Editor’s Words
Authors:   “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo”, Serezliev Stefan , Petkov Georgi ,   Institute of Rhetoric and Communications
Published: January 2023

Assoc. Prof. Stefan Serezliev, PhD – “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo” – E-mail: serezliev@ts.uni-vt.bg Georgi Petkov, PhD – Institute of Rhetoric and Communications E-mail: G.P.Petkov@gmail.com Issue 54 is again distinguished by its broad thematic focus, including scientific articles devoted to the disclosure of theoretical propositions and research results in the fields of argumentation, philosophy, literature, semiotics, and communications. The authors are from universities in Bulgaria: Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” University of Veliko Tarnovo”, NATFA “Krastyo Sarafov” - Sofia, Center for Semiotic and Cultural Studies, South-Western University “Neofit Rilski”, lecturers from foreign universities in Italy and Kazakhstak, as well as students from Portugal and Turkey on an Erasumus exchange at Sofia University. The authors are established scientists and researchers in a range of scientific fields, as well as PhD students and postgraduate students, thus representing different generations of researchers. The journal fulfils one of its functions of being a platform for the dissemination of theoretical observations and the sharing of research results using modern methods by representatives of academic communities from different countries. The first section “Philosophy, Semiotics, Literature” brings together four articles. Miroslav Dachev presents the results of an in-depth study of the overall image of the Theotokos in the context between the construction of canonical and apocryphal texts and the process of revealing certain possibilities of speech, which, in addition to the possibilities of representation, opens up new perspectives in the quest for a clearer focus of the author’s aptly named “vision”. One of the points of reference of the study is the constitution of the essence of iconographic solutions through a penetrating understanding of the worlds of the word in the overall understanding and acceptance of the immutable, inner world of the Holy Mother of God, which, by determining itself theologically through the dialogical relationship with Christ, makes sense of and opens up new interpretative possibilities. In his search for “a reliable reference point for the typology of images,” Miroslav Dachev accepts the challenge to conceptualize and propose “thinking images through the intentional states implicit in them.” As an overall result, it clearly emerges how, thanks to an expressed personal and abstractly shared intentional states in the understanding of the iconography of the Theotokos, iconic codes are transformed into iconographic ones. Kalina Grigorova presents the results of a study of the first five books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament - the so-called Pentateuch, in which attention is focused on the genre features of the texts in which the root brk occurs in its meaning of “blessing/blessing”. She gives a brief overview of the history of research on genres in the Old Testament, defines some basic terms. Dorothea Nikolova provides an analytical overview of contemporary schools and trends in the philosophy of mind and language from the 20th and 21st centuries, which present concepts and views on metaphor, in particular cognitive metaphor. The author focuses on the study of conceptual metaphor (Leikoff and Johnson) and conceptual integration (Fauconier and Turner) in cognitive linguistics. The article establishes the theoretical frameworks and practical applications of the theories under consideration. Anastasia Xenodochidou in her article “Humour through the Scope of Social Theories and Pragmatic Approaches” explores humour represented in different social theories and through pragmatic approaches, the psychoanalytical aspect of humour and the element of surprise are highlighted too. The article outlines the role of human agency, cultural cognition, and linguistic devices, and the text contributes to a deeper and more adequate understanding of humor and comic discourse. The second section “Argumentation, Public and Strategic Communication” also includes four scientific articles. Marieta Boteva provides an overview of the basic publications of Chaim Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca and presents attempts to reconceptualize the ancient rhetoric in its part on argumentation. She analyses publications by other sceintists and researchers studying argumentation and identifies manifestations of argumentation in the behavior of the orator and his goal of achieving persuasion while respecting ethical norms, rules, and morality. Mariselda Tessarolo in her article “Bohm's Dialogue and Reciprocal Trust” focuses on dialogue and discusses two “theories”: Bohm (On Dialogue) and Moscovici and Doise (On Agreement and Disagreement). The article “Youth Vector of Europe: Strategic, State and International Communication” written by Lilia Zainieva, Aigul Abzhapparova and Elmira Suimbayeva from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Kazakhstan presents the results of studying youth policy issues and experiences in the field of education, employment and other key areas of life of the young generation through the prism of strategic communication. Nitza Hachmon and Krasimira Marulevska from South-Western University “Neofit Rilski” present the results of a study on the social, pedagogical and managerial aspects of the problem of integrating young teachers into the education system. The motives and risk factors that influence the process of integrating teachers into the school environment, in particular into the education system in Israel, are analyzed. Two articles - by Leonardo Pimentel and by Irem Kati - are included in the section “Student Debuts” and they refer to the study of European identity through the prism of strategic communication and media communication. By tradition, there is a section presenting the Contributors. Strictly following the journal’s tradition and in keeping with the terms of presenting its reviewers, the issue includes the updated line-up for 2023. Issue 54 of the Rhetoric and Communications Journal (January 2023) is published with the financial support of the Scientific Research Fund, Contract No. KP-06-NP4/72 of December 16, 2022. Rhetoric and Communications Journal, issue 54, January 2023 Read the Original in Bulgarian and English