Projects / Programmes
Slovene Language - Basic, Contrastive, and Applied Studies
January 1, 2015
- December 31, 2018
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.05.00 |
Humanities |
Linguistics |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H000 |
Humanities |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.02 |
Humanities |
Languages and Literature |
Slovene, language resources, language technology, language description, contrastive linguistics, corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics, translation studies, discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis, language policy, language planning
Researchers (36)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
The program encompasses four major fields of study: 1) Language resources and language technology tools, 2) Language analysis and linguistic description, 3) Sociolinguistic studies, and 4) Slovene in translation and interpreting.
1. In recent years, a number of language resources have been developed for Slovene. They are dynamically updated, so that they are kept current, with new, mostly specialized language resources being planned for implementation. Language resources are the basis for linguistic research, and we need as many analytical methods as possible in order to implement it. Therefore, a number of statistical methods and machine learning methods (clustering and classification) is planned for production, as a means of assistance in semantic research and syntactic analysis as well as with explicit knowledge-based methods of automated text analysis.
2. Linguistic description is based on modern language resources, and it focuses on the history of Slovene as well as the description of its current state, Standard as well as non-Standard Slovene. In addition to the systemic description, research is focused on discourse analysis (including contrastively, between Slovene and Croatian, French, Italian, and German). Discourse analysis is based mainly on contrastive rhetoric and critical discourse analysis.
3. The analysis of language policies in the Republic of Slovenia serves as the basis for the proposal for the reviewed model of the Slovenian language policy, in different segments of language policy, especially in terminology, translation and interpreting, especially in community interpreting. In addition to the traditionally defined pillars and mechanisms of language policy, it will include wider and newer aspects of language planning and language policy (e.g., language in the workplace, language activism, personal and family language policies).
4. For linguistic-cultural environments with languages with a more limited diffusion, such as Slovene, the interlingual transfer is of vital significance. Meanwhile, the processes of translation and interpreting have changed dramatically due to the use of technology. We upgrade studies of translation with the eye-tracking methodology, with which we aim to equip Slovenian translation studies with the cognitive aspects of translation. In interpreting studies, we focus on the changes in the process of interpreting, marked in consecutive interpreting by the use of the digital pen, and in simultaneous, by remote interpreting.
Significance for science
I.
The research program continues the dialogue of the individual research disciplines with international linguistics; its materials, theoretical approach and the findings are an original contribution to international linguistics. Research in the discipline of Slovene linguistic studies is a concentration of linguistic ideas on the Slovene language, while research results establish the authenticity of Slovene linguistic studies within the international linguistic community.
II.
Viewed from a broader perspective, in the last two or three decades linguistics has witnessed a noticeable paradigm shift from researching language as a system, which was typical of structuralism, to a more empirically-oriented language description which aims to describe workings of language in real life, and is linked to fields such as psychology, neurobiology, ICT, artificial intelligence etc. This type of linguistics aims to integrate traditional themes such as phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics etc. and others: pragmatics, discourse analysis, text linguistics etc., into a unified description. To enable research within the new paradigm, reliable empirical data about different language phenomena are needed that are provided by modern computational or corpus linguistics, using automatic methods to analyze extensive collections of written and spoken language data (corpora).
III.
Linguistic procedures and language technology developed within the research program will improve language resources for Slovene (including parallel and comparable multilingual corpora). Thus an important segment of the Slovene linguistic infrastructure will be created, making sure that the infrastructure is incorporated into the linguistic research sphere as an essential segment of contemporary linguistic analyses and linguistic descriptions based on these analyses. The program will thus contribute to the following:
a. the development of the principles of a standardized presentation of language resources for Slovene
b. the development of modern methods of analyzing structured data in text corpora
c. the development of modern methods of linking corpus resources, their analysis and the presentation of the results of the analysis
č. the development of modern methods for accessing Slovene language resources
In applied linguistics domain, the program will strengthen the role of corpus linguistics in Slovenia. With the compilation of general corpora, corpus linguistics has established itself as an independent research starting point. When corpus-based approach is systematically included into research on Slovene language and contrastive studies of Slovene and other languages, an important step will be made towards a meaningful inclusion of corpus linguistics into language analysis in general.
Significance for the country
I.
Basic research studies of Slovene ensure that the language fulfills all its functions and is comparable to other European and world languages.
II.
In contemporary society that is based on knowledge and advanced technologies, it is important that adequate infrastructure is developed for every language. This is something that we must do ourselves. In the global community, accessibility of information in a particular language, as well as its potential to interrelate with other languages, is of vital importance, therefore, the compilation of various language resources for Slovene is crucial, as is efficient intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary communication, within a single language and among various languages. Work in the field of terminology has worldwide support, as it enhances the transfer of technology. Undoubtedly, this is also the case for Slovenia. By efficient terminology management we not only encourage a faster transfer of technological solutions to the Slovene environment, but also present Slovene technological achievements in a foreign language. Figures show that the majority of all data related to specialized knowledge and skills (as much as 80%) is transferred through the modern media. Therefore, terminological research is extremely important for a successful exchange of relevant information. By ensuring a fast and efficient exchange of new information, it offers economic subjects operating in this environment an opportunity for a better performance. Data shows that skilled transfer of specialized information from one language to another is an important factor in economic development.
III.
Communication problems often arise from insufficient knowledge of terminology rather than from the lack general language skills. The incorrect use of terminology and communicative patterns can have a number of negative effects, ranging from a poorer economic performance to harm or injury in situations involving safety regulations or instructions for use, due to inadequate translation. They may reduce the efficiency of education, increase the cost in the context of unsuccessful interlingual transfer of technical documentation, reduce the level of legal protection in contracts and other legal documents, etc. Thus, the effects of the proposed research work can be measured both in terms of quantity and quality. The proposed research presents the basis for ensuring efficient communication and consequently plays an important role in eliminating the negative effects listed above on interlingual and intercultural transfer.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2015,
2016,
2017,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2015,
2016,
2017,
final report
