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This thesis establishes a natural acquisition order for 18 nominal structures in Mandarin SLA, and assesses the extent to which that order can be explained as a consequence of cognitive processing demands. The natural acquisition order is based on a longitudinal study of three adults learning Mandarin in a classroom environment in Auckland, New Zealand. Two representatives of an average emergence order are derived from the three individual orders: a ranking of mean emergence times (RMT) and a ranking of mean emergence ranks (RMR). Processing demands are calculated in three different ways: once on the basis of six developmental stages identified in Pienemann’s Processability Theory (Pienemann, 1998c), once on the basis of a detailed analysis of each nominal structure according to the generative grammar of LFG (Bresnan, 1982, 2001); and finally on the basis of the Minimalist Programme (Chomsky 1995; 1999; 2000). All rest upon a prior analysis of lexical feature structures and constituent structures evident in the learner’s output over the course of a year. The standard six-stage model of Processability Theory proves unable to differentiate between most nominal structures, because they fall within the single developmental category of so-called ‘phrasal’ structures. However, processing demands calculated on the basis either of LFG or of the MP prove to be highly correlated with both individual and average emergence orders. On the basis of these results, various generalisations are made about the relevance of different kinds of syntactic processes to the determination of emergence order. In particular, c-structural complexity and thematic structure are found to be factors most significantly associated with later emergence times. LFG and MP each provide interesting insights into different aspects of syntactic processing that impact on the acquisition of a second language; LFG throws light on the significance of the grammaticalisation of thematic structure; the MP throws light on the processes of lexical construction, and the interactions between this and constituent structure. Both indicate the significance of delays in feature valuation or unification as c-structural complexity increases.

This thesis establishes a natural acquisition order for 18 nominal structures in Mandarin SLA, and assesses the extent to which that order can be explained as a consequence of cognitive processing demands. The natural acquisition order is based on a longitudinal study of three adults learning Mandarin in a classroom environment in Auckland, New Zealand. Two representatives of an average emergence order are derived from the three individual orders: a ranking of mean emergence times (RMT) and a ranking of mean emergence ranks (RMR). Processing demands are calculated in three different ways: once on the basis of six developmental stages identified in Pienemann’s Processability Theory (Pienemann, 1998c), once on the basis of a detailed analysis of each nominal structure according to the generative grammar of LFG (Bresnan, 1982, 2001); and finally on the basis of the Minimalist Programme (Chomsky 1995; 1999; 2000). All rest upon a prior analysis of lexical feature structures and constituent structures evident in the learner’s output over the course of a year. The standard six-stage model of Processability Theory proves unable to differentiate between most nominal structures, because they fall within the single developmental category of so-called ‘phrasal’ structures. However, processing demands calculated on the basis either of LFG or of the MP prove to be highly correlated with both individual and average emergence orders. On the basis of these results, various generalisations are made about the relevance of different kinds of syntactic processes to the determination of emergence order. In particular, c-structural complexity and thematic structure are found to be factors most significantly associated with later emergence times. LFG and MP each provide interesting insights into different aspects of syntactic processing that impact on the acquisition of a second language; LFG throws light on the significance of the grammaticalisation of thematic structure; the MP throws light on the processes of lexical construction, and the interactions between this and constituent structure. Both indicate the significance of delays in feature valuation or unification as c-structural complexity increases.

The translation of metaphors can cause problems for a translator since what is typical for a metaphor is that the intended meaning does not match its literal meaning, which can lead to misunderstandings. Apart from this, language differences and cultural differences can also cause problems. This essay deals with the translation of metaphors in a dog breed book from English to Swedish. The aim of the essay is to investigate which translation strategies that are used when translating metaphors and whether lexicalized and non-lexicalized source language metaphors require different translation strategies.  The source language metaphors were found by using the Metaphor Identification Procedure which in this study means determining the lexical units in the source text, deciding the meaning of each unit and then comparing with dictionaries to see whether the lexical unit has a more basic or contemporary meaning and if the meaning in this particular context can be understood based on the more basic or contemporary meaning. If so, the lexical unit was determined to be metaphorically used in this context. The source language metaphors were then classified according to whether they are lexicalized or non-lexicalized, based on Dickins (2005) classification. The study finds that the most common way of translating a source language metaphor is by paraphrasing it into a non-metaphorical expression followed by using the same or a similar target language metaphor. No clear indications of lexicalized and non-lexicalized metaphors requiring different translation strategies were found.

Syftet med denna studie var att se vilka attityder lärare i programgemensamma ämnen på gymnasiet intog till nyanlända elevers språkliga resurser och hur dessa attityder, enligt informanterna, yttrar sig i undervisningen. Dessa attityder delades upp i en treenighet av komponenter bestående av kognitiv, affektiv och konativ komponent. Studien utfördes på en större gymnasieskola i södra Sverige där 20 lärare i programgemensamma ämnen, både teoretiska och praktiska, deltog i en enkät, varpå sex lärare valdes ut för uppföljande intervjuer utifrån hur tydligt de tagit ställning i olika frågor i enkäten. Resultaten visar att lärarna tenderar att uppvisa en negativ attityd till nyanlända elevers språkliga resurser då det rör svenska språket som upplevs ligga på en otillräcklig nivå för undervisningen. Även för de nyanlända elevernas språkliga resurser i form av andra språk så som modersmålet uppvisade lärarna en negativ attityd då detta utnyttjades i undervisningssituationen i liten grad.

This research analyses some of the slang expressions with the meaning ‘to die’ found in Dictionary of Modern Slang with regard to metaphor and metonymy and whether they have been active when creating the identified slang expressions. It further examines the frequency of these expressions in a large language corpus, and identifies the processes involved in the most frequent expressions. The main findings show that the domain ‘departure’ is the most frequent domain for metaphorical conceptualizations of dying, which suggests that death, like life, can be viewed as a journey. One can speculate that this metaphorical mapping could go back to religious origin, where death is not seen as the end. Several of the expressions are still used within the English language, and the most frequent expressions in the corpus were metonymic in nature and have developed into idiomatic phrases, which are frozen in form.

This is a study of the kinship terminology used for one’s parents and their siblings in the languages in the greater Hindu Kush area (GHK). GHK stretches over the mountainous borderlands of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, China and India and homes a range of various languages from six different genera, Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Nuristani, Turkic, Tibeto-Burman, and the language isolate Burushaski. The study is based on questionnaires from native speakers of 55 language varieties collected in 2015-2017. The main distinction is one between descriptive and merging systems. The descriptive system have separate terms for all six relations and are found in the outer areas of GHK. The merging systems have terms that refer to two or more relations, and these are found in the center of the area. Within this center-area the languages are then further divided into six different terminologies depending on which relations are merged with one term. Semantic clusters can be observed, based on systematic and lexico-semantic parallels, both within and across family lines. The distribution is discussed from a historical, geographical and social point of view. / Language contact and relatedness in the Hindukush region. Vetenskapsrådet (421-2014-631)