I denna uppsats analyseras fyra olika artiklar från gymkedjan SATS egen tidning, SATS Magazine. Syftet är att undersöka vilken modelläsare som konstrueras. Modelläsaren är den ideala läsaren som skribenten tillägnar texten till, det är den identitet som läsaren blir erbjuden i en text och som skribenten föreställer sig. Med hjälp av den systemisk-funktionella grammatiken samt kritisk diskursanalys är syftet att med en kvalitativ metod undersöka vilka krav gällande träning som ställs på modelläsaren, och hur detta bidrar till hur modelläsaren konstrueras. Den interpersonella betydelsen kommer att beröra språkhandlingar, modalitet, tilltal och värdeladdade ord. Den ideationella analysen är något avgränsad och kommer endast att fokusera på vilka ideationella processer som förekommer i texterna.  Den interpersonella analysen visar att kravställandet på modelläsaren är högt men att det realiseras genom råd. Läsaren görs delaktig i texten vilket skapar närhet mellan avsändaren och läsaren. Den ideationella analysen visar att det främst förekommer materiella och relationella processer där de materiella visar att modelläsaren är aktiv och positivt inställd till att träna, medan de relationella processerna i flera fall används för att realisera uppmaningar. Diskursanalysen visar att artiklarna förutom hälso- och träningsdiskurser även innehåller en medicinsk samt en kommersiell diskurs.

Abstracts in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa / English proficiency is regarded important for economic empowerment in South Africa, since English is the official business language of the country. South Africa is, however, a multilingual country, with 11 official languages. The majority of South African learners do not speak English as first language, but study English as an additional language in school. This leads to English Second Language (ESL) classroom complexities such as multilingualism, negative attitudes to ESL, and various levels of linguistic proficiency, which affect the teaching of the prescribed curriculum. Many learners arrive in secondary school (Grade 8) with underdeveloped English proficiency, which means that a lot of time in ESL classrooms is spent on re-teaching English language concepts, especially grammar concepts. This causes stress for both ESL teachers and learners. This study tested the effectiveness of a self-help ESL grammar intervention programme in order to establish whether existing gaps in grammar knowledge could be closed via self-study outside of the classroom. More specifically, the study asked the question whether learners’ knowledge of Parts of Speech could be enhanced via a self-help intervention programme, which was based on the principles of Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG). SFG is not traditionally used as an instructional framework in ESL classrooms in the South African context. The rationale for assessing the efficiency of an SFG self-help intervention programme was that there is currently a dire need for alternative approaches to teaching ESL grammar, which would assist struggling learners to raise their proficiency levels quickly, and which would allow teachers to continue with the prescribed curriculum. The intervention programme was tested in a controlled quasi-experimental study, which included an experimental group and a control group, and which compared performance in the mid-year examination and year-end examination to performance in a baseline assessment. The results of the study showed that the self-intervention programme was effective in enhancing ESL learners’ knowledge of Parts of Speech, and also had a positive effect on other aspects of grammar knowledge and on writing. Based on these findings, it is recommended that self-regulation and self-instruction be considered for inclusion in ESL syllabi in the South African context, as it can play a positive role in enhancing ESL learners’ linguistic proficiency. / Engelse taalvaardigheid word as belangrik beskou vir ekonomiese bemagtiging in Suid–Afrika, aangesien Engels die offisiële besigheidstaal van die land is. Suid-Afrika het egter elf erkende offisiële landstale en is dus ‘n meertalige land. Die oorgrote meerderheid Suid-Afrikaanse leerders se eerste taal is nie Engels nie, en hierdie leerders neem Engels as tweede taal (ook genoem eerste addisionnele taal) in ‘n formele omgewing op skool. Dit veroorsaak verskeie uitdagings in Engelse tweedetaalklasse, onder andere meertalige leerders, ‘n negatiewe houding teenoor Engels, en oneweredige ontwikkelingsvlakke in Engels. ‘n Groot aantal leerders begin hul sekondêre skoolloopbaan met onderontwikkelde vaardighede in Engels, met name in grammatika. Dit beïnvloed die onderrig van die voorgeskrewe Engelse tweedetaal kurrikulum, veral in Graad 8. Onderwysers is dikwels genoodsaak om baie tyd aan die heronderrig van grammatikale konsepte te spandeer, alvorens die voorgeskrewe Graad 8 kurrikulum hervat kan word. Dit plaas spanning op sowel onderwysers as leerders. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die effektiwiteit van ‘n self-onderrig intervensieprogram te toets – meer spesifiek om te toets of kennisgapings in “Parts of Speech (POS)” oorbrug kan word met ‘n self-onderrig program wat gebaseer is op Sistemiese Funksionele Linguistiek (SFL). SFL word nie tradisioneel in die Suid-Afrikaanse leerprogram gebruik nie, en die rasionaal vir die toetsing van ‘n SFL program was dat daar tans ‘n geweldige vraag is na alternatiewe benaderings tot die onderrig van Engels, wat leerders sal ondersteun om hulle vaardigheidsvlakke snel te verbeter, sodat onderwysers kan voorgaan met die voorgeskrewe kurrikulum. Die SFL intervensieprogram in hierdie studie is deur middel van ‘n gekontroleerde kwasi-eksperimentele metode getoets, wat ‘n eksperimentele groep en ‘n kontrolegroep ingesluit het. Die twee groepe se kennis van woordsoorte is in die middeljaar, asook die eindjaareksamen gemeet, en vergelyk met die resultate van ‘n basislyntoets wat aan die begin van die jaar afgeneem is. Die resultate het bevestig dat die SFL intervensieprogram ‘n positiewe effek gehad het op kennis van woordsoorte. Verdere positiewe effekte was merkbaar in ander aspekte van Engelse grammatika en in skryfvaardigheid. Na aanleiding van hierdie bevindinge is die aanbeveling van hierdie studie dat selfonderrig and self-regulasie oorweeg moet word as belangrike komponente van die Engels tweedetaal sillabus in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks, aangesien dit ‘n positiewe rol kan speel in die verbetering van Engels tweedetaal leerders se taalvaardigheid. / Ubugcisa kulwimi lwesiNgesi bubaluleke kakhulu ekuxhobiseni ezoqoqosho eMzantsi Afrika kuba silulwimi lwezoshishino olusemthethweni kweli lizwe. Naxa kunjalo uMzantsi Afrika lilizwe elineelwimi ezininzi, apho ezili-11 zamiliselwa njengeelwimi ezisemthethweni. Uninzi lwabafundi baseMzantsi Afrika alusithethi njengolwimi lokuqala isiNgesi, koko lusifunda njengolwimi olongeziweyo esikolweni. Oku kukhokelela kwiingxaki ezininzi kwiklasi efundisa isiNgesi njengoLwimi lwesiBini, ezifana nokusetyenziswa kweelwimi ezininzi kwakunye namanqanaba awohlukileyo olwazi nobugcisa bokusebenzisa ulwimi, nto ezo zichaphazela ukufundiswa kwekharityhulam esekiweyo. Abafundi abaninzi bafika kwisikolo sasesekondari (iBanga lesi-8) bengenalwazi nabugcisa baneleyo besiNgesi, ngenxa yoko, kwiklasi yesiNgesi uLwimi lwesiBini kuchithwa ixesha elininzi kuphindaphindwa ukufundiswa kwesigama sesiNgesi, ngakumbi isigama segrama. Esi sifundo sophando siye sahlola ukusebenza kwenkqubo yongenelelo kufundiso lwegrama yesiNgesi uLwimi lwesiBini apho umfundi azinceda ngokwakhe, ukuze kufunyaniswe ukuba zingavaleka na ezi zikhewu zikhoyo zokuswela ulwazi lwegrama ngokuzifundela ngaphandle kweklasi. Olu phando lujolise ngakumbi kumbuzo wokuba, ingaba ulwazi lwabafundi ngeziGaba zeNtetho lungaphuculwa na ngokusebenzisa le nkqubo yongenelelo yokuzinceda esekelwe kwimithetho-siseko yeSystemic Functional Grammar (iSFG). ISFG ayisetyenziswa ngokwesithethe njengesakhelo sokufundisa kwiklasi yesiNgesi uLwimi lwesiBini eMzantsi Afrika. Esona sizathu sokuvavanya ukusebenza kwale nkqubo yongenelelo yokuzinceda yeSFG, kukuba kukho intswelo enkulu yeendlela ezizezinye zokufundisa igrama yesiNgesi uLwimi lwesiBini, nto leyo inokunceda abafundi abatsala nzima baphucule amaqondo abo obugcisa, kananjalo incede ootitshala bakwazi ukuqhubela phambili nekharityhulam emiselweyo. Le nkqubo yongenelelo yavavanywa kuphando oluphantsi kolawulo olwaziwa ngokuba sisifundo sophando olungagqibelelanga (quasi experimental study), olwaquka iqela lolingelo kunye neqela elisetyenziswa njengomgangatho wentelekiso (control group). Olu phando lwathelekisa indlela abaqhuba ngayo abafundi kwiimviwo zombindi wonyaka nezokuphela konyaka, ithelekiswa kunye nenkqubo yabafundi kuvavanyo olusisiseko. Iziphumo zophando zabonisa ukuba inkqubo yongenelelo yokuzinceda ibe nempumelelo ekuphuliseni ulwazi lwabafundi lweziGaba zeNtetho kwaye ibe nefuthe elakhayo nakweminye imiba yolwazi lwegrama nesakhono sokubhala. Ngokwezi ziphumo kucetyiswa ukuba kuqwalaselwe ukuzilawula nokuzifundisa kwabafundi njengenxalenye yesilabhasi yesiNgesi uLwimi lwesiBini ngokwemeko yaseMzantsi Afrika njengoko oku kuya kuba nefuthe elakhayo ekuphuhliseni ubugcisa babafundi bolwimi lwesiNgesi uLwimi lwesiBini. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Phil. (Languages, Linguistics and Literature)

In this essay, I analyze and compare the representation of social actors in six different author presentations from the teaching aid Svenska Impulser 2, (2012). More specifically, I investigate similarities and differences in the representation of men and women and, thus, what meanings are ascribed to these gender categories. Consequently, these presentations belong to three different literary epochs or -isms: the enlightenment (Jean-Jaques Rousseau and Anna Maria Lenngren); romanticism (Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley), and modernism (James Joyce and Virginia Woolf). The analysis is further grounded on Judith Butler’s theory on performative gender and systemic functional grammar as developed and defined by Michael Halliday. The method of analysis is critical discourse analysis (CDA) where I quantify and analyze different types of representational strategies and process and participant functions (transitivity). In addition, these two sections of quantifications are each followed by a qualitative analysis with a certain focus on different epiteths, attributes, general descriptions, and agency. My findings show that the presentations of women are more populated and, that they are portrayed as dependent on men, whereas men are portrayed as independent explorers, innovators, influencers, rebels or radical political debaters and thinkers. While some of these qualities are implied, however more or less muted, in the presentations of women, they are explicated or, by other means, more evident in the presentations of men. Moreover, my analysis shows that the women’s gender identity is marked and thus emphasized in their presentations to a significantly greater degree than the men’s gender identity is in their presentations.

This dissertation uses a functional systemic approach to language to examine the construction of the respective first-person narrators of nine of the most popular, commercially successful and therefore influential African American slave narratives published between 1837 and 1862 (Roper, Grandy, Douglass, Brown, Bibb, Northup, Ball, Jacobs, Picquet). This corpus of more than 410,000 words was scanned for various linguistic features such as transitivity of verbs, nominalizations, and several syntactic features. The texts chosen differ as to their methods of production. Some of them were written by the first person narrators themselves, while others were either extensively edited, dictated to an amanuensis, or in some other way controlled. The dialectics of creation and representation through language results in the leading question in this study: how do the first-person slave narrators identify and create a personality for themselves through their texts? This dissertation thus focuses on the linguistic means by which the first-person slave narrator creates what is defined as a “discoursal self”, which helped the narrators to achieve one of their most important goals, namely, to be accepted as reliable. The dissertation consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 introduces a sociohistorical account of slavery, resistance against slavery, abolition, and the development of the slave narrative. The chapter shows that the African American slave narrative was not a completely new and original genre but an amalgamation of a variety of preexisting white and black literary forms. The second chapter is more theoretical and deals with discourse, power, and ideology in the slave narrative. Chapter 3 approaches the language of the slave narrative. The small corpus of scholarly texts that tackle language and style in this genre is reviewed. As an alternative to these approaches, critical discourse analysis (CDA) according to Norman Fairclough is suggested. It eliminates the a priori categorization of specific linguistic features as stylistically significant, because it is based on a functional view of language that perceives linguistic expression as choice on various levels. Every choice is considered meaningful and, according to its presence, absence, or clustering in a given co-text, potentially stylistic. Michael Halliday’s systemic functional grammar is introduced as the basis for the ensuing text analysis. Chapter 4 introduces the first quantitative observations about the density and distribution of the first-person singular pronoun in the narratives. This characteristic is then placed in relation to syntactic condensation in the forms of ellipsis, finiteness and nominalization, all of which are reviewed quantitatively. Finally, this chapter introduces the system of transitivity according to Halliday, Matthiessen, and others. It explains the distinction between the individual process types and provides a quantitative overview of the individual transitivity profiles within each narrative. Chapter 5 represents the main part of this dissertation. Each of the nine narratives is analyzed individually as to the presence of the I-pronoun in the text and the use and distribution of process types. In this way patterns of foregrounded or favored usages against absences of others emerge and contribute to the discoursal selves that the individual narrators present/construct of themselves. These preferred usages in general as well as in their local distributions are examined in detail. The quantitative observations supply the basis for further qualitative analyses derived from a large number of examples from the texts. Thus it is possible to show that each of the narratives is linguistically unique, which results in an individual construction of the respective I-narrator. The use of pronouns, process types and syntactic reconfigurations reveals how control over the activities as well as over the text is constructed, which can be directly related to issues of power. The Summary provides a synopsis of the previous quantitative and qualitative analyses and associates the quantitative results with characteristics of written and oral texts in general. Finally, it thus becomes possible to rank the nine narratives on a cline between predominantly oral and chiefly written characteristics.

Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka hur Parken Zoo försökte rädda sin image och påverkabilden av krisen parken befann sig i under hösten 2012. Uppsatsen har även som avsikt att undersökahur kriskommunikationen utvecklas under krisförloppet och hur den skiljer sig mellan två texttyper,samt belysa vilka språkliga resurser som används för att realisera strategierna inom image repair theory,som i denna uppsats benämns som Benoits teori om imagereparation. Materialet består av trepressmeddelanden och tre uttalanden publicerade på Facebook från Parken Zoo. Dessa har analyseratsutifrån Benoits (1997) teori om imagereparation samt systemisk-funktionell textanalys. Resultatetindikerar att Parken Zoo har försökt rädda sin image genom att ifrågasätta uppgifterna som framkommit,framhäva goda egenskaper och värderingar samt redogöra för åtgärder som vidtagits och ska vidtas.Jämförelsen av kriskommunikationen i pressmeddelandena och Facebook-uttalandena tyder på attkommunikationen på Facebook kännetecknas av en mer personlig och närhetsskapande strategi medankommunikationen i pressmeddelandena är mer auktoritär. Resultatet visade också att val av strategi ochhur många strategier som används förändras under krisens förlopp, troligen beroende på vilken krisfasparken befinner sig i. Under akutfasen använde Parken Zoo samtliga strategier, i jämförelse med krisensförstadium då endast en strategi användes. Analysen har även synliggjort mönster för vilka språkligaresurser som verkar bidra till realiseringen av respektive strategi ur Benoits teori om imagereparation.Transitivitetsanalysen visade bland annat att den förnekande strategin i första hand realiseras genomattributiva relationella processer medan den tillrättaläggande strategin karakteriseras av materiellaprocesser. Avslutningsvis diskuteras även delar av materialet som inte har kunnat kategoriseras som enstrategi på ett tydligt sätt men som ändå kan ses som försök att rädda Parken Zoo:s image, exempelvissynliggörs möjligheten till en ny strategi som går ut på att visa förståelse.

This essay surveys the current theoretical landscape of modern linguistics, asking whethe generative and possibly transformational linguistics can be applied to syntactic analysis of New Testament texts written in Koine Greek to find lingual hallmarks in the form of personal usage of syntactic rules that uniquely identify the authors of the texts. The conclusion is that there seems to be evidence that an application of a minimalist approach could make the detection of such lingual hallmarks possible.

Det övergripande syftet med denna uppsats är att presentera den verklighetsbild Polismyndigheten förmedlar i det valda materialet och diskutera de samhälleliga påföljder diskursen kan få. För att uppnå syftet undersöker jag hur den språkliga konstruktionen av kriminella och Polismyndigheten ser ut i ett urval av material från en myndighetsgemensam broschyr från år 2019. Metoden som används för att uppnå detta är en transitivitetsanalys med fokus på den ideationella metafunktionen, vars resultat leder fram till den kritiska diskursanalys som möjliggör en djupare förståelse kring den verklighetsbild konstruktionerna i utdragen förmedlar. Resultatet av analyserna visar att Polismyndigheten konstruerar de kriminella utifrån egen uppfattning, och kategoriserar dem genom att tilldela dem attribut. Konstruktionen av Polismyndigheten är inte attributiv på det sättet, och riskerar därför inte att påverka attityder på samma sätt som konstruktionen av de kriminella. Uppsatsens övergripande slutsats är att konstruktionen av de kriminella är diskriminerande och därför potentiellt skadlig för den folkgrupp de kriminella associeras med, och att Polismyndigheten utnyttjar sina språkliga val på ett sätt som kan vara skadligt för samhället. / The overall purpose of this paper is to present the reality depicted by the Police Authority in the selected material and discuss the societal consequences this discourse may have. To fulfill the purpose, I examine the linguistic construction of criminals and the Police Authority in a selection of materials from a joint agency brochure from the year 2019. The method that’s used to achieve this is a transitivity analysis, with focus on the ideational meta function, whose results lead to the critical discourse analysis, enabling a deeper understanding of the worldview the constructions in the excerpts convey. The results of the analysis indicate that the Police Authority constructs criminals based on their own perception and categorizes them by assigning attributes. The construction of the Police Authority is not attributive in the same way and therefore does not risk influencing attitudes in the same manner as the construction of criminals. The overall conclusion of the essay is that the construction of criminals is discriminatory and therefor potentially harmful for the group of people the criminals are being associated with, and that the Police Authority utilizes their linguistic choices in a way that may be harmful to society.

I den digitala utveckling som sker inom skolans värld använder eleverna datorn i allt större utsträckning när de producerar texter. Som en del i att skapa en vetenskaplig grund för att förstå hur digitala verktyg kan påverka textskapande är syftet med denna studie att undersöka på vilket sätt det medierande redskapet för att producera text, i detta fall tangentbord, skärm och ordbehandlingsprogram eller papper och penna, förändrar texters transitivitet och hur idéationella betydelser realiseras i de olika texttyperna. Studien ämnar även undersöka hur agentiviteten i texter förändras beroende på medierande redskap och vilka skillnader som det går att identifiera i nyttjandet av olika pronomen i agentiva processer. Tjugo texter skrivna av elever i årskurs 4 och 5 analyserades med utgångspunkt i systemisk funktionell textanalys och analysmetoderna transitivitetsanalys och ergativitetsanalys. Studiens resultat är inkonklusiva och ingen slutsats kan dras om skrivverktygens påverkan på texternas transitivitet eller agentivitet. Studien visar hur uppgiftbeskrivningar för elevers skolskrivande är mer avgörande för hur innehållet konstrueras än om de skriver för hand eller på datorn och bidrar med kunskap för vidare forskning. / In today’s developing digital era, students in school rely to an increasing extent when producing texts. As part of an effort to contribute to creating a scientific basis in regard to understanding how digital tools affects how text is constructed, this study aims to explore in which way the mediating tool for text production, in this case keyboard, screen, and word processing software versus paper and pen, changes the transitivity in texts and how ideational meaning is realised. Additionally, the study investigates how the ergativity in texts change depending on mediating tool and what differences in the use of pronouns can be identified in ergativ processes. Twenty texts written by fourth and fifth grade students are analysed based on Systemic-Functional text analysis and the analysis methods of transitivity analysis and ergativity analysis. The study’s results are inconclusive, providing no clear conclusions on the impact of writing tools on the transitivity or agency of texts. However, the study reveals that task descriptions for students' writing are more critical in shaping content than the choice between handwriting or typing, contributing valuable insights for further research.

This classroom ethnography documents the developing critical literacy pedagogy of an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instructor over the course of several terms. My research, which involved extensive collaboration with the EAP instructor, explores how specific classroom practices and discourses are enacted and mediated through dialogic intertextualities, material objects, and social actions that frame representations about language, literacy, and what Lefebvre (1988) called “le quotidien” – the everyday, and how these affect the students’ meaning-making potential in specific ways. It also traces the contours (and detours) of the instructor’s classroom practices after the researcher’s mediation in the form of collaborative inquiries on functional grammar and critical literacy, and the effects of these classroom practices on making meaning in her EAP classes. I consider several issues from an integrated theory and practice perspective. Because of an urgent need to understand the students’ practices and epistemologies as they engage in ever newer forms of multimodal text productions, I contend that EAP classroom practices must be reshaped to facilitate more (inter)active engagements of the multimodal texts that saturate students’ lives, both inside the class and outside. Related to this, I highlight in my classroom data what actually counts as the ‘critical’ or the ‘uncritical’ in this EAP classroom and argue why these distinctions matter. Lastly, I suggest ways in which the role of a critical multiliteracies education in EAP can meet the pragmatic needs of both students and teachers. My research contributes to a much-needed dialogue between critically oriented researchers and practitioners in the field of TESOL/Applied Linguistics by bridging the gap between theory and practice. The lessons learned from this collaborative classroom praxis point to concrete ways to help EAP teachers and students utilize their meaning-making potential. This involves equipping them with an expanded social semiotic tool-kit that can enable them to not only meet their immediate academic needs, but also help create a more active and possibly transformative role in the social constructions of discourse, language, and society. This doctoral dissertation has implications for those who are involved in EAP teaching and research, curriculum planning, teacher training, and student needs assessment.

This classroom ethnography documents the developing critical literacy pedagogy of an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instructor over the course of several terms. My research, which involved extensive collaboration with the EAP instructor, explores how specific classroom practices and discourses are enacted and mediated through dialogic intertextualities, material objects, and social actions that frame representations about language, literacy, and what Lefebvre (1988) called “le quotidien” – the everyday, and how these affect the students’ meaning-making potential in specific ways. It also traces the contours (and detours) of the instructor’s classroom practices after the researcher’s mediation in the form of collaborative inquiries on functional grammar and critical literacy, and the effects of these classroom practices on making meaning in her EAP classes. I consider several issues from an integrated theory and practice perspective. Because of an urgent need to understand the students’ practices and epistemologies as they engage in ever newer forms of multimodal text productions, I contend that EAP classroom practices must be reshaped to facilitate more (inter)active engagements of the multimodal texts that saturate students’ lives, both inside the class and outside. Related to this, I highlight in my classroom data what actually counts as the ‘critical’ or the ‘uncritical’ in this EAP classroom and argue why these distinctions matter. Lastly, I suggest ways in which the role of a critical multiliteracies education in EAP can meet the pragmatic needs of both students and teachers. My research contributes to a much-needed dialogue between critically oriented researchers and practitioners in the field of TESOL/Applied Linguistics by bridging the gap between theory and practice. The lessons learned from this collaborative classroom praxis point to concrete ways to help EAP teachers and students utilize their meaning-making potential. This involves equipping them with an expanded social semiotic tool-kit that can enable them to not only meet their immediate academic needs, but also help create a more active and possibly transformative role in the social constructions of discourse, language, and society. This doctoral dissertation has implications for those who are involved in EAP teaching and research, curriculum planning, teacher training, and student needs assessment.