobs with technology. Heidegger idea has been reflected to thoughtful persons'
theories people like Habermes (1970) and Finburg (1991). Heidegger philosophy focuses onthis
fact that technology is not a null affair but it has a serious language and speech and thisopinion
is repeated in Heidegger idea. In his point of view by supposing technology as anull affair, this
issue causes that to be neglected to technological events. Bernshtine view which reflects
definition of Heidegger about technology by humanism and tool, emphasizesthat technology
substantially is not good no bad, but all things depend on how to use it.
Useful technologies like physician and industries such as alimentary and hygienic
industriesare applied for pain reduction and meet human requirements but there are some
destroyedtechnologies like nuclear military industry and chemical ones which make risk
human life. (Kohen,1987; Boodel, 1998). In Heidegger thought there are non-speecheswhich
reflect Marx analysis from estrangement and Weber analysis from growth anddevelopment of
tools mind and Lookach views about objective technology (Ameli, 2006).
Key point of understanding Heidegger view on technology is required to understand
"Gashtell" concept. "Gashtell means opposed gathering affair which speaks to human and
contradict to him until discover a real action disciplinarily as a fixed source. Gashtell is a kind of

61
discovery that is more preferable than technology nature and it is nevertechnological affair.
Gashtell is that thing which Heidegger declares as a "technology nature". That nature which
Heidegger recognizes from technology, as Brenshtine has said, is prior totechnology appearance
and according to time, it may exists even years before.

Conclusion
E-learning involves a process whereby learning or knowledge acquisition and
dissemination occurs within the confines of information communication technologies (ICTs) or
electronic media (Olaniran 2009:180). Education is designed to provide specified learning
opportunities and is institutionalized, either as state institutions (public) or as corporate ones
(private). Both public and private institutions emphasize the knowledge necessary to compete
and be effective in the global workplace and to remain competitive in the global marketplace.
At the same time, the learning communities do not necessarily distinguish between
education and learning. Fairness education will occur properly through Digital andvirtual
space, because this tool can be a channel for appearance innovation of target groupand prepares
cultural constraints for innovative people and cause to more economical, income and welfare
development.
Cultural factors tend to influence how individuals use or view communication
technologies and interpretations; Devereaux and Johansen (1994) argued that it might be
difficult to get people to use certain technology including e-learning and learning management
systems in power distant cultures where status dictates every aspect of interpersonal
communication.
Culture and E-learning interaction could be principal mysteries of a dynamic /advanced
learning society.

References

Agnello. M., & Deleon, D., Beyond functional literacy: Educating for self, work, and citizenship in
Literacy Community Education Journal, 30(10)/2003
Ameli, S.R. ,Customizing Virtual Space in Virtual Space Weblog, 2006
Asgharzadeh, B., E-learning in Petrochemical Technology and Research Company Site, 2007
Chapelle, C. Technology and second language learning: expanding methods and agendas in System,
32(4)/ 2004
Collomb, B., & Seidel, H. Foreword. In L. Otala (Ed.), European approach to lifelong learning. Geneva:
European University-Industry Forum, 1998
Dalvand, S. Educational Interactions in Virtual Space Brief Persian Articles of Master Degree Students (Dr.
Ameli WebSite), 2007
Devereaux, M. O., and Johansen, R., Global work: Bridging distance, culture, & time. San Francisco, CA,
Jossey-Bass, 1994
Edmundson, A., The cross-cultural dimensions of e-learning. Doctoral Dissertation, Wladen University, 2004
Ess, C., Cultures in collision philosophical lessons from computer-mediated communication in
Metaphilosophy, 33(1-2)/ 2002
Giddens, A., Sociology (4th edition), Cambridge, Polity Press, 2004
Golmohammadi, A. , Globalization, Culture and Identity. Tehran, Nay Publication, 2003
Heidegger, M., Only a God can save us now in Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal, Vol 6(1)/1997

62
Jarvis, P., Globalisation, the learning society and comparative education in Comparative Education, 36
(3)/ 2000
Khani Jazani, J., Principles of Virtual Space. IROST, Tehran, 2008
Kienle, A., & Loyd, N.L., Globalization and the emergence of supranational organizations: Implications
for graduate studies in higher education administration in College Student Journal, 39(3)/ 2005
National Center on Education and the Economy, Tough choices: Tough times: The report of the new
Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass, 2007
Olanarian, B.A., Discerning Culture in E-learning and in the Global Worplaces in Knowledge
Management & E-Learning: An International Journal, vol.1, no.3/1998
Olaniran, B. A., Challenges to Implementing E-learning and Lesser Developed countries in A
Edmundson (Ed.), Globalized e-Learning Cultural Challenges (pp. 18-34). NY: Idea Group, 2007
Olaniran, B. A., & Agnello, M. F., Globalization, educational, hegemony, and higher education in
Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, 2(2)/2008
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Lifelong learning for all OECD Report,
1996
Souler, J. , Virtual Reality Intersection, Ayandehnegar Sire, 2006
Tafazoli, D. & Chirimbu, S., Technology, Language Learning and Teaching, Utah, Aardvark Publishing, 2013
U.S. Department of Education, National Commission on Excellence in Education., A nation at risk: The
imperative for educational reform. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993

63
 THE NEED FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

Lector univ. dr. CONDRUZ-BACESCU MONICA

Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest

Preliminary considerations

Education is one of the phenomena that have appeared with human society, undergoing
during its evolution, essential changes. "Man can only become man through education," says
Kant. Everything related to mankind: language, reason, feelings, art, morality is achieved only
through education.
Modern society, responsibilities, the individual himself are moving faster, deeper than
the end of last century. The problem of the contemporary world, its challenges and
consequences of education led to the imposition and operationalization in theoretical-
explanatory framework, of certain phrases such as: lifelong learning, lifelong education,
continuing education, adult education, parent education, self-learning, self-education, self-
information and educational self-training, educational autonomy, global education.
The wave of changes and innovations that beset humanity and life of every human
community has to extend the educational act throughout their lives. School education is no
longer sufficient for the whole life of man. In an attempt to meet the challenges of the
contemporary world, one of the directions of restructuring the educational reality is expanding
educational act throughout the life of the individual.
Learning to learn and continuously improve yourself are continuing education
requirements. The idea of lifelong learning is not new, the continuing need of individual
education is mentioned by the classics of traditional pedagogy. Since the eighteenth century, Jan
Amos Comenius says in his works that tota vita schola est- theoretical reflection that objective
reality, practice and science specialists, would then validate. He also said that "for every man,
life is a school, from cradle to grave".
To deal with multiple situations of challenge of the contemporary world it is natural to
ask the following question: If, today, once in school education is sufficient to cope with the
avalanche of problems facing mankind? The answer is clear, once in school education is no
longer sufficient for the whole life of man; therefore representatives of modern pedagogy issued
the thesis of prolonged education or lifelong education that crosses the entire personal life of
man. On the whole, education covers not only the training of future professionals, but also open
minded individuals, so the need for education and training becomes permanent, for the whole
life.
The contemporary reality confirms every time that we need education. No society is
completely immobile, so some further training continues at an adult age. In today's society,
characterized by economic, political, cultural mobility, the new educational order is not
conceived without forefront of theoretical pedagogical movement. At the core of education
64
reform in our country is more pronounced the need for applying the principle of lifelong
learning and greater openness of the school to the world, to its great global issues. Research in
educational psychology, psychology of ages and learning have scientifically proven: the ability
of individuals to learn and educate themselves at any age, by different methods and techniques,
with different rhythms and adequate intensities depending on their particular psychosocial and
individual particularities.
In modern times, the characteristics of permanent education are (M. Ionescu, 2003, p.
405):
continuous, permanent character - as a social activity, lifelong learning is analyzed in:
- the socio-historical development of the human personality and representing the
premise of human humanization;
- individual plan of society members, in the sense that education is continuous,
disappearing the chronological limit to learning. Education does not finish at the end of school
instruction, but is an ongoing process. Lifelong learning covers the entire life of a person;
formative character- training, development and modeling of the human personality and
self-improvement is achieved throughout his/her life, because of its formative
influences due to systematic and integrative human being exerted on the entire life of a
person;
generalized character- lifelong learning is a social activity widespread, that penetrated all
spheres of contemporary society;
dynamic, progressive and inclusive character - undertakes a series of continuing education
activities and evolutionary processes that integrate and articulate all forms and types of
education which man comes into contact with, all stages and forms of education, all
documents and educational experiences on which he lives, all educational influences
and the influence that exercised over man, and self-education in an integrated functional
whole, unified and coherent, to shape human personality;
flexible character- educational offer of the society is highly diversified and flexible, being
molded to specifically facilitate human development in the direction of its educational
needs, aspirations, interests, desires, aptitudes, personal talents.
Educators at all times provided the suggestive example of education. But the need for
lifelong learning has become more acute today. Tomorrow's society is the effect of today's
society. In this regard, we should be optimistic, even though we are in a time when many are
overwhelmed by doubts regarding the opportunities offered by education. Always education
offers solutions when humanity is facing a crisis. So many reasons are to restore the focus on the
dimensions of lifelong learning.

Lifelong learning an integrator principle

As stated by R.H. Dave, learning is "a process of personal development training, social
and professional, during the whole lives of individuals to improve the quality of life of both
individuals and their community." This is a comprehensive and unifying idea including formal,
non-formal and informal acquisition and enrichment of a horizon of knowledge needed to
achieve the highest possible level of development and different stages and areas of life (1991,
p. 47).
65
 The concept of lifelong learning is functionally based on the idea that lifelong learning
can be gained by individuals and societies in different ways and that these alternative methods
are able to lead to achieve the highest and lowest level of quality of life by all.
Progress in science and technical changes affect all mankind. People that are not up to
date will certainly be exceeded. The media, in order to fulfill the role of constructive required to
be backed by labor intensive and continuous training in this regard. "Techniques and structures
which for generations have perfected turn to transmit knowledge and skills of each society,
from the older to the younger generations, from father to son, largely ceases to be effective so
that even traditional role and functions of educational action subject to review and critical
reassessment and education is increasingly forced to seek new ways "(Lengrand 1973, p. 21).
The determinant principle of adult education differs radically from the principle of
education for children, namely: the compulsory character. The child, whether he wants or not, is
constrained by law and by his parents to limit the time for play and fun and devote himself to
occupations whose interest is not obvious for him/her. This gives a solidarity to schools, but at
the same time creates a state of immobility and conservatism. Of these, nothing fits for adults.
Of course, there may be indirect coercive pressures, some economic, some political, but
sometimes it happens that an adult is forced to attend a school. In general, adults will not give
up their free time to participate in educational activities unless satisfying an interest, whether
there is a link between what is proposed and ambitions, aspirations, curiosities and pleasures of
his own life. If such a link does not exist, the result appears immediately.

Conclusions

Since, as seen from the above, adult education can not be compulsory, it must be
adapted to their needs and provide learners with liberal conditions (for self-education and self-
evaluation, the choice of content and methods, place and learning time). An adult education
system is well arranged, functional when centered on motivations and objectives that solve the
problems of individuals or groups of adults. To stimulate their learning motivation and
participation in educational programs it requires strategies that rely on knowing their real
needs of education.
Lifelong learning objectives are:
Creating, through a formative education, the desire to learn continually growing
receptivity, an open attitude, positive change, innovation and creativity;
Training and development prerequisites for self-education, self-improvement and self-
improvement, so that they become defining features of contemporary man;
Translating social norms and values in attitudes, in stable behaviors and fight for their
implementation and development of the community to which we belong;
Encouraging and fostering a positive attitude, open, creative, independent and
constructive by assimilating the language of science, art, technology, labor, and thus
contributing to human knowledge;
Acquiring flexible methods and techniques on the organization, management and
evaluation of work and behavior so that adaptation and integration of the individual in society
to be achieved easy and successful, no matter what activity is involved;

66
 Availability for recycling and re-training and skills development to the level of skill
and competence required by the field of activity;
Encouraging optimism in people, their ability to fight and combat deficiencies and
shortcomings passivity, skepticism and intolerance;
Developing personal responsibility and solidarity to prevent and combat any
individual or social deficiency, helping everyone to understand that improving the social
situation begins with autoexigency and that the requirement to others is not only a form of
respect, a form of personal dignity and genuine democracy;
Support the understanding of the relationship between man and nature
(environmental education), the need to protect nature, to fight against any kind of pollution and
preserve it so that future generations take advantage of resources and its beauties;
Cultivating relationships of friendship, cooperation and mutual respect with other
peoples, and the struggle for peace, progress, as a guarantee of free development and prosperity
of all human societies.
Preparing people for lifelong learning means, firstly, preparation for mobility, for
change and for quality. In fact, education doesnt mean only to acquire knowledge but human
being development during different life experiences.

References

Adler, N. J., Gundersen, A. 2008. International dimensions of organizational behavior. Mason, Ohio:
Thompson South-Western.
Cameron, Kim S., Quinn, Robert E. 1999. Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the
Competing Values Framework. Reading, Mass: Addison Wesley.
Comnescu, I. 1996. Autoeducaia azi i mine, Imprimeria de Vest, Oradea.
Dave, R. H. 1991. Fundamentele educaiei permanente, E.D.P., Bucureti.
Fox, C. 2006. International Negotiator: A most important managerial skill. British Journal of Administrative
Management, 53.
Gelfand, M. J., Erez, M., Aycan, Z. 2007. Cross-cultural organizational behavior. Annual Review of
Psychology, 58.
Hurn, B. J. 2007. The influence of culture on international business negotiations. Industrial and Commercial
Training, 39(7).
Ionescu, M.. 1998. Educaia i dinamica ei, Editura Tribuna nvmntului, Bucureti.
Lengrand, P. 1973. Introducere n educaia permanent, E.D.P., Bucureti.
Moran, R. T., Harris, P. R., Stripp, W. G. 1993. Developing the global organization. Houston, Texas: Gulf
Publishing Company.
Salacuse, J. W. 2004. Negotiating: The top ten ways that culture can affect your negotiation. Ivey Business
Journal, 69(1).
Schein, E. H.1992. (2nd ed) Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

67
 ROMANIAN UNIVERSITY IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT

Lector univ. dr. CONDRUZ-BACESCU MONICA

Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest

University - major factor in the reconstruction of contemporary civilization

The world of tomorrow as well as today's world are the result of people's choices in
relation to their level of knowledge, by way of assessment and action. Universities - are today
that edifice of science and culture where we find the treasure of humanity values, i.e the
horizons of knowledge, values and systems of human action in their essentialized form
(Vinanu N., 2001, p. 225).
Functioning in a world of rapid change, which it often triggered them, university has
changed its old contemplative orientation. Thus, there is a 180 degree change to the future. In
the field of education, lately, many questions persist, among which we note the following: We
are witnessing a crisis of education in itself or a crisis of traditional education, classical
education, which no longer meet the new requirements, the new innovative concepts and
realities?
For us as people and humanity, major questions arise such as: Do we have the power to
discern the values of non-values ? What do we want to choose? What we reject? Is there a
reason that rules the world or not? What will be the way of humanity: order, reason, wisdom, or
rather hazard, insecurity? In this respect, some thinkers are skeptical, saying that we are going
towards a social and human catastrophe. As far as we are concerned, we are optimistic, relying
on the decisive role of education and not to forget that the younger generation is receptive to
everything related to increasing welfare of mankind. Tomorrow's society is the effect of
education of today's society. We believe that reason should rule the world and this reason acts
by the billions of people facts.
As such, universities play a vital role in the training and education of young generation
in guiding our actions. History shows that it is possible to develop a community, actually, only
by maintaining and developing its own national identities and not by destroying the values and
total adoption of others, foreign traditions, customs and way of life.
Romanian university plays a major role in the assessment of culture, in increasing
universal values and also is a powerful shield against the loss of an ancient human community,
such as the Romanian one. Universities make up the bridge among different cultures and
civilizations, between ways of life which, for thousands of years, human communities live,
think, produce and create values.
In contemporary Romanian society, universities live the moments of a major change,
following a series of transformations and adaptations to new positions and situations of our
civilization. They are strongly influenced by the profound changes in science, art, technology,
hosting the treasure of knowledge and human action. Technology-based civilization tends to

68
make more intelligible the correlation with the new human order that creates new conditions
for achieving them. Moral progress is the one who gives to technical and scientific progress a
criterion of human value.
Today moral progress towards advancing human knowledge and the establishment of
order in the universe can be confirmed by daily activities. The concept of technoscience is still
under development, although many papers have been written on this subject. Its meaning is
different, sometimes very different, because the criteria are developed according to the
definitions. No matter the name, current trends illustrate this concept in explaining the
phenomenon of new science and technology.
Universities cannot stay outside the development of technoscience: huge increase in the
volume of information that characterizes our age would block eucative training process, if it
had not taken an amount of computer operations for storage, processing and dissemination of
information to students. Technical and scientific construction enables the computer to store,
process and transmit more information.
The world of tomorrow will not be standardized to certain centers of power. In the
evolution of universities the law of maximum diversification is valid in the sense that each
university has developed and is developing its own terms, adaptations and inventions that they
produce and transmit to new generations of students, have many elements, without which
university education cannot be understood. Science and technology have not a moral reason. It
is up to human reason, transposed in didactic reason to say what can be developed or not from
this knowledge and technology. Thus, we can say that human reason is identified largely with
the rationale that leads the world comprised in educational processes.
Also, university is the center where are carried out at the highest level, education of
community members. If through education we understand the assimilation of information at a
higher level, of new values and modes of action and accommodation of its own behavior to the
new horizon of knowledge, then the university is reforming basic institution in a human
community (Vinanu N., 2001, p. 229).
Man wanted by European civilization is a constant traveler, a man often dominated by
economy, but also a man of continuous search for good, truth, and beauty. In conclusion,
university has the virtue of human personality reconstruction from inside and not uniformly,
but guaranteeing many issues. We should believe that Romanian civilization is a civilization of
action.
European mission of Romanians is given by the values of our civilization: humanity,
tolerance, diligence, respect due to traditions, nurturing creativity, spirit of continual quest for
happiness, communion with nature, with the universe, with God. If we consider that one of the
main objectives of our universities is education, European integration is a priority. It is therefore
our universities integration into the European system. We consider the necessary and
compatible curriculum, computerization, networking, based on appropriate programs to ensure
easy access to all segments of information in any European universities.
The integration of Romanian universities in the European system requires all teachers
and students high and continuous training, teamwork and cooperation, intelligence in action,
competitiveness and ambition to show that Romanian school is prepared to face and prove
what is necessary to think in terms of education. Education involves a system of
transformations in knowledge, values and actions in the light of certain finality, of certain
69
objectives. Finally, university education means socialization, actually we can say it is a feature,
i.e to mould at people the components needed to live with others and to help the group welfare.
Higher education should develop to those included in this system the capacities required to
humanity belonging to that nation or family where they develop.
Europeanism is not what comes naturally, spontaneously, but what we consciously
realize and achieve. European education means training and development of the other
Europeans needs to us and ours to them, assimilation and practice of universal common
human values. On this point, professor Nicholas Vinanu says (2001, p. 241) ,, giving correct
information about every nation in Europe, about every major event, emphasizing critical
thinking and constructive cultural syntheses, higher education can lead to friendship between
people and more than thousands of boring political speeches ".
European integration means, essentially, an integration of skills. The professionalism of
teachers requires a large area of knowledge, skills and abilities. Professionalism is marked by
values such as: competition, competitive spirit, and requires high skills in the design,
organization and implementation of reliable quality activities. As part of this professionalism is
notable the ability of permanent education, training and development of those personality traits
required most by the teaching profession.
According to Sorin Cristea (2003, p. 206) lifelong learning is a direction of training
activities development aimed at personality development of structural-functional integration of
all general content (the five types of education: intellectual, moral, aesthetic, technological,
physical) and general forms of education (formal, non-formal, informal) throughout and at
every moment of human existence, on the horizontal and vertical coordinate of the system and
the educational process. Vertical coordinate of continuing education proves unlimited temporal
opening of the training and development of personality held longitudinally during life. It tends
to respond to various issues and problems of life of individuals and societies. Horizontal
coordinate of continuing education proves unlimited space opening, personality training and
development held transversally in every moment of life.
Lifelong learning is directly related to individual development and social progress. R.H.
Dave condenses the essence of lifelong learning characterizing it as "a process of personal
development training, social and professional lifelong individuals in order to improve the
quality of life of both individuals and their collectivity." Ideas such as "learning to be" and
"learning society", "knowledge society" or "educational society" are associated with this concept
(R.H. Dave, 1991, pp. 47-48). The knowledge society will fail if it cannot find a complement.
Competition, competitiveness is not possible without putting the university in order.
We have at hand a system of values? People are skeptical. We entered into uncertainty.
There came a turning of the modern world. The culture depends on change, and everything that
happens. Training is required. Competitiveness is not possible without training. Romania has
8.8% educated population while Europe has 32%.
A change was made that Europe lacked- classification of universities. China is the
superpower in science and economics. It must be said with full responsibility: we are witnessing
a decline in professional deformation in Europe. University remains the institution where ideas
are the best. It is clear that we need renewal. Always university gave an integrating vision on
society. In this context it seeks new ways of organizing universities. There are three proposals
put on the table:
70
 New University - a university open at the basis and hyperselective at the top.
University of public accountability - entrepreneurial.
Global Universities - are the safe solution with students across the globe. The new
mission is to create leaders. It focuses on innovation.

The main directions of renewing teaching practices in higher education

The complexity of the contemporary world issues and problems affect community life
and academic activities. Mutations and developments we are witnessing in the field of
university education require the need to build a consistent and deeply rooted didactics
anchored in academic realities.
The main directions of renewing teaching practices in higher education are:
reconsidering the relationship between educator and educated by moving increasingly active
interest in the subject's educational relationship and its potential in the context of teaching and
learning;
transformation of university didactics in a systematic approach focused on theoretical and
practical skills training-action of the learners;
increasing interest in modernizing and improving teachers' working methodology and adapt
them to the requirements of a modern education;
develop communication skills of teachers and students and their creativity, depending on the
particular and specific groups of students;
consistent opening to industry-leading research at international level and correlating of
contents with the data highlighted by generalizing the teaching experience.

References

Albulescu, M.; Diaconu, M. 2006. Direcii actuale n didactica disciplinelor socio-umane, Editura Argonaut,
Cluj-Napoca.
Boco, M.; Albulescu, I., (coord.). 2008. Studii de pedagogie universitar, Editura Presa Universitar
Clujean, Cluj-Napoca.
Caluschi, C. 2006. O nou frontier: comunicarea directa, Iai: Editura Polirom
Chi, V.; Diaconu, M., 2006. Didactica universitar, Editura Argonaut, Cluj-Napoca.
Cristea, S., 1996, Pedagogie general. Managementul educaiei, E.D. P., Bucureti
Cristea, S., 2003. Fundamentele tiinelor educaiei. Teoria general a educaiei, Editura Litera Educaionala,
Chiinu.
Marinescu, M., 2009. Tendine i orientri n didactica modern, Editura didactic i pedagogic, Bucureti.
Pease, A. 2002. Limbajul trupului. Cum pot fi citite gandurile altora din gesturile lor, Bucureti: Editura
Polimark
Prutianu, . 2004. Antrenamentul abilitatilor de comunicare - Volumul I. Iai: Editura Polirom
Prutianu, . 2005. Antrenamentul abilitatilor de comunicare - Volumul II. Iai: Editura Polirom erbanescu, A.
2007. Cum gandesc cum vorbesc ceilali. Prin labirintul culturilor, Iai: Editura Polirom
Toffler, A. 1999. Corporaia adaptabil, Bucureti: Editura Antet
Vinanu, N., 2001. Educaia universitar, Editura Aramis. Bucureti.

71
 ON THE SEMANTICS OF CND - CLAUSES

Lorena David
Profesor asociat - Universitatea din Bucureti

I. INTRODUCTION

Our paper deals with Romanian temporal cnd-clauses. We capitalize on work by Caponigro
(2003) and Hall & Caponigro (2010) and claim that Romanian temporal cnd-clauses are
referential expressions denoting a maximal time interval. They are merged with the matrix
clause either directly as one of the arguments of the matrix predicate or via a possibly silent
preposition as a PP adjunct. This analysis does not assign the cnd-clause a propositional
type, the same as that of the matrix clause, more specifically, cnd-clause are taken to be
entities. Therefore, the wh-word is not viewed as a temporal connector which links two
propositions.
The paper is organized as follows:
Section 2 presents our proposal for a possible syntactic and semantic mapping regarding
cnd-clauses, by giving a fully compositional semantic derivation. This section motivates the
two silent prepositions used in our analysis.
Section 3 presents the conclusions.

II. SECTION 2

2.1. Previous approaches regarding temporal clauses

We start by presenting a semantic analysis for English when temporal clauses, as emerges
from Bonomi (1997), Vikner (2004), Moens & Steedman (1988) (see 1). They treat them as
clauses with a gap occurring as one of the two arguments of the temporal operator
introduced by when.

(1) when (A, B) ~>eC[A(e) e[C(e) -B (e) >> << (e, e)]]>> << overlap (Bonomi
1997)1

Hall & Caponigro (2010) argue that this analysis is not on the right track for English
when, as it inadequately accounts for the distributional and semantic properties of when-
clauses. We also argue that this analysis is not appropriate for cnd either because of the
following problems. First, cnd and cnd-clauses cannot be treated differently from the other
wh-words and clauses introduced by other wh-words. Second, under this approach just
mentioned the cnd-clause conveys a proposition/event, like the matrix clause, not a DP/PP,
as we have shown above, namely that they behave like DPs/PPs (i.e. they have DP and PP-
like distribution and interpretation. Third, cnd has to be to be a wh-word which undergoes
movement, leaving behind a trace after wh-movement has been applied.
1
when takes two events (e and e) and returns true just in case there is a temporal relation of overlap between them. A
similar analysis for when is given by Vikner (2004).

72
2.2. Our semantic analysis

Cnd-clauses occur in two different positions: as adjuncts and as arguments respectively.

We argue that in both cases cnd-clauses are semantically free relatives, denoting the
maximal element of a given set (Jacobson 1995, Caponigro 2003, 2004, 2010). In the case of
cnd-clauses the given set is a set of time intervals or a set of events. This, in our analysis we
take cnd to have the same meaning as all other wh-words (cine who, ce what) following
David (2013), that is cnd is a set restrictor. It applies to a set of entities and returns a subset
that only contains time intervals (see 2).

(2) cnd1 x1 P [+time interval (x1) P(x1)]

1) We start with the analysis of cnd-clauses in adjunct positions.

In the sentence in (3) the temporal cnd-clause behaves like a PP adjunct of the matrix clause.
The tree in (4) shows how it is derived.

(3) Te-am sunat [PP cnd a plecat mama].

CL2SG.ACC- (I) have called when has left mother
I called you when mother left.

73
2.2.1 The derivation

Importantly, we assume that cnd is syntactically a DP which is base-generated as the

complement of the silent P1.The word cnd moves from within the PP adjunct to SpecCP1
leaving behind a trace/variable (t/x1), behaving thus like cine who and ce what (David
2013). The variable left behind by the movement of cnd when is applied standard lambda
abstraction. Lambda abstraction is located in C. Standard lambda abstraction generates the
set of entities that are in relation with mums leaving, which represents the denotation of C.
Thus, cnd receives the same treatment like the other wh-words, namely cine and ce, it
is a set restrictor which applies to a set of entities and returns those entities which are
events or time intervals. Thus, in our derivation cnd restricts the set of entities that are in
relation with mums leaving to the subset of those time intervals or events when mum left.
CP1 therefore denotes a set of entities (individuals). We also asume the existence of a silent
preposition P2. But the silent preposition P2 which takes the cnd-clause as its complement
normally selects an individual denoting expression (not a setr). This gives birth to a type
mismatch. In order to save the derivation, following Caponigro (2003, 2004, 2010) we
assume the existence of a type shifter (iota), encoded in a covert syntactic operator marked
with sigma .
Note that the same type of mismatch is encountered with standard Free Relatives
headed by cine who and ce what. When the type shifter (iota) applies to the denotation
of CP1 (i.e., the set of time intervals, it returns the maximal element of that set as the
denotation of CP2. If the set is a singleton, the maximal element is the unique time inteval
when mum left, or if the set contains more than one entity, the maximal element is the plural
individual resulting from the sum (in the sense of Link 1983) of all the time intervals or
events when mum left.
The analysis we propose relies on two silent prepositions P1, which is the sister of
the wh-word cand and P2 which is the sister of the whole temporal cnd-clause.

2.2.2. Arguments supporting the existence of the silent preposition in temporal cnd-
clauses
In what follows we give arguments for the existence of the silent prepositions P 1 and
P2 assumed in our analysis, which we discuss each of them in turn.

Arguments for P1
As far as the silent P1 is concerned, since the distribution of cnd resembles that of a
PP adjunct, we assume that cnd is always base-generated as the DP complement of a silent
P1, Cnd moves leaving behind a DP-trace/variable which is of type e. After lambda
abstraction applies a set of entities is generated, the right result for us. The assumption of the
existence of the silent preposition is not an ad hoc one. Silent prepostions can be proved to
exist elsewhere in both English and Romanian.
For English, some DP expressions have independently received the same analysis.
Emonds (1976, 1987) and McCawly (1988) argue that silent prepostions are needed to
account for the behaviour of adverbial nominals such as the other day (temporal), nice places
(locative) and that way (manner), as shown in (5-7). They argue that such nominals are
always generated as complements of a silent P when no overt P occurs as their sister (see
Larson 1985 for a different analysis).

(5) I left [P e ] [DP the other day].

(6) He went [P e ] [DP nice places].
(7) I like to dance [P e ] [DP that way].

74
 Note that in Romanian nouns expressing days of the week (luni / lunea, mari / marea,
miercuri / miercurea, joi / joia, vineri / vinerea, smbt / smbta, duminicile, smbetele), moments
of the days (diminea / dimineaa, seara, noaptea etc.) or seasons (iarna, primvara, vara, toamna,
iernile, primverile, verile, toamnele) can occur as temporal nominal adverbials as exemplified
in (8-11):

(8) Luni / lunea st acas.

Monday/ Monday (he) stays at home.
On Mondays he stays at home.
(9) Duminic/duminica/ duminicile merge n parc.
Sunday Sunday.the/Sunday.thePL (he) goes to park
On Sunday he goes to the park.
(10) Diminea/ Dimineaa lucreaz la carte.
morning/morning.the (he) works at book
In the morning he works on the book.
(11) Iarna / Iernile st n Germania.
winter/winters (he) stays in Germany
In winter he lives in Germany.
Nominals belonging to the temporal semantic field, which are accompanied by a
quantifier or adjectives such as ntreg, precedent, urmtor, viitor, trecut, precedent, acesta (sta) /
aceasta (asta) can also occur as temporal adverbials, as illustrated in (12-17 ):
(12) A stat n Bucureti toat vara.
(she) stayed in Bucharest all summer.
She stays in Bucharest all summer.

(13) A lucrat zile ntregi.

(he) worked days whole
He worked for days.

(14) Noaptea trecut am terminat cartea.

night.the last (I) have finished book.the
I finished the book last night.

(15) Sptmna precedent participase la o conferin.

week previous (he) had attended at a conference.
The previous week he had attended at a conference.
(16) Anul viitor va vizita oraul Dublin.
year next will visit town.the Dublin
Next year he will visit Dubkin.
(17) Vara urmtoare a fost n sudul Italiei.
summer.the following (he) has been in south.the ItalyGEN.
The following summer he went to the south of Italy.
Evidence that the DPs above behave like adverbs is that they cannot be replaced by
pronouns, but by adverbs:
(18) i va scrie un e-mail luna viitoare.
Cnd i va scrie un e-mail?
i va scrie un e-mail cndva.*asta.

75
 Summing up, we can say that in spite of the fact that they preserve the formal
features typical of nouns, in that they accept modifiers, they pattern with PP adjuncts. In the
examples above we can assume that there is silent preposition which accounts for the
adverbial use of the above mentioned DPs. The analysis we propose is given in (19):
(19) [P e ] [DP Iarna / Iernile] st n Germania.
winter/winters (she) stays in Germany
In winter she lives in Germany.
Arguments for P2
As for P2, the other silent preposition we used in our analysis, it is the sister of the
whole temporal cnd-clause (see 20).

Importantly, as we will see in the next subsection, this prepostion is not obligatory, its
presence depends on the matrix clause. In (21), P2 is necessary since the matrix does not
select an argument, the cnd-clause thus behaving like a temporal adjunct of the matrix
clause. In (22) which displays an argumental cnd-clause, the P2 is no longer needed.
(21) Am venit la tine [P2 e ] [ CP2 cnd a plecat mama [P1 e ] t cnd ]].
(I) have come at you when (he) has left mother
I called on you when mother left. (CP2 as adjunct)
(22) Nu mi-a plcut [CP2 cnd a plecat mama [P1 e ] t cnd ]]. (CP2 as argument)
CL1.SG.DAT-(I) have liked when (she) has mother
I did not like when my mother came.
Evidence supporting our assumption regarding the higher preposition P2 comes
from its overt occurrence, which can sometimes be encountered, as in (23-25) below, with
the prepositions de from and pn until, pe on:

(23) Am trit n acel ora [P2 de ] [cnd aveam 5 ani [P1 e ] tcnd ]]
(I) have lived in that town from when (I) had 5 years
[P2 pn] [cnd am mplinit 19 ani [P1 e ] t cnd ].
until when (I) have accomplished 19 years.
I lived in that town from the age of 5 up to the age of 19.

(24) Am trit n acel ora [P2 pe ] [cnd aveam 5 ani [P1 e ] t cnd ]]
(I) have lived in that town on when (I) had 5 years
I lived in that town when I was 5.

(25) A ateptat [P2 pn] cnd s-a fcut ora zece [P1 e ] t cnd.
(he) has waited until when CL3SG.ACC-has done hour ten
He waited until 10 oclock.

As can be seen in (26), it is not the case that any overt preposition can select the
temporal cnd-clause as its complement. This can be due to the recoverability of the content
of the preposition from other elements of the sentence:

76
(26) Am trit n acel oras [P2 * {n/la}] [cnd aveam 5 ani [P1 e ] twhen ]].
(I) have lived in that town in/at when (I) had 5 years

Interestingly, the same pattern is encountered with locative free relatives introduced by unde
where (see 27):

(27) M mut [P2 de ] unde stau n centrul oraului.

(28) M mut [P2 de ] unde stau unde st Ileana.

To sum up, the silent prepositions we assume for the analysis of the temporal cnd
clauses can be independently argued for other constructions that are similar to cnd and
temporal cnd-clauses, namely adverbial nominals and locative clauses introduced by unde
where.

2) The cnd-clause as an argument of the matrix clause

(29) Nu mi-a plcut [cnd mama a plecat]/ [DP acel moment].

Consider the cnd-clause in (29). The cnd-clause in (29) is in object position, the object of the
matrix predicate, which selects an individual denoting complement. Thus a silent P 2 is no
longer licensed and the CP2 merges directely with the matrix predicate. The CP2 of the cnd-
clause in (30) denotes the sum of all intervals or events when mother left.

77
 Summing up, cnd-clauses are merged with the matrix clause either directly as one of
the arguments of the matrix predicate or via a possibly silent preposition as a PP adjunct.
This analysis does not assign the cnd-clause a propositional type, the same as the type of the
matrix clause. The wh-word does not play the part of a temporal connector which connects
two propositions. On the contrary, we assume that cnd is syntactically a DP which is base-
generated as the complement of the silent P1. Thus, cnd receives the same treatment like
the other wh-words, namely cine who and ce what (David 2013), more specifically, it is a
set restrictor which applies to a set of entities and returns those entities that are time
intervals.

REFERENCES

[1] Bonomi, Andrea. 1997. Aspect, quantification and when-clauses in Italian. Linguistics and
Philosophy 20(5). 469514.
[2] Bresnan, Joan & Jane Grimshaw. 1978. The syntax of free relatives in English. Linguistic Inquiry
9(3). 331391.
[3] Caponigro, Ivano. 2003. Free Not to Ask: On the Semantics of Free Relatives and Wh-words
Cross-linguistically: University of California, Los Angeles dissertation.
[4] Caponigro, Ivano. 2004. The semantic contribution of Wh-words and type shifts: Evidence from
free relatives crosslinguistically. In Robert B. Young (ed.), Proceedings from Semantics and
Linguistic Theory (SALT) XIV, 3855. Ithaca, NY: CLC Publications, Cornell University.
[5] Caponigro, Ivano & Lisa Pearl. 2008. Silent prepositions: Evidence from free relatives. In A.
Ashbury, J. Dotlacil, B. Gehrke & R. Nouwen (eds.), The Syntax and Semantics of Spatial P, 365
385. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
[6] Carlson, Greg. 1977. Reference to kinds in English: UMASS, Amherst dissertation.
[7] Chierchia, Gennaro. 1998. Reference to kinds across languages. Natural Language Semantics 6.
339405.
[8] David, Lorena. 2013. Free Relative Clauses in English and Romanian (Propozitiile relative libere in
engleza si romana), Editura Universitii Bucureti : Bucureti (phd dissertation).
[9] Dayal, Veneeta. 2004. Number marking and (in)definiteness in kind terms. Linguistics and
Philosophy 27(4). 393350.
[10] Farkas, Donca & Yoko Sugioka. 1983. Restrictive if/when clauses. Linguistics and Philosophy
6(2). 225258.
[11] Gramatica limbii romne, I. 2005. Cuvntul, Editura Academiei Romne, Institutul de Lingvistic
Iorgu Iordan Al. Rosetti, Bucureti.
[12] Gramatica limbii romne, II. 2005. Enunul, Editura Academiei Romne, Institutul de Lingvistic
Iorgu Iordan Al. Rosetti, Bucureti.
[13] Hall, David & Caponigro Ivano. On the semantics of temporal when-clauses. In Nan Li, David
Lutz (eds), Proceedings of Semantics and Linguistic Theory (SALT) 20, pp. 544-563. Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University. 2010.
[14] Jacobson, Pauline. 1995. On the quantificational force of English free relatives. In
[15] E. Bach, E. Jelinek, A. Kratzer & B. Partee (eds.), Quantification in Natural Languages, 451486.
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Press.

78
 THE POLYSEMIC STRUCTURE OF
THE ENGLISH SOCIAL RANK TERM QUEEN

Dr Drimala Iulia Cristina

Universitatea de Stiinte Agronomice
si Medicina Veterinara - Bucuresti

I. Introduction

The aim of this paper is to show that the English social rank term queen has a
polysemous structure and is a prototypical word in its frame. This social term is studied in a
diachronic approach, tracing its semantic evolution from the medieval period until nowadays.
Its evolution is followed in close relation with the social and historical changes which took place
in England during these many centuries. This term is envisaged as a particular category, having
characteristics specific to both abstract (worker) and natural categories (tiger, book). Accordingly,
a set of five criterial features proposed by Dahlgren (1985) to define and describe social
categories are used in the description of the term queen.

Our hypothesis is that being constitutively defined social rank terms have evolved
differently compared to other categories of terms (their semantic evolution is socially and
historically influenced). Besides, due to the nature of the class they denote, social categories are
conceived of in a richer and more complex manner than natural categories and this predicts
more complex information in their cognitive representation. Based on this, I expect that the
semantic evolution of queen prove that this word has a rich polysemy.

Theoretical framework: Given the particularity of the semantic content of the term
queen, we approached it as well as the other terms in the same frame from the sociolinguistic
perspective (Dahlgren: 1985, Hughes: 1988, Baugh& Cable: 1992) and from the cognitivist
perspective (Rosch: 1978, Barsalou: 1992, Fillmore & Atkins: 1992, Lakoff: 1987, Taylor: 1989).

3.1. The sociolinguistic approach

Social rank terms are studied according to the way in which they adapted to the
occurring socio-historical changes. Their diachronic study against the social background of the
medieval period is mainly based on the theory of Hughes (1988) who assumes that words enter
the vocabulary when new concepts emerge as a need to name new things, people etc. Besides,
they do not enter the language in an isolated way, but grouped in conceptual fields which reflect
social and historical realities. Hughes theory is reflected in the rise and development of the feudal
vocabulary, engendered by changes in the constitutive laws that regulated the English society in
the Xth century and before. These laws changed as a result of a historical fact, the Norman
Conquest (1066) which had a sudden and violent character. Linguistically, the consequences of
this event were seen in the changes that took place in the English vocabulary, as words often

79
directly reflect gradual or abrupt social changes. The foundation of a new social system by means
of constitutive laws engendered the constitution of a new system of terms denoting the newly formed
social categories, with their roles within the medieval institutions.

3.2. The cognitivist approach

Social rank terms are grouped and studied in frames (Lakoff: 1987, Taylor: 1989, Fillmore:
1992) and have a prototypical structure, illustrated by the criterial features1 which were identified
by Dahlgren (1985) as being specific for their description. The concept of prototype is related to
the notion of family resemblance structure (Lakoff: 1987, Taylor: 1989) which defines a polysemous
category as well. According to Lakoff (1987), Fillmore & Atkins (1992) and Taylor (1989), a
polysemous category consists of a cluster of meanings which are not independent of each other.
Any of these meanings can generate new meanings, based on some shared elements. These
related meanings form a category (e.g. climb, Fillmore&Atkins: 1992).

However, since the prototype theory was found to be insufficient to explain the internal
structure of a polysemous category, precisely how any node in a meaning can be the source of
extension for other meanings and how any node in a meaning can be a category2 itself, Lakoff
(1987) came up with the idea of an idealised cognitive model (ICM), accommodating the principles
of the standard prototype theory within our knowledge and experience of the world.
Accordingly, meaning should be studied not in isolation, but against the background of a
network of shared, conventionalized and, to a certain extent, idealized knowledge, embedded in a pattern
of cultural beliefs and practices (Taylor: 1989:83). These are frames (Fillmore: 1992, Barsalou: 1992)
or ICMs (Lakoff: 1987). These systems of knowledge reside in the mind of each individual and help
him categorize. For example, bachelor of arts only makes sense in the context of institutions of
higher learning and their procedures for granting degrees.

Following the cognitivist view on meaning and frame, the concept queen will be studied
in a frame semantics approach. The term frame does not only refer to the study of the meaning
of one concept against a specific knowledge background; it also designates a cluster of concepts
(Lakoff: 1987) which share specific properties and which are, in this way, related to one another.
As Fillmore & Atkins stated, individual word senses, relationships among the senses of polysemous
words and relationships between (senses of) semantically related words will be linked with the cognitive
structures (or frames), knowledge of which is presupposed for the concepts encoded by the words
(1992: 75). A linguistic form gets its meaning by highlighting a particular region in the relevant
domain. But not always can it be explained with reference to a single domain. Usually, a
linguistic form needs to be characterized against a number of different domains at the same

1These features refer to the social function, social relations, internal qualities and physical appearance of the designated
social categories. The last feature refers to the cultural knowledge people possess of a certain social category,
knowledge referred to as cultural stereotypes.

2 Polysemous words can be seen as categories themselves. Their meanings which are related in a family resemblance
structure are members of the category (Lakoff: 1987, Taylor: 1989).

80
time. Sometimes, one of these domains may become more salient than others. This is called
perspectivization (Dirven et al.:1982).

In the analysis of the polysemous structure of queen, we take into account Taylors
assumption that if different uses of a lexical item require, for their explication, reference to two different
domains, or two different sets of domains, this is a strong indication that the lexical item in question is
polysemous (1989:100). Therefore I adopt two of the four types of cognitive models (ICMs)
proposed by Lakoff (1987) which structure the different meanings of a polysemous item: the
metonymic model and the metaphoric model.

3.2.1. The metonymic model: a part (of the whole) stands for the whole. A metonymic
mapping occurs within a single conceptual domain, which is structured by an ICM. According
to Taylor (1989), metonymic extensions are entailed by perspectivization. Metonymy is a
structuring principle which organizes knowledge in a frame as metaphor does, a cognitive
process in which one conceptual entity, the vehicle, provides mental access to another conceptual entity,
the target, within the same domain, or idealized cognitive model (ICM) (2002: 145). E.g. THE PART FOR
WHOLE metonymy (We need some good heads on the project) (Kvecses: 2002).

3.2.2. The metaphorical model: consists of the mapping from a propositional or image-
schematic model in one domain to a corresponding structure in another domain. According to
cognitivism, metaphor is the conceptualization of one cognitive domain (ICM1) in terms of
components more usually associated with another cognitive domain (ICM2). The main function
of metaphor is to understand one thing in terms of another, which is possible by mapping the
structure of one domain (the source domain) onto another (the target domain) (Lakoff: 1987). For
example, we can understand the concept of love through the concept of journey (the love is a
journey metaphor, Lakoff: 1987). Lakoff (1987) and Kvecses (2002) propose three types of
metaphors based on their cognitive function: structural, ontological and orientational. The
analysis of the semantic extensions of queen will take into account the orientational metaphor.

Though the term queen is studied in a frame semantic approach, some structuralist
elements will be retained in its analysis. The componential analysis of meaning is used to
establish the common as well as the distinctive features of this term. This will illustrate the
family resemblance structure of a social category.

II. The polysemy of the high rank term QUEEN

This section deals with the analysis of the semantic extensions of the term queen.
Semantic extensions account for the polysemy of words and are discussed based on the two
mechanisms which generate them: metonymy and metaphor.
The sources employed in the study of the historical definitions of queen prove that this
concept was enriched with new semantic traits, while some features were abandoned. These changes
have been recorded and interpreted in correlation with the social changes of the time. While
analyzing the definitions and explanations provided by dictionaries and historical resources we
identified that queen has a polysemic structure in which meanings are related through meaning
chains (Fillmore: 1985). This means that this term exhibits a number of related meanings which
cluster in a family resemblance structure. The term develops into two main directions which

81
involve the social sphere and the evaluative domain. The central meanings which illustrate the
social sphere represent the source of a number of meanings extensions (some of which concern the
evaluative sphere) based on some shared features/attributes. This process of semantic extension
is engendered by image-schematic models (metaphoric and metonymic) (Lakoff: 1987). In the
process of semantic extension, a peripheral meaning becomes central, due to its context-dependence
and its capacity to generate other (related) meanings. These semantic changes are illustrated by
the definitions and examples given below.

2.1. The social meanings of queen

These meanings are studied according to two of Dahlgrens (1985) criterial features for
defining social categories: social function and social relations. There are two main social meanings
which the term queen exhibits in the medieval period as well as in the modern and
contemporary period: (meaning 1) the wife or consort of a king and (meaning 2) a woman who is
the chief ruler of a state, having the same rank and position as a king (OED: XII: 1009).

1400 Destr. Troy 3I63 Menelai wife, Lady of is londand a gai qwene (OED: XII: 1009);

1710 Swift Lett. (1767) III.29 My memorial which was given to the queen (OED: XII: 1009);

These meanings represent the central readings of the word queen. They assure the
semantic cohesion of the category, making the other readings accessible (the extended
meanings) (Geeraerts: 2006) and are grouped around the concepts of highest social position and
power, which enabled us to establish their main enduring semantic features: [ HIGH STATUS],
[POWER], [AUTHORITY] and [CONTROL]. The social meanings provide information about the social
function and the social relations of the person denoted. Therefore, a queen can be described as a
person who holds the highest position in the social hierarchy, having the authority and ability
to rule the people of a country. The other high rank social categories are in a relation of
subordination with a queen.

2.2. The semantic extensions of queen

As mentioned, queen is a polysemic category in which extension mechanisms allow

different meanings of the same category to get associated. These meanings are metaphorical and
metonymic extensions of the social meanings which illustrate the capacity of the word queen to
map elements from the social domain to other domains (e.g. games, plants, animals) based on
some shared properties. These mappings permit a full understanding of the category queen
which involves more cognitive domains. In the process of semantic extension, some of the
central features which define the concept queen at a social level are lost, being replaced by others
which become central ( e.g. evaluative features). Consequently, a new domain (the evaluative
sphere of moral conduct, for example) is perspectivized (Taylor: 1989), while the other one (the
social domain) is eclipsed. This phenomenon is context-related and involves a change in the
denotation of the word. As stated, the semantic extensions of queen are discussed in terms of the
metaphorical and metonymic models proposed by Lakoff (1987).

2.2.1. Metonymic extensions

82
 Metonymic extensions involve the PART-FOR-WHOLE relationship. Such extensions can be
considered metaphorical extensions which have a metonymic base (Kvecses: 2002). They
involve the domains of games (playing-cards, chess):
in chess: (meaning 3) the piece which has greatest freedom of movement, and hence is most effective
for defending the king, next to which it is placed at the beginning of the game (OED: XII:1010).
1440 Gesta Rom xxi. 71 (Harl.M.S.) The fifthe [piece] is e queen () (OED: XII: 1010)
in cards: (meaning 4) a card bearing the figure of a queen, of which there are four in each pack,
ranking next to the kings (OED: XII:1010);
1575 Gamm. Gurton II ii. 29 There is five trumps beside the queene (OED: XII: 1010)

In these examples, the PART-WHOLE metonymic relationship is illustrated either by a piece

of a game bearing the main symbol of power and supremacy (the crown) or by a card bearing the
figure of a queen. The piece and the card stand for the queen.
The figurative extensions presented above illustrate the family resemblance structure of
the category queen. There are two meanings which derive from the second social meaning which
is considered to be central in the category queen. The relation between the extended meanings
and the central one is a stands-for relationship in which the part stands for the whole. The
attributes common to both the central meaning and the metonymic ones are [HIGHEST RANK]
and [POWER], symbolically illustrated by a card or a piece in the game of chess.

2.2.2. Metaphorical extensions

These semantic extensions are analyzed based on the orientational metaphor which maps
the up-down scheme onto other areas of experience The metaphors which account for the
semantic extensions of this term: the more is up (quantity), the good is up,the virtue is up
(evaluation) and the power is up (control) metaphor. (Taylor: 1989, Kvecses: 2002).
Studying the metaphorical senses of these terms we notice that they are all evaluative
meanings concerning the abstract domain of internal traits and physical appearance. They derive
from Dahlgrens (1985) criterial features which refer to physical appearance, internal qualities and
cultural stereotypes. When we analyse these meanings, we also take into account Hughes (1988)
theory of the moralization of status words: By the process of moralization, terms originally
denoting status and class slowly acquired moral connotations favorable and otherwise,
evaluative of the moral conduct commonly attributed to that class (). There is an equation
between a persons status and material value and a strong correlation between status and
implied moral quality (1988:47). Since queen is a high social status term we expect it to develop
positive moral connotations.

We argued that queen is a family resemblance category (Taylor: 1989: 108-109) which is
structured through a process of extension. The social meaning a woman who is the chief ruler of a
state, having the same rank and position as a king (meaning 2) is the source of extension for the
metaphorical meaning a female whose rank or pre-eminence is comparable to that of a queen
(meaning 5) (OED: XII: 1010). In this process of semantic extension, the features [SUPREMACY]
and [HIGHEST RANK] which define the conceptual sphere of queen in the social cognitive domain
are mapped onto the evaluative domain of moral traits. The evaluative trait [SUPERORITY] is
added to the new meaning. The use of the evaluative meaning specializes and activates

83
different domains in which a woman may manifest her authority (e.g. queen of hearts, beauty
queen). The perspectivization of other domains engenders the eclipse of the social domain; the
evaluative meaning become the central meaning.

1645 Howell Lett.II. xii. (1650) 13 The Lady Elizabeth, whichis called, for her winning Princely
comportment the Queen of Hearts (OED: XII: 1010)

1847 Ch.Bront Jane Eyre II. I.14 Most of themlooked handsome. But Miss Ingram was certainly
the queen (OED: XII: 1010)

1979 C. MacLeod Family Vault (1980) xxiv. 213 She decided to become a society queen and married
a man who had the cash but not the inclination (OED: XII: 1010)

The use of this evaluative meaning involves other domains like religion and mythology.
Queen is metaphorically applied to Virgin Mary, in phrases as Queen of glory, grace, heaven,
paradise, women etc (OED: XII: 1010), or to goddesses of ancient religions or mythologies. It is
also used in phrases as queen of love, queen of marriage etc

1325 Song Virg. 33 in O.E.Misc. 195 () queen of parays (OED: XII: 1010)

1508 Dubar Gold.Targe 73 Thare saw I Nature, and () Venus quene(OED:XII:1010)

The religious sense was created by mapping the features [SUPREMACY] and [HIGHEST
RANK] which characterize the social field to the religious sphere, based on the grounding of
metaphor in the common belief of people that the royal figures (the king and the queen) are
endowed with divine attributes, having the right and ability to rule over people. This
metaphorical meaning is enriched with new features: [DIVINE ORIGIN], [WISDOM] and [GOODNESS]
which are specific to the frame of Virgin Mary.

Queen can also be metaphorically applied to a woman as a term of endearment and honour
(meaning 8) (OED: XII: 1010), a sense which derives from the evaluative sense a female whose
rank or pre-eminence is comparable to that of a queen. The attributes [DEAR] and [HONOURABLE] are
added to the frame of queen.

1588 Shaks. L.L.L. iv. Iii. 4 I O Queene of Queenes, how farre dost thou excel, No thought can thinke(
OED:XII:1010)

Another extension of this meaning involves a change in register. An attractive woman, a

girl-friend or a female partner (meaning 9) (OED: XII: 1010) is referred to using the term queen.
The frame of this term is enriched with the features [ATTRACTIVE] and [BEAUTIFUL].

(Slang use) 1900 Dialect. Notes II 53 Queen an attractive girl (OED: XII: 1010)

1914 High Jinks, Jr. Joice Choice Slang 17, Queen, a pretty girl. A Beauty (OED: XII: 1010).

The attributes [CHIEF EXCELLENCY IN ITS CLASS], [SUPERIORITY] and [BEAUTY] specific to the
human sphere can also be mapped to the domain of things (birds, abstract concepts, plants,
food, cities, etc.), creating compounds and phrases with a metaphorical meaning such as: queen

84
weather (fine weather), queens pigeon (a large and beautiful crested pigeon), queen bird (a swan),
queen-olive, queen rose (a beautiful species of rose), queen apple (a tasty variety of apple), queen of
heaven, night (the moon), queen-of-the-night (a variety of night-blooming cereus), Queen of the
West (Cincinnati, Ohio) (OED: XII: 1010).

Therefore, queen is used to refer to anything personified as a woman and looked upon as the
chief, esp. the most excellent or beautiful, of its class (meaning 10) (OED: XII: 1010). This meaning is
an extension of the evaluative meaning a female whose rank or pre-eminence is comparable to that of
a queen, illustrating the family resemblance structure of the category queen. These two
meanings are related through the attributes [PRE-EMINENCE IN A CERTAIN SPHERE] and [HIGHEST
RANK]. Besides, meaning (10) adds to the frame of queen the attributes [EXCELLENCY] and [NON-
HUMAN]. The attribute [BEAUTY] relates meaning (9) to meaning (10).

1720 Sheffield ( Dk.Buckhm.) Wks. (1753) I. 6 Paris, the queen of cities (OED: XII: 1010)

1861 S.Thomson Wild Fl. III. (ed.4) 286 The lady fern sometimes called the Queen of Ferns
(OED: XII: 1010)

1838 H.Martineau Retrospect II. 254, I should prefer Cincinnati as a residenceThe Queen of the
West is enthroned in a region of wonderful and inexhaustible beauty (OED: XII: 1010)

Meaning (10) represents a source of extension for a new metaphorical meaning the
perfect female of bees, wasps and ants (meaning 11) (OED: XII: 1010).The attribute [CHIEF
EXCELLENCY IN ITS CLASS] is transferred in the animal regnum to refer to the best, the perfect
example of a category. The feature [PERFECTION] which is specific to this meaning enriches the
semantic frame of queen.

1609 C. Butler Fem. Mon.I Of the nature and properties of Bees, and of their Queene(OED:XII:1010)

The term queen is used with a change of register, from formal to informal, to designate a
male homosexual, esp. the effeminate partner in a homosexual relationship (meaning 12) (OED: XII:
1011). This meaning derives from meaning (9), An attractive woman, a girl-friend or a female
partner. The transfer of attributes from the feminine sphere to the masculine sphere involves a
slightly pejorative use of this term.

(Slang use) 1625 Truth (Sydney) 27 Apr.6 Queen, effeminate person (OED: XII: 1011).

III. Concluding remarks

The analysis above proves that queen is a polysemous word with a family resemblance
structure in which the central meanings (social meanings) represent the source of extension for
other meanings (evaluative meanings). In their turn, the extended meanings change from
peripheral into central meanings, thus being the source of extension for other senses. In this
meaning chain, senses are related by attributes which belong to the social and evaluative
sphere. In the process of metaphorical extension, the semantic frame of queen is enriched with
new attributes which belong to the evaluative sphere: [BEAUTY], [PERFECT], [ATTRACTIVE], [DEAR],
[SUPERIORITY], [DIVINE NATURE], [PURITY], [DELICACY] and [HONOUR]. These evaluative features
illustrate Dahlgrens (1985) some of the criterial features for defining social terms, namely those

85
referring to internal qualities, physical appearance and cultural stereotypes. The semantic
process by which queen acquires positive evaluative features also validates Hughes (1988)
theory of the moralization of status words. The semantic evolution of queen proves that this
term is prototypical in the frame of social words denoting status, due to its rich polysemy,
endurance in time and capacity of generating many compounds and phrases. Unlike other
social terms which lost their denotative meaning in time and became evaluative terms (e.g.
noble) or terms which denote mere titles (e.g. prince), queen has preserved its meaning
throughout centuries.

References

Barsalou, L.W. (1992): Frames, Concepts, and Conceptual Fields, in (Eds.) Lehrer, A , E.
Kittay, Frames, Fields, and Contrast: New Essays in Semantics and Lexical Organization, Hillsdale, (p. 21-74)
Baugh C. A. and Cable, T. (2001): History of the English Language, Routlege, London
Dahlgren, K. (1985), Social Terms and Social Reality, Folia Linguistica Historica VI / 1 pp.107-125,
Societas Linguistica Europaea.
Dahlgren, K. (1985), The Cognitive Structure of Social Categories, in Cognitive Science 9, pp. 379-398.
Fillmore, Charles J. (1985): Frames and the semantics of understanding, in Quaderni di Semantica, Vol.
6.2, (p. 222-254)
Fillmore, C.J; Atkins, B.T (1992): Toward a Frame-Based Lexicon: The Semantics of RISK and its
Neighbors, in (Eds.) Lehrer, A , E. Kittay, Frames, Fields, and Contrast: New Essays in Semantics and Lexical
Organization, Hillsdale (p. 75-102)
Geeraerts, D. (2006) Words and Other Wonders Papers on Lexical and Semantics Topics, in (Eds.) Cuyckens
H., Dirven R., Taylor J.R, Cognitive Linguistics Research 33, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin
Hawkins, J. & Allen, R. (1991), Oxford Encyclopaedic English Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press
Hughes, G. (1988), Words in Time, Basil Blackwell Oxford
Kvecses, Z. (2002), Metaphor, a Practical Introduction, Oxford University Press
Lakoff, George (1987), Women, Fire and Dangerous Things, the Univ.of Chicago Press Chicago and London
Rosch, E., & Lloyd, B. (1978) Cognition and categorization, Hillsdale, Erlbaum
Searle, J. (1969), Speech Acts: An essay in the philosophy of language. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University
Simpson, J.A.,Weiner, E.S.C.(1989), Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.), Oxford, Clarendon Press
Taylor, R. John (1989), Linguistic Categorization, Prototypes in Linguistic Theory, Clarendon Press, Oxford

86
 THE SEMANTIC STRUCTURE OF THE FRAMES OF
ENGLISH AND FRENCH SOCIAL RANK TERMS

Dr Drimala Iulia Cristina

Universitatea de Stiinte Agronomice
si Medicina Veterinara - Bucuresti

I. Introduction

In this paper we will examine the semantic relations which organize the frames of
English and French social terms in the medieval period, aiming to prove the systematic
character of the frames. Due to the specificity of their semantic content, the studied terms will
be approached from a sociolinguistic perspective (Dahlgren: 1985, Hughes: 1988) and from a
cognitivist perspective (Lakoff: 1987, Taylor: 1989). From a sociolinguistic perspective, terms are
studied as grouped in conceptual fields which reflect socio-historical realities (Hughes: 1988),
while from a cognitivist perspective, they are studied in frames and have a prototypical structure.

II. The frames of English and French social rank terms

Taking Dahlgrens (1985) features as the criterion for the selection and distribution of
terms in the frames, we distinguished the main attributes according to which we included the
studied terms in the frame. In the frame of cognitive semantics, criterial features become
prototypical features. These attributes refer to social status, [HIGK RANK] vs. [LOW RANK], origin,
[NOBLE] vs. [NON-NOBLE], social relations [IN RELATION TO KING], [IN RELATION TO LORD], social
function [IN RELATION TO ARMY], [ IN RELATION TO LAND], [ IN RELATION TO JUSTICE] etc. All the
attributes denoting social functions and social relations of the persons denoted by the terms
derive from the main distinguishing attribute [SOCIAL RANK]. Other frequently occurring
attributes which we distinguished as being characteristic for social terms are also aspects of a
high or low status: [POWER] vs [WEAKNESS] [AUTHORITY] vs [HUMBLENESS/SUBMISSION], [IMPOSING
APEARANCE] vs [POOR APPEARANCE]. Based on these attributes, we included the terms in two
different frames: the frame of English social rank terms and the frame of French social rank terms.
As mentioned, all terms which constitute a frame share the dimension [SOCIAL RANK]. This
feature is always present, though not always stated in this way, as is illustrated by the following
two examples:
Knave: A boy or lad employed as a servant; hence, a male servant or menial in general; one of
low condition;
(1) 1600 Dymmok Ireland (1843) 7 Every Horseman hath two or three horses, and to every horse a
knave (OED: VIII: 483);
Marquis (En.marquis): The military governor of a territory called a marche ;
(2) (Volt., Ann. Emp.Charlemagne, 785) Il (Charlemagne) tablit des marquis, cest--dire des
commandants des milices sur les frontiers de ses royaumes (Littr, III: 458) ;

87
 In both languages, social terms are polarized, being dichotomically described as high and
low. Consequently, we included them in two different frames: the high rank terms frame in
which all terms share the dimension [HIGH SOCIAL STATUS] and the low rank terms frame in
which terms share the attribute [LOW SOCIAL STATUS]. These two attributes generate contrastive
relations between terms in both frames.
Other frequently occurring attributes which determine the inclusion of terms in two
opposite frames are those previously mentioned: [NOBLE] vs [NON-NOBLE], [AUTHORITY] vs
[HUMBLENESS], [POWER] vs [WEAKNESS], etc. These features may not always be stated in this way,
but they derive from the definitions and examples of terms. When they could not be inferred
from the lexicographic definitions, information was taken from social and historical sources. For
example, the attributes [AUTHORITY] and [POWER] specific to the English high rank term king are
derived from its social meaning the usual title of the male sovereign ruler of an independent state
() (OED: VIII: 445).
(3)1613 Purchas. Pilgrimage (1614) 836 Their Kings were no other than the chiefe in every Cottage,
which consisted of one kindred (OED: VIII: 445)
The same attributes characterize the high rank term duke and are revealed by its social
meaning a sovereign prince, the ruler of a small state called a duchy (OED: IV: 1109). For marquis,
these attributes are mirrored by the following definition: in various European countries, the title of
the ruler of some territories called marches or frontier districts () (OED: IX: 394)
(4) 1846 Trevissa Partenay 6342 () Dukes, Markuis full of grace (OED: IX: 394)
It is to be noted that though terms like bailiff (Fr. huissier), constable (Fr. conntable) or
marshal (Fr. marchal) denote a higher social rank than peasant or serf, for example, we included
them in the same field of low rank terms, since they do not possess the feature [NOBLE] which is
specific only to high social status terms. The inclusion of the term vassal in the low rank terms
frame could also be questionable, if we look at its semantic evolution. Though denoting a
humble servant or subordinate (OED: XIX: 457) before the VIIIth century, it soon rose in status and
in the medieval period he becomes the servant of a noble, being himself a noble who possesses lands
and has his own vassals. In his study on the development of the medieval vocabulary in France,
Hollyman (1957) argues that the vassal is looked upon as a brave military nobleman whose
brave deeds and courage shown in combats raise admiration. He illustrates these words with
examples taken from different medieval writings in which the vassal is described as noble
vassal (noble vassal), bon vassal (good vassal).
(5) (...) Barons franceis, vos estes bons vassals (p.121)
However, we decided for the inclusion of this term in the field of low status terms
because despite its rising in status, he still remains a servant. Moreover, we can consider this
term as the embodiment of the relation of subordination which dominates the medieval society.
Based on these observations, we conclude that the distinction between high and low is
not clearly delimited because terms do not have either a high status or a low status; there are
term which have a mid-position in the social hierarchy (bailiff (Fr. huissier), marshal (Fr.
marchal), sergeant (Fr. sergent), constable (Fr. conntable)) which prove the complexity of the social
organization of the feudal system. The definitions and examples of bailiff and marshal illustrate this.
Bailiff: (mid XIIth c.)one charged with public administrative authority in a certain district; (in
England) applied to the kings officers generally, including sheriffs, mayors etc nominated by him, but
especially to the chief officer of a hundred(...)(OED:I:888).

88
(6) 1835 Penny Cycl. III.290/I The sheriff is called the Kings bailiff, and his county is his bailiwick
(OED: I: 888)
Marshal:( mid XIIIth c.) One of the chief functionaries of the royal household or court; in the middle
ages usually entrusted with the military affairs of his sovereign (OED: IX: 403).
(7) Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo, I do not know, sir; it was to fulfil the last instructions of
Captain Leclere, who, when dying, gave me a packet for Marshal Bertrand.
The types of semantic relations established between English and French high rank terms
are based on the common as well as distinguishable attributes which we identified applying
Dahlgrens criterial features. These attributes organize the frames of social terms in a family
resemblance structure ( Lakoff: 1987). We distinguished that some attributes are common to some
terms while others are not. The following table illustrates both the common and the distinctive
features we identified for English and French high rank terms.

Fig.1 The semantic structure of the frame of English and French terms denoting a high status in the medieval period
High rank terms High Noble Divine Subordina Subordi Subordin Landhol Land
status origin origin ted to the nated to ated to der divider
king the lord the
knight
King (Fr.roi)/queen (Fr. + + + +
reine

Prince/princess (Fr. + + + + +
prince/princesse)

Duke/duchess (Fr. + + + + +
duc/duchesse
Marquis/marquise (Fr. + + + + +
marquis, marquise)
Earl/countess ( Fr. + + + + +
comte/comtesse)
Viscount/viscountess + + + + +
(Fr. vicomte/vicomtesse)

Knight (Fr. chevalier) + + + + + +

Squire (Fr.cuyer) + + + +

We notice that the English terms prince/princess, duke/duchesse, marquis/marquise,

earl/countess, viscount/viscountess and their French correspondents share exactly the same
features: [HIGH STATUS], [NOBLE ORIGIN], [SUBORDINATED TO THE KING], [LANDHOLDER] and [LAND
DIVIDER]. These features are also specific to the term noble, therefore we established the term
noble as being the hyperonym of the terms mentioned above. Noble organizes these terms
vertically by means of hyponymic relations. Thus, the categories duke, baron, etc become
subtypes/subcategories of the category noble. In its turn, each of these subcategories is defined by
one or more features which distinguishes it from the other subcategories included in the
subframe of noble. These features refer to the degree of superiority in the high social hierarchy
(for example, duke ranks below a prince and above a marquis) and to the type of territory ruled (a
duke rules a duchy, an earl rules a county). Horizontally, terms are organized by contrastive
relations and relations of partial overlapping of meaning (Nida: 1957). Contrastive relations are
established by the distinctive features which some terms possess, while the relation of partial

89
overlapping of meaning is given by those features which are common to some terms but not to
the others. For example, the attribute [SUBORDINATED TO THE LORD] distinguishes the term
knight from all the other high rank terms. Squire is distinguished by the features [+
SUBORDINATED TO THE KNIGHT] and [- LANDHOLDER], [- LAND DIVIDER]. King and queen are
distinguishable by the features [+ DIVINE NATURE] and [-SUBORDINATED TO THE
KING/LORD/KNIGHT]. The semantic organization of the frame of high rank terms illustrates the
feudal social stratification which involved relations of subordination and mutual help. As the
semantic structure of the frame reveals, this stratification appears not only with regard to the
relation between high class and low class but also between high rank classes. The superior half
of the pyramid which reflects the organization of the medieval society has the king on top, as
main landholder and divider, then the noble class and finally the knights and squires.
The two frames of English and French low rank terms will be presented separately, since
some of the terms in a frame do not find their correspondents in the other frame. Using the
same criterial features (Dahlgren: 1985), we distinguished several main attributes which are
common to low rank terms and which determine their inclusion in a single frame. These
attributes, illustrating the family resemblance structure of social categories, are presented in the
tables below (fig.2 and 3).

Fig. 2 The semantic structure of the frame of English low rank terms in the medieval period
English low Inferior Subordinated Subordin In relation In relation In
rank terms social to the ated to a to land to relation to
rank king lord household army

bailiff + + + +

blackguard + + + + +
bondman + + +
brigand + + + +
boor + + +
churl + + +
clown + + +
constable + + + + +
footman + + + +
knave + + + +
lackey + + + +
marshal + + + +
page + + + +
peasant + + +
ribald + + + +
sergeant + + + + + +
serf + + +
servant + + + +
slave + + + + +

soldier + + + +
vassal + + + + + +
vavassour + + + + +
villain + + +

90
 The family resemblance structure of social categories is illustrated by the features
presented in this table which are common to some terms but not to the others. For example, the
attribute [SUBORDINATED TO THE KING] is shared by half of the terms in the frame: bailiff,
blackguard, brigand, constable, footman, marshal, page, sergeant, servant, soldier and vassal. Some of
the terms are also distinguished from other terms included in same frame by attributes which
are not mentioned in this table. The reason why we did not include them in the frame is that
they are specific only for very few terms. Such is the case of the attribute [- FREE] which helps
distinguish the term slave from other terms. The feature [IN RELATION TO ADMINISTRATION]
defines only the terms constable and bailiff, while the value [IN RELATION TO JUSTICE] is
characteristic for the terms bailiff and sergeant. These distinctive features determine the
contrastive relations which organize the frame. Within the frame, we also distinguish relations
of hyponymy. Soldier is the hyperonym of blackguard and brigand which denote a mercenary
soldier in the medieval period. As subtypes of soldier, they are organized vertically, having a
hyponymic relation with soldier, based on the feature [IN RELATION TO ARMY] and also on the
distinguishable features referring to character and actions: [CRIMINAL], [VAGABOND], [THIEF],
[VIOLENT].
Besides hyponymy and opposition, we also distinguished relations of partial synonymy,
established between words which are mainly defined by the attribute [IN RELATION TO LAND]:
peasant, churl, boor, bondman, villain and clown. These terms develops more or less the same
evaluative features: [RUDE], [SIMPLE-MINDED]. Fig.3 illustrates the main common attributes based
on which we included the French inferior rank terms in a frame. Most of the terms correspond to
the English inferior rank terms; consequently the same attributes are common to them. In the
table, the English correspondents of these terms are given in brackets.
Fig. 3 The semantic structure of the frame of French low rank terms in the medieval period
French low rank terms Inferior Subordinated Subordinated In In relation In
social to the to a lord relation to relation
rank king to land household to army

Brigand (brigand) + + + +

Conntable(constable) + + + +
Esclave (slave) + + + + +
Huissier (usher, bailiff) + + + + +

Laquais (lackey) + + + +
Marchal (marshal) + + + + +
Page (page) + + + +

Paillard (ribald) + + +
Paysan (peasant) + + +
Ribaud (ribald, + + + + +
blackguard)
Ruffian (ruffian) +
Sergent (sergeant) + + + + + +
Serf (serf) + + +
Servant/serviteur/ + + + +
domestique (servant),
Soldat (soldier) + + + +
Valet (knave) + + + + +
Vassal (vassal) + + + + + +
Vavasseur (vavassour) + + + + +
Villain (villein) + + +

91
 This frame is organized by relations of hyponymy, partial synonymy and opposition.
Similar to English inferior rank terms, the term soldat includes in its hyponymic structure the
terms brigand and ribaud, based on the common attribute [IN RELATION TO ARMY] and on the
distinguishable evaluative features [VIOLENT], [THIEF]. The relation of synonymy is established
between the terms servant, serviteur and domestique, while relations of oppositions exist between
all terms in the frame, due to the distinguishable features which they possess, besides the
common ones. Some of these features are not mentioned in this table. For example, the terms
page and vassal possess the attribute [SUBORDINATED TO A KNIGHT] which the others do not share.
Vavassour is the only term sharing the value [SUBORDINATED TO A VASSAL], while only ruffian can
be distinguished from the other terms in the frame by the attribute [SUBORDINATED TO A BAILIFF].
Huissier, ruffian and sergent are the only terms sharing the attribute [IN RELATION TO JUSTICE].
Next, the structure of the frames of social terms will be described using the great chain
of being conceptual metaphor (Kvecses: 2002). The concept of a chain of being which
structures the categories of the world (natural and social) was first used by Tillyard (1942).

II. The Great Chain of Being Metaphor

As previously stated, dichotomy is established between social terms when they are
disposed in frames. This can be envisaged as an antonymic axis represented by terms which
denote a privileged position in society (the ruling class represented by the king and his nobles)
and which are up on the social scale, and terms denoting an unprivileged social status (the ruled
class represented by peasants, soldiers and servants), which are down on the scale. The axis
illustrates the way in which the English and French medieval societies were organized, like two
hierarchical systems based on power and mutual relations between the upper class and the lower
class.
The social hierarchy of power which is reflected by the position of terms in the frames
can also be regarded from a metaphorical angle. In this respect, we forward Tillyards (1942)
theological view of the medieval world order who argued that the medieval and Renaissance world
inherited a particular world view, the idea of a hierarchical universe ordained by God. He used
the Chain of Being notion to describe the medieval and Renaissance structure as an interconnected
web of greater and lesser links. Each link in the Chain was an individual species of being, creature,
or object. The links which were higher on the Chain possessed greater intellect, mobility, and
capability than those lower on the Chain. Consequently, the higher links had more authority over
the lower. For instance, plants had authority and ability to rule over minerals. Animals (higher
on the Chain of Being) had authority over both inanimate plants and minerals. Humans were
thought to possess greater attributes than other animals, and could rule over the rest of the
natural world. Spiritual beings like angels and God had greater ability than man, and could rule
over and control humanity as well as the rest of the animals and the inanimate world. God was
at the top of the Chain of Being, possessing the spiritual attributes of reason, love and
imagination, as well as the divine attributes of omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence.
The angelic beings possessed reason, love and imagination and, like God, could stand the
physical limitations of time. However, they lacked the divine attributes of God. Humans
occupied the second place down in the Chain of Being. They both possessed divine as well as
animalistic attributes. The humane primate was the King.

92
 From a social and political point of view, the belief in the Chain of Being meant that the
King was anointed by God to rule over his people. He was endowed with Gods attributes,
having semi-divine powers. In return for his absolute power, he was expected to rule his
subjects with moral responsibility, wisdom, love and justice. Not doing this would have been a
perversion of divine order. No one could rise against him or the state, as this would have meant
rising against heaven and God. As King James I stated in a speech to parliament in 1610, the
state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth: for kings are not only God's Lieutenants
upon earth, and sit upon God's throne, but even by God himself they are called Gods. ()In the
Scriptures kings are called gods, and so their power after a certain relation compared to the
Divine power. Kings are also compared to fathers of families; for a king is truly parens patriae
[parent of the country], the politic father of his people. And lastly, kings are compared to the head
of this microcosm of the body of man . . ."
Studying the metaphorical extensions of social terms, we notice that many of them map
elements from the social sphere to the religious sphere. It is interesting to notice that only high
rank social terms are used metaphorically to refer to God or Virgin Mary (e.g. lord, lady, prince, king,
queen, baron), which illustrated the ideas mentioned above: Our Lord (God), Our Lady (Virgin
Mary), Queen of Grace (Virgin Mary), Prince of Peace (Jesus Christ) (OED:1989). If we exploit the
metaphorical idea that the king is the head of the body of a man, then we could envisage the
medieval social system in the following way: the medieval society is a human body with the
king being the head, the nobles being the arms, while the legs are represented by the lower
social class. Each of the parts of the body is as important as the others in forming a functional
whole.

III. Conclusions

We illustrated the semantic relations which are established between the frames and
between the terms in each frame. In each frame, terms are organized by relations of hyponymy,
synonymy and partial overlapping. The main attributes of social terms which enabled us to
distinguish between them and classify them in two main different categories, derive from two
of Dahlgrens criterial features for defining social terms: social function and social relations.
These semantic relations illustrate the family resemblance structure of social categories
(Lakoff: 1987, Dahlgren: 1985). In each frame, terms share more attributes with one or more
terms and less attributes with the others. Particularly, the contrastive relations which project
social terms on the high-low vertical axis actualize the image-schematic model proposed by Lakoff
(1987, Taylor: 1989) in which social relations are envisaged and discussed in terms of up-down
schema. These occurring semantic relations prove that the frames of social terms are complex
structures of knowledge which reflect the medieval social organization, as well as the fact that
they have a systematic character.

93
References

Dahlgren, K. (1985), Social Terms and Social Reality, Folia Linguistica Historica VI / 1 pp.107-125,
Societas Linguistica Europaea.
Hollyman,K.J. (1957), Le dveloppement du vocabulaire fodal en France pendant le Haut Moyen ge, Genve,
E.Droz.
Hughes, G. (1988), Words in Time, Basil Blackwell Oxford
Kvecses, Z. (2002), Metaphor, a Practical Introduction, Oxford University Press
Lakoff, George (1987), Women, Fire and Dangerous Things, the Univ.of Chicago Press Chicago and London
Littr, mile (1885), Dictionnaire de la langue franaise, Librairie Hachette, Paris
Nida, Eugene (1957), Componential Analysis of Meaning, Mouton, The Hague, Paris
Simpson, J.A.,Weiner, E.S.C.(1989), Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.), Oxford, Clarendon Press
Taylor, R. John (1989), Linguistic Categorization, Prototypes in Linguistic Theory, Clarendon Press, Oxford
Tillyard, E.M. (1942), The Elizabethan World Picture: A Study of the Idea of Order in the Age of Shakespeare,
Donne and Milton, Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, New York

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 GRAHAM SWIFTS WRITINGS: A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE

Asist. univ. dr. Irina-Ana Drobot

Universitatea Tehnic de Construcii Bucureti
Catedra de Limbi Strine i Comunicare

1. Motivation

Graham Swift is still writing novels. So far, there are few studies analyzing them:
Understanding Graham Swift by David Malcolm (2003), An Aesthetics of Vulnerability: The
Sentimentum and the Novels of Graham Swift, a published Ph.D. thesis by Jakob Winnberg
(2003), Graham Swift by Daniel Lea (2005), Trauma and Ethics in the Novels of Graham Swift by
Stef Craps (2005), and Graham Swift by Peter Widdowson (2006). In 1991, Catherine Bernard
wrote a study in French, called Graham Swift: La parole chronique. Nouveaux chos de la fiction
britannique. What is common to all these studies is placing him as a writer that stands apart
from those of his generation. In her article Tremulations on the ether: The sublime and beauty in
Graham Swift's humanist art (2014), Nathalie Massoulier speaks about a particularity of Swift.
She takes it over from Winnbergs observations regarding the importance of emotion in
Swifts work. Her article focuses on the ideas of sublime and beauty in his works, claiming
that these belong to the depiction of ordinary life. Pamela Cooper has a study dedicated to
the analysis of Swifts novel Last Orders: Graham Swifts Last Orders: A readers guide (2002).
None of these studies focuses, though, on the lyricism of Swifts fictional works. Or not
enough, I think.
David Malcolm briefly mentions that there are similarities between Swifts work and
that of other writers, including Virginia Woolf, in particular (2003: 10). Indeed, Sabina Draga
(1999: 242) claims that the one-day duration of some of Swifts novels is common to
Modernist novels. Marcus claims in his article that the brief duration of incidents in
Modernist novels shows a preoccupation with the relationship between narrative and
mental processes (2007: 88). It leads to a subjective time which relies on mental processes. It
is accompanied by the use of flashbacks, used in order to tell the story without removing the
action from the allotted day.
It has been said about Graham Swift that he rewrites the Modernist stream-of-
consciousness novel, as practiced by Virginia Woolf and James Joyce (Draga 1999: 242).
According to Catherine Pesso-Miquel (2007: 135), Swifts novels include Not narration
therefore, but a fictitious flow of thoughts sometimes close to the modernist stream of
consciousness. Malcolm mentions aspects of fugitive lyricism (2003: 189) in Swifts
novels, claiming that Swifts language is full of subtle linguistic effects. Stef Craps (2005:
177) states that Swifts language is characterized by its attempts to improvise a fugitive
lyricism out of the patterns of ordinary speech. Both critics focus on lyricism but also on
other features that are found in his novels, especially Swifts language. Everyday speech is,
of course, connected to everyday life. In both Woolf and Swift, we notice the movement
from everyday life to a deeper level, and this is also reflected in their use of multi-layered
language.

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 Kao (2011) views the poem as a unique perspective. She draws this idea from W.H.
Auden, who believes that a poem must say something significant about a reality common
to us all, but perceived from a unique perspective. Swift achieves this both in his poems
and in his prose writings. In his prose, he manages to use allusions to previous texts and to
describe the way various characters view the same reality from different perspectives.
Memories, problems with relationships, understanding oneself and the world one lives in,
looking into the past for present-day problems, dealing with the loss of the loved one, all
these are issues anyone can come across in everyday life. Everyday life becomes something
unique, every incident can gain features associated with poetry in Swifts writings.

2. The magic of everyday life

Some examples of the use of magic of everyday life can be found directly in some
lines in Swifts poems. In Rush Hour: So this is their life, what they do every day,/ [...] No,
no, look again. Its not what it seems. In Watched: If only life had an audience, a theatre for
each one of us. In the first poem, Swift asks us to look beyond the surface meaning of
incidents. In the second poem, Swift suggests the thin boundaries lying between everyday
life and performace, between everyday life and fiction. Real life incidents can become
symbolic.
In one of his interviews, with Robert Birnbaum (2003), Swift claims, explicitly, his
interest in the ordinary. Im not a writer who looks for the fantastic and the sensational, he
says. I like the world weve got. If there is anything special and magical, I have to find it in
the ordinary stuff.
One way of achieving to express the magic of everyday life in literature is through
moments of being. Moments of being are a significant aspect of the lyrical novel.
According to Bloom (1994: 409), The lyrical novelist, like the lyrical poet, abides now as the
re-imaginer of certain extraordinary moments of being.
For Woolf, a moment of being is a moment when an individual is fully conscious of
his experience, a moment when he is not only aware of himself but he also catches a glimpse
of his connection to a larger pattern hidden behind the opaque surface of daily life. (Lee, in
Woolf 2002a). Unlike moments of non-being, when the individual lives and acts without
awareness, the moment of being gives access to a hidden reality.
Graham Swift has, like Virginia Woolf in Moments of Being: Autobiographical Writings,
a series of autobiographic writings in which he connects his own memories to the way he
understands writing. Swift explains the way he views novel writing in Making an Elephant:
Writing from Within, a collection of non-fiction writing and interviews. In Sketch of the Past,
Woolf remembers moments in her childhood at St Yves. In Making an Elephant, Swift
remembers the event of an inoculation, which he compares to fiction. Swift claims that
Fiction is also a kind of inoculation, a vaccine, preserving us from such plagues as reality
can breed. (Swift 2009: 11). In Sketch of the Past, Woolf talks about moments of being and
moments of non-being. Moments of being are very special for the person experiencing them,
while moments of non-being are routine incidents. Woolf believes that there is some pattern
hidden behind daily life. Swift also believes that fiction storytelling is a magical thing.
(Swift 2009: 11). Moments of being make a story seem special. Swift makes us recall the idea
of being under a storys spell (Swift 2009: 12), claiming that the power of a good story is
a primitive, irreducible mystery that answers to some need deep in human nature (Swift
2009: 12). Like Woolf, Swift suggests that there are special moments in fiction which appeal

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to readers. Readers may experience certain stories as magic or as special. What Woolf calls
moments of being are experienced intensely. For Swift, stories can express a hidden truth,
a revelation:

The real magic (if that expression is legitimate) of fiction goes much deeper than a
few sprinklings of hocus-pocus, but we know when its there and we feel its tingle in
the spine. There can even be something magical about the perfectly judged and
timed revelation on the page of an unanswerable truth we already inwardly
acknowledge. In good fiction, without any trickery, truth and magic arent
incompatible at all. (Swift 2009:13)

According to Swift, therefore, stories draw attention to moments of vision. Readers

experience moments of vision while reading a novel. Moreover, moments of vision, which
are experienced intensely as revelations or shocks, are found in Swifts novels too. Similar
settings trigger them (nature or the city). Like Woolf, Swift favours first-person narration:
As an author whos favoured the intimacy of the first person over the authorial third
person, Id regard it as a mark of achievement if in my work the author seems to vanish
(Swift 2009: 1).

2.1. Genre

How are moments of being achieved? Through genre? The question goes hand in
hand with the differences, if any, between poetry and prose. Genre is all a matter of the
readers interpretation. This is how Jonathan Culler, in his book on semiotic approaches to
literature called The Pursuit of Signs (1981), introduces one of Todorovs theories. The theory
was about the fantastic literary genre, yet his approach can explain the operations readers do
with any literary genre.
The fantastic genres striking feature is figurative language; in a similar way, the
lyrical novel has some features which remind readers of poems and which gain their
attention. The reader must perform imaginative transformations on the various things seen
and heard, Culler (1981: 76-77) describes the readers analysis of Blakes poems. Readers
imagine and interpret. They do not stop at what they expect to be there or at what is,
seemingly, there, be it a fabula or a genre. They are drawn into imagining a genre and a
fabula which are not narrative but lyrical in Swifts novels. And, at times, dramatic, just like a
theatre play. Readers are offered illusions; prose uses features we have been used to find in
poetry and drama.

2.2 Feelings

We are told that Often the lyrical novel recreates the feelings of the narrator about a
personal experience or situation.1
In an interview with Catherine Bernard, entitled Graham Swift ou le temps du rcit
(1996), Swift confirms this when he explains his intentions when writing: much more
important for me is the emotional side of fiction. Whether or not they can say theyve
discovered some truth by reading my book, I want my readers to have had an experience, I
want them to be emotionally involved. If its not about truth, then fiction is about

1
Creativewritingcoach.co/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/110918-Lyrical-novel.docx
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compassion. (1996: 13). Swift allows us to form very close connections with his characters.
He regards it as a mark of achievement when his own voice and presence vanish into his
characters. (The Making of an Elephant, book jacket)

2.3. Poetry and prose

Irina V. Rayushkina focuses in her linguistic analysis of poetry on features like the
effect the poem has on readers emotionally based on pragmatic theory. While analyzing a
poetic text, one should pay special attention to the interpretation of its non-verbalized
meanings. Non-verbalized elements of speech (or text) are called presuppositions and are
regarded as dominating in the field of pragmatics. This view resonates with and explains
Swifts intention to create a powerful emotional impact on his readers in his novels and
poems. He uses a device commonly associated to poetry when it comes to his lyrical
monologues.
What is more, a poem says one thing and means another (p. 1) (Rifaterre, quoted
in Culler 1981: 89). In his theory, readers notice how a poem seems at first reading to be
about one thing, then go through the level of grammar and notice that it is actually about
something else. (Culler 1981: 89)
A poem, like a novel, with Swift, has at least two levels: one you notice right away,
and one you interpret while you are reading or after you have finished reading. Readers
minds wander when going through Swifts lyrical monologues to his poetry or to other
writers poems, or they see in his poems whole parts from his novels. Swift uses in his
poems a few words to suggest a whole story or a whole mood we remember from his
novels.

2.4. Deviation of poetic language

Leech and Short talked about the use of parralelism and deviation in poetry. These
effects are achieved either through syntax, semantics or pragmatics. Yet, what does poetic
language mean? There is no exact definition of it, as Leech and Short persuade us. They
make a distinction between poetic and ordinary language at some point by stating that
Poetic language may violate or deviate from the generally observed rules of the language in
many different ways, some obvious, some subtle. Both the means and motives for deviations
are worth careful study. (1991: 5) Swifts poems deviate at times from what Ferguson calls
normal speech patterns (2013: 13). There are poems where the sentence is not finished
grammatically, yet Swift puts a full stop to the lines making up the sentence. Such are the
beginnings of his poems Rush Hour and Perspective, for instance. In Rush Hour, the beginning
is The fog of their massed breath,/ The still-sleepy glitter of their eyes. (Swift 2009: 252).
This way the description is more powerful, it gains our attention. The poem Inmates begins
with another unfinished sentence, which just contains an enumeration. The poem Affection
starts in the middle of the poetic personas reflections, it seems: And affection too. (Swift
2009: 252) By leaving out usual explanatory elements in a sentence Swift manages to create
images to show to his readers. The images seem to remain still, to be just part of the poetic
personas wish or memories or reflections, as not much movement or action is suggested by
the absence of the usual verb in a complete sentence. Other poems contain such sentences
later on, not in the beginning, again serving to make images go before our eyes.

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3. The Influence of the Romantics

Getting the readers sympathy is an important aspect in the writings of the Romantic
poets, such as Coleridge and Wordsworth, who influenced, intertextually speaking, some of
Swifts novels. In the Introduction to Biographia Literaria, Chapter XIV2, we are told the
following:
Coleridge and Wordsworth collaboratively published Lyrical Ballads in 1798, marking
the rise of the British Romantic movement. According to Coleridge, in their
collaborative plans it was agreed Coleridge would compose a series of lyrical poems
exploring the Romantic and supernatural, and seeking there to earn a readers
poetic faith, while Wordsworth planned to use the self and the everyday as his
subject in poems that would replace a sense of familiarity with an air of the
supernatural. Pairing these two approaches, the poets hoped, might bring into
harmony the two cardinal points of poetry, the power of exciting the sympathy of
the reader by a faithful adherence to the truth of nature, and the power of giving the
interest of novelty by the modifying colors of imagination.
It is the combination of the ideas of the two Romantic poets, Coleridge and Wordsworth,
that is at work in an intertextual manner in Swifts novels, demonstrated in the aspects of the
ordinary and extraordinary in everyday life. Wordsworth and Coleridge believed that
Romanticism should focus on a poetic language accessible to all classes, not just the elite.
Augustan poetry was considered too sophisticated.
Wordsworth believed that poetry should be a spontaneous expression of feelings. He
valued the intensity of feelings at the expense of form. Wordsworth also believed that the
mind of the poet is not separated from the external world; the two are connected. Thus the
poet creates the external world through his perceptions. The poets mind is not merely a
passive recorder of the external surroundings. Swifts narrators work in the same way as the
poet in Wordsworths vision.
They offer to the reader their understanding of the world, not just a passive
description of it. Just like Wordsworths poet, Swifts narrators are gifted with stronger
emotional reactions to incidents, are more sensitive than the usual man, and are also
affected by absent things as if they were present. The latter characteristic describes the
way Swifts narrators are affected by the past. Wordsworth believed that the poet was a
man speaking to men, and this too is one of Swifts narrators characteristics: they are
ordinary, common people. Yet the way they tell their stories brings them close to the
conception of the Romantic poet as described by Wordsworth. Lyrical ballad is composed
of two terms. The ballad is usually a narrative poem, an anonymous folk poem. The lyric is
personal, often with a first-person speaker. Wordsworth uses the form of the ballad, yet he
uses it to represent everyday life.
Real-life aspects of characters make the reader sympathetic to them, keeping the
reader interested in the story. In Swift, characters get the readers sympathy by both
everyday and extraordinary aspects. By commonplace details we may understand the usual
lives of characters, with their relationships and memories. By extraordinary aspects we may
understand the way such experiences are expressed in the lyrical mode, in parallel with
other texts (with the identification of Unwin, for instance, with Hamlet or of the use of fairy-
tale elements in Waterland).

2
http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Biographia-Litararia-Coleridge.pdf
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4. Conclusion: Lyricism and Storytelling

What makes an extraordinary in the ordinary? References to other texts, used of

language? Moments of vision, or epiphanies, are also part of the extraordinary aspect.
Ordinary moments may include those moments when irony and witty language are present.
In Swift, the reader is sympathetic towards the characters in both aspects of lyrical mode
and narrative mode, in both ordinary life aspects and extraordinary ones. This is because the
reader is drawn to participate emotionally in every scene, reflection and memory in a very
intense way.
The dramatic aspect brings a dynamic experience of time and rhythm to the
emotional experience. The reader, as a member of the audience, not only assists in the lyrical
monologues, but participates intensely since the focus is on the inner world and not on
external incidents (or not only) as in traditional novels.
Part of this effect also comes from Swifts specific writing style. One of his styles
distinctive features is vitality: Graham Swifts best writing has an uncommon vitality that
frees the reader to explore with him. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) The experiences he creates can
be uncommon not necessarily through a defamiliarization of reality but through presenting
them in a very vivid way. Through a way that readers find striking. Perhaps this is the sense
of drama in his style: A born storyteller with a high sense of drama Swift holds the
readers interest in all the stories because his language and imagination are exemplary.
(Winston-Salem Journal)
Making reality unique could be what makes Swifts extraordinary in the ordinary
so striking. He is appealing to his readers and presents everyday reality in a poetic way
which makes it unique.

References

Birnbaum, Robert. Interview. Graham Swift. 2003,

<http://www.identitytheory.com/interviews/birnbaum114.php>
Bloom, Harold. The Western Canon. London: McMillan,1994.
Bradbury, Malcolm. Possibilities. Essays on the State of the Novel, London, Oxford, New York: Oxford
University Press, 1973.
Craps, Stef. Trauma and Ethics in the Novels of Graham Swift. Brighton/ Portland: Sussex Academic Press, 2005.
Culler, Jonathan. Fabula and Sjuzhet in the Analysis of Narrative: Some American Discussions, in
Poetics Today 1.3 (1980).
Draga, Sabina. Preface to Swift, Graham. Ultima comand, Bucureti: Editura Univers, 1999.
Graham Swift. Interview with Catherine Bernard. Graham Swift ou le temps du rcit. Eds. Michel Morel,
Jean-Jacques Lecercle, Jean-Louis Picot and Marc Pore. Paris: Editions Messene, 1996. 9-18.
Interview with Graham Swift, 2011, The Sydney Morning Herald.
Kao, Justine, Jurafsky, Dan, 2011. A Computational Analysis of Style, Affect, and Imagery in
Contemporary Poetry, Stanford University.
Leech, G., Short, M. 2007. Style in Fiction, London and New York: Longman.
Malcolm, David. Understanding Graham Swift. South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2003.
Pesso-Miquel, Catherine. The Changing Contours of Graham Swifts novels, From historiographic
metafictions to bedtime stories: The changing contours of Graham Swifts novels. Etudes anglaises.
Revue du monde anglophone. The Contemporary British Novel 1996-2007 2 vol. 60 (2007): 145-147. Web.
www.cairn.info/revue-etudes-anglaises-2007-2-page-135.htm
Swift, Graham. Making an Elephant. Writing from Within, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.

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MANAGING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES FOR EFFECTIVE CROSS-
CULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION AND PERFORMANCE

Lector dr.Virginia Mihaela Dumitrescu

Academia de Studii Economice Bucureti

Educators all over the world are being increasingly concerned with the cultural
dimension of language learning, especially in the area of languages for specific purposes,
which presupposes the development of practical communication skills that are required by
various professions in our globalizing, ever more interconnected world. This is largely due
to the realization that language, a major element of any national culture, understood in the
anthropological sense of the word, is also a reflection of a national psyche (national biases/
values, taboos, thinking and communication patterns, etc.). The importance attached to the
relationship between linguistic proficiency and cultural competence (or the culture-specific
use of language across cultures) is in line with the present-day interdisciplinary (linguistic,
psychological, sociological, philosophical, etc.) approaches to language, and particularly
with the findings of linguistic anthropologists, who look at first language learning and first
culture learning (a process they call enculturation) as elements actually belonging to one
and the same process (Watson-Gegeo, 2004: 339).
In the case of English for specific purposes, which is our main focus, there are
cultural and linguistic differences even among the varieties of English used in various parts
of the world, a topic we have tackled elsewhere (Dumitrescu, 2013a; 2013b). Among the
most valuable bibligraphical sources on the question of cultural differences in the workplace
are the works of such authors as Richard Gesteland, Edward T. Hall, Fons Trompenaars,
Geert Hofstede, and Michael Minkov, who systematize their information in the form of
either pairs of opposites or variables (so-called "cultural dimensions") placed on a scale or a
continuum.
Geert Hofstede and Michael Minkov's theory of cultural differences among nations
(Hofstede et al., 2012) is based on a six-dimensional model including the following cultural
variables: power distance (or the attitude towards authority and inequality), individualism
vs. collectivism (the way people from different cultures perceive themselves either as
individuals willing to assert themselves and achieve things on their own, looking after their
own interests, or as members of a group whose interests prevail over their own), uncertainty
avoidance (different cultures' tolerance of uncertainty, ambiguity, novelty, etc.), masculinity
vs. femininity (quantity/ competitiveness vs. the quality of life/ caring/ nurturing, or
cultures' concern with such matters as social security and the balance between peoples
professional and private lives), long- vs. short-term orientation (i.e., the tendency to make
long or short-term plans, or the need for immediate results versus delayed gratifications and
patiently waiting for results; this dimension is mostly a result of previous research focused
on Far-Eastern cultures and their Confucian values e.g. persistence, status, hierarchy, sense
of shame, moderation, social harmony, etc. that are still shaping those cultures today, and
the differences between Asian and Western cultures, for instance the meaning and
importance of "face" - Chinese mian-zi - and " face saving" across cultures, ), and indulgence
vs. restraint , or hedonism and freedom of expression vs. strict social norms that restrain the
expression of people's natural drives.

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 American anthropologist Edward T. Hall has a lot to say about different cultures'
treatment and perception of time (monochronic vs. polychronic cultures, or doing one thing
at a time, without interruptions vs. multitasking/ doing several things at once, as well as
allowing interruptions, or punctuality vs. tardiness, etc.) and space (the different meaning of
privacy and the "personal bubble", and the organization of the wider space beyond the
personal space in various cultures), and also about the different communication styles across
cultures (high- vs. low-context cultures, that is, how much people communicate, how
specific and detailed their messages are, are how much they base their communication on
"context" by which he understands such factors as age/seniority, social/ professional
status, a groups/ communitys collective memory/shared experiences (Hall, 1990a; 1990b;
1989; Hall and Hall, 1990c; 1990d).
Fons Trompenaars (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner, 1993) reformulates some of
previous authors' ideas (such as Hosfstede's difference between individualistic vs.
collectivistic cultures) and adds new dimensions, e.g. : specific vs. diffuse (that is, to what
extent people from various cultures allow others to enter their private space; in other words,
the different degree of privacy needed by people in different cultures), universalism vs.
particularism (or inflexibility vs. willingness to adapt to new cultural environments),
neutral vs. emotional (or the extent to which people from various cultures express their
emotions in public), achievement vs. ascription (or the importance attached to personal
achievement vs. non-performance factors such as personal connections/belonging to a
certain circle/the schools one attended/ the prestige of one's family, etc,), time orientation
(towards past, present or future, or various combinations between the time dimensions), etc.
Richard Gesteland (Gesteland, 1997) explains cultural differences using
examples/case studies to illustrate cultures' treatment of time, space, deals vs. relationships,
etc. According to him, the biggest cultural divide in the global business environment is the
one between deal-focused cultures (where people are very pragmatic and motivated to
achieve things) and relationship-focused cultures (which are far more people-oriented,
where human relationships are primarily based on trust rather than written contractual
agreements).
According to Edward T. Hall, every culture has its own preferences and
idiosyncrasies that may work as blinders (and one of those being, in the case of American
culture, he says, is Americans' way of understanding time: the sense of being permanently
pressed for time, in a rush to achieve things... which may make one vulnerable in certain
circumstances. As a true old-school anthropologist, he doesn't make value judgments about
cultures, but notes the differences objectively, basing his comments on direct observation.
He also makes interesting comments about Americans' treatment of space: the architecture
of American cities, the sociofugal [grid-like] organization of space that encourages
achievement rather than socializing/relationships, the cultural meaning of skyscrapers
(upward mobility, which is so much in keeping with the American dream, etc), the cultural
meaning of the "corner office" (status) in office buildings, even the cultural implications of
the size of American cars.
Most of the dimensions and cultural variables mentioned above are relevant to
language teachers and learners as they surface in peoples culturally determined use of
language rhetorical means included (Dumitrescu, 2013b) and in their way of
communicating with each other. Hence the need for cultural awareness, i.e., the ability to
identify or become aware of - the values, beliefs, perceptions, etc. specific to both our own
culture and of other cultures (with its various degrees, from the lowest ones, parochial,
defined by the motto my way is the only way, and ethnocentric - my way is the best way,

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to the highest ones, synergistic - my way and their way and participatory, which can
be summarized as our way, that is, going beyond cultural differences and creating a
common cultural ground or a shared culture to effectively work together as a team).
Cultural awareness should be accompanied by cultural sensitivity (understood as empathy,
or the capacity to understand other peoples culturally determined needs and emotions
without being judgmental), cultural intelligence (using ones knowledge of other cultures as
a way of growing personally and being able to interact effectively with people from other
cultural environments), and cultural competence (which involves deliberately turning
cultural knowledge into practices/ behaviour patterns and attitudes that enable one to
perform effectively across cultures or in a foreign cultural setting). A more comprehensive
definition of cultural competence would be the following one (which, although it refers to a
system of care, can be extended to apply to any other field, business included):
Cultural competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that
come together in a system, agency, or amongst professionals and enables that system,
agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. The word
culture is used because it implies the integrated pattern of human behavior that includes
thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of a racial,
ethnic, or religious group. The word competence is used because it implies having the
capacity to function effectively. A culturally competent system [or organization]
acknowledges and incorporatesat all levelsthe importance of culture, the assessment of
cross-cultural relations, vigilance towards the dynamics that result from cultural difference,
the expansion of cultural knowledge and the adaptation of its services (and products, in
the case of business) to meet culturally-unique needs. (Cross et al., 1989 : iv; v).
Cultural competence is a must in todays business world, for very pragmatic reasons
that have to do with effective and efficient business performance. According to Cross,
Bazron, Dennis, and Isaacs, there are five essential factors that contribute to a systems
(organizations, etc.) cultural competence: The culturally competent system would: (1)
value diversity; (2) have the capacity for cultural self-assessment; (3) be conscious of the
dynamics inherent when cultures interact; (4) have institutionalized cultural knowledge; and
(5) have developed adaptations to diversity (Cross et al., 1989 : v). The condition is that
each of these elements should be apparent at every level of the system. Therefore, Practice
must be based on accurate perceptions of behavior, policies must be impartial, and attitudes
must be unbiased. (Cross et al., 1989 : v)
Students of economics will probably have the opportunity, in their future careers, to
come into contact with business partners, customers, suppliers, co-workers, etc. belonging to
other cultures. It follows that in addition to their training in economics and apart from
studying the purely linguistic aspects of ESP, they should become aware of the various
levels of cultural awareness from the lower ones to the higher ones, and the importance of
cultivating the latter ones for effective intercultural communication and performance in their
future work places. At the same time, they should know that, besides cultural differences,
individual peculiarities and biases may play a significant role in the way people
communicate, and therefore the natural human temptation to apply cultural stereotypes and
clichs in an attempt to make differences appear less disturbing and threatening should be
avoided.
The devastating effect of cultural illiteracy on business performance has been noted
by various authors, who have sometimes used relevant examples and case studies to
illustrate them. Here are two situations of cultural incompetence in the global business arena
analyzed by Richard Gesteland (Gesteland, 1997).

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 The first is about the different treatment and perception of time (and, more
specifically, the different value attached to punctuality) across cultures, which has prompted
Halls classification of cultures into monochronic and polychromic, and his own
conceptualization as rigid-time and fluid-time cultures : a Malay business woman was
four hours late for a meeting with American business partners in Boston; she was surprised
and disappointed when her American counterparts could not receive her and re-scheduled
the meeting for the middle of the next week. Since she was supposed to be back in Kuala
Lumpur by that date, she returned home without having attended that important meeting in
the U.S. She later shared her frustration with participants in a seminar that took place in
Southeast Asia, complaining about the rudeness of American business people, and their
strange obsession with schedules and punctuality. Gesteland views the situation as a clear
example of inability to deal with cultural differences such as the opposition between rigid-
time (the US) and fluid-time cultures (Malaysia), and the way it can get in the way of
business performance.
Another pertinent illustration of culture clash and the best solution to minimizing its
negative effects involves the difference between expressive and reserved cultures, as
manifested at both verbal and non-verbal (in our case para-verbal) levels, especially during
intercultural negotiations. Gesteland explains how, during an American-Egyptian
negotiation taking place in Alexandria, Egypt, the Americans had to adjust to the cultural
expectations of their Egyptian counterparts for the discussion to be conducted effectively.
The American team included two negotiators, one quite expressive, outgoing and loud-
mouthed (like most Americans), and the other uncharacteristically restrained and soft-
spoken. As long as the less expressive American led the discussion, the Egyptian
counterparts showed little interest and finally fell asleep at the negotiating table. The
American team called for a break, after which the more expressive negotiator took over in a
loud, clear voice rich in inflections, which captured the Egyptians attention, so that the
negotiation could lead to an agreement. Gestelands example points to two cultural aspects
related to communication vocal volume and inflection that may be regarded differently
across cultures, and the communication breakdown that may be caused by significant
cultural differences (such as the ones between US and Egypt) even in the apparently safe
area of para-verbal communication.
The above examples confirm the importance of the cultural dimension of ESP
teaching and learning in our globalizing world, where cultural awareness, sensitivity,
intelligence and competence are being increasingly acknowledged as key requirements of
effective performance in the workplace, especially in the business arena. As shown in the
second example provided by Gesteland that we have mentioned above, cultural differences
are not insurmountable as long as they are dealt with in a flexible, empathetic, non-
judgmental, and culturally competent manner.

References

1. Cross, T., Bazron, B., Dennis, K., & Isaacs, M. Toward a Culturally Competent System of Care:
Vol.1. Washington, DC: National Technical Assistance Center for Childrens Mental Health,
Georgetown University Child Development Center, 1989.
2. Dumitrescu, V. M. Cultural Competence, a Condition for Second-Language Proficiency. In
Professional Communication and Translation Studies (Proceedings of the 8th International
Conference), vol. 6, pag. 195-204 Timisoara: Editura Politehnica, 2013a.
3. Dumitrescu, Virginia Mihaela. The Cultural Dimension of Rhetoric: The Use of Meiosis and
Hyperbole in British and American English. In Synergy, Volume 9, No.2/2012, pp. 161-169.
Bucharest: Editura ASE, 2013b.

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4. Gesteland, Richard R. Cross-Cultural Business Bahaviour. Copenhagen: Handelshojskolens
Forlag, 1997. http://www.zmk.uni-freiburg.de/ss2000/texts/gesteland(e).htm
5. Hall, Edward T. The Silent Language. New York: Anchor Books, 1990a.
6. Hall, Edward T. The Hidden Dimension. New York: Anchor Books Editions, 1990b.
7. Hall, Edward T. A System for the Notation of Proxemic Behavior. In American
Anthropologist 65, 1003-1026, 1963.
8. Hall, Edward T. Beyond Culture. New York: Anchor Books/ Random House, Inc., 1989.
9. Hall, Edward T. and Mildred Reed Hall. Hidden Differences: Doing Business with the
Japanese. Anchor Books/Doubleday, 1990c.
10. Hall, Edward T. and Mildred Reed Hall. Understanding Cultural Differences. Yarmouth, Maine:
Intercultural Press, 1990d.
11. Hofstede, Geert and Geert Jan Hofstede. Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind
(1991), 2nd. ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
12. Hofstede, Geert, Gert Jan Hofstede, Michael Minkov, Culturi si organizatii. Softul mental.
Transl. Mihaela Zografi. Bucuresti: Humanitas, 2012.
13. Oberg, Kalervo. Cultural Shock: adjustment to new cultural environments. In Practical
Anthropology 7, 1960, pp. 177-182 http://www.agem-ethnomedizin.de/download/cu29_2-
3_2006_S_142-146_Repr_Oberg.pdf?c309bd31734c35b99e5db589267fd36c=0115d0
14. Trompenaars, Fons and Charles Hampden-Turner. Riding the Waves of Culture Understanding
Cultural Diversity in Business. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing Limited, 1993.
15. Watson-Gegeo, Karen Ann. Mind, Language, and Epistemology: Toward a Language
Socialization Paradigm for SLA. In The Modern Language Journal, Volume 88, Issue 3,
pp. 331-350. Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 2004.

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 NEW PROSPECTS FOR ESP TEACHING AND LEARNING
IN A FLAT WORLD

Lector dr.Virginia Mihaela Dumitrescu

Academia de Studii Economice Bucureti

The present-day use of technology is dramatically changing the entire landscape of

education, especially at high-school and university level, in most parts of the world. New
learning environments are emerging besides the classic brick-and mortar one, allowing more
convenient, cost- and time-saving forms of content delivery and sharing, and innovative
ways of online collaboration and communication. The traditional face-to-face classroom
teacher-student and peer interaction is being replaced, or at least supplemented, by
technology-mediated teaching and learning, as one more instance of todays all-pervasive
process of globalization, or technology-aided global flattening, to use Thomas Friedmans
term (Friedman, 2007). Given the democratic nature of the online environment (where
anyone who has a computer with an internet connection may gain access to and take
advantage of the available web tools and applications, and peoples interaction tends to take
place on an equal footing), the traditional teacher-student relationship is changing, as well.
It would not be an overstatement to refer to the multi-faceted transformation that is
taking place in the field of education as a technology-triggered paradigm shift whose most
salient characteristic is the transition from a teacher-centred to a learner-centred education
model, with everything else that it may involve in terms of teaching and learning methods
and practices. Within such a model, the teachers role is essentially that of a facilitator or
guide on the side (King, 1993: 30), who is supposed to channel students attention in the
right direction, to prevent them from getting side-tracked, to assist them in their learning, to
provide the general framework within which their learning is to take place, to encourage
them to think both critically and creatively and act autonomously, as well as to maintain
their motivation while carrying out their technology-assisted learning activities.
The present trend towards technology-mediated education is a consequence of the
present level reached in the field of information and communication technology, and of the
way technology is continuously shaping and reshaping the thinking and behavioural
patterns in todays global society, especially among young people. According to Ronald
Berk, what sets the young generation (the so-called Net Geners) apart from their parents
and grandparents (and therefore from most of their teachers) is a whole array of
characteristics such as : they are technology-savvy, used to relying on search engines for
information, fascinated with multimedia, eager to create rather than merely consume
Internet content; they operate at twitch speed, that is, they have a great need for speed in
everything they do; they learn inductively, by doing rather than reading or following the
teachers instructions, and by trial and error rather than continuously and cautiously
asking for help; they enjoy multitasking (doing several tasks at once, and moving from one
type of activity/ medium to another, often combining work and play, or doing
homework/computer work and chatting with friends on the smartphone, for example).
They are easily bored and have a short attention span since they are used to speed and
variety, and need to get immediate feedback and instant gratification (Berk apud Prensky,

106
2006) in exchange for their efforts. They communicate mostly visually as they feel more
comfortable in an image-rich world than in a text-only environment. In spite of the
considerable amount of time they spend communicating online or using various gadgets,
they love face-to-face interaction and peer collaboration, sometimes viewing even the time
spent in class as a welcome social opportunity to chat with colleagues and interact with
the teacher; they are very willing to express their feelings openly, share personal information
and communicate their opinions both in class , as well as in small group discussions; they
value diversity and multiculturalism, and favour teamwork and collaboration over working
on their own; they need flexible schedules that enable them to balance school/ work
responsibilities and family/ personal lives. Finally, they tend to be goal-oriented and
success-oriented, which means they may sometimes seek short-term achievement (e.g. high
grades) rather than deep learning (Berk, 2009).
There will certainly be differences in the response to technology-assisted education
across cultures, as the attitude towards novelty is an important cultural variable, as noted by
important researchers. For instance, Gert Hofstede (Hofstede, 2012: 188-190), basing his
research on statistical data collected from people working in the business environment,
refers to various cultures tolerance of novelty (and the uncertainty associated with it) as
uncertainty avoidance, which he measures on a scale extending from low (as illustrated by
such risk-taking cultures as US, UK, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark) to high (e.g. Greece,
Portugal, Belgium, Japan, France, Spain, Austria, Germany). The question of cultural
differences and their relevance to the use of technology in education has already been
discussed, even with reference to Romanian culture (Dumitrescu, 2013a; 2013b).
All in all, however, todays extremely tech-savvy, gregarious Net generation will find
it not only convenient but also natural and in keeping with their generational
characteristics to embrace technology-assisted education in general, and even to turn from
the more static Web 1 technologies (or the first-generation web technologies specific to a
read-only web which only allow one-way communication, that is, searching and reading
information in the form of static content/ documents available on web pages text
materials, as well as images and videos - that are totally controlled by the webmaster and
cannot be altered or added to by Internet users) to the dynamic Web 2 technologies that do
not only facilitate information gathering, but also online collaboration and interaction as
well as the creation of content characteristic of a more sophisticated read-and-write web.
On social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace, users are the actual creators of
content, which they freely share with each other, without the webmasters control over it.
Therefore, what makes Web 2 more attractive to the Net Generation than the old web is the
fact that, in contrast to Web 1 technologies, which only place users in the position of passive
content consumers, Web 2 technologies stimulate and elicit users creativity and active
involvement (both with the content and with each other).
Among the most useful Web 2 tools and applications available to both teachers and
students nowadays are wikis - which allow users to collaboratively generate, mix, edit and
synthesize subject-specific knowledge within a shared and openly accessible digital space
(Wheeler et al., 2008) , educational podcasts (that can either be created by students through
teamwork, or just passively consumed, or listened to, by students on their PCs, iPods, or
MP3 players), virtual worlds (Second Life, where students can get the double benefit of
learning and multimedia-mediated entertainment experiencing the feel of different
cultures and exotic landscapes by role-playing, under assumed identities in a way that is
greatly appreciated by their generation, whereas teachers are given access to specialized
peer groups and, along with them, to multiple opportunities for collaboration, opinion

107
sharing and networking that may benefit their careers and day-to-day teaching practice),
webinars (providing valuable opportunities for both teachers and students to watch and
even join interesting live debates led by specialists on a variety of education-related topics),
and social networking (either in the form of general sites open to the public at large such as
Facebook, where learner groups may be created around a shared area of study, or in the
form of more specialized learner networking sites focusing on specific subjects, such as
sciences or foreign languages, which can be profitably used by teachers and students for
information sharing, chatting, posting materials, keeping informed on the latest
developments, bibliography, or practice in a specific domain, and last but not least,
expanding their circle of like-minded interlocutors who have common interests and
educational backgrounds). The Web 2 learning environment is totally in line with the
generational characteristics we have mentioned above, and especially with the Net
Generations great need for speed, variety, multitasking, feedback, interaction/networking,
intellectual autonomy and self-expression, which distinguishes it from previous generations.
Web 1 has been aptly defined as brick-and-mortar thinking applied to the web
(Getting, 2007), and therefore associated with traditional education and face-to-face teacher-
student/ peer interaction, whereas Web 2 is far more compatible with the more flexible kind
of thinking underlying late 20th-century and early 21st-century education models, mainly
the constructivist one (centred on the student as a contructor and re-contructor of
knowledge obtained through collaborative and interactive activities with or without the help
of technology, with the teacher viewed as facilitator in charge of guiding students, creating
the framework for the education process, and providing feedback on students
performance), and the even more revolutionary connectivist one, based on the principles of
connectivism as expounded by George Siemens (Siemens, 2005) and Stephen Downes
(Downes, 2005; 2007) and focusing on the idea of connective learning, which cannot take
place without the use of technology, and the ability to make connections between ideas,
concepts, domains, etc.
One notable example of Web 2 educational tools grounded in the ideas of
connectivism is represented by the so-called massive open online courses (or MOOCs) c-
MOOCs, to be more specific, which stimulate student autonomy and creativity (as opposed
to x-MOOCs, which tend to encourage more traditional teacher-centric educational practices
based on the transmission of knowledge from the teacher to the students). MOOCs of both
categories are taught by reputed professors of top universities (such as Harvard, Yale, MIT,
Stanford, Oxford, and Cambridge) to a huge number of learners all over the world that
enroll in them free of charge, without any obligation to actually complete them and take
exams. Such a massive dissemination of information and knowledge at the highest
educational standards available in the world is one illustration of the present-day
flattening effect (understood in the most positive sense) of technology-assisted education.
Although MOOCs have been applauded by many for the provision, under very convenient
circumstances, of quality education to millions of students worldwide who would
otherwise have had no access to it, they have also been criticized by others, especially for the
massification of education they lead to, which may manifest itself as indifference to
learners various backgrounds and proficiency levels underlying their varying performance,
for the missing interaction between teachers and learners, and even for their very high
standards of content-delivery that can make them inaccessible to some learners.
As for technology-assisted education in general, there are numerous advantages
offered by the new technology-dominated learning environments if we think of the new
learning possibilities opened up by the web tools and applications enumerated above, the

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new types of peer and teacher-student interaction, the teachers new role as guide and
facilitator (rather than knowledge transmitter), the multiple new forms of learner
collaboration they make possible, and the valuable skills and learning habits they help
develop. For one thing, they expand and enrich students learning experience by deploying
the education process far beyond the classroom walls into a space with no spacial and
temporal barriers to communication, facilitating the development of a global mindset
which is so necessary in practically any field of activity (and especially in the area of
business) in todays global society, and which can be defined as a highly complex cognitive
structure characterized by an openness to and articulation of multiple cultural and strategic
realities on both global and local levels, and the cognitive ability to mediate and integrate
across this multiplicity (Levy et al., 2007). They facilitate and encourage teamwork and peer
collaboration, which will certainly help learners in their future workplaces. By enabling
learners exposure to multiple easily accessible sources of information, centres of authority
and points of view (some of which will necessarily diverge from that of the teacher), the
Internet may foster students critical thinking and intellectual autonomy, stimulating them
to form and confidently express their own opinions, while at the same time reducing the
psychological distance between learner and educator specific to the traditional teacher-
centred education model that used to proclaim the intellectual authority of the teacher as an
infallible transmitter of knowledge and information. The benefit of such distancing from
unique authority centres and the appearance of a new student-centred education model is
especially manifest in such collectivistic-hierarchical cultures as the Romanian one, where
the respect owed to status/ authority, coupled with the reluctance to contradict people in
positions of authority may stifle initiative and self-affirmation. As mentioned earlier, unlike
Web 1 technologies that turn users into passive content consumers, Web 2 technologies
stimulate users creative thinking by enabling them to contribute content. The Web 2
learning environment also stimulates students intelligence while at the same time
expanding and enriching their online learning experience by exposing them to a great
diversity of materials, as well as by enabling them to participate in a wide range of activities,
from uploading documents for other users to view and comment on, to posting comments,
to asking for other users opinion, to sharing materials with their colleagues, to instant
messaging, to networking, to collaborating with peers on various projects, etc. Finally, the
Internet is the place where students may acquire or develop valuable skills that they can
later use in their careers and personal lives, such as research, self-study, as well as lifelong
learning skills and habits.
On the downside, there are a few aspects that should also be taken into account
when considering the effectiveness or applicability of technology-mediated education. In the
first place, some teachers (and even some students who are not as technology-savvy as most
of their colleagues) may find it difficult to change their teaching (and learning) methods and
habits because of their insufficient familiarity with the new web tools and applications
especially since some of them (e.g. MOOCs) really require a little preliminary training.
Student-centred, technology-assisted learning that involves a lot of autonomous work
requires a higher degree of student responsibility for the success of the learning process, as
well as increased self-discipline and self-motivation, compared to traditional classroom
interaction, where students are constantly guided and stimulated by their teachers to learn.
One unwonted effect of technology-assisted education may be the temptation that
sometimes exists among students to present other peoples work and ideas (which they can
easily pick up from the multitude of Internet sources available) as their own, in other words
plagiarism or intellectual dishonesty.

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 Given, on the one hand, the generational characteristics of our students, and on the
other hand, the cultural characteristics that we have already referred to, it seems that the
optimal solution for an effective education model in Romania would be a mix of traditional
and modern teaching methods and learning tools and environments. Due to certain deep-
seated cultural characteristics, such as a high Power Distance score, 90, according to
Hofstede (Hofstede et al., 2012:64), many Romanian students still seem to need the teachers
authority to discipline, motivate and encourage them throughout the learning process, as
well as to provide the most competent feedback on their learning progress. They still look at
the teacher as a knowledge transmitter and reliable source of information, even though they
may realize the key role of intellectual autonomy, self-motivation and self-study in todays
highly competitive world. On the other hand, Romanian students feel comfortable with
teamwork, which is in keeping with Romanias low Individualism score, 30 (Hofstede, 2012:
101), hence their interest in the collaborative activities facilitated by the latest Web 2
technologies, with which they are, on the whole, quite familiar. Moreover, they tend to rely
heavily on web technologies for preparing their projects and homework assignments. One
final argument in favour of blended learning would be the fact that, not unlike most young
people of their generation, they have a short attention span, as noted earlier (Berk, 2009), so
they prefer variety and multimedia, as well as a mix of classroom interaction and
technology-mediated communication/ collaboration to traditional lectures and seminars.

References

1. Berk, Ronald A. Teaching Strategies for the Net Generation. In Transformative Dialogues:
Teaching & Learning Journal 3(2) November 2009. Surrey, BC: Kwantlen University College.
http://www.ronberk.com/articles/2009_strategies.pdf
2. Downes, S. An Introduction to Connective Knowledge, 2005. Retrieved from
<http://www.downes.ca/post/33034>.
3. Downes, S. What Connectivism Is, 2007. Retrieved from
<http://halfanhour.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/what-connectivism-is.html>.
4. Dumitrescu, V.M. The Effectiveness of Combining E-Learning and Classroom Interaction in
Distance Education at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies: A Cultural Perspective,
in Proceedings of the 9th International Scientific Conference "eLearning and Software for Education"
Bucharest, April 25-26, 2013, Vol. 1, 537-542. Bucharest: Ed. Universitatii Nationale de Aparare
Carol I, 2013a.
5. Dumitrescu, V.M. Cultural Challenges Posed by E-Learning in an Ethnically Diverse
Academic Envirnonment. In. Proceedings of the 9th International Scientific Conference "eLearning
and Software for Education" Bucharest, April 25-26 2013, Vol. 1, 579-584. Bucharest: Ed.
Universitatii Nationale de Aparare Carol I, 2013b.
6. Friedman, Thomas L. The World is Flat. A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. New York:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.
7. Getting, Brian. Basic Definitions: Web 1.0, Web. 2.0, Web 3.0, 2007.
http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/464-Basic-Definitions-Web-1-0-Web-2-0-Web-
3-0
8. Hofstede, Geert and Geert Jan Hofstede. Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind
(1991), 2nd. ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
9. Hofstede, Geert, Gert Jan Hofstede, Michael Minkov, Culturi si organizatii. Softul mental.
Transl. Mihaela Zografi. Bucuresti: Humanitas, 2012.
10. King, Alison. From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side. In College Teaching, Vol. 41, No.
1, 30-35, 1993. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/27558571>.

110
11. Levy, O. et al., "What We Talk About When We Talk About 'Global Mindset'; Managerial
Cognition in Multinational Corporations." Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 38,
2007, pp. 231-258
12. Luca, Adina. Where Do We Stand? A Study on the Position of Romania on Hofstedes Cultural
Dimensions,
2005.http://mentalite.ro/content_docs/exploring_mentality/research_papers/Adina%20Lu
ca%20%20WHERE%20DO%20WE%20STAND-
%20A%20STUDY%20ON%20THE%20POSITION%20OF%20R.pdf.
13. O. Levy et al., "What We Talk About When We Talk About 'Global Mindset'; Managerial
Cognition in Multinational Corporations." Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 38,
2007, pp. 231-25
14. Prensky, M. Dont bother me momIm learning. St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2006
15. Siemens, G. Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age, in International Journal of
Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1), 310, 2005.
<http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_05/article01.htm>.
16. Wheeler, Steve, Yeomans, Peter, and Wheeler, Dawn, 2008 (Nov.). The good, the bad and the
wiki: Evaluating student-generated content for collaborative learning. In British Journal of
Educational Technology, 39(6). Page 989.
http://web2integration.pbworks.com/f/The+good+the+bad+and+the+
wiki+evaluting+student+ generated+content+for+collabortive+learning.pdf

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 LA MTAPHORE DANS LA MISE EN SCNE DU CONFLIT RUSSO-
UKRAINIEN DANS LA PRESSE CRITE FRANCO-ROUMAINE
Doctorand Gealapu Olaru Simona Cristina
Scoala Doctorala Limbi si Identitati Culturale
Universitatea Bucuresti

Dans cet article nous ferons, l`aide des concepts de la smantique cognitive, une
analyse comparative (sous l`aspect qualitative et quantitatif) des expressions mtaphoriques
vhicules par la presse crite gnraliste franaise, respectivement roumaine afin d`expliquer
et interprter aux lecteurs la crise politique en Ukraine, vnement d`actualit majeur qui a
profondment boulevers les rapports entre les grandes puissances politiques (ex. la Russie et
l`OTAN/ l`Union Europenne) et qui a mis en question la scurit nationale des pays
europens.
Le corpus est constitu d`environ quatre-vingt-dix expressions mtaphoriques pour
chaque langue, extraites principalement, dans la priode dcembre 2013-mars 2015, des
quotidiens franais (Le Monde, Le Figaro, L`Humanit, 20 Minutes) et roumains (Evenimentul
Zilei, Jurnalul Naional, Adevrul, Gndul)- versions papier et lectronique.
Il est important de prciser que la mtaphore tant une ralit subjective, issue des
projections d`un observateur qui ne reste, ni ne saurait rester neutre (Schulz, 2002 :30) permet
au journaliste de prsenter la manire dans laquelle il peroit les vnements politiques en
Ukraine et surtout la manire dans laquelle il veut que ses lecteurs les peroivent.
La mtaphore n`accomplit pas une fonction esthtique dans le texte de presse, mais une
fonction pragmatique-argumentative. La mtaphore journalistique, la diffrence de la
mtaphore littraire, est base sur des analogies prvisibles, qui ne demandent pas un grand
effort d`imagination. Pour mieux expliquer les vnements politiques actuels en Ukraine, le
journaliste emploie des mtaphores lexicalises et semi-lexicalises, et cre mme souvent des
mtaphores indites, nouvelles avec un impact majeur sur le lecteur.
La mtaphore dans la smantique cognitive- concepts de base
La smantique cognitive nous offre une perspective nouvelle, innovante sur la
mtaphore, qui jusqu` alors tait perue comme un simple phnomne linguistique caractre
ornemental, esthtique. Selon l`approche cognitive la mtaphore est un outil cognitif qui
structure notre systme conceptuel et qui nous permet d`apprhender le rel. Par la suite, la
mtaphore est un phnomne indispensable au langage quotidien, la vie quotidienne qui
nous aide mieux comprendre un domaine abstrait, nouveau dans les termes d`un autre
domaine concret et bien connu, grce aux correspondances ontologiques (concernant des
objets ou des entits) ou pistmiques (concernant des situations) qui s`tablissent entre ces
deux domaines. Lakoff et Johnson, les fondateurs de la thorie moderne de la mtaphore ont
appel ces deux domaines : domaine source (DS)- le rfrent et domaine cible (DC)- le rfr et le
processus de transfert de certains aspects, attributs du DS vers le DC- projection mtaphorique
(mapping). Lakoff et Johnson ont schmatis les correspondances entre les deux domaines

112
 conceptuels de cette manire : LE DOMAINE CIBLE EST LE DOMAINE SOURCE ou LE
DOMAINE CIBLE COMME DOMAINE SOURCE.
Il est utile de faire la distinction entre mtaphore (conceptuelle) qui structure notre
systme de pense et qui offre les champs smantiques sur lesquels on btit les expressions
mtaphoriques (ex. LA DIPLOMATIE POLITIQUE, C`EST LA GUERRE) et mtaphore
linguistique ou expression mtaphorique qui est la trace linguistique de la premire, un cas
individuel, concret d`une mtaphore conceptuelle (Ex.[1] Une nouvelle croisade diplomatique se
prpare. A sa tte, les Etats-Unis avec comme suppltifs plusieurs pays parmi lesquels la France.
(L`Humanit, 14.09.2014) ; [2] La salve dobus diplomatiques sur la Russie avait commenc en dbut
de semaine avec une dclaration du Conseil europen accusant unilatralement Moscou de la reprise des
violences dans lest de lUkraine. (L`Humanit, 30.01.2015)).
De plus, Lakoff et Johnson (1985) ont tabli, dans leur ouvrage Les mtaphores dans la
vie quotidienne , une typologie fonctionnelle des mtaphores conceptuelles (conventionnelles et
nouvelles) en distinguant entre : mtaphores structurales, mtaphores d`orientation et
mtaphores ontologiques, typologie dont on va se servir dans l`analyse de notre corpus. Ainsi,
les mtaphores structurales se servent d`un concept hautement structur et clairement dfini pour
en structurer un autre (ex. LA POLITQUE, C`EST LA GUERRE - on parle de la politique en
termes de bataille) ; la diffrence de celles-ci, les mtaphores d`orientation organisent tout un
systme de concepts les uns par rapports aux autres (Lakoff & Johnson, 1985 : 24) selon les
orientations spatiales : haut-bas, devant-derrire, central-priphrique, etc. : CE QUI EST BON
EST EN HAUT (ex. L`espoir des ukrainiens remonte.), CE QUI EST MAUVAIS EST EN BAS (ex.
[3] () les rapports entre Moscou et les capitales occidentales sont au plus bas au point que
M.Lavrov a rcemment voqu un dclin dsormais irrmdiable. (L`Humanit, 28.11.2014)).
Les mtaphores ontologiques, quant elles, sont divises, leur tour, en mtaphores d`entits et
de substances- qui nous permettent de voir les vnements, les ides, les motions en terme
d`objets, d`entits ou de substances physiques ex. L`ESPRIT EST UNE MACHINE (Je suis
crev, je ne fonctionne pas ma capacit maximale aujourd`hui), LA GUERRE EST UNE ENTIT
([4] Razboiul pandeste Romania1 , (Evenimentul Zilei, 12.02.2015)) et mtaphores du contenant-
bases sur la perception que notre corps est un contenant surface dlimite et orient dedans-
dehors sur d`autres objets physiques qui en deviennent des contenants dots des mmes
proprits ( Je sors de ma chambre et j`entre dans la cuisine).
Dans l`analyse de notre corpus nous allons galement inventorier les mtaphores en
fonction de la nature du domaine source en : mtaphores mdicales, mtaphores sportives,
mtaphores mdicales, mtaphores mtorologiques, mtaphores alimentaires, etc.
Tels sont, au terme dune trs courte incursion dans la smantique cognitive, les
concepts de base dont nous allons nous servir pour raliser une analyse comparative franco-
roumaine des expressions mtaphoriques employes par les deux presses dans la priode
(dcembre2013-mars 2015) : identifier le type de mtaphores, relever et comparer les domaines
sources sur lesquels se fondent les projections mtaphoriques dans les deux langages de presse
( franais et roumain).
Analyse comparative (qualitative et quantitative) du corpus franco-roumain
travers les mtaphores de notre corpus nous essayerons de mettre en lumire : les
causes de la crise en Ukraine (le dclenchement du conflit par les protestations violentes des

1
La personnification est considre par Lakoff et Johnson un cas particulier de mtaphore ontologique.

113
Ukrainiens sparatistes pro-russes et l`annexion illgitime et illgale de la Crime par la Russie
en mars 2013) ; les rles jous par les acteurs politiques impliqus dans ce conflit, illustrs par
l`axe agresseur-victime-sauveur : l`agresseur ou mieux dit l`instigateur ( la Russie qui fournit,
d`une manire voile, des armes aux sparatistes pro-russes), la victime/l`agress ( l`Ukraine
qui est scinde par les violences entre nationalistes et sparatistes), les sauveurs ( L`OTAN et
L`Union Europenne qui dnoncent l`incursion de la Russie) ; les effets du conflit sur les
rapports de force entre les grandes puissances ( Russie vs. OTAN/ U.E) matrialiss dans
l`isolement politique et conomique de la Russie par une srie de sanctions ; l`impact du conflit
sur la population europenne, craignant le dclenchement d`une troisime guerre mondiale
suite aux projets imprialistes de Poutine ( Novorossia ). Il faut mentionner que ce conflit est
dfini par les historiens et les politologues comme une guerre hybride porte sur plusieurs
plans : militaire, propagandiste (internet et rseaux d`influence), diplomatique, idologique,
d`o son caractre controvers.
Nous allons prsenter dans une perspective quantitative-comparative les domaines
source employs dans les deux presses (franaise, respectivement roumaine) pour illustrer le
conflit russo-ukrainien.
Dans ce but, nous avons dress 3 graphiques : les deux premiers indiquent (en
pourcentage) la rpartition des expressions mtaphoriques par domaines source dans la presse
franaise (graphique 1), respectivement roumaine (graphique 2) et le dernier nous montre en
parallle l`emploi des domaines source dans les deux corpus (graphique 3).

Graphique 1: rpartition par DS du corpus franais

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 Graphique 2: rpartition par DS du corpus roumain

Graphique 3:parellle de l`emploi des DS dans lapresse franais et roumaine

Etant donn que l`actuel conflit russo-ukrainien est tellement controvers, nous avons
pu observer, en analysant les expressions mtaphoriques des deux corpus, que les domaines
source projets mtaphoriquement sur le domaine cible du conflit sont bien nombreux et trs

115
varis (guerre, jeu, mdicine, famille/couple, phnomnes naturels, btiment, mcanique,
finances, musique, alimentation, religion, etc.) les journalistes ne sachant pas encore comment
s`y rapporter.
Mieux encore, dans notre tentative de comparer les modles mtaphoriques employs
dans la presse franaise, respectivement roumaine nous avons observ une quasi- similarit sur
l`aspect que ces deux presses se servent gnralement des mmes domaines source majeurs,
respectivement la guerre, le jeu ( le jeu d`checs), la mdicine ( la maladie)-mme si dans des
pourcentages varis- pour reprsenter mtaphoriquement le conflit en Ukraine, ce fait tant d,
selon Lakoff et Johnson( 1980), l`exprience humaine universelle sur laquelle repose le
processus de mtaphorisation.
Les expressions mtaphoriques ayant pour source des lments du domaine conceptuel
de la guerre actualisent la mtaphore conceptuelle structurale : LA DIPLOMATIE POLITIQUE,
C`EST LA GUERRE, avec les mtaphores ontologiques subordonnes : LES PAYS SONT DES
COMBATTANTS ([5] Putin considera ca Ucraina a devenit ostatic al intereselor altora (Jurnalul
National, 13.09.2014) et LES RPLIQUES POLITIQUES SONT DES TIRS D`ARME. ( [6]
Vladimir Poutine est la cible de tirs diplomatiques nourris venant de Washington et de Bruxelles, qui
annoncent de nouvelles sanctions conomiques contre la Russie. (l`Humanit, 30.01.2015) ;[7]
Traian Basescu a lansat luni seara,(), un tir de afirmatii fr precedent la adresa Rusiei lui Vladimir
Putin. ( Adevarul, 22.07.2014)).
De plus, la projection mtaphorique mobilise des aspects du DS du jeu (jeu d`checs, jeu
de cartes), la mtaphore conceptuelle tant dans ce cas : LA STRATGIE DIPLOMATIQUE EST
UN JEU (D`CHECS/ DE CARTES) ([8] jocul de sah geostrategic se face n vecinatatea
noastra. (Jurnalul National, 18.09.2014)-parlant de la stratgie politique des grandes puissances
concernant le conflit en Ukraine- ou l`expression mtaphorique [9] Les Etats-Unis jouent les
va-ten guerre en lanant contre Moscou leurs suppltifs de lUnion europenne. (L`Humanit,
08.08.2014) illustrant l`indcision des Etats-Unis d`intervenir en qualit de sauveur de
l`Ukraine et de gardien de la paix. Les pays sont conceptualiss comme des pions sur la table
du jeu ([10] Romania, mpinsa a fi un pion agresiv intr-un conflict geopolitic intre SUA si Rusia, se
afla intr-un moment de maxima tensiune cu Federatia Rusa. (Evenimentul Zilei , 12.05.2014) ; [11]
Dsormais, la menace plane aussi sur lEurope, lUkraine tant devenue la pice avance de lOtan dans
son projet dtouffer la Russie. (L`Humanit, 08.08.2014)) et les hommes politiques comme des
joueurs (bons ou mauvais) : [12] En Ukraine, Vladimir Poutine joue la carte du chaos. (Le
Monde, 02.05.2014).
Le conflit actuel russo-ukrainien et les rapports entre les grandes puissances sont
galement conceptualiss en termes mdicaux de virus, de maladie trs grave, mme de
mtastase :
[13] Cred ca ceea ce l-a panicat pe Putin este riscul contaminarii Rusiei de virusul revolutiei
din Ucraina. (www.ziare.com , 18.06.2014)
[14] la suite de l'annexion de la Crime par la Russie, (), c'est dans le Donbass industriel que les
mtastases de la crise politique s'taient dveloppes, menaant l'intgrit territoriale de l'Ukraine. (Le
Monde, 07.07.2014)
La situation politique ukrainienne, grivement dtriore par les luttes entre les
sparatistes pro-russes soutenus par la Russie et les ukrainiens pro-europens ncessite un
diagnostic correctement tabli par les grandes puissances europennes :[15] Merkel ia pulsul
Ucrainei la Kiev. (Jurnalul National, 23. 08. 2014), car, au cas contraire, elle risque d`tre mal
traite par un mdecin malfique dans la personne de Vladimir Poutine :[16] PUTIN, un

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DOCTOR Frankenstein care vrea sa scoata IMPERIUL Tarist din MORMANTUL
ISTORIEI. (Evenimentul Zilei, 12.02.2015).
En fait, l`tat actuel de la crise ukrainienne est d au manque d`intervention rapide des
Europens contre les symptmes prsents par la Russie de Poutine :[17] La crise ukrainienne
d'aujourd'hui est le rsultat (...), de notre aveuglement volontaire face tous les symptmes inquitants
que prsentait la Russie poutinienne depuis le dbut. (Le Monde, 02.09.2014)
part ces domaines conceptuels abondamment employs dans le texte de presse
franaise, respectivement roumaine pour conceptualiser le conflit russo-ukrainien, il y a toute
une varit d`autres domaines source moins frquents, tels que la musique, le btiment, la
mcanique, le fantastique, la religion, le domaine animalier, auxquels font appel plus souvent
les journalistes roumains que les journalistes franais (sauf les domaines musical et animalier o
il y a identit de pourcentage). Exemples :
[18] Il (V. Poutine) donne le ton dans la mini-guerre froide qui s'installe en ce dbut de XXIe sicle.
(Le Monde, 08.05.2014)-domaine musical
[19] Datorita acestor abordari de politica externa, Romania a devenit, alaturi de Polonia, pilonul pe care
SUA si NATO se bazeaza si au ncredere ca pot oferi securitate in regiune. (Evenimentul Zilei,
12.02.2015)- domaine du btiment
[20] Zmeii de la Bucuresti si exasperarea de la Washington. (www.ziare.com, 13.04.2014)-
domaine fantastique
[21] Federatia Rusa- Diavolul din ochii Planetei. (Evenimentul Zilei, 24.07.2014)domaine
religieux
[22] Lipsiti de rolul detinut acum, cel de dulau care latra la Moscova, liderii ucraineni s-ar vedea
obligati sa treaca la restructurari crancene, sa intemeieze o Justitie independenta, sa acorde drepturi
minorittilor. ( Evenimentul Zilei, 24.07.2014)- domaine animalier.
D`autre part, les journalistes franais conoivent plus frquemment que les journalistes
roumains le conflit russo-ukrainien en termes financiers ([23] [ l`annexion de la Crime]
l'affaire a t mene dans une ambiance de surenchre ultranationaliste entretenue Moscou
par les mdias russes au service du pouvoir. (Le Monde, 18.03.2014)), alimentaires ([24]
dj il [Poutine] laisse entendre que l'est le prochain au menu. (Le Monde, 02.09.2014)),
mtorologiques ([25] Le temps est lorage en Europe. [26] Il souffle un vent mauvais de
guerre sur l`Ukraine. (L`Humanit, 08.08.2014)) ou catastrophiques ([27] LEurope est
responsable du Tchernobyl politique en Ukraine , (L`Humanit, 22.10.2014)).
Une autre remarque importante serait que dans la presse roumaine le domaine source
de la famille (les rapports de parent, la vie conjugale) est largement projet (11%) sur le
domaine cible des rapports entre les acteurs directement ou indirectement impliqus dans ce
conflit, tandis que dans la presse franaise il n`est que trs peu usit (2%). On pourrait expliquer
la prsence des mtaphores familiales dans la presse roumaine par les fortes relations
historiques et politiques avec la Russie et la Moldavie (ancienne partie de la Roumanie).
Ainsi, les journalistes roumains font recours la mtaphore conceptuelle ontologique
LES RAPPORTS ENTRE LES PAYS SONT DES RAPPORTS DE PARENT (avec la mtaphore
subordonne : L`UKRAINE EST LA SUR/ LE FRRE DE LA RUSSIE ([28] Spunem adesea ca
este un popor-frate, o tara sora [Ucraina], iar atunci trebuie s actionam ca niste rude apropiate si sa
sustinem poporul ucrainean care se afla intr-o situaie dificila, a adaugat Putin. (Jurnalul National,
19.12.2013) ;[29] (...)multi cetateni rusi (...) au credinta ca Ucraina este o sora mai mica a Rusiei.
(Gazeta Liber, 15.03.2014), d`o l`impossibilit du mariage entre ces deux pays-sur : [30]
Rusia si Ucraina: Casatorie imposibila (www.timpul.md, 25.12.2013); [31] Putin si Prorochemko
sunt un cuplu improbabil, potrivit media europeana.(www.timpul.md, 18.02.1015).

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 Mieux encore, nous avons rencontr, aussi bien dans la presse franaise que dans la
presse roumaine, des mtaphores mixtes qui combinent d`une manire cohrente plusieurs
domaines mtaphoriques.
[32] In Occident, sentimentul predominant era teama ca, odata eliberat de JO, Putin va ordona
trimiterea tancurilor pentru anexarea Estului Ucrainei si a Crimeei. Nu, au raspuns la unison
majoritatea experilor din Moscova. Partida pe care o va juca Putin va fi una mai subtila. Banii sunt
arma eseniala a Moscovei. ( Curierul National, 24.02.2014).
Pour illustrer la relation tendue entre la Russie et l`Ukraine, le journaliste roumain emploie des
expressions mtaphoriques ayant comme domaine source : le sport et la guerre.
[33] lEst, on estime navoir aucune personnalit qui dfende leurs intrts politiques depuis
leffondrement de la structure politique du parti des rgions . (L`Humanit, 03.04.2014).
Les domaines source auxquels fait appel le journaliste franais pour nous aider mieux
comprendre le domaine cible de la situation politique alarmante dans l`est de l`Ukraine sont : la
guerre, respectivement le btiment.
Conclusions
Sous l`aspect qualitatif, on a pu remarquer une trs grande diversit des domaines-
source dans les deux corpus (franais et roumain). De plus, la majorit des images linguistiques
de la crise ukrainienne sont similaires dans les deux presses, ce qui pourrait s`expliquer : d`une
part, par le fait qu`on a faire un vnement politique avec des rpercussions majeures sur la
stabilit internationale, les journalistes en vhiculant les mmes reprsentations et d`autre part,
par la thse cognitiviste selon laquelle l`exprience humaine universelle joue un rle
fondamental dans le processus de mtaphorisation, transgressant les barrires linguistiques.
Mieux encore, par le choix des domaines-source, le journaliste ne prsente pas
seulement les divers aspects du conflit d`une manire plus comprhensible, mais il induit aux
lecteurs sa vision subjective sur le droulement du conflit en faisant ressortir l`axe agresseur (la
Russie)- victime (l`Ukraine)- sauveurs (l`U.E et l`OTAN).
En ce qui concerne la typologie des mtaphores : les mtaphores ontologiques (ex.LES
PAYS SONT DES ENTITS) et structurales (ex.LA POLITIQUE, C`EST LA GUERRE) sont
dominantes dans les deux corpus.
Enfin, l`analyse quantitative nous a indiqu d`une part, un pourcentage relativement
similaire, dans les deux corpus franais et roumain, des expressions mtaphoriques
conceptualises par les trois domaines source majeurs : la guerre, le jeu ( d`checs) et la maladie
et d`autre part, une frquence plus significative, en fonction du corpus, des expressions
mtaphoriques appartenant certains domaines conceptuels : le domaine familial, le domaine
de la mcanique et le domaine du fantastique pour le corpus roumain et le domaine financier, le
domaine des phnomnes naturels et le domaine de l`alimentation pour le corpus franais.

Rfrences bibliographiques :

HUYNEN, C. & LITS, M. (1994). La mtaphore est-elle soluble dans la presse crite?, Recherches en
communication, no.2 : La mtaphore (II), p.37-56.
JAMET, D. (2009). L`Enonciation Mtaphorique en Anglais et en Franais, Limoges, Editions Lambert-Lucas.
KVECSES, Z. (2010). Metaphor. A Practical Introduction, Second Edition, Oxford, University Press.
LAKOFF G. & JOHNSON, M. (1985). Les mtaphores dans la vie quotidienne, Paris, Les Editions de Minuit.
LAKOFF, G. (1987). Women, Fire and Dangerous Things. What Categories Reveal about the Mind, Chicago,
University of Chicago Press.
SCHULZ, P. (2002). Le caractre relatif et ambigu du concept traditionnel de mtaphore et la
construction du sens lexical , Semen 15 [En ligne].

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 MODULAR DESIGN OF TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION

Lect. dr. Ghenulescu Raluca Mihaela

Departamentul de Limbi Strine i Comunicare
Universitatea Tehnic de Construcii Bucureti

In our daily life, the use of technical documents, from the simplest ones, such as flyers or
brochures, to the most complicated ones, such as manuals or technical specifications, both
printed and online, has become commonplace. Irrespective of their age, background, profession
or interests, people resort to various texts containing instructions, in order to operate machines
or devices that make their life easier. Therefore, the manufacturers of these products and
technical writers have thought of an easier way to present these instructions, so that they would
be both comprehensive and safe for the user. These texts containing instructions, from recipes to
technical manuals, have been called procedural documents, because they facilitate the
application of a certain procedure in order to carry the instructions through, and their design,
based on clusters of independent information (i.e. sections or modules) has been named
modular.
Procedural documents have been defined by Fayol as texts (seen in the largest meaning
of the term as any type of discourse that conveys an idea, be it printed, audio or virtual) that
lead to carrying out certain instructions, from basic ones, such as those contained in cookery
books or medical prescriptions, to complex ones, such as those included in users guides or
technical manuals. Thus, unlike descriptive, argumentative or narrative texts, they are endowed
with a pragmatic function that can be expressed by the formula reading for applying.
A procedural document is meant to offer guidance for using a certain product correctly
and safely, so its main purpose is efficiency, which can be defined in this case as the avoidance
of any kind of errors that might endanger the users safety or the integrity of the product. In
other words, it can be evaluated according to its usability, which refers to the users ability to
perform the instructions in that technical document and the ease with which the readers/users
can assimilate the information presented in such a text.
The criteria according to which a procedural document is characterized as useful or
useless are its efficiency, memorability, learnability and users satisfaction. In their turn, these
criteria are based on other factors that establish the usability of a technical text, such as the time
taken by the users to complete a task in front of the equipment, the time to complete a task
away from the users guide, the number of steps required to complete a task, the number of
times the users access the specific documentation or technical support, the number of completed
tasks and the number of errors made throughout the entire process.
The success or failure of various types of technical documents have been analyzed by
both psychologists and linguists for more that forty years, with a view to understanding why
some users find the instructions easy to follow, while others find them difficult, and what can
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be done to improve the design of these documents, to make them safer and more user-friendly.
The efficiency of such a document depends on many factors, including the users age, social or
cultural background, their familiarity with the device, their prior knowledge in the technical
field, the context in which the device is used etc. In spite of all these variables, the authors of
procedural documents must create efficient texts (i.e. safe and easy to understand) for all the
users and must keep in mind that the text they are writing is only an element of a trio, made up
of the user, the document and the device.
The document containing the instructions is actually the interface between the user and
the device, as it facilitates carrying out all the tasks correctly. According to Vermersch, the
readers/users of procedural documents are not able to keep in mind all the instructions while
reading the text and applying them afterwards, but they perform these two operations
simultaneously. They read one instruction and they carry it out immediately, then they pass on
to the next instruction and so on, until they manage to install or operate the device. The fact
they read a single piece of information and perform a task at a time has been referred to by
Vermersch as the atomization of the action (Vermersch, 1985:44), which means that each
instruction is an atom of meaning, independent from the rest, but, nevertheless, connected to it.
Based on this principle, the first modular technical documents were created in the 1980s,
consisting of multiple sections designed to function as standalone units of information and to be
read independently from one another.
As research has shown, the users of technical equipment do not usually read the entire
users guide, but only the sections they are interested in, and less that 30% of those who use
household appliances actually read their users guides from the beginning to the end, usually
skipping stages just to get to the parts referring to the installation and operation. Therefore, it is
required from technical writers to make sure that at least those sections are clear, accessible and
persuasive and that the most important information is repeated from one section to the next (i.e.
from one module of text to the other). Thus, even if someone reads only one part of the entire
document, their safety and the integrity of the equipment will not be put in danger, as the text
they have read responds to their particular need in a complete and safe way.
Each module is meant to answer a particular question from the user How to install
the device?, How to operate it safely?, What are the hazards?, Where are the service
units? etc. and must answer it completely and correctly. For the readers/users to find the
answers they are looking for as fast as possible, the document should have comprehensive and
well-marked contents and each module should have a meaningful title, highlighted by catchy
visual elements. Each of these modules can be updated or completed if the information it
contains changes in time. Moreover, thanks to this modular design, some sections of the text can
be reused in other procedural documents. For example, the information contained in a flyer or
brochure can be completed, updated and reused in a technical manual. This is possible because
modular documents, irrespective of their size or target readers, comply with the same rules and
fit in the same standards, which many manufacturing companies impose nowadays as the
current norms of technical writing.
The modular design of technical documentation has been more and more frequently
used in recent years, because, besides all the other advantages regarding the users safety and
the correct operation of various pieces of equipment, it is very cost-effective and companies are
more than willing to save money by reusing the same texts, in one form or another, instead of
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paying technical writers to create new ones. Furthermore, they do not need a team of expert
writers to work on a single technical manual, as only one person can do the job, by re-
assembling and updating modules from previous documents. The only requirement is to
comply with the same standards, so that the same modules could be reused in the future
without the readers noticing any difference.
One of the possibilities to write a text that can fit in any part of the same or another
document is to comply with the rule of iconic linkage or parallelism. This is a writing technique
which implies that the parts of a sentence, of a paragraph or of an entire text that are similar (or
parallel) in meaning should be parallel in structure, in order to facilitate clarity, readability
and memorability, as well as the reuse of the same structure in a future document. For example,
if two instructions imply doing almost the same thing, they should be expressed in a similar
way, to help the user keep them in mind and repeat them later. Compare:
1a. If you want to open a file, click OPEN.
1b. If you want to close a file, click CLOSE.
1 c. Click CLOSE when you want to close a file.
It is obvious that 1 a and 1 b are easier to memorize and to apply, because the sentences have
the same structure and contain almost the same words, whereas 1 c is different both in point of
word order and in point of the syntactical choice that the technical writer has made (a temporal
clause instead of a conditional one).
The strategies to reuse certain paragraphs should be transparent, so that all technical
writers could have access to them and apply them accordingly. However, the personal
contribution of each technical writer is not negligible, as writing good users guides, with a
modular design, does not mean only compiling paragraphs from other procedural documents,
but also constructing efficient content. This may come as a response to some technical writers
complaints that the requirement to repeat the same information in various parts of the same
text, as well as the general impression that the text they have written looks like a Lego game or
a piece of furniture from Ikea, stifle their creativity and impend on their reputation as good
writers. They should be reminded that they do not write works of fiction, but are commissioned
by a certain company to create a users guide and the content of the procedural documents they
produce is not their own. It must meet the companys requirements and the users needs and
can be taken as such by other writers who will collaborate with the same company in the future.
To avoid making on the readers the impression that the text is like a puzzle made of
various elements, it is advisable to present the structure of each module at the beginning of that
section. Thus, the content will seem well-structured, each subsections will fit into place and the
document will be easy to read and understand. Moreover, the writers should pay attention to
the way they sequence the steps of a procedure, in order to follow a chronological order or a
cause-effect one.

The order is extremely important when writing modular procedural documents, because
the readers must know exactly the sequence of taking certain steps. If they do not apply a
specific order of carrying out the instructions, accidents may happen, as in the case described by
a team of psychologists from Brest, France, who analyzed hundreds of technical documents, in
order to establish the criteria of efficiency and usability. In the section dedicated to the
operation of the equipment, the users guide of a hydraulic machine provided detailed
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instructions on how to replace a faulty component. However, they were not sequenced
correctly, as the ones referring to the decoupling of the machine from the source of electricity
were presented in a different section of the users guide, dedicated to the installation of the
equipment. Therefore, when a component had to be replaced, the machine was not deactivated
and the necessary safety measures were not taken. As a result, the electricians and mechanics
working on it were severely injured. This case is a grim warning for technical writings, who are
expected to present the essential information in a logical and chronological order, in various
parts of the text, with a view to anticipating the needs of the users and to avoiding any
accidents.
Nowadays, well-designed technical documents are the ones that help the users
visualize, locate and understand the instructions more easily. For such a document to be
effective, it is necessary for it to get the message across in a persuasive way, by making the
readers process and apply the instructions safely. Visual aids are of great help in this situation,
as they convey ideas better that words, facilitate the understanding, application and
memorization of essential information and get the readers more interested in the product and
its users guide.
The layout of such a users guide or technical manual is as important as its content. If the
same information is presented on several columns or pages, full of visual elements, such as
headings, graphics, charts or pictures, readers will respond more positively to it. Letters,
numbers and symbols, which help the users keep track of the most important parts of the text,
as well as elements of design, such as colors, highlights, bold type or italics are also visual
elements that must be organized so as to draw the readers attention, to prioritize the
information and to enhance the efficiency of reading each part (or module) of the text.
Just like Albert Einstein, who once confessed that he did not think in words at all, most
people tend to visualize concepts and information and relate them to symbols and pictures, but,
above all, to colors. The potential of various colors should be exploited by technical writers in
order to point to the essential parts of a technical manual and, thus, to facilitate finding the
piece of information that the user is looking for. As psychological studies have proven, readers
tend to look at bright colors first; thats why the most important warnings, related to the users
safety, should be written in such a color, usually in red, which is mentally associated with the
idea of interdiction.
The main purpose of this article has been to refer to modern tendencies in technical
writing, based on the principles of modular design, which allow reading each section of the
document independently, without referring to other sections of the same text for understanding
how to apply certain instructions. This design, which separates content from context, permits
the re-assembly of the same clusters of information in various ways, with a view to completing,
updating and reusing it in future documents written by or for the same manufacturing
company.

References

Fayol, M. (2002). Les documents techniques. Paris: PUF

Ganier, F. (2013). Comprendre la documentation technique. Paris: PUF
Vermersch, P. (1985). Latomisation de laction. Toulouse: Prescot

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 DEVELOPING THE ENGLISH RESEARCH SKILLS OF JAPANESE
STUDENTS

Devena Haggis
Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences,
University of Tsukuba
Japan

Introduction

This paper attempts to ascertain the usefulness of using English to teach discipline
specific language and university study skills to students whose first language is Japanese.
This analysis is derived from observation of students in a course entitled Reading
Archaeological Texts in English taught at the University of Tsukuba from December 2010 to
March 2012 as well as responses to a questionnaire by students at the end of the course.
Although the sample is very small (n = 14 for the two years) it provides some useful
information on strategies to help non native speakers of English develop their study skills in
English and enhance their ability to access and use information in English throughout their
university studies.

Background

A course for reading and translating foreign books (Gaisho koudoku ) has
been taught at the University of Tsukuba for a number of years and is a required course in
the Prehistory and Archaeology stream of the History and Anthropology major at the
university. This constitutes the sole course within the prehistory and archaeology stream
with any supervised English content possibly as a response to the universitys aim to
internationalize courses and content. This focus towards the use of English at universities in
Asia has been reported elsewhere (Nunan 2012). Usually this course was taught by Japanese
faculty and focused on the translation of academic articles or a book on archaeology
throughout the year. Typically one book or a series of articles were used as study material
for the duration of the trimester course. This course represented the sole exposure to
English texts on archaeology within a formal context during students enrolment in the
Prehistory and Archaeology stream. This and all other courses are taught in Japanese. In an
attempt to move away from the focus on translation it was decided to concentrate on access
and comprehension of archaeological texts in English in order to facilitate the development
of student study skills. The use of English for research purposes can be an intimidating task
and by changing the focus of the course it was hoped students would engage more with
English language material.
As with archaeology courses everywhere course content depends on faculty and
departmental focus and the extent to which bibliographic material is emphasized. In Japan,
depending on the research focus in archaeology it is not always necessary to use foreign
language material, in this case English. Keally (2012) comments on the fact that although
there are in excess of 2000 excavation reports published in Japan annually most of them are
on Japanese archaeology in Japanese and range from small pamphlets to multi-volume

123
works. In addition very few of these works reach an international audience and
consequently there is a need for foreigners fluent in Japanese or another language to become
involved in research on Japanese Archaeology and for ideas from outside to come into
Japanese archaeological research. In such circumstances it is easy not to use archaeological
texts in English despite the advantages in doing so.
The aim was to encourage students to use English material in their research or at
the very least enable them to source material on their own. In addition, the use of
archaeological texts in English was a deliberate attempt to use discipline specific material in
hopes of engaging students in the learning and interpretation process even if it meant their
re-authoring (Wallace 2006) the material in order to make it more understandable. This
would encourage students and provide confidence in accessing and use of English language
publications on archaeology to supplement Japanese bibliographic material. It would also
provide them with generic research skills useful in future study or work and mirrors
attempts within higher education elsewhere to use curriculum to foster generic skill
development (Krause 2012).

English as a research tool

English is the dominant language of international academic discourse, including but

not restricted to journal publication, conference presentation, research and academic
collaboration and other activities. Prior research (Braine 2002; Baik & Greig 2009; Jordan
2006; Sharjeel & Qazi 2012) has discussed the effectiveness of teaching academic skills to
students in English. However, generally this has occurred during the development of
preparatory skills prior to enrolment in a university outside Japan in an English speaking
country where the language of instruction is English (Coley 1999).

Course explanation

The objective of the course was to be able to research, find and acquire the ability to
read academic papers on archaeology in English. There are many archaeological texts
available in English and they are a valuable resource for research purposes however it can
be daunting for non-native speakers to access, comprehend and use these resources. The
importance of using a foreign language (English) to develop skills for use in archaeology
and text based learning and the positive effect it has on student learning in the development
of both sets of skills has been outlined in research on an Italian archaeology project
(Fornaciari et al 2010). Reading academic papers in English is difficult however it is an
important skill to have. Many international and national journals are published in English
and English is the language most used in science and international collaboration and
information dissemination. As a student or researcher it is important to be able to utilize or
at least become acquainted with publications in English in specific fields of study.
The course had two main skill orientated aims; 1) to increase student understanding
of the type of material available in English on archaeology and 2) to be able to access English
language material on archaeology.

Material available in English on Archaeology

The course introduced various archaeological texts in English to the students and
provided them with copies and notes on the focus and purpose of each type of text. These
included:

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Journal articles: peer reviewed publications containing original research or focused on
current developments within the discipline of archaeology.

Academic Books: publications put out by academia or the scientific and cultural community
engaged in higher education and research on archaeology.

Conference papers/proceedings: proceedings collections of academic papers on archaeology or

related disciplines that were published within the context of an academic conference, that is
the record of written work presented to fellow researchers.

Reports/Reviews: summary or evaluation of research articles on archaeology.

Theses: examples of Honours, Masters and PHD theses on different sub disciplines within
archaeology.

Popular articles: journals or magazines focusing on archaeology that target general audiences
and include popular or current news stories on archaeology (eg. Archaeology, National
Geographic & Biblical Archaeology Review)

Electronic texts: text based information on archaeology that is available in a digitally encoded
format read by electronic means such as a digital version of a published work of text, blogs,
wiki articles and blog posts.

Print Media: other publications with archaeological content that are distributed in a printed
form such as newspapers.

Access

In an effort to make students aware of the types of English language publications on

archaeology class time was spent finding and accessing English material in the University of
Tsukuba library and online. This included teaching students how to find material in English
and the types of English material available in the library. Currently the University of
Tsukuba Library has in excess of 500 books on archaeology in English; access to 92 prior,
current or electronic subscriptions for archaeology related journals as well as access to a
number of databases. Classes involved teaching students how to find English material on
archaeology for each of the different categories using keyword and topic searches in the
library online catalogue and in online databases, looking for the material on the shelf and
answering a series of worksheets on these processes.
The practical aspects of the library work took into account the benefits gained by
international ESL students exposure to library research skills work and English language
comprehension (Bilal 1989). In order to test students comprehension of the process a number
of blind exercises were provided where the students were given either the call number or
the title and had to find the appropriate item and present a photocopy of its cover which
was then checked off against a master list. Whilst such activities may seem relatively basic
within the context of study skills, it needs to be remembered that the Japanese students had
relatively limited English language skills and were looking for material in a foreign
language.

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The Questionnaire

In April 2012, a two page questionnaire consisting of open answer and scaled choices
was provided to the students enrolled in the course Reading Archaeological Texts in
English at Tsukuba University in the academic years 2010 and 2011. The aim for
conducting the survey was to gain an accurate idea of how students felt about the change in
focus of the course and whether the move towards a more practical skill orientated course
was beneficial. During the course preparation effort focused on archaeological texts in
English from different sources and to focus on a wider variety of texts from different sub-
disciplines within archaeology. This was in an effort to broaden student understanding of
bibliographic sources overall and archaeology sources in particular. The responses for
questions related to the type of archaeological texts sourced and skill development is given
in the following section.

Student responses and observations

The course is offered every year for second and third year students and is a required
course in the history and anthropology major. In 2010 11 were students enrolled in the
course and 13 students in 2011 giving a total enrollment over the two years of 24 students (in
Japan the academic year runs from April to March). For the 2010 academic year students
there was a response rate of 54% (6 out of 11 students) and for the 2011 academic year the
response rate was a response rate of 64% (9 out of 14). The response rate for the two years
overall is 62%. A limiting factor in the response rate for the 2010 student group is that a
period of one year had passed before the handing out of the questionnaire. As mentioned
earlier the population for the survey is quite small but given the course enrollment was
small the response rate is reasonable given that the questionnaire was administered at the
end of the second year period to both groups of students.
Figure 1 indicates the response to the statement The type of archaeological texts
were well chosen, with the students split between the agree and strongly agree, each
category scoring 43% respectively and 14% of the students replying neutral. The students
were deliberately exposed to archaeological texts in English that didnt focus on Japanese
archaeology as a way of extending their archaeological knowledge. In addition the type and
English content of the archaeological text as well as the level of analysis required became
progressively more difficult over the duration of the course.

Figure 1: The type of archaeological Figure 2: The class helped me

texts were well chosen to find archaeological texts in English

126
Figure 2 indicates the response to the statement The class helped me to find archaeological
texts in English. In this case the breakdown in the student response was 43% for Strongly
Agree, 50% for Agree and 7% for neutral. This question was included in the questionnaire
in order to gauge student reposnse to the practical work in the library and online.

Figure 3: Response to I acquired some good skills

Figure 3 indicates the response to the statement I acquired some good skills with 72% of
the students indicating Agree, 21% Strongly Agree and 7% Neutral. The skills taught
during the course focused on sourcing archaeological texts in English as well as increasing
student understanding of the types of archaeological texts available.

Discussion

Previous work has focused on the use of reading English for discipline specific
purposes and the difficulties associated with reading and research in a nonnative language
(Cohen et al 1979 however exposure to and use of archaeological texts in English during the
course was found to be useful in developing student skills despite initial difficulties. The
change in focus initially deterred many of the students from engaging with the course
material however by the end of the course most if not all of the students had recognized
that they were at least able to access material in English for use in their studies. The course
focused on the use of eight types of archaeological texts in English: journal articles, academic
books, conference papers/proceedings, reports/reviews, theses, popular articles, electronic
texts and print media. This type of bottom up teaching based on corpus material has been
found relevant in teaching writing and other skill acquisition techniques to graduate
students (Charles 2007) and it was hoped that this technique would impact students skill
acquisition through the use of archaeology texts. The texts on different aspects of
archaeology were used to teach practical research skills to the students with the skill focus
changing for each of the three terms.
The first term focused on accessing each type of text; using the library, internet,
databases and other bibliographic sources to find them. Many students were not aware of
the extent of archaeological literature in English in the library and had not considered their
possible use. They were accustomed to searching the online catalogue in Japanese but did
not know the online databases and electronic journals were available in English or the range
of journals in which archaeological publications were present.
The second term introduced different examples and focused on the same type of
texts but concentrated on comprehension and understanding. An emphasis on teaching

127
different strategies on how to read was prioritized in order to facilitate student engagement
with the texts as such strategies provide invaluable aid to fluency and comprehension
(Duffy 2009). Whereas the first term encompassed practical exercises in the library, the
second term included more class and group work. Students were introduced to more
difficult texts and learnt about the different parts of an academic text and their purpose, how
to break them down as well as annotation. Students also had to prepare a presentation on a
popular article on archaeology.
The work in the third term focused on analysis and interpretation. Again different
texts from the eight categories were used for reading and analysis. Students also had to
annotate a scientific article on archaeology in English and prepare a presentation on it. Each
text had an accompanying worksheet that had to be completed weekly which emphasized
reading for understanding and analysis. The questions in the worksheet were related to
content and also included problems whereby students had to create questions that were
answered by the article text.
According to Figure 1 the students generally agreed that the types of texts were well
chosen. The type of archaeological text and the way they were used in the course to
promote skill development increased in difficulty as the year progressed. According to
comments by the students the most enjoyable texts were archaeological articles in popular
journals, blogs and newspapers. This is because most of them had not been exposed to these
mediums before; for example some students had never looked at an archaeology blog (in
English or Japanese) or considered the use of newspapers as a text. In addition these forms
of archaeological text generally had more glossy photos, interactive aspects and less
demanding text than more academic sources such as books, journal articles and conference
proceedings. The higher neutral response could be an indication that many of the students
were challenged by the use of English and English material in the course.
Previous courses had used English text however the language of instruction and
translation had been Japanese, necessitating less engagement and intellectual effort on
behalf of the students. Although not an EFL or ESL course per se in addition to the students
natural use of Japanese first during class interaction, engagement with English use during
the course was considered important as research indicates that this is beneficial in raising
skill levels (Polio & Duff 1994). This would hopefully facilitate their use of archaeological
texts in English in the future. In fact, at the beginning of the course many students had
expressed dismay at the change in focus in the course and were concerned about how they
would cope with the English language content. Although the first term practical work
focused on introduction to the different archaeological texts and accessing them eased the
students into the more challenging second and third terms, some students found the text
level difficult despite course notes, worksheets and assisted reading practice.
A high percentage of the students (Figure 2) agreed that the course had helped them
to be able to find archaeological texts in English. The majority of the students enrolled in the
course belonged to the history and anthropology major however there were a few students
who cross-enrolled from other programs. This is a possible reason for the neutral response
as the non-archaeology students might have been more accustomed to sourcing and using
texts in English or did not necessarily need to use archaeological texts. The first term work
of sourcing and accessing the texts mainly through the use of practical library and internet
classes as well as worksheets laid the foundation for the second and third terms. Prior to
this most of the students had not considered the use of English texts on archaeology or knew
how to find them. Students expressed surprise at the amount of material available in
English after a survey of the library and practical exercises on types of archaeological text.

128
This practical aspect of the course was generally popular, with some postgraduate students
expressing their desire to participate in a skill-based course as well.
The neutral category in Figure 2 and 3 remained constant however the breakdown in
the other categories changed according to the focus of the questions. The students strongly
agreed that the course had helped them to find archaeological texts in English (43%)
however only 21% indicated this for the skill development category in Figure 3. This result
possibly indicates that the students were not aware of the material available in English on
Archaeology and rated the strongly agree category higher in the Figure 2 response.
Overall the students agreed that the course had helped to develop their skill level. Aside
from the practical work helping them to source archaeological texts in English the students
found the breakdown of different archaeological texts into sections and work on the focus of
the different parts useful. In addition the practice in annotation and presentation developed
both their study skills and their English language skills.

Conclusions

A course change towards developing Japanese archaeology student study skills in

accessing and understanding archaeological texts in English benefited students; and student
evaluation of the usefulness of the course in teaching these skills and the appropriateness of
the texts was dominated by the agree and strongly agree category. The use of English in
developing the research and study skills of archaeology students provided an opportunity
for the students to engage with English texts on archaeology in a practical way and
increased both their exposure to English reference material as well as decoding the texts in
order to make the contents and layout more understandable. The progressive increase in
difficulty throughout the three term course facilitated student exposure to discipline specific
texts and contributed to the development of student research skills in English.

References

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for discipline-based academic skills program. Higher Education Research and Development 28(4):401-416.
Bilal, D.M. 1989. International Students Acquisition of Library Research Skills: Relationship with
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Braine, G. 2002. Academic literacy and the nonnative speaker graduate student. Journal of English for
Academic Purposes: 1 (1):59-68.
Charles, M. Reconciling top-down and bottom-up approaches to graduate writing: Using corpus to
teach rhetorical functions. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 6(4): 289-302.
Cohen, A., Glasman, H., Rosenbaum-Cohen, P.R., Ferrara, J & Fine, J. 1979. Reading English for
Specialized Purposes: Discourse Analysis and the Use of Student Informants. TESOL Quarterly 13(4):
551-564.
Coley, M. 1999. The English Language Entry Requirements of Australian Universities for Students of
Non-English Speaking Background. Higher Education Research & Development 18(1):7-17.
Duffy, G.C. 2009. Explaining Reading (second edition). The Guilford Press, New York.
Fornaciari, A. , Cignoni, L & Fornaciari, G. 2010. Students Participation in an Archaeoanthropology
course using Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Methodology. Proceeedings of
INTED2010 Conference.8-10 March 2010, Valencia, Spain.pp 002684-002692.
Jordan, R.R. 2006. English for Academic Purposes. Cambridge University Press, UK.
Keally, CT. Japanese Archaeology. www.t-net.ne.jp/~keally/jpnarch.html (Date accessed:
11November 2012)
Krause, K-L. D. 2012. Challenging perspectives on learning and teaching in the disciplines: the
academic voice. Studies in Higher Education. DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2012.690730

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Nunan, D. 2012. The Impact of English as a Global Language on Educational Policies and Practices in
the Asia-Pacific Region. TESOL Quarterly 37(4): 589-613.
Polio, C.C & Duff, P.A. 1994. Teachers Language Use in University Foreign Language Classrooms: A
Qualitative Analysis of English and Target Language Alternation. The Modern Language Journal 78(3):
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Sharjeel, M & Qazi, W.2012. Effect of Skill-Orientated language Teaching Strategy on the Performance
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Wallace, C. 2006. The text, dead or alive: Expanding textual repertoires in the adult ESOL classroom.
Linguistics and Education 17 (1): 74-90.

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 LINGUOCULTURAL APPROACH TO ORGANIZATIONAL
SECURITY STUDY

Ilieva Diana, Ph. D., Manev Evgeni, Ph. D.

State University of Library Studies and Information Technologies
Sofia, Bulgaria

The term organizational culture has been used very often nowadays and there are
many definitions for it. The issue is how to define it in the suitable way for the purpose of
the study of organizational security. Each aspect of organizational culture requires a specific
definition that could be applied for the specific research goal. Many scientists, stemming
from historical aspects, have defined organizational culture in different ways. For example,
one of them accepted it as1 No repeatable configuration of norms, values, beliefs, models of
behaviour etc., that characterizes the way groups and individuals combine them and carry
out things in their organization2. Other scientists defined the organizational culture as
Shared system of values, norms and symbols3 or The model of beliefs and expectations
shared by the members of an organization4. The organizational culture is not the only
element from the mosaic of the organization it is the mosaic of the organization by itself.
The organizational culture is a set of behavioural norms, which characterizes the
company.5 It is a system of basic assumptions developed by the group aiming at its
adaptation to the outside environment and internal integration.6, implicit, invisible and no
formalized awareness of organization that directs the behaviour of individuals.7 The
organizational culture is a set of "... Conventional and relatively stable beliefs, attitudes and
values that exist in the organization8.
As it is seen The general views are based on organizational culture, which is a
system of knowledge, assumptions, norms, procedures and specific courses of action; it acts
as a link to the surrounding environment. The shared assessment of the environment in turn
contributes to the internal integration of the group. Thus the group intuitively accepts the
visions for the environment and for the group itself for granted.9 Therefore, the
organizational culture can be regarded as a shared common mental model, influencing and
defining the way individuals interpret their own behaviour and the behaviour of the others.

1 The quoted excerpts in the article are translated from Bulgarian and Russian by the authors of this article. Due
to the fact that some books by American authors were available only by their translated editions into Bulgarian
and Russian, a number of quotes are presented indirectly through these languages.
2 Eldridge, J., A. Cronbine. A Sociology of Organization. London, Allen & Unwin, 1974, p. 89.
3 Louis, M. Organizations as Culture-Bearing Milieux. In: Pondy, L. Et al. (eds.). Organizational Symbolism,

Greenwich, Conn., 1980.,

4 Schwartz, ., S. Davis. Matching Corporate Culture and Business Strategy. In: Organizational Dynamics, No

10, 1981, pp. 3048.

5 Kilmann, R. Beyond the Quick Fix: Managing Five Tracks to Organizational Success. San Francisco, 1984.
6 Schein, . Orgsanizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco, 1985.
7 Denison, D. Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness. New York, 1990, p. 2.
8 Williams et. al. Changing Culture, New Organizational Approaches. L., Institute of Personnel Management,

1993.
9 Manev, E. 2007: , . : , , , , , 2007, .

68 ( Manev, E. Organizational culture: essence, change, measurement, Sofia, ME, p. 68)

131
 The analysis of the definitions of organizational culture research leads to the
following conclusions about it:
The nature and existence of the modern system of culture is specific for the end of
the industrial and early information civilization, geopolitical and national peculiarities of the
transition to information society;
Both of the processes of adoption and implementation of the values and norms in
the organization by the members of the organization decisively determine specific social and
professional behaviour of the same members;
The organizational culture defines the social, psychological and intellectual
atmosphere, social and professional climate, as well as attitudes and behaviour in the
organization;
It defines the dominating system of values and activities corresponding to that
system;
Internal integration of the members of the organization is subordinated to the
organizational culture;
The organizational culture change is the process of active adaptation to new social
and professional realities;
The organizational system development over time shall be understood as a pattern
of modern existence and nature of the organization.
An important place in the theory of organizational culture is the fact that it and its
amendment spread faster than the changes in the environment. Initial symptoms of its
change precede other changes in the organizational system and in this sense, it is a harbinger of
upcoming events in the organization. This understanding enables one to specify the
methodological significance of the theory of organizational culture for diagnosing and
measuring of the organizational systems performance.
Nowadays the ratio between the tangible and intangible values of the organization
has changed dramatically. If the intangible assets of an organization constitute more than
75% of its value, the formulation and implementation of the strategy should be aimed at
mobilizing and implementing strategic fit of intangible assets.10 This raises a broader
strategic framework that fits organizational culture. This approach points to the essential
methodological conclusion that organizational culture is an important resource that can be
accumulated, managed and used for running the organizational development.
The main elements of organizational culture can be regarded as its specifics that set it apart
from other cultures and as a manageable resource. Some of those elements are:
Group ideology as a system of political, philosophical, moral, religious and
aesthetic views;
Group norms pertaining to members of the organization standards and samples
regulating social and professional behaviour;
Adopted and proclaimed values and principles that the organization is aimed at;

10Kaplan, Norton 2006: , ., . . .

. ., 2006, . 5.

132
 Philosophy of the organization as the general political and ideological principles
for governing the organization members actions and philosophy of other social phenomena
and processes;
System of rules for professional and social behaviour in the organization and
outside it;
Organizational climate thoughts, feelings and attitudes defining characteristic
style and manner of relationship and interaction, promoting or preventing the organization
during its functioning;
Existing, conscious and perceived social and professional experience, methods,
techniques and technologies to achieve certain objectives;
Uniqueness and distinct symbols, professional language, modern management
culture and management style implemented by the leaders;
Preservation and transferring of knowledge and patterns of social and professional
behaviour from one generation to another, particularly memory of the past and
organizational excellence.
Those elements of organizational culture reveal its broader and deeper essence,
functions, structure, development and change. As an informal "consciousness" of the
organization, organizational culture manages and directs human behaviour and at the same
time it is formed by the influence of its members.
As a conclusion organizational culture can be defined as intangible assets traditions,
knowledge and advanced experience, including basic values, norms and practices occurring in
organizational behaviour by symbols, language, ideologies, myths and rituals within the shared
context. Having this definition of organizational culture, we can apply the cultural approach
to the General theory of security (GTS) study.
An important issue of security research is to use a multidisciplinary scientific
approach. Because of its nature and content security is presented in all spheres of activity of
individuals and societies, which renders its study impossible by the tools and methods of a
single science. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach is required.
The key element of the content of the scientific discipline GTS includes the
exploration of the nature and content of the processes and dynamics of the stable
organizational development and functioning in accordance with planned organizational and
functional parameters, as well as external and internal environmental circumstances.
Nevertheless, as it usually happens nothing goes according to the plan, unfortunately. There
are situations, in which risks and threats arise. In such cases, the organizational leadership
inevitably has to undertake organizational and technical activities for avoiding or
minimizing risks and threats to the planned functioning of the organization. In case the all-
possible measures are taken in that respect but the planned functioning of the organization
is violated, the leadership must have available resources to recover the planned functioning
as soon as it is possible. GTS studies the forms, content, nature and characteristics of risks
and threats and develops methods of managing means and resources.
It is important to emphasize that the organizational and cultural instrument for GTS
study opens a new field of security exploration. Cultural approach accepted by GTS
provides adopting and applying methods and terminology of new sciences for examination

133
of the complicated interaction among culture, language and security of an organization such
as linguoculturolgy.
Security plays the role of a regulator of the organizational functioning. The regulating
role occurs as a permission or prohibition of taking or avoiding a specific action or
procedure in an organization. Thus, the role of the security prevents the organization from a
certain action and stimulates it to undertake another one. Therefore, the regulating role is
the result of a security assessment for achieving organizational goals within the context of
circumstances. In that way security determines the significance (insignificance) of certain
actions. This regulating role of security does not occur directly in the organization; it is
mediated by the organizational culture.
The main role of security is to be a regulator of the organizational activities. It is
manifested in two forms: one of them permits operation and the other one forbids it. The
permission is given in case the security of organizational environment is in accordance with
the norms; the ban is given in case the security is beyond them. An organizational culture
establishes norms and standards in the organization. Thus, the essential regulating role of
security occurs through its organizational culture mediation.
The regulating role of security is manifested by the functions it performs in the
organization. Security is closely related to culture and therefore is largely determined by it.
That is why the security performs its functions within the frame of the cultural paradigm of
the organization. In this sense, its functions are derived from the cultural paradigm and
support it by contributing to its sustainability. In this context, security has two main
functions: evaluating function and semantic function.
Based on the perceived level of the security in an organization, it evaluates the
results of the past - whether they had positive or negative effect on it. In this regard, the
evaluating function is more focused on the past rather than on the future. The latter is based
on analysis of past performance, which creates the foundation for the evaluation and
organizational decision-making for the future activities. Based on these conclusions,
organizational decisions are undertaken. If the performance is positive and it is within the
acceptable level of security, the assessment of the action is positive, and vice versa if the
results are unsatisfactory and the goals are not achieved the assessment is negative.
Therefore, the decision concerning the activities of the organization is focused on the future.
The evaluation function of security "triggers" its regulating role by the decision for the future
mediated by organizational culture.
The semantic function of security defines the importance of the future organizational
activities in accordance with its goals. In this context, the semantic function of security, based
on accumulated past experience, is more focused on the forthcoming activities in the
organization rather than in the past. The semantic function of security "triggers" its regulating
role by the decision for the future action mediated by organizational culture as well.
Both the evaluating and semantic functions of security work together and by its
regulating role govern the organization but not directly rather by the mediating role of the
organizational culture. Examining the aspects of an organizational culture can provide
knowledge about the role of its security. Particularly, which one of the forms of the
functions of the regulating role of security would be more plausible to be triggered in
specific case/ situation. The organizational culture approach to study security is reliable
overall. However, it is not enough. Here we propose a novel and reliable approach, namely
the linguocultural one.

134
 In the process of linguistic research over time the view of the prominent Russian
linguist G. O. Vinokur had been inevitably verified: "every linguist studying a particular
language [...] will necessarily become a researcher of that culture, to whose products the
language of his/her choice belongs" (Vinokur 1959: 211).11
All the cultural meanings occurring in cultural differences (the different semantics or
connotations in the meaning of the words of different peoples) are figuratively
"disembodied". To appear as a cultural phenomenon, they must be materialized. This
happens when meanings are manifested in cultural codes through words, symbols,
proverbs, myths, rituals, etc. Thanks to them, "this deep level of culture, where the conscious
one joins the unconscious one and serves as the basis of the sustainable system of the
meanings and perceptions rooted in the mind and behaviour of many generations is
perceived as mentality" (Erasov 1996: 20 op. at Hrolenko 2006: 42).12
Having this in mind, as well as Edgar Schains organizational cultural model, it is
clear that the aforementioned cultural codes are the elements of the model they are namely
the most difficult part of it to be discovered the shared and adopted common beliefs,
values and the most visible one artefacts (behaviour) of the members of the
organization/nation.
Mentality by common definition is a way of thinking determined by the degree of
cultural development of an individual. "National mentality is a way of thinking, spiritual
attitude exclusive to a particular ethnic community; it is manifested by persistent collective
traits that distinguish the particular ethnic community among others (Dimitrova: Lecture
4).13
National mentality is a reflection of cultural values of a certain nation, which in turn
is reflected in its language, mostly in its paremiological and phraseological fund (Ilieva
2015a: 10).14 Thus, the linguistic picture of the world of each nation includes as its
constituting elements national determined concepts, which are particularly relevant in the
theory of intercultural communication (Op. cit.: 18). This thesis is applicable to the main
fundamental concepts typical for a certain organization, as they are the pillar of the
organization itself and promote the interorganizational communication as well as favour the
collegial climate and supervisor-subordinate relationships in it.
The system consisting of inherited concepts mentioned above is transmitted through
language, mostly through its word-stock. Changes in culture lead to changes in language
because culture represents the picture of the world reflected in a language. Language is the
most important means of communication and expression of thoughts at the same time;
meanwhile it accumulates knowledge of culture. Between these two phenomena language
and culture the linguistic personality is situated, and none of the commented phenomena

11 Vinokur 1959: , . . . . ., 1959

12 Hrolenko 2006: 2006: , . . : ;
. . . . 3- ., . .: :, 2006, -184 .; ISBN 5- 89349-681-7 (),
ISBN 5-02-033116-3 ().
13 Dimitrova: Lecture 4. : 4. .

http:// www.ct-varna.com/downloadFile:78ojgym4ad2p (13.08. 2015)

14 Ilieva 2015a: , . .

.
, , 2015. The lore of paremiological wisdom -
bibliological and ethnological aspects. Dissertation for awarding the educational and scientific degree "Doctor".
SULCIT. Sofia, 2015

135
can exist without it. Therefore the main issues related to culture, are concentrated in the
triad language - nation (national personality) - culture"(Vorobyov 2006: 13).15
The attention of researchers to the problem of the relationship between the
phenomena of this triad was drawn in the second half of the XVIII century. Yet Johann
Gottfried Herder (1744-1803) and Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835) worked out the view
that the active and constructive potential of language affects the formation of folk culture
and psychology of the respective ethnic group. For Herder language is the basis of the
fundamentals of culture and therefore he dedicates to it "Treatise on the origin of language"
(1770). He fits together in it the four fundamental human phenomena - language, culture,
society and national spirit. Chronologically the originating of language is linked to culture.
The former has been improving in society and through it. The organic trinity language,
culture, society is the most important component of the national spirit, as the mind of a
respective people and its spirit finds its reflection" in any language (Herder 1977: 233)16.
It is important to make a note that language is the main tool for communication
among people in an organization (as it has been mentioned already). Thus, it is an
instrument for transferring knowledge, beliefs, and values among people in an organization,
so it helps them shape the organizational culture; meanwhile it is a product of the same
culture as well. On the other hand, speaking about accumulated knowledge and beliefs we
should add the importance of values arising as spiritual pillars of a human being []
helping him to withstand the rigors of heavy life situations. Values help men to rank reality,
include evaluation moments in its understanding, correlate with the notion of the ideal,
desired or normative one; they give meaning to human life and recommend certain
behaviour. The assessment component is "coded" in the system of national language by the
value system of the nation thanks to the existing in each society evaluation criteria, based on
its specific cultural model (Ilieva 2015b).17 This applies not only to national culture as a
whole but also to organizational culture in particular. These fundamental bases can be a
useful premise for focusing our attention to the study of the most important problem of
society its security. It can be done by exploring the language of the fundamental national
documents such as the constitution, laws, strategies, doctrines, the language of the leaders of
the nation used in their speeches and their written statements, speeches and lectures. So, the
trinity mentioned above can be expanded to the quadrilateral relationship language, culture,
society, security.
Nicolay Georgievich Komlev (1924-1998), a Russian specialist in the theory of
language and semiotics, a researcher who has developed the theses on the specifics of the
language sign and the theory of the motivation of its choice in verbal communication as well
as the studies about the relationship between the connotation and denotation, considered
language as the most important tool for governing of society and the way for socializing
personality ( : 2006).18

15 Vorobyov 2006: , . . . .:
, 2006,- 330 .
16 Herder 1977: , . . ., .:, 1977, - 448 .
17 Ilieva 2015b: . - :

. , 1-8.
06.2015, . , , ( ).- [Notion value in proverbs. In: New
information technologies in educational process. Reports and papers from SULCIT scientific seminar held in
Malta on 1-8. 06.2015. Ed. . , Sofia. (In print).]
18 2006: - . .:

. . , 22.10.2006.: http://genhis.philol.msu.ru/article_25.html (1.08.2015).

136
 An important step in the development of the issue of the relationship language
culture is the thesis developed in his research work dedicated to the existence of a cultural
component in the semantic structure of a word.
According to academician Nikita Ilyich Tolstoy (1923-1996) the relationship culture
language can be regarded as the relation between the whole and its parts. Language can be
considered as a component of culture or as an instrument of culture. At the same time,
language is autonomous in terms of culture as a whole and can be considered in isolation
from culture or compared to it as an equal and equivalent component. Especially important
is the conclusion made by the academician: "The further development of historical
phraseological units research can be fruitful only on the condition of drawing a serious
attention to language as a verbal code of culture and as a creator of culture" (Tolstoy 1995: 24)19.
The examined theories on the relationship between language and culture, and the
current linguocultural studies give us the reason to assert that language is a fact of culture in
several aspects:
Language represents the integral function of culture;
Language is the main instrument by which people acquire and share culture;
Language is the most important matter of all phenomena having cultural
basis: if we want to understand the essence and nature of culture science, religion,
literature, and organizational security we must consider these phenomena as cultural codes
embedded in language, because natural language has been the best-developed model ever.
Surely, if native speakers are bearers of their culture as well, language signs get the
ability to serve as cultural symbols and this way to serve as a means of expression of
fundamental trends of culture development. That is why language objectifies the national-
cultural mentality of native speakers. Through the concepts of, for example, space, time and
the conceptual dichotomy own anothers, language correlates to culture, too.
In conclusion, the relationship language-culture has a reversible influence as well as
complex communicative, symbolic and valuable nature that reflects the national
(organizational) cultural paradigm.
Based on the brief overview of the trinity culture (organizational culture theory) lingo-
cultural (theory) General Theory of Security, an overall multidisciplinary model for studying
the organizational security can be developed. The main elements of the organizational
culture paradigm of a nation/organization can be discovered based on lingo-cultural
analyses of the fundamental documents of the organization.
Edgar Schains general model of organizational culture with its three main groups of
components shared and adopted in the organization artefacts, values and beliefs can be
applied to the particular security study. Furthermore, a multidisciplinary approach of
scientific subjects can be an effective tool. Therefore the lingo-cultural study of the
fundamental security documents delivers the basic concepts of the organizational cultural
model. Then the different types of organizational cultures can be discovered by the Organizational
Culture Assessment Instrument20 and the Management Skills Assessment Instrument21 and based

19Tolstoy1995: , . . :
. .:, 1995.
20 Kameron K. and Quinn R. Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values

Framework, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1999, p. 18-n

137
on it the main collective traits and leaders styles of governing the organization can be
revealed. Bearing this in mind, as well as the GTS, the key role and function of the security
in a specific organization can be discovered. That opens the door to predict behaviour of
organizations and leaders in different risk and threat situations.
In conclusion, the main methodological steps of the model for Lingo-cultural approach
to organizational security study (LCOSS) can be outlined:
The first stage: Lingo-cultural method is a tool that can contribute to the discoveries of
the main values embedded in the main national (organizational) security documents and
into national leaders statements, speeches and articles on security matters.
The second stage: Based on the values obtained from the first stage, and applying the
Organizational culture model of Edgar Schain and K. Kameron & R. Quinn
Organizational culture assessment instrument, the types of organizational cultures
(predetermining the essence and nature of the security matter
documents/statements/speeches) can be discovered.
The third stage: Based on discovered types of cultures from stages 1 and 2 and on the
GTS the method can examine and discover the key security perceptions and expectations of an
organizational/national leadership.
The fourth stage: Based on the results of the third stage, the further behaviours and
actions of an organization/nation/leader can be predicted with a high level of probability,
which is the outcome of the method.
The presented frame of the LCOSS method is intended to be tailored to typical
situational studies and to be furthered subsequently.

21 Ibid, p. 153- 166

138
 NATIONAL CULTURE IN THE LIGHT OF PROVERBS AND
SAYINGS
Ilieva Diana, Ph.D
University of Library Studies and Information Technologies
Sofia, Bulgaria

The famous English philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) said: The genius, wit and
spirit of a nation are discovered in its proverbs. The analysis of features of proverbs and
culture prove Bacons aphorism; it has become obvious that proverbs can help one to
understand the national culture and respectively the national mentality.
As is generally known, a proverb and saying are units of the young science
paremiology (Late Latin, from Greek paroimia - proverb, maxim, incidental remark, from
para beside + oimos way, path, path or strain of song; later - "moralizing saying"). A narrow
and broad understanding of paremiology is in general currency among scientists. Most of
them, like the author of this paper, consider paroimias1 in the narrow way of understanding
as a generic term to the two sub-notions proverb and saying (excluding the folk literature units
like riddles, divinations, incantations, blessings, imprecations that some scholars assign to
belong to paremiology). There is no consensus on the content of the units included in the
study object of this young science. There is no clear distinction between the terms proverb
and saying yet. We have examined the historiography of this scientific discussion in Russian,
Anglo-American, and Bulgarian peremiology2. Most Russian scholars scrutinize the
differences between these terms, as well as most Bulgarian explorers do. The Russian
paremiologist Tarlanov has concluded: namely the issue on proverbs and sayings (the
difference between them our remark) is the most unregulated in special literature
(Tarlanov 1999:30)3.
Although the etymology of the term paroimia has Greek origin and is broadly spread
out among the European research-workers from Russia (), Bulgaria (),
Poland (paremia), Estonia etc., they use widely in their works terms as paroimia,
paremiology, paremiography, paremiologist and other close derivatives. So does the
established American paremiologist from German origin Wolfgang Mieder and his
followers. They use the mentioned above term paroimia parallel with the term proverb. 4The
scientific discussion on the issue has its deep roots and it is appropriate for the further
development of the lore of the proverb. We reckon that for the needs of a cultural or lingo-

1 in some sources paremias:

http://rhetfig.appspot.com/view?id=ag1zfnJoZXRmaWctaHJkchgLEhBSaGV0b3JpY2FsRmlndXJlGL3qAQw
2Ilieva 2015: , . .

.
, , 2015. [The lore of paremiological wisdom -
bibliological and ethnological aspects. Dissertation for awarding the educational and scientific degree "Doctor".
SULCIT. Sofia, 2015]
3 Tarlanov 1999: , . . : . , 1999. 448.
4 Mieder 2004: Wolfgang Mieder. Proverbs: a Handbook. Westport, Connecticut & London: Greenwood
Press, Greenwood Folklore Handbooks, 2004.
Mieder 2009: Mieder, Wolfgang. Editors Preface. Proverb semantics: Studies in structure, logic, and metaphor,
edited by Wolfgang Mieder, pp. v-viii. (Supplement Series to Proverbium, 29.) Burlington, VT: University of
Vermont
139
cultural research it is not essential to focus on the exact linguistic differences and similarities
of these close terms. What is most important is to focus on the pragmatic exploration of
these units of paremiology regardless the concrete terms paroimias, proverbs, sayings, etc.
Let us concentrate on their essence they represent the folk wisdom as a source of
originality of national cultures. This approach is very close to the American Paremiological
School, which is more pragmatic than the linguistics one. In this respect, we adhere to
Trazanovas position defining proverbs and sayings (she does not set one of the terms
against the other): Proverbs and sayings are the core elements of the paremiological fund
(Trazanova 2011:3).5 This is the position of a number of paremiological genre researchers as
well: Wolfgang Mieder, Richard Trench, L. B. Savenkova, O. V. Zolototoverhaya, E. V.
Ivanova, O. A. Dimitrieva, R. Petrova, M. Elchinova, etc.
Some units of paremiology have already been investigated in linguistics but their
description remains actual because in the modern stage of development of science there are
attempts to consider proverbs and sayings from the positions of cultural linguistics as
stereotypes of folk consciousness. Such study of paroimias allows for a deep and more
precise reflection of their rich in content aspect, to trace sources, expose reasons, and
consider the question about background knowledge.
The lore of proverbs teaches us that nothing defines a culture as distinctly as its
language, and the elements of language that best reflect society's values and beliefs are its
proverbs and sayings. British paremiologists have established an interesting fact: the two
most common words in English proverbs are 'good' and 'never'.6 According to lingo-cultural
and psychological studies, this fact leads to the conclusion that, if proverbs and sayings
really do reflect beliefs, then the English are (or at least were when these proverbs were
coined) inclined to be virtuous but negative which is not so far from the truth nowadays
and is proved by many psychologists and anthropologists research-works.

Linguocultural analysis of proverbs and saying is a master key to revealing the

national-cultural specific of an ethnic group. The prominent Russian paremiologist Grigorii
Lvovich Permyakov (1919-1983) defines paremias as sighs of certain situations (Permyakov
1988 : 6)7 which are invariant to concrete situations in real life. As language signs proverbs
and sayings are used in linguoculturology as one of the forms fixing the meaningful cultural
phenomena. Most ancient layer of any language can be used as means of reconstruction of
the personal touches of national mentality. Emblematic in this regard is the assessment of
paremias as a standard of stereotypic behaviour laid in their axiological code which is given

5 Trazanova 2011: , . . .//Magister

Dixit - , 2011, 3 09
6 This scientific fact is shown in the graphic on the page taken from the specialized site The Phrase Finder:

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/proverbs.html (16.04.2015).
7 Permyakov 1988: , .. .

, ., 1988
140
by Russian linguoculturologists Vereshtagin and Kostomarov: "Proverbs and sayings are
verbal short sentences of folk origin, finding peoples properties or phenomena in a
generalized form and giving them assessment and recommendations for a manner of
acting. (Vereshtagin, Kostomarov 1983: 88)8
A man is able to understand the world and himself due to a language in which his
social and historical experience is reflected - both national and common to all humankind .
The interest of the modern man in the past, sources of his culture makes him attentively
scrutinize language phenomena. Proverbs, sayings, phraseological units have saved trails
of the distant past. They are like real micro-worlds revealing the moral law and common
sense, shown in a short figure of speech that our ancestors bequeathed to their descendants
as a guidance of life (Buslaev 1954: 37)9. For this reason, proverbs and sayings occupy a
special place in language, and their study as the object of linguistics research has remained
actual nowadays.
National culture shows up most fully and brightly namely in such units of language
as phraseological units, paremias and winged expressions. Exactly this layer of language
reflects the extralinguistic reality directly, names the objects and phenomena of the
surrounding us world, points to their meaning objectifying the living conditions of people
native speakers of a given language. Precisely this layer of language is to be regarded as a
mirror and keeper of national culture.
Proverbs and sayings are precedent texts, which represent the verbalized cognitive
mentality of a people; they are an integral part of the national linguistic picture of the world
(Ilieva 2015: 118). The latter reflects the mentality and elaborates the speech patterns of
native speakers. Thus, the paremiological layer of language reflects the ethnic and cultural
specifics, history and culture artefacts of a people and its national character. Every nation
indicates in its paremiological fund only those precedent phenomena that are emblematic of his
moral values and worldview (Op. cit.: 119).
According to the prominent Polish linguoculturologist Anna Wierzbicka the national
linguistic picture of the world is connected with the existence of specific customs and public
attitudes to the peculiarities of the system of values accepted in a particular culture
(Wierzbicka 2001).10 It reflects the ethnic and cultural specifics, history and culture of a
people and its national character.
Many efforts have been applied to expose the role of proverbs in cross-cultural
studies. Among the papers and books, which are written to reveal the relationship
between proverbs and cultures, many emphases are laid to affirm the significance of
proverbs and sayings in the field of comparative studies between two specific cultures.
Paremias have an important role in revealing cultural diversity.

Therefore these short sentences of folk origin are an inexhaustible source of

knowledge, pieces of information, repository of customs, traditions, skills and habits
inherent to a particular language group and respectively to a certain people. The Russian

8 Vereshtagin, Kostomarov 1983: , .., , .. . ., 1983

9 Buslaev 1954: , . . , . .:
, 1954. - 176 .
10 Wierzbicka 2001: , . / . . . .

. .: , 2001. 288 .
141
culturologist Ter-Minasovas words about the mentioned matter are very precise: "In the
linguistic study of idioms, i.e. in that language layer, which by definition is nationally
specific, a system of values, public morality, attitude to the world, to people, to other nations
has been kept. Idioms, proverbs and sayings most illustratively demonstrate lifestyle,
geography, history and traditions of one or another community, united by a common
culture (Ter-Minassova 2000: 80).11 Thus, geography and history (wars at sea for example)
and sea trade typical for an island colonial country are the reasons there are so many English
paremias connected with sea. Most of them are weather predicting old-fashioned forecasting
folklore proverbs, which are not typical for no island countries (like Bulgaria moreover
Russia for example):

The higher the clouds, the better the weather12 and its variant:

The higher the clouds, the finer the weather;

Sharks go out to sea at the approach of a wave of cold weather;

When sea gulls fly to land, a storm is at hand;
Some of the proverbs have transparent meaning they do not need any explanation
or speculation - like the meaning of the above-mentioned proverbs. Others like the given
below, point to the meaning in a metaphorical way:
The evening red and morning grey are sure signs of a fine day, but the evening grey and the
morning red, makes the sailor shake his head (When a person shakes his head it is an obvious
sign that he is worried and anxious. It means that timely measures have to be taken to avoid
a trouble or accident.);

With the rain before the wind, stays and topsails you must mind, but with the wind before the
rain, your topsails you may set again (the meaning of verb mind13 be distressed, annoyed,
or worried by suggests imminent danger) and its variant:

When rain comes before the wind, halyards, sheets and braces mind, but when wind comes
before rain, soon you may make sail again as well as the synonym:

If clouds are gathering thick and fast, keep sharp look out for sail and mast, but if they
slowly onward crawl, shoot your lines, nets and trawl;

The sudden storm lasts not three hours, the sharper the blast, the sooner tis past (Both
parts of this proverb truly reflect the difference between the sudden heavy deluge and
squally winds from a heavy shower or thunderstorm, and the generally steadier and often
prolonged frontal rain associated with depressions.);

A piece of seaweed hung up will become damp before it rains (Any truth of this weather
proverb probably comes from salt remaining on the surface of the weed. Salt is hygroscopic,

11 Ter-Minassova 2000: -, .. . ., 2000.

12 English proverbs are excerpted from: Proverbs of the seas:
http://www.navitransnapoli.com/english/curiosity/proverbs-of-the-seas/ and English proverbs:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/proverbs.html ( 16.04.2015).
13 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/mind

142
which means it will absorb moisture when the air is humid. This may mean the chance of
rain is slightly higher.);
These observations have been made not only for decades past but more likely for
centuries. They represent never failing folk wisdom transferring knowledge and pieces of
advice for proper actions to the coming generations in situations similar to the commented
ones. When a man faces other similar situations, he involuntarily compares them one to
another as if they are standards this way "the proverb performs in the human beings mind
the role of an ' algebraic formula ' which he can use in solving a number of specific tasks
(Savenkova 2002:34).14 That is why we may assert proverbs are signs of typical situations
for a people and they mark with a positive or negative (rarely neutral ) axiological mark the
recommended models for each national culture, describing in an encoded way the typical
peculiarities of the national mentality of the respective linguistic personality(Ilieva 2015: 80).
The American researcher S. Winick considers proverbs and sayings as an instance of
communication and a strategic action (Winick 2003: 571).15 We support the authors point
of view that a proverb is a communicative strategy for transferring of a certain meaning or
message. The famous American philosopher and literary critic Kenneth Burke back in 1957
called the proverb a strategy for encompassing situations and considered it a creative way of
dealing with situations and their inherent problems (Burke 1957: 296).16
Thus, we have to note that there are few Bulgarian proverbs on weather but they are
not the sort of the marine weather forecast ones mentioned above (and it is understandable
having in mind that though Bulgaria has a sea border, it is not an island country). In
Bulgarian paremiological fund there are a couple of proverbs on stormy weather which are
synonymous in a way to the last but one proverb commented above (The sudden storm lasts
not three hours, the sharper the blast, the sooner tis past): 17 (literally:
Fierce storm does not last much). The general meaning of the two proverbs is very similar but
Bulgarian proverb refers not solely to the sea weather; it indicates a stormy weather as a
whole. This refers to another synonymous Bulgarian proverb
(literaly: After the storm quiet time cometh). There is an English paremia with a
synonymous meaning: After the storm comes a calm, which can be referred, not only to the sea
weather forecast proverbs but also to any stormy weather. What is more interesting, the
Bulgarian proverb is assumed mostly by its metaphorical meaning: never make a negative
decision in the low time; never make your most important decisions when you are in your
worst mood. The worldly advice here is: Wait. Be patient. The storm bad conditions - will
pass. The Bulgarian proverb (literal translation After bad
weather the sun will shine and its English counterpart After the rain the sun will shine ) at first
reading might be considered just as a weather forecast one (doesnt matter concerning sea or
land but its deeper reading shows a general situation expressed by the synonymous proverb
- generalizing the meaning of the previous one.) The literal meaning of

14Savenkova 2002: , . . : . -
: - , 2002. 239.
15 Winick 2003: Winick,S.D. Intertextuality and Innovation in a Definition of the Proverb Genre//Cognition,

Comprehension, and Communication: A Decade of North American Proverb Studies (1990 2000).
Baltmannsweiler, Germany: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, 2003. p.571 - 601
16 Burke 1957: Burke K. Literature as equipment for living// The Philosophy of Literary Form. New York:

Vintage Books, 1957, p.293 - 304

17 Bulgarian proverbs are excerpted from , . . ., ,

2007, 430 .
143
the last proverb might be expressed by A blessing in disguise; its English counterpart is Every
cloud has a silver lining. The meaning of the two language counterparts is every bad
situation has some good aspect to it. These proverbs are usually said as an encouragement
to a person who is overcome by some difficulty and is unable to see any positive way
forward.
Such metaphorical meaning showing the positive thought that in every bad situation
there is an element of good we can identify in the Russian proverb:
as well as in German Nach Regen kommt Sonnenschein (translated literally After rain
comes sunshine18.
As substanitial as the differences between cultures may be, the last instances show
there are still common aspects between cultures.
Nevertheless, let us cast our mind back and to have a look at the proverbs
representing national traits. Not only specifically oriented themes such as the English sea
weathercast proverbs, but also the specific lexicology included in them are essential for
determining the national identity. Because of the fact that England is an island country there
are many proverbs containing marine vocabulary in English paremiological fund, such as
sea, captain, seamen/ sailors, ship, rock, etc. Let us take the example of the English proverbs
with the key word captain: A ship with two captains sinks; Do not forget what it is to be a sailor
because of being a captain yourself; When the sea is calm, every ship has a good captain, etc. In
Bulgarian paremiological fund, there are no proverbs as the first two mentioned, the
semantics of the last one is represented by a proverb connected with a no marine topic:
(literal translation: Everyone looks
for a soft piece of the pie and for light work). There are only few Bulgarian proverbs
containing the lexeme captain but none of them refers to nautical matters: -
(literal translation Four Greeks five captains); -
(literal translation Three rebels - nine captains). As we can see from their
literal translation these proverbs are used to express the thirst for power, even among the
smallest team. By the short telegraphese of the proverbs a strong negative axiological
attitude towards this social phenomenon is read.
The regarded cases prove that proverbs show in the shortest form and brightest way
the national culture and national identity of a people. The genuine sea countries have many
sea weathercast proverbs, which are to help the coming generations of sailors to survive in
severe sea conditions and to be successful sailors, fishermen, sea traders and warriors.
Knowledge of meteorological conditions for a maritime nation is linked to its survival and
prosperity.
Cultural linguistics analysis of proverbs and sayings aims to show up their national
cultural specific. As language signs proverbs and sayings are examined in linguoculturology
as one of forms of revealing cultural significant phenomena. Thus, the way proverbs reveal
the cultural diversity can be connected to the patterns of value dimension, which convey the
information of a culture's deep meaning. A Bulgarian proverb literally says, A book is a
window to the world ( ); we may paraphrase it in respect of
the linguocultural approach: A proverb is a window to the mentality of a nation.

18 Special Dictionary/ World proverbs http://www.special-dictionary.com/proverbs/keywords/shine/

144
References
Burke 1957: Burke K. Literature as equipment for living// The Philosophy of Literary Form.
New York: Vintage Books, 1957, p.293 - 304
Buslaev 1954: , . . ,
. .: , 1954. - 176 .
Ilieva 2015: , .
.
. , , 2015.
The lore of paremiological wisdom - bibliological and ethnological aspects. Dissertation for awarding
the educational and scientific degree "Doctor". SULCIT. Sofia, 2015
Mieder 2004: Wolfgang Mieder. Proverbs: a Handbook. Westport, Connecticut & London:
Greenwood Press, Greenwood Folklore Handbooks, 2004.
Mieder 2009: Mieder, Wolfgang. Editors Preface. Proverb semantics: Studies in structure,
logic, and metaphor, edited by Wolfgang Mieder, pp. v-viii. (Supplement Series to Proverbium, 29.)
Burlington, VT: University of Vermont
Permyakov 1988: , .. .
, ., 1988
Savenkova 2002: , . . :
. - : - , 2002. 239.
Stoykova 2007: , . . ., , 2007,
430 .
Tarlanov 1999: , . . : . ,
1999. 448.
Ter-Minassova 2000: -, .. . ., 2000.
Trazanova 2011: , . .
.//Magister Dixit - , 2011, 3 09
Vereshtagin, Kostomarov 1983: , .., , .. . .,
1983
Wierzbicka 2001: , . /
. . . . . .: , 2001. 288 .
Winick 2003: Winick,S.D. Intertextuality and Innovation in a Definition of the Proverb
Genre//Cognition, Comprehension, and Communication: A Decade of North American Proverb
Studies (1990 2000). Baltmannsweiler, Germany: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, 2003. p.571 - 601

145
 DEUTSCH LERNEN MIT BEISPIELEN AUS KURZEN
ZEITUNGSMELDUNGEN

Lect. univ. dr. Iroaie Ana, Universitatea din Bucureti

Facultatea de Limbi i Literaturi Strine
Departamentul de Limbi i Literaturi Germanice

1. Analysefokus
Das Ziel vorliegender Untersuchung besteht darin, aufzuzeigen, welche grammatischen
Strukturen den deutschen Substantiven mit fester Prposition im Rumnischen entsprechen.
Dabei sind sowohl morphologische als auch semantische Aspekte von Interesse, denn beim
Erlernen einer Fremdsprache spielen nicht nur die Gemeinsamkeiten, sondern noch viel mehr
die Unterschiede zwischen der Ausgangssprache und der Zielsprache eine wichtige Rolle.
Durch die Gegenberstellung der rumnischen bersetzungsvarianten deutscher
Zeitungsmeldungen wird in diesem Beitrag auf die Vielfalt der Ausdrucksmglichkeiten
hingewiesen. Deutschlehrende bzw. Deutschlernende knnen dabei auch feststellen, dass einige
valenzbedingte Prpositionen deutscher Substantive in zweisprachigen Wrterbchern
lediglich mit einer Bedeutungsvariante stehen. Selten werden mehrere Bedeutungen angegeben.
In den meisten Fllen wurden Substantive mit fester Prposition gar nicht lemmatisiert oder
wenn, dann meistens unvollstndig.

2. Korpusbeispiele
2.1 Der prpositive Anschluss mit an
Rechts von Gru knnen zwei unterschiedliche Prpositionen stehen, nmlich an und von1.
Keine der beiden steht im DGR-AR (2007). Sie stehen nur im Duden, bzw. im Dud-GwdS (2000),
und im einsprachigen Lernerwrterbuch Langenscheidt, LGwDaF (2003), so wie es aus der
folgenden bersicht hervorgeht:

DGR-AR Dud-GwdS Duden-DUW LGwDaF PONS

(2007) (2000) (2003) (2003) (2013)
salut, salutare,
compliment
Gru an (A) jmdn. --- + + + ---

An folgendem Pressebeispiel werden die bersetzungsvarianten fr das Rumnische

angegeben und kommentiert.
1d Weihnachtsansprache von Bundesprsident Horst Khler Gru an deutsche Soldaten im Ausland
BRZ07/DEZ.01338 Braunschw. Z., 24.12.2007
1r Alocuiunea de Crciun al Preedintelui Federal Horst Khler Mesaj de salut adresat soldailor din
strintate.
Fr dieses deutsche Beispiel 1d gibt es im Rumnischen auch noch eine weitere
bersetzungsvariante, aus der hervorgeht, dass dem deutschen valenzgeforderten prpositiven

1 Die Analyse der Prposition von erfolgt im nchsten Analyseschritt, unter 2.2.

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Anschluss nicht nur ein Perfektpartizip entsprechen kann, sondern auch eine Prposition, u.z.
ctre.
1r Alocuiunea de Crciun a Preedintelui Federal Horst Khler Mesaj de salut ctre soldaii din
Var strintate.
Bei der lexikographischen Beschreibung der subklassenspezifischen prpositiven Anschlsse
sind nicht nur die grammatischen Angaben, sondern auch die semantischen Hinweise zur
Beschaffenheit der Aktanten wichtig, denn diese legen die Klassenzugehrigkeit der
Prpositionalattribute fest. Folglich sind die Strukturen an Lisa Lehner aus dem Beispiel 2d nicht
der Struktur an die Universitt Mainz aus dem Beispiel 3d gleichzusetzen.
2d Darauf folgte die Einladung an Lisa Lehner von Joachim Kardinal Meisner, nach Kln zu kommen.
RHZ07/OKT.28870 RZ, 30.10.2007
2r Dup aceea a urmat invitaia adresat Lisei Lehner de ctre Joachim Kardinal Meisner de a veni la
Kln.
3d Die Sieger der Auswahlgesprche erhalten eine Einladung an die Universitt Mainz.
RHZ07/JUL.08022 RZ, 09.07.2007
3r Ctigtorii interviurilor de selecionare obin o invitaie la Universitatea din Mainz.
Auch fr die letzten zwei Beispiele aus der deutschen Presse kann man im Rumnischen auer
den unter 4r und 5r angefhrten bersetzungen, die ein attributiv gebrauchtes Perfektpartizip
enthalten, auerdem noch die Varianten (4rVar und 5rVar) mit einem prpositiven Anschluss
vorschlagen.
4d Vllig richtig ist auch die Forderung an das Land, die Chemiestadt strker zu untersttzen.
M07/DEZ.02935 Mannh. Morgen, 11.12.2007, S. 24
4r Pe deplin ntemeiat este i solicitarea adresat landului federal de a sprijini oraul industriei chimice.
4r Pe deplin ntemeiat este i solicitarea ctre landului federal de a sprijini oraul industriei chimice.
Var
5d Die SPD schreibt in einer Mitteilung an die Medien, Thomas Holthoff habe mit seinem Team eine
inhaltlich hervorragende, kulturelle Aufbauarbeit geleistet. BRZ07/DEZ.09155 Braunschw. Z.,
20.12.2007
5r Partidul SPD transmite ntr-un comunicat adresat mass-mediei, c Thomas Holthoff a realizat mpreun
cu echipa sa, o munc de reconstrucie cultural, care este excepional din punct de vedere al
coninutului.
5r Partidul SPD transmite ntr-un comunicat ctre mass-media, c Thomas Holthoff a realizat mpreun cu
Var echipa sa, o munc de reconstrucie cultural, care este excepional din punct de vedere al coninutului.
2.2 Der prpositive Anschluss mit von
Im Nachfeldt des Substantivs Gru kann auch die Prposition von stehen, die nur in den zwei
von den vier analysierten Wrterbchern erscheint.

DGR-AR Dud-GwdS Duden-DUW LGwDaF PONS

(2007) (2000) (2003) (2003) (2013)
salut, salutare,
compliment
Gru von (D) jmdm. --- + --- + +
Aus dem untenstehenden Beispiel 6r geht hervor, dass der Struktur Gru von im Rumnischen
auch ein Substantiv (salut) entspricht, auf das ein prpositionaler Ausdruck (din partea) folgt:
6d Ein persnlicher Gru von der Kanzlerin fehlt nie BRZ07/FEB.08294 Braunschw. Z., 01.02.2007
6r Un salut personal din partea Doamnei Cancelar nu lipsete niciodat
Substantive, die mit dem prpositiven Anschluss von einen Genitivus subiectivus umschreiben,
knnen ins Rumnische auch durch Passivstrukturen bersetzt werden:
Bericht von (D) jmdm. raport fcut de (A) cineva
Mitteilung von (D) jmdm. comunicat fcut de (A) cineva

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Einschrnkungen sind dabei durch die Beschaffenheit der Aktanten vorgeschrieben, die das
Merkmal + belebt aufweisen mssen, so wie im Beispiel 7d:
7d Laut einem Bericht von UN-Generalsekretr Kofi Annan sind von der Aktion der Regierung 2,4 Millionen
Menschen betroffen, mehr als 700 000 wurden obdachlos. NUN05/JUL.02640 NN, 23.07.2005
7r Potrivit unui raport fcut de secretarul general al Naiunilor Unite, Kofi Annan, 2,4 milioane de oameni au
fost afectai de aciunea guvernului, iar mai mult de 700 000 au rmas fr adpost.
Wird das Nachfeld durch einen unbelebten Aktanten belegt, dann handelt es sich um eine zwar
formal gesehen gleiche Struktur, die jedoch eine andere Funktion erfllt, und die mithilfe einer
subklassenspezifischen Prposition ins Rumnische bersetzt wird.
8d Heute um 19.45 Uhr rckt Friedhelm Krll Hannah Arendts Eichmann in Jerusalem. Ein Bericht von der
Banalitt des Bsen aus dem Jahr 1964 in den Mittelpunkt (Gewerbemuseumsplatz 2, Zi. 4.24).
NUN07/MAR.03400 NN, 28.03.2007
8r Astzi la ora 19.45 Friedhelm Krll aduce n atenia publicului cartea aprut n 1964 Eichmann in
Jerusalem. Ein Bericht von der Banalitt des Bsen [Eichmann la Ierusalim. O relatare despre banalitatea
rului] de Hannah Arendt. (Locul manifestrii: Gewerbemuseumsplatz 2, cam 4.24).
Bei formal hnlichen Strukturen lassen sich die semantischen Relationen auch mittels der
Beschaffenheit der Aktanten nher bestimmen, indem man ber Transformationsverfahren die
syntaktischen Funktionen wie folgt eruiert:
a. ein Bericht von UN-Generalsekretr Kofi Annan = ein Bericht des UN-Generalsekretr Kofi
Annan = Generalsekretr Kofi Annan berichtet / hat berichtet
b. ein Bericht von der Banalitt des Bsen *die Banalitt des Bsen berichtet2
c. ein Bericht von der Banalitt des Bsen = ein Bericht ber die Banalitt des Bsen
Die Belege fr die Struktur Mitteilung von weisen keine Bedeutungsvarianten nach:
9d Nach Mitteilung von Vorsitzender Ingrid Ente fhrt die nchste Fahrt im Juli in den Bayerischen Wald.
BRZ07/APR.09510
9r Potrivit comunicatului fcut de preedinta Ingrid Ente urmtoarea excursie se face n luna iulie n
Pdurea Bavarez.
2.3 Der prpositive Anschluss mit durch
Synonymische bersetzungsvarianten gibt es auch fr das rumnische Partizip, das den durch-
Anschluss wiedergibt:
10d Erst eine Einladung durch Staatsprsident Kostis Stefanopoulos zwang Erzbischof Christodoulos, den
Gast aus Rom zhneknirschend zu akzeptieren. M05/APR.26613 Mannh. Morgen, 04.04.2005
10r De abia o invitaie fcut de preedintele statului Kostis Stefanopoulos l-a constrns pe arhiepiscopul
Christodoulos s-l accepte, scrnind din dini, pe oaspetele de la Roma.
10r De abia o invitaie lansat de preedintele statului Kostis Stefanopoulos l-a constrns pe arhiepiscopul
Var Christodoulos s-l accepte, scrnind din dini, pe oaspetele de la Roma.
Auch fr die Struktur Schutz durch gibt es im Rumnischen zwei Mglichkeiten sie zu
bersetzen, so wie es aus den Beispielen 11r und 11rVar hervorgeht:
11d Denn ohne starken Schutz durch das Militr wird jede auch noch so gut gemeinte humanitre Hilfe leichte
Beute fr die Extremisten werden. NUN08/FEB.01179 NN, 11.02.2008, S. 2
11r Cci fr o protecie puternic asigurat de militari, orice ajutor umanitar, orict de bine intenionat,
devine o prad uoar pentru extremiti.
11r Cci fr o protecie puternic asigurat de ctre militari, orice ajutor umanitar, orict de bine intenionat,
Var devine o prad uoar pentru extremiti.
Die semantische Unterscheidung der subklassenspezifischen prpositiven Anschlsse ist fr die
Beschreibung des Deutschen unabdingbar und setzt Testverfahren voraus, mit denen man die
verschiedenen Satzfunktionen gleicher grammatischen Formen beschreiben kann. Somit lsst

2 Der Asteriskus vor dem Satz markiert, dass der Satz semantisch falsch ist.

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sich die Struktur Unterweisung durch den Nordic-Walking-Trainer Peter Markus nicht der Struktur
Unterweisung durch die Bibel gleichsetzen, denn nur im ersten Beispiel wird der Agens der
Handlung ausgedrckt. Mithilfe der Umformulierung lassen sich die Inhalte der zwei Stze wie
folgt voneinander unterscheiden:
a. Unterweisung durch den Nordic-Walking-Trainer Peter Markus = Nordic-Walking-Trainer
Peter Markus unterweist [die Gste / die Touristen] [in der Technik]
b. Unterweisung durch die Bibel *die Bibel unterweist.

Bei der bersetzung der zwei deutschen Strukturen ins Rumnische wird die formale
hnlichkeit aufgehoben, denn nur das erste Beispiel wird durch eine Passivstruktur
wiedergegeben, whrend dem zweiten eine Nominalphrase entspricht.
12d Der Abend endete mit einer Unterweisung durch den Nordic-Walking-Trainer Peter Markus.
BRZ06/NOV.04944 Braunschw. Z., 09.11.2006
12r Seara s-a ncheiat cu o instruire fcut de antrenorul pentru Nordic-Walking, Peter Markus.
13d Gegrndet wurde der "Christliche Verein junger Menschen - CVJM" im Jahre 1844 von George Williams
in London. Er hatte das Ziel, jungen Menschen in der Grostadt Lebensorientierung zu geben. Im eigenen
Vereinshaus erfuhren sie Lebenshilfe und Unterweisung durch die Bibel. RHZ06/FEB.12186 RZ,
13.02.2006
13r "Asociaia Cretin a Tinerilor" a fost nfiinat n anul 1844 de George Williams la Londra. El dorea s le
dea tinerilor din oraele mari o orientare n via. n sediul asociaiei au primit consiliere psihologic i ore
de catehez.

Das letzte Beispiel, dessen prpositiver Anschluss ins Rumnische durch eine Passivstruktur
bersetzt werden kann, ist Warnung durch. Genauso wie beim Beispiel Schutz durch, kann auf
das rumnische Perfektpartizip entweder die Prposition de oder de ctre folgen, ohne einen
semantischen Unterschied zu generieren.
14d Der "Focus" berichtet von einer entsprechenden Warnung durch das Bundeskriminalamt.
HMP08/JUL.01849 MOPO, 20.07.2008, S. 3
14r Revista "Focus" relateaz despre o avertizare corespunztoare fcut de Oficiul Federal de
Criminalistic.
14r Revista "Focus" relateaz despre o avertizare corespunztoare fcut de ctre Oficiul Federal de
Var Criminalistic.
2.4 Der prpositive Anschluss mit auf
Fr das Beispiel Forderung erwhnt nur das Dud-GwdS (2000) die valenzbedingte Prposition
auf: (frher) Aufforderung, sich einem Duell mit dem Auffordernden zu stellen: jmdm. eine Forderung
[auf Pistolen, Sbel] berbringen, schicken, und im DGR-AR (2007) gibt es dazu die rumnische
bersetzung eine Forderung auf Pistolen provocare la duel cu pistolul. Doch diese
lexikographischen Angaben sind fr die bersetzung des Beispiels 15d ungeeignet, denn im
untenstehenden Kontext aktualisiert Forderung eine andere Bedeutungsvariante.
15d Nach seiner Forderung auf Lohnverzicht von Arbeitnehmern an den ersten beiden Tagen einer
Krankschreibung sorgt Georg-Ludwig Braun, Prsident des Industrie- und Handelskammertages
(DIHK), fr neuen Wirbel. HMP05/AUG.02806 MOPO, 29.08.2005, S. 6
15r Dup solicitarea fcut angajailor de a renuna la salariu n primele dou zile ale concediului medical,
Georg-Ludwig Braun, preedintele Camerei de Industrie i Comer, provoac noi neliniti.
2.5 Der prpositive Anschluss mit nach
Auch fr das nchste Beispiel, Ruf, sind die Angaben im DGR-AR (2007) nicht fr die
bersetzung aller Kontexte hilfreich, in denen das polyseme Substantiv steht. Zwar werden im

149
zweisprachigen Wrterbuch sieben Bedeutungsvarianten3 im Rumnischen angegeben, doch
keine davon kann fr die bersetzung des Beispiels 16d herangezogen werden.
16d Zugleich wurde der Ruf nach Erhhung der Mehrwertsteuer laut. HMP05/MAI.02725 MOPO,
28.05.2005, S. 6
16r Totodat s-a fcut auzit solicitarea de a mri TVA-ul.
Der Gebrauch der Prposition nach im rechten Feld des Substantivs Ruf erffnet eine Vielfalt
von kontextbedingten bersetzungsmglichkeiten, die sich im Rumnischen nicht nur auf die
syntaktische, sondern auch auf die semantische Form der quivalente auswirken. Siehe dazu
die Beispiele 17d und 18d, in denen die Struktur Ruf nach entweder durch das Substantiv cererea
bersetzt wird, auf das ein Prpositionalattribut folgt (de ingineri) oder durch ein Verb im
gerunziu4, das eine Akkusativergnzung (rum. complement direct) einleitet.
17d Der Ruf nach Ingenieuren ist berall zu hren, und das wird sich auch auf die Gehaltsverhandlungen
auswirken, glaubt Christian Nser, Geschftsfhrer bei der Kienbaum Management Consultants GmbH
in Gummersbach. VDI06/JUN.00457 VDI Nachr., 23.06.2006, S. 23
17r Cererea de ingineri poate fi ntlnit peste tot i acest lucru va influena i negocierile salariale, crede
Christian Nser, director la Kienbaum Management Consultants GmbH din Gummersbach.
18d Eine scheinbare technische Panne wird von Rebecca Simoneit-Barum mit dem Ruf nach dem Techniker
beantwortet. Doch die "Panne" stellt sich als Auftakt dar fr eine artistische Hchstleistung des Artisten
Pierre Bauer auf dem zwlf Meter hohen, schwankenden Mast. Clowns sind seit jeher die erklrten
Lieblinge des Publikums. RHZ06/MAR.14854 RZ, 16.03.2006
18r La o aparent problem tehnic Rebecca Simoneit-Barum reacioneaz strigndu-l pe technician. Dar
"pana" se dovedete a fi un prolog pentru performana artistic a artistului Pierre Bauer, care se afl n
balans pe o prjin nalt de 12 metri.
2.6 Der prpositive Anschluss mit fr
Der Struktur Lob fr knnen im Rumnischen je nach Gebrauchskontext verschiedene
bersetzungsvarianten entsprechen, die entweder durch Gerundivformen (Beispiel 19r und 19r
Var) oder durch Passivkonstruktionen (Beispiel 20r) ausgedrckt werden.
19d Das wird sicherlich nicht ihr einziger Einblick in den Berufsalltag bleiben, ergnzt Isabel Brandis, und
spricht ein groes Lob fr die 18-Jhrige aus: Ich bin wirklich sehr zufrieden mit ihr.
BRZ06/FEB.11210 Braunschw. Z., 20.02.2006
19r Acestea nu vor rmne singurele impresii n viaa profesional, adaug Isabel Brandis, ludnd-o pe
tnra de 18 ani: Chiar sunt foarte mulumit de ea.
19r Acestea nu vor rmne singurele impresii n viaa profesional, adaug Isabel Brandis, aducnd laude
Var tinerei de 18 ani: Chiar sunt foarte mulumit de ea.
20d Dann gab es viel Lob fr den Direktor des Regionalbereichs Betzdorf, Werner Schmitt, der auch zugleich
Bezirksgeschftsfhrer in Rheinland-Pfalz ist und der in diesen Tagen sein 25. Dienstjubilum begeht.
RHZ98/MAI.16227 RZ, 09.05.1998
20r Apoi a fost foarte ludat Werner Schmitt, directorul departamentului regional din Betzdorf, care este
totodat i director commercial n Rheinland-Pfalz i care i serbeaz n aceste zile 25 de ani de activitate.
Trotz der oben angefhrten Beispiele zum Nomen Lob aus denen deutlich hervorgeht, dass
einer deutschen nominalen Struktur eine verbale Struktur im Rumnischen gleichkommt, gibt
es auch Kontexte, in denen der deutsche valenzbedingte prpositive Anschluss durch eine
gleichwertige grammatische Form bersetzt werden kann:
21d Am 8. August 1781 freut sich Mozart ber Lob fr seine entstehende Oper Die Entfhrung aus dem
Serail: Gestern habe ich bei der Grfin Thun gespeist; ich habe ihr, was fertig ist, hren lassen; sie sagte

3 Der Lemmaeintrag zu Ruf enthlt im DGR-AR (2007) folgende Angaben: 1. strigt, chemare; 2. renume, reputaie,
faim; 3. chemare, apel; einen Ruf an jn. ergehen lassen a lansa un apel ctre cineva; er hat einen Ruf an die Berliner
Universitt erhalten a primit un post (de profesor) la Universitatea din Berlin; 4. numr de telefon; 5. (vn.) fluier de
momit, ivlitoare; 6. (despre psri) chemare; cntec; 7. (nv.) zvon, vorb.
4 Dieser Modus entspricht im Deutschen eher dem Partizip I.

150
 mir auf die Letzt, da sie sich getraue, mir mit ihrem Leben gutzustehen, da das, was ich bis dato
geschrieben, gewi gefallen wird. BRZ06/AUG.03438 Braunschw. Z., 08.08.2006
21r Pe 8 august 1781 Mozart se bucur de laudele primite pentru opera sa Rpirea din Serai, pe cale de a se
nate: Ieri am mncat la contesa Thun; i-am prezentat ce era gata; mi-a spus la sfrit c are curajul s-mi
garanteze cu viaa ei, c tot ce am scris pn n acea clip, o s plac cu siguran.
2.7 Besonderheiten bei den prpositiven Anschlssen mit um, an, auf
Die prpositive Valenz der Substantive Angst und Lust kann ber den Transfer von den festen
Strukturen Angst haben um bzw. Lust haben an / auf erklrt werden, denen im Rumnischen
folgende Strukturen entsprechen a-i fi team s, a face plcere s bzw. a avea chef s.
22d Sie haben Angst um ihre Arbeitspltze (): Sie protestierten gegen die in dem geplanten
Gesundheitsreformgesetz vorgesehene Fusion ihrer Einrichtungen zu einer einzigen Organisation.
RHZ03/AUG.20612
22r Le este team s nu-i piard locurile de munc (): Ei protesteaz mpotriva fuziunii organizaiilor lor
ntruna singur aa cum prevede legea referitoare la reforma sistemului de sntate.
23d Kinder und Jugendliche, die Lust an Tanz, Gesang und Schauspiel haben, sucht die Stagecoach-Schule.
NUN05/SEP.01274 NN, 12.09.2005
23r coala Stagecoach caut copii i tineri crora le face plcere s danseze, s cnte i s fac teatru.
23r coala Stagecoach caut copii i tineri crora le place s danseze, s cnte i s fac teatru.
Var
24d Bangkok Pandabr Chuang Chuang hat keine Lust auf Sex. Doch soll er dem Zoo in Chiang Mai
(Nordthailand) mit Pandadame Lin Babys schenken! HMP07/MAR.03101 MOPO, 27.03.2007, S. 39
24r Ursul panda din Bangkok, Chuang Chuang, n-are chef s fac sex. Dar ar trebui s druiasc bebelui grdinii
zoologice din Chiang Mai (Tailanda de Nord) mpreun cu partenera sa Lin.
Selbst wenn dem prpositiven Anschluss von Angst um ein s-Nebensatz entspricht, wie im
Beispiel 22r, geht aus Beispiel 25r hervor, dass auch eine weitere bersetzung mglich ist:
25d Finanzkrise: Haben Sie Angst um ihr Geld? NON08/OKT.01696
25r Criza financiar: V este team pentru banii dvs.?
An einem weiteren Beispiel kann man sehen, dass einem deutschen Substantiv mit fester
Prposition im Rumnischen selbst ein intransitives Verb gleichkommt:
26d Herzlichen Dank an alle, die dies angeregt und ausgefhrt haben! RHZ03/OKT.13273
26r Mulumim tuturor celor care au iniiat i au dus la bun sfrit toate aceste lucruri.
Auch fr die bersetzung der nchsten zwei Beispiele, in denen das valente Nomen Interesse
eingebettet ist, reichen die lexikographischen Angaben aus dem DGR-AR (2007) nicht aus, denn
im Lemmaeintrag werden zwar die Strukturen an einer Sache Interesse haben / fr eine Sache
Interesse haben erwhnt, doch diesen wird nur eine einzige Bedeutungsvariante, a avea interes
pentru o chestiune, zugeordnet, obwohl auch noch zwei weitere a se interesa de und a fi interesat de
mglich sind.
27d Nach Auskunft des Alten- und Pflegeheims Langeleben kamen zum Tag der offenen Tr rund 80
Besucher, 30 davon nahmen an Fhrungen teil, 10 hatten Interesse an Heimpltzen.
BRZ07/MAI.18057 Braunschw. Z., 12.05.2007
27r Conform informaiilor furnizate de cminul de btrni Langeleben n ziua uilor deschise au venit 80
de vizitatori, dintre care 30 au vizitat incinta, iar 10 s-au interesat de locurile din cmin.
28d Wer Interesse an der stlichen Kultur hat, sollte sich schnell einen Platz reservieren.
RHZ03/OKT.07164
28r Cine este interesat de cultura oriental, ar trebui s-i reserve repede un loc.

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Es fllt auf, dass auch der Struktur Freude haben an etw.5 in der Zielsprache nur eine einzige,
Bedeutungsvariante gleichkommt, die durch das reflexive Verb a se bucura de ausgedrckt wird:
29d Doris Sennekamp ergnzt: "Schler mssen Freude an einer Leistung haben." RHZ03/MAR.05155
29r Doris Sennekamp adaug: "Elevii trebuie s se bucure de o performan."
Die Nachfeldbesetzung des Nomens Freude durch einen belebten Aktanten im Anschluss an die
Prposition an wird im zweisprachigen Wrterbuch, DGR-AR (2007), nicht angegeben, doch sie
wird durch die Eintrge aus den deutschen, einsprachigen Standardwrterbchern und durch
die Online-Beispiele besttigt:
30d Marschall Blcher htte sicher seine Freude an den Besuchern gehabt, die sich vor dessen Denkmal zu
einem Erinnerungsfoto versammelten. RHZ05/AUG.16894
30r Marealul Blcher s-ar fi bucurat cu siguran de vizitatorii care s-au strns pentru a face o fotografie
n faa monumentului su.
Unter dem Stichwort Opfer steht im DGR-AR (2007) nur eine einzige feste Struktur Opfer bringen
a face sacrificii, whrend das FVG Opfer bringen an jmdm. - a se sacrifica pentru fehlt.
31d "Wir machen das freiwillig und bringen Opfer an den Menschen in Bad Ems, weil wir bestimmte
Behandlungen unseren Patienten nicht vorenthalten knnen und wollen", unterstreicht Reisinger.
RHZ07/NOV.15509
31r "Noi facem asta de bun voie i ne sacrificm pentru oamenii din Bad Ems, pentru c nu putem i nu
vrem s le sustragem pacienilor notri anumite tratamente", a subliniat Reisinger.
Eine valenzbedingte Prposition, die ein deutsches Substantiv in einem FVG begleitet, lsst sich
ins Rumnische auch durch ein transitives Verb bersetzen, so wie es aus folgendem Beispiel
hervorgeht:
32d Dann wird die Frage an die Schler gestellt, wer hat schon Gewalt aktiv oder passiv erlebt?
NON08/NOV.15780
32r Apoi sunt ntrebai elevii, cine s-a confruntat deja n mod activ sau pasiv cu forme de violen?
Beim Deverbativum Hilfe ist auch eine Eigenheit festzustellen, wenn es beispielsweise in einem
Funktionsverbgefge eingebettet ist, denn dem Prpositionalattribut kommt im Rumnischen
eine Dativergnzung gleich:
33d Ihnen wurde danach gleich demonstriert, was die neue Rettungsschere (sie kostete allein rund 22 000
Euro) zu leisten vermag: "Damit knnen wir effektive Hilfe an allen Fahrzeugen leisten", betonte Loos.
RHZ07/SEP.11881 RZ, 12.09.2007
33r Lor li s-a fcut imediat o demonstraie cu ceea ce poate s realizeze noua foarfec de salvare (doar ea
costnd circa 22 000 de euro): "Cu ea putem s acordm asisten efectiv tuturor vehiculelor", a
subliniat Loos.

3. Schlussfolgerungen
Die Ausarbeitung von grammatischen Grundmustern, mit denen man in der Zielsprache die
quivalente der deutschen valenzbedingten Prpositionalattribute beschreiben soll, wird durch
die bersetzungsvarianten nicht vereinfacht. Diese Tatsache darf jedoch nicht als ein Hindernis

5 Sowohl die Struktur Freude haben an etwas als auch die Struktur Spa haben mit etwas, die beide als
Funktionsverbgefge (FVG) gelten und im DGR-AR (2007) stehen , knnen ins Rumnische nur durch eine einzige
Form bersetzt werden, nmlich a se bucura de, sodass dadurch die semantischen Unterschiede5 zwischen Spa und
Freude aufgehoben werden. Demzufolge wrde man folgendes Beispiel Die Jugend hatte aber keinen Spa mit der
vermeintlichen Leckerei, denn sie platzte in der Pfanne und fing Feuer. RHZ02/JUL.04566 RZ, 06.07.2002 so ins
Rumnische bersetzen: Tinerii nu s-au bucurat de aa-zisa delicates, cci ea a plesnit n tigaie i a luat foc. Nur im
LGwDaF (2003) wird Spa an (D) etw. definiert als das Gefhl der Freude, das man bei etwas Angenehmem
empfindet und Freude an (D) jmdm. / etw. als der andauernde oder lngerfristige Zustand des Glcks oder der
Zufriedenheit in Bezug auf eine Person oder Sache: Freude an den Kindern, an der Arbeit haben. Im Rumnischen
wird dieser semantische Unterschied nicht zum Ausdruck gebracht.

152
aufgefasst werden, sondern als eine Einladung die Grenzen zwischen den aufgestellten
Grundmustern flieend zu gestalten und somit keine geschlossenen Listen aufstellen. Die
Grundmuster dienen nur als Orientierunghilfe und knnen auf die grammatische
Ausdrucksvielfalt in der Zielsprache hinweisen.

Bibliografie

Wrterbcher
DGR-AR (2007) = Academia Romn (Hrsg.) (2007): Dicionar german-romn, 3. durchgesehene und erw. Auflage,
Bucureti: Univers Enciclopedic.
Dud-GwdS (2000) = Drosdowski, Gnther et al. (2000): Duden. Das groe Wrterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 10 Bnde,
CD-ROM, Mannheim: Dudenverlag.
Duden-DUW (2003) = Duden, Deutsches Universalwrterbuch, CD-ROM, Mannheim: Dudenverlag.
LGwDaF (2003) = Gtz, Dieter/Haensch, Gnther/Wellmann, Hans (Hrsg.): Langenscheidts Growrterbuch Deutsch
als Fremdsprache. Das neue einsprachige Wrterbuch fr alle, die Deutsch lernen, CD-ROM, Berlin/Mnchen:
Langenscheidt.
PONS (2013) = Wrterbuch Deutsch als Fremdsprache PREMIUM, based on PONS Growrterbuch Deutsch als
Fremdsprache, CD-ROM, Stuttgart: Pons.

Literatur
Bassola, Peter (2006): Strukturtypen nicht abgeleiteter deutscher Substantive im Vergleich zum Ungarischen. In:
Breindl, Eva/Gunkel, Lutz/Strecker, Bruno (Hrsg.) (2006): Grammatische Untersuchungen, Analysen und
Reflexionen, Tbingen: Narr, S. 111-132.
Fischer, Klaus/Fobbe, Eilika/Schierholz, Stefan J. (2010): Valenz und Deutsch als Fremdsprache, Frankfurt/Main: Lang.
GBAR (2010) = Pan Dindelegan, Gabriela et al. (Hrsg.): Gramatica de baz a limbii romne, Bucureti: Editura univers
enciclopedic gold.
Iliescu, Ada (2005): Gramatica practic a limbii romne actuale, Bucureti: Corint.

Webographie
grammis (2010) = http://www.ids- mannheim.de/grammis/, das grammatische informationssystem des ids,
Mannheim.
COSMAS I/II (Corpus Search, Management and Analysis System), http://www.ids-mannheim.de/cosmas2/,
1991-2009 Institut fr Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim.

Quellen fr die zitierten Beispiele der Korpusanalyse aus COSMAS I/II

BRZ = Braunschweiger Zeitung, September 2005 - Dezember 2008
HMP = Hamburger Morgenpost, April 2005 - Dezember 2008
NON = Niedersterreichische Nachrichten, Januar 2007 - Dezember 2008
NUN = Nrnberger Nachrichten, Januar 1990 - Dezember 2008
RHZ = Rhein-Zeitung, Januar 1996 - Dezember 2008
M = Mannheimer Morgen, Januar 1995 - Dezember 2008 (die Jahrgnge 1995, 1997 und 2000 sind unvollstndig)
VDI = VDI Nachrichten, Februar 2006 - Dezember 2008

153
 AN, AUF, BERBEDEUTUNGS(IR)RELEVANTE ASPEKTE BEI
FESTER REKTION IM NOMINALEN BEREICH
Lect. univ. dr. Iroaie Ana, Universitatea din Bucureti
Facultatea de Limbi i Literaturi Strine
Departamentul de Limbi i Literaturi Germanice

1. Einleitung

Die festen Prpositionen im verbalen wie im nominalen Bereich stellen selbst fr

fortgeschrittene Deutschlerner mit Rumnisch als Muttersprache einen wahren Stolperstein dar,
der nicht allein auf rezeptiver, sondern noch viel mehr auf produktiver Ebene anzutreffen ist.
Zu dieser Sachlage tragen im Grunde genommen verschiedene Aspekte bei, die nicht allein auf
die Lehr- oder Lernmethoden zurckzufhren sind, sondern auch auf die unzureichenden
lexikographischen Informationen der ein- und zweisprachigen Wrterbcher. Die Beschreibung
der Nachfeldbesetzung deutscher Substantive durch feste Prpositionen ist, aus welchen
Grnden auch immer, in vielen Wrterbchern nicht vollstndig enthalten. Rumnische
Deutschlerner finden in Wrterbucheintrgen mit Deutsch als Ausgangs- oder Zielsprache nur
einige grammatische Informationen zur Rektion der Verben, der Adjektive oder der Substantive,
whrend die semantische Ausdrucksvielfalt selten kontrastiv und kaum vollstndig angegeben
wird. Es berrascht, dass weder die Gemeinsamkeiten noch die besonders wichtigen
Unterschiede zwischen den zwei Sprachen komplett lexikographisch erfasst sind.
In vorliegender Arbeit wird die Analyse an zwei ausgewhlten Beispielen (Frage und Freude),
durchgefhrt, um dabei aufzuzeigen, dass die Bedeutungsvarianten der zwei Substantive
unterschiedliche grammatische Ausdrucksformen in den zwei Sprachen haben.

2. Stichwort: Frage

Fr das Substantiv Frage steht im DGR-AR (2007) bei der ersten Bedeutungsvariante1 die
Fgung (an jn.) eine Frage richten (sau tun2) a adresa, a pune (cuiva) o ntrebare. Weitere
Fgungen, die das Substantiv Frage enthalten, wie z. B. jmdm. oder an jmdn. eine Frage stellen,
sich an jmdn. mit einer Frage wenden, bei jmdm. eine Frage vorbringen oder (geh.) jmdm. eine Frage
vorlegen werden nicht erwhnt.

Wenn man die Struktur an jmdn. eine Frage richten mit der rumnischen Entsprechung
vergleicht, so fllt auf, dass der deutschen Prpositionalergnzung in der Zielsprache eine
Dativergnzung entspricht (a adresa cuiva o ntrebare).

Doch feste Fgungen lassen sich ins Rumnische auch nur durch ein transitives Verb
bersetzen, so wie es aus folgendem Beispiel hervorgeht:

1 Frage im Sinne von uerung, die jemand tut, um etwas zu erfahren.

2 Die Fgung eine Frage an jmdn. tun wird weder im Dud-GwdS (2000) noch im Duden-DUW (2003) erwhnt.

154
 1d Da dieses Kind unehelich geboren wurde, stellte die Hebamme eine Frage an die
junge Mutter: Wollen sie das Kind behalten oder soll ich ein Kissen auf das Kind
drcken? BRZ08/JUL.12751 Braunschw. Z., 26.07.2008
1r Pentru c acest copil s-a nscut din flori, moaa a ntrebat-o pe tnra mam: Vrei
s pstrai copilul sau s-l sufoc cu o pern?

Auch der Struktur Frage an, die im Lemmaeintrag des DGR-AR (2007) nicht steht, entspricht im
Rumnischen ein Substantiv, auf das aber keine subklassenspezifische Prposition folgt,
sondern ein Perfektpartizip, ntrebare adresat [Frage gerichtet] oder ntrebare pus [Frage gestellt].
Somit lsst sich das im WVDS (1983) angefhrte Beispiel die Frage des Lehrers an den Schler ()
ins Rumnische durch ntrebarea profesorului pus elevului [Frage Lehrers gestellt Schler dem]
bersetzen. Dass einem deutschen subklassenspezifischen Prpositionalattribut im
Rumnischen nicht durchgehend dieselbe grammatische Konstruktion entspricht, sondern, wie
in diesem Fall, eine partizipiale Struktur auf die eine Dativergnzung folgt, ist auch bei anderen
valenten Substantiven wie Drohung an, Hilfe an und Einladung an feststellbar.

Ausgehend von der prpositiven Verbvalenz von fragen (jmd. fragt jmdn. nach jmdm. / etw.) lsst
sich am Beispiel Frage auch noch ein zweiter subklassenspezifischer Anschluss identifizieren,
der durch nach eingeleitet wird.
An den Beispielen 2d und 3d, in denen die Struktur Frage nach + belebter Aktant aktualisiert ist,
wird deutlich, dass auch die zweite Bedeutungsvariante von Frage (problem / chestiune Problem
/ Sachlage) dieselbe grammatische Form, wie die erste Bedeutungsvariante, annehmen kann.

2d Das ist ein anderes Thema als die Frage nach dem besten Brgermeister vor Ort.
NUN08/MAR.02196 NN, 26.03.2008, S. 15
2r Aceasta este o alt tem [de discuie] dect ntrebarea legat de cel mai bun primar al
locului.

3d Fr die SPD war die Frage nach einem Kandidaten fr die Ortsbrgermeisterwahl
am 24. September schnell geklrt. RHZ06/JUN.18905
3r Pentru partidul SPD problema / chestiunea legat de candidatul pentru alegerile
locale din 24 septembrie s-a clarificat repede.
Wird im Nachfeld von Frage ein unbelebter Aktant ausgedrckt, so kann der prpositive
Anschluss nach entweder durch cu privire la oder durch referitor / referitoare la bersetzt werden,
wobei die rumnischen Strukturen semantisch gleichwertig sind.
4d Ungewohnt wortkarg gibt sich Tobias bei der Frage nach ein paar Anekdoten, die er
mit Promis erlebt hat. RHZ07/DEZ.15314
4r Neobinuit de laconic s-a artat Tobias la ntrebarea cu privire la cteva anecdote, pe
care le-a trit n preajma personalitilor cunoscute.
5d Bei der Frage nach neuen Baupltzen ist er allerdings anderer Meinung: "Wenn
Weitefeld attraktiv bleiben soll, mssen wir den jungen Leuten Perspektiven bieten."
RHZ07/MAI.09753
5r La ntrebarea referitoare la noile locuri de construcii el este, ce-i drept, de alt
prere: "Dac Weitefeld trebuie s rmn atractiv, atunci trebuie s le oferim
tinerilor perspective."

155
Auer den bereits erwhnten zwei subklassensprezifischen prpositiven Anschlssen, an und
nach, die auf das Substantiv Frage folgen, knnen auch noch zwei andere in seinem Nachdfeld
stehen, u.z. ber und zu, die aber nicht auf die Verbvalenz von fragen zurckzufhren sind und
demnach keine Valenzbernahme aufweisen. Diese Verknpfungsmglichkeiten werden nur
im DuWSv (2003) angefhrt und sonst in keinem anderen Wrterbuch. Doch die Belege aus der
deutschen Presse spiegeln den Gebrauch von Frage ber jmdm. / etw. und Frage zu jmdm. / etw.
wider.

In den Beispielen 6d und 7d wird deutlich, dass selbst bei gleichbleibendem prpositiven
Anschluss die Bedeutungsvarianten des Substantivs Frage kontextsensitiv sind.

6d CDU-Generalsekretr Volker Kauder wiederholt deshalb seit Wochen stereotyp die

Formulierung: Ende des Jahres wird die Frage ber den Kandidaten entschieden.
NUN05/MAI.00405 NN, 05.05.2005
6r Secretarul general al partidului CDU repet n mod stereotip de cteva sptmni
ncoace urmtorul rspuns: La sfritul anului se decide asupra chestiunii
referitoare la candidat.
7d Was nun die gestellte Frage ber einen Geruchsverlust nach grippalem oder viralem
Infekt betrifft, lsst sich sagen, dass ein dauernder Geruchsverlust sehr selten ist.
NUN05/JUL.01895 NN, 16.07.2005
7r n ceea ce privete ntrebarea pus, referitoare la pierderea mirosului dup o infecie
gripal sau viral, se poate spune c o pierdere a mirosului este foarte rar ntlnit.
Die Beispiele 8d und 9d zeigen, dass die bersetzung eines prpositiven Anschlusses ins
Rumnische auch von der Beschaffenheit der Aktanten abhngig ist.

So kann beispielsweise die Struktur eine Frage zu Edu entweder durch o ntrebare cu privire la Edu,
wie im Beispiel 8r, oder durch o ntrebare n legtur cu Edu bersetzt werden, ohne dabei einen
semantischen Unterschied aufzuweisen.

8d Herr Auer, vorneweg eine Frage zu Edu, der gerade von Bochum nach Mainz
gewechselt ist: Was fr einen Sturmpartner haben Sie verloren, was fr einen
Angreifer haben die 05er gewonnen? RHZ06/AUG.11194 RZ, 12.08.2006
8r Domnule Auer, mai nti o ntrebare cu privire la Edu, care tocmai s-a transferat de
la Bochum la Mainz: Ce fel de nainta ai pierdut dvs., ce fel de atacant au ctigat
cei de la 05?
8r Domnule Auer, mai nti o ntrebare n legtur cu Edu, care tocmai s-a transferat
Var de la Bochum la Mainz: Ce fel de nainta ai pierdut dvs., ce fel de atacant au
ctigat cei de la 05?
Auch fr die Struktur die erste Frage zu seiner Zukunft gibt es im Rumnischen drei
bersetzungsvarianten, prima ntrebare cu privire la viitorul su, oder prima ntrebare n legtur cu
viitorul su oder, so wie im Beispiel 9r, prima ntrebare legat de viitorul su:

9d Fussball. Ottmar Hitzfeld hat die erste Frage zu seiner Zukunft beantwortet.
A08/JAN.00067 St. Galler Tagbl., 03.01.2008, S. 27
9r Fotbal. Ottmar Hitzfeld a rspuns la prima ntrebare legat de viitorul su.

156
Die Struktur ntrebare legat de entspricht der deutschen Struktur Frage zu, nur wenn das
Nachfeld mit einem unbelebten Aktanten belegt wird.

Die Annahme, dass Deverbativa die Valenz ihres Ausgangswortes gnzlich bernehmen
wrden, trifft im Falle von fragen und Frage nicht zu, denn der prpositive Ansschluss um aus
der Struktur jmd. fragt jmdn. um Erlaubnis / Rat kann nicht im Nachfeld von Frage stehen. Somit
ist die Struktur die Frage um Rat falsch.

3. Stichwort: Freude

Noch interessanter ist der Sprachvergleich zwischen Freude mit seinen vier valenzbedingten
Prpositionen an, auf, ber, wegen und den dazugehrigen rumnischen Entsprechungen, von
denen zwei durch Verbativergnzungen ausgedrckt werden. Im DGR-AR (2007) wird Freude
mit bucurie, plcere bersetzt, aber von den vier subklassenspezifischen
Verknpfungsmglichkeiten steht im Lemmaeintrag nur ein einziges Beispiel, seine Freuden
haben (an cu dat.), dem im Rumnischen ein Verb mit Prpositionalergnzung gleichkommt a se
bucura (de ceva). Whrend die semantische Beschaffenheit der Aktanten fr die
Nachfeldbesetzung des deutschen Deverbativums nicht weiter erlutert wird, kann auf das
reflexive Verb a se bucura nur die Prposition de folgen, die ihrerseits nur einen unbelebten
Aktanten zulsst.
An der bersetzung der Beispiele 10d und 11d ins Rumnische wird dieser semantische Aspekt
deutlich:

10d Die Angler haben wieder mehr Freude an ihrem Hobby. RHZ07/DEZ.22729
10r Pescarii se bucur iari tot mai mult de hobby-ul lor.

11d Die jngsten Gste hatten ihre Freude an einem fingerfertigen Knstler, der aus
Luftballons allerlei Getier formte. BRZ08/JUL.03756 Braunschw. Z., 07.07.2008
11r Cei mai tineri oaspei s-au bucurat de prezena unui artist iscusit, care a modelat din
baloane tot felul de animale.
Von den vier prpositiven Anschlssen erscheint an in der Struktur Freude an in allen
Lemmaeintrgen, und erzielt somit den hchsten Erwhntheitsgrad. Allein im DuWSv (2003)
wird das Stichwort nicht lemmatisiert.

Am Gegenpol steht die Prposition wegen, die nur in der KGdr (1993) als valenzgeforderte
Prposition von Freude angefhrt wird, und sonst in keinem anderen Wrterbuchartikel. Fr die
bersetzung der Struktur Freude wegen knnte die wortwrtliche Entsprechung bucurie din
cauza herangezogen werden, doch an einem konkreten Beispiel lsst sich dafr ein besseres
quivalent finden:

12d ABSCHLUSSFEST / Wehmut, aufmunternde Worte - und die Freude wegen des
letzten Schultages standen im Mittelpunkt. NON07/JUL.03668 NN,
04.07.2007, S. 24
12r Serbare de absolvire / Melancolie, cuvinte ncurajatoare i bucuria prilejuit de
ultima zi de coal s-au aflat n centrul ateniei.

157
Genauso wie die Prposition an, die im Nachfeld von Freude steht und auf das Verb sich freuen
an zurckzufhren ist, lassen sich auch die nchsten zwei valenzgesteuerten Prpositionen, auf
und ber, als Valenzvererbung vom demselben Ausgangswort auslegen. Der semantische
Unterschied zwischen den zwei prpostiven Anschlssen wird aber im Dud-GwdS (2000),
Duden-DUW (2003) und LGwDaF (2003) nicht erlutert. Die Lexikographen geben nur die
Struktur Freude ber an. Allein die KGdr (1993) und das WVDS (1983) fhren beide Formen an,
Freude ber und Freude auf. Klare semantische Hinweise zur Unterscheidung der drei
Konstruktionen Freude auf, Freude ber und Freude an werden im WVDS (1983: 195) wie folgt
formuliert: auf (Zuknftiges) / ber (Vergangenes, Gegenwrtiges) / an (Gegenwrtiges).

Da im Rumnischen sowohl fr Freude ber als auch fr Freude auf nur eine einzige
bersetzungsvariante mglich ist, die durch eine Verbativergnzung erfolgt, muss die zeitliche
Perspektivierung der Aussage durch zustzliche lexikalische Mittel, wie z. B. durch
Zeitadverbien, ausgedrckt werden.

Ein Vergleich der bersetzten Beispiele, 13r bis 16r, macht deutlich, dass die rumnischen
Varianten sich durch nichts unterscheiden wrden, wenn man fr die Beispiele 13r und 14r die
in eckigen Klammern hinzugefgten Zeitangaben nicht anbringen wrde:

13d Die Freude auf das Baby erleichtert den Abschied BRZ08/JUN.07089 Braunschw.
Z., 13.06.2008
13r Bucuria de a avea [n curnd] un bebelu face desprirea mai uoar
14d Die Freude auf den Heiligen Abend wchst mit jedem kleinen Lichtlein, das nach
und nach auf dem Adventskranz angezndet wird. BRZ08/DEZ.08966
Braunschw. Z., 17.12.2008
14r Bucuria de a ntmpina [n curnd] ajunul Crciunului crete cu fiecare lumini,
care se aprinde pe rnd pe coroana de Advent.3
15d Was ist wellcome? Zielgruppe dieses Projektes sind Familien mit einem Baby in
den ersten drei Monaten nach der Geburt. Trotz der Freude ber das Neugeborene
gibt es einiges zu bewltigen. BRZ06/MAR.02615 Braunschw. Z., 04.03.2006
15r Ce este wellcome? Grupul int al acestui proiect sunt familiile cu un bebelu n
vrst de pn la trei luni. n ciuda bucuriei de a avea un nou-nscut, exist unele
dificulti care trebuie depite.
16d Freude ber den Schnee empfanden am meisten die Kinder. Allerdings reichte die
Schneemenge meist nur fr einen oder zwei Schneeblle an Rodeln war noch nicht
zu denken. BRZ07/JAN.01073 Braunschw. Z., 27.01.2007
16r Bucuria de a avea zpad a fost cel mai mult resimit de copii. Ce-i drept, cantitatea
de zpad czut a ajuns doar pentru unul sau doi bulgri de zpad de mers cu
sania nici nu s-a pus problema.

3 Adventskranz = (bis.) coroan de advent fcut din cetin de brad, cu patru lumnri, care se aprind pe rnd, n
fiecare din cele patru duminici din postul Crciunului. DGR-AR (2007)

158
 4. Schlussfolgerungen

Aus den vielen analysierten deutschen Pressebeispielen mit ihren rumnischen Entsprechungen
geht deutlich hervor, dass die bersetzung der deutschen festen Prpositionen nicht immer
durch die lexikographischen Eintrge untersttzt ist. Auerdem fllt auf, dass den deutschen
Strukturen mit fester Prposition nicht notwendigerweise dieselbe grammatische
Ausdrucksform im Rumnischen gleichkommt. ber die kontrastive Gegenberstellung
weiterer Beispiele aus den zwei Sprachen liee sich eine Optimierung der Lern- und
bersetzungsfortschritte erzielen.

Bibliografie

Konsultierte Wrterbcher

DGR-AR (2007) = Academia Romn (Hrsg.) (2007): Dicionar german-romn, 3. durchgesehene und erw.
Auflage, Bucureti: Univers Enciclopedic.
Dud-GwdS (2000) = Drosdowski, Gnther et al. (2000): Duden. Das groe Wrterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 10
Bnde, CD-ROM, Mannheim: Dudenverlag.
Duden-DUW (2003) = Duden, Deutsches Universalwrterbuch, CD-ROM, Mannheim: Dudenverlag.
LGwDaF (2003) = Gtz, Dieter/Haensch, Gnther/Wellmann, Hans (Hrsg.): Langenscheidts Growrterbuch
Deutsch als Fremdsprache. Das neue einsprachige Wrterbuch fr alle, die Deutsch lernen, CD-ROM,
Berlin/Mnchen: Langenscheidt.
WVDS (1983) = Sommerfeldt, KarlErnst/Schreiber, Herbert: Wrterbuch zur Valenz und Distribution der
Substantive, 3. Aufl., Leipzig: VEB Bibliographisches Institut.
DuWSv (2003) = Bassola, Pter et al. (2003): Deutsch-ungarisches Wrterbuch zur Substantivvalenz, Szeged:
Grimm Kiad.

Literatur

GALR (2005a) = Guu Romalo, Valeria et al. (Hrsg.): Gramatica limbii romne, I. Cuvntul, Bucureti: Editura
Academiei Romne.
GALR (2005b) = Guu Romalo, Valeria et al. (Hrsg.): Gramatica limbii romne, II. Enunul, Bucureti: Editura
Academiei Romne.
GBAR (2010) = Pan Dindelegan, Gabriela et al. (Hrsg.): Gramatica de baz a limbii romne, Bucureti: Editura
univers enciclopedic gold.
GDS (1997) = Zifonun, Gisela/Hoffmann, Ludger/Strecker, Bruno et al. (1997): Grammatik der deutschen
Sprache, Berlin/New York: de Gruyter.
KGdr (1993) = Engel, Ulrich/Isbescu, Mihai/Stnescu, Sperana/Nicolae, Octavian (1993): Kontrastive
Grammatik Deutsch Rumnisch, 2. Bnde, Heidelberg: Groos.

159
 LA FORMATION DE LACTIVITE COGNITIVE
AUX COURS DU FRANAIS A LUNIVERSITE TECHNIQUE

Nadejda Kilinskaa
Universit Technique de Saratov
Russie

Le dveloppement de l'activit cognitive des tudiants aux cours de la langue trangre

est ncessaire pour la formation des diffrentes comptences qui contribuent dpasser les
barrires communicatives: celles de lautoformation, de lautocontrle et du
perfectionnement personnel. Les voies et les moyens de formation et du dveloppement de
l'activit cognitive des tudiants luniversit peuvent tre diffrents.
Lessentiel cest dterminer les conditions pdagogiques qui contribuent la formation
et au dveloppement de cette activit.
Bien motiver, approfondir et largir les connaissances professionnelles, perfectionner
des mthodes et des technologies de formation sont les dispositions fondamentales de la
formation et du dveloppement de l'activit cognitive des tudiants aux cours de la langue
trangre.
L'activit cognitive est base sur les connaissances, leur reprsentation et leur utilisation
active.
Sur la base de l'analyse de la thorie et de la pratique du problme tudi il est trs
important d'identifier des moyens efficaces de dveloppement de l'activit d'information des
tudiants dans le processus didactique d'une langue trangre; crer un modle de la
formation et du dveloppement de l'activit cognitive des tudiants dans ce processus et de
vrifier sa position par le travail exprimental; de dvelopper les conditions de rapport
optimal entre les niveaux des tudiants par voie orale - crite comme un facteur de
dveloppement de l'activit cognitive; dterminer la technologie rationnelle de
dveloppement de l'activit d'information des tudiants aux cours de la langue trangre.
Vous trouverez ci-dessous les moyens et les conditions didactiques de dveloppement
de l'activit cognitive des tudiants dans le processus didactique d'une langue trangre qui
contribuent l'auto-dveloppement et lautoformation des tudiants pendant leurs tudes.
Ce sont:
utilisation des mthodes actives et des formes non standard de formation pour
augmenter le niveau de motivation et cognitif des tudiants;
contrle systmatique du travail indpendant des tudians qui permet dapprendre
aux comptences de l'organisation scientifique afin de dvelopper la formation systmatique
et rgulire;
participation des tudiants au dveloppement des comptences cognitives qui
permettent augmenter la formation systmatique et former les comptences non seulement
indpendantes, mais d'amliorer aussi la motivation et l'orientation correcte de l'intrt pour
les activits scientifiques.
Dans notre socit d'information, dans une socit de communication de masse, le
partage de l'information et des relations gnrales exige de nouvelles approches de la
formation des valeurs de l'activit cognitive des futurs experts dans le profil technique.

160
 La ncessit de renforcer l'activit cognitive des futurs spcialistes du profil non
linguistique a plusieurs raisons: la ncessit pour la socit des spcialistes avec une bonne
connaissance de la langue trangre qui a une comptence communicative assez
professionnel; le besoin de professionnels bien forms et comptents qui sont capables
d'accumuler des informations; le dveloppement rapide de la techniqie, le flux sans cesse
croissant d'informations; et si a sera ncessaire, l'introduction rapide de nouveaux
dcouvertes et inventions dans le domaine technique; la ncessit d'tablir un change
d'informations international sur un niveau trs professionnel, avec le manque de formation
de spcialistes pour les activits de communication en langue trangre.
Le dveloppement de ce concept permettra de concentrer le processus d'apprentissage
atteindre un niveau lev de connaissances et de comptences, connaissances gnrales,
caractris par la prparation pour la formation continue, l'ducation d'une personne avec
un style de vie actif, prt travailler dans les conditions proposes.
Il faut dire quun grand nombre de littrature spciale en langues trangres, la
possibilit d'obtenir des informations professionnellement importante sur Internet, l'change
international d'tudiants et de spcialistes, l'obtention ou l'ducation dans des universits
trangres continue - tout cela influe la formation des futurs spcialistes.
Il y a aussi un facteur tout aussi important qui rend la plupart des tudiants de
reprendre la litterature trangre (les articles dans les revues spcialises, par exemple)
cest le manque dinformation ncessaire dans leur domaine professionnel.
Malgr le niveau aassez haut de la technique, de linformatique etc. dans notre pays nos
tudiants cherchent souvent linformation complmentaire dans les sources trangres pour
largir leurs comptences.
Mais quest-ce quil faut faire pour intriguer les tudiants dans leurs tudes de la langue
trqngre, notamment le franais? Ici, le concept de la motivation vient l'esprit.
La motivation dans la formation d'une langue trangre est un des problmes centraux
de mthodes d'enseignement. La motivation cest une caractristique psychologique intime
de la personnalit qui se reflte dans les manifestations extrieures dans la relation de
l'homme au monde qui les entoure.
Les facteurs de la formation de la motivation des tudiants sont:
attitude personnelle l'objet de la formation des enseignants;
organisation correcte du processus d'apprentissage;
mthodes d'enseignement;
comptence des enseignants.
Lintrt comme un trait de personnalit peut tre renforce par l'organisation de travail
intensif avec le matril, en employant pendant les cours la vido, l'Internet, les thmes
intressants pour la discussion, la cration dune atmosphre positive dans la salle.
Pour accrocher lintrt cognitif des tudiants aux cours de franais dans notre
universit les enseignants utilisent couramment la slection des manuels, des matriaux
vido et audio, des articles et une formation spciale.
Car prsent il y a une grande quantit de la littrature en FLE (franais langue
trangre), nos professeurs sont parfois perdus dans la slection. Le choix des matriaux et
des outils pdagogiques ncessaires exige d'efforts non seulement des formateurs, mais
aussi des linguistes.
Les enseignants sont confronts au problme de la slection des termes pertinents, de la
caractristique des zones spciales troites identifi des domaines professionnels typiques
de la grammaire, des collocations lexicales (phrases), des verbes et des idiomes, des genres
et des registres de dclarations orales et crites, du jargon et de l'argot.

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 Beaucoup de professeurs arrtent leur choix une srie unique de manuels de
l'enseignement (primaire, secondaire et suprieur professionnel).
On peut nommer, par exemple, Le nouveau taxi de Guy Capelle, Robert Menand et
Anne-Marie Johnson (niveau A1, A2, B1, B2), maison d'dition Hachette FLE. Cest une
mthode efficace et pragmatique avec une structure trs claire (une leon = une double
page), une progression adapte aux besoins des apprenants qui propose un travail trs riche
sur la langue (tableaux de grammaire synthtiques, mmento grammatical, nombreuses
activits de systmatisation dans le cahier dexercices et le DVD-Rom), une approche
actionnelle avec un travail par comptences et des tches raliser, une valuation complte
(valuations type DELF, portfolio, fiches Rvision et Approfondissement).
Et, pour accompagner la mthode, un DVD-Rom encart contenant laudio lve, une
vido qui suit la progression du livre de llve (fictions et reportages), de nombreuses
activits interactives.
Pour chaque niveau le matriel comprend un livre de llve avec DVD-Rom inclus, un
cahier dexercices, un guide pdagogique et deux CD audio pour la classe. Tout cela facilite
le travail dans la salle.
Ce mthode de franais sera intressant et utile non seulement pour les tudiants
universitaires, mais aussi pour tous les professionnels qui voudraient apprendre le franais.
Les auteurs de ce mthode ont travaill bien sur la facilit d'utilisation profite des
enseignants et des tudiants au niveau de la ligne de base de la comptence sur l'intrt et la
pertinence de la matire et des thmes de discussion.
Son objectif pour la fin du cours, ce qui soulve une srie de livres, en particulier, la
capacit de comprendre la terminologie professionnelle en franais.
A la fin du cours les tudiants devraient, par exemple, tre capables de parler bien de
leurs activits habituelles et professionnelles, de leurs centres dintrt, faire connaissance
avec qn, demander des informations, crire des rfrences, des mmos, e-mails et beaucoup
dautres.
Avec un autre livre Grammaire progressive du franais (niveau dbutant,
intermdiaire et avanc) de M. Grgoire qui suit la progression classique des mthodes de
franais, on peut apprendre la grammaire franaise trs vite et apprendre au mieux.
Si parler des rsultats dapprentissage avec ces mthodes, dauprs le sondage des
tudiants la plupart disent de la bonne motivation pour tudier la langue franaise.
L'analyse des rsultats de l'enqute (pour dterminer les motifs professionnels,
lobjectifs dans l'apprentissage d'une langue trangre, de leur prise de conscience du rle de
la langue trangre dans une conscience professionnelle) montre la haute motivation des
tudiants.
Il faut encore prciser que les tudiants ont apprci l'importance de ces mthode pour
leurs activits acadmiques et professionnelles et, surtout, que la majorit des rpondants
sont prts perfectionner leur franais.
En mme temps les connaissances acquises aux cours de franais ont permis de les
utiliser dans les prsentations, pour parler des ateliers et confrences organiss au sein de
notre universit.
Il faut remarquer que dans le processus didactique d'une langue trangre un
enseignant joue un grand rle dans le dveloppement de la motivation, ce qui est trs
important de crer une atmosphre positive crative dans la salle et russir la langue
trangre luniversit.

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 NOILE MEDIA I REINVENTAREA IDENTITII EUROPENE

Prof. univ. dr. Georgeta Marghescu

Universitatea POLITEHNICA din Bucureti

Cuvnt introductiv

Europa reprezint, fr ndoial, un fenomen paradoxal. Mit i realitate, imagine i

idee, proiect i ntruchipare, Europa s-a reinventat mereu, de-a lungul istoriei sale milenare.
i, poate, astzi, mai mult dect oricnd, inspirat de proiectul Uniunii Europene,
reinventarea Europei se impune ca un imperativ.
Reinventare care, de aceast dat, se constituie drept un proces contient, dirijat,
orientat ctre un scop: integrarea european. Dar, aceast reinventare care echivaleaz cu
construcia european nu se realizeaz n laborator, de vreme ce Europa este prins n
procesele complexe i, nu rareori, contradictorii, care marcheaz profund i cu consecine
greu de anticipat lumea contemporan. Dintre acestea, revoluia tehnologiei informaiei i
comunicaiilor se dovedete a fi un proces a crei relevan nu trebuie nicidecum
subevaluat. Impactul revoluiei media asupra reinventrii contemporane a Europei
reprezint obiectul consideraiilor care urmeaz.

Impactul media asupra construciei identitare europene

Construcia identitar problem asupra creia ne-am oprit mai pe larg ntr-un alt
context (7) - se realizeaz, att la nivel individual ct i la cel comunitar, prin interferena
idealului i realului, a contientului i spontanului. Ea se nfieaz, prin urmare, n diverse
momente i n msuri diferite, ca proiecie contient n plan ideal, aadar i trire
spontan n plan real. Este i cazul identitii europene care, departe de a fi, aa cum am
putea fi nclinai s credem, un dat constituit i, eventual, imuabil, este obiect al unei
construcii n care, odat cu iniierea i derularea procesului integrrii europene, ponderea
dimensiunii contiente tinde s devin din ce n ce mai consistent, n raport cu dimensiunea
spontan. La originea acestei stri de fapt se afl, n bun msur, contientizarea, la nivelul
instituiilor europene, a imposibilitii unei Europe unite viabile n absena dimensiunii
identitare a construciei europene. Ceea ce explic, de altminteri, interesul manifestat, din ce
n ce mai clar, referitor la problematica identitii europene i a factorilor care dau seama de
reconfigurarea/reconfigurrile acesteia n contextul actual. O atenie aparte revine
impactului pe care revoluia tehnologiei informaiei i comunicaiilor l are asupra
construciei identitare europene.
Trebuie remarcat faptul c nu este pentru prima dat, n istoria Europei, cnd media
influeneaz n mod semnificativ ceea ce d seama de specificul, de particularitile culturii
europene sau, cu alte cuvinte, de identitatea sa.
n cursul devenirii sale istorice, Europa a dobndit coninuturi i forme istorice
specifice n dependen de mijloacele de comunicare. Acestea, departe de a se constitui n
simple vehicule avnd menirea de a asigura transmiterea informaiei, au contribuit
semnificativ la configurarea unor tipuri de cultur corespunztoare. i revine lui Marshall
McLuhan meritul de a fi atras atenia asupra faptului c medium-ul nu reprezint doar

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forma sub care se realizeaz comunicarea; dimpotriv, canalele pe care sunt transmise
cuvintele i imaginile sunt, uneori, mai relevante n comunicare dect cuvintele sau
imaginile respective, suportul (tehnic) fiind nsui mesajul: medium-ul este mesajul (the
medium is the message). Forma medium-ului se integreaz in mesaj i, n consecin, calitile
sale au un efect la fel de mare precum informaia pe care o transmite (a citi o tire are un
efect diferit dect cel pe care l are receptarea auditiv a aceleiai tiri, sau cea sub forma
unor imagini etc.). Se creeaz, aadar, o relaie simbiotic ntre medium i mesaj, avnd
drept efect implicarea celui dinti n modelarea viziunii despre lume, a modului n care
lumea este perceput i gndit.
Rezult c, n concordan cu tipul de tehnologie utilizat n procesul comunicrii, se
structureaz un anumit tip de cultur. Folosind acest criteriu, McLuhan a elaborat o
periodizare a istoriei, de la care pornind pot fi identificate drept forme relevante ale culturii:
Cultura oral, specific societilor arhaice, se caracterizeaz prin comunicarea oral.
Omului culturii orale i este propriu un echilibru armonios al simurilor, el
percepnd lumea deopotriv prin auz, miros, vz, pipit i gust. Mesajele sunt
transmise verbal de la o generaie la alta prin vorbire sau cntec, putnd lua forma,
bunoar, a miturilor, basmelor, legendelor, proverbelor, zictorilor, baladelor. n
cadrul culturilor orale, memoriei i revine un rol vital n transmiterea informaiei de
la o generaie la alta i n nmagazinarea informaiilor. n consecin, att
transmiterea ct i nmagazinarea informaiilor sunt dependente de limitele
organismului uman. Comunicarea oral este forma de comunicare cea mai puin
ambigu, dat fiind c vorbitorul ntrete semnificaia cuvintelor cu gest, expresie,
intonaie i alte mecanisme variate de autocorectare, ceea ce nu este posibil n cazul
cuvntului tiprit. Pe de alt parte, trebuie subliniat relativizarea semnificaiei,
consecin a faptului c, n comunicarea oral, semnificaia fiecrui cuvnt este
validat prin mijlocirea succesiunii unor situaii concrete variate.
Cultura vizual s-a impus n contextul introducerii a dou noi tehnologii de
comunicare: n primul rnd, alfabetul fonetic (scrierea), care a condus la
dobndirea, de ctre vz, a unui rol prevalent n ansamblul simurilor i, n al doilea
rnd, tiparul, care a accelerat procesul de hipertrofiere a vizualului i, n acelai
timp, a sporit considerabil posibilitile de conservare a informaiei, independent de
limitrile inerente organismului uman.
Cultura media (digital), structurat pe fondul mutaiilor profunde determinate de
revoluia tehnologiei informaiei i comunicaiilor (TIC), a fost anunat de
inventarea tipografului (1844), care a marcat prima bre n dominaia autoritar a
vizualului n procesul comunicrii. Au urmat, apoi, radioul i televiziunea,
desemnate prin termenul vechile media (old media). Ultimele decenii au fost profund
marcate de revoluia tehnologiei informaiei i comunicaiilor a crei consecin o
reprezint intrarea noilor media n viaa omului contemporan. ntr-un timp relativ
scurt, au fost create i adoptate, n activitatea profesional i n viaa personal, o
diversitate impresionant de noi media. Ritmul extrem de dinamic al multiplicrii
acestora a determinat realizarea unei disocieri, n cadrul noilor media, ntre noile media
vechi i noile media noi. Este ceea ce face, bunoar, Paul Levinson, care consider c
noile media vechi sunt specifice erei web 1.0 i includ Internet-ul, pagina web, forum-
ul, iar noile media noi sunt specifice erei web 2.0 i includ blogosfera, site-urile cu
coninut generat de utilizator (precum, bunoar, You Tube, Wikipedia, Flickr),
reele sociale (Face Book, Hi5, Linkedin), platforme cu microblogging (Twitter sau
jocurile on line ca Second Life).

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 Principiul fundamental al noilor media noi rezid, potrivit lui Levinson, n
faptul c n era 2.0 orice consumator devine un generator de informaie i coninut,
fcnd astfel posibil satul global n care un numr tot mai mare de oameni conectai
creeaz, individual sau mpreun, texte, imagini, mesaje transformndu-se din consumatori
n productori de informaii i coninut (4).
Revoluia tehnologiei informaiei i comunicaiilor a deschis, potrivit lui McLuhan, noi
orizonturi, n sensul lrgirii percepiei umane prin intermediul simurilor i, respectiv, al
impunerii unei alte abordri neliniar - a spaiului i a timpului. Conceptul sat global
pus n circulaie de ctre McLuhan reflect aceast nou realitate, pe care el o creiona, n
1964, n introducerea la Understanding Media, n termenii urmtori: Today, after more than a
century of electric technology, we have extended our central nervous system itself in a global embrace,
abolishing both space and time as far as our planet is concerned (5, p.3).
Referitor la acest concept, se cuvin precizate dou aspecte:
Cel dinti, se refer la faptul c McLuhan a fost precedat, ntru evidenierea efectelor
unificatoare ale tehnologiei comunicaiilor, de ctre Nicolas Tesla care, cu aproape patru
decenii nainte, anticipa: Cnd tehnologiile fr fir vor fi aplicate, ntregul pmnt va fi convertit
ntr-un creier uria, ceea ce este de fapt, toate lucrurile fiind pri ale unui ntreg real i ritmic. Vom
fi n stare s comunicm unul cu altul instantaneu, indiferent de distan. i nu numai att, ci prin
televiziune i telefonie ne vom putea vedea i auzi unul pe altul la fel de perfect precum o facem fa n
fa, n ciuda distanelor de mii de mile; i instrumentele prin care vom fi capabili s facem acest lucru
vor fi uimitor de simple comparativ cu telefonul actual (cel al anului 1926, cnd Tesla fcea aceste
afirmaii ntr-un interviu acordat pentru Colliers Magazine). Un om va fi capabil s poarte unul
n buzunarul vestei sale.
Cel de-al doilea se refer la fora de anticipare a lui McLuhan nsui. n 1964, cnd
lanseaz conceptul sat global, realitatea desemnat de acesta un sistem nervos planetar
integrat - nu exista nc. Drept urmare, acesta a devenit, potrivit exegeilor lui McLuhan,
parte a concepiei noastre despre lume mult nainte de a avea un corespondent la nivelul
realitii. Devine astfel explicabil faptul c, atunci cnd a aprut Internetul, contribuind
semnificativ la transformarea planetei noastre ntr-un sat global, departe de a se sesiza
caracterul su uimitor, a fost perceput, mai degrab, ca nscriindu-se n ordinea natural a
lucrurilor.
n ceea ce privete semnificaia satului global, trebuie remarcat c metafora la care a
recurs McLuhan a fost, fr ndoial, inspirat i, n consecin, a fcut carier, inclusiv
datorit diverselor interpretri crora le-a deschis calea. Precum, bunoar cea potrivit
creia satul global se constituie ntr-o comunitate unificat, armonioas, omogen,
interpretare a crei sorginte rezid, mai degrab, n imaginea idealizat a satului patriarhal
dect n lucrrile lui McLuhan. Delimitndu-se de o atare nelegere, McLuhan precizeaz,
ntr-un interviu acordat lui Gerald Stearn, c niciodat nu a afirmat c uniformitatea i
linitea sunt proprietile satului global. Dimpotriv, el evideniaz natura contradictorie a
acestuia, i consider c i sunt proprii dezacordul i conflictul deopotriv cu dragostea i
armonia, cu alte cuvinte, i este caracteristic modul de via tipic oricrui popor tribal. Mai
mult, apreciaz c satul global creeaz mai mult discontinuitate, divizare i diversitate pe
msura consolidrii condiiei sale de sat.

Cultura participativ i reconfigurri ale identitii europene

Rolul proeminent al noilor media n devenirea societii contemporane, n general, i a

celei europene, n particular, reprezint obiect al refleciei filosofice i al cercetrii tiinifice
contemporane. n acest sens, se remarc, bunoar, programul interdisciplinar n domeniul

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tiinelor sociale i disciplinelor umaniste, cu un titlu relevant: Changing Media Changing
Europe (2). Derulat pe parcursul a cinci ani, sub egida European Science Foundation, programul
a avut drept obiect cercetarea conexiunii dintre mutaiile survenite la nivelul media i,
respectiv, la nivelul Europei. Una dintre concluziile majore ale cercetrii amintite se refer
la redefinirile i reconfigurrile ale nsi identitii europene survenite n urma
revoluiei TIC.
ntrebarea care a stimulat consideraiile din prezenta lucrare vizeaz tocmai implicaiile
revoluiei tehnologiei informaiei i comunicaiilor i, respectiv, ale structurrii lumii noastre
ca sat global asupra modului n care Europa i europenii se definesc i i percep identitatea.
Ce se ntmpl cu identitatea european n contextul omogenizrii i uniformizrii induse
de procesul globalizrii? Ce se ntmpl cu Europa nsi? Devine ea mai omogen,
diferenele i disensiunile estompndu-se, sau se va confrunta cu afirmri identitare
reactive? Cum se vor repoziiona identitile naionale, regionale, locale n raport cu
identitatea european?
Nu ne propunem, n contextul prezentei comunicri, dect s semnalm cteva aspecte
ale acestei problematici deosebit de complexe i actuale care, n opinia noastr, reflect un
proces ai cror martori suntem: reconfigurri importante ale identitii europene.
Revoluionarea mijloacelor de comunicare i, n consecin, impunerea, pe scar tot mai
larg, a noilor media i, ulterior, a noilor media noi a determinat, dup cum rezult din cele de
mai sus, transformri semnificative la nivelul culturii contemporane, care tinde s devin
ceea ce este desemnat prin sintagmele cultura media, respectiv, cultura digital. Acest nou tip
de cultur diferit de cultura oral i de cultura vizual, care i-au premers este o cultur
participativ , caracterizat prin estomparea i, la limit, tergerea granielor dintre creatorul
i consumatorul de cultur, utilizatorul devenind astfel generator de coninuturi culturale.
Noile media noi fac posibil, aadar, crearea unor reele participative peer to peer
networks (P2P) - n cadrul crora participanii sunt egal privilegiai. Aceste reele se
constituie ntr-un mediu organizaional neierarhizat, descentralizat i mprtit i are, drept
condiii de existen, colectivitatea i colaborarea (8).
Structurarea culturii participative are implicaii majore la nivelul identitii europene,
precum cele menionate mai jos:
Nivelurile nalte de participare, generate de reelele P2P, fac posibil transgresarea
naiunii cantonate n limitele unui anumit teritoriu. De aici, rezult o dubl
provocare creia trebuie s-i rspund europenii. Pe de o parte, n interiorul
comunitii europene, identitatea rmne ataat statului naional sau comunitii
utilizatorilor? Pe de alt parte, care sunt ansele Europei integrate s-i afirme o
identitate proprie n contextul n care, reelele participative se constituie la nivelul
satului global? n acest context apar o serie de probleme referitoare la cetenie,
precum, bunoar, cea a cadrului cultural al ceteniei i a eventualelor conflicte
dintre cetenia cultural i cea politic, precum i cea a statutului creaiilor rezultate
din colaborarea n cadrul reelelor participative: aparin ele statelor, ai crei membrii
sunt participanii la aceste reele, ca parte a proiectului de meninere a identitii
naionale (8), sau comunitii deteritorializate a utilizatorilor?
Dereglementrii pieelor de difuziune i de distribuie prin cablu, satelit etc. i,
respectiv, migrrii coninuturilor informaionale le corespund slbirea abilitii
statului naional de a construi memoria i amnezia naional factori cheie ai
structurrii identitii naionale i, respectiv, renunarea la controlul media.
Urmarea const, potrivit lui Uricchio, n manifestarea media drept un actor deosebit
de ofensiv n construcia identitar, n calitate de brokeri i vehicule ai

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 reprezentrilor media, repoziionare ale memoriei publice i private i deintoare
ale controlului accesului la aspectele selectate, n vederea mediatizrii lor, n funcie
de capacitatea acestora de a deveni subiect al reactivrilor i manipulrilor, cu att
mai mult ntr-un loc cum este Europa, n care domnete logica contrastului n
definirea identitii (9). Ceea ce are drept consecin manifestarea panicii sociale (8)
provocat de disponibilitatea media de a fi utilizate n scopul propagrii xenofobiei,
naionalismului, precum i a pornografiei copilului i a terorismului.

n loc de concluzii

Problema rmne deschis, cercettorii avertiznd asupra implicaiilor pe care

cultura participativ, generat de noile media, le are asupra reprezentrilor i practicilor
identitii i ale ceteniei. Dintre acestea, extrem de presante par a fi conflictul dintre
obligaiile culturale i cele ale ceteniei politice, transgresarea statului naional teritorial,
redefinirea raportului dintre statele naionale europene i comunitatea deteritorializat a
utilizatorilor.
ntr-o form sintetic, problema se pune n termenii alternativelor: Desfurarea
construciei identitare europene, n contextul erei digitale, va conduce la o mai accentuat
omogeneitate sau, respectiv, la o mai mare diversitate? Rezultatul va fi convergena sau
fragmentarea (digital divide)? Europa de mine va fi un sat global, fertil i creator sau va
deveni scena cyber-balkanizrii i re-tribalizrii?
La ceasul consacrrii culturii digitale, Europa se gsete, iari, confruntat cu
necesitatea de a se reinventa, iar europenii cu cea de a-i asuma sau nu - identitatea
european punnd sintagma noi europenii sub semnul afirmrii sau, respectiv, al ntrebrii.

Bibliografie

1. Bondebjerg, I., Golding P.(eds.), European Culture and the Media, Changing Media, Changing
Europe Series, Volume 1, 2004, Intellect, University of Chicago Press.
2. Changing Media Changing Europe, An European Science Foudation interdisciplinary
programme in the social sciences and the humanities,
3. Girault, Rene, Identitate i contiin european n secolul al XX-lea, Bucureti, Editura Curtea
Veche, 2004.
4. Levinson, Paul, New new media, New Yord and Boston, Penguin Academics, 2009.
5. McLuhan, Marshall, Understanding Media. The Extension of Man, London, Routledge, 1964.
6. McLuhan, Marshall, The Global Village: Transformations in World Life and Media in the 21st
Century, with Bruce R. Powers; Oxford University Press, 1989.
7. Marghescu, Georgeta, Institutional construction of Cultural identity, n vol. Limb, Cultur
Civilizaie. Direcii de Optimizare, A VI-a Conferin cu Participare Internaional, Editura
Politehnica Press, Bucureti 2012.
8. Uricchio, William, Beyond the great divide. Collaborative networks and the challenge to dominant
conceptions of creative industries, n International Journal of Cultural Studies, 2004 Sage
Publications, London, Thousand Oaks, Co and New Delhi, Volume 7(1):79-90.
9. We Europeans? Media, Representations, Identities, Edited by William Uricchio, Changing Media,
Changing Europe books series, Volume 6, Bristol, Intellect Books , 2008.

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 CONCEPIA SOCIAL I POLITIC LA GALA GALACTION (1)
Cs. Dr. Marius Mazilu
Institutul de Lingvistic ,,Iorgu Iordan Al. Rosetti

I. Problema socialist. Explicaia socialismului rediviv, manifestat de Gala Galaction la

modul abundent, n presa de profil, ncepnd cu anul 1919, survenit la ceva vreme dup
experiena socialismului juvenil, cu caracter protestatar i ilicit, fcut n anii de liceu (motiv
pentru care a i fost denunat directorului de ctre unul dintre pedagogi i s-a aflat la un pas de
excluderea din internat1), i are originea, n primul rnd, ntr-o asemnare a ideilor socialiste cu
idealurile cretine. Ideea o regsim, explicit formulat, ntr-un articol din 1916, publicat n
revista Cronica, a crei direcie literar o deinea: Sunt multe analogii sufleteti ntre un cretin
adevrat i un socialist convins. Dar sunt i deosebiri radicale de orientare i de concepie. Oricum, la
prima vedere, lupta i steagul social-democrailor impresioneaz cu vioiciune pe un cretin al idealurilor
primare. Internaionala d aceiai fiori ca unele vechi cntri bisericeti, cari, la vremea lor, au sunat a
sfidare i a revolt, n urechea proconsulilor romani. Orice manifestare sincer socialist e primit de noi
n mod aparte i cu sufleteasc solidaritate2.Scriitorul a mprtit cu convingere dezideratele acestei
micri doar atta timp ct i pn acolo unde practicile socialiste s-au pstrat n marginile
nvturii cretine despre lume i via.Astfel, exprimndu-i dezaprobarea fa de
interveniile n for ale guvernului mpotriva maselor de oameni nemulumii, adunate n 1918,
n faa Teatrului Naional, Galaction are atitudinea fireasc a omului indignat de o nedreptate
provocat de cel puternic celui slab, dincolo de orice ideologie i de orice concepie politic.
Cnd ns glasul celor muli i nevoiai a fost acoperit de lozincile propagandistice, Galaction
s-a dezis n Jurnalul su, ntr-un mod la fel de tranant cum se i entuziasmase, de politica
extremismelor, fie ea de stnga sau de dreapta: i tiu uneltele diavolului; ca n ritualul Sf. Botez, m
leapd de ei i scuip asupra lor3. De aceea, un articol precum Exemplul lui Lenin (din Chemarea,
1920), n care scriitorul prezint imaginea modest i dezinteresat a conductorului Revoluiei
din Octombrie, trebuie citit avnd n vedere dezamgirile trite de Galaction dup rzboiul
recent ncheiat, la vederea valului de mbogii peste noapte, n detrimentul celor muli i
sraci, cu care el nsui se identific: Lenin, cel ce ar putea s se mbrace ca Solomon, ca Neron i ca
Ludovic XIV, pstreaz, indiferent, cascheta naional i mai ndrepteaz, pe ici, pe colea, cu acul i cu
foarfeca, pantalonii care ncep s-i arate urzeala4.Elanul cu care umple Gala Galaction paginile
presei socialiste (Socialismul, Chemarea, Lumea nou, Cuvntul liber, Avntul, Lupttorul5) se va
tempera treptat, i nu vrsta va fi factorul determinant al pierderii efervescenei nceputurilor.
Faptul se poate verifica analiznd cuprinsul celei de a doua ediii a volumului O lume nou6, din
1946, care conine nu mai puin de douzeci de articole vechi, publicate n 1919, i numai trei
articole noi, selectate din anii 1945-1946, dintre care unul cu rememorri i amintiri din perioada

1 Vezi Maestrul de caligrafie i desen, n ,,Opere, volumul IX, 2004, p. 355-357.

2 Din caietul sptmnei [X], n Opere, volumul VII, 2002, p. 281.
3 Jurnal, volumul III, 1999, p. 286.
4 Vezi Teodor Vrgolici, Gala Galaction, 1967, p. 212.
5 Vezi Teodor Vrgolici, Note i comentarii, n ,,Opere, volumul VI, 2000, p. 401.
6 Spre deosebire de prima ediie a volumului O lume nou (1919), care coninea o selecie de nou articole, tiprite n ziarele

Chemarea, Flacra, Socialismul sau Lumea evree, datnd din 1919, a doua ediie include i ciclul de articole Siluete de o
clip, precum i o Anex cuprinznd articole mai noi ale scriitorului (vezi Teodor Vrgolici, ibidem, p. 401, 402). Articolul Exemplul
lui Lenin a fost lsat deoparte n ambele ediii.

168
tinereii. Nu nseamn ns c, dup instaurarea puterii comuniste, scriitorul i va abandona
activitatea din ziarele democratice, i nici c discursul su se va suprapune politicii noii
stpniri.Temele tratate sunt acelea obinuite n publicistica militant. ns expresia artistic
care le mbrac reprezint marca definitorie a scriitorului Gala Galaction, variind de la lirism i
visare, la registrul nalt i avntat al tribunului proroc care vestete schimbarea la fa a lumii i
odihna obidiilor ntr-o patrie mai bun. Degetul su arat acuzator ctre confraii literai, care
zbovesc s neleag duhul vremurilor noi (O lume nou, Manifestul lui Romain Rolland, Poet i
proletar), dar i ctre sine, ca artist preocupat numai de frumuseea exterioar a unei lumi, n
fapt, suferinde (Oglind ca a noastr). Astfel, sub noua lege a nfririi generale dintre muncitori,
intelectuali, poei i filosofi, locul artistului este n mijlocul poporului su, iar arta sa trebuie s
aib o funciune social (n anul nou sosit, Rechemnd pe Romain Rolland, Noi, ranii de la ar...).
De aceea, din pana scriitorului vor iei, rnd pe rnd, siluetele de o clip (din ciclul cu acelai
nume) ale bogailor i sracilor, ale stpnitorilor i stpniilor veacului acestuia: a unei tinere
fete, moarte de boal i foame, duse la groap de doi ciocli, la fel de sraci ca i cea pe care o
nmormnteaz (Cea dinti), a copiilor care, indiferent de sorginte, sunt victimele unei societi
dezechilibrate, ce nu mai tie cum s-i educe (ntr-o sear), a tlharului, ca produs al societii
burgheze (Poart o apc neagr...), a femeii mpinse de nevoi s se vnd (Preotesele Venerei), a
speculanilor mbogii pe seama celor nfometai, n timpul crizei provocate de rzboi (Pinea
& Co), a odraslelor burgheze care, trind cu naivitate n lumea lor confortabil, nu tiu preul de
sudoare pltit de ranii de pe moiile prinilor lor (Ad virginem redeuntem, ntre Capa i
Palat). Dar peste toate acestea, scriitorul ridic prevestitor glasul i anun, cu instrumentele
retoricii biblice: Proletariatul romnesc merge nainte, n cete de sute i mii de oameni, spre elul precis
i sigur. Biruina este de partea lor! Ei sunt trectori, ei sunt expui urii, prigoanei, nimicirii, dar avntul
lor este etern i dreptatea lor e sor cu stelele nemuritoare7. O biruin ct o nfrngere, la care va fi
martor i Galaction! Recunoatem, aici, ceva din bucuria terminrii unui rzboi, fapt care
nsemna, pentru nevoiaii ntlnii de Galaction zilnic pe strzi, o speran n plus la o via mai
bun, la fel cu a celor din alte ri occidentale, unde ideile socialiste erau altfel preuite: Doctrina
socialist i bisericile cretine occidentale dau cumpt, energie i mngiere celor srmani i apsai [...]
Ce are din toate acestea jalnicul cetean pe care l ntlneti n strad, mutndu-se de Sf. Dumitru? De
cele sfinte i aduce aminte numai cnd njur; socialist nu mai este de cnd l-au desconvins agenii unui
partid politic burghez; luminat i nvat l-a ferit Dumnezeu. Cu ce cumpnete el, n sufletu-i,
privelitea amar a camionului plin cu vechituri, a copiilor trenroi, a soiei negospodine i
nepieptnate?8Propaganda socialist ndeamn ns scriitorul, n spirit cretin trebuie fcut
pe ci legale i panice, deoarece socialismul are capaciti terapeutice, care canalizeaz,
disciplineaz, umanizeaz revolta i anarhia social. Socialismul e coala ateptrii, a luptei leale i a
convingerii c omul poate s ajung mai bun9. Galaction ofer, n acest sens, exemplul acelor tineri
proletari care, dornici de instruire, vin s-i cear sprijinul pentru nfiinarea unei biblioteci
ntr-un cartier muncitoresc (pe coperta primei ediii a volumului O lume nou e nfiat tocmai
tabloul a doi muncitori citind, n pauza de mas): E lucru vechi, spus i rspus, c, n ara noastr,
noi nu facem pentru luminarea maselor toate jertfele cerute nu de umanitate, ci de nelepciunea politic.
Astzi neamurile se ntrec ntre ele prin nelepciunea dat poporului. Avem, n faa noastr, o cale lung

7 Erau sute, erau mii.., n Opere, volumul VI, p. 344.

8 Mngieri de Sf. Dumitru, n Opere, volumul VII, p. 259.
9
Poart o apc neagr..., n Opere, volumul VI, p. 349.

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de munc i de izbnzi10. Pe de alt parte, n caietele sale de nsemnri din aceeai perioad,
scriitorul se arat nencreztor n privina firii omeneti i a visurilor ei umanitare, care nu-l mai
pot convinge: Nu cred n perfectibilitatea speciei omeneti, nu cred n fericirea smuls prin revoluii11.
Simbol al luptei proletare, I. C. Frimu, socialistul arestat i btut pn la moarte n timpul
manifestaiei din 13 decembrie 1918, rmne n contiina lui Galaction mai ales prin
intermediul unei poveti, auzite la coad la pine, de la o btrn care participase la
nmormntarea lui. Ceea ce reine scriitorul din toat ntmplarea este imaginea mormntului,
neslujit de niciun preot i strjuit, n loc de cruce, de un stlp rou. Este, apoi, prerea de ru c
moartea sa nu a fost neleas de un popor pe care, n amrciunea lui, nu-l mai poate atinge
nimic: Poi s i mori pentru dreptate i poi s-i dai viaa pentru oropsiii i njosiii neamului tu. Ce
folos! aceti njosii, aceti oropsii nu vor nelege nimic din jertfa-i sfnt i pe mormntul tu i vor
scrie recunotina ca psrile cerului i ca vacile lui Faraon!12Articolul nscut din acest episod, La
mormntul lui Frimu, adaug nsemnrilor din Jurnal o mrturisire de simpatie, dar totodat i o
delimitare de crezul socialist al celui omagiat, oferind soluia credinei, ca singur certitudinie
existenial, fr de care istoria rmne doar zgomot inutil: M tulbur asemnarea aceasta, m
tulbur eroismul vostru i m tulbur dreptatea revendicrilor i a luptei voastre. Dar ce vrei?... Mi-am
dat cuvntul i credina mea n chip irevocabil Celui mai mare dintre voi toi, cari ai murit i vei mai
muri n spnzurtori i pucrii13. Anul 1936 va fi marcat n Romnia de confruntri violente ntre
micarea de extrem dreapt, n continu ascensiune, i forele politice de stnga, care i vor
organiza rezistena prin crearea unor fronturi antifasciste. La 5 martie 1936 ncepea, la Chiinu,
procesul unui astfel de grup militant din Basarabia. Adevrul era c, n spatele acestei micri
declarat antifasciste, se aflau mentori ai Cominternului, care dduser dispoziii comunitilor s
atrag personaliti i oameni de cultur din afar, pentru a se putea folosi, ulterior, de influena
lor, la consolidarea poziiei politice a stngii. Printre simpatizanii micrii comuniste din
vremea ilegalitii ei se afla i colegul lui Galaction de la Facultatea de Teologie, Petru
ConstantinescuIai. Declarndu-se militant antifascist, el este trimis n Justiie, la sfritul lui
1935. n luna noiembrie a aceluiai an, scriitorul primete, de la Parchetul militar din Chiinu, o
citaie, pentru a participa, n calitate de martor (alturi de ali 700 de oameni) la proces.
Convingerea autorului despre acest vistor comunist vine pe acelai fond sufletesc, admirativ,
dar i nencreztor: prietenul su face parte din acea bogat categorie a amgiilor care sper ca
redresarea material i moral s creasc din osnz i blegar. Galaction nu poate evita totui o
uoar not de nemulumire, provocat tocmai de solicitarea acestei posturi neateptate: mi
pare ru c ntre multele scderi i dezamgiri ale profesoratului meu la Chiinu trebuie s socotesc i
aberaiunea acestui biet coleg. S-ar fi cuvenit s am mai mult nrurire asupra lui i s-l opresc, dac nu
n fgaul teologiei ortodoxe, cel puin n cadrul bunei cuviine cerute de catedra lui14. Alturi de Petre
Constantinescu-Iai, ali apte inculpai s-au bucurat de sprijinul unor avocai notorii, precum
Lucreiu Ptrcanu, Ion Gheorghe Maurer sau Dem I. Dobrescu, fost primar al Bucuretiului.
Procesul a avut largi ecouri chiar peste grani, beneficiind de prezena a patru delegaii strine,
n semn de solidaritate cu nvinuiii. Sentina, declarat de o parte reprezentativ a mediului
intelectual romnesc drept abuziv, i-a adus lui Petre Constantinescu-Iai doi ani i jumtate de

10 Dragostea de nvtur, n ,,Opere, volumul IX, p. 172.

11 Jurnal, volumul III, p. 87.
12 Ibidem, p. 82.
13
La mormntul lui Frimu, n Opere, volumul VI, p. 325.
14
Jurnal, volumul III, p. 230.

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nchisoare, 10 ani de interdicie i o amend de 20.000 lei, pentru activiti comuniste i
propagand antifascist15. Gala Galaction a fost luat n vizorul Siguranei, n aceast perioad,
de trei ori: prima dat, n 1922, cnd, n plin penurie financiar, a primit s in conferine de
istoria filosofiei i de literatur romn16 la Universitatea popular evreiasc din Bucureti; a
doua oar, n 1927-1928, cnd, fiind decan al Facultii de Teologie din Chiinu, a fcut parte
din Comitetul pentru amnistie politic, mpreun cu ali oameni de cultur bucovineni i
basarabeni (ambele organizaii, i universitatea popular, al crei scop era la nceput pur
educativ, dar care a degenerat apoi n propagand socialist , i Comitetul pentru amnistie se
foloseau de naivitatea unor membri, care nu tiau c n spatele lor era acelai Comintern); a treia
oar, n 1936, n urma unui denun, fcut de legionarul Tudor Ungureanu ctre prefectul
poliiei, Gabriel Marinescu, rmas n Arhiva CC al PCR, delator intrigat de filosemitismul vdit
al lui Galaction17. Informarea, ocazionat de una dintre vizitele n Italia ale scriitorului la fiicele
sale, condamna aa-zisa colaborare a acestuia cu organizaiile comuniste i se fcea n urmtorii
termeni: Suntem informai c acest preot este n serviciul comunitilor i lucreaz contra Statului
Romn. El se ntoarce n ar cu automobilul ginerelui su sau poate cu trenul. Dai ordin urgent
vmilor Jimbolia i la celelalte, ca la sosirea lui s fie cercetat cu deamnuntul, att el ct i fetele lui,
unde vei gsi lucruri grozave contra Statului Romn. Acest preot lucreaz numai cu evreii comuniti,
pentru care trebuiete pus n urmrire i chiar a i se face i o percheziie la domiciliu. Se mir toi de unde
are atia bani acest preot, de se duce cu toat familia de dou ori pe an n strintate i face cheltuieli ce
nu corespund18. Referat asupra cazului va face un oarecare ajutor de comisar, Constantin
Petrescu. Apreciind just faptele incriminate, acesta stabilete c denunul nu are deloc baze
reale: Gala Galaction este un predicator, propovduind n special mila, blndeea, buntatea, iubirea de
aproape, idei cari se concretizeaz n marele principiu al umanitarismului, principiu care este exploatat de
doctrina comunist mpotriva clasei capitaliste i n scop de a provoca revoluia social. Aceasta ar
constitui un punct de apropiere cu doctrina comunist, fapt ce a determinat s se cread c Gala
Galaction ar nclina ctre micarea comunist19. ntr-un interviu acordat lui Stelian Tnase, Elena
Galaction, ultima dintre fiicele scriitorului, dezlega misterul banilor de cltorie, care
proveneau, ca n multe alte situaii (inclusiv atunci cnd tatl a trebuit s le ncropeasc o zestre
copilelor), din mprumuturile contractate de la Casa corpului didactic20. Apoi, ginerele Carlo
Bajocchini, soul Magdalenei, dispunea la Valmontone de un castel nobiliar, astfel nct cazarea
din timpul celor ase cltorii fcute n Italia, ntre 1931 i 1937, era i ea asigurat. Ctre
sfritul perioadei interbelice, cnd semnele unui nou conflict universal devin evidente, odat
cu luptele civile din Spania, ateptarea ncordat a Angliei, suferinele Franei, disputele din
snul bolevicilor sau pnda Germaniei la micrile comunismului rusesc, atitudinea lui
Galaction este, n principiu, una expectativ: Nu sunt un rsturntor, nu sunt un tribun al
poporului! Voi ncredina taina mea paginilor tcute i le voi pune ca pe gru, n hambar s atepte
primvara marilor transformri viitoare!21 n 1940 ns, cnd Rusia comunist ocup Basarabia, el
se dezlnuie, invocnd dreptatea divinitii mpotriva apostolilor lumii noi i ai egalitii

15 Vezi, pentru acest episod, Irina Achim, Condamnai la Chiinu. Intelectualii comuniti adui n faa instanei, n Jurnalul naional,
24 mai 2005, http://www.jurnalul.ro/scinteia/jurnalul-national/condamnati-la-chisinau-44372.html.
16 Vezi Gh. Cunescu, Pe urmele lui Gala Galaction, 1989, p. 101.
17 Vezi Stelian Tnase, Fragmente despre un denun. Extrase din dosarul ntocmit de Poliie scriitorului Gala Galaction, n Observator

cultural (supliment), nr. 3 (260), 2005, p. II.

18 Idem.
19 Idem.
20 Ibidem, p. III.
21
Jurnal, volumul III, p. 311.

171
absolute: Ce le trebuia acestor montri, ntini pe dou continente, bietul nostru petec de pmnt? i
cum poate fi justificat, n logica omeneasc, faptul odios al acestei tlhrii internaionale? Nu-i rbda,
Dumnezeule! Nu-i rbda, Atotputernice! Cu ivirea i cu vehemena psalmistului strigm ca s ne auzi:
Fiic a Moscovei! Tu care ne-ai pustiit! Fericit este care-i va rsplti pentru cele ce tu ne-ai fcut nou.
Fericit este cel care va lua i va zdrobi de stnci pe pruncii ti!22 Ruptura fa de Rusia pare
irevocabil. ns Galaction nu abandoneaz, odat cu afiarea acestei atitudini tranante, i
idealurile sale socialiste: Am scris n vremuri, am iubit durerile i aspiraiile proletariatului
internaional i am urt pe stpnii trufai i exploatatori [...] Eram socialist cretin, cum sunt i azi [...]
De un sfert de veac ncoace, socialismul rusesc s-a dovedit satanic23.La sfritul rzboiului, presimind
nfrngerea Germaniei, Galaction ia totul ca pe o pedeaps de sus, dar i ca pe un nceput
neateptat de primenire a lumii: Dac bolevicii ajung stpnii orientului Europei, este c aa a fost
voia lui Dumnezeu. Au destul de rnit, de ars, de mturat i de recldit! Vor fi lopata cu care
Atotputernicul i va cura aria, spurcat de pcatele noastre!24
II. ,,Rsritul e la Vest. Ct privete nclinaia sa, consecvent cu sine de-a lungul
timpului, pentru poporul german, aceasta nu era dect un reflex al admiraiei pentru politica
fostului rege Carol I, pe care o dorea continuat i de urmaii si, apoi, o msur de siguran
mpotriva ameninrii ruseti: Este ca i cnd, neputnd s te nsori sau s te mrii cu cine i este
drag, te resemnezi s contractezi o cstorie necesar, raional i avantajoas. i pe urm cine tie!
mai vine i dragostea odat cu copiii i cu belugul casei25. ntr-un articol din Cronica, aprut n 1915
i intitulat Comentarii, Galaction susinea prerea lui Constantin Stere n privina multiplelor
neajunsuri ale unei aliane cu Rusia: de treizeci de ani politica Romniei merge mpotriva
primejdiei de la Rsrit, o ntreag generaie crescnd cu resentimentul fa de rui; n plus,
Germania este superioar economic i poate susine un rzboi mult mai uor.26 Tot n revista
Cronica i tot cu puin timp nainte ca Romnia s intre n Primul Rzboi Mondial, scriitorul
ironiza ineria acelor intelectuali romni care, odat ce au apucat s devin francofili, nu mai
pot nelege c interesele actuale poart ara n alt direcie, astupndu-i urechile la glasul
raiunii: Se lupt francezii cu germanii. Cu cine suntem noi? Firete, cu francezii. Vorbim binior limba
francez, tim c avem aceeai obrie, ne-am plimbat civa ani pe la Paris. Ct despre germani... au o
limb slbatic. Dei am nvat-o n liceu, trei ani, dup bacalaureat nici nu izbutisem s declinm.
Tipresc crile i ziarele lor cu nite caractere cari te descurajeaz... i Germania lor e o cazarm!... o
disciplin nesuferit... o via fr agremente...27 Acelai spirit filogerman domin i rndurile
articolului Din caietul sptmnei [V], n care, referindu-se la o convorbire a lui Sadoveanu cu un
intelectual rus, consemnat n ziarul Universul, Galaction ajunge la concluzia c nimic nu va sta
n calea acestui popor numeros i puternic i c aliaii notri mult clamai nu vor putea s i se
opun: O s moar Rusia de inaniie, de dragul celor vreo 10-12 milioane de romni, de la gurile
Dunrei i din Carpai! Nu e nimic de zis; un singur lucru e de mirare. De ce ne mai certm noi ntre
noi? E att de evident c stm n calea marelui popor rusesc i c trebuie s treac peste noi, nct e pcat
s mai pierdem vremea ncercnd s demonstrm contrariul28. La nceputul celui de-Al Doilea Rzboi
Mondial ns, Galaction pare nedumerit n privina rolului istoric pe care l are de jucat poporul

22
Jurnal, volumul IV, 2000, p. 21.
23
Ibidem, p. 141-142.
24
Ibidem, p. 237.
25
Jurnal, volumul III, p. 320-321.
26
Vezi Comentarii, n Opere, volumul VII, p. 260-261.
27
Videmus meliora, ibidem, p. 233.
28
Din caietul sptmnii [V], ibidem, p. 238.

172
german i-i noteaz ndoielile n jurnalul su intim: Hitler monstru sau semizeu, prghie a
destinului sau marionet a diavolului a ridicat din nou flamura morii ntre graniele popoarelor. Este
el premergtorul i profetul unor vremuri mai drepte sau este bufnia unor prbuiri i dezastre
iremediabile? Germanii se lupt pentru un viitor mai bun sau pentru pronaosul barbariei i al morii
Europei? Iat nc un jalnic examen!29 ncercnd s identifice, la vrsta senectuii, cauzele
apropierii fa de rasa german, care i-a atras, de-a lungul timpului, nenumrate suferine
materiale i morale, scriitorul i amintete de anii formrii intelectuale, marcai de
personalitatea dasclului de istorie din liceu: Profesorul meu de istorie, neuitatul I. C. Georgian, m-a
nvat, acum aproape o jumtate de veac, s privesc, cu ncredere i simpatie, familia german:
,,Germanii nu sunt primejdioi pentru noi. Poate c din acest grunte a crescut, mai trziu,
filogermanismul meu. Am trit, cu amar, civa ani (1914-1920), n cari m simeam desprit de
majoritatea neamului meu, prin convingerea mea n destinele mree ale familiei germane i prin
antigermanismul conaionalilor mei. Fr aprofundri istorice sau diplomatice, fr isteime economic
sau financiar, simeam atunci, simt i azi c poporul romn trebuie s triasc n bun nelegere cu
marea Germanie30. n toamna lui 1940, cnd clasa politic romneasc acceptase, sub panic
ocupaie militar, s urmeze directivele politice ale Germaniei, scriitorul noteaz n Jurnal, cu o
und de ironie, comentariul unei cunotine, ca ram la tabloul despre paradoxurile istoriei: i
tu, i eu, i alii mai muli cu noi suntem cei ce i acum un sfert de veac eram germanofili. Germanofilia
noastr ne-a adus, pe atunci i mai ncoace, multe, variate i foarte sensibile necazuri. Era sau nu aceast
germanofilie un fel de profeie? Era! Fiindc, iat statul romn i conductorii statului sunt azi aliaii,
colaboratorii, dac nu chiar obedienii germanilor. Nu i se pare straniu c nici unul dintre filogermanii
de acum un sfert de veac nu mai este chemat, ntrebat, ori mcar pomenit de furibunzii germanofili de
azi?31 Lui Galaction i vine n minte, n acest context, cazul prietenului Nichifor Crainic, care,
diametral opus n convingeri, fusese un prigonitor al tuturor germanofililor nc din primul
rzboi, iar acum se bucura de iertarea i atenia mai marilor zilei. Dei admirator al spiritului
german, scriitorul resimte din plin umilina cenzurii din publicaiile vremii, dup care izbnda
Axei asupra Aliailor ar fi covritoare, iar legionarii ar exulta deja la gndul c vor mpnzi
lumea: Dup jigrita i cenzurata noastr pres romneasc, Londra este aproape Cartagina (dup
arderea ei), Britania este n agonie, iar evul incomparabil al naionalismului verde universal st gata s
crape din miliarde de muguri, mari ct nite cpni de varz32. Prezena armatelor germane pe
teritoriul romnesc reprezenta, prin prisma convingerilor antisovietice ale lui Galaction, un fel
de sechestru asigurtor, scriitorul fiind gata s accepte orice sacrificiu, numai pentru
recptarea Basarabiei. Dar atitudinea nemilor fa de Israel nu putea s rezolve i conflictul
creat n sufletul su filosemit: Cum mpac durerea mea pentru durerile lui Israel cu consimmntul
fa de ocupaia german? Cum admit pe germani i repudiez ideologia lor nazist i caricatura ei
romneasc? Cum stau cu simirea mea cretin, n slujba cretinismului integral, al Sfntului Printe
din Roma, i totui nu pot s rump de la inim pe germani? Cum recunosc c englezii sunt campionii
umanitarismului, libertilor cretine i ai nobilei democraii n care m-am format i cu toate acestea
nu sunt deloc partizanul lor politic?33 Explicaia cumva echivoc consta n felul ostentativ
antireligios al micrii bolevice; ea nu presupunea ns absolvirea celeilalte tabere de aceeai
vin. Tragismul situaiei atinge noi cote atunci cnd, n 1941, invadnd Uniunea Sovietic,

29
Jurnal, volumul III, p. 375-376.
30
Jurnal, volumul IV, p. 17.
31
Ibidem, p. 53.
32
Ibidem, p. 54.
33
Ibidem, p. 63.

173
Germania constrnge Romnia s participe la un rzboi care, de la un anumit punct nainte, nu
mai aducea rii niciun ctig. Preul de snge al alianei cu nemii pare, n aceast situaie,
nejustificat de mare: Dar ct de scump este aceast onoare de a colabora cu leii Germaniei! Ct de
lungi sunt listele celor ce au czut cu faa ctre duman! [...] Am luat napoi ceea ce ne fusese prdat:
Bucovina i Basarabia. Cine putea s ne gseasc vin? Dar legea tovriei de rzboi ne-a mpins mai
departe. Am mers pn la Odesa i pentru acest ora, care nu va rmnea al nostru, am jertfit o sut de
mii de viei omeneti34. Ateptnd dezlegarea conflictului, Galaction ntreine legturi amabile cu
reprezentanii diplomaiei germane din Capital, fr s urmreasc prin aceasta, aa cum a fost
ulterior acuzat, obinerea unor favoruri sau avantaje materiale: Ieri sear am avut o convorbire la
Legaiunea german, cu consilierul von Rantzau, un amabil diplomat care crede c (pn la apropiate
dovezi contrarii) poate s scoat din mine un diplomat bisericesc35. Cnd balana nclin n favoarea
Aliailor, iar politica Romniei i schimb cursul, scriitorul se adpostete de rzbunarea
Wehrmacht-ului la mnstirea Cernica, manifestndu-i dezamgirea pentru probele nefericite
pe care le poate oferi spiritul german: mi pare ru c germanii au dat, la noi, dezastruosul examen
sufletesc pe care l-au dat. Strfundul inimii lor este plin i azi cu ntunericul i cu barbaria strvechilor
pduri germanice. Cum ne-ar fi covrit moralmente, cum ne-ar fi lsat n suflet arsura remucrii, dac
ar fi plecat dintre noi tcui i triti, cum au plecat n toamna anului 1918! 36. Proclamarea pcii i
ocuparea teritoriul romnesc de ctre armatele roii n 1944 vor coincide cu adaptarea opiunilor
scriitorului la noua stare de lucruri: Nu ne mai rmnea altceva de fcut. Dect s primim n
Bucureti pe ruii victorioi, cu fruntea n rn, ca pe nite cuceritori, a fost mult mai bine c i-am
primit, cu fruntea n soare, ca pe dezrobitorii i aliaii notri de ultim or37.
III. Despre legionarism. Fa de micarea legionar, care produsese atta fascinaie n
rndul maselor, n special prin figurile emblematice ale liderilor ei, Gala Galaction a avut de la
nceput sentimentul reinerii, ca unul ce nu mai credea n puterea mntuitoare a niciunei
organizaii pmnteti: Cinste, munc, struin n toate cte sunt bune, drepte, cinstite, dreptate
pentru toi, alt contiin i alt atitudine n faa vieii... le voiesc i eu, de cnd simt i de cnd cuget.
Eu cred c acestea se vor aduga nou, dac vom cuta cu nverunare mpria lui Iisus Christos.
Tinerii regizori ai rii [legionarii] le vor deodat, principial, fr steagul meu cretin38. Declarndu-se
cu totul n afara fenomenului, pe Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, scriitorul l privete fr nicio
simpatie, crezndu-l un actor prost, un agitator popular, un conductor de carnaval i un
pseudoapostol. Totui, elogiile care i se aduc Cpitanului i care sunt aproape acelea ale unui
sfnt (aude vorbindu-se despre el ca despre un erou care trece prin momente limit: este obligat
s stea ntr-o fntn fr ap, mnnc zile ntregi dintr-o pine, pe care o ine mereu la
subsoar de fric s nu fie otrvit, este mereu gata de sacrificiu pentru fria de cruce, predicnd
doar pacea i iertarea) i pun la ndoial capacitatea de a descifra evenimentele istoriei i l fac
s-i declare neutralitatea n faa dramei contemporane, totuna e contient scriitorul cu un
fapt de laitate. Pentru a-i clarifica nelmurirea, Galaction se gndete s apeleze la ajutorul
unui conjudeean, minte luminat i apropiat al micrii, nimeni altul dect viitorul magistru de
filosofie de la Pltini, Constantin Noica: Cunosc de ctva timp un tnr teleormnean, om de mult
carte, spirit filosofic i contiin clar. l cheam Constantin Noica. Observ c scrie n ziarele legionare i
am citit cu interes cteva articole. Poate c, prin prisma priceperii i personalitii acestui tnr voi
34
Ibidem, p. 123-124, 130.
35
Ibidem, p. 226.
36
Ibidem, p. 249.
37
Ibidem, p. 248-249.
38 Ibidem, p. 41.

174
ajunge s situez exact, n contiina mea, valoarea noilor escaladatori ai amfiteatrului nostru social i
intimitile ideologiei lor39. Dar aciunile extremiste ntreprinse de gruprile legionare, precum
asasinarea lui Armand Clinescu, n 1939 (ca rspuns la lichidarea Cpitanului), a lui Nicolae
Iorga sau Virgil Madgearu, n 1940, legile antisemite sau pogromurile organizate mpotriva
evreilor din timpul guvernrii regimului Antonescu, la care Legiunea participase, i ntresc
convingerile i-l fac pe scriitor s se ntrebe dac ura fratricid i unilateralismul naional mai
pot justifica numele de cretin, clamat n toate mprejurrile. De aceea, Galaction e impresionat
cnd nsui patriarhul Nicodim ia cuvntul, n timpul unei manifestaii religioase, mpotriva
falsificrilor, idolatriilor i erzaurilor, verzi ca spanacul40, sau cnd acelai arhiereu amenin cu
demisia, presat fiind de legionari s-i declare martiri pe conductorii micrii, executai n 1939.
Din punctul de vedere al lui Galaction, legionarii erau principalii vinovai ai formulei de
guvernare cu Ion Antonescu, pe cnd generalul, mai ales la nceput, prea un fel de victim a
propriei creduliti: Generalul Antonescu vorbete prea mult. Dei, fiind general, trebuie s fie, ca
vrst, ntre 50 i 60 de ani, Ion Antonescu mi pare grozav de juvenil i de naiv... ,,Tinerii si amici i
pregtesc nu tiu ce cacialma. Sunt nemulumii de dictatura generalului. O gsesc desigur zbavnic i
sfioas41. Profesor de Exegeza Noului Testament la Facultatea de Teologie din Bucureti,
transferat, n sfrit, de la Chiinu, prin ordinul ministrului D. Caracostea din 1940 (nu pot s
precizez cu ce modaliti i drepti s-a acoperit ministrul Caracostea, hotrnd cele hotrte42),
Galaction se teme ca nu cumva jocurile politice conduse de legionari s-i afecteze postul (Dac
oamenii orbi i ptimai cari conduc treburile coalei romneti de azi m descalific i m scot din
nvmntul universitar [...] vor arunca n mare un profet!...43). Vizitat de cunoscui, simpatizani ai
micrii, se simte sub presiunea evenimentelor i, poate, nejustificat iscodit i mpins ntr-o
disput pe care n-o dorete: Am fost cercetat azi de un preot tnr, fost ucenic al meu, la Chiinu [...]
Cred c este legionar. A venit ca s m ispiteasc sau a venit din ndemnul inimii? Am priceput din
convorbirea mea cu el fie c este legionar, fie c este simpatizant c n ochii corelegionarilor si sunt
cel puin respectat. Gndesc altfel dect ei; dar atitudinea mea, etern contemplativ, viaa mea ntreag,
sihastr i neamestecat n vulgaritile politice, impresioneaz pe simpaticii energumeni i-i condamn
la o dumnie ascuns i deprtat... Poate c m vor invita s las catedra mea universitar i s m
retrag la pensie! i atept linitit... Allez, messieurs. Faites vos jeux!44 Ca rspuns la frmntrile vieii
politice, Galaction rmne consecvent modului su de a vieui, descoperind i el, uimit, la un
moment dat, ct distan pusese ntre sine i lume. Citind ultima carte a lui Georges Bernanos,
Les grandes cimetires sous la lune, care trata probleme ale istoriei recente, scriitorul nu reuete s
ptrund nelesul aciunii: Lucrurile, faptele, durerile de cari vorbete mi sunt vag cunoscute. N-am
urmrit i nu urmresc evenimentele contimporane. Sunt de-a pururi n afara ceasului de fa i mai
mult dibuiesc dect vd irul faptelor i al destinuirilor lui Bernanos45.

39 Ibidem, p. 42.
40 Ibidem, p. 65
41 Ibidem, p. 41.
42 Ibidem, p. 27
43 Ibidem, p. 81.
44 Ibidem, p. 41.
45 Jurnal, volumul III, p. 333.

175
 CONCEPIA SOCIAL I POLITIC LA GALA GALACTION (2)

Cs. Dr. Marius Mazilu

Institutul de Lingvistic ,,Iorgu Iordan Al. Rosetti

IV. ,,Sionismul la prieteni. Pe deasupra altor motivaii care se pot aduce, rdcinile
filosemite ale scriitorului par a fi crescute dintr-o veche ntmplare a copilriei, de pe malurile
Vedei, cnd, gata s se nece, Galaction este salvat de cel mai bun prieten al su, colegul din
clasa a patra primar, Alexandru Cristea, pe numele real Kecaroff Crum, cel care va muri patru
ani mai trziu de pneumonie.
Odat cu trecerea anilor, i iubirea fa de Israel sporete, afirmndu-se att prin
preocuparea de a nelege fr prejudeci istoria acestui popor biblic, att de greu ncercat, ct
i prin susinerea efectiv a micrii sioniste, n cteva articole dedicate lui Theodor Hertzl i
cauzei sale reunirea evreilor din diaspora i nfptuirea statului evreu.
Aceste articole, publicate n 1919, n ziarul Mntuirea, condus de prietenul evreu
A. L. Zissu, au fost reunite, n acelai an, n volumul Sionismul la prieteni. Cele mai multe dintre
ele, treisprezece la numr, prezint, succint, viaa celui mai cunoscut israelit al timpului i ideile
crii sale, Statul evreiesc, aprute n anul 1895, pornind de la episodul care a declanat n
sufletul lui Hertzl pasiunea pentru micarea sionist: degradarea cpitanului de artilerie Alfred
Dreyfus, nsoit de strigtele antisemite ale mulimii, n Parisul sfritului de secol XIX, apoi
lectura crii lui Dhring, plin de ur i de spirit mpotriva evreilor asimilai (de altfel, cu acest
tip de evrei a avut cel mai mult de luptat Theodor Hertzl, pentru a-i convinge de mreia
idealului sionist). Alte articole ale volumului dezbat problema pazei la Locurile Sfinte,
chestiune ridicat de ctre marile puteri, la sfritul primului rzboi mondial, n cadrul unui
congres inut la Paris, sau fenomenul, aparent paradoxal, al sionismului cretin, slab dezvoltat
la noi, n comparaie, de pild, cu sionismul englezesc, din pricina lipsei tritorului autentic,
cititor al Bibliei.
Cartea lui Galaction, curioas n contextul istoriei contemporane, se adreseaz celor mai
puin iniiai n privina problemei evreieti, ntre care se numrase, pn de curnd, i pe sine
, nu celor avizai, a cror rezisten are o alt natur: Nu e lucru de care s nu-mi dau seama c
atitudinea mea, n aceast cestiune innd seama de oamenii i de mprejurrile de la noi este cel puin
original. Sunt ncredinat, ns, c merg n fruntea multor gnditori i scriitori cretini, al cror irag
pare c-l ntrevd prin ceaa viitorului [...] Putea-vom, noi, cretinii, s rscumprm vreodat toate
lacrmile pe care evreii le-au plns de pe urma prigoanelor, a brutalitei i a insolenei noastre?1
Ca rspuns de mulumire la prefaa semnat de A. L. Zissu2 i ca dovad de constant
apreciere a fruntaului sionist, Galaction redacteaz, la rndu-i, un cuvnt nsoitor la romanul
acestuia, Samson i Noul Dragon, aprut la editura ,,Tipografia Orizontului, n 1939.
Susintor al cauzei sioniste este Galaction i atunci cnd le amintete compatrioilor (n
acelai ziar ,,Mntuirea) despre Declaraia Balfour din 2 noiembrie 1917, dat important
pentru toi idealitii cretini, ce marca recunoaterea naionalitii evreieti n lume3 , care ar
avea nevoie de o urmare: patria mult visat; sau cnd se ridic s ia aprarea celor nevinovai,
n cazul nscenrilor organizate de gruparea Aprtorii patriei, care promova, imediat dup

1 Sionismul la prieteni, IX, n Opere, volumul VI, 2000, p. 90, 91.

2 Vezi Teodor Vrgolici, Note i comentarii, n ,,Opere, volumul VI, p. 392.
3 Vezi Din pragul Anului Nou, n ,,Opere, volumul IX, 2004, p. 151-153 i O dat nou n istoria universal, ibidem,

p. 155-157.

176
rzboi, ideea dezertrii evreilor din armata romn i trecerea lor n rndurile armatei roii a
bolevicilor maghiari: Fiindc nu pot s m pronun nici pentru rutate, nici pentru imbecilitate, voi
ocoli problema i voi spune c avem de-a face cu o glum sinistr4.
ntr-o serie de ase articole dedicate piesei de teatru a lui Ronetti-Roman (Aron
Blumenfeld), Manasse, apreciat la superlativ de Caragiale , pe scriitor l intereseaz, dincolo
de cronica dramatic, subiectul piesei, destinul evreului romn pe parcursul a trei generaii ,
insistnd asupra diferenei dintre bunicul Manasse, ntruchiparea ideal a tradiiei lui Israel, fiul
Nisim Cohanovici, bancher semideziudaizat, i nepoii Lazr i Lea, nici evrei, nici cretini, care
cunosc lumea doar prin prisma crilor citite: un tablou de familie gritor pentru felul cum i
pierde evreul identitatea n cadrul neamului adoptiv5.
i alte publicaii, conduse de amici ai scriitorului, precum Isac Ludo (la Adam) sau
Iosif Brucr (la Lumea evree), s-au bucurat de colaborarea sa consecvent, oferindu-i
posibilitatea de a se manifesta n paginile lor, atunci cnd alte ziare l refuzau, din pricina
poziiei filogermane din timpul primului rzboi mondial.
Cnd Iosif Brucr scoate volumul critic ncercri i studii, avnd n frunte o prefa
semnat de C. Rdulescu-Motru, Galaction este primul care apreciaz gestul firesc, dar curajos
al viitorului preedinte al Academiei Romne, n contextul aciunilor antisemite, care persistau
nc dup realizarea Romniei Mari. Scriitorul recunote, fr echivoc, meritele intelectuale ale
lui Israel, manifestate discret n mijlocul romnilor, prin intermediul universitilor populare, al
cercurilor tiinifice sau al slilor de conferine nfiinate de acetia: Evreii, superiori nou din
punct de vedere cultural, mai nti, ca fiind depozitarii vechei lor culturi ebraice, al doilea, ca trii n
ri cretine mai civilizate , cnd au ajuns n pmntul nostru s-au fcut, n chip firesc, intermediatorii
i tlmacii culturilor streine ... i au dat vieei noaste intelectuale isteime, duh, fine i mai cu seam: o
remarcabil contiin critic6.
O vizit fcut n Ertz-Israel i va reconfirma prerea despre acest neam cu destin
extraordinar i-i va inspira unul dintre chipurile personajelor feminine din romanul Roxana,
evreica Debora: Debora un copil de vreo douzeci de ani era, aci n Haifa, o personalitate pedagogic
i cultural. O instituie ntreag tria, se lupta i prospera sub conducerea minilor ei deosebit de
delicate, dar surprinztor de energice [...] Debora lumina, n seara aceea, ntre florile mari, adormite la
ferestre, i torele electrice, ca o suprem tlmcire a tuturor peripeiilor de peste zi...7
Ziarul Curierul israelit i tiprete, ntr-un numr aprut n 1918, o scurt cronic de
ntmpinare la broura unui anume St. Antim, intitulat Chestia evreiasc. Autorul acesteia
deplngea, deopotriv, soarta burghezimii romne i a celei evreieti, subordonate nc, n
istoric ntrziere, oligarhilor proprietari de pmnt, observnd c, atta timp ct a existat o
problem agrar, romnii burghezi au fost forai s devin funcionari, iar evreii, vreo dou
sute de mii la numr, au fost declarai strini; n consecin, credea publicistul, o nou lege
agrar ar putea repara lucrurile. Apreciind felul simplu i original de a gsi un rspuns
complicatei probleme evreieti, Galaction sugereaz ns c nu napoierea pmnturilor este
soluia profund a nenelegerilor dintre etnii, ci felul n care romnii vor ti s renune la
vechile lor prejudeci: Ne rmne acum s pregtim cile de schimb simpatic de la suflete la suflete. Ne
rmne s ncredinm i pe retardatarii notri cu priceperea i cu inima c interesul superior al acestei
ri este, de aci nainte, s prsim suspiciunile, calomniile i discordia intern i, cu puteri unite i
nmulite, s muncim la mai buna noastr recldire social8.

4 Gluma proast continu, ibidem, p. 78

5 Vezi Manasse, ibidem, p. 24-38.
6 Vezi Un curaj ludabil, ibidem, p. 39, 40.
7 Debora Kalvariki, ibidem, p. 329, 330.
8 n jurul unei brouri, ibidem, p. 17.

177
 Galaction nu-i uit, mai ales, pe crturarii lui Israel i pe evreii din breasla scriitoriceasc,
ntristndu-se pentru indiferentismul spiritului romnesc, care nu rezoneaz la viaa sufleteasc
a conaionalilor israelii, ascuns n micrile culturale sau n literatura lor, conceput n limba
ebraic, n idi i chiar n romnete. Scriitorul compar ignorana romneasc de naie
superioar numeric cu aceea a romanilor, din urm cu 2000 de ani: istoricii latini consemnaser,
n arhiva imperial roman, doar ntr-o form fugitiv, cea mai mare revoluie religioas i
moral care avea s se fac vreodat, aceea adus de Iisus Hristos9.
La moartea poetului Barbu Nemeanu (pe numele adevrat Benjamin Deutsch),
nfruntnd comentariile celor mereu nemulumii de rostul evreilor n societate (c evreul e
negutor, dar el a fost alungat din toate celelalte profesii , c e poet, nou nu ne trebuie
cntecele dumneavostr! , c nu e patriot, cum ar putea s nu iubeasc cineva locurile natale
numai fiindc e evreu?! ), Galaction i afirm ataamentul intim fa de fratele mai mic, plecat
n mprejurri potrivnice: Odihnete aproape de mine, aci, sub ferestrele odii mele. i teiul care las
umbre peste mormntul lui tie c-l mngi adesea, ca pe un frate adormit!10
Lui Beniamin Fundoianu (unul dintre pseudonimele lui Benjamin Wexler), poet aflat
nc la nceput de drum i fr vreun volum tiprit, Galaction i dedic, n ,,Adevrul literar i
artistic din 1921, un mic studiu, pe baza puinului material aprut n periodice. Aezndu-l n
descendena scriitorilor noi, preocupai s se sincronizeze cu tendinele literare actuale
occidentale (Macedonski, Petic, Arghezi, Minulescu, Ovid Densusianu, Maniu, Bacovia),
Galaction are intuiia unui talent cu totul special: S-l inem minte. E mai bine s ne nelm ca
profei dect ca aspri tgduitori11.
De Constantin Graur (Avram Brauer), conductorul publicaiilor ,,Adevrul i
,,Dimineaa, unde fusese primit fr ovire s-i construiasc o carier literar, l legase o
discret i ndelungat prietenie. Articolul din 1944, scris la desprirea de acesta, echivaleaz
cu un mic testament sufletesc lsat de Galaction: Dac ceea ce scriu de aproape cincizeci de ani
ncoace are i va avea mai mult dect valoarea iluziunei contimporane, in din toat inima s se tie c
susintorii mei au fost mai ales confraii mei evrei, iar falanga entuziast, care m-a impus, a fost lumea
cititoare evreiasc12.
Critica sa la adresa lumii antisemite ia uneori forme amuzat-amare, cum este, de pild,
cazul cu prietenul Naum Zelevinschi, mare grmtic i cel mai important ebraist din Bucureti,
btut n plin noapte de legionari: Cea din urm oar cnd l-am vzut, avea un ochi umflat i ceva
vnti pe obraz. n ajun, pe ntuneric, civa eroi naionaliti i dovediser c pot distinge pe nearieni de
arieni, chiar n timp de noapte...13
nfiinnd, n 1929, publicaia ,,Hanul samariteanului, Galaction se gndea i la
posibilitatea de a oferi ansa tuturor scriitorilor minoritari de a se face cunoscui, situndu-se
mpotriva curentului din peisajul cultural romnesc, de a selecta dreptul la tipar pe
considerente etnice. n cel de-al doilea numr al ziarului (care a fost i ultimul), directorul
acestuia declara: Dorim s apar n limba romneasc toi cei care, n obtiile lor minoritare, in n
mn o pan recunoscut i srbtorit. Voim s imprimm n ,,Hanul samariteanului stihurile i proza
lor frumos potrivite n romnete ale tuturor inspirailor notri de alt neam i limb14.

9 Vezi Ghetto cultural (I-IV), ibidem, p. 45-54.

10 Barbu Nemeanu, ibidem, p. 21.
11 Un Veniamin cuteztor, ibidem, p. 146.
12 Constantin Graur, n ,,Opere, volumul X, 2005, p. 159.
13 Jurnal, volumul IV, 2000, p. 149.
14 Vezi Gh. Cunescu, Pe urmele lui Gala Galaction, 1989, p. 134.

178
 Cnd se pune ns problema unificrii religioase, aa cum umbla s realizeze n acele zile
un mare nvtor al lui Israel i prieten al scriitorului, Galaction se simte dator s-i precizeze,
la fel de ferm, poziia: Doresc cu putere s fim frete nelei i s ne crum, unul altuia, timpul i
generoasa risip a inimii. Dac e vorba s ne cunoatem i s ne adunm, cu vreun scop mai precis i
folositor obtiilor noastre religioase, cred c d. Rabin va gsi, n cale-i, numai bunvoin i adeziune.
Dac ar fi vorba, ns, de un proiect sincretist, acest proiect n-ar putea s adune dect voturile celor ce
asemenea unor fructe prea coapte sunt gata s cad din pomul credinei strmoeti15.
Simpatia constant pentru acest neam capt din zi n zi forme mai concrete, pe care
Jurnalul le noteaz n parte: Galaction cutreier, timp de un an de zile, Botoanii, Bacul,
Brladul, Focaniul i alte locuri, pentru a strnge, de la civa evrei cu vaz, o contribuie n
folosul unui crturar ebraist i psiholog ucrainean, alungat la Bucureti de revoluia rus. Tot
astfel, n martie 1923, se ocup s strng fonduri pentru nmormntarea prim-rabinului
Dr. Maer Beck, particip, la Focani, la un festival literar dat de evreii sioniti, n folosul
poetului i prietenului idiist Iacob Gropper, sau condamn dezordinile studeneti, cu caracter
barbar i xenofob, de la Oradea, din 1927, care conduseser la vandalizarea sinagogilor din
localitate i la sfierea sulurilor sacre ale Torei.
n 1936, la funeraliile lui Constantin Stere, Jurnalul lui Galaction consemneaz, cu
deosebire, transformrile sufleteti prin care a trecut curiosul su prieten, fa de poporul ales:
L-am cunoscut la mnstirea Neamu, n 1911 sau 1912 ca tainic i definitiv antisemit. n vremea
marelui rzboi era antiarist i, deci, pe atunci cu necesitate, filogerman. Era el i antimoscovit, ca
Dobrogeanu-Gherea? Mai trziu, Stere s-a convertit. Din antisemit a ajuns un admirator al evreilor; n
orice caz, a prsit cu totul rezerva lui dumnoas de altdat16.
n 1939, ia aprarea, n faa Tribunalului Militar, lui Arn Ocnitzer (Rotman), scriitor
evreu nchis la Jilava, pentru c ar fi pus n pericol religia statului romn, prin broura sa
Evanghelie Motivn (1937), cu moto protestatar: Mamei i tatii, n dar, pentru palmele i umilinele ce
le-au ndurat! Marius Mircu (pseudonimul lui Israel Marcus), preedintele de atunci al Asociaiei
Tinerilor Scriitori i Artiti Evrei din Romnia, traduce n romnete cartea i merge cu ea la
cteva personaliti scriitoriceti cunoscute, printre care Eugen Lovinescu i Gala Galaction.
Ultimul se ofer s vin ca martor la proces, iar pledoaria sa, n sutan, ascultat cu religiozitate
de cei trei ofieri superiori din completul de judecat, are ca rezultat un fapt extrem de rar,
ntr-o vreme de escaladare a ideologiei fasciste: sentina de achitare a acuzatului este dat pe
loc17.
Pe fondul propagandei generale antievreieti i a retoricii oficiale despre pericolul
iudeo-bolevic, dublate de msurile antisemite luate de guvernele Goga sau Antonescu, Gala
Galaction devine, prin atitudinea sa diferit, un reper de normalitate i o dovad c, n multe
situaii, a fost vorba de grab i exces n promulgarea i aplicarea legilor, nejustificabile nici
mcar prin considerente de politic extern: Problema cea nespus de grea i durerile noastre intestine
cele mai sfietoare vin din nestatornicia i din dezordinea noastr. Vrem s ne operm singuri! Vrem s
scoatem, cu cuitul, din noi, viscerele evreieti!18
Dezaprobnd xenofobia i ura mpotriva iudeilor, care conduseser la anularea libertii
acestora i nchiderea lor n gheto-uri, scriitorul evideniaz lipsa de sens a textelor de lege n

15 Planuri generoase, ibidem, p. 174.

16 Jurnal, volumul III, 1999, p. 255.
17 Vezi Marius Mircu, Curaj, dragii mei, nu suntei singuri! , n Jurnalul naional, 23 februarie 2009

(http://www.jurnalul.ro/scinteia/jurnalul-national/curaj-dragii-mei-nu-sunteti-singuri-319278.html). Articolul este

reprodus dup originalul aprut n ziarul israelitean Viaa nou din februarie 1989.
18 Jurnal, volumul IV, p. 24.

179
baza crora se luau asemenea msuri: Expunerea de motive a ministrului Gruia este n proza i n
calapoadele ziarului ,,Curentul. Ce va ctiga neamul romnesc i sntatea obteasc de pe urma acestei
legi? Totul mi se pare o retoric nefast. Totul mi se pare un joc de-a marea politic de stat. Totul mi se
pare pripit, improvizat, scris ca un articol de gazet antisemit i jalnic sortit neantului! 19 Trind
asemenea vremuri crncene, lui Galaction i se pare evident un lucru peste care contemporanii
si trec cu desvrire, din ignoran sau din nvrjbire: Nimeni nu proclam c prigoana i
nedreptile mpotriva lui Israel s-ar putea s fi fost pricina care a ntrtat pe Dumnezeu i a frnt
zgazurile lungii Lui rbdri20.
Absurdul strii de fapt se lete nebnuit, pretinzndu-i compromisuri chiar i pe
terenul activitii didactice, fapt de nenchipuit pentru dasclul aflat n prag de pensionare.
Situaia schimbtoare a catedrei sale universitare l gsete, n toamna lui 1941, ca profesor
titular de Exegeza Vechiului Testament la Facultatea de Teologie din Bucureti, dar n
imposibilitatea de a vorbi studenilor despre poporul primogenit, tocmai n cadrul unei materii
cum era cea predat de el: Cum vei vorbi de alegerea lui Israel, de eroii lui, de extraordinara lui
cltorie n lumea aceasta, azi, cnd, prin attea mprejurri crncene, a vorbi despre Israel cu interes, cu
cldur, nsemneaz a-i pune capul n primejdie!? Este cu putin s-l izolezi pe Israel de istoria
Revelaiei?... Cu ce frunte mai apare azi, ntr-o sal cu studeni ostili, bietul dascl de Exegeza
,,Vechiului Testament?21
Mai mult, comisia de revizuire a profesorilor universitari, n bun tradiie legionar, l
invit s dea o declaraie privitoare la ,,activitatea sa francmasonic, avnd n vedere
misionarismul su ntre evrei. Galaction, artndu-se mirat de aceast nstrunicie a rectorului
Universitii din Bucureti, va explica, n scris, cu didactic degajare, c una dintre datoriile sale
fundamentale, n calitate de preot ortodox, este s predice fiilor lui Israel pe Iisus Hristos: Despre
budism i despre mnstirile budiste din Tibet cred c tiu ceva, dar n-am nicio idee consistent despre
fiina i despre secretele masoneriei. Att mi-am nchipuit i-mi nchipuiesc, c masonii trebuie s fie
nite lepdai de religiile pozitive printeti i eu, prin temperament, sunt protivnicul tuturor apostaziilor
i tuturor rebeliunilor religioase, ca unele cari au nceput odinioar cu Lucifer [...] Biserica cretin vede,
la judecata viitoare, pe Israel convertit i mntuit22.
La rndul lor, mrturie favorabil depun pentru Galaction o seam de oameni de cultur
evrei. Iat dou exemple. Primul este cel al scriitorului Isaiia Rcciuni (Isaia Beniamin Nacht),
care, n Amintirile sale din 1967, povestea urmtorul episod: ntr-o duminic din iarna anului
1941, Galaction l roag pe prietenul su preot, Gh. Cunescu, s duc un plic cu o sut de lei i o
scrisoare unei evreice lehuze, al crei so, tmplar, fusese nchis n lagr. Evreica apelase, ntr-o
ultim ncercare, la scriitor, care o ajutase, internnd-o ntr-o maternitate de oameni sraci23.
Al doilea, al lui Alexandru afran, ef-rabinul cultului mozaic din Romnia, ntre
anii 1939-1948, i senator de drept n Senatul Romniei n 1940, pe care, ori de cte ori l
ntlnea, Gala Galaction l sruta pe frunte, conform propriilor afirmaii ale acestuia24.
Dup 1945, scriitorul ncearc s intervin pentru prietenii si evrei, atunci cnd acetia
sunt ameninai cu scoaterea limbii materne din coli, sau cnd amicul Reuven Rubin, cel dinti
ministru plenipotenial al lui Israel n Romnia, vine, n 1948, la Bucureti, prilej pentru muli
dintre evreii romni s viseze la plecarea n Ertz.

19 Ibidem, p. 29.
20 Ibidem, p. 62.
21 Ibidem, p. 126.
22 Ibidem, p. 78, 79-80.
23 Vezi http://www.jurnalul.ro/scinteia/jurnalul-national/curaj-dragii-mei-nu-sunteti-singuri-319278.html.
24 Vezi Marele ef-Rabin Alexandru afran (Alexandru afran n dialog cu Manase Radnev), n ,,Cultura, nr. 46,

2 noiembrie 2006 (http://www.revistacultura.ro/.cultura.php?articol=458).

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 Au fost i gesturi comune de solidaritate pentru scriitor: bunoar, un grup de btrni
evrei cminiti i scriu lui Galaction, la mplinirea vrstei de cincizeci de ani, n numele tuturor
evreilor, artndu-i recunotina pentru ataamentul manifestat fa de poporul lor25.
Faptele au fost reinute, peste timp, i de Comisia Internaional pentru Studierea
Holocaustului n Romnia, condus de laureatul premiului Nobel pentru Pace, Elie Wiesel, n al
crei raport, aprut pe site-ul Preediniei Romniei, se afirma: Gala Galaction, cunoscutul scriitor,
trecnd ntr-o zi pe lng o echip de evrei scoi la curatul zpezii n Bucureti, a luat lopata din mna
unui btrn i a lucrat o vreme n locul lui, adresndu-se celorlali: Curaj, dragii mei, nu suntei
singuri! Nu o dat, Gala Galaction, cnd se ntlnea cu prietenii si evrei, i mbria n plin strad.
Emil Feder (ulterior, profesor defectolog), urmrit de autoriti, a fost ascuns de Gala Galaction la el
acas, dup care l-a condus cu o main a Patriarhiei, pn ce autoritile i-au pierdut urma26.
n semn de recunoatere pentru contribuia la susinerea poporului evreu n vremurile
de prigoan, n anul 2009, la 130 de la naterea scriitorului, Primria din Ierusalim, condus de
Teddy Kolek, d uneia dintre strzile oraului numele lui Gala Galaction27.

Bibliografie de referin

Galaction, Gala, Jurnal, III, Bucureti, 1999;

Galaction, Gala, Jurnal, IV, Bucureti, 2000;
Galaction, Gala, ,,Opere, VI, Varia. Cretinism, Sionism, Socialism, Bucureti, 2000;
Galaction, Gala, ,,Opere, VII, Publicistic, Bucureti, 2002;
Galaction, Gala, ,,Opere, IX, Publicistic, Bucureti, 2004;
Galaction, Gala, ,,Opere, X, Publicistic, Bucureti, 2005;

Bibliografie critic

Cunescu, Gh, Pe urmele lui Gala Galaction, Galai, 1989;

Mircu, Marius, Oameni de omenie n vremuri de neomenie, Bucureti, 1996.
Tnase, Stelian, Fragmente despre un denun. Extrase din dosarul ntocmit de Poliie scriitorului Gala Galaction,
n Observator cultural (supliment), nr. 3 (260), 2005;
Vrgolici, Teodor, Gala Galaction, Bucureti, 1967.
Marele ef-Rabin Alexandru afran (Alexandru afran n dialog cu Manase Radnev), n ,,Cultura, nr. 46, 2
noiembrie 2006.

Surse internet

http://www.jurnalul.ro/scinteia/jurnalul-national/curaj-dragii-mei-nu-sunteti-singuri 319278.html.
http://www.revistacultura.ro/cultura.php?articol=458.

25 Vezi Gh. Cunescu, Gala Galaction, p. 239.

26 Raportul Comisiei Internaionale pentru Studierea Holocaustului n Romnia, 11 noiembrie 2004, p. 260. Raportul citeaz
informaia din Marius Mircu, Oameni de omenie n vremuri de neomenie, editura Hasefer, 1996, p. 224-225, pe
http//precidency. ro.
27 Vezi Marius Mircu, art. cit.

181
 THE JOB INTERVIEW SIMULATION AS AN INSTANCE
OF E-LEARNING

Simona Mazilu, PhD

DCLM-FILS-UPB

Introduction

The paper draws on a job interview simulation that second year students of the Faculty of
Automatic Control and Computer Science (UPB) have performed within the English for
professional communication seminar on the basis of the knowledge acquired in previous
seminars devoted to writing a CV, designing a cover letter and preparing for a job interview,
respectively.
The paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, which I have called the input,
I briefly present the basic knowledge on CVs, cover letters and job interviews that second year
students have acquired during three English for professional communication seminars. The
second part of the paper the output deals with the job interview simulation activity focusing
on the following aspects: objectives, organization, outcomes, benefits and limitations as well as
perspectives for the future improvement of the activity.
I will also draw some conclusions on the usefulness of combining the classical textbook
approach to teaching professional communication topics with the incontestable advantages of
e-learning.

I. The input: CVs, cover letters and preparing for a job interview

Writing a CV, designing a cover letter and preparing for a job interview are three major topics
studied in the English for Professional Communication textbook, the main seminar support
material, which enable second year students to acquire fundamental written and oral
communication skills to be further used in the increasingly demanding job market.
From my twelve-year-old teaching experience, the two textbook units devoted to these
topics have always been received with interest and sometimes even with enthusiasm by IT
students who are very much aware that in order to be a professional in their field, one needs
more than computer skills. They need marketable communication skills, more precisely they
need to know how to present their various competences effectively in writing as well as in a
face to face encounter with a prospective employer.
Besides the textbook material, I have also used an extremely valuable internet source,
namely a site of the University of Kent devoted to job interviews in the IT field
(http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/interviews/ivcomputing.htm#INTRODUCTION)1 which

1 I thank my friend and colleague Fabiola Popa PhD for bringing this site to my attention and for sharing
her experience with me on how to make use of the information on the site to the greatest benefit of
students.

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appealed to students by its authentic samples of CVs, cover letters and job interviews that
real-life applicants have written and experienced.
In what follows I will make a summary of the knowledge students have acquired during
the three seminars regarding the documents necessary to apply for a job and the preparation for
a job interview.
As far as CVs are concerned, students have learned that a CV is a formal document
containing the most relevant information about the candidate covering personal details,
education and qualifications, professional experience, various skills, extracurricular activities
and leisure interests. Moreover, depending on the job objective the applicant wants to achieve,
they have to tailor the CV foregrounding different aspects each time. Following the seminar
discussion about CVs, students had to write their own CV using the europass model targeted at
a job ad proposed in their textbook. I checked their CVs identifying the problem spots and
suggesting ways of improvement where necessary.
Cover letters made the object of the second seminar in the sequence of professional
communication topics students were supposed to familiarize themselves with before the big
day of the interview. Less known than the CV, as it turned out, students have found out that
the cover letter is also a formal document which an applicant sends together with their CV in
response to a job ad. The cover letter advertizes the qualifications, skills and personal
qualities of the candidate in such a way as to meet the requirements of the position applied for.
After having revised the protocol of writing a formal letter (placement of the senders and the
recipients addresses, date, forms of address, complimentary close, etc), students had to write a
cover letter in response to the job ad in their textbook for which they had written their CV. On
the task completion, I checked students cover letters indicating improvement, if needed.
Preparing for a job interview has been the third professional communication topic which
was covered before the job interview simulation and about which students were very excited.
Before the seminar discussion, I recommended that they should do some research into the topic
by visiting the site of the University of Kent dedicated to job interviews in the IT field.
Unlike the previous two topics which mainly stimulated students writing skills, the
variety of aspects an applicant has to take into account when preparing for a job interview made
them talk. Therefore, the seminar has been extremely rewarding for the two parties involved,
the teacher and the students. On the one hand, I was extremely happy to see them so willing to
express their views and feelings regarding the complex preparation for a job interview. On the
other hand, they gained self-confidence when being stimulated and encouraged to contribute
ideas from what they read or from their own experience or from their friends experience of
participating in a job interview.
In a very dynamic and friendly dialogue, we shared ideas and emotions related to what
the job interview preparation means in general: doing research into the companys activity,
reviewing your CV, thinking of and answering frequently asked questions in a job interview,
having the right attitude, managing difficult situations, the importance of body language,
mastering ones emotions and choosing the right outfit for the interview, among others.
The three professional communication seminars on CVs, cover letters and job interview
preparation were supposed to offer students the necessary input that they should further
exploit in the job interview simulation which was intended as the practical output of the
previously acquired knowledge.

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II. The output: the job interview simulation

After having briefly described the preliminary stage of what students learnt about CVs, cover
letters and preparation for a job interview, I will focus on the following aspects of the job
interview simulation: organization, objectives of the activity, expectations and outcomes,
benefits and limitations as well as suggestions for future improvement.
In each group, two students (if possible a male and a female student) played the role of
interviewers while the other students were interviewees. The interviewers task was to find a
full-time/ part-time job ad whose requirements could be met by a real-life IT second year
student with little or no work experience. The job ad was posted on Facebook so as to be easily
accessed by the candidates who were supposed to apply for it sending their CV and cover letter
to the indicated e-mail address before a certain deadline. The panel of interviewers received the
documents which they carefully analyzed and then, adapting the set of job interview questions
provided in their textbook to their contextual needs, they interviewed each candidate separately
marking their performance on an evaluation sheet. Finally, the candidate with the maximum of
points got the job.
The job interview simulation has been a complex seminar activity which involved
teamwork as well as individual work. It has had two major objectives.
Firstly, students were supposed to apply the previously acquired written and oral
communication skills to an authentic situation simulating a real-life job interview. In this sense,
they have prepared and sent their formal documents (CV and cover letter) in response to the
requirements of the job ad posted by the employer. Moreover, interviewers and interviewees
have prepared for the job interview simulation paying attention to various aspects of a real-life
job interview: devising and answering frequently asked questions, conducting a job interview,
adopting a positive attitude, managing their emotions, wearing the appropriate outfit, adapting
to the unexpected course an interview may take, appealing to alternatives, etc.
Secondly, students were encouraged to use and develop their organizational skills in
accordance with the roles they assumed, as interviewers or interviewees. I, as a teacher, have
been only a facilitator and not an organizer, whom they could turn to, if necessary, for advice or
clarifications on what they were supposed to do in the activity. During the two-week-time they
had to prepare the simulation, they informed me by e-mail about what they had already done
and what was to be done next. Therefore I monitored students progress without intervening
unless required.
In point of expectations and outcomes, I and my students expected that what we
discussed during the previous three seminars regarding CVs, cover letters and preparing for a
job interview turn into an authentic experience simulating a real-life job interview. The job
interview simulation lived up to our expectations as both interviewers and interviewees in all
the groups that organized this activity successfully completed their tasks.
On the one hand, interviewers tried to find a job ad any second year IT student could
apply for, devised a set of questions appropriate to the post, interviewed their candidates in a
professional way leading the discussion into favourable areas or helping them with alternative
questions meant to make all of them contribute as much as possible.
On the other hand, interviewees documents and their performance during the interview
looked professional and authentic as they have taken the challenge of participating in the
simulation as an opportunity to see their skills at work. So they got involved 100% behaving as

184
real professionals in a job interview. Regardless of their introvert or extrovert temperament, all
interviewees enjoyed talking to their interviewers doing their best to make the job interview
simulation as real as possible and create a professional and friendly atmospere.
As concerns the benefits of the job interview simulation, they are numerous and
important.
Firstly, students had the opportunity to practise in an authentic situation the written and
oral communication skills they acquired during the previous three professional communication
seminars on CVs, cover letters and preparing for a job interview.
Secondly, they enjoyed the winning combination of the traditional textbook approach
and the internet, which made the activity more real-life since most job ads are posted and
applied for on line.
Thirdly, cooperating with their peers for a common goal (the completion of a seminar
activity) enhanced students teamwork skills, organization skills, flexibility, the capacity of role
assumption and a sense of responsibility.
Fourthly, interacting with one another as interviewers and interviewees, students shared
not only information but also feelings and emotions, thus developing their sense of empathy.
Fifthly, the job interview simulation offered students the opportunity to see how they
handle themselves in situations in which the degree of unexpectedness is high despite their
preparation in advance.
Regarding the limitations of the activity, I believe that the most important one is that
students are permanently aware of the job interview simulation being an artificially created
situation which influences their reactions to a certain extent. They know that the interviewers/
interviewees in front of them are their peers, which may affect their performance in the sense
that some students have difficulty in entering the mood of the job interview and they tend to
lose focus.
Moreover, being only a simulation in which the participants know each other very well,
the credibility of the job interview may be affected and its results may be contested as well.
Despite these limitations, the job interview simulation was welcomed by students that wanted
to test their communication skills in a challenging situation as an exercise for their future career.
As we have seen, the benefits of the job interview simulation outnumber its limitations.
On the basis of my experience as a teacher that has done this activity with second year IT
students for the past twelve years, I believe that the quality of the job interview simulation has
significantly improved each year.
Nevertheless there is always room for improvement and in this sense I intend to extend
and exploit the e-learning dimension of the activity as much as possible. Present day students
whose life is governed by technology are definitely more willing to get involved in activities
that encourage the use of technology that they handle so well than resort to traditional means of
getting instructed such as reading books on certain topics.
Yet, I consider that textbooks in spite of their classical appearance will never go out of
fashion and they should always be the backbone to which novel e-learning approaches are
connected.

185
Conclusions

In light of the empirical observations made on this seminar activity, I believe that integrating
the e-learning dimension into the traditional textbook framework is the most appropriate
approach to the topic of job interviews for two main reasons.
Firstly, students participate in a complex activity simulating a real-life experience that
may be of help in an actual job interview conducted in English.
Secondly, by using e-means of communication and online sources to complete their task
and face to face interaction, students may considerably improve their oral and written
communication skills.
Besides the material benefits of enhancing students writing and speaking skills, this
seminar activity has had emotional advantages as well. Teamwork, interacting with one
another, listening to each other, adapting to the element of unexpectedness that a job interview
contains by default, difficulties that they have overcome together, the wide range of feelings
and emotions they all have experienced and shared have increased students self-awareness and
self-confidence as well as their empathy towards and trust in their peers, which is the most
rewarding outcome of the activity.

Bibliography

Blndu, Mihaela (et all.), 2004. English for Professional Communication. Bucureti: Printech.
http://www.job-interview.net/
http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/interviews/ivcomputing.htm#INTRODUCTION

186
 IMPROVING TEACHER SOFT SKILLS BY MEANS OF PEER
INTERACTION AND OBSERVATION

Lect Dr Simona Mazilu

Asst Drd Simona Maria Grosu
DCLM-FILS-UPB

Introduction

The aim of this paper is to analyze and contextualize our mutual exchange project which
consisted in peer observation and classroom-based interaction. The topic of the lessons
observed is Telephoning, one of the basic skills taught in English for Professional Communication
the textbook used by first and second year students at the Faculty of Computer Science. The
outcome of the project is remarkable both teachers having noticed improved levels of
interaction and communication not only between them as colleagues, but also between them
and the students who took part in the exchange. Our peer observation project has certainly been
a win-win experience, which proves that peer observation of teaching can positively influence
both teachers professional and personal development and students learning process.
The paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, we briefly present what peer
observation of teaching consists in, its benefits for the parties involved and what reservations
teachers have regarding the peer observation experience. In the second part, we discuss our
peer observation project in point of: stages, topic observed, teachers feedback on the session in
case as both observer and observed, benefits, limitations and future perspectives. We will
mainly focus on the teacher soft skills which have considerably improved during the process of
peer observation and interaction.

I. Peer observation of teaching (POT)

Internationally, academics have increasingly felt the need to share teaching practices with their
peers with the aim of improving both the teaching and learning processes. Nowadays, this often
occurs via blogs and social networking groups.
Peer observation of teaching is an activity in which two or more colleagues observe each
others teaching according to criteria they establish together and then provide feedback for
improvement in a constructive, non-judgmental and non-evaluative way. Classroom
observation through giving and receiving feedback may be an extremely rewarding experience
for both the observer and the observed if it is done professionally with the main aim of
enhancing the collaborators teaching practices, and consequently, the quality of student
learning.
There are significant benefits from using peer observation of teaching among which the
following are the most important:
maintaining and improving teaching quality and the quality of student learning;
improving collegial relationships through constructive discussions and feedback;

187
 becoming aware of ones own teaching practice with strong and weak points;
identifying valuable alternative teaching practices;
promoting a peer feedback culture by observing each other at work in real life
classroom interaction;
encouraging teachers professional and personal development in the long-term.
Despite its numerous advantages, peer observation of teaching is often met with
reticence. Although academics easily submit their papers for peer review, they feel reluctant to
have a visitor watching how their lecture or seminar proceeds and giving them feedback.
Traditionally, teaching has been regarded as a private game with only two players,
the teacher and the ones being taught. A possible observer therefore would make the players
feel uncomfortable or even vulnerable if their play were watched and checked according to a
rigid set of criteria. This erroneous perception of the peer observation of teaching may have
various explanations.
Firstly, teachers may associate peer observation with evaluation which might be used
further on for staff promotion within the department. Nowadays, people feel insecure about
their jobs regardless of the field of activity in which they are involved. Teachers concerned
about their positions would feel threatened by their peers coming to spy on them and spot
what they do wrong.
Secondly, teachers may dislike the idea of receiving feedback from someone they do not
trust or do not see as a reliable objective observer. Good teaching is a relative notion that can
give rise to biases from both sides. Thus teachers could judge or be judged by their peers in an
unfair way.
Thirdly, a third party presence in ones classroom might be considered an intrusion that
can disturb the natural process of teaching. Classroom peer observation may be perceived as an
artificial situation in which teachers and students alike could feel uncomfortable.
These are in very broad lines some explanations for the reservations teachers have
towards allowing their peers to participate in the teaching process. In order to make peer
observation of teaching less threatening and thus more effective, the parties involved in this
process should ensure that certain requirements are met:
teachers have the right to choose the peers they want to work with;
peers agree on the process of giving and receiving feedback (establish criteria, design a
checklist);
peers agree on the procedure of the observation session (day, time, place, aspects to be
observed);
peers agree on the confidentiality of the act of peer observation.
The peer observation process has four main stages: pre-observation or briefing,
observation, post-observation and joint statement or record. In what follows, we will briefly
describe what happens at each stage.
During the pre-observation or briefing stage, the observer and the observed establish
together the details of the observation session in terms of place, time, location, topic to be
observed, criteria for providing feedback. The peers should discuss about the context of the
present activity, the aims of the lesson, what students already know, the expected outcomes and
aspects which deserve particular focus. The two teachers may also agree on a checklist to be
ticked as part of the feedback on the session in case. Among the main aspects included in such a
checklist we can mention: planning/ organisation/ content; teaching strategies/ resources;

188
presentation/ management, assessment/ monitoring students (How to Collaborate with Peer
Observation. https://staff.mq.edu.au/public/download.jsp?id=50019, p.6).
At the observation stage, the observer writes about the sequences of interaction between
teacher and students in the classroom focusing on the aspects mutually agreed on in the pre-
observation session. The observer should not make any evaluative statements in terms of good/
bad or right/ wrong, and only describe objectively what happens in the classroom. This
narrative account will be used by the observer to provide constructive feedback to the observed
at the post-observation stage. Moreover, on the basis of this narrative account, a joint statement
or record will be produced by the peers to be further used to improve their teaching practices.
The post-observation stage is the most difficult one since the observer and the observed
need to discuss about the session and actually give and receive feedback. Diplomacy and
empathy are two essential skills the parties need especially when dealing with aspects of
teaching that should be improved in the future.
Finally, a joint statement or record is produced by the two parties involved in the peer
observation session. The statement contains details about the observation session in case stating
who the observer was, who the observed was, when the session occurred and a summary of the
good practice observed and areas to be improved. The joint statement is confidential and cannot
be used by other parties without the peers permission.
The benefits of peer observation of teaching certainly outnumber the barriers teachers
have to cross. It is thus a golden opportunity not only to disseminate teaching materials and
practices but also to share the authentic feelings and emotions the complex teaching activity
stirs in its practitioners. In this way, done systematically and constructively, peer observation of
teaching may foster teachers professional and personal growth.

II. Teaching Telephoning a peer observation case study

The two sessions of peer observation were part of a larger project developed by the Department
of Modern Languages within Politehnica University of Bucharest. The aim of the project was
both academic, i.e. improving the teaching methods used by the teachers who took part in this
project, and non-academic, that is increasing interaction among teachers and enhancing soft
skills. In our opinion, the project was a success, as we were able not only to share good teaching
practice and get fresh ideas for future lessons, but it also facilitated teacher interaction, one of
the critical aspects of the teaching profession.
We took all the steps that usually occur in the peer observation context: pre-observation,
observation, post-observation. We will further discuss in detail the process and the outcomes
we reached at the end of the observation sessions.
The initial stage was pre-observation. During this stage all the organizational matters
were taken into account, and we also agreed to observe each a lesson on the topic of
telephoning at a similar group of first year students from the Faculty of Automatic Control and
Computer Science. The level of students in each of the two groups observed is upper-
intermediate, which corresponds to the main textbook designed by the teaching members of the
department. However, this was not the only textbook used in the sessions, as we shall point out
when describing each of the two lessons.
The second stage was the actual observation of the teaching process during two 2-hour
seminars. Both teachers are in turn the observer and the observed so they enjoy both roles. The

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role of the observed is the more difficult one, as the teacher is under certain constraints, such as
fear of being judged and evaluated by a peer colleague, fear of making mistakes, or regarding
the interaction with the students. Following the two sessions of peer observation, we noticed
that Ss usually reacted promptly to being observed by a different teacher as they managed to
answer well all the Ts questions. In addition, a level of improved interaction T Ss and Ss T
was noticed.
We both taught the same topics, and the focus of the two seminars was on raising Ss
awareness as to what it takes to have a successful telephone conversation. Introducing formulas
were highlighted, as well as other useful vocabulary and certain phrases that are normally used
in this context.
The teaching approach started from demonstrating wrong practice. In one situation, the
T used a listening activity extracted from In Compnay textbook as a prompt. Ss listened to two
different telephone conversations one in which the caller was at fault, failing to introduce
oneself, and another in which the receiver was at fault as s/he failed to answer the phone
correctly. After listening to the recordings, the T solicited better versions of the two
conversations. Ss were amused and happy to share ideas, which created a relaxed atmosphere
in the classroom and helped to improve T-Ss interaction. This was also the outcome of the other
seminar under observation as the T prompted Ss to read a conversation in pairs, to identify the
trouble spots, and then to contribute ideas in order to create an improved and more adequate
telephone conversation. It turned to be easier to learn by correcting the mistakes that others
make, that is why we think that the two activities chosen for introducing telephoning
vocabulary have reached their goals, that is to get Ss to actively participate in the seminar, thus
facilitating the learning process.
Following these error-correction activities, Ss were required to draw up a list of rules on
good telephoning practice based on some advice given by a communication expert, which the T
read aloud to the whole class. There is plenty of interaction T- Ss and Ss T during this exercise,
and class management was essential at this point. At the end of this task, Ss and T jointly
summarise the rules for effective communication that need to be used anytime we expect a
positive outcome of a telephone conversation.
In the last part of the lessons, both Ts resorted to some guided practice on the topic of
telephoning extracted from the textbook English for Professional Communication. Ss were asked to
work in groups of four in order to act out a telephone conversation keeping in mind all the
previously discussed rules and typical telephoning vocabulary. T assigned roles and monitored
Ss while they were working on the conversation. At the end, T asked 2 groups to role-play the
conversation for the whole class.
They received feedback both from the T and from other Ss, which increased class
interaction and resulted in reduced teacher talking time. Both seminars ended after the T
assigned the homework for the following lesson.
During the post-observation stage, which occurred right after each seminar, both Ts (the
observed and the observer) commented on the previously held seminar, sharing their opinions
on the teaching methods used, class interaction, and if the lesson objectives had been met.
The tone of the discussion was light, we insisted on positive aspects, on what we found
interesting, and what practice we are going to use in the future, while making a series of
suggestions and things that may be subject to further change. We also discussed about the way
we felt both as the observer and the observed.

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 We definitely believe that the outcome of the peer observation sessions, that of sharing
best practices and ideas, as well as increasing interaction between fellow teachers, and fostering
communication within the Department of Modern Languages, PUB, was fully met.
Moreover, being open to observation means being open to any possibility - criticism or
praise. This helps teachers to improve their communication skills as they need to be able to give
feedback to the other T with regard to essential aspects that can only lead to easier or greater
learning, and not about any trivial ideas that might trigger an emotional reaction in the
observed teacher rather than a professional one.

Conclusions

As we had anticipated right from the start, the DCLM project was really profitable for all the
parties involved.
On the one hand, and this we believe is the greatest asset, we have managed to improve
our professional communication skills, being open to receiving constructive feedback from our
colleagues. We have also been able to notice any differences in point of teaching style and to
eventually resolve to change some of it based on what we have observed with the fellow
teacher. We do hope that we will be able to have a continuation of this project to the benefit of
the teaching staff, the students, and the Department as a whole.
Peer observation, despite its difficulties, such as an increased level of stress both for the
observed T and for the Ss who attend the observed class, is still a valid teaching practice used in
order to help younger teachers to develop good and sound teaching practices. Observing an
experienced teacher interacting with the class is definitely fruitful and rewarding for a less
experienced teacher as well as for the experienced one, since the latter will have his/her
teaching methods scrutinized by a younger fellow T who is closer to the age range of the Ss in
class.

Bibliography

Blndu, Mihaela (et all.), 2004. English for Professional Communication. Bucureti: Printech.
http://www.professorjackrichards.com/wp-content/uploads/Professional-development-for-language-
teachers-Chap-6-Peer-Observation.pdf
https://www1.umn.edu/ohr/prod/groups/ohr/@pub/.../ohr_46445.pdf
www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu/pdf/booklets/20_Peerobservation.pdf
Goleman, Daniel, 2008. Inteligena emoional. Bucureti: Curtea Veche.
How to Collaborate with Peer Observation. https://staff.mq.edu.au/public/download.jsp?id=50019
Millis, Barbara J., "Conducting Effective Peer Classroom Observations" (1992). To Improve the Academy.
Paper 250. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/podimproveacad/250
Powell, Mark, 2005. In company Intermediate. Macmillan.

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 MANAGING CONFLICT BY MEANS OF THIRD PARTY
INTERVENTION

Daniela Muraru, Ph.D.

Liceul Tehnologic Ferdinand I
Curtea de Arge

Introduction

Conflict management has been a major concern in all societies, at all levels. This paper
investigates the various ways in which conflict can be approached and resolved by means of
third party intervention, thus outlining the most important contributions in the conflict
resolution literature.
Conflict is understood as a struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power and
resources in which the aims of the opponents are to neutralize, injure or eliminate their rivals
(Coser, 1964: 8). In the conflict management literature, what is called the tripartite model
(Carstarphen, 2004: 179) is frequently employed to describe conflict. Thus, three components
interrelate in order to make up a comprehensive picture of the notion of conflict:
1) substantive issues (perceived goal incompatibility, interests, issues);
2) conflict behaviour and processes resorted to in order to solve the conflict (e.g. violence,
negotiation, mediation, etc.);
3) conflict relationships between conflict parties (psychological factors, attitudes,
perceptions).
Seen as a dynamic process, social conflict of any kind favors the intervention of third
parties that resort to a range of methods, strategies, and tactics to end the conflict. Five such
solutions have been distinguished in the study of conflict (cf. Mitchell, 1981: 253):
(1) Victory for one party and defeat for the other; (2) Destruction of one party; (3) Isolation,
withdrawal or disengagement, thus rather suspending the conflict situation; (4) Settlement, or
accommodation, by means of a compromise solution; (5) Resolution, the sources of the conflict
being, thus, removed.

1. Drafting a theoretical framework

Bercovitch and Gartner (2009) have reviewed the various approaches in the study of
conflict management and have outlined three main directions. The first regards the prescriptive
orientation in the conflict management literature, which explains concepts such as mediation
and negotiation by emphasizing a set of behavioural norms that the conflict parties either
follow or not; success is thus understood as a consequence of complying with the respective
norms. A typical example of such a prescriptive approach is offered by Fisher and Ury (1981) /
Fisher, Ury and Patton (1991), or Putnam and Roloff (1991).
A second direction is represented by the normative theories on mediation, which
suggest how ideal, rational actors, having a range of resources at their disposal, should make
decisions in complex situations. These theories include the strategic choice model, and the game

192
or goal theoretic approaches, such as Carnevales (1986). It is argued (Bercovitch and Gartner,
2009: 2) that these normative theories fail in practice due to the lack of congruence with reality,
hence their limitations in terms of applicability, despite their characteristics of coherence, logic
and consistency.
At the other end, there are the descriptive or rather empirical studies, which provide
accounts of the actors behaviour, without trying to alter, idealize or produce value judgments
of such behaviours. What is called the contingency approach to the study of mediation is
considered extremely useful for analyzing the phenomenon of mediation, as it offers a
dynamic framework of interactive and reciprocal behaviors (Bercovitch and Houston, 2000:
172). Viewed within the contingency framework, conflict management is considered a social
process whose acceptance and outcomes are dependent upon, or contingent on, aspects of the
structure and process of the conflict (Bercovitch and Jackson, 2001: 65).
This contingency model investigates the mediators behaviour in terms of context,
process and outcome, providing an insight into various strategies that mediators may
resort to. It should be added that the choice of strategy by mediators intertwines with other
three major factors of the larger context of mediation: the nature of the conflict or dispute, the
resources and interests of the mediator, and the nature of the parties (Bercovitch and Houston,
2000: 174), while the process dimension refers to actual mediator strategies and their impact on
the outcome (Bercovitch and Langley, 1993: 672).

2. A typology of third parties

A classification of third party involvement is of help in generating the complete picture

of the possible alternatives of conflict resolution by third parties.
The above mentioned contingency approach discusses several types of third party
involvement, based on a model of Third Party Consultation, initially developed by Fisher
(1972).
- Conciliation involves a trusted third party providing an informal communication link
between the antagonists for the purposes of identifying the major issues, lowering tension and
encouraging negotiation (Fisher and Keashly, 1991: 33). This does not imply proposing
alternatives for settling the dispute, only assessing the situation.
- Mediation (in what Fisher and Keashly call a pure state) involves the intervention of a
skilled and experienced intermediary (idem: 30) that attempts to facilitate decision-making. The
mediator usually combines negotiating sessions, and resorts to reasoning, persuasion, the
control of information so that the disputants reach an acceptable agreement.
There is another type of mediation called Mediation with Muscle (Fisher and Keashly,
1991: 33) or power mediation that includes the use of leverage or coercion under the form of
promised rewards or threatened punishments. The third party bargains with each of the
participants in the conflict.
- Arbitration involves a legitimate and authoritative third party (idem) that considers
the merits of each party and imposes a settlement deemed to be fair and just. In the so-called
relative anarchy of the international system (idem), the appeal to arbitration is considered to
be largely voluntary.

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 - Consultation (also known as problem-solving) implies the intervention of, usually, a
team, that identifies the problems and analyses them using social-scientific understanding of
conflict processes (idem), thus, encouraging a solution by communication.
- Peace-keeping refers to the use of military forces by an outside party (often the United
Nations) to supervise and monitor a ceasefire between antagonists (idem: 34).
Although there is a clear classification of third parties, the differences are sometimes
slight and a conflict resolution process may pass through several of these (sometimes all)
processes, at different stages that the dispute may undergo.
Other scholars (Ott, 1972) have included in the typology suggested of third party
intervention, besides mediation and arbitration (which are part of the contingency model,
as well), good offices the intermediary functioning as a mere facilitator, inquiry
regarding the investigation of facts, and adjudication under the form of settlement through
the procedures of the World Court (Ott, 1972: n6, 597). However, good offices and inquiry
are inevitably subsumed to mediation, since the mediator is implicitly engaged in providing a
meeting place and acting as a message carrier (as our analysis will show), and, at the same time,
in investigating the various causes underlying the dispute.
It is to be mentioned that mediation and adjudication belong to two separate groups in the
classification of third party forms of conflict management (cf. Bercovitch 1991b: 3). On the one
hand, there are legalistic-normative procedures, such as adjudication or arbitration1, which
involve the acceptance on the disputants part of the third partys explicit ruling. On the other
hand, there are mediation or conciliation viewed as voluntary procedures, which entail various
forms of facilitation and assistance, short of judicial or coercive steps, designed to help the
parties reach an acceptable outcome (idem).
Ury (2002a, 2002b) distinguishes between mediation and what he calls the third side2, in
terms of the roles each of the two may play in dealing with a conflict situation. He states that, in
mediation, there is mainly one role played by one actor, typically an outside neutral, whereas
with the third side, there are different roles (he identifies a minimum of ten), involving many
actors, both outsiders and insiders3 (cf. Ury, 2002b: 78-79).
The treatment of mediation follows the line proposed by various scholars (Mitchell,
1981, Fisher, 1983, Bercovitch, 1991a etc.) who have studied this phenomenon as a form of
conflict management, and who speak of the mediator in terms of third-party intervention.
Therefore, this paper treats mediation as a triadic egalitarian structure, where the third party is
(formally, at least) of equivalent status of the adversaries, and acts as a facilitator in seeking a
solution, rather than a superior imposing a compromise according to some implicit or explicit
rules (Mitchell, 1981: 254).
Thus, mediation is a term used to designate a wide range of third party activity
(Bercovitch, 1991b: 3), on condition that the choice of this activity is accepted by both parties,

1
Arbitration is a procedure whereby a third party holds a hearing, at which time the disputants state their positions
on the issues, call witnesses, and offer supporting evidence for their respective positions. After evaluating the
evidence and considering other relevant factors (e.g., legal constraints and economic conditions), the third party
issues a binding settlement (cf. Ross and Conlon, 2000: 217)
2
The third side is usually made up of people from the community where the conflict unfolds, who exert some kind
of power, from the perspective of common ground, and who support a certain process, and aim for a product or a
result usually a solution agreeable to both the community and the two parties (Ury, 2002a: 43).
3
For a thorough discussion of third side roles see Ury (2002b): 78-89.

194
with the aim of settling or resolving an international dispute, without resorting to force or
invoking authoritative rules (idem).
There is a difference between mediation and adjudication or arbitration as types of third
party intervention, and negotiation, which involves a dyadic relationship between opposing
sides. By definition, mediation needs three parties that can reach the phase of negotiation.
Unlike mediation, negotiation necessarily implies reaching a common point and agreement
settlement. Therefore, mediation turns the dyadic relation of negotiation into a triadic
interaction. The mediator, first, may negotiate with each of the disputants in private or with
both of them together, in order to influence outcomes through the use of leverage (cf. Mandell
and Tomlin, 1991: 46) or by means of communication and influence strategies that express and
shape negotiating behaviour. By these influence strategies third parties can alter the normative
parameters of a dispute in order to restrain conflict (idem). Consequently, the result of the third
partys intervention may be a favorable one, in the sense of determining the parties to get to the
negotiating table by themselves, the third party acting thus as a facilitator of decision-making.
In the process of mediation, the third party has to select from a number of available
approaches and strategies and adapt the most suitable one(s) to the respective case. Among the
most important are the reformulations of the demands of the two conflicting parties by means
of particular linguistic strategies (see Muraru, 2012). Negotiation as well displays such tactics,
largely used by skilled negotiators, which include: presenting demands, deadlines, the concept
of god guy / bad guy, limited authority, caucusing, walking out, or concession patterns
(cf. Fisher and Ury, 1991).

Conclusion

This paper has briefly introduced a classification of possible interventions of a third

party in a conflict situation, particularly stressing the importance of mediation among such
forms of conflict management, seen as a more complex means of intervention that makes use of
negotiation, as well. The aim of the paper is to contribute to the conflict resolution perspective
of analysis, by offering a short overview of the most important literature in the domain of
conflict management, which can be applied to real-life cases of such interventions.

Bibliography

Bercovitch, Jacob. 1991a. International Mediation and Dispute Settlement: Evaluating the Conditions for
Successful Mediation. In Negotiation Journal, January: 17-30.
Bercovitch, Jacob. 1991b. International Mediation. In Journal of Peace Research 28 (1): 3-6.
Bercovitch, Jacob and Scott Sigmund Gartner (eds.). 2009. International Conflict Mediation. New Approaches
and Findings. New York: Routledge.
Bercovitch, Jacob and Allison Houston. 2000. Why Do They Do It like This? An Analysis of the Factors
Influencing Mediation Behavior in International Conflicts. In The Journal of Conflict Resolution 44 (2): 170-
202.
Bercovitch, Jacob and Richard Jackson. 2001. Negotiation or Mediation?: An Exploration of Factors
Affecting the Choice of Conflict Management in International Conflict. In Negotiation Journal, January:
59-77
Bercovitch, Jacob and Jeffrey Langley. 1993. The Nature of the Dispute and the Effectiveness of
International Mediation. In The Journal of Conflict Resolution 37 (4): 670-691.

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Carnevale, Peter J. 1986. Strategic Choice in Mediation. In Negotiation Journal 2: 41-56.
Carstarphen, Nike. 2004. Making the Other Human: the Role of Personal Stories to Bridge Deep
Differences. In Hannah Slavik (ed.) Intercultural Communication and Diplomacy: 177-196. Geneva:
DiploFoundation.
Coser, Lewis A [1964]. 1956. The Function of Social Conflict. Glencoe, Illinois: Free Press.
Fisher, Ronald J. 1972. The problem-solving workshop in conflict resolution. In R. L. Merritt (ed.)
Communication in International Politics: 168-204. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Fisher, Ronald J. 1983. Third Party Consultation as a Method of Intergroup Conflict Resolution: A Review
of Studies. In The Journal of Conflict Resolution 27 (2): 301-334.
Fisher, Ronald J. and Loraleigh Keashly. 1991. The Potential Complementarity of Mediation and
Consultation within a Contingency Model of Third Party Intervention. In Journal of Peace Research 28 (1):
29-42.
Fisher, Roger, William Ury and Bruce Patton. [1981] 1991. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without
Giving In. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Mandell, Brian S. and Brian W. Tomlin. 1991. Mediation in the Development of Norms to Manage
Conflict: Kissinger in the Middle East. In Journal of Peace Research 28 (1), Special Issue on International
Mediation: 43-55.
Mitchell, C.R.. 1981. The Structure of International Conflict. New York: St. Martins.
Muraru, Daniela 2012. Argumentative Strategies in Mediation: (Re)Formulations. In INTERSTUDIA,
Cultural Spaces. Identity within/beyond borders:215-223. Bacu: Alma Mater Publishing House.
Ott, Marvin C. 1972. Mediation as a Method of Conflict Resolution: Two Cases. In International
Organization 26 (4): 595-618.
Putnam, Linda L. and M.E. Roloff. 1992. Communication Perspectives on Negotiation. In Linda L.
Putnam and M.E. Roloff. (eds.) Communication and Negotiation: 1-17. Newbury Park: Sage Publications,
CA.
Ross, William H. and Donald E. Conlon. 2000. Hybrid Forms of Third-Party Dispute Resolution:
Theoretical Implications of Combining Mediation and Arbitration. In The Academy of Management
Review 25 (2): 416-427.
Ury, William L. 2002a. The Power of the Third Side: Community Roles in Conflict Resolution. In
William Ury L. (ed.) Must We Fight? From the Battlefield to the Schoolyard-A New Perspective on Violent
Conflict and Its Prevention: 38-54. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Ury, William L. 2002b. Containing, Resolving, and Preventing Violent Conflict: Activating the Third Side
in Urban Communities. In William Ury L. (ed.) Must We Fight? From the Battlefield to the Schoolyard-A
New Perspective on Violent Conflict and Its Prevention: 78-89. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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 THE LINGUISTIC ELEMENT IN MEDIATION

Dr. Muraru Daniela

Liceul Tehnologic Ferdinand I
Curtea de Arge

Introduction

Formally, for mediation to occur several requirements should be met: (1) there has to be
a controversy, dispute or difference of position between people, or a need for decision-making
or problem-solving; (2) at least two parties willing to negotiate a positive solution to their
problem, and to accept a discussion about respective interests and objectives; (3) the intent to
achieve a positive result through the facilitative help of an independent, neutral third party;
(4) decision-making remaining with the parties rather than imposed by the third party.
Situated among forms of third party interventions aimed at solving conflict, mediation
is a triadic egalitarian structure, where the third party is (formally, at least) of equivalent
status of the adversaries, and acts as a facilitator in seeking a solution, rather than a superior
imposing a compromise according to some implicit or explicit rules (Mitchell, 1981: 254).
The phenomenon of mediation is mainly approached from a discourse analysis
perspective. Thus, taking place in an institutionalized setting, mediation is a form of
institutional talk, involving certain goal orientations, special and particular constraints on
what one or both participants will treat as allowable contributions, and being associated with
inferential frameworks and procedures (Drew and Heritage, 1992: 22). Conflict arises from
the inevitable differences that exist between the goals pursued by the institutional participants.

1. The discourse of mediation a brief description

Mediation is a term used to designate a wide range of third party activity (Bercovitch,
1991: 3), on condition that the choice of this activity is accepted by both parties, with the aim of
settling or resolving an international dispute, without resorting to force or invoking
authoritative rules (idem).
The discourse-based and rhetorical approaches treat mediation as a type of
communication which necessarily entails a relationship between text, social practice and
discoursal practice (Fairclough, 1995). All these are seen as interrelating on the basis that
significant connection is believed to exist between features of texts, ways in which texts are put
together and interpreted, and the nature of social practice. The function that mediation fulfills is
mainly persuasive, and being a particular type of discourse, mediation, involves roles and
certain constraints imposed by the respective community of practice. Therefore, an essential
relationship is established between the concepts of mediation as a particular type of discourse
and text, the text being the intermediary between our ideas and thoughts and their material
existence, on the one hand, and between our ideas and thoughts and their delivery on an
audience, on the other. All texts express the social identities of their producers and address the

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assumed social identities of their addressees. The link between sociocultural practice and text is
mediated by discourse practice: processes of text production and interpretation are shaped by
the nature of social practice (Fairclough, 1995: 133).

It is acknowledged that, for a successful communication process, the participants should

share a knowledge base, made up of knowledge of linguistic codes, of principles and norms of
linguistic use, knowledge of situation and of the world (Fairclough, 1995: 33). In addition to
these, the meaning of words is situated in specific social and cultural practices, and it is
continually transformed in those practices (Gee, 1999: 63)
The most important perspective offered by critical discourse analysis refers to
Faircloughs view of discourse as the use of language seen as a form of social practice (1995:
7). He presents an encompassing picture of how texts work within sociocultural practice, with
attention to textual form, structure and organization at all levels, together with structures of
argumentation.

1.1. The speakers ethos language reflecting power

For a mediator to introduce himself as a credible speaker, three factors are essential:
good sense, good will and good moral character (Kinneavy, 1971: 238-9). Good sense refers to
the capacity of the mediator to organize the practical knowledge about the reality at issue, by
putting forward logical arguments. Good will regards the attitude of the speaker towards his
audience, his ability to share some of their basic aspirations, in advancing pathetic arguments.
Displaying a good moral character means that the mediator inspires credibility, trust,
impartiality, fairness in addressing the issues.
In addition, an arguer creates ethos, or trust and credibility in many ways, of which
three are considered more suggestive (Ramage and Bean, 1992: 162-3): (1) by being
knowledgeable about the issues he is arguing, (2) by demonstrating fairness to opposing views
(demonstrate that you understand and empathize with other points of view (idem)), and (3)
by grounding his argument in the values and assumptions of the audience.
The ethos of the speaker is established also by the style. The notion of style refers to the
way in which individual words and idioms tend to pattern in different linguistic contexts.
Regarding the choice of words, it is very difficult to communicate just one set of meanings,
while excluding others, because natural languages frequently give rise to ambiguity. Since the
object of rhetorical prose is persuasion, it follows that such prose must communicate with those
who are to be persuaded; therefore, it must be clear.
One important part is played by the figures of speech which help persons to communicate
with their audience clearly and effectively. Because they stir emotional responses, and because
they elicit admiration for their eloquence, they can exert a powerful ethical appeal. They are
means for the speakers to give credibility to their arguments. The speakers use highly
metaphoric styles a form of indirectness which requires the audience to draw inferences. Their
utterances are received and decoded by the addressee (Grundy, 1995: 8).
It should be added that style is the ornament of thought (Corbett, 1971: 415), one of the
available means of persuasion, capable of arousing appropriate emotional response in the
audience, and one of the ways of establishing the proper ethical image.

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 Another important relation linked to the ethical appeal refers to language and power, in
the sense that language is instrumental for the mediator to impose authority and exercise his
role of manipulator. In a well-built speech, everything has to be connected, every piece of
information and every little detail, in order to create a flow of speech: the use of English
grammar to design a text in such a manipulative way creates connections in it, allowing it to
flow from sentence to sentence in a certain, rather artful, way (Gee, 1999: 3).
Language has always been a tool of power, a means of subjection in imposing certain
ideologies and beliefs. Fairclough (1995: 131-140) identifies three functions performed through
language and its meanings :
identity, referring to the construction of social identities;
relation, helping to construct social relationships between people;
ideational dimension, by which discourse constructs a system of knowledge and belief.
With reference to our context, the mediation discourse clearly shows how these
functions mirror in the wider cultural and historical context, and how they are achieved
through linguistic means in the text itself.
When confronted with cases characterized by large power imbalances, mediators are
concerned with the legitimacy of the agreement, its stability, and how to maintain impartiality
(Gensberg, 2003: 10). They also worry about the impact of the outcome on the parties not
present at the table, those who are affected by the agreement in our case of international
mediation the peoples involved. Gensberg attributes great importance to the value choices the
mediator makes in disputes characterized by large power imbalances.
In general, the mediator, as an experimented speaker, uses certain words with several
possible meanings, choosing that particular meaning which best suits the purpose of the
speaker, by varying the verbal context. This shows the great capacity of manipulating the word.
The vocabulary serves strategic purpose also, as well as the figures of speech. Within conflicts,
words are a weapon of struggle; they are not considered neutral at all. Words change their
meaning from one discourse to another.

2. Mediation in practice a case study

This section illustrates the way in which mediation functions in practice, focusing on the
particular case of mediation in which the American president Jimmy Carter acted as a third
party in the conflict between Egypt and Israel (1977-1979), with the aim of contributing to the
resolution of the dispute.
By its definition, mediation needs three parties that can reach the phase of negotiation:
the two conflicting parties have, in turn, the roles of protagonist and antagonist of a standpoint,
while the third party the mediator addresses either each of the party, thus presenting the
position of the other party, or both parties, as a common audience. First, the mediator negotiates
with each of the disputants in private, and, eventually, the parties get engaged in the
negotiation process by themselves. Actually, as a facilitator of communication, the mediator has
the role of helping the parties agree on reaching the negotiating phase.
In the case submitted for analysis in this paper, the two conflicting parties were initially
engaged in a negotiation process, but, when reaching a stalemate, the need was felt to require
the presence of a third party to help them clarify the divergent issues. Nevertheless, during the

199
entire mediation process, there were various attempts for Egypt and Israel to come to a
resolution by becoming engaged in negotiations all by themselves, without the involvement of
the American party. The repeated failures made them see the mediator as the only reasonable
solution of getting to an agreement.

2.1. The mediators language the level of vocabulary

The institution of mediation and the role of the mediator can be given concrete form
and body only by finding ways of talking that best characterize and represent them (van
Eemeren et al., 1993: 119). Therefore, we may talk about finding a pattern of conduct for the
mediator in international conflicts the same way as there are common patterns and
regularities of interaction between the parties in negotiation irrespective of the particular
context or the issues in dispute (Gulliver, 1979: 64-65 in Firth, 1995).
Understanding the role of language is critical to a complete understanding of mediation
and the mediators behaviour. Consequently, certain wordings and expressions are
characteristic for Carters behaviour at the linguistic level, particularly employed when
pursuing the rhetorical aim of persuasion. A few linguistic dimensions will be explored in
Carters discourse, starting from the classification suggested by Gibbons et al. (1992)1 in order to
illustrate the mediators linguistic behaviour.
1) Polarization refers to the use of a positive lexicon employed by Carter to depict
Americas position as a trusted intermediary, bringing as argument the fact that, unlike other
possible candidates to the mediator position, America has other resources of oil.
Many countries depend completely on oil from the Middle East for their life. We don't. If all oil was cut
off to us from the Middle East, we could survive; but Japan imports more than 98 percent of all its energy,
and other countries, like in Europe - Germany, Italy, France - are also heavily dependent on oil from the
Middle East. (March 16, 1977).
2) Verbal immediacy regards the language use that reflects the degree of closeness
between the mediator and the parties. (Gibbons et al., 1992: 163)
A range of lexical items indicate high verbal immediacy: share, mutual common,
both recurrently used by the mediator in his interventions, together with the so-called strategy
of inclusion (the pronouns we, the nouns partners, friends in the pursuit of peace), with
the particular aim of reducing the disagreement space between the conflicting parties.
We share that common project. And although there might be differences of perspective and
viewpoint between him and me, his nation and the United States, that common goal of finding a path to
permanent peace will inevitably bind us together. (July 19, 1977: 1282)
Also, sharing the same ideals is reflected in parallel constructions.
I think that what Israel would like to have is what we would like to have(March 9, 1977)
Immediacy is considered (Gibbons et al., 1992: 163) an unconscious process in which a
speakers affective states influence his or her lexical syntactic choices. For this particular
context of international mediation, the claim is that all the linguistic material is carefully
arranged and organized by Carter. It cannot come in a spontaneous exchange. The speaker is in
control of the linguistic resources.

1
Gibbons et al. (1992: 156-175) have identified five linguistic dimensions of threats and discussed them in relation
to negotiation: polarization, immediacy, intensity, lexical diversity and high-power language style.

200
 In this case, the high verbal immediacy and direct communication with the parties
proved to reduce the psychological distance between the mediator and the disputants, on the
one hand, and between the two conflicting parties, on the other.
3) Language intensity refers to the strength of affect (Gibbons et al., 1992: 164) and it
is reflected in the positive attitude the mediator has regarding his trust in a favourable outcome.
The high language intensity is condensed in the vocabulary characterized by noun
phrases which underline the idea of peace and freedom, and of a successful outcome peace
initiative, ability to negotiate successfully, the cause of brotherhood and of peace, deep longing for
peace, work together successfully to make this peace , sacred dedication to peace born and fostered in
Jerusalem and in Cairo, and which are rich in adjectives that contain the idea of superlative:
enormous, greatest, highest, excellent, one of the finest acts of the world.
Also, the language intensity is dependent on the speakers level of commitment:
I take the responsibility very, very heavily. (May 2nd, 1977)
The use of must as a strong performative suggests Carters sense of obligation and
his commitment and determination that the parties have to come to an agreement and establish
peace by signing the treaty: We must not lose this moment. We must pray, and we must act as
everything depends on ourselves., we must make this beginning, We must seize this precious
opportunity; We must persevere; We must proceed.
Carters commitment and determination are suggested by the use of another modal -
will, which emphasises the mediators solidarity with the cause sustained by the parties, in
relation with the verbal immediacy: we will stay involved, We will stand by our friends, We
will work not only to attain peace, but to maintain peace, we will rededicate ourselves, we will
always recognize, appreciate and honour
The recurrent topic is that of the worthy and the advantageous, in the sense that he
permanently stresses the great efforts (you have made enormous sacrifices and you have taken great
risks for peace) made by both sides, but these efforts led to a noble cause peace in the world.
4) Lexical diversity reflects the range and richness of the vocabulary (Gibbons et al.,
1992: 164) that Carter resorts to. One important remark is to be made with regard to Carters
linguistic behaviour which is characterized by a low level of lexical diversity, in the sense that
he does not introduce new words or meanings in rephrasing the starting points. On the
contrary, he reiterates the divergent, as well as common issues using the same lexical items.
However this is a real tactic with Carter, as it stresses his firm commitment and determination
in helping the parties to settle the conflict.
5) Language style reflects the social status of the speaker and his interpersonal power
and social resources (idem). Carters discourse, as an illustration of a figure of authority, is
characterized by a high-power level of style, which is meant to enhance credibility and reinforce
his commitments. Nevertheless, the style is one of the component elements of strategic
maneuvring, therefore, Carters language displays an alternation of high-power linguistic style
with low-power style, associated with the switch of facilitator manipulator roles. Thus, the
American president adopts the position of either limited authority, in compliance with the
facilitator role (give advice and counsel, We will help in every way we can, We are not
trying to impose a settlement, offering our good offices), or exerts his full influence and
power (exert legitimate influence, the full power and influence of the United States of
America):

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 I would not hesitate if I saw clearly a fair and equitable solution to use the full strength of our
own country and its persuasive powers to bring those nations to agreement. I recognize, though, that
we cannot impose our will on others, and unless the countries involved agree, there is no way for us
to make progress. (May 2nd, 1977)

6) Abstract linguistic items

An important element of Carters discourse, in matter of vocabulary, is the preference
for abstract words, because dealing with such general concepts as peace, war, democracy,
security, territory, borders, is a very difficult task. These terms are, actually, very difficult to
define, as they are differently conceived of by the two parties. Therefore, Carters role is to
reformulate, first of all, their definitions, that is, to come up with some new definitions of the
terms, which should comprise the common features of the various definitions, and which
should be acceptable for both parties.
As far as the use of vocabulary items is concerned, the terms themselves peace or war
are loaded with meaning, and are very intense, as they include the impressive and dramatic
images of the injured, of the dead, which enhance the rhetorical depiction.

Conclusion

Starting from the theoretical discourse-based approach that depicts an image of

interrelation between text and social practice, this paper has tried to illustrate how the
theoretical concepts of discourse can be applied to a real mediation situation, thus stressing the
linguistic element that characterizes the mediators discourse. Thus, the strategic use of the
linguistic material represents the means by which Carter tries to manipulate the parties in the
sense of influencing the outcome of the conflict in a favourable way.

References
Public Papers of the Presidents: Jimmy Carter (1977) vol I and II, (1978) vol. I and II, (1979) vol. I. Washington,
D.C.: Government Printing Office.
Bercovitch, Jacob. 1991. International Mediation. In Journal of Peace Research 28 (1): 3-6.
Corbett, Edward P.J. 1971. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student (2 nd edition). New York: Oxford University
Press.
Drew, Paul and John Heritage. 1992. Analyzing talk at work: an introduction. In Paul Drew and John Heritage
(eds.) Talk at Work: Interaction in Institutional Settings: 3-65 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Eemeren, Frans H. van, Rob Grootendorst, Sally Jackson and Scott Jacobs. 1993. Reconstructing Argumentative
Discourse. Tuscaloosa and London: The University of Alabama Press.
Fairclough, Norman. 1995. Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. New York: Longman Inc.
Gee, James Paul. 1999. An Introduction to Discourse Analysis Theory and Method. London and New York:
Routledge.
Gensberg, Alexis. 2003. Mediating Inequality: Mediators Perspectives on Power Imbalances in Public Disputes.
www.pon.org/downloads/Mediating_Inequality.pdf
Gibbons, Pamela, James J. Bradac and John D. Busch. 1992. The Role of Language in Negotiations: Threats and
Promises. In Linda Putnam and M.E. Roloff. (eds.) Communication and Negotiation: 156-75. Newbury Park, CA:
Sage Publications.
Grundy, Peter. 1995. Doing Pragmatics. London: Edward Arnold.
Firth, Allan (ed.) 1995. The Discourse of Negotiation. Studies of Language in the Workplace. London: Pergamon.
Kinneavy, James L. 1971. A Theory of Discourse. The Aims of Discourse. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Mitchell, C.R.. 1981. The Structure of International Conflict. New York: St. Martins.
Ramage, John D. and John C. Bean. 1992. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric With Readings, 2nd ed. New York:
Macmillan.

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 TOLERANT PERCEPTION OF THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND
PERSONAL DIFFERENCES AS A BASIS FOR GROUP WORK

N. G. Nedogreeva
M. N. Nurlygayanova
Y. K. Kostenko
Technical University of Saratov,
Russia

Introduction

The ability to work in a team and tolerant perceive of social, cultural and personal
differences is one of the basic cultural competencies that are formed during the preparation
of bachelors of pedagogical direction.
In other words every school teacher must be able to work in a team and to organize
group work of the students. In this case the teacher must teach them the tolerant perception
of social, cultural and individual differences of participants of group activities.
The ability to work in a team is the basis of group work and is prescribed by the
Federal educational standard as the ability to perform productive cooperation (or
interaction).

Background - Tolerance

What means the tolerant perception of social, cultural and personal differences and
why it gets the special attention in the list of basic competencies?
The tolerance (from latin tolerantia patience, reception, acceptance) is a sociological
term that means the peaceful acceptance of different worldview, lifestyle, behavior and
customs. The use of this term is extremely important in modern society in general and in
educational institutions particularly.
It is well known that the Russian society is multinational. And there are a lot of
clashes of interests on ethnic ground. Exactly this fact is a starting point for the consideration
of tolerance in the youth environment (school and University environment).
In accordance with a brief foreign words dictionary "tolerance is a patience to others
opinions and beliefs". From the point of view of the philosophy "tolerance is the patience to
all kinds of views, customs and habits.
Tolerance is required in relation to the characteristics of different peoples, nations
and religions. It is a sign of self-confidence and the consciousness of reliability of own
positions, a sign of ideological trend open for everybody which is not afraid of comparison
with other points of view and does not avoid any spiritual competition".
In teaching, tolerance as a phenomenon is studied relatively recently.

203
 It should be understood as the respect and the recognition of the equality and the
rejection of domination and violence, as the recognition of the multi-dimensionality and
variety of human cultures, norms and beliefs with the refuse of attempts to reduce to
uniformity or to get the predominance of any one point of view.
Tolerance is not understood as an inviolable rule or ready-to-use recipe and
especially is not a compulsory requirement under the threat of punishment, but is a free and
responsible personal choice of "a valuable tolerant attitude to life".

The Russian perspective

Russian researchers emphasize the value-nature of tolerance and its relationship with
the moral development of a person.
In educational institutions of Russia the activities of formation of students' tolerance
are envisaged such as the formation of tolerant consciousness and behavior in a
multicultural world, the willingness and ability to engage in dialogue with other people and
to get mutual understanding, to find common goals and to cooperate to achieve them; and
besides to develop collaboration skills with peers, younger children and adults in
educational, civic, educational researches, projects and other activities.
A sense of tolerance cannot be developed in an empty place, it should be brought up
gradually.
To do this, students should introduce the history, culture and religion of different
peoples and countries, as well as to learn to respect older people and to respond
appropriately to persons with disabilities as an integral part of any country and society.
It is necessary to indicate the positive features of their country and to develop a sense
of patriotism and pride for the Motherland, a sense of spirituality in students not only in the
classroom but also in conducting extra-curricular activities.

An example of the proposed approach

As an illustration, we shall consider the example of a group activity organized with

the facilitation technology aimed at improving activity while working in interchangeable
groups.
Abroad this technology is used from the 60-ies of XX century, but in Russia it is still
in its infancy though gaining tremendous popularity. This technology includes several
methods among which the most common is the "World caf".
The purpose of the method is to organize the exchange of views of many people
about important issues and problems and to explore opportunities for further action and
decision making.
The participants: a caf sponsor (a person or a group of people interested in the
realization of action), "cafe owner" (the facilitator or a group that helps to manage the
process), design-team (that helps to organize and hold the event), other participants.

The action overview

The method requires minimal preparation with the identifying themes and issues
for discussion. This stage is the most important and determines the success of the whole
event. Design-team invites the participants and organizes the area to carry out the caf.

204
 The event start

The participants are divided into groups, the questions for the discussion are
formulated, the operation rules of the caf are explained and the "table-masters" are
appointed.

The basic part

This is a few (min. 3-4) rounds of conversations with the transition at separate tables.
The distribution of participants is following: the "table-masters" stays at their tables and the
other participants move from table to table. The task of "table-master" is to acquaint new
participants with the results of previous group work and to record new ideas.

The completion

The return of the participants to their table, the synthesis of ideas by "table-masters",
the creation of a gallery of ideas, the consolidation of the basic ideas and their clustering.
For example, if the theme of event was "The friendship of peoples". The students
were suggested to work out projects aimed at friendship establishing.

Some conclusions

The key issues: should be identified - the nationalities of the school students, main
reasons of possible hostility of people towards each other, its reasonableness, then the way
to solve this problem should be found and a plan of the establishment of friendship in
school (or class) team developed.
As practice shows, the whole atmosphere of such event with well articulated goals
and objectives encourages different kinds of people to cooperate, helps to realize themselves,
to express the opinion, to make contacts and to establish friendly relations.

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 COLLABORATIVE TEACHING: AN OVERVIEW

Lector dr. Nistor Cristina Mihaela

Departamentul de Comunicare n Limbi Moderne, FILS
Universitatea Politehnica Bucureti

Introduction

Since I have become a language teacher, I have come across a wide number of issues that
may influence my students performance among them, the personal factor being at the top of
their reasons for learning more or less effectively. Collaborative teaching touches upon that
point, as an appropriate method of assisting students in their effort to master a subject (in our
case, a language). In this paper, therefore, I will give an overview of how the term
collaborative teaching is interpreted and/or translated into action; for that purpose I will list
and summarize some of the ideas presented in the articles devoted to the subject.

Is there a need for collaborative teaching?

Before even trying to answer that question, there are a few various points to be raised
here. First of all, as all educators know, no two teachers share the very same view on either the
preponderance of one topic over others, the type/ importance of homework students should
do, or, indeed, the evaluation/ grading system. For many years now, students have been asked
to work in groups/ teams that prepare and deliver presentations of projects and, in my
experience, most of them have done a pretty good job. In recent years, teachers have wondered
whether working in a team could be beneficial in their case, as well. Will the outcome of this
joint venture be a success or a failure?
Then, even though the collaborators get on well together, does that necessarily follow
that their students will be happy with the arrangement? What happens if students consider that
two teachers means no teacher and learn less than before that collaborative agreement?
Last, but not least, do the authorities approve of this educational strategy? Will they
view collaborative teaching as a good method to train students or will they see it a false
improvement, a disguise for unnecessary changes in the curriculum?

Collaborative teaching: two examples

In her study Collaborative Teaching: Are Two Teachers Better than One? Judie
Haynes tries to answer a difficult question that has kept many teachers awake at night. As
things become clearer when put into practice, Haynes has done an experiment during the
language class. Thus, in an English-speaking environment, she had an ESL teacher help her
teach a lesson to both native and non-native English speakers. In this way, in a collaborative or
206
co-teaching setting, the ESL teacher pushes into the general education classroom to collaborate
with the teacher. It becomes obvious that co-teaching involves two professionals who are and
treat each other as - partners in the instruction of the lesson. The two co-teachers have equal
responsibilities for planning instruction and there are a variety of ways this instruction is
delivered. Together the two teachers are lowering the student-teacher ratio and providing
differentiated instruction in a manner that is not possible for one teacher, states Haynes.
In the same vein, Monique Wild and her teaching partners regard collaborative teaching
as the best response to a rigid curriculum. Still, their approach refers mainly to the action they
have taken in their struggle with the constraints brought on by the federal No Child Left
Behind Act. Wild and the others chose to fight that adversative act by resorting to a powerful
tool honed during our collective 37 years in education: collaborative teaching. (Wild et all
2008). Basically, what the team did was to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to teaching
subjects in school. Thus, students were shown how the concepts and skills they learn in one
class relate to all the others; teachers worked hard to create an interdisciplinary unit that drew
in statistical scatter plots, linear and nonlinear functions, Internet research, plagiarism, and
scientific data collection. (Wild et all 2008). On a national scale, the teams efforts at Dutchtown
Middle School in Geismar, La., were recognized and rewarded with the Disney Teacher of the
Year award.

Types of collaborative teaching

In order to become a success, this challenging type of teaching needs adjustment,

depending on the subject to be studied and mastered. There has been an ever-growing interest
in the collaborative teaching strategy, and those involved in the process have discovered and
labeled a few types of collaborative teaching. Kathryn Plank and Richard Villa, among others,
describe the types of collaborative teaching; I will only list those types here, and leave a more
detailed analysis for other papers. Plank gives the following categorization of collaborative
teaching models, describing how team teaching is conducted at Tilburg University in the
Netherlands:
- Traditional team teaching, where two or more instructors teach the same course.
The instructors are involved in a collaborative endeavour throughout the entire
course.
- The linked course approach, with approximately 20 students, traditionally but
not necessarily first year, together taking two or three courses that are linked by
a theme. For example, the theme could be the environment with the 3 courses
being introductory biology, political science, and English.
- The third model involves a pair or series of connected courses arranged and
connected by the instructors to meet at the same scheduled time so that the
classes can meet as a whole when the instructors think it is appropriate. The
instructors can illustrate and emphasize the interdisciplinarity of certain topics or
approaches appearing in both courses.

207
 Richard Villa, on the other hand, discusses co-teaching in the context of the inclusion on the
rise; in his study, he lists several collaborative teaching approaches that have proven to be
successful to guide educators who work together in co-teaching partnerships to differentiate
instruction. The approaches include:

- Supportive co-teaching - where the one member of the team takes the lead role
and the other member rotates among students to provide support;
- Parallel co-teaching - where support personnel and the classroom teacher
instruct different heterogeneous groups of students;
- Complementary co-teaching - where a member of the co-teaching team does
something to supplement or complement the instruction provided by the other
member of the team (e.g., models note taking on a transparency, paraphrases the
other co-teachers statements)
- Team teaching - where the members of the team co-teach alongside one another
and share responsibility for planning, teaching, and assessing the progress of all
students in the class.

With language-teaching in mind, we have turned to Judie Haynes, who has had more
experience with applying the strategy during the language class. In those cases as described in
her study, one or more of the next types have been tried and analysed:
- Teach and write. One teacher teaches the lesson while the other records the
important points on an overhead or chalkboard.
- Parallel teaching. The class is divided into two groups and each teacher delivers
the content information to their group simultaneously. This allows teachers with
distinctly different styles to work together.
- Alternative teaching. Teachers divide responsibility for planning. The majority
of the students work in a large group setting, but some students are pulled into
to a smaller group for pre-teaching or other types of individualized instruction.
The same students should not be pulled into the small group each time.
- Team Teaching. Teachers co-teach each lesson. This requires a great deal of
planning and cooperation. Both teachers are responsible for all of the students.
- Lead and support. The lead teacher instructs the class while the supporting
teacher provides assistance as she roams around the room. The supporting
teacher may elaborate the important points or retell parts of the lesson. Ideally,
classroom and ESL teachers should alternate roles so that one is not always the
lead teacher. This type of instruction can be misused and the ESL teacher may
find herself in a subordinate role.

Collaborative teaching: pros and cons

So far, we have only considered the best part of the strategy in question. Wild states that
Collaborative teaching encourages the elimination of sacred cows. Anyone on the team is
entitled to offer ideas and feedback about any part of the curriculum. (Wild et all 2008). Is she
right or was she lucky to find the right people to team with? Naturally, as all success stories
208
keep telling us, there is a lot of work behind ones accomplishments. The first step is making a
list with what could go wrong, then, draw a set of rules for the partners to obey, and, only at the
end, reaping the benefits. Still, since we all work better with the potential benefits in mind, I will
start by listing the strengths of the strategy. Thus, the pros of co-teaching could be:
- Drawing on both individual and group strengths,
- Dividing the work into manageable parts,
- Sharing responsibility for the learning outcome,
- Seeing things from a different perspective encourages flexibility.

Still, co-teaching is no easy task. The first questions to be asked are:

- What responsibilities will be shared by the co-teachers?
- What responsibilities will be divided generally (across the semester) or specifically (on
particular days)?
- What are the responsibilities of the partner in charge of a particular event or
assignment?
- How can the other partner(s) facilitate student learning by assisting the lead-partner
with the primary responsibility for a given event or assignment?
- How will teachers handle disagreements about content or procedure without
undermining one another or compromising student learning?
- How and when will teachers meet to discuss the course or linked courses and consider
changes to content or procedures throughout the semester?

If we consider any type of collaborative teaching with a colleague, there are a few important
questions that may be useful in deciding whom to choose as a partner:
- Do the two share a mutual respect for one another?
- Are they free to disagree respectfully without putting their careers in jeopardy?
- Are their areas of expertise more likely to complement each other or compete for
dominance in the course?
- Are they both willing to compromise on issues around which they were used to having
a high degree of autonomy (e.g. grading standards, course content, and classroom
management in the case of team teaching)?
If the answer is no to one or more of the above, the partnership could be compromised.
On top of all, there may be necessary for co-teachers to arrange their schedules to provide for
either a daily or weekly common planning session; that means they have to fine-tune the units
throughout the year, and to allow themselves time to deal with any other classroom-
management issues that may arise on a team.

Conclusions

Collaborative teaching may sound alluring, and be all the rage today, but sharing
responsibility with a co-worker is no easy task. Because we, teachers, are very different in terms
of both inter-personal and professional skills, co-teaching may easily become a problem. Still, if
we all agree to disagree, and respect our differences, for the sake of the greater good, progress is
possible and the teaching/ learning process rewarding.
209
Bibliography

- Bess, James L. Teaching alone, teaching together: transforming the structure of teams for
teaching. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass, 2000.
- Davis, James R. Interdisciplinary Courses and Team Teaching. Phoenix: American Council on
Education/Oryx Press Series on Higher Education, 1997.
- Haynes, Judie. Collaborative Teaching: Are Two Teachers Better Than One?
- http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/cooperative_teaching_two_teach_83908.php,
Reprinted from Essential Teacher, Volume 4, Issue 3, September 2007, Alexandria, VA: Teachers
of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
- Plank, Kathryn, ed. Team Teaching: Across the Disciplines, Across the Academy
- http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/teamcollaborative-teaching/
- Villa, R. Thousand, J., & Nevin, A. (2008). A Guide to Co-Teaching: Practical Tips for Facilitating
Student Learning (2nd. Ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Pres. (800) 818- 7243
- Villa, R. Thousand, J., & Nevin, A. (2008). Co-Teaching: A Multimedia Kit For Professional
Development. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Pres. (800) 818- 7243
- Villa, R., Thousand, J., & Nevin, A. (2008). Co-Teaching at a Glance. A laminated Tri-Fold
Reference
- Villa R., & Thousand. J., (Eds). (2005). Creating an Inclusive School. Alexandria, VA: Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (800) 933- 2723.
- Wild, Monique D., Mayeaux, Amanda S. &. Edmonds, Kathryn P. The Best Response to a Rigid
Curriculum in TeamWork: Setting the Standard for Collaborative Teaching, Grades 5-9, Stenhouse
Publishers, 2008. www.stenhouse.com.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/05/21/38wild_ep.h27.html

210
 THE ROLE OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE IN TEACHING ROMANIAN
TO MULTICULTURAL GROUPS

Lector dr. Nistor Cristina Mihaela

Departamentul de Comunicare n Limbi Moderne, FILS
Universitatea Politehnica Bucureti

Introduction

In a teachers professional life, the importance of the role played by the students in
designing the language course has greatly increased; nowadays, the initial placement test
language teachers used to give their students is by no means enough for the correct needs
analysis evaluation. As a two-fold contract, the agreement between a teacher and her/ his
students must be approved of by both parties involved in the learning process; that is why the
teacher must permanently (re)adjust her views on the course content and the
learning/teaching process, as prompted by the students opinions, critical assessment and
suggestions of amelioration. (Catelly 2012).
When attempting to obtain a correct image of the students that one is training for an
academic year, the design and implementation of at least a questionnaire may be a life-saver. In
this paper, I discuss a range of questions that are meant to identify the viewpoints of the foreign
students that come here to learn Romanian. Still, since there are many types of questions that
may focus on different themes, depending on the students interests and potential linguistic and
cultural benefits, there may be an equally extensive number of questionnaires to be analysed
before deciding the most efficient paths of teaching the Romanian language to foreign students.

Students and needs

In this part of my discussion, I will draw up a list of the aspects that, in my view, would
be helpful in my course design, as well as in planning possible cultural outings (to museums,
sightseeing or guiding the foreign students through the unexplored territory named Bucharest).
Starting from the idea that the usual, ordinary aspects of life that have to be mastered in a
different environment, will be of the utmost interest to my foreign students, my list of themes
deserving a questionnaire each looks as follows:

- Learning styles

o Face-to-face classroom sessions

o Using on-line resources

211
 o Practicing talking with native speakers

o Blended learning

- Customs:

o National holidays

o Religious events and celebrations

o Personal events

- Socializing:

o Going to the restaurant

o Travelling

o Leisure activities

- Developing a global-oriented attitude:

o Identifying and embracing cultural diversity within the students

multicultural group

o Accepting and celebrating professional differences as a means to attaining

personal and professional growth

o Cultivating tolerance towards others as equal partners

I have included in the list above only a few of the issues that may help teachers devise
better teaching strategies and plans. With my multicultural group, I have been interested mostly
in getting their views on learning styles.

Students views on blended learning

I am going to briefly discuss a questionnaire that I have used in order to find out
essential facts about my students and the way they use their e-learning tools. I have also
included a question referring to a more traditional style of learning, in an attempt to identify
those who are more inclined to give standard education a second chance. I will explain and
comment upon the answers to my questions, without reference to any of the students in
particular, or to their nationalities.
Due to the fact that the respondents level of Romanian was not very high, I have only
devised a basic questionnaire, which they could understand and negotiate. This is what I
wanted to know about my students learning habits:
1. Do you use a PC/ tablet/ mobile phone to study Romanian?
Yes No
2. You mainly use the Internet when you need help with:
translations vocabulary grammar chatting on-line
212
 3. How many hours a day do you use the Internet when you study Romanian?
4. Which of the following do you prefer to use when you do not study Romanian
language online?
books dictionaries textbooks
5. Do you speak Romanian with the people you meet in clubs/ shops/ taxis?
Yes No
Students answers
Respondents have not been instructed to reduce their answers to one out of the
two/three or four possibilities mentioned in the questionnaire; that decision was dictated by the
fact that more methods than one may be employed in ones efforts to learn a language and, in
consequence, students ticked as many valid answers as were applicable in each and every
particular case. Here, I do not intend to give you percentages or the exact number of answers to
one question; that is not the point of this paper.
What is important to be noticed and on this I focus now is that no activity was
preferred as a learning method by all students. The results were very roughly as follows:

Chatting on-line is an activity preferred by more than half the students;

Translations are internet-assisted in the case of less than half of the
respondents;
Checking vocabulary on the net (online dictionaries) is an activity performed
by less than half of the students;
Those who surf the net for grammatical explanations about the Romanian
language were very few, compared to the rest.

When discussing the answers to question number three, referring to the number of
hours allotted to studying the language via the Internet, students answered that less than
4 hours a day were allotted to this activity. Actually, the number of hours spent on average on
the Internet (taking into account only those answers that contained a specific period of time
quantified in hours) was about 2 hours a day.
If we corroborate the answers to the questions we have discussed so far, we can easily
notice that most students spent 2 hours a day chatting on the Internet or translating a text/
words with an e-learning helper (or both).
If we try to produce the profile of a foreigner who studies Romanian at the Politehnica
University of Bucharest, the answers to question four help us in our efforts.
Thus, when asked about their favourite helper in their efforts to master the Romanian
language, without resorting to online tools, the vast majority of the students considered the use
of dictionaries as a reliable tool, while some of them use books of all types or textbooks.
The questionnaire has shown that the majority of students prefer the Internet as an
efficient tool of studying the language.
It must be also be noticed that, although some students consider chatting on-line a great
help in their effort to master the language, there are others who use the Internet for other
purposes (getting the info they need from more reliable sources).

213
 Conclusions

At the end of my analysis, my questionnaire was meant to help me decide whether blended
learning was useful and necessary in the language class. What did my foreign students think,
was that type of approach the right one for them? As the students answers have shown, there is
a constant need for striking a balance between the usage of online strategies and tools and
face-to-face interaction.
It may sound commonplace to say that a language is learned by living amongst the people
who speak it, by interacting with them and sharing ideas with them. Nonetheless, it is what it
takes, when one has to embrace such a change as getting acquainted with a new culture and
getting a career that depends on ones mastery of the respective language.
Most of the respondents have realized that they may make use of all means of education
available to them, and have behaved accordingly; their answers prove it. In the same way, after
using the questionnaire as a powerful tool in designing the curriculum for teaching Romanian
to multicultural groups, I have realised that teachers may have reliable allies in their own
students, if they allow and encourage them to take an active part in shaping and spicing up the
language class.
From my personal observation, I have gathered enough evidence to support the use of at
least one questionnaire per semester, and recommend it as an effective tool in both the language
class design and in professional communication.

Bibliography

- Asan, D., Ionita M. (2013). Blended learning in foreign language learning: successful approach or
just a trendy one? In E-Learning and software for education 2013, 9th International Conference on
e-Learning, Carol I National Defence University Publishing House, p. 244
- Catelly, Yolanda. ICT in the language class. The students perspective. In E-Learning and software
for education 2012, 8h International Conference on e-Learning, Carol I National Defence University
Publishing House,
- Houghton, W. (2004). Engineering Subject Centre Guide: Learning and Teaching Theory for
Engineering
- Academics. Loughborough: HEA Engineering Subject Centre, retrieved 31 January 2013 from
- http://exchange.ac.uk/learning-and-teaching-theory-guide/deep-and-surface-approaches-
learning.html
- Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon. MCB UP, Vol. 9 No. 5,
October 2001. Page 2. From http://www.marcprensky.com

214
 WHICH SIDE WE ARE ON: ON DESACRALISATION
OF POETRY IN KATE TEMPESTS BRAND NEW ANCIENTS
(2013)

Conf. univ. dr. Elena Nistor

Universitatea de tiine Agronomice i Medicin Veterinar din Bucureti
Visiting Research Fellow - Institutul de Studii Engleze, Universitatea din Londra

In todays world characterised by speed, compression of time and space, and a

proliferation of messages and images, people have been separated from their spirit and,
consequently, no longer read poetry. There are various reasons for poetrys lack of popularity
nowadays and, one way or another, they all converge on the fact that this form of art requires a
particular state of mind as it is a pure act of individual imagination. Compared with the
everyday forms of expression which are concrete and have one single, non-fictional meaning,
poetry pre-supposes a different type of code which activates extremely personal experiences:
pointing to inner knowledge rather than real circumstance, it activates different layers of
perception, depending on the place and moment of perception.
Contemporary UK dismisses these traditional prejudices, making poetry accessible to
the general public under various forms: chapbooks, pamphlets and pocket-sized booklets
circulate largely and have higher appeal as they are inexpensive, easy to carry and read; art
galleries and theatres host poetry events, and tours are often organised across the country with
the aim to spread the word, as proof that the romance of reading has not faded entirely, even
today. (Hartman 248) Probably as a result of suggestive metaphors, real-life topoi and
unpretentious language, socialisation of poetry creates a sense of solidarity and communal
belonging. To read, react and respond is to experience sameness in otherness, i.e. to enter the
world of the poet and participate in the creative act, sharing the same experience and feelings
with an artist or an artists persona who has the audacity to utter what we ourselves might
have thought and never took the chance to speak up. Allusions and underground meanings of
reality allow personal freedom, even if under the form of momentary relief from everyday
pressure and a return to our humane side. Touching the strangers within ourselves, poetry
appeals to the duality of human nature since every human being lives two lives one mundane,
the other spiritual which adds up to the crisis that occurs in individual lives. As an art that is
summoned to make ultimate sense of the self, and the selfs thoughts and feelings, it is the
responsibility of poetry to touch its audience, irrespective of form or manner. Renouncing the
declamatory nature of traditional poetry, the ever-more numerous live events have also
changed the public perception of poetry which is no longer perceived as elitist but only as
another form of entertainment belonging to pop culture.
The latest generation of British poets, recently validated by The Poetry Society as the
Next Generation 2014, seems to be dedicated to the further desacralisation of verse and high
emotions, with the aim to create absolute synergy between the poet and the general public by
means of the Word. The spoken word, in particular, is the main instrument of cultural creation

215
and connection, the interactive strategy of negotiating space and transmitting personal
cosmologies. Calling attention to such conventions as voice and self-utterance, it creates
expressive systems shaped by specific ideologies for all the individual experiences and
emotions. Based on storytelling and wordplay, figures of sound and speech, the histrionic nature
of this art form makes the narration highly dynamic and energetic, and shifts the emphasis
towards the genuine and the authentic, conveying powerful messages that generate an
immediate response from the audience. Quite often, they go beyond simple performance, i.e.
the savvy report of an exemplary adventure based on the impetuous flow of honest emotions,
and turn their narratives into poetic discourses that revaluate the conventional paradigms of
knowledge.
This is particularly valid in the work of Kate Tempest, a young poet born in South-East
London in 1985. A multifarious talent (poet, spoken word artist and playwright), she has
become conspicuous on the 21st-century scene owing to the vigour of her verse and her highly
personal manner of communication in the sense of production and exchange of meaning. A
quintessential representative of her generation, Kate Tempest inscribes her long poem Brand
New Ancients (2013), the epic published in 2013 that won her the Ted Hughes Award for
innovation in poetry, in the latest trends in contemporary poetry: metropolitanism, myth-
revisioning and orality.
Tempest displays a marked preference for the urban environment. Aware of the
inimitable diversity of London, the vast setting that concentrates most, if not all, human
experiences and nurtures almost endless significations of the self, she ventures in proposing a
mosaic of imaginary accounts based on its multiple places of community and continuity, in a
constant refusal of stable identity. The result is a basically homo urbanus caught in an ambiguous
relationship of simultaneous attraction to, and rejection of, the metropolis. Even though she
perceives it as terrifying, a dystopian universe that nurtures estrangement and dissolution of
identity, the poet highlights different sides of the relationship between the individual and the
metropolis: the need to find a spiritual home, the impossibility to anchor the self and the burden
of an inimical domestic space, which leads to various shades of disappointment expressed in an
inner-oriented, meditative or an expansive, unreserved tone. She is fully involved in harsh
reality, painting a somber picture of the common people and their ordinary lives in South East
London where everything seems subdued to the indifference of the residents who have turned
into emotionally rigid human automatons:

That face on the street you walk past without looking at,
or that face on the street that walks past you without
looking back (Tempest 21-22)
[]
Millions of characters,
each with their own epic narratives (Tempest 27-28)

And yet, London is the place of infinite possibilities that enhance mental versatility and
emotional metamorphosis testing, contesting and ultimately attesting identity by blurring the
boundaries of coherent individuality in quest for symbolic outer selves and inner others.
Proposing a new linguistic architecture based on the power of the spoken word, rap and

216
hip-hop, intermingled with Homeric, Shakespearian and Blakian imagery and diction, Tempest
attempts to forge an affective mythology of Londoners true to their own spirit, the ones who
recapture their sense of identity through the power of small events, facts of private life that
avoid glamour and excesses, being nonetheless assigned an archetypal dimension by the golden
rules of authenticity and trustfulness.
Thus, the poet reshapes ancient mythology in her anti-heroic story about genuine misfits
and their crisis of self-representation, a crude drama of dislocated selves trapped in their private
spaces, pleading the cause of the marginal and the vulnerable with generous humanism and a
high sense of responsibility. Characters from the primordial fictions of humanity (Dionysus,
Medea, Pandora) turn into common South-East Londoners with ordinary lives: the main heroes,
Clive, a rebel without a cause, and his half-brother, Tommy (Spider), an artist, their parents
(Mary and Brian, Jane and Kevin), and Gloria, Tommys girlfriend. These characters take turns
in assuming a central position both in the story and in their own lives, and expose irreconcilable
oppositions justified by personal emptiness doubled by the empty skies (Tempest 14) of the
city. Their acute feeling of inadequacy and desperate need to belong require dissenting
strategies and forms of communication that challenge narrow conventions and inflexible
formalism in an energetic continuous flow of the story. These dislocated selves trapped in their
private spaces seem to discard human presence not only as otherness but also as individuality,
acknowledging the impossibility to transgress their personal border to honest emotions and
unrestrained feelings, since it's hard to be an angel /until you've been a demon. (Tempest 29-30)
Tempest masterly articulates the drama of the dispossessed and their need to find a
place to belong (Tempest 35) and to establish a natural connection with familiar things, objects
and persons that give power and meaning to ones life through their very existence. Identity is
expressed through a discourse that circulates images about self and others, often crossing
borders and cha(lle)nging the language. Her poetic personae exercise power by using irregular
rhythm that stirs up unsettling thoughts while sound patterns echo the intense pulse of urban
life:

Still
the myths in this city have always said the same thing
about how all we need is a place to belong;
how all we need is to know what's right from what's wrong and
how we all need is to struggle to find out for ourselves
which side we are on.

We all need to love

and be loved
and keep going. (Tempest 33-41)

The broken lines seem to duplicate the energy of the discontinuous egos, together with
their instincts and sybaritic consciousness in the name of individual freedom through which
London gains an almost sacramental value, turning the experience of disidentification into a
mysterious initiation rite. The concrete, accessible language is essentially visual and, although
Brand New Ancients depicts a scandalous world of vice and corruption, filtered through soft
language. Tempest deflects anathema by using Shakespearian techniques: one of the most

217
extensively used artistic procedure is repetition which supports allusions, a means of giving
audience time to pause and think, a way to pin-point the very truth. Like many of
Shakespeares tragic plays, Tempests drama is written in blank verse, the lines gaining
consistency owing to the metrical patterns doubled by her careful artistic achievement: fully
burdening each word with meaning, she creates a diverted language, freed from both
reprobation and excommunication, turning her candid picture of the multicultural metropolis
into a celebration of the common placed in the uncommon surroundings of an out-of-ordinary
place.
Greatly observant and sensitive, Tempest is an angry denouncer of injustice, pleading
the cause of the marginal and the vulnerable. Her depiction of the specific cultural and spiritual
individualism of Peckham and Lewisham is realistic, yet the picture is romantic owing to the
deep sensitiveness of the poet, animated by generous humanism and a high sense of
responsibility. Her occasional descriptions of a dark London periodically subordinate the other
elements of the narrative, anticipating the turning points in personal history, as a reminder of
human vulnerability before the unknown fate. Even though the ancient times of heroic deeds
are long gone, individuals still need a code of conduct to help their spirit survive:

There may be no monsters to kill,

no dragons' teeth left for the sowing,
but what there is, is the flowing
of rain down the gutters,
what there is is the muttering nutters. (Tempest 42-46)

The rain down the gutters hinting at the residues of the destinies broken by the
merciless metropolis, is reminiscent of the bleak Dickensian atmosphere alluding to the
pervasive feeling of breakdown and desperation, an extreme sense of displacement and need
for relocation. One could also detect an antisocial approach half-way between energetic and
sympathetic: approaching the issue of affiliation and uprootedness, Tempest invents utterly
quintessential outsiders who test the borders of imagination, charting complex and complicated
personal maps whose sinuous roads and many crossroads point to confinement to an
inescapable destiny. She is a skillful manipulator of gloomy emotions, her intensity of vision
and rap rhythm articulating a crude drama of tough neighbourhood heroes animated by a sense
of failure and personal wrong:

Well, working out right from wrong is never easy

when there ain't no morals,
when there ain't no justice;
when everything's weighed on the scales of profit,
it can be hard for a young man to grow up honest. (Tempest 246-250)

It is a dark territory of violence, sacrifice and love, where dwellers struggle to survive
according to their own elementary laws of continuity. Yet, they attract immediate sympathy for
their earnest feelings, for their refusal to compromise and fit into regular patterns. Their London
generates an ambiguous feeling of belonging and loss of identity, but sometimes this is
desirable insofar as it allows the individual to preserve the condition of being different.

218
 Tempest explores this ambiguity in lines inscribed within the boundaries of cultural
representation as binary oppositions (self/other, good/evil, light/dark, etc.), echoing William
Blakes Voice of Devil in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, preaching the innate ambivalence of
human beings that prompts both real and imaginary selves to develop journeys of discovery
beyond any possible boundary, in search of their true essence since men forgot that All Deities
reside in the Human breast (Blake xx). Which Tempest reminds her fellow Londoners:

We are perfect because of our imperfections. (Tempest 59)

[...]
the life in your veins
it is godly, heroic.
You were born for greatness;
believe it. Know it. (Tempest 71-74)
[...]
The Gods are all here.
Because the gods are in us. (Tempest 94-95)

Her poetic tone compassionately resonates with the shades of her characters, their
disorder of reason and defiance of conformity. Their moral crisis acquires a deep human quality
as the poet herself makes an appeal to the citys benevolence:

I want humanity.
I don't want this vacuous cavity
ripping the bowels out of our capacity
for quietly excellent acts.
Small heroics. Everyday epics. (Tempest 739-743)

Appraising the never-ending effervescence of the idiosyncratic South-East London that

perpetuates a constant play of identity, Tempests vision provides the uprooted, strangers in
their own land, with a sense of personal and cosmic infinity in the nightmare city thick with
bodies (Tempest 793), shadows and rain (Tempest 1110), where everyone seems to go
nowhere. Frightening but very much alive, it is a place the poet knows well as she grew up and
still lives there because Its beautiful and full-on and filled with magical stuff that happens
every day, as the poet confessed in an interview with Katherine Leedale.
(http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/kate-tempest-interview-london-is-beautiful-and-filled-with-
magic)
Kate Tempests urban psychogeography generates a particular state of mind nurtured
by her personal and imaginary experience of London as assumed destiny, a way to shape and
re-shape personal cultural codes, providing solid arguments in favour of a poetics of the
metropolis forged by specific discursive strategies that harmonise with the rhythms of human
nature. Exploring the potential meanings of the manipulated and manipulating words that
order and classify the world, the poet structures the sense of urban being and meaning in stories
that function as the framework within which one constructs individual identity/ies (the private,
social, national, racial, ethnic, sexual, etc. self). For her, words are effective tools that can be
employed to reclaim a human-centred cosmology, a modality to reflect human experience and

219
the most direct means to create personal myths and to connect the self with the other. Through
its power of instant reception and compatibility, her poetry is aimed to intensify common
human experiences and to induce a state of momentary gratification, resonating within the
being owing to the purity of language and sincerity of self-expression.

Bibliography

Blake, William. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Edited by Geoffrey Keynes. Oxford: Oxford University
Press. 1975
Edwards, Philip, Inga-Stina Ewbank, G.K. Hunter (Eds.). Shakespeares Styles: Essays in Honour of Kenneth
Muir. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2004
Hartman, Geoffrey H. The Fate of Reading. The Fate of Reading and Other Essays. Chicago and London:
University of
Chicago Press. 1975. 248-74
Leedale, Katherine. Kate Tempest interview: London is beautiful and filled with magic. 12 November
2013. http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/kate-tempest-interview-london-is-beautiful-and-filled-with-magic
Tempest, Kate. Brand New Ancients. First co-produced by Battersea Arts Centre. London: Picador. 2013

220
 THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS PERCEPTION OF
ROMANIAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Dr. Andreea-Iulia Olaru, cadru didactic asociat

DCLM FILS - UPB

1. Introduction

The vast domain of cross-cultural communication studies attracts an even greater

interest nowadays than it did just a few years ago. Assigning identity in cultural encounters
has always been a revealing point in communicating with Alterity (Ferrol, Jucquois, 2005;
Colescu, 2005; Graud, Leservoisier, Pottier, 2001). Sometimes this leads to confrontations
and communication difficulties, which can be resolved through knowledge and
understanding of the situations that can appear in a cross cultural environment. More and
more universities try to deal with the communication problems that appear when working
with international students, due to the different cultures the students come from
(Educational Inteligence, 2014; Nedelcu, Ulrich, 2014). The students that were part of this
case study were enrolled in the preparatory year at the Politehnica University of Bucharest.
During this year, they study the Romanian language, so that afterwards they can attend
lectures in Romanian at various faculties. The students in the group had been accepted at
Politehnica, but also at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, at the Foreign Languages
Faculty at University of Bucharest or others. Most of the students that were part of the case
study are of Arabic origin, especially from Iraq. Some of them still had difficulties in
understanding and speaking Romanian even towards the end of the preparatory year,
because some of them came to Romania in the middle, or even towards the end of the fall
semester. The difference in specialty, age, personality, religious belief and educational
background made this case study relevant to the research of contemporary phenomena that
are produced in this real-life situation. In the first phase of this research we used the
well-known questionnaire method (Mucchielli, 2005; Yin, 2005; tiuc, 2007), but it proven
insufficient as a research method due to the limited and brief answers of which only a few
were descriptive. Therefore, some of the respondents were chosen for semi-directive
interviews (Graud, 2001, Atkinson, 2006, Lieblich, 2006), in order to better understand what
are the international students opinions and reactions towards Romania and towards
Politehnica University of Bucharest. The methodological approach of this research is
observation. The context of this research is the educational relationship between teacher and
students. This research continues previous work in cross-cultural studies (Vasile, 2013).
2. Cultural dialogue or cultural monologue?

The question cultural dialogue or cultural monologue? summarizes the two options
that someone has to choose from when dealing with Alterity (Ferrol, Jucquois, 2005;
Colescu, 2005; Graud, Leservoisier, Pottier, 2001). The social actor1 faces a choice: either to
communicate, or to only speak about the self with no regard to what the Other2 has to say.
In any instance of cross cultural communication, the observation focuses on how culture

1 The European terminology uses the term social actor, especially in the French social sciences, while the U.S term is subject or
participant.
2 The concept of Other is capitalized due to its significance as a symbol for Alterity (Zane, 2007).

221
influences behavior. This is why we3 are either open to a new culture, to a new set of values
and to a new way of seeing and understanding having an open perspective; or we are
strongly attached to the values of our own group thus rejecting or disregarding anything
that is new or even different a conservative perspective. The latter perspective sometimes
tends to become ethnocentric by considering that the group of origin is superior to others.
Before we can observe the meaning of the two opposite approaches in the title of this
section, there are some important questions that arise in this cross-cultural context. When
talking about ourselves, what do we choose to tell about our customs and our culture? What
should we or shouldnt we tell about that culture, whose values we share, to members of a
different community, with a distinct set of values? On the other hand, from the perspective
of Alterity, what do others choose to tell about themselves, their values and their culture?
How do they express their beliefs? What does their culture tell them to say in an
intercultural environment? What does the culture they find themselves in oblige them to
say? These are a few questions that started this research, with the strong belief that all
universities should have a yearly graphic with their international students progress and
feedback. Let us first look into some related theoretical research about interculturality and
cross-cultural communication.

3. Theoretical research

Interculturality inevitably implies communication. Many researchers have noticed

that communicational dysfunctions occur when different cultures collide (Ptz, 1994). This
phenomenon can be explained mostly by a latent ethnocentrism in each of us, or by
encouraging prejudices through the educational process. (Ferrol, Jucquois, 2005: 372-373).
In the intercultural research, anthropologist Edward T. Hall is considered the founder of
cross-cultural communication studies. Edward T. Hall and linguist George L. Trager
founded the original paradigm of cross-cultural communication while training international
diplomats at the Foreign Service Institute in Washington DC. (Rogers, Hart, Miike, 2002).
Inspired by the American Anthropological School, at the beginning of the twentieth century,
Hall enlarged the focus of cultural research from only one culture to a cross cultural and
interactional perspective (Rogers, Hart, Miike, 2002). Hall's approach focuses on behaviors
and interactions at a micro level. This means that, at a smaller scale, interpreting and
analyzing human interactions depend on the context and on individuals from different
cultures, thus avoiding the dangers of ethnocentrism and generalizations. (erbnescu, 2007,
Ferrol, Jucquois, 2005). Influenced by Halls studies, Andra erbnescu also believes that
cross cultural communication research should focus its attention not only on macro-cultural
events, but also on micro-cultural encounters (erbnescu, 2007). Her study refers mostly to
how a group, a subgroup, or an individual changes by living in a plural4 environment. But
this also means that it is necessary to meet individuals from different cultures directly, not
indirectly through readings, rumors or cultural products which distort the image. In this
kind of encounter, the individual will try to adapt to the new system of signs, and this
adjustment is taking shape either in the form of a cultural bump, a cultural clash, or that of a
cultural shock. Cultural bumps or cultural clashes, if they last longer occur during
relatively brief contact with a new culture, giving the individual time to observe the
differences between ones culture and the others. This brief contact can create impressions,

3We is used here as a general term for social actors (Colescu, 2005)
4The term plural is preferred to multicultural, which refers to an affirmation of identity which lead to positive discrimination
and to identitary closure. (Colescu, 2005)

222
reactions that amuse the individual and that only offer a photographic image of the referred
culture. Cultural clashes are an effective way to manage and to understand cultural
differences, the way they are perceived at a personal level. This approach of the unknown
has been highly observed in the United States, where interethnic and intercultural
encounters are more frequent. Carol M. Archer's study Living with strangers in the USA.
Communicating Beyond Culture (Archer, 1991) is a guide for those who want to understand
how to efficiently communicate with the nearby different culture. It is his reaction to cultural
dislocation and it is recognizable by the anxiety felt by the individual when he loses his
familiar system of signs and symbols, his familiar cultural environment. In this stage, the
general disorientation that an individual feels is accompanied by some negative emotional
states like irritability, nervousness, sudden mood changes, instability, frustration or even
shame. (erbnescu, 2007). This behavior has been observed by many researchers. This is
why the emotions and state of mind of the alienated individual have been structured into
five stages that the individual goes through when he tries to cope with the new culture.
They have been first recognized by Kalvero Oberg, an American anthropologist of Finnish
origin. (McComb, Foster, 1974). The first phase of cultural shock is the honeymoon, in
which the cultural differences are seen as something fascinating and interesting. The second
stage is the negotiation of cultural signs and it is accompanied by a feeling of disorientation.
The individual feels the lack of social and cultural landmarks that he received before in his
own culture, and also the different verbal or nonverbal stimuli, which are specific to the
other culture (erbnescu, 2007, Oberg, 1960). The third step towards cultural understanding
is actually contained in the second, but with much deeper effects on the perceptions of
reality. Anthropologists noticed that after a while this state of disorder and unrest
transforms into a state of healing and acceptance. Eventually, the individual gains the ability
to face the new society and the cultural differences are overcome and accepted. A new
system of values appears which makes room for change, for a new life style and for social
inclusion. Though there is controversy about the possibility of reaching this last stage, the
next step in intercultural development appears to be biculturalism and feeling comfortable
in both cultures, as a process of acculturation. Returning to the home culture can also
produce a reversed cultural shock. There are two types of reactions that can result as a
response to cultural change. The process or the mechanism that explains the effects of
foreign cultures on a social actor, through which one learns, socializes and transforms,
willingly or not, into a product of the new culture, is called acculturation. This process can
lead to the disappearance of cultures but also to the birth of a new culture or subculture.
This is the first type of reaction. The second type of reaction to cultural shock is cultural
alienation, which is the process of devaluing the host culture and reinforcing the desire to
return to the culture of origin. The feeling of "uprooting" is part of cultural alienation.
(erbnescu, 2005: 279) This self-imposed marginalization of the social actor can sometimes
take violent forms. Different from acculturation, enculturation is the process in which
children learn the culture they are born into. It is a journey of assimilation, when they are
learning a form of culture through education or cultural heritage. This adaptation occurs
during a longer period of time. Cross-cultural communication research is oriented towards
solving communication deficiencies and reducing the negative effects of cultural shock. In
order to make cultural communication more efficient, cross-cultural communication is
centered on educating individuals, aiming not only at accepting the Other, but also at
understanding ones own culture.

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 4. Research methodology

The questionnaire method was the first research tool used for the case study
involving international students. It contained ten questions asked in both Romanian and
English (see Appendix). After this first phase of the research, selected questionnaires, with
more elaborate answers, were selected for the second phase, that of the interviews. Out of
twenty questionnaires, eight have been selected. Two qualitative interviews were conducted
with a sample of eight individuals. The first interview was conducted with a group of seven
members and the second interview with one respondent. The language the students chose
for the interview was English. The group interview took place after the Romanian classes.
The questionnaire was designed in such a manner so that the students could express their
opinions and perceptions about Romania and about the Politehnica University of Bucharest.
The ten questions were divided into five questions about Romania and five about the
Politehnica University. The first five questions dealt with the reasons for which they chose to
study in this country, what are the difference between the home and the guest country and
what are the main difficulties they came across when they came to Romania. The questions
about the Politehnica University focused on the reasons for which they chose to study here
and if someone recommended it or how they were informed about it. Other questions aimed
at the things that they like or disapprove of so far about this university and how the
university is different from the ones in their countries. The group interview offered a
perspective on how the group interacts, which are the main interests that the members of the
group have, how they correct themselves on matters important to the group, and how the
members choose to support or contradict each other. This approach showed that the
questionnaire method combined with the semi-directive interview led to a clearer
perspective in this kind of qualitative research. The questions from the interviews relied on
the ones from the questionnaire, but given the fact that the interview was semi-directive and
at times non-directive through non verbal feed-back, the participants expressed a more
subjective and personal point of view. The interviewees felt more comfortable to talk than to
write, they understood the research objective and they described, from their point of view,
their perceptions and feelings about Romania and their aspirations and expectations about
their studies. For example when they filled the questionnaire they tried to answer to some of
the questions in such a way so that they can flatter and express their gratitude towards their
teachers. In the interview phase they focused on the political problems, religious differences
and discriminatory events. While the group interview offered a pluri-perspective on the
international students opinions about studying at Politehnica and living in Romania, in the
individual interview the respondent focused on the difficulties, the lack of communication
and the incompatibilities between their homeland and their life in Romania.

5. Findings and discussion

The studied group was varied in terms of age, but homogenous in terms of ethnic
origin. Many students came to Romania for their Bachelor degree, so they were in their early
twenties, but a significant percentage of students came to study for their Master or PhD
diplomas, the oldest of whom was in his fifties. All the students came from Middle-Eastern
countries, most of them from Iraq, but some were from Syria or Afghanistan. The students
came to study at various faculties not only at Politehnica, but also at the University of
Medicine and Pharmacy or at the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the University of
Bucharest. Because of their common Arabic origin, the in-group language, the language in
which they communicated with each other, was Arabic. The studied group was quite

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difficult to observe from this point of view, given the fact that they were used to speak to
each other in another language. In any culture, learning a foreign language shows the will to
look outside ones own culture. In studying abroad, the process of comprehending
everything might seem overwhelming. Especially difficult is learning the local language,
which in this case had a different alphabet and different phonemes. But while language can
be learned through practice, cultural signs (non verbal communication, attitudes, posture)
are translated differently and are more difficult to learn this way. For example, staring for
a few seconds too long into someones eyes might be offending in one culture, but
completely acceptable and regarded as customary in other cultures. It all depends on the
individuals cultural awareness and cultural intelligence. (Educational Inteligence (2014)
Acquiring these habits means that the individual has already overcome the cultural shock.
5.1. Cultural inadequacy - After the first participative observation meetings, a
communication inadequacy was obvious. Some members of the group showed the need of
expressing strong emotional beliefs on how they desire to learn and be taught, especially as
some of them were teachers in their own country. At the individual interview, the
interviewee saw the opportunity to complain about his difficulties so far. I am a teacher in my
country. Here the students are different; the teachers are different, said Ammar. Here, in my group
is also a student of mine. We were reunited in Romania. Some even became inflexible towards
learning Romanian if after the preparatory year their lectures were to be held in English. All
of a sudden the cultural dialogue transforms into a cultural monologue, which has an
ethnocentric perspective over the other ones culture, making the cultural dialog inefficient.
Either the students view the learned culture as being less important than their own, or the
teacher tries to teach the language and customs as if expecting the students to have the same
cultural values as they do. Both reactions block communication and lead to conflicts. In what
concerns in-group relations, the fragile friendships are built in a competitive environment,
which is typical in the always challenging western educational system. Being out of their
mother culture, gaining trust and using speech or story patterns becomes a way of securing
their privacy. For example, when a student does not trust the teacher yet, they try to form
the same sentences as a pattern construction, even if they know more words, but once the
teacher succeeds in making themselves trustworthy, the student reveals different aspects of
their life. The same trust negotiation happens at a smaller level between students. This
process was revealed best during the group interview when they contradicted each other
when they were talking about religious interpretations:
Abdullah: When I first came here in January people were asking me if I had an opinion about what happened in France 5. For me
its a mistake from both parts. There are some people in India that their god is a cow or fire, or I dont know, but I wont make fun of them. I
dont know Its Salam (peace). And also its crossing the line when they went killing the newspaper, so its a mistake from the both sides.
After this, the newspaper sold thousands of copies. They made a commercial out of this (murmur)
A.O.: What did you want to say, Nasser?
Nasser: Im not saying anything, because if someone talks bad about my God, then God will punish him. (murmur) I am not a
God. God will punish him, not me. [] (murmur)
Abdullah: Its wrong Its really bad (Unintelligible chatter, some in Arabic)
A.O.: Lets calm down.
Nasser: Im not saying anything.
The group had still strong emotions concerning religion, discrimination and the
group discussion would have led to confrontations if the environment would not have been
otherwise. This qualitative research method was challenging from the point of view of the
researcher, because the comprehensive approach was very intense and strong emotional
beliefs influenced the discourse. The participants were overwhelmed and also circumspect
regarding the events, so friendship was negotiated and personal opinions were carefully
expressed. Most of the students in this group were in the second or third stage of cultural

5 The students were referring to the Charlie Hebdo shooting in January 2015.

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shock. Even if they arrived in October or November, the students still suffered from cultural
shock in April and May. A certain kind of inadequacy always remained, in part because they
visited their home frequently, thus changing cultural context often.
5.2 Life in Romania - In the questionnaire phase, many respondents chose to see
Romania as a less expensive land of opportunities, but they always mentioned the fact that
they dream of returning home in a peaceful country. After I graduate I want to return to my
country was stated in many answers to the question about their plans after graduation.
Regarding what or who convinced the students to come to Politehnica, they relied mostly on
their friends and relatives who recommended Romania and this university as being one of
the top study environments, with many engineering majors, but also because Romania has
convenient prices and an affordable economy. Most respondents said that they chose Romania
because they have friends here: My friends studied here because its nice country. Other answers
stated that it was a suggestion made by the Iraqi government. Both in the questionnaire and
in the interviews, the students reaction towards Romanian cultural values and towards the
universitys values was fluctuating. They had an obvious sense of frustration caused by the
lack of a compatible set of signs (linguistic, social, and cultural). The language is difficult and
the people (are) talking very fast, said most of the respondents, or I dont know how to say this,
was repeated in the interviews showing their difficulty of expressing themselves and
communicating in this new culture. While many answers in the questionnaire stated that
nothing is difficult here, or that everything is OK and everything is easy, compared to our country,
in the interviews however, where speaking is easier than writing, it was easier for them to
express their thoughts. Some felt secure enough to mention that they were sometimes
subject to hostile discriminatory reactions in Romania. For example, Ammar, one of the
interviewees, referred to an event that happened to him and his family after the terrible
events at Charlie Hebdo. He mentions the fact that people were starring at them and
especially at his wife who wore Hijab, making disrespectful gestures and saying God forbid.
This event made a powerful impression on him and he started to have a different opinion
about the Romanian people. The question What do you like most about Politehnica? had
answers praising the kind people, the helpful teachers and the big campus. The question
about dislikes was answered in such a manner so that the reader would not feel offended.
They mentioned problems about the timetable which was either too early or too late, or the
small classrooms that were too crowded. Some even said that there was nothing they do not
like about Politehnica. The question about the difficulties they came across in Bucharest
sometimes had very brief answers. Some respondents complained, in a rather poor English,
about the difficulty in learning the language: the communication with Romanian people need
Romanian language very much, said a respondent, the system of establishment in Romania and
especially the difficulties of family reunification is another problem, answered another one. They
had many administrative problems and sometimes had difficulties attending the Romanian
language classes which made the learning process slow down. I need my family so that I can be
at peace here, said one of the respondents at the question about the difficulties in Romania.
Some of the respondents also went regularly to the embassy for matters concerning their
staying permit and the visa for their families: They do not allow our families to be with us. Only
after a year, and after a complicate procedure they let us bring our wives and children, said Nasser,
at the group interview. This contributed to their cultural inadequacy and shock. We have
observed that the adaptation of the students and their success in Romania depend on their
cultural awareness and their charisma. However, the difficulties they mentioned in the
interviews were primarily about the weather, then the difficult learning process, the
different way of writing, people talking too fast, and the frustration of not being able to

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communicate more efficiently. The administrative problems with the embassy and the legal
system in Romania represented another issue for the Middle-Eastern students. Additional
difficulty was created by finding a job and accommodation in Bucharest.

6. Conclusions

This study has revealed that combining the two research methods questionnaire
and semi-directive interview is meaningful not only for intercultural education studies,
but for narrative research as well. The findings and the research method of this study can be
applied to many types of pluri-perspective group research. We believe that the results of this
study may be useful for improving the learning environment for international students. This
research is an instrumental case study that has hopes for a follow up and a more extensive
approach. The students, the social actors in this situation, have expressed their perceptions
based on their experience so far. This paper presents only some of the findings of this
research. Further analysis will provide more extensive results and interpretations. A larger
comparative study will be developed, based on several generations of students. Overall, the
students perspective is extremely important in a modern academic environment, and
elaborating theories that explain the social environment is an inseparable part of the
educational process.

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 Appendix

1. Cum ai ales s studiezi la Universitatea Politehnica din Bucureti? (Din ntmplare sau ai
fost sftuit?) De ce? How did you choose to study at University Politehnica of Bucharest?
(By chance or you have been advised by someone?) Why?

2. Care sunt cele mai importante lucruri pe care speri s le nvei la Universitatea
Politehnica din Bucureti? What are the most important things that you hope you will
learn at University Politehnica of Bucharest?

3. Cum este Politehnica diferit fa de universitile din ara voastr? How is Politehnica
different from the universities from your country?

4. Ce i place cel mai mult la Politehnica? What do you like most about Politehnica?

5. Ce nu i place la Politehnica? What dont you like about Politehnica?

6. Cum ai ales Romnia ca ara n care s studiezi? How did you choose Romania as the
country to study in?

7. Ce speri s faci dup ce termini facultatea? What do you hope to do after you graduate?

8. Cum este Romnia diferit fa de ara ta? How is Romania different from your country?

9. Ce i s-a prut cel mai dificil n Romnia? What did you find most difficult in Romania?

10. Care este lucrul de care i va fi cel mai dor cnd/dac vei pleca din Romnia? What is
the thing that you will miss most when/if you will leave Romania?

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 REFERINE LA CULTURA GERMAN N AUTO I HETERO
IMAGINILE EVREILOR DIN ROMNIA

Dr. Andreea-Iulia Olaru, cadru didactic asociat

DCLM FILS - UPB

1. Introducere

Atunci cnd vorbim despre comunitatea evreilor din Romnia, automat vorbim
despre o inerent influen german, creat nu doar n cultura idi, prin excelen
germanic, ci i prin cultura postbelic, post Shoah, post Holocaust, care prin condamnri
puternice a ajuns s aib o reacie fa de cultura german. Aceast comunitate iudaic a
dezvoltat nu doar tiina romneasc (Cajal, Kuller, 2004), ci i lumea artistic i creativ.
n imaginile despre sine i despre ceilali exprimate de membrii comunitii iudaice
romneti, referinele la cultura german sunt fcute nuanat i niciodat direct numit, ci de
cele mai multe ori doar subneles n povestirile de via ale evreilor supravieuitori ai
rzboiului.
Lund cazul particular al comunitii iudaice din Romnia, care i afirm existena
ca grup ntr-un spaiu pluricultural prin destinuirile ce aparin unor membri ai acestei
comuniti, se poate observa construirea unei identiti prin multiplele atribuiri realizate
prin imagini difereniatoare. (Cajal, Kuller, 2004; Friling, Ioanid, Ionescu, 2005; IRIR, 2004;
Neumann, 2010; Oiteanu, 2004, 2013; Vultur, 2002)
Lucrarea i propune s ilustreze modalitatea prin care identitatea i alteritatea se
construiesc prin intermediul imaginilor despre sine i despre Cellalt i s urmreasc modul
n care elementele de cultur german apar n anumite texte legate de auto i hetero-
imaginea evreilor. Cercetarea are la baz o analiz aprofundat ce a stat la baza lucrrii de
doctorat Povestirea vieii ca modalitate de comunicare intercultural. (Vasile, 2013)
Att n sociologie i antropologia cultural, ct i n etnopsihologie, se vorbete
despre identificarea i nelegerea celuilalt, ca elemente eseniale de plasare a actorului social
n lume. Acest demers, de cele mai multe ori, se realizeaz doar la nivelul imaginii. tiina
care se ocup de acest domeniu este imagologia, ce are un statut interdisciplinar i care
studiaz, n sensul restrictiv al termenului, imaginile pe care grupurile i le fac despre sine
autoimagini sau despre alte grupuri heteroimagini. (Iacob, 2003)

2. Imaginea ca mod de recunoatere a identitii

Problematica pe care o ridic identitatea grupurilor etnice sau a minoritilor este cea
a identificrii n funcie de context i de raporturile de la care se pornete delimitarea.
(Bourhis, Leyens, 1997; Blan, 2006) Membrii comunitilor i asum n unele contexte att
identitatea civic, de cetean, raportat la structura care ofer forma de apartenen legal-
juridic, ct i o origine prestabilit, asupra creia nu s-a putut interveni, dar mai ales i
asum i i recunosc o identitate mixt, alternativ, chiar hibrid. Faptul c aceti membrii
mprtesc o motenire cultural i definete ca grup cu origine comun, limb comun,
religie i obiceiuri comune. Cu toate acestea, fiecare membru i construiete i i afirm
identitatea n mod diferit, formnd grupuri i subculturi.

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 Este necesar menionarea dezavantajului folosirii imaginii ca proces de cunoatere
i anume subiectivismul cu ncrctura emoional aferent, caracterul vag i uneori
superficial, sau lipsa de precizie menionat de D. Petcu care, criticnd rolul auto- sau
heteroimaginilor la nivel epistemologic, spunea c ele pot juca [] mai degrab un rol politic
dect unul tiinific. (D. Petcu apud. Iacob, 2003, 30) Cu toate acestea, beneficiile construirii
unei identiti i a descoperirii Celuilalt depesc dezavantajele acestei metodei calitative.
Imaginarul, prin natura sa simbolic i arhetipal, rensufleete memoria colectiv i i
asigur acesteia supravieuirea. mpreun, imaginea i memoria individual sau colectiv
creeaz nceputul unei noi alteriti. (Mucchielli, 2005) De aici apare i un dualism al
imaginarului, ntruct fiecare termen comparat are nevoie de cellalt care s-l completeze i
s-l reflecte. Imagologia este un furnizor de ipoteze despre real (S. Marandon apud. Iacob 2003,
30) i o cale secundar, dar nu insignifiant chiar dac temporar pentru o mai bun cunoatere a
sinelui colectiv. (D. Hollander apud. Iacob, 2003, 30).

3. Modaliti de formare a autoimaginii

Autoimaginile, sau imaginile despre sine, sunt reflectri ale eului ce se structureaz
pe mai multe niveluri de percepie. Aceste reprezentri sunt o parte component a
imagologiei, poate cea mai important ntruct formuleaz i construiete discursul
identitar. Alturi de heteroimagini, care sunt rezultatul unor aseriuni despre alteritate dar
bineneles c n acelai timp includ i o proiecie a eului autoimaginile formeaz obiectul
de studiu direct sau indirect al tiinelor sociale. ntruct cercettorul antropolog, sociolog
sau psiholog studiaz o percepie existent la un moment dat, nu un fenomen general
valabil i imuabil, imaginile i imaginar(urile), cu structurile i mecanismele aferente, ofer
un tip de analiz calitativ ce necesit o cercetare continu, pentru c sunt n continu
schimbare.
Privind acest tip de analiz imagologic a socialului, se poate observa primul nivel al
autoimaginii. Acesta, conform Luminiei Iacob, reliefeaz imaginea instinctiv arhetipal pe
care o etnie o are, n mod intuitiv, despre ea nsi. (Iacob, 2003) O asemenea imagine se
reliefeaz prin proverbe, zictori i exprim trsturile dominante autoatribuite i
autoasumate de ctre comunitate. O parte foarte important, n acest proces de autodefinire
este, pe lng proverbul n sine, explicaia pe care i-o atribuie cel care l folosete.
Pentru a-i stabili propria identitate, pentru a descrie grupul din care face parte i pe
cel de care se delimiteaz, Ernest Neumann, n interviul luat n Memoria salvat: Evreii din
Banat, ieri si azi, este convins c: Evreul care progreseaz este evreul muribund. (Vultur, 2002) El
formuleaz o explicaie a acestui proverb care arat delimitarea att a grupului etnic din care
face parte fa de celelalte grupuri etnice evreii, ct i a grupului social de care aparine
rabinii. Portretul realizat n aceast descriere a lumii, die Weltanschaung, constat segregarea,
asimilarea intelectualilor de orice religie de ctre cultura laic, dominant din zona
respectiv. Acest fenomen este vzut ca pe un proces de extincie a culturii iudaice. Mai mult
dect att, aceast explicaie a proverbului arat imaginea pe care i-a formulat-o acest rabin,
ca reprezentant al unei categorii socio-culturale fa de celelalte categorii sociale:
[] dac el (evreul) progreseaz, asimileaz tot mai mult din ceea ce este neevreiesc,
nseamn c se ndeprteaz tot mai mult de ceea ce este specific evreiesc, deci devine din ce n ce mai
puin evreu, n-are caracteristicile aceluia care a fost evreu. Faptul c noi, indiferent unde ne-am gsit
n diaspor, vreme de 1900 de ani, fr a vorbi aceeai limb, fr a avea acelai pmnt sub picioare,
acelai soare deasupra capului, ne-am meninut ca evrei, se datoreaz faptului c ne-am pstrat
datinile, ne-am pstrat srbtorile i, n msura posibilului, acea minim tiin iudaic. Altfel ne
pierdeam. Dac ne-am pstrat ceea ce ne este specific, ceea ce este aparte pentru c limba rii n care

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am trit ne-am nsuit-o, dac am pstrat totui datinile, adic Hanuca a fost Hanuca, srbtorile au
fost srbtori, meritul este al religiei. Intelectualii n toate tradiiile sunt cei care se rup, ntr-un fel,
de aceasta. (Vultur, 2002)
Al doilea nivel de percepie relev autoimaginea preluat de la strini i nsuit
de-a lungul timpului, pn la intrarea i sedimentarea ei n mentalul colectiv. Aceast
autoimagine este rezultatul contactelor directe i a convieuirii popoarelor n spaii fizico-
geografice comune sau limitrofe i ele reprezint, de fapt, adevrate coduri de identificare,
recunoatere i cunoatere intuitiv, transformate apoi n coduri de autoidentificare,
autorecunoatere i autocunoatere.
Despre acest proces amintete i Andrei Oiteanu. (Oiteanu, 2004) Ocupndu-se de
stereotipurile i imaginile stigmatizante pe care le-au cptat evreii de-a lungul timpului n
Europa i mai ales n spaiul romnesc, Andrei Oiteanu descrie imaginile dar i modul n
care acestea s-au creat, fcnd portretul fizic, profesional, moral i intelectual, mitic i magic,
dar i pe cel religios al evreilor. n capitolul legat de portretul moral i intelectual, Oiteanu
vorbete despre efectul clieelor i stereotipiei n formarea imaginarului celui stigmatizat.
Exclamaii admirative, de genul Detept ovreiu! sau Cap de jidan!, erau att de
obinuite printre ne-evrei, nct au fost preluate de evreii nii, n ncercarea de a-i defini propria lor
identitate. Este drept ca expresia omoloag n limba idi sau n ladino Jidischer Kop (Cap de
evreu) sau Mioiu de judio (Minte de evreu) nu exprim att inteligena evreului, ct caracterul
speculativ al minii sale, un anume fel, specific, de a aborda i de a rezolva o problem intelectual. De
altfel, nelepciunea popular evreiasc prefer s relativizeze situaia, prin proverbe de genul Evreul
ce-i detept e detept i de-i prost e prost. Caracterul globalizator al stereotipului privind inteligena
evreului rezult ct se poate de limpede dintr-un rspndit proverb romnesc: Grec galanton, ovrei
prost i igan cinstit nu se poate (Oiteanu, 2004: 224)
Exist i un al treilea nivel de percepie, conform Luminiei Iacob, a imaginii care
contureaz un ideal cultural de personalitate, la care ader o colectivitate i pe care tinde s-l
realizeze. Acest tip de imagine creeaz o proiecia ideal a trsturilor considerate optime
pentru realizarea unui profil tipic al indivizilor. O asemenea autoimagine ideal este, n
general, preluat de coal i folosit pe scar larg pentru a fi popularizat i introdus ca
imagine oficial n cadrul procesului educativ. Ea devine obiectiv al procesului de educaie.
Se poate deduce tot din povetile de via culese de-a lungul timpului, din publicaiile
iudaice i mai ales din discursul elitelor.
Dictonul era: Cte limbi vorbeti, de-attea ori eti om spune rabinul Ernest Neumann
n interviul pentru Memoria salvat: Evreii din Banat, ieri si azi. [] am hasefer, ca popor al
Crii, trebuie s ne strduim s sorbim ct mai mult din izvorul tiinei, al cunotinelor. (Vultur,
2002)
De aici, recunoscuta dorin a membrilor comunitilor iudaice de a nva ct mai
multe limbi strine de la o vrst fraged: Mama, v-am spus, avea patru clase primare, dar o
dorin nemaipomenit de a citi. Venind la Cmpulung, a nvat teribil de repede germana i n cas
se vorbea germana. Tata vorbea o german splendid, germana austriac. Sunt multe cuvinte despre
care eu am crezut c sunt cuvinte idi, dar de fapt se folosesc la Viena la fel de mult.(Bercovici,
INSHR, 2009)
O alt perspectiv asupra punctului central al comunitii iudaice aparine lui Hary
Kuller, care plaseaz religia ca factor esenial al autoidentificrii n cazul evreilor din
Romnia.
Pe orice meleaguri s-ar fi aezat, evreii aduceau cu ei nvtura biblic folclorul Vechiului
Testament i prescripiile rituale, care presupuneau cu prioritate instituiile cultice aferente
(sinagoga, baia ritual, cimitirul .a.) ct i aezmintele comunitare []

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 Aadar, pentru Hary Kuller, a fi evreu nseamn permanenta raportare la Tradiia scris n
Crile Sfinte, la nvmintele iudaice i la Locurile Sfinte. Cu toate acestea, n continuarea textului
autorul menioneaz existena unei categorii de evrei care se recunosc ca atare prin alte paliere ale
fenomenului etnic dect religia, limba, teritoriul istoria .a.m.d. (Benjamin, Cajal, Kuller, 1994: 8)
Religia este elementul cultural cel mai des evocat n povestirile de via ca marc a
identitii pentru majoritatea grupurilor de evrei sefarzi, achenazi, mesianici, occidentali,
ortodoci, reformai etc.. Primele dou grupuri recunoscute pe plan mondial, ultimele sunt
considerate a fi micri culturale mai mult dect rituri, ele contopindu-se uneori cu celelalte.
Dac pentru unii reprezentani ai acestor grupuri, aa cum am vzut, religia i legtura
permanent cu aceasta este elementul principal al coeziunii grupului, pentru alii, evreii
mesianici, acelai grup este format natural, prin religia motenit de la mam. Evreitatea
cuiva este determinat prin natere i nu prin credina religioas. Chiar i dac un evreu ar vrea s
nu mai fie evreu el nu poate face nimic s schimbe asta.1
O alt opinie a unui insider despre ceea ce-i face pe evreii dintr-o anumit zon s
reprezinte o comunitate, un grup bine conturat i care i revendic o identitate proprie este
cea conform creia istoria i trecutul reprezint liantul comunitii. Aceast perspectiv
aparine unui grup construit ca atare i delimitat mai degrab prin practicile dale dect prin
discursul identitar. Este vorba despre grupul evreilor care au primit o educaie i valorile
prinilor care au trit n perioada interbelic, s-au nscut n Romnia n timpul
comunismului i au trit o perioad n strintate. Imaginea creat este una ideal i creeaz
o esenializare, un stereotip bazat pe generalizare i idei preconcepute.
Dac nu exist o comunitate de limb, nici de teritoriu, dac exist mai muli evrei laici dect
religioi, iar devotamentul fa de Israel variaz de la caz la caz, atunci ce ne leag?
Cred c avem contiina c mprtim acelai destin, suntem eine Schicksalsgemeinschaft,
[] Avem un trecut comun, inclusiv Auschwitz, un bun religios i cultural comun, suntem evrei i
prin percepia mediului nconjurtor, vzui prin prisma antisemit ori filosemit. Acest destin ne
nzestreaz cu o privire specific asupra lumii, cu un anume set de valori.
Orice eveniment din lume suscit reacia rezumat n: Asta e bine pentru noi?, ntrebare
pus sfios, cu team, din nefericire justificat, c cineva iar ne-a pus gnd ru. Proverbiala
solidaritate dintre evrei i are rdcina n anticiparea urmtoarei calamiti. Fiecare a trecut prin
trauma emigrrii, a adversitii sorii din motive de antisemitism, iar dac nu, amintirile transmise
de prini sunt nc vii. Experiena dezrdcinrii, a ostracizrii i a prigoanei a ntrit sentimentul
de coeziune i a dezvoltat capacitatea empatic sporit, sensibilitatea accentuat, dorina de a ajuta i
sprijini. (Neumann, 2010)
Ideea prigoanei multiseculare a evreilor este foarte bine mpmntenit, devenind o
zical folosit n anumite mprejurri, contextul i adresantul fiind eseniale nelegerii
evenimentului. i aici, esenializarea unei idei, care s construiasc o imagine i implicit s
atribuie o identitate, genereaz un reper, o specificitate n comunicarea cu alteritatea.
Nimeni nu bnuia ce ne hrzete viitorul apropiat, dar, oricum, pentru orice eventualitate
se pare c printr-o motenire genetic, n urma prigoanei multiseculare a poporului evreu
prinii mei au pregtit cteva valize cu cele mai indispensabile obiecte(Nussbaum, IRIR, 2004)
ntlnirea cu alteritatea n spaiul german din timpul rzboiului s-a realizat n special
la nivelul administraiei i armatei. Fiecare ntlnire i referin din timpul rzboiului este
unic i perceput diferit n funcie de experiena avut. n anumite contexte contactul
cultural a fost unul extrem de atroce i care nc afecteaz percepia anumitor membrii
despre politica cultural care i-a persecutat. (Friling, Ioanid, Ionescu, 2005; IRIR, 2004)

1 http,//www.mesia.ro/index.php/iudaismul-mesianic accesat iunie 2015.

232
 Cu toate acestea, anumite referine evoc o strns legtur, nu doar lingvistic, ci i
cultural cu spiritul german, ajungnd parte a autoimaginii:
Cosmina Guu: Ce limb se vorbea n familie?
Ietti Leibovici: Germana.
C.G.: Germana, nu idiul?
I.L.: Germana. Prinii dac vroiau ca s nu neleg ceva vorbeau idi i germana. Pn am
plecat n Transnistria am fcut n grdini germana. Dup aia cnd am fcut coala eram la coala
romneasc doi ani, clasa nti i a doua am vorbit romnete c aa se vorbea. Cnd am trecut la
coala evreiasc clasa a treia i a patra i acolo tot n romnete se preda. Se mai nva i ebraica,
dar dup aia am nvat idiul. La bunici am nvat idiul.
C.G.: Bunicii vorbeau idi?
I.L.: Da. Cu mine vorbeau romnete, ntre ei vorbeau idi, germana, care se asemna cu
idiul, cuvinte asemntoare carei am nvat bine idiul.
C.G.: Aveai cumva pom de Crciun iarna? Ai mprumutat, eu tiu, alte obiceiuri?
I.L.: La noi n Bucovina se prindeau foarte multe obiceiuri de la nemi i ntotdeauna de
srbtorile noastre veneau dnii. Prietenele mamei, ale mtuilor veneau la noi. Noi mergeam la
dnii. Era nelegere i deodat a izbucnit antisemitismul. Ura asta n-a fost de neles. (Leibovici,
INSHR, 2008)
C.G.: Dumneavoastr ai nvat germana la coal sau se vorbea i n familie?
Solomon Rauth: Germana este limba matern. (Solomon Rauth, INSHR, 2008)
Aa cum arat i mrturiile, membrii comunitii de autodefinesc prin perspectiva
culturii naionale, a rii n care au trit, devenind astfel comunitatea evreilor din Romnia.
Pluriculturalismul fcea parte din viaa lor, iar meninerea unei relaii bune cu cellalt diferit
a nsemnat adaptarea la condiiile de mediu i a mbogirii propriei culturi, iar n unele
cazuri chiar formarea unui alt tip de cultur

4. Modaliti de formare a heteroimaginii

Cealalt component a imagologiei este heteroimaginea, ce reprezint un rezultat al

unei perspective din afar. Fiecare grup i creeaz dou tipuri de heteroimagine: una creat
de ctre exterior despre comunitate, i una creat de ctre membrii grupului despre alte
comuniti.
n primul caz, cel mai relevant este studiul Aurorei Liiceanu realizat pe baza
recensmntului Centrului de Resurse pentru Diversitate Etnocultural (Liiceanu, 2005). Acesta
pune n valoare multiculturalitatea stereotipurilor, ncurajate, n acest caz de metoda
chestionarului (tiuc, 2007). Studiul pune n eviden prin procente imaginile pe care le au
grupurile majoritare despre ei nii romni, maghiari i romi - i despre ceilali germani,
evrei.
Astfel n prima parte a studiului se poate observa autoimaginea, n cazul grupurilor
etnice majoritare din Romnia, realizat prin indicarea de ctre interlocutori a trsturilor
considerate definitorii pentru grupul etnic din care fac parte. n a doua parte a acestuia se
contureaz o heteroimagine, vizndu-se percepia grupului respectiv, prin rspunsuri
individuale, asupra alteritii.
Urmrind rezultatele recensmntului din 2002 ale crui date au fost analizate n
studiul de mai sus, se observ faptul c, din punctul de vedere al comunitilor cu o pondere
mai mare din populaia Romniei (romnii, maghiarii i romii):
Evreii au i ei o imagine pozitiv: ei sunt religioi (romni: 38,9%, maghiari: 51,3%, romi:
37,8%), ntreprinztori (romni: 39,2%, maghiari: 51%, romi: 32,2%), inteligeni (romni: 31%,

233
maghiari: 31,4%, romi: 26,7%) i cumsecade (romni: 15,1%, maghiari: 16%, romi: 24,1%).
(Liiceanu, 2005: 59-60)
Studiul realizat de Centrului de Resurse pentru Diversitate Etnocultural nu pune n
relaie imaginea evreilor despre germani i invers, dar membrii comunitilor iudaice i
germane au o heteroimagine pozitiv din perspectiva comunitilor conlocuitoare:
Germanii au o heteroimagine pozitiv: ei sunt curai (romni: 16%, maghiari 16,2%, romi
16,5%), civilizai (romni: 45,8%, maghiari: 35%, romi: 38,9%), cinstii (romni: 25,7%, maghiari:
20%, romi: 25,3%), demni de ncredere (romni: 23,8%, maghiari: 24,5%, romi: 17,2%),
ntreprinztori (romni: 27,7%, maghiari: 21%, romi: 20,5%), harnici (romni: 43,7%, maghiari:
49,9%, romi: 35,8%), inteligeni (romni: 37,5%, maghiari: 33,2%, romi: 34,2%) i cumsecade
(romni: 21,5%, maghiari: 28,5%, romi: 26,7%).
Romnii au o heteroimagine mai pregnant pozitiv despre germani dect maghiarii i romii,
dar indiferent de diferene germanii ntrunesc mai ales trei atribute pozitive: ei sunt civilizai, harnici
i inteligeni. (Liiceanu, 2005: 59)
Cu toate acestea, uneori imaginea pozitiv este redat uneori doar la nivel statistic,
ceea ce nu este spus reprezint de fapt opinia real asupra celuilalt. Aceasta este exprimat,
de cele mai multe ori, urmnd modelul stigmatizrii bazat pe reacii primare n aparteuri
sau paranteze.
i avea prerile lui. Eu i ziceam c are preri fixe, c nu se poate spune ce fel de oameni sunt
polonezii, ce fel de oamenii sunt bosniacii. Spunea: De bosniaci s te fereasc Dumnezeu. Acetia i
taie gtul. Cu italienii e bine s ai de-a face. Die Katzerlfressel Ei mnnc pisici i pe ei i cumperi
cu un cntec. La polonezii trebuie s te nchini lui Dumnezeu. Aa povestea el. (Miriam Bercovici,
INSHR, 2009)
Recognoscibilitatea celuilalt prin semne reprezint o form de simplificare a
apartenenei la grup ca modalitate de exprimare a heteroimaginii. Culorile i simbolurile au
reprezentat i reprezint nc att o form de exprimare a diferenei ct i de recunoatere a
acesteia. Un exemplu clasic i inocent de exprimare a diferenei prin culori este construirea
unei identiti de gen prin mbrcarea fetielor n roz i a bieeilor n albastru chiar imediat
dup natere, ca semn al recunoaterii apartenenei.
n anumite cazuri ns, acest proces de exprimare a diferenei i recognoscibilitate
este unul de stigmatizare i marginalizare a unui individ sau a unui grup ajungndu-se pn
la eliminarea acestora din societate. n acest cadru este inclus i efortul politicii naziste de a
tipologiza indivizii i implicit grupurile din care acetia fac parte prin culori i simboluri:
[] deinuii purtau un semn distinctiv de recunoatere privind motivul deteniei. De partea
stng a hainei, n dreptul pieptului, precum i pe pantaloni, la piciorul drept, lateral a fost fixat cte
un vinklu (triunghi) din pnz. Culoarea acestui triunghi a marcat motivul deteniei. Astfel, era rou
(politic), verde (drept comun, ho, uciga), roz (homosexuali), violet (cercettori de biblie), galben
(evreii). Pe aceste vinkluri erau scrise cte o liter sau dou, conform limbii germane, ce indica ara
de provenien a deinutului. Deci, dac ai vzut un deinut cu vinclu rou, pe care scria F, a fost pe
semne un om capturat din rezistena francez. Unul cu roz, D, un homosexual german, iar altul cu
galben i litera U, un evreu din Ungaria etc. n lagrul Auschwitz toate funciile de comand din
lagr au fost deinute de verzi, adic de ctre criminali, ucigai i hoi. (Nussbaum, IRIR, 2004)
Heteroimaginea i mai ales dinamica imaginii, dei produse pentru a duce la
supravieuirea propriilor valori, duce n timp i prin contact cultural ndelungat la o
rennoire, la o reevaluare a percepiilor i la o acceptare a celuilalt. (Mucchielli, 2005: 176)
Teritoriul romnesc a fost unul cosmopolit mai ales n oraele interbelice. Acolo relaiile cu
alteritatea se gestionau att la nivel individual, ct i la nivelul grupului: [] n curtea noastr
v-am spus c locuia un cizmar neam. Eram ca i copiii lui. Noi nu fceam pom de Crciun, cum am
fcut eu dup aceea, dar mergeam la el. El venea la noi s mnnce de Purim mncarea noastr. Cnd

234
voiam ceva bun, mergeam la el s mncm un crenvurti sau aa ceva. Aveam cele mai bune relaii,
absolut cele mai bune relaii. Am avut colege germane i romnce la coal, nu erau numai evrei la
liceu sau n coala primar. n afar de romni, de nemi erau i vreo doi, trei cehi care de fapt mai
mult aparineau nemilor. (Bercovici, INSHR, 2009)
Fenomenul complex al atribuirii unei imagini urmeaz caracteristicile socio-culturale
ale fiinei umane. Imaginea pozitiv fa de sine este esenial supravieuirii, iar imaginea
celorlali se deosebete n funcie de apartenena acestora la grup sau nu. Astfel, indivizii i
construiesc despre Cellalt o imagine motenit, mprumutat sau apropriat. Reacia
individului ca parte a unui grup la alteritate a avut de-a lungul timpului mai multe reacii,
conform studiilor despre alteritate. Cu toate acestea, cele mai importante sunt descoperirea
unui:
1. Cellalt complet strin i ntruchiparea rului prin necunoscut,
2. Cellalt indiferent, a crui existen este separat, ndeprtat i de asemenea
necunoscut
3. Cellalt apropiat, recunoscut ca diferit i acceptat astfel. (Ferrol, Jucquois: 2005)
Transformarea n antagonist a Celuilalt presupune la o lupt pentru supravieuirea
propriilor valori. Cele dou culturi cultura iudaic i cea german s-au ntreptruns o
perioad ndelungat pe teritoriul romnesc. De aceea, ele se autodefinesc prin perspectiva
culturii naionale, a rii n care au trit, devenind astfel comunitatea evreilor din Romnia i
respectiv comunitatea germanilor din Romnia. Fie c au trit n aceleai zone sau doar i-au
format o imagine mitico-fantastic unii despre ceilali, cele dou comuniti sunt legate de
istoria comun. (Vultur, 2002; Oiteanu, 2004)

5. Concluzii

Ambele imagini, despre sine i despre alteritate, reflect un mod de a gndi i de a

crea perspective asupra realitii. Deoarece concepte cum ar fi auto- i hetero-imaginea nu
pot fi separate de comunicarea cultural, este clar c exist o nevoie de a nelege i de a
folosi corect aceste concepte.
ntlnirea cu alteritatea implic ntotdeauna eforturi de traducere i de adaptare la
un nou sistem de semne, astfel nct Cellalt s poat percepe noua auto-imagine n cadrul
comunitii gazd. Totodat, atunci cnd o comunitate primete n snul ei un nou membru
aceasta ncearc s promoveze o auto-imagine care este cea mai potrivit pentru noul ei
membru, uneori schimbnd i adaptnd.
Cum comunitatea iudaic ntotdeauna a preluat sau mprumutat, mai bine spus,
specificul rii n care s-a aezat de-a lungul timpului, n anumite momente ale istoriei,
aceasta s-a identificat cu comunitatea gazd, dovad fiind i existena unui cosmopolitism
lingvistic existent n Israel. Comunitatea evreilor din Romnia se remarc i astzi prin
utilizarea limbii i a valorilor culturii germane ca element de referin n construirea
discursului identitar.

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PORTRAIT DE LA TERMINOLOGIE ACTUELLE: TERMINOLOGIE
TEXTUELLE VS. TERMINOLOGIE CONCEPTUELLE

As.univ.dr. Izabela Oprea

Universit des Sciences Agricoles et Mdecine Vtrinaire-Bucarest

Notre travail se propose, dans un premier temps, dillustrer lapproche de la

terminologie conceptuelle en suivant une dmarche de type onomasiologique qui permet
de dduire la dfinition du terme (dfinition de chose , selon C. Roche 2012) partir
de celle du concept et de rendre ainsi oprationnelles les terminologies des fins de
traitement de linformation. Dans un deuxime temps, vu la nature de notre principal
objet dtude, la langue de la zootechnie, nous considrons utile demployer aussi une
approche smasiologique, descriptive, relevant dune terminologie textuelle. Ensuite,nous
ferons un bref rappel des objectifs de la TGT, qui ont motiv ses principes, pour
prsenter ensuite la Thorie Communicationnelle de la Terminologie de M.T. Cabr
(TCT), la socioterminologie et la terminologie sociocognitive, la terminologie fonde sur
la thorie des cadres de Fillmore, ainsi que les derniers dveloppements allant de
lontoterminologie de C. Roche (2007) la termontographie. Toutes ces thories rcentes
intgrent dune faon ou dune autre les acquis de la smantique et de la pragmatique
des dernires dcennies, notamment les approches de type cognitiviste.

Dans la partie applicative de notre travail nous essayerons de proposer un modle

danalyse conceptuelle des collocations du lexique zootechnique ayant pour base le
terme lait, partir de lide que les termes comme units de savoir spcialis sont des
units linguistiques qui ont de la signification conceptuelle lintrieur des discours spcialiss,
dans la communication entre spcialistes, dans la traduction des textes spcialiss ou
dans les textes de vulgarisation, position adopte aussi par Maria Teresa Cabr (2003).

1. Introduction

Dns la majorit des travaux scientifiques les nouvelles approches en terminologie bnficient
dune prsentation critique : il sagit notamment de la Thorie Communicationnelle de la
Terminologie, de la socioterminologie, de la terminologie sociocognitive, de la terminologie
base sur la thorie des cadres, de lontoterminologie et de la termontographie. Par
lintermde de notre travail, nous avons essay faire un court historique de la
terminologie, pour prsenter enfin les principes de la terminologie wsterienne.
Notre travail est centr sur la terminologie de la zootechnie qui est une terminologie faible
, une bonne partie de ses units tant empruntes la langue gnrale et fonctionnant par
consquent en tant que termes dans les seuls contextes spcialiss, comme outil de
communication entre spcialistes ou comme moyen de communication utilis par les
spcialistes pour des raisons didactiques ou de vulgarisation scientifique. Selon nous, la
terminologie de la zootechnie peut cependant tre envisage dans un cadre qui surpasse les
limites traces par la Thorie Gnrale de la Terminologie de Wster (sans pour autant
237
ngliger la dmarche onomasiologique que celle-ci propose), qui surpasse ltape des
nomenclatures et arrive plutt au niveau des cadres conceptuels. Ainsi, on commence notre
voyage sur les routes de la terminologie, quelles soient nouvelles ou anciennes.

2. Lhritage de la Thorie Gnrale de la Terminologie( TGT)

Avant de prsenter les principales thories actuelles de la terminologie, nous

considrons utile un bref rappel des principes la base de la Thorie Gnrale de la
Terminologie.

En prenant comme modle les constats de Maria Teresa Cabr (2003), nous
numrons les principaux objectifs de Wster :

- liminer lambigut des textes techniques laide de la standardisation de la

terminologie, pour les transformer dans des moyens de communication efficients ;

- convaincre tous les usagers de la terminologie des bnfices dune terminologie

standardise ;

- tablir la terminologie comme une discipline autonome et lui donner un statut

disciplinaire prcis ;

3. La Thorie Communicationnelle de la Terminologie (TCT)

Les principes gnraux de la TCT, que nous nous permettons de citer in

extenso(Cabr 2003 : 17 ) sont les suivants :

La TCT tient pour acquis que lunit terminologique constitue lobjet central de la
terminologie comme champ du savoir.

Les units terminologiques sont polydriques (elles ont des proprits linguistiques,
cognitives et socio-communicatives).

Laccs aux units terminologiques peut se faire par des portes diffrentes : la linguistique, les
sciences cognitives et les sciences de la communication sociale.

Chaque porte dentre exige une thorie adapte qui doit partager le mme objet central
(lunit terminologique) et sa conception polydrique. En outre, chaque thorie doit tre
cohrente avec les thories adaptes aux autres portes dentre.

Lanalyse des units terminologiques au moyen de la linguistique doit se faire partir de

textes et de productions linguistiques orales et crites.

Dans les textes, les units prototypiques servant reprsenter les connaissances spcialises
sont les units terminologiques.

Les termes sont des units dnominatives qui subissent des variations (polysmie et
synonymie).

238
 Les units terminologiques servent exprimer les connaissances spcialises, rle quelles
partagent avec les autres units linguistiques (morphmes, syntagmes et autres units
syntaxiques).

Les units terminologiques se caractrisent par rapport aux autres units linguistiques de
trois manires : elles correspondent des units lexicales cest--dire quelles ont la mme
structure morphologique ou syntaxique , elles entrent dans la structure conceptuelle dun
domaine et, smantiquement, elles reprsentent les units autonomes minimales de cette
structure.

Dans une thorie du langage, les units terminologiques ne sont pas conues comme des
units distinctes des mots qui font partie du lexique dun locuteur. Au contraire, elles sont
dcrites comme des valeurs spcialises attaches des units lexicales.

Une unit lexicale nest ni terminologique, ni gnrale. Par dfaut, elle est gnrale et
acquiert une valeur spcialise ou terminologique lorsque les conditions pragmatiques du
discours sont runies pour activer son signifi spcialis.

Toute unit lexicale peut devenir une unit terminologique, mme si cette valeur na jamais
t active. Cette possibilit permet dexpliquer les mcanismes de terminologisation et
dterminologisation.

Le sens spcialis nest pas un ensemble dinformations prdfini et bien ferm; il sagit plutt
du rsultat dune slection spcifique de caractristiques smantiques faite en fonction de
chaque situation de communication. Seule une thorie linguistique cognitive et
fonctionnelle, cest--dire qui renferme des composantes smantiques et pragmatiques en plus
dune composante grammaticale, peut dcrire le caractre spcifique des units
terminologiques et rendre compte de ce que ces units ont en commun avec les autres units
lexicales non spcialises. En outre, la pragmatique est indispensable pour expliquer
lactivation de la valeur terminologique des units lexicales. (Cabr 2003 : 17)

4. La Socioterminologie

La socioterminologie apparat comme rsultat du voisinage entre sociolinguistique et

terminologie, mais linfluence de la sociolinguistique thorique et de la
sociolinguistique de terrain lui donne le statut dactivit qui tudie la circulation des
termes en synchronie et en diachronie, lanalyse des significations et des
conceptualisations y tant incluse.

La socioterminologie rsulte donc, dans le champ de la terminologie, d'une position

pistmologique critique : accent mis sur les pratiques langagires et non plus sur la seule
"langue" rgle des experts et des normes ; refus de l'amalgame entre sciences et techniques
au profit d'une approche plus fine et contrastive ; primat accord la description sur la
prescription dans l'intervention des linguistes ; prise en compte de la dimension industrielle
de la communication "scientifique et technique", etc. (Gaudin 2005 : 81 )

La socioterminologie telle quelle a t propose par Gaudin (1993) nest pas seulement une
thorie de la langue, elle applique des principes sociolinguistiques la thorie
terminologique et explique les variations terminologiques en identifiant les variantes du
terme dans des contextes dusage diffrents. La variation terminologique est base sur des
239
critres sociaux et ethniques, ce qui, lintrieur de la communication spcialise, peut
conduire la cration de termes diffrents pour le mme concept ou de plus dun concept
pour un terme

5. La Terminologie Sociocognitive

La smantique cognitive (surtout les thories du prototype et de la mtaphore

conceptuelle) devient le point de dpart de la terminologie sociocognitive, telle
quelle a t dfinie par Rita Temmerman (2000).
En appliquant une double dmarche, smasiologique et onomasiologique,
Temmerman privilgie la catgorisation pour tablir une thorie de la terminologie
descriptive fonde sur des principes sociocognitifs.
La terminologie sociocognitive met laccent sur lorganisation conceptuelle, la
structure catgorielle, mais aussi sur la variation terminologique en langue de
spcialit dans les divers contextes langagiers et cognitifs, dans une grande varit de
situations de communication.
6. La Terminologie base sur la thorie des cadres

La terminologie base sur la thorie des cadres de Fillmore (v. Faber et al. 2005)
reprsente une approche cognitive rcente, qui partage des principes communs avec
la terminologie sociocognitive et la TCT. Ainsi, si la diffrence entre mots et termes
ne prsente pas dintrt pour cette approche, en change le comportement textuel
des units de savoir spcialis (USS) lintrieur des textes devient objet dtude. Vu
la fonction gnrale des textes spcialiss qui est la transmission des connaissances,
ceux-ci tendent respecter des schmas structurels ou canevas destins faciliter
la comprhension, et prsentent un degr lev de rptition des termes, expressions,
phrases et paragraphes.

7. LOntoterminologie

Lontoterminologie reprsente une approche terminologique qui situe lontologie au

centre de la terminologie :

Lontologie entendue comme,,science de ce qui existe constitue aujourdhui une des voies les
plus prometteuses pour la construction et la reprsentation formelle du systme notionnel
(Roche 2007 : 9).

Cette dfinition assez gnrale permet une double interprtation de lontologie qui
souligne sa dimension conceptuelle une ontologie est une conceptualisation dun
domaine - cest--dire une dfinition formelle des concepts et de leurs relations - dcrivant une
ralit partage par une communaut de pratique (ibid. : 9), en mme temps que sa
dimension terminologique : une ontologie est un vocabulaire de termes dont les
dfinitions sont donnes dune manire formelle (ibid. : 9)

Lontoterminologie insiste dune part sur limportance des principes

pistmologiques qui ont comme rsultat la conceptualisation du domaine, et
dautre part, sur lapproche scientifique de la terminologie o le spcialiste joue un
rle fondamental. Elle nest cependant objective que dans la mesure o elle est
partage et accepte par les membres dune mme communaut.

240
 On doit souligner le fait que lontoterminologie nessaie pas de comprendre le
monde, mais de le dcrire travers lexprience, la perception ou les appareils de
mesure ; par consquent les objets du monde seront dcrits comme la somme de
leurs qualits perceptibles, sur lesquelles se construit le systme notionnel.

8. La Termontographie

Pour finir, nous allons mentionner brivement lessor ces dernires annes de la
termontographie, une combinaison entre terminographie/terminotique et ontologie. La
termontographie est dfinie comme une approche multidisciplinaire o les thories et les
mthodes dune analyse terminologique multilingue ont leur base le sociocognitivisme
et sont combines avec des mthodes danalyse ontologique. Selon Temmerman (2003)
les ontologies peuvent tre dfinies comme des bases de connaissances o les termes
sont reprsents par des relations entre catgories. Ainsi, les connaissances humaines
implicites peuvent tre rendues explicites pour les ordinateurs.

IEEE Standard Upper OntologyWorking Group donne une dfinition des ontologies qui les
place sous la mme tiquette des dictionnaires ou des glossaires, en prcisant le fait que
les structures et les dtails prsents permettent aux ordinateurs den traiter
automatiquement le contenu ; ainsi, une organisation des bases de termes sous la forme
des reprsentations mentales des concepts serait utile pour une meilleure
comprhension des ontologies. Lontologie est forme dun ensemble de concepts, daxiomes
et de relations qui dcrivent le domaine dintrt . Au moment o les bases de termes
deviennent des bases de connaissances terminologiques (Meyer 1992) le nombre de
donnes augmente, parce que les concepts et les dnominations sont interconnects par
des relations porteuses de signification. On observe une prsence importante des
relations telles cause-effet, objet-fonction, etc., mme si les relations traditionnelles
(gnrique-spcifique, partie-tout) ne sont pas ngliges. Ceci permettrait une
reprsentation multidimensionnelle des concepts.

Pour conclure, nous sommes tout fait favorable lide que le concept reprsente un
moyen indispensable pour une meilleure comprhension du terme. Tant lintension que
lextension du concept nous offrent les dtails dont nous avons besoins dans nos
analyses. Les thories rcentes en terminologie prennent appui surtout sur la prise en
compte du conceptualisme dans une vision plus ample, relevant des acquis des sciences
cognitives et des mthodes de traitement automatique des donnes.

9. Application

Dans ces collocations, le collocatif spcifie lespce laquelle appartient la femelle

laitire.

lait de vache

Le lait de vache est le lait produit par la vache pour alimenter son veau. Il contient les trois
nutriments principaux (glucides, lipides, protines), des sels minraux comme le calcium et
le phosphore, des vitamines, ainsi que l'hormone de croissance du veau. Le lait de vache peut tre
plus ou moins transform, et forme la principale matire premire de l'industrie laitire.(A.
Drapiez, Dictionnaire classique des sciences naturelles, tome 6me )

241
Caractristiques :

a. Fournies par les dictionnaires

- Contenu : glucides, lipides, protines, sels minraux (calcium, phosphore), vitamines,

hormone de croissance

- Utilisation

-alimentation des veaux

-consommation humaine - principale matire premire de lindustrie laitire

b. Fournies par les textes

Utilisation

- principal substitut du lait de femme

- mdecine remde

lait de brebis

Sa densit est, en gnral un peu plus grande que celle du lait de vache. Le beurre quil contient
est plus abondant et plus fusible et son fromage plus gras. Il a eu en outre une odeur particulire
qui le fait aisment reconnatre.(A. Drapiez, Dictionnaire classique des sciences naturelles,
tome 6-me)

Caractristiques

a. Fournies par les dictionnaires

Contenu (aspects qualitatifs, quantitatifs, comparatifs) : beurre plus abondant et plus

fusible que celui du lait de vache

Densit : plus grande que celle du lait de vache

Odeur : particulire

b. Fournies par les textes

Contenu : diffrents types dacides, eau, matire grasse, lactose, cassene, etc.

Utilisation : consommation humaine

10. CONCLUSIONS

La diffrence entre la dmarche classique, onomasiologique, wsterienne et la dmarche

smasiologique que Roche (2012) appelle terminologie conceptuelle , ainsi que les
thories rcentes en terminologie mettent en vidence le fait que la terminologie
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 conceptuelle actuelle permet de rendre oprationnelles les terminologies des fins de
traitement de linformation, mais aussi de prserver la diversit langagire et de prendre
en compte le multilinguisme (Roche 2012).

Lanalyse conceptuelle des collocations est utile pour la dlimitation des concepts par
leurs caractristiques ; elle permet non seulement la reprsentation mentale, mais aussi
la reprsentation graphique des relations entre les concepts spcialiss, la dernire partie
de notre travail en tant la preuve.

RFRENCES

CABR, M. T., Theories of terminology. Their description, prescription, explanation, Terminology 9 : 2, pp

163199., John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2003;
FABER , Pamela, The Cognitive Shift in Terminology and Translation Application, MonTI no.1, http :
//rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/13039/1/MonTI_01_10.pdf,
2005;

GAUDIN, Franois, La Socioterminologie et ses perspectives, Cahier no.7 Langage et Travail, pp, 9-
15,1993 ; GAUDIN, Franois, La socioterminologie , Langages, 39e anne, pp 80-92, n157, 2005 ;
MEYER, I., Computer-Assisted Concept Analysis for Terminology Work, Proceedings of the Nordic Post
Graduate Course in Terminology (Mariehamn, Finland, Sept. 1990). Stockholm : Tekniska
nomenklaturcentralen, pp. 193-212, 1992;
ROCHE,Chr., Le terme et le concept, Fondements dune ontoterminologie, TOTh 2007 : Terminologie &
Ontologie : Thories et Applications - Annecy 1er, 2007 ;
ROCHE,Chr., Le concept , Repres, no.1, 2012 ;
TEMMERMAN, R., Questioning the univocity ideal.The difference between sociocognitive Terminology and
traditional Terminology, Hermes, Journal of Linguisticsno. 18 ,2000.

243
 CONCEPTUALIZATION. CLASSES AND CATEGORIES

PhD Jr. lecturer Izabela Oprea,

University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine-Bucharest

1. Introduction

Our work tries to comprise the main ideas which represent the basis of
conceptualization in terminology.
According to ISO 704, conceptualization represents the observation and abstraction of the
objects that are classified into categories that correspond to units of knowledge called
concepts.
The concept, according to its linguistic nature isnt given, it is thought and built. We deduce
its definition from the one of the term.
To conceptualize a field represents a complex task because it doesnt concern only a
terminological work but also an ontological one. To achieve a result means to perceive all
relations which establish inside a field of research. Having in mind this goal, we can guide
ourselves according some stages established by Maria Teresa Cabr (1998), such as:
- The way an individual conceptualizes ones reality and structures ones knowledge;

- The nature of concepts, the way they are established , the reciprocity nature of
relations and the way they are classified inside a structure of knowledge;

- The way concepts are related to terms.

Consequently, we will guide ourselves according to these stages in the elaboration of the
present work.

2. Classification. General notions

For human beings, classification is very important in terms of understanding;

everybody needs labels, categories, classes in order to denominate the surroundings.
Since the oldest times, people felt the need to live in an organized world, ruled by principles,
laws, rules and categories. Along the time, we observe the lastingness of the category or
class notion, within society but also in different fields of study.

Nowadays, we remark the deep necessity of classification in every work field, no matter its
nature, namely linguistics, literature, history, philosophy and especially in terminology.

According to us, classification guides terminologists steps, helping oneself to determine the
categories and the classes one needs during a certain work. Searching the Internet in order
to find articles based on different terminologies, we discover the classification importance
(however, we observe the nomenclatures which are abundant , namely classifications for
chemical substances, for drugs, for food, for diseases, for metals, etc..).

244
 The classification operation has its roots in the most ancient times, its founding father
being Aristotle. He establishes ten categories as kinds of the Ego and he denominates the
objects of the human thinking as logical categories, these ones being classified according to:
substance, quantity, quality, relation, place, time, position, possession, action and passion.

Kleiber ( 1991) considers the Aristotle model as basis of every categorization. Thus,

la catgorisation se fait sur la base de proprits communes. Le rassemblement dans une mme
catgorie d'objets diffrents ne fait en effet plus de difficults si l'on admet que les lments runis
prsentent un certain nombre d'attributs en commun. Pour dcider de l'appartenance d'un x a la
catgorie des chiens, il suffit de vrifier si le x en question possde les attributs qui constituent le
dnominateur commun de la catgorie, autrement dit, s'il est un animal, un mammifre, etc. S'il
vrifie ces proprits, ce sera un chien (...) La catgorisation ainsi conue rpond a un modle de
conditions ncessaires et suffisantes (CNS) ( quoted by le Glossaire de Linguistique)
However, barely during the 18th century the Swedish physician and naturalist Carl von
Linn (1707-1778) sets up a modern system of classification, namely the binomial system,
system which works nowadays too.

In 1978, Rosch and Loyd consider the goal of classification as

la tche fondamentale de tout organisme [] de segmenter lenvironnement en classifications par

lesquelles des stimuli non-identiques puissent tre traits comme quivalents (quoted by Rastier
1991 : 180 ).

In terminology, classification represents an essential operation for the understanding but

also for the terms translation. We continue with different kinds of definitions which well
underline the operating principles of classification and categorization, namely class and
category.

3 . Class and category in terminology

Manuel Sevilla Munoz gives the following definition of terminology :

Terminology is a science whose aim is to study terms, which are lexical elements used in specialised
fields (subjects or their branches) and generated in such fields or modified from elements already
existing in other fields. Terminology allows the compilation, description and presentation of terms.
Compilation of terms: preparation of lists with terms belonging to a certain subject, according to a
previously established methodology. Description of terms: definition or definitions of each term
(semantic focus) and description of the elements composing the term and its generation process
(morphological focus).
Presentation of terms: preparation of dictionaries.( 2014: 3)

This definition, belonging to a well-known Spanish terminologist shows us, once more that
terminology has an operational side, it compiles, describes and presents terms. These
operations help us to discover the classificatory side of terminology.

Alain Rey defines terminology as ltude systmatique des termes qui soccupe densembles
structurs de noms, dnotant des ensembles dobjets groups en classes par des critres quexpriment

245
leurs dfinitions (1979 : 24).This definition introduces in an explanatory way the notion of
class and category - ensemble structur des noms ; the author unveils the importance of
classification but also its reason to exist, thus we cope with notions classification in classes
and categories.Finding and giving a definition for these notions represents a wide research
work in linguistics and in terminology, thus we consider to be useful for the present work
only to quote and comment some definitions we consider to be important for our field of
study:

Une classe est un ensemble dobjets dfinis par le fait quils possdent tous et possdent seuls un ou
plusieurs caractres communs (Picoche 1977 : 96) ;
Une catgorie nest pas une classe lexicale, mais une classe des concepts( Rastier 1991 : 184)

We may add that category involves a certain number of elements, considered as equals.
Most of the times, the categories are generally designated by nouns.
A category defines the extension of a subclass of a given object set (class). When the defined subclass
has an intensional concept beside its extensional definition, the category refers to the corresponding
class concept. When the sub class has one or more divisions into subclasses again, it may refer to one
or more classifications.( http://www.odbms.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/
P2_TerminologyModel_v1.pdf)
Analysing the definitions we have given above, one reaches the conclusion that we have
to make the difference between class - assembly of objects which possesses at least one
common characteristics- and category - objects class designed by lexical units, generally
by nouns.

4. Classification functions

The classification as terminological operation is achieved due to two axes, firstly we speak
about a knowledge delimitation, determining domains and sub-domains or application
domains and afterwards as a second operation we have terms regrouping by means of the
pre-established relations which exist within a pre-established domain: logical relations (
generic relations, specific relations, coordination relations) , ontological relations ( part
relation and associative relations) etc..
We continue our work by emphasizing the fact that classification is mainly presented by a
terminologist according to its extensional definition, namely the objects which are described
within a classification are categories and not classes, as most of people tend to believe. Thus,
classification is the process which describes the properties of its categories.
The purpose of classification is to divide a given set of elements into different subsets, thus
category may be defined as a partitive concept.

The concept for each sub class is defined as category, which define the meaning of each sub
class (associating categories with codes is more a technical issue). A category can be linked to
a number of object types for three purposes:

a) defining one or more divisions for the subclass, in which case the category refers to one or
more subordinated classifications.

b) referring to an applied category, which refers to an object type that describes the objects in
the subclass.

246
 c) Referring to an object type, which describes the properties of a category(
http://www.odbms.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/P2_TerminologyModel_v1.pdf)

In order to better exemplify what we have mentioned above, well give an example from
our study field, namely the field of animal science.
Speaking about animals, we have to divide a group of animals in order to set up the
breeding principles. Firstly, we will have to divide them according to sex and we obtain two
categories, namely males and females. In terms of reproduction, we may divide males and
females into livingstock used for reproduction and livingstock used for slaughtering. In case
of females, well obtain three different subclasses: those which give birth, those which are
used for their produces and the ones which are used in the slaughter houses.
According to Besss les classifications rpondent un besoin dordonner les connaissances. Mais
lordre ainsi cr est souvent relatif, arbitraire et subjectif. Il reflte une interprtation du rel
(2000 : 187).
Consequently, the same author insists on the importance of cognitif systems which reflect
lorganisation des connaissances dun groupe de spcialistes dans telle ou telle discipline, un
moment donn, dans une aire gographique determine (ibid.).
Thus, we reach to the conclusion that we really need the specialists help in order to achieve
proper classifications in terms of the science we deal with but also in terms of terminology.

Within the same work, Bess proposes another classification which helps us to discover the
nature of the term but also the field/ the domain to which this one belongs, in order to better
perceive the connection of the field to the conceptual system. Thus, inside a terminology. He
distinguishes the following types of classification:

- Free classification: the terminographer may indicate the field according to one;s
research and needs. However Bess doesnt recommend this classification on account
of the risks connected to incoherence and creation of a parallel terminology;

- Scientific classification: this one reproduces the classifications presented in scientific

works , being adopted in terminology and terminography.

- Documentary classification: Bess doesnt consider it important due to the descriptive

characteristics of the papers and due to the shortage of an own proper terminology.

- Semantic classification: it is base on the important semantic categories which dont

have a proper connection with the conceptual systems.

- Functional classification: it represents the proper classification proper for

documentation.

- Conceptual classification: it sets up the conceptual structures and constitutes the

domains.

5. The Domain

In terminology, the domain represents the basis of an imaginary terminological triangle

which is made also of a concept and of a definition. The domain is the equivalent for the
conceptual field to which an assembly of terms belongs.

247
It is already established that the domain shows that a concept belongs to a conceptual
system , while the definition makes the difference among concepts inside the same system.
Thus, the domain represents a cognitive system, a conceptual organization , being the only
way to indentify, to delimitate and to denominate a cognitive structure.
We consider necessary to mention the existence of the three important categories of
domains, such as: the knowledge domain, the activity domain and the speech domain
(according to Bess 2000).
In our case, we may consider animal science as an activity domain, thus following an
onomasiological approach we may divide animal science into more sub-domains, such as:
animals nutrition, animals reproduction, animal production, farming systems , animals
health and environmental protection. All these sub-domains show us the importance of class
and category not only in terminology but in the animal science itself.

6. Conclusions

We consider that our work has succeeded, at least, partly in clearing out the difference
between class and category. Thus, in terms of semantics, we may conclude that category is a
hypernym while class is a hyponym.
We consider important for each science to do a classification of its own domains and sub-
domains, thus, we tried to do a classification of animal science sub-domains, framing animal
science within the activity domain. We havent neglected the fact that animal science may
constitute also a knowledge domain, but this issue will be treated in a further work

Bibliography

BESSE, Bruno(de), Le domaine, en Henri Bejoint et Phillippe Thoiron, Le sens en

terminologie, Lyon, Presses Universitaires de Lyon, pp 182-197 ;
CABR, M. T., La Terminologie, mthode et application, Armand Colin & Les
Presses de lUniversit dOttawa, 1998 ;
CABR, M. T., Theories of terminology. Their description, prescription,
explanation, Terminology 9 : 2, pp 163199., John Benjamins Publishing Company,
2003;
DEPECKER, L., Le signe entre signifi et concept, in Henri Bjoint & Philippe
Thoiron, Le sens en terminologie, Lyon, Presses Universitaires de Lyon, pp 186-126,
2000 ;
DEPECKER, L., Entre signe et concept, lments de terminologie gnrale, Presses
Sorbonne Nouvelle, 2002 ;
DEPECKER, L., Contribution de la terminologie la linguistique , Langages 157,
Paris, pp 6-13, 2005 ;
KLEIBER, G., Smantique lexicale : traits catgoriels ou traits non catgoriels ?,
Aroui, J.-L. (d.), Le sens et la mesure. De la pragmatique la mtrique. Hommages
Benot de Cornulier, Paris, Honor Champion, 99-122, 2003 ;
MUNOZ, M., Terminology Model, http://www.odbms.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/11/P2_TerminologyModel_v1.pdf
PICOCHE, J., Prcis de lexicologie franaise, Universit Nathan, 1977.
RASTIER, Fr., Smantique et recherches cognitive, Paris, PUF, 1991 ;
REY, A., La Terminologie, Noms et Notions, Presses Universitaires de France, 1979 ;

248
 COMPLEXITY OF BEDSIDE MANNERS AS A FORM OF
COMMUNICATION

Sef de lucrari Dr Corina Silvia Pop

UMF Carol Davila Bucuresti

1. Aim of the paper and theoretical background communication within the medical context

The medical act comprises certain forms of communication, which should be taken into
consideration both in medical school, by effective focused training, as well as throughout a
doctors entire career, through good practices and examples to follow and an open attitude
towards such sensitive issues.
As pointed out in the literature (Suval, 2013), if the communication between a doctor
and the patient has flaws of any kind, then one can expect serious obstacles to impede the
appropriate medical act to be carried out to the benefit of the latter and also to the professional
and personal satisfaction of the former.
Moreover, as emphasized in the same study, the natural anxiety of the patient, already
developed because of their condition, has unfortunately high chances of increasing, hence a
vicious circle, as difficulty in communication is enhanced and even more obstacles hinder or
distort good cooperation between the two partners: doctor and patient.
Good communication and appropriate communication skills of a medical doctor can be
seen as a complex of components, ranging from language, gestures, attitude, empathy a. s. o.,
while, on the other hand, the reverse, namely poor bedside manners can be described as:
rudeness, cold attitudes, inadequate listening skills, and a complete disregard for the patients
fears, according to Suval, op. cit.
Therefore, we aim to present the issue of bedside manners within the ampler sphere of
communication in the medical environment, maintaining the point that if they are conducted in
a positive manner, by a trained doctor, they can be an integral part of a positive medical act.
This positive outcome is stressed in the literature (Wright, 2010), who points out to the
advantages of effective medical communication skills, citing studies carried out in Britain. Thus,
among the positive results listed, here are some of the most important ones:
- more accurate diagnosis
- a more equitable doctor-patient relationship
- increased doctor patient satisfaction
- a reduction in incidences of clinical error.
In our country, there has been some interest on the topic, particularly for the areas with
bilingual population (Zazgyva et al., 2014). The authors of the cited study refer to a multilingual
setting, recommending appropriate training that should be provided to the medical students
who are supposed to work in such contexts.

249
 Training should develop, as they maintain, not only good linguistic skills and
multicultural sensitivity, but also an attitude of open-mindedness and a permanent willingness
to identify good solutions.
Moreover, the most important recommendation that is made is to introduce such
disciplines in the permanent curriculum of medical schools.
Wright, op. cit. lists the subskills that he considers should be developed and shaped in
the medical students, as follows:
- beyond the simple talking to the patient, and aside from examining and prescribing,
- doctors should also maintain and build rapport,
- negotiate solutions and/or options of treatment,
- interpret and understand signs of emotion,
- being able to break bad news,
- handle different types of patients, ranging from children to the elderly,
- handle situations requiring high level sensitivity etc.
Therefore, the linguistic element is only one of the many components of a doctors good
communication skills. A complete program of training should include at least the following
issues, according to Wright:
- verbal communication,
- non-verbal communication,
- active listening,
- voice management,
- cultural awareness,
- ways and means of dealing with deficiencies in communication by developing
appropriate strategies.
It should be shown at this level that the European Union decision factors have taken
appropriate measures in order to counteract the series of reported incidents that took place
because of language barriers between foreign doctors and patients in a certain country, firstly
by having the doctors tested for their linguistic knowledge, but, to an equal extent, attention
should be focused on training in matters of communication in general.
Such measures can ensure doctors mobility in the EU member states, exercising their
profession at the best of their capabilities, not only from the immediate medical viewpoint, but
also in terms of their good communication with the patients.

2. Approaches to teaching bedside manners as a form of communication - revisited

As shown in the literature (Arora, 2003; Stewart, 1995; Roter, 1983), effective
communication between doctors and patients is more than an accessory to the medical act, it
should be seen as a central clinical function, with sometimes, if not always, an extremely
important role to play in the good unfolding of the treatment.
As stated by certain authors (Brdart et al., 2005; Lee et al., 2002; Platt et al., 2007) who
have approached the issue of the doctor-patient communication, there are certain important
aims in it, as follows;
- creating a good interpersonal relationship,

250
 - facilitating exchanges of information relevant to the case,
- including patients in the decision-making act.
To the above, we would like to add an idea maintained in the literature (Hall et al., 1981),
namely that it is precisely bedside manners that play the role of determining factor in the
patients judgment of their doctors competence in general.
There are numerous studies devoted to good practices in teaching medical students, and
doctors in general, how to communicate as well as possible with their patients (for instance
Chiduzie, 2014).
The issues covered refer to aspects such as:
- dealing with differences of linguistic knowledge,
- handling the differences in register, level and style of communication between the
doctors, who use sophisticated terminology, and the regular lay patients with
average education, respectively.
How do we teach such aspects? To what extent is it possible to raise the awareness of
medical trainees of such issues? There are numerous answers, which we will briefly analyze in
diachronic and synchronic plans.
Thus, the 19th century specialists would advise (Osler, W., quoted in Chiduzie, op. cit.)
the practical approach, that of learning by doing, maintaining that "medicine is learnt by the
bedside not in the classroom".
However, today simulations are very much in use, with videos of doctors dealing with
patients, and their approaches being discussed and commented upon by the students. Others
present actors performing the role of a doctor and the students entering the game in their turn.
There are several positive aspects in these activities, which range from the convincing character
of authenticity of the task, setting and situations, through providing examples of authentic
language, and up to offering instances for the students to notice the key features taken into
account.
As shown in the literature (Fong et al., 2015), if communication does not go well
between a doctor and the patient, then there are numerous problems that can occur, among
which:
- deterioration of doctors' communication skills,
- nondisclosure of information,
- doctors' avoidance behavior,
- discouragement of collaboration.
To the above, we would like to add lack of communication, which refers to both
linguistic and cultural matters, which we see as an equally detrimental factor.
To these, one should also add the remark on the components of communication in this
context (Chi et al., 2008), i.e. style and content.

3. Barriers in doctor-patient communication

There are numerous obstacles in a good communication, and the literature we accessed
deals with many of them. Thus, some are due to a mismatch in communication due to
differences of language, cultural differences etc. (Fentiman, 2007).

251
 These add to the natural patients anxiety and fear in their condition as patients, and
also to the doctors sometimes high working load and reluctance because of possible litigations,
abuse and nonfulfilment of the patients expectations.
As emphasized (Fong et al., 2015), much patient dissatisfaction is due to breakdown in
the smooth mutual relationship between the two partners: doctor-patient.
A lot of caricatures, jokes and other humorous, even satirical, forms of art have been
created, that stress on these aspects, as can be seen from the caricature (Metzger, 2015) we have
selected as an illustration of our point (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Cartoon entitled: For some patients, Dr. Edwards

would play 'Diagnosis Charades'

Such charades are certainly conducive to serious damages brought to the medical act,
and they should be avoided by permanent concern of the medical school in training their
students in this respect.
They refer not only to verbal communication, but also to the non-verbal one, as an
essential component of the bedside manners as a form of communication, vital for the medical
relationship between doctor and patient.

252
 With so many numerous examples of the negative type extracted from the TV shows,
films and other media forms (Gross et al., 2012), it has become visible that there is a certain form
of erosion of the etiquette and bedside manners errors in the patterns of relationships, which
have been analyzed recently. They refer to interactions of the type:
- doctor/nurse-patient
- doctor-family,
- doctor-doctor,
- doctor-nurse.
By such analyses, some other potentially concerning trends have emerged, too. The
studies dealing with such aspects emphasize that media portrayals could have a positive result
in influencing current medical students behavior.
Similarly, there have been suggestions that the media could be used as teaching tools, by
analyzing films and shows with a critical open-minded eye.

4. Teaching bedside manners a must

From the media supported tasks of teaching/learning bedside manners and other issues
concerning communication in medicine, one can realize that there is still much to be done in this
respect, with new methods and manners of doing that still to be identified, applied and
practiced, and research upon them sdhould be done with a view to identifying best solutions.
Currently, there are few, if any, universities of medicine where these aspects are
included in a course/discipline/study program.
The issue is being discussed (McFadden, 2013), particularly placing at the centre
hospitals as an arena of teaching the skills of compassion, for instance, by means of simulations.
We maintain that there are many other possibilities of including this important
component of a good doctors repertory of skills in the curriculum of all medical schools all over
the world.

5. Open conclusions

Several main ideas can be drawn as interim conclusions at this stage.

Firstly, as extremely well expressed in the literature (Hall et al., 1981): Medicine is an
art whose magic and creative ability have long been recognized as residing in the interpersonal
aspects of patient-physician relationship. Therefore, it is paramount to admit the place and
role performed by bedside manners and good communication in general for the medical act.
Then, no medical school should disregard results of studies (Harms et al., 2004; Bensing
et al., 1985) pointing out to the fact that communication skills have been found to improve the
doctor-patient relationship and communication.
To conclude, as appropriately emphasized in the literature (Chiduzie, 2014), such a goal
can only be attained if there is a genuine desire to communicate between the doctor and the
patient, that transcends barriers and characterizes a certain type of attitude.

253
References

- Arora, N. , 2003, Interacting with cancer patients: the significance of physicians' communication behavior,
Soc Sci Med. 2003;57((5)):791806
- Bensing, J. M., Sluijs, E. M., (1985), Evaluation of an interview training course for general practitioners.
Soc Sci Med. 1985;20((7)):737744
- Brdart, A., Bouleuc, C., Dolbeault, S., (2005), Doctor-patient communication and satisfaction with care
in oncology. Curr Opin Oncol. 2005; 17((14)):351354
- Chiduzie Madubata, 2014, Breaking down the language barrier in medicine,
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2014/05/breaking-language-barrier-medicine.html
- Chi, A., Montuschi, A., Cammarosano, S. et al., (2008), ALS patients and caregivers communication
preferences and information seeking behaviour. Eur J Neurol. 2008;15((1)):5560. Epub 2007 Nov 14.
doi:10.1111/j.1468-1331.2008.02143.x
- Fentiman, I. S., (2007), Communication with older breast cancer patients, Breast J. 2007;13((4)):406409.
- Fong Ha, Jennifer and Longnecker, Nancy, (2015), Doctor-Patient Communication: A Review,
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3096184/
- Gross, A., Stern, T. W., Silverman, B.C., (2012), Portrayals of Professionalism by the Media:
Trends in Etiquette and Bedside Manners as Seen on Television.
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/230697221_Portrayals_of_Professionalism_by_the_M
edia_Trends_in_Etiquette_and_Bedside_Manners_as_Seen_on_Television
- Hall, J. A., Roter, D. L., Rand, C. S., (1981), Communication of affect between patient and physician, J
Health Soc Behav. 1981;22((1)):1830.
- Harms, C., Young, J. R., Amsler F., Zettler, C., Scheidegger, D., Kindler, C. H., (2004), Improving
anaesthetists' communication skills. Anaesthesia. 2004;59((2)):166172.
- http://www.wndu.com/news/specialreports/headlines/Teaching-bedside-manner-to-med-
students-208699701.html?device=phone&c=y
- Lee, S. J., Back, A. L., Block, S. D., Stewart, S. K. (2002), Enhancing physician-patient communication.
Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2002;1: 464483
- McFadden, Maureen (2013), Teaching bedside manner to med students,
- Metzger, Scott, (2015), Cartoon entitled: For some patients, Dr. Edwards would play 'Diagnosis
Charades', https://www.cartoonstock.com/cartoonview.asp?catref=smen58
- Platt, F. W., Keating, K. N., (2007), Differences in physician and patient perceptions of uncomplicated
UTI symptom severity: understanding the communication gap, Int J Clin Prac. 2007;61((2)):303308.
- Roter, D. L., (1983), Physician/patient communication: transmission of information and patient effects.
Md State Med J. 1983;32((4)):260265
- Stewart, M. A., (1995), Effective physician-patient communication and health outcomes: a review. CMAJ.
1995;152((9)):14231433
- Suval, Lauren, 2013, The Negative Impact of a Doctors Poor Bedside Manner, Psych Central1995-2015,
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/04/13/the-negative-impact-of-a-doctors-poor-
bedside-manner/
- Wright, Ros, 2010, Doctors' language in need of intensive training care,
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/jul/13/doctors-english-training
- Zazgyva A., Sndor-Gyrgy Zuh, Voidzan S., Russu, O. , 2014, Medical Students View on
Troublesome Aspects of Bedside Manner in a Multilingual Area, The Fourth International Conference
on Adult Education Adult Education in Universities. Local and Regional Perspectives, Iasi,
Romania, Volume: Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 142,
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/273072740_Medical_Students_View_on_Troublesome
_Aspects_of_Bedside_Manner_in_a_Multilingual_Area

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 REFLECTION-BASED TASKS: THE PHOTOVOICE ASSIGNMENT

Lector Dr. Fabiola Popa

Universitatea Politehnica Bucureti

1. Introduction

As I was arguing elsewhere (Popa, Your Career Plan: Exploration and Strategies), the
seminar English for Professional Communication has two major focuses: a focus on the
students inner world (helping the students in their attempt at discovering their hidden
potential, personal values, and standards related to their professional life) and a focus on the
outer world and the realities of work (helping students become aware of the requirements of
the labour market, of the correct approach of the employment file elements, of the psychology
of interviews, of business etiquette and of the unwritten codes of corporate culture).
These focuses call for two types of tasks: reflection-based (who am I?/what do I want?)
and research-based (what is out there for me to take/ how do I proceed in order to take it ?),
tasks which are meant to tackle and, hopefully, to balance the hopes and the potential of the
individual with the opportunities and the requirements of the real world.
The present article is meant to be one in a series of papers on reflection-based tasks, that
kind of task whose focal point is the I. Such a task requires students to reflect on a variety of
personal issues (personal skills, values, standards, needs, potential, limitations, habits) and
come up with a personal image to be subsequently adapted to the findings about the real
professional world, findings resulted from research-based tasks.
This article presents the PhotoVoice assignment as a reflection-based task that could
help students become more aware of themselves in terms of personality and habits, as well as of
the world surrounding them. The paper will put forth the definition and the current
applications of Photovoice worldwide. It will also present a simplified version of it assigned to
2nd year students on the occasion of the English for Specific Purposes seminar (including the
teachers and students feedback) and it discusses the way in which the task could be adapted
for its use in the English for Professional Communication seminar.

2. PhotoVoice: definition and applications

PhotoVoice is a participatory action research strategy developed by Caroline Wang,

PhD, and Mary Ann Burris, PhD, relying on three theoretical frameworks: empowerment
education, feminist theory, and documentary photography. The theory of empowerment
education urges individuals to take their lives into their own hands and make themselves heard
in society by documenting realities of their community and making them known to policy
makers. In its turn, the theoretical underpinning of feminism is that women deserve to take
active part in the policies that affect their existence because no one knows better than them the
problems they face as a result of being considered the second sex. Finally, documentary
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photography has long proven its powerful effect on the perception of surrounding realities, and
even more so when photographs are taken by insiders, therefore offering a more subjective and
a more nuanced view on particular social issues.
The Photovoice method was initially meant to raise awareness of the life of rural
women in China and to influence policymakers to take a stance regarding their problems. It is
defined as a process by which people can identify, represent, and enhance their community
through a specific photographic technique. As a practice based in the production of knowledge,
Photovoice has three main goals: (1) to enable people to record and reflect their communitys
strengths and concerns, (2) to promote critical dialogue and knowledge about important issues
through large and small group discussion of photographs, and (3) to reach
policymakers(Wang 1997).
The areas in which PhotoVoice has been mainly used are health, community
development, and management, but recent years have witnessed an increased use of this
method in education, as well (Wang 2009). PhotoVoice has also turned into online projects such
as photovoice.org, for example, whose vision is for a world in which no one is denied the
opportunity to speak out and be heard, a project under which smaller projects have been
subsumed, focusing on subjects as diverse as addiction, life after prison, or sensory impairment.
In short, Photovoice relies on the powerful quality of the photograph to make known to the
world realities of non-mainstream communities and groups, one of the key principles of the
method being that images teach (Wang 1999).
Its underpinning is that change should start at the individual level though shift of
perception and only then can one hope to increase social action at the community and
institutional level (Wang 1994).
The basic procedures of the PhotoVoice method are the following: identification and
recruitment of a target audience of policy makers in a certain area of interest, recruitment and
training of a group of Photovoice participants, brainstorming around the topic chosen in order
to make it clearer and more specific, taking photographs, meeting for the discussion of the
photographs, and finally, building up a strategy to share photographs and stories with the
larger community and community leaders (Wang 1999).
The meeting for the discussion of the photos has three stages on its agenda: selection of
the photographs (a certain course of discussion is thus established), contextualization (through
storytelling the photographs become richer in meaning, problems become clearer, solutions
may emerge more easily), codification (issues, themes or theories are identified and given a
name). The discussion revolves around five questions, grouped under the acronym SHOWeD:
What do you See here? What is really Happening here? How does this relate to Our lives? Why
does this situation, concern or strength exist? What can we Do about it? (Wang 1999).
Answering each of the five questions in turn leads to the progressive understanding that
more than one meaning can be attached to one single photo and that the perspectives on the
issue at stake can get more profound as one digs deeper into the possible messages of the photo.
III. Technology in My Life a PhotoVoice Assignment
a) The task
What follows is the description of an adapted, simplified version of the PhotoVoice
method for the class of English for Specific Purposes, for the second year students in the Faculty
of Engineering in Foreign Languages.
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 The assignment was meant to be a pilot version for future similar assignments, adapted
to various topics dealt with during the four semesters of English language class in the
Polytechnic University of Bucharest. What we hoped for was to propose a a task which would
break from the traditional types of assignment students have had to attend to most of their
academic life and to see to what extent PhotoVoice can foster self-awareness related to crucial
aspects of modern society, in this case, technology.
The task consisted in documenting the topic Technology in My Life through
photographs. While the topic of technology itself is very vast, the focus of this particular task
was narrowed down to the I, therefore making it very personal and relevant to the student.
The students were given six weeks to find (or create) meaningful contexts worth of
being photographed. They were asked to take at least four photographs and write captions
which would illustrate their relationship with technology and to tell the class the story around
them under the form of a Power Point presentation, whose rules had been taught a semester
before. They were instructed with respect to ethics ( they were not allowed to take photos of
strangers, only of acquaintances and friends, with the latters approval; they were also
forbidden to take photos of objects without the owners approval; they were not allowed to
download pictures from the internet).
Before setting to the task, two examples of meaningful photos were given by the teacher.
One was by a National Geographic photographer who had managed to take several snapshots
of a man who was checking his Facebook account on a yacht, missing out on the fact that in the
meantime a whale was passing by. The other one featured a surveillance camera placed on a
street wall on which the famous motto Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite was carved.
A brainstorming session took place, in which students drew up a list of possible topics
related to technology to be tackled in their stories. There were two possible ways to start
working on the task: either to choose one or two topics and try to find meaningful contexts to
match the latter, or to take interesting photos randomly and then find the common denominator
around which to build a context. Some of the topics arising from the discussion are listed below.

freedom/constraint
communication/miscommunication
addiction/skills enhancement
evolution / regression
transparency/lack of privacy
access to information/information overload, manipulation
nostalgia/looking forward
ethics
time saving/time consuming
work/free time
generation gap
globalization
etc.

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b) The students and the teachers feedback

After delivering their presentations in front of the class, the students were asked to
answer a mini-questionnaire anonymously. Some of the answers are quoted below:

1. What did you find interesting about the PhotoVoice assignment?

when the photos were maked (sic!), it is very interesting to find out places, devices and
stories for the photos
The PVA allows you to talk about personal topics and to get involved emotionally, in
comparison with other types of presentations.
being able to relate to a real situation.
posed a unique challenge because I had to use my own pictures to convey my perceptions
about the subject.
you can show the others what you like, what you use and make them interested in that.

2. What did you find difficult about the PhotoVoice assignment?

I could not use information and pictures from the internet.

to look for spots that have a meaning
I didnt know how to start or to end.
building the story from the scratch.
choosing a narrow category from such a broad topic.

3. To what extent did the PhotoVoice assignment raise your awareness (of your daily
routine/environment/other)?

I came to the conclusion that 100% of the time I stay inside and it scares me that it doesnt
scare me at all.
I realized I spend a lot of time doing useless things like playing, Facebook etc.
This project raised my attention to all addiction (sic!) generated by technology and made me
use internet less.
I decided to use my smartphone less.
It reminded me how much time I waste misusing technology. It has been like a bucket of cold
water in my face.
This homework made me realize how beautiful and easy my life is with technology in it.
My life would be boring without technology.

As for the teacher, she had mixed feelings about the result. Some photographs turned
out to be quite interesting and some presentations managed to combine humor with serious
stances on the topic; the subsequent discussion generated fruitful debates and there was a
subtle atmosphere of bonding between the participants, fuelled by the fact that the
presentations were deeply personal and shared private experiences. Some examples of such
meaningful deliveries: the one which documented the reality of the life in a Romanian students
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hostel and the difficulties a student has to go through on a daily basis due to lack of appropriate
domestic appliances; one which put forth black and white, artistic pictures of various spots in
the natural environment documenting the grim effects of pollution in the city; the one in which
a student addicted to technology had decided to escape the world of computer games and start
a cultural journey in museums in the hope to replace the virtual historical fairy-tales with
immersion in real traces of history.
On the other hand, there were too many pictures which featured only the students
favorite technical devices, with no metaphorical meaning emerging from them and the
presentation revolved only around the way in which the latter were used and the way they had
changed the students life.
Sometimes there was a rather loose relationship between the context and the pictures,
which deprived the presentation of its potential of a well-rounded story. While these
inadequacies were mostly due to the intrinsic difficulty of the task, which needs to be
acknowledged, we feel that a deeper discussion of the possible topics to be approached prior to
the preparation of the presentation needs to be taken into consideration for any such future
assignment; in a similar vein, more time allotted for the preparation to allow finding more
interesting contexts to be photographed may also result in better outcomes.

IV. Conclusion

Given the students written feedback and the atmosphere built around the task during
the presentation, we can conclude that the PhotoVoice assignment may be a more challenging
alternative to the regular type of Power Point Presentation, due to the fact that students are
asked to create contexts rather than download them from the internet. Furthermore, it is quite
likely to raise awareness of various issues, precisely because of the Do-It-Yourself element in it,
and because it requires students to refer to the real surroundings rather than the virtual ones.
We believe that experimentation with PhotoVoice can be extended to other modules
taught in the English class. For example, as a follow-up to the classes on the elements of the
employment process (CV writing, cover letters, interview) students can be asked to document a
day at the workplace of somebody they can job shadow, or a job fair, or their daily studying
routine in order to find out about realities of the world of work or about their own work habits.
Another module that could benefit from such a task is the one on intercultural communication
in which students could be asked to document traditions specific to nationalities or ethnic
groups on the occasion of festivals held in their city, or other cultural events, the expected
outcome being enhanced awareness and acceptance of diversity.
In conclusion, it is our belief that the PhotoVoice assignment can function as a viable
tool to be used in the English language class, able to give students a means of expressing their
points of view on a variety of topics, a means of highlighting subtle aspects of the reality of their
life, and thus able to empower them by giving them a sense of awareness perhaps absent
hitherto.

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References

Health Education Quarterly, Volume 21, No.2, pp. 171-186.

https://photovoice.org/
Needs Assessment. Health Education and Behavior. Volume 24, No.3 pp. 369-387
Popa, Fabiola. Your Career Plan: Exploration and Strategies. Presentation at the conference Community and
Communication from a Diachronic and Synchronic Perspective, Hyperion University, the 12th of March,
2015, under print.
Wang C, Burris M. (1994). Empowerment through Photo novella: Portraits of Participation.
Wang C, Burris M. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, Methodology, and Use for Participatory
Wang, C. (1999). Photovoice: A participatory action research strategy applied to women's health.
Journal of Womens Health, Volume 8, No. 2, pp. 185-192

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 SOCIAL MEDIA-CHALLENGE OR PERSONAL INFLUENCE

Conf. univ. dr. Maria Magdalena POPESCU

Universitatea National de Aprare Carol I

Motto:
When it comes to digital environment, attention is like
currency: the way we gain it is the same way we can spend it.
(Brian Solis)

In a world that is getting smaller and smaller, where bridges are no longer stone built and
walls are there no more, where oceans and time are crossed constantly with the power of mind,
the virtual environment is a parralel universe, accesible on demand, without clearly outlined
space and time coordinates, a world which the more it gets from you the more it asks,
fiercely,giving in return, an endless number of answers and friendships, dangers and infinite
possibiities. This is the world ofered by the internet and social networks, a world which unifies,
levels, spreads, divides, leads or endangers. The versatile instruments it acts with can well play
a friend, a humble guy or an enemy, based on the power we ourself invest it with.
The coordinates that are always changing in nor lives, those that change inside and around
us, the changes triggered by political, economical, social and cultural factors have determined
the appearance of a new modus vivendi which we adopt gradually,willingly or not, in order to
communicate, socialize, learn, discove things unknown so far or build new worlds. In this
context, since both space and time have suffered alterations in terms of concepts and
perception, a common space has been adopted for all of the above mentioned. This common
space can be accessed anytime, anywhere, almost anyhow, by anyone, due to the IT progress.
One click away has become a matrix both for measuring distances and also for measuring time,
placing meter and minute in the same box, paradoxically, as a unique benchmark. This space is
frequently met as new media or web 2.0. No matter its name, the main feature is ubicuity, while
channeks that faciliate this are on wish llist with individuals from six to seventy-five years old.
New Media and its component, social media, which we focus on in this paper particularly,
stand for a new philosophy in terms of technology-enhanced- communication, since it includes
all that is expresssed in a virtual environment irrespective of its social (communicational)
component. Social Media focuses especially on the bridges between its users, on the tools used
to express oneself and to get feedback, to build or change or influence an attitude, modify
behaviours, all for a global, bigger objective.The strongest motivation in the internet use is
socializing itself. Distances are reduced, time is augmented and the Jakobson coordinates get
other values. If we think that 93% of the US population lives a great proportion of time online
(Jones and Fox, 2009), we will understand that the situation does not differ much in other parts
of the world too now or in the future.

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 Social media covers all the web applications built around user-generated contet (Pew
Internet & American Life Project, 2010). In other words, social media covers all that is related to
the individual interaction, the process which allows them to create, exchange and share
information and ideas within virtual committees and social and information networks
(Ahlqvist, Back, Halonen, Heinonen, 2008).
Based on some distinctive features like social presence, multitude of aplications, self-
referentiality, ambivalence of the attitude of saying or hiding aspects of one,s own personality,
Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) have created a classification of social media on six categories:
collaborative projects, blogs, microblogs, common content communities, social networks, virtual
games and virtual social worlds. While some were extremely interesting for some people,
others, mre appropiate for educational contexts, are still looked at with some reluctancy.
However, statistics prove that the time spent online has grown since 2011 (Nielsen, 2012).
Using applications like Facebook, Pintrest, Linkedin, Twitter, Youtube, to various degrees or
simply email information has revelead the fact that social media can be used as a multifaceted
body, each of its sides being: social identity, social impact, information dimension, educational
dimension, economic dimension (Popovici&Diaconu, 2010) Moreover, interconectivty
generated by belonging to social networks along with the interest in building a social
personality provides private information on age, gender, ocupation, social status and
professional background, socio-cultural preferences, lifestyle and social interaction. All this
information is made public in the virtual environment once all the above information is shared
in the virtual environment (VR).
Relationships built and developed thus by accessing and exchanging such information are
nourished via internet and its applications providing thus for the social component of what we
call social media. Relationships built this way, virtually, are various in type and target. To what
extent these connections built via the internet are favourable or detrimental to the individual or
the group he/ she belongs to, is a hot topic for the research in the field. They speak of strong
and weak relationships ( Granovetter, 1973) Thus, strong connections are represented by people
whom one trusts and whose social group overlaps with his to a larger extent, often people who
are very alike. The young ones, higher education prone, dwellers of metropolitan areas tend to
have various strong relationship networks. Weak relationships, on the other hand, are made
mostly from acquaintances.
Weak relationships, on the other hand, provide access to new information that otherwise
does not flow in the tightly connected relationships. Weak relationships also, are based on few
common media types: for example people use only facebook. Conversely, strong connections
bring diversity and consistency by using posts in more media channels- facebook and google
plus, Instagram, whatssup (Haythornthwaite, 2002) Looking at these, Gilbert and Karahalios
(2011) have identified seven dimensions that categorize social media ties as strong or weak:
- Intensity (initial postings, words exchanged on the wall, status updates, photo
commentaries, inbox messages)
- Intimacy (number of friends, days from the last communication, uniqueness of the
words on the wall, distances between physical living places, photo appearance, friends
status)

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 - Period of time ( days from the first utterance)
- Reciprocal services ( link exchanges on the wall, common applications)
- Structure (number of common friends, groups in common,interest shared)
- Emotional support (positive/ negative words on the wall and in inbox)
- Social distance (age difference, occupation difference, education difference, common
religious words, political views)
These traits hav an important role in using social media to promote, advertise, build market
strategies, since a good strategy should consider types of strong/ weak connections which the
strategy generator develops with the key factors to fulfill the promoting objectives.

Building identities

It has often been said that using facebook or other similar social networks would be a waste
of time. However, we need to mention that this phenomenon is spreading and it will all evolve,
it will under no circumstances get lower. As an argument we must mention that there were 845
users on FB atv the end of 2011 (facebook newsroom, 2012), with more than 85% of them being
students (Lamper et all, 2006) Moreover, while the FB users have grown in number, the
Myspace and Hy5 have gone down, a sign that social networks may change the tools, the
interfaces, but they will never go extinct. (Compete.com, 2008). It is interesting, in this respect,
to see how the social life and identities of thoose that communicate both online and offline
change or not, also how these instruments communicate something between them and to what
extent.
We have already covered the idea that connections, ties built in social media can be either
strong or weak and which are the effects in individual relationships, which is the social impact
of such a tie, based on the intensity. In order to build a relationship and influence a social
group or many in the virtual environment, an individual must have, first of all, an identity,
similar to the real environment.
Identities are buit by the individual representation in VR interactions. This representation is
given by the user`s profile, whereas pictures on the person`s profile offer the visual feeling of
alterity. Online representation contains as many visual elements as possible, allowing
someones presence online even when he/ she is, for real, offline (at this latter stage the others
can still interact with him/her, they can still send messages or post images which the receiver
will see the moment he/she is online again) This way, identity is built slowly, with the help of a
series of visual elements (Boyd, 2004) Thus, the virtual interaction no longer happens between
persons but between imagistic identities, the dialogues are consumed between postings, images,
quotes or statuses. The question comes now as to why then do social media users still interact if
the interaction is not a real one?

263
 It is because they need social acceptance. They seek acceptance by tailoring themselves
images in the best way possible (Higgins, 1987, Siiback, 2009). These ideas come as a
continuation of Mead (1932, 1936), that is the generalized alterity, which is actually a pattern
used to anticipate the others reactions based on attributes of the wanted, searched, built self-
image. Moreover, our online identity tends to be exagerated as a compensation for the lack of
non-verbal communication or visual contact (Geidner et al, 2007), circumstances when we make
exagerated efforts to become the best member of the group (Campbell, 2006) Also, individuals
use strategies to appeal to ones attention through simple images or phrases that clearly show
orientation and group belonging. In this respect we can mention Strano (2008) and Young (2008)
who have discovered that sociability, attractiveness, sport and humor are the key topics found
in online presentations, especially on Facebook. Moreover, certain visual components on
Facebook get more attention than others. Still, the key for successful appearance on Facebook is
hidden in a proper selection of the images (Siiback, 2009) Once uploaded, the photos/ videos go
through a process of tagging, initial commentaries posting and labelling for each of them,
grouped on categories, followed by a selection of the profile picture from the most important
and most representative ones.
It is through all these processes and stages that we can say that the social network users
appeal to an impression management techniques (Siibak, 2009, Strano, 2008, Young, 2008),
considering that users choose what pictures to upload or what words to use in statuses,
anticipating or having expectations with regard to certain types of reactions from the other
users, which confirms the hypothesis that those who use social media as individuals look for
social acceptance and a confirmation of belonging to one or more social groups, actually seeking
to build themselves a certain identity which, for real, is more difficult to build because some
factors that are missing or because of some personal / environmental barreirs.
Thus, when one asks himself/ herself whether national identity can be seen as manifested
online, we can say this is difficult to state for all of the above mentioned reasons. It is only the
cultural elements that determine the psycho-social behaviour which could be sensed inherent in

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each posting or commentary , and the blanket that covers and levels them all is laid by
globalization. Cultural and national identity on social networks can be measured in the way
people react to certain postings, in the type of photos posted on the walls, the type of emoticons
used most frequenly, the types of relationships people build on ages and social strata belonging.

References

1. Teresa Correa, Amber Willard Hinsley, and Homero Gil de Zuniga, Who Interacts on the Web?
The Intersection of Users Personality and Social Media Use, Computers in Human Behavior 26
(March 2010): 247-53
2. William P. Eveland Jr., Myiah J. Hutchens, and Fei Shen, Exposure, Attention, or Use ofNews?
Assessing Aspects of the Reliability and Validity of a Central Concept in Political Communication
Research, Communication Methods and Measures 3 (December 2009):223-44.
3. Grice, P. (1989). Studies in the way of words. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
4. Jacobs, S., Dawson, E. J., & Brashers, D. (1996). Information manipulation theory: A replication
and assessment. Communication Monographs, 63, 70-82. doi:10.1080/03637759609376375
5. Gil de Ziga, H., Puig-i-Abril, E., & Rojas, H. (2009), Weblogs, traditional sources online and political
participation: An assessment of how the Internet is changing the political environment. New Media &
Society.11(4), 553-574.
6. Manovich L, March 2001, The language of new media, The MIT Press, A Leonardo Book
ISBN 0-262-13374-1
7. E. Higgins, E. T. (1987), Self-discrepancy; A theory relating self and affect, Psychological Review, 94,
319-340

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RELATIVIZAREA NORMELOR DE CONDUIT EDUCAIONAL
N CLASA MULTICULTURAL

Lect.dr. Mihaela Pricope, Asist.dr Stoica Diana Silvana

Departamentul de Comunicare in Limbi Moderne
Universitatea Politehnica din Bucuresti

Introducere

Mediul universitar romnesc a devenit scena unor schimbri majore n ceea ce

privete compoziia etnic a grupelor de studeni, aliniindu-se la imaginea universitilor
din Europa de Vest, cu tradiie mai veche n gzduirea studenilor internaionali. De
exemplu, in Frana exist dezbateri vechi referitoare la abordrile diversitii socioculturale
prezente la nivel educaional. Astfel, n articolul intitulat Vers une nouvelle culture
pdagogique dans les classes multiculturelles: les pralables ncessaires autoarele Abdel
Jalil Akkari i Aline Gohard-Radenkovic se ntreab dac exist clase omogene cultural i
social, dac clasele numite multiculturale revel aceeai realitate i ne nva aceleai lecii
pedagogice de la un context la altul, de la o epoc la alta?
Cu siguran, nu. Din acest motiv, nu putem oferi reguli privind managementul
clasei multiculturale, ci doar exemple de bun practic. Din experiena noastr profesional,
putem afimra ca fiecare grup de studeni strini are particularitile ei, i, principiile
pedagogice care au funcionat ntr-un anumit context, nu au mai funcionat n altul. Acest
fapt se datoreaz factorilor diversitii prezente n astfel de grupe: etnie, vrst, profesie,
pregtire educaional anterioar, experiene interculturale anterioare,grad de deschidere
intercultural, grad de autocunoatere, limbi strine cunoscute, grad de contientizare a
diferenelor, cunotine anterioare despre limba i cultura int, gradul de similitudine ntre
cultura gazd i cea de origine, cunotine metaligvistice, talent nativ de nvare a limbilor
strine, etc.
Toate aceste diferene conduc la comportamente i ateptri diferite ale studenilor
internaionali, ceea ce ngreuneaz, la nceput, capacitatea acestora de adaptare i nvare.
nscrisi lastudii din anul pregtitor, muli studeni sunt deznadajduii, afirmnd ca ei nu vor
putea nva limba romn niciodat, ca nu pot face fa, c le este foarte greu s se
adapteze, s de descurce n societate.
Din acest motiv, relativizarea normelor de conduit educaional este o soluie
sinonim cu cea de-a treia cale, nici a mea, nici a ta, ci una negociat, una construit prin
efortul i acceptul partenerilor n procesul instructiv-educaional.

Atmosfera din clas produsul habitus-ului

Pornind de la conceptul de habitus popularizat de Pierre Bordieu (1972) definit ca un

sistem de dispoziii durabile i transpozabile care, nmagazinnd toate experienele trecute,
funcioneaz, in fiecare moment ca o matrice de percepii, de aprecieri i de aciuni (p178).

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Aceast matrice individual face posibil rezolvarea de sarcini foarte diferite graie
trasferului analogic de scheme care permite rezolvarea problemelor de acelai tip n diverse
circumstane. Conduitele individuale sunt obiectiv reglate i corectate, nefiind ns produsul
supunerii fa de reguli prestabilite. Conceptul de habitus este o construcie modificat
constant prin experiena acumulat i traiectoria social a individului.
n clasa multicultural relaia profesor-student depete graniele strictei relaii
pedagogice i devine o relaie social. Habitusul acestei clase este un construct care
oglindete relaii sociale, interpersonale i pedagogice n devenire. Dac la debutul cursului
de an pregtitor studenii, de diferite naionaliti, vin cu matrici de perceoii, ateptri,
practici educaionale i comportamente sociale i de comunicare variate pe care le aplic
rezolvrii diferitelor sarcini n context educaional, pe parcursul anului, pe baza
contientizrii individuale a diferenelor culturale matricea capat noi dimensiuni, se
regleaz i se modific graie experienei interculturale acumulate.
Atmosfera de nvare din clasa multicultural difer n funcie de momentele zilei,
de perioada din an, experienele de educaie intercultural anterioar ale studenilor, de
gradul de coeziune al grupului etc. n diferite momente ale zile studenii pot fi mai
odihnii/mai obosii; debutul anului de studiu poate sta sub semnul agitaiei, stresului
datorat ntlnirii cu situaii necunoscute, cu o cultur i societate strain sau dorului de cas;
tot debutul cursului poate fi scena unor conflicte datorate nenelegerilor culturale
percepii eronate, ateptri neconcorde cu realitatea etc. Anii de practic ne-au demonstrat
c experienele anterioare ale studenilor n medii educaionale strine contribuie la o mai
mare io mai rapid adaptare a acestora; gradul de coeziune al grupului contribuie la
crearea unei atmosfere calme, linitite, motivante n clasa multicultural prin coeziune
nelegnd interese similare ale studenilor sau motivaie intrinsec. n ultimii ani am
observat cum anul pregtitor de studiu all limbii, culturii i civilizaiei romne reprezint
pentru unii studeni strini nscrii n acest program de studiu fie o pist de lansare pentru
a-i continua studiile sau a-i gsi de lucru n Europa de Vest, fie o oportunitate de a scpa
de problemele de ordin economic sau social din ara de origine. Mai exist i o categorie de
studeni care doresc s se stabileasc n Romnia sau s continue studiile/specializarea aici.
Acetia din urm au o motivaie mai puternic de a asimila cunotine de limba romn i
de a se adapta cu succes culturii gazd i, de aceea ei reprezint o categorie ideal de
studeni deoarece habitusul clasei creat relaiile interumane i pedagogice este unul propice
nvrii de calitate.
Cercetarea ntreprins de autoare a constat n observaii reciproce la clas i
identificarea unor itemi comuni pentru a-i putea explora din perspectiva ameliorrii i
mbunttirii calitii procesului instructiv-educaional. n ceea ce privete categoria de
observaie atmosfera din clasa multicultural, am identificat urmtoarele aspecte deranjante
pentru profesor:

- Studenii de aceleai naionalitate vorbesc n limba nativ

- Unii studeni, n special de naionalitate arab, ntrerup profesorul n timpul

explicaiilor pentru a solicita alte explicaii

- Unor studeni le suna telefonul/ies din clas pentru a vorbi la telefon

- Unii studeni ntrzie n mod regulat, iar cnd intr n clas i aloc timp
pentru salutul colegilor

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 Dei exist toat nelegerea cultural din partea profesorului c acetia provin din
culturi diferite unde normele de conduit pot fi diferite, de exemplu punctualiatea nu
preprezint a sosi exact la timp la o ntlnire n toate culturile sau ntreruperea
interlocutorului nu reprezint un act al lipsei de bun sim n toate culturile, ci dimpotriv,
un semn al interesului, totui profesorii consider c trebuie s existe un consens referitor la
comportamentele acceptabile i neacceptabile din sala de clas. Prin urmare, n urmas
observrii la clas dar i a discuiilor post-observaie am identificat urmtoarele soluii:

- Atenionare individual a studentului care deranjeaz ora

- Ignorarea de ctre professor a ntrebrilor irelevante

- Scderea intensitii vocii profesorului n cazul cnd apare zgomot de fond

- Explicarea regulilor de conduit n clas prin exemplul propriu (e.g. eu am

telefonul pe silentios, va rog sa faceti la fel) precum i prin acord cu studenii.

Profesorul este supus, n permanen, unei presiuni duble, n cazul predrii la clas
multicultural: aceea de a crea o atmosfer prietenoas, amabil, jovial, calm i motivant,
pe de o parte i, de a menine controlul asupra bunei desfurri a leciei. Acest dublu rol de
lider i juctor de echip, l pune pe profesor n faa unei mari dileme: ct de mult s
permitem relaiilor s treac de limita pedagogicului ctre limita personalului/socialului? n
ce msur coala trebuie s ias din graniele proprii i s permit construirea de relaii de
sociale/prietenie cu studenii strini? Pe de o parte, acest aspect poate avea efecte benefice
pentru relaia profesor-student i pentru imersiunea studenilor n cultura gazd (ieiri n
parc, vizite la muzee, ieiri la restaurante, alte metode de socializare). De altfel, n pedagogia
intercultural se recomand activitile extracurriculare, informale care contribuie la
adaptarea cultural i social a studentului strin. Pe de alt parte, aceast extindere a
granielor colii ctre social i, implicit, naintarea relaiei pedagogice ctre relaia de tip
social poate avea i efecte negative, n sensul nenelegerii statutului profesorului din
Romnia de ctre studenii strini i confuzii referitoare la ateptrile profesorului de la
studeni.

Interaciunea n interesul nvrii n clasa multicultural

Interaciunea la nivelul clasei multiculturale este de trei tipuri: profesor-student,

student/student, profesor-clasa, profesor-mini grup. Predarea limbii romne ca limb
secundar se difereniaz de cea a predrii limbii romne ca limb strin prin faptul c
studenii se afl n mediul culturii gazd iar imersiunea socio-cultural este asigurat prin
locaie. Astfel vorbim de limba secundar. Dac, studenii strini se afl ntr-o locaie alta
dect Romnia, ntr-o ar n care limba vorbit de populaia gazd nu este limba romn,
atunci vorbim de prerdarea limbii romne ca limb strin.

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 Pedagogia intercultural care are ca obiective contintizarea studenilor strini cu
privire la propria cultur i propriile percepii, atitudini i comportamente precum i cu
privire la elementele culturale ale culturii gazd. n acest sens, recomandm ca metode
didactice simulrile, jocurile de rol si proiectele n echip multicultural. Acestea au rolul de
a aduce n prim plan elemente pedagogice autentice, care faciliteaz dezvoltarea
competenelor de comunicare intercultural, de comunicare oral i n scris n limba int,
dar i a competenelor socio-culturale.

Interaciunea de tip profesor-clas se realizeaz, n principal, n cadrul

demonstraiilor i expunerilor. O expunere nu mai reprezint un monolog,, n sensul
nvmntului tradiional, cnd profesorul avea rolul de dirijor, deintor de cunotine,
autoritatea suprem, ci, un prilej de comunicare, de ridicare de probleme, , de braistorming,
sau chiar de schimb de idei. n cadrul acestei interaciuni, profesorul-facilitator invit
studenii la reflecie i autoreflecie, sensibilizeaz studenii cu privire la aspecte culturale i
sociale, le ofer sprijin n propriile descoperiri. Discursul profesorului este incitant, jovial,
explicit i uneori repetitiv. Problema care apare este c profesorul nu poate cere feedback
ntregii clase i nu se poate asigura de nelegerea la nivel individual. Prin urmare vas trebui
s recurg la ntrebri adresate individual ca follow-up, deci la interaciunea de tip profesor-
student.

Comunicarea de tip profesor student se realizeaz la nivel individual, cnd

studentul solicit o explicaie, sau ajutorul profesorului n rezolvarea unei sarcivi de lucru
individuale. In cadrul acestei intercaiuni se formeaz i relaia interpersonal bazat pe
ncredere i respect reciproc. Ideal este ca profesorul s i se adreseze studentului pe numele
lui/ei, s demonstreze cunotine despre cultura de origine a studentului, toleran privind
frustrrile acestuia i purtare de grij. Acum este momentul n care profesorul arat
deschidere de a oferi sprijin individualizat i personalizat, elemente apreciate n educaia
intercultural. Acest aspect comport i dezavantaje sau limite. Un profesor nu poate acorda
atenie individual tuturor studenilor n acelai timp. Unii vor beneficia de atenia
individual a profesorului, n timp ce alii, nu.

Interaciunea ntre profesor i mini grup

Acest tip de interaciune este mult mai dinamica decat cea in perechi, este mai
centrata pe student, le ofera lor posibilitatea sa se descopere, sa-si descopere colegii si sa
simta ca au o mai mare independenta atunci cand folosesc limba tinta. Exista bineinteles
riscul ca studentii sa foloseasca limba nativa in loc de limba target. Pentru a preveni aceasta
situatia, ei trebuie grupati in asa fel incat sa nu fie toti vorbitori de aceeasi limba. Acest tip
de interactiune este mult mai flexibila, profesorul doar monitorizeaza discutia, ca la final sa
ceara feedback de la cate un reprezentant al fiecarei grupe. Problema majora care poate
aparea in cadrul acestui tip de interactiune este ca studentii sa foloseasca limba nativa, ori sa
nu dea importanta cuvenita acestui tip de activitate. Foarte multi studenti, atunci cand au
fost rugati sa lucreze in mini grup, nu au inteles ca sunt atent monitorizati de catre
profesor si, fie s-au relaxat si au inceput sa se joace pe telefon, fie au asteptat ca ceilalti colegi

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din grup sa preia controlul si sa duca la bun sfarsit activitatea pe care o aveau de facut. In
acest caz, profesorul trebuie sa le aminteasca studentilor ca liderul de grup se va schimba la
fiecare lectie si ca fiecaruia dintre ei ii va reveni rolul de lider de grup.
In acest tip de interactiune, sarcina profesorului este foarte dificila, el trebuind sa se
concentreze pe mai multe mini grupuri in loc de un singur grup ( mai mare). De aceea, el
trebuie sa explice foarte clar de la inceput regulile care trebuie urmate, sa se asigure ca
studentii au inteles foarte clar ce se vrea de la ei si ca la final vor trebui sa prezinte
rezultatele in fata colegilor, prin liderul de grup. Interactiunea profesor mini grup este
extrem de folositoare atunci cand profesorul doreste sa ceara feedback din partea
studentilor, acestia, prin liderul de grup, putandu-se exprima mult mai usor. Important este
ca ei sa stie foarte precis ce li se cere sa faca, sa stie ca toti membrii mini grupului trebuie sa
participe activ si , foarte important, ca au la dispozitie un timp limita.

Interaciunea ntre student-student, in cadrul lucrurlui pe perechi/echip

Interactiunea in cadrul lucrului pe perechi/echipa le da studentilor posibilitatea sa

faca practic anumite lucruri. Este mult mai util sa fie implicati toti studentii in anumite
activitati, decat sa fie doar un student care sa se adreseze clasei. Profesorul nu mai este in
pozitia de controlor, ci mai degraba de observator. Lucrul in perechi le da studentilor
posibilitatea de a folosi limba tinta si astfel ii ajuta sa coopereze. Acest lucru ajuta la
cresterea motivatiei deoarece studentii se pot ajuta unii pe altii sa invete si sa foloseasca
limba tinta.
Una dintre problemele care pot aparea in lucrul pe perechi este ca studentii vor folosi
incorect limba tinta. Acuratetea insa nu trebuie sa prevaleze, mai importante sunt
comunicarea in mod eficient si cresterea increderii in sine atunci cand se foloseste limba
tinta.
O alta problema care apare in aceasta situatie este zgomotul, din cauza ca toata clasa
vorbeste in perechi/echipe. Aici intervine rolul important al profesorului care trebuie sa dea
instructiuni clare de la inceput, studentii trebuie sa stie exact ce trebuie sa faca. Profesorul
trebuie sa monitorizeze toate perechile, nu sa se focuseze doar pe o pereche situata, poate,
mai in fata/spatele clasei. La sfarsitul activitatii, studentii trebuie sa prezinte feedback-ul si
astfel poate creste motivatia. Bineinteles, ei trebuie sa stie de la inceput ca au de prezentat
feedback la sfarsit. Feedback-ul trebuie sa fie concis, altfel exista riscul ca studentii din
celelalte perechi sa-si piarda atentia, sa se plictiseasca. Daca totusi studentii din celelalte
perechi sunt galagiosi, si-au pierdut rabdarea si incep sa vorbeasca, profesorul trebuie sa
intrerupa activitatea si sa-i roage pe studenti sa continue, insa in conditii normale.
Alegerea perechilor nu trebuie facuta la intamplare, ci trebuie alesi atent studentii care vor
lucra impreuna in perechi. Nu trebuie alesi doi studenti slabi in aceeasi pereche, ci unul bun
impreuna cu altul slab. Lucrul in perechi contribuie enorm la cresterea participarii
studentilor si la folosirea limbii tinta.

Motivarea studenilor de a utiliza limba int

Una dintre cele mai mari probleme aparute atunci cand se folosesc mini grupe sau
perechi este folosirea limbii native in loc de limba tinta in cadrul grupelor multiculturale.
Profesorul trebuie sa se asigure ca studentii folosesc limba tinta, mai ales in cazul

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activitatilor orale. Daca atunci nu se foloseste limba tinta, activitatea nu mai are sens. Deci,
atitudinea profesorului fata de folosirea limbii tinta trebuie sa varieze de la o activitate la
alta. Pentru a motiva studentii in a folosi limba tinta, profesorul trebuie sa :
- discute deschis cu studentii, sa-i intrebe ce cred ei despre rolul activitatilor
comunicative si sa incerce sa-i convinga ca in acest tip de activitati, folosirea
limbii tinta este cruciala
- profesorul incurajeaza studentii sa foloseasca limba tinta atunci cand ii
monitorizeaza, cand se plimba printre ei si le reaminteste ca trebuie folosita limba
tinta, nu limba nativa
- profesorul poate renunta o perioada la lucrul in echipe/mini grup, pana cand
studentilor le este clara importanta acestui tip de activitate

Concluzii

In aceasta lucrare am discutat managementul clasei multiculturale si am vazut ca

rolul profesorului este multiplu, adoptarea unui singur rol ( de controlor) este in defavoarea
procesului de invatare activa. Am aratat de asemenea tipurile de interactiuni, problemele
aparute si solutiile care se aplica in aceste situatii.

Bibliografie

1. Akkari, Adbel Jalil and Aline Gohard- Radenkovic. (2002). Vers une nouvelle culture
pedagogique dans les classes multiculturelles. Les prealables necessaires. Revue de Sciences de
lEducation. Vol 28, no. 1, p.147-170
2. Bordieu, Pierre. (1972). Esquisse d'une theorie de la pratique, Paris, Droz, 1972, p. 178.
3. Cummings, Carol. (2000). Winning Strategies for Classroom Management. Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA, USA
4. Iucu, Romi (2006). Managementul clasei de elevi. Aplicaii pentru gestionarea situaiilor de criz.
Iai: Polirom.
5. Harmer, J . What is communicative? ( ELT Journal 36/3 1982 )Wright, Tony. (2005). Classroom
Management in Language Education. Palgrave Macmillan. New York
6. Watcyn Jones, P . Pair Work : Activities for Effective Communication ( Penguin 1981)

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 ACTIVE LISTENING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORAL
COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Lect.dr. Mihaela Pricope

Departamentul de Comunicare in Limbi Moderne
Universitatea Politehnica din Bucuresti

Active listening in the classroom

There are three basic listening modes: combative listening, passive listening and
active/reflective listening. Combative listening happens when someone is more interested in
promoting their own point of view, than in understanding or exploring someone elses view.
Thus, while someone pretends to pay attention, he/she, in fact, is waiting for opportunities to
take the floor or attack some points. This type of listening discourages real communication and
sooner ore later the conversation will end. In passive listening both interlocutors are genuinely
interested in the others point of view, but they assume they have understood correctly without
verifying the information. Active listening, also called reflective listening, is the most useful
listening skill because the interlocutors are both genuinely interested in what the other is saying
and in understanding the message. Therefore, by actively listening we restate or paraphrase our
understanding of the interlocutors message and reflect it back to the sender for verification.
This verification or feedback process is what distinguishes active listening from the other types
of listening and makes it effective. One of the main effects of active listening on the interlocutor
is that it acts as a promoter of communication and not as a barrier.
Active listening helps to increase learners self-esteem, thus, encouraging them to speak.
Also, it is a stimulator of communication. Taking into consideration all these facts, we believe
that the concept of active listening, borrowed from psychology, should be widely used by
language teachers in order to develop their students oral communication skills.
Thomas Gordon, in his book The Effective Teacher, believes that the active listening technique
creates a classroom climate where learners are free to think, discuss, ask questions and explore,
helps them better manage and control their powerful feelings and fosters a more affectionate
and profound relationship between teacher and student (p101).
Active listening does not involve only the ability to refrain from interrupting ones
interlocutor, but also the capacity to understand the others feelings. If a student believes
he/she is understood, his /her feelings are accepted, and, if the listener appears to be non-
judgemental, then the student will feel free to express his/her opinions, emotions and beliefs
more confidently, thus increasing his/her self-esteem.
Actively listening to students is beneficial to the student-teacher relationship. Knowing their
teacher shows interest in what they are saying, makes students feel they are cared about. This

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connection, which is established by active listening, is a prerequisite to students' motivation to
learn, showing that we listen is important not only as a matter of kindness, but also as a
motivational strategy. Moreover, it is an effective strategy which helps students develop better
interpersonal relationships and create a connection with the school.
Thomas Gordon (The Effective Teacher) offers a series of examples of how to replace
typical communication patters in the classroom, which act, regularly as communication barriers,
with active listening, which involves understanding students reactions. The situation refers to a
little girls first school day when, at a given moment, she is looking out of the window.
Scenario 1 (interpreted as communication barrier by the use of questioning and logical
reasoning):
The teacher: What are you doing, Anna?
Anna (after a pause): Must we come to school every day?
The teacher: Certainly, yes. We came to school every day last year, too. What makes you
think that this year will be different?
Scenario 2 (interpreted as effective by the use of active listening):
The teacher: What are you doing, Anna?
Anna (after a pause): Must we come to school every day?
The teacher: It seems to me that you would like to be outside rather than here in the
classroom.
Anna: Yes, There is nothing to be done here. You sit down all day long and you read and
write.
The teacher: You miss playing outside, as you did the whole summer.
Anna. Yes. Playing, swimming, climbing trees.
The teacher: It was so fun, so its too difficult to give it up and to come back to school.
Anna: I hope that summer will set in again fast.
The teacher: You cant wait for the next summer.
Anna: Yes, when the next summer sets in, I will do everything I want.
(adapted from p.128)
By active listening the teacher touches the core of the problem and helps the students
release negative feelings and reestablish emotional balance. On the one hand, it is a useful
technique in conflict management and, on the other hand it helps establish effective teacher -
student relationships.
Both teachers and students should be equally taught this strategy as it is a prerequisite of
developing good relationships and a key to successful teaching and learning.

Learners needs and the changing role of teachers

Teachers have been constantly preoccupied with the development of effective relationships
with our students. Learning occurs when the learner is motivated and enjoys the teaching
process. It is a challenging task for a teacher to create a motivating and attractive teaching
discourse and, at the same time, to increase and maintain effective communication with the
learners.
Undoubtedly, there are gifted teachers who prove to be excellent communicators with
outstanding rhetoric, deep voices, conveying persuasive messages to large student audience,
with charming personality and inborn sense of humour, without too much effort. Ideally, in a

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job which involves teaching, these persons should find their well-deserved place. Still, charisma
can be learned. A teacher/trainer whose aim to build skills and transmit knowledge should
receive appropriate training not only in the subjects he/she teaches but also in psychology,
communication, and teaching strategies. This interdisciplinary approach used in teachers
formal education or, even better, in teachers life-long learning could train teaching staff become
charismatic, better communicators and motivators, group managers and, thus better teachers.
Maybe somebody is asking why should a teacher become a trainer or an entertainer? The
answer is simple: teachers should adapt their behaviour and skills to learners needs. We no
longer have the same learners in the classroom as those who were in the same place 10 or 20
years ago. Whatever attracted a learner to learn 20 years ago is no longer valid for todays or
tomorrows generations.
In our society, dominated by technology and widespread access to information, the teacher
is no longer a source, but a resource. The shift from teachers role from source of information to
facilitator has been long time ago established. In the past teachers used to be the main source of
knowledge, the leader, the authority in the class who knew everything, the educator and so on,
but nowadays teachers need to guide their students how to gain the information, how to use it
and how to select information, which is necessary for their future development. The students
are more involved in their learning process and encouraged to take responsibility for their own
training and future. As we can notice, education and teaching/learning has become a
partnership or a contract where both actors providers/teachers and beneficiaries/students
should take responsibility for their actions.
The majority of todays learners are resourceful, demanding, curious, inquisitive, energetic,
high-tech-proficient, which obliges teachers to adopt new teaching strategies and resources. It is
obvious that teachers need support to adapt to the fast changes they are facing: they need
training in the use of technology in the classroom, life-learning professional development
opportunities, modern teaching resources, access to professional workshops, debates,
conferences to keep up to date in a rapid changing world.
The new learners are also informed and have access to instant information databases
through technology. For example, in an EFL classroom they can check the validity of the
information which their teacher present, the meaning of some words or the pronunciation. That
is why, due to teachers new status, he/she is obliged to be even more prepared and open to
offer arguments for their position, to double check the information offered, to say I do not
know but we can find out together and enter a type of partnership or cooperation with the
student in the teaching-learning process. Since the teacher is no longer the supreme authority
and the resource of information in the classroom, new skills and competences are required, such
as: facilitation, mentoring, adaptability, relativism, creativity, technology-oriented, etc.

Communication barriers though judgemental listening

Parents as well as teachers cant help offering advice, solutions, giving orders, using logical
reasoning, interpreting, agreeing, criticizing, judging, interpreting questioning etc. instead of
letting the child/student manage his/her own feelings.
Active listening helps students to talk, and, by this, to identify the core of the problem and
find a solution.

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 We are asking ourselves how active listening facilitates the teaching process. It makes the
students more available to listen to their teachers because they know their feelings have been
accepted.
In a language classroom, the active listening technique is a useful tool to promote open
communication, effective interpersonal relationships and collaborative work. In a debate lesson,
for example, it can be used to clarify and restate opinions. The teachers input can be the
following: You have read about the UNOs role..what is your reaction to this idea? If the
teachers input is followed by a students coded message, in the form of sarcasm, hostility, such
as: its non-sense, the text is stupid/you dont know what you are talking about we are
talking about a case of resistance/refusal to cooperate. In such cases, active listening may
become an opportunity to release deeper attitudes, ideas, feelings and conceptions. If the
teachers response uses the same tone and creates an open conflict, communication is blocked.
But, if he/she effectively uses active listening by saying: you do not trust the UNO/ you
seem to be bothered to hear such ideas about the UNO etc, this will help the student better
manage her/his negative emotions and calm down.
The module of intercultural communication, which we teach at the Polytechnic University
of Bucharest in the first year of study attracts various reactions. The lack of awareness of
intercultural matters or even the little self-consciousness leads to self-centric reactions and
behaviours. For example, in a lesson about gift giving across the world, the class discusses a text
depicting a critical incident where a German guest had made a blunder by offering a bottle of
Scotch to a Saudi Arabian possible business partner. One of students is half Arab half
Romanian, born from a Romanian mother and a Syrian father and reacts by saying I am an
Arab and I do drink Scotch a lot, this text is nonsense (followed by colleagues laughs and more
or less ironical comments). Only one student in 24 was aware of the fact that in Saudi Arabia
drinking alcohol is illegal and having alcohol in ones home may attract serious danger.
Active listening may help in such situations of minority students, who may have other
underlying problems/frustrations.
Judgmental listening involves any comments which produce an evaluation of the
interlocutor or of what he/she said. Such evaluations may block communication by their effect
of feeling you are not understood or cared about. If we tell a student who looks out of the
window, instead of looking at the blackboard or listening to the teacher: please pay attention!
we assume that he/she is not paying attention without asking the student about his/her real
problem. Similarly, if the teacher ironically says if you are dreaming of your date this is not the
proper location he/she again assumes that the teacher knows the real problem, hurting
his/her feelings.
On the contrary, if we want to investigate the students real problem and apply active
listening we might notice: you are looking out of the windoware you upset? he may
disclose his problem and sort it out quickly, thus, being able to be attentive to the lesson again.
Maybe we are wondering if the teacher applies active listening in the classroom when
he/she has time to teach the subject matter. The idea we would like to convey is that along with
the changing role of teachers came this imperative of creating a better classroom climate,
including by active listening, in order to increase motivation to learn and to develop better
teacher-student relationships.

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Conclusions

We all wish to be listened to and understood. If we receive this care and attention we
become more motivated, thus our self-esteem rises. This is achieved through active listening.
This concept could be widely used in educational settings in order to activate students inner
drives and help them find solutions to their problems by themselves. Supposing one student
receives better grades in writing, but he/she is very weak at speaking. This could turn out to be
detrimental to this students career path. Building confidence and helping them overcome these
obstacles may help them become more successful in their future careers. When I teach oral
presentations I sometimes find very shy students who do not know how to overcome their
powerful negative emotions when they have to speak in public. Rather than concentrating too
much on what to say, I invite them to release their inner fears, by talking about them through
actively listening to them. Once this is achieved, the next step is to focus on how to say it, to be
more persuasive. Finally, we talk about the structure of a presentation, the content and the
language used.
With the focus on the students and their feelings, rather than on the content of the subject
matter to be taught, we have achieved more: various students have overcome their fears of
public speaking, have learned to control their emotions in a more effective way and this have
improved their self-esteem, which is far more beneficial for their future career path.
To be a good teacher also means to be ready to communicate at a deeper level with your
students. At higher education level, teachers should be connected with the society, with the
professional requirements so that we could guide them through the intricate process of reaching
maturity and finding ones inner way. We do teach various subject matters, we offer them
support, guidance, resources, help them develop competences. But we should not forget that at
the age of 20, these young adults search for their way in a world which is very dynamic,
challenging and demanding.

Bibliography

1. Gordon, Thomas and Noel Burch. (2011). Profesorul eficient. Editura Trei. Bucureti
2. Pnioar, Ion-Ovidiu. (2004). Comunicarea eficient. Metode de interaciune educaional. Editura Polirom.
Iai
3.Rowson, Pauline. (2005). Communicating with more confidence. Rowmark Ltd Publishing house, London
4. oitu, Laureniu (2006). Condiiile reuitei n comunicarea didactic, n L. oitu Cherciu, Rodica Diana,
Strategii educationale centrate pe elev. MEC&UNICEF, Bucureti

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 TERMINOLOGIA MEDICAL-STUDIU LINGVISTIC

Asistent univ. Dr. RADU MIRELA

UNIVERSITATEA TITU MAIORESCU
FACULTATEA DE MEDICIN

Terminologia medical este n pas cu noile descoperiri n domeniu iar medicina, n

general, a nregistrat salturi calitative excepionale n ultimele decenii. S-au inventat
echipamente tot mai eficiente de diagnosticare i tratare a bolilor. Chiar s-au descoperit
numeroase afeciuni.
Terminologia medical, n marea ei parte, provine din limba greac i latin iar
cunoaterea modului n care aceati termeni sunt formai constituie piatra de temelie a nsui
nvmntului medical. Cu att mai mult cu ct vocabularul acestui domeniu este n continu
cretere odat cu introducerea unor noi denumiri care s corespund dezvoltrii sistemului
medical. Terminologia medical este chemat s in pasul cu noile descoperiri ale tiinei dar,
totodat, trebuie s se conformeze cerinelor eficienei ntr-o lume n continu micare.
Venind n ntmpinarea acestui deziderat, vocabularul medical apeleaz la mai multe ci
de mbogire: prin formarea unor noi denumiri (laparoscopie, tomografie etc.), prin atribuirea
unor noi nelesuri unor cuvinte deja existente dar i prin mprumuturile lexicale. Prima i cea
mai rapid dar i eficient metod de mbogire a vocabularului este derivarea prin prefixare
sau sufixare.
adenocarcinom=aden (gr. gland) (pref.)+ carcinoma (gr. cancer) (rdcin)
acromegalie= acro (gr.extremitate) (pref.) + megalie (gr. mare) (rdcin)
anasarc= ana (gr. tot, ntreg) (pref.) + sarca (gr. carne) (rdcin)
apendicit=apendice (lat. atrnat, suspendat) (rdcin) + it (gr. inflamaie) (suf.)
cervical= cervic (lat. cervix=gt) (rdcin) + al (lat.) (suf.)
Unele dintre cele mai productive prefixe de origine greac sunt: a- (abilie, afazie); acro-
(acrofobie, acromegalie, acrocianoz, acromion); anti- (antigen, antihistaminic); bacterio-
(bacteriofag, bacteriuria); bradi- (bradicardie, bradifazie, bradichinezie, bradiartrie); blasto-
(blastoderm, blastogenez, blastomicoz); condro- (condroid, condrocit, condroblast); dia-
(diaforez); dis-(discrazie, disgeuzie, disacuzie); ecto-(ectomie, ectoparazit, ectoperitonit);
endo-(endobiotic, endoblast); hiper-(hiperglicemie, hiperhidroz); mega-(megacefalie,
megacolon); meta-(metabolism, metacarp); oligo-(oligomenoree, oligospermie); para(polidipsie,
polidactilie) etc.
Dintre sufixele de origine greac, n limba romn, au fost preluate i larg folosite:-emia
(bacteriemie); -ectomie (gastrectomie);-ostomie (gastrostomie); -plastie (rinoplastie); -penie
(osteopenie) -terapie (aromaterapie); -algie (nevralgie); fobie (arahnofobie); -it (conjunctivit)
etc.
O alt modalitate de mbogire a vocabularului medical este compunerea. Aceast
metod pare s fie mai veche dect sufixarea i prefixarea deoarece const n alturarea a dou
cuvinte.

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 blefaroplastie=blefaro (gr. pleoap) + plastie (gr. a ajusta)
coprolalie= copro (gr. fecale) + lalie (gr. vorbire)
encefalopatie= encefalo (gr. creier) + patie (gr. boal)
galactoree= galacto (lat. lapte) + ree (gr. a curge)
olecranon=olen (gr. cot) + cranon (gr. cap)
Uneori asistm la o hibridizare- la un termen latin s-a adugat un sufix sau un prefix de
origine greac: hipertonie (gr. hyper=foarte + lat. tonus=accent); leucopenie (gr. leukos=alb + lat.
penia=lips); vasectomie (lat. vas= tub + gr. ektomi= a scoate).
Unii termeni medicali au la baz unele nume de persoane. Prin eponime, limbajul
medical a cptat termeni noi. Avem aici n vedere termeni folosii ca substantive comune:
afrodisiac (de la Afrodita-zeia iubirii n mitologia elen);
babesioz (dup biologul Victor Babe);
daltonism (de la fizicianul John Dalton);
doppler (tehnic de investigare ce poart numele medicului austriac Christian Doppler);
einsteinium (element radioactiv descoperit de Albert Ghiorso i care poart numele lui Einstein)
tuburi falopiene (de la anatomistul italian Gabriele Falloppio);
galenice (de la Galen-medic, filozof i chirurg grec);
hipocratism (de la Hipocrat);
hermafrodit (Hermes+Afrodita);
tip lombrozian (de la medicul i criminologul Cesare Lombroso);
narcisism (de la Narcis personaj mitologic);
nimfomanie (Nimf-mitologia greac);
legile mendeliene ale ereditii (de la Gregor Mendel-clugr de origine ceh din sec. XIX).
n marea lor majoritate eponimele celebreaz personaliti ale lumii medicale dup care
au fost numite procedure medicale, echipamente i boli. Eponimele stau mrturie a spiritului
inventiv uman i a marilor descoperiri medicale fr de care umanitatea nu ar fi n prezent ceea
ce este.
Cu toate acestea, metoda de a utiliza numele proprii pentru a desemna noi metode, procedee i
tehnici de diagnosticare, instrumente sau boli, nu mai este utilizat n noua er a lumii globale.
Dezavantajul utilizrii eponimelor este c acestea creeaz un jargon specializat, aproape
neutilizabil de ctre neofii.
Eponimia terminologiei medicale funcioneaz prin mprumutarea numelor de persoane
unor boli, echipamente sau metode de tratare. Astfel, fermiu (element chimic) poart numele lui
Enrico Fermi, un fizician de origine italian care a ctigat premiul Nobel naintea celui de-al
doilea rzboi mondial. Aceasa figur a fizicii mondiale este legat i de inventarea bombei
nucleare. Nicotina, o substan toxic, i are numele legat de Jean Nicot, un ambasador francez
din secolul al XV-lea. Pasteurizarea, procesul att de folosit n secolul XX i n present, i leag
numele de binecunoscutul microbiology francez Louis Pasteur. Becquerel este o unitate de
msur folosit n radioterapie i care poart numele fizicianului francez Antoine Henri
Becquerel. i Rutherford este o unitate de msur a radioactivitii denumit dup inventatorul
ei, chimistul Ernest Rutherford.
Unii termeni din limbajul medical sunt mprumutai pe dou ci: latin i greac. Se
ajunge astfel la dublete lexicale fr difereniere semantic, ns. Exemplu de dubl etimologie
este prezent la urmtorii termeni sau pri de cuvinte: gr. aden/adenos=gland dar i lat.
glandula=ghind, glonte; gr. glossa=limb dar i lat. glosa=limb; gr. mastos=sn dar i lat.
mamma=mamel; gr. meninx dar i lat. meninga; gr. men, menos dar i lat. menstru=lun

278
 Ali termeni sunt mprumutai din alte limbi dect limba latin i greac:
entors (franceza veche entordre= a rsuci);
flasc (francez veche flache=moale);
grand mal (francez modern= marele ru);
handicap (limba englez handicap),
operaie de bypass (eng. bypass);
pansament (fr. pansement);
psihedelic (limba englez psychedelic dar i din limba francez psychdlique),
stres (limba englez stress),
oc (limba englez shock).
Chiar i n cazul mprumuturilor de cuvinte medicale din limba englez, la o analiz mai
atent se constat c aproximativ un sfert din terminologia medical englez provine, la rndul
ei, din limba francez. De exemplu: abces (fr. abcs), abductor (fr. abducteur), abiotic (fr.
abiotique).
Unii din termenii provenii din limba latin, greac sau alte limbi aveau n limbile
respective sensuri dintre cele mai banale: afte (gr. aptein= a arde); amigdal (gr. amygdal=
migdal); ataxie (gr. ataxia= dezordine); botulism (gr. botulus= crnat); celulit (lat. cellula=
ncpere, camer); diabet (gr. diabts= compas); fibula (lat. fibula= agraf); fistul (lat. fistula=
canal, trestie); imunitate (lat. immunitas= scutire de taxe); isterie (gr. hystera= uter); orjelet (lat.
hordeolus= bob de orez); reumatism (gr. rheuma= flux);tibia (lat. tibia= fluier); uvea (uva
galicean= strugure).
Exist termeni care, n limbile iniiale, desemnau culori i, prin extrapolare au ajuns s
defineasc boli ale cror simptome cuprinde respectivele referine cromatice. De exemplu, icter
provine din gr. ikteros dar i din lat. icterus (galben); leucocit provine din gr. leukos (alb);
cianoz vine din gr. kyanos (albastru); eritropoietin vin din gr. erythros (rou); melanocit din gr.
melas, melanos (negru); cloroanemie provine din gr. chloros (verde)
n ceea ce privete compunerea, unii termeni medicali sunt alctuii dintr-un cuvnt:
anevrism (gr. aneurysma= dilatare); burs (gr. bursa= sac din piele); cifoz (gr. kyphosis= curbare).
Ali termeni sunt create prin alturarea diverselor pri de vorbire: substantive, adjective:
aplazie cutanat, atrofie muscular, cortex suprarenal, conc auricular , dischinezie biliar
hipoton.
O a treia posibilitate de formare a cuvintelor n domeniul medical este prin compunere:
prefixe i sufixe adugate unei rdcini: leucocitoz (gr. leuko= alb + cytos= cavitate + osis=
aciune); osteomielit (gr. osteon= os + myelos= mduv + it sufix= inflamaie); otolaringologie
(gr. otos= ureche + larynx= laringe + logos= vorbire).
mprumuturile din limba greac au avut un mare rsunet n perioada Evului Mediu dar
n timpul Renaterii s-a renunat la preluri din limba greac i s-a optat pentru limba latin.
Prima carte de medicin ce a fost tiprit n Europa, n 1478, De Medica, a fost scris de Aulus
Cornelius Celsus, polimat de origine latin. Aceast lucrare era structurat n opt cri care
prezentau subiecte dintre cele mai variate: de la descrieri anatomice, operaii, tratamemente,
pn la problem legate de igien, etiologie a bolilor i medicamentaie.
n Evul Mediu, deci, medicina capt amploare prin acest gen de tiprituri n limba
latin. Treptat, ns, n secolul al XIX-lea, latina medical pierde teren n favoarea limbilor
naionale care, n mare pstrau cuvinte de origine latin.
Cu toate acestea, aceast perioad este dominate de contribuii lingvistice ale diverselor
naiuni. Unele diferene sunt perceptibile pn i n prezent. Astfel, limbile germanice pstreaz

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forma cuvintelor din limbile de provenien, n special latin, pe ct vreme limbile romanice
adapteaz aceeai termeni propriei grafii. n prezent, cea care stabilete etaloane la nivel
internaional n medicin i nu numai este limba englez.
Diacronic, acest domeniu a fost dominat pe rnd de limbile latin i greac, francez i a
ajuns ca n prezent s aib ca lingua franca limba englez. n societatea romneasc de dup
1989, au cptat din ce n ce mai mult teren anglicismele (mprumuturi lexicale sau semantice).
Aa cum franceza era limba dominant nu doar n societate ci i n tiin n sec. al XIX-lea, n
zilele noastre, n care globalizarea joac un rol din ce n ce mai puternic, limba englez vine s
uneasc naionaliti diferite i nu doar n medicin.
Astfel, se pot explica aceste mprumuturi, aceti calculi lingvistici. De exemplu, prick
testing, este o modalitate de testare n cazul unei alergii dar este un calcul n limba romn
provenit din englez. Anglicismele au fost adoptate ca un numitor comun al cunoaterii globale.
Exemplele sunt numeroase: popliteal fossa (fos poplitee), paraesthesia (parestezie)
Vocabularul medical este unul dintre cele mai sensibile la schimbrile societii n care
evolueaz. Medicina este cea care a nsoit fiina uman de-a lungul evoluiei sale i s-a aflat
ntr-o interdependen strns cu mediul n care a evoluat.
Constituindu-se ntr-un limbaj de sine stttor, terminologia medical a evoluat, de-a
lungul timpului, fiind un organism viu ce a venit n ntmpinarea schimbrilor istorice, sociale
i chiar politice. Acest vocabulary specific a mers n paralel cu dezvoltarea societii umane. n
prezent, mai mult dect oricnd, medicinei i revine rolul de a conecta societile ce alctuiesc
un tot global.
Pentru o cunoatere adecvat a terminologiei medicale i pentru o utilizarea corect a
termenilor specifici acestei nobile profesii, orice practicant ar trebui s cunoasc originea
termenilor. Simpla memorare nu doar ca este o sarcin apropape imposibil ci i nefructuoas.
Cea mai adecvat abordare a acestei problematici spinoase-terminologia medical i
formarea sa- poate fi abordat doar ntr-o manier logic. Fie c vorbim de limba latin i
greac, fie c aceti termeni au fost creai n contextual globalizrii, cunoaterea terminologiei
medicale este nu doar o problem cu aplicabilitate practic dar i un act de cultur. nsuirea
modului de formare a termenilor medicali uureaz considerabil efortul de cunoatere a
viitoarelor cadre medicale.
n ciuda complexitii formrii terminologiei medicale, efortul cunoaterii modului de
compunere, sufixare i prefixare adoptat d roade n munca practic a medicului, uurndu-i nu
doar nelegerea ci i exercitarea profesiei. n ciuda dificultii evidente de formare a
vocabularului medical, orice practicant activ al meseriei ar trebui s stpneasc modalitile de
construcie a acestuia.

Bibliografie

Dictionary of medical terms, Fourth Edition, A&C Black, London

Dicionar de mprumuturi lexicale din limba francez (DILF), vol. I, Editura Universitar, Craiova, 2009
Lisowski, F. Peter & Charles E. Oxnard Anatomical terms and their derivation, World Scientific Publishing
Co. Pte. Ltd.
Iftimovici, Radu Istoria medicinei, Bucureti, 1995
Melnic V., Aspecte umaniste ale limbii latine, Chiinu, 2000
Poant, Laura Mic dicionar etimologic de termeni medicali, Ed. Casa Crii de tiin, Cluj-Napoca, 2005
Rusu, Valeriu Mic dicionar medical, vol. I, II, Iai, 1983
Thierer, Nina et al., Medical Terminology. Language for Health Care, Third Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2010

280
 LA GRANIA DINTRE LITERATUR I MEDICIN

Asistent univ. Dr. RADU MIRELA

UNIVERSITATEA TITU MAIORESCU,
FACULTATEA DE MEDICIN

Chiar i n anii de dup pensionare, Voiculescu a meninut aprins flacra medicinei, cea
care l-a animat atia ani, citind orice material tiinifice. Regretul profund se simte n scrisoarea
adresat fiicei. Dup retragerea din activitatea medical, Voiculescu a continuat s-i dedice
timpul lecturilor dintre cele mai variate. Simea un gol i un regret enorm c nu mai era lsat s
parctice meseria care l apropia de om. Acest lucru nu l-a mpiedicat s continue s citeasc
despre cele mai recente descoperiri n domeniul medical. Dovad a ataamentului pentru
meseria practicat atia ani este faptul c i cerea fiicei plecate n strintate s i trimit reviste
n domeniu. Era singurul lucru care l mai anima dup o via petrecut n slujba omului i care,
din cauza noilor condiii politice, era dat uitrii. Numeroi sunt cei care rememoreaz firea
plin de generozitate a medicului-literat. Firea comptimitoare a medicului este amintit de
muli dintre cei care l-au cunoscut. n ciuda popularitii de care s-a bucurat, a succesului pe
care l-a repurtat att n plan profesional ct i literar, Voiculescu nu a uitat s ajute i s aib un
gnd bun pentru straturile defavorizate ale societii. Oferea consultaii gratuite pe cnd era un
medic nceptor i, chiar i cnd i-a ctigat faima binemeritat, avea s continue aceast
practic.
n 1928, mpreun cu Gh. D. Murgu, pune bazele Fundaiei culturale regale, o culegere
de texte enciclopedice intitulate Cartea vieii. Cei doi preconizau ca fiecare apariie s includ trei
direcii: Litere, Arte i Natur-tiin tiprite sub forma unor fascicule i care s abordeze
chestiuni legate de istorie, etnografie, economie dar i subiecte medicale de interes general. Doi
ani mai trziu, n 1930, vedea lumina tiparului Cartea misionarului, lucrare menit s
impulsioneze oamenii simpli s citeasc prin intermediul unor lucrri semnate de Gala
Galaction bazate pe scrieri biblice.
V. Voiculescu s-a dovedit un clinician i diagnostician nzestrat. Acest lucru s-a bazat pe
ntreagul cumul de cunotiine dobndite n timpul copilriei petrecute la sat dar i a practicrii
medicinei n zona rural Este vorba de mbinarea cunotinelor dobndite pe cale livreasc cu
cele ce in de medicina popular. Este tiut, de pild, c V. Voiculescu avea o mare ncredere n
leacurile din popor. (Popescu, 1993: 38-39) Prin efortul su a fost publicat, ntre 1935-1945,
un studiu cu titlul Toate leacurile la ndemn. Lucrarea era o culegere a denumirilor de plante i a
leacurilor ce se puteau folosi din ele. Dei organizarea lucrrii l apropie pe autor de domeniul
farmaciei, textele s-au dovedit a fi de o mare utilitate practic, scris ntr-un stil de o simplitate
fermectoare, n cea mai curat i frumoas limb romneasc, sfidnd cu subtilitate, i cumva
involuntar, ifosele multora dintre discipolii lui Esculap (...). Era o carte adresat satului, de un
medic al sracilor, un mare i foarte experimentat diagnostician, adept nedezminit al
leacurilor naturale. (Rotaru, 1994: 9) Sursa cunotiinelor acumulate n aceast culegere se afl
n perioada copilriei petrecute la Plecoi:...obiceiuri cu rdcini adnci n trecut, credine i

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superstiii strvechi, cu cntece i descntece, un ntreg etnos plin de mistere care se vor
rsfrnge n opera medicului i poetului, a prozatorului i dramaturgului, legat de origini cu
ntreaga-i fiin. (Rotaru, 1997: 244)
Dar pentru medicul Voiculescu prescrierea plantelor de leac nu era o simpl paraxenie,
ci reprezenta un sistem de gndire bine pus la punct. Credina sa c medicina popular, prin
utilizarea plantelor de leac, reprezint o modalitate de tratare la ndemna oricui. ntr-o epoc n
care medicina era abia la nceputurile sale, locuitorii satelor nu aveau acces la medicamente i
ngrijire medical corespunztoare iar medicul Voiculescu intuia acest lucru i venea n sprijinul
celor sraci cu sfaturi medicale bazate pe cunotinele acumulate la sa, de secole De multe ori
l-am auzit spunnd ca leacurile etnoiatrice aplicate la sate ddeau rezultate mai bune cnd erau
nsoite de incantaii. Descntecele, spunea el, constituiau remedii psihoterapice acionnd pe
baza mecanismelor de sugestie. Este vorba de o variant a vindecrii prin spirit, cum o numea
tefan Zweig. (Daniel, 1985: 581) Ariile de interes ale omului de cultur Voiculescu includ
psihologia moral, fiziologia, n special a sistemului nervos, curentele psihologice care
cerceteaz raporturile cantitative i calitative ntre intensitatea stimulilor fizici i intensitatea
strilor psihice generate, tulburrile psihice. Totodat, Voiculescu era un avid cititor al lui
Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (filozof, psiholog i fiziolog german), Harald Hfding (filozof al
religiilor), Pierre Marie Flix Janet (psihoterapeut, filozof i fiziolog francez) i William James
(filozof i psiholog american). Dragostea pe care a purtat-o cuvntului scris reiese i din faptul
c, lipsit de timpul necesar pentru a-i aterne pe hrtie ideile, ori de cte ori putea i nota ideile
chiar pe reetar ntre dou consultaii, n pauze de odihn, noaptea trziu, doctorul
consemna idei i impresii, versifica, schia, corecta, purtnd hrtiile cu sine, n geanta ori trusa
cu care pleca de acas. Impresia cu care rmi este aceea c omul a avut o via plin. (Rotaru,
1997: 246)
Voiculescu mrturisea c ntregul su sistem de gndire era unul eclectic care se
sprijinea pe nvturile Kabalei dar i scrieri tiinifice, precum cele aparinnd medicului
spaniol Raymondus Lullus. El aplica metode neconvenionale pentru a vindeca pacienii. Una
dintre aceste forme de medicin alternativ era i selenoterapia, pe care i-o autoaplica, pentru
a combate astenia. Nu puini erau cei care aveau ncredere n valoarea medical a poetului:(...)
trebuie s menionez ncrederea oarb pe care o manifesta tata n intuiiile sale de diagnostician,
ca i n tratamentele, de o simplitate adesea ciudat, prescrise de el, ca depozitar al unei bogate
experiene dobndite n practicarea medicinei la ar, n epoca anilor de tineree (...) (Pillat,
1994: 108) Contient c tria dual: ca medic i ca literat, Voiculescu conexa religia de
cunoaterea tiinific: Pregtirea tiinific, studiile medicale, cunotinele de filosofie i tot
ctigul meu n celelalte domenii de cultur, art literar, n loc s m departeze, m-au apropiat
de credin. Unilateral, a fi fost poate un ateu naiv, un simplist negativ. Cu ct mai poliedric,
cu att au avut loc pe unde s strbat experiene concrete, puncte de vedere noi, interferene
doctrinare, putin de comparaii, lumin mai mult. Iar din toate, sinteza c neaprat credina
trebuie s stea la temelia spiritului omului normal. (Voiculescu, 1986: 452) Iar urmtoarele
cuvinte l calific mai mult ca hierat dect ca slujbaj al lui Esculap: Domnilor, dac n-a fi ajuns
medic, cred c a fi fost preot. Cel mai plcut joc al meu a fost de-a biserica. Nu o maimureal
i nici o batjocur, ci o real i sincer practic copilreasc a marilor mistere. (Voiculescu,
1986: 452) Starea de extaz religios i-a influenat att munca ca medic ct i pe cea de om al
literelor. El era un om prifund religios, n nsi fibra sa: m vd un copila, stnd singur ntr-o

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poian cu flori slbatice la marginea unei grle... stau pe un mal cu flori i m uit n zare. i simt
i acum fericirea acelei singurti copilreti plin de o mare, de o nespus, a zice de o mistic
ateptare. Ateptam de atunci ceva ce atept i acum, ceva care s-mi ndeplineasc un dor
nehotart i ateptam cu siguran, atunci, c va veni...M simeam, m credeam predestinat.
(Voiculescu, 1986: 452)
Cunoaterea tiinific nu a fcut dect s se ntrevad mai bine estura de misticism i
iubirea valorilor estetice: De aici, impresia just c Voiculescu artistul, miglos faur, are
vocaia marilor altitudini, a urcuului abrupt, a singurtii spiritului n aventuri nemrginite
ale cunoaterii. Laolalt cu aceea de medic, adic de tmduitor al rnilor trupeti i care
mprumut, pentru reuitele sale, i ceva din vocaia spiritualistului. (Apetroaie, 1997: 45-46)
Cu toate acestea perioada studeniei mediciniste a suportat-o greu nu doar pentru c
presupunea un studiu intens ci pentru c-i rpea din timpul pe care ar fi vrut s-l dedice
scrisului, pe de o parte, iar pe de alt parte, avea s i se dezvluie toate secretele alctuirii
umane. Nu trebuie uitat c poetul provenea dintr-o familie religioas iar studiul anatomiei i
crea repulsie. Este perioada n care ncepe s-i pun ntrebri metafizice.
Perioada agitat n care a muncit ca medic de plas prin Gorj, apoi n Buzu, Ilfov,
Dmbovia nu doar c l-au clit n viitoarea carier, nobilndu-l, ci au reprezentat tulburarea de
care avea nevoie pentru a cpta curaj n plan literar: Rtcirile dintr-un jude n altul, condiia
sa de doctor cu valizele la u, fr certitudinea c viitorul i aduce o stabilitate, deprtarea de
soie (care, la rndul ei, suporta greu distana), nemulumirea dttoare de ntrebri i griji i
ntorc sufletul adesea ntr-un gest de slbiciune parc spre copilrie. (Popescu, 1993: 69)
Dar, aa cum singur mrturisea, acea perioad avea s fie cea mai fecund, cu cel mai mare
impact n formarea polimatului Voiculescu: Am alergat la tot ceea ce atunci ispitea o minte
ncercat de credin, i hrnit tiinificete, materialism, pozitivism, evoluionism, Littr,
Claude Bernard, Auguste Comte, Darwin, Spencer. (...) Am cunoscut Kabala din studii, mai ales
ale lui Frank i Karpe, am citit Seferul cu comentariile lui, am practicat pe rozicrucienii lui
Pladan, de la gnoz i Pista Sofia, prin Fabre dOlivet, Saint Yves dAlveidre, Eliphas Levy i
Papus, pn la modernii Schur, Rudolf Steiner, M-me Blawatzky, Annie Besant i ci alii.
(Voiculescu, apud. Popescu, 1984: 98) n 1914 apreau la tipar poeziile Urare i Din a vremilor
risip n Convorbiri literare. Munca deosebit depus n calitate de medic de front avea s-i aduc,
la finele rzboiului ordinul Coroana Romniei cu spade n gradul de ofier, iar n 1920, tot ca o
recunoatere a meritelor lui medicale este numit medic al Domeniilor Coroanei.
Debutul literar are loc n primvara anului 1912, n paginile periodicului Convorbiri
literare cnd medicul-poet semneaz versurile intitulate Dor. Patru ani mai trziu vedea lumina
tiparului un volum de stihuri cu un titlu simplu Poezii. Aceste versuri poart amprenta literar
a lui naintailor Vlahu, Goga, Macedonski, Alecsandri i Eminescu. Poeziile din acest volum
sunt inegale ca lungime, se folosete versificaia antic: iambul i amfibrahul iar ca tematic,
volumul se nscrie n curentul smntorist, prin motivele invocate hraminii (Stoian cel viteaz),
elemente de folcloristic (Doina i iar doina), evocarea naturii (Toamna), trecerea inexorabil a
timpului (Din Veneia). Poetul este nclinat n acest volum ctre simbolistic i parabol.
Urmtorul volum de stihuri, Din ara zimbrului (1918), subintitulat Poezii de rzboi l
plaseaz pe Voiculescu n pur descenden tradiionalist prin evocarea patriotismului
romnesc, n special al celor muli i nevzui, cci laitmotivul secund este eroismul celor
muli, al anonimilor i umililor vieii. (Grsoiu, 1977: 39) Versurile acestui volum sunt mult

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mai scurte i pentru un impact estetic imediat, poetul folosete epitete simple iar metaforele
sunt nlocuite de comparaii. Trei ani mai trziu, n 1921, aprea volumul Prg iar lirica acestui
lucrri l propulseaz pe Voiculescu n calitate de peisagist aducndu-i aportul la pastelului
romnesc. Poetul se orienteaz ctre utilizarea hiperbolei i a personificrii. n grdina
Ghetsimani care face parte din acest volum ne las s intuim devenirea sa ca poet. Voiculescu
folosete cu precdere metafore simbol, personificri, epitete, inversiuni, hiperbole, comparaii,
antiteze pentru a da un plus de originalitate. Dei tradiionalist n acest volum, Voiculescu nu se
sfiete s utilizeze metode simboliste precum majusculele Destinul, Viitorul, Ruina, Visarea,
Omul etc
Odat cu Poeme cu ngeri (1927) vocea poetic se radicalizeaz. Volumul este doar n
aparen cartea de vizit a ortodoxismului literar (Micu, 1995: 21) cci versurile reprezint, de
fapt, reflecii ale poetul asupra condiiei umane. Unele versuri sunt inspirate din mitologia
cretin: Pe drumul de aur al Sidonului amintete de cei trei magi, Pregtiri de cin zugrvete
ultima cina a lui Isus. Nu puini exegei au vzut n versurile acestui volum un semn al
misionarismului voiculescian ne aflm n faa celui mai mare poet religios din ntreaga
literatur romneasc, de la Dosoftei i I. H. Rdulescu, pn la contemporanul nostru Ioan
Alexandru. (Rotaru, 1993: 55) Ali critici au identificat n aceste poezii o contrapondere la
impresionismul german: Prestigiul universal al Elegiilor duineze din 1922 n-a lsat indiferent
poezia nostr care, prin V. Voiculescu ntre alii, ddea o replic (Poeme cu ngeri, 1927). (Piru,
1981: 362) Dar diferena ntre germanul Rilke i autohtonul Voiculescu este aceea c la primul
ngerii au o accepiune metafizic, pe ct vreme la medicul romn ei sunt fpturi mirene,
aproape profane.
Dup cinci ani de tcere literar, Voiculescu public n 1933 volumul Destin. Vocea
poetic pare mult mai dispus la confesiune poetul devenind prin excelen un introvertit.
(Grsoiu, 1977: 60) Volumul reunete pasteluri (arpele, Primvara n cimitir, Efigii marine,
Diminea dunrean). Subiectele predilecte sunt vrsta inocent a copilriei (Ionic, Iarna de
altdat, Vara n miezul codrilor), cunoterea (Centaurul), dar i dragostea ca surs a frumosului
estetic (Eva, Iubire mbtrnit). Utilizarea fabulei aduce versurile sub patrafirul de parabole al
noului testament. (Perpessicius, 1973: 321) Dac primele trei volume fac apel la o lume
rustic, nscriindu-i autoul n rndul tradiionalitilor sau smntoritilor, n Urcu (1937) se
intensific tematica meditativ poetul devine din ce n ce mai personal, nu n sensul de
cristalizare a personalitii lirice, ci de acela al interiorizrii i mrturisirilor iscate de ntrebri.
(Grsoiu, 1977: 67) Tonul devine elegiac, cu descrieri de natur (Iarn scitic, Toiul primverii),
meditaii asupra valorilor estetice (Art trzie, Fereastra) dar i asupra destinului, vieii i morii
(Imn sufletului, Plecare). Volumul ntrezriri (1939) i intensific tonul meditativ iar n 1941
pentru acest volum poetul ctiga premiul naional de poezie. Ultimele dou volume de stihuri
reitereaz simplitatea, claritatea i simetria, mai precis (...) urc la un neoclasicism de factur
modern. (Micu, 2000: 208) Ceea ce l-a mnat pe medic n creaia sa liric este zbuciumul
noional n oricare din fazele devenirii sale ca poet ideea poeziei conceptuale traversa ca un fir
rou ntreaga evoluie a poetului, de la modestele poeme despre Bine i Ru la preioasele
Sonete. (Filipa, 1980: 8)
Dar, odat cu acest ultim volum, lirica voiculescian capt noi valene. Binele, Rul,
Virtutea sunt nlocuite de noiuni abstracte: Azur, Puritate ce par s evidenieze influena
simbolitilor. Iar dorina de a accede la inocen este dat de utilizarea termenilor Fecioara,
Androginul, Narcis. n descenden gndirist, poetul utilizeaz tema fabulosului folcloric dar

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Urcu i apoi ntrezriri introduc ca element poetic nou angoasa contiinei. Aceast
interiorizare a perspectivei poetice, chiar dac subtil, nu scap la o analiz atent:... privirea
atent a itinerariului liric al lui Vasile Voiculescu ne nfieaz o trecere mereu mbogit, de la
contemplaie ctre cerebralitate i interiorizare, temele i motivele devenind, tot mai mult,
pretexte pentru dezbaterea probremelor propriei contiine. Poetul va institui un univers aparte,
cu rndurile sale proprii; o lume ale crei elemente se golesc de coninutul obinuit, pentru a
sensibiliza ideea. (Curticeanu, 1977: 105)
Unii critici au vzut n Ultimele sonete nchipuite ale lui Shakespeare (1964) o erosofie
nscut dintr-un lirism superior ce scoate la iveal elemente ale renascentismului petrarchist n
acord cu un ortodoxism manicheist. Iubirea este cea care mpinge sufletul n sfere nalte.
Sonetele voiculesciene dau dovad de un fir aproape sacerdotal ce le aproapie de baroc. Aceste
versuri sunt caracterizate de o nflcrare dus la paroxism ...patetismul rece i solemn (...)
ardoarea de care Voiculescu o pune n a exprima formele unei iubiri spiritualizate. (Simion,
1977: 302) Ali exegei au vzut n Ultimele sonete o perfecionare, un punct terminus al ntregii
deveniri lirice a medicului:(...) ncununarea mentalitii magice i a formulei literare baroce (...)
formul care perfecioneaz, fr s renege nimic din ceea ce o precedase. (Sorescu, 1979: 110)
mbinnd elemente de alegoric, transcendent i omenesc, aceste ultime creaii voiculesciene
nchid n ele perfeciunea unui destin de poet. Iar edificator pentru cititor asupra modului de
gndire voiculescian este faptul c beatitudinea mistic este atins nu prin crezul religios, ci
prin teurgie. Aceast concepie poetic i are, credem noi, ca i n cazul altor medici-literai,
sorgintea n credina c exist o paralel ntre corpul uman i cosmos, primul fiind o copie la
scar mic a celui de-al doilea: (...) orice iniiere se bazeaz pe postulatul c n microcosmosul
uman se reflect structura ntregului univers. (Sorescu, 1979: 131) Aflat n permanen la
confluena liricii cu tiinele exacte, Voiculescu s-a dovedit o personalitate marcant a culturii
romne care a trit n medicin dar a respirat sufletete n liric.Lirica voiculescian, inefabil i
greu de ncadrat ntr-un anumit curent literar, a fost apropiat de unii exegei barocului,
maniheismului, renascentismului, petrarchismului sau chiar simbolismului.
n perioada rzboiului, Voiculescu ajunge s cunoasc la Academia brldean pe fraii
Niulescu, George Tutoveanu, Toma Chiricu, Tudor Pamfile. Ei au fost primii martori ai
devenirii poetice a medicului. Este perioada n care se apropie tot mai mult de Alexandru
Vlahu care nu doar i devine mentor dar i l ajut s publice ulterior. Lsm cuvintele
poetului s descrie respectul profund pe care l-a purtat lui Vlahu: A te rsfrnge necontenit
ntr-o asemenea oglind, n care s te vezi cum ar trebui s fii, care s te corecteze fr siluire, s
te supravegheze senin, i bun s te lumineze asupra ta nsui, este s-i schimbi nfiarea
moral cu desvrire, nseamn c te plsmuieti a doua oar dup un model, dup un
ndreptar ideal ce l-ai avea pururi n fa. (Voiculescu, 1927: 707) Perioada petrecut alturi de
ndrumtorul su avea s fie una fecund i s contribuie la devenirea sa liric. De fapt, ntreaga
efervescen intelectual a cercurilor pe care le frecventa l-a ajutat s supravieuiasc sufletete
ntr-o vreme de restrite: De aici planuri de aciuni mari i adnci. Partid al ordinei, lig a
dreptii, reviste, gazete i alte organe active care, ca varga magilor s trzneasc i s
tmduiasc n acelai timp, toate se amestecau, se tulburau, se ciocneau ca apoi s se
domoleasc i s se aeze ntr-o singur, lin i slobod curgere n graiul i n vorba adnc
cugetat a lui.(Voiculescu, 1927: 708)

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 Chiar dac la o prim privire medicul-poet i Blaga au n comun un misticism profund,
diferena const n naturaleea cu care Voiculescu face uz de taina mistic: Ceea ce era la Blaga
sublimare panteist, recurs la un miraculos ancestral, devine la Voiculescu o transcriere n
tonuri stinse, rafinate, a unei mitologii elementare, populat de ngeri, ca aceea a vechilor
miniaturi din crile Evului mediu romnesc. (Grigorescu, 1975: 310) Plasat n descendena
tradiionalismului, Voiculescu modific ritmul poetic i frngere versificaiei tradiionaliste,
n n maniera lui Adrian Maniu i Maeterlink. n prima perioad a poeziei sale, Voiculescu
apeleaz pe scar larg la: regionalisme aspre, ntunecate, pduroase, pmntoase, cioturoase,
pietroase, zgrunuroase, de neconceput nainte de rzboi, n poezie. (Micu, 1984: 254)
Chiar dac cizelat de cultur, Voiculescu las impresia unui ran colit (...) ns nu att
de profund modelat de cultur nct s se fi detaat cu totul de optica rural (...) (Micu, 1984, p.
257) care mparte cu Cobuc dorina de a propaga senzaia contactului carnal cu pdurea, cu
epii miritilor, cu piatra, cu ploaia, cu pmntul. (Micu, 1984: 257) Lexicul poetuluimedic
are capacitatea de a de conceptualiza, de a-i schimba straiele i de a face din autorul lui un
spirit venic cameleonic: Termeni abstraci ai lumii spirituale () - aflai n intime relaii de
sens - sunt ademenii spre teritoriile realitii concret-materiale, datorit asocierii lor,
surprinztoare, cu o reea de termeni i expresii din lumea fizic, solidari, ntre ei, n planul
semantic () (Tohneanu, 1976: 182) i, cu toate acestea, Voiculescu rmne credincios unui
hieratism autoimpus. Miznd pe termenii autohtoni, Voiculescu aproape respinge calculul
lingvistic i neologismele stridente, cci: Voiculescu i concretizeaz pasiunea n tropi care
aparin propriei sale experiene de art, refuznd decalcuri, mprumuturi, influene directe ()
(Doina, 1974: 177) Venic frmntat de ntrebri metafizice, poetul este, prin natura studiilor
sale, fixat n ntr-o realitate tangibil dar se resimte n permanent dorina sa de a accede la modele
originale i principii creatoare.
Tot 1920 avea s fie anul n care incep s-i fie recunoscute i meritele literare cci
primete de la Academia Romn premiul pentru volumul Din ara zimbrului. Doi ani mai
trziu, n 1923, Voiculescu i ndreapt atenia ctre populaia rural defavorizat: este
momentul n care omul meseriei exacte, om de cultur totodat, ncepe s cread tot mai mult n
misionarismul su. A sosit ceasul cnd fostul copil, mai apoi student, iar mai trziu medic de
plas, i reamintete, cu fora adevrului mult prea evident pentru a putea fi ignorat, de
condiia mizer a omului din satul romnesc. (Popescu, 1984: 126)
ntre 1922-1925 ajunge s publice numeroase articole de promovare a medicinei n
periodicul Albina. Iar ntre 1927 i 1936 semneaz texte cu acelai scop n Romnia administrativ
(n cadrul rubricii Tribuna medical), Pagina medical i Leacuri. Subiectele tratate au o nalt
inut i totui se pliaz pe chestiuni stringende sociale: subiecte de igien, de educaie sanitar,
de medicina muncii, profilaxie, parazitologie, bacteriologie etc. n 1925 primea o nou distincie
ce atesta valoare medicului Voiculescu:Meritul sanitar, clasa I. Dintre textele medicale
publicate mpreun cu Gh. Mugur se numr: Proverbe culese, ndreptar cultural, Cartea
misionarului, Chestionar de anchet social pentru monografie, Chestionar folcloric, ndreptar pentru
conductorii culturali de la sate. Totodat, contient de valorea antropologic a datinilor populare,
Voiculescu a pledat pentru crearea unor muzee la sate, n care vestigiile culturale s fie pstrate,
i pentru crearea unor monografii ale satelor romneti. Cu toate c medicina i lsa timp puin

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pentru pasiunea sa:-literatura, Voiculescu s-a nconjurat de oameni de litere care simeau
sufletete ca i el: Ion Marin Sadoveanu, Ion Pillat, Adrian Maniu, Cincinat Pavelescu, Ionel
Teodoreanu.
Anul 1934 vine cu o nou culegere semnat de medic Cluza farmaciei cminului cu
leacuri de ntiul ajutor. n acelai an Voiculescu pune bazele unei emisiuni radiofonice dei
prima sa emisiune, n calitate de refernt avusese loc n 1929. Prelund locul prietenului su
Adrian Maniu, Voiculescu avea s aduc cunoaterea medical i n rndul mediului
defavorizat de la sat: Pot afirma c ntre multe sftoase nuliti trncnitoare, prelegerile cu
miez ce inea pentru combaterea bolilor erau o revelaie. Urmrite de zeci de mii de oameni din
toat ara, erau adevrate lecii populare de igien social, ntemeiate pe o valoroas pregtire,
de real folos poporului. (Maniu, 1981: 25)
Cu toate aceste realizri n palmares, cu toate victoriile repurtate, Voiculescu a fost privit
de literai ca un neofit iar de medici ca un dezertor al breslei. La pupitrul radio Voiculescu
creeaz o Cronic medical radiofonic ce surprindea prin acurateea nvturilor medicale
explicate pe nelesul tuturor: Rar mi-a fost dat s ascult texte de popularizare a medicinei att
de interesante, att de cale i de o frumusee att de simpl. (Teodorescu-Branite, 1981: 29)

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Apetroaie, I. (1975) V. Voiculescu, Editura Minerva

Daniel, C. (1985) Vasile Voiculescu medic practician, n vol. Retrospective medicale, Studii, note i documente,
Editura Medical, Bucureti
Doina, . A. (1974) Orfeu i tentaia realului, Editura Eminescu, Bucureti
Grsoiu, L. (1977) Poezia lui Vasile Voiculescu, Editura Dacia, Cluj-Napoca
Grigorescu, D. (1975) Direcii n poezia secolului XX, Editura Eminescu, Bucureti
Maniu, A. (1981) V. Voiculescu-omul, n V.Voiculescu interpretat de, Editura Eminescu
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Permanen i modernitate. Studii literare, Bucuresti, Editura Eminescu
Micu, D. (1984) Modernismul romnesc, vol. I, De la Macedonski la Bacovia, Editura Minerva, Bucureti
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Rotaru Vasile Voiculescu, Editura Recif
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Popescu, F. ( 1984) Pe urmele lui Vasile Voiculescu, Editura Sport-Turism, Bucureti
Popescu, F. (1993)Patru scrisori inedite, n V. Voiculescu i lumea lui, Editura Colibri, Bucureti, Exemplarul
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introductiv, note i variante de Victor Crciun, cuvnt nainte de erban Cioculescu, Editura Cartea
Romneasc
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 THE FRAME THAT SEPARATES REALITY FROM FICTION
IN TRACY CHEVALIERS NOVELS

Conf. univ. dr. Brndua Prepeli Rileanu

Universitatea Politehnica Bucureti, FILS, DCLM

Writing about the ontological status of all literary fiction Patricia Waugh has observed
its quasi-referentiality, its indeterminacy, its existence as words and world. Being aware of the
fact that language in fiction has to be carefully organized in order to construct contexts which
are more fully given or assumed in the real world, she has highlighted that such texts,
however, emphasize that the ability to manipulate and construct hypothetical, alternative or
ontologically distinct worlds is also a condition of social existence, of life outside novels.
(Metafiction,101)
Tracy Chevalier has proved to excel at creating such worlds for those who admired her
atmospheric evocation of 17th-century Delft or her vivid reconstruction of late 18th-century
London. Novels such as The Girl with a Pearl Earring or Burning Bright brims with descriptive
detail, from the typical atmosphere in the house of the great painter Vermeer to the evocation of
the end of the 18th century London, from the wild feats of Astley's Circus to the grim poverty of
the slums of St Giles, from the art of Dorset button-making to the mournful procession of a
funeral cortge.
As Umberto Eco points out no fictional world could be totally autonomous, since it
would be impossible for it to outline a maximal and consistent state of affairs by stipulating ex
nihilo the whole of its individuals and of their properties. (Eco 1981, 221)
The reconstruction of various cultural or artistic places was not the writers only aim or one of
the most important goals. Nevertheless, the plot of her novels would not be so strong without a
careful reconstruction of the environments in which the characters live. To start with, we point
out that few concepts deriving from the theory of narrative texts are as self-evident and have
yet remained so vague as the concept of space. Mieke Bal specifies this idea in her book
Narratology. Introduction to the Theory of Narrative (1997: 132]. She argues that the concept of place
is related to the physical, mathematically measurable shape of spatial dimensions. Of course,
she emphasizes, in fiction, these places do not actually exist, as they do in reality. But our
imaginative faculty dictates that they be included in the fabula. Determined by the way in
which the fabula is presented, places are linked to certain points of perception. These places
seen in relation to their perception are called space.
Although she does not have a special concern with the depiction of the spaces in which
the plots of her novels develop, Tracy Chevalier places her characters so artfully in specific
environments so that several aspects need to be highlighted.
In one of her most famous novels which was given a new form to a movie of great success (Girl
with a Pearl Earring), Lidia Vianu has observed the fact that geography is a minimal presence:
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 (Holland, Delft, the Hague barely mentioned, never seen although only a two hours
walk away), the seasons have their specific chores, the biting frost of winter is as real as
it might to be today. Small details, which make the texture of the 17th century life, are
unfamiliar, and we feel we are entering a dystopia of harsh conditions, difficult survival,
more hard work that we have ever contemplated in our daily routine. (118)
What is significant is the fact that even from the beginning, the town of Delft is
presented through one of Vermeers paintings. The father of the main character, Griet, asks her:
Do you remember the painting we saw in the Town Hall a few years ago, which van Ruijven
was displaying after he bought it? It was a view of Delft, from the Rotterdam and Schiedam
Gates. With the sky that took up so much of the painting, and the sunlight on some of the
buildings. (7)
And Griet answers him, thus completing the image: And the paint had sand in it to
make the brickwork and the roofs look rough. [] And there were long shadows in the water,
and tiny people on the shore nearest us. (7) Then, for the first time, Griet draws a distinction
between art and reality: I remembered it well, remembered thinking that I had stood at that
very spot many times and never seen Delft the way the painter had. (8)
In the story, where space is connected to the characters who live it, Patricia Waugh
specifies, the primary aspect of space is the way characters bring their senses to bear on space.
Analysing this aspect, she states that there are three senses which are especially involved in the
perceptual representation of space: sight, hearing, and touch. All three participate in the
presentation of a space in a story. Shapes, colours, and sizes are perceived visually, always from
a particular perspective. (133)
The novel The Girl with a Pearl Earring reveals a special interest which the author shows
for interior spaces and, at the same time, the way in which she suggests the atmosphere of
claustrophobic intensity in the artist's house where the most part of the plot takes place. Here
the writing seems to belong to a miniaturist who recreates the atmosphere like paint, layer upon
layer.
The space in which the character is situated (or is precisely not situated) is regarded as a
frame. Such a frame with a highly symbolic function is Vermeers studio. Here the smell of
colours is overpowering:
The room was dark, the shutters closed I could make out only a little from the cracks of
light streaming in between them. The room gave off a clean, sharp odour of linseed oil
that reminded me of my fathers clothes when he had returned from the tile factory at
night. It smelled like wood and fresh cut hay mixed together. (33)
After the olfactory impression, the visual one follows. Here a description of the studio is
given as it appears in Vermeers paintings:
It was a large, square space, not as long as the great hall downstairs. With the windows
open it was bright and airy, with whitewashed walls, and grey and white marble tiles on
the floor, the darker tiles set in a pattern of square crosses. A row of Delft tiles painted
with cupids lined the bottom of the walls to protect the whitewash from our mops. They
were not my fathers. (34)
The whole plot of the novel is focused on the presence of this studio and on the special
relationship which is developing between the painter and the girl which will inspire the famous
painting. The whole book is an implicit theory on the birth and meaning of painting, of art, and
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the fact that you can accede to it by gift, not by birth, wealth, education, morality or any other
path. Griet is assisting(p.93) the painter as a secret ritual. Instead of working as a maid and
only that, instead of merely cleaning the sanctuary of painting, she becomes apprenticed to
painting itself. She learns colours and images by instinct, and she falls in love with the parallel
world of the soul. (119)
This example illustrates, the symbolic connection between the characters and their
familiar space. A bond in which home becomes the place where the interests and aspirations of
the people who live there interact and integrate in the obsessions and standards.
Here is, for example, a portrait of Jean Le Viste, high official at the French court and the owner
of the famous tapestries named The Lady and the Unicorn. The portrait is not drawn directly but
through the description of his study. Like the master of the castle, the austere chamber which is
specific to the 15th century belongs to a harsh man, a heartless man exclusively preoccupied
with his business:
It is not a comfortable room. The oak chairs have no cushions on them, and they creak
when you shift about. I think Papa had them made like that so no one will meet with
him for long. Ive noticed that Oncle Leon always stands when he comes to see Papa.
The walls are lined with maps of his properties the Chteau dArcy, our house on the
rue du Four, the Le Viste family house in Lyons as well as maps of disputes Papa is
working on for the King. The books he owns are kept here in a locked case. (40)
The way in which the space is filled, more precisely, the way in which the characters are
situated in this space is indicated with subtle irony in Tracy Chevaliers The Lady and the
Unicorn. The studio of Bruxelles weavers, the place where the famous tapestries of The Lady and
the Unicorn is almost the same type of frame as Vermeers studio in Delft.
Moreover, in The Lady and the Unicorn, the garden of Alienor de la Chapelle has the value of a
symbol and of an explanation of the way in which the tapestries known under the name of
millefleurs were created.
Mostly Alienors garden is an addition of plants in the medieval tradition. The names of
the plants are deployed explicitly to split open the conventional ties between the real and fictive
worlds rather than to reinforce them by mapping out a moral framework. Such names remind
us that, in all fiction, names can describe as they refer, that what is referred to has been created
anyway through a naming process. Here is an example in which Alienor presents her own
garden:
There should be mint among the millefleurs, for it guards against poison. Solomons seal
as well. And speedwell and daisies and marigolds those are for stomach ailments.
Strawberries too, for resisting poison, and for Christ Our Lord, for the Lady and the
unicorn are also Our Lady and Our Lord. So you will want flowers for the Virgin Mary
lily of the valley, foxglove, columbine, violets. Yes, and dog roses white for Our Ladys
purity, red for Christs blood. Carnations for Our Ladys tears for Her son be sure to
put those in the tapestry with the unicorn in the ladys lap, for that is like the Piet, nest-
ce pas? (115)
Why would Alienor, the blind girl, grow these flowers and plants unless she cannot see
them?
The answer is provided along the same line of thought which indicates the artistic
inspiration which these plants can offer to the weavers: to know the flowers and to can copy
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their true shapes and colours. It works best that way. That is the workshops secret thats why
our millefleurs are so fine(117). And an enumeration of plants follows, suggesting purity but
with a special emphasis on the aromas:
here is the stock. I plant it in the corners of the squares for the smell, so that I know
where I am. Here is the columbine, everything in three three leaves in three clusters on
three stems, for the Holy Trinity. Here are the carnations and daisies and marguerites
(117)
The value of these millefleurs is once more highlighted at the end of the book by Nicolas
des Innocents, the author of the drawings, who, contemplating the tapestries, states that:
It was not just the ladies who made the tapestries so powerful, but the millefleurs as well.
Whatever faults there were in the designs got lost in that blue and red field filled with
thousands of flowers. I felt as if I were standing in a summer field even in the midst of a
cold dark day in Paris. It was those millefleurs that made the room whole, pulling
together the ladies and their unicorns, the lions and servants, and me too. I felt I was
with them. (274)
As Mieke Bal specifies, the semantic content of spatial aspects can be constructed in the
same way as the semantic content of a character (135). Tracy Chevalier constructed
meticulously the space through combination of determination, accumulation, repetitions,
transformations, and the relations between various spaces, as the continuation of the above
mentioned quotation emphasized.
In other writings by Tracy Chevalier, the space is only a frame, a place of action. In
Remarkable Creatures, for example, the beach full of fossils is a realistic landscape that hints at
both the slapstick and the surreal, the existential and the photographic:
At the end of Monmouth Beach, just before Seven Rocks Point, where the shoreline
turned out of sight, we found the Snakes Graveyard. It was a smooth ledge of limestone
in which there were spiral impressions, white lines against the grey stone, of hundreds
of creatures like that which I held, except that they were enormous, each the size of a
dinner plate. It was such a strange, bleak sight that we all stared in silence. (22)
The space is here not only a background, but it becomes an object of presentation itself.
Stepping for the first time on this scenery Elizabeth Philpot is impressed by the natural history
which she discovers:
I walked out onto the ledge, stepping with care so as not to tread on the creatures, even
if they were clearly long dead and not so much corporeal bodies but sketches in the rock.
It was difficult to imagine them as alive once. They looked permanent, as if theyd
always been in the stone (23).
The space ( the landscape) becomes an acting place' (Bal 136) rather than the place of
action. It influences the fabula, and the fabula becomes subordinate to the presentation of the
space. This space is a steady, fixed frame as it can be looked upon from the windows of the
Philpot sisters house:
Although Morley Cottage was unremarkable, it did offer stupendous views of Lyme Bay
and the string of eastern hills along the coast, punctuated by the highest peak, Golden
Cap, and ending, on clear days, with the Isle of Portland lurking off land like a crocodile,
submerged but for its long flat head. (25)

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 The dynamical functioning of the space is another narrative possibility. This allows the
movement of characters. Strategically, the movement of characters can constitute a
transposition from one space to another (Bal 137). In Burning Bright Tracy Chevalier follows the
Kellaways, a family that moves from Dorset to Lambeth where their lives become entangled
with their neighbour, William Blake. Blake had lived most of his life in both Golden Square in
Soho and Leicester Fields (as the square was then known), only moving south of the river in
middle-age. "I think he moved because he was doing quite well and wanted more space," the
author muses. "He had bought a printing press and they weren't small, so he needed to find a
spacious house and Lambeth offered that." Chevalier herself has some experience of moving to
south London having lived Tooting, Putney and Wandsworth when she first arrived in England
from the United States. "Coming from the States, there were certain elements of south London
which were quite shocking," she recalls. "I was living in this small Victorian house in Tooting
and to start with and everything from the rooms to the streets seemed to be so dark and
cramped. Then gradually I got more used to it and started to appreciate the haphazard streets
and the open spaces. It still wasn't chic back then but you could see change was coming." The
same could be said of the land south of river in Blake's day. "It certainly wasn't a smart area,"
Chevalier explains. "Actually, it was pretty grim with lots of poverty and working-class slums
down by the river." She pauses considering. "It was an area in transition, I suppose. Indeed, just
few years before Blake moved there it was still fields and essentially just a village opposite
Westminster. It was the coming of the Industrial Revolution that changed the area completely
as factories grew up along the river. There was a mustard factory, timber yards, a vinegar
factory, and plenty of cloth drying fields and warehouses."
In Burning Bright, Chevalier has created a story which, like the panorama of London
against which it is set, is broad and busy, its focus shifting restlessly between its many
characters. Here the story is achieved on the basis of the readers frame of reference and also on
the basis of the general application of characteristics. London has characteristics in common
with every big city. But here Chevalier used a number of precise qualities specific to London in
the 18th century. Lambeth was not completely without culture though. The diverse range of
people who collected in the area helped to establish London's most notorious circus. Astley's
Circus was a permanent theatre originally built in 1770 and located at the southern end of
Westminster Bridge where it remained until it burned down in the 1830s. "The circus had a
huge effect on the area because for eight months of the year it provided a lot of employment for
those living in Lambeth," explains Chevalier.
Brian McHale considers that the space of a fictional world is a construct, just as the
characters and objects that occupy it are, or the actions that unfold within it. Typically, in realist
and modernist writing, this spatial construct is organized around a perceiving subject, either a
character or the viewing position adopted by a disembodied narrator. In postmodernist writing
space is less constructed than deconstructed by the text, or rather constructed and
deconstructed at the same time. Postmodernist fiction draws upon a number of strategies for
constructing / deconstructing space, among them juxtaposition, interpolation, superimposition, and
misattribution (Brian McHale 45).
In Burning Bright we have many juxtapositions according to the characters change of
location. For example, here is a shift from London of the poor suburbs towards cultural London.

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The reactions of the children are followed from their first visit at Westminster Abbey - Henry
VIIs Lady Chapel:

Oh, Jem, Look at that ceiling, Maisie breathed, gazing up at the fan vaulting, carved of
stone so delicate it looked like lace spun by spiders, touched in several places with gold
leaf.
Jem was not studying the ceiling, however, but the rows of carved seats for members of
the royal court along both sides of the chapel. Over each seat was an eight-foot-high
ornamental tower of patinated oak filigree. The towers were of such complicated
interlocking pattern that it would not have been a surprise to hear carvers had gone mad
working on them. Here at last was wood worked in a way the Kellaways would never
see the likes of in Dorsetshire, or Wiltshire, or Hampshire, or anywhere in England other
than in Westminster Abbey. Jem and Thomas Kellaway gazed in awe at the carving, like
men who make sundials seeing a mechanical clock for the first time. (76)
The sight, the touch and even the smell participate in the presentation of London streets.
At the beginning, the children move forward carefully:
Jem could glimpse the filth on the cramped streets, smell them from afar, and see the
misery marked on the faces around him. It was not his first encounter with London
slums. He and Maggie had explored some of the streets by the river in Lambeth, not far
from where she now worked making mustard, and he had been shocked that people
could live in such dank, dark conditions. (207)
The children really discover Londons slums following the burial procession of William
Blakes mother:
As the children followed the funeral procession down High Holborn, Jem sensed a
change in the city the farther east they went, into the old part of London. The streets of
Soho had been laid out in a kind of grid pattern. Now, however, streets led away from
High Holborn less predictably, curving out of sight, dead-ending abruptly, narrowing
into lanes a cart could barely squeeze through. They looked as though they simply grew
into their shape and size rather being planned. This part of London was what it was, and
made no attempt to be grand or elegant or ordered, as Soho and Westminster did. There
were still plenty of houses and shops and pubs about, but these were broken up with
larger buildings factories and warehouses. (213)
Tracy Chevalier's third novel - Falling Angels presents Edwardian London during the
years 1920 1930 when visits to the cemetery were far more frequent. In Highgate Cemetery the
main characters of the novel meet and become friends, and they also come here in crucial
moments of their life. More specifically, this is the place where, for the first time, the two young
daughters of the two families meet: Maud Coleman, and Lavinia Waterhouse. Despite their
preference for calling their daughter after a Roman writer, the Waterhouses have chosen to
adorn their family grave with a massive Angel (hence the title "Falling Angels"), whilst the more
modern, progressive Colemans have chosen a large urn (Roman in origin). This is a Cemetery of
Empire, and with the steady abandonment of its rules and customs over the next decade,
Chevalier conveys a little of how this Empire itself may have fallen.
Virgin Blue, the first novel which brought success in Tracy Chevaliers literary career,
uses a strategy of interpolation introducing an alien space within a familiar space. It is France of
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the Huguenots and witches, topos where the lives and the dramas of past generations went
through.
Arrived from America in this space, the main hero, Ella Turner lives here a number of
incredible events and finally stays there. Strategically, the trajectory of the novel is constituted
by a transposition from one space to another accomplishing that circular movement to which
we referred above, mentioning Mieke Bals theory about space. Tracy Chevalier reinvents the
French and Suisse space as a heterotopia. This involves the conceptualization of ancient Lisle-sur-
Tarn as opposite to the European world and at the same time Europes other, its alien double.
This dualism, ancient - modern, appears at a deeper level than that of theme. The division of the
fictional universe into two opposed worlds is only the first step. This duality of the fictional
world gives rise, by a kind of chain-reaction, to a plurality of worlds concerning history,
economics, politics, literature, art and music contemporary and ancient that Chevalier
constructs by a process of literary accumulation. An example is the description of the medieval
town Lisle-sur-Tarn mostly unchanged, place in which for the first time Ella Turner felt
contained and content:
I arrived in Lisle-sur-Tarn by crossing a long narrow bridge over the River Tarn. At the
end of it a church and a caf marked the towns edge. I parked next to the caf and
began to walk; by the time I reached the centre of town I knew we would live there. It
was a bastide, a fortified town preserved from the Middle Ages; when there were
invasions in medieval times the villages would gather in the market square and close off
its four entrances. I stood in the middle of the square next to a fountain with lavender
bushes planted around it and felt contained and content.
The square was surrounded on all four sides by an arched, covered walkway, with
shops on the ground level and shuttered houses above. The arches were built of long
narrow bricks; the same bricks made up the top two levels of the houses, laid
horizontally or diagonally in decorative patterns between brown timbers, held together
with dull pink mortar. (24)
Tracy Chevaliers novels involve communication from an implied author to an audience
of readers, and its methods cannot be understood apart from questions of tone, attitude, implicit
evaluation, and variable degrees of attitudinal distance between implied author, narrator,
characters, and reader. The very meticulous research which she performed for each of her
novels poses the question of the transcription of reality into art. The problem is contradictory
since, as soon as there exists a frame for reality, anything that is within that frame 'ceases to be
reality and becomes artifact' (Lee 5).
Wayne Booth has discussed the pitfalls of this idea (according to which the author
should be objective, true art should not cater to the tastes of the audience through its emotional
or moral appeal). He advances an opposite argument remarking that 'these dogmas imply that
the novel attains artistic value by cutting itself free from human values so that it can become a
self-contained object of pure representation' (Wallace 22)
Generalizing, one could state that Tracy Chevalier like most postmodern authors
challenges literary realism. For Tracy Chevalier as for some of her colleagues of generation,
reality has become a purely linguistic construct. Or, as Patricia Waugh has stated continual
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shifts in the structures of knowledge and power produce continual re-syntheses of the reality
model. Contemporary reality, as the recurrence of historic subjects, are continually being
reappraised and re-synthesized. It is no longer experienced as an ordered and fixed hierarchy,
but as a web of interrelating, multiple realities(Waugh 51).

References
1. Bal, Mieke, Narratology. Introduction to the Theory of Narrative, Second Edition, University of Toronto
Press, Toronto.Buffalo. London, 1999
2. Booth, Wayne C., The Rhetoric of Fiction, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1966
3. Chevalier, Tracy, The Virgin Blue, Penguin Group, 1997
4. Chevalier, Tracy, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Harper Collins Publishers, 1999
5. Chevalier, Tracy, Falling Angels, Harper Collins Publishers, 2001
6. Chevalier, Tracy, The Lady and the Unicorn, Harper Collins Publishers, 2003
7. Chevalier, Tracy, Burning Bright, Harper Collins Publishers, 2007
8. Chevalier, Tracy, Remarkable Creatures, Harper Collins Publishers, 2009
9. Eco, Umberto, Reflections on The Name of the Rose , Secker & Warburg, London, 1985
10. McHale, Brian, Constructing Postmodernism, Routledge, London and New York, 1992
11. Wallace, Martin, Recent Theories of Narrative, Cornell University Press, 1986
12. Waugh, Patricia, Metafiction The Theory and Practice of Self-Conscious Fiction, Methuen, London and
New York, 1984

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 EDUCAIA IN EPOCA TEHNOLOGIEI INFORMAIEI,
STRATEGII de PREDARE ASISTAT de CALCULATOR

Conf. dr. PREPELITA RAILEANU Brndua

Lector dr. SALVAN Mirela
Universitatea Politehnica Bucureti, FILS, DCLM

1 Introducere

Orientarea ntregii societi romneti ctre valorile i standardele europene au

determinat Ministerul Romn al Educaiei, Cercetrii i Inovaiei s implementeze un program
educaional bazat pe ICT (Information and Communication Technology). A fost luat n
considerare faptul c un coninut interactiv este unul intuitiv care i poate ajuta pe studeni s
neleag i s nvee mai uor cu ajutorul simulrilor, animaiilor sau al elementelor multi-
media.
nvmntul n general, dar mai ales acela desfurat n cadrul Universitii Politehnica
din Bucureti, a fost ntotdeauna ntr-o strns legtur cu tehnologia. Introducerea ICT-ului n
educaie nseamn o important investiie pentru viitor, mai ales n privina ridicrii
nvmntului romnesc la nivelul celui european.
Succesul programului educaional bazat pe ICT depinde ns de felul n care ntreaga
societate romneasc este antrenat n acest proces. Acum, rolul universitilor este de a furniza
informaia academic online pentru proiecte, traininguri, documentri, nvmnt la distan.
Scopul tuturor acestor aciuni ample este acela de a oferi anse egale tuturor membrilor
societii, de a uura tranziia procesului educaional spre o societate informaional prin
aciuni coerente i coordonate. (1)
Piaa soft-urilor educaionale ofer semnificative oportuniti creterii economice cu
rezultate benefice n zona locurilor de munc i a progresului social. Dezvoltarea acestei noi
industrii implic noi parteneriate, deopotriv pe plan naional i internaional, ntre profesori i
productorii de soft-uri. De exemplu, teleconferinele sunt astzi un lucru obinuit. Ca i
audioconferinele i desktop-video-conferinele pe internet. Ambele sisteme de comunicare
Internet i Intranet- au o puternic for de comunicare n ntreaga lume i, de asemenea, sunt
bogate surse de informare. (5) Ele pot dezvolta procesul de nvare i colaborarea ntre grupuri
de studeni aflate la mari deprtri.
In viitor, aceste reele ar putea permite crearea unor sisteme de nvmnt la distan la
care s participe ceteni din ntreaga Europ. Toi aceti ceteni vor trebui s aib acces la
noile tehnologii la un pre rezonabil. Internetul i Intranetul pot oferi site-uri educaionale
punnd la dispoziia profesorilor variate servicii i resurse. Unele dintre aceste servicii ar putea
fi lecii on-line organizate n funcie de nivelul de cunotine i subiecte. Un astfel de model este

297
folosit actualmente n Florida (sub acronimul TnT: Teachers and Technology). Pot fi, de
asemenea, menionate softuri care pot fi preluate sau programe de autor downloadabile,
articole de autor ale unor profesori, forumuri de discuii pe probleme de educaie etc.
Descoperiri noi n domeniul sateliilor digitali sau al tehnologiei prin cablu ofer
oportuniti nebnuite pentru dezvoltarea canalelor educaionale. Din punct de vedere tehnic,
acum este posibil s ai o televiziune interactiv i desigur acest lucru este folosit acolo unde
exist i sunt folosite programe profesionale si academice. La dialogurile live din timpul
transmisiilor pot fi adugate sisteme de comunicare cu ajutorul computerului sau contactele
prin telefon ntre studeni i profesori n studioul de radiodifuzare. Acest lucru permite
studenilor s reacioneze i s comenteze imediat coninutul cursului predat. Datorit acestor
sisteme, participanii pot urmri cursurile direct de acas sau de la locul de munc fr s
piard un timp preios cu deplasarea pn la universitate.
Introducerea ICT-ului pentru a nlesni procesul de nvmnt poate fi realizat n
multiple feluri, variind de la o abordare evolutiv spre o abordare revoluionar. Abordarea
evolutiv permite o integrare gradual a noilor mijloace media i duce la o schimbare
progresiv a metodelor de predare de-a lungul unui numr de ani.
Pe de alt parte, abordarea revoluionar cere o rapid i profund transformare a cilor
de transmitere a cunotinelor. Aceast abordare implic n mod necesar o schimbare imediat
n infrastructur i n pregtirea profesorului.
Predarea cursurilor asistat de calculator n laboratoarele universitilor impune cteva
probleme diferite de acelea generate de contextul mai general al e-learning-ului. In primul rnd,
relaia clas profesor, privit din punct de vedere afectiv i cognitiv, abordat dintr-o
perspectiv psiho-social, nu trebuie s fie deformat din punct de vedere structural de o
tehnic virtual invaziv. Mai curnd, modelele computerizate sunt chemate s completeze
interaciunea complex dintre profesor i studeni pentru a nlesni transferul de cunotine i
abiliti.(6) In acest sens s-a pus ntrebarea: este oare de conceput ca studenii s nu aib nici o
legtur cu profesori care s-i ndrume, s le furnizeze informaii, s-i corecteze, s le pun
note? Rspunsul nu este uor. Cineva trebuie s controleze clasa, s conduc discuiile, s creeze
o atmosfer propice studiului.

2 Metode de predare / metode de nvare

Adevrata explozie a internetului i a tehnologiilor asociate din ultimii ani a condus spre
o producie i o distribuie de tehnologii i comunicare interactiv relativ simpl. ICT
(Information and Communication Technologies) conine multiple posibiliti i este susinut de
o pletor de noi hard-uri i soft-uri. O multitudine de mijloace video, managementul bazelor de
date n biblioteci i muzee digitale, simulri, teleconferine, telefonie i comunicare fr fir sunt
doar cteva exemple. Fiecare modalitate are propriile caracteristici care contribuie la o relativ
putere sau slbiciune a acestor mijloace efective, ncercate i adevrate, a metodelor de predare
i de nvare.
O abordare didactic a acestei teme pornete de la ideea c introducerea unei noi
tehnologii impune folosirea unor noi metode de predare / nvare, concepie conform creia
introducerea unei tehnologii poate duce spre noi metode didactice de predare i nvare. In
acest context sunt amintite adeseori metode active, orientate spre cercetare sau metode
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constructiviste de predare i nvare. Ca atare se face un nou pas, la nivel conceptual, dincolo
de abordarea curricular, deoarece la nceput ICT era considerat ca o unealt neutr, iar ulterior
el a devenit subiect de studiu.
Se vorbete despre o inevitabil sau dorit schimbare n care ICT ar fi obligat sau ar
trebui s aib drept scop principal predarea i nvarea unor materii diferite. Asta presupune
de asemenea o predominan n disciplinele curriculei cu privire la o abordare interdisciplinar.
Invmntul tehnic romnesc acord toat atenia acestei noi folosiri a ICT-ului ca un
sprijin n procesul de nvmnt. Iar asta nseamn de asemenea o implicare activ a
sectoarelor de cercetare. Ne referim aici, cu precdere, la iniiativele luate n cadrul
Universitii Politehnica Bucureti n domeniul ICT i facilitile pe care un nvmnt
interactiv le aduce n eficientizarea procesului de nvmnt, prin sporirea abilitii studenilor
de a dobndi noi aptitudini.
Referitor la strategiile de e-learning adoptate de UPB, cea mai frapant este diversitatea
cu inerentele caracteristici de adaptabilitate n folosire i flexibilitate n aplicarea lor.
Pentru a exemplifica, vom aminti pentru nceput aceast implicare a UPB n domeniul
e-learning i faptul c au fost oferite programe ca rspuns la cerine variate cum ar fi: calificri
legate de carier, pentru dezvoltarea profesional, pentru programe care permit studenilor s-
i completeze studiile ncepute cu mai muli ani n urm, sau, pe un plan mai general, au fost
create oportuniti pentru lifelong learning.
Implicare e-learning-ului n creterea calitii predrii i nvrii, mai ales pentru
studenii din campus, este o int permanent n strategiile de predare/nvare ale
Universitii.
In cadrul Universitii Politehnica din Bucureti, creterea calitii predrii i nvrii n
cadrul programelor on-campus, cu ajutorul unor tehnologii noi, este un obiectiv principal. O
abordare obinuit este folosirea e-learningului pentru a mbogi modalitile tradiionale de
nvare prin furnizarea unei componente adiionale (uneori opionale) n procesul de predare /
nvare. n programele de acest fel, accentul principal este pus pe predarea cursurilor obinuite
studenilor din on-campus implicai n cursuri la zi, care conduc spre obinerea diplomelor
obinuite si a premiilor acordate de universitate.
Programele de acest fel sunt n mod obinuit acelea integrate, ele fcnd parte din planul
de nvmnt standard al universitii n care e-learning este folosit mai ales ca o pedagogie
suplimentar pentru studenii on-campus. UPB, una dintre cele mai vechi universiti romneti,
ofer o interesant ilustrare a dezvoltrii i integrrii e-learning n cadrul nvmntului din
campus.
n cadrul universitii, o strategie mai larg a fost folosit n jurul unei perspective
tradiionale, o perspectiv bazat pe campus avnd ca prim obiectiv rezultatele pedagogice.
n conformitate cu o abordare strategic la nivel universitar, evoluiile ulterioare s-au concentrat
mai ales asupra programelor, cu proceduri sistematice pentru evaluri; cu o coordonare
central urmrit de consiliul universitar; i cu integrarea unui sprijin educaional,
organizaional i tehnologic.
In timp ce strategiile e-learning aplicate on-campus pot varia ca domeniu i obiective de
atins, crearea unor centre specializate (care s ofere asisten n cursul desfurrii programelor
i pentru mbuntirea procesului de predare/nvare) este o opiune obinuit, practic.

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3 Cercetarea n slujba tehnologiei

Societatea informaional cere o schimbare n abordarea educaiei. In timp ce cteva

dintre slujbele viitorului sunt pe cale de a fi inventate, este puin probabil c fora de munc de
mine va rmne n aceeai slujb sau chiar acelai sector pentru mult timp. Studenii vor cere
competene generice i transferabile n domeniile educaiei, comunicrii, cercetrii, tiinei,
limbilor strine, tehnologiei, ca i dezvoltarea unei mini deschise i a adaptabilitii.
Un obiectiv principal al sistemului educaional formal poate consta n mai mult informaie
uor accesibil, printr-o cutare pe internet mai simpl dect ar putea fi mprtit de
profesor, oferind contextul care le-ar permite studenilor s descifreze importana i sensul ei.
Acest lucru i-ar ajuta pe studeni s transforme informaia n cunotine.
Tehnologia schimb modul n care se lucreaz la clas, integrnd manuale multimedia,
cercetarea online i prezentrile studenilor cu ajutorul tehnologiei i comunicrii informaiei,
transformnd actul de nvare ntr-unul mai interactiv i mai participativ. Succesul acestor
programe se datoreaz pe de o parte proiectelor inovatoare, i pe de alt parte faptului c
studenilor li se pare firesc s foloseasc tehnologia n situaii cotidiene. (4) In procesul
modernizrii universitii noastre, activiti importante se desfoar n domeniile informaticii
i comunicrii. Cele mai recente realizri constau n dezvoltarea reelei pentru eficientizarea
procesului de nvmnt, crearea unui serviciu special pentru managementul informaticii al
universitii noastre ca i proiectarea unui centru special de calcul (CoLab) ca un centru naional
pentru tehnologia informaiei. Printre cele mai importante rezultate putem meniona:
crearea unui Consiliu pentru Coordonarea i Dezvoltarea Informaticii cu un rol n
analiza situaiilor prezente i elaborarea unui program de dezvoltare i modernizare;
crearea Departamentului de Informatic i Comunicare;
constituirea de Comitete de Coordonare i Dezvoltare a Informaticii cu un rol n
coordonarea local pentru faculti i n legtur cu Serviciul de Informatic al
Universitii;
realizarea unei reele de management n procesul de nvmnt la un nivel de vrf i n
faculti cu dotare special datorat programului Tempus UNICAS i grantului de
modernizare finanat de Ministerul Educaiei i de International Bank.

Realizrile practice ne fac s ne gndim c abordrile mai puin formale ale educaiei sunt
de asemenea valoroase n societatea informatic, asigurnd tinerii cu oportunitatea de a nva
prin experiena practic. Sistemele educaiei formale au nevoie de mai mult flexibilitate pentru
a permite studenilor s experimenteze, s ctige experien i credibilitate pentru astfel de
activiti. In aceeai ordine de idei, este semnificativ faptul c pentru cteva faculti din UPB
planul de nvmnt va continua s se modernizeze n ceea ce privete cerinele comunitii
universitare internaionale. Structura i serviciile informatice ale facultilor vor fi modernizate.
Astfel, n cursul activitii de cercetare, mai multe componente vor fi dezvoltate:

abilitile de cercetare la nivelul departamentelor i a centrelor de cercetare;

participarea la competiii pentru proiecte n Programul Naional de Cercetare i
Dezvoltare sau n vederea obinerii contractelor din Ministerul Educaiei, Academia
Romn etc.;
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 dezvoltarea unei colaborri internaionale cu universiti europene binecunoscute
pentru participarea la teme de cercetare reciproce;
sprijinirea industriilor naionale de produse i servicii n domeniul automaticii i
calculatoarelor oferind noi concepte, soluii, tehnologii, prototipuri;
sprijinirea Centrului Naional pentru Tehnologia Informaiei.

Tehnologia a schimbat structura economiei, astfel nct multe slujbe au devenit nvechite,
conducnd la omaj. Totui, societatea informatic conduce n acelai timp la creterea
flexibilitii, scoate n eviden colaborarea mai curnd dect ierarhia, creeaz necesitatea
nvrii continue la lucru, reduce distincia dintre acas i locul de munc. Noi industrii s-au
dezvoltat ca rezultat al schimbrii tehnologice. Societatea informatic este acum o parte
important a economiei noastre pan-europene. Europa i America de Nord sunt lideri n
economie, cu mai multe patente dect n alte regiuni i un procentaj mai mare de muncitori n
slujbe bazate pe cunotine sau pe competene nalte. Aceste noi industrii sunt construite pe
inovaie, insuflnd spiritul de antreprenoriat.
O cultur a carierei i competenele de a transforma o idee ntr-o ntreprindere profitabil
sunt vitale pentru a asigura dezvoltarea susinut a acestor industrii i a unora noi nc
nepreconizate. De exemplu, Facultatea de Energetic a Universitii Politehnica din Bucureti
are un Centru de pregtire profesional i mai multe laboratoare pentru proiectare asistate de
calculator. Putem de asemenea meniona cteva dintre cursurile i laboratoarele incluse n
programa analitic:
grafic asistat de calculator (Facultatea de Energetic, anul I);
proiectare asistat de calculator n domeniul energetic (Facultatea de Energetic, anul
IV);
proiectare asistat de calculator a sistemelor mecanice (Facultatea de Inginerie Mecanic,
anul IV);
AutoCAD (Facultatea de Transporturi, anul II).
Sprijinirea tinerilor antreprenori n dezvoltarea societii cu ajutorul educaiei, economiei,
tutoratului i ncurajrii este o direcie important pentru umplerea golului dintre ramura
digital i promovarea crerii unor mijloace de trai sustenabile.
O societate informatic nseamn cu mult mai mult dect instalarea liniilor telefonice i a
computerelor n coli. Crearea unui acces echitabil la tehnologie este foarte important dar avem
nevoie de asemenea s stabilim ce fel de societate ncercm s construim cu aceste instrumente,
ambele n funcie de felul n care caracteristicile sale sunt diferite de modelul societii
anterioare i de principiile implicrii noastre. Dincolo de problemele tehnologice i de
infrastructur, exist dimensiuni sociale, politice, culturale i instituionale. Sisteme diferite de
nelegere, culturi i civilizaii intr n relaii de dialog i aceste relaii transform societatea.
Din aceast perspectiv, problemele de includere social, gen, vrst, dialog intercultural,
diversitate cultural ar trebui s ocupe un loc central.

4 Implementarea tehnologiilor moderne

Promovarea dimensiunii europene a nvmntului superior a fost posibil printr-o

intens cooperare i contacte internaionale directe ntre universitile romne i instituiile
europene sau organizaii internaionale. Mai multe universiti romneti au oferit programe

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de studii complete n limbi strine ca engleza, franceza i germana. Att studenii romni ct i
cei strini care studiaz n Romnia pot s urmeze aceste cursuri. Corpul profesoral i sprijinul
material pentru procesul de nvmnt au fost pregtite cu suport tehnic de la universitile
partenere din Marea Britanie, Frana sau Germania i sprijin financiar de la Programul
TEMPUS.
Implementarea programelor europene a avut efecte pozitive asupra structurilor
universitare i programei de nvmnt, ca i asupra noii viziuni a misiunii nvmntului
superior, incluznd mijloacele de a ndeplini aceast misiune. Eforturile de a face sistemul
romnesc compatibil cu cele europene au inclus domeniul de competen al absolvenilor, au
asigurat o mai bun inserie a universitilor n viaa social, economic i cultural, au eliminat
cteva probleme n procesul de acreditare. Astfel, implementarea i utilizarea tehnologiilor
moderne n educaie i cercetare cer mobilizare i sprijin pentru iniiative, programe i proiecte
ale instituiilor publice, organizaii profesionale sau specialiti n e-learning, cercettori i
profesori universitari, inspectori, consilieri, psihologi i studeni.
Referitor la realizrile recente romneti ale nvmntului tehnic, trebuie menionat
activitatea Centrului pentru Dezvoltare i Inovare n Educaie TEHNE Bucureti, Romnia.
Este vorba despre o organizaie non-profit avnd ca scop sprijinirea iniiativelor n educaie prin
proiecte i programe referitoare la dezvoltarea programei de nvmnt formale, educaia prin
tehnologia informaiei, e-learning, instruire permanent. Ca organizaie nonguvernamental,
fr scopuri politice, TEHNE promoveaz principiile europene i valorile n domeniul educaiei
prin abordri i tehnologii inovatoare. Experiena de nalt nivel a TEHNE este reflectat de
parteneriatele cu diferite tipuri de instituii guvernamentale, nonguvernamentale, particulare i
publice. TEHNE este membru al SEE-ECN (South East Europe Education Cooperation
Network), sprijinind cercetarea local prin implementarea de proiecte in domeniul educational.
SEE-ECN i-a desfurat activitatea prin Centrul pentru studii de politic educaional
(Slovenia) i KulturKontakt (Austria), n cadrul Pactului de Stabilitate pentru Europa de Sud-
Est. Proiectul contribuie la dezvoltarea prezentrilor online sistematice ale sistemelor
educaionale n rile Europei de Sud-Est n comparaie cu sistemele altor ri, n special
europene. Astfel, proiectul mbuntete accesul la informaie asupra principalelor schimbri
n sistemele educaionale ale anumitor ri. El mbuntete accesul la cercetare, legislaie,
documente, informatie i prezint experi individuali i instituii. Toate datele sunt puse la
dispoziie online i sunt oferite n limbile regiunilor acoperite de proiect. TEHNE este partener
al EULLearN (European University Lifelong Learning Network), o reea tematic Erasmus.
Aceast reea tematic sprijin schimbul de bune practici, experiene i identificarea
problemelor comune, a ideilor i prioritilor. TEHNE este membru al Fundaiei Europene
pentru calitate n e-learning, o iniiativ a Comisiei Europene ntemeiate pe proiectul Triangle,
destinat creterii calitii e-learningului i a tehnologiei informaiei n programele educaionale
din Europa. TEHNE este iniiatorul i un membru activ al e-learning i n programele din
Romnia, folosind ICT n educaie.
Exemplele pe care le-am dat n acest articol sunt abordri importante n asigurarea
calitii coninutului de e-learning n activitatea educaional de la Universitatea Politehnica din
Bucureti.

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5 Concluzii

In mediul academic de predare i nvare, tehnologia n funciune include computerul,

printer-ul i scanner-ul. Li se adaug proiectoarele. Unele universiti folosesc camere digitale
i DVD-uri, echipamente de sunet i chiar posibiliti de navigare pe satelit (folosite mai ales de
profesori). Studenii de asemenea adaug acestei liste noile telefoane mobile, MP3 player-e,
laptop-uri, dispozitive USB, camere digitale.
Fr soft-uri, tehnologiile menionate nu sunt de nici un folos. Soft-urile ofer
studenilor de orice vrst i cu o pregtire minim extraordinare posibiliti de cltorie n
spaiul virtual odat cu browserele web. Iar acest lucru deschide nebnuite oportuniti de
asimilare a unor noi cunotine.
Bazele de date online cu resurse educaionale pentru necesitile nvmntului
superior impun o evaluare obiectiv a informaiei furnizate. Evaluarea resurselor este vital n
procesul de dezvoltare a acestor baze de date pentru ca ele s devin arhive de nalt calitate
pentru materialul didactic al profesorilor, dar i al studenilor. (7)
In acest cadru, pentru proiectele de cercetare efectuate la Universitatea Politehnica
Bucureti, au fost stabilite o list extins de criterii pentru evaluarea resurselor educaionale de
pe web.
Proiectele desfurate n universitile tehnice romneti sunt msura valorii adugate n
asigurarea calitii i pentru contribuia la practica educaional inovatoare formal i
nonformal. Promovarea, susinerea i monitorizarea implementrii tehnologiei i comunicrii
informaiei n educaie i n cadrul actului instrucional, cu un accent pe e-learning, pregtirea
asistat de calculator reprezint misiuni programatice pentru a susine activitile i proiectele
dezvoltate n aceste universiti.

Bibliografie

(1) Anastasiou, V., Athanasopoulos, Ch., The School of Tomorrow: A school open to the world, examples of
elements of good practice. Proceedings of the EDEN fourth Open Classroom Conference. Barcelona, Spain,
November 19-21, 2000.
(2) Aviram, A., The Integration of ICT and Education: From Computers in the Classroom
toMindful Radical Adaptation of Education Systems to the Emerging Cyber Culture, Journal of
Educational Change, 2000, 1, 331-352.
(3) Dewey, J. Democracy and Education: An introduction to the philosophy of education, New
York: Macmillan, 1952.
(4) Ministry of Education, Research and Innovation. Project The Professor - designer of
educational software, POS DRU 2007-2013.
(5) Miroiu, A, Rdoi Mirelle and Zulean, M., Educational Policies, Bucureti: Ed. Politeia
SNSPA, 2002.
(6) Mungiu - Pippidi (ed.), Public Policies. Theory and Practice, Bucureti: Editura Polirom, 2001.
(7) Pun, E., The school: A socio-pedagogical approach, Polirom Publishing House, Iasi, 1999.
(8) Project Teacher development through mentoring activities. POS DRU 2007-2013.

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RELEVANT MOMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF ENCYCLOPAEDIAS,
WITH A FOCUS ON THE FIFTEENTH EDITION OF BRITANNICA
Asist. univ. dr. Valentina Robu
Academia de Studii Economice - Bucureti

1. Introduction

The Greek word enkyklios paideia was associated from the very beginning with the process
of complete instruction, therefore with an educational system conceived as a circle of
learning (the most suitable visual representation of this type of intellectual effort). It has
retained its profound meaning almost unaltered by time, even if it has been subject to
additions or reductions. The names of the works containing this vast, comprehensive
knowledge varied consistently however: in the fifteenth century, the initial term turns up in
Rabelais's famous book Gargantua and Pantagruel, but also later, in the work of a German
author, Paul Scalich, who published in 1559, in Basel, his Encyclopaedia; seu, Orbis
disciplinarum, tam sacrarum quam prophanum epistemon (Encyclopaedia; or, Knowledge of the
World of Disciplines, not only Sacred but Profane); up until then such a scholarly work
was called Garden of Delights (Hortus Deliciarum) or Dictionary. Scalich introduced the name
in the Western thought but the truth is that it acquired universal acceptance after the
publication of Diderot's Encyclopdie, the first volume of which appeared in 1751 (Collison
and Preece, www.britannica.com/topic/encyclopaedia).
The current meaning of encyclopaedia includes all types of work claiming to offer in a
systematic way the gist, the essence of available knowledge on a certain topic or a cluster of
topics at a given time. Nowadays, the concept seems to favour a reliable reference frame, a
guide that implicitly incorporates the history of human quest for knowledge and
understanding.

2. A general perspective on encyclopaedias and aspects related to their characteristics

Encyclopaedias were meant to mirror the constitution of the world in most aspects. It is
interesting to note that the French scholar Vincent de Beauvais issued in 1244 his work
called Speculum majus (The Greater Mirror) thus implying that an encyclopaedia should
reflect the reality and the level of knowledge of the society of the time; he also pointed to an
important function that such a work should carry: the possibility to change the world by
capturing knowledge and then diffusing it widely.
This is one of the reasons for which, as the amount of knowledge available began to grow,
encyclopaedias became increasingly sophisticated instruments of learning. For centuries
they were looked upon as reliable tools for seeking the truth, along with language and
grammar.
The readers' expectations concerning content diversified; depending on the historical
periods the audience, at first interested in general instruction, considered immutable at
times, began to shift their interests from general knowledge to specialized information. Most
compilers or writers would have a certain readership in mind. This in itself was indicative of
the significant changes in the structure of European thought. Over the centuries, intellectual

304
interests sometimes favoured encyclopaedic dictionaries, shorter and easily accessible, but
great encyclopaedias retained their grasp on the vast coverage of knowledge available in a
certain age.
One of the central problems at the heart of encyclopaedic constitution lies in the adoption
of a valid criterion of ordering the amount of information. Initially, the topical arrangement
prevailed in the European cultural space, including the Greek and Roman encyclopaedias;
subject matters dictated the formal disposition of the content. Greek and Roman authors,
while familiar with alphabetical ordering, used it very rarely. Notable subsequent works
retained the topical or classified concept, but introduced the alphabetical system, which was
however, overlooked for many centuries by the general trend. One important exception is
the Etymologiae of St. Isidore of Sevilla issued in the seventh century. The 22 volumes
covering 448 chapters were written in Latin (as were most works of scholarship throughout
Europe) and contained an alphabetically sequenced etymological dictionary (see Britannica
Online).
In terms of language, Latin was the only international language, and it may have often
happened that it was the only medium in which two students could converse in Western
Europe (Russell, 1980) and beyond.

3. Relevant moments of intellectual search prior to Encyclopaedia Britannica:

tradition and continuity

This section dwells upon efforts in the British cultural space to give encyclopaedias a
valid formal constitution that was to break with previous practices, considered by many
inefficient. Two relevant enterprises stand out in this field, those of Francis Bacon and
Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Before embarking on their attempts to systematize knowledge it is
perhaps interesting to review certain aspects in the work of significant personalities in
Britain whose cultural influence did not fade and was for centuries part of what could be
called the mental frame of an encyclopaedic personality.
A quest for universal knowledge embodied in a work of universal coverage does not turn
up unexpectedly. The seeds were planted long ago, and Renaissance men are probably the
most significant example of devotion to complete knowledge.
In a letter addressed to the masters' guild at Oxford University in March 1518, Thomas
More tried to persuade the professors not to give in to the loss of interest in Greek and Latin
studies; this unacceptable relaxation would result in poor quality learning but also in the
loss of tradition, a vital ingredient in outstanding scholarship: With all seriousness, learned
sirs, it is not my purpose to pose as the sole champion of Greek learning. I realize full well
how scholars of your standing appreciate its usefulness. For who is not cognizant of the fact
that in the liberal arts and especially in theology, it was the Greeks who discovered or
handed on whatever was of value. In the realm of philosophy, with the possible exceptions
of Cicero and Seneca, what is there that was not written in Greek or taken directly from the
Greeks? (More, 1967). In an attempt to be even more persuasive, More mentions the rival
academy, Cambridge, where Greek studies were encouraged.
Thomas More was primarily a man of letters but notable work was also present in the
field of science. More than a century later, Sir William Petty published in 1672 Essays in
Political Arithmetick and Political Survey or Anatomy of Ireland and in1665 Verbum Sapienti, both
written with a view to finding a fair taxation system. Petty had extensive studies in
medicine, mathematics and economics, and is known to be the author of new terminology in
these fields, such as political arithmetic, full employment and the expression ceteris paribus.

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Richard Stone, one of the Nobel Prize winners in Economics in 1984 includes him in his
article on national accounts (Stone, 1984). Petty's ideas remain impressive even from a
current perspective: he spoke of diminishing unemployment through public works, or the
rise in population as a standard of domestic prosperity.
Not only personalities, but institutions contributed to enhancing the level of knowledge
diffused in society as well.
Royal Society (its full name being Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge)
was founded in November 1660 and is the oldest national scientific society in the world. Its
initial aim was to encourage experimental learning in natural sciences and mathematics. But
there was another aspect which was present in the founders' minds, that is to enable
ordinary people to have access to scientific knowledge. Narrowing the gap between the
productive elites and the receptive common minds remained a constant effort throughout
the ages and is even found in the mission put forward by the editors of the first edition of
Encyclopaedia Britannica (1768-1771): one of their explicit aims was to benefit ordinary,
intelligent people.
The rise of science took a radical step forward with Isaac Newton who, in 1687, published
his Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural
Philosophy) that was later to appear in English in 1729. It is interesting to note that even if
most of the scientific or philosophical works were initially issued in Latin, they were
followed by editions in English; this was in keeping with the principles of the Royal Society
concerning the general audience and their access to the latest discoveries.
A true encyclopaedic personality that made a huge impact on Western thought, usually
associated with economics, is Adam Smith. His main work An Inquiry into the Nature and
Causes of the Wealth of Nations had not been published when Diderot's Encyclopdie appeared
in 1751, but the range of his scientific interests was wide and he produced notable works in
philosophy and morals (he consistently improved his Theory of Moral Sentiments almost
to the end of his life), in law, languages and literature, astronomy, history, and the Wealth of
Nations (1776) is regarded by many researchers as a civic work (Dwyer, 1992).
Smith visited Paris and then Geneva in the years 1763-1764 and was introduced to
Voltaire who made a strong impression on him. In a letter to a friend he expressed his
admiration for the grammatical articles in Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopdie that have
given me a good deal of entertainment (Plank, 1992). His study Considerations Concerning
the First Formation of Languages and the Different Genius of Original and Compounded Languages,
published in 1761, is in fact, one of the most significant works written in Britain in the field
of language typology. Equally important for this discussion, the preface to one of the
projected, but not accomplished, British encyclopaedias in the eighteenth century, stipulated
that Adam Smith was to write the section on economics; contributors would have included
the historian Edward Gibbon, the painter Joshua Reynolds, or Samuel Johnson. Thus, a
complex personality such as Smith's shows a philosophic concern for knowledge in the
Western world that, in the specific case of designing encyclopaedias, started with Bacon in
the seventeenth century.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626), a philosopher in the true sense of the word, believed that the
intellect of the seventeenth-century man could be refined through contact with the ideal man
(The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1992); he entertained the idea of the universe as a
problem that can be examined, analysed, solved, and is known to have said I have taken all
knowledge to be my province (Bacon in Gould, 2001). He is the author of one of the most
influential books on knowledge, The Advancement of Learning in which he delivers a practical
philosophy which envisages the control of humankind over the forces of nature through

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inventions and scientific discovery. This work contains a classification of sciences and is
considered to be a first step towards his encyclopaedia. The plan he conceived in 1620 for his
unfinished encyclopaedia, Instauratio Magna (The Great Instauration), brought into the
European world of ideas not only the concept of topical arrangement, but also a certain type
of triadic construction of knowledge: External Nature (with consistent information on
astronomy, meteorology, geography, plants and animals), Man (anatomy, physiology,
structures and activities), Man's Action on Nature (medicine, chemistry, visual arts,
intellectual faculties, architecture, navigation, agriculture and many others). By ordering
human knowledge in this way and avoiding significant omissions in the field of human
thought Bacon had a profound influence on the subsequent design of encyclopaedic works.
This kind of framework was so efficient that did not escape Diderot's admiration who
admitted how much he owed Bacon in conceiving his Encyclopdie. It is perhaps interesting
to note that in Latin instauratio means not only arrangement, organization or disposition but
also renewal, regeneration. It was in fact a new and lasting impetus to scientific work and
knowledge.
Another important contribution in the field came from the poet Samuel T. Coleridge
(1772-1834) one of the most important names in the European Romantic movement. He
maintained that a work of universal coverage should not depend upon the discretionary
practice of alphabetical ordering. In 1817 he designed the plan for a new work, Encyclopaedia
Metropolitana, showing Bacon's obvious influence. It contained five main categories: Pure
Sciences (Formal and Real, e.g. logic mathematics, theology, morals), Mixed and Applied
Sciences (e.g. mechanics, optics, astronomy, fine arts, natural history), Biographical and
Historical (chronologically ordered), Miscellaneous and Lexicographical (including a
philosophical and etymological lexicon) and finally, an analytical Index as a fifth class.
Unfortunately, Metropolitana appeared in a substantially different form from that conceived
by Coleridge (as the editors rejected his plan) and was far from being a success.
Nevertheless, his influence (as that of Bacon's) proved lasting and beneficial (mainly because
he suggested a hierarchy of the fields of the human knowledge) and was implicitly present
ever since in the very intimate manner of constructing an encyclopaedia. His writings on
method in general are a valid proof of his constant interest in this matter.
In his vision such a work should be meant to allow individuals to think methodically and
present the circle of knowledge in its harmony (Britannica Online - section Content
Arrangement).
Before Coleridge embarked on his grand plan, there was another contribution,
Cyclopaedia, issued in 1728 by Efraim Chambers and subtitled A Universal Dictionary of
Arts and Sciences; this was important through the influence it had on the intellectual
environment in France, as the Encyclopdie started as a translation of Chambers' work.
However, the French effort moved away from the starting point and resulted in one of the
greatest encyclopaedias ever written.

4. Encyclopaedia Britannica

4.1 The first editions

In the foreword to the First Edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica which appeared in

Edinburgh, between 1768 and 1771, the Scottish editors Andrew Bell, Colin Macfarquhar
and William Smellie made a clear mention of its aim as well as the type of readership it
targeted (these two main problems have crossed the history of encyclopaedias and are still
an issue today): the three-volume book came out to benefit the mind of the ordinary,

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intelligent and curious man. The level of accessibility was a constant concern for the editors
which time did not obliterate: for instance, the editors of the 11th edition wanted the articles
to be written in such a style as to allow ordinary people to read them. Although each edition
brought something new compared to the previous ones, and the first, influenced by the
French encyclopaedia from 1751, was in itself an important moment in the history of
universal knowledge, most authors agree that the first 14 editions should be treated
separately from the 15th edition. This edition has received the name of The New Encyclopaedia
Britannica and the explanation lies in decision of the editors to add a nonalphabetical
organization, exclusively topical, to the alphabetical structure already in place.
The novelty of the first edition (that was nevertheless influenced by the French
encyclopaedia) consisted in the plan itself, which introduced systematic information on
important subject matters, replacing the more general approach of the Encyclopdie or the
mere definitions or brief technical explanations adopted in other works or in dictionaries.
Treatises were written, in place of regular articles, especially on arts and sciences; these were
arranged alphabetically and cross-references were made throughout the articles to satisfy
more sophisticated readers looking for more specialized information. This trend towards
specialization became increasingly powerful, reaching its peak in the fundamental
innovation brought by the 15th edition. Biographies started to appear in the second edition
together with an updated supplement and a list of authors (the list as a special feature had
been already introduced in the first edition). This was an important step in recognizing the
notion of authorship.
Another fundamental principle that Britannica initiated was that of constant revision
which in time, became common practice for all encyclopaedias. Most revision work was to
be done in the scientific articles and this required specialized and permanent staff. The 1922
edition (the12th) is an example of commissioning articles to celebrities in the various fields:
articles on religion and myths were written, for instance, by Mircea Eliade.

4.2. The New Encyclopaedia Britannica - the Fifteenth Edition (1974)

In the preface to The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, entitled The Circle of Learning
(The New Encycl. Brit., 1992), Mortimer Adler, Director of Planning, reviews the innovative
attempts of the editors of the 11th edition who were aware of the defects of the alphabetical
ordering of the content. The separation of the articles dealing with a certain subject, thus
making it difficult for the reader to establish logical associations, was among their major
concerns. They felt that an encyclopaedia should not be merely a storehouse of facts, but
should also be a systematic survey of all departments of knowledge (Adler, 1992). The
remedy they conceived was a Table of Contents divided in 24 categories, thus trying to offer
a topical presentation. In spite of their remarkable effort, a strict alphabetical structure
prevailed throughout the work, including the Table of Contents.
The planning of the 15th edition provided the opportunity to retain the alphabetical
arrangement of the articles in each set or category while introducing a totally
nonalphabetical Table of Contents. For the first time ever readers were offered a purely
topical ordering enabling them to have a complete view of a department of knowledge or
area of learning. The plan of the New Britannica includes a separate volume called
Propaedia, the Outline of Knowledge, followed by the Macropaedia (the core of the work),
the Micropaedia and the two-volume Index. Alphabetical access is provided by the Index as
well as the short articles in the Micropaedia. The Outline of Knowledge was conceived as a
guide that introduces the readers to the content, making them familiar with a systematic

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topical approach. In this way access to content is ensured by both the topical and the
alphabetical modes, in an attempt to avoid the defects of either, if used primarily.
The ten major chapters of the 15th edition are presented below:
Part One. Matter and Energy
Part Two. The Earth
Part Three. Life on Earth
Part Four. Human Life
Part Five. Human Society
Part Six. Art
Part Seven. Technology
Part Eight. Religion
Part Nine. The History of Mankind
Part Ten. The Branches of Knowledge.
The author casts off any reservations towards a topical, classified arrangement by saying
that the Outline of Knowledge was conceived by scholars and experts in all the areas
represented. Furthermore, it is designed as a circle of learning: the ten parts are disposed
as segments of a circle, meaning that the reader can go from any point in any direction he
wishes, and can actually begin anywhere in the circle and go across the circle at any time.
Any topic can stand at the top, or, in a different representation, any topic can be placed in
the central position. One of the major changes brought about by the new construction
concerns Part Ten; one of the approaches, also visually represented as a circle, places Part
Ten in the middle. The consequence is that the reader can make a distinction between
knowledge of nature, man, society, etc, and knowledge of the academic fields themselves,
the branches of knowledge with their own nature, methods and evolution. This part alone
has a close relationship to all the others, in spite of the degree of closeness between
various other parts.
In this way, the New Edition reflects the radical changes that affected the level of general
comprehension in the 20th century, planting the seeds for the 21st century, and thus offering a
shift of the human knowledge to the future. Propaedia serves as a Table of Contents for the
long articles in the Macropaedia as well as for the thousands of short articles in the
Micropaedia. The Parts are structured in Divisions, each division being followed by a
number of Sections in which each of the topics covered is outlined.
A special feature has been added in that each of the ten parts of the Outline benefits from
an introduction, a real essay written by an expert in the field, bringing the reader close to the
intended area of study. Sometimes these essays have poetical and attractive titles: for
instance, the introduction to Part Two is named The Great Globe Itself, the essay of Part
Three is presented as The Mysteries of Life, and Part Four is introduced by The Cosmic
Orphan.
However, the remarkable aspect that in the editors' vision defines best the distinction
between this edition and the previous ones is that the Outline constructed in the Propaedia
was conceived before the articles themselves were commissioned, written, named and
edited. The framework preceded the content, and the outline was originally a table of
intents rather than a table of contents (Adler, 1992). What followed once the articles were
shaped was a faithful representation of the state of human knowledge at the time, but also
looking forward into the intricacies of discovering and learning of the next century.
The two modes of accessing the encyclopaedia, the classical, alphabetical one and the
topical one offer readers a complete vision of the vast amount of information of the present

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times and the circle of learning that the editors did not abandon as a concept captures the
concept of interdisciplinarity along with the insatiable human quest for knowledge and
understanding.

4.3.1 The digital era - A step forward

The evolution of knowledge and the sophistication of the means of accessing information,
in particular the digital one, have changed completely the editorial world and the universe
of encyclopaedias. Such a work is by definition a source of knowledge and learning which
cannot remain outside the major technological changes. The first digital version of the
Encyclopaedia Britannica was conceived as early as 1981 and 1990 brought about CD-ROM
products; in 1997 additions were made in the form of multimedia products, video, audio,
animations. This expansion towards digital products meant a radical change of the editorial
policy of the Britannica: the decision, in 2012, to abandon the print form and issue the
encyclopaedia exclusively in digital format, with Internet access. It is the first among leading
encyclopaedias to have made the complete transition to digital publishing.
The implications are multiple, but the founding principles have not been abandoned. Each
contribution to a subject offers a synthesis of what has been written on it so far while trying
to assess its current status. A huge number of experts and renowned specialists are involved
in the process of continuous revision and rewriting where necessary. This is in keeping with
one of earliest practices put forward by the editors of the First Edition. However, the degree
of such work now is impressive as corrections, additions and revisions are being made daily,
even hourly.
Since so many experts have been involved, the editors had to sort out the problem of
authorship in a very clear way: the primary contributors are mentioned at the very
beginning of each large article (the name of article has been retained) and the reader can
also view the history of the article and the extent to which it has suffered changes in time.
Authors are also indicated for shorter sections and there is also a list of recent contributors.
The New Britannica or Britannica 3 as it is sometimes called has managed to be faithful to
the initial scope and principles even if it now uses different means to disseminate its
findings. The identity of this universal work, which was from its very beginning an original
brand, has remained unchanged and is an excellent example of providing reliable
information to specialists as well as ordinary interested people.

5. Conclusions

The great works of human knowledge almost always show is an interesting tension
between the original form and the challenges of the times to come, which they sometimes
anticipate.
In the British cultural context, Francis Bacon's effort to design the plan for his Instauratio
Magna was singular and individual. Subsequent encyclopaedias, including Britannica, are all
the result of collective effort, and recently this effort has been supported by scientific
expertise from all over the world.
Second, there is an intimate link between language and knowledge. In the centuries prior
to the first edition of Britannica the English language suffered significant changes and was
characterized by a drive towards simplicity, loss of ambiguity, efficient adoption of foreign
loans as well as a powerful seduction brought about by great literary works. It also proved
its capacity for carrying specific scientific content, sometimes very specialized and
presenting it in a form accessible to the general public. It is a language in which scientific

310
economic thought was released into the world in such clear terms by Adam Smith that his
work is still considered the classical framework of economic thinking.
It is not perhaps surprising that English is still the prevailing international language in a
period in which one of the leading encyclopaedias has decided to go completely online.
Next, the Encyclopaedia Britannica managed to continue to be accessible to both
specialized readers and the general public. This effort is now enhanced by its digital form of
presentation which increases attractiveness for more specialized content.
One other breakthrough the editors managed to achieve was the interrelatedness between
the alphabetical and the topical modes of access. This original move, made by the editors of
the Fifteenth Edition, ensured that learning was both enjoyable and systematic, a true
journey in the world of human thought made possible by a reliable guide, the Propaedia.
This edition was planned in the light of future discoveries that would extend indefinitely the
circumference of the circle of learning.
Finally, the match between tradition and innovation was achieved through translating the
initial aims and principles into the digital world.
These are undeniable features of a work that has remained original while crossing the
history of human thought and managed change in a reliable and professional way.

Bibliography

Adler, M.J., 1992. The Circle of Learning in The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, The 15th edition,
Chicago, Aukland, Geneva, London, p. 5; p. 8.
Bacon, F., 2001. The Advancement of Learning , Modern Library Science Series, Editor Gould
Stephen, J, p. viii.
Collison, R. L., Preece, W., E. The article on Encyclopaedic Dictionaries in Encyclopaedia Britannica
online: www.britannica.com/topic/encyclopaedia.
Dwyer, J., 1992. Virtue and improvement: the civic world of Adam Smith, in Adam Smith Reviewed,
Edinburgh University Press, p. 190.
More, Th., 1967. Letter to the University of Oxford, in The Essential Thomas More, A Mentor-Omega
Book, New York and Toronto, p. 108.
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1992. The 15th edition, Chicago, Aukland, Geneva, vol. 6, p. 780.
Plank, F., 1992. Adam Smith: grammatical economist, in Adam Smith Reviewed, Edinburgh University
Press, p. 23.
Russell, B., 1980. History of Western Philosophy, London Unwin Paperbacks, (first edition, 1946), p.
503.
Smith, A., 1962. Avuia Naiunilor - Cercetare asupra Naturii i Cauzelor ei -, Editura Academiei
Republicii Populare Romne.
Stone, R., Conturile Societii, 2001. Laureaii Nobel n Economie, - Discursuri de recepie n memoria
lui Alfred Nobel-1984, vol. 3, Bucureti, Academia Romn, Centrul Romn de Economie Comparat
i Consensual, pp. 137-168.
www. britannica.com/topic:encyclopaedia/checked-december2014

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 NOTE DE SPIRITUALITATE PROTESTANT
N GNDIREA ECONOMIC A LUI ADAM SMITH

Asist. univ. dr. Valentina Robu

Academia de Studii Economice - Bucureti

1. Introducere

Cartea lui Max Weber Etica protestant i spiritul capitalismului, unde gndirea
protestant e privit ca inspiratoare a succesului economic, pune n legtur bunstarea i
acumularea capitalului, acestea avndu-i, n mod paradoxal, rdcinile n ideea de for a
calvinismului (ramur important a protestantismului ascetic), predestinarea (Weber, 142).
Ipoteza lui a fcut o carier impresionant n lumea ideilor, poate i datorit faptului c
explicarea evoluiei unei ntregi civilizaii (cea occidental) i a mecanismelor ei economice
ine cont, ntr-o foarte mare msur, de doctrinele religioase ale Reformei i de morala
puritan (fr ca cercetarea n sine s pretind legtura direct i neambigu dintre etica
protestant i apariia spiritului capitalist).
Fr a insista asupra diverselor nuane ale calvinismului n planul social larg
european i a deosebirilor lui fa de luteranismul clasic, m voi referi la concepiile
religioase despre munc i activitatea social din spaiul britanic, ca urmare a influenei
puternice i formatoare a puritanismului (varianta britanic a doctrinei). Scrierile teologice
din aceast perioad au fost ghidul unei organizri sociale care a marcat Anglia secolului al
XVI-lea i care i-a pstrat impactul peste secole. Din ideile predicate cu o extraordinar
for religioas de civa gnditori am ales pentru relevana discuiei despre Adam Smith n
primul rnd preceptele despre munc, aceasta fiind vzut ca fundal principal pe care se
desfoar celelalte activiti umane; analiza continu cu cteva din vederile lui Smith
asupra unor concepte fundamentale, care pot fi puse n legtur cu scrierile economice
sistematice de mai trziu.

2. Impactul Reformei asupra vieii sociale europene

Cercetri recente ale mecanismelor civilizaiei occidentale, ajungnd la momentul

Reformei i la ceea ce a generat aceasta la nivelul gndirii europene, manifest aceeai
pruden ca Weber n privina stabilirii unei cauze unice a evoluiei spiritului european. Nu
vreau s spun c protestantismul este responsabil de ntreaga evoluie spiritual a Europei
de trei sau patru secole ncoace. El nsui este doar unul dintre efectele, una dintre
rezultantele acestei evoluii. ...Vreau doar s spun c aceste fenomene (individualismul,
raionalismul, spiritul tiinific, n.a.) merg mn n mn i provin toate din aceeai surs,
din aceeai tendin subcontient a omului occidental (Djuvara, 148-149).
A mai aduga aici c ceea ce Weber numete spirit capitalist modern (spre
deosebire de cel existent de trei milenii, n toate marile civilizaii, China, India, Babilon,
Roma, Florena, capitalismul magnailor financiari cu resurse uriae i al comercianilor, care
a existat n toate timpurile) este un mod de a vedea lumea, o mentalitate care aspir n mod

312
profesional, sistematic i raional la un ctig legitim (p. 51). Din punct de vedere istoric,
burghezia mic i mijlocie, evolund spre poziia de ntreprinztor, a fost recipientul mental
tipic al eticii capitaliste de orientare calvin.
Aezarea omului ntr-o orientare religioas care s-i reglementeze problemele vieii
cotidiene este deci, o urmare fireasc a dogmaticii profesate de scriitorii i teologii inspirai
de calvinism. Nu voi intra n amnunte legate de varietatea comunitilor protestante i a
ideilor care le-au susinut, dar e poate interesant de amintit c n doctrina mntuirii gndit
de Jean Calvin, spre deosebire de luteranism n general, ceea ce capt amploare este faptul
c ... numai o mic parte a oamenilor este chemat s fie mntuit ... sensul destinului
nostru individual este nvluit n taine impenetrabile i orice ncercare de a le ptrunde ar fi
imposibil i prezumioas. ... Cci orice fiin este desprit de Dumnezeu de o prpastie
de netrecut i nu merit n faa Lui, dac El nu a hotrt altfel, spre preaslvirea mreiei
Sale, dect moartea venic (cf. Weber, pp. 122-123). Aprecierile lui Weber cu privire la
aceast doctrin a mntuirii privesc neomenia sa patetic, ce transmite unei ntregi
generaii sentimentul unei nemaipomenite singurti interioare a individului.
De altminteri, exist i n literatura englez, nu neaprat un curent, dar mari scriitori
n operele crora singurtatea omului n faa destinului, lipsa alegerii sau lipsa de
intervenie a divinitii care este martor pasiv al desfurrii ntmplrilor din viaa
individului, poart cu ele o nuan aproape greac a tragediei umane, recognoscibil n
traseul ei istoric i n contaminarea cu doctrina predestinrii. Thomas Hardy este poate
exemplul cel mai reprezentativ al secolului al XIX-lea pentru acest tip de literatur.
n perioada Reformei, mntuirea, problema fundamental a destinului omului, este
garantat doar unei comuniti reduse, celor alei prin graia divin; calvinismul, din care i
trage rdcinile i puritanismul britanic, este o doctrin aprut pe terenul ideatic al
occidentului, desprins din luteranismul iniial, care refuz salvarea religioas i n general,
orice tip de speran care vine din meritul propriu al omului. Luther, care pusese i el
aceast doctrin printre cele principale cuprinse n lucrarea sa din 1520, Von der Freiheit eines
Christenmenschen (Despre libertatea unui cretin), a mpins-o treptat n penumbr, pe
msur ce popularitatea ideii a sczut n biseric, dar la Calvin, ... procesul a fost tocmai
invers, n sensul unei creteri sensibile a importanei doctrinei n cursul polemicii cu
adversarii si ntru ale dogmei. ncetul cu ncetul, la popoarele care au mbriat
calvinismul sub o form sau alta, s-au mbinat, aproape paradoxal, o anume desprindere de
legturile lumeti i un tip special de organizare social. Chiar dac individul triete n
izolarea sa luntric, activitatea social e o form de glorificare a lui Dumnezeu i este
conform cu mplinirea poruncilor Sale. Cu aceasta, calvinismul, spre deosebire de
catolicism sau luteranismul clasic, a pus n relief o legtur cu totul nou i chiar paradoxal
ntre viaa trit dup preceptele religioase i aciunile concrete ale omului. Aspectul acesta,
puternic impregnat etic, i constant suspectat i de catolici i de luterani, a dat susinere i
durabilitate Reformei.

3. Reflectarea eticii puritane n comportamentul social

Principalul autor pe care se sprijin teoria lui Weber despre constituia

puritanismului britanic este pastorul Richard Baxter, a crui lucrare Christian Directory este
considerat compendiul cel mai cuprinztor al teologiei morale puritane (Weber, 168).
Munca
n universul ordonat al credinei, munca deine locul central deoarece ea d sens
vieii, pe singurul palier al legturii cu divinul care deine o certitudine. Munca profesional
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laic, dezvoltare esenial protestant, deopotriv mijloc de ajutorare a aproapelui, dar i de
nvingere a fricii de moarte, capt forme de diviziune a muncii pe meserii (existent ntr-o
form i la Luther, dar nu att de categoric formulat); de aici i caracterul profund utilitar al
muncii, ndreptat spre folosul semenilor. Treptat, aceast activitate profesional
desfurat constant a devenit o form de confirmare a ncrederii n propriul destin i de
ndeprtare a tensiunii ivite din nesigurana dobndirii harului mntuitor. Aceast ncredere
n sine, este dup Weber, caracteristica acelor comerciani puritani tari ca oelul, din era
eroic a capitalismului (130).
Ar mai trebui poate adugat c, n mentalitatea calvin consacrat, Vechiul
Testament se situa pe plan de egalitate cu Noul Testament, i prin extensie, normele morale
au devenit lege pentru credincioi (aspect care s-a diluat n cazul luteranismului), un
autentic mod de via, iar crile cele mai apreciate de puritanii britanici, de pild, erau
Psalmii i nelepciunea lui Solomon. Influena Vechiului Testament s-a concentrat cu
precdere n zona raionalismului religiozitii, a nlturrii misticismului, atitudini care au
fost transferate asupra modului concret de via. Aceast apropiere, de o mare profunzime
n sine, de prescripiile Vechiului Testament i-a fcut pe unii autori s vorbeasc despre
English Hebraism.
Puritanismul englez derivat din calvinism ofer cea mai consecvent fundamentare
a ideii de profesie (Weber, 167-168). n crile sale, Richard Baxter afirm c aciunea, opus
contemplrii orientale, se exprim cel mai bine n munc, i anume n profesie. Ea singur
are valoare, i aceast valoare este cu att mai mare cu ct e o porunc divin menit s-l
slveasc pe Dumnezeu. Munca devine scop n sine al vieii, iar n mod raional, ea se traduce
n cutarea vocaiei individuale, a profesiei (calling); aceasta presupune din partea omului
un efort individual de descoperire a vocaiei proprii, efort care se face sub cluzirea
harului, deoarece ine de gsirea talentului i a aptitudinilor fiecruia. n limba englez
calling are n primul rnd sensul de chemare, iar n context religios e vorba de chemarea
divin la participarea la viaa cretin, care ia forma descoperirii vocaiei; la rndul ei,
vocaia de cretin, n nuana ei protestant puritan, mbrac forma unei profesii care l
situeaz pe om ntr-un context raional n relaia cu Dumnezeu, lipsit de dubii i de frustrri.
Munca asigur garania concret a unei relaii autentice cu Dumnezeu.
Lucrul acesta a imprimat viziunii despre munc un caracter raional i a dezvoltat
ideea unei societi ordonate, sistematice i n mare parte previzibile, n care oamenii nu
doar muncesc, ci o fac ntr-un mod raional, ascetic. Aceast nuan de ascetism aplicat
muncii este specific puritanismului englez i operei lui Baxter (i, desigur, cu diverse
nuane, contemporanilor lui), distanndu-se de doctrina luteran clasic.
n 1704, la o distan de cteva zeci de ani de scrierile lui Baxter, ntr-o interpelare
adresat Parlamentului Britanic n privina srciei din Anglia i a caselor de munc
nfiinate pentru sraci, i ntr-un context vdit critic fa de legile n vigoare, scriitorul
Daniel Defoe avertizeaz asupra rului adus asupra societii prin refuzul muncii de ctre
pturile srace de pe tot cuprinsul rii; vorbind despre sracii care refuz sau abandoneaz
munca, dar sunt obligai s-i ctige pinea n manufacturi nfiinate special pentru ei
(Giving Alms No Charity, p. 17), el i delimiteaz de ceilali printr-un criteriu moral: who by
their choice would be idle (care sunt lenei prin chiar voina lor). n plus, ceretoria este i ea
condamnabil ca innd de o opiune personal. Devine evident aceast condamnare
general a srciei prin relaia direct cu lenea, care, n spirit protestant, nu trebuie vzut n
mod fatalist i nici ncurajat social.

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 Dup cum am spus deja, munca nu nseamn doar munc n sine, ci munc
profesional. ntreaga via laic a cptat astfel o orientare raional, a devenit un cosmos
cu reguli bine gndite n care fiecare om i gsete locul, potrivit vocaiei sale exercitat
metodic i contient.
E interesant observaia lui Weber care gsea c principiile etice de modelare a lumii
prin munc, formulate de Baxter, aduc aminte de felul n care expune Adam Smith
diviziunea muncii.
Roadele muncii reprezint, de fapt, mplinirea scopului providenial al mpririi pe
profesii. Stabilitatea este extrem de important pentru Baxter: el consider c un muncitor
consecvent n munca lui i sporete deprinderile (skills) fcnd posibil creterea cantitativ
i calitativ a randamentului muncii; rezultatul este slujirea binelui comun (Weber, 172);
muncitorul de profesie i va face treaba n ordine, pe cnd un altul se afl ntr-o
permanent zpceal i munca lui nu cunoate nici loc nici timp ... de aceea o profesie
statornic este cea mai bun pentru oricine (Weber, 173). Apare destul de clar ideea c
profesia constant structureaz raional viaa social.
Cu alte cuvinte, ceea ce rmne definitoriu pentru protestantismul de acest tip, fa
de celelalte confesiuni, este concepia mntuirii individuale prin profesie; aceasta este
rsplata suprem spre care tinde omul, strns legat de conceptul de industry (termenul
preluat din latin, industria, echivaleaz cu hrnicie, srguin). Trebuie spus c n englez
foarte muli termeni ai retoricii teologice au ajuns n ciculaie n urma traducerilor Crilor
Sfinte pe baza versiunii latine, Vulgata. Protestantismul a fcut anumite alegeri n funcie de
accentele pe care le-a pus pe anumite practici morale i conduite. n limba englez, industry
este aproape exclusiv folosit cu sensul de hrnicie n secolele conturrii doctrinei etice
protestante, dar i mai trziu, n scrierile economice clasice. La Adam Smith sensul acesta
coexist cu cel de activitate economic definitorie pentru un domeniu al vieii economice.
Ambele sensuri se regsesc i la Malthus n An Essay on the Principle of Population (prima ed.
1798) i se menin i astzi, fiind folosite folosite n mod curent.

4. Expresii ale spiritualitii protestante n opera economic a lui Adam Smith

Apropierile pe care le fac n acest articol ntre John Baxter i Adam Smith nu au un
caracter de succesiune direct, ele se refer la influene largi i idei care circulau n mediul
britanic n epoca n care scria Smith; puritanismul scoian a fost foarte productiv la nivelul
vieii i preceptelor sociale, marcnd personaliti din zone diferite ale gndirii. Mi se pare
ns important s amintesc aici ideea unui comentator cunoscut al lui Smith dup care ...
marea oper a lui Smith ar trebui citit i ca o scriere etic, nu numai ca una economic
(Dwyer, 191).

4.1 Profesia

Calling capt, dup cum am mai spus, nelesul de profesie la Baxter. Importanta
traducere a Bibliei n versiunea lui Tyndale folosete termenul de stare (state), dar o versiune
mai trzie, din 1539, a arhiepiscopului de Canterbury, una dintre primele autorizate, a recurs
la varianta calling; de aici se deschide drumul preferinei, de inspiraie protestant, pentru
termenul calling n sens de meserie, profesie (echivalent al lui trade).
Avantajul unei munci statornice este c ordoneaz ritmul vieii i imprim societii
stabilitate. n The Christian Directory (Manualul Cretin) Baxter spune: n vederea aciunii
ne ngduie Dumnezeu pe noi i activitile noastre: munca este scopul moral dar i natural
al puterii. Prin aciune este Dumezeu cel mai bine slujit i slvit... Bunstarea public sau
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binele multora trebuie preuite mai presus de ale noastre. E interesant de amintit c n
Anglia, multe pturi nstrite i orientau copiii spre profesii, tocmai din pricina motivelor
etice. Exemplele oferite de William Petty (economist i matematician, membru al Societii
Regale) i poetul (dar i teoreticianul multor aspecte sociale i Ministru pentru Limbi Strine
Secretary for Foreign Tongues n guvernul lui Cromwell) John Milton nu sunt
ntmpltoare.
La Adam Smith, n Avuia Naiunilor, din perspectiva unei construcii civice vaste,
munca pare a avea doar o valoare economic, dar de fapt, justificarea cu care este adus n
discuie este una de tip social i moral; orice abordare a muncii e precedat de aducerea n
prim plan a diviziunii muncii. Este binecunoscut faptul c Adam Smith i ncepe cartea
Avuia Naiunilor - Cercetare asupra naturii i cauzelor ei cu discuia despre diviziunea muncii
(ceea ce poate surprinde mai mult este c ideea n sine se regsete la gnditori fundamental
religioi). Totul pare a-i avea originea n ... aceast diviziune a muncii, ... care nu este la
originea ei efectul vreunei nelepciuni omeneti care s prevad i s urmreasc belugul
general, pe care ea l realizeaz (Smith, vol. I, p.13).
Anterior, chiar n introducerea crii, Smith vorbete despre munca productiv i cea
neproductiv, cu caracteristicile i utilitatea lor, ntr-un fragment care pare a include nsi
motivaia demersului su; el aduce n discuie cele dou mprejurri de care depinde
proporia dintre produsul anual al fiecrei naiuni i numrul celor care urmeaz s-l
consume i care determin aprovizionarea mai bun sau mai slab cu bunuri, i n cele din
urm, bunstarea unei naiuni. Aceste dou mprejurri (urmrite, de altfel, sistematic pe
parcursul crii) sunt prima, ansamblul alctuit din priceperea, ndemnarea i chibzuina
caracteristice muncii unei naiuni i a doua, raportul dintre numrul celor angajai ntr-o
munc util (useful labour) i numrul celor care nu sunt folosii astfel (Smith, vol. I, 3). Ca i
n alte locuri, Smith prezint problema aproape ca pe un paradox, artnd n sprijinul primei
mprejurri, c la popoarele necivilizate, dei aproape toi indivizii muncesc pentru a-i
ntreine familiile, srcia este att de mare nct de multe ori sunt nevoii s-i abandoneze
copiii, btrnii sau bolnavii. n contrast cu acestea, n cazul naiunilor prospere, o mare parte
din oameni nu lucreaz deloc, dar consum un produs al unei munci de zece, adesea de o
sut de ori mai mare dect cea mai mare parte din cei ce lucreaz (Smith, vol. I, 3); cu toate
acestea, produsul ntregii munci a societii este ndestultor pentru a aproviziona toi
membrii ei, chiar dac exist i oameni mai puin favorizai. Soluia acestei probleme, soluie
care revine sub o form sau alta n diversele seciuni ale crii, pare a fi, n ultim instan,
dincolo de toate mecanismele care favorizeaz anumite comportamente economice,
funcionarea legii naturale; aceasta acioneaz la nivelul ntregii societi ntr-un mod similar
organismului uman care are n sine capacitatea, netiut chiar, de a remedia toate
neajunsurile unor rele influene. Critica pe care Smith o aduce teoreticienilor francezi,
ntrebuinnd pentru prima dat n Cartea a 4-a, capitolul al 9-lea, termenul de economiti se
ndreapt i spre faptul c acetia, adepi ai reglementrilor care favorizeaz agricultura,
ignor nclinaia fireasc a individului de a-i crea o situaie mai bun i de a se apra de
influenele nefaste ale unei economii politice neobiective i asupritoare. Efectul salvator al
legii naturale se manifest prin mijloacele diverse prin care se ndreapt multe din efectele
rele ale prostiei i nedreptii omeneti, tot aa cum organismul omului lecuiete efectele rele
ale inactivitii i lipsei de cumptare (Smith, vol. II, 135). The wisdom of nature, dup
expresia lui Smith, pare a fi chiar activarea minii invizibile care regleaz toate neajunsurile
societii, n mod special o injust repartiie a avuiei naionale ntre segmentele societii.

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 ntreg coninutul operei sale, dispunerea informaiei i structurarea ei, exemplele
alese sunt argumente n sprijinul acestei idei, care se concretizeaz treptat, prin analiza
multiplelor segmente ale vieii economice. Am inut s aduc n discuie acest argument
expus de Smith pentru c el acoper, n desfurarea lui, ntreaga carte.
Interesant este c Smith folosete i el termenul de calling, chiar la plural, callings (de
pild n Cartea a 5-a, Partea a 3-a) n discuia referitoare la cheltuielile destinate educaiei
pentru toate vrstele (Smith, vol. II, 216). Termenul de vocation nu e ntlnit n Avuia
Naiunilor; poate c lucrul acesta este nc o dat confirmarea preferinei lui Adam Smith
pentru cuvintele vechi ale limbii engleze, susinut de prerea lui c acestea exprim mai
bine sensul noiunilor dect mprumuturile.
Iat un exemplu care arat folosirea termenului la plural, callings, ceea ce reprezint
n sine un argument implicit pentru multiplicarea profesiilor, demonstrnd, ntr-un fel, i
pierderea semnificaiei sacre, de vocaie, esenial n ncercarea omului de a-i defini relaia
cu Dumnezeu. Exemplul este, cred, interesant i din perspectiva satisfaciei personale, att
de important pentru Baxter, de pild. Smith aduce n discuie spiritul de devoiune n
legtur cu diferite profesii, distingnd ntre acelea care fiind utile societii sunt plcute i
utile indivizilor i cele care dei folositoare i chiar necesare unei ri, nu aduc nici unui
cetean, ca individ, nici foloase, nici satisfacii; i atunci, puterea suprem e nevoit s-i
schimbe politica fa de acei ce le exercit. Trebuie s le ofere acestora ocrotire public
pentru a le asigura existena i trebuie s ia msuri mpotriva nepsrii i neglijenei al cror
obiect ar fi. ... Persoanele ocupate n finane, flot sau magistratur constituie exemple
aparinnd acestei categorii de oameni (216).

4.2 Specializarea muncii

n strns legtur cu profesia, e relevant extensia pe care o face Smith cu privire la

specializarea muncii, att de recomandat de Baxter n vederea binelui comun. n primul
capitol al Avuiei, n argumentul devenit clasic, el dezvolt ideea diviziunii muncii n strns
legtur cu creterea proporional a forelor productive ale muncii. Acest beneficiu a dus,
de fapt, la separarea diferitelor meserii, dar ce ceea ce este interesant n comentariul lui
Smith este saltul pe care l face de la chemarea individual, care caut prin vocaie dialogul
cu Dumnezeu, la cea a unei naiuni: separarea meseriilor este n general dus cel mai
departe n rile care se bucur de activitatea cea mai dezvoltat i cea mai perfecionat
(Smith, vol. I, 8). ntr-o societate evoluat, mai muli oameni ar face munca depus de un
singur om ntr-o societate neevoluat. Smith admite totui c prin natura ei, agricultura nu
poate dezvolta o subdiviziune a muncii la fel de mare ca cea din domeniul manufacturier,
iar separaia activitilor nu poate atinge acelai grad n agricultur. Aceast dificultate n
delimitarea net a aciunilor (branches of labour) din cmpul agricol face ca perfecionarea
forelor productive ale muncii n agricultur s nu in ntotdeauna pasul cu perfecionarea
acestora n manufactur (Smith, vol. I, 8).
n al doilea rnd, inconstana blamat de puritani, i n mod special de Baxter, la care
am fcut referire, se traduce la Smith n termeni economici i prin pierderea timpului;
specializarea, ducnd la creterea cantitii muncii, determin implicit i economisirea
timpului ... care de obicei se pierde prin trecerea de la un fel de munc la altul (Smith, vol.
I, 9-10). Exemplul oferit aici este cel al estorului de la ar, care este n acelai timp i
fermier, i care, trecnd de la rzboi la lucrul pmntului i de la acesta, napoi la rzboi,
pierde inevitabil un timp considerabil. Simpla trecere de la o ocupaie la alta reduce
cantitatea de munc pe care o presteaz cineva, independent de gradul su de specializare.
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 4.3 Economisirea
Deosebit de mult se vorbea n epoc despre virtutea economisirii; la Baxter, asceza
protestant, care s-a laicizat cu timpul, devenind un mod de via, a luat forma damnrii
consumului, n special al celui de lux; se d ca exemplu Pilda talanilor din Biblie, unde
important este responsabilitatea omului de a-i administra bunurile cu chibzuin, dnd
socoteal de ntrebuinarea fiecrui bnu. n gndirea protestant calculating spirit devine un
concept fundamental. Rezumnd cteva idei ale altor istorici sau chiar scriitori, ca de pild
Washington Irving, care n cartea sa Bracebridge Hall vorbete de virtutea englez a spiritului
calculat, Weber face observaia c popoarele romanice nu au fcut dovada constant a acestei
virtui, dar n Anglia, ca rezultat al libertii unite cu responsabilitatea personal s-a
dezvoltat ... calitatea de a fi chibzuit ... i care este ntr-adevr o parte constitutiv a
capitalismului transformndu-se cu timpul ... dintr-un mijloc al economisirii, ntr-un
principiu al ntregului mod de via (Weber, 252).
Mi se pare interesant s aduc aici n discuie i raionamentul, explicit, dar complex,
al lui Adam Smith din Cartea a Doua (capitolul al 3-lea); fragmentul la care m refer
vorbete despre modul n care cresc capitalurile, n contextul unei analize mai largi asupra
raportului dintre capital i venit (n favoarea capitalului), comentariul putnd fi pus n
legtur cu numeroase alte scrieri de nuan etic. Dominaia capitalului indic amploarea
activitii, prevalena venitului arat dimensiunile (mari) ale trndviei. Ca de multe ori la
Adam Smith, orice aciune individual are efect asupra unei societi n mare sau asupra
naiunii. Iat cteva fragmente: Capitalurile cresc prin economisire, ele scad prin risip
(termenul folosit este prodigality, acelai din Parabola Fiului Risipitor -The Prodigal Son- cu
nuan etic) i prin purtare nechibzuit. Tot ceea ce un om economisete din venitul su, el
l adaug la capital i l ntrebuineaz fie el nsui ... fie dnd posibilitate altuia s-l
ntrebuineze astfel, mprumutndu-i-l n schimbul unei dobnzi ... . Dup cum capitalul
unui individ nu poate fi sporit dect numai prin ceea ce acest individ economisete din
venitul su anual sau prin ctigurile sale anuale, tot astfel, capitalul unei societi, care nu
este dect capitalul tuturor indivizilor care alctuiesc societatea, nu poate spori dect pe
aceeai cale (Smith, vol. I, 227). Cauza imediat a sporirii capitalului este economisirea, iar
nu activitatea. Ce e drept, activitatea economic furnizeaz substana pe care o acumuleaz
economisirea. Dar oricte ctiguri s-ar realiza din acea activitate, capitalul n-ar fi niciodat
mai mare dac economisirea n-ar pune deoparte i n-ar aduna (Smith, vol. I, 228).
Interesant este accentul primordial pe economisire ca motor al acumulrii de capital.
Conceptul de parsimony, de nuan etic, apare extensiv i n tratatul de moral al lui Smith,
Theory of Moral Sentiments (n Partea a asea, prima seciune). Aici el e pus n contrast cu
profusion (risipa, cheltuiala excesiv). n Avuia Naiunilor, (Cartea a Doua, capitolul al 3-lea)
risipa se definete n termeni similari celor din tratatul de moral: n ceea ce privete risipa,
principiul care ne face s cheltuim este pasiunea pentru plcerile prezente... Dar principiul
care ne face s economisim este dorina de a ne mbunti situaia noastr (Smith, vol. I,
230). Smith rmne fidel principiului care funcioneaz natural i constant n societate,
afirmnd c la nivelul unei naiuni, risipa sau relele intenii sunt mai mult dect compensate
de cumptarea i buna comportare a altora.

5. Concluzii

Ideea Reformei dup care omul trebuie s-i urmreasc vocaia individual se
reflect n opera lui Adam Smith la un alt nivel, acela al societii n ansamblul ei, ntr-un
complex de factori economici care vizeaz inclusiv libertatea. Baxter aprecia utilitatea unei

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profesii mai nti dup faptul c ea era plcut lui Dumnezeu i o aprecia dup criterii
morale (druirea, hrnicia, cinstea, constana, n.a.), abia apoi urmnd importana bunurilor
produse pentru comunitate (Weber, 173); profesia i scopul ei primordial ineau de un
dialog individual al omului cu divinitatea. La Adam Smith, care analizeaz cu finee
inteniile individului n context economic, inclusiv acelea de a-i mri profiturile, apare i
perspectiva societaii ca ntreg; aciunile individuale pot intra n conflict cu mecanismul
social i binele public. Rezolvarea o aduce ns mna invizibil care armonizeaz scopurile
acestor aciuni cu acelea ale societii.
Exist uneori echivalene uimitoare ntre Baxter i Smith, dezvoltate desigur de
acesta din urm n mecanismul economic complex care pare a fi ntreaga societate.
Exemplele cele mai gritoare sunt poate cele legate de munc, profesie i economisire. Nu
cred c Adam Smith i putea imagina societatea fr munca specializat (o idee
fundamental a dogmei puritane, cu rdcini foarte adnci n mentalitatea occidental), mai
mult sau mai puin complex, sau fr ideea de profesie care definete contribuia fiecrui
individ la binele obtesc.
Cu toate acestea, comparaia ideilor d relief distanei dintre ingenuitatea primilor
puritani i pasiunea lor pentru punerea n aplicare a planurilor divine prin munc i
viziunea lui Smith asupra interesului egoist i rapacitii categoriilor sociale diverse; sunt
amintii mai cu seam manufacturierii i comercianii care, plasndu-i capitalurile acolo
unde exist cele mai mari anse de profit, acioneaz mpotriva interesului public. Lucrul
acesta se extinde i la nivelul guvernrii, prin corupia la vrf, a suveranului i a nobililor,
dar i n politica general a imperiului care sacrific interese de scurt durat n defavoarea
stabilitii i a beneficiilor care apar n timp.
Exist clare legturi ntre Avuia Naiunilor i tratatul de moral la Adam Smith; pe
parcursul vieii, el a revizuit constant The Theory of Moral Sentiments (n 1790 a aprut ediia a
6-a), ceea ce arat importana pe care o acorda acestei opere. Reeaua de explicaii i
concepte etice se extinde i asupra operei economice, majoritatea motivelor
comportamentului economic fiind justificate moral. Cercettorii romni care au analizat
aceast legtur (vezi, de pild, N.N. Constantinescu, 114-120) s-au referit n mod special la
complexitatea comportamentului uman n viziunea lui Smith i nu au ignorat, n explicarea
scopurilor interioare ale fiinei umane, nici latura dominat de egoism (mai vizibil n Avuia
Naiunilor), nici pe cea plin de compasiune, definit pe larg n tratatul de moral.

Bibliografie

Constantinescu, N.N., 2000. Scrieri alese, Vol. II, Teorie economic, Bucureti, Editura Economic
Defoe, Daniel, 1704. http://www.scribd.com/doc/1704 Giving-Alms-No-Charity-by-Daniel-Defoe
Djuvara, N., 2006. Civilizaii i tipare istorice. Un studiu comparat al civilizaiilor, Bucureti, Humanitas
Dwyer, J., 1992. Virtue and improvement: the civic world of Adam Smith, in Adam Smith Reviewed,
Edinburgh University Press
Jones, P., 1992. Introduction, n Adam Smith Reviewed, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press (p.
xii)
Plank, F., 1992. Adam Smith: grammatical economist, in Adam Smith Reviewed, Edinburgh University
Press
Smith, Adam, 1962. Avuia Naiunilor. Cercetare asupra naturii i cauzelor ei (volumul 1, Colecia Texte
din Istoria Gndirii Economice), Bucureti, Editura Academiei RPR, Institutul de Cercetri economice
(traducerea Al. Hallunga)

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Smith, Adam, 1965. Avuia Naiunilor. Cercetare asupra naturii i cauzelor ei (volumul 2, Colecia Texte
din Istoria Gndirii Economice), Bucureti, Editura Academiei RPR, Institutul de Cercetri economice
(traducerea Al. Hallunga)
Smith, Adam, 1976. The Theory of Moral Sentiments (ed. I, London, 1759), Indianapolis, Liberty
Classics
Smith, Adam, 1981. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (2 volumes),
Indianapolis, Liberty Classics (Colecia The Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of
Adam Smith)
Weber, Max, 2003. Etica protestant i spiritul capitalismului, Bucureti, Humanitas

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 UPDATING TECHNIQUES IN THE EFL CLASS

Lect. Dr. Savu Elena

Universitatea Politehnica Bucuresti

To be or not to be effective that is the question

Very likely, many foreign language practitioners have asked themselves how effective
brainstorming is as a technique for facilitating the learning of the language in class.
Since its development in the 1950s brainstorming has been the ELT technique used for
the random generation of the learners ideas based around a topic. There is no special editing or
ordering of these ideas which may then be used for the outset of another activity such as a
debate or written essay.
The technique is often very productive as a whole-class activity. In the foreign language
classroom brainstorming encourages learners to think more freely and creatively than if they
were doing a more controlled exercise. It is an opportunity for the learners to activate their
knowledge, and it generally provides a dynamic and stimulating way to lead students into the
topic of the day.
There are obvious good points but also aspects which seem to be counterproductive. For
a start, the students who are able to express their ideas faster gain most of the attention from the
other group members, and take a leading role within the group.
This is very likely to make the others, who may be shy or less proficient in the language,
feel inhibited and less willing to take the active part they are expected to assume. Brainstorming
can only be considered a successful activity as long as everyone in the group makes a
contribution.
Another problem would be that brainstorming requires a greater amount of control
from the teacher: control is required because each member of the group should be given the
opportunity to contribute. An interference from the teacher implies increased sensitivity to
individuals own ego since asking the leaders to let others speak can make them feel offended
or demotivated in the next stages of the lesson.
Overall, the technique of brainstorming is not perfect as we have briefly shown above.
That is why practitioners need to find ways to improve it if they wish to make brainstorming a
valuable learning tool for their learners. We think that improvement comes, first of all, from
shaping the procedure to the particular learning needs of the students it is used with.

Something old, something new in ESP

The highest dissatisfaction with the way in which brainstorming works in the class
seems to stem from the method itself: the ideas of introvert learners are completely suppressed
and at the end of it, there is no clear direction in which to move forward and use the lexis and

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the ideas generated. Very often, there is no follow-up and ideas are not evaluated and
discussed. A possible solution to this problem comes from the field of economics.
According to recent studies in business and marketing conducted by Tony McCaffrey
and his research team at the University of Harvard, ideas can be generated and problems solved
more efficiently if another technique, called BrainSwarming is employed to avoid the known
drawbacks of brainstorming.
McCaffrey writes in the Harvard Business Review that brainstorming can be inefficient,
incredibly time consuming and uncomfortable for more reserved employees, inhibiting
creativity. Brainswarming is built off of how ants solve problems. When looking for food, ants
leave traces of pheromones for other ants to follow--an efficient way to lead the colony to
resources without wasting time or creating confusion. As McCaffrey states, this technique
greatly improves the effectiveness of groupwork and is very time-efficient in the sense that it
yields 115 ideas in 15 minutes while traditional brainstorming only provides 100 ideas in
60 minutes.
The method is associated with innovative thinking in product development, marketing
and advertising, engineering, or any other area of business. Brainswarming challenges the
traditional foundation of brainstorming but, unlike brainstorming which relies on the quantity
and diversity of ideas, it promotes the principle of creativity from gradually building on the
ideas already expressed.
The goal of the activity is very precise and governs all the ideas put forward, and all the
ideas are submerged to achieving that one goal set in the beginning: solving a particular
problem. To start the activity of Brainswarming, the goal or problem that needs to be solved is
written on a big piece of paper and the working group sits silently and writes down different
ways to tackle it.
Teaching English for Special Purposes (ESP) will always make the foreign language
practitioner feel at a disadvantage in relation to the specific knowledge involved by dealing
with a specialist subject. The language teachers knowledge of solving technical problems is
limited and they can only help with communication.
That is one of the reasons why Brainswarming lends itself to better ESP teaching and
learning: solving the technical problem is left entirely to the students, who have the required
specialized knowledge, while the teacher deals with language problems. Besides,
Brainswarming can become a whole groups creative process and a task in which individual
work feeds immediately into team work.
Considering the learning needs of our students and applying the principle of reaping
benefits from available techniques and methods, we have trialled an activity which combined
both brainstorming and brainswarming with the 2nd-year students in Aerospace Engineering.
Next we are going to describe and present our observations on how the mixed technique
worked in class.
First, we set the goal of the activity Causes of aborted landing. The teacher provided
a very general scenario: Tarom management executives are looking for solutions in order to
avoid aborted landings of their planes in the future.
In the initial stage, we conducted a classical brainstorming session with the whole class
and applied the rule that all ideas are good ideas. Learners suggestions were written, in the
order they emerged, on the blackboard. What was new was that learners were invited to voice

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criticism and concerns over the ideas expressed. The evaluation of ideas led into the next stage
in which the best ideas were identified and the five major causes of aborted landings were
selected (fig. 1).

Aborted
landing

Mechanical Electrical Adverse

Loss of fuel damage failure weather Human error
conditions

Fig.1. Major causes of aborted landing

The class was then divided into 5 groups of 5 students and each group was assigned the
task of dealing with one of the causes and come up with solutions. This time we used the
technique of brainswarming: the five participants in each group worked in silence part of the
time and only communicated to collaboratively complete, in writing, a structured graph (fig. 2)
as they started from and continued each others ideas. Bubble A is the cause or the goal and all
the others are subordinated to it.

. .. . . .
solutions

Fig. 2. Structured graph

For example, if Bubble A represents the major cause of Human Error, B covers tactical errors
to which E fatigue, F inebriation and G lack of experience are subordinated. The pilots lack

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of experience connects with C operational errors, i.e. flight instructions, which feeds directly
into D training. Solutions to all problems are provided below the bubbles.
After each group has completed the task, all the problems and solutions are put together
in a big chart and a wholeclass discussion follows with groups presenting their input. All the
students in the class are encouraged to assess the ideas expressed and develop them further.

Final remarks

An appropriate mixture of brainstorming with brainswarming in the foreign language

class ensures the students ample generation of ideas which is actually one of the objectives
therein. BrainSwarming keeps the good parts of brainstorming and makes up for the less
productive ones.
Learners come together to swarm over a problem but the swarm has a structure and
does not disappear until the problem is solved. Moreover, the exercise of idea assessment fosters
critical thinking and challenges the concept according to which every idea is a good one: this
cannot be appropriate in a professional environment. Ideas require selection, development and a
constructive debate about them.
Brainswarming is also complex in terms of productive skills because it combines oral and
written proficiency in a more balanced way than brainstorming. Another benefit is that students
learn how to work as part of a team which is a valuable skill for professional integration.
But we believe that the greatest advantage of using brainswarming is that fairly equal
participation of all learners, extroverts or introverts, proficient or less proficient in the foreign
language is ensured: everyone contributes. The opportunity to contribute boosts the learners
self-confidence which is one of the pre-requisites to the motivation for learning.
In conclusion, our recommendation for fellow foreign language practitioners is to
explore adding new methods to their toolbox because this is part of being innovative in the
teaching profession.

References

Brown, H.D, 1994. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, Prentice Hall Regents
Richards, J.C., 1990. The Language Teaching Matrix, Cambridge University Press.
Sutton, R.I., Hargadon, A., 1996. Effectiveness in a product design firm in Administrative Science Quarterly,
December 1996, v. 41, no. 4, p. 685-718
Tsui, A.B.M. 1996. Reticence and anxiety in second language learning, Voices from the Language Classroom,
Cambridge 1996, 145-167.
VanGundy, A. B. (1981, 2nd Ed. 1988). Techniques of Structured Problem Solving. New York: Van Nostrand
Reinhold.
https://hbr.org/2014/03/why-you-should-stop-brainstorming

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 TEACHING ENGLISH FOR AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
CLASSROOM OBSERVATION

Lector dr. Savu Elena,

Lector dr. Comanetchi Doina,
Univ.PolitehnicaBucuresti

Within the current advancement of science and technology, aeronautical engineering

stands for a state-of-the-art technical field with exciting topics related to the performance and
sustainability that Man wants to achieve in his endeavors to defy gravity.
Airplanes, missiles, spacecraft and satellites are systems with complex technical aspects
which require thorough study and research. Apart from familiarizing themselves with the
specific knowledge of the specialist field, non-native student engineers can only tackle
professional tasks if they are able to be proficient in English, which is the acknowledged world
language of aviation.
The role of English as the international language of aerospace engineering exerts a high
pressure on the teaching profession due to several reasons, which range from the common focus
placed on communication and learner competence to the concern regarding the changing nature
of merely technical communication into an intercultural dialogue within prospective global
collaborations and envisaged professional mobility.
Learners need to develop a repertoire of learning and information management
strategies that will ensure success in the new work order and prompt efficient responses to real-
life needs. Engineers must understand the technology of their field, but these skills are worth
very little unless they are paired with the ability to communicate effectively.
On approaching the realm of language teaching and learning, one has to start from the
obvious fact that the English of Aerospace Engineering is part of ESP (English for Specific
Purposes) and differs from General English in specificities determined by the profession. To
control the fears of teaching ESP, teachers should not overlook the fact that any branch of
language, be it business or specialized, stems from the same patterns of word formation,
syntactic and discourse organization of General English.
As Lansford (2012) suggests, ESP should be looked at as a pyramid in which the special
lexis, that is on the top surface and that usually seems to be the difficult part, is dependent upon
the same grammatical building blocks of any General English sentence structure, e.g. verb
tenses, nouns, voices or adverbs and adjectives.
Therefore, the mission of ESP teachers is to help and teach their students how to
understand, analyze and further use the meaning and the construction of the ESP discourse to
communicate successfully in their specialist field. Technical texts do provide the basis for the
explanation of general English lexical and grammar points.
Given their training as humanity scholars, foreign language practitioners have always
been concerned with how best to teach technical communication and how to update it to reflect
the latest trends in foreign language pedagogy. In order to respond to the current teaching

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requirements of technical communication, teachers must capture a range of pedagogical
perspectives that can inspire and invigorate technical communication teaching (Bridgeford et al.,
2004:7) One method that can inform practitioners on such a demand is classroom observation
because theory and practice shape each other.
Teachers can develop new theories and improve existing practices if they reflect on the
activities they design and implement, the classroom interactions they facilitate, and ultimately
the learners reactions to their practices.
Skilfully done, classroom observation can be a valuable tool for improving the quality of
teaching (Wragg, 1994: 9), as in the unfolding of a lesson, the observer can notice how familiar
aspects blend with new ones, how teaching strategies are adapted, established routines as well
as variations in classroom interaction and behavior are seen in action.
Thus, the challenge and reward of this activity come from observing something
different, original among what has become easily recognizable routine. The purpose of the
observers work, however, is not to simply mark down the events of the lesson, but to have a
closer look at them, analyze them and draw conclusions which may help hone the teaching
skills of both the observer and the observed.
The concept of research into the classroom has been gaining in importance in the past
years as a means of improving teaching competence. It seems to be particularly effective when it
becomes the teachers in a specific institution, as a matter of policy, research their own practice and
act upon the findings.If there were a modest but enthusiastic research ethos in every school, not only
would the quality of teaching and learning stand stand a good chance of improving significantly, but an
important message would be transmitted from teachers to pupils, namely: We expect you to have an
enquiring mind because we ourselves do (idem:101).
There are many purposes and approaches to classroom observation, depending on the
context or relationship between the people filling the two roles, and these aspects will dictate
the methods employed. One could use a quantitative approach consisting of the counting of
events of a similar nature, or a qualitative approach, which will focus on the significance,
meaning and impact of events.
Moreover, as the latter is interested in the interpretation of what happens during the
lesson, and different people have different perceptions of the same event, the observation can be
followed by interviews with the participants.
One of the most sensitive aspects of classroom observation is the accuracy of the data
collected, as the presence of the observer may influence the behavior and reactions of the
observed teacher and students. In many cases, they will try to act according to what they think
are the observers expectations and, therefore, different from normal. That is why observations
should be carried out on more than one lesson.
Another aspect which may alter the data collected is the observers own knowledge,
beliefs, prejudices and routines shaped, in the case of observers-practitioners through years of
practice. On the other hand, this very experience makes them more observant, more able to
interpret the meaning of what happens in the class than people with no teaching experience.
The classroom research which is the focus of this article is part of a collaborative
professional development project launched at departmental level. Although it is relatively small
scale, it is significant for the people who are involved in it from the viewpoint of its purpose
and benefits. It aims to update and standardize teaching methodology and resources through a

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series of classroom observations conducted in pairs by the teachers of the department, each
being in turn observer and observed.
The observations took place in the second semester of the academic year 2014-2015,
using the two instruments developed within the department: the classroom observation sheet
and the post-observation analysis sheet.
The teachers paired off according to some common characteristics in their teaching
activity, so that each participant would work with a second person who was interested in
sharing opinions and experience on aspects of mutual interest in their activity. Each teacher
observed two of their partners classes to document differences from their own methodology,
materials used, classroom interaction or management.
Teachers can be anxious when someone watches them teach, which may have a negative
impact on the accuracy of the data collected. That is why one of the key concerns was creating a
stress-free environment by encouraging an informal, friendly approach to the observational
roles. It is a well-known fact that classroom observation becomes counterproductive arousing
hostility, resistance and suspicion if it is badly handled (Wragg: 14).
To avoid this, the focus has been on learning from the positive aspects, avoiding the
judgemental, non-constructive attitudes.
The common denominator shared by the two authors of this article is that they both
teach technical English to students of aerospace engineering. Aerospace engineering graduates
are expected to have English language skills enabling them to operate in an international
context. As a result, technical English courses have been integrated as obligatory subjects into
the curriculum of the first and second year of Aerospace Engineering courses of studies.
The main objective of these courses, clearly defined by the academic management of the
faculty, is to enable students to approach specialist texts in English, specifically to translate
them into Romanian. Translations from Romanian into English are also required.
The textbook in use at the time of the observations consists of a number of texts
organized by technical topics, followed by a lexicon section and a grammar section, which
serves the objectives of the course, without integrating, however, a communicative component.
In order to easily identify the differences in teaching techniques and styles, the same two
lessons from the textbook were chosen to be observed by each teacher.
At the end of each observation the two teachers compared their interpretation of events,
trying to reach agreement.
The main similarities identified at the end of the observation schedule were the
following:
- both teachers dedicate most of the class time to translating from or into English;
- teaching specialist vocabulary also takes an important part of each lesson;
- there is very little interaction in class;
- the focus is not on the development of language skills, rather on the development of
language knowledge.
The main differences observed were as follows:
- one of the teachers introduces a new topic by brainstorming, eliciting specialist
information and has a vocabulary review at the end of the lesson, while the other
teacher introduces the vocabulary of the new topic at the beginning, as a lead-in;
- one of the teachers has written vocabulary activities used in class to complete the
textbook, while the other teacher uses the textbook exclusively;

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 - one of the teachers sometimes asks students to do grammar activities in pairs, while
the other teacher gives them only individual work;
- one of the teachers focuses more on the weaker students, giving them more class
time, stronger students being asked the more difficult questions; the other teacher
gives all students equal time.

Conclusions
At the end of the observation schedule the two teachers agreed that teaching
methodology and materials need to be changed. The English course needs to provide a platform
for authentic specialist discourse in the class. Well-planned and well-executed lessons involve
extensive communication through conversation, extended texts and negotiations.
Like grammar, this is another familiar territory to the teacher: asking for information,
clarifying, interrupting and making suggestions, providing descriptions, and all other familiar
activities. Some specific situations differ across fields. The focus of ESP learning in different
research and scientific fields is not on the knowledge of a particular subject, but on core skills
that can cover any discipline. All ESP students have some issues in common for all of them it
is of utmost importance to acquire particular skills, viz. describing functions and processes,
explaining how devices or systems operate, specifying and describing properties of a particular
system, discussing various issues, explaining methods and techniques, presenting results,
diagnosing problems and providing solutions, etc.
An ESP teachers job in this case is multiple they need to develop the best
understanding possible of their learners target context, create lessons that give students the
opportunity to hear and use authentic language in the specialist context, and lead them to
proficiency in the expected skills.
An important point emphasized by both teachers is that classroom observations
should not be conducted on a temporary basis. The teachers who want to improve the quality of
their teaching should not only take on the role of observers of others at regular intervals, they
need to internalize and carry it on into their teaching(Adelman, 2005:37). The good teachers
are those who are able, at critical points, to distance themselves from classroom activities, to
see themselves as others see them, and to adjust their actions accordingly (idem).

References

1.Adelman, C., Walker, R.. (2005). A Guide to Classroom Observation, Routledge

2. Bridgeford,T, Kitalong K.S., Selfe R.. (2004). Innovative Approaches to Teaching Technical
Communication, Utah State University Press, http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/147
3.Lansford,L.(2012). Tricks of the Trade: Teaching English for engineering.
http://oupeltglobalblog.com/2012/10/30/tricks-of-the-trade-teaching-english-for-engineering
4. Paretti M.C., NcNair L.D., (2007). Teaching Technical Communication in an Era of Distributed Work:
A Case Study of Collaboration Between U.S. and Swedish Students, Technical Communication
Quarterly Volume 16, Issue 3, 2007, pages 327-352, published online 05 December 2007
5. Paltridge B., Starfield S. (eds) (2013). The Handbook of English for Specific Purposes, Chichester:
Blackwell.
6. Wragg, E.C.. (1994). An Introduction to Classroom Observation, Routledge.

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 SPAIUL OMULUI DE NCEPUT

Lect. univ.dr.Otilia Srbu

Departamentul de Litere i Limbi Strine al Facultii
de tiine Sociale, Umaniste i ale Naturii, Universitatea
Hyperion, Bucureti

Felul n care a aprut viaa pe pmnt va fi etern discutat, analizat i definitiv

nencheiat. Ceea ce import, dincolo de timp, de spaiu, este prezena uman la rscrucea
tuturor influenelor cosmice, ntlnirea ei cu ele, maniera prin care totul capt rezonan
divin. Prima semnificaie inclus n ideea de Dumnezeu este aceea a perfeciunii. Ceea ce i
este dat omului s ia din ea este nostalgia ei, dorina de a o atinge. Din acest moment
ncepe cltoria uman. Omul a fost pregtit divin pentru aceast cltorie. Cltor fiind, el
primete totul de la nceput.
Simpla contemplare a bolii cereti, n opinia lui Mircea Eliade, i-a dat omului de
nceput avntul zborului, contiina existenei sale. Determinarea primei experiene religioase.
Nimic nu ar fi fost posibil, dincolo de toate, dac omul de nceput nu ar fi intuit, trit i
contientizat moartea. Moartea ca pe o constrngere apstoare, demn de reinut, demn
de luat n seam. Moartea ca eliberare, ca trecere, ca asumare. Moartea cu toate ale ei.
Moartea a declanat n fiina uman o presiune att de mare nct tot ea a devenit
puntea, una din ele, spre tot ce nseamn spiritualitate. De frica morii, din nelegerea
limitelor sale temporale, homo sapiens devine homo religiosus. Din momentul n care a
cptat acest statut, omul a intrat definitiv n istorie. n nsi istoria sacrului i a
divinului, a profanului i a cotidianului, a lumii sale ntregi.
Momentul morii face parte integrant, firesc, din spiritualitatea romneasc. Fiecare
are parte de moartea lui", prin urmare. Moartea este individual, afirm Noica, ea nu
cosete vieile n netire, ci dup un plan cosmic.Nimicul nvenicit al lui Noica face parte
din acest ciclu al trecerii. Aceeai factur o au i termenii trecere/petrecere,
vreme/vremuire ambele avnd ca substrat ideatic petrecerea nsi a lumii", alaiul,
procesiunea avnd ca int devenirea ntru devenire". Termen ambiguu, trecerea are i
sensul de punte peste lumea de aici i cea de dincolo. Petrecerea este tot o punte peste-
prin-trecere". Omul de nceput triete sub imperiul unor rnduieli tradiionale, care i induc
contiina unui anume determinism, a eficienei actelor sale. n acelai timp, el triete i
taina destinului, a misterului su, supus, n mod ireconciliabil, timpului.

Homo religiosus

Homo religiosus este cel care crede n realitatea absolut, definit prin noiunea de
sacru.ntre cei doi, este universul prins n toate datele sale eseniale, nemicate i
nemicorate. Viaa acestei fiine ncreztoare n destinul ei cosmic este nsoit de cellalt,

329
omul natural, aa cum l numea Rudolf Otto. Deci, dac unul este total i cellalt
natural, cum pot fi ei comparai? Ce lipsete unuia, ce posed cellalt? Dac sacrul, n
concepia istoricilor religiei, se manifest, i se nfieaz omului de nceput, atunci de ce nu
e accesibil oricui pstrnd aceast proporie arhetipal? Ce date speciale presupune ntlnirea
cu sacrul. Ce poseda homo religiosus fa de cellalt cci experiena religioas are aceeai
specificitate n spaiu i n timp n teoria lui Mircea Eliade.Actul dialectic rmne acelai:
manifestarea sacrului prin intermediul a ceva diferit de el; sacrul apare n obiecte, mituri sau
simboluri, dar niciodat n integritatea lui imediat i n totalitate(Mircea Eliade, Traite dhistoire
des religions, Paris, Payot,1949, p.35).
Aadar, sacrul apare peste tot, exist n toate, ns ceva l face accesibil lui homo
religiosus. Al cui este meritul, cine vine spre cine, spre ce n aceast ntlnire? Sacrul este
att de manifest nct l doboar pe cel care asist sau cellalt, tie s-l vad, s-l
primeasc. n aceast ntlnire apare un cu totul altceva n realitatea transcendent. Fiina
sacr, tot ce o nconjoar, obiectele sacre primesc mai mult dect energia sa natural prin
acest act unic al hierofaniei. El este inseparabil de experiena uman. Umanul religios. Cele
trei elemente, hierofania, omul religios i modul su de via definesc un ntreg. Orice
hierofanie presupune trei elemente: obiectul natural, realitatea invizibil i obiectul
mediator impregnat de sacru.
Dintre toate aceste elemente, cele care rmn la locul lor sunt fiina i obiectele de
care se nconjoar. Doar ele. Sunt statice, nconjurate de o realitate invizibil, cel de al doilea
termen al hierofaniei. Aceast realitate are denumiri diferite, ns toate la fel de
semnificative: lumea transcendent sau lumea zeilor sau lumea de sus etc. Orice
nveli lingvistic ar cpta, ea nu este altceva dect o realitate absolut, sacr, transcendent.
Este nsui sacrul lui Eliade, este Dumnezeu, este Absolutul, este Posibilul lui Gunon, este
numinosul lui Otto, este sfinenia noastr. Al treilea element, mediatorul, fie c e vorba de
fiin sau obiectul cu care se nconjoar, el este cel care devine altceva, care capt o nou
dimensiune, cea a sacrului. Devine nsi sacralitatea.Uimitor este faptul c, dei sacrul, este
nelimitat, n situaia dat accept s se limiteze. Prin obiectul cruia el i confer datele sale,
el accept finitul. O limit a sacrului impus de el, lui nsui.

Contiina sacrului

Sacrul este pururi, dincolo i aici. Este trmul prins de cotidianul ars, n trecerea sa,
spre cel magic. Este negarea contiinei de sine i afirmarea celei divine. Este temeiul din
fiinele noastre, retransformndu-ne n homo religiosus. Este sacrificiul nostru cel adevrat,
cel orientat spre via i lumin absolut. Spre ziua de nceput al fiinelor noastre. n sens
contrar, firea ntreag sufer de nepsarea omului fa de ntrebarea central. (Mircea Eliade,
Insula lui Euthanasius, Bucureti, Humanitas, p.1993, p.167).

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Sacrul este o tain, este mereu aceeai tain: manifestarea a ceva care este altfel, a unei
realiti care nu aparine lumii noastre, manifestarea n lucruri care fac parte integrant din
lumea noastr natural, profan. (Mircea Eliade, Sacrul i profanul, Bucureti, Editura
Humanitas, 2000, p.13).
n comparaie cu homo religiosus, omul actual triete dureros sufletete asistnd la
propria sa detinuire. Sufer de prea mult profan, i prin urmare, de prea mult haos. Omul
actual refuz sacrul n msura n care nu mai tie s-l gseasc, s-l triasc. Nu este un
refuz n sine. Este o consecin a refuzului su, cndva exprimat. Universul s-a desacralizat,
iar fiinele noastre i plng de mil neputincioase. Nu suntem noi, dei prem.Tnjim dup
nceputul din noi, dei acel nceput sacru nu poate fi gsit dect n profanul de care se
nconjoar. Este asemeni experienei religioase ce capt consisten numai n sfierea
realului, adic anularea camuflajului(Mircea Eliade, Jurnal, vol II, Editura Humanitas, 2000,
p.33).De fapt, nu mai exist nici un fel de Lume, ci doar ni te fragmente ale unui univers
sfrmat, o mas amorf alctuit dintr-un numr infinit de locuri mai mult sau mai puin
neutre n care omul se mic, mnat de obligaiile unei existene integrate ntr-o societate
industrial. (Mircea Eliade, Sacrul i profanul, Editura Humanitas, Bucureti, 2005, p.53).
n timp ce sacrul este ntregirea din noi, este sigurana clipei i a locului, a spaiului
nostru, este nsi viaa i fecunditatea din ea, existena n lume nu este posibil dect prin
aceast form; permanenta sacralizare a spaiului, consacrarea lui n aceast dimensiune.
Singura condiie de a funciona n dimensiunile noastre, ansa unic a pmntului de a
comunica cu Cerul. n caz contrar, Cosmosul ar fi tirbit. Prin experiena sacrului, spiritul
omenesc a surprins diferena dintre ceea ce se reveleaz ca real, puternic, bogat i semnificativ i ceea
ce nu posed acele caliti, adic fluxul haotic i primejdios al lucrurilor, apariiile i dispariiile lor
ntmpltoare i lipsite de sens.(Mircea Eliade, Nostalgia originilor, trad. de Cezar Baltag, Editura
Humanitas, Bucureti, 1994, p.89)
Descoperirea sacrului
Secolul al XIX-lea pare a fi cel destinat n a acorda sacrului locul de nceput,
meritoriu prin revelaia respiraiei sale. Dup descoperirea popoarelor primitive, a
obiceiurilor i practicilor sale, a nelegerii lor n deplintatea tririlor i religiilor sale,
acestui secol i este menit, parc, de-tinuirea sacrului. Att misionarii ct i etnologii, cele
dou categorii de cercettori pornite n cutarea adevrului fundamental al omului primitiv
au fost determinate s mearg de-a lungul firului istoriei i s ntocmeasc studii asupra a
tot ce nsemna datin, obicei, rit, mit, credin etc. Etnologia i sociologia nregistreaz
primii termeni, i anume: mana i totem. Dac mana este privit ca o for anonim i
impersonal, dar prezent n clan i n fiecare membru al acestuia (am putea-o identifica cu
fora care constituie nsi originea fenomenului religios), totem-ul este cel care simbolizeaz
mana. Mana mai adaug ceva n conotaia sa, i anume: fundamentul sacrului, el nsui
fundamentul religiei primitive.
Mana totemic reprezint sacrul prin excelen i constituie o for religioas colectiv i anonim a
clanului, deopotriv transcendent i imanent. Mana este zeul impersonal, principiu al sacrului,
centru al religiei totemice. n aceast religie originar nu exist personaliti religioase: mana le ine
locul. Abia ulterior vom ntlni spirite, demoni, genii, zei care sunt nite forme concrete ce provin din
mana. Tot aici trebuie adugat originea zeilor din ceruri, a cultului morilor, a riturilor i a eficienei
lor(Julien Ries, Sacrul n istoria religioas a omenirii, Iai, Editura Polirom, 2000, p.14).

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 Astfel, cele dou realiti sacrul i fenomenul religios raportate la omul religios devin
simultan subiecte de studiu sociologic. Rolul colii franceze de sociologie n perpetuarea
ideologiei evoluioniste este remarcabil. Ceea ce pare fundamental de reinut este faptul c
fenomenul religios nu se mai raporteaz la societate, ci la omul religios, la trirea sa
transcedental. Toate acestea nvluite n realitatea sacrului.
Alturat colii sociologice i cea fenomenologice, avnd temei tot ceea ce emanase
ele, se impune metoda istoriografic a religiilor. Astfel, mana e nlocuit cu puterea logos-
ului. George Dumzil, prin cercetarea comparat genetic, reuete dup patruzeci de ani s
articuleze gndirea indo-european prin cele dou dimensiuni: teologia tripartit i
tripartiia social. Din acest punct de abordare, n aceast lume indo-european, sacrul este
legat de suveranitate, de funcia ei absolut.Abordnd n mare parte, o metod similar, cu
cea a predecesorului su, Mircea Eliade, prin prezena hierofaniilor caut s prind
universul lui homo religiosus pentru care sacrul este o realitate total i absolut.
Confirmarea sacrului
Cuvntul sacru, ca i echivalentele sale din semitic, din latin, greac i din alte
limbi vechi desemneaz n primul rnd un surplus. Un surplus care poate fi identificat cu
un anume sentiment pe care l purtm n noi. Nu este vorba doar de simpla raportare la
moralitate.
Sacrul pe ct este de viu n toate religiile pmntului, pe att de tritor este n
religiile semitice. n primul rnd n cele biblice. Acestea din urm i confer numele, de
qdosh, cruia i corespund hagios i sanctus, sau mai precis, sacer. n toate cele trei limbi,
aceste cuvinte implic ideea binelui, a binelui absolut. ns termenul latin sacer se
traduce prin sacru sau prin blestemat, o ntlnire, deci, a maleficului cu beneficul.
E. Benvniste n vocabularul su (Le Vocabulaire des institutions indo-europenes, Edition de
Minuit, 1969) preciza c toate limbile indo-europene rein termeni complementari pentru
definirea sacrului. n ciuda faptului c nu se gsesc corespondene stricte, dou tendine se
pot desprinde. i anume:
- pe de o parte, aceste limbi definesc o for transcendent, de tip supranatural care devine
semnul divinului: spneta avestic, hails gotic, hiros grecesc (rezervat numai zeilor sau
inspirat de ctre ei, spre desosebire de hosios, ceea le este permis numai oamenilor de ctre
zei);
- pe de alt parte, gsim termeni care desemneaz mai degrab noiunea de sfinenie
consecina unui act de separare, protejat printr-o lege: yaozdata avestic (ceea ce poate
desemna o operaie religioas ), hagios grecesc i sanctus latin, indicnd ambii c obiectul este
protejat de orice act din afar.
Sacrul se poate defini prin el nsui, prin nsi puterea pe care o eman. El poate, n
acelai timp, fi conotat i prin simpla raportare la alte realiti, precum, profanul, misterul,
absolutul, infinitul, chiar posibilitatea. Din acest paralelism, sintagma cea mai reuit, cea
mai impuntoare a fost cea dintre sacru i profan. Opoziia dintre cele dou a pus n
eviden cele dou realiti dndu-i celei dinti strlucirea cuvenit i ateptat, iar celei de a
doua un loc bine definit i asumat. ns, acest raport nu ar fi mplinit dac nu am lua n
consideraie i procentul cuvenit Posibilitii, n accepiunea ei universal, sau Absolutului,
Infinitului, Nefiinei dar i Fiinei.

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 Contradicia dintre cei doi termeni, sacru i profan. Lumea cu cele dou faete ale ei,
definit printr-o contradicie iremediabil. ns, la o analiz minuioas, frontiera dintre
sacru i profan este extrem de delicat. Un motiv suficient pentru a explica ignorana, dar i
nclcarea unor demarcaii care s-ar fi cuvenit tiute.Tot ce e religios este sacru, tot ce ine de
sacralitate mplic religiosul. Tot ce e profan, e n afara templului, n plin strad. n aceast
modalitate, de nceput se mpart lucrurile. n realitate, diferena dintre un gest ritualic sacru
i unul profan este departe de a fi att de limpede.Trirea sacr este un echilibru dificil de
meninut ntre aspiraii contrare, ns totdeauna amestecate. Opoziia dintre profan i sacru este tot
att de puin definitiv ca i cea dintre munc i joc, fiindc se poate juca degajnd un efort productiv
i se poate munci instalndu-se ntr-o destindere vistoare(Jean-Jacques Wunenburger, Sacrul,
Editura Dacia,Cluj-Napoca, 2000, pag.85).
Pentru Mircea Eliade pare mai simpl aceast contradicie ... nu sunt profane dect
activitile care nu au semnificaie mitic, adic cele lipsite de modele exemplare (Mircea Eliade,
Mitul eternei rentoarceri, Editura Univers Enciclopedic Gold, Bucureti, 2011, p.34). n general, se
recurge, la a o anume analiz, aceea a invaziei profanului asupra sacrului, a cotidianului
asupra acestui surplus existenial care este sacrul, fr a se delimita prezena plin a sacrului
n cele mai simpliste activiti umane. Merit precizat, ct influen exercit unul asupra
celuilalt.
Sacrul invadeaz viaa noastr, cotidianul, dar cu o msur, ntr-un anume scop. El
ncearc s dea o cursivitate, o coeren, s nzestreze cu har, aducndu-le la originea lor
care, cndva, a fost sacr n acel spaiu de nceput al omului iubitor de Dumnezeu.

Selective bibliography

Eliade, M.,2011, Mitul eternei rentoarceri, Bucureti:Editura Univers Enciclopedic Gold.

Eliade, M., 1992, Istoria Credinelori ideilor religioase, Chiinu: Editura Universitas.
Guardini, R., 2004, Sfritul modernitii, Bucureti: Editura Humanitas.

333
 NEW OTHERNESS: THE ARAB WORLD
THE SELF, THE BODY AND THE OTHER

Asistent doctor Stoica Diana,

Universitatea Politehnica Bucuresti

Having grown up in the post-colonial South Africa and having lived through the various
stages of its Apartheid regime, Nadine Gordimer has analysed what Apartheid, this extreme
form of governing based on the principles of divide and rule and separate development, did
to people. After the abolition of Apartheid laws, her protest was directed towards the attacks of
both white and black military groups on civil population, towards the violence that has situated
South African cities on top of the list of towns having the highest crime rate in the world. The
novels None to Accompany Me (1994), The House Gun (1998) and The Pickup (2001) belong to what
Gordimer calls the post-Apartheid literature of transition. The first two novels concentrate on
violence and its consequences in the new South Africa, whereas The Pickup illustrates
Gordimers change of focus from the African to the Arabian world introducing new themes and
issues (such as displacement, economic exile, and alienation) along with the ones used in her
previous works (migration, freedom, identity, the Self and the Other theme).
In this respect, I shall analyze the differences and similarities between the situations in the
two worlds as presented by Gordimer, the impact that white people have on the two societies
and the influence of these societies on the characters in The Pickup. In her Apartheid novels, the
South African writer explores the world of the Other (the best example is Julys People and her
short stories, where she examines the dependence of white people on their African servants,
and Jewish or Indian shopkeepers). Moreover, this exploration has been taken further in her
post-Apartheid writings, as she completely enters and observes in minute detail this Other
world in order to understand it and have it appreciated by her readers.
Many analysts of Gordimers work have noticed her concern with the new South African
social and political context correlated with the new world order imposed by the concept of
globalisation. Ileana Dimitriu (2006:159-160) has noted Gordimers engagement in the 1990s
with the concept of civil imaginary. The critic has also underlined Gordimers new
preoccupation with private life as not being inextricably linked to the public domain, which
can be seen in retrospect, to signal a kind of liberation from the burden of excessive social
responsibility within large historical events. The South African writer resisted the temptation
to turn, or return, to the imaginative and literary circles of the northern hemisphere. In turn, J.
M. Coetzee (2007:255) has remarked that Gordimer has been exercised by the question of her
own place, present and future, in history since the beginning of her career.
However, in my opinion, her post-Apartheid novels, short stories and essays, maintain
Gordimers position of a white citizen and woman writer fighting for human rights, in general,
not only for Black peoples rights. It is not a feeling of relief that can be detected when reading
her novels, a relief that society has defeated Apartheid rule (the abolition of Apartheid does not
erase her responsibility to confront social and racial issues from her work) and that history has

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made an important step beyond oppression of non-white South African people. It is rather an
impression that the new South Africa has more social than political issues to solve, more races
and ethnicities to tolerate and integrate in this new post-Apartheid, postcolonial, multicultural
and multiracial era. The new world order has imposed a new approach to social issues and
Gordimer has complied with the new rules, especially because they were amended as she has
predicted they would be:
The nurture of our writers, our literature, is a priority which should not create for us a closed-shop
African world literature, a cultural exclusivity in place of the exclusion, even post-colonial, that has kept
us in an ante-room of self-styled world literatures. (Gordimer 2000:28)
The point of departure for The Pickup is the new South Africa and its usual problems of
race, class, bureaucracy and the connection between the private and the political life. These
problems are taken from a local to a global level, with the setting changing from liberal post-
Apartheid Johannesburg to an Arab country which she does not name: any country having a
desert and a Muslim people could represent the setting of her novel. Another theme is that of
interracial love related to the Self and Other theme (on both a cultural and an individual level)
and extends from the racial opposition Black versus White used by Gordimer in all her novels,
to the cultural one.
The immigrant is situated at the center of the novel and the issues of nomadism and
relocation are explored. People from less developed countries take advantage of South Africas
regeneration and consider it a habitat that offers better working conditions and decent
residence. For the new generation of South Africans, the reconstruction of their country implies
distancing themselves from the past and their families, whether they live in the ghettoes or in
the white Suburbs.
The Pickup is seen by Coetzee (2007:251) as Gordimers personal odyssey due to the
characters she has chosen to explore. Thus, one can distinguish the portrayal of the confused
and conflicted young man, emotionally bound to his mother, disregarding the history and
culture that have formed him. Then, there is the unexceptional young woman who trusts her
impulses and finds herself by humbling herself. It is arguable whether one can read
humiliation in her attitude to please the others or simply a desire to integrate. Nevertheless,
both characters expect a remake of the Self that should take place when they relocate to a new
country.
The novel starts with what seems to be a romance at first glance. The similarity with the
short story ends at this point, as Gordimer prefers not to present the violent side of the Arab
world but to insist on a peaceful multicultural and multiracial global village. Julie Summers
meets Abdu, falls in love with him and decides to follow him back to his country when his
work permit expires. If the love story is simple, the presentation of the two countries is
elaborate; Gordimer characterizes them using her characters thoughts and feelings and the
events that take place in the characters lives either as citizens or as immigrants. Both Julie and
Abdu change identities from resident to emigrant and immigrant (Julie goes from South Africa
to the Arabian country, Abdu from the Arabian country to South Africa, then back to his
homeland and then, away from it, to America).
Julie meets Abdu on the streets of Johannesburg, when her car breaks down, causing a
traffic jam. The mechanic who offers to help her decides that it is impossible to repair it and that
the best solution would be to buy a new one. The search for the new vehicle brings them
together on several occasions, enabling her to learn that he has a degree in Economics in his
unnamed country of origin. His stay in South Africa is illegal, as his work permit has expired

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and it is not likely that he could obtain a renewal. They become lovers and Abdu is introduced
to Julies friends at the EL-AY caf also known as the Table, because their favourite pastime is
to sit around a table, have some drinks and chat. When, Abdu receives the deportation order,
Julie reconnects with her wealthy family in order to procure some money and a work permit.
Unfortunately, she does not succeed in prolonging his stay and makes her final decision to
accompany him back to his family in his natal village. Motivated by his mother and her position
in the Arab community, Abdu decides he must marry Julie before leaving South Africa. As for
Julie, she is unaware of the responsibilities of a wife and daughter-in-law in a Muslim family,
but, at the same time, she is enthusiastic about visiting an exotic country.
During his stay in South Africa, Abdu is hiding from authorities for fear he may get
deported. The moment when the officials force him to leave the country, he starts hunting for
the next exit, for a possibility to live away from the Arab community. He seems more concerned
with his future as an emigrant than with his wife and his family. The time spent in his village is
divided between either standing in a queue at the Australian embassy or applying for entry to
Canada or the United States of America. In the meantime, Julie falls in love not only with her
husband but also with the world her husband is so keen to leave behind; she also struggles to
integrate and find her place in the middle of a society she knew nothing about before meeting
her husband. Unfortunately, Abdu is unable to understand why Julie chooses that place to live
when she is presented with so many other options that she could take. The very place he would
like to escape is her only choice for resettling.
Gordimer is ironic about her protagonists cultural and material South African heritage
and the choices and advantages that it confers. Julies physical journey is also an inner journey
towards self-discovery. She seems to find her peace in the desert itself, and experiences a kind
of relief from her guilt originating in her material privilege (although the writer is ironic about
Julies redemption process).
The fact that Gordimer has been interested in power shifts that occur when people
become displaced from their patterned life is noticeable in all her novels, without exception.
Thus, The Pickup presents a world of unfixed identities (Dimitriu Sora 2006:167), an
asymmetrical world of skewed power relations (169) in a post-Apartheid South Africa that
has to redefine its identity in order to enter the global village. The intercultural marriage is
Gordimers silver lining for the postcolonial world, just as interracial marriages were for the
colonial period. Barbara Temple-Thurston (1999:116) observed that [T]he multitude and flux of
cultures or subcultures based on race, ethnicity, class or gender in South Africa each with their
own discourse that may or may not challenge the dominant discourse result in a complex and
confusing society with no cultural unanimity. The Pickup is the novel that exemplifies the
importance of cultural diversity for troubled societies, such as the South African and Arabian
communities.
Gordimers understanding (2000:209) of what she calls the ethic of mutual enrichment
of cultural globalization is represented by the rate of exchange for writers all over the world,
that is the expansion of ideas [] as coming from the life and spirit of the Other, the unknown
country and society. She is interested in exploring what the aim of globalization of culture is
or [] could be in order to determine if it is related to emphasizing the unity, the oneness of
cultural expression and, thus, it could be used as a means to diminish the manifestations of
xenophobia. The second aim of globalization (the one that Gordimer reinforces) is to value the
differences, [] across aesthetic frontiers and refute the arguments provided by governments
that divide the world according to political and national criteria. Human potential can and must
be used for the development of the entire human race and not for dividing it into social classes,

336
ethnic groups, developed/ underdeveloped countries, and so forth. Yet, difference is no longer
sufficient for describing the relations formed between local and multinational communities, and
new frameworks of representation need to be identified beyond the boundaries imposed by the
different/ similar Other. Consequently, the understanding of the Other will start from the
representations of the body and the manifestations of the Self in the context of any assumed
identity.
Gordimer took an interest in identity in the 1970s, and talked about people in terms of
environmental and cultural identity - nothing more or less than the mean between selfhood and
otherness, between our respect for ourselves and our relationship with our fellow men and
women (1974:226, my emphasis). It is through cultural identity that she, as a writer, is better
able to explore her true self in terms of generating a national literature:
The dilemma of a literature in a multiracial society, where the law effectively prevents any real
identification of the writer with his society as a whole, so that ultimately he can identify only with his
colour, distorts this mean irreparably. And cultural identity is the ground on which the exploration of the
self in the imaginative writer makes a national literature. (226 my emphasis)
Such literatures allow the public to see the reflection of a divided yet joint society,
resulting in works that define the end of colonialism and show a move towards national
identity through a literature that is shared with another or others.
Similarly, Abdul JanMohamed places a focus upon the relationship between colonial and
African fiction, in particular the African reaction to the stereotypical colonial images of Africa
and the oppositional views belonging to this type of literature. He explains that:
genuine and thorough comprehension of Otherness is possible only if the self can somehow negate
or at least severely bracket the values, assumptions, and ideology of his own culture [However], this
entails in practice the virtually impossible task of negating ones very being, precisely because ones
culture is what formed that being. Moreover, the colonizers invariable assumption about his moral
superiority means that he will rarely question the validity of his own or his societys formation and that
he will not be inclined to expend any energy in understanding the worthless alterity of the colonised.
(JanMohamed 1985:65)
Hence his reason for the inclusion of the six authors (Nadine Gordimer being among
them) who provide critics with views of Otherness that lead to a redefinition of generalizations,
stereotypes and national identity.
JanMohamed states that it is only through negation and mediation of the Other that the
Self becomes complete and returns to itself, recognizing the true and objective certainty of its
existence:
Faced with an incomprehensible and multi-faceted alterity, the European theoretically has the
option of responding to the Other in terms of identity or indifference. If he assumes that he and the Other
are essentially identical, then he would tend to ignore the significant divergences and to judge the Other
according to his own cultural values. If, on the other hand, he assumes that the Other is irremediably
different, then he would have little incentive to adopt the view point of that alterity. (65)
The colonialist discourse was interested in civilizing the Other, who was perceived as a
savage, and introduce him to the benefits of the Western culture (62). South Africa has so
many ethnic groups (it has 11 official languages and also recognises eight non-official languages
as national languages) that an attempt to civilize the savage could have continued endlessly,
while the white minority was enjoying a position of moral superiority (62).
According to JanMohamed, Gordimers novels written during the Apartheid period are
open toward the Other, and, I might add, the same openness may be found in her post-
Apartheid work concerned with the new Other. Her focus on potential identity leads to

337
concrete socio- politico- cultural differences between self and Other (74). Gordimer is the
prototype of the symbolic writer because her understanding of the Other arises from her own
understanding of the Self (herself) as a writer. Nevertheless, she went beyond the stereotypes
and codes that South African culture provided for other national cultures that entered its
territory, appreciating the values, the ethics and, especially, the advantages of alterity.
Cultural identity related to postcolonialism is defined in terms of difference, rupture and
discontinuity. Cultural (and social) identity is a learnt process, not acquired or inherited, as it
permanently changes its points of reference.
Dislocation and relocation are key concepts, as they are both enforced upon and desired
by postcolonial subjects and they become a joint condition for the existence of the Other.
The body is divided between the Self and the Other and the differences between the two
are based on the way the body and its functions are regarded and on their relation with the
body itself:
The construction of the colonial subject in discourse, and the exercise of colonial power through
discourse, demands an articulation of forms of difference racial and sexual. Such an articulation
becomes crucial if it is held that the body is always simultaneously (if conflictually) inscribed in both the
economy of pleasure and desire and the economy of discourse, domination and power. (Bhabha 1997:67)
The definitions of the post-colonial body start from the colonial inscriptions that the body
still bears and which frame the identities it acquires. The basic difference between the Self and
the Other is given by physical appearance:
The difference of the object of discrimination is at once visible and natural colour as the cultural/
political sign of inferiority or degeneracy, skin as its natural identity. Fanons understanding of the
colonial subject is that it is primordially fixed and yet triply split between the incongruent knowledges of
body, race, ancestors. (Bhabha 1997:80)
Skin is the prime signifier of the body (82) and it correlates with the social, racial and
cultural identity of both the Self and the Other. Moreover, skin is the indicator of the Other seen
as almost the same but not quite (89), and it leads to the first impression when seeing the
different body.
Taking into account their skin colour, in the old South Africa, some Africans were light
enough to pass as Coloured (Gordimer 2000:109-10). They used their lighter colour to obtain a
better job, a better house and freedom of entering certain areas. For the same reasons, some
Coloureds with lighter skin colour passed as being white. Thus, the body dictates the identity
that both the Self and the Other use when they are introduced to each other.
The palimpsest of post-colonial identity is based on the otherness of the Self, on the fact that
difference is perceived on skin level and then used to know the Other, to identify similarities in
all representations of Self and Other - which have as a result the determination of the different
places the two may occupy - and this does not necessarily mean that one is the opposite of the
other. The Self is usually given a fixed place, as it is reluctant to transformation, whereas the
Other is defined by changeability; yet, both are flexible and every so often, they exchange
places. Seeing outside the Self implies placing importance on bodily experiences, making
contact with the Others.

REFERENCES

[1] Fanon, F. 2008. Black Skin, White masks. Pluto Press

[2] Head, D. 1994. Nadine Gordimer. New York: Cambridge University Press.
[3] Kossew, S. 2001. Nadine Gordimer. The Pickup. Available at
http://fhrc.flinders.edu.au/quodlibet/vol1/downloads/Gordimer.pdf.

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 ILIADA, TEATRUL DE OPERAII PENTRU
PROTOTIPUL RZBOINICULUI GREC, AHILE

Lector univ. dr.STRECHIE Mdlina

UNIVERSITATEA DIN CRAIOVA, FACULTATEA DE LITERE,
DEPARTAMENTUL DE LIMBI ROMANICE I CLASICE

Introducere
Conflictul epopeic al Iliadei are n centrul su rzboinicii. Rzboiul este cel care a generat
aceast capodoper a umanitii. A fost un rzboi care a transformat pentru totdeauna geopolitica
din regiunea unde a avut loc. Totodat a fost i prima mare conflagraie care a pus fa n fa dou
aliane: una condus de Micene, n marea ei majoritate format din grecii din toate polisurile i alta
condus de Troia, care a angrenat fore din Asia Mic i Peninsula Balcanic, insluciv traci. n
aceast confruntare i-au gsit gloria etern muli dintre eroii grecilor dar i ai troienilor.
Iliada este aadar, n primul rnd o cronic de rzboi, una din care aflm despre efective
militare, tactici de lupt, fronturi, direcii de lupt, dar mai ales aflm despre comandanii acestui
rzboi care a opus Europa grecilor n faa Asiei Mici a troienilor.
Chiar dac este vorba de mult mitologie n cadrul Iliadei, cu siguran rzboincii prezentai
de aceast bijuterie a culturii universale au existat cu adevrat, mai ales c Troia a fost descoperit,
mergndu-se pe firul epopeii. Aadar Ahile credem c a fost un rzboinic real, extraordinar,
reprezentativ pentru ntreaga lume greac. El a fost prototipul rzboinicului grec profesionist,
exemplar, nu ntmpltor Iliada ncepe cu el.
Studiul nostru i este dedicat lui Ahile, simbolul militarului de elit al grecilor, cel care, prin
armele, prin priceperea sa, prin tacticile i atitudinea lui n lupt, a rmas nepieritor n contiina
uman din toate timpurile, fiind cel mai fidel simbol/mit al rzboinicului grec. Ahile prin
profesionalismul su a dovedit succesul militarului grec de meserie, fiind i n zilele noastre un
model al oteanului desvrit.
1. Etimologia i mitologia lui Ahile
Anatole Bailly explic numele lui Ahile prin prinii si: zeia Thetis i Peleu, dar i c este
erou din rzboiul Troiei. [1]
Anca Balaci n dicionarul su de mitologie face mitografia lui Ahile pe lng prinii si,
amintind faptul c trupu-i era nemuritor prin cufundarea n rul morii, n afara clciului; Ahile a
fost i printele unui copil, al lui Neoptolemus, fiul lui i al Deidamiei de la curtea regelui
Lycomedes, unde el a trit o perioad. Mama sa divin i druiete arme fcute de Hefaistos, cu
care Ahile pune capt vieii nu numai militarilor troieni, dar i eroilor din tabra troian, precum
au fost amazoana Pentesileea (fiica lui Ares) i fiul Aurorei.[2]
Ahile este descris n dicionarele de mitologie totdeauna drept: erou grec prin excelen, cel
mai viteaz i mai frumos dintre toi rzboinicii Iliadei[3]. De asemenea, din acest dicionar citat
mai jos, aflm i posibile etimologii ale numelui eroului rzboinic care ar proveni fie de la
sintagma akos Ilieusin=neltorul troienilor, fie de la a-kheilor=cel fr buze, cel care nu a cunoscut snul
mamei, fie de la Akhel=divinitate a fluviului, numele fiind atestat n mileniul II a. Chr i n linearul
B.[4]
Toate aceste etimologii se potrivesc mai ales copilriei lui Ahile care a petrecut mult timp
fr mama sa, fiind crescut/instruit pentru armat, neavnd o copilrie obinuit. Cea mai
credibil, n opinia noastr, de fapt etimologia pe care ne construim prezentul demers, este
neltorul troienilor, aceast etimologie fiind demn de destinul mre care i-a fost scris
rzboinicului, foarte pregtit aa cum vom demonstra i n rzboiul secret. Ahile a participat n
efectivele trupelor greceti din interiorul calului troian, fiind cu siguran unul dintre comandanii

339
acestor veritabile trupe de asalt. Denumirea persoanei era n Antichitate dup principiul: Nomen est
omen, ceea ce mrete, o dat n plus, n opinia noastr, veridicitatea acestei etimologii. Ahile a fost
cel care i-a nvins pe troieni i prin multe nelciuni, de fapt capacane de rzboi.
De asemenea, nu putem s nu lum n calcul i asemnarea numelui eroului cu numele
triburilor indo-europene ale aheilor. Aceti ahei sunt considerai unii dintre fondatorii culturii
miceninene, fondatori i a unei regiuni, Ahaia, n N-V Pelopenesului[5]. Oricum influena acesteui
trib indo-european, rzboinic cu precdere, va infleuna geopolitica regiunii peloponesiace,
fenomenul militarist spartan s-a bazat i pe nite tradiii pentru a ajunge la excelen, Ahile fiindu-
le i el un model, alturi de alt erou militar al tuturor grecilor, Herakles.
2. Ahile i pregtirea sa militar
nc de la naterea sa Ahile a fost un fenomen, el s-a nscut erou (semi-zeu), tatl Peleu era
om, dar rege, iar mama sa era o divinitate a mrii, Thetis. El a fost anunat c este secretul victoriei
grecilor n conflictul epopeic al Iliadei de ctre profetul Calchas. Copilria lui Ahile a fost aadar
una neobinuit deoarece el s-a pregtit asemeni unui militar. Din legende se tie c era un atlet
desvrit, (vezi tradiia Jocurilor Olimpice de mai trziu), care la vrsta de ase ani alerga foarte
iute, n vntoare era deja maestru de mic copil, deoarece prindea cerbii fr cini.[6]
Nentrecutu-Ahile trebuia cooptat cu necesitate n coaliia anti-troian, deoarece soarta lui
i rezervase o glorie etern n acest rzboi, dar tot acolo i gsea i moartea, practic moartea sa i
pecetluia gloria. Dasclul lui a fost centaurul Kiron, un dascl prin excelen al eroilor. Centaurul l-
a educat pe Ahile n tainele militare nc de mic, legenda ne spune c principalul scop al educaiei
sale era acela pentru a deprinde meteugul armelor i al vntoarei, secretul artei militare cu
alte cuvinte.[7] Ahile a fcut aadar o pregtire temeinic, un fel de coal militar de ofieri,
pentru c avea o apartenen la clasa nobil. El este unul dintre acei iniiai, puinii care puteau s
treac testele, ceea ce a nscut ideea eroismului grec.
Mai mult, nainte de educaia militar Ahile a trecut prin ncercri neomeneti i ca nou
nscut: a fost clit prin foc, a fost uns cu ambrozie i a fost cufundat n Stix, rul morii, pentru a fi
invincibil, n afara clciului su (care nu a fost supus acestui tratament). Toate aceste ncercri
sunt similire ntru-ctva cu tradiia spartan a examinrii nou-nscuilor, pentru a se stabili, dac
acetia sunt api pentru serviciul militar. Nu ntmpltor toate probele pe care le deprinde Ahile
coincid ntru-ctva cu instrucia/educaia spatanilor.
Ahile este un supra-om i datorit regimului su alimentar, legendele descriu n ce consta
hrana zilnic a copilului Ahile: mduv i creier de urs i ficat de leu.[8] Observm aici i
existena unor totemuri de origine rzboinic: ursul i leul. Sacrificarea acestor animale avea
pentru rzboinci darul de a le oferi calitile acestor animale, n acest caz: puterea ursului i
precizia leului. De multe ori Ahile este prezentat ca fiind agil asemeni unui leu, puternic ca un urs
i abil ca un vultur (un totem cu o simbolistic predominant militar).
Acest regim alimentar a avut efecte asupra pregtirii militare ale lui Ahile care era deja un
rzboinic n anii adolescenei sale, deoarece el se lupta ca un brbat i vna fiare prin codrii,
putea s-ntreac i cprioara cea mai uite i cea mai sprinten din muni.[9]
Aflm astfel c ateletismul a fost una din probele fundamentale ale oricrui rzboinic grec,
infanterist i nu numai, deoarece asigura cea mai complet pregtire fizic pe atunci. Nu
ntmpltor a aprut episodul Maratonului. Cprioara reprezenta i ea tot un totem foarte frecvent
n lumea grecilor, ca de altfel n toat Peninsula Balcanic. Acest simbol avea legtur n primul
rnd cu vntoarea, fiind atributul Artemisei, zeia vntorii. Cervideele apar i n viaa altor eroii,
ca teste de aptitudini, cum a fost n cazul Herakles.[10]
Muzica a fost tot timpul una dintre probele instruciei unui soldat grec, poate pentru ritmul
su, poate pentru concentrarea militarilor pe cmpul de lupt. Ahile a primit i el o educaie aleas
n secretele muzicii putnd cnta att vocal, ct i instrumental, la lir.[11]
Mama sa nu s-a mpcat niciodat cu destinul crud al fiului su, cu moartea lui de tnr, n
plin glorie i a dorit s-l scape de acest destin. Astfel, pentru a evita nrolarea lui n rzboiul
troian, ea l trimite pe Ahile la curtea unui rege, unde s triasc deghizat ca o domnioar. Nu este
o laitate din partea lui Ahile, din contr dovedete c semi-zeul a deprins i arta rzboiul secret, n

340
care cel mai important lucru era camuflarea, nelarea adversarului i avantajul n faa lui. Totui i
cel mai desvrit militar nu poate eluda destinul. Astfel, Ahile este descoperit datorit reflexelor
sale militare, de unul dintre cei mai iscusii protagoniti ai Iliadei, celebrul Odiseu. Militarul din
Ahile este cel care alege uniforma militar i armele, atunci cnd este supus probei neltoare ale
lui Odiseu, tocmai din reflexul dobndit ca militar. Mai mult Ahile se grbete s reacioneze la
sunetul alarmei false: trmbie i chimvale dat de mult prea vicleanul Odiseu. Armele alese de
Ahile sunt cele ale viitorului hoplit grec: armele de aram, coif i-o suli strlucitoare[12]
Descoperit, Ahile i asum rolul de militar i pleac la lupt narmat pn n dini, att cu
armele druite de Odiseu, ct i cu cele ale tatlui su Peleu, cu o suli druit de maestrul su,
Kiron i cu caii lui Poseidon.[13]
Aadar, Ahile nsumeaz prin armele sale, mai ales calitile militare ale tuturor celor care i-
au marcat destinul, reuind s-i depeasc pe toi. Prin faptul c stpnea, att arma infanteriei,
ct i arma cavaleriei, l face pe Ahile un militar universal, polivalent, mai ales c la aceste dou
arme se va aduga i conducerea flotei. Astfel el stpnea toate armele cunoscute pe atunci:
infanteria, cavaleria i flota, fiind foarte pregtit n toate, la fel de bine.
Ahile este i un militar care i servete patria, reprezentat de ctre tatl su Peleu, deoarece
el acoper prin participarea sa, datoria tatlui su Peleu, fa de regele Spartei, Menelau. Acest fapt
este unul ct se poate de real, fiind legat, mai ales, aa cum arta Miercea Eliade, de celebrele frii
militare.[14]
Armele paterne nu erau arme omeneti, ci divine, (plato i nite arme) ele fiindu-i
druite cinstitului rege Peleu la nunta sa cu zeia Thetis.[15]
3. Militarul Ahile n teatrul de operaii troian
La Troia, Ahile a fost n misiune de lupt, o misiune foarte lung, 10 ani, timp n care eroul a
fost adevrata arma secret a grecilor, arm care le-a adus victoria, aa cum profeise odinioar
Calchas. Dei era contient de riscul pe care-l implic aceast campanie militar, Ahile i-a fcut
datoria de soldat pentru greci, murind pe cmpul de lupt, producnd adversarilor mari pierderi,
respectnd blazonul unui adevrat rzboinic profesionist. Civilizaia pe care o ntruchipeaz Ahile,
cea aheian, era necesar a fi n coaliia greceasc, deoarece ea deinea cultura fierului, naintea
civilizaiei miceniene, conductoarea coaliiei.[16] Ahile era, aadar, mai mult dect un rzboinic,
era exponentul ntregii sale civilizaii pe cmpul de lupt. Cooptarea aheilor n coaliia anti-troain
era o necesitate deoarece Troia cunotea civilizaia fierului, fiind i poziionat strategic, la
confluena rutelor comerciale ntre Orient i Occident[17] ceea ce o transforma ntr-un adeversar
redutabil.
nceputul Iliadei, ncepe firesc cu unul dintre militarii profesioniti angrenai n acest conflict,
cu Ahile, cel dominat de o adevrat furor belli. Andr Bonnard l numete pe acesta eroul
pasiunii i al gloriei, un mare incendiu, primul erou al Iliadei, el este inima i pivotul
ntregii aciuni a poemului.[18] Voina lui Ahile a fost cauza furiei sale, deoarece aceast s-a iscat
din cauza conflictului dintre rzboi i politic, pentru supremaie. Chiar dac era cel mai puternic
militar, Ahile nu era rege precum Agamemnon, comandantul suprem al operaiunilor, de aceea
voina lui Ahile se simte nfrnt, deoarece trebuie s se supun voinei lui Agamemnon. Rzboiul
troian se petrece i n sufletul beligeranilor, respectnd definiia lui Dimitrie Gusti: Drama
rzboiului este o dram a voinei.[19]
ntr-adevr Iliada este o dram a voinelor rzboinicilor angrenai, indiferent de numele pe
care l poart, dar Ahile este motorul principal al Iliadei, pregtit special pentru acest rzboi,
anunnd viitorii aristocrai militari a Spartei de mai trziu:
Cnt, zei, mnia ce-aprinse pe Ahil Peleianul,
Patima crud ce-aheilor mii de amaruri aduse
Suflete multe viteze trimise pe lumea cealalt,
Trupul fcndu-le hran la cni i la feluri de pasri
i-mplinit fu voia lui Zeus, de cnd Agamemnon,
Craiul nscut din Atreu, i dumnezeiescul Ahile,
s-au dezbinat dup cearta ce fuse-ntre dnii iscat.[20]
Ahile i Agamemnon s-au certat pentru prada de rzboi, mai ales pentru c n campania
militar din Troia, care dura deja de 9 ani n momentul sfadei dintre cei doi, Ahile fusese cel care
341
dusese tot greul btliei, fiind scutul/Nerzbtut al aheilor, cnd se pornete rzboiul[21]. Mai
mult, el asigura unul din flancurile trupelor coaliiei greceti prin poziionarea trupelor sale n
locurile cu primejdii.
Dup episodul cu cearta, pentru Briseis o captur de rzboi, Ahile se retrage din lupt,
pentru un principiu (acela c prada de rzboi trebuie mprit egal) nu pentru o femeie. Totui,
puterea sa i este delegat prietenului su cel mai bun, Patrocle, (ntre cei doi existnd tot un fel de
frie militar de care am vorbit mai sus, deoarece puterea militar nu se delega oricui n timpul
luptei). Puterea militar i-a fost ncredinat lui Patrocle prin arme dar prin trupele sale,
mirmidonii. Dar Patrocle nu se ridic la nlimea militar a lui Ahile i va fi ucis n lupt de ctre
Hector, corespondentul, ntru-ctva, al lui Ahile din tabra troian. Mai mult, nsemnele puterii
militare i sunt luate ca o prad de rzboi deosebit de valoroas, deoarece un comandant militar
era simbolizat i prin armele sale. Aceste arme erau valoroase nu numai din considerentele
enumerate mai sus, ci ele erau produsul unei tehnologii militare pe care troieni doreau s o pun
n practic. Fiind fcute, cum spune legenda de zeul Hefaistos, erau de fapt un fel de secret militar,
o inovaie tehnologic pe care troienii doreau s o dein, astfel s-ar traduce n opinia noastr
valoarea acestor arme i dorina troienilor de a le captura.
Reintrarea n lupt a lui Ahile se datoreaz mai mult friei militare pe care l lega de
Patrocle, frie care reclama o rzbunarea a fratelui de snge i de arme, tiut fiind faptul c la
indo-europeni aceast asociere profesional era foarte important, existnd ritualuri care o
pecetluiau cu snge. Uciderea lui Patrocle, a unui frate militar, declaneaz o nou voin a lui
Ahile, aceea de a trana rzboiul, care deja dura de prea mult timp. Acest frate militar era egalul
ierarhic al lui Ahile din moment ce-i transferase puterea sa de comand, iar uciderea lui Hector era
o consecin fireasc a respectrii fraiei militare, dar i un moment de finalizare al rzboiului din
moment ce Hector era un cap militar al coaliiei troiene. Uciderea lui echivala cu o demobilizare a
forelor inamice rmase fr comandant, un calcul militar foarte bine sesizat de Ahile, militarul
desvrit din acest rzboi. Mai mult, el beneficia acum i de moralul mobilizat al grecilor care
doreau rzbunarea pentru Patrocle.
Pentru aceast confruntare Ahile avea nevoie de arme noi, al cror secret s le fie
necunoscut troienilor, deoarece dispruse supriza din confruntarea militar pe care o avuseser
armele sale, acum prad de rzboi la troieni. Aceast surpriz sporea ocul i statura sa invincibil,
lipsa lor i demitiza cumva statura divin, fragilizndu-l. Noile sale arme sunt fruite tot datorit
mamei sale, care l roag tot pe Zeul Hefaistos care s-a ntrecut pe sine deoarece a aruncat n foc
aram, cositor, argint i aur lucitor[22] , aadar a mbuntit metalurgia armelor precedente
executnd cu adevrat nite arme superioare. Armele rezultate au fost pe lng arme ofensive:
suli, sabie i arme defensive: scut, plato, coif i dou jambiere. Acestea sunt armele hoplitului
grec.[23]
Are loc i confruntarea fizic ntre cei doi comandani de facto ai armatelor: Ahile i Hector,
confruntare din care victorios iese Ahile cel mai bine pregtit militar, deoarece el l nfrnge pe
Hector (prin uciderea lui de la distan cu o suli n grumaz, lovitur precis i aductoare de
moarte) i mai mult ca un maestru de ceremonii l leag de carul su de lupt (calul fiind un
simbol totemico-militar al troienilor) i-l poart n urma carului su de lupt, prada sa cea mai de
pre. Gestul nu este expresia sentimental a cruzimii, ci mai degrab are raiuni militare.
Rpunerea i umilirea celui mai de seam comandant militar al troienilor a nsemnat practic
distrugerea moralului trupelor troiene. Prin gestul de trre la carul su de lupt al marelui
Hector, Ahile a urmrit demobilizarea trupelor dumane prin anihilarea voinei lor de lupt, el
poate c a prut inuman, dar prin strategia sa o dovedit c este superior tuturor rzboinicilor pe
care i-a nfruntat. Ahile este descris n acest episod de Homer, ca un leu, regele animalelor, unul
dintre cele mai impuntoare simboluri militare. ...hainul Ahile, brbat fr lege/i la simire-
mpetrit. Slbatec i crud e ca leul...[24] (iat c acum este explicat regimul alimentar al lui Ahile,
care nu de puine ori consumase ficat de leu).
n lupta care a urmat, Ahile i va trata toi adversarii cu aceleai tehnici militare nvate
nc din copilrie. Nu las garda jos n faa celor egali lui, eroi precum Memnon i eroine precum

342
regina amazoanelor. Fiicele lui Ares au participat ca aliate ale troienilor. Ahile a ucis cpetenia
acestor trupe de cavalerie care fceau ravagii printre greci, ucignd att comandantul, ct i calul,
arma de baz a acesteia. Cu toate c Pentesilea, cpetenia i regina amazoanelor era de o frumusee
impresionant pentru orice brbat, Ahile cu toate simmintele sale umane, s-a comportat ca un
militar i nu ca un brbat.
Chiar dac i-a regretat crima ca brbat, ca militar a procedat corect ntr-un rzboi n care
totul era permis, legea fiind destul de crud: ucide sau vei fi ucis. Raiunea militarului a triumfat,
fiind un succes militar scoaterea din lupt a unui adversar de temut (cavaleria nu a fost niciodat
arma de elit a grecilor), adversar care oferea troienilor rapiditate, eficien i mobilitate, toate
acestea produceau pierderi grele n rndul grecilor infanteriti. Raiunea rece a militarului Ahile i
are efectul scontat, prin dispariia cpeteniei lor, amazoanele sunt scoase din lupt, ele retrgndu-
se cu trupul reginei lor n ara de origine, lsnd frontul troian descoperit.
n rzboi Ahile va fi rpus de un zeu, nu de oameni, zeul Apollo este cel care conduce
sgeata n locul su vulnerabil, clciul, demonstrnd astfel umanitatea lui Ahile, umanitate care
de multe ori transpare i din tnguirile mamei sale divine:
Vai, o copile, de ce te-am nscut i crescut ca s suferi?
Bine ar fi fost s rmi neatins i neplns la corbii,
Cci numrate sunt zielele tale i scurt i e veacul,
ns, dei ai s mori curnd, nu-i altul ca tine
Nenorocit, te-am nscut n palat s fii prad rstritii.[25]
Omul Ahile tia care i este soarta i a acceptat-o aa cum era, ca rzboinic, alegnd s-i fac
datoria pe cmpul de lupt, plecnd ntr-o campanie care tia c-ai aduce moartea, luptnd pn n
ultima clip cu acelai avnt.
Dac la Troia statornic rmn i m-ncaier sub ziduri,
Vai i pe mine m adulmec moartea i soarta nebiruit pe veci
N-o s ma ntorc inapoi, dar slava-mi n veac o s fie.
Portretul fizic i moral i este descris de Iliada n termeni care-i denot mai ales calitile
militare, fr a-i tirbi calitile umane: cel mai viteaz din Ahaia, cel mai de frunte viteaz din
Ahaia, inima-n pieptu-i pros i sttu ndoit de gnduri:, plete blane, Ahile cel iute ca
oimul, un viteaz i ai pe-o zei mam, dumnezeiescul Ahile, iutele Ahile, Scumpe lui
Zeus Ahile, oimanul Ahile, Ahile, viteazul i orgoliosul rzboinic este un tip pasional,
Ahile, cel iute ca oimul, i-un dor de printe, i-o jale-i strni lui Ahile, el singur Ahile
vegheaz,/Plnge-amintindu-i dragul prieten i nu-l mai cuprinde somnul atotdomnitor,
Nu-mi mai fi aa de viclean, ct eti de voinic, o, Ahile/Cel artos ca un zeu,, Ahile tu cel mai
cumplit dect alii, n viforul luptei tot greul l duce/Brau-mi cu aram[26]
n alt variant de traducere ale Iliadei pe care am avut-o la dispoziie, Ahile este prezentat
n acelai mod, o voin extraordinar, demn de un zeu 100%, ale crui caliti militare i dicteaz
nfiarea fizic i caracterul: mnia Peleidului Ahile, pierztoarea mnie, pricina aheilor de
dureri fr margini, falnicul Peleid, Ahile cel-cu-mersul-avntat, Ahile, viteazul ndrgit de
Zeus, slvitul Ahile, Peleidule, tu cel mai spimnttor dintre danaii toi, prin isteimea ta,
preaslvite Ahile, cu priviri ntunecate Ahile, Vnjoasa-i mn pe mnerul de-argint al spadei
se-oprete, Ahile cel aprig, Peleidul cu mult l ntrece pe orice rzboinic, dar i cavaler, Ahile
e cpitanul corbiilor, cinzeci la numr, vajnicul Ahile, Ahile pavza danailor n urgia
rzboiului, falnicul Ahile, cel mai viteaz dintre aheii toi, Ahile-i rumeg n suflet mnia. El
cel att de ager.[27]
Observm aadar c Ahile este i el om, dar militarul din el i transcede personalitatea, el
ns nu este o brut care acioneaz din instinct, ci dup ce trece prin filtrul raiunii toate aciunile,
calculnd impactul acestora asupra operaiilor militare.
Ahile este i comandant militar, unul care este urmat orbete de ctre oamenii si, din
devoiune i din ncredera n capacitile sale de management ale luptei. Trupele sale sunt destul
de impresionante pentru un comandant al acelor vremuri:
...Brbaii
Cror ahei le ziceau, mirmidoni i elini deopotriv
Ei n cinzeci de corbii aveau cpitan pe Ahile

343
 Aadar, pe lng un infanterist (putem spune c era un veritabil infanterist marin, dac
lum n consideraie c trupele lui au venit pe mare, ei, fiind capabile s lupte i n cadrul flotei)
desvrit, Ahile era i un cpitan al unei adevrate flote, dar tot el deinea i o trup de cavalerie,
o trup de intervenie rapid foarte important. Este de neles c Ahile era un i un cavalerist
priceput, din moment ce luase lecii de clrie de la un centaur celebru, dascl recunoscut printre
eroii greci. Ca orice comandant de elit el are grij ca trupele sale s fie mereu apte de intervenie i
are grij ca acestea s se instruiasc mereu, chiar i cnd sunt n afara teatrului de operaii:
...Ahile,
Care fu cel mai viteaz i avea telegarii de frunte
Dar la corbii acum sttea la o parte Ahile,
Tare-nciudat pe Atrid Agamemnon, pstorul otirii,
Cetele lui de voinici petreceau pe la marginea mrii,
Unii cu discul zrlind i alii cu lancea, cu arcul,
Iar telegarii stteau pe la carele lor fiecare.[28]
Ahile a participat aadar n teatrul de operaii troian nu numai cu faima i puterea sa, una
foarte important de altfel pentru moralul trupelor, el nsui fiind o arm mortal, ci el a adus n
confruntare i o numeroas trup de infanterie marin i de cavaleri, foarte bine pregtii,
profesionitii acelei epoci, fr de care grecii nu ar fi putut iei victorioi n aceast conflagaie de
mare anvergur, att ca timp, dar i ca fore implicate.
Suntem de prere c n calul troian, cei mai muli dintre greci au fost mirmidonii lui Ahile,
din moment ce liderul lor moare n acest asalt final. Mai mult, mirmidonii si erau cele mai bine
motivate trupe, cele mai loiale i cele mai sudate n lupte crncene, adevrate trupe de commando
ale grecilor.
Concluzie
Ahile i-a ndeplinit cu succes misiunea sa de lupt n Troia, teatrul su de operaii, dar i n
cadrul civilizaiei pe care o reprezentat-o, deoarece prin faptele sale de arme anuna numeroasele
revoluii ale afacerilor militare (am identificat patru dintre cele mai importante: 1. revoluia
hoplitic, 2. revoluia maritim, 3. revoluia spartan i 4. revoluia falangei)[29], pe care le-a
nfptuit lumea grecilor, prin toate polisurile sale, eroul studiului nostru a fost, pentru toate aceste
revoluii militare, dar i pentru aventura greac, ntr-un fel sau altul, prototipul dar i
simbolul/mitul lor generator.

NOTE

[1]Vezi Anatole Bailly, Abrg du dictionnaire Grec-Franais, Paris, Librairie Hachette 1901, diponibil pe
http://home.scarlet.be/tabularium/bailly/, p.144.
[2]Apud Anca Balaci, Mic dicionar de mitologie greco-roman, Ediia a II-a, Bucureti, Editura Meronia, 1992, p. 16.
[3]Apud ***Dicionar de mitologie greco-roman, Zoe Petre, Alexandru Liu, Ctlin Pavel, (coordonatori), Bucureti, Editura
Corint, 2011, pp. 39-40.
[4] Ibidem, pp. 39-40.
[5] Horia C. Matei, Enciclopedia Antichitii, Ediia a V-a, Bucureti, Editura Meronia, 2004, pp. 16-17.
[6] Apud N.A. Kun, Legendele i miturile Greciei Antice, Bucureti, Editura Orizonturi, fr an, pp. 302-304.
[7] Cf. Alexandru Mitru, Victor Ilie, Legendele Olimpului, volumul II, Eroii, Ediia a 7-a, Bucureti, Editura Vox, 2004,
p.188.
[8] Ibidem, p. 189.
[9] Ibidem, p. 189.
[10] Vezi pentru acest subiect articolul nostru: Mdlina Strechie, Itinerarul aventurilor lui Herakles ntre mitologie i
realitate n ***Povestiri ale multidisciplinaritii: studii literare, antropologice i lingvistice, Coordonatori: Gabriel
Cooveanu, Dana Dinu, Gabriel Popescu, Craiova, Editura Universitaria, 2013, pp. 269-284.
[11] Apud Alexadru Mitru, Victor Ilie, Op. cit., p. 190.
[12] Ibidem, p. 190.
[13] Cf. N.A. Kun, Op. cit., pp. 302-304.
[14] Cf. Mircea Eliade, De la Zamolxis la Genghis Han, Studii comparative despre religiile i folclorul Daciei i Europei orientale,
Traducere de Mircea Ivnescu i Cezar Ivnescu, Bucureti, Editura Humanitas, 1995.
[15] Alexandru Mitru, Victor Ilie, Op. cit., p. 191.
[16] Apud Indro Montanelli, Istoria grecilor, Traducere de Geroge Miciacio Bucureti, Editura Artemis, fr an, pp. 21-22.
[17] Cf. Friedrich Matz, Creta, Micene, Troia, Traducere Radu Alexandrescu, introducere i note Petre Alexandrescu,
Bucureti, Editura tiinific, 1969, p. 55, p. 181.

344
[18] Andr Bonnard, Civilizaia greac, Volumul I, De la Iliada la Parthenon, traducere, cuvnt nainte i note de
prof.univ.dr. Iorgu Stoian, Bucureti, Editura tiinific, 1967, p. 65, p.61, p. 46.
[19] Dimitrie Gusti, Sociologia rzboiului, Iai, Tipo Moldova, 2007, p. 124.
[20] Homer, Iliada, n romnete de G. Murnu, Prefa, note i glosar de Romul Munteanu, Vol. I, Bucureti, Editura
Tineretului, 1965, p. 21. Vom reda majoritatea versurilor din aceast ediie, fiind cea mai cunoscut i mai utilizat
ediie a Iliadei.
[21]Ibidem, p. 29.
[22] Alexadru Mitru, Victor Ilie, Op. cit., p. 199.
[23] Vezi pentru aceasta ***The Cambridge History of Greek an Roman warfare, volum I, Greece, Helenistic world and the rise of
Rome, Edited by: Philip Sabin, Hans Van Wees, Michael Whitby, Chapter VI, War by Peter Krentz, Cambridge,
Cambridge University Presse, UK, 2008.
[24] Homer, Iliada, n romnete de G. Murnu, Prefa, note i glosar de Romul Munteanu, vol. II, Bucureti, Editura
Tineretului, 1965, p. 219.
[25] Homer, Op. cit. vol I., p. 33.
[26] Homer, Op. cit. vol I., p. 33, p. 28, p. 27, p. 29, p. 29, p. 21, p. 14; , Homer, Op. cit. vol II., p. 219, p. 237, p. 233, p. 234.,
p. 218, p. 219; Homer, Op. cit. vol I., p. 25, p. 25, p. 26, p. 27.
[27] Homer, Iliada, Traducere de Radu Hncu, prefa de Ion Acsan, Editura Mondero, Bucureti, 2007, p. 5, p. 6, p. 7, p.
7, p. 8, p. 9, p 9, p 9, p. 11, p. 44, p. 41, p. 39, p. 12, p. 13, p. 13, p.16, p. 16.
[28] Homer, Op. cit. vol I., p. 62.
[29] Trimitem pentru mai multe detalii la studiul nostru Strechie, Mdlina, Revolutions of military art within Ancient
societies, din volumul THE 19TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED
ORGANIZATION, MANAGEMENT AND MILITARY SCIENCES, Conference proceedings 1, Sibiu, 13-15 June
2013. This event is organized by NICOLAE BLCESCU Land Forces Academy in collaboration with the National
Authority for Scientific Research, Sibiu, Nicolae Blcescu Land Forces Academy Publishing House, 2013, pp.
117-123.

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Bailly, Anatole, Abrg du dictionnaire Grec-Franais, Paris, Librairie Hachette, 1901, diponibil pe
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Bonnard, Andr, Civilizaia greac, Volumul I, De la Iliada la Parthenon, Traducere, cuvnt nainte i note de
prof.univ.dr. Iorgu Stoian, Bucureti, Editura tiinific, 1967.
Burry, J., B., Meiggs, Russell, Istoria Greciei pn la moartea lui Alexandru cel Mare, Ediia a IV-a revzut,
Traducere de Diana Stanciu, Bucureti, Editura ALL, 2006, 2008.
Buttin, Anne Marie, Grecia clasic, Traducere de Lia Decei, Bucureti, Editura Bic All, 2002, 2007.
Ciuc, Lydia, Constana, Ionescu-Boeru, Constantin, Destinul cetii Troia, Bucureti, Prietenii crii, 1998.
***Dicionar de mitologie greco-roman, Zoe Petre, Alexandru Liu, Ctlin Pavel (coordonatori), Bucureti,
Editura Corint, 2011.
Dinu, Dana, Introducere n istoria i civilizaia Greciei Antice, Craiova, Editura Universitaria, 2005.
Dumitru Oancea, Maria-Luiza, Mitologie greco-roman. Curs atelier, Bucureti, Editura Universitii din
Bucureti, Seria Limbi, Culturi, Identiti, 2010.
Eliade, Mircea, De la Zamolxis la Genghis Han, Studii comparative despre religiile i folclorul Daciei i Europei
orientale, Traducere de Mircea Ivnescu i Cezar Ivnescu, Bucureti, Editura Humanitas, 1995.
***Eroii din legendele Olimpului, Traducere i note: Liana Gombooiu, Gabriela Dobrian, Bucureti, Prietenii
Crii, 1998.
Ferrari, Anna, Dicionar de mitologie greac i roman, Traducere de Drago Cojocaru, Emanuela Stoleriu, Dana
Zmosteanu, Iai, Editura Polirom, 2003.
Gusti, Dimitrie, Sociologia rzboiului, Iai, Tipo Moldova, 2007.
Homer, Iliada, n romnete de G. Murnu, Prefa, note i glosar de Romul Munteanu, Vol. I, Bucureti,
Editura Tineretului, 1965.
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Editura Tineretului, 1965.
Homer, Iliada, Prefa i traducere de George Murnu, Bucureti, Editura Minerva, 2008.
Homer, Iliada, Traducere de Radu Hncu, prefa de Ion Acsan, Editura Mondero, Bucureti, 2007.
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Houtzager, Guus, Mitologia greac. Enciclopedie complet, traducere Lia Decei, Bucureti, Editura Corint, 2008.
Hurmuziadis, George, D. Cultura Greciei: antic, bizantin, modern, n romnete de Lucia Dimitriu
Hurmuziadis, Bucureti, Editura tiinific i Enciclopedic, 1979.
Kun, N., A., Legendele i miturile Greciei Antice, Bucureti, Editura Orizonturi, fr an.
Lvque, Pierre, Aventura greac, vol. II, Traducere de Constana Tnsescu, Bucureti, Editura Meridiane,
1987.
Maravelas, Gheorghios, Rzboiul troian, Traducere de Constantin Alexandru, Bucureti, Editura Militar,
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Matei, C. Horia, Enciclopedia Antichitii, Ediia a V-a, Bucureti, Editura Meronia, 2004.
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Bucureti, Editura tiinific, 1969.
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2013, pp. 117-123.
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346
OFF THE LEASH: THREE MEN IN A BOAT: TO SAY NOTHING
OF THE DOG! (1888)

Karen Kurt Teal, Ph.D.

The University of Washington
USA

English society rigorously tested the question Who is a gentleman? throughout

the Victorian period. Popular arbiters firmly divided the gentler level of existence from
the world of work, which removed the huge population of clerks in London from the
running for gentleman status. Among the working middle class there was a strong desire
to achieve something more than the rest, some touch of superiority.
One of the more popular aspirational entertainments for Londoners who could
afford to hire a small craft was rowing and towing up the Thames. It was on the Thames
that the up-and coming middle class could flaunt its leisure time and disposable cash and
imitate those of the upper class. Jerome K. Jeromes comic novel Three Men in a Boat: to
say nothing of the Dog! capitalizes on this form of leisure to satirize the misdirection of the
nation.
Boating on the Thames was a highly suitable, visible, and historically meaningful
pastime. The narrator even remarks on the transformative powers of getting onto a boat:
You wave an airy adieu to the boys on shore, light your biggest pipe, and swagger about
the deck as if you were Captain Cook, Sir Francis Drake, and Christopher Columbus.
Thus the act of boating frequently pleased the adventuring spirits of contemporary
workers, and also lent their exploits an admirable appearance that was embedded in the
grain of British life.
And so the newly prosperous middle class found its way onto the river for
pleasure. But not only did they enter into the enjoyments of mightier classes, they
entered into the long tradition of writing about the river.
The Thames has been celebrated many times in the past 400 years, notably by
poets Pope, Swift, Wordsworth, Betjeman, and Tennyson, who, speaking as the river,
voiced its own sense of eternal power, For men may come and men may go/But I go on
forever(The Brook, 1853). When London clerks stepped aboard the decks of small
boats in the nineteenth century to entertain themselves on the great river Thamesis, the
river on which Roman troops were to invade Britain, and the river over which kings and
queens and their henchmen and champions had driven history, the great river was
reclaimed by the common people.
Thus, for perhaps the first time in history, the common people could gain some
sense of gentility and superiority as they glided past aged villages and camped in the

347
holy calm1 of the rivers small inlets and protected shallows. Enjoying the freedom of
the river must have assuaged some of the restlessness of people eager to climb higher,
socially. The tales narrator, J, goads the reader into partaking from the elevating
freshness of the mission, despite proving the three boaters were not made of the same
stern stuff of their forebears. To get onto the river and enjoy oneself is like a declaration
of liberty.
In the 1850s and 60s popular British authors Dickens and Trollope depict male
characters vainly struggling on to gain or maintain an air of gentility and consequence
above their means. Dickens Pip enviously views his connection with the occupants of
Satis House as the key to his future, elevated state.2 Trollopes Johnny Eames struggles to
rise up from hobbledehoy to a clerk, and Adolphus Crosbie dreams of rising above his
station as a government clerk via marriage to a wealthy, titled woman who will
immediately release him from the need to watch his funds.3
Trollopes political novels further define the desperate need for gentlemanly
consequence among those who operate outside the pale of the leisured classes. The
depressing career of Ferdinand Lopez from lowly clerk to commodities speculator and on
to failure and suicide reveals the pressures on middle class men to fashion themselves
into someone of consequence despite the odds. 4 This lottery of consequence pressed
heavily on women characters as well, as seen in the cases of the striving Sophronia
Lammle of Our Mutual Friend (1864), the desperately self-conscious Arabella Trefoil of The
American Senator (1876), Gwendolen Harleth of Daniel Deronda and Rosamund Vincy of
Middlemarch (1872), and Emily Fox-Seton and Lady Agatha Slade in The Making of a
Marchioness (1901). The striving for consequence is the theme of themes in a country with
imperial dreams.
In a refreshing break from leisure class/working class dyad, in 1888 Jerome K.
Jerome presents his joyful narrative in the journal Home Chimes. A story of three young
men and an intelligent dog who go on a river spree was an instant hit, and proved to be
an enduring humor classic. The good-natured narrative downplays class divisions and
dismisses work-based merit, presenting an image of modern men and women readers
who simply are who they are, the multitudes who find time to enjoy themselves playing
with dogs, working in clerical jobs, falling out of boats, making breakfast outdoors,
fashioning their identities as people who also have fun, and taking their places in the
mighty Thames-stream of history.
In an equally refreshing break from ambitious Victorian standards, the three men
are some of the least ambitious people to ever breathe. The three main characters are a
bank manager, a clerk, and the narrator, a magazine writer. Harris is introduced as a
heavy drinker: Harris always does know a place round the corner where you can get
something brilliant in the drinking line (12).
George is characterized as an indolent lump: George goes to sleep at a bank
from ten to four each day, except Saturdays, when they wake him up and put him

1
Grahame, Kenneth, The Wind in the Willows (1908)
2
Great Expectations (1861)
3
The Small House at Allington (1864)
4
The Prime Minister (1876)

348
outside at two (10). As for the narrator, J, he confesses that I cant sit still and see
another man slaving and working. I want to get up and superintend, and walk round
with my hands in my pockets, and tell him what to do. It is my energetic nature. I cant
help it (29). They make a virtue out of their restless pursuit of good places to lounge.
They are not the anxious Pip or the self-conscious Johnny Eames, but folks who have seen
how hard it is to toil and they have elected to avoid it.
To add to their portrait of indolence, their thoughts inevitably turn to the fluffy
kind Will the rows of our willow-pattern dinner plates be ranged above the chimney
pieces of the great in the years 2000 and odd? (45) When they tire of foul weather and
decide to get off the river for a night, they cannot find an inn or even a house to stay in,
so they begin to hatch unheroic plots: George suggested walking back to Henley and
assaulting a policeman, and so getting a nights lodging in the station-house (128).
Faced with the prospect of eating strange-looking stew, Harris chides the others
saying If you never try a new thing, how can you tell what its like? Its men such as
you that hamper the worlds progress. Think of the man who first tried German
sausage!(123) There is a full-on crisis when the three travelers discover that they are out
of mustard.
In his asides, the narrator succeeds in quelling any notion of his sterling character.
The reader learns that staying in the riverside town of Goring is a good idea as it is is
nearer the railway in case you want to slip off without paying your hotel bill (147).
Despite the narrators quest for peace and reflection on the river, he is still only one
unpleasant tiff away from descending into primitive behavior: There is a
bumptiousness about a steam-launch, that has the knack of rousing every evil instinct in
my nature, and I yearn for the good old days, when you could go about and tell people
what you thought of them with a hatchet and a bow and arrows (115).
The faintly ridiculous frame of mind in the narrative is animated by its style: The
book is full of vapid transitions that are part of the books humor. It has been suggested
that they are meant to reflect a certain common habit of mind, and imitate the quick
blurbs in the lesser newspapers of the time, and short burlesque sketches common to a
nights entertainment in the many music halls known to Jerome.5 For example, the
narrator is musing on the sad stillness of the sixteenth-century royal castle and complex,
Hampton Court, after sundown: There are so many ghosts about and their silent
sighs make us feel sad. Let us gather together in the great cities, and light huge bonfires
of a million gas-jets, and shout and ring together and feel brave. The new paragraph:
Harris asked me if Id ever been in the maze at Hampton Court.
He said he went in once to show somebody else the way (47). These clunkers
abound, and sustain the silly mood of nine-tenths of the book. What also seems to keep
bubbling up are the overwritten descriptive passages that invite laughter: Slowly the
golden memory of the dead sun fades from the hearts of the cold, sad clouds. Silent, like
sorrowing children, the birds have ceased their song, and only the moorhens plaintive
cry and the harsh croak of the corncrake stirs the awed hush around the couch of the
waters, where the dying day breathes out her last (10). The narrator struggles to inject
romantic reflections like this into the otherwise comic warfare of boating on the Thames.

5
Thanks to Professor Scott Banville

349
The narration of these passages is consistently interrupted with obtuse comments and
questions, such as, How about when it rained? The usual asker is Harris, who has a
confounding lack of poetry in him.
The three boaters are the reverse of heroic throughout, and many contemporary
critics dismissed the tale as a low, colloquial work. The Saturday Review said that the
books only serious fault is that the life it describes and the humour that it records are
poor and limited and decidedly vulgar (5 October 1889). The review in the Morning Post
charged his book as an example of the sad results of the over-education of the lower
orders (Lewis, xvi). Others felt the tale was derivative of Mark Twains work and so it
was merely a new, lesser form of humor, and not up to British standards, such as The
Pickwick Papers (Connolly, 75).
Biographer Joseph Connolly feels that Jerome was very much a conscious artist,
and that there is value and resonance in this tale. But critic William J. Scheick, who in
2007 wrote an examination of the imperial send up in Three Men in a Boat, claimed there
was no social or political purpose in this book, and that it is a farce about imperial
attitudes, with three lame stand-ins for Stanley giving up at every turn (413). Given the
books huge international readershipit was translated into several European languages
and also into Russian-- this book calls for a different reading, for this is a work full of
surfaces with aggressive, lasting comic content lurking beneath. Perhaps the greatest
proof of its value is its ability to survive translation.
Schieck wrote a strong analysis of the book as a rereading and parody of colonial
and imperial expeditions up exotic rivers, and he makes a plausible case for considering
Jeromes book a true commentary on the derring-do of Stanley and Livingstone:
Treacherous surroundings, ominous waterways, debilitating rain, destroyed property,
challenged personal fortitude and endangered lives comprise the six principal narrative
themes common to both How I Found Livingstone and Three Men in a Boat (412). He also
notes that both books treat of longing for the past, reflections on ruins, and vanished
places and people. But his point is that Jerome modeled his book on the lucrative
formula of How I Found Livingstone, and that it does not have an intentional social or
political agenda (413).
He is right to an extentthe English and European reading public had of course
been saturated with imperial tales, and knew the thrillers template. But it is also
possible that the clerking class in Britain, depicted as critical and well-used to imperialist
language, was hungry for some sarcastic treatment of the same self-aggrandising text.
Britain had imposed harsher order on India, just given the Queen an imperial title, and
had occupied Egypt while pretending not to. The Stanley and Livingstone and Hanning
and Speke dramas had fascinated the public. Fed up perhaps with the tales of the Colossi
of empire--picture the popular image from Punch of Rhodes straddling Africa--this was
an agreeable change.
A former penny-a-liner hack writer, Jerome had probably seen plenty of
humorous potential in all of this. He had become a very competent humorist through the
daily work to sell copy, copy which commanded a higher price if it had humor in it. The
farcical trip up the Thames at a time of imperial dramas was just too good to pass up. It
was also a rich moment to dismiss the idea of class-dictated consequence.

350
 Although humor is central in Three Men in a Boat, there is also serious concern for
conscientious national behavior. It lingers beneath the casual pose of the idler that
Jeromes narrators so carefully cultivate. Jerome was aware of the news-saturation in the
publicand was worried about the lack of public awareness of the pain and suffering of
life in England. Jerome suggests that the middle class, if made aware, can make
improvements.
The three boaters arrive at Magna Carta Island, near Runnymead, as they had
planned. The island is one of the places thought to have been the site of the famous
moment when non-royals forced the evil King John to sign an agreement to share his
power with his people. The narrator describes the place thus: Little was in sight to
remind us of the 19th century; and as we looked out upon the river in the morning
sunlight, we could almost fancy that the centuries between us and the ever-to-be-famous
June morning of 1215 had been drawn aside.
As you can see, the narrator conjures a scene when the division between times
dissolves. But this time, instead of dissolving for the sake of romantic effect, the focus is
on the participants of the historic signing of the historic document: We, English
yeomans sons in homespun cloth, with dirk at belt, we were waiting there to witness the
writing of that stupendous page of history (93). The town has become full of the people
who will provide the force that will contain King John if he attempts to escape: bearded
plowmen, bill men, pikemen, gay-cloaked companies of knights and squires,
accommodating townsmen, children, brawny country wenches, wandering rustics
and curious townsfok, village swains, sentinels in each dark street, workmen,
carpenters, prentices, and stalwart halbert-men (94-95) are all acknowledged
present on the great day that is to close so big with the fate of ages yet unborn. Even
around the barons great covered barges, the river is full of small craft, boats, and tiny
coracles all waiting to be fierce but firm in containing the rogue king until he has signed
the agreement.
At the sight of so many in readiness, The heart of King John sinks before the
stern faces of the English fighting men. and the king gets off his horse and agrees to
board the barge. The narrator reports that all there wait in the breathless silence till a
great shout cleaves the air and the great cornerstone in Englands temple of liberty has,
now we know, been firmly laid (96).
There follows no foolish transition. Though great British rights are burlesqued
earlier when Harris becomes so deeply entangled in the boats canopy that he could not
get out.and made frantic struggles for freedomthe birthright of every Englishman
and in doing so knocked over George. (80), there is no diminishing of this episode of
the Magna Carta.
Jerome may have wished to shift the spotlight off the heroic British figures like
Stanley and onto the wonderful force of combined effortthe combined effort of the
English barons and all the people who labored in the fields around Runnymede to make
the land more secure. At the time Jerome was writing, the English press was full of self-
created individuals full of singular purpose, while at home, as Jerome suggests, his
readership has become less aware of its own contradictory directions of thought. It
seems to suggest that if one ceases to worry about mustard, one might actually discover
ones own ability to work out a better national direction.

351
 The entire comic piece could be an exercise in how to recognize what the reader is
capable of accomplishing, once he or she, and especially we cease to obsess about mild
aches, imagined illnesses, and the seeming stupidity of others. It provides corrective
examinations of the readers motives.
In the 1890s, English writers fear things were getting beyond any kind of unified,
conscientious control. InTono-Bunguay, H.G. Wells derided the sloppy gullibility of the
patent-medicine-buying public, and the romantic hopefulness of his inventor uncle. In
other places Wells tasked the lassitude of the public, the resistance to taking anything
seriously. But pressing needs on the domestic front were becoming too large to ignore.
The big push to build affordable and permanent housing in London gained momentum
just as the British forces attempted to crush native opposition to the British Empire.
The ludicrous housing situation at home stood in stark contrast to the ill-
conceived British project overseas. Perhaps this tale is Jeromes way of saying, yes, yes,
we are all floating with the flotsam and jetsam of an empire on the great river of time/the
Thames; and perhaps Jerome is also suggesting that the British are just as mistaken and
misguided as some fear they are, but remember a time the native Anglo-Saxons stood for
justice. Jerome K. Jerome reclaims the dignity of the common man and woman,
reminding readers that every notable endeavor requires the work of people who seek
justice over consequence. Such awareness lies at the base of this farcical trip off-leash and
up river.

References

Connolly, Joseph. Jerome K. Jerome. A Critical Biography. London: Orbis Publishing, 1982.
Jerome, Jerome K. Three Men in a Boat, to say nothing of the Dog! & Three Men on the Bummel.
London: Penguin, 1999.
Lewis, Jeremy. Introduction. Three Men in a Boat, to say nothing of the Dog! & Three Men on the
Bummel. By Jerome K. Jerome. London: Penguin, 1999. vii-xxx.
Scheick, William J. Going to Find Stanley: Imperial Narratives, Shilling Shockers, and Three Men
in a Boat. English Literature in Transition, 1880-1920, Vol. 50, No. 4, 2007, pp. 403-414. DOI:
10.2487/elt.50.4 (2007) 0008.

352
 LES ENJEUX DE LA SCNARISATION PDAGOGIQUE

Conf. dr. Roxana Anca Trofin

Universitatea Politehnica Bucuresti, FILS - DCLM
Lect. dr. Maria-Cristina Munteanu-Bnteanu
Universitatea Politehnica Bucuresti, FILS - DCLM

La complexit de plus en plus croissante du processus denseignement-

apprentissage, nous oblige trouver des formes nouvelles, mieux adaptes aux besoins de
notre dmarche ainsi quau besoin des apprenants.
Le dynamisme des contextes extralinguistiques qui influe sur le processus
denseignement-apprentissage nous pousse trouver des formes plus souples, capables de
rpondre aux paramtres changeants de la situation denseignement-apprentissage. Dans ce
contexte, la scnarisation pdagogique offre les moyens de moduler et dadapter le contenu
de lenseignement aux paramtres espace-temps en accord avec le cadre pistmologique
tout en gardant les lments fondamentaux des squences didactiques. Il sagit en effet de
recourir des formes de planification du contenu dotes de transversalit et de capacit
denrichissement et dadaptabilit. Ce sont les scenarii didactiques qui nous permettent de
fixer les objectifs, le cadre daction, les instruments et les types dactivits, tout en nous
laissant la libert de dosage et dagencement des composantes.
La scnarisation pdagogique prsente plusieurs enjeux. Premirement, la recherche
scientifique est obligatoirement soutenue par le cadre thorique. Ainsi, le premier pas
lorsquon mne une recherche est den poser le cadre thorique car les choix thoriques
relvent dune position pistmologique. Toute recherche doit suivre des axes de travail
prtablis en vue datteindre des objectifs. Certes, le cheminement rflexif impose des
modifications, des recalibrages, mais nanmoins un changement total de trajectoire est
difficilement envisageable.
La philosophie qui sous-tend la scnarisation pdagogique est la philosophie
(approche) actionnelle conformment laquelle lapprenant est un acteur social mme
daccomplir travers de la langue une action. Cette action est de lordre de lacquisition de
savoirs (comprhension crite et orale), de lchange ayant diffrentes fonctions qui se
traduisent par les actes de parole (demander, informer, raconter, dcrire, expliquer,
argumenter etc.), de lordre de la persuasion et de la sduction ou enfin dordre esthtique
(fonction potique du langage, voir Roman Jakobson). Le locuteur doit ainsi tre non
seulement un sujet parlant mais aussi un sujet agissant, conscient de son rle dans la
communication-action, capable de prendre en compte son interlocuteur.
Les tches que lapprenant doit raliser ne sont pas seulement langagires (Claude
Bourguignon) car les actes de parole ne ralisent pas leur pleine fonction qu travers
laction (exemple: les noncs performatifs, les diffrents degrs de force illocutoire
imprims nos noncs). Seule la mise en uvre de la langue, son utilisation dans des
situations de communication-action permet son acquisition. Dailleurs, conformment aux
CECR, lapprentissage d'une langue ne se ralise qu travers lusage de la langue.

353
 Ainsi, la russite communicationnelle se fonde sur la matrise linguistique de la
langue qui inclut les connaissances lexicales et grammaticales (morphosyntaxiques,
smantiques, orthographiques et phonologiques), sur la matrise des composantes
sociolinguistiques et pragmatiques de mme que sur la matrise dune srie de comptences
telles les savoir-faire, les savoir-tre, les savoir-apprendre.
Il ne suffit pas, par exemple, denseigner des apprenants dbutants les formules de
salutation, il faut les sensibiliser aux types de situations ainsi quau rapport entre les
locuteurs, aux diffrences de statut social qui exigent quon utilise une formule ou une autre.
Une sensibilisation la force illocutoire de chacune de ces formules, autrement dit son
poids et intentionnalit, doit tre faite quelque soient lge et le niveau dinstruction des
apprenants. Le mtadiscours de lenseignant sera videmment adapt ces deux derniers
lments mais la sensibilisation devra tre faite dans tous les cas afin dassurer une correcte
acquisition-utilisation de la langue.
Une deuxime prmisse de la scnarisation pdagogique vise le choix des typologies
des situations de communication. Le problme qui se pose est si lusage de la langue se fait
en situation de communication authentique ou simule. Quel usage de la langue fait-on
l'universit ? Cest une question rsoudre pour voir si la classe de langue reprsente une
situation authentique ou pas. Si oui, dans quelles circonstances ? quel moment ? En
totalit ou partiellement ? Lutilisation de la langue se fait ainsi entirement en situation
authentique comme il sagit de faire un rapport de stage, un compte rendu, de participer
un dbat, de faire un expos. Les cours sur objectifs universitaires reposent de la sorte sur la
communication authentique tandis que lorsquon dveloppe des comptences ncessaires
la communication professionnelle la situation sera simule. Cest le cas par exemple dun
entretien dembauche.
La troisime catgorie de prmisses concerne la spcificit de la formation. Dans le
cas de notre universit, les formations diffrentes ont nanmoins un trait commun, la
formation hybride FOU / FOS. Par consquent, nous avons les suivants types de formation :
formation FOS trs gnrale car ne prend pas en compte les rfrentiels de spcialit
(mtier) ;
de mme degr diffrent dhybridation selon le cours (diffrences entres cours de franais
dans les facults avec enseignement en roumain et cours la filire) ;
formation diffrente selon le type de cours : cours normal reposant sur linteraction
apprenant-enseignant ou cours magistral ayant un objectif relativement diffrent car il
sensibilise aux aspects discursifs, pragmatiques, socio-culturels, recourant au mtalangage
(exemple : explication des oprations de schmatisation logico-cognitives et discursives car il
y a un rapport de complmentarit entre la logique naturelle, lanalyse du discours et la
linguistique textuelle (Grize). Il est ncessaire de sensibiliser les tudiants au postulat de
finalit (Grize) pour quils comprennent que le choix dune forme ou dune autre de discours
et dcriture nest jamais innocent et est en lui-mme signifiant, informant, travers le genre
du discours auquel il appartient, sur lintention du locuteur-auteur.
Plusieurs cas de figure sont prendre en considration. Il existe des diffrences entre
les formations car on a des publics diffrents : locuteurs apprenant le franais comme langue
trangre / locuteur FLE, le franais comme langue seconde ou le franais comme langue
maternelle, ce qui implique des connaissances linguistiques htrognes, une approche
distincte de la langue et un bagage culturel diffrent. Dautre part les enseignants ont des
bagages thoriques diffrents, des styles diffrents, des pratiques diffrentes ce qui impose
une ncessit pour les cours magistraux dune formation scientifique pousse en dehors de

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laquelle les mcanismes de fonctionnement de la langue ne peuvent pas tre explicits et
expliqus correctement.
Une quatrime prmisse de la scnarisation pdagogique vise lenseignement et
lapprentissage de la langue travers lutilisation innovante du numrique. Lapprentissage
des langues ne suppose plus quun enseignement traditionnel, il exige lutilisation des outils
et des produits numriques. Lapprentissage des langues passe actuellement par les TICE.
Les technologies sont maintenant si prsentes dans la vie de tous les jours quelles
chappent notre perception si bien que nous les utilisons de manire presque automatique.
De mme, lapprentissage des langues est mdiatis par les technologies (ALMT), un
domaine de recherche mergent. Et finalement, nous ne devons pas ngliger le rle du TAL
dans le processus denseignement des langues (ALAO).
LALMT requiert un exercice pistmologique du chercheur car il oblige le chercheur
apprcier son propre parcours la lumire des canons scientifiques existants, dterminer
ce qui constitue son apport voire son originalit et situer ses propres travaux dans une
tradition.
Les scnarii pdagogiques allient ainsi deux axes, lenseignement du franais et le
numrique, le principe tant de mutualiser des comptences pdagogiques en crivant les
scnarios pdagogiques. La scnarisation est une dmarche interdisciplinaire qui runit
matrise de stratgies didactiques denseignement, matrise et manipulation des outils
numriques, capacit de tout articul dans un rcit. Scnariser signifie articuler la dmarche
dans un rcit ce qui requiert de la part de lenseignant la connaissance des composantes du
rcit telles quelles sont dfinies dans le modle de Bremond, Ricoeur (temporalit, sujet
anthropomorphis qui ralise une action impliquant la transformation ; la causalit). Le
scnario est un dispositif hybride qui mlange prsentiel et enseignement distance ou des
techniques de dispositifs. Les scnarii partent des activits communes et ont un mtalangage
commun.
Les trois lments les plus pertinents dun scnario pdagogique sont llment
temps comme composante fondamentale, laction qui renvoie au contenu (que faut-il
faire) et lendroit physique ou cheminement.
Le scnario se fait avant le cours, il est une construction. Il existe des scnarii
dapprentissage qui englobent aussi les scnarii didactique qui portent sur la matire
enseigner. Un scnario est un ensemble d'vnements, de squences. Il est pour cela
impratif de dfinir les entres (les prrequis) et les sorties. En mme temps, le scnario est
un ensemble de tches et il se prsente comme un hybride. Les tches elles-mmes peuvent
tre hybrides dans le sens quon intgre les technologies dans une tche didactique, par
exemple la lecture en ligne.
En ce qui concerne le contenu dun scnario pdagogique, nous retenons comme
lments :
* La mthode pdagogique utilise (magistrale interrogative, active, collaborative ...)
* Les techniques utilises (travail individuel en groupe)
* Les activits pour chaque tape
* Les descriptions des squences et la progression
* Le dispositif dvaluation (sommative, formative par les paires)
* La description dtaille dune squence comprenant le contenu, les activs, les rles, les
interactions
* Lvaluation, cest--dire une tude sur la faisabilit dun scnario.

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 De mme, tout scnario doit prciser :
Les objectifs gnraux
* spcifiques : par squence
* oprationnel : par activits (objectif facultatif)
Les prrequis
Les stratgies
Le temps
Le public
Lvaluation (type/retour) - peut tre un type dactivit
Les ressources
La modalit de travail (temporelle, spatiale, logistique)

Ainsi quon peut le constater, un scnario reprsente un canevas de travail qui peut
tre adopt par un collgue enseignant, enrichi, lgrement modifi au niveau de certaines
composantes (par exemple, 20 minutes au lieu de 15 minutes pour une squence). De plus,
plusieurs scnarii peuvent tre enchans dans un mme cours. Les scnarii raliss par une
quipe pdagogique constitueront une base de scnarii reprsentant un rservoir de
ressources et activits didactiques caractris par le dynamisme et susceptible en plus dune
utilisation transversale. De surcrot, le scnario didactique renferme, comme nimporte quel
rcit, des moments forts destins veiller la curiosit des apprenants et maintenir vif leur
intrt. Les scnarii rpondent aussi la nouvelle ralit technologique intgrant la
composante numrique utilise dj par les apprenants dans la vie quotidienne.

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 STRATEGIES DE CONSTRUCTION NARRATIVE DES FIGURES
DU POUVOIR

Roxana Anca Trofin

DCLM FILS - UPB

La littrature permet par le truchement de la fiction, de purger le mal existant dans la

socit relle. La narration, par son pouvoir ontologique, russit librer lindividu de ses
traumas et des traumas de lhistoire. Le rcit est fondamental pour la comprhension du
monde car ainsi que l'a montr Ricur la narration peut tre signe de laction humaine. La
logique du rcit, dfinie par Bremond devient ainsi logique de lexistence humaine, dans la
mesure o ltre doit, dans sa dmarche de construction, se projeter dans une chane
vnementielle causale. Il ne peut simaginer comme le produit de faits disparates.
Analysant la construction identitaire, Marta Melean et Marcelo Bourgeois montrent que seul
le rcit est capable de rendre intelligibles les faits de notre vie et que lidentit sociale et
affective ne se construit qu travers la narration. Lindividu agit en fonction du rle quil
sassigne dans une histoire, la projection narrative investit son parcours de sens, il nexiste
que dans et par le rcit. Por lo tanto, si la identidad social es bsicamente relacional y
procesual no hay otra forma de entenderla que no sea a travs de una narrativa. Una buena
historia presenta una trama coherente que tiene implicaciones para la identidad, ya que al
contar sus historias, los individuos hacen un reclamo acerca de la coherencia a sus vidas, es
como decir que esta persona que yo soy hoy es quien yo he estado muchos aos haciendo y
la que seguir haciendo 1.
Nous interrogerons dans cet article les procds narratifs qui participent la
construction des figures du pouvoir dans les romans Conversation La Cathdrale , La fte au
bouc et L'automne du patrirache. Les grands thmes de l'espace littraire hispanique (la
dictature, la violence, l'absurde), bien que formant un ventail trs large et quoiqu'ils fussent
actualiss par des techniques narratives varies, ont exerc une sorte de pouvoir magique
sur les crivains. Hant, comme tous les crivains du boom par les thmes de la violence et
de la dictature, Vargas Llosa btit dans ses deux romans un univers domin par labsurde, le
mal absolu, un monde dans lequel lindividu, dchoit savilit, abdique sa condition
humaine. Cet univers parallle, vocation expiatoire, aussi complexe et foisonnant que le
monde de la ralit immdiate croit protiforme travers une construction narrative
rigoureuse. Le pouvoir politique et conomique concentr entre les mains dun seul
personnage comme Cayo Bermudez et Le bouc devient force diffuse, gouvernant les
autres destines. La narration vargas llosienne soulve une autre question lacceptation de la
dictature par les gens qui sabaissent consciemment. Mettant en uvre lappareil conceptuel
de la narratologie nous nous proposons dexaminer en quoi la construction narrative du
rcit parvient rehausser la monstruosit de toute forme de violence et de dictature.
L'automne du patriarche est le rcit d'une vie et au del de cela le rcit d'un pays vivant une

1 Melean Marta, Bourjeois Marcelo, Relatos de la otredad estrategias de la comunidada boliviana

cochabambina en el barrio de la Favela de la ciudad La Plata, Argentina ,
http://perio.unlp.edu.ar/question/numeros_anteriores/numero_anterior9

357
dictature la fois froce, absurde et burlesque. Mais le sens n'est jamais explicite il ressort
avec d'autant plus de force que les mcanismes narratifs qui le produisent sont estomps,
dissimuls.
A linstar de tous les crivains du boom latino-amricain Vargas Llosa et Gracia
Marquez sont hants par le thme de la dictature et de la violence. Lemprise du mal, de
labsurde, dun ordre social aberrant, domin par la violence sexerce sur lunivers de fiction.
La narration crot protiforme, s'tale sur des paliers diffrents dvoilant les mcanismes
sociaux et la construction identitaire de l'individu bris par le systme oppressif, renonant
tout principe, s'avilissant acquiesant au mal la terreur et au mensonge. La force
irrationnelle de la dictature incarne par des figures monstrueuses exerant un pouvoir
absolu pousse les gens vers la totale dchance morale et lavilissement, les transforme en
instruments sans volont propre ayant pour seul but de servir le chef.
Traverse par le fil rouge de la thmatique de la dictature, comme toute la littrature
du boom, la narration vargas llosienne et marqueienne veillent le lecteur la vraie
conscience, lui rvlent le trfonds du comportement humain et du jeu social. Les figures du
pouvoir, essentiellement le pouvoir politique font crotre le rcit comme un. Le lecteur est
entran dans les rouages dune machine infernale travers la polyphonie nonciative, le
chass-crois digtique les sauts temporels.
Tmoignant dun fort engagement politique et social, la narration de Vargas Llosa
rvle le comportement humain aux prises avec la suprme expression de la terreur et de
l'absurde, qui est la dictature.
Le roman La fte au bouc retrace le monde de la socit dominicaine subissant la
dictature de Rapahael Leonidas Trujillo (1930-1961), surnomm le bouc . Le bouc car
selon les dclarations de lauteur il constitue le plat de base de la cuisine dominicaine et il
est galement associ la puissance sexuelle, problme qui proccupait beaucoup Trujillo .
Les dictatures ont marqu lhistoire de lAmrique latine, et se sont inscrites jamais dans la
conscience des gens et dautant plus dans celle des crivains, tmoins de leur temps. Le
fanatisme despotique, coupable de crimes odieux a bless mort lme mme de ces
peuples, par labolition totale de la dmocratie, de la justice, le pitinement de la dignit
humaine. Loin dtre un simple concept historique, sujet dune analyse faite par les
spcialistes, la dictature est en Amrique latine une ralit douloureuse, le vcu mme des
gens dont les existences ont t brises. Elle est ainsi lun des thmes fondamentaux du
boom latino-amricain. Les romans El Seor Presidente (1946) de Miguel Angel Asturias; Yo,
el Supremo (1974) de Augusto Roa Bastos, El Recurso del Mtodo (1974) de Alejo Carpentier y
El Otoo del Patriarca (1975) de Gabriel Garca Mrquez mettent tous en avant la figure dun
dictateur. Nanmoins dans cet univers tal sur trois continents et ayant en partage la
langue, la culture, lhistoire, la vision sur le monde et sur la destine humaine, le thme nest
pas nouveau. Dj en 1855, Jos Marmol voquait dans le roman Amalia lunivers vivant
sous la dictature.
Conversation la Cathdrale retrace des parcours individuels, briss par la violence et
labsurde de la dictature dOdra, tandis que La fte au bouc dvoile les mcanismes rendant
possible la monte de la terreur. Bas sur une trs ample documentation ainsi que sur les
tmoignages de nombreux Dominicains, le roman fond dans le rcit fictionnel, ralit
historique, vcu de lcrivain et invention romanesque. Cest lors dun sjour de huit mois
la Rpublique dominicaine que Mario Vargas Llosa dcouvre les anecdotes, les mythes et les
lgendes dun rgime la fois froce et grotesque. Le personnage mme de Trujillo est une
cration romanesque. Figure burlesque dont le pouvoir ne sexerce qu travers la
corruption, la cruaut, le chantage, il nest pas sans charisme et intelligence. Encore enfant,

358
le lieutenant Garcia Guerrero avait entendu parler du regard de Trujillo ()Amadito ne pouvait que
samuser intrieurement de cet excs dimagination. Le Chef pouvait bien tre un grand homme
dEtat () mais il ntait pas Dieu. () mais en entrant dans son bureau il se sentit lectris
() Le romancier pour lequel lHistoire nest quun chaos auquel les historiens donnent
une apparence dordre, lcrivain croyant profondment en la force fondatrice de la fiction,
rcrit par son roman linstar de Balzac, lhistoire prive dune nation.
Dans La fte au bouc la ralit est pose par un rcit rgressif celui d'Urania, le
personnage innocent du roman qui russit par le biais de la remmoration narrative
accepter son identit, dpasser le vcu et recomposer une existence brise.
Dans Conversation la Cathdrale tous les thmes chers Vargas Llosa sont mis en
scne : la dictature le rachat par l'criture, les liens familiaux, les tabous sociaux tels
l'homosexualit, l'injustice, la dchance de l'individu.
Mais pour runir tous ces filons thmatiques dans un tout cohrent, pour assurer le
dynamisme de la fiction et pour crer finalement une histoire, une et unique il fallait un
principe organisateur. Ce principe est dans Conversation La cathdrale, le dialogue. C'est
dans le dialogue entre deux personnages principaux : Santiago Zavala et Ambrosio, que tous
les thmes surgissent et que les nombreux personnages qui peuplent le roman, apparaissent.
Le dialogue fait avancer le rcit, il rcupre les histoires des personnages, leurs
actions et leurs penses et, par l aussi, le temps.
C'est le dialogue rel entre deux locuteurs, ou bien le dialogue intrioris, gnr par
l'clatement du monologue intrieur et le ddoublement d'un locuteur en "je" et "tu ", ou
bien un dialogue imaginaire quand le personnage rpond des questions jamais poses.
C'est galement un dialogue bris, ou plutt une multitude de dialogues entrecroiss,
dveloppant chacun un thme diffrent.
Et c'est encore, le dialogue incorpor dans le rcit, la narration, ce qui permet au
narrateur, la fois de raconter, dans un flux continu et de donner la sensation qu'il est
absent du texte. Fidle au principe flaubertien selon lequel le narrateur doit se rendre
inaperu, laissant une transparence quasi-totale son texte, Vargas Llosa se garde
d'intervenir de manire explicite dans le texte. La voix omnisciente du narrateur fait place
dans son nonciation celle du personnage, jusqu' s'effacer compltement. La narration
devient comme on le verra plus loin polyphone et la perspective sur le rcit s'largit de plus
en plus.
Et c'est dans le dialogue entre les autres personnages que se contrsuit la figure
monstrueuse de Cayo Bermudez par un jeu de miroirs car chaque personnage donne une
image diffrente du dictateur. C'est au carrefour de ces focalisations diffrentes actualises
dans des rcits qui interfrent se superposent dans une polyphonie magistrale.
Vargas Llosa rcre dans La fte au bouc et Conversation la Cathdrale non seulement
une priode de lhistoire de la Rpublique dominicaine ou du Prou, mais dpeint aussi la
chute de lhomme. Ses personnages se rendent coupables de crime contre lespce humaine ;
ils sadonnent aux pires atrocits, comme le fait Johnny Abbes Garcia chef du service de
renseignements sans dautre raison que dobir quelquun ou offrent pareil Cabral, leur
fille de seize un vieillard la seule fin de rcuprer une position privilgie dans ltat,
acceptent les humiliations, consentent aux crimes, trahissent comme Balaguer afin de ne pas
tre carts Cest la gratuit de lacte, la disproportion entre la rcompense attendue et
lhorreur de laction qui condamnent ces tres. Ce monde du mal absolu o le terrorisme est
raison dtat et lidologie devient une sorte de religion se construit par un jeu narratif
complexe, nouveau mme pour la prose vargas llosienne.

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 Dans L'automne du patriarche on constate un premier niveau un dtournement du
pacte de lecture propos au lecteur. On lui laisse croire qu'il lira le rcit d'une vie, celle du
patriarche et on lui peint le tableau de toute une socit.
Le titre reprsente galement une mise en abme dissimulatrice du contenu du
roman. Car il s'agit en effet de la dernire priode de la vie du dictateur, mais ds le titre il y
a un glissement entre le sens gnral du mot patriarche : vieillard qui mne une vie simple et
paisible, entour de sa famille et le sens mythique que le religion judaque accorde au mot :
chef de famille de l'Ancien Testament. Et mme ce glissement s'avre finalement faux,
dtourn de son sens premier, puisque le patriarche de Mrquez n'est qu'un abjecte
dictateur, un chef c'est vrai, mais non pas dans le sens biblique. Son ge incertain entre 107 et
232 ans est lui mme l'effet illusoire d'une dilatation temporelle fruit de la perception
collective sur une priode de terreur, d'arbitraire et d'injustice.
Le temps subit d'ailleurs tout au long du roman ce processus de dilatation et de
dformation permanente, qui mlange les plans existentiels en incorporant le mythe dans la
ralit.
Le rcit ralise des sauts d'un moment de la digse un autre, la vie du gnral
prend forme d'une manire trange et dconcertante pour le lecteur et cette construction qui
s'opre devant un lecteur abasourdi, jet dans l'impossible ressemble de plus en plus au
comportement bizarre et ahurissant du gnral.
Le changement de voix correspond au changement de perspective. Mais la diffrence des
autres romans latino-amricains o la polyphonie est structurale au niveau du rcit car elle
permet de raconter la mme histoire depuis plusieurs perspectives et ainsi de la complter
de l'achever, le plurivocalisme de L'automne du patriarche ne livre au lecteur que des bribes
de l'histoire.
Le discours indirect engloutit les autres formes discursives et le rcit arrive se
confondre avec l'histoire, il se fait histoire. Dans L'automne du patriarche Garca Mrquez se
laisse emporter par une verve du raconter qui n'a d'quivalent que le mlange de burlesque,
invraisemblable, tragique de l'histoire. Le rcit coule comme la lave et balaie tout, il devient
un magma difficile contenir, mais en mme temps clair, grce prcisment cette
surprenante fluidit narrative.
Par labolition de toute libert, les dictatures font ressortir les cts les plus vils et
inhumains de ltre humain. Rcits de lanantissement de la personne par la dictature,
dvoilant les mcanismes par lesquels un pouvoir absolu amne lindividu sabaisser
sciemment, le force renoncer toute manifestation de la volont, les trois romans dvoilent
en mme temps au lecteur limportance du geste individuel mis au service de la reconqute
de la dignit personnelle et collective.

Bibliographie slective

1. Adam J.M. Le texte narratif, Trait d'analyse pragmatique te textuelle, Paris, Nathan, 1994
2. Charles Michel, Rhtorique de la lecture, Paris, d. du Seuil, 1977
3. Garca Mrquez G. L'automne du patriarche, Paris , Grasset, 1996, traduit de l'espagnol par Annie
Morvan
4. Genette G. Figures III, Paris, d. du Seuil, 1972
5. Genette G. Fiction et Diction, Paris, d. du Seuil, 1991
6. Eco U. Lector in fabula, Paris, Bernard Grasset, 1985
7. Ricur P., Temps et rcit, vol. 1, 2; 3, Paris, d. du Seuil, 1983, 1984, 1985

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 PRATIQUES CULTURELLES ET ALTRIT
DANS LES RCITS DE VOYAGE DE MAXIME DU CAMP

Lector univ. dr. Tudor Diana Ligia

Universitatea Dimitrie Cantemir, Bucuresti

Le rcit de voyage, sil se veut rapport fidle, devrait comporter galement une rubrique
thma (merveilles, curiosits), qui peut tre compt au nombre des procdures de la
rhtorique de laltrite ; celui-ci se prsente comme une traduction de la diffrence : il est lune
des transcriptions possibles de la diffrence entre ici et l-bas1. Il est, en effet, qualitativement
extraordinaire, ou quantitativement remarquable, pouvant aussi tre la singularit dont on ne
russit pas rendre raison. La figure du thma est trs souvent le chiffre (un tonnement dont
lintensit sapprcie elle-mme selon le nombre). Ainsi, valuer, mesurer, compter sont les
oprations ncessaires la traduction du thma dans le monde o lon raconte, car la grandeur
est mesurable et le thma est li lil du voyageur. Avec le rcit ethnographique, cest le
voyageur qui devient la mesure du thma. Existe donc un lien entre thma et nonciation : lil
du voyageur opre comme mesure du thma et le narrateur fait voir le thma au destinataire.
De cette faon, le thma peut tre le fil conducteur de la digression et le producteur de rcit.
Traduction de la diffrence entre l-bas et ici, le thma produit un effet de rel et sur ce postulat
repose son vraisemblance. Le thma est alors une procdure du faire-croire dploye par le rcit
de voyage.
Le Voyage en Orient, que Maxime Du Camp a crit dans son grand voyage entrepris
avec son ami Gustave Flaubert, souvre par la description dun cortge de circoncision du fils
dun riche ngociant (le scheik Beduddin), en Egypte, o les voyageurs assistent au rituel
dploy dans la rue et coutent attentivement les renseignements supplmentaires offerts par
leur drogman, Ali. Lethnographe Du Camp donne toujours ses lecteurs entre parenthses le
mot arabe des objets spcifiques du rituel (par exemple, les fanaux grills sont des marchak)2. Le
cortge se compose de musiciens qui frappent fortement sur de grosses timbales, denfants en
costumes blouissants , de voitures charges de petites filles vtues elles aussi tout en satin et
la tte couverte de riches ornements dor, qui prcdent la progniture qui est lobjet et le sujet
de la crmonie, et est suivi de soldats qui le protgent de la foule importune. Deux jours plus
tard, aprs une brve promenade du ct du dsert libyque, conqurir sous peu, Du Camp
visite sur le bord de la mer de curieux bains taills dans le roc dont il dresse mme des plans :
voir mes plans , suggre-t-il au lecteur. Il dcrit en architecte les 3 salles qui les composent du
plancher au plafond, les stucs et les mosaques, le moyen de communiquer entre elles, la
structure, les compartiments, les trous et les canaux par lesquels ils rejoignent la mer. La

1 Voir ce sujet Franois Hartog, Le miroir dHrodote, Paris, Hachette, 1981, p 236.
2
Maxime Du Camp, Voyage en Orient (1849-1851). Notes, d. Giovanni Bonaccorso, Messine, Peloritana, 1972, p. 77.

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curiosit inne de Du Camp loblige les parcourir pied, entrer dans leau jusquaux cuisses
pour mieux considrer le systme dalimentation.
Au Caire, Du Camp assiste aux prparatifs de la noce du fils du baigneur en chef dAbba
Pasha. A ce spectacle sajoute une mauvaise traduction qui ne corrige pas les realia gyptiennes.
Les apprts de ce mariage sont suivis le lendemain du passage du cortge dans les rues
principales de la ville. Du Camp retient un seul dtail agrable de cette crmonie : la danse
dun garon travesti en femme, qui danse devant lui, lgrement habill dune gaze, mais orn
de piastres dor selon la tradition, le visage peint, les yeux bords dantimoine (kokerel) , aux
crotales de cuivre aux puces pour saccompagner3. Au Caire, un autre rituel comme le passage
du tapis qui a touch le saint tombeau de Mahomet, rapport comme une relique, suscite peu
denthousiasme dans la foule des croyants. Nous retrouvons dans le Voyage en Orient une toute
brve phrase relative lenterrement chez les Egyptiens : une grande suite de femmes
poussant des cris 4. Plus de dtails sont donns sur lenterrement chez les Grecs schismatiques
qui, pratique indites, portent leurs morts visage dcouverte . Le morts, habill de ses plus
beaux vtements, est couvert de fleurs, port par quatre hommes jusquau cimetire ou il est
clou dans sa bire non avant dtre dshabill (sic !)5.
Les coutumes de lautre sont gaies et sauvages comme la fantasia avec laquelle les
Arabes choisissent de divertir les voyageurs aprs les prouvantes visites des pyramides. Un
passe-temps agrable spcifique, musique et danse dans la ronde poussent Du Camp conclure
schement : Bonne journe 6. En signe de haute estime envers les voyageurs, nous
rencontrons la description des danses traditionnelles par lesquelles les femmes arabes les
accueillent et les divertissent trs souvent. Du Camp semble apprcier le plus la danse
labeille : moyennant une tabatire musique ou saccompagnant dun tarabouk ou dune
darbouka, la danseuse retire vite ses vtements et se montre toute nue. Il en est si impressionn
quil fait une nuit blanche tout en y rflchissant, tandis que plus loin, de nouveau, la danse
frntique et sauvage dune femme, rencontre fortuitement devant une boutique, le touche au
vif. Le contraste entre sa condition sociale minable (une mchante hutte de terre, couverte dun
mauvais paillasson 7, note Du Camp) et la danse est saisissant, la description se faisant dans
des termes superlatifs :
Sur le ventre elle porte une ceinture de perles, et son collier de sequins dor tombe
jusquau nombril. Elle est grande, lgante et terrible ; ses cheveux sont crpus et
pleins de piastres dor ; ses mains sont fines, son visage allong, sa bouche grande,
ses dents incomparables, son nez droit et bien fait quoique lgrement pat,
pommettes peu saillantes, yeux indescriptibles ; grands, blancs comme un globe
dagent enchssant un diamant noir, noys de tons doux et violacs dun effet
incroyable. Sa peau est noire avec des tons cuivrs et verts comme du bronze. Elle
me fait penser Vnus dIlle. (loc. cit.)
Attentif aux contrastes poignants, Du Camp dcrit un autre spectacle de danse
improvis pour les voyageurs Esneh : beaut et laideur, jeunesse et vieillesse se font la
concurrence. Le rituel de la danse est remplac par une feinte rivalit entre la fillette noire,

3 Ibidem, p. 19 et 20.
4 Ibidem, p. 62.
5 Ibidem, p. 480.
6 Ibidem, p. 41.
7 Ibidem, p. 73.

362
timide et mauvaise danseuse et la vieille dente, une ancienne garce 8, la soixantaine passe,
qui imite un cot violent, et devient tristement grotesque. Dans un tout petit village dEgypte,
tout voyageur est reu avec les honneurs accoutums, comme dans le cas des villageois dAbou
Gouch dont le nazir qui bnficie dun portrait construit en chiasme ( gros polichinelle turc qui
tousse gras , un doigt de moins la main gauche, peu de dents sur le devant de la bouche, un
nez norme et une grande admiration pour Mohammed Ali 9) et le scheik linstallent dans une
chambre ouverte tous vents et tous les principaux du village qui le salue et lui fait le
baisemain.
La rencontre fortuite de lautre, un scheik entour de ses domestiques arms, frappe
fortement Du Camp par lattitude de profond respect que celui-ci a envers lui, car malgr sa
mine froce et limpression de force arme dfensive de son quipage, il salue les passants
avec une modestie humble inaccoutume pour son rang.On ne peut pas parler dun savoir
raciste chez Du Camp, mme sil lui arrive que lautre lui soit hostile, comme dans la ville de
Raml en pleine Palestine : indiffrence des hommes, rserve des femmes voiles, cris et injures
de la part des enfants ; lattitude hostile sexplique par la supriorit morale figure des
musulmans sur les chrtiens.
A Jrusalem, ltranger Du Camp est reu selon les coutumes strotypes juives avec
des cadeaux (tapis et vin de Bethlem). Le Juif est jeune et gracieux, sa femme, une belle blonde,
lgrement habille, est curieuse de tout et guette les voyageurs avec sa petites suite forme de
vieilles femmes et de sa marmaille. A Damas, les Juifs sont les plus riches : sarafs, banquiers
changeurs , facilement reconnaissable selon leur facis et leur turban nou la chrtienne 10.
Les femmes bibliques du pays sont des bdouines vtues de grandes cotonnades
bleues , les cheveux noirs tresss, des tatouages pointills bleu sur le visage et le cou ; yeux
noirs dmesurs, froids, abms par la marche, mais petits et de bonne forme 11 : un mariage
curieux de douceur et de frocit. A Jricho, les femmes sont belles et dvergondes, elles font la
putain pour des sommes modestes, informations que le voyageur donne entre parenthses non
pas par pudeur, mais par souci du dtail. Quant Du Camp, il confesse prfrer le type
desclave abyssinienne, brune de peau, plus jolie que toutes les juives blanches. Afin de mieux
tudier lautre, le Juif de Damas, Du Camp va la synagogue et assiste aux prires des hommes,
qui psalmodient deux voix en imitant les rabbins tout en se dandinant. Selon le rituel
religieux, [] les femmes restent dehors et regardent, crient sur un mode uniforme et lent,
avec ce mouvement de bte froce en cage qui est propre aux orientaux quand ils rcitent ou
lisent quelque chose 12. Il trouve la beaut des marchands remarquable, et leurs vtements trs
lgants ; toujours en route travers le Liban, il rencontre des femmes de bdouins quil trouve
dsagrables, dans leur apparence et leurs coutumes : elles sont sales, noires et laides, et
ramassent les feintes des bestiaux faute dautre combustible13.
En 1850, Du Camp a loccasion de fter Nol la grecque dans un petit village albanais
le long du fleuve Saint-Nicolas. Il observe dabord les beaux costumes dont se parent les
Grecques : une jolie brune a les cheveux nous dans un mouchoir blanc richement brod de

8 Ibidem, p. 82.
9 Ibidem, p. 51.
10 Voyage en Orient (1849-1851). Notes, op. cit., p. 284.
11 Ibidem, p. 235.
12 Ibidem, p. 285.
13 Ibidem, p. 317.

363
rouge et violet ; deux glands olive dargent qui passent sous la ceinture et retombent
jusquaux talons ; robe tunique en laine blanche brode de diffrentes couleurs ; veste en
velours brode dor ; gilet et ceinture brods galement ; bas rouges. Une autre, rousse et laide,
porte de plus un gros collier en monnaies dargent, semblable une cuirasse cailles, qui
doit tre effroyablement lourd (150 pices, estime le voyageur tonn14). Le lendemain, dans
un autre village, il assiste un spectacle qui relve des traditions qualifies dinoues : rien
dtonnant dans la danse ou les chants dune vingtaine de jeunes filles habilles comme dcrit
ci-dessous, mais dans lattitude de lassistance : allaitement en public denfants trop grands,
mais remarquablement beaux, ou encore, chose qui le laisse interdit, dparasitage de poux
comme forme socialisation collective.
Plus tard, dans Souvenirs et paysages dOrient, les Maltais jouiront eux aussi de portraits
physiques et moraux gnreux, les femmes plus que les hommes : elles sont superbes, bien
habilles, font penser aux femmes bien charnues de Vronse et de Titien. Comme pratique
sociale indite, Du camp note la mendicit, elles demandent de laumne : [] elles suivent le
voyageur ignorant de leurs sductions, en le caressant de la voix et du regard, et il est rare
quelles partent les mains vides 15. Conscientes de leurs attraits, elles jouent la carte de la
drague ayant comme argument suprme leur beaut : Excellence, faites moi la charit pour
lamour de mes beaux yeux noirs ! (loc. cit.) A Smyrne, comme le vendredi est le jour de repos
des mahomtans, les cafs de remplissent de Turcs, Armniens, Arabe de toute sorte qui
senivrent dopium et rentrent chez eux hbts sous les regards dsapprouvant des Grecs16. Il
y sjourne chez une famille grecque qui reoit ltranger avec beaucoup dempressement.
Lorsque le voyageur fait de petits cadeaux (comme son propre foulard), les jeunes filles lui font
le baisemain.
La visite du grand cimetire de Pra offre Du Camp loccasion non seulement
dvoquer les rites funraires musulmans mais de les dcrire en dtail ; les crmonies des
funrailles sont simples et svres : aprs le lavage et lessuyage du corps du dfunt, on le frotte
daromates et on lenveloppe en mousseline blanche brode en or de versets du Coran. Liman
et le cortge form exclusivement dhommes porte la bire jusqu la spulture. L-bas, le corps
est couch sur le flanc gauche et tourn vers Mecque, et liman prononce sa profession de foi :
Je crois en un Dieu unique ; je crois que Mahomet est son aptre et le prophte des prophtes ;
je crois quAli est le seul vrai chef des croyants 17. Dans la description de la crmonie des
funrailles, Du Camp mle dtails ralistes gestes et mots vraisemblablement prononcs avec
des scories des croyances musulmanes : lapparition dun ange radieux qui en prsente deux
autres, des gnies noirs et livides, Monkir et Nakir qui viennent rgler des comptes avec le
dfunt. La vision du jugement dernier tourne en thriller moderne :
Si son existence a t coupable, ils le frappent sur le front avec des
massues de fer rouge, jusqu ce quil pousse des cris de douleur si retentissants,
quils soient entendus avec effroi par toutes les cratures de lunivers, except
par les hommes. Ils entassent la terre sur son corps ; tous ses pchs revtent des

14 Ibidem, p. 505.
15 Maxime Du Camp, Souvenirs et paysages dOrient. Smyrne - Ephse Magnsie - Constantinople - Scio, Paris, Didier,
1848. p. 11.
16 Ibidem, p. 66.
17 Ibidem, p. 122.

364
 formes de dragons, de scorpions, de serpents et le rongent, le dchirent jusqu
ce que Dieu lappelle comparatre devant son inaltrable justice. (loc. cit.)
Les petits dtails scatologiques ne manquent pas : la dcomposition du cadavre nest pas
totale, seul le coccyx est recyclable, source de futurs germes suite une pluie de quarante
annes qui le fcondera. A la fin de ces longues pages qui font penser la vision baroque de la
mort sous lhypostase des vcus violents et punitifs, suit un vrai dveloppement sur
lApocalypse et les reprsentations de la Mort dans la religion musulmane, une nime occasion
pour Du Camp de faire preuve de son savoir encyclopdique.
Quelques jours aprs, au couvent de derviches, Du Camp assiste leurs rituels,
fortement saisie par le caractre crmoniel des vnements quil commente et dcrit
minutieusement. Des hommes sales, aux chevaux qui leurs tombent jusquaux riens 18, que le
voyageur prend pour des fous, se serrent dans une sorte de chane-ronde et poussent des
clameurs profondes et caverneuses, suivis de prs des hurlements collectifs : cris, glapissements,
rugissements, sanglots, mugissements, beuglements, dans une tempte sonore ahurissante.
Pratique religieuse indite, qui effraye le voyageur qui ne sait plus que croire des ces fauves
en cage qui se meurtrissent le visage, continuent par des plaintes lugubres et des cris
vibrants dune terreur saisissante (loc. cit.). Le spectacle est total : suivent des convulsions, les
derviches se dshabillent comme dans une transe. Prvenu par son drogman de la tournure
vraisemblablement terrible des vnements venir, Du Camp dcide de rester cote que cote
et de participer cette fantasmagorie pouvantable , aux saturnales des enfers 19 o les
acteurs procdaient auto-supplice meurtrissant. Le voyageur explique cette pratique jamais
vue par le besoin dsespr dmotion, dextase, daspiration de tout humain. Aprs ce moment
inoubliable, qui le marquera jamais et dont il se souviendra chaque fois quil sagira du
fanatisme religieux, la rencontre dun ventriloque est de lordre de la banalit20.
Comme loisirs qui donnent un trs grand plaisir physique, rien na dgal que les bains
turcs : Cest que rien nattire le rve comme cette molle langueur qui suit le bain oriental 21,
note Du Camp qui profite pleinement des bains de Constantinople et de tout ce quon lui offre
pour augmenter son confort et honorer un grand voyageur : du massage, de savoureux plats
spcifiques, etc. Un crmonial digne dtre prsent, positivement apprci est le voyage des
plerins musulmans vers la Mecque22. Ils partent en cortge patronn par un chef, sont
accompagns par des fanfares, munie de cadeaux du padischah. En cours de route, les femmes
restent spares dans leur tente-gynce, loin de la vue des hommes et du pril dtre touches
ne fut-ce que par mgarde. Ce voyage sacr fait ses victimes qui en deviennent des saints
devant Dieu. Le parallle est vident : tout comme le voyageur occidental, parti la dcouverte
de soi-mme et du monde, les plerins connatront la faim, la soif, la chaleur, les maladies ou
dautres manifestations des privations et des souffrances, des preuves rudes qui les rendront
dautant plus forts et sages.

18 Ibidem, p. 150 et suiv.

19 Ibidem, p. 155.
20 Ibidem, p. 223.
21 Ibidem, p. 246.
22 Ibidem, p. 318 et suiv.

365
Bibliografie

Du Camp, Maxime, Souvenirs et paysages dOrient. Smyrne - Ephse Magnsie - Constantinople - Scio, Paris,
Didier, 1848.
Du Camp, Maxime , Voyage en Orient (1849-1851). Notes, d. Giovanni Bonaccorso, Messine, Peloritana,
1972.
Hamon, Philippe, Introduction lanalyse du descriptif, Paris, Hachette, 1981.
Hartog, Franois, Le miroir dHrodote, Paris, Hachette, 1981.
Schreier, Lise, Seul dans lOrient voil, Saint Etienne, 1996.

366
 LE VOYAGE COMME RENCONTRE DE LAUTRE
CHEZ LCRIVAIN MAXIME DU CAMP

Lector univ. dr. Tudor Diana Ligia

Universitatea Dimitrie Cantemir, Bucuresti

Dcrire, cest voir et faire voir : cest un embotement de descriptions et dhistoires, de

tableaux et de rcits ; Une espce de description, trs courante dans les rcits de voyage, cest le
tableau soutenu par un voir. On suppose une ligne de dmarcation entre le monde o lon
parle, entre eux et nous, entre par-del et par-de . La figure du dissemblable va se
construire comme cart par rapport ce qui se voit par-de , un assemblage dlments
connus. Ce qui autorise une telle description, cest lil de tmoin, que cet il soit celui du
narrateur principal, ou dun narrateur local ou dlgu : Jai vu , ou il dit quil a vu . Lil
du voyageur est le garant de cet assemblage et, donc, le producteur, par la manire quil a de
dcouper le visible1. La description se fonde sur une autopsie qui lautorise : elle veut tre un
il qui parle sans mditation, directement, qui soit objectif .
Pour connatre lAutre et apprendre les facettes de laltrit, il faut devenir technicien,
voire chirurgien dans son exploration, lobserver attentivement, le dcrire dans les moindres
dtails. Il faut que lAutre soit convoqu dans sa matrialit pour pouvoir tre rvoqu dans
lcriture post-dcouverte. Dans le volume Orient et Italie. Souvenirs de voyages et de lectures, Du
Camp raconte en dtail le voyage fait dans lIle de Capri (chapitre Ier), qui lui a permis la
dcouverte des beauts naturelles de lle, ainsi que celle de ses habitants. LIle lui donne
limpression dtre pittoresque et charmante ; la description de lautre se fait de lextrieur vers
lintrieur. Dabord, Du Camp observe les maisons daspect trange, oriental, juches sur de
hautes fondations glissant comme les glacis dune citadelles travers des masses de verdure qui
en cachent les pieds 2. Les maisons sont touchantes dans leur simplicit, leurs portes sont
ouvertes pour dvoiler lintrieur. Cest une occasion pour Du Camp de les dcrire
minutieusement par des approches graduelles3.
Une premire rencontre, dune bourgeoise, dans les rues peuples de porcs noirs et
denfants en haillons, le choque fortement, comme une fausse note dans une symphonie
(ibid., p. 5), dans le sens quil sattendait voir des gens habilles la marinire, en costume
national, dcouvrir les murs locales. Rien de tel, il regrette leur absence et constate
amrement que tous copient Paris, surtout les hommes dont lapparence est de messieurs de
Paris (loc. cit.). Labsence du costume national nuit donc au pittoresque du cadre
environnemental ; mais sur les ruines du palais de Tibre, Du Camp dcouvre un ermite qui vit
loin du tumulte de la vie citadine, ermite qui savre trs accueillant. Ensuite, chose trange, il
ny a pas de milice pour assurer lordre publique, dans les murs prsentes de cette
communaut, restreinte dans un espace serr, la population capriote est dcrite comme douce

1
Voir ce sujet Franois Hartog, Le miroir dHrodote, Paris, Hachette, 1981, p 236
2 Maxime Du Camp, Orient et Italie. Souvenirs de voyage et de lectures, Paris, Didier, 1868, p. 4.
3 Ibidem, p. 23 et suivantes.

367
et travailleuse par manque de ressources. Lautre, le Capriote, na jamais quitt lIle. Il y en a eu
un, devenu clbre justement pour avoir fait un voyage Naples, qui est devenu laventure de
sa vie.
Les ftes religieuses de lIle, processions fatigantes et difficiles o lon chante
insupportablement et affreusement faux, telle que la fte de San Costanzo est une occasion de
collecte de grains employe en festoiements. Invit un bal local, Du Camp se rjouit de voir
enfin quelque chose de local, de rellement original et dauthentique, mais, de nouveau, la
dception arrive vite : danse du carillon, de la polka, la contredanse, la valse et la ronde ne lui
disent rien, pas de danse nationale. Il stonne de ne pouvoir (se) donner aucune explication et a
recours, une contemplation de paysage, de la flore naturelle et de la verdure locale charmante,
sujets au dveloppement de fragments lyriques afin de compenser les descriptions ralistes
dpourvus deffet4. Du Camp rserve lautre une description physique et morale des plus
dtailles, mme sil reste rserv quant une rception favorable, des hommes comme des
femmes, qui nont, ni lun ni lautre rien de particulier comme descendant de Tibre ou
descendante des concubines de lempereur :
Les Capriotes sont en gnral de taille moyenne, musculeux, gais, bavards,
maigres et rapides comme des montagnards, bruns comme les hommes qui vivent sous
le double hle de la mer et du soleil. Leur type na rien de remarquable et tire
naturellement vers lItalien du midi, auquel il ressemble par les yeux noirs et les cheveux
boucls. Les femmes nont point cette beaut qui saisit chez les Romaines ; sauf une
certaine nonchalance dattitudes et une extrme douceur dans la voix, je ne leur ai rien
reconnu de particulier. Lusage daller pieds nus et dtaler des cheveux mal peigns,
outrageusement graisss dhuile, nest pas fait pour les rendre attrayantes ; on les dit
honntes et je le crois sans peine5.
Les Capriotes pratiquent lagriculture et la pche comme moyens de subsistance et de
survivance rudimentaires, font du vin rouge et du vin blanc quil leur arrive de baptiser ,
lvent des cailles. Lapproche de lautre est favorise par le Franais naturalis italien, qui lui
fait service de guide et de compagnon avis dans les visites militaires, danciens couvents
devenus dpt des invalides (estropis, aveugles, etc.) Chaque nouvelle ralit dcouverte est
une occasion pour Du Camp de se livrer dans de maintes explications linguistiques, cimentes
avec des observations danthropologue comme pour ltymologie dun lot, la culture de la
nouveaut absolue qui est la rare pomme de terre, linstruction publique. Du Camp a la manie
de lexactitude6. Les remarques concernant les aspects socio-conomiques ressortent lors de la
rencontre des phnomnes dits insolites comme la mendicit pratique abusivement par les
enfants de lIle, dplorable habitude , encourage malheureusement par les voyageurs,
cultive et enseigne par les parents. Du Camp srige en moraliste ce sujet et livre des
considrations sur lducation, le courage, la dignit et la force morale futures de ces enfants. Le
style indirect libre sert exprimer ce que pense celui abus, qui donne de laumne :

4 Ibidem, p. 25. La contamination des murs, reflte jusque dans les commandements en franais pour la danse gne
Du Camp.
5 Ibidem, p. 17 et 18.
6 Il fait preuve de nouveau de cette exactitude pousse lextrme, plus loin dans le mme livre, lors de la description

dune petite ville italienne, Sembracher, non seulement dans le commentaire sur le positionnement exact par rapport
aux point cardinaux, mais aussi en se livrant aux rflexions linguistiques.

368
 Le lendemain, un tranger passe, lenfant court aprs lui et lui demande laumne.
Puisquon lui a donn hier, pourquoi ne lui donnerait-on pas aujourdhui ? Ainsi la
mendicit devient un droit ; le bambin en use et parat fort surpris lorsquon lui en
fait honte7.
Dans le mme livre Orient et Italie, dans le chapitre ddi la Sardaigne, Du Camp
entame des rflexions en amont des tudes anthropologiques pour lesquelles il montre une
apptence particulire : il compare les Sardes aux Corses, livre des explications, trouve les
ressorts et les raisons psychologiques qui font la diffrence entre eux (pour expliquer par
exemple lesprit de vendetta un amour propre mesquin et un troit point dhonneur 8),
des justifications historiques. Son discours sur ce type de population violente et nave la fois
est cyclique : le pouvoir civilisateur joue un rle capital dans la mtamorphose dun caractre.
Les Sardes sont reprsents comme sauvages, et vu les conjonctures politiques, il leur octroie des
circonstances attnuantes pour leur carbonarisme. Le voyageur reconnat nanmoins une
tendance de modernit de la Sardaigne, un grand projet civilisationnel avec des routes
nationales et des voies ferres qui garderait dun ct la splendeur antique de la province, mais
qui assurerait de lautre ct, les conditions pour une vie plus civilise.
Dans le chapitre De Martigny au Grand Saint-Bernard , avec les pinceaux dun vrai
naturaliste, Du Camp brosse le spectacle total de la laideur humaine quand, aprs avoir
remarqu la salet des villages italiens traverss, il sarrte pour dcrire une vieille paysanne, la
plus laide des vieilles gotreuses quil rencontre en montant vers le couvent. Lextrait montre
ltre humain rduit au statut de grimace [sic !] :
Parfois, au bruissement de la voiture qui danse dsagrablement sur le pav pointu
de lunique rue de ces villages, je vois apparatre aux lucarnes une tte de vieille
femme coiffe dun lourd chapeau de feutre rond ; ses yeux raills nont plus de
regard ; le nez pat rejoint les joues plisses comme une vessie dgonfle ; la
bouche, ouverte par un sourire animal, est un gouffre violtre do slancent deux
ou trois dents jaunes et branlantes ; le menton velu, et quon dirait couvert de
moisissure, se confond avec le cou o ballotte un gotre qui ressemble une noix de
coco peintre en gris sale. Cest affreux.9
Les enfants sont limage des femmes : anormaux, un peu bancals, un peu boiteux, un peu
gotreux, un peu crtins 10. Du Camp est vivement intress, voire attir par le bizarre,
lanormal, linsolite, il sarrte le scruter de trs prs et le dcrit dans un souci de naturalisme et
de vridicit exemplaires. Il va vers lAutre, dialogue avec les natifs. Lchange des propos
nobit pas seulement aux rgles de politesse lmentaire, mais sinscrit dans le projet
anthropologique du voyageur.
A lHospice du grand Saint-Bernard, Du Camp a loccasion de rencontrer lautre, le
religieux. Il dresse aux religieux (des chanoines de lordre des Augustins) des portraits laudatifs,
leur train de vie dangereux dans lpret des montagnes suscite son admiration sans bornes, car
ils sont ses yeux de vrais ermites, de vritables asctes. Lautre, dans ses us et coutumes : vie
intrieure et exercices religieux bien rgls, courses dans les montagnes ;son costume simple

7 Ibidem, p. 47.
8 Ibidem, chapitre La Sardaigne , p. 84.
9 Ibidem, le chapitre De Martigny au Grand Saint-Bernard , p. 145.
10 Ibidem, p. 148.

369
(soutane noire et bonnet carr) fait penser lauteur aux capucins tels quil les a vus reprsenter
dans un tableau au Muse du Luxembourg.
Lautre en ascte est toujours accompagn dun animal, un chien de prfrence, et
comme sa mission renforce par le sermon est de pratiquer toutes les vertus chrtiennes, le
religieux est un sauveur par excellence, au sens propre et figur : les religieux portent avec eux
du pain du fromage, du vin , minces vivres pour assurer la survivance des voyageurs gars
(rcalcitrants ou mourants dans le texte dorigine). Nous voyons dans la description dune
action de sauvetage des voyageurs toutes les raisons de la sympathie manifeste de Du Camp
pour cet Autre en bienfaiteur du voyageur11. Lhospitalit gratuite des pres touche au vif le
voyageur, mais part cette qualit, ils sont intelligents, cultivs, de grands musiciens, cordons
bleus sil le faut. Etre reu chez eux, avec tous les honneurs dus aux touristes extraordinaires,
tre invit partager le repas avec le pre suprieur meut Du Camp.
Etre royalement reu leur table, hberg dans les meilleurs conditions quoiquen plein
hiver et plus de 2600 mtres daltitude, participer leurs distractions favorites (le jeu de
dames et les checs), ces descriptions minutieuses en ouvrent dautres, savoir quelques pages
dhtrotopie : enferms dans un lieu atemporel, fig, les religieux semblent vivre hors du
temps, dans un espace autre. Le voyageur quitte ces lieux dshrits sans regret non sans
reconnatre et remercier pour lhospitalit bienfaisante qui caractrise les religieux du grand
Saint-Bernard laquelle sajoutent en corollaire les trois qualits chrtiennes voques en fin de
chapitre : le dvouement, le courage et la charit.
Dans son voyage en Egypte, lautre est dabord vu dans lensemble, la description se
faisant en hte, dans lagglomration urbaine du Caire : femmes en robes bleues qui portent des
vases, chameaux, nes et chiens ple-mle, bourriquiers et militaires en blanc, marchants
ambulants dagrumes, confitures et sorbets12. A Alexandrie, son attention se fixe sur les
musiciens dun rgiment gyptien et le spectacle de la rue quils offrent en dbut daprs-midi :
le cortge est prcd par des perches garnies de guirlandes, des ulmas qui chantent du Coran
et des enfants munies de petites lanternes, dautres enfants vtus de costumes magnifiques 13.
Le corps des mtiers de la ville domine le cortge, suivi dun groupe de petites filles brillantes
comme des princesses des mille et une nuits . Les femmes du peuple accompagnent le dfil par
leur cri inimitable, en signe de joie et dadmiration. Le fragment finit par une chute : le spectacle
fut lavant-premire dune importante fte musulmane, la circoncision du fils dun haut
dignitaire gyptien.
Lautre lEgyptien, apparat sous plusieurs hypostases. Cest le pcheur pauvre dont la
mer fournit la nourriture : Attel des engins primitifs, il entre en mer, dans une sorte de
danse sans repos, le front baign de sueur et brl par le soleil, le dos fouett et glac par les
vagues 14. Il regarde le voyageur dun air stupidement bestial , rit dun rire insens en voyant
lautre avec son chapeau de paille et ses grandes bottes. LEgyptien a la rputation dtre grand
buveur de vin, mais cause de la pauvret, il se contente de la bire15. Au dpart dAlexandrie,
Du Camp voit un nubien-matelot bord, qui fait de curieux services de courrier : il traverse le
Nil la nage, va jusqu la terre prendre une lettre, la met dans son tarbouch et la rapporte. Sa

11 Voir ibidem, p. 166 et 167.

12 Maxime Du Camp, Egypte et Nubie, Paris, Gide et Baudry, 1852, p. 7
13 Ibidem, p. 10 et suiv.
14 Ibidem, p. 18.
15 Ibidem, p. 312.

370
description se fait dans les termes suivants qui cumulent toutes ses qualits physiques : Il a dans
les paules des attaches superbes, trapu, mal fait des cuisses, mais un thorax, un dos et des bras
magnifiques 16.
A loppos de lhre pcheur se trouve le res Ibrahim, chef de la change dans son
voyage sur le Nil, beau jeune homme qui obissent tous les matelots, dune propret
recherche et presque coquette pour un arabe , en robe bleue et coiff dun turban blanc qui
cache sa belle chevelure noire, avec des airs de grand seigneur. Somme toute, Du Camp admire
sa religiosit et son srieux dans lentreprise de la navigation sur le Nil qui, ses yeux, a des
proportions ocanesques 17.
Cest aussi lamphitryon Hussein-pacha qui le reoit avec tous les honneurs et linvite un
pantagrulique repas turc. Du Camp assiste mme aux noces de la fille du premier baigneur
dAbbas-Pacha, mais ses commentaires concernent seulement le passage du cortge, puisque,
comme il est tranger de tous les points de vue, la participation effective un vnement si
intime lui est refuse. Lors de la traverse de Smyrne, il assiste de nouveau un cortge de noce
turque : chants burlesques des deux musiciens qui prcdent le groupe de la marie, coups de
fusil en signe dallgresse tirs par les hommes de larrire-garde. Impression de tristesse et de
monotonie malgr le vacarme des enfants qui suivent de prs ce cortge18.
Egyptiens modernes et Turcs sont jugs en parallle : Du Camp plaint le comportement
agressif dont ils font preuve les uns envers les autres et le fait quils nont pas su garder les
merveilleux difices anciens. Cest encore son hte du bourg de Dendil, Saba-Cahil, un chrtien
de Damas, personnage fort instruit, quil rencontre dans la rue et qui le prie de recevoir asile
chez lui. Un autre hte cit, qui le reoit est lagent consulaire de France Kir qui le comble
dattentions et met sa disposition deux de ses esclaves, des eunuques dsagrables dont il fait
un portrait extrmement ngatif. Lhabit traditionnel de lEgyptien se compose dune
couverture drape grise, dun tarbouch rouge, de chaussures appeles markoubs. Du Camp le
compare souvent aux personnages bibliques ; les femmes, de classe suprieure, aises ou
simples paysannes tranant une chvre au bord de la route, sont toutes pares de magnifiques
bijoux dargent (bracelets, boucles doreilles, pendentifs). La diversit culturelle et religieuse de
lEgypte se traduit aussi dans la mixtion des peuplades qui habitent le Caire, la varit des
costumes et des nationalits tant admirer principalement dans les bazars. Il y a donc dans le
monde bigarr des bazars :
[] des turcs gns dans de laides redingotes et dtroits pantalons ; les fellahs nus
sous une simple blouse en cotonnade bleue ; les bdouins de la Libye envelopps de
couvertures grises, les pieds entours de linges rattachs avec des cordes ; les ababdieh
portant pour tout vtement de larges calons blancs, et dont les longs cheveux graisss
de suif sont traverss par des aiguillons de porc-pic ; des arnautes avec leur fustanelle,
leur veste rouge, leurs armes passes la ceinture et leurs longues moustaches
retrousses ; les arabes du Sina couverts de haillons et ne quittant jamais leur
cartouchire orne de verroteries ; des ngres du Sennaar dont le visage noir comme la
nuit a une rgularit caucasienne ; des moghrebins draps de leur burnous ; des abyssins

16 Maxime Du Camp, Voyage en Orient (1849-1851). Notes, d. Giovanni Bonaccorso, Messine, Peloritana, 1972, p. 17-18
17 Egypte et Nubie, op. cit., pp. 84-85 et p. 87.
18 Maxime Du Camp, Souvenirs et paysages dOrient. Smyrne - Ephse Magnsie - Constantinople - Scio, Paris, Didier,

1848, p. 66

371
 coiffs de turban bleu ; des nubiens habills dune loque ; des juifs sordides et changeurs
de monnaies []19
Le spectacle de lautre continue par la prsentation des habits des femmes gyptiennes, un
assemblage caractrise de laids, disgracieux, sans harmonie de tons (loc. cit.). Les femmes du
harem sont suprieures celles du peuple en tout. Il arrive cependant Du Camp dtre
admiratif envers une jeune fille dune petite bande de saltimbanques :
Elle pouvait avoir quatorze ans ; par son visage arrondi, ses pommettes saillantes,
ses larges oreilles ornes de grandes boucles dargent, par ses lvres paisses et
fermes, par les tendons trs saillants de son cou, elle avait une vague ressemblance
avec les sphinx de granit accroupis immobiles et srieux devant les temples20.
Aller vers lautre, cest endosser un habit comme lui, se travestir afin de passer inaperu ;
cest ce que fait Du Camp pour participer auprs des derviches lanniversaire de la naissance
de Mahomet, en Egypte ( [se] mler plus facilement aux dvots ), clbr par des prires
interminables, divers chants et danses. La rencontre du cheikh Khodary, toujours en Egypte,
mrite dtre cite pour que le lecteur se fasse une ide de limportance du crmonial de la
prire chez les musulmans ( les gens les plus tolrants de la terre comme le note Du Camp
plus loin, p. 207). Sa mission de dlgu de Dieu sur terre est tellement importante, quil sy
investit au point de svanouir : cest un spectacle impressionnant pour Du Camp, quil rsume
pour Thophile de Gautier dans ces termes : frocits srieuses et respectables dune foi
ardente 21
Du Camp dresse aussi des portraits caricaturaux dont se dtache celui dun nazir
(percepteur) du cheikh, oracle de la maison , sorte de gros polichinelle turc qui navait rien
de remarquable quun nez norme, une toux grasse et constante, une main estropie, une
bouche sans dents et une grande admiration pour Mhmet-Ali 22. Reu au dner du cheikh,
Du Camp explique les rites table, rigoureusement rgls par les coutumes musulmanes et
sendort heureux, plein de bien-tre et comme en possession dune indpendance infinies 23.

Bibliografie

Du Camp, Maxime, Egypte et Nubie, Paris, Gide et Baudry, 1852.

Du Camp, Maxime, Souvenirs et paysages dOrient. Smyrne - Ephse Magnsie - Constantinople - Scio, Paris,
Didier, 1848.
Du Camp Maxime, Voyage en Orient (1849-1851). Notes, d. Giovanni Bonaccorso, Messine, Peloritana,
1972.
Hartog, Franois, Le miroir dHrodote, Paris, Hachette, 1981.
Moura, Jean-Marc, LEurope littraire et lailleurs, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 1998.

19 Egypte et Nubie, op. cit., p. 41 et 42.

20 Ibidem, p. 43.
21 Ibidem, p. 62-64.
22 Ibidem, p. 98-99.
23 Ibidem, p. 100.

372
 INFINITIVAL PERIPHRASTIC CAUSATIVES IN OLD ROMANIAN

Conf. dr. Usurelu Camelia & Conf. dr. Tnase-Dogaru Mihaela

Universitatea din Bucuresti

Causative constructions are characterized by the presence of two events, one of which is the
causer while the other the causee. In the periphrastic (analytic) constructions, the causing
event is represented by the operator verb, while the caused event is represented by the second
verb, which can be in the subjunctive, the infinitive or the supine. In other words, the operator
verb is the one that gives the construction causative meaning, and the second verb expresses the
semantic content of the action. The [+Causative] seme that characterizes causative verbs can be
inherent or acquired. Operator verbs in periphrastic constructions contain the [+Causative] seme
in their original semantic matrix. The other types of causatives (ergative, morphologic and
lexical) have come to contain the [+Causative] seme in their semantic matrix as a result of a
transformation called causativisation.
Unlike contemporary Romanian, where it is marginal and exclusively characterizes spoken
language, the causative pattern taking an infinitive verb is frequent in Old Romanian. The usage
of the second verb in the infinitive is archaic.1 The infinitive surfaces as the second verb in
different syntactic constructions: in verb phrases headed by impersonal verbs (Se cuvine drept
acia a fi adus nlimei-tale un dar ca acesta - Antim, Scrieri: 23 / Refl. ought right those to be
brought Highness.dat-yours a gift as this / It is becoming for those people to have brought your
Highness such a gift), modal verbs (noi ce vrem da lui Dumnedzeu - Codicele Todorescu: 192 What
we want to give God), aspectual verbs ([...] prinser a fugi - Cronica lui M. Moxa: 394 They had
started running), transitive verb (nvm [...] a ndjdui n Hristos - Coresi, Cazania I: 40 we are
learning to have faith in Christ), intransitive verbs ([...] s supr a mnca carne crud - eapte
taine: 187 / It is angered by eating raw meat) factitive operators (a s amesteca l-au ndemnat -
Cantemir, Istoria II: 12 / They urged him to meddle) or the impersonal a avea have in in non-
finite relative clauses (n-am avut cu ce plti - Acte i fragmente (1596): 123 / I had nothing to pay
with); in the adjectival phrase (datori sntem [...] cu dragoste a milui - Coresi, Cazania I: 42 / We
are indebted to give love); in the adverbial phrase (mai lesne e a se dezlega - Pravila ritorului
Lucaci: 180 / It is easier to redeem oneself) and in the noun phrase (atta iaste fric i ruine a ne
uita la faa unui om - Miniat: 318 / There is so much fear and shame in looking at the face of
man)2. Generally, the pattern with infinitive verbs appears in free variation with the pattern
involving verbs in the subjunctive.
By looking at texts from the 16th to the 18th centuries, pertaining to different stylistic
registers (fiction, historical documents, religious and legal texts, letters and folk texts), we have
identified periphrastic causative constructions with different operator verbs:
(1) a face / to make
(a) i ai fcut-o a fi de rnd la curvsrie (Ilie Miniat: 323)
and (you) have made-her to be in line at fornication

1
The infinitive is inherited from Latin and it predominates in 16th century texts pertaining to the north area (V. Liliana
Ruxndoiu, in Dimitrescu (coord.) 1978: 289.
2
See also Nedelcu 2013 and Uurelu 2015.

373
 and you have made her the next to fornicate
(b) pre acel al meu ziditoriu [...] a-l uita m vei face (Cantemir, Divanul: 31)
DOM that my creator [...] to-him forget me will make
you will make me forget my creator
(2) a da/ to give
(a) d noauo cu o gur i cu o inem a te slvi (Liturghierul lui Coresi: 143)
give us with a mouth and with a heart to you.acc praise
give us mouths and hearts to praise you with
(b) i d-ne n preacuviin a sluji Svinii Tale (Dosoftei, Dumneziasca Liturghie)
and give-us.dat in righteousness to serve Holiness.dat Yours.dat
and help us rightfully serve Your Holiness
(3) a cuta / to try
(a) [Enea] au cutat lui Latin crai a primi pe [oameni] n ara sa (Costin, De neamul: 250)
[Enea] have tried to Latin king to receive DOM [people] in country-the his
Enea has tried to make the Latin king receive the people in his country
(b) i-au cutat a lsa Suceava i a nzui spre Hotin (Costin, Letopiseul: 50)
him-have tried to leave Suceava and to hope towards Hotin
They have made him leave Suceava and set off for Hotin
(4) a pune / to put
(a) Alt cruce [...] pune Dumnezeu a purta i a pi. (Coresi, Cazania I: 149)
Other cross [...] puts God to carry and to endure
God makes (people) carry and endure different hardships
(b) ochii si puser a-i rdzima pre pmntu (Psaltirea Hurmuzaki: 98)
eyes-the his (he) had put to-them lood to earth
He made his eyes look towards the earth
(5) a lsa / to let
(a) [Domnul] ls vntul a veni spre pmnt i scdzur apele (Palia de la Ortie: 31)
[God] let wind-the to come to earth and retreated waters-the
God made/let the wind come and the waters retreated
(b) osnda nu-l las a vi (Coresi, Cazania I: 51)
punishment not-him let to live
His punishment did not let him live
(6) a sili / to strive
(a) i a le cinsti m silesc cu tcerea (Antim, Didahii: 123-124)
and to them honour refl. strive with silence-the
I strive to honour them in silence
(b) l silesc cu elineasca a sluji Liturghie limb (Dosoftei, Dumneziasca Liturghie)
him force with Greek to serve Mass language
They force him to deliver the Mass in Greek
(7) a ndemna / to urge
(a) au ndemnat pre toi a striga amin (Antim, Scrieri: 38)
have urged DOM all to shout amen
They have urged everyone to shout amen
(b) a s amesteca l-au ndemnat (Cantemir, Istoria II: 12)
to refl. meddle him-have urged
They urged him to meddle
(8) a nva / to teach

374
 (a) nva-m a face voia ta, c tu eti Dumnedzu mieu (Psaltirea Hurmuzaki: 206)
teach-me to do will your, that you are God-the mine
Teach me to do your will, because you are my Lord
(b) i-l nva a-i judeca (Alexandria: 51)
and-him teaches to-them judge
And he teaches him to judge them
(c) nsui Dumnezu [...] pre toi direpii-i nva a face pre voia lui Dumnezu (Ilie Miniat:
170)
himself God [...] DOM all believers-the teaches to do on will of God
God himself teaches the believers to do His will
(9) a ispiti / to tempt
[adevrul] a i-l dovedi m ispiteam (Cantemir, Istoria II: 16)
[truth-the] to you.dat-it.acc prove refl. tempt
I was striving to show you the truth
(10) a opri / to stop
dragostea, cu carea n zdar ardeam, adevrul a cunoate m opriia (Cantemir, Istoria II: 22)
love, with which-the in vain (I) burned, truth-the to know me stopped
Love, with which I burned in vain, prevented me fromknowing the truth
There are different degrees of cohesion between the operator verb and the second verb. The
force of the causing event may manifest on the caused event to a lesser or a larger extent. In the
constructions involving the operators a sili to strive or a opri to stop, the constraint on the
action expressed by the infinitive verb is great, the operator expressing a relation of coercive
causation3. In the constructions involving a lsa let or a nva teach, the constraint is less
forceful, so that between the operators and the infinitive verb there is a relation of attenuated
causation.
The operator a face to make and its contextual synonyms (a da to give, a cuta to try, a
pune to put) expresses a relation of neutral causation, which allows us to view the causative
construction with a face to make as prototypical4 (Uurelu 2005: 40). That is why the analysis of
the other causative operators will proceed by reference to a face to make. Therefore, it may be
assumed that causation is a continuum (Shibatani and Pardeshi 2001: 85-126), whose two
ends contain obligation verbs, which encode the greatest constraint on the action, and
permission verbs, which encode the lowest degree of constraining the action. The verb a face to
make is placed in the middle of the continuum, since it can express both coercive causation and
attenuated causation, in different contexts.
Similarly, semantic analysis shows that the seme a face / to make is obligatorily present in
the structure of causative operators. Besides this common seme, the structures of causative
operators contain differentiating semes: force (a sili / to strive), urge (a ndemna / to urge),
interdiction (a opri / to stop), permission (a lsa / to let), temptation (a ispiti / to tempt) etc.
Causative operators in Romanian behave differently from causative operators in other
Romance languages (see Fr. faire, Sp. hacer and Ital. fare), where the operator and the infinitive
verb form a complex predication.
There are four parameters that identify a grammaticalised verb5: the semantic parameter
(semantic bleaching), the morphologic parameter (strict adjacency between the verb and its

3
See Vega 1998: 112-119.
4
In the sense referred to by Kleiber: le meilleur exemplaire communment associ une catgorie (Kleiber
1990).
5
See also Marchello-Nizia 2006 and Uurelu 2011.

375
complement), the morpho-syntactic parameter (de-categorisation) and the phonetic parameter
(losing phonetic autonomy). The French operator faire observes the first three parameters and,
therefore, it cannot be seen as an auxiliary, its degree of grammaticalization being lower than in
the case of the perfect auxiliaries avoir and tre6. The arguments provided in favour of this
analysis are the following: clitics appearing in front of the whole complex predicate7 (Pierre fait
venir Paul. Pierre le fait venir.), the infinitive verb cannot be negated (*Ferrons-nous ne pas finir
son travail Paul?) and the infinitive cannot be combined with another aspectual verb (*Michel
fait continuer de travailler Paul.).8 However, the two verbs can be separated by adverbs (Pierre
fait souvent venir Paul.), and the infinitive verbs, along with their objects, can be coordinated in a
causative construction (Pierre fait venir Paul et sortir Marie.). In this respect, one cannot speak
about fusion between the causative operator and the infinitive verb. Since the sequence faire +
infinitive verb cannot be separated from its subject or the object of the infinitive, faire is
considered a diathesis operator, which allows the increase in number of the actants in the base
sentence9.
The operator verb a face make in Romanian periphrastic causative constructions does
not show morphologic marks of grammaticalisation (Uurelu 2005). The sequence a face + verb
can be dissociated from adverbials (l silesc cu elineasca a sluji Liturghie limb - Dosoftei,
Dumneziasca Liturghie / him force with Greek to serve Mass language / They force him to
deliver the Mass in Greek) or the complements of the operator (au ndemnat pre toi a striga amin
- Antim, Scrieri: 38 / have urged DOM all to shout amen / They have urged everyone to shout
amen). The dissociation of the causative periphrastic construction would not be possible if the
latter behaved as complex predicate. It can also be noticed that, unlike the French periphrastic
causative construction, in Romanian, the operator verb and the infinitive verb keep their own
objects. (pre acel al meu ziditoriu [...] a-l uita m vei face - Cantemir, Divanul: 31 / DOM that my
creator [...] to-him forget me will make / you will make me forget my creator)
In Romanian, all transitive causative operators allow passivization, which is an argument in
favour of considering the periphrastic causative construction as a sequence with a low degree of
cohesion between the operator and the second verb. Of the inventory of Old Romanian
operators, only a da give and a cuta search/try do not accept passivization, behaving as
intransitive verbs in the recorded constructions.
The causative operator a face make and its synonyms a da give and a cuta search/try
cannot be nominalised (pre acel al meu ziditoriu [...] a-l uita m vei face (Cantemir, Divanul: 31) /
*facerea mea a-l uita pre acel al meu ziditoriu / making-the my to-him DOM that my creator). The
impossibility of nominalising these causative operators is due to the partial loss of their semantic
and syntactic autonomy, the respective causative operators being semi-grammaticalised
(Uurelu 2008).
Nominalisations are, however, possible with the rest of causative operators in Old
Romanian, which shows that their lexico-semantic autonomy is preserved. Nominalisation is
possible because of the presence of the differentiating seme in their semic structure (au ndemnat
pre toi a striga amin (Antim, Scrieri: 38) have urged DOM all to shout amen They have urged
everyone to shout amen / ndemnarea tuturor (la) a striga amin urging everyone to shout amen;

6
The French operator faire is viewed as a semi-auxiliary (Cuni 1980: 75-85; Iliescu 1993: 297-305; Picabia
1999: 57).
7
Emonds 2007: 238-244 ; Gilquin 2008: 179-180.
8
See Creissels, 1995: 288-289.
9
See Riegel, Rioul, Pellat, 1994: 229-232.

376
aa i a le cinsti m silesc cu tcerea (Antim, Didahii: 123-124) and to them honour refl. strive with
silence-the I strive to honour them in silence/ silirea mea a le cinsti cu tcerea striving my to
them honour with silence-the My striving to honour them in silence. Therefore, unlike modal
verbs and, partially, aspectual verbs, which form a complex predicate together with the
infinitive, the majority of causative operators keep their autonomy.
In analytic causative constructions with a face make or one of its synonyms, the subject of
the operator represents the Theme, while the segment operator verb + objects + subjunctive verb
represents the Rheme. This structure if generated by the characteristics of the operator, which
gives the construction a causative meaning, therefore having an important contribution to new
information:
(11) i [tu] ai fcut-o a fi de rnd la curvsrie (Ilie Miniat: 323)
and (you) have made-her to be in line at fornication
and you have made her the next to fornicate
Theme Rheme
The thematic structure of the construction is due to the fact that the operator a face make has
undergone a process of semi-grammaticalisation, the operator and the verb in the subordinate
clause functioning as a complex entity, from a semantic and (partially) syntactic point of view. If
the construction had not undergone this process, each of the two clauses in the complex sentence
could be interpreted separately from a syntactic and semantic point of view and they would
have, therefore, their own thematic structure.
If the causative construction contains a different operator (a ndemna urge, a opri stop, a
porunci order, a sili strive etc.), the thematic structure is different. For example, in the
construction:
(12) nsui Dumnezu [...] pre toi direpii-i nva a face pre voia lui Dumnezu (Ilie Miniat: 170)
himself God [...] DOM all believers-the teaches to do on will of God
God himself teaches the believers to do His will
two actions can be distinguished, a nva teach and a face make. Keeping in mind its semic
structure, the verb a nva teach can be interpreted as a face / make + prin nvminte / by
means of teachings. The construction can be analysed as:
(12) nsui Dumnezu face prin nvminte pre toi direpii a face pre voia lui Dumnezu.
God himself makes by means of his teachings all believers do his will
Each of the two clauses in the complex sentence is syntactically and semantically
independent. The distinctive seme by means of teachings in the semic structure of the operator
a nva teach makes the latter keep its syntactic and semantic autonomy. Therefore, in the
construction in (12), the main clause (nsui Dumnezu nva pre toi direpii / God himself
teaches all believers) represents the Theme and the subordinate clause ([toi direpii] a face pre voia
lui Dumnezu / [all believers] do his will) is the Rheme, representing new information. In their
turn, the two clauses have their own thematic structure:
(12a) nsui Dumnezu nva pre toi direpii
God himself teaches all believers
Theme Rheme
(12b) [toi direpii] a face pre voia lui Dumnezu
[all believers] do Gods will
Theme Rheme
In the periphrastic constructions where the second verb is in the subjunctive, there are
several other operator verbs: a chema call, a grbi rush, a trimite send, a ruga ask, a porunci

377
order, a pofti invite, a impinge push, a orndui put in order, a sftui advise, a nfrna stop, a
pleca leave:
(13) ce feali de oameni au chemat Iisus Hristos s mearg dup el? (Coresi, Cazania I: 66)
what kind of people has-called Jesus Christ subj. walk after him?
what kind of people were called upon by Jesus Christ to walk after him?
(14) grbindu-l s se culce cu dnsa (Sindipa: 362)
rushing-him subj refl sleep with her
rushing him to sleep with her
(15) trimises pre Diicul, sptariul su, s strng toat oastea (Costin, Letopiseul: 149)
had-sent DOM Diicul, boyar-the his, subj. gather all army-the
He had sent Diicul, his boyar, to gather all the army
(16) i-l rugar s-i miluiasc (Coresi, Cazania I: 125)
and-him asked subj-them show mercy
and they asked him to show them mercy
(17) Lui Noe i-au poruncit Dumnezeu s fac chivotul (Antim, Didahii: 153)
To Noah him-has ordered God subj make shrine-the
God ordered Noah to make the shrine
(18) i-l va pohti preotul s-i fie de agiutoriu (eapte taine: 213)
and-him will invite priest-the subj-him be of help
and the priest will invite him to be of help to him
(19) mpins [...] de un zel dumnezeiesc s-o tipresc (Antim, Scrieri: 147)
pushed [...] by a zeal holy subj-it print
pushed to print it by a holy zeal
(20) pre carele l-au ornduit Dumnedzeu s hie curire pentru credin (Varlaam: 216)
DOM which-the it-has decided God subj be cleansing for belief
that thing which God has decided to be cleansing
(21) i muli [] l sftuia s nu se puie mpotriva veziriului (Costin, Letopiseul: 94)
and many [...] him advised subj not refl put against vezir-the.gen
and many people advised him not to argue against the vezir
(22) ca cnd am nfrna pre trupul nostru s nu pohteasc lucrurele cetii lumi (Coresi, Cazania I:
147)
as when (we) would stop DOM body-the our subj not crave things-the this.gen world
as if we stopped our body from craving the things belonging to this world
(23) plecndu-l s vie la mpcciune cu boierii (Costin, Letopiseul: 100)
leaving-him subj come at reconciliation with boyars-the
making him come to reconcile with the boyars
Although it is frequently used in Old Romanian, the infinitive does not predominate in
factitive constructions. The majority of causative constructions in the corpus contain a second
verb in the subjunctive. These constructions show a larger degree of variation with respect to the
inventory of operator verbs. Old Romanian also frequently features constructions where the
semantic content of the action is expressed by postverbal or abstract nouns:
(24) ne ndeamn spre faceri de bine (Antim, Didahii: 113)
us urges towards doings of well
it urges us to do good things
(25) au ndemnat pe strmo ctr clcarea poruncii (Ilie Miniat: 306)
have urged DOM ancestor towards breaking-the order-the.gen
it has urged our ancestor to break the law

378
 (26) i-i tremitea spre acela lucru (eapte taine: 204)
and-them sent towards that thing
and he sent them to (do) that thing
(27) Varda totu-l ndemna spre ru (Cronica lui Moxa: 385)
Varda everything-him urged towards evil
Everything urged Varda to (do) evil things
(28) i-i ndeamn la multe pcate (Antim, Didahii: 38)
and-them urges at many sins
And it urges them to (commit) many sins
In the corpus we have analysed, which is representative for the 16th to 18th centuries
Romanian, factitive constructions are rare in comparison with other types of constructions. This
can be put down, firstly, to the type of texts forming the focus of analysis. Periphrastic
causatives predominantly surface in chronicles (Miron Costin, Ion Neculce and Constantin
Cantacuzino), in writings explaining and interpreting religious dogma (Coresis Cazania I 1581,
eapte taine a besearicii 1644, Antim Ivireanuls writings), in fiction or philosophical writings
(Cantemirs Istoria ieroglific and Divanul) as well as folk writings (Alexandria, Sindipa, Floarea
darurilor).

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Editura Didactic i Pedagogic, 1983, 70-199.
Antim Ivireanul, Didahii, n Opere, ed. by Gabriel trempel, Bucureti: Editura Minerva, 1972.
Cantemir, Dimitrie, Divanul sau Glceava neleptului cu lumea, ed. by Virgil Cndea, Bucureti: Editura Minerva, 1990.
Cantemir, Dimitrie, Istoria ieroglific, ed. by P.P. Panaitescu & Ion Verde, Bucureti: Editura Minerva, 1983.
Coresi, Psaltirea slavo-romn (1577) n comparaie cu Psaltirile coresiene din 1570 i din 1589, ed. By Stela Toma, Bucureti:
Editura Academiei Romne, 1976.
Coresi, Tlcul evangheliilor i Molitevnic rumnesc [1567-1568], ed. by Vladimir Drimba, Bucureti: Editura Academiei
Romne, 1998 (= Cazania I).
Costin, Miron, De neamul moldovenilor, din ce ar au ieit prinii lor, in Opere, ed. by P.P. Panaitescu, Bucureti: Editura
de Stat pentru Literatur i Art, 1958, 241-277.
Costin, Miron, Letopiseul ri Moldovei, in Opere, ed. by P. P. Panaitescu, Bucureti: Editura de Stat pentru Literatur
i Art, 1958.
Cronica lui Mihail Moxa (Oltenia, 1620), in B. P. Hasdeu, Cuvente den btrni. Limba romn vorbit ntre 1550-1600, ed. by
G. Mihil, Bucureti: Editura Didactic i Pedagogic, 1983, 299-425.
Diaconul Coresi, Carte cu nvtura (1581), ed. by Sextil Pucariu & Alexe Procopovici, Bucureti: Atelierele Socec &
Co, 1914. (Cazania a II-a)
Documente i nsemnri romneti din secolul al XVI-lea, ed. by Gheorghe Chivu, Magdalena Georgescu, Magdalena
Ioni, Alexandru Mare & Alexandra Roman-Moraru, Bucureti: Editura Academiei Romne, 1979.
Dosoftei, Psaltirea n versuri (1673), ed. by N.A. Ursu, Iai: Mitropolia Moldovei i Sucevei, 1974.
Dosoftei, Dumneziasca Liturghie (1679), ed. by N. A. Ursu, Iai: Mitropolia Moldovei i Sucevei, 1980.
Dosoftei, Paremiile preste an, Iai, 1683, ed. by Mdlina Ungureanu, Iai: Editura Universitii Alexandru Ioan Cuza,
2012.
Dou manuscripte vechi. Codicele Todorescu i Codicele Marian, ed. by Nicolae Drganu, Bucureti: Ediiunea Academiei
Romne, 1914.
Evanghelie nvtoare (Govora, 1642), ed. by Alin-Mihai Gherman, Bucureti: Editura Academiei Romne, 2011.
Floarea darurilor, in I. Gheie, Al. Mare (coord.), Cele mai vechi cri populare n literatura romn, I, ed. by Alexandra
Moraru & Magdalena Georgescu, Bucureti: Editura Minerva, 1996.
Golescu, Dinicu, nsemnare a cltoriii mele, Bucureti: Editura Eminescu, 1971.
Ilie Miniat, Cazanii (Bucureti, 1742), ed. by Cristina Creu, Iai: Editura Universitii Al. I. Cuza, 2013.
Istoriia a Alexandrului celui Mare din Machedoniia i a lui Darie din Persida mprailor [1619-1620], n Crile populare n
literatura romneasc, ed. by Ion C. Chiimia & Dan Simonescu, vol. I, Bucureti: Editura pentru Literatur, 1963, 3-
84. (= Alexandria)

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Istoria rii Romneti de stolnicul Constantin Cantacuzino, in Cronicari munteni, ed. by M. Gregorian, Bucureti: Editura
pentru Literatur, 1961.
Liturghierul lui Coresi (1570), ed. by Al. Mare, Bucureti: Editura Academiei Romne, 1969.
Manuscrisul de la Ieud, ed. by Mirela Teodorescu & Ion Gheie, Bucureti: Editura Academiei Romne, 1977.
Neculce, Ion, Letopiseul rii Moldovei, ed. by Iorgu Iordan, Bucureti: Editura de Stat pentru Literatur i Art, 1959.
Palia de la Ortie (1581-1582), ed. by Viorica Pamfil, Bucureti: Editura Academiei Romne, 1968.
Povestea despre Sindipa filosoful i discipolul su [1703], in Crile populare n literatura romneasc, ed. by Ion C. Chiimia &
Dan Simonescu, vol. I, Bucureti: Editura pentru Literatur, 1963, 347-401. (= Sindipa)
Pravila ritorului Lucaci (1581), ed. by I. Rizescu, Bucureti: Editura Academiei Romne, 1971.
Psaltirea Hurmuzaki, ed. by Ion Gheie & Mirela Teodorescu, Bucureti: Editura Academiei Romne, 2005.
Sfntul Antim Ivireanul, Scrieri, ed. by Mihail Stanciu & Gabriel trempel, Bucureti: Editura Basilica a Patriarhiei
Romne, 2011.
Sindipa, in I. Gheie, Al. Mare (coord.), Cele mai vechi cri populare n literatura romn, I, ed. by Alexandra Moraru &
Magdalena Georgescu, Bucureti: Editura Minerva, 1996.
eapte taine a besearecii: Iai, 1644, ed. by Iulia Mazilu, Iai: Editura Universitii Alexandru Ioan Cuza, 2012.

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Cuni, Alexandra, 1980, Remarques sur la syntaxe des verbes pronominaux dans les phrases factitives complexes,
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(eds.), 177-201.
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Colocviu al Catedrei de Limba romn (7-8 decembrie 2007), Bucureti: Editura Universitii din Bucureti.
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de France.
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Uurelu, Camelia, 2005, Categoria factitivului n limba romn, Bucureti, Editura Universitii din Bucureti.
Uurelu, Camelia, 2008, Operatorii cauzativi din limba romn veche, ntre autonomie i gramaticalizare, n Pan
Dindelegan (coord.), 245-252.
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Usurelu, Camelia, 2015, Observaii asupra infinitivului n limba romn veche, in Rodica Zafiu, Isabela Nedelcu
(eds.).
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Internaional al Departamentului de Lingvistic (Bucureti, 2829 noiembrie 2014), volumul I, Bucureti: Editura
Universitii din Bucureti.

380
 ACADEMIC DISCUSSIONS AND INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION IN AN INTERNATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT IN JAPAN
Simona Vasilache
Graduate School of Systems and Inf. Engineering
University of Tsukuba
Japan

I. INTRODUCTION

Internationalization of higher education takes place at various levels throughout the world
today. Japan is no different and many Japanese universities deal with an increasing number
of international students who come from very different educational environments and whose
cultural values vary considerably. As defined in [1], a culture is a shared system of symbols,
beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations and norms for behaviour. In the context of high-level
education, intercultural communication has a unique dimension. Communication in general
and academic conversations in particular offer various advantages with regard to academic
and personal development. Academic conversations can be defined as sustained and
purposeful conversations about various topics ([2]).
The remainder of our paper will describe our observations of cultural aspects of
communication between undergraduate students in Japan, in the frame of reference of an
academic discussion class.

II. DESCRIPTION OF METHOD

2.1. Research setting

We conducted our small scale study at the University of Tsukuba in Japan, more specifically
in the Global 30 Program. This is a program aimed at internationalization of universities in
Japan; 13 universities, elected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology in Japan, participate in this program. It enrols international students only
(students with a nationality other than Japanese) and the curriculum is taught entirely in
English (no Japanese language knowledge is required). The three undergraduate programs at
the University of Tsukuba offer degrees in social sciences, life and environmental sciences,
and medical sciences, respectively.
Our study took place during a course entitled Academic Discussion Seminar, which
belongs to the foundation subjects for major (core electives) category of courses, offered in
the above-mentioned program of the School of Social and International Studies. As a general
rule, this course can be attended as an elective course by students belonging to any other
program in our university (5 such participants were included, as students enrolled in this
course).
The purpose of this course is to engage students in active discussions on various
contemporary topics, in order to help them improve their reasoning skills, to offer multiple
perspectives, as well as improve their communication and presentations skills in English.
However, it is important to emphasize that the focus is placed more on engaging in
discussions and less on precision of language.

381
The topics discussed during the 10 weeks covered by the course were varied, from more
general ones (immigration policies, wealth disparity, media censorship, birth rate) to critical
social ones (child labour, prostitution, sexual violence), controversial ones (abortion, human
cloning, yaoi culture), as well as more neutral ones (animal ownership, e-sports,
vegetarianism). In total, 25 different topics were discussed, in one of the following forms:
plenary discussions (the whole class), groups of 6-7 people or groups of 3-4 people.

2.2 Method
Our study was conducted on a number of 22 students at the University of Tsukuba in Japan,
coming from 16 different countries, on 4 continents: 20 international students and 2 Japanese
regular students. Out of the 20 international students, 18 were regular students (17 of them
enrolled in the Global 30 Program and one enrolled in the regular engineering
undergraduate course), while the remaining two were exchange students. The participants
were undergraduates studying social sciences, life and environmental sciences or
engineering. Among these, 6 participants were native English speakers and 30 were non-
native English speakers. Their ages ranged between 18 and 23 years old, with 17 female
students and 5 male students.
The participants were asked to anonymously fill in a questionnaire consisting of 23 questions
(18 closed-ended and 5 open-ended), administered during one of the final classes of the
academic discussion course. The following section will illustrate and discuss the
questionnaire results.

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

At the start of the questionnaire, the participants were asked to assess their proficiency level
in English; 15 considered themselves to be fluent/native speakers or advanced, while only 7
considered themselves as having an intermediate level. In spite of this, when asked what
the greatest impediment to participate actively in discussions is, 4 participants replied that
they lack the self-confidence to speak English, while 10 participants considered that the same
lack of confidence prevents others from being active in a discussion class. Fear of public
speaking in general was listed by 7 students for themselves and 5 for others; lack of
confidence regarding knowledge on a given subject was listed by 9 of the participants for
themselves and 7 for the others. Two other factors were mentioned: lack of motivation in
general because of un-interesting topics (2 participants) and discouragement generated by
monopolization of discussion by others (2 participants). These factors were mentioned for
both questions (preventing self from being active, as well as preventing others from
being active).
Two related questions were formulated as follows: Why do some students speak more than the
others? and Why do some students speak less than the others? Table 1 summarizes the results
to the first of the two questions.

Table 1. Reasons why some students speak MORE than others

Reason No. of times

Enjoy talking in general 12
Believe their opinions matter 7
Enjoy being challenged 1
Used to discussing various issues 9
Other 9

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Other reasons why some students speak more than others included: they are native English
speakers, they are confident, they know many things, they are inconsiderate towards
others. It is interesting to notice how some participants perceive speaking more than others
as inconsiderate (equivalent to speaking too much).
The number of times each answer was chosen for the second of the two questions appears in
Table 2.

Table 2. Reasons why some students speak LESS than others

Reason No. of times

Shy 12
Not confident in their language skills 10
Believe their opinions do not matter 1
Overwhelmed by others 8
Not used to expressing their opinions 6
Other 4

Furthermore, when asked what the biggest impediment in having a harmonious discussion
class is, cultural differences were chosen 7 times, language issues were chosen 6 times, while
self-confidence issues were chosen 13 times. Other responses included monopoly of
discussion and lack of relevant arguments/information.
Another question posed in our questionnaire referred to differences in styles of conducting
discussions. When asked where most differences come from, one participant considered each
individuals personality, 15 participants considered peoples own cultural baggage, while 6
participants considered a combination of the two (as shown in Figure 1).

Figure 1. Origin of differences in discussion styles

The 4 different sets of questions and their answers offer an interesting view of the students
opinions regarding academic discussions. Personal character, language skills and cultural
baggage seem to all occupy an important place in determining the degree of participation,
the success or failure of a harmonious class, as also shown in previous related research ([3],
[4], [5]).

A different section of our questionnaire dealt with the students perceptions of their own and
their colleagues objectivity. Figure 2 illustrates the responses to the following question: Do
you believe that you/others are capable of debating an issue in an objective manner?. It is interesting

383
to observe that all participants considered themselves capable of being objective to a certain
extent (no participant answered no), while they viewed the others comparatively less
capable to be objective.

Figure 2. Assessing objectivity during debates

With regard to the effects of participating in a discussion class, the students were asked
whether they have changed their previous opinion on an important matter, as a consequence
of class discussions. The results are summarized in Table 3. The majority of participants
declared that such a change took place, either because they learned things they did not know
before the discussions (14 responses) or because the arguments they heard were convincing
(4 responses). We believe this result is very encouraging towards future academic discussion
classes.

Table 3. Effect of discussion class on personal opinions

Effect on changing opinion No. of respondents

Yes - convincing arguments 4
Yes learned new things 14
No no convincing arguments 4
No strong personal opinions 2

Regarding the format of the class, the participants were questioned as to their preferred
discussion style. 10 of them stated that they preferred plenary discussions (with the whole
class), while 13 of them chose groups of maximum 4 people. Two participants equally
preferred these two styles, and one participant showed no particular preference. No
participant chose discussions in groups of maximum 7 people. This is an important result
which must be taken into consideration when designing future discussion classes. It appears
that students either prefer simultaneous participation of everyone else in the class or they
prefer discussing in smaller groups. This may be related to self-confidence issues (less
pressure exists when the audience is made up of maximum 3 other people) or to desire to
participate more actively (there are more opportunities for expressing oneself in a small
group). Further research is needed here, to find out the reasons behind these choices.

The students were finally asked how useful and how interesting/enjoyable the course was.
Their opinions are summarized in Figure 3.
As the results show, the majority of the students found the class either very or somewhat
useful, as well as very or somewhat interesting/enjoyable. This is an important result

384
confirming the importance of such academic discussion classes at higher education levels in
general and in an international environment in particular.
Although our study did not differentiate between responses given by students belonging to
so-called Eastern cultures and students belonging to so-called Western cultures, we can
assume that some of these perceptions can be attributed to these differences ([6], [7]). Further
study to actually prove or disprove this assumption in this context is needed and we are
considering incorporating it in our future work.
One important aspect is worth mentioning at this point: although Global 30 Program classes
were established to accommodate the needs of the international students (i.e. classes
conducted in English), they are open to all regular students (Japanese or not). However,
while other types of classes attract Japanese regular students fairly equally, the personal
experience of the author shows that, during the past 4 years since this academic discussion
class was established, the number of Japanese students enrolling is relatively low, compared
to international students. Nevertheless, a slow, but steady growth has been observed from
year to year: 0 students in the first year, 1 in the second, 2 in the third and finally 3 students
in the fourth year. This number still represents a low percentage of Japanese students, i.e.
below 15% of the whole class. Our future work could find out the reasons behind this low
turn-out; however, previous research ([8]) shows that Japanese people prefer less
confrontational situations; an academic discussion class with a majority of western speakers
may discourage the Japanese students, who might fear that the discussions become too
direct and even aggressive, by Eastern-culture standards.

Figure 3. Overall opinion about the class

IV. CONCLUSIONS

Our small scale study offered a view on intercultural communication from the perspective of
an academic discussion class in a Japanese university international environment. The
participating students expressed their views on a variety of aspects of academic discussions.
Overall, they found the academic discussion course useful; furthermore, discussing with
colleagues belonging to a different culture was found to be interesting and enjoyable. As
future work, we plan to perform a larger scale study, in order to obtain more extensive
results and to reveal other important aspects of intercultural communication.

385
References

[1] J. Zwiers, M. Crawford, Academic Conversations: Classroom Talk That Fosters Critical Thinking and
Content Understanding, Stenhouse Publishers, 2011.
[2] Li-Shih Huang, Academic Communication Skills: Conversation Strategies for International Graduate
Students, University Press of America, Inc., 2010.
[3] Halliday, Michael AK. "Towards a language-based theory of learning." Linguistics and education,
Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 93-116, 1993.
[4] P. Parrish, J. Linder-VanBerschot, "Cultural dimensions of learning: Addressing the challenges of
multicultural instruction", The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Vol. 11.
No. 2, 2010.
[5] T. Pals, Curriculum Development for a Graduate Level Academic Discussion Course,
International University of Japan, Working papers, Vol. 12, 2002.
[6] J. Sanchez-Burks et al., "Conversing across cultures: East-West communication styles in work and
nonwork contexts", Journal of personality and social psychology, Vol. 85, No. 2, pp. 363-372, 2003.
[7] J. Kim, R. Meyers, Cultural Differences in Conflict Management Styles in East and West
Organizations, Journal of Intercultural Communication, No. 29, 2012.
[8] S. Nishimura, Shoji, A. Nevgi, S. Tella, "Communication style and cultural features in high/low
context communication cultures: A case study of Finland, Japan and India", Renovating and developing
subject didactics, Proceedings of a subject-didactic symposium in Helsinki on Feb.2, pp. 783-796, 2008.

386
 Puzzling results from experimental data analyzing the NPIs VREUN

Mihaela Zamfirescu, asistent,

Universitatea din Bucuresti

1. Introduction

In this paper we analyze examples like the one listed in (1) which show typical lexical negative
polarity items in Romanian.

(1) a. Puini studeni dau doi bani pe noul regulament.

Few student-pl. give-3 .p.pl. two money-pl. on new-the. regulations
rd

Few students give a damn on the new regulations.

b. Cel mult 5 colegi cred o iot din ce spune Maria.
At most 5 colleague-pl. believe-3rd.p.pl. an iota from what say-2nd.p.sg. Maria.
At most 5 colleagues believe an iota from what Maria is saying.
c. Sunt surprins c Maria a pus gean pe gean azi.
Am surprised that Maria have-3rd.p.sg. put eyelash on eyelash today.
I am surprised that Mary has ever brought flowers.
d. A plecat fr a spune o iot.
Have-3rd.p.sg. left without to say an iota.
S/he left without saying an iota.
e. Nu nteleg deloc aceast problem.
Not understand-1st.p.sg. at all this problem.
I dont understand this problem at all.
f. Vasile Blaga nu d doi bani pe sondaje.
Vasile Blaga not give-3rd.p.sg. two money-pl. on survey-pl.
Vasile Blaga doesnt give a red cent on the polls.
(http://www.ziuanews.ro/stiri/vasile-blaga-nu-da-doi-bani-pe-sondaje-16302

The Scalar Model of Polarity (Israel, 1996, 1998) claims that a suitable account of polarity items
entails the use of a scalar model which explains the distributions of polarity items directly in
terms of their lexical semantics. Israel (1996) claims that each polarity sensitive item encode two
semantic features: a quantitative value and an informative value. Quantitative value reflects the
fact that most PSIs encode a scalar semantics. The high and low q-value of polarity items is
understood relative to the contextual norms associated with a given dimension. With respect to
the examples listed under (1) we can see that NPIs like d doi bani (give a damn)or o iota (say
an iota) encode a small quantity. Conversely, mult (much) encodes a big quantity.
I-value is a pragmatic feature encoding a speakers attitude to the content he/ she conveys.
Thus, emphatic utterances express great involvement and commitment to what is said while
understatements denote deference and a desire to mitigate face threatening acts. As claimed by
Israel (1996) polarity items tend to be associated with certain kinds of pragmatic affect,
frequently serving either to intensify or to attenuate the rhetorical force of an utterance.

387
(3)Fig 1. The Scalar Model of Polarity, Israel (1996)

Attenuating NPIs high Emphatic PPIs

much, long, any too tons, utterly, insanely
all that a heap
n
Emphatic NPIs Attenuating PPIs
a wink, an inch, at all low a little bit, sorta, rather
the least bit somewhat

(4)Fig 2. The scalar Model of Polarity, Romanian equivalents1

Attenuating NPIs high Emphatic PPIs

nu-i mare branza tone (tons), ingrozitor
(no great shakes/ not much) (insanely)o gramada (a heap)
n
Emphatic NPIs Attenuating PPIs
n-a inchis un ochi/ nitel
(not sleep a wink), (rather)
n-a miscat un deget oleaca (a little bit),
(not lift a finger) low cam (sorta)

The quantitative value need not be absolute but is in fact often understood as relative to some
scalar norm, represented as n in the diagram.
(5) a. Maria n- a inchis un ochi toata noaptea.
Maria not have-3 .p,sg close-past.part. an eye all night-the.
rd

Mary didnt sleep a wink all night.

b. Maria n- a pus geana pe geana toata noaptea.
Maria not have-3rd.p,sg put-past.part. eyelash on eyelash all night-the.
Mary didnt sleep a wink all night.
c. Maria n- a dormit mult.
Maria not have-3rd.p,sg sleep-past.part much.
Mary didnt sleep much.
The sentence under (a) makes a strong claim by denying that Mary slept even the smallest
amount imaginable and the sentence under (b) makes a weak claim by denying only that Mary
slept for a long time. Thus, a wink marks a low, in fact a minimal, quantitative value and
produces an emphatic sentence, and much marks a relatively high quantitative value and
produces an understatement. We can clearly notice that the same interpretation applies to the
examples in Romanian. The sentence under (a) makes a strong claim by denying that Mary slept
even the smallest amount imaginable and the sentence under (b) makes a weak claim by
denying only that Mary slept for a long time. So, un ochi and geana pe geana mark a low,

1
Other examples of lexical NPIs in Romanian include: nu-i mare scofala/ nu-i mare chestie, nu-i mare
filozofie (no great shakes), n-a pus pus geana pe geana (didnt sleep a wink), nu inteleg o iota (I cant
make head or tail of this), nu dau doi bani (I dont give a damn) etc.

388
minimal quantitative value and produce an emphatic sentence, and mult marks a high
quantitative value and produce an understatement.

(6) a. N- a miscat/ ridicat un deget ca sa

Not have-3 .p,sg move/lift-past.part a
rd finger CA SA
-l ajute.
CL-3rd.p,sg,Acc help
She didnt lift a finger to help him.
b. * A miscat/ ridicat un deget ca sa
Have-3 .p,sg.
rd move/lift-past.part a finger CA SA
-l ajute.
CL-3rd.p,sg,Acc help
* She lifted a finger to help him.
c. Romnii nu dau doi bani pe mesajele scrise de pe pachetele
Romanian-pl.the not give two coin-pl. on message-pl. written on packet-pl.
de igri.2
of cigarette-pl.
Romanian people dont give a damn on the messages written on packets of cigarettes.
d. * Dau doi bani pe masurile luate de Merkel.
Give two coin-pl. on initiative-pl. taken by Merkel.
*I give a damn on Merkels initiatives.

An expression like, a miscat/ ridicat un deget (lift a finger), expresses a minimal effort and
contrasts with all expressions which denote a great effort. Being an emphatic item it contributes
to a strong proposition. Thus, this expression can only be used in scale reversing contexts,
where inferences run from lesser to greater efforts. The sentence under (a) is grammatical
because it licenses the inference that she didnt try very hard. By contrast, the sentence under
(b) cannot generate such an inference and the reason for its failure is that such an expression
expresses a weak proposition incompatible with its inherently emphatic nature. An expression
like dau doi bani (give a damn), express a minimal amount of interest and contrasts with all
the expressions which denote a great amount of interest. Dau doi bani (give a damn) is an
emphatic NPI and contributes to a strong proposition and we can only use this expressions in
contexts where inferences run from lower amounts of interest to greater amounts of interest.
The example under (c), by contrast with the example under (d), is grammatical because we can
license the inference that I dont care much. In conclusion, judging by the example presented
before we can say that the emphatic NPIs denote low scalar values and the attenuating NPIs
denote high scalar values.

2.2. The status of vreun (any)

Farkas (2002, 2006) shows that the analysis of vreun (any) poses a challenge to current theories
of semantically dependent indefinites. Morphologically, vreun and its feminine form vreo
(any) is a complex variant of the standard indefinite article un (masculine)/o (feminine) (a/
an), combined with the morpheme vre- (from the Latin verb volere want), which occurs with
singular countable nouns. Farkas (2006) claims that the ungrammaticality of the episodic

2
http://www.adevarul.ro/locale/bucuresti/bucuresti-stiri_din_bucuresti-fumat-fumatori-mesaje-pachet_de_tigari-
imagini-impact_0_677332

389
sentence in (7) demonstrates that vreun (any) has a restricted distribution, a property that sets it
apart from the indefinite article form on which it builds:

(7) * Monica s- a ntlnit cu vreun prieten/ vreo prieten

Monica REFL-have.3SG met with VREUN friend.MASC VREUN friend.FEM
Monica met a friend.

Exclusion from episodic sentences is assumed in the literature to be the hallmark of polarity
sensitive items, for example vreun (any) can occur in the scope of downward-entailing and non-
factive epistemic operators. Adopting the framework in Chierchia (2006, 2013a,b), Falaus (2014)
develops an alternative-based account that captures its distribution, while providing ways to
situate vreun (any) in a broader typology of polarity sensitive indefinites. The determiner vreun
(any) can be used in interrogatives (8), antecedents of conditionals (9) and restrictors of
universal quantifiers (10), all very common NPI-licensing environments, thus vreun (any)
clearly does the work of a weak negative polarity item in Romanian, like English any or ever.
(8) Ai vzut vreun igan fericit?
have.2SG seen VREUN gypsy happy
Have you seen any happy gypsy?
(9) Dac gseti vreo carte despre asta, cumprmio.
if find.2SG VREUN book about this buy-me.DAT-it
If you find any book about this, buy it for me.
(10) Fiecare fat care a dansat cu vreun student va fi chemat la direciune.
Every girl who has danced with VREUN student will be called to office
Every girl who danced with any student will be called to the principals office.

Vreun (any) can occur in the scope of negative operators and has a meaning similar to polarity
sensitive any.

(11) a. A plecat fr s vorbeasc cu vreun profesor.

has left without SUBJ speak with VREUN teacher
(S)he left without speaking to any teacher.
b. Nu cunosc vreun medicament care s-l ajute.
NEG know.1SG VREUN medicine that SUBJ-him help
I dont know of any medicine that can help him.

Just like NPIs, vreun (any) needs to be in the immediate scope of its licensor, a restriction that is
responsible for its ungrammaticality in (12):

(12) *Vreun student nu a picat.

VREUN student NEG has failed
Any student didnt fail./No student failed.
(13) Nu am *vreo prieten/nicio prieten la Utrecht.
NEG have.1SG VREUN friend no friend in Utrecht
I dont have any friend in Utrecht.
(14) Din cnd n cnd trenul se oprea n vreo halta si cte
from when in when train-the REFL stop.IMPF.3SG in VREUN station and DIST
un navetist deschidea un ochi.

390
 a commuter opened an eye
From time to time, the train would stop in some station and a commuter would open an
eye.
(15) a. E posibil ca Maria s se fi ntlnit cu vreun prieten
be.3SG possible that Maria SUBJ REFL BE met with VREUN friend
i s fi rmas cu el n ora.
and SUBJ BE remained with him in town
It is possible that Maria met some friend and stayed with him in town.
b. Poate c i-a cumprat vreo carte despre Utrecht.
perhaps that her.DAT-has bought VREUN book about Utrecht.
Perhaps she bought herself some book about Utrecht.
Unlike NPIs that double as FCIs and thus occur in various modal(ized) contexts (e.g. any), vreun
is excluded from generic sentences, imperatives or the scope of the verb want:
(16) *Vreun lup mnnc carne.
VREUN wolf eats meat
A wolf eats meat.
(17) *Ia vreun mr!
take.IMPV.2SG VREUN apple
Take an apple!
(18) *Vreau s cumpr vreo carte despre Olanda.
want.1SG SUBJ buy VREUN book about Holland
I want to buy a book about Holland.
In conclusion: Falaus (2014) vreun activates a richer set of alternatives: in addition to scalar and
singleton domain alternatives, common to all partial variation indefinites, it also includes the
complex alternatives brought about by the competition with un oarecare. This account opens up
the possibility that the set of active alternatives associated with a polarity sensitive indefinite
includes not only grammatically determined, but also other alternative-activating elements in
the polarity system.

3. NPI inference verification background study

Szabolcsi (2008) proposes a study to investigate whether NPIs can occur in contexts in which
the introduction of the NPI leads to proposition strengthening, in other words, NPIs facilitate
inference verification from sets to subsets.

3.1. Experimental study

In this experimental study participants evaluated whether inferences from sets to subsets were
valid. Contrary to expectations, no facilitation was observed when the NPI was present in the
premise compared to when it was absent. In fact, the NPI significantly slowed down reading
times in the inference region. The research question is whether human sentence processing
operations recognize that the distribution of NPIs is governed by the same property that
supports inferences from sets to subsets? Participants in the experiment were asked to perform
a reasoning task judging whether a decreasing inference was supported by the preceding
discourse. Participants read two-line vignettes, followed by a question. The first line set the
general context and a second line involved a verb phrase disjunction within the scope of a
subject quantifier. In the experiment two types of quantifiers were used: decreasing and non-
decreasing. When the quantifier was decreasing, the combination supported an inference to one

391
of the disjuncts within the scope of the same quantifier, but when the quantifier was non-
decreasing, the inference was not supported. The question at the end of the vignette explicitly
asked about the inference to one of the disjuncts. Crucially, half the items included an NPI (ever
or any) while the other half did not. The experiment consisted of 48 reasoning problems
constructed from different vignettes. Each vignette existed in four conditions:
a. decreasing quantifier with a NPI
b. decreasing quantifier without a NPI
c. non-decreasing quantifier with a NPI
d. non-decreasing quantifier without a NPI
The inferences from DE quantifiers (conditions a) and b)) supported inferences to subsets (the
inference presented in S2 was valid). The inferences from non-decreasing quantifiers
(conditions c) and d)) did not (inferences were invalid). Pairs of comparable quantifiers were
used for the DE and non-decreasing conditions, for each vignette. After the participants had
read the context sentence and the disjunction sentence, they answered an inference question in
the format: Would it be reasonable to say that Quantifier (VP2)? The correct answer was Yes
for conditions a) and b) and No for c) and d). The experimental stimuli are found in an annex
at the end of this paper.
(19) Quantifiers used in the experiment:
Non-decreasing Decreasing
Aproape fiecare Aproape nici un
Nu mai puin de 5 Nu mai mult de 5
Cel puin 5 Cel mult 5
Multe/ Muli Nu multe/ muli
Mai mult de 5 Mai puin de 5
Aproape toat lumea Aproape nimeni
Cel puin jumtate Cel mult jumtate
Nu mai puin de 50 Nu mai mult de 50
Multe dintre Nu multe/ muli dintre
Mai mult de 5 dintre Mai puin de 5
(20) Examples of the stimuli used in the Experiment.
EVER example ANY example
CONTEXT sentence Our camp is in Staten After winning a game at a
Island. local fair, children get to
choose a prize.
(a) decreasing with NPI Almost no campers have Almost no child chose any
ever had a sunburn or mint chocolates or
caught a cold. decided on the cotton
candy.
(b) decreasing without Almost no campers have Almost no child chose
NPI had a sunburn or caught a mint chocolates or
cold. decided on the cotton
candy.
(c) non-decreasing with Almost every camper has Almost every child chose
NPI ever had a sunburn or any mint chocolates or
caught a cold. decided on the cotton
candy.

392
 (d) non-decreasing Almost every camper has
Almost every child chose
without NPI had a sunburn or caught a
mint chocolates or
cold. decided on the cotton
candy.
INFERENCE question Would it be reasonable to Would it be reasonable to
say that almost no [almost say that almost no [almost
every] camper(s) have every] child decided on
[has] caught a cold? the cotton candy?
According to Szabolcsi (2008) we are faced with the following scenario: if there is a link between
decreasingness and NPIs version (a), in which a NPI is present in the disjunction sentence,
should have been easier to process than version (b), in which no NPI is present. The NPI should
highlight the monotonicity context and make it easier for participants to verify the inference. If
there is not an essential link between NPI licensing and decreasingness, there should be no
difference between the versions.

Conditions in which there is no NPI present can be used to measure baseline performance.
Participants should respond positively to valid inferences without the NPI (b) and negatively to
invalid inferences without the NPI (d). The hypothesis is that when a NPI was included in the
text, participants should have been more accurate in judging that inferences involving
decreasing quantifiers were valid, compared to contexts in which the NPI was absent. The
results obtained in the experiment showed that participants generally accepted valid inferences,
but experienced difficulty in rejecting invalid inferences. The presence of the NPI, however,
failed to significantly facilitate correct acceptance of the valid inference. Indeed, accuracy on the
valid inferences was identical in the NPI-present and NPI-absent conditions, and we can be
95% confident that the NPI facilitated processing by at most 4%. (Szabolcsi, p.424) One
potential reason for the absence of an effect of the NPI is that participants might not have
processed the NPI to a sufficient depth when they read the sentences. 3 There is no doubt that
participants were paying attention to the quantifier NPI combinations, yet they appeared not
to use this information when evaluating the inferences.

In conclusion, the presence of an NPI does not substantially facilitate the accuracy with which
people can make inference judgments. What is transparent about the NPIs used in the
experiment is that they encode discourse properties pragmatic/ rhetoric effects. !!
Nonetheless, facilitation might reduce processing time without improving accuracy.

(21) Results:
Type of vignette Results
Vignette A = decreasing quantifier with 69,58% speakers accepted the inference as
NPI valid, and 30,41 % rejected the inference
Vignette B = decreasing quantifier 73,3% of the speakers accepted the
without NPI inference as valid, and 26,66% rejected the
inference
Vignette C = non-decreasing quantifier 64,58% of the speakers rejected the

3
However, this is an unlikely explanation because it was observed a marginally lower accuracy when the NPI was present in the non-decreasing
quantifier condition (c) (where it was generally unlicensed) than when it was not present (d), and participants spent an extra half a second longer
reading sentences from conditions (c) than from (a).

393
 with NPI inference and 35,41% accepted the
inference as valid
Vignette D = non-decreasing quantifier 55% of the speakers rejected the inference
without NPI and 45% accepted the inference as valid

Analyzing all the data used in the experiment and the results obtained above we can conclude
that lexical PPIs and NPIs in Romanian are scalar operators, specified for two scalar semantic
features, quantitative value and informative value, whose lexical semantic-pragmatic content
make them sensitive to scalar inferences. The inferences relevant to polarity licensing do not
depend on semantic entailment alone; they seem to depend on a general ability for scalar
reasoning. Polarity items are governed by the same sort of inferencing which determines the
rhetoric of scalar emphasis and the interpretation of superlatives, and this inferencing is
essentially pragmatic.

Selection of References

Barwise, Jon and Robin Cooper. 1981. Generalized quantifiers and natural language. Linguistics and
Philosophy 4: 159-219.
Farkas, Donka. (2002). Extreme non-specificity in Romanian. In Romance Languagesand Linguistic Theory
2000, C. Beyssade et al. (eds.), pp. 127-153, Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Farkas, Donka. (2006). Free choice in Romanian. In Drawing the Boundaries of Meaning, B. Birner and G.
Ward (eds.), pp. 7194. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Fauconnier, Giles. 1975b. Polarity and the scale principle. Papers from the Eleventh Regional Meeting of the
Chicago Linguistic Society. Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society
Falaus, Anamaria. 2014. (Partially) Free Choice of Alternatives, to appear in Linguistics and Philosophy,
http://semanticsarchive.net/Archive/zcwYzIwM/Falaus2014.pdf
Horn, Laurence. 1989. A Natural History of Negation. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press
Israel, Michael. 1996. Polarity Sensitivity as Lexical Semantics. Linguistics and Philosophy: 19, 619-666
Israel, Michael. 1997. The Scalar Model of Polarity Sensitivity. Forget et al., eds., 209-229
Kadmon, Nirit and Fred Landman. 1993. Any. in: Linguistics and Philosophy 16.4, pp. 353-422.
Ladusaw, William. 1979. Polarity Sensitivity as Inherent Scope Relations. University of Texas at Austin,
Austin, PhD dissertation
Rothschild, Daniel. 2006. Definite Descriptions Negative Polarity. http://philpapers.org/ rec/ ROTNPA
Szabolcsi, Anna. 2004. Positive Polarity-Negative Polarity. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 22: 409-
425
Van der Wouden, Ton. 1997. Negative Contexts: Collocation, Polarity and Multiple Negation. Routledge,
London
Zeijlstra, Hedde. 2004. Sentential Negation and Negative Concord. University of Amsterdam. Utrecht:
LOT Publications. PhD Dissertation
Zwarts, Frans. 1998. Three types of polarity items. In Fritz Hamm and Erhard Hinrichs, eds., Plurality and
Quantification. 177-238. Kluwer, Dordrecht.

394
 POETICA REALISMULUI N INCIPITUL ROMANULUI ION

Zanet Rodica Mihaela, prof. gr. I,

Colegiul Tehnic Radu Negru, Galati

A ncepe dar i a sfri un roman nseamn a-l delimita de celelalte forme de discurs, dar
procedeul trdeaz i o anumit concepie asupra lumii. Codajul deschiderii i nchiderii unui
text narativ difer de la o epoc cultural la alta.
Primele fraze ale romanelor lui L. Rebreanu instituie, dup cum s-a observat, un
autocratism al semnificativului, cheam deja acordul final.
Incipitul romanului Ion este caracteristic poeticii realismului n care descrierea mediului
n care se desfoar aciunea capt cteodat proporii semnificative.
Sistemul de norme estetice ale realismului se bazeaz pe crearea unei iluzii a realitii i
pe re-inventarea unei lumi. Dintr-o perspectiv estetic mai larg, realismul, ca perioad istoric
sau curent literar, nu este dect un caz particular al nentreruptei relaii dintre art i realitate.
Trecnd inevitabil prin etapele conceptului aristotelic de mimesis, realismul ar nsemna
imitaie, copiere literar, fidelitate fa de natur.1
De aceea, verosimilul a devenit principiul de baza al realismului. Principiul verosimilului
se refer, n cazul discursului literar, la o serie de mecanisme specifice, capabile s
ntrein<<efectul de real>>sau<<iluzia referenial>>
Verosimilul e noiunea cheie ce explic mecanismul prin care dicursul poate deveni
acceptabil ntr-un anumit context. Spre deosebire de adevrat, verosimilul e o noiune relativ,
variabil istoric i cultural. Verosimilul implic totdeauna raportarea la i conformitatea cu
diverse ateptrii i modele, cu o serie de norme i reglementrii colective.2 Conform unor
obinuine tradiionale de gndire, verosimilul este cel mai adesea neles ca verosimil natural
sau referenial, atribuindu-se literaturii simpla veleitate de a calchia sau de a copia realul. Realul
invocat ni-l putem imagina ca pe un spaiu concret, geografico-istorico-social, apt de a fi
actualizat prin verbalizare.
Verosimilul se realizeaz printr-o serie de trucuri cum ar fi:
1.Efectul de a construi perimetre geografic identificabile prin aglomerarea de toponime sau
cantonarea ntr-un spaiu unic. Urmeaz construirea unui cadru care s suporte congruena
ficiunilor verbale cu realul ceea ce face textul verosimil. Raionamentul folosit este pars pro
toto: dac o poriune a textului trimite la un dat cunoscut, atunci restul poate fi considerat
credibil.
2. Exegeii identific ns i verosimilul cultural sau topic, reprezentnd evocarea lumii prin
prisma ideologiei unei anumite culturi. Pentru un autor, a se supune normelor verosimilului
cultural nseamn a pune n relaie discursul cu spaiul n care el apare posibil. Lotman l
numete extratext (hors-texte).
Inceputul romanului Ion a devenit, cu timpul, prin lecturi repetate, metafora trecerii spre
teritoriile imaginarului.

395
 In literatur drumul (circularitatea) poate fi cnd for constrngtoare, cnd alibi, cnd
spaim i putere germinativ. 3
Rebreanu, ncepndu-i crile n maniera lui Balzac, opteaz cu precdere pentru
descrierea n micare. Abundena construciilor verbale ne proiecteaz n diegez pur, autorul
facnd apel la o tehnic utilizat in cinematografie. L. Rebreanu i dezvluie astfel inteniile:
Pentru a situa locurile, pornesc cu cititorul pe oseaua naional, m abat, din sus de
Armandia, pe o osea lateral care trece Someul,apoi prin satul Jidovia,ajunge la Pripas. 4
Despre <<drumul>> de la nceputul lui Ion s-a spus c face legtura ntre lumea real i
lumea ficiunii: urmrindu-l intrm i ieim ca printr-o poart, din roman. E o cale de acces.
Drumul apare ca un personaj -cel dinti din roman- tnr, sprinten i nerbdtor s
ajung la destinaie:
Din oseaua ce vine de la Crlibaba, ntovrind Someul cnd n dreapta, cnd n
stnga, pn la Cluj i chiar mai departe, se desprinde un drum alb mai sus de Armadia, trece
rul peste podul btrn de lemn, acoperit cu indril mucegit, spintec satul Jidovia i
alearg spre Bistria, unde se pierde n cealalt osea naional care coboar din Bucovina prin
trectoarea Brgului.
Lsnd Jidovia, drumul urc nti anevoie pn ce i face loc printre dealurile
strmtorate, pe urm ns nainteaz vesel, neted, mai ascunzndu-se printre fagii tineri ai
Pdurii-Domneti, mai poposind puin la Cimeaua-Mortului, unde picur venic ap de izvor
rcoritoare, apoi cotete brusc pe sub Rpele-Dracului, ca s dea buzna n Pripasul pitit ntr-o
scrntitur de coline.5
Romanul Ion primete de la nceput o tu epopeic: prezentul indicativ (din oseaua ce
vine se desprinde un drum alb) numete i fixeaz n acest fel inuturi, animale i oameni.
Ele sunt animate n mod egal, aduse n acelai prim-plan: fuiorul de fum albstrui se opintete
s se nale dintre crengile pomilor, pisica alb vine n vrful picioarelor, cinele nvtorului
picotete n mijlocul drumului. In spaiul acesta perfect obiectivat se strecoar vocea auctorial.
Drumul urc nti anevoie apoi naiteaz vesel, satul e parc mort, iar cldura te sugrum. 6
Expresiile subliniate alctuiesc marca prezenei n text a creatorului omniprezent, care parafeaz
i sfritul construit dup legea simetriei: Copitele cailor bocnesc aspru pe drumul bttorit i
roile trsurii uruie mereu, monoton-monoton ca nsui mersul vremii. 7
ntr-un astfel de roman n care naratorul omniscient cunoaste destinul personajelor
dinainte ca actiunea s nceap, tehnicile narative sunt toate menite s sustin edificiul bine
construit dinainte. Ca urmare, i timpurile verbale folosite sunt bine alese, iar trecerea de la
unul la altul are multiple semnificatii care se las ntelese abia la o lectur mai atent.
In tipul narativ auctorial momentul naraiunii este ulterior timpului n care povestirea
este considerat n derulare. Cum naratorul este centrul de orientare n tipul narativ auctorial, el
va determina organizarea temporal a ordinei i a duratei.
In romanul Ion, naratorul respect ordinea cronologic linear i, ca n naraia
tradiional, ofer iluzia c descoper ntamplarile odat cu cititorii.
Prezentul este utilizat n descrierea drumului de la nceputul i sfritul romanului: Un
fuior de fum albstrui se opintete s se nale dintre crengile pomilor, se blbnete ca o
matahal ameit i se prvale peste grdinile prfuite, nvluindu-le ntr-o cea cenuie. n
mijlocul drumului picotete cinele nvtorului Zaharia Herdelea, cu ochii ntredeschii,
suflnd greu. O pisic alb ca laptelevine n vrful picioarelor, ferindu-se s nu-i murdreasc
lbuele prin praful uliei

396
 Intrarea n ficiune se face cu ajutorul prezentului, impregnnd primele evenimente cu
autenticitatea lui, pn n momentul cnd cedeaz unui mai mult ca perfect ce face trecerea la
adevratul timp al naraiei: perfectul simplu.
O atare pliere dubl a timpului real pe cel fictiv i a vocii auctoriale pe cea impersonal-
constituie o performan unic la Rebreanu, ea n-a mai putut fi reeditat n Rscoala. 8
Astfel, Opera devine o memorie a destinatarului, iar drumul ne face responsabili pentru
eventualul refuz de a vedea n text altceva dect venicele noastre obsesii. 9
La final, senzaia de trecere a timpului este foarte vie. Ultimul personaj este tot drumul,
nfiat ns la o alt vrst: btrn, bttorit, ncolcindu-se lene ca o panglic cenuie n
amurgul rcoros. 10 Drumul devine astfel suprapersonaj al romanului, cptnd valene
simbolice. El nu aduce pe nimeni, el numai duce undeva, la locul aciunii, n spaiul artistic, i,
pn la urm, ne scoate din el, redndu-ne din nou realitii obinuite. Se trudete parc, s
duc cititorul ntr-o lume necunoscut, ntr-un univers nchis, pe care drumul, prin pustietatea
lui l izoleaz esteticete i mai mult. Drumul alb i gol are functia de a izola esteticete
universul creat de ficiunea autorului. 11
Imaginea drumului care intr i iese impasibil din satul rscolit de drame individuale i
de patima colectiv pentru pmnt reprezint nsi axa material enigmatic a romanului.
Drumul care duce n satul Pripas vine din necunoscut, trece i nregistreaz suferinele umane
ca un martor nepstor, pentru a se pierde tot n necunoscut la sfritul crii. 12
Tehnica literar selectat de Rebreanu, circularitatea, demonstreaz c scriitorul intuise
magistral o lege estetic formulat de teoreticianul Georg Lukacs: Dac ne reprezentm viaa
cotidian ca un mare fluviu, atunci tiina i arta se ramific din aceasta ca forme superioare de
receptare i reproducere a realitii [] pentru ca apoi, datorit efectelor, influenei lor asupra
vieii oamenilor, s se verse din nou n fluviul vieii cotidiene. 13 In acelai fel explic i
L.Rebreanu efectele romanelor sale concepute ca un corp sferoid se termin precum a
nceput: lumea romanului rmne n sufletul cititorului ca o amintire vie, care apoi se
amestec cu propiile-i amintiri din viaa proprie. Ca urmare a acestei tehnici, cititorul lui Ion
se ntoarce la sfrit pe acelai drum napoi, pn ce iese din lumea ficiunii i reintr n lumea
lui real. 14
Simetria incipitului cu finalul este susinut i de alte simetrii din interiorul operei, dar ne
vom referi doar la imaginea drumului.
Circularitatea romanului realizat prin imaginea drumului care intr i iese din satul
Pripas creeaz impresia unui univers nchis i rotund. Acesta pare a se vrsa i la un capt, i la
altul, n via, dar nu are nicio legtur cu ea.
In acest sens, Rebreanu afirma: Realitatea a fost pentru mine numai un pretext pentru a-
mi putea crea o alt lume, nou, cu legile ei, cu ntmplrile ei.15 Intre aceste lumi exist o
singur cale de acces: drumul. Dar el nu numai leag, ci i izoleaz aceast lume nou, sugernd
o lips de granie, dei este o grani.
Pe drumul spre Pripas nu vine nimeni. Satul pare mort, mprejurimile pustii. E o tcere
nbuitoare. Nemicarea aceasta i linitea sunt o intuiie remarcabil a romancierului: ele
sunt ca o pauz, n marele spectacol al lumii, care permite instaurarea unei durate imaginare.16

397
 In romanul realist obiectiv care i propune s continue n mod veridic viaa astfel de
pauze sunt absolut necesare. Timpul istoriei se suspend, ceea ce permite instaurarea timpului
ficiunii. Aceast pauz temporal e marcat n text prin deprinderea drumului care conduce
spre Pripas: un drum alb duce ctre Pripas-calea larg-timpul obiectiv, al realitii. Din ea s-a
desprins drumul care conduce n timpul ficiunii, adic viaa iluzorie, singura autentic fiindc
e trit sub imperiul patimilor puternice, nrobitoare. Viclenia romancierului realist face ca al
doilea timp s se topeasc n primul fr ca lumea s bage de seam.17
Cititorul triete senzaia de trecere fireasc, de prelungire a timpului real n timpul fictiv.
Incipitul suprapune timpul romanesc peste cel istoric.
Realul astfel invocat ni-l putem imagina ca pe un spaiu concret, geografico-istorico-social
apt de a fi actualizat prin verbalizare. De remarcat apelul la trucuri puse n micare pentru a
avea iluzia unui <<ca i cum>> referenial. 18
Realismul confirm astfel funcionalitatea unui prim truc: principiul pars pro toto: dac o
poriune a textului trimite la un dat cunoscut, atunci i restul poate fi considerat credibil. In
Mrturisiri, Rebreanu afirma: Descrierea drumului pn la Pripas i chiar a satului i a
mprejurimilor corespunde n mare parte realitii.
Un alt truc este efortul autorului de a construi perimetre geografic indentificabile
prin aglomerri de toponime.
Din oseaua ce vine de la Crlibaba, ntovrind Someul unde se pierde n cealalt
osea naional care coboar din Bucovina prin trectoarea Brgului.
Ceea ce urmeaz n plan verbal este utilizat pentru construirea unui cadru care s
suporte congruena ficiunilor verbale cu realul. Prin integrarea n text a unor toponime
precum: Some, Bistria, Trectoarea Brgului se urmrete ca textul s devin verosimil.
Incipitul romanului Ion trimite deci la verosimil naturalsau referenial care e urmarea
ncercrii de a crea o alt lume care s par c este cea real. Romancierul i-a perfecionat
tehnicile de sugestie, dnd impresia c lumea lui e acolo de totdeauna. Bogia toponimiei
slujete perfect scopul naratorului: drumul spre Pripas nainteaz prin nume de locuri: Some,
Bistria, Trectoarea Brgului.
Romanul intete un trompe doeil, n care important nu este att impresia c ficiunea
repet viaa, ct aceea c viaa prelungete, ntr-o parte i n cealalt, ficiunea.19
Cititorul e n puterea unei iluzii: c e de ajuns s ntind mna pentru a atinge reliefurile de pe
pnz, apoi e mpins s caute imaginile de pe pnz n realitate.20 De aceea, pe urmele
eroilor lui Rebreanu au mers multe generaii de curioi care au vrut s verifice la faa locului
fiecare episod din roman. Rebreanu mrturisea chiar c a primit reprouri n legtur cu unele
elemente geografice descrise, cititorii descoperind anumite inadvertene cu realitatea.
Romancierul doric e un cartograf urmrind s ne conving c universul lui este deplin
real. Acesta constitue un element esenial al poeticii realiste: universul n relief, uman i
natural. Tot secretul romancierului este de a obine similaritatea desvrit folosind scara de
1/1. Drumul pustiu de la nceputul romanului ne conduce n miezul imaginarului. El asigur o
continuitate fireasc ntre lumea <<din afar>> i cea <<dinuntru>>, adic deschide i nchide

398
o lume. Romancierul se las n voia similaritii, situndu-i lumea ficional n marele flux al
lumii reale, construind un duplicat, relativ autonom, condus de legi proprii. Romanul devine
astfel o imagine a lumii.
Structura logic a romanului este impus de legea cauzalitii care este specific
romanului realist. Din acest punct de vedere, romanul realist devine o simptomatologie a
realului, mai curnd, dect o oglind a lui. Astfel, personajele nu sunt individualiti, ci tipuri,
nainte de a fi prezene particulare, ele manifest nelesuri generale. Societatea, morala, istoria
sau ereditatea alctuiesc, n romanul realist, adevrata cauzalitate care explic ceea ce
personajele sunt sau nfptuiesc. Nici un element al universului uman sau obiectual pe care l
inventeaz realistul nu e relevant n sine nsui, ci numai ca ntrupare a unei generaliti
extrinseci. Romanul doric ilustreaz generalul prin particular. De aceea, impersonalizarea ca i
principiu constructiv devine o alt consecin previzibil. Astfel, drumul parial animizat []
reclam printr-un veritabil dictat impus de legea cauzalitii, dezvoltrile ulterioare pn la
nchiderea din final. 21 N Manolescu vorbete despre un comar al cauzalitii n romanul
realist 22 , iar imaginea drumului este important pentru principiul pe care l enunam. Acest
fapt determin structura logic a romanului. Romancierul e dominat de intenionalitate, cci el
aaz ntotdeauna sfritul naintea nceputului. El nu privete realitatea ca pe o succesiune sau
o confuzie de evenimente inexplicabile i imprevizibile-ci ca pe un proces ncheiat-explicabil i
previzibil. De aceea, universul lui nu este real, ci logic.
Analiznd principiul cauzalitii n romanele lui L Rebreanu, Elena Drago afirm c n
romanul Ion predomin o ordine cauzal rezultat dintr-o ordine cronologic strict
respectat.23
In acest tip de roman, nimic nefiind ntmpltor, totul devine necesar: este o tiranie a
semnificativului. Totul anticipeaz, avertizeaz. Remarcm astfel i o dimensiune simbolic a
romanului Ion care anticip noul realism numit de Rebreanu un realism al esenelor. Aceast
dimensiune devine vizibil nc din incipit. Intre crucea strmb pe care e rstignit un Hristos cu
faa splcit de ploi i cu o cununi de flori vetede, casa lui Alexandru Pop Glanetau, al crei
acoperi apare ca un cap de balaur i creasta nsngerat a psrii din praful drumului se
instituie, subteran, o relaie complementar datorit semnificaiei lor premonitorii, n acord cu
obligativitatea semnificrii, impus de formula romanului balzacian.24 Dimensiunea simbolic
ajut la consolidarea edificiului masiv cu belug de ornamente mereu semnificative. Hristosul
de tabl ruginit generalizeaz un destin altfel individual i contribuie la construcia romanului.
Efectul de generalizare i simbolistica multipl a incipitului i finalului realizate printr-
un element de maxim simplitate cum este imaginea drumului au contribuit la edificiul mre al
unuia dintre cele mai valoroase romane realiste romneti.

Bibliografie

1. Simu, Ion, Liviu Rebreanu, Ed. Aula, Braov, p.10

2. Spiridon, Monica, Despre aparena i realitatea literaturii, Bucureti, Ed.Univers, 1984
3. Sasu, Aurel, Liviu Rebreanu, srbtoarea operei, Bucureti, Ed. Albatros, 1978 p.87

399
4. Rebreanu, Liviu, Opere, 15, ediie critic de Niculae Gheran; stabilirea textului n colaborare cu Nedeea
Burca; Metropole, Amalgam, Ed. Minerva, 1991
5. Rebreanu, Liviu, Opere 4, Text ales i stabilit, note, comentarii i variante editoriale de Nicolae Gheran,
Ion, Bucureti, Ed Minerva, 1970, p. 11
6. idem, p. 12
7.ibidem, p. 442
8 Muthu, Mircea, Liviu Rebreanu sau paradoxul organicului, Cluj-Napoca, Ed. Dacia, 1993, p. 59
9 Sasu, Aurel, Liviu Rebreanu, srbtoarea operei, Bucureti, Ed. Albatros, 1978, p.86
10 Rebreanu, Liviu, Ion, p. 442
11 Blan, Ion Dodu -postfaa la romanul Ion, Bucureti, Ed Minerva, 1984, p.470
12 Simu, Ion, op. Cit., p.50
13 Lukacs, Georg, Estetica, Bucureti, Ed. Meridiane, 1972, p.77
14, Liviu, Opere, 15, editie critic de Niculae Gheran; stabilirea textului in colaborare cu Nedeea Burca;
Metropole, Amalgam, Ed. Minerva, 1991p.61
15 idem
16 Manolescu, Nicolae, Arca lui Noe, eseu despre romanul romnesc, Ed. Minerva 1980-1983, p. 138
17 Crohmlniceanu, Ovidiu, Cinci prozatori n cinci feluri de lectur, Bucureti, Ed. Cartea romneasc,
1984
18 Spiridon, Monica, op. Cit., p73
19 Manolescu, Nicolae, op. Cit., p.141
20 ibidem
21 Muthu, Mircea, op. Cit., p.58
22 Manolescu, Nicolae, op. Cit., p.142
23Drago, Elena, Structuri narative la Liviu Rebreanu, Ed. Stiinific i Enciclopedic, 1981, p 73
24 Muthu, Mircea, op. Cit., p.66

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