Error Analysis has been widely used in studies of second language learning. At the same time, foreign language learning (as opposed to teaching), has largely been ignored as an object of research. The research had three major aims: to examine the potential of Error Analysis in foreign language learning by the development and trialling of a complex new coding schedule for analysing learner errors in French; to provide some descriptive data on the written errors and performance of foreign language pupils over a complete scholastic year; and to explore the nature of foreign language learning strategies used by the pupils studied. The thesis opens with a statement of purpose and method. This is followed by a short discussion of theories, topics and techniques in second and foreign language learning. The development of two forms of the coding schedule used to analyse errors is described and discussed. Recode checks and the development of 'Coding Confidence Levels' are presented. Procedures used in a longitudinal study of errors are then described. This study acted as an important trial for the coding schedules, known as Foreign Language Error Analysis: French (FLEAF). All written French produced by eight pupils in the same school class was collected over the 1978 New Zealand school year (February to December). The group were in their second year of high school French and had an average age of 14 years 5 months midway through the study. Background information is given about the subjects, including results of selected IEA French (Population II) tests administered during the year. Some description of the year's work is given, followed by general and case study analyses of errors. Selected results from both the longer (FLEAF-L) and shorter (FLEAF-S) coding schedules are then tabulated and discussed. Particular attention is paid to variables coding possible explanations for errors. Detailed analyses of errors in word order, negation and gender are offered, along with a review of correct performances for selected aspects. These analyses lead to two preliminary hypotheses which could in part explain the occurrence of errors. One hypothesis relates to the frequency with which pupils had been required to focus through drills on the point at issue, the other to the number of choices available to the pupil at the time of error. Discussion of Error Analysis and pupil strategies is then presented. It is concluded that Error Analysis has a valid role in developing hypotheses for a theory of foreign language learning. Five such hypotheses, suggested by the longitudinal study, are presented. It is argued that these five could all be classified on one of a proposed five levels of 'Operating Procedures' (McLaughlin, 1978a). Selection of a unique cluster of operating procedures would constitute the learning/performance 'strategy' of a particular pupil. These notions are incorporated into a tentative framework for a theory of foreign language learning. A modified 'Principle of Least Effort' (Zipf, 1965), is suggested as a key factor in the early stages of learning a foreign language, and ideas for subsequent research are proposed. / Whole document restricted, but available by request, use the feedback form to request access.

The Apostolic Fathers is the name given to the body of literature, written in Greek, which dates from immediately after the New Testament period. The works cover the last decade of the 1st century AD, and the first half of the second century. They give a varied picture of the moral and doctrinal state of the early Christian Church in a period characterised by constant threat of persecution and martyrdom on the one hand, and growth in theological and ethical understanding on the other. The works considered in this thesis are the genuine letters of Ignatius; the Shepherd of Hermas; the Epistle of Barnabas and the Didache; the letter to Diognetus; the Clementine Homily (commonly called II Clement); the letters of Polycarp to the Philippians and the Martyrdom of Polycarp. The study begins with an essay on the development of the language of faith. This traces the use of the pistis group from Homer to the New Testament, and shows how the Homeric and Classical Greek usages were taken by the Septuagint and applied in a religious context to God and salvation, and how this process was further developed in the New Testament into a full-blown technical vocabulary of faith. The Apostolic Fathers take this process a step further, and there is a broadening of the meanings of the cognates, together with resultant changes in the linguistic usage. All the occurrences of pistis and its cognates in the Apostolic Fathers are examined in detail. In each case there is comment of the meaning of the words within the wider context in which they are set in each work. The Greek is given, together with a translation, and obscure passages are elucidated.

In the last two decades there has been a significant shift in Bible translation, away from the approach developed by Eugene A. Nida of the United Bible Societies. The practice of Bible translation in the modern era was greatly influenced by Nida, and still is to a great extent. His ‘functional equivalence’ approach to translation gave priority to communicating the meaning of the text instead of merely retaining the form. His approach also included testing the translation to ensure that average readers understood the meaning. Nida’s approach was expanded upon by the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) into what is known as the ‘meaning-based’ approach. The difference between it and the functional equivalence approach is mainly one of degree, with the meaningbased approach being freer in several respects than Nida’s approach. However, there has been a movement away from Nida (as well as SIL’s meaning-based approach) among many Bible translators. The reasons for this shift are varied, although one major influence has been the growing awareness that the language communities who are the recipients of these translations should have a major part in deciding what kind of translation will be prepared. Such communities often prefer more literal translations. Yet they are seldom given the background information they need to make an informed decision about what approach is appropriate for them, partly because no studies exist which document the objective evaluation and comparison of different approaches to translation of the Bible. This thesis documents actual testing of three types of translation in the Thai language to determine which one most clearly communicates the meaning of the Bible. It was found that the meaning-based translation communicated most clearly for some stories that were tested, the functional equivalence translation achieved the second best results, and a semi-literal translation had the most significant communication problems. The findings also provide dramatic evidence about the limits any translation of the Bible has for people who have never heard its message before. This thesis also describes a new kind of testing of translation quality which the author developed in order to objectively compare different translations in Thai. Subjects were asked to read translated passages and then take a written multiple-choice test about the meaning of the translation. This new kind of testing has several advantages over the kind of testing in general use by most Bible translators.

Whole document restricted, see Access Instructions file below for details of how to access the print copy. / The present work is a detailed study of the Gurnemanz Episode in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival. Its main body encompasses a commentary on the Gurnemanz episode of Wolfram’s work. The intention of the commentary is o provide exact and comprehensive information and discussion on aspects of the text that could cause the reader difficulty, or to enhance his/ her appreciation of the text and the context in which it had its genesis. The commentary follows the principle of analysing from large to small. The largest section encompasses a chapter of the thesis, the smallest an individual word. Each of the five chapters is introduced by a literary interpretation which encompasses, among other aspects such as themes, motifs, plot and character development, structure, and a comparison between Wolfram’s text and that of his source, Chrétien de Troyes’s Perceval. Then a closer examination of smaller units of the text takes place. This includes principally the analysis of Wolfram's use of language and his style. The commentary is introduced by a discussion of the commentary form and the theoretical basis which this work follows, and concluded by a short evaluation. All important secondary literature which appeared before 1997 and was available to the author has been considered for this work. Furthermore, this thesis is appended with an article in German that deals with the possibility of reading Parzival 652,10 and 173,3 with the less favoured MS G readings. This article bears the fruit of the discussion needed to comment on the MS G reading at 173,3, and is soon to be published in the periodical Euphorion. A fold-out copy of the Parzival text for each chapter is found inside the back cover.

This thesis investigates the English versions of the Grimms’ Kinder- und Hausmärchen (= KHM) published between the years 1823 and 1884, i.e. from the first translation by Edgar Taylor and David Jardine, German Popular Stories (1823 and 1826), to the first complete edition of the Grimms’ collection of stories and notes by Margaret Hunt, Grimm’s Household Tales (1884). Each of the first eleven chapters deals with a specific English edition and gives an analysis of one or more stories from that edition together with the texts of the German original. The two versions, German and English, are placed alongside each other in parallel columns to facilitate comparison. The twelfth chapter takes the final paragraph of one story, ‘Sneewittchen’ (KHM 53), and examines the seven different English versions of it in the editions discussed in the previous chapters. The final chapter compares the quality of English translations of the KHM in the nineteenth century with that of the Grimms’ sole venture in translating tales in the English language into German, viz. Wilhelm Grimm’s Irische Elfenmärchen (1826). Included as an appendix is a tabulated concordance of the contents of the twelve major editions discussed in this thesis. The investigation shows that the areas deemed to be sensitive ones by English translators were those which had to do with what Darton (Children’s Books in England, 1982, p.99) has singled out as ‘a deep-rooted sin-complex’ in England. Any story that touched on the issues of religious belief and superstition, the human body and its physical nature, violence and evil, and the intense emotions felt by human beings which prompt them to commit violent and destructive acts, was inevitably viewed with concern and mistrust, especially by purveyors of children’s literature in the nineteenth century. All these issues, as well as the element of fantasy which so readily admits and entertains them, were prone to considerable revision by successive translators of the KHM. / Also published (in shorter form) as Sutton, Martin James (1996). The sin-complex : a critical study of English versions of the Grimm's Kinder- und Hausmärchen in the nineteenth century. Kassel Germany: Brüder Grimm-Gesellschaft.

Qu’est-ce que la littérature océanienne ? Cette question liminaire et peut-être naïve veut lever tout risque de malentendu, mais aussi indiquer le projet fondateur de cette recherche : écouter et reconnaître les voix du grand « océan d’îles » d’Epeli Hau’ofa1 dans leur pleine originalité. Il est en effet difficile d’imaginer une situation plus paradoxale que celle de la région Pacifique et de ses habitants, qui ont fait couler tant d’encre occidentale depuis le XVIIIe siècle, mais dont la voix propre n’est, aujourd'hui encore, que très rarement entendue en dehors de la région, mais aussi à l’intérieur.2 Le champ littéraire océanien Les corpus littéraires désignés comme « océaniens » varient selon les auteurs : ainsi dans une conférence de 2002 intitulée « Tahiti ou l’atelier d’une invention littéraire »,3 Daniel Margueron utilisait la dénomination « littérature océanienne » pour évoquer les premiers écrits européens sur le Pacifique et plus précisément Tahiti, réservant aux littératures contemporaines produites par des écrivains maohi les dénominations « littérature polynésienne francophone dite d’émergence » ou littérature « tahitianophone » pour les écrits en langue maohi. Cependant, dans la plupart des anthologies, actes de colloques ou articles publiés à ce jour, la dénomination « littérature océanienne » vient plutôt désigner les littératures émergentes produites en Océanie par des auteurs qui y vivent de façon permanente. On observe toutefois des différences notables lorsqu’il s’agit de délimiter le champ exact des littératures océaniennes. Les anthologies disponibles aujourd'hui peuvent fournir des indications précieuses sur les représentations dominantes de ce que sont ces littératures. Elles distinguent de fait, à travers les sélections sur lesquelles elles s’appuient, plusieurs grands ensembles. -- from Introduction

Charles Robert Maturin (1780-1824) produced a substantial body of writing that included six novels, three plays, and two collections of sermons. Despite the large audience he reached in his own time, and the interest he aroused in a number of later poets and novelists, Maturin's work has not received very much serious attention from critics. The present study attempts to take a fresh look at all Maturin's work, exploring it sympathetically from a variety of directions. Melmoth is included, but because it has dominated previous discussion of Maturin, I have chosen to concentrate on his neglected novels, Fatal Revenge, The Wild Irish Boy, The Milesian Chief, Women, or Pour et Contre, and The Albigenses. Special attention is given here to Maturin's two volumes of sermons (a valuable but seldom used source of information about his religious philosophy) and, more generally, to the theme of religion, which links many of his novels. This aspect of Gothic literature deserves a closer study than it usually receives, particularly in the work of Maturin who was a minister of religion. My thesis proposes a new interpretation of Fatal Revenge based on the parallel that Maturin developed between the use of superstition by Orazio and its use by the Catholic church. In The Albigenses there is a similar parallel between the outlaws and the supposedly holy Crusaders. Maturin took the Catholic church so often as his subject, not simply because it provided a colourful, stereotyped background (as some have suggested), but because it was a context in which he could seriously investigate the psychological pressures that produced (and still produce) conformity, extremism, and sexual violence. While his studies of oppressive societies may at times remind us of twentieth-century works such as 1984 or The Trial, Maturin's fiction is very much a part of its age. After a chapter that explores the history of 'the Gothic', my thesis focuses on the particular context of Maturin's period, mapping it initially by examining the responses to his work that appeared in print during his lifetime. Those reviews and essays make visible the complex field of forces in which Maturin worked. The Gothic novel developed in an age of more than usual ferment - literary, religious, and political - including the first phase of what we would today describe as feminist rebellion. All this was accompanied, as we can see from the criticism, by a strong conservative reaction in defence of the threatened values. The present study emphasizes the ways in which Maturin's work shared the new energies associated with change, even though it also displayed signs of ambivalence. I consider the reasons for this ambivalence and argue that in many cases there is subtlety in what appears at first to be confusion. Maturin's fiction was a late addition to the Gothic tradition, but its particular kinds of complexity - such as its psychological depth - made it an important development of the genre and linked it with other innovative writing of the period. Some admirers of Maturin have sought to play down the Gothic element in his work, which is understandable in view of the low esteem in which the genre has been held. The Gothic has often been seen, for example, as a confused rehearsal for Romanticism. While acknowledging the variety of Maturin's novels, I have sought to emphasise their continuing links with the Gothic genre and its special energies. During the past decade, new forms of Gothic criticism have appeared that treat the subject with greater seriousness. Today, interest in the Gothic genre seems to be springing to life again, and its relevance to our own time (which is also a period of complex social change and widespread ambivalence) has become clearer. I have attempted to contribute to this new type of criticism by pointing out the value of Maturin's studies of oppression and his ability to go beyond stereotypes in his treatment of women characters. I have also suggested some links between Gothic literature and feminist science-fiction writing today. In general, the aim of this thesis has been to consider the most mature Gothic fiction (such as that of Maturin) not merely as fantasy but as an expanded vision of reality. / Note: Thesis now published. Dunsford, C (2007). Painting life in extremes Charles Maturin and the Gothic genre. NZ: Global Dialogues Press. ISBN 9780968245340

Poetry in New Zealand, nearly everyone agrees, came to birth around 1920, or 1930, or 1940; in fact, round about when those who are now the grand old men of New Zealand letters were boys. No doubt future generations will see it as beginning in 1950, or 1960, or 1970. In any case, no attempt will be made in this work to upset such a widely-held belief – my researches are unashamedly foetal, a chronicle of the first faint heart-beats, the first weak kicks, and a whole lot of morning-sickness. It is something less than a ‘study’ of poetic pre-history; to try to consider New Zealand poetry before 1930 ‘in depth’ would be like practising diving in a mangrove swamp. On the other hand, although I have quoted extensively, it is something more than an anthology. Its purpose is to review the course of poetry in this country since it began, so that those who are interested in colonial verse can get some idea of what would have been its ‘development’ if it had developed, without having to wade through the four hundred or so volumes in which it is embalmed.

CHRISTINA STEAD (1902-1983) is a major Australian woman writer, and this thesis explores one of the least known periods in her life and work, the years she spent in the United States (1937- 7946). During this time she wrote her two best known novels, The Man Who Loved Children and For Love Alone, both based on autobiographical material. This study explores contextual aspects of Stead's life and work in New York, drawing on a considerable amount of new material. (Chapters I and II) During this period Stead wrote partly out of a personal need to understand her own life situation, and psychological readings of three novels, The Man who Loved Children, For Love Alone and Letty Fox, seen as a 'father trilogy', are designed to open up new lines of enquiry into aspects of all of these novels. (Chapters III and IV) The thesis also discusses formal aspects of Stead's work, beginning with her own formulation of an esthetics of the novel, which occurred during a course she gave in New York in 1943 called Workshop in the Novel. (Chapter V) The relevance of this course for her own practice as a novelist is also explored, with particular reference to the two later American novels A Little TeA, A Little Chat and, The People with The Dogs. (Chapter VI) In Chapter VII an exploration of Stead's interest in the genre of the novella, focussing on the collection The Puzzleheaded Girl, continues the formal lines of enquiry opened up in the previous two chapters, and in the following chapter the same collection provides a starting point for a consideration of Stead's deep interest in the situation of women in modern society, especially the recurrent figure of the wanderer or female rebel. The last chapter concentrates on the literary self-portraits which appeared in Stead's American fiction after The Man who Loved Children and For Love Alone, and their curiously limited characterization is compared with the more vigorous portrait of her provided in one of the novels of her husband, William Blake. This thesis, then, argues that Stead's life fed her fiction, especially in her American period, and that her work was part of a broader personal quest. Understanding this quest is relevant to a discussion of her literary style, and to her personal use of autobiographical material in her fiction, and it illuminates aspects of the creative process itself. Stead's need to understand her own life not only shaped her fiction, it also provided it with the 'intelligent ferocity' she aimed for, and resulted in a major 'realist' writer.

The text which follows is a critical modern spelling edition of ‘Wit at Several Weapons’ devised according to the principles established for the editors of the Revels series of English Renaissance plays. Punctuation has been altered from the original 17th Century edition to conform as far as possible with current practice. Elisions in verb endings have been quietly expanded thus the forms “-ed” and “-est” appear throughout, except where the metre demands their retention. Speech headings too have been slightly regularised, in an abbreviated form, throughout the play. Where a single line is divided between two or more speakers the second (or subsequent) speaker’s portion of the line is indented. Obvious errors in the copy-text have been emended and the emendations recorded in the collation. Any editorial insertions such as scene-headings and added or altered stage-directions, are placed within square brackets.