‘Achilles’ Heel’ and Democratic Society

A Corpora Analysis of Journalistic Texts

Autor

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.23.2026.102.09

Słowa kluczowe:

Achilles’ heel, society, Slovakia, democracy, corpora

Abstrakt

The study examines the well-known and metaphorically often used, popular idiomatic expression ‘Achilles’ heel’ in the Slovak corpus of journalistic texts, in the context of social and democratic processes. The research is based on the ethnolinguistic explanation of the phraseological units containing the word ‘heel’. The study uses the tools of corpus linguistics to verify the frequency, collocation fields and contextual use of given phraseological phrases. It focuses on identifying key areas of Slovak society that are named in journalism by the unflattering attribute of the Achilles’ heel, i.e. a weak, vulnerable point, etc. The research is carried out in two corpora: 1. in the corpus of written texts prim-10.0-public-inf (SNK public inf version 10.0, Size: 1,163,232,349) and 2. in the time-limited corpus of the SME daily in the period since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine 01/2022 – 06/2023.3 The comparison of the two corpora points to different weak and vulnerable points (the so-called Achilles’ heels) of Slovak society (and democracy) as they appear in journalistic texts.

Pobrania

Statystyki pobrań niedostępne.

Biogramy autorów

  • Jana Pecníková - Matej Bel University

    An assistant professor at Matej Bel University, Faculty of Arts in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. In her research, she deals with French language and culture, cultural identity & heritage, and interculturality. She publishes scientific papers and participates in many international projects and conferences, as well as at educational and research activities abroad.

  • Anita Huťková - Matej Bel University

    An associate professor in the field of linguistics and translation studies at the Matej Bel University, Faculty of Arts in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. The focus of her research activities is on the current state of translation in Slovakia focusing on socio-cultural aspects (globalization, integration, pluralization, multiculturalization). She links linguistic and translation thinking in her pedagogical and research activities.

  • Miriam Pavlovičová - Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales

    A lecturer of Slovak language and culture at INALCO Paris. She is interested in teaching Slovak as a foreign language. Her current research focuses on in-depth studies of language microsystems, and she provides French-speaking students with suitable learning materials for teaching Slovak as a foreign language. She participates in international Erasmus+ projects and scientific conferences.

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Pobrania

Opublikowane

29-05-2026

Numer

Tom 23 Nr 2(102) (2026): Democracy – Technological Transformation – Society

Dział

Artykuły

Licencja

Creative Commons License

Utwór dostępny jest na licencji Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa – Użycie niekomercyjne – Bez utworów zależnych 4.0 Międzynarodowe.

Jak cytować

„‘Achilles’ Heel’ and Democratic Society: A Corpora Analysis of Journalistic Texts”. 2026. Politeja 23 (2(102): 161-73. https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.23.2026.102.09.