No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Like many other social issues concerning gender, language also comes with gendered stereotypes and limitations which results in difference and inequality in speech, based on gender. According to folk-linguistic beliefs and a variety of linguists, women are believed to speak in a specific way in which using swear words is not considered ideal. In this context, folk-linguistic beliefs are general speculations concerning language which is grounded on personal opinions and misconceptions. One common misconception remains that women swear less as foul language is considered as an emotion of anger, associated with masculinity rather than femininity. This research was carried out quantitatively and qualitatively using discourse analysis. Male and female characters from the series True Bloodon HBO were examined by analyzing the difference in frequency of swear words uttered by both genders. This study aims to determine if men swear more than women in the series and whether the theory of dominance can provide an explanation for the linguistic behavior of the male and female characters of the series. The quantitative data collected from the series was later discussed alongside some of the theories, in particular, the theory of dominance. The results suggest that the female character Tara in the series swears the most and the results fall in disagreement with folk-linguistic beliefs and Lakoffs (1973) claims stating that women use fewer expletives than men. Also, the linguistic behavior of the characters in the series does not confirm the theory of dominance no specific linguistic attributes concerning gender are spotted as there is no evidence of men appearing different in terms of power, dominance, or defiance in terms of language in the series.

I denna kandidatuppsats undersöker jag företeelser i svenska moderna (2000-talet och framåt) pop/rock- låttexter. Jag försöker ta reda på vad som kännetecknar de bästa texterna kontra ”mindre bra” sådana. Detta gör jag genom korpusanalys med avseende på allmän statistik, läsbarhet, ordklass- och ordfrekvenser. Jag tittar särskilt på de tolv svenska pop/rockalbum som vunnit Grammis för ’Årets textförfattare’ samt artisten Håkan Hellströms hela låtkatalog eftersom han vunnit priset flest gånger. Som referenser har jag tolv framgångsrika album av artister som aldrig vunnit nämnt pris, samt artisten Per Gessles (som är oerhört framgångsrik utan att ha vunnit priset) hela låtkatalog under nämnd tid. Jag förväntade mig att finna lingvistiska aspekter som skiljer vinnande - och Hellströms texter från referenskorpusarna. Optimalt hade varit att finna en slags formel för bra/ vinnande text. Vad jag fann var att det finns lingvistiska element som är fördelaktiga vid författande av låttexter, aspekter som ofta, men inte alltid, är gemensamma för bra/vinnande texter. Däremot fann jag ingen optimal formel för hur en text bör skrivas.

A common assumption about youth languages is that they are an expression of youth culture, and even if youth culture as a concept is difficult to define, it is often regarded that youths actively distance themselves from both childhood and adulthood. Language can thereby be discerned as a tool to accomplish this. But if youth languages is a tool for youths to distance themselves from adults, is it not then contraproductive for adults to write handbooks and dictionaries to help the understanding of these youth languages? It is in that paradoxal thought this study finds its’ premise. The handbooks and dictionaries can be viewed in two different ways. They can, on one hand, act for an increased understanding of youth languages, and on the other hand they can help adults learn how to actually speak them. The purpose of this study is to try and clarify in what context youths experience others use and understanding of youth languages as acceptable or problematic. Do youths experience that different groups of individuals have different rights to use or understand youth language? Do youths experience the use of youth languages in different contexts as more or less acceptable? The results show that the further away from youth, and the higher up in the social hierarchy the individuals are, the less acceptable it is for them, according to the youths, to use youth languages. Although the understanding of youth languages is generally accepted, except for children. These results are also reflected in the contexts youths accept and don’t accept the use of youth languages. Youth languages does, according to the youths, not belong in environments characterized by professionalism or politics, nor does it belong in media directed towards children.

No description available.

No description available.

Bibliography: pages 111-118. / This study examines some elements of the language environment, language learning processes, and language inter-actions between child and teacher, and child and child in the changing South African education system. As more classrooms become non-racial, new dimensions are arising in language use and in learning: classrooms are perforce multilingual as different language groups come together to receive instruction through the medium of English. What dynamic do these multilingual elements bring to the standard classroom? I focus on part of the Standard Six population of 5 Western Cape English medium schools. The schools are different in many respects and similar in others; some have more Black pupils than others. By using a variety of research methods, including questionnaires, worksheets, personal observation, interviews and essays, I explore the experiences and attitudes of pupils, teachers and principals. My object is to try to identify trends: to look for positive features arising out of present classrooms and to look for possible points of tension as well, in order to extract central features to analyse. These are highlighted, and cross-referenced with relevant international studies, as matters of interest for practitioners in the classroom and for education planners. The field is immense: the study essentially provides a broad-based platform for further research. I tried not to have any preconceptions about what I would find, so made it a comprehensive and far-ranging study. It uncovers important elements which teachers and schools may attend to, relatively easily, indicates the importance of development of one's Mother Tongue and exposes deeply-felt emotions about Language and identity. It asks questions about Bridging Programmes and about the language of the teacher in the classroom and in testing. I also ask about the future of English in this country, about feelings about learning Afrikaans and about learning Xhosa. The main target in the recommendations is the teacher, as the generator of learning opportunities in the classroom. I call for more specific communication between teacher and pupil and the evolution of child-specific language learning processes. It is every teacher in every classroom who needs to adjust consciously to the new classroom profiles. Differing patterns clearly emerge from the schools with different intake profiles. This suggests the need for further studies to examine these findings for generalisability. The situation in schools is both volatile and exciting, calling for concrete and imaginative attention to aspects emerging from the personal, perceptive and wide-ranging input of the sample studied in this research project.

Bibliography: leaves 107-141. / Using the English language textbook as its focal point, this study attempts to determine the extent to which educational publishers are in a position, through their practices, to assist in the transformation of South Africa. The centrality of language to both the creation of individual consciousness and to the shaping of society inform this investigation. Regarded as integral to these processes is the premise that education is the primary terrain into which language, and its fundamentally moulding potential, is locked. Furthermore, the impact of not only the transition in south Africa, but also of the fluidity of the wider global backdrop on both language and education are acknowledged as crucial influences on all spheres of private as well as public life. In this context, the study endeavours to locate and define those elements which comprise and inform the practices of educational publishing. It attempts to demonstrate that the broader socioeconomic, political, educational and cultural processes, from which educational publishing takes its signals, severely restrain its capacity for participation in social transformation. The study concludes with some recommendations for the publishing of English language textbooks in a post-apartheid terrain, and suggests a few areas of research pertinent to such an undertaking.