Obrázky a „opráski” z českých dějin. O stylu obrázkových seriálů věnovaných historii

The article analyses the style of two picture series dealing with Czech history. The analysis focuses primarily on the way of mediating historical knowledge as well as forming and establishing cultural memory in the two series which are compared. In connection with this, the use of language, the construction of meanings and the interplay between verbal and visual components are described. The picture series investigated represent opposing approaches to the issue of cultural (historical) memory. The objective of Obrázky z českých dějin a pověstí (Pictures from Czech History and Legends; 1980, revised edition 1996) is to depict a traditional version of Czech history and support its adoption by recipients (children being the main target group). Obrázky include various informal, derogatory and anachronistic elements, but these components are used purposefully to attract the interest of recipients in a didactic presentation of historical events. On the other hand, Opráski sčeskí historje (perhaps: Pictures from Czech History; 2014–2015) submit an alternative, subversive, comical and absurd version of Czech history. Their objective is to destruct the traditional view of such history. In order to achieve this effect, Opráskitake advantage of intentional orthographical mistakes (with great invention), play with the language, polysemy of words, anachronisms and intertextual relations to contemporary popular culture.

The Problem of “Terms” in Translation from English into Arabic

The word ‘term’ can be defined as “a word or expression that has a precise meaning in some uses or is peculiar to a particular field”, (A New Webster Dictionary, 1981:796). The point in a term is being a tool of gathering information, some qualities or features in the smallest linguistic semantic space, i.e., the utterance in which it replaces that particular notion, ( اسماعيل, 1987: 3). Kvam (2007:2) defines a “term” as ‘the systematic designation of defined concept within a specific field requiring specialized knowledge’. It is quite necessary for translators to be able to translate new terms from English into Arabic since the former is witnessing great invention and molding of new terms or neologisms. The problem of terms, as mentioned by Gentzler(1993: 16), has historically troubled translators. Besides, calling for one-to-one transfer approach and method revolves around decoding and recoding process increasingly difficult to hold. The present study is an attempt to shed some light on this aspect of translation. It is divided into two sections; the first of which is dedicated to new English terms or what is called neologisms and their translation into Arabic. Besides, it deals with formation of new terms semantically and morphologically. Section Two, on the other hand, focuses on some criteria for translating new terms and their application. The study ends up with some conclusions.

The Great Invention: The Story of GDP and the Making and Unmaking of the Modern World

book review

A Further Study on Bamboo-Cage Loom in Guangxi Province of China

The bamboo-cage loom in Guangxi province in China is a great invention in the textile history of the Chinese minorities. However, the previous studies on the bamboo-cage loom were not very clear, and led to much misunderstanding. Based on our investigation on the spot of some ethnic villages in Guangxi province and in Guangxi Museum of Nationalities, at first, the structure of bamboo-cage loom was introduced in detail. Secondly the characters of Zhuang brocade on the bamboo-cage loom were presented. At last, the operational processes on the bamboo-cage loom were explained.

Research on an Integrated Plastics Product Design Method

With continuous development of macromolecule technology and great invention of advanced materials with high quality, plastic parts are widely applied in the areas like aerospace, mechanism and medical instruments. However, the design methods of plastics are still restricted in many aspects. This paper proposes an integrated method for plastic product design, which has been demonstrated by a case study as feasible and effective.