The article presents some aspects of text explanation in the systemic functional model of language. In the systemic functional model text is conceived as a semantic unit created in the process of selection and realization of meaningful choices encoded in words and structures. This implies that in order to uncover what types of meanings are being encoded in the text one has to take into account the lexico-grammatical patterns which realize it. The article treats some of the possibilities for the application of this model in a comparative text analysis involving texts in different languages. As an illustration it presents a comparison of some aspects of the experiential function of two presidential speeches, one in English and one in Slovene. The comparison focuses on the distribution of different process types in both texts.

The paper discusses the characteristics of modern American presidential political rhetoric with special reference to Barack Obama’s speeches in which he addressed the highly publicized killings of black Americans. Three of the analysed speeches contain Obama’s rhetorical reaction to the judicial decisions not to indict the police officers responsible for the killings, while one speech gives his immediate reaction to the mass murder of black parishioners by a white supremacist. The study is based on the discourse-linguistic analysis of attitudinal meanings and their functions, which are conceptualized as evaluative frames. Evaluative frames are used to highlight different kinds of discourse participants through judgments of behaviour, attributions of emotions and evaluations of semiotic phenomena and objects. The theoretical framework for the different categories of evaluative frames is based on the theory of news framing and theory of evaluative language within systemic-functional linguistics. The findings of the analysis show that Obama uses an interplay of positive and negative evaluations of different kinds to transcend racial categorizations and avoid a direct attribution of blame. When he acknowledges the continuing relevance of the racial divide in US society, he often applies evaluative frames in such a way that they unify rather than divide the discourse participants on both sides of the divide.

SummaryThe article deals with the concept of linguistic sexism in the cross-cultural context. It compares the generally accepted guidelines for avoiding linguistic sexism in English and Slovene, exemplified by two guides on non-sexist use of English. It is argued that in English non-sexist language strives for gender neutrality, whereas in Slovene it strives for gender specificity. The reasons for the differences between the perceptions of sexism in English and Slovene are examined by taking into account the linguistic expression of gender and the cultural and historical context in which both languages have developed. The use of semantic gender in English, as opposed to the use of grammatical gender in Slovene, is treated as one of the factors influencing the approach to the non-sexist use of language in both languages. Strategies for non-sexist expression and their rebuttals are discussed in the context of predominant cultural ideologies about gender and presuppositions regarding the link between social change and linguistic reform.Key words: sexism, language, gender, neseksistična raba jezika, English, Slovene Ideologija spola v angleščini in slovenščini:kontrastivni pogled Povzetek Članek obravnava pojmovanje jezikovnega seksizma v medkulturnem kontekstu. Predstavljena je primerjava splošno sprejetih priporočil, kako se izogniti jezikovnemu seksizmu v angleščini in slovenščini na primeru dveh priročnikov o neseksistični rabi jezika. Postavljena je trditev, da v angleščini neseksistična jezikovna raba stremi k spolni dvoumnosti oz. nevtralnosti, v slovenščini pa k spolni specifičnosti. Razlogi za razliko v dojemanju seksizma v angleščini in slovenščini so postavljeni v kontekst jezikovnega izražanja spola in širšega kulturnega in zgodovinskega razvoja obeh jezikov. Raba semantičnega spola v angleščini v nasprotju z rabo slovničnega spola v slovenščini je obravnavana kot eden izmed dejavnikov, ki vpliva na pristop k neseksistični rabi jezika v obeh jezikih. Strategije za neseksistično izražanje in zavrnitev njihovih argumentov so postavljeni v kontekst predominantnih kulturnih ideologij o spolu in predpostavk o povezavi med družbenimi spremembami in jezikovno reformo.

The paper focuses on the description of film musicals as a subgenre of the genre family of musicals. Their dramatic structure is examined in terms of the generic elements that constitute the progression of a story expressed through the combination of spoken dialogue, songs and dance. The function of songs in the generic structure of film musicals is examined in the framework of the systemic-functional theory of register and genre. Special attention is given to the role of songs in the unfolding of the narrative. The theoretical observations about the role of songs in the register and genre of film musicals are then illustrated with an analysis of the use of songs in the TV musical High School Musical 2.

Današnji čas je prinesel pomembne spremembe v načinu, kako komuniciramo drug z drugim. Tehnološki napredek in razmah družbenih medijev sta vplivala tako na informativne medije kot na sodobni politični prostor, kar ima pomembne posledice za politični govor. Vloga družbenih medijev v politični komunikaciji se je povečala, saj politiki čedalje bolj neposredno komunicirajo z javnostjo brez posredništva tradicionalnih medijev. Poleg tega je čedalje bolj pod vprašajem nevtralnost osrednjih medijev pri poročanju, saj so vedno bolj odvisni od oglaševanja in tako pod posrednim ali neposrednim vplivom različnih korporativnih ali državnih sponzorjev. Tako smo se znašli v času, ko vse več ljudi informacije pridobi v družbenih medijih, medtem ko so izrazi dezinformacija, lažne novice, postresničnost, sovražni govor in teorije zarote postali vsakdanji del govora. V novem javnem prostoru komunikacije se pogosto zgodi, da je to, kar kdo dojema kot teorijo zarote, za koga drugega resničnost, da so to, kar kdo dojema kot dejstva, za koga drugega lažne novice, in da je to, kar kdo dojema kot sovražni govor, za koga drugega svoboda govora.