Founded in 2010 and dedicated to publishing articles on the studies of Germanic, Roman and Slavic linguistics and education. Indexed in the Scopus database since 2021.
Vilniaus universiteto leidykla / Vilnius University Press
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Eglė Selevičienė, Nijolė Burkšaitienė. Web-based Learning Technologies in the Studies of English for Specific Purposes in Higher Education
Copyright (c) 2026 Aleksander Kobylarek https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Copyright (c) 2026 Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Copyright (c) 2025 Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Psychological Science and Linguistic Theory
In the study of human cognition, language is central in part because our species is the only surviving member of the primate lineage that is in possession of its distinctive properties. Evidence suggests that only in homo sapiens, spectacularly, did language emerge. Aside from the point of view of evolutionary origins, the other reason for language being a defining feature is its function as an indispensable instrument of higher order cognition. If language-related abilities are essential in this way, linguistics can be understood as a branch of psychology; and in general, the methods of cognitive science should be applicable to its study in every way. From another perspective, its centrality is related to the interconnectivity of language with the other higher order competencies of the mind. Thus, in all of the above, and in the following discussion, “language” should be understood as “knowledge of language.” As in all the branches of psychology, rooted in turn in biological science, attention to the relationship between applied research and theory cannot in the long run be neglected.
Copyright (c) 2026 Norbert Francis https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Ethnocultural Elements in Indirect Translation: From Vovchok’s Ukrainian Folk Stories to Cadot’s French via Turgenev’s Mediating Text
This article examines the reproduction of culturally marked elements, including realia, phraseological expressions, and diminutive suffixes, in the indirect translation of Marko Vovchok’s Folk Stories from Ukrainian into French via Ivan Turgenev’s Russian translation. The aim of the study is to assess how the use of an intermediary language affects the rendering of cultural and stylistic aspects of the source text. The data were collected through the excerption of culture-specific units and analysed using comparative and contrastive methods. The findings show that the mediating text influences the conveyance of cultural elements in the target translation. Turgenev’s translation partially neutralises ethnocultural realia, reduces emotional expressiveness, and simplifies the folk-colloquial tone. Cadot’s French translation, based on a Russian intermediary, conveys these concepts through transliteration with explication, cultural equivalents, and descriptive adaptation, sometimes compensating for losses to ensure intelligibility for the target audience. Overall, these changes can be classified as preservation, partial adaptation, loss/neutralisation, or amplification/explanation. The analysis reveals that the translation outcomes ultimately depend on the translator’s creativity and cultural awareness. Further research on indirect translation could provide deeper insights into the reception of Ukrainian literature within the French-speaking cultural space.
Copyright (c) 2026 Liudmyla Diachuk https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Characteristics and Development Prospects of Lithuanian Gymnasium Students’ Linguistic Behaviuor
The article, based on data from a comprehensive study conducted during the 2023-2024 academic year on the linguistic behaviour of gymnasium students’ in everyday life, discusses the results of language choice in various daily situations from the perspectives of language vitality and communicative adaptation theories. These results reflect current realities and indicate expected changes. The study revealed that young people's linguistic environment is predominantly Lithuanian (the language used at home, in communication with friends, in public spaces, when reading books, and when expressing feelings and emotions). The influence of English is more pronounced in the online sphere and in communication on social media. The interaction between the standard language and dialects shows limited use of dialects in everyday communication, however, it is noteworthy that dialect use remains a significant symbol of connection with one’s native place, language, and tradition. The use of other languages may be determined by internal and external factors - either as a conscious choice to speak another language or as a necessity dictated by circumstances. The results of this study outline two directions of linguistic behaviour: the first indicates a strong and close identity connection with the Lithuanian language, while the second reveals young people’s openness to other languages and cultures.
Copyright (c) 2025 Aurelija Tamulionienė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Phrases marquantes in Annie Ernaux : From the Hyperconsciousness of the Language to a linguistic transfugivité in La Honte
Some words can hurt, and they can hurt their receiver forever. From childhood, Annie Ernaux has been marked by the hard-hitting words that have had a bitter impact on her life. Yet writing has enabled her to overcome the burden of these words, the corollary being a language permeated by linguistic hypersensitivity, that is, a highly developed sensitivity to the use of language in literary texts. This article focuses on the role of linguistic hyperconsciousness in Annie Ernaux’s La Honte (1997) as a reflection of those hurting words that have been stored up and internalized in the author’s mind. From a theoretical viewpoint, this study draws mainly on the strengths of discourse analysis, as described in J. Authier-Revuz (2019, 2005), as well as on psychoanalysis, the notion of phrase marquante being originally introduced by psychoanalyst J.-A. Miller. In the literary field, the study builds upon L. Gauvin’s work on the notion of surconscience linguistique.
The Historical Present in the Lithuanian Novel In the Shadow of the Wolves, by Alvydas Šlepikas, and Its Translation into Spanish
This paper explores a stylistic feature of the Lithuanian novel Mano vardas - Marytė (translated into English as In the Shadow of Wolves) and its translation into Spanish (Bajo la sombra de los lobos). The use of the present tense in the Lithuanian text imbues the narrative with vitality and dynamism, engaging the reader in the events described. The interplay of the historical present tense with retrospective past tenses provides clarity to the sequence of events and serves as a dramatizing resource for the events narrated in the present. Though the present tense can also be used in Spanish in a similar way, the translator has chosen to transfer the reader to a past tense. A comparison of selected passages from the original text with their translation shows that the translated text establishes more distance from the events narrated, the time sequence becomes less distinct and the narration loses dynamism.
Copyright (c) 2024 Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Media Representations of Jesus Christ: The Dichotomy between the Sacred and the Profane
Today, images of Christ are used in visual media to create new meanings. This article aims to determine the relationship between the sacred and the profane as reflected in the images of Jesus on the front covers of popular magazines. In 2023, a study of around 12,000 magazine covers from 2001 to 2023 was conducted, focusing on 80 of the most popular periodical publications globally. Forty-two covers were found to include visual references to Jesus Christ and were examined using the social semiotic approach and rhetorical discourse analysis. The research confirmed that the publishing industry follows a relatively consistent policy of exploiting the image of Jesus. It can be concluded that sacral elements in the studied images tended to dominate over secular aspects. Also, the analysis confirmed that the cover images of Jesus reflect current historical, religious, and cultural contexts and accommodate the diversity of viewpoints.
Copyright (c) 2025 Aistė Vitkūnė-Bajorinienė | Eglė Gabrėnaitė https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0