The Editor-in-chief’s Foreword

Abstract

DOI:  10.55804/jtsu2346-8149.2025.09.01

The tenth issue of the Journal of Humanities ETAGTSU features a diverse collection of papers exploring current debates in modern language theory, cognitive linguistics, and applied linguistics.

 Nazi Iritspukhova’s article, 'Metaphor in Web-based Promotional Tourism Discourse: A Quantitative Exploration,' investigates metaphor use on official tourism websites from Georgia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. N. Iritspukhova's analysis shows that metaphors are employed strategically rather than extensively, with verbs and prepositions shaping their distribution, reinforcing persuasive aims and aiding destination branding.

Ana Gelovani explores conceptual metaphors of the SOUL in classical philosophical texts by Plato and Aristotle. Using Steen’s (2010b) MIPVU methodology, this study identifies 55 metaphors, classifies them as structural, ontological, or orientational, and illustrates their key role in making abstract philosophical ideas understandable long before the development of Conceptual Metaphor Theory.

In 'Towards the Typology of Character Portraits in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales,' Mariam Zedelashvili investigates Chaucer’s techniques of verbal portraiture. Relying on established typological frameworks, the paper shows how Chaucer’s descriptive methods create vivid, multidimensional characters, progressing scholarship on characters' linguistic and literary shaping. Sopio Totibadze’s study, “ღვინო, Wine, Вино – The Study of Linguistic Landscape in Tbilisi,” examines the presence of Georgian, English, and Russian in the city’s central signage. Based on a dataset of 45 images, the findings highlight the dominance of English in commercial contexts, often surpassing Georgian, the official language. The study places these linguistic patterns within broader sociocultural, economic, and ideological contexts, contributing to research on linguistic landscapes in post-Soviet settings.

Sopiko Gvritishvili’s article, “Breach of Conversational Maxims in Courtroom Discourse: A Conversation Analysis Approach,” analyses the strategic use of implicature in legal communication. Using Grice’s Cooperative Principle, the study shows how courtroom participants intentionally flout conversational maxims to create implied meanings that influence narratives, challenge testimonies, and impact judicial decisions. The analysis underscores implicature’s role as a power, persuasion, and procedural strategy mechanism within adversarial legal environments.

Mariam Nebieridze’s contribution, “Towards the Use of Backchannel Signals during Classroom Oral Presentations: Speakers’ Perspective,' investigates how audience feedback affects student presentations. Employing a mixed-methods approach with 127 undergraduates at Tbilisi State University, the study finds that verbal and non-verbal backchannel cues significantly influence presenters’ anxiety, confidence, and performance. These results reconceptualise oral presentations as co-constructed communicative events, with practical implications for teaching in higher education.

 Nino Jojua’s research, “Phonological Deviations in Georgian EFL Learners’ Pronunciation within Academic Discourse,” examines recurrent vowel deviations among Georgian learners of English. Classroom observations and audio recordings reveal difficulties with schwa pronunciation, vowel length contrasts, and diphthongs, caused by cross-linguistic transfer, orthographic influences, and interlanguage development. The study highlights the importance of prioritising clarity over native-like accuracy and proposes specific strategies for pronunciation teaching in EFL contexts.

Elene Khuskivadze’s article, “Research on Dictionary Use in Teaching Languages (Findings of the Survey Conducted with School Teachers),” investigates how dictionaries are used in Georgian and foreign language education. Based on an adapted questionnaire from K. Márkus, Khuskivadze surveys teachers of Georgian, English, German, French, Spanish, and Russian, uncovering widespread deficiencies in dictionary skills, neglect of dictionary training, and broader linguistic consequences such as the spread of Anglicisms and calques. The study emphasises the pedagogical value of embedding dictionary literacy into language instruction. Farzin Ghobadighadikolaei’s paper, “Etymological Analysis of Six Mazandarani Toponymical Suffixes,” offers a historical-linguistic perspective on Mazandarani, a northwestern Iranian language. Analysing 1,184 rural toponyms, the research examines six semantically obscure suffixes, tracing their development from Proto-Indo-European through Proto-Indo-Iranian and noting parallels with Germanic and Balto-Slavic languages. Processes of grammaticalisation, semantic erosion, and metonymic generalisation transformed common nouns, such as marz (“border”), into productive toponymic markers with broader meanings, illustrating both the conservative character of Mazandarani and its value for understanding Iranian linguistic history.

The issue concludes with Ilia Tsetskhladze’s paper, “Ephrem Mtsire’s Translation Technique Based on the Pseudo-Athanasius of Alexandria’s Homily Sermo de descriptione Deiparae,” which explores Ephrem Mtsire’s translational strategies in medieval Georgian Christian literature.

This study identifies additions, omissions, grammatical adjustments, and rhetorical adaptations through comparative analysis of the Old Georgian translation and its Greek source. It reveals a dynamic equivalence approach that balances fidelity to theological content with reader-oriented stylistic choices.

The research enriches the understanding of Georgian translation practices and contributes to broader discussions on cultural mediation in Byzantine and Georgian literary traditions.

The contributions featured in this issue collectively shed light on the complex intersections of language, cognition, culture, and society. They span theoretical, empirical, and historical perspectives, encompassing metaphor, discourse, phonology, lexicography, and translation studies. Together, these studies demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary inquiry in the humanities, highlighting how rigorous linguistic and literary scholarship can deepen our understanding of contemporary communication and human thought and expression evolution.