Volume 18 (2014): Issue 1 (May 2014)

The paper proposes the model of discursive mind and describes the cognitive architecture of the dialogically structured mind. The model draws on Hermans’ (1999) theory of the dialogical self (DS) and Wertsch’s (1991) vision of mind as a “tool kit” with socio-cultural instruments, and also on the socio-cognitive approach to personality in experimental psychology. An I-position is understood here as an active totality of experience, shaped in a particular social context and represented in a separate representation module. Th ere are many modules in the mind because in the course of socialization, the individual comes across many different social contexts. Th e described model and its preliminary empirical verification not only gives support to the DS theory, but can also be a leverage of its contribution to general theories of mind stemming from other theoretical traditions

The paper discusses the role of language in shaping social and political reality. Referring to the theory of the sociology of knowledge, symbolic interactionism and theory related to sociolinguistics, the author makes the assumption that language understood as a tool that assigns meaning and defines reality has a decisive influence on individual awareness and knowledge about reality, and simultaneously also on activities undertaken by individuals. Moreover, in the opinion of many theoreticians who represent the above disciplines of knowledge, the knowledge about reality transferred by means of language creates cognitive schemes in awareness through which an individual perceives and defines reality. In this sense it may be said that manipulation of images of reality through language is also a manipulation of social reality

Children’s self-concept and theory of mind are both important factors in children’s social, cognitive and emotional development. Research on gender differences in children’s theory of mind understanding reveals contradictory findings such as higher degree of social understanding or theory of mind in girls (Villaneuva Badenes, Clemente Estevan, & Garcia Bacete 2000), boys score higher than girls (Russell et al., 2007), or no gender differences at all (Villaneuva Badenes, Clemente Estevan, & Garcia Bacete, 2000). This research study is part of a larger 3-year longitudinal study, investigating children’s social and emotional development during middle childhood. This study explores the gendered relations between self-concept and social understanding (including psychological language) in middle school aged children (n = 49, ages 11-13). Results suggest a negative correlation between boys’ sense of self-worth and psychological language. Implications for curriculum development that promotes socio-emotional literacy within middle school are discussed

Challenges of heritage language maintenance and benefits of bilingualism have been widely acknowledged. Heritage language maintenance research most oft en focuses on heritage languages in English-dominant societies. This paper presents a case study on family language policy experiences, strategies, and outcomes led by an American-born mother in her effort to maintain and promote English, her heritage language, within the home in the Hebrew-dominant environment in Israel

The paper is concerned with the strategies of written translation. The first section deals with various definitions of the notion of translation strategy, terms used to describe that notion and classifications of translation strategies. The second section presents the results of some empirical studies on translation strategies. In the third section, Krzysztof Hejwowski’s concept of translation strategies is laid out and the results of a pilot study based on this concept are described