Projects / Programmes
Izvori in transformacije motivov in simbolov v literaturi in jezikih (Slovene)
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.07.00 |
Humanities |
Literary sciences |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.02 |
Humanities |
Languages and Literature |
Researchers (4)
Organisations (2)
Significance for science
The results of research project about the origins and transformation of motifs and symbols in literature and languages confirm the relevance to the development in the fields of linguistics, semantics, stylistics and literary theory are judged in relation to some facts, as indicated in the project proposal:
1) The motifs of longing, weakness and temptation in intetextual relations exceptionally clearly illuminate the process of transformation of motifs and symbols in literature and languages, but were never until now object of systematic comparative research in a broader diachronical and synchronical development of European and Slovenian literatures.
2) Semantic fields of the fundamental biblical vocabulary were not yet systematically investi-gated in relation to origins and transformations, as seen in European and Slovenian traditions.
3) Interdisciplinary research in the fields of humanistics in Slovenian and European areas opens new possibilities of disclosing the meaning of literary forms, vocabulary and grammar.
The main findings of the three members of the project group can be reasonably presented for each one separately:
Associate Prof. Dr.Irena Avsenik Nabergoj
The research into the concepts of longing, love, beauty and truth disclose the nature of these foundational concepts in all life dimensions. The analysis of literary texts was carried out in parallel with a critical assessment of some influential philosophers, literary critics, poets and writers in the span between the antiquity and the modern time. Plato (427-347) devoted particular attention to the question of beauty as reflection of eternal ideas in the works Sophist, Protagoras, Laws and Republic thus opening discussion on the entire semantic field of longing, love and truth. Plato differentiates between creating actual objects and “images” of the gods, people and objects. Aristotle (384-322 BCE) was not inspired by Plato’s account of eternal ideas but by the quality or beauty of imitating eternal beauty in artistic creations. In Poetics Aristotle developed his theory of the beauty of tragedy, which “is an imitation of an action that is complete, and whole, and of a certain magnitude” (Chapter VII). In a more modern era, the important references of a critical assessment of the semantic field of longing, beauty and truth are the philosophers Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714–1762) and Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) and the writer Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910). The results of the project disclose the existential and cognitive grounds of foundational values of our civilization.
Associate Prof. Dr. Andreja Žele
In her contribution Expressiveness as a word-formational feature (on the example of Slovenian vrbs). Philol. stud. (Skopje). [Internet edition]. 2011, vol. 2, pp. 281–288, the author deals with expressiveness of word formation and semantic change in Slovenian verbs. In the common monograph The symbols of unexpressible the emphasis is on metaphors that serve the content at hand as functional metaphors. Literature in particular tries to coin a unique and intensive mode of expression. The highest degree of intensity linked to semantic dynamics is found in verbs and verbal derivatives, which may function expressively.
Akad. Prof. Dr. Jože Krašovec
The emphasis of research is on the depth and breadth of the biblical world of believing and of spiritual experiences, which are the reason for the extraordinary wealth of semantic, stylistic and rhetorical means of expression. No purely formalistic approach suffices. What is needed is a holistic approach in every regard, taking into account all the semantic, stylistic, and rhetorical means of expression in their specific literary structure and in their relation to the broader koncext of Hebrew beliefs and values. The main finding is that all basic concepts designating human personal life constitute a common point of communication between God and humans.
Significance for the country
The direct impact of the project concerns society and may be defined as follows:
1) Interdisciplinary research of origins and transformations of motifs and symbols in literature and languages in order to establish an appropriate standardization of Slovenian vocabulary and terminology in the fields of linguistics, literary sciences, art history and music;
2) enrichment of the Slovenian and European scientific and cultural space through scientific publications in Slovenian and in foreign languages;
3) development of scientific quality through the endeavour to present scientific results at scholarly meetings on regional and international levels;
4) inclusion of the objectives of the research project in the education process of the renewal of pedagogical programmes in the framework of the Bologna reform and preparation of study manuals;
5) great impact of the new Slovenian Bible translation, containing notes, references, vocabulary and other additions, on cultural development.
Associate Prof. Dr. Irena Avsenik Nabergoj
The research into the origins and transformation of motifs and symbols in literature and lan-guages is based on well-founded principle of intertextuality. The project focused on the fields of meaning of various metaphorical expressions of longing, love and truth in relation to their background and contemporary usage. The main goal was a literary analysis of well-known texts – from antiquity up to the present – which include the same or similar literary schemes. Semantic parallels between diverse languages and the diversity of points of view in spite fo difference in views enhances, rather than dimninishes, the significance of the comparison between our cultural heritage, Europearn »parallels« and the entire human civilization. Case studies of Slovenian literature include the central place of the motif of Fair Vida in Slovenian culture, presentation of Jews in Slovenian literature, presentation of love in Prešeren's romantic poem The Baptism on the Savica and the love poetry of Simon Jenko that in some cases evokes Heine's poems.
Prof. Dr. Andreja Žele
The language/linguistic analysis moves between motifs and the metaphors for the motifs. In the framework of the motifs of longing, weakness, temptation and ordeal – which are also the basic existential motifs – there runs a very noticeable, or rather typical, Biblical metaphor, which acts in a symbolic manner and can therefore find various expressions in the works of different authors or, more specifically, in the works of authors belonging to different eras. One of the goals of the paper is to present and demonstrate the syntactic and lexemic actualisation, and through that the lasting vitality of the metaphoric use of certain basic words that hold the status of Biblical metaphors. Doing so would fulfil the aim of the paper, namely that the identification of the dynamics found in well-known and established motifs and metaphors would act as confirmation of the actualisation of their meanings and the actualisation of both motif and metaphor relations in Slovenian literature and the Slovenian language.
Akad. Prof. Dr. Jože Krašovec
The focus of research was semantics of biblical languages in application to the new Slovenian Bible translation. The importance of translation and interpretation of biblical texts for the de-velopment of European cultures is hard to overestimate. Early Bible translations broadcast the call for ethical and social responsibility and the witness for literary development of many lan-guages. The Bible in Latin shaped the thought and life of western people. Impact on both academic disciplines and our communities manifests itself in: 1) elaboration of new methodological and interpretative approaches; 2) making more widely known cultural encounters in relation between biblical and vernacular traditions and synthesis of eastern and western influences in central and south-eastern Europe.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2009,
2010,
2011,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2009,
2010,
2011,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
