Attempts of standardization of the spelling of the words of Portuguese origin in Tetum-Prasa

In this paper we aim to put a few comments on the first attempts of standardization of the spelling of numerous words of Portuguese origin in Tetum-Prasa, followed by the literacy campaign organized by Fretilin after which, due to its growing importance as a language of resistance and writing, was elaborated the current phonemic model. The corpus of examples that we analyse is based on texts of scientific nature written in Tetum-Prasa.

Polish students learning French phonetics: comparing teacher and self-assessment perspectives

The goal of the research was to determine whether learners of French are able to accurately assess the quality of their pronunciation. Study participants were Polish students of Applied Linguistics (n = 25). Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire containing items related to their beliefs about pronunciation, as well as to self-evaluate their pronunciation. Four basic components were taken into consideration: sounds, intonation, accentuation and liaisons. Next, the subjects were recorded while reading a text. Immediately after the completion of the recording, they were asked to assess one more time the quality of their pronunciation. The recordings were then submitted to three judges (experienced French teachers). Statistical analysis of the data showed that students tended to perceive their abilities in a less favourable light immediately after the recording. This decrease was found to be in concordance with the scores attributed by the judges, proving that students are able to correctly evaluate the quality of their pronunciation, but also that the context of self-assessment is a crucial factor. 

Echoes of the work of Guillaume Apollinaire in the works of Robert Desnos

The article is an attempt to show the links between Guillaume Apollinaire and Robert Desnos (1900–1945), a French poet closely associated with surrealism. They were both avid readers, lovers of mass literature, cinema and avant-garde art. They are also closely related by the themes of their works dominated by the riot of everyday life, poetry of the modern city, popular imagination, war, love, eroticism, as well as sexual perversions. Apollinaire’s name often appears in early Desnos poems. He also appears as a literary character in the collection of “automatic” texts Pénalités de l’enfer ou Nouvelles Hébrides. His presence in Desnos’s work is also manifested in a veiled manner, through a borrowed poem title or numerous allusions and references to his works

The French language as the main pivot of the world represented in the short story Mademoiselle O by Vladimir Nabokov and the novel Madame by Antoni Libera

The article seeks to show that the French language is the central element in the world represented by the short story Mademoiselle O by V. Nabokov and by the novel Madame by A. Libera. Through the main character, the narrator of Mademoiselle O renews with French, which has a chance to become his language of literary expression. The evocation of the memory of his childhood serves as a pretext to describe a complex relationship between the Russian writer, the French language to which he was formerly initiated by his governess and the writing he undertakes in this borrowed language. The background of the novel Madame is Poland and its dark political and social climate of the communist era. The protagonist’s attraction to the French language and culture is the condition and result of his journey as an intellectual and writer, as well as his first emotions of love towards his French teacher.

Autobiography and corporal self in the essays of Salvador Elizondo. A reading in base of Jean Starobinski

The purpose of this article is to comment on some specific aspects of the literary essay in base of texts by two contemporary authors: the Swiss Jean Starobinski (1920–2019) and the Mexican Salvador Elizondo (1932–2006). What these two writers have in common is a certain conception of the essay modelled after the example of Montaigne: the essay is viewed as the place in which the concrete, corporeal, individual is, so to speak, shown and exposed. It is argued that the essayistic voice emerging from the writings of Starobinski and Elizondo is a reflective voice that expresses most concrete experiences in human life.