PHILOLOGIST – Journal of Language, Literature, and Cultural Studies

From Feasibility Study to University Degree: The Development of the Banja Luka Sinology Department

Željka Lj. Babić, Ljiljana Ž. Stević — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

(RE)CREATING NEW BODIES OF WORK: THE TEACHING OF LITERARY TRANSLATION IN CHINESE STUDIES, AND THE NEW TRANSLATIONAL STRATEGIES

Zoran G. Skrobanović, Mirjana M. Pavlović — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

With China’s growing economic and cultural presence in recent years, translation of Chinese literature has been recognized as an important cross-cultural effort both in China and the global sinological circles. The Chinese government and publishing bodies have introduced various measures to support the translation of Chinese literary works abroad, and these new cultural policies are opening up opportunities for sinologists to engage in translating works by Chinese authors, thus reaffirming the crucial role of literary translation in gaining a better understanding of the target culture and its people. At the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade, teaching theory and practice of literary translation represents an important component of the curriculum. In the first segment of this paper, we introduced the methods and strategies in teaching written translation from Chinese into Serbian at the Group of Chinese Language, Literature and Culture, Department of Oriental Studies, Faculty of Philology of the University of Belgrade, focusing on the organization of the courses and the teaching materials we use. Furthermore, we pointed out the main difficulties encountered by our students when translating Chinese texts, and illustrated these problems with specific examples, as well as the proposed solutions. In the second part of the paper, we briefly reviewed the history of literary translation from Chinese into Serbian, focusing on the works that have been translated since the 59th Belgrade International Book Fair in 2014, when the PRC was the Guest of Honor. This period can be seen as a heyday of Chinese literature translation in Serbia, and it also marked the beginning of a more comprehensive sinological strategies in translation of Chinese literary works. We analyzed the motives and intentions that underlie these new strategies which are aimed both at the introduction of the important Chinese literary works to the Serbian readers, and at the improvement of the teaching process in literature studies at our Department. In this analysis, we emphasized several key elements in the new approach to the translation of Chinese literature: the selection of the translated works, the significance of the informative forewords and afterwords by the translators, and the attempts to include the students as active contributors to the endeavour. By examining these issues, we attempt to contribute to a wider discussion about the teaching of literary translation, the translation practices and translational/publishing strategies dedicated to the introduction of Chinese literary works to a wider readership.

LOTUS, OR THE FAILURE OF A LIFE: AFFECTIVE FRAGMENTATION AND ACTANTIAL DYNAMICS IN SU TONG’S NARRATIVE

Ljiljana Stevic, Gabriel García-Noblejas Sánchez-Cendal — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study examines the affective development of Lotus, the protagonist of Su Tong’s novella, through the dual lens of her interpersonal relationships and her emotional interiority. By adopting an actantial perspective, the analysis explores how Lotus’s subjectivity is progressively shaped, constrained, and ultimately fractured within the social order of the household. The narrative is divided into three distinct phases, each corresponding to a transformation in Lotus’s affective state and her position within the relational network that defines her existence. The First Part traces her initial integration into the household and the emergence of her expectations and strategies of adaptation; the Second Part examines the destabilization of these expectations during an anomalous winter marked by tension, rivalry, and psychological disintegration; and the Third Part follows the irreversible collapse of her emotional and existential coherence. By combining close textual analysis with attention to narrative structure, this study argues that Lotus’s trajectory constitutes not merely a personal tragedy but a systematic “failure of a life,” shaped by the interplay of desire, power, and confinement. The analysis is based primarily on Michael S. Duke’s English translation Raise the Red Lantern: Three Novellas (2000), with occasional reference to the original Chinese text.

THE YANGBANXI OR CHINESE REVOLUTIONARY OPERAS

Juan Carlos Moreno-Arrones Delgado — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The effort undertaken by the Chinese Communist Party to control the arts following its rise to power ultimately reached its peak in the writing of a series of revolutionary operas presented during the 1960s. The only means the Party had to educate the largely illiterate rural and industrial masses was through a form of semiotic art that was not alien to them, as it had been part of their cultural heritage for centuries. In this way, entire theatre companies were organized with the mission of visiting even the most remote areas of the country, repeatedly performing the same works so that every Chinese citizen might understand the new political precepts of the state. What China achieved within a single decade still resonates culturally and thematically in the generation that lived through that period.

CHINESE TRIBUTARY SYSTEM RECONSIDERED: THEORY, HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE PROBLEM OF EXCEPTIONALISM

Ivica Bakota — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article argues that the Chinese traditional tributary system’s apparent exceptionalism and modern applicability are by no means undisputed historical facts or intrinsic historical realities, but the product of a selective historiographical construction, consolidated through classicist and romantic scholarship and increasingly contested by realist, comparative, and relational research. Crucially, this construction emerged within a Western analytical horizon: the “tributary system” itself originated as a semantic borrowing that imposed familiar Western political vocabulary, accompanying order, system, hierarchy, and sovereignty, onto heterogeneous practices surrounding chaogong phenomenon that predated Westphalian international relations. Only later was this concept partially retro-translated into Chinese academic and political discourse, where it acquired the appearance of an indigenous, internally coherent tradition. Instead of offering an alternative model of international order, chaogong concept thus more reveals how civilizational narratives crystallize around academic cherry-picking practices, which are subsequently mobilized to legitimize contemporary political and theoretical claims.

SINO-SERBIAN CULTURAL TIES: A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Jelena Gledić — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The general history of Sino-Yugoslav relations has been well-researched in the past few decades, and recently, there has been a proliferation of studies on the cooperation between China and Serbia focusing on the 21st century. However, cultural cooperation has been underresearched, with few attempts to systematically analyze its history and understand its significance for present and future bilateral relations. This paper aims to fill that knowledge gap by providing a comprehensive overview of the history of Sino-Serbian cultural ties. Serbia has become one of China’s closest partners in Europe, and the narrative of a so-called “Ironclad Friendship” between the two countries emerged, embedding political and socio-economic cooperation within a cultural and historical milieu. This makes research on Sino-Serbian cultural ties important not only for the humanities and social sciences but also for the practical realm of foreign policy and geopolitics. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the role of culture in international relations through a qualitative comparative analysis of primary sources in Serbian and Chinese (bilateral agreements, cultural policy papers, etc.) and a secondary literature review. The results are examined and synthesized to highlight changes over time and to evaluate the linkages between political and socio-economic relations and cultural cooperation.

REASONING WITH C-POP: IDEALS, IDOLS, IDEAS, IMAGERIES

Željka Lj. Babić, Emir Z. Muhić — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Chinese popular music (C-pop) has experienced a swift transformation over the past decade, evolving from a niche market into a high-capitalised fan economy predominantly driven by idol survival shows. This paper investigates the intricate and dynamic landscape of C-pop as a significant medium for cultural negotiation and identity formation in the 21st century. In addition to providing a succinct overview of the fundamental issues associated with C-pop and its historical development, this study examines how it functions as an intermediary between diverse cultures and societies, and as a vital social arena for contemporary Chinese youth to navigate the tensions between individualism and collectivism. Ultimately, the paper proposes a framework for comprehending the manner in which Chinese soft power is negotiated and consumed amid a period of rapid digital, cultural, and social transformation.

THE CONCEPT OF POLITENESS IN SERBIAN AND CHINESE: A PRAGMATIC-CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

Anja M. Mudrenović, Sonja D. Stanković — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper presents a contrastive analysis of the concept of politeness in Serbian and Chinese from a pragmatic and cultural perspective. Drawing on universal models of politeness, particularly Brown and Levinson’s face theory and Leech’s pragmatic model of politeness, the study examines the extent to which these theoretical frameworks can account for different realizations of politeness in two typologically and culturally distant languages. The analysis is based on a qualitative contrastive approach and focuses on the conceptual dimensions of politeness in Serbian and Chinese, including formal linguistic strategies, normative social patterns, and cultural principles that shape communicative behavior. The findings indicate that politeness in Serbian is largely encoded through grammatical and lexical markers that signal social distance, while in Chinese it is strongly connected to the Confucian concept of li, the preservation of mianzi (face), and the broader principle of social harmony. The study highlights the limitations of universalist theories of politeness and emphasizes the importance of cultural context in the analysis of pragmatic phenomena.

ANALYSIS OF CHINESE PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS AND THEIR SERBIAN EQUIVALENTS

Sonja D. Stanković, Anja M. Mudrenović — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigates the contrastive analysis of Chinese phraseological units (熟语/shúyǔ) and their equivalents in the Serbian language, focusing on both lexical and semantic levels. Chinese, as the native language of the Han ethnic group, carries a rich cultural and historical tradition, and its idiomatic expressions serve as carriers of collective wisdom, social norms, and cultural values. The research emphasizes the importance of understanding these phraseological units not only as linguistic expressions but also as reflections of cultural identity. The main objectives of this research are twofold: first, to identify the types of equivalence between Chinese idioms and their Serbian counterparts, distinguishing between full, partial, and zero equivalence; second, to analyze and classify twenty selected Chinese idioms in terms of their lexical and semantic characteristics. The corpus for this study consists of twenty idioms extracted from the lexicographical publication Chinese Idioms (Obradović, 2013), chosen to allow a detailed and systematic analysis while establishing a foundation for future research on a larger scale. The methodology involves a two-level analysis: lexical, which examines the choice of lexemes and their role within fixed expressions, and semantic, which identifies the meanings and cultural components embedded in the idioms. Following the model proposed by Jarmo Korhonen (2007), the study classifies the equivalence of each idiom. Results indicate that full equivalence occurs in only 10% of cases, partial equivalence in 45%, and zero equivalence in 45%. The findings reveal significant differences in the cultural and metaphorical motivation of idioms between Chinese and Serbian, highlighting challenges in direct translation. Nevertheless, functional and culturally sensitive translation strategies can provide adequate equivalents even in cases of zero equivalence, suggesting possibilities for refining existing translations. This research contributes to the development of contrastive phraseology and translation studies by providing insights into the adaptation of Chinese idioms in Serbian. The findings offer a basis for further studies aimed at enhancing translation strategies and promoting a deeper understanding of cross-cultural linguistic correspondences.

A COMPARATIVE SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF K-POP BORROWINGS IN SPECIALIZED AND GENERAL ENGLISH REGISTERS

Dragana Tojagić — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

K-pop's evolution from a niche interest to a dominant global force has resulted in the creation of a specialized linguistic ecosystem. This paper investigates the semantic shifts that occur when general English lexical items are borrowed into specialized K-pop discourse. Utilizing Halliday's Register Theory and the concept of Semantic Fields, this paper analyzes the divergence between general English and the specialized K-pop register. It examines how the unique configuration of Field, Tenor, and Mode has necessitated a functional adaptation of the English lexicon. The study provides a detailed comparative semantic analysis of terms such as "idol", "bias", and "stan", demonstrating processes such as semantic broadening and amelioration. It will also be touched upon how K-pop register resolves lexical gaps through borrowing of Korean words such as "maknae", "noona", "oppa", etc., which have recently been integrated into the Oxford English Dictionary. Our findings suggest that the connection between these two languages is solely driven by cultural proximity that is further facilitated by social media platforms. Their intermixing pushes linguistic boundaries and ultimately showcases English's openness and ability to absorb, remap, and expand through cultural influences.

EMOTIONAL CONCEPTUAL PROXIMATES AS CONSTRUCTS FOR DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN CLOSE EMOTION CONCEPTS: A CASE STUDY OF HAPPINESS AND JOY

Kostiantyn Mizin, Liudmyla Slavova — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The article identifies the semantic and affective parameters that distinguish between the close emotion concepts (ECs) happiness and joy in the Anglo-Saxon culture. These parameters are identified on the basis of a corpus-based methodology, the core of which is the notion of “emotional conceptual proximates” (ECPs). The methodology was tested by (1) forming samples of the most relevant ECPs representing ECs happiness and joy, and (2) comparison of the studied ECs in terms of their conceptual structures and two affective characteristics – valence and arousal. It has been found that the conceptual structure of EC happiness, in contrast to JOY, is represented not only by emotional meanings, but also by those which describe related states – moods and temperaments. Therefore, happiness demonstrates a certain duality in its semantic structure, as its main meanings form both the “partially emotion” concept of well-being and the EC joy. The analysis of the data from the study samples allowed us to determine that, despite the high degree of similarity between the conceptual structures of the ECs happiness and joy, the latter differ significantly in the hierarchy of their conceptual organisation, as the representatives of the Anglo-Saxon culture associate happiness primarily with joy, love, and well-being, while joy is associated with love, happiness, and pride. The conceptual structures of happiness and joy also differ in the organisation of negative ECPs, because happiness contains more meanings that convey suffering and unhappiness, and joy conveys pain, fear and sorrow. By comparing the average values of the valence and arousal ECPs of the concepts happiness and joy, it was found that these ECPs demonstrate a rather significant indicator of ambivalence. At the same time, happiness is somewhat more positive and intense than joy.

COGNITIVE AND CULTURAL TRANSFER IN SELFTRANSLATION: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS OF LANA BASTAŠIĆ’S CATCH THE RABBIT

Slava M. Ivanović Milenković, Irena M. Pantić — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper conducts an interdisciplinary translation studies analysis in the context of the self-translation of Lana Bastašić’s novel Catch the Rabbit. It primarily focuses on mechanisms of cultural filtration and the resolution of systemic anisomorphism between Serbian and English. Grounded in the concept of authorial sovereignty, the research deciphers the specific strategies through which the author-translator reconceptualizes the original chronotope, prioritizing affective resonance over formal lexical equivalence. Through a qualitative exegesis of gastronomic realia translation, the depoliticization of toponyms, and the pragmatic adaptation of social registers, a conscious departure from traditional sociolinguistic traduction is identified. The findings indicate that the final target-language text functions as an autonomous artistic entity, utilizing the phatic function of language to preserve a specific sense of Otherness and the atmospheric veracity of the source. The study contributes to the theory of self-translation by highlighting the significance of authorial interventionism within the framework of global literary distribution.

ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF NULL POSSESSORS OF RELATIONAL NOUNS IN SERBIAN

Sanja R. Raković — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper researches potential sources and mechanisms of the identification of null possessors (possessive-pro) of relational nouns in Serbian. It also deals with possible differences in the possessive-pro identification process between children and adult speakers. For these purposes, we conducted a pilot study in the form of a self-paced comprehension experiment. There were 30 participants, 15 children (9–10 years old) and 15 adult speakers (23–37 years old). The data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively (in percentages). The obtained results, even though modest in size, tentatively suggest that the source of the possessive-pro identification in Serbian may be sought in the aboutness topic of the utterance, with the mechanism being coreference, rather than syntactic binding. This would imply that the identification of possessive-pro is not a strictly syntactic phenomenon. Rather, it should be placed the syntax-discourse interface domain. Additionally, we observed a qualitative and quantitative difference in the identification of pro in children compared to the adult speakers. This is in line with previous research which argues that the acquisition of null elements at the adult level happens relatively late.

VARIATION IN PODLACHIAN INSTRUMENTAL SINGULAR ENDINGS: -OJU OR -EJU?

Vratislav Karpišek — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article investigates variation between the instrumental singular endings -oju and -eju in contemporary Podlachian. The phenomenon is examined against the background of East Slavic nominal morphology and analysed on the basis of a corpus of published Podlachian literary texts. Special attention is given to nouns with soft or historically soft stems (masculine and feminine), where the competition between the two endings is most evident. A comparative perspective shows that Podlachian diverges both from Ukrainian, where instrumental endings remain more consistently stem-conditioned, and from Belarusian, which exhibits a pattern of regularization. Corpus evidence indicates that within the set of morphologically eligible variable forms, instrumental singular forms in -oju predominate, while -eju remains morphologically viable. The findings suggest that the distribution of the two endings is no longer governed primarily by phonological criteria, but rather by analogical extension, lexical persistence, and authorial or codificatory preferences. This variation thus represents a systematic feature of contemporary Podlachian morphology and its developing written norm.

Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert die Darstellung und didaktische Aufbereitung des Konjunktivs I und II in Deutschlehrwerken für die 6.–9. Klasse der Grundschulen in der Republik Srpska. Ausgangspunkt ist die Annahme, dass Grammatik im Fremdsprachenunterr

Aleksandra Z. Đurić — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Rad se bavi analizom gramatičkih vježbi koje obrađuju konjunktiv u udžbenicima njemačkog jezika Sprachpuzzle Deutsch 1–4, koji se koriste u osnovnim školama u Republici Srpskoj. Cilj istraživanja jeste utvrditi zastupljenost i tipologiju vježbi s konjunktivom, ispitati odnos između konjunktiva I i konjunktiva II, te analizirati metodički pristup njihovoj prezentaciji i uvježbavanju. Posebna pažnja posvećena je procjeni u vezi s tim u kojoj mjeri zadaci omogućavaju funkcionalnu primjenu konjunktiva u usmenom i pisanom izražavanju učenika. Istraživanje se zasniva na deskriptivnoj, kvantitativnoj i kvalitativnoj analizi sadržaja. Polazne hipoteze pretpostavljaju dominaciju formalnih i reproduktivnih tipova zadataka, ograničenu komunikativnu primjenu, te znatno manju zastupljenost konjunktiva I u odnosu na konjunktiv II. Rezultati ukazuju na pretežno formalistički pristup obradi konjunktiva, koji nedovoljno doprinosi razvoju komunikacijske kompetencije učenika. Nalazi sugerišu potrebu za metodološkim unapređenjem nastavne prakse uz veći focus na produktivne i komunikativne aktivnosti.

LEXICAL COMPETENCE IN LEARNING SLOVENIAN AS A NON-FIRST LANGUAGE: A CASE STUDY

Jana Lovrec Srša, Gjoko Nikolovski — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper analyzes the lexical competence of Bosnian, Montenegrin, and Serbian immigrants in learning Slovene as a non-first language. The theoretical section outlines how, with increasing language proficiency, both the range of vocabulary and control over it expand, and examines the role of language transfer (especially negative transfer) among related languages. Based on error typologies, the analytical section focuses on the analysis of (1) the use of content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, and adverbs) and (2) the use of function words (particles, interjections, prepositions, and conjunctions) in the written production of the target group at two levels – basic (A2/B1) and higher (B2). The analysis is grounded in the hypothesis that incorrect usage arises due to (1) intralingual errors (incomplete learning and acquisition of rules and their overgeneralization), (2) language transfer from the first language, and (3) the use of elements from colloquial spoken language that deviate from the standard norm. The empirical part of the study is based on the analysis of fifty written texts at the basic (A2/B1) and fifty at the higher (B2) level, produced by learners of Slovene attending group or individual courses, living in Maribor, and being either employed or unemployed. The analysis showed that at the basic level, frequent and recurring errors prevail, resulting from limited vocabulary and a strong influence of the first language, whereas at the higher level, errors are less systematic but more diverse and related to more demanding communicative tasks and a broader vocabulary. Among the most important factors influencing the occurrence of errors are language transfer from the first language – especially due to the relatedness of the languages – and intralingual errors associated with incomplete acquisition of rules, overgeneralization, and the influence of colloquial usage. Particularly pronounced are difficulties in distinguishing between formally similar but semantically different words, in the use of prefixes, conjunctions, and prepositions, and in selecting appropriate words or phrases according to context. The results confirm that relatedness between languages, on the one hand, facilitates learning (positive transfer), while on the other hand it increases the risk of errors (negative transfer), especially at the initial stages. At the same time, the influence of the environment is also evident, as learners adopt elements of colloquial language, which can be understood as a sign of successful integration into the language community, even though it does not always conform to the standard norm.

A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF SERBIAN AS A HERITAGE LANGUAGE (SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVES ON THE LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE OF THE SERBIAN DIASPORA FROM THE BANJA LUKA REGION IN SLOVENIA)

Aleksandra R. Savić — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper defines sociolinguistic perspectives on heritage language research, aiming to integrate and improve existing knowledge in Serbian studies. It highlights three analytical areas: the sociolinguistic context of the country where the Serbian diaspora resides, key models and assumptions of language maintenance, and language policy activities that may strengthen the status of Serbian as a heritage language. One major research area for examining relations between majority and minority languages is language maintenance, understood as the continued use of a minority language across multiple domains in order to sustain heritage language use and prevent a shift to the dominant language. The central part of the paper analyses the linguistic competence of first-generation diaspora children from the Banja Luka region living in Slovenia and their attitudes toward their homeland. The results show that, even after a short time in Slovenia, Slovenian already affects their Serbian, mostly at the orthographic level. Earlier studies also suggest that later generations will use the dominant language in most areas of life, while Serbian will mainly remain in the family. Taken together with broader sociolinguistic context in Slovenia, these trends raise concerns about long-term language maintenance. The paper also discusses the international standards related to Serbian language use in Slovenia. The 2025 Report of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (covering developments up to 2024) states that Slovenia has not met its obligations regarding bilingual education for Serbian speakers. In the conclusion, based on the status of the Serbian community in Slovenia and the survey findings, the paper evaluates the position of Serbian and recommends a more systematic and planned heritage language policy, supported by institutions in both Serbia and the Republic of Srpska, especially in light of increasing emigration.

THE IDEALIZED SOUTH: THE CONSTRUCTION OF NAPLES´ MENTAL IMAGE IN THE TRAVEL WRITINGS OD AUGUST EMIL LINDBLOM AND OLOF STARNER

Mario Liguori — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The travel literature of Swedish authors from the 19th and 20th centuries is characterized by a pronounced idealization of the Neapolitan region as a destination of warm climate and rich cultural heritage. Although other Mediterranean regions offered similar climatic conditions, Naples occupies a distinctive position in Swedish travelogues as a space where traces of ancient history intersect with the mythical dimensions of nature. Such representation in the works of authors like August Emil Lindblom and Olof Sterner results in a stereotypical and romanticized depiction of the region. An analysis of their accounts reveals a predominance of positive stereotypes regarding a “beautiful land of authentic people,” with a focus on aesthetic and cultural aspects, while critical reflection on the more complex and tragic facets of local life and character remains largely absent. This phenomenon raises important questions regarding the nature of the travel-writing genre and the role of cultural prejudices in shaping mental images of the Other, particularly in the context of the Swedish perception of the Mediterranean.

MULTIMODAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION IN SELECTED NIGERIAN MAGAZINE ADS

Jane Chinelo Obasi, Doreen Chisom Eze — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study examines how multimodal elements in selected Nigerian magazine advertisements shape identity construction. Using purposive sampling, ten brand advertisements were selected from three Nigerian magazines, Accomplish Magazine, This Day Style and Nigerian Showcase Magazine, as they contained explicit brand identity elements such as logos, slogans and visual symbols. The adverts were analysed using Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) visual grammar framework, with attention to the representational, interactive and compositional metafunctions. The findings reveal that advertisers construct brand identity through the strategic orchestration of linguistic choices, colour schemes, participant gaze, gestures, social distance and camera angles. Colours evoke emotional and cultural associations that align with brand values, while gaze and gestures establish intimacy, authority or aspiration. Camera distance and angles further shape power relations between the viewer and the brand. The study concludes that identity construction in Nigerian magazine advertisements is dynamic and context-driven, relying on the interplay of visual and verbal resources to reflect cultural values, social aspirations and contemporary lifestyles.

“WE WILL TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY FROM BAD GOVERNANCE”: A CORPUS-ASSISTED CRITICAL DISCOURSE STUDY OF CAMPAIGN TWEETS IN THE 2023 NIGERIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Okoro Elizabeth Egwu , Sunday Adesina B. — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Nigeria has faced challenges in governance, economic development, and social development, making life difficult for many of the citizens. Many politicians use this situation to campaign during elections. This paper investigates the campaign tweets of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi, who were the three leading presidential candidates in the 2023 Nigerian presidential election, to uncover the discourse strategies in the representation of societal issues plaguing the Nigerian state. Previous studies on the campaign discourse of the 2023 Nigerian election have focused mostly on mobilisation strategies, dissemination of ideologies and persuasion without directly investigating the political actors’ position on societal issues. Adopting a corpus-assisted approach to critical discourse analysis and van Dijk’s ideological square, this paper focuses on word frequency lists and concordance analysis to reveal lexical patterns in the tweets. The discourse issues framed around development, leadership and economy are identified through the study of the lexical items. The presidential candidates strategically highlight these issues to position themselves as adept leaders through polarisation, by emphasizing their strengths in addressing these issues, and also emphasizing their opponents’ inability to improve the nation's situation. The findings show that, while Atiku and Obi had more negative tweets disparaging government’s ineffectiveness in improving the living standard of Nigerians, Tinubu focused more on positioning himself as a reliable leader. The study concludes that the “us” versus “them” approach was utilised by the presidential candidates to meet the expectations of the public and present themselves as concerned leaders.

FROM SCRIBE TO ARCHITECT A PRACTITIONER’S REFLECTION ON TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING IN THE AGE OF LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS

Stefano Adamo — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper begins from a classroom observation: students in an academic writing course who began, mid-semester, producing literature reviews of unusual fluency — prose that was carefully structured, appropriately hedged, and, on closer inspection, partly fabricated. The observation points to a structural problem. For decades, instructors have treated writing fluency as a serviceable proxy for intellectual engagement; generative AI has broken that proxy, not by improving student thinking but by making polished academic prose available without it. The central claim of this paper is that AI amplifies existing competence rather than compensating for its absence: students who already know how to read critically, formulate an argument, and evaluate a source use AI productively; those who do not are helped to sound as though they had been. Against this background, the paper proposes a concrete three-phase workflow —built around structured prompting, distributed research across multiple AI tools, and progressive conversation in a purpose-built AI environment — designed to teach the literature review as an act of design rather than transcription. The larger implication is pedagogical: if the course can no longer evaluate writing as a finished product, it must evaluate the decisions that produce writing. Teaching academic writing, in the age of large language models, means teaching judgment.

IMPERIALIST PERSPECTIVE: (NEO)COLONIZATION IN THE MOVIE EVEN THE RAIN

Verka G. Karić Košanin — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The subject of this work is the film Even the rain (También la lluvia, 2010), directed by Icíar Bollaín. The narrative thread depicts two important historical events, the discovery of America by Columbus (1492) and the Water War (2000). These events, distant in time, point to the rebirth of the colonizing ideology in the modern era. The dominant ideology leads to the creation of the dominant/subordinate relationship, which is analyzed in the paper, with special reference to the importance of the White Savior trope. The aim of the paper is to show in what way and through which aspects neocolonization is presented and criticized in the film. By comparing two historical events, one will come to the conclusion that the consequence of both colonization and globalization is the deprivation of basic human rights. The fight that was fought in 1492 to obtain gold is the same one that is happening in 2000 in Bolivia, only the gold has been replaced by water. Therefore, White Savior essentially represents the confirmation of racial and class differentiation. This trope is critiqued through the character of Bartolomé de las Casas and producer Costa, pointing out that those who have assumed the role of savior are a paradox because they are a confirmation of the (neo)colonial system. Starting from the fact that the film has an engaged role, we tend to the conclusion that the film can be seen as a tool for critically questioning the established relations of power and the presentation of history. In conclusion, the paper showed how colonization in Bolivia did not end, but took on a new, modern form. What was once done by the Spanish people, today is done by world powers like the USA, which find support in the government of Latin America.

HAGIOGRAPHY OF DABRO-BOSANSKI ISTOČNIK

Slavica Vasiljević Ilić — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The authors publishing in the journals of Dabro-bosanski Istočnik, Bosansko-hercegovački Istočnik, and Istočnik view the terms of biography, life, and hagiography as synonyms. Upon the establishment of the aforementioned journals, the intention was to regularly publish hagiographies in a section entitled 'Biographies of Saints', but the idea was soon discarded. Nevertheless, the practice continued occasionally for some time. Over the course of time, the focus seemed to have shifted from lives of saints' to their oeuvres, with some of titles featuring a particular subgenre. They were published by various authors as translations and for various reasons. If the initial publications served as a source and an inspiration during a liturgy, later the focus was on encouraging the clergy by drawing a parallel with church dignitaries and apostles, in the first place on introducing them to the works of the latter. The clergy seem to have perceived parallels between their own time and the era of early Christian persecutions, which may explain their strong interest in the volumes on the Apostolic Fathers. The messages were rather explicitly expressed. Out of the twenty-six hagiographies published, we find difficulty labeling three of them under the genre (Saint Stephen, Dionysius the Aero pagite, and Jacob, brother of Jesus). As the most of hagiographies appear in earlier editions of the Apostolic Fathers, it seems that this presented a form of resistance and defense of national interests in a period of hardship. By comparing translations from Russian, we can, with utmost certainty, claim that they originate from a work entitled Biographies of Saints by Demetrius of Rostov, and several of the printed editions of the identified sources can be traced accordingly

THE POETICS OF MEMORY IN PETAR KOČIĆ’S LYRIC AND MEDITATIVE PROSE

Valentina R. Milekić Kovačić — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This analysis of Kočić’s lyric and meditative prose shows that memory is a poetic constant across his entire oeuvre: not merely a theme, but a constitutive procedure that internally structures meaning and identity-based self-understanding. In this more „intimate” corpus, recollection is most often activated by sensory-affective triggers (spring, light, scent), but also by their negative counterparts (fog, darkness, rigidity), which function as a poetics of unstable memory and the threat of forgetting. The past does not appear as a historical fact, but as a return into the present that establishes a diachronic continuity between the subject and the collective and turns what is „remembered” into a measure of the present. Particularly important is that stable connective structures are already discernible here: places and people as embodied memory, as well as performative forms (song, prayer, lament) that do not describe memory but enact and sustain it. In this way, intimate longing refracts into a collective register of freedom, resistance, and national pride, while disillusionment is articulated as an image of apathy and degeneration. Hence, in the epic and dramatic texts the same memorial repertoire reappears in an intensified, explicitly collective articulation: longing is transformed into a public discourse of resistance, and the „memory song” into a language of shared identity and mobilization.

LITTLE WOMEN: THE ALCOTTIAN BILDUNGSROMAN

Nataša V. Ninčetović — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper argues that Little Women (1868–1869), Louisa May Alcott’s most famous and enduring novel, both confirms and contests the conventions of the Bildungsroman genre. Although the book fits the definition of the genre with its theme of initiation and conflict between the individual and society, its conceptualisation of Bildung is peculiar. First, the vision of the home in Little Women as an ideal venue for the protagonist’s development is at odds with the typical Bildungsroman plot, in which the family is limiting to personal growth. Second, the reconciliation between the problematic individual and society is transformed into striking a balance between the protagonists’ wishes and family expectations. Third, we offer evidence that Little Women highlights the similarities between the maturation of heroines and their male friend, thus evolving into a Bildungsroman that transcends gender.

BREAKING PATRIARCHAL VOICES: STORYTELLING AS AN EMPOWERING FEMINIST TOOL IN AFGHAN NARRATIVES OF HASHIMI AND HOSSEINI

Chaker Mohamad Salim Abas — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Storytelling is a foundational human practice that preserves collective memory, transmits cultural wisdom, and constitutes reality. Drawing on Walter Benjamin’s reflections in “The Storyteller” in Illuminations (Benjamin 1968/2007), this article foregrounds the storyteller’s role as a mediator or transmitter of experience, whose authority lies not in mere information but in the capacity to weave meaning into communal life. Complementing this, Jerome Bruner’s “The Narrative Construction of Reality” (1991) situates narrative as essential to the cultural frameworks through which reality itself is apprehended, underscoring its epistemological force. From a feminist perspective, storytelling acquires heightened significance as a means of reclaiming silenced voices and resisting patriarchal erasure. Carol Galligan’s In a Different Voice (1993) and bell hooks’ Talking Back (1989/2015) reflect the urgency of narrative in foregrounding women’s agency and authorship. This framework is applied to contemporary Afghan diasporic literature, where storytelling functions as survival and empowerment. Through Nadia Hashimi’s The Pearl that Broke its Shell (2014) and Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed (2013), the paper demonstrates how oral genealogies, epistolary forms, and fragmented communication converge to construct feminist counter-narratives against patriarchal structures. These texts situate Afghan women’s experiences within broader historical, cultural, and transnational contexts, revealing storytelling as a critical site of resilience, resistance, and narrative justice.

SILENCING DIFFERENCES IN THAMMAVONGSA’S HOW TO PRONOUNCE KNIFE

Sanja Ignjatović, Jovana Jovac — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper specifically deals with the process of integration in multicultural Canada and its focus on language as a marker of foreignness, as represented in Souvakham Thammavongsa’s short story collection How to Pronounce Knife. The premise is that language, as a system encapsulating markers of culture, presents both a barrier and a bridge in the experience of immigrants in the process of their assimilation into the receiving community and culture. Therefore, the voice of integrating immigrants becomes simultaneously a means of asserting the target identity, and the underlier for marginalization. The introductory chapters discuss multiculturalism as the official policy of Canada, as well as the practical implications of multiculturalism as historically emphasizing difference, especially in terms of language. The section that follows provides the analyses of a selection of Thammavongsa’s short stories, illustrating the mechanisms behind the effort to erase markers of difference, including the linguistic ones. The concluding remarks summarize the discussion on multiculturalism simultaneously working to efface and emphasize difference.

PINOCCHIO'S ANTI-PEDAGOGICAL MATURATION

Danijela M. Janjić — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Among many novels for children, the novel The Adventures of Pinocchio: Story of a Puppet by the Italian author Carlo Collodi has gained worldwide popularity and stands out as one of the works present in all cultures and times. Interest in the main character, the wooden puppet, has not ceased, and for decades, through various adaptations (picture books, animated films, theater plays), the character of a new Pinocchio has been born, moving away from the original idea of his creator. Often, the new Pinocchio is adapted to a younger audience, by removing the more frightening events, and older children, especially on the theater stage, are approached through topics that are important and current for them. Therefore, returning to Collodi’s text, the question arises whether Pinocchio is a novel for children and why adults should read it, since the puppet Pinocchio can act as an unpedagogical example, as already discussed by the Italian literary critic Daniele Giancane, from whose opinion we start in our work. However, in order to get to the essence of anti-pedagogy in Pinocchio, which, in fact, offers the key to interpreting Pinocchio’s disobedience in a way that is useful to readers, we relied on Carl Gustav Jung’s views on development of personality. Along the way, in the context of Collodi’s work, we consider the importance of our own experience, why upbringing with words and advice does not have much effect, and why adult patience is among the most important parental virtues. Based on the research conducted, we come to the conclusion why Pinocchio is a novel that is best read when read by both adults and children, together on the path of growing up to “personality” as the ideal goal of maturation, confirming, at the same time, the need to return to Collodi’s original text, instead of introducing children only to adaptations of Pinocchio.

(IM)POSSIBILITY OF REINTEGRATION? A CULTURAL-ECOLOGICAL READING OF HEINRICH HEINE’S ROMANCE ALMANSOR

Milica B. Pasula — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Heinrich Heine, a controversial 19th-century writer and one of the most prominent German authors to this day, is widely known as a lyrical poet and the writer of the Travel Pictures (Reisebilder). His extensive literary work consistently combines elements of social criticism with a re-examination of contemporary literary trends. These aspects are often intertwined with an underlying autobiographical search for identity, shaped by his Jewish heritage and his sense of not belonging to German society. The romance Almansor, written in 1825, represents a synthesis of these themes. Here, Heine projects the problem of integration onto medieval Spain during the Reconquista, addressing the encounter between Christian and Islamic cultures, the issues of belonging and marginalization, and the relationship between the individual and society. In this paper, these dynamics were interpreted through Hubert Zapf ’s model of cultural ecology. This triadic framework offers new perspectives for literary analysis by distinguishing three interrelated discourses: the culture-critical metadiscourse, the imaginative counter-discourse, and the reintegrative interdiscourse. Catholic Spain is examined as the culture-critical metadiscourse, where analyses on both stylistic and thematic levels reveal the exclusivity of the dominant order. The figure of Almansor is interpreted within the imaginative counter-discourse, illuminating marginalized and suppressed elements of the cultural system. Particular attention is devoted to the reintegrative interdiscourse and the question of whether the cultural center can be regenerated from its margins. The analysis demonstrates that the dominant system shows no capacity for self-correction; instead, it is marginalized groups and individuals who bear the burden of initiating new beginnings under unfavorable religious and cultural conditions. Christianity ultimately brings Heine’s romance to its conclusion, while both adaptation and the potential transformation of the system remain confined to the realm of dream and imagination.

COMMUNICATIVE PERSPEKTIVISATION IN S. GUGIĆ’S POEMS JENSEITS SYMBOLISCHER ORDNUNG AND ZERBROCHENER TEXRKOERPER

Jovana N. Ranđelović — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sandra Gugić’s protokolle der gegenwart manages to capture and uncover the true zeitgeist of the present society. In her aim to select, compile, and create all-encompassing discourses, she utilises not only wordplay but also transcends language barriers and the concept of meaning itself. The aim of this paper is to apply a solely syntactical procedure, the so-called communicative perspectivisation, on two of her poems, JENSEITS SYMBOLISCHER ORDNUNG and ZERBROCHENER TEXRKOERPER, which would allow for a better understanding of the structural composition of her work and give an insight into the possible ways of constructing communicative foundation in texts with atypical form. To begin, the paper concentrates on defining the two poems as texts by using standards of textuality. Fol lowing from that, the now-defined texts are divided into smaller sections, called ‘textems’, which build bigger constructions, frameworks based around particular themes. Finally, the tripartite model of communicative perspectivisation described by Tošović (2005) is being applied, and the results can be summarised as follows: information, the first aspect of the communicative perspectivisation, was based around the theme/rheme; orientation and linearisation, the second and third aspect, were interlinked, so that the frameworks with opening orientation have initial linearisation and the ones with closing orientation correspond to the ones with final linearisation.

ON THE SECTION CHRONICLE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN DALMATIA IN SRPSKO-DALMATINSKI MAGAZIN (1836–1873)

Danijela D. Jelić — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper examines the section Chronicle of the Orthodox Church in Dalmatia in Srpsko-dalmatinski magazin (1836–1873), a Serbian periodical published in Dalmatia during the nineteenth century. Through an analysis of the section’s contents across different editorial periods, the paper shows that it exceeds the narrowly understood genre boundaries of the chronicle, functioning at once as historiographical material, a source of bibliographical and archival material, a venue for the publication of statistical and administrative data, and an indicator of the magazine’s Enlightenment-oriented and national function. The paper highlights the changing structure of the section, the diversity of its contents, its connection with ecclesiastical schematisms and archival work, as well as the role it played in documenting ecclesiastical continuity, historical rights, and the Serbian presence in Dalmatia within the Habsburg Monarchy. The aim of the paper is to provide insight into the content, structure, and significance of this section in the context of nineteenth-century Serbian literary periodicals.

On the Expedition into an Unknown Language

Aleksandra Z. Đurić — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Europe as a Discursive Construction in Serbian Culture

Milana M. Milić — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Linguistic and Stylistic Layers in the Works of Serbian Writers for Children and Adults

Милош М. Кецман — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000