Dhana ya usarufishaji, kama Kamusi ya Isimu na Lugha inavyoeleza, ni ubadilishaji wa neno huru ama mofimu huru yenye maana ya kisemantiki na kuifanya mofimu funge na yenye maana ya kisarufi zaidi. Tunaposema kuhusu usarufishaji, mara nyingi tunamaanisha hasa ubadilishaji wa neno huru liwe mofimu. Miongoni mwa aina zote za maneno, ambazo zinaweza kusarufishwa, zile zinazotumika mara nyingi zaidi ni nomino na vitenzi. Ningetaka kujibu swali juu ya kazi ya kisarufi ya leksimu mwana: baada ya kuzichunguza maana zake za kisarufi inawezekana kutilia mkazo kwamba katika lugha ya Kiswahili tunashuhudia mwanzo wa kuibadilisha nomino huru mwana iwe kiambishi awali cha uundaji wa maneno mapya yanayotaja watu mbalimbali kutokana na kazi, shughuli zao, kuwepo katika vyama n.k. Inawezekana kwamba maneno ambatani yanayoanzia na mwana yanaunda ngeli maalum ya nomino (sawa na ngeli ya 1a/2a ya lugha nyingine za Kibantu).

[pt] O objetivo desse trabalho é desenvolver um essencialismo sem mundos possíveis. Alegamos que objetos ordinários são entidades complexas constituídas por entidades mais básicas como pedaços de matéria e propriedades instanciadas Os possíveis constituintes são determinados pela realidade, independentes da mente e linguagem humana, mas a constituição é convencional dependente do nosso esquema conceitual e as nossas práticas de nomeação. Consequentemente desenvolvemos uma teoria aristotélica de objetos ordinários como complexos de suas essências e da matéria que instancia essas essências. Em seguida aplicamos essa concepção de objetos para modificar a teoria da referência direta. Nessa teoria resultante, os significados de nomes próprios são as essências dos referentes desses nomes. O quadro da nossa investigação consiste numa teoria plantonista de propriedades segundo a qual as propriedades são partes integrais de uma realidade complexas sendo interconectadas com a parte concreta dessa realidade e na qual algumas propriedades podem participar em relações causais. De acordo com isso, apresentamos uma concepção atualista de modalidades na qual as modalidades ocorrem em virtude de relações de segunda ordem entre propriedades, no caso de modalidades de re em virtude de relações de segunda ordem entre essências de objetos e outras propriedades. / [en] The aim of this study is to develop an essentialist theory without possible worlds. We claim that ordinary objects are complex entities composed of entities that are more basic like pieces of matter and instantiated properties. The possible constituents are determined by reality and mind- and language-independent, the constitution, however, is conventional dependent on our conceptual scheme and our naming practices. In consequence, we develop an Aristotelian theory of ordinary objects as complexes of their essences and the matter which instantiates these essences. We apply this conception of objects in order to modify the direct reference theory. In the resulting theory, the meanings of proper names are the essences of the bearers of the names. The theoretical frame of our investigation consists in a Platonist theory of properties according to which properties are integral parts of a complex reality connected with its concrete partand in which some properties can participate in causal relations. In accordance with this view, we present an actualist conception of modalities in which modalities obtain in virtue of second order relations between properties, in case of de re modalities in virtue of second order relations between objects essences and other properties.

This study investigates how two non-finite forms, infinitives and conversion nouns, are represented in the mind of L1 and L2 speakers and what is their relationship to other members of the corresponding word family. German native speakers and proficient German learners with Czech as L1 participated in four overt priming experiments involving a grammatical judgement task. We investigated the relationship between infinitives (Experiment 1) and conversion nouns (Experiment 2) and formally identical verbal or noun forms. We further focussed on the relationship between conversion nouns and regular nominal derivation forms with two derivational suffixes: -er and -ung (Experiments 3 and 4). Our results show that the two non-finite forms differ in their relations to other members of a word family and do not constitute a special class of non-finites as suggested in previous literature. While German infinitives seem to be closer related to finite verbal forms, conversion nouns behave in the same way as other regular nominal derivatives within the same word family. As for the German L1 and L2 contrast, no significant difference in the mental representation of the examined forms was found. This finding suggests that with respect to the explored phenomena, proficient learners rely on the same linguistic organisation as L1 speakers.

Данная диссертация посвящена исследованию категории исчисляемости на примере английских существительных singularia tantum. В работе исследуется каким образом эти существительные могут переходить в разряд исчисляемых, рассматриваются особенности этого перехода, в частности семантические сдвиги существительных singularia tantum и оценивается влияние контекста на этот переход. / This thesis is dedicated to the research of the category of countability illustrated by singularia tantum nouns in the English language. The study shows how singularia tantum nouns can move to the class of countable nouns, looks into the characteristics of this transition, especially into the sematic shift of singularia tantum nouns and evaluates the influence of the context on this transition.

This study discusses possible strategies when translating compound nouns from Germanto Swedish. The source text, which is also the basis for the analysis, is an informative text describing the everyday life in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The aim is to render an answer to the question how culture-specific compound nouns, referring to apartially extinct culture, can be translated in a manner striving to preserve both culture specific semantics as well as pragmatics. The analysis of the compound nouns extracted from the source text takes into consideration if the nouns are lexically established or not, also if they are GDR-culture specific or not. Translatory strategies are stipulated, primarily based on Aixelá’s (1996) gradual scale of intercultural manipulation, and a comparison between the translatory strategies, applied to the compound nouns is then undertaken. The results rendered in this study suggest, that communicative translation, to a certain extent, allows word-for-word translation to antecede paraphrase, both in translation of culture-specific compound nouns as well as in translation of general compound nouns. It is also suggested that a majority of the translations are undertaken with a low degree of intercultural manipulation, thus allowing as much semantic and pragmatic content as possible to be transferred to the target text. Nevertheless, it is most likely that there will always be a certain amount of semantic and pragmatic loss. This is due to the fact that the receiver of the target text supposedly has a different cultural intuition than the sender.

Second language (L2) vocabulary learning is at the core of language learning and use. Studies have shown that native speakers and L2 learners perceive lexical errors as the biggest obstacle in effective communication (Gass & Selinker, 2008). As a result, the learning and teaching of vocabulary must be one of the focal points of L2 learning. This study quantitatively investigates the effectiveness of two vocabulary learning strategies, the keyword method and the visual support method. Using these two strategies, L2 learners can store the word's meaning both visually and linguistically by creating a "dual coding" (Paivio & Desrochers, 1981) of the word. The keyword method is a strategy that utilizes the association of a first language word (a keyword) with the unknown L2 word through the use of a mental image whereas the visual support method is a strategy that utilizes a visual image. In four L2 intact classes over a 6-day treatment period, participants learned 24 Spanish concrete nouns using both the keyword and visual support methods in one of two presentation orders. Using a pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test design, results indicated that the use of an image, whether mental or visual, increased L2 learners' knowledge of form, meaning, and use of L2 vocabulary. Qualitative analyses of vocabulary notebooks/journals and surveys revealed that participants' preferences for and experiences with each learning method were influenced by individual likes and dislikes of each treatment. Since vocabulary acquisition is such a complex and multi-faceted process (Nation, 2001), educators have the responsibility to implement and encourage the use of various L2 vocabulary teaching and learning strategies. This research thus aims to reveal how an image can be worth a thousand words in the L2 classroom. / Spanish

I. Abstract This paper is based on the theoretical principes of the Polish ethnolinguistic works introduced in the first part of this paper. We pay special attention to the theory of anthropocentrism of a natural language. The main focus of this theory is the differentiation between "one's own" and "human" on one side and "someone else's" and "non-human"on the other in a cognitive comprehension of the world. We further apply the anthropocentric approach to outline the conceptualization of domestic animals in the Czech language. The second part of the text deals with the expression pes (‚dog') in Czech and its derivatives, their position within the lexical system, their semantics, connotations and the stereotypes associated with them. The conclusion presents a cognitive definition of the concept pes (‚dog') in Czech. The definition builds upon the entry structure of the Polish Dictionary of Folk Stereotypes and Symbols.

This study examines the use of discourse-organising nouns (DONs), such as fact, issue, and problem, in Swedish advanced students’ academic writing in second language (L2) English, and in what ways texts produced by the L2 students resemble or differ from those produced by advanced native-speaker (L1) students and from expert writing in this respect. The study uses corpus linguistic methodology and is set within the frameworks of Halliday’s systemic-functional linguistics and Granger’s Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis. Results show both similarities and differences across the writer groups. Noteworthy similarities include overall frequencies of DONs and their modifiers. Differences include variety of usage and register appropriacy. These differences were often the largest between the L2 student writing and the expert writing, though findings suggest that both student groups can usefully be thought of as learners of academic writing in English in this respect. Specifically, the students’ usage was found to be less varied than the expert writing, and to be characterised by more frequent use of semantically vague nouns (e.g., thing and fact) and nouns marking attitude and involvement (e.g., opinion and question). Other central findings include the tendency, on the part of the students, to use DONs less frequently in syntactic structures prototypical of formal academic prose, and to use them more frequently in structures with the potential to express stance, compared to the expert writing. The study also found more frequent use of evaluative modifiers of DONs in the student writing. In sum, the L2 student writing and, to a lesser extent, the L1 student writing, was found to approximate the corpus of expert writing in many respects, but with less variety, fewer markers of formality, and more frequent occurrences of interpersonal features in their use of DONs. The result is discourse that can in part be characterised as vague and subjective, as well as involved and informal. / This study examines the use of discourse-organising nouns (DONs), such as fact, issue, and problem, in Swedish advanced students’ academic writing in second language (L2) English, and in what ways texts produced by the L2 students resemble or differ from those produced by advanced native-speaker students and from expert writing in this respect. Results show both similarities and differences across the writer groups. Noteworthy similarities include overall frequencies of DONs and their modifiers. Differences include variety of usage and register appropriacy. In short, the L2 student writing and, to a lesser extent, the L1 student writing, was found to approximate the corpus of expert writing in many respects, but with less variety, fewer markers of formality, and more frequent occurrences of interpersonal features in their use of DONs. The result is discourse that can in part be characterised as vague and subjective, as well as involved and informal. These differences were often the largest between the L2 student writing and the expert writing, though findings suggest that both student groups can usefully be thought of as learners of academic writing in English in this respect.

Tout d’abord perçue comme un phénomène marginal, presque un accident en langue, on considère aujourd’hui que la polysémie fait partie intégrante des systèmes linguistiques. De nombreuses théories se sont intéressées au phénomène des unités à sens multiples et reliés. La première partie de notre travail en dresse un panorama non exhaustif mais révélateur, montrant comment et pourquoi la polysémie s’est peu à peu imposée comme un phénomène incontournable qui doit nécessairement être au cœur de tout modèle de la signification. Aussi, à partir de la distinction établie par G. Kleiber (1999), nous considérons deux grands courants selon le rapport établi entre signification, référence et polysémie. Le premier décrit la polysémie en termes de sens premier référentiel dont sont dérivés des sens secondaires (courant objectiviste). Le second l’analyse en termes de potentiel sémantique aréférentiel à partir duquel est obtenu l’ensemble des sens du polysème par spécialisation ou enrichissement contextuel(le) (courant constructiviste). Notre réflexion porte ensuite sur la représentation de la signification des polysèmes – principalement des noms – en grammaire cognitive (R.W. Langacker). Nous postulons que toute expression est associée, dans l’appareil cognitif des locuteurs-auditeurs, à une structure conceptuelle d’informations représentant sa signification. Nous proposons une modélisation en réseau structuré autour de valeurs sémantiques plus ou moins schématiques et de sens élaborés. Ainsi, c’est la valeur la plus schématique qui permet de faire le lien en langue entre ses élaborations que sont les sens observables en discours. Sur la base des travaux de D. Tuggy (1993), nous déclinons les représentations de la signification des mots à sens multiples le long d’un continuum homonymie-polysémie-multifacialité-indétermination, selon les degrés d’enracinement, de saillance, et les possibilités d’accessibilité et d’activation des différents composants (valeur schématique et élaborations sémantiques). Et, nous mettons ainsi en avant certaines des régularités organisatrices propres aux représentations sémanticoconceptuelles des polysèmes nominaux, ainsi qu’une typologie des sens polysémiques. Nous abordons enfin la construction du sens en grammaire cognitive, notamment l’influence du contexte dans l’interprétation d’expressions complexes comportant un polysème. Ainsi, nous considérons qu’il s’agit d’un processus non modulaire, compositionnel et dynamique. L’analyse de syntagmes nominaux du type Adj-N et N-Adj révèle en outre certaines régularités dans l’activation des sens polysémiques des unités linguistiques mises en jeu, liées au cotexte (place et fonction de l’adjectif par rapport au substantif recteur) et au contexte extralinguistique / For a long time, polysemy used to be considered as a marginal or accidental phenomenon in language. Where as today, it is well known that polysemy is being part of linguistic systems. The first part of our thesis draws up a panorama of semantic theories dealing with polysemy. Although it is not exhaustive, it reveals how and why that phenomenon has become a problematic of the utmost significance in linguistics. From the distinction established by G. Kleiber (1999), we consider two major trends in accordance with the way they conceive the link between meaning, reference and polysemy. On one hand, polysemy is described in terms of one basic referential sense from which secondary senses derive (objectivism). On the other hand, polysemy is analyzed as an areferential semantic potential from which senses emerge by contextual mechanisms (constructivism). About the question of the meaning representation of polysems, we postulate that linguistic unities are associated with a structure of pieces of conceptual information into the mind of speakers-hearers, so that it is possible to elaborate of conceptual modeling of it. In the framework of Cognitive Grammar (R.W. Langacker), the structure is a network constituted of semantic values, which are more or less schematic, and of elaborated senses stemmed from them. The most schematic meaning corresponds to the linguistic conceptual link between its instantiations. Some elaborations are the senses which can be constructed in discourse. On the basis of D. Tuggy’s works (1993), we propose to organize the conceptual modelings of multiple meanings words along a continuum homonymy-polysemy-multifaciality-vagueness, in function of various parameters : entrenchment, cognitive salience, possibility of accessibility and of activation of the network components (schematic or elaborated values). So, we can highlight some organizational regularities specific to the semantic representation of polysems as well as a typology of polysemous senses. The third and last part of our thesis is dedicated to sense construction. In Cognitive Grammar, it is a non modulary, compositional and dynamic process. Focusing especially on the impact of context on the interpretation of complex expressions containing a polysem, the analysis of Adj-N and N-Adj noun phrases puts to the fore some regularities governing the activation of polysemic senses. These regularities are linked to the linguistic context (position and function of the adjective towards the qualified substantive) and to the extra-linguistic context

Menée dans une perspective comparative, cette recherche a pour ambition une description du lexique des noms d’affect dans le but de relever des zones convergentes et des zones divergentes dans deux langues apparentées généalogiquement – le français et le roumain - selon deux axes de réflexion : l’analyse diachronique de la dynamique de l’évolution du lexique affectif roumain imprégné de mots d’origine française et l’analyse synchronique des particularités combinatoires des noms d’affect. Une telle recherche a mis en évidence des cas très intéressants, des points où les deux systèmes se rapprochent, sans pour autant coïncider totalement. Mais, malgré les petites différences morphosyntaxiques et combinatoires spécifiques attestées dans l’expression des affects, ces derniers présentent globalement une homogénéité du fonctionnement linguistique. Ce fait n’est pas seulement intéressant en termes de syntaxe comparée, mais aussi par le fait que les noms d’affect qui réalisent le même scénario cognitif ont un comportement similaire dans les deux langues confrontées. / Conducted in a comparative perspective, this research aims to describe the lexicon of affect nouns in order to underline the converging areas and diverging areas in two genealogically related languages - French and Romanian - in two lines of thought: diachronic analysis concerning the dynamics of the evolution of the Romanian emotional vocabulary permeated with words of French origin and synchronic analysis of combinatorial features of affect nouns. Such research has highlighted some very interesting cases, the points where these two systems are similar, but not completely coincide. But despite the small specific morphosyntactic and combinatorial differences evidenced in the expression of emotions, they generally bear homogeneity of linguistic functioning. This fact is not only interesting in terms of comparative syntax, but also by the fact that the affect nouns performing the same cognitive scenario have similar behavior in both languages faced.