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University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Chinese

The purpose of the study was to investigate, through an experiment, if positive mood promotes creativity and flexible thinking. Participants were a total of 93 college students. The main hypothesis was that subjects induced with positive mood would perform better than subjects induced with negative mood, at a test reflecting creativity. To further explore the implications of priming (subliminal manipulated moods), a neutral control group was included. The cognitive test used in the study was Duncker´s The Candle Problem, a test which aims to get the subjects to apply flexible and creative thinking. The priming methods applied in the study was music and video clips. To measure the participant’s subjective mood a self-report scale, Mood Adjective Check List (MACL), was included as a successful manipulation control. The result showed a clear relationship between positive and negative priming, implying that subjects induced with positive mood performed significantly better than subjects induced with negative mood. There was no significant relationship between the groups induced with neutral and negative mood. / Syftet med studien var att genom ett experiment utforska om positiv sinnesstämning främjar kreativitet och flexibelt tänkande. Deltagarna i experimentet var totalt 93 studenter. Den huvudsakliga hypotesen var att deltagare inducerade till positivt känslotillstånd skulle prestera bättre än deltagare inducerade till negativt känslotillstånd, på ett kreativitetsreflekterande test. För att närmare undersöka påverkan av priming (subliminalt manipulerade känslotillstånd) inkluderades även en neutral kontrollgrupp. Testet som användes var Dunckers The Candle Problem. Syftet med testet var att få deltagarna att tillämpa flexibelt och kreativt tänkande. Priming-metoden som användes i experimentet bestod av musik och filmklipp. För att mäta deltagarnas subjektiva känslotillstånd tillämpades formuläret Mood Adjective Check List (MACL) som en framgångsrik manipulationskontroll. Ur resultatet utlästes en tydlig relation mellan positiv och negativ priming, att deltagare som fått positiv priming klarade testet signifikant bättre än deltagare med negativ priming. Mellan grupperna som inducerats med neutral och negativ sinnesstämning upptäcktes dock ingen signifikant relation.

Thesis (M.A.)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research investigates the adjective in Northern Sotho. The entire research indicates that adjectives form a closed system and are morphologically marked with a noun class prefix in Northern Sotho. Three semantic categories of adjectives which may be recognized are descriptive, quantitative and colour adjectives. Chapter One is the introduction of the research. The introductory sections which appear in it are purpose and aim of study, method of research, organization of the study, definitions of the concepts and derivation of adjectives. Chapter Two concentrates on the semantic adjective. Semantics deals with the study of words origins~ changes and meanings. Attributive (prenominal) adjectives tend to denote fairly permanent properties, while predicative ones denote the corresponding transient properties as in the following examples: (1) a. The shirt is loose (not buttoned) b. The loose shirt (not fitting properly) (2) a. The apparatus are handy (conveniently at hand) b. Handy apparatus (useful apparatus) Adjectives can occur in comparative and exclamatory constructions. Two types of adjectives may also differ from one another in that the one involving conversion does not take degree modifier or comparative, whereas the one not involving conversion can have either of them occurring with them: (3) a. The strong should help the weak b. The very strong should help the weak (4) a. The cup is big b. The cup is too big Chapter Three evolves on the formation and structure of adjectives in Northern Sotho. This chapter introduces a wide range of word building elements used to create the adjective structure. Emphasis is put on the adjectival prefixes, adjectival stems and adjectival suffixes which are the constituent elements of the adjective. Only the adjectival stems are reduplicable and have usually an intensified meaning. This implies that the adjectival prefixes and adjectival suffixes, in terms of their position and function, cannot be reduplicated. There are also some restrictions in the use of adjectives. The main concerns are the nature of word-formation processes and the ways in which wordformation interacts with syntax, semantics and lexicon. Chapter Four exemplifies the descriptive possessive in full. As a matter of clarification, no possessives have been discussed in this chapter. Descriptive possessives and possessives are two different aspects. In this chapter, various aspects which make up the descriptive possessives are also discussed in detail. Chapter Five deals with the nominal relative clause. The head is always the noun in all the nominal relative clauses. The matrix and the relative clauses are given under physical features, psychological features, habits, skills, taste and natural phenomena. The distribution of a relative is also indicated. Attention is based on the complement of a noun and position in a clause. Chapter Six is the concluding chapter which gives the summary of all the previous chapters. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsing het as doelstelling die ondersoek van die adjektief in Noord-Sotho. Die bevindinge van die navorsing dui daarop dat adjektiewe in Noord-Sotho 'n geslote klas vorm wat morfologies gemerk word deur 'n naamwoordklasprefiks. Die drie semantiese kategorieë van adjektiewe wat in die studie erken word sluit in deskriptiewe, kwantitatiewe en kleur adjektiewe. Hoofstuk Een vorm die inleiding van die studie. Die verskillende sub-afdelings van die hoofstuk gee die doelstelling van die studie, asook 'n oorsig van die navorsingsmetode, organisasie van die studie, belangrike definisies en konsepte en behandel die afleiding van adjektiewe in Noord-Sotho. Hoofstuk Twee fokus op die semantiese adjektiewe. Semantiek hou verband met die studie van woorde se oorsprong, veranderinge en betekenisse. Attributiewe (prenominale) adjektiewe neig om redelik permanente eienskappe aan te dui, terwyl predikatiewe adjektiewe die korresponderende tydelike eienskappe aandui, soos getoon in die volgende voorbeelde in Engels: (1) a. The shirt is loose (not buttoned) b. The loose shirt (not fitting properly) (2) a. The apparatus are handy (conveniently at hand) b. Handy apparatus (useful apparatus) Adjektiewe kan in vergelykende en uitroepkonstruksies verskyn. Twee tipes adjektiewe kan ook verskil van mekaar in die opsig dat die een tipe wat verandering behels nie 'n graad bepaler of vergelykende bepaler neem nie, terwyl die ander wat nie verandering behels nie met enige van hierdie bepalers kan verskyn. Beskou die volgende voorbeelde in Engels: (3) a. The strong should help the weak b. The very strong should help the weak (4) a. The cup is big b. The cup is too big Hoofstuk Drie hou verband met die vorming en struktuur van adjektiewe in Noord- Sotho. Hierdie hoofstuk stel'n wye reekswoordbou-elementebekendwat gebruik word om qie adjektiefstruktuur te skep. Besondere aandag word gegee aan die adjektiefprefikse, adjektiefstamme en adjektiefsuffikse wat die konstituent elemente van die I adjektief is. Slegs adjektiefstamme is dupliseerbaar, en het gewoonlik 'n geïntensifeerde betekenis. Dit volg dat die adjektiefprefikse en -suffikse in terme van hulle posisie en funksie nie geredupliseer kan word nie. Daar word ook ondersoek ingestel na die beperkings ten opsigte van die gebruik van adjektiewe. Die hoofoorwegings is die aard van woordvormingsprosesseen die wyse waarop woordvorming in interaksie is met die sintaksis, semantiek en die leksikon. Hoofstuk Vier ondersoek die deskriptiewe possessief in Noord-Sotho volledig. Ter wille van duidelikheid: geen possessiewe wat letterlike semantiese besit aandui word in hierdie hoofstuk as relevant beskou nie aangesien deskriptiewe possessiewe, maar nie letterlike besitaanduidende possessiewe nie, as kategorie van semantiese adjektiewe beskou word. In hierdie hoofstuk word ook verskillende aspekte bespreek wat die semantiese adjektief karakteriseer. Hoofstuk Vyf ondersoek die nominale relatief klous. Die kern is altyd 'n naamwoord in al die nominale relatiefklouse. Die matriks- en die relatiefklouse word bespreek onder die klasse van fisiese kenmerke, sielkundige kenmerke, gewoontes, vaardighede, smake, en natuurlike verskynsels. Die verspreiding van 'n relatief word ook aangedui. Aandag word gevestig op die komplement van 'n naamwoord en posisie in die klous. Hoofstuk Ses is die samevatting van die studie waarin die belangrikste bevindings aan die orde gestel word.

<p>There are mainly two ways of comparing adjectives in English: the analytic and the synthetic. The analytic way is to use more and most (for example difficult, more difficult, most difficult). The synthetic, or inflectional, way is to add the endings –er and –est (for instance fast, faster, fastest). During the last twelve centuries the way of forming comparisons in English has evolved from predominately synthetic to the point where both inflections and analytic forms are used. Today many adjectives are almost always compared either synthetically or analytically (e.g. fast and difficult respectively), but sometimes we have two alternatives; for example, we can choose between more polite and politer. The author has three aims with this paper: firstly, to examine how adjectives in English are compared today; secondly, to determine how well the descriptions in modern grammars agree with authentic written English; thirdly, to see whether there have been any recent changes in the way of indicating comparison. This is a quantitative study. A corpus investigation was undertaken: some one hundred common adjectives in two British newspapers, The Guardian and The Observer, from 1990–91 and 2005 that vary in their way of expressing comparison were studied. The results were compared with six grammars from the last five decades. After the data collection, the chi square test was applied, showing how statistically significant the changes between 1990–91 and 2005 are. Judging from the data in this study, the synthetic comparison seems to be becoming less common. The author also concludes that the comparison of adjectives in contemporary British English varies considerably.</p>

This thesis focuses on the issues of lexical negation in French adjectives as well as on other parts of speech - nouns and adverbs. Its objective is the description of functioning of the lexical negation and the examination of restriction, which it is accompanied by. Based on these findings, the practical part (i.e. personal research) will try to define the tendencies of the use of lexical negation in the near future. Last but not least, this thesis also describes the use of general negation or out of standard French language - in argot or in spoken language.

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Mary T. Copple / Adjective use and intensification by native speakers of English has been the subject of much study, yet intensification strategies used by non-native speakers have received relatively less attention. The present study compares adjective use by five native English speakers with that of five English L2 speakers at Kansas State University in order to describe in detail how learner patterns of use differ from those of native speakers living in the same community. From conversational data, adjectives were extracted and analyzed for linguistic features such as adjective class, and use of intensification. Results quantify how the non-native speakers have access to a smaller set of adjectives than native speakers, and how those sets differ. Interestingly, the L2 speakers intensify their adjectives at a higher rate than native speakers, again employing a smaller set. The types of adjectives used by the two groups differed in significant ways, with native speakers using more precise, contextually-specific evaluative adjectives such as crappy, elite, retarded, and obsessed, while non-native speakers used more generic adjectives such as happy, nice, long, and famous. The generalized nature of these adjectives, as well as the smaller number of lexemes at the non-native speakers’ disposal, may account for the increased rate of intensification shown by the non-native speakers. Specifically, the depth and complexity of meaning required for conversational interaction is more often handled by native speakers via a variety of specialized adjectives, while non-native speakers must rely more on adjective intensification in order to convey subtle differences in meaning. These results help us better understand how advanced learner language compares to native use. Implications for English language teaching include, but are not limited to, new insight into the types of adjectives taught for conversational English, explicit teaching of intensification strategies, and teaching learners how to construct compound adjectives.

Este trabalho tem o objetivo de estudar a construção do texto descritivo literário, considerando, em especial, o papel do adjetivo e o seu funcionamento dentro desse modo de organização textual. Neste sentido, a presente pesquisa se inscreve no conjunto de reflexões em torno do aspecto linguístico e do literário. Tendo como base o texto descritivo, não se trata de estudar o discurso literário aplicando noções linguísticas, mas de refletir sobre o processo da escritura literária como linguagem que explora os recursos da língua. A perspectiva que permeia este estudo tem por ambição repensar a prática pedagógica em aulas de língua estrangeira, em específico o francês. Partindo de uma contextualização não exaustiva do texto descritivo literário, desde a tradição a movimentos literários, a pesquisa visa ao exame dos limites do texto descritivo, considerando, sobretudo, sua relação com o modo narrativo. O trabalho interroga sobre a possibilidade de se estabelecer fronteiras entre os dois modos e sobre a existência de parâmetros linguísticos, discursivos e estéticos que permitem determinálos: Afora os procedimentos que configuram o ato de descrever, como devem ser tratadas as questões tidas como decisivas nesse processo, como a subjetividade, os efeitos de realidade e de ficção? A hipótese que norteia a pesquisa é a de que, inicialmente, existe um conjunto de marcas linguísticas, a exemplo do adjetivo, que, combinadas, constituem o modo descritivo e permitem sua caracterização. Assim, no primeiro capítulo, além de leituras críticas de textos que versam sobre a temática em questão, desenvolvem-se ainda alguns conceitos que estão ligados intrinsecamente à construção do texto descritivo, entre eles a isotopia e a focalização. A fim de observar a elaboração de uma sequência descritiva e o funcionamento do adjetivo como parte desse processo, o segundo capítulo propõe a análise de um corpus, constituído pelos contos Le curé de Cucugnan, de Alphonse Daudet, e La montagne du dieu vivant, de Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, e pela novela La maison du chat-qui-pelote, de Honoré de Balzac. Na análise da sequência, observa-se o processo que envolve a construção e a encenação descritiva no corpus. Quanto à análise do adjetivo, examina-se o processo de adjetivação como forma de exposição da subjetividade. O terceiro capítulo se apoia em uma perspectiva pedagógica que discute a importância da didática no ensino-aprendizagem de língua e de literatura estrangeira e apresenta exercícios que visam à leitura e à produção de textos de natureza descritiva. Os resultados apontados no trabalho possibilitam por meio da análise do corpus uma reflexão mais particularizada de aspectos relacionados à descrição literária e ao papel do adjetivo nesse contexto. Especialmente em relação à construção de uma sequência descritiva, observam-se questões que, aparentemente, são consideradas menos importantes, mas que, ao contrário, exigem certo domínio de propriedades linguísticodiscursivas que contribuem para a elaboração desse tipo de sequência, como, por exemplo a fronteira entre o descritivo e o narrativo. Além disso, o trabalho permite ainda a elaboração de uma proposta de exercícios, a título de exemplo prático. / The aim of this work is to study the construction of the descriptive literary text, particularly considering the role of the adjective and its operation within this textual organization mode. In this sense, the present research is inserted in reflections around the linguistic and literary aspects. Based on the descriptive text, it is not the aim here to study the literary discourse applying linguistic notions, it is the intend to reflect upon the literary writing as language which explores the resources of the language. The perspective that permeates this study aims at rethink the pedagogical practice in foreign language lessons, more specifically in French language. Departing from a non exhaustive contextualization of the descriptive literary text, from tradition to literary movements, the research aims at examining the limits of the descriptive text, considering its relation with the narrative mode. The work questions about the possibility of establishing boundaries between the two modes, and about the existence of linguistic, discursive and esthetic parameters which permit to determine them. Aside from the proceedings that configure the act of writing, how should be treated the decisive questions in this process, like the subjectivity, the reality and the fiction effects? The hypothesis here is that, initially, there exist a group of linguistic marks (see the adjective as example), that, in combination, constitute the descriptive mode and permit its characterization. Thus, in the first chapter, besides the readings upon the theme, it also elaborates on some concepts which are intrinsically linked to the construction of the descriptive text, among them are the isotopy and the focalization. Aiming at observing a descriptive sequence, and the operation of the adjective as part of this process, the second chapter proposes the analyses of a corpus, constituted by the tales of Le curé de Cucugnan, by Alphonse Daudet, and La montagne du dieu vivant, by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, and by the romance La maison du chat qui pelote, by Honoré de Balzac. In the analyses of the sequence, it is observed the process that involves the construction and the descriptive staging in the corpus. Concerning to the analysis of the adjective, it is examined the adjectival process as a form of the exposition of the subjectivity. The third chapter is based on pedagogical perspective which discusses the importance of the didactic in the teaching-learning of foreign language and literature, and presents exercises that aims at the reading and production of descriptive texts. The results from the research make feasible a more peculiar reflection of the aspects related to the literary description, as well as the role of the adjectives in this context. Concerning to the construction of a descriptive sequence, it is possible to observe issues that, at first sight, are considered of less importance, but that actually demand a domain of linguistic-discursive properties that contribute to the elaboration of this kind of sequence, the boundary between the descriptive and the narrative for instance. Besides that, the work still allows the elaboration of exercises in a more practical way.

Acquérir l’adjectif épithète pose deux problèmes majeurs en français. D’abord, l’adjectif dénote une propriété à propos d’un nom, les enfants doivent donc pouvoir concevoir un objet comme un tout et comme un ensemble de propriétés pour manier un SN avec épithète. Ensuite, l’alternance est un trait définitoire de l’adjectif du français, mais son placement n’est pas aléatoire et les contraintes en jeu sont multiples et d’ordre tendanciel. De plus, bien que les locuteurs connaissent cette possibilité, ils optent plutôt pour un placement fixe en usage. Ces faits nous ont amenée à nous demander si l’input permet à l’enfant de se construire la notion d’adjectif épithète sans avoir recours à des connaissances langagières innées. Pour y répondre, nous proposons une étude comparant les usages de trois enfants à ceux de leur famille à deux temps de leur acquisition (T1 : 3 ;8, T2 : 4 ;6). Nous étudions quatre aspects de l’usage de l’épithète (lexique, placement, combinaison avec d’autres modifieurs ou un dépendant adjectival) et nous confrontons l’adjectif aux autres modifieurs nominaux. Ces phénomènes montrent tous la même évolution. À T1, les enfants emploient la construction la plus fréquente des adultes, avec un fort degré de spécificité lexicale. À T2, d’autres constructions émergent selon leur ordre de fréquence chez les adultes. Le lexique de la construction de T1 s’est en outre élargi dans le champ de la classe sémantique des usages de T1. Les enfants montrent ainsi une sensibilité aux informations quantitatives et une abstraction graduelle des structures par analogie sémantique, qui plaident pour une construction progressive de la notion d’adjectif épithète à partir de l’input. / The acquisition of attributive adjectives is subject to two major difficulties in French. First, adjectives express a property of a larger unit : children must be able to conceive an object as a whole and as a set of properties to use a NP with an adjective. Second, adjectives in French may occur before or after the noun. Alternation is a defining feature of the category but it is not random, and the constraints at play are numerous and preferential in nature. Also, although speakers are aware of this possibility, they tend to choose a fixed position in usage. These facts raise the question of whether the input allows children to construct the notion of attributive adjectives without a resort to innate linguistic knowledge. To answer this, I propose a comparative study of the productions of three children interacting with their family at two times of their development (T1 : 3 ;8, T2 : 4 ;6). I examine four phenomena concerning attributive adjectives (lexicon, placement, combination with other modifiers or adjectival dependents), and I compare adjectives with other nominal modifiers. All of these phenomena show the same evolution. At T1, the children use the most frequent construction in the adult data, with a high degree of lexical specificity. T2 shows the appearance of other constructions according to their order of frequency in the adult data. The construction from T1 is also used with a greater choice of lexical units, but within the same semantic classes. The children thus show sensitivity to quantitative information and a gradual abstraction of constructions by semantic analogy, which pleads for a progressive construction of the knowledge of adjectives based on the input data.