On Zoosemy: The Study of Middle English and Early Modern English Domesticated Animals

[…] This is the second dissertation supervised by prof. Kleparski which I review, and both of them represent mature academic works of talented and mature linguists who creatively developed the solid theoretical foundations established by prof. Kleparski’s works. […] The first impression after reading the ‘story of zoosemy’ is that it is a monumetal and comprehensive work. […] The comprehensiveness of the References witnesses to Kiełtyka’s comprehension of the complex and demanding topic at a high theoretical standard […] The range of dictionaries and corpora indicates what a laborious and time-consuming process the author had to go through in writing his work. […] Based on the theoretical framework, so carefully outlined in the initial chapter, the main and, in my view, most valuable, analytical part of the work provides a highly qualified and in-depth discussion of selected conceptual dimensions. Without going into details of this seminal, very carefully prepared analysis let me please emphasize that it is precisely here that Robert Kiełtyka demonstrates his linguistic strength, in particular, his analytical ability and sense of fine linguistic detail, all this supported by an extensive sample material. The analysis thus brings him naturally to a synthesis of his extensive examination, a very valuable part of the study, because it not only summarizes the author’s observations but also evaluates them in terms of various other theoretical hypotheses and theories. This is done with excellence.