3. Realia in language teaching

3. Realia in language teaching

The teaching of realia in foreign language learning is / or should be implemented in the framework of linguo-cultural studies, an aspect of foreign language acquisition. Unquestionably, there exist organic contacts between the learning of vocabulary items and translation activity. Consequently, explaining / memorizing and translation techniques of realia are just two sides of one and the same phenomenon. For these purposes examples of explaining British and Hungarian realia are presented below:

3.1. Explaining British Realia

 

It is required by methodological expediency that in the exlanation of realia denotative (cognitive) and connotative (pragmatic, sometimes affective or emotional) meanings should be taken apart. The reason of it is that between the linguacultures in comparison, in most of the cases, denotative meanings are shared and connotative meaning are different because of cultural reasons.

 

Christmas (Karácsony)

 

Denotative meaning. The second greatest religious festival (after Easter) in the Christian year. It is the most popular family holiday season after summer, and centres on Christmas Day.

 

Connotative meaning. At this time presents and Christmas greetings are exchanged, a Christmas three (traditionally a fir tree) is decorated, parties are held, and pantomimes and carol services take place. The Christmas season traditionally begins on Christmas Eve and continues until Twelfth Night (Room 1990, 66). See also: Santa Claus, Christmas Eve, Christmas crackers, Christmas stockings. Notes: Here and below realia suggested for further reference are given in italics.

 

Christmas Day (Karácsony első napja)

 

Denotative meanin. 25 December, the central day of the Christmas season, and a traditional family reunion day.

 

Connotative meaning. On this day, many people attend church service, open their presents, eat a christmas dinner and watch the annual christmas broadcast on television (or listen to it on the radio). The day is regarded a special one for children, who receive much attention from their families and friends (Room 1990, 66).

Christmas pudding (karácsonyi puding torta)

 

Denotative meaning. A rich steamed pudding containing dried fruits, spices and oftem brandy, decorated with a small holly in the top.

 

Connotative meaning. Served as part of a Christmas dinner.

 

Holly (krisztustövis, magyal)

Denotative meaning. A tree with bright red berries and shiny dark green, prickly leaves.

 

Connotative meaning. In Britain the tree is associated with Christmas. Small pieces of holly are often used for decoration in houses and churches. A piece of holly, too, is often used to decorate the top of Christmas pudding.

Boxing day (Karácsony másnapja)

 

Denotative meaning. The day (26 december) following Christmas Day.

 

Connotative meaning. It is celebrated as bank holiday. It was formerly the custom to give 'Christmas boxes', or gifts of money, to servants and tradesmen on this day. Today many people still give an annual Christmas gift to regular callers such ad distmen and paperboys / girls (Room 1990, 37-38)

Christmas carol (karácsonyi ének)

Denotative meaning. Christmas carol is a song or hymn.

 

Connotative meaning. Christmas carols' lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period of before Christmas.

 

When explaining British realia it can be effective and helpful to present them in semantic fields or paradigmatic systems. Here is a model that shows the hierarchical stages of these systems:

 

Paradigmatic Levels	Semantic Subordination	Hungarian Equivalents
I. Meganymy	food	étel
II. Superonymy	fast food	gyorsétel
III. Hyperonymy	hamburger	hamburger
IV. Co-hyponymy	Big Mac	Big Mac

 

 

A subsystem of British realia in semantic fields:

 

Food and Drinks	Clothimg	Daily life
bacon and eggs	tartan	Bank holiday
bacon sarnie	Black tie	Copper
Bloody Mary	White tie	Allotment
Gaelic coffee	Wellington boots	Saloon bar

 

Language	Law	Society
Basic English	Act of God	bluestocking
BBC English	Age of consent	Bottle party
four letter word	Age of discretion	childminder
Limerick	attorney	Druids
Oxford accent	barrister	Establishment
	solicitor	George Cross
	bobby	God Save the Quee

 

Arts	Finance	Defence
Bard	Bank of England	RAF
Bard of Avon	Big Bang	Admiralty
British Museum	Blue chip	Gordon Highlanders
Covent Garden	Christmas bonus	Green Jackets
Globr Theatre	family credit
Poets' Corner	friendly society

 

Commerce	Education	Government
Harrods	approved school	House of Commons
Marks & Spencer	academic year	Backbencher
Mercury	public school	Borough
Sandwich man	day boy / girl	House of Lords
Politics	Geography	History
Bennism	Black Country	Battle of Britain
Thatcherism	Borders	Black Prince
polling booth	Brighton	Briton
polling day	Britain	Commonwealth

 

London	Media	Medicine
Big Ben	BBC	general practicioner
Changing of the Guard	BBC World Service	cottage hospital
Hyde Park	Economist	nursing home
Hyde Park Corner	Reuters	Matron

 

 

3.2. Explaining Hungarian realia

 

            „Language is not just words and grammar, it works by metaphors and allusions that make up (and also hide away) meanings which are indecipherable without the knowledge of the culture code. Every student of any foreign language is painfully aware how this meta-language lurking behind even the simpest of turns can make reception of even everyday speech such a pecarious affair. (...) And bilingual dictionaries, conscructed on the principle of equivalence (bolds are mine - E. L.), do not help here, because they do not try to invoke the thoughts, concepts and images that are invoked for the native speaker upon hearing the name of a town or region, a festival, a form of address, a dish peculiar to his country or the lines of a song" (Barth 2002, 5).

            The table given below demonstrates the ways of rendering and or explaining Hungarian realia for potential English speaking partners:

 

Hungarian Realia	Transmission, transliteration (foreignization)	Word-by-word translation (domestication)	Paraphrase
Bakony	Bakony	-	Mountainous region north of lake Balaton.
Balaton	Balaton	-	Freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary.
ballagás	ballagás	Sauntering, wandering	Graduation parade in schools.
Bánk bán	Bánk Bán	Palatine Bánk	Bánk, the Palatine.
barackpálinka	barackpalinka	Apricot brandy	Brandy distilled from apricots.
beigli	beigli	-	Wallnut or poppy sead roll.
betlehemesek	betlehemesek	Bethlehemers	Nativity players.
betyár	betyár	-	Outlaw, highwayman: thief, murderer.
bikavér	bikavér	Bull's blood	Dark heavy red wine from the Eger region.

 

            For adequate and effective rendering and or explanations an important role of cultural analogues is underlined by the examples as follows: Bakony - Sherwood forest (see: betyár vs Robin Hood), Balaton - Brighton (see: holiday resorts), barackpálinka - brandy, betlehemesek - Carol singers etc.

            For appropriate understanding, foreigners need cultural commentaries on realia: Balaton: is a comparatively inexpensive and crowded holiday spot for Hungarians; it is affectionately called the Hungarian see. Bikavér: a kind of cuvee, it has „fire" in it, and is probably the best known Hungarian red wine. Ballagás: a sentimental ceremony in the middle of May, when the graduating seniors slowly march around the school (that literally means ballagás) and bid farewell to their school and the junior students...

            It might be strange for Hungarians that lexical items like bableves, beigli, pogácsa, halászlé, fröccs, lángos, Buda, Herend, Eger, Hortobágy, Erdély, Egri csillagok, Pál utcai fiúk, nemecsek ernő etc. also can be matter of linguo-cultural commentary (see: Barth 2002).