Saša Babič | Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (original) (raw)

Papers by Saša Babič

Proverbium: Yearbook of International Proverb Scholarship, 2024

Language reflects how we perceive our surroundings. Not only does it enable us to describe them b... more Language reflects how we perceive our surroundings. Not only does it enable us to describe them but we also use linguistic expressions to express our ideas metaphorically. In view of this, language stores our observations and stereotypes and carries them as a culture that humans continually create and think about (Pitkin 1972; Bartminski 2005; Tolstaya 2015) in different linguistic forms that are passed down from one generation to the next. Using an ethnolinguistic approach and the help of semiotics, we can take a closer look at the deeper structures and meanings of short folklore forms and, moreover, social stereotypes. This article focuses on wild animals in proverbs, riddles and swear words, and their role in characterisation in short folklore forms.

Journal for Cultural Research, 2024

Folklore reflects the concept of fear, with which genres such as incantations and prayers are dir... more Folklore reflects the concept of fear, with which genres such as incantations and prayers are directly associated. These texts establish adialogue with danger, either with commands or supplications, and they indicate what kind of dangers are imminent. By combining psychoanalytical and folklore theories, the paper offers the analysis of the conceptual image of fear and of the defensive function of prayers and incantations within the material of Slovenian incantation and prayer collections: what kind of threats one wants to chase away by incantations or/and magical signs and objects; and what kind of form and use contain the preventive incantations themselves.

Svetovi: revija za etnologijo, antropologijo in folkloristiko, Feb 28, 2023

Pregovori kot tradicionalne paremiološke enote so semantično bogati izrazi, ki ponujajo dragocen ... more Pregovori kot tradicionalne paremiološke enote so semantično bogati izrazi, ki ponujajo dragocen vpogled v kulturno kompleksnost. O kulturi lahko veliko izvemo z vpogledom v njene kratke folklorne oblike, ki predstavljajo odsev časa in družbe. Odsev družbe je viden tako na ravni zgradbe kot ubeseditve metaforičnih in metonimičnih oblik. Prispevek bo prikazal potencial pregovorov o alkoholnih pijačah v namen raziskave o odnosu do alkoholnih pijač in njihovih uživalcih v dani kulturi na podlagi arhivskega gradiva Inštituta za slovensko narodopisje ZRC SAZU.

"Standing on the shoulders of giants": A Festschrift in honour of Wolfgang Mieder on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Proverbium Online Supplement 3 (2024), 2024

Short folklore forms, with their naming of phenomena, beings and objects, are connected... more Short folklore forms, with their naming of phenomena, beings and objects, are connected with folk intangible and material heritage of the people. They transmit experiences (proverbs), knowledge (riddles), preju-dices (swear words), but also stereotypes and expected characteristics and events. Dogs as pet, helper, guard, and – nowadays – a proverbial man’s best friend among all of the short folklore forms is mostly mentioned in proverbs. With an ethnolinguistic approach, we are taking a closer look at the deeper structures and meanings of the dog in short folklore forms and, further, at social stereotypes and characterisations of the dog. In the essay, dog in Slovenian short folk forms (from the archive of the Institute of Slo-venian Ethnology ZRC SAZU), their stereotypical characteristics and repre-sentation as well as their metaphorical meaning is presented. The insight into short folklore forms will show which characteristics were given to them as well as what the culturally specific behaviour towards them was.

Narodna umjetnost, 2023

Birds are present in everyday life, in forests, parks, cities, in fields and on playgrounds, by r... more Birds are present in everyday life, in forests, parks, cities, in fields and on playgrounds, by rivers and at entrances to stores, etc. Their ubiquity in human everyday life all through history leads to “birds” developing metaphorical meanings and producing powerful stereotypical images, which also motivate wider conceptual meanings. This article focuses on the lexeme ptica “bird” in Slovenian short folklore forms, its stereotypical representation and its metaphorical meanings. The ethnolinguistic approach will provide insight into the characteristics ascribed to birds as well as personifications and metaphorical transfers in short folklore forms, i.e., it will show what the bird symbolizes.

Acta geographica Slovenica

This study analyzed selected cartographic symbols on old maps depicting the territory of Slovenia... more This study analyzed selected cartographic symbols on old maps depicting the territory of Slovenia from the sixteenth to nineteenth century. A semiotic approach was applied to establish connections between cartographic symbols on old maps and the characteristics of society at the time the maps were created. This semiotic approach was used to discuss the impact of the interpretation of four symbolic cartographic elements, their iconic basis, and the reading of the five maps analyzed. Cartographic symbols changed in line with the development of cartography at the time, as well as society. The depictions of settlements were first stylistic and then geometric. Relief depictions were first stylized and then shown through plastic or spatial methods. Cartographic symbols gradually changed into symbolic signs (in the semiotic sense), including the quality of the map display, as a result of developments and the demands of changing society.

Folklore, 2023

This article explores Estonian and Slovenian proverbs related to alcohol and drinking with the ai... more This article explores Estonian and Slovenian proverbs related to alcohol and drinking with the aim of interpreting these proverbs in their broader sociocultural context and analysing the controversies embedded in proverbs on this topic. Considering that alcohol is not consumed in the same form everywhere, the article examines Slovenian material as representative of the geographical region of Southern Europe and the Slavic language group, and Estonian material as representative of the geographical region of Northern Europe and the Finno-Ugric language group. The units encompassed by the research contain the following words: wine, beer, spirits (vodka), drunk, and drinking. We analyse how proverbs—as culturally metaphorical units often considered the cornerstone of national identity and a compass of ethnic morals—fit into this ethnic pretext. We focus on three different aspects: those regarded as specific to national culture; gender and family (gender inequality, drinking alcohol as a symbol of masculinity); and the ambivalence surrounding drinking.

Svetovi: revija za etnologijo, antropologijo in folkloristiko, 2023

Pregovori kot tradicionalne paremiološke enote so semantično bogati izrazi, ki ponujajo dragocen ... more Pregovori kot tradicionalne paremiološke enote so semantično bogati izrazi, ki ponujajo dragocen vpogled v kulturno kompleksnost. O kulturi lahko veliko izvemo z vpogledom v njene kratke folklorne oblike, ki predstavljajo odsev časa in družbe. Odsev družbe je viden tako na ravni zgradbe kot ubeseditve metaforičnih in metonimičnih oblik. Prispevek bo prikazal potencial pregovorov o alkoholnih pijačah v namen raziskave o odnosu do alkoholnih pijač in njihovih uživalcih v dani kulturi na podlagi arhivskega gradiva Inštituta za slovensko narodopisje ZRC SAZU.

Folklore, Aug 1, 2022

Although folklorists recognise the active role of children in intangible heritage, collecting and... more Although folklorists recognise the active role of children in intangible heritage, collecting and analysing children's lore and school lore has been a side issue in Slovenian folkloristics. Especially since the beginning of the new millennium, it seems that school lore has been put aside. In order to revive collecting of school lore, the Institute of Slovenian Ethology at the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) organised riddle collecting in schools in 2015 and an e-collection during the 2018/2019 school year. The first collection was organised as part of interviews while the other collection was based on an e-questionnaire. This was sent to Slovenian elementary and high schools as well as to acquaintances in order to get as many responses as possible, i.e., using the snowball method. The article gives both an overview and a sketch of the results.

Studia mythologica Slavica

The article discusses conspiracy theories concerned with the global crisis triggered by the COVID... more The article discusses conspiracy theories concerned with the global crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia based on material collected from the Internet and during fieldwork. Content is examined using the well-established foundations of conspiracy theories, the semiotics of the conspiracy theories, and their mythological structure. Pandemic-related conspiracy stories appear to emerge from already established conspiracy narratives, linking them to a bigger and imminent threat to the health and freedom of humanity, believed to be perpetrated by conspiring evil forces.

Folklore, Aug 1, 2022

The current issue of the journal Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore was created as a collab... more The current issue of the journal Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore was created as a collaboration between Estonian and Slovenian folklorists and ethnologists within the joint bilateral project, "Slovenian and Estonian Contemporary School Lore". The main objective of the project was to analyse and compare the contemporary school lore, its collecting, use, and dynamics in two European countries with different geographical positions and characteristics, with a similar history, and no direct contact. The project focused on tradition and transformations of the folklore material, playfulness, and creativity in (new) formats, and on how they reflect the social reality that produces them. The project aimed to apply a new dynamic comparative approach from an intercultural as well as diachronic and synchronic point of view, which offers a unique and innovative perspective in folklore studies of Slovenia and Estonia. School lore is folklore material that circles among schoolchildren mainly on the school (indoor and outdoor) premises, as well as folklore material that thematises school life. This material reflects the lifestyle, worldviews, and everyday issues of schoolchildren. It also shows what material transfers from one generation to another and has a potential to continue in time. Knowing that https://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol86/introduction.pdf

14. mednarodni slavistiČni kongres (ohrid, makedonija, 10.-15. september 2008) med 10. in 16. sep... more 14. mednarodni slavistiČni kongres (ohrid, makedonija, 10.-15. september 2008) med 10. in 16. septembrom 2008 je v ohridu potekal 14. mednarodni slavistični kongres, svetovni kongres slavistov, ki je organiziran vsakih pet let. spored je bil razdeljen na tri glavne sekcije-(1) lingvistika, (2) literatura, kultura in folklora, (3) zgodovina slavistike, razdeljene na več podpodročij: o lingvistiki so razpravljali v osmih skupinah, o literaturi, kulturi in folklori v desetih, o zgodovini slavistike v dveh. prijavljenih je bilo 586 referatov, vendar jih je nekaj odpadlo. udeleženci kongresa smo dobili gradivo, ki je vsebovalo predstavitev ohrida, povzetke predavanj in tiskano izdajo sporeda; ta je bila precej nepregledna, saj so bila predavanja navedena po sekcijah in ne po dnevih, kar je zahtevalo veliko iskanja in povzročalo zmedo v samem načrtovanju obiska predavanj. uradni jeziki na kongresu so bili vsi slovanski jeziki, angleščina, nemščina in francoščina. referenti so večinoma govorili rusko in ruščina je bila tudi v siceršnji komunikaciji najpogostejši jezik, v angleščini, nemščini in francoščini pa je bila predstavljena le peščica referatov. ena od skupin je bila namenjena tudi slovanski folklori: referenti so obravnavali mitologijo, povezave folklore s sočasno kulturo, različne motive in pomene v slovstveni folklori, žanre (epske folklorne pesmi, zagovori …), tekstologijo, etnopoetiko idr. ter različne oblike obredja (npr. zagovarjanje, poročne obrede itn.). precej folklorističnih in etnografskih tematik (kultura, šege, slovstvena folklora) je bilo zaslediti tudi v drugih skupinah, npr. pri dialektologiji, lingvogeografiji in slovanski onomastiki. ob sekcijah je teklo tudi 24 tematskih blokov: folklori naj bi bila namenjena dva tematska bloka: Folkloristika v kontekstu znanosti o tradicionalni duhovni kulturi-prispevki k teoriji in metodologiji in Folklora v multimedijski komunikaciji in vsakdanji kulturi, vendar sta žal oba odpadla zaradi odsotnosti glavnih organizatorjev. za področje etnolingvistike je bil organiziran tematski blok jezikovno-kulturna podoba sveta slovanov v luči etnolingvistike, vodil ga je jerzy bartmiński. predstavljeni so bili trije seminarji v povezavi z jezikovno-kulturno podobo sveta, s semantiko in aksiologijo slovanskega korena *svojь, z ontologijo in metodologijo etnolingvističnega raziskovanja. razprava je bila zaradi pomanjkanja časa prestavljena na naslednji dan. zvečer so predvajali makedonske etnografske filme: imeli smo priložnost videti tradicionalno poroko, čaščenje rodnosti, izdelovanje piščali (kaval) itn. referati slavistov iz slovenije (Zbornik referatov za štirinajsti mednarodni slavistični kongres, Ohrid, 10.-17. september 2008) so že objavljeni kot kongresni zbornik Slavistične revije. saša babič poroČila o konFerenCah brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by ZRC SAZU Publishing (Znanstvenoraziskovalni center- ...

»Več kakor eni drugi človik« obstajata sama po sebi, sta od zunaj pripisana na podlagi primerjave... more »Več kakor eni drugi človik« obstajata sama po sebi, sta od zunaj pripisana na podlagi primerjave med navadnim, vsakdanjim, in nečim, kar to presega, da je vredno zgledovanja in posnemanja, občudovanja in celo čaščenja oziroma kulta. Posameznik zares postane junak šele v očeh drugih, ki presodijo, ali so njegov lik, lastnosti in dejanja takšni, da ga postavijo na zgodovinski, družbeni, kulturni piedestal. Ali, zgoščeno: »Junaki so junaki nečesa za nekoga« (Huzjan 2016: 202). V pripisani presežni vrednosti ali vrednostih se zrcalijo aktualne in univerzalnejše individualne in kolektivne aspiracije. Z antropološkega vidika so zato zgodbe o junakih pripovedi o duhovnih in družbenih prostorih človeškega; junaki v njih so namreč »metonimična metafora uresničitve tiste želje, ambicije, cilja, za katerim stremi 'vsakdanji' človek-'človek z ulice'. Ti junaki so neke vrste orientacija; zdi se, da utegnejo podeliti smisel življenju in posamezniku« (Fikfak 2014a: 10). In v različnih časih, krajih in družbah je zato junak »znak (Pierce CP 2.228), ki ga vsak sprejemnik in pošiljatelj razume, opomenja in tvori na različne načine, vsakokrat z druge perspektive« (prav tam). Zaradi tega ni nenavadno, da se številni junaki pojavijo na skupnostnem prizorišču v težavnih, kriznih časih, da bi pomagali svojemu ljudstvu ali svojim ljudem. Tako se junakova individualna pot splete s kolektivno. Zaradi mnogovrstnega sprejemanja ostaja kljub obsežni znanstveni in poljudnejši literaturi aktualno spraševanje o tem, kdo, zakaj in kdaj (lahko) postane junak, kakšne so značilnosti junaške osebnosti ali (tudi imaginarnega) lika, zakaj ljudje, družbe potrebujejo in ustvarjajo junake, kaj z njimi sporočajo, komu so namenjena ta sporočila, ki jim je skupno, da imajo ali naj bi imela za skupnost povezovalno funkcijo. V pomenu, kakor ga mislimo, je izrazito kolektivni fenomen, četudi ima lahko vsak posameznik kakega svojega junaka. Zaradi tega je junak le tisti nekdo, ki preživi cenzuro skupnosti; ta ga-z zgodbami 2-vpne v veriženje skupnostnega spominjanja preteklosti za prihodnost na eni strani in na drugi pozabljanja, zamolčevanja, zabrisovanja in marginalizacije. Tako gre fenomene junak in junaštvo, slavne osebnosti in njihova dejanja razumeti v procesu kanonizacije 3 ali, drugače, kot procese ustvarjanja (produkcije), poustvarjanja (reprodukcije) in 2 Tu v najširšem pomenu pripovedi, ne glede na specifični žanr ali medij. 3 Termin kanonizacija je uporabljen v širšem pomenu, kakor je nakazan v razločevanju med kanonizacijo cerkvenih in kulturnih svetnikov (Dović 2016a: 12-14; 2016b: 25, 40-41); s slednjimi lahko, a upoštevaje specifičnosti transferja folklore, vzporejamo tudi junake in slavne osebnosti.

Jezikovne tehnologije in digitalna humanistika, 2022

The article discusses the digitization of the collection of Slovenian proverbs from the Institute... more The article discusses the digitization of the collection of Slovenian proverbs from the Institute of Slovenian Ethnography ZRC SAZU. The collection was created from 1947, and its digitization began at the start of the 21st century on the initiative of Marija Stanonik. The departure point of the presented were two Excel spreadsheets with paremiological units and their bibliographical sources, from which we removed inappropriate units, and unused sources. The two spreadsheets were then converted to a TEI encoding, and the paremiological units automatically linguistically annotated: words were modernised, lemmatised, morphosyntactically annotated and the sentences syntactically parsed according to the Universal Dependencies formalism. We converted the canonical TEI encoding into several derived formats and published the collection under an open licence on the CLARIN.SI repository, where it can be downloaded, and on the CLARIN.SI concordancers, which allow for linguistic analyses of the collection. The paper also outlines searching the collection in the concordancers, which enables detailed ethnolinguistic and semiotic research.

Studia Mythologica Slavica, 2022

Članek obravnava teorije zarote, ki so povezane s pandemijo COVID-19 v Sloveniji. Raziskava je po... more Članek obravnava teorije zarote, ki so povezane s pandemijo COVID-19 v Sloveniji. Raziskava je potekala na gradivu, zbranem na spletu ter s terenskim delom. Vsebina je analizirana s semiotičnega in folklorističnega vidika, zgodbe pa so kategorizirane glede na funkcijo in glede na izpostavljeno temo, teorije zarote pa so obravnavane tudi z vidika mitološke strukture. Teorije zarote, povezane s pandemijo, izhajajo iz že uveljavljenih teorij zarote, ki pa so v konkretnem kontekstu pandemije povezane z večjo in neposredno grožnjo zdravju in svobodi človeštva, za katero se domneva, da jo izvajajo zarotene zle sile. KLJUČNE BESEDE: teorija zarote, COVID-19, pripoved, semiotika, digitalna kultura The article discusses conspiracy theories concerned with the global crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia based on material collected from the Internet and during fieldwork. Content is examined using the well-established foundations of conspiracy theories, the semiotics of the conspiracy theories, and their mythological structure. Pandemic-related conspiracy stories appear to emerge from already established conspiracy narratives, linking them to a bigger and imminent threat to the health and freedom of humanity, believed to be perpetrated by conspiring evil forces.

Nevidno življenje odpadkov, 2022

Jezik odraža naš svet in odnose. Z vpogledom v poimenovanja in njihove metaforične p... more Jezik odraža naš svet in odnose. Z vpogledom v poimenovanja in njihove metaforične pomene lahko dobimo vpogled v družbene stereotipe in vrednostni sistem. Svet umazanije in odpadkov je v današnji družbi negativno vrednoten, pogosto odvečen (kar smeti izhodiščno tudi so). Prispevek obravnava poimenovanja za odpadke, njihov izvor in konceptualne razsežnosti, ki se kažejo v kratkih folklornih obrazcih (frazemi, pregovori, vraže) ter s tem odnos do odpadkov ter pomenski prenos in odnos do določenih dejanj. Že vpogled v etimološki razvoj besed pokaže, da so poimenovanja za odpadke iz razumevanja, da je nekaj odpadno, neuporabno, razmazano, sam pomen pa se nato razširi še v metaforično rabo za okarakteriziranje človeka in njegove dejavnosti. Vpogled v besedni svet
umazanije in odpadkov pokaže tudi, kako hitro konceptualno približamo
naša dejanja svetu odpadnih predmetov in gnusne umazanije.

Social Impact in Arts and Culture. The Diverse Lives of a Concept., 2022

Radio is often “thought” in its analog form: a box filled with electronics that decode the radio ... more Radio is often “thought” in its analog form: a box filled with electronics that decode the radio waves bringing the voices and music from a studio somewhere far away through the speakers into the privacy of the home. Radio brings news, weather reports, tops of the pops, birthday wishes, talk shows, sporting events, war, sorrow, and joy from the outside. It connects us with others and lets us imagine far-away places, people, and the world, all arising out of the combination of voice, music,
sound, and silence. Radio structures the space and time in its punctuality (cf. Gitelman 2006). The news in analogue radio, for example, was scheduled by the hour, introduced by a tic-tac sound that counts the seconds down until the aviso and the anchor read their text.
At that exact same time, the community outside the home, the
imagined we (cf. Anderson 2006 [1983]), tuned in to listen to the ephemeral words that conjured worlds. However, it was not just listening; it was also a practice of taking part. Inasmuch as she follows the words, the listener is absorbed into the imagined community, recreated and re-enacted at a predetermined, recurrent time that yields predictability and structure to the world—the waves (infra)structure commonality.

Proverbium: Yearbook of International Proverb Scholarship, 2024

Language reflects how we perceive our surroundings. Not only does it enable us to describe them b... more Language reflects how we perceive our surroundings. Not only does it enable us to describe them but we also use linguistic expressions to express our ideas metaphorically. In view of this, language stores our observations and stereotypes and carries them as a culture that humans continually create and think about (Pitkin 1972; Bartminski 2005; Tolstaya 2015) in different linguistic forms that are passed down from one generation to the next. Using an ethnolinguistic approach and the help of semiotics, we can take a closer look at the deeper structures and meanings of short folklore forms and, moreover, social stereotypes. This article focuses on wild animals in proverbs, riddles and swear words, and their role in characterisation in short folklore forms.

Journal for Cultural Research, 2024

Folklore reflects the concept of fear, with which genres such as incantations and prayers are dir... more Folklore reflects the concept of fear, with which genres such as incantations and prayers are directly associated. These texts establish adialogue with danger, either with commands or supplications, and they indicate what kind of dangers are imminent. By combining psychoanalytical and folklore theories, the paper offers the analysis of the conceptual image of fear and of the defensive function of prayers and incantations within the material of Slovenian incantation and prayer collections: what kind of threats one wants to chase away by incantations or/and magical signs and objects; and what kind of form and use contain the preventive incantations themselves.

Svetovi: revija za etnologijo, antropologijo in folkloristiko, Feb 28, 2023

Pregovori kot tradicionalne paremiološke enote so semantično bogati izrazi, ki ponujajo dragocen ... more Pregovori kot tradicionalne paremiološke enote so semantično bogati izrazi, ki ponujajo dragocen vpogled v kulturno kompleksnost. O kulturi lahko veliko izvemo z vpogledom v njene kratke folklorne oblike, ki predstavljajo odsev časa in družbe. Odsev družbe je viden tako na ravni zgradbe kot ubeseditve metaforičnih in metonimičnih oblik. Prispevek bo prikazal potencial pregovorov o alkoholnih pijačah v namen raziskave o odnosu do alkoholnih pijač in njihovih uživalcih v dani kulturi na podlagi arhivskega gradiva Inštituta za slovensko narodopisje ZRC SAZU.

"Standing on the shoulders of giants": A Festschrift in honour of Wolfgang Mieder on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Proverbium Online Supplement 3 (2024), 2024

Short folklore forms, with their naming of phenomena, beings and objects, are connected... more Short folklore forms, with their naming of phenomena, beings and objects, are connected with folk intangible and material heritage of the people. They transmit experiences (proverbs), knowledge (riddles), preju-dices (swear words), but also stereotypes and expected characteristics and events. Dogs as pet, helper, guard, and – nowadays – a proverbial man’s best friend among all of the short folklore forms is mostly mentioned in proverbs. With an ethnolinguistic approach, we are taking a closer look at the deeper structures and meanings of the dog in short folklore forms and, further, at social stereotypes and characterisations of the dog. In the essay, dog in Slovenian short folk forms (from the archive of the Institute of Slo-venian Ethnology ZRC SAZU), their stereotypical characteristics and repre-sentation as well as their metaphorical meaning is presented. The insight into short folklore forms will show which characteristics were given to them as well as what the culturally specific behaviour towards them was.

Narodna umjetnost, 2023

Birds are present in everyday life, in forests, parks, cities, in fields and on playgrounds, by r... more Birds are present in everyday life, in forests, parks, cities, in fields and on playgrounds, by rivers and at entrances to stores, etc. Their ubiquity in human everyday life all through history leads to “birds” developing metaphorical meanings and producing powerful stereotypical images, which also motivate wider conceptual meanings. This article focuses on the lexeme ptica “bird” in Slovenian short folklore forms, its stereotypical representation and its metaphorical meanings. The ethnolinguistic approach will provide insight into the characteristics ascribed to birds as well as personifications and metaphorical transfers in short folklore forms, i.e., it will show what the bird symbolizes.

Acta geographica Slovenica

This study analyzed selected cartographic symbols on old maps depicting the territory of Slovenia... more This study analyzed selected cartographic symbols on old maps depicting the territory of Slovenia from the sixteenth to nineteenth century. A semiotic approach was applied to establish connections between cartographic symbols on old maps and the characteristics of society at the time the maps were created. This semiotic approach was used to discuss the impact of the interpretation of four symbolic cartographic elements, their iconic basis, and the reading of the five maps analyzed. Cartographic symbols changed in line with the development of cartography at the time, as well as society. The depictions of settlements were first stylistic and then geometric. Relief depictions were first stylized and then shown through plastic or spatial methods. Cartographic symbols gradually changed into symbolic signs (in the semiotic sense), including the quality of the map display, as a result of developments and the demands of changing society.

Folklore, 2023

This article explores Estonian and Slovenian proverbs related to alcohol and drinking with the ai... more This article explores Estonian and Slovenian proverbs related to alcohol and drinking with the aim of interpreting these proverbs in their broader sociocultural context and analysing the controversies embedded in proverbs on this topic. Considering that alcohol is not consumed in the same form everywhere, the article examines Slovenian material as representative of the geographical region of Southern Europe and the Slavic language group, and Estonian material as representative of the geographical region of Northern Europe and the Finno-Ugric language group. The units encompassed by the research contain the following words: wine, beer, spirits (vodka), drunk, and drinking. We analyse how proverbs—as culturally metaphorical units often considered the cornerstone of national identity and a compass of ethnic morals—fit into this ethnic pretext. We focus on three different aspects: those regarded as specific to national culture; gender and family (gender inequality, drinking alcohol as a symbol of masculinity); and the ambivalence surrounding drinking.

Svetovi: revija za etnologijo, antropologijo in folkloristiko, 2023

Pregovori kot tradicionalne paremiološke enote so semantično bogati izrazi, ki ponujajo dragocen ... more Pregovori kot tradicionalne paremiološke enote so semantično bogati izrazi, ki ponujajo dragocen vpogled v kulturno kompleksnost. O kulturi lahko veliko izvemo z vpogledom v njene kratke folklorne oblike, ki predstavljajo odsev časa in družbe. Odsev družbe je viden tako na ravni zgradbe kot ubeseditve metaforičnih in metonimičnih oblik. Prispevek bo prikazal potencial pregovorov o alkoholnih pijačah v namen raziskave o odnosu do alkoholnih pijač in njihovih uživalcih v dani kulturi na podlagi arhivskega gradiva Inštituta za slovensko narodopisje ZRC SAZU.

Folklore, Aug 1, 2022

Although folklorists recognise the active role of children in intangible heritage, collecting and... more Although folklorists recognise the active role of children in intangible heritage, collecting and analysing children's lore and school lore has been a side issue in Slovenian folkloristics. Especially since the beginning of the new millennium, it seems that school lore has been put aside. In order to revive collecting of school lore, the Institute of Slovenian Ethology at the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) organised riddle collecting in schools in 2015 and an e-collection during the 2018/2019 school year. The first collection was organised as part of interviews while the other collection was based on an e-questionnaire. This was sent to Slovenian elementary and high schools as well as to acquaintances in order to get as many responses as possible, i.e., using the snowball method. The article gives both an overview and a sketch of the results.

Studia mythologica Slavica

The article discusses conspiracy theories concerned with the global crisis triggered by the COVID... more The article discusses conspiracy theories concerned with the global crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia based on material collected from the Internet and during fieldwork. Content is examined using the well-established foundations of conspiracy theories, the semiotics of the conspiracy theories, and their mythological structure. Pandemic-related conspiracy stories appear to emerge from already established conspiracy narratives, linking them to a bigger and imminent threat to the health and freedom of humanity, believed to be perpetrated by conspiring evil forces.

Folklore, Aug 1, 2022

The current issue of the journal Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore was created as a collab... more The current issue of the journal Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore was created as a collaboration between Estonian and Slovenian folklorists and ethnologists within the joint bilateral project, "Slovenian and Estonian Contemporary School Lore". The main objective of the project was to analyse and compare the contemporary school lore, its collecting, use, and dynamics in two European countries with different geographical positions and characteristics, with a similar history, and no direct contact. The project focused on tradition and transformations of the folklore material, playfulness, and creativity in (new) formats, and on how they reflect the social reality that produces them. The project aimed to apply a new dynamic comparative approach from an intercultural as well as diachronic and synchronic point of view, which offers a unique and innovative perspective in folklore studies of Slovenia and Estonia. School lore is folklore material that circles among schoolchildren mainly on the school (indoor and outdoor) premises, as well as folklore material that thematises school life. This material reflects the lifestyle, worldviews, and everyday issues of schoolchildren. It also shows what material transfers from one generation to another and has a potential to continue in time. Knowing that https://www.folklore.ee/folklore/vol86/introduction.pdf

14. mednarodni slavistiČni kongres (ohrid, makedonija, 10.-15. september 2008) med 10. in 16. sep... more 14. mednarodni slavistiČni kongres (ohrid, makedonija, 10.-15. september 2008) med 10. in 16. septembrom 2008 je v ohridu potekal 14. mednarodni slavistični kongres, svetovni kongres slavistov, ki je organiziran vsakih pet let. spored je bil razdeljen na tri glavne sekcije-(1) lingvistika, (2) literatura, kultura in folklora, (3) zgodovina slavistike, razdeljene na več podpodročij: o lingvistiki so razpravljali v osmih skupinah, o literaturi, kulturi in folklori v desetih, o zgodovini slavistike v dveh. prijavljenih je bilo 586 referatov, vendar jih je nekaj odpadlo. udeleženci kongresa smo dobili gradivo, ki je vsebovalo predstavitev ohrida, povzetke predavanj in tiskano izdajo sporeda; ta je bila precej nepregledna, saj so bila predavanja navedena po sekcijah in ne po dnevih, kar je zahtevalo veliko iskanja in povzročalo zmedo v samem načrtovanju obiska predavanj. uradni jeziki na kongresu so bili vsi slovanski jeziki, angleščina, nemščina in francoščina. referenti so večinoma govorili rusko in ruščina je bila tudi v siceršnji komunikaciji najpogostejši jezik, v angleščini, nemščini in francoščini pa je bila predstavljena le peščica referatov. ena od skupin je bila namenjena tudi slovanski folklori: referenti so obravnavali mitologijo, povezave folklore s sočasno kulturo, različne motive in pomene v slovstveni folklori, žanre (epske folklorne pesmi, zagovori …), tekstologijo, etnopoetiko idr. ter različne oblike obredja (npr. zagovarjanje, poročne obrede itn.). precej folklorističnih in etnografskih tematik (kultura, šege, slovstvena folklora) je bilo zaslediti tudi v drugih skupinah, npr. pri dialektologiji, lingvogeografiji in slovanski onomastiki. ob sekcijah je teklo tudi 24 tematskih blokov: folklori naj bi bila namenjena dva tematska bloka: Folkloristika v kontekstu znanosti o tradicionalni duhovni kulturi-prispevki k teoriji in metodologiji in Folklora v multimedijski komunikaciji in vsakdanji kulturi, vendar sta žal oba odpadla zaradi odsotnosti glavnih organizatorjev. za področje etnolingvistike je bil organiziran tematski blok jezikovno-kulturna podoba sveta slovanov v luči etnolingvistike, vodil ga je jerzy bartmiński. predstavljeni so bili trije seminarji v povezavi z jezikovno-kulturno podobo sveta, s semantiko in aksiologijo slovanskega korena *svojь, z ontologijo in metodologijo etnolingvističnega raziskovanja. razprava je bila zaradi pomanjkanja časa prestavljena na naslednji dan. zvečer so predvajali makedonske etnografske filme: imeli smo priložnost videti tradicionalno poroko, čaščenje rodnosti, izdelovanje piščali (kaval) itn. referati slavistov iz slovenije (Zbornik referatov za štirinajsti mednarodni slavistični kongres, Ohrid, 10.-17. september 2008) so že objavljeni kot kongresni zbornik Slavistične revije. saša babič poroČila o konFerenCah brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by ZRC SAZU Publishing (Znanstvenoraziskovalni center- ...

»Več kakor eni drugi človik« obstajata sama po sebi, sta od zunaj pripisana na podlagi primerjave... more »Več kakor eni drugi človik« obstajata sama po sebi, sta od zunaj pripisana na podlagi primerjave med navadnim, vsakdanjim, in nečim, kar to presega, da je vredno zgledovanja in posnemanja, občudovanja in celo čaščenja oziroma kulta. Posameznik zares postane junak šele v očeh drugih, ki presodijo, ali so njegov lik, lastnosti in dejanja takšni, da ga postavijo na zgodovinski, družbeni, kulturni piedestal. Ali, zgoščeno: »Junaki so junaki nečesa za nekoga« (Huzjan 2016: 202). V pripisani presežni vrednosti ali vrednostih se zrcalijo aktualne in univerzalnejše individualne in kolektivne aspiracije. Z antropološkega vidika so zato zgodbe o junakih pripovedi o duhovnih in družbenih prostorih človeškega; junaki v njih so namreč »metonimična metafora uresničitve tiste želje, ambicije, cilja, za katerim stremi 'vsakdanji' človek-'človek z ulice'. Ti junaki so neke vrste orientacija; zdi se, da utegnejo podeliti smisel življenju in posamezniku« (Fikfak 2014a: 10). In v različnih časih, krajih in družbah je zato junak »znak (Pierce CP 2.228), ki ga vsak sprejemnik in pošiljatelj razume, opomenja in tvori na različne načine, vsakokrat z druge perspektive« (prav tam). Zaradi tega ni nenavadno, da se številni junaki pojavijo na skupnostnem prizorišču v težavnih, kriznih časih, da bi pomagali svojemu ljudstvu ali svojim ljudem. Tako se junakova individualna pot splete s kolektivno. Zaradi mnogovrstnega sprejemanja ostaja kljub obsežni znanstveni in poljudnejši literaturi aktualno spraševanje o tem, kdo, zakaj in kdaj (lahko) postane junak, kakšne so značilnosti junaške osebnosti ali (tudi imaginarnega) lika, zakaj ljudje, družbe potrebujejo in ustvarjajo junake, kaj z njimi sporočajo, komu so namenjena ta sporočila, ki jim je skupno, da imajo ali naj bi imela za skupnost povezovalno funkcijo. V pomenu, kakor ga mislimo, je izrazito kolektivni fenomen, četudi ima lahko vsak posameznik kakega svojega junaka. Zaradi tega je junak le tisti nekdo, ki preživi cenzuro skupnosti; ta ga-z zgodbami 2-vpne v veriženje skupnostnega spominjanja preteklosti za prihodnost na eni strani in na drugi pozabljanja, zamolčevanja, zabrisovanja in marginalizacije. Tako gre fenomene junak in junaštvo, slavne osebnosti in njihova dejanja razumeti v procesu kanonizacije 3 ali, drugače, kot procese ustvarjanja (produkcije), poustvarjanja (reprodukcije) in 2 Tu v najširšem pomenu pripovedi, ne glede na specifični žanr ali medij. 3 Termin kanonizacija je uporabljen v širšem pomenu, kakor je nakazan v razločevanju med kanonizacijo cerkvenih in kulturnih svetnikov (Dović 2016a: 12-14; 2016b: 25, 40-41); s slednjimi lahko, a upoštevaje specifičnosti transferja folklore, vzporejamo tudi junake in slavne osebnosti.

Jezikovne tehnologije in digitalna humanistika, 2022

The article discusses the digitization of the collection of Slovenian proverbs from the Institute... more The article discusses the digitization of the collection of Slovenian proverbs from the Institute of Slovenian Ethnography ZRC SAZU. The collection was created from 1947, and its digitization began at the start of the 21st century on the initiative of Marija Stanonik. The departure point of the presented were two Excel spreadsheets with paremiological units and their bibliographical sources, from which we removed inappropriate units, and unused sources. The two spreadsheets were then converted to a TEI encoding, and the paremiological units automatically linguistically annotated: words were modernised, lemmatised, morphosyntactically annotated and the sentences syntactically parsed according to the Universal Dependencies formalism. We converted the canonical TEI encoding into several derived formats and published the collection under an open licence on the CLARIN.SI repository, where it can be downloaded, and on the CLARIN.SI concordancers, which allow for linguistic analyses of the collection. The paper also outlines searching the collection in the concordancers, which enables detailed ethnolinguistic and semiotic research.

Studia Mythologica Slavica, 2022

Članek obravnava teorije zarote, ki so povezane s pandemijo COVID-19 v Sloveniji. Raziskava je po... more Članek obravnava teorije zarote, ki so povezane s pandemijo COVID-19 v Sloveniji. Raziskava je potekala na gradivu, zbranem na spletu ter s terenskim delom. Vsebina je analizirana s semiotičnega in folklorističnega vidika, zgodbe pa so kategorizirane glede na funkcijo in glede na izpostavljeno temo, teorije zarote pa so obravnavane tudi z vidika mitološke strukture. Teorije zarote, povezane s pandemijo, izhajajo iz že uveljavljenih teorij zarote, ki pa so v konkretnem kontekstu pandemije povezane z večjo in neposredno grožnjo zdravju in svobodi človeštva, za katero se domneva, da jo izvajajo zarotene zle sile. KLJUČNE BESEDE: teorija zarote, COVID-19, pripoved, semiotika, digitalna kultura The article discusses conspiracy theories concerned with the global crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia based on material collected from the Internet and during fieldwork. Content is examined using the well-established foundations of conspiracy theories, the semiotics of the conspiracy theories, and their mythological structure. Pandemic-related conspiracy stories appear to emerge from already established conspiracy narratives, linking them to a bigger and imminent threat to the health and freedom of humanity, believed to be perpetrated by conspiring evil forces.

Nevidno življenje odpadkov, 2022

Jezik odraža naš svet in odnose. Z vpogledom v poimenovanja in njihove metaforične p... more Jezik odraža naš svet in odnose. Z vpogledom v poimenovanja in njihove metaforične pomene lahko dobimo vpogled v družbene stereotipe in vrednostni sistem. Svet umazanije in odpadkov je v današnji družbi negativno vrednoten, pogosto odvečen (kar smeti izhodiščno tudi so). Prispevek obravnava poimenovanja za odpadke, njihov izvor in konceptualne razsežnosti, ki se kažejo v kratkih folklornih obrazcih (frazemi, pregovori, vraže) ter s tem odnos do odpadkov ter pomenski prenos in odnos do določenih dejanj. Že vpogled v etimološki razvoj besed pokaže, da so poimenovanja za odpadke iz razumevanja, da je nekaj odpadno, neuporabno, razmazano, sam pomen pa se nato razširi še v metaforično rabo za okarakteriziranje človeka in njegove dejavnosti. Vpogled v besedni svet
umazanije in odpadkov pokaže tudi, kako hitro konceptualno približamo
naša dejanja svetu odpadnih predmetov in gnusne umazanije.

Social Impact in Arts and Culture. The Diverse Lives of a Concept., 2022

Radio is often “thought” in its analog form: a box filled with electronics that decode the radio ... more Radio is often “thought” in its analog form: a box filled with electronics that decode the radio waves bringing the voices and music from a studio somewhere far away through the speakers into the privacy of the home. Radio brings news, weather reports, tops of the pops, birthday wishes, talk shows, sporting events, war, sorrow, and joy from the outside. It connects us with others and lets us imagine far-away places, people, and the world, all arising out of the combination of voice, music,
sound, and silence. Radio structures the space and time in its punctuality (cf. Gitelman 2006). The news in analogue radio, for example, was scheduled by the hour, introduced by a tic-tac sound that counts the seconds down until the aviso and the anchor read their text.
At that exact same time, the community outside the home, the
imagined we (cf. Anderson 2006 [1983]), tuned in to listen to the ephemeral words that conjured worlds. However, it was not just listening; it was also a practice of taking part. Inasmuch as she follows the words, the listener is absorbed into the imagined community, recreated and re-enacted at a predetermined, recurrent time that yields predictability and structure to the world—the waves (infra)structure commonality.

V monografiji avtorica predstavi uganke kot pomemben folklorni žanr. V prvem delu so opisane razl... more V monografiji avtorica predstavi uganke kot pomemben folklorni žanr. V prvem delu so opisane različne definicije ugank in njihova umeščenost v kontekst; nato avtorica obravnava zgodovino nastanka ugank in razvoja raziskav tako v svetu kot v slovenskem prostoru. V drugem delu monografije sledi tipologija ugank, pri čemer ločimo prave uganke, uganke za reševanje življena, šaljiva vprašanja, parodična vprašanja, logična vprašanja, risane uganke in modra vprašanja. Tipi ugank so predstavljeni tako s teoretičnega kot analitičnega vidika, ilustrirani pa so z gradivom iz arhiva ZRC SAZU Inštituta za slovensko narodopisje. Bogato slovensko gradivo ugank kaže na živost tega žanra v slovenskem kulturnem okolju. Avtorica v monografiji predstavi bogastvo in pisanost tega pogosto spregledanega žanra in kompleksnost njegovega razumevanja, z etnolingvistično metodo analize pa bralcu približa preučevanje kulture s pomočjo folklornih žanrov.

The monograph by Ambrož Kvartič: "Pa se je to res zgodilo? Sodobne povedke v Sloveniji" (So Has T... more The monograph by Ambrož Kvartič: "Pa se je to res zgodilo? Sodobne povedke v Sloveniji" (So Has This Really Happened? Contemporary
Legends in Slovenia) is the first book dedicated to the topic of
Slovenian contemporary legends, and can therefore be considered as a turning point in this genre in Slovenian folkloristics.