Participation in the Lisbon Summer School in Linguistics
As part of the project Evaluative Meanings of Diminutives and Augmentatives in the Croatian Language (EZUH), project associate Perica Vujić participated in the Lisbon Summer School in Linguistics from 29 June to 3 July 2026.
The Summer School programme covered three thematic areas: formal and experimental linguistics; lexicology, lexicography and terminology; and grammar and text. Since his participation was funded by the EZUH project, one of whose objectives is the development of a database, Assistant Vujić joined the second thematic area, dedicated to lexicology, lexicography and terminology.
He participated in a workshop led by Dutch professor Pius ten Hacken, who has been working at the University of Innsbruck for many years. In the workshop entitled The Nature of Words: Implications for Dictionary Compilation, the professor sought to explain the difficulties encountered when determining the meaning of an individual term and distinguishing it from general vocabulary. The theoretical framework of the workshop was based on generative grammar, supplemented by insights from cognitive linguistics.
The workshop brought together seventeen participants from different countries, including Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Brazil, Sweden, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia and Portugal. In addition to its academic dimension, the Summer School also provided an opportunity to promote the EZUH project internationally and to establish cooperation with other workshop participants.
Guest Lecture at the Institute of Croatian Language in Zagreb
On Tuesday, 9 June 2026, Assoc. Prof. Ana Mikić Čolić, PhD, from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek delivered a guest lecture at the Institute of Croatian Language in Zagreb. The lecture entitled “Vocative Functions of Diminutives and Augmentatives in Croatian Conversational Discourse” was held at 12 noon in the Institute’s council hall as part of the Croatian Studies and Linguistics seminar Linguistic Discussions.
The lecture addressed the vocative functions of diminutives and augmentatives and their role in Croatian conversational discourse, with particular emphasis on the evaluative meanings conveyed by these formations in everyday communication. The analysis showed that diminutives and augmentatives in the vocative express a wide range of relational and emotional nuances, from closeness and affection to irony and intensified expressiveness.
The lecture also provided an opportunity to present the project “Evaluative Meanings of Diminutives and Augmentatives in the Croatian Language”, implemented at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek under the leadership of Assoc. Prof. Ana Mikić Čolić, PhD. The project focuses on the systematic study of the evaluative meanings of diminutives and augmentatives in contemporary Croatian, while the gathering with colleagues from the Institute of Croatian Language provided an opportunity for the exchange of research insights.
Participation in the EPICS XII International Conference and Field Research in Seville
As part of the research project “Evaluative Meanings of Diminutives and Augmentatives in the Croatian Language”, implemented at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, project team members Assoc. Prof. Ana Mikić Čolić, PhD, and Assoc. Prof. Maja Glušac, PhD, undertook a research visit to Seville, Kingdom of Spain, from 26 to 30 May 2026.
The main purpose of the visit was participation in the distinguished international conference EPICS XII – XII International Symposium on Intercultural, Cognitive and Social Pragmatics, held at Universidad Pablo de Olavide in Seville. This renowned academic conference is dedicated to intercultural, cognitive and social pragmatics, bringing together researchers from around the world and providing a relevant international forum for the exchange of contemporary findings and research approaches in pragmatics and related linguistic disciplines.
At the conference, Assoc. Prof. Maja Glušac, PhD, and Assoc. Prof. Ana Mikić Čolić, PhD, presented a paper entitled “Vocative Function of Diminutives and Augmentatives in Croatian Conversational Discourse”, in which, in accordance with the core objectives of the project, they presented the results of research into the evaluative meanings of diminutives and augmentatives in Croatian, with particular emphasis on their vocative function in conversational discourse. The presentation attracted considerable interest among participants and prompted a productive academic discussion, thereby contributing to the international visibility of both the project and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek.
In addition to actively participating in the conference, the project team members also conducted field research of relevant literature in the library of Universidad Pablo de Olavide in Seville. On this occasion, they collected relevant scholarly and professional sources that will provide an important basis for further research within the project, thereby further enriching the theoretical and methodological foundations for the implementation of the planned project activities.
The visit to Seville therefore represents a valuable contribution to international cooperation, academic networking and the strengthening of the research capacities of the project team.
Assoc. Prof. Maja Glušac Presented the Project and Research Results to Mentors at the National Croatian Language Competition
At the invitation of the Education and Teacher Training Agency, Assoc. Prof. Maja Glušac, PhD, delivered a lecture on 13 May 2026 to the mentors of students participating in the 31st National Croatian Language Competition, held from 13 to 15 May 2026 at Vladimir Nazor Primary School in Crikvenica.
In her presentation entitled The Vocative in the Context of Evaluative Morphology, she introduced Croatian language teachers to the research project “Evaluative Meanings of Diminutives and Augmentatives in the Croatian Language”, implemented at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek, with an emphasis on key project results and their applicability in teaching practice. Starting from the fundamental characteristics of the vocative and its position in contemporary grammatical descriptions of Croatian, Assoc. Prof. Maja Glušac, PhD, elaborated on the pragmatic-semantic category of vocativity and demonstrated the ways in which vocative forms are used in everyday communication.
She particularly highlighted the functional and stylistic effects of diminutives and augmentatives in vocative expressions, especially in expressing closeness, affectivity, irony and belonging, as well as in nuanced expressions of power relations between interlocutors. A series of authentic examples from everyday speech and teaching contexts demonstrated how these forms contribute to the expression of positive and negative evaluation and to the discursive mitigation or intensification of messages, thereby emphasising the importance of the project results for understanding and teaching contemporary Croatian.
The lecture provided mentors with an opportunity for professional exchange of experiences, greater awareness of the richness of evaluative devices in Croatian and their more considered integration into teaching, further confirming the connection between research and school practice.
Assoc. Prof. Ana Mikić Čolić and Assoc. Prof. Maja Glušac at Istanbul University
Assoc. Prof. Ana Mikić Čolić, PhD, and Assoc. Prof. Maja Glušac, PhD, participated in an Erasmus+ teaching mobility programme at Istanbul University in the Republic of Türkiye from 20 to 24 April 2026. During their stay, they held a series of meetings and consultations with colleagues from Istanbul University with the aim of strengthening international cooperation in areas of shared interest. As part of the mobility programme, they also presented the results of work on the project “Evaluative Meanings of Diminutives and Augmentatives in the Croatian Language”. Particular attention was given to the possibilities of applying project results in the teaching of Croatian as a foreign language, as well as to comparisons with corresponding word-formation phenomena in other languages. This mobility contributed to the international visibility of the project and opened opportunities for future joint research and teaching activities with the partner institution in Istanbul.
Our Professors Participated in the Conference Marking the 150th Anniversary of Croatian Studies in Zagreb
From 4 to 6 December 2025, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb hosted the international academic conference “(Dis)Continuity(ies) in National Philology”, held to mark the significant 150th anniversary of Croatian Studies in Zagreb.
Members of our project team also took part in the anniversary gathering and academic conference.
Asst. Prof. Vera Blažević Krezić, PhD, prepared and presented a paper within the project “Evaluative Meanings of Diminutives and Augmentatives in the Croatian Language” entitled “Diminutives in the Senj Transit of St Jerome (1508)”.
The conference opened with a formal academy during which Prof. Branimir Belaj, PhD, received a Certificate of Appreciation for Teaching and Improving Instruction at Different Levels of Croatian Studies, while Asst. Prof. Vera Blažević Krezić, PhD, received a Certificate of Appreciation for Long-Standing Cooperation in the Research of 16th-Century Croatian Glagolitic Heritage.
Asst. Prof. Silvija Ćurak Participated in the “Šokačka rič 23” Event
Asst. Prof. Silvija Ćurak, PhD, participated on 7 and 8 November 2025 in Bački Monoštor, Republic of Serbia, in the academic, literary and cultural event “Šokačka rič 23”, which included the 23rd international academic conference “The Slavonian Dialect”. The central theme of the conference was “The Speech Varieties of the Slavonian Dialect in the Western Bačka Danube Region”. Asst. Prof. Silvija Ćurak, PhD, presented a paper entitled “Diminutives in the Šokac Speech Varieties of the Western Bačka Danube Region”.