FRAME SEMANTICS METHODOLOGY FOR TEACHING TERMINOLOGY OF SPECIALISED DOMAINS

The article attempts to show how the theory of Frame Semantics and the resources of the lexical database FrameNet can be used for teaching/learning terminology of specialised domains. The article discusses the principles of Frame Semantics and presents a use case of application of the frame-based methodology for developing classification of terminology of the selected financial subdomain for learning/teaching purposes. The use case focuses on terms denoting concepts that compose ‘CAUSE-RISK’ frame which was developed on the basis of several related frames in the FrameNet database. The stages of the use case and its outcomes are described in detail and the benefits of application of the methodology for learning/teaching specialised vocabulary are provided. Hopefully, the provided insights will give ideas to teachers of foreign languages for specific purposes and help to develop effective terminology teaching/learning techniques.

Reframing Reality of Online Learning on the Basis of Internet Memes

The paper sets out to investigate the interplay between image and text with reference to chosen cognitive models in order to pinpoint the image of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bilateral nature of memes will be discussed in relation to the cognitive linguistics framework, in particular the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) (Lakoff and Johnson 1980, Kovecses 2002, Forceville 1996, 2008, 2009), Frame Semantics (Fillmore 1988) construal (Langacker 1987, 2008), blending theory (Fauconnier and Turner 2002), Discourse Viewpoint Space (Dancyngier and Vandelanotte 2017).

TERMINOLOGICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION IN HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

The article considers health care terminology in the cognitive aspect of professional knowledge cognition and conceptualization by an expert. We apply the notion of frame semantics as the linguistics method introduced by Charles Fillmore as the model of professional cognition in the process of professional communication. So the aim of our research is to illustrate cognition in science from the point of conceptualization of professional terminology and health care terminology in particular. The frame that marks the conceptual structure of a health care terminology is also the issue of our analysis. Following these approaches, the study of health care terms takes into account the frame semantics and its role in cognition and afterwards the nomination of professional knowledge in health care. Since concept represents the basic units of processing, storage and transfer of knowledge - therefore, one of the main properties of the frame is the categorical nature of the knowledge organization i.e., formation in the concept a phenomenon, an object, symptoms of a particular diseases, and modeling its relationship with other units of professional knowledge. Thus, the method of frame analysis was also used to study the texts of health care, which consists in modeling the concept by combining different types of basic frames: subject, action, possessive, taxonomic, and comparative.

Nouns in the Be of N-Construction: A Corpus-Based Investigation

This paper employs a usage-based approach to grammar, the theory of frame semantics, and the corpus-based method referred to as the attraction-reliance measure, for the purpose of examining the mutual association between a noun and the be of N-pattern: in other words, to determine nouns that are strongly associated with this construction. On the basis of the data gleaned from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), the paper aims to indicate that there are specific categories of nouns occurring in the construction under scrutiny, and that this construction performs specific functions in discourse.

Frame determinism of artistic narrative

The article presents the results of a study undertaken to study the nature and degree of determinism of the plot semantics of artistic narrative by frame structures that serve as the basis of this narrative. The research focused on questions about the properties of frames that predetermine the deployment of narrative (determinant frames); questions about the nature of the connection between plot-forming frames (interframe transitions); questions about the nature, perspective and degree of imperativeness of the constraints imposed by the determinant frames on the deployment of the narrative. It is concluded that the frame as a meaningful unit of the meaning of the text has prospective semantics, from which it follows that any frame that forms the main storyline in the narrative prescribes each functional component of its composition, first of all, the first and second terms, predicates and basic sirconstrants, defined trajectories of further existence in the plot. The assumption is confirmed that the organization of artistic narrative is determined by both superframes-determinants and superstructures that form thematic sequences of macrostructures. The experience of constructing a graphical two-level model of the frame semantics of artistic narrative is presented, the comparison of this model with the representation of the frame in the FrameNet system is carried out. It was also concluded that the systematic and consistent description of the plot-content semantics of the narrative as a kind of literary text requires the same consistent and systematic description of the semantic-syntactic frames that form this semantics. In the systematic description of the frame semantics of narrative, special attention should be paid to predicates of nuclear propositions, since it is their semantic valences that determine the filling of the terminals of semantic-syntactic frames and their description gives explanatory power to the description of the semantic structure of frames. The authors see the prospect of the research in the systematic description of the frame semantics of the narrative with the involvement of the resources of the FrameBank project.

The frame system as an interlingual representation for parallel texts

One of the key problems in comparative studies based on frame semantics is the question whether frames can become an interlingua. This paper argues that not only single frames, but their systems or frame semantic domain representations consisting of frames and their relations are also useful in comparative studies. Such a system of frames helps one explain why seemingly unrelated expressions in different languages find a common denominator in higher-order frames, thus becoming semantic-pragmatic equivalents. To support this argument, an analysis of Polish, English and German lease agreements as parallel texts is conducted and the benefits of this approach to comparative studies are presented. The study is in line with the recent FrameNet initiatives, such as the Global FrameNet and automatic translation studies. However, it differs in some methodological aspects. Instead of using FrameNet as the given lexical resource, domain specific frames are defined starting from common general concepts of the analyzed semantic domain. A text-based approach rather than a comparison of bi-sentences or phrases is adapted. The work thus introduces a new approach to comparative studies based on frame semantics and frame semantic research. It also follows the recent research trend of adding a pragmatic dimension to frame semantic analysis by analyzing frames in context.

A Cognitive Linguistic Study of the Persuasive/Attention Strategies Used in Selected American English E-Advertisements

The present paper aims to examine the use of the persuasive rules in texts and images to determine the role of these visual modes in recalling or adding what they mention. Such a study helps set clearly which visual mode is much more convincing, the image or the text. Scholars generally agreed that the visual mode is more persuasive. However, such a statement is general as it does not state exactly which type of visual mode is more convincing. Accordingly, the research questions highlighted here are: What are the persuasive strategies invested in any of these two visual modes, texts and images? And, what is the role these visual modes play to enhance the sense of persuasion? To achieve the objectives, the researchers will adopt the cognitive linguistic theory of frame semantics by Fillmore (1995). Since the study is qualitative, the study’s data will be limited to four randomly selected American English advertisements posted on Facebook. Findings have revealed that the number of the evoked frame units is unlimited and subjective, reflecting, as a result, a person’s imagination power, his needs, and desires. The study has concluded that the visual, written text is more persuasive than the pictures and photos. The text reflects a bricolage of various persuasive strategies that help pull the attention. Besides, the images provided played a vital role, though secondary to the texts, supporting the textual information and flavor it realistically.

Meditatio Septuaginta: Torah recitation as a spiritual discipline

There is evidence that the practice of meditative reading was cultivated by Hellenistic Jews as a discipline analogous to the spiritual exercises of the philosophical schools. The present study traces (1) the Deuteronomic antecedents of this practice, (2) its reconfiguration in the Torah Psalms, and (3) finally its expression in Greco-Jewish translation, with special reference to the Greek Psalter. Taking its cue from the work of Pierre Hadot, it situates this development within the larger matrix of Hellenistic philosophical discourse. The philological focus of the study is the use of the Hebrew verb I הגה Qal in contexts where Torah study is thematic and its rendering by μελετάω in the Septuagint. To frame the lexical analysis, it draws on the slot-filler model pioneered by Charles Fillmore.Contribution: This article situates a key Greco-Jewish translation with reference to both its Deuteronomic antecedents and to practices cultivated within the philosophical schools of the Hellenistic period. The analysis demonstrates the relevance of Frame Semantics to philological investigation.