Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Discourse'
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Yang, Fan. "A Discourse on discours : Habermas, Foucault and the Political/Legal Discourses in China." Thesis, Cachan, Ecole normale supérieure, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015DENS0016/document.
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Les questions d’adaptabilité de la démocratie occidentale dans le contexte chinois ont toujours été une préoccupation importante. Cette recherche vise à étudier l’adaptabilité de la démocratie délibérative dans le contexte de la chine en termes de perspective normative. Tout d’abord, on s’est concentré sur la Théorie de discussion de droit et démocratie de Habermas, parce que c’est une des théories normatives de délibération démocratique les plus discutées en Chine aujourd’hui. Compte-tenu de la normativité et de l’idéalité de la théorie de Habermas, la théorie du discours des relations de pouvoir de Foucault est introduite pour illustrer la tension entre différentes théories de discours occidentaux. Puis, afin d’enquêter sur les adaptabilités de ces deux théories du discours dans le contexte chinois et d’équilibrer la tension entre les deux, un autre concept normatif, la rationalité confucéenne, est attirée sur des sources culturelles traditionnelles chinoises. En conséquence, trois dimensions de la théorie du discours, ainsi que les relations entre eux, sont présentés. Certaines descriptions empiriques sur les faits de la Chine historique et politique sont également nécessaires d’utilisation pour expliquer, compléter ou interroger ce cadre théorique. Deux perspectives de tension sont toujours critiques dans toute la recherche : la tension entre universalité et particularité et la tension entre les théories normatives et des faits socio-politiques. Grâce à l’approche des études de texte, ainsi que des études de conception et d’études empirique comme suppléments, la recherche est menée comme suit. Le premier chapitre traite de la tension entre la théorie du discours du droit et de la démocratie de Habermas et les faits sociaux. Le chapitre 2 analyse la tension entre la théorie du discours de Habermas et la théorie du discours de Foucault et plaide en faveur de la remise en question des problèmes de tension. Le troisième chapitre tente de rechercher les ressources dans les cultures politiques traditionnelles chinoises et de proposer une autre théorie normative de discours, la théorie du discours de la rationalité confucéenne, pour équilibrer la tension entre les deux précédentes théories normatives de discours. On fait valoir que le type idéal de rationalité confucéenne (un type normatif de rationalité de valeur) peut être utilisé comme un pont de communication entre les deux théories du discours opposées. Le chapitre 4, par des descriptions empiriques sur l’espace publique et les discussions politiques/juridiques dans la société traditionnelles chinoise, explique la théorie normative proposée au chapitre 3 et tente de réexaminer et de redéfinir les notions d’« espace publique » dans le contexte de la Chine traditionnelle. Enfin, le chapitre 5 se concentre sur les descriptions des discussions politiques et juridiques dans l’espace publique des nouveaux médias de la Chine d’aujourd’hui. C’est une réponse empirique pour toutes les études normatives antérieures, et aussi une enquête sur la tension entre les théories normatives et les expériences sociales. Je soutiens que, en raison des différentes structures cognitives et les différents modes de pensée dans les différentes cultures, il devrait y avoir différents paradigmes normatifs de la démocratie du discours dans les différents contextes culturels, et que la normativité et la réalité sont les deux faces d’une même médaille. Les théories normatives du discours sont des guides pour les pratiques de la démocratie délibérative et les pratiques de la démocratie délibératives peuvent vérifier, compléter ou améliorer les théories normatives du discours. Outre la démonstration des dimensions plurielles de théories du discours, une autre intention pratique de cette thèse est de plaider pour une approche de la démocratie délibérative, qui serait à la fois chinoise et moderneThe adaptability issues of Western democracy in the context of China have always been an important academic concern. This research was intended to study the adaptability of deliberative democracy in the Chinese context in terms of a normative perspective. At the beginning, this research focused on Habermas‘s Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy, because it is one of the most discussed normative deliberative democratic theories in China today. Taking into consideration the normativity and ideality of Habermas‘s theory, Foucault‘s discourse theory of power relations is then introduced to illustrate the tensions between different Western discourse theories. In order to investigate the adaptabilities of these two discourse theories in the Chinese context, and to balance the tension between them, another normative concept, namely the Confucian Rationality, is then drawn upon from traditional Chinese cultural sources. Accordingly, these three dimensions of discourse theory, as well as the relations between them, are presented. The employment of some empirical descriptions of certain Chinese historical-political facts is also necessary to explain, to supplement, or to question this theoretic framework. Two tension perspectives are critical throughout the research: the tension between universality and particularity, and the tension between normative theories and social-political facts.Through the approaches of textual studies, aided by conceptual and empirical studies as complements, the research is conducted as following: Chapter 1 discusses the tension between Habermas‘s normative discourse theory of law and democracy and social facts; Chapter 2 analyzes the tension between Habermas‘s discourse theory and Foucault‘s discourse theory of power relations, and proposes to rethink the tension problems. Chapter 3 tries to search for the resources in traditional Chinese political cultures, and to put forward another normative discourse theory- the discourse theory of Confucian rationality- to balance the tension between the foregoing two normative discourse theories. It is argued that an ideal type of Confucian rationality (a kind of normative value rationality) can be used as a bridge between the two opposite discourse theories. Chapter 4 further explains the normative theory that was proposed in Chapter 3, and tries to reexamine and redefine the concepts of ―Public Sphere‖ and ―Deliberative Politics in the context of traditional China through empirical descriptions on the ―Public Sphere‖ and political/legal discussions in traditional Chinese society. Finally,Chapter 5 focuses on the descriptions of the political and legal discussions in China's new media public sphere today. It is an empirical response to all the normative studies mentioned above, and at the same time an investigation on the tensions between the normative theories and the social experiences. We argue that, because of the different cognitive structures and diverse modes of thinking in specific cultures, there should be different normative paradigms of discourse democracy in corresponding cultural contexts. Normativity and reality are the two sides of the same coin. Normative discourse theories serve as the guidance for the practices of deliberative democracy, which can, in its turn, verify, supplement, improve and challenge the normative discourse theories. Apart from demonstrating of the multiple dimensions of discourse theories, another practical intent of this thesis is to promote an approach leading to discourse democracy that would combine elements of both Chinese and modern, consistent with both the fundamental predilections of Chinese civilization, and the practical needs of a modern China
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Brodscholl, Per Christian. "Negotiating sustainability in the media: critical perspectives on the popularisation of environmental concerns." Thesis, Curtin University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/2240.
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Despite intensified and concerted efforts to realise sustainable development. Western industrialised countries have in recent years experienced several mass protests against institutions perceived variously to have the potential to govern the global economy in environmentally sustainable or unsustainable ways. This thesis examines how different actors in the news media attempt to legitimate and de-legitimate neoliberal approaches to economic governance on grounds that these approaches are or are not environmentally sustainable. By using a critical discourse analysis perspective to analyse texts produced by actors with competing political commitments (neo-liberal and left-liberal), it discusses how primarily profit-driven generic conventions can govern what can and cannot be said in debates on sustainability. The thesis suggests that the effectiveness of (cultural) politics aimed at legitimating and de-legitimating neo-liberal approaches can be understood in teens of the relationship between an instrumental rationality geared at maximising the effectiveness of existing institutional systems and a communicative rationality geared at achieving understanding.
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Rodrigues, de Carvalho de Sousa Vasconcelos Ana Cristina. "Defining discourses : discourse and the organisational adaptation of information systems." Thesis, Sheffield Hallam University, 2005. http://shura.shu.ac.uk/20473/.
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The focus of this thesis is on the constitutive role of discourse in the organisational adaptation of information systems, an important aspect, although not often explored and relatively neglected in the literature, of the information systems development process and, beyond that, of the role of information systems in organisations within a constructivist and dialogical perspective. The thesis explores the dual aspect of how, on one hand, professional discourses define 'worldviews' over information systems and their organisational adaptation and, on the other hand, the premises around which these discourses are constructed and deployed, both in the literature and through an inductive and qualitative case study, based upon Grounded Theory principles. It analyses how different professional discourses explored tensions in the management of the information environment articulated around three major categories of issues, which acted as interpretative repertoires and discursive resources: i) representations of the information environment, expressed through the tension between information centripetalism and information centrifugalism; ii) models of information management approaches, expressed through the tension between a focus on process and a focus on meanings; iii) and, underlying the previous elements, assumptions about the nature and complexity of the environment, strategies for dealing with uncertainty and correlated models of learning and sense-making. These different categories of issues embody different tensions between forces that, it is argued, shaped the particular context of the University environment. In negotiated interaction contexts, different actors made claims to power by exploring different discursive practices leading to the organisational adaptation of information systems. But, while making use of these discursive resources, different actors also established contacts between forces and, agentically shaped different realities, forming new organisational identities and, in doing so, acted as a vehicle for the social re-shaping and adaptation of the organisational role of information systems.
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Lotz, Amanda Dyanne. "Televising feminist discourses : postfeminist discourse in the post-network era /." Digital version accessible at:, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/main.
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Mouw, Ted. "Gravity's Rainbow: Modernist Discourse Vineland: Postmodernist Discourse." Oberlin College Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 1990. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1397142953.
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Lillian, Donna L. "Canadian neo-conservative discourse a critical discourse analysis /." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/NQ66355.pdf.
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Sakita, Tomoko. "Reporting Discourse in English - Discourse, Cognition, and Consciousness." Kyoto University, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/182387.
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Kyoto University (京都大学)0048
新制・課程博士
博士(人間・環境学)
甲第7533号
人博第47号
10||157(吉田南総合図書館)
新制||人||12(附属図書館)
UT51-98-W277
京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科人間・環境学専攻
(主査)教授 山梨 正明, 教授 大木 充, 助教授 北山 忍
学位規則第4条第1項該当
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Brodscholl, Per Christian. "Negotiating sustainability in the media: critical perspectives on the popularisation of environmental concerns." Curtin University of Technology, Faculty of Media, Society and Culture, 2003. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=13600.
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Despite intensified and concerted efforts to realise sustainable development. Western industrialised countries have in recent years experienced several mass protests against institutions perceived variously to have the potential to govern the global economy in environmentally sustainable or unsustainable ways. This thesis examines how different actors in the news media attempt to legitimate and de-legitimate neoliberal approaches to economic governance on grounds that these approaches are or are not environmentally sustainable. By using a critical discourse analysis perspective to analyse texts produced by actors with competing political commitments (neo-liberal and left-liberal), it discusses how primarily profit-driven generic conventions can govern what can and cannot be said in debates on sustainability. The thesis suggests that the effectiveness of (cultural) politics aimed at legitimating and de-legitimating neo-liberal approaches can be understood in teens of the relationship between an instrumental rationality geared at maximising the effectiveness of existing institutional systems and a communicative rationality geared at achieving understanding.
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Badlato, Margaret Peggy. "Miskitu discourse /." Full text (PDF) from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/fullcit?p3004210.
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Taranto, Gina Christine. "Discourse Adjectives /." Diss., Connect to a 24 p. preview or request complete full text in PDF format. Access restricted to UC campuses, 2003. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ucsd/fullcit?p3099909.
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Bueno, José Osvaldo Sampaio. "Military discourse." Florianópolis, SC, 2005. http://repositorio.ufsc.br/handle/123456789/102700.
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Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Letras/Inglês e Literatura Correspondente.Made available in DSpace on 2013-07-16T01:40:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 232380.pdf: 1721326 bytes, checksum: 72d09b11d9da1c618d8e04d7c73c11f5 (MD5)
This thesis investigates military discourse, comparing media representations and spoken interactions in battalions of the Brazilian Army. Considering the Brazilian Army as a closed environment, most of media representations tend to convey issues of authoritarianism and rudeness in relation to interactions between superiors and subordinates. Thus, I analyze one song, one TV program, two films, three magazine articles, and two comic strips from the media, and eight excerpts of spoken interactions between superiors and subordinates, recorded in two battalions of the Brazilian Army, in two different states in Brazil. I formulate the following research questions: 1) how does the media represent military discourse? 2) how does the Brazilian Army represent military discourse, in relation to issues of power, authority, discipline and politeness? 3) what are the main characteristics of institutional and casual conversation found in spoken interactions in the army? and 4) in what circumstances can casual conversation occur, involving superiors and subordinates in the Brazilian Army?. To answer my questions, I analyze the selected data according to the interpersonal metafunction and register, mood choices, modality, and characteristics of casual and pragmatic conversations, as proposed in Systemic Functional Linguistics and to the concepts of power, social order and social changes, presented in Critical Discourse Analysis. Results suggest that superiors modalize and modulate commands, in order to reduce the effects of power and authority; superiors do not use offenses to command subordinates; superiors consider and respect subordinates' opinions, since subordinates use a high proportion of declarative clauses in interactions; and occurrences of informality are permeated by minor clauses, slang, jargon, swearing and vocatives, reducing the effects of hierarchy. This thesis serves to demystify pre-judgments related to military discourse, and to distinguish it as an unknown, interesting and vast field to be studied. Esta tese investiga o discurso militar, comparando representações pela mídia e interações verbais em batalhões do Exército Brasileiro. Considerando o Exército Brasileiro como um ambiente fechado, muitas das representações pela mídia tendem a transmitir questões relativas a autoritarismo e aspereza em relação a interações entre superiores e subordinados. Assim, analiso uma música, um programa de TV, dois filmes, três artigos de revista e duas tiras de histórias em quadrinhos e oito extratos de interações verbais entre superiores e subordinados, gravadas em dois batalhões do Exército Brasileiro, em dois estados diferentes do Brasil. Formulo as seguintes perguntas de pesquisa: 1) como a mídia representa o discurso militar?; 2) como o Exército Brasileiro representa o discurso militar, em relação às questões de poder, autoridade, disciplina e educação?; 3) quais são as principais características das conversações institucionais e casuais encontradas em interações verbais no exército?; e 4) em quais circunstâncias pode ocorrer a conversação casual, envolvendo superiores e subordinados no Exército Brasileiro?. Para responder minhas perguntas, analiso os dados conforme a metafunção interpessoal e registro, escolhas de modo, modalização e características de conversações pragmáticas e casuais, de acordo com a Lingüística Sistêmica Funcional e os conceitos de poder, ordem social e mudanças sociais, apresentados na Análise Crítica do Discurso. Os resultados sugerem que superiores modalizam e modulam os comandos, para reduzir os efeitos de poder e autoridade; os superiores não usam ofensas para comandar subordinados; os superiores consideram e respeitam as opiniões dos subordinados, uma vez que os subordinados usam uma alta proporção de orações declarativas nas interações; ocorrências de informalidade são permeadas por orações mínimas, gírias, jargões, palavrões e vocativos, reduzindo os efeitos da hierarquia. Esta tese serve para desmistificar pré-julgamentos em relação ao discurso militar, e para destacá-lo como um campo desconhecido, interessante e vasto a ser estudado.
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Delaquis, Eunice N. M. "The Adinkra: Re-reading a Discourse within a Discourse." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1375372002.
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Munier, Opitz Bénédicte. "Les discours sur l'allaitement en France et en Allemagne : d'un geste privé à un acte public." Thesis, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016USPCB208.
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Cette thèse en analyse du discours a pour objectif l'analyse comparative et l'analyse critique du discours sur l'allaitement dans deux communautés ethnolinguistiques différentes : la France et l'Allemagne. La question à l'origine de notre recherche est la suivante : choisir d'allaiter est-il réellement un choix ou les femmes suivent-elles le chemin tracé par les auteurs ? Nous avons réuni un corpus composé de brochures institutionnelles et de guides parentaux. Dans notre travail, nous avons relevé la façon dont les auteurs de ces guides et brochures se placent dans leur discours ainsi que les arguments qu'ils mettent en avant afin de convaincre les femmes d'allaiter. L'étude des caractérisations du lait et de l'allaitement dans notre corpus de textes franco-allemands nous a permis de montrer que ces auteurs laissent peu de place au choix d'allaiter même si cette absence relative de choix ne se traduit pas de la même manière dans les deux communautés ethnolinguistiques étudiéesThe objective of this thesis in discourse analysis is a critical and comparative analysis of discourses about breastfeeding in two different ethnolinguistic communities: France and Germany. The original research question is: is the option of breastfeeding a real choice or do women follow the path lined up by authors ? We gathered a corpus composed of institutional booklets and parent's manuals. In our research, we have considered how the authors of these guides and booklets are positioning themselves in their discourses and the arguments put forward to convince women to breastfeed. The study of milk and breastfeeding characterizations in our corpus of French and German texts has allowed us to show that these authors leave little opportunity to choosing breastfeeding, even if this lack of choice is translated in a different way in the two ethnolinguistic communities studied
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Thornborrow, Joanna. "Discourse, power and ideology : some explorations in critical discourse analysis." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 1991. http://oleg.lib.strath.ac.uk:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=21500.
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This thesis consists of an inquiry into the articulation between language, ideology, and power, which is approached from two different angles. Firstly, it deals with theories of ideology as representation, and secondly, investigates the effect of ideology and power on structures of discursive interaction. Thompson (1984) has argued for the necessity of accounting for the relationship between meaning and power in the study of ideology, a relationship which does not seem to be adequately addressed by theories of representation on the one hand, or by theories of social interaction, on the other. The central objective of this research is then to identify possible areas of interface between the linguistic domains of semantics and pragmatics, and the social domains of background beliefs and institutional interaction, and to investigate how this interface may, in practice, construct and organise ideological meanings in discourse. Through a series of case studies, examples of naturally-occurring discourse are analysed in order to examine specific ways in which meaning works to sustain asymmetrical relations of power, and it is argued that this relationship between meaning and power cannot be fully accounted for without integrating pragmatic theories of language in use into the analysis of social discourse.
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Bernans, David Val. "The postmodernism-post-Marxism nexus, Laclau, Mouffe, Lyotard and Foucault's discourses on discourse." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape15/PQDD_0012/NQ33520.pdf.
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McLean, Stacy Avril. "Negotiating identity in multilingual parliamentary discourses in the Western Cape: a discourse analysis." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/4282.
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Magister Artium - MASouth Africa transitioned from an apartheid system of government, with one ruling party to a new democracy; a transition that is still currently in progress. With this transition came many new freedoms, such as the ability to choose and freely express one’s linguistic and cultural preferences, amongst many others. This study analyses the negotiation of identity in constitutionally multilingual parliamentary discourses in the Western Cape in order to create a better understanding of the influence the new South Africa has on the identities constructed in parliamentary discourses whereby polylingualism is used as a linguistic resource. The parliamentary discourse is deemed constitutionally multilingual due to the fact that before 1994, African languages were not considered official, but presently Afrikaans, English and isiXhosa are credited provincial official languages in the Western Cape and are amongst the eleven national official languages. In order to investigate how performative identities are constructed discursively in the relatively new spaces of linguistic democracy, this study conducted a multisemiotic analysis on political manifestos in conjunction with a discourse analysis of a randomly selected Hansard Report of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, which is the only parliament of the national nine to have an alternate political party in government. In collaboration with consulting the Standing Rules of the House, the National Language Policy Framework, the Western Cape Language Policy and observing the actual sitting, scholarly literature pertaining to language use, multisemiotic features and identity negotiation were evaluated to better understand the discursive spaces in which identity is negotiated as well as to achieve the objectives of this study.
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McCullough, Ryan Phillip. "Reconstructing poverty discourse." Huntington, WV : [Marshall University Libraries], 2005. http://www.marshall.edu/etd/descript.asp?ref=556.
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Bosma, Wauter Eduard. "Discourse oriented summarization." Enschede : Centre for Telematics and Information Technology (CTIT), 2008. http://doc.utwente.nl/58836.
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Isaacs, James I. "Supposition in discourse /." Diss., Digital Dissertations Database. Restricted to UC campuses, 2007. http://uclibs.org/PID/11984.
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Capone, Alessandro. "Modality and discourse." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.363623.
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Andrews, T. E. "Discourse and method." Thesis, University of Essex, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.380586.
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Kramer, Emily Hope. "Musical Discourse Coherence." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1336857806.
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Sanderson, Tamsin. "Corpus, culture, discourse." Tübingen Narr, 2006. http://d-nb.info/989100103/04.
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Pradhan, Kavita. "Discourse on Lightness." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2003. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-11242003-124353/.
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Thesis (M. Arch.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2003.Vita. Abstract. "August 2003." Keywords from electronic version. Bibliography: leaf 70. Also available via the Internet.
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Raja, Ahmad Raja Adzrin. "Corporate philanthropic discourse." Thesis, Curtin University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/182.
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This thesis derives important insights concerning the corporate philanthropic discourse of Australian listed firms. Corporate philanthropic discourse is analysed in two phases: (i) corporate philanthropic communication (Phase I) and (ii) corporate philanthropic involvement (Phase II). The first phase examines the noncommunication of corporate philanthropy. The second phase details the types and factors of corporate philanthropic involvement. In Phase I, a model on philanthropic communication is presented to better understand this (non-) communication and how such gift-giving is (or is not) communicated and in what form. In Phase II, the types and factors of corporate philanthropic involvement are examined. Data are gathered from over 1,500 annual reports and stand-alone sustainability reports for 2008.The findings of Phase I reveal that only 16.86 percent of Australian listed firms communicate any philanthropic information. This could be due to lack of clear reporting guidelines and absence of mandatory requirement for such disclosure. Further, it could also be argued that such muting is due to strategic reasons as communication opens the door for increased scrutiny. Yet more information dissemination, especially with better disclosure could enhance stakeholders’ confidence. Multivariate analyses indicate overwhelming evidence that firm size and profitability have a positive and statistically significant association with the extent of corporate philanthropic communication.Phase II focuses on corporate philanthropic involvement. Firms engage in various activities ranging from monetary to various types of non-monetary giving. Multiple regression results reveal that lagged free cash flow and firm size are statistically highly significant associated with corporate philanthropic involvement. These findings are consistent with slack resources theory tenets.Overall, the results from this thesis have implications for firms, regulators, investors, community and other interested parties. The key findings highlight over 80 percent (more than 1,200 Australian listed firms) choose to be completely silent on this key societal element. Given corporate philanthropy’s high prominence, the findings suggest that a more proactive effort to promote transparent and effective discourse is required with possible need for regulatory intervention.
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Evans, Robert. ""Learning discourse" : learning biographies, embedded speech and discoursal identity in students' talk." Thesis, Open University, 2001. http://oro.open.ac.uk/19930/.
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The main research question of this study is: What discourses of learning and identity do students develop in relation to their individual learning histories, their experience of learning and of knowledge-acquisition in the HE environment, and how critically reflective are students of the positioning enacted through the dominant discourses of the HE environment with particular regard to institutional discourses of academic learning and knowledge? Rationale: The university is seen as a significant stage in the development of students' learning histories, of particular relevance for the students' perceptions of self, learning and knowledge. The role of discourses of knowledge acquisition and learning in talk - 'learning discourses' - is examined against the background of general study conditions for students poised between study and work. The case study: methodology and methods The dissertation, which is an example of computer-aided qualitative research, describes a small-scale ethnographic study of students at a German university. The researcher adopts a broadly ethnomethodological approach. The data was collected in a limited number of individual in-depth research interviews to construct a language corpus. Other data regarding the research site was collected via observation and from documentary sources. Data analysis: the interview transcripts were analysed using a mixture of conversation analysis; institutional discourse(s) analysis and narrative analysis. Results: the study provides evidence of the production of learning biographies in interview talk. Evidence is also produced in this study of the 'biographization' of students' talk. The coherence of students' discourse practices in relation to their experience of learning is underlined and the researcher argues that the student respondents negotiate the intrinsic difficulties of asymmetrical institutional talk by deploying a range of discourses, both institutionally-generated as well as individual discourses of resistance and opposition. The evidence of individual discourse practices provided by the data employed here is seen as a strong argument for a low-inference approach to data analysis. The results produced by analysis of the interview transcripts demonstrate the central importance of heteroglossic elements in talk, - here described as 'embedded speech' and understood to function as a ’plausibility device' - in the process of self-expression and the production of own discourse Relevance This research is seen as relevant for university learning strategies, for the appreciation of student self-perception, their discourses of knowledge and resistance to the prevailing 'human capital' discourses of learning, exam success and career orientation of HE study.
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Evans, Rob. ""Learning discourse" : learning biographies, embedded speech and discoursal identity in students' talk." n.p, 2001. http://dart.open.ac.uk/abstracts/page.php?thesisid=109.
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Strandberg, Maria. "Nyanlända invandrares etablering i Sverige : En kritisk diskursanalys av den nya lagen om etableringsinsatser för vissa nyanlända invandrare." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Sociologiska institutionen, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-53904.
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This thesis is a qualitative study of a new law that was applied in December 2010. The law is called Lagen om etableringsinsatser för vissa nyanlända invandrare, and is meant to help newly arrived immigrants that come to Sweden to establish themselves in the Swedish society. The aim of the study is to see what discourses the Swedish government produces as a result of this new law. Interesting for the study is to see what happens in the implementation stage at a local level, in this case in the municipality of Örnsköldsvik. Theoretically and methodologically I emanate from critical discourse theory and institutional theory. Previous research about the production of knowledge and power that originate from a post colonial theory is central throughout the study. The key findings are that the discourses that are being produced as a result of this new law build much on previous discourses within the field of integration policy. The main discourses that are being produced and reproduced are a care providing discourse, a market discourse and a state controlling discourse. A momentous problem is however the presumption of “Us and Them” which is connected to institutional structures and leads to an unequal power relationship.Maria Strandberg
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Thoma, Sonja Christine. "Discourse particles and the syntax of discourse-evidence from Miesbach Bavarian." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/60278.
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This dissertation is concerned with the form, function, and distribution of discourse particles in Miesbach Bavarian. These elements are commonly considered in either semantic, pragmatic, or discourse analytic terms. This current investigation explores the interaction between form, meaning, and distribution of discourse particles, their syntax. I show that discourse particles in Bavarian are constructed, and discourse particles therefore should not be considered as a primitive. ‘Discourse particle’, as I show in this dissertation, is the effect of a unit of language with an invariable core meaning (among them scalar and deictic core meanings) when it associates with a discourse functional syntactic layer that represents the discourse participants’ epistemic states. The claims of this dissertation are empirical at the core; I show conversational data from the Miesbach Bavarian dialect of German that provides the need to distinguish three classes of discourse particles (DPRTs); speaker oriented, addressee oriented, and other oriented DPRTs. I present an analysis that proposes these three classes to be the result of an association with different discourse participants (speaker, addressee, or other). This association serves to ground propositions. In order to model this grounding function of those items interpreted as DPRTs, I make use of the Universal Spine Hypothesis, a framework proposed by Wiltschko (2014). I extend Wiltschko's Universal Spine to include the participant anchor with the projection GroundP.Arts, Faculty of
Graduate
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Nkurikiye, Sylvestre. "The pragmatics of Kirundi marriage discourse : speech acts and discourse strategies." Virtual Press, 1991. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/833004.
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This dissertation is a descriptive study of speech acts encoded in Kirundi marriage transactional discourse and the strategies used by the participants to encode them and attempts to understand the interrelationships between the speech acts and the strategies.Chapter 1 states the objectives and describes the data to be studied and the approach to go about it. Chapter 2 provides the reader with some background information on Burundian society and culture in the area of matrimony.Chapter 3 explores the conversation activities and the management of the interactions between the interactants in the sociocultural context of marriage transactions. Formality participation status are discussed and shown to be crucial factors for the semantic and pragmatic interpretation of the participants' verbal contributions. Chapter 4 investigates the nature and the function of the speech acts performed by the interactants. The speech act identification and categorization are based on the social aspects of linguistic action and on the conventionality and contextuality of discourse. Chapter 5 inquires into the strategies applied by the interactants to encode and decode them. Chapter 6 is a summary and conclusion.Department of English
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Prat, Chantel Spring. "Hemispheric differences in discourse representation : insight into right hemisphere discourse processes /." For electronic version search Digital dissertations database. Restricted to UC campuses. Access is free to UC campus dissertations, 2004. http://uclibs.org/PID/11984.
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Mann, Steve. "The development of discourse in a discourse of development : a case study of a group constructing a new discourse." Thesis, Aston University, 2002. http://publications.aston.ac.uk/14811/.
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This thesis is a qualitative case study drawing on discourse analysis and ethnographic traditions. The aim of the study is to provide a description of the discourse consciously constructed by a group of six TESOL professionals in the interests of their own development. Once a week, the group met for one hour and took turns to act as 'Speaker'. The other five individuals acted as Understanders. The extra space given to the Speaker allowed a fuller articulation of a problem or focus than would normally be possible in other professional talk. The Understanders contributed moves to support this articulation. The description covers a two-year period (1998-2000) of this constructed discourse. Data, collected during this period, are drawn from several different sources: recordings, interviews, diaries and critical incident journals. The main recordings are of the actual Group Development Meetings (GDMs). Discussion of six transcribed GDMs demonstrates which discourse choices and decisions were important. In particular, the study looks at the key role played by 'Reflection' in this process. It is argued that Reflection is the key element in supporting the Speaker. The analysis of Reflection, which is considered from four perspectives (values, purpose, form and outcomes) draws on data from the featured cases. Issues relating to the transfer to other groups of this discourse-based approach to professional development are considered.
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Razgulyaeva, Anna. "Les enchaînements dialogiques avec les connecteurs : une étude de "mais", "oui", "non"." Thesis, Toulouse 2, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012TOU20007.
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Cette thèse présente une étude sémantico-pragmatique des emplois dialogiques de mais, oui, non et de leurs quatre combinaisons : mais oui, mais non, oui mais et non mais. Les enchaînements dialogiques « X – Mais Y » posent la question de l’unicité du sens du connecteur oppositif, étant donné que la relation entre les énoncés X et Y est très différente de celle qui s’établit entre les énoncés dans les configurations monologiques « X mais Y ». Dans cette thèse, les deux types d’enchaînement avec mais sont analysés dans le cadre de la sémantique dynamique, qui propose de décrire le sens des expressions linguistiques à partir de leur capacité à modifier le contexte. L’opération énonciative de mais est spécifiée à partir des contraintes imposées sur le contexte linguistique environnant, que l’examen de divers usages contextuels de mais en monologue et en dialogue a permis de révéler. Cet examen conduit à conclure que la spécificité des enchaînements dialogiques avec mais n’est pas liée à la sémantique du connecteur, mais à la progression du discours, différente en monologue et en dialogue. Les combinaisons de mais avec oui et avec non sont étudiées après une analyse détaillée du marqueur de validation et du marqueur de rejet. La façon dont ces deux marqueurs interagissent avec le contexte gauche témoigne de leur asymétrie sémantique, confirmée par la possibilité de les utiliser en tant que formes concurrentes pour valider un énoncé négatif. Dans les combinaisons de oui et de non avec mais, le second élément détermine le type de relation signalée : oui mais et non mais marquent l’opposition, tandis que mais oui et mais non traduisent la validation et le rejet. Néanmoins, le premier élément a des incidences sur l’interprétation du second. Ainsi, les réactions mais oui et mais non présentent l’information validée ou rejetée comme déjà admise dans le contexte ou, au contraire, comme exclue et donc impossible à envisager. En revanche, dans les réactions oui mais et non mais, le connecteur oppositif enchaîne sur l’information accessible à la suite de l’emploi du premier marqueurThis dissertation presents a semantic-pragmatic study of dialogic uses of mais, oui, non and their four combinations : mais oui, mais non, oui mais et non mais. The dialogic sequences “X – Mais Y” raise the question of the uniqueness of the oppositive connector, because the relationship between the utterances X and Y is very different from that which is established between both utterances in the “X mais Y” monologic configurations. In this dissertation, the two types of linking with mais are analyzed in the framework of dynamic semantics, which aims to describe the meaning of linguistic expressions from their ability to change the context. The enunciative operation of mais is specified from the constraints on the surrounding linguistic context that the examination of various contextual uses of mais in monologue and dialogue revealed. This examination leads to the conclusion that the specificity of dialogic sequences with mais is not related to the semantics of the connector, but the progress of speech, which is different in monologue and dialogue. Combinations of mais with oui and non are considered after a previous detailed analysis of validation marker and rejection marker. The way these two markers interact with the left context reflects their semantic asymmetry, confirmed by the possibility of using them as competing forms to confirm a negative utterance. In combination of oui and non with mais, the second element determines the type of relationship: oui mais and non mais mark the opposition, while mais oui and mais non reflect validation and rejection. However, the first element has a clear implication on the interpretation of the second one. In that sense mais oui and mais non responses present the validated or rejected information as already accepted in the context or, on the contrary, excluded, and therefore impossible to consider. On the other hand, in reactions with oui mais and non mais the oppositive connector regards the information accessible next to the use of the first marker
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Patterson, Natasha. "A womanist discourse analysis of the comedic discourse of Jackie "Moms" Mabley." [Gainesville, Fla.] : University of Florida, 2006. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/UFE0014282.
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Bernard, Taryn. "Justificatory discourse of the perpetrator in TRC testimonies : a discourse-historical analysis." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/1571.
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Thesis (MA (General Linguistics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.This study investigates the ways in which former South African Police (SAP) perpetrators of human rights violations justify their criminal actions in testifying before the Amnesty Committee (AC) of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). In particular, attention goes to the testimonies of former Commissioner of Police Johan van der Merwe, and former member of the Security Branch section of the SAP, Jeffrey Benzien. A key assumption in the study is that the justification of human rights violations is a discursive practice that is largely language dependent (Reisigl & Wodak 200: xi). The research draws on the theoretical aims and methods of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). It refers largely to Benke and Wodak’s (2003) discourse–historical study on the justificatory discourse of ex-Wehrmacht officers of the Austrian army. This study therefore takes a discourse-historical approach to discourse and the data, an approach which takes into consideration the surrounding political and historical context of the selected texts, which are, in this case, the testimonies of perpetrators at the AC hearings. Besides an analysis of the justificatory discourses produced by two former police officers, the study reflects on how the discursive strategies of the apartheid perpetrators compare with one another and with the ex- Wehrmacht officers. CDA and the discourse-historical approach provide interdisciplinary angles on linguistic analysis of a text. For this reason, a review is given of literature which relates the study to political, historical and philosophical insights. The analysis particularly makes use of Foster et al.’s (2005) socio-political study of apartheid perpetrator narratives. The study reveals that perpetrators used a fixed set of justificatory discursive strategies to talk about human rights violations, and their role in such violations. These linguistic strategies are used for a number of different reasons, including reducing personal responsibility, avoiding talking about past atrocities, saving face where personal malicious and degenerate behaviour is made public and diverting feelings of personal guilt. On a discourse theoretical level the study eventually convinces that there are generic strategies typically used in justificatory discourse, whether it be in response to Wehrmacht atrocities of the Second World War or to security force excesses in repressing aspirations of disenfranchised citizens during the last thirty years of the Nationalist government in South Africa. Some stories don’t want to be told. They walk away, carrying their suitcases held together with grey string. Look at their disappearing curved spines. Hunch-backs. Harmed ones. Hold alls. Some stories refuse to be danced or mimed, drop their scuffed canes and clattering tap-shoes, erase their traces in nursery rhymes or ancient games like blind man’s bluff. Excerpt from “Parts of Speech” by Ingrid de Kok
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Mlotsa, Faith Busisiwe. "Learner involvement in discourse : a contextualised discourse analysis of undergraduate online discussions." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7881.
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Bibliography: leaves 128-134.The study analyzes the discourse from online discussions in a Language and Communication Economics course at the University of Cape Town. The study critiques claims made by several researchers in Computer Mediated Communication that CMC as mode of Communication enhances interaction and produces hybrid discourse.
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HUHN, CHRISTIE MARIE. "PRETEND TELEPHONE DISCOURSE: A COMPARISON STUDY OF CHILDREN'S ACTUAL TELEPHONE DISCOURSE SKILLS." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2001. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin990811836.
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Jen, Clare Ching. "SARS discourse analysis technoscientific race-nation-gender formations in public health discourse /." College Park, Md.: University of Maryland, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/8798.
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Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2008.Thesis research directed by: Women's Studies Dept. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.
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Olembe, Esther. "Production des savoirs dans le discours universitaire en situation d’évaluation endogène : philosophie, sciences économiques et de gestion au Cameroun." Thesis, Lyon 2, 2010. http://www.theses.fr/2010LYO20071.
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En prenant le contre-pied des méthodes généralisées et universalisantes d’évaluation mondiale des institutions de la science, la présente thèse décrit les savoirs générés par le discours universitaire au moment de leur mise à l’épreuve de validation par des instances d’évaluation d’un espace localisé. Le cadre d’observation est le système d’évaluation en vigueur au Cameroun qui sert de dispositif de promotion sociale des enseignants-chercheurs, et de légitimation du travail universitaire. Le décryptage des formes de savoirs produits en situation d’évaluation endogène prend appui sur l’épistémologie historique et l’archéologie foucaldienne des discours. Les résultats de l’analyse montrent que le savoir produit, s’inscrivant dans une temporalité discursive est anonyme et marqué historiquement, culturellement et géographiquement. Ce savoir appartient en outre à un réseau de discours qui dépasse la seule sphère des universités et des disciplines. Les mécanismes et stratégies d’élaboration des savoirs sont soumis à des règles et à des normes qui elles-mêmes produisent de manière permanente des formes de pouvoir. Les référents théoriques et méthodologiques mobilisés dans ce travail participent à l’enrichissement des cadres de référence traditionnels des sciences de l’information et de la communicationIn addition to the general and universal evaluation methods of scientific instituions, this thesis describes knowledge generated by university discourse during validation by local authorities. The framework of experience is the evaluation system in force in Cameroon which serves as social promotion for university lecturers and researchers and legitimizes university work. Deciphering forms of knowledge produced in an endogenous evaluation system is based on historical epistemology and Foucaldian archeology of discourse. The results of the analysis show that knowledge produced falls within the purview of discursive temporality and is anonymous and geographically, culturally and historically marked. It belongs moreover to a network of discourse which goes beyond the lone sphere of universities and disciplines. Knowledge generation mechanisms and strategies are subject to rules and standards which themselves permanently produce forms of power. The theoretical and methodological referents mobilised in this work contribute to the development of traditional frames of information and communication sciences
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Kerbs, Raúl. "Silence and the discoursive existence of God in Paul Ricoeur's hermeneuticsof religious discourse." Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú - Departamento de Humanidades, 2013. http://repositorio.pucp.edu.pe/index/handle/123456789/112879.
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The paper analyzes the status of God's existence in Ricoeur's thought. This question emerges from the central character of language in religious experience and the reference to God in Ricoeur's hermeneutics.The A. examines whether in Ricoeur God has a discursive existence. S!nce this hypothesis presupposes that there is no place for silence at the word's origin,dueto God's existence being always related to language, this supposition is also examined. The A. wishes to support the idea that silence is always given in and by language. Consequently, the arguments favor God's discursive existence in the hermeneutics of Ricoeur's religious discourse.Se trata de analizar la cuestión del estatuto que tiene la existencia de Dios en el pensamiento de Ricoeur. La cuestión se origina en la centralidad de la idea de la lingüisticidad de la experiencia religiosa y de la referencia a Dios en la hermenéutica ricoeuriana. Se examina la posibilidad de afirmar que en Ricoeur Dios tiene una existencia discursiva. Como esta hipótesis debe manejar el supuesto de que no hay lugar para el silencio en el origen de la palabra, porque la existencia de Dios está siempre vinculada con el lenguaje, también se examina este supuesto. Se trata de apoyar la idea de que el silencio siempre se da en y por el lenguaje, por lo cual también se argumenta en favor de la existencia discursiva de Dios en la hermenéutica del discurso religioso de Ricoeur.
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Hamilton, Elizabeth Anne. "Coercion, responsibility, and discourse." Diss., [Riverside, Calif.] : University of California, Riverside, 2010. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=2019836961&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1274292798&clientId=48051.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2010.Includes abstract. Title from first page of PDF file (viewed May 19, 2010). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.
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Bassaganyas-Bars, Toni. "Have- sentences in discourse." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/462970.
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Aquesta tesi investiga la interpretació de les frases amb el verb have en anglès. Aquest verb ha generat una gran quantitat de literatura en tots els àmbits de la lingüística, sense que s'hagi arribat a cap consens sobre com cal analitzar-lo. Dos dels motius que expliquen aquesta situació són la dificultat per determinar quin significat aporta have en tots els seus usos, i la restricció de definitud que presenta quan el seu objecte conté un nom relacional. En aquesta tesi analitzo com s'han tractat aquests dos problemes en la literatura semàntica, i proposo una nova anàlisi que qüestiona alguns supòsits de què parteix aquesta literatura: la visió transitiva dels noms relacionals, la naturalesa i l'abast de l'efecte de definitud, i una oposició simple entre sintagmes nominals indefinits i definits/quantificacionals. Així mateix, apunto una possible via per integrar en aquesta anàlisi alguns dels usos funcionals de have.This dissertation looks into the interpretation of have-sentences in English. The verb have has given rise to a great amount of literature in all the subfields of linguistics; no consensus, however, has emerged on how it should be analyzed. Two of the reasons explaining this situation are the difficulty of determining what meaning have contributes to a sentence across its uses, and the definiteness effect it shows when its object contains a relational noun. In this thesis I analyze how these two problems have been tackled in the semantic literature, and I propose a new analysis that calls into question some of the assumptions this literature is built on: the transitive view of relational nouns, the nature and the scope of the definiteness effect, and a simple opposition between `weak' and `strong' NPs. Furthermore, I point at a possible way to integrate some of the functional uses of have into this analysis.
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Atas, Ufuk. "Discourse Functions Of Students." Master's thesis, METU, 2012. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12614487/index.pdf.
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This study aims to analyze the discourse functions of code-switching used by the students and the teachers in EFL classrooms in a Turkish university. Another aim of this study is to find out the forms of code-switching used by the teachers and students and compare the amount and functions of these code-switching usages in different levels. In the light of these aims, two advanced classes, two pre-intermediate classes and one intermediate class were observed and video recorded. The data obtained from these recordings were transcribed using the transcription software EXMARaLDA and the following results have been obtained: 1) teachers and students use code-switching in the classes for educational and social reasons2) the most frequent form of code-switching was observed to be using discourse markers
and 3) there was not a significant difference in advanced and pre-intermediate levels in terms of the amounts and functions of code-switching.
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Hoyle, Richard A. "Scenarios, discourse and translation." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2001. http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/844384/.
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This thesis demonstrates how new theories concerning language and cognition can be applied to our understanding of specific languages, and to the task of translation. Section one documents the theory of scenarios, how people store, categorize, and access information in the brain, and demonstrates how these mental scenarios are reflected in the grammar and lexicon of texts. It shows how scenarios shared by speaker and audience allow effective communication without enormous verbal detail, and explains how miscommunication occurs, especially across cultural and linguistic divides. Section two applies scenario theory to the Greek New Testament, demonstrating how specific grammatical forms, such as Participles and the Article, are linked to scenarios. This affects discourse analysis and exegesis, by giving textual evidence that certain scenarios are open, and thus certain information is implicit and intended to be communicated. Scenario theory is also applied to lexical choice, providing a theoretical framework for determining the topic of a passage, and clarifying exegetical decisions. Section three applies scenario theory to texts in the Parkari language of Pakistan. This not only helps in textual analysis, explaining the choice and significance of certain grammatical forms, but also demonstrates that although Parkari, like New Testament Greek and English, uses different grammatical forms depending on whether a scenario is currently open or not, the specific forms used differ between languages. Section four shows how the mismatch of mental scenarios, between original speakers of New Testament Greek and modem Parkaris, highlights potential problem areas in translation. It also suggests possible solutions to such problems, by using scenario theory not only to determine the author's intended meaning, but also to provide strategies for communicating that same meaning in translation, specifically addressing the issue of what information is implicit in the source text, and when and how to make it explicit in translation.
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Lovell, Christine. "Legal discourse on rape /." Title page, contents and synopsis only, 1994. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phl899.pdf.
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Singh, David Emmanuel. "Sainthood and revelatory discourse." Thesis, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.421092.
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Christianopoulos, Victor Steve. "A media discourse analysis." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2004. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3014615X.
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Delin, Judith Lesley. "Cleft constructions in discourse." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/6599.
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This thesis presents an analysis of the structure and function of cleft constructions in discourse. Drawing on a corpus of naturally-occurring spoken and written data, we present a multi-layered explanation of how it-clefts, wh-clefts, and reverse wh-clefts are different from non-clefts, and from one another. After a review of previous research on clefts in discourse, we explore the aspects of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics relevant to the structure and function of all three types of cleft. The discussion falls into three main parts: An analysis of the three cleft types, within the framework of Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar (cf. Gazdar et al. [1985]), in which particular attention is paid to the variety of constituents that can appear in particular positions in each type. The output of the grammar rules is compared to the examples that occur in the corpus of data. A treatment of cleft presupposition in terms of an analogy (suggested by van der Sandt [1988]) between presupposition and the treatment of pronominal anaphora in Kamp's [1981] Discourse Representation Theory An examination of the range of accentual patterns, presuppositional relations, and information structures typically appearing in clefts of all three kinds. We show that marked distinctions exist between the three cleft types in terms of all these factors, and suggest ways in which this helps to differentiate the range of discourse contexts in which clefts in general, and each cleft type in particular, are appropriate. At the end of the thesis we point to an analogy between the formal model for clefts presented and a psychological model of sentence processing We also suggest how the conclusions regarding both the structure and function of clefts as a class of construction and the distinction between the three types of cleft could be synthesised in a decision procedure for syntactic choice. Finally, we suggest some related areas for further research.
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Tan, Sunny Siew Bek. "Bakhtin and discourse stylistics." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.339610.
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Duvivier, R. T. "Lecture discourse and intonation." Thesis, University of Kent, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.335928.
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