LANGUAGE IN A POST-TOTALITARIAN SOCIETY SZEGED (HUNGARY) RESEARCH TEAM
SZERGEJ TÓTH – LÁSZLÓ VASS – RÓBERT ZÁNTHÓ
SUMMARY REPORT ON THE WORK DONE IN THE FIELD OF THE PROJECT LANGUAGE IN A POST-TOTALITARIAN SOCIETY
Szeged 1995–1997
The Hungar i an Res ear ch Team t aki ng par t i n t he compl ement at i on of t he Pr oj ect „Language in Post-totalitarian Society " f ul f i l l ed t he t as ks under t aken under t he r ul es of t he Or gani s at i onal , Payment and Repor t i ng Rul es ( s ee e. g. Studies by the Hungarian Research Team on Language in a Post-Totalitarian Society 1 Oct-1 Sept, 1995-96, CEU, Gyula Juhász Teacher Training College, Szeged, Hungary) . As a f i nal s ummar y of t he mai n gui di ng l i nes of t he r es ear ch and of t he wor k done i n t hes e f i el ds we s houl d l i ke t o emphas i ze t he f ol l owi ng: 1. The Res ear ch t opi c No. 1, ent i t l ed „On the re-naming campaign in town Szeged and county Csongrád after the year 1990” embr aces t wo l i nes of r es ear ches . On t he one hand we had t o col l ect s ampl e mat er i al i . e. t o s cr een and map al l t he changes i n s t r eet - names , names of di s t r i ct s and publ i c i ns t i t ut i ons r egi s t er ed by var i ous of f i ces of t he Local Gover nment and f ol l owi ng t hi s t o s ummar y t he cons equences , f i nal i ze t he pr es uppos i t i ons and – i f pos s i bl e – envi s age t he comi ng event s . On t he ot her , we wer e compel l ed to r egi s t er t he s oci o- and ps ychol i ngui s t i c r ef l ect i ons of t he publ i c as t o t he r ecept i on of t he new - or newl y ol d - s t r eet names havi ng mar ked char act er i s t i cs t aken f r om t he l exi s of t he di s ci pl i ne of onomas t i cs . ( a) The gat her i ng of s ampl es f or anal ys i s was car r i ed out i n di f f er ent f or ms : – we obt ai ned wr i t t en mat er i al f r om t he ar chi ves of t he Szeged Local Gover nment Of f i ce; – car r i ed out "i n t he f i el d" wor k i n an ar ea mos t l y cover i ng s mal l er s et t l ement s , vi l l ages , even s mal l er t owns i n Cs ongr ád count y. – we have devel oped a new meas ur i ng met hodol ogy i n or der t o i nt r oduce an exact appr oach t o t he eval uat i on of t he r es ul t s of ques t i onnai r es , and, when pos s i bl e, t o wi den t he ci r cl e of t he i nt er vi ewed s oci al s t r at a. ( b) The ext ent of gi vi ng new names , or r evi vi ng ol d names r egi s t er ed of f i ci al l y i n t own Szeged i s i n good cor r es pondence wi t h t he count r y aver age ( s ee t he Bi bl i ogr aphy of t he par t of t he r epor t r ef er r ed t o) . As a r es ul t of t he anal ys i s of t he hi s t or y of t he t own we coul d s t at e t hat as t o t he name- gi vi ng cus t oms t he per cent age of t he t ype of names r ef l ect i ng t he i deol ogy of t he gi ven decades di d not change es s ent i al l y. The obs er ved al t er at i ons ar e: r el i gi ous , cl er i cal names – whi ch had neces s ar i l y been expel l ed f r om publ i c us e i n t he l as t f or t y year s – wer e r evi ved and r e- i ns t al l ed, names r emember i ng communi s t i deol ogy, t hos e t aken f r om t he hi s t or y of t he wor ker s ' movement or r ef l ect i ng t he s ymbol i s m of t he l as t er a wer e er as ed and s ubs t i t ut ed by names r ef l ect i ng t he pol i t i cal -
i deol ogi cal t as t e of t he new, l i ber al er a, whi ch, of cour s e, have not t aken a f i nal i zed f or m as yet . ( c) I t mus t be emphas i zed t hat al l t he newl y- ol d names r ef l ect i ng t he i deol ogi cal ef f ect of t he chur ch ar e excl us i vel y t aken f r om t he Chr i s t i an Roman Cat hol i c r el i gi ous s pher e. ( d) I t i s al s o ver y r emar kabl e t hat mos t of t he names newl y gi ven or r evi ved f r om t he f i f t y- year - ago pas t coul d be of f i ci al l y r egi s t er ed dur i ng t he f i r s t year s of t he change of t he s oci al s ys t em. Thi s , of cour s e, i s equal l y t r ue not onl y i n Szeged but al l t hr ough t he count r y. ( e) I t became i ndi s pens abl e t o appl y a qui t e i ndi f f er ent met hod when s cr eeni ng s mal l er s et t l ement s i n Cs ongr ád count y. Si nce t he l ocal gover nment s i n vi l l ages or mi cr o- s et t l ement s coul d not ( or di d not want t o) gi ve i nf or mat i on about t he changes ( ei t her becaus e t hey wer e j us t i n pr oces s , or negl ect ed or even becaus e of t he l ack of wi s h) , we had t o t r avel al l r ound t he count y and r egi s t er ed i n t hi s cas e not t he al t er at i ons but not i ced how many s t r eet - and i ns t i t ut i on names wer e pr es er ved r ef l ect i ng t he i deol ogy and s ymbol i s m of t he pas t er a. ( f ) The r es ul t s of t hi s l at t er wor k ar e as t oni s hi ng: obvi ous l y t he number of s t r eet - names pr es er vi ng and r ef l ect i ng „s oci al i s t i deol ogy” (Felszabadulás, Lenin, Ságvári Endre) i s ver y bi g and i n s pi t e of t he f act t hat r el i gi on i s much mor e deepl y r oot ed among vi l l age peopl e t han i n t owns , r echr i s t eni ng of t hi s r el i gi ous t ype was har dl y det ect abl e. To di g up t he r eas ons of t hi s obs er vat i on r equi r es ver y car ef ul , manyf ol d, per haps mor e s oci ol ogi cal t han l i ngui s t i c r es ear ches t o be car r i ed out ( pos s i bl y i n a f ol l owi ng pr oj ect ) . ( g) As a s ummar y we can s t at e t hat t he pr es ent t i me Hungar i an s oci et y i s qui t e f ar f r om t he des i r ed equal i zed, f r ee of pol i t i cal bi as way of gi vi ng names t o s t r eet s , publ i c and educat i onal i ns t i t ut es , et c. The hect i c changes i n pol i t i cal l i f e f or t he t i me bei ng hi nder t he f or mat i on of a bal anced vi ew accept ed by t he maj or i t y. ( h) Fol l owi ng t he mappi ng of pr obl ems as des cr i bed i n I A we t ur ned t o exami ne t he gener al r ecept i on, t he s emant i c appr oach t o t he changes of names . To r eal i ze t hi s , we pr ef er r ed t he ques t i onnar i es met hod; t he s ubj ect s wer e chos en f r om t he col l ege s t udent s oci et y. Fol l owi ng t hi s we wer e s t r i vi ng t o gener al i ze t he obt ai ned r es ul t s i n t he s pher e of young peopl e ar ound t went y, t hus r epr es ent i ng a wi der ci r cl e of s t udent s .
( i ) Cons equences comi ng f r om t he Tabl es s ummar i zi ng t he r es ul t s s ugges t t hat names comi ng f r om t he pas t er a r ef l ect i ng t he i deol ogy, pol i cy of t he „Kádár - r egi me” ( wi t h gener al s ymbol i s m, r ef er r i ng t o t he hi s t or y of t he wor ker s ' movement , keepi ng t he memor y of event s connect ed wi t h t he pas s ed f i f t y year s ) ar e gi vi ng bi r t h t o mos t l y neut r al as s oci at i ons ( s ur el y not pos i t i ve) . Looki ng agai n f or r eas ons we can s ay t hat t hes e young peopl e mat ur ed i n t hat s ys t em and s oci et y, t he names s ound nat ur al t o t hem, s omet i mes t hey ar e not f ai r l y wel l i nf or med ( t hi s i s t he cas e wi t h names keepi ng t he memor y of „ol d war r i or s of t he wor ker s ' and uni on movement ”) about t he r eal val ue and l i f e s t or y of t hes e peopl e, et c. ( j ) The wor k done i n t hi s f i el d convi nci ngl y pr oves t hat f ur t her r es er aches ar e neces s ar y. 2.
3. The t hi r d t opi c, a r epor t ent i t l ed „Soci al changes i n Hungar y as r ef l ect ed by ar t i cl es on pr obl ems of f or ei gn pol i cy i n t wo nat i onal dai l i es , Népszabadság and Új Magyarország, 1995- 97. ”, ( t hes e news paper s ar e gener al l y accept ed as r ef l ect i ng) mar ked ( l ef t i s t and r i ght i s t vi ews ) s el ect s and anal ys es t he mai n char act er i s t i cs of t hes e news paper s . Summar i zi ng t he r es ul t s of anal ys es : ( a) The t hemes of t he f or ei gn pol i cy col umns i n t he per i od of t he anal ys i s wer e: ( 1) t he Bal kan war ; ( 2) I s r ael ; ( 3) Chechni a; ( 4) Fr ance; ( 5) Pol and; ( 6) Canada; ( 7) Sl ovaki a; ( 8) Aus t r i a; ( 9) ot her s ( l i ke NATO, UNO et c. ) ( b) Népszabadság s t r i ves t o get r i d of accus at i ons as bei ng „l ef t i s t ” and appar ent l y want s t o appear as havi ng a ki nd of s oci al l i ber al char act er ; Új Magyarország i s openl y or s eemi ngl y openl y an or gan of cons er vat i ve i deol ogy and pol i t i cal as pi r at i ons : i n s ome cas es i t s ar t i cl es echo nat i onal i s t i c and ant i s emi t i c opi ni ons . ( c) Concer ni ng t he t hemes of Népszabadság, t hes e r ef l ect s ome ki nd of s eeki ng new ways of expr es s i on - even f r om l i ngui s t i c poi nt s of vi ew. On t he ot her hand when t r eat i ng i t s t hemes Új Magyarország i s much mor e det er mi ned, not r ar el y we can f i nd s i mpl i f i cat i ons or even mi s l eadi ng di s t r es s es . ( d) Népszabadság is oriented towards the USA ( s ee ar t i cl es l i ke Egymillió fekete tüntetőt várnak Washingtonba, Az Egyesült Államok csapatokat küld Boszniába, Évfordulós ENSZ-világcsúcs, Megrövidített amerikai nyugdíjasok, Orosz-amerikai elnöki találkozó, Washington kész megvizsgálni Tokió
indítványait, Amerikai-kínai csúcs, Jasszer Arafat Washingtont bírálja, Új szakszervezeti vezető az USA-ban, Közeledtek az amerikai-orosz álláspontok a NATO-akcióról, „Gingrich-csomag” az amerikaiaknak, Wallenberg-emlékmű Washingtonban, Vitázva gyászolnak az amerikai zsidó közösségekben) whi l e Új Magyarország looks for the British opinion ( s ee Ne húzz ujjat NagyBritanniával, Viszonylagos megkönnyebbülés a toryk körében, Tüntető Londoni feketék, A brit kormány és az északír béke gordiuszi csomója) and ot her s . ( e) Népszabadság deal s wi t h pr obl ems of t he f or mer Soviet Union. (Német átütemezés Moszkvának, Kozirev: Új szakasz kezdődhet az orosz-NATO kapcsolatokban, Varsó és Prága orosz célpont lenne?, Moszkvát nem szabad megalázni, Kisegítő feladatot kapnak az orosz egységek, Tallin jobbra fordul, Moszkva kevesebb hagyományos fegyvert szerel le, Moszkvának nincs átgondolt stratégiája, Mokszkvai NATO-dilemmák, Jelcin nem adta át jogköreit) , much of t ener t han does Új Magyarország ( f ) Népszabadság deal t i n r i cher cover age wi t h t he pol i t i cal l y mos t i mpor t ant event of t he t i me, the murder of Jichak Rabin, t han Új Magyarország. ( g) On lexico-semantic level t he ar t i cl es i n Népszabadság ar e mor e bal anced, t hey cont ai n no or har dl y any di s cr i mi nat i ve or pej or at i ve el ement s as f ound i n Új Magyarország, wher e i t i s not r ar e t o f i nd expr es s i ons , l exi cal el ement s , whi ch ar e char act er i s t i c onl y f or cons er vat i ve or r i ght i s t pol i t i cal f or ces . ( h) On syntactic level t he mat er i al f ound i n Népszabadság i s mor e compl i cat ed, ver bos e, per haps t hat i s why t he cl aus es ar e mor e f r equent l y s ubor di nat ed and t hei r ambi gui t y opens way t o di f f er ent i nt er pr et at i ons . The s ent ences i n Új Magyarország ar e s i mpl er , unequi vocal , we can s ay t hey bet t er cor r es pond t o t he cl as s i cal i deal of Hungar i an us age. ( i ) Pictures in Népszabadság ar e mor e aut hent i c whi l e i n Új Magyarország t hey can be r egar ded as bei ng har s her , s omet i mes even pr ovocat i ve. ( j ) As t o t he s oci ol i ngui s t i c s cr eeni ng, t he pol i t i cal ment al i t y of t he r epr es ent at i ve s ampl e – cons i s t i ng of s t udent s aged 20- 21, – i s r eal i s t i c; s ober , f r ee of ext r eme vi ews . ( k) The i nt er vi ewees , t r ue, ar e mor e s ens i t i ve i n t hei r r eact i ons t o f or ei gn pol i t i cal af f ai r s connect ed s ome way wi t h Hungar i ans but we can har dl y f i nd among t hem peopl e expr es s i ng nat i onal i s t i c opi ni ons .
( l ) Among t he above r ef er r ed t o young peopl e t her e i s no s i gn of ant i - s emi t i s m - what has become l at el y mor e expr es s ed even i nt er nat i onal l y. ( m) Concer ni ng a pi t i f ul event i n t he Hungar i an Par l i ament , whi ch was deal t wi t h i n t he pr es s qui t e wi de ( Mar ch and Apr i l , 1997) as an open accus at i on agai ns t j ewr y ( s ee e. g. t he ar t i cl e i n t he 5 Apr i l i s s ue of Népszabadság, „Canni bal s ”) can be r egar ded as a r egr et t abl e, as t oni s hi ng event whi ch i s har d t o be ver bal l y j udged. ( n) Nat ur al l y, a cons t ant wat chi ng of t he col umns , ar t i cl es of t hes e t wo nat i onal dai l i es , f ur t her mor e, i ncl udi ng s ome ot her or gans as wel l , can r es ul t i n a f i ner , mor e di f f er ent i at ed and exact pi ct ur e of t he pol i t i cal t r ends , s t r i vi ngs expr es s ed i n t he pos t - t ot al i t ar i an Hungar i an medi a- wor l d – t he pr es ent pi ct ur e we get i s onl y a bi r ds ' eye vi ew. A cl os er and f i ner pi ct ur e r ender s al s o pos s i bl e t o get a mor e accur at e over al l i mpr es s i on of publ i c af f ai r s i n Hungar y. 4. The f our t h f i el d of r es ear ch of t he Hungar i an t eam deal s wi t h t he echoi ng i n t he Hungar i an pr es s of a pol i t i cal s peech del i ver ed by a pol i t i ci an on t he eve of one of Hungar y' s gr eat es t nat i onal r edl et t er - day, 15th Mar ch: ( Quant i t at i ve l i ngui s t i c anal ys i s of t he r ef l ect i on of t he pr es s upon a pol i t i ci an' s s peech) . Thi s anal ys i s was car r i ed out af t er an exami nat i on of t he r eadi ng habi t s of our pot ent i al i nf or mat i ve s ampl e, Sept ember 1995. Res ul t s ar e t o be f ound i n Encl os ur e No. 1. The anal ys i s i s bas ed on news paper ar t i cl es and r epor t s publ i s hed 16- 27 Mar ch, 1996, i ndependent of genr e and cover age, comment i ng and r epor t i ng on t he event as wel l as on Par l i ament s peeches pr i or t o agenda, and ot her ut t er ances . Thi s event was chos en by t he Szeged t eam af t er a ver y car ef ul s el ect i on of s ome ot her af f ai r s ( s ee Encl os ur e No. 2) . Summar i zi ng t he r es ul t s obt ai ned i n di f f er ent phas es of t he af f ai r as wel l as of t he over al l anal ys i s , we can s t at e t he f ol l owi ng: ( a) The cont ent - anal ys i s of ar t i cl es appear ed i n connect i on wi t h a s peech of J ózs ef Tor gyán, a Hungar i an pol i t i ci an, Pr es i dent of t he Par t y of pet t y f ar mer s , now i n oppos i t i on. I t i ncl uded t he r i chnes s of l exi s , col l ocat i onal anal ys i s , anal ys i s of nomi nat i ons et c, was car r i ed out wi t h met hods of quant i t at i ve l i ngui s t i cs . Dai l i es and weekl i es , r es p. , s el ect ed f or t he anal ys i s wer e: Népszabadság, Heti Világgazdaság, Élet és Irodalom, Délmagyarország, Magyar Nemzet, Magyar Hírlap, 168 Óra, Új Magyarország
. ( b) Concr et e anal ys i s was car r i ed out by TACT pr ogr am, havi ng a wi de r ange of s t at i s t i cal and t ext anal ys i s f unct i ons ( l i ke di s t r i but i on anal yi s , cont ext ual anal ys i s , col l ocat i onal anal ys i s ) . I n t he cour s e of t he wor k we us ed mos t l y t he pos s i bi l i t i es r ender ed by TACT. Si nce TACT can onl y deal wi t h dat a bas i s s uppl i ed wi t h cer t ai n r ef er ences as al l t he t ext s i ncl uded wer e s uppl i ed wi t h r ef er ences f ol l ows : date, genre, participants, opinion, illustration, newspaper. ( c) The pr es ent wor k i s par t of a wi der s t udy, openi ng ways t o newer pr obl ems and exami nat i ons . Si nce cont ent anal ys i s r equi r es much t i me and wor k, we want ed t o t es t var i ous met hods , poi nt i ng out s ome def i ci enci es of t he met hodol ogy i n t he phas es of dat a pr epar at i on, dat a r educt i on, dat a pr oces s i ng, et c. ( d) I n t he cour s e of s emant i c cont ent anal ys i s t he s i gns can be cl as s i f i ed accor di ng t o t hei r cont enct of meani ng. Thr ee gr oups ar e t o be di s t i ngui s hed: t he anal ys i s of denomi nat i on exami nes t he f r equency of cer t ai n obj ect s occur i ng i n t he gi ven document ; t he at t r i but i on anal ys i s r eveal s t he f r equency of r ef er ences t o s ome char act er i s t i cs i n t he t ext , t he di s cour s e anal ys i s exami nes t he f r equency of char act er i s at i on i n cer t ai n obj ect s i n a cer t ai n way. Cont ent anal ys i s was s uppl ement ed by anal ys i ng r i chnes s of t he l exi s , wor d f r equency and col l ocat i on s t udi es . ( e) Af t er exami ni ng t he ar t i cl es we chos e t en wor ds pl ayi ng t he r ol e of i ndi cat or s . As a r es ul t of wor d f r equency anal ys i s car r i ed out af t er t hi s we f ound t hat of t he t en wor ds chos en as i ndi cat or s f i ve wer e al s o among wor ds mos t f r equent l y us ed. ( f ) The s t udy poi nt ed out whi ch ar e t he f i ve mos t f r equent l y us ed wor ds i n t he dat e bas e and al s o how of t en t he news paper s us e t hes e wor ds compar ed t o each ot her . Thes e ar e: Torgyán, magyar, nemzet, ünnep, március. By f ar t he mos t f r equent l y us ed wor d of t hes e was Tor gyán, t hat i s why we car r i ed out f ur t her anal ys es of t hi s wor d. ( g) We exami ned t he f r equency r at i o of t he name, Tor gyán J ózs ef as wel l as t hat of expr es s i ons r ef er r i ng t o hi m. We s t at ed f our cat egor i es : 1. Tor gyán J ózs ef 2. negat i ve, pej or at i ve denomi nat i ons e. g. a féregtelenítés nemzeti fárosza; a magyar József; a tisztaság, a féregtelenítés, a patkánymentesítés apostola; az FKGP Arnold Schwarzeneggere; az uszítás nagymestere; első demagóg, s t b. 3. expr es s i ons t o be i nt er pr et ed i n a way oppos i t e t o t he wr i t t en f or m: a kisgazdák lángoszlopa; alkotmányos rend híve; az est szónoka;
forradalmi alkat; fő szónok; földműves; frakcióvezető kolléga, et c. ot her s .
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( h) The exami nat i ons r eveal ed t he f act t hat mos t of t he negat i ve denomi nat i ons wer e us ed by Magyar Nemzet, 168 Óra and Népszabadság. I n t he cas e of 168 Óra t he r at i o of wor ds wi t h oppos i t e meani ng i s al s o hi gh. Élet és Irodalom, HVG and Magyar Hírlap mos t l y char act er i ze Tor gyán us i ng expr es s i ons whi ch ar e t o be i nt er pr et ed j us t t he oppos i t e way. Új Magyarország and Délmagyarország i n mos t of t he cas es us e onl y t he name i t s el f and s ome neut r al denomi nat i ons . ( i ) As a s econd phas e of t he f our t h r es ear ch t opi c comes t he anal ys i s i t s el f and t he di s cus s i on. The obt ai ned r es ul t s ar e t he f ol l owi ng: ( j ) Af t er exami ni ng t he r i chnes s of t he l exi s we coul d s t at e t hat by f ar t he r i ches t i s HVG, accept abl e i s t hat of Új Magyarország, Délmagyarország, Magyar Nemzet, whi l e t hat of Népszabadság i s poor . I t i s i nt er es t i ng t hat Élet és Irodalom and 168 Óra s howed weak r es ul s t - i n s pi t e of t he f act t hat s i mi l ar l y t o HVG t hey ar e al s o weekl i es . ( k) Wor d f r equency anal ys i s exami ned i n t ot al dat a bas e yi el ded t he expect ed r es ul t s . The f i r s t f i ve pl aces ar e occupi ed by wor ds l i ke Torgyán, magyar, nemzet, ünnep, március. I nt er es t i ngl y, t he r es ul t s anal ys ed by paper s gi ve di f f er ent pi ct ur e. HVG us ed t he mos t f r equent l y „magyar” and „március”, whi l e „Torgyán” ( t he wor d, whi ch was t he f i r s t i n s um t ot al ) got l es s f r equency. The wor d Tor gyán was us ed mos t f r equent l y i n Népszabadság, al s o t he f r equency of t he wor ds „március" and "magyar" was r emar kabl e. Al t hough t he wor d „ünnep” was t he f our t h i n t ot al f r equency, i t was us ed i n a s t r es s ed way onl y i n Új Magyarország. I t was Élet és Irodalom whi ch di d not us e ei t her of t he above wor ds wi t h a mar ked f r equency. ( l ) As a r es ul t of denomi nat i on anal ys i s we f ound t hat Népszabadság, Magyar Nemzet and 168 Óra pr ef er r ed t o us e t o name „Torgyán József” wi t h expr es s i ons , cr eat ed by t he aut hor s of ar t i cl es , bei ng of negat i ve, pej or at i ve char act er . Délmagyarország and Új Magyarország i n t hi s r es pect wer e mor e neut r al . HVG, Élet és Irodalom, Magyar Hírlap di d not us e pej or at i ve or s omewhat hur t i ng expr es s i ons but t hey wer e i r oni c. ( m) One of t he mos t appar ent r es ul t s of t he col l ocat i onal anal ys i s was t hat t he mos t f r equent wor ds di d not appear f r equent l y t oget her .
