Nyelvművelés
Rhotic sounds: articulation, acoustics, function
The realization of the Hungarian phoneme /r/ is commonly identified by the term 'voiced trill'. Acoustic-phonetic investigations, however, have revealed that this phoneme can also be realized in Hungarian as a voiceless trill, a tap, a vocalic consonant, an approximant, or as a voiced or a voiceless fricative. Furthermore, there is a pair of variants not discussed previously: [r] with a schwa onglide ([*r]) or offglide ([r9]). In Cr clusters, the occurrence of schwa has been found to be more frequent in homorganic than in heterorganic clusters, while in the case of rC clusters, the occurrence of schwa has been found to be more frequent in heterorganic than in homorganic sequences. The realization [*r] was found before vowels (in onset position), and [r*] before consonants or word finally (in coda position). These facts are explained on the basis of articulatory/aerodynamic principles. The durational data of the /r/-variants show significant interrelations with the phonological positions in which they occur.
Nyelv és stílus
Debated issues on figures of speech and an encyclopedia of figures
The author discusses some debated or debatable issues pertaining to a new encyclopedia of figures of speech, to be published in May 2008. This book runs into 55 printed sheets and will be the first of its kind ever published in Hungarian. The present paper explains how those issues are resolved in the encyclopedia. First, the Team of Style Research responsible for the compilation of the encyclopedia is briefly introduced and the reasons why the team started research on figures of speech are enumerated. Next, the definition of "figure of speech" that the team used is given ("Figures of speech are established and inherited linguistic forms - word forms, phrases, or expressions . whose use makes the style of an utterance more effective. Therefore, they are structures (forms) and operations (functions) at the same time"). After that, the following basic issues are discussed with a brief historical overview and declaration of attitude: a) The identification of figures of speech as "deviations" or as being based on former errors. b) Are tropes a subclass of figures of speech? c) The grammatical status of figures of speech. d) The reality of various categories of change. The paper is concluded by certain practical issues concerning the structure of entries.
Nép és nyelv
From the earliest lists of dialect words to a unified digital dialect dictionary
The paper begins with a brief historical overview of the publication of lists of Hungarian dialect words. A detailed treatment of an ongoing project of compiling a unified digitalized dialect dictionary of Hungarian follows suit. The main issues discussed are what criteria can be used to decide what should be included in that dictionary and what would constitute an optimal system of lexicographic annotations that could serve as a basis for the search engine to be worked out. Advantages of compiling and using digitalized dialect dictionaries are listed, and organizational tasks related to the project are spelt out. The unified digital dialect dictionary, once completed, will be an important annotated data base of corpus linguistics in Hungary.
A nyelvtudomány műhelyéből
From úgy mond 'quoth he' to úgymond 'so to speak' - The story of a discourse marker from Old Hungarian to the present
This paper discusses a discourse marker that has never been analysed in grammatical terms so far. First, the original role of the collocation (ugy 'so' + mond 'says') is demonstrated on 15. 16th century data, tracing its initial steps towards grammaticalization. Among other things, its behaviour in sentences and its roles in text production are characterized. Then, via an intermediate period, the recent history of ugymond is described in detail, including its roles in current language use. On the basis of numerous data, it is shown that - while its role as a quotation marker has been retained - certain non-quotational discourse marking functions have emerged from its original function. These are capable of indicating certain text producer's attitudes (metalinguistic function) and may be detached from the function of referring to an external source of text. It is from that role that - distancing itself from discourse marking - the use of ugymond for indicating emphasis has branched off. In addition, as a side effect of the multiplication of roles, occurrences lacking a function that can be decoded by the listener can also be registered. A series of changes can be established in which more recent functions can be understood as extensions of previously existing ones and as coming about by the reduction of a component of appropriacy. Finally, the sentential status of both quotation-marking and non-quotational uses is determined, the place of ugymond in the part-of-speech system is defined, and some further aspects to be considered are identified.
Further contributions to the study of the earliest extant Hungarian texts
The author has been dealing with the reading, phraseology, and interpretation of debated loci, of the earliest extant Hungarian texts, including Funeral Sermon (FS), Lamentation of Mary (LM), the Konigsberg Fragment (KF), and Lines from Gyulafehervar (LGy), for quite some time now. His results have recently been summarized in a volume entitled A legkorabbi magyar szovegemlekek (Olvasat, ertelmezes, magyarazatok, frazeologia) [The earliest extant Hungarian texts: their reading, interpretation, explanations, and phraseology] (Debrecen, 2005). In the present paper, he offers further comments and contributions on certain words and phrases in FS, LM, and KF. He also adds that recent research (see especially Janka Szendrey's book referred to) makes it probable that the main body of Pray Codex (containing FS) was copied in Boldva - an assumption that had been abandoned earlier.
The linguistic image of the notion of 'father' in Hungarian
Apa and atya (both: 'father') are the names/call words of two intersecting cognitive domains that include all associations established in Hungarian with respect to these notions. Their cognitive base is made up by several domains. For instance, in the domain FAMILY, three profiles can be distinguished: those of BEGETTER, PARENT, and HUSBAND. (By metaphorical extension of human family relationships, also PARENT – MALE.) Further domains of the cognitive base include HUMAN BEING (or PERSON), as well as VALUE, SACRUM, FOREBEAR, and RELIGION. The stereotype of 'father', analysed in this paper, is a set of associations that the Hungarian community attributes to this notion and that complement the denotative features of the mental object at hand. The internal taxonomy of the notion under consideration reveals the fact that the meanings constituting its extension are characterized by various degrees of conventionalization. The boundaries are sometimes blurred, and may involve shared domains. It appears that the family profile is the most fully established one in Hungarian. The present paper is based on the material of the Hungarian National Corpus, several Hungarian dictionaries, collections of proverbs and phraseologisms, articles on language cultivation, as well as on linguistic data collected from everyday speech.
Once more about the necessity of a new redefinition of 'morpheme'
The author enters into a controversy with Istvan Kenesei on the necessity of a new redefinition of 'morpheme'. Kenesei's paper on "Words, morphemes, suffixes" (Magyar Nyelv.r 128 (2004): 441.445) raises a number of questions that point beyond the problems of that redefinition.
Memories of the Turkish occupation in geographical names from Somogy County
A hundred and fifty years of Turkish rule did not only influence the word stock of Hungarian but also folk traditions in this country, as a number of legends show. The memory of that period survived almost to the present day in areas of Hungary that had been occupied by Turks, leaving its traces in geographical names, as well. On the basis of the book "Geographical names in Somogy County", the author presents names from inside and outside built-in areas that are ethnographically linked to the time of Turkish occupation. Most of the various legends and stories preserved in geographical names can be classified into relatively well-defined sets according to their topics (e.g., fight against the Turks, legends of treasure, memories of deserted settlements).
Szó- és szólásmagyarázatok
A Nyelvőr hírei
A Magyar Nyelvőrnek ez a száma az MTA Könyv- és Folyóirat-kiadó Bizottsága, valamint a Nemzeti Kulturális Alap (Oktatási és Kulturális Minisztérium)támogatásával jelent meg.