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Culture Talks by Jana Chamonikolasová and Jiří Rambousek

The English Department is proud to invite you to

two exciting public lectures

by

doc. PhDr. Jana Chamonikolasová, Ph.D.

associate professor, Masaryk University

and

Ing. Mgr. Jiří Rambousek, Ph.D.

assistant professor, Masaryk University

False Friends Beyond the Language Class – What Is There to Study? (dr. Rambousek)
April 28, 2023, 8.50 am, P102

The lecture deals with selected aspects of language interference, especially the so-called false friends (faux amis, false cognates). There are around two thousand false cognates between English and Czech. While often mentioned in intermediate-level English lessons, they are neglected at higher levels of ESL and in translator training. Based on errors collected from authentic texts, the lecture looks into the existing types of false friends and compares the ESL approach to what is needed in translation studies. How can false friends be studied, registered, and their treacherous influence avoided? Throughout the lecture, a few tricky examples will be presented and discussed.

Jan Firbas and His Approach to Functional Sentence Perspective (doc. Chamonikolasová)
April 28, 2023, 10.40 am, P102

The lecture will present the basic principles of the theory of Functional Sentence Perspective founded by Jan Firbas and its position among other theories of Information Structure. Attention will be paid to factors affecting the flow of information in discourse and the distribution of Communicative Dynamism within sentences and clauses. The lecture will include an example of the application of the FSP theory in translation.

Doc. PhDr. Jana Chamonikolasová, Ph.D. is a teacher at the Department of English and American Studies, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University. She specializes in teaching Functional Syntax and the History of the English Language. The focus of her research is the Information Structure of Discourse. She is a follower of Jan Firbas, the founder of the Brno school of Functional Sentence Perspective.

Mgr. Ing. Jiří Rambousek, Ph.D., teaches translation theory and practice courses at the Department of English and American Studies, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University. His research interests include the history of Czech translations of children’s literature, especially Lewis Carroll, and problems of language interference and language contact in translation practice.