The Downfall Of The Middle Ages :: essays research papers

The Downfall of the Middle Ages There were many reasons for the downfall for the Middle Ages, but the most crucial ones were the decline of the feudal system, and the declination of the Church's power over the nation-states. In feudal society, everyone had a definite place and a definite role, with the power resting in the hands of the local lords (instead of a central government). The lords, or nobles, lost power after the Crusades, when the Europeans came into contact with the more advanced civilizations of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslims. That spurred the growth of trade, which in turn gave rise to a money system. The money system in turn caused the birth of a middle class, which didn't fit anywhere into the feudal system. It was made up of the serfs and peasants that left the feudal system in search of making money in trade. For the middle class, the king granted Charters, made a uniform law, started banking, offered protection, and expanded territory. In return, the middle class payed taxes to the king. While t his money economy grew, the feudal lords were put into an economic squeeze. As one may see, that didn't leave much of a place for the nobles, who were rapidly losing power. Another thing that contributed to their loss of power was the enforcement of Common Law, which applied throughout the kingdom.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The effects of the Hundred Years' War hastened the decline of the feudal system. The use of the longbow and firearms made the feudal methods of fighting obsolete. Monarchs replaced feudal soldiers with national armies made up of hired soldiers. Finally, threats to the monarchy decreased as a result of the large number of nobles killed in the war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another major factor that contributed to the end of the Middle Ages was the declination of the Church's power over the nation-states. Conflicts between the papacy and the monarchy over political matters resulted people losing faith in the Church. Events like the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism further weakened the Church's influence over the peole. Aside from that, people were disgusted at the actions of the corrupt church officials. They would charge the people money for all church services, and they also allowed church positions to be bought. The princely lifestyle of the clergy further eroded regard for the church. While some still believed that religion held all the answers, others were beginning to put faith into reason and science. The uncertainty of the existance of God made people question the Church. Perhaps one of the most vital blows to the Church was the printing of the Bible in the

Contrastive Linguistics Essay

The Language of the Stock Exchange – A Contrastive Analysis of the Lexis V clanku je podana analiza jezika borze s stalisca slovensko-angleske protistave. Izrazje (samostalniske zveze) obeh jezikov smo protistavili tako v strukturnem kot v semanticnem smislu, pri cemer se je razkrilo vec protistavnih znacilnosti, med drugim razlicni nacini ubeseditve istega pojma, terminoloske praznine in lazni prijatelji, slovensko borzno terminologijo pa zaznamujejo tudi angleske tujke. The article analyzes the language of the stock exchange from a Slovene-English contrastive viewpoint. The specialized lexis of the two languages was juxtaposed as to the structural and semantic differences of their respective terms and expressions (nominal phrases), revealing such contrastive phenomena as different conceptualizations, terminological gaps and false friends, while the Slovene stock exchange terminology is also characterized by English foreignisms. 1. Introduction James characterizes contrastive analysis (CA) as a hybrid linguistic discipline (1989: 4), since it is neither particularist nor generalist and is interested both in the immanent genius of a language and in the ways in which one language compares to other languages. CA does not strive to classify languages and is interested both in the differences and similarities between them. Having had strictly pedagogical implications at first, the theoretical foundations of CA were initially laid down by Robert Lado in his Linguistics Across Cultures (1957). Lado supported the conviction that if learners of a foreign language (L2) were made aware of the ways in which their mother tongue (L1) and L2 differed, this would facilitate foreign language learning. He went even further by claiming that the elements of L2 that are similar to the learners’ L1 will prove simple to learn, with those that are different being difficult. Lado was the first to suggest a systematic set of technical procedures for the contrastive study of languages; this included descriptions of languages and their comparisons as well as predictions of L2 learning difficulties. In its most ambitious phrasing, the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis claimed to be able to predict all learners’ errors committed in using an L2. However, empirical studies conducted during the 1970s could not sustain this claim, making it clear that CA could only predict certain problematic areas for learners and some of the errors they are bound to make in their versions of L2 (James 1989: 145; my italics). All comparisons work on the basis of the assumption that the entities to be compared have certain things in common, and that any differences between them can be laid 154 Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 7 (2009) against this common background. A CA thus always involves a common linguistic platform of reference, against which contrastive deviations are stated. This common platform is termed tertium comparationis (TC). Depending on the adopted TC, the same aspects of language may turn out be similar or different (Krzeszowski 1990: 16). In syntactic and lexical contrastive studies, the TC is often taken to be formal or semantic correspondence (ibid. ), chiefly in combination. Contrastive linguistics is not a unified field of study. The focus may be on general or on language specific features. The study may be theoretical (theoretical CA), without any immediate application, or it may be applied (applied CA), i. e. carried out for a specific purpose (Fisiak 1981: 2–3). Further, Gabrovsek (2005: 75–6) points out that contrastive work can be done at the levels of: phonology, graphology, lexicology, grammar, and textology. This is why any contrastive work must necessarily be limited in scope and thus always represent but a fragment of the overall contrastive landscape of a given pair of languages. Contrastive lexicology is the contrastive study of the vocabularies of two (or more) languages. It concerns itself with the transposition of lexical items from L1 to L2 and vice-versa, facing such difficulties as culture-bound vocabulary, interlingual mismatches, lexical gaps, etc (ibid.: 62–194). Equivalence between lexical items in two languages can be complete (trgovalni dan—trading day), partial (organizirani trg—regulated market), or nil (TUVL; insider). There are two possible scenarios in transposing such problematic lexical units: either the L2 equivalent is completely unknown to us (what, for example, is narocilo z razponom in odstranitvijo neizvrsene kolicine in English), which might lead to considerable confusion or even a communication breakdown, or we are uncertain as to the correct collocate (is SLO organizator trga EN market organizer or market operator?), which may make our L2 unidiomatic, but does not impede successful communication. Depending on the pattern and environment it appears in, a lexical item will typically benefit from additional semantic shading imposed by the surrounding lexical elements (semantic tailoring), and often consequently receive different counterparts in L2. Note the pairs svezenj—bundle, avkcija—auction, majhen—small, but (in a stock exchange context) svezenj—block (trade), prekinitvena avkcija—volatility interruption, mali vlagatelj—retail investor. The collocator and the base, even if lexically predictable in L2, may appear in the opposite order in the two languages (zascita vlagateljev—investor protection) or be joined by a different preposition (trgovati z obveznicami—trade in bonds). Another collocation-related problem, interlingually, is false friends: (borzna) kotacija ? (market) quotation. Lexicological CA also deals with divergent polysemy (vzdrzevalec likvidnosti—liquidity provider or market maker). This article focuses on lexical contrastive studies and chooses as its TC the English and Slovene lexis of the language of the stock exchange, juggling between formal and semantic equivalence of the terms and expressions in the two languages. Taking the Slovene-English contrastive viewpoint, we focused on nominal phrases (NPs), which have been examined as to the types of (non-)correspondence, on the structural as well as semantic level. The aim of this article has not been a discussion of terminology as such; terminology is here solely the object of contrastive lexicology, which lies at the core of this paper. B. Bozinovski, The Language of the Stock Exchange †¦ 155 As to the structural aspect, a divergence had been expected of the following kind: SLO simple NP complex NP EN simple NP complex NP complex NP simple NP On the semantic level, an occasional discrepancy had been anticipated between the meaning of a particular NP in isolation and that in a particular context (in different word combinations, most notably collocations), semantic tailoring being a feature of not only LGP (language for general purposes) but also LSP (language for special purposes). We had thus expected NPs to have different translation equivalents in different environments. English being the lingua franca of the financial world, we had also expected to find the English terms to be of a much more specialized nature than their Slovene counterparts. 2. Materials and methods The present CA entailed a lexicological comparison of pairs of (original) Slovene and (translated) English texts used in the regular operations of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange Inc. (LJSE). In juxtaposing texts with the same TC—the common platform for comparison was stock exchange terminology—pairs of lexemes (terms and expressions) relevant to our discussion were singled out and compared as to their structural and semantic properties. Given that we dealt with an LSP, our primary concern was with NPs, which constitute the main part of any LSP. The analysis was based on the thus-compiled database of over 1,000 pairs of headwords, of which only a selection appears in this article. 3. Analysis 3. 1. SLO: simple NP > avkcija CVS delnica delnicar dividenda glavnica indeks izdaja nalozba narocilo obveznica posel EN: simple NP auction NAV share shareholder dividend principal index issue investment order bond trade 156 Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 7 (2009) 3. 1. SLO: simple NP > promet sklad svezenj trg EN: simple NP (continued) turnover fund block market The logical English equivalents for promet, posel and izdaja in general language or in isolation would be, for example, traffic, business and betrayal, with bond, auction and share being translated into Slovene as vez, drazba and delez, but in a stock exchange context the respective equivalents are LSP specific and uncontroversial. Svezenj and trg prove more problematic. The former can either be translated as block (of securities) or as block trade, since it can refer to a particular quantity of securities or to a trade executed in that particular quantity of securities—both svezenj in Slovene. Trg can either be rendered as single-word market or compound order book, depending on the context. In the case of the securities market in general, trg is equivalent to the EN market, but in combination with the trading platform and orders placed in the trading system, trg will normally be order book (narocila na trgu—orders sitting in the order book). SLO avkcija and dividenda are LSP terms of an international character, having been adopted from English (which their English counterparts clearly show), while the others are Slovene words. While avkcija, trg, izdaja, and narocilo are polysemous words of widespread use in Slovene LGP and only obtain specialized meanings when used in proper stock exchange contexts, dividenda, sklad, delnica, glavnica, nalozba and obveznica are financial terms of an inherently terminological nature. In English, the situation is slightly different; only dividend and investment belong to the financial field, while all other words have a wide range of uses and senses. In their full versions, CVS (cista vrednost sredstev) and NAV (net asset value) are structurally divergent but lexically transparent. 3. 2. SLO: simple NP borza dokapitalizacija kupnina lot nezaupnica pooblascenec pripojitev Statut VEP > EN: complex NP [N+N] [N+N] [N+N] [Adj+N] [N+PP] [N+N] [N+PP] [N+PP] [N+PP] stock exchange capital increase purchase price trading unit vote of no confidence proxy holder merger by acquisition Articles of Association NAV per unit Except for dokapitalizacija—capital increase, kupnina—purchase price, pripojitev—merger by acquisition and nezaupnica—vote of no confidence, which share at least some lexical elements, the remaining pairs are lexically completely divergent. B. Bozinovski, The Language of the Stock Exchange †¦ 157 3. 3. SLO: simple NP > EN: simple NP [N+N] [Adj+NP] [Adj+N] [N+PP] [Adj+NP] [N+N] [Adj+N] [N+PP] [N+N] [Adj+N] [Adj+N] unit futures point delisting derivative tick LJSE quote (n. ) ticket ticker security enota premozenja financne terminske pogodbe indeksna tocka izkljucitev iz (borznega) trga izvedeni financni instrument korak kotacije Ljubljanska borza narocilo za nakup in prodajo stevilka posla trgovalna koda vrednostni papir The lexically completely divergent Ljubljanska borza and LJSE deserve a word of mention. While having an adjectival premodifier (denoting the place) and a simple nominal head (denoting the institution) in Slovene, English lexicalizes the concept differently in several respects. First, Ljubljana in Ljubljana Stock Exchange is a nominal premodifier, as opposed to the adjective ljubljanski. Further, the simple borza has a complex equivalent in English, namely the compound stock exchange, the two terms being lexically miles apart (the word borza itself has nothing in common with stocks or securities or exchanges of any kind). What is more, all this is packaged into an English acronym of the stock exchange name, thus LJSE, which is common practice with English names of stock exchanges (New York Stock Exchange—NYSE, London Stock Exchange—LSE, National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations— NASDAQ), while less so in Slovene. The Slovene name of the exchange either appears in its full form or is shortened to borza. English abbreviations and acronyms are a common feature of stock exchange terminology and have penetrated Slovene in their original forms in large numbers. Examples include ETF (exchange traded fund—indeksni vzajemni sklad), SI (systematic internalizer—sistematicni internalizator), MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive—direktiva o trgu financnih instrumentov), OTC (over-the-counter, which has no lexicalized equivalent in Slovene), FOK (fill-or-kill—narocilo z razponom in odstranitvijo neizvrsene kolicine). In these cases, there are no equivalent Slovene abbreviations (although descriptive equivalents do exist), since the English ones are recognized and actively used by all Slovene speakers of the LSP in question. Note also the difference between the highly idiomatic fill-or-kill as opposed to the descriptive Slovene expression. 3. 4. 3. 4. 1. SLO: complex NP > EN: complex NP Structurally and lexically transparent equivalents auction trading brokerage house avkcijsko trgovanje borznoposredniska hisa 158 Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 7 (2009) 3. 4. 1. Structurally and lexically transparent equivalents (continued) electronic trading financial instrument institutional investor public company trading day elektronsko trgovanje financni instrument institucionalni vlagatelj javna druzba trgovalni dan  Note further instances of the so-called international words in both columns, underlining the international character of the terminology: avkcijsko—auction, financni—financial, instrument—instrument, elektronsko—electronic, institucionalni—institutional. Although we do have a native Slovene word for institution, which is ustanova, there is no semantically corresponding Slovene adjective (ustanovni in this case would be a false friend); this is why the Slovene term employs the international premodifier. 3. 4. 2. Structurally parallel, lexically unpredictable equivalents official market regulated market retail investor semi-official market average price initial public offering bullish market registered shares private bonds government bonds open-end fund borzna kotacija organizirani trg mali vlagatelj prosti trg enotni tecaj prva javna prodaja bikovski trend imenske delnice podjetniske obveznice javne obveznice vzajemni sklad Here we have NPs of the uniform structure Adj+N on both sides, and what is problematic is the lexical choices—either of premodifiers or of heads. In place of official one would expect a fusion with the words stock exchange (judging from borzen). Kotacija does have a direct translation, namely quotation, but the English term refers to the highest bid or lowest ask price available on a security at any given time and thus the two are false friends. The very specific Slovene term borzna kotacija, which stands for the part of the LJSE regulated market intended for companies complying with strict reporting and disclosure obligations, only has one equivalent in English, namely official market. For organizirani trg, many would expect organized market, which, however, is a mistranslation. Instinctively, and not being familiar with stock exchange terminology, a translator might also be tempted to translate the seemingly unproblematic mali vlagatelj as something like small investor, which would of course result in implications divorced from the stock exchange context. If looked at in isolation, prost, enoten, prodaja, trend, imenski, kotacija, podjetniski, javen would all get translations different from those in the above right B. Bozinovski, The Language of the Stock Exchange †¦ 159 column. Here they appear in typical multi-word lexical items from the language of the stock exchange, and demand specific equivalents. The above pairs are also illustrative of the different conceptualizations in the two languages. Take podjetniske obveznice—they are not *entrepreneurial bonds or *company bonds, but rather private bonds. What is more, although one might expect, in view of the logic of things, the opposite of private to be public bonds, English nevertheless calls them government bonds (while Slovene does see them as public, thus javne obveznice). 3. 4. 3. Structurally divergent, lexically parallel equivalents 3. 4. 3. a. Opposite order of lexemes or different parts of speech delnica [prostega trga] druzba za upravljanje [dvotirni] sistem [vodenja druzb] indeks [blue-chip delnic] indeks [celotnega trga] indeks obveznic posel s sveznjem struktura prometa vzdrzevalec likvidnosti N+[NP] N+PP [Adj]+N+ [NP] N+[NP] N+[NP] N+N N+PP N+N N+N [semi-official market] share management company [two-tier management] system blue-chip index [total market] index bond index block trade turnover structure liquidity provider [NP]+N N+N [NP+N]+ N N+N [NP]+N N+N N+N N+N N+N In phrases with indices, Slovene has plural nominal postmodifiers in the genitive case (indeks obveznic), while English will typically lexicalize the same concept though a singular nominal premodifier in the nominative (bond index). The delnice part of the respective Slovene NPs (indeks blue-chip delnic, indeks delnic investicijskih skladov) has a nil realization in English (blue-chip index, investment fund index). 3. 4. 3. b. Structurally different premodifiers avkcijsko trgovanje celotna trzna kapitalizacija delniska druzba osnovni kapital presezni certifikat tekoci podatki trzna kapitalizacija trzno narocilo cenovno obcutljiva informacija dobro pouceni vlagatelj auction trading total market capitalization joint-stock company share capital outperformance certificate real-time data market capitalization market order price-sensitive information well-informed investor 160 Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 7 (2009) Slovene uses adjectival premodifiers where English has nominal ones, except in the last two cases, which both share the structure of a nominal head premodified by an adjective and even share the same head, but employ different premodifiers; the Slovene premodifier has the head obcutljiv premodified by the adverb cenovno, whereas in English the same information is lexicalized through a compound composed of a noun (price) and an adjective (sensitive). 3. 4. 3. c. Structurally different postmodifiers delnice investicijskih skladov predcasni odkup delnic stopnja donosa trzna kapitalizacija obveznic shares of investment funds early redemption of shares rate of return market cap of bonds The recurrent pattern here is a nominal postmodifier in the genitive case in Slovene as opposed to a postmodifying prepositional phrase (PP)—typically the of-phrase, as shown by all of the above examples—in English. Both groups of postmodifiers have the same function (namely that of expressing genitival relations), irrespective of their having different constructions; Slovene being a synthetic language, its expression of the genitive involves attaching genitival suffixes on postmodifying nouns, with English, an analytic language, having the same content expressed through an independent morpheme (the preposition of). Postmodifiers may be PPs on both sides, but with different heads: sredstva v upravljanju trgovanje z obveznicami sistematicni internalizator za delnice 3. 4. 4. N+PP N+PP NP+PP assets under management N+PP trading in bonds N+PP systematic internalizer in NP+PP shares Structurally and lexically divergent equivalents EN BTS trading system GBD brokerage house market maker TUVL segment 3. 4. 4. a. Explanatory equivalent BTS GBD TUVL segment The acronym TUVL stands for Trg uradnih vzdrzevalcev likvidnosti, BTS for borzni trgovalni sistem and GBD for Gorenjska borznoposredniska hisa, none of which have English counterparts. There are other Slovene acronyms and abbreviations that do not have direct English equivalents and need explanatory phrases when being translated into English, e. g. , CTG (celotna globina trga), ATVP (Agencija za trg vrednostnih paprijev), KDD (Centralna klirinsko depotna druzba), DZU (druzba za upravljanje), ID (investicijska druzba), PID (pooblascena investicijska druzba), and others. Disregarding the names of institutions, only a few are left, a situation B. Bozinovski, The Language of the Stock Exchange †¦ 161 somewhat different from that in English, which abounds in abbreviated forms. These, in turn, do typically not require explanatory Slovene phrases to be understood by Slovenes, being used world-wide by the speakers of the LSP in question. Slovene abbreviations, on the other hand, are not self-explanatory or known to English speakers, and therefore do need explanations. Cf. 3. 3. 3. 4. 4. b. Non-transparent equivalents Below are a few groups of recurrent constructions that appear in the two languages as equivalent: SLO: NP [NP(nomin. )+NP(gen. )] [Kodeks upravljanja] [javnih delniskih druzb] SLO: NP [N(nomin. )+N(gen. )] nihanje cen obrat kapitalizacije placilo kuponov revizija indeksov SLO: NP [N(nomin. )+NP(gen. )] indeks [delnic borznega in prostega trga] EN: NP [NP+N] [Corporate Governance] Code EN: NP [N+N] price volatility turnover rate coupon payment index review EN: NP [NP+N] [total market] index Note the contrastively problematic EN index review (similarly index performance, index structure, index constituents, etc), where the premodifying noun index is always in the singular, both if referring to a single index (SLO revizija indeksa) or several (SLO revizija indeksov). This calls for an attentive English-Slovene translator who must infer from context. SLO: NP [N(nomin. )+NP(gen. )] datum [zapadlosti zadnjega kupona] SLO: NP [N(nomin. )+N (gen. )] institut izstopa institut iztisnitve oddelitev druzbe SLO: NP [NP+PP] [prvi trgovalni dan] [brez upravicenja do dividende] [izvedeni financni instrumenti] [na blago] SLO: NP [NP/N+PP] [borzni clan] [z oddaljenim dostopom] narocilo [s preudarkom] EN: NP [N+N] coupon date EN: NP [cpd] sell-out squeeze-out spin-off EN: NP [N+N] ex-dividend date commodity derivatives EN: NP [Adj+N] remote member discretionary order. 162 Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 7 (2009) SLO: NP [N+PP] delnice [v borzni kotaciji] 3. 4. 4. b. Non-transparent equivalents (continued) SLO: NP [N+PP] poslovanje [s sveznji] prenosi [med racuni istega imetnika] trgovanje [z vrednostnimi papirji] trgovanje [na podlagi notranjih informacij] SLO: NP [N+PP] potrdilo o pravnomocnosti SLO: NP [Adj+N] (borzni) clan kosovne delnice presecni datum EN: NP [NP+N] [official market] shares. EN: NP [N+N] block trading inter-accounts management securities trading insider dealing EN: NP [N(gen. )+NP] court’s [finality seal] EN: NP [N/NP+N] member (firm) [no par value] shares record date The above lists of corresponding construction patterns are far from exhaustive. We have merely made an attempt at classifying selected NPs both according to their structural (congruent or divergent) and lexical (transparent or oblique) properties, trying to show that there are innumerable patterns of correspondence between the two languages. 4.  Discussion and conclusion The present analysis has mapped out a complex web of interlingual correspondences between Slovene and English terms and expressions from the language of the stock exchange. The CA focused on the form of the identified pairs of NPs as well as on problems of meaning, discovering such interlingual difficulties as divergent polysemy, false friends, conceptual and lexical gaps. This was expected, since languages are known to differ in an unsystematic and largely unpredictable manner as to expressing the same content. We will now present our findings under the following three headings: a. Translation correspondence. Lexical (terminological) gaps The analysis has shown the prevalent type of translation correspondence between the identified Slovene and English NPs to be partial correspondence; it involves structural non-congruence, often coupled with complexities of meaning. Example pairs include: pooblascenec—proxy holder, trgovalna koda—ticker, posel s sveznjem—block trade, trzna kapitalizacija—market capitalization, promet clanov—turnover by member firms, nominalne delnice—par value shares, etc. There were also instances of complete correspondence, where the English and Slovene NPs were both structurally and semantically congruent, but these were a minority. Examples include: promet—turnover, trgovalni dan—trading day. B. Bozinovski, The Language of the Stock Exchange †¦ 163 Examples of nil correspondence between English and Slovene NPs have revealed lexical (or, rather terminological) gaps in the languages of the stock exchange, where certain concepts exist or have been lexicalized in one language but not in the other. English terms for which there are no ready-made Slovene equivalents include insider, blue-chip, OTC, and many others. Our expectations regarding the three types of translation equivalence to be found between lexical items in two languages, as laid down in the Introduction, have thus been confirmed. English is the lingua franca of business and finance, and this is also reflected (interlingually) in the language of the stock exchange. New concepts and terms for them are born in the Anglophone West, while the rest of the world adopts the English terminology and mostly just localizes it to a certain extent, often failing to come up with language-specific equivalent terms. As a result, Slovene stock exchange terminology abounds in carbon copies of English terms (blue-chip indeks, sistematicni internalizator, insajder), directly modelled upon their English counterparts, and descriptive expressions (izvedeni financni instrument, trgovanje na podlagi notranjih informacij, prvi trgovalni dan brez upravicenja do dividende). Especially tricky are virtually untranslatable English terms that have no lexical equivalent in Slovene at all (mistrade, market maker, OTC, hedge fund). Problematic as to their Slovene equivalents are also the idiom-like pumping dumping, painting the tape, wash sales, scalping, etc. When there are no ready-made translation equivalents (lexical, conceptual gaps), there are at least three options—a) to make up a new Slovene term, b) to opt for a descriptive equivalent, or c) to try to find an approximate â€Å"functional† equivalent. Descriptive expressions (posli, pri katerih je sprememba lastnistva financnih instrumentov zgolj navidezna for wash sales) can be long-winded. Functional equivalents (narocilo s skrito kolicino is a type of order very similar to iceberg order, but not identical to iceberg) can be inaccurate. The third option, to invent a new term, lies outside the scope of translation work, since in LSP it is not customary for translators to decide on preferred terms for concepts. These are for experts to agree on (sometimes in cooperation with linguists). Once they become used and catch on, the translator may recognize them as legitimate equivalents, based on expert advice, but not before, lest they become ghost words, i. e. terms that exist on paper, but not in actual use. There are also some Slovene terms with no mirror-image English equivalents, which is a general feature of any terminology, not just the language of the stock exchange. TUVL, BTS, and the like are limited to terms for concepts unique to the Slovene stock exchange trading platform. We can therefore speak of conceptual gaps. They are translated into English through explanatory equivalents, e. g. , market maker TUVL segment. b. Interference. Collocations, false friends and the like It is a known fact that language learners (translators as non-native speakers of an L2 included) are inclined to draw analogies with their L1 when constructing lexical units in L2. When the two languages overlap in their formal, semantic or grammatical features, this leads to positive transfer and correct L2 lexical items (terms and expressions). Slovene terms such as mednarodni razpis, nalozba, dividenda, obveznica and 164. Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 7 (2009) their English translations are parallel in all of the above respects and thus unproblematic in translational and contrastive terms. If the formal, semantic or grammatical features of L1 and L2, however, do not overlap, or if they do but only partially (when meanings agree, but not forms, or the other way around), then constructing L2 terms on the analogy with L1 ones leads to lexical errors and we speak of interference or negative transfer from L1. This is a possibility with the bulk of Slovene stock exchange terms and expressions. Take aplikacija, for instance. A translator unfamiliar with the terminology of the field might be tempted to translate it as application, which, to my knowledge, has no specialized meaning in this field, the correct equivalent being the unpredictable cross trade. Or the much debated organizirani trg, which is not organized in English, but rather regulated market. Consider also the temptation of word-for-word rendering of korak kotacije, borzna kotacija, mali vlagatelj, prekinitvena avkcija and many others. Negative transfer works in the opposite direction as well, when it is known as backward interference; under the influence of L2, learners can be often tempted to remodel their L1 lexical items to match those in L2. Even if backward interference be at work, expressions such as financial markets, legal framework, investors would not cause any problems, since they are structurally and semantically parallel to their Slovene equivalents. It gets tricky when the Slovene term for open-end fund is not odprti sklad, but rather vzajemni sklad, and especially with terms such as quote. Quote has the attractive verbal equivalent kotirati that does exist and is widely used but with a different meaning, the correct rendering being narocilo za nakup in prodajo. The cross-linguistic floors are also slippery with terms such as regulated market, which appears unproblematic at first sight; in fact, however, regulirani trg is an expression that does not exist in the Slovene language of the stock exchange, where the same concept has been lexicalized through another lexeme—organizirani trg. Further, there are pairs of NPs that look deceptively similar, yet differ in important details, which we had anticipated in the Introduction to this article. For instance, trade in shares is trgovati z delnicami, assets under management is sredstva v upravljanju, right on a security is pravica iz vrednostnega papirja, bond (sg. ) index is indeks obveznic (pl. ), dobicek (sg. ) na delnico is earnings (pl. ) per share, and capital markets can either be kapitalski trg (sg. ) or kapitalski trgi (pl. ). Grammatical collocations are a notoriously difficult interlingual area, causing problems especially in encoding, and so are the singular—plural distinctions. When translating slovenski kapitalski trg into English, most would opt for the only reasonable choice, namely Slovene capital market. Yet the English prefer the plural expression, thus Slovene capital markets. Due to semantic tailoring, a lexical item may be endowed with a multitude of semantic shadings and consequently receive different counterparts in the other language. Trg, for instance, is not always market in the language of the stock exchange. Borzni and prosti trg are exchange and semi-official market, while for narocila na trgu we have orders sitting in the order book. Similarly, the adjective organizirani can either be organized (trading) or regulated (market) in English, while vzdrzevalec likvidnosti can either be liquidity provider or market maker, depending on the context. B. Bozinovski, The Language of the Stock Exchange †¦ 165 Conversely, the EN share is not always delez in Slovene; note the pairs share—delnica, official market share—delnica na borznem trgu, market share—trzni delez, share capital—osnovni kapital. This confirms our expectations worded in the Introduction on the possible discrepancy between translation equivalents of lexemes in isolation (aplikacija—application, organiziran—organized) and those of the same lexemes in a particular context (aplikacija—cross trade, organizirani trg—regulated market). It is one of the goals of contrastive lexicology to point out such controversial pairs of collocations and thus sustain the claim that translation equivalence is largely collocation-dependent. The analysis has also singled out Slovene and English NPs that look similar (have a similar form), but differ, at least partly, in meaning (the so-called false friends). One of them usually belongs to the LSP of the stock exchange, while the other has LGP applications divorced from the stock exchange context: quote (n. )—kotirati (v.), institutional inve.

Culture & Values: Michael Haneke and Wislawa Szymborska Essay

Texts reflect the culture and values of their eras by presenting and addressing perspectives of the composers on the issues of the context. The poem The End and the Beginning by Wislawa Szymborska and the Austrian film 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance by Michael Haneke accomplish this by exemplifying issues in 1990s society such as the increasing influence of media and the breakdown of interpersonal communication. The End and the Beginning is a Polish poem by Wislawa Szymborska which captures a wars aftermath on its innocent citizens and how, in time, both the war and its origins are forgotten. It thus shows how the values of a country or society may change over time as the views and opinions of its citizens change. The overall tone of the poem is grim and bitter, with both clear references and poetical allusions to death throughout. The poem can be rendered into two parts the first focusing on rebuilding and the second focusing on the fading of memories with the passing of time. In the first part, the third and fourth stanzas highlight the citizens perspectives, accomplished through references to rebuilding on a much smaller scale, Someone must glaze a window, rehang a door. Szymborska addresses the fact that we are shown the impact of war on a much larger scale and highlights the importance of such small, almost mundane tasks that are required in the process of rebuilding a country. In turn, this can be seen as a microcosm for the larger effects of war on a country, such as the nations economic stability and global connections both of which became increasingly important in the 1990s, with issues such as globalisation and consumerism having profound impacts on the world. Szymborska also addresses the issue of the increasing impact of media in the 1990s. The opening lines allude to the news media and how it subsumes such tragic events into clichà ©d headlines and sound-bytes. We, as viewers, automatically assume that the devastating effects of war would be righted and our minds are immediately focused on the next article. Szymborska highlights the contrast between this assumption and actually having to deal  with the rebuilding in the line Things wont straighten themselves up after all. She continues in the fifth stanza with the line Photogenic its not, wryly commenting on the scopophilia of society in the 1990s. She also highlights the negative, shallow and sensationalist qualities of the media with its attraction towards violence rather than rebuilding with the line All the cameras have left for another war. Towards the end of the poem, Szymborska addresses the loss of knowledge with each generation. She is yet again commenting on the values of her society; on the obsession with the future, resulting in our forgetting the important events of the past events from which we must learn rather than repeat, particularly in the last stanza. The knowledge of the event has basically faded into as little as nothing. In contrast to the imagery used before, the tone suggested here is more relaxed, as seen with the words stretched out. However, the lines also carry dark, negative undertones with allusions to death someone must be stretchedgazing at the clouds, showing that as memories fade, we are liable to make the same mistakes again. Likewise, the Austrian film 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (71 Fragments) by Michael Haneke offers a critique of Austrias affluent society and analyses the general breakdown of communication and understanding in a world with increasing technology and changing values. Set in the 1990s, it also takes the media to task for its desensitising role in society. The film is based on the news item of a bank shooting by a 19-year old, who then kills himself. Haneke uses the film to depict what he himself says is a cross-section of society. He exemplifies the breakdown and degradation of human interpersonal communication within our culture, despite the emergence of technologies in the 1990s which allowed us to communicate more effectively. By structuring the film into 71 fragments, Haneke splits up the narrative, reinforcing the theme of alienation and the breakdown of interpersonal communication. This fragmentation is also visually portrayed through the jigsaw-like paper game. Part-way through the film, a student fails to solve the puzzle leading to an outburst of anger, foreshadowing his final act of violence. Haneke has also used subtle film techniques to add to the sense of a breakdown of communication. The camera is always positioned in such a way that makes the audience feel detached from the characters. Rather than connecting emotionally with the characters, the audience is made to analyse them, thus reflecting the emotionless state which our society has assumed with changing values. The characters themselves are not named, allowing them to become representative of types within society. The use of media is also present throughout the film with Haneke showing the increasingly invasive presence of media within society as values change and mankind becomes more technological and industrialised. By repeating the same articles at the end with the embedding of the films event as another story, Haneke comments on how the media subsumes any disturbance into the even surface of society and integrates it into the unending stream of trivialised information. The film also serves a didactic purpose, as Haneke highlights and criticises the blatant use of violence in Hollywood action films, saying that his films are intended as polemical statements against the American barrel down cinema and its dis-empowerment of the spectator. The explosion of violence in the final scene is abrupt, with the gunshots seeming harsh and cold and the cries of agony of the characters chilling. The victims are not portrayed, thus adding a sense of ambiguity as to who the casualties actually are; the characters or the viewers for appreciating violence. The long take following this scene also tests the audiences patience, showing the grueling process of blood pooling around a body, allowing the responder to reflect upon the tragic events which have just taken place. Haneke also challenges the news medias desensitising role on individuals and society, as seen with the various stories on the conflicts in Northern Ireland and Sarajevo, which are ironically juxtaposed against news of Michael Jackson, whose pleading seems almost humorous in comparison. An analysis of the poem The End and the Beginning by Wislawa Szymborska and the film 71 Fragments by Michael Haneke reveals the changing values and culture of the 1990s. The texts highlight the breakdown of communication and the increasing importance of media within a society which is becoming  increasingly technological and thus, can be seen as a reflection of our own, slightly more advanced culture. Thus, they are examples of texts which reflect the culture and values of the era in which they are composed. Works Cited Szymborska, Wislawa. The End and the Beginning (Poem). Retrieved from: http://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/szymborska_su97.html. Haneke, Michael. 71 Fragmente einer Chronologie des Zufalls (Film). Released in 1994.

20 Highest Paying Jobs With the Highest Growth

20 Highest Paying Jobs With the Highest Growth Whether you’re entering the job market or are just looking for a change, The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a great source of information to  aid you in your job search. You can find details on employment rates, jobs, and industry specifics. And now with the changing political climate, it has become more important than ever to keep an eye out for trends that may impact your job search. That being said, the BLS has projected the top 20 highest paying jobs that are expected to grow in the next 10 years. Take a look at the chart below for specifics.If you’re interested, you can apply below.1. Accountant and auditors2.  Combined food preparation and servers3. Computer systems analysts4. Construction laborers  5. Cooks, restaurants  6. Customer service restaurants7.   First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers  8. General and operations manager9. Home health aides10. Janitors and cleaners  11. Laborers and freight  12. Licensed practic al and licensed vocational nurses  13. Maids and housing cleaners  14. Medical assistants15. Medical secretaries  16. Nursing assistants  17. Personal care aids18. Registered nurses  19. Retail salespersons  20. Software developers  Source:[bls.gov]

Mexican-American War - Aftermath

Mexican-American War - Aftermath Previous Page | Contents Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo In 1847, with the conflict still raging, Secretary of State James Buchanan suggested that President James K. Polk send an emissary to Mexico to assist in bringing the war to a close. Agreeing, Polk chose Chief Clerk of the State Department Nicholas Trist and dispatched him south to join General Winfield Scotts army near Veracruz. Initially disliked by Scott, who resented Trists presence, the emissary soon earned the generals trust and the two became close friends. With the army driving inland towards Mexico City and the enemy in retreat, Trist received orders from Washington, DC to negotiate for the acquisition of California and New Mexico to the 32nd Parallel as well as Baja California. Following Scotts capture of Mexico City in September 1847, the Mexicans appointed three commissioners, Luis G. Cuevas, Bernardo Couto, and Miguel Atristain, to meet with Trist to discuss peace terms. Commencing talks, Trists situation was complicated in October when he was recalled by Polk who was unhappy with the representatives  inability to conclude a treaty earlier. Believing that the president did not fully understand the situation in Mexico, Trist elected to ignore the recall order and wrote a 65-page response to Polk outlining his reasons for doing so. Continuing to meet with the Mexican delegation, final terms were agreed to in early 1848. The war officially ended on February 2, 1848, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty ceded to the United States the land that now comprises the states of California, Utah, and Nevada, as well as parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado. In exchange for this land, the United States paid Mexico $15,000,000, less than half the amount offered by Washington prior to the conflict. Mexico also forfeited all rights to Texas and the border was permanently established at the Rio Grande. Trist also agreed that the United States would assume $3.25 million in debt owed by the Mexican government to American citizens as well as would work to curtail Apache and Comanche raids into northern Mexico. In an effort to avoid later conflicts, the treaty also stipulated that future disagreements between the two countries would be settled through compulsory arbitration. Sent north, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was delivered to the US Senate for ratification.   After extensive debate and some alterations, the Senate approved it on March 10.   In the course of the debate, an attempt to insert the Wilmot Proviso, which would have banned slavery in the newly-acquired territories, failed 38-15 along sectional lines.   The treaty received ratification from the Mexican government on May 19.   With Mexican acceptance of the treaty, American troops began departing the country. The American victory confirmed most citizens’ belief in Manifest Destiny and the nation’s expansion westward. In 1854, the United States concluded the Gadsden Purchase which added territory in Arizona and New Mexico and reconciled several border issues that had arisen from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Casualties Like most wars in the 19th century, more soldiers died from disease than from wounds received in battle. In the course of the war, 1,773 Americans were killed in action as opposed to 13,271 dead from sickness. A total of 4,152 were wounded in the conflict. Mexican casualty reports are incomplete, but it estimated that approximately 25,000 were killed or wounded between 1846-1848. Legacy of the War The Mexican War in many ways may be directly connected to the Civil War. Arguments over the expansion of slavery into the newly acquired lands further heightened sectional tensions and forced new states to be added through compromise. In addition, the battlefields of Mexico served as a practical learning ground for those officers who would play prominent roles in the upcoming conflict. Leaders such as Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Braxton Bragg, Thomas â€Å"Stonewall† Jackson, George McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, George G. Meade, and James Longstreet all saw service with either Taylor or Scott’s armies. The experiences these leaders gained in Mexico helped to shape their decisions in the Civil War. Previous Page | Contents

Organisational Culture of the Grameen Bank Coursework

Organisational Culture of the Grameen Bank - Coursework Example Grameen Bank is one of such banks which stand apart from any other banks, not just for its banking service, but also for the service it provides to the nation. Muhammad Yunus is the person who is to be credited for coming up with such a unique concept of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh that started in the year of 1976. He believed that credit is a human right, and everyone should be allowed to receive the facility of loans and just for the reason, an individual is poor he or she should not be deprived of getting credit facility from the banks (PBS, 2011). He prepared a methodology and institution focused on the circumstances and needs of the people who are very poor. The government of Bangladesh took an initiative of changing this project into an independent bank through the help of government legislation in the year 1983 (Grameen Bank, 2011). Mohammad Yunus was rewarded with Noble Prize in the year 2006 for his effort of struggling against the poverty by enabling poor people with credit facility through the medium of Grameen Bank. This was a noble cause indeed, as no individual has ever thought of coming up with ideas for poor people. Grameen Bank has achieved quite a success in alleviating poverty from the country, Bangladesh, over the past decades. Unlike others, he thought that Charity is not a right initiative towards solving poverty, so the Grameen Bank was formed. The Grameen Bank has adopted certain initiatives for encouraging the poor to use their under or unutilized skills by providing them with small collateral-free loans. The Grameen Bank has been successful in incorporating group-based lendings, obligatory savings and insurance systems, facility of repayment rescheduling in the time of disasters, and encouraging similar other schemes that have proved to be effective in minimizing both material and behavioral risks of lending (Khandker, 1996). Grameen Bank has been well-organized in terms of designing its programmes, most of which were for the betterment of the poor people and female members. One of the reasons behind its success as a rural financial intermediary is its subsidy dependency. It is renowned for its reliability even outside Bangladesh and its impact on the poor and the women is incredible. Its mission stands as to help the poor families along with special attention upon female members to overcome poverty, by themselves. It is entirely targeted to the poor, mainly towards poor women, empowering poor female members has become their one of the main motives (Grameen Bank, 2011). The culture of the organization mostly emphasizes on empowering the poor women. It is believed that if the lady of the house is empowered, the house itself is empowered. They provide various supports and initiatives in encouraging the women to earn their livelihood through microfinance. This paper deals with the organizational culture of the Grameen Bank with regards to microfinance and impact of those initiatives on the women (Strong, 2007). Organ isational Culture Organisational culture is a process of shared beliefs, values, assumptions, and customs of the members of an organization. In general terms, it can be said that it is the reflection of the working environment and members’ perceptions towards the organization.

Summer school Personal Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Summer school Personal Statement - Essay Example When I studied in junior classes, I understood that I love photography. But I did not have a camera. I just watched nice pixes and admired their beauty. Fortunately, now I have a camera, so in free time I can do what I really like. Thanks to my hobby, I met new interesting people and even found good friends. Communicability is one of my positive qualities. Also, I consider myself as responsible and serious person. At school teachers and classmates always can count on my help. I hope that these qualities will help me to become a businessman. In addition to this, to implement such goal I need to improve my leadership qualities. Furthermore, I like writing. When something catches my attention, I want to incarnate it not only in the form of the photographs. I want to write on the paper what I see and feel, and it is great to show the emotions in this way. I try to dream up, because I want my poems and stories are more interesting and exciting. The first acquaintance with your courses began from collecting particular information about it. I can say that on your courses I will be easy to get knowledge. I am sure my teachers will be real professionals. Moreover, I will be able to study with people, who will have similar interests with me. So we will discuss the different details and share our knowledge. Thus, I want to attend the Summer Challenge program to improve my skills. I am sure that they will make me more confident person, who preparing for a new phase of the life after graduation. No doubt, this year is really hard for me. I will have to pass exams and go to university. Before entering I must completely be confident in my knowledge. In conclusion, I would like to say that if I attend your courses, I promise to be a worthy member of the team. I do not want to miss the chance to help myself. Ill try to be positively adjusted and strong. My efforts will not be in vain. I will be available for interview at any time after a graduation my school. Also, I will