(*ENGLISH SUMMARY BELOW)
Rozprawa wykorzystuje współczesne narzędzia analizy konwersacji do bada... more (*ENGLISH SUMMARY BELOW)
Rozprawa wykorzystuje współczesne narzędzia analizy konwersacji do badania dialogu komediowego w zachowanych utworach Plauta. Skupia się przy tym na zjawisku otwarcia rozmowy – od nawiązania kontaktu z rozmówcą po wprowadzenie pierwszego tematu. We wstępnej części pracy ustala się jednostki analizy dialogu na poziomie wypowiedzi jednego mówiącego oraz wymiany między dwoma interlokutorami. Ustalenia terminologiczne służą następnie do wyodrębnienia sekwencji otwierających dialog we wszystkich komediach Plauta. W pierwszej kolejności opisuje się sceny wprowadzenia kontaktu między postaciami poprzez podejście oraz wezwanie do rozpoczęcia konwersacji. Kolejnym wyróżnionym elementem otwarcia dialogowego jest (auto)identyfikacja mówiących. Na licznych przykładach zwrotów bezpośrednich towarzyszących inicjacji kontaktu omawia się strategie konstruowania tzw. twarzy interakcyjnej. Najwięcej uwagi poświęca się natomiast formułom pozdrowień wraz z ich różnorakimi wariantami, uzależnionymi od kontekstu spotkania. Równie obszerny jest rozdział dotyczący wymiany fatycznej (tzw. small talk), której budowę odnosi się do typu relacji między interlokutorami. Wreszcie omawia się strategie wprowadzania pierwszego tematu dialogu, które stają się delimitatorami wstępnej fazy konwersacji. Rozprawę zamyka próba syntezy przeprowadzonych badań oraz propozycja powiązania językowych oraz pozajęzykowych (kinezyjnych, proksemicznych) elementów otwarcia dialogowego w ramach swoistej gramatyki interakcji scenicznej.
[[IN ENGLISH:]] The thesis employs methods of conversational analysis to study the comedy dialogue of the preserved plays by Plautus. Its main focus is the opening phase of the conversation: after establishing contact between the interlocutors till introducing the first topic. The study begins with distinguishing units of dialogue both on the level of one utterance and the exchange between two speakers. Those terms and concepts are later used to describe the opening sequence in all comedies by Plautus. The first chapter discusses the scenes of the encounter between the interlocutors that leads to starting the dialogue by approaching and by verbal summons. Then the (auto)identification move is analyzed in order to indicate different strategies of construing the interactional face by forms of address. Further on, most attention is given to the greeting formulae along with their numerous contextual variants. Also, the phatic communion (small talk) is discussed extensively: it is argued that the shape of this exchange might be determined by the type of relations between the interlocutors. The last part of the study concerns the mechanisms of introducing the first topic slot which serves as delimitating marks of the conversation opening. Finally, some synthesis of the results is made that leads to creating a tentative model of interactional grammar for the theatrical language of Plautus including the verbal and the non-verbal (kinesic, proxemic) means of communicating.
The first major study of politeness in Ancient Greece and Rome, introducing the linguistic
frame... more The first major study of politeness in Ancient Greece and Rome, introducing the linguistic
framework and showcasing a range of methods, topics, and genres. The individual chapters focus on canonical authors as well as on under-studied texts by ancient scholars and court proceedings.
Apokolokyntoza Boskiego Klaudiusza, czyli dyni(dei)fikacja to szczególne dzieło w dorobku Seneki,... more Apokolokyntoza Boskiego Klaudiusza, czyli dyni(dei)fikacja to szczególne dzieło w dorobku Seneki, słynącego głównie z twórczości filozoficznej, moralizatorskiej lub tragediowej. Ten niewielki utwór, napisany w konwencji satyry menippejskiej, miał być bezpośrednią reakcją autora na śmierć znienawidzonego cesarza Klaudiusza (13 października 54 r.), który ongiś zesłał go na Korsykę. Jeśli uznać Apokolokyntosis za rodzaj nieprzebierającej w środkach literackiej zemsty, byłby to akt tym bardziej okrutny, że dokonany na nieżyjącym wrogu. Najnowszy przekład dzieła próbuje odzyskać to, co — jak się wydaje – zostało stracone lub nie wybrzmiało z wystarczającą mocą przy ostatnim spolszczeniu (ponad 40 lat temu). Priorytetem w proponowanym tłumaczeniu jest komunikatywność, która z założenia powinna ułatwić nawiązanie bliskiej relacji z odbiorcą, kluczowej wszak dla wywołania w nim efektu komicznego. Dopiero wtedy, wracając z zaciekawieniem do tego wielokroć niedocenianego dzieła, możemy, dzięki obszernemu komentarzowi filologicznemu, zwrócić uwagę na szereg problemów natury interpretacyjnej, historycznoliterackiej, gatunkowej i językowej, które stawia przed nami Seneka Satyryk.
The Human Tragicomedy: the Reception of Apuleius’ Golden Ass in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century, 2024
The face-to-face interactions of the novel’s protagonist, rarely explored by the scholarship on M... more The face-to-face interactions of the novel’s protagonist, rarely explored by the scholarship on Metamorphoses, have been recently examined by Adkins, who draws on Critical Discourse Analysis to reveal ‘the use of discourse as a tool of social power’. Being more interested in Lucius’ discursive self-fashioning (and its failures), the scholar pays little attention to the actual linguistic use. Thus the present chapter, by focussing on the pragmatic aspects of language in a given dialogic exchange, aims at offering a more fine-grained examination of Lucius’ verbal behaviour. To this end, I will read the text closely through the lens of im/politeness theory, a methodology designed specifically to describe the interpersonal dynamics of social interactions. The following sections will analyse Lucius’ most prominent conversations reported in the novel (with strangers, intimates, low-status characters and the members of the elite); but for reasons of space, I will leave out his rather complex relationship with Fotis. First this chapter will set out by presenting the theoretical framework of im/politeness studies.
In the study of ancient dramatic dialogues, utterances that are self-interrupted by the character... more In the study of ancient dramatic dialogues, utterances that are self-interrupted by the characters on stage (aposiopesis) are difficult to distinguish from other conversational phenomena (hesitant speech, ellipsis or interruptions by another speaker). This chapter uses data from Plautus and Terence to define self-interruptions as a strategy for restraining oneself from expressing certain culturally and interactionally delicate content. By contrast to previous research, the authors apply methods of Conversation Analysis in the examination of the comedy dialogues. Accordingly, their revised criteria for the correct identification of aposiopesis include responses to incomplete turns and possible metrical ways of representing gaps of silence.
This article concerns one recurrent type of conversational joke in Plautus, which consists of thr... more This article concerns one recurrent type of conversational joke in Plautus, which consists of three different steps: (1) some problematic formulation by the joke-teller, (2) a request for an explanation by the interlocutor, and (3) a punchline. Using Conversation Analysis methods, the paper describes how the joke-telling routine is responded to by its in-play recipient(s).
Politeness in Ancient Greek and Latin, ed. L. Unceta Gómez, Ł. Berger, CUP , 2022
The chapter uses the dialogues of Roman comedy (Plautus, Terence) to examine the correlation betw... more The chapter uses the dialogues of Roman comedy (Plautus, Terence) to examine the correlation between the characters' perception of im/politeness and the practice of interrupting. By adopting the methods of Conversation Analysis, the study sets out criteria to distinguish interruptions from other non-hostile or non-salient types of interventions in a dramatic text without explicit stage directions. According to the main argument, proper interruptions – just like impolite behaviour – are constructed interactionally and their identification depends on how the affected party reacts to someone invading their speaking turn. The analysis of face-work in various types of turn-taking incidents, either collaborative or disruptive and antagonistic, helps to justify why given talk is not handled as an interruption. After comparing some qualitative and quantitative data, the chapter shows that there are many examples of face-threatening and hostile interventions in the comedy corpus that cannot be analysed as interruptions but rather should be associated with the type of interaction (e.g. conflictual talk) or the speaker’s dominant position within.
Studi Italiani di Linguistica Teorica e Applicata, 50.3, 2021
This paper aims to investigate the use of time-related features of talk in evoking (im)politeness... more This paper aims to investigate the use of time-related features of talk in evoking (im)politeness in Roman Comedy. To this end, I use evidence from the scansion of the text to identify syllable shortenings and accumulations of heavy (slow-pacing) tokens, as well as rhythmical patterns within utterances pronounced in socially charged situations. Moreover, the (im)polite value is associated with the meticulously timed delivery of speech acts (e.g., mocking threats) with particular focus on the culture-specific use of religious formulae. As a result, the paper tentatively presents some methods of recovering prosodic cues for verbal interaction, represented in the comedy text.
Linguisticae Dissertationes. Current Perspectives on Latin Grammar, Lexicon and Pragmatics. Selected Papers from the 20th International Colloquium on Latin Linguistics (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, June 17-21, 2019), ed. Antonio María Martín Rodríguez, Ediciones Clásicas, Madrid 2021, 605-20., 2021
By using the methods of Conversational Analysis, the present chapter aims at investigating the pl... more By using the methods of Conversational Analysis, the present chapter aims at investigating the placement of Nominal Address (here: personal names) throughout the verbal interaction in the comedies by Plautus and Terence. After describing the system of turn-taking, adapted for theatrical dialogue, the main focus is placed on how the tokens of address are integrated into the turn design. Accordingly, various pragmatic functions will be analysed in relation to the positioning of Nominal Address: both in a single turn (in turn-initial, mid-turn and turn-final position) and inside the structure of an adjacency pair. In conclusion, it is stated that, depending on their sequencing patterns, the Nominal Address functions on three different levels: dialogical (turn-taking), interpersonal (stance-taking and politeness), and textual (discourse organization).
** The paper is available in open access at https://philclass.spbu.ru/article/view/11507/8066 **
... more ** The paper is available in open access at https://philclass.spbu.ru/article/view/11507/8066 ** The article addresses the pragmatic and sociolinguistic constraints of interrupting in Roman comedy. It starts with a redefinition of the phenomenon informed by the methods of Conversation Analysis (CA): apart from syntactically incomplete utterances (as a result of interruptions by others), the analysis also includes the cases of interruptions reported by the characters. Furthermore, a distinction is made between intrusive (disaligning) interventions and other forms of competitive turn encroachments. The term ‘interruptions’, however, has been reserved only for the former, antagonistic type which serves to express disagreement and disinterest or to usurp the speaking turn. Using the revised criteria, the article proceeds to comment on quantitative data extracted from all the extant plays by Plautus and Terence. Accordingly, interruptions are viewed in relation to gender, age and status of the speakers, whereas some more detailed analysis concerns male and female citizens, prostitutes and servants. After comparing every character’s share of talk with their proportional use of turn incursions (both collaborative and disruptive), it is argued that the violation of the turn-exchange system is significantly associated with some interlocutors and less so with others. The last section presents interrupting as a pragmatic means of exerting power in interaction while discussing the phenomenon also from a (sociolinguistic) cross-gender perspective.
Las fórmulas de saludo y de despedida en las lenguas románicas. Sincronía, diacronía y aplicación a la enseñanza, 2021
This chapter uses methods of Conversation Analysis to revisit the greeting function of question f... more This chapter uses methods of Conversation Analysis to revisit the greeting function of question formulae (quid agis/ agitur?, quid fit?) in Roman comedy. By identifying the basic organizational structure of dialogue opening, it stresses the functional and sequential closeness of greetings and small- talk tokens. !e analysis of the data from Plautus and Terence suggests that the question- based expression may have a varied status, ranging from a genuine inquiry to a routine greeting and a dialogue- opener.
The paper aims at examining different types of talk represented in the plays by Plautus and Teren... more The paper aims at examining different types of talk represented in the plays by Plautus and Terence. To this end, it combines Goffman's participation framework with tools of Conversation Analysis, which serve to offer a more nuanced definition of speaking turns and the conversational floor. After discussing several types of footing within comedy dialogues, turns are differentiated from other strands of communicating: side comments (including theatrical asides), self-directed cries and backchannel talk. Moreover, verbal interactions in Plautus and Terence are analysed in relation to their floor structure and the kind of participation they entail for the interlocutors. Finally, the concepts here presented, as argued throughout the paper, help to revisit some of the existing accounts of verbal interaction in Roman comedy.
L'articolo si propone di esaminare i diversi modi di parlare rappresentati nelle opere di Plauto e Terenzio. A tal scopo, la teoria del quadro di partecipazione di Goffman viene combinata con strumenti di analisi conversazionale che servono a offrire una definizione un po' più elaborata dei turni e del piano (ing. floor) di conversazione. Dopo aver discusso i vari tipi di ancoraggio dialogico nelle commedie, i turni vengono differenziati dagli altri livelli di comunicazione: commenti secondari (compresi gli "a parte" teatrali), esclamazioni autoreferenziali ed espressioni di feedback. Inoltre, le interazioni verbali in Plauto e Terenzio vengono analizzate in relazione alla loro struttura del piano di conversazione e al tipo di partecipazione che instaurano con gli interlocutori. Infine, i fenomeni presentati, come sostenuto in tutto il lavoro, aiutano a chiarire alcune concezioni dell'interazione verbale nella commedia romana.
This article investigates multiple pragmatic facets of Latin greeting as depicted in the corpus o... more This article investigates multiple pragmatic facets of Latin greeting as depicted in the corpus of Roman comedy (Plautus, Terence). To this end, different frameworks are combined, including Conversation Analysis, Speech Act Theory, and the most prominent (Im)politeness Theories. The complexity of the greeting phenomenon is first demonstrated by identifying its position inside the opening section of the dialogue with possible reductions, elaborations, and substitutions. Thus a heterogeneous group of greeting tokens is retrieved from the comedy corpus, which, furthermore, fit the speech-act theoretical description of the greeting as a behabitative (Austin), expressive act (Searle) or acknowledgment (Bach and Harnish). Moreover, the paper briefly signalizes the contact-oriented (phatic) functions of the salutation ritual as access display (Shiffrin) or its use as a mechanism of (re)producing the social order (Schegloff). The main part of the investigation, however, is devoted to the greeting formulae and their linguistic variation in Plautus and Terence. After briefly presenting the classical model of (im)politeness (Brown and Levinson), the paper relates the speech-act formulation of the expressions to positive- or negative-politeness strategies. Finally, the article applies the frame-based analysis of the politeness’ formulaic language, as proposed by Terkourafi. The dialogue openings are classified according to their broader extralinguistic context (e.g. participants, temporal setting, the reason for the encounter) into several situational frames. In the last section of the paper, the (im)politeness value of the greeting expressions is revised in relation to their adequacy to a given situation type. In result, some instances of using the formulae inappropriately (i.e., out of frame) are given, which demonstrate the complex interpersonal dynamics of the verbal interaction depicted by Plautus and Terence.
Pragmatic Approaches to Drama. Studies in Communication on the Ancient Stage, 2021
Open Access Publication, available at https://brill.com/view/title/58967.
The present chapter ex... more Open Access Publication, available at https://brill.com/view/title/58967.
The present chapter examines several pragmatic aspects of giving advice in Roman comedy, a speech act particularly concerned with the speakers’ self-representation and their social bonds during critical moments of the plot. The following pages set out to address the complexity of the phenomenon of advising in Plautus and Terence, its discursive realisation and its contribution to the Latin system of politeness, as represented in the comedy texts. To this end, I will need to combine various pragmatic perspectives. The speech-act theoretical description of advising (Section 2) will be followed by its analysis in light of the research on im/politeness (Section 3–4). In addition, the formulation of speech acts will be investigated in relation to their position within an interaction (Section 5) as described by Conversational Analysis. I am also interested in how the act of advising is carried out, starting from the beginning of the adviser’s turn.
The paper interprets the verbal behaviour of pater familias and his subordinates in Plautus' Casi... more The paper interprets the verbal behaviour of pater familias and his subordinates in Plautus' Casina through the lenses of conversation analysis and im/politeness research. According to the approach here presented, turn-allocating techniques can function as a means of depicting power relationships-whether presupposed or emergent and negotiated on-stage-among high-and low-status characters in Roman comedies. The analysed data draw a connection between the active initiating of the dialogue, the management of the turn space, and speakership rights (e.g. silencing through the directive tace) with the dominant social position, prototypi-cally of high-born men. The authority of Roman slave-owners, reproduced in the characteri-sation of the senex, has been viewed in relation to potestas, the Roman conceptualisation of default social dominance. On the other hand, the subordinate role of slaves arguably is governed by quasi-mandatory patterns of linguistic use interpreted as politic behaviour which-in interaction with free-born citizens-consisted of obedience, withdrawal, lack of initiative, and deprivation of face.
"Drama y dramaturgia en la escena romana. III encuentro internacional del teatro latino", ed. R. López Gregoris, Zaragoza: Libros Pórtico., 281-309., 2019
En el presente artículo nos proponemos investigar la interfaz entre la métrica y la pragmática de... more En el presente artículo nos proponemos investigar la interfaz entre la métrica y la pragmática de las comedias de Plauto y Terencio. Más específicamente, trazamos la relación del ritmo de los versos cómicos —tal como viene codificado en el diseño métrico correspondiente— con la gestión de los turnos conversacionales. Asimismo, como un recurso comunicativo complementario a los segmentos del habla, se analizan los silencios, a saber, los vacíos prosódicos inscritos en la estructura del intercambio dialógico. Para atender a los aspectos comunicativos de la métrica, nos valdremos de la división en líneas métricas, como un fenómeno menos polémico y más fácilmente identificable en ambos autores. Por último, el diseño conversacional (prosódico-pragmático) del verso nos servirá para reinterpretar los casos de encabalgamiento en los diálogos cómicos, con su posible motivación de imitación del flujo de la conversación natural.
Current Perspectives in Semiotics. Text, Genres, and Representations, 2018
The paper investigates the ‘small talk’ routine in the dialogues by the Roman comedy playwright P... more The paper investigates the ‘small talk’ routine in the dialogues by the Roman comedy playwright Plautus. Since the theoretical framework of the analysis is based on the dynamic concept of ‘phatic interpretation’, the main stress is put on the way the interlocutors are negotiating the degrees of phaticity and commitment. Firstly, the opening sequence of Plautine dialogue is explained in order to indicate the position of the ‘small talk’ routine in the global structure of conversation. Then the most conventional Latin phatic tokens (e.g. quid agis? quid fit?) are mentioned as a common device of introducing the preliminary topic (e.g. state of health, general state of affairs). In the main part of the paper, different dialogue openings are analyzed in order to localize the interlocutors’ strategies either of extending or abbreviating the phatic (uncommitted) exchange. As a result, some apparently universal (e.g. Sacks “everyone has to lie” rule) and culture-specific (e.g. Roman superstition, symmetry in amicitia) phenomena are pointed out. In conclusion, it is stated that the Plautine dialogue, even in its initial, ritual phase, contains instances of naturalistic real-time negotiations that seem to both dynamize the interaction and fulfill the artistic agenda of the author
"CRUDELITAS. Okrucieństwo w literaturze i kulturze europejskiej", E. Wesołowska, W. Szturc (red.), Poznań 2017, ss. 273-296., 2017
The aim of the paper is to analyze the conversation openings in Plautine comedies highlighting th... more The aim of the paper is to analyze the conversation openings in Plautine comedies highlighting the tokens of phatic communication. The symmetric and friendly dialogic exchanges are contrasted with cases of linguistic aggression in its institutionalized (flagitatio) and comic (verbivelitatio) form. A special attention is paid to the farsical ‘small talk’ scenes between two low characters that both present a range of impolite behavior and phaticity. In conclusion it is stated that those instances of friendly insulting and aggressive humour are in keeping with the modern theories about ritual hostility among marginalized groups. That special way of creating and reaffirming social bonds between Plautine slaves is tentatively defined as ‘dysphemic communion’.
Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium Graecae et Latinae, t. XXVII, z. 3 (2017), ss. 249-273., 2017
*The article is a translated and revised version of Ł. Berger, "Starzec i grzeczność językowa w ... more *The article is a translated and revised version of Ł. Berger, "Starzec i grzeczność językowa w komediach Plauta", Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium Graecae et Latinae, t. XXIV, z. 1 (2014), ss. 53-74.
The aim of the article is to study the conversational behaviour of the Plautine old men in light of (im)politeness theory. The analysis concerns those scenes of salutatio and advice-giving where one of the speakers is a senex, in order to examine features of his linguistic characterisation..
Keywords: old men, politeness theory, Roman comedy, greetings, advisory discourse
The paper focuses on the redistribution of pragmatic function, repragmaticalization (the phenomen... more The paper focuses on the redistribution of pragmatic function, repragmaticalization (the phenomenon also known as 'discursisation'). It is assumed that the Latin blessing formulae, as reproduced in the comedies by Plautus, underwent discursisation that resulted in its reinterpretation as a routinized expression of gratitude, and, finally, as greeting formulae (di tibi dent quae uelis!; di te ament!). Firstly, an analysis of the dialogue openings that include this particular wording of the salutatio ritual is conducted. Moreover, the study offers additional insights into the Roman reciprocal donation system, which has been related to the communicative routines of thanking and greeting. In conclusion some general remarks are made about the nature of the repragmaticalization process and its results.
(*ENGLISH SUMMARY BELOW)
Rozprawa wykorzystuje współczesne narzędzia analizy konwersacji do bada... more (*ENGLISH SUMMARY BELOW)
Rozprawa wykorzystuje współczesne narzędzia analizy konwersacji do badania dialogu komediowego w zachowanych utworach Plauta. Skupia się przy tym na zjawisku otwarcia rozmowy – od nawiązania kontaktu z rozmówcą po wprowadzenie pierwszego tematu. We wstępnej części pracy ustala się jednostki analizy dialogu na poziomie wypowiedzi jednego mówiącego oraz wymiany między dwoma interlokutorami. Ustalenia terminologiczne służą następnie do wyodrębnienia sekwencji otwierających dialog we wszystkich komediach Plauta. W pierwszej kolejności opisuje się sceny wprowadzenia kontaktu między postaciami poprzez podejście oraz wezwanie do rozpoczęcia konwersacji. Kolejnym wyróżnionym elementem otwarcia dialogowego jest (auto)identyfikacja mówiących. Na licznych przykładach zwrotów bezpośrednich towarzyszących inicjacji kontaktu omawia się strategie konstruowania tzw. twarzy interakcyjnej. Najwięcej uwagi poświęca się natomiast formułom pozdrowień wraz z ich różnorakimi wariantami, uzależnionymi od kontekstu spotkania. Równie obszerny jest rozdział dotyczący wymiany fatycznej (tzw. small talk), której budowę odnosi się do typu relacji między interlokutorami. Wreszcie omawia się strategie wprowadzania pierwszego tematu dialogu, które stają się delimitatorami wstępnej fazy konwersacji. Rozprawę zamyka próba syntezy przeprowadzonych badań oraz propozycja powiązania językowych oraz pozajęzykowych (kinezyjnych, proksemicznych) elementów otwarcia dialogowego w ramach swoistej gramatyki interakcji scenicznej.
[[IN ENGLISH:]] The thesis employs methods of conversational analysis to study the comedy dialogue of the preserved plays by Plautus. Its main focus is the opening phase of the conversation: after establishing contact between the interlocutors till introducing the first topic. The study begins with distinguishing units of dialogue both on the level of one utterance and the exchange between two speakers. Those terms and concepts are later used to describe the opening sequence in all comedies by Plautus. The first chapter discusses the scenes of the encounter between the interlocutors that leads to starting the dialogue by approaching and by verbal summons. Then the (auto)identification move is analyzed in order to indicate different strategies of construing the interactional face by forms of address. Further on, most attention is given to the greeting formulae along with their numerous contextual variants. Also, the phatic communion (small talk) is discussed extensively: it is argued that the shape of this exchange might be determined by the type of relations between the interlocutors. The last part of the study concerns the mechanisms of introducing the first topic slot which serves as delimitating marks of the conversation opening. Finally, some synthesis of the results is made that leads to creating a tentative model of interactional grammar for the theatrical language of Plautus including the verbal and the non-verbal (kinesic, proxemic) means of communicating.
The first major study of politeness in Ancient Greece and Rome, introducing the linguistic
frame... more The first major study of politeness in Ancient Greece and Rome, introducing the linguistic
framework and showcasing a range of methods, topics, and genres. The individual chapters focus on canonical authors as well as on under-studied texts by ancient scholars and court proceedings.
Apokolokyntoza Boskiego Klaudiusza, czyli dyni(dei)fikacja to szczególne dzieło w dorobku Seneki,... more Apokolokyntoza Boskiego Klaudiusza, czyli dyni(dei)fikacja to szczególne dzieło w dorobku Seneki, słynącego głównie z twórczości filozoficznej, moralizatorskiej lub tragediowej. Ten niewielki utwór, napisany w konwencji satyry menippejskiej, miał być bezpośrednią reakcją autora na śmierć znienawidzonego cesarza Klaudiusza (13 października 54 r.), który ongiś zesłał go na Korsykę. Jeśli uznać Apokolokyntosis za rodzaj nieprzebierającej w środkach literackiej zemsty, byłby to akt tym bardziej okrutny, że dokonany na nieżyjącym wrogu. Najnowszy przekład dzieła próbuje odzyskać to, co — jak się wydaje – zostało stracone lub nie wybrzmiało z wystarczającą mocą przy ostatnim spolszczeniu (ponad 40 lat temu). Priorytetem w proponowanym tłumaczeniu jest komunikatywność, która z założenia powinna ułatwić nawiązanie bliskiej relacji z odbiorcą, kluczowej wszak dla wywołania w nim efektu komicznego. Dopiero wtedy, wracając z zaciekawieniem do tego wielokroć niedocenianego dzieła, możemy, dzięki obszernemu komentarzowi filologicznemu, zwrócić uwagę na szereg problemów natury interpretacyjnej, historycznoliterackiej, gatunkowej i językowej, które stawia przed nami Seneka Satyryk.
The Human Tragicomedy: the Reception of Apuleius’ Golden Ass in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Century, 2024
The face-to-face interactions of the novel’s protagonist, rarely explored by the scholarship on M... more The face-to-face interactions of the novel’s protagonist, rarely explored by the scholarship on Metamorphoses, have been recently examined by Adkins, who draws on Critical Discourse Analysis to reveal ‘the use of discourse as a tool of social power’. Being more interested in Lucius’ discursive self-fashioning (and its failures), the scholar pays little attention to the actual linguistic use. Thus the present chapter, by focussing on the pragmatic aspects of language in a given dialogic exchange, aims at offering a more fine-grained examination of Lucius’ verbal behaviour. To this end, I will read the text closely through the lens of im/politeness theory, a methodology designed specifically to describe the interpersonal dynamics of social interactions. The following sections will analyse Lucius’ most prominent conversations reported in the novel (with strangers, intimates, low-status characters and the members of the elite); but for reasons of space, I will leave out his rather complex relationship with Fotis. First this chapter will set out by presenting the theoretical framework of im/politeness studies.
In the study of ancient dramatic dialogues, utterances that are self-interrupted by the character... more In the study of ancient dramatic dialogues, utterances that are self-interrupted by the characters on stage (aposiopesis) are difficult to distinguish from other conversational phenomena (hesitant speech, ellipsis or interruptions by another speaker). This chapter uses data from Plautus and Terence to define self-interruptions as a strategy for restraining oneself from expressing certain culturally and interactionally delicate content. By contrast to previous research, the authors apply methods of Conversation Analysis in the examination of the comedy dialogues. Accordingly, their revised criteria for the correct identification of aposiopesis include responses to incomplete turns and possible metrical ways of representing gaps of silence.
This article concerns one recurrent type of conversational joke in Plautus, which consists of thr... more This article concerns one recurrent type of conversational joke in Plautus, which consists of three different steps: (1) some problematic formulation by the joke-teller, (2) a request for an explanation by the interlocutor, and (3) a punchline. Using Conversation Analysis methods, the paper describes how the joke-telling routine is responded to by its in-play recipient(s).
Politeness in Ancient Greek and Latin, ed. L. Unceta Gómez, Ł. Berger, CUP , 2022
The chapter uses the dialogues of Roman comedy (Plautus, Terence) to examine the correlation betw... more The chapter uses the dialogues of Roman comedy (Plautus, Terence) to examine the correlation between the characters' perception of im/politeness and the practice of interrupting. By adopting the methods of Conversation Analysis, the study sets out criteria to distinguish interruptions from other non-hostile or non-salient types of interventions in a dramatic text without explicit stage directions. According to the main argument, proper interruptions – just like impolite behaviour – are constructed interactionally and their identification depends on how the affected party reacts to someone invading their speaking turn. The analysis of face-work in various types of turn-taking incidents, either collaborative or disruptive and antagonistic, helps to justify why given talk is not handled as an interruption. After comparing some qualitative and quantitative data, the chapter shows that there are many examples of face-threatening and hostile interventions in the comedy corpus that cannot be analysed as interruptions but rather should be associated with the type of interaction (e.g. conflictual talk) or the speaker’s dominant position within.
Studi Italiani di Linguistica Teorica e Applicata, 50.3, 2021
This paper aims to investigate the use of time-related features of talk in evoking (im)politeness... more This paper aims to investigate the use of time-related features of talk in evoking (im)politeness in Roman Comedy. To this end, I use evidence from the scansion of the text to identify syllable shortenings and accumulations of heavy (slow-pacing) tokens, as well as rhythmical patterns within utterances pronounced in socially charged situations. Moreover, the (im)polite value is associated with the meticulously timed delivery of speech acts (e.g., mocking threats) with particular focus on the culture-specific use of religious formulae. As a result, the paper tentatively presents some methods of recovering prosodic cues for verbal interaction, represented in the comedy text.
Linguisticae Dissertationes. Current Perspectives on Latin Grammar, Lexicon and Pragmatics. Selected Papers from the 20th International Colloquium on Latin Linguistics (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, June 17-21, 2019), ed. Antonio María Martín Rodríguez, Ediciones Clásicas, Madrid 2021, 605-20., 2021
By using the methods of Conversational Analysis, the present chapter aims at investigating the pl... more By using the methods of Conversational Analysis, the present chapter aims at investigating the placement of Nominal Address (here: personal names) throughout the verbal interaction in the comedies by Plautus and Terence. After describing the system of turn-taking, adapted for theatrical dialogue, the main focus is placed on how the tokens of address are integrated into the turn design. Accordingly, various pragmatic functions will be analysed in relation to the positioning of Nominal Address: both in a single turn (in turn-initial, mid-turn and turn-final position) and inside the structure of an adjacency pair. In conclusion, it is stated that, depending on their sequencing patterns, the Nominal Address functions on three different levels: dialogical (turn-taking), interpersonal (stance-taking and politeness), and textual (discourse organization).
** The paper is available in open access at https://philclass.spbu.ru/article/view/11507/8066 **
... more ** The paper is available in open access at https://philclass.spbu.ru/article/view/11507/8066 ** The article addresses the pragmatic and sociolinguistic constraints of interrupting in Roman comedy. It starts with a redefinition of the phenomenon informed by the methods of Conversation Analysis (CA): apart from syntactically incomplete utterances (as a result of interruptions by others), the analysis also includes the cases of interruptions reported by the characters. Furthermore, a distinction is made between intrusive (disaligning) interventions and other forms of competitive turn encroachments. The term ‘interruptions’, however, has been reserved only for the former, antagonistic type which serves to express disagreement and disinterest or to usurp the speaking turn. Using the revised criteria, the article proceeds to comment on quantitative data extracted from all the extant plays by Plautus and Terence. Accordingly, interruptions are viewed in relation to gender, age and status of the speakers, whereas some more detailed analysis concerns male and female citizens, prostitutes and servants. After comparing every character’s share of talk with their proportional use of turn incursions (both collaborative and disruptive), it is argued that the violation of the turn-exchange system is significantly associated with some interlocutors and less so with others. The last section presents interrupting as a pragmatic means of exerting power in interaction while discussing the phenomenon also from a (sociolinguistic) cross-gender perspective.
Las fórmulas de saludo y de despedida en las lenguas románicas. Sincronía, diacronía y aplicación a la enseñanza, 2021
This chapter uses methods of Conversation Analysis to revisit the greeting function of question f... more This chapter uses methods of Conversation Analysis to revisit the greeting function of question formulae (quid agis/ agitur?, quid fit?) in Roman comedy. By identifying the basic organizational structure of dialogue opening, it stresses the functional and sequential closeness of greetings and small- talk tokens. !e analysis of the data from Plautus and Terence suggests that the question- based expression may have a varied status, ranging from a genuine inquiry to a routine greeting and a dialogue- opener.
The paper aims at examining different types of talk represented in the plays by Plautus and Teren... more The paper aims at examining different types of talk represented in the plays by Plautus and Terence. To this end, it combines Goffman's participation framework with tools of Conversation Analysis, which serve to offer a more nuanced definition of speaking turns and the conversational floor. After discussing several types of footing within comedy dialogues, turns are differentiated from other strands of communicating: side comments (including theatrical asides), self-directed cries and backchannel talk. Moreover, verbal interactions in Plautus and Terence are analysed in relation to their floor structure and the kind of participation they entail for the interlocutors. Finally, the concepts here presented, as argued throughout the paper, help to revisit some of the existing accounts of verbal interaction in Roman comedy.
L'articolo si propone di esaminare i diversi modi di parlare rappresentati nelle opere di Plauto e Terenzio. A tal scopo, la teoria del quadro di partecipazione di Goffman viene combinata con strumenti di analisi conversazionale che servono a offrire una definizione un po' più elaborata dei turni e del piano (ing. floor) di conversazione. Dopo aver discusso i vari tipi di ancoraggio dialogico nelle commedie, i turni vengono differenziati dagli altri livelli di comunicazione: commenti secondari (compresi gli "a parte" teatrali), esclamazioni autoreferenziali ed espressioni di feedback. Inoltre, le interazioni verbali in Plauto e Terenzio vengono analizzate in relazione alla loro struttura del piano di conversazione e al tipo di partecipazione che instaurano con gli interlocutori. Infine, i fenomeni presentati, come sostenuto in tutto il lavoro, aiutano a chiarire alcune concezioni dell'interazione verbale nella commedia romana.
This article investigates multiple pragmatic facets of Latin greeting as depicted in the corpus o... more This article investigates multiple pragmatic facets of Latin greeting as depicted in the corpus of Roman comedy (Plautus, Terence). To this end, different frameworks are combined, including Conversation Analysis, Speech Act Theory, and the most prominent (Im)politeness Theories. The complexity of the greeting phenomenon is first demonstrated by identifying its position inside the opening section of the dialogue with possible reductions, elaborations, and substitutions. Thus a heterogeneous group of greeting tokens is retrieved from the comedy corpus, which, furthermore, fit the speech-act theoretical description of the greeting as a behabitative (Austin), expressive act (Searle) or acknowledgment (Bach and Harnish). Moreover, the paper briefly signalizes the contact-oriented (phatic) functions of the salutation ritual as access display (Shiffrin) or its use as a mechanism of (re)producing the social order (Schegloff). The main part of the investigation, however, is devoted to the greeting formulae and their linguistic variation in Plautus and Terence. After briefly presenting the classical model of (im)politeness (Brown and Levinson), the paper relates the speech-act formulation of the expressions to positive- or negative-politeness strategies. Finally, the article applies the frame-based analysis of the politeness’ formulaic language, as proposed by Terkourafi. The dialogue openings are classified according to their broader extralinguistic context (e.g. participants, temporal setting, the reason for the encounter) into several situational frames. In the last section of the paper, the (im)politeness value of the greeting expressions is revised in relation to their adequacy to a given situation type. In result, some instances of using the formulae inappropriately (i.e., out of frame) are given, which demonstrate the complex interpersonal dynamics of the verbal interaction depicted by Plautus and Terence.
Pragmatic Approaches to Drama. Studies in Communication on the Ancient Stage, 2021
Open Access Publication, available at https://brill.com/view/title/58967.
The present chapter ex... more Open Access Publication, available at https://brill.com/view/title/58967.
The present chapter examines several pragmatic aspects of giving advice in Roman comedy, a speech act particularly concerned with the speakers’ self-representation and their social bonds during critical moments of the plot. The following pages set out to address the complexity of the phenomenon of advising in Plautus and Terence, its discursive realisation and its contribution to the Latin system of politeness, as represented in the comedy texts. To this end, I will need to combine various pragmatic perspectives. The speech-act theoretical description of advising (Section 2) will be followed by its analysis in light of the research on im/politeness (Section 3–4). In addition, the formulation of speech acts will be investigated in relation to their position within an interaction (Section 5) as described by Conversational Analysis. I am also interested in how the act of advising is carried out, starting from the beginning of the adviser’s turn.
The paper interprets the verbal behaviour of pater familias and his subordinates in Plautus' Casi... more The paper interprets the verbal behaviour of pater familias and his subordinates in Plautus' Casina through the lenses of conversation analysis and im/politeness research. According to the approach here presented, turn-allocating techniques can function as a means of depicting power relationships-whether presupposed or emergent and negotiated on-stage-among high-and low-status characters in Roman comedies. The analysed data draw a connection between the active initiating of the dialogue, the management of the turn space, and speakership rights (e.g. silencing through the directive tace) with the dominant social position, prototypi-cally of high-born men. The authority of Roman slave-owners, reproduced in the characteri-sation of the senex, has been viewed in relation to potestas, the Roman conceptualisation of default social dominance. On the other hand, the subordinate role of slaves arguably is governed by quasi-mandatory patterns of linguistic use interpreted as politic behaviour which-in interaction with free-born citizens-consisted of obedience, withdrawal, lack of initiative, and deprivation of face.
"Drama y dramaturgia en la escena romana. III encuentro internacional del teatro latino", ed. R. López Gregoris, Zaragoza: Libros Pórtico., 281-309., 2019
En el presente artículo nos proponemos investigar la interfaz entre la métrica y la pragmática de... more En el presente artículo nos proponemos investigar la interfaz entre la métrica y la pragmática de las comedias de Plauto y Terencio. Más específicamente, trazamos la relación del ritmo de los versos cómicos —tal como viene codificado en el diseño métrico correspondiente— con la gestión de los turnos conversacionales. Asimismo, como un recurso comunicativo complementario a los segmentos del habla, se analizan los silencios, a saber, los vacíos prosódicos inscritos en la estructura del intercambio dialógico. Para atender a los aspectos comunicativos de la métrica, nos valdremos de la división en líneas métricas, como un fenómeno menos polémico y más fácilmente identificable en ambos autores. Por último, el diseño conversacional (prosódico-pragmático) del verso nos servirá para reinterpretar los casos de encabalgamiento en los diálogos cómicos, con su posible motivación de imitación del flujo de la conversación natural.
Current Perspectives in Semiotics. Text, Genres, and Representations, 2018
The paper investigates the ‘small talk’ routine in the dialogues by the Roman comedy playwright P... more The paper investigates the ‘small talk’ routine in the dialogues by the Roman comedy playwright Plautus. Since the theoretical framework of the analysis is based on the dynamic concept of ‘phatic interpretation’, the main stress is put on the way the interlocutors are negotiating the degrees of phaticity and commitment. Firstly, the opening sequence of Plautine dialogue is explained in order to indicate the position of the ‘small talk’ routine in the global structure of conversation. Then the most conventional Latin phatic tokens (e.g. quid agis? quid fit?) are mentioned as a common device of introducing the preliminary topic (e.g. state of health, general state of affairs). In the main part of the paper, different dialogue openings are analyzed in order to localize the interlocutors’ strategies either of extending or abbreviating the phatic (uncommitted) exchange. As a result, some apparently universal (e.g. Sacks “everyone has to lie” rule) and culture-specific (e.g. Roman superstition, symmetry in amicitia) phenomena are pointed out. In conclusion, it is stated that the Plautine dialogue, even in its initial, ritual phase, contains instances of naturalistic real-time negotiations that seem to both dynamize the interaction and fulfill the artistic agenda of the author
"CRUDELITAS. Okrucieństwo w literaturze i kulturze europejskiej", E. Wesołowska, W. Szturc (red.), Poznań 2017, ss. 273-296., 2017
The aim of the paper is to analyze the conversation openings in Plautine comedies highlighting th... more The aim of the paper is to analyze the conversation openings in Plautine comedies highlighting the tokens of phatic communication. The symmetric and friendly dialogic exchanges are contrasted with cases of linguistic aggression in its institutionalized (flagitatio) and comic (verbivelitatio) form. A special attention is paid to the farsical ‘small talk’ scenes between two low characters that both present a range of impolite behavior and phaticity. In conclusion it is stated that those instances of friendly insulting and aggressive humour are in keeping with the modern theories about ritual hostility among marginalized groups. That special way of creating and reaffirming social bonds between Plautine slaves is tentatively defined as ‘dysphemic communion’.
Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium Graecae et Latinae, t. XXVII, z. 3 (2017), ss. 249-273., 2017
*The article is a translated and revised version of Ł. Berger, "Starzec i grzeczność językowa w ... more *The article is a translated and revised version of Ł. Berger, "Starzec i grzeczność językowa w komediach Plauta", Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium Graecae et Latinae, t. XXIV, z. 1 (2014), ss. 53-74.
The aim of the article is to study the conversational behaviour of the Plautine old men in light of (im)politeness theory. The analysis concerns those scenes of salutatio and advice-giving where one of the speakers is a senex, in order to examine features of his linguistic characterisation..
Keywords: old men, politeness theory, Roman comedy, greetings, advisory discourse
The paper focuses on the redistribution of pragmatic function, repragmaticalization (the phenomen... more The paper focuses on the redistribution of pragmatic function, repragmaticalization (the phenomenon also known as 'discursisation'). It is assumed that the Latin blessing formulae, as reproduced in the comedies by Plautus, underwent discursisation that resulted in its reinterpretation as a routinized expression of gratitude, and, finally, as greeting formulae (di tibi dent quae uelis!; di te ament!). Firstly, an analysis of the dialogue openings that include this particular wording of the salutatio ritual is conducted. Moreover, the study offers additional insights into the Roman reciprocal donation system, which has been related to the communicative routines of thanking and greeting. In conclusion some general remarks are made about the nature of the repragmaticalization process and its results.
El artículo identifica y describe las estrategias de la cortesía en los inicios de los diálogos e... more El artículo identifica y describe las estrategias de la cortesía en los inicios de los diálogos en las comedias de Plauto y Terencio. Con este objetivo, se propone com-binar la clásica teoría de Brown & Levinson (1987) con las herramientas del Análisis Conversacional. Así, se va señalando la relación entre varios mecanismos para salvagur-dar la imagen social con la fase del diálogo y tipo de la acción comunicativa realizada. Tras la parte de corte teórico, se comenta brevemente los elementos del contexto que permiten abrir la conversación escuetamente sin correr el riesgo de parecer descortés. Con más detalle se enumera varias etrategias de la cortesía positiva, que en la apertura dialógica parece seguir dos reglas básicas: (i) demostrar que el receptor es admirable, interesante (etc.); (ii) postular una base común entre los interlocutores. Estas superes-trategias están realizadas a través de la expresión de alegría y sorpresa, la identifica-ción inclusiva, las fórmulas de saludo que comunican benevolencia, y gracias al interés prestado durante el small talk. Por último, a lo largo del presente trabajo se intenta no perder de vista que la cortesía y sus formas (más o menos) convecionalizadas están sujetas a las constantes (re)eva-luaciones discursivas.
The article identifies and describes the politeness conveyed in the dialogue openings of the comedies by Plautus and Terence. In order to reach this objective, it combines the classical theory by Brown & Levinson (1987) with the tools of the Conversational Analysis. Thus, the relation between various face-work mechanisms, on one hand, and the phase of the dialogue and the communicative action, on the other, is being recognized and highlighted. After the theoretical introduction, the article comments briefly on the context elements which allow to initiate the dialogue «baldly on record» without causing a face-threat to the participants. With more details, the work delves into various strategies invested by positive politeness. The analysis of the presented material suggests that they are governed by the following rules: (i) to convey that the hearer is admirable, interesting (etc.), (ii) to claim common ground between the interlocutors. These general strategies are accomplished by the expression of joy and surprise, in-group identification , greeting formulae with a good-wishing message and by conveying interest through a small talk sequence. Finally, throughout the article, it is stressed that politeness and its – more or less – conventionalized tokens are subject to constant discursive (re)evaluations.
The article describes the home‑coming scene in Plautus focusing on the linguistic aspects of the ... more The article describes the home‑coming scene in Plautus focusing on the linguistic aspects of the social ritual. It is stated that welcoming the interlocutor who has returned from a long travel consists – as far as the face‑to‑face interaction is concerned – of several communicative steps: summons, two‑part greeting, 'small talk’ question, an invitation to dinner. Special attention is given to the formula salvom te (ad)venire gaudeo, its interactional meaning and contextual variability. Finally, the mechanisms of typical Plautine humour are explained through particular realizations of the home‑coming scene. By way of conclusion, the results of the study are contrasted with the same phenomenon in the comedies by Terence.
The Plautine dialogues seem to be structured according to the conventions of naturally occurring ... more The Plautine dialogues seem to be structured according to the conventions of naturally occurring conversation. This paper examines the transition devices from the (ritualistic) opening phase to the goal-oriented part, where the reason-for-the-talk is disclosed. Firstly, the difference between the phatic preliminary remarks (small talk) and the actual first topic is briefly discussed. Further on, the analysis of the Plautine corpus reveals various ways of making the transition to the medial phase: from multi-turn sequences to single-turn conversational moves. It is stated that the most complex negotiations over the first topic slot placement are a feature of symmetric interactions among high characters with friendly relations. Accordingly, more direct linguistic devices of introducing the reason-for-the-talk appear typically in slave-master dialogues or in aggressive or farcical exchanges between low characters. Some cases, moreover, show that also the wider context of interaction or the dramaturgical factors (depiction of a stock character, progression of the plot etc.) affects the election of the transition style. Finally, throughout the paper some tentative comments are made as well on the politeness issues strictly related to the selection of the linguistic tokens of introducing the first topic slot.
Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium Graecae et Latinae, t. XXIII, z. 1, s. 5-18., 2013
The article reviews the introductory scene of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus in search of deictic re... more The article reviews the introductory scene of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus in search of deictic reference. The analysis of some uses of the local, temporal and personal deixis as well as its social and emotional aspects reaffirms the main function of the prologue in the context of the whole tragedy.
H. Kowalski, A. Bińkowska, M. Przybyszewska (red.), "W kręgu antycznych fascynacji", Materiały Pokonferencyjne Muzeum Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, nr 1 (2013), ss. 175-192
Literary and Language Studies of Warsaw, vol. 3, 2013, ss. 29-45.
The aim of the article is to incorporate the deixis theory into the study of the Castilian epic. ... more The aim of the article is to incorporate the deixis theory into the study of the Castilian epic. Given the oral performance of the Cantar de Mio Cid, the very act of its communication can be analysed by pragmatic tools. Moreover, the spatial and temporal references included in the text, in many occasions, seem to match the ‘here and now’ of the performer and his audience. In the main part of the paper we state that there is a strongcorrelation between the space and time dimensions of the CMC, which is already im-plied by the plot consisting of constant movements (in space and time) of the characters. Firstly, we explore the references to the ‘dynamized’ space, stressing some signifcant manipulations of the deictic phenomenon. In the second part of the article, we argue that the temporal dimension of the poem seems to be dominated by its spatial conceptualization. As a conclusion we suggest to complement the linguistic analysis of the CMC with the pragmatic aspects of the text in order to reinterpret certain passages or to shed some light on the performative character of the Epic genre.
In this paper we examine the narrative formulae of the Cantar de Mio Cid (CMC) in order to trace ... more In this paper we examine the narrative formulae of the Cantar de Mio Cid (CMC) in order to trace phenomena of the transposition of the original deictic reference they include. As a result, it is argued that the formulae used by the narrator of the CMC may have a phatic function as they absorb the perspective of the addressee: either by a centripetal or a centrifugal movements of the narration. Moreover some expressions seem to serve (intratextually) to organize the informational pattern of the plot by enhancing the epic text with an additional meaning. Finally, it is concluded that the analysis of the pragmatic component of the CMC may add some new insights for its literary, linguistic and textual construction.
RÉSUMÉ:
“L’emploi de la composante déictique dans les formules narratives du Cantar de Mio Cid”
Dans cet article, nous allons analyser les formules narratives du Cantar de Mio Cid (CMC) en vue de suivre les phénomènes de la transposition de la signification déictique originale qu’elles comportent. Il sera ainsi avancé que les formules employées par le narrateur du CMC peuvent avoir une fonction phatique puisqu’elles absorbent la perspective du destinataire: que ce soit par un mouvement centripète ou centrifuge de la narration. De plus, quelques expressions semblent servir (intertextuellement) à organiser le schéma informationnel de l’intrigue en ajoutant au texte épique une signification supplémentaire. Pour finir, nous conclurons que l’analyse de la composante pragmatique du CMC peut apporter quelques nouvelles idées quant à sa construction littéraire, linguistique et textuelle.
STRESZCZENIE:
„Wykorzystanie deiktycznego komponentu języka w formułach narracyjnych Cantar de Mio Cid”
Celem artykułu jest wskazanie w formułach narracyjnych Cantar de Mio Cid (CMC) zjawiska transpozycji pierwotnych odniesień deiktycznych w nich zawartych. Okazuje się bowiem, że formuły używane przez narratora CMC mogą spełniać funkcję fatyczną, ilekroć wchłaniają perspektywę odbiorcy przez odzwierciedlający się w opowiadaniu ruch zarówno dośrodkowy (w stronę origo), jak i odśrodkowy (od origo). Co więcej pewne wyrażenia wydają się służyć (wewnątrztekstowo) do porządkowania informacyjnej struktury fabuły poprzez naddawanie tekstowi poematu dodatkowych znaczeń. Metoda tutaj zastosowana ma wreszcie za zadanie zwrócić uwagę na potrzebę uzupełnienia analizy CMC o pragmatyczny komponent języka, co mogłoby rzucić nieco inne światło na literacką, językową i tekstową konstrukcję utworu.
słowa kluczowe: Cantar de Mio Cid, hiszpańska epika, deiksa, formuły narracyjne, juglar, performance
Review of C. González Vázquez (ed.), Diccionario de personajes de la comedia antigua, Zaragoza 20... more Review of C. González Vázquez (ed.), Diccionario de personajes de la comedia antigua, Zaragoza 2016.
recenzja tomu zbiorowego "(Nie)grzeczność, interakcja, komunikacja", red. M. Święcicka, M. Pepliń... more recenzja tomu zbiorowego "(Nie)grzeczność, interakcja, komunikacja", red. M. Święcicka, M. Peplińska-Narloch, Bydgoszcz 2015.
Language and Literary Studies of Warsaw, vol. 7 (2018), ss. 283-291.
Workshop "Conversation and Dialogue in Latin"
International Colloquium of Latin Linguistics
Santi... more Workshop "Conversation and Dialogue in Latin" International Colloquium of Latin Linguistics Santiago de Compostela, 2021 Deadline for submissions: February 15 2020
An event held at Adam MIckiewicz University in Poznań on 2 June 2021. Online participation possib... more An event held at Adam MIckiewicz University in Poznań on 2 June 2021. Online participation possible - please, contact Mateusz Stróżyński (monosautos@gmail.com).
"APPROACHES TO ANCIENT GREEK AND LATIN IM/POLITENESS" is an international conference on advances ... more "APPROACHES TO ANCIENT GREEK AND LATIN IM/POLITENESS" is an international conference on advances and new perspectives in the field of politeness research of the classical languages. It will be held in Madrid (Centro Cultural La Corrala) from 26th to 27th of June 2017. In order to estimate the number of participants, please, register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc9cnf97rYiB1MW7Ydn3MutPJpk768lm1MbZl2EiSbbltkQZQ/viewform?c=0&w=1
May 11-13, 2022. International conference on Plautus and his theatre organized (in a hybrid forma... more May 11-13, 2022. International conference on Plautus and his theatre organized (in a hybrid format) by the Department of Classical Philology in Poznań (Poland).
To join via MS Teams please write lukasz.berger@amu.edu.pl
This study concerns one recurrent type of dialogic joke in Plautus, which consists of three diffe... more This study concerns one recurrent type of dialogic joke in Plautus, which consists of three different steps: (1) some problematic formulation by the joke-teller; (2) a request for an explanation by the interlocutor; (3) a punchline. After using methods of Conversation Analysis, I have described the jocular routine as a variant of a repai r sequence, which serves in naturally occurring talk to address and solve problems of understanding. The main part of the chapter delves into the rhythmical accommodation of the routine (and its components) within the comedy versification to highlight the time-sensitive aspects of the joke's delivery, which arguably have a humourintensifying function.
The objective of the present chapter is to analyse the polite (and impolite) behaviour of the pro... more The objective of the present chapter is to analyse the polite (and impolite) behaviour of the protagonist of Apuleius’ Metamorphoses in order to present a more nuanced evaluation of his way of socialising with others. Existing accounts of Lucius’ literary characterisation describe him ‘as a tactful man, someone cognisant of the usual rules of decorum’, but whose reckless actions ‘can entirely discredit his socially constructed self.’ (Letainer 2001, 249). On the other hand, scholars tend to stress his awkwardness, gullibility, ignorance, and lack of self-control to argue that, in the first three books of the novel, he is already ‘an ass in waiting’ (Harrison 2015, 14). In the following pages, I will examine how these traits of Lucius become relevant in his interpersonal relations with other characters.
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Rozprawa wykorzystuje współczesne narzędzia analizy konwersacji do badania dialogu komediowego w zachowanych utworach Plauta. Skupia się przy tym na zjawisku otwarcia rozmowy – od nawiązania kontaktu z rozmówcą po wprowadzenie pierwszego tematu. We wstępnej części pracy ustala się jednostki analizy dialogu na poziomie wypowiedzi jednego mówiącego oraz wymiany między dwoma interlokutorami. Ustalenia terminologiczne służą następnie do wyodrębnienia sekwencji otwierających dialog we wszystkich komediach Plauta. W pierwszej kolejności opisuje się sceny wprowadzenia kontaktu między postaciami poprzez podejście oraz wezwanie do rozpoczęcia konwersacji. Kolejnym wyróżnionym elementem otwarcia dialogowego jest (auto)identyfikacja mówiących. Na licznych przykładach zwrotów bezpośrednich towarzyszących inicjacji kontaktu omawia się strategie konstruowania tzw. twarzy interakcyjnej. Najwięcej uwagi poświęca się natomiast formułom pozdrowień wraz z ich różnorakimi wariantami, uzależnionymi od kontekstu spotkania. Równie obszerny jest rozdział dotyczący wymiany fatycznej (tzw. small talk), której budowę odnosi się do typu relacji między interlokutorami. Wreszcie omawia się strategie wprowadzania pierwszego tematu dialogu, które stają się delimitatorami wstępnej fazy konwersacji. Rozprawę zamyka próba syntezy przeprowadzonych badań oraz propozycja powiązania językowych oraz pozajęzykowych (kinezyjnych, proksemicznych) elementów otwarcia dialogowego w ramach swoistej gramatyki interakcji scenicznej.
[[IN ENGLISH:]]
The thesis employs methods of conversational analysis to study the comedy dialogue of the preserved plays by Plautus. Its main focus is the opening phase of the conversation: after establishing contact between the interlocutors till introducing the first topic. The study begins with distinguishing units of dialogue both on the level of one utterance and the exchange between two speakers. Those terms and concepts are later used to describe the opening sequence in all comedies by Plautus. The first chapter discusses the scenes of the encounter between the interlocutors that leads to starting the dialogue by approaching and by verbal summons. Then the (auto)identification move is analyzed in order to indicate different strategies of construing the interactional face by forms of address. Further on, most attention is given to the greeting formulae along with their numerous contextual variants. Also, the phatic communion (small talk) is discussed extensively: it is argued that the shape of this exchange might be determined by the type of relations between the interlocutors. The last part of the study concerns the mechanisms of introducing the first topic slot which serves as delimitating marks of the conversation opening. Finally, some synthesis of the results is made that leads to creating a tentative model of interactional grammar for the theatrical language of Plautus including the verbal and the non-verbal (kinesic, proxemic) means of communicating.
framework and showcasing a range of methods, topics, and genres. The individual chapters focus on canonical authors as well as on under-studied texts by ancient scholars and court proceedings.
culture-specific use of religious formulae. As a result, the paper tentatively presents some methods of recovering prosodic cues for verbal interaction, represented in the comedy text.
The article addresses the pragmatic and sociolinguistic constraints of interrupting in Roman comedy. It starts with a redefinition of the phenomenon informed by the methods of Conversation Analysis (CA): apart from syntactically incomplete utterances (as a result of interruptions by others), the analysis also includes the cases of interruptions reported by the characters. Furthermore, a distinction is made between intrusive (disaligning) interventions and other forms of competitive turn encroachments. The term ‘interruptions’, however, has been reserved only for the former, antagonistic type which serves to express disagreement and disinterest or to usurp the speaking turn. Using the revised criteria, the article proceeds to comment on quantitative data extracted from all the extant plays by Plautus and Terence. Accordingly, interruptions are viewed in relation to gender, age and status of the speakers, whereas some more detailed analysis concerns male and female citizens, prostitutes and servants. After comparing every character’s share of talk with their proportional use of turn incursions (both collaborative and disruptive), it is argued that the violation of the turn-exchange system is significantly associated with some interlocutors and less so with others. The last section presents interrupting as a pragmatic means of exerting power in interaction while discussing the phenomenon also from a (sociolinguistic) cross-gender perspective.
L'articolo si propone di esaminare i diversi modi di parlare rappresentati nelle opere di Plauto e Terenzio. A tal scopo, la teoria del quadro di partecipazione di Goffman viene combinata con strumenti di analisi conversazionale che servono a offrire una definizione un po' più elaborata dei turni e del piano (ing. floor) di conversazione. Dopo aver discusso i vari tipi di ancoraggio dialogico nelle commedie, i turni vengono differenziati dagli altri livelli di comunicazione: commenti secondari (compresi gli "a parte" teatrali), esclamazioni autoreferenziali ed espressioni di feedback. Inoltre, le interazioni verbali in Plauto e Terenzio vengono analizzate in relazione alla loro struttura del piano di conversazione e al tipo di partecipazione che instaurano con gli interlocutori. Infine, i fenomeni presentati, come sostenuto in tutto il lavoro, aiutano a chiarire alcune concezioni dell'interazione verbale nella commedia romana.
The present chapter examines several pragmatic aspects of giving advice in Roman comedy, a speech act particularly concerned with the speakers’ self-representation and their social bonds during critical moments of the plot. The following pages set out to address the complexity of the phenomenon of advising in Plautus and Terence, its discursive realisation and its contribution to the Latin system of politeness, as represented in the comedy texts. To this end, I will need to combine various pragmatic perspectives. The speech-act theoretical description of advising (Section 2) will be followed by its analysis in light of the research on im/politeness (Section 3–4). In addition, the formulation of speech acts will be investigated in relation to their position within an interaction (Section 5) as described by Conversational Analysis. I am also interested in how the act of advising is carried out, starting from the beginning of the adviser’s turn.
The aim of the article is to study the conversational behaviour of the Plautine old men in light of (im)politeness theory. The analysis concerns those scenes of salutatio and advice-giving where one of the speakers is a senex, in order to examine features of his linguistic characterisation..
Keywords: old men, politeness theory, Roman comedy, greetings, advisory discourse
Rozprawa wykorzystuje współczesne narzędzia analizy konwersacji do badania dialogu komediowego w zachowanych utworach Plauta. Skupia się przy tym na zjawisku otwarcia rozmowy – od nawiązania kontaktu z rozmówcą po wprowadzenie pierwszego tematu. We wstępnej części pracy ustala się jednostki analizy dialogu na poziomie wypowiedzi jednego mówiącego oraz wymiany między dwoma interlokutorami. Ustalenia terminologiczne służą następnie do wyodrębnienia sekwencji otwierających dialog we wszystkich komediach Plauta. W pierwszej kolejności opisuje się sceny wprowadzenia kontaktu między postaciami poprzez podejście oraz wezwanie do rozpoczęcia konwersacji. Kolejnym wyróżnionym elementem otwarcia dialogowego jest (auto)identyfikacja mówiących. Na licznych przykładach zwrotów bezpośrednich towarzyszących inicjacji kontaktu omawia się strategie konstruowania tzw. twarzy interakcyjnej. Najwięcej uwagi poświęca się natomiast formułom pozdrowień wraz z ich różnorakimi wariantami, uzależnionymi od kontekstu spotkania. Równie obszerny jest rozdział dotyczący wymiany fatycznej (tzw. small talk), której budowę odnosi się do typu relacji między interlokutorami. Wreszcie omawia się strategie wprowadzania pierwszego tematu dialogu, które stają się delimitatorami wstępnej fazy konwersacji. Rozprawę zamyka próba syntezy przeprowadzonych badań oraz propozycja powiązania językowych oraz pozajęzykowych (kinezyjnych, proksemicznych) elementów otwarcia dialogowego w ramach swoistej gramatyki interakcji scenicznej.
[[IN ENGLISH:]]
The thesis employs methods of conversational analysis to study the comedy dialogue of the preserved plays by Plautus. Its main focus is the opening phase of the conversation: after establishing contact between the interlocutors till introducing the first topic. The study begins with distinguishing units of dialogue both on the level of one utterance and the exchange between two speakers. Those terms and concepts are later used to describe the opening sequence in all comedies by Plautus. The first chapter discusses the scenes of the encounter between the interlocutors that leads to starting the dialogue by approaching and by verbal summons. Then the (auto)identification move is analyzed in order to indicate different strategies of construing the interactional face by forms of address. Further on, most attention is given to the greeting formulae along with their numerous contextual variants. Also, the phatic communion (small talk) is discussed extensively: it is argued that the shape of this exchange might be determined by the type of relations between the interlocutors. The last part of the study concerns the mechanisms of introducing the first topic slot which serves as delimitating marks of the conversation opening. Finally, some synthesis of the results is made that leads to creating a tentative model of interactional grammar for the theatrical language of Plautus including the verbal and the non-verbal (kinesic, proxemic) means of communicating.
framework and showcasing a range of methods, topics, and genres. The individual chapters focus on canonical authors as well as on under-studied texts by ancient scholars and court proceedings.
culture-specific use of religious formulae. As a result, the paper tentatively presents some methods of recovering prosodic cues for verbal interaction, represented in the comedy text.
The article addresses the pragmatic and sociolinguistic constraints of interrupting in Roman comedy. It starts with a redefinition of the phenomenon informed by the methods of Conversation Analysis (CA): apart from syntactically incomplete utterances (as a result of interruptions by others), the analysis also includes the cases of interruptions reported by the characters. Furthermore, a distinction is made between intrusive (disaligning) interventions and other forms of competitive turn encroachments. The term ‘interruptions’, however, has been reserved only for the former, antagonistic type which serves to express disagreement and disinterest or to usurp the speaking turn. Using the revised criteria, the article proceeds to comment on quantitative data extracted from all the extant plays by Plautus and Terence. Accordingly, interruptions are viewed in relation to gender, age and status of the speakers, whereas some more detailed analysis concerns male and female citizens, prostitutes and servants. After comparing every character’s share of talk with their proportional use of turn incursions (both collaborative and disruptive), it is argued that the violation of the turn-exchange system is significantly associated with some interlocutors and less so with others. The last section presents interrupting as a pragmatic means of exerting power in interaction while discussing the phenomenon also from a (sociolinguistic) cross-gender perspective.
L'articolo si propone di esaminare i diversi modi di parlare rappresentati nelle opere di Plauto e Terenzio. A tal scopo, la teoria del quadro di partecipazione di Goffman viene combinata con strumenti di analisi conversazionale che servono a offrire una definizione un po' più elaborata dei turni e del piano (ing. floor) di conversazione. Dopo aver discusso i vari tipi di ancoraggio dialogico nelle commedie, i turni vengono differenziati dagli altri livelli di comunicazione: commenti secondari (compresi gli "a parte" teatrali), esclamazioni autoreferenziali ed espressioni di feedback. Inoltre, le interazioni verbali in Plauto e Terenzio vengono analizzate in relazione alla loro struttura del piano di conversazione e al tipo di partecipazione che instaurano con gli interlocutori. Infine, i fenomeni presentati, come sostenuto in tutto il lavoro, aiutano a chiarire alcune concezioni dell'interazione verbale nella commedia romana.
The present chapter examines several pragmatic aspects of giving advice in Roman comedy, a speech act particularly concerned with the speakers’ self-representation and their social bonds during critical moments of the plot. The following pages set out to address the complexity of the phenomenon of advising in Plautus and Terence, its discursive realisation and its contribution to the Latin system of politeness, as represented in the comedy texts. To this end, I will need to combine various pragmatic perspectives. The speech-act theoretical description of advising (Section 2) will be followed by its analysis in light of the research on im/politeness (Section 3–4). In addition, the formulation of speech acts will be investigated in relation to their position within an interaction (Section 5) as described by Conversational Analysis. I am also interested in how the act of advising is carried out, starting from the beginning of the adviser’s turn.
The aim of the article is to study the conversational behaviour of the Plautine old men in light of (im)politeness theory. The analysis concerns those scenes of salutatio and advice-giving where one of the speakers is a senex, in order to examine features of his linguistic characterisation..
Keywords: old men, politeness theory, Roman comedy, greetings, advisory discourse
The article identifies and describes the politeness conveyed in the dialogue openings of the comedies by Plautus and Terence. In order to reach this objective, it combines the classical theory by Brown & Levinson (1987) with the tools of the Conversational Analysis. Thus, the relation between various face-work mechanisms, on one hand, and the phase of the dialogue and the communicative action, on the other, is being recognized and highlighted. After the theoretical introduction, the article comments briefly on the context elements which allow to initiate the dialogue «baldly on record» without causing a face-threat to the participants. With more details, the work delves into various strategies invested by positive politeness. The analysis of the presented material suggests that they are governed by the following rules: (i) to convey that the hearer is admirable, interesting (etc.), (ii) to claim common ground between the interlocutors. These general strategies are accomplished by the expression of joy and surprise, in-group identification , greeting formulae with a good-wishing message and by conveying interest through a small talk sequence. Finally, throughout the article, it is stressed that politeness and its – more or less – conventionalized tokens are subject to constant discursive (re)evaluations.
key words: Cantar de Mio Cid, Spanish epic, deixis, narrative formulae, juglar, performance
RÉSUMÉ:
“L’emploi de la composante déictique dans les formules narratives du Cantar de Mio Cid”
Dans cet article, nous allons analyser les formules narratives du Cantar de Mio Cid (CMC) en vue de suivre les phénomènes de la transposition de la signification déictique originale qu’elles comportent. Il sera ainsi avancé que les formules employées par le narrateur du CMC peuvent avoir une fonction phatique puisqu’elles absorbent la perspective du destinataire: que ce soit par un mouvement centripète ou centrifuge de la narration. De plus, quelques expressions semblent servir (intertextuellement) à organiser le schéma informationnel de l’intrigue en ajoutant au texte épique une signification supplémentaire. Pour finir, nous conclurons que l’analyse de la composante pragmatique du CMC peut apporter quelques nouvelles idées quant à sa construction littéraire, linguistique et textuelle.
mots-clés: Cantar de Mio Cid, épique espagnole, deixis, formules narratives, juglar, performance
STRESZCZENIE:
„Wykorzystanie deiktycznego komponentu języka w formułach narracyjnych Cantar de Mio Cid”
Celem artykułu jest wskazanie w formułach narracyjnych Cantar de Mio Cid (CMC) zjawiska transpozycji pierwotnych odniesień deiktycznych w nich zawartych. Okazuje się bowiem, że formuły używane przez narratora CMC mogą spełniać funkcję fatyczną, ilekroć wchłaniają perspektywę odbiorcy przez odzwierciedlający się w opowiadaniu ruch zarówno dośrodkowy (w stronę origo), jak i odśrodkowy (od origo). Co więcej pewne wyrażenia wydają się służyć (wewnątrztekstowo) do porządkowania informacyjnej struktury fabuły poprzez naddawanie tekstowi poematu dodatkowych znaczeń. Metoda tutaj zastosowana ma wreszcie za zadanie zwrócić uwagę na potrzebę uzupełnienia analizy CMC o pragmatyczny komponent języka, co mogłoby rzucić nieco inne światło na literacką, językową i tekstową konstrukcję utworu.
słowa kluczowe: Cantar de Mio Cid, hiszpańska epika, deiksa, formuły narracyjne, juglar, performance
Language and Literary Studies of Warsaw, vol. 7 (2018), ss. 283-291.
International Colloquium of Latin Linguistics
Santiago de Compostela, 2021
Deadline for submissions: February 15 2020
To join via MS Teams please write lukasz.berger@amu.edu.pl