APPLIED LINGUISTICS – CURRENT TRENDS AND PROSPECTS

The current volume “APPLIED LINGUISTICS – CURRENT TRENDS AND PROSPECTS” contains selected papers from an international conference which took place on the 18th and 19th of November 2023 at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” in Bulgaria. The event was aimed at marking the 135th anniversary of Sofia University, while also celebrating 95 years of English and American Studies at Sofia University. The conference was organized by the Department of English and American Studies and received financial support from the Sofia University Science and Research Fund and the Academic Foundation for English and American Studies. It brought together researchers from both Bulgaria and abroad who explored current trends and future prospects in the field of applied linguistics.

The papers comprising this volume focus on various innovative practices and approaches with the intention of identifying salient aspects of present-day applied linguistics, but also pointing to areas of future research. They examine a wide range of topics, starting from teaching practices, translanguaging and the role of technology in applied linguistics, then going through issues related to language variation and change and ending with teaching and exploring translation, as well as narratives. This diversity of topics foregrounds an approach to applied linguistics which goes beyond the traditional emphasis on teaching practices in the field and adopts a broader focus on investigating social problems connected with language. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword / 7

TEACHING PRACTICES

Developing Mediation Skills by Teaching English through Literature

Svetlana Dimitrova-Gyuzeleva / 13

Incorporating the Acquisition of Intercultural Mediation Competence into EFL Instruction: Insights from the Bulgarian Higher Education Context

Irena Dimova / 27

TRANSLANGUAGING

The Lesson from “Translanguaging”, or Get Aware of the Metafiction

Mira Kovatcheva / 43

TECHNOLOGY IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS

Machine Detection and Human Interpretation of AI-Generated Content in Students’ Assignments in a Higher Education Context

Irina Kyulanova / 57

Machine versus Human Translation – High-resource versus Low-resource Languages. A Case Study

Irena Vassileva / 70

LANGUAGE VARIATION AND CHANGE

The Vowels of the Pavese Dialect: A Case Study in Preserving and Promoting Local Linguistic Diversity

Elia Calligari, Claudia Roberta Combei / 89

“So It’s Not Their Language?” Northern Ireland Protestants and their Divisive/ Decisive Role in the Revitalization of Irish

Jonathan McCreedy / 103

Degrees of Semantic Divergence of International Anglicisms from a Common English Etymon

Nevena Alexieva / 120

TEACHING AND PRACTICING TRANSLATION

Teaching Literary Translation at Master’s Level: Objectives and Challenges in the Contemporary Bulgarian Context

Maria Pipeva / 137

Please See Footnote*: *A Study of Translator’s Notes in Bulgarian and English Translated Literature

Traci Speed / 146

TEACHING AND EXPLORING NARRATIVES

The Didactics of Literature: Perspectives and Challenges

Radeya Gesheva / 161

House or Casita: The Presence of Spanish and its Impact in Disney’s Encanto (2021)

Alexandrina Ugrenova / 172

Iron Ladies and Adornments of Politics: Metaphorical Conceptualizations of Ėlvira Nabiullina and Valentina Matvienko in the Online Press

Elena Giribaldi / 183

ACADEMIC TRIBUTE

Dimiter Spasov and His Work on English Phrasal Verbs – Personal Reflections and Impact

Vladimir Phillipov / 199