Maternity and Time: The Perception of Time from Mothers During the 1st Year After Birth According to Titles in Bulgarian Internet Discussion

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present the perception of time of the women who have babies less than 12 months old through observation on some titles of so-called annual topics in the largest Bulgarian forum platform - bg-mamma. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, the study includes the investigation of time indicators preferred by the forum users in the excerpted 50 threads. Attention is drawn to the presence of subjective/objective time markers as well as of linear/cyclic ones. Furthermore, excerpted words and phrases indicating time have been studied having in mind that time is often metaphorically represented. The investigation also reveals the most important events in the mother's life as expressed by the titles of the topics. It seems to the researcher that in the first year of maternity women perceive the time in a very specific way – they put the baby growth as a measure and the objective time marks only disclose the changing baby world. It is also interesting that some traditional holidays become very important as well as the rituals connected to them.

References

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References (translated and transliterated)

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• Cini, M. (2014). Is Time Real? In: Direction of Time, (pp.1-14). S. Albeverio, P. Blanchard (Eds.).
  Cham: Springer
• Doble, R. (2014). Deconstructing Time. Second Edition: Illustrated Essay-blogs About the Human
  Experience of Time. Morrisville: Lulu Press. Retrieved from http://rickdoble.net/ebooks/doble_
  rick_pdf_ebook_deconstructing_time.pdf
• Eftimova, A. (2011) Neverbalnata komunikacia: medii i mediatori [Non-verbal communication: media
  and mediators]. Sofia: Siela.
• Elias, N. (1986). Saggio sul tempo. Bologna: Il Mulino.
  Haspelmath, Martin (1997). From Space to Time. Temporal Adverbials in the World’s Languages,
  München – Newcastle: LINCOM EUROPA.
• Jarbou, S. (2017). The semantics-pragmatics interface: the case of the singular feminine demonstrative in
  Jordanian Arabic. East European Journal of Psycholinguistics, 4(1), 63-75.
• Lakoff, G. (1993). The contemporary theory of metaphor. In: Metaphor and Thought (2nd ed.),
  A. Ortony (Ed). (pp. 202-251), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Mathisen, Arve. (2012). Temporal design in auditors’ professional learning. In: Professional Learning in
  the Knowledge Society, Karen Jensen, Leif Chr. Lahn, Monika Nerland (Eds.). (pp. 85-108),
  Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
• Oesterdiekhoff, Georg. (2009). Mental growth of humankind in history, Norderstedt:BoD.
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  Time in Language and Literature. Marija Brala Vukanović and Lovorka Gruić Grmuša (Eds).
  (pp. 1-22), Сambridge Scholar Publishing.