Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'English language Discourse analysis Case studies'
To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: English language Discourse analysis Case studies.
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'English language Discourse analysis Case studies.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Woo, Ka-hei Michelle, and 胡嘉熙. "An analysis of gender and discourse with reference to data from the Hong Kong International Corpus of English." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1999. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31952495.
Full text
2
Barzamini, Roya. "Languages for All, Languages for Life? : A Case Study of Multilingualism and Educational Provision in One Local Education Authority in England." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för kultur och kommunikation, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-62801.
Full textAbstract:
The focus of the thesis is on the Language Policy in the English education system for bilinguals by looking at texts such as official documents (Languages for All: Languages for Life A Strategy for England and Every Language Matters) and the inspection reports of several schools and identifying discourses and then considering the consequences of these discourses (what are these discourses reveal) for education.
3
Emami, Mohammad. "The dynamics of literary translation : a case study from English to Persian." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/5955.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis aims to elucidate the translation process by devising a way of retrieving evidence of this process from its output. It further aims to assess the claims made by some scholars concerning the possible existence of Translation Universals. In order to isolate the interaction of texts and contexts, a corpus of American short stories was created, with their translations into Persian published after the 1979 Revolution. Three complementary methodologies gave a rounded picture: (1) Corpus-based Descriptive Translation Studies; (2) The pragmatic and rhetorically-based approach of Thinking Translation devised at St Andrews; and (3) The analytical framework mostly established by Halliday in his Systemic Functional Grammar. Approaching the process of translation in the specific order devised in this thesis provided four vantage points to analyse the data in a systematic way from linguistic, discourse, cultural and literary views before reaching what are at once the most personal and most characteristic aspects of a translator's work. The research begins with a literature review of the field and an account of linguistic constraints and of all Translation Universals hypothesised so far, followed by an extensive analysis of data in two consecutive chapters. With reference to the choices made in this corpus, it is discussed in the Conclusions chapter that most of the Translation Universals so far claimed are not in fact universal. It is the role of the translator which has emerged as the determining factor in producing a translated text, and thus as the key to resolving the issues explored in this thesis. It seems there are no constraints beyond the translator's reach, and there are no parameters which do not involve the translator, who introduces his or her own choices, or manipulates certain parameters. Only when they have done so, will the translation, as both process and product, be accomplished.
4
Burris, Jessica Margaret. "Finding Feminism in American Political Discourse : A Discourse Analysis of Post-Feminist Language." UNF Digital Commons, 2012. http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/395.
Full textAbstract:
The term “feminist” is a widely used label that is often embraced by women who do not advocate feminism. The wide use of the feminist label in contrast to the declining presence of feminist activism indicates a problem with the development of a third wave of feminism in the United States. In this study, I evaluated trends in feminism in the United States through an analysis of public political discourse. A semantic discourse analysis of political discourse from 1870 to 2011 evaluated a shift in the use of inclusive and exclusive pronoun usage by female political speakers. Speeches compiled for this study were obtained from internet sources such as NPR, C-Span and CNN, and evaluated the oratory of Victoria Woodhull, Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann. The results of this study indicated that there was not a strong shift in the use of inclusive and exclusive pronouns overtime, but there was a large growth in both population and diversity of the targeted audience, and this growth was often not accommodated for in the discourse of contemporary female political candidates. The slow shift in inclusive discourse indicated a post-feminist line of thought that questioned the validity of an argument for a third wave of feminist activism in the United States. Political discourse cannot define a cause for post-feminism, but can indicate a downward trend in the influence of feminism as a contemporary cultural movement.
5
Nagendra, Geetha. "An activity theoretical analysis of synchronous electronic discourse a case study /." Thesis, Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2006. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B36776968.
Full text
6
Doray, Michele Brigitte Antoinette. "Gender differentiated discourse: a study of teacher discourse in the adult ESL classroom." Thesis, Curtin University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/2122.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate similarities and differences in the classroom discourse of male and female ESL teachers in the academic stream of one Western Australian tertiary institutions ELICOS program. Language and gender research generally suggests that males and females have different and quite distinctive communicative styles. This study attempts to examine if this finding is also manifested in male and female teachers discourse in adult ESL classrooms in the three main aspects of classroom interaction; giving explicit instructions, asking questions and providing verbal feedback, using Sinclair & Coulthards (1975) IRF framework. A sample of six teachers, three males and three females were observed through a process of non-participant observation and their lessons video-recorded in the naturalistic situation of the classroom in order to make a comparative analysis of their discourse.Teacher discourse in the three aspects of classroom interaction, namely, instructions, questioning and feedback, was examined with the purpose of exploring gender differences and similarities so that the reasons and implications for the manifestation of such similarities and differences can be further investigated. Conclusions were then made about the influence of traditional masculine and feminine speech styles on the discourse choices of the teachers.The discourse analysis found that more similarities than differences existed in the teachers classroom discourse supporting the notion that the choice of discourse features is dependent firstly on the context and secondly on the role of the interactants vis-à-vis each other in the community of practice. Although some differences emerged, the teachers in this study generally adopted a facilitative, cooperative speech style in their classroom discourse.
7
Leung, Yiu Hung Humphrey. "Bona to vada your dolly old eke! : a case study of the differences of English use between homosexual and heterosexual people in written discourse." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2002. http://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_ra/390.
Full text
8
李嘉雯 and Ka-man Carmen Lee. "Chinese and English computer-mediated communication in the context of New Literacy Studies." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2002. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B29872959.
Full text
9
Doray, Michele Brigitte Antoinette. "Gender differentiated discourse : a study of teacher discourse in the adult ESL classroom /." Curtin University of Technology, Department of Language and Intercultural Education, 2005. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=16608.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate similarities and differences in the classroom discourse of male and female ESL teachers in the academic stream of one Western Australian tertiary institutions ELICOS program. Language and gender research generally suggests that males and females have different and quite distinctive communicative styles. This study attempts to examine if this finding is also manifested in male and female teachers discourse in adult ESL classrooms in the three main aspects of classroom interaction; giving explicit instructions, asking questions and providing verbal feedback, using Sinclair & Coulthards (1975) IRF framework. A sample of six teachers, three males and three females were observed through a process of non-participant observation and their lessons video-recorded in the naturalistic situation of the classroom in order to make a comparative analysis of their discourse.Teacher discourse in the three aspects of classroom interaction, namely, instructions, questioning and feedback, was examined with the purpose of exploring gender differences and similarities so that the reasons and implications for the manifestation of such similarities and differences can be further investigated. Conclusions were then made about the influence of traditional masculine and feminine speech styles on the discourse choices of the teachers.The discourse analysis found that more similarities than differences existed in the teachers classroom discourse supporting the notion that the choice of discourse features is dependent firstly on the context and secondly on the role of the interactants vis-à-vis each other in the community of practice. Although some differences emerged, the teachers in this study generally adopted a facilitative, cooperative speech style in their classroom discourse.
10
Petkova, Mariana M. "Classroom discourse and Teacher talk influences on English language learner students' mathematics experiences." [Tampa, Fla] : University of South Florida, 2009. http://purl.fcla.edu/usf/dc/et/SFE0002912.
Full text
11
Kong, Ivy Man Sze. "The use of apology strategies in public apologies: a comparison between Chinese and English." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2014. https://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_oa/118.
Full textAbstract:
Public figures have offered more public apologies since the past two decades. However, very little research efforts have been made to study the use of apology strategies in public apologies. This study aims to find out how Chinese and English public figures use apology strategies to publicly apologize, and highlight the similarities and differences in their use of apology strategies. This study used a modified model that was based on Cohen & Olshtain (1981), Olshtain & Cohen (1983), and Blum-Kulka et al. (1989) and identified a total of 11 apology strategies. 8 Chinese and 8 English public apologies over infidelity were collected and analyzed using the model and the use of apology strategies was compiled. It was found that, in general, the Chinese subjects used apology strategies more often than the English subjects. The most frequently used and least frequently used strategies were the same for both groups of data, which were accepting the blame and expressing a lack of intent respectively. One of the significant differences was found in the preference of IFIDs where the Chinese data preferred an expression of apology while the English data preferred an expression of regret. It was also found that 3 of the Chinese apologies used the strategies expressing self-dificiency and offering an explanation or account together. Since the latter was found to be inappropriate in the case of apologizing over infidelity, the concurrent use of these 2 Strategies might be a unique feature of Chinese public apology. Since this study is a pioneering attempt to study the use of apology strategies in public apologies, further research efforts are much encouraged. It is hoped that this study could serves as a reference for further studies on apology strategies in public apology.
12
Lee, Brenda Hilary. "An analysis of senior secondary students' writing and the use of rhetorical devices." Thesis, Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 1993. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/HKUTO/record/B38626354.
Full text
13
Meadows, Bryan Hall. "NATIONALISM AND LANGUAGE LEARNING AT THE US/MEXICO BORDER: AN ETHNOGRAPHICALLY-SENSITIVE CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE REPRODUCTION OF NATION, POWER, AND PRIVILEGE IN AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOM." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194033.
Full textAbstract:
This study investigates how the relationship between nationalism and language learning is manifested in discourse at an English language classroom facilitated in Nogales Sonora along the Mexico/US border. Employing ethnographically-sensitive critical discourse analysis, this study contributes to the fields of English Language Teaching (ELT), Border Studies, and Nationalism Studies by introducing three analytical terms that provide a means to document the social construction of nation-states (termed herein as imagined national communities of practice). The three terms are (1) nationalist practices, which refers to social practice that presupposes nationalist principles, (2) nationalist border practices, which refers to discerning self/other along nationalist lines, and (3) nationalist standard practices, which refers to the articulation of nationalist standards of language and subjectivity. The students attending the class under analysis comprise a unique population in that they are adults who occupy positions of economic and social privilege in the Nogales Sonora community because of their management-level employment at maquila factories. Reflecting their status, the students are invested in nationalist practices of border and standard in order to align themselves with nation-state institutions and to distance themselves from cultural and linguistic liminality (e.g., Mexican-American, paisano, code-switching, and Spanglish) characteristic of border regions. The classroom under observation upheld nationalist borders and standards, with important consequences. First, nationalist notions of border led classroom participants to disavow the bilingual language use that was clearly necessary for successful classroom operations, despite an English immersion classroom policy. Second, nationalist practices established the local classroom space as indexically linked to an imagined American community of practice, understood by students to be authentically monolingual, monocultural, and distinct from Mexico. Association with--but not full incorporation into--this particular understanding of the American nation-state is advantageous to students for maintaining their elevated social and economic positioning in the local Nogales Sonora community. Thus, this classroom serves as a site of nationalist border reproduction and the reinforcement of hierarchies of privilege. The study encourages teacher reflection on what nationalism can mean to formal language learning contexts and suggests directions for re-aligning classroom practice to approaches that embrace multilingual realities of language learning contexts.
14
Yang, Chi-cheung Ruby. "Second language classroom interaction patterns an investigation of three case studies of pre-service teachers /." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2008. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B41290896.
Full text
15
Vorwerk, Shane Paul. "Genre analysis and the teaching of academic literacy: a case study of an academic discipline in the social sciences." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002648.
Full textAbstract:
Students in tertiary educational institutions in South Africa come from many different backgrounds and have varied educational experiences. Some students, especially those from non-English speaking backgrounds, may encounter linguistic difficulties with various academic tasks. In order for students to be successful at university, they must become academically literate. That is, they must master all the reading, writing, listening and comprehension tasks required by the disciplines in which they are studying. One such task is presented by the academic lecture which is an integral part of any course of study. Linguistically, the academic lecture can be seen as a particular genre with unique characteristics. This study investigated some linguistic characteristics of academic lectures. The discipline of Political Science, as a Social Science, was chosen because there is little research that has been done on language in the Social Sciences. The Political Science sub-disciplines of Political Philosophy, South African Politics, and International Relations were used in this research. First year lectures were recorded from each of these three sub-disciplines. The linguistic characteristics of lectures were analysed using techniques drawn from Systemic Functional linguistic theory. The analysis concentrated on the aspects mode and field as they were realised in the lectures. In addition, higher level generic structure was also analysed. The insights gained from the analysis were validated through interviews with the lecturers who gave the lectures. The aim of this research was to develop a linguistic characterisation of the lecture genre as it occurs in the three sub-disciplines of Political Science. The results of this research suggest that although there is a unified academic lecture genre, there is variation according to sub-discipline. The implications of this variation are discussed with reference to their relevance to teaching academic literacy.
16
Brezjanovic-Shogren, Jelena. "Analysis of code-switching and code-mixing among bilingual children: two case studies of Serbian-English language interaction." Thesis, Wichita State University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10057/5051.
Full textAbstract:
This research attempts to expose the patterns of language behavior of two five-year old bilingual children through the analysis of the code-switching and code-mixing occurrences in their everyday conversational interactions. The goal of the study is to analyze the code choice and the motivation behind such pattern in order to see whether there are any differences between the two case studies, and most of all, what is causing these differences in linguistic behavior to occur. Data used in analysis was collected during informal conversations recorded in home domain of the two families studied. The recorded data along with the observational notes collected was then analyzed sentence by sentence and separated into several dyads in order to understand the relation between the children‟s code-switching/code-mixing and the interlocutor.
It is concluded that most common motivation behind their code choice is solidarity –establishing “we code”, referential, directive, and reactive to positive/ negative face and power. The major difference between the two children‟s language behavior regarding code choice is rather in the patterns of code-switching versus code-mixing. The boy, being a natural bilingual who acquired the second language (L2) simultaneously is more prone to code-switch in certain situations. On the other hand, the girl, who acquired L2 consecutively and therefore adopted the syntax of Serbian language, uses more code-mixing during her conversational interactions. This showed close connection of the linguistic behavior with the linguistic environment exposing essential mechanisms of children‟s ability to adjust their language skills to their conversational needs.Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Anthropology
17
Mohamad, Jamil Siti Nurnadilla. "Selling race and God during GE13 : a discourse-historical analysis of editorials and columns in mainstream Malay- and English-language newspapers during the 13th General Election in Malaysia." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2018. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/34933.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis conducts a critical analysis of editorials and columns in mainstream newspapers during Malaysia's 13th General Election (GE13) campaign. In a country that practises parliamentary democracy but simultaneously observes a close cooperation (Mustafa, 2010, p. 51) between the ruling party and the mainstream press, this study explores the links between the two. The thesis demonstrates the continuing power of the mainstream press in the country. It also explores how a so-called parliamentary democracy can lead to authoritarian rule, as well as the role of the press in this process. Adhering to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) principles, the thesis describes and explains how particular relations of power are enacted, reproduced and legitimized within government-owned media, in this case Malaysia where control is institutionalized. This study specifically focuses on the discursive strategies of legitimation in editorials and columns, and how they present particular narratives or arguments in the interests of the powerful. The thesis offers a greater understanding of the deep ideological structures of mainstream newspapers and, in particular, their construction and (de)legitimisation of the government and opposition during the GE13 campaign. This investigation draws on various methods, from quantitative content analysis to the Discourse-historical Approach (DHA), and insights from a range of disciplines, to examine the discursive features of mainstream newspapers discourse during the GE13 campaign. The main contributions of the thesis are on theoretical, methodological and empirical grounds. It contributes to the body of knowledge on political communication research by focusing on the Asian-Malaysian context and moving away from Western-centric models that often overlook the key element of culture. The application of the DHA provides a novel and valuable contribution to the understanding of Malaysian election communication discourse through its interdisciplinary methods and analyses. The empirical investigation provides conclusive evidence that revolves around the issues of the perversion of developmental journalism, race/ethnicity, Islam and its abuses, as well as change and time. This thesis also reviews and reveals the extent to which the press in Malaysia is controlled, dominated and manipulated, thereby challenging those, including the ruling elite, who have claimed that Malaysia is a democratizing nation state.
18
Willman, Josefin. "Gender in the English Language Classroom : A comparative study of gender portrayals in textbooks for the course English 6 in the Swedish upper secondary school." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för språk (SPR), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-100834.
Full textAbstract:
This study aims to explore how textbooks aiming at the course English 6 in the Swedish upper secondary school display male, female and transgendered characters in fictional texts. The study also seeks to investigate what genders are represented in the authors of the analysed fictional texts in the textbooks. The method of the study was a mix between critical discourse analysis and content analysis. Content analysis was used in a quantitative way as a starting point to get an overview of the results for the critical discourse analysis which was used qualitatively. The study showed that authors identifying as male were the most common and represented at a higher rate in the textbooks. Among the results it was also shown that transgendered characters and authors identifying as something else than male or female were not represented at all. The study’s conclusion is that teachers will need to provide a greater variety to their classrooms than what is provided by the textbooks in terms of gender related issues and questions, since students should be given a variety of texts and authors during their English education according to the syllabus (Natl. Ag. f. Ed. 2013).
19
Cordella, Marisa 1961. "The dynamic consultation : a discourse-analytical study of doctor-patient communication in Chilean Spanish." Monash University, Dept. of Linguistics, 2001. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/8920.
Full text
20
McLain-Jespersen, Samuel Nickilaus. ""Had sh'er haute gamme, high technology": An Application of the MLF and 4-M Models to French-Arabic Codeswitching in Algerian Hip Hop." PDXScholar, 2014. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1631.
Full textAbstract:
The historical nature of language contact between French and Arabic in Algeria has created a sociolinguistic situation in which French is permeated throughout Algerian society. The prevalence and use of spoken French in Algeria by native speakers of Spoken Algerian Arabic has been a topic of interest to researchers of codeswitching since the 1970s. Studies have been conducted on codeswitching in Algerian media such as television, radio, and music.
The hip hop scene has been active in Algeria since the 1980s. Algerian hip hop lyrics contain a multitude of switches into French. This study explores the structural makeup of the codeswitching between French and Spoken Algerian Arabic in Algerian hip hop. These are pattern that have gone heretofore unstudied.
The purpose of this study was to utilize Myers-Scotton's MLF and 4-M models in order to analyze the codeswitching between Spoken Algerian Arabic and French found in the lyrics to the hip hop album Kobay by popular Algerian hip hop artist Lotfi Double Kanon. This study had two goals: the first was to document the structural patterns of the codeswitching found in the data. The second goal was to test Myers-Scotton's models and determine whether the patterns found in the data could be predicted by the MLF and 4-M models.
In order to accomplish these goals, the lyrics to the album were transcribed, translated, coded and analyzed at the level of the complementizer phrase. The principles of the MLF and 4-M models were used as central tool for analysis.
This study demonstrates that the codeswitching found in the lyrics to Kobay follow the principles of the MLF and 4-M models to a great extent. However, three examples of problematic data are presented. This is followed by a discussion on the social and structural implications of these findings.
21
Bohm, Fiederling Inga-Lena. "English in Swedish product packages : An exploratory study of how English is used in product packages sold in the dairy section in Swedish retail." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Engelska institutionen, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-113431.
Full textAbstract:
This study explores the use of English in the texts of product packages sold in Swedish retail. This includes looking at the proportion of English of the packages of four brands God Morgon, Froosh, Oatly and Wellness, as well as exploring what moves are most likely to be in English and furthermore, what cultural values are conveyed by the texts. The most significant findings are that the proportion of English varies among both between and within the brands, depending on the specific niche the products have. Furthermore, in line with previous studies, English is mainly found in the attention-grabbing moves such as headlines and leads, whereas Swedish is more frequent in the copy which serves a more explanatory and detailing function. This is true except for the texts of the brand Oatly, with the main copy also in English. The cultural values conveyed by the texts, finally, both support previous findings, but it may be suggested that some of the values, such as nature and morality, have just recently begun to be associated to English.
22
Al-Jarrah, Rasheed S. "An optimality-theoretic analysis of stress in the English of native Arabic speakers." Virtual Press, 2002. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1238739.
Full textAbstract:
The overall purpose of this study is to analyze the acquisition of English word-stress by Arabic speakers in light of advancements in Optimality Theory. It has been reported that Arab second language learners of English have difficulty in acquiring the various patterns of English word stress. According to OT, the reason for this difficulty is that although these speakers, like native speakers, have full command of the universal and violable constraints that are operative in determining where stress falls in the word, they fail to capture or induce the exact ordering of these constraints. The basic premise of OT is that each grammar is a unique way of ordering the set of universal and violable constraints that determine the actual output form of a certain linguistic feature, say word-stress in this case. In other words, whereas Arabic word-stress and English word-stress are both subject to the same set of universal and violable constraints, they differ in one respect: the ordering of these constraints. The sole task of the learner then is to capture the correct ordering that determines which syllable in each word carries main stress.This study consists of four chapters. In chapter one, we introduce the problem of the study and the basic background information for an OT analysis, the task we undertake for word stress in subsequent chapters. Chapter two reviews word-stress placement in three competing models: linear approach (Chomsky and Halle 1968), nonlinear approach (Liberman and Prince 1977; McCarthy 1979; Hayes 1980, 1982, 1991), and finally Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky 1993; McCarthy and Prince 1993a, b). In chapter three, we introduce the set of constraints that are relevant for predicting the place of stress, not just in English and Arabic, but in all languages. Hence, these constraints are literally present in all languages, though their ranking is language-specific. Then, we develop a ranking of the set of constraints particular to Arabic and another one particular to English. In chapter four, we set out to compare the two constraint rankings in order to (1) predict stress errors in the interlanguage of native speakers of Arabic when learning English, and (2) demonstrate how, by making use of the notion of constraint demotion, those learners can make their English more native-like with respect to stress placement.This study has diverted from a standard OT analysis in at least two ways. First, we allow for some alignment constraint (namely MAIN-RIGHT) to be interpreted as a nongradient constraint. Second, we allow for constraint parameterization. NONFINAL is parameterized to account for Arabic word stress; and WSP is parameterized to account for English word stress.This study has shown that there are significant differences between Arabic and English as far as the ranking of the universal and violable constraints is concerned. Among the major differences are the following. (1) WSP is irrelevant for stress placement in Arabic. (2) Arabic requires that FOOT-BINARITY be interpreted under a moraic analysis, but English requires it to be interpreted under a syllabic analysis. (3) Arabic requires constructing metrical feet from left to right (i.e. ALL-FEET-LEFT >> ALL-FEET RIGHT), English require that it be the other way around (i.e. ALL-FEETRIGHT >> ALL-FEET-LEFT). (4) In. ploysyllabic words, whereas a final syllable that weighs two or more moras is parsed in English, only a final syllable that weighs three moras is parsed in Arabic. (5) Arabic requires that PARSEσ dominates FOOTBINARITY, but English requires the opposite ranking.
23
Lee, Mee-to May, and 李美桃. "A contrastive study of the discourse features of English and co[sic]ntonese monologues presented by bilingual teacher-trainees." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1986. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B38626457.
Full text
24
Cheong, Sin Wan. "From language of a HCC to a LCC : a study of Chinese-Eenglish translation of MAM articles." Thesis, University of Macau, 2011. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2525835.
Full text
25
Furukawa, Chie. "A Study of Small Talk Among Males: Comparing the U.S. and Japan." PDXScholar, 2014. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1522.
Full textAbstract:
This study seeks to understand the social interaction of small talk in two different countries. Defining small talk as 'phatic communion' and 'social talk' as contrasted to 'core business talk' and 'work-related talk,' Holmes (2000) claims that small talk in the workplace is intertwined with main work-talk. Small talk can help build solidarity and rapport, as well as maintain good relationships between workers. Much of the research on small talk has been focused on institutional settings such as business and service interactions; thus, there is a need for research on non-institutional small talk between participants without established relationships.
This study compared how native English and Japanese male speakers interact in small talk that occurs during the initial phase of relationship formation, when interlocutors who have just met are waiting for a shared purpose. I analyzed their unmonitored small talk interaction in order to examine what types of topics they discuss and how conversations actually occur. I also conducted interviews to obtain information on perceptions of small talk and examined how these perceptions reflect different social norms and values pertaining to small talk in real-life settings. The data on the characteristics of small talk come from the pre-interview conversation between two participants, and the data on perceptions about small talk come from the interviews.
The topics discussed differed between the U.S. and Japanese pairs. The U.S. pairs had "Informational Talk" elaborating on class details such as professors, systems, materials, or class content. The Japanese pairs, on the other hand, had "Personal Informational Talk," talking about personal matters such as study problems, worries, gossip, and stories. Furthermore, the Japanese pairs tended to have many pauses/silences compared to their English-speaking counterparts (the average frequency of pauses per conversation were 6 for the U.S. participants and 16 for the Japanese), presenting the impression that the Japanese pairs might have been uncomfortable and awkward. However, one similarity was that both groups discussed topics on which they shared knowledge or discussed the research study in which they were participating in order to fill silence during small talk with strangers.
The most prominent result from the interviews is that interactions with strangers are completely normal for the U.S. participants, while for the Japanese participants such small talk with strangers makes them feel surprised and uncomfortable. The U.S. participants have numerous experiences with and are aware of the small talk occurring in everyday life, and they commonly discuss impersonal subjects; that is, their talks tend to be about factual information. The Japanese males, on the other hand, reported that they do not commonly talk with strangers; they need a defined place or reason to talk in order to converse openly and exchange personal information. However, in the actual pre-interview small talk, they incrementally came to know each other and started to discuss personal concerns and gossip about friends. This study has shown that small talk can be viewed as a locus where cultural differences in social norms are reflected.
26
Feger, Mary-Virginia. "Multimodal Text Designers: A Case Study of Literacy Events in a Multicultural Context." [Tampa, Fla.] : University of South Florida, 2009. http://digital.lib.usf.edu/?e14.2816.
Full text
27
Geils, Catherine. "In conversation with Barney: a critical discourse analysis of interaction between a child with autism and his co-participants." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002489.
Full textAbstract:
My study arose in the context of an intervention programme aimed at the development of a child with autism’s communication and social interaction skills. The approach I take is a social constructionist one in which language is considered to be constructive and constitutive of social and psychological reality. This orientation challenges the assumptions of a western psychiatric approach that emphasizes the impairment and deficits associated with autism. The participants of the study are a 6-year-old boy diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (Autistic Spectrum), and his mother, father, sister and a volunteer on the intervention programme. The discourse analytic method of conversation analysis is employed as a means of elucidating the collaborative mechanisms employed by both the child and his co-participants in making sense of one another. The specific aims of the study are to closely examine the communicative behaviour and interactive styles of the child and his coparticipants, their implications for communicative success (co-ordinated interaction) or breakdown (discordant interaction), and the implications for how the child is positioned within the discourse in relation to his co-participants. My constructions of the data suggested that a playful, activity-based interactive style constituted by non-verbal turns, affection and short, simple utterances enhance mutual participation and the accomplishment of co-ordinated interaction. Barney’s co-participants sometimes tend to dominate interaction and frequently employ a strategy of repetitive questioning, which functions to direct and constrain the interaction and results in the child’s withdrawal and discordant interaction. This tendency to withdraw, however, seems to function as a means by which the child is able to actively resist positioning by others, and thus constitutes himself in a position of greater power. Furthermore, his use of the pronoun ‘I’ and collaborative negotiation of the words yours and mine suggest the active co-construction and positioning of himself as a separate person in relation to his co-participants. This research informs intervention efforts and encourages the co-participants to reflect on how interaction is co-constructed between themselves and the child.
28
Wistrand, Ida. "Analysis of the English language produced by a Swedish 4-year-old child in the light of the innatist perspective : A case study." Thesis, Karlstads universitet, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-84410.
Full textAbstract:
This is a case study that focuses on the oral proficiency in English manifested by the 4-year-old sonof the author. He speaks Swedish as his L1 like his both parents but has been exposed to Englishsince he was one year old from using a tablet. The child’s spoken production was recorded andtranscribed with a focus on the plural-forms and the genitive. An important field that this case studyis motivated by is how child language development may be connected to the concept of innatism,that language is based on innate principles (Lightbown & Spada, 2013:20) as it has been found that anumber of languages are acquired according to predictable patterns and processes (Moskowitz,1994:621-627) such as a the u-shaped learning process and over-generalization which has beenfound when investigating both L1 and L2 acquisition (Abrahamsson, 2013:663). The aim of thisstudy is to find possible similarities within the learning process: whether L2 acquisition follows thesame developmental patterns as in L1 acquisition by analyzing the recordings mainly targeting theplural and the genitive morphemes produced by a 4-year-old L2 speaker of English. Findings in thisresearch revealed that the child demonstrated a similar developmental pattern in the form of theu-shaped learning process (Abrahamsson, 2013:663).
29
Yang, Chi-cheung Ruby, and 楊紫嬙. "Second language classroom interaction patterns: an investigation of three case studies of pre-serviceteachers." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2008. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B41290896.
Full text
30
Chen, Dong Qi Kayla. "Gender-related differential item functioning analysis on the GEPT-kids." Thesis, University of Macau, 2018. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b3953512.
Full text
31
Maruri, Ramos Catalina. "Comparative Critical Discourse Analysis of CNN and Fox News Headlines: A Case of Immigration Detention in the US." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Engelska institutionen, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-169780.
Full textAbstract:
Immigration policies and border control in the US were hardened significantly more ever since the new government’s immigration executive order in 2017. A series of massive raids and immigrant detentions were carried out which got the attention of both human rights activists and the news media. How these immigration detention events are portrayed in the news media reflect, moreover, a series of discourses which seem to attract audiences from either left-wing or right-wing political ideologies, specifically to read CNN and Fox news respectively, according to previous survey-based research. This paper aims to identify through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) how those in detention are represented in the news headlines of Fox News and CNN, and secondly, identify what possible left-wing and right-wing political ideologies about immigration are expressed in the news outlets. Reference strategies and transitivity will encompass the micro-level analysis, which focuses on language construction. For the macro-level analysis, on the one hand, discourse practices like process of production and consumption will be considered, and on the other hand, American foreign policy viewed from the left-wing and right-wing perspectives will be discussed to consider differences in style, tone, and perspective in CNN and Fox News’ headlines in relation to immigration detention events. Results show that CNN, tied to left-wing audiences, portray the immigration detention events from the perspective of immigrants who are in a vulnerable position since they are detained with their families. Moreover, Fox News, tied to right-wing audiences, show the events more from the viewpoint of the government and the public entities in charge of the immigration policies, who are in need to restrain, detain, and deport immigrants for the sake of the country’s security. This paper aims to contribute further to the research on political ideologies as a relevant factor to understand differences in discourse in the news media for future research.
32
Alford, Jennifer Helen. "Conceptualisation and enactment of critical literacy for senior high school EAL learners in Queensland, Australia : commitments, constraints and contradictions." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2015. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/79931/1/Jennifer_Alford_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
This case study examined four teachers' understandings and teaching of Critical Literacy with senior English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners in two Queensland high schools. Despite continuous, rapid curriculum change in Australia and efforts to diminish Critical Literacy, the four teachers continued to feature it successfully in their teaching with often marginalised learners. They used critical literacy to provide access to and critique dominant language codes, and to draw on learners' diverse experiences. To a lesser extent, the teachers created opportunities for redesigning dominant texts. Implications are important for policy production and interpretation, school planning and teacher professional development.
33
McNenny, Geraldine Roberta. "Situated knowledge and the teaching of writing: A rhetorical analysis of the professional writing of women's studies scholars." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/186888.
Full textAbstract:
Feminist scholars have in many instances led the way in challenging the tendency of academics to make transcendent claims from a disembodied and unmarked position, often in the name of objectivity. One means of reinstating the writer in the act of writing and thus circumventing discourse that, in effect, erases the writer as well as the complexities of the subject is to teach from the perspective of situated knowledges: that is, from the understanding that knowledge is mediated by one's cultural, ideological, and historical position. Moreover, the concept of situated knowledges challenges the positivist assumptions that place the writer outside of the cultural and situational context of the research subject. Situated knowledge thus holds out some intriguing possibilities for the future shape of the teaching of academic discourse. Foremost among those experimenting with the practice of positioning oneself in academic discourse are those scholars working in the cross-disciplinary field of Women's Studies. This dissertation analyzes the rhetorical strategies that three feminist scholars working at the University of Arizona employ in situating themselves in their professional writing. Each scholar occupies a different position along the continuum that represents the efforts to locate oneself. The most conservative strategy common to conventional ideological positioning is one in which the writer avoids any reference to personal location while situating herself within a community of scholars by means of reference and citation. Further along the continuum, the writer may invoke a form of strategic essentialism, critiquing those semiotic systems that enforce various forms of oppression while defining the social context to the advantage of the oppressed group. At the furthest extreme, the researcher acts as participant observer, placing herself in the research situation using a self-reflexive research methodology. In closing, I survey the potential that feminist research methodologies hold for writing pedagogy, especially in assisting our students in locating themselves in their own scholarly pursuits.
34
Tsai, Hsiao-Feng. "Classroom Discourse and Reading Comprehension in Bilingual Settings: A Case Study of Collaborative Reasoning in a Chinese Heritage Language Learners’ Classroom." The Ohio State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1331045818.
Full text
35
Lin, Mau-tong Kitty, and 練茂棠. "A study of the quality of the questioning strategies of experienced and novice teachers during english lessons in a secondary school." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1996. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31959015.
Full text
36
Andersson, Matilda. "To Knock the Eye Out of a Friend : Assessment of an Orthographic Reform Upon the English Language." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Sektionen för humaniora (HUM), 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-25371.
Full textAbstract:
This essay is a theoretical qualitative study, which examines the possibility for a spelling reform into English. The history of orthographical changes into British English, as well as Brown’s categorisation of spelling reforms, is reviewed. Four spelling reform proposals are analysed and compared. Additionally, the social discourses of Eira, which are relevant to a spelling reform, are analysed and discussed with regard to English. There is only speculation as to why no modern day spelling reform has been implemented in British English, but it is connected to its historical events, the social discourses and the implementation process. Spelling reform into English is theoretically feasible, but it depends on the implementation strategies and support from those who wish to perform such a change.
37
Ostrowska, Sabina Anna. "Implementing learner independence as an institutional goal : teacher and student interpretations of autonomy in learning English." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/22308.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis explores how learner independence was implemented as a curricular goal at a tertiary level Preparatory Programme (PP) in the United Arab Emirates. This exploratory-interpretive case study shows how students and teachers at the English programme responded to an Independent Learning Log (ILL) and how they interpreted learner autonomy with respect to the ILL. The study analyzes how various interpretations of autonomy affected the students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards the ILL. The interviews and the surveys used in this study were conducted between 20122014. The data was examined using Critical Discourse Analysis and was coded with NVivo software. As a result of the data analysis, the researcher identified themes related to student and teacher roles in the promotion of autonomy, learner representations in TESOL, and issues of control and agency, in the language classroom and out-of-class. The findings suggest that, in the teachers’ discourse, students are assigned passive roles and are often represented as lacking, deficient, and in need of control. Furthermore, the teachers are represented as the agents and controllers of education. These findings are supported by other studies from different cultural settings. This suggests that the US and THEM divide is not unique to the context of this study, but, rather, that it reflects a broader issue that is characteristic of TESOL discourse. In the discussion section, the researcher demonstrates how the themes identified in this study draw on a Social Order perspective in education. It is argued that this conceptual model remains ingrained in teachers’ and students’ group consciousness as the default model for learning. We conclude that learner independence as an educational goal is incompatible with this way in which students and teachers conceptualise education. In order for autonomy to become a feasible educational goal, we need to re-think how we organise language learning and what roles teachers and students assign each other. Overall, this case study reveals the problems that educators may face when promoting autonomy in a language programme. An understanding of these issues may help future language programmes develop better strategies towards fostering learner autonomy at an institutional level.
38
Flail, Gregory James. "The Sexual Politics of Meat Substitutes." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2006. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/english_diss/9.
Full textAbstract:
Food choice has intrigued generations of scholars seeking insight into the rituals that characterize the cultural and sub-cultural values of various nations and eras. Among the more recent cultural phenomena to influence theories about the body is food choice. Perhaps there is no argumentative issue more pervasive than that of food choice, because everyone must eat. The morsels that people consume are chosen as often as not for their symbolic value. A review of the literature of dietary discourse and representation reveals a gap where studies of vegetarian and vegan identity, mass media, and mass markets are concerned. This dissertation utilizes theories of representation, cultural studies, and discourse analysis to uncover culturally specific attitudes in the marketing of food with regard to vegetable-based diets, the foods that they consist of, and the people who eat them.
39
Khongpun, Somsook. "Composing processes of Thai high school students : a protocol analysis." Virtual Press, 1992. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/862270.
Full textAbstract:
This protocol-based case study research explored the general composing and thinking processes of five Thai EFL high school subjects who, while verbalizing their thoughts, composed in the first language (L1), Thai, and in the second language (L2), English. The composing sessions were audiotaped and videotaped; these tapes were then transcribed, translated, and coded for analysis, along with notes, drafts, and the written compositions.The L1/L2 protocol data yielded a number of interesting findings. Most subjects had a purpose in mind while composing their texts, but had little concern for the audience. Individually, each subject displayed a unitary composing style across languages, tending to compose in the Li and the L2 similarly, with minor variations. This suggests that composing knowledge and skills of the L1 were probably transferred to the composing in the L2.As a group, the subjects wrote the Li compositions in a similar manner, manifesting mental planning and reliance on internal resources, as they alternated among writing, repeating, and rehearsing. The L2 compositions gradually emerged with frequent repetitions and brief pauses, and the L2 composing processes seem to be constrained by the subjects' imperfect mastery of the L2.In addition, when they stumbled on L2 lexis, grammar, and mechanics, the subjects mainly employed the L1. Use of the L1 seemed to facilitate the subjects’ writing in the L2 a great deal. In both the L1 and the L2 compositions, the subjects tended to comment and repeat portions of texts in words, rehearse in phrases, and engage in other composing activities at the sentence level. The translated segments which occurred in the English protocols were at the phrase level.A tentative composing process model of these Thai EFL subjects is proposed; implications for EFL composition instruction and suggestions for further research are also provided.Department of English
40
Zouave, Sonia. "Manipulation in Newspaper Articles : A Political Discourse Analysis of Lexical Choice and Manipulation in Japanese Newspaper Crisis Reporting in the case of North Korea." Thesis, Högskolan Dalarna, Japanska, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-14605.
Full textAbstract:
This paper analyzes some forms of linguistic manipulation in Japanese in newspapers when reporting on North Korea and its nuclear tests. The focus lies on lexical ambiguity in headlines and journalist’s voices in the body of the articles, that results in manipulation of the minds of the readers. The study is based on a corpus of nine articles from two of Japan’s largest newspapers Yomiuri Online and Asahi Shimbun Digital. The linguistic phenomenon that contribute to create manipulation are divided into Short Term Memory impact or Long Term Memory impact and examples will be discussed under each of the categories.The main results of the study are that headlines in Japanese newspapers do not make use of an ambiguous, double grounded structure. However, the articles are filled with explicit and implied attitudes as well as attributed material from people of a high social status, which suggests that manipulation of the long term memory is a tool used in Japanese media.この論文は日本語の新聞中の北朝鮮と核実験に関する報告記事の曖昧さと操作的な態度についてである。この研究は特に北朝鮮について新聞の記事中の計画的で無意識に言語的な操作態度についてである。記事の見出しと読者の心意を関わる曖昧さについてである。全部の記事は読売新聞と朝日新聞に取ったが、全部の中に、多大態度がある。調査は日本の最大の新聞読売オンラインと朝日新聞デジタルの九の記事のコーパスに基づいてである。研究の主な結果は、日本の新聞の見出しがあいまいな構造を利用していないことだが、記事は明示的な態度だけでなく、多大な引用文で満たされている
41
Siqueira, Ana Paula Barioni Leite. "Representações de proficiência e a construção do inglês como língua necessária na pós-graduação." Universidade de São Paulo, 2009. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/8/8147/tde-30112009-105052/.
Full textAbstract:
A proficiência em uma língua estrangeira ocupa um lugar de extrema importância na pós-graduação. O exame de proficiência é uma das etapas do processo seletivo a primeira, na maioria dos institutos , e, caso sejam reprovados nessa avaliação, os candidatos não poderão seguir para as próximas fases. A noção de proficiência, nesse contexto, parece ser um conceito pressuposto, com uma definição aparentemente clara, que dispensa uma discussão em torno do tema. No entanto, ao analisarmos a maneira como a proficiência configura-se na pós-graduação, observamos que esse conceito, aparentemente tão estável, é construído no imaginário de maneira fluída, ou seja, ao invés de falarmos em proficiência, poderíamos falar em proficiências. Assim, esse trabalho tem como principais objetivos analisar as representações de proficiência em língua inglesa presentes nos dizeres de coordenadores, alunos e candidatos à pós-graduação e o modo como a necessidade da língua inglesa é construída nesse contexto. Para tanto, baseamo-nos em pressupostos teóricos da Análise de Discurso, para a qual os sentidos são construídos em uma relação sócio-histórica. Ao longo das análises, constatamos que a representação de proficiência é construída nos dizeres dos entrevistados de uma maneira heterogênea: ora aparece calcada no imaginário de língua, ora no mito do falante nativo, ora na questão do tempo e complexidade dos cursos de mestrado e doutorado. Em nosso propósito de investigar por que a língua inglesa (e não outro idioma) é a mais exigida nos exames de proficiência em língua estrangeira, observamos que a posição hegemônica do inglês, conquistada devido a alguns fatores históricos e fortalecida pela globalização, pode ter contribuído para a necessidade desse idioma. Todavia, tal necessidade é justificada pelo fato de que os alunos de mestrado e doutorado deverão estar preparados para lerem textos em inglês, participarem de congressos internacionais, assistirem aulas com professores estrangeiros e fazerem estágios no exterior.For graduate studies, proficiency in a foreign language is considered highly relevant. The proficiency examination is one of the steps in the selective process in most cases, it is the first one and candidates are not allowed to proceed on such process if they fail this examination. In this context, the notion of proficiency seems to be a pre-conceived concept, with an apparently clear definition that does not envisage or expect further elaboration on the subject. However, when we analyze how proficiency is approached in graduate studies, we see that such apparently stable concept is feebly built on the imaginary of those involved in the process, i.e., instead of considering proficiency, we could refer to proficiencies. Thus, this research aims mainly at analyzing the representations of proficiency in the English language, which emerge from the speeches of coordinators, students and candidates to post-graduate studies, as well as how the need for the English language is built in this context. In doing so, we base our research on Discourse Analysis theoretical premises, according to which meanings are built through a socio-historical relation. Those analyses have allowed us to understand that the representation of proficiency is heterogeneously built in the speeches of the interviewed people, i.e., sometimes it appears based on the imaginary of language, sometimes on the myth of the native speaker, or even on matters such as the complexity of master and doctorate studies, as well as the notion of time when accomplishing these studies. By pursuing an investigation on the reasons why English (and not any other language) is the most demanded one on proficiency examinations for a foreign language, we have noticed that the hegemonic position of English is given due to some historical facts, strengthened by globalization, and that it may have contributed to produce the need of this language. Nevertheless, such language need seems to be justified by the fact that students from master and doctorate programs must be prepared to read texts in English, to join international congresses, to attend classes conducted by foreign professors, and to pursue internships in foreign countries
42
Rehnberg, P.-O. "Lad or Dad? : An analysis of some of the discourses found in fatherhood books in Britain." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för språk (SPR), 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-24320.
Full textAbstract:
In Britain, fathers are allowed just two weeks of paid paternity leave while mothers may take out 26 weeks of paid maternity leave. (DirectGov.uk, 2012). It could seem, then, that the mothers are expected to do most of the child rearing. This essay investigates if this is true by examining discourse in three British books for fathers-to-be; Rob Kemp’s (2010) The expectant dad’s survival guide, Andrew Watson’s (2011) Down to Earth with a bump – The diary of a first-time dad, and Tim Atkinson’s (2011) Fatherhood – The essential guide. These books have all been amassed into a corpus and they are analysed using methods developed by Paul Baker (2006).This essay aims to find out what discourse is used, and what the expectations are on fathers-to-be in the UK by examining three popular books on fatherhood. Jane Sunderland’s (2002) study of fatherhood discourses in general parenting books will serve as a background to this study: In her study, Sunderland (2002) presented a thesis of the father as someone who assists with the child-rearing rather than doing any actual child-rearing himself. This thesis will be tested in this study, as will a claim by Andrew Watson (2011) that “we all face fatherhood reluctantly and need a desperate gag in every paragraph to stop us losing interest and turning on the telly?” (Watson, 2011: viii).As will be shown, the situation is more complex and fathers are actually expected to be involved in the child-rearing as much as they are able. This study shows that some fathers actually lament the fact that, for various reasons, they cannot be more involved. The books actually do have a more progressive view on fatherhood than they first appear to, and hopefully they can inspire fathers to be ‘doers’ rather than ‘helpers’.
43
Björkegren, David. "Inter- and intralingual errors in Chinese students' compositions : A case study." Thesis, Karlstads universitet, Institutionen för språk, litteratur och interkultur (from 2013), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-70020.
Full textAbstract:
In this quantitative study, time controlled written English compositions by 39 Chinese university majors of English were analyzed by means of Error Analysis (EA) in order to find out what grammatical errors were made. It investigates errors made by more than one fifth of the participants, in order to see whether they can be ascribed to either interlingual or intralingual influence. An error taxonomy based on previous research was created specifically for the errors encountered in the EA. The following grammatical errors were analyzed in the error analysis: article errors, noun number errors, prepositions errors, and verb errors. The results of the error analysis showed that while Chinese learners of English make mistakes due to both interlingual and intralingual influence, the vast majority are due to interlingual influence. These findings strengthen previous notions that when the target language belongs to another language family than the L1, errors are due more often to interlingual influence (also referred to as negative transfer) than to intralingual influence.I den här kvantitativa studien har en felanalys gjorts på tidskontrollerade engelskuppsatser skrivna av 39 kinesiska universitetsstudenter med engelska som huvudämne. Studiens syfte var att undersöka vilka typer av grammatiska fel som är vanligast. Den undersöker vilka fel som är frekventa hos studenterna och om de kan hänföras till förstaspråks- eller målspråksinterferens. En felanalys baserad på tidigare forskning utarbetades specifikt för de kategorier som påträffades i felanalysen. Följande grammatiska fel analyserades: artikelfel, fel i substantivets singular- och pluralform, prepositionsfel och verbfel. Resultaten visade att medan kinesiska studenter tenderar att göra misstag som är grundade i både förstaspråks- och målspråksinterferens, så beror de flesta felen på förstaspråksinterferens. De här resultaten styrker tidigare forskning som visar att när målspråket tillhör en annan språkfamilj än förstaspråket, uppstår felen oftare på grund av förstaspråksinterferens (även kallat negativ transfer) än av målspråksinterferens.
44
Christiansen, Martha Sidury Juarez Lopez. "Facebook as Transnational Space: Language and Identity among 1.5 and Second Generation Mexicans in Chicago." The Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1366196872.
Full text
45
Adams, Laural L. "Theorizing Mental Models in Disciplinary Writing Ecologies through Scholarship, Talk-Aloud Protocols, and Semi-Structured Interviews." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1404717469.
Full text
46
Tay, Geniesa. "Embracing LOLitics: Popular Culture, Online Political Humor, and Play." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Media and Communication, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/7091.
Full textAbstract:
The Internet, and Web 2.0 tools can empower audiences to actively participate in media creation. This allows the production of large quantities of content, both amateur and professional. Online memes, which are extensions of usually citizen-created viral content, are a recent and popular example of this. This thesis examines the participation of ordinary individuals in political culture online through humor creation. It focuses on citizen-made political humor memes as an example of engaged citizen discourse. The memes comprise of photographs of political figures altered either by captions or image editing software, and can be compared to more traditional mediums such as political cartoons, and 'green screens' used in filmmaking. Popular culture is often used as a 'common language' to communicate meanings in these texts. This thesis thus examines the relationship between political and popular culture. It also discusses the value of 'affinity spaces', which actively encourage users to participate in creating and sharing the humorous political texts. Some examples of the political humor memes include: the subversion of Vladimir Putin's power by poking fun at his masculine characteristics through acts similar to fanfiction, celebrating Barack Obama’s love of Star Wars, comparing a candid photograph of John McCain to fictional nonhuman creatures such as zombies using photomanipulation, and the wide variety of immediate responses to Osama bin Laden's death. This thesis argues that much of the idiosyncratic nature of the political humor memes comes from a motivation that lies in non-serious play, though they can potentially offer legitimate political criticism through the myths 'poached' from popular culture.
47
Kramer, Benjamin Paul 1968. "Examining hybrid spaces for newcomer English language learners: a critical discourse analysis of email exchanges with business professionals." Thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/3308.
Full textAbstract:
This paper provides analysis of a series of email correspondences between secondary newcomer immigrant students and Latino business professionals within the same urban community. The author, using James Gee's discourse theory (1990, 1996, 1999, 2004) contends that school-based discourses and structures have historically operated as barriers to academic success and societal acceptance for the vast majority of secondary English Language Learners, indicating the systemic perpetuation of a racist, classist, xenophobic social order through the public schools. When an attempt is made to sidestep these school-based discourses and put students in direct contact with mature, successful practitioners of English outside of the education community, the students encounter "mentor talk," a set of discourses that uncritically embrace the notions of a neutral, meritocratic, knowledge-based socioeconomic order. At the same time, students encounter language that can be appropriated for their own creative constructions of identity as they seek to position themselves in a new society. Even when there exists a strong alignment between the student's socially-situated identity presentation and the ideological thrust of "mentor talk," many societal barriers stand in the pathway of social and educational advancement. More often, the student identities express resistance, often subtle, to the standard, hegemonizing guidelines for success they have been offered.text
48
Clarence-Fincham, Jennifer Anne. "Voices in a university : a critical exploration of black students' responses to institutional discourse." Thesis, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/5730.
Full textAbstract:
The context for this study is the period leading up to and the four years since the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994. It is a critical exploration of black students' responses to university discourses as they begin their degrees, and an analysis of the extent to which Critical
Language Awareness can be used to facilitate a greater understanding of institutional conventions and practices. It includes a brief consideration of students' school experiences and then explores their perceptions of the university as a whole as well as of individual texts. The way in which
language encodes asymmetrical power relations and is used to construct students' subjectivities within the institution is of central concern. The research methodology adopted here is critical action research. The study consists of two research cycles, a short pilot study and a longer eight week language teaching programme. This second cycle was carried out in 1991 at the University of Natal during a time marked by unprecedented political fluidity and the establishment of new institutional and social structures. The impact of these changes has been felt at every level as racial separation, uniformity and ethnic homogeneity, which were once dominant social norms, have been replaced by the movement towards an integrated social order defined by its diversity, difference, and multiplicity. Because the research process is inseparable from its socio-political context, a theoretical
perspective which attempts to theorise multiplicity and contradiction has been adopted here. Insights from postmodern thought are therefore central to this work and have facilitated the interrogation and, at times, the rewriting of many aspects of critical social theory, critical pedagogy and critical action research. The immediate context for this study is Learning, Language and Logic, a first-year course whose primary aim is the acquisition of academic literacy. Over a period of four years, the two action
research cycles were developed and integrated into the curriculum. The first was a short intervention during which students analysed three university texts and the second, central cycle was an eight week programme which introduced them to the central principles of Critical
Language Awareness. It was designed to provide students entering the university with the opportunity to explore unfamiliar aspects of the university environment and to analyse a range of texts drawn from its discourses. The primary method of analysis of the data was Critical
Discourse Analysis but a content analysis of some of the data was also undertaken. The results of this research provide a strong indication that the integration of the principles of Critical Language Awareness into a first year course in academic literacy adds a crucial dimension to students' understanding of the university environment. It provides them with
linguistic insights from which they can further develop the ability to analyse their educational context, to respond critically to academic texts and to understand the roles that they can play within the university.Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.
49
Suraratdecha, Sumittra. "Thai-English codeswitching: a Hawaiʻi case study." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/11704.
Full textAbstract:
Mode of access: World Wide Web.Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-185).
Electronic reproduction.
"Over the last three decades, the study of codeswitching has attracted many data-oriented and theory-oriented sociolinguists and syntacticians. It provides an avenue to understanding the relationship between social processes and linguistic forms. In this vein, the present study examines Thai/English codeswitching practiced by a group of Thai people in Hawai'i from two perspectives: sociolinguistic as well as syntactic. In this study, different theoretical models are tested against each aspect of codeswitching. ..."--Abstract.
Also available by subscription via World Wide Web
xv, 185 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm
50
Nothling, David Andrew. "Discourse in the South African English-language press : past, Polokwane and prospect." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/6516.
Full textAbstract:
The African National Congress (ANC) has effected a shift in political discourse since the succession by President Jacob Zuma from Thabo Mbeki following the 2007 National Elective Conference in Polokwane. Subsequent political re-alignments have led to a strengthening of the tripartite alliance, and a perceived policy shift. However the current state of political play has made
evident the tensions within the alliance, fronted by the trade unions on the left, and the elitist culture that has developed within the upper echelons of the ANC. This research examines how the political and economic discourses represented by different ruling factions of the ANC-led alliance transcend
into assumptions regarding the role and function of the media. It plots policy developments and shifting ANC elite discourse on the media at various conjunctures since the early 1990s. Developments in the South African media are primarily studied from a political economy approach to ownership, control and transformation, as informed by the economic policies of the ANC.
Specific focus is given to the economics of the five press houses, Independent Newspapers, Media 24, Caxton, Avusa and M&G Media. A critical content analysis, informed by a critical approach on discourse theory, is undertaken on various editorials and exposition pieces in five newspapers,
Daily News, Witness, Citizen, Sunday Times and Mail and Guardian during the ANC elective conference in Polokwane, December 2007. This sample represents the five press houses under study. This study will offer insight into the English-language press" response to the power struggle and succession debate, represented by Zuma on the one hand and Mbeki on the other, and therefore engage Zuma's critique of the media being politically out-of-synch with society. This content analysis in context with the examination into the political economic transformation of the press, as well as personal representation of the ANC elites in the press, will be used to analyse the general discourse of English-language press at this time.Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.