On the Recognition and Use of Selected Biblical Idioms by School and University Students
Nadezhda Stalyanova
Sofia University
Elena Krejcova
Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
Maria Pileva
Institute for Literature - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2025-4-NK
Abstract. This paper aims to investigate the degree of competence of young people (high school and university students) regarding the knowledge of semantics and the degree of adequacy of use of three biblical idioms. The idioms chosen for our study are prodigal son, daily bread and heavenly manna. The study is a summary of an anonymous survey conducted among 57 respondents aged between 15 and 23 years, students from two schools (St. Cyril and Methodius School – Burgas, and 21. Hristo Botev School – Sofia) and students from two universities (Sofia University “St. Cyril and Methodius” – Burgas, University “Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov”). The analysis of the answers of the respondents shows that the exact and precise use of the biblical idioms is rarely observed, the prevailing use is semantically linked to a certain component of the phraseological expression – to the direct meaning of a given component or by semantic linking with a related word. When forced to define the semantics of phrases, in most cases students rely on vague associations or interpret their meaning literally, defining it by the direct meaning of one component of the phrase. This is evidence of the belonging of the biblical phraseologies studied to the periphery of the respondents‘ language.
Keywords: phraseology; biblical idioms; reception of cultural background; questionnaire survey
The Failed Rotation. A Metaphorical Reading of the Crisis
Dilyana Dencheva
Sofia University
https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2025-4-2DD
Abstract. The article examines the conceptual metaphors, used during the political crisis of early 2024 related to the upcoming rotation in the Denkov-Gabrielgovernment. On the basis of empirical material, excerped from comments by politicians, political scientists and other experts, two types of metaphorical models are distinguished: a) universal and well-known such as Military metaphor, Gambling metaphor, Nature metaphor, Medical metaphor, etc.; b) models specific both to the “rotation” crisis and the national cultural background, such as Fortune telling, Laundry and Hunting metaphor. It is concluded that the metaphorical picture of the crisis presents the construction of the relationship between political subjects PP-DB and GERB-SDS in a much more realistic way, and the careful metaphorical reading of the events contains the answer to the question whether the rotation will take place at all.
Keywords: conceptual metaphors; political metaphors; crisis; rotation
Linguo-Cultural Aspects of Advertising – a Comparative Analysis of Bulgarian and Spanish Examples
Veselka Nenkova
University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski”
https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2025-4-3V
Abstract. This article examines advertising messages in Spanish and Bulgarian, highlighting their linguistic and cultural characteristics. The comparison is carried out both at the linguistic and stylistic level, as well as at the extralinguistic level, emphasizing the sensory effects that advertisements create through extralinguistic factors such as image, color, emotions, etc. The analysis underscores the significance of the cultural code for the successful reception of advertising messages. The aim is to outline the distinctive features of advertisements in both cultures, focusing on similarities and differences in textual and graphic aspects.
Keywords: advertising; interlinguistic and intercultural communication; advertising appeals
Cross-Cultural Aspect in the Study of Verbal Folklore (Based on the Material of Bulgarian and Ukrainian Paremia and Fairy Tales)
Ruslan Serdeha
V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University
https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2025-4-4RS
Abstract. The universality and endemicity of different national cultures, including folklore, which is undoubtedly an important component of the national value system, is determined in the process of projecting different cultures into each other. The use of a cross-cultural approach makes it possible, on the one hand, to identify in folklore those features that are universal, those that are generally significant for the human world, and on the other hand, those that are the direct property of a particular people. Such features manifest themselves in the language through the language itself, that is, through the verbal means inherent in a particular language. The scientific novelty of the article is that it is the first attempt to examine the folklore of Ukrainians and Bulgarians through the prism of a cross-cultural approach using elements of the lexicographic modelling method. The language of oral folklore undoubtedly deserves lexicographical study, and it may well emphasize the specifics of the folklore of different peoples. The folklore texts of the genres analysed in this article are capable of accumulating those socio-cultural meanings that are common to many peoples, as the above examples from Ukrainian and Bulgarian proverbs confirm. At the same time, the traditions under study also contain elements that give these texts a distinct national flavour. The national colouring of proverbs and sayings is achieved through the use of specific personal names peculiar to a particular people, or local variants of national human names, geographical names characteristic of a particular region, names of local realities that are either completely absent in other peoples or do not have exact equivalents in their language. Fairy tales have much more common elements due to the expressive wanderlust of this genre, but they can also include an element that emphasizes the specifics of a certain time in the life of the people. Everyday details can bring a distinct national flavour to a fairy tale.
Keywords: language of folklore, cross-cultural linguistic folklore studies, Bulgarian folk sayings and proverbs, Ukrainian folk sayings and proverbs, Ukrainian folk sayings and proverbs, Bulgarian folk tales.
Word Order Specifics of Predicate Modifiers in News Headlines
Silvia Koeva
St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo
https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2025-4-5S
Abstract. The proposed study illustrates and analyses two contemporary trends in the choice of word order of predicate modifiers in news headlines, focusing on the conditions created for altered reception of the message. The first mechanism consists in placing predicate modifiers (most of all for localization) at the end of the main headline, while the second one apply modifiers with an introductory function. The observations reveal how the traditional appearance of news headlines is altered by the specific word order and to what problems this leads regarding their informative value.
Keywords: headlines; news; predicate modifires; word order; text reception
Contemporary Pop Folk Texts Conceptual and Perceptual Influence
Daniel Polihronov
Sofia University
Faculty of Education
https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2025-4-5DP
Abstract. The problem of the influence of pop folk on young people is extremely topical. Its texts and messages should be known, because they have an indisputable relation to the formation of the moral and aesthetic criteria, values and norms of a huge part of modern society and especially of the future generation. Therefore, it must be perceived, understood and interpreted in the context of social, educational and educational activities. Conceptual and perceptual aspects of influence are presented through an interpretive content analysis of structured interviews conducted with contemporary authors of texts.
Keywords: contemporary pop folk music; songwriters; content analysis; trends; messages
The Returning of the Ghosts
Iva Anastasova
Sofia University
https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2025-4-7AT
Abstract. This paper focuses on several moments in Emily Bronte’s novel “Wuthering Heights” that consider the window as a threshold space. These are analyzed in relation to the narrative scheme and the breaking of symmetry in the many mirroring pairs (like characters, mansions, narrative voices, etc.).
Keywords: window; ghost; symmetry; narrator
The Dress: Narrative, Symbol, Boundary
Polina Penkova
Sofia University
https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2025-4-8P
Abstract. The study analyzes the tensions between the man and the dress in works written by men in order to trace how their relationships build notions of masculinity. The objects of the study are the novel “Body Under the Dress” by Galin Nikiforov and the short story “The Redhead” by Valeri Stefanov. The dress is considered as a garment-symbol that denotes female territory. It expresses the female end in the binary opposition male-female and is therefore forbidden for men. The analysis shows that a man in women’s clothes ceases to be a man. The dress appears as the most obvious female attribute and, accordingly, as categorically unsuitable for the male body, only if the male has stable frames that define it. The disintegration of masculinity under the dress indicates that masculinity continues to be reproduced mainly through traditional stereotypes.
Keywords: dress; garment; body; masculinity; femininity
The Competence Approach to Training in a Multicultural Environment
Snezhanka Georgieva, Yulian М. Asenov
Episkop Konstantin Preslavski Shumen University
https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2025-4-9SG
Abstract. The article presents an analysis of a part of research on the application of the competence approach in the education, upbringing and socialization of bilingual students. It focuses on the created conditions for the formation of communication skills, as a basis for developing competences in the field of the Bulgarian language. It establishes the degree of correlation between communication, learning and culture according to teachers‘ practices. Conclusions are made about the importance of competence-oriented learning and recommendations are given for the formation and development of key knowledge, skills and attitudes and soft skills in bilingual students to support their socialization, prevent social exclusion and prepare them for life in modern society.
Keywords: competences; competence approach; communication; multicultural environment; bilinguals
Educating Empathy through Art
Irena Dimova-Gencheva
University “Prof. Dr. Asen Zlatarov” – Burgas (Bulgaria)
Georgi Genchev
PGMEE – Burgas (Bulgaria)
https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2025-4-10G
Abstract. The proposed article explores the concept of empathy and its application in teaching literature. It begins with a brief overview of the term, focusing on its historical development and its connection to pedagogy. The discussion includes the role of empathy in education and the teacher’s influence in fostering this skill. Various forms of art, particularly storytelling and film, are highlighted as effective tools for teaching empathy. The study specifically examines the animated film “Inside Out” (2015) and analyzes particular scenes that demonstrate empathy.
Keywords: empathy; teaching; movie; Inside Out
Round Table „Bulgarian Studies in Hungary Today – Between Tradition and the New Experience of the Digital Age“
Vesela Ganeva
University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski”
https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2025-4-11VG
International Scientific Conference „Emotions and Intellect: Representations in Balkan Languages and Cultures“
Gergana Petkova
Medical University – Plovdiv (Bulgaria)
Vanya Ivanova
University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski” (Bulgaria)
https://doi.org/10.53656/bel2025-4-12GP
During three days at the end of January (22.01. - 24. 01.) the International Scientific Conference “Emotions and Intellect: Representations in Balkan Languages and Cultures” (International Scientific Conference “Emotions and Intellect: Representations in Balkan Languages and Cultures”) took place. The organisers of the scientific forum were representatives of the affiliations Sofia University, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Institute of Balkan Studies with Center for Thracology "Prof. Alexander Fol" at the Bulgarian Academy of Science, while the oldest institution for higher education in Bulgaria was the main host. The participants were welcomed in the Mirror Hall at the Sofia University, where they presented their reports. The Conference was realised successfully thanks to to the financial aid of Фонд „Научни изследвания“ (the Fund for Scientific Research), contract № КП-06-МНФ/42 from 26.09.2024. English, German and all Slavic languages were announced as official, but most of the reports were prepared and presented in the English and Bulgarian languages.
After a process of preliminary selection, the 47 participants from all over Europe with 41 scientific reports in total, which were permitted to participate, were divided thematically in 11 sections.
