Virolinguistics: Introduction to the Study of the Coronavirus Language

This paper undertakes the introduction to virolinguistics, a new linguistic discipline that investigates the virus language (virolect) based on the Hungarian linguistic material drawn from the scientific literature and our own collection. The goal of this work is to evaluate the effect of the pandemic on certain aspects of the Hungarian language: genres, vocabulary, communication, the linguistic landscape, and social media. The linguistic materials of these various areas play an important role in our society: they have a warning, entertaining, or stress-relieving function. Due to the restrictions, most studies have moved to the Internet. The methodological paradox of virolinguistics can be identified in the fact that it disregards certain scientific standards in order to assist linguists in collecting their valuable linguistic and visual materials.

Saying ‘No’ to Immigration Quota: An Analysis of Evaluative Language in Hungarian and Romanian Political Discourse

One of the most controversial issues during the 2015 migrant crisis and the subsequent process of reformulating immigration policies by the European Union was that of the mandatory resettlement quota. Hungary and Romania formulated very different positions related to migration, but both were critical regarding the mandatory quota. This study analyses parts of declarations and speeches of two heads of state, Viktor Orbán for Hungary and Klaus Iohannis for Romania, concerning the quota issue, by employing the framework of evaluative language, which focuses on the dialogic, interpersonal aspects of utterances. Beyond the fact of rejecting the quota, Martin and White’s (2005) taxonomy brings to the forefront the linguistic means through which the two speakers evaluate the subject (a problem of logistics that needs a pragmatic approach or a matter of cultural and national identity) and establish (dis)alignment as representatives of their countries (“official voices” of Hungary and Romania) with regard to the EU position.

World Literature and Translation in Persian Literature Textbooks

Persian literature textbooks, designed, compiled, and distributed by a state bureau run by the Ministry of Education, Organization for Educational Research and Planning, also have sections on the theory and practice of translating world literature. The current study deals with those passages, how they are represented and how they are consequently interpreted in the light of Venuti’s conceptualization of domesticating and foreignizing translation. It is aimed to understand the status, significance, and visibility of translators in the corpus under study. The results of content analysis for the five high school literature textbooks (grades 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12) indicate a strong sense of domestication and appropriation by the compilers of the textbooks. The following strategies are recognized to have the largest share in the textbooks: no mention of the name of the translator, Iranization, and appropriation. The strategies are followed by samples for each theme. The paper concludes that the polyphonic world promised to be achieved by studying foreign and world literature is not, therefore, attained in such a context, as the emphasis is ultimately on the target ideologies and worldviews. The study also sheds doubt on the assumption that domestication is confined to the so-called imperialistic cultures like the Anglo-American.

Changes and Perspectives in Teacher Training Methodology

School closures induced by the COVID-19 crisis have led to the rethinking and reshaping of teacher training considering the norms of online and blended learning, and the pressure to embrace the possibilities offered by information and communications technology. We propose to examine the new perspectives and necessary changes related to three domains in which our institution – the Teacher Training Institute of Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, Faculty of Technical and Human Sciences – offers training: foreign languages, social sciences, and engineering. Different areas of education have been affected in different ways by the pandemic. In language teaching, familiarity with pre-existing platforms and programs helped the transition to online education. In the field of social sciences, the transfer of theoretical information did not cause any particular problems, but the development of interpersonal relationships, interactivity, and communication became more difficult. In the domain of engineering, practical education has become nearly impossible, as in order to develop certain practical skills students need access to laboratories equipped with special tools, devices, and instruments. In our study, we will focus on ways of updating and developing our methodology courses based on new paradigms and good practices presented in the specialized literature, also reflecting on feedback received from our teacher trainees related to their difficulties and needs revealed by the shift to online teaching.

John Hunyadi in Hungarian Folklore and Historiography

The folk epic songs of a nation are often associated with heroic actions of famous historical figures of the given nation, whose names are often known beyond Balkan folklore, thus becoming characters of epic folk songs and tales preserved in South Slavic or Romanian folklore. The paper analyses Hungarian, Serbian, and Romanian folklore sources about John Hunyadi’s ethnic origin, with the intention to present the biography of this historical figure from the aspect of Hungarian historiography and his folklore heritage through the eyes of some Hungarian and Serbian folklorists. One of these emblematic heroes was certainly John Hunyadi, whose feats (as well as the feats of other members of the Hunyadi family) are told throughout the cycles of Hungarian epic folk tales, as well as the folk tales of the peoples in the surrounding area. This paper is based on the analysis of the collection of Hungarian historical folk tales by Dénes Lengyel, which contains a dozen texts about John Hunyadi. These texts have several points of contact with Romanian and Serbian history and folklore. The second part of the paper presents the biography of John Hunyadi in the light of Hungarian historiography as well as the discussion of his origins.

Language Use during Romanian Classes in Bilingual Settings. A Qualitative Approach

Education is one of the defining areas of language policy, as on this level we can track the features of the practical implementation of language ideologies. In my study, I deal with the question of teaching the official language, i.e. Romanian, in schools where the working language is Hungarian. I outline a summing-up situation based on the macro indicators (following demographic, environmental aspects), then focus on the micro level related to the question under discussion, namely to what is happening in the classroom, paying special attention to the organization of the linguistic resources in classroom interaction. In order to have a deeper understanding of the phenomenon, I analyse 25 structured reflective diaries and try to identify what kind of local interpretations are there for code-switching in the classroom and what individual solutions are used by different teachers for organizing the learning process.

Travel Writing, Literature, and Romance: Polixéna Wesselényi’s Travels in Italy and Switzerland

Polixéna Wesselényi’s Travels in Italy and Switzerland, the first travel narrative that was written by a woman in Hungary and Transylvania, is a work little known to the wider international public, as it was published in Hungarian in 1842, seven years after her tour. There are few travel narratives written by East-Central European women in the first half of the nineteenth century. This essay attempts to reflect upon Wesselényi’s personal motives, her intellect and literary craftsmanship, as well as the cultural constraints she had to encounter. The romantic nature of the relationship between Wesselényi, a married woman, and the fellow travel writer John Paget, is also mirrored by the text. Travels in Italy and Switzerland not only offers an insight into the relatively favourable situation of Transylvanian women of the aristocracy in the 1830s but also shows that it had the power to inspire the works of celebrated Hungarian novelists after its publication. Although Wesselényi’s style conforms to the picturesque and sentimental travel writing published by European women in the period, it justly demands a place for itself on the list of distinguished nineteenth-century European travel writing by women.