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This essay studies how dialectal speech is reflected in written literature and how this phenomenon functions in translation. With this purpose in mind, Styron's Sophie's Choice and Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are analysed using samples of non-standard orthography which have been applied in order to reflect the dialect, or accent, of certain characters. In the same way, Lundgren's Swedish translation of Sophie's Choice and Ferres and Rolfe's Spanish version of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are analysed. The method consists of linguistically analysing a few text samples from each novel, establishing how dialect is represented through non-standard orthography, and thereafter, comparing the same samples with their translation into another language in order to establish whether dialectal features are visible also in the translated novels. It is concluded that non-standard orthography is applied in the novels in order to represent each possible linguistic level, including pronunciation, morphosyntax, and vocabulary. Furthermore, it is concluded that while Lundgren's translation intends to orthographically represent dialectal speech on most occasions where the original does so, Ferres and Rolfe's translation pays no attention to dialectology. The discussion following the data analysis establishes some possible reasons for the exclusion of dialectal features in the Spanish translation considered here. Finally, the reason for which this study contributes to the study of dialectology is declared.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of manipulating target-word frequency rate and target-word phrase position on sound-meaning-connection in five to fifteen month old Swedish infants. Three different test conditions, each one of them a film showing objects and corresponding phrases made of randomly generated artificial words, were designed. The structure of the first, high variability test condition included context-dependent information and the structures of the second and the third, low variability test conditions were characterised by frequent nonsense target-word rate, target-words occurring in phrase final position. The aim of the artificial input language was to ensure the novelty of test material, and to simulate the type of learning situation - when the semantic content of words is arbitrary - facing young infants in the beginning of language learning. Analysis of informants looking behaviour, prior to, and after exposure to the objects and the corresponding audio input, were performed. Results showed that the structure of high variability test condition and the structure of low variability test conditions were associated with significant between-group differences. This finding indicates that the nonsense phrases in low variability test conditions managed to 'explain' the objects just like semantically meaningful phrases do. When compared with past research, these findings seem to suggest that experience-dependent mechanisms may support, besides word segmentation, even more complicated aspects of language learning, such as acquisition of syntax. / <p>Eeva Klintfors är född Koponen.</p>

This is a study about how one-year-old Swedish-learning infants presumably use probabilistic information, such as prosody and phonotactic regularity, in segmentation of speech. The variables studied were the Swedish tonal word accents I &amp; II and the distributional regularities of within-word and between-word consonant clusters in Swedish infant-directed speech. The results – which were not as clear-cut as the results obtained in earlier experiments on English-learning infants – suggest that 12-month old Swedish infants might be sensitive to prosodic cues to word boundaries: in experiment 1, altering the phonotactics of the stimuli reversed the infants’ preference for word accent types. However this was not confirmed in experiment 2, instead there was a general preference for listening at the accent II words. The results also suggest that 12-month old Swedish infants might not use phonotactic cues to word boundaries to the extent as expected: in experiment 1 and 2, altering the word accent types did not reverse the infants’ preference for phonotactics. Instead, both in experiment 1 and 2, there was a general preference for listening at the within-word stimuli. When compared with earlier research these findings indicate that infants, besides being able to integrate multiple statistical cues to word boundaries, might early in life be assisted by pattern-recognition in speech segmentation. / <p>Eeva Klintfors är född Koponen.</p>

Denna rapport är en del av en longitudinell studie av psykolingvistisk ålder och språklig medvetenhet hos elever i årskurs 1 på två olika skolor i Vallentuna kommun. I studien har material från de tre senaste projektåren bearbetats. Syftet med undersökningen var att undersöka huruvida fonologisk träning enligt den s.k. Bornholmsmodellen under elevernas tid i 6-årsklass återspeglar sig i ökad språklig medvetenhet och högre psykolingvistisk ålder i årskurs 1. Vidare undersöktes om den fonologiska träningen kan ha påverkat barnens arbetsminne. Två typer av test användes: UMESOL för kartläggning av fonologisk medvetenhet och ITPA, ett standardiserat test av psykolingvistiska färdigheter. Resultaten visar att det finns ett klart samband mellan fonologisk träning enligt Bornholmsmodellen i förskolan och elevernas språkliga medvetenhet i grundskolan. Vidare visar resultaten att även om minnesträningen i Bornholmsmodellen inte direkt påverkat resultaten vid ITPA, så finns det ett starkt samband mellan minnestestet i ITPA och elevernas prestation vid UMESOL.

Det huvudsakliga syftet med vår studie var att undersöka hur språklig medvetenhet kan främjas i förskolan. Studien har genomförts med 14 barn ålder 1-3 år samt tre pedagoger på en förskola i en mindre tätort. Undersökningen har genomförts med observation med hjälp av videokamera under två dagar på en förskola. Resultatet av vår studie visar betydelsen av pedagogens förhållningssätt till barnens språkutveckling. De var delaktiga och engagerade i barnens vardag och visade stort intresse för deras tankar och idéer. Pedagogerna var tydliga i sin pedagogroll och utmanade och uppmuntrade barnen. De använde sig av leken för att stimulera språket på ett lustfullt sätt i verksamheten. I vår undersökning stärks vår hypotes om vikten av att fånga de naturliga samtal och samspel som uppkommer i vardagen. Många gånger blev spontana händelser betydelsefulla för barnen. Det vi fann som extra intressant i vår studie var de situationer då barnen lärde av varandra.

This essay investigates postfeminist discourses in women’s magazines with the use of Fairclough’s (2014) critical discourse analysis (CDA). Additionally, it presents consumers’ perceptions of women’s magazines in order to explore how women’s magazines might influence readers’ constructions of identity. Postfeminism is mainly defined by Gill (2007, 2009) and McRobbie (2004) as an idea of feminism and antifeminism combined with the use of neoliberal views. Previous research conducted between 1990 and 2009 has stated that women’s magazines follow a postfeminist discourse and therefore give a contradictory message to their readers, emphasising the importance of individuality and empowerment as well as promoting a traditional feminine image. The magazines analysed in this essay were the January 2016 issue of Elle Magazine US and the February 2016 issue of Elle Magazine UK. The magazines follow a postfeminist discourse, and it is constructed with the use of wording and modality. To complement the CDA, an interview with a target group of women’s magazine readers was conducted. Findings indicate that the magazines both largely follow a postfeminist discourse, constructed through the use of rhetorical features such as wording and modality, and readers believe magazines affect their identity construction negatively. The article is concluded with a discussion on what the aim of a postfeminist discourse is.

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No description available.