Thesis (Honors)--College of William and Mary, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 28-29). Also available via the World Wide Web.

The theme of this thesis writen in french is one of the ways of referring in the text called cataphora. Firstly, the work deals begin with the theoretical part, which contains the theory of text linguistics because of a close connection with the analyzed phenomenon. Then, the cataphora term is defined on the basis of literature and later analyzed in the selected corpus of journalistic texts.

Cette thèse de linguistique anglaise se propose d'étudier l'ensemble des usages référentiels et non référentiels de IT. Diverses questions sont examinées. L'objectif premier de ce travail est de tenter de définir le concept de référence. La question du statut de "pronom" de IT est également étudiée. Enfin, les différents emplois de IT (anaphorique, cataphorique, déictique, non référentiel, etc.) sont analysés dans l'ensemble des constructions où il se rencontre (extraposition du sujet et de l’objet, clivée, dislocation à gauche et à droite, expressions idiomatiques, slogans publicitaires, etc.). L'hypothèse avancée est que le statut référentiel de IT ne peut simplement se scinder en deux catégories : référentiel ou non référentiel. Il semble plutôt que la référence soit à envisager comme un continuum ou gradient allant du plus fortement référentiel vers le plus faiblement référentiel. / This thesis in English linguistics studies all the uses of IT, whether referential or non-referential. Firstly, this work tries to define the concept of reference as precisely as possible. The status of IT as a "pronoun" is also analysed. Moreover, all the uses of IT (anaphoric, cataphoric, deictic, non-referential, etc.) are analysed in a wide variety of sentences (subject and object extraposition, it-cleft, left and right dislocation, idioms, advertising slogans, etc.) This thesis claims that the referential status of IT cannot simply be divided in two categories : referential or non-referential. On the contrary, it seems that reference can be calculated on a continuum or scale from strongly referential to weakly referential.

La cataphore demeure un phénomène sous-documenté par rapport à l’anaphore. Les travaux en grammaire générative expliquent la coindexation cataphorique des pronoms en termes syntaxiques. D’autres études avancent que les SN possessifs et les pronoms sujets cataphoriques obéissent à des choix stylistiques ou s’inscrivent dans une procédure de rappel du référent (Kuno, 1975). Des études sur corpus en anglais (Carden, 1982 ; Van Hoek 1997) invalident cette thèse et montrent que la majorité des expressions cataphoriques apparaissent dans des subordonnées circonstancielles antéposées (comme "before" et "when") et dans des SP antéposés. En français, il n’existe pas d’études sur la fréquence des pronoms cataphoriques. A partir d’un corpus constitué de textes extraits du Monde Diplomatique 1984-1998, nous donnons un aperçu de la fréquence des pronoms cataphoriques dans des subordonnées antéposées introduites par "quand" et "bien que", et nous les distinguons des pronoms anaphoriques. Nous dégageons aussi les contextes dans lesquels apparaissent les pronoms cataphoriques et les pronoms anaphoriques. / Cataphoric reference or backwards anaphora has received less attention than anaphoric reference. Generative grammar explains cataphoric pronouns in terms of syntactic constraints. Other studies have suggested that SN possessive and subject cataphoric pronoums correspond to stylistic choices or are used to recall referents that have been mentioned in the previous discourse (Kuno, 1975). Studies of naturally occurring cataphora in English (Carden 1982 ; De Hoek, 1997) invalidate this thesis and report that the majority of cataphoric forms appear in subordinate clauses introduced by temporal connectives (such as "before", "when") and in preposed phrases. In French, there are no studies about the occurrence of natural cataphoric pronouns. In a study based on texts of Le Monde Diplomatique 1984-1998, we account for the frequency of cataphoric pronouns in subordinate clauses introduced by "quand" and "bien que", and we distinguish those pronouns from anaphoric pronouns in the same configuration. We also show the context in which each kind of pronoun appears.

This thesis deals with the issue of positioning of cataphoric words in a Latin sentence. The theoretical part presents selected studies of Dirk Panhuis and Olga Spevak, two researchers examining the Latin word order from a communicative perspective. This is followed by a general definition of cataphora and its placement within the Latin syntactic context. Chapter 4 presents a statistical analysis of the position of cataphors in a Latin sentence based on excerpts from selected letters of Seneca the Younger and two of Cicero's philosophical works (Laelius de amicitia and the 2nd book of De officiis). The analysis confirms the assumption that Latin cataphors quite often occur in the initial sentence position, which contradicts the conclusions of the aforementioned Panhuis study. Individual analyses show how the tendency to occur in the initial or other position changes depending on the specific cataphor and the type of postcedent to which a cataphor refers.

Cette thèse a pour objectif l’étude des démonstratifs déclinables et indéclinables en espagnol du Mexique, dans une approche synchronique. Le traitement statistique d’un corpus de 205600 mots a permis de décrire l’emploi actuel des démonstratifs, dans la pratique orale et écrite, de déterminer l’état actuel du système et d’évaluer le risque de disparition de certains démonstratifs caractérisés par leur faible fréquence d’emploi [aquel, aquello, acá, allí]. Le travail aborde certains phénomènes propres au Mexique, tels que la difficulté de distinguer ahí de allí et les conséquences qui en découlent, telles que la tendance à la substitution de allí par ahí et l’opposition fréquente de aquí à allá. L’analyse a été réalisée à partir des approches théoriques de Maurice Molho et Jean-Louis Bénézech, fondées, pour l’essentiel, sur l’observation des signifiants. Les opérations de référenciation accomplies au moyen des deux sous-systèmes décrits sont analysées en fonction de trois approches qui, en fait, sont complémentaires. Les emplois déictiques et endophoriques [anaphoriques et cataphoriques] sont étudiés dans le cadre de l’approche traditionnelle. L’approche cognitive tient compte de la manière dont le « nouveau » et le « connu » influencent le choix du démonstratif par le locuteur. L’approche pragmatique offre une vision plus complète du fonctionnement des expressions référentielles ; elle tient compte non seulement de l’interlocuteur mais de la situation de communication dans son entier. / The objective of this thesis is to study the declinable and non-declinable demonstrative words in Mexican Spanish within a synchronic framework. The result of the statistical study consisting of a corpus of 205, 600 words allowed for a description of the current use of the demonstratives in the spoken and the written word, for an analysis of the existing system of demonstrative usage, and an evaluation of the risk of certain demonstrative pronouns and adverbs [aquel, aquello, acá, allí] disappearing totally from Mexican Spanish, given their infrequent use. The work deals with certain linguistic phenomena particular to Mexico, such as the difficulty of distinguishing ahí from allí and the consequences thereof, as well as the tendency to substitute allí with ahí and the frequent establishment of the relationship between aquí and allá. The analysis has been carried out within the context of the theories of Maurice Molho and Jean-Louis Bénézech that are essentially based on the observation of signifiers. The referential functioning carried out by the declinable and non-declinable demonstratives are analyzed in function of the three approaches that are, in fact, complementary. The deictic and endophoric uses [anaphoric and cataphoric] are studied within the framework of the traditional approach. The cognitive approach takes into account the way in which « the new » and « the known » influence the speaker’s choice of demonstrative pronoun. The pragmatic approach offers a more complete vision of the working of the referential expressions, as it takes into account not just the interlocutor but the communication situation in its entirety.

O presente trabalho apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa de campo realizada com adolescentes. O objetivo foi compreender as estratégias de coesão referencial e as características da fé sintético-convencional nas cartas produzidas na escola. A partir da produção textual de alunos e alunas, a pesquisa revelou que as anáforas pronominais e as elipses foram os recursos de coesão referencial que mais atuaram como elementos linguísticos colaboradores na construção da tessitura textual. No que se refere à fé do/da adolescente, constatou-se com esta pesquisa que de fato eles e elas estão vivendo o estágio 3 da fé, ou seja, a fé sintético-convencional postulada por James Fowler; posto que em todos as cartas produzidas se pode identificar as presenças de pelo menos quatro das cinco características apresentas pelo referido autor como representativas deste estágio da fé característico dos adolescentes. A saber: na adolescência a imagem de Deus torna-se mais pessoal, mais próxima; a identidade dos/das jovens adolescentes é moldada pelos grupos que pertencem (família e comunidade religiosa), adolescentes possuem em si um modelo de fé, herdado da família, dos grupos nos quais estão inseridos, ou seja, é uma fé não analisada; e, a expectativa, nesta fase da vida, está centrada na autoridade externa. A pesquisa revelou, ainda, que os/as adolescentes utilizam a fé que possuem como estratégias de coesão de vida. Sendo assim, eles/elas encontram na fé a esperança e a coragem para vencer desafios, empreendem batalhas para traçarem objetivos e metas confiando sempre na existência do Transcendente, neste caso, representado nos pelas figuras de Deus e/ou de Jesus Cristo, que os impulsionam, sobretudo, a acreditarem no poder da fé a viver de acordo com o que professam. / This work presents the results of a field research carried out with adolescents. The goal was to comprehend the strategies of referential cohesion and the characteristics of the conventional-synthetic faith in letters produced in the school. Based on the textual production of students the research revealed that the pronominal anaphoras and the ellipses were the resources of referential cohesion which were most used as collaborating linguistic elements in the construction of the textual fabric. With regard to the faith of the adolescent, it was observed with this research that, in fact, they are living stage 3 of the faith, that is, the conventional-synthetic faith postulated by James Fowler; being as one can identify in all the letters produced the presence of at least four of the five characteristics presented by the referred author as representative of this stage of the faith characteristic of adolescents. That is: in adolescence the image of God becomes more personal, more intimate; the identity of the adolescent youth is molded by the groups to which they belong (family and religious community). Adolescents have within them a model of faith, inherited from the family, from the groups in which they are involved, in other words, it is a non-analyzed faith and the expectation, in this phase of life, is centered on the external authority. The research also revealed that the adolescents use the faith they have as strategies for life cohesion. Thus they find in the faith the hope and courage to overcome challenges, undertake struggles to draw objectives and goals always trusting in the existence of the Transcendent, in this case, represented by the figures of God and/or Jesus Christ, who drives them, above all, to believe in the power of the faith and to live according to what they profess.

The aim of this work is to analyse functions of French articles as a part of the text in comparison with the means of Czech language. The theoretical part defines determinants as a word class in French language as well as its function in conjunction with nominal group, ways of linking in the text and structure of the text. All of this is based on the works of French and Czech authors concerned in the question of articles. The comparative part was done on the text accessible in both languages. The texts were analysed in the same way and then they studied all the questions from the theoretical part i.e. functions of the article in the text and its language means in Czech. The results were put into two tables. First table presents Czech equivalents of nominal group. Second table presents Czech equivalents of the way of linking in the text.