<p>The aim of this study was to find out how features that have been found to be typical of women’s language, such as hedges, tag questions and a high level of talkativeness etc., are represented in a popular TV series. Five cross-sex conversations from one episode of the sitcom <em>The New Adventures of Old Christine </em>were analyzed, and the results show that many of the features of interest, as for instance tag questions, minimal responses and indirect style, are unexpectedly used more frequently by men in this small investigation. In fact, the only feature that was used more frequently by the female main character was hedges. Several factors affect the results of the study, as for instance the fact that the conversations are fictional. The special characteristics of the speakers also affect the results, as well as the tone and the topic of the chosen conversations. Many of the features of interest were used to a very small extent, which is probably a result of the fact that the language in a sitcom is to be entertaining and rather quick, which leaves little or no room for the features studied.</p>

The aim of this study was to find out how features that have been found to be typical of women’s language, such as hedges, tag questions and a high level of talkativeness etc., are represented in a popular TV series. Five cross-sex conversations from one episode of the sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine were analyzed, and the results show that many of the features of interest, as for instance tag questions, minimal responses and indirect style, are unexpectedly used more frequently by men in this small investigation. In fact, the only feature that was used more frequently by the female main character was hedges. Several factors affect the results of the study, as for instance the fact that the conversations are fictional. The special characteristics of the speakers also affect the results, as well as the tone and the topic of the chosen conversations. Many of the features of interest were used to a very small extent, which is probably a result of the fact that the language in a sitcom is to be entertaining and rather quick, which leaves little or no room for the features studied.

The job interview is a gatekeeping encounter and it is crucial that the recruitment process is conducted in a fair and just way. Potential gendered verbal behaviour might affect an interviewer's impression and judgement of the interviewee. Previous research has shown that men and women differ in several ways in verbal communication, both as regards formal and informal encounters. In the present paper, a corpus study on forty job interviews is conducted with the aim to find out whether there are any differences between men and women when it comes to turn-length and the use of boosters, hedges, fillers and pauses. The results show that in the majority of the features under scrutiny, there is no statistically significant difference. These results do not go in line with earlier research on gendered verbal behaviour. Proposed explanations for these results are that the female interviewer might have encouraged a less typically gendered verbal behaviour and that younger generations have developed a less gendered conversational style compared to older generations. However, due to the limitations of the present study, no empirical conclusion can be drawn regarding this and further research needs to be conducted in order to fully explain these research findings.

The present study aims to examine the linguistic features of hedges, minimal responses and interruptions used by the female and male participants in the possible extramural activity of the reality-TV show Love is Blind. The term Extramural English (EE) refers to English that students are exposed to outside the classroom. According to previous research, Swedish teenagers watch a considerable amount of TV, which is a potential EE activity. By possible exposure to EE activities, such as watching TV, learners might gain pragmatic competence that might result in them improving their communicative abilities in the English language. Furthermore, the Swedish school openly strives for gender equality and, therefore, this study investigates the gender characteristics of linguistic features that are categorized as often employed by either females or males. The methodology of the study includes transcribing, counting the linguistic features, color coding and analyzing the findings in relation to previous research. Regarding speech distribution, results show that the male participants speak 5.1 percentage units more than female participants. Furthermore, female participants use hedges 33.4 percentage units more often than the male participants and minimal responses 24 percentage units more often. Additionally, the male participants interrupt 25 percentage units more often than the female participants.

<p>In this essay, I have investigated whether players of World of Warcraft change their language to suit the gender of the character they play. I have researched if there are gender differences that correspond to what is defined as male and female language in mixed-sex conversations. Chat-logs, collected during four participant observations, were used for making an analysis based primarily on research by Coates (1993) and Yale (2007). Seven features were selected for analysis: amount of participation, hedges, questions, directives and commands, taboo language, compliments and grammar. It was possible to discover gender differences, but these were not consistent in all areas of research. For example, female characters had a higher contribution than males, as well as a higher use of hedges and tag-questions among males, which contradicts previous research. The lack of consistency might be due to the fact that the participants do not specifically consider all areas as typically female or male, or their unawareness of these tendencies. We also need to consider disagreement in previous gender studies as well as folklinguistic belief. The explanation of the lack of consistent differences may be a more equal relationship between males and females in this context, or due to thepossibility that the participants, who are usually male, make use of their normal male language.</p>

In this essay, I have investigated whether players of World of Warcraft change their language to suit the gender of the character they play. I have researched if there are gender differences that correspond to what is defined as male and female language in mixed-sex conversations. Chat-logs, collected during four participant observations, were used for making an analysis based primarily on research by Coates (1993) and Yale (2007). Seven features were selected for analysis: amount of participation, hedges, questions, directives and commands, taboo language, compliments and grammar. It was possible to discover gender differences, but these were not consistent in all areas of research. For example, female characters had a higher contribution than males, as well as a higher use of hedges and tag-questions among males, which contradicts previous research. The lack of consistency might be due to the fact that the participants do not specifically consider all areas as typically female or male, or their unawareness of these tendencies. We also need to consider disagreement in previous gender studies as well as folklinguistic belief. The explanation of the lack of consistent differences may be a more equal relationship between males and females in this context, or due to thepossibility that the participants, who are usually male, make use of their normal male language.

A partir d’une approche pluridisciplinaire (géo-historique, cartographique et pédologique), cette étude nous a permis d’établir un bilan complet sur l’état (origines, formes et évolutions) des systèmes de haies en Alsace depuis le Moyen Age. L’étude pédologique de topo séquences de sols dans des zones de loess très sensibles à l’érosion (Habsheim, Uffheim) a également permis de procéder à un bilan de l’érosion depuis le Néolithique et montré comment le stockage de colluvions à l’amont de haies modifiait le relief par la formation de rideaux de culture, dont les plus anciens remontent à la fin de l’Age du bronze. Nous avons quantifié le potentiel des systèmes de haies en tant que frein à l’érosion et en tant que puits de carbone, dans l’optique d’une lutte contre le réchauffement climatique (initiative 4‰). En termes de potentiel de stockage de colluvions, le site d’Habsheim révèle une capacité de stockage énorme avec par exemple des stockages de 17,8 t/m linéaire de haie. D’autre part, à partir de nos sites de référence, on a pu démontrer aussi la grande activité érosive de ces espaces et cela depuis la préhistoire : entre 5700 et 2700 BP le taux d’érosion moyen mesuré a été de 4,5 t/ha/an, équivalant à celui de l’agriculture intensive dans les mêmes zones, ce qui relativise en partie le rôle de l’agriculture moderne. Le potentiel réel des colluvions loessiques est plus nuancé en termes de stockage de carbone. De nombreux processus comme la minéralisation du carbone et la faible efficacité du complexe argilohumique rendent les interprétations délicates sans pour autant que le potentiel des sols agricoles limoneux comme puit de carbone doive être écarté. / This study is a pluridisciplinary approach combining geohistory, spatial study and soil science that proposes an exhaustive analysis of origins, shapes and evolution of hedges systems in Alsace since Middle Ages. An erosion budget since Neolithic was obtained from the study of soil topographical sequences in an erosion sensitive loess area (Habsheim, Uffheim, 68, France). The colluvium stored in the upperside of the hedge modifies the topography by creating lynchets (the oldest were from the Bronze Age). We quantified the potential of hedges systems to reduce erosion and to store carbon in order to struggle against climate change (4‰ project). In Habsheim the storage of carbon potential is huge with some stocks reaching 17,8 t per meter of linear hedge. Moreover, based on the reference sites, we demonstrated the great erosion processes that has occured in these landscapes since Prehistory: between 5700 and 2700 BP the average erosion rate measured (4,5 t/ha/yr) is equivalent to the present day rates under intensive agriculture. The potential of loess colluvium, from the stock of carbon point of view, is more questionable. Interpretations are more difficult because of processes like mineralization of carbon and low efficiency of argilo-humic complex but so far the storage function of loamy soils cannot be neglected.

This paper examines the translation of hedging devices from English to Swedish in a non-fiction history book, and more specifically, which strategies are used in the translation process and why. To get a clear overview of the different hedging devices that are found in the ST, they are divided into categories, which are then analyzed individually with illustrative examples. The analysis shows that the most frequent hedging categories in the ST, as well as the reference material from the pilot study, are modal verbs, adverbs and adverbials, and quantifying pronouns, and the most frequently used translation strategy is retention. Furthermore, the study indicates that polysemous hedges can sometimes cause problems for the translator. Other factors that affect translation are genre-specific hedging conventions and translator preferences. As previous research in this subject area seems sparse, this paper aims to begin to fill that gap, but also to encourage larger studies that can, even more clearly, determine hedging conventions in the field of history.

This study aimed to analyse organised interaction and assigned discussions occurring between students in EFL classrooms. It was conducted in order to identify the value-added in terms of learning by using discussion groups. Secondly, this study aimed to analyse how the contribution of models and approaches from pragmatics and discourse analysis can explain what is occurring during such conversations. Lastly, the structural and linguistic similarities and differences between teacher-to-student and student-to-student talk were also discussed. These questions were answered by examining four groups enrolled in English 6 in an upper secondary school located in the south part of Sweden. The qualitative data was collected through recordings from the students' discussions when they participated in a group speaking task as a part of the module of surveillance. The analysis of the data was conducted with the help of some of the aspects of conversation analysis. The results showed that not all of the participants in the group discussions sufficiently benefitted from the speaking task since, in most of the group, the need for the teacher's support was crucial in order for the students to use the target language and develop their speaking skills. In terms of the Speech Act Theory, the illocutionary acts identified in the conversations between students were that of the directive and assertive illocutionary acts used to pass the speaking turn to the other participants or to demonstrate agreement with the views of the previous turn. The conversational exchange was initiated by an opening framing move, followed by a response, but lacked follow-up moves in the form of feedback. Finally, there were some similarities and differences between teacher-to-student and student-to-student talk. The results showed that even if some of the students appeared to adapt to the role of the facilitator, they were not able to do so due to lack of knowledge to sufficiently support all the participants in order to be more active during the conversations and use the target language during the speaking task.

While it certainly can be argued that translation is a quite demanding discipline in general, some areas within this field are, naturally, more challenging than others. One of these is hedging, which serves a broad variety of purposes both with regard to the author and to the intended readership, and hence must be translated accordingly. This paper investigates hedges in scientific research articles, the types and frequency of hedges in the analysed Swedish sourcetext (ST) compared to the English target text (TT), and the methods used for translating these hedges and their distribution by means of a short study conducted on two Swedish runology articles. The study’s quantitative analysis shows that the Swedish ST has a clear preference for adverbial hedges, and to an extent, also for modal verb hedges, whereas the English TT – while yielding an even higher preference for adverbials and also for lexical verbs – uses modal verbs much less frequently. It becomes evident that adverbials may feature so strongly in translations because they are easier to recall and to use than more complex structures, especially for L2 speakers. This practice does, however, result in a somewhat less flexible translation. The by far most frequently used translation strategy is faithful translation, particularly for content-oriented hedges. However, a fair number of adaptations (both in modal strength and word class change) and omissions – mostly of modal verbs – as well as numerous additions occurred, initiated by influential factors such as cultural differences regarding natural sounding text, L2 speaker perception of equivalence and/or lack of suitable linguistic equivalents. Thereby, the English translation showed a tendency toward adapting weaker modals compared to their Swedish ST equivalents, confirming the greater reader-orientation of English research articles.