A r t i c l e s

KRUPA, Viktor: The Prelinguistic Basis of Spatial Semantics, p. 3
DROZDÍK, Ladislav: Arabic Compounding as Case of Root Classification, p. 9
RUMÁNEK, Ivan R.V.: The Aware Emotion and En Beauty in the Kokinshu Prefaces as the Basis for a Tradition in Japanese Poetics, p. 23
SORBY, Karol R.: The Short-lived Liberal Experiment in Postwar Iraq (1945-1948), p. 39

R e v i e w A r t i c l e s

ŠKULTÉTY, Radovan: A Comment on a Concept of the Great Man (Genius) in the „Autumn Floods“ Chapter of the Book Zhuangzi, p. 67
DROZDÍK, Ladislav: On the Modern Written Arabic Syntax, p. 91

B o o k R e v i e w s

RUŽICKOVÁ, e.: Picture Dictionary of Gestures. American, Slovak, Japanese and Chinese. By Martin Slobodník, p. 103
FRAZIER, Mark: The Making of the Chinese Industrial Workplace. State, Revolution, and Labor Management. By Gabriela Gregušová, p. 104
DAWA NORBU: China's Tibet Policy. By Martin Slobodník, p. 106
BELKA, L.: Tibetský buddhismus v Burjatsku. By Martin Slobodník, p. 109
DROZDÍK, L.: Modern Written Arabic. By Karol Sorby, p. 111

ABSTRACTS

THE PRELINGUISTIC BASIS OF SPATIAL SEMANTICS

Viktor KRUPA
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia

Space i one of those categories that are of pre-linguistic nature and its elementary ideas are not of metaphorical origin. Quite the contrary, they are frequently used as vehicles for metaphorizing into a great variety of notional domains. Fundamental spatial terms are considered as related to their motivational background.

ARABIC COMPOUNDING AS A CASE OF ROOT CLASSIFICATION

Ladislav DROZDÍK
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia

The study tries to define the structural background of incompatibility of compounding with the root- and-pattern system of Arabic (Semitic). The most hazardous issue of the evidence collected consists in assigning Arabic compounds the status of a mere theoretical construct, deprived of actual word value, that can only be achieved at the level of monomorphemic root-words or at that of structurally fully assimilated lexical units related to them.

THE AWARE EMOTION AND EN BEAUTY IN THE KOKINSHU PRREFACES AS THE BASIS FOR A TRADITION IN JAPANESE POETICS

Ivan R.V.RUMÁNEK
Institute of Oriental and African Studies Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia

A comparison of the Japanese and the Chinese Preface to the Kokinshu unveils a connection between the two central notions of Japanese poetics – aware and en, delving into the history of the original term YAN in the Chinese poetics too. The study also brings more light to further two dimensions of Heian literature - to the Chinese-Japanese dichotomy, the male-female points of view and offers an outline of the further development of these two aesthetic terms.

THE SHORT-LIVED LIBERAL EXPERIMENT IN POSTWAR IRAQ (1945-1948)

Karol SORBY
Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia

The events of the immediately post-qar years in Iraq were of paramount importance in consolidating opposition to Britain and the Iraqi monarchy. The growth in size of the working class, combined with the new political circumstances, created conditions that favoured the development of a labour movement. Furthermore, a number of political parties licensed in 1946, inaugurating a certain degree of cautious democratization in Iraq. But from 1941 until the 1958 revolution, Nuri as-Sacid either headed or controlled most government coalitions. After World War II he tried to make a long term agreement with Great Britain by means of a new Anglo-Iraqi Treaty signed at Portsmounth, in January 1948. So vehement were public demonstrations against it that the treaty was never ratified. The Arab defeat in Palestine war had serious political and economic repercussions in Iraq as it gave the regime the opportunity to impose martial law on the country. The traditional pro-British policy continued and failures in domestic afairs were matched by foreign policy failures. This policy implemented through relentless domestic suppression – only served to intensify the desire for full independence.